Tag: Elves & Espers

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Elves & Espers: G-nomes

G-nomes are the descendants of pre-Apocalypse gnomes, and embrace genetic engineering with the same enthusiasm (and sometimes explosive results) as their ancestors embraced mechanisms and before that alchemy.  They use magical viruses to rewrite their own genetic codes to cosmetically alter their appearances and give themselves interesting and unusual animal parts and abilities. They are the size of gnomes (about the size of a human child) and are always humanoid, with large eyes, but sport a wide variety of fur, scales, feathers, or brightly colored skins, as well as accouterments like horns, claws, fangs, and so forth.

In New Ark City they’re often found as Web Runners, using their rocket-skates to traverse the cables that make up the web delivering messages hither and yon, or in similar professions where regard for one’s personal safety is regarded as a handicap.

G-Nome

Small (-1 Toughness)
Natural Weapons (Str+d6 with one, or Str+d4 with two) – G-Nomes may choose what natural weapons they have, and may choose to shed them and grow different ones, though the process takes a week during which they will have no usable natural weapon.
Attractive +2 CHA. G-Nomes may look bizarre, but they see no reason to be unattractive, and whatever look they adopt will be designed to be aesthetically pleasing
Low Light Vision.  Their large eyes give them low-light vision.

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Elves & Espers: Zombots

Zombots are corpses that have been infested with nanite colonies that grow mechanical linkages to make them lurch around in an unholy resemblance to life.   Zombots are hideous travesties, with wires and rods piercing their flesh, writhing under their skin and snaking around their bloody and decaying bodies, manipulating them like grotesque marionettes.  In settings where the Guts skill is used, encountering a Zombot requires a Guts check.

Zombots have no other drive than to create more Zombots and consume flesh and circuitry to sustain themselves, though forbidden Necrotech can be used to command them.  In its inactive form, the nanites are a grey dust (Zombot Dust) that is harmless unless it comes in contact with a corpse or an open wound.  A corpse will become a functioning zombot in 1d6 rounds; a living being will have to make a Vig roll every hour or suffer a Wound and once it becomes Incapacitated will rise as a zombot.  Zombots require flesh to function (it’s part of the programming of the nanites), so although fire won’t destroy the mechanical parts, if you burn away all the flesh, the Zombot is destroyed.  Zombots require a steady infusion of new flesh and circuitry to sustain their activity, and will always be on the prowl trying to consume; once a Zombot has killed a victim it will spend 1d4 rounds feasting, ignoring what else is going on unless it comes under attack. If it spends more than a day without being able to consume anything, it will go into hibernate mode, remaining motionless and emitting no energy readings until a victim gets within movement range (Pace).

When deciding what to attack, the Zombot will go first for the closest person who attacked it, next for the closest victim (choose randomly for equally distant targets); count all robots, computers, and sophisticated machinery as potential victims. Zombots will only employ ranged attacks (if the form has them) if it is not possible to close to melee.  Zombots will incorporate whatever weapons the victim was carrying into itself and use them.  Zombot infection, however, is only carried by natural weapons, not incorporated ones.

Trafficking in Zombot dust (and all forms of Necrotech) is punishable by death in New Ark City.

Zombots

Zombots have stats as their living counterpart with the following exceptions:

Str: +2d Smt: Unintelligent Pace: -2.

Undead: +2 Toughness, +2 to recover from Shaken, No Called Shots, No Wound Penalties
Infectious: creatures bitten/clawed by Zombots must make a Vig roll every hour or suffer a wound, and will become Zombots after they’ve been Incapacitated
Regeneration none while active, Fast once killed
Weakness Fire, double damage, prevents regeneration

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Elves & Espers: Pigsies

Pigsies are flying porcine vermin. They are sentient, though they never direct their intelligence towards anything other than getting high, eating, crapping, and screwing.  They resemble pigs with butterfly wings (the dust from which is highly psychoactive) and human hands instead of front trotters, and wear rags for clothes.  They are generally armed with bows and spears, and bags of magical powder that they hurl at opponents.  They can chew their way into just about anything, and whatever they can’t eat or snort they break and befoul.  They stink to the high heavens.  They enjoy playing malicious tricks on people, but will usually stop short of outright murder, though if a blinded, hallucinating victim should fall to his death from a great height that would be hilarious.

