S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for d20 Modern [Archive] - Wizards Community

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for d20 Modern [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dex
05-27-07, 05:50 AM Note: This thread will probably contain SPOILERS about the game, and unless you want to read them, don't look here.

Greetings all,
I am in the process of making a d20 Modern/Future/Arcana campaign for the STALKER game. I know the vast majority of stuff is already statted (especially weapons). This isn't about making a carbon copy of the game in pen and paper, but making a pen and paper rpg with the same atmosphere as the game. I've done quite a lot of work on it already, but I'm getting stuck.

What I need help with is the unique stuff - monsters, artifacts and anomalies. I am also looking for a way of describing what artifacts are "active" and what are inactive, since having them on a "belt" or limiting them to 5 like the game wrecked my SoD. I'm thinking of just having all benefits and all drawbacks of any artifacts carried affect the character, unless anyone can come up with a better idea.

So, I would like people to post stats for these, in the following formats:

Monsters, Mutants and NPCs: description, stat block as srd, tactics, etc.

Artifacts:
[Name]
Grade: XX (The grade of the artifact - this is also the artifact's PDC)
Weight: (Self explanatory)
Description: (A quick description of the artifact’s appearance, origin, and effects in layman’s terms)
Benefit: (What benefit if any the artifact gives)
Drawback: (What drawbacks if any the artifact has)
Emissions: (Whether the artifact gives off heat, radiation, light, an odor, or something else, with description)

Anomalies:
[Name]
Description: (What a person looking at it might see, or its observed effects, including whether any artifacts are formed in it)
Area: (area covered - could be a 1 square cube, a 2x2 flat area, etc.)
Effect: (What happens to people or items that enter or touch it's area)

Since I've already got some done, I'll post them by way of example.

Example Anomalies:
Freezer
Description: This area is curiously cold, and is visible due to the icy mist that is suspended in the air within it, and perhaps the frost-bitten or frozen plants around it. Forms the Snowball anomaly.
Area: A cube 6m on each side.
Effect: Anyone passing through suffers 2d6 cold damage, and an additional 2d6 damage per round spend inside it.

Wall
Description: Also known as "Thick Air", the air within this anomaly displays the properties of an anti-Newtonian fluid, stopping fast objects but letting slow ones through. Its boundaries appear as a distinct blue-tinged heat shimmer.
Effect: Any creature can only move 5ft per round while in a Wall. Anything that moves faster (such as bullets or running creatures) treats the wall’s boundary as a solid wall of force.
Area: 10ft radius

Example Artifacts:
Snowball
Grade: 16
Weight: 0.5 kg
Description: This fist-sized gemstone is pale blue, and is cold to the touch. It is formed in the Freezer anomaly, when glass or other silicate material is trapped within it. It exudes an aura of cold air, protecting against burns and high temperatures.
Benefit: Fire Resist 5
Drawback: Cold Vulnerability, Unstable*
Emissions: This artifact rapidly cools the air and items around it in a 5ft radius. Anything within this radius (including the character carrying it) is subject to -30 degree temperatures, and needs to make Fort saves against non-lethal cold damage.
*Unstable is a generic drawback. Basically, if two or more Unstable artifacts are brought together there is a chance each round they will explode.

Ox’s horn
Grade: 13
Weight: 0.1 kg
This Artifact boosts the wearer’s strength, giving him the ability to carry more and hit harder in a fight. He also thinks like an ox, too. It appears in the Crusher anomaly, and is a length of curved bone or horn from a beast that expired within.
Benefit: +4 Str
Drawback: -4 Int
Emissions: This artifact glows with the intensity of a candle.

Fly
Grade: 25
Weight: 0 kg
This artifact is extraordinary: it lets people fly. It looks like a cluster of pebbles or small stones coated in a glossy black liquid. It is formed in Punter anomalies, and is naturally buoyant in air (they are usually found caught in tree branches or trapped by ceilings).
Benefit: They allow a person to fly, as the Levitate 2nd level Mage spell.
Drawback: Emissions
Emissions: This is a Mildly radioactive material.

