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View Full Version : Dr. Strangelove- Or how I leanred to stop worrying and love the wizard



Jacob_Gallagher
2007-01-30, 08:54 PM
Hi, I've come up with a... unique... setting for a campaign. The idea is that magical saturation in ages past has made this area rich in enchanted items, spellcasters, and all the things that go along with them, and so it is perfectly possible for anyone with enough money and knowledge to procure the right materials and build a WMD- they don't even need to be a wizard, and different devices can be used to add desired effects (like guidance on a torpedo). The game is going to feature naval battles strongly, but there is one thing I'm trying to figure out. How would you think I best allow these things to be built? Should players essentially have to figure out how they are built in real life, and imitate that in-game by buying slabs of radioactive heavy metals and assembling them? Or perhaps have various modular components the players combine (big explosive + contact trigger fuse + magnet, buy second magnet, throw magnet at target, run away)? The point is to allow the players to have this enormous firepower at their disposal, but because of laws and the like it can be difficult to bring it into effect. And then there's the whole 'Nuclear war, we have a bomb, who do we use it on?' debate :smallbiggrin:

Mostly, the idea is to encourage creativity with designing these, and rewarding creativity with the capability to level a small town/city/nation.

Jack_Simth
2007-01-30, 09:08 PM
Well, if you're trying to encourage creativity on the part of the players, you'll want to do it as components that must be researched.

So you have a type of bark that simply cannot go under water (flotation). Once you figure it out, it's umm... meh (Water Walking spell got imbued in a tree).

You have a type of rock, buried deeply within the earth, that's really really heavy. But makes a rather large bang when hit by certain other metals (steel, say). Too heavy to be of any real use; not portable.

Glue them together, though, and you've got a mine for steel ships.

You have a type of seed that scatters very effectively; once ripe, you cannot have two such seeds within a half a mile of each other; they repel very strongly. Once sprouted, they no longer have the effect. Dangerous to harvest; the seeds always ripen at the same time, so the plant tends to go boom. Lead blocks the effect, though, and you can carry as many seeds as you like in seperate lead bags. The seeds themselves are virtually weightless (but the bags get heavy). Plant spreads like wildfire.

Glue a seed on the mine, make a lead launcher, the launcher has such a seed behind a plate of lead, and the "trigger" is removing the lead plate. Seeds repel each other, and the mine is launched out of the tube. Pointed at an opposing ship (possibly with a thin insulation of some kind around the mine, seperating it from a shell that will react with it), and you have a missle that turns into a mine if it misses.

And so on. Plants that adapted various spells to further themselves (works with animals, too - a beak of a particular kind of bird that eats the seeds might be strongly attracted, and useful as a point-defense weapon....)

J_Muller
2007-01-30, 09:09 PM
Just make sure they don't see the big board...

Jacob_Gallagher
2007-01-30, 09:56 PM
Just make sure they don't see the big board...

Not sure I understand what you mean. As for your ideas, Jack, I think they're great. Let's see what else people can come up with. Also, think of things with less of a combat focus as well- propulsion, transportation, etc. All of those things are useful in themselves, but can be easily modified for battle. I have an idea of a mineral that when burned pulls on the air, creating a wind moving inwards. Add something to burn it quickly, and it's a launchable munition capable of stopping ships in their tracks by pulling them in and holding them there.

Idea: Aether- Aether is a dangerous substance. It is normally only found in an incredibly dense mineral form, however, when it is combined with the liquid Catalyst, it immediately combusts incredibly violently and releases Aether Gas, which poisons, mutates, and burns any organism it comes in contact with, but dissolves fairly rapidly. Catalyst itself is used in many other reactions, and is made by combining molten metal with the extracted juices of the Redblade Fern, allowing the resulting metal to harden, then re-melting the metal and adding in Alchemist's Solute, which in turn is a powder made from certain ores that have become saturated in magic over time and develop small veins of this greenish rock (mining it can be dangerous due to piracy and natural competition). So, Aether is very difficult to make, but the equivalent of radioactive uranium. Nice.

Last thing: Nothing should be too great or risk-free. Things that require some sort of fuel, or are one use only are great fun as well, and this insures that the players cannot become too powerful- every shot has a price tag. I'm thinking that perhaps those seeds would be dangerous to harvest, because if the plant is disturbed too much, they quickly release and send a spray of shotgun-like seeds right into the harvester. The better it is, the more expensive/dangerous/limited-use it should be.

Jack_Simth
2007-01-30, 10:54 PM
Not sure I understand what you mean. As for your ideas, Jack, I think they're great.
Thanks.

Last thing: Nothing should be too great or risk-free. Things that require some sort of fuel, or are one use only are great fun as well, and this insures that the players cannot become too powerful- every shot has a price tag. I'm thinking that perhaps those seeds would be dangerous to harvest, because if the plant is disturbed too much, they quickly release and send a spray of shotgun-like seeds right into the harvester. The better it is, the more expensive/dangerous/limited-use it should be.
They would be, but I didn't spell it out; they don't work until they're ripe (so the plant can make viable seeds). They don't work after they've sprouted (so the plants don't rip each other out of the ground). They go explosive when they ripen.

