Spes Magna Games

I recently received by copy of WWII: Operation WhiteBox by Peter C. Spahn. I read most of it last night before bed. Short review: It’s nearly perfect. Do you like the OSR and/or do you like historical roleplaying games? Then go purchase WWII: Operation WhiteBox as soon as possible if not sooner.

Best of all from my perspective is that WWII: Operation WhiteBox is fully compatible with the Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox fantasy RPG. Thus…

Worlds Wars, Too

Portals exist between two worlds torn by war. The mad sorcerer Amon-Gog commands armies of orcs, gargoyles, and giants. The mad ruler Adolf Hitler commands armies of soldiers, planes, and tanks. Both seek to purify their worlds with blood and fire in lunatic quests for imagined utopias. Against these rapacious hordes stand stalwart allies: the United States, the Lorian Confederation, France, Ironspyre, the United Kingdom, the Four Shires, the U.S.S.R., and the Buyan Steppes.

The Heroes

Make up a character using either Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox or WWII: Operation WhiteBox. Your character has a new ability, Link, which represents his connection to his native world. Link starts with a d6 rating.

You Got Your Fantasy in My History!

Magic does not work in the world of WWII: Operation WhiteBox except for in the proximity of a portal or significant relic/artifact. Similarly, no modern technology works in the world of Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox except in the proximity of a portal or significant relic/artifact. That magic wand in France? It’s just a stick. Those grenades in the Lorian Confederation? You can throw them, but they don’t explode.

A few exceptional individuals from both worlds can violate these restrictions, at least for a time. This is why your character has Link. When your character does something that violates the reality of the world he’s in, such as a Fighter using a magic sword in Poland, he must roll Link. When your character uses something that violates his own reality, such as a Combat Engineer using a magic sword in Ironspyre, he must roll Link. On a 1-2, his Link decreases by one die type. His action works regardless.

If your character’s Link decreases to less than a d4, your character has lost his Link. He’s become severed from his reality. He can no longer use forbidden items or abilities to his native world. (Yes, I’ve shamelessly taken the idea of Usage Dice from The Black Hack.)

Order of Dice: d4 < d6 < d8 < d10 < d12 < d16 < d20

Repairing and Improving the Link

When your character gets a chance to rest and recover, his Link repairs by one step (up to its normal die type). When your character reaches 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th levels, his maximum Link increases by one step.

Tags: WWII: OWB

Yesterday, I introduced Benjamina Stern, a member of the Freakshow Four, a super-powered quartet of heroes who travel the highways and byways of the U.S. and Canada in the early 20th century, fighting crime and entertaining people with their remarkable abilities. All four members of the FF gained their powers after being bombarded by cosmic radiation from the Aurora Borealis while camped just outside Anchorage, Alaska. All members of the FF were made using Atomic Sock Monkey’s Trust & Justice. Here’s the rest of the team.

Elizabeth Hermann

Background: Elizabeth Hermann grew up in a close-knit German-American family where she learned to enjoy six meals a day plus substantial snacks during those times between meals. Young Elizabeth developed a prodigious appetite by the time she was six. She preferred playing with candy rather than toys. Her parents soothed Elizabeth’s hurt feelings over teasing by her peers with even more home-cooked food. By the time Elizabeth dropped out of school — in part to escape the teasing of her classmates but also to help contribute financially to her family — she weighed nearly 300 pounds. By her early 20s, she weighed nearly 400 pounds. To help her family, Elizabeth held a variety of jobs. She worked in factories, sold cosmetics, and worked as a manicurist. It was while working in the latter job that Elizabeth met Jacob Moore (see below), who was in town for a show. It was love at first sight. Elizabeth and Jacob were married after just a few weeks, and Elizabeth joined the circus.

Motivation: Serve those she loves and feels responsible for.

Qualities: Expert [+4] Beautiful Contralto, Expert [+4] Firm Resolve, Good [+2] Jill-of-All-Trades, Poor [-2] Grace and Speed

Powers: Good [+2] Siren’s Song, Good [+2] Sonic Beam, Good [+2] Sonic Force Field

Stunts: Good [+2] Auditory Illusions (Sonic Beam Spin-Off, 2 Hero Points); Poor [-2] Flight (Sonic Force Field Spin-Off, 0 Hero Points)

Limitations: Siren’s Song is a form of Mind Control, but it requires that Elizabeth sing and that her targets both hear and understand her. Her Sonic Beam and Sonic Force Field also require that she be able to vocalize.

