IC: Home Brewed Savage Worlds Game idea.
Here is the info I have created for this idea. Obviously a lot of this info would be either for Storytellers eyes only or Meta/OOC information. I plan on play testing this to see how it works and whether or not the enemy stats need tweaking. I also haven't done write ups for all of the various types of troops the Necrons/Tyranids would have available. I am open to constructive feedback/suggestions, especially on ways to make the different enemy troop types stand out from one another.
Fair warning this is a bit of a long read.
For centuries, humans have looked up at night to the stars and wondered. Are we alone? Can we truly be the only sentient beings in the entire universe? Humanity has been to the moon. Humans have been living in space for decades now –albeit only for short periods of time. Our man made machines and spacecraft have been to Mars and a few of the other planets in our solar system and we have been able to use technology to see across billions of light years into other galaxies. And yet the answer to that centuries old question, are we alone in the universe, has always been a resounding no.
Or has it?
Ask any conspiracy theorist and they will regal you with tales of government cover ups and covert obstructions of the truth. Aliens are real they will say usually offering the famous Area 51 or Roswell, New Mexico as their proof. The government will tell you that the people claiming to have been abducted by little green men or gray skinned aliens with enlongated tear drop shaped heads are nut jobs who are three beers short of a six pack and that the UFO that millions of people saw was actually just some sort of experimental military aircraft. Nothing to see here folks. Move along. While most of these stories are indeed flights of fancy or just not true, some of them just might be real.
Most Americans have studied the details of America’s trip to the moon in the 1969. A few might even remember the tragedy of Apollo 1. The official story is that the Apollo 1exploded on the launch pad, killing all three astronauts on board. Indeed Apollo 1 was destroyed and those poor souls did in fact perish, but Apollo 1 was not on the ground when it happened. The vessel had just left Earth’s atmosphere and was setting up to orbit the planet when a bizarre pyramid like structure appeared out of nowhere a few thousand meter away and without warning of any kind attacked and destroyed Apollo 1. The few grainy images captured in the ships final moments were confiscated by the government and any and all witnesses were sworn into secrecy. More than a few of those witnesses died in mysterious accidents or otherwise disappeared shortly thereafter.
A few years later Apollo 16 made its unprecedented and world famous moon landing. There was much rejoicing. According to public records nothing unusual occurred other than the obvious fact that mankind had just walked on the moon for the first time. Then on June 28th 2019 Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke in an interview celebrating the event’s 50th anniversary shared a story that had been untold until now.
The story begins with Duke and mission commander John Young having just a few moments
left on the Moon’s surface before needing to retreat back to the lunar module. Not
wanting to waste the precious minutes on another world, Duke decided to engage in what
he called the “Moon Olympics,” performing feats that would be impossible back on Earth.
Duke, who admits he was “horsing around,” did his best to perform a high jump, launching
himself several feet off the lunar surface thanks to the dramatically reduced gravity.
Unfortunately, the weight of his suit and life support system strapped to his back
proved too much to handle, and he crashed onto his back — and the vital systems in his
backpack — at a potentially dangerous angle.
“The backpack weighed as much as I did. So I went over backwards,” Duke explained. “It’s
a fiberglass shell, and it contained all your life-support systems. If it broke, I was
dead.”
Young eventually helped Duke to his feet, and the shaken astronaut spent the next several
seconds listening closely to see if he had broken any of the pumps or other mechanisms
that were chugging along inside his backpack to keep him alive. He didn’t hear anything
out of the ordinary, and no hissing that would indicate a tear in his space suit, but he
made sure to stay grounded for his remaining moments on the Moon.
“I learned a lesson,” Duke said. “Never do anything in space that you haven’t practiced.
And we had not practiced the high jump.”
Few noticed anything strange or out of the ordinary and took it for what it was intended to be, a small, perhaps humorous story about a legendary event. Some however, noticed a slight hint of fear hidden behind his jovial mask. They wondered if perhaps the story was a lie, a fabrication to hide a far more sinister truth. They were right to wonder. Duke and Young had been on their way back to the Apollo. Up to this point there had been no signs of life on the lunar surface. Suddenly movement caught Duke’s eye. He turned toward the movement just in time to see what looked like some sort of mutated arachnid or mantis. The massive bug was easily the size of a Texas steer with a mottled, armored purplish-blue carapace with pinkish highlights. Each of its eight legs ended in razor sharp points. Duke tried to leap clear and did in fact jump several feet into the air the giant bug’s leg swooshing by beneath him.
