While not appearing as an unusual race, they stand as one of the more bizarre humanoid species of Halicker. Reds stand a few inches taller than the average human averaging about six feet tall. Their height is offset by the race's tendency to abhor physical labor and as a result they tend to be very skinny, appearing almost skeletal at times. This, though, is where the subtle differences between Reds and the rest of the peoples of Halicker end.
Internally, Reds are built drastically different. Red bones are built far more elastically and thus bend and heal far faster than other races. Red metabolisms work at a much faster pace. This means that the typical Red must eat far more than a human or elf of the same weight. This is usually not that much of a problem because the typical red can and will eat anything and everything that can be eaten when it is hungry.
Reds also posses a detachable lower jaw. This, combined with the flexibility of Red bones, means that a Red character can "Python" food if they so choose. The reason for the races name comes from the natural lack of color in Red skin, making it possible to see every vein and artery pulsing in a Reds body. Because members of this race are usually angry or on the verge of anger, capillary beds are usually full to bursting, causing the distinctive pallor. In terms of game play mechanics, a person playing a true Red will start off with pathetic physical stats. This is compensated for by the Red's stronger grasp on magic and by the combat potential of Red technology. A Red character must eat something equivalent to one tenth its body weight immediately before or immediately after every battle. This may mean eating the opponent; it's up to the character.
Red technology is based around the concept of mimicking magical effects, and minimizing physical movement on the part of the owner. This translates into using a great deal of remote-controlled apparati. Guns are usually fixed to masks so that the user need not move his hands, and magical support devices such as energy shields, power converters, and the like are often in use.
(Let it be known that for a materials bonuses to work an apparatus needs to be at least half constructed from said material)
Material:
Formula 14: Always appearing a brilliant bright red, Formula 14 is created through an exacting chemical process that the reds will not share even under pain of death. Other than its color 14 exhibits no other interesting feature and has the same characteristics and weight as aluminum, but what makes the material special is it ability to both “beam energy” and its ability to channel brain waves into a viable power source.
Material Bonus:
Two very interesting devices can be fashioned from Formula 14, Red “Cables” and Red “Siphons”. Devices made out of 14 do not need to be directly attached to their power source if they contain Red Cables, this only works with apparatus that are electrical, or siphoned. A character simply puts a Cable on the battery and a cable on the apparatus and the two will work together as if attached by a regular power cable. The apparatus cannot be any further than 20 feet away from the power source to work but additional cables can increase this range, adding 20 feet to every cable attached.
Apparatus made out of formula 14 can be powered on brain waves, but only if they are in direct contact with the operator, the overall weight of the apparatus dose not exceeded 100 pounds. these limits can be bent somewhat using a Red siphon, which allows a Red character to power a remote controlled apparatus as long as the control is in the character's hand and attached to a cable.
Material Problem:
Formula 14 is not a quasi-sentient material and thus grants no stat bonus. Formula 14 is also very rare and a character will have to go to great lengths to get a hold of it.
Red characters receive 5 Whispers and tier two apparatus from the start, this represents the races innate mastery of magic and the fact that most Red's are funded directly from their government.The other side of this is that a Red character starts off with 3 mids and 2 lows when deciding stat allocation at the start. A Red character can forgo the Whispers and Higher tiered apparatus for regular stats, this is representative of a Red who has gone "rouge" from the Red government and should have a much harder time getting Formula 14, Storyteller's take notice.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Magic
From what you have seen so far Halicker has many races to choose from, but this is just the start of your choices. Your machinery comes next which again allows you for any number of combinations, but truly the most free form part of Halicker is the magic. Unlike other system Halicker allows for complete free form creation of how your characters individual magical properties will work. It should be noted though that while a character is only allowed one kind of spell effects at the start, an apparatus can be enchanted with any different number of spell effects, but all of these effects must be bought or found individually and placed the apparatus, only a character can develop magic without buying upgrades, machines cant learn after all.
