Traps for Barbarians of the Ruined Earth (and the Black Hack)

Here are a few example traps in Barbarians of the Ruined Earth (BotRE).  The book is nearly done (it WAS done, but I decided it wasn’t and wanted to add more content to it because I enjoy  punishing myself).  I prefer traps that have clues to their existence instead of just “ah ha!  Got you guys!  Now die!”

Barbarians of the Ruined Earth uses the awesome Black Hack rules.

Traps

Traps are devices set up to deter intruders from advancing into a location, warn defenders of hostiles, or guard valuable objects and locations.

Unless expertly crafted, traps always have telltale signs of being present.  Whether it’s the holes lining the wall that will release poison darts, the slightly raised spot on the floor that is a pressure plate to trigger a spike trap, or the off-color section of the floor that will fall away, revealing a pit trap, all are noticeable if the player characters are taking their time and examining their surroundings.  If the group is running blindly down a hall, then they must succeed an Intelligence check to notice the trap.

 

Player characters should be encouraged to come up with clever solutions to disarm a trap, but if tinkering is desired characters can disarm a trap with a successful Intelligence check (those who are not technologically inclined suffer Disadvantage on this roll).

 

Assign traps a HD amount. This will be used to highlight the trap’s complexity (don’t forget to use the Powerful Opponent rules here, pg XX) and determine damage.

 

Sample Traps

Rudimentary Snare Trap

HD: 1

Signs: Piles of leaves or rubbish hide the noose while a thick rope is nestled against a tree or pillar.

Deactivate: Cut cord or throw something onto noose to spring trap.

Effect: Target must succeed a Dexterity check to avoid having the noose tighten around their ankle and become hoisted upside down.

 

Rudimentary Floor Pit

HD: 1

Signs: Part of floor is slightly off-color than the rest. Looking closely will reveals a square seam around floor.

Deactivate: Throw something onto floor to spring trap.

Effect: Target must succeed a Dexterity check to avoid falling down pit.

Damage: 1d6 (+1d6 for each additional 10’ fall).

 

Wall Dart Trap

HD: 2

Signs: Holes dot both sides of the hallway walls. Slightly raised tile on the floor could be pressure plate.

Deactivate: Throw something onto the pressure plate to set off trap.

Effect: Target must succeed a Dexterity check to avoid being hit with a dart. There are 5 pressure plates in hallway.

Damage: 1d8.

 

Poisoned Wall Dart Trap

HD: 4

Signs: Holes dot both sides of the hallway walls. Slightly raised tile on the floor could be pressure plate.

Deactivate: Throw something onto the pressure plate to set off trap.

Effect: Target must succeed a Dexterity check to avoid being hit with a dart. There are 5 pressure plates in hallway. If a target is hit, the must succeed a Constitution test or become sluggish and suffer Disadvantage to Dexterity tests for 1d4 hours.

Damage: 1d12.

 

Magical Whistle Trap

HD: 2

Signs: Faintly glowing violet runes where spell has been cast.

Deactivate: A Sorcerer can dispel the trap or characters can risk setting it off.

Effect: A high pitched whistle goes off, alerting enemies of character’s presence.

 

Magical Disorientating Blast Trap

HD: 6

Signs: Faintly glowing green runes where spell has been cast.

Deactivate: A Sorcerer can dispel the trap or characters can risk setting it off.

Effect: A sonic blast fills a Nearby radius, deafening and disorientating everyone unless they succeed a Constitution test (made with Disadvantage). Target’s that fail their test are stunned and stumble around for 1d3 minutes (roll for random encounters every turn).  While Disorientated, characters suffer Disadvantage to all rolls and cannot do tasks that require concentration (i.e., cast spells, use Miracles, etc.).

 

Magical Buzzing Bee Door Trap

HD: 6

Signs: The door handle vibrates when held.

Deactivate: A Sorcerer can dispel the trap or insecticide can be sprayed into the key hole.

Effect: When fiddling with the lock of the door, a swarm of mutated angry bees spews forth from the key hole.  These bees sting anyone in a Nearby radius.  All targets in the area must make a Constitution save or swell up and suffer additional damage from the bee’s venom each round until each target succeeds three Constitution checks.