Dumbbell
Grade: 6
Weight: 20lbs
This artifact has a localized effect on gravity – it’s freaking heavy for a coin-sized lump of steel. It is formed when pieces of metal fall into a vortex anomaly.
Benefit: None
Drawback: This item’s weight is about ten thousand times greater than normal.
Emissions: This Artifact has no emissions.

Bolt Magnet
Grade: 25
Weight: 1 lb
This artifact naturally attracts lighting bolts, and somehow stores the energy. It is formed in the Magnetar anomaly, and is a 2 inch bolt, sparking when put in contact with another metal object.
Benefit: This artifact produces a DC charge that never runs out, and with a repair check (DC 15) can be inserted into or hooked up to any item that requires electricity.
Drawback: Electrical vulnerability, and every time it is overcast or raining there is a 50% chance per minute that a lightning bolt will strike the person carrying it.
Emissions: Exerts a weak magnetic field, detectable by instruments out to 20ft.

And if there's anything else you want to post, do that too.
sovietsnowball
06-12-07, 07:11 PM You should have it possible to have more than five artifacts on your person at any given time, but since the artifacts are warping reality and all, too much of the energies built up in any given location should blow up, similar to putting a bag of holding in another bag of holding. Maybe not that extreme, but have it as a serious concern that the more effects you have, the more turbulent energies might come and tear you apart.
In order to have more artifacts, you might have negating one that come from anomalies that are like anti-magic fields. If you have some of those artifacts on you, your artifacts are no longer reacting and tearing themselves apart. It would be a rare and expensive artifact, but you could also have a negative effect that it slightly dampens whatever bonuses you get from all of the artifacts, but also the side effects of them as well.
What I am trying to say is that you might want to make the equivalent of a neutron, in artifact form. It just balances.

Also, are you doing this online somewhere, because I would be interested in joining.
Dex
06-15-07, 07:40 AM At the moment I'm still in the process of making all the unique stuff. If there were enough people expressing their interest, I'd be happy to try my hand at a forum game. Just out of curiosity have you played the game right through, and what ending did you get?

I like the idea of the negating artifact: I just supposed Stalkers used big sticks or something to fish them out :P
I already have a mechanic for artifacts blowing up: the Unstable drawback. Its why you could use 5 artifacts in the game relatively safely, since only certain artifacts are unsafe together. I figure you need a certain type or purity of artifacts to start an explosion - like how you need a nearly pure amount of a specific uranium isotope to begin a nuclear explosion. Also in terms of game balance it means that characters will only carry one powerful one at a time.

From my WIP document:
Anyone carrying an artifact gains it’s benefits and suffers its drawbacks whether they like it or not. There is no limit to stacking artifacts, however, it is very unwise to do so – though five Ox’s horns gives a +20 Str bonus, it also gives a -20 penalty to Intelligence.
Also, some artifacts may be unstable, and should not be carried with another unstable artifact. When two or more artifacts that are unstable are carried by the same person or in the same 5ft square, there is a percent chance each round that they explode, dealing the higher grade artifact’s grade in d4s over a 20ft radius. The percent chance is the sum of their grades. A temporary area of radiation or an anomaly might come into being at the point they exploded – roll on the random anomaly table to determine what appears.

Like I said, I haven't really got any monsters statted out. This is as far as my beastiary goes:

Blind Dogs
Use stats for normal dogs, but add the following special quality:
Blindsight (Ex): Blind Dogs somehow manage to get by without their eyes. They have Blindsight to a radius of 60ft.

Pseudodogs
Use stats for wolves.

