Skills They Didn't Even Know They Had

In preparing for my groups foray into the Weird Adventures in the City, I’ve been thinking about skills. Of course, this isn’t everyone’s old school cup of tea, but particularly in a more technologically advanced setting like this one, I feel like it has its place.

What I don’t want is a complicated system with a lot of different skills to keep track of like GURPS, or even d20, or the like. Instead, I’d like broad abilities that work well with a sort of pulpy not terribly realistic flavor, and won’t bog the GM (myself) or player’s down too much. Most of all, I want them to suggest things the characters can do that enhance role-playing, rather than have players over-concerned with scanning character sheets for what they can or can’t do. In I way, I may be thinking more broadly; maybe abilities is a better descriptor than skills.

I think I’m going to employ Delta's "Target 20" mechanic--not just for combat, but as a central mechanic for skills/abilities, too. Player’s will add the pertinent ability modifier (mostly intelligence) to a role of the d20, and then the GM will apply a modifier based on some determination of difficulty, and the result most be greater than or equal to 20.

This line of though got me thinking about the skills/abilities that character’s have that aren’t (at this point) clearly delineated. Certainly place of origin and social status convey some benefits. The same goes for the "adventuring profession" itself.

Classes would confer skills, too, which would improve with level. Here’s some examples of what I’ve been thinking of:

• Fighters: assess quality of weapons, care of weapons, possibly some tactics, or even strategy
• Clerics: theology, liturgy, performing rituals, church gossip/personalities/history
• Magic-Users: magical history and theory, maybe a bit about magical creatures?
• Thieves: well, thieves already have an array of skills. Maybe these should be moved to a similar mechanic.

I’m not sure that these skills all need to be individually defined. In fact, I’d prefer that they aren’t. Anything that a player can convince the GM that its reasonable for him to know because he’s a cleric, I think he ought to be able to have a chance at--the GM’s job would be to assess a modifier based on not only difficulty, but how much the GM judges the character’s likely to know just based on his profession.

Anyway, all somewhat theoretical at this point.  I’ll give some examples soon that I intend to use in my Weird Adventures campaign.

Vampires and the City

“The face of evil is always the face of total need.”
- William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch

The vampires which haunt the City’s streets and prowl its night-spots are somewhat different from those which might be encountered in other places, other worlds.

First though, the similarities: they are indeed undead, and they must drink the blood of the living to survive. Specifically, the blood of living humans; the blood of other animals will stave off withdrawal, but won’t give them the high they crave, and leaves them in a weakened state. Like vampires elsewhere, they’re nocturnal hunters who can’t stand the light.

Unlike the cloaked, evil masterminds of some fiction (or the immortal brooders of other fiction), the City’s vampires are perhaps best analogized as addicts or junkies. A vampire in need of blood is afflicted by terrible physical and psychological symptoms of withdrawal. Whatever their moral or ethical feelings were in life (or even in their undeath), the need crippling need drives them to harm others.

In the early stages of vampirism (perhaps the first few weeks after they rise), most enjoy the “high” of blood-drinking. Many only take it from semi-willing victims they have seduced, and are often careful not to kill. Some may only need to ingest blood every other week at this stage. Over time, tolerance develops, and the amount of blood needed to hold off withdrawal becomes greater--as does their willingness to do almost anything to get it. Advanced-stage vampires may need to consume blood nightly.

This increased use takes its toll on their body. Nature abhors the vampire, and immune elements in the blood they ingest lead to the the development of sores on their undead skin. Older vampires often loose their hair and muscle mass, and have yellowed nails, teeth, and jaundiced whites of their eyes.

Eventually, they are either killed in their pursuit of blood, or their need develops to the point where they can no longer feed it, and rest throughout the day. At this elder stage, their metabolism seems to shut down. They may spend months, even years, in torpor, only rising for frenzied binges, then sleeping again. Some later stage vampires move to injecting blood rather than drinking it, as it takes less to generate the desired effect.

