GODLIKE Superhero Roleplaying in A World On Fire 1936-1946
GODLIKE Superhero Roleplaying in A World On Fire 1936-1946
www.arcdream.com
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
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15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Open Source Superhero Rules open game content Copyright 2001,
Mike Mearls.
Table of Contents
Part One: Introduction........................................................ 1
Part Two: Game Mechanics................................................ 6
The Basics........................................................................... 7
Stats.................................................................................... 8
Skills................................................................................... 9
Resolution......................................................................... 10
Combat............................................................................. 13
Damage............................................................................. 13
Gunfire.............................................................................. 15
Armor............................................................................... 19
Weapons........................................................................... 20
Weapon Qualities.............................................................. 20
Special Weapons................................................................ 22
Other Sources of Harm..................................................... 24
Movement in Combat....................................................... 27
Character Advancement ................................................... 27
Part Three: Character Creation......................................... 29
Character Creation in Godlike.......................................... 30
Game Moderator Involvement.......................................... 30
Background....................................................................... 30
Statistics and Skills............................................................ 32
Creating Normal Human Characters................................ 33
Review.............................................................................. 33
Part Four: Talents............................................................. 35
What is a Talent?.............................................................. 36
How Talents Work............................................................ 37
Creating a Talent Power for Your Character..................... 40
Hyperstats......................................................................... 43
Hyperskills........................................................................ 49
Miracles ........................................................................... 50
Cafeteria-Style Miracles................................................. 56
Will .................................................................................. 93
Battle Fatigue.................................................................... 94
When Wills Collide........................................................... 95
Using Talents in the Game................................................. 97
Part Five: Background..................................................... 100
A Note About the Background........................................ 101
The Major Players........................................................... 101
Nazi Germany: RuSHA Sonderabteilung A................. 101
Great Britain: The Special Sciences Office.................... 101
Soviet Union: Special Directive One............................. 101
United States of America: Section Two........................ 102
The Empire of Japan: Unit 731.................................... 102
The Dawn of the Super-Age............................................ 102
Part Six: Now and Then.................................................. 251
The United States of America.......................................... 251
United States Public Sentiment in the Early War Years.... 252
Life in the U.S. of A. in the 1940s................................... 253
The Sleeping Giant.......................................................... 255
The U.S. Army................................................................ 255
The Media....................................................................... 257
Talents............................................................................ 259
Slang............................................................................... 261
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PART ONE
Introduction
WELL, YOU WERE THERE. You know what it looked like. Its
great, you know. Theres nothing like it. Well, almost nothing. I mean, you send me, kid . . . but youre not here now.
God, I wish it could be different. I dont know. That day in
the park near the Egyptian Needle? I think about that day all
the time now. I think about what we said there.
I do, you know. Love you, I mean. That hasnt
changed. Do you love me still? If you do, just say it and Ill
know. Just say it now, once, if you feel it.
I need you now, Ellie.
Now Im getting ready for something big that I cant
talk about, and Im just plain scared. We all are. All the Section Two guys are green. We go first. Wherever. Whenever.
They need us, honey. They cant do the things we can do.
We have to try. When I do, Ill think of you. Ill think of our
life before. Ill think of America.
Why the hell did this have to happen now?
The war, it ate all of us up, everything, all our plans.
Do you still remember what it was like before all this?
Before the war and before...
Before I could do it?
I do.
I would give it up, you know. For you. For just being
able to know Im going to die as some old man in a bed
somewhere, someday. But mostly just for you, and for a
Welcome to Godlike
Introduction
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Glossary of Terms
PART TWO
Game Mechanics
in the air) and already the Ape was on his face in the sand.
The LST bogged down twenty feet out, so the other men
had to wade through three feet of water to the shore. I just
flew it, pulling OMalley and Stantz with me by their webbelts. The others made do with what God had given them.
The Ape was up quick, and gone in a flash towards the
cliff wall in a wake of sand. Junior threw the seven hundred
pounds of rope to the base of the cliffs, and me, Ape and
Stantz went straight up itup the wall, to the top, with a
cable in each hand. To where the Krauts were squatting on
their machine guns like Buddhas, waiting for us.
I hovered at the top, just below the lip, out of sight,
and then inverted myself to watch Stantz and the Ape climb
it. Stantz just ran up the wall like he was trotting up the
street on some sunny afternoon. Hell, even his gear didnt
hang downwards. The Ape was a bit more base, swinging
and leaping and jumping, carrying the rope in his gorilla
mouth, chest heaving with effort.
Then something went wrong below.
I saw Gorvan go downnothing but a speck, really,
an ant on the beach two hundred feet below, a nasty black
dimple in the sand next to him kicking up smoke. OMalley
turned to chrome instinctivelya silver ant on the sand,
running with Gorvan in his arms, towards the cliff face to get
away from the mortar shells being lobbed down on them. The
explosions sounded flat and unforgiving, like a door slammed
in anger in a house several rooms away. The other men were
running off in random directions.
The three of us crested the lip together, trying to find
purchase for the pitons on the end of the ropes, trying not to
think about triggers or crosshairs or ranges. Then something went off next to the Ape with a cough, spitting sand
up into the air, leaving him knocked flat, the rope forgotten
and careening towards the edge. Stantz was distracted for a
moment watching the Apes rope slide away, and I could feel
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The Basics
In short, dont roll unless the GM asks you to roll. Sometimes
he may not allow you to roll for something you thought you
should be able to do, but just play along and trust his judgment.
After all, he knows whats
coming next and you dont.
Every attempt to do
something is represented by a
number of ten-sided dice. The
more dice you roll, the better
your chances of success. If
you only roll one die, there is
no chance of success. If you
somehow rolled eleven dice
or more, there would be no
chance of failure. However,
you can never roll more than
ten dice. Thats important, so
Im going to say it again:
Under no circumstances
do you roll more than ten dice.
La Belle Curve
The larger your dice pool, the better your chances are
of getting a match. To make this explicit, heres a rough
guide to your chances of getting a match (or multiple
matches) depending on how many dice you roll.
Stats
There are six stats, which measure all of a characters general capabilities. Theyre rated from 1 to 5. A rating of 1 is
dismal, 2 is adult human average, 3 is exceptional, and 5 is
the human maximum. (Of course, Talents can have stats
higher than 5.) There are two kinds of stats: those governing physical capabilities (Body, Coordination, and Sense)
and mental capabilities (Brains, Command, and Cool).
Body
Tested Lift
100210 lbs.
210250 lbs.
250370 lbs.
370500 lbs.
500800 lbs.
6
7
800 lbs. 1
ton
12 tons
24 tons
46 tons
10
610 tons
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Bonus
Coordination
Sense
We experience the world through our five sensessight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. A high Sense score means keen hearing, clear vision and a better shot at noticing that funny burntalmond odor right before eating the poisoned date. Someone
with low Sense is generally more oblivious to his surroundings.
Brains
Command
Cool
Do-It-Yourself Skills
rights to not let you roll. It doesnt matter how smart you
are; if you dont parle franais youre not going to get it.
Skills
Body Skills
Quantifying Skills
Coordination Skills
Where your stats measure your innate abilities, skills represent the payoff of a learning effort. Someone may have
a great deal of innate coordination, but if hes never been
behind the wheel of a car, hes probably not a safe driver.
Pure talent only takes you so far: Hard work and study are
also needed for success in most endeavors.
Not every character is going to have every skill. Sometimes a character may try to do something hes never done
before. Your GM may allow a roll or not, depending on the
circumstances and common sense. If your character doesnt
have the Brawl skill, theres nothing to stop him from taking a swing at someone. In that case, you can just roll Body.
After all, hitting is not a very sophisticated action.
On the other hand, if your character doesnt have a
given Language skill, your GM would be well within his
Sense Skills
Resolution
Brains Skills
Command Skills
Cool Skills
Width and Height (see p. 5) both have implications
to your success. Exactly what they mean depends on what
youre doing. If youre competing against another person
who is consciously trying to confound or surpass you, thats
a dynamic contest. If youre struggling against an inanimate
object or situation, its a static contest because the situation
isnt actively changing in response to your actions.
Running a race, getting into a knife fight, interrogating
someone for information or lying to someone who interrogates youthese are all dynamic contests. In a dynamic
contest, youre rolling against someone elses roll.
Climbing a wall, fighting off an infection, fixing a jeep,
flying a planethese are all static contests. In these situations,
youre just rolling against the circumstances.
Static Contests
10
Time
Difficulty
Dynamic Contests
11
Cooperation
Multiple Actions
and Multiple Sets
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a car past someone and shoot him from the drivers side
window? Or suppose I want to climb an exposed wall while
staying out of sight?
These are difficult and unlikely stunts: Be aware that
theyre almost impossible to do if your character doesnt
have (1) a really big dice pool or (2) Talent powers that
make it easier. With that in mind, heres how you do two
things at once.
Figure out the dice pools for both tasks. If Im driving and shooting, the two pools are Coordination+Drive
and Coordination+Pistol. Ill be rolling the smaller of the
two pools. Furthermore, I roll one die less than I normally
would (because, after all, my attention is divided). Then, if I
get two sets, I can assign one set to each task.
Example: Arnie has to get out of the compound before
his bomb goes off. Unfortunately, if hes spotted heading
across the courtyard, the guards will probably mow him
down with machinegun fire. So he needs to run across
the courtyard, fast but quietly. His Body+Running dice
pool is 6, while his Coordination+Stealth pool is 8. The
pool for running is the lower one, so he rolls thatwith
a 1 die penalty. He rolls his five dice, hoping to somehow get two matches. As it happens though, he gets
2,7,7,8,9one pair, but no more. He decides to allocate
that match to the Stealth contest. The GM decides that
Arnie saw a spotlight coming and dove out of the way.
He hasnt been spotted, but he didnt get a chance to
cross the courtyard.
If Arnie had been blessed with absurdly high dice
poolssay, 9 dice in eachhe would have had a much
better chance. Rolling 8 dice (with the 1 die penalty, remember) he could get 4,6,6,6,7,9,0,0giving him two
sets. With 3x6 hes across the courtyard in two rounds,
and with the 2x10, he does it unseen and unheard.
If your character gets an exceptionally wide single successmeaning four dice or more turn up the samehe can
split that into two successes. In Arnies case, if hed gotten
a 5x1 result, he could have made it into a 3x1 and a 2x1 to
succeed (barely) at both tasks.
Its possible to try to do three things at once as well. The
same mechanics apply: Figure out the lowest die pool, use that,
and take a penalty. But the penalty isnt just one die: Its one
die per extra task. The standard doing two things at once
penalty is a single die because Im trying to do one extra thing.
If I try to do three things at once, thats two extra actions. My
dice pool is reduced by two dice. If I am crazy enough to try to
do four things at once, there is no possible way I can succeed.
Even if my dice pools for all
the tasks were 10 (the maximum possible), the three-die
penalty would make it impossible to get four sets.
If youre using the optional rule for squishy results
(see Appendix A: Optional
Rules on p. 305), its necessary to put another restriction on multiple tasks: The
results of these rolls cannot
be squished at all.
2) Roll
3) Resolve
Combat
1) Declare
When youre declaring what you want to do in
combat, make it short and
specific. This doesnt mean
you cant make it dramatic.
I bayonet the guard is the
same action as Im going
to gouge that bastard in the
guts! but one is a little more
engaging. If youre doing
something specialdodging,
doing two things at once,
making a called shot, helping someone else with what
theyre doingsay so now.
The widest result gets resolved first. If two sets are equally
wide, the tallest goes first.
When an attack hits, it immediately does damage.
Anyone suffering any damage in combat loses a die out
of his highest set! Why? Because being punched or shot is
very, very distracting. If someones highest set is only a pair,
that action is effectively foiled by the loss of a single die
(unless, of course, hes got a second set as a backup).
If youre making a Dodge roll, it only works on attacks
with lower width (or the same width but lower height) than
the Dodge roll. After all, if the attack is wider, it happened
before you had a chance to react.
Attacks do damage, depending on several factors.
Dodges avoid damage. Since both of these are important, they
get their own headings. But by and large, thats all there is to
a combat round. Everyone says what theyre doing, they roll,
the widest sets go first, and then the whole thing starts over.
Damage
Types of Damage
13
Damage Location
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Hit Location
Left leg (5)
Right leg (5)
Left arm (5)
Right arm (5)
Torso (10)
Head (4)
Once all the boxes in either a characters head or torso
are filled with killing damage, that character is dead. It
doesnt matter if he still has a bunch in his arms and legs;
theyre no good without guts and brains.
If all the boxes on a characters limb are filled with killing damage, two things happen.
1) That limb is seriously damaged and will never, ever be
as good again. Depending on how merciless your GM
is feeling (and what did the damage) the limb might be
all the way off. Or it might just lose a wound box permanently and be a little stiff when the rain is coming.
2) Much more importantany more damage that goes
to that hit location goes straight into the torso. If you
want to be bloody-minded about it, you can think of
your arms and legs as armor that protect your lungs,
heart and spinal cord.
Getting Better
Gunfire
Aiming
Getting Worse
Dying
Called Shots
15
A Word on Cover
Sometimes youll be shooting at someone who is hiding, protected or otherwise harder to hit. The full rules
for cover are on p. 18 under the heading Cover
but heres a basic breakdown of how it works: If
someone is in a ditch or standing behind a waist high
wall, shots that would have hit the concealed area hit
the cover instead. If someone is shooting at you from
a foxhole with only their head and arms showing,
your shots at them miss unless the hit location is the
head or one of their arms. Its much like making any
other static roll with a Difficulty rating, only in this
case particular numbers are excluded.
Multiple Shots
Cover Fire
Sometimes you just want to use your weapon to communicate something like Its very dangerous to come any
closer! If youre just sticking your gun out of the foxhole
or around a corner and firing blindly, your chances of hitting arent very good. On the other hand, this is one way
you can fire without exposing your head, and you might
get lucky. In fact most wartime shooters attack this way.
When youre using cover fire, shoot off at least three
bullets and roll only two dice. If they come up as a match,
everyone who might get hit by the shells rolls a single die. If
any of the potential targetsthey all must be close together,
within the space of few yardsgets the number that came
up in your match, he is hit. However, the weapon only does
damage as if the result was a width of 1.
Example: Rocco lets loose with his pistol (rolling 2d)
around a corner at an oncoming German patrol. He
gets a 7 and a 7, a match! The seven Germans roll two
2s, a 7, an 8, 1, 4 and a 9. One of the German patrol is
hit in the torso for 1 killing and 1 shock point of damage, and the others quickly take cover.
Depending on the circumstances, the GM may demand a
Cool+Mental Stability roll for people who want to expose
themselves by firing or charging into cover fire.
Cover fire becomes much more serious when youre firing a weapon with the Spray
quality (see Spray on p. 21
for details). Even firing blind,
you can add the weapons
Spray rating to the two cover
fire dice.
Example: This time,
Rocco fires an SMG with
Spray 3. He rolls 5d
and gets two pairs2x2
and 2x5. Of the seven
Germans, two of them
roll 2s. The SMG does
Width+1 in killing and
width in shock. Each soldier takes 2 killing and 1
shock to a leg.
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Range
Up to the limit of close range your dice pool is unaffected. (In fact, increase your dice pool by one if the
enemy is no more than about 5 yards away.)
Between close and maximum effective range, reduce
your dice pool by one.
At anything farthernever more than double the maximum effective range even outside combatyou have
to make a Sense+Sight roll to even have a chance of hitting, and then reduce your attack dice pool by one.
Moving Targets
Sniper
Hand-to-Hand
Called Shots
Knockouts
Multiple Attacks
Pinning
While youre pinning someone, you can start choking
him with any successful Body+Brawl rollnot the called
shot required when standing.
Disarming
Attacking more than one person is done just like any multiple action (see Multiple Actions on p. 12). Reduce your
Body+Brawl pool by 1 and hope you get two sets.
17
Aiming
Dodging
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Their first combat round, Mark rolls
his 6d Body+Brawl,
while Adam rolls his 6d
Coordination+Dodge. Marks
result is 2x5normally a hit.
Adam, however, rolls 2x6.
Using one of his gobble dice,
he reduces Marks result to
1x5a failure.
Next round, Steve bursts
through the door but cant
attack, and Adam is still dodging. This time Marks result is
2x9 and Adam gets 2x3. Since
their results are equal in width,
the taller set goes firstMark
shanks Adam. Ouch.
Now its Marks turn to make a 7d
Coordination+Dodge roll against Adam and Steve,
both of whom have 5d Body+Brawl pools. Adam gets
a 3x2 and Steve gets a 2x4, both of which should be
solid hitsbut Mark rolls well and gets a 3x4. With
those three gobble dice, he can take one out of Steves
set (ruining it) and two out of Adams set (ruining
that.) If hed only had a pair instead of a set, he would
have still been able to ruin Steves set, but Adam would
have hit. But Adams hit would only be two wide
instead of three wide, which is still an improvement.
Taking Cover
Cover is tiny
Cover is okay
Cover is great
One location
Three locations Five locations
Two locations
Four locations
Completely hidden
Three locations Five locations
Completely hidden
If you spend another round hiding (that is, you declare
that youre trying to get further protected) you can make
another Coordination+Dodge roll. If this roll is better than
your first one, you can take that result and hide more limbs.
If the roll isnt as good, you can keep the original one.
Once youre covered, you can act (at a distance) from
that cover. If you want to throw something or shoot you
will have to reveal at least one arm and your head. (Unless
youre using the cover fire rules; see Gunfire on p. 15.)
For more on cover, see Heavy Armor on p. 19.
Concealment
If the target is obscured by smoke, brush or darkness, remove 1d from the attack dice pool before rolling. It doesnt
help against cover fire or hand-to-hand attacks.
Armor
Heavy Armor
Heavy armor is stuff like thick steel plate. For every point
of Heavy Armor Rating (HAR), the width (not just damage)
of a successful attack is reduced by 1. If you have Heavy
Armor 2 protecting every hit location, any attack that has a
width of 3 or less simply fails.
Murder
Armor Rating
2 LAR (head only)
3 LAR (torso only)
5 LAR (torso only)
1 LAR
1 HAR
1 HAR
2 HAR
1 to 0 HAR
4 to 0 HAR
3 to 1 HAR
5 to 1 HAR
7 to 2 HAR
7 to 1 HAR
7 to 2 HAR
6 to 1 HAR
7 to 3 HAR
7 to 2 HAR
9 to 2 HAR
9 to 4 HAR
9 to 6 HAR
10 to 7 HAR
19
Weapons
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Damage
Width in shock
Width +1 in shock
Width +2 in shock
As strangling (see p. 17)
but damage is killing
Width in shock + 1 killing
Width in killing
Width in killing
Width +1 in killing
Width +1 in killing
Width in killing and in shock
Width +1 in killing, width in shock
Width in killing and in
shock+Spray Dice
Width +2 in killing and in shock
Width +2 in killing and in
shock+Spray Dice
Weapon Qualities
Area
Burn
Second, theres play quality. This is a game. If
either side has weapons that automatically do damage, regardless of operator error, it loses a lot of the
fun.
Third, theres a mechanical reason. If I know I
can do 3 dice of Area damage with a grenade even
without a successful roll, the smartest thing I can
do is make as many multi-attacks as I can with
grenades every combat regardless of the penalties. If
the grenade does automatic damage, I dont need
matches. If theres no incentive to do it right, nothing stops me from accepting every penalty I can
get, and then throwing the grenade anyway.
Now they all have to make Cool+Mental Stability
rolls. Only one of them makes it. That soldier is able
to think clearly enough to run back towards a ditch,
while the other three panic and fruitlessly scream or
swat at the flames.
Spray
21
Spray Rating
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
Area/Penetration Chart
A weapons Spray rating can also be added when using
Cover Fire (see p. 16).
Many weapons in Part Seven: The Field Manual, p.
263, have multiple Spray ratings, such as 2/3 or 0/2.
You can choose which to use. Spray 0 using the Spray
rules without adding any bonus dice.
Slow
Penetration
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Explosive Type
Stick of dynamite
Volkshangranate 45
Pineapple grenade MK2
Einhandgranate 39
5cm Granatwerfer
Stielhandgranate 24
Panzerschreck round
Bazooka round
PIAT round
Panzerfaust round
Tellermine 29
35 cm shell
Charge
10 g
36 g
93 g
112 g
120 g
165 g
660 g
702 g
741 g
800 g
4 kg
9.24 kg
Radius
5 yds.
10 yds.
10 yds.
12 yds.
13 yds.
15 yds.
17 yds.
20 yds.
20 yds.
20 yds.
25 yds.
25 yds.
Area
2
3
3
4
4
4
6
7
8
8
9
10
Penetration
0
2
2
2
3
3
5
5
6
7
9
10
Special Weapons
Machine Gun
Submachine Gun
Flamethrower
Grenade
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In Godlike, if the bullets and mines dont get you, the frostbite, car wrecks or other untoward events probably will.
Various terrible things that can happen to your character
are covered in detail below.
Electrocution
Electrical hazards have a dice pool representing how dangerous they are, rated on a scale of 1-10. This goes from a ninevolt battery (1 die) to a thunderbolt (10 dice). When a PC is
zapped, just roll the electric pool as a static contest. If a match
comes up, the PC takes shock damage equal to the width of
Falling
Any time you fall more than five feet, theres a chance of
injury. The type of damage depends on what you hit. The
degree of damage depends on your height. The location of
the damage depends on how well you control your fall.
You take only shock damage if you land on something
forgivingsoft ground, water, or an awning. You also take
Drowning
Drowning is what happens when you run out of air underwater. A character can hold his breath for a number of minutes equal to his Body divided by 2 (rounded down.) After
that grace period, the character must roll Body+Endurance
each round to keep from inhaling water.
Each combat round after the first roll, the character
loses a die from his Body+Endurance dice pool. When his
dice pool drops to 1 or he cant make a match, he inhales
water and starts dying.
Each round of drowning inflicts 1 killing point of
damage to the torso and 1 point of shock to the head.
When the head is filled with shock damage, the subject is
unconscious, and when the head fills with killing damage,
the subject is dead.
Cold
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Fire
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How fast were you going when you hit? This is the most
important factor in determining the effect of a crash. Other
things matter as well of course. Were you secured into your
seat? Did you know you were going to crash and have time
to brace yourself before you hit?
Wrecks are a dynamic contest between your Body +Endurance and a difficulty number. Overcome the difficulty
number, and you survive the crash, more or less.
Start With a Base Difficulty number:
Boat Wrecks: Base Difficulty Number 3
Car Wrecks: Base Difficulty Number 3
Plane Wrecks: Base Difficulty Number 5
Add 1 to the Difficulty number . . .
For every 10 mph over 20 mph you were traveling.
If you were on a dirt road.
If you have no driving skill appropriate to the vehicle.
If your vehicle was damaged in combat.
If you had no restraining device to keep you in the
vehicle.
The maximum difficulty number possible is 10. All additional modifiers past 10 are discarded.
Movement in Combat
Character Advancement
Experience Points
Will Points
27
Lost Will points recover with rest, one point per night up
to your Base Will level. Will points are also gained in game
play when Talents clash in a battle of power (see Part Four:
TalentsWhen Wills Collide, p. 95) or when a character
acts heroically or with ingenuity. You can never have more
than 50 Will points in the default Godlike setting.
You can raise a skill or a stat one level by spending experience points or Will points.
The experience point cost to raise a skill one level is 3
points. To raise a stat costs 3 experience points times the
new level; so raising a stat from 2 to 3 costs 9 experience
points.
The Will point cost to raise a skill is 10. To raise a stat
costs 10 Will times the new level; so going from 2 to 3 costs
30 Will points.
A skill or stat can be improved beyond 4 only if you
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Unlike Will points, Base Will does not come back on its
own. You can raise Base Will by one point by spending 20
Will points. It cannot be raised with experience points.
PART THREE
Character Creation
about the money hes going to make when he gets home. His
monthly stationery is covered in his own misspelled handwritten posters advertising The Amazing Ape-Man and Mr.
Ape. No one talks about why he doesnt use those letters to
write home. As far as we know, he doesnt really have one.
Stantz is another matter. Hes got a wife and some
kids back in Seteris, Maine. A home which sounds like
something out of a family-hour radio show. Like a show,
the story is updated every week. Hes a talker, Stantz is. He
likes to hear other peoples stories, but I think he likes to
hear himself the best. He offers himself up in one big lump
whether people are listening or not. Everyone likes him.
Hes the squad cut-up. He can make things reorient themselves with gravity. No one knows why.
Last week he reoriented the gravitation of my boots
so they were drawn to the ceiling and I had to fly up and
pull them down. Funny. Hes a funny guy. Before we left
New York, he was cheating on his wife with three different
women. Last week he failed short arm inspection for the
second time.
Funny, like I said.
The Incredible Ape? Ape murmured in the dark.
I tried to see Ellie in my mind and all I could picture
were her hands, folded in her lap in white gloves in the
park. I tried not to think about what comes after all this. I
tried not to think about dying.
I tried to see a future with me in it, but all I could see
was Seventh Avenue filled with a thousand faces, each empty
of emotion and filled to the brim with its own secrets. In my
mind, I tried to picture Ellie there, waiting for me near the IRT
or in the deli, but all I could see was a telegram with my name
on it being delivered by some flat-faced boy with no eyes.
The Ape Boy? Ape mumbled. Then the major stuck
his head in and hissed at us to shut it, and I was happy
he did because if he hadnt I would have said something I
wouldve regretted later.
29
Character Creation
in Godlike
Game Moderator
Involvement
Background
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Nationality
Vaulting the
Language Barrier
When Parahumans
First Appeared . . .
What happens when a group of characters are composed of several different nationalities each speaking a
different language? How do they communicate? Well,
theres an easy fix. Since most of the Allied nations
speak English, the GM can just give the PCs a free
skill point in English. This effectively eliminates the
language barrier and is generally fair (if a PC already
speaks English, that free skill point can be spent on
any other language just to balance things out).
The Super-Age began in Germany in 1936 and outbreaks of Talents slowly spread about the globe.
By late 1942, almost every country in the world has
parahumans, and that number increases every day.
Heres a list of the first few known Talents and the
countries they appeared in. If your character is from
a country listed below, make sure his or her power
did not manifest until after the date given (or be
aware that youre rewriting history, which is also
okay as long as your GM says so).
Age
Family
Who are the characters parents? What do they do for a living? Are they still alive? Does he have sisters? Brothers? A
big or a small family? Uncles, aunts or cousins? Grandparents? Did he have a good relationship with his family?
Where is the characters family from? What state, province or town? A big or small town? How did this affect the
characters upbringing?
All these questions should be considered and answered.
The more engaging the background is, the more interesting the character will be; youll also have more to build
on when you get to the later questions. Its good to know
where and to whom the character writes home. (Chippewa
Falls salutes our brave fighting men!)
For now, list relatives, the characters hometown, state
or province and then go directly to:
Education
31
Friends
Dependants
Motivations
My Brother Is
the President . . .
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Statistics
and Skills
Medium (2)
Avg.
Avg.
Avg.
Avg.
Avg.
Avg.
Highest (5)
Charles Atlas
Albert Einstein
Olympic Gymnast
Winston Churchill
General Patton
Sherlock Holmes
1) Stats
Stats Redux
Skills Redux
2) Skills
Next, you get to assign your skills. You have 20 points to spend
on them, but theres a catch: You cant start the game with any
skill higher than its governing stat. (Once the game is going,
however, your skills can exceed this level.) If you skimped on
Brains and left it at 1, you cant have more than 1 level in any
Brains skill to begin with. Similarly, you cant buy the coveted
Pistol 3 skill unless you also have Coordination 3.
For every point your character has in the Brains statistic above 2, you automatically gain an extra point to spend
on Brains skills (but only on Brains skills).
You may also gain extra skills for special training. One
example is the set of skills given to the commandos of the
Talent Operation Groups described in the back of the book.
