OneDice B Movies

OneDice  Quick and easy role-playing in the world  of low quality cinema  by David Underwood  OneDice system design by Peter Cakebread

Additional Material by Peter Cakebread & Ken Walton Editing: Peter Cakebread, Ken Walton Layout, Proofing, Cover Design: Ken Walton All Illustrations: David Powell

Copyright: OneDice B Movies ©2016 by Cakebread & Walton. OneDice system copyright 2015 by Peter Cakebread. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work by any means without the permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United Kingdom.

www.clockworkandchivalry.co.uk 

Contents  Introduction About this book What is a Role-playing game? What will I need to play?

3 4 6 6

Chapter 1 – How to Play Your Character’s Background Abilities Sample Skills Character Templates Optional Rules: The B Movies Campaign Skill Use Fights Death, Dying and Recovery Stunt Points Equipping Your Character Finishing Touches Experience and Levels

8 9 10 11 14

16 18 22 25 26 28 30 22

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Chapter 2 – Gamekeeper Section To B or not to B Scripting Your Movie One-Shot or Sequels Hazards Awarding Experience Rules Options Vehicles Menaces to Society

34 34 43 44 45 46 47 50 53

Chapter 3 – Scripts Rise of the Scorpion The Alien with My Face I Was a Teenage Succubus Attack of the Thunder Lizards Invisible Jaws Escape from Planet N Shadow of the Ripper

77 77 80 83 84 87 89 92

Character Sheet

95

Introduction 

‘Good evening and welcome to the Corman Theatre – may I see your ticket,  please? Ah, you’re in P9; if you follow me I’ll show you to your seat. Is this your first time at our annual B Movie festival? I thought so. Over the years I’ve become familiar with the regulars. Excuse me for one moment Good evening, Doctor Delambre, nice to see you again. Yes, I’m glad we’re back in the US this year, particularly after that disaster in Tokyo twelve months ago. I know I won’t look at a bowl of turtle soup in the same way again. Nice man. Pardon me? Yes, he does have rather a large head, but pay no heed  to the buzzing sound, you get used to it after a while. Where were we? Oh, yes, P9. Tonight’s play list? That would be telling, wouldn’t it? The management like to surprise the punters, so far be it from me to spoil their fun. Yes, it could be anything, really; everything is fair game for the B Movie filmmakers – giant  monsters, alien invasions, slasher horror, space Nazis, tragic scientific blunders – or any combination of the above and a whole lot more, really. What’s that  – is there any truth we might be showing the recently rediscovered Arman Naff classic Night of the Long Long Centipede? Time will tell.

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Introduction  Here we are, P9’s just over there. I do apologise for the lack of food this evening. We had a problem with ants; a new popcorn machine has been ordered and the builders will have that hole in the wall repaired by the end  of the week. Hmm? No, Sir, that’s not a pumpkin in the seat next to yours. I believe it’s a tomato. Yes, it is rather large, isn’t it?  Now sit back and enjoy the show!’ 

Welcome to OneDice B Movies , your guide to roleplaying in the weird and wonderful world of fantastic and offbeat cinema; where plots are implausible, actors are seemingly plucked at random from the local mall, and budgets are on a par with those of the annual office Christmas party. Together, we’ll explore worlds where radiation and science spawn fantastic creatures; visit planets teeming with strange monsters and surprisingly human-looking inhabitants; then return to Earth in time to witness an alien invasion, indulge in some crime fighting and brush shoulders with the denizens of the night as they set out to stalk their next victim. There might even be time for a little romance along the way. Oh, and sharks; lots and lots of sharks. So take a swig of your soda and hang on to your popcorn as we take a walk on the weird side.

 About This Book  This book contains everything you will need to play or run OneDice B Movies games.

More on Gamekeepers and Players  Perhaps the best way to describe the difference between the Gamekeeper and the Players is to imagine it’s like an actual B Movie. The Gamekeeper writes the setting and directs, as well as playing all the extras, enemies, etc. The Players are the actors, who play the roles of the main heroes (their Adventurers). But unlike in the movies, there isn’t a set script that the actors have to follow – the Players decide what their Adventurers are going to say and do, and those actions will often change the direction the movie takes and the reactions of the Gamekeeper’s characters.

4

Introduction 

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Introduction  The Introduction is what you are reading now! Chapter One tells you how to play the game and how to make an Adventurer - your Adventurer is the character you control in the OneDice B Movies world. Chapter Two is for the Gamekeeper. It delves further into the weird and wonderful world of B Movies, offers suggestions on how to script and direct a future classic, as well as containing some additional rules, along with lists of vehicles and Gamekeeper controlled characters and creatures. Chapter Three contains a number of ‘Scripts’ –   adventure seeds that a Gamekeeper can develop into his or her own cinematic opus.

What is a Role-playing Game?  Role-playing games (RPGs) are a kind of “Let’s pretend” – but you don’t need to dress up and run around, you all play around a table using your imaginations to tell the story. Players play as Adventurers, the lead characters in a B Movie – and you describe what your Adventurer says and does. You can say exactly what you want to say (as long as it is the kind of thing your Adventurer would say), get your Adventurer to attempt to do whatever you want him or her to do, and the Gamekeeper is there to tell you what happens next. When you want your Adventurer to act in the game, the Gamekeeper will sometimes get you to roll a dice to see if your Adventurer succeeds or fails in what he or she is trying to do. The Gamekeeper is in charge – it’s only fair, they have to present a story, apply the rules and keep the game moving. A game can last as little as two or three hours, but you might want to play a long adventure, that carries on week to week, like a TV series – the Adventurers gaining experience and skills as they go along, defeating old villains, meeting new ones and generally acting like heroes.

What Will I Need to Play?  This book; some friends to play with (two is enough for a game, but more is better); some pens, pencils and paper; some tokens to represent Stunt Points

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Introduction  (toy coins, poker chips, squares of cardboard - whatever really); and a six-sided dice (the sort you get in most board games).

Rolling the Bones  A six-sided dice is the only dice you need to play the game. When you want your Adventurer to do something that is risky (such as have a fight, climb up a cliff, jump over a patch of mud, etc.), the Gamekeeper will give you a Target Number and ask you to roll a dice to beat it. You’ll roll a number between one and six – which you might get to add a bonus to. What you rolled, including bonuses, is compared to the Target Number. If you equal it or beat it, your Adventurer succeeds in what he or she was trying to do, if you don’t, your Adventurer fails. If you fail, you might need to spend some Stunt Points to save your Adventurer. Everyone has some Stunt Points at the start of each game session. You can use these to perform cool stunts or avoid disaster. So it’s simple – you roll your dice, add any bonuses, and find out if your Adventurer has had a success or failure.

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Chapter One –  How to Play 

The rules for OneDice B Movies are simple. Sometimes you will need to roll a six sided-dice to see if your Adventurer can do what you want him or her to do – mostly that’s it! The game rules are presented alongside rules for making an Adventurer... Making a Character

To make a character, you will need to: Decide your character’s background  – your race, nationality, hometown, home planet, tribe, etc. This will depend on the setting you are playing in. Decide your character’s abilities  – the abilities are Strong, Clever, and Quick. Calculate your Health, Defence and Move – These are calculated based on your character’s abilities. Give your character some skills – your character is usually allowed up to 6 skills to start with. Give your character some stuff   – give your character some starting money and equipment and let them buy some extras.

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Chapter One – How to Play  Give your character some finishing touches  – including a name and 6 Stunt Points (more on them later!).

Your Character’s Background  Role-playing games are about characters, so it is useful to have some idea of  your adventurer’s background and personality before you start. Though your Gamekeeper will outline the setting and the type of characters that will suit the movie best, it is down to the players to decide on what drives their Adventurers and how they will usually respond to certain situations. Is your adventurer brave, confident, scared of spiders, dour, happy-go-lucky, an obsessive workaholic or hopeless romantic? Taking a minute or two to flesh out your Adventurer will turn him, her or it into a true character, rather than  just a collection of entries on a character sheet. It’ll also help determine how he or she will react to the other Adventurers in the game and any threats or opportunities they encounter.

Unlike other OneDice games, which focus on a specific genre or setting, OneDice B Movies does not provide a vanilla setting or sandbox for the Gamekeeper to set his or her games in. It is the nature of B Movies that almost anything goes, so, at your Gamekeeper’s discretion, players could find that in one game that they are playing French Musketeers hunting down murderous alien cyborgs, while in the next they are American teens who suddenly find themselves threatened by a giant amoeba seeking to satisfy its craving for root beer. This means before you depart on the character creation express, you’ll need to be sure to speak to your Gamekeeper to determine the type of  characters he or she thinks will suit his or her script the best. Luckily, whether you’re going to be playing a group of college students, a helicopter crew, a scientific investigation team, a group of Private Investigators, the staff of a small isolated hospital, or any of a myriad of  other adventure group possibilities, the OneDice character creation rules should cover it.

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Chapter One – How to Play 

 Assign Abilities  Characters usually start the game with 6 Ability Points to share between Strong, Clever and Quick. Your Gamekeeper, however, may decide that more experienced characters suit the plot better and may assign more points as required.

 Abilities  All characters and creatures have a set of abilities as follows: Strong – Good for lifting, thumping enemies with fists or a hand weapon, etc. Clever  – Good for aiming and shooting a gun, negotiating, and generally knowing about stuff, etc. Quick – Good for climbing, going first in a fight, firing a bow, sneaking, etc.

When you have decided on your character’s background, you will spend ability points to give them a Strong, Clever, Quick score between 1 and 3. Example Character  Doctor Angelica Smith, Strong 2, Clever 2, Quick 2

Health – If your character has an accident or gets hurt in a fight, he or she will lose Health. Health can be restored, so you should always keep a note of  your character’s maximum Health. Maximum Health is your character’s Strength multiplied by 3. Defence – The score an attacker needs to roll to injure you. Defence is three times your character’s Strong or Quick (whichever is higher). Depending on the setting, you might be able to buy armour to raise this score. Move – How far your character can run in metres in a combat round. Move is ten times your character’s Quick.

Gamekeepers may decide to add extra Abilities to suit the setting they want to run. Rules for adding Magic (for fantasy Swords and Sandals games) can be found in OneDice Fantasy  or OneDice Urban Fantasy . Gamekeepers could also decide to add Psi using OneDice Spies: Cold War  or Cyber using OneDice Cyberpunk .

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Chapter One – How to Play  Example Character  Doctor Angelica Smith, Strong 2, Clever 2, Quick 2, Health 6, Defence 6, Move 20

Sample Skills  Every starting character receives 6 skill points, which can be spent on buying skills. Like with abilities, Gamekeepers may allow an extra point or two, if the setting requires more experienced characters.

Like Abilities, Skills are given a number – and you may spend no more than two points on any starting skill. Only pick skills appropriate to the setting – a fantasy warrior will not have Computers (unless you are playing in a world where they do!). Try to pick skills that match your character concept (for instance, it makes no sense to play a medical Doctor with no Medicine). There are some sample templates below the skills list to help with this.

The following is a list of example skills: Acrobatics (Quick) – Good at acrobatic moves. Archery (Quick) – Good with bows. Artillery (Clever) – Good at firing artillery weapons. Art (Clever) – Good at creating art. Blades (Strong) – Good at hand-to-hand fighting with a bladed weapon (sword, axe, laser-stick, etc.). Bludgeon  (Strong) – Good at hand-to-hand fighting with a blunt weapon (hammer, club, cosh, etc.). Bruiser (Strong) – Good at unarmed fighting (punching, kicking, head butting, etc.). Climb (Quick) – Good at climbing. Command (Clever) – Good at giving orders.

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Chapter One – How to Play 

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Chapter One – How to Play  Computers (Clever) – Good at building, repairing and using computers. Craft (Clever) – Good at making and repairing things. Cryptology (Clever) – Good at creating and breaking codes. Disguise (Clever) – Good at carrying off a disguise. Dodgy (Clever) – Good at dealing with criminals and being streetwise. Drive (Quick) – Good at driving an automobile, hover-car, horse and cart, etc. Engineering (Clever) – Good at building, repairing and understanding engines. Entertainer  (Quick) – Good at entertaining others (by singing, dancing,  juggling grenades, etc.). Gambling (Quick) – Good at gambling (and cheating). Intimidate (Strong) – Good at bullying others. Investigation (Clever) – Good at looking for and analysing clues. Language (Clever) – Good at speaking a language (other than the character’s own). Each language is a separate skill. Lore (Clever) – Good at generally knowing stuff. Depending on the setting, some Gamekeepers might require a character to have a separate Lore skill to cover each specialist area of knowledge (e.g. Lore (Law), Lore (Geology), etc.). Medicine (Clever) – Good at healing people. Only people with medicine (or magic) can restore Health. Navigate (Clever) – Good at reading maps and following them. Negotiate (Clever) – Good at talking their way out of trouble. Perception (Quick) – Good at noticing and hearing things. Pilot (Clever) – Good at piloting an aircraft, sea craft or spaceship, etc. Pickpocket (Quick) – Good at picking pockets. Psychology (Clever) – Good at reading people’s emotions and noticing when they are lying.

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Chapter One – How to Play  Research (Clever) – Good at researching a topic (using libraries, computer archives, etc). Ride (Quick) – Good for riding horses and other animals. Science (Clever) – Good at science (or weird science). Security  (Clever) – Good at creating or picking locks; arming or disarming traps; etc. Shooting (Clever) – Good at firing a gun. Sneaky (Quick) – Good at creeping up on people or hiding from them. Survival (Clever) – Good at surviving in the wilderness. Swim (Strong) – Good at swimming.

Teaching (Clever) – Good at getting basic concepts over to others. Throw (Quick) – Good at throwing weapons (such as axes, daggers, etc.). Track (Clever) – Good at finding and following tracks. Trade (Clever) – Good at spotting a bargain, selling and negotiating a good price. Example Character  Doctor Angelica Smith, Strong 2, Clever 2, Quick 2, Health 6, Defence 6, Move 20 Computers 1, Investigation 1, Medicine 2, Psychology 1, Science 1

Doctor Smith is a medical doctor, who likes to build and repair computers in her spare time. She is obsessed with puzzles, and will often slope off from her casework to get involved with inquiries into the unexplained. She is single, and struggles with matters of the heart – but should Mr or Mrs Right come along (perhaps the composer of the cryptic crossword in the local Gazette), she wouldn’t be averse to being swept off her feet.

Character Templates  The following templates can be used to build characters in a hurry. Remember, the extra free skill points don’t have to relate to the character’s

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Chapter One – How to Play  profession – they might be to do with a hobby or previous occupation, etc. , but they can be used to raise an existing skill to 2.

Archaeologist: Lore 2, Research 1, Investigate 1 + 2 free skill points  A field or college based archaeologist who has dedicated his or her life to uncovering the lost secrets and treasures from civilisations gone by.

College Professor: Lore 2, Research 1, Teaching 1 + 2 free skill points  A full time educator and academic. Depending on the subject taught, he or  she might want to spend some skill points on Computers, Science, Art or  Psychology, etc., as well.

College Student: Lore 1, Research 1 + 4 free skill points Someone attending a course at an educational establishment. Depending on what they are studying, they may well need some of their free points putting into Acrobatics, Computers, Entertainment or Art, etc.

Cop: Bruiser 1, Shooting 1, Investigate 1 + 3 free skill points  A beat cop.

Cowboy/girl: Shooting 1, Bruiser 1, Ride 1 + 3 free skill points.  A cowboy/girl who would be at home in the Old West.

Dinosaur/Monster Hunter: Lore 1, Research 1, Tracking 1, Survival 1 + 2 free skill points  A professional dinosaur (or other monster) hunter. Others might think he or  she is mad, but the professional dinosaur hunter knows there is a lost world  out there, just waiting to be discovered.

Doctor: Medicine 2, Psychology 1 + 3 free skill points  A doctor of medicine.

Fantasy Barbarian: Bruiser 1, Bludgeon 1, Blades 2 +2 free skill points The kind of warrior you find in a swords and sorcery setting.

Gang Member: Bruiser 1, Bludgeon 1, Dodgy 1, Intimidate 1 + 2 free skill points The member of a (possibly criminal) gang.

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Chapter One – How to Play  Geek: Computers 2, Cryptology 1, Engineering 1 +2 free skill points  A lover of tech, gaming and, occasionally, conspiracy theories.

