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Land of a Thousand Towers: a Gonzo game world

Started by blackstone, October 25, 2024, 12:40:21 PM

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blackstone

This is a campaign setting I've been working on for a better part of a decade. So, what is the Land of a Thousand Towers? The basis is the Anomalous Subsurface Environment (ASE for short), but I've built it up with bits and pieces from here and there. I think the best way to describe it before I get into details is with pictures.

The Land of a Thousand Towers is...

all this

















more to come later...
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

Timeline of the Land of a Thousand Towers

4000 years ago:
-The Anomalous Subsurface Environment (ASE), is discovered by Dynamic Materials Inc. (DynMat).
-Protonium metal is discovered and Argonium is produced in the ASE.
-Within several years, the AI satellites are put into orbit. Argonium and Protonium are used in their
construction, thus making them virtually indestructible.
Seven years after discovery of ASE:
-The Cataclysm/The Great Change/The Apocalypse/The Big Reset occurs. Scholars are unsure what
exactly happened. A comet or asteroid crashed into the Earth? A global war destroying civilization? Alien
invasion? All of the above? Whatever it was (spoiler alert: it was all three) changed the world forever.
-The Apocalypse creates a massive rip in space-time out in space near the Earth's moon, opening a portal
to another dimension and releasing a tremendous amount of psychic energy. The wave of psychic energy
is absorbed by the AI satellites and creates the Orbital Gods.
-Smaller portals are opened around Earth near known areas of paranormal activity and high strangeness.
Monsters, demons, ghosts, aliens, etc. come through the portals to Earth.
-The energy released from the portals forms the magical energy on the Earth.
-Emergency protocols are enacted and the ASE is sealed off. Survivors who are trapped eventually over
time, the generations afterwards become the Morlocks and some of the other denizens of the ASE.

4000 to 3700 years ago: the Time of Chaos.
-Humanity struggles to survive in this new world.
-Creatures pour through the portals and some races that come from the portal establish themselves on
Earth.
-The Hive Minds arrive in their extra-dimensional ships and Goblins are created.
-Elder Gods arrive, along with their minions and servitor races. The Orbital Gods see the Elder Gods as an
existential threat. Over time the Orbital Gods establish contact with humanity via the Gods' Eyes.
-Cults are established by the Orbital and Elder Gods, promising either safety or worldwide domination.
-Portals to other times are opened. Prehistoric creatures from Earth's past start to repopulate the world.

3700 to 3500 years ago: Era of Magic and Mutants
-Humans learn to harness magic. The first Wizards and their towers are seen.
-The Fey come back into the world after thousands of years of slumber. Their homeland on Earth, the
Fungal Forest is established.
-The Hive Minds begin to experiment with Goblins. The Elves and Dwarves are created by multiple
attempts to create a Goblin/Human hybrid. Within a few generations, the Elves and Dwarves rebel.
-Elves find their way to the Fey Realm and find safe haven among the pixies, sprites, nixies, etc.
-Dwarves take refuge in the Underworld, slowly building their own homelands.

3500 to 2500 years ago: the Underworld War
-The Beetle Race comes to Earth through a portal in the Underworld. They establish their realm and come
into contact with the Hive Minds not long afterwards. Immediate contact starts a war that lasts for a
thousand years. The result of the war is the destruction of the Beetle Race and the near extinction of the
Hive Minds. The aftermath is the environment known as Operation: Unfathomable.
-Humans, Elves and Dwarves fight as mercenaries in the Underworld War on the Beetle's side.
-Halflings start to appear near human settlements

1500 to 1000 years ago: The Golden Age of Denethix
-The city-state of Denethix is founded by the Wizard Feretha.
-Over the next thousands years, the Unyielding Fists, the Star Courts, and the other administrative parts of
Denethix are created.

