by Michael Baumann | Dec 31, 2014 | Foci
Magic pervades the world. The animals, plants, even the very air resonates with it. Most people are blithely unaware, but not you. You were born with second sight and when you concentrate you can see how wondrous – and dangerous – the world really is. You may wish to keep your power secret. The ignorant equate conjuring with witchcraft, but this is not the case. Your powers are rooted in the living world, not some pact with an infernal being. This focus is best suited for a Paradox, though a Spinner or Vector conjurer would be an interesting combination. With a few tweaks it could be used for a shaman or witch doctor. Tier 1: Second Sight (2 Intellect points). You can see magical forces invisible to the normal eye. This includes spirits, ghosts and creatures using magical abilities to remain unseen. You can determine the level of the creature as well. You may also detect the aftereffect of spells cast up to an hour ago (although details of precisely what spell was cast remain sketchy). Your second sight extends to an area of short range and lasts 10 minutes (about enough time to search the area well). Action to initiate. Secrets of the Other World. You are trained in Occult and Herbalist. Tier 2: Spirit Guide (3 Intellect points). You can call upon the aid of a spirit guide. The player should decide what form his guide takes (human or animal). It is invisible to those without second sight, although the PC may always see it. The guide is intelligent and while it may not speak, it...
by walrusabove | Dec 27, 2014 | Foci
See page 115 of Ryan Chaddock Game’s “The Translation Codex”
by walrusabove | Dec 27, 2014 | Foci
Page 114 of Ryan Chaddock Game’s “The Translation Codex”
by Michael Baumann | Dec 27, 2014 | Foci
Your mother never spoke much of your father. She was young and naïve. He seduced her and she succumbed. Nine months later you were born. But you are no ordinary child born out of wedlock, for your father was a vampire making you a most rare creature: a dhampir. While you are mortal and have nothing to fear from holy symbols or the light of the sun, you do have a foot in your father’s world and are slowly discovering how to master your talents. Your unruly raven tresses, slightly pointed ears and unnatural grace mark you as something different, so watch your step. Few men understand the distinction between your kind and the living dead. Tier 1: Blood Drinker. You may bite an opponent in combat (treat as a light weapon). If your victim is human (or humanoid in some recursions) you may drink its blood, healing yourself 1 point of damage for every 2 inflicted. Enabler. Night Vision. You can see in extremely dim light as if it were bright light. You can see in total darkness as if it were extremely dim. Enabler. Calling of the Grave. You are trained in vampire lore. Enabler. Tier 2: Blood Frenzy (2 Might points). Your lust for blood turns you into a killing machine. You gain +1 to your Might and Speed edge for 10 minutes. Enabler. Tier 3: Allure of the Night. You are trained in seduction. Resist Compulsion. You are trained in Intellect defense. Sense Undead (2 Intellect points). You can scan an area out to short range for the presence of undead....
by walrusabove | Dec 27, 2014 | Recursions
Ptolmht (TOLL-HUM-MET) Akronwt (ACK-KRON-EW-T) Ptolmht is a temperate land full of saltwater archipelagos and stretches of dry desert hills. The majority of people with the Spark live in Akronwt (the capital city directly in the middle of the Alat peninsula) while the rest live in small coastal settlements. The tall nature of the islands means farmers use vertical techniques to grow their crops, from pomegranates, wheat, figs and olives. The people of Ptolmht are varied into different classes dependent on where they live. The poorer people live as farmers and fishermen on islands surrounded by ocean on the far reaches, while the higher aristocrats have an abundance of choice in how to live their lives. Philosophers, artisans and historians all live crowded together in the city of Akronwt, at the center of Ptolmht. The Theós are powerful magical beings that are revered as divine in nature. They work day and night to layer complex spells over the interface from Ptolmht into the Strange, to keep the Lost Gods at bay. Occasionally they will leave their shining marble palace to celebrate important holidays, and to help defend the city from wandering monstrosities. Sometimes they will have children with mortals, giving rise to powerful Demigods. What these demigods choose to do is their own, but they tend to follow in their divine parents path and interests. The Theós are named as follows: Anubis, Serqet, Hephaestus, Sobek, Athena and Hecate. To those who were born in Ptolmht these names have no significance other than those of the Theós. To those born on Earth, however, they strike a cord of curiosity. Why would fictional...
by Michael Baumann | Dec 26, 2014 | Foci
Most people fear the dark and with good reason. Creatures stalk the night, hungry for the blood of the living. In the dim, morning light the bodies are found; a man torn limb from limb, or a young girl drained of blood. The townsfolk shudder and mumble about raising a hunting party to track down the “wolves” or “mountain lion” responsible for the killings. They quietly bury the bodies and then return to their homes, praying to god they will not be the next victims. But you know the truth. Vampires, lycanthropes and even more terrible things lurk on the edges of civilization waiting for their chance to devour the innocent. These things are not unstoppable. You’ve learned their secrets and now the hunters have become the hunted. This focus is designed for Gothic Horror recursions with “classic” monsters such as werewolves and vampires. It can be re-skinned in a fantasy setting for most any type of monster. It could even be used as a “Big Game Hunter” in a standard physics recursion with a little work. You must choose a “class” of monsters you hunt. The GM is the final arbiter on what a “class” of monsters includes. It should not be too narrow in focus. For example, Undead might include vampires, skeletons, zombies and other corporeal types of undead. Tier 1: Vulnerabilities. You inflict 3 additional points of damage against the class of monster you hunt. Enabler. Know Thy Enemy. You are trained in lore relating to the class of monster you hunt. Enabler. Tier 2: Sense Ambush. You are never treated as surprised by an...
