Burning Shaolin is the first of Atlas Games’ Coriolis adventures. It contains complete game statistics for b o t h t h e D 2 0 s y s t e m a n d t h e Feng Shui roleplaying ...w ..w hen corru corru pt pt eunuc h officials unde rm ine a once-gre once-gre aa tt game. You can find it at your local game retailer or at o ur ruling Dynasty; when martial art ii ssts, ts, white -- bb e e aa r d e d o l d w e b s i t e : www.atlas-games.com . m a m a ssters, ters, and supern aa tt uu ral ral cre aa tt uu res res st r u u g g gle g le for for co ntro ll o f p o w e rrful ful chi fo rces; r ces; wh en a band of hono rable Th is special exce exc e rpt contains new D 20 rules for for Fac Fa c e l e s s w a rriors r riors is called upon to battle a demon sorc ee rrer er in a H o r d e s a n d W u x i a - St yle Combat, bringing the furio furi o u s l ee g e nn d d a a r y m o u n t a in in m o n a st st e r y. Kung Fu action of Feng Shui t o y o u r D 2 0 a d v en en t u r e s .
Call ‘em mooks, call ‘em thugs, extras, what have you: faceless hordes are large groups of opp onents for the heroes to bowl q uickly through, in true action movie style … PCs are meant to slice through faceless hordes like butter, and probably wo n’t get hurt d oing so. Although t hey largely exist exist to to show h ow buff the PCs are, they can be dangerous t o t h o s e w h o f a ilil t o k e e p a n e y e o n t h e m . T h e y c a n also provide a tactical challenge to the PCs, making it harder for PC s to get get to th e truly challenging opp on e n t s t h e y r e a l ly ly w a n t t o s m i t e . T h e y c a n r i n g t h e m s e lv lv e s a r o u n d a m a g ic ic i a n s o P C s c a n ’ t i n t e r f er er e w i t h his spellcasting. Faceless hordes can carry off the princess they’re out to rescue, while the primary vill ai ai n s p o u n d o n t h e m . A n y t y p e o f o p p o n e n t c a n m a k e u p a f a ce ce l e ss ss h o r d e . You can ev even en have a faceless hord e of non-h um anoid creatures, from giant to ads to floating eyeballs, if that s u i t s y o u r f an an c y . I f yo yo u w a n t t o m a k e t h e m m e m b e r s of other creature classes, you can give them additional abilities: a faceless horde of zombies might s h a r e t h e u su su a l p e r k s a n d d r a w b a c k s o f t h e u n d e a d , f o r e x am am p l e . Usually, though, a faceless horde is composed of h u m a n s o r t h e i r c l o se se k i n . W h a t f a c e le le s s h o r d e s have in common is a bizarrely unswerving loyalty to their bo sses sses.. They’ll wad e in, one after anot her, t o fight the heroes, even though dozens of their comrades have already been easily squelched and now lie bleeding or groaning in the d irt.
C l a s s — a ga ga i n st st a D C o f 2 5 . C h a r a c t e rs rs m a y n o t b e eligible for this save when helpless, or if they just stand there and allow the hordes to attack them, w i t h o u t f i g h t in in g b a c k . A t t ac ac k i n g a n o n - h o r d e e n e m y d o e s n o t d i sq sq u a l i f y t h e m f r o m m a k i n g t h e s e sa sa v e s. s. ve r a h o r d e m e m b e r r o l l s t h e Lucky Sho Shot: t: W h e n e ve m a x im im u m p o s s ib ib l e r e s u l t o n a d a m a g e d i e ( f o r e x am am p l e , a re re s u l t o f 6 w h e n r o l l i n g a d 6 ) , h e g e t s t o r o l l t h e d i e a g a in in a n d a d d t h e n e w r e s u ltlt t o t h e o r i g i n a l t o t al al . If the extra die ro ll is also also a lucky shot, he add s it to his total and rolls again, and so on .
