seneschal

Duke Nukem vs. Eleanor of Acquataine? I'm in!!!

The Hardy Boys did indeed face a mad professor in a strange old house ... The Disappearing Floor (1940).

Write-ups of the Scooby Doo gang have been floating around the web for years. But has anyone taken the next logical step and had the original meddling kids confront the Mythos? Frank and Joe Hardy, curiosity-driven teen-age sons of famous detective Fenton Hardy, began their investigative careers in 1927, right smack in the middle of H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic hauntings. They operated from Bayport, a New England coastal town whose exact location was never established in the book series (the '70s TV show placed it in Massachusetts). They frequently investigated old, abandoned houses, traveling by motorcycle to rural, out-of-the-way locations remote from home, and eventually used their reward money to purchase a speedboat. The original novels (not the revised versions) oozed with pulp energy and atmosphere. Seems that the boys would be ripe for an encounter with Dunwich's denizens or Innsmouth's mutants which chasing down their usual smugglers, counterfeiters, and thieves. What do you all think? Reading the books, being a teenager in the Twenties and Thirties was a very different experience than in the post-Sixties era of rebellion, angst, rock 'n roll, and obsession with sex and electronics. The Hardy boys are 15 and 16, respect and obey their parents, and focus on homework and baseball. Once their household chores and studies are done, however, they have tremendous freedom to roam the countryside with their friends. No fears about kidnapping or molestation by strangers. They each have a girl at school they admire, but all their socialization is done in a group setting; they don't date one-on-one. Crime and illegal drugs exist, but drug use is something weird, nothing that would attract and ensnare a high school kid from a small city. No computers, TV, or pocket radios. The boys spend their time playing sports, hiking in the woods, taking day trips via car or motorcycle, going to parties at a neighbor's home. Their respect for parents doesn't extend to all adult authority figures equally. While the Hardy boys are generally respectful toward adults, they and their friends frequently play tricks with Bayport's patently clueless police officials.

Your approach may be the best. It'd be easier to adjust things for PC Earthlings than for an entire world of NPCs and critters. My Green Martian write-up assumes, based on John Carter's ability to one-punch them, that despite their size, they are no stronger than a 6-foot human. But that would give the 6-foot Red Martians the physiques of RuneQuest Ducks by comparison. My calot write-up, on the other hand, assumes that a calot is not as strong as a terrestrial horse but is stronger than a wolf.

Good info to have. Thanks. Burroughs, however, insists that his Green Martian sharpshooters, using rangefinders and such, can actually hit a target at that range. Given that they are firing explosive projectiles, I suppose that a lobbed volley might do some random damage to a general area, but certainly not with the pinpoint accuracy he describes. Of course, all the battles in the books occur at much closer distances, so perhaps the point is moot.

On the other hand, given its weaker musculature because of Mars' lighter gravity, is the calot too strong? Burroughs described it as big as a pony, and it was strong enough to battle a white "ape," but it probably shouldn't be as strong as a horse given that Barsoomian creatures are weaker for their size than a similarly sized Earth creature would be. What do you all think?

Calot A swift, pony-sized predator with ten legs and frog-like maw crammed with teeth, the calot is kept by the Green Martians as a hunting and guard animal. Despite its natural ferocity, the calot is receptive to telepathic training and is loyal, obedient, and affectionate when domesticated. It will fight to the death to defend its master. STR (3D6+12) 22-23 CON (2D6+6) 13 SIZ (3D6+12) 23 INT 5 POW (3D6) 10-11 DEX (2D6+6) 13 Move: 12 Hit Points: 18 Damage Bonus: +2D6 Armor: 1, muscle and hide Attacks: Bite 40%, 1D10+2D6 Skills: Dodge 35%, Listen 75%, Sense 90%, Spot 60%, Track 50%

