The Return & The Illusion

I'm finally back on this horse after 7 or 8 years ago being thrown off its back and having landed in the muck of life, disease, and financial disrepair. Also, marriage happened, and that's good. Now that I'm living in the Detroit area and my life has settled down quite a bit, I have found some time to start plucking away at these keys again. I really only expect to use this as a space to develop my own campaign world, even if it is never played. I have no group, and I may not, since a lot of people that play roleplaying games really drive me nuts with a lot of their behaviors. The "nerd culture," so to speak. I hate it. Right or wrong, I am honest about why I stay away from a lot of other folks that play these games.

I do, however, enjoy the fire it sets in my brain when I pick up a new manual and see things that urge me to create new monsters, or new rules, or new lands. I don't think that will ever stop. Recently, it's been Palladium's Rifts, Ninjas & Superspies, Heroes Unlimited, Nightbane, Palladium Fantasy, and my personal favorite, Beyond the Supernatural that have really fired my imagination. I have no idea why these games aren't more widely played. There is a perception out there that the "system isn't good" but that lacks merit if the game works, and it does. It may simply be a difference in modern expectations of game design, much as we've discussed time and time again with old D&D versus new D&D. "Game balance" is an illusion in my eyes, and an illusion that must be met by the GM. The idea across all of Palladium's products is to just change or disallow what you don't like, and use what you do like. Think of it as a toolbox, not something to be played rules-as-written. 

What's happening when someone perceives something as "imbalancing" in a game? Well, something was either introduced into the game at far too different of a power level for the current campaign to sustain its use, or the GM isn't doing his job. That second point often causes the first point to happen. Without going into specifics, let's all agree that the power levels, especially in Rifts, of different OCCs vary wildly. But are they truly "unbalanced?" I don't think so - they may have a very specific niche to fill, but "unbalancing' the game isn't something that occurs from this. The illusion of balance really only depends on what you throw at the PCs. 

Let's go look at the TV show Supernatural, which is my favorite television show of all time. The Winchester boys routinely run into beings that can only be hurt by one thing. If they fail to prepare, they prepare to fail, as the old adage goes. Angels, for instance, were indestructible nukes before the Angel Blade was introduced as a way to kill them in one strike, and you could blast a bunch of them away (for a time) with some magic sigils drawn in blood. With Demons, all the boys could do was tie them down and exorcise them until they acquired Ruby's knife that kills Demons in much the same way as an Angel Blade. And let's not forget that there are some things that only the Colt can kill, including Alphas, certain Knights of Hell, etc. But there are rumored to be seven things it cannot hurt, like Lucifer (and we saw it happen - it simply knocked him down and shut him up for a few seconds).

I see this being much like the difference between MDC and SDC in Rifts. Certain things can only damage other certain things. Otherwise, you could pound on them all day and only wear yourself out or deplete your ammunition. Take the Colt, for instance. If there was an unlimited supply of ammunition, and it hadn't kept being stolen by other entities, the boys would have walked over most of their opposition. However, it was difficult and probably expensive to make more bullets, and they were rarely in charge of the weapon after a while. When something like that exists, every big bad sits up, takes notice, and makes plans.

So why mention Palladium classes? Well, the fact that there's Glitter Boys and folks in regular clothes without MDC weapons potentially running around in the same group. Unbalanced? It doesn't have to be as long as the GM is savvy and actually prepares encounters that consider this fact. Now that's not to say the GM should always cater to the group. There are times when the PCs need a good stomping (or, in this case, possible vaporization) to remind them that they are mortal and that their luck can suddenly run out. But they should have a way out, a way to potentially succeed even if it's a long shot, and consequences that ride on their success and failure. The player of the "regular guy" running around with the player that's running a Glitter Boy? They should also be hunting for things to do in the game that may help their friends - things to do aren't limited by the rules, but by your imagination! Skilled play should be rewarded, and the player that knows this is always thinking outside the box, for a different way to succeed. He knows his SDC weaponry isn't going to hurt the Dragon they just encountered, but he may well be able to participate in the ritual that's needed to weaken it for the big guys to have a chance in taking it down, or steal the thing from the Dragon's treasure that could do it in - big bads love to hoard the crap that can kill them (wouldn't you?) to keep it out of reach of anyone that might thwart their plans. There's a million ways to play, and varying levels of power can be very, very interesting.

I'm sure people have argued this point more eloquently than me in the past, and probably very recently, especially while talking about our beloved Rifts and all the games that are in its orbit. I was simply thinking about it, and decided to write down my thoughts. This is how I would play, and have played in the past. It can be immense amounts of fun, but requires running a tight ship on the GM side.

New Monster: Voorian Mind-demons

Voorian Mind-demons

Hit Dice: 12+12

Armor Class: 17

Attacks: 1 sorcerous blast (4d4 + possible knockdown)

Saving Throw: 3

Special:  Immune to mind-affecting magic, immune to sleep magic, spells, sense presence, knockdown

Movement: 9

CL/XP: 15/2900

Only three such beings exist at any one time in the Necropolis of Voor.  They appear as robed figures with strange features, but unlike most undead, they are highly intelligent and were formerly leaders in their mortal lives.  If one of the mind-demons is slain,  the Necropolis itself will seek out a replacement from the remains within the Necropolis, and the sorcery responsible for the mountain's semi-sentience will animate and empower the appropriate corpse.  This process takes 3d6 days.