Feat Vulnerabili ility ty : C h a r a c t e r s w i t h c e r t a i n c o m b a t feats gain gain extra ben efits against against faceless hord es. •
D e f l e c t A r r o w s : Y Yo u r D C f o r d e f l ec ec t i n g a r r o w s fired from a faceless horde is reduced to 15. You can use this after trying the standard Armor check that all characters get against a faceless hord e.
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D o d g e : Y Y o u c a n d e s i g n a t e a n e n t i r e h o r d e a s t h e o p p o n e n t y ou ’ r e D o d g i n g , g a i n i n g a + 2 b o n u s t o yo yo u r A r m o r c h e c k s w h e n h i t b y a n y of them .
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Cleave: Against Cleave: Against faceless hord es, you can act as if you also have the Great Cleave feat, even when you don’t.
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Great Cleave: W Cleave: W h e n y o u f e llll o n e o p p o n e n t i n a faceless horde, you may get to move on to a n o t h e r , e v en en w h e n h e i s n o t i n t h e i m m e d i a t e vicinity. M ake a Reflex check against a DC o f 20; if you succeed, you can move on to any e n e m y w i t h i n 1 5 f e e t o f y o u . O n c e y o u ’ v e st st a r t ed to bounce from location to location, you m u s t m a k e a s u c c e ss ss fu fu l R e f l e x c h e c k ( D C 2 0 ) f o r e ac ac h f o r e ac ac h n e w h o r d e m e m b e r y o u w i s h t o e n g a g e. e.
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P o w e r A t t a c k : Against Against faceless hordes, you can act as if you also have the Cleave feat, even when you don’t.
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W h i r lw lw i n d A t t a c k : Y o u g a i n a n a d d i t i o n a l 2 5 X P for each faceless horde member you fell with this feat.
Roll once fo r the faceless hord e’s Initiative. Roll sepa r a t el el y f o r e a c h m e m b e r ’ s a t t a c k s. s. C R 1 / 6 ; SZ S Z M ( h u m a n o i d ) ; H D 1 d 8 , h p s p ec e c i al al , I n i t + 0 ; S p d 3 0 f t .;.; A C 1 4 ( + 2 D e x , + 2 l e a t h e r ) ; A t k m e l e e special (1d6, short sword) or missile special (1d6, short b ow ); Face Face 5 ft. x 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; AL any (usua l ly ly E ) ; S V F o r t + 0 , R e f + 2 , W i l l + 0 ; St St r 1 0 , D e x 1 4 , Con 10 , Int 10, W is 10, Cha 10
Special Attacks andQuali Qualities: ties: Faceless hord es foll o w t h e s e m o d i f i c a t io io n s t o t h e D 2 0 c o m b a t r u l e s: s: 4 hp Onl Only y: E v e ry ry m e m b e r o f a f a c e l e ss ss h o r d e g o e s d o w n a f t e r su su f f e r i n g 4 h i t p o i n t s o f d a m a g e , n o m a t ter what. On th e other hand , they ignore all dam age under 4 points. They’re either up or down. This a l lo lo w s t h e G M t o k e e p t r a c k o n l y o f t h e n u m b e r o f c u r r e n t l y ac ac t i ve ve h o r d e m e m b e r s , i n s t e a d o f m o n i t o r ing individual hit points for each. fa c e l es es s h o r d e Special Attack Rules: M e m b e r s o f a fa o n l y h i t o n a n a t u r a l 1 9 o r 2 0 . Ev Ev e n s o , t h e i r v i c titi m s m a y av av o i d d a m a g e b y m a k i n g a n A r m o r c h e c k — t h at at i s, s, a r o l l m o d i f ie ie d b y t h e i r t o t a l b o n u s t o t h e i r A r m o r
ck i n g o n l y Extra Attack Vulnerability : W h e n a t t a ck members of a faceless horde, ignore the general rules for extra attacks. Instead, you get one extra attack for every 4 points of Attack bonus, and all attacks are made at your s tandard Attack bonus. Ragnulf’s Attack bonus is +9. 4 goes into 9 twice. Ragnulf gets 2 attacks versus the faceless horde, both at +9.