Damage: 2d8 initial (1d8 each additional round).

The Abhorrent Creature- The Witch/Warlock! An Enemy For Barbarians of the Ruined Earth

I was rewatching Thundarr the Barbarian for more inspiration on Barbarians of the Ruined Earth.

In one episode (first one, I think), an enemy calls Ariel a witch and she shouts back, “I am NOT a witch! I am a Sorceress!”

It got me thinking- why did she sound angry? Why was this an insult? Building on my thoughts that a Sorcerer isn’t a human, but something else, I got to thinking- what if a Witch (or Warlock) is an abnormality that occurs when a Sorcerer is in the womb?  What if a Sorcerer(ess) considers them lesser, disgusting beings?  What kind of jealousy and bitterness would that create on the part of the Witch/Warlock?

I figured it’d be a good enemy to add to BotRE for groups to clash against.

Enjoy!

Warlock/Witch
HD 1-5; Reduction Points 0 (None); Claws or Staff (1d6-1d6+1d8)
Description: Witches and Warlocks are the result of a defect or abnormality that occurs to a Sorcerer fetus in utero. Calling a Sorcerer a Witch or Warlock will quickly earn their ire, as they view these beings as lesser pathetic creatures. Warlocks/Witches are malformed, hideous, and abhorrent. Their ability to use magic is extremely limited, but are adept at casting rituals (pg XX). Warlocks and Witches are devious and cunning, but extremely petty and vicious. They are jealous of Sorcerers and often seek to undermine or overthrow them.
Special: Spells: A Warlock/Witch is not a strong magic user and can only cast first and second level Sorcerer spells (or Power of the Sun level if using alternate casting rules, pg XX). They also can use any of the Death Priest Miracles (pg XX) a number of times equal to their HD.
Rituals: A Warlock/Witch always has one ritual that has been cast and ready to use. A 3 HD Warlock/Witch has two rituals ready to use and a 5 HD Warlock/Witch has three rituals ready to use. Warlocks/Witches are not beholden to the normal rules of one item being linked to a ritual at a time (pg XX).

 

 

Barbarians of the Ruined Earth- Session Two- Trouble in Cosmetics Department

Last session we left off with the group defeating a group of cultists just outside the abandoned Ancient Earth shopping mall, known as the lair of Grentzel the Witch.

Players

Chad– Medical Robot (named Marko Tron), rides a Giant Snailbadger.  Life Event: Has trouble understanding why humans whine so much, has mouthed off about it and been chased out of several villages. Trinket: World War II army helmet.

John– Barbarian (named Dagor)- rides on a Giant Snailbear. Life Event: Mother was killed by croc-men when he was a child. Now he fights for the underdog!  Trinket: Silver dagger given by his father.

Liam– Sorcerer (named Fulgur Tenebris) Crazy Sorcerer appearance- grey skin, grey hair, cat eyes, jagged nails, yellow teeth, body changes color with emotion (50 shades of grey), has a metalic staff with spider web etching. Power manifestation black orbs with grey lightning. Life Event: Family was pushed out of village because of your birth.  Trinket: Golden necklace given to denote remarkable birth.  Rides one of the last Ancient Earth elephants (also has grey skin and yellowing tusks). Rules for Spellcasting here.

Nate– Vek (Anthropomorphic dinosaur- raptor- pretty feathers. Named Valeran the Vek).  He thinks humans are savages.  Life Event: Father was a brilliant Vek who understood Stupendous Science. Father was eventually killed by a Sorcerer. Trinket: Headdress of bone, wood, and feathers.  Rides a camel.

Fletch– Urchin class (wasn’t able to play today).  More on this character later.

Omar– Death Priest (named Morg).  Wears totally Gothic stuff and has bone shoulder plates, a bone mace, and a Trump-like demeanor.  He was once the ruler of a village of humans, but was chased out and exiled.

Strange Meetings

The group decided to enter the  mall through the Cosmetics Department Store (see map below).  They began to sneak around when they heard muffled screams and a weird noise, like a frog caught in a person’s throat.

The crept quietly up around a crumbled display case and saw a human man, suspended upside down in a net.  Standing below him, making the noise were horrific-looking humanoids.  At these creature’s feet were the bodies of some of the cultists.