by Michael Baumann | Dec 26, 2014 | Foci
You hold strongly to your principles and most people respect you for this. You are more than capable of defending yourself. You spend long hours honing your skill in the salle d’armes and look forward to testing yourself on the field of honor. Some may whisper that you are hot-tempered and itching for a fight, but they are wrong. Honor is paramount, without it we would be little more than beasts. This focus is designed for dueling cultures of the sixteenth through eighteenth century. It would also be appropriate for Old Mars or similar Planetary Romance recursions. It can be re-skinned to a Samurai focus by replacing references to dueling swords with katana and wakizashi. It can also be used as a martial artist focus by replacing references to dueling swords with punches and kicks. Tier 1: Duelist. You gain +2 damage with your rapier or smallsword. Enabler. Lightning Reflexes. You are trained in Initiative. Enabler. Tier 2: Web of Steel. You are nearly impossible to hit. You are trained in Speed defense rolls when wielding a dueling sword. Enabler. Tier 3: Riposte (3 Speed points). If you succeed in defending against a melee attack, you may immediately launch a counter attack against your foe. You may not put effort into this attack, but any special abilities (such as duelist) will function normally. Enabler. Tier 4: Seasoned Fencer. You are trained in using dueling weapons. If already trained in Light Piercing melee weapons, you become specialized instead. Tier 5: Bladesman. You gain +2 damage with your rapier or smallsword. This bonus adds to the one from Duelist, giving...
by Bruce Cordell | Dec 23, 2014 | Recursions
The natives of Pantamal are talking, clothes-wearing animals of nearly every variety. See page 250 of The Strange corebook for additional...
by walrusabove | Dec 13, 2014 | Recursions
Infused – Humans of Acropolis are infused with natural magic. This manifests in bright colorful tattoos in flowing fractal patterns across the neck, arms and backs. It also manifests the following benefits: +2 to One pool of your choice (Choose during first translation to Acropolis) You are able to manifest minor arcane cantrips along the following lines: raising an object weighing no more than 10 kg into the air, changing the color of an object no more than 10 kg, and producing minor visual effects. Any focus abilities stem from your connection to the arcane. Acropolis came to be through fictional leakage from high fantasy settings and fictional “systems” or “laws” of magic. The land is circular, with the edges descending down directly into the strange. The skies over the temperate plains and mountains are bright with the stars and swirling stratum of The Strange. The humans of Acropolis are all infused with the naturally present magic of the recursion. This manifests in glowing sigils and glyphs on their skin similar to tattoos and minor arcane cantrips, depending on how strong the personal connection to The Strange and Acropolis magic is. Sometimes the connection is so strong that they can become a Sorcerer, manipulating reality around them. Creatures of fantasy live and breathe in Acropolis. Whether it’s the wandering Minotaur nomads of the plains or the Perytons of the western mountains, strange and wondrous creatures roam. Long dead kings and sorcerers still inhabit their ancient ruins as mummies, vampires or even demons, and great wyrms the size of mountains fly high above the...
by walrusabove | Dec 12, 2014 | Recursions
Fear is a powerful motivator to animals and sapient beings alike. Earth has been home to countless cultures, civilizations and legends thanks to human kind and their vast soaring imagination. Sometimes humans view the unnatural and dark nature of horror as entertainment, or even a method with which to teach. Tannok is the amalgamation of 10,000 years of fictional leakage from the darkest depths of the human psyche: fear, phobias and horror. Tannok is comprised of incredibly sheer mountains that reach up to 10,000 feet in elevation. The mountains are virtually adjacent to each other, forming large acute valleys filled with squirming filth and unknowable horrors. All thrown into these pits are heard screaming for hours and are presumed dead. Metal platforms make up most of Tannok’s flat space, taking up millions of square feet. These platforms are always 50 feet thick (vertically) and positioned around Tannok’s mountains. Light only gets to a small portion of these surfaces, the rest being in complete darkness. The Arachnii are apex predators similar to colossal spiders. Their hide is a dark gray with rust red spots on the thorax and pincers. This is because their fur is made of crude iron. The bigger and “rustier” an Arachnii is, the older and more dangerous it is. It’s unknown where they lay webs or build dens…but Arachnii attacks are more common near the lighted mountains. The competing predator to the Arachnii are the Despair. Despair are tremendously big snakes, that burrow holes and “dens” in the metal platforms. A...
