The Settings and Characters Game

[TheMetal1]

Weird West.

The setting is Tex-Mex border around 1845. Mexican Troops and Texas Troops are stationed nearby with on-going border skirmishes. Both Commanders Colonel Verde Juareista with the 1st (El Primero) Battalion de Dragoons (Heavy Calvary) (Motto: Primero!) and Colonel Daniel Smith with the 3rd Battalion, 10th Calvary (Light Calvary) (Motto: Hold the Line!) are strong commanders and itching for a war. There are five small towns (two mexican and three texan) but hold no real loyalty to either mexico or texas. There are two forts as well (one mexican and one texan) heavily armed with artillery, and well supplied. The area itself is fertile, full of trees, farms, and large hills along the Rio Grande and one heavily guarded bridge... that is there was one bridge now there is none. It has been literally ripped apart along with both Mexican and Texan soldiers torn apart, strewn around and half eaten. This is due to the arrival a troll, rising up from an underground cavern, along with other beasties. This cavern was unearthed by mining prospectors from Massachusetts whose fate remains unknown and lies near the river settled in one of the hills at the bottom of the mine. The Trolls are claiming the area, while fantasical beasties are unleashed upon the rest of the area. Native Americans in area claim it is the sign of the end, and say their magic is working against the beasts, along with their copper weapons. The villages and outlying farms are under siege and both armies blame each other for violent raids. It is in this setting that the Characters arrive...

Characters are wide open to your interpreation - other than one of the Beasties you can play pretty much anyone you can think of from 1845, magic works - wierdly, as do prayers and of course so does cold steal and hot lead.

[Lord Z]

Re: Weird West

I thought this setting description was great stuff, Rob. I shared it with my girlfriend, and she liked it too. It has just enough and just the right detail to make it vibrant and dynamic without being overwhelming. I intend to copy this setting for the other Settings and Characters game thread at the Nexus Nine forums.

My character choices, however, are a little daunting. The field is very wide open. I think I would try to play Pecos Bill, the American folklore figure. He's a lot similar to my Ultraterrestrial character for the historical superhero game, but what the heck. I would avoid the more extreme Pecos Bill characteristics like riding tornadoes. I would instead focus on Bill's role as a scholar and inventor. Pecos Bill taught the cowboys how to herd cattle. He also invented the six-shooter and the coyboy movie. Bill has come to the Tex-Mex because he is curious. He wants to capture and study some of the newly discovered species of varmits.

[Lord Z]

Yeah, I've sort of taken over this thread. Deal with it.

Armagedon 1000 AD by Kenneth Hite

In the Year of Our Lord 1000, Christian Europe is on the brink of collapse. Things have been going wrong for quite some time, but recently it has become clear that the Lord has turned his back on this world. Werewolf raiders are attacking from the northern sea and growing more bold with each success. From the south, serpent men close in, dominating most of Spain and Italy with their sorcery and mercenary armies. From the east, orc hordes overrun kingdoms two or three at a time with overwhelming numbers and heyena-riding calvary. There are other Christian nations far behind enemy lines, including the mystical Koptics and the empire of Prestor John, but the Europeans don't know about them. The Pope predicts that the world will end in 1033, the millennial anniversary of Christ's betrayal.

The setting is based upon the actual historical situation in Europe. The Werewolves were Vikings. The Serpent Men were Moors. The Orcs were various barbarian tribes like the Magyar. In real history, the only thing which saved Christian Europe was fragmentation and internal fortification.

All hope is not lost; Emperor Charlemange has a plan. He theorizes that it isn't that the Lord has abandoned Christianity so much as he is forcing a change, a new start in a new place. France is constructed a great exploration fleet to travel across the ocean into unknown lands beyond, a New World. Nostrodomus says it's there beyond the ocean. Even Cathedrals are being torn down for ship building lumber. No matter the size of his exodus, he can't save everyone and everything. Charlemage appoints a select few of his most trusted friends and knights to rescue a saving remnent. If you could save only one thing or one person to bring to the New World with you, what would it be?

The game system is either Palladium Fantasy 2nd edition or AD&D 2nd edition since they are basically the same thing. PCs are to be humans (or half-humans if you are making a D&D character). We start at first level, but leaps in time over the next 33 years will allow for accelerated growth to quickly reach probably 10th level. If we follow these characters to a New World, maybe even 15th level. Everyone gets minor psionics unless playing a specific psychic class. Clerics & priests may pick specific saints as their patrons if they like.

Chose a name, class, and saving remnant -- what item or person your character is attempting to save.

