(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.)

---

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

Does anyone know...

...where I can purchase a bunch of these in the U.S.?

Properly painted and based, these Star Destroyers would be awesome for space combat games like Starmada or, my all-time favorite, Full Thrust. Please e-mail or post leads below.

Green Martians for OSR

Art by the incomparable Michael Whelan 

Since the Sword & Planet genre is near and dear to my muscular circulatory fluid pump, I've decided to try my hand at adapting the denizens of Barsoom to Basic D&D and related retro-clones. As always, scathing criticism of my hair-brained ideas is always welcome.

Let's start with the fearsome Green Martians:

Requirements: CON 9
Prime Requisite: STR and CON
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 12

Five or six had already hatched and the grotesque caricatures which sat blinking in the sunlight were enough to cause me to doubt my sanity. They seemed mostly head, with little scrawny bodies, long necks and six legs, or, as I afterward learned, two legs and two arms, with an intermediary pair of limbs which could be used at will either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the extreme sides of their heads a trifle above the center and protruded in such a manner that they could be directed either forward or back and also independently of each other, thus permitting this queer animal to look in any direction, or in two directions at once, without the necessity of turning the head

The ears, which were slightly above the eyes and closer together, were small, cup-shaped antennae, protruding not more than an inch on these young specimens. Their noses were but longitudinal slits in the center of their faces, midway between their mouths and ears. 

There was no hair on their bodies, which were of a very light yellowish-green color. In the adults, as I was to learn quite soon, this color deepens to an olive green and is darker in the male than in the female. Further, the heads of the adults are not so out of proportion to their bodies as in the case of the young. 

The iris of the eyes is blood red, as in Albinos, while the pupil is dark. The eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth. These latter add a most ferocious appearance to an otherwise fearsome and terrible countenance, as the lower tusks curve upward to sharp points which end about where the eyes of earthly human beings are located. The whiteness of the teeth is not that of ivory, but of the snowiest and most gleaming of china. Against the dark background of their olive skins their tusks stand out in a most striking manner, making these weapons present a singularly formidable appearance. ... 

But how puny and harmless they now looked beside this huge and terrific incarnation of hate, of vengeance and of death. The man himself, for such I may call him, was fully fifteen feet in height and, on Earth, would have weighed some four hundred pounds. 

--Edgar Rice Borroughs
A Princess Of Mars 

Barbaric even by Barsoom's brutal standards, the Green Martian hordes are feared by the all the civilized peoples of Mars. With few exceptions, Green Martians revel in violence and cruelty, killing to advance their status in their horde, or just for the pleasure of seeing their victim suffer.Like most lifeforms on water-starved Barsoon, Green Martians hatch from eggs and are raised collectively by the females on a horde. Love and familial bonds are not a factor in the vast majority of Green Martian lives (although there are few exceptions); however, the few exceptions to the rule can be intensely loyal to those who can prove their strength and cunning.

Green Martians can use all four of their limbs in combat, bearing any combination of 1-or-2-handed weapons as they have hands available. (e.g. 4 one -handed weapons, 2 two-handed weapons, 2 one handed weapons and 1 two-handed weapon, etc.) They can spread these attacks between 1 and 4 eligible opponents.

Because of their great height, Green Martians have difficulty moving in confined spaces. Unless they are in an area with at least a 15' ceiling, their movement is reduced by half and they suffer a -2 penalty to their attacks and +2 penalty to their AC (or -2 defense penalty if using Ascending AC). They also suffer a -2 penalty to all dexterity or movement-based saving throws.

Upon Reaching 9th Level: When a Green Martian reaches level 9, it has the option of becoming a Jeddak of a horde of its own. A Green Martian Jeddak will attract Green Warriors who roam the dead sea bottoms from ruined city to ruined city. They have no use for retainers or specialists.

Green Martian Level Progression

Experience	Level	Hit Dice (1d6)
0	1	1
3000	2	2
6000	3	3
12,000	4	4
24,000	5	5
48,000	6	6
96,000	7	7
150,000	8	8
200,000	9	9
350,000	10	+3 hp only*
430,000	11	+6 hp only*
550,000	12	+9 hp only*

*Hit point modifiers from constitution are ignored.

Saving Throws: As Dwarf/Halfling

Swords & Wizardry: Green Martians can only be Fighters.

We have a new national anthem!

Like many who fly the OSR banner, I do enjoy listening to Save or Die on my pocket-sized telecommunications/entertainment device. However, because of the flighty nature of my broken brain, I stopped listening to podcasts in general for about a year and have only now begun to start listen again. In the latest iteration of their intro, I noticed that Save or Die uses this catchy, funky, Southern metal piece of music called "Dungeon Hustle" from a group called Mississippi Bones. Whatever edition of the rules you play, this song captures the rompin', hackin', slashin' spirit of tabletop gaming.

Come on everyone, sing along, OK?

Please patronize their music on Bandcamp, CD Baby, iTunes, and other fine digital music establishments.

"Warriors of the Red Planet" Coming Soon?

Want! Want! Covet! Covet!

Just when I thought it had become vaporware! After over a year of silence from the Warriors of the Red Planet blog, artist Thomas Denmark announced today that he will have the Beta of the final game, along with a limited edition portfolio of five of his paintings used in the game, will be available at his table at Kublacon in Burlingame, CA, this weekend.

Sadly, I live on the wrong side of the continent to attend and it's driving me crazy. I have been waiting for these rules for years now, and I would kill a man--in front of his own spouse and children--to even catch a glimpse of the finished game. Hopefully, this means that my wait will finally be over and my pitifully excuse for a wasted live will have some semblance of meaning and I can die only slightly less alone and afraid than I had originally planned.

Savage Praxis Kickstarter Launches May 13

Back in January, I reported that Mike McConnell with Void Star Studios was going to port his hit science fiction setting, Nova Praxis, to the Savage Worlds engine. With Shaintar-creator Sean Patrick Fannon was brought in to write the setting-specific rules. To help fund the project, a Kickstarter campaign similar to that which funded the original game was hinted at. Mike McConnell now reports that the campaign is ready to roll and will launch this upcoming Tuesday, May 13! You can check out a preview of the KS site here. 

Along with a print edition, along with a "regular" and an "augmented" PDF version, the proposed stretch goals for this project includes a themed poker-deck for initiative, several rules supplements like a gazetteer and a monster manual, an introductory adventure, and a iOS/Android character creation app. I'm rather excited about this project. I own a copy of the original edition, and while FATE is a fine system, it's quite a departure from the traditional-style of role-playing that many gamers in my circle are used to. Savage Worlds has both the popularity and ease of play to introduce this rich and action-packed settings to a larger audience of players.

So this Tuesday, please help support a great project that's well worth the investment.

Blog Consolidation Is Upon Us All...

Over the years I've run a few blogs dedicated to my various role-playing interests, but they're spread out across a couple of accounts. Eventually, these blogs get neglected as one interest overrides the others. So, I thought it was time to consolidate all of my blogs under the No School/Old School banner.

Oh, I'll still be posting OSR material, but I'll also be devoting my blog to other games that tickle my interests (namely Traveller and Savage Worlds) along with more miniatures-related material. I'll be shutting down my old blogs as I add archive the material here.

Let the importing being!