Boars
Use stats for Herd Animals

Giant Bats
CR 1ish

Bloodsuckers
CR4 ish

Controllers
CR 6 ish

Poltergeists
CR 4-5 ish

Dwarves (can't remember their proper name, they didn't make it into the final version of the game).
CR 6 -7

Zombies
As CRB, plus: Fast Healing 5. Headshots (critical hits, successful called shots to the head or coup de grace actions) automatically kill zombies.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dex 05-27-07, 05:50 AM	Note: This thread will probably contain SPOILERS about the game, and unless you want to read them, don't look here. Greetings all, I am in the process of making a d20 Modern/Future/Arcana campaign for the STALKER game. I know the vast majority of stuff is already statted (especially weapons). This isn't about making a carbon copy of the game in pen and paper, but making a pen and paper rpg with the same atmosphere as the game. I've done quite a lot of work on it already, but I'm getting stuck. What I need help with is the unique stuff - monsters, artifacts and anomalies. I am also looking for a way of describing what artifacts are "active" and what are inactive, since having them on a "belt" or limiting them to 5 like the game wrecked my SoD. I'm thinking of just having all benefits and all drawbacks of any artifacts carried affect the character, unless anyone can come up with a better idea. So, I would like people to post stats for these, in the following formats: Monsters, Mutants and NPCs: description, stat block as srd, tactics, etc. Artifacts: [Name] Grade: XX (The grade of the artifact - this is also the artifact's PDC) Weight: (Self explanatory) Description: (A quick description of the artifact’s appearance, origin, and effects in layman’s terms) Benefit: (What benefit if any the artifact gives) Drawback: (What drawbacks if any the artifact has) Emissions: (Whether the artifact gives off heat, radiation, light, an odor, or something else, with description) Anomalies: [Name] Description: (What a person looking at it might see, or its observed effects, including whether any artifacts are formed in it) Area: (area covered - could be a 1 square cube, a 2x2 flat area, etc.) Effect: (What happens to people or items that enter or touch it's area) Since I've already got some done, I'll post them by way of example. Example Anomalies: Freezer Description: This area is curiously cold, and is visible due to the icy mist that is suspended in the air within it, and perhaps the frost-bitten or frozen plants around it. Forms the Snowball anomaly. Area: A cube 6m on each side. Effect: Anyone passing through suffers 2d6 cold damage, and an additional 2d6 damage per round spend inside it. Wall Description: Also known as "Thick Air", the air within this anomaly displays the properties of an anti-Newtonian fluid, stopping fast objects but letting slow ones through. Its boundaries appear as a distinct blue-tinged heat shimmer. Effect: Any creature can only move 5ft per round while in a Wall. Anything that moves faster (such as bullets or running creatures) treats the wall’s boundary as a solid wall of force. Area: 10ft radius Example Artifacts: Snowball Grade: 16 Weight: 0.5 kg Description: This fist-sized gemstone is pale blue, and is cold to the touch. It is formed in the Freezer anomaly, when glass or other silicate material is trapped within it. It exudes an aura of cold air, protecting against burns and high temperatures. Benefit: Fire Resist 5 Drawback: Cold Vulnerability, Unstable* Emissions: This artifact rapidly cools the air and items around it in a 5ft radius. Anything within this radius (including the character carrying it) is subject to -30 degree temperatures, and needs to make Fort saves against non-lethal cold damage. *Unstable is a generic drawback. Basically, if two or more Unstable artifacts are brought together there is a chance each round they will explode. Ox’s horn Grade: 13 Weight: 0.1 kg This Artifact boosts the wearer’s strength, giving him the ability to carry more and hit harder in a fight. He also thinks like an ox, too. It appears in the Crusher anomaly, and is a length of curved bone or horn from a beast that expired within. Benefit: +4 Str Drawback: -4 Int Emissions: This artifact glows with the intensity of a candle. Fly Grade: 25 Weight: 0 kg This artifact is extraordinary: it lets people fly. It looks like a cluster of pebbles or small stones coated in a glossy black liquid. It is formed in Punter anomalies, and is naturally buoyant in air (they are usually found caught in tree branches or trapped by ceilings). Benefit: They allow a person to fly, as the Levitate 2nd