Upcoming Savage Setting Kickstarter: Olympus, Inc.

Charles White, from Fabled Environments whose products I've reviewed before, dropped me an email regarding a new setting for Savage Worlds they are planning to release: Olympus, Inc.

Art by Mirco Paganessi.

Olympus, Inc answers the question of what would happen if the Olympians were kicked out of the heavens by Gaia and the Titans ruled. Unlike most settings that have tackled the concept of Demigods in the modern world, we are a bit different. 

After she ejected them from the heavens, Gaia was also kind enough to use the Lethe river to cause all humans to forget that the Olympians existed. This nearly killed the Olympians, who began to fade away. However, the Olympians realized that the could draw from our obsession with the almighty dollar and gain power. Therefore, the Olympians traded their stone temples for towers of glass and steel. They formed the world's largest corporations. Now the Titans and Olympians fight a battle for control of the Heavens and Earth with each wielding incredible power. In the midst of all of this are normal humans who are asleep to everything that is around them. 

Interesting. Very interesting. It reads sort of like a cross between Shadowrun and Percy Jackson. I'm already beginning to dream up character ideas.

Gaia has put a few rules in place to ensure that the Titans and Olympians don't tear each other apart as well as the rest of the inhabitants on Earth. This is known as the Nemesis Effect. The Nemesis Effect prohibits the use of visible supernatural abilities in front of sleepers (normal mortals). It also prohibits mythical creatures from appearing in front of a sleeper in their true form. If anyone breaks the rules, the Goddess Nemesis punishes them. It can be anything from being wracked with intense pain to death. It depends on the severity of the infraction.

Therefore, the Titans and Olympians fight a secret proxy war in a world identical to our own. However, most humans don't know that the gods exist and they certainly don't know that monsters and demigods with superhuman abilities roam the earth.

The setting has a strong cyberpunk feel with a bit of superpowers and espionage thrown in for good measure. The core book will present 6 Olympians and two demihuman races as well as new edges, hindrances and weapons all for Savage Worlds.

The Kickstarter for Olympus, Inc is scheduled to start January 15. While Fabled Environments has produced many fine floorplans and Savage Worlds modules in the past, Charles promises to bring in some world-class talent to help make this setting a worthy addition to any gamer's bookshelf (or hand drive, if you've given up on those primitive papery things):

We have several authors that have signed on to created 2000-3000 word adventures as stretch goals: John Dunn, Sean Preston and Umberto Pignatelli just to name a few.

 Mark your calendars for January 15, mere mortals, the Gods command it!

(Savage Worlds) My First Interface Zero 2.0 Character: Marcus "Fenris" Slade

After finally getting having access to both Interface Zero 2.0 and Wild Card Creator, I decided to put them through their paces by designing my first IZ 2.0 character: A cyborged-up street samurai with timber wolf genes to boot!

Marcus "Fenris" Slade:''

Race: Fierce Hybrid (Timber Wolf)
Rank: Novice

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6

Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Shooting d8, Streetwise d6, Throwing d4, Tracking d6

Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 8 (2); Firewall: 4; Strain: 3; Street Cred: 2

Hindrances: Code of Honor, Loyal, Vengeful (Minor)

Edges: Chromed, Counterattack, Ex-Soldier

Gear: AGA Thunderbolt (Range 12/24/48, 2d8+1, Shots 11, AP 4, Semi-auto), AS Foley Arms TAW 2022 (Range 25/50/100, 2d8+1, RoF 3, Shots 45, AP 3, 3RB, Auto, see notes), ED Combat Vest (+2, Covers torso), Emergency Support Patch x5, WT Lacerator Knife (Str+d6, AP 2; requires a battery), $33600

Augments: Cyberlimb/Cyber Eyes, 2 Modules (Streetware) (2 Strain; See modules) x2,  Enhanced Vision (Eyes; Halves penalty for Medium and Long Range), Night Vision Optics (Eyes; Gain Low Light Vision monstrous ability), Recoil Compensation (Arm; Removes 2 penalty points from auto-fire), Reflexive Strike Module (Arm/Leg; Gain Counterattack Edge), Smartgun System (Streetware) (1 Strain; Shooting roll Wild Die is a d8 (Extras gain a d4)),

Marcus Slade, grew up in the sprawls of Chicago in the shadow of the corporate metroplexes downtown. While not particularly patriotic or loyal to the Great Lakes Union, he had no love for the racist theocrats of the neighboring North American Coalition (What sane person does?) and joined the  GLU army. Looking for a larger paycheck, and the opportunity to join up with special forces, he opted for transgenic modification. With wolf DNA spliced into his chromosomes he was attached to the 112th Urban Shocktroops (aka "The Berserkers") where he earned the nickname "Fenris." During an assault mission, Slade lost his right arm and both eyes when he was caught by a mortar shell. Patched up with cyber-replacements, Slade was discharged.

Since then, Slade has sold his gun hand to anyone willing to pay. Finding a home in Chicago's Hybrid community, he works as an enforcer for the Vasquez Brothers, a pair of small time hybrid hoods specializing in drugs, gun running, and information brokage that use a huge chunk of their proceeds to protect other hybrids. It was on a run where he met Jasmine "Ixchel" Bravara, a sassy jaguar-hybrid hacker who took an instant shine to the brawny, quiet Slade. The two became fast lovers, using sex to sate their more feral passions. (By the way, only a idiot makes a crack about "dogs and cats sleeping together" in Slade's presence.)

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All in all, I'm very pleased with the results. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the cyberpunk genre. Especially in this day and age with its near-ubiquitous computing and multinational corporate control of politics resulting in widespread corruption, environmental destruction, and rapidly growing economic disparity between rich and poor.

(Update: I played around with Heromachine until I got something that looked MUCH cooler