GURPS Eberron

[badmudderfugger]

In the two years I've been running this campaign, I've often run "done in one" sessions set in the campaign's past that I call "War Stories" sessions. Sometimes these feature the PCs, during the Last War, and sometimes they feature new characters that will play into the campaign's story later on.

This weekend I ran a War Stories session featuring the GURPS versions of Elric and Porthos, set three years before our current campaign.

In the five hour session, we managed to go through a sample combat with the characters fighting each other (to teach the players the system and demonstrate the options available in GURPS) and get halfway through the adventure.

The session featured 3 combat encounters (4 including the PvP tutorial), as well as a bunch of skill checks and assorted roleplaying. I'm using all the "Extra Effort in Combat" rules from the Basic Set and Martial Arts and the guys got a ton of use out of those. In addition, the guys quickly figured out when they could get away with making an All-Out Attack and when they needed to fight more conservatively.

The two PCs had four NPC hunters accompany them on their hunt for some slavers and, even though we had 13 figures on the battlemat at some points, the combat encounters moved along quickly and gave the guys plenty of opportunities to try out different tactical options (I'm using the optional rule that sees unimportant NPCs drop when they hit 0 HPs, to keep things moving along).

In our debrief after the session, both players had great things to say about the GURPS system and both said they preferred it to both 4E and Pathfinder for this campaign. One player said the session "felt more like a movie" than 4E and the other loved that you couldn't both move 30 feet in full plate armor and then attack in the same round, as you can in D&D.

The players who played in this weekend's session also run Ruggin, Saremar and Rurik, and they said they're interested to see how the conversions of those characters play in GURPS. The player who runs Norn and Kettle wasn't able to make it this weekend (which is one of the reasons why I ran a War Stories session), but we should have our next Eberron session in two weeks, when we'll be trying out the GURPS characters in the actual campaign and we'll see what Norn/Kettle's player thinks of the GURPS system then. However, I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll be happy with how his characters turned out in GURPS, given how well the system went over with the other players.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by badmudderfugger

For the warforged, I would say Immune to Metabolic Hazards, IT: No Blood, DR 3, Striking Surface and No Sense of Smell/Taste were the core warforged traits.

As for the Warforged race, I totally agree with you as to characterizing them as living things, rather than "magical robots". We've actually had some great roleplaying moments between Kettle's player and an NPC member of House Cannith, where they've been discussing the nature of the warforged's soul. :)

DR 3 might be a little high for standard; in D&D3.5, Warforged had the same armor bonus as leather armor, which translates to DR 2 in GURPS, although there is no need to convert them so directly. I think it would also be reasonable for a Warforged to buy up their DR as high as DR 7 or so (equivalent to heavy plate) at character creation, and possibly in play. I would think Warforged should also have some version of Social Stigma. The D&D3.5 setting books were pretty clear that a majority of people in Khorvaire regard Warforged as decidedly sub-Human (or sub-Dwarf, sub-Elf, etc.). Some people might have Quirk-level Warforge-philia or whatever you want to call it, who don't react at a penalty to Warforged.

EDIT: Are you incorporating psi abilities into the setting? It might never come up, but there's a whole continent where psi takes center stage.

[badmudderfugger]

I was going to go with DR 2 for the Warforged, but the Striking Surface perk requires DR 3, so figured why not bump it up to 3. I'd let players buy that trait up or down, depending on the "build" of their warforged.

I gave Kettle a Social Stigma 2 (Warforged), which would also be a racial trait, to reflect the prevalent anti-warforged sentiment in post-War Khorvaire, just missed it when I was looking the character over for that last post. :)

[badmudderfugger]

Are you incorporating psi abilities into the setting? It might never come up, but there's a whole continent where psi takes center stage.

We started our Eberron campaign before the psionic rules came out for 4E, so we have no psychic PCs in our game and I don't have any plans to use psychic foes (like the Quori) in my campaign, but I wouldn't be adverse to PCs making characters with psychic abilities.

[badmudderfugger]

Now on to the enemies!

