October 2008, Issue #1
Message From the EditorWelcome to the first issue of the Supplement. Like a homegrown Dragon magazine. This is a grass roots local gaming resource. Each issue will be chock full of Articles, Adventures, Campaign Ideas, Reviews, and Inspirational Material. Contributors to this Edition●Sam Caruss, Chief Editor and Contributor. ●Ryan Alderman, Assistant Editor. ●Spencer Cushing, Assitant Editor. ●Michael Amman, Contributor Adventure Ideas, Seeds, and Plot Hooks● A series of grizzly murders happen in a small town. ● A series of shoes wash up on shore. With a foot still in them. ● Characters come across a crazy guy wearing a sandwich board, yelling about the end of the world, fire falling from the sky. A little later it starts happening. ● Houses, buildings, and places start disappearing. No one seems to remember them. But you do. ● A man shot in the head gets up and leaves the morgue. ● Skeletal riders terrorize the city. ● Evil force compelling normal people to kill. ● Thick yellow fog creeps across town leaving destruction in its wake. ● Shadows conspire against humanity. ● All the residents of a town disappear. Where did they go? ● Nain Rouge harbinger of doom appears to the characters in Detroit. ● Hikers found with some of the flesh eaten off of their bodies. Is it the work of animals or something far more sinister? ● Some say old Jake fell in the lake and drown. Others say something pulled him in. One things for certain, something strange is going on at the lake. ● What's that smell coming from the tool shed at the impound lot? ● Who's digging holes all over the city? ●Why is everybody getting sick on North street? ● At night electricity wanes causing a brown out in the neighborhood. Except for the lights in the neighbors basement. Which get brighter. ● What does Jimmy mean by he's going to feed the demon? ●Corpses in recent murders seem to have been killed by a large bladed instrument. The blood from around the bodies looks as if it has been wiped up with a cloth. Got something to say?Like it? Hate it? Have comments? Want to see a certain genre covered? Have an idea, for an article submission? Email us rpgsupplement@gmail.comDisclaimerAll characters appearing in this work are fictitous. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All game IP's are owned by their respective owners. This magazine is produced by fans for fans. | Samhain, for StartersWe here at "The Supplement" are intending to have a monthly theme. So what better way to kick off the inaugural issue, but with a horror edition in honor of the Halloween holiday. Tips for Running a Horror Game, by Sam CarussThese are a collection of tips and ideas that I've read, used, or have been exposed to. Compiling my 20+ years of gaming experience. They are by no means the end all text on the subject, nor will you necessarily agree with all of them, but they are presented to give you some ideas about what will work for your group. Descriptions. They make or break your game. Even more so in a horror game. Don't just say "it's a werewolf" or "the werewolf approaches you". Say something along the lines of, "Out of the fog the creature pounces. A hairy muscular form. Its slathering canine maw dripping saliva. Its eyes pierce you with an animistic stare." Use the cliche to your advantage. What I mean by that is, the obvious is not always the correct answer. Example, the characters arrive in a small New England town. This town has suffered a series of brutal murders. Instead of the culprit being the crazy loner that wanders the streets talking to himself, the true criminal is the innocent school marm. Perhaps she is even framing him. Another example of turning what they know against them is, let them think they are hunting werewolves. Let them stock up on silver bullets and big guns. But then have the baddies be actually hairy goblin fae that are only vulnerable to cold iron. Teach them fear. Have the opponent's first attack be their most powerful. Its doesn't matter if they are able to do it again or not. Preferably, have the opponents ambush the characters. People tend to not be so brave, or make reckless decisions when things get crazy quick, like when one of their own is cut down in the first salvo. I'm not saying be a killer GM, but a dramatic event like that is great to get the group to say "Hold on, we need a plan, frontal assault is suicide". The bad guys having invulnerability or high damage resistances is a great way to express the horror of the situation to the players. Big guns and swords are great, but unless they are silver they will never kill the werewolf. Or perhaps they can't kill it with weapons, but must subdue it by other means. Finding a spell, singing a song, or completing a puzzle. An example: the characters have to battle back the creature, but they cannot kill it. They must fend it off while they decipher the ancient text that reveals the chant to send it back to an eternal slumber. A key to any game, be it horror or anything else, is to make it challenging, but not impossible. That sometimes can be a hard