Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 1 The Dark Avenger

The Dreaming Age is both very dark and very hopeful. 

Humanity (well...proto-Humanity) has cast off the yoke of the Old Ones and now lives in a time of unimaginable horrors. There are monsters, there are forces of evil, and their are even evil humans that are all too willing to take over where the Old Ones left off. It is post-apocalyptic in a very real sense. But also, humanity has the chance in the form of our (your) heroes to make a better world.

The characters will one day be remembered as the Gods and Heroes of yore. 

But not all of them are bright, happy people.

Making "superhero" characters for the Wasted Lands RPG really only takes a change of reference or point of view. If Superheroes are modern myths, then the Wasted Lands RPG can also make those. Though your character's origin story is not going to be one of being a young adult, and then BAM, your character is powerful. Legends are built over time, and legendary characters even more so.

The Archetype of the Dark Avenger is a great example. This character had a really bad day once and now spends a lifetime fighting against the forces of Darkness and Evil (yes capitalized) by donning the guise of evil.  In comics, these characters are usually just normal humans but have something special about them. They are unnaturally dedicated to their cause for example, or maybe even they have a bit of an edge. It should also be noted that many take on the guise of an animal or creature that strikes fear into others; the bat, the wolverine, and even devils.

For these Superhero Archetypes, I will present them at higher levels to get a feel for what their legends will be like. I will also add the various Divine Touchstones to make the character a bit more "super."

The Dark Avenger

Class: Renegade
Level: 10
Species: Human
Alignment: Dark Good
Background: Nobility

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 20 (+4) A
Toughness: 17 (+2)
Intelligence: 16 (+2) N
Wits: 16 (+2)
Persona: 16 (+2)

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: Studded Leather (7) (See below for mods)
Vitality: 36 (d4)
Degeneracy:
Corruption:

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +3 (see below)
Ranged Bonus: +9 (+4, +5)
Saves: +5 to Death attacks and area effects

Improved Defense: -6 to attackers

Stealth Skills

• Open Locks: 110%
• Bypass Traps: 115%
• Sleight of Hand: 125%
• Sneak: 125%
• Climbing: 100%

Danger Sense 1-5 (d6)
Perception: 95%
Vital Stike: x4 damage
Read Languages: 85%

Superhero (Divine) Archetype: Vengeance, Justice

Divine Touchstones
Level 1: +1 to Melee Combat
Level 2: Additional Vitality Points
Level 3: Level 1 of Warrior
Level 4: Level Two Spell: Invoke Fear
Level 5: Auto Success (once per session)
Level 6: Gains +1 to all attacks and +5% to all skills
Level 7: Servant: Ward of Vengeance
Level 8: Signature Item: Batarang (+5 to hit, +5 to damage, -3 DV, 1 fate point)
Level 9: Down but Not Out
Level 10: Hop and Skip

This is not a guy you want to meet in a dark alleyway.

The Divine Touchstones are really what separated the normal people from the heroes and the heroes from the legends.

Please check out and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Superheroes in the Dreaming Age, Part 0

 I have been thinking a lot about gods, monsters, humans, and demons in these pages lately. Between my One Man's God, my ideas for Deities & Demigods II, and playtesting The Wasted Lands gods and their relationship to humankind have been on my mind a lot.

This has also got me thinking about how in today's society, the role of the hero of myth is now played out by comic book superheroes and maybe even more so by their movie counterparts. 

And there are more.  So this week I am going to make some modern "gods" and recraft them as Wasted Lands heroes. 

As is my nature, I am going to lean in on DC Characters, or at least their archetypes.

So come back later today and all this week for some humans as superheroes as gods in the time of the Dreaming Age for Wasted Lands.

And don't forget to checkout and back the Wasted Lands Kickstarter too!

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 10

 The large alcove at the end of Room 9 opens to what appears to be a large worshipping area.  There is a large bronze statue of some sort of demonic lord.

The statue is a Bronze Golem, but it is somewhat immobile now as its bottom half has melted to its dias. It can, however, still attack anyone that gets within 15 feet of it. 

It is difficult to determine if this "melting" was something that happened later or was part of its original design. 

There is a treasure hoard behind the golem. It is largely made up of gems, in particular rubies. There are 10d20+10 gems here each worth 10d20x5 GP each. (or 120 gems worth 500 gp each on average).

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 9

 Moving on from Room 8, this opens up into a larger cavern. This room gives the appearance of some sort of temple dedicated to a god of fire or some unknown demon lord.

Moving from the alcoves on both sides of this "temple" are four figures that appear to be made out of smoke and fire.

These creatures are Burning Ones and they are what is left of former high level victims of this demonic cult.  They are treated like Specters, but instead of draining life levels, these creatures drain Constitution at the rate of 2 points per touch. Each touch also removes 2d6 of the victim's maximum hp.

If a victim is reduced to 0 Con they burn up in a pillar of fire leaving only ash behind. They will rise the next night as a Burning One Wraith. 

These creatures are Turned as Spectres and take double damage from holy water and any cold-based magic. 

There is a huge alcove at the end of this room.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 8

 Going back to Room 2 and taking the center passageway this leads to an area where lava is flowing from somewhere above.  The floor is covered in lava and only a thin walkway of stone is visible. 

A Thief my use their Move Silently skill to cross, but since they are not trying to stay silent, only step carefully, they can add a +40% to their chance of success.

Other characters can move across only by being careful. Their base chance of success is their Dexterity score times 5%. So a character with a Dex of 10 has a 50% chance of success and one with an 18 has a 90% chance. Characters wearing metal armor have a -15% penalty.

Falling into the lava causes 4d8 hp of damage. 

There is another passageway on the other side to Room 9.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Wasted Lands, now with FREE content

This one is still going on, and I really want to see it get funded!

Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age Role Playing Game

A tabletop RPG of cosmic horror, swords, and sorcery in a savage lost epoch, 1000 years after the Old Ones fell to their eternal sleep.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=b0ulif

I have been talking about this Kickstarter a lot and will continue. Please check it out and give Jason your support.

Both books are written. Both have gone through edits and playtest notes. Jason is doing the layout now. 

It looks great, and I see it as replacing D&D on my table for the foreseeable future. You really need to check it out. 

PLUS there is now FREE Quick Start rules with a brand new adventure ready for you to download. All you have to do is click on the link!

If you can't pledge please share the word of this great game.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 7

 The far right corner of room 6 has another lava tunnel that leads to a bright light.  It is also getting hotter as the party moves down.

The tunnel ends in another one of the magical portals that plagued the upper levels. This one leads to firey Hell-scape that appears to be the Elemental Plane of Fire. The heat is becoming so great that even if the characters have magical protection, they can feel the effects.

Fire creatures can be seen on the other side, Fire Nymphs, Burning Bunnies, and mephits mostly, but none appear to want to come over any more than the characters should feel like they can enter.