Posts
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Elemental Weapon Spells on Hard Maths
I’m still working on the next post in the Dragon’s Dogma Bestiary, but I saw something neat today and thought I had to share it and make a few comments of my own.
The Hard Maths blog has an interesting article on Elemental Melee Spells up. These create weapons of pure energy from nothing, and might be an interesting addition to the arsenal of a Mystic Knight!
Such a character would probably value mystical power more than physical might, as the spells don’t add to the users ST for damage and a final skill level of 15+ is vital for maintaining them for any appreciable length of time. They also need Force Sword, a skill which would have no other use in a fantasy setting… which means there’s a secretive order of elementalists that teaches it along with the spells somewhere out there.
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Mooks & Minions in GURPS: Octopus Carnival Edition
Octopus Carnival is back from is hiatus! I’ll resume my writing here with an article that’s not directly related to any of my ongoing projects. One goes where inspiration strikes, after all.
Inspiration in this case came from this post from Peter V. Dell’Orto over at Dungeon Fantastic, about how the mook rules he uses on his Dungeon Fantasy campaign. That got me thinking about the several different iteration of these rules present both in GURPS itself and on other systems. In this article I’ll talk a bit about those and introduce a variation on them that I’ll likely use for my own games.
Minions With Many Names
Mooks, Minions, Extras… by now the concept of them is probably well-known to most roleplayers, as a bunch of RPG systems has been codifying the concept for decades now. Since every game has a different name for this rule and I don’t want to keep listing them all, I’ll use the name “Minions” in this article.
Simply put, minions are weak enemies that pose little threat to player characters individually, and who are present in the game mostly to show case how competent said PCs are. They have simplified statistics and usually go down with one good hit from a PC. They take inspiration from a long line of action and adventure movies, where it’s common for the badass protagonists to mow through a large group of minions over the course of an action scene, or on the way to fighting a tough, named foe. They also tend to feature heavily in chase scenes, where their narrative purpose is to crash and burn with every maneuver the hero pulls off to confound them.
The concept of minions has been around since the early days of D&D and its hordes of low-HD enemies pitted against mid- or high-level parties. The first time I saw it explicitly named and codified was with Exalted and its rules for Extras, though it almost certainly wasn’t the first system to do so. Many others tried their hand at it, including D&D 4th Edition with its Minion rules.
GURPS itself has multiple sets of minion rules. In the core book, each minion is an individual opponent: they always go down in one hit, and they never use Active Defenses (but also never All-Out-Attack either). GURPS Action and GURPS Dungeon Fantasy toughen them up a bit by allowing active defenses and allowing for several different grades of opposition. Swarms are large groups of “minions” treated like a single, abstract creature, and again we have a version in the Basic Set and a couple more elaborate ones in Dungeon Fantasy and other sources. I’m sure people have come up with their own variations as well. So here’s mine! It’s focused on distinct individuals rather than on swarms. For now, I’ll use the standard published rules for those.
Octopus Opposition
This is how I intend to grade my opposition from now on, from weakest to strongest. The system takes inspiration from the existing GURPS rules, and also from the several different grades of opposition presented by D&D 4th Edition and early Shadowrun (with its Professional Levels).
Please note that this system is most appropriate for cinematic games that follow at least some “action movie” conventions regardless of their point level. Grimly realistic games should stick to the Basic Set rules (which are the equivalent of making all enemies Elite under this system). Campaigns that sit somewhere in the middle could ellide the lower opposition grades and make everyone at least a Worthy.
While higher-grade opposition is usually more skilled at fighting than lower-grade foes, its final grade is as much a matter of narrative importance as of pure power. In a campaign following action-movie narrative rules, you are more likely to find higher-grade enemies the closer you are to the story’s climax, or to your mission objective. Named NPCs are also more likely to be of a higher grade than the troops they command even if they are equally skilled, because the GM usually wants the NPC to stick around for a bit longer and be memorable.
This also means that it’s perfectly possible for a given individual to move between these grades depending on the circumstances of the story. That one lucky goblin minion that managed to inflict significant damage on the party and escape without a scratch might return as a worthy or better at a latter date if the players become obsessed with defeating it. In the case of Horde Ninjas, this progression could happen over the course of a single fight!
Belonging to a specific grade is always a “campaign feature” and as such never costs or gives points.
Minions
Minions are the equivalent of fodder in Dungeon Fantasy or Action. They fight and defend themselves normally, but it only takes a single point of damage getting past their DR to bring them down. This doesn’t necessarily represent killing. A “downed” minion might be unconscious, wounded, or even actively fleeing! Whatever happens, though, they are 100% out of the fight at that point. Obviously, it’s still possible to interact with a defeated minion who is still alive after the fight.