Inventor: Science 2, Research 1, Engineering or Computers 1 + 2 free skill points  An inventor. Probably eccentric, potentially a genius.

Journalist: Research 1, Perception 1, Investigate 2 + 2 free skill points  A reporter, possibly writing for a blog, a local rag or one of the nationals.

Nurse: Medicine 1, Psychology 1, Negotiate 1 + 3 free skill points  A nurse, possibly working in a hospital, for a private employer or in the community.

Pilot: Pilot 2, Navigate 1, Engineering 1 + 2 free skill points Responsible for flying an aircraft, whether a chartered (perhaps add Trade 1), military (Shooting 1) or Air Ambulance (Medicine 1), etc.

Scientist: Science 2, Research 2 + 2 free skill points  An expert in a scientific (or weird science) field.

Soldier: Bruiser 1, Shooting 2, Intimidate 1 + 2 free skill points  A member of the army, mercenary or other type of foot soldier. Officers will  likely also have Command 1.

Space Ranger: Pilot 2, Computers 1, Perception 1 + 2 free skill points  A pioneer of the spaceways, the space ranger is usually a brave and daring explorer. The Gamekeeper might also decide he or she will need Survival (Alien Environments) 1 or Vac Suit 1.

Optional Rules: The B Movies Campaign  OneDice B Movies lends itself to short adventures, but what if you want a long campaign? Try this…

Instead of playing Adventurers in a single movie plot, the Players play a group of Actors, who appear in a number of different B Movies. One is always the heroic, muscular hero, whether a jet fighter ace or a sandaled gladiator;

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Chapter One – How to Play  another plays the mad inventor, whether designing rocket ships or pyramids; one is the femme fatale, whether a seductive British spy or the Queen of  Sheba. (Think of the actors in the Carry On movies!) To create an Actor, decide first on his or her cinema role, then assign Abilities. Think of a suitable name (or possibly even role-play a real actor!). The Gamekeeper will then suggest a list of Character Templates for the movie he or she is going to run – choose one that suits your Actor, and spend points on skills as normal. At the end of the movie, you will get experience points as usual, and will go up in levels as normal. But when a new movie, in a new genre, starts, you are allowed to swap out any skills that aren’t suitable for more suitable skills at the same level. Example Bob is playing Clint Wormwood, a tough-talking, steely-eyed actor with a  penchant for pithy one-liners. His Abilities look like this: Clint Wormwood, Strong 3, Clever 1, Quick 2, Health 9, Defence 6, Move 20 The Gamekeeper tells the Players that their Actors are going to be playing in Mummies from Space , a 1950s sci-fi/horror movie about undead Ancient  Egyptian time-travellers in flying saucers invading the USA. Bob decides that  Clint will be playing a US Airforce Fighter Pilot by the name of Sam “Hawkeye”  Carter, and gives himself the following skills. Pilot 2, Navigate 1, Engineering 1, Shooting 1, Negotiate 1  A couple of sessions later, that movie is over, and Clint has earned enough Experience Points to go up a level. Bob puts his extra Skill Point into Negotiate, as he’s decided that his character’s ability to talk his way out of dangerous situations is one of Clint Wormwood’s shticks – it’s why people go to see his movies. The Gamekeeper then announces that the next movie the Actors will be starring in will be Arena of Death , a Roman sword and sandal epic, complete with monsters. Bob decides that Clint will be playing the gladiator Gluteus Maximus. Obviously Pilot is not much use for a gladiator, nor is Shooting, as guns haven’t been invented yet. He replaces Pilot 2 with Blades 2, and 

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Chapter One – How to Play  Shooting 1 with Throw 1. Engineering is pretty useless too, so he replaces it  with Lore – his years in the arena, fighting strange monsters, have given him an in-depth knowledge of how to kill a gorgon or pacify an angry minotaur. His skills now look like this: Blades 2, Navigate 1, Lore 1, Throw 1, Negotiate 2. His Abilities remain the same.

It’s best to keep track of what your Actor’s skills were in previous movies, just in case the Gamekeeper decides to run Return of the Mummies from Space sometime down the line. The number of skills you have should remain the same (unless you’ve bought a new one with experience), and the total number of skill points should also remain the same (unless they’ve gone up due to experience). Your Actor’s Abilities do not   change between movies, except with experience.

 Awards  Players might like to think of going up a level as gaining an acting award. Low levels should give little known awards; getting to Level 2 might gain one the “Fishmongers’ Monthly Readers’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie Involving Seafood for their role in Night of the Cockles”, for instance. Actors shouldn’t start accumulating Oscars until they’re at least Level 6. Whatever award they gain, role-playing the Actor’s award acceptance speech should be encouraged!

Skill Use  There are three occasions when you might be asked to roll your dice to make a skill check. When you want your character to perform an action Examples When you want your character to climb a rope, track a trail, navigate using a map, etc.

When your character is trying to perform an action and someone is working against him or her

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Chapter One – How to Play  Examples When your character enters an arm-wrestling contest, wants to sneak up on somebody, is negotiating a trade, is hacking an account, etc.

When the Gamekeeper wants to see whether something happens to your character Examples When the Gamekeeper wants to see if your character has resisted a poison, has spotted an object, has fallen unconscious, etc.

Note: Stunt Points can be spent to gain an automatic success on a non-combat skill check.

Routine everyday actions are so easy that they can be done automatically. For instance, a driver doesn’t need to make a Drive roll every time he or she is driving sensibly down a clear road. You don’t need to roll  a dice to get your character to perform these routine actions. But if the weather is terrible and someone is chasing you, you will need to roll a dice for these more difficult actions.

How to Use Skills To Perform Actions  The basic chance of carrying out an action depends on how difficult it is. The Gamekeeper always decides the difficulty of any task. In the list below, the figure beside the difficulty is the Target Number needed to succeed at an action:

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Chapter One – How to Play  Difficulty

Target Number (TN)

Example

Routine

No roll needed

Driving on a wide quiet road on a clear day.

Mildly challenging

3

Driving in the pouring rain on an unsuitable road.

Challenging

6

Driving in a thunderstorm on a cliff road.

Hard

8

Driving in the rain while you are being chased.

Very Difficult

10

Driving in a storm while being chased and being shot at.

Near Impossible

12+

Driving in a storm while being chased on a cliff road.

To see whether your character succeeds at a task, roll one six-sided dice, then add to the result the relevant ability (the character’s score in Strong, Clever or Quick) and skill (if he or she has one). Compare the result to the Target Number – if you equal or beat it, you have succeeded. If you have failed to beat it, your action has been unsuccessful (and there may be a consequence).

Skill Rolls  Remember! When the Gamekeeper asks for a skill roll: Roll the dice + Ability (Strong, Clever or Quick) + Skill (if any) = result Anyone can try almost anything, as everyone has at least 1 in each ability. You don’t need to have Navigate to try and puzzle out a map – you just use your Clever score. Likewise, if you don’t have Climb, you will just have to use Quick on its own.

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Chapter One – How to Play  Exceptions to the Rule  The Gamekeeper may rule that some tasks are just too difficult for an amateur to have a go at. It’s unlikely that the starship’s entertainment officer will be able to fix a meltdown in the warp drive without the Engineering skill, even if they are exceptionally lucky.

Healing isn’t Easy  Medicine is one of the skills which cannot be practiced untrained. Only a character with Medicine can heal Health (their own or that of other character’s). A character wishing to use the Medicine skill must roll against the appropriate Target Number – a failure means that no healing takes place. Amount of Healing Attempted

Target Number

1 dice divided by 2

6

1 dice

8

1 dice multiplied by 2

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A Medicine roll of 1 is always a failure – so even if the character combines his or her Clever and Medicine for a starting total of 6 or above, a dice still needs to be rolled. Healing can only be attempted once every 24 hours).

Skill vs Skill  Sometimes your character will want to do something that another character wants to challenge. To make a Skill vs Skill test, the player rolls a dice and adds any bonuses. The Gamekeeper rolls dice for whoever is opposing (unless it is another Player’s Adventurer), also adding any bonuses. Whoever gets the highest total wins. If the Player and the Gamekeeper get the same totals, it’s a draw (unless that makes no sense, in which case the Player wins).

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Chapter One – How to Play  Having the Advantage  Sometimes one of the sides in an opposing skill test will have an advantage or disadvantage and the Gamekeeper will give a +2 bonus or -2 penalty to the dice roll.

Fights  Fights take place in combat rounds, each lasting just a few seconds. In a combat round each fighter takes it in turns to try and hit and damage their opponent(s). Note: Don’t forget that Stunt Points can be used to perform special actions in combat, on top of those described in this section.

Combat Basics  Combat rounds basically work like this: Everyone rolls Initiative at the start the combat – to find out who goes first (roll the dice and add Quick - highest wins). Then, from highest to lowest Initiative, each character: Rolls to hit – Roll the dice and add any bonuses to beat the opponent’s Defence. A character can also try to move (charge into combat or run away) in this part of the round. Calculates damage  – on a successful hit, remove any damage from opponent’s Health.

Surprise and Distance  Sometimes the Gamekeeper will judge one of the sides in a fight has been surprised. If so, the side who is surprised doesn’t get to make attacks in the first round of combat. How far apart opponents are at the start of combat depends on terrain – if  both parties turn a corner and bump into one another, then they can move instantly into hand-to-hand; if both parties spot each other at the other side

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Chapter One – How to Play 

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Chapter One – How to Play  of a long beach, they won’t be able to start fighting until someone moves into the range of the other side’s weapons. Don’t roll Initiative until someone can actually hit someone else.

Initiative  Each character in a fight must roll Initiative at the start of combat. Roll the dice and add your character’s Quick. You only roll Initiative at the start of the fight – anyone joining the fight rolls Initiative when they enter combat. What if there is a draw? If there is a draw, the Player’s character goes before the Gamekeeper’s character. If two Player’s characters are attacking each other, and they draw on Initiative, they act at exactly the same time.

Roll to Hit  For hand-to-hand fighting (with or without a weapon): Roll die + Strong + Skill (Blades, Bludgeon, Bruiser) = Total

For guns and artillery: Roll die + Clever + Skill (Artillery, Shooting)

For ranged weapons other than guns: Roll die + Quick + Skill (Archery, Throw)

If the total beats the target’s Defence, damage is done.

Having the Advantage  Sometimes the Gamekeeper will judge that one side or another has a natural advantage and can insist that one side receives a +2 Defence or To Hit bonus until they lose the advantage.

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Chapter One – How to Play  Other Actions  Instead of trying to hit someone, a character can try to move or take another action – this lowers the character’s Defence by 2 for the duration of the round.

Moving  If a character isn’t in a hand-to-hand fight and wants to move, up to his or her Move in metres, they can (instead of attacking – you don’t get to do both). This includes moving into a hand-to-hand fight.

Getting out of Hand-to-Hand Combat  If a character tries to move out of hand-to-hand fighting, their opponent has a choice – take a free swing or give chase. If giving chase, both sides make a roll, adding their Quick. If the chaser wins, he or she catches up, and both parties are back in hand-to-hand fighting. If the person running away wins, he or she has escaped. If it is a draw, the chase continues (until someone gives up).

Non-Combat Actions  Sometimes a character will want to do something not covered by the above. The Gamekeeper determines (secretly) how long such activities take.

Quick Actions  Includes things like getting out a weapon, shouting an order, etc. You can do any one of these things without a penalty.

Calculate Damage  Take the total of the hit roll and subtract the target’s defence. Then add any damage for the particular weapon. The result is the amount of Health the injured party loses.

Death, Dying and Recovery  All the Gamekeeper controlled characters die when their Health reaches 0. Player’s characters also die when their Health reaches 0, unless somebody can Heal them within 3 combat rounds. Characters naturally heal 1 Health for every 12 hours of complete rest, until Health is back up to its starting level.

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Chapter One – How to Play  Optional Damage Rule  Some foes will simply be too tough to damage for an unskilled or weak fighter. If the Gamekeeper wants to give everyone a chance of inflicting damage, he or she can use the following rule. When the attacker rolls a 6, he or she inflicts damage, even if the total after additions doesn’t beat an opponent’s Defence. Such damage is fixed at the base weapon damage (so 2 for a knife, 3 for a sword, etc.) and removed from the target’s Health. When applying this rule, use common sense – if a target is invulnerable to a certain type of attack, then no amount of luck will help the attacker (that’s what Stunt Points are for!).

Stunt Points  Every Player starts each game session with 6 Stunt Points. As each game session progresses, the Players play their Stunt Points to make good things happen for their Adventurers. Players are encouraged to use Stunt Points to create great B Movie action scenes – rolling away at the right moment, chucking that grenade into the giant snake’s maw, etc. Some of the characters run by the Gamekeeper might also have Stunt Points.

Spending Stunt Points  Each of the following actions cost 1 Stunt Point: ·

·

·

·

·

Succeed at a non-combat roll automatically – however difficult the task. Ignore an opponent’s Defence  – no roll to hit, simply deliver a dice worth of damage + the weapon damage. Armour does not protect the opponent. Avoid damage – Turn a hit on your character into a miss. Avoid character death – If your character drops to 0 Health, they are merely unconscious, not dying. Perform two attacks in one round  – you can roll to hit twice instead of once.

26 

Chapter One – How to Play  ·

·

Stunt Action – Your Adventurer can combine an attack with a stunt action (climb, swing on a chandelier or rope, run on a rolling barrel, etc.). You only need to roll to hit, and you get to add your Adventurer’s Strong and  Quick to the dice (plus one suitable skill if you have one, Climb, Blades, Throw, etc.). To cancel an enemy’s Stunt Point  – If a Player has spent a Stunt Point to perform an action, the Gamekeeper can spend a Stunt Point (if the character the Gamekeeper is running has one) to cancel the action. Likewise, a Player can spend a Stunt Point to cancel a Gamekeeper’s Stunt Point action against his or her own character.

The following actions cost 2 Stunt Points: ·

·

Advanced Stunt Action – Your Adventurer can combine an attack with a stunt action (climb, swing on a chandelier or rope, etc.). You only need to roll to hit, and you get to add your Adventurer’s Strong, Quick and  Clever to the dice (plus one suitable skill if you have one). Perform three attacks in one round  – you can roll to hit three times instead of once.

The following action costs 3 Stunt Points: ·

Ignore an opponent’s Defence –  no roll to hit, simply deliver a dice worth of damage, multiplied by three, to your character’s opponent’s Health.

Changing the Story (Optional)  Here is an extra way of spending Stunt Points. Check with your group to see if they would like to add this option. The following story change costs 1 Stunt Point: ·

Minor Plot Change  – Players can spend a Stunt Point to remove a minor obstacle (avoid a patrol, solve a clue, find a different path, etc.).

The following story change costs 5 Stunt Points: ·

Major Plot Change  – A Player can spend 5 Stunt Points to make a major change to events – escape the mothership; cause a huge

27 

Chapter One – How to Play  rock-slide, covering a retreat; cause a nearby enemy to lose all speed and be put temporarily out of action; etc.

Equipping Your Character  It is the nature of OneDice B Movies that Adventurers may only feature in one story and, for expediency’s sake, the Gamekeeper may want the Adventurers in place with pre-determined equipment. A crack Special Forces unit, poised to travel in time to retrieve a lost Atlantean artefact, will have all the weapons and gear they need for the mission (unless High Command has suffered budget cuts and have become all stingy – in which case some of that gear might turn out to be a tad unreliable!); whereas the survivors of a shipwreck will have only the clothes they were wearing when the vessel went down. If a Gamekeeper does decide that book-keeping is an important element of  the movie (though there’s rarely an opportunity to spend money when you’re running through the streets of Tokyo with a fire-breathing behemoth at your heels) an example equipment list is presented below and other OneDice setting books provide more genre-specific lists.

Example Clothing List  Fine Clothes: Cost: 200 Respectable Clothes: Cost: 50 Rugged Clothes: Cost: 50

Example Camping List  Bedroll: Cost: 5 Tent: Cost: 30 for 2 person tent. Torch: Cost: 1 for a wooden torch that burns for an hour or an electric torch.

Example Specialist Equipment  Climbing Kit: Cost: 10 (Adds 1 to Climb skill rolls.) Doctor’s Bag: Cost: 50 (Adds 1 to Medicine skill rolls.)

