War....War Never Changes

One of the articles I'm working on for the first issue of The Jewel Throne is "War...War Never Changes," being a selection of Wasteland and Fallout inspired equipment, with a focus on firearms; a project I'm working on in preparation for running some Gamma World games.

My goals are twofold: as most of the players in our group are familiar with the Fallout series, this provides a certain "resonance" for the gameplay; secondly to provide a wider selection of firearms than that provided in Mutant Future including more lethal varieties. With Gamma World and Mutant Future PCs having significantly more hit points than beginning PCs, as well as the creatures in both games having, on average, more hit points than D&D monsters, I'm interested in gun having more "oomph" to them. With your average beginning Mutant Future Human PC having 47-48 hit points, it's going to take a fair amount of d12 damage assault fire rounds to take him down.

Anyways, here's some early drafts of some of the fictional firearms I'm working on for this article:

22-3 STRIKER
Effective Range: 400'
Maximum Range: 800'
Damage Inflicted: 3d6
Shots per Round: 1
Ammunition Type: .223
Capacity: 5 round integral magazine
Experience Point Value: 850
Based on a modified rifle design, the 22-3 Striker is a bolt-action pistol designed for hunting large game. Due to the weight and recoil a Physical Strength of 12 or higher is required to effectively use this weapon.

AK-57
Effective Range: 450'
Maximum Range: 900'
Damage Inflicted: 2d8
Shots per Round: 2
Ammunition Type: 7.62 mm
Capacity: 30 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 1300
The last descendant of the AK-47, featuring an integral folding stock, the AK-57 was manufactured by China but saw distribution throughout the globe. Thousands were smuggled into North America, many by fifth columnists.

M2049A1
Effective Range: 150'
Maximum Range: 300'
Damage Inflicted: 1d12
Shots per Round: 1
Ammunition Type: 10 mm
Capacity: 12 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 250
A durable, heavy frame autoloader resistant to harsh conditions, the M2049 was the standard US military sidearm as well as being used extensively by federal agents. A more reliable revolver variant, the M2050, holds 7 rounds in a side-loading cylinder.

M2039-ACR
Effective Range: 600'
Maximum Range: 1200'
Damage Inflicted: 2d8
Shots per Round: 2
Ammunition Type: 5.56 mm
Capacity: 40 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 1500
A descendant of the M16 featuring a gas-vent system and a integral optical sights, the M2039-ACR was the chief weapon of US marines.

VP41
Effective Range: 150'
Maximum Range: 300'
Damage Inflicted: 1d10
Shots per Round: 1
Ammunition Type: 9mm
Capacity: 18 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 150
A reliable West German pistol that was popular with survivalists due to it's high ammunition capacity.

 Also, here's a first draft of the first Jewel Throne cover:

OD&D/AD&D Fighter Houserule - Gun Them Down!

Gun Them Down Houserule
When playing a D&D variant, clone, or simulacrum, that has allowances for fighters making multiple attacks against multiple 1 HD and/or less opponents; and are playing in a campaign where guns are somewhat 'normal-ish'; and the fighter is using an automatic, semi-automatic, or bolt, lever, pump action or equivalent firearm or energy weapon; and the fighter is not currently engaged in melee; allow the fighter to use their multiple attacks against multiple 1 HD and/or less foes with missile attacks with the aforementioned gun, limited by the ammunition capacity of said gun.

I'd probably let a high level fighter with a good dexterity score use two pistols with this houserule.

Steelie Robot PC Name Generation

Steelies, a race of military robots, have unusual names due to their manufacture and programming. Their original creators purposely gave Steelies hard, aggressive names, appended with a nine-digit  File Designator. And, due to their programming, Steelies insist on using their rank or “level title,” aside for the most informal and off-duty moments.

