Mother Goose is my Dungeon Master!

I was watching Babes in Toyland the other day (like you do), mostly because the daughter and I had a hankerin' for Laurel and Hardy, and while viewing it, a strange thought popped into my head.

"If Mother Goose wrote D&D, little pigs would be a playable race."

Naturally, one thing led to another ...

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Mother Goose & Goblins

The basic rules here are B/X D&D (or Labyrinth Lord, if you please). I'm not going to repeat everything in the rules (for now ...), so if I don't mention it, it works like B/X. The concept here is "what if Gygax was inspired more by nursery rhymes and fairy tales than swords & sorcery". The game is still meant to be about exploration, treasure hunting (with some good deeds thrown in, of course) and fighting monsters, just with a veneer of (slightly tongue-in-cheek) Mother Goose-isms.

CLASSES
MG&G has seven classes, as follows:

PRINCE
The prince works essentially like the fighter - can use any weapon or armor, d8 for hit points, etc. Princes are young, handsome men, and are always the children of one king or another (kings are as copious in fairy tales as grains of sand on a beach).

A prince with a 17 Charisma who has reached at least 4th level can elect to become a Prince Charming. A Prince Charming must serve either the King of Hearts or the King of Diamonds. His kiss can dispel any magical effect, he enjoys a +2 bonus to saving throws against evil magic, and he is bound to fight evil dragons, rescue helpless damsels and give generously to the needy.

JOAN OF ARC RULE: A female character with a Strength of 12 or higher can become a Princess (i.e. a female version of the Prince).


FAIRY GODMOTHER
Fairy Godmothers are always elderly women of an elfin demeanor. They fill the roll of the magic-user and generally follow the rules for that class, save that a fairy godmother knows all the spells (assuming you're just using the spells in B/X) of a level she learns to cast (much as a cleric), and must possess her magic wand to cast any spell. If a knave is adventuring with a fairy godmother, the fairy godmother must adopt them as a godchild and do their best to teach and protect them.

KNAVE
Knaves are boys and girls of common ancestry (1% chance of being the child of a king and queen who was hidden away with a peasant family to avoid a terrible curse). They fill the role of the thief, with the same skills and abilities, though some skills are renamed slightly for flavor:

Ask/Solve Riddle (replaces find/remove trap)*

Climb Beanstalk (i.e. climb walls)
Hear NoiseHide in Shadows
Creep Quietly
Steal Tarts (i.e. pick pockets)

* Traps do not play a big part in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, but the idea of confusing an opponent with a riddle, or needing to solve a riddle to get past a problem does crop up now and again. Naturally, players can still have their characters look for traps, and can devise ways to get past them without rolling dice; now they can instead roll dice to get past riddles or stun a foolish opponent (for 1d6 rounds) by asking them a real puzzler (the victim gets a saving throw even if the "ask riddle" roll is successful).

Each naughty or wicked act of a knave carries with it a cumulative 1% chance that they will be given a conscience (in the form of a talking cricket or something similar) to attempt to guide them into a more law-abiding and honorable way of life.

CURTAL FRIAR

Curtal Friars are men with tonsured scalps who cultivate a healthy paunch (in order to demonstrate the great abundance of the Lord), wear simple robes (with a mail coat beneath, usually) and wield a club or mace in the name of God Almighty. They are, essentially, clerics in terms of rules, though their ability to "turn undead" works on a slightly different set of monsters (as not all of the B/X monsters appear in fairy tales or nursery rhymes).

Monster
Pixie/Leprechaun (replaces skeletons)
Revenants (i.e. zombies)
Devil (i.e. imp - replaces ghoul)
Changeling (i.e. doppelganger - replaces wight)
Ghost (i.e. wraith)
Troll (replaces mummy)

Naturally, one can play a Nun instead of a Friar, though warrior nuns are generally pretty scarce in fairy tales.

DWARF
One of a group of seven who left his brothers to see the world. Dwarfs conform to the Dwarf class in B/X D&D. Each has a particular physical or personality trait that dominates their character, and for which they are named.

LITTLE PIG
The Little Pig replaces the Halfling in MG&G. Little pigs have a +2 bonus to save vs. fear ("who's afraid," they inquire, "by the Big Bad Wolf?") and a particular skill at building houses and at setting traps (for wolves or others).

FAIRY KNIGHT
The fairy knight (or fairy dame) replaces the Elf class in B/X. They are permitted to wear up to mail, and though beautiful, they have no souls and thus are not to be completely trusted.

ALIGNMENT
Whereas B/X has three alignments, Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic, MG&G has four alignment which correspond with four royal houses in fairy tale land. A character must pledge his or her troth to one of these alignment (though they need not always cleave faithfully to that faction - unless somebody is watching).

Hearts: The character is pledged to the ideal of Love. He or she gets a +1 bonus to hit when defending this ideal (i.e. defending a loved one), but must pass a save vs. magic when confronted with the temptation of Lust.

Diamonds: The character is pledged to the ideals of Truth and Beauty. He or she gets a +1 to hit when defending beauty or seeking out the truth, but must pass a save vs. magic when confronted with the temptations of Envy and Avarice.

Spades: The character is pledged to the ideal of Judgment. He or she gets a +1 bonus to hit when fighting against outlaws and other evils, but must pass a save vs. magic when confronted with the temptation of Vengeance.

Clubs: The character is pledged to the ideal of Mirth and Merriment. He or she gets a +1 bonus when fighting spoil sports and bullies, but must pass a save vs. magic when confronted with the temptation of Cruelty.

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Next installment will cover Grimm Tales (i.e. monsters & treasure)

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APPENDIX N (A brief version, anyways)

Snow White
Cinderella
Beauty and the Beast
Little Mermaid
Pinnochio
Three Little Pigs
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Hansel & Gretel
Red Riding Hood
Rose RedBlue Beard
Puss in Boots
Gingerbread Man
Rumpestiltskin
Jack and the Beanstalk (Jack the Giant Killer)
Humpty Dumpty
Cat and the Fiddle
Tom Thumb/Thumbellina
Princess and the Pea
Frog Prince
Little Boy Blue
Simple Simon
Pied Piper
Tom Tom the Piper's Son
Old Woman in a Shoe
Old Mother Hubbard
Old King Cole
Little Jack Horner


Supplement I - Wonderland
Supplement II - Oz

Action X

Action X is an idea I had for a mini-game based on a team of highly trained individuals (mercenaries, soldiers, spies) a'la Mission: Impossible, G.I. Joe (no, not the movie) or the A-Team being sent on a mission to do, well, something action-y and dangerous. Basically - modernized D-n-D built around TV and movie tropes.

My idea for characters is to use the basic notion of Rookie - Veteran - Old Timer as in Space Princess, but to base all character abilities on a set of skills.

Taking the veteran level as an example, he might have five trained skills, three mastered skills and one specialty skill. The idea here, a'la G.I. Joe's "primary speciality" or assembling an Impossible Mission team is that each character comes in with a specific expertise - the Electronics Expert, the Seduction Expert, the Intelligence Expert, the Demolitions Expert, etc.

