GURPS Modern Fantasy Setting - Alternate History Help

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by kdtipa

Troll
[Iy.

11' 4" and 1600 lbs is a _lot_ bigger than a gorilla. Though IQ 3 _is_ about equal to a lizard.

I am _very_ dubious of a game where this would be even a potential threat to PCs where PCs are not effectively Supers in their own right.

The reaction of a 1950's government to such a thing I would judge to be "napalm its' habitat into non-existence". An IQ 3 species is not too likely to adapt to this. Unless its' IQ isn't "really" 3.

Anyway, this is too much of a physical threat to promote a general sort of " paranoia and gun-toting but people try to get one with their lives" sort of atmosphere that I thought you might be going for.

[kdtipa]

I do have a tendency to over do it. My intention was to make something that technology wouldn't just brush aside, and which your average homeowner wouldn't be able to stop on their own. I don't envision the PCs going up against Trolls... certainly not at the beginning. In my head it was that military units would have to be created to hunt them and try to control the population around the world. And in my head it was why the world would have a much harder time achieving the population we have today. I also want something where by reputation, the players know there are things they should escape from if ever confronted with them.

Your mention of stealth monsters working does make me think. You're probably correct that Trolls wouldn't need to be epic combat monsters to achieve the goal.

I'll need to keep thinking about it for sure. But that's part of why I'm posting here. I'm still in the process of making this setting, and everything is up for change. I'm still hoping to get more ideas on how the world would be different now after the introduction of continents-worth of civilized species; a similar amount of animals (including some dangerous ones); and of course the introduction of magic.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by kdtipa

In my head it was that military units would have to be created to hunt them and try to control the population around the world.

At IQ 3, they are not smart, about the same as a deer or a hawk. The easiest way to start to kill them will be with shaped-charge landmines, baited with meat.

The military units that use those mines will also be armed with weapons like a Carl Gustav (6dx5(10) cr ex), and a couple of hits with those will take a troll down long enough for the flamethrowers to finish it off. They'll also have self-propelled artillery. They'll be somewhat strange units, since they're unlikely to bother with small arms, but there'll be veterans of urban fighting during WWII who'll figure out this kind of fighting quite quickly.

[kdtipa]

Originally Posted by johndallman

At IQ 3, they are not smart, about the same as a deer or a hawk. The easiest way to start to kill them will be with shaped-charge landmines, baited with meat.

I'll up the intelligence.

Originally Posted by johndallman

The military units that use those mines will also be armed with weapons like a Carl Gustav (6dx5(10) cr ex)...

Highest damage "normal" gun I see in the basic set is a sniper rifle that does 9d+1 pi, with an RoF of 1. And explosives and heavy weapons are likely not usable in a population center. Never heard of a Carl Gustav, but that damage is fairly crazy. My goal is for normal small arms to not be much of a bother for a troll. Most likely, there just won't be a gun that unbalanced represented. Or I need to re-balance the DR on the trolls.

It's sounding a lot like the trolls are the major focus of this thread. If trying for the goal of putting technology in its place, and being a reason for reduced population growth are what I'm aiming for, what other ideas might work better to feel easier to believe? I'm still leaning toward just adjusting the trolls, but I'm not prideful enough to be stubborn if there's a better idea.

[kdtipa]

Originally Posted by Irish Wolf

This is no help with your history, I'll admit, but it was the first thing I thought of with that synopsis:

How do dragons feel about troll-flesh? They might find it profitable to team up with humans for troll-hunting expeditions.

Dragons likely are happy to help with a troll hunt. Especially if humans help with a good food supply in the form of cattle that we're already set up for. But I also imagine the dragon population is much smaller than the troll population and reproductive rates are much lower. I don't want dragons to be a "magic bullet" against the trolls.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by kdtipa

Highest damage "normal" gun I see in the basic set is a sniper rifle that does 9d+1 pi, with an RoF of 1. And explosives and heavy weapons are likely not usable in a population center. Never heard of a Carl Gustav, but that damage is fairly crazy. My goal is for normal small arms to not be much of a bother for a troll. Most likely, there just won't be a gun that unbalanced represented. Or I need to re-balance the DR on the trolls.

A Carl Gustav is an anti-tank weapon, described in GURPS High-Tech. You said military units would need to be formed, so I was pointing out some suitable military weapons. You've achieved a creature that's fairly immune to small arms, and needs serious military weapons to kill.

However, the population centre point doesn't really work, because when these trolls show up, people will just leave. It's that or be eaten.

If trying for the goal of putting technology in its place, and being a reason for reduced population growth are what I'm aiming for, what other ideas might work better to feel easier to believe?

I'm not completely clear what you mean by "putting technology in its place." Could you give some examples of things you don't want to happen?

[(E)]

Rather than large and tough opponents (trolls) what about small weak cowardly sneaky opponents who breed quickly. A goblin/gremlin infestation could be very hard to permanently remove and could wreck havoc on any infrastructure.

A potential event is a rift placing a group of creatures inside the infrastructure of a large city. London sewers, Parisian catacombs, New York's rubbish dump, Tokyo's subways. Other places might be abandoned areas post WW2 there will be quite a few places.

[Astromancer]

When do the Rifts open? It sounds like its a mid-twentieth century thing. But when? If the rifts open durring WWII the chaos could lead to Axis survival. I'd need a date to figure out how society changes.

Example: If an Elf Queen heals FDR, post war politics is radically different in America. We'd be going farther to the left.

How are the rifts distributed? Are some continents left out? Is there an epicenter to the crisis? More details please.

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by (E)

Rather than large and tough opponents (trolls) what about small weak cowardly sneaky opponents who breed quickly. A goblin/gremlin infestation could be very hard to permanently remove and could wreck havoc on any infrastructure.

Combine them; gremlins are trollspawn, and if they survive long enough they grow into trolls

[The Colonel]

What does white phosphorous do to trolls? Would something like the handeflammepatronne or einstossflammenwerfer or that squirt-gun from hell the Americans cooked up be amusing?