Stormbringer Redux Updated (30 posts!)

 Hi all,

I am sick as a dog when I should be working and prepping NUNA.

I decided to go back and reorganize Stormbringer Redux. Added all posts to #30.

Enjoy.

Stormbringer Redux # 30 Ever Wonder Why Your Runesword is Trying to Kill You?

In my experience, runeweapons are too often poorly run by the DM, and give an unfair power boost to one character without any drawbacks. As I said in an earlier post, “Basically, if a player is happy to get a rune weapon, you’re running it wrong.” Since Elric’s Stormbringer is the model for rune weapons, they should be equally treacherous and perilous to the wielder. What follows is some tables to determine your runeweapon’s secret agenda, the overt power it can use on behalf of its wielder, and the covert power it holds in reserve to advance its own schemes.

The tables are descriptive and system-free so as to allow easy use in any system.

RUNEWEAPON SECRET AGENDA. Roll 1d12.

1) Revenge! The weapon seeks to destroy the foe of its last wielder. This foe is at least twice as powerful as the current wielder and has minions or allies equal in strength to the player characters. It cares not whether its wielder wins or loses, just that the battle continue.

2) Return! The weapon seeks to return to its last wielder. To determine former wielder’s location, roll 1d6 = 1 Wandering amnesiac somewhere in the world 2 Trapped in hell 3 Lost on another plane 4 At the deepest level of a dungeon 5 Imprisoned by the ruler of the land 6 In plague-infested City of Beggars.

3) Immolation! The weapon seeks its own destruction, and doesn’t really care if the wielder is taken along for the ride. Roll 1d6 to see the only way it can be destroyed = 1 Thrown into the lava of Mount Badoom 2 Frozen and cracked by the Witch of the Wastes 3 Reforged by the King of the Deep Dwarves 4 Sucked dry of dweomer by an Enchanter 5 Thrust into a Nullstone in the Faerie Realm 6 Skewering the Lord of the Undead.

4) Armageddon! The weapon seeks to bring about the End of the World! If the PCs are trying to stop this, the weapon will thwart them and aid their foes, or else set the chain of actions for Ragnarok in motion.

5) War! The weapon thrills at battle and will always seek to drag its wielder into any altercation it can, the larger the better. It will seek to persuade or kill a cowardly wielder.

6) Deicide! The weapon seeks to kill all gods and demigods. It will actively seek out the nearest target and commence hostilities regardless of the wielder’s intent or abilities.

7) Freedom! The weapon is a bound demon, and seeks escape from its current shape. Roll 1d6 to see how it can escape = 1 Exorcism by Great Leader of the largest Church in the land 2 Trading places with another soul using a Spirit Gem obtained from the Lichking Lair 3 Being destroyed (see Immolation above) 4 Undergoing purification in the hidden shrine of the Scarlett Swordmaidens who slay all men and enslave all women on sight 5 Striking the Great Golden Gong jealously guarded by the Fighting Tiger Monks of the Hidden Temple of Song Ho 6 Bathed in the acid blood of a freshly slain 7-headed Hydragon.

8) Allegiance! Will try to bind the wielder to the same force it serves. Roll 1d6 – 1 Law 2 Chaos 3 The Balance 4 Hell 5 Heaven 6 Itself!

9) Home! The weapon seeks to return to its home, and will desert the wielder should it get there. Roll 1d6 = 1 Armory of The Entropy Lords at the End of Time 2 In the hand of the Eight Armed Death Goddess Khali 3 With the Deep Dwarves who dwell below Mount Badoom 4 In the Tomb of the Hero Beneath the Hill from whence it was stolen 5 In the hidden shrine of the Scarlett Swordmaidens who slay all men and enslave all women on sight 6 In the Plane of Things were people don’t exist and all objects are sentient.

10) Nemesis! The weapon has an identical opposite wielded by another hero somewhere. The weapon can feel where its nemesis is and nudges its wielder towards a confrontation with it. It cares not whether its wielder wins or loses, just that the battle continue.

