| TheMightyAtom |
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The Precipice and The End of an Age
The world is full of things that normal people aren’t prepared to know about. Cutthroat assassins and black ops agents skulk the shadows doing the dirty work of the world’s most rich and powerful. The world’s brightest minds are devoted to little more than developing new methods of deciding the outcomes of petty grudge matches between these plutocratic giants. And on top of all of it, monsters roam the world. Not the metaphorical meaning the word: zombies, aliens, and honest-to-god demons. And when monsters step a little too close to the public eye, someone has to step in and drive them back to the shadows where they belong.
That’s where you come in. Admittedly, with a name like “The Riot Crew”, you weren’t expecting work as a rent-a-cop or bouncer. Your job is simple: when night falls and the freaks come out to play, you keep anyone not in the know from seeing them. It’s not all bad: the pay is good, if you live long enough to enjoy it, and working outside of the law leaves you with certain… liberties others aren’t allowed to enjoy. But it requires nerves of steel, a strong stomach, and copious amounts of alcohol. Because after seeing half of the stuff you’ll be expected to not just face, but gun down? You’ll need it.
Think you’re up to the task?
Basic Premise
Most of this campaign takes place in and around Portland, Oregon, in the current year. In this alternate universe, magic existed for most of human history up until the mid 1300s, when a series of calamities caused magic to not only disappear, but for any evidence of its existence to be destroyed. History as you and I know it continued more or less as history describes it until June 30, 1908, when magic came flooding back into the world after an explosive event in Russia. Despite this, magic’s return has been rather slow, enough that the governments of the world have kept its existence mostly under wraps.
You and your fellow PCs are members of a self employed group of mercenaries called The Riot Crew. You take jobs from secretive employers to deal with unsavory magic threats or to perform sabotage on magical rivals. Anything from killing a rampaging ooze before it wanders into a local town, to stealing a magic knife from a dead wizard’s grave, to planting a bomb in the warehouse of a cult’s rival, this is where you shine.
But things are soon to get more complicated. New muscle has come on to the scene and is starting to threaten your job security. The masquerade is now thinner than ever, and when it inevitably comes crashing down the secrecy you so greatly value will be no more. And a grave threat, now sleeping in the space between the planes, has begun to stir.
We sit on the precipice.
Build Rules
[list]
Modern Skills
The rules for some skills have changed in the modern age.
Appraise: The skill to determine the price of gear is far different with magical items than with mundane ones. Thus, Appraise has been split into two separate skills: Audit and Appraise. Audit applies to mundane gear, while Appraise applies to magic gear.
Craft: See the Gunsmithing feat and the Technologist feat and the Technology Skills pages for more information. Note that due to the reduced cost of modern firearms, guns on the Modern Equipment page count as 100x their listed price for the purpose of the Gunsmithing feat (thus, the Semi-Auto Pistol counts as 4000 gp).
Interaction Skills (Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive): The internet provides a unique avenue for research and to gain information, but makes interaction significantly more difficult. Checks used to verify the truth or to gain information (like Diplomacy or Sense Motive) gain +10 bonus. Checks to influence someone’s behaviour receive -5 penalty, as it is much harder to influence someone without using body language or choice of words.
Ride: The Ride skill is used whenever a vehicle is being operated. Rules for vehicles and their operation can be found here.
Modern Feats
Guns Akimbo (Combat)
You can manage recoil well enough that one handed firing becomes a breeze.
Benefit: You treat the Big Bore Revolver, Submachine Gun, and Sawed-Off Shotgun as one-handed weapons for the purpose of firing one-handed. In addition, you treat the penalty for shooting two-handed firearms one-handed as one less.
Normal: The Sawed-Off Shotgun, Submachine Gun, and Big Bore Revolver are treated as two-handed weapons for the purposes of firing one-handed. Firing a two-handed weapon one handed takes a -4 penalty to the attack roll.
Modern Drawbacks
Broke Wizard
Though your dedication to magic has given you power, it’s left your bank account… sparse.
Your cost of living cannot go above poor. This penalty does not affect your character wealth.
Recruitment
I'm looking for 4-6 players to join this campaign. To apply, I wish to see the following:
[list]
Players will be chosen based on unique character concepts and filling out the central party roles.
For questions on other rules or questions on the setting, go here.
Finally, note that these guides are not set in stone, and may be changed based on player input or campaign needs.