One of the beings from the flying ship that crashed into the shopping mall.

The group fired at the creatures, killing one.  The other two turned around and fired at the group with their laser pistols.  After a quick fight, the two were killed and the group looted their bodies, and those of the cultists, and finally cut Omar’s character down.

The group exchanged pleasantries and decided to move on through the mall.

Nate saw a dilapidated fountain in the center of the walkway and decided to prance towards it, excitedly.  He didn’t notice the cultist guard staring right at him, confused as fuck as to what a Vek was doing in his domain.  So he did what any good cultist would do- tried to kill his dinosaur ass and raise the alarm.

A robot and and several cultists came out of various Ancient Earth mall stores and began setting up cover.  Two cultists wheeled out a ballista which fired super-heated globs of green acid.  John let out a might barbarian roar and shot his bow at the acid pot, destroying it and killing the two cultists.

The battle was hard and nearly everyone took a bit of damage, and Chad (the Robot) was dropped.  The group revived Chad with a Robot Repair Kit, looted the bodies, and took refuge in a store for an hour to patch their wounds and gather themselves.

While they rested they heard a chanting coming from the large department store near them to the East.  The chanting grew in volume and intensity for roughly an hour.  Finally a bright flash of neon pink energy filled the hallway and the chanting stopped.

“What was that?” asked John.

“A ritual has been completed.  We are too late.” Said Liam.

The group decided to go into the department store to see what had been done.  When the entered they found a moldy, tattered bed with a young girl tied and gagged to it.  The group cut her free.  She explained that she was the daughter of Lloyd Greaser of Route 66 and she had been kidnapped by the cultists.  The witch Genzel was inside.  She was told Kit that she had taken something from Route 66 (the Ancient Earth weapon) and would use it in some horribly vile ritual.

Me: So what do you guys do?

John: Let’s go inside and fight and kill them all!

Everyone else: We got the kid- let’s get out of here.

The group turned tail and ran from the mall.  They made it back to Route 66 safely and reunited Kit with her father.

The village celebrated their return and thanked them for saving Kit and defeating the evil witch.

Omar: Oh- yeah- we didn’t do that.

Chad 2.0 (NPC Mayor): What do you mean?

Omar: Well we found the kid and didn’t go any further.

Chad 2.0: So the witch still lives?

Omar: Well we don’t know since we never saw her.

The villagers seemed distraught that the group didn’t deal with the problem.  However they were thankful for what the group had done and offered them a place to sleep, food, and drink.

The group did various things in the village, including Chad having an EMP cannon attached to his shoulder, however a corrupting influence of the previous robot invaded Chad’s personality and he permanently lost 1 Wisdom.

Liam met the bartender, Ursula of the Yellow and drank some Mustard Seed Whisky and had some Spicy Slop Noodles.

Omar and John got new gear and Omar agreed to do a burial service in the morning for those that died in the initial attack (session 1) for a car door shield.

The Next Morning

The Highwaymen of Route 66 gathered outside the walls of the village at the graveyard while Omar pulled a ceremony out of his ass and did some chanting.  As the group walked back toward Route 66, the local healer Kylynn of the Earth thanked him for putting the spirits of their loved ones to rest and helping them to the afterlife.

Omar then explained to her that he did nothing of the sort.  He just made sure they wouldn’t rise from the dead.  There is no heaven or hell… there is no afterlife.  Just a ever expansive gray limbo.

As the group neared the gate to Route 66, the ground exploded in front of them.  They heard a roaring in the air and looked up.  Riding on an Ancient Earth Santa’s sleigh that was fitted with rockets was the hideous old hag, Grenzel.  Three robots, flying around her.

Grenzel: “You fools!  You think you can enter my domain and live!  I will burn you all to the ground!”

Grenzel the Witch!  A piece by the awesome Matthew Adams– not part of BotRE

The group drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

This is where we ended it for the night.  We play again at the end of the month!  Excited to see how this goes.

Aside: I emailed my players the map of the local area I created with the awesome Hex Kit by Cecil Howe.  I have not given them any information on the areas, but the names will be things the group could have heard in passing at Route 66 or hear about in the aftermath of the fight with Grenzel (assuming it isn’t a TPK).  They can then delve for more information about a location and decide where to go.

