SmallTowns.v3

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Small Towns PLAYTEST DOCUMENT B.Richmond 9/7/2012

Contains: Chargen, Chargen, Core Rules, Town Generation. To Add: Completed Completed Monster List. List. Environmental Environmental Rules.

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How to Play Whenever you perform an action that has a chance of failure, you roll two six-sided dice, or 2d6. A roll of two (2) is a critical failure which will add further complications to the situation. For example if you played a character with glasses running from a monster and you rolled a two, you would not only fail to outrun the monster but you would also probably trip and break your glasses. A roll of twelve (12) is a critical success which should give you and possibly your allies some breathing room. For example, if you were running away from that previously mentioned monster and you rolled a twelve, you would make it back to your car in time to grab your gun and prepare a shot at the beast. Consult the following chart for rolls in between these extremes.

Number Rolled(2d6)

What It Means

2

Critical Failure.

3-6

Failure.

7

Partial Success.

8-11

Success.

12

Critical Success.











Focus Starting Characters have a number of dice they can invest into three different Focuses. The Focuses are Fight Fight,, Think Think,, and Run Run.. For every dice you invest into a Focus, you Dice. gain a Focus Dice. A Focus Dice is an additional d6 that you can add to your 2d6 roll. Once a dice is used during a gaming session, it is up to the GM to determine when it can be used again. Child Characters begin play with 3 dice to invest into Focuses. Adult Characters begin play with 5 dice to invest into Focuses. Adult Characters can never invest more than 4 dice in any one Focus. Foc us.

Fear Fear is the most common issue your characters will face. When a character is suffering the effects of Fear, they must roll a Fear Dice. A Fear Dice is a d6 that you subtract from your 2d6 total. So if a character rolled 2d6 and got an 11 and then rolled a 6 on the Fear Dice, their Success would become a Failure. When a character is confronted by something that causes Fear they can roll 2d6, but not a Focus Dice. A Character may expend the use of o f a single Focus Dice to get rid of a Fear Dice. The situations that cause fear may have different effects on players, and these are reflected in the area/object/monster stat block. The GM is the ultimate authority on when Fear Dice should go away, but it should neither be immediate i mmediate or too long lasting an effect.











Life and Death There are several different levels of injury a character takes before they die. All characters start off Healthy off Healthy and slowly degrade until they eventually end up Gone Gone,, which can mean dead or zombified, or completely insane with no chance of recovery depending on what sends the character to that level. Different weapons and attacks lower a character’s Health Level. Child characters have six Health Levels. Adult characters have seven Health Levels. Monsters and Spirits have vastly different types of Health and are listed in their individual entries. Healthy is the starting health level, which means you suffer no adverse penalties. You are as you should be on a normal day. Minor Pain (Adults) is a level of moderate pain that can be shrugged off with a few moments of attention. Children end up Scraped Up rather than suffering Minor Pain. Scraped Up is a level lower and can be healed up in a day or two’s rest. Hurt is when things start to get bad. Because of your injuries, pain, and trauma, when you roll an 8, 9 or 10 they are counted as Partial Successes rather than a Success. You will need some proper medical attention. Injured is worse still. You probably have some broken bones or a concussion. You suffer a -1 on all Focus Attributes, and a roll of 7 now counts as a Failure. You will need proper first aid and a trip to the doctor’s office. Down means you are virtually unconscious and barely able to whisper. A Downed character suffers a -2 on all Focus Attributes and a roll of 3 or 4 becomes a Critical Failure. You will need hospitalization. ho spitalization. Gone means you’ve suffered enough damage to be dead, dying, insane, or worse. You will never fully recover from being Gone. The T he Character is essentially removed from