Vampires of the City possess most of the usual vampire powers when flush with blood, however within 4-5 days for young vampires, and perhaps only as little as a day for older ones, these powers fade to something approximately an undead version of their previous (living) capabilities. These vampires are not affected by holy symbols (unless, interestingly, the vampire was devout in life, and the symbol in question is the one of the vampire’s religion), nor running water. Sunlight does burn them, as does silver. Those with magical sight can see that vampires cast two shadows--one normal, and one which has a hazy appearance and a gauzy texture. In a mirror, the one “normal” shadow visible to everyone, can be seen to move independently of the being casting it.

Not all drained of life by a vampire become one (the chance is perhaps 1 in 4). It is unclear why some develop the curse and others do not. Ghouls can be killed by vampires, but never rise.

There are said to be underground blood-parlors in certain parts of the City--decadent establishments which first appeared in the Old World, where younger vampires and vampire-wannabes gather to feed their mutual habits. There are also rumored to be procurers who find “fresh blood” for vampire clientele for a price.

More Cryptids

FROG MEN
These 3-4 foot tall humanoids have leathery skin, webbed hands and feet, and hairless, wrinkled, frog-like heads. They're typically found around rivers or creeks in wilderness areas, though what they’re doing there is any body's guess. Leaders carry wand like devices that produce sparks, which can probably be used as a weapon. These creatures were sighted in our world on May 25, 1955 at 3AM by an unnamed businessman near a bridge alongside the Miami River in Ohio. Ohio Frog Men: #App.: 3-6; HD: 1, AC 7 [12]; Atk 1 bite (1-4), or weapon; Move 12; Save: 18; Special: wand (1d6 points electrical damage on hit).

MOMO (Missouri Monster)
A anthropoid creature with a large, pumpkin-shaped head, and black fur so shaggy that no facial features can be discerned, beyond perhaps the occasional glimpse of eyes. It has three-toed feet. Like the skunk-ape, momo exudes a nauseating stench. Momo is always hungry and has been known to kill small animals for food, or steal human food Yogi Bear-style. In our world, Momo is sighted in Missouri in wilderness areas along the Mississippi River.
Momo: #App.: 1; HD 3; AC 5[14]; Atk 2 claws (1d4); Move 9; Save 14; Special: stench: save vs. poison or -1 to attacks due to nausea.

Old School RPG Blogger Advancement Table

Humorously inspired by Cyclopeatron's recent post listing old school blogs (with the caveats he provides), here are the level titles associated with each rank and number of followers...

1. Newbie                0
2. Beginner              5
3. Enthusiast           10
4. Commentator      20
5. Thinker              40
6. Maven                80
7. Pundit               160
8. Sage                  320
9. Guru                  640

You'll note that none of Cyclopeatron's listed bloggers have reached 9th level.  This is because the internet is a well-run and strict campaign devoid of Monty Haul-ism.

You know, if that chart doesn't do it for you the list could also be mapped to the Marvel Super-Heroes RPG rankings-- in which case this corner of the blogosphere goes from Feeble (no comment on quality, of course) to Shift Z.

Exterminators

Exterminator in heavy enviromental gear

The exterminators of the City are a special breed, as hard-bitten and courageous as any adventurer. The ones deserving of that appellation are not the day-to-day workers in the private pest control business (though some of them are tough cases, too), but rather the highly trained and perhaps a little crazy men (and few women) working for the Municipal Department of Animal and Pest Control.

Escaped familiars or the occasional wandering monster from out of the wilderness are the sort of calls that will bring out the men of the MDAPC, but their work a day grind is the monitoring and clearing of the various subterranean areas beneath the City. The City was built on swampy land crisscrossed by creeks and streams. These swamps were drained, and many of the waters directed underground through tunnels. Add to these waterways the sewers, steam tunnels, and subway stations that support the modern city--to say nothing of the occasional underground structure built by the Ancients. All these subterranean environments support life.