Generate a Steelie’s name by rolling a d6 and a d20 and consulting the below table. Generate a 9-digit number, in a format such as 537-961-023 or 646-498-834, for the File Designator. Files Designators are used to differentiate between Steelies with the same rank and name, and in most situations Steelies use only the first three digits of their File Designator, “Brigadier Plutonium 154” for example, reserving the usage of the fill nine-number File Designator for official and formal usage, such as ceremonies and paperwork. No two Steelies share the same File Designator

Examples:
1st-level - Trooper Slam 163-693-423, “Slam 163” to his squad buddies.
4th-level - Captain Machine 521-756-154
5th-level - Lieutenant Hunter 172-221-666
8th-level - Brigadier Plutonium 154-957-232

d6 -

1-3 - d20

1 Bash

2 Blade

3 Blast

4 Blaze

5 Bolt

6 Bomb

7 Boulder

8 Breaker

9 Bronze

10 Bullet

11 Buster

12 Brick

13 Chopper

14 Cracker

15 Crash

16 Crunch

17 Engine

18 Gear

19 Granite

20 Gravel

4-6 - d20

1 Grind

2 Gun

3 Hunter

4 Killer

5 Mace

6 Machine

7 Nail

8 Nuke

9 Plutonium

10 Radium

11 Rock

12 Slag

13 Slam

14 Slate

15 Spike

16 Steel

17 Stone

18 Titanium

19 Tread

20 Uranium

Steelies - Robot Race/Class

Again I must credit the Long Sun series by Gene Wolfe as well as The Living Statue race/class presented on The Mule Abides.

STEELIE (Steel Soldier)
Armor: unable to wear any, but Steelies have a natural armor class of 2 before adjustments, if any, due to dexterity
Shield: any
Weapons: any and Steelies automatically know how to operate and maintain firearms, ranged energy weapons, artillery and explosive devices made by Humans or Human-like beings.
Starting Gold: 3d6x10 gold pieces
Weapon Proficiencies: 4, gains a new weapon proficiency every level, and are automatically proficient with firearms, ranged energy weapons, artillery and explosive devices made by Humans or Human-like beings.
Attack Matrix: Fighting-man
Ability Score Requirements: strength 15, constitution 13
Prime Requisite: none
Hit Dice: d8, 1st-level Steelies always have 8 hit points plus any bonus due to constitution
Movement Rate: 9"/90'(30')
Languages: Common and Computer as well as any bonus languages due to intelligence
Restrictions: Must be of Lawful alignment; can only advance to 8th level; unable to use potions; unable to swim and will rapidly sink in water.


Special abilities: Steelies are robots powered by internal fusion cores that provide 100 years of activity (Steelies can go into a shutdown state to conserve energy), as such they do not need to eat, drink, breath, rest or sleep. They are immune to sleep, paralyzation, poison, disease, blood drain and nausea. Steelies has infravision with a range of 3"/30'.

Level	Experience Points	Hit Dice	Rank Title	Saving Throws: Death	Petrify	Wand	Breath	Spell
1	0	8 hp	Trooper	8	10	9	13	12
2	4,000	1d8+8	Corporal	8	10	9	13	12
3	8,000	2d8+8	Sergeant	8	10	9	13	12
4	16,000	3d8+8	Lieutenant	6	8	7	10	10
5	32,000	4d8+8	Captain	6	8	7	10	10
6	64,000	5d8+8	Major	6	8	7	10	10
7	120,000	6d8+8	Colonel	4	6	5	7	8
8	250,000	7d8+8	Brigadier	4	6	5	7	8

Steelies are a variety of ancient Soldier Android presumably manufactured by the Militarists, occasionally both individual and units of them are unearthed from ruins and reactivated. Their bodies look like suits of advanced hardened and articulated bluish-steely plate armor, with the individual's rank glyph in green on both shoulders, and heads that resemble an articulated steel sculpture of a hairless, square jawed, strong-featured, and usually handsome, male Human. They stand 6'6" to 7' tall. Steelies are free-willed, but as their positronics have military programming, they always talk and act like Soldiers, engaging in behavior such as: saluting; adhering to a chain of command; using rank titles; marching; and the like. They are imbued with repair nanites that allow them to heal at the same rate as Humans, although they often need to snack on metals and replenish hydraulics when repairing.

Thursday Technologies - Marcab Enclaves

The Marcabs were a powerful galactic civilization of human-like beings that existed at the same time as the Ancients of Algol. An oppressive, totalitarian people, they established several outposts in the Beta Persai system before their Confederacy collapsed due to war.

Although the appearance of their dress, architecture and technology is eerily similar to that of 1950s Earth American, albeit much more severe, stark, cold and also monochromatic, they possessed a much higher level of scientific sophistication and mastered the manipulation of psychic energies.

Several of their outposts on Algol survived as extradimensional enclaves. Accessed via armored, bunker like vault doors, these enclaves are notable for the complete absence of any color within the extradimensional space, with everything appearing to be be composed of grays, black and white. Usually these Marcab Enclaves consist of a towering, almost inhuman skyscraper like structure, usually with several shorter wings, surrounded by an endless flat plain of thick, closely cropped turf. It is constantly mid-day in these enclaves, the sky cloudless.

