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Old 12-04-2008, 01:18 PM   #31
Anders
 
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Default Re: [Horror] Sketchy Setting & Some Monsters

If Sodom is a reflection of the collective unconscious, then it is only logical that faiths with "enough" followers (and enough mass in the collective unconscious) can affect it. So unless you manage to recruit one hell of a lot of people to believe in the Force, it's not gonna help you.

Ah, yes. I remember when Kult came out in Sweden. The media went ballistic.

Personally I think you need to read Plato's "Timaeus" where the idea of a demiurge is introduced (although Plato's demiurge was benevolent) and, of course, Dante's Inferno. The VIth song of the Aeneid may also be helpful.

Edit: D'oh! Forgot the Nag Hammadi library.

Now for magic system - I would recommend you get Thaumatology. The "Realms and Power" magic system detailed there (pp.188-192) should be perfect for this kind of setting.
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Last edited by Anders; 12-04-2008 at 01:26 PM.
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Old 12-04-2008, 01:50 PM   #32
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Default Re: [Horror] Sketchy Setting & Some Monsters

Quote:
Originally Posted by Asta Kask
If Sodom is a reflection of the collective unconscious, then it is only logical that faiths with "enough" followers (and enough mass in the collective unconscious) can affect it. So unless you manage to recruit one hell of a lot of people to believe in the Force, it's not gonna help you.
Yeah, I hear you, but until I establish just what Sodom is, and how it fits into "our" universe (or whatever mundane GURPS universe it takes place in), I'll let True Faith rest. I have only toyed with the idea so far that Sodom is part of the collective unconscious or a dream world or something similar. I really don't know yet. What I primarily want it to be is a place, where horrible, impossible things can happen, as opposed to the "normal" world, where these things don't happen. I want to run a somewhat realistic campaign (actually a SF campaign) that can sometimes veer into totally surreal and supernatural territory. Yes, I want to have my cake and eat it too.

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Originally Posted by Asta Kask
Ah, yes. I remember when Kult came out in Sweden. The media went ballistic.
You guys are also so unfortunate to have the illustrious Ms. Didi Whatsherface among you to preach against the dangers of roleplaying. Plus that suicide didn't help either. Great game, though.

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Originally Posted by Asta Kask
Personally I think you need to read Plato's "Timaeus" where the idea of a demiurge is introduced (although Plato's demiurge was benevolent) and, of course, Dante's Inferno. The VIth song of the Aeneid may also be helpful.
I've read them. I'm a History of Religion major at the University of Copenhagen, they are mostly on the curriculum. My thesis was about Inferno, and how it influenced modern pop culture views of hell in games and film. As Dante references the Aeneid constantly (and has Vergil as a guide), I had to read that too.

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Originally Posted by Asta Kask
Edit: D'oh! Forgot the Nag Hammadi library.
I'm also very interested in Gnosticism. :)
In fact my first major exam ever at University was in so-called Christian Gnosis.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Asta Kask
Now for magic system - I would recommend you get Thaumatology. The "Realms and Power" magic system detailed there (pp.188-192) should be perfect for this kind of setting.
Hmm... well... I actually don't know if I want any magic (as in spells and rituals) per se in the setting. Like I've said, it's a very sketchy setting until now, so details of that sort I haven't figured out yet. The Torture Angels came before the setting, actually. I thought up the monsters, now I needed a universe for them.

Max
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Old 12-04-2008, 03:15 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by Max Schreck
Gemini
Gemini are surgical experiments made by the Torture Angels. A Gemini consists of two female upper bodies sewn crudely together at the waist. The resulting four arms serve as legs for the abomination. A Gemini has no front or back, as it has two heads, one in each end. Both ends count as fronts. Gemini have their teeth removed and have scalpel blades inserted instead. They live in constant pain, and take out their frustration with berserk rage on anyone who happens to be nearby. Fortunately they don’t appear to be very smart, but they can be very dangerous if faced unarmed or encountered in numbers, which they frequently are.

ST 16; DX 15; IQ 2; HT 16.
Will 10; Per 10; HP 19; Speed 7.25; Dodge 11; Move 10
SM 0; 140 lbs.
Traits: Appearance (Monstrous), Berserk (12), Combat Reflexes, Extra Attack, Extra Head, Sharp Teeth, Quadruped
Skills: Brawling-15
Weapons: Bite (1d+1 cut); Gemini can bite two separate targets at once, if they are at opposite ends of the creature. They cannot bite the same target twice in the same round.
Fright Check Modifier: -2
I'd probably let these be at least as smart as a dog, if they used to be human. Maybe even low human intelligence with severe Chronic Pain on a very high frequency, so they seem bestial because of the pain most of the time but are capable of the occasional flash of horrific self-aware clarity (which just makes them more crazy, but ups the ante on the horror element if one is ever encountered outside of combat).

Also, you could give them Extra Arms X2 with the Foot Manipulator limitation on all four arms instead of Quadruped, so they can use their hands for grabbing when they're not supporting themselves with them. A victim who is subjected to a four-handed full-body grapple could probably be bitten by both heads if they went for his head and feet or something similar.

