Engine Heart: Repairbot Playbook

blah blah d10-based RPG about service robots, download here, previous playbook here.

Engine Heart: Repairbot

Who Built Your Processor? (1d4)

1. Hansa Automation - 3 RealityCom, 2 HumanCom, 2 DigiCon, 2 MechaniCon, 2 Buffer

2. Parable Intelligence - 1 RealityCom, 1 HumanCom, 4 DigiCon, 4 MechaniCon, 1 Buffer

3. Padlock Reinforced Processing - 2 RealityCom, 1 HumanCom, 1 DigiCon, 1 MechaniCon, 4 Buffer

4. ASQ Social Systems - 2 RealityCom, 4 HumanCom, 1 DigiCon, 1 MechaniCon, 1 Buffer

 

Who Built Your Chassis? (1d6)

1-2. Ducharme Optics - 2 Dexterity, 2 Mobility, 4 Perception, 2 Reflexes, 2 Strength

3-4. Yosef Industrial - 1 Dexterity, 1 Mobility, 2 Perception, 1 Reflexes, 5 Strength

5-6. EOM Advanced Motors - 3 Dexterity, 3 Mobility, 2 Perception, 3 Reflexes, 1 Strength

 

Major Feature (1d10)

1. Abrader

2. Attendant Swarm

3. Cutting Laser

4. Manipulative Limb (Standard)

5-10. Plasma Arc Welder

 

 Minor Feature (Roll 1d12 Twice, Take Both)

1. External Container

2. Display Screen


3. Electromagnet

4. Flexible Body

5. Jack

6. Power Dock

7. Rack

8. Specialty Chassis

9. Simple Assembly

10. Tool Set

11. Telescoping Reach

12. Winch

 

Defects (Roll 1d8 Twice, Take Both)

1. Manual Feature

2. Conspicuous

3. Exposed Power Switch

4. Mute

5. Plastic Casing

6. Simple Programming

7. Top-Heavy

8. Response Lag

Advanced Skeleton-ing

why did i write this

Welcome to Richard's Half-Price Necropolis

All the Skeleton, Half the... uh. 

hooray...

 Here at Richard's, we milk bad jokes for all they're worth have everything for your skeleton-based needs!

Think skeletons are just too stupid on their own? We sell Psionic Skeletons - 100% organic Illithid brain-paste stuck to the inside of the skull for maximum effectiveness! Make your enemies marvel at the inefficiency of raising a brainless form only to put another brain in it!

The main advantage of skeletons is the cargo space! Beehive Skeletons make the most of it by wedging angry bees into the ribcage, for excellent area denial!

All this sounding too natural? Move up the tech-tree a bit to whatever-punk with Flamethrower Skeletons! Use up all that empty space with volatile fuel tanks! Even in death they burn with anger! (and also fire).

Don't want fire around your houseplants? Try Electric Skeletons - wires connected to the arms and legs make each attack shockingly powerful!

HARNESS THE POWER

make it stop

That was amazingly bad. As penance, have some stats for the utter nonsense I've created.

Exceptionally Average Skeleton
HD: 1
AC: 10

Attacks
Whack: 1d6 damage
Arm Throw: 1d4 damage + Grapple

Psionic Skeleton
HD: 1
AC: 10

Telekinetic Field: Arrows are at -2 to hit. Missed arrows are redirected at the Psionic Skeleton's enemies.

Attacks
Whack: 1d6 damage
Telekinetic Shove: A human-sized target within 50' is thrown backwards 30', taking 1d4 damage per 10' traveled. Throwing a creature at another target requires the Psionic Skeleton to make a successful attack roll against the target of the throw. If the roll is successful, both characters take 1d6 damage per 10' of travel. 1/day


Beehive Skeleton 
HD: 1
AC: 10

Eyes of the Swarm: The Beehive Skeleton sees through the eyes of its bees. 

Attacks
Whack: 1d6 damage
BEES: Bees swarm around your head, blinding you.
The Hive: The Beehive Skeleton tears out its beehive and throws it up to 30'. A 10' radius around the hive is filled with enraged bees, blinding and dealing 1d4 damage per turn to everyone inside the radius. They relax after 1d6 turns.

Flamethrower Skeleton
HD: 1
AC: 12

Volatile: If critically hit, the Flamethrower Skeleton explodes (as Fireball).

