Just a Flesh Wound

Black Hacking done right

In a Black Hack supplement that I'm working on, I've decided to use a hybrid Race/Class system. Every player chooses two 'Types' for each character with some being Races and some Classes. Human is the default as usual, so they end up with two classes and non-Humans get one.

Originally I was thinking along traditional HP lines, and having the highest HD of the two classes be the one the character used, in much the same manner gestalt characters in 3e take the best option. However, I want to Usage Die all the things, so let's do that with HP:

A character's health is represented by two Usage Dice (one from each Type), one of which is chosen to be the 'Flesh Wounds' die, the other becomes the 'Mortal Wounds die'. Whenever an attack penetrates the character's armor, make a Usage Die roll. On a 1 or 2 step the Usage Die down one die type as usual. If a player attempting to dodge rolls a critical failure, the Usage Die is automatically stepped down one.

If the Flesh Wounds die is a d4 and would be stepped down, that die is no longer used and the character is considered 'Bloodied'. Bloodied characters have disadvantage on all attribute checks. When the Mortal Wounds die is reduced below a d4, the character is OoA.

A character will likely have two different sizes of die, and it is up to the player to choose which will be Flesh/Mortal. It is probably best to make the larger die the Mortal Wounds die, though some players may wish to make a character that can take more Superficial Wounds before becoming Bloodied.

A short rest increments one HD up one step (a lost HD increments to a d4), a long rest increments two steps (these can be split between either Flesh/Mortal dice as desired).

'Backstab' needs adjusting now, but right now it will likely be an automatic crit against whichever HD the Assassin wishes to target.

The Osteogramophones of Doktor Zosimus

The osteogramophonic device allows the operator to record the very essence of a subject onto a sheet of film via picture and sound. Sadly, unless the subject is re-imprinted posthaste, it is a destructive process that leaves the subject in a catatonic state from which there is no return.*

Once the record has been obtained, it may be imprinted on another subject of the operator's choice at a later date.  It is advised that the imprinting portion of the process is undertaken with due diligence and care:

First, one must insure the discs are not damaged, lest the information be corrupted in some manner. Depending upon the extent of the damage, the recipient may be rendered insane, horribly maimed, or killed outright.

Secondly, one must consider the choice of creature upon which the record will be imprinted, as some are less resilient than others to the mental and physical stresses incurred. The best match for imprinting will always be the original subject, and as such the second best choices are creatures of similar form and temperament. Since the recipient's skeletal structure will shift as necessary to accommodate the newly imprinted form, beginning with a similar morphology will only serve to reduce the immense trauma.

If one desires to imprint a record upon a different human, it is advised that the recipient is prepared by having their essence removed via the osteogramophonic process in order to reduce the risk of psychotic break.

*There are rumors that the good Doktor produced an improved version before his disappearance, but these have yet to be confirmed.

The OSRegon Trail: Save vs Dysentery

I have a somewhat macabre tradition of re-watching the Ric Burns documentary American Experience: The Donner Party to celebrate the first snowfall of the year. It's an excellent example of the genre, and I could go on and on about it, but I won't. I can say with little doubt that it has influenced the way I have been running the food scarcity in the 'miserycrawl' module Deep Carbon Observatory. During this year's viewing I couldn't help but think of the Oregon Trail as a prototypical example not only of the miserycrawl, but of the 0-level 'funnel' adventures used by Dungeon Crawl Classics, and the resource-management and lethality of early-edition D&D.

Now, suitably inspired, I'm working on The OSRegon Trail, a D&D setting hack that intends to capture the pioneer experience during the westward expansion across North America.

Savages of the Abyss: 2076

2076...

Nearly a century after the hive-block food riots,

and the robo-holocaust incited by rogue supercomputer Blue Max,

Earth's oceans are almost dry...

Humanity ekes out an existence on the oceans' abyssal plains,

beset on all sides by an endless array of horrors:

Giant, floating Death-Heads,

Kill-Bots,

flesh-eating Sub-Humans,

and the Super-Apes...

Are the mysterious Clones here to help us,

 or are they servants of M.A.M.A, the crazed doomsday satellite?

Is the seed-ship Arkadia merely a fairy tale that brings hope,

or will it return to restore the planet to her former glory?