1000 years ago:
-The war machine, The Red Demon is made by Feretha the Wizard of Denethix to fight a war against the
mutants of the Livid Fens. The Red Demon is defeated by an ancient black dragon. The wreck of the war machine is left in the swamps and forgotten.
-The Bottomless Pit of Zorth appears in the Ceretopsian Plains

500 years ago:
The Timeless Pillar aka Tempus Gelidum is created

200 years ago:
A spaceship crashes into a mountain on the southernmost edge of the range near the Forbidden Vale
(Module S3)

100 years ago:
-A spaceship crashes into the Livid Fens. The Temple of the Frog is established.
-Outpost of the Outer Ones is created in the hills northwest of Denethix

50 years ago:
-Feretha dies and his brain is hooked up to his computer. Unbeknownst to the anyone, Marcus Tyro and
Koyl Yrenum become the de-facto rulers of Denethix. The Exalted and Chosen Brethren are created by
Feretha.

10 years ago:
-The Anubis wrecks somewhere in the Livid Fens
PRESENT
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

ForgottenF

Sounds pretty dope. I've been working on something a bit similar, but haven't come up with such a cool title. Mostly just been referring to it as "My own Ultraviolet Grasslands, with blackjack and hookers".
Playing: Mongoose Traveller 2e
Running: Dolmenwood
Planning: Warlock!, Kogarashi

blackstone

The following section is from the ASE (Anomalous Subsurface Environment) by Patrick Wetmore:

QuoteOrbital Gods
The gods are active in human affairs, often appearing in the God's Eyes to direct their worshipers. They are able to use these God's Eyes to subject humans to quest spells, and to temporarily implant their consciousness within human beings, similar to a magic jar spell.

The gods do not have alignments per se – most would be considered Neutral, bordering on Chaotic, based on their incredibly selfish behavior. But, as the priests are quick to point out, the ways of the gods are not to be judged by men, and all men are called to be obedient to their divine masters.

Priests of the Orbital Gods are overtly pantheistic. They do dedicate themselves to a particular god, but will sometimes find themselves called upon by other gods to perform services. It would not be unheard for a god of murder or some other repulsive vice to demand service from a priest of a more virtuous god, and that priest would feel it was his duty to obey. Gods will even sometimes appear in the God's Eyes of another deity's temple.

Occasionally a priest or other unlucky soul is called to perform conflicting tasks by two gods, or to oppose the intentions of another deity. Such unfortunates are advised to obey both to the letter, ignoring contradictions as best they can.

The upside of these potential contradictions is that it is quite difficult for a cleric or paladin to fall out of the graces of all the gods simultaneously. If a character's patron deity is offended by his behavior, chances are good that a lesser deity will gladly accept a new champion into their fold.

Astronomers among the clerical class have fairly thoroughly mapped the frequency of any given god's appearances, and the times at which spells are renewed, to the orbits of the "quick stars" overhead. There is one such "quick star" that is not, however, associated with any known god. This star is known as Quiet God's Star.

Cult of Science
The priests of the cult of Science are the result of centuries of distortion of a materialistic world-view. Their spiritual longings have resulted in half-understood scientific knowledge filling the void that religion normally occupies.

They believe in Science as a literal god, one who performs miracles through normal physical processes. The beggar in the street who lost his arm has been healed through the grace of Science, granted a mechanical substitute. He is now better than human, his arm a symbol of the might of Science, and he proselytizes without end to all who will listen. Those who don't, are pronounced "Very Unscientific", and meet the business end of his mechanical arm.

The priests and acolytes of Science wear long white coats as their normal dress, with black gloves covering their hands. Their bodies are covered with intricately patterned tattoos, depicting double-helices, elliptical orbits, and other designs of scientific import. During the rituals of Science, the head priest will stand on stilts, elevating his height to 12 or more feet, hiding the stilts under a ridiculously long white lab coat. He will have his ceremonial safety goggles on as he chants the liturgies: "Dihydrogen monoxide! A squared plus b squared equals c squared! Pyridine-3-carboxylic acid!"

The Scientist, as an acolyte or priest of Science is known, has an empiricist's grasp of science. He has learned a few tricks on how to repair ancient devices, or how to create certain chemical reactions (preferably ones that go "boom!"). There is no research activity going on or understanding of the scientific method, however. Their creed is one of sacred knowledge passed from priest to priest over the ages.

Scientists take a dim view of other gods. They consider them all subservient to Science. The occasional
pronouncement by an orbital-god that "science is the principle governing nature", when questioned by theologians does little to dissuade the Scientists of their world-view. Scientists value ancient artifacts and books, and will pronounce donors of such items as "Very Scientific", and may provide other sorts of assistance in return.