What you do is decided on what you would like your characters magic to look like, fire, water, cheese, what ever it may be. From there decided on what you would like for spells, this is done by first deciding a spells effect, blast, break, freeze, anyone of the thousands of effects. After this your ST will decided initial damage of this spells and the effect of RP properties, burning, freezing, being covered in melted gouda and the like. Characters start the game with a number of "casts" which translates to spells, or feats, or any number of special abilities which are not achieved by your characters machinery by normal means, the amount of casts you start out with is usually 4 but characters who decided to rely more on magic than machinery can have several more to compensate, or they can have "free spells" which are just what they sound like, a spell which is weaker than regular but is free, it is all up to you ST and how much you can beg them to be generous.
Spells need also not only come from your character, you apparatus can be enchanted as well and your character can choose to use their daily casts to power what are called an "overdrive" on the apparatus. an Overdrive is a massive attack or the like done by your apparatus which pushes said apparatus abilities to the edge: nitros for vehicles, holding the trigger for long times on machine guns, cutting someone in half with a buzz sword and the like. some apparatus upgrades may require that a a cast be spent as well, such as under-slung grenade launchers for carbines, electrical stunners for grappling hooks, and so on.
To upgrade magic is another story. Spell effects such as blast or projectile can be learned from someone who already knows how to do said spell. Magic vender's will have basic spell effects as well as lower tiered spell components for sale, though these tend to be very expensive. More advanced magic effects can be learned from scholars though they will not do this for cheap if they do so at all, or can be researched by the character by spending time delving into the characters particular pathway, weather this means taking a drug induced sight journey to visit a characters dead elders, or by spending hours burning oils and watching dragons to unlock the mysteries of fire. The root to advancement you character will eventually take should be discussed by the ST with their players and can and should be an area of RP involvement between characters and ST, there is no wrong way to go about it and the ST should come up with a way which allows for the most enjoyment and creativity on the part of the players. Just don't be a tyrant.
For my games I translate spell effects and the like into body marks and tattoos if they are going to be used as a spell, and decorations and paint jobs if they are going to be used as an apparatus upgrade. For an example I had my character run into an enemy who used lightning magic, when he was killed the party received two "lightning stones" since no one used lightning magic in the game these stones could only be used as apparatus upgrades, one character combined these stones with a spoil of copper wire, a dagger, a spring and a free cast telekinesis to create a lightning grapple. Another character, Billi, placed one of the stones between the barrels of her gatling gun, by spending a cast she could then use the barrels of her gun to generate a charge which she could then fire through the stones out of the middle of her gun. These are examples of how you could do it, and there will be many to come in the future, but in the end it is up to you.
What you do is decided on what you would like your characters magic to look like, fire, water, cheese, what ever it may be. From there decided on what you would like for spells, this is done by first deciding a spells effect, blast, break, freeze, anyone of the thousands of effects. After this your ST will decided initial damage of this spells and the effect of RP properties, burning, freezing, being covered in melted gouda and the like. Characters start the game with a number of "casts" which translates to spells, or feats, or any number of special abilities which are not achieved by your characters machinery by normal means, the amount of casts you start out with is usually 4 but characters who decided to rely more on magic than machinery can have several more to compensate, or they can have "free spells" which are just what they sound like, a spell which is weaker than regular but is free, it is all up to you ST and how much you can beg them to be generous.
Spells need also not only come from your character, you apparatus can be enchanted as well and your character can choose to use their daily casts to power what are called an "overdrive" on the apparatus. an Overdrive is a massive attack or the like done by your apparatus which pushes said apparatus abilities to the edge: nitros for vehicles, holding the trigger for long times on machine guns, cutting someone in half with a buzz sword and the like. some apparatus upgrades may require that a a cast be spent as well, such as under-slung grenade launchers for carbines, electrical stunners for grappling hooks, and so on.