The follow ing optional rules and style style notes allow you to simulate the inventive allow inventive stunts of Hong Kong martial arts and fantasy movies. We r e c o m m e n d t h a t yo yo u u s e t h em em i n Burning Shaolin.
STUNTS Ch aracte aracters rs gain gain add itional XP wh en their p la layers yers describe the m ethod of their attacks in an entertaining w ay ay.. For examp le: “ I leap up into t he air, slicing at at his neck as I jum p over him.” “ I kick a cloud of dust into the air, then slash at h i s e x p o s e d n e c k a s h e s t ag g e r s b a c k t o c l e a r his eye s.” The XP bonus eq uals the character’s character’s level level x 10. The b onus applies only if the stunt description is being used for the first time in the current fight. This includes uses by other players, or even by you, the GM . T h e G M i s a ls ls o e n c o u r a g e d t o d e s c r i b e t h e actions of PC opp onents in this w ay ay.. (Each fi g h t scene in this adve n t u re provides exam ples of t h i n g s t h a t m i g h t h a p p e n d u r i n g t h e f i g h t .).) T h e idea h ere is to inspire your playe rs to do th e s am am e , b y d e m o n s t r at at i n g h o w i t ’ s d o n e . T r y n o t t o h o g a l l o f t h e g o o d o r o b v i o u s s tu tu n t i d e a s yo yo u r self, tho ugh.
PLAYER-CREATED PROPS Players are not only allowed but encouraged to invent minor features of the set where the fight scene occurs. “The floor is tiled, so I use my toe to dislodge a tile, and then kick it towards Kan Kuei’s nasty, scaly head.” “ There’s a big coil of heavyheavy-duty duty rope in th e back o f t h e sh sh o p . I w h i r l itit a r o u n d t o d e f le le c t t h e in in c o m - ing arrow s. s.” ” T h e G M i s a llll o w e d t o d e c l a r e t h a t c e r t a i n p r o p s a re not present, an d shou ld u se th is d iscret i o n w hen the player is being utte rly unre a s o n a b l e . You should rule out Uzi sub-machineguns and r o d s o f s m i t i n g , b u t n o t t h e s o r t s o f p r o p s y o u ’ve seen used in m ovies like D r u n k e n M a st st e r o r Fong Sai Yu k.
EXTRA MOB MOBILIT ILIT Y As if suspended suspended o n w ires ires,, w u x i a characters characters jum p, leap and tumble across the scene of a fight, rem aining always always in in m otion. Standing Standing in one place and w av aving ing a sw sw ord is only for characters characters without b e n e f i t o f H o n g K o n g f i g h t c h o r e o g ra p h e r s. During combat only, any character’s maximum distance for forward or upward leaps is doubled. I n w u x i a fights, fights, you you can m ake a full attack and still take a full m ov ove. e. This rule rule does not m ake the light crossbow cross bow any faster faster to use.
GRAVIT ITY Y, SCHMAVIT Y I n a w u x i a fight, fight, alm alm ost any structure is capable of supporting your weight, if you run along it fast enough. Characters can can run or leap from treetop to treetop, for example. Any entertaining move should never be ruled out by the requirements of m ere physics. physics.
IMPROVISED IM PROVISED WEAPONS Characters rarely finish a fight armed with the sam sa m e w eapons they started started out w ith. But, curious curious-ly, the foun d w eapon s prove at least least as effective as the on es they replace. Any failed failed hit that com es within 2 points of the target’ss armo r class disarms get’ disarms h im (as (assum sum ing he uses a weapon at all; all; creatures creatures with natural weaponr y are exemp exemp t from this rule). W hen you’re disarmed disarmed , y o u r w e a p o n trt r a v e ls ls 2 0 – 8 0 f e et et ( 2 d 4 x 1 0 ) i n a r a n d o m d i r e ct ct i o n . This is m ore of a cosm etic disadvantage disadvantage than anyanything else. else. Any found o r im provised weapon do es the same d am age as the w eapon you lost. This is is true whether the new, improvised weapon is a length o f rope, a branc h, or even a lar lar ge fish. fish. H ow ever ever,, during a round in w hich you regain regain your originall lost weapon (or that of anoth er character), origina you gain gain a +2 attack and dam age bonus with it. If you lost a m agi agical cal weapon , and fight fight a creature only hit by such weapons, your improvised item still wo rks against it. Logic? W hy, I ough tta … !
