Posts Tagged ‘ d20 System ’

Tuesday Terror: Lunar Horrors & Strange Birds

Well, I’ve gone against my better judgment. We ended our Savage Worlds campaign, and I’ve started a d20 Modern/d20 Future campaign that started in the near future of 2069 aboard Space Station Alpha. By the conclusion of the first session, a strange solar event transported the station and all its personnel approximately 250,000,000 years into the future.

During session two, the PCs stepped into leadership roles. The station’s position was stabilized. Plans for food rationing were made. Maintenance drones were repurposed for long-range scouting. One drone found what appeared to be a collection of stone structures on the so-called dark side of the Moon. Another identified two possible areas in a temperate zone on Earth that looked like promising landing sites.

The PCs decided to scout the Moon location first as it was closer to the station. Two NPC pilots took the four PCs on a trip around the Moon. They maneuvered in for a closer look, noting the ramps between buildings, the presence of black-sailed galleons, and, unfortunately for CPO Scharff (Alex’s character), a brief glimpse of one of the monstrous inhabitants (depicted just below).

The players got to add a Sanity score to their character sheets, and Scharff failed the first SAN check of the campaign. LT Mantis (Eric’s character) managed to calm the dangerously panicked Scharff down, and the pilots made a hasty retreat. Back on the station, those in charge decided to not inform station personnel about the moon monsters.

A couple of days later, the PCs loaded up the shuttle with personnel and supplies, and made a landing on the island identified as a possible site via probe. They found fresh water, strange piscean statues, and a collection of ponderous stone structures near the beach. They decided to set up camp near the crater lake above what they take to be an abandoned village. The security detail went off to scout.

In the “village”, the PCs found the strange bird-creature captured via tangle gun by the security detail. They also found three strange statues of smallish size and a sealed clay pot. Scharff found faint tracks of something bipedal but not human leading from the “village” to the surf. The group found a resinous material in the clay pot that chemical analysis showed to be highly psychoactive.

The Bird-Creature
Small Animal
HD: 2d8+2 (11 hp)
Init: +2
Spd: 15 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 30 ft.
Def: 14 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size), touch 13, flat-footed 12
BAB/Grp: +1/-3
Atk: Beak +3 melee (1d4)
Full Atk: Beak +3 melee (1d4) and 2 talons +0 melee (1d4)
FS/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
SQ: Low-light vision
AL: None
SV: Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +2
AP: 0
Rep: +0
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills: Spot +13, Swim +13
Feats: Weapon Finesse (beak, talons)
Environment: Temperate coasts
Organization: Solitary, pair, or flock (3-12)
Advancement: None

This avian creature resembles the albatross in size and coloration, but its feet are both webbed and sport sharp talons. Its beak has serrations and can inflict serious wounds with a sawing-motion bite. The bird-creature has been observed to dive into the sea and swim in pursuit of its prey. It appears to feed exclusively on fish.

November 26th, 2019  in RPG No Comments »

Things I Don’t Miss about the D20 System

1. Attacks of opportunity and the accompanying square/hex counting

2. Character build optimization

3. “That encounter’s CR was too high for our level!”

4. “That’s broken!”

5. “That’s under-powered!”

6. One-hour-long combat rounds

7. Having to hunt through a dozen books to find a single rule

8. Feat chains

9. Spending 12 hours to prep for a 4 hour game session

10. “What kind of action is that? Standard? Move?”

May 19th, 2015  in RPG No Comments »