balance. Rebirth of the Mummy, by Sam Caruss This is a 1930's adventure/horror pulp adventure. Theme wise it's definitely in the vein of Doc Savage, Indiana Jones, The Shadow, or Johnny Quest. Originally designed for use with Savage Worlds. But can easily be adapted for use with the system of your choice. I'm leaving this a fairly open adventure concept. To accommodate many types of players, or ideas of the GM running it. The characters have all responded to an ad in the London Sunday Times. The ad is as follows: "Sir Henry Whitlok, Gentleman Scientist, is preparing an archaeological expedition to Egypt. Looking for qualified professionals in the following fields: Archeology, Architecture, Linguistic studies, History, and Security (people of military or law enforcement training preferred). Those interested should inquire in person at 3340 Townsend Rd. between the hours of 1 and 4. Please, experienced applicants only." A note about characters. The professional fields listed above are mostly self explanatory, but any kind of character could be involved. However, the player should have a decent reason to be involved. In Egypt they will be excavating the tomb of Sarsos. Better known as Pharaoh Imotep. It's a small step-style pyramid from an earlier Egyptian historical period. I' ll leave the actual design of the interior of the pyramid to the GM, as I don't have the space or the resources here to share the maps I have created for this adventure. But allow me to share some of my design ideas and thoughts on it here. The first floor will have tombs for the Pharaoh's personal guard that were buried with him. Along with store rooms of supplies to get him to the afterlife. Of course, it will have many different halls to explore, but keeping your right hand on the wall will correctly guide you through the tomb to the entrance to the lower level. Of course it's not as simple as all that. Along the way there should be the requisite tomb traps. Swinging pendulum blades, dart throwers, spiked pit traps, and well, you get the idea. Feel free to use a couple, but don't go overboard. Then, the entrance to the lower level. It's hidden of course. At the end of the hallway will be a statue of Ra holding a scepter, and a dagger. On the statue will be hieroglyphics that, when translated, will say, "Those who seek power will fall, those who seek death will find it in Sarsos". Which means if you pull the scepter, you fall into a pit trap. If you pull the dagger, the statue slides out of the way revealing a staircase down to Imotep's tomb. Imotep's tomb is a straight hallway with four alcoves, (two per side) ending in a large room containing Imotep's sarcophagus. Each alcove contains a small pedestal. On each pedestal is a jar shaped like a bowling pin. But each has a different Egyptian gods' head on the top as a stopper. They are as follows: Anubis (jackle head, contains frankincense), Ra (falcon head, contains myrrh), Amun (snake headed woman, contains palm oil), and Thoth (Ibis head, contains clove oil). At the foot of Sarsos' sarcophagus is a large book. Its cover is made of black balsite, with six copper pages. The pages show lines with hieroglyphics. When deciphered they read as follows: page 1, "This is not as much a tomb. As it is a prison for Imotep." page 2, "For if the seal of his tomb is broken, he will rise again. Resuming his domination of Egypt." page 3, "He will first seek to restore his body. He will seek the four sacred jars." page 4, "Then he will seek the Staff of Anubis. Which is the source of his power and his bane." page 5, "He will use it to raise a mighty army to conquer his enemies." page 6, "But if wielded by a hero, it is his downfall." Of course in the sarcophagus is the mummy of Imotep. Which is just that. It's not until later on that night, that Imotep rises. Sir Whitlock will take one of the jars to study. He will give one to Azel Jared, his friend with the curio shop. Then he'll give the other two, with the book, to the players for further study, or protection. Depending on the makeup of the party, he will also suggest that they go to the hotel bar to celebrate their discovery. It is that night that Imotep will rise. He will call on two of his undead royal guards to assist him. They will hunt down each jar, one by one. Then, once Imotep is whole, he will seek the Staff of Anubis. A jet black balsite staff with a head of Anubis on one end, with a forked blade at the other (same damage as a spear). It is housed in the main exhibition hall of the Cairo Museum of Egyptology. I'll leave the linear chain of events up to the GM. Not to mention players never do quite what you expect. Their first action may be different than what you expect, but in general, the following series of events should occur. Imotep and his guards will go after the first jar, in the possession of Sir Whitlok, who is in his room at the hotel, then attack Azel Jared in his shop to retrieve his jar. Then move to the characters' jars. Of course decisions made by the players could drastically alter that order. But regardless, the last target of Imotep