To harvest them, you need to either:
1) Catch a plant just as it ripens (in which case, you pretty much have to be there when it goes boom, planting a thick led plate around it to absorb the shrapnel seeds and isolate them from each other enough that you can pull them out; don't miss-time it)
2) Search a *very large* area between when one goes off and the seeds sprout for individual seeds that will be nowhere near each other.

Oh, and it goes without saying that these things simply refuse to thrive near lead; they perish after a short time in close proximity, so you can't just wall one up and wait.

On the plus side, the plant would be just about everywhere it's not actively destroyed (which would be just about everywhere there's intelligent critters - which would be just about everywhere).

Jacob_Gallagher
2007-01-31, 04:37 PM
Perhaps they can be taken from the plant before they fully ripen- in a state where if they are released by the plant, they will repel each other- but if the player bumps the plant too hard (probably should use a long pole to pick them off), it releases the seeds and the player basically got hit by a living shotgun.

Better hope my players don't read this, or they'll just steal that idea and build one for combat.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Mewtarthio
2007-01-31, 04:49 PM
Mine shafts. You'll need lots of mine shafts.

Now, would the parapalegic Nazi Half-Golem be the BBEG or an NPC?

Jacob_Gallagher
2007-01-31, 05:39 PM
Yes, a lot of materials necessary for construction, both ore and magic or alchemical components, will need to be mined. However, in this world, these deposits form in huge boulders in shallow parts of the oceans, and must be mined by using a magic-powered device that essentially breaks pieces off, liquefies them, draws them in, and places them (in superheated liquid state) into special canisters, and then they can be moved around and stored in the hold. Special, more expensive versions have their own limited intelligence and better precision, and can be used to, say, mine veins of Alchemist's Solute without also sucking up ore and ruining the Solute. Pirates, however, commonly attack miners. Also, note that this is set in an early Victorian era, so we are going to have black powder weaponry and some air travel. Anybody else have ideas? Everything is welcome.

JadedDM
2007-01-31, 05:44 PM
Not sure I understand what you mean.

Are you serious? You name this thread "Dr. Strangelove" but don't recognize one of the most popular lines from the movie? Well, that or "our precious bodily fluids" maybe.

Jacob_Gallagher
2007-01-31, 06:08 PM
Oh...

Now I feel like an idiot, I remember those references!

I was trying to put it in context.

Jacob_Gallagher
2007-02-01, 05:19 PM
Anyone else? I just need a few more ideas to suck my players in before I fully flesh out this campaign.

J_Muller
2007-02-01, 07:16 PM
You might make everything's name a double entendre.

Jacob_Gallagher
2007-02-01, 09:42 PM
Well, I've made some new stuff- take a look. Keep in mind that these are mostly just notes I wrote to myself, so if something doesn't make sense, just let me know. all feedback is also appreciated, but keep in mind that most of this I have only described, not actually made rules for. Also, any references to rune plates, accumulators, and the like are Iron Kingdoms things, so if you're not familiar just ignore them.

Floatwood- A kind of tree, the wood of which naturally repels water, and if placed underwater immediately rises to the surface. Used in ships. Costs twice normal lumber on the market.

Blas- A bush that grows peculiar seeds. The seeds are held by the plant until they ripen, at which point they violently repel each other. They are still held by the plant for several weeks before they are released, however, so this is when they can be harvested- but if disturbed too much, the plant releases them violently, injuring people nearby. Dense Steel blocks the effect. The seeds can be bought for 1gp apiece, and a single bush usually yields around one hundred seeds at a time. After they are released, it takes about one month for the bush to regrow them and ripen them. Anyone within forty feet of a Blas when it releases its seeds must pass a DC15 Reflex save or take 1d6 damage. Two or more firmly attached seeds can be used to launch a projectile, which makes the weapon completely silent, allows it to launch wooden, glass, or other fragile projectiles without damaging them, and reduces the weapon’s range increment by 25%.

Aether- A rare mineral, which when combined with Catalyst in a 2:1 ratio combusts with incredible force and exudes a deadly magical gas that poisons and mutates anyone within a large area. For every pound of Aether combusted, the target square and all adjacent squares take d6 damage, and the gas deals d10 damage to every living creature within 5ft per pound of Aether per round, and one pound’s worth of gas will dissipate on a roll of a 1-5 on a d20 at the start of each round. The area of effect of each ‘chunk’ of Aether is added up, so 5 pounds of Aether would have a gas AoE of 25ft- then if one dissipates, 20ft, and so on, but only 1 dissipate roll is made for the group. Aether can be magically or chemically (with Greater Alkahest) recombined to be denser and lack unnecessary components, and this form is called Depleted Aetherium, which is useful in ammunition but lacks the gassing effect. Depleted Aetherium ammo has +1/3 range increment, and +1/4 damage, but costs three times as much as regular ammunition. Aether is technically legal to own, but not sold on the open market, and difficult to create. But the effects can be worth it, because a single large bomb could devastate a town. Also, Aether can be used as ammunition if it is placed in a specially prepared container round, and is commonly also used as a gas mine to defend installations.