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Chapter One – How to Play  Example Close Combat Weapons  Weapon

Damage

Cost

Club, Cosh, Cudgel 2

5

Dagger, Hatchet

2

10

Improvised*

1

–

Laser-Stick

4

100

Sword

3

50

Unarmed

0

-

*Chair leg, bottle, tea tray, etc.

Example Ranged Weapons  Guns

Weapon

Damage Range Cost

Handgun, Large

4

15

300

Handgun, Small

2

10

200

Laser Rifle

4

500

500

Machine Gun

6x

200

2000

3 damage Shotgun

5

20

1000

Rifle

4

400

1000

Ammunition Ammunition: Cost: 10 for 20 small rounds; 100 for 10 large rounds.

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Chapter One – How to Play  Other Ranged Weapons Weapon

Damage Range

Cost

Bow

3

25

15

Crossbow

3

40

40

Dagger

2

Sx3

10

Hatchet

2

Sx2

10

Rock

1

Sx3

-

S = Thrower’s Strong

Example Armour  Armour

Defence* Quick Cost

Light (Leather armour, biker clothes, etc.).

+1

-

100

Heavy (Chain or plate mail, full combat dress with Kevlar, etc.)

+2

-2

5000

Small Shield/Energy Field

+1

-

100

*If a character is not strong enough to cope with the weight of the armour, it will give a penalty to Quick. If the wearer’s Strong is under the amount of  the armour’s Defence bonus, the character will take the penalty to Quick shown in the table above (i.e. a character with only 1 Strong will be at -2 Quick).

Finishing Touches  If you haven’t picked a name for your character, do so now. Give your Character 6 Stunt Points, ready for the first game session. You should also decide how old your character is.

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Chapter One – How to Play 

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Chapter One – How to Play 

Experience and Levels  In the event that your Gamekeeper decides to run more than one movie with the same Adventurers (even lower budget sequels!) they will learn new skills and increase their abilities. In game terms, this means the Gamekeeper will award you Experience for good roleplaying and for your character reaching adventure goals and defeating foes. You need to always keep track of the total Experience you have been given. When your character gets enough Experience, he or she will go up levels. Your character might gain some new things at each level: Ability Points  – You can spend these to increase Strong, Clever, Quick or Magic/Psi, etc*. Remember, your character’s Health, Defence or Move might also rise as a result of this increase.

*If playing a game with magic or psionic powers, etc. Health – Increases your total health. Skill Points – To increase a skill your character already has or to learn a new one.

All Player characters begin at 1st Level. The Experience you need to increase your character’s level, and the rewards for doing so, are as follows: Level

Ability Points Health

Skill Points

1

0

2

+1

3 4

+1

600 +1

6

+1

6,000

8 10 11

1,500 3,000

+1 +1

9

150 300

+1

5 7

Experience Points

+1

10,000 15,000

+1

22,000 2

+1

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30,000

Chapter One – How to Play 

 Alternate Experience System  For Players and Gamekeepers who don’t like level-based experience systems, here is an alternative, more “realistic” system. Characters are given Improvement Points (1-3 per game session), which can be spent as follows: Skill increase: 2 x the level you want to get to. Example 1 Bill’s character has Perception 2, and wants to increase it to 3. 2 x 3 = 6, so he must spend 6 Improvement Points.

Attribute increase: 5 x the level you want to get to. Example 2 Bill’s character has Quick 1 and wants to increase it to 2. 5 x 2 = 10, so he must  spend 10 Improvement Points.

Skills and Attributes can only be put up one level at a time, so to get a skill from 2 to 4 would require (2 x 3) + (2 x 4) = 14 Improvement Points. To learn a new skill at 1 costs 5 Improvement Points, plus the character must have had time to train in the new skill. Whether this is possible is up to the Gamekeeper – you can’t claim to have learned to ride a camel if you’ve spent the last month rowing across the Atlantic in a bathtub! Health, Defence and Move will increase as a character’s Attributes increase, in line with the rules on p.10.

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Chapter Two –  Gamekeeper  Section 

This chapter is designed to help Gamekeepers run OneDice B Movies  games. First there is an overview of B Movies and some tips on how to run games in the various genres. Then there are also a few more rules covering how to award Experience and handle hazards. There are also some optional rules for you to use if you wish, covering mooks and minions and for running chases. Finally, there are details of some vehicles, creatures, foes and threats for you to use in your adventures.

To B or not to B?  So, what is a B Movie?

In the days when cinemas showed double features, a B Movie was simply the film shown before the main feature. It usually had a lower budget and a shorter running time than the other movie on the bill, and could be of any genre. Nowadays, the term is used for (mainly science fiction, fantasy or horror) movies that have been judged – sometimes unfairly – as being substandard in some way: a preposterous script, terrible acting, appalling

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  special effects or a combination of all three. Certainly they still usually suffer from being lower budget! The term can also be applied to movies of a more professional persuasion that capture the spirit (intentionally or otherwise) of  their low budget counterparts – in fact tongue in cheek B Movie parodies have become all the rage, rubber costumes and all. So why B Movies and not just OneDice Movies, or horror, or whatever? Because B Movies have a particular feel – corny, over the top, fun and unbelievable, but also suspense filled and with plenty of over the top heroics; the stories told in B Movies are great fodder for roleplaying adventures. Let’s set the projector rolling and have a look at a few examples.

Kaiju (Bless You)  In 1954 a creature called Gojira ran amok in Tokyo and a new genre of movie was born. It was the first time that the Japanese capital would suffer the destructive attention of a mighty kaiju, but it would be by no means the last. Godzilla, as he became known in the west, was soon joined by a host of allies and foes as fantastic as himself and somehow, between all the mighty conflicts he became embroiled in, the king of monsters found time to father a child. Kaiju (giant monsters) are incredibly powerful and resilient and though they can harm one another, efforts by humans to kill or contain them are usually fruitless. On the rare occasion a kaiju star was sent packing or appeared to die, it would soon return, fit and well, in time for a money-spinning sequel.

So, if the idea of running a game based on this type of movie appeals to you, how do you make it interesting for your players? Presenting their Adventurers with foes they have little chance of defeating could prove to be more than a little demoralising. Consider the following options: The players are part of the military/scientific think tank tasked with bringing the kaiju  to heel and must race against the clock to discover a (highly improbable) solution (perhaps using a sonic pulse, energy ray, or the like – reward imagination; punish daftness, that is, unless it is in the spirit of unlikely B Movie solutions).

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section 

36 

Alternatively, the plot of the movie could revolve around a more human tale, with Adventurers caught up in the chaos and devastation created by the monsters and struggling to transport their loved ones to safety. A third option is to blend the first two, having ordinary folk struggling to survive, but stumbling across an artefact or information that could prove instrumental in destroying/banishing the rampaging creature (perhaps a mystic gem, the base of the alien puppet masters or a long-lost egg or offspring the kaiju is seeking). Can they survive long enough to share their information with the authorities and help save the day? Another option would be to have the Adventurers battling against the authorities. Whilst the Kaiju fight out at sea, perhaps there are human factions who actually want to bring about an apocalypse, think they can control the beasts, worship the monsters, etc. The Adventurers will have to thwart the mad scientist/fanatic/high priest, before they bring disaster down upon everyone.

Here Be Monsters  Across the Pacific the USA also experienced its share of monster problems, though the American creatures tended to be less formidable than their Japanese counterparts. Whether they arose from 20,000 fathoms beneath the sea or were spawned in a scientist’s lab, they usually survived until the finale, largely due to guile on their part and official incompetence on that of  the humans; once the Powers-that-be become organised and committed to the cause, the creature’s days on this Earth become numbered. When running a Western-style monster movie, less is more. Isolate the Adventurers at the outset in an environment with few resources and even less credible witnesses. B Movie protagonists must combat monstrous menaces and official cynicism in equal measure before they can persuade the authorities to help them. Then, cue the dramatic finale, with the Adventurers playing a pivotal role in the creature or species destruction, despite being sometimes ludicrously ill-suited to the task.

 Attack of the Killer…What?  Not all cinematic monsters can straddle a house. Some are decidedly smaller, compensating for their lack of size by weight of numbers. From natural

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  menaces such as army ants or African bees, to more unlikely dangers, such as killer shrews, giant leeches le eches or bloodthirsty rabbits, the number of species warped by radiation, toxic waste or scientific experimentation are legion. For the most part, the creation of these killer mutants is an accidental process, but a recent trend in modern B Movies has favoured genetically-engineered genetically-engineered hybrids or cybernetically-augmented predators developed by the militaryindustrial complex for a variety of improbable reasons. Sometimes these creatures share a facility with other lab-born abominations and, once free, they become embroiled in a fight to the death with one another in order to establish which of them will become the apex predator; a conflict the human staff are swept up in and rarely survive. Once again, these stories often work best when a small group of people (the Adventurers) are isolated from help and must struggle to survive against creatures that seem to exist only to kill them, while also trying to alert disbelieving authoritie authoritiess to their plight (invariably the authorities will just send a couple of beat cops or scientists to verify a report – and such scouts are usually quickly overcome and devoured!).

Shark Attack  Ever since a Great White Shark decided to snack on the bathers frolicking in the sea off the little town of Amity, no creature has captured the imagination of B Movie scribes more than the shark. Deadly in its naturally occurring form, some movies are content to pit clueless bathers, surfers, or shipwreck survivors, against large numbers of hungry fish – or, somewhat inevitably, other species (such as piranhas, saltwater crocodiles, giant snakes, other sea monsters, etc.). Sharks have even left the sea to swim through sand or snow to attack prey – and sometimes even death has failed to prevent these tenacious predators from sating their hunger. What could be worse than a shark? A zombie shark, that’s what! Naturally, this sort of story works best when located near a body of salt water, though flash flooding could introduce a shark or two into an environment where they are not normally found, and this is B Movie territory, where creatures tend to be a little more robust than usual. What’s that on the horizon – a tornado? Well, if they can pluck up cows, who knows what this one may be carrying?

38 

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  As can be seen from the above, the B Movie Earth can be an incredibly dangerous place, but not all the threats posed to its human inhabitants are home-grown.

The Menace from Space  In an era when cinema-going Americans lived in fear of Communist infiltrators or full-blown war with the USSR, it is little wonder that a large proportion of  the B Movies in the 1950s dealt with hostile aliens and their nefarious schemes. Not all the hostile ETs dropped from the heavens, ray guns blazing; sometimes the threat was a little more insidious. Invasion of the Body Snatchers told the story of the members of a small community slowly being replaced, one by one, by almost flawless alien copies. In these circumstances, the players’ Adventurers gradually become suspicious that something is amiss with some of their neighbours, then the tension and paranoia mounts as it becomes a question of who trusts who? Finally, outnumbered by the replacements, the Adventurers must find a means to destroy the invaders before the t he threat they pose can spread beyond the town limits. Back to the ray guns. It’s of little wonder that aliens with superior technology decide to forego the softly-softly approach and just turn up in their flying saucers and started levelling buildings with their disintegrators. Cue screaming and despair as the Earth’s armed arme d forces prove woefully inadequate and the planet – or, at least, its human inhabitants – appears doomed. Much like the kaiju stories, above, Adventurers can become embroiled in the conflict or simply concern themselves with surviving in a world at war, until the aliens are bumped off by bacteria or an allergic reaction to peanut butter.

Voyage to Planet Z  Not all movies involving space travel revolve around aliens visiting the Earth; sometimes they chronicle the adventures of humans visiting the moon or other planets and the bizarre aliens and creatures inhabiting them. With little or no basis in scientific fact, the screenwriters and directors let their imaginations run riot, though if they could somehow sneak in a race of good looking, shapely young women in skimpy attire, and monsters that are almost alm ost an identical size to humans in rubber suits, then so much the better.

39 

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section 

Chip off the Old Block  Long before a globe-spanning computer network sent a muscular Austrian back in time to do bad things, movies featuring the bruised fruit of scientific research proved to be popular. Tyrannical computers, rebellious robots and tragic victims of experiments gone awry (pass the fly spray) entertained the masses. People shrunk, people grew and some people melted, but no one simply keeled over, riddled with tumours, when exposed to radiation or noxious substances. There was no place for sterility and hair loss (although dramatic hair gain and tooth elongation might be an option!) in the B Movie world, not when you could be fused with an insect or grow to the size of a house. Of course, when you’re shrunk to the size of an insect, insect , household pets and mundane wildlife become incredible incredibl e out-sized threats – can you get back to the petri dish or transmogrifying machine in time!

Hammer Time  Science fiction did not enjoy the monopoly on B Movies; horror also captured the imagination of the popcorn-munching punter. And when you’ve seen all the expensive horror movies, why not try one of the less le ss well known ones. Horror, whether of a supernatural or more mundane persuasion, usually had to deliver on two fronts; gore and titillation. For a while, in the 1950’s and 60’s, Hammer Studios smashed its rivals with lucrative treatments of  Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy and a slew of sequels. Elsewhere, canny producers targeted the teens thronging drive-ins with films such as I was a Teenage Werewolf and various derivative rip-offs of bigger budget box office success. As Hammer’s sun set other studios took up the horror gauntlet, ramping up the gore and exploitation themes significantly, ushering in the era e ra of the video nasty. Most films were a little light on plot, but throw in a scene of a busty blonde in a bikini carving up zombies with a chainsaw and the audience could be very forgiving. College campuses, shopping malls, log cabins and haunted houses all make ideal locations for invasions of horror nasties. And what’s that – the vampires have signed a pact with the Nazis? Better find more gas for that chainsaw and grip the holy handbook/holy symbol/holy hand grenade  – someone’s gonna have have to stop them!!!

40 

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section 

Have Sword, Will Travel  Fantasy contributed to the B Movie catalogue as well, dominated at the outset by heavily-muscled men with indifferent acting skills, usually portraying figures from the Bible or Greek and Roman mythology, rescuing beautiful women from a multitude of menaces. Hercules and Samson appeared in numerous movies and the former continues to crop up in movies from time-to-time. Cue the Eighties and straight-to-video and low budget Italian and Argentinian sword and sandal movies thronged the shelves, alongside English language cinema releases such as The Beastmaster , Krull   and Hawk  the Slayer . Quality varied from movie to movie, but there is little doubt that some of the so-called thespians were cast for their physical attributes, rather than their acting skills. Parties of barbarians fighting against their slaver overlords are encouraged to communicate using as few syllables as possible…

Other Genres  Aside from the above, there are really few limits to the scope of B Movies. There were romances of various types, such as hospital romances; movies merely designed to titillate; westerns; moral warning shorts (such as antinarcotic or anti-hoodlum movies); comedies; mysteries and thrillers; and martial arts movies; to name a few. Of course, when using these genres in a game, it might be good to mix them up with each other and some of the other elements (particularly horror and crime). Some groups won’t mind playing a game featuring romances between dentists, patients and dental assistants – but most will probably want a psycho dentist with a big drill; or perhaps giant rats that grow ever bigger whenever they nibble the new type of denture plaster dumped in the basement; or patients who have been fitted with the dentures belonging to deceased murderers, purchased for a discount by the mean surgery manager, resulting in the patients growing giant possessed teeth!

 And Finally… No examination of the B Movie genre can be complete without a brief look at two staples; Nazis and dinosaurs. Whether treated separately or combined, impeccably-attired humourless fascists plotting a fourth Reich (which will often be brought about by a most improbable scheme, unless the Adventurers thwart them) and rampaging reptiles have proved enduringly popular. Various

41

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section 

42

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  twists on these popular themes have been produced over the years, including SS zombies, dinosaurs running loose in the Old West, Nazis hiding on the moon, and prehistoric predators raised in laboratories to serve as weapons of war. No matter how preposterous the plot you have in mind, introduce some sharp-dressed fascists or a Tyrannosaurus Rex or two and you will be on the right track. OneDice World War Two and OneDice Raptors can be used to add detail, although there are some sample characters and creatures also included later in this book to populate your B Movie adventure.

Scripting Your Movie  As Gamekeeper it will fall to you to devise a script for the players’ Adventurers to feature in. As can be seen above, you can pick and choose from a variety of themes or blend together as many elements as take your fancy – a B Movie smoothie, if you will. Hercules versus the Fourth Reich; Night of the Zombie Raptors; Planet of the Amazons; Killer Avocadoes From Outer Space – nothing is off-limits if you have players with the mind-set to embrace whatever you serve them. It is important to remember that you are not simply writing a fantasy, science fiction or horror scenario, you are writing a B Movie version of same; so, other than subject matter, what else marks out a true B movie?