The training level at which one takes a skill (ranging from acrobatics to electronics to the use of a specific weapon or martial art) corresponds with the bonus to use that skill/weapon: +3 for trained, +6 for mastered and +9 for specialty. The basic rules would be Target 10 (i.e. compare your ability to opponent's or general difficulty level to find your die modifier, roll 1d20 and try to get a '10' or higher).

Each time a skill is used during a mission, there is a 1 in 6 chance that the character gets a +1 boost to a trained ability, a 1 in 10 chance on a mastered ability and a 1 in 20 chance on their specialty. Maybe after one mission, Mr. X gets a bump to his acrobatics skill and we now classify it as Trained +1. Qualified abilities cannot be bumped beyond +5 and mastered abilities beyond +8. One's primary specialty has no limit to how far it can be bumped. Successful use of a skill/weapon the character is not trained in also carries a 1 in 20 chance of getting a boost (Untrained +1), with a max bonus there of +2.

Besides character creation and advancement, the major notion behind Action X would be random missions. I need to come up with a way the Ref could randomize the mission objective, the location, the key enemies and their abilities (there would have to be templates of stock villains), a complication for at least one of the characters and the place to be "invaded". Not sure where to go with that yet.

Still plenty of work to do on this idea, which I would probably stick in an issue of NOD in 2012.

Alien Critter Generator

Any viewer of mainstream sci-fi has heard a few alien animal names that consist, usually of three elements. First, is their place of origin. Perhaps a planet orbiting the star Deneb. Then a descriptor – maybe this creature is slimy or dwells in slime. Finally, a noun – perhaps this irascible creature can best be described, like the well-known critter from Tasmania, as a devil. Hence Denebian slime devil. Okay, so how about a random table to do the same and stat the critter out.

Place
1. Venusian
2. Martian
3. Jovian
4. Saturnian
5. Mercurian
6. Plutonian
7. Neptunian
8. Denebian
9. Altairan
10. Cygnian
11. Betelgeusian
12. Polarian
13. Andromedan
14. Cetian
15. Algolian
16. Pleiadeian
17. Rigelian
18. Aldebaran
19. Antarean
20. Arcturan

* Note, if you prefer your beasties to be from distant stars rather than planets, just re-roll if Martian or Venusian, etc comes up. Or make your own table you lazy bugger – what do you want for free? You might also want to alter the critter's stats based on the conditions of the planet (i.e. high gravity, etc.)

Descriptor
1. OOZE/SLIME: Creature may be covered in slime, granting it DEFENSE +3 vs. grabbing or wrestling attempts. Otherwise, just lives in a slimy environment.
2. ROCK/STONE: Creature may have DEFENSE +2. Otherwise, simply lives in a rocky environment.
3. DEATH: Creature either has a deadly poison bite or +2 hit dice.
4. SHADOW: Creature surprises opponents on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6 in darkness.
5. DUST/DESERT: Creature dwells in the desert, enjoys STRENGTH +1.
6. TREE/FOREST: Creature dwells in woodlands, enjoys DEXTERITY +1.
7. GIANT/GREAT: Creature has double hit dice.
8. CRYSTALLINE: Creature has DEFENSE +2 against all attacks except those from bludgeoning weapons and DEFENSE +5 against ray guns.
9. ICE: Creature suffers half damage from cold attacks.
10. LAUGHING/HISSING: Creature makes a laughing or hissing noise when threatened.
11. SCALED/FEATHERED: Creature is DEFENSE +1.
12. SPECKLED/SPOTTED: Creature has speckled or spotted hide. Heck, you could do stripes as well.
13. ACID: Creature has an acidic bite that inflicts +2 damage.
14. FIRE/STAR: Creature suffers half damage from fire and ray attacks or has ray attacks from eyes (weapon rating +5).
15. FANGED/HORNED: Creature has +1 weapon rating to bite or horn attack and +1 to bite or horn damage.
16. VAPOR/MIST: Creature either surrounded by a weird fog (opponents -1 to hit with SHOOT attacks) or creature dwells in misty area.
17. STINK/MUSK: Opponents must pass a Strength test or suffer -2 penalty to hit this creature in combat.
18. SEA/RIVER: Creature dwells in the sea or rivers and is equipped to swim at its normal speed.
19. CLOUD/SKY: Creature has a flying speed one category faster than its land movement.
20. LEAPING/HOPPING: Creature’s land movement is one category faster.

* Other special abilities could include spitting (poisonous spit, like cobra), long-necked, long-legged (faster movement), dwarf (half normal hit dice - probably meaningless for animals with only one hit dice to begin with), burrowing (gains slow burrow speed) and hypno- (can paralyze with eyes)

Noun
Stats are for Space Princess – you can no doubt find stats for Swords and Wizardry or Dungeons and Dragons if you just snoop around a bit.