I will be including this area (not the map) in the BotRE book as a point crawl.

The Vek Race as Class for Barbarians of the Ruined Earth (Black Hack)

Continuing in posting more on my Barbarians of the Ruined Earth  game that uses the Black Hack rules, here is the Vek (race as ) class.

 

Vek (Raptorfolk)

 

The Vek are highly intelligent anthropomorphic raptors that have obsessions with Stupendous Science and Ancient Earth technology.  Their scaly flesh ranges from vibrant red to bile yellow or forest green.  They are a stubborn race with a proud heritage, and often consider themselves far more evolved and advanced than any other on the Ruined Earth.  Vek live closely together in a hierarchical community called a Collective.  Many Vek have been subjugated and enslaved by powerful Sorcerers, so naturally the Vek have become mistrusting of magic and those with the ability to wield it.  Vek proudly trace their ancestry to the long-dead Ancient Earth dinosaurs, the Deinonychus.

“Mine is a proud people; descendants of the most powerful and ancient of Earth’s creatures.  Our minds are keen, and technology is ours to mold and shape.  Our flesh is strong and our teeth and claws are sharp… were it not for the vile powers of Sorcerers, we would be the rulers the Ruined Earth.”

Starting HP: 1d8+4

Hit Points Per Level/Resting: 1d8 HP/lvl

Weapon and Armor: Gambeson, Leather, Small Shields, All bows, Claws and Bite, All technological weapons, Spears, Maces, and Short swords

Weapon Damage: 1d6/1d4 Improvised

 

SPECIAL FEATURES

Art by Predaguy (not part of BotRE project)

Highly Intelligent: Veks have a sharp mind.  They have Advantage on Intelligence rolls and saves against mind-altering effects.  They are also literate (for normal literacy rules, see pg XX).

Dinosaur!: Veks have thick hides and are treated as having 2 AP (this stacks with armor, but the AP is reduced to 1 while wearing armor).  Their claws and teeth are razor sharp and they can attack for class damage.  Finally, Veks are agile and able to jump long distances (roughly 15-20ft), effectively launching themselves at a target.

If a Vek launches themselves at a target they can either make a single bite attack at a target with Advantage or attack with both clawed feet and a bite attack, but suffer Disadvantage to all three rolls.

More Juice: If an advanced technology contraption has a Usage Die and finally runs out of “juice” the Vek can coax a little more back into it, returning the Usage Die to a d4.  This can be done once per hour.

Leveling Up:

Roll all Attributes to see if they increase, roll twice for DEX or INT.

 

STARTING EQUIPMENT

WEAPON: Spear and short sword

ARMOR: Leather Armor 4 AP (2 AP/d6 Usage Die)

ADDITIONAL: Rations (d6), waterskin (d6), bedroll, torches x6 (d6), and healing salve (1 Hit Dice of HP restored).

INTERESTING TRINKET (roll 1d6): 1) a book of Ancient Earth history; 2) a laser pistol (d10 Usage Die on battery pack); 3) a headdress of bone, leather, and feather; 4) a city map of the Ancient Earth city, “Los Angeles”; 5) a ruby necklace; 6) an Ancient Earth Sea Captain’s hat and jacket.

LIFE EVENT (roll 1d8): 1) you were a slave and escaped; 2) your father was a brilliant mind and created many helpful Stupendous Science gadgets.  Eventually he wronged a Sorcerer and was killed in front of you; 3) your mother is your Collective’s leader and you have served the tribe with distinction; 4) you messed with your Collective’s super computer and broke it.  You have been exiled by your people; 5) you banded together with a Barbarian and defended your Collective from Pig Raiders; 6) you traveled with a Scavenger for a few years.  You and he discovered many interesting Ancient Earth ruins during your travels; 7) your seven sisters and five brothers were transformed into statues by a Sorcerer after you angered him; 8) you discovered a sentient robot during your travels and are still friends.

The Scavenger Class for Barbarians of the Ruined Earth (Black Hack)

Continuing in posting more on my Barbarians of the Ruined Earth  game that uses the Black Hack rules, here is the Scavenger class.