The few remaining Marcabs are usually immensely powerful Mind Wizards with access to powerful technologies. Their servitors are usually robotic or synthetic, although some have been known to abduct outsiders and force them to take part of their "society." It is said that all Marcabs are insane, and that some of them have been warped by psychic energies, mutating into inhuman monstrosities over the aeons. Some insist that certain especially loathsome psychic abominations that lurk in the darkest pits of Algol are descended from such Marcabs.

War Chimps, The Tower of the Changer, Talislanta Monsters, Destiers and The Wasplingier Guild

New official Planet Algol monster War Chimps! courtesy of Green Skeleton Gaming Guild!

Planet Algol related dungeon The Tower of the Changer! of The Metal Earth! Can you guess where the gates to Carcosa and Athanor are?

So a bunch of free, legitimate PDFs are up on the Talislanta Site. Including the Monster Books, and although one could ad-lib the D&D stats from the Talislanta stats, you can also easily eyeball/convert D&D stats from the 3rd edition statblocks in this version!

So this means that there's a boat-load of great, free, weird D&D monsters from a classic weird fantasy setting available for all of our crazy weird science planet fantasy campaigns!

Destier

At first glance those that utilize a Destier could easily be mistaken for a centaur with the equine portion of their anatomy clad in advanced, heavy, articulated plate armor. Closer examination would reveal that the horse part of the body is actually robotic, which may lead one to the misapprehension that they are observing some variety of cyborg.

In actuality the quadrupedal robot section is a specialized mode of conveyance, consisting of a heavily armored mechanism in the form of a heavy war horse, but instead of there being a neck or head there is instead a cavity designed to accommodate the legs and below-waist body of a human-like being. The legs of the user operate as a set of waldoes that maneuver the legs of the Destier, allowing one to, with sufficient practice, "drive" the Destier about as if it were a mount.

Destiers have the capabilities of a heavy war mount, with the speed and agility of a light mount, and are powered by Radiation Crystals. They are a creation of the Ancients, and are quite rare, with all known examples being valued heirlooms of certain Armiger houses (especially those of the highest standings). Such Armigers use their Destiers in important battles, usually to devastating effect.

The Wasplingier Guild

A mercenary guild of extreme specialization, the Wasplingiers breed a cornucopia of especially venomous and aggressive wasps (with rare eccentrics instead utilizing bees!). From these wasps they extract and refine certain pheromones.

Wasplingiers are distinct by their unusual weapon, the Wasp Rifle. This gun has a long, thin barrel and the stock consists of a brass air chamber, with an attached pump, and there is also an under-barrel device that consists of a pointed, finned canister mounted on a heavy, compressed spring.

The air rifle is used to fire a small pellet, which is breech loaded, that contains concentrated wasp attack pheromones. The under-barrel aerodynamic canister is than launched, propelled by the heavy spring, and shatters upon impact with any moderately firm surface releasing it's tightly packed payload of especially venomous wasps, which have been conditioned to attack those bearing the attack pheromones.

Wasplingiers have also been known to utilize catapults to launch missiles containing pheromones, wasps, or both. There are rumors that their guild also the knowledge to manufacture a compound that will, if introduced into water or food, "mark" the consumer of such water or food with wasp attack pheromones.

Musing on Magic & Technological Items

Traditionally in D&D & derived rpgs magic items and technological items are interchangeable. In a fantasy game what may be called a wand of fireballs, whereas in a sci-fi game an item with the same effect could be called an incendiary micro-grenade launcher (aside from the class requirements for many magic items in standard D&D).

In Empire of the Petal Throne the line is further blurred, with magical and technological items being treated interchangeably.

While working on the treasure & item material for the Planet Algol material, what really struck me is that many classic D&D magic items such as healing potions, flying carpets, wands of lightning and the like not only can easily be presented a technological items, but when their functionality and "reliability" are concerned they come across as virtual technological items. A magic-users suite of magic items could easily be some sort of advanced technician's supply of advanced equipment.

When one considers how magic items are treated in much of the "source fiction," they are generally more mysterious than D&D magic items. Enigmatic, possibly dangerous artifacts of lost-lost eldritch forces. Generally not the "utility items" that most D&D magic items are, but instead "Artifacts" similar to those of the Artifacts of classic D&D.