To upgrade magic is another story. Spell effects such as blast or projectile can be learned from someone who already knows how to do said spell. Magic vender's will have basic spell effects as well as lower tiered spell components for sale, though these tend to be very expensive. More advanced magic effects can be learned from scholars though they will not do this for cheap if they do so at all, or can be researched by the character by spending time delving into the characters particular pathway, weather this means taking a drug induced sight journey to visit a characters dead elders, or by spending hours burning oils and watching dragons to unlock the mysteries of fire. The root to advancement you character will eventually take should be discussed by the ST with their players and can and should be an area of RP involvement between characters and ST, there is no wrong way to go about it and the ST should come up with a way which allows for the most enjoyment and creativity on the part of the players. Just don't be a tyrant.
For my games I translate spell effects and the like into body marks and tattoos if they are going to be used as a spell, and decorations and paint jobs if they are going to be used as an apparatus upgrade. For an example I had my character run into an enemy who used lightning magic, when he was killed the party received two "lightning stones" since no one used lightning magic in the game these stones could only be used as apparatus upgrades, one character combined these stones with a spoil of copper wire, a dagger, a spring and a free cast telekinesis to create a lightning grapple. Another character, Billi, placed one of the stones between the barrels of her gatling gun, by spending a cast she could then use the barrels of her gun to generate a charge which she could then fire through the stones out of the middle of her gun. These are examples of how you could do it, and there will be many to come in the future, but in the end it is up to you.
H'luull
One of the most bizarre races available for characters to play, the H'luull make up the last of the bigger races. though to call the H'luull a big races is slightly a misnomer because by itself a single H'luull is a tiny aquatic creature that looks like something dredged up from the ocean floor, a writhing mass of tentacles and gnashing teeth. Though the likelihood of encountering a H'luull by itself is negligible, due to the fact that the H'luull have a fondness for large war-mechs and are rarely encountered without one. What this translates too is that any player who wishes to play a H'luull is allowed to take a free war mech with the equivalent strength to any of the alpha-suits, the ony stipulation being that somehow the H'luull inside must be able to see out and that the suit be constantly filled with salt water. Of all the races on Halicker the H'lull are probably the most greedy and self serving, having no political affiliation and choosing no side between the courts or the R.O.M..
H'lull "cities" are located in massive underwater caverns and are usually constructed half submerged and half dry, this is to allow for the foundries and factories which allow for H'lull industry. The goal of the race is very simple in concept, the utter domination of all under sea resources and any individual H'luull will do whatever it takes to further this notion, even temporarily allying itself with the H'luull's long time enemies the Aquians. When forced to deal with other races H'luull display incredible intelligance and most H'luull are very will educated in the ways of the other races, though they are very easy to anger and quick to resolve matters using violence. Along with their ever present war-suits, H'luull also favor weapons which allow for massive initial destruction no matter how long the recharge or recovery period might be. As a result H'luull prefer large multi-barreled rifles, massive melee weapons, enormous cannons and sige equipment and so forth, all of which take multiple rounds to recover from or reload.
H'luull technology revolves around the ideals of massive strength and damage, must apparatus manufactured by the H'luull is simply too big to be even carried by anyone of normal size. H'luull engines and power sources tend to take advantage of either the H'luull's natural electricity of the charge that comes naturally from the races material Yawk. typically one H'luull own's and runs one mech, though the richer H'luull may have a mech which has places for several subordinate H'luulls to run separate parts of the machine. H'luull have a strange obsession with death and corpses, as a result of this there decorations tend to be morbid and ghoulish, though it should be noted that the H'luull are generally aware enough of other races to remove whatever bits of dead or rotting material they may have adorned themselves with before conversing with said other races.