will be the Staff of Anubis. Now, depending on the actions of the players, and the desires of the GM, they may encounter Imotep at every event site. Or just discover the aftermath at a couple of them. The final showdown location is not a static one. I think the museum or the pyramid would be best, but events may dictate otherwise. Not to mention, do the characters retrieve the staff before Imotep? Or do they have to steal it, then dispatch him with it? The following are the NPC's with any important stats. ●Sir Henry Whitlok Comes from a long time wealthy family in England. He is a gentleman scientist, beholden to no institution. He launches self-funded expeditions and activities, researching his own interests. He tends to come off as a spoiled, rich aristocrat. He doesn't intend to be rude, but he usually is just too engrossed in whatever project he is working on to notice. During the expedition he will dress in a tan linen suit and a pith helmet. Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6 Skills: Knowledge (History) d10, Investigation d10, Riding d6, shooting d4, Persuasion d4, Fighting d4, Swimming d4 Pace: 6 Parry: 4 Toughness: 5 Carries a cane (consider same dmg as a billy-club str+ d4) and a pistol in his jacket pocket. Browning Baby .25 ACP Caliber: .25ACP Shots: 6 Country of Origin: Belgium Year first made: 1905 Range: 5/10/20 Damage: 2d4 RoF: 1 Notes: Semi-Auto Cost: $20.00 ●Azel Jared A thin, smug, smarmy man of dubious trustworthiness. Appears to be an old friend of Sir Whitlok. He dresses in a white suit and a red fez. Attribute: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d4 Skills: Knowledge (History) d10, Investigation d10, Streetwise d8, Shooting d4, Intimidation d4 Pace: 6 Parry: 2 Toughness: 4 Keeps a pistol at his store, just in case. Savage 1907 Caliber: .32 Shots: 10 Country of Origin: USA Year first made: 1907 Range: 12/24/48 Damage: 2d4 RoF: 1 Notes: AP 1, Semi-Auto Cost: $22.00 ●Royal Guard Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d4 Skills: Fighting d6 Pace: 6 Parry: 5 Toughness: 6 +2 to recover from shaken status. Immune to poison, disease, and gas. Half damage from firearms and other piercing weapons. +4 damage from fire Fear, anyone seeing one must make a Guts roll. Fearless Bronze short sword Str+d6 Dressed in the headdresses and shendyt they were buried in. These skeletal/mummy guards obey Imoteps orders, in death, as in life. Fearlessly they defend their master. ●Imotep Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d10, Spirit d12, Strength d12+4, Vigor d12+2 Skills: Fighting d10, Guts d12, Knowledge (Occult) d8, Intimidation d10, Spellcasting d10 Pace: 4 Parry: 7 Toughness: 11 Imoteps abilities change as he reforms by consuming the jars. These are the permanent abilities. Arcane abilities Improved arcane resistances. +4 Armor vs. magic. +4 resist magic. +2 to recover from shaken status. No wound penalties. immune to poison, disease, and gas. 0 Jars Dried husk of a skeletal mummy. Half damage from firearms, and other piercing weapons. +4 damage from fire. Claws Str+d4 1 Jar A fit damp fresh mummy. Gains Spell Fear 2 (Unearthly Cry) 2 Jars Decomposing zombie like body. Gains Spells Obscure 2 (Sandstorm), Barrier 3 (Wall of Sand), Loses bonus damage from fire. 3 Jars Looks like a freshly wounded human. Bolt 1-6 (Black Lightning), Fly 3, Loses half damage bonus from firearm/piercing attacks. 4 Jars Fully formed human. Invulnerability, Weakness Staff of Anubis (takes double damage from this item, besides being actually wounded by it.) A Short Story Excerpt "Rude Awakening" by Michael AmmanThe gritty palpable taste of blood was the first thing that Reeneo Trillium became aware of as he regained consciousness. His swollen tongue probed the inside of his mouth, leading him to understand that his face was swollen, and hurt, and that blood was only gritty because he had dirt, or something remarkably similar, in his mouth. That realization was quickly followed by a few others, all of which became apparent to Reeneo at the same time. For example, he found himself suddenly afraid that he had been struck blind, or had his eyes cut out, because he felt like he was blinking, but was unable to make out anything but inky blackness. He also realized, in quick succession, that he was bound or paralyzed, something quite near him smelled utterly horrible, and he was not entirely sure that he was not deceased. Reeneo brought both of his legs straight up, hoping that he would either confirm that his legs were paralyzed, or be able to see them swinging above him. Instead, and much to his surprise, he heard a loud thump as his still mobile, but apparently numb legs, thudded off something thick and wooden. ClassifiedsClassifieds is a resource that you the reader can use to sell or buy books. Perhaps help a GM find players. Or players find a GM. Just shoot an email to rpgsupplement@gmail.com. It's as simple as that. One little disclaimer, this is not a personals section. Nor is it a place to slander and propagate hate. It is a resource for the local role playing community. |