There is a list of skills to peruse in Part Two: Game
MechanicsSkills on p. 9.
Creating Normal
Human Characters
If youre making normal human, without paranormal Talents, thats it! Skip the Talents section altogether.
Review
Brawling 1
Climb 1
Cryptography 1
Endurance 1
Explosives 1
Grenade 1
Knife-Fighting 1
Machine Gun 1
Map Reading 1
Mortar 1
Navigation (Land) 1
Parachuting 1
Pistol 1
Radio Operation 1
Rifle 1
Stealth 1
Submachine Gun 1
Survival 1
Tactics 1
Keep in mind:
1) For every point your character has in his Brains
statistic above 2, you automatically gain a point
to spend on Brains skills (but only on Brains
skills). Again, the maximum skill level is the stat.
2) Your character automatically has his native
language as a skill at the same level of his Brains
statisticat no cost.
33
Creating a Character: An
Example, Beginning to End
Background
Nationality
Age
Family
Education
Friends
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Dependants
Motivations
Stats
Skills
PART FOUR
Talents
was like disgust with fear mixed in. It was like he knew I
could kill him, that I was more than he was; but at the same
time it was like if he had the same Talent I did, hed damn
well know how fast he could go.
What was I supposed to do, tack a speedometer onto
my fucking chest?
Fast, I said for the last time, staring at him. Finally
he looked away and kept writing.
As I left, I saw OMalley in metal form getting smacked
around with a sledgehammer by two MPs and laughing. I
saw the Ape waiting in line, holding his tiny watch in his
huge gorilla hands, squinting, trying to tell the time with his
beady, stupid eyes. Gorvan was there too, his pack, rifle and
gear floating behind him in invisible hands while he read a
tiny Gift of American Literature copy of Moby Dick.
Stantz was talking to a small crowd of cast-offs from
other squads, who were all laughing. He looked happy, but
also a little scared. Maybe only so I could tell. He nodded at
me as I passed.
Itll happen soon, I thought suddenly, and froze in my
tracks near the edge of the field. I looked up to see if anyone
had noticed, but the Talents around me just kept on chatting and showing off. Inside, I could feel it. I could feel the
end of a cycle, like the seam where the new reel of a movie
is attached to the old one to keep the film going.
What if the old film just sputtered out? What if there
were no new film to be strung to the old to keep it going?
What would happen if it were just the end? There was no
answer. No voice like the one that warned me it would all
happen soon. Most people wished they could just fly away
from their problems. That they could just escape. I could
just fly away. I could just escape.
But for how long, and what would Ellie think of me then?
Instead of going AWOL I went back to the barracks,
smoked a cigarette and went to sleep.
35
What Is a Talent?
The Term
Talent
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The world of Godlike is particular in its disallowance of certain superpowers. Of course, its your game, and you can do
with it what you wish. However, we recommend you stick to
these rules if you want to play in the background provided
in this book. Otherwise, unforeseen problems may arise.
Almost anything is possible, except a few small things.
Besides these few laws, any power you imagine can be
constructed with the Godlike rules.
Definitive Precognition
Mind Control
There has never been a Talent who could make a normal human into a Talent. However, in certain aboriginal
cultures (such as the Bushmen of the Kalahari, the Kachin
of Burma, and the Aborigines of Australia), Talent powers
have been observed to leap from person to person. To these
animistic peoples such powers are simply magic, and therefore teachable, but only to others within their own culture.
Telepathy
Telepathy, as commonly
portrayed in books and films,
does not exist. One-way
mental communication does
exist, but the ability to read
Time Travel
True Super-Science
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A Picture Is Worth
a Thousand Words
39
There are two ways to set up the Talent powers for your
character: the cafeteria approach and the gourmet approach.
The cafeteria approach is the easiest. You look at all
the powers listed in this book and you buy the ones you
want, modifying them with Extras (which expand their
use) or Flaws (which restrict their use), as you see fit. Its
easy, its quick, you dont argue and the stuff is all there in
black and white.
The gourmet approach is more complex, but it allows
you to make up any ability a Talent might have. Want to
be able to remove the property of inertia from objects, or
change the color of any object you can see? Talk it over
with your GM, figure out a reasonable set of costs and buy
it. This involves a lot of subjectivity on the part of you and
your GM, so be a good sport if he wont give you everything you want. Think of it as the price you pay for creative
control.
Regardless of which approach you use, you need to
know how all Talent powers are modeled, how theyre used
and how theyre paid for.
Power Mechanics
Talent powers work like everything else in the game: You roll
a set number of dice and look for matches. However, given
that possessing a Talent means that you have the ability to
reconfigure reality more to your liking, there are two dice
tricks that are used primarily for modeling Talent powers.
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Since these two dice types are exceptions to the regular dice
rules, they deserve careful examination. Lets have a look at
Hard Dice first.
Hard Dice are always 10, so naturally if you have 2hd
in anything, you will always achieve a dramatic success. But
what happens when you use Hard Dice in combat? Since its
always a 10, do you always hit the target in the head? Can
you make called shots with Hard Dice?
The answer is that multiple Hard Dice always hit (unless theyre dodged or blocked). If you can see the target
(even a hit location which is not the head), you can hit the
target. However, when you hit it, the attack is counted as
an attack towards the head for the sake of damage only.
The GM might say you hit the target in the arm, or the leg
or the torso, and describe the hit in that way, but the damage is still counted towards the head. So the answer is no,
you cannot choose to make a called shot with Hard Dice,
because even if you do, the attack is counted as a hit to
the head for damage purposes. When attacking an object,
consider it an attack against the weakest part of the object.
Hard Dice lack finesse, but theyre deadly.
There is one way around the Hard Dice hit location
conundrum. If your Hard Dice are in an attack dice pool along
with other regular dice, you can discard the Hard Dice and try
Talents Redux
Normal dice, using the basic d10, are used to resolve most
actions, while Hard Dice and Wiggle Dice are used (usually)
to resolve parahuman activities.
The dice, in order of cost (and notably, usefulness in
achieving success in the game), are as follows:
Least Powerful.............................................. Most Powerful
Basic d10
Hard Dice
Wiggle Dice
When you purchase your characters Talents at the outset,
its pretty straightforward. You work out the cost of your
powers, then simply buy the dice you want (up to your
point limit). Bear in mind that you really should leave some
points unspent to put into your Base Will, or youre not going to stand much of a chance when facing enemy Talents.
Example: Lets say you want to buy 3 normal dice (3d)
and 2 Hard Dice (2hd) in Invisibility for your character. The base cost of Invisibility is 4/8/16 . . . or 4 per
die, 8 per hard die, and 16 per wiggle die. Assuming
you have the points, all you do is spend 3x4=12 points
for your 3 regular dice, then spend 2x8=16 points for
your Hard Dice (If you wanted a wiggle die to go with
it, just pay 16 more points and its yours). The grand
total would be 12+16=28 Will Points.
Now say youve been playing a while and you want to
improve your Invisibility. Want to buy more dice? Spend the
basic cost per die in Base Will and the regular dice are yours.
But say you want to promote your Hard Dice to Wiggle
Dice, or regular dice to Hard Dice. Easy. All you do is check
the difference between the dice costs and pay it. To promote
your two Hard Dice up to Wiggle Dice in the above example,
you look at the cost for Hard Dice, 8 points, and the cost for
Wiggle Dice, 16 points. So youd have to pay eight points
apiece for the two Hard Dice in your pool to become Wiggle
Dice, or 16 points altogether. The same goes for promoting
regular dice to Hard Dice; just pay the difference.
For more examples of Talent creation, have a look
at the first ten Talents (from Part Five: Background) as
detailed in Appendix B: NPCs, on p. 310.
The Will Trait is covered in depth in at the end of this section, starting on page 93. But in brief, its a measure of the
peculiar strength of personality that fuels Talent abilities.
Your character has a Base Will rating (equal to his
Cool+Command) which reflects his usual confidence level.
Will Points start equal to Base Will but can rise and fall as
the character gains (or loses) confidence in his powers. If
you have a lot of Will, your powers are more reliable, even
in conflict with other Talents. If your Will is low, your abili-
41
The answer is: It
depends. Do you want a
distance attack, or does your
character do it with his bare
hands? Like many things, its
all in the details, and those
details are up to you.
Godlikes system is
designed to be a guideline for
you to develop the powers
you want for your character.
The operative words here
are guideline and your
character. It is important
you get what you want, so
think carefully. Which game
mechanic best models what
you want your character to
do? Most likely, thats the one
you want, even if its a little
more expensive than the other
choices.
How Powers
are Acquired
and Paid For
Hyperstats, Hyperskills,
and Miracles
Which to Choose?
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Hyperstats
Body
Hyperstats Table
Die Type
Each Die
Each Hard Die
Each Wiggle Die
You can use every muscle in your body in amazing ways. With
Body 8, you can leap your Body distance in yards in a broad
jump or half your Body stat in yards in a vertical leap. You can
scream strong enough to shatter glass at more than a meter.
Your limbs have Penetration
4 automatically, and you can
attempt to tear open armor
equal to your Body rating on
a successful roll, ruining it
against subsequent attacks.
Also, you gain +1 Wound box
to your torso and each limb
and 2 extra points of shock
evaporate on each location
after battle.
Body 8 Secondary
Abilities:
+1 wound box to your
torso and each limb.
Ability to hit strong
materials without damage.
Fist and kicks cause
43
Your unarmed attacks
have Penetration 5.
On a successful roll,
you can breach armor equal
to your Body stat.
All shock damage to
each location automatically
evaporates after each battle.
You can broad jump
triple your Body distance in
yards.
You can jump twice
your Body stat vertically in
yards.
You can shatter glass
within sight range with a
shout.
Coordination
You are incredibly strong. You can shout and shatter glass
within sight range. You can throw objects up to 3 tons as if
they were as heavy as baseballs. Your vertical leap is twice
your Body in yards and three times your Body in a broad
jump. You gain +1 wound box to your torso and each limb
and all shock damage to your body automatically evaporates after each battle.
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Coordination 6
You are faster than any human, and can climb, swing, catch
and throw with amazing agility. You can scale climbable
objects with the ease of a chimpanzee, and tumble and roll
like a champion gymnastwithout any training.
Coordination 7
Coordination 8
You can catch arrows in flight. You can leap, swing and
climb objects so well you appear to be sticking to the
wall. The width of any perceived, successful hand-to-hand
attack against you is reduced by 1. If the roll was 2x, this
means no damage is taken.
Coordination 9
Coordination 10
Sense
and touch.
A high Sense Hyperstat grants the character an
inhumanly high level of perception, utilizing all five of his
senses. If you wish to have a Talent with a single sense
which is super-human, simply buy that individual sense
skill as a Hyperskill (see below). If you wish to see, hear or
sense something normally outside of the range of human
perception (see X-rays or heat, hear subsonics, etc.), buy
this as a separate Miracle (see Perception on p. 79).
Sense 6
Sense 7
Sense 8
45
Sense 9
Your senses are almost perfect. You can see in near absolute
darkness, smell targets a mile away and track by scent
alone. Your hearing is so good you can attack with a
firearm using sound alone as a guide at only a -1d to such
attacks. Your sense of touch is so good you can detect
the movement of small creatures at a distance by feeling
vibrations through the ground with your hands.
Brains
Sense 10
Brains 5
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Brains 5 Secondary
Abilities
You have
photographic memory.
Brains 6
Brains 7
Brains 8
Brains 9
Brains 10
Command
This Talent power scares the brass more than anything else.
Hypercommand is more than simply powerful rhetorical
skills. People listening to orators with Hypercommand often
have lowered heart rates, decreased blink rates and other
symptoms of hypnosis. Naturally, nothing scares a normal
leader more than someone with parahuman charisma, who
can make the most suicidal or irrational command seem
attractive. These effects rarely last, and often fade over
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Command 9
Command 6
Command 7
Command 8
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Command 10
Cool
Cool 6
You can use the Cool stat with the skill Endurance
instead of Body.
+1 Base Will point.
+1 width to all combat rolls (only for initiative).
Cool 7
At this level you never take any penalties from things such
as noise, distraction, exhaustion or pain. Your mind is a
machine designed to overcome the environment. Everything
except what is important to your mission is discarded
automatically.
You can use the Cool stat with the skill Endurance
instead of Body.
You never suffer any penalties due to distraction, noise,
exhaustion or pain.
+2 Base Will points.
+2 width to all combat rolls (only for initiative).
You can use the Cool stat with the skill Endurance
instead of Body.
You never suffer any penalties due to distraction, noise,
exhaustion or pain.
You are completely immune to pain.
All you feelings are under your conscious control.
+4 Base Will points.
+4 width to all combat rolls (only for initiative).
Cool 10
You can use the Cool stat with the skill Endurance
instead of Body.
You never suffer any penalties due to distraction, noise,
exhaustion or pain.
You are completely immune to pain.
All your feelings are under your conscious control.
Your autonomic system is under your conscious control.
+5 Base Will points.
+5 width to all combat rolls (only for initiative).
Hyperskills
Cool 8
Cool 9
You can use the Cool stat with the skill Endurance
instead of Body.
You never suffer
any penalties due to
distraction, noise,
exhaustion or pain.
You are completely
immune to pain.
+3 Base Will points.
+3 width to all combat
rolls (only for initiative).
49
Hyperskills Table
Die Type
Each Die
Each Hard Die
Each Wiggle Die
Miracles
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A few example power stunts are provided below to get you started.
Others are listed with the powers in the Miracle Cafeteria.
Fine Control
Add the Fine Control power stunt to your Miracle dice pool
when you are attempting to limit the effects of your power;
whether reducing damage, speed, or any other effect of
that ability. If you successfully match, you can discard any
amount of damage, speed or effect your power produces.
No Pressure
Under Pressure
Miracles for
the Gourmet
Then determine the qualities the power will have and add
those costs to the base cost.
Cost/Die
+1
+1
+1
+1
Hard Die
+2
+2
+2
+2
Wiggle
+4
+4
+4
+4
Quality Table
per
Qualities
Die
Only Attacks
2
Only Defends
2
Only Robust
2
Only Useful Outside Combat 2
Attacks and Defends
3
A&D and UOC
4
A&D&UOC and Robust
5
Qualities
Attacks?
per
per
Hard Die
4
4
4
4
6
8
10
Wiggle Die
8
8
8
8
12
16
20
Defends?
Robust?
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Extras
Always On (+1/+2/+4)
Endless (+1/+2/+4)
No Inertia (+2/+4/+8)
No Leverage (+2/+4/+8)
No Weight (+2/+4/+8)
Reflexive (+2/+4/+8)
Unconscious (+1/+2/+4)
Flaws
Attach (-1/-2/-4)
Backfires (-2/-4/-8)
Every time you use the power, you take a point of killing
damage to your torso.
Expensive (-1/-2/-4)
You can fly super fast, but drop out of the air when you
attempt to slow down even a little bit. (Landing is a bitch.)
SUPERHERO ROLEPLAYING IN A WORLD ON FIRE, 1936-1946
53
Darren is playing in Godlikes default setting (the High Realism theme), and hes already constructed the basics of
the character: Background, Statistics and Skills (see Part Three: Character Creation on p. 29 for details on Darrens
character). Now, its time for the parahuman powers. The GM says he has 25 Will points to spend on Talents, and he
knows he wants to do something with the Alternate Form power.
Hes put a lot of thought into his characters background. Hes decided his character, a wiry Italian-American
named John Napolitano, manifested his Talent when grabbed by a bull gorilla locked into a cage at a carnival; he can
now become a gorilla himself! Its the only reason the enraged animal didnt crush him in the attack.
Looking up the Alternate Form entry, Darren sees that the power can be used to Attack and Defend, and is
Robust and Useful Outside of Combat. So the Base Cost is 5/10/20. (If he wanted to remove any of these qualities, he
could, but of course it would reduce the effectiveness as well as the cost of the power.) Theres still work to be done,
such as considering Extras and Flaws. As you read along, refer to the filled out character sheet on the next page.
Talent Extras
Darren likes the idea that John can stay in Ape form as long as he likes, and maybe even prefers being an ape most of the
time; he buys the Endless Extra, so he can even sleep in Ape form. This adds +1/+2/+4 to his Base Cost, for a cost of 6 per
regular die, 12 per hard die, and 24 per wiggle die, or as well write it from now on, 6/12/24 for his Alternate Gorilla Form.
Talent Flaws
Darren blanches slightly at the cost of his Talent Power so far. Its too high. He quickly scans the Flaws list so he can
lower that cost to something more reasonable. He takes the following Flaw: Mental Strain (inflicts a point of shock
damage to his human head every time he changes into the Ape Form, so when he changes back, hes injured), for
2/4/8; and Nervous Habit (he has to close his eyes and concentrate for a combat round to change) for another
1/2/4. After Flaws, his Final Point Cost is reduced to 3/6/12. Darren immediately sinks 12 points into the power
for 2 Hard Dice, as he wants no question of failure when John changes forms.
Darren thinks about his character so far. Alternate Form states quite clearly that the stats of the Alternate Form are the
same as the charactersJohns Body is 2 and Coordination is 3. He should buy some Hyperstats to reflect the gorillas
physical prowess. He chooses two Hyperstats: Body +6 and Coordination +3. He buys both with the Attached to Gorilla
Form Flaw, which cuts their cost to 1 point per die. His two Hyperstats cost 9 points altogether. So far hes spent 21
points. He thinks that The Ape should be tough as well as strong and agile, and buys a single rank of Extra Tough for 3
points; the Attached to Gorilla Form Flaw applies here also. His character is done at a Final Cost of 24 points.
All these powers are kind of tough on Darrens character. Base Will equals Command + Cool + remaining Will
Points. For John, this is 2+2+1; The Apes Base Will is 5 when all is done. Hed better not get into too many Contests
of Will right away, as he doesnt have a lot of Will at the beginning of the game.
Darren now has a complete character for Godlike, but what can his Talent do in combat? Well for one, its an effective weapon. After checking Hyperbody 8 (the strength of his Alternate Form), Joe discovers his gorilla form has the
following abilities:
Checking Hypercoordination 6 he learns he can tumble roll and climb with the agility of a chimpanzee (very fitting).
Since his Alternate Form power has the Defends quality, any of the Attached powers can be used to Defend against
incoming attacks as Gobble Dice as well (if the situation makes sense, of course). For example, in gorilla form, either his Coordination or Body dice could be used to Gobble dice from incoming attacksif he had time to see the attack coming, that
is.
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55
Shy (-3/-6/-12)
Interfere (-2/-4/-8)
Every time you use your power you take a point of shock
damage to your head. If you use it too much, youre
knocked unconscious. This shock damage must be healed
normally; it is not shaken off automatically like most
shock damage.
The power will not work unless you can perform some
physical or mental ritual (i.e., wringing your hands, reciting
a poem in your head). Nothing you do can change this. No
ritual? No power.
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Uncontrollable (-3/-6/-12)
Cafeteria-Style Miracles
Aces
Qualities
No Contest (-2/-4/-8)
Affinity
Power Stunts
Focus: You can add your Focus power stunt to your Aces
dice pool when you are trying to affect the outcome of a
very specific event, but only if that event is taking place
outside of combat. Combat precludes the concentration
necessary for this ability. Each Focus die costs 1 Will to roll.
Extras
Flaws
Qualities
Extras
57
Power Stunts
Deep Concentration:
Add your rating in Deep
Concentration to your
Alert roll any time you
spend an hour in peaceful meditation before making the roll.
Alert
Extras
Qualities
Alert Table
Result
A general feeling of danger is indicated.
Time remaining before the danger is
indicated in general terms (seconds,
minutes, hours).
Roll is tall
General power level of attack indicated
in general terms (a platoon of soldiers, a
tank, a sniper, etc).
Roll is tall and wide Both time and power level are indicated.
Multiple 10s
General power level, direction and time
of danger is indicated.
Example: Emil has Alert at 3d and wants to determine
whether his rifle company is in danger if they enter
a ruined church. His character pauses for a moment
and concentrates on the church, and then rolls a 4, 5,
and a 1. No matches. He gets no feeling either way on
Alternate Form
Qualities
Type of Roll
Success
Roll is wide
58
Flaws
Die Type
Each Die
Each Hard Die
Each Wiggle Die
Bind
Qualities
59
Power Stunts
Power Stunts
Extras
Extras
Flaws
Flaws
Poof (-2/-4/-8): If you look away from your targets even for
a second the Bind you have on them immediately vanishes.
Block
Break
Qualities
Qualities
Defends, Robust.
You can stop a single attack with your power. It can be any
type of individual attacka machete, a bullet or a punchbut
you cannot affect Area attacks such as fire or gas, or attacks
composed of many smaller attacks, like grenade fragments,
explosives or mines. No one can roll more than a single dice
pool for Block, but how your Block works is up to you.
Whether you use an invisible force, a super-strong arm or
beams from your eyes to deflect the attack matters very little.
You must pause in movement to attempt to Block.
You can only use Block if you know you are in danger
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Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Containment
Qualities
one minute.
To stop or contain objects in motion, you must
overcome a number of dice based on the objects size in a
dynamic contest.
When dealing with non-moving objects, Containment
is limited in how much weight it can affect in much the same
way as Teleportation (see Teleportation on p. 85).
Against a living creature, Containment must overcome
the Body dice pool of the target (just Body, no skill) in a
dynamic contest.
Power Stunts
61
Flaws
Control
Qualities
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Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Create
Qualities
63
Maximum Mass
2 pound
5 pounds
10 pounds
15 pounds
30 pounds
65 pounds
130 pounds
250 pounds
500 pounds
1000 pounds
Maximum Volume
1 cubic foot
2 cubic feet
5 cubic feet
10 cubic feet
20 cubic feet
50 cubic feet
100 cubic feet
200 cubic feet
400 cubic feet
800 cubic feet
Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Dampen
Qualities
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Extras
Flaws
Dead Ringer
Qualities
the target has, but as far as looks and voice are concerned,
you are identical down to the smallest detail. You will pass
any physical tests of your new identity with ease. Your
urine, blood type and fingerprints will be identical to the
target, and your voice is a perfect match. The only thing
you will be missing are any infirmities the target may suffer
from, although your new form will imitate such infirmities
cosmetically. (Tests for such diseases will reveal nothing,
however). Clothing and equipment are not imitated.
In addition, if the transformation is trans-gender,
you will gain any and all new organs, which will function
normally. Offspring created in such a strange union are
yours, genetically speaking, not those of the target imitated.
If you are carrying a fetus and must revert to your base
form, and that form is not female, the fetus is lost. It must
be carried to term without interruption.
You may attempt a second and simpler level of Dead
Ringer if you cannot touch the subject, but can still see
him. By studying an individual at a distance, or studying
photographs of a subject, you may attempt a basic physical
change to imitate that individual. To do this you must
overcome the Difficulty number indicated by how long you
have studied the subject.
This simpler form of imitation only reworks your face
(and if you have heard the subjects voice, his or her voice
as well). It only generally changes your body to match what
could be seen in your observation. Organs do not change,
nor your blood and urine. Fingerprints and other unseen
details do not match the subject.
You can store a number of remembered forms equal
to your Brains statistic. Shifting forms takes a round of
concentration and a successful die roll. Memorized forms
can be discarded and added
as needed.
The major problem with
the Dead Ringer power is that
other Talents can see you, and
tell you are using a power,
as long as you maintain
an assumed form. There is
no way to hide this. When
subjected to a Contest of
Wills (see When Wills Collide,
p. 95) by another Talent, you
resume your normal form if
you lose. This happens even if
you initiated the battle.
In game terms, this power
is more limited than it seems.
It is only possible to duplicate
humans, not animals or other
organic forms. Dead Ringer
is only cosmetic in nature.
65
Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Qualities
Detection
66
Result
A definite knowledge that a target
exists within the area.
A general idea that multiple targets
exist(s) in the area is indicated.
Nothing else.
The number of targets in the area is
indicated. Nothing else.
Both number and location of targets
is indicated.
Number and location is indicated
as well as general orientation of
targets, or other specifics (whether it
is an enemy tank, a poplar tree, or a
German swan).
Power Stunts
Close Your Eyes and See: Close your eyes, concentrate for
one round and add your Close Your Eyes and See total to
your Detection dice pool.
Extras
Flaws
Disintegration
Qualities
Maximum Weight
10 pounds
30 pounds
100 pounds
300 pounds
500 pounds
1000 pounds
1200 pounds
1500 pounds
1 ton
2 tons
67
Fade
Qualities
Die Type
Point Cost to Purchase
Each Die
3
Each Hard Die
6
Each Wiggle Die
12
Extras
Flaws
Non-organic (-2/-4/-8): You can only disintegrate nonliving things. Plants, animals and people are outside your
powers ability to affect.
Extra Tough
Qualities
Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
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Fetch
the gun which is not living) come along as well. You cant
control this reflex. It always happens.
Qualities
Flight
Qualities
Roll a match and take to the air. Its that simple. If youre
trying a difficult maneuver, roll again. Your movement rate
flying depends on the size of your Flight poolsee the chart
below (If you want to be substantially faster, buy Super Speed
and attach it to your Flight Miracle). If you want to shoot
a gun at someone while youre flying, its a multiple action
(see Part Two: Game Mechanics - Multiple Actions on
p. 12 for more details) requiring you to roll either your
Coordination+Pistol (or Rifle) skill or your Flight pool
(whichever is lower) at a one die penalty.
Tested Lift
210250 pounds
250370 pounds
370500 pounds
500800 pounds
800 pounds1 ton
12 tons
24 tons
46 tons
610 tons
Power Stunts
Distort: Add this power stunt to your Fetch dice pool when
you wish to teleport an object, but dont care how complete
it is when it appears in your hand. Distorted objects come
back twisted, broken or incomplete when you use this
power stunt.
Extras
Flaws
Top Speed
(Yards/Round)
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
120
135
150
Power Stunts
Extras
Top Speed
(Miles/Hour)
10
20
35
45
55
70
80
90
100
110
69
Qualities
Flaws
Qualities
Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
One Use per Combat (-1 per Level): Your power only works
in the first round per combat. After the initial adrenaline
wears off, no effect. Until the next combat, anyway.
Goldberg Science
Extras
70
Level
Each Level
Ghost
Flaws
Go First
Qualities
1) Conception
2) Design
What does your device look like? How big and heavy is it?
What is it made of? The size of the device adds a Difficulty
71
Example
Room-sized device
(1520 tons)
Medium (4) Vehicle-sized device
(110 tons)
Hard (6)
Hand-held device or
smaller (10 oz50 lbs).
Time to Build
5-width in months
5-width in weeks
15-width in days
3) Purchase
4) Attempt
5) Use
6) Deconstruction or Destruction
72
Power Stunts
Extras
Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Harm
Qualities
73
Flaws
Acid Spittle 4d
Fingernail Flechettes 4d
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Heat Vision 4d
Healing
Qualities
Power Stunts
Flaws
Qualities
Extras
Focus (+5 per Level): You can focus Heavy Armor points,
by moving points around from hit location to hit location.
For example, you could take 1 point of Heavy Armor from
your arm and add it to your torso, so that you had 2 points
there. Each movement takes 1 round.
Hardened (+7 per Level):Your Heavy Armor is immune to
the effects of Penetrating weapons.
Heavy Armor
Power Stunts
Flaws
Immunity
Qualities
75
Uncommon
Extras
Flaws
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Instant Death
Qualities
Attacks, Robust.
Extras
Flaws
Insubstantiality
Extras
Qualities
Power Stunts
Flaws
Invisibility
Qualities
77
Power Stunts
Extras
Jinx
Attacks, Defends, Robust, Useful Outside of Combat.
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Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Qualities
Die Type
Each Die
Each Hard Die
Each Wiggle Die
Multiple Actions
Qualities
Power Stunts
Flaws
Blunt (-1): You can only complete tasks that dont require
complex or delicate maneuvering. You can punch, dodge, or
kick, but not sew, sort or write at high speed.