Pace  B Movies, certainly those of the 50s and 60s, tended to be quite short, with many of them barely lasting more than 70 minutes; consequently, plots tended to proceed at a lively pace, with very little time for character development or epilogues. Defeat the Big Bad – roll credits! Obviously you want enough events to occur to fill a game session, so discovery of the big bad shouldn’t occur too early on, but the fun is in the Players working out what has taken that Gamekeeper controlled character’s leg off, not necessarily in getting to know that character well.

Subtlety  No! No! And did I mention, No? Partly for the reason cited above and partly due to the taste of the writers and directors, B Movies, especially those from the Eighties and later, ramped up the exploitation element at the expense of coherent plots.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section 

Realism  Giant carnivorous rabbits, killer vegetables, Nazi moon bases and zombie sharks – realism has never figured prominently in B Movies. If there is a big bad it might well have been caused by a scientific accident, background radiation caused by a meteor, or a host of other unlikely reasons  – but inevitably the problems will get out of hand, and though the solutions might lie with some internal B Movie logic, they don’t have to follow real world logic in quite the same way.

Humour  Despite the outrageous plots, most B Movies were played straight, the characters taking each new revelation in their stride. Whether you want to inject a little extra dark humour into your own script is purely up to you. Of  course, you could go the whole hog and run a humorous parody of the genre. One word: Zombeavers.

The golden rule  Anything goes. Yes, the world that you have created should have an internal logic, but if you want the Adventurers to battle time-travelling sentient mutant Koalas, desperately searching for a cure for the blight effecting eucalyptus trees in the 23rd Century, then so be it.

One-shot or Sequels?  A B Movie makes for the perfect pick-up game. As a standalone story, the Gamekeeper does not have to worry about how the plot will fit into a larger campaign, fret about foreshadowing upcoming scenarios, or feel too much remorse when another Adventurer is bumped-off mid-session. Simply have the player make another Adventurer and keep the camera rolling. In the event your players enjoyed the scenario enough to demand a sequel, then you can come back to it another day, keeping the bits that worked and dropping those that did not. A certain radioactive reptile died at the end of  its first movie, but its untimely demise did not prevent many more movies bearing the name of the same famous creature from being made.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  B Movies feature a lot of jeopardy for the Adventurers, but not all of it springs from the barrel of a ray gun or the gnashing teeth of a hungry raptor. There are other hazards that can be just as deadly…

Hazards  Most hazards in OneDice can be handled through asking for a straightforward skill check. If you want to see if a character can get out of a smoky room, you can ask for a roll (perhaps adding Strong, if they are going to just try to walk through the smoke, or Quick, if they are making a dash for it, to the roll). The difficulty should be adjusted by the scale of the threat – a large raging inferno is harder to escape than a small blaze. To help you judge the level of hazard and the possible consequences of failure, check this table: Hazard

Difficulty/ Target Number to avoid

Damage

Examples

Minor

Mild, 3

1 Dice divided by 2 (round down)

Small fire, small electric shock, weak poison, falling up to a metre, hitting humb with a hammer.

1 Dice

Burning car, medium electric shock, moderate poison, falling up to three metres, hitting hand with chisel.

Moderate Challenging, 6

Major

Very Difficult, 10 1 Dice Burning refinery, struck by multiplied by 2 lightning, strong poison, falling up to 7 metres, chainsaw accident, caught in a collapsing building.

Deadly

Near Impossible, 1 Dice 12+ multiplied by 3+

45

Falling into a volcano, deadly poison, falling over 7 metres, squashed by a falling city.

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  As usual, offer Defence bonuses or penalties (+2/-2) if there are other factors that might make a difference to the outcome for the character.

 Awarding Experience  Experience is usually awarded at the end of each game session. You might want to award Experience for the following: Good roleplay: 10-20 Experience X the characters current Level Defeating Monsters:  Monsters have an Experience amount listed – any character who was in the fight gets Experience. Total the Experience of all monsters defeated and divide by the number of Player’s characters who were in the battle. Solving/Reaching a Minor Adventure Goal : 20-30 Experience Example Finding the library in a haunted house and locating all the clues that are hidden there.

Solving/Reaching a Major Adventure Goal: 50-100 Experience Example Searching every location in a haunted house and defeating various ghosts and  monsters.

Solving/Reaching the end of a Campaign:  200-300 Experience Example

 Alternate Experience System  If using the alternative experience system described on p.33, the Gamekeeper should award each player 1-3 Improvement Points per session, based on good role-playing, goals achieved, etc. A further 1-3 points may be awarded at the climax of an adventure, if the Adventurers have defeated the necromancer lord, blown up the enemy space station, averted a nuclear war, put the giant hamsters back in their cages, or whatever.

46 

Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Travelling to another dimension and putting an end to the source of hauntings on the characters’ home planet, then safely returning, having overcome numerous obstacles and enemies on the way.

Rules Options  The following rules suggestions are designed to help you run B Movie adventures. They are all optional rules, and some of them are not appropriate for some of the scripts that the Gamekeeper creates – where that’s the case it is clearly noted.

Mooks and Minions  In a movie staged on an epic scale, you may have a main villain – the Queen Bee, Evil Emperor Quark - supported by several lieutenants, who are on a more-or-less even footing with the Adventurers. No self-respecting despot, however, would leave the house without a horde of nameless followers to carry out their plans. These nameless mooks or minions should be no match for the Adventurers except in overwhelmingly large numbers. To make life easy for the Gamekeeper, mooks have only 2 states - unhurt and out of the fight . In other words, a single blow that beats their Defence threshold takes them out. When you’re fighting a single mook, it doesn’t really matter what weapon you have - any hit takes down the mook. Mooks do not have Abilities or Skills. Instead they have Combat, and Everything Else. These numbers are what you add to the 1d6 roll to resolve tasks for them. The Combat rating is used for all types of combat, and the Everything Else rating is used.... for everything else! Ordinary Mooks have Combat 3, inept Mooks have Combat 2 and dangerous Mooks have Combat 4 (or higher). Ordinary Mooks have Everything Else 3, stoopid Mooks have Everything Else 2, and specialist Mooks have Everything Else 4 (or higher). As Mooks have no abilities, their Move and Defence are figured differently. Ordinary Mooks have a Move of 20, slow Mooks have a move of 10, and fast Mooks have a Move of 30.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Ordinary Mooks have a Defence of 6, weak Mooks have a Defence of 3, and tough Mooks have a Defence of 9. Mooks do not use armour and weapons like ordinary characters, this should simply be reflected in their Abilities. Mooks often fight in groups. If a character is fighting more than one mook, you can speed up combat by using these rules: The mooks attack as a single group, with only one roll. They get a +1 to their attack for every two mooks in the group. When the character attacks, on a successful hit add weapon damage as usual, but you take out a mook for every 2 you beat their Defence by. So, for example, if you beat the Defence by 1 or 2, you take out 1 mook. If you beat the Defence by 3 or four, you take out two mooks, and so on. This does not necessarily mean they are dead see the optional damage rules below. This rule would not normally be appropriate for scripts that feature only a small number of capable opponents.

Chases  Frenetic chases, whether on foot, horseback or vehicle, are another staple of  action-packed stories. Whether your B Movie features a hot rod race between the Adventurers and rival drivers, or a helicopter pilot trying to keep up with a swarm of flying eels, here are some suggestions for running a chase. A chase always has one (or more) party who is trying to get away (the escaper), and another who is pursuing (the pursuer). The parties start at a distance decided by the Gamekeeper, determined by the circumstances of the chase. The distances are: Close, Range, Sight. If you are at Close distance you are nearly on top of each other – if the distance is closed further you can engage in hand to hand combat, or vehicles may ram each other. If you are at Range distance, you can easily see each other and engage in ranged combat (if you have a ranged weapon). If you are at Sight distance, you can see each other but ranged combat is pretty much impossible – any further increase in range and the Escaper gets clean away.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section 

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  In a chase each round both sides make a roll. If on foot roll and add Quick. If on horseback roll and add Quick + Riding If the character is in a vehicle, roll and add the vehicle's Quick and the character’s Drive or Pilot skill as appropriate. The winner of the roll increases or decreases the range by one category – on a draw the range remains the same. Of course, if neither side wants to change the range, they don’t have to perhaps the escaper wants to lure the pursuer into a trap….

Chase Hazards  To make chases more interesting, add hazards. These will depend on the nature of the chase – if it’s on foot over rooftops, hazards might be slippery roofs, gaps between building to jump, narrow ledges to run along, etc.; if in a space freighter attempting to elude an enemy cruiser, then orbital mines, space debris or the tumbling rocks in an asteroid field will present hazards for the Adventurers. Rate Hazards using the hazard rules (p.45) and impose an appropriate penalty for failing to overcome the hazard - a change in range, damage to the vehicle (or character), etc.

Vehicles  For those settings where technology is king and a horse is just something to be served up in a French restaurant, vehicles of one form or another may frequently in a script. Vehicles have Strong, Quick, Health, Defence and Move scores, much like characters. (Note: You might notice the Health, Defence and Move of vehicles aren’t simply calculated from their Strong and Quick.) Vehicles are also not on the same scale as characters – only creatures/characters that are Huge or Super-Strong are able to physically affect vehicles.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Vehicles are presented in the following format: Vehicle Type, S (Strong), Q  (Quick), H (Health), D (Defence), Mv (Move), Ca (Cargo Capacity), Cr (Optimum Number of Crew), Psg (Number of Passengers). Description.

Here is a list of some example vehicles:

Land Vehicles  Cop Car, Vintage, S 2, Q  2, H 10, D 7, Mv 70, Cr 1, Psg 4  A four-door vintage (1940’s/50’s) cop car.

Cop Car, Modern, S 3, Q  3, H 12, D 7, Mv 100, Cr 1, Psg 4  A modern day cop car.

Detector Van, S 3, Q  2, H 9, D 8, H 8, Mv 70, Cr 3 Immediately recognisable by the large antennae installed on the roof, detector  vans are normally deployed in threes to locate the source of mysterious alien signals. This can be a dangerous task if those mysterious aliens have no desire to be found.

Hot Rod , S 2, Q  3, H 8, D 6, Mv 100, Cr 1, Psg 1-3 The only car to be seen in for the cool teens of the 1940s and 50s, ideal for  engaging in illegal street racing and for outrunning giant alien blobs.

 Jeep, S 3, Q  2, H 8, D 7, Mv 65, Ca1/8, Cr 1, Psg 3 The workhorse of the US and other nations’ military during WWII and decades afterwards, the 4x4 Jeep was not fitted with weapons as standard, but could  be armed with light or heavy machine guns or an anti-tank rifle as required.

Motorbike, Vintage S 2, Q  6, H 7, D 5, Mv 45, Cr 1, Psg 1  A vintage motorbike or scooter.

Motorbike, Modern S 2, Q  7, H 7, D 8, Mv 170 Cr 1, Psg 1  A modern raunchy two wheeled speed machine.

Truck, Large S 5, Q  3, H 18, D 10, Mv 60, Ca 50 tons, Cr 1, Psg 2  A large commercial cargo vehicle.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Van, Small  , S 3, Q  3, H 14, D 9, Mv 70, Ca 2 tons, Cr 1, Psg 2  A small commercial cargo vehicle.

Water vehicles   Airboat, S 4, Q  5, H 5, D 7, Mv 60, Cr 1, Psg 4 There are few places better than a swamp for hiding an illegal lab or dumping toxic waste, and there are few vehicles better for travelling through a swamp than an airboat. These propeller-driven, flat-bottomed boats, as often seen in the Everglades, are designed to operate in shallow waters where, as it has no moving parts beneath the waterline, it will be less likely to become fouled  on submerged objects.

Cruiser   , S 5, Q  3, H 8, D 7, Mv 25, Ca 500lb, Cr 1, Psg 3 - 9+  A swanky modern motor yacht used as a pleasure craft. Good for being snatched from by something with huge teeth, tentacles, etc.

Fishing Boat, S 6, Q  3, H 15, D 5, Mv 15, Cr 9 Fishing can be a dangerous business, even without the involvement of  radiation-spawned monstrosities or peckish prehistoric monsters. These stats are for the 50ft boats of the post-war years, with their small wooden cabins built at the stern and with one or two masts used to raise the nets.

Speedboat , S 3, Q  6, H 7, D 7, Mv 75, Ca 200lb, Cr 1, Psg 4  A small, fast pleasure craft.

Submarine, S 3, Q  2, H 25, D 8 (submerged), 6 (surface), Mv 35 (submerged), 45 (surface), Ca 2 tons, Cr 14, Psg 3 The kind of submarine the Adventurers might use to explore the depths and  villains might use to stir up trouble.

Flying Vehicles  Flying Saucer, S 15, Q  10, H 20, D 10*, Mv special, Cr 1+ The vehicle of choice for discerning alien visitors, flying saucers are ridiculously  manoeuvrable, super-fast and (at the outset, at least) seemingly indestructible craft, built using technology beyond the knowledge of man. Laying waste the Earth with their disintegrator rays, once the secret of foiling their force fields

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  has been devised, they prove to be no more robust than any other aircraft. At  the Gamekeeper’s discretion they might be especially vulnerable to various  pseudo-scientific devices.

Fighter Jet, subsonic, S 6, Q  7, H 12, D 12, Mv 250, Cr 1  A single-seat, post-war fighter, perfect for intercepting flying saucers or  dropping napalm on giant arachnids. Armed with six .50 calibre machine guns as standard, it can also carry eight unguided rockets and two bombs.

Medium Helicopter, S 12, Q  7, H 18, D 5, Mv 135, Cr 2, Psg 12 Used by the military and civilian operators, a medium-sized helicopter can be used for spotting the nests of giant insects or ferrying boffins to the site of a mysterious incident.

Rocket Ship, S 3, Q  5, H 28, D 10, Mv 500+, Ca 5 tons, Cr 2, Psg 4 Rocket Ships might be used by Adventurer space rangers or mad scientists.

Menaces to Society  Regardless of the setting, B movies need a menace and Gamekeepers need threats to throw at their Players. Hazards have been covered above, for details of some (mostly) living threats to confound the Adventurers see below.

Creatures  For the convenience of the Gamekeeper, menaces have been loosely grouped according to the B Movie genre they are likely to feature in. Gamekeepers may, of course, mix-and-match as they see fit. All the creatures in OneDice B Movies, whatever the genre, are presented in this format: Creature’s Name, S (Strong), C (Clever), Q (Quick), M (Magic, if it has some), H (Health), D (Defence), Mv (Move), Sk (Skills, if any), Sp (any special abilities), X (the amount of Experience awarded for killing the creature). Description.

Note: When rolling to hit, breath weapon attacks use the creature’s Quick + their skill rating. Breath weapons hit anyone in their path (range in metres = skill in breath weapon X 3).

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Special Abilities  Some common special abilities are: Fly – Flying creatures can fly. Grip/Constrict – Creatures that can grip and/or constrict, do not need to roll to hit again, after the first successful to hit roll, but can deliver damage (according to that listed for the type of attack) to the gripped target automatically. Huge – Huge creatures are so big they can attack entire buildings, cruise ships and aircraft as well as Players’ Adventurers. Poison  – Poisonous creatures deliver an additional 1 dice of damage on a successful roll to hit. Swallow  – A creature with swallow can swallow an enemy whole. The creature must be killed and the victim hacked out within 1 dice of combat rounds, or the victim will die. A Huge creature with swallow can even swallow a whole ship or other vehicle (if the creature’s strong is twice as large as the ship’s). Transform – The creature can transform into another form (such as a human) at will. Unique abilities are described below the creature’s statistics.

Swords and Sandals  Sword and Sandal epics were usually quasi-historical, though that didn’t stop film-makers throwing in the odd mythological creature (usually very badly made!). Magic is beyond the scope of this book – Gamekeepers wanting to add evil sorcerers or spell-flinging wizards to their movies should look to OneDice Fantasy  or OneDice Pulp. Or just make something up – if the evil necromancer Adamant Dyre is famous for raising entire graveyards of  skeletons to do his bidding, you don’t really need rules – he can just do it!

Humans   Amazon, S 3, C 2, Q 3, H 9, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Archery 2, Blades 1, Bruiser 2, Throw 1 X 30

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  The original exponents of Girl Power, Amazons can form insular societies on remote islands or be just another patron whooping it up at the local tavern. Either way, they are formidable warriors and don’t take any guff from men.

