Spes Magna Games

kinetic: (adj.) of, relating to, or resulting from motion

Nota Bene: In keeping with my Old School theme this month, I’ve previously posted material for TSR’s 1st edition Gamma World and Chaosium’s 4th edition Stormbringer. In keeping with that trend, I’ve dusted off TSR’s Marvel Super Heroes for today’s post. If you like this game, check ClassicMarvelForever.

Khalid commands impressive power, both directly in the force of his ability to manipulate kinetic energy, but also through his extensive resources and connections. While much of his past is hidden in a tangle of contradictory stories, maybe none of which is actually true, Khalid is not an unknown quantity. He has amassed a considerable fortune through his business and scientific acumen, and he is well known and respected in international terrorist circles.

Within those circles, Khalid seldom takes a direct hand. Instead, he provides weapons and financial backing, always insulated from direct condemnation by layers of plausible deniability. Everyone knows Khalid is a terrorist, but no one can ever seem to show his involvement in any terrorist activity.

The source of Khalid’s superhuman powers is unknown. He does not seem to be a mutant. Given his intelligence and scientific knowledge, it is most likely he gained his powers through some sort of experiment. Regardless of the source of his powers, Khalid is not be underestimated. He is intelligent, ruthless, and sophisticated.

Khalid
Fighting: Good (10)
Agility: Good (10)
Strength: Typical (6)
Endurance: Excellent (20)
Reason: Remarkable (30)
Intuition: Remarkable (30)
Psyche: Incredible (40)

Health: 46
Karma: 100
Resources: Incredible (40)
Popularity: -20

Talents & Powers: Business/Finance, Engineering, Martial Arts A, Physics

Kinetic Energy Control: Khalid controls kinetic energy with Amazing ability. He has developed several Power Stunts, which are detailed hereafter.

* Kinetic Acceleration: Khalid can increase his speed and reflexes via Kinetic Energy Control. This duplicates Remarkable Lightning Speed.

* Kinetic Blasts: Khalid can fire blast of kinetic energy out to Amazing range, inflicting up to Amazing damage.

* Kinetic Reduction Aura: In a one area radius around Khalid, the force of kinetic energy is reduced. This imposes a -4CS to Fighting, Agility, movement powers, and damage from attacks that rely on kinetic force. Only damage from attacks that rely on kinetic force can be reduced Shift 0. Other affected qualities can be reduced to no lower than Feeble. For every affected target, increase Khalid’s Strength by +1CS (maximum Amazing). Khalid is not affected by his own kinetic reduction aura.

* Kinetic Sense: Khalid can detect sources of kinetic energy within his area. He uses his Kinetic Energy Control rank instead of Intuition for determining surprise, instead of Fighting for blocking, and instead of Agility for dodging, assuming the source of the threat results from kinetic energy.

Tags: A to Z 2014, Marvel Super Heroes, NPCs

jaded: (adj.) tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something

Yeşim Taşı hails from Glædwine, where she grew up in modest circumstances for the first couple of decades of her life. When Yeşim was in her late teens, she scored “moderate potential” on psychic aptitude tests, but was later rejected from academy studies due to a “lack of discipline and moral seriousness”.

Yeşim’s psychic aptitude was not one of “moderate potential”, but instead represents a shift in psychic norms that no test at the time was constructed to properly evaluate. In truth, Yeşim possesses hyper-precognitive abilities, which she has developed and sharpened on her own through trial and error since being rejected by the academy. Yeşim now continuously “sees” several seconds into the future at all times.

In the decade since her academy rejection, Yeşim has experienced a lifetime of adventure. She has been a mercenary, an explorer, a grifter, an entrepreneur, and a smuggler, and she has enjoyed great success in all of these ventures. Indeed, her successes have been so great and so consistent that Yeşim has grown bored with it all.

Only in her early thirties, Yeşim is fabulously wealthy, and she has a list of influential allies nearly as long as her list of sworn enemies. She is restless, eager to answer some new challenge that for at least a while can keep her thrilled, feeling alive.

Due to her hyper-precognition, Yeşim succeeds where most people of similar experience and skill would fail. She “sees” the consequences of her actions before she takes those actions. This has three game effects:

1. Yeşim always rolls twice for any attack roll, skill check, or saving throw, and she takes the better of the two rolls. She is also better able to avoid attacks, even those she may not be aware of. Yeşim has a +4 bonus to Armor Class as a result.

