Introducing the adventure
This is a story out of time, yet set in the “real” world of Earth in the 1920s. It is a dark and sinister tale of conspiracy, betrayals and strange goings-on. You are a man or woman, fresh from the rigours and the horrors of the First World War, trying to find your feet in a world of lost innocence, where the halcyon days of youth are a distant memory; and you are shocked and disgusted by how low the world around you sank into depravity. Yet there are things happening which you cannot explain. How could man alone have been responsible for such carnage and senseless slaughter? Perhaps there is something else behind this mass murder...
You are also aware that science and technology are advancing at a rapid rate, and that man is discovering much about the present that sheds new light onto the past. Some of these discoveries are made public, yet you are sure many are hidden away from the common man – though for what purpose you are unsure.
Introducing the Characters
At the start of this adventure, you are living somewhere in Great Britain, not too far from a main-line railway. Three characters will take part to this investigation: an honest Doctor, put upon and sickened by the war, a Detective, always on the lookout for some easy money and a Gangster, who, having already made some easy money, is intrigued by what is happening around him.
First of all, each player will have to choose a different profession: Doctor, Detective or Gangster.
At first, the three characters will start this Lovecraftian adventure on their own, but it won't take too long before they will join their forces.
Introducing the Ruleset
This adventure will be run with a simplified version of Advanced Fighting Fantasy ruleset. In order to understand the basic rules, the Quickstart Guide (even if this guide was designed for Fantasy gaming) is sufficient:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/p...g-Fantasy-Quickstart
The basic game mechanics is linked to rolling 2d6:
- If there is an unopposed roll, the result of 2d6 has to be equal or lower than the reference Characteristic (+ or - potential bonuses or penalties). Unopposed rolls can be taken when jumping across a chasm, climbing a tree, or to test for Luck or Sanity: all challenges against yourself rather than against an opponent that can resist you. When taking an unopposed roll, a natural 2 is always a success and a natural 12 is always a fail.
- If there is an opposed roll, you have to roll 2d6 and add it to the relevant Characteristic (+ or - potential bonuses or penalties) before checking if the same roll by your opponent is higher or lower than yours and the highest total wins. When taking an opposed roll, a natural 2 is always a miss and a natural 12 is always a hit.
- When using ranged weapons (such as guns), the opposed roll is taken against the fixed target of 15 (so two opponents can actually shoot each other), plus or minus modifiers depending on distance, light and partial cover.
In summary, each character is represented primarily by four Characteristics:
- SKILL, representing your ability to overcome challenging situations. When you take a test, whether opposed or unopposed, SKILL will be your reference characteristic most of the times. If your SKILL for any reson goes down to zero, you will be completely disabled.
- STAMINA, representing your physical resistance to fatigue, pain and injury. If your STAMINA goes down to zero, you are dead.
- LUCK, representing how lucky your are. Every time that you test your LUCK, no matter if you succeed or not, you have to deduct one point from your current LUCK. If you want, you can always decide to test your LUCK instead of testing your SKILL or your WILLPOWER.
- WILLPOWER, representing your courage and your belief in yourself, and those around you with whom you share a common goal. If your WILLPOWER score ever reaches zero, you have lost all faith and trust in yourself, and your grip on reality, and are doomed to spend the rest of your life in a sanatorium somewhere, a gibbering, nervous wreck, terrified of the things best left unknown. Similarly to LUCK, every time you test your WILLPOWER, whether successful or not, you have to deduct one point. WILLPOWER is a characteristic not present in Advanced Fighting Fantasy classic ruleset (but it was present in some Fighting Fantasy gamebook with more Lovecraftian elements) and it was introduced in this adventure to cover, indeed, for its lovecraftian elements.
