This week I'd like to focus on a new optional class for Gathox - this time, the Glaatu. The Glaatu are a race of foul-mouthed, split-limbed space pirates whose ships habitually and inexplicably tend to crash land on worlds the godling repeatedly visits. Their population remains diffuse in the city, with some living “homefree,” or homeless, in Berchan Favela and others seeking refuge in the shifting stomach-dungeons deep beneath the surface.
As Big As: A skinnier version of a bear. Smells Like: Sulphur and pyramid-scheme perfume. Sounds Like: A drunk speaking in reverse. Favorite Pastime: Playing poker, drunk speaking in reverse. Turnoffs: Thick limbs.
These foul-mouthed, polyglot alien pirates occasionally mine for legitimate work. Their ships have an uncanny knack for picking up on Gathox's magnetic signature in the cosmos and accidentally crash landing nearby. They travel in scavenger teams of 2-20 and prefer to dig to safety when on solid ground. Their split limbs allow them to wield two weapons at once without penalty, including two-handed weapons.
The Glaatu as a class
Glaatu make for natural adventurers, swindlers, thieves, and brigands. They advance as Militants (using the S&W White Box Fighter advancement tables) and possess a number of innate racial abilities.
Character Advancement: The Glaatu are considered Militants for all purposes and may typically only advance as high as 5th level unless the Referee rules otherwise.
Weapon and Armor Restrictions: Like any other Militant, the Glaatu can use any weapons and armor without restriction and without the price increases for possessing a strange body shape. As space pirates, the Glaatu adapted to scavenging fitting armor pieces eons ago. Dual Wielding: Due to their split limbs, the Glaatu can wield two weapons without penalty, including two-handed weapons. Double Attacks: The Glaatu may make two attacks per round if dual wielding weapons - which means that for each attack, a dual wielding Glaatu may roll damage twice and take the higher damage value.
Saving Throws: The Glaatu are less susceptible to magical attacks, and thus receive a +4 bonus on Saving Throws against magic, even if the Referee only uses single saving throws.
I dig the three-axis generation process for the results, that's super hot - and everything's tied tightly into the functional fiction and geography to boot. Jesse's also been kind enough to assist in organizing a collection of player-made game content for Gathox, which will eventually be a free .pdf! Huzzah!
The Mi-Chiw optional class for Gathox
From GVS1, Chapter 6 Monster Section
The short, violent, and hideous turtle people known as the Mi-Chiw ("MEE-chyoo") grew from a single crate of eggs thoughtlessly brought into the city on a world not visited for hundreds of years. The Mi-Chiw are barely tolerated, but they occasionally find work as death squads for the elite when on the surface. They naturally go to ground in Gathox, establishing wet warrens and complex hatcheries. Mi-Chiw possess a species-wide instinctual desire to build ladders, stacking them on the surface at night in an attempt to ascend to the sun at dawn and touch Dzak-Molu, their god.
As monsters, they typically travel in bands of 3d4 members and warren with anywhere from 12-60 individuals. Every group of 5 or more Mi-Chiw will be accompanied by a mutated 4+2 HD Shell Priest, who casts as a 3rd level Mentalist.
As PCs, the lives of Mi-Chiw trend toward short and brutal. Their horrific countenances and penchant for violence render them simultaneously unsuited to lives of socialization and talented at adventuring.
Mi-Chiw Race Abilities
Character Advancement: Mi-Chiw advance as Militants, and may typically advance as far as 6th level. They use Militant Hit Dice, To-Hit scores, and Saving Throws.
Weapon and Armor Restrictions: Because of their strange shape and hard shells, Mi-Chiw may only wear armor on their arms and legs, and can wear up to four pieces of armor. They may carry a small shield as well. They may only use one-handed melee or ranged weapons.
Natural Weapons and Armor: The Mi-Chiw's shell provides natural armor, which continues to harden through age and exposure to the hardships of adventuring. At level 1, a Mi-Chiw has a natural AC of 7[12]; this improves by one point each level, until at level 6, where a Mi-Chiw has a natural AC of 2[17]. Additionally, the Mi-Chiw possesses jagged, devastating claws that function as incredible natural weapons. At level 1, the Mi-Chiw's barehanded attacks do 1d6 damage. At level 3, damage improves to 1d4+2. At level 5, damage improves again, this time to 1d6+3. At level 6, their claw attacks continue to do 1d6+3 damage and are treated as magical weapons in terms of ability to damage enemies resistant to mundane attacks.
