1d8+DB

All ready done for you; it has a bestiary that includes pretty all the most common fantasy creatures, and races.

"Renaissance Deluxe" from Cakebread & Walton. You have your black -powder weapons, your alchemy, and your insanity rules. All you need for adventuring in a world of 'grim and dark peril'.

There was a Savage Worlds setting "The Day After Ragnarok'" that riffed on something like this. Nazi sorcerers summon the Midgard Serpent to earth, to destroy the world rather than see their cause defeated. The Serpent is killed by a US A-bomb. The death of the Serpent, whose corpse, upon falling into the sea, raises sea levels; has all kinds of apocalyptic effects. Diesel-punk Post-Apocalyptic with all kinds of Weird.

Ola Gavron, Polish Partisan and Wild Talent Eldritch Points STR 12 (+20 Enhanced STR) 32 3 DEX 12 INT 9 CON 12 SIZ 15 POW 9 EDU 13 APP 15 SAN 40 HP 13 DB +2d6 Other Talents: Damage Resistance 12 4 Skills: Conceal 22%, Craft : Trap 15%, Dodge 36%, Drive 36%, Fist/Punch 59%, Handgun 34%, Hide 13%, History (Polish) 35%, Listen 40%, Navigate (Galicia) 36%, Own Language: Polish 65%, Language: German 24%, Language: Russian 19%, Rifle 31%, Spot Hidden 31%, and Throw 38%. Went with a character build the emphasized durability over raw strength: perhaps better for facing down squads of Nazi soldiers in the Galician woods! Actual starting builds for 'Achtung! Cthulhu' are only 5 points, so she's little more powerful than most: a definite threat to her country's occupiers.

Thanks. I guess Cap wasn't a good example. There's a gap in comics between those characters who are just slightly superhuman, Captain America (and I guess maybe Batman), and those who can frisbee fling a jeep into orbit (Hulk/Superman). I'm thinking though that a STR between 40 and 55 might be in the range I'm looking. Really, really strong, but still unable to toss tanks around.

So you remember that 'B' movie about the folks who did medieval jousting from motor-cycles?

So I'm thinking of stating a character for 'Elder Godlike'. The idea is a strong, durable hero (heroine), probably equivalent to Captain America. So, using the Basic Lift rules from GURPS I've figured that a character with a STR of 50-60 should be be able to 'power-lift' a jeep. The rules are kinda vague as to what levels of STR do what. Does that sound about right?

Just my brain chewing on the idea of 'Shoggroids'. So the 'robots' individually are only marginally stronger and more durable than humans. But they have a ritual, Communion, by which they can merge, to become protean engines of destruction: true Shoggoths. Only the merging, which is both physical and mental, takes a terrible toll on their sanity, and many are left psychically destroyed by the experience. The more individuals that partake in the Communion, the more powerful the resulting Shoggoth; but the more taxing the process. Certain fanatical, and unscrupulous robots have been trying exotic narcotics in their Communion rites; the idea is that the un-narcotized leader/magus will be able to guide/control the other minds created in the resulting gestalt/organism, resulting in less psychic fragmentation. A side result of this is that the followers of such a leader/magus become psychologically dependent upon the leader/magus.

So, what if Rossum's artificial protoplasm came from those Ur-slaves: the shoggoths.

"Slowly, ever so slowly, I watched the download progress bar creep towards completion. Outside the wind howled, and rain rattled against the window pane.The lights flickered, and my breath caught; yet the download ran on. And then it was done."

I've a PbP (PlaybyPost) game going on in the Paizo forums (https://paizo.com/campaigns/). The title is 'The Armitage Papers'. We could use another player, but I have to warn you, the pacing seems to be an issue for some players.

I have it but I haven't had the opportunity to run a game. It's pretty much 'Pulp Cthulhu' turned up to 11. Note that the rules are both for 6th ed. CoC and Savage Worlds (unless that's changed in in a later edition).

Here's a quick throw-away: take one of these 'men isolated in the wilderness' scenarios. Suppose one of them develops psychic powers; perhaps because of exposure to some Mythos entity or artifact. Or maybe they always had these dormant powers. So now the psychic is slowly loosing his mind, and his powers are manifesting themselves, unconsciously, in a destructive fashion; maybe even manifesting as some inimical creature. "There's something out there." Only it isn't. It inside the cabin with you. Its Herschel, only he doesn't even know it. Ohh. Another idea. Maybe Herschel has dragged the others within him into the Dreamlands. You think you're in the Aleutians, but you're really in the Cold Wastes, and when the weather clears, you'll see Kadath in all its sublime terror.

Another entry in the growing catalog of arctic nightmares, is Dan Simmon's 'The Terror', which is a fictional account of the doomed Franklin expedition of 1845, in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. Besides being trapped in the pack ice, the expedition has to deal with a vengeful supernatural entity: a kind of demonic Inuit ogre. It appears that the OP is aware of its TV incarnation.

I missed where they explicitly deny it in the rules. And it is a good point that you would be digging yourself into a hole as you spent points, lowering the target number. 1d8+db

So would you allow a PC to spend Luck on a failed Luck roll? If you did, would you impose any kind of penalty (double cost to purchase points for instance)? I'm leaning towards not allowing it. It somehow feels awkward.

So supposedly the ToC 'bestiary' 'Hideous Creatures', does include for each creature, a lengthy listing of the forensic signs and evidence that visits from these horrors leave behind.