1. DEVIL/BADGER: HD 1; DEFENSE 9; FIGHT 5 (claws and bite +0); SHOOT 8; MOVE N; Burrow S; STR 10; DEX 17; MEN 6; KNO 2; DL 2; Special: Flies into rage when damaged (+1 to hit and damage).
2. CRAWLER/CREEPER: HD 1; DEFENSE 8; FIGHT 5 (bite +1); SHOOT 7; MOVE F / Climb F; STR 10; DEX 15; MEN 2; KNO N/A; DL 2; Special: Poisonous bite (1d6 damage).
3. BAT: HD 1; DEFENSE 7; FIGHT 1 (bite +0); SHOOT 7; MOVE S / Fly F; STR 3; DEX 15; MEN 4; KNO 2; DL 1; Special: See in dark with echolocation.
4. DOG: HD 2; DEFENSE 8; FIGHT 7 (bite +1); SHOOT 8; MOVE F; STR 14; DEX 15; MEN 6; KNO 2; DL 2; Special: None.
5. CAT: HD 1; DEFENSE 7; FIGHT 3 (claws and bite +0); SHOOT 7; MOVE N; STR 6; DEX 15; MEN 7; KNO 2; DL 1; Special: None.
6. BIRD: HD 1; DEFENSE 7; FIGHT 3 (talons and bite +0); SHOOT 7; MOVE S / Fly F; STR 6; DEX 15; MEN 6; KNO 2; DL 1; Special: None.
7. HOG/PIG: HD 3; DEFENSE 8; FIGHT 9 (tusks +1); SHOOT 7; MOVE F; STR 16; DEX 10; MEN 4; KNO 2; DL 3; Special: +2 to strength tests to ignore pain.
8. BEETLE: HD 1; DEFENSE 7; FIGHT 5 (bite +2); SHOOT 5; MOVE N; STR 10; DEX 11; MEN 7; KNO N/A; DL 1; Special: None.
9. LION/TIGER: HD 6; DEFENSE 13; FIGHT 16 (claws and bite +2); SHOOT 12; MOVE F; STR 20; DEX 15; MEN 6; KNO 2; DL 7; Special: Pounce (two attacks when it wins initiative).
10. BEAST/ELEPHANT: HD 11; DEFENSE 17; FIGHT 26 (tusks +7 or stomp +5); SHOOT 15; MOVE N; STR 25; DEX 10; MEN 5; KNO 2; DL 12; Special: Trample (all in melee combat must make a dexterity test or suffer 1d6 damage).
11. BEAR: HD 6; DEFENSE 12; FIGHT 19 (claws and bite +3); SHOOT 11; MOVE F; STR 23; DEX 13; MEN 6; KNO 2; DL 7; Special: Creatures hit must make a strength test or be hugged for automatic damage each round until a successful strength test is made.
12. PINCHER/CRAB: HD 1; DEFENSE 7; FIGHT 5 (bite +2); SHOOT 5; MOVE N; STR 10; DEX 11; MEN 7; KNO N/A; DL 1; Special: None.
13. MOLE/RAT: HD 1; DEFENSE 7; FIGHT 2 (bite +0); SHOOT 7; MOVE S / Climb S; STR 4; DEX 15; MEN 2; KNO 2; DL 1; Special: Bite may cause disease.
14. APE: HD 4; DEFENSE 10; FIGHT 12 (claws and bite +2); SHOOT 10; MOVE N; STR 18; DEX 15; MEN 7; KNO 2; DL 4; Special: None.
15. LIZARD/SNAKE: HD 3; DEFENSE 10; FIGHT 10 (bite +1); SHOOT 9; MOVE M; STR 17; DEX 15; MEN 2; KNO 1; DL 3; Special: May be poisonous.
16. ANTELOPE/DEER: HD 2; DEFENSE 10; FIGHT 6 (antlers or horns +1); SHOOT 9; MOVE F; STR 12; DEX 17; MEN 4; KNO 2; DL 2; Special: None.
17. SPIDER: HD 1; DEFENSE 9; FIGHT 4 (bite +0); SHOOT 8; MOVE N / Climb N; STR 8; DEX 17; MEN 2; KNO N/A; DL 2; Special: Poison (2d6 damage).
18. BRUTE/RHINOCEROS: HD 8; DEFENSE 14; FIGHT 22 (horn +5); SHOOT 12; MOVE N; STR 24; DEX 10; MEN 2; KNO 2; DL 9; Special: Charge for double damage.
19. SNAIL/SLUG: HD 2; DEFENSE 4; FIGHT 4 (bite +0); SHOOT 4; MOVE S; STR 6; DEX 6; MEN 2; KNO N/A; DL 2; Special: None.
20. FISH/SHARK: HD 3; DEFENSE 10; FIGHT 8 (bite +1); SHOOT 9; MOVE F; STR 13; DEX 15; MEN 2; KNO 1; DL 4; Special: Blood frenzy (+1 to hit and damage when blood is in the water).

* You might want to swap out toad/frog for fish/shark, maybe throw turtles in somewhere.

Some Examples ...

ANTAREAN ICE CREEPER: HD 1; DEFENSE 8; FIGHT 5 (bite +1); SHOOT 7; MOVE F / Climb F; STR 10; DEX 15; MEN 2; KNO N/A; DL 2; Special: Poisonous bite (1d6 damage), half damage from cold attacks. I'm picturing a stark white centipede of great size that hides beneath the snow. It has pockets on it in which it stores bodily fluids sucked from victims. It draws sustenance and heat from the decay of these fluids.

POLARIAN SEA BIRD: HD 1; DEFENSE 7; FIGHT 3 (talons and bite +0); SHOOT 7; MOVE S / Fly F / Swim S; STR 6; DEX 15; MEN 6; KNO 2; DL 1; Special: None. Polarian sea birds resemble Earth penguins except they are as large as dolphins and have coloration and habits reminiscent of killer whales. They have horn-like crests on their heads that allow them to make a low-frequency rumbling that can be heard by other sea birds miles away.

CETIAN HORNED SLUG: HD 2; DEFENSE 4; FIGHT 4 (bite +0, horn +1); SHOOT 4; MOVE S; STR 6; DEX 6; MEN 2; KNO N/A; DL 2; Special: None, horn does +1 damage. These slugs are the size of lions and are covered by a shiny, pink segmented shell. The forward-most shell piece has curved horns that the beast can use to attack.

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Image from HERE.

Monsters of Space Princess

Here are a few sample monsters - "aliens", in fact, from the Space Princess game. The game is coming along pretty well - just a bit more writing to do and then some artwork and she's ready for testing!

Devil Girl
Devil girls come from a female dominated society with a declining male population. Devil girls are undeniably attractive, but merciless in their treatment of others. They wear uniforms of a black, vinyl-like substance that is a surprisingly good armor. Devil girls suffer only half damage from cold, electricity and fire and they can blanket a 60-ft radius area around themselves in complete darkness once per day for 10 minutes. Devil girls are capable of seeing in this weird darkness, but other creatures are not, giving the devil girls a +5 bonus and the others a -5 penalty to attack.

DEVIL GIRL: HD 4; DEFENSE 12; FIGHT 9 (strike +1); SHOOT 9 (ray gun +5); MOVE N; STR 13; DEX 13; MEN 9; KNO 12; DL 5; Special: Darkness, resistance to damage.

Space Amazon
Space amazons are women of tremendous strength and dexterity who are sometimes hired as elite guards in a space fortress, or perhaps were captured and subsequently escaped, living as outlaws in the fortress’s myriad tunnels and chambers. Space amazons stand about 8 feet tall and have green skin, white hair, and long antennae. Large groups of space amazons are commanded by a myrmidia. Each myrmidia has a 5% chance of secretly falling in love with a male star warrior and betraying her sisters on his behalf. If spurned by him, her berserk fury is doubled against him.

SPACE AMAZON: HD 4; DEFENSE 8; FIGHT 10 (axe +2); SHOOT 8 (ray gun +5); MOVE N; STR 15; DEX 12; MEN 12; KNO 10; DL 5; Special: Berserk Fury (+2 FIGHT and +2 damage vs. males).

MYRMIDIA: HD 6; DEFENSE 10; FIGHT 13 (axe +2); SHOOT 10 (ray gun +5); MOVE N; STR 16; DEX 13; MEN 13; KNO 11; DL 5; Special: Berserk Fury (+2 FIGHT and +2 damage vs. males), chance to fall in love, double fury when spurned.

Trilodite
Trilodites are protoplasmic aliens consisting of a ooze-like interior and a pink, rubbery exterior. Trilodites “stand” about three feet tall, usually on three pseudopods. They often have three additional pseudopods emerging from higher on their bodies that they use as arms. Trilodites can use these pseudopods to manipulate small objects as a human uses hands, and can retract or grow additional pseudopods as they like, though eight seems to be their useful limit. Trilodites have a high sensory awareness, and are thus rarely surprised. Because of their alien structures and minds, they enjoy a +2 bonus on tests to resist psychic powers that attempt to control or influence them. Their elastic forms give them a +2 bonus to DEFENSE to resist attempts to grab or hold them.