In order to determine your characteristics, there is a
point buy procedure:
you starts with the following values in you Characteristics:
SKILL 4
STAMINA 8
LUCK 6
WILLPOWER 6
those starting Characteristics are then increased from a pool of 12 characteristics points, with the following caveats:
SKILL: this characteristic can't go above 10
STAMINA: each point added increases STAMINA by 2, but the total con't go above 24
LUCK: this characteristic can't go above 12
WILLPOWER: this characteristic can't go above 12
Introducing the Proficiencies
This adventure differs from official Advanced Fighting Fantasy ruleset because there are no Talents and Special Skills, but rather Proficiencies, that enable the possibility for a character to execute some specific actions - see more detail below.
Each character can choose seven proficiencies allowed for their specific profession.
| Name: | Description | Object associated | Who can choose it |
|---|
| Acute Eyesight | Acute Eyesight means that you have trained your visual ability to a greater level than normal men (2 points bonus to your roll). You are able to see in detail over much longer distances, and over a wider area. You can detect movement, even if the subject is well camouflaged. Your eyesight even works well at twilight and dusk, giving you heightened detection abilities even when underground. If you don't have this proficiency and you try performing an action requiring it, you can roll with a penalty of 2 points. | None | Doctor, Detective, Gangster |
| Acute Hearing | Similar to Acute Eyesight, your innate ability has been naturally trained to detect the slightest sound, and to know the direction of its origin (2 points bonus to your roll). You can often detect whispered conversations happening tens of feet away, and this advance warning allows you to ready your attack earlier than most men. If you don't have this proficiency and you try performing an action requiring it, you can roll with a penalty of 2 points. | None | Doctor, Detective, Gangster |
| Biology | Biology is the study of living things, how they work, their make-up and composition, including feeding habits and social behaviour. This allows you to determine animals from such factors as their excreta or scent. Your knowledge of animal behaviour gives insight into what beasts are planning; thus, in a combat situation with a non-human opponent, you may add 2 points to your SKILL for the duration of the combat; this bonus is cumulative with other attack bonuses for fighting styles and includes when using ranged weapons. If you don't know Biology, there is no way you can get the same level of insight. | None | Doctor only |
| Brawling | Brawling, sometimes known as ‘dirty fighting’, is combat without specific weaponry. Thus, one skilled in Brawling doesn't suffer the usual -2 penalty for entering a fight without a weapon. It also covers temporary use of anything nearby as a weapon. | None | Doctor, Detective, Gangster |
| Chemistry | A character proficient in Chemistry is well schooled in the arts of chemistry and physics. The elements that make up the Universe are known to you, and you keep abreast of the latest scientific discoveries. You are also aware of chemicals, their make-up and uses, normally being able to recognise them rather quickly. You are also quick to notice small details regarding the science of the physical world, but perhaps you place too much trust in them. If you don't know Chemistry, there is no way you can improvise it and get similar insights. | Pocket Microscope | Doctor only |
| Driving | You can not only drive a car, but you also have a much deeper understanding of vehicles, including their maintenance, mechanical repair, and handling under difficult circumstances at high speeds. Such knowledge is not widespread since automobiles are still fairly uncommon. If you can't drive, you can't drive. | Black Ford Automobile | Gangster only |
| Elephant Gun Usage | In these colonial times, there is nothing a gentleman likes more than travelling to some remote portion of the empire and shooting himself a wild animal. Not only is it character building, it provides trophies for you to display at your home, showing your friends how well off and well travelled you are. Elephant Guns are large shotgun affairs with two barrels, allowing for two shots to be fired at once with a +2 bonus to your attack roll. A shot with an Elephant Gun inflicts 1d6+2 STAMINA points of damage per cartridge. You only need to roll the Attack Strength once as both cartridges are assumed to have hit (or missed) if you loosed both off. A major drawback with Elephant Guns is how long they take to re-load (4 rounds without doing any other action). If you are familiar with another fire weapon, you must pass a test of LUCK to be able to use an Elephant Gun with a -2 penalty. If you are not familiar with fire weapons, you can't use an Elephant Gun. | Elephant Gun and ammunition | Doctor, Detective Gangster |