 Amazon Queen, S 2, C 3, Q 3, H 6, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Blades 3, Bruiser 2, Command 2, Intimidate 1, Negotiate 1 X 35 Perhaps the Queen has swapped battlefields for the high council chamber, but she still remains a formidable opponent.

 Assassin, S 2, C 3, Q  3, H 6, D 9 Mv 30, Sk varies – see below X Varies Professional killers come in a variety of guises, from remorseless killing machines whose very name chills the marrow of the stoutest warrior to individuals of charm and guile who insinuate their way into a target’s inner  circle and then kill them in a subtle manner that may appear accidental. Skills-wise, the former would focus on athleticism and combat skills, while the latter would have excellent social skills and high Lore to enable them to bump  people off without arousing suspicion.

Brute, S 4, C 1, Q  2, H 12, D 10, Mv 20, Sk Bludgeon 2, Bruiser 3, Intimidate 2 X 45 Slow-witted and cruel, brutes are often encountered in the role of gaolers or  executioners. Their favourite pastime? Hurting other people.

Cultist, S 3, C 2, Q 3, H 9, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Blade or Bludgeon 2, Bruiser 2, Sneaky 2 X 20 Before the advent of Twitter, acquiring followers required a little more effort  than posting pictures of yourself in a bikini. Once they have been seduced with  promises of power and riches, cultists tend to commit themselves to the movement completely, becoming fanatics willing to give their lives for the cause if necessary. #murderouszealot 

Gladiator, S 3, C 2, Q  3, H 9, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Bruiser 2, Entertainer 1, Signature Weapon 3 X 35  A veteran gladiator is more than just an accomplished warrior, he or she must  become adept at entertaining the crowd. To that end, the gladiator will have developed a trademark style, including distinctive armour (light or heavy) and  a signature weapon.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Healer, S 2, C 4, Q  2, H 6, D 6, Mv 20, Sk Lore 3, Medicine 3 X 10 Healers are the first port of call when someone has been poisoned or has so many holes in them that they resemble a sieve. In a swords and sandals game they might use healing salves rather than an emergency room, but they seem adept at knitting bones and sealing wounds.

Merchant, S 2 C 3, Q  2, H 6, D 6 Mv  20, Sk Dodgy 1, Language 1, Lore 1, Negotiate 2, Psychology 1 X 10  Just the person to consult when you have been unable to obtain (steal?) the item you need to complete your goal. Of course he or she will let you have it   for a fair price, or perhaps you have something to trade..? 

Nomad, S 3, C 2, Q  3, H 9, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Archery 2, Blades 2, Bruiser 2, Ride 2 X 20 Fearsome denizens of the steppes, nomads are tough and wiry and are at  home in the saddle.

Palace Guard, S 3, C 2, Q  3, H 9, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Archery 1, Blades 2, Bruiser 1 X 15 Selected for their loyalty as well as their martial prowess, palace guards not  only look nice and smart, their shiny equipment tends to be of a very high quality.

Scout, S 3, C 2, Q 3, H 9, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Archery 1, Blade 1, Climb 1, Perception 2, Sneaky 1, Survival 1, Track 1 X 12 It is a recurring theme of fantasy movies that the artefact or weapon vital for  the success of any quest cannot be purchased from the local branch of  Groatland or picked up at the weekly cart tailgate sale at the local temple. No, if you are determined to find the Hammer of Klomp or the Lost Map of   Ay-ay, a trek through the wilderness will likely be called for. Who you gonna call? A scout. Scouts often have a Stunt Point or two (otherwise they break  too early on!).

Seer, S 2, C 3, Q  3, H 6, D 9, Mv 30 Sk Entertain 2, Negotiate 2 Psychology 1 X 10 Whether charlatans or the genuine article, seers know how to put on a show. The method of divination varies from seer to seer, as does the source of their 

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  alleged power, but one thing generally remains true; predictions will be vague, ambiguous and incomplete, even when they are true.

Shapeshifter, S 3, C 3, Q  3, H 9, D 9, Mv 30, Sk various X Varies Someone with the ability to adopt the form of an animal, such as a cat,  panther or wolf. Shapeshifters can be male or female, and the character’s  personality and skillset will usually reflect the animal they change into (so if  they change into a strong animal, they might be burly, with blacksmith, farmer  or thug skill sets; if they change into a quick one, they might have scout or  thief skills; etc.). When in animal form they utilise the animal’s physical  attributes, but retain their personalities within.

Slave, S 2, C 2, Q  2, H 6, D 6, Mv 20, Sk various X Varies Why hire people to perform all the work around town when you can enslave them instead? Slaves fulfil a variety of roles (hence the vanilla Attributes, above), from smith to dancing girl, household servant to harem eunuch. In many Swords and Sandals productions entire civilisations are held thrall to sinister slaver overseers.

Thief, S 2, C 3, Q 3, H 6, D 9, Mv 30, Sk Blade 1, Climb 1, Dodgy 1, Negotiate 1, Perception 1, Pickpocket 1, Security 2, Sneaky 1  X 20  Any fool can nick something, but when you want the job done properly then hire a professional. But never forget, there is no honour amongst thieves.

Other Creatures  Cat S 1 C 1 Q 4 H 3 D 6 Mv 40 Sk Claw/Bite 4 (0 damage, but annoying) Sneaky 2, Trip 1 X 3 The kind of feline that will trip you up. A genuine moggy or a shapeshifter in disguise? Of course, if mutated and beefed up, increase stats accordingly.

Cyclops S 7 C 1 Q 1 H 15 D 12 Mv 12 Sk Bludgeon 4* X 250

*Cyclops use giant clubs that do 5 damage. One-eyed giant brutes.

Dragon S 9 C 2 Q 5 H 20 D 12 Mv 50 Sk Claw/Bite 4 (6 Damage), Breathe Fire

3 (5 Damage) Sp Fly, Huge X 500

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section   A large dragon, possibly serving as the guardian of an artefact or temple, or  as the steed of the main villain.

Giant S 6 C 1 Q 3 H 18 D 9 Mv 60 Sk Bruiser 3, Bludgeon 3* X 100

*Giants wield giant clubs that do 5 damage. Large and often not very bright, giants tower over normal humans, who they  often use as the ingredients for stew.

Gorgon S 2 C 2 Q 2 H 6 D 6 Mv 20 Sk Bruiser 1 Sp Gaze* X 120

* The gorgon’s gaze can turn a person to stone. She can stare at one target per round. Victim needs to make a Clever or Strong roll (Target Number 6) or instantly become a statue. Witches with snakes for hair, gorgons can turn a person to stone with a single glance. It is safe to look at them in a mirror, however.

Horse S 5 C 1 Q 5 H 12 D 9 Mv 50 Sk Kick 1 (Damage 3) X 40  A horse is a horse, of course! A head at the front, a tail at the back and a hoof  at each corner. A warhorse has +1 S, a racing horse +1 Q.

Minotaur S 5 C 2 Q 2 H 15 D 9 Mv 20 Sk Blades 5*, Bruiser 5 X 200

*A minotaur’s axe does 5 Damage Bull-headed bullies who hate humans. Often live in mazes.

Monkey, Small S 1 C 1 Q 5 H 3 D 9 Mv 40 Sk Bite 1 (Damage 1), Stealthy 3 X 5  A small and cheeky monkey. Fez optional.

Panther, Black S 5 C 1 Q 5 H 12 D 12 Mv 50 Sk Claw/Bite 5 (Damage 2) X 80 The essential accessory for the discerning evil queen and a good choice for a stylish shapechanger.

Skeleton S 2 C 1 Q 3 H 6 D 6 Mv 30 Sk Blades 3, Archery X 25  Animated skeletons, usually those of long-dead humans.

Snake, Giant Constrictor S 10 C 1 Q 3 H 30 D 8 Mv 40 Sk Bite 5 (Damage

6+Poison) Sp Huge X 900

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  No evil cult worth its salt does not have a giant constrictor somewhere on its  premises; either lurking in the sewers/dungeons or roaming loose in the temple itself.

Wolf S 2 C 1 Q  4 H 12 D 6 Mv 40 Sk Bite 3 (Damage 3) Track 5 X 25

Rarely dangerous to people, a hungry pack can, nevertheless, pose a threat to riding and pack animals. Another choice for the discerning shapeshifter. Zombie S 4 C 1 Q 1 H 9 D 9 Mv 10 Sk Bruiser 3 X 25 Lumbering undead horrors.

Victorian Horror  Bobby S 3 C 2 Q 2 H 9 D 9 Mv 20 Sk Bludgeon 1, Bruiser 1, Dodgy 1 Perception 1 X 12 Stolid and unimaginative, the humble Bobby will, nevertheless, face off to any  menace, armed only with a stick and a profound faith in the Law.

Cracksman S 2 C 3 Q 3 H 6 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Climb 1, Dodgy 2, Negotiate 1, Perception 1, Security 2, Sneaky 1  X 10 When you simply must have the file left in the foreign diplomat’s office or the grimoire locked in a cult leader’s vault, the cracksman is the person for the  job. For a Peterman, swap out Security 2 for Explosives (Clever) 2.

Doctor Jekyll  S 2 C 4 Q 2 H 6 D 6 Mv 20 Sk Medicine 3, Chemistry 3 X 25 Mister Hyde S 5 C 2 Q  4 H 15 D 10 Mv 40 Sk Bruiser 2, Bludgeon 4 (Cane, 2 Damage) X 90 When under the influence of his homemade elixir, the good Doctor Jekyll turns into the murderous Mister Hyde.

Gypsy S 3 C 2 Q  3 H 9 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Blades 1, Bruiser 1, Dodgy 1, Drive 1, Gambling 1, Negotiate 1, Ride 2, Sneaky 1 X 15 Hailing from Eastern Europe, gypsies make their living from a variety of   pursuits, including horse breeding and trading. Dismissed as rogues and  thieves by most ‘civilised’ folk, they maintain the old ways and sometimes offer assistance to werewolves and vampires (or in combating them).

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Gypsy Fortune Teller S 2 C 3 Q  3 H 6 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Dodgy 1, Entertainer 2, Language 1, Lore 2, Medicine 1, Negotiate 1 X 10 Whether young and beautiful or a haggard old crone, there is something about  a fortune teller that can induce the most cynical of people to cross their palms with silver in order to learn the future. Most are charlatans, but the genuine article will have a point or more in Divination. Most folk believe that a fortune teller can cast a powerful curse upon any who might offend her.

Mad Scientist S 2 C 4 Q  2 H 6 D 6 Mv 20 Sk Investigation 1, Lore 2, Perception 1, Research 1, Science/Weird Science 3 X 10 Shunned by their more conservative peers, mad scientists conduct  unconventional experiments, taking risks their more reputable counterparts would never dream of. Totally committed to their work, these men and women will resort to illegal means in order to pursue and protect their research.

Police Detective S 3 C 3 Q  2 H 9 D 9 Mv 20 Sk Command 1, Intimidate 1, Investigate 2, Perception 1, Psychology 1, Shooting 2 X 20 Intelligent, but usually conservative in outlook, a detective will view outlandish claims made by Adventurers with great cynicism. Once persuaded, however, they usually prove to be stout allies against the uncanny.

Streetwalker S 2 C 2 Q  3 H 6 D 6 Mv 30 Sk  Blade 1, Bruiser 1, Dodgy 1, Negotiate 1 Psychology 1 X 10 Plying their trade in the meanest parts of town, streetwalkers are fair game  for urban predators of every persuasion as their disappearance or murder is rarely investigated by the police.

Thug S 3 C 1 Q  2 H 9 D 7 Mv 30 Sk Blade 2, Bludgeon 2, Bruiser 2, Dodgy 2, Intimidate 2 X 25 They lurk in every alleyway.

Toff S 2 C 3 Q  3 H 6 D 8 Mv 30 Sk various X Varies Members of the Middle and Upper classes, Toffs are well-educated, wellconnected men who can prove to be invaluable allies or fearsome opponents. No two are exactly alike, but sample skill packages include – 

Country Squire Bruiser 1, Command 2, Drive 1, Ride 1, Shooting 2  X  15

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Captain of industry  Blades 1, Command 2, Intimidate 1, Language 1, Negotiate 2, Perception 1 X 12 Tomb Raider S3 C 3 Q 3 H 9 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Bruiser 2, Climb 1, Dodgy 1, Navigate 1, Negotiate 1, Research 1, Throw 2, Shooting 2 X 25 Motivated by fame and fortune rather than scholarly curiosity, tomb raiders risk life and limb to obtain artefacts they can sell on for a tidy profit. Contemptuous of any talk of monsters and curses, they can be the unwitting accessory of an ancient evil, freeing it from incarceration and unleashing it  on an unsuspecting world.

Urchin S 1 C 3 Q  3 H 6 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Climb 1, Dodgy 1, Negotiate 1 Pickpocket 1, Sneaky 1 X 8 Found in cities and ports the world over, urchins are street-wise children who can prove useful for their local knowledge and their willingness to work as messengers and spies for a modest fee.

Flesh Golem S 5 C 3 Q  2 H 15 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Bruiser 2, Intimidate 2, Skill of  Choice 2 X 80 The child of twisted genius and forbidden experimentation, flesh golems are crafted from carefully selected body parts and organs and animated by  electricity or arcane rituals. Effectively born again, the brain of a newlyanimated golem must relearn basic skills and lacks a moral compass. With no concept of right or wrong, a golem can quickly fall foul of an irate mob.

Mermaid S 4 C 2 Q 3 H 12 D 8 Mv 30 Sk Claw 5 (Damage 3) Sp Regeneration*, Siren** X 50

*Mermaids regenerate 2 lost Health per combat round, as long as they are in the sea (until reduced to 0 Health, at which point they die). A mermaid can only live out of water for 1 dice worth of hours. **Victims must make a Clever roll against the mermaid’s siren call – if the victim loses, he or she is enamoured for 1 dice worth of rounds (and will try to reach the mermaid, by any means possible). Most Victorians still retain a romantic notion of mermaids – the truth is altogether less pleasant. They are ruthless predators, luring sailors to their  doom using their siren song.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Mummy S 5 C 3 Q 1 H 12 D 8 Mv 10 Sk various – see below.  A mummy is the bandage-wrapped corpse of a prominent Egyptian, brought  to life by his or her restless spirit and determined to fulfil the goals it sought  before its untimely death (murder?). More than a shambling monster, a keen and embittered mind resides in its withered skull.