While minions can theoretically have very high skill levels and fight with fancy techniques, they usually don’t. They tend to come in large numbers and their tactics leverage that. This grade is appropriate for those goblin and dinoman hordes, cheap hired thugs, or the regular forces of the evil Star Empire. Any monster called out as fodder in official materials would be a minion under this system.
Tough Minions
Also known as “purple” minions for entirely jocular reasons. They’re like regular minions, but a little more ornery. A tough minion has an HP total like a normal character, but always fails combat-related HT rolls. This means that any hit that forces a “Knockdown and Stunning” roll will take them out, as will reaching 0 HP or less. They can take a few scratches and keep going, but a solid hit still breaks them. These are basically Petter V. Dell’Orto’s fodder monsters, though they never recover from stunning before the fight ends. They do recover in time afterwards, of course.
This grade is appropriate for pretty much the same types of foe as normal minions in those cases where the GM wants to make things a bit more challenging, or when the group in question has a reputation for strength but the GM doesn’t want them to steal the scene. They’re your goblin veterans, experienced mobsters, or those Imperial soldiers with the black armor that talk in sinister coded radio transmissions.
Worthies
Worthies are the “standard” level of opposition. They defend themselves normally, including making HT rolls to avoid and recover from knockdown and stunning, but go down once they reach 0 HP or less. They’re a significant obstacle, but you still don’t want them to stick around too long. The same examples listed for Tough Minions also make suitable worthies, as does any monster from the books not specifically listed as fodder.
Worthies still tend to come in groups, though these will be smaller than groups of minions. A movie fight against five or six opponents who keep getting back up after being hit is employing worthies instead of minions! Note that this doesn’t mean worthies are necessarily low-skill opponents. At this level, there is no inconsistency whathosever in making them as skilled as the PCs themselves.
Elites
Elite enemies are treated just like PCs. They make full use of all of the campaign’s combat rules. When they reach 0 HP or less, they’ll keep making HT rolls to stay conscious and alive, and might fight to the death if they think it’s warranted. When they don’t, retreating is always their own decision rather than something the rules force them to do. Elites are almost always named NPCs with their own personalities and motivations. They are rarely less skilled than the PCs themselves, and are often better. A fight against such an opponent usually marks an important plot milestone in adventures following movie logic.
Any enemy from the books who is supposed to still pose a threat when under 0 HP is probably an Elite. Boss Monsters from Dungeon Fantasy also fit here - they are usually more powerful in terms of statistics, but they receive the same level of plot protection as the PCs.
Special
Every category system needs a catch-all! Special opposition has something that gives it even more narrative protection than the PCs, or that makes it not quite fit in the ranking system above. Colossi with multiple parts that must be destroyed in order? Multi-stage bosses that switch character sheets entirely when defeated? Anything goes!
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The Octopus Has (Temporarily) Left the Carnival
I’m going to be away from home for the next two weeks or so. There won’t be many posts on Octopus Carnival until I’m back, as I’m unlikely to have time to write anything of substance.
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Dragon's Dogma Bestiary: Harpies
Copyright 2012 Capcom. This is the fifth post of a series converting Dragon’s Dogma enemies to GURPS. Previous posts can be found below:
From a distance, harpies look like man-sized owls, with round heads and thick plumage. Only when they take flight and turn on you is it possible to notice their human-like faces and upper torsos. These features are invariably those of women: though there are male harpies, it’s impossible to tell the difference without dissection.
Harpies also have feminine voices, though they seem to be incapable of verbal communication. In fact, they behave like large birds of prey, nesting at high altitudes and ranging far and wide in search of prey. Harpies are full carnivores and will attack anything that seems meaty enough to sustain them - even people. They are an ever-present hazard in Gransys’ highlands and mountain passes.
Note that these harpies are different from the those presented in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 3: Born of Myth and Magic. You are free to use those here as well!
No one has managed to tame a harpy, but those crazy enough to try are willing to pay handsomely for unhatched eggs. Fetching those would require climbing the steep crags where they make their nests, a challenging proposition even if one doesn’t have to contend with a choir of enraged harpies on the way up.
These creatures originally came from beyond the world: ancient accounts of past draconic invasions report armies of them arriving through the same rift as the Dragon itself. Several stable populations remain:
Brown Harpies
These inhabit the mountain chain separating South and Central Gransys, as well as the mountains to the soutwest beyond the Shadow Fort. Their skin is an ashen grey, covered in dark brown feathers.
Brown harpies have innate magical abilities: their song can compel other creatures to sleep, an effect that becomes stronger the more voices are added to the choir. Brown harpies live in bands (“choirs”) of 4-6 adults.