Pigsie

Str d4 Agl d8 Spr d6 Smr d4 Vig d6
Parry 5  Tough 3 Pace 4/10
Size -2 (-2 to be hit, +2 to hit man-sized foes, -2 Tough-already accounted for)
Fight d8   Throw d6   Shoot d6  Taunt d8
Bow d4 +2 AP  Elf-shot d8 v. Smr or -2 to Trait Rolls (-4 on Raise) from hallucinations
Spear d4
Slumber Powder (1 use) Spr -2 in a Medium Burst or sleep for 1 minute
Blind Powder (1 use) d8 vs. Spr or -6 to Trait Rolls, Parry drops to 2 for 3 rounds

Pigsie Dust

Magically psychoactive dust from ground Pigsie wings, highly addictive.  Grants 2d10 extra Power Points for 1 hour, Vig -2 roll (cumulative if you take another dose before the first wears off) or accompanied by hallucinations (-2 to Trait Rolls for 1 hour); on a 1 on the Vigor die, you’ve become addicted  (gain the minor Hindrance.  If it happens again it becomes a major Hindrance.  Each time thereafter you lose a die off Smarts).  Addicts may take a maintenance dose that takes the edge off (doesn’t grant them extra PP, but doesn’t risk worsening the addiction).  Pigsie Dust is illegal in New Ark City (misdemeanor possession, felony distribution); you don’t want hallucinating magic users with power to burn running around the city.

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Pigsies! Why did it have to be Pigsies?!

Session Summary for 11/30/08: Elves & Espers

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a recap around these parts. Let’s fix that.

Sunday night’s session picked up from a previous adventure (undocumented, because Ye Olde Recapper wasn’t present). That session was the first in the Elves & Espers campaign, in which the previously introduced characters banded together and picked up their level-1 quest: Clear out the vermin in the basement. This session opened with our brave exterminators, plan in hand, setting out to accomplish that goal.

Continue reading “Pigsies! Why did it have to be Pigsies?!”

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Clerics and Religion in Elves & Espers

There are none.  The Gods all died a long time ago.

Notes: Why?  Well, it’s much more common than not for whiz-bang SF to be so secular that religion isn’t mentioned even to dismiss it unless it’s the religion of some primitive society the protagonists encounter, but religion so permeates D&D and most derivative fantasy that being an atheist is a form of delusion. (Which reminds me of the bit in Terry Pratchett about the lightning-proof atheist…)  So rather than inventing a bunch of wierd and futuristic Gods for E&E, or a bunch of old D&D-esque gods and coming up with wierd and futuristic ways for them to be worshipped, I decided they existed but were all wiped out during and after the Apocalypse.  So that means no Clerics, since I’m not going to reintroduce the Mentzer D&D concept of Clerics merely representing a cause.

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New Ark City

New Ark City is the only surviving (non-hidden) arcology from before the Apocalypse.  In the centuries since the end of the Time of Troubles, the city has outgrown the original confines of the arcology, which now forms the base of the towers that stretch into the sky.  The towers are clustered into five groups, imaginatively called North Spire, East Spire, South Spire, the Broken Spire, and the Tower of Ark.  The spires are further subdivided into regions, each of which amounts to a town in its own right, such as Zep (the Zepplin docks), Witchtown (the bohemian magical crafts area), or Poisonville (the sewage and chemical/industrial factory area).  Monorails connect the spires high above the roof of the arcology, and the air teams with countless magical small craft and people with their own means of flight.  Generally speaking, the higher off the ground, the higher status of the area.  There are slums outside the base of the arcology called the Middens, where the cast-off of the city subsist on its cast-offs, and outlaws hide.  Once the arcology carefully recycled everything, but now much is thrown away as not being worth the energy it would take to break it down for re-use.

Continue reading “New Ark City”

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Arcane Background: Trooper

This is a new Savage Worlds Edge for the Elves & Espers setting:

Arcane Background: Trooper

Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Spirit)

Starting Power Points:10

Starting Powers: 3

Troopers are powered-armor wearing shock troops.  Their focus is a MultiGun, capable of throwing various destructive magic.  They are also allowed to wear Powered Armor, though they don’t necessarily start with it.  Firing the MultiGun requires a SpellCasting roll that doubles as the Shooting Roll.

Troopers may take the Special Edge Powered Armor.  Each time they take Powered Armor they can upgrade their Armor with another 5 points of powers according to the power costs in Necessary Evil.  This starts from a base of 0, so the first thing they will probably do is buy several points of the Armor power.  Powers must make sense as coming from Powered Armor (albeit magic powered armor) so, e.g. Deflection would be ok, while Construct would not (donning the Armor can’t change you into a construct).   Powered Armor automatically has the Device limitation applied to every aspect of it, so gets no additional discount.  Other limitations applied to specific powers (e.g. Requires Activation, or Partial Protection) may be applied as normal. The Powered Armor Edge can be taken once per rank.

Backlash: On a roll of 1 on the Spellcasting Die (regardless of the Wild Die), the Trooper experiences magical backlash and is Shaken.  This can cause a wound.

Bonus: The Trooper automatically gets a discount of 1 Power Point (as if the Trooper had the Wizard Edge and rolled a raise) whenever he fires a single normal damage (2d6) Bolt from his MultiGun.  He must have at least 1 Power Point left in order to activate the spell, even though it will end up costing 0.  (So if he runs his power completely dry, he can’t keep firing forever.)  This doesn’t stack with the Wizard Edge should the Trooper have it.