Well-established Temples of Science have a 10' tall black pyramidal structure within. These structures have ladders built into one side, and at the top have a small screen with glowing red numbers ticking down, one per second, and a small keypad with the numbers 0-9. On a daily basis, a highly-ranked priest will climb the ladder and enter in a code known only to the most trusted Scientists, causing the numbers to reset. "This is the sole sacrifice that Science demands of us, my son. His burden is light. But his wrath if we neglect our duty is great. Not a stone in this city would stand should he believe that the people have abandoned his worship!"
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

The following section is from the ASE (Anomalous Subsurface Environment) by Patrick Wetmore:

QuoteInfravision
The concept of infravision in the Anomalous Subsurface Environment has been expanded to a "wide spectrum vision", that allows the possessor to see across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Races with wide-spectrum vision (elves, dwarves, and goblins) are aware of a certain spectrum known as the "sick light", emitted naturally by certain yellow rocks known as "sick rocks. All elves and dwarves have been taught from a young age to recognize and stay away from the deadly "sick light".

Demi-Humans
The demi-human races in the Land of One Thousand Towers and the City-State of Denethix are somewhat different than those described by the rulebook.

Halflings are very short, well-proportioned humans, with gray skin. Their eyes have pupils slightly larger than normal, but their vision is not particularly enhanced over normal human vision. Their hair color varies from brown to black. Halflings prefer to dwell near humans, either living in the actual human cities and towns, or forming villages near the humans. They have no particular origin myth, and if questioned, would state that they have always lived around humans. They live no longer than normal men.

Dwarves are taller than halflings, and strangely proportioned, with wide barrel chests and dense musculature. They also have gray skin, and their eyes are entirely black, giving them the wide-spectrum vision that they share with elvenkind. Life halflings, their hair color varies from brown to black. They prefer to live underground, as they find the sun's light irritating (although they suffer no penalties for being in bright sunlight). After achieving adulthood, they do not appear to physically age. Despite this, some aging process must be occurring, as they fall sick and die after three centuries, give or take a few decades. They have a creation myth that involves escaping from their creator and his goblins. They cannot abide the presence of goblins, and will almost invariably attack them.

Elves are the strangest of the demi-human races. They are nearly man height (averaging five feet tall) and well- proportioned. They have gray skin, large black eyes as the dwarves have, with the attendant wide-spectrum vision, thin pointed ears, thin noses with narrow nostrils, and a mouthful of sharp, pointy teeth. They have either jet-black hair, or pigment-less snow-white hair. Like dwarves, after achieving adulthood they do not appear to physically age. They may be immortal, as no elf can recall any that has died of old age, although their memories fade after a thousand years or so. They do not feel a need to keep written records, experiencing most of history first-hand, but the limits on their memory mean that they have no notions of their origin. Elves prefer to live among their own kind, in villages deep in the wilderness, away from humanity.

Demi-humans do not have their own gods peculiar to them. Halflings will tend to worship at human temples, but the gods do not see fit to grant them their divine magic. Dwarves and elves, living apart from humans, have not adopted the worship of any gods.

Despite the notable physical differences of the races depicted here, all race abilities are still available as per Advanced Labyrinth Lord rules.
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

Links to source material

I'm using Adv Labyrinth Lord for the basis of the game rules, but it's compatible with any Old School game system with minor modifications
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/259983/advanced-labyrinth-lord-dragon-cover

Anomalous Subsurface Environment (ASE) provides the bulk of the material, including the Land of a Thousand Towers game world: https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/PatW

The Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos exists in the LoTT and Swords of Cthulhu is a sourcebook I'm utilizing:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/404917/swords-of-cthulhu
and Realms of Crawling Chaos
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/87813/realms-of-crawling-chaos-labyrinth-lord

Another good portion of the campaign is Operation Unfathomable and the Odious Uplands, which you can get either in two separate books:
Operation Unfathomable https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/233145/operation-unfathomable
Odious Uplands https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/421504/odious-uplands
or as one book, Completely Unfathomable: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/484078/completely-unfathomable-swords-wizardry-edition
They're for the Swords & Wizardry rules, easily modified for any Old School edition. Location of the Odious Uplands and Operation Unfathomable will be noted later on the campaign map.

various real-world cryptids (Bigfoot Mothman, Jersey Devil, etc.) exist in LoTT and I've been using this as a reference for some of them:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/260965/dark-places-demogorgons-the-cryptid-manual-an-osr-bestiary

Other adventures/modules: locations will be shown on the campaign map later. Of course you can locate them anywhere you like to your own personal preferences.