In the upper levels, one mostly encounter creatures which may have wandered down from the surface, or vermin swarms, or larger than normal specimens of such. Dangerous fungi are not unknown. Here the exterminators must also be careful to respect the ghouls and give them wide berth.

In the mid-levels, or in wetter places, various slimes, oozes, and molds are found. These strange life forms are born of the effluvia of industrial alchemy, the sludge of botched thaumaturgy, or the strangest flourishes of Nature--or possibly all three. Control of these lifeforms requires special preparation and often protective garb.

The lowest levels present the strangest and most eclectic challenges. There are prehistoric holdouts evolved (or devolved) to hideous, blind forms in eternal darkness. There are chimerical creatures produced by the decadent sorceries of the Ancients. There are even extraplanar visitors trapped their for millennia, summoned by prehuman wizards, and held behind eroding wards.

In other words, the brave officers of the MDAPC face most of the challenges faced by your average professional adventurer. The only real difference is, they have a city pension to look forward to instead of a treasure haul. Is it any wonder many give up civil service in favor of putting their skills to use elsewhere?

Warlord Wednesday: Atlantis Dying

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Atlantis Dying"

Warlord (vol. 1) #27 (November 1979)

Written and Pencilled by Mike Grell; Inked by Vince Colletta

Synopsis: Along the Terminator, Deimos returns to his fortress astride a winged reptile. His servitors are surprised to see him alive, and also surprised by his new, more bestial appearance. Deimos explains he is beyond death, but his dark magics fused parts of Tara’s dog's body with his as he regenerated. Deimos pushes his lackey aside with his impatience to consult his crystal ball. In it, he’s sees an image of a primitive man encountering a sabretooth tiger--a primitive that is somehow Travis Morgan.

Morgan realizes he is reliving one of his previous incarnations. He wonders how many lifetimes he lived between this nameless primitive and Travis Morgan. He has little time to consider this question, as the tiger pounces--and kills him.

Morgan next finds himself in the form of Gaius Thelatos, scientist of Atlantis, being honored for his greatest achievement. Thelatos conceived of a way to pump seawater into volcanoes and so generate steam for heat, holding back the Ice Age that grips the world outside. Gaius Thelatos has saved all of Atlantean civilization--at least for a time.

Morgan lives in glorious Atlantis as Thelatos for years, until one faithful day when an earthquake strikes. Thelatos investigates and finds that his invention has ultimately led to cooling and contraction of the lava fields, leaving Atlantis resting atop a thin bubble of rock. And now, the bubble has begun to crack.

The Atlantean council refuses to heed Thelatos’ warning, but King Thorkall does, and sends away a colonial expedition so that their civilization might survive. Thelatos is offered a place on the ships, but declines, feeling himself responsible for what is to happen. And so, in that year Atlantis sinks beneath the waves and another of Morgan’s past lives ends.

Morgan experiences many more incarnations. He is a Nubian gladiator who dies in the arena during the reign of Augustus Caesar. He’s Lancelot du Lac, and the musketeer, D’Artagnan. He’s Jim Bowie, and Crazy Horse. He’s a doughboy who falls at Argonne. Despite the diversity of his lives, he’s almost always a warror.

Finally, he’s again Colonel Travis Morgan being asked to volunteer for a dangerous mission over the Soviet Union. At that moment of decison, he thinks again on everything that flollows after that point: his crash in Skartaris, Tara, Machiste, and the people who looked to him as a leader. He realizes he can’t turn his back on them...

And steps through a portal, back into present, and almost into the path of Chakal’s ray beam. He shoots Chakal’s gun, which only bends its barrel--but its enough. The next time Chakal tries to fire the damaged weapon, it begins to overheat. Before Chakal can do anything, it explodes.