Perception
Qualities
Extras
79
Flaws
Precognition
Qualities
X-Ray Vision
80
Roll is tall
Roll is tall and wide
Multiple Rolled 10s
Result
A brief vision of the future which may
or may not be accurate.
A brief vision of a future event.
Knowledge of the amount of time
before a certain event occurs.
Knowledge of who is involved in a
particular event.
A vision of an event with both time
and subjects clearly shown.
An extremely clear vision of the future,
as if you had lived the moment already,
all senses are represented.
Power Stunts
Update: If you have successfully seen the future, you can add
your Update total to your Precognition dice pool when trying
to see an up to the minute update of your vision, which will
reflect the changes you might have made through your actions.
Extras
Flaws
Psychic Artifact
Qualities
Maximum Mass
2 pound
5 pounds
10 pounds
15 pounds
30 pounds
65 pounds
130 pounds
250 pounds
500 pounds
1000 pounds
Objects that produce light, heat or movement work
normally, but usually not as well as a real object of the
relevant type. If the object is a hand-to-hand weapon,
it does damage per the relevant type. If the object deals
damage at a distance, its damage rating can never exceed
width in killing, regardless of what sort of object it is
rifle, pistol, howitzer, whatever. Replicating a weapon that
has Spray, Area or Penetration requires the expenditure
of 2 Will for each point in the quality (if you plan to use
those, you might do the work ahead of time on cards, and
show your GM).
If you use a psychic weapon to fire real bullets at
another Talent, there is no contest of Wills. If you fire
psychic bullets, its resolved as an ordinary Talent against
Talent attack (see page 95).
Understand: this power only replicates real objects.
You cannot create some kind of chimerical hyper-weapon
with Spray 3, Area 3 and Penetration 4 simply by making
a psychic pistol and spending 20 Will. If you want to make
a Spray weapon, you have to make a Spray weapon with
which you are familiarthat is, one from Part Seven: The
Field Manual on p. 263.
Psychic weapons never run out of ammo, and psychic
vehicles never run out of gas. However, they rarely have the
opportunity. The shelf life
of a psychic artifact depends
on how well you rolled. In
combat, it lasts a number of
rounds equal to the width of
the roll. Outside of combat,
its minutes. For each Will
point you spend, you can
increase its duration by 1
round or minute.
You can create shields fairly
easily with this power - a
sheet of metal plate is not
hard to envision. Generally
speaking, it takes about
fifteen pounds to put 1 point
of Heavy Armor on one hit
location. A helmet with one
point of Heavy Armor is a
fifteen pound helmet.
Example: Hans wants to make a psychic metal wall big
enough provide cover for all six of his hit locations, and
thick enough to provide two points of Heavy Armor.
That much lead would weigh 180 pounds and would
require a Talent of 8 to create.
Psychic objects come into being touching your body. You
cannot create a psychic boulder over someones head forty
feet away. You could, however, make one in your hands and
drop it off a bridge onto someone.
These objects are invisible to normal people,
but Talents can see them clearly. (This is sometimes a
disadvantage: Hans cant see the soldiers on the other side
of his psychic wall, but unless theyre Talents, they can see
him). Any Talent can destroy a psychic object by entering
into a contest of Wills with its creator.
81
Extras
Flaws
Regeneration
Flaws
Qualities
Rapport
Qualities
You can tag a target with your mind, and in a state of deep
concentration see them (or it), no matter where they go. You
must be able to touch a target to create a Rapport. Once
made, the Rapport is not broken until you wish it, the
target comes under the scrutiny of another Talent, or the
subject dies. Talents may not be tagged for Rapport. In fact,
the moment another Talent sees your target, he becomes
aware of the link. If that Talent chooses, he can break the
link by spending 1 point of Will. Once a target is lost, you
must touch it once more to restore the link.
For each die you have in your Rapport dice pool, you
can tag one individual.
The vision of the target is extremely vivid. You see
everything they could possibly see, and in addition, you
see their entire body as well. For some reason, there is no
hearing possible through the rapport; sound cannot be
perceived through the link.
When a person linked to you with rapport dies
violently, you suffer the equivalent amount of damage in
shock (but just shock, not killing) to the same body parts,
even if you are currently not in a trance to observe them.
Power Stunts
Read Lips: By careful observation you can read the lips of those
seen within the vision of your Rapport. Add your Read Lips
total to your Rapport dice pool when trying to figure out just
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Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Side Step
Qualities
With this ability, you can side step even the worst disaster
or attack and make it look easy. This power reflects your
ability to be in the right place at the right time by moving
deliberately out of danger. Whether it is because you are
super swift or sensitive, or can glimpse the future is no
matter, the effect is the same. The explosion, sword or
bullet misses you as you step past it. Of course, you must
already know you are under attack to use this ability.
Side Step is a defensive power, so its dice gobble
incoming attacks.
Example: Kurt fires a MP40 at Clifford, who has Side
Step at 6d. Clifford tries to Side Step the attack. Kurt
rolls his SMG skill and the
weapons Spray rating, coming
up with two pairs2x9 and
2x8. Clifford rolls his Side
Step and gets 2x10. The Side
Step gobbles out an 8 and a
9 from the attack, rendering
it ineffective. Clifford walks
right through the bullets
unhurt.
Anyone with Side Step can attempt
to lead an attack towards
another locationfor instance, the
thugs knife pass misses you and
hits his accomplice instead. If you
attempt this, remove one die from
your Side Step pool. Wiggle and
Hard Dice are removed first.
There are two big
disadvantages to Side Step. First,
its an active power: If youre using
it, you cant attack, unless youre
taking a multiple action. Second, it
cannot protect from Area effects.
If someone throws a grenade at
Clifford, he can avoid the brunt
Power Stunts
Flaws
Sidekick
Qualities
83
Power Stunts
Extras
Extras
Flaws
Super Speed
Qualities
Flaws
Stun
Qualities
Attacks, Robust.
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Yards/Round
10
110
220
330
440
550
670
790
920
1,030
1,150
Miles/Hour
6.8
75
150
225
300
375
4571
540
620
700
7852
Mach I
Just so you know, the speed of sound in air (near sealevel) is 760 mphand almost every bullet has an airspeed
between 1,200 and 3,000 yards a round.
Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Telekinesis
Qualities
Power Stunts
85
Flaws
Teleportation
Qualities
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
step down the scale you take on Mass, you can extend your
Maximum Distance by a step upwards, and vice versa.
Example: Fernando has Teleportation 5 and wants to
jump himself back to his old office in Padua. Normally,
thats a no-go - he weighs over 100 pounds. But hes
in Venice, less than fifty miles from Padua. Since hes
dropped the distance two categories, he can raise the
mass two categories, to 1000 pounds. He can not only
teleport himself, but several friends as well. If his target
is Kiev, however, thats a different matter. Its close to a
thousand miles, pushing his distance up one category.
He could only send 50 pounds to Kiev - not enough
to move himself, but certainly, he could teleport
something useful. If he wanted to send a piece of paper
with a message, (dropping the mass category to 1) he
could send it anywhere familiar within 10,000 miles
pretty much anywhere in the world, except a 2,000
mile circle on the exact opposite side of the globe.
Teleporting is a difficult business. It requires a clear
picture in the head of its user of his desired destination
(this means that the user must have previously visited
the location he wishes to teleport to). Without a clear
picture, a successful transport is not possible. Also, people
or objects teleported must be in direct physical contact
with the teleporter. (This works fine if a bunch of people
hold hands, as long as the chain is unbroken). Portions of
objects may not be teleported.
When teleporters disappear, a loud crack (about as
loud as a rifle shot) sounds. This is the air rushing in to
fill the space the teleporter just vacated. The more Mass
moved, the louder the boom.
Its fairly easy to attack with Teleportation. For
instance, suppose theres a sniper in a bell tower and you
cant get a good shot at him with your rifle. Instead, put
your hands on a burnt-out jeep and teleport it into the air
six inches above the snipers nest. Gravity does the rest.
Since this is all done by sight, even a weak teleporter
has the potential to drop giant chunks of rubble (or
grenades, for that matter) on any enemy he spots.
To drop a rock, roll your Teleportation. Your opponent
may make a Coordination+Dodge roll against falling
rubble of this sort, if dodging is the action he declared. If
your roll fails, the rock doesnt move. If it succeeds, but his
Coordination+Dodge is wider or higher, he takes no damage.
Dropping a grenade is the same sort of thing. Roll your
Teleportation pool to put the grenade right where you want
it. If the other fellow succeeds at his Coordination+Dodge,
he still takes the Area dice when it goes off, but does not take
any damage based on the width of your roll. If you pull the
pin and the Teleportation roll fails, its still in your hand with
the handle held down; you can try to send it again next time.
Another popular Teleportation attack is to grab an
enemy and teleport him high into the air. To do this, you
have to either use multiple actions (rolling the lower of
Body+Brawl and Teleportation with a 1d penalty and
getting two matches) or successfully pin your opponent
until you can teleport him. (See Pinning on p. 17.) If you do
send him successfully, the normal falling rules apply. (See
Falling on p. 25.)
Extras
Blind Teleportation
(+3/+6/+12): You can
teleport to a location never seen before, randomly. When
you want, your power finds a safe location and teleports
you there. In this case, a Safe Location is defined as an
area of solid ground that is not occupied by another object;
it covers no other eventualities. You can only use this power
if youre personally going to that placeyou cant use it to
send a ticking bomb somewhere unless you go along for the
ride.
Global Range (+5/+10/+20): You never need to assign any
of your Teleportation dice to range. You automatically have
a 10d in range and never need to roll against it. You still
must have previously seen the location you are traveling
to, however. These Global Range dice cannot be used to
increase your mass capacity.
Maximum Capacity (+5/+10/+20): You never need to assign
any of your Teleportation dice to mass capacity. You
automatically have a 10d in capacity and never need to roll
against it. You still must touch all the objects you want to
transport. These Maximum Capacity dice cannot be used to
increase your Range.
Silent (+2/+4/+8): There is no tell-tale loud report when
you use your power (some theorize that air is exchanged
in equal volume, thereby equalizing the pressure instantly,
but as with so much concerning Talents, its hard to prove).
This is very useful for those espionage missions.
Thought Control
Flaws
Extras
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audio cues; it just feels like your arm (or whatever) is on fire.
To do this, the Talent simply rolls Projected Hallucination
as an attack. If it succeeds, the target cannot use the targeted
limb until the illusion wears off. If the limb is a leg, the victim
cant run on that leg. If its an arm, he cant fire a weapon or
attack with it. If its the torso, the person loses four dice from
Body or Coordination (to a minimum stat of 1) for purposes
of rolled checks. (This works exactly like having ones torso
filled with shock, as explained on p. 14). If its the head, the
person cant do anything until it wears off.
Power Stunts
Extras
Flaws
Time Fugue
Qualities
5
10
20
You can freeze time for a single object or creature with your
Talent power. Everything smaller than the fugued object
that is in direct contact with it is frozen as well. You must
be able to see the object, and make a roll against your Time
Fugue dice pool that beats the Difficulty number based on
the size of the target. If you succeed, the object is frozen in
time for a number of rounds equal to the width of your roll.
You may extend this period at the cost of 1 Will point per
round of additional Time Fugue. You remain immune to the
effects of your own Time Fugue.
Objects frozen with this power will resume their former
movement when the fugue ends (so frozen bullets continue
along their normal path, falling people hit the ground, etc).
People in a fugue have no recollection of the time spent within
it. Objects frozen in the fugue are unaffected by attacks, they
remain frozen and untouchable (since time does not pass for
them, nothing about them can change), until the fugue ends.
You can fugue a number of objects equal to the number of dice
Difficulty
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Power Stunts
Lower: Add your Lower total to your Time Fugue dice pool
when you are trying to arrest the fall of an object, and by
turning your power on and off multiple times a second,
lower it to the ground.
Extras
Transform
Qualities
6
7
8
9
10
Smallest Size
(-1d to Hit)
25 lbs (badger); 3 ft.
12 lbs (eagle); 2 ft.
6 lbs (housecat); 18 in.
3 lbs (falcon); 12 in.
Biggest Size
(+1d to Hit)
370 lbs (gorilla); 7-8 ft.
500 lbs (tiger); 8 ft.
800 lbs (grizzly); 10 ft.
1,200 lbs (polar bear); 12
ft.
1 lb (mongoose); 6 in.
1,800 lbs (big horse); 14 ft.
8 oz (rat); 4 in.
1.5 tons (rhino); 15 ft.
3 oz (bluejay); 3 in.
2.5 tons (hippo); 16 ft.
1 oz (mouse); 2 in.
4 tons (small elephant);
18 ft.
1/4 oz (cockroach); 1 in. 6 tons (elephant); 21 ft.
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in your altered form, you may change back with the same
injuries. Extra wound boxes from Body disappear at the
end of a transformation, regardless of whether theyre
wounded or not.
Example: Ryuichi the dragon has an extra wound
box on every limb because of his increased Body
stat. In dragon form, he takes one point of killing
damage to his arm, leaving five unmarked boxes.
When he changes back to human shape, he still has
five unmarked boxes on that arm: The injured extra
box went away when the increased Body did. If he
took two points of killing damage to that arm, when
he changed back hed still have one point of damage
to the arm.
Living forms you assume are extremely generic in their
appearance. If you assume a human form other than your
own, for instance, that forms appearance is bland to the
point of being creepy. Everything about the form is simple
and average-and its always the same, no matter how many
times you try to assume it. There are no signs of wear on
the skin, no wrinkles, no distinctive features, its almost as
if the form was newly born despite its apparent age. This
generic effect is highly noticeable to anyone looking at
you. Somehow, you just look wrong.
Animal forms assumed also suffer from this effect, but
it is much less noticeable to anyone not experienced with
that type of animal-especially if that animal is exotic. For
instance, if you assumed the form of a lion, a normal Joe
might not be able to tell the difference; but an experienced
Safari guide would.
Creatures wholly conjured out of the imagination (even
those based on real creatures) just look plain fake, like a
sculpture come to life. This doesnt make them any less
deadly, however.
Power Stunts
Extras
power make lead into gold and retire? Well heres the catch:
Talents automatically know when a substance has been
transmuted by another Talent. They can see it plainly, and
for the cost of 1 Will point, they can make it automatically
revert to its former state, no roll necessary.
Flaws
# of Dice
1d
2d
3d
4d
5d
6d
7d
8d
9d
10d
Weight Affected
<100210 pounds
210250 pounds
250370 pounds
370500 pounds
500800 pounds
800 pounds1 ton
12 tons
24 tons
46 tons
610 tons
Transmutation
Rating
Easy (2)
Qualities
Permanent Transmutation
Example
Substances are related (transmute a metal into
another metal)
Medium (5) Substances are similar (transmute water into
hydraulic fluid)
Hard (8)
Substances are dissimilar (transmute a person
into salt)
Example: Luis wants to Transmute a Nazi into a stone
statue. Luis has Transmutation at 6d. The Nazi weighs
220 lbs, so he defends at 2d. The GM decides that the
Transmutation Luis is attempting is Hard (flesh into
stone), so Luis has a Difficulty rating of 8. Luis rolls 9,9,
8, 8, 6, and 2. The Guard rolls a 10 and a 7. Poof! The
Nazi is now a stone statue. However, if Luis had rolled
2x7, he would have failed because his Difficulty number
was 8. Or, if the Guard had rolled 2x10, Luis would have
failed as well because 2x10 is a higher set than 2x9.
Power Stunts
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Flaws
Zed
Qualities
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Power Stunts
Extra
Maximum Distance
1 yard
5 yards
10 yards
50 yards
100 yards
250 yards
500 yards
1,000 yards
1 mile
10 miles
Flaws
Hyperstat
Brains (2/5/10)
4d (8 points).
Note: Add this to your base Brains score.
Goldberg Science (Attacks, Defends, Useful Outside of
Combat, Robust; 5/10/20)
2hd (Flaw: Strenuous -2/-4/-8; 12 points).
Maximum Number of Simultaneous Devices: 2
5 Extra Points of Base Will.
Hyperstat
Body (2/5/10)
7d+1hd (19 points).
Note: Add this to your base Body score.
Maximum Lift: (depends on total).
6 Extra Points of Base Will.
Will
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Gaining Will
Losing Will
Battle Fatigue
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Otherwise, it remains up to
the GM to decide just what
constitutes the necessity of a
Cool+Mental Stability roll.
What happens when you
fail a Cool + Mental Stability
roll, anyhow? A number
of thingsnone of them
pleasant.
Immediate
Result
Depression
Long-Term Effects
Insomnia
Manic-Depressive Disorder
Phobia
Schizophrenia
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Shell Shock
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Why Will?
Talents, Concentration,
and Damage
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Talent Detection
Talent Targeting
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Defensive Powers In
Talent vs. Talent Combat
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PART FIVE
Background
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Of the three Talent companies that hit this portion of the
beach, two hundred and eighty-nine men, twenty-six are accounted for. For some reason I cant determine, I was one of them.
The Captain looked at me again and repeated his question.
We landed on the wrong beach. I said, my voice
cracking. I didnt know what happened to the Ranger assault
we were supposed to lead. I couldnt look him in the face. He
knew the answer, I thought. Why did he even bother asking?
I shook my head and then looked at my boots.
Wheres your gear? he coughed, turning away.
In the Channel, I said. He didnt want the details.
Not facts like theselike how something huge, green, and
slithery had dragged our landing craft down into the waves,
along with half my squad. How OMalley and Stantz had
died within seconds, only three steps up the beach, gone
in a rippling wave of blue light. That the Ape was cut in
half by some invisible thing and died convulsing in his own
blood, his innards spilled out of him like some colorful
prize. That no one I knew except the Captain was still alive
and standing on the beach. That the other Talents wandering the beach looked lost, shocked, stunned.
That I knew anything I touched from now on would
have the stain of this event on it, forever.
I looked at the Talent Operations Group flag planted on
the hill just above the place where the Ape died. It somehow
seemed to fit the scene. It was shoved into a stack of sandbags and tilted to one side, marking the Companys CP, just
above the heads of three German Wehrmacht soldiers who
looked like they had been carefully sculpted out of immense
charcoal briquettes. The flags legend, the same one that sat
on my shoulder, read: WE GO FIRST. It flapped in the air,
mocking the emptiness of the TOG command post.
I understand that legend now.
We go first because were the best. We go first because
were different.
But most of all, we go first so a lot of us wont come back.
A Note About
the Background
Nazi Germany:
RuSHA Sonderabteilung A
RuSHA SA, or Rasse und Siedlungs Hauptamt Sonderabteilung A (Race and Settlement Office, Special Department A), handled all aspects of racial doctrine within the
Third Reich. In 1936, with the arrival of Der Flieger (the
first known parahuman), Reichsfhrer Heinrich Himmler,
eager to produce as many super-men as possible, set about
starting a special division within the RuSHA to find and
train those with parahuman powers. Himmler was sure
Der Flieger was the forerunner of the true Aryan bloodline,
buried in the morass of mixed blood in Germany.
Special Department A began in Berlin in 1936, and
grew rapidly, gaining budget and personnel as parahumans
appeared throughout Germany. It handled all aspects of
the Nazi parahuman program, and performed exhaustive
examinations, tests and studies on them (these files were
lost to the Soviets in 1945), cataloging nearly 11,000 cases
of parahuman ability between 1936 and 1945.
These parahumans were permitted to impregnate
hundreds of women in a desperate attempt to produce
Great Britain:
The Special Sciences Office (SSO)
Soviet Union:
Special Directive One
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The Dawn
of the SuperAge
June 8, 1936
The Coming of the bermensch
July 7, 1937
Dai Nippon Stirs
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Name: Konrad Rahn AKA Der Flieger (The Airman), Piorun (Thunderbolt), and Mr. Messerschmitt.
Nationality: German.
Political Affiliation: Nazi (National Socialist).
Education: Gymnasium at Hamburg. Officer schooling at Bad Tlz.
Rank: Obersturmbannfhrer (SS). Honorary member of the Luftwaffe.
Decorations: Knights Cross to the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. SS Honor
Ring. SS Honor Sword. Pilot Badge in Gold with Diamonds. General Assault Badge.
DOB: 6/1/16 Hamburg, Germany.
DOD: 8/21/44 London, England (killed by anti-aircraft fire).
Known Parahuman Abilities: Rahn, the first known parahuman, could fly at speeds exceeding 800 miles per
hour and was the first human to break the sound barrier. He was known to utilize his sonic boom to knock
Allied aircraft out of the air with its devastating shockwave.
Despite the torturous forces generated by flying at such speeds, Rahn suffered no ill effects; he could also
fly at any altitude without suffering from lack of air or heat (though he could not achieve orbit, and rarely flew
above 10,000 feet).
History: Rahn was born in Hamburg in the midst of Germanys great depression, near the end the Great War.
In 1923, Rahns father, Johann Rahn, a veteran of the war and later a National Socialist, was killed during
the failed Beer Hall Putsch masterminded by Hitler and Gring. Konrad Rahn followed his sainted fathers
example. When Hitler came to power in 1933 as Chancellor, Rahn joined the Hitler youth movement with a
fanatical fervor.
On April 30, 1936, Rahn discovered his flight ability. After demonstrating his power to German military authorities, he quickly became a favorite of Hitler. Rahn lit the torch at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, after
demonstrating his flight ability to the public for the first time. He later participated in the invasion of Poland,
frightening cavalry troops with his sonic booms and nearly single-handedly knocking the outclassed Polish air
force out of the sky.
During the Blitz of London, Rahn was responsible for downing more than thirty-five Allied fighters, and
in defense of German airspace destroyed fifteen British bombers during the night-raids of Berlin. He gained the
name Mr. Messerschmitt from a terrified British populace.
Rahn was a constant symbol of Nazi superiority and was often seen at Hitlers side. He appeared in
numerous recruiting films and newsreels and often worked spreading German propaganda in recently occupied
countries (he did so to great effect in Holland, Denmark and Norway). Der Flieger twice confronted Allied
Talents in the war, and was once defeated.
In late 1944, Rahn was killed over London by the newly developed proximity fuse of the American Army.
Rahn had previously proven too fast for anti-aircraft guns to track, but these new rounds exploded when they
detected an object moving within their explosive range. Rahn was blown to pieces over London, during a flyover while dumping propaganda leaflets on the ruined House of Commons. Pieces of his body were recovered
by British authorities and preserved for science.
After the liberation of Europe, all files on Rahn were lost to the occupying Soviet forces. Few records exist
on early Nazi experiments testing the limits of his capabilities.
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Pevnost Fortress
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October
12, 1938
Rumors from
Ethiopia
The Rome-Berlin
Axis Pact is Signed
September 1, 1939
The Invasion of Poland
Hitler knew he had pushed the world too far diplomatically. Having seized all the territory he could through
peaceful channels, it was now time for war. Enacting the
secret operation code-named Canned Goods, twelve Polish concentration camp prisoners were dressed in Polish
military gear, poisoned, and left in the city of Gleiwitz on
the night of August 31, 1939. These corpses were shot
and laid out in a field as evidence of non-existent Polish
advances into German territory.
Another Pole was taken to the Gleiwitz radio station where he was shot. An SS man fluent in Polish then
transmitted a short message in that language indicating an
imminent (and again non-existent) Polish invasion.
Hitler had the flimsy backdrop he needed to begin
his plans of world conquest. The German Luftwaffe (Air
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September 3,
1939
A Declaration
of War
September 4, 1939
Der Flieger Crushes the Polish Air Force
By direct order of Hitler, the Nazi parahuman Der Flieger
had open rights on the Polish air force. Although Reichsmarschall Gring and his Luftwaffe were involved in
ground assaults on aircraft, troops and tanks, and engaged
many of the enemy in the air, Der Flieger downed more
than eighty aircraft on his own. In just under four days, the
Luftwaffe and Der Flieger sent more than 400 Polish pilots
and 500 planes hurtling to their doom.
Der Flieger knocked fifty-two PZL P.11c fighters out of
the air with his sonic booms, and destroyed nineteen PZL
37 B Los bombers as they were being moved to an auxiliary
airbase away from the invaders. With a total to his name
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Cien Shadow
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October, 1939
The U.S. Fleet is Moved to Pearl Harbor
Under a direct order from President Roosevelt, the U.S. Pacific fleet was moved from its traditional home in San Diego
to Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. This defensive gesture was
made to deter Japanese aggression in the central Pacific.
In the early morning of October 14, 1939, the commander of U-Boat 47, Leutnant Guenther Prien, led his
crew on an audacious attack of the British Fleet in its
home port of Scapa Flow in
the Orkney Islands. The attack sank the battleship Royal
Oak. With the expenditure of
two torpedoes, 833 crewmen
were killed.
Two days later, the announcement was made by
the German Kriegsmarine
(Navy) that any ship flying
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Following a series of so-called peace talks between Stalin and the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the
Soviets established several navy and army bases in these tiny
countries, slowly spreading their influence in the area of the
Baltic Sea. Next they invaded Finland, striking suddenly, in
a poorly executed imitation of Hitlers blitzkrieg (lightning
war) that the German Army had demonstrated during the
invasion of Poland.
Most of the world was stunned by Stalins rash actions,
but the invasion had been featured in his plans for some
time. The Finns refused the diplomatic coercion that had
worked so readily on their neighbors, and chose instead to
fight.
Like Hitler, Stalin provided a thin cover story for the
invasion, blaming the Finns for the deaths of five Red Army
soldiers in a shelling incident on the Karelian Isthmus.
Based on this provocational shelling, the Red Army
roared over the Finnish border, but the hearty Finns would
not be taken without a valiant fight.
Name: Joseef Seppanen AKA Viljo (Resolute Protector), Bielaja Smert (White Death).
Nationality: Finnish.
Political Affiliation: Unknown.
Education: Home schooling.
Rank: None.
Decorations: None.
DOB: 1/9/01 Idel, Finland.
DOD: 3/21/41 Idel, Finland (killed in action).
Known Parahuman Abilities: Seppanen was completely at home in arctic conditions and felt no ill effects from
temperature extremes in excess of 60 degrees. He could vanish in snow, disappearing instantly into drifts
with parahuman swiftness, and was once seen to dodge machine gun bullets after they had been fired. With his
speed and stealth, Seppanen fought only with a knife, which he used to great effect on the Soviets.
History: Seppannens family raised reindeer since anyone near the tiny village of Idel could remember. He lived
his entire life there, never wanting anything from the outside world. When the Soviets invaded in November of
1939, Seppanen found that suddenly the outside world had forced itself upon him.
He fought the first week of the war with a small group of Finnish soldiers who avoided Russian patrols
by hiding at his farm. His knowledge of the terrain helped them cut off a small Soviet tank platoon. Soon an
entire Red Army division was searching for them.
Seppanen discovered his parahuman abilities in the wilds, and soon began to carve a path through the Red
forces in the area. Despite the cessation of hostilities in March of 1940, He continued killing Soviet soldiers
until he drew the attention of Stalin himself. The Dictator decreed the Finnish super-man was to be eliminated,
despite any human cost.
A trap was set for Viljo, who was led to believe that his younger brother was held in a Soviet stockade at
Idel along with 100 political prisoners. Viljo, coming to free his brother (who was not even there), was killed
by an intense barrage of Soviet artillery unleashed on the camp. This attack killed both Viljo and the decoy Soviets who held the camp. Nothing of the dead parahuman was ever found, but he never appeared in the wilds
again.
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A British Reporter
Behind the Lines
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the Ajax, Achilles and Exeter. The Spee forced the Exeter to
break off its counter-attack, due to heavy casualties and severe
structural damage, but the other two cruisers valiantly stayed
in the fight, which lasted more than an hour and a half.
In the end, the British broke off their attack due to
heavy casualties and damage, but the Graf Spee was damaged as well. Kapitn Hans Langsdorff had foolishly opened
fire on the British, against direct orders from Berlin. The British proved more tenacious in their response than he expected.