AUTHOR: R o b i n D . L a w s
ILLUSTRATION: M i k e D u t t o n
e l llee A . B r o w n N e p h e w EDITOR: M i c h el
PLAYTESTERS: Jim i Braun, M ichelle Braun, Troy D uffy, Paul Jackso Jackso n, M ark K ay, ay, Joel Joel Le Blanc , Robin Lim , Jerem Jerem y Schrage, Teresa Seenna, M arc Sherm an, Jam Jam es "SP A R K Y " Sparling, Shannon Sparling
PUBLISHER: Jo h n N e p h e w ART DIRECTION DIRECTION & GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Scott R eeves eeves
OPEN GAME LICENSE VERSION 1.0A The fo l l owing text is the pro p e rty of W izards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copy right 2000 W iz izards ards of the Coast, Inc ("W iza izards"). rds"). All Rights Re se rv e d . 1. Definitions: (a)"Contri b u to rs" means th e c o py right and/or trademark ow n e rs who have c o n t ri b u ted Open Game Conte n t; (b)"Deriva (b)"Deri va t i ve M a te rial" means copy ri g h ted mate rial including d e ri va t i ve wo rks and tr ansla anslations tions (including into other comp u ter languages), languages), potation, m odifi c ation, correction, addition, ex tension, upgr a d e , i m p rovement, compilation, abridgment or oth e r form fo rm in which an ex i sting wo rk may be re c a st , t r a n s fo rmed or adapted; (c) "Dist ri b u te" means to rep re p roduce, license, rent, lease, sell, bro a dc a st, publicly display, display, transmit or o th e rwise dist ri b u te; (d)"Open G ame Content" m eans th e game mechanic and includes the meth ods, proc e d u res, processes and routines to the ex te n t such content does not embody the Pro d u c t Identity and is an enhancement over the pri o r a rt and any additional content clearly identifi e d as Open Game C ontent by the Contri b u to r, and means any wo rk cove red by this License, including translations and deri va t i ve wo rks under c o py right law, but specifically excludes Pro d u c t I d e n t i t y. (e) "Product Identity" means pro d u c t and product line names, logos and identifying m a rks including trade dress; art i facts; cre a t u re s c h a r a c te rs; sto ries, sto rylines, plots, th e m a t i c elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwo rk, symbo ls, designs, depictions, like n e ss e s, fo rmats, poses, concepts, themes and gr a p h i c , p h oto graphic and other visual or audio re p re s e n tations; names and descri ptions of characte rs, spells, enchantments, personalities, te a m s, p ersonas, e rsonas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, env i ronm ents, cre a t u re s, s, e quipment, magical or supernatural abilities or e ffects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and a ny other trademark or re g i ste red trademark c l e a rly identified as Product identity by th e owner of the Product I dentity, and w hich specifically excludes the Open Gam e Conte n t; (f) "T r a d e m ark" me ans the logos, logos, names, mark, sign, m ot to, designs that are used by a C o n t ri b u tor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contri b u ted to th e Open Game License by the Contri b u tor (g) "Use", "Used" "Used" or "U sing" means to use, D i st ri b u te, copy, edit, fo rmat, modify, translate and oth e rwise crea cre a te Deriva Deri va t ive Mate rial of Open Game Content. (h) "You" or "Your" means the licensee in te rms o f this agree agre e m e n t . 2. The License License:: This License applies to any O pen Game C ontent that contains a notice indicating indicating that the Open Gam e Content may only be Used under and in te rms of this License. License. You must affi x such a notice to any Open Game Content th a t you Use. No te rms m ay be added to or subtracted from this License exc exc e pt as described by th e License itself.f . No other te rm s or conditions o ns may be applied to any Open Game Content dist ri bu ted using this License. 3 .O ffer and Ac c e ptance: By Using the Open Game C ontent You indicate Your acceptance acceptance of the te rms of th is License. License. 4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration fo r a greeing to use this License, the Contri b u to rs grant You a perp etual, wo rldwide, royal roya l t y- f re e , n o n - exc l u si ve license with the exact te rm s of th th i s Licensee to Use, the Licens the Open G ame Con te n t . 5 .Re p re se n tation of Au th o rity to Contri b u te: If You are contributing original mate rial as Open Game Content, You represent that Your C o n t ributions are Your original creation and/or