Fever-Dreaming Marlinko https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/151165/fever-dreaming-marlinko
Slumbering Ursine Dunes https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/140450/slumbering-ursine-dunes
Bottomless Pit of Zorth https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/378555/bottomless-pit-of-zorth
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (1e) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17065/s3-expedition-to-the-barrier-peaks-1e
DA2 The Temple of the Frog (Basic) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17128/da2-the-temple-of-the-frog-basic
YS1 The Outpost of the Outer Ones https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/145681/ys1-the-outpost-of-the-outer-ones?affiliate_id=1389058
The Fungus Forest https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/178717/the-fungus-forest is the underworld realm of Elves and other Faery-kind. Why the underworld? More on that later...
Red Demon of the Vile Fens, Obelisk of Forgotten Memories, Tempus Gelidum, Wreck of the Anubis are all found here:
https://alldeadgenerations.blogspot.com/p/pdf-adventure-archives.html

Note on modules/adventures: I run a sandbox campaign, but the modules/adventures are pretty much fixed. I DO NOT pay any attention to levels of the modules/adventures. It to impart the notion that life is random and the dangers are as well. So if the party happens upon module S3 for example, and they are "low level"...they better use their wits to survive. No hand holding or scaling of the adventures.

I may add the Cha'alt campaign material, but I haven't read through it all as of yet. IT seems to fit the gonzo campaign vibe I'm going for. I just have to figure out how and where it fits.
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

Map of of the Land of a Thousand Towers



https://cdn.imgpile.com/f/jyyiUDA_xl.png

1. The Fungus Forest: homeland of the Elves and Fairy-kind

2. Outpost of the Outer Ones

3. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

4. Tempus Gelidum

5. The Bottomless Pit of Zorth

6. The Wreck of the Anubis

7. Red Demon of the Vile Fens

8. The Temple of the Frog
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

#7
Available races & character classes:

RACES: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling

NEW races (as per ASE by Patrick Wetmore, with some modifications):

QuoteInsect-Men of the Lanthanide Wastes
The insect-men are a nomadic people who roam the Lanthanide Wastes,
riding upon giant gila monsters and hunting the human and dwarven fortune-
seekers who trespass upon the desert landscape. Occasionally, an insect-man
will become curious about the pale fleshy grub people and make its way to
Denethix, where its inability to distinguish human children from tasty
livestock inevitably leads to a brutal end for the adventurous bug.
Player character insect-men are of that rare breed that has managed to
integrate themselves into the most despicable outcasts of human society: an
adventuring party.

Physically, insect-men most resemble wingless praying mantises, and have
six legs. They normally walk on the bottom four, and wield weapons and/or
shields with their topmost legs. They can lift themselves upon just the bottom
two legs, extending their height to 8' tall, but the middle legs are not
particularly dexterous and the creatures become prone to toppling over, so
four-armed fighting is not practiced among the insect-men.

Insect-man mouth parts are quite capable of the extreme contortions necessary to reproduce human speech, and all
insect man PCs know the prevailing human language, in addition to their native language of clicks and chirps.
Speaking the language does nothing for relations with the locals, however: insect-men suffer a reaction penalty of
+3 when dealing with humans and demi-humans.

The insect-man does have certain advantages over more traditional classes. Their chitin exoskeleton means that
their AC is never worse than 5, regardless of armor worn (if any). This is good, because human armor does not fit
them, and finding an armorer willing to custom-manufacture a suit for a man-eating bug is difficult.
They are also immune to most undead effects other than physical damage – to the insect-man, a ghoul or wight is
simply carrion on the move, and a ghost or wraith is entirely a human concern. The one exception is the mummy –
mummy-rot is especially virulent in insect-men, and they lose an additional 1d4 hit points per day when under the
effects of that disease.