 

Scavenger

 

Scavengers are humans that live on the fringes of the remnants of human society, or wander the Ruined Earth alone, looking for trinkets, bits and baubles, Ancient Earth tech, or simply shiny junk to tinker with or sell for some coins.  They prefer to be sneaky, shying away from conflict when possible, but when they strike, they know how to make it count. 

 

“You call that junk…?  I call it a treasure.  Add some wires, strap on a clock, and maybe some spikes- now you’ve got something useful.  If you don’t want it, give it to me: I’ll make something useful out of it- make some money off the damned thing at least.”

 

Starting HP: d8+4

HP Per Level/Resting: 1d8

Weapons & Armor: All Swords, All Bows, Daggers, Energy Weapons, Ancient Earth Firearms, Gambeson, Leather, Small Shields

Attack Damage: 1d6/1d4 Unarmed or Improvising
SPECIAL FEATURES
Agile: Roll with Advantage when testing DEX to avoid damage or effects from traps and magical devices.

 

Sneaky Bastard: Rolls with Advantage when attacking from behind and deals 2d6/2d4+the Scavenger’s level damage.

 

Skilled: Rolls with Advantage when performing delicate tasks, climbing, hearing sounds, moving silently understanding written languages and opening locks.

 

Keen Eye: Once per hour a Scavenger can look through junk piles and make a Luck roll, if the result is 4-6 they find something mundane of use.  This could be a waterskin, some rations, an energy cell for a laser weapon (1d6 usage die), etc.  The GM has final arbitration on what is acceptable or not.

Fixer: A Scavenger knows how to repair technology.  Must succeed on an INT test to repair a machine (vehicle, robot, etc.). If successful heal 1d6+Scavenger level HP back and replenish the target’s AP (if applicable). Repairing an object takes 1d6 hours.
LEVELING UP
Roll to see if attributes increase, roll twice for DEX or WIS.

 

STARTING EQUIPMENT

WEAPON: Dagger and crossbow

ARMOR: Cloth armor- 2 AP (1 AP/d4 Usage Die)

ADDITIONAL: Ammo for ranged weapon, rations (d6), waterskin (d6), bedroll, torches x6 (d6), and healing salve (1 Hit Dice of HP restored).

 

INTERESTING TRINKET (roll 1d6): 1) an Ancient World “HAM” radio- still functional; 2) a blowtorch; 3) a metal detector; 4) a collection of pretty glass bottles; 5) a tattered, but beautiful wedding dress; 6) a “football” helmet.

 

LIFE EVENT (roll 1d8): 1) you were a slave and escaped; 2) you were exiled from your village after it was discovered you were stealing much needed food and other goods; 3) you stumbled across an Ancient Earth factory filled with robots and gadgets- you were happy there until you accidentally blew it up; 4) You found a Stupendous Science device that emitted a freeze beam.  You used it to thwart Pig Raiders who attacked your village; you’re a hero; 5) you lived in a cave for many years with a crazed and ancient Sorcerer; the stories he told made you uncomfortable- but were entertaining; 6) your penchant for tinkering with things you shouldn’t got you into trouble.  You accidentally vaporized your father and two of his drinking buddies; 7) you were delirious while wandering the wastes and fell into a hole and discovered a lake of shimmering golden water.  You emerged from the cave and vowed to return, but don’t the whereabouts; 8) you were zapped by a piece of Stupendous Science that transported you to the year 1994.  You were there for several days before being returned to your time.

Barbarians of the Ruined Earth- Session One- Getting Their Kicks… On Route 66

On Sunday we kicked off our Barbarians of the Ruined Earth campaign (we’ll be bouncing back and forth between this and our Star Wars game).

BotRE is inspired by Thundarr the Barbarian (largely), He-Man, Transformers, Mad Max, etc.

Introduction:

Over two thousand years ago the world was torn asunder when an alien planet crashed into our moon, utterly shattering it.  Destruction rained down from the sky, nearly annihilating all life on Earth.  Humankind persevered, but the Earth was forever changed as alien matter mixed with our own and a new, bizarre world has risen from the ashes of the old; a world of depravity, stupendous science, and nefarious sorcery!