2. Once per hour, she may use the omen precognition psychic power with no power point cost. This permits Yeşim to experience a brief subconscious examination of future possibilities. She must have a relatively straightforward choice before her, perhaps to open a box, swallow a pill, or go into a spaceport bar. Yeşim receives a distinct sense of whether following that course of action will result in physical injury or mental distress within the next ten minutes, according to the GM’s best judgment of likely outcomes.

3. With no power point cost, Yeşim may use the foretelling psychic power. With ten minutes of focused meditation, she can activate this power for an impression of the next important event that is likely to involve her personally within the next week. Brief images and visions of place are usually obtained, usually involving those people and locations most important to the event. If no important event is likely to happen within the next week, the power returns nothing. This ability can be used only once per week or until the foreseen event comes to pass, whichever comes first.

Yesim Tasi
Armor Class: 5 (unarmored)
Hit Dice: 6+6 (21 hit points)
Attack Bonus: +3
Damage: 1d6 laser pistol
Skill Bonus: +3
Saving Throw: 12+
Movement: 30 ft.
Morale: 10

Tags: A to Z 2014, NPCs, Stars Without Number

infernal: (adj.) liable to or deserving condemnation

Savaş hails from an alien world. Once he was something at least very close to human. He had a body of flesh and bone and blood. He loved a woman and the children she bore him. He served proudly as a warrior in the army of his sovereign, fighting with honor and ferocity to protect his people and their interests. Then came the demons from the stars, who disguised themselves as men and murdered warriors, stealing and imprisoning their brains within infernal machines of almost limitless destructive power.

This is how Savaş became an inhuman, infernal machine, designed and used by the demons in their endless wars against their enemies spread across thousands of worlds. After centuries of bloodshed, Savaş managed to overcome the demons’ control. His mind, so long unmoored from his body, grew strong enough to make a decision.

And so Savaş deserted the demons’ war, stealing a transport capable of voyaging between stars. When he found a distant world untouched by the demons or their enemies, Savaş abandoned the transport, crashing it into the arctic, nearly airless heights of an ice-capped mountain range. Everything and everyone Savaş loved is gone and turned to dust. He bears the guilt of one forced by amoral masters to slay thousands of sentient creatures in bloody conflicts in wars fought on countless worlds for centuries. Still, perhaps at long last, Savaş would know peace and independence.

And even the gods might have trouble preserving those who would dare come between Savaş and those goals.

Savaş is a death machine from TSR’s first edition of Gamma World, modified slightly and adapted for Swords & Wizardry. He is a ridiculously powerful NPC, able to single-handedly wreak destruction on an enormous scale. As a machine, Savaş doesn’t require food, water, air, sleep, et cetera. He is immune to poison and disease. Savaş is 20 yards long, 9 yards wide, and 4 yards high. He weighs a bunch of tons, and he is powered by a fusion reactor.

Savaş
Hit Dice: 167 (750 hit points)
Armor Class: 1 [18]
Attack: up to 6 weapons +15 (damage varies, see below)
Special: Advanced weaponry, anti-gravity pods, energy screens, sensors, telepathy
Move: up to 90 miles per hour (flying)
Saving Throw: 3
Alignment: Neutrality
Number Encountered: Unique
Challenge Level/XP: 155/49,400

Advanced Weaponry: Includes the following weapons. A single battery is treated like one weapon.

* 2 Blaster Cannons: 10d10 points of damage out to 750 yards, 7d10 point of damage out to 1500 yards, or 5d10 points of damage out to 3000 yards. A cannon takes 4 rounds to recharge after being fired.
* 6 Black Ray Cannons: Instant death to a single living target with 300 yards who is not protected by a force field. A single cannon can be fired once every 4 rounds.
* 16 Batteries of 4 Mark VII Blaster Rifles: 32d6 points of damage out to a range of 450 yards. A single battery can be fired once every 5 rounds.
* 4 Trek Guns: Fires a trek bomb that disintegrates everything within a 30-yard radius of the point of impact. The gun has a range of 200 yards. Each gun holds 2d10 bombs.
* 8 Laser Batteries of 5 Guns: 20d6 points of damage out to 750 yards, 15d6 out to 1500 yards, or 10d6 out to 3000 yards. A single battery can be fired once every 5 rounds.
* 6 Mini-Missle Launchers: 1d100 missiles per launcher. A mini-missile has a range of 2 miles. It explodes upon impact, inflicting 10d10 points of damage in a 20-yard radius.
* 1 Fusion Bomb Launcher: 5d10 fusion bombs total. The launcher has a 3000 yard range. A fusion bomb explodes, inflicting 15d10 points to everything in a 50-yard radius.

Anti-Gravity Pods: Permit flight at up to 90 miles per hour.