Ashir asks Morgan where he went, but Morgan can’t recall. Wherever it was, its obvious nothing changed in the present, so Ashir admonition about trying to change the past must have been right. Morgan decides his only recourse is to make the best of the future.

Things to Notice:

• Poor Shadow gets his bits ignobly mixed with Deimos.
• We see the "secret origin" of the Atlantean fleet that founded Skartarian civilization, last seen in issue 5.
• Travis Morgan exists in an alternate universe where fictional characters are real as he was both Lancelot and D'Artagnan in previous lives.

Where It Comes From:
Grell's past life exploring story recalls The Star Rover by Jack London, though the emphasis on "warrior" lives perhaps owes more to Robert E. Howard's reincarnation stories staring James Allison.

Atlantis here isn't the undersea kingdom of most comics, but instead an advanced, pseudo-Greco-Roman land of (some) pulp/adventure fiction.  It's also possible Grell took some influence from cinema like Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961), or Hercules and the Captive Women (also 1961).

Morgan's past lives include fictional (and perhaps semi-fictional) characters.  Lancelot first comes to prominence in Chretien de Troyes' Le Chevalier de la Charette ("The Knight of the Cart") in the 12th Century, though his name is first mentioned in Chretien's Erec and Enide.  He's been an important part of the Arthurian mythos ever since. 

D'Artagnan was created by Alexandre Dumas in his novel The Three Musketeers, and appears in the two sequels (Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne).  The character was loosely based on a real person, Charles de Batz-Castlemore, Comte d'Artagnan, by way of a heavily fictionalized biography, Les mémoires de M. d'Artagnan by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras.

Morgan was also a couple of people of relative historical importance.  Jim Bowie (1796-1836) is notable for dying at the Alamo and giving his name to a knife, and Crazy Horse (1840-1877) for being an Oglala Lakota war leader, and possible participant at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

They Came From Inner Space

Spurred by my discussion of ‘80s toylines as gaming inspiration, Scott mentioned the Micronauts as another possibility, and set off a chain of enthusiastic agreement from just about everyone else. For me, the Micronauts of the Marvel comic are what I remember most fondly rather than the Mego toys than spawned it.

The cover to Micronauts # 1 (January 1979) shows the influence of Star Wars as much as the toyline. Particularly note black armored Darth--uh, Baron--Karza menacing the heroes. The similarities don’t end there. There are two droids (Biotron and Microtron), a princess (Marionette), and a hero who taps into an enigmatic, quasi-mystical force (The Enigma Force).

Despite those similarities, Micronauts has a lot of interesting ideas of its own, though the basic set-up is pure space opera: Commander Rann returns from a 1000 year (mostly suspended animation) exploration of molecular-model resembling worlds of the Microverse (a “sub-atomic” universe), to find his old teacher (Karza) has led an insurrection and become dictator of Homeworld. Rann teams up with the overthrown royals, Princess Mari (Marionette of the Farah Fawcett hair), and Acroyear (armored warrior of Spartak), and Bug, insectoid wisecracker.

A simple story, sure, but it's the details that really make it work. Baron Karza’s coup was supported by much of populace because he promised them immortality through the use of his DNA-altering Body Banks, which he also uses to make inhuman soldiers from political enemies. The Acroyear people of Spartak are the obligatory warrior race, and are never seen outside of their cool armor. They've also got slightly oversized mediveal weaponry sorrounded by energy and Kirby dots.  Unlike Darth Vader, Karza has a white armor-clad opposite number in the person of Prince Argon.

Micronauts had 57 issues of its original run. That was followed by a crossover limited series with the X-Men. The final series, Micronauts: The New Voyages, had writer Peter Gillis and artist Kelley Jones taking the team out of their familiar haunts and into unexplored regions of the Microverse. It’s a well written series, though strikes a different chord than the space operatic original, and serves to “finish” the Micronauts story.

So fan of the toys or no, those with an interest in, or looking for inspiration for, classic seventies cinematic space opera, ought to give Micronauts a look.