The Flying Guillotine Yes, its that wondrous Wuxia wonder-weapon, the decapitating Flying Guillotine! The Flying Guillotine looks like a bell-like saucer at the end of a long length of chain. In combat the saucer is thrown in such a way that it alights on the target's head, at which point a kind of hood drops from the saucer, with opposing crescent blades at the bottom of the hood. A tug on the chain causes the blades to close, severing the victims neck. Name Skill Base Damage Special Parry STR/DEX Mal. Enc Flying Flying 0% 3D6+2 * Yes 13/16 98-100 1.0 Guillotine Guillotine HP Hand Attk SR Range Value 10 2H ½ ½ CR STR Priceless *If damage equal or exceeding the victim's Major Wound level is done the victim must must roll < CONx2%; if the roll is failed, the victim has been decapitated, and dies immediately! If the roll is successful, the victim still suffers the bleeding condition, as this weapon has opened major arteries. Note that no Damage Bonus is applied to the weapon, the blades are activated by spring mechanism, independent of the thrower's STR. **Typically this weapon is designed for use against human sized opponents. For SIZ 15-18 opponents the damage drops to 1d6+3. Against larger opponents it does no damage, the girth of the neck is too larger for the blades to close. It might be possible to make 'larger' versions of the weapon, but then the required STR (and ENC) to wield the weapon would increase as well. ***All Damage done by this weapon is applied to the Head, if hit locations are used. It might very be possible to fashion a kind of armored collar, or gorget that would offer protection against this particular weapon. So this iteration of this weapon is a little less lethal than the version in the classic Shaw Brother's films. It can can be parried and or dodged, as any thrown weapon. It is possible to even survive a successful attack, but even so it does horrendous damage, with a Bleeding complication. A Called attack to use the weapon is not required, as every attack is a effectively a Called Attack; hence the high required DEX. It is slow, as the chain has to be 'reeled' back in between attacks. The manufacture of these very specialized weapons is typically a carefully guarded secret of assassin cadres and murder-cults. Only the very elite and highly-trained top tier members of such groups would have access to such deadly tools.

Going the 'cosmic superhero' (Guardians of the Galaxy/Green Lantern) route would be an option, and any superhero RPG would work for that purpose. All the powers would be the result of high tech gadgets, alien physiology, or esoteric mental disciplines.

Have you read any of Vaughan and Staple's comic, 'Saga'? It's an epic space-fantasy cranked up to 11. As far as a rule-set, perhaps 'Fate'? 'HeroQuest'?

May you need to drill down a little bit? What is the initial world setting going to be?

I was pleasantly surprised to see this topic come up, because I was wondering about the economy of charcoal in Glorantha myself. Considering that you would either have to have access to a 'sterile' Aldryami-free forest (which might not even be possible), or risk the wrath of the elves in felling trees, charcoal might be rare or valuable, greatly complicating the work of a smith. There might be wizards, or Lodril initiates, who make their living summoning salamanders to ignite forges. Shaman of fiery spirits like 'Oakfed' might fulfill the same function. Yelmites might have consecrated 'Solar Furnaces', where sacred mirrors concentrate the sun's rays to laser-like intensity (impossible in the real world of course). The Lunars might even a version that uses 'Moon Lenses' to do the same thing. The Mostali probably have some magic that causes metals to melt at room temperature, or otherwise become ductile at a command.

The whole secret identity thing would be especially problematic given modern technology: voice prints, DNA matching, facial analysis; it would be more work than its worth to try and protect a secret identity. Or every 'super' would go 'Iron Man', with a head to toe body armor.

Its sympathetic magic? The range is near infinite, but the ritual requires that the caster have an eyelash from the victim?

More Burrough's inspired creatures. The Mahars A race of pterosaurs that have evolved intelligence and uncanny mental powers. They live in caverns in the walls of a huge, subterranean vault that is home of many fierce beasts and primitive human tribes-people. They are served by a race of cruel troglodytes called Sagoths. They seem to particularly enjoy human flesh. They are deaf, and apparently the race only possesses one sex: all members of the race being females capable of self-fertilizing. They stand a little over a meter tall and with a 3 meter wingspan. STR 2d6+2 (10) CON 2d6+3 (11) SIZ 1d6+3 (5) INT 3d6 (10) POW 4d6+4 (14) DEX 4d6 (14) APP 2d6+6 (10) HP (8) Damage Bonus -1d4 Power Points (14) Move: 6 (a kind shuffle/waddle supported by wings along the ground)/ 16 (flight) Armor: 1 point leathery hide. Weapon: % Damage Special Eviscerating strike from on wing 50+1d10 2d6* They swoop down upon entranced victims and deliver a disemboweling slashing cut with their scythe-like claws. This is an impaling attack, and it ignores the negative damage bonus. Note that because it requires a gliding approach they can only make this attack while air-borne, and only once every 3 rounds, as they have to circle back around each time they do attack. Powers: Telepathy 75+1d10%. Mind Control 60+1d10%. Drawbacks: Deaf. Notes: Based largely on the interpretation of these monsters from the delightfully camp 1976 movie “At The Earth's Core”. I made them a little smaller, so they're better able to navigate the tunnels of the Mahar city. These Mahar's won't be carrying victims aloft, unless they also possess telekinesis as well.