Spes Magna Games

May is here, which means in a couple of weeks, I’ll have been married twenty-five years to wife Katrina. That’s half my life. How humbling to think that despite my many flaws that one person would stand by me for two-and-a-half decades. To help celebrate this event, all Spes Magna Games products are on-sale this month for 25% off their regular prices.

Elsewhere on the domestic front, the tutoring goes well. Nearer the beginning of April, I had zero clients. Starting a new month, I have three, which I see for eight hours a week. I’ve one school that seems interested in hiring me for the coming school year, and for certain the home-school program administered through Our Lady of Walsingham, my parish, has work for me, albeit in this latter case not enough to pay the bills all by itself.

Speaking of home-schooling, I’ve pitched an idea to the Powers That Be in said program to run a six-week summer course for homeschoolers called “Introduction to Story Games”. I think it’s a wonderful idea that’d give me a chance to not only teach more kids how to RPG, but would also help those kids by reinforcing targeted academic and social skills. If my “Introduction to Story Games” class gets approved, I’m considering using Skill Centric Role Play by David Holmes and Hero Kids by Hero Forge Games. Who knows? Maybe this class could become something like a regular source of income.

On the movie front, I’ve recently watched 1959’s ridiculous Invisible Invaders, starring John Agar, Jean Byron, and at least the voice of John Carradine. Brace yourself as Earth is brought to its knees by highly advanced aliens from the Moon who use their vast technological superiority to possess the bodies of the dead, creating highly radioactive zombies that, while they are slow, can at least walk without dragging their feet through the dirt.

Presenting the Invisible Invader, first for Mutant Future and then for the Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game.

Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90′ (30′)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 1 (weapon)
Damage: weapon
Save: L8
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 1,060

Mutations: Animate Dead, Light-Refracting Force Screen, Sonic Vulnerability

The invisible invader is a highly intelligent (2d4+10 INT and WIL) alien creature that seeks to conquer inferior life forms. It can surround itself with a light-refracting force screen that renders it invisible to sight across the entire electromagnetic spectrum and absorbs 30 points of damage each attack made against it, unless the attack is sound-based. Not only do sound-based attacks ignore the invisible invader’s light-refracting force screen, such attacks also inflict +2 points of damage per die.

As its action for the round, the invisible invader may alter the subliminatory frequency of its physical form and merge with a recently killed creature that is approximately the size of a human. The invisible invader then animates the corpse, which becomes highly radioactive (Class 4 radiation in a 15-foot radius). Due to its imperfect control, the animated dead has its movement reduced by 25%. The invisible invader can use the corpse’s physical abilities, including mutations, but it loses its light-refracting force screen. Damage suffered by the corpse does not affect the invisible invader, unless the damage is sound-based.

In its visible form, the invisible invader resembles a squamous humanoid creature with large hands and feet with three phalanges each.

Primary Abilities: F Ty, A Ty, S Ty, E Gd, R Rm, I Ex, P Rm
Secondary Abilities: Health 28, Karma 80, Resources Rm, Popularity 0
Powers: Animate Dead (Am), Light-Refracting Force Screen (Rm)
Nota Bene: When the invisible invader uses its Animate Dead power on a recently dead creature approximately human in size, the corpse animates under the control of the invisible invader. Use the corpse’s original FASE, but apply -1CS to Fighting and Agility and +1CS to Strength and Endurance. The corpse emits Excellent intensity radiation. The invisible invader retains its own RIP and Karma. In its natural form, the invisible invader’s Light-Refracting Force Screen grants Remarkable levels of Invisibility and Resistance to all forms of damage except those based on sound. Whether possessing a corpse or in its natural form, the invisible invader is vulnerability to sound-based attacks (+1CS damage).

Tags: Marvel Super Heroes, monsters, Mutant Future

Today’s post seems particularly important since the world ended yesterday. So, without further ado, I bring you the giant grasshopper apocalypse.

If you’ve never watched Bert I. Gordon’s delightfully horrible The Beginning of the End, you’re missing out on an American film that aspires to B-movie status. Starring Peter Graves and Peggie Castle, this absurd piece of cinema history features a plucky photojournalist (Castle), a heroic agriculturalist (Graves), and an assortment of bit players doing a poor job of pretending horror in the face of ravenous grasshoppers grown to monstrous proportions after eating radiation-treated giant fruits, vegetables, and grains.

Get it? A radiation-based science project designed to end world hunger creates a swarm of giant locusts that threaten to devour the world’s food supply? Ooh. Irony.

If you’re brave enough, here’s the trailer. After the pic below, you’ll find giant grasshoppers for two game systems.