Source: Edgar Rice Burroughs, "A Princess of Mars," 1912 Green Martian Warrior What’s mean, olive-green, is 15-feet-tall, sports six limbs, and has long gleaming tusks? Why, a Green Martian warrior, of course! These vicious, insect-like, carnivorous humanoids inhabit the dry ocean beds and ancient abandoned cities of Barsoom by the tens of thousands, organized into nomadic tribes ruled by chieftains who win their positions by slaying the previous leader, either in open combat or by assassination. They lead a piratical existence, preying upon one another as well as the more civilized (and more human) Red Men of Mars. Brutal and remorseless, they laugh only at the suffering of others. They cease fighting only long enough to lay their eggs (hidden in remote incubation chambers to be hatched by the sun) and to later retrieve their young. Newborns are expected to fend for themselves. Green Martians’ bodies are long and rangy; their intermediary limbs can function either as hands or feet and enable them to fight with more than one weapon when necessary. They have huge black eyes with red irises, tiny but mobile trumpet-like ears sticking out of their foreheads, and can smell water from miles away despite their lack of a protruding nose. They wear only heavy golden jewelry and leather harnesses to hold their assorted weapons. A Green Martian warrior is never unarmed, usually carrying a pair of swords and a dagger. When mounted, a warrior is also equipped with a lance twice as long as its wielder is tall and a radium gun. The latter is a long, musket-like firearm captured during battles with the Red Martians. Green Martians don’t manufacture radium guns and radium pistols, but they are crack shots with them. Aside from his weapons, a Green Martian's most prized possession is his riding mount -- a dinosaurian quadruped known as a thoat. Warriors use no reins, controlling their beasts by telepathy so that all their hands are left free to fight with. The only other beast domesticated by the Green Men is the calot, a swift-running ten-legged crocodilian creature that serves them as a hunting dog. They enjoy few luxuries except for silks and furs seized in raids, which they use for bedding material. Females are smaller and lighter in color than males and perform all the manual labor required by the tribe: training the young to fight, making and repairing weapons and harnesses, tanning hides and furs, gathering water and foodstuffs. However, females are fully capable of fighting should the tribe’s encampment be attacked. STR (3D6) 10-11 CON (3D6) 10-11 SIZ (3D6+12) 22-23 INT (2D6+6) 13 POW (3D6) 10-11 DEX (3D6) 10-11 APP (2D6) 7-8 Move: 10 Hits: 17 Damage Bonus: +1D6 Armor: None Attacks: Brawl 50%, 1D4+1D6+1D6; Dagger, Throwing 50%, 1D4+1D3; Grapple 50%, 1D4+1D6; Lance 55%, 1D8+1+1D6; Radium Gun 60%, 3D6/2 meters; Saber 55%, 1D8+1+1D6, Short Sword 555%, 1D6+1+1D6 Skills: Dodge 32%, Hide 25%, Listen 35%, Ride 50%, Spot 35%, Stealth 40%, Throw 50%, Tracking 35% Mutations: Hands (major, two extra limbs, dual-use as arms or legs); Natural Weaponry (minor, tusks, +1D6 to Brawl); Metabolic Improvement (minor, long-lived, 1,000+ years if not killed in fanatical combat, but they’re usually killed in combat); Sensitivity (major, can “smell” water miles away) Psychic Abilities: Telepathy

Yeah, folklore fairies were a pretty capricious lot. Even a "good" fairy might calmly watch you drown in a bog without helping, and a "bad" one would actively mislead you into the bog in the first place. There's a reason frightened farmers and herdsmen paid protection to the "Good People" in groceries and booze.

Since Interplanetary is delayed and the release date for the Disney movie draws nearer and nearer ... Radium Gun The radium gun is a long, musket-like weapon that fires explosive projectiles. Despite its size, the gun is constructed of a relatively lightweight alloy that enables the long-limbed Green Martians to use it as a sort of carbine. Edgar Rice Burroughs claimed the radium gun had an effective range of 200 miles. Since this is equivalent to firing a handgun in Tulsa and hitting a target in Oklahoma City (and Oklahoma is itself a dried-up seabed), the assertion is patently absurd. Burroughs’ claims about the radium gun’s magazine capacity are outrageous as well; an “accurate” write-up would make it a campaign-breaking super-weapon resulting in Total Party Kill for both the player-characters and their foes well before either side could possibly Spot the other. I’ve drawn up more reasonable game stats based upon existing missile weapons in the Big Gold Book. Skill: Rifle Base: 25% Damage: 3D6/2 meters Attacks: 1 Special: Knockback Range: 400 Hands: 2H HP: 10 Parry: No STR/DEX: 7/5 Malfunction: 00 Ammo: 20 Value: Average SIZ/Encumbrance: 3.5 SR: 1/SR

On the other hand, you could dual stat your assorted Prime Ministers here, in both Legend and RuneQuest 6 format, thereby keeping things on topic and getting to eat your cake, too!

I'm of two minds. I agree that the proliferation of Basic Roleplaying variants is good for players and third-party developers; it's not just stuck in the Call of Cthulhu ghetto anymore. The venerable game system will survive in some form or another, whatever Chaosium's fortunes, and a multiplicity of publishers casts a wider net for new fans. That's what we've been clamoring for since this web site began. On the other hand, it is potentially confusing to would-be customers to have multiple current versions of essentially the same game system running around, as threads at RPG.net indicate. Personally, since I already own the Big Gold Book, the BRP Quick-Start Edition, GORE, and a PDF version of Mongoose RuneQuest I, I don't see the benefit of "upgrading" to Legend or RuneQuest 6 or whatever else is in the works. That's not a knock against hard-working developers. It's just a matter of how much BRP/RuneQuest/Legend/OpenQuest/Aeon/GORE/Call of Cthulhu/etc. (pants for breath) goodness is enough, especially since several of these variants are straight rules without a specific setting. It's analogous in some ways to the multiple OD&D retro-clones or the various flavors of Rolemaster.