TRILODITE: HD 2; DEFENSE 8; FIGHT 7 (weapon +2); SHOOT 5 (ray gun +5); MOVE S; STR 14; DEX 8; MEN 10; KNO 10; DL 2; Special: Resist psychic powers, hard to hold.

Voltan
Voltans are a humanoid species with slightly pointed ears and bald heads covered with peaked ridges. They are quite strong and very intelligent. Some voltans have red skin, while others have blue skin. The red voltans tend towards contemplation and a love of logic, while the blue voltans are emotional, over-bearing and militant. Blue voltans arm themselves with jagged blades and ray guns and wear steel mesh tunics. Red voltans do not wear armor or carry hand weapons, but do use ray guns.

BLUE VOLTAN: HD 3; DEFENSE 9; FIGHT 9 (weapon +2); SHOOT 7 (ray gun +5); MOVE N; STR 16; DEX 10; MEN 14; KNO 14; DL 3; Special: Immune to fear.

RED VOLTAN: HD 1; DEFENSE 5; FIGHT 7 (open hand +1); SHOOT 5 (ray gun +5); MOVE N; STR 16; DEX 10; MEN 14; KNO 14; DL 3; Special: ESP, stunning grasp, immune to fear.

Spaceship Combat in Space Princess

Alternate title - if you're expecting Rient's Fleet Captain, boy are you going to be disappointed!

I'm writing the spaceship combat rules now for Space Princess and thought I'd bounce a few things off of my readers (wow - it feels both cool and pretentious as Hell to say "my readers").

The Basics: Space Princess' spaceship combat rules are designed to do one thing - simulate the rescuers of the "space princess" escaping into light speed from the Dark Lord's minions. That's it. If the game is successful, maybe an expansion could add more to the rules, but for the game, I want to simulate one thing and one thing only to keep it simple.

The Procedure: As it stands, the spaceship combat procedure works as follows:

1 - Maneuver: The player of the character piloting the escape ship make a pilot test to attempt to stay away from the pursuing ships. If he fails, they come closer (and closer means it's easier to hit with weapons), if he succeeds they either stay at the same range or fall behind. There are penalties attached to his roll based on how many pursuers he's trying to dodge, whether there are obstacles to maneuvering (the ground, canyon walls, asteroids) and damage his ship might have taken.

2 - Fire Weapons: Good guys and bad guys fire their weapons. Each hit means a damage roll for the affected ship. These damage rolls are not in terms of "hit points" or "hull points", but rather an actual effect on the ship. The smaller the ship, the more dire a hit is likely to be. The worst forms of damage are hull breach (can suck players out into space, where they die) or complete destruction of the ship. Complete destruction is rare - the pursuers are usually trying to disable your ship and capture you.

3 - After all weapon fire is resolved, the player whose character is in charge of navigation (scientists are the best at this) makes a roll to see if she's calculated the proper formula for light speed. The chances of doing this on the first round are very remote, but the difficulty of the roll is lessened with each failure. This means you don't know how long it will take to jump into light speed (and safety) - should make each such roll dramatic.

That's the basic procedure. For ship types, I'm keeping it pretty generic. In order of size, they are: Starfighter, Shuttle, Freighter, Blockade Runner, Corvette, Cruiser and Dreadnaught. Smaller ships are more maneuverable, larger ships have better armor (which actually doesn't make sense in Zero-G, but I'm working off pulp sci-fi and movie tropes, not reality).

So here's where I want to access your brains. I'm thinking about possible damage results on ships. Ships are rated based on Speed (includes maneuverability), Armor, Number of Engines and Different Weapon Systems (laser banks, torpedoes and tractor beams for the dreadnaughts). Here's my list of damage effects so far:

1 - Engine Damage - penalty to speed/maneuvering; once a ship has lost all engines it is dead in space

2 - Computer Damage - maybe hits different systems - damaged Nav-Computer means you cannot jump into light speed until fixed. Weapon Systems Computer might turn off all weaponry until fixed. Maybe the engines can be knocked off line as well. Possible damage to characters from the boards sparking and going up in flame, a'la Star Trek.

3 - Artificial Gravity Lost - this would potentially damage characters on the ship from things floating about (or from them floating about).

4 - Weapon Destroyed - One of the ship's weapon systems is destroyed.

5 - Hull Damage - lowers the ship's Armor rating by one. Probably the best result you can get from damage. Somebody will probably mention force shields here - I'd rather just consider them part of the "armor package" - to keep things simple, if two things essentially serve the same function, I'd rather merge them together.

6 - Hull Breach - chance of sucking people into space

7 - Ship Destroyed - this would be a "roll again, if comes up again, spaceship destroyed and all aboard killed" - it's old school, so yeah, instant death is a possibility.

All of the results except ship destroyed would be repairable - again, a scientist would be best at this (or maybe somebody invents an engineer class to lend a hand).

Deviant Friday - Joel Carroll Edition

Readers of the Land of Nod should not be strangers to Joel Carroll, the artist who worked on Mystery Men! and oft posted on this blog. While you folks might know him primarily for his superhero artwork, he dabbles in many eras and I actually first discovered him on a site showing some of his D-n-D monster sketches. Check it out, gentle readers ...

Owlbear

Rocket Raccoon

Rocketeer

Spacegirl

This lady would look good in Space Princess. In fact, how about some stats for that game ...

Hooked Horror

Displacer Beast

Devil Dinosaur

Bossk

And I might as well give him some Space Princess stats as well ...

Bristolwhip Kaiju Tokusatsu

The Marquis

The Monsters of Space Princess

While I've been writing Mu-Pan and plotting out Hell (previews to come soon), I've also been slowly filling in the gaps on Space Princess. At this point, I'm about 80% done writing it, having put some yeoman's work into the monster section yesterday. Most of the beast are re-purposed from Ye Olde Game or d20 Modern, with a couple originals stuck in as well. I still want to invent some more aliens that might lurk in the bowels of a space fortress, but the following list should give you an idea at what adventurers might find in the game. The "danger level" gives an idea of how powerful the monster is.

Now I just need to finish up the starship battle rules, the sample space fortress (or one sector therein) and sort out the art, do some play testing and I'll have a nice little pulpy beer and pretzels sci-fi game. Should come in at around 50 pages, and therefore be pretty affordable.

News from the Land of Nod and a little more Mu-Pan

Busy weekend, but a good one. I finished my fifth Hex Crawl Chronicle - The Pirate Coast - and just need to send it along to the good people at Frog God Games. Next up is The Troll Hills, in which I try to incorporate every version of troll I can. If you have an OGL troll you'd like stuck into those very dangerous hills, let me know.

Oh - for that matter - the Tome of Horrors Complete is now available. I have scads of lairs in that tome and did the conversions of the monsters from Tome 1.

I'm about 1 week away from publishing NOD 10. Contents should be ...