Brown harpies fight by using their soporific song and then grappling their sleeping victims and dropping them from a great height. If they can’t do that (because the target is too heavy, or resists the song), then they’ll attempt to rake with their talons. As detailed in Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 3, harpy flyby attacks receive the -4 for Move and Attack but don’t have their skill capped at 9, and they may retreat up while dodging to receive a +4 bonus.
ST 15; DX 13; IQ 6; HT 13
SM +1; Dodge 9; DR 2;
HP 15; Will 10; Per 12; FP 13
Basic Speed 6.50; Move 3 (Ground)/13 (Air)
- Soporific Song (15 vs Will): Resisted by Will, at -1 per singing harpy beyond the first. Affects non-harpies within 10m who hear the song. First failure causes sluggishness (1/2 Move and Dodge) while the song lasts. Second failure causes the target to fall asleep for 1 hour or until awoken, possibly by being dropped from a great height by the harpy.
- Talons (16): 1d+3 cut. Reach C. May also grapple at skill 14.
- Bite (16): 1d+2 cut.
Traits: Acute Vision 2; Claws (Talons); DR 3 (Tough Skin); Flight (Winged); Peripheral Vision; Striking ST 4; Teeth (Sharp); Bestial; Fragile; Social Stigma (Monster).
Skills: Aerobatics-14; Brawling-16; Wrestling-14
Class: Faerie.
Snow Harpies
These inhabit the northern highlands of Gransys, particularly the area known as Souflayer Canyon. Their skin is black, and their feathers are snow-white with black spots. Snow harpies possess the same soporific song as their southern cousins, and are also endowed with a deadly frost breath attack. Use the same stats for a brown harpy, but add Temperature Tolerance 2 for cold and the following attack:
- Frost Breath (14): Jet (range 5/10). 1d cr damage with no knockback and no blunt trauma. Targets hit by this must roll HT with a penalty of -1 per 2 points of damage suffered or be frozen (paralyzed) for 1 minute per margin of failure. Each snow harpy can use this only once per fight.
Succubi
While they share some similarities with harpies, succubi are demons rather than mere magical creatures. Immortal spirits given physical form, they linger in sites of ancient draconic invasions, or close to the Dragon itself during them. Visually, the main difference between an harpy and a succubus is that a succubus’ lower body and wings are those of a bat, not a bird. Their fur and wing membranes are dark brown in color.
They have all the same abilities as common harpies, but their bite also carries a deadly venom, and their touch carries a curse. Take the stats for a brown harpy and add Immunity to Metabolic Hazards as well as an 1d toxic follow-up to their bite. Add the following attack:
- Demonic Curse (15 vs. Will): Targets an enemy the succubus can see, suffers from range penalties. Targets who lose the contest suffer from a 1-point Curse as per the spell on GURPS Magic, p. 129. Doesn’t work on an already cursed target.
Silver Sirens
These creatures resemble silver-colored succubi, and are actually guardian spirits summoned by forgotten sorcery. Therefore, they can usually be found in dungeons protecting something important. Unlike all other monsters presented in this article, they are not only sapient but also know magic! While Silver Sirens can fight in much the same way as harpies, they prefer to cooperate with stronger guardian beasts, which they target with healing and support spells while staying out of melee reach.
To make a Silver Siren, take the stats for a Brown Harpy and add Immunity to Metabolic Hazards. Remove Bestial, change IQ to 12+, and add Magery 2+ along with Healing and Body Control spells meant to buff allies. This magic requires song, in the same manner as that of a bard.
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Pathfinder Iconics in Dungeon Fantasy: Ezren
Welcome back to our series of conversions of Pathfinder’s Iconic Characters to GURPS Dungeon Fantasy! This is the eleventh and final post in the series. Previous entries can be found here:
- Amiri the Barbarian
- Lem the Bard
- Kyra the Cleric
- Lini the Druid
- Seelah the Paladin
- Valeros the Fighter
- Harsk the Ranger
- Sajan the Monk
- Jirelle the Swashbuckler
- Merisiel the Rogue
Today’s template is the Wizard, which means today’s character is Ezren. Here he is:
By Wayne Reynolds, Copyright 2007 Paizo Publishing This is a fairly tame design, especially when compared to some of the other characters in this series. Ezren’s bio is here, and his stats are here. From these we can learn the following:
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Ezren got into adventuring late in life, after wasting his youth trying to clear his father of corruption charges that turned out to be true. He learned his wizardry mostly by himself, as no teacher wanted an apprentice his age.
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He’s the blastier sort of wizard, devoting a large portion of his spell selection to delivering direct damage. The remainder is split between self-buffing and non-damaging hostile spells (like grease and obscuring mist).