Somehow the two scared and unarmed astronauts managed to escape the bug’s assault and made it back to the Apollo. They refused to talk to any of the other crew members about what happened and upon returning to Earth were ordered to secrecy during the mission debrief.
A few years ago scientists and astronomers decided that Pluto should no longer be considered a planet. They concocted an elaborate and detailed reasoning as to why. It was believable enough that most people just accepted it and moved on. In truth the change in Pluto’s status was in fact far more interesting. An astronomer who remains anonymous to this day had been studying Pluto through a telescope when he noticed some bizarre pyramid like structures that had begun to appear on the planets icy surface. Upon reporting the discovery he was sworn to secrecy and all of his evidence was confiscated.
Recently similar pyramid structures have been appearing in footage taken by the Mars Rover. Whenever these images are seen they are quickly confiscated by the government and all involved are sworn to secrecy and more than a few have wound up dead or missing.
Also recently, astronomers have discovered several gargantuan planet sized asteroids entering the solar system. Right now they appear to be nothing more than possible impact hazards that are still billions of light years away. Though they are simply being monitored due to their sheer size and the fact that they are new arrivals to the system, a few scientists have begun expressing curiosity regarding their travel vectors, which seem to alter trajectory more than usual
Other strange and bizarre sightings/ rumors have also occurred over the years. In the mid-eighties through the mid-nineties there were hundreds if not thousands of reports about small furry, bipedal rodents and/or reptilian like creatures causing chaos or otherwise running amok. Many of these stories happen late at night and often involve food or water. None of these creatures have even been found or proven to exist. At least not officially.
A DYNASTY REBORN (NECRONS)
Over five thousand years ago when mankind was just beginning to emerge as the dominant species on Earth, they were visited by “Gods”. These powerful beings descended from the sky in dark pyramid shaped vessels in what would become known as Egypt. Other similar vessels would appear in the Deserts wastes of the Mayan and Aztec Empires. Still others appeared in Peru, Thailand and even Japan. The beings that emerged from these vessels resembled oversized human skeletons, composed entirely of metal.
The beings wasted little time subjugating mankind forcing those they did not kill outright into serving them. They ordered great monuments and pyramids build in their names. All who opposed or merely annoyed these beings were slaughtered. These beings ruled the planet for hundreds of years and then one day out of the blue they simply returned to their pyramid ships and left.
They did not leave without a trace however.
Everyone has read the news stories, seen the artifacts at the museums and have been told the history of the Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans and countless other long dead yet still mysterious empires. Yet, humanity only knows what those in power want them to know. Other relics have been found. Metallic skeletal remains, paintings and hieroglyphics depicting giant scary looking skeletal beings and flying pyramids and more have been discovered all over the world.
So how is it that all of these amazing and intriguing discoveries have been so carefully kept hidden from the public? Early on before technology skyrocketed humanities ability for almost instantaneous communication across the globe, individual governments simply decided that such discoveries might scare their subjects and unbalance the scales that were tilted in the government’s favor. They took steps to silence these wild claims and to destroy evidence of their existence. Yet even back then, before the advent of near instantaneous communications leaks occurred. And in today’s world of high speed internet, Iphones and social media keeping everything under wraps has been nearly impossible.
Eventually a highly covert task force similar to NATO was formed. This group’s task was to monitor the world for any mysterious or extraterrestrial finding and sightings. Strike teams would be sent out to collect any relics, destroy/capture any possible aliens or to quiet witnesses. This task force goes by many names. The most common names are the Men In Black, The Company, Sector 9 and Bureau 13. Officially they do not exist. Unofficially they are the Global Extraterrestrial and Anomoly Response Specialists(G.E.A.R.S).