Attacks
Whack: 1d6 damage
Flamethrower: As Burning Hands

Electric Skeleton
HD: 1
AC: 13

Conduction: Melee attacks against the Electric Skeleton conduct electricity into the attacker, dealing 1d4 damage.

Attacks  
Electric Whack: 1d8 damage, CON save or stun
Whip: 1d4 damage, CON save or stun, ranged

Wormgod's Harvest, Part 2: Society

hey none of this makes sense without reading the first one so you should do that ok thanks 

Bös

The capital of Bös is set on the largest island orbiting the Wormgod; this large, single landmass also has the largest mineral deposits, giving Bös the largest military presence, as the metals can be used to support advanced Shapings.

The large military of Bös belies its peaceful nature; Bös hasn't been involved in a conflict since the Collapse of the Spire, about 40 years ago.

The state religion of Bös sees the Wormgod as the harbinger of a new reality: it will kill everything, and through that death we will ascend to heaven. The lower-class people of Bös disagree, saying the government holds this stance to wipe away the ethical questions of their autocracy.

Alexandra Semushina

Graam

During the Collapse of the Spire, Graam was attacked with Shaped bioweapons by De Bahn. Since then, it has continued to be under martial law in an attempt to stop the spread of the plague.

In the decade after the Collapse of the Spire, many people left Graam: now the core of their territory is patrolled by Shaped monsters, both to keep people out and in.

The edges of Graam escaped the majority of the bombardment, and continue to act under the orders of their old government, sent through biotechnological radios.

Before the Collapse of the Spire, Graam was the most advanced of the nations: if someone could reach the poisoned core, they could return rich beyond measure.

Alexandra Semushina

De Bahn

De Bahn has been in decline since the Collapse of the Spire, with the treaties following it crushing De Bahn's industrial capacity and military strength. Like in Bös, religion in De Bahn states that the Wormgod will kill everything. However, according to De Bahn, this will not bring them to a new world: they will only die.

De Bahn's High King is searching for the pieces of the Spire in order to reassemble it. If he succeeds, it would lead to another war.

Alexandra Semushina

The Core

The Core is the area closest to the Wormgod, where none of the nation-states have control. Thanks to their proximity to the Wormgod, the people of the Core are able to export its scales to the three nation-states, where they are used in military Shapings.

Despite the lucrativeness of the Core, the lack of arable land and the difficulty of acquiring the scales persuades the nation-states to stay away from the region, and let the Core's people take on the risk of scale-mining.

Wormgod's Harvest Part 1

"And the worm consumed the world, and shed the Light by which we live."  

So, a quick sort of overview of Wormgod's Harvest, another setting because I don't have the attention span to finish anything. The Wormgod shattered the world in the Age Before, and is sleeping in the dead core. The mites from its skin fill the air, turning it faintly yellow. They're afraid of living things, but eat dead things.

Magic

Shaping (a type of constructive biomancy) is a large part of Wormgod's Harvest, along with Miteworking, the other magic system. Houses are usually either grown with Shaping or built out of stone, and travel between the sky islands (yes I'm using that trope) requires Shaped creatures.

Miteworking is the equivalent to religious magic: by praying against the Wormgod, you can intimidate the Mites into doing things for you. Unlike Shaping, Miteworking doesn't require long, drawn-out rituals, but the Mites don't stay afraid of you for very long.

 
This is heavily inspired by Scrap Princess's Another Gristly Campaign Skeleton.

Disciples of Keter

Disciples of Keter

Infopriest

Infopriests are commanding figures in Keter's religion: they research scripture, speak to the androids below them, and lead pilgrimages across Ein Soph.

They hang text-laden banners off of themselves, and wear complex headdresses with Keter's symbols carved onto them.

Infopriest's Altars are made of androids welded together at the head: Infopriests ride them as they stagger to their destinations. To be a part of an Altar is a privilege granted only to the most pious.

Originally from Dungeon of Signs.

Stylite

Stylites are wandering philosophers, striding across Ein Soph on long, bladed legs. Geometric symbols stream across their faces as they speak in Enochian; Keter's artificial language, seeded with an uncountable variety of infohazards. More well-known Stylites are followed by fawning acolytes, recording their master's meditative ramblings.