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His preferred weapon is a cane, and at higher levels he carries plenty of magical jewelry.
Converting Ezren into a Dungeon Fantasy character is fairly straightforward: he’s just a standard human Wizard. His advanced age doesn’t change anything about his starting stats, and aging rolls aren’t a factor in a DF game. It did give me an excuse to load him up with physical disadvantages that hint at his frail physique while keeping his mind sharp. His spell selection is actually pretty close to the original stats, with fire, lightning and acid attack spells, Shield and Armor for protection, and Grease for control. He also has some nasty area denial options in the form of Stench and Fire Cloud, as well as a bunch of more specialized effects that fill out the prerequisites for the more powerful stuff. His starting power item is his cane, which can be used in combat with the Smallsword skill in emergencies.
Good advancement options for Ezren are mainly more Magery and spells. Keeping a character point or two in reserve is a good way to pick up additional spells mid-delve via Wild Talent, too! While he has a bunch of spells that require Innate Attack, some players might find it better to replace that skill with multiple purchases of the Psychic Guidance perk found in DF 11, p. 15.
Ezren, 250-point Human Wizard
ST 10 {0}; DX 12 {40}; IQ 15 {100}; HT 11 {10}
Damage 1d-2/1d; Basic Lift 10kg; HP 10; Will 15; Per 12 {-15}; FP 11; Basic Speed 6 {5}; Basic Move 6
Advantages
- Energy Reserve (Magic) 6 {18}
- Magery 3 {35}
- Wild Talent (Retention +25%, Magical -20%) {21}
Disadvantages
- Curious (12) {-5}
- Low Pain Threshold {-10}
- Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) {-5}
- Skinny {-5}
- Stubborness {-5}
- Unfit {-5}
Skills
- Alchemy (VH) IQ {8} - 15
- Cartography (A) IQ-1 {1} - 14
- Diplomacy (H) IQ-2 {1} - 13
- Fast-Draw (Potion) (E) DX {1} - 12
- First-Aid (E) IQ {1} - 15
- Gesture (E) IQ {1} - 15
- Hazardous Materials (Magical) (A) IQ-1 {1} - 14
- Hidden Lore (Magic Items) (A) IQ {2} - 15
- Hidden Lore (Magical Writings) (A) IQ-1 {1} - 14
- Hiking (A) HT-1 {1} - 10
- Innate Attack (Missile) (E) DX+2 {4} - 14
- Meditation (H) Will-1 {2} - 14
- Occultism (A) IQ {2} - 15
- Research (A) IQ-1 {1} - 14
- Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ {1} - 15
- Scrounging (E) Per {1} - 12
- Smallsword (A) DX+2 {8} - 14
- Speed-Reading (A) IQ-1 {1} - 14
- Teaching (A) IQ-1 {1} - 14
- Thaumatology (VH) IQ {1}1 - 15
- Writing (A) IQ-1 {1} - 14
Spells
All have +3 from Magery.
- Air College
- Purify Air (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Create Air (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Stench (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Shape Air (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Air Jet (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Walk on Air (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Lightning (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Body Control College
- Frailty (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Vigor (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Earth College
- Seek Earth (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Shape Earth (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Earth to Stone (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Create Earth (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Fire College
- Create Fire (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Shape Fire (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Fireball (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Explosive Fireball (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Fire Cloud (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Healing College
- Lend Energy (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Recover Energy (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Movement College
- Haste (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Grease (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Protection and Warning College
- Shield (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Armor (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Missile Shield (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Water College
- Seek Water (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Purify Water (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Create Water (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Create Acid (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
- Acid Ball (H) IQ+1 {1} - 16
Equipment
$770, 8.5kg. No Encumbrance!
- Cloth Armor [Torso]: DR 1*. $30, 3kg.
- Ordinary Clothing [Torso, Limbs]: Free, 1kg.
- Distinguished Cane [Torso]: As a fine, balanced short staff. Damage thr cr or sw cr. Decorated with extensive relief (+4 CF) and set with gems that bring its value up to the listed amount. Provides 6 FP as a power item and is enchanted with the Staff spell. $530, 0.5kg.
- Backpack, Small [Torso]: Holds 20kg of gear. $60, 1.5kg.
- Paut x2 [Backpack]: Restores 4 FP or energy lost to magic.
- Scroll Case [Backpack]: Waterproof, holds 20 scrolls or the like. See DF 4, p. 12. $75, 0.5kg.
- Personal Basics [Backpack]: $5, 0.5kg.
- Paper, 20 sheets [Scroll Case]: $20, 0.5kg.
- Scribe’s Kit: [Backpack]: $50, 1kg.
- $230 remaining.
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+3 from Magery ↩
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