In combat, Voorian mind-demons have a few options.  Their main attack is a blast of invisible, sorcerous force that may be conjured at will as a normal attack, at melee range and at missile range up to 30 feet.  If struck, a target must make a saving throw or be knocked prone by the force of the blast, in addition to taking damage.  Mind-demons may also use spells as a 6th-level wizard.

Perhaps the most unsettling of the mind-demons' abilities is their ability to locate intruders in the Necropolis.  They can execute this location with alarming accuracy, to within 300 feet of the interloper.  An intruder is classified as any individual that the Necropolis does not want to permit access.

New Monster: Sapphire Guardian of Kanaan

SAPPHIRE GUARDIAN OF KANAAN

Hit Dice: 5 (30 hp)

Armor Class: 17

Attacks:  1 sapphire longsword (1d12+3)

Saving Throw:  12

Special:  Magic Resistance 75%, immune to fear effects and mind-affecting spells, blue gaze, deadly quickness (+1 to initiative rolls), cannot be disarmed

Movement:  12

Size:  M

Challenge Level/XP:  7/600

The Sapphire Guardians of Kanaan are a group of magical constructs created by the Founders, who settled Mirkania and built the city of Kanaan, and whose actual identities are lost to time.  Fortunately, the secret of the creation of the Sapphire Guardians has been handed down through the priestly caste of the city, and they are created and repaired on a regular basis.  This method is regarded as a holy secret, and people have died to protect it.

The Sapphire Guardians are made completely of a deep blue sapphire, mined from the surrounding land.  They are fashioned to appear in garb typical of Mirkania at the time of their construction.  Some of the oldest Guardians are centuries old, becoming a sort of window to the customs of past eras in the city, and for this reason some are deployed in festivals and in tutoring the noble caste.

As a rule, the Guardians are used as the police force of Kanaan.  Their priestly overseers command them in each and every task, but once commanded they function autonomously.  They can speak to impart knowledge to their commanding priest, but their voices sound as if they submerged in deep water - an eerie sound, to be sure.  Some Sapphire Guardians are promoted and assigned to the command of an entire unit of other Guardians, given the ability to command for themselves by the assigned priest.  Sapphire Guardians who have this ability never misuse it or disobey, for to do so means sure destruction.  Commanding Guardians want to keep "living," programmed to have this desire by the priests.

Every 1d4 rounds, a Sapphire Guardian can emit a blue ray from its eyes, affecting a single target at ranges of up to 30 feet.  If the target fails a saving throw, it is paralyzed for 1d6 minutes.  If destroyed, a Guardian becomes a fine blue powder - beautiful, but of no value.

New Monster: Vampire Raider of Kochab

VAMPIRE RAIDER OF KOCHAB

Hit Dice: 2+6

Armor Class: 15

Attacks:  1 weapon (1d10 + weapon modifier) or bite (1d8 + disease)

Saving Throw:  16

Special:  Necrotic bite, otherworldly presence

Movement:  9

Size:  M

Challenge Level/XP:  4/120

Just southeast of the mountains called The Spear that nestle the sage-city of Taltun lies a ruined city once known by the name of Kochab.  It was part of the Voori empire that had spread over the continent before recorded history.  Its only current inhabitants are what the people of the city of Antioch call the Vampire Raiders, a pale but strong race of people that sustain themselves largely by taking slaves and using them for labor and food.  They are cursed with an unnaturally long life, which is said to be uncountable centuries, dislike (but are not hindered by) sunlight, and prefer to dwell in the places below the surface of their city that they have constructed for themselves (this under-city is rumored to extend below The Throne and perhaps to Taltun itself).

In combat, Vampire Raiders are quite fierce, and will generally use weapons unless they are disarmed.  They have a terrible bite, complete with vampire-like fangs, and a victim of this bite must make a saving throw or face infection with disease.  The Raiders' disease is debilitating and deadly, causing damage on the second day of infection in the amount of 1d6 points of Constitution damage.  This disease will last for 1d6 days, each subsequent day after the first causing this Con damage.  When a victim reaches 0 Con, he dies.  A saving throw can be made each day to end the disease (after Con damage is assessed, of course).

The most deadly aspect of the Vampire Raiders, however, is their otherworldly presence.  Simply being within 60 feet of a Raider forces characters to make a saving throw, with failure indicating that they are fascinated by the creature for 1d4 rounds, or until the fascination is broken in the usual ways.

New Monsters: Jackal Inheritor & Jackal Brood

JACKAL INHERITOR

Hit Dice: 2+4

Armor Class: 13

Attacks:  1 weapon (1d6 + weapon modifier) or bite (1d6)

Saving Throw:  16

Special:  Hideous howling, pack tactics, scavenger's purse

Movement:  9

Size:  M

Challenge Level/XP:  4/120

Jackal inheritors can be found throughout Sebkhedis and the Plains of  Ash in the south of Antediluvia.  They are worshippers of Zuhid, the Dead God of Irem, and are thought to traffick with the denizens of the Plateau of Leng.  Jackal inheritors are humanoid, with the heads of jackals, and are of slight but wiry build.  They are pack hunters of a nomadic bent that consider every other creature prey, plunder, or slave.

