Spes Magna Games

I’ve uploaded an edited version of The Four Color Hack after making changes in response to playtesting and feedback. Here’s a list of the changes:

1. All Stats start at 9. They can be increased during hero creation as before.

2. Body and Spirit starting values are reduced.

3. Base protection starting values have changed. Base protection now works like Armor Points.

4. Odds/evens only matter with failures.

5. Idioms affect outcomes differently.

6. Hero Dice recovery has been clarified.

7. Body and Spirit increases with leveling have been modified.

8. Villain creation has been overhauled, to include adjusting the values found on Table 8: Villain Creation.

I hope the game plays better with these changes.

Tags: TFCH

…I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength. (Isaiah 49:5)

Certain Lawful Clerics do not “turn” undead monsters. Instead, these Clerics call for divine assistance in direct combat with the undead. Such a Cleric’s player rolls 2d10 and refers to the table for turning the undead as normal, but the results of success differ as follows:

* If the number on the dice is equal to or greater than the number shown on the table, the Cleric gains for 3d6 rounds a +1 “to-hit” bonus and a damage bonus equal to the half Cleric’s level (round up) when fighting affected undead.

* If the table indicates “T”, the Cleric gains for 3d6 rounds a +1 “to hit” bonus and a damage bonus equal to the Cleric’s level when fighting the affected undead. Furthermore, the Cleric makes one attack per level each round against the affected undead.

* If the table indicates “D”, the Cleric gains for 3d6 rounds a +1 “to hit” against the affected undead. Any hit automatically destroys the undead monster, reducing it to dust. Furthermore, the Cleric makes one attack per level each round against the affected undead.

Tags: Catholic, Swords & Wizardry, undead

Well, the holiday season has ended. My two or so weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s proved productive. I ran a Twelve Days of Christmas sale for select titles. I offered a bundle full of monsters for the OSR. I made a meat pie out of a hobbit. I wrote a few supernatural-influenced classes for WWII: Operation WhiteBox and posted those links on G+ and other Internet places. I started work on Heroes of Mirelyn’s Skyrealm, a White Box fantasy campaign that hope kicks off this coming Sunday. I started converting Chance Encounters for use with Dungeon World. I released The Four Color Hack, a playtest set of rules for superheroic roleplaying. I’m gearing up to produce the second iteration of those rules in response to feedback from players and readers.

I launched Dangerous Places, my Patreon site. For $1, you get about one short scenario a month, formatted into a printer-friendly PDF complete with hand-drawn maps. I’ll post the PDF link via patron-only message. I’ll post the maps without the scenarios separately for the public. My first few maps have been posted. So too has Narvon’s Stair, a low-level adventure for Swords & Wizardry, which is available to everyone, Patron or otherwise.

Now I’m working on Goshahri: The City in a Cave, which should be ready by the end of January. Goshahri outlines the city in a cave, the domain of a ruthless bandit king. The city and many of its denizens are described in broader strokes. The strokes get finer in Jail Break!, the mini-adventure included as part of Goshahri. The table at the right provides some random hook ideas to get adventurers involved. I plan to revisit the city in a cave at least a few more times in coming months, detailing certain sections and providing more short adventures set in the bandit king’s domain.

If you’ve not already done so, check out Narvon’s Stair. If you like it, consider becoming one my patrons. It’s risk free. I produce nothing? You pay nothing. Drop me from your patronage whenever you want.

Huzzah.

Tags: Dangerous Places, Narvon's Stair, TFCH, The City in a Cave

The Monstrous Holiday Bundle remains on sale for $6. It collects 8 PDFs, most of them focused on Old School gaming. Starting on Christmas Day, Spes Magna Games celebrates the Twelve Days of Christmas by changing the price for a different PDF each day from its normal value to the pay-what-you-want option on DriveThruRPG. All of these deals vanish after the Twelve Days of Christmas end on January 5, 2017.

So, my soon-to-be-released-in-playtest-format superhero RPG The Four Color Hack is almost ready for DriveThruRPG. As part of the section on villains, I include stats for agents of H.U.R.T., but I have no idea what H.U.R.T. stands for. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Also, let’s take a look at the rules for creating villains and mobs.

Each Issue features certain villains, mobs, and non-heroes. In all three instances, the rules for hero creation do not apply. Those rules exist for the Writers to create their heroes. As the Editor, you have more freedom.

Villains: Every villain has a level, which ranges from 1 to 10. The villain’s level determines his base damage, damage points, and Hero Dice equivalent for powers and abilities.

Base damage shows what to roll when the villain makes a successful attack. You’ll need to define that this attack looks like. Damage points are divided between Body and Spirit in whatever ratio seems appropriate for the villain. Also, the villain has base protection points equal to his level. These base protection points are divided between Body and Spirit as deemed acceptable. The Hero Dice equivalent column shows you the strength of the villain’s powers and abilities. Average the Villain Level column to approximate the villain’s actual level if you mix and match values from the chart.

For example, let’s consider Brutacles, who is something of a novice villain, but he’s not a complete novice. He is level two for base damage and damage points. He derives his powers from mutagenic steroids, which has a d8 value, and he wears protective armor and fights with a ball-and-chain.

Brutacles (Level 2 Villain)
Body: 66 (2 protection)
Spirit: 20 (0 protection)
Base Damage: d4
Powers: Ball-and-Chain d6 (1d4+1d6+1d8 damage), Brutal Armor d6 (4 protection), Mutagenic Steroids d8

Sadistic and violent, Brutacles fights with a Ball-and-Chain aided by muscles enhanced with Mutagenic Steroids. He is physically tough (6 points of protection for Body), but his mental and spiritual defenses are quite lacking. Brutacles is strong enough to lift about 2,400 pounds.

Mobs: Not all threats rise to the level of villain, but that doesn’t mean they can be ignored. Mobs represent a middle ground between villains and non-heroes. Most heroes won’t have too much trouble dealing with mobs, but these bad guys can still serve to slow down, confuse, and harrass heroes. All mobs have d3 base damage, 80 damage points, and at most a d4 Hero Die equivalent. They have one point of base protection at most, and some item of equipment usually explains this defense. Each mob represents either a large group (9-12 individuals) or small group (2-5 individuals). Divide the mob’s damage points as evenly as possible among the individuals.

When a mob (or part of a mob) targets a hero, don’t expect a roll to defend against each member of the mob. A single roll suffices, but increase the mob’s damage by +1 for each member after the first. For example, a mob of ten H.U.R.T. agents lay down a barrage of blaster fire at Diesel. Diesel’s player rolls 1d20 to defend, and fails. Diesel suffers 1d3+1d4+9 points of damage from the combined assault, which is probably enough to inflict a small amount of Body damage to the metal-skinned hero.

Agents of H.U.R.T. (Mob of 10)
Body: 50 (5 per agent)
Spirit: 30 (3 per agent)
Base Damage: d3
Equipment: Body Armor (1 protection)
Powers: Anti-Hero Weaponry d4

The agents of H.U.R.T. are trained, paramilitary operatives. Individually, they present little threat to heroes, but they operate in squads and are typically armed with high-powered blasters or other anti-hero weaponry.

Tags: Spes Magna Products, TFCH