Over the past few months sightings and reports of mysterious black monoliths appearing in remote areas- especially around Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Thailand and the Japanese islands. These have also coincided with accounts of strange skeletal robots attacking humans. After centuries of slumber the Necrons have awoken and the Suhbekhar Dynasty is coming to retake their rightful place as rulers of Earth and eventually the universe.
Necrons
All Necrons except for Scarab Swarms:
Living Metal Construct: Necrons are constructs composed of bio-organic metal. They add +2 to recover from being Shaken, ignore one level of Wound modifiers, don’t breathe, and are immune to disease and poison.
Reanimation Protocols: When a Necron is defeated it makes a Vigor roll. On a Success it removes 1 wound and returns to battle. For each raise remove an extra wound. On a failure the the body will disappear (teleports back to the Monolith) at the beginning of the next Necron turn. On a critical failure the Necron fails to teleport and is destroyed. Each time this ability succeeds the Necron’s Vitality is lowered by 1 die. If Vitality equals 0d the Necron is finally destroyed for good and cannot be resurrected at the Monolith.
SCARAB Swarm
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4, Spirit d10, Strength d6 Vigor d8
Skills: Notice d6, Repair d10, Fighting d6
Edge: Quickness, Armored (2)
Pace: 10 (d10) Parry: 5 Toughness:6(8)
Bite: Strength 1D8
Necron Warriors
Attributes: Agility d6 Smarts d4, Spirit d10, Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Notice d6, Fighting d8 Shooting d8, Intimidate d8
Edges: Trademark Weaponry/Improved, Armored(4)Fearless
Pace: 6 Parry: 6 Toughness: 7 (11)
Gaus Flayer: d10 AP2 / Str+d10 AP2
Necron Immortals
Attributes: Agility d6 Smarts d4, Spirit d12, Strength d10, Vigor d12
Skills: Notice d6, Fighting d10 Shooting d10, Intimidate d10
Edge: Trademark Weaponry/Improved, Armored(6) Fearless
Pace: 6 Parry: 7 Toughness: 8 (14)
Gaus Blaster: 2 d10 AP4 / Str+d10 AP2
THE TYRANIDS
The Hive are a species of sentient (barely) mantis/arachnid like bugs whose sole purpose in life is to devour the universe. For over a millennium they have traveled through space in their asteroid like hive ships, devouring everything in their path. And now they have their appetites set on humanity.
Genestealer
Agility d10, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d10
Parry 7, Toughness 12(4), Pace 8 (d8)
Athletics d6 Fighting d10, Notice d6, Stealth d6,
Edges: Carapace (+4 Armor), Fleet-Footed, Improved Frenzy.
Claws: Str+d8, AP2
Ripper Swarm
A writhing mass of critters that seem to be all teeth and viscera. And they're ALWAYS hungry.
Agi d4, Sm d4, Sp d6, Str d6, Vig d6
Pace 10 (d10), Parry 5, Toughness 5
athletics d6, Fighting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d4
Abilities:
-"There's so many of them!": Swarm is comprised of a bunch of hungry larva, occupying a Small Burst Template; +2 Toughness vs. non-area of effect attacks)
- "Aiiee! Get it off me!": The swarm makes a Fighting roll against anyone within the Small Burst Template, inflicting 2d8 damage; on a Raise, the poor sod is dragged to the ground/knocked prone in addition to the extra damage.
- Fling Larva: Once per turn, one ripper may leap from the swarm to eat the face off of some poor victim within 4"; Athletics roll versus the usual Target Number for 2d6 damage; on a Raise the victim is also knocked to the ground by the impact in addition to the bonus damage.
- Cannibal Death Throes: When the Swarm is "defeated" after taking a Wound, rather than dispersing, the survivors of the Swarm turn on each other in a bloody frenzy; any victims still in the Template take 2d6 damage.
Tyranid Termagant
The most common Tyranid on the battlefield, fulfilling the role of footsoldier.