Pharaoh Blades 2, Bruiser 3, Command 1, Drive (Chariot) 1, Throw 2  X 175 Priest  (Reduce Strength to 3 and add Magic 2) Bludgeon 2, Command  1, Intimidate 1, Language 1, Lore 2, Science 1  X  200 Vampire S 5 C 3 Q  6 H 15 D 11 Mv 60 Sk Blades 2, Bruiser 3, Intimidate 2, Perception 3 Sp Create Vampire¹, Mesmerise/Seduce², Mist Form³, Partial Invulnerability⁴, Summon Creature⁵, Weaknesses⁶ X 1000

¹ Create Vampire: A vampire can create another vampire, subservient to itself, by allowing the target to drink its blood before draining the future bloodsucker of its own vital fluids. The victim will rise the following night as a vampire. ² Mesmerise/Seduce: A vampire can entrance a potential victim, rendering them vulnerable to attack. If the victim fails a Clever roll versus a Moderate Hazard then they fall under the vampire’s spell and offer no resistance when it feeds. Afterwards, the victim has no recollection of the attack except, perhaps, as a nightmare. ³ Mist Form: The vampire can turn into mist and while in this insubstantial state it can gain entry to, or escape from, rooms that it could not enter while in a solid state; passing under doors or through keyholes etc. While in mist form the vampire cannot effect anyone or anything, but nor can it be harmed. It take a full round to change. Mv 10 ⁴ Partial Invulnerability: A vampire can be clubbed, shot or stabbed but, for the most part, weapons have little effect on them. A successful attack with anything other than a silver-coated weapon only inflicts one point of damage, Furthermore, a vampire regenerates a dice of health at the end of each round, which it can use to heal damage inflicted by ordinary weapons. ⁵ Summon Creature: Once per day Vampires can summon certain creatures to their aid, dependent on the environment they are in. If it spends a full round concentrating, the vampire can call bats, rats or wolves to its side as

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  appropriate to the setting. The animals will arrive in a dice of rounds and in the following numbers – Bats one dice x 5 Rats one dice x 100 Wolves one dice +3

The animals are completely in the vampire’s thrall and will follow its orders, even if by doing so they may be killed. ⁶ Weaknesses:  Vampires usually have several weaknesses Adventurers can try to exploit (note, which weaknesses vampires have in your game is at the discretion of the Gamekeeper). Decapitation: A vampire dies instantly if someone lops its head off. No special equipment is required, just a good eye and a steady hand. The Gamekeeper should impose a penalty (usually -2) for this called shot to the creature’s neck. Fire: Fire is as deadly to some vampires as it is for humans. Use the Hazard rules above. Damage sustained from fire is healed using the standard healing rules. Holy Ground/Symbols: Different vampires react to consecrated ground and holy symbols in different ways. Entering a church may give them pause and yet the same vampire might have no difficulty strolling around graveyards. When faced with a symbol brandished by an Adventurer, it is the faith of the wielder, rather than the symbol he or she holds, that will decide the outcome. The Adventurer should make a contested roll with the vampire – Clever versus Clever, with the Gamekeeper providing a bonus to the player’s Adventurer if  the player has roleplayed the Adventurer’s piety well. If the vampire fails then it can be driven away or even weakened; if the player fails, then the vampire may dine tonight after all. Silver : Some vampires suffer from a severe silver allergy; merely holding it causes them discomfort. Damage inflicted by silver weaponry causes lingering wounds which heal at a normal (for a human) rate. If ingested or inhaled, then treat as a poison (see Hazards). Sunlight: Some vampires cannot tolerate direct sunlight, but they may go abroad by day if the skies are heavily overcast or if they are travelling in

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  something that obstructs the sun’s rays, such as a coffin or a carriage. If  exposed to direct sunlight, such a vampire suffers 2 points of damage per round until it bursts into flame and dies or it reaches shelter. Damage sustained in this manner is healed using the normal healing rules. Wooden Stake: Wood, in itself, does not have any special properties when used against a vampire, but driving a wooden stake through its heart will immobilise it indefinitely. The helpless creature can then be dragged out into sunlight or decapitated at the Adventurers’ leisure. If the stake is removed, the vampire reverts to normal instantly. Hailing from the mist-shrouded mountains of Eastern Europe, the vampire is an evil predator that preys on the vulnerable and offers no mercy towards those who seek to frustrate its designs.

Werewolf S 5 C 1 Q 6 H 15 D 12 Mv 60 Sk Acrobatics 2, Claw 3 (Damage 2), Bite 2 (Damage 3), Track 5, Perception 5, Sneaky 2 Sp Regeneration 1* X 105 Normally appearing as an ordinary (if hairy) human, on a full moon transforms into a powerful bipedal wolf (statistics above for bipedal wolf form). Some might be able to transform at other times (such as when under stress). * Werewolves can be injured by any weapon, but unless killed outright they  regenerate one Health per combat round if the damage was not inflicted by   fire or a silver weapon.

 Attack of the Improbable Things  Humans  Bad Boy S 3 C 2 Q  3 H 9 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Blades 1, Bruiser 2, Dodgy 1, Drive 2, Engineer 2 X 15 He is the man no parent wants their daughter to bring home, but he’s also the  person troubled teens will turn to when the authorities refuse to listen. Usually  has an older sibling in a position of authority or influence who will reluctantly  listen to his tall tales.

Local Mayor S 2 C 3 Q 2 H 6 D 6 Mv 20 Sk Command 1, Intimidate 1, Negotiate 2, Psychology 1 X 10

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Used to being the big fish in a small pool, the mayor will not listen to any  notion that threatens his or her latest scheme to bring money to the town (or  his or her own pockets!).

Local Sheriff S 3 C 2 Q  2 H 9 D 8 Mv 20 Sk Bruiser 1, Command 1, Dodgy 1, Drive 1, Intimidate 1, Perception 1, Shooting 1 X 15 More suited to rousting drunks and ordering amorous teens to move on, the local sheriff will good-naturedly ignore all stories of killer newts and alien invaders until he or she has seen them with his or her own eyes.

Old Man/Woman S 2 C 3 Q  2 H 6 D 5 Mv 20 Sk  Lore 2, Perception 2, Psychology 2 X 10 Marginalised and forgotten, the old man or woman usually knows what is going on long before everyone else does, but who will think to ask them? 

Reporter  S 2 C 3 Q  3 H 6 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Art (Photography/Writing) 2, Investigation 1, Negotiate 1, Perception 1, Psychology 1, Research 1 X 12 When the locals refuse to acknowledge the truth or have been converted into  pod people, a reporter can prove invaluable when it comes to warning the wider world of an impending threat.

Other Creatures   Ant, Giant S 4 C 1 Q  3 H 9 D 8 Mv 30 Sk Bite 3 (Damage 2) Sp Some species are poisonous/some can fly X 40 (60 if poisonous) Fearless in the defence of their nests and remorseless in pursuit of prey, giant  ants are formidable opponents as they are rarely encountered singly or in small numbers.

 Ape, Colossal S 18 C 1 Q 3 H 50 D 12 Mv 50 Sk Pound 5 (Damage 12), Throw Huge Rock 3 (Damage 6), Swipe with Tree 4 (Damage 4 to all in path) X 3,000 The real King of the Jungle, usually harmless to people, unless spirited away  to unfamiliar surroundings, such as a large city.

Crab, Monstrous S 8 C 1 Q 2 H 20 D 12 Mv 30 Sk Pincer 4 (Damage 6) Sp Huge, Grip X 400

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Bottom-dwellers and scavengers, crabs are likely to be amongst the first  creatures to encounter unpleasant chemicals dumped into the sea and to be warped by their effects.

Eggplantosaurus S 5 C 1 Q 3 H 15 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Bite 3 (Damage 3), Spit Pips (Damage 1) X 75 The mutant offspring of a mother plant, the eggplantosaurus is half-giant  aubergine, half giant lizard. It can spit up to one dice worth of pips in a single round.

Eggplantosaurus, Mother Plant S 8 C 2 Q 3 H 25 D 8 Mv 2 Tendril Lash 3 (Damage 3), Spit Irritant 3* Sp Grip, Swallow X 150

*Until washed off, each coating of the irritant causes the target to have to reduce their future attack rolls by -1 (cumulative). Washes off easily enough,  just leaving an itchy rash. It looks like a giant mutant aubergine plant, but its fruits hatch into spiteful  Eggplantosuaruses. The leaves and spiny stems are tougher than they look.

Frog, Giant S 5 C 1 Q 3 H 12 D 6 Mv 40 Sk Swallow 3 Sp Swallow Gold X 60 Scientists often use the health of amphibians as an indicator of the level of   pollution in the local environment. In this instance, the clue will be when a giant frog swallows their research assistant.

Mantis, Giant , S 8 C 1 Q  3 H 20 D 8 Mv 30 Sk Bite 2 (Damage 4), Forelegs Kick 3 (Damage 3), Sneaky 4 Sp Fly, Grip, Huge, Swallow X 600 Solitary ambush predators and opportunist hunters; quite happy to snack on clumsy, hapless humans.

Octopus, Giant, S 9 C 2 Q  4 H 25 D 8 Mv 40 Sk Tentacle* 4 (Damage 5) Sp Huge, Grip X 1,000

*It attacks with 2 of its 8 long tentacles, so can roll to hit twice per round. It came from beneath the sea and decided to hang around and wreak havoc.

Rat, Giant S 2 C 2 Q 4 H 6 D 7 Mv 40 Sk Bite 2(Damage 2) X 12  A rat the size of a dog, spawned in a laboratory and far cleverer than their  smaller counterparts. May be carrying a disease.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Scorpion, Giant S 9 C 1 Q 3 H 27 D 10 Mv 40 Sk Bite 1 (Damage 3), Pincers 2 (Damage 4), Sting 3 (Damage 4+Poison) Sp Huge, Poison, Grip* X 950 *When using pincers. The inevitable consequence of testing nuclear bombs in the desert. Occasionally appears in a Sword and Sandal movie, with a sorcerer riding on its back.

Watch the Skies  If the menace is subtle, then most of the human characters listed under  Attack … can be used here. If the threat is more overt then these other characters might be added to the mix: Appeaser S 2 C 3 Q  2 H 6 D 6 Mv 20 Sk  Command 1 Lore 2 Negotiate 2 Psychology 1 X 10 Whether cowardly and self-serving or ruthlessly pragmatic, the appeaser is someone in a position of authority who is prepared to make any deal in order  to ingratiate themselves with those he or she believes will emerge as the winners when the dust settles.

Biker S 3 C 2 Q  3 H 9 D 8 Mv 30 Sk Blades 1, Bruiser 2, Dodgy 1, Drive 1, Engineering 1, Intimidate 1, Shooting 1 When society unravels, Adventurers may be menaced by, or forge an unexpected alliance with, members of an outlaw motorcycle gang. Tough, uncompromising and self-reliant, a chapter’s bonds are likely to survive the  first days of any invasion scenario.

Collaborator See below  A collaborator is a state of mind, not a block of stats. He or she is willingly  working for the enemy and has insinuated themselves into a position which can be of use to his or her alien masters; e.g. in local or national government; working on important infrastructure, such as an engineer at a nuclear power   plant; someone who is prominent in the media, where he or she can sow  misdirection and propaganda; or in the military where he or she can influence  policy or issue ineffective orders.

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Soldier S 3 C 2 Q 3 H 9 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Blade 1, Bruiser 1, Medicine 1, Perception 1, Shooting 2, Survival 1 X 20 Weekend warriors or full-time professionals, the character of the soldiers  Adventurers encounter will vary on the quality of their leadership and how  well the campaign is going. When optimism is high they will be professional  and helpful; when things turn bad they may close their ranks and become little more than well-trained bandits.

Survivor S 3 C 3 Q  3 H 9 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Archery or Shooting 2, Blade 1, Bruiser 1, Craft 2, Medicine 1, Track 2, Survival 2 The survivalist has been preparing for this for a long time. They may be  paranoid individuals, living in an isolated location, or the head of a family who has relocated their loved ones at the first sign of trouble. They are well prepared, well-stocked, but unlikely to want to share.

Alien Blob S 5 C 1 Q  3 H 15 Mv 30 Sk Bruiser 2, Sneaky 2 Sp Digestive juices¹ Limited Invulnerability² Malleable³ Regenerate⁴ Super-size Me⁵ X 80+

¹ Digestive juices – No one taught this creature to chew its food; instead, it secretes powerful digestive juices that can reduce a grown person to soup in minutes. Damage is 1 Health a round when the creature is small; becoming more powerful as the creature grows in size. ² Limited Invulnerability – Due to its primitive structure, the blob takes little damage from conventional attacks, such as blades or bullets, and will only suffer 1 point of damage each time it is struck by such an attack. Fire or extreme cold may deliver full damage, at the Gamekeeper’s discretion (the Gamekeeper should decide on whether the creature has any other special weakness). ³ Malleable – The creature can squeeze its way through any aperture, even passing through a grille if it chooses too, without suffering any ill effects. ⁴ Regenerate – The creature can repair the damage suffered in attacks by eating organic matter. It regains 1 Health for every Health point its victim possessed before it was consumed. Once all damage has been repaired, the creature will use the excess health to grow in size and strength. ⁵ Super-size Me – the creature is not concerned with managing its weight – quite the reverse, in fact. When fully fit, the Health points it ingests help it

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  grow in size and power. When it has ingested 5 Health points it doubles in size, its Strength increases to 6, it can perform two attacks by extruding two tentacles and the damage inflicted by its digestive juices increases to 2 a round. This progression continues, though the number of Health points required to double in size is twice that of the previous stage (and remember, if the creature is injured, any Health points consumed are used for healing first). After ingesting 10 Health points: S 7, three attacks, digestive juices inflict 3 damage a round. After ingesting 20 Health points: S 8, four attacks, digestive juices inflict 4 damage a round, and so on. Once the creature has reached S 10 it is considered to be Huge. Carried to earth on a meteor or returning probe, the alien blob is a simple creature with only one agenda, to survive. The stats given are for a creature about the size of a double sleeping bag, but the more it eats the larger it gets.

Alien Infiltrator S 2 C 3 Q  3 H 6 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Bruiser 1, Computers 3, Disguise 1, Entertainer 1, Negotiate 1, Science 3, Security 1 X 12

The following vehicles might be used by the Nazi threat, in addition to the ones in the vehicle section on p.50. Small Armoured Car: S  6, Q  3, H 16, D 8, Mv 50, Ca 1 tons, Cr 1, Psg 3

Often armed with one or more machine guns. Can cope with rough tracks, but not true off-road. These are usually hard-skinned and hence count as Huge for combat purposes. They may be open topped or closed. Surfboard, S 1 Q  5 H 2 D 4 Mv 20 Cr 1 Hoverboard, S 1 Q  5 H 3 D 4 Mv 50 Cr 1

Unlike the collaborator, the infiltrator is an alien who can pass for human and  is employed for clandestine activities; as such, they are more dedicated to the cause than their human dupes, though long-term deep cover agents may go native. These infiltrators are usually very convincing, though there is always

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  some subtle clue to give them away, such as a severe allergic reaction to an everyday substance harmless to humans or the inability to understand a human emotion or undertake a routine bodily function, etc.

Robot Drone S 5 C 2 Q  2 H 15 D 6* Mv 20 Sk Bludgeon 1, Craft 2, Shooting 1 Sp Ray gun Range 15, Damage 5 X 45  Artificial foot soldiers of the aliens, robot drones are crafted from alloys that  render them impervious to normal weaponry or else are protected by  shimmering force fields. The key to defeating them is identifying how they are being remotely controlled and blocking the signal, rendering them inert and  useless.

Nazis  Regardless of where or in which era the Adventurers encounter Nazis, they are immediately recognisable in appearance and attitude. For the most part, women are still very much second class citizens; allowed to excel only in the field of espionage or the arts. Nazi Officer S 2 C 3 Q 2 H 6 D 8 Mv 20, Sk Bruiser 1, Intimidate 1, Shooting 2 (Handgun, Large, Damage 4, Range 15) X 20 Officers can serve in a military or political capacity, leading their men to victory  over the Untermensch or observing those same men ruthlessly disposing of  anyone who does not meet the strict Aryan ideal.

Nazi Soldiers treat these as minions, unless they stand out in some way. They are generally Combat 3, Everything Else 3, Defence 6, Move 20, X 25 Nazi Spy S 2, C 3 Q 3 H 6 D 9 Mv 30, Sk Disguise 2, Investigation 2, Psychology 2, Shooting 2 (Handgun, Large, Damage 4, Range 15), Sneaky 2, Trade 2 X 50 Sometimes male but more often than not, in B Movies, female – deadly and  deceitful, and after her identity is revealed, often dressed in a more flatteringly  cut version of a Nazi uniform.

Dinosaurs  Dinosaurs can be encountered in a variety of settings; in the past, courtesy of some form of time travel; at any point in recorded history, clinging on to

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  existence in a remote location; or rampaging through the modern world as a result of scientific experimentation. Generally, when man meets dinosaur the encounter rarely ends well. Flying Dinosaur, S 6, C 1, Q 6, H 12, D 7, Mv 60, Sk Bite 2 (Damage 3), Sp Fly, X 125 Most flying dinosaurs are small and pose little danger to humans – a hungry  or frightened flock is another matter. Run for cover, though, when the largest  of their kind flies into view; it is the size of a Lear Jet and an Adventurer just  might appeal to it as a snack.

Huge Carnivorous Dinosaur S 12 C 1 Q  5 H 40 D 12 Mv 50 Sk Bite (Strong) 5 (Damage 10) Sneaky 2 Sp Huge, X 800 Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus, neither is a creature to be taken lightly. Despite their great size, both are accomplished ambush predators.

Huge Vegetarian Dinosaur S 9 C 1 Q  1 H 60 D 10 Mv 1, Sk Stomp (Strong) 1 (Damage 15) Sp Huge X 400 Some movies paint a ridiculous image of vegetarian dinosaurs being cute and  approachable; try walking up to a triceratops while clutching a handful of   flowers and muttering coochy-coo, and see how long you last.