Character Creation Creating a character is meant to be a relatively simple process, and the goal is that you should be able to fit all the details you need on a single index card. First, come up with a name, gender, and age. Your GM should tell you if this is going to be a children-on children-only ly game or an adult-only game, or if you will be in a mixed group. Second, once you’ve determined if you are going to be a kid or an adult, invest your dice into the Focuses: Fight, Think, or Run. Third, determine two specialties. Specialties are things that t hat your character is exceptionally good at. Kids might be good at identifying bugs or sneaking around, while Adults might be skilled with using a hunting hunt ing rifle or researching. Specialties give you a +2 Bonus on tests relating to these specific things. Fourth, come up with a few traits. You might be tall, you might be short, you might be fat, you might be thin. People might think you’re cool, people might think you’re weird, and people might think you’re boring. For Adults, this also entails a j ob description like being a cop, reporter, teacher, or fisherman. Traits represent how people in the game see you, and what you may consider a positive can quickly become a negative. A cool cop who is screaming about ghosts is going to get more mockery than the loser cop who everyone already considered a weirdo. Five, determine your gear and budget. Kids should probably have a few necessary pieces of clothing for various weather changes (raincoat/winter coat), and maybe a few pieces of cheap technology (like a Polaroid camera, flashlights, super-soakers). super -soakers). Adults have a bit more things but the wealth doesn’t go as far: a car, a place to live, and the means to live cost a lot of time and money. They should have some form of transportation or living arrangement, clothing, and some modest recreational gear and job equipment.











Combat and Weapons To determine who strikes first in combat, roll 2d6. The Fight or Run Focus Dice can be used to get a higher number. Whoever has the highest number attacks first. Fights between humans are rarely to the death, mostly due to fear of being caught and fear of killing. Fights between monsters and humans are usually more lethal. When you hit with a weapon, you do the amount of Damage listed. If a Health Level is listed, the victim of the attack is lowered to that level or takes the amount of damage in parenthesis if they are already at that level. Blunt Weapons: Clubs/Bats/Sticks/Pipes/Fists On a Partial Success, 1 Damage. On a Success. 2 Damage. Damage. On a Critical Success. Enemy is Injured (or 2 Damage). Ballistic Weapons: Pistol/Hunting Rifle/Gun On a Partial Success, 3 Damage. On a Success. Enemy is Downed. On a Critical Success. Enemy is Downed or Gone (Shooter’s choice). Sharp Weapons: Knives/Swords/Blades/Teeth On a Partial Success, 1 Damage. On a Success. Enemy is Hurt (or 1 Damage). On a Critical Success. Enemy is Injured (or 1 Damage) Vehicle Impact: Bike/Car/Truck/T Bike/Car/Truck/Train rain If hit by a Bike, Biker takes 1 Damage. Enemy is Hurt (or 1 damage). If hit by a Car, Driver takes 0 Damage. Enemy is Down (or 2 damage) If hit by a Truck/Train. Enemy is Gone (or 4 damage)













The Setting The Location of the town can be anywhere from Alaska to the badlands of the Midwest or the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The only key important factor of the Location is that the small town is secluded, separated to the big cities and other towns by long stretches of highway and hard to traverse wilderness. Every small town has its secrets, and these secrets are known by The Authority. Authority. The Authority is made up of those who have been exposed to the secrets, either willingly or as a victim. The Authority need not be the antagonistic force, but rarely will they accept that a group of kids or a few men and women with guns can solve their problems. The secrets may come from or dwell within the Hidden Places. Places. The Hidden Places are forgotten or shrouded in local mythology and rumors. The T he Authority, if they have the means, will try to keep people out of such places or make sure they are only told of in the drunken ramblings of those they cannot completely co mpletely suppress. But for every Hidden Places, there are a few Safe Places. Places. Havens created by those who have seen the truth and want to fight it, or places where the dark things do not tread. The most common Safe Places are common meeting areas where people can regroup, bind their wounds, eat or drink, use the bathroom, and get a moment’s reprieve from the true threat. Unknown. It is found in the Hidden Places, can slink into the That true threat is The Unknown. Safe Places and is foolishly believed to be controlled or contained by those who are part of The Authority. The Unknown takes many forms. The Unknown corrupts the souls of mortals, torments their minds, and breaks them down into twisted, cruel, manic things.