Presenting the Megalocust, first for Mutant Future and then for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120′ (40′)
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 12
Attacks: 1 (bite or trample)
Damage: 3d6 or 6d6
Save: L5
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: None
XP: 3,800

Mutations: Poison Resistance, Reflective Epidermis (radiation), Sonic Suspectibility

The megalocust is a flightless grasshopper the size of a school bus. It has a voracious appetite, and it does not distinguish between animal or vegetable matter. In close combat, it attacks with a powerful bite (1-2) or tramples its target (4-6). The megalocust has a +4 to its attack roll when attempting to trample a foe that is smaller or approximately equal to the size of a horse. This mutant is immune to the effects of radiation. It suffers only half damage from poison, or no damage at all with a successful saving throw. The megalocust is vulnerable to sonic attacks and effects. It takes +1 point of damage per die from sonic attacks that cause damage. Against other effects, it suffers a -4 penalty to its saving throws.

What makes the megalocust most dangerous is that it maybe encountered as part of a swarm (25%) rather than a solitary creature (75%). A swarm contains 5d10+50 megalocusts.

Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1-4 (75%) or 55-100 (25%)
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12″
Hit Dice: 12
% in Lair: Nil
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 3-18
Special Attacks: Trample
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Animal
Alignment: Neutral
Size: L (about 40 feet long)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/X.P. Value: VII/2,700+16/hp

The megalocust is an enormous, ravenous insect most often encountered alone or in small numbers. Some of the time, however, megalocusts breed in prodigious numbers and form a swarm. In combat, the megalocust attacks with a powerful bite, but most of the time smaller creatures simply will be trampled for 6-36 points of damage. The megalocust is immune to electricity and poison. It suffers double damage from sound-based attacks (where applicable), and has a -4 penalty to its saving throws against such effects.

Tags: AD&D, monsters, Mutant Future

Yesterday, I watched Monster From a Prehistoric Planet via Amazon Prime. This one is boilerplate giant monster movie, complete with two distraught parent monsters on a destructive quest to retrieve their stolen offspring. The dubbing is pretty bad. The movie is preachy, maudlin, and sexist. Of course, the various toys and firecrackers deployed against the gappa fail to do anything other than make noise, smoke, and start fires. In other words, the movie is silly fun that took me back to the days of UHF and Saturday creature feature movies.

When writing up the gappa for Mutant Future, the scale of the monster presents some challenges. Most weapons are useless against the gappa. These beasts are more like natural disasters. To help me with the stats, I pulled my AD&D Oriental Adventures off the shelf to re-read the Gargantua monster entries.

Gappa
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120′ (40′), Fly: 480′ (160′), Swim: 180′ (60′)
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 25
Attacks: 2 (stomp/stomp) or 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage: 5d10/5d10 or 3d10/3d10/6d10
Save: L25
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: None
XP: 10,000

Mutations: None.

The gappa appears as an enormous bipedal creature combining the features of reptiles and birds with a distinctive humanoid body shape. It can hold its breath for hours. An adult gappa stands nearly 100 feet tall and weighs in excess of 125 tons. Its thick hide is nearly impervious to harm. Primitive firearms, primitive melee weapons, and advanced melee weapons cannot damage the gappa. Other advanced personal weapons (pistols, rifles, and grenades) inflict one-half minimum damage (drop fractions). For example, a plasma rifle inflicts but 4 points of damage to a gappa with a successful attack. Nothing as weak as a stun baton or stun pistol could ever stun a gappa. A plasma grenade inflicts 6d6 points of damage to a gappa, and bombs and missiles inflict one-half normal damage. If wounded, a gappa regenerates 10 hit points per round.

Against targets on the ground, the gappa attacks by stomping its enormous feet. Each stomp affects a 15-foot radius, but the two radii cannot be more than 50 feet apart. Make a melee attack against each creature in the area. Success inflicts 5d10 points of damage; a failed attack inflicts half damage. Instead of stomping, the gappa may sweep its tail, affecting a 90-foot wide, 90-foot long cone. Each creature in the path of the tail must make a death save or suffer 8d10 points of damage. Against airborne or suitably large creatures, the gappa attacks with its claws and beak-like maw.

Each round of combat, there is a 1 in 6 chance that the gappa forgoes all melee attacks in favor of its fiery breath weapon that affects a 10-foot wide path along a 200-foot length. Against targets on the ground, this path need not be a straight line, but may sweep an area, making one 45-degree change of direction every 40 feet. The gappa’s breath inflicts 100 points of damage to everything caught in its path. Living creatures must also make a save versus radiation or suffer the effects of class 10 radiation. The gappa is immune to fire and radiation.