The campaign currently finds the guys trapped in a Karrnathi Necroweapons Lab built into the side of a mountain, and most of everything in there is undead. I'll be using the Rotting Undead template from Horror for most of them.

Rotting Undead Traits:
Appearance (Monster), Bad Smell, Doesn’t Breathe, Doesn’t Eat or Drink, High Pain Threshold, Immunity to Metabolic Hazards, Injury Tolerance (No Blood, Unliving), No Sense of Smell/Taste, Sexless, Social Stigma 3 (Undead Monster), Temperature Tolerance 10, Unaging

First up, a nasty brute who is a necromancer's best friend, the Dread Guardian. These guys are heavily armored zombies that have a magical ability to shield their masters from harm (granting them IT:DR 2).

In combat, I will be using them as shield walls, who will mostly take All-Out Defense maneuvers, hoping to get an opening with their Counterattack technique, giving the players a tough front line to break through to get to the spellcasters in the rear.

Dread Guardian
Karrnathi Undead Bodyguard

ST 13 HP 15 Basic Lift 34 Ground Move 2
DX 10 Will 8 Damage 1d/2d-1 Water Move 0
IQ 8 Per 12 Basic Speed 5
HT 10 FP 10 Basic Move 4

Offense:
Broadsword: Attack 13, Parry 12, Reach 1, Damage: Swing 2d6 cut, Thrust 1d6+2 imp
Broadsword Counterattack: Attack 12 (only after successful defense, make attack and target suffers -2 penalty to Parry and -1 penalty to Dodge or Block)
Medium Wooden Shield: Attack 12, Block 12, Damage: 1d6 cr

Defense:
Steel Breastplate (DR: 5 – Torso), Scale Sleeves and Legs (DR: 4 – Arms & Legs), Gauntlets (DR: 4 – Hands), Mail Coif (DR: 4/2 vs. crushing – Flexible, Head, Neck), Boots (DR: 2 – Flexible)
Dodge 8, Parry 12, Block 12, Shield DR: 7, HP: 40

Social Background
Cultural Familiarities: Karnnath (Native).
Languages: Common (Native).

Gear:
Broadsword, Medium Wooden Shield, Scale Armor, Scale Sleeves and Legs, Gauntlets, Mail Coif, Boots

Advantages
Combat Reflexes (+6 on all IQ rolls to wake up or recover from surprise), Guardian’s Shield (Grant one friendly target Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction 2, does not stack with other Dread Guardian’s abilities), Rotting Undead Traits, Unfazeable (exempt from Fright Checks and unaffected by reaction modifiers).

Disadvantages
Rotting Undead Traits, Slave Mentality

Skills & Techniques
Broadsword 13, Counterattack: Broadsword 12, Shield 12

[badmudderfugger]

Next, an undead assassin built by the Karrnathi alchemists.

The guys will encounter these things deep in the ruins of the lab, where they've been lying in wait for instructions...or enemies.

Karrnathi Skulker
Karrnathi Undead Assassin

ST 8 HP 11 Basic Lift 13 Ground Move 6
DX 13 Will 8 Damage 1d-3/1d-2 Water Move 0
IQ 8 Per 12 Basic Speed 5.75 Clinging Move 3
HT 10 FP 10 Basic Move 6

Offense:
Talons: Attack 15, Parry 11, Reach C, Damage: Thrust 1d6-2 imp

Defense:
Tough Skin (DR: 2)
Dodge 11, Parry 11

Social Background
Cultural Familiarities: Karnnath (Native).
Languages: Common (Native).

Advantages
Clinging (Move 3 across walls or ceiling), Combat Reflexes ( +6 on all IQ rolls to wake up or recover from surprise), Darkvision, Improved Dodge 2, Rotting Undead Traits, Tough Skin (DR: 2), Unfazeable (exempt from Fright Checks and unaffected by reaction modifiers).

Disadvantages
Rotting Undead Traits (but no Bad Smell)

Skills
Brawling 15, Camouflage 14, Shadowing 13, Stealth 14

[badmudderfugger]

The last one for tonight is the build I'll be using for the undead apprentices that the PCs encounter throughout the lab.