Mu-Pan - continuation of the hex crawl in NOD 8. I've been running excerpts all month.

Polyester Road - this is a mini-game/mini-campaign about truckers hauling goods on post-apocalyptic highways. The technology is mid-1970's and the mutations not too gonzo.

Monstrous Evolutions - two race/classes for Pars Fortuna in the tradition of beast-people. In this case, the "beasts" are a rust monster and owl bear. Will include an illustration and a mini-adventure.

Chim-Chimera-Cheree - The random chimera generator I posted on this blog with a nice illustration.

The Leech - A fantasy doctor/surgeon class for Swords and Wizardry - think of this class as the medical equivalent of Indiana Jones' archaeologist.

Phantastes - a few more chapters of the fantasy classic.

Coming up for NOD 11 - A journey into Hell (hex crawl inspired by Dante's vision of the underworld), Action X (mini-game of special operations teams in the Cold War) and probably something spooky for Halloween - probably a dungeon crawl in a haunted manor.

And now, two encounters - one from Mu-Pan, the other from the Pirate Coast. Enjoy ...

0108. The floor of this valley is a chain of shallow lakes linked by channels of sandy, sluggish streams. The lakes are heated geo-thermally, and this has made the valley steamy and verdant. In ages past, great creatures akin to reptiles lived in the valley until they were hunted to extinction by the ancient elves – many an old elven sword has a pommel wrapped in leather cured from their skin and ancient elf lodges often have their strange, massive heads mounted on the walls.

While these massive beasts no longer roam the valley, their spirits do, and are encountered here on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6 (1-4 on 1d6 during a full moon). Use the following table to determine what kind of animal is encountered.

1-3	Ankylosaurus: HD 8; AC 0 [19]; Atk 1 clubbed tail (special); Move 9; Save 8; CL/XP 8/800; Special: None.
4	Brontosaurus: HD 25; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 stomp (special); Move 9; Save 3; CL/XP 25/5900; Special: None.
5-6	Stegosaurus: HD 15; AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 bite (special), 1 spiked tail (special); Move 9; Save 3; CL/XP 15/2900; Special: None.
7-8	Triceratops: HD 15; AC 0 [19] front, 5 [14] back; Atk 1 gore (special); Move 12; Save 3; CL/XP 15/2900; Special: None.
9-10	Tyrannosaurus: HD 18; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (special); Move 18; Save 3; CL/XP 19/2400; Special: Chews and tears.

The dinosaur spirits are ethereal, and can thus only be harmed by silver or magical weapons and spells of force or dispelling. Their attacks cause 2d6 points of chilling cold damage and force a victim to save or be drained of one level.

One of the shallow lakes is an illusion, hiding an ivory palace of the ancient elves – one that has been abandoned and forgotten for centuries. The palace is composed of eighty-one cells, each with a vaulted ceiling and connected to four adjacent vaults via a short (5 feet long) passage. These passages are blocked by walls of force, each one a shimmering curtain of one of five colors – cerise, ultramarine, gamboge, myrtle and heliotrope.

The palace has four entrances; each of these entrance cells has only three curtains for force blocking further access to the palace. One of these entrance cells contains a colored tetrahedron of metal, the exact color being determined randomly (see below). In the middle of each cell there is a tripedal stand which fits this tetrahedron. By placing the tetrahedron in the base and tapping it with something metallic, the corresponding colored curtain of force disappears for 1 minute. The colors of the curtains in each cell should be determined randomly with a d10 (1-2 = cerise, 3-4 = ultramarine; 5-6 = gamboge; 7-8 = myrtle; 9-10 = heliotrope), and the color of the tetrahedron changes (using the same random table) when it is brought into a new cell. This makes moving through the strange palace quite a chore, and potentially dangerous as there is a slight chance one will enter a cell and be unable to exit due to the color of the tetrahedron.

Each time a cell is entered, there is a 1 in 1d6 chance of a random monster (CL 3) appearing in the cell. These monsters are given the same random colors as the rooms and tetrahedron, and the color of the creature makes it vulnerable to a single form of attack: Cerise = cold, Ultramarine = fire; Gamboge = silver; Myrtle = steel and Heliotrope = wood. All of these beasts can be harmed by magic missiles. Their bodies disappear after one leaves their cell.

The center cells of the palace are combined into a single large chamber. In the middle of this chamber there is an elf-hewn idol of a four-faced, eight-armed and eight-legged goddess. Each pair of hands holds a golden plate hidden by a pelt of sable. The plates face the curtains of colored force, and these colors determine what secrets are etched on the plates. The plate facing a cerise curtain is attuned to fighters (and rangers and paladins). The plate facing an ultramarine curtain is attuned to clerics (and druids). The plate facing a myrtle curtain is attuned to thieves (and assassins and monks) and the plate facing a gamboge curtain is attuned to magic-users. A plate facing a heliotrope curtain is replaced by a portal into the void, per a sphere of annihilation.

Looking upon a plate not attuned to their class forces a character to save vs. blindess. Looking upon the proper plate grants a magic-user a new spell of their highest spell level (though it must be written into their spellbook), a cleric or druid access to a magic-user spell that can be associated with their deity, a fighter-type a +1 bonus to wield a random weapon and a thief-type a +10% bonus to use one of their skills.

7238. Dinsan: Dinsan is a city of 6,000 people situated atop a plateau that rises 200 feet above the surrounding landscape and looks over the source of the river. The city is quite ancient and the buildings show their age. Although the people are productive, growing sweet, golden barriers (sun berries) and turning them into a very potent liqueur favored by the Ying nobility.

The city is notable for seven grand constructions. The first is a central tower with a single, large wooden gate. This tower is the entrance to the plateau, as it connects with a tunnel that spirals up through the plateau. This tunnel is guarded by albino apes chained to the walls. The roof of the tower is conical and set with six mirrors. As the sun hits these mirrors, it sends a beam of light to strike the face of one of the six statues.

The six statues represent the six founders of the city. Each of the founders is represented by a faction in the city, and while the face of a faction’s founder is illuminated, that faction governs the city absolutely. This makes for rather confused government, though the locals are fairly used to the arrangement and almost take pride in it.

The first faction was founded by Binua, a priestess of Inzana. Her sohei are now commanded by Temang, a muscular woman with a round face and long grey hair. The sohei wear armor lacquered red and brass masks meant to depict Inzana, the sun maiden. The sohei are warlike and easily annoyed, and demand almost constant tribute to their goddess and her sacred monkeys.

The second faction are the samurai descended from the army of Chireng and now ruled by Agchaan. Agchaan is a straight-forward, brash woman with fiery green eyes. Agchaan is big boned and has a small-featured face. She and her samurai rule with wisdom and restraint, following the bushido code zealously.

The third faction are the shugenja of the White Order, a band of moralists who outlaw alcohol, gambling and promiscuous behavior while they are in charge. They are all ascetics who wear simple white loincloths and who anoint their bodies with the oil of stinging herbs. The White Order was founded by Manalch and governed by Haampi, a small man with a thin face and sunken eyes.