Material:
Material Bonus:
Material Problem:
H'lull "cities" are located in massive underwater caverns and are usually constructed half submerged and half dry, this is to allow for the foundries and factories which allow for H'lull industry. The goal of the race is very simple in concept, the utter domination of all under sea resources and any individual H'luull will do whatever it takes to further this notion, even temporarily allying itself with the H'luull's long time enemies the Aquians. When forced to deal with other races H'luull display incredible intelligance and most H'luull are very will educated in the ways of the other races, though they are very easy to anger and quick to resolve matters using violence. Along with their ever present war-suits, H'luull also favor weapons which allow for massive initial destruction no matter how long the recharge or recovery period might be. As a result H'luull prefer large multi-barreled rifles, massive melee weapons, enormous cannons and sige equipment and so forth, all of which take multiple rounds to recover from or reload.
H'luull technology revolves around the ideals of massive strength and damage, must apparatus manufactured by the H'luull is simply too big to be even carried by anyone of normal size. H'luull engines and power sources tend to take advantage of either the H'luull's natural electricity of the charge that comes naturally from the races material Yawk. typically one H'luull own's and runs one mech, though the richer H'luull may have a mech which has places for several subordinate H'luulls to run separate parts of the machine. H'luull have a strange obsession with death and corpses, as a result of this there decorations tend to be morbid and ghoulish, though it should be noted that the H'luull are generally aware enough of other races to remove whatever bits of dead or rotting material they may have adorned themselves with before conversing with said other races.
Material:
Yawk: Ranging in color from cobalt blues to tarnished greens and yellows, Yawk is a metal found only in the depths of undersea thermal vents by the H’luull and forms the basses for the races machinery. Yawk is famous for its foul smell, for while its surface may appear smooth; Yawk is by nature full of small pits and holes wherein any number of bacteria and small creatures can and do live. As a result Yawk typically looks and smells like low tide.
Material Bonus:
Due to its undersea origin, Yawk is completely unaffected by water and water based attacks such as ice and the like. Added to this the fact that Yawk comes directly from the bubbling caldron of deep sea thermal vents, Yawk is also fairly impervious to heat and heat based attacks (halves opponents sever roll).
Probably Yawk’s most impressive feature though, is the fact that all Yawk somehow contains a permanent electrical charge, it is not known if this is due to some alchemical tampering of the H’luull or perhaps to the many parasites that inhabit its surface.
Material Problem:
Similar to Dragon steal, Yawk is semi-intelligent, and will only work for an owner that has a streangth bonus of 25 or over. As well, Yawk will only work as long as it can remain somewhat damp, as a result that character must douse the metal in water (need not be salty) at least once a day and once more before any cast apparatus ability is used.
Dolor
The secound of the three big races in Halicker, the dolor are your classic big ugly brutes. Wholly devoted to the armies of madness and the demon courts, the biggest dolor cities reside in the extreme northern and southern regions of the world, though other communities can also be found in other desolate areas around the globe. Dolor are not an unintelligent race all things considered but the common Dolor mindset is one that has inclination toward creature comfort or personal pain. As a result they simply cannot fathom the suffering of others and so come across as cruel and coarse. Dolor cities are ugly constructions of mad industrialization, full of bellowing furnaces, jagged buildings and piled garbage and thousands upon thousands of weapons.
Constantly at war with the Gemagog for minerals, the aquians for oil, and the R.O.M. for land, dolor culture revolves around war and strength. Their technology is similar to the Gemagog in how it takes for granted great strength in the user, though this is where the similarities end. Dolor care only with effectiveness, style, deft, and other matters like these are considered useless. As a result Dolor technology tends to be rather old fashioned compared to modern weapons, relying mostly on steam power derived from coal furnaces. Dolor use all manner of weapons but prefer heavy hitting firearms, and colossal two handed weapons, Dolor cutters are very, very rare. Dolor cities are run by a single boss who achives his position by shear brute force.