The Location (Roll 1d6) # Rolled

The Location

1

Grassland Region

2

Forested Region

3

Mountainous Region

4

Coastal Region

5

Arid Region

6

Winter Region

Grassland Regions include rolling hills, wide open plains, and an unobstructed unobstructed view of the t he sky. The Great Plains region of the USA would be considered a Grassland Region for purpose of making a town. Forested Regions can be tropical bayous, deciduous woods or coniferous forests. Washington State and much of the East Coast of America would be considered Forested Regions for the purpose of making a town. mountains, or even Mountainous Regions are locations at high altitudes, near mountains, on mountains. Appalachian Range or the Rocky Mountains are good examples of Mountainous Regions a town may be located next to. Coastal Regions are in close proximity with large salt or freshwater bodies of water. The town could border the Great Lakes, the Atlantic or the Pacific











The Authority (Roll 2d6) # Rolled 1 2 3 4 5 6

1-2

The Authority 3-4

4-6

The Sheriff

The Mayor

The Industrialist

The Church

The Teacher

The City Council

The Candidate

The Old Man

The Shopkeeper

The Doctor

The False Friend

The Librarian

The Waitress

The Camp Counselor

The Laborer

The Drifter

The Secret Society

The Agent

The Sheriff is Sheriff is the head law enforcement officer in the town, with access to guns and a great deal of authority. The Sheriff can potentially assist the party in dealing with physical threats, though it’s more likely for the Sheriff to bust them for trespassing or illeg ally carrying a firearm. Or “Disturbing the Peace”. The Mayor is in charge of the town and can influence public policy. The Mayor is also the sort of person you don’t want to threaten or tick off, as they can easily manipulate their allies against you. The Industrialist likely maintains a factory or some other business, possibly employing the bulk of the town. The Industrialist has the money and power to get away with crimes, as well as the ability to gather hired muscle in need of money who will work less than savory jobs. The Church refers to the person in charge of any local religious structure and by that extent, their subordinates. subordinates. The Church can be a great ally against the











The City Council is a powerful Authority, able to change public policies and manipulate many agencies. The City Council is also made up of beings from multiple agencies, the type of people who can influence Teachers, the Church, the Librarian, the Laborer, the Industrialist, and the Mayor. The Candidate is a person running for office, like Mayor or City Council; they have a lot of charisma but little power if they don’t win the position. The Candidate likely has a built up following of loyal activists that he can use to blackball or harm those who stand in the way of his goals and ambitions. The Old Man has been around long enough to know the secrets of the town deeper than many other Authority figures. The Old Man may even know when the Unknown first came to the town. The Old Man may be crotchety or unsuspecting, depending on how the years, society and the burden of knowledge have weighed in on him. The Shopkeeper is able to keep his finger on the pulse of the locals, and he controls the flow of goods. The Shopkeeper can tarnish someone’s reputation by having them banned from his or her store, just as easily as he can assist them by selling batteries or bullets off the record. The Doctor has a great deal of power, including the ability to have people committed, should it be wanted. The Doctor can provide medical aid and scientific answers to the curious events if they aren’t directly working for the Authority. The False Friend is a personal associate of the players who happens to be











The Waitress keeps an eye on travelers and helps dispel notions about strangeness on the roads. The Waitress also deals in foods and drinks, giving her ready access to poison her enemies while gathering information like where they are from and why they are in town. The Camp Counselor spread propaganda to children, turning dark truth into “local myth and legend”. The Camp Counselor is able to keep tabs on many kids and is often the only adult watching them for a prolonged period of time. The Laborer works the mills, factories and docks of the town, not a being of great authority but one with friends and physical power. The Laborer is able to appeal to his fellow workers for support or political influence. The Drifter is a stranger, one who might be followed or one who might be following the Unknown. The Drifter is usually a pawn of The Authority or The Unknown, unwittingly reporting activity or allowing the Unknown to flaunt its power. The Secret Society is an organization of the Authority, run by those who know the truth and those they deemed worthy enough to learn of it. The Secret Society could be benevolently protecting the town in silence, but their methods may not be approved of by all. The Agent is a government employee with a good budget, a sharp suit, and a gun; sent to investigate i nvestigate something something and unwilling to let the locals interfere. The Agent is rarely directly part of The Authority. More often than not, the Agent is a hapless pawn or cover-up specialist.













