Clerics and Religion in Elves & Espers
Posted by Joshua on Sep 8, 2008
There are none. The Gods all died a long time ago.
Notes: Why? Well, it’s much more common than not for whiz-bang SF to be so secular that religion isn’t mentioned even to dismiss it unless it’s the religion of some primitive society the protagonists encounter, but religion so permeates D&D and most derivative fantasy that being an atheist is a form of delusion. (Which reminds me of the bit in Terry Pratchett about the lightning-proof atheist…) So rather than inventing a bunch of wierd and futuristic Gods for E&E, or a bunch of old D&D-esque gods and coming up with wierd and futuristic ways for them to be worshipped, I decided they existed but were all wiped out during and after the Apocalypse. So that means no Clerics, since I’m not going to reintroduce the Mentzer D&D concept of Clerics merely representing a cause.
New Ark City
Posted by Joshua on Sep 8, 2008
New Ark City is the only surviving (non-hidden) arcology from before the Apocalypse. In the centuries since the end of the Time of Troubles, the city has outgrown the original confines of the arcology, which now forms the base of the towers that stretch into the sky. The towers are clustered into five groups, imaginatively called North Spire, East Spire, South Spire, the Broken Spire, and the Tower of Ark. The spires are further subdivided into regions, each of which amounts to a town in its own right, such as Zep (the Zepplin docks), Witchtown (the bohemian magical crafts area), or Poisonville (the sewage and chemical/industrial factory area). Monorails connect the spires high above the roof of the arcology, and the air teams with countless magical small craft and people with their own means of flight. Generally speaking, the higher off the ground, the higher status of the area. There are slums outside the base of the arcology called the Middens, where the cast-off of the city subsist on its cast-offs, and outlaws hide. Once the arcology carefully recycled everything, but now much is thrown away as not being worth the energy it would take to break it down for re-use.
Arcane Background: Trooper
Posted by Joshua on Sep 8, 2008
This is a new Savage Worlds Edge for the Elves & Espers setting:
Arcane Background: Trooper
Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Spirit)
Starting Power Points:10
Starting Powers: 3
Troopers are powered-armor wearing shock troops. Their focus is a MultiGun, capable of throwing various destructive magic. They are also allowed to wear Powered Armor, though they don’t necessarily start with it. Firing the MultiGun requires a SpellCasting roll that doubles as the Shooting Roll.
Troopers may take the Special Edge Powered Armor. Each time they take Powered Armor they can upgrade their Armor with another 5 points of powers according to the power costs in Necessary Evil. This starts from a base of 0, so the first thing they will probably do is buy several points of the Armor power. Powers must make sense as coming from Powered Armor (albeit magic powered armor) so, e.g. Deflection would be ok, while Construct would not (donning the Armor can’t change you into a construct). Powered Armor automatically has the Device limitation applied to every aspect of it, so gets no additional discount. Other limitations applied to specific powers (e.g. Requires Activation, or Partial Protection) may be applied as normal. The Powered Armor Edge can be taken once per rank.
Backlash: On a roll of 1 on the Spellcasting Die (regardless of the Wild Die), the Trooper experiences magical backlash and is Shaken. This can cause a wound.
Bonus: The Trooper automatically gets a discount of 1 Power Point (as if the Trooper had the Wizard Edge and rolled a raise) whenever he fires a single normal damage (2d6) Bolt from his MultiGun. He must have at least 1 Power Point left in order to activate the spell, even though it will end up costing 0. (So if he runs his power completely dry, he can’t keep firing forever.) This doesn’t stack with the Wizard Edge should the Trooper have it.
Notes:
This Edge represents what the Trooper class was about in the previous incarnation of Elves & Espers. Mechanically it’s pretty much identical to AB: Magic, except for the new special Powered Armor Edge it allows access to. I’m a little concerned whether the Powered Armor Edge is too powerful (since it introduces powers from Necessary Evil, which is geared towards Super-Hero levels of power), but I’m hoping that by halving the initial points and making the Troopers worry about splitting their advances between making their MultiGun more effective, improving their Powered Armor, and anything else they might want it’ll be about on par with other characters who can specialize more.
Arcane Background: Roguechemist
Posted by Joshua on Sep 8, 2008
or should that be Rogueomancy?
This is a new Savage Worlds Edge for the Elves & Espers setting:
Arcane Background: Roguechemist
Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Smarts)
Starting Power Points:10
Starting Powers: 3
Roguechemists create magical potions, which they can then deliver with their gun, called a Caster. Their primary devices are their Caster and their Bandoleer, which serves as a portable lab. It takes an hour per spell rank to craft a potion, and the power points aren’t recovered until the potion is used or destroyed, at which point they return to the caster at the usual rate (generally one per hour). The potions are actually powered by imps bound to the bandoleer, which is why the Power Points are consumed until the potion is actually used or disposed of so the imps can recover the power.
Roguechemists spells are limited to things that plausibly can be done with potions: armor, blast, boost/lower trait, etc. No summoning, creation, or the like. Also, no potions that duplicate purely Esper effects such as Telepathy, or Clairvoyance.
Backlash: None
Bonus: Roguechemists can use their Casters to deliver potions, giving them the range increments 12/24/48 (instead of 3/6/9 for a thrown potion) and using their Shooting skill. Spells that have a range of Touch or Self must be drunk or smeared all over, and cannot be delivered via the Caster.
Notes:
This Edge represents what the Rogue class was about in the previous incarnation of Elves & Espers. Other than the special perk of ranged delivery with the Caster, Roguechemists operate just like AB: Alchemy from the SW Fantasy World Builder’s Guide.
Arcane Background: Robomancy
Posted by Joshua on Sep 8, 2008
This is a new Savage Worlds Edge for the Elves & Espers setting:
Arcane Background: Robomancy
Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Smarts)
Starting Power Points:10
Starting Powers: 1
Robomancers build and manipulate magical robots. Their primary device is called a Workbot, a toolkit on treads that they use to create and control other robots. Each Robomancer power is a separate device, generally a robot, but perhaps a remote or a tool; each power comes with its own Power Points equal to the inventor’s Power Points.
Robomancer powers must all make sense it terms of robots and gadgets, and may not duplicate any purely Esper effects such as Mind Reading or Puppet, though something like Clairvoyance in terms of a mobile spy-eye would be permissible.
Backlash: When a Robomancer rolls a 1 on his Spellcasting die (regardless of his Wild Die), the device has malfunctioned and cannot be used again until he repairs it, which requires a succesful Repair roll and 2d6 hours worth of work.
Notes:
This Edge represents what the Engineer class was about in the previous incarnation of Elves & Espers. It is essentially the AB: Wierd Science with new trappings. The first Power that a Robomancer will usually take is Summon Robot, which is a new trapping for Shapechange as suggested in SW Fantasy World Builder’s Guide. Instead of shapechanging into the creature, you summon one that will obey you for the duration of the spell. In the Robomancer’s case, they snap together a modular robot that has the abilities equivalent to the target creature and enough power to run for the duration of the spell.