Langsdorff piloted his damaged ship to the neutral
port of Montevideo, Uruguay, where he hoped to repair
the damage and return to patrol. The two damaged British
cruisers waited for him at the opening of the river plate,
however, seeking a rematch. Diplomatic pressure on the
Uruguayan government by the Allies forced Langsdorff to
scuttle the Spee. They would not allow Langsdorff to dock
for repairs, and a brief message from Berlin informed him
he was not to be taken alive. On the morning of December
17, Langsdorff and a minimal crew ran the Spee aground
on the river plate, destroying it with an immense explosion.
Fearing internment by the Uruguayan authorities, Langsdorff committed suicide before he could be captured.
This was a shocking defeat to the Kriegsmarine and the
Nazi war machine.
January 9, 1940
Fall Gelb (Case Yellow) Falls Into the
Allies Hands
April 8, 1940
March
12, 1940
End of the SovietFinnish War
April 9, 1940
Germany Invades Norway and Denmark
115
In war-ravaged Norway, a young Talent rose from the conflict, fighting Nazi tanks while wielding only a flimsy stageprop spear. Christian Hansen was only fifteen when his home
and family were destroyed in a skirmish between the Fifth
Norwegian Army Corps and the Nazi Wehrmacht Group
II; yet he somehow survived the rain of artillery shells, and
became the worlds seventh known Talent. He left a wake of
destroyed Panzer tanks and dead Germans in his path.
Hansen claimed his powers came from a stage-prop
spear he discovered in the ruins of a theatre that gave him
shelter during the Nazi attack.
The spear (which he claimed called itself Aesgir) made
him nearly invulnerable to injury while he held it, could split
the thickest steel, hit targets with startling accuracy, and
would instantly leap back to his hand after being thrown.
The spear would also speak to him, warning him of danger;
and finally, could open a passageway to another world separate from the Earth, which Christian called Valhalla.
When Aesgir fled the Norwegian conflict, he opened a
conduit to this other world, which seemed to be a planet all
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A Famous Broadcast
May 2, 1940
The Allies Retreat from Norway
When the first photograph of the recently escaped Norwegian Talent Aesgir appeared in the London Times in
June 1940, many were shocked. Instead of some pitiless aged warrior fresh from the front in Norway, they
saw a baby-faced youth clutching a flimsy stage-prop.
Many groups condemned his induction into the
British military. The Widows of Foreign Wars was
the most vocal group, accusing the recently appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Starting a
childrens crusade against the Hun.
Churchill wisely did not comment on the matter,
and refused to debate the subject (besides he had more
important things to do, as France, Belgium and Norway
had just been invaded). The stern man only chided the
national press and made it clear in private, that all information about Talents would have to be cleared with
British Army Intelligence before they found their way to
the front page, or there would be hell to pay.
Soon enough, with new headlines and new invasions, the furor over the matter faded.
Vogel Bird
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May 8, 1940
Winston Churchill Is Appointed Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom
Winston Churchill had served Britain since 1908, in numerous and varied positions within the British government. He
had been demanding that the British military do something
about Hitler since 1933, and was finally appointed Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation
of Neville Chamberlain.
A keen observer of world politics (and a former military man himself), Churchill knew Britain had no chance of
stopping the German juggernaut on its own. With his newfound power, he immediately set about asking the United
States for aid. Churchill had been corresponding with President Roosevelt since September 1939, when Churchill was
First Lord of the Admiralty, asking the American president
to assist Britain in any way possible.
On the heels of Churchills confirmation as the new
British Prime Minister, the Nazis made a bold grab for
France and the Low Countries, while the world watched in
awe of the blitzkrieg.
The Invasion of
France
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Daegal Dawn
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A Surprise for
the Nazi Invaders
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LInvocateur In France
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Name: Chu Tso-Tsin AKA Gaki (Hungry Ghost), Zhao Zheng, the Ghost of Yungping.
Nationality: Chinese.
Political Affiliation: No known political leanings.
Education: Home schooling.
Rank: None.
Decorations: None.
DOB: 1/9/25, Yungping, China.
DOD: 10/12/60, Yungping, China (suicide).
Known Parahuman Abilities: From the moment of his Talent manifestation, Zhao Zheng was completely immaterial. Several strange anomalies persisted from his physical life, however. Zhao Zheng could still lift objects
at will (doing so would make them immaterial like himself), although he could not do this to another person.
He ate, drank and breathed by somehow converting such items to insubstantiality.
History: Like most Chinese, Chu Tso-Tsin was the son of a farmer, and he worked on his familys farm outside
the small city of Yungping. Chu Tso-Tsin refused to kow-tow to Japanese tyranny and became increasingly vocal and demonstrative as he entered adolescence. The horrors of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo intensified: His grandparents were tortured and killed when he was fourteen, simply for hanging banners celebrating
the Chinese New Year that included English characters.
In the spring of 1940, while delivering vegetables to the market at Yungping, Chu Tso-Tsin refused to bow
before a procession of Japanese officers who were demonstrating to a visiting dignitary how subservient and
quiet the Chinese were. He was dragged off to a public execution for his crime.
When the sword of the Japanese officer failed to kill him because of his Talent power, Chu Tso-Tsin
fled the city. Of course, the Japanese were intensely interested in the youths condition, and soon brought
the situation under control.
Japanese soldiers rounded up Chu Tso-Tsins remaining family members and threats were passed down
the grapevine. The Chinese Talent turned himself in to Japanese authorities and cooperated with them. In
exchange his family was spared execution and granted special privileges.
Chu Tso-Tsin acted as a spy for the Japanese during the later days of the Pacific War, stealing military
documents and scouting occupied islands, immune to all attacks.
In the end, the Japanese executed his family anyway as the Allies approached their home islands.
Chu Tso-Tsin was pardoned for war crimes against the Allies in 1946. MacArthur even testified on the
haunted young mans behalf. Chu Tso-Tsin returned to his home in 1951 and lived in peace there for a time,
working his familys farm.
He was found dead in his home in 1960, a victim of suicide. He took his own life with a Japanese katana
from the war, a gift from MacArthur himself.
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The Ghost . . .
June 5, 1940
The First Man to Jump
the English Channel
Bellerophon, the hero of Greek legend who slew the Chimera and tamed Pegasus rose again in Altyus, Lithuania on
the morning of June 21, 1940. Salet Miceweski, striking out
against the Soviet soldiers who occupied his town, managed
with the help of rioting locals to wrest control of the town
from the Soviets for four days.
The Lithuanian Talent was parahumanly adept with
any bladed weapon; he could find the weakness of any
object, splitting tank steel with nothing but a hunting knife.
He was also adept at killing men instantly with a touch, or
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Jumping Johnny
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Bellerophon
129
British Maneuverings
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July 3, 1940
Naval Confrontation
at Mers el-Kbir
September 3, 1940
The Brits Spring Back
September 7, 1940
London Blitzed
September
13, 1940
Italy Invades Egypt
131
October 7, 1940
German Troops
Enter Romania
November 5, 1940
President Roosevelt Is Reelected
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November
11, 1940
The British Attack
Taranto
November
14, 1940
The Blitz of Coventry
After Lindberghs dramatic exit from the world of democracy to the world of fascism, a public furor arose over
the matter in the United States. One of Americas greatest
heroes had fled to the side of what many believed to be
the worst enemy mankind had ever known. His outspokenness on the subject of the fictional worldwide Jewish
conspiracy during his AFC meetings alienated many
early on, but his departure for Nazi Germany set the stage
for the rallies and hatred that followed.
Anti-Lindbergh rallies and the destruction of memorabilia celebrating his 1926 Atlantic crossing culminated
in the destruction, by parties unknown, of the Spirit of
St. Louis on December 5, 1940. With this final brash act,
America wiped its hands of Charles Lindbergh, a man
who was once the ideal of the American hero.
In Germany, Lindbergh took a figurehead position in the Luftwaffe, until Americas entry into the
World War in 1941, whereupon he refused to participate in the Nazi war effort. He and his wife retired
to the open city of Dresden to wait out the conflict.
Lindbergh was killed in the firebombing of Dresden
on February 13, 1945.
Few in America mourned his loss.
The Legion
of Five Thousand
Since Talent activation was often linked to deadly experiences, it is no surprise that in Europe and the Ukraine,
the population to manifest paranormal abilities most
often were the Jews. Ironically, the Nazis murderous
policies against the Jews led directly to their supremacy
as a Talent superpower in the post-war political world.
The gassing, starvation, hanging and mass shooting of Jews created a huge amount of Talent manifestations among their number, far out of proportion with
other Talent populations. Although the unofficial policy
of Nazi Germany was that no bermenschen existed
outside of the pureblooded German population, the
Gestapo and SS had secret programs to hunt down
and eliminate the Jewish parahumans, who were seen
as a very real threat to the security of the Reich.
Both Himmler and Goebbels knew of the existence
of an underground of Jewish parahumans, a fact kept
from Hitler until the last days of the war. Himmler had
a secret study on the phenomenon written in 1943 by
RuSHA SA scientists called Die Rckbildung (The
Backwards Shape) that examined the Mixing of
Aryan bloodlines and powers with the lower races.
By late 1944, the Jewish underground in the
areas surrounding Germany were filled with parahuman Nephilim who led a spirited resistance against
Nazi forces in the last months of the war. Although
there was little solidarity among their numbers at
first, the Allied propaganda machine dubbed them
the Legion of Five Thousand to intimidate the
remaining Nazi resistance.
Thanks to this propaganda, the Legion became a
reality. Nephilim leaders began recruiting Jewish Talents from displaced persons camps. By 1945, their force
numbered well over 6,000 Talentssecond in Europe
only to the Talent Shock Armies of the Soviet Union.
December 9, 1940
The Italians Are Routed In Egypt
British forces began their East African campaign by pushing south into the Italian occupied country of Eritrea. The
demoralized Italian forces offered sporadic resistance, but
were steadily driven back towards Ethiopia.
Allied Talents, including Cien and The Human Bullet
carried out concise assaults on Italian strong points, crushing what little resistance the Italians could offer. It soon became obvious that the plight of the Italian Army in Eritrea
was dire indeed.
The military staffs of America and Britain met for the first
time in Washington D.C. to discuss the blossoming world
conflict. These talks, codenamed ABC-1 (American British
Conference 1), were held to work out the logistics of a joint
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Cormorant
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March 1, 1941
British and
Australian Troops
Move to Greece
February 8, 1941
Bulgaria Signs a Pact With Turkey
March 2, 1941
Bulgaria Joins the Axis
March 5, 1941
To save the routed Italian Army, Hitler dispatched Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel, leader of the newly formed Afrika
Korps to reinforce the flagging Italian line in North Africa.
Over the next two years, Rommel would reverse the tide
of the African war, inflicting heavy losses on the Allies and
pushing eastward until the Suez Canal and Alexandria were
almost in his grasp.
Arriving in Tunisia along with him were fourteen highly
trained bermenschen to support the Axis war effort.
Between a Rock . . .
March 9, 1941
Churchill Dispatches Eleven Talents to
Alexandria Command
137
Jeger and
the State Funeral
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Name: Georg Klingen AKA Der Seefahrer (The Seafarer), Hitlers Pet Frog.
Nationality: German.
Political Affiliation: Nazi (National Socialist, after bermenschen transformation).
Education: Kriegsmarine training at Wilhelmshaven, Wasserfall training in Berlin and Hamburg.
Rank: Oberleutnant zur Zee (Kriegsmarine). Sturmbannfhrer (SS).
Decorations: Iron Cross.
DOB: 11/10/10 Hamburg, Germany.
DOD: 12/1/43 Albany, U.S.A. (lethal injection).
Known Parahuman Abilities: Klingen required no air to breathe when submerged in water. Other substances
remained deadly for Klingen to inhale, but somehow water was harmless to him. He could also move through
the water like a dolphin, reaching speeds up to 40 miles per hour, and survive indefinitely in the ocean without
food. Klingen was immune to the effects of water pressure, but was unable to see in the lightless depths of the
ocean.
History: Georg Klingen was a career Navy man who joined the Kriegsmarine in the early 1930s to avoid the
horrors of the German Depression and his home life. His family had split up violently, with his mother in a
sanitarium for the last fatal stages of spinal meningitis and his father in prison for assault. Klingen did his best
to make his new job his new lifehe had no other option.
Much to his surprise, Klingen found the job to his liking. He worked his way up the chain of command,
becoming a favorite of several well-placed Kriegsmarine officials. His efficiency and zeal were well received by
the German war machine.
In 1940, Klingen was assigned to U-100 as a helmsman under the command of the legendary Joachim
Schepke, a U-boat ace who had sunk several hundred thousand tons of Allied equipment. Klingen was an ideal
sailor, well suited for submarine work. He gave his all every moment onboard U-100; and while on leave he
concocted wild plans for gaining the commanders attention.
Such a moment arrived in 1941 when U-100 surfaced in the middle of an Allied convoy while avoiding
a depth charge attack. He directly countermanded an order by Schepke, who saw no choice but to surrender.
Klingen tried to use what little charge remained in the batteries to sidestep the destroyer and dive. Instead, the
destroyer cut the U-boat in two and it sank with all hands.
Klingen and the rest of the crew attempted to scramble free of the wreckage as it plummeted, but none
made it clear. In the dark, as water filled his lungs and the U-boat descended madly to the bottom, Klingen
discovered he had become one of Germanys bermenschen. His abilities did nothing to control his mounting
fear, however. In the dark at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by the slowly bloating bodies of his dead
shipmates, Klingen lost his mind for a time. Finally recovering some semblance of sense, Klingen began to
struggle free from the wreckage.
Extracting himself from the ruins of the sub in the dark two miles down proved difficult, and it took him
more than a day of disorienting, terrifying trial and error. Once free, he surfaced like a bullet and took to the
ocean like a fish, fully utilizing his powers for the first time.
Klingen boarded U-78 when it surfaced to recharge its batteries on April 19, 1941. Welcomed back in
Wilhelmshaven as a hero of the Third Reich, he said nothing of the last moments of U-100.
Soon, Klingen was training with the Abwehr project Wasserfall as a special agent. The Reich hoped to use
Klingen as a long-range scout to spy on British and later American shorelines, a spy who could flee the country
any time he wishedif he was near the ocean.
On October 15, 1942, on Shelter Island, New York, Klingen was discovered by a Coast Guard patrol
while retrieving buried German sabotage supplies. Klingen was surprised, and when he tried to flee the scene
he was shot. His wound was not serious, but his predicament was.
After a very short and public trial, Klingen was convicted as a spy and was sentenced to death by American military authorities. He was executed by lethal injection in Albany, New York in December 1943. His
body was remanded to the scientists of Section Two for study.
During his prison stay and trial, Klingen was given the nickname Hitlers Pet Frog by the national press.
Upon hearing the news of the bermenschs execution Churchill quipped, I once had a frog as a boy. It died
as well.
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April 3, 1941
RuSHA SA is Expanded
Due to the growing number of bermenschen, Hitler expanded the powers and funding of the RuSHA SA, hoping
to hone the raw power of the parahumans into an effective
fighting force. Although Germany had already lost two
parahumans in combat, reports arrived daily from all over
the Reich of freshly born bermenschen. Training of the
bermenschen was moved to a camp specifically built for
them in central Germany, run by Professor Albrecht Gebhart, an SS specialist in race studies.
The most common powers were (by percentage):
Super strength 35%
Telekinesis 25%
Flight 15%
Various attack powers 15%
Various other unique abilities 10%
RuSHA SA projected that in less than two years the
Nazi parahuman population would top 5,000 (and this was
a conservative estimate). Hitler and Himmler envisioned an
entire army composed of unstoppable super-humans laying
waste first to Britain, and then, perhaps, America.
April 4, 1941
Rommel Pushes Forward
April 6, 1941
Yugoslavia is Invaded by the Reich
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April 6, focusing their might on Serbian positions in Yugoslavia. The Croatians, moved by Nazi propaganda, were
assured that an independent state would be established for
them when the Nazis won the war. Few of them resisted the
invasion.
Young King Peter II fled with his cabinet before he
could be captured, forming a Yugoslavian government in
exile in London.
Although Belgrade was declared an open city, relentless
Luftwaffe bombing killed at least 17,000 people. This was a
direct message from Hitler himself, who was displeased with
the Yugoslavians resistance to the might of the Axis. Nevertheless, while Yugoslavia remained an almost assured victory, the
chancellors eye was elsewhere on that same date: Greece.
April 6, 1941
Germany Invades Greece
April 7, 1941
Rommel Takes Derna
April 9, 1941
A Stand of Glory
On the morning of April 9, the XL Panzer Corps encountered a significant threat on the road to Sarajevo in the
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German troops entered and occupied the Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade, consolidating their already significant power
in the newly acquired Axis territory.
However, the hinterlands of the country were a different matter. Overrun by the Soviet-backed Communists and
the Serb Royalists (backed by the British), these guerilla
forces would be a threat to the Axis for some time to come.
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A Debt Repaid
145
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May 6, 1941
The First USO Broadcast
Hoping to somehow end the conflict with Britain, the Number Three man in the Reich, Rudolph Hess, piloted an unarmed ME-110 fighter to Britain from Ausberg, Germany.
At the 1936 Olympic games Hess made the acquaintance of
a British aristocrat, the Duke
of Hamilton, with whom
he hoped to work out an
accord. However, the Deputy
Fhrer apparently became
disoriented during the flight
and went off course. He was
forced to bail out over Scotland when his fuel supply
became too low.
Baffled that the British
would not deal with him, Hess
was imprisoned in the Tower
of London, awaiting the end
of the war and a proper trial.
SUPERHERO ROLEPLAYING IN A WORLD ON FIRE, 1936-1946
Impostor, Talent,
or Madman?
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Operation Rascal
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May 1941
The End of the Battle of Britain
After losing 700 aircraft of various types in a fruitless attempt to crush the spirit of the British people, Hermann
Gring officially called off the air war over Britain. Hitlers eyes turned towards the Soviet Union, and preparations began to achieve air superiority over the outdated
Soviet air force.
June, 1941
The Office of Scientific Research
and Development Is Formed
The pre-war agency known as the National Defense Research Council was re-designated the Office of Scientific
Research and Development and given a higher level of
security, along with an extensively extended budget.
Led by Dr. Vannevar Bush, this group was responsible for most of the significant breakthroughs of the
war, including the Atomic Bomb, the Proximity Fuse and
Penicillin.
The Atom Bomb project was given the classification S-1,
or Section One-the most important project in development.
At Roosevelts urging, with the advent of the Blue Accord,
the American Talents program (still without any Talents of its
own), was given the designation S-2 or Section Two.
By the end of the war, Section Two would be a name
synonymous with American Talents.
June 9, 1941
A Surprise at the Berlin Air Show
The Birth of
Talent Technology
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SS berkommandogruppen Is Formed
In a famous demonstration of his abilities during a wellstaged publicity stunt, the British Talent Bulldog was
allowed to keep whatever he can lift in Albany New
Yorks National Guard Armory. Several rich American
patrons (including Howard Hughes) offered to purchase
for Lend-Lease whatever the Talent could lift in a onehour period.
Bulldog lifted 152 tons of vehicles and equipment in 60
minutes, once pausing to bend down and retrieve a machine
gun from the ground while holding an 8.5-ton half-track
over his head in one hand. This photograph made the cover
of Life magazine, along with the headline:
The Talented Elite Who Fight Tyranny.
150
this division did not reach full strength until the last months
of the war, and only saw combat once, during an attempt to
push the Allies back to the sea in the Battle of the Bulge.
A secret division within the German Abwehr (the German spy agency) was formed as well, called simply Wasserfall (Waterfall.) This group trained bermenschen for
spying, sabotage and assassination duties around the world.
Operation Barbarossa
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Baba Yaga
Name: Real Name Unknown, Subject #3009 AKA Baba Yaga (myth name), Das Spukhaus (The Haunted House).
Nationality: Russian?
Political Affiliation: Unknown.
Education: Unknown.
Rank: Unknown.
Decorations: Unknown.
DOB: 6/22/41 Minsk, Russia (date of talent manifestation; true DOB unknown).
DOD: Unknown.
Known Parahuman Abilities: It remains unclear whether the man who was Baba Yaga actually transformed
into a small house on spider-like legs or projected an image of one. The shack appeared to be a 16th-century
Russian cabin measuring about 3m x 5m x 5m, perched on a cluster of legs measuring about 7.9m tall, ending
in huge serrated pincers. The form was was incredibly strong. It once lifted a 76.8-ton Panzer tank with its
pincers, turned it over in three limbs, and dropped it, apparently bored with its quarry.
Baba Yaga was able to disappear into a miasmic fog at will, and vanish from sight in an instant; whether
this indicated great speed or some kind of invisibility (or even teleportation) was also unknown.
History: Due to the unforeseen destruction of the Special Directive One facility in Minsk, including the files of
this parahumans history, not even the Russians know anything about Baba Yagas true past.
Once free from the facility, Baba Yaga was seen on several occasions in remote locales, wandering the
countryside. The NKVD took an active interest in tracking down the parahuman, but could only find a trail of
disappearances, sightings and deaths linked to the creatures escape.
When the Germans pushed further into Russia and broke through the Soviet lines near Kiev, Baba Yagas
appearances became far more frequent. Fields of dead soldiers were often discovered in isolated locales after
they had been reported missing for days. The monstrosity killed both German and Russian soldiers alike, holding no political affiliation save to destruction itself.
At the heights of the Russian winter, the house-thing was seen haunting the endless plains of snow near
battlefields and ruined cities. It seemed to be drawn to misery, fear and death, often picking through corpses
left behind after combat.
Thirteen Russian T-34 tanks once attacked it simultaneously in the only organized attempt made to kill it.
In answer to this barrage, which would have leveled a city block, the house-thing stood up slowly and began
walking toward its attackers.
With the end of the war, the sightings of the house-thing dwindled. The last confirmed sighting was in
1951, on the plains of ice near Archangel. Since then, only spotty reports exist to indicate this parahuman is
still alive at all. Perhaps it still exists, awaiting another great conflict.
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August 4, 1941
The Prague Riots
or the August Uprising
August 9, 1941
Churchill and Roosevelt
Meet in Newfoundland
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Bulldog
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The fragile peace between the United States and Japan took
a turn towards the worse when the moderate government
of Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe was removed and the
military man Hideki Tojo took his position.
This move directly linked the Army of Japan with the
ruling Imperial Diet, removing all those who could possibly
oppose outright war from the governmental process. The
government was now filled with those calling for war
against the U.S.
Tojo made a name as a Military Policeman and later Chief
of Staff of the Kwangtung
Army occupying Manchuria,
and was well known as an
Anti-Western hardliner.
Peace in the Pacific
seemed to be an unlikely
outcome of such a
governmental shake-up.
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November 6, 1941
The U.S. Commits to
the Soviet Unions Plight
November
10, 1941
President
Roosevelts
Godlike Address
Backed by an almost unanimous vote from Congress, President Roosevelt promised the Soviet Union over one billion
dollars to support their war against the German invasion.
Few in America were optimistic about the Soviet Unions
future. The Nazis had made enormous inroads in their
initial attack and their previous successes in France and the
Low Countries made their defeat seem all but impossible.
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Name: Lawrence Clyde Moreland AKA The Indestructible Man, The Worlds Smartest Bomb.
Nationality: American.
Political Affiliation: None.
Education: Some grade school.
Rank: Ensign (U.S. Navy). Captain (U.S. Army).
Decorations: Purple Heart, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Medal (U.S.); OBE (Britain).
DOB: 4/13/11, Booth, U.S.A.
DOD: 2/14/77, Lynhaven Roads, U.S.A. (cirrhosis).
Known Parahuman Abilities: Moreland was immune to the effects of any damage inflicted on his body, as long
as he knew it was coming. This immunity encompassed radiation, cold, heat, friction, acid and every other
force that would usually damage the human body. Equipment and clothing in Morelands possession were not
protected. He was completely normal otherwise, subject to damage and death just as a normal human, provided he had no indication damage was forthcoming.
History: Moreland was born in Booth, Virginia to a poor coal-mining family. At thirteen, Lawrence (Clyde
to his friends) was forced to work in the mines to support his ailing father. Because of this, Moreland learned
quickly to despise his family, who he believed stole his childhood. His obligation to his siblings and mother
kept him around, at least for a time.
When his father died of black lung in 1933 and jobs in the area began to dry up, Moreland left Booth
and joined the U.S. Navy to avoid the growing effects of the Great Depression. He worked for four years onboard smaller ships in the Lynhaven Roads yards. The work pleased him, and he stayed on for another term of
service. Soon, it was the only thing he could imagine doing.
In 1941 with the growing hostilities in the Atlantic, Moreland was itching to get into the thick of real
combat. He was assigned to DD 245, the Reuben James, in January 1941, and rode on three convoy runs to
Britain and North Africa before the James was sunk.
After his Talent manifestation, Moreland was reassigned to the Department of the Army under the direct orders
of President Roosevelt. Endless propaganda reels demonstrating his invulnerability were made for public consumption.
As Americas first parahuman he was a hero, superstar and role model. Endless books, comic books, novelizations and
movies came out during the next five years fictionalizing his (up to that point) rather boring life.
In late 1942, Moreland began training with the fledgling commando school at Achnacarry Castle. As The leader of
Talent Operation Group 1, he served on eleven missions into occupied countries. In addition, he was on the first wave of
the Section Two First Talent Assault Group sent in on the Overlord invasion to soften up the enemy on D-Day.
Moreland was friendly with many Talents, who knew him as a down-to-earth, capable warrior. A small
hub of international parahumans operating out of Britain became fast friends later in the war; among their
number were Cien, Vogel, Aesgir, Jumping Johnny and, of course, the Indestructible Man.
Moreland was infuriated by the death of Cien during Operation Market Garden in late 1944, and swore to hunt
down the bermensch responsible for it, Krieg. He was also officially reprimanded in 1945 for making public statements against Field Marshal Montgomery, the British General who devised the ill-fated airborne operation.
In 1945, Morelands wish came true as he and Vogel confronted Krieg in the ruins of Leipzig. Moreland
executed the German (who was attempting to surrender) with a direct bazooka shot to the head. Vogels testimony on his behalf during the court-martial hearings that followed saved Morelands career and reputation.
Without it, he might have served prison time.
After the war, Moreland was a popular figure in the news. In 1955, he survived a ten-megaton explosion
at the TRINITY testing grounds, walking away from the blast with only his hair messed up. This feat has yet
to be topped by any other Talent. Three movies were even made, based on his highly modified fictional life.
This popularity ended in 1958, however, with the release of a book called Prodigal Son. Written by his
youngest brother Stuart Moreland (who Lawrence Moreland had not seen in years), the book detailed Lawrences foul temper, drinking and racism, as well as the abandonment of his family in the midst of the Great
Depression. Always eager to participate in the fall of a star, the public ate it up. With this scandal, more stories
on Morelands life (both true and fictional) were printed.
Morelands star declined further in the 1960s, with stories popping up from time to time of his reprehensible conduct during the war towards Jewish POWs and blacks. However, these stories appeared with less and
less frequency as the world slowly forgot about him.
In 1977, in Lynhaven Roads Virginia, Lawrence Moreland was found dead in his tiny apartment, a victim
of liver failure due to excessive drinking. He was 66 years old.
Americas Indestructible Man had finally self-destructed.
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U-81 sank the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal, less than
fifty miles from its destination, while it was attempting to
deliver a group of Hurricane fighters to Gibraltar.
In under three years the Ark Royal had hunted U-boats
in the Atlantic, patrolled the Norwegian sea, hunted the
pocket battleship Graf Spee, fired on the German Army during their invasion of Norway, sunk the light cruiser Knigsberg, attacked the French fleet in port at Mers-el-Kbir and
opposed the Italian and German navies in the Mediterranean.
Though severely damaged by the attack, the Royal
was able to evacuate most of her crew and make its way
towards Gibraltar at quarter speed. A minimal crew guided
the crippled craft towards Gibraltar in the hopes of getting
it to port. Unfortunately, when it lost power just twenty-five
miles from Gibraltar the ship had to be abandoned. Only
one crewman was lost in the attack.