[Iconoclast_]

Weird West.

The setting is Tex-Mex border around 1845. Mexican Troops and Texas Troops are stationed nearby with on-going border skirmishes.

Characters are wide open to your interpreation - other than one of the Beasties you can play pretty much anyone you can think of from 1845, magic works - wierdly, as do prayers and of course so does cold steal and hot lead.

Cowboys and Conjurers?

Sounds like a setting I was working on many years back. Only I had a war between the Dwarves and the Elves that devastated both races. The dwarves took up christianity and ended up joining with the humans (just before the fall of Rome) while the Elves needed to bolster their dwindling race and abducted humans for interbreeding (via magic, not natural). The elves became outcast because of this, and where hunted down by the humans (and their new dwarven allies), forcing them to flee across the ocean to "the new world" where they befriended the native peoples there, who practiced a similar type of shamanism. The quest to chase down the Elves lead to the discovery of the new world, and it's subsequent colonization.

The Spanish, of course, brought over thousands of Orcs as slaves, who started a slave revolt alongside the enslaved African and Native Yucatan people, leading to strange interrelations in Central America. This split the continent into three areas, the south, where Orcs, freed Africans, native post-Aztecs, and those Spanish who chose to stay behind all lived together in a tenuous arrangement, then there's the East Coast farther north, where Englishmen, Dwarves, and numerous european immigrants were slowly were taking over from the native tribes there, and finally in the West, Elves try to help the Native people hold onto their land, teaching them their magic in exchange for a place to live.

As in your setting, Texas was the focal point, as this was where all three groups came to a head.

Of course, in this setting, I needed a valuable resource for the people to all fight over, so I replaced the Weak Nuclear Force with a Transmutative Magical Force. This allows for the existence of magic in this world, and more importantly, makes heavy metals magical instead of radioactive. So Actinides (Thorium, Uranium) are highly valuable, as they can be used to perform magic that would normally be impossible to accomplish. Also, it would be a very useful plot device to give guns enough "punch" to penetrate the tough scales of the Dragons, last survivors of the age of the Dinosaurs, and typically self-appointed guards of the most rich and valuable deposits of magical metal.

Okay, on second thought, maybe that aren't that similar.

Well, I was going to save this one for the April Fools Character Creation Contest, but as I've added very little to this thread, I'll put it up now...

Heavy Metal Heroes

In 1963, the US government discovered that a dangerous alien parasite from another dimension was slowly invading the earth and infecting the population, draining them of life and intellect. Various attempts to combat these ethereal menaces proved fruitless, and by the 1970s, they had infected a large percentage of the population, resulting in what was dubbed "the hippie menace" by government officials. Thankfully, a weapon against the aliens was discovered quite by accident, Heavy Metal Music. Secretly, the government funded various rock bands, supporting the development of new forms of anti-alien rock music, like Punk, Industrial, and Grunge. By the 1980s, the alien menace had been pushed back, but sadly, that was not the end of the story.
In the early 90s, a group of music executives, possibly infected by the alien parasites, began to experiment with and promote "boy bands", a tragic new form of music that attracted the aliens and caused them to return to earth. The popularity of "reality TV" has shown the government that the aliens have returned, and in force. Now, the time has come for the federal government to again start promoting Heavy Metal music bands, to help chase away the deadly alien invaders and protect the earth from an alien invasion. Now, the secretive Supernatural Affairs Bureau must again find and support music bands that play anti-alien music, and somehow help them chase off the ethereal parasites that seek to destroy humanity.

Project Chupa Rules.

Stats.
Physique, to keep playing beyond mere exhaustion, dance, or fight off rabid fans.
Discipline, to keep practicing your music and resist alien possession.
Brains, to keep your checkbook balanced, and read the contract your agent hands you.
Essence, that piece of your soul you put into your music.

Extra Stat.
Possession. How strongly infected you are with the alien parasite. Starts at 0 and goes higher when you listen to boy bands or dirty hippie music.

Skills and sub-skills.
Athletics. For highly physical tasks.
-Acrobatics, Catch, Climb, Jump, Lift, Run, Throw.
Domestic. For common everyday tasks.
-Clean, Cook, Dance, Drive, File Paperwork, Repair.
Education. For academic brainy tasks.
-History, Mathematics, Literature, Philosophy, Science, Writing.
Fighting. For when fans get way too excited.
-Bludgeon, Kick, Punch, Shoot.
Perform. To entertain people.
-Various Instruments.
Supernatural. For all those "weird" effects that can happen.
-By supernatural power.