All insect-men are immune to the effects (both beneficial and harmful) of lanthanides and hafnium. Other
intoxicants behave normally upon the insect-man physiology.



EDIT: Allowed Character Classes: Any, except Scientist and Bard
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

#8
QuoteMoktar
Player character moktars are disturbed individuals who have decided to leave
the comfort of the warband to live among humankind.

All moktar PCs understand the prevailing human tongue – but their jaw
structure prevents them from speaking it. They can only communicate in the
native moktar tongue, a language of roars. Likewise, while humans (and demi-
humans) can learn to understand moktarish, they are simply unable to enunciate
the subtle differences in roaring that are essential to the moktar language.

Fellow player characters should be assumed to understand a moktar PC's roars
and wild gesticulations, but few NPCs will have any grasp of the moktar's
intent. Moktar PCs thus have a penalty of +2 on reaction rolls with non-
moktars. The language barrier additionally means that moktars are unable to hire henchmen.

Moktars are not particularly agile to begin with, and PC moktars (accustomed
to living in comparatively cushy human cities) are even less so. Moktar characters thus have a maximum Dexterity
of 14. Half of any discarded Dexterity points (round up) may be added to the character's Strength score (up to a
maximum of 18). These additional Strength points may be counted towards the minimum requirement of 13.
Due to their size and strength, moktar characters start with two hit dice at level 1. Their thick hides ensure that their
armor class is always at least 6, regardless of the type of armor worn (if any) or dexterity penalties.


1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

#9
From the Gonzo Fantasy Companion by RPGPundit, with some modifications:

QuoteMutant
Among the most bizarre of all the many sentients wandering the Land of a Thousand Towers are the Mutants. Never breeding true to form, Mutants are peoples of infinitely variable appearance, temperament, and mutation. The mere sight of a Mutant almost always gives others pause. Mutants have been taught to embrace this lineage, for what curses Mutants from birth also makes them very powerful. Mutants are often shunned and feared in many places across the Land of a Thousand Towers. They often hide their more grotesque, strange, or just plain weird features if at all possible. Hooded cloaks being the favored accouterments, but robes, hats, or even masks are not uncommon. Because of this, anyone initially meeting a Mutant will have a -2 to their Reaction roll if their physical mutations aren't concealed in some fashion.

Detect mutants: Mutants, regardless of where they are from, have a strange psychic link by being able to "sense" other Mutants nearby. By concentration for 1d4 rounds and making a successful Int check at -2, the Mutant can "sense" other mutants in a 100 ft radius. If the Mutant is able to concentrate for 1 Turn (10 rounds) and succeeds on an Int check at -4, they can hone in on one Mutant, know where they are, and know their mutations.

Mutations: When creating a Mutant character, the Mutant has two cosmetic mutations and two power mutations
which are randomly determined. Please consult with your DM to see what mutations are created.
Mutant cultural/tribal weirdness: Mutant groups, especially those in tribal, primitive, or isolated conditions, tend to develop very quirky behaviors. These may be purely cultural, but they can also be biological, a product of different brain structures based on mutation; they just don't think quite the same way as Humans. Roll a d30 and consult the DM to determine if a mutant has a cultural quirk.



EDIT: Allowed Character Classes: Any
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

#10
QuoteRobot
Robot characters start as slender exoskeletons with positronic brains encased in a relatively fragile acrylic head-shell. As it gains levels, a robot scavenges parts from other robots to enhance its strength and abilities. Robots may wield melee and missile weapons in their pincers just as their human counterparts do with their hands. Additionally, as they level, robots build an increasingly deadly array of weapons into their arms for use in combat.

A robot does not wear armor or use a shield – as it gains levels, it upgrades its internal engines to support additional weight and constructs and incrementally improves an exoskeleton shell. A robot character does apply its dexterity bonus to its armor class. Robots are especially susceptible to the attacks of rust monsters, taking 2d8 points of damage per round from contact with such creatures. On the plus side, being machines,
robots are necessarily immune to the effects of poison and disease.