| Fast Talk | A character gifted with Fast-talk always makes a good impression, and is known as the life and soul of the party. What few of their companions could guess, however, is what is going on in their mind. Such characters are gifted with the ability to hide their true feelings and motives behind a cleverly constructed veneer, which only the most suspicious or devious minds might penetrate. The ability allows them to talk their way out of embarrassing and potentially compromising situations with seeming effortlessness. An additional benefit is that of being able to talk your way out of dangerous situations, or to trick information out of an unsuspecting victim. If you don't have this proficiency, the above actions will be done with a penalty of 4 points. | None | Doctor or Detective |
| First Aid | The character gifted with the First Aid Proficiency is capable of dealing with injuries and wounds in a hygienic and professional way. A character with First Aid (and a Medical Bag and Paraphernalia) may use this once per day on a specific patient to restore up to 1d6+2 points of STAMINA, if they can roll under SKILL. This is in addition to any other STAMINA bonuses for resting (typically, 4 STAMINA per night of rest), eating (typically, 2 STAMINA per meal twice a day), etc. Note that the associated medical tools (such as scissor, etc.) can't be reasonably used as melee weapons during the adventure. A natural roll of 12 means that you made some mistake while administering the medication and the patient gets a damage of 1d6+2 points of STAMINA instead. If you try administering First Aid and you don't have this proficiency, a successful roll heals 1d6 points of STAMINA and a failure causes a damage as previously mentioned. | Medical Bag and the Paraphernalia | Doctor or Detective |
| Handgun Usage | The handgun, though devised in Europe during the 17th century, has been made famous by “cow-boys” of the prairies of the United States of America. It was often used to settle quarrels until fairly recently, and as such, knowledge of the use of handguns is widespread. The handgun in question here is a Luger, though you may also pick up and aim other, less usable pistols, always with a +2 to your attack roll. A Luger deals 2-4 points of damage per successful hit (1d3+1), though other handguns or ammunition may deliver different damage, and this will be noted in the text. The chamber holds 6 Bullets, which may be released at a rate of one bullet per Attack Round. You must keep track of how many bullets are held in the gun during a fight, as reloading takes two rounds without making any other action. If you are familiar with another fire weapon, you must pass a test of LUCK to be able to use a Handgun with a -2 penalty. If you are not familiar with fire weapons, you can't use a Handgun. | Luger Hadgun and ammunition | Doctor, Detective, Gangster |
| Knife Usage | Perhaps something of a misnomer, Knife Usage refers to any bladed weapon, from a dagger to a Samurai broadsword, that can be used with a +2 to your attack rolls; however, switchblade knives are easier to take through customs and explain to the police. They can be used as a hand weapon or as thrown weapons, causing 1d3 damages. If you are not familiar with Knife Usage, your attacks will have 2 points penalty and on a missed attack, if you fail to pass a LUCK roll, you will clumsily drop your blade on the ground. | Switchblade knife | Doctor, Detective, Gangster |
| Library Use | As any researcher will tell you, the library is the best place to visit to find out information for free. As such, great importance should be placed by anyone investigating unusual phenomena in the Library Use Proficiency. If you have no experience with a library, your searches will have a penalty of 4 points. | None | Doctor, Detective, Gangster |
| Navigation | More than simply the knowledge of how to get from A to B, a character knows roughly where he is at all times, and can mentally plan a route between two places he has never visited, though charts and maps will give a bonus to such an attempt. Additionally, you always know which way is North, and you rarely get lost. If you don't have this proficiency, it will take much longer to go from a place to another and you may have to roll to avoid getting lost. | None | Doctor, Detective, Gangster |