These were once Karrnathi mages and alchemists, working to build the undead weapons that protected Karrnath during the Last War, now risen from the dead to continue their depraved work.

Necrolab Apprentice
Karrnathi Undead Alchemist

ST 9 HP 9 Basic Lift 16 Ground Move 5
DX 11 Will 12 Damage 1d-2/1d-1 Water Move 0
IQ 12 Per 12 Basic Speed 5
HT 11 FP 11 Basic Move 5

Offense:
Necrotic Blast: Attack 13, Acc 3, Range 50/100, 1d6-1 burn per 1 FP, targets roll HT at -1 per 2 HP damage or be stunned
Freeze Limb: Attack 15 (resisted by HT), Directed against a hand it causes subject to drop what he’s holding.

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 11

Social Background
Cultural Familiarities: Karnnath (Native).
Languages: Common (Native).

Gear:
Quarterstaff, Robes

Advantages
Magery 2, Rotting Undead Traits, Unfazeable (exempt from Fright Checks and unaffected by reaction modifiers).

Disadvantages
Rotting Undead Traits, Slave Mentality

Skills & Spells
Innate Attack: Necrotic Blast 13, Staff 12, Freeze Limb (as Spasm) 15, Flaming Weapon 15, Necrotic Blast (as Lightning) 15.

[Wildcat]

Are the Karnnathi Skulkers supposed to not have Slave Mentality? Your other undead have it, but your description makes it sound like the skulkers have a little bit more initiative to pick out targets. They also seem kind of weak. I realize their movement and sneaking options are helpful, but anyone with DR 4 or better can basically ignore them unless they target unarmored locations, and the penalties for that will mean they're hitting less often. They could eviscerate Norn and Saemar, but Elric, Kettle, Porthos, Ruggin, and Rurik ought to be fairly safe.

Obviously, this is where mixed groups of foes pay off.

[badmudderfugger]

In my Eberron campaign, the Karrnathi are known for keeping dogs as pets...even if they're dead.

Death Dog
Karrnathi Undead Wardog

ST 11 HP 11 Basic Lift 24 Ground Move 9
DX 12 Will 11 Damage 1d-1/1d+1 Water Move 1
IQ 4 Per 13 Basic Speed 6
HT 12 FP 12 Basic Move 9

Offense:
Bite: Attack 14, Reach C, Damage: Thrust 1d6-2 cut

Defense:
Tough Skin (DR: 2)
Dodge 9

Advantages
Night Vision 8, Quadruped, Rotting Undead Traits, Tough Skin (DR: 2), Sharp Teeth, Unfazeable (exempt from Fright Checks and unaffected by reaction modifiers).

Disadvantages
Rotting Undead Traits

Skills
Brawling 14, Tracking 14, Sweep 12

[badmudderfugger]

One of the bigger threats the guys have faced in the Necrolab has been the Offalians that have "grown" since the lab was sealed off 60 years ago (the powerful necrotic energies in the lab caused these horrors to emerge from the waste bins in the laboratories).

These creatures are chaotic heaps of flesh, bone and fangs that can vomit a cone of acid several times per day.

Offalians
Heaps of Animated Muscle, Sinew and Bone

ST 18 HP 22 Basic Lift 65 Ground Move 5
DX 10 Will 10 Damage 1d+2/3d Water Move 1
IQ 4 Per 10 Basic Speed 5.5
HT 12 FP 12 Basic Move 5

Offense:
Bite: Attack 13, Reach C, Damage: Thrust 1d6+3 cut plus 1d6-1 acid
Tentacles (4): Attack 13, Reach C, 1, 2, Damage: Thrust 1d6+1 cut

Defense:
DR 4
Dodge 8, Parry 9

Advantages
Extra Attacks 2, Innate Attack: Acidic Breath (1d6-1 acid, Cone 12 long x 3 wide, 3/day) Long Tentacles (4 total with +1 reach), Rotting Undead Traits, Sharp Teeth, SM + 2 (3 hexes), Unfazeable (exempt from Fright Checks and unaffected by reaction modifiers).

Disadvantages
Rotting Undead Traits

Skills
Brawling 13, Wrestling 13