Not content with a life of mundane toil, you have cast off the chains of oppression and travel with companions, brave and bold, pitting your cunning, bravery, and talents against the forces of darkness and tyranny! 

We created characters and jumped right in to the action.  Each class has starting equipment, and a d8 table to generate an interesting trinket and life event that the player can quickly build off.

Players:

Chad– Medical Robot (named Marko Tron), rides a Giant Snailbadger.  Life Event: Has trouble understanding why humans whine so much, has mouthed off about it and been chased out of several villages. Trinket: World War II army helmet.

John– Barbarian (named Dagor)- rides on a Giant Snailbear. Life Event: Mother was killed by croc-men when he was a child. Now he fights for the underdog!  Trinket: Silver dagger given by his father.

Liam– Sorcerer (named Fulgur Tenebris) Crazy Sorcerer appearance- grey skin, grey hair, cat eyes, jagged nails, yellow teeth, body changes color with emotion (50 shades of grey), has a metalic staff with spider web etching. Power manifestation black orbs with grey lightning. Life Event: Family was pushed out of village because of your birth.  Trinket: Golden necklace given to denote remarkable birth.  Rides one of the last Ancient Earth elephants (also has grey skin and yellowing tusks). Rules for Spellcasting here.

Nate– Vek (Anthropomorphic dinosaur- raptor- pretty feathers. Named Valeran the Vek).  He thinks humans are savages.  Life Event: Father was a brilliant Vek who understood Stupendous Science. Father was eventually killed by a Sorcerer. Trinket: Headdress of bone, wood, and feathers.  Rides a camel.

Fletch– Urchin class (wasn’t able to play today).  More on this character later.

After characters were rolled I used a table from my Starrunner Kit that allows the player to roll on a chart and create a memory.  The categories are tragedy, life is easy, make a friend, something went wrong, etc. I took a page from Beyond the Wall and told the group that their story would involve another player and that is how they met and bonded.  The players rolled and I gave them a few minutes to figure out what happened.  We told our stories and then moved on.

Team!  The Sounds of Battle!

We started the session with the group wandering through the wastes of southern California (near modern day Santa Monica), looking for a nearby settlement called Route 66.  It was named after an Ancient Earth route system (upon which the group was currently traveling).

The group came up over a hill and saw Route 66 in the distance.  Dilapidated, wrecked cars were stacked 3-4 high and formed a wall to protect the city.  Ancient Earth storage containers were stacked inside the wall and looked as if they were being used as housing.

The sounds of battle met the characters ears and an explosion went off, and a tower of six cars toppled inside the wall.  Nate found an Ancient Earth lighting pole, climbed up and saw robots attacking the villagers.  The Vek jumped down and shouted this information to his compatriots, but John was already riding hard on his giant snailbear towards the settlement.

The group charged into Route 66 to aid the humans and faced off against five robots, and a group of 10 smaller, twitchy-looking robots.

When combat broke out, I decided to try a variant for Initiative inspired by Drunkens and Dragons.

INITIATIVE
When combat breaks out, the GM rolls a die.  If the result is even, initiative favors the players.  If the result is odd, initiative favors the enemies and act before the players.  Once favor has been determined, every player rolls a 1d20 and the player with the lowest roll goes first.  Once that player has taken their turn, initiative continues in a clockwise fashion.

When initiative favors the enemy, if a player critically succeeds on their roll (rolling a 1), they get the drop on the enemy and can act before them.  After players that have critically succeed have taken their turn, initiative returns to normal with the enemies attacking, then the remaining players.

Initiative is rolled once per combat.

We all really liked this initiative order.  It was easy to shout out the order people went and it freed me up from having to remember shit and avoided zig zagging, etc.

For the robots I used mook and horde rules, see below:

MOOKS
Mooks are foes that are there to be mowed through and make the heroes feel epic and powerful!  Mooks should die in one hit, as long as they take 1 point of damage (they may be wearing armor, have protective shielding, etc.).  Give mooks HD, as it will determine their damage die against the heroes.

HORDES

When there are several mooks banding together to attack their foe (attacking as one), their overwhelming numbers make it hard to move out of harm’s way.  The defender rolls with Disadvantage to avoid a hordes attack.  The mooks, if the attack is successfully, roll damage with Advantage.  A horde can have up to 20 different members in it.  Each HP of damage is a number of minions killed in the horde.  When it is down to 3 HP or less, the horde is now treated as individual mooks (see above).