When three or more jackal inheritors are encountered, they will begin a terrifying howling when they sight prey.  When a character hears this howling they must save or be panicked for as long as the howling continues or there are less than three jackal inheritors left in combat.  Jackal inheritors are also notorious for working as a pack.  If two or more jackal inheritors are in adjacent positions in combat, they cannot be flanked and gain a +1 to attack.  If characters search the body of a fallen jackal inheritor, who are known scavengers, there will be a 50% chance of finding any mundane item they need upon the body (within reason).

JACKAL BROOD

Hit Dice: 1+1

Armor Class: 12

Attacks:  1 bite (1d6)

Saving Throw:  17

Special:  Hideous howling, swarming fury

Movement:  12

Size:  S

Challenge Level/XP:  3/60

The jackal brood is a supernatural breed of jackals under the exclusive command of the jackal inheritors.  Empowered by the same dark forces, they obey every whim of the jackal inheritors and display a strange intelligence beyond the levels of a normal animal, and can in fact understand speech and complex instructions.  It is rumored that the spirits of demons are bound within their bodies.

When three or more of the jackal brood are encountered, they will begin a terrifying howling when they sight prey.  When a character hears this howling they must save or be panicked for as long as the howling continues or there are less than three jackals left in combat. The jackal brood's members count as jackal inheritors for the purpose of this howling ability, and vice verse, and the two groups often use this ability in tandem.

When six or more of the jackal brood are encountered as a pack, they attack in a mad swarm of fangs and fur, doing 1d8 points of damage and gaining a +1 to saving throws until their number falls below six.

New Monster: Ectoplasmic Interloper

Note that this monster makes heavy use of my Conditions house rules for S&W.

ECTOPLASMIC INTERLOPER

Hit Dice: 6+6

Armor Class: 16

Attacks:  4 pseudopod slams (1d8 + ectoplasm sickness)

Saving Throw:  11

Special:  Immune to open-ended damage, ectoplasm sickness, blindsense 240', insane telepathy, alien mind, entangle, engulf

Movement: 6

Size: L

Challenge Level/XP:  14/2600

Ectoplasmic Interlopers are creatures spawned in another dimension, likely brought to the world of Antediluvia by black magic or long forgotten science.  They appear as formless, ever-shifting blobs of slime, sickly iridescent in color, and almost translucent.

In combat, they lash out with pseudopods that seem to be almost self-guided, especially considering that these beings have no eyes or sensory organs in any standard sense.  They can sense all around them in a 240' radius, even if the area or creatures in the area have been magically silenced or made invisible.  Ectoplasmic interlopers cannot be backstabbed or flanked or knocked down, and are immune to any magic that affects or controls the mind or emotions, including fear effects.  They are also immune to open-ended damage, and damage against them is limited to the result on the initial roll.  Anyone within 240' of an interloper must save or be affected by the alien telepathic powers of the creature, causing the victim to be confused for 1d4 rounds.

If an ectoplasmic interloper hits with a pseudopod, the target must make a saving throw or be affected by ectoplasm sickness, becoming sickened for 1d6 rounds.  A creature can only be sickened in this fashion once per combat.  If a victim is hit by two pseudopods in the same round, he becomes entangled until he makes a successful saving throw, which will release him (however, he may take no other actions in the round he frees himself).  

If the ectoplasmic interloper entangles a character, it may attempt to engulf him.  Ectoplasmic interlopers may engulf size M or smaller targets by drawing entangled creatures into its gelatinous ectoplasmic body.  It can do this the round after it has entangled a target, and characters within the body of the interloper take 1d6 points of damage per round.  A successful saving throw will free the character.

New "Monster": Moon Lord of Nibiru

MOON LORD OF NIBIRU

 

Hit Dice: 1

Armor Class: 10 (or by armor)

Attacks:  1 weapon (1d6 + weapon modifier)

Saving Throw:  17

Special: Vast intellect, immortal

Movement: 9

Size:  M

Challenge Level/XP:  1/15

 

On the dead moon of Nibiru dwells a race that appears similar to humans.  They call themselves the Moon Lords, and dwell in a city of white stone called Ither-Merast.  They are a generally peaceful people, but tales of their valor in battle are widespread amongst the peoples of the Dead Moon.  It is said they once controlled the methods used to construct and operate the moon-gates found on Antediluvia, Negalu, and Nibiru, and numerous tales of the Moon Lords exist in one form or another on all three worlds.

 

Moon Lords have a vast intellect, and they have a 50% chance of knowing and being able to recall any obscure fact that someone seeks, no matter the subject.  This is also due to their lifespan - the Moon Lords are immortal.  They never die of natural causes other than bodily harm, and the oldest Moon Lords have forgotten their age over the passing millennia.