| Rifle Usage | Rifles have been around for over a century now, and they have passed into the realm of respectability, despite their murky past. For the Rifle is the weapon of an assassin. Long-barrelled and with long-range sights, the rifle is used to take out specific targets. In combat, a Rifle gives you a +2 to your attack roll with a single bullet, but takes two rounds to re-arm with more ammunition. However, it has a very good range, and inflicts 1d6 damage upon a successful hit. There is also a chance that the wound will be fatal. If your attack roll to hit (after modifiers), instead of being "just"15 or more, is instead 21 or more, you managed to hit a vital organ, and your opponent has died on the spot. If you are familiar with another fire weapon, you must pass a test of LUCK to be able to use a Rifle with a -2 penalty. If you are not familiar with fire weapons, you can't use a Rifle. | Rifle and ammunition | Detective or Gangster |
| Tommy Gun Usage | The Tommy-Gun is the most powerful and destructive ranged weapon available in this adventure, and also the most dangerous, and you will be able to use it with a +2 to your attack rolls. If you are found in the possession of this illegal weapon, confiscation is the least penalty you will incur; likely you will be sentenced to a lengthy stretch at Her Majesty’s pleasure. The Tommy-Gun is a large machine gun with a real kick: 5 projectiles are fired each Attack Round. On a successful hit, the Tommy-Gun will inflict 5d3 damage to a hapless victim. The ammunitions are enough for four rounds, then re-load can take quite a lot (4 rounds). As this weapon is illegal, it is usually kept in several pieces in a suitcase; thus, unless you have time to assemble it (one turn), you may not use it in unexpected ranged combat. If you don't have this proficiency, there is no way you can successfully assemble a Tommy Gun. If you are familiar with another fire weapon, you must pass a test of LUCK to be able to use a Tommy Gun with a -4 penalty, as the kick is really strong. If you are not familiar with fire weapons, you can't use a Tommy Gun. | Tommy Gun and ammunitions | Gangster only |
| Underworld Contacts | The Underworld is a place of mystery and danger, and most people sensibly steer well clear of it. There are some, however, for whom this forbidden zone is alluring, and those characters will take this Proficiency. Contact with organised crime can take place in public, or behind closed doors, but the character with this Proficiency knows the lairs and whereabouts of these organisations, their secret codes, and their interests. One skilled in such knowledge will need to be respectful and alert to those whom they contact, for news travels fast along the tunnels of the Underworld, and it is never good to be on the receiving end of a contract. If you don't have this proficiency, there is no way you can purposefully get in touch with the local organised crime... unless they decide to target you, that is. | None | Detective or Gangster |
- The Doctor starts the game with £5.
- The Detective starts the game with £10.
- The Gangster starts the game with £15.
This amount doesn't necessarily represent everything you own, but just how much money you carry with yourself.
Said that, the following table is about the complex relations between currencies circulating in Britain in the '20s, before everything was simplified and converted to decimal. This may perhaps become useful during the investigation.
| Denomination | Value | Decimal Equivalent |
|---|
| Farthing | ¼d | -- |
| Ha’penny | ½d | -- |
| Penny | 1/12s | -- |
| Twopence | 2d | -- |
| Threepence | 3d | 1.25 pence |
| Sixpence (Tanner) | 6d | 2.5 pence |
| Shilling (Bob) | 12d | 5 pence |
| Florin (Two Bob) | 2s | 10 pence |
| Half Crown | 2s 6d | 12.5 pence |
| Double Florin | 4s | 20 pence |
| Crown | 5s | 25 pence |
| Sovereign | 20s (240d) | £1 |
| Guinea | 21s | £1.05 |
* * *
Request to Join
If you want to join this game, I will ask you first of all to choose who you want to play (Doctor / Detective / Gangster - better you mention them in order of preference, in case somebody else already picked up that option) and the name you want to use.
Then there are two commitments that are important, as they represent your respect for the other players:
1) At least one post a day. If you have occasional issues with this, I expect you give me a notice. I can understand that unexpected issues can sometimes happen, but if you can't keep up with this pace I will not wait for your posts and in the short term I will manage your character to avoid breaking the flow of the adventure. If over ten days pass without notice, I will remove you from the game.
2) I need your commitment to participate until the end of the game. It is a one-off adventure and won't take years to finish, but rather weeks or months at most.
If anyway you want to drop out, don't disappear but let me know. I will appreciate it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:44, Sun 21 Feb 2021.