The battle went pretty quickly (probably 20-30 minutes), and the group took some good knocks before dropping all the robots.

After the fight, the leader of the village, named Chad 2.0 (I basically described Chad, one of my players, and named him Chad 2.0).  Chad 2.0 thanked them profusely for saving them and the rest of his Highwaymen.  He offered them shelter in one of their buildings, which was five storage containers fused together.

The group was given food, water, and told that Route 66 had recently found a strange device in an abandoned Ancient Earth warehouse.  It pulsed with energy.  One of the villagers tried messing with it and was vaporized.  Chad 2.0 felt this was too dangerous to leave alone.

Somehow the witch Grenzel found out about this device and begun attacking Route 66.  Her first several attacks were repelled by the Highwaymen.  And she retreated to her stronghold.  Two weeks ago a strange object fell from the sky and crashed into her stronghold.  The Highwaymen hoped that this was the end of Grenzel, but she showed up today with an army of robots and took the object from Route 66.

The group agreed to go to her stronghold and defeat her and retrieve the artifact.  The old wise woman said that Grenzel’s lair was located four miles to the south east and was an Ancient Earth structure where people used to go to worship a great powerful being called “Consumerism.” The old wise woman called the place a “ShopING Ma-all.”

 

The group rested for the night and left in the early morning for Grenzel’s lair.

About quarter mile from the lair, the group found a cultist guard station.  They attempted to sneak up on it, but found only a tiny fire and no guards. Arrows began peppering them as cutlists that were hidden on the ridge began shooting at them.  The group sprung into action.

A Worshiper of the Dark.  Cultist of the Witch Grenzel

The battle was quick, and the cultists didn’t stand much of a chance.  However, one of the cultists pulled out a glass vial and held it over his head, “May the darkness take us all!” and smashed it on the ground.  A billowy black substance surrounded the cultist and Nate.  The group heard a sickening gurgling noise from both of them.  When the smoke cleared the cultist was a mummified husk and Nate was sick and panting on the ground (he suffered 1d6 points of Constitution damage).

The group collected themselves and decided to take a rest.  They could see the shopping mall in the distance and a strange saucer-shaped object smashed into the western building.

 

The saucer destroyed all of the Dakota Purses store.

We ended here for the night and will hopefully do another session at the end of March.

The Urchin- Barbarians of the Ruined Earth Class for the Black Hack

I haven’t done a post for Barbarians of the Ruined Earth in awhile and figured I damned well better.  I’m rewatching Thundarr the Barbarian and decided that I wanted to do an Urchin class for the book.

Urchin

 

You are a forgotten child, surviving on your own in the wilds.  You distrust adults and civilization, preferring your own company and those of a few select people or creatures that you feel are worthy of your time.  You are quick-witted and fast acting.  Adults constantly underestimate your abilities, which usually leads to their downfall.  You are plucky, bossy, and master of your domain!

 

“Someday I’ll build my own empire!  I mean, I don’t want to be an urchin ALL of my life.”

 

Starting HP: d4+4

HP Per Level/Resting: 1d4

Weapons & Armor: Short Swords, Daggers, Short Bows, Blow Gun, Sling, Cloth, Leather, Small Shields

Attack Damage: 1d4/1 Unarmed or Improvising
SPECIAL FEATURES
Small: Urchins are roughly 4’ tall (tallest among them are 5’) and quick on their feet.  Urchins have Advantage to tests to avoid melee attacks from any target that is taller than them.  Urchins suffer Disadvantage to Strength checks when attempting to grapple or wrestle with someone larger than them or lift heavy objects.

 

Unexpected Adversary: Most people underestimate Urchins.  When making their first attack the Urchin rolls with Advantage.  If the attack is successful they deal 2d4+Urchin level in damage.

 

Bossy: Urchins are spoiled brats that live by their own code.  They are bossy and demanding.  Once per day they can boss their way through a situation and automatically succeed on a Charisma test.  This is applicable to bartering, getting someone to do a favor, etc.  The GM has final arbitration on what is acceptable or not.

