Remembering Nightbane RPG

 

     I happened to come across my old Palladium Books Nightbane book from back in the day.  Guess it was during the early to mid 90's, that I was an avid buyer/player of all things Palladium.  When Nightbane came out (was originally Nightspawn but Mcfarlane....)

Never heard of Nightbane? Here's a snippet from Wiki:     "On March 6, 2000, at 6:02 am, the world was shrouded in unnatural darkness caused by an extra dimensional race of demonic beings known as the Nightlords. Thousands of people suddenly transformed into monsters, but when the darkness left, they returned to human form. These shape-changers, called the Nightbane, have the ability to change to their monstrous form.

Players create and play Nightbanes, Guardians or even Vampires in order to battle the Nightlords and hopefully defeat them. Characters take on normal human form (called "The Facade") until they want to transform into their horrific monstrous form. The Nightbanes are organized into various underground factions all battling the Nightlords in their own way."

   I jumped at the change to play/run it.  Unfortunately, due to scheduling (many of us were in college and working full time jobs, circa 95 or so) I only managed to get one player for my Nightbane Campaign. 

     However, we both had a blast!! Not having a ton of prep time, I set the campaign in a city I was very familiary with: Memphis, Tennessee.  Plenty of opportunities for things to happen.  I made a few tweaks to Memphis, for one, I turned Mud Island (in real life a park/museum) into a maximum-security prison wherein Nightbane, and other troublesome folks (troublesome for the corrupt authorities and their masters the Nightlords) were kept in extreme lockdown.  

     The player was a nightbane, had randomly rolled up all kinds of cool crazy features, Nightbane characters are like supernatural mutants. that can take normal human form.  The player was trying to make contact with the local underground movement, the leaders had been taken out in a raid recently and were either killed or locked up.  The remaining underground members were laying very low.  Using local real-life bars, night clubs and even some local politicians in the campaign was loads of fun.  I also had Palladium's Beyond the Supernatural RPG.

     Palladium's books are mostly directly compatible with each other, this was before the OGL was a thing and Palladium's Megaversal system was a big appeal for GMs like me that loved to mix and match settings and things.  The player, learned (via a weird bookstore owner, based on a real person) about the local museum (also real) getting a rare tome of arcane knowledge.  Having the player's character sneak (break) into the museum, that we both had been to many times, to acquire the magical tome was loads of fun.  When the character had to run for their lives through the local park (now with supernatural elements lurking behind the old trees) it had a really authentic feel to it. 

     Another tool I used to help with my prep time, was comic books.  I had been reading Dr. Strange from Marvel, and my player was not familiar with the Sorcerer Supreme, thus I was able to pull in interesting characters, names, and refer to arcana that was pulled right out of the Dr. Strange comics. This was way before any Marvel movies came out so, my stack of comics was fertile ground to loot from.  As a GM use what you have available to make the most of your time and your campaign.  I had an issue of the Werewolf by Night comic that I pulled from as well. 

     Another thing I used to good effect in the campaign, was that it was hard to sometimes tell the good guys from the bad guys.  My player, even though he was a Nightbane, would default to D&D mode and assume all the "monsters" he encountered were villains, this led to some misdirection and at one point he even took out a leading member of the very Underground he was trying to join.  The rest of the campaign was spent with the player's character trying to undo the damage he had accidentally done and undermine the corrupt politicians that were working for the Nightlords.  He eventually restored the Underground to an even bigger role than it had been, and they were able to stage a breakout at the Mud Island (renamed Blud Island) Penitentiary.  That was the close of the Campaign.  Loads of fun! 

Witchfinder Wolves

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.  Today I thought I would share another beast from the recent pages of Dr. Strange, stat'd up for the ACKS system.  Enjoy!