In the film, the Talent was shot, stabbed, blown up and
set ablaze by flamethrowers, without any discernable effect.
Moviegoers could not get enough. People drove nine hours
to wait in line for twelve hours to see a 30-minute newsreel, and left smiling. Those who waited in line for days sat
through the film in awe and then promptly got back in line
to do it all over again.
Its the most amazing thing Ive ever seen, New
Yorks Mayor LaGuardia was quoted as saying after viewing a special screening of the film, this is history. Over
the next few weeks, more newsreels of the American Talent
were released across America, and the world was once
again left speechless by the powers of the Talents.
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Rook
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December 7, 1941
A Date Which Will Live In Infamy
December 1, 1941
Rear Admiral Kidd Orders the Arizonas
Forward Magazines Cleared
In Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, commanding officer of the battleship USS Arizona, woke on
the morning of December 1 with a sudden urge to have the
huge cannon rounds stored in the forward belly hold of the
Arizona removed.
Kidd would not say why, and was the subject of many
questioning glances and unusual communiqus during
the next few days. Pearl Harbor naval command thought
the act strange, but not strange enough to elicit an official
inquiry. His men worked twenty-six hours straight, moving
the vast array of explosives out of the hold of the Arizona
to the dry dock facilities on land.
December 2, 1941
Hitler Moves Fliegerkorps II
to the Mediterranean
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December 8, 1941
The United States Declares War on Japan
At noon, President Roosevelt addressed a huge radio audience
of stunned listeners still recovering from the news of the terrible
attack on Pearl Harbor. His speech was short and to the point:
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December 9, 1941
China Declares War
on Japan, Italy and Germany
December
10, 1941
The Repulse and
Prince of Wales
Are Sunk Off the
Coast of Malaya
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Chanduk
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Tribal Magic
December
18, 1941
The Japanese
Invade Hong Kong
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December
22, 1941
Churchill Arrives in
Washington D.C.
December
20, 1941
The AVG and America
Gain a Potent Weapon
More Rumors
Unsubstantiated reports that sixteen Gaki (the Japanese term for Talent) had been discovered in Japanese-held territories since the beginning of hostilities
with China were widely believed by western sources.
Most of these Gaki were Chinese, Mongolian or Burmese, and fought the Japanese occupation vigorously.
Three were apparently born during one incidentthe invasion of Hong Kong. Two escaped to
fight in the resistance; the last, a woman who could
cause seizures in any living creature, was shot and
killed on December 21. Her head was impaled on a
pole and hung from the British consulate building in
Hong Kong as a warning for the local populace.
Spurred by these rumors, U.S. advisors were
rushed to China to assess the growth of the Chinese
Talent population and to help in their training and
deployment.
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F-SAM
Name: Robert Matthew Young AKA F-SAM or Fesam for Fold, Spindle And Mutilate.
Nationality: American.
Political Affiliation: Democrat.
Education: High school, Manchester, Connecticut. One year postal pilot training, Darby, Massachusetts.
Rank: First lieutenant (U.S. Army Air Corps).
Decorations: Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal.
DOB: 3/6/09, Manchester, Connecticut, U.S.A.
DOD:
Known Parahuman Abilities: Young could control gravity. His power affected one object at a time, and increased or decreased that objects effective mass seventy to ninety times its standard weight. Objects (which retained their inertia) remained affected for a variable period that ranged from ten to thirty-five minutes. Youngs
personal record for a gravitic alteration was thirty-seven minutes and nine seconds. He could cause this gravity
alteration on anything he could see.
History: Young was always interested in flight. Everything before his eighteenth year was simply a prelude to
jumping into a cockpit. He collected model kits of airplanes, followed the aces of the Great War in the newspapers, and even had Orville Wright sign his wrist cast in 1919. (Young broke it jumping off the roof with a
makeshift pair of tin-shingle wings in an attempt to be the first man-powered aircraft.)
In 1927, Young obtained a job at Finkels Aircraft, a small airfield that maintained dusters, mail aircraft
and other small planes. Young learned the tricks of the trade over the next five years, culminating in his acceptance as a federal mail pilot in Darby, Massachusetts in 1937; but was kicked out due to his outrageous flying
style. The next year he took up flying in Winters Air Rodeo as a stunt pilot.
It was there in late 1940 that Young heard about the call for pilots to fly in China. Although he had no
combat experience, he was accepted into the AVG program due to his experience in the air.
In the summer of 1941, after a bit of air-to-air combat training in southern China, Young was moved to
Kunming to defend the city from air attack. On December 20, 1941, Young discovered his Talent ability to
control gravity, using it to save himself when his parachute failed to deploy.
Young became famous around the world, returning to the United States in March 1941, to meet with
President Roosevelt for a press conference to showcase Americas growing pool of Talents. Section Two studied
Youngs abilities for three weeks and extensive films of his power were made (some were later released in
newsreels for public consumption). Surprisingly, Young was sent back to the AVG to serve with the Flying
Tigers in China. At the time, Roosevelt hoped to signal to Japan that he meant business, as well as impress
the Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek at his commitment.
Young flew sixty-seven combat missions with the AVG and downed sixty-three Japanese aircraft (mostly
with the use of his power), making him the highest scoring American ace in World War II. (Though most pilots, including Young himself, agree that Major Richard I. Dick Bong, with forty normal kills, was Americas
real top ace.) Youngs power was ideal for destroying enemy aircraftthe sudden weight increase caused wing
struts to buckle and break, canopies to spider, and engines to fail, sending planes plummeting down from the
sky like shattered birds. It was his Talents effect on enemy aircraft that gained Young his nickname of Fold,
Spindle and Mutilate, a throwback to his postal days.
Young returned to America in 1946 with the rank of first lieutenant in the newly minted U.S. Air Force.
He served two more years in the states, teaching pilots the ins and outs of fighter-to-fighter combat (which was
even then a rapidly dying art).
Young flew for a year and a half in Koreas Mig Alley, fighting the Chinese he had fought so hard to defend. In the jet-age, Youngs abilities and power proved even more devastating to enemy aircraft, which would
shatter and explode dramatically when pushed past their normal weight limits. Young was responsible for the
destruction of fourteen Migs before he returned home.
In 1954, Young retired from the Air Force at the age of 45. He bought a home in Manchester, Connecticut
with the revenues generated by his AVG and Air Force days, and sold the use of his ability to the highest bidder. Mostly he worked on construction projects, knocking buildings down or helping build them.
Young Talent Services Incorporated grew into a large, multi-state business that employed various Talents
with construction-useful abilities.
At the age of 91 as of this writing, Young still appears in TV commercials for Young Talent Services Incorporated (now run by his son Emil) and his company is now estimated to be worth in excess of $80 million.
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December 30,
1941
Sheol Emerges
Dragon Point
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Anguis Dragon
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January 1, 1942
The Paukenschlag Plot
Representatives from twenty-six Allied countries gathered in Washington D.C. on this date to sign the Atlantic
Charter, ratifying the declaration of the United Nations
and uniting the free world in a war against the Axis forces.
Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt and various
heads of state gathered under extreme security at the capital
to reinforce their cause against Axis tyranny. Thirty-seven
Allied Talents of varying nationalities guarded the scene, on
the lookout for spies and saboteurs.
Fourteen minutes before Prime Minister Churchill and
President Roosevelt met in the Oval Office, an incident occurred at the west gate of the White House. The British Talents Bulldog and the Shade uncovered a German bermensch
in parahuman disguise, attempting to gain access to the
White House grounds. Using a power to mask his appearance, the German was easily detected by the British Talents.
A tense standoff ensued when the German agent activated
a large bomb. The Shade surprised the German agent from
behind, and using his Talent ability to save those nearby,
pulled both the agent and the bomb out of phase with the
physical world.
The explosion went off at ten minutes to seven in the
morning in complete silence. The Shade and the German agent
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January 2, 1942
The Japanese Take Manila
January 3, 1942
General Wavell Is Told to Hold the Line
General Wavell, the Allied forces commander in Southeast
Asia (primarily the American, Australian, British, and
Dutch), was ordered to hold the Malay line by any means
possible, to stop the southern advance of the Japanese
forces. To secure his rapidly diminishing routes of communication, Prime Minister Churchill assigned the powerful
British teleport Jot to Wavells command, to keep a line of
communication open with London and Washington.
Sheol
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Talent Security
Japanese forces, moving in a half a dozen different offensives in Southeast Asia, captured and conquered significant
amounts of territory in a short period, with few losses in
manpower and equipment. By this date, most resistance had
ceased in the Philippines (the rebels had retreated to the wilderness and MacArthur was hard pressed on Bataan) and the
Japanese began their real push into Burma. Elsewhere, Japanese Marines and soldiers landed on North Borneo and were
poised to spread the influence of the Empire even further.
Like the summer of 1940 for Germany, it seemed that
in the winter of 1942 the Japanese Army could not be
stopped.
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The Ghost of
the West Gate
Over the course of fifty days, 440,000 citizens were evacuated from the city of Leningrad to points east. Relentless
shelling and bombing by the Germans had taken a terrible
toll on the populace. All rail lines into the city had been cut
by bomb attacks; nor were there adequate supplies of food
to support the city any longer.
The first five Soviet Talents to reveal themselves in
public (besides the monstrosity Baba Yaga) assisted in the
evacuation, defending against attacks by German aircraft
with their parahuman abilities.
The first ship carrying American servicemen to Britain arrived on this date, after maneuvering through the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic.
Seventeen American Talents (including the Indestructible Man) were onboard.
The Imprisonment of
Der Schildkrte
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Total Commitment
February 1, 1942
The Appointment and Death of Quisling
Adolf Hitler made the Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling
prime minister of occupied Norway on this date, but his
time as the Nazis puppet would be short.
On the morning of February 2, 1942, Quisling was
discovered in bed, the victim of an apparent Talent attack.
His skin had hardened to the consistency of stone; all
his internal fluids had congealed. No one had any idea
who had killed him. Hitler, nonplussed, appointed a
German SS officer, Obergruppenfhrer Franz Jeckeln, as
Reichsprotektor of Norway. No real effort was put into the
investigation of Quislings death.
February 13,
1942
The Last Sea Lion
Conference
Despite heavy lobbying from
Hitlers favorite, Der Flieger,
February
18, 1942
The Battle of the
Sittang Bridge
February 18,
1942
The Japanese
Invade Singapore
In 1954, information was leaked from British intelligence that the mission to kill Vidkun Quisling,
codenamed Operation Tumult, was carried out by a
six-man Talent commando team trained by the BSOE.
Aesgir carried the group into Norway with his power,
where, helped by Norwegian resistance members, they
gained access to the prime ministers mansion.
The British Talent Quagmire killed Quisling with his ability to solidify liquids, and the team
escaped back to Britain. The attack demoralized the
pro-Nazi sentiment that had been growing exponentially in Norway (the Norwegians were one of the few
races that the Nazis considered equal to them racially).
Since Quisling was the greatest traitor Norway
had ever known, few Norwegians had anything negative to say about the news.
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March 7, 1942
A Tight Escape
March 9, 1942
The Dutch East Indies Surrender
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Mr. Nowhere
The resisting forces left behind, composed mostly of
Dutch regular Army, had no choice but to surrender.
March
11, 1942
March
28, 1942
Stilwell Prepares
for the Worst
The Failure of
the St. Nazaire
Commando Assault
April 2, 1942
The Japanese Attack Ceylon
April 9, 1942
The Last Days of the Battle of Bataan
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178
May 1, 1942
A Mad Dash
Hoshi
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May 2, 1942
The Japanese
Launch a Large
Carrier Force In
the Coral Sea
May 3, 1942
Task Force 17
May 4, 1942
The island fortress of Corregidor, the last American position
in the Philippines, had endured constant bombardment by
Japanese forces since December. Its plight was well known,
May 5, 1942
The British Invasion of Madagascar
May 7, 1942
Victory and Death at Coral Sea
180
Teleportation and
Warfare
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berkommandogruppe to
remove Rommel from Africa
before his capture, but the
General had other ideas.
Rommel managed to
hold off poorly planned
attacks by the disorganized
British Eighth Army as
his engineers cleared the
minefield at his back.
Sporadic behind-the-lines
attacks by bermenschen
kept the British on their
guard, while flying patrols
located weaknesses in the line
to exploit.
By June 1, Rommels
forces slipped away through the minefield and regrouped,
attacking and destroying the British 150th Brigade. By June
10, Bir Hacheim was in Axis hands after a prolonged battle
between the Italian Trieste and 90th Light Divisions and
the Free French forces. Just days after it seemed the end had
come for Afrika Korps; the Germans were racing towards
Tobruk, once again in pursuit of the retreating Allies.
By June 19, Rommels forces began their assault on the
garrison at Tobruk. Just two days later the port, manned
mostly by South African and Indian forces, fell into Axis
hands. The British were stunned.
The commander of British forces in Africa, General
Auchinleck, ordered his troops back to El Alamein, a
town in Egypt just 150 miles from Cairo, to form a new
defensive line. All previous Allied gains in the war in
North Africa were lost.
June 1, 1942
Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union Begins
June 5, 1942
The Battle of Midway
June 7, 1942
The Japanese Invade
the Aleutian Islands
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The OSS Donovan created was composed of the most
brilliant and often most egotistical minds he could draw from
Americas elite. He mimicked the wildly successful British
Special Operations Executive, which proved that with a little
ingenuity, some luck and some careful planning, great things
could be accomplished in warfare while risking only a few men.
Despite a rocky start, the OSS would prove vital in the
war against the Axis.
July 2, 1942
Sevastopol Falls
July 9, 1942
Mussolini Prepares
for Non-Existent Victory
185
Misfire
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August 7, 1942
Guadalcanal and Tulagi
August 9, 1942
The Battle of Savo Island
187
August
12, 1942
Stalin and Churchill
Meet for the
First Time
On the night of August 13, Talent Operation Group 1, composed of nine American Talents, including the Indestructible
Man, crept ashore at Zeebrugge, Belgium. Their targets
were an oil-processing plant, two dry-docks and a rail line.
TOG 1 split into two groups. The first, led by First
Lieutenant Roger Crazy Eight Yelt, infiltrated and
destroyed the dry docks and a rail line, easily defeating the
small party of guards they encountered. During this firefight
nine German soldiers were captured by Corporal Michael
Shell-GameMessner, who teleported them to a stockade
in Falmouth.
Led by the Indestructible Man, Team 2 assaulted the
oil-processing plant. Resistance there was much more
severe. An unknown German bermensch scored the first
American Talent casualty of the war by killing Sergeant
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Stalins Cobaka
Super Swabby
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Gruppe Weiss
This special detachment of bermenschen was transferred to General von Paulus command on August
26, 1942 with the express order to take Stalingrad at
all costs. Among their number was the second bermensch discovered, Feuerzauber.
White Group was composed of 200 highly
trained and motivated bermenschen who were the
greatest warriors Nazi Germany had ever known.
Hitler believed that they alone would determine the
fate of Nazi forces in Stalingrad. The group was reinforced twelve times over the next year. Four hundred
and fifty three bermenschen were poured into the
battle that raged around Stalingrad.
By the end of the war in the Soviet Union in
1944, the group had suffered 226% casualties. Only
two of Gruppe Weiss survived the war that ravaged
the eastern frontby deserting.
with a look of terror on his face, and Tunney stood up.
Canadas first Talent, the Ghost of the Fourteenth, had
been born.
Stalingrad is Bombed
September 2, 1942
The Golem of Warsaw
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The Coastwatchers
It is widely accepted that the attack on Hauptscharfhrer Meier was caused by the manifestation of a
Talent. Why the Golem never re-appeared remains a
mystery. Some believe that Meier manifested a power
out of guilt, which he used to destroy himself, but a
more likely proposition exists: a Jew in the Warsaw
Ghetto unconsciously created the Golem, and was
later deported and killed at Treblinka or Auschwitz.
would not give up.
On September 21, the Australian garrison was cheered
by the manifestation of the first Australian Talent on New
Guinea. Private Marcus Typhoon Gladden fought on the
Kokoda Trail behind Japanese lines, using his power to pelt
the enemy with heavy winds, hail stones and rain.
The Australians knew that reinforcements would arrive
soon, and then the real fight would begin.
A huge force of Japanese Marines rushed the American Marine lines just south of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal on
the morning of September 13. The 164th Marine Battalion
and General Vandergrifts Fifth Marine Division repulsed
the much larger force, inflicting almost 700 casualties on
the fanatical Japanese. Seven Marine Talents assisted in the
defense of the field, including the American Talent Franklin
Super Swabby Wolensky.
During the combat, Wolensky was wounded, and two
of the Marine Talents were killed. Despite protests from the
wounded Talent, Wolensky was evacuated the following
day to Pearl Harbor command for medical treatment.
What Happened
to the Golem
193
November 8,
1942
Operation Torch
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November 11,
1942
The End of
Vichy France
The U.S. Congress voted unanimously to expand the Selective Service to include the registration of eighteen- and
nineteen-year old men. Talks also began on the floor for a
mandatory draft for American-born Talents, but the House
remained divided on the matter.
December 2, 1942
The Chicago Pile
December 9, 1942
Relief at Guadalcanal
195
January 2, 1943
The Capture of Buna
Parahumanity Explodes
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Tragedy struck when a Japanese soldier playing
dead sat up and shot Typhoon in the back as he passed
by, killing the young Australian. For the next two weeks,
the island was pelted by unusual storms and high winds.
The Australian flag hung at half-mast in Port Moresby and
Canberra for the next month.
At the end of the campaign, Imita Ridge was renamed
Typhoon Ridge in his honor.
January
12, 1943
The Russians
Move, Again
Hyperbrains in Warfare
197
January
15, 1943
Tripoli is Taken
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The German bermensch Feuerzauber and his entire battalion were killed while moving towards an oil storage area on
the Volga river held by the Soviet Sixty Second Army under
General Yeremenko. Intense shelling caused the nearby
Chykov Oil Refinery to explode, generating a huge fireball
that engulfed the area and burned for hours.
Feuerzauber was immune to the harmful effects of the
flames, but the fire also consumed all the oxygen in the
area, asphyxiating him along with 221 German soldiers.
February 2, 1943
The Siege of Stalingrad Ends
Despite his last minute promotion to Generalfeldmarschall, Friedrich von Paulus surrendered to the Soviets,
finally ending the siege of the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad. What had once been a pocket of more than 300,000
soldiers was whittled down by disease, starvation, cold and
attacks to just over 93,000. Few of these hardened survivors would live through Russian imprisonment to see their
families again.
February 8, 1943
The Soviets Take Back Kursk
An unusual Talent power was seen for the first time during
a demonstration of Talent abilities for Allied VIPs at Hedge
Manor on February 10, 1943. While volunteering as a testsubject for a Polish teleporter, Major Peter Cesay, a British
intelligence officer, manifested his (then) unique Talent.
Cesays Talent prevented the Poles power from working at all. The Talents present could tell that Cesay was a
The Twenty-Six
Stalins Treatments
199
Kharkov is Liberated
The Red Army knew if they could seize Kharkov, they could
cut the German forces further in the Ukraine off.
Hitler too, noticed the danger, and detached the elite
II SS Korps, along with berkommandogruppe 4 to defend
Kharkov, at all human cost. As the Sixth Soviet Army
approached the outskirts of Kharkov, the leader of the II SS
Korps began to have second thoughts. Leutnant General
Paul Hausser ordered his men to withdraw. The situation at
Kharkov was hopeless and he saw no point in wasting his
men needlessly when they could be used to defend Germany. Unfortunately, the bermenschen present had different
ideas.
For defying a direct order of the Fhrer Hausser
and twelve of his officers were executed by the leader of
the bermenschen Obersturmbannfhrer Felix Scorpion
Httl. The remaining SS men were folded into the command of the berkommandogruppe 4 and frantic preparations were made for the defense of Kharkov.
Two days later, the Sixth Soviet Army annihilated the
entire group, bermenschen and all.
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The Chindits
Wendell Greene, an amateur scientist from Tacoma, Washington became an overnight sensation when he revealed
he was a Talent who could build machines previously only
seen in science fiction stories and comic books.
At a government-staged media event, Greene demonstrated a rifle-sized device that could generate hurricane
Zed
201
Led by the Talent Aesgir, nine Norwegian commandos traveled through Valhalla to arrive at Norsk, Norway, a Nazi
facility on the Norwegian Sea. This isolated hydroelectric
power station was used to collect heavy water, a vital component in the development of an Atomic Bomb. Germanys
atom bomb program was years behind the Allies, and
Norsk was the only source of heavy water in Europe.
Aesgir and the men killed ten guards and destroyed the
station without incident, ending the already slim hope of
a Nazi atom bomb. Through Aesgirs power, twelve days
later, the commandos turned up on the shores of Scotland,
mission accomplished.
March 2, 1943
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea
Australian and U.S. ships and aircraft destroyed eight Japanese destroyers and transports on their way to Lae, New
Guinea on this date. This was the last Japanese attempt to
reinforce what little was left of their forces on New Guinea.
More than 3,000 Japanese were killed in the attack.
March 6, 1943
Hoping to disrupt British and American preparations for
a final push into Tunisia, Generalfeldmarschall Rommel
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Late one night, Der Auge (the German precog who foresaw
the St. Nazaire Commando raid), awoke in Berlin. Vivid
in his mind was an utterly clear dream of an attempt on
the life of the Fhrer. Thirty minutes later, fourteen highranking members of the Heer were arrested by the SS, and
sentenced to death. Three days later, they were hung with
piano wire after a brief public trial.
A twelve-pound bomb was discovered aboard the very
transport aircraft Hitler was due to fly in that very afternoon,
wired to detonate when the plane rose above 1,000 feet.
Der Auge was awarded the Iron Cross for his vision.
Goldberg Science
March 5, 1943
The Professor
203
After the incident in Berlin, the Gestapo questioned Der Auge. For ten days, the bermensch was
beaten, electrocuted and tortured. The Gestapo was
sure that the bermensch had something to do with
the bomb plot, and was hoping to gain favor in the
eyes of the Fhrer by turning on his accomplices.
The bermensch was released and returned to
normal SS service, but his loyalty and fervor for the
Reich was never the same.
On July 17, 1944 that old fervor returned, Der Auge
gathered together twenty-seven of his friends and told
them On the twentieth of July, something important
is going to happen, something which will change Germany forever What it was, he would not say.
When the bomb-plot of Oberst von Stauffenberg
failed to kill Hitler on July 20, Der Auge returned to
his home in Berlin, and after burning his SS uniform
and Iron Cross, shot himself.
204
Lord Yama
205
British Colonial
Possessions in the
World of Godlike
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Alias
207
May 7, 1943
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June 1, 1943
Propaganda Backfires
209
June 5, 1943
Montgomery Is
Incinerated, Almost
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July 1, 1943
Null
Hitlers Disfavor
July 4, 1943
Kursk
July 9, 1943
SS berkommandogruppe
Loses 212 In One Day
July 9, 1943
The Invasion of Sicily
Sergeant Harry OMalley lost his mind when a Japanese grenade struck him in the chest and rebounded
into a huddled group of four men before detonating. The men died in the explosion, while OMalley
was left untouched. He then, in the words of one
witness, ripped off his shirt and screamed Im
SUPER-MAN! Amazingly, he suddenly had the
Talent muscle to back up his one-man charge on the
Japanese positions, and within hours, he secured the
enemy garrison of more than 3,000 men.
Later that same week, while the last of the
Japanese resistance on New Georgia was mopped
up, OMalley killed a Marine captain for murder.
The captain was returning fire at an isolated Japanese
spider-hole when OMalley decapitated him with a
punch from behind.
All these guns, all this killing, its wrong,
OMalley informed General Darrenovsky, the commander on New Georgia. By then OMalley had
completely lost his identity and refused to answer
to anything but Super-Man. Im going to end this
war, starting now, he announced to the Marines on
New Georgia, and then proceeded to disable boats,
tanks and weapons with his strength and heat vision.
Fearing a Talent coup, General Darrenovsky radioed
Guadalcanal for backup.
Days later, four Marine Talents subdued SuperMan OMalley as he built houses for all the good
people to live in, and shipped him back to Pearl
Harbor command. To prevent another Talent outburst, OMalley was lobotomized in August 1943
and confined to the Petaluma Sanitarium for the rest
of his life.
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The American Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General Patton, swept up the southwest coast of Sicily, pushing towards
its capital Palermo, while the Axis forces on Sicily carefully
withdrew to the Strait of Messina to evacuate the island.
Meanwhile, British forces under General Montgomery
moved up the eastern coast, towards Mount Etna and the
Strait of Messina, trying to stop the Axis retreat.
Heavy fighting in the British sector held up Montgomerys advance, while Pattons forces experienced little
resistance in their push towards the capital.
Rome is Bombed
The U.S. Seventh Army secured the ports of Marsala, Trappani and the capital of Sicily, Palermo on this date, claiming more than three quarters of the island of Sicily for the
Allies. Axis forces had all but retreated from the area, in
their rush for evacuation to the Italian mainland at Messina
in the east.
Patton entered the town at the head of a huge tank
force to roaring crowds of Italians, while Montgomery and
the British Eighth faced stiff resistance near Mount Etna.
Never one to miss a fight, Patton committed his force to advance east into the British sector, violating his orders from
Allied command. Both he and Montgomery now shared the
same target: Messina.
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Assault on Ploesti
August 5, 1943
Soviet forces on three fronts
launched a huge offensive
against the German forces
near Orel, Bryansk and
Belgorod in the central
Ukraine. The attacks flung
the Germans back in two
bulges, surrounding them at Kharkov.
Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein stemmed off
attacks by madly shifting his Panzers from trouble spot
to trouble spot. After a small collapse in the line near the
outskirts of Kharkov, and the destruction of thirty-five
Panzers in a single pitched battle holding the line, von
Manstein sent word to Berlin. Kharkov would be lost; it
was just a matter of time.
August 5, 1943
Cantania
August 2, 1943
Manstein Is Ordered to Do the Impossible
Despite the likelihood of another Soviet summer offensive,
Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein was ordered to hold
the Soviets at Kharkov at all costs. Hitler refused to allow
an orderly withdrawal of forces from the Ukraine to more
August 3, 1943
August 1, 1943
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August 6, 1943
Kiska, Abandoned
August 7, 1943
Victory in Sicily
The U.S. Army Air Corps assembled a team of twentyone flying bricks (Talents who could both fly and were
resistant to damage) to escort bombers into Europe for the
Eighth Air Force. This was in direct reaction to airmens
growing concerns over bermenschen attacks on Allied
bombers.
The first Talent escort of aircraft in the war took place
on August 22, when the First escorted 276 B-17s on their
daylight raid of Schweinfurt, downing nine ME-109s, two
FW-190s and one bermensch. Two members of the First
were lost to anti-aircraft fire over the target.
215
September 8, 1943
September 3, 1943
Italy Surrenders, the Invasion Begins
Marshal Badoglio announced the suicide of Benito Mussolini and Italys unconditional surrender to the Allies, to a
stunned public over nationwide radio. He stated for the first
time: Fascism is over forever in Italy. Many Italians were
incredibly happy with the announcement, others frightened
by it. German forces in Italy were considerable, and most of
northern Italy was garrisoned by German troops.
For several hours, it remained unclear whether Italy
would be a battleground or a staging ground for the Allied
invasion of Germany. Then the Axis moved in. Troops
under Generalfeldmarschall Rommel disarmed Italian
divisions and seized power in northern Italy hours after
the announcement, while Generalfeldmarschall Albrecht
Kesselring occupied Naples and prepared a defensive line at
Nicastro on the Calabrian peninsula.
At 4:30 A.M. on September 3, the British Eighth Army
surged across the Strait of Messina. The invasion of mainland Europe had begun.