The fourth faction are the ninja of Geri, the so-called Jade Prosperity Society. The ninja are a crime syndicate of smugglers and assassins who run protection rackets even when they are not in power. The ninja are ruled by Uncle Take, a secretive man, tall, with a long face, who runs a shop of calligraphers and keeps white mice.

The fifth faction are the wushen of Geran, a monkey hengeyokai who preached the values of laughter and festivities. The city takes on a Mardi-Gras atmosphere while the monkey lords are in power (though not all of them are monkey hengeyokai). The wushen are governed, loosely, by their eldest member, Mudar. Mudar is a willowy men with a heart-shaped face. He and his priests dress in silk tunics and pantaloons, carry staves and wear monkey masks.

The sixth factions are the descendants of the slaves who constructed the city-state and the tunnel through the plateau. They are no longer slaves, and most of the time work on repairing buildings and constructing new buildings. When they are in power, however, they run rampant through the city destroying the work they had done and causing new destruction – though never to the houses of the other factions or the central tower. They are led by the half-ogre Suhaz.

|    Temang, Sohei Lvl 6: HP 20; AC 3 [16]; Save 9 (7 vs death & poisons); CL/XP 7/600; Special: Banish undead, spells (4th). Kabuto, haramaki-do, haidate, masakari, prayer beads.

|    Agchaan, Bujin Lvl 6: HP 6d6+1; AC -1 [20]; Save 11 (10 vs death & poison); CL/XP 6/400; Special: Follow through. O-yoroi, dadao, daikyu.

|    Haampi, Shugenja Lvl 5: HP 19; AC 9 [10]; Save 11 (9 vs magic); CL/XP 4/120; Special: Spells (3rd). Bo staff, spellbook.

|    Uncle Take, Ninja Lvl 7: HP 23; AC 9 [10]; Save 8 (6 vs. death & poison); CL/XP 4/120; Special: Move silently, hide in shadows, climb sheer surfaces, backstab x3, read languages. Bo staff, hankyu.

|    Mudar, Wushen Lvl 5: HP 14; AC 9 [10]; Save 10; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Spells (3rd), turn undead, xxx, xxx. Kama, prayer beads.

|    Suhaz, Half-Ogre: HP 7; AC 9 [10]; Save 16 (15 vs death, 12 vs. poison & disease); CL/XP 1/15; Special: Follow through, ogre's ferociousness, open door on 1-4 on 1d6.

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Image by jurer2, found HERE.

Mutations on the Polyester Road

About 99% finished with my Mutant Truckers article for NOD 12. Thought I'd share the mutation tables to give folks an idea about just how mutant-y the game is. In general, Polyester Road doesn't go as far down the mutant path as Gamma World and Mutant Future. Because it's a mini-game/setting, I wanted to keep it focused and keep it from being too long. So, there is a small table of mutations - physical and mental, for folks to roll on. Characters can trade one hit dice for one mutation. Each mutation carries with it a 1 in 6 chance of a negative side effect (radioactive scrambled DNA can be dangerous, you know). Referees can use the same process to mutate monsters, bandits and bears (i.e. county mounties) - trade a hit dice for a random mutation. Hopefully, this will keep the mutations from dominating the game, but still allow for some fun variation of the characters.

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On a side note - I think the next big hex crawl in NOD will be Hell, based very loosely on Dante's version, with a little Milton and lots of pulpy/gonzo nonsense thrown in for flavoring. The first hurdle will be mapping Hell - it's circular and I have no idea how big it should be or what scale would work best. Still, should be an interesting exercise and provide readers with plenty of demonic and diabolical challenges for their game groups. Also gives me an excuse to use that devil cover I premiered a few months back!

Meet Some Mutant Truckers

Here's a quick sample of what characters might look like in the Mutant Truckers mini-game in NOD 10. I based the character sheet on an image of a trucker's Log Book (or Swindle Sheet if your hep to the C-B lingo).

Secret Society of the Straight Arrow [MM!/Target12]

The SSSA is a clandestine gathering of super heroic marksmen in the world of Shore City. Based in a chateau in the Swiss Alps, the SSSA looks for people in need who cannot rely on the authorities in their part of the world to help them (those authorities often being the source of the distress). When such a situation is discovered, the call goes out to two or three of the marksmen, who assemble in the chateau, receive their briefing, and then undertake to complete their mission.

The current membership of the SSSA includes Shore City’s own Swiftarrow as well as the dean of heroic marksmen and the founder of the society, The Arrow. Other members are: Spider, Marksman, Red Panther, Diana the Huntress, Scarlet Arrow, Green Knight, Gunmaster, Scarlet Arrow and Young Robin Hood. Their most persistent foe is Nazi agent Armbrust (or “Crossbow”, in English).

NOTE: These heroic stats use a modified profile inspired by Target 12. In essence, I’m experimenting with producing a Target 12 version of Mystery Men! next year, and this is the result of that experiment. In essence, Target 12 MM! would fold Constitution into Strength and Intelligence and Will into Mentality, and instead of spending XP for powers, you would spent Hit Dice, with powers arranged in levels of Heroic (costs 1 HD), Super Heroic (2 HD) and Cosmic (3 HD). Science is now purchased as a Heroic, Super Heroic or Cosmic power slot costing one Hit Dice more than a normal power of that level. Sorcery works the same, costing two Hit Dice more than a normal power of that level. Flawed powers cost 1 HD less than normal, with flawed Heroic Powers costing ½ a Hit Dice. In this iteration, Hit Dice are always D6, with the character’s Strength score being added to the hit point total.

The Arrow
Creator: Paul Gustavson (1938)

The first of the heroic archers of modern times (and the world’s third known mystery man), the Arrow is Ralph Payne, a federal agent who went undercover to more effectively fight crime. The Arrow is also a member of the Justice Foundation, based in Washington D.C.

With Target 12, I would have to modify some of the powers. In the above, the normal Super Ability power, which increases a score by +1 per 1,000 XP spent, now is divided into Super Ability I (+3 to ability score), Super Ability II (+6 to ability score) and Super Ability III (+12 to ability score), bringing ability scores from a 1-30 range to a 1-18 range.

Diana the Huntress
Creator: Burton Geller (1944)

The Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana now fights earthbound villainy with the help of her fellow gods and heroes.

Green Knight
Creator: Al Plastino (1941)

American millionaire and sportsman Denis Knight was inspired by the chivalrous knights of Arthur’s Round Table to become a modern defender of justice. His sidekick is Lance Cooper, a young lad he saved from the depredations of a vampire in the Everglades.

Gunmaster
Creator: Unknown (1945)

Descended from Kattak Po, the Tibetan monk who invented firearms, Dumas, like his ancestors before him, is dedicated to fighting the crime and violence they believe resulted from the invention of their ancestor. He is capable of communing with those ancestors, the Circle of Elders.

