[Cryptworld] New Thing: Slender Man

An Otherworldly Thing for Cryptworld

 

SLENDER MAN
STR: 5 (75) --- WPR: 5 (75)
DEX: 7 (105) --- PER: 5 (75)
AGL: 7 (105) --- PCN: 6 (90)
STA: 5 (75) --- PWR: 150
ATT: 1/90% --- WND: 15
MV: L 125†

Experience: 900

The Slender Man is an other-dimensional abductor of people -- to what ends is not yet determined, however. The Slender Man appears to be a faceless, voiceless, incredibly tall (well over 8 feet), thin humanoid. Some claim to see writhing tentacles growing from its shoulders as well. The Slender Man always appears to be dressed in a black suit and tie.

The Slender Man is often the cause of unexplained disappearances. Because children are its preferred target, the Slender Man will lurk near playgrounds, public parks, neighborhoods where many children reside, etc. Oddly enough, adults have a difficult time seeing the Slender Man, as its tall, thin, colorless frame often blends into the background. Instead, adults usually first catch a glimpse of a Slender Man when its image is noticed in the background of photos and/or video recordings. Once this realization is reached, adults are then "attuned" to the presence of the Slender Man and will always be able to see it from that point on. Children will always be able to see a Slender Man, though. It's thought that a child's mind is somehow always attuned to the Slender Man's appearance. However, children do not fear the Slender Man, which makes it all the more dangerous.

The Slender Man has the ability to Shadow Walk, allowing it to step into one shadow and out of another. It is thought that this ability somehow ties into the "other world" where the Slender Man resides, and it is to this Shadow Plane where the Slender Man takes its victims. Again, for what purpose is unknown, and no one who has entered the Slender Man's realm has ever returned. One theory is that victims are themselves converted into new Slender Men. Another theory is that the Slender Man only consumes those who have seen it, so children are a primary target, whereas adults are ignored -- until they become aware of the Slender Man's presence.

Slender Man Powers
Shadow Walk: The Slender Man can enter one shadow, stepping into it like a doorway, and step out of any other shadow within 5 miles. The Slender Man uses this ability as a means of rapidly travelling from point-to-point within a certain area it is stalking. It can also use this as a means of escape. The shadows used for Shadow Walking must be outdoors, as a Slender Man will never enter or appear within a building of any sort. Each Shadow Walk costs the Slender Man 40 PWR. Dragging a victim into a shadow and back to its home dimension costs the Slender Man 80 PWR. If the Slender Man is escaping to its home dimension alone through the use of Shadow Walking, there is no PWR cost. However, he will be unable to return to our dimension for 48 hours.

NOTE: I originally statted up the Slender Man for a running thread of Cryptworld "Things" over at the Goblinoid Games forums. I liked how it turned out so much I thought I'd post it here too for use in your own Cryptworld nightmares.

[Labyrinth Lord] Horn of Plenty / Horn of Putrescence

Magic Item for Labyrinth Lord in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday

The Horn of Plenty appears as a simple, empty, wicker cornucopia. However, once per day when the item's command word is spoken, naturally growing edibles such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries, etc. come spilling out. The Horn of Plenty's production is similar to the 4th-level Cleric spell Create Food and Water. However, water cannot be created with the Horn. Enough nutritious food will be produced to comfortably feed 6 people once per day. There is also a Horn for the feeding of animals and livestock know as a Horn of Forage. This Horn will produce enough feed corn, oats, and raw grain once per day to feed three large beasts of burden (horses, oxen, cattle, etc.). The grains and feed produced will barely nourish any persons who consume it.

There is a cursed version of the Horn to be wary of though -- the Horn of Putrescence. This Horn is similar in look and creation to the Horn of Plenty, and it too produces enough food to feed 6 people. Although the food appears, smells, and tastes normal, it is contaminated with a spoiled rot that will cause a withering illness per a reversed 3rd-level Cleric Cure Disease spell (Cause Disease). Any who consume the spoiled food must make a save versus poison. Those who fail will be racked by fever and illness for 2d12 days at which point they will perish unless a Cure Disease spell is cast.