The impact of comic books on the Talent phenomenon was realized for the first time in 1943, when
Section Two noticed similarities in Talent manifestations, and its link to the subjects age, place of birth,
and education level.
Professor Daniel L. Talbot of Section Two was
the first to recognize the strange preponderance of
young men manifesting a particular set of powers
including: flight, paranormal strength, speed, invulnerability and heat vision or even so-called x-ray
vision. Talbot was not familiar with the characters
of the comics, but his son was. After it was brought
to his attention, Talbot realized that the young men
were all manifesting the powers of their favorite
comic book character.
Comic books soon became a common sight in
the hands of American servicemen.
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September 9, 1943
Landings at Salerno and Taranto
Hoping to secure as much of the Italian mainland as possible before the Germans could seize total control, two large
Allied forces (one sailing and the other flying from Sicily)
landed at Salerno and Taranto.
Lieutenant General Mark Clark was in command of
the Anglo-American force at Salerno. Early on, they faced
stiff resistance from General Heinrich von Vietghoffs Tenth
Army, and were pinned down on narrow beaches. After two
attacks on Clarks headquarters by German bermenschen,
TOG 6 and 10 were attached to his command. Despite this
boost, American and British footholds at Amalfi, Vietri and
Paestrum were tenuous at best. German artillery and readily
accessible reinforcements inflicted terrible casualties on the
Allies, but they somehow held on.
Meanwhile at Taranto, the British First Airborne
Division landed after an intense offshore bombardment of
coastal defenses by the Royal Navy. British Talents successfully seized Montecorvino airfield for a day and a half,
but were forced to withdraw when the Germans counterattacked. Otherwise, the British fared well, rapidly slicing the
heel of the Italian boot in half with a bold push to Brindisi.
October 1, 1943
The Italian Fleet (consisting of five destroyers, three battleships, six cruisers, and several transport craft) had been
ordered to Malta to be turned over to Allied command,
under the surrender terms of September 3.
While under way in the Mediterranean, the fleet was
attacked by German air and bermenschen forces from
northern Italy. In the first use of a guided missile in warfare,
the Germans employed the Fritz-X glide bomb in their attack on the Italian battleship Roma, sending it and 1,200
crewmembers to the bottom in minutes.
While the battleship Italia fared better, it was damaged
so severely by the bermenschen Tyr and Sonnerad, that
it remained in port for eighteen months before it was once
again seaworthy.
German air attacks against the Allied fleet off the coast of
Italy grew more persistent, skilled, and deadly. In the second
major use of the Fritz-X glide bomb, the British battleship
Warspite was hit and terribly damaged.
With many crewmembers dead or injured, and severe
structural damage, the craft was out of action for the remainder of the war.
A second raid by the U.S. Eighth Air force on the Schweinfurt ball bearing complex was incredibly successful. The
combination of long-range fighter and Talent escort (by the
First Non-Mechanized Long Range Flight Group), proved
devastating to the German air defenses. Twelve ME-109s
and four FW-190s, along with four bermenschen were
shot down, and the ball bearing factory was leveled.
Twenty-five B-17s, two P-47s and one Talent were lost
during the raid.
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Immortale
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November 1, 1943
Invasion: Bougainville
November 3, 1943
The Eighth Takes On Wilhelmshaven
In the first face-to-face meeting between the three leaders of the Allies, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met at
Tehran, Iran to discuss the ongoing war and the planned
cross Channel invasion of Europe. The conference was held
in Tehran because of its proximity to the Soviet Union, its
separation from the war, and its apparent lack of Talents.
Security was still tight, with eighty Soviet, American and
British Talents in attendance to ensure the leaders safety.
Although the situation in Iran had somewhat stabilized
since its acquisition by the Allies in 1941, a large militant
force in the north called the Tudeh (Masses) threatened
the young Shah, Mohammed Reza. Even worse, Stalin
openly supported the Tudeh, while Roosevelt and Churchill
supported the Shah.
The leaders had not even settled in when the Tudeh riots
began. During the four-day conference, much of north Tehran burned, and almost every Allied Talent present (except
the Russians) was dispatched to assist the Shahs forces in
suppressing the uprising. Over 2,000 civilians were killed,
along with 509 of the Shahs soldiers. Allied Talent reports
from the conflict noted that several unknown Tudeh Talents were detected during the riots, but none were captured.
Despite these distractions, the Big Three managed to
come to terms on several secret matters, including Stalins
promise to fight Japan after Germanys defeat, an agreement to
declare war on Bulgaria if it invaded neutral Turkey, and the
date, time and size of the Anglo-American invasion of Europe.
December 1, 1943
Der Seefahrer Is Put to Death
219
January 3, 1944
The Russians Enter Poland
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January 4, 1944
Operation: Carpetbagger
A huge airborne and Talent operation codenamed Carpetbagger was enacted to supply resistance groups within occupied countries with the weapons and equipment necessary
to fight the Axis in preparation for D-Day.
Large groups of partisans in the Netherlands, Italy,
Belgium, Poland, France and Yugoslavia were supplied by
airdrop and teleporters with over 50,000 tons of equipment, weapons and medical supplies. The flights and Talent
transport would continue for fourteen months, reaching
the point where field artillery pieces and even small vehicles
were dropped by aircraft to the rebels.
Under General Alphonse Juin, men of the French expeditionary force crossed the Rapido river just south of German
positions at the Gustav line.
Despite bad weather, low morale, and limited supplies,
this advance restored the Allies faith, and renewed the push
in Italy.
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Eniwetok
After intense sea and air bombardment, a force of U.S. Marines and Army Soldiers invaded the Eniwetok Atoll in the
Marshall Islands. Distinguishing himself, the U.S. Marine
Talent Captain Peter Whippet Murphy (a veteran of Guadalcanal) captured the Japanese command post on Engbei
and nearly single-handedly secured the air base there. He
received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
After four days of hard fighting, the island was secured.
Nearly 4,000 Japanese were killed at the cost of only 400
American lives. Eniwetok was the first Japanese pre-war
possession to fall into the hands of the Allies.
After relentless air and sea attacks, Japanese forces permanently abandoned the airfields at Rabaul, effectively eliminating
the base as a threat to Allied interests in the area. Cut off, the
91,000 Japanese were pounded by carrier and ground based
aircraft, flying more than 29,000 sorties over the island.
Despite these hardships, the tenacious Japanese would
hang on for more than a year before surrendering.
March 4, 1944
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March 7,
1944
April 3, 1944
Budapest Burns
Operation U-Go
April 8, 1944
The Crimea Push
Soviet forces under General Tolbukhin assaulted the remaining German forces on the Crimean peninsula, to prevent
them from escaping by sea. Behind-the-line attacks by Soviet
Talents disrupted the frontal defense of the German Seventeenth Army, causing a complete collapse in their line. Before
the tide could be stemmed, the Soviets pushed the 200,000
Germans into a pocket at Sevastopol, and split the Germans
into three small groups with their backs to the sea.
Stalin himself promoted Tolbukhin to GeneralPolkovnik for this dramatic advance.
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Three days later, Soviet sea forces intercepted several
Axis transports carrying more than 15,000 men as they
attempted to cross the gulf of Karkintski. The Crimea was
secure and the German Seventeenth Army was no more.
After pelting the area around the Liri valley with relentless
air and artillery attacks, the Allies advanced towards the
beachhead at Anzio. Frontal attacks on the Gustav line by
British Commonwealth troops met deadly resistance, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides.
While this bloody battle went on at the river Gargiliano, French troops swept around Mount Ausoni and threatened to turn the flank of the Gustav line. By the eighteenth,
the Germans began an orderly retreat towards Rome.
After five days of close combat in the mountains surrounding the Monastery at Cassino, the Polish Fifth Division
arrived at the front door of the abbey, having completely
broken the German defenses there.
After a brief discussion with the leader of the Benedictine monks and a short blessing, soldiers raised the Polish
flag on the peak of Monte Cassino alongside the cross.
June 3, 1944
A Careful Retreat
June 4, 1944
One Up, Two to Go
June 5, 1944
Premiere of the Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress, Americas first pressurized longrange bomber, had its premiere in a raid on Bangkok on this
date. This new type of aircraft could fly higher, farther and
faster than any American bomber before it.
Seventy-seven of the cutting-edge aircraft lifted off
from India; but due to technical problems and glitches in
the new planes, only seventy-two returned to Imphal after
the successful bombing run.
June 6, 1944
D-Day
June 6, 1944
British forces under Major John Howard landed in six gliders along the Caen Canal near Caen, France at 12:16 A.M.,
to seize the bridge there for the coming invasion. In an
amazing turn of luck, three gliders landed within fifty yards
of the bridge. Within minutes, Howards men had seized the
bridge at the cost of only one casualty.
At the same time, three other British gliders with the
task of securing the Orne river bridge were scattered by the
wind. One landed in the flooded Dives valley, miles away;
while another landed too far from the bridge to make a
difference. The last gliders twenty-six men assaulted their
target anyway, despite the odds.
Luckily, the Germans believed the small group was the
spearhead for a larger force, and abandoned their posts.
June 6, 1944
The Banville Battery
In a daring plan to destroy a suspected Axis 150 mm cannon battery at Banville, the British Sixth Airborne Division
was parachuted into France at 1:00 A.M. on June 6. The
plan called for a concise raid on the emplacement, but
instead of landing in their drop-zone, the force was scattered over a fifty-mile corridor due to high winds. Out of
700 men and several tons of equipment, force commander
Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway could only muster 150
men and less than 600 pounds of equipment.
Even worse, a second force set to land inside the batterys perimeter did so on schedule, before Otways men
could fully muster. Despite his trepidations, Otway ordered
his limited force into combat.
Half the British who entered the Banville battery complex died therebut the guns, which could have threatened
Allied ships, were silenced.
June 6, 1944
225
June 6, 1944
Ste.-Mre-Eglise
June 6, 1944
Pevnost Fuels Operation Rascal
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June 6, 1944
The Bombardment Begins
June 6, 1944
Pointe du Hoc
June 6, 1944
Utah Beach
June 6, 1944
Bloody Omaha and the Ten Minutes
of Hell
June 6, 1944
Sword Beach
Three miles southwest of the mouth of the Orne river, British forces landed on the beach code named Sword at 7:30
A.M. Supported by heavy tank cover, the attack was a rapid
success; and shore defenses on the beach were eliminated
within the hour.
British Talents of the First Special Service Squad
captured a gun position at Ouistreham-Riva-Bella. This
allowed the Second Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment to
surge forward and link up with British glider troops at the
Caen Canal and Orne River bridges, securing them.
Despite their successes, the force stopped short of its
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June 6, 1944
Juno Beach
June 6, 1944
Gold Beach
June 6, 1944
Cien vs. Der Flieger
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June 7, 1944
Cormorant is Killed
Captain Michael Foreman (better known as the Talent Cormorant) was killed along with nine members of his Commando team by a German shell in the small seaside town of
Banville. Banville became a staging area for Special Forces
after Cien and the British Sixth Airborne secured it on June
6. Cormorant had just arrived to coordinate his actions
with Sixth Airborne Talent Command, when a German
counter-attack began. A fragment of the German 716th Infantry Division pelted the town with an intense artillery barrage before recapturing it briefly on June 8. Cormorant was
not reported killed until four days later, when a member of
his team who survived the engagement regained consciousness on a hospital ship.
June 9, 1944
The Russians Attack Finland
June 10,
1944
Oradour-sur-Glane
In preparation for invasion and to sever the Japanese forces remaining in the South Pacific from their homeland, American Task
Force 58 opened up on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Rota
and Pagan. Among the ships in Task Force 58 was the recently
restored battleship Arizonaa survivor of the sneak attack on
Pearl Harbor. The Arizonas twelve 14-inch guns pounded
Japanese positions on Tinian while the Japanese troops garrisoned there huddled in caves, preparing for the inevitable
invasion.
Raid on Japan!
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June 18,
1944
Cherbourg Cut Off
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and Vienna). Under direct orders of Hitler, 126 flying bermenschen were transferred to Ploesti to defend it against Allied attack just weeks before the June raid. However, Allied
intelligence on the subject was limited, and the raid was
green-lighted without Talent support.
Axis fighters and Talents cut the American planes to
pieces as they bombed the oil fields. Out of the 761 aircraft,
only 367 made it successfully back to base; fifty-one more
crashed into the sea on the return home, twelve were reported missing, forty crashed on landing, eighty-seven made it
to neutral Turkey or Soviet territory; and an incredible 204
were destroyed over the target.
This enormous loss of life was the single greatest in
the history of the American Army Air Corps, and led to a
huge public backlash. Just two weeks later, General Henry
Hap Arnold, commander of the Army Air Forces, publicly apologized for the incident. Though many expected
his dismissal, it never came. The furor over the matter died
with Roosevelts announcement of the a Talent for every
plane policy on July 1. Although Roosevelts policy was
never carried out (there were not enough flying Talents to
go around), it quieted the public unrest.
The American Air Force would never bomb the oil
facilities at Ploesti again.
Operation Epsom
Attack on Army
Group Center
Seven hundred and sixty-one aircraft of the American Fifteenth Air Force lifted off from bases in Italy and North Africa to bomb the oil production facilities at Ploesti, Romania,
which produced almost half of Germanys oil. Though the
facility was damaged in over a dozen previous attacks, these
assaults failed to halt production, and only served to increase
defenses in the area.
By the time the June bombings began, Ploesti was the
third most heavily defended target in Europe (after Berlin
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July 2, 1944
The Albert Line Is Broken
Reinforced, the British XIII Corps crushed German resistance at Trasimeno, Italy, killing more than forty bermenschen in a pitched three-day battle that broke the Albert
line. Within a week, all resistance along the line crumbled.
Eighty-six bermenschen were captured or killed during the ensuing cleanup operation.
July 3, 1944
Hedgerows
July 5, 1944
Minsk Is Captured
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July 7, 1944
Caen Is Bombed, the
Canadians Move In
Members of the German government attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The conspirators (several high-ranking
politicians, officers of the Heer, and members of the
Abwehr) saw the truth of Germanys situation in the war.
Without their mad leader in the picture, most believed that
a peace could be made with the Allies. Careful steps were
taken to remove the Fhrer from power, permanently.
Led by retired General Ludwig von Beck, the conspirators planned to seize control of Berlin with the Home Army
after the deed was done. Once the fact of Hitlers death was
known, they could form an interim government to mediate
a truce with Britain and America, saving Germany from the
Red menace.
The key to the whole plot was Oberst Claus Schenk,
Count von Stauffenberg, an officer held in high esteem by the
general staff. Disfigured by a shell blast in Tunisia, Stauffenberg was above suspicion; and was one of the few with access
to the Wolfs Lair, Hitlers retreat in Rastenburg. Stauffenberg
despised Hitler; masking his true loyalties to the Heer old
guard behind a faade of loyal servitude.
On July 20, summoned to the Wolfs Lair, Stauffenberg
brought a bomb amidst the papers in his leather valise.
Once inside the large map room with Hitler, Stauffenberg was confronted with unforeseen problems. Hitlers usual
bermensch bodyguard Null was not present (he was ill with
food poisoning). In his stead, an unknown super-man stood
watch. While the Fhrer pored over maps and lectured generals, Stauffenberg made a decisionthe bomb would have to
be as close to Hitler as possible if the plan was to work.
After a short word with a co-conspirator who was then
dismissed, Stauffenberg prepared to make his final sacrifice
for Germany.
The bomb blast rocked the building in the middle of the
afternoon, instantly killing two and mortally wounding six
others. Stauffenberg and the German bermensch Sturmbannfhrer Otto Foertsch were killed instantly when the device
detonated; though Hitler was saved by a last-minute move
around the immense map table, which bore the brunt of the
explosion. With nerve damage and hearing loss, Hitler was
shaken but able to immediately return to command.
Unfortunately, assuming Hitler had been killed in the blast,
the conspiracy put their plan into action. By that evening, when
the news of Hitlers narrow escape reached Berlin, most of the
conspirators had already been rounded up by the SS.
Within weeks, after several one-sided trials, all members
of the conspiracy were dead, and Hitler was still in power.
After months of hard fighting, the U.S. Thirty-fourth Division entered the Italian town of Pisa on the edge of the
Apennines. Just days before, American forces had secured
the Italian port of Livorno, making the resupply of front
line troops in northern Italy a much easier task.
Reichskommisariat Norditalien was now nothing more
than a cluster of troops in the mountains of north Italy,
while the Allies held most areas to the south. The end for
the Axis in Italy had come.
233
August 1, 1944
Backed by Britain and America, 38,000 members of the
Polish Home Army (loyal to the Polish government in
exile in London) seized key points in Warsaw, plunging
the Nazi-held city into chaos. Combat was fierce; and with
Allied Talent support, (thanks to Pevnost and Cien), heavy
losses were inflicted on the Germans holding the town. Cien
destroyed eleven tanks on his own, while more than a dozen
Polish Talents cut a swath through the German positions in
the city, killing roughly 8,000 Germans in two weeks.
The Home Army hoped to liberate Warsaw, to give the
Polish government-in-exile a bargaining chip for the coming
Soviet invasion; but no one knew just what Stalins plans
for the country were.
Death on Tinian
August 2, 1944
August 1, 1944
234
August 8, 1944
August 3, 1944
Operation Dragoon
235
An Armistice in Finland
Soviet troops of the Second and Third Ukrainian Front under Generals Malinovsky and Tolbukhin reached the city of
Ploesti on this date, easily eliminating the German garrison
there. With the help of Romanian troops, the force freed
nearly 1,000 Allied airmen captured during the air raids on
the oil facilities surrounding the city.
Of the 120 or so bermenschen stationed there, only
twenty-five chose to remain at their posts and die there; the
rest flew back to Axis territory.
September 5, 1944
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September 4, 1944
Ploesti Falls
September 2, 1944
On the verge of total chaos, the ruling government of Bulgaria resigned. Just hours later, communist partisans rose up
and seized vital government installations as the Red Army
crossed the border. For nine days, sporadic fighting tore
through the country; but by September 14, a new pro-Soviet
government was firmly in place, backed by the Fiftieth Soviet Shock Army (composed of nearly 1,000 Soviet Talents).
Stalin had his thumb on Bulgaria, and with it firmly
under control, turned his men towards Yugoslavia and
September 8, 1944
The Deadly V-2
237
October 1, 1944
Aachen
September
20, 1944
Cien Is Killed
in Action
238
Recalled to Berlin at the request of Hitler, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel was given a choice: execution in
disgrace, or suicide and a state funeral. Implicated in the
July 20 Bomb Plot, Rommel chose suicide.
After visiting his family for the last time, Rommel
committed suicide by poison, and was given a lavish state
funeral. It was reported (but not widely believed) that Rommel died from war wounds suffered several months before
when his staff car was strafed by Allied aircraft.
Unknown to the Americans, the Japanese had prepared
extensively for a Philippine invasion. Called Sho-1, the plan
involved an enormous Japanese fleet of ships split into four
groups. One force would draw away the American task
force from the landing area, while another attacked and
destroyed the landing craft and support ships.
The plan went wrong from the start. Two Japanese
cruisers were spotted and sunk by American submarines
in the Palawan passage, north of the islands; worst of all,
Admiral Halseys command was alerted to their presence.
The next day American carrier aircraft struck, damaging the
battleships Musashi and Yamato. However, the American
Navy was not aware of the other Japanese ships in the area.
Under orders from Halsey, the U.S. ships of the Third Fleet
sailed north to engage the remaining Japanese ships, chasing the
Yamato, Musashi and Nagato, scoring devastating hits with
torpedo attacks from carrier aircraft. After hours of bomb
runs the Musashi sank with 2,399 men onboard.
Believing they had successfully drawn the Americans
away from Leyte, the Japanese sent Force C through the
Surigao Strait to intercept the landing fleet on the night of
October 25. The American Seventh Fleet was waiting for
them. The Strait was covered in American ships, including a
screen of PT torpedo boats, eleven destroyers, eight cruisers
and six battleships. As the Japanese ships came through the
strait, American attacks destroyed them in the last naval
broadside in the history of warfare. After suffering crippling
losses, the Japanese withdrew back through the strait.
The next day the Seventh Fleets spotter aircraft located
the fourth Japanese force near Cape Engano, and carrier
aircraft were launched to intercept them. The American
pilots sank three aircraft carriers and a destroyer in several
successive attacks. Japanese ships continued to steam away
as the attacks continued.
Elsewhere, trouble was brewing for the Americans.
The First Japanese Diversion Force, centered on the damaged but still operational Yamato suddenly came upon the
American landing forces at Leyte while skirting around the
San Bernardino Strait. The enormous Japanese ships immediately engaged the medium and small American destroyers
and carriers, which turned and fled, leaving behind a screen
of destroyers to cover their escape. These American destroyers fought gallantly, suffering huge losses while attempting
to hold off the Japanese juggernauts.
Alerted to the chase, Halsey disengaged from the fight
at Engano, and rushed back to the landing force. The commander of the First Japanese Diversion Force, Vice-Admiral
Kurita, sensed a trap closing around him, and left the way
he came, through the strait of San Bernardino, ending the
battle of Leyte Gulf.
This final, crippling blow to the Japanese Navy
claimed four aircraft carriers, ten cruisers, eleven destroyers and three battleships, along with over 500 aircraft.
Americas losses were much less severe, at 200 aircraft, two
destroyers, two escort carriers and one light carrier.
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November 9, 1944
Patton Steps Up
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After fierce fighting, American forces penetrated the Siegfried line, near the town of Saarlautern. The Allies seemed
poised to deliver the final blow against Germany, but Hitler
had one last ace up his sleeve.
December 4, 1944
The Beginning of the End in Burma
November 8, 1944
December 3, 1944
December 9, 1944
Blitzen
December
20, 1944
Jumping Johnny Is
Killed in Action
Scouting enemy positions
behind German lines for
bombing attacks, the British
241
The U.S. 101st Airborne and other stragglers reeling from the
German attack huddled in the French town of Bastogne, surrounded by the enemy. After the Americans repulsed several
early probes, the Germans offered Brigadier General Anthony
C. McAullife a chance to surrender the town.
McAullifes reply was one word: Nuts!
German attacks ate away at the American defenders, who
lacked food, supplies and ammunition, but somehow they held the
German tide back. Despite these hardships and the endless snow,
McAullifes men fought on, waiting for the weather to clear.
On December 25, 1944, the Talent team the Good
Time Boys arrived hours before Pattons Third Army. The
siege ended a day later when the Germans withdrew. It
was the best Christmas gift I ever got, McAullife told the
Allied press upon the Third Armys arrival.
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January 1, 1945
Attack on Army Group Center
Generalmajor Otto
Skorzeny
Skorzeny, a loyal toady of Adolf Hitler, was nonetheless a brash and daring man who completed many
seemingly impossible assignments for his leader.
Though his planned rescue of Mussolini never occurred, Skorzeny proved himself a most effective tool
for Hitler in other ways. When the July 20 bomb
attack on Hitlers life disrupted life in the Reich,
Skorzeny secured the Ministry of War in Berlin with
a detachment of SS and waited for orders.
In September 1944, Skorzeny was dispatched
on Operation Mickey Mouse, forcing the duplicitous leader of Hungary, Admiral Mikls Horthy, to
resign. Horthys secret negotiations with the Soviet
Union were cut short when he suddenly left office.
Only then did Skorzeny release Horthys son, who
the SS had been holding hostage.
Skorzenys most brash act was Operation Greif.
It failed to achieve the results he hoped for, but Greif
shook up the American command in the Ardennes
during one of the most vital moments of the war.
After the war, Skorzeny was accused by a
wartime tribunal of illegal warfare tactics in Greif,
but was acquitted. Before German civil authorities
could arrest him in 1946 for other charges, Skorzeny
disappeared. It was rumored that he escaped from
the country by teleport to South America. Reports
that Skorzeny formed the underground organization
Die Spinne (The Spider) were never proven. This
organization, part of the ODESSA secret society, supposedly ferried former SS men to the safety of third
world countries where the law could not or would
not reach them.
In his later years, amazingly, Skorzeny returned
to public life. He purchased houses in Ireland and
Spain and ran a successful import/export business
from offices in Madrid. In September 1975, when
Talents from Israels Mossad tried to snatch him from
his home in Madrid, Skorzeny proved he had not
lost his edge. With the assistance of two unidentified
Talents (likely former SS bermenschen) Skorzeny
killed three members of the Israeli team. The rest fled
before they could be captured by Spanish authorities.
Skorzeny died in 1976 in Madrid of natural causes.
January 5, 1945
Kamikaze!
January 5, 1945
The Death of the Luftwaffe
To support the rapidly dying Ardennes offensive, the Luftwaffe launched Operation: Bodenplatte (Base plate,) an
attempt to gain control of the air over Belgium. Over 1,000
aircraft and 300 flying bermenschen assaulted Allied airfields in Holland and Belgium, with only limited success.
Losing more than 400 of their planes and 150 bermenschen to the superior Allied air forces in less than a
week, the Luftwaffe was effectively hamstrung, leaving it
with a preponderance of aircraft, but almost no experienced
pilots to fly them.
January 9, 1945
In a huge attack, nearly 150,000 partisans all over Czechoslovakia rose up on January 10, completely upsetting German attempts to hold the Red Army back. The key architect
behind this plan was the Czech Talent Pevnost. He ferried
over thirty tons of weapons and equipment into the country
in the space of a month, to feed the fire. The well-armed
partisans disrupted communications, destroyed equipment
and assassinated key personnel. By January 12, the German position in Czechoslovakia, already untenable, was
infinitely worse.
The Tenth Soviet Shock Army, composed of nearly
3,000 Talents, smashed through German defenses to the
southeast of Prague. There, they would link up with a force
of nearly 12,000 Czech communists who seized an airfield
near Dubuzy. In the face of the onslaught to come, those
Germans who could flee the advancing Red Tide withdrew
towards Austria; those who could not, found themselves
boxed in, surrounded on all sides by the Soviets.
January 12,
1945
Luzon
243
After weeks of brutal combat, Chinese forces seized Namhkan from the Japanese, completely eradicating the Japanese
forces in north Burma. The Burma Road, stretching from
India to China, was finally restored.
The Big Three met again at Yalta, on the shores of the Black
Sea, to plan the disposition of the post-war world. Roosevelt
and Churchill agreed to the meeting despite warnings from
their bodyguards when Stalin refused to meet in Cairo, due to
health problems. In actuality, he wanted to dictate terms from
territory liberated by the Soviet Army, to flaunt his power on
the world stage. To the world at large, Yalta was another conference of the united Allied powers; but in truth, the Big Three
were neither united nor cooperative. Each had their own ideas
as to what the world should be like after the conflict ended.
Roosevelt, frail but full of fire, backed Churchill
when the leaders met in private to work out the post-war
map; only the two working in tandem could check Stalins
obstinacy. Stalin was full of his usual demands, but with the
secret agreement granting him dominion over Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania already in place, was
just grandstanding to appease his huge ego. In exchange,
Stalin agreed to affirm the Atlantic Charter in a Declaration
of Liberated Europe released to the world on February 12,
and to fight Japan once the war in Europe ended.
Poland had a special place in the mediations. After
hours of negotiations, it was decided Poland would be ruled
by a coalition of members of the Polish government-in-
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Iwo Jima
March 7, 1945
Cologne Is Captured
After days of fighting, the German forces abandoned Cologne for defensive positions further into the Reich. Secured
by the First U.S. Army, Cologne (Germanys third largest
city) was a significant victory for the Allies. Poised on the
edge of the Rhine, the Allies prepared to deal the final blow
to the forces defending Germany.
Over 200 bermenschen surrendered to the First Army
as it took the town, eager to avoid the fighting to the east.
across the Kyll river in Germany. Four members of Pattons Talents died in the combat, but berkommando 101
was destroyed in a battle that leveled three city blocks.
The Germans destroyed the bridge across the Kyll before
the Good Time Boys could disarm the explosives on it, momentarily causing Patton to pause in his push across the Rhine.