In combat, Stylites are frail, but fast: unfolding their knife-like legs to stand above their foes and tear into them with constant attacks. Even while fighting, they continue their ravings; the infohazards in their speech burrowing into their opponent's minds as fighting continues.

Even a victory against a Stylite can leave horrible scars in the body and mind.

Manifestation

Manifestations are representations of Keter: holograms appearing as a tall flaming figure screaming warnings and threats. Around Manifestations, the ship appears to come alive - doors close as people walk through them, gravity turns and twists violently, and oxygen is ripped out of rooms.

Manifestations cannot be attacked directly: the projector creating it must be disabled.

Manifestations were originally a safety measure: Keter had to appear through them to warn people before he started directly controlling parts of the ship.

Engine Heart: Warbot Playbook

Engine Heart is a d10-based RPG where you play as small utility robots in a world where humanity is long gone. It can be downloaded for free here.

When I first heard of the game, I wondered what you were supposed to do with it. After reading through the 1d4chan page enough times, I figured it out. It's a game similar to O'er Windswept Golden Fields, where you don't just avoid violence for self-protection (like in most OSR games), but because it's the right thing to do. You can fight (the game has a combat system, and additions like buzzsaws and plasma cutters are options for your PC), but it's never necessary.

While this all sounds delightful (to me, at least), Engine Heart has a large problem for an OSR audience: its long, complex, point-buy character creation system.

None of us have time for that.

A solution for Engine Heart's chargen is Playbooks, similar to Beyond the Wall, where you choose a character concept and roll on a set of tables to create the character.

Engine Heart: Warbot

 

Who Built Your Processor? (1d4)

1. Hansa Automation - 3 RealityCom, 2 HumanCom, 2 DigiCon, 2 MechaniCon, 2 Buffer

2. Parable Intelligence - 1 RealityCom, 1 HumanCom, 4 DigiCon, 4 MechaniCon, 1 Buffer

3. Padlock Reinforced Processing - 2 RealityCom, 1 HumanCom, 1 DigiCon, 1 MechaniCon, 4 Buffer

4. ASQ Social Systems - 2 RealityCom, 4 HumanCom, 1 DigiCon, 1 MechaniCon, 1 Buffer

 

Who Built Your Chassis? (1d6)

1-2. Ducharme Optics - 2 Dexterity, 2 Mobility, 4 Perception, 2 Reflexes, 2 Strength

3-4. Yosef Industrial - 1 Dexterity, 1 Mobility, 2 Perception, 1 Reflexes, 5 Strength

5-6. EOM Advanced Motors - 3 Dexterity, 3 Mobility, 2 Perception, 3 Reflexes, 1 Strength

 

Major Feature (1d12)

1. Armored Chassis

2. Backup System

3. Battering Ram

4. Cutting Laser

5. Enhanced Cameras

6. Drill

7. Flight Ceiling

8. Hardened Programming

9. High Speed

10. Pneumatic

11. Self-Repairing

12. Secondary Battery

 

Minor Feature (Roll 1d10 Twice, Take Both)

1. Agile

2. Biofrequency Scanner


3. Collapsible

4. Loudspeaker

5. Magnetized

6. Silent Mode

7. Simple Assembly

8. Gyro

9. High Chassis

10. Floodlights

 

Defects (Roll 1d6 Twice, Take Both)

1. Compliant

2. High Maintenance

3. Lightweight

4. Major Overriding Directive

5. Rare Model

6. Power Cutoff

Infra-Red: Mechanical Nonsense

Due to its setting, Infra-Red's system moves quite far out from OSR orthodoxy.

It uses 6 stats: Athletics (ath), Driving (dri), Espionage (esp), Preparedness (pre), Shooting (sho), and Socializing (soc). Each skill starts as a 1, and characters have 6 points to assign between them, with a cap of 5 in a skill.

I use these stats instead of the traditional 6 because they focus more on what the PCs are assumed to be in Infra-Red: government investigators. I chose to use a point-buy system because there are a small enough amount of skills and points that this gives the player control without it being overwhelming.

For skill checks, you roll 1d6 and try to get equal to or below the skill being used.

Progression is inspired by Lost Pages' 1d6 Thieving: after failing a check with the skill 5 times, it goes up by one. If the skill is above 5, you roll multiple checks at once.

For example, a skill of 7 means you roll 2 dice, one against 5 and one against 2. if either die succeeds, you succeed.