Catalyst- A chemical used to trigger many reactions. Molten iron is combined with extracted juices of the Redblade Fern, allowed to cool and harden, and then re-melted, this time adding in Alchemist’s Solute.

Alchemist’s Solute- A powder, naturally harvested in mineral form from rare deposits. These deposits were originally other types of ore, but exposure to magic has caused small veins of Solute to form.

Ironwood- A material made by mixing Catalyst with iron, and then immersing wood in the substance. It is lighter than iron, but tougher than wood, and is commonly used in ammunition and as a form of armoring on ships. Ironwood ammo has +2 to hit a target, but has 2/3 range and costs 1 1/2 times as much as regular ammo.

Spark- Ground iron, mixed with Alchemist’s Solute, and then with water added and mixed- when it hardens, it becomes metal that burns if too much friction is applied.

Rackham’s Plasma- A jellyfish, which contains a chemical that keeps it upright underwater. If this substance is extracted and poured over metal, the metal absorbs it, and immediately grows much less dense. The metal then attempts to keep upright at the same level it was when it absorbed the substance, but is much less dense, thus lighter but more easily broken. Most commonly used in ammunition and rockets. Ammunition gains 1.5 times normal range, but all of the target’s armor bonuses are multiplied by 1.5, and ammunition costs 1 ½ times normal.

Chemweld- Bonds two materials strongly, or can be used to recombine submaterials. It is made by combining Green Strangler Mushroom venom with fresh dew, and then boiling the mixture for several hours until this pale blue liquid remains.

Alkahest- A chemical, made from magically imbued water, that breaks down any object into its constituent parts. Often used to break apart advanced metals. Greater Alkahest breaks individual materials down into submaterials, which can then be recombined and reattached to form a different material.

Moonwater- A type of water that forms in rare underground wells. Any object immersed in Moonwater immediately becomes frozen in time, but any organism within it dies very soon. Can be used to hold objects in a certain state. Not often used with food, as it has a tendency to saturate softer materials. Essentially liquid Quintessence.

Praetorian- A large animal that inhabits some plains. Uses same stats as a large Formian of some kind. It contains small pods (Flamepod) that when stimulated in any violent way- sudden movement, attacking them, etc.- immediately immolates and becomes a fireball as per a 5th level caster. If saturated in Moonwater, kept very cold, or locked in an airtight container, they become much harder to activate, and require something like an explosion, immolation, or intense pressure to set off.

Dense Steel- A kind of naturally occurring metal that has been melted and mixed with a tiny amount of Alkahest. Then, lighter elements can be sifted out by a skilled alchemist, and then Catalyst bonds the remains to form this very heavy, very dense metal with a low melting point. Ammunition has double damage, but half range, and costs double normal ammunition.

Kinetis- An alchemical solution that is made by adding Catalyst to a mixture of ground creeper moss and unrefined Crystal Mercury. Kinetis magically lowers the required energy to move an object, so items can be thrown farther, ammunition has greater range, and objects are lighter and easier to carry. Ammunition has 1 ½ range, but 2/3 damage, and costs 1 ½ times normal.

Crystal Mercury- Normally found in ice deposits. When heated, it becomes a liquid that emits a toxic gas. After being refined using Alkahest (removing lighter materials also present in the crystal), it is a very heavy crystal useful in mechanika, and in ammunition it increases the power significantly, but due to impurities it lowers the range greatly.

Clearglass- made from mixing molten glass with Liquid Mercury, it forms a strong, durable glass resistant to pressure, and especially resistant to damage from kinetic energy, used for storing chemicals.

Elemental Steel- Moonwater is mixed with molten steel, and while still molten, imbued with an elemental magic spell. It can then be forged into a coil or ammunition, and gives an extra +1 elemental damage boost, or a +2 to any check using that element. If imbued after hardening, it will deal 2d6 damage to any creatures in the same square when it is broken. An elemental coil attachment to a weapon costs 150gp, requires a half a charge per shot to activate, and multiple coils may be taken, however each one counts as a rune plate for space purposes. Elemental ammunition costs +7gp per shot, adds d4 elemental damage, and may be taken once for a small weapon, twice for a large weapon, or three times for artillery.

Ice Crab- often found near ice deposits. Harmless unless provoked, layers of a thick frozen blue chemical can be scraped off their shells, melted, and combined with a paste of Arctic Grass to produce a thick mixture that has healing and energy-absorbing properties. A character being treated with this requires an ounce to be used per hour, which heals a single hit point if a DC10 Constitution check is passed. A character who has suffered elemental damage automatically heals one point of damage caused by that element per hour.

Jacob_Gallagher
2007-02-02, 06:54 PM
Anyone? My group is meeting soon, Any ideas or comments would be welcome.