March 3, 1945
The Soviets
Enter Austria
March
30, 1945
245
April 1, 1945
Okinawa
This island, the largest in the Ryukyu chain, was the final
stepping-stone to the Japanese Home Islands. Seen by the
Allied command as a testing ground for Majestic, the
planned invasion of Japan, Okinawa was just as vital to
the Japanese, who saw it as the last chance to defend their
homeland from direct Allied assault.
The immense Allied fleet of more than 1,500 vessels
anchored off the west coast of the island, and landed their
troops at 8:30 A.M. on April 1, after five days of bombardment and suffering more than two weeks of Kamikaze
attacks. U.S. Marine and Army groups rapidly moved
inland, seizing Kadena and Yontan airfields with minimal
resistance. The next day the Americans cut Okinawa in two
by pushing to Heanna on the east coast of the island. After
a few days of consolidation, American forces turned north
and south.
The Japanese retreated to the heavily fortified Shuri
line, and on April 4, the American forces came face to face
with the defenses the enemy had prepared. For nine days,
Army and Marine troops battled to capture cave complexes
riddled with Japanese command posts and machine gun
nests. Artillery was brought up to pound the Shuri line,
and hundreds of mortars, riflemen and even naval cannons
picked at the Japanese defenders. By May 29, their defense
was failing. On July 2, the fighting on the island ended,
with nearly every Japanese soldier on the island dead (only
a handful of survivors surrendered).
More than 107,000 Japanese and 8,000 Americans
died on Okinawa, one of the most brutal battles ever waged
in the history of warfare. America now had the perfect staging ground to mount the invasion of Japan.
April 2, 1945
The Death of Army Group B
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A Carpenters Son
April 7, 1945
Sink the Yamato
The huge battleship Yamato, dispatched on a suicide mission to destroy the U.S. invasion fleet at Okinawa, was
engaged and sunk by U.S. warplanes on this date. Ten torpedoes and five bombs struck the ship, causing it to list, roll
and sink, taking 2,500 men to the bottom in minutes.
April 9, 1945
The Soviets Push Through Vienna
President Roosevelt, in poor health for months and suffering from a severe lack of rest, took to his cottage in Warm
Springs, Georgia for a short vacation. Attempts to arrest his
deteriorating health with Talent powers failed (the British
Talent Nightingale was even brought into the country in
May, with little effect).
The Death of
Sixth SS Panzer
Even on vacation, the President remained in constant
contact with Washington, but tried, at his wifes request, to
take some time for himself. At 8:49 P.M., Roosevelts personal adjutant Major Lloyd Feit (better known to the world as
the British Talent Bulldog), went to fetch the President some
aspirin for a headache. When he returned, he found the
President dead of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
Vice President Harry Truman was sworn in as President immediately. The news spread around the globe,
reaching even the front lines in just a matter of hours, and
the world paused for a moment. One of the guiding forces
of the Allies, a man who held the Presidency of the United
States longer than any other person, was dead at 63, just
weeks before victory was achieved in Europe.
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Dachau Is Liberated
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May 6, 1945
Germany Surrenders
Near Wismar, Germany, nearly 2,000 Soviet Talents of the Sixteenth Shock Army surrendered to the Second British Army as political refugees. The
Talents (many of whom were of Jewish, Polish or Ukrainian
descent) claimed that the NKVD and its murderous policies
against Talents in the Soviet Union precluded their safe return
home. Tensions mounted as the British commander accepted,
at least for the time being, the Talents plea, refusing a Russian officer passage into the British sector.
Prime Minister Churchill, already incensed with Stalins
stubborn lack of cooperation and respect for the West, accepted the Talents plea for asylum. This acceptance caused a mass
defection in the Soviet Talent population in Western Europe.
Between July 15 and August 1, nearly 5,000 Soviet Talents
fled to American or British sectors to escape the NKVD.
Stalin was furious. Huge turnovers in the ranks of the
Red Army occurred, spurred on by NKVD purges. Soviet
Talents were suddenly recognized for heroism and promoted,
or publicly executed for treason. After a few bloody weeks
dubbed Red July by the press, the defections stopped.
Ever insistent, Stalin demanded the return of his Talents, but both Truman and Churchill refused. Just months
President Harry Truman was thrust into the world of international politics at one of the most significant conferences of
the warthe Potsdam conference. Potsdam, a ruined suburb
of Berlin, became the meeting place for the men who would
determine the fate of post-war Germany and inadvertently
the fate of the world. They were an unexpected lot. Truman
replaced President Roosevelt after his sudden death; and Prime
Minister Clement Attlee had ousted Churchill in the British
elections. Only one from the Big Three remained: Josef Stalin.
To make matters worse, several thousand Soviet
Talents had defected to the west a day before, causing tension on the borders of the American, British, French and
Russian occupation zones. Truman and Attlee met on July
16 and conferred while waiting for Stalin to arrive. They
agreed that Stalin had to be checked before he could absorb
Greece, and that the Russian Talents would not be returned.
On July 17, Truman received word that the first test of
the American atomic bomb had been an unqualified success.
Confidant that he held all the cards, Truman settled in to
discuss the disposition of
post-war Europe with Attlee
and Stalin. The conversation
did not go well.
Stalin demanded the return of his Talents, and made
vague threats insinuating
another war in Europe was
just beginning. Hoping to cajole the leader with threats of
his own, Truman informed
Stalin of the bomb, expecting
some sort of reaction, but
he got none. Stalins web of
spies informed him of the weapon months before.
For six days the talks centered around the possession of
the refugees, and not the reconstruction of Europe. Finally,
on July 22, Stalin agreed to the disposition of Europe as
worked out at the Yalta conference, bid farewell to the two
leaders and promptly left. The Potsdam conference was at
an end. Soviet troops took up heightened watch on their
borders in the occupation zone and began randomly harassing foreign travelers in their territory. All cooperation with
outside forces ended abruptly, although the Soviets allowed
the British, French and American troops to enter and occupy the agreed-upon sectors in Berlin.
A brief note from the Kremlin informed Washington on
August 2 that the Soviets would not be participating in the
war against Japan.
August 6, 1945
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
249
September 6, 1945
The Legion of Five Thousand and Israel
September
2, 1945
Japan Surrenders
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January
1, 1946
PART SIX
Dont tell them anything they dont need to know. When its over, tell them who won.
Admiral Ernest J. King on what the U.S. public should be told about the war.
This section covers a broad variety of subjects useful
for anyone running a Godlike campaign. It contains an
overview of the time Godlike is set in. Not the disposition of troops, or the movements of borders (see Part Five:
Background for more details on that kind of stuff), but the
mores and customs of a different and much less complicated
timethe 1940s of Godlike, especially in the U.S. What
was the common parlance for a grenade, a woman or an enemy soldier in the 1940s? What was life like for most in the
U.S.? Youll find these questions answered below.
Now and Then also deals with the military, but in the
social as well as martial sense. What was life like in the
Army outside of combat? The basics of life in boot camp
and beyond are covered in detail below for the benefit of
GM and players. (For further details on such matters see
Part Eight: The Campaign on p. 282.)
This section also covers the concept of Talents in the
grand sensethe public perception of them, how they are
portrayed by the press, what the life of a common Talent
is like before and after they join the military, their use in
warfare and more.
251
Military
Personnel
~20m
~ 1m
~10.8m
~180,000
Military
Losses
~7.7m
320,000
~3.6m
~6,683
Civilian
Losses
~13.5m
~6.2m
~2.4m
~3.1m
Total
Losses
~21.2m
~6.5m
~6m
~3.2m
~6m
~5m
~3.7m
~350,000
~5m
~4.6m
~16m
~4.5m
~500,000
~150,000
~800,000
~780,000
~2.3m
~680,000
~157,000
~140,000
~15,000
~1.3m
~1m
305,000
~147,435
~ 205,707
~306,213
~297,793
~279,820
~13,700
~16,357
~9,561
~39,319
~36,092
~29,395
~12,000
~9,000
~4,339
953,000
Unknown
~1.3m
~280,000
~173,260
~62,000
Unknown
~93,000
~236,300
~155,300
~75,000
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
~2.2m
>2m
~1.6m
~427,000
~ 378,967
~368,213
~300,000
~288,300
~250,000
~171,657
~85,000
~40,000
~36,092
~30,000
~12,000
~9,000
~5,000
252
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
A Note About
Public Opinion
Life in the
U.S. of A.
in the 1940s
253
Racism, sexism and religious prejudice were rampant in the U.S. in the 1940s. To disregard their
existence with a wave of the hand is to miss just how
far we have come. To pretend it never happened is
to disrespect the hard work and bloodshed of those
who made it better. As the author, I wish to say that I
believe the following sentiments are, if youll excuse
my language, just plain bullshit. However, pretending
it didnt happen wont make it any better . . .
In the 1940s, women of all races were considered
inferior, and were protected, mollycoddled and kept
away from any real labor. Certain jobs, such as
nursing or teaching, were considered acceptable; but
only until that woman married. It was commonly accepted that a womans true function was having and
raising children. Women who pursued careers in other
fields were subject to open ridicule, discrimination
and blackballing, and there was nothing they could
do about it. Above all, except in special circumstances
(like in the Office of Strategic Services) women never
fought, at least not in the United States though
China, the Soviet Union and various resistance groups
utilized women troops to great effect. Women in the
western world may have worked as nurses at aid stations and manned coastal guns at ports which never
saw action, but they were never permitted near the
real thick of it. They were prizes, things to be protected. Above all, to most men, they were not and could
not be trusted with tasks of any great importance.
Racism was far more rampant and all-encompassing than we can possibly imagine now. Despite
the fact that Judaism is a religion that has followers
from every ethnic background, Jews were classified
254
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The Sleeping
Giant
255
Selective Service
Early in the European conflict, the eyes of American government watched with growing alarm as the Germans swept
across the continent. Unfortunately, the public didnt
become concerned about it until much later.
In response to public outcry and governmental urgings, Congress authorized a huge expansion of the armed
forces. On September 16, 1940, President Roosevelt signed
the Selective Service Act into law. Under this new law, men
between the ages of 21 and 35 were required to register
with the government to be called upon in the event of war.
By July 1941, 17,000,000 eligible men had registered.
Pearl Harbor
Training
Basic Training
256
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Great War. Soldiers were trained with inadequate or antique equipment (sometimes without any equipment at all),
and were taught to fight either a static-front war (like the
trench warfare of the Great War), or in a dim and poorly
realized imitation of the German blitzkrieg. The implications of the Germans lightning war were still not fully
understood by American commanders at the time of the
Pearl Harbor attack.
By the later half of 1942, a wave of modernization
swept the American armed forces, and basic training became a much more efficient and effective process.
Dozens of highly specialized skills were taught to
soldiers during basic training, including: how to use and
maintain equipment in the field, map reading, marking and
artillery sighting, hygiene in the field, aircraft recognition,
radio protocol, concealment, first aid, and dealing with
POWs, booby traps, civilians and more.
In seventeen weeks, citizens were converted to effective
and competent soldiers.
In the U.S. Army, Talents, for the most part, were members of special commando units called Talent Operation
Groups or TOGs. For more information on TOG training, equipment and skills see Part Nine: TOG Commando
Squads on p. 296.
Boot camp for the U.S. Army was a series of strictly regimented phases of training. Personal time was limited to a
few minutes before and after lights out; past that it was
work, work, work. After boot camp, things often shifted to
the opposite end of the spectrum.
Troops waiting for deployment or assignment often
had nothing but personal time. Commanders did their best
to keep the troops occupied by calling impromptu marching
drills, random work details and other pointless activities,
but often it just degenerated into a waiting game.
Once deployed, life in the U.S. Army truly began for the
common foot soldier. While many soldiers in the Army never
lived in the field, those that did soon discovered a completely
new way of living. Most nights were spent in foxholes or
other handmade contrivances to avoid the weather and enemy fire. When nature called, it was answered in slit trenches
or latrines. Food was ferried to the front on foot along with
ammunition and any news to be had.
The Media
In the 1940s, the media in all its forms played a huge role
in the war on both sides of the conflict. Newsmen, photographers, radiomen, animators, and motion picture directors
did as they were instructed to by their government, and not
257
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
just this one instance, Allied analysts were quite happy with
the efficiency of Hitlers lie machine.
Popular Entertainment
Talents
Talents are the real force that drives the world of Godlike.
Though their powers are limited, and they effect few major
changes in the war, their importance is not to be underestimated. During the war years, nearly everything dealt with
Talents in one way or another. They represented the best
and the worst mankind had to offer.
259
260
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Slang
Dame: A woman.
Digger, Aussie: An Australian.
261
Jack: Money.
Jumping Jesus: An Army priest in a paratrooper unit.
Jap, Nip, Slant, Slope, Yellow Bastard: A Japanese soldier.
Palooka: An idiot.
Pecker Checker, Penis Machinist: An Army doctor.
Pill Roller, Pill Pusher: Medical corps soldier, field medic.
Pineapple: A nickname for the M2A1 Hand Grenade.
Pin Up: A publicity shot of a beautiful woman, usually a
movie star.
Poof: To teleport.
Popper: A teleporter.
POW: Prisoner of War.
Pull Rank: To force someone of lower rank to follow
orders.
Pull a Jap: To surprise or startle.
Prop Jockey: Pilot.
Propless Wonder: A Talent who can fly.
PX: Post Exchange, an army mercantile store.
262
PART SEVEN
The devastating accuracy of this gunfire was the most beautiful sight I have ever witnessed.
U.S. Naval observer at Surigao Strait
A Note On Firearms
Listed Ranges
Penetration Listings
263
Reloading Times
264
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
A Note On Mines
Axis Weapons
For much of the war the Axis enjoyed an arsenal of weaponry superior to the Allies. German tanks were nearly invulnerable to Allied anti-tank methods early in the war, while
the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero was the fastest and most
maneuverable aircraft flying during the first years of the
conflict in the Pacific.
These innovations came at great cost. Because of these
innovations, the Axis failed to keep up with the production
of the far more productive Allies, who stuck to several tried
and true designs for all their weaponry. Axis weaponry was
often over-complicated and ill conceived for use in the field.
When it did work, it worked marvelously; when it didnt,
designers often went back to the drawing board. Valuable
production time was consumed building replacement parts
or re-tooling flawed products.
In the end, Axis technology defeated itself.
For much of the Second World War, the Third Reich had
access to some of the most advanced weapons technology
on the planet. Jet aircraft, guided missiles, assault rifles
and night vision goggles were all created by the scientists
of Nazi Germany to aid the Axis war machine. But these
significant advancements failed to make a major impact on
the war. The double snafu of political bureaucracy and poor
deployment eliminated any edge these (often breakthrough)
technologies had on the battlefield.
Arguably, the most significant advancement in warfare,
the man-portable anti-tank rocket, was created by Germany
as well. Its use among all the armed forces of the world
effectively ended (or at least lessened) the reign of the tank
over the infantryman.
Cartridge Types
Several different cartridges were used by the German military during the war, each with its own special characteristics. To determine the Penetration or other special qualities
of an individual weapon please consider the following
chart, and compare it to the type of ammunition used by
the weapon in question. Add the modifiers to the base damage of the weapon.
For ease of reference, tank and artillery rounds are
included here as well.
Extra
Damage*/Penetration/Area Rating
7.92 mm
7.92 mm Mauser
7.92 sS
0/0/0
0/0/0
+1/1/0
0/0/0
+1/0/0
+1/0/0
+1/2/+Burn
13mm Sg
+1/0/1+Burn
15mm Pp
+2/2/0
(Pp: Panzergranaten-Patrone)
20 mm Pp
+2/2/0
(Pp: Panzergranaten-Patrone)
37 mm
+2/4/3
47 mm APCNR
+2/7/3
50 mm APCR
+3/8/4+Burn
75 mm APCR
+4/8/6+Burn
76 mm
+4/7/5+Burn
88 mm APCR
+8/8/8+Burn
105 mm (4.134 Inch)
+8/8/8+Burn
149 mm (5.87 Inch)
+10/9/10+Burn
175.2 mm (6.79 Inch)
+12/9/10+Burn
210.9 mm (8.3 Inch)
+14/10/10+Burn
238 mm (9.37 Inch)
+17/10/10+Burn
35.5 cm (14 Inch)
+20/10/10+Burn
* This extra damage is killing damage, applied to living
targets only.
Penetration ratings listed are for close range of each
particular weapon against steel plate.
German Pistols
Ammo
9mm Para
9mm Para
9mm Short
9mm Short
Cap.
8
8
8
7
Weight
(lbs.)
2.5
4.5
1.5
1.25
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
16/32
16/32
14/30
13/29
German Carbines
7.92 SmK
9mm Short
9mm
9mm Parabellum
13 mm PbG
+1/1/0
7.92 mm MkP
0/0/0
+1/2/0
265
German Rifles
Slow
1
1
1
Ammo
7.92mm
7.92mm
7.92mm
Weapon
MP 18
MG 34
MG 42
MG 26(t)
MG 30 (t)
MG 37 (t)
Spray
Rating
2
4
6
2
2
2/3
MG 15
MG 81
MG 131
4
MG 151
3
MG 151/20 3
*
Weight
Ammo
Cap. (lbs.)
9mm
32
9.2
7.92mm
50/75* 25.4
7.92mm
50*
25.4
7.92mm
20
19.8
7.92mm
20
21.3
7.92mm
100
80.3
Mauser
/200*
7.92mm
75
32.5
Mauser
7.92mm
50/75* 16.6
Mauser
13mm PbG 250* 45.1
15mm Pp 250* 84.4
20mm Pp 250* 85.5
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
22/104
200/2000
200/2000
200/1550
200/2000
200/2500
200/2500
180/1500
250/2750
300/3000
300/3000
Capacity is by belt.
Capacity is by magazine.
Spray
Rating
2
2
3
1
2
Ammo
9mm
9mm
9mm
9mm
9mm
Cap.
32
32
32
32
32
Weight
(lbs.)
9.2
11
10.4
8.75
9.2
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
22/104
22/104
23/106
25/110
20/100
Penetration/Area
Weapon
Rating
Panzerfaust Tank Fist 30 7/8
Panzerfaust Tank Fist 60 7/8
Panzerfaust Tank Fist 100 7/8
Weight
(lbs.)
4.75
4.75
4.75
266
The Raketenpanzerbchse was a German copy of the American Bazooka, samples of which were captured in North
Africa early in the war. Unlike the Panzerfaust, the Panzerschreck and Raketenpanzerbchse were reusable weapons,
and could be fired many times before replacement.
Weight
(lbs.)
32
24.25
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
90/180
90/160
German Grenades
Penetration/
Area Rating
6/8
6/8
4.4
3/5
41.2kg 10/25
6/6
6.6
Hand Placed
15/30
1.1
22/34
480g
35/55
165g
15/30
2/4
230g
25/50
6/8
1470g 7/14
Panzerhandmine
Hand Placed
Slow/Pen./
Area Rating
3.7 cm Pak 35/36
3/4/3+Burn
5 cm Pak 38
3/8/4+Burn
7.5 cm Pak 40*
3/8/6+Burn
7.5 cm Pak 411
3/8/4+Burn
FK 16 nA
3/8/6+Burn
8.8 cm Flak 18
3/8/8+Burn
10.5 cm LeFH 18
4/8/8+Burn
10.5 cm K 18
4/8/8+Burn
15 cm schwere Fh18 4/9/10+Burn
15 cm Kanone 39
4/9/10+Burn
21 cm Mrs 18
5/10/10+Burn
24 cm Kanone 3
5/10/10+Burn
35.5 cm Haubitze M.1 6/10/10+Burn
Ammo
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
37mm
550/7,665
50mm
250/2,900
75mm
600/8,500
75mm
500/1,000
75mm
1,400/14,080
88mm
1,000/8,080
105mm 1,500/13,478
105mm 2,000/20,880
149mm 1,300/14,570
149mm 3,000/27,000
210.9mm 1,600 /18,237
238mm 10,000/41,000
35.5cm 2,200/22,000
Panzerhandgranate
(Tank Hand Grenade)
Hafthohlladung 3
Brandhandgranate 48
Width in Killing+Burn
Stielhandgranate 24 3/4
(Stick Hand Grenade)
Handgranate 43
3/4
German Mines
Mines were employed to great effect after the Allied invasion of France to slow the advance of the Allied forces.
Many large German anti-tank mines were deadly and could
stop even the strongest Allied tanks.
Einhandgranate 39
Geballte Ladung
(Big Charge)
German Mortars
German Artillery
Weight
(lbs.)
30.8
125
*
*
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
150/569
500/2,625
750/3.882
1000/5,140
9.6
13
Anti-Tank Mine
Anti-Tank Mine
Area
Rating
Flammenwerfer 34
4+Burn
Flammenwerfer 40
5+Burn
Flammenwerfer 41
5+Burn
Einstossflammenwerfer 46 3+Burn
Shots Weight
(lbs.)
6*
79.2
4*
47.9
10* 48.4
1
6.1
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
19/33
20/35
20/35
25/30
one-round bursts
one use, disposable
Weight
(kg)
Designation
.5
Anti-Personnel Mine
6
Anti-Tank Mine
German Flamethrowers
Penetration/Area
Weapon
Rating
Spring Mine
1/2
Tellermine 29
9/9
(Dish Mine)
Tellermine 35
9/9
Schwere Panzermine 10/10
(Heavy Tank Mine)
267
German Tanks
268
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Hetzer (Baiter)
# of Crew: 8.
No Armor or Guns.
Maximum Speed: 45 mph
Passengers: 3 troops.
Weight: 1,450 lbs.
Kraftfahrzeug 2
# of Crew: 1.
Kraftfahrzeug 15
No Armor or Guns.
Maximum Speed: 55 mph
Passengers: 4 troops.
Weight: 2.65 tons.
# of Crew: 1.
Daimler-Benz G5
No Armor or Guns.
Maximum Speed: 55 mph
Passengers: 3 Troops.
Weight: 3 tons.
# of Crew: 1.
Cartridge Types
Several different cartridges were used by the Japanese military during the war, each with its own special characteristics. To determine the Penetration or other special qualities
of an individual weapon please consider the following
chart, compare it to the type of ammunition used by the
weapon in question, and add the modifiers to the base damage of the weapon.
For ease of reference, tank and artillery rounds are
included here as well.
# of Crew: 1.
# of Crew: 1.
No Armor or Guns.
Maximum Speed: 50 mph
Passengers: 4 troops.
Weight: 2 tons.
Volkswagen Kbel
269
Spray
Rating
4
Cap.
6
8
8
6
Weight
(lbs.)
1.52
1.72
1.75
2.14
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
11/27
13/30
15/35
16/35
Japanese Rifles
Ammo
6.55mm
6.55mm
6.55mm
7.7mm
7.7mm
Cap.
5
5
5
5
5
Weight
(lbs.)
9.25
7.25
9.25
9.25
6.75
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
220/900
50/150
250/1000
220/900
250/1000
*This is the sniper rifle version of the Carbine type 38, and
was equipped with a snipers sight.
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Japanese Pistols
Weapon
94 Shiki Kenju
Nambu Pistol
Nambu Model 14
Model 26 Revolver
Ammo
8mm
Weapon
Type
11Nambu
Type 96
Model 99
Model 92
Model 93
Spray Ammo
Rating
2
6.5 mm
Cap.
30
3
4
3
2
30
30
47/97
30
20
20
39
87
6.5 mm
7.7 mm
7.7 mm
13.2 mm
200/2,000
210/2,000
200/1,700
200/3,600
The Japanese employed an anti-tank rifle that was relatively useless against anything other than light tanks and armored vehicles.
Their anti-tank grenade however, was a copy of the very effective
German anti-tank grenade, the Gewehr Panzergranate.
Japanese Grenades
Japanese Mortars
Japanese Mines
Anti-Personnel Mine
Anti-Tank Mine
Anti-Tank Mine
Anti-Tank
/Anti-Structure Mine
Slow/Pen./Area
Weight
Weapon
Rating
(lbs.)
50 mm Light Mortar Type 10 1/2/3
9.5
50 mm Mortar Type 98
1/6/6
48
50 mm Light Mortar Type 89 1/3/3
10.9
70 mm Mortar Model 11
2/3/3
133.8
70 mm Battalion Gun Type 92 2/7/5+Burn 468
81 mm Model 97
2/4/5+Burn 145
Light Trench Mortar
81 mm Model 99
2/4/4+Burn 52
90 mm Model 94
2/8/9+Burn 340
150 mm Model 93
3/9/9+Burn 220
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
20/175
40/350
75/711
100/1,000
500/2,000
100/3,100
Carbine
220/2,200
350, 4,150
250/2,400
Japanese Tanks
Japanese Artillery
Area
Shots Weight
Rating
(lbs.)
2+Burn 6*
61
Portable
Flamethrower 93
Portable
3+Burn 10*
Flamethrower 100
* one-round bursts
55
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
10/25 yards
25/30 yards
Designation
Japanese Flamethrowers
Slow/Pen./Area
Weapon
Rating
Type 98 20mm
/2/0 (Spray
Machine Cannon
2)
47mm Anti-Tank Gun
2/6/3+Burn
Type 1
75mm Field Gun
3/7/6+Burn
Type 38
Type 88 75mm
3/7/6+Burn
Anti-Aircraft Gun
Weight
(lbs.)
2
10.5
2
10
271
Allied
Weapons
America utilized fewer weapon types than many other countries in the war. This was because America had a centralized
production base, and hoped to produce as many weapons
in as short a time as possible. Several preferred designs
were settled upon, and produced in vast quantities. (Certain
specialized weapons, like the UD M42 submachine gun,
were produced only in limited runs however.) America also
manufactured huge amounts of weaponry for Britain and the
Soviet Union. Almost every type of American weapon was
likely to be found in use by those armies as well-all over the
world.
Cartridge Types
American Pistols
Ammo
.45 M1911A
Automatic Pistol
Smith and Wesson
Revolver
Liberator M1942*
.45 Ball
.380 SAA 6
Ball
.45 Ball 1
19/36
5/20
or 30-round box
American Rifles
Often preferred by U.S. troops over the far more common M1 Carbine, the Springfield and Garand were wildly
effective weapons, with huge ranges and high marks for
reliability. They were far more accurate than the shorter
barreled M1 Carbine.
272
2.5
American Carbines
Carbine
Slow Ammo
M1903A1
1
.30
Springfield
(7.62 mm)
.30 Cal M1
.30
8
Garand
(7.62 mm)
Americas premier submachine gun, the finely made Thompson or Tommy Gun, was deadly accurate in its fire and
could pepper an area with fifty rounds at a moments notice.
Its inferior cousin, the M3 Grease Gun was a rattletrap
made of stamped steel parts that was hard to maintain,
reload and fire properly.
When troops couldnt get their hands on a Thompson,
they settled for the M3 or UD M42.
M3 Grease Gun 2
M1 Thompson 1/3
UD M42
0/3
.45 or
9mm
.45
9mm
30
12/100
20/30/50 12.1
20
10
25/100
15/100
American machine guns varied in size from the man-portable Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) to the devastating .50
inch tripod mounted Browning machine gun. Their uses in
warfare ranged from infantry support to anti-aircraft and
even anti-light armor roles.
Spray
Rating Ammo
BAR
0/2/3 .30 (7.62 mm) 20 21.5
Browning 0/1/2 .30
250 23
.30 M4
(7.62 mm)
Browning 1/3
.50 AP
110 84
.50 M2
(12.7 mm)
109/875
250/875
500/2,400
Slow/Pen./
Area Rating
3/5/7
3/6/7
400/3000
Weapon
American Grenades
American Mortars
Slow/Pen./Area
Rating
1/2/3
2/6/8
3/8/8
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
100/1,985
100/3,290
150/4,400
American Artillery
Range (yds.)