Hero Point Pool: 5/10

Jacob Moore

Background: Although normal for most of his childhood, Jacob Moore began irreversibly losing weight at age 12 after feeling ill after swimming. The gradual weight loss continued throughout his life despite having a healthy appetite. Always a bright young man, Jacob studied mechanical engineering until his poor health forced him to withdraw from university before completing his studies. After this, he bounced around from job to job, but his illness kept him from holding any job too long. Jacob found steady employment with the circus, where he billed himself as the Original Living Skeleton. Jacob’s poor health required him to constantly take in nutrients. His health was in such a poor state that he often carried milk in a flask around his neck, from which he would sip this from time to time to keep himself conscious. Since the Aurora Borealis event, Jacob’s illness has vanished.

Motivation: To use his wits to solve people’s problems.

Qualities: Expert [+4] Inquisitive Mind, Good [+2] Mechanical Engineering, Good [+2] Love for Elizabeth Hermann, Good [+2] Stage Actor, Poor [-2] Absent-Mindedness

Powers: Expert [+4] Omni-Skeleton, Average [+0] Elastic Skin, Average [+0] Regeneration

Stunts: Jacob’s Omni-Skeleton is a Meta-Power based on his ability to reconfigure, grow, shrink, and otherwise alter his skeletal structure.

Limitations: Treat the +4 of Omni-Skeleton has a pool of points that can be assigned to powers based on skeletal changes. No power can be ranked higher than Good [+2] or lower than Average [+0]. An Average power costs 1 point. It takes Jacob an action or reaction to alter his skeleton.

Hero Point Pool: 5/10

Jeanne Charles

Background: Jeanne Charles was orphaned at the age of 10, and she found herself in the benevolently neglectful care of a home for girls. By the age of 15, she had runaway for the last time, making her way to the coast. Pretty and athletic, Jeanne found work as a dancer in a variety of less-than-reputable establishments, environments that encouraged her to think fast and live faster. She joined the circus first as an apprentice to the lion tamer, but she quickly showed a real talent for working with all manner of animals. Combined with her impressive skill as a dancer, Jeanne became one of the circus’s main attractions.

Motivation: Action and adventure for the common good? Hell yeah!

Qualities: Master [+6] Exotic Dancer, Good [+2] Animal Trainer, Good [+2] Daredevil, Poor [-2] Act Like a Lady

Powers: Expert [+4] Like an Animal, Average [+0] Animal Telepathy, Average [+0] Menagerie of Critters

Stunts: Good [+2] Acrobatics (Exotic Dancer Spin-Off, 0 hero points)

Limitations: Like an Animal is a Meta-Power. Treat the +4 bonus as a pool of points that can be assigned to various animal abilities. An Average power costs 1 point. Jeanne must touch the animal from which she gets the powers. She keeps an animal’s powers for a duration determined by the highest ranked power or until she decides to acquire a new set of abilities.

Miscellany: Menagerie of Critters functions as the Minions power.

Hero Point Pool: 5/10

Tags: NPCs, Truth & Justice

From “Tres Brujas” by The Sword from Warp Riders:

Inhaling deeply of the sacred smoke,
Slipping in between the worlds,
He beheld a living column of light,
And it sang to him without a word.

Three witches you shall meet
Upon the path to your fate.
The first will love you, the second will deceive you,
And the third will show you the way.

Click here to see the video. Read on for an idea about how to use this song for your Dungeon World game.

When you are upon the path to your fate and inhale deeply of the sacred smoke, you slip between the worlds into the realm of the Three Witches. No food or water, however, make the transition with you. This realm, a strange and magical place of rocks and twisted trees and shifting sands, changes every time you enter it. Dangerous creatures stalk the realm, hostile to all visitors. To reach the First Witch, you must travel through hostile territory, but the scout must roll+Wis with -1 forward.

The First Witch always lives in a modest but sturdy house. She appears as a girl in her teens, but her eyes reflect ancient wisdom. She is the most benevolent of the Three Witches. When you meet the First Witch, roll+Cha. On 10+, choose two. On 7-9, choose one. Even on a failure, the First Witch will not seek to harm you, but something in your manner has offended her love for you.

* The First Witch permits you to rest in her home.
* The First Witch provides you with provisions for your journey.
* The First Witch answers one question about what the future holds.

To reach the Second Witch, you again must travel through hostile territory, but both the trailblazer and the scout must roll+Wis with -1 forward. The Second Witch lives within a dark, treacherous cavern. She appears as a woman approaching middle age, and her demeanor is compassionless. When you meet the Second Witch, roll+Cha. On 10+, choose two. On 7-9, choose one.

* The Second Witch does not deceive you about which path to take.
* The Second Witch does not deceive you about what seeks to bar your progress.
* The Second Witch does not deceive you into leaving behind something that you value.