Notes:

This Edge represents what the Trooper class was about in the previous incarnation of Elves & Espers.  Mechanically it’s pretty much identical to AB: Magic, except for the new special Powered Armor Edge it allows access to.  I’m a little concerned whether the Powered Armor Edge is too powerful (since it introduces powers from Necessary Evil, which is geared towards Super-Hero levels of power), but I’m hoping that by halving the initial points and making the Troopers worry about splitting their advances between making their MultiGun more effective, improving their Powered Armor, and anything else they might want it’ll be about on par with other characters who can specialize more.

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Arcane Background: Roguechemist

or should that be Rogueomancy?

This is a new Savage Worlds Edge for the Elves & Espers setting:

Arcane Background: Roguechemist

Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Smarts)

Starting Power Points:10

Starting Powers: 3

Roguechemists create magical potions, which they can then deliver with their gun, called a Caster.  Their primary devices are their Caster and their Bandoleer, which serves as a portable lab.  It takes an hour per spell rank to craft a potion, and the power points aren’t recovered until the potion is used or destroyed, at which point they return to the caster at the usual rate (generally one per hour).  The potions are actually powered by imps bound to the bandoleer, which is why the Power Points are consumed until the potion is actually used or disposed of so the imps can recover the power.

Roguechemists spells are limited to things that plausibly can be done with potions: armor, blast, boost/lower trait, etc.  No summoning, creation, or the like.  Also, no potions that duplicate purely Esper effects such as Telepathy, or Clairvoyance.

Backlash: None

Bonus: Roguechemists can use their Casters to deliver potions, giving them the range increments 12/24/48 (instead of 3/6/9 for a thrown potion) and using their Shooting skill.  Spells that have a range of Touch or Self must be drunk or smeared all over, and cannot be delivered via the Caster.

Notes:

This Edge represents what the Rogue class was about in the previous incarnation of Elves & Espers. Other than the special perk of ranged delivery with the Caster, Roguechemists operate just like AB: Alchemy from the SW Fantasy World Builder’s Guide.

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Arcane Background: Robomancy

This is a new Savage Worlds Edge for the Elves & Espers setting:

Arcane Background: Robomancy

Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Smarts)

Starting Power Points:10

Starting Powers: 1

Robomancers build and manipulate magical robots.  Their primary device is called a Workbot, a toolkit on treads that they use to create and control other robots.  Each Robomancer power is a separate device, generally a robot, but perhaps a remote or a tool; each power comes with its own Power Points equal to the inventor’s Power Points.

Robomancer powers must all make sense it terms of robots and gadgets, and may not duplicate any purely Esper effects such as Mind Reading or Puppet, though something like Clairvoyance in terms of a mobile spy-eye would be permissible.

Backlash: When a Robomancer rolls a 1 on his Spellcasting die (regardless of his Wild Die), the device has malfunctioned and cannot be used again until he repairs it, which requires a succesful Repair roll and 2d6 hours worth of work.

Notes:

This Edge represents what the Engineer class was about in the previous incarnation of Elves & Espers. It is essentially the AB: Wierd Science with new trappings.  The first Power that a Robomancer will usually take is Summon Robot, which is a new trapping for Shapechange as suggested in SW Fantasy World Builder’s Guide.  Instead of shapechanging into the creature, you summon one that will obey you for the duration of the spell. In the Robomancer’s case, they snap together a modular robot that has the abilities equivalent to the target creature and enough power to run for the duration of the spell.

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Arcane Background: Technomancy

This is a new Savage Worlds Edge for the Elves & Espers setting:

Arcane Background: Technomancy

Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Smarts)

Starting Power Points:10

Starting Powers: 3

Technomancers bind imps into devices in order to create magical technology.  Their primary device is called a Pentacorder, a slab about the size of a paperback book, with a pentacle permanently carved in it and an imp bound to it to cast spells at the Technomancer’s behest.

Backlash: When a Technomancer rolls a 1 on his Spellcasting die (regardless of his Wild Die), he is automatically Shaken. This can cause a wound.  In addition, if the Technomancer was casting a non-Divination spell, if the spell failed (after the Wild Die is taken into account) it costs an additional Power Point; if that would take the remaining Power Points below zero, there is no effect.

Bonus: Imps love to spy out secrets.  When a Technomancer gets a raise on any Divination spell, the cost of the spell is reduced by 1 Power Point. If the Technomancer also has the Wizard Edge, there is no additional benefit for Divination spells, though non-Divination spells still get the discount.

Notes:

This Edge represents what the Scientist class was about in the previous incarnation of Elves & Espers: Spock-like scanning and analyzing the world.  Other than the special perk for casting Divination spells, which are any information gathering spells, and penalty for non-Divination spells, this is the same as the AB: Magic in the core book.