Witchfinder Wolves % In Lair: 10% Dungeon Enc: Pack (1d4) / Den (2d4)  Wilderness Enc: Route (2d4) /  Den (2d4)  Alignment: Neutral  Movement: 120' (40')  Armor Class: 4 (boney plating, this plating has made them slower than normal Dire Wolves)  Hit Dice: 4 + 2 Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 2d4  Save: F2  Morale: 0  Treasure Type: None XP: 140 Witchfinder Wolves are a rare breed of Dire Wolf, believed to have been specially bred during ancient times to hunt down enemy spellcasters. Witchfinder Wolves have the Sensing Power ability. Like the proficiency they can detect spellcasters within 60', and can get a vague sense of the power level of the spellcaster. Sensing a high level spellcaster will cause them to send out a wide-ranging howl, summoning other packs of Witchfinder Wolves to join in on the hunt. Witchfinder Wolves can "smell" the recent use of arcane magic, within the last 24 hours within their vicinity. The wolves cannot determine if a specific item is magical, however, they will sense magic on the item if  it has been used within the past 24 hours. When they are actively sensing magic their eyes glow with an eerie green eldritch glow. Since the collapse of the Empire that first bred them, Witchfinder Wolves have found their way into the wilds and have spread to other regions. Certain brave (some would say foolhardy) individuals have relearned the means to tame and train these ferocious predators, although even in the hands of the best animal trainer a Witchfinder Wolf can be an unpredictable beast at best. Unlike Dire Wolves, Witchfinder Wolves will not tolerate a rider (goblin or otherwise). Witchfinder Wolves have the intelligence and viciousness of Dire Wolves but are even more cunning and display an almost malicious nature, especially when on the hunt for a spellcaster. They don't derive any special benefit or extra sustenance from preying upon spellcasters, but it is so ingrained into their nature to hunt mages, that even those living in the wild, engage in an almost vicious glee when they get the "scent" of an arcane spellcaster. In the wild they prefer to live in wooded and mountainous areas, but like Dire Wolves they are even more likely enter into caverns or dungeons in search of prey, especially spellcasters. When a Witchfinder wolf den is encountered, there is a 25% chance that 1d3 cubs are present. Witchfinder wolf cubs may be kept and trained in the same manner as dogs, but are difficult to train and control.  However, if cubs are present the pack will fight ferociously to protect the cubs (Morale +3). *If using these with the core ACKS Campaign, have them date back to the Empyrean War, possibly being bred by the Zaharans to hunt down enemy spellcasters. Based on the Witchfinder Wolves found in Dr. Strange, by Marvel Comics.  First Appearance Doctor Strange Vol 4 #1 (December, 2015) No copyright infringement is intended

Een'Gawori Slugs

Thought I would stat up a Slug in honor of Free RPG Day! Stats are for ACKS, but this critter should work for most OSR games.
Enjoy!

Een'Gawori Slugs

% In Lair: None

Dungeon Enc: Solitary or rout 1d8

Wilderness Enc: None

 Alignment: Neutral

 Movement: 10' (3')

 Armor Class:  (only harmed by magic)

Hit Dice: 1 hit point

Attacks: Only vs. Magic Items    Damage: Drains Magic

 Save: 0 level human

 Morale: 0

 Treasure Type: None (although enterprising souls have used them to find hidden magic items)

XP: 5

Drain magic: Een'Gawori Slugs feed on magic. They must be in direct contact with a magic item in order to feed off of it and drain its magical energy.

Een'Gawori Slugs are the bane of adventurers everywhere. These hand-sized bluish-grey slugs while being unable to harm living creatures actually feed off of magic. They move about in dungeons and dark places ever searching for magical energies to consume. They can Detect Magical auras, as the spell at will and will be drawn to the nearest magic item in order to feed. The slug will feed off of the magical energy found in enchanted weapons, armor and potions etc. Left undisturbed a slug will permanently drain the magical energies from a magic item. The more powerful the item the longer it takes for the slug to permanently drain it. Any permanent magic item being fed upon by one of these slugs must make a Save vs. Spell as a Mage (the "+" of the magic item indicates equivalent level of the Mage), a failed save indicate the item is no longer magical. Potions and scrolls being more temporary in nature do not get a saving throw. Although it takes a minimum of one round of feeding in order to cause an item to be forced to make a save. These slugs may feed off of artifacts, but are unable to permanently drain an artifact of its power, in fact some lost artifacts have been discovered with an entire rout of slugs feeding off of it. Due to the arcane diet of these creatures they may be only killed by magical weapons. However, they instinctively fear salt, and will avoid touching it at all costs. Moving in the opposite direction of it, even if a powerful magical item is nearby.

Dedicated to Free RPG Day, with a nod to the original Disenchanter created by Roger Musson from the original Fiend Folio.

Based on the Een'Gawori Slugs found in Dr. Strange, by Marvel Comics. First Appearance Doctor Strange Vol 4 #3 (February, 2016). No copyright infringement is intended