level Mage spell. Drawback: Emissions Emissions: This is a Mildly radioactive material. Dumbbell Grade: 6 Weight: 20lbs This artifact has a localized effect on gravity – it’s freaking heavy for a coin-sized lump of steel. It is formed when pieces of metal fall into a vortex anomaly. Benefit: None Drawback: This item’s weight is about ten thousand times greater than normal. Emissions: This Artifact has no emissions. Bolt Magnet Grade: 25 Weight: 1 lb This artifact naturally attracts lighting bolts, and somehow stores the energy. It is formed in the Magnetar anomaly, and is a 2 inch bolt, sparking when put in contact with another metal object. Benefit: This artifact produces a DC charge that never runs out, and with a repair check (DC 15) can be inserted into or hooked up to any item that requires electricity. Drawback: Electrical vulnerability, and every time it is overcast or raining there is a 50% chance per minute that a lightning bolt will strike the person carrying it. Emissions: Exerts a weak magnetic field, detectable by instruments out to 20ft. And if there's anything else you want to post, do that too.
sovietsnowball 06-12-07, 07:11 PM	You should have it possible to have more than five artifacts on your person at any given time, but since the artifacts are warping reality and all, too much of the energies built up in any given location should blow up, similar to putting a bag of holding in another bag of holding. Maybe not that extreme, but have it as a serious concern that the more effects you have, the more turbulent energies might come and tear you apart. In order to have more artifacts, you might have negating one that come from anomalies that are like anti-magic fields. If you have some of those artifacts on you, your artifacts are no longer reacting and tearing themselves apart. It would be a rare and expensive artifact, but you could also have a negative effect that it slightly dampens whatever bonuses you get from all of the artifacts, but also the side effects of them as well. What I am trying to say is that you might want to make the equivalent of a neutron, in artifact form. It just balances. Also, are you doing this online somewhere, because I would be interested in joining.
Dex 06-15-07, 07:40 AM	At the moment I'm still in the process of making all the unique stuff. If there were enough people expressing their interest, I'd be happy to try my hand at a forum game. Just out of curiosity have you played the game right through, and what ending did you get? I like the idea of the negating artifact: I just supposed Stalkers used big sticks or something to fish them out :P I already have a mechanic for artifacts blowing up: the Unstable drawback. Its why you could use 5 artifacts in the game relatively safely, since only certain artifacts are unsafe together. I figure you need a certain type or purity of artifacts to start an explosion - like how you need a nearly pure amount of a specific uranium isotope to begin a nuclear explosion. Also in terms of game balance it means that characters will only carry one powerful one at a time. From my WIP document: Anyone carrying an artifact gains it’s benefits and suffers its drawbacks whether they like it or not. There is no limit to stacking artifacts, however, it is very unwise to do so – though five Ox’s horns gives a +20 Str bonus, it also gives a -20 penalty to Intelligence. Also, some artifacts may be unstable, and should not be carried with another unstable artifact. When two or more artifacts that are unstable are carried by the same person or in the same 5ft square, there is a percent chance each round that they explode, dealing the higher grade artifact’s grade in d4s over a 20ft radius. The percent chance is the sum of their grades. A temporary area of radiation or an anomaly might come into being at the point they exploded – roll on the random anomaly table to determine what appears. Like I said, I haven't really got any monsters statted out. This is as far as my beastiary goes: Blind Dogs Use stats for normal dogs, but add the following special quality: Blindsight (Ex): Blind Dogs somehow manage to get by without their eyes. They have Blindsight to a radius of 60ft. Pseudodogs Use stats for wolves. Boars Use stats for Herd Animals Giant Bats CR 1ish Bloodsuckers CR4 ish Controllers CR 6 ish Poltergeists CR 4-5 ish Dwarves (can't remember their proper name, they didn't make it into the final version of the game). CR 6 -7 Zombies As CRB, plus: Fast Healing 5. Headshots (critical hits, successful called shots to the head or coup de grace actions) automatically kill zombies.