Constantly at war with the Gemagog for minerals, the aquians for oil, and the R.O.M. for land, dolor culture revolves around war and strength. Their technology is similar to the Gemagog in how it takes for granted great strength in the user, though this is where the similarities end. Dolor care only with effectiveness, style, deft, and other matters like these are considered useless. As a result Dolor technology tends to be rather old fashioned compared to modern weapons, relying mostly on steam power derived from coal furnaces. Dolor use all manner of weapons but prefer heavy hitting firearms, and colossal two handed weapons, Dolor cutters are very, very rare. Dolor cities are run by a single boss who achives his position by shear brute force.
Material:
Sorrow Steel: This metal is a super heavy material with the same color and weight of lead though without the latter’s softness and inability to spark. Sorrow steal is mined in the far north and is rumored to be made from specific cauldrons of molten lava known only to Dolor clan heads. This material is hard to work with, and thus tends to be made into the simplest possible shapes in order to meet the needs of the apparatus, and thus all Sorrow steal items must appear crude and hulking.
Material bonus:
Sorrow steal is famous for being hard to damage, thus apparatus made from this material automatically get a roll to save against damage even if the situation would demand otherwise.
A quasi-sentient material, sorrow steal imparts a 5-15 point bonus to stamina
Material problem:
Other than its pure ugliness, Sorrow steal cannot be made into any items that require deft movement or agility. Sorrow steal is another quasi-sentient material and will only work for an owner who has a 25+ stamina bonus.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Gemagog
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Probably my favorite race avalable for use as pc are these big oafs. Gemagog's are descendants of angels and giants, they don't often talk about this unusual heritage and instead choose to act and live as mortals. Probably the most distinguishing feature of a Gemagog is their size, usually standing between 10 and 14 feet tall. A mountain dwelling people by nature, Gemagogs live in the northern and southern reaches of the Halicker worlds, boarding the lands of the Dolor in the north and the oil fields of the Reds in the south. Gemagogs live in a three tier system made of workers and businessmen, religious leaders and clergy, and soldiers. The heads of these three tiers make up the Gemagog triumvirate and rule over Gemagog politics.
Due to the substantial wealth mined from their mountains, the Gog's have been able to fund many public works and own many important companies. Most of Halicker's main transport, the Magus train and rail systems, are owned by Gog families.
Gog weaponry tends to be very big to match the size of it's owners, what is more, gog technology takes for granted the users strength, providing no mechanical assistance where it is not necessary. As a result of this Gemagog technology has very high strength requirements. What is more, the Gog people tend to be a very defensive minded people, tending to shy away from explosives, heavy attack vehicles, and the like. They instead prefer close rang weaponry, close range firearms such as shotguns, and armor as heavy as they can afford. The designs on these weapons tend to follow industrial patterns for workers gear, Celtic, Norse, or heavy metal patterns for the soldiers, or anglo religious themes for the religious types.
Material:
Dragon Steal: A beautiful material which can range from earthy reds to oranges, it is relatively light weight for its strength and can easily be forged into many shapes, and is considered a “joy to work with”. The Gemagog own most of the mines where Dragon Steal is found, the steal plays a big role in Gemagog lore and to own any is a mark of prestige.
Material bonus:
Dragon steal forms only in areas of strong elemental magic, magic believed to have been carried into the earth by the blood of mighty dragons slain by Gog warriors. As a result of this, Dragon steal imparts in its owner with great strength (anywhere from 5-15 bonus to strength).
Material problem:
While it imparts strength, the odd quasi-sentience of the metal will refuse to comply with any owner under a 25 strength bonus. Furthermore, the metal comes with great ego, and will not operate if it is not both the main apparatus of the owner and if it is not richly decorated.
next week : Dolor
p.s. the Corscanti section will be delayed for a few weeks
p.p.s the pictures of the Gemagog here are of Aladar Brom, who just happens to be Nav's character, take a look at his blog for more details.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
MORE SKETCHES!