The Hidden Places (Roll 2d6) # Rolled 1 2 3 4 5 6

1-2

The Hidden Places 3-4

5-6

Derelict Place

Haunted Place

Devil’s Place

Forgotten Battlefield

Place Where No Man Treads

Sacred Waters

Nexus Point

Earthworks

Ancient Glyphs

Murder Scene

Lost Monument

Caverns Deep

Broken Institute

Cold War Relic

Carnal Pit

The Rock

Demesne of the Strange

The Secret Club

The Derelict Place refers to an abandoned place of industry. Good examples include an abandoned slaughterhouse, an abandoned mine, a factory in disrepair, an old mill, or a train Station on long dead tracks. The Haunted Place refers to a place that is generally rumored and considered to be haunted by the locals. This could be the creepy old house from colonial times, a bridge where a man committed suicide, or a grove where body parts were found back in the fifties. The Devil’s Place is an anomalous location, like an unlucky crossroads or a











The Sacred Waters are places of spiritual energy. The Sacred Waters could be an alleged fountain of youth, an old lake considered holy to Native American Tribes, or the lone watering hole for all the animals in a region. elemental ley lines of the The Nexus Point is an area where the natural and elemental world converge. Strange lights and issues with electronic equipment is commonplace in such locations. The Earthworks are earthen platforms, burial mounds and temple mounds, as well as things like the Nazca Lines. Earthworks Earthworks had religious meanings to Native American tribes, and they may also serve as curious signifier to extraterrestrial extraterrestrial beings. The Ancient Glyphs can be found carved into trees, stones, and painted on the walls of caves. Their meanings are unknown, even to the indigenous people of the region. They could foretell prophecy, doom, or simply be a puzzle waiting for a solution. The Murder Scene is a spot where a gruesome murder occurred and where the land itself never recovered from the traumatic event. The ground may be











Such places are generally filled with negative emotions, as many travesties and unreported sins occurred behind their walls. The Cold War Relic is an abandoned bunker, underground number station, crashed USSR satellite or bomb shelter from a time when America feared an oncoming nuclear holocaust. Propaganda and dust-covered consoles line such places, as well as half-finished formulae on chalkboards. The Carnal Pit is an underground location of unfortunate butchery. This could be an abandoned quarry where the mob buried the bodies of rats and cops. It could be a tiger-trap like pit cave that plants conceal, only for unfortunate unfortunate travelers to fall into i nto and become an additional set of bones. The Rock is a place of isolation, carefully positioned in places dangerous or hard to reach. The Rock can refer to a lighthouse constantly beset by storms, a jailhouse built built to harbor harbor a dangerous dangerous criminal criminal in need of of constant isolation, a hunter’s cabin in the mountains or an astronomer’s research station that hasn’t been unlocked in years. The Demesne of the Strange is a place where the dark things come from. It is











The Safe Places (Roll 2d6) The Safe Places # Rolled 1 2 3 4 5 6

1-3 The Relatives’ Place The Local Shop The Library The Church The Police Station The Campgrounds

4-6 The Schoolhouse The Shopping Center The Playground The Clubhouse The Ally’s Place The Outlier

The Relative’s Place is a safe place for one or more characters because it belongs to to an Uncle, Aunt, Cousin Cousin or Sibling Sibling who won’t mind too much much about them crashing on the couch or using the garage for something “private” in the early hours of the morning.

The Schoolhouse is usually not open at night without a good reason, and there’s no way you’ll be getting in carrying a weapon. The Schoolhouse might be considered a designated safe meeting place for the community, meaning it can be used to t o stay safe through t hrough hurricanes hurricanes or other calamities.











The Playground is closed at dark, but crowded by parents and kids during the day, which makes it easy for individuals to blend in. Children without adults or adults without children can possibly warranted the suspicion of concerned parents or possible predators. The Church is a place of holy strength, provided those who maintain it are pious and pure. Demons and evil spirits cannot enter beyond its threshold lest they be scorched and be banished back from whence they came. Churches are open most hours of the day, but those running them will not approve of certain attire, attitudes, or any overt weaponry. The Clubhouse refers to a tree house, after school activities room, or a secret meeting place. This safe place is easy to maintain and notice intrusions from the Authority, as it is very personal or used so often that minor changes will be noticed. The Police Station is not an ideal meeting place, place, but it is certainly safe. There are trained and armed professionals at work behind the bulletproof bulletproof glass of the waiting room. The issue with using the Police Station as a meeting place is that Cops will ask you questions and anything borderline illegal will create a













The Unknown (Roll 2d6) # Rolled 1 2 3 4 5 6

1-2

The Unknown 3-4

5-6

The Hairy Man

The Extraterrestrial

The Spirit World

The Mutant

The Walking Dead

The Demon

The Creature

The Magician

The Vampire

The Artifact

The Time Traveler

The Fair Folk

The Under-People

The Eldritch Abomination

The Water Monster

The Inspired Killer

The Tormented Savior

The Devil Himself

Werewolves or Giants. The Hairy Man refers to creatures such as Sasquatch, Werewolves Hairy Men are generally large, physically powerful, and often have a stench to them. Hairy Men tend to solve their issues via hunting and violence.