Marksman
Creator: Bob Powell and Ed Cronin (1942)

A nobleman, Baron Povalsky becomes a hero fighting the Nazi invaders by taking on the identity of Major Hurtz, a spy. At war’s end, he continued to fight for his country’s independence from the Soviets, and once that was secured he became a costumed crime fighter.

Red Panther
Creator: Taylor Martin & Arthur Peddy (1940)

The Red Panther, whose true name is unknown, receives his costume from a tribal chief in Africa. The costume is made from the pelt of a mystic red panther, and confers incredible abilities on its wearer.

Scarlet Arrow
Creator: Bob Powell (1947)

Alan Bidell is a champion archer and football player who takes on the identity of an ancestor to fight crime.

Spider
Creator: Paul Gustavson (1940)

Millionaire playboy Tom Hallaway becomes the archer called the Spider to eliminate crime from the world. He is assisted by his valet and sidekick, Chuck, and drives a custom sedan called the Black Widow.

Swiftarrow
Creator: Unknown (1945)

Swiftarrow is secretly John Dart, crusading editor of the Weekly Star. He uses the fighting prowess learned as a commando and his expertly crafted crossbow and special arrows to fight crime in the roughest parts of town. He is also a member of Shore City’s Golden Gladiators.

Young Robin Hood
Creator: Unknown (1942)

Billy Lackington is the scion of one of New York’s wealthiest families. A skilled archer, he decides to use this skill to fight for the poor and oppressed. His “merry men” are three local street kids, Fatso, Shorty and Freckles – also known as Friar Tucker, Little John and Big Doc. Doc died in action, but the others continue to help Billy in his crusade against evil.

Armbrust (Crossbow)
Creator: Fred Guardineer (1943)

Armbrust is a Nazi agent who often battled the Marksman during the war. He is now an agent of the Fascovia dictatorship.

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Information and image from Public Domain Super Heroes Wiki.

Target 10!

When I started writing Space Princess, I decided I wanted to do a really simple game - thus four ability scores, four classes with three "levels" each, etc. When I came up with 1800 - American Empires, I decided to use the same rules concept, and then again with Mutant Truckers of the Polyester Road, especially because MTotPR was going to be a mini-game for NOD. As I played with the concept, I came up with an easy system I'm calling Target 10 - all tests (skill tests, saving throws) and combat involve rolling 1d20, adding a modifier and trying to roll a '10' or higher to succeed. The following excerpt shows where the rules stand at the moment. They were written specifically for American Empires.

Tests
A test is a roll made to determine whether an action succeeds when the outcome of the action is in question. Every action made in a game does not need to be tested. Getting dressed in the morning, for example, does not require a test. Of course, getting ready in the morning and out the door in 10 minutes or getting dressed with two broken arms might require a test of dexterity.

A test is made by roll 1d20, applying modifiers (see below) and trying to roll “10” or higher.

Man vs. Man
When a test pits one person against another (or one creature against another), the test is modified by comparing the relative skill and raw ability of the two opponents. Each opponent calculates their Test Value (TV). A character’s TV is equal to their modifier in whatever ability score governs the test. If the character possesses the skill being tested (see Classes above), they also add their skill value to the TV. Situational modifiers, as determined by the Referee, might also apply, but should never be higher than +3.

Compare the acting character’s TV to the opposing character’s TV. The difference is the bonus or penalty applied to the acting character’s test roll.

When two characters are both trying to “act”, the character with the higher TV always rolls their test first. If the TV’s are equal, defer to the character with the greater skill. If the skill values are equal, defer to the character with the higher ability score. If the ability scores are equal, flip a coin.

In many cases, the outcome can be determined with a single test roll. In some cases, a Referee can require multiple successes to finally succeed, usually no more than 3. He might even a bad consequence if either or both parties rack of too many failures.

Example: Two venturers, Juan and Susan, are trying to sway an Apache chief to cement an alliance with their country. This requires a test of the Negotiate Treaty skill.

Juan has Skill 9 and Charisma 12 (+1), while Susan has Skill 6 and Charisma 18 (+4). This means Juan has a TV of 9 + 1 = 10 and Susan a TV of 6 + 4 = 10. Since the TV’s are equal, there is no modifier to either character’s test roll. Since Juan has the higher skill, he tests first.

The Referee decides it will be more exciting to require three successes to sway the Apache chief. Moreover, he rules that if the two together rack up four failure before either has succeeded, the Apache chief will call off the negotiation and have both venturers killed.

Juan’s first test roll is a “4”, indicating one failure. Susan now rolls an “11”, a success! Three more failures and the Apache chief loses his cool. Juan now rolls a “7”, followed by a “9” for Susan - two more failures. Juan rounds it out with a "13" and Susan with an "8". That does it – their arguing has angered the Apache chief, who finds neither of them worthy of an alliance and summons his braves to take them into the desert and bury them to their necks in the sand.

Man vs. Nature
Whenever a test pits a character or creature against the natural world – for example, shifting a heavy boulder or predicting the weather, the actor’s Test Value is compared against a Test Value of 1 to 10 chosen by the Referee. In most cases, the test value is “5”. Nature, in these cases, does not “act”, and therefore does not make a test roll. A Referee can still require multiple successes to succeed and can still impose consequences for multiple failures.

Luck Points
Luck Points are a simple mechanic that allows groups of characters of differing skill levels to adventure together without the more skilled completely dominating play. A Luck Point can be spent to automatically succeed at any test, or, in the case of combat, to ignore an opponent’s success.

Luck Points can be earned while exploring (see Occurrences below), but a character can never have more points of luck than they started with. In other words, low skill characters can never have more than 3 luck points at one time, mid-skill level characters can never have more than 1 luck point at a time and high-skill characters cannot have any luck points at all – they have to rely on their skill alone to survive.

Combat Tests
Combat occurs whenever two or more creatures or characters seek to do violence upon one another, whether their aim is to kill, disable or knock unconscious. Combat is conducted in “rounds”. A round is roughly one minute long. During a round, a character may declare how his character is moving and how (or if) they are acting.

The first step in running a combat round is for all players to declare their actions for the round. Possible actions are as follows:

Movements: Advance, Charge, Flee, Hold Ground, Maneuver, Stand and Withdraw.

Actions: Defend, Disarm, Grapple, Kill, Negotiate, Subdue and Trip.

Other actions are certainly possible – a player need only be limited by their imagination.

The next step is to determine the order of play. Each person involved in the combat rolls 1d6 and adds their dexterity bonus. The highest score goes first and play proceeds through the remainder of the scores. In the case of a tie, movement and actions are considered to happen simultaneously. This makes it possible for two combatants to kill one another during the same round of combat.

The acting character then rolls a combat test (see below).

Movements

Advance: And advancing combatant keeps their guard up and moves forward 3 paces.

Charge: A charging combatant goes full speed ahead (and damn the torpedoes!). They move at triple their normal speed (i.e. 30 paces for humans). A charging character does not add their dexterity bonus to their defense score during the round, but adds double their strength bonus to their attack score.