Raptor S 3 C 2 Q 3 H 9 D 9 Mv 30 Sk Biter 3 (Damage 3) X 50 Particularly clever species of carnivorous dinosaur, that stands as tall as an adult human.

Kaiju  As mentioned before, Kaiju are less monsters to be fought than they are primal forces of nature. They have a tendency to roam where they please, largely oblivious to the efforts of puny humankind to contain or destroy them. How, then, do you devise stats for them in OneDice? One method is to ignore, for the most part, everything else in the world, and concentrate on the kaiju. What does that mean? Think of it like this; the creatures are the only thing that matter, so they are the only things to have stats. In this way, you do not have to create characters with triple-figure health and eye-watering defence, because they simply shrug off anything humans

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  launch at them; concentrating instead on their scaly, claw-wielding counterpart that has just emerged from the bay and wants to tear their fire-breathing head off. Or, in other words, like vehicles are on a different scale to humans and most creatures, kaiju are on a different scale to almost everything else in the world. The best humans can usually do is watch helplessly, or perhaps create a device which will probably either deter or enrage on of the monsters. Build them like player characters, using ordinary stats and skills that become relative to each other, rather than to the world around them. Example 1 Radzilla S 5 C 2 Q  2 H 15 D 9 Mv 20 Sk Bludgeon 1, Bruiser 2, Intimidate 1, Perception 1, Shooting 1, Throw 1 Radzilla is a giant, bipedal reptile; it is strong and likes to mix it up at close quarters, but is a little slow and ponderous.

Example 2 Soar S 3 C 2 Q  4 H 9 D 12 Mv 10 Sk Bruiser 2, Perception 2, Throw 2 Soar is a giant flying dinosaur who, when in combat, likes to switch between raking its foe with its talons and dropping things on them using its Throw skill. When grounded it moves very slowly.

Pimp My Kaiju  Once you have the basics of your kaiju sorted, it is time to add the special sauce – superpowers! Where would a self-respecting monster be without its radioactive breath or ability to fly through space? Assign a maximum of three powers to each Kaiju from the list below. Powers marked with an M count as two picks. Attributes may only be modified once, so a creature cannot be both Stronger and SuperStrong. Of course, Gamekeepers can choose to mix and match as they please, dispensing abilities as they choose; if you want your three-headed space monster to have a unique power per head then so be it. Claws/Teeth - Damage 3. Deadshot (M) – character is deadly at long range (+3 to Shooting and Throw).

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Flight - character can fly within a planet’s atmosphere; may fly through space if it has life support. Invisible (M) – character can become invisible at will. Life Support - the character can survive in the harshest of environments, even the cold depths of space. Mighty Punch (M) – character has a haymaker like no other (+6 To Bruiser). Quicker – character is speedy (+3 to Quick). Ranged Attack – character can attack opponents at range (Damage 3). This attack could take the form of a salvo of porcupine-like quills, fiery breath or laser beams emitted from the creature’s eyes. Stronger – character is very muscular (+3 to Strong). SuperQuick (M) – character is faster than a gunpowder-powered projectile (+6 to Quick). SuperStrong (M) – there’s Strong and then there is SuperStrong (+6 to Strong). SuperTough Skin (M) – character has an incredibly tough hide (+6 to Defence). Tough Skin/ Shell – character has natural armour (+3 to Defence). Venom (M) – one or more of the Character’s attack also injects venom into its opponent following a successful attack. Paralysing or deadly at Gamekeeper’s discretion. Web – the character can produce some form of natural web or net that can ensnare opponents. Make an opposed Quick roll: should the target lose it is impaired for a number of rounds equal to the margin of success and is considered to be Disadvantaged during this period. The bound creature may escape either by spending an entire round wriggling free or by spending a Stunt Point.

The preceding list is far from exhaustive. Feel free to create your own or dip into OneDice Supers for further inspiration. Example 1

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Chapter Two – Gamekeeper Section  Radzilla S 5 C 2 Q  2 H 15 D 12 Mv 20 Sk Bludgeon 1, Bruiser 2, Intimidate 1, Perception 1, Shooting 1, Throw 1 Sp  Claws (+3 Damage), Ranged Attack (Radioactive Breath – Damage 3), Tough Skin Example 2 Soar S 3 C 2 Q  4 H 9 D 12 Mv 10 Sk  Bruiser 2, Perception 2, Throw 5 Sp Claws/Teeth (+3 Damage), Deadshot, Fly

Let Battle Commence  When kaiju clash treat it like any normal-sized fight; the difference lies in how it is presented to the table. For example, an Adventurer involved in a scuffle with a Nazi spy might say ‘I pick up the discarded baton and brain Fritz with it.’ In a Kaiju bout it would probably sound more like this ‘Radzilla bellows in fury, tears the nearest redwood/electricity pylon/Nelson’s Column out of the ground and proceeds to bludgeon Monster X with it.’ Scale is everything. Where an injured man might stumble backwards and collide with a table ‘Monster X utters a shriek of agony as it slams into the Empire State Building, dislodging great chunks of steel and masonry which tumble down on to the shrieking people below.’ Of course, players do not want to sit idly by while the Gamekeeper has all the fun. Let them control the kaiju on one side of a fight or perhaps give them a giant robot to pilot into battle, created in exactly the same way as the kaiju. Remember: Kaiju stats are relative to each other. When they interact with the human world they can do pretty much what they please. Breath weapons will wipe out entire regiments in the blink of an eye; they can treat battleships like bath toys and if one wants to push over the Eiffel Tower because it stands in its way than it’s au revoir to the tower. If an Adventurer gets in the way, only a Stunt Point can save him or her.

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The following adventure ideas are intended to provide inspiration for Gamekeepers who need a plot in a hurry. They have not been written as fully-realised scenarios. Gamekeepers, like movie directors, will inevitably want to put their own spin on things and that is as it should be.

Rise of the Scorpion  It’s the early 1930s and an unscrupulous French archaeologist has been conducting unsanctioned excavations in the Valley of the Kings. He has unwittingly unearthed an ancient force that should have remained hidden for ever; a monstrous scorpion of incredible destructive force. The beast smashes its way out of its subterranean prison and feels the harsh sun on its armoured hide for the first time for millennia. After running amok in the valley, slaughtering Egyptians and tourists alike, it turns northward and begins its tireless march towards Cairo.

Getting Involved  Adventurers might be involved from the start, perhaps invited to meet with the French archaeologist at the (now smashed up) dig site. Alternatively, they

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Chapter Three – Scripts  can be drawn into the events as the gargantuan arachnid marches north. They may have been present in the valley when the creature first emerged, as scholars or tourists; Egyptian or foreign. As members of the military or the press they could encounter the beast as it rampages through a succession of  settlements on the west bank of the Nile, drawing ever-closer to the capital. Regardless of how they got involved, they find themselves drawn into the events as the creature causes further death and destruction while the authorities appear powerless to act. If the Adventurer are present just after the beast has escaped, they may decide to take a look at what’s left of the ruined tombs. Perhaps they’ll find some zombie archaeologists and relic hunters; or even some ancient hieroglyphics that hold a key to defeating the creature. In the latter case, they won’t have time to decipher the code straight away – and anyway, they have a beast to catch up with before it destroys Cairo!!!

Oh, the Humanity  Initially, the Adventurers will be little more than onlookers, inasmuch as there is nothing they can do to prevent the beast’s advance. That doesn’t mean that they have to stand idly by; there should be plenty of opportunity for action as they go to the aid of those unfortunate enough to be caught in the creature’s path. Crucially, they should bear witness to the military, commanded by the British, desperately trying, but failing, to stop the scorpion’s progress. The RAF will respond first, but its outdated biplanes will prove woefully ineffectual. The army, hurrying south from Cairo, will fare no better as the creature shrugs of the shells fired by its light tanks and artillery, the creature smashing its way through one attempted blockade after another.

The Scholar  As the Adventurers fall back towards Cairo, caught up in a tide of terrified refugees, they are forced to spend a night under canvas, close to a temporary army field HQ. Here they are witness to an altercation between the senior British officer and a well-dressed Egyptian. It is clear that the officer has no

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Chapter Three – Scripts  interest in what the civilian has to say, dismissing the man with a contemptuous gesture of his swagger stick. Scarcely has the angry Egyptian moved away from the tent than he is set upon by several dagger-wielding men.

The Scroll  If the Adventurers can prevent his murder, then the man, a renowned scholar, will explain his purpose. Should he be killed, then they will find a notebook detailing the man’s research; in particular, his translation of a scroll that prophesised the return of the monstrous scorpion and the only means of  defeating it; an ancient staff which must be used in conjunction with the Great Sphinx at Giza. (If you decided to give some clues in the smashed up tomb, the scroll will hold the key to deciphering the hieroglyphics, which will reveal the same). It transpires that the (would-be?) killers of the scholar are members of a cult that have prayed for the creature’s return, believing that it will drive the foreigners from Egyptian soil once and for all. Zealots to a man, they choose to overlook the destruction its rampage is wreaking on the property of their countrymen and the hundreds of Egyptians who have perished since its reawakening. From now on the Cult of the Scorpion will dog the path of the Adventurers.

 A Night in the Museum  In order to control the Sphinx, the Adventurers must obtain the staff, which is currently in the possession of a private collector in Cairo. This German merchant has turned his townhouse into a museum of Egyptian antiquities, protected by ruthless armed guards. He will not respond well to any requests to surrender the artefact and the Adventurers’ only option will be to steal the thing. This course of action will prove difficult because, in addition to the highly-motivated guards, the cultists will also want the staff and they will move against the house at the same time the Adventurers do.

Stick Shift  Once the Adventurers have the staff, they can gain access to the Sphinx and make their way to the head. Beside a simple stone chair is a socket for the staff to stand in. Once the staff is inserted, the Sphinx comes to life and the

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Chapter Three – Scripts  person seated in the chair can see and hear as if he or she were the statue, which in turn has become a living thing. With some practice, the controller learns to control the movement of the Sphinx with his or her mind.

Bug Hunt  The scene is set for a climactic clash between scorpion and Sphinx, with the great pyramids serving as a backdrop. While one Adventurer controls the statue, his or her peers have no time for spectating; the cultists have infiltrated the area and they stop at nothing to kill the person controlling the only threat to their perceived saviour.

The Alien with My Face  It is the 1960s and the Space Race is in full-swing. In the USA, NASA is on the verge of testing a rocket capable of carrying astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit. If all goes well, the Saturn V will take men to the Moon.

Looks Familiar  At least one of the Adventurers is a leading scientist at Cape Canaveral; an integral part of the team there. All of the NASA team have been working ridiculous hours to ensure that the test is a success, but the director of the project has now insisted that his top boffins enjoy a short respite before the big day. While enjoying a break in the manner of his or her choosing, the Adventurer is attacked and almost killed by someone who looks just like him or her. The Adventurer survives, but finds him or herself stranded miles from anywhere.

 Access and Allies  The Adventurer needs friends and these can come in a variety of guises: a hunter, park ranger or sheriff’s deputy; perhaps a small town doctor who patches the character up after his or her tussle with the doppelganger. Thus the team of Adventurers is formed. Once they have access to a phone, they can attempt to contact the Cape and alert the security there, but their efforts will be frustrated because the enemy have already replaced the head of  security there with one of their own.

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Chapter Three – Scripts  Clearly, some awful scheme has been set in motion and the Adventurers must stop it, but they must do so by gaining access to a site wreathed in heavy security. No-one else will believe them – and perhaps the head of security has alerted other official bodies, some of whom might also decide to impede the Adventurers. Also, now the enemy knows that the boffin has survived, it will attempt to eliminate him or her before he can upset their plans.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My…Enemy?  At some point, someone in the middle-tier of authority will reluctantly humour the Adventurers and believe their story of face-stealing saboteurs, but they are fakes too, alerted by the head of Cape security, and he or she will lure the Adventurers into a trap. Fortunately, the captors are content merely to hold the characters captive until the deed is done and, like villains everywhere, they are prepared to explain what their dastardly scheme is. They are aliens, sent to Earth to prevent humanity ever leaving its home. After years of study, they have decided that humanity is just too dangerous to unleash on the stars; they were particularly appalled by the dropping of  nuclear bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the fact that, rather than cease the development of such a terrible weapon, mankind has built many more. If the aliens are questioned as to why they have not sought to open a peaceful dialogue with the people of Earth, they will reply that they did make such an attempt, but when their envoys were shot down over Roswell they decided to take direct action. To that end, the Adventurer’s double will reprogram the rocket so that, when it launches, rather than take to the heavens it will fall on Orlando, causing a huge loss of life when its fuel load explodes. Such a tragedy, the aliens believe, will set the Space race back decades.

Caped Crusaders  Now the Adventurers must escape capture, rush to the Cape and save the day, but the countdown has begun and Orlando’s destruction draws closer with each second that passes…

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I Was a Teenage Succubus  The Adventurers will likely be a bunch of college students. Whether jocks or geeks, they’ll all be aware of the new arrival in town. In a small town everyone knows everyone else and when someone new moves in they inevitably excite curiosity. When they happen to be a gorgeous and flirtatious teenage girl that can create a lot of excitement. Jenny-Lou Perkins and her decrepit old aunt have moved into the vacant Corman property on the edge of town. The aunt does not get out much, but Jenny-Lou does enough socialising for the both of them. The trouble is, some of the people the new cheerleader town meets don’t fare too well.

Fatal Attraction  It comes to the Adventurers’ attention that fit young men seem to be dropping dead for no discernible reason. First the assistant football coach at the high school – a former star quarterback with a dodgy knee – is found dead under the bleachers; then a hunky mechanic, the local bad boy, is found in the cab of his tow truck beside the highway. As the bodies begin to pile up, the Adventurers find evidence that suggests Jenny-Lou is more than just a pretty face. Eventually a musty old book in the town library provides a clue as to what she might be – a succubus.

Halloween  The Adventurers will come to their conclusion just as the school’s Halloween Ball takes place; the perfect hunting ground for something that preys on horny young men. Naturally, it is a fancy dress affair and identifying Jenny-Lou proves difficult, but eventually they’ll learn that she was last seen slipping from the hall with one of the Adventurer’s relatives in tow. They hear screaming – false alarm! While making out under the moonlight, their quarry has been surprised by a snake and it is she doing the screaming. When confronted, it soon becomes clear that Jenny-Lou is not the monster they seek. Then who?

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Feeding Frenzy  Back in the hall the real predator has already done away with two students and now has designs on the school’s football captain. With each victim drained her power grows and she becomes emboldened until she reaches the point when she will cast caution aside and engage in a feeding frenzy. The Adventurers return to the building in time to find the vice-principal berating a sleeping track star, who is propped against a trophy case, for being drunk, when he is, in fact, dead! The sound of voices raised in alarm and horror emanating from the dance hall draw the Adventurers’ attention – the school needs a new football captain.

Grounded  The monster will have unmasked herself – not Jenny-Lou, but her reclusive aunt. Grown tired of lurking in the shadows, she now intends to leech as much energy as she can from the young victims in front of her before moving on to a new town in search of new prey. With each victim she grows stronger, but the Adventurers’ research might have revealed a way to destroy her. If they can drive an iron or copper rod through her torso, it will act like a lightning conductor and channel all the accumulated power away from her body and into the air. Of course, the more power the succubus’s body contains the more spectacular the effect as the stolen life force vents into the air, but the creature will be totally depleted and vulnerable should the Adventurers succeed. All they have to do is get close enough to run her through without getting killed first.

 Attack of the Thunder Lizards  The following tale is best set in the American Old West, post-Civil War. Head Raised to the Sky is an influential member of his tribal council and is making his way home with his small entourage, after visiting the home of the Great White Father, Washington DC. He was one member of a large delegation, selected from the Plains tribes, invited to the American capital in order to overawe and intimidate the natives in a bid to persuade them that

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Chapter Three – Scripts  continued opposition and hostility towards West-bound settlers and travellers was futile. Certainly, in the case of Head Raised, the ploy worked. As he made his way home, the demoralised shaman resolved to counsel peace to his peers, having realised that there was nothing that his small tribe could do to stem the tide of humanity set to flow west now the war is over. Then fate, in the form of a quartet of drunken Border Ruffians, intervened. They attacked Head Raised’s party, shot down the men and despoiled and murdered his only daughter, Raven’s Wing. Fun over, they rode away, unaware that the shaman still lived. Grief-stricken and enraged, the injured Head Raised travelled to a place sacred to his people and performed a rite which he hoped would open a channel to the great spirits; a conduit he could use to beseech the gods for aid against the white vermin. Instead, he unwittingly opened a portal to an earlier time and unleashed creatures that have not wandered the plains of North America for more than 60 million years.