They're very fast and tough, which gives them a powerful Slam attack, and HT 16 creatures with a lot of HP and no regard for their own safety take a long time to put down. I'd probably leave Brawling high but chop DX way down, so they get the DX+2 bonus on bites and slams (without which your noted bite damage is high by 1 for ST 16), move awkwardly despite their speed, can be unbalanced easily, etc.
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Old 12-04-2008, 03:35 PM   #34
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Default Re: [Horror] Sketchy Setting & Some Monsters

What? Me make mistakes? Fuhgetaboutit!

Okay, okay, I see your point about Brawling and bite damage. Don't know where it went wrong, but I'll fix it. Really good call on the Foot Manipulators instead of Quadruped. Having four arms for legs would be more akin to a simian than a canine, so that'll probably change too. The DX is probably too high; an inherent danger when you want to design a combat monster is too high physical attributes. I think I'll downgrade it to 12. Better than average, but not Olympic material. ST & HT I'll leave where they are; I want them to be tough, and I want them to have a fighting chance (for about five seconds) against people armed with guns.

Back to the drawing board... And thanks.

EDIT: I went with Horizontal instead of Foot Manipulator; also Severe Chronic Pain reduces DX and IQ by 4, so I raised IQ to 6, and reduced DX to 13, and not 12. This way, Gemini are about as smart as a chimp when not in pain, and reduced to a bestial state when suffering. DX is not too high when they are okay, and just about the right size of clumsy, when they are not.
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Old 12-05-2008, 07:29 AM   #35
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Default Re: [Horror] Sketchy Setting & Some Monsters

Great Ideas

But is this setting like a hell for single groups or are there Gomorra like citys?

I love the piture of a something like Tijuana in hell with an city of sinners surounded by there tortures.
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Old 12-05-2008, 08:03 AM   #36
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I went with Horizontal instead of Foot Manipulator
Which half's pair of hands function only as feet and which pair can manipulate? Or is it the left hand on each half?

Also, and I can't believe I forgot this before, but what about 360-Degree Vision? "Both ends count as fronts" after all.
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Old 12-05-2008, 08:40 AM   #37
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Which half's pair of hands function only as feet and which pair can manipulate? Or is it the left hand on each half?
D'oh, d'oh, d'oh, d'oh! God, I'm starting to hate these Gemini freaks. They are a pain to design.

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Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc
Also, and I can't believe I forgot this before, but what about 360-Degree Vision? "Both ends count as fronts" after all.
I thought about that, but then I got to thinking: wouldn't there be a peripheral blind spot that neither heads could see? I don't know, so I'll ask you. Furthermore, they have Extra Head. Doesn't that cover everything an extra head could do, including looking where the other one does not?

Thanks as always for your input. It's really helpful.

Max
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Old 12-05-2008, 08:52 AM   #38
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Originally Posted by RapGangsta_G
Great Ideas

But is this setting like a hell for single groups or are there Gomorra like citys?

I love the piture of a something like Tijuana in hell with an city of sinners surounded by there tortures.
I have envisioned it as a city with plenty of room for an entire population of victims. As an aside, I prefer to call them victims, rather than sinners, as people who go to Sodom may not actually have done anything wrong. "Wrong place, wrong time", that sort of thing. People find themselves in Sodom because of a nightmare, a bad trip or extensive trauma that causes them to lose consciousness, and when they wake up, they are in Sodom. They could also be undergoing surgery, and when they come to, they are in a different hospital. With very unfriendly nurses. Things like that; I'll line out the various entryways to Sodom in a later post.

So, in answer to your query, yes, it is a city, or rather an entire microcosm that is also a city, and people who find themselves there are punished severely for all sorts of real or imagined crimes. The Torture Angels aren't picky that way, and they seldom bother with confessions. If you're there you must have done something wrong.

Max
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Old 12-05-2008, 09:03 AM   #39
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Default Re: [Horror] Sketchy Setting & Some Monsters

Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Schreck
D'oh, d'oh, d'oh, d'oh! God, I'm starting to hate these Gemini freaks. They are a pain to design.
I'd do it like this:

Gemini Morphology Lens [68]:

Advantages: 360-Degree Vision [25]; Extra Attack X1 [25]; Extra Arms X2 (Foot Manipulators -30%) [14]; Extra Head X1 [15]; Extra Legs (4 Total) [5];

Disadvantages: Arm = Foot Manipulator X2 [-6]; Horizontal [-10];

Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Schreck
I thought about that, but then I got to thinking: wouldn't there be a peripheral blind spot that neither heads could see? I don't know, so I'll ask you.
Depends how flexible the midsection is, and possibly the necks, I guess. I was picturing full coverage from your description.

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Originally Posted by Max Schreck
Furthermore, they have Extra Head. Doesn't that cover everything an extra head could do, including looking where the other one does not?
Yes and no. Extra Head comes with a level of Enhanced Tracking, which lets you focus on two specific things rather than one, but the full 360 field of vision isn't assumed and has to be paid for separately.

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Thanks as always for your input.
No problemo. :)
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Old 12-05-2008, 09:08 AM   #40
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Default Re: [Horror] Sketchy Setting & Some Monsters

For an extra twist, how about declaring that the very act of (even unknowingly) entering the Hells is already a sin, and make Angels warm everybody that it is their duty that those who have entered will return 'in due time'. Kinda makes losing Mental Balance (and thus seeing Sodom etc.) a sin in and of itself, which adds a point of confusion to us mortals.
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