Flee: A fleeing character runs at full speed (i.e. 30 paces for humans), turning their back on their enemy. If they go after their attacking opponent in combat, their opponent’s attack is automatically successful.

Hold: A character that holds does not move at all, unless forced to move by an opponent’s attack.

Maneuver: A maneuvering character attempts to maneuver their opponent into a certain position by the way that they attack – maybe driving them back towards an open pit or maneuvering so that the character gains the high ground or places their back against a wall. When a maneuvering character attacks, they score no damage, but do move their opponent 3 paces in whatever direction they like.

Stand: Whether the character was sitting or lying down at the beginning of combat or they were knocked down, this movement puts them back on their feet. A character cannot stand if they are being attacked.

Withdraw: A withdrawing combatant keeps their guard up and moves backward 3 paces. They may still attack if their opponent is advancing.

Actions

Defend: A defending character increases their DV by dexterity bonus (i.e. they double their bonus) or +1, whichever is higher.

Disarm: A character trying to disarm an opponent does not roll damage against them on a successful test; rather, they knock whatever they are holding (weapon or otherwise) from their hand. The item flies 1d6 paces in a random direction. A disarm attack is made using the attacker’s RAV instead of MAV.

Grapple: A character trying to grapple an opponent does not roll damage against them on a successful test; rather, they lock their opponent in a hold. A creature or character locked in a pin suffers a -1 penalty to attack and defend, and must make a grapple attack of their own to break the hold.

Kill: A character trying to kill scores normal damage against an opponent, and that damage can reduce the opponent’s hit points below 0, killing them.

Negotiate: A negotiating character attempts to engage their opponent in conversation, usually to buy time or simply stop an unnecessary combat from occurring. Only venturers have the ability to negotiate in combat. With a successful skill roll, they keep their opponents from attacking for one round, provided they are not themselves attacked.

Subdue: A character trying to subdue scores normal damage against an opponent, but that damage cannot reduce the opponent’s hit points below 0, leaving them unconscious for 1d6 turns.

Trip: A character trying to trip an opponent does not roll damage against them on a successful test; rather, they knock the opponent to the ground. A creature or character on the ground suffers a -2 penalty to attack and defend.

Combat Tests
Combat tests work like other tests – one compares two values to determine if there is a bonus or penalty on the roll and then rolls 1d20, applying the modifier. If the roll is a “12” or higher, they succeed.

Where most tests use a characters skill + ability modifier, combat tests use three values:

Melee Attack Value (FIGHT) = Hit Dice + Strength Modifier + Weapon Bonus

Ranged Attack Value (SHOOT) = Hit Dice + Dexterity Modifier + Weapon Bonus

Defense Value (DEFENSE) = Hit Dice + Dexterity Modifier + Armor Bonus

When attacking with fist, feet, claws, bites or hand held weapons, the attacker compares their FIGHT to the defender’s DEFENSE to determine the bonus or penalty to their test.

When attacking with thrown items, spittle, pistols, muskets and bows, the attacker compares their SHOOT to the defender’s DEFENSE to determine the bonus or penalty to their test.

As with regular tests, a bonus cannot be higher than +10 and a penalty cannot be lower than -10.

Situational modifiers can also be added to a test roll, as determined by the Referee. Situational modifiers can include a bonus for higher ground, sun in the eyes, etc. They should not amount to more than a total modifier of +3 or -3.

Example: Captain Cole, a soldier, is locked in combat with a leatherstocking named Francois. Captain Cole has Hit Dice 6, Strength 15 (+3), Dexterity 12 (+1) and he is fighting using a Saber (+2). Francois has Hit Dice 7, Strength 14 (+2), Dexterity 15 (+3) and he is fighting using a Knife (+1). Neither gentleman is wearing armor.

Captain Cole has a FIGHT of 6 + 3 + 2 = 11 and a DEFENSE of 6 + 1 = 7.

Francois has a FIGHT of 7 + 2 + 1 = 10 and a DEFENSE of 7 + 3 = 10.

When Cole attacks Francois, he compares his FIGHT of 11 to Francois’ DEFENSE of 10, indicating a +1 bonus to attack.

When Francois attacks Cole, he compares his FIGHT of 10 to Cole’s DEFENSE of 7, indicating a +3 bonus to attack.

Damage
Damage is rolled with 1d6, adding the attacker’s Strength modifier if using a melee weapon or Dexterity modifier if using a ranged weapon. In either case, an ability penalty cannot reduce damage below 1.

Ending Combat
Combat continues, round after round, until all combatants on one side are either dead, unconscious or have fled.

1800 - American Empires

I swear I wasn't looking for another project. It's just that I'm a history guy - majored in it in college - and this idea has just worked it's way into my imagination. 1800 is a pretty interesting time in American history - even an alternate history - and couched as it is between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War it gets less attention that it probably should.

So, what is 1800 - American Empires going to be? At its heart, a homage to old school RPGs and the greatest school video game ever conceived - The Oregon Trail.

Simple RPG based around wilderness exploration, so old school logistics looms large (i.e. how much gunpowder should you pack for a 6 months - 2 year foray into the wilderness?)

Four classes - scout (man vs. nature), soldier (man vs. man), venturer (does the caller and mapper) and magician (with three "traditions" - free mason, missionary and shaman/witch, each with their own small list of usable spells). I'm going to go with the Space Princess concept here of three-tiered classes based on what you want to play rather than "start and level 1 and work your way up". If you start young (a lieutenant, for example), you begin with more luck. If you start old (a colonel), you begin with no luck and have to rely on skill. Major discoveries and acts of heroism can earn anyone luck.

Rules for exploration and combat - wilderness exploration rules adapted from an early issue of NOD, combat from old versions of "the original fantasy RPG"

A few set hex encounters (major settlements, mostly) + a BIG set of random exploration tables based on the different environments. That way, every campaign will present a different American interior, complete with what you would expect (Native American settlements, herds of buffalo, droughts and blizzards, new rivers, diseases and mishaps), things our forefathers thought they might discover (Welsh indians, cities of gold, mammoths, a Northwest Passage) and things they never imagined (griffons and storm giants in the Rocky Mountains, bulettes on the Great Plains).

A big list of monsters, including many from Native American folklore and some of the "fearsome critters" of lumberjack folklore. I'll probably also throw in some stats for actual and fictional personalities of the time - Daniel Boone, Natty Bumppo, Johnny Appleseed and Black Hawk, for example.

Settlement rules - what we in the old school would call "domain rules" - establishing forts, attracting settlers, defending the fort from other proto-Empires. Mass combat rules will probably be adapted from Swords and Wizardry to keep them simple.

So, that's the basic idea. An old school RPG that swaps out the mega-dungeon for a mega-wilderness, with enough heft that one could spin it into other directions - maybe a spy mission in New Spain, fighting night hags in Salem or helping in the Free Mason's conspiracy to actually unite the independent states of America into a single nation.