The Creature is something that could vestigial resemble a “real” thing, but it is exaggerated and twisted in appearance that it cannot be confused for anything other than a monster. Giant Spiders, Lizard-Men, and the Jersey Devil are all solid examples of this type. The Magician is a mortal practitioner who has dabbled in areas man was not meant to know. Such hubris brings scorn from the righteous and lust from darker powers. Magicians include Cultists, Diabolists, Psychics, and Witches. The Vampire is a harbinger of blight, carrion, disease and death. In the twisted guise of what could be considered human, Vampires play their shadow games, manipulating others into becoming cattle or performing tasks in ancient plots.











The Eldritch Abomination should not exist by all rational comprehension. comprehension. They could be ancient uncaring gods, beings from an alien world where physics are no longer holding sway, or visitors from an unknown dimension. Sentient lights, all-devouring blobs, and goat-legged merchants made of tentacles under their clothing are possible examples. The Water Monster dwells beyond the reach of man, forever avoiding them even as they search for proof. The Water Monster can be found in ancient paintings and legends by the indigenous people, all of whom generally agree that the creature should be avoided. Water Monsters tend to appear as great serpents, fish, squids, fish-like men, or leftover dinosaurs. The Inspired Killer tried to survive their encounter with the Unknown, but they were left with a permanent psychic scar. Perhaps they are driven to











Black-Eyed Kids (Demon, Vampire, V ampire, or Extraterrestrials) Black-Eyed Black-Eyed Kids are an enigma. They are pale and child-like with two black eyes, which means they may be what people call “Gray” aliens. But they need permission permission to enter the home, home, which could could mean they’re they’re Vampires Vampires or Demons. Demons. The overwhelming emotional damage they cause plays off ma n’s primal fear of being hunted. Black-Eyed Kids Health Levels: As Child Characters. Fight: 1 / Think: 1 / Run: 1 Hypnotic Eyes – Any creature looking into the eyes of a Black-Eyed Kid must make at least a Partial Success on Run Test to be able to move even an inch away from the creature.











Bogeyman (Spirit World, Demon) The Bogeyman or to the exceptionally unlucky the plural of Bogeymen, is a type of spiritual entity, almost always malevolent, that lurks within closets and under beds. The Bogeyman has no specific appearance, though it seems to be found of hiding under sheets and bags, rising up off the ground like a child in a poorly constructed Halloween costume. The goals of the Bogeyman are unknown, though they generally involve terrifying an individual or stealing them away into the closet by means of a heavy gunnysack. Bogeyman Health Levels: 3. Healthy/Injured/Gone Fight: 2 / Think: 1 / Run: 2 Combat: See Poltergeist. Poltergeist. Amorphous and Imaginary - The Bogeyman does not exist in a physical













Cultist (Magician) The Cultist is a mortal with some modest talent in the arts of manipulating reality. The true power of the Cultist comes from his charisma, which somehow enthralls the masses into seeing him as a messiah figure. The Cultist, like other humans, has his own goals, such as obtaining further power from another source of The Unknown in the region.











oriented. If a character is subject to the Cultist’s power prior to the Cultist using his Charisma, the Cultist gains a +1 bonus to his Charisma roll. Weakness: The Cultist loses his power of Charisma if the focus of his power is destroyed or whatever entity provided the power grows bored of the Cultist. Equipment: The Cultist should have several sets of high quality clothing, often with some sort of pseudo-religious trapping to them. Concealed











Dybbuk (Artifact, (Artifact, Demon, Spirit World) The Dybbuk is a possibly malevolent spirit from Jewish folklore said to be the dislocated or corrupted soul of a dead person. The Dybbuk comes in two forms, those that are bound to objects and those that attempt to possess the bodies of humans. Dybbuk











SmallTowns.v3

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