Robots are able to self-repair at a rate of 1 hit point of damage per level over an 8 hour period, given access to a
suitable source of scrap metal. Clerical healing spells have no effect on their metal bodies – only specially trained
Scientists are able to speed the repair process of a damaged robot.

The positronic brains of robots are deeply sensitive to negative energy, and thus robots are vulnerable to the level
draining effects of the undead. A robot losing a level will involuntarily eject hardware as the negative energy
courses through its machine intellect. Robots reduced to level 0 simply fall apart, and do not become undead robots.
Robot characters follow a well-established manufacturing schedule when gaining levels, delineated below. They
must have access to the remains of a higher-level robot or automaton to gain a level, as no new parts have been
manufactured for thousands of years




EDIT: Allowed Character Classes: as listed. include Bandit, Bounty Hunter, & Gladiator.
1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.

blackstone

#11
Character Classes: Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric, Thief, Illusionist, Assassin

Barbarian, Bounty Hunter, Bandit, Bard, Wild Wizard, and Gladiator are as per Barrel Rider Games for Labyrinth Lord at DriveThruRPG. Barrel Rider Games Character classes are available to Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings. Moktar, Robots, Insect Men, and Mutants will have some of these classes available to them.

NEW CLASSES (as per ASE by Patrick Wetmore, with some modification)

Scientists

QuoteScientists are the priests and enforcers of the Cult of Science (described in ASE1). They do not have any spell-
casting abilities – but the preserved lore of the cult has taught them how to perform many marvels just the same.

As a Scientist gains levels, the cult recognizes his increased Scientific prowess by bestowing secret learning and cybernetic enhancements upon him. At each odd-numbered level, the Scientist may choose a new power from those listed below, as long as he meets the minimum level requirement. All powers require either surgery or intense study, and the Scientist must spend a minimum of a week at a temple of Science to gain a new ability. Scientists may use any weapons and/or shields in combat, but are restricted to leather armor for religious reasons (leather lab coats dyed white are a particular favorite). Scientists have a separate attack and saving throw table detailed below.

Minimum INT: 15, Maximum WIS: 15

Allowed races: Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Human, Mutant, and Robot.

Scientist can only multi-class with Fighter, Thief, or Assassin.



NOTE: Adrenaline Boost, Hemofiltration, Cybernetic arm, and Cybernetic legs are not available to Robot Scientists for obvious reasons.

Adrenaline Boost: Once per day, the Scientist is able to release vast
quantities of adrenaline into his bloodstream from a reservoir in his
abdomen. This acts as per the haste spell for 3 rounds.

Bioanalysis: In addition to being able to measure the pulse, blood pressure,
and body temperature of a patient, the Scientist is able to use the
information his enhanced senses provide to determine if someone is lying
with 75% accuracy

Cybernetic arm: A Scientist with this ability has had one of his arms replaced by a mechanical equivalent. This adds +1 to his Strength (not to exceed 18). This is not compatible with fingerblades, and a scientist with the fingerblades ability will lose it from the replaced arm. This ability may be taken twice (once for each limb replaced).

Cybernetic legs: Both of the character's legs have been replaced with pneumatic-driven hardware. His movement rate increases by 30' (10'), and he is able to jump 10' in the air vertically and 20' horizontally (40' from a running
start).

Fingerblades: The Scientist's fingertip bones are replaced with retractable razors. He is able to attack twice per round, once with each hand, doing 1d4 damage (plus strength bonus) per hand. Fingerblade fighting techniques require both hands free – the character cannot combine a melee weapon attack with an off-hand fingerblade attack.

Hemofiltration: The character's kidneys and liver are replaced with an improved biotech filtration system. He is now immune to poison. Few Scientists take this ability, as it also eliminates the intoxicating effects of drugs and alcohol

Identify Technology: The Scientist has immersed himself in ancient lore and data sheets, and is able to identify the purpose of technological artifacts found in the lost ruins of civilization. He has a 10% chance per level (to a maximum of 90%) of successfully identifying a technological item's powers.

Mind Transfer: This ability enables a Scientist to transfer his mind into a computer or robot. The transfer is irreversible – the Scientist's body dies once the mind-pattern is moved into the robot. The poor reliability of millennia-old machinery eventually leads to madness and system failure among the Scientists transferred, so as a rule these hybrid minds are shoved in the back of a dusty closet after a few decades of operation.