To reach the Third Witch, you must travel through hostile territory one last time, but the quartermaster, the trailblazer, and the scout all must roll+Wis with -1 forward. The Third Witch lives on the shore of a vast, roiling sea. She appears as a woman well into her twilight years, and she is kindly but condescending. When you meet the Third Witch, roll+Cha. On 10+, choose two questions that the Third Witch will answer honestly. On 7-9, choose one question that the Third Witch will answer honestly. On a failure, she refuses to answer of your questions, but will still show you the way to the final obstacle.

* What is about to happen on the way?
* What should I be on the lookout for on the way?
* What is useful or valuable to me on the way?
* What is not what it appears to be on the way?

Tags: Dungeon World, NPCs, place of power

More work has been done on Chance Encounters, a growing collection of new monsters for Swords & Wizardry. Here’s another sample:

At first blush, zymotic ants appear to be a common variety of giant ant, but closer observation shows otherwise. Zymotic ants not only have powerful mandibles, but their abdomens sport sharp stingers. Worker zymotic ants “harvest” living creatures, overwhelming them by sheer numbers and dragging the unconscious and dead back to the hive’s incubation chambers. Therein, the toxic pathogens injected via stinger are cultivated, for these horrible insects feed primarily on the effluvia of illness. The unquestioned ruler of a zymotic ant hive is its huge queen. Bloated and slow, the queen commands the hive via telepathy. Once per day, her telepathic energies act as an Animate Dead spell, summoning 2d6 zombies. One in 20 of these undead monsters cause disease with their attacks.

Hit Dice: 2 (worker), 3 (soldier), or 10 (queen)
Armor Class: 3 [16]
Attack (Damage): Bite (1d6), sting (1d4 + disease)
Move: 18, 15, or 3
Save: 16, 14, or 5
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60 (worker), 4/120 (soldier), or 12/2000 (queen)
Special: Cause disease, immune to disease and poison, queen abilities (Animate Dead and telepathy)

As you’ve seen if you’ve been paying attention, I’ve also been tooling about with new character classes for The Black Hack. I’m thinking of compiling them into a PDF, either for sale or for free (or both via DriveThruRPG’s pay-what-you-want option). One of the aspects of The Black Hack approach to character classes is how easy it is to make a class that fills a specific campaign niche. Say, for example, your campaign features downtrodden goblin anarchists who fight the power….

Goblin Bomb-Lobber
Starting HP: d8 + 4
HP Per Level/Resting: 1d8
Weapons & Armor: Any and All
Attack Damage: 1d8 Bombs / 1d4 All Others

Special Features
A Goblin Bomb-Lobber makes his own bombs, producing several each day from available materials. He has a d4 Bomb Usage die. A bomb may be thrown to affect 1d4 Nearby creatures, each one taking damage from the explosion.

A Goblin Bomb-Lobber rolls with Advantage when working with explosives and chemicals, to include avoiding the effects of things that blow up.

Due to his revolutionary beliefs, a Goblin Bomb-Lobber rolls with Advantage when testing CHA during interactions with radicals, chaotic beings, et cetera. He suffers Disadvantage to the same sorts of tests when dealing with law-abiders.

Leveling Up
Roll to see if attributes increase. Roll twice for DEX and CHA.

Every odd numbered level, step up the Bomb die as well as the number of Nearby creatures a bomb may affect.

Tags: Character Classes, monsters, Spes Magna Products, Swords & Wizardry, The Black Hack

I might be having too much fun with these classes for The Black Hack. Mea culpa.

Jester
Starting HP: d4 + 4
HP Per Level/Resting: 1d4
Weapons & Armor: Any One-Handed Melee and Slings, and Gambeson and Leather
Attack Damage: 1d6 / 1d4 Unarmed or Improvising

Special Features
A Jester rolls with Advantage to determine initiative. He also rolls with Advantage when performing delicate tasks, acrobatics, and jokes.

When making a DEX save to avoid a suitable projectile, a Jester may choose to roll with Disadvantage. If he succeeds, he catches the projectile without harm to himself (assuming this is possible).

Leveling Up
Roll to see if attributes increase. Roll twice for DEX and CHA.

Arcane Spellcasting
A Jester can cast a number of Arcane Spells per day. See the Spellcasting section. A Jester always tests INT with Disadvantage after casting a spell.

Spellbook
A Jester starts with a large spellbook containing 1d3 spells from the Level 1 and 2 Arcane Spell lists. A Jester’s spells never inflict direct damage, involve other planes, or consorting with the undead. Some things just aren’t funny.

Tags: Character Classes, The Black Hack