11) Blood & Souls! The weapon feeds on the flesh and spirit of those slain with it, and must feed upon a dozen souls every fortnight or turn on its wielder.

12) Roll twice and apply both. If the same agenda is rolled again, substitute with the next down the list.

RUNEWEAPON BASE ABILITIES & RESTRICTIONS

All runic weapons share certain basic abilities.

1.        They can either do maximum damage or roll double the amount of dice for damage.

2.        They cannot be thrown away or destroyed, and will magically appear back in the wielder’s sheath.

3.        They cannot be surprised, and will automatically attack first against surprise attackers.

4.        They will kill all opponents, and will refuse to do stunning damage, instead always going for lethal hits.

5.        On a fumble, they automatically attack the closest ally of the wielder, some say out of jealousy.

6.        In addition, they have one Overt Power which they usually let the wielder know about and use, and one Covert Power which they normally keep to themselves and employ when it furthers their aim. Weapons can withhold or use either type of Powers at any time so long as it furthers their aims.

7.        Runeweapons can talk, but only do so the moment they slay their wielder.

OVERT POWERS Known to the wielder. Can be used once per session. Roll 1d12.

1) Blind – The weapon creates a dazzling sparkle that temporarily blinds 1-4 foes instead of an attack.

2) Elemental Attack – The weapon can cause an attack. Roll 1d6 = 1 Flame Burst (damage and item destruction) 2 Wind Blast (damage, blindness & knock back) 3 Water Punch (damage & drowning) 4 Rock Barrage (damage & concussion) 5 Lightning Bolt (damage & blindness) 6 Ice Dagger (damage & immobility).

3) Celerity – The weapon doubles the wielder’s speed and attacks.

4) Vorpality – The weapon breaks through mundane weapons, armor and shields. It can also negate the effects of magic armor.

5) Berserker – The weapon makes the wielder immune to all pain, fear, and sleep effects, and can fight until literally hacked to pieces.

6) Summon Allies – The weapon summons the undead corpses of the last creatures it slew to fight at its side.

7) Elemental Shield – The weapon can make a shield of one type of element that nullifies its opposite. Roll 1d6 = 1 Flame Buckler (vs plants or flesh) 2 Wind Target (vs arrows) 3 Water Wall (vs fire or insects) 4 Rock Wall (vs charging creatures) 5 Energy Field (vs firearms) 6 Ice Blockade (vs reptiles).

8) Duplication – The weapon can make 1d6 duplicates of the wielder appear to confuse its enemies.

9) Vampire – The weapon steals vitality from foes it kills to heal the wielder.

10) Levitate – The weapon can slowly lift the wielder, or slow their fall.

11) Recall – The weapon can be thrown or launch itself to attack an enemy in sight then return to the wielder’s hand.

12) Roll twice and apply both. If the same power is rolled again, substitute with the next down the list.

COVERT POWERS Unknown to the wielder. Can be used once per session. Roll 1d12.

1) Intangibility – The weapon can pass through solid objects, dropping through floors, hiding in pillars, etcetera.

2) Invisibility – The weapon can pass from sight, although it stays in the same place.

3) Charm Person – The weapon takes control of an NPC and has them do its bidding for a day.

4) Teleport Self – The weapon instantly disappears in one spot and reappears in another in the same building, dungeon or forest.

5) Polymorph Self – The weapon takes on the appearance of another object. Roll 1d6 = 1 Old rusty shield 2 A pair of boots 3 A dead rabbit 4 A head of lettuce 5 A spinning wheel 6 A bear trap.

6) Insect Swarm – The weapon summons 1d10x100 insects who attack anyone it chooses.

7) Wall of Blades – The weapon is surrounded by a whirling wall of magical blades who slice anyone attempting to pass through them.

8) Illusion – The weapon creates an illusion in the mind of all onlookers. Either reroll on this table and use the result as the illusion or make up a suitable one yourself.

