Spes Magna Games

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

Terrors of the Toxic Waste is now live for purchase at this link. If you want Terrors at a discount price of $1, click here instead. Either way, 21 new mutants stand ready for inclusion in your Mutant Future game.

Have you ever played Atomic Sock Monkey‘s Trust & Justice? If you enjoy superhero games, T&J probably has just about everything you’re looking for. It goes out of its way to stay faithful to the genre. Character creation is flexible and flows from the background made by the player. Game play is quick and has a hefty narrative focus. Before you plunk down money for the PDF, check out these freebies. Also, download the free PDQ Sharp!. The PDQ Core Rules form the basis of T&J. Indeed, the first time I played superheroes via an Atomic Sock Monkey product, it was based on the PDQ Core Rules, and a good time was had by all.

Here’s Benjamina Stern, a hero made using T&J:

Background & Origin: Before her transformation into the Strongest Woman in the World, Benjamina Stern was one of fourteen children born to circus performers Philippe and Johanna Stern. In her early years, Benjamina performed with her family. Benjamina’s father would offer one hundred dollars to any man in the audience who could defeat her in wrestling; no one ever succeeded in winning the prize. Benjamina once defeated the famous strongman Eugene Sandow in a weightlifting contest in New York City. Benjamina lifted a weight of 300 pounds over her head, which Sandow only managed to lift to his chest. Other feats of strength for which Benjamina was famous included lifting her husband (who weighed 165 pounds) overhead with one hand, bending steel bars, and resisting the pull of four horses. Now that she can lift more than a score tons, Benjamina serves as the Freakshow Four’s muscle and voice of reason. Like the other FF members, Benjamina gained her remarkable powers after being bombarded by cosmic radiation from the Aurora Borealis while camped just outside Anchorage, Alaska.

Motivation: Protect the weak from those who abuse their strength.

Qualities: Expert [+4] Bold and Brassy, Expert [+4] Professional Strong Woman, Good [+2] Voice of Reason, Poor [-2] Book Learning

Powers: Expert [+4] Super-Strength, Good [+2] Invulnerability

Stunts: Master [+6] “Time for a Whuppin’!” (Super-Strength Spin-Off, 4 Hero Points); Good [+2] Prodigious Leap (Super-Strength Spin-Off, 1 Hero Point)

Hero Point Pool: 5/10

Tags: Mutant Future, NPCs, Spes Magna Products, Truth & Justice

Terrors of the Toxic Waste is ready for its final edit. In next day or two, 21 new mutants hit the virtual streets, ready for inclusion in your Mutant Future game. Huzzah.

Speaking of Mutant Future, permit me to introduce Agnesa and Gleda, sisters and mercenaries. Born in Perisnak, a village set in a rugged hill country and populated largely by Pure Humans, the sisters had what passes for a normal childhood, tending the rabboxen herds and, when old enough, taking their turns with the town guard, watching the passes for bandits and spidergoats. An army of pigmen brought death and ruin to Perisnak shortly after Gleda’s fifteenth birthday. The few survivors fled into the hills, becoming refugees in world that tends to equate stranger with enemy. The destruction of Perisnak and the cruel deaths of most of their friends and family taught Agnesa and Gleda hard lessons. The two vowed to never depend on anyone other than each other, and during the passing years the sisters have forged themselves into tough guerilla fighters.

Agnesa, the elder, is a Pure Human. She is clever and slow to anger. Due to her intelligence, she enjoys a +5% technology roll modifier. Agnesa has the equivalent of a 17 Charisma and a 15 Willpower. Among her possessions are a carbine (1d10 damage), a revolver (1d10 damage), and a sturdy dagger (1d4 damage). Agnesa wears ballistic nylon armor (AC 5).

Agnesa
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120′ (30′)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 14 (77 hit points)
Attacks: 2 (weapon)
Damage: By weapon (+1 damage)
Save: L14
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 2,400

Gleda is a Mutant Human. She is quick and strong, having the equivalent of scores of 16 in Strength and Dexterity. She is equipped much like Agnesa with a carbine (1d10 damage), a revolver (1d10 damage), and a sturdy dagger (1d4 damage). She also wears ballistic nylon armor (AC 5).

Gleda
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120′ (30′)
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 12 (54 hit points)
Attacks: 2 (weapon) (+2 to-hit with missile weapons)
Damage: By weapon (+1 damage)
Save: L12
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 3,600

Mutations: Echolocation, Increased Balance, Know Direction

Tags: Mutant Future, NPCs

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

In theory, this Sunday I’m hosting a dinner and gaming night at my house featuring hillbilly cuisine and an adventure for The Cthulhu Hack entitled The Strange Case of the Bell Witch Bootleggers. The adjacent map is my not-quite-done rendering of the first floor of the bootleggers’ home. If you click on the map, it gets bigger.

I’ve also drafted six characters for the players to choose from. You can take a gander at them by clicking here. Any unchosen characters become NPCs and probably will be among the first to go insane and/or die.

I still have to draw the house’s second floor, a small section of cave, and a map of the terrain around the house. After that, all that’s left is to flesh out some details in the adventure and fix dinner. I’m aiming for stew, maybe rabbit, maybe oxtail, with carrots and potatoes, some moonshine, either some greens or a salad, and dinner rolls. If I get really motivated, I might fix a sweet potato pie for dessert. I’ve not made a sweet potato pie in quite a while.

Of course, life being what it is, it’s starting to look like my gaming plans for the weekend are going to get pre-empted by other stuff. Say, “La vee.”

Tags: Dinner & Gaming, maps, NPCs, The Cthulhu Hack