[Our Last Best Hope] Microscopic: A Mission Playset

A mission playset for Our Last Best Hope

Microscopic Mission

Introduction

Not all apocalyptic disasters occur on a global scale. Some occur imperceptibly, unseen by the naked eye. Virulent viruses run unchecked, infecting millions. Robotic nanites consume natural resources and self-replicate, depleting irreplaceable materials. Or the secrets of our very survival are found in the mind of one man who will die unless a crucial operation is performed -- from within. The Microscopic Mission challenges the team to save the world from a threat found on a miniaturized level: molecular, microscopic, atomic, and perhaps even smaller. The team will be miniaturized and thrust into this microscopic world, tasked with fighting off a global threat while venturing through a world filled with dangers only seen before through the lens of a microscope.

Suggested viewing/reading: Fantastic Voyage, Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain, Innerspace, Michael Crichton’s Micro

Themes

We are insignificant in the cosmos – Regardless of our size, we are dwarfed by the entirety of the universe. Mankind is comparatively small and insignificant when weighed against the vastness of eternity. Even when the scale of the world we exist in is reduced, our presence goes unnoticed. It is only through great deeds and selfless actions that we make our mark on an otherwise uncaring universe. Even if our deeds go unseen, we will be remembered.

“Smaller” doesn't mean “less dangerous” – The greatest predators in the natural world do not live on the African plains or in the ocean depths. They're found in a droplet of water, on a mote of dust, or in your bloodstream. Virulent bacteria, aggressive white blood cells, and microscopic mites mindlessly pursue and consume prey. Death comes quickly, silently, working on instinct alone. Though we may think that we're smarter, cunning, quicker, and more agile than any other creatures we may encounter, at the microscopic level, we're just another invader to be absorbed.

Crisis

1W – Delicate microsurgery must be performed on the man who holds the world’s future in his hands.

2W – World-changing secrets found in a comatose patient’s memories must be downloaded directly from his brain.

3W – A virulent disease must be eradicated from Patient Zero before he can spread the pathogen globally.

4W – A world-shattering doomsday device has been activated and can only be disarmed from within.

5W – Rampaging microscopic nanite robots are converting all the world's water to flammable oxygen and hydrogen.

6W – A plague of carnivorous mutant dustmites is engulfing the planet, consuming everything in their path.

1B – All human beings worldwide have begun to spontaneously shrink into non-existence.

2B – Aliens from the microverse have begun their invasion of our dimension.

3B – Microscopic repairs must be made on a device designed to shield the planet from a deadly cosmic radiation.

4B – Tiny airborne bacteria are converting the atomic structure of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere to poisonous fluorine.

5B – A sentient supercomputer tied into the global computer network has gone rogue and must be reprogrammed on an atomic level without damaging or destroying it.

6B – A pure sample of cardiac DNA must be harvested from within a living heart for the cure to a disease decimating mankind.

Limit

1W – The energy needed to miniaturize something is astronomical. There is only enough energy for one attempt.

2W – The team's DNA has been uniquely altered to allow for miniaturization.

3W – The team has previous experience interacting in the microverse.

4W – Most of humanity has been decimated by the Crisis.

5W – The team has access to the only craft capable of functioning once miniaturized.

6W – The team possesses a device vital to completing the mission.

1B – Members of the team have unique experience and skill sets necessary to complete the mission.

2B – Once underway, the team's communication will be cut off from the outside world.

3B – Only the team is aware that the Crisis exists.

4B – Miniaturization will last only one hour, at which time the team will enlarge to full size.

5B – The human mind cannot properly function on a microscopic scale, but the team is immune to the hallucinations and dementia suffered by other subjects

6B – The team accidentally set the Crisis in motion and feels obligated to stop it.

Complication

1W or 1B – The team is continuing to slowly shrink and will disappear into the microverse in one hour.

2W or 2B – The environment they’re in is hyperaware of their presence and is sending out wave after wave of defenses to stop them.

3W or 3B – There is a saboteur working to thwart the team.

4W or 4B – They are severely off-course at the start and getting to the Crisis will sap all of their resources before they reach the goal.

5W or 5B – Their air supply will run out before they reach the mission objective.

6W or 6B – The craft/team are 1,000 times more fragile in their reduced size. Sound waves, Brownian Motion, and other imperceptible vibrations is tearing them apart.

Threats

Molecular instability

The environment's defenses

"The Mini-bends"

Carnivorous mites

Rogue nanite robots

Explosive decompression

Blistering heat

Poisonous environment

Catastrophic enlargement

Assets

Accurate map of the environment

Portable miniaturization device

Environmental suits

Robotic probe

Thin-beamed laser rifle

Nuclear charges

Tracking device calibrated for the Crisis

Medical bay/laboratory

Personal communicators

[Mutant Future] Rapid Fire Nail Gun

Bygone Artifact for Mutant Future

Weapon: Rapid Fire Nail Gun

Damage: 1d8

Trigger Type: Rapid fire
Range: 500 ft./1,000 ft.

Weight: 15 lbs.

During the days leading up to the Final Wars, many countries passed laws regulating and banning its citizenry from possessing certain kinds of weaponry. Most guns, pistols, and rifles were outlawed for private use during this time. However, the world governments were unable to legislate the ownership of tools needed for carpentry and construction. With some modification to a common nail gun, the Rapid Fire Nail Gun was created.

The Rapid Fire Nail Gun uses common construction nails as ammo, propelled by a compressed air cartridge. It can fire 30 times before reloading, and reloading takes one round. Not only can the Rapid Fire Nail Gun be used as a weapon, it can also be used for its original intended purpose to nail things together. Many a wasteland warrior has used his Rapid Fire Nail Gun to instantly seal a portal during a hasty escape.

NOTE: This weapon is based on an urban legend that crossed my desk the other day. 

A New Look, A New Focus -- Welcome To Savage AfterWorld 2.0

Early in 2009, I made two online discoveries: the Mutant Future RPG and the RPG bloggerverse. I knew I wanted to be a part of both, so, on June 17, 2009, I launched The Savage AfterWorld as the foremost site to visit for post-apocalyptic RPG support and discussion. In the last four-plus years, I've made 700 posts focusing on gonzo apocalyptic gaming. I've created and released two Mutant Future supplements (three, if you count the Thundarr the Barbarian sourcebook). Mutants and creatures and adventures and artifacts littered across the Blasted Lands have filled this blog over the years.

However, my interests in gaming encompass far more than just the post-apocalyptic genre. Fantasy and horror and sci fi and western and comedy and board games and card games and yadda yadda yadda. Over the years, I have taken great pains to avoid posting any material to The Savage AfterWorld that was not Armageddon-genre-specific. (I'm kinda compulsive that way.) But it's time to open up this blog to the wide variety of games that are out there. I want The Savage AfterWorld to reflect my interests across the spectrum of gaming. I want to create and share new classes for Labyrinth Lord. New things for Cryptworld. New rules for Dungeon Roll. New options for DCC RPG. New black cards for Cards Against Humanity. Boot Hill and It Came From The Late, Late Show and Toon and Villains and Vigilantes. (And, yes, Mutant Future as well.) Discussions on old games, new games, classic games, obscure games, and everything in-between. And, as I did with Mutant Future, this blog will offer material and content that can be used and implemented in your own games -- not just mindless blather and empty rhetoric.

So, today, the apocalypse ends, and The Savage AfterWorld rises from the ashes. Thank you for your support and patronage over the years. And I hope you'll continue to stop by.

Found In The Rubble...

WARNING: THE NUKES ARE IN FLIGHT

And when they strike, The Savage AfterWorld as you know it will be forever altered...

The 700 Club

Yay me.

Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 Released: Meet Snydorr, The Wasteland Wanderer!

One of my favorite RPGs of recent years is Cartoon Action Hour. As a fan of 80s retro-toons like Inhumanoids, GI Joe, Thundercats, and -- of course -- Thundarr the Barbarian, this RPG seems to "get it." I played with both Seasons 1 and 2 of the system, and was thrilled when I found out earlier this year that Spectrum Games had started a Kickstarter for an updated Season 3. I immediately jumped in as a higher-level backer. And today, Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 was released to the masses!

I'm thumbing through the new rules, and they once again nailed it. The character sheet is the back of an action figure box, for Pete's sake! I'll discuss the game at length later when I've had a chance to digest it all, but if you're a fan of retro-toons and have wanted to play in the worlds of Visionaries, The Masters of the Universe, Transformers, or M.A.S.K., you will want to check this out.

Oh, and about that "higher-level backer" reward I received? I was able to have myself drawn up for the rulebook and statted up as a character from an 80s retro-toon! And, of course, I chose a post-apocalyptic universe for my setting. So, here he is, straight from the cartoon world of "Wasteland 2010" (an upcoming post-apocalyptic CAH sourcebook): Meet Snydorr, The Wasteland Warrior!

Wisdom From The Wastelands 31 Now Out!

A new issue of Skirmisher Publishing's Wisdom From the Wastelands is now out for your Mutant Future campaigns! Here's what's available:

Issue 31 is “Nanotechnology III” and is described as follows: "Continuing with the examination of this hi-tech subject that we started in issues 28 and 30 of Wisdom from the Wastelands, this third installment in our nanotechnology series presents many new nanites and a new terror weapon, the Converted, that Mutant Lords can unleash upon their players. Nanotechnology has existed since the late 20th century. At first, the tiny machines were used mostly in medicine and genetic manipulation, but technological advances brought wider application. Many of these breakthroughs helped make the Ancients’ lives easier, but others became microscopic dogs of war, let slip to wreak havoc and destruction."

This new issue is 99 cents and is available at Drive Through RPG!

"One Year In The Savage AfterWorld" Now In Print!

My new Mutant Future supplement One Year In The Savage AfterWorld is now available in perfect bound hardcopy at Lulu for $13.95.

One Year In The Savage AfterWorld is also available as a downloadable PDF for $5.95 at Drive Through RPG and RPG Now. (Also, I have lowered the hardcopy price of my Deviant Database to $11.95 as well!)

"One Year In The Savage AfterWorld" For Mutant Future Now Available!

And thus, The Savage AfterWorld releases its SECOND Mutant Future supplement!

CATACLYSMIC QUESTS!

Inside this crumbling tome is a collection of unique micro-adventures through a post-apocalyptic world! One Year In The Savage AfterWorld presents 52 "dangerous encounters" that originally appeared at The Savage AfterWorld!

Mutant Lords who need a springboard for a new campaign, a quick side-trek for his players, or a single one-shot adventure for an evening's entertainment will find a variety of quests within! Each of these short adventures through the radioactive wastes is designed to be run over the course of a few hours. Is your band of stalwart survivors up to the challenges they'll face?

Totaling 106 pages, One Year In The Savage AfterWorld is fully compatible with Goblinoid Games' Mutant Future and Labyrinth Lord role-playing games as well as other Original Edition Fantasy RPGs.

One Year In The Savage AfterWorld is available as a downloadable PDF for $5.95 at Drive Through RPG and RPG Now. It is also available in perfect bound hardcopy at Lulu for $13.95.

Don't Just Sit There -- Write Something! (In 30 Days)

We're a day into November and I nearly neglected to mention that we're now 24 hours into three consecutive "Get off your keister and write something, dammit" events!  All three of these month-long exercises have one thing in common -- they each encourage you to put pencil to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and get that spark of creativity splashing across the page. With the self-imposed deadline of 30 days, it motivates the brain to stop frittering about with minutiae and get your Great Work out into the public eye. Here's a quick summary of each event:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) -- The grand mack-daddy of writing events. We each have a Great American Novel burbling inside us. Well, NaNoWriMo encourages you to get it out. In 30 days, you must write a 50,000-word novel. It doesn't have to be good or even make sense. But if you're able to get 50,000 words on paper in one month, you can prove to yourself that you are capable creating that masterwork. You have accomplished what others have only dreamt of -- you wrote a damn BOOK.

National Game Design Month (NaGa DeMon) -- For the game designer in all of us, NaGa DeMon encourages you to create that board game, fantasy heartbreaker RPG, RPG supplement, card game, video game, 40-level dungeon delve, anything you desire. The trick is that you have to write it and play it within 30 days. C'mon, you must have a game you've considered creating. How about that RPG adventure you think would entertain and/or freak out your players? This is the time to get it out there and play it! (And possibly get it into the hands of the public as well!)

National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) -- If you'd like to stay online for your writing efforts, NaBloPoMo encourages you to post every day for the 30 days of the month. It doesn't matter what you say, just that you say it. The philosophy is that the more you do something, the better you get at it. So, to become a better writer/blogger, you need to break down the barriers between thinking about writing and actually doing it. So fill your blog with 30 daily posts during November!

At some point, I have participated in all three. I've written two novels, created three RPG supplements, and had one month of daily blog posts. Each one has proven to me that I'm capable of great creativity. We all are. So, as Wil Wheaton says, "Get excited and make things!"

P.S. My participation in 2011 in a combination NaNoWriMo/NaGa DeMon project will directly result in tomorrow's Big Announcement. Stay tuned!

Some Pages Floating On The Radioactive Winds...

Expect an announcement this weekend...