9) Animate Objects = All objects in the room come to life and do the weapon’s bidding for one day. Curtains can strangle, chairs kick, and tables ram foes.

10) Fire Body – The weapon sprouts a pair of legs, arms, and head made of flame that can carry it around, pick up inflammable objects, and attack foes.

11) Demon Servant – The weapon summons a demon servant who will do one task for it. Roll 1d6 for demon type = 1 Imp, weak but can fly 2 Satyr, equal to men but can Mesmerize with its pipe playing 3 Hellhound, larger than men with flame breath 4 Firedrake, great fire-breathing flame serpent with wings 5 Balrog, strong, winged and flamewhip wielding 6 Flame princess, kind yet can steal the heart of any man who then immolates himself in her arms.

12) Roll twice and apply both. If the same power is rolled again, substitute with the next down the list.

The Worst Part of Teaching

It is not the kids, who are wonderful young people finding their way and much more savvy than I was their age.

It is not the colleagues, who are brilliant and dedicated and who fall into the normal workplace split of 10% who love me, 80% who don't care, and 10% who resent me for being a freewheeling fun teacher.

It is not the office, who are just people doing a job I'd never want to do and who increasingly have to butt heads with teachers as the govt and parents put more pressure on them and we push back aided by our union.

It

Is

Spending

All

Day

Marking

Seeing you on the other side, when the push towards the NUNA QuickStart launch and regular posting begins!

NUNA Bestiary # 1 - GIANTS, Giants, and giants

 Atelihai!

If you've ever read any Inuit folklore, you'll realize that Giants play a big role in their stories. There are basically 3 sizes or kinds:

Arctic Titans

These giants are so huge that they can cause tsunami when they go fishing, and their heads are literally in the clouds or among the birds. They are seldom hostile to the Inuit, but instead try to interact or befriend them, with equally comic or tragic consequences. Ever hear the story of the Titan who decided to wife swap with an Inuit man? It went just about as well as you'd think...

Arctic Giants

This next group, often called Tuniits (spelled with many variations from Alaska to Greenland) tower above humans, and are often helpful or wise. They may gift magical weapons of enlist Inuit to aid them in their duels, which they are said to have engaged in often, leading to their extinction. They are solitary and strange, but may take a village under their wing if lonely.

Arctic Ogres

The word Tuniit is often used for these as well, but the stories present a different picture. These Tuniit are larger than Inuit, but not by much. They have immense physical strength, but are also supposed to have disgusted the Inuit by their poor manners and hygiene. The menfolk steal Inuit umiak (rowboats) for their own fishing, and may be cannibal, although stories of kind or helpful Ogres exist. The women for their part cook meat by keeping it in their clothes (Tartar steak?), but may kidnap men they like. In fact, there is a whole subsection of she-ogres that kidnap babies, either to raise as ogres or to eat. Tuniit ogres are said to have lived in large stone houses which they built by hand, and to have slept upside down inside them.

Archaeologists have indeed found stone structures built across the Arctic, and the prevailing theory among Anthropologists is that these were made by the Dorset Inuit, the precursor of modern Inuit. The ancestors of the Inuit we know are called Thule, who spread out from Siberia across the Arctic 1000 years ago and dominated the region with their superior technology, which included barbed harpoons with animalskin floats so that prey would not sink. It is believed that the Thule drove the larger but less sophisticated Dorset Inuit into extinction, based on the many stories of tricking, trapping, or killing Tuniit ogres that have survived.

And Historians believed that there was ANOTHER group of Inuit long before the Dorset...

So NUNA will include both many kinds of Arctic giants, as well as disappeared races.

NUNA vs BRP #1 - Hello Shield Armor!

Welcome to this series of designer notes where I explain differences between NUNA and BRP (Chaosium's tried and true D100 system). Please note that NUNA is built on the chassis of older versions of BRP (Stormbringer, early Runequest), and not the more modern iterations (Elric! or Call of Cthulhu), nor the latest (CoC 7E). I do look at my Big Gold Book for inspiration and to make sure I don't needlessly reinvent the wheel.