The conclusion I've come to while considering such matters is that in the Planet Algol setting as I present it, technological items generally should be the "generic, utility" items such as contragravity harnesses and medical nano-injectors whereas magical items generally should be "Artifact-ish." Powerful, mysterious items of legend such a the orichalcum encrusted skull of an ancient sorcerer infused with his knowledge or the ritual implements of an extradimensional sage.

My goal is to present an array of standard technological items as well as both a selection of example "weird, classic sword & sorcery" magic items and the tables for generating such items.

Now I would like to include some allowances for minor charms and amulets created by contemporary sorcerers, but I would like to avoid magic items being something that are created by nowadays sources, instead being the remnants of lost civilizations or from distant spheres and dimensions.

One motif in many science fantasy settings, such as China Mievilles Bas-Lag milieu (which is a big influence on Planet Algol), is techno-magical items. Although I enjoy the way such items are presented in the Bas-Lag novels, in my interpretation of the Planet Algol setting I would like to avoid such magitechnology, as I would like to keep magic items weird and mysterious, and also with access to technological items such magitech is somewhat redundant.

Some Conventional Military Forces and Technologies of Algol Men

Arquebus - A shoulder-fired laser weapon with a heavy wooden stock. The lasing mechanisms are repurposed by specially trained Technocrats from Ancient technology. The ammunition for Arquebuses, known as Sabots, consist of canisters containing compartments of various highly reactive chemicals. These weapons are chemical lasers, using the energy from chemical reactions for lasing, and get one shot out of a single sabot. Arquebuses and similar energy weapons are uncommon, expensive weapons, usually the property of aristocrats. When common troops are equipped with such weapons, they are usually issued by a quartermaster immediately before battle and than locked up afterwards.

Armiger - An fighting man of the aristocratic castes, armigers are defined by their possession of a suit of advanced battle armor, usually of Ancient origin. This armor is usually a hereditary heirloom, although they are sometimes granted along with title by nobility. Such armor that is taken from defeated armigers is often ransomed back it's armiger's house for substantial sums. This armor is usually very elaborate, full-body articulated plate, often decorated in a baroque fashion. Armigers are usually armed with firelances and Ancient or phasic swords, and usually fight mounted on heavily armored destriers such as heavy war lizards. As well as serving as officers, units of armigers are often used as shock troops to break enemy formations and artillery as well as heavy foot in the vanguard when breaching fortification. Mercenary, non-aristocratic armiger-equivalents are called Free-lances.

Babooneers - The handler of a small packs of large, trained, semi-intelligent baboons armed with clubs or light maces.

Dart Pistol - A spring-loaded pistol that holds three flechette-like darts in a revolving cylinder. A long lever mechanism mounted on the top of the barrel is used to open the dart chambers and reset the springs.

Firelance - A combination weapon consisting of a long shaft with a spear like head as well as a plasma emitter barrel, the trigger for which is usually part of a pistol-grip like assembly. Firelances are usually made by Technocrats from repurposed Ancient technology, although there are surviving Ancient firelances as well. Ancient firelances are powered by radiation crystals whereas contemporary versions use chemical sabots similar to those used by arquebeses.

Fusil - A lighter, 'carbine' equivalent of the arquebus.

Jezail - A laser weapon similar to an arquebus, but with an unusually long barrel and a highly curved stock. It is usually fired with the aid of a forked rod used to steady the barrel, but cavalry sometimes fire them while mounted with the stock tucked under the arm and held against the body. Jezails are especially prized by some nomad peoples.

Zorselars - Light skirmishers that ride Zorses (without saddle, stirrups or bridle) but dismount to melee. They are usually clad in quilted or mail coats and fight with scimitars and spears.

Technological Artifact - Flexfield Generator Belt

A remnant of the technological sophistication of the Ancients, a Flexfield Generator Belt consists of a bulky rectangular box mounted on an adjustable belt of linked alloy plates. A toggle switch on the box turns it on and off.

When turned on a Flexfield Generator Belt projects a flexible force field around the wearer, which provides a bonus, which is often variable, to armor class, as well as saving throws against area effects, energy attacks, and so forth. On many generators the toggle switch allows the wearer to adjust the defensive value of the force field. They are powered by Radiation Crystals, which hold 100 charges. One charge is drained per "plus" of the force field setting per round.