 

Environment: Urchins know how to survive in their environment.  Roll on Type of Urchin table, pg XX.
LEVELING UP
Roll to see if attributes increase, roll twice for DEX or other (the second stat is determined by type of Urchin, pg XX).

 

STARTING EQUIPMENT

WEAPON: Dagger and blowgun or sling

ARMOR: Cloth armor- 2 AP (1 AP/d4 Usage Die)

ADDITIONAL: Ammo for ranged weapon, rations (d6), waterskin (d6), bedroll, torches x6 (d6), and healing salve (1 Hit Dice of HP restored).

 

INTERESTING TRINKET (roll 1d6): 1) a necklace made of a railroad spike from ancient earth; 2) a snow globe; 3) a miner hardhat.  The headlamp still works; 4) an ancient Earth police officer’s hat; 5) a pair of whacky eyeball glasses; 6) a tattered, yet adorable teddy bear

 

LIFE EVENT (roll 1d8): 1) you were a slave and escaped; 2) you were abandoned by your parents in this environment; 3) your parents were killed by raiders and you’ve had to raise yourself; 4) You ran away from your village and decided to raise yourself; 5) You were a servant to a Sorcerer and managed to escape their lair; 6) You were chased out of your village after causing too much trouble with your childish pranks; 7) You are child of your village’s leader.  You and your family were exiled after your father sold several of the villagers to raiders; 8) Years ago you had a dream of flying on a magical bed and traveling through a fun and strange Slumberland.  You awoke in a cave in the environment that you now live.

 

Type of Urchin

1) Swamp– You know how to survive in the swamps.  You have Advantage on all knowledge tests when identifying plants and animals of the swamp.  You also have Advantage on tests for survival in this environment.  Secondary Ability Score: Wisdom.

 

2) Desert– You know how to survive in deserts.  You have developed a resistance to poisons because of all the hostile creatures in the desert.  You roll Advantage on saves against poisons.  You also have Advantage on tests for survival in this environment.  Secondary Ability Score: Constitution.

 

3) Sewer– You have survived in the remaining sewer system of a once great city.  You have a keen sense of direction underground and can never get lost.  Your eyes have become accustomed to the dim light of the sewers and you can see in low-light as if it were normal up to Nearby.  You also have Advantage on tests for survival in this environment.  Secondary Ability Score: Constitution.

 

4) Urban– You know how to survive in the crumbled ruins of a once great city.  You have Advantage on tests for climbing, detecting hazards in ruins, and determining what is structurally sound.  You also have Advantage on tests for survival in this environment.  Secondary Ability Score: Wisdom.

 

5) Forest– You know how to survive in wooded forests.  You have gained the friendship of an animal that is your loyal companion.  If the animal companion dies, you can return to the forest and attract another one.  Doing so takes one week of establishing a rapport.  Roll 1d10 for companion- 1-2) fox; 3-4) hawk; 5-6) badger; 7-8) lynx; 9) snake, poisonous (not deadly); 10) wolf.  You also have Advantage on tests for survival in this environment.  Secondary Ability Score: Wisdom.

 

6) Badlands– You have survived in one of the harshest environments.  You can survive an extra two days without food or water as a normal person.  You’ve had to learn to become strong in order to survive.  You’ve learned to fight with short spears, no longer suffer Disadvantage to Strength checks for your size (see Small ability) and your attack damage is increased to 1d6/1d4 for Unarmed/Improvising.  Secondary Ability Score: Strength.

Adult Urchins

When an Urchin becomes an adult they lose the following abilities: Small and Unexpected Adversary.  Instead they gain the following:

 

Dirty Fighting: Adult Urchins know how to fight dirty.  Once per combat they can attempt to throw off their foe by kicking mud in their eye, feinting, spitting on them, etc.  The Adult Urchin must make a Charisma test to successfully trick their adversary.  A tricked target is thrown off granting Advantage to the Adult Urchin’s next 1d3 defensive rolls.

 

Small Frame: Adult Urchins never get big or bulky.  They are still skinny and spry.  They can fit through small spaces that a normal-sized adult would not be able to. They also have Advantage on saves against traps and explosion.