Sorry that took so long, but here they are. A winged human female and another sketch of Lavant the Aquain, from back before he earned himself four arms.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Fun for Everyone
If there is one thing that a game really needs to do these days is be fun for the Storyteller as well as for the players. We want to offer this with Halicker and will do so in various ways. For starters you will never get a full "map" of the Halicker lands, we will start you off with a general map of certain areas and maybe show how they could connect to each other but for certain there are going to be some pretty big gaps all over the place. Guess what me dear friends, those gaps are not there by accident, I want storytellers (ST's) to feel that they can make up anything they want in terms of countries and cities of their own. ST's coming up with their own versions of things is a pretty big theme here at Halicker and I will encourage it as much as I can. All the races you see here are examples, just starting places, what and where your own story goes is up to you and I would love to see peoples own ideas and drawings for races eventually, who knows? You might even see them published. Other ways that Halicker will be people friendly is how all the combat and RP systems are set up, to simplify it slightly, you buy effects and end results then find the magic or the machine to meet said goal. This might not make sense at the moment but I will explain in time (and in the book) for starters lets us just pretend to be listening in on a game just starting up shall we?
Player: so I can eventually have anything I want?
ST: yup, might take a while but in the end yes.
Player: soooooo, if I want to be a gigantic half dragon dude with a flame thrower and rocket pack.....?
ST:......eventually you could have that but the way I chose to play it I will start you off pretty plain, though you could play a pretty big guy right off the bat, either a Dolor or a Gemagog.
Player: what is the difference?
ST: Gemagogs are more gianty-norsey-celticy while Dolor are more ogery-Attila the hun...y-fee fi foo fummy. There technology is different too.
Player: I want to be a more majestic dragon dude, so lets go with Gemagog.
ST: alright, a flame thrower is a pretty heavy duty weapon, so lets start you off with something a touch smaller, you could have a big blowtorch, or a shotgun that can shoot flame rounds, maybe a smaller version of a Dolor steam spigot.
Player: defiantly blowtorch, now how about the dragon thing?
ST: well, you could either use alchemy to transform you skin to scales little by little using defensive alchemy...stuff, or you could get enough money to have a hubris body modifier to start futzing around with you, or I could create a legend of the Gemagog's that says they have an ancient journey for warriors that eventually rewards them by turning them into part dragons...its up to you.
ain't it the truth? Its all up to you and your crew to figure out which way you want to play Halicker, hack-and-slash to deep plotted political intrigue, whatever you want.
and for an example of Character development, take a look at my friend Kate's page devoted to our favorite Hubris gunbunny: Billie
Player: so I can eventually have anything I want?
ST: yup, might take a while but in the end yes.
Player: soooooo, if I want to be a gigantic half dragon dude with a flame thrower and rocket pack.....?
ST:......eventually you could have that but the way I chose to play it I will start you off pretty plain, though you could play a pretty big guy right off the bat, either a Dolor or a Gemagog.
Player: what is the difference?
ST: Gemagogs are more gianty-norsey-celticy while Dolor are more ogery-Attila the hun...y-fee fi foo fummy. There technology is different too.
Player: I want to be a more majestic dragon dude, so lets go with Gemagog.
ST: alright, a flame thrower is a pretty heavy duty weapon, so lets start you off with something a touch smaller, you could have a big blowtorch, or a shotgun that can shoot flame rounds, maybe a smaller version of a Dolor steam spigot.
Player: defiantly blowtorch, now how about the dragon thing?
ST: well, you could either use alchemy to transform you skin to scales little by little using defensive alchemy...stuff, or you could get enough money to have a hubris body modifier to start futzing around with you, or I could create a legend of the Gemagog's that says they have an ancient journey for warriors that eventually rewards them by turning them into part dragons...its up to you.
ain't it the truth? Its all up to you and your crew to figure out which way you want to play Halicker, hack-and-slash to deep plotted political intrigue, whatever you want.
and for an example of Character development, take a look at my friend Kate's page devoted to our favorite Hubris gunbunny: Billie
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