Power Cell: A small energy cell is embedded in the Scientist's abdomen, with a power-port exposed on his sternum. A curved "cap" of gleaming solar panels is grafted onto his skull in place of hair, allowing the cell to recharge after a day spent in the sun. The cell gives an additional 10 shot capacity to laser pistols and rifles wielded by the Scientist. The cell may not be used with the recharge item ability – it does not deliver nearly enough current.

Recharge Item: The Scientist may attempt to recharge drained technological artifacts. He has a 10% chance per level (to a maximum of 90%) of successfully recharging an item, granting an additional 2d4 charges (up to the item's maximum number of charges). On failure, however, the item is ruined. The recharge attempt requires a functioning power source and a collection of transformers, parts, and cables – and is thus usually performed at a temple of Science. Recharging laser pistols and rifles is a simple affair, and success is automatic with those items.

Repair Robot: A Scientist with this ability may use spare parts ripped from some otherwise useless technological item to jury-rig repairs to a robot, "healing" it of 2d8 points of damage. This ability may only be used once per day on any given robot (even by a different Scientist) as there is only so much jury-rigging a single machine can take and still function properly.

Repulsor Field: A small gravitational repulsor module is implanted under the Scientist's ribcage. The field repels anything moving quickly towards the scientist – there is a 50% chance that small missile weapons such as bullets miss outright, and a 10% chance that large missiles (boulders, rockets, etc) and melee weapons miss. This check is made after the normal "to hit" roll an attacker makes. Massless and near-massless weapons (such as lasers and plasma charges) are not affected by the repulsor field.

Ring Modulator: The Scientist's voice is enhanced with a horrifying electronic effect, causing his voice to sound at both higher and lower frequencies simultaneously. Once per combat, the Scientist may screech threats at his opponents, forcing any sentient opponent within 30' to make an immediate morale check. Robots find ring modulators soothing and are not affected by them.

Subvert Robot: A Scientist with this ability has been trained in the verbal, electronic, and data manipulations necessary to subvert a robot or a computer, modifying their programming to obey the Scientist. The target robot may make a save vs. spells to avoid the subversion. A subverted robot may save once per day on each following day to recover its original programming. After the third failed saving throw, the robot has been permanently re- programmed. A robot that saves successfully versus subversion may not be re-subverted until the Scientist gains a level. Subvert robot may only be attempted once per day, due to the mental strain it imposes on the Scientist.

Supremacy of Science: Vented implants in the Scientist's torso are able to release a spherical cloud of nanomites capable of suppressing magic within a 10' radius. No magical effects will operate in the sphere, and creatures normally only harmed by magic will be susceptible to normal weapons while inside it. It does not prevent summoned or magical creatures from entering the sphere, but their abilities will likely be severely hampered. The cloud is visible as a thin mist, and lasts for two hours. This ability may only be used once per day, as it takes time to generate new nanomites.

Suturepede: The suturepede is a biomechanical centipede-like creature surgically implanted within the Scientist's body. When he falls to or below 0 hit points, the suturepede will exit through a wound and graft itself to the injuries, using its legs as sutures. This will immediately restore 3d6 hit points to the Scientist. The suturepede dies and falls off within 1d4 days of use, and the character must visit a temple of Science to have a replacement suturepede implanted.

Targeting Reticule: One of the Scientist's eyes has been replaced with an improved targeting lens in a cylindrical black housing. He now has a +2 bonus to hit with lasers, guns, and other missile weapons, and detects secret doors on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6. Only one eye may be replaced with a targeting reticule – two reticules would just cause migraine headaches with no improvement in accuracy.

Well-Grounded: A mesh of stranded copper wire is implanted below the Scientist's skin. Electrical attacks now only do half damage, and on a successful saving throw(if applicable) do no damage at all.

Wired Reflexes: A Scientist with this ability has had local microprocessors implanted into his joints, speeding the movements of his limbs. The improved reflexes grant +1 to his dexterity score.



1. I'm a married homeowner with a career and kids. I won life. You can't insult me.

2. I've been deployed to Iraq, so your tough guy act is boring.