Energy Screens: Take 400 points of damage at AC 1 [18] before they shutdown. Recover 50 points of capacity per hour when not used.

Sensors: Sight into the infrared and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum to a range of 6 miles. Standard sensors approximate human sight and hearing.

Tags: A to Z 2014, Gamma World, NPCs, Swords & Wizardry

dandy: (adj.) excellent

The Baron Calogero, wealthy effete aristocrat, lives in an elegant chateau, surrounded by the finest luxuries money can buy and waited on by a platoon of the finest servants ever to grace a noble’s household. He is witty and stylish, and invitations to his parties are much sought after by aristocrats and successful merchants. His wife, the Baroness Lamya, possesses stunning beauty and all of the social graces. Nearly everyone admits that few men have life better than Calogero.

Unknown to most, Calogero, a master of disguise and swordsmanship, fights for justice against the forces of chaos under the nom de guerre of the Crimson Rose. Assisted by an elite team of trusted allies, the Crimson Rose engages in daring incursions, striking against those forces that would oppress and tyrannize.

Calogero is one of the most accomplished swordsmen in the land. He fights with a long sword, attacking up to three times per round. Calogero’s attack bonus and the damage he inflicts with his sword depend on how many attacks he makes.

If he makes three attacks in a round, he does so with a -1 penalty to attack rolls, and each attack inflicts 1d4+1 points of damage. If he makes two attacks in a round, his attack rolls are unmodified, and each attack inflicts 1d6+2 points of damage. With a single attack per round, Calogero has a +1 attack roll bonus and inflicts 1d8+3 points of damage.

Due to his enormous skill with a sword, Calogero can divide his attacks between multiple targets, moving as far a 5 feet between attacks. If the damage roll from a successful attack yields the minimum result (2 points with three attacks, 3 points with two attacks, 4 points with a single attack), Calogero not inflicts that damage, but also forces his foe to make a saving throw. If the saving throw fails, Calogero can disarm his foe, knock his foe prone, or leap 10 feet away from his foe (Calogero’s choice).

Due to his enormous wealth, Calogero seldom lacks whatever equipment he needs. He can easily afford the best weapons, armor, horses, et cetera. Among his most prized possessions is his magical quizzing glass.

Baron Calogero
Hit Dice: 5+5
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Attack: up to 3 sword attacks (damage varies)
Special: +2 AC against melee attacks, master swordsman
Move: 12
Saving Throw: 12
Alignment: Law
Number Encountered: Unique
Challenge Level/XP: 7/600

Magical Quizzing Glass: This normal seeming monocle on a stick has two useful magical powers. Once per round, the owner may look through the glass and either use Detect Evil or Detect Invisibility.

Tags: A to Z 2014, NPCs, Swords & Wizardry

Yuan of the Five Venom Fist serves as governor of Tsinghai Province, the remoteness of which grants Yuan greater autonomy than enjoyed by governors closer to the Imperial City. Terror and brutality characterize his rule, but taxes flow to the capital on time, which is the Jade Emperor’s primary concern. Yuan has mastered the Five Venom Fist, an evil martial art that uses dark chi further corrupted by deliberate exposure to the stings of scorpions. Yuan has also had dark gold armor stitched into his very flesh, granting him remarkable resistance to injury.

Dark Gold Armor: In addition to augmenting his Armor Class, Yuan’s dark gold armor enables him to completely avoid damage from any single weapon attack or magic missile spell once per round by making a saving throw. If his dark gold armor is somehow negated or removed, Yuan’s Armor Class drops to 1 [18].

Five Venom Fist: Any hand strike made by Yuan can be empowered by dark chi. A Five Venom Fist strike inflicts only 1d8+4 points of damage, but the target must make a saving throw. Failure means dark chi enters his body, causing terrible lesions and pain that inflicts 1d4+2 points of damage for 2d4 rounds.

Thieving Skills: Climb Walls 94%, Delicate Tasks 70%, Hear Sounds 5 in 6, Hide in Shadows 75%, Move Silently 80%, Open Locks 75%

For Swords & Wizardry:

Yuan of the Five Venom Fist
Hit Dice: 10
Armor Class: -3 [22]
Attacks: 2 weaponless attacks (2d8+4), or by weapon (+4 damage)
Saving Throw: 5
Special: dark gold armor, five venom fist, immune to mental control and mind reading, immune to poison, slow falling 40 ft., surprised on a 1 in 6, thieving skills
Move: 21
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 15/2,900

Tags: monsters, NPCs, Swords & Wizardry