Tags: monsters, Mutant Future

Well, it’s been a week and a half since I resigned from my teaching position. In that time, I’ve not had a single migraine, which is a great improvement from the almost daily pain. My blood pressure has also improved, and the tinnitus in my right ear is all but gone. My tutoring services have born fruit. I tutor an hour every day Monday through Friday, I’ve had another contact, and I have a meeting Friday with director of a home-schooling co-op about offering my expertise to families during the summer.

Best of all, I’m able to do stuff at home other than get home late and then fall asleep by 2000. For example, all by 0930, I dropped my son Christopher off at university, went to the grocery store, and played my wife Katrina in Words With Friends. Later today? I’m going to get some writing done.

Earlier this week, I watched Killer Mermaid via Amazon Prime. It’s kind of fun, mashing together a serial killer, a monster, and some beautiful locations. Of course, this also means I have to stat up the killer mermaid, once again using Mutant Future.

Killer Mermaid
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 30′ (10′); Swim: 120′ (40′)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite) or 1 (tail)
Damage: 1d4/1d4/1d6 or 4d4
Save: L4
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 300

Mutations: Echolocation, Increased Smell, Metamorph, Siren Song

Killer mermaids are Mutant Human females adapted to life underwater, but capable of breathing air as well. Killer mermaids have two forms: a monstrous one (shown in the picture above), and a secondary form in which they appear as beautiful women with the tails of fish. In this latter form, killer mermaids can only attack with their tails, which inflict 1d6 points of damage due to the lack of barbs and spikes. It takes a killer mermaid two full rounds of inactivity to change form. In either form, killer mermaids gather information about their surroundings via natural sonar to a range of 90 feet. Due to their sonar, killer mermaids receive a +2 to hit in combat. Killer mermaids also have an exceptional sense of smell, able to pick out and identify scents out to 180 feet. Creatures downwind or downstream can never surprise a killer mermaids.

In their beautiful woman form, killer mermaids may emit a hypnotic, ethereal song that affects a designated Mutant Human and Pure Human male within 180 feet. Roll 2d6+7 to determine a killer mermaid’s WIL. The killer mermaid makes a mental test against its target. Success renders the target incapable of violent action and with an irresistible desire to to embrace the killer mermaid. The effects last only until the start of the killer mermaid’s next turn, but the killer mermaid may re-target the victim each round it remains within range.

Killer mermaids speak their own language.

Tags: monsters, Mutant Future

A week ago, I resigned from my teaching position. Starting tomorrow, I go from unemployed to semi-employed. I’ve started offering my services as a private tutor. You can read about me here.

Also, during my abundant spare time last week, I released Narvon’s Sinister Stair and The Bishop’s Secret, two short adventures for Swords & Wizardry and Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox, respectively.

I also watched The Creeping Terror, one of the worst movies ever made, which explains what follows for use with Mutant Future.

Nearly 20 feet long, covered in both fur and some sort of chitin, multiple eyestalks bobbing about as it shuffled forward, emitting the most terrible noises, the creeping terror advanced through the hail of bullets and arrows, seemingly unconcerned about the damage it suffered.

Creeping Terror
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60′ (20′)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 10
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 3d8
Save: L5
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
XP: 2,400

Mutations: Alien Physiogomy, Digestive Analysis, Sonic Paralysis

Some alien civilization engineered creeping terrors as a means of testing the native fauna of distant worlds, perhaps to see if those worlds would be suitable for colonization. Due to their extraterrestrial origin and Alien Physiogomy, creeping terrors can withstand incredible punishment. They take half damage from physical attacks, and they are immune to poison and radiation. Creeping terrors move slowly, dragging themselves forward with two blunt feet and undulating their lengthy torsos in a series of motile contractions.

When they sense prey, creeping terrors emit a cacophony of shrieks and howls. Living creatures within 30 yards of the creeping terror must attempt a Stun Attacks saving throw. Failure induces sonic paralysis for 2d4 turns. Affected creatures stand motionless, perhaps screaming and gaping in fear, but otherwise unable to act. Creeping terrors attack with a powerful bite. On an attack roll of 19 or 20, the target is swallowed whole, and takes 3d8 points of damage per turn from the creeping terrors powerful digestive enzymes (see page 58, Mutant Future, for more details about paralysis and swallow attacks).

Within the digestive tract, creeping terrors have a variety of alien technological artifacts that analyze creatures swallowed whole. Powerful transmitters send collected data into space, presumably to be collated and studied by whatever alien creatures create creeping terrors.

Tags: monsters, Mutant Future, Spes Magna Products