If you are using the weapon versus armor type attack roll adjustments rule, any positive modifier to an attack roll versus the wearer of an active Flexfield Generator Belt is negated due to the "slickness" of the flexfield.

Flexfields are vulnerable to energy attacks, such as lasers, phasic weapons, and so forth, and behave unpredictably when struck by them. The flexfield armor class and saving throw bonuses do not apply when attacked by energy weapons. Whenever an active flexfield is struck by an energy weapon roll on the below table:

d6 Result
1 The flexfield generator self destructs and the wearer takes triple damage from the energy attack.
2 The flexfield generator's energy crystal is drained of all of it's charges and the wearer takes double damage from the energy attack.
3-5 The flexfield wearer takes additional damage equal to one point of damage per defensive plus that the generator is set to per die of damage the energy weapon inflicts.
6 The energy weapon used to attack the flexfield explodes, inflicting as much damage as an attack by the weapon multiplied by a factor ranging from 1 to 3, dependent on a 1d3 roll. The radiation crystal, or other power source, in the energy weapon is destroyed.

Use the below table to determine the possible defensive settings of a Flexfield Generator Belt:
d12 Defensive Value Settings
1-4 +1 only
5-8 +1 to +2
7-9 +1 to +3
10-11 +1 to +4
12 +1 to +5

Note: Obviously inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune.

Phasic Weapons

Credit given to Hank Riley and Jim Ireland/Encounter Critical for the original Phasic Weaponry.

Phasic Weapons are artifacts of the Ancients. They look like metal rods, or varying length and girth, with emitter apertures located at one end. When a stud on the rod is depressed and slid a flickering blue energy blade emits from the apertures, a phasic field. When the handle of a Phasic weapon is released the stud is automatically slid back and the energy blade disappears.

The Phasic field "phases" through parallel dimensions, which enables it to partially phase through armor and also strike extradimensional beings. Phasic weapons are treated as +3 magical weapons regarding their effectiveness against certain foes, however they do double the normal dice in damage and us the below table to determine the effective armor class of the target. Phasic daggers, swords, axes, spears and polearms exist, although there are no bastard or two-handed varieties of phasic swords. They are powered by an energy crystal which will power a Phasic dagger for 100 melee rounds; a short sword, hand axe or spear for 75 rounds; and battle axe, polearm, scimitar or other one-handed sword for 50 rounds.

Armor Class	Attack Modifier or	Adjusted Armor Class value
10	0	10
9	+1	10
8	+1	9
7	+2	9
6	+2	8
5	+3	8
4	+3	7
3	+4	7
2	+4	6
1	+5	6
0	+5	5
-1	+6	5
-2	+6	4
-3	+7	4
-4	+7	3
-5	+8	3
-6	+8	2
-7	+9	2
-8	+9	1
-9	+10	1
-10	+10	0

Technological Artifacts - Ceramic Knife, Neural Disruptor and Radiation Crystal

CERAMIC KNIFE

A long knife with a slightly curved blade composed of super-hard ceramic with an edge one molecule thick; usually white, gray or black in colour. It has the same statistics as a dagger, but has +2 on to-hit rolls against armored opponents and +1 to damage armored and unarmed foes.
Encumbrance: 10

NEURAL DISRUPTOR

A bulky raygun with several bronze coloured prongs instead of a barrel, this artifact's area of effect is a cone 3" long and 1.5" wide at it's terminus. Those within the cone of effect must roll above their intelligence on a d20 or suffer a violent seizure, rendering them prone and helpless for 1-3 rounds and inflicting 1-4 points of damage. At the end of the seizure's duration, roll percentile dice; if the result is equal to the victim's intelligence or less, their brain explodes. Note that this artifact does not effect undead or targets without an organic brain.
Neural disruptors are powered by radium crystals, getting one use per crystal. It takes one round to reload a neural disruptor.
Encumbrance: 30

RADIATION CRYSTAL

The unique geological conditions of Algol produce many anomalies unknown on Earth. In some high radiation areas of the underworld, miles below the surface, elegant tree-like structures of golden crystals grow out of veins of radioactive ore. These crystals contain potent stores of radiation energy, safely locked within the super-dense crystalline structure. The scientists of the Ancients discovered a method of synthesizing this substance, and used it to power many of their devices. Although radium crystals give off a faint yellow glow it is insufficient to see by.
Encumbrance: 5