Fighting Zhezhn: Gathox's antibodies, the Zhezhn, have a difficult time adapting to the bizarre psychology of the Mi-Chiw, and thus find them difficult to engage in combat; Zhezhn only inflict half the normal damage against Mi-Chiw.
Keen Detection: Mi-Chiw are naturally subterranean and can navigate below ground with ease. On checks for spatial orientation underground, detecting slanting passages, or spotting traps, Mi-Chiw areconsidered to have a +2 to WIS.
Saving Throws: The Mi-Chiw intellect is so foreign that psychic attacks, whether magical or biological, trend toward failure. The Mi-Chiw has a +4 bonus on Saving Throws against all psychic attacks.
Alright, so I'm super stoked to announce that GVS2:Quake Alley Mayhem is finally out! The module was a blast to work on and I cannot thank Mike Evans at DIY RPG Productions enough for being patient with me and supporting my work through thick and thin. Mike recruited the speedy, hard working, and talented Matt Hildebrand to handle layout, and Matt just nailed it to the wall with tightness and little design flourishes that really make the book pop. You can find GVS2:Quake Alley Mayhem here!
Okay, so what's in the module?
GVS2 is a tournament module with pre-gens. It's a classic 'Get the MacGuffin,' only it's not. Sure, retrieving the ancient artifact known as Vaclav's Holy Driver is the mission objective of the Purple Rockets gang played by the players, but the real mission becomes clear as soon as players enter the enemy base: beat the clock!
For every 20 minutes of table time, another earthquake occurs, invoking particular physical effects within the dungeon and sapping the PCs of crucial resources along the way, but these effects become more deleterious over time. This puts the pressure on players to solve the traps and puzzles of the dungeon as quickly as possible, as it becomes clear that the longer they wait, the closer to death they come. Finally, the dungeon is a high-density puzzle-and-trap dungeon which means that players will have to apply their wits at top speed without rest in order to survive and retrieve the Holy Driver!
Why did you make a tournament module?
One practical and one design reason each inspired the decision to make a tournament module.
Practically, I needed a module I could take anywhere and run for total strangers to highlight the fun and deadliness of Gathox. I've been fortunate to run Quake Alley Mayhem at cons, out of state at friends' homes, for distant acquaintances and strangers by invitation, and for a number of local gaming groups. The Quake Table and time limits in the game allow those sessions to be action packed, concise, and constrained without being too short - all the fun of haste and hustle without the stress of sessions dragging out through indecision.
In terms of design (puts on designer's cap), over the years I've come to view retroclone games like Swords & Wizardry as a bit of a team sport, like football. I know, I know, this is a roleplaying game, but it's also tactical, conflict oriented, and requires cooperation amongst players whilst promoting varying degrees of competition within the group. To me that seems fun as hell.
What if I don't want to run a tournament?
You're in luck! There's an entire section in the module devoted to adapting Quake Alley Mayhem to campaign play, with alternative mission parameters and appropriate Reputation Points rewards. There's even a 'Tower Defense' version where you get to defend the Holy Driver from waves of gangsters pouring in to retrieve it! There's also a rumor table for roaming about The Kettle neighborhood, containing hints as to the deeper history of the Driver and linking out to potential new contacts, as well as random encounters to make that fact-finding mission more challenging. If you're not convinced of the sheer radness of Quake Alley Mayhem, watch the sweet animation I made for the launch of the book:
Updates
So, it's been a minute or two since I last posted on this blog. Rest assured, I'll be posting here regularly again. This last year was gnarly, to say the least, in part because I lived in a camper in the woods with little to no internet through the long winter. I still live in my camper with my pupper, but I've finally made my way back to Missoula, MT, where I can have nice things like access to internet and gaming and playtest groups.
I'm just wrapping up my first draft of the Lamentations book I've been commissioned, and will be creating art for it once it's been submitted (which should be very soon). Additionally, I'm running two competing groups of players through my Gathox megadungeon, The Ruins of Ce-C'el, and will regularly post session recaps of those. You may find them interesting both for the sheer fictional joy of them as well as for their use in running multiple groups of players. I'll be doing my best to tease out larger design thoughts and strategies for that as I go. They're only a week in, so we'll see how it goes!
Finally, thank you so much for your support and interest in the things I make and do. I'd love to hear your thoughts and see your creations as well - tell me about how you use Gathox! If you make cool stuff, I'll be happy to promote it. Cheers!