I can never see the game's new title without thinking of the opening line of Kung Fu Panda: "There once was a LEGENDARY warrior whose LEGEND was LEGENDARY!"

It depends on the setting. In a historical setting, I prefer actual costs. In a post-apocalypse fantasy setting ... maybe more abstract, depending on how important buying and selling is going to be. If the PCs are traveling merchants, actual costs. If equipment is something PCs are going to barter for, inherit, or unearth from the ruins, actual costs are unimportant, especially if money and gear are things they can lose and replace easily (easy come, easy go, as in a sword and sorcery campaign).

In the movie I saw, I'm not sure anyone thought of that. They did try to dig right at the barrier, but following underground tunnels wasn't something they thought of. Of course, it was set in a small, rural town, so everyone probably has individual cesspools instead.

I thought you guys were talking about in-fighting among the Gloranthan cults ....

Ahem! This ... http://labsquad.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/marshwiggle.jpg rather than this ... http://dullumfile.areavoices.com/files/2011/07/4group.jpg Is it just me, or does the quartet look as if they'd escaped from an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series? In any case, Narnia is in dire straights if they make it past The Wood Between the Worlds!

Isn't that part of Gloranthan culture, though? The ducks are an ancient, noble warrior race with a somewhat fatalistic worldview, but these upstart humans have trouble taking them seriously? Except for the militaristic part, the duck concept kinda reminds me of Marsh Wiggles in the Narnia books -- heroic, serious marsh-dwelling beings treated as comic relief. The difference is that Wiggles are quite a bit taller; the average human would have to look up to meet the eyes of the average Marsh Wiggle.

As a Classic Traveller fan who dealt with dog men, lion men, militant space cows, and stranger things, I have no problem at all with RuneQuest ducks. A little goofy at first, but it does make RQ unique, not just another generic fantasy game.

So what we need is a "Legend of Conan Doyle RPG," since Sherlock, Professor Challenger and Co. have presumably long passed into public domain. Plus Doyle's pulp ghost stories are as creepy as anything Lovecraft wrote. Module #21B ...

Ah. A Darth Vader fan, are we? But ... that's another thread.

The Field Guide set the standard for Mythos art back in the day, although technically such tomes should have required each reader to make multiple SAN checks. The lurid full color plates both piqued my interest and made me avoid the game. But the recent focus on monographs kind of shows where Chaosium is at. If they can't afford to hire an editor to double-check spelling and grammar in desirable submissions, they sure aren't going to be able to shell out for gorgeous color plates. What color would you paint The Color Out of Space, anyway?

The Tharkan hordes eager await its publication!

Dean Koontz' 1989 novel Midnight gives a different take on werebeings. A mad scientist is gradually infecting the residents of a small town with what today we'd call nanotechnology. The concoction makes subjects stronger, more durable, able to heal rapidly, etc., but it also erases their ability to experience emotions, although they can still remember their human feelings. In response, transformed community members try to fill the void by various means. A few engage in extreme athletic or sexual activities, trying to spark the sensations they once felt. Some become bestial hunters in much the traditional werewolf mode, except that after a certain number of transformations they get stuck partway through the process -- human enough to be horrified at what they are and regret what they've done but still needing to feed their animalistic urges. Others town residents seek relief by losing themselves online, literally merging with their home computers to become hideous immobile flesh and electronic hybrids. To me, this latter was even more disturbing than the beast-man trope. But you can imagine the former car enthusiast merging with his favorite sports car in an attempt to relive the enjoyment of his hobby. Koontz carried the were-thing to its logical conclusion -- if your super flesh is suddenly malleable to your will, you wouldn't be limited to wolf or cat or other animal form. You might transform into almost anything as long as you thought it would fill the emotional void created by the serum.

Yes, El Chupacabra originated in Puerto Rico in the 1990s but has since spread throughout Latin America. If the campaign is set in the 1920s or '30s, the PCs will never have heard the name ... but that's a good thing. No news reports or urban myths to fall back upon, no expectations of the creature's habits or abilities. Instead of saying, "Oh, El Chupacabra" they should respond "OMG, what is that thing?!" Which is how CoC PCs and players should react to monsters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra