From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Long and the Short of It . . . . . . . . . 4 by Sean Punch Issue We at Pyramid delight in stretching your mind, exploring untapped realms, and looking at things in whole new ways. Eidetic Memory: The Disappearance This issue, we’ve put the spotlight on that tendency, with an of Father Cohen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 edition devoted to perspectives. Get ready to look at things in by David L. Pulver a whole new way . . . GURPS can handle a campaign that covers the multiverse Heroes on the Mass Scale . . . . . . . . . . . 23 as well as one set in a single building. It works for one-shots by Christopher R. Rice and miniseries. It lets you play heroes who will live days, and those who are older than time itself. But sometimes there are The Elvey Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 special considerations to ensure everything’s fair, balanced, by Steven Marsh and fun . . . and that’s The Long and the Short of It. This sup- plement-length guide to extremes of time and space comes Random Thought Table: from GURPS guru Sean Punch (scribe of GURPS Action 4: Look Out . . . Outlooks! . . . . . . . . . . 34 Specialists – another supplement that changes your perspec- by Steven Marsh, Pyramid Editor tive on heroes). What happens, game-wise, when you have a campaign that lasts for generations . . . or one that’s set in a Odds and Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 tiny hamlet? The answers are herein. Perspectives are everything when the heroes need to Cover Art Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 investigate The Disappearance of Father Cohen. This month’s About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Eidetic Memory offering from David L. Pulver (author of GURPS Banestorm: Abydos) is a horror adven- ture suitable for GURPS Horror or lower-pow- ered GURPS Monster Hunters, with the heroes I like to turn things upside down, unraveling the mysteries at its core, trying to fig- to watch pictures and situations ure out if Father Cohen was a sinner or saint . . . and what greater horrors those answers unravel. from another perspective. When adventurers and mass-combat con- flicts collide, you need to worry about Heroes on – Ursus Wehrli the Mass Scale. These optional rules – from fre- quent Pyramid contributor Christopher R. Rice – greatly expand the guidelines from GURPS Mass Combat, letting players calculate the Troop Strength of indi- vidual heroes in more depth. Changing perspective from lone A rticle olors C heroes to the field of battle has never been easier! Each article is color-coded to help you find your Lots of organizations try to solve immediate crises or favorite sections. investigate problems that will plague humanity in the coming decades. But when you have trouble that might rear its head Pale Blue: In This Issue in the 23rd century, that’s when you need The Elvey Institute. Brown: In Every Issue (humor, editorial, etc.) Go on a tour with Pyramid editor Steven Marsh as he reveals a Green: Columnist strange group that serves the higher purpose of tackling prob- lems a century or more down the line. Dark Blue: GURPS Features This issue concludes with a Random Thought Table that Purple: Systemless Features examines other ways of changing perspectives, and an Odds and Ends with more Elvey Institute options and a look at this month’s intriguing cover. Cover and Interior Art Open your eyes to new possibilities. This month’s Pyramid Brandon Moore is going to change the way you look at things . . . and your games will never be better!
Editor-in-Chief z STEVE JACKSON Managing Editor z MIRANDA HORNER Chief Executive Officer z PHILIP REED GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH Chief Operating Officer z SAMUEL MITSCHKE Assistant GURPS Line Editor z Production Artist & Prepress Checker z Marketing Director z BRIAN ENGARD JASON “PK” LEVINE NIKOLA VRTIS Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON Page Design z PHIL REED & JUSTIN DE WITT
Pyramid Magazine 2 October 2015
From the Editor Want Some Perspective? to Be a GURPS GM will likely appreciate Sean’s in-depth treatment of the subject. It’s also a fairly different kind of arti- We’ve Got Lots! cle – in its exhaustiveness if not its topic – and we look forward to hearing what you Many of the world’s greatest games came think (see below). about with a change in perspectives: This issue also includes a guide to mak- • “What if, instead of epic space-opera ing the intersection between individual heroes, we’re random smugglers and traders heroes and the larger forces of GURPS Mass flitting around the galaxy?” Combat easier than ever. Nothing changes • “I know Lovecraft was writing in his con- the perspective of a game more than going temporary era, but what if we made a game from an individual hero to large-scale con- that delved into the Lovecraftian world, but it flicts (or vice versa). Rounding out this issue took place during the 1920s?” is a terror-tinted David Pulver adventure • “Horror games focus on heroes killing where perspectives are everything, and an the monsters, right? Imagine if, instead, the oddball organization that takes the long PCs are the monsters!” view to extremes. We love to shake things up at Pyramid, Similar changes in perspectives have and hopefully this slightly different issue become a staple in this modern (“golden”) age will change your own perspectives and give of television. Points of view shift from heroes you food to villains – even innocent bystanders or dead victims. On for thought. The best gam- many shows, time jumps forward months or years at a time. ing your table has ever The mindset that led to the creation of classic games or seen may be just around compelling television isn’t an untouchable magical resource. the corner, awaiting a shift It just requires putting in perspectives to reach it. on your astronaut suit (metaphorically speaking) and going to strange new realms of imagination. Write Now, That’s where this issue Right Now of Pyramid comes in. Its So, what’s your per- featured insight from spective on this month’s Sean Punch on the nature Pyramid? Did we open of time and space – and up whole new vistas how those matters affect for your group? Or was a GURPS campaign – is our fish-eye lens a bit a perfect way to reflect on askew some place? Let two of the more import- us know privately via email [email protected], or ant conceptual consider- wade into the perceptive perspectives of the community at ations in a game, and fans forums.sjgames.com. of the bestselling How
There is no “typical” RPG campaign. Some gamers favor a galaxy, a universe, or several universes to play in; others short stories, preferably told in a single game session; others find exploring life in a town or even a household to be fun. prefer sagas in which the heroes have children and grow old, GURPS can accommodate all of these possibilities, but the which might take years of real time to game out. Some want rules require a little fine-tuning in each case.
Time In offering rules for hours of sleep and study, days of detailed rules (e.g., Tactical Combat, pp. B384-392) are best healing and travel, months of work, years of aging, etc. – and avoided, as they eat up precious gaming minutes. by charging character points for traits tied to such things – Keep reading for many examples of these principles . . . GURPS silently assumes that the campaign will last for a while. That isn’t always a good assumption, though. Even Power Level when it is, the GM might not fully appreciate the work Starting points in a short-term campaign should be what- involved in keeping track of this stuff! ever the story calls for – the briefest of adventures might star 0-point kids or 5,000-point gods.
Same Old Same Old Society
Traits and mechanics require tuning to a campaign’s Most short-duration campaigns offer insufficient time for genre, but not always to its proportions. Any rule not the heroes to feel the social consequences of their actions, singled out in the main text doesn’t interact strongly from answering (or denying) duty’s call to currying favor. enough with scope (great or small, temporal or spatial) This limits the useful depth to go into with the rules gov- to rate special treatment. Still, don’t overlook the fact erning society. For instance, such considerations as Control that if the notes recommend modest starting points Rating (pp. B506-507) and Legality (p. B507) could matter in a or earned points, the PCs will have fewer specialties short-and-sweet crime story or street drama, but if there’s no apiece and less capability in such “universal” areas as time for the PCs to get into trouble – or if that outcome would combat and social interaction. Likewise, realism level derail the campaign – then these are complications best is almost beside the point, but as cinematic tales tend to ignored. At most, CR and LC might modify skill rolls to pro- favor epic proportions, the GM of a brief or pocket-sized cure gear, bribe authorities, and so on, with high CR giving campaign will have to work harder to maintain a larger- penalties, especially where items of low LC are concerned. than-life mood. Consequently, traits like Alternate Identity, Claim to Hos- pitality, Clerical Investment, Duty, Legal Enforcement Pow- ers, Legal Immunity, Rank, Reputation, Secret, Security Clearance, Social Regard, Social Stigma, Status, Tenure, and Short and Sweet Zeroed are tricky. In each case, the GM must consider whether An ultra-short campaign is really a one-off adventure. The the story will run for long enough for the PCs to encounter most important advice for such an endeavor is this: If the NPCs who would care, or for any innate drawbacks or benefits game won’t run for long, then the range of likely events is lim- (e.g., access to information) to emerge – or whether the adven- ited. Thus, it’s important to use only traits and rules that are ture is about that trait. If any of that is the case, point cost is likely to arise before the curtain drops. Ditch the rest! unchanged . . . though with plot importance guaranteed, it’s A related concern is economy of play time. While it isn’t advisable not to permit cost reductions for people affected or always the case that a short-term campaign fills an extremely low appearance rolls. Otherwise, the advantage or disadvan- limited real-world time slot, that’s the smart bet. Where true, tage is background color (p. 6).
Pyramid Magazine 4 October 2015
Social Chameleon (p. B86) is a common casualty here. This above and below. In support of this, the GM may set a mini- advantage matters only if Rank or Status does. Where those mum appearance roll (probably either 12 or less or 15 or less) are irrelevant, it, too, is just background color. for complications such as Duty or Enemy, and a maximum self-control roll (6 or less – or 9 or less if there will be many Technology Level chances for it to arise) for anything that has one. Anything less likely to arise becomes a quirk or a feature. Campaign tech level is generally fixed in short stories, Disadvantages tied to long-term degradation or goals allowing the GM to simplify a great many rules. However, if should likewise matter less or not at all. Alcoholism is accept- the plot features token “primitives,” highly advanced aliens able, but as it earns extra points for being difficult to buy off or mad scientists, etc., then individuals may hail from other and inflicting an annual HT+2 roll to avoid attribute loss, the TLs, possess Low TL or High TL, and buy technological skills GM ought to knock ‑5 points off its value. Obsessions are (p. B168) associated with their personal TL. worth a base ‑5 points whatever their focus, because they’re all “short term” in a short-term campaign. Cannot Learn is Friends and Foes never going to come up, so it’s just color. And so on. Allies, Contacts, Enemies, Favors, Patrons, etc. should obey the guidelines for social traits. If they’re guaranteed to Skills be part of the adventure, they need high appearance rolls – Short adventures call for rolls against relatively few skills, most likely 15 or less, though 12 or less works if the adventure but telling the players what those are is liable to give away offers repeated openings to involve them. Otherwise, they’re too much too soon. Forbidding skills for tasks that take lon- background color (p. 6). ger than the game’s planned duration is worth considering – though a point or two can add interesting background color Money Matters (p. 6). It’s perhaps best to curb investment in these and other Independent Income and Debt won’t matter if insufficient “useless” capabilities not by listing skills to avoid or that don’t time passes for a payment to change hands. Jobs (pp. B516- exist, but rather by clearly spelling out the campaign’s vital 517) and Cost of Living (pp. B265-266) likewise won’t have character roles. time to arise, meaning that Wealth serves exclusively to estab- lish starting money and therefore gear. If equipment is cen- Character Development tral to the adventure, then it’s certainly fair to use Wealth Earning and spending points, studying, and completing that way, though replacing it with Strictly Gear (p. 8) is worth Time Use Sheets (pp. B499, B569) are unimportant in a short- considering. Otherwise, all cash-related traits are background term campaign. The GM will probably want to ignore such color (p. 6) . . . it isn’t as if they will matter in, say, a one-off rules. Influencing Success Rolls (p. B347) calls for unspent adventure about a CEO, a doctor, a mechanic, and a penniless points, though, so if it’s going to be part of the game, then stowaway stranded on a beach. either warn players to hold back a few starting points or give Similar advice holds for traits that influence Finding a Job out points especially for the purpose (see GURPS Power-Ups (p. B518), that concern applying oneself to an existing job (e.g., 5: Impulse Buys). Laziness and Workaholic), or that affect cost of living (like Compulsive Generosity and Compulsive Spending). A cam- paign that won’t run for long enough to need monthly job rolls Jumping Around and payouts renders such problems mere quirks that won’t Time-travel plots are fine for short adventures, but player- meaningfully limit what the PCs can accomplish. Miserliness controlled Jumper (Time), time-travel spells, etc. otherwise belongs in the same boat. Greed is universally acceptable, make a mess of things. The heroes can look forward or back- though – it’s a wonderful motivator! ward in time using divinatory magic, Precognition, Psy- chometry, and the like, but when they act, they should be Character Concepts limited to the stretch of game time the GM has reserved for the campaign. To tell a quick, contained story, the right actors must be present. The GM has to spell out what’s needed, perhaps offer- ing detailed character templates or even pregenerated charac- Special Considerations ters – especially if the short campaign is a direct consequence Fate and Fortune: In most short stories, Destiny (pp. B48, of limited gaming time. When using free-form character cre- B131-132), good or bad, is extremely unlikely to matter, mak- ation, here more than ever it’s important to guide the players ing it background color (p. 6) at best. In a tale about that fate, . . . an adventure about professors working in the lab for an though, it has its full point value! afternoon doesn’t need a “combat monster” with Guns skills Lifespan: Ignore Age (p. B20) and Age and Aging (p. B444), and Gunslinger, while on an hour-long WWII commando raid, and treat traits affecting life expectancy (Extended Lifespan, it’s best to ignore scientific abilities. Longevity, Self-Destruct, Short Lifespan, Terminally Ill, and Unaging) as zero-point features. Extra Life is an exception; Disadvantages returning from the dead is still useful in a short-and-brutal game. (Note: These recommendations are worth considering A disadvantage that won’t have time to trouble the char- even in not-so-short campaigns that aren’t intended to run for acter is no disadvantage – it’s background color (p. 6). Exam- lifetimes and generations.) ples of this general principle are discussed in specific contexts
Pyramid Magazine 5 October 2015
Biology: Aging isn’t the only process of living beings that’s matter. Metabolism Control with Hibernation almost cer- meaningless in a short-term campaign. Natural healing tainly won’t be relevant. All of the advantages and disadvan- and related traits (Rapid Healing, Slow Healing, and tages here are background color (above). Unhealing) – and ordinary illnesses and their traits (e.g., Limited Uses: As Luck, Super Luck, and other traits based Immunity to Disease) – won’t matter if the story doesn’t on real-world time can verge on meaningless if the pro- run for days. Be warned that if there’s no speedy supernat- jected play time is short and the GM can’t promise pacing ural or ultra-tech healing, this severely limits how much the that spaces out events that they could affect, it’s often best game can involve in the way of combat and hazards. If the to allow a flat number of uses (e.g., four uses of Luck in a story is extremely short, even eating (and thus Doesn’t Eat four-hour one-shot game). Addiction, Chronic Pain, Lunacy, or Drink, Reduced Consumption, Universal Digestion, etc.) Maintenance, Oracle, Trickster, or any other trait – negative and sleeping (and Deep Sleeper, Doesn’t Sleep, Extra Sleep, or positive – that arises once per game day or other limited Insomniac, Less Sleep, Light Sleeper, Nightmares, Noctur- time period faces similar problems, and should be allowed nal, Sleepwalker, Sleepy, Slow Riser, and the like) might not only if the campaign will go on for long enough for the draw- backs or benefits to kick in. The Limited Use modifier is permitted for advantages only when it would be a genu- ine limitation; “once per day” isn’t a legitimate cost break Background Color on something that’s only going to matter once in a short campaign! However, per-session traits such as Manic-De- Much of this advice talks of “background color”: pressive, Serendipity, Unluckiness, and Wild Talent are reducing inapplicable traits to perks or quirks – or even fine – they’ll work just once, but that doesn’t change their to zero-point features, which is tantamount to omitting point cost. them. That way, disadvantages that aren’t actually incon- Long Tasks: Many traits (such as Gadgeteer) and rules venient won’t generate points (which is unbalanced), and (notably Long Tasks, p. B346, but also New Inventions, players won’t squander points on worthless capabilities pp. B473-474, Enchanting, pp. B481-482, and similar spe- (which is unfair). Some guidelines to help the GM cate- cific cases) take a long time to use or even matter. If the GM gorize such things: wants to incorporate such things, the adventure should Perks: Anything that would cost points if the cam- include a stretch of game-time compression to justify that; paign wasn’t of such vast or tiny scope, and that could otherwise, leave them out. Any advantage with a Prepara- conceivably offer a near-trivial edge, becomes a perk. tion Required limitation that would take more time than For instance, being the monarch of an ordinary country the story offers falls into this category, meaning that the demands Status 7 [35] in a campaign set at home, but it’s GM ought to forbid that drawback. just a perk in a galactic space opera with billions of worlds, Too Long! The GM must keep an eye out for any perhaps giving +1 to reaction rolls from other starlost roy- PC-generated effect that lasts a very long time. In particu- alty. Likewise, Multimillionaire is worth 75+ points if jobs lar, if an advantage is enhanced with Extended Duration to and investments factor into the story – but in a brief ship- the point where it won’t end during the campaign, the GM wreck drama, it may be nothing but a perk explaining why has every right to insist that it either get a more modest your clothes are better-made. And in game set entirely in level that will end or be treated as permanent (+150%) even an inland town, Navigation (Sea), Seamanship, Shiphan- if it isn’t. dling, etc. could be replaced by a “Sailor” perk that allows an IQ roll to answer nautical questions. Quirks: Similarly, anything that would give back points Over When It’s Over and that the GM could use against the character becomes A long-term campaign offers the heroes and possibly a quirk. For example, Terminally Ill is a huge disadvantage their offspring or replacements the opportunity to live in a long-running campaign, but in a short-term one, it’s at out entire lives in play. The spotlight might shine on epic worst a quirk that lets the GM assess an extra 1 FP or ‑1 to deeds – such as revolutionizing technology, fighting wars, HT rolls when you overdo it. and building empires – or on forging and exploring ordi- Features: If the GM is disinclined to give the trait any nary relationships (making GURPS Social Engineering credence – if it’s just a talking point (“Don’t you know who essential!). The structure may consist of successive I am?”, “An hour ago, I was worried about living out the adventure arcs, each practically a campaign in itself, or year. Now I’ll be lucky to survive the week!”, etc.) – then slice-of-life vignettes. Whatever the approach, plenty of it’s worth zero points. This might mean that the GM agrees uneventful downtime, fast-forwarding, and time com- not to use the feature against the PC and the player prom- pression are necessary to shoehorn game-time lifespans ises not to argue for advantage; if the either party is hes- into real-time hours. itant, then call it a perk or a quirk, as appropriate. If the Such a saga demands a campaign that runs for a long player and GM can agree, though, a fun alternative is to time in real life. Many gaming groups have managed to give it both upsides and downsides. meet weekly for over a decade, logging hundreds of ses- Skills: A point in a “worthless” skill amounts to back- sions. This means there’s room for the fussiest rules and ground color. The player can suggest minor uses – and the bookkeeping; for instance, nobody will object too much GM may go along with these, provided that the requests to an evening devoted to the preparations necessary for a don’t turn to pestering. GURPS Mass Combat battle if it’s just one gathering out of hundreds.
Pyramid Magazine 6 October 2015
Power Level knocks society back to TL0, TL8 heroes gain High TL 8 [40], while if society attains TL9, they acquire Low TL 1 [‑5] unless The story comes first – but if the GM desires slow-but- they pay 5 points to change with the times. steady character improvement throughout, then it’s a good As for technological skills (p. B168), the GM decides idea to start with low-powered heroes. This makes their rise whether long-lived PCs who keep up must pay for constant to power a campaign theme, which aids storytelling and eases relearning. If so, it’s fairest to let players trade in points from the group into roleplaying movers and shakers. Starting at the lower-TL skills to buy higher-TL versions. If not, it’s rea- top risks leaving nowhere else to go! sonable to allow heroes who live through multiple TLs to express their skills’ TL as ranges at no extra cost; e.g., if society advances from TL2 to TL3 in play, a PC with Smith/TL2 might end up with Smith/TL2-3. The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size Friends and Foes of the cities, nor the crops – Associated NPCs and Contacts (see Friends and Foes, p. B31) are made for long-running campaigns. If they depart no, but the kind of man for distant lands or die off, the GM decides whether someone else takes up the torch or if the relevant trait just fades away, the country turns out. changing the PC’s point total. It’s probably fairest to assume continuity but to offer the option to buy off Enemies and reas- – Ralph Waldo Emerson sign points in Allies, Contacts, and Patrons when such an NPC exits the campaign. Dependents are a special case: Young ones age, grow more competent, and end up giving fewer disadvantage points. Gen- Society erally, a “free” increase in PC point total over such a lengthy Long-term campaigns require significant world-building. time period is a fair payoff for all those years spent looking The GM must pore over Law and Customs (pp. B506-508), out for the NPC. This is especially true of children born in Society and Government Types (pp. B509-510), Economics play, who initially lower their parents’ point totals with a siz- (pp. B514-519), and so on; decide on the setting’s social land- able disadvantage! scape; and then spell out the ramifications for the PCs. Con- Of course, many longtime NPC colleagues aren’t Allies, siderations such as the Legality Class of gear and exactly what Contacts, or Patrons. Quite a few work for pay or out of a Status implies have to be addressed up front. With plenty sense of professional obligation. While Loyalty of Hirelings, of time to tell the tale, it’s workable – and exciting – for the Loyalty of Slaves, and Loyalty Checks (pp. B518-519) are fussy heroes to be arrested, hold political office, lead rebellions, and rules, the extra detail is worthwhile in a lengthy campaign. a hundred other things. Consequently, any trait that could be deemed “social” – Money Matters Duty, Legal Enforcement Powers, Rank, Reputation, Social In the long run, Wealth-related traits (pp. B25-26) – as Stigma, Status, etc. – is likely to become relevant in play. well as woes like Compulsive Spending, Greed, and Miserli- Though some might be prohibited for story reasons, cam- ness – are highly relevant if the background isn’t cashless or paign duration alone isn’t cause to rule them out, as anything otherwise financially egalitarian. Fortunes can be made and suitable for PCs might matter eventually. The players must be lost over the course of a long campaign, so the GM is advised prepared to accept change in these areas as fortunes rise and to track the PCs’ expenses and holdings. Net-worth increases fall, but if factors outside their control can erase advantages after the game begins don’t cost points unless the player wants or add disadvantages, lowering point totals, then it’s only fair to lock them in as credit rating, family holdings, investments, for advantages gained or disadvantages shed as part of the job security, etc. Such social connections require the purchase plot to raise point totals for free (all other improvements still of Wealth or Independent Income; cash alone does not, but cost earned points!). Alternate Identity, Secret, and Zeroed are never enjoys plot protection. Thus, these advantages are really particularly ephemeral . . . given enough time, somebody will “finances as Signature Gear,” without which a person enjoys discover the truth, negating Alternate Identity or Zeroed, or no guarantee of a job or the benefits of What Cost of Living causing Secret to balloon into other problems. Gets You (p. B266), and must accept that lawyers, taxes, and rivals will thwart empire-building. Technology Level Jobs (pp. B516-517) and Cost of Living (pp. B265-266) have Campaign TL may well change as time passes. It’s recom- been hinted at already, and for good reason: In a long-term mended that the GM map out TL transitions and perhaps offer campaign, most PCs are likely to have employment, need to the players ways to shift the boundaries somewhat by invent- eat, and owe upkeep, taxes, etc. on holdings. The aforemen- ing things (or by obstructing innovation). Low TL and High tioned rules – as well as Finding a Job (p. B518) and Profes- TL relative to the starting TL are allowed, but the campaign’s sional Skills (pp. B215-216) – should see regular use. When not current TL is always worth zero points and personal TL is just months but years or decades pass, job rolls and monthly priced relative to that. If overall TL later increases, heroes who credits and debits offer ways to make workaday matters sig- don’t keep themselves up to date lose points; if TL plummets, nificant without filling an excessive amount of real-world time they gain points. This process is automatic – if an apocalypse with boring detail.
Pyramid Magazine 7 October 2015
Character Concepts Skills If the campaign is going to go on and on and on, it’s import- If an activity fits the campaign in the first place, then ant not to place excessive constraints on the players’ choices, enough time will make it nearly impossible to avoid. As a as most gamers can only play the same character for a long result, heroes ought to have access to all skills that suit the time if it’s one they truly want to play. Years, decades, and setting and genre. The timeframe may afford them the oppor- centuries contain the germ of hundreds or thousands of hours tunity to affect large-scale change, too, which calls for such oft- of gaming, so it’s worthwhile – and ultimately just a drop in overlooked skills as Economics, Finance, Politics, and Strat- the time bucket – for the GM to sit down with each player and egy. The same goes for skills relevant to inventing – especially spend a few hours fine-tuning the hero’s background, traits, Engineer. It’s worth reminding the players of all this. In a and place in the universe. Consequently, character templates really long-term campaign, the GM might also give out a free are rarely optimal for PCs, though the GM will find them point in History every few decades or generations! wonderful for generating the army of NPCs who will march through the campaign. Character Development In long-term campaigns, character-point awards are best Disadvantages kept modest or infrequent, unless the heroes’ meteoric rise to Most disadvantages are acceptable in a long-term cam- power is an intentional theme. The GM may want the players paign. If the GM can’t make a drawback meaningful over to fill out Time Use Sheets (pp. B499, B569), too, and might the course of years, generations, or lifetimes . . . well, that even declare study to be the primary means of improving isn’t the player’s fault! Indeed, to keep disruptive problems skills. Whatever the case may be, the GM must paint a clear such as Enemies and Berserk from constantly derailing the picture of what earned points can and can’t buy, as there will campaign – which gets tiresome after dozens or hundreds of be countless requests. Finally, it’s wise to take an easy-come, sessions – the GM may restrict appearance rolls to no higher easy-go view of PC point totals: losses (such as crippled limbs) than 9 or less or even 6 or less, and set a minimum self-con- reduce points while gains (e.g., Reputation or Status awards trol roll of 12 or less, rising to 15 or less for seriously trou- for great deeds) increase them – and the latter are “free” as blesome traits. long as they’re part of the story rather than player fiat.
Strictly Gear Wealth (pp. B25-26) and related rules tacitly assume Poverty: Having less gear is a disadvantage, but without medium- to long-term campaigns where the heroes have jobs in the picture, it’s less meaningful than low Wealth: ‑2 bank accounts and jobs. However, that’s a bad assump- points for ¥1/2, ‑3 points for ¥1/5, or ‑5 points for no gear. tion in short stories, adventures set in tightly confined areas with little access to the outside, and epics that cover What Gear? so much ground that financial standing “back home” car- The question of what gear to allow overlaps the Society, ries no clout. There, gear matters – not money – and the Technology Level, Money Matters, and Character Concepts GM may want to pick one of these options: headings. In general: Linear Gear: Everyone begins with gear worth what- • If the campaign type recommends detailed social ever amount the GM sets. More than that costs 1 point per mechanics, the GM should enforce Legality Class, Sta- extra 50% of dollar value. tus-based restrictions on going armed, and so on. Exponential Gear: The GM sets a gear budget. Those • The GM’s decisions about TL and the PCs’ access to who want more look up points spent in the “Size” column different TLs will limit the gear available. If the PCs can of the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. B550) and read some hail from many TLs, the GM will have a lot of questions fraction of “Linear Measurement” in yards as the budget to answer! multiple. A fraction of 1/2 is nice; that way, 0 points give • Gear that’s bought rather than assigned is subject ¥1 and every 6 points give ¥10. to the campaign’s money mechanics: Wealth, Signature Either way, some riders apply: Gear, or Strictly Gear (above). The GM’s decision here therefore affects how well equipped the PCs will be. Flat-Cost Signature Gear: Signature Gear neither has a • If character options are limited, gear should be, too. variable point cost nor provides gear. It’s just a perk that If character options are almost unlimited, gear should buys the usual “plot protection” against permanent loss support this. This refers to the number of options per for one item of any value. The GM decides what articles item type – not to the number of articles a PC may own. qualify. Personal kit is fine; huge things (like spaceships) Even if there are just a few pregenerated loadouts, each might not be. can include heaps of stuff; e.g., in a short story about a Upper Limit: An upper limit is advisable! This might be military operation, nobody can go shopping but the army quite low if the PCs are confined to a short adventure or might assign hundreds of items. Especially in short-term a small region, impressively high if their quest spans time campaigns, time devoted to equipping PCs is time not or space. spent roleplaying!
Pyramid Magazine 8 October 2015
Jumping Around to charge a point for an Accent perk (GURPS Power-Ups 2: Perks, p. 12) if somebody wants to master the speech of mul- Arguably, Jumper (Time) is best-suited to long-term gam- tiple eras. ing, as the GM presumably has an idea of where the campaign Sickness and Health: Crippling Injury (pp. B420-423), is headed. However, it becomes important to keep good notes Recovery (pp. B423-425), Illness (pp. B442-444), and simi- on campaign history to consult when the PCs hop backward, lar complications are worth introducing into a long-run- and also to cook up some technobabble for why the heroes ning campaign, as there will be time for PCs to weaken and didn’t notice themselves visiting the past back when the play- recover – and to feel meaningful consequences if recovery ers were gaming it out. It’s equally essential to record jumps isn’t complete. forward, so that the PCs can encounter or avoid themselves Lifespan: Age (p. B20) and Age and Aging (p. B444) become when the campaign reaches the relevant junctures. It’s proba- important, along with traits like Longevity, Self-Destruct, bly simplest to declare that time travel splits off separate time- Short Lifespan, Terminally Ill, and Unaging. The GM must lines – but even then, a sense of continuity inspired by what rule on how Extra Life interacts with death from old age, happens in play is better for player suspension of disbelief. too – do the elderly come back that way or are they reborn Abilities that look forward or backward in time – e.g., as their youthful selves? And if there are child PCs, the GM Precognition and Psychometry – demand similar diligence. has to decide whether the players pay points for or simply In particular, the GM must ensure the Psychometry reveals gain attribute levels (and thus points) as their characters grow events consistent with what the PCs witnessed at the time, and up. Since losses to aging deplete point totals, the campaign that current events are at least somewhat consistent with past will feel more consistent if youthful increases are also “free.” precognitive visions. Lastly, if high levels of Metabolism Control are possi- ble, allowing heroes to spend a long time in a trance, the GM needs to think about whether to allow those Many complications become important and roleplaying sleepers to play more-active (and perhaps worth introducing into long-term campaigns. less-powerful) characters in the interim. Resource Tracking: A theme implicit in several of the previous discussions is worth spelling out: Long- running campaigns make it worthwhile to do detailed book- Special Considerations keeping – for ammunition, for money, for meals and starvation Culture and Language: Given enough time, Cultural Famil- fatigue (p. B426), for maintaining personal gear (pp. B483- iarities and Languages evolve. This doesn’t change the traits 485), for everything. Lengthy sagas are often ultimately about or point totals of people who live through such evolution – struggles for resources, be those beans, bullets, land, or troops but the GM may consider linguistic drift important enough in fighting form. If such details matter, play them up!
Space GURPS quietly assumes that the PCs will travel. Why else they’ll be exploring and pushing the boundaries. The GM would the Basic Set offer traits covering linguistic and cul- may find GURPS City Stats helpful for defining local condi- tural differences, skills like Area Knowledge (Galaxy) and tions – or use the GURPS Spaceships series (notably GURPS Navigation (Hyperspace), and everything from hiking rules Spaceships 5: Exploration and Colony Spacecraft), if the to stats for faster-than-light starships? Or a whole chapter backdrop is something like a generation ship on which the on the Infinite Worlds setting? Yet a campaign may well not heroes are passengers. require such complications. On the flip side, it might – and at extremely large scales, the sheer volume of planning involved Power Level means some details may be overlooked. No particular power level works better or worse here, but the heroes can often get by on fewer points, because the range Good Things, of probable situations and interactions – and therefore essen- tial capabilities – will be smaller. Small Packages A campaign set entirely in a town, village, hamlet, or Society other small space – including a soap opera staged in a palace, In a confined campaign, it’s vital to set limits on what social manor house, suburb, office, or similar – doesn’t require rules interactions happen “on screen.” For instance, if there are law for things that don’t exist or can’t occur within its confines. enforcers and the heroes risk being arrested for wrongdoing, It ought to recognize the outside world, with rare exceptions Control Rating (pp. B506-507) and Legality (p. B507) are defi- (e.g., tiny, inescapable prison dimensions), but it can abstract nitely worth the fuss – but if that would derail the campaign, away events at the borders. The GM can save a lot of time by ignore those rules. Such thinking holds for all social mechan- dispensing with anything that isn’t central to what happens ics. Like a short-term game, a highly localized one can often inside the setting. get away with treating greater society as a “black box” outside On the other hand, the setting itself needs extra detail. If the story’s boundaries and abstracting its concerns as modifi- the players are honor-bound to keep their characters there, ers to dice rolls.
Pyramid Magazine 9 October 2015
Thus, social traits are reasonable only if they don’t reach in the smallest of settings! For instance, a drama that never outside the story’s borders. If something like Clerical Invest- leaves the office and focuses on professional life will find Jobs ment, Duty, Legal Enforcement Powers, Rank, or Tenure (pp. B516-517) and Cost of Living (pp. B265-266) indispens- matters at work, but “work” happens off-stage and the game able. Something similar goes for a soap opera where the work- focuses on the heroes at home, then it’s background color place is off-screen but homes and financial woes are not. (p. 6) unless it influences details we do see; e.g., the size of a On the other hand, many tiny settings are isolated in PC’s residence. Within those constraints, traits with variable such a way that NPCs or institutions with an interest in the scope or frequency of appearance are fine, but require adjust- heroes’ financial standing have no presence or power within ment for their significance to the campaign. For instance, in the campaign’s borders. In those circumstances, the GM can a small-town drama, Claim to Hospitality is worth 10 points jettison finicky money-related rules and reduce the associated if you’re greeted warmly in every household, Legal Immunity traits to mere background color (p. 6). In a cabin in the mid- costs 15 points if nothing you do will be challenged, and a dle of nowhere, nobody cares how much you own or owe on Reputation with all the townsfolk gets no cost reduction for account. Equipment is dear to most adventurers, and a com- a small group. mon exception; where important, the GM can handle it with Narrow spatial scope, like tight temporal scope, frequently Strictly Gear (p. 8). renders Social Chameleon meaningless; allow it only if Rank or Status appears in the setting and getting along with those who Character Concepts possess it is meaningful. Similar advice applies to Intolerance, Compact settings typically support only a modest range of Sense of Duty, Xenophilia, Xenophobia, and related disadvan- character types, which the GM must outline for the players. tages: If nobody the PC would particularly like or hate will Keeping the inhabitants appropriate to the backdrop is essen- visit the setting, it’s background color. tial to bringing the place to life. Character templates are a powerful tool here, as it’s often possible to define a near-com- Technology Level plete set of suitable roles. A small location generally has a fixed TL, which needn’t be that of the surrounding society. Heroes with a different Disadvantages personal TL must take Low TL or High TL, even if they would To summarize a concept that appears repeatedly above be “average” in the outside world. Or perhaps setting and sur- and below: If a disadvantage’s trigger doesn’t exist within the roundings share the same TL, and these traits reflect distant campaign’s boundaries, then the trait isn’t a disadvantage but origins. Such details are relevant only as color, as the PCs background color (p. 6). won’t be leaving; their standing is always priced relative to Addiction, Dependency, Draining, Increased Life Support, the locals. Maintenance, Restricted Diet, and similar problems that rely on the availability of a substance or an action merit vigilance for almost the opposite reason: If their demands can’t be met within the setting, the character is doomed! It’s reasonable to Many traits are worth points adjust such problems to be worth more points to reflect scar- only if they have influence within city, but absence typically amounts to Terminally Ill – if so, call it that. And anything that leads to “dead shortly after the the campaign’s boundaries. campaign starts” is best forbidden. See Rarity (p. 11) for further, related considerations.
Skills Campaigns of limited spatial scope call for fewer skills, Friends and Foes as many things simply won’t arise in the course of the game. Allies, Contacts, Enemies, Favors, Patrons, etc. are similar By contrast with short-duration campaigns, though, it’s more to other social traits: They are worth points only if they have acceptable – even advisable – to warn the players away from influence within the campaign’s boundaries. Provided that’s worthless skills. In a campaign about gang members in an the case, any frequency of appearance can work. For instance, American inner city, it wouldn’t even make sense for the PCs even in a hamlet of 20 souls, an Enemy might represent any- to know Animal Handling (Camels), Area Knowledge (Ara- thing from bit part (like the token jerk in a 1970s sitcom) to bian Desert), and Survival (Desert)! A few points in mar- full-time local villain. ginal skills can add background color (p. 6), but that’s about Restricted spatial scope can also cast doubt on Mindlink it. Well-constructed templates are a great way to convey the and Special Rapport. These advantages are best avoided desired balance. unless the other person is within the campaign’s borders – On the other hand, this is a chance for narrow specialties to or the GM wants to feed in outside information to advance shine. The GM may want to define Area Knowledge and Cur- the plot! rent Affairs skills for particular neighborhoods or even build- ings. Ultra-specific kinds of Hidden Lore covering such trivia Money Matters as the secret of Mrs. McGruder’s garden shed are also fun. Wealth-related traits (pp. B25-26) and the rules to which Finally, it just about always makes sense to ignore Planet they refer matter only if the backdrop is one in which the Types (p. B180), the need to specialize Naturalist and Survival PCs work and confront social differences. This is possible by world, and comparable rules.
Pyramid Magazine 10 October 2015
Character Development Culture and Language: Campaigns set in offices, castles, towns, etc. often feature an extremely homogeneous cast A campaign that unfolds in tight quarters merits serious and don’t absolutely require Culture (p. B23) or Language thought about what can be learned there. Options will be lim- (pp. B23-25). The GM may reduce the associated traits (Cul- ited, even (or especially!) when it comes to abilities valuable tural Familiarities, Cultural Adaptability, Languages, and in the specific context; for instance, in the Prison Dimension, Language Talent) to background color (p. 6), unless the story the Escape Prison Dimension spell is surely useful and just focuses on something like first contact, translating old texts, as surely unavailable. It’s also prudent to make improvement or foreign exchange students; in cases like those, such things slow and/or to set upper limits, so that the heroes don’t rapidly have their usual point costs and the GM may want to build outgrow the setting; e.g., in a manor-house soap opera that’s them into templates. supposed to feature the occasional awkward relationship, the Physical Appearance: Unless the campaign packs a lot of dif- GM should take steps to prevent everyone from racing toward ferent races into a small space, it’s best to forbid the Universal level 20+ in social skills. enhancement on Appearance, as it will be mostly meaningless. Mistaken Identity is exceedingly unlikely to matter if the cast Jumping Around is very small. The GM will want to forbid Jumper and Warp (and similar capabilities, such as the Teleport spell) in little campaigns, for what should be obvious reasons: If the PCs just leave, there won’t be much of a game! If lim- Rarity ited access to resources is part of the plan – and espe- When an advantage (such as Permeation or Resistant), a cially if gear is important – Snatcher is also a bad fit. disadvantage (e.g., Dread or Vulnerability), or a modifier (like Be aware that Flight, Tunneling, Walk on Air, Accessibility, or Limited for DR) judges price based on how Walk on Liquid, and similar potent movement abil- often something turns up, it’s usually simplest to stick to the ities (even high Enhanced Move) can be equally examples in the Basic Set. At the extremes of temporal or spa- disruptive. If the GM intends to douse the spotlight tial scope, though, it’s fairer to assess such things on the basis when the PCs step out of the setting – or won’t permit of rarity in the campaign. them to leave – then it’s fairest not to let players waste Short-run campaigns and one-off adventures may not run points on such capabilities. for long enough for many substances or conditions to turn up. Tiny settings might not include many (or any) examples. In Special Considerations either case, this justifies a rarity increase. Cartography: A tiny campaign can forgo extensive Campaigns of epic proportions should take the long view. atlases of countries, planets, solar systems, etc., but For instance, “Only on a planet” isn’t a meaningful limitation requires detailed maps of the immediate setting – pos- on Earth, but it’s a restrictive condition if the heroes mostly sibly including building floor plans. If the PCs must travel through outer space. On the other hand, something like spend all their time there, it’s only fair to show the interstellar dust is rare on Earth, but those spacemen won’t players what “there” looks like! This means many area have trouble finding it. and room maps (Maps, pp. B490-492). If the heroes In all cases, beware of traits with rarity “baked in.” If enor- have personal residences, the GM might ask the play- mous or tiny scale – in time or space – makes an advantage less ers to share some of the workload. useful or a disadvantage more severe, subtract a few points to Travel: Anything travel-related is of limited utility reduce advantage cost or raise disadvantage value. If the oppo- if the PCs stay put. The GM may ignore the rules for site is true, add points. hiking, flying, and so on unless the heroes will be tak- Finally, if an ability is so rarely useful – or a disadvantage is ing an awful lot of short-range jaunts for some reason. so unlikely to be troublesome – that rarity drops off the end of Likewise, the GM can omit the likes of Absolute Direc- the scale, just call it background color (p. 6). tion, Motion Sickness, Area Knowledge specialties for faraway places, Current Affairs (Travel), and skills for long-range vehicles (e.g., almost all Crewman, Piloting, and Shiphandling skills, plus Navigation specialties besides Land), leaving them off pregenerated characters, templates, Know No Limit GURPS was designed to support campaigns of vast spatial and possibly the list of what’s available in general. These scope. There’s GURPS Space for galaxy-sized adventure, and become background color (p. 6). Other Planes of Existence (pp. B519-522) and GURPS Infinite Hazards: The GM can safely ignore rules for hazards Worlds for gamers who feel that one Creation isn’t enough. such as cold, unusual gravity, high altitude, and seasick- But with great size comes great headaches. Here’s something ness except when these things define setting status quo. As to help with that . . . a result, advantages, disadvantages, and skills that interact with environments not found inside the campaign bound- aries become background color (p. 6). Examples include Power Level Amphibious and Speak Underwater in a campaign set Huge campaigns demand lots of points. It isn’t fun for entirely in parched desert, Space Sickness if nobody can the heroes to drift between planets or universes without the visit space, Timesickness if there’s no jumping around, and means to perform suitably epic tasks. If the GM feels strongly a great many Survival skills. about starting out small, rapid advancement is recommended.
Pyramid Magazine 11 October 2015
Society Vast organizations like galaxy-wide brotherhoods (and their representatives) ought to get appearance rolls that match their In large-scale campaigns, world-building rules such as Law reach. And if an associated NPC – usually a Dependent or an and Customs (pp. B506-508), Society and Government Types Ally, but possibly a Contact, an Enemy, or a Patron aboard the (pp. B509-510), and Economics (pp. B514-519) very much PC’s starship or whatever – travels with the hero, appearance matter. However, each port of call has its own answers to rolls can have the usual range of values. questions like “What’s legal?” and “Who’s in charge?”, and the GM must answer these. This makes it tricky to price traits that interact with such concerns, as their value may fluctuate widely or average to nil. Broadly, any social trait limited to a small corner of the set- Chancellor Palpatine: I don’t know ting could fairly be given the modifiers under People Affected how much longer I can hold off the vote, (p. B27), while anything more localized than those multipliers my friends. More and more star systems allow for becomes background color (p. 6). To be worth full price, advantages and disadvantages require campaign-wide are joining the Separatists. scope. Groups affected should be adjusted with setting size Mace Windu: If they do break away – in mind – as should frequencies of appearance, where these emulate the odds of running into somebody who cares or sim- Chancellor Palpatine: I will not let ulate the effects of vast distances on such people catching up this Republic that has stood for with the character. On the other hand, social traits related to a thousand years be split in two! powerful, setting-wide cultures and organizations cost full points, and where they come in levels, the universe may well – Star Wars Episode II: be populous enough to go past Earthly limits; e.g., Rank 15 or Attack of the Clones Status 20 might be meaningful if there are enough people to fill out the hierarchy. Finally, note that expansive backgrounds are often highly multi-racial. Traits such as Alternate Identity, Mistaken Iden- tity, and Secret Identity are unlikely to matter if most races Money Matters can’t tell individual aliens apart. Likewise, Social Regard and Wealth-related traits (pp. B25-26) and Cost of Living Social Stigma may be too tied to alien cultural norms to be rel- (pp. B265-266) matter only if there’s a near-universal stan- evant on the next planet or timeline. The GM might want to dard of solvency and a way to communicate credit rating, declare these things background color, too. debt, and so on over vast distances. Jobs (pp. B516-517) like- wise falls by the wayside if there’s no way for bosses and Technology Level employees to contact one another. Barring a far-reaching financial system, Wealth ends up establishing starting gear It’s best to establish a “campaign TL” that reflects the set- and little else. The GM may want to dispense with all this ting’s dominant, average, or most common technology. Low and use Strictly Gear (p. 8) – perhaps the exponential variant TL and High TL are priced relative to this standard for every- with a high upper limit, if the heroes own pricey starships one. That way, no matter where the story goes, point totals or parachronic tech. It’s even simpler to have someone issue reflect TL differences: NPCs from primitive worlds have lower the PCs their initial means of travel, or to give it to them as point totals; those from advanced ones, higher point totals. a campaign assumption, and possibly to do the same with PCs hailing from these places can either operate at the cam- other plot-essential equipment. paign TL at no cost – and be more or less advanced than their When the campaign has a clear home base, though, the homefolk – or keep their native TL and claim or pay 5 points rules for money, jobs, and cost of living work normally if the per TL, respectively. PC’s return there between missions. In that case, money-re- This makes it essential to specify how much Low TL or lated traits have their usual point value and gear has its usual High TL starting PCs can have, and what technological skills cash cost. The GM may still want to make special exceptions (p. B168) are available at each TL. The GM must set clear lim- for conveyances, however. its on not just how advanced the heroes can be, but also in what areas. Finally, when the background is genuinely cosmic in Character Concepts scope, the odds of encountering alien or simply incompre- With no sure-fire way to know what might eventually prove hensible technology are high. Everybody should read Different useful, an expansive mindset is best. Before saying, “You can’t Technologies (pp. B513-514), and the GM may occasionally do that,” the GM might make a counteroffer: “If you want to invoke Futuristic and Alien Artifacts and Weird Technology do that, here’s the version I’m comfortable with.” This isn’t the (pp. B478-479). same as devoting a large amount of time to fine-tuning each PC, which is only worthwhile if the campaign also has signif- Friends and Foes icant temporal scope; rather, it’s about having a comprehen- sive set of character guidelines that answer questions about Friends and Foes (p. B31) who are tied to one place in a how the setting works. Such an approach would benefit any campaign of sweeping scope work like other social traits campaign, but one that might go almost anywhere requires and amount to background color (p. 6). Those who travel it – and given the possible range of PCs, it’s a more practical should have appearance rolls that reflect their mobility. tool than character templates.
Pyramid Magazine 12 October 2015
A campaign that sweeps between planets, even universes Spacer, at least, and maybe more-technical skills. Constant often features numerous playable races, too. The GM must use of Jumper or Warp – or equivalent tech – necessitates create racial templates ahead of time and think about how Body Sense. The GM’s templates, if any, ought to offer these they’ll interact when they meet and what the included traits things, and players shouldn’t omit them when creating char- imply for regular travel between worlds. A race that has to acters free-form. stay on its home planet, or that can’t survive without mana in Finally, Familiarity (p. B169) can become a big deal in a a game where most of creation lacks mana, isn’t very suitable large setting. There might be endless weapons to shoot with for PCs. Guns, dances to perform with Dancing, and plants to grow with Gardening. In a realistic campaign, this makes it import- Disadvantages ant to keep track of starting familiarities and those acquired in play. These cost only a few hours to acquire, so the issues of Vast spatial scope makes certain problems easier to avoid. dilution and wasted points don’t arise. To account for this in the case of disadvantages with appear- ance or self-control rolls, simply restrict the former to 9 or less or 6 or less, and the latter to 12 or less or 15 or less. That way, Character Development players won’t be raking in as many points for troubles their If the campaign spans many worlds, the GM can be free characters are ducking out on. and easy with character-point awards, as there are always new Rarity (p. 11) can cut either way: Something that’s rare on horizons, scarier foes, and so on in the universe(s). There’s one world might be easy to find when you can visit dozens or lots to learn, too, making it simpler for the GM to list the few millions of worlds . . . but if it’s tied to a single world among things that don’t fit the campaign vision than to detail every a multitude, it can be impossibly hard to find. The GM may possible option. Finally, as travel will fill large swaths of game alter point value to match, making the disadvantage more time, use of Improvement Through Study (pp. B292-294) and severe if the rarity shift inconveniences the hero, less severe if Time Use Sheets (pp. B499, B569) is recommended. it benefits the PC. Jumping Around Warp and Jumper (World) fit best into cam- A road that does not lead to other paigns of vast physical scope. The GM must address questions about what modifiers are roads always has to be retraced, required, common, and forbidden on those advantages, and prepare lists of distances for unless the traveller chooses to rust Warp and accessible worlds for Jumper. at the end of it. Special Considerations – Tehyi Hsieh Cartography: If the campaign ranges far and wide, planetary and solar-system maps – and perhaps schematics of other dimen- sions – become important. The details of any one building, Skills town, or even nation become a whole lot less significant, as In this kind of campaign, almost anything goes when it the PCs won’t be there for long. An exception is the deck plan comes to skills. However, the GM must decide whether to of any vehicle the heroes use; if they’ll be aboard their con- bother with extremely narrow regional specialties, because veyance much of the time, then it’s the only “home” and small something like Area Knowledge (Hometown) or Current area of relevance, meaning it merits extra attention. See Maps Affairs (Hometown) can be a waste of points in a game that (pp. B490-492) for more on this topic. starts with everyone leaving home, never to return. A good Range: If distances are truly cosmic, many important compromise is to allow “useless” character points to migrate traits, devices, and effects might end up being too short- to more-valuable skills; e.g., points in narrow Area Knowledge ranged to matter. To battle insurmountable range penalties and Current Affairs specialties might slide over to Area Knowl- for an ability, use an enhancement like Malediction (p. B106) edge (Galaxy), Free Fall, Spacer, and Vacc Suit as the heroes or Long-Range (GURPS Powers, pp. 108-109) to shift modifi- explore the galaxy in their starship. Generally, it’s fairer to let ers from the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. B550) or worse to characters make IQ rolls to recall stuff from back home, should Long-Distance Modifiers (p. B241), or to shed them altogether. that matter, than it is to require skills for such knowledge. The GM may wish to do something similar for vital spells If “vast” means “lots of worlds,” it also becomes important and technologies. If the absolute range of a capability is so to enforce Planet Types (p. B180) and the requirement to spe- small as to be irrelevant, consider lots of Increased Range cialize Naturalist and Survival by specific planet. However, if (p. B106) for advantages, and boosting the maximum range the number of specialties is too large, characters can end up of gadgets. Such measures aren’t absolutely necessary, but with hopelessly diluted skill lists – or pouring endless points they’re a good idea on galaxy-spanning adventures featuring into rarely used skills. It’s often best to err on the cinematic telepathy, FTL radio, and so on. And when the gap is between side and quietly ignore these rules. planes of existence, don’t overlook World-Spanning (Powers, One thing that can’t be ignored is the skill set needed to p. 109), and consider allowing communications and simi- travel. Going from A to B to C by starship many times per lar abilities to work at a flat ‑10 per boundary crossed, as in adventure (or even game session!) calls for people to know Casting Interdimensionally (GURPS Thaumatology, p. 86).
Pyramid Magazine 13 October 2015
Transportation: It should be amply clear by now that travel whether that means G-Experience, an exotic Environment is a very big deal in an expansive campaign. The GM will Suit skill, or Temporal Inertia; the GM should direct players want to be conversant with Vehicles (pp. B462-470), and pos- toward these and build them into any templates. sibly use supplements such as the GURPS Spaceships series. Culture and Language: The GM must list all significant, Interdimensional Travel (pp. B529-535) may be relevant, too, known Cultural Familiarities and Languages ahead of time, depending on the direction the game takes. Operation skills so that the players have a crack at buying the important are essential, and the GM must ensure that they appear on any ones. It’s also necessary to indicate which Cultural Familiar- templates offered. And if the journeys are between planes of ities are “alien,” and thus cost double and benefit only from existence, read up on Travel Between Game Worlds (p. B520). Xeno-Adaptability. It’s often convenient to establish a pretext Hazards: When the PCs might end up anywhere, any dan- for “universal” or “common” examples that everybody has – ger might turn up! The GM must be familiar with Hazards possibly at no point cost, in addition to a free native culture (pp. B428-437) – particularly those encountered during and language. travel, such Seasickness (p. B436). The same goes for care- Physical Appearance: In a truly huge setting, the GM owes fully tracking food supplies and worrying about Fatigue it to the players to define clusters of “very similar races” for (pp. B426-427). Space travel means that Different Gravity Appearance. If the possibilities are open-ended, it may be best (p. B350), Hazardous Atmospheres (p. B429), Gravity and to treat Appearance as a zero-point feature with no meaningful Acceleration (p. B434), and Vacuum (p. B437) are never far effect unless it has the Universal enhancement. Similar advice away, while interdimensional journeys frequently risk some- holds for Unnatural Features: If endless races trot across the thing akin to Fascinating Parachronic Disasters (p. B532). stage, this loses its meaning, though the GM may treat every- Traits that mitigate such difficulties become important, one as “unnatural” for 0 points when they’re the alien visitors! And Other Conundrums: The GM will face endless questions about how tradition- ally world-bound or planetside traits work when the heroes zoom between solar sys- tems, galaxies, or universes. For instance, Lunacy assumes that there’s a moon with monthly phases, but in a large-scale cam- paign, the question of what moon arises, and if the answer is tied to a specific planet – or to being on a planet that has a moon, at least – this trait slips from being a dis- advantage to background color (p. 6). Noc- turnal gets horribly confusing for similar reasons, and is best forbidden. Then there are puzzles like “What’s the mana level in outer space?” and “Does Night Vision work on the Plane of Shadow?” The pre- cise answers depend on the campaign, but it’s imperative that the GM anticipate such questions and have answers.
About the Author
Sean “Dr. Kromm” Punch set out to become a particle physicist in 1985, ended up the GURPS Line Editor in 1995, and has engineered rules for almost every GURPS product since. He developed, edited, or wrote dozens of GURPS Third Edition projects between 1995 and 2002. In 2004, he produced the GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition with David Pulver. Since then, he has created GURPS Powers (with Phil Masters), GURPS Martial Arts (with Peter Dell’Orto), GURPS Zombies, and the GURPS Action, GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, and GURPS Power-Ups series . . . among other things. Sean has been a gamer since 1979. His non-gaming interests include cinema, mixology, and Argentine tango.
Pyramid Magazine 14 October 2015
Eidetic Memory The Disappearance of Father Cohen by David L. Pulver
This mystery adventure is for a modern Horror (or low- 1. Soon after arriving, he was called upon by Monsignor powered Monster Hunters) campaign. The party investigates Wright, an elderly priest, Father Cohen’s mentor and con- the disappearance of a priest, Father Michael Cohen. They fessor. Wright expressed concern for Father Cohen, asking if begin with several leads, each presenting different perspec- Brock had heard from him: Cohen had not taken confession tives on the missing priest’s recent actions. What leads they in nearly a month. pursue and the order they do so will likely to influence how the 2. Just after mid-day mass, an upset parishioner, Mr. Paul PCs view Cohen, as saint or sinner, and whether they choose Webster, asked to talk to a Father Cohen, but spoke with to act . . . Brock. His daughter Elizabeth’s grave had been defaced: a bizarre symbol is now carved into the headstone – he fears it
St. Joseph’s may be Satanic! Father Cohen had officiated at his daughter’s recent funeral, so Webster came here seeking answers. Just The setting is a generic North American city, likely the par- kids . . . or worse? The priest promises he’ll come look at it. ty’s hometown. The PCs are assumed to have sufficient repu- 3. Later that day, the choir director told him a plainclothes tation as supernatural investigators that people will seek their police officer, Detective Wilma Morris, had spoken to a few of aid. They’re contacted by Father Thomas Brock, a Catholic his parishioners and lay staff, asking leading questions about priest. Maybe he’s a “friend of a friend” connection – perhaps Father Cohen and what relationships, if any, he had with chil- they helped a parishioner or fellow cleric in a prior adventure, dren in the parish. Brock called the police department but had or he provides them holy water. Brock knows just enough to been told it was “just routine questions.” realize he’s over his head. (If they require pay, he can squeeze 4. The next day – three days ago – Brock received a call something from church funds.) from a local clinic. “Please tell Father Cohen his rabies test Brock is newly assigned to St. Joseph’s Church, another came back negative.” Father Brock asked Olivia if she knew priest’s parish. Brock was brought in because the regular about this. “Father Cohen was attacked by a dog,” she told priest, Father Michael Cohen, suddenly – last week – con- him primly “the same night young Elizabeth Webster passed tacted the bishop and insisted on a leave of absence “for per- away.” Then she told him, “Father, I don’t think I am feeling sonal reasons.” Cohen has not answered any calls from the well,” and insisted on leaving early. She has called in sick bishop’s office or left a forwarding address, all very irregular; ever since. Father Brock was sent to minister to the congregation until 5. Yesterday, Brock was working late in the church’s office, things were settled. sorting a month’s wroth of papers and administrative work St. Joseph’s is a modest neighborhood church built in the and worrying. Then the phone rang. He answered it. “I can’t 1920s. The priest resides in the attached rectory (part office, stop,” a man’s voice groaned. “He’s just a child . . . but the hun- part apartment). In addition to Father Brock there’s five part- ger! God help me, I just can’t stop!” He heard something in the time staff (lay pastors, cleaning staff, choir director, etc.) background, it sounded like a moan . . . and a chewing noise? Brock has been at St. Joseph’s Church only five days (two Or slurping? Then the phone went dead. Brock felt a chill go days after Father Cohen left). He is overworked – recently the through him. Father Brock doesn’t know who the voice was. church’s secretary Olivia Kramer called in sick. He feared it was Father Cohen . . . So what made him summon occult investigators? A series Father Brock now believes something uncanny is going of odd events: on! He considered contacting his superior, the local bishop.
Pyramid Magazine 15 October 2015
However, he knows that man doesn’t believe in the supernat- The Police ural and would likely push it under a rug. Instead, he wants Brock mentioned a detective Morris’ visit, so the investi- the party to look into this and find Father Cohen, or figure out gators may wish to speak with the local police to see what what he’s mixed up in. they know. The police aren’t likely to divulge information Brock or any laity at St. Joseph’s can tell them a little about unless they believe they’ll gain something in return, but Father Cohen: he’s 32 years old, a good priest, well-liked until more assistance is possible if the party includes anyone recently when he began neglecting his duties. There are sev- with police Contacts, a relevant job (e.g., press credentials, eral pictures of him in the church: 5’11”, white, thin build, lawyers), or Legal Enforcement Powers. Appropriate social balding, average features, brown eyes, horn-rim glasses. But skills, high reaction rolls, mind powers, etc. could also elicit where is he now? Brock doesn’t know. cooperation. In fact, the police hold several clues, but hav- en’t connected them, so answers depend on who and what The Leads questions the investigators ask. Brock’s story provides the investigators with certain leads Father Cohen: Detective Wilma Morris is in child protective they can easily follow up. Others can be developed based on services. A week ago, a teacher at Thorncroft Elementary, a any skills or abilities the party has or things they discover. local school, glimpsed a man taking pictures of children play- ing outside at recess. The photographer was described as a Contacting Monsignor Wright tall, lean, middle-aged white man, balding, wearing a maroon polo shirt; he left before the teacher could get a closer look. Monsignor Wright is an elderly (67 years old) priest of St. The principal reported the incident to the police, and a police Martin’s, a neighboring parish. Off duty, his hobby is model artist drew a sketch to check against photos of registered sex railways: he has a set in one room (popular with local chil- offenders. When one officer said he thought the sketch resem- dren). Given a good reaction, he’ll share information once he bled his pastor, Father Cohen, Morris decided to ask a few learns the PCs are working for Father Brock; he’s protective of routine questions at St. Joseph’s. She found Cohen’s unex- Father Cohen, believing him a good man. plained absence a bit suspicious, but as no actual crime had Wright is Cohen’s spiritual advisor, but lately the younger been committed and her questions revealed Cohen had no his- priest has avoided him, excusing himself citing “overwork.” tory of impropriety toward or responsibility for children, her He is disturbed that Cohen had not come in for confession in investigation has gone no farther. over a month. Wright doesn’t know about a dog attack or the Websters (or the grave symbol). He recalls Cohen mentioning The party may later have other questions for police if that he feared for the mental and spiritual health of one of his they’ve followed other leads: parishioners, but not who (it was under the seal of the confes- Elizabeth Webster’s Death: This is in the police files, but sion). In their last conversation, a month ago, Cohen brought not suspicious. Ruled an accident: the driver of the car (local up the Problem of Evil, and whether the Devil was a real force plumber Todd Venkman) and Father Cohen both corrobo- or a metaphor. rated that she ran into traffic. The fierce dog was never found; He’s happy to discuss better times: Father Michael Cohen probably a stray dog. grew up right here in the city. His dad, John, was a banker; Albert Rayes: See Investigating Albert Rayes (pp. 18-19). his mother, Catherine, a nurse – “fine, church-going people.” Michael was interested in the church from an early age, sang in the choir, and joined Catholic youth groups. He felt Olivia Kramer a calling to be a priest, and Wright recommended him to The party may believe that Olivia, the secretary who called the seminary. He became an associate parish priest, then in sick, knows more than she told Brock. They’re right. Her took a leave of absence to gain a masters degree in social address is in the church files. She’s a lay employee, Father work, then returned to the diocese a year ago to resume Cohen’s administrative assistant. Other staff know she’s had his ministry. to assume more of a burden due his neglect of his duties. Wright describes Father Cohen as well-liked by his parish- Perhaps it got to her? ioners and respected by the bishop. He is diligent. He minis- Olivia is a widow who lives alone in a small apartment a ters to troubled families, visits sick parishioners, and helps few blocks from the church. She is scared. Strange events organize local charities. He is driven by his vocation; the only have been happening. She doesn’t want to get Father Cohen relaxation he engages in is a few days he takes off every year in trouble, but if treated kindly (or pressed), she may agree to to go bird watching. “He has a cabin in the woods and loves meet with a PC and tell her story. She is 49 years old, a bird- photography. Says birds remind him of angels. I joined him thin, petite woman with large eyeglasses and honey-blond hair one year, a restful place. Drove me out there in his pickup. pulled back into a bun. She has dark circles under her eyes. A little cold for my old bones, though. No electric heating.” Olivia can tell them Father Cohen is a good priest, caring If asked if Cohen could be in his cabin: “This time of year? I deeply for his parishioners. If they ask, she says he has no suppose it’s possible.” While he can give them the address (20 interest in the occult or supernatural, although he does clearly miles out of town), he knows it has no phone. If asked, he can believe in God, angels, and saints. The Devil? Not so much. describe Cohen’s pickup truck: a dark blue GMC. “That changed seven or eight weeks ago. It was that If the party mention the police visit, or hint or ask if Cohen woman, Elizabeth Webster,” Olivia says. Olivia describes might be a child molester or the like, Wright will indignantly Elizabeth as in her 20s, big sad eyes, blond, tall and thin but defend him: “Not a chance! Father Cohen is as morally upright pretty, like a model. Unmarried, but she’d gotten pregnant a priest as you could find.” with an out-of-wedlock child. Yet that clearly wasn’t all of it.
Pyramid Magazine 16 October 2015
Father Cohen was her confessor, and Olivia could tell from the He will talk freely about his daughter if asked. She was 22. way he reacted that she told him things that clearly troubled He has a picture of her: a tall, beautiful blond girl with great him. He was an experienced priest; he had heard it all. What cheekbones and a tentative smile. She died in a car accident a could disturb him so? month ago when “some damn dog chased her and she ran into Father Cohen took the seal of the confession seriously, traffic.” The driver, a guy named Venkman, wasn’t at fault. He so he’d never say whatever it was that Elizabeth told him. continues: “She was pregnant, but she never told me who the But Olivia could see that each time the young woman and father was. Maybe she didn’t know. She used to go clubbing, the priest spoke together, Cohen grew increasingly uneasy. fooled around, took drugs, diet pills . . .” The secretary began to notice a change in his behavior: He “Lizzie worked as a fashion model,” he explains. “There neglected his sermons and helping with Catholic aid groups, was a lot of pressure. But she was getting help! She’d gone to and he spent time on long walks or reading or praying. He a shrink, had beaten the eating disorder, but then she found stopped going to confession himself. out she was pregnant. It was tough, but Father Cohen was Then it happened. Five weeks ago, Olivia and the priest helping her.” were closing up the church in the evening when a phone call If they ask who the shrink was, Webster replies, “Dr. Rayes, came from Ms. Webster for Father Cohen. He took it. Olivia up on Able Road. She’d been seeing him for a while. I was pay- was in the next room, not eavesdropping, but she overheard ing the bill. It seemed to help. Rayes came to the funeral. Tall some of Father Cohen’s side of the conversation when his guy in a suit, English accent. He was as angry as I was. He told voice was raised. The distraught girl was apparently consid- me her death and the baby’s were a terrible waste, a sacrilege ering suicide, a late-term abortion, or both, and Cohen was . . .” Webster shakes his head. “He’s gone now too, you know? trying to talk her down. After she hung up, Father Cohen was I read in the paper he died in a fire just two weeks ago.” sufficiently concerned that he packed a bag and drove off in his truck to counsel her. As instructed, Olivia remained by the phone in case the girl should call back, instructed to keep her calm and tell her the priest was on the way. Instead, an hour later, the secretary received a call from the The Kishin’s power hospital. There had been an accident, and Father Cohen and Elizabeth Webster had been admitted to the ER. Olivia says she rushed off to the hospital. She found Cohen in a hospital surpasses human bed, his arms and legs bandaged, his eyes haunted. He spoke in a monotone that chilled her: Elizabeth was dead. understanding. He had been talking with Elizabeth in front of her house in the driveway; she had agreed to come back with him to It is evolution itself. the church when a stray dog had loomed out of the shadows and attacked them. He had tried to stop it, but frightened of – Medusa Gorgon, the dog, the young woman had panicked. While trying to get away, she ran into traffic at the intersection. She was struck in Soul Eater by a car. She and her unborn baby died. Father Cohen got out of the hospital a day later. The dog was never found by animal control, so the priest had to undergo a sequence of rabies shots. Afterward this incident, Father Cohen was a grim, changed The Webster Grave man. “He never smiled again,” explains Olivia. “He took care Elizabeth Webster lies buried in the Catholic section of one of Ms. Webster’s funeral at her father’s request, but seemed of the city’s multi-denominational cemeteries. Her grave has to lose interest in his calling. Often he missed sermons or cut fresh flowers (left by Webster on his last visit) and a headstone them short. He left the church for hours at a time during the with the dedication “Elizabeth Webster, beloved daughter.” day or at night. He did odd things – just before he left, he had (Webster won’t give permission to exhume the body, but if the me go online and print him out hundreds of city maternity PCs do so anyway, there’s nothing unusual.) The mysterious and birth records. He prayed a lot. I guess that’s good?” symbol is carved into the headstone with a chisel. Webster Then, a bit over a week ago, he insisted on a leave of intends to get it fixed as soon the investigator is over. absence – and he just disappeared. That’s all the assistant knows. The whole thing – and then the business with the The Symbol grave, and occult symbols – it has her spooked. She wants no The figure is a spiral whose head divides into a verti- more part of it! cal three-pronged fork, crossed by a hemispherical arc. A successful Thaumatology roll – or some library work and Paul Webster Occultism or Research skill – can identify it as a sigil of late Paul Webster, 57, is a wealthy stockbroker and widower medieval origin that represents Baalkaluzu, a demon asso- with a penthouse apartment. He’s concerned about the deface- ciated with fornication, gluttony, and despair. A few obscure ment of his daughter’s grave, but more irritated than afraid. occult reference works add more details: Under the guise of “It’s just another damn thing,” he says. He hadn’t visited the worship of Pan or Bacchus, the dark spirit Baalkaluzu was grave since her funeral (too painful), so it could have been any called upon by depraved mystery cultists in ancient Rome time in the last four weeks. and by Satanists in the Hellfire Club of 18th-century England.
Pyramid Magazine 17 October 2015
Its cultists believed that when the stars were right, every visible in one shot. Some show him followed by a lean grey- seven years, their high priest could use black magic and ritual hound-like dog in a park, and a few depict him with a skinny sacrifice to summon the demon to mate with a human vessel, but attractive and expensively dressed blond woman with producing hybrid spawn, the Harbingers. The cult tried to him, presumably his mother. create multiple Harbingers to place them in positions of pow- The sprawl of papers all seem to be billing records for ers – the Roman emperor Caligula was said to be one – to bet- “Albert Rayes, licensed therapist.” They list hundreds of ter corrupt humanity. No other information is available: The patient addresses and names or health insurance compa- cult’s last outbreak was 200 years ago, and local constabulary nies over a 10-year period. Many but not all of the patients and monster hunters succeeded in stopping the summoning are women. A careful hunt will find E. Webster billed with a ritual in time. dozen sessions over the last year. Other papers are numerous The party may think to check if other graves were defaced. printouts of hundreds of online newspaper and social media There are hundreds of headstones, but a diligent search tak- maternity and birth announcements in the city, all dating ing a few hours finds one other: the headstone of “Dr. Albert back seven years. Rayes” (the inscription indicates he was born 48 years ago, deceased this year). “Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law” and the same symbol lie beneath his name on the marker, with the words in the same script as the rest of the text on the headstone. (Nothing’s odd about his body.) Let’s give them a little Cabin in the Woods welcome. Now that One way to hunt for Father Cohen is to check whether he owned property. His tax records are still filed in the rectory office; the PCs may think to ask to check, or Brock may stum- we’ve finished the initial ble on them. (Hackers might also access government data- bases or other public records.) He pays taxes on 12 acres of preparations . . . woodland and a cabin, and has a GMC pickup. Another way to learn of the cabin is Monsignor Wright, who reminisced about visiting it. – Clear Note, The address is 20 miles out of town, past a rural area with several dilapidated-looking farms, through a gate, and down in Zatch Bell! a narrow winding dirt road through bleak woods. In a clear- ing in the woods squats a small log cabin (with outhouse and well). The door is padlocked, and the two lower windows are shuttered. Inside the cabin is a living area with a pair of wooden chairs, table, and a simple stove and counter. There’s a cru- Further Investigations The following leads may be picked up after the initial cifix and several blown-up high-quality photos of local birds investigations. on the walls. One corner has a fold-up bed. A side door leads to a bathing room with a tub, mirror, and cabinet (empty). A ladder runs up to a loft. On the table is a chess set and a well- Locating Father Cohen used Latin Vulgate Bible. (The book falls open to 1 Timothy Cohen isn’t at the cabin, but PCs may have skills or abili- 4:1 – “The Spirit has explicitly said that during the last times ties that can track him. The GM should allow any reasonable some will desert the faith, and pay attention to deceitful spirits effort to do that. It’s also possible the party could do so with and doctrines that come from devils . . .”) Closets and cabinets paranormal abilities, magic, etc. If the investigators guess under the sink hold carpentry tools, canned tuna and vege- that he might still be near Thorncroft School, they can check tables, powdered milk, instant coffee, and an empty box of motels, gas stations, and convenience stores within a few .38 pistol ammo. A bookshelf has a typical mix of Christian blocks of that neighborhood. Pounding the pavement (roll vs. authors (Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, C.S. Lewis, Streetwise, Carousing, or the like) turns up information about Karl Adam, etc.), plus books on bird watching. An antique a man who matches the priest’s description buying gas, driv- Polaroid camera with a telephoto lens rests on the top shelf. ing a blue pickup truck, and checking into Edgewood Motel, one of three motels closest to the area. The Loft Lit by a small circular window, the loft has a low ceiling. A Investigating Albert Rayes neatly made bed in one corner on the floor. A small desk is cov- The party may come upon the name Albert Rayes during ered with papers, and the walls are plastered with photographs. their investigations. Local phone books and a surviving website The pictures show children playing or walking, mostly advertise “Dr. Albert Rayes, Licensed Therapist” as a state-cer- elementary school kids age 6-8. Three group shots depict tified psychologist specializing in hypnotherapy to treat eating kids supervised by parents or teachers at local parks or a disorders with “10 years experience.” A home office address school. A dozen other photos zero in on a specific child: a is 17 Able Road in the suburbs. Attempts to call the location single blond seven-year old boy, well-dressed, at an elemen- get “this number is disconnected.” Email is unanswered. tary school. The name “Thorncroft Elementary School” is
Pyramid Magazine 18 October 2015
Visiting the site reveals a burned ruin. Research in news When asked if anything stood out about the person, he replies: archives turns up this story (two weeks old): “Yeah man, like, there’s been a humongous amount of fast food deliveries the last two days. We had, like, I dunno, maybe Suspicious Fire Linked to Murder, Arson: Detectives six pizza deliveries and a couple of other takeout places. Now believe the man reported dead in a fire at 17 Able Road on I think of it, at least some of ’em were for room 22. Maybe all Tuesday was killed by someone who intentionally set the blaze of them. I guess the dude is having a party – or got the munch- to destroy evidence of a crime. The county medical examiner’s ies real bad.” office has determined the victim, identified as psychologist Dr. Albert Rayes, 48, died of gunshot wounds to the chest before Room 22 the fire was started. Police are still pursuing leads . . . This room is located at one end of the hotel, farthest from Investigation: If the party talk to the police (see The Police, the office. Visitors may notice an unpleasant odor wafting p. 16) Detective Vince Cooper of Major Crimes division has an under the door. Inside, the room is littered with dozens of open case file, but the news story is sadly correct: no leads. His pizza boxes, soft-drink cans, and Chinese takeout cartons – all theory is “burglary gone bad” but he can’t ruled out “disgrun- empty. Crumbs are scattered across the floor. tled patient or lover.” Unfortunately, the psychologist’s home An awful smell emanates from the bathroom. On the floor office was attached to his house, and all patient files were lost lies a balding adult male, a chunk of pizza clutched in a death- in the fire. A few former patients that the detective has identi- grip in one hand. His stomach is hideously bloated, his clothes fied are rich, well-off women who struggled with eating disor- stained with pizza sauce and fecal matter. Flies buzz around ders. Rayes had no surviving next of kin or known enemies; he him. had funeral insurance, but his will has not been found. The corpse is Father Cohen, a few days dead (from when Asking around: Any neighbors confirm the above accounts; the party were retained). Forensic examination will reveal he Raye was a quiet professional. Oh, and supposedly kept a dog, died of a bowel infection from a ruptured stomach. He liter- but no dog body was found in the ruin. ally ate himself to death. The index finger on his left hand is torn off, but bandaged; the wound predates death by a day. Thorncroft Elementary School There are older bite scars on his right leg and arm. In the motel closet is a change of clothes, including Father This school name comes up if they find the pictures in Cohen’s formal clerical clothing (cassock, etc.). In the room’s Cohen’s cabin or talk with Detective Wilma Morris. If the party desk next to the bed is a .38 revolver, three hollow-point car- researches it, they’ll find it’s an expensive private school in a tridges, a tablet computer, a catholic Bible, and a gas station rich neighborhood (principal: Mrs. Ellen Dixon). But there’s map with a city address circled (14 Cherry-Peach Boulevard; been recent controversy: see The Banner Residence, below). 1. Eight months ago, a young student teacher, Alice Page, If the revolver is given a ballistic test (or turned over to fell ill, dropped out, and then died – from complications police to do so), it matches the bullets in Raye’s body. related to anorexia nervosa. 2. Three months ago, an eight-year old boy, Robert Purcell, shot himself with his father’s hand- A little child, she was. But also a fierce gun. Bobby was grossly obese, a sudden weight gain blamed on stress after his pet rabbit was mauled to killer . . . Now capable of the ruthless death by a dog (never found). News reports say he pursuit of blood, with all a child’s was bullied by other children. There was an investi- gation and anti-bullying campaign and some teach- demanding. ers were replaced; the bullies were not identified. – Louis, Interview with the Vampire: Hacking into, visiting, or otherwise researching the school’s students helps the group identify the The Vampire Chronicles blond boy who appears in the cabin’s photos as Alistair Banner, age 7, a current student and son of Carson and Loraine Banner. See Banner Residence (below) if they decide to visit his The Banner Residence home rather then confronting him at school. Due to a recent A modern ranch-style mini-mansion is located at 14 Cherry- scare of a prowler, an armed security guard now patrols Peach Boulevard, in the same expensive suburban neigh- the school. borhood as Thorncroft Elementary School. It’s flanked by a garage larger than many homes (and stores a Hummer, BMW, and Lamborghini). A tall, white picket fence surrounds the lot. Edgewood Motel It has a good burglar alarm, but the main security is Stalin, This cheap, run-down motel is located off the highway, just their lean greyhound. Stalin – not actually a dog, as his occa- on the border between “nice suburbs” near the Thorncroft sional red-glowing eyes attest, but rather a demonic servitor, school and an “industrial and highway” area. A blue pickup lean and athirst – was a present from Dr. Rayes on the birth matching Father Cohen’s is one of several vehicles parked in of Lorraine’s child. the lot. Whether from school records or a reverse look-up from the The clerk is a bored hipster type, long hair, mostly stoned address found at Edgewood Motel, the investigators discover out of his mind on weed. He rented room #22 to Cohen. that this home belongs to Carson and Loraine Banner.
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The GM’s Timeline These dates are relative to the day the PC party became Elizabeth to her death. Rayes says the hellhound was to involved. protect her, not kill her, but boasts Elizabeth was not the first of his conquests, nor the last! He prepares a spell, but 10 years ago: Hypnotist and psychologist Albert Rayes, Cohen pulls his gun and, taking the sorcerer by surprise, initiate of the ancient cult of Baalkaluzu, emigrates from shoots him dead. Cohen ransacks the psychologist’s per- England to America and sets up business. sonal files. He finds the names of the other women that Eight years ago: At a planetary conjunction, the stars Rayes had seen. Then he sets fire to Rayes’ office. are right for the ritual! Rayes uses hypnotism and black One week ago: Police investigate Rayes’ death. Rayes magic to impregnate his patient Lorraine Banner with is buried in a prepurchased plot (headstone marked with Baalkaluzu’s seed while she is a trance; she believes the the sigil of Baalkaluzu). Cohen has his secretary copy child is her own. maternity announcements for him, then takes his leave, Seven years ago: Alistair is born. Rayes begins prepara- retreating to his cabin with his files. Going through bill- tions for the second Harbinger, a baby girl he later plans ing files, he looks for women who received “treatment” to mate with the boy to create a dynasty of horror, but he from Rayes and cross-indices maternity notices. He finds must wait seven more years for the next alignment. He that seven years ago, a Lorraine Banner became pregnant watches over Alistair, guiding him via Stalin, a demonic eight months after her last session with Rayes, with a son familiar; the child grows in power and mischief. named Alistair. Three months ago: The second astrological conjunction Six days ago: Cohen discovers seven-year-old Alistair approaches, and Rayes selects his new dark Madonna, now attends Thorncroft Elementary School. He catalogs fashion model Elizabeth Webster. Although unmarried, the deadly occurrences that followed. He begins photo he expects her Catholic upbringing will lead to her keep- surveillance. ing the baby while her club-hopping ways explain the Five days ago: Father Brock arrives at St. Joseph’s. pregnancy. However, he fails in his hypnosis; weeks after Four days ago: Police receive reports that someone the diabolic ritual, Elizabeth begins remembering ele- is lurking around Thorncroft school and investigate St. ments of it as terrifying fragments. Joseph’s. Eight weeks ago: Elizabeth begins to reveal her dreams Three Days ago: Cohen rents a motel room in the sub- and fears to Father Cohen under seal of the confession. urbs a few minutes’ drive from the Banner home. Paul Six weeks ago: Elizabeth tells Cohen she is pregnant – Webster finds the sigil of Baalkaluzu. and fears the child is not natural, but rather the result of a Two days ago: Cohen acts when the boy is left at home demonic assault orchestrated by Rayes. She also becomes with a teenage babysitter. Armed with holy water, crucifix, nauseous while taking communion. and gun, he hopes to shoot the hellhound, frighten the sit- Five weeks ago: The panicked call from Elizabeth to ter, and exorcise the child. Instead, he finds the babysitter Father Cohen (as related by Olivia). She wants an abor- in the kitchen, vomiting up her dinner (Alistair convinced tion and threatens to kill herself. Cohen drives to meet her she was hideously overweight), the boy laughing. her. As he tries to calm her, they are attacked by a hell- Father Cohen attempts to exorcise him, but Alistair is too hound (conjured by Rayes). Cohen is bitten and knocked strong, his hybrid powers developed under Stalin’s tute- down; Elizabeth flees into traffic and she and her baby die. lage! Cohen is cursed by the half-demon and wounded by Four weeks ago: Elizabeth’s funeral. Cohen buys a the hellhound. He drives off and retreats to the motel in .38 pistol. Rayes, mourning the demon-hybrid fetus who a daze, overcome by a terrible compulsion to eat. He has perished with Elizabeth, marks her grave with the sigil the strength to make one call to his church before the first of Baalkaluzu. pizza he orders arrives. Two weeks ago: An angry Father Cohen confronts Rayes One day Ago: Cohen spends the next day eating himself late at night at his house. The haughty sorcerer invites the to death. Alistair resumes his normal activities, hoping to priest in. He accuses Rayes of demonology and hounding corrupt the teenage babysitter. The PCs are called in.
The supposed father, Carson Banner – a big overweight while she was under hypnosis, Rayes impregnated her in a man struggling with diabetes – is rarely home, spending most demonic ritual.) He also gave her a “wonderful puppy” as a of his time running his multi-million dollar company, Banner gift for her son . . . Pharmaceuticals, which makes dietary supplements. Young Alistair can be found attending school, home study- Lorraine, Alistair’s mother, is usually present. She dotes ing, or, occasionally, home with a babysitter (few of whom on their son Alistair, who she calls the “little king” as he’s last long). His hobbies include precocious reading, tormenting heir to his father’s corporation. Lorraine is a model-thin small animals, bullying, and listening to his dog talk to him. woman in her 30s who is obsessed with keeping her youth through plastic surgery, exercise, and pills. She was once Stalin the Hell Hound overweight, but hypnotherapy sessions with the late Dr. Alan Stalin is capable of talking (in a harsh whisper), but Rayes showed her how to “keep her figure” even after she he usually only does so for Alistair, his current master. gave birth to her “beautiful boy” Alistair. (Unknown to her,
Pyramid Magazine 20 October 2015
He was summoned by Albert Rayes to protect the hybrid. Advantages/Disadvantages: Compulsive Behavior (Cause When not doing so, he gets his kicks from killing local pets. body image problems) (12); Dread (Religious Symbols); Sadism (12); Secret (Demon Spawn); Weakness (Holy Water; ST: 13 HP: 22 Speed: 6.00 1d/minute). DX: 12 Will: 11 Move: 12 Skills: Brawling-11; Occultism-12; Observation-12; Psychol- IQ: 10 Per: 14 Weight: 80 lbs. ogy-15. HT: 12 FP: 13 SM: 0 Innate Spell (Uncontrollable Hunger): Roll a Quick Contest Dodge: 9 Parry: N/A DR: 4 between Alistair’s Will (at -1 per yard of range to the sub- ject) and the victim’s Will-3. Each attempt takes one sec- Bite (15): 1d+1(2) cutting; Reach C. ond of concentration and costs the child 4 FP. If Alistair Traits: Discriminatory Smell; Dread (Holy Symbols); Fanat- wins, the subject is compelled to eat continuously for five icism (Serve master); Frightens Animals; Fragile (Unnat- hours times the margin of victory; he may make a self- ural); Quadruped; Regeneration (Fast); Sharp Teeth; control roll (against 6) once per five hour period to tempo- Striking ST 2. rarily stave off this craving. His appetite is for normal food, Skills: Brawling-15; Occultism-12; Teaching-12; Tracking-14. nothing exotic, but he will not stop upon becoming full! This is a magical form of Prader-Willi syndrome, blocking signals sent by the stomach from reaching the brain so the Alistair Banner (Spawn of Baalkaluzu) victim continues to eat rather than vomiting. The subject Alistair is half-demon, half-human. He appears to be a pre- must roll HT+1 after the first five hours of eating, then HT cocious seven-year-old boy with short blond hair, a disturbing after 10 hours, HT-1 after 15 hours, and so on; any failure smile, and hungry violet eyes. He is aware of his powers and causes his stomach wall to tear, spewing its contents into heritage, thanks to late-night conversations with Stalin. the body. Without surgical intervention, infection leading Alistair likes to play psychological games with children to a painful death is certain. Statistics: Affliction 4 (Will-3; and adults to subtly undermine their self-esteem, especially Based on Will, +20%; Costs Fatigue, 4 FP, -20%; Disadvan- regarding body image and eating issues, for such is the spe- tage, Uncontrolled Appetite (6), +30%; Extended Duration, cialty of his demonic father. He has instigated bullying of 300¥, +100%; Malediction 1, +100%) [132]. overweight kids, and he has influenced others into unhealthy weight loss or weight gain. His powers and influence are sure to increase as he gets older and gains the opportunity to work on more vulnerable teenagers. About the Columnist David L. Pulver is a Canadian freelance author. An avid sci- With greater effort, Alistair can call upon his full demonic ence-fiction fan, he began roleplaying in junior high with the powers and induce a suicidal compulsion to eat. However, this newly released Basic Dungeons & Dragons. Upon graduat- is stressful, and he will usually only do so if threatened (or ing from university, he decided to become a game designer. very bored) as its effects are inexplicable and he has learned Since then, David has written over 70 roleplaying game not to draw undue attention to himself. This was what he used books, and he has worked as a staff writer, editor, and line on Father Cohen. developer for Steve Jackson Games and Guardians of Order. ST 7; DX 9; IQ 13; HT 14. He is best known for creating Transhuman Space, co-au- Damage 1d-3/1d-2; BL 9.8 lbs.; HP 14; Will 14; Per 12; FP 13. thoring the Big Eyes, Small Mouth anime RPG, and writ- Basic Speed 5.75; Basic Move 5; Dodge 8; Parry 8. ing countless GURPS books, including the GURPS Basic SM -1. Set, Fourth Edition, GURPS Ultra-Tech, and the GURPS Spaceships series.
Pyramid Magazine 21 October 2015
Pyramid Magazine 22 October 2015 Heroes on the Mass Scale by Christopher R. Rice
GURPS Mass Combat provides a quick, playable frame- If the GM decides that hero elements require a cost to raise work for the GM who wants to emulate enormous battles or maintain (see Everyone Has a Price), Torlah costs $21,500 often seen in fiction, without the hassle of tracking thousands to raise and $4,300/month to maintain since she is in a TL3 of NPCs. What’s more, it has its own system for spotlight- fantasy setting. See Mass Combat (pp. 7-8) for more on an ing player characters and making their actions important to element’s cost. the battle – as is usually the case. Mass Combat gives some Troop Strength (TS) is based on the following traits. guidelines on how to calculate Troop Strength (TS) for PCs, but this article seeks to clarify the rules further to better help Active Defense the GM and players alike. These guidelines replace the rules governing Hero elements (Mass Combat, p. 9) completely. Take the character’s Dodge minus eight, and multiply Additionally, while these rules can be used to create non- by two. Substitute the best Parry minus eight if it’s higher Hero elements, the TS values will not be exactly the same as than the character’s Dodge. If the person can parry multi- Mass Combat. The rules are based on the system from It’s a ple times without penalty (usually because he has two weap- Threat! from Pyramid #3/77: Combat. It has been modified to ons or can parry unarmed), add 2 for each additional parry. better suit Mass Combat. Add 1 if Trained by a Master or Weapon Master applies to this Parry. Substitute Block minus eight if it’s higher than Dodge. For Block, add 1 for Weapon Master (Shield). Treat Determining Blocking spells as a Block for the purposes of this calcula- tion. Factor into the total any Defense Bonus (from shields, Troop Strength magic rings, etc.). In all cases, add 20 per level for Altered Time Rate. Troop Strength can be determined by assessing a unit’s damage-dealing capability, its resistances to such attacks, Example: Torlah has Dodge 11 and Shortsword Parry 12, so its speed and mobility, and so on. Once TS has been figured 2 ¥ (11 - 8) = 6 and 12 - 8 = 4, +1 since she has Weapon Master out, the GM can apply a multiplier based on the austerity of (Knife). Her Dodge is higher, so use that value: 6. the campaign: ¥0.1 for “realistic” or “gritty” campaigns, ¥0.5 for typical campaigns, ¥1 for “cinematic” campaigns, and ¥1.5 to ¥2 for “larger than life” campaigns. Round down in all cases. Minimum TS is always E veryone H as a rice P 1. The GM may ignore this austerity modi- If the GM uses these rules to assign statistics for entirely new (non-he- fier for all elements other than player char- roic) elements for his campaign, he also may wish to know the cost to acter units for multipliers of less than ¥1, raise and maintain them. In all such cases, use the following formula: or increase them by whatever value he feels comfortable with – hero elements (Mass Base Cost to Maintain = (TL’s Average Monthly Pay) ¥ (TS / 10) Combat, p. 9) are supposed to be special! Once the cost to maintain is figured, multiply it by five to determine Determining the other statistics of a the total cost to raise the unit, round up to the nearest hundred. This rep- Mass Combat element (class, mobility, etc.) resents time, training, equipment, etc. is covered on pp. 26-29. As an optional rule, the GM may reduce an element’s cost to maintain Example: Torlah Longshadow (used in by increasing its cost to raise. For every -1% in an element’s maintenance the examples below) has a total TS of 61. cost, increase its cost to raise by +5%. Minimum Maintenance Cost is The GM decides his campaign is “cine- 20% of the original value. This is common for elements that can forage matic,” so uses the base TS of 61. If he had effectively for their food thanks to high Naturalist or Survival skills, or decided his campaign was “larger than life,” those who have Doesn’t Eat or Drink (p. B50), Reduced Consumption the TS would instead be multiplied by ¥1.5, (p. B80), and other similar traits. for a TS of 91.
Pyramid Magazine 23 October 2015
Affliction 15; do not add this for attacks that require another attack to hit first (e.g., an innate attack with Follow-Up). Characters with an attack mimicking an irritating or inca- A character’s best attack(s) can be any mix of mundane pacitating condition (pp. B428-429) add a value equal to 1/5 (e.g., Broadsword to swing a sword), exotic (e.g., a martial art- of its worth as an enhancement to Affliction (pp. B35-36). Do ist’s dim mak), or supernatural (e.g., a mage casting Fireball) this once for the costliest such Affliction. If an attack inflicts attacks. For example, a hero could use Fireball-15 as her pri- damage and an Affliction, use the higher of the damage value mary skill and Broadsword-13 as the secondary skill. or the value of the Affliction, plus 1/5 of the lower value. For Mind Control, Possession, Terror, True Faith with Turning, Example: Torlah has a Shortsword skill of 15 and a Bow and similar traits, add 1 per 5 character points the attack skill of 14, so 15 - 5 = 10 and 14 - 10 = 4. She has both Heroic has in such traits (rounding up). For Binding, add its ST as a Archer and Weapon Master (Knife), which grant +6. Thus, her bonus amount. In both cases, these values are in addition to total is 10 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 20. any other Affliction-like attacks. If the best affliction is from a spell or similar FP-using abil- Damage ity, divide the final score by two. Take the number of dice of damage for the character’s Example: Torlah has access to the Binding Shot Imbue- best damage type of his best attack (see above) – including ment Skill (GURPS Power-Ups 1: Imbuements, p. 11), this follow-up or linked damage – and multiply it by 3.5, rounding gives her a Binding attack with a ST of 8 (average damage up. If the attack has a modifier, like “2d+1” or “3d-2,” add or of 1d+4 is 7.5, or 8). Since this is a FP-using ability, her final subtract the modifier (e.g., +1 or -2). Damage can be from a score is 4 (8/2 = 4). weapon, spell, special ability, and so on. Multiply this amount by any bonus to skill from Rapid Fire (p. B373) plus one. Include bonuses for equipment, traits, etc. Further modify this by the damage’s type: multiply Logistical Capability by 0.5 for small piercing attacks, by 1.5 for cutting Logistic troops are covered briefly on p. 13 of Mass Combat. or large piercing attacks, and by 2 for corrosion, They are given as a number instead of statistics like other elements. fatigue, huge piercing, or impaling attacks; round Super-Healing and Force Replacement (Mass Combat, p. 14) sug- up the total to the nearest whole number. Add 0.5 gests that elements can also provide some measure of Logistics to the damage-type modifier if the attack is also Support. As a highly optional rule, elements can provide Logistical explosive, or 1 if it’s a “vampiric” attack. Support in addition to contributing their Troop Strength normally. Attacks with Cyclic (p. B103) get a bonus equal This is treated as a special class: Logistical Support (Log). to the total number of cycles that could affect a target within 90 minutes, rounded up. Attacks with Armor Divisors add 5 per “step” (e.g., Armor Divisor (3) would add 10). Attack A unit receives the Neutralize Armor feature if it possess an attack that does at least 6d damage, has at least one level Attack is determined by taking the hero’s best attack, of Armor Divisor, and the combined values of damage and minus five. If the character’s primary skill is 15 or higher Armor Divisor is equal to at least 25 (see above). and if would be beneficial to do so, take the skill level for If the damage dealt is from a spell or similar FP-using abil- his second-highest skill and subtract 10. If the character’s ity, divide the final score by two. secondary skill is 15 or higher, take the skill level for his third-highest skill and subtract 15. As an optional rule, the Example: Torlah’s best attack is with her bow, which does GM may allow this to continue indefinitely if the character 1d+4(2) piercing. This is calculated as 7.5 (the dice of damage has suitable epic skill levels. For example, if a character has plus modifier) ¥ 1 (for piercing damage) = 7.5, rounded up to other high skills, you may optionally add (next best skill - 10), 8. She adds +5 since her attack has an Armor Divisor of (2) for (third best skill - 15), (fourth best skill - 20), etc. Add only a total of 13. positive values! For ranged attacks, add a bonus equal to the Accuracy+2 Damage Resistance of the attack; for innate ranged attacks, assume Acc 3 if none Add the DR values for each major location the character is listed. This bonus does not add for determining if you can has and divide by four (round up); use a value of 0 for each count another skill or not. location without armor. Major body locations are: head, Add 5 per attack if the character is capable of multiple arms (or anything used for manipulation), legs (or any limb attacks, other than a Rapid Strike (p. B370), due to an advan- used for locomotion or balance), and torso. Include bonuses tage (e.g., Extra Attack or Altered Time Rate). If he is capable for equipment, traits, and so on. Damage Resistance with of multiple Rapid Strikes, use the following formula instead: split values (e.g., mail armor) uses the average of the two val- (adjusted skill for number of rapid strikes for attack - 10; min- ues. DR that only protects against a specific threat (e.g., DR imum of 12) ¥ number of attacks. For example, if a target was vs Heat/Fire or DR with Tough Skin) adds +1 per 5 character capable of four Rapid Strikes and had an adjusted skill of 14, points (rounded up) of such protection. Damage Resistance then he would gain (14 - 10) ¥ 4, or +16 to TS. with Hardened adds 5 per “step” (e.g., Hardened 2 would Add a cumulative +3 for Gunslinger, Heroic Archer, add 10); do not include the Hardened enhancement when Trained by a Master, and Weapon Master. Add any bonuses counting character points for this step. from Rapid Fire (p. B373). If an attack hits automatically, add
Pyramid Magazine 24 October 2015
Add 1 per 5 character points a character has in combat- restore in one use of their ability to this amount (cumulative useful defensive traits like Injury Tolerance, Resistant, Super- with all other bonuses); if all lost HP are restored, add 10. natural Durability, Unkillable, and so on. Apply -1 per -5 Those who can cure afflictions add a bonus equal to 1/5 the character points he has in traits like Dependency, Fragile, Vul- ability’s worth as an enhancement to Affliction (pp. B35-36). nerability, Weakness, etc. Add levels of Magic Resistance as a Use only the better of the ability to heal damage or remove bonus to this amount. afflictions. Example: Torlah wears leather armor that covers her entire Example: Torlah has 14 HP; square root of (14 - 10) = 2. body (except her head). This grants DR 3. She also has a magical ring that gives her an additional +1 DR. Therefore, she has DR 4 (arms) + DR 4 (legs) + DR 4 (torso) + DR 1 (head) = 13; when divided by four, this gives a score of 3.25, rounded up to 4. The Relentless Warrior Fiction is full of heroes who can fight all day and all night. One Fatigue possible method for representing this in GURPS is to buy a high lev- Take the character’s basic FP (the maximum els of FP, Fit, or Very Fit, and move on. But even that assumes that FP before any given due to special abilities or the character eventually wearies. The following new trait is perfect equipment), and subtract 10. Additionally, sub- for the truly tireless. tract a fixed amount based on the character’s current encumbrance level: -1 for Light, -2 for Indefatigable Medium, -3 for Heavy, and -4 for Extra-Heavy. Add any bonus FP gained from special abili- 30 points ties (e.g., Energy Reserve) or equipment after sub- You do not lose Fatigue Points through normal exertion. You tracting 10. Add 1 per 5 character points (rounded can sprint indefinitely and fight all day. You can still lose fatigue up) for traits that enhance FP recovery (e.g., Fit from starvation, thirst, sleeplessness, etc. Likewise, any use of extra or Regeneration (Fast; FP only)). Recover Energy effort has its normal costs. You are assumed to recover fatigue (p. B248) is a special case: add 2 if the skill is 15, normally; if this is not the case, apply the Slow Recharge or Spe- or 5 if it’s 20 or higher. Breath Control at any level cial Recharge modifiers from Energy Reserve (see GURPS Powers, adds 2. p. 114) to this advantage. Beings who do not lose FP from regular exertion add a flat +10 and ignore the rules for Special Limitation encumbrance levels (see above). This can be due Substitution: Instead of losing fatigue to starvation, extra effort, to having the Machine meta-trait, having a FP of etc., you lose another attribute or suffer some other effect. Treat “N/A” from strange biology, or having Indefatiga- this as a modifier equal to the percentage cost of the effect as an ble (see The Relentless Warrior). Affliction (p. B36) minus 150%; choose which effect you suffer at character creation. If you lose levels of another attribute instead of Example: Torlah has 14 FP, so 14 - 10 = 4. FP, multiply that attribute’s value by 10 as an affliction before using Since she has Light encumbrance, she subtracts the above calculation (e.g., if you lose HT instead of FP, this would -1, but adds 1 because she has Fit. Her total is be worth +50%, not +5%). Will or Perception is worth +5% per -1. thus 4. Tireless Elements Health If an element can march longer or the entire force’s elements Take the character’s HT score minus 10. Add have reduced (or no) need to sleep or rest, they can effectively force in bonuses to HT for Fit or Very Fit, or subtract march (Mass Combat, p. 28). For those with Less Sleep (p. B65), penalties for Unfit or Very Unfit. Add half the reduce the penalty by one for Administration (this cannot give a level of Hard to Kill or Hard to Subdue; round net bonus). For those with Doesn’t Sleep (p. B50), ignore the rules up. Subtract half the level of Easy to Kill; round and apply the ¥1.5 movement multiplier all the time. Conversely, down. Apply +2 for each of High Pain Threshold elements that require Extra Sleep give a penalty equal to -1 and Recovery. per level. Example: Torlah has a HT of 12, so 12 - 10 = 2. Add +1 because she has Hard to Kill 2, for a total of 3. Move Hit Points Take the character’s best Move score and subtract five. For those with Enhanced Move or similar mobility-enhancing Take the maximum number of HP the character has, sub- traits, use their highest Move score for this purpose. If they’re tract 10, and take the square root of that value. Include any encumbered, use their modified Move. Move also determines bonus HP gained from special abilities. the element’s Mobility (p. 27). Add 1 per 5 character points (rounded up) for traits like Rapid Healing, Regrowth, Regeneration, etc. Those with the Example: Torlah has a Move of 8, but she has Light encum- ability to heal others add half the amount of HP they can brance so her modified Move is 6, so 6 - 5 = 1.
Pyramid Magazine 25 October 2015
Will Take the character’s effective Will score and subtract 10. Add half of Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in any levels (round up) of Fearlessness. Moria that still draws blood! Add 1 for Combat Reflexes, and add 8 for Unfazable. – Gimli, in The Lord of the Rings: Example: Torlah has a Will of 12, so The Fellowship of the Ring 12 - 10 = 2. Add 1 for Combat Reflexes and 1 for Fearlessness 2, for a total of 4. • Artillery (Art): If a character has a ranged attack that does D etermining ther O at least 6d of damage, ignores barriers or can fire without line of sight, and has a 1/2D Range of 300 or more, it may also M C ass ombat tatistics S count as an Artillery element. • Calvary (Cv): If a character has the Motorized or Mounted After figuring TS, the GM needs to assign any other traits land mobility types (p. 27), it may also have this class. that are appropriate to the character. • Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I): C3I units are almost entirely vehicles (satellites or spy Special Classes planes), groups of people led by a single person (spy net- Elements with special classes count their TS normally, but works), or those with supernatural abilities that can see long also determine which side has superiority in their particular distances or know the future (a mage scrying or a precogni- class. This can turn the tide of a battle if one side has the bulk tive psi). Characters may be classified as C3I elements if they of special-class superiority. have any of the following traits: Clairsentience (p. B42), Mind Reading or Mind Probe (pp. B68-69), Precognition (p. B77), • Air Combat (Air): If a character has a ranged attack and Scanning Sense (range must be at least 2,000 yards; p. B81), has air mobility of any type (p. 27), it also has this class. or Telecommunication (range must be at least 2,000 yards; • Armor (Arm): If a character’s TS-determining scores for p. B91). Spells emulating any of the above also count (e.g., Damage Resistance (pp. 24-25) and Hit Points (p. 25) equal Wizard Eye is similar to Clairsentience). 40 or more, it counts as an Armor element. To qualify as an • Engineering (Eng): Engineering elements are charac- Armor element, a unit must have sufficient DR to ignore typ- ters who have at least four character points between the skills ical small arms of the battlefield. The easiest way to find this Electrician (p. B189), Engineer (Civil or Combat) (p. B190) or cutoff is to multiply the dice of damage inflicted by the heavi- Explosives (Demolition) (p. B194). This requirement can be est anti-personnel weapon by 6; this is the minimum DR to replaced by having any ability to breech walls. This can stem qualify as Armor for the setting. Alternatively, the following from an attack that does 12d damage or more (or 8d if it’s quick and dirty method can be used instead. If a unit’s DR burning, corrosion, crushing, cutting, or huge piercing), Con- equals or exceeds a specific minimum based on TL, it gains trol (GURPS Powers, pp. 90-92), Insubstantiality (p. B62), the Armor class: DR 15 or less at TL4 or lower; up to DR 20 for Permeation (p. B75), or similar abilities. Spells emulating any TL5; DR 25 for TL6; DR 50 at TL7; DR 75 at TL8; DR 100 at of the above also count (e.g., Walk Through Earth is similar TL9; DR 200 at TL10; DR 500 at TL11; and DR 1,000+ at TL12. to Permeation) for this purpose. • Fire (F): Characters with ranged attacks whose 1/2D Range is at least 200 and inflicts at least 3d (1d+2 if impaling) have this class. O S ptional pecial lass C : • Naval (N): Characters who have Amphibi- ous (p. B39), No Legs (Aquatic or Semi-Aquatic) P hasing (p. B145), or access to underwater-survival gear (e.g., SCUBA gear) can have this special class. The For some campaigns, the following, highly optional special class might be available. GM also can grant this class to those who can hold their breath for sustained periods of time (Breath- Holding, Doesn’t Breathe, Breathe Control, etc.) and Phasing (P) who have a Water Move of 5 or more. For characters A unit that can phase out of reality temporarily cannot be possessing an ability that allows them to attack under- harmed except via an element with Neutralize Phasing. Each water (almost always via the Underwater enhance- turn of battle, elements that have this special class must decide ment, p. B109), use Neutralize Naval instead. whether they are “out of phase” or “in phase.” Out of phase • Recon (R): Characters need a minimum Stealth units do not contribute TS to their side and suffer no causali- of 12 and Basic Move of 6 to qualify for this class. ties. There are two exceptions to this: units with the C3I class Optionally, if they possess abilities that allow them contribute their TS to that special superiority normally; and to extend their senses or predict where the enemy if an opposing force has elements with the feature Neutralize will be (see Command, Control, Communications, and Phasing or is of the Phasing class itself, then count the TS of Intelligence, above, for a small list), they may also have each side normally. this class – though assigning C3I instead of Recon is probably a better idea in most cases.
Pyramid Magazine 26 October 2015
New Mobility Type: Teleportation Mass Combat (p. 9) suggests that characters who can but must subtract its WT value from their Teleportation teleport should simply ignore the mobility rules – but Rating in either case. If the adjusted Teleportation Rating this might not be advisable if teleportation or gate magic is 0 or less, roll 3d; on a (9 plus the Teleportation Rating) is as much a strategic resource as anything else. In or less, nothing happens. Otherwise a mishap of some such campaigns, the following new mobility type might kind occurs – the unit goes the wrong direction, members be appropriate. of the element are scattered, etc. A natural 17 or 18 means the element (and any element it was trying to transport!) Teleportation (Tele) suffers causalities equal to (margin of failure ¥ 5)%. Use the same rules for things like gates or portals, but Elements with this mobility type can move up to 100 assign a higher Teleportation Rating to represent the fact miles per level of their Teleport Rating in any direction that such doorways can stay open longer. once per day without a chance of mishap. This value is When creating a hero element with this feature, use expressed as a number attached to the mobility type (e.g., the rules for Transport Weight (p. 27) to determine their Tel3 would indicated a Teleportation Rating of 3). Option- Teleportation Rating by using the maximum weight they ally, they can bring along another unit or lend that element can teleport (not including themselves). their teleportation ability (they create a gate, tunnel, etc.),
• Transport (T): Elements who can transport other elements • Air Mobility: Air mobility class depends mostly on how are limited mostly to vehicles (see Monsters and Motorcycles, the flying element is being used rather than how fast it can p. 29). Characters who possess a 2,000 lb. (or more) Payload go. Fast Air (FA) elements typically operate from an air base gain a Transport rating of 1. For every additional 2,000 lbs. of or over a regional theater, while Slow Air (SA) elements move capacity, increase the Transport rating by one. Optionally, if with land elements and are typically limited to a range of 100 a character is SM+2 or bigger (or SM+1 if also a Quadruped) miles (doubled per TL past TL6). In most cases, this will make and has Medium encumbrance of at least 2,000 lbs., the GM many hero elements Slow Air units. However, the GM may can assign a Transport rating using the previous guidelines. deem that an element capable of both roles might have an optional mobility class: Variable Air (VA). This would allow a unit to switch roles, but would require 1d-1 battle rounds He who has never learned to (Mass Combat, p. 32) to do so. • Land Mobility, Foot (Foot): If a character’s ground Move obey cannot be a good commander. is 10 or less, use this land mobility class. • Land Mobility, Mechanized (Mech): If a character ignores – Aristotle terrain penalties via an advantage (e.g., Terrain Adaptation) or some other trait (e.g., Light Tread), use this land mobil- ity class. Transport Weight • Land Mobility, Motorized (Motor): If a character suffers Since transport weight is an abstraction of both volume normal terrain penalties everywhere except when on a road or and weight, the GM will have to compare the character he on flat terrain or has Enhanced Move (Ground; Road-Bound) is converting to the examples listed in Chapters 2 and 3 of and/or No Legs (Wheeled), use this land mobility class. Mass Combat. Most SM -1 to SM+1 characters (even groups • Land Mobility, Mounted (Mtd): If a character’s ground of them!) will have a transport weight of 1. A good formula is: Move is 11 or more, use this land mobility class. • Water Mobility, Coastal or Sea (Coast or Sea): If a char- Weight for a one-person element = SM acter can survive in the open ocean for months at a time, he Weight for a multi-person element = SM ¥ 2 has Sea mobility; otherwise, use Coastal. Minimum Transport Weight is always at least 1. For cavalry or similarly mounted units, calculate the trans- Optional Features port weight for rider and mount separately and then add them Not all elements have optional features, but many Hero ele- together. ments (e.g., player characters) do have them. Use the follow- ing guidelines to assign appropriate aspects. Mobility • Airborne: Those with Flight (Gliding) (p. B56) or Walk on The way a character gets around determines what his Air (p. B97) have this feature, as do those who have at least mobility is. It is possible to have more than one mobility class. one point in Parachuting (p. B212) or Piloting (Flight Pack or It’s also possible for an element to belong to a special class Glider) (p. B214). (pp. 26-27) without having the required means to move. For • All-Weather: No trait matches this feature, but the GM example, an ocean buoy might count as a Naval element but may permit a variation of Terrain Adaptation, allowing those lack any kind of water-related mobility. In rare cases, mobility who possess it to ignore skill penalties for being out in inclem- may be “0.” ent weather.
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Power-Ups 2: Perks, p. 6) have this aspect. Those with Amphibious (p. B39) or Terrain Adaptation New Special Features (Water) (p. B93) also have this feature. • Neutralize (Class): Characters who possess a A few new optional features for Mass Combat. particular type of Neutralize should be obvious from the character’s abilities and the descrip- Self-Sufficient tion of such abilities in Mass Combat, p. 10. For +50% to Raise example, those with Neutralize Recon might have Prerequisite: Terrain for appropriate environment. Obscure. • Night: Characters with Dark Vision (p. B47), This feature allows an element to temporarily reduce its main- Infravision (p. B60), Night Vision (p. B71), Scanning tenance cost by 25% when in one of the environments covered by Sense (p. B81), or similar traits possess this feature. its Terrain special feature. • Nocturnal: Those with Night Vision as a feature (GURPS Fantasy, p. 130) qualify for this aspect, (Specific)-Affinity as do those who have the Nocturnal disadvantage (p. B146), Weakness to light or sunlight (p. B161), +0% to Raise and Maintain and so on. Add this special feature to elements that rely on supernatural • Sealed: Characters with Sealed (p. B82), Pres- power or energy (mana, psi, sanctity, and so on). Most of the time, sure Support (p. B77), and Vacuum Support (p. B96) this doesn’t affect the unit one way or the other, but areas with have this feature. higher or lower levels of the element’s particular energy source • Super-Soldier: This trait is inappropriate to increase or decrease its effective TS. Each “step” in power modi- hero elements, but if the GM is creating a new base fies the unit’s TS by ±50%. For example, if a group of Battle Mages element, it may be applied normally for exemplary has this special feature, then they’d get a +50% increase to TS in units. high-mana zones, but a -50% decrease in low-mana zones. • Terrain (Type): Characters with Terrain Adapta- Ask the GM before you take this feature! If it exists in the cam- tion (p. B93) for an appropriate terrain are a given, paign world, then certain environments take on strategic value. but so are characters with eight or more points in For example, a Banestorm Megalan legion might think twice a relevant Survival skill (p. B223). Terrains that before chasing bandits into mana-poor Caithness! require special motive skills (e.g., Skiing for Arc- tic conditions) can have points split between the Swift necessary motive skill and an appropriate Survival skill. As an optional rule, the GM might allow Ter- +20% or +40% to Raise and Maintain rain to specialize in “Urban” for elements espe- This feature allows an element to increase its travel speed cially trained in FIBUA (Fighting In Built Up Areas) (Mass Combat, p. 27) by 10%, or by 20% for Very Swift elements. or building-to-building fighting. Additionally, he Add this movement increase after any TL modifiers. might allow “Underground” for subterranean races accustomed to combat in cramped quarters (e.g., dwarves) or “All-Terrain.” The latter is similar to • Disloyal, Levy, or Mercenary: These features are rare on the Super-Soldier (Mass Combat, p. 10) and costs hero elements, but it should be the player’s decision, rather +100%, not +20%. than the GM’s, whether the element has it or not. • Fanatic: Characters with Fanaticism (p. B136), Intoler- ance (p. B140), Sense of Duty (p. B153), or similar disadvan- Quality tages often have this feature. The player, rather than the GM, Hero elements (and any character using these rules who decides if the element has it. already has purchased equipment) don’t gain a bonus for • Flagship: Characters with the C3I special class (p. 26) can either equipment quality or troop quality – nor do they pay have this feature if they also have a Water mobility (p. 27). The a cost to raise or maintain these features. However, the GM GM may allow elements to purchase Flagship at an additional can use the following tables to gauge each of those traits if +25% cost to raise and maintain (per flagship) if they don’t he wishes: actually count as a naval fleet’s flagship (e.g., a fleet could have Equipment Quality Total Cost of All Equipment another flagship). Most individual characters will not have this Best* Average Starting Wealth ¥ 100 feature unless they can coordinate multiple naval elements via Very Fine Average Starting Wealth ¥ 50 some ultra-tech or paranormal methods. Fine Average Starting Wealth ¥ 20 • Hovercraft: Characters with Terrain Adaptation Good Average Starting Wealth ¥ 5 (Island/Beach, Sand, Swamp, or Water) (p. B93), Walk on Air Basic Average Starting Wealth ¥ 1 (p. B97), or Walk on Water (p. B97) can have this feature. Poor Average Starting Wealth ¥ 0.5 • Impetuous: Characters with Bloodlust (p. B125), Dare- devil (p. B47), On the Edge (p. B146), Overconfidence * Best quality gear is above state-of-the-art – it’s bleeding- (p. B148), or similar traits may have this feature. The player, edge technology, just short of the next TL. This is equivalent rather than the GM, decides if the element has it. to the “Best equipment possible at your TL” (p. B345) and • Marine: Characters with four or more points in Swimming may require an Unusual Background if purchased for a player (p. B224), Soldier (p. B221), or Naval Training (GURPS character (see GURPS Supers, p. 75).
Pyramid Magazine 28 October 2015
Troop Quality Average Combat Skill Level he dreams of being able to write full time, or at least eke out Legendary* 18 or higher a living doing it. Of course, if he’s not writing about GURPS, World-Class* 16 to 17 he’s blogging about it. Visit his site “Ravens N’ Pennies” Elite 14 to 15 (www.ravensnpennies.com) for more GURPS goodies. He Good 12 to 13 wishes to thank L.A., his own personal muse, as well as the Average 10 to 11 rest of his gaming group; Antoni Ten Monrós; the Sith Editrix, Inferior 9 or less “Archangel Beth” McCoy; David Pulver; Alan “Tyneras” Cullers; and Timothy “Humabot” Ponce, for being most excellent * World-class troops give +150% to TS, and add an addi- sounding boards. Indefatigable (p. 25) was created by Jason tional +250% to raise and +60% to maintain. Legendary troops “PK” Levine and has been reproduced with his permission. give +200% to TS, and add an additional +300% to raise and +80% to maintain. I am Daenerys Stormborn of the blood of old About the Author Valyria and I will take what is mine! Christopher R. Rice ain’t no hero – but he – Daenerys, in Game of Thrones #2.6 writes about them. From Portsmouth, Virginia,
Monsters and Motorcycles
These guidelines assume it’s a PC with a character special note is the rules for vehicles that can transport sheet being converted to the Mass Combat rules, but other elements. Multiply the vehicle’s Load statistic what about adding a specific racial template to existing (p. B463) by 2,000 and then add +1 per 2,000 lbs. to the elements? Or better yet, what about vehicles? Transport rating of the element, rounded to the nearest For racial templates, simply figure their TS increase multiple of 2,000. and features as you would normally. For vehicles, this • Transport Weight: Vehicles with a Motorized mobility, requires a bit of extra work. Use the previous guidelines water mobility, or a mobility of “0” have a WT equal to 1 with the following changes. per five tons of Loaded Weight. Mechanized mobility has a WT equal to 1 per 7.5 tons of Loaded Weight. Air mobility • Troop Strength: Use the rules on pp. 23-26, but count has a WT equal to 1 per 18.75 tons of Loaded Weight. only Damage Resistance, Health, Hit Points, Affliction, • Mobility: Vehicles use their Top Speed for all and Move. Finally, add a special modifier based on the calculations. vehicle’s TL: ¥0.01 for TL3 or less, ¥0.02 for TL4, ¥0.05 for • Optional Features: Many vehicles have obvious equip- TL5, ¥0.25 for TL6, ¥0.5 for TL7, ¥1 for TL8, ¥2.5 for TL9, ment analogues that may make it easier to convert than a ¥5 for TL10, ¥10 for TL11, or ¥20 for TL12. Double this if regular character. Of particular note is the sensor system the vehicle uses superscience weapons. for TL8+ vehicles which is often as good as Hyperspectral • Special Classes: Use the rules on pp. 26-27, but be Vision but out to a much farther range. willing to eyeball equipment that gives advantages. Of • Quality: Use these rules as is.
Pyramid Magazine 29 October 2015
The Elvey Institute by Steven Marsh
Although the modern world has many troubles, not all of predict defies even the best extrapolative technology available them can be resolved by throwing money, personnel, or fire- elsewhere, and – if what the Institute professes is true – seems power at them. In fact, some problems are such distant wor- to defy several theories of what should be possible. ries that hardly anyone devotes much thought at all to them, The Institute avows that it has proprietary computational let alone devoting resources to fixing them preemptively. One algorithms that allow it to make more accurate and more such exception – perhaps unique in its scope and breadth – is far-reaching predictions than its competitors. However, if the Elvey Institute. anyone were to investigate their software, they would see it’s all fairly mundane . . . yet, somehow, their computational
The Lore models are able to access a sort of “X element” that serves some kind of higher purpose. This is represented in GURPS According to official records and company lore, the Elvey as “super-science,” but the reality of what’s “really” going on is Institute incorporated shortly after World War II, when left up to the GM (but see p. 32 for ideas). Franklin and Dorothy Elvey began gathering contacts among electrical engineers, especially those with experience and education using computational devices. The Elveys turned a The Reality deep and personal interest in futuristic philosophy and for- The Elvey Institute’s origins and history get even murk- ward thinking toward action, putting their resources into a ier the more they’re investigated. The Elvey family is poorly long-term think tank and (to a lesser extent) action center. The documented, and there aren’t any official death certificates or company's mission remains the same now as it was then: iden- notices for Franklin or Dorothy. Nor are there extensive notes tifying and resolving issues that will become a problem for the about who their successors were; the company is currently world, primarily those issues that will come to fruition 100 run (it is claimed) by Matthew and Kelly Elvey. years or more in the future. There doesn’t seem to be anything sinister about this lack Since then, the Elveys have maintained a modest existence, of information; it just seems the company has escaped notice. somehow generating (or having access to) enough wealth to As a privately held corporation, it isn’t beholden to stockhold- keep the company seemingly successful, but not so ostenta- ers and can keep its finances and dealings mostly private. tious in its fortunes that they attract attention. However, the relative paucity of information, the owners’ gen- Remaining privately held among the Elvey family, the eral reclusiveness, and the oddity of their mission makes them Institute has flown under the radar ever since its inception. a somewhat (un)popular target for conspiracy theorists. This is understandable; by the Institute’s own admission, any The Elvey Institute mostly pursues its own goals, although problem they were likely to devote considerable attention it does occasional consulting work. What it charges makes no to wouldn’t even being showing up on the Earth’s radar for sense to outsiders; the company is as likely to accept a mom- another few decades . . . and if they did succeed, those prob- and-pop operation for a pittance as it does a multinational lems would simply cease to exist, in the way that replacing conglomerate for millions of dollars. Some observers specu- a frayed wire that would have led to a skyscraper fire is an late that such consultations are only done when it furthers the uneventful fix. Institute’s own goals, with money being largely irrelevant . . . Still, those who know and (claim to) understand what the Institute does speak highly of it and its efforts. The company also claims that several top-100 companies seek Structure its consultation. The Elvey Institute has about 50 employees. There are three members of the top tier (Rank 3) – presumably Matthew
The Truth About Elvey, Kelly Elvey, and an unknown third person (or “person,” if one is paranoid enough). They have no named rank and are the Future almost never involved in day-to-day operations. Below them (at Rank 2) are the five to seven Elvey The Elvey Institute is a more-than-cutting-edge pioneer in Planners. Each Planner has projects and areas of expertise, the field of predictive computer models. What it purports to but there is overlap and very little friction between Planners.
Pyramid Magazine 30 October 2015
They are allowed near-complete latitude in choosing, imple- resolve. The Institute sometimes stretches itself to do near-fu- menting, and resolving their own missions. ture predictions as an aid to longer-term goals; for example, Below them (at Rank 1) are about 30 Elvey Implementers – making economic forecasts 10 years out to ensure funding technicians, programmers, researchers, and agents. They’re will be in place to support a project 100 years out. the ones who get things done. Each Planner usually has about The existence of the Elvey Institute results in some weird five Implementers that directly report to him. A handful of requests, and lawyers and executors around the world are floating members flit between projects as needed. used to odd mandates: “In early 2162, your agency will need Below them (at Rank 0) are eight to 10 untitled supporters: to bury 10,000 MREs outside Muncie. Then make sure that clerical, janitorial, etc. this video commercial airs daily throughout October 2162 on The Elvey Institute always has had considerably more whatever media exists . . . don’t watch it before then.” female employees than male, especially at the Implemen- tor and higher levels; at present, all but one of the six cur- Predicting the Future rent Planners are women. This seems to be because almost The system used by the Elvey Institute is weird when it all of the initial nuts-and-bolts Elvey workers were originally comes to foreseeing the future, in that its algorithms actually female programmers who brought the computers and proto- get more accurate the further out it goes. A standard Elvey computers of the 1940s and 1950s to life, and their legacy has Institute roll uses a base skill roll of 15 (its technological skill) become corporate memory. (Of course, many also argue that plus the Size modifier bonus from Size and Speed/Range Table, this is a result of one of their long-term projects . . .) p. B550, for the number of years in the future (reading “yards” as “years”) minus 10. Getting Things Done Thus, a prediction for 100 years in the future has an effec- tive skill of 15 (15 + 10 - 10), while a forecast for a thousand The Elvey Institute has considerable (but not unlimited) years in the future has an effective skill of 21 (15 + 16 - 10), resources at their disposal. They can accomplish their goals and a forecast for a year in the future has an effective skill of 3 economically, physically, persuasively, or through informa- (15 - 2 - 10). Note that any roll for 100 years or more benefits tion. Thus, if the Institute has determined an earthquake will from the Institute’s Higher Purpose (see The Elvey Institute, destroy a city 100 years from now, an Implementer agent p. 32), giving an additional +1. might influence local elections to get forward-thinking politi- A standard prediction takes a week, but this can be modi- cians into office, start a propaganda campaign to get citizens fied for time spent (p. B346). Most standard queries (100 years to leave, or explore caves and use dynamite to diffuse and col- or more) are done in half the time – thus two predictions a lapse a fault line. week – at -5. Generally, the Institute has computational power Implementers generally prefer to work within the law, but to handle between 10-15 questions per week (that is about two they’re not above working outside the bounds of society if per Planner). it’ll get the job done. They draw the line at inflicting injury or The more unique data that can be supplied to the Insti- death upon others; regardless, there is a strong company cul- tute, the better its predictions; this adds a bonus ranging from ture of “the Institute will deny all knowledge of your actions if +1 (trivial data) to +10 (utterly irreplaceable). For example, if you are caught . . .” trying to determine a 100-year forecast of Detroit, providing extensive access to its historical and modern archives would Sample Problems and Solutions warrant +3, a person-by-person survey of 10% of the populace • A grain-destroying blight in 268 years will lead to mass would warrant +6, and a brain-scan of a time-traveling resi- famine. An Implementer bribes several influential farmers to dent from Detroit 80 years from now would provide +10. begin using Elvey’s chosen (blight-resistant) seed, with the The more specific the question, the better. “What will idea that it will become the dominant seed within a couple Detroit be like in 100 years?” will result in a fuzzier answer of centuries. than “What will be the greatest threat to an average Detroit • Freak solar radiation will render humanity infertile in citizen’s well-being in 100 years?” 400 years. An Implementer ensures plans will be in place the Answers are generally accurate, but only in a “yes/no” century prior to gather enough frozen genetic material (along sense; thus “Will Los Angeles be around in 500 years?” will with the knowledge to use it). return “no” both if the Earth is predicted to be destroyed by an • A granite mountainside will collapse in 840 years, caus- asteroid in 400 years and if the city is destined to be destroyed ing damage and misery to a nearby city that hasn’t come into by an earthquake in 120 years. existence yet. An Implementer uses explosives to cause the Because of all this, Institute researchers will generally pose mountainside to collapse before the city is founded. and re-pose questions as they get more data. The Elvey Institute isn’t averse to using its powers to resolve sooner situations, and it’s certainly feasible for its computers. (See Predicting the Future, below, for the game mechanics of The Elvey Institute the company’s predictive capabilities.) However, the Institute in a Campaign takes the mindset that mundane actors will discover and Most groups in games are designed to deal with pressing resolve more imminent problems, and that it best fulfills its problems: “The Agency needs you to stop this madman before purpose by focusing on far-future problems. Still, the Institute he holds this office building hostage. Here’s a dossier . . .” In needs to balance between what it can predict versus what it contrast, the Elvey Institute is geared to be much more odd- can actually do; more impending problems are often easier to ball, in both its requests and what it’s trying to accomplish.
Pyramid Magazine 31 October 2015
It turns most notions of urgent action on its ears, as missionsContact, the Institute enables a flavorful but limited form of can require years or decades of (sporadic) preparation. prognostication: “I need to figure out where the Atlanta Boiler If the heroes have direct ties (such as through the Patron will strike within six months; can you give me any leads?” advantage), the Institute allows for an unending source of The Institute also can hire the protagonists as support for unusual adventures. Alternatively, as a more tangential Ally orany number of its own missions. Accumulating unique data is one of the most obvious, but the number of PC-level agents within the Institute is laughably small, so out- sourcing adventure-level exploits to more competent T E he lvey nstitute I heroes is a common occurrence. Mission Statement: The Elvey Institute is devoted to For a summary of the company’s inclinations and attempting to preemptively resolve problems before they capabilities presented in GURPS Boardroom and become an issue; such issues usually extend beyond a human Curia terms, see The Elvey Institute (above). lifetime (and most much longer), although it can turn its Of course, the Institute can form the basis of many attention to a shorter timeframe if persuaded. adventures itself, as PCs stumble onto the organiza- tion’s own actions and secrets . . . Capabilities TL: 8^ Wealth: Comfortable Members: 50 The Future Is Uncertain The Elvey Institute works perfectly fine as a straight- Contacts: Administration-15 [2]; Business skills-15 [10]; forward, honest (if weird) group. However, if the GM Expert Skill (Long-Term Problems)-18 [3]; Technological wants it to be a bit more inscrutable or sinister, here skills-15 [10] are some options to pick from. (They’re not all mutually Member Traits: Higher Purpose (Solve problems 50 or exclusive, so choose as many as desired!) more years in the future) [5]; Unusual Background (Occa- sional access to TL^ future forecasts) [5] • “Elvey” is a play on words of “LV” – that is, “Long Notable Resources: The Elvey Institute has its headquar- View.” This points to an acronym- or future-based ori- ters in an office building in a moderately large city. Its offices gin . . . perhaps the Elvey Institute actually has some are designed to accommodate up to 120 people, but in recent sort of time travel? years, its staff has hovered around less than half that. Its com- • The “Elvey” family are actually elves; their lengthy puters are considerably high-tech. Given enough notice, it’s outlook means they have to do what they can to resolve willing (and able) to buy considerable special equipment, but issues down the road. In the same way many humans for the most part, it maintains an unassuming, discrete profile. make plans for 10 years down the road, the Elvey fam- Reaction Time Modifier: +1 ily’s focus on 100 years down the road is just their ver- sion of “short-term planning.” Costs and Values • Not only did Franklin and Dorothy Elvey never die Startup Cost: $4,212,000 Resource Value: $21,060 (as some theorize); they never existed in the first place. Patron Value: 10 points Enemy Value: -30 points This would explain the fairly reclusive nature of the Ally and Dependent Value: The Elvey Institute can entire Elvey family. However, the implications of who’s provide a wide range of NPC associates, from low-level (and really running the Institute are that much murkier. low-point-value) scientists or scholars, to a couple of high- • The Elvey Institute is accomplishing long-term point-value agents who qualify as individual Allies. goals, but the exact nature of its goals is more sinis- ter. Their computers are lying about what they’re striv- Social Attributes ing to do. “Prepare the world for the arrival of our Lovecraftian masters” would closely resemble “Save Type: Aid, Investigative the world of the future” if the Implementers don’t know CR: 2 Loyalty: Good (15; +1) what they’re really doing . . . Rank: Administrative Rank 0-3 [2/level] • The whole “cutting-edge computers” thing is 100% Income Range: $2,600 (Average) to $4,500 (Comfortable) false; the Elvey Institute’s policies are actually informed Reputation: +2 (among people who support their true via some other method: perhaps magic, or a time trav- purposes); -2 (among conspiracy theorists) eler who can only make periodic visits from the future to let the Institute know how well or poorly their actions Notes are working. Almost all members above Rank 0 have a Sense of Duty, Code of Honor, or similar trait that pushes them to dedicate their lives to the negotiation and planning of long-term cri- ses. There are many – potentially hundreds or thousands – About the Author Steven Marsh is a freelance writer and editor. He of powerful, influential people who view the Elvey Institute has contributed to roleplaying game releases from favorably; if the need arose, the Institute could bring consider- Green Ronin, West End Games, White Wolf, Hogshead able resources and power to bear with a few persuasive phone Publishing, and others. He lives in Indiana with his calls. To date, it has never done so . . . wife, Nikola Vrtis, and their son.
Pyramid Magazine 32 October 2015
Pyramid Magazine 33 October 2015 Random Thought Table Look Out . . . Outlooks! by Steven Marsh, Pyramid Editor
Many forms of media involve some sort of change of per- biggest – time and space – in The Long and the Short of It spective, including novels (Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End), (pp. 4-14). But there’s still plenty of options . . . films (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), television (countless episodes of The Twilight Zone), comic stories (Alan Moore’s four-page “Brief Lives” from Omega Men). Often these changes Power Levels in perspective are designed as a trick or a twist; if you go into One easy method for tweaking outlooks is to change the a movie like The Sixth Sense knowing there’s buzz about a power level of a game. A superheroic campaign with cosmic- mind-shattering twist, it’s not impossible to figure out said level heroes feels very different from one told from the point twist within the first nine minutes . . . speaking hypothetically. of view of street-level low-powered vigilantes . . . even in the However, a change in perspective doesn’t need to be imple- same universe. (Witness the tonal difference between the mented for shock value (although I’ve certainly done so in Daredevil Netflix series and the Iron Man movies.) However, some adventures). Rather, it can result in a fundamentally dif- it’s possible to tinker with power levels within a campaign. As ferent outlook for a new or existing campaign. The RPG setting a couple of examples . . . Xcrawl casts the PCs as corporate reality-TV-style dungeon crawlers, with sponsorships, viewers, and rewards depending on how successful they are in their exploits. It doesn’t change In the Shadows of Giants the fundamentals of what the game is about – it’s mostly still Imagine a standard GURPS Action campaign, or even an excuse to kill monsters and get loot – but it does make something a bit lower-powered (say, 200 points – see GURPS things feel fairly fresh. Similarly, it’s possible to envision two Action 4: Specialists for info on how to make such heroes games based on The Truman Show: one where the players are easily). However, it’s set in a cinematic super-powered uni- kept in the dark about the unreality of their situation until the verse. The heroes aren’t allied with any ultra-tech agencies, Big Reveal, and another where the players are made aware of secret organizations, heroic groups, or the like. It’s just them it early on (even if their heroes are still in the dark). Neither and their capers (if they’re on the wrong side of the law), option is right, but changing your perspectives can help you police assignments (if they’re on the up and up), or everyman crack new possibilities you might have overlooked. adventures (if they’re just trying to get by). However, they keep Here, then, are some ideas for how to alter your pre- intersecting whatever global crises befall the world thanks to conceived notions. Sean Punch already tackled two of the spandex-clad titans vying for supremacy. Imagine a bank heist set during 2012’s The Avengers film, or the heroes trying to stop a serial killer during the climactic destruction of Metropolis in Resemblances are the shadows Man of Steel.
of differences. Different people Gods Made Men
The GM tells the players to each make see different similarities and more-or-less average folks (150 points in GURPS). However, the GM goes to one of similar differences. the players and informs him that he’s actu- ally a deity in disguise, and to make a sec- – Vladimir Nabokov ondary character (2,000 points in GURPS); the first character is his mortal disguise.
Pyramid Magazine 34 October 2015
The GM tells the player to be careful with that information, becomes much smaller for them . . . or at least their percep- and choose best when – or if – to reveal it; the hero remembers tion of it does. that he did do this and that he can switch back, but he doesn’t remember why he assumed mortal form or what will happen if he becomes a god again. He then privately tells the same thing to all the other players. Every man takes the limits Presumably the heroes will have standard (if interesting) adventures for a period, before one of them bites off more than of his own field of vision for he can chew and realizes there’s no incentive not to reveal the truth now, since he’s going to die anyway. the limits of the world. When that happens, it’s quite likely that one or more of the other heroes will reveal their own origins. – Arthur Schopenhauer Then the GM can transition to a new ultra-powered cam- paign, quite possibly centering on trying to figure out the whys and hows of having assumed mortal form in the first place. Were they hiding from something? Trying to learn something about humanity? Trying to protect the world from themselves? The Enemy of My Enemy This campaign can work in pretty much any genre. As a final idea for messing with perspectives in a campaign, Dungeon-crawling adventurers could transition to ultra- reflect upon the nature of the adversaries. The most obvious powerful deities, or space-faring voyagers might become idea is to make those who were formerly enemies now more beings of pure energy. closely aligned with the good guys. For example, Magneto As an added twist – if the GM has a player who would appre- reformed and led the X-Men for a time, while Star Trek: The ciate the challenge – don’t tell that one player that he’s a deity. Next Generation recast the Klingons – former villains of the When all his allies (that is, those who have “PC” stamped on original Star Trek – as allies of the Federation. their foreheads) transform, he’s left wondering: Why haven’t However, it can be more fulfilling to open up the mind- I transformed? Am I truly just a mortal among gods? Will my set to allow for different possibilities. For example, maybe – friends desert me? in one campaign – zombies are a plague upon humanity (as always believed) . . . but they’re a symptom of a larger evil that’s attempting to work its way into the world. The walking A Shift of Power dead spread like infectious cells, hoping to weaken its host’s defenses – that is, the Earth – to allow for a more-horrifying One of the other big shifts in perspective comes from a recasting of a power source. For example, the classic game entity to arrive. (See GURPS Horror for many icky possibili- Starflight (and SPOILER ALERT for a game from 1986) ties.) In this way, the perspective of the campaign changes as has the revelation that the Crystal Planet doomsday super- zombies are no longer an evil unto themselves, but a manifes- weapon that’s destroying planets in the galaxy was actually tation of a larger problem. made by the Ancients. . . and, oh yeah, the dilithium-crystal- Or perhaps super-powers cause an inherent instabil- esque fuel source used to power all starships in the game ity in most of those who acquire them, turning them away was – in fact – the Ancients. They hadn’t gone away after from sanity toward evil. This would explain why most super- all; they were just crystalline entities whose sense of time powered entities are villains instead of heroes (besides the was radically different from the rest of the cosmos. (END campaign-world reason of giving the heroes plenty of folks to SPOILER ALERT) fight). This probably wouldn’t affect the game too much, but It’s possible to change the perspective of a game universe it shifts the perspectives a bit if most adversaries are now not by shaking up the origins or foundations of its energy. Some evil by their own conscious decisions, but victims of the side examples include: effects of the same abilities that the heroes utilize. This can become even more poignant if the heroes start wondering if • Magic can actually be learned by anyone . . . not just they will turn evil someday . . . those with appropriate advantages or Unusual Background. As a final idea, what about – in a fantasy setting – the • Each usage of super-powers actually brings the wielder undead are a bleed off of energies that must be leached from closer to death. (See the comic Strikeforce: Morituri for one the world, lest those forces threatens it? Like lancing a wound, related example of this idea.) a certain amount of undeath must be permitted into the • Being the target of psionic powers – including wielders world. In this case, a long-term goal of such a campaign might for self-directed powers – opens one up to possession from be trying to convince necromancers and servants of darkness Things Humanity Was Not Meant To Know, such as the case to help humanity, by summoning their foul minions in con- with character designed using GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 14: trolled environments. “Diplomatic relations to Abydos, City of Psi. (This is a case where the tinfoil hats really work well!) the Dead” never felt so ominous . . . Of course, what counts as a “power source” can vary from campaign to campaign. For example, the perspective of a space-faring game changes considerably if the heroes About the Editor discover a device that allows them to hyperjump instan- Steven Marsh has been editing Pyramid for over 10 years; taneously between worlds – rather than the usual days or during that time, he has won four Origins awards. For more weeks that standard hyperjump takes. Suddenly the cosmos details on his background, see p. 32.
Pyramid Magazine 35 October 2015
Odds and Ends Alternate Elveys Although designed for a modern set- ting, the Elvey Institute (pp. 30-32) can About the Cover be used in a variety of campaigns without This month’s cover was a challenge. How do we convey the idea of per- much adjustment. Furthermore, some spectives? After some brainstorming and chin stroking, we realized that one core assumptions of the Institute can be of the ideas explored in Sean Punch’s article (pp. 4-14) was how extended tweaked to change its flavor a bit. Here periods of time can affect the outlook of a campaign. Would we be able to are some additional ideas. convey an encounter that gave that larger sense of time? Fortunately, artist Brandon Moore – still busily at work bringing visual • There’s nothing that would keep the elements together for the forthcoming Car Wars – came through in a big Elvey Institute from being founded fur- way. The link between the old painting and the person is obvious but ther back in time. However, the further intriguing; is it the same guy? If so, how? And what’s going on here, with back you go, the more you need to address the protagonist being held at gunpoint? The expression on the target’s face what successes – or failures – they’ve is exactly the kind of cocksure confidence that an immortal would probably had in the intervening years. (Post- have in this situation – this is just another mildly diverting situation in a WWII works well because we haven’t hit lifetime that’s been full of them. 100 years out from that yet, so we don’t Here is the preliminary sketch of the cover. A text-free version of the have anything concrete we need to worry finished artwork is on p. 37. Notice some of the nice touches on the final about the Institute having thwarted or artwork, like the identical pin both portrait and target are wearing, and how not thwarted.) If you use the Institute the painting looks weathered and textured. For more artwork from Bran- in modern times but establish it in (say) don, visit his digital domain at artofbrandonmoore.com. the 1700s, then you’ll need to explain why they didn’t stop many of human ity’s worst excesses in the 20th century. On the plus side, you can also point to more positive things that have happened and say that they’re the result of Insti- tute tinkering. • The Institute can work well for fantasy settings. Since such campaigns already feature elves and other long-lived races, and many such worlds have ready sources of divination, the Institute can be much more open and forthright in what they’re doing and hoping to accomplish. • The Institute can be larger, if desired. As written they’re designed to be some- what out of the way – the eclectic infor- mation source tucked in a corner of the game world. However, there’s no reason they couldn’t have branch offices in mul- tiple cities, dozens or hundreds of trained agents working on pre-crises centuries ahead of time, etc. In fact, going this route would make them an even more formidable adversary if it’s ever revealed that there is something more nefarious going on within the organization. Of course, any radical revision of the Institute will require you to tweak the stats with GURPS Boardroom and Curia, but that should be fairly straightforward.
Pyramid Magazine 36 October 2015
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