Ag d8, Sm d4, Sp d6, Str d6, Vi d8
Pace 6 (d6), Parry 5, Toughness10(4),
Athletics d6, Fighting d6, Shooting d6, Notice d4, Stealth d4
Edges: Carapace (+4 Armor), Fleet-Footed
Teeth/Claws: Str+d6 AP2, Carapace: 3
* Some Termagants carry Fleshborers, an organic acid-spitting ranged weapon (2d8 12/24/48, ROF1
Tyranid Hormagaunt
A tyranid subspecies that evolved to be a deadly close-quarters combatant.
Ag d8, Sm d4, Sp d6, Str d10, Vi d8
Pace 8(d8), Parry 7, Toughness 10(4)
Athletics d6, Fighting d10, Notice d4, Stealth d4
Edges: Fleet Footed, Carpace (+4 armor) Improved Frenzy,
Claws: Str+d8 AP4,
* Some Hormagaunts subspecies evolved to be consummate hunter-killers, with Heightened Senses (d6 Notice) and Chameleon Skin (d8 Stealth)
Tyranid Zoanthrope (WILD CARD)
Zoanthropes are powerful psykers, created solely to harness the psychic potential of the Hive Mind.
Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength d12, Vigor d12
Parry 6, Toughness 14 (8) Pace 6 (d6) / Hover 6
Athletics d6 Fighting d8, Notice d8, Stealth d6, Warpcasting d10
Edges: Carapace (+8 Armor)
Abilities: AB Psion (20pp, Bolt, Blast, Fear, Armor, Deflection, Telekinesis, etc), Size+4, Large+2
Claws and Teeth (Str+d6AP2),
Tyranid Carnifex (WILD CARD)
The Carnifex is a living engine of destruction evolved for use in shock assaults, spaceship boarding actions and massed battles where it can smash through almost any obstacle, whether it is a defensive line or enemy tank.
Agi d8, Sm d6, Sp d12, Str d12+2, Vigor d12+2
Pace 8(d8), Parry 7 (incl Large penalty), Toughness 22 (12)
Athletics d8, Fighting d12, Notice d6,
Edges:: Size+6, Large+2, Improved Frenzy, Carapace (+12 Armor)
Scything Talons (Str+d10/AP10, Reach+2)
Spit Acid (Cone template, 2d10 damage
PLAYER CHARACTERS
Player Characters will be created via SWADE rules with the exception of funds and gear purchases.
PC’s may take up to 3 Weapons, 2 Explosives and 1 Armor.
In addition the PC will gain the following Hindrance:
Loyalty – G.E.A.R.S: The character is expected to remain loyal to their employer. Should they go rogue, try to leave the agency, etc, they will gain the Hunted and Enemy Hindrances. Depending on their digressions they will either be hunted down and killed with extreme prejudice or brought in to have their abilities removed and their memories wiped.
Background: The player should come up with a brief background explaining an extraterrestrial or other bizarre run in of some kind. During the encounter they should have been handily defeated and narrowly escape. They should then explain how this lead to them being recruited by (G.E.A.R.S.).
Edges
The following edges are banned:
- All Arcane Backgrounds except for Weird Science (See below)
- Arcane Resistance
- All power Edges except gadgeteer, Power Points and New Powers
Weird Science – Weird Science works as per SWADE except for the gadgets/trappings come from extraterrestrial sources. The scientist gets his ideas by studying alien artifacts and other unknown devices and then reverse engineering them.
Other AB’s – although not available at character creation a character may acquire AB Psionics during game play. This should come about due to in game events, with the most likely being after suffering some sort of severe damage or perhaps volunteering for experimentation by G.E.A.R.S. scientists. This AB works as per SWADE with the following changes.
- The character gains their powers via grafting alien DNA with theirs, a risky process. The character should work with the Storyteller to come up with a suitable side effect based on the alien DNA used.
Or instead of alien DNA the powers are a result of an experimental serum.
- The character may only gain this AB through game play. If they do not have an advance available it uses up their next available advance.
Hindrances
The following Hindrances are not available:
-Doubting Thomas – You have survived an encounter with an alien, monster or some other supernatural being. You know that these things exist.
-Outsider – unless you have a convincing reason to have it.
-Pacifist – As a part of G.E.A.R.S. killing is expected of you. As with Outsider if you can sell me on allowing it I will consider it, but expect a hard sell.