High Plains City  High Plains City sounds a great deal grander than it actually is. In reality, it is little more than a dusty main street, lined by various businesses opened in the belief that the railroad would be coming through soon, bringing prosperity with it. To date, there is no indication that the locomotives and their bounty will be arriving any time at all, let alone in the immediate future… In its favour, it does stand on the bank of a small lake which at least provides clean water to the town all year round and the businesses do derive a modest living from the two local ranches and the soldiers from the under-manned Fort Edson to the north-east. The residents and itinerants go about their daily business, unaware that visitors, of a type they could never have anticipated, are on their way.

Critters  Early indications that all is far from normal come by way of a number of odd and disturbing sightings in the area. A terrified cowhand rides into town to get drunk after encountering ‘Winged Demons’ (actually small pterosaurs) snacking on a dead steer. A young couple enjoying a picnic in a grove of 

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Chapter Three – Scripts  riverside trees suddenly find themselves endangered when a herd of ostrichsized creatures stampede through their romantic spot. Something strange is clearly going on, but what?

Path of Destruction  There is worse to come. A herd of triceratops is making its way south as part of its annual migration cycle and High Plains City stands immediately in its way. The horned dinosaurs are in no mood to deviate from their course, because they are being shadowed by a pair of Tyrannosaurs who will fall on any stragglers without mercy. Driven on by the predators, the herd will hit the town like a tsunami of armoured flesh.

Message in a Bottle  Nobody really has a clue what they are dealing with. Palaeontology is still very much in its infancy and the people of High Plains City are not great readers in any case. There is one among them who has an inkling of what might be happening, but who amongst the increasingly agitated townsfolk has time to listen to a drunken sot? No one knows the real name of the alcoholic who does odd jobs around town for beer money; they disparagingly refer to him as Empty Bottle. Once, however, he was Head Raised’s predecessor as tribal shaman and, as the alcoholic fog clears, he realises that someone has opened a portal that needs to be closed.

Shut That Door  No one knows if closing the portal will magically return the dinosaurs to their proper time, but it will certainly stop more turning up and creating havoc. Empty Bottle can lead the Adventurers to where Head Raised still sits in his mystical trance, but interrupting the spell will not be easy. A family group of raptors has been drawn to the strange energy emanating from the shaman and, being fiercely territorial, they do not take kindly to strangers riding onto their turf – and those horses do look mighty tasty…

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Invisible Jaws  By some means – shipwreck, plane crash, or simply having been dropped off  at the wrong location perhaps – the Adventurers find themselves arriving on a remote tropical island just as a severe storm threatens. Fortunately, they can spot a cluster of buildings that should provide shelter from the elements; unfortunately, the buildings are a complex which has been used as a laboratory for conducting illegal genetic experimentation.

Go Fish  Seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, a commodity humanity needs to survive. People live beside it, sail upon it, obtain food from it and use it for recreation. What then, if you could, in times of war, instil a very real fear of water – the sea, rivers and lakes – by introducing vicious predators that live in it and will hunt down and kill anyone foolish enough to approach it? That was the premise behind Benchley Corps’ off-book experiments. Taking the bull shark as its base species, a team of unscrupulous scientists spent millions of dollars developing the ultimate shark. By trial and error they succeeded, but they did not have time for celebrations. A hurricane blew across the island, damaging infrastructure and safeguards and the twisted products of their genius escaped and began to feed on their creators. When the Adventures arrive the sharks are still confined to the island – but for how much longer?

The Last Windmill  One thing the scientists did not change is the sharks’ intolerance for powerful electrical fields. Anticipating that the creatures might escape an electric fence was created that encircles the island and emits a level of current the mutated sharks simply cannot tolerate. Fortunately, the fence still works; unfortunately, the single windmill that powers it is unlikely to survive the battering it will receive from the oncoming storm (and possibly the fence will also need some repair – if the Adventurers were dropped off or escaped a shipwreck, they will have entered at the breached section.) The Adventurers can learn about the sharks and their vulnerabilities from blood-soaked journals or perhaps they’ll be informed by the facility’s only

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Chapter Three – Scripts  resident; a dishevelled research assistant named Terence Shaw. The wild-eyed biologist is half-mad, but he is all too aware of the threat the sharks pose to the wider world should they escape and reproduce unchecked. He has managed to stay one step ahead of the killer fish, but not without cost; he is missing his left hand. Shaw knows the windmill will not last and is determined to kill the sharks before the fence fails (or to mount an expedition to repair it), but he has despaired of achieving his goal alone. Now, with the Adventurers’ help, he hopes that he can kill the creatures before it is too late. How hard could it be to kill some fish confined by a fence? Like shooting fish in a slightly larger barrel, surely? Except these fish can hunt on land, have the ability to camouflage themselves and possess a poisonous sting in addition to their fearsome jaws. They are also hungry; probably already know the Adventurers are on the island; and are even now stalking them. So who’s hunting who? The Adventurers might be able to fashion some electric prods, if they have the skills; and they might be saved once by a bolt of lightning – but they are unlikely to be that luck twice! Mutant Shark S 5 C 2 Q  5 H 15 D 10 (in water) 5 (on land) Mv 20 (skimming on land) 60 (in water) Sk Bruiser 5 (Jaws Damage 5, Tail Damage 2 + poison), Perception 3, Sneaky 2 Sp Air breathing¹ Chameleon² Reinforced skeleton³ Sense electrical field⁴ Sting⁵ Weakness: electricity

¹ Air breathing – the sharks have been altered and can function on land for ten minutes, but once that time has expired they must return to the water or die. ² Chameleon – if a shark remains in place for two rounds its skin will change to match its surroundings. Provided it remains stationary, it gains +3 to Sneaky. ³ Reinforced skeleton – the scientists have added a ribcage to the animal’s physiology and reinforced its fins so that it can walk on land. ⁴ Sense electrical field – due to their sensitivity to the electrical fields generated by living creatures the sharks can hunt prey in total darkness. If  their quarry is at a range of five feet or less the shark receives a bonus of +2 Perception.

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Chapter Three – Scripts  ⁵ Sting – each shark has a venomous sting concealed in its tail, much like the ones found in stingrays. It can flick it out at will and, on a successful Bruiser roll, the sting will inject deadly and fatal venom into the target. Weakness: electricity. If exposed to electricity more powerful than that contained in a livestock fence, the shark will die. Naturally, it will try to escape, but if that proves to be impossible then the animal will perish after a minute of exposure. Designed to function and flourish in sea and salt water alike, the mutant shark  is deadly when submerged, but can take the fight to the enemy by making short forays on shore.

If the Adventurers become casualties early on, they might be aided by a helicopter crew (probably sent to look for them) or military or Corp “clean up” crew. This is a good way of introducing replacement Adventurers, but not a good way of escaping, as the helicopter won’t be able to take off again in the ever worsening storm.

Escape from Planet N  Set sometime in the future. When scientists detect an anomaly in the vicinity of Jupiter, the UN sponsors a space mission to determine what it is. Actually, the Powers-that-be suspect they know what it is already; a stable wormhole – but they do not want to share that information with the general public. A hand-picked team of specialists from around the world board the spacecraft Roddenberry   and blast off into the heavens. In true B Movie fashion they arrive at their destination within days, but scarcely have they begun their experiments than disaster strikes. The ship sustains damage while passing through a swarm of micro-meteroids. With its engines offline, the Roddenberry  enters the wormhole.

 A Green and Pleasant Land  The ship emerges from the other end of the wormhole and the crew finds they are in close proximity to a planet that bears some resemblance to Earth. Certainly, initial studies suggest that the atmosphere can sustain human life.

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Chapter Three – Scripts  As the Roddenberry   descends the crew can see a patchwork of fields and something that is clearly a small town. On the ground, they are approached by a small group of humans of a somewhat rustic appearance. They appear pleasant enough, though further observation suggests that they are not at all comfortable with conversing with any women in authority or anyone who is not obviously white. The delegation suggests that the Adventurers travel to their capital city, where they can meet the leaders and receive help to repair the damaged Roddenberry . At no point does any of the blond-haired, blue-eyed yokels name this metropolis, referring to it only as ‘The Capital.’ Little wonder, because its name is New Berlin and the multi-racial crew have landed on a planet populated by Nazis.

Mars or Bust  In 1945, with the war lost, many high-ranking Nazis contemplated escape, but though some chose to hide themselves amongst the “sub-humans” of  South America, most did not relish that prospect. Instead, they elected to pin their hopes on a desperate gamble; a secret rocket capable of taking a select few to Mars. Unfortunately, in their haste, the German boffins miscalculated and the rocket passed Mars by, seemingly carrying its anxious passengers into oblivion. Then the rocket passed through the Jovian wormhole and carried the fleeing Nazis to a new world. For generations (time passes differently through the wormhole, though the Adventurers don’t know that) they have inhabited this planet, living the Aryan dream, giving little thought to what they see as the flawed world they left behind. The unexpected arrival of the Roddenberry   provides a rude awakening, causing cogs to begin spinning that have lain idle for some time.

Pre-emptive Strike  The Nazi high command always suspected that the people of Earth might discover their bolthole one day and they planned accordingly. Having been beaten once in a fair fight and suspecting, correctly, that they would be ridiculously outnumbered should the people of Earth come calling in force, the head Nazis decided that open warfare was not a feasible option. Instead, they have developed a powerful bio-weapon extracted from a lethal native

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Chapter Three – Scripts  fungus that, when deployed in the Earth’s atmosphere, will have catastrophic results for the planets’ population. Once the Nazis have repaired the Roddenberry  and mastered how to pilot it they will use the craft as a Trojan Horse to introduce the deadly agent into the skies above major population centres. From there, the winds will carry it all across the globe.

The Source of All Power  During their travels the Adventurers will have noticed that, for the most part, Nazi World is comparatively low-tech. Horses, brought from Earth, do much of the grunt world and it is only in New Berlin that more sophisticated vehicles, such as cars and autogyros, can be found. It appears that they all run on some form of electricity, transmitted by terminals positioned in the city’s streets. While incarcerated, the Adventurers are approached by a disgruntled female guard who, like many of her gender, has become disgruntled with her lot in male-dominated Nazi society. She will help them escape, provided they take her and her younger sister with them. She also tells them how they can frustrate most, if not all, attempts to pursue them; by destroying the source of the city’s power.

Grey Matter  Deep beneath the city lies a plant designed to siphon the energy generated by a unique source – Hitler’s twisted brain! Salvaged by a zealot from the bunker in Berlin and carried to the new world, where it was hoped a new body could be fashioned for it, cloning proved to be a skill beyond Nazi science. The brain refused to die however and, unfettered by the constraints of a human skull, it has grown to the size of a cottage. The Nazis now tap its uncanny energy to power their vehicles and devices. Kill the brain, kill the city!!!

One Way Trip  If the Adventurers are to prevent the Nazis returning to Earth and unleashing their deadly weapon, they must escape from New Berlin and deny them the Roddenberry ; either by flying away in it or destroying it so completely the enemy cannot rebuild it.

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Shadow of the Ripper  The script is set in London, at the height of the Blitz. The Luftwaffe pound the city mercilessly and death and destruction is everywhere. The Adventurers come to realise that something other than German bombs is also killing the people of the East End.

Return of the Ripper  The Adventurers can be drawn from any profession appropriate for London at the time; home guard, ARP wardens, servicemen on leave or mustered out due to injury, police or members of any of the other emergency services, Coroners, reporters, Women Auxiliaries, or simply local folk unfit for duty overseas. It soon becomes clear to anyone paying attention that some of the dead young women who have been removed from bomb sites were not killed by high explosives. Examination by a competent doctor will reveal that they have been killed in a bloody manner reminiscent of the Ripper slayings of  1888. Has a copycat killer taken to the streets of war-torn London or is something altogether more fantastical going on?

Jack or Jill?  The new Ripper has been seen, at least that is what some claim once rumours start to spread. By all accounts, he is a well-built, square-jawed fellow, sporting a nasty scar on the left-side of his face. True, no one has actually seen him with blade in hand, but he has been seen once too often in the vicinity of the new killings for it to be coincidence, surely? The witnesses are correct to a point. Reginald Bowen, a volunteer fireman, has been present at the scene of the crime several times and, once identified, he will attempt to escape, but he is not the new Ripper. His sister is.

Spoils of War  Several months before, while searching a bombed building for bodies, Reginald fell through a weakened floor into a concealed cellar. There, he found a Gladstone bag filled with medical equipment which he suspected might fetch a good price if he could find the right customer. Concealing his

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Chapter Three – Scripts  find from his colleagues, he took the bag home to the house he shared with his sister, Maisie. Reginald was cautious in his pursuit of a buyer for his bag; looting, when all said and done, was considered to be despicable by most right-thinking people. He delayed too long however, and a curious Maisie, while examining the strange bag’s contents, accidentally cut herself on a scalpel. She bandaged her finger and thought nothing of it, but the malignant entity long trapped in the keen blade had invaded her body and would soon take control. A day later, Masie was completely under the spirit’s influence. She willingly served as its vessel as it took to the streets for the first time in over fifty years. Initially, as it had in 1888, it practiced a little restraint – and Maisie was able to return home while her brother was out fighting fires without arousing his suspicion; but, as the kills accumulated accumulate d and the spirit became more confident, the spirit has become increasingly lazy and complacent and Reginald has become concerned by his sister’s increasingly strange behaviour. One night he pretended to go to work, but instead he took up a vantage point where he could observe his own house and then followed Maisie, when she set out on one of her nocturnal forays. What he saw horrified and appalled him – and when he approached his sister to plead her to stop, she turned on him and attacked him. He was lucky to escape with his life. Since that night he has been tracking her, armed with a handwritten journal penned by the man who consigned the malignant spirit of the Ripper to the scalpel in 1888. His name was Algernon Sinclair. It was Algernon alone who had identified the nature of the killer stalking London’s fog-shrouded fog-shrouded streets; it was Algernon who identified its host (a notorious prostitute, known and trusted by her peers) and performed the rite that tore the spirit from her (killing her in the process) and trapped it in the t he blade it had wielded to such bloody purpose. It had been Algernon’s intention to study the spirit at length in his concealed cellar study, but a chance encounter with a runaway carriage brought his life to an abrupt end and he took his secret with him to the grave, his journal and the former Ripper’s bag, including the blade and its reluctant guest, lay undiscovered until Reginald came crashing through the roof of the cellar that fateful night.

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Blood Lust  Once they have heard Reginald’s story, stor y, he will beseech them to help him save his sister and stop the killings, but can both objectives be achieved? After all, removing the murderous spirit the first time killed the host. The Ripper proves elusive and does not appreciate becoming the hunted rather than the hunter. After one close encounter, it will recognise the Adventurers as a threat and will target any female member of the party, failing that a female relative of  an Adventurer, or a sweetheart if they have no family thereabouts. Eventually, though, it grows tired of sparring with the Adventurers and sets its sights on more illustrious prey. Against a backdrop of ruined streets and exploding bombs, the Adventurers become embroiled in a race against time, as they hurry towards a hospital currently playing host to unexpected visitors that have become the spirit’s new targets – two young princesses called Elizabeth and Margaret. The Ripper S 5 C 3 Q 5 H 15 D 9 Mv 40 Sk Blades 3 (Scalpel damage 2) Sneaky 3 Sp Shadow form* Shadow manipulation** X 250

* Shadow form – as a defensive measure or as a means to gain entry to a locked room, the Ripper can become two-dimensional. In this state it cannot be harmed, but nor can it attack anyone. Adopting this form is taxing to the spirit and it loses one point of Strong for every minute it maintains this state. Should its Strength fall to zero then the spirit will take refuge in the body of  its host (the Strong returns after a short rest). ** Shadow manipulation – when standing still, the Ripper can cloak itself in shadow, gaining a +2 bonus to Sneaky. This bonus is lost as soon as it moves or attacks.

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OneDice 

Player: __________________________________ Character: _______________________________ Level:____ Exp: _________ Stunt Points: ______

Strong 

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Move 

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Equipment 

Background/Portrait

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