Background Picks.
Attractive: You are an especially good looking person, so people will listen to what you have to say for longer than they normally would. They won't necessarily believe you, but at least you'll get your chance to talk.
Charming: You know how to get people to like you, through flattery, chutzpah, and friendly gestures. People are more likely to believe what you say, unless circumstances dictate otherwise.
Charmed Life: The universe looks favorably on you for some unknown reason. Once per day, you can use this power to automatically succeed on a die roll of your choice.
Nerd: You are one of those few people who actually payed attention in school. This grants a bonus die to any task involving Computers, Mathematics, Science, or Science Fiction trivia.
SAB agent: You are secretly a government agent working for the Supernatural Affairs Bureau, helping to curb the alien invasion, and can call in help during your missions.
Ventriloquist: You know how to "throw" your voice without moving your lips. Will this keep the audience entertained long enough while the band sets up?
Wealthy Family: You aren't especially rich yourself, but you have a wealthy relative that you can visit to beg for money, or at least have a place to crash for the night.

Supernatural Picks.
Abductee: You were abducted by aliens, the physical kind, with the space ships. They implanted something inside you. This is the excuse we use for these weird powers.
Amazing Strength: You can lift several times your own weight. In fact, you can probably lift several times your Van's weight. DC to Lift objects is Weight divided by 100, instead of 10.
Bulletproof: You are immune to bullets. Doesn't affect any other type of attack, just bullets.
Camouflage: You can "blend in" with your surroundings, and can even extend this power to include your clothes. Takes a full round to pull off.
Compuphilia: You have a mind blowing knack with computers and electronic equipment, and can even communicate with them "telepathically".
Hypermathematics: You can calculate rocket trajectories in your head, making expensive supercomputers look like a child's abacus.

Esper: You can acquire any of the following psionic traits. All psionic powers require a successful Supernatural skill roll.
Empathy: You can feel the emotional state of other people.
Ethereal Vision: You can see normally invisible ethereal creatures, like ghosts and the alien parasites.
Project Emotions: You can manipulate the emotional state of the people around you.
Project Message: You can send a thought to another person psionically. Skill Roll determines if you hit the right target.
Read Minds: You can hear the thoughts of other people, on a successful skill roll.

Anthropomorphic Companion: You have a walking, talking, animal best friend. This "person" can be played by another player or controlled by the GM. They are likely to become the mascot of your adventuring group.
Robot Friend: You have a robot companion for a friend, who follows you around and helps the group in whatever way it can. Robots have numerous gadgets that can help the group, and if there isn't a talking animal around, the robot can act as the group's mascot.
Speak With Animals: You have the supernatural ability to speak with animals. We don't know how you are able to do this, and don't really care, to be honest.

[Lord Z]

Re: Heavy Metal Heroes

Incredible job, Mister Clast! This game looks like a ton of fun, especially as a single session or convention game. I also like your method for resolving strength rolls. So is Rap Music pro-alien or anti-alien?

My character will Bradley Guildcage of the Boston Guildcages. His stage name is Severance (I always liked that name). I was inspired by the wealthy background pick to choose a character who is a silver spoon rebelling against his refined upbringing. Bradley was a gifted musician as a boy, and he trained at the best schools in classical piano and composition. After aliens took over his school, he lost his eyesight (not sure yet exactly how that happened). Bradley learned to cope with blindness, but he lashed out musically to vent his frustrations. He even started his own pirate radio station. As Severance, he became known as a brilliant music writer, but his stage presence was terrible. Since he went blind before hair bands developed, he didn't understand the importance of leather and stage magic. He needs to join a band.

Background Pick: Wealthy Family. Best stat, Essense. Best skill: Performance (keyboard).


Re: Ico's New World
That seems like an interesting setting. What is the default year in which the game is played?

[Iconoclast_]

Re: Heavy Metal Heroes

Re: Ico's New World
That seems like an interesting setting. What is the default year in which the game is played?

It's up to the game master. I'm assuming it's 2000 onwards, but it could even be set in the Clinton administration, or possibly in the Carter administration for a retro 70's game.

I just thought "Boy bands are the root of all evil" was too funny a concept not to make a game out of.

[Lord Z]

I apologize for being unclear. Ico, I meant to ask about the setting for your Orcs on the Plantation, Elves on the Reservation, Dwarves in Liberty Hall Setting.

[Lord Z]

I copied the descriptions for The Weird West and Heavy Metal Heroes to the Tank Nine forum. Some of the regulars there posted their characters. http://forums.nexusnine.net/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=5;t=6;st=40;r=1;&#entry60