First up, I have always felt Shields were underutilized in Stormbringer. They have a damage dice rating when used to Attack, they can Parry arrows, but other than that there is no difference in coverage between the 4 types presented (Buckler, Round, Kite, and Tower).

Let's fix that.

As a former SCA member, I have seen how useful shields are in combat. Back in my PUBG days as well, I have been saved innumerable times by bullets ricocheting off my frypan.

Note that although NUNA is classic lethal combat, I think the edge that Shields provide could use a buff to make characters more robust.

Here is an overview of the 3 things shields can do in NUNA. Details are in the Quickstart and Corebook.

1. Parry

This builds on the original Stormbringer rules, but clarifies and extends the effects on the Shield depending on the material it is made from (wood or iron). Using a Shield also allows more Parries by delaying the penalty for multiple Parries by alternating between weapon and Shield.

2. Attack

Once again, this is from the original rules, but damage dice are a more logical progression. I do love the Shield throwing implied by the old rules and have addressed that more directly.  I also clarify Knockback and possible Stun effects.

3. Soak Damage & Portable Cover

This is a new use, a version of which appeared in Stormbringer Redux. Basically, carrying a Shield can give a chance to stop projectile attacks, soak up damage, and act as Cover to make one harder to hit. I am still wrestling with the simple mechanics of this, but take as my inspiration that old OSR houserule gem by Trollsmyth,  Shields Shall Be Splintered, which I consider a Platonic ideal for houserules design and implementation.

4. Limitations

Increasing the utility of shields does not mean that everyone will carry one. First, only Vikings know how to make good ones and have ready access to materials, although Riggers may have access to old riot shields. Also, Inuit general eschew carrying about Shields except if going to battle to defend their community. Shields can also can make a character easier to Grapple by any of the giant creatures that abound in Nuna.

NUNA Summer Update!

The First Peoples English classes I teach have ended at the day job, and I have 2 weeks to finish evaluations before summer vacation.

Time to kick NUNA into launch mode!

Launch date for Nuna Quickstart is July 15 on DriveThru RPG.

It will be Pay What You Want with $1 minimum, and I hope you'll help me get it to Gold or Platinum sales. Every sale is appreciated as support towards the Nuna full edition.

Thanks to all the readers, playtesters, and supporters who have helped move this game from dream to reality.

Quickstart will include basic D100 rules, introduction to special NUNA rules, and the adventure The Silver Machine.

In the middle of summer, escape to an Arctic wonderland teeming with life, community, & weird adventure! See you in NUNA!

Nekmek!

Elric at the End of Time

 So I’m rereading this banger that I haven’t looked at in about 20 years

There’s so much good stuff in here for a Moorcock afficianado.

First, Elric reveals that Chaos means a place where the laws of nature do not apply. Snow doesn’t melt, but merely sits in deserts. A land can extend to the horizon then loop up overhead and back to itself. This again is what I have talked about regarding Moorcocken gaming, and validates my use of weird or psychedelic elements in my roleplaying adventures, as opposed to the endless series of combat encounters that seems to dominate modern gaming. I find that the weird encounters I create are always well received, and the Nuna playtest responses do mention positively the delicious creepiness of such touches in my own game.

In terms of the old Stormbringer game, Elric is sent to the End of Time after a huge wizard battle on Sorcerer's Isle. There’s mention of a tribe of Subhumans, the Kretti, who seem to be the inspiration for the monsters the Kay in the old scenario Crystal of Daerdaerdarth.

I still have a response to The Skraeling Tree to write (TLDR not as bad as the general reaction would have it, and lots of useful Moorcock stuff in there), and will also review Elric at the End of Time when I kill off the beast of Eval Ooayshuns and begin the timeless Limbo known as Summer Vacation.