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Robin D. Laws is the designer of Feng Shui and various va rious oth e r games, including the re c e n t l y- released Rune ( Atlas) and D y D y i i nn gg E aa r t h ( P e l grane Press). Check out his fiction: The Rough and th ee S m o m o oott h h ,, from Atlas, and the upcoming P romise r omise of Thunder , a G l o r a n tha novel from Issaries, Inc. Robin lives in the city of To r o n to, where he is currently ob sessed sessed with his new DVD playe r. “ D 2 0 S ys ys t e m ” a n d t h e “ D 2 0 S yyss t em em ” l o g o ar ar e T r a d e m a r k s o w n e d by W izards izards of theCoast and are used used according to the term s of t h e D 2 0 Syst System em License version version 1.0. A cop y of this license license can be ® f o u n d a t w w w . w i z a r d s . c o m . D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s a n d W i za za r d s of the Coast ® are Registered Registered Tradem arks arks of W izards izards of theC oast, and are used with permission. T h i s b o o k i s p u b l is is h e d u n d e r t h e O p e n G a m e L i c e n s e. e. A l l O p e n G a m e C o n t e n t i s w r i t t e n i n red ink . C o riolis isis the tradem ark of Trident, Inc., d/ b/ a Atlas Gam es, for its line of dual-system ro l e p l aying game supplements. Atlas Games and “ Charting New Realm Realm s of Imagination” Imagination” are trademarks of John John N e p h ew, used under license. The Atlas Gam es logo is a tradem ark o f Jo Jo h n N e p h ew and Trident, Trident, Inc., Inc., d/b /a A tlas Games. Feng Shui Shui ii s © 1 9 9 6 , 1 9 9 9 R o b i n D . l a w s , p u b l is is h e d u n d e r l i c e n s e b y T r i d e n t I n c .,., d / b / a / A t l a s G a m e s . Feng Shui is a trademark of Robin D . Law Law s and is used under license. All rights reserved. reserved. Feng Shui ’s ’ s game characteristics derive from the roleplaying game N e x u s : T h e I n f i n i t e C i t y b y Jo Jo s e G a r c i a , © D a e d a l u s Entertainm ent, Inc., Inc., and and are used with p erm ission. ission. C o p y right © 2001 Trident, Trident, Inc., Inc., d/b/ a Atlas Atlas Games. Rep Re p r o d u c t i o n of non-Open Game Content from this wo rk by any means w itho ith o u t w r i t ten permission from the publisher, exc e pt for short exce exce rpts fo r the purposes of rev i ew s, is ex ex p ressly ressly p ro h i b i t e d . This is a w ork of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living living or d ead, is purely coincident al.
13 Termination: Te rmination: This License will te rm in a te automatically if You fail fail to com ply with all te rms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming awa re of the breach. All sublicenses shall survi surv i ve the te rmination of this License. License. 14 Refo Re fo rmation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenfo rceable, such provision shall be refo re fo rm ed only to the ex tent necessary necessary to m ake it e n fo rc e a b l e . 15 COPYRIGHT NOT I C E Open Game License v 1.0a Copy right 2000, W izards of the Coast, Inc. System Rules Document Copyright 2000, W izards of the Coast, Inc.; Au th o rs Jonath a n Tw e et, Monte Cook , Skip Williams, based on o riginal mate rial by E. Gary Gygax and Dave A rn e so n . B u u rning r ning Shaolin open game content Copy ri g h t 2 0 01, Trident, Inc., d/b/a Atlas Games; Au th o r Robin D. Laws .
PO Box 131233 R o s ev ev i llll e , M N 5 5 1 1 3
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