Archive for July, 2009

I like HackMaster Basic

Posted in HackMaster, News, Reviews & Culture on July 30th, 2009 by DeadGod – 1 Comment

I played a game of Aces & Eights at Origins this year.  I thought it had some neat elements to it, but I decided that the initiative system was a little fiddly and I would need a little time to fit it into my standard groove of gaming.  I particularly liked the crunch of the character creation system.  There was a chart for nearly everything, but it was augmented with points so that you could pay for a re-roll, or pay even more to straight up select something off of the charts.  The kind gentleman running the game (who’s name escapes me, although he was part of the Kenzer demo crew,) talked very shortly about the new HackMaster using a very similar system.  The wild west has served as an occasional tryst for me but never been my fictional home.  Swords and sorcery, however, is a core of my tabletop subsistence.

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Real Life: “Reaper Lizard” found under Utah

Posted in Fluff/Inspiration on July 23rd, 2009 by DeadGod – Be the first to comment

They are calling it therizinosaur (which means “reaper lizard”) because of its giant claws.  If I didn’t know any better, I would think they were describing an Owlbear!

4eK: Some Character Examples

Posted in D&D 4e, Rules Ideas on July 20th, 2009 by DeadGod – 2 Comments
Eldar
-Feature: Fleet to Foot – Speed 8
*** Harlequins – Melee Striker
-Feature:  Furious Assault – Gain +2 to attack and +2 to damage when charging in to combat.
-Feature:  Hit and Run – Gain +4 Reflex against OA.
-Armor: Holo-suit – Save +3, ignores penetration.
-Wounds:
*** Rangers – Ranged Striker
-Feature:  Stealth – Cover provides an additional +2 armor save bonus.
-Feature:  Infiltrate – May start scenario anywhere on the board that is at least 18″ from an objective.
-Feature:  Piercing Rifles – When firing rifles, always roll against wound threshold 9.
-Armor:  Chameleoline – Save +5
-Wounds: 4, Threshold: 12
-Defense: F/R/W 15/18/13
Long Rifle with Focused Scope
-Ranged Attack:  Shuriken Long Rifle – Rng 36, Att +7, Pen 5, Heavy, Hit: Dmg 2d8+4
-Melee Attack:  Shuriken Pistol – Att +4, Pen 5, Hit: Dmg 1d6+1
-At-Will:  Careful Attack – Att +9, Pen 5, Heavy, Hit: Dmg 2d8
-Daily:  Dread Strike – Rng 36, Att +7, Pen 5, Heavy, Hit: Dmg 3d8+4 and target is immobilized 1 turn
Long Rifle with Flachette Rounds
-Ranged Attack:  Shuriken Long Rifle – Rng 36, Att +7, Pen 5, Heavy, Hit: Dmg 2d8+4
-Melee Attack:  Shuriken Pistol – Att +4, Pen 5, Hit: Dmg 1d6+1
-At-Will:  Flachette Spread – Rng 36, Att +7, Pen 5, Heavy, Hit: Dmg 2d8, roll twice and take the highest
-Daily: Clost-Combat Shot – Reaction: Enemy comes within melee range of you, Att +7, Pen 5, Hit: 3d8+4 Dmg
*** Farseer – Elite Ranged Leader
-Feature:  Fortune – Once per turn you may nominate a squad within 6″ of you.  When that squad makes armor saves, they may roll twice and keep the best result.
-Armor:  Rune Armor – Save +9, ignores penetration.
-Wounds: 6, Threshold 10
-Defense: F/R/W 13/16/19
Eldritch Master
-Ranged Attack:  Shuriken Pistol – Rng 12, Att +4, Pen 5, Hit: Dmg 1d6+1
-Melee Attack: Witchblade – Att +3, Ignores Armor Saves, Hit:  Dmg 1d8+1
-At-Will: Psychic Scream – Rng 12, Att +7 vs Will, Hit: Dmg 1d6+5, -2 to attacks next round.
-Daily: Eldritch Storm – Rng 18, Burst 5, Att +7 vs Fort, Hit: 1d8+4 Dmg, immobilized
Doombringer
-Ranged Attack:  Shuriken Pistol – Rng 12, Att +4, Pen 5, Hit: Dmg 1d6+1
-Melee Attack: Witchblade – Att +3, Ignores Armor Saves, Hit:  Dmg 1d8+1
-At-Will: Guide – Minor: You or an ally you can see may re-roll a missed attack roll on their turn.
-Daily:  Doom – Rng 18, Minor: Until end of combat, target is -2 defenses and takes +1d8 dmg from all attacks.
*** Wraithlord – Elite Brute
*** Utility Gear
Medkit – Remove one wound or restore a fallen squad mate.
Plasma Grenade – Range 10, Burst 2, Attack +3 vs Reflex, Pen 2, Hit: 1d10+4 Dmg

See my other posts about modding D&D 4ed with 40K here, here, and here.  Over the weekend I had a couple hours to start fleshing out stats.  None of the following has been play tested, but it uses the DMG’s rules for constructing NPCs so it should, in theory, be table-ready.

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4eK: Some Rules Changes

Posted in D&D 4e on July 15th, 2009 by DeadGod – 1 Comment

See my previous posts about mixing D&D 4ed and 40K here and here.  I am in the process of doing a first pass at some of the guts of character creation.  None of it is in a state I can show off here.  Instead, I thought I would talk a little bit more in detail about some of the rules changes and other implications of turning 4ed into a squad based game with lots of shooting.  The following contains lots of tactical data in a draft form, so I apologise if it is a bit thick and difficult to read.

4eK Character Creation

Posted in D&D 4e, General on July 14th, 2009 by DeadGod – 3 Comments

See my previous post about mixing 4ed and 40K here.  One of my stated goals for this game was to have a quick and highly simplified version of character creation.  I want there to be a handful of choices from short lists that both allow customization of characters as well as being immediately accessible to people who have never played 4ed and/or 40K.  I attempt to accomplish this in a couple ways:

D&D 4ed and 40K, or “4ek”

Posted in D&D 4e on July 13th, 2009 by DeadGod – Be the first to comment

Feel free to label this under “needless combination of systems with tactical crunch,” but my interest in modding 4ed to play a 40K scenario is increasing.  Here are some of my goals:

A Fresh Take on 4ed Skill Challenges

Posted in D&D 4e, Rules Ideas on July 6th, 2009 by DeadGod – 1 Comment

I was recently reading through some tips and alternate methods to run skill challenges in 4ed.  It seems to be a common opinion that it is the least understood and hardest to pin down element of the new system.

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