Ammo
Close/Max
76.2mm
200/10,400
(3 Inch)
90mm
200/10,600
(3.54 Inch)
105 mm Howitzer 1/7/8+Burn 105mm
300/12,500
M2A1
(4.134 Inch)
155 mm Gun M1 2/9/9+Burn 6.1 Inch
200/25,900
(155mm)
8 Inch Howitzer M1 3/10/10+Burn 8 Inch
500/18,500
(203mm)
American Flamethrowers
Weight
(lbs.)
42
136
149.7
273
Weight
Shots (lbs.)
8*
61
10* 70
8*
72
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
15/30
20/50
15/40
M4 (105) Sherman
M4 A1 (76) W Sherman
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
M4 Sherman Jumbo
American Tanks
# of Crew: 4.
For ease of reference, tank and artillery rounds are
included here as well.
British Pistols
Britain and its commonwealth of countries (India, Australia, South Africa and Canada) were hard pressed at the beginning of the war to meet the needs of the growing conflict
with the Axis. Many of their weapons were out of date, or
soon would be, and in all but air and sea power, it seemed
Britain was lagging behind its enemies.
With the boost of the Lend-Lease program, Britain
enjoyed an increase in production and modernization. Their
contribution to the war effort was marked with innovative
designs in everything from submachine guns and carbines to
tanks and aircraft.
Enfield #2 Mk 1
Revolver
Webley Mk 4
.380 SAA Ball 6
Revolver
Smith and Wesson .380 SAA Ball 6
Revolver
19/36
2.5
19/36
Ammo
1.7
British Carbines
Weapon
Cartridge Types
Ammo
275
British Rifles
British rifles were behind the times when the war began.
Both of Britains major designs were bolt-action, and suffered from many other problems as well. The No. 5 Mk 1
rifle for example, had a sight that tended to wander, a
terrible recoil, and was hard to maintain. A great number of
British troops utilized American rifles due to the cantankerous nature of the British bolt-action guns.
Weapon
220/900
PIAT
9.57
15/100
9 mm 33
10.6
20/100
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.50 AP
2/3
200
Slow/Pen./
Area Rating
4/6/8
Weight
(lbs.)
35
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
100/300
Weapon
Vickers
Mk 1
Vickers
Mk 4
VickersBerthier
Vickers
G.O. Gun
Bren Gun
British Mortars
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
350/2000
Spray
Weapon
Rating
Sten
3
Submachine Gun
Lancaster
3
Submachine Gun
Owen Gun*
3
81.75
109/890
7.7mm 30
24.4
100/700
0/5
7.7mm 96
21
110/800
0/2/3
7.7 mm 30
22.8
200/1850
Slow/Pen./
Weapon
Area Rating
Ordnance ML 2 Inch Mortar
1/3/3
Ordnance ML 3 Inch Mortar
2/6/6
Ordnance SB 4.2 Inch Mortar 3/10/10
95 mm Infantry Howitzer Mk II 4/10/10
Weight
(lbs.)
9
126
1,320
2,105
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
50/100
100/2750
200/4210
500/6000
British Artillery
British field guns and heavy artillery enjoyed a good reputation for their resilience, accuracy and rate of fire.
British Flamethrowers
British Tanks
For a large portion of the war, British tanks were inferior to the
German panzers. In combat, British tank victories were only
achieved through superior numbers, the use of anti-tank guns
or by firing at the enemys flanks. Later in the war, British tanks
such as the Challenger and the Crocodile proved more effective
in combat, and could defeat even the best German tanks.
Mk 1 Matilda
Infantry Tank Mk IV
Churchill
Armor Ranges: 1 to 0 cm
Heavy Armor Rating: 1 to
0 Guns: 40 mm cannon (Width+5 Killing, Area
3, Penetration 3) and one
Vickers Mk 1 machine gun
(Width+2, Spray 0/2).
Maximum Speed: 40 mph
# of Crew: 3.
Weight: 8.4 tons.
Cruiser Tank Mk VI
Crusader
Armor Ranges: 4 to 1 cm
Heavy Armor Rating: 4 to 1
Guns: 40 mm cannon (Width+5 Killing, Area 3, Penetration 3)
and two Vickers Mk 1 machine guns (Width+2, Spray 0/2).
Maximum Speed: 27 mph
# of Crew: 3.
Weight: 22.12 tons.
Armor Ranges: 8 to 2 cm
Heavy Armor Rating: 7 to 2
Guns: 75 mm cannon (Width+7 Killing, Area 4+Burn,
Penetration 7).
Maximum Speed: 27 mph
# of Crew: 5.
Weight: 30.9 tons.
Armor Ranges: 15 to 2 cm
Heavy Armor Rating: 9 to
2 Guns: 75 mm cannon
(Width+7 Killing, Area
4+Burn, Penetration 7) and
one Vickers Mk 1 machine
gun (Width+2, Spray 0/2)
or 95 mm Infantry Howitzer* (Width+2 Killing, Area
10+Burn, Penetration 10).
Maximum Speed: 12.5 mph
# of Crew: 5.
Weight: 44.8 tons.
* A variant design, the Churchill Crocodile, carried a
flamethrower instead of cannon, capable of projecting Area
7+Burn at more than 80 yards.
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The British built Archer tank destroyer was a modification of the Valentine Infantry Tank, altered to carry the
17 pound 76 mm cannon. This gun was mounted facing
the rear so the vehicle could rapidly retreat from ambush
situations. Due to its low silhouette, the Archer enjoyed a
successful and effective service career.
Archer
# of Crew: 1.
No Armor or Guns.
Maximum Speed: 45 mph
Passengers: 7 troops.
Weight: 2.35 tons.
# of Crew: 1
Cartridge Types
# of Crew: 1.
278
# of Crew: 1.
Nagant Revolver
Weight
Ammo
Cap. (lbs.)
.30 Inch
8
1.8
(7.62 mm)
.30 Inch
6
2
(7.62 mm)
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
20/40
18/36
Soviet Rifles
300/950
Spray
Weight
Weapon
Rating Ammo
Cap. (lbs.)
PPD
4
.30 Inch
71
12.54
1934/38
(7.62 mm)
PPSh-41
4
.30 Inch
71
11.90
(7.62 mm)
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
23/106
25/110
Spray
Weapon
Rating Ammo
Cap.
Degetyerev 2
.30 Inch
100
28
(7.62 mm)
SG 43
2/3
.30 Inch
50
(7.62 mm)
SGM
3
.30 Inch
50
(7.62 mm)
DShK 1938 3
.05 Inch AP 50
(12.7 mm)
250/1050
30.5
300/1100
73.5
500/2,400
The Soviets lacked a reliable method for eliminating German tanks. Their anti-tank rifles often failed to even penetrate enemy tank armor, and their anti-tank grenades were
unwieldy and difficult to use.
The most common and sought-after anti-tank weapon
was the Panzerfaust or Panzerschreck. With huge numbers
of these weapons captured by Soviet forces, they were used
against the Germans to great effect.
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
220/900
Soviet Carbines
Weapon
Mosin Nagant
Model 1938
Weight
Weapon
Slow Ammo
Cap. (lbs.)
M N 1891/30 1
.30 Inch 5
8.8
(7.62 mm)
Tokarev SVT38 1
.30 Inch 10 8.58
(7.62 mm)
Soviet Pistols
Weapon
Tokarev TT-33
279
Weapon
Pen./Area Ammo
Weight Range (yds.)
Rating
(lbs.)
Close/Max
PTRD-41 2/1
14.5 mm AP 38.1
50/547
(0.57 Inch)
PTRS-41 2/1
14.5 mm AP 38.1
50/547
(0.57 Inch)
Weapon
RPG 1940*
VPGS 1940*
*
Weight
(lbs.)
4.4
5
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
10/25
25/100
Pen./Area
Rating
9/8
Range (yds.)
Weight (lbs.) Close/Max
9.60 (charge) Variable*
Soviet Mortars
Carbine
Area Rating
ROKS-2
2+Burn
* one-round bursts
Shots
8*
Weight
(lbs.)
50
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
15/50
Soviet Tanks
Soviet Flamethrowers
Weight
(lbs.)
20.5
99.2
617
Range (yds.)
Close/Max
50/875
100/3,390
300/6,562
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BA-10
281
PART EIGHT
The Campaign
I believe that if we think clearly enough, plan carefully enough, and work tirelessly enough,
we can both save freedom and secure peace.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Campaign \ (,) kam-pane\ n1: A connected series of military operations forming a distinct phase of a war.
Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.
Godlike is perhaps unusual among role-playing games
because the players portray characters actually involved in a
campaign. In role-playing games, a campaign is an ongoing series of adventures, utilizing the same characters and
backgrounds. In Godlike, a campaign is literally a series of
military operations meant to move a war forward. It is an
ongoing series of adventures with reoccurring characters as
well, but its much more rooted in the military term. The
characters fight to survive and to win minor victories that
they hope will slowly accrue into total victory. Its either
that, get injured and sent home, or die on the battlefield.
In the default campaign setting for Godlike, character
involvement in the war is on the lowest level possibleindividual members of a commando squad. Many different
styles, themes, and premises are possible, however, and remain up to the individual GM and players to decide. Several
suggestions are offered here to help you construct your own
Godlike campaign.
The Basics
The basic elements required to construct a Godlike campaign are theme, style, a campaign premise and a theater of
operations. After that, its on to building some non-player
characters for the players to interact with, and designing
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A Note About
Future Supplements
Campaign Theme
In this theme, the characters live and die like normal people.
Except for their paranormal abilities, the Talents of Godlike are just like you and me, and their powers dont help as
much as you might think. In this theme, the characters are
nothing more than expendable units of the U.S. Army. Death
is not only a possibility; in certain areas, its a probability.
This is our world, with a few modifications. A good idea of
what this theme is like can be found in movies like Saving
Private Ryan, A Bridge Too Far, or When Trumpets Fade or
the HBO series Band of Brothers.
To play a Godlike game of this type, the GM should
use the Troop Play rule (see Troop Play on p. 284 for
more details) because of the high probability of character
mortality. Talents should be built with between 15 and 25
Will points. This will put characters on even footing with
characters from realistic movies, with the added edge of a
super-power or two.
The reason this is the default theme of Godlike is very
simple: This theme fits the background of the game. In the
background presented, Talents have little large-scale effect
on the outcome of the war, despite the amazing powers they
possess. They are mortal, and very effectively cancel one
another out.
There is another more subtle reason for this being the default theme, and its this: With the background as presented,
you can readily research World War II at your local library or
the internet to incorporate new information into your game.
For the most part (with a few small exceptions) significant
events in the world of Godlike have not changed at all.
This is a hard theme to run properly. Balancing risk and
mortality against very few tangible rewards is a tricky thing,
and requires a resourceful and attentive GM. Players can
easily become upset by the loss of characters, losing hope
(and interest!) in the face of relentless gloom. On the up side,
when run correctly, such a game can almost feel like a novel,
leading to an in-depth, fun and constructive role-playing
Cinematic Adventure
In this theme, the characters are larger than life but are
neither immortal or invulnerable. In this world, they are exceptional and stand out from the rank and file, but mistakes
and character death are still very real possibilities. This is
the world of many common Hollywood war movie, such as
The Longest Day or Where Eagles Dare.
To play a Godlike game of this type, the GM should
use the optional Squishy Rolls and Die Hard rules in Appendix A: Optional Rules on p. 305 to a limited degree.
This will extend the characters in-game survivability by a
moderate degree. Also, each player should play only one
Talent character (see One for One on p. 284), since they
wont be dying as readily as characters in a realistic theme.
For a true cinematic campaign, Talents should be built with
30 to 45 Will points, putting the characters on even footing
with the larger-than-life heroes of the silver screen.
This is a middle of the road theme; good for a beginning GM. It offers the thrills of high-adventure, with the
negative reinforcement of dramatic repercussions for foolish
actions. With a little effort, the characters can be kept from
affecting the outcome of large world-spanning events, and
still have a measurable effect on their part of the war.
Four-Color Adventure
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Troop Play
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Campaign Premise
A premise answers the vital why question in a campaign. Why are the characters where they are in the game,
and what are they are they doing? A pre-made campaign
premise is outlined in Part Nine: TOG Commando Squads
on p. 296, but if it does not appeal to you feel free to make
up your own.
A strong campaign premise is one that practically requires the characters to follow it without forcing them to. A
weak premise is one that lacks direction or clear goals, and
leaves the characters looking for something to do. A strong
premise is usually completely invisible. It is so ingrained in
the game that things just move forward smoothly.
Godlikes premise is naturally strong, as the characters
are involved in a war, one way or another. However, to
work, a premise must be a
little more specific than simply the characters are fighting in a war. We know they
fight in a war, but where, for
whom and why?
There are as many
campaign premises as there
are ideas, but right off the
bat they may be a bit difficult
to come up with, especially
for a rookie GM. The war is
immense, and so are the possibilities.
The campaign provided
in this book has the following premise: The characters are Allied Talents who fight in small nine-man commando squads
in the U.S. Army as front-line scout units.
With a little practice, good premises are easy to come
up with. Here are a few campaign premises to help you
along.
The characters are . . .
Theater of Operations
Constructing
a Campaign
Choosing to be a GM is
choosing to take on a load of
responsibility out of proportion to all others in the game.
You are responsible for describing the environment, contriving the adventures, portraying the adversaries, and filling
in all the details of the world of Godlike that the characters
adventure in. In effect, you are a one-man show, who must
get the point across with very limited resources, mostly just
your voice, your facial expressions and some props. The
players pick one or a small group of characters to portray,
but you run every other character they encounter and describe everything they experience to boot. Its no easy task,
but when done right, it is infinitely rewarding. No creative
endeavor is quite like it.
Constructing a campaign is easy; getting one off the
ground is hard. Pick the four elementstheme, style, premise and theater of operationsand youve got the basics
for a good campaign. Many details remain to be filled in,
so skip to The Ongoing Game on p. 286 to fill them in, or
read on to learn some more details about running a good
game.
A campaign is helped by preparation, but no matter
how much work you put in before the group convenes that
first time, theres always the chance it will fail to gain the
players interest. Players can be a fickle lot. What entertains
one way on one day will someday no longer entertain. A
game moderator must be aware of what his players want,
and why, and that those desires differ from person to person
as well as change over time.
Preparation
Playing the game itself is the fun part. This is the point
where the GM runs the mission, dice are rolled, characters
interact with NPCs, they kill or are killed, and in general
act out the motivations of their characters in the fictional
world of Godlike.
When the session is over rewards are given out, and
players spend experience points and Will points to improve
their characters. The GM prepares another mission (if there
is another,) and next time it starts all over again.
285
Broken Rules,
Broken Game Moderator
or Broken Players?
Many games repeat the rule that the Game Moderator is always right without examining why such a
rule is important for the stability of the game. The
reason is this: Without the GMs central control and
the backing of clear game mechanics, the game will
soon degenerate into an I did that, no you didnt
mentality. The rules are there to mark a boundary
past which certain actions within the game are not
possible, nothing more. Its the players duty to push
these boundaries to their limit, just as its the GMs
duty to hold that line without being unfair.
By definition, the rules are the guidelines of
the game. They mark what you can and cant do.
They are there to keep the players in their roles and
to keep the action fair, fast and accurate. However
no rules-set is perfect. The simpler the rules-set, the
easier it is to circumvent; but the more complicated
the rules-set, the longer it takes to resolve actions. A
balance between how accurate and how complicated
you want the rules to be must be struck. Godlike is
somewhere in the center.
What happens when, in the opinion of the game
group, a rule is broken and fails to accurately represent game reality? Its up to the GM to adjudicate
such situations. This is done by repairing the rules,
and then not wavering from that decision in the
future. The players and GM work in tandem here:
The players push the rules to their limit (and sometimes beyond) and the GM hopes to keep the players
One-Shot Adventures
Campaign play is not the only way to play a game of Godlike. If you wish to just run a single mission and then call it
a day at that missions end, retiring both the characters and
the story line, this is called a one-shot adventure.
The advantages of one shot adventures are numerous.
One-shots are easy to throw together and the players are
unlikely to become too attached to their characters in just
a single adventure (this makes a big difference in case their
characters are killed). Also, seriousness can be thrown to
the wind and any type of game can be played. After all,
if you dont like it, nothing much is riding on it. If you
discard the adventure and the characters, its no big deal. In
addition, the characters can affect huge events in the game
world without fear of interfering with future history, since
after the one shot game is over, its over.
The disadvantage is that the players will not have
sufficient time to get to be comfortable in the role of their
characters.
Otherwise, one-shots are a good way for a beginning
GM and players to get into the groove of a Godlike game,
before undertaking the creation of an ongoing campaign.
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When you GM multiple Godlike adventures in a single ongoing series, this is a campaign. Campaigns feature recurring
characters and locations, and a consistent and updated description of such locations and characters as game time moves
forward. Just as the development of individual characters
remains up to individual players, the development of the game
world and the NPCs that populate it is up to the GM. For
example, a cowardly NPC might develop into a competent
battlefield commander during a series of ongoing games, or a
war-scarred town might eventually become a place grunts go
for rest and relaxation as the enemy is pushed out of it.
The responsibility of supporting the brunt of the ongoing game is placed squarely on the shoulders of the GM. It
is up to him to make the game world live.
Continuity
Player Expectations
More to the point, honestly listen to what they have to
say. Most of the time, theyre just trying to help. Even if you
disagree with what they have to say, never block a player
out (though remind him that after or before-session advice
is the best way to go about voicing such concerns).
287
Co-Stars
Non-Player Characters
Grunts
Stars
Villains
Villains are NPCs in direct opposition with the PCs and are
at least as powerful as them. Whether the villain is a German
general or a Japanese Talent makes no difference. If the NPC
is as powerful as the PCs and is in direct opposition to them,
he or she is a villain. Power need not be measured in game
statistics, if the NPC has access to significant military or
political power, he can still be counted as a villain.
In general, Villains are as detailed in their history and
personality as the PCs are, and should have an entire set of
statistics, skills and Talent powers (if any) created for them.
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The Enemy
Secondary Characters
Location
Enemy Forces
We Shall Fight
on the Beaches . . .
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Missions
Mission Types
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Campaign Preparation,
an Example
Mission Objectives
The Map
The Enemy
Life on the
Line
Cover
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The Trench
Most of a normal foot soldiers life is consumed with digging in, hand-digging a trench to conceal himself from
enemy fire. The trench is the ultimate burden and respite for
the foot soldier when better cover is not available. Digging
a trench is often a backbreaking process (lent extra gravity when the digger is exposed to enemy fire) and can take
minutes or hours depending on the weather and condition
of the soil. Some soldiers came up with ingenious (and often
quite dangerous) processes to quickly dig trenches in frozen
soil while under fire, like emptying eight shots from their rifle
into the frozen dirt, and then placing a hand grenade in the
loosened soil. Presto, instant start on your trenchnot to
mention unwanted attention from enemy troops in the area!
The huge trenches of World War I were replaced in the
Second World War for the most part with small one-man or
two-man trenches. Larger tunnels and trench complexes did
exist, but they were far more rare than their quick and dirty
cousins. While their predecessors in the last war were elaborate rat warrens, the trenches of the Second World War
were often used only for a short periods, and abandoned
when the front line advanced. GIs were frequently required
to advance, leaving ditches and trenches behind.
Dugouts were trenches covered with logs or wood
to prevent shrapnel from shells from penetrating the trench
top. Often, these dugouts were covered in loose foliage and
other debris to hide them from enemy observation.
Trenches are a necessary evil for all soldiers in the field.
Without them, life on the line is brief at best.
Strong Points
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Against
Insurmountable Odds . . .
The Rear
Duties
Guard Duty
The Patrol
This dreaded duty takes place in an area between enemy holdings and friendly territory. This no mans land is often devoid
of any troops (except the injured or the dying,) as after an
engagement both forces work to quickly stabilize the line by
retreating to a safe distance and setting up strong points.
At night, or in poor weather conditions, small teams
(usually less than a squad of men) are sent to see if the
enemy is moving men into the area of dispute. This is the
patrol. Such patrols are sent in to find and map new enemy
strong points, or to kill or capture enemy patrols or forward locations.
Different commanders
choose those who are to patrol with different methods;
sometimes men are sent on
patrol as punishment, or because they chose the low card
on a draw, or simply because
they are ordered to go.
Any way you are chosen,
the patrol is seen as one of
the most dangerous aspects
of life on the line.
Scouting
Scouting is an extremely
dangerous task. Unless its a desperate situation, it is left
to those with the skills (and the experience) to successfully
accomplish it. Scouting is simply a patrol into unknown
enemy territory, behind enemy lines, where everyone you
may run into you is against you, and without nearby allies
to come to your aid.
It is much, much more dangerous than a simple patrol.
A scout is required to be part sneak, part mapmaker, and
part woodsman, in addition to being a decent combat
soldier. In Godlike, many of the scouts sent into enemy territory are Talents. There are two reasons for this. For one,
they can detect and possibly eliminate enemy Talents before
they engage frontline troops. Also, their powers make the
possibility of a successful scouting more likely. The campaign presented in Part Nine: TOG Commando Squads on
p. 296, is one in which the players take the role of a scout/
commando team.
Scouting is no good if the scout never returns from his
mission with a report or a map of enemy locations.
The Runner
The Push
Supplies
Supplies are always the biggest concern of any Army. Without supplies, any possibility of fighting a war vanishes. The
U.S. Army, in order of importance, broke down supplies
into five classes. They are:
Class 1: Materials that are used up at a standard rate.
Mostly food.
Class 2: Clothing, weapons and equipment.
Class 3: Petrol, oil or lubricants. Often called simply POL.
Class 4: A miscellaneous category that anything else not
categorized falls into.
Class 5: Explosives, ammunition or chemical agents.
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Food
Weapons
Field Ration A
Equipment
Field Ration B
Field Ration D
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Protocol
Field Ration C
Field Ration K
Rank
Tactics
Covering Fire
This squad-level tactic, developed in the later half of
World War I, sometimes proved inefficient and disruptive to the small units who used it in the modern and fluid
battlefield of World War II. For one, it utilized only a small
portion of the total firepower of any squad (only a few
of the men fired while the others moved up). Secondly, it
was often difficult for officers to direct fire while under fire
themselves as they were usually insufficiently covered by the
groups limited weaponry. Thirdly, this lack of control often
led the group to become easily disorganized.
Tactics were modified to deal with the changing face of
war. Most crucially, different types of forces such as artillery, tanks and infantry were used together in close concert
for the first time. This partnership between the different
forces led to dramatic advances on the line. Where lines
once stabilized and froze for months or years at a time in
the previous war, dramatic advances on the lines were commonplace occurrences in World War II.
The classic technique of pinning and flanking the enemy remained crucial at the small-unit level, but the greatest
gains were made by footsoldiers calling on armor and artillery for support.
Tank Advances
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PART NINE
We Go First.
The Shoulder Patch of the TOG Commando Squads
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The Birth of
the Commando
Commando is an Afrikaans word meaning military unit. During the Boer war in South Africa, the
Boer commandos proved very effective in disrupting
the infrastructure of the British Army in the Transvaal valley. Their small-unit hit-and-run techniques
baffled British tacticians, who during the conflict,
failed to mount a sufficient defense against it.
The birth of the British commando program
came in the dark days of the summer of 1940, as the
remnants British Expeditionary Force recovered from
their stunning defeat in France at the hands of the
Third Reich. Britain braced for the final, inevitable
cross-Channel invasion by the Nazis. The High Command was in disarray, with no clear plans for the
future. No offensive could be mounted, and it would
be months before the Army could be reorganized.
A staff officer with the Whitehall War Office,
Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clark, struck upon an
idea on the evening of June 4, 1940; attacks based
on commando principles might be just what Britain
needed. Clark himself had seen the effectiveness of
small, surprise attacks on British forces in Palestine in
1936. The experience convinced him that a force of
highly trained British commandos could terrorize the
occupied French, Dutch and Norwegian coasts. With
little cost in manpower and equipment, but with great
impact, the commandos could disrupt communication,
destroy defenses and capture enemy intelligence.
Prime Minister Winton Churchill was immediately won over by the idea, and Clark was given
permission to go ahead with his plan. Early results
were disastrous, however. During one raid, three
commando groups splashed ashore in France, found
no one, and returned to Britain . . . only to be arrested as deserters.
Later, when the need for specialized training
was realized, a general call for volunteers was put out
among the services. Clark was looking for men (in his
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Training
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their toes. It is often never the same twice. Talents have the
hardest time of all, as the British instructors are not averse
to taking a few shots at them with live ammunition as they
work their way through the course, just for a laugh.
Weapons training begins with hand-to-hand combat
the first week. Knife fighting is especially favored. Candidates learn how to kill silently and swiftly, and are taught
the basics of physiology, so they can exploit the anatomical
weaknesses of the human body. Later, training is switched
to firearms and explosives. In four weeks, candidates work
their way up from rifles to machine guns and mortars.
Weapons training continues throughout the twelve weeks,
both in camp and in the field. By the end of the course, candidates are firing and being fired at with live ammunition.
Talents are given a special course in Talent-againstTalent combat, intermixed with regular training. Experienced
British Talents from the conflict in North Africa help candidates learn new ways to use their powers. This special extra
attention is randomly inserted amidst normal commando
training. At any moment, a live-fire exercise might become
an instructive course in how to avoid being teleported, or on
how to deal with an invisible hand-to-hand attacker.
Survival training is a main focus of the course. Commandos do not carry tents or other unnecessary equipment into
the field, so candidates are taught to utilize the land for food,
shelter and tactical advantage against the enemy. Butchers
train recruits how to properly butcher animals and keep meat.
Hunters train them how to set snares or to kill animals easily,
without making noise. Commandos train the recruits how to
make small fires and to disperse smoke and conceal their
flame so they arent spotted.
Exercises in field survival are
slowly built to a final week
of hell in the wilderness of
Scotland. Recruits are sent off
with a knife, a rain poncho,
and little else. For one week,
they live completely off the
land. A task more difficult
than it sounds in the Scottish
highlands.
Cross-country movement is an important part of
the program. Several times
a week recruits are sent on
speed marches where they
cover up to twenty miles at
more than seven miles an hour, after which they are sometimes expected to complete a mock assault, just for good
measure. Climbing and river fording are also focused on.
Recruits are trained to construct rope bridges, rope ladders,
and zip-lines. Before graduation, candidates have to slide
down the Achnacarry Death Ride, a sloping fifty-foot
zip-line that hangs forty feet above a freezing river.
The final exam at Achnacarry is the assault on the
beaches of nearby lake Spean. During this exercise, instructors fire on the candidates with live ammunition, and hidden explosives are detonated by radio control as they land
and attempt to rush the beach. Shots sometimes come so
close to the candidates that paddles in their hands splinter.
The instructors are not above letting Talent instructors have
Skill Additions
Brawling 1
Climb 1
Cryptography 1
Endurance 1
Explosives 1
Grenade 1
Knife Fighting 1
Machine Gun 1
Map Reading 1
Mortar 1
Navigation (Land) 1
Parachuting 1
Pistol 1
Radio Operation 1
Rifle 1
Running 1
Stealth 1
Submachine Gun 1
Survival 1
Tactics 1
Numbers
TOG Deployment
But I Want . . .
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Common Equipment
Headquarters
The headquarters that issues commands to TOG 141 is under the command of Captain (acting major) Paul Richards
of the Twenty-Ninth U.S. Infantry Division. The captain
is in charge of an entire battalion of riflemen (about 300
men), of which TOG 141 is a small part. His concerns lie
with the regular foot soldier; he could care less about the
Talents.
The group is the only TOG in the battalion and as such
will see a lot more action than is usual for TOG squads.
Richards will use them at every opportunity as distractions,
commandos and even assassins, if he can. Commands will
be issued directly from Richards to First Lieutenant Miller,
and from there to the squad.
APPENDIX A
Optional Rules
During development, dozens of rules were created for Godlike which were good, but not good enough to find their
way into the main rules-set. We hoped to keep the official
rules to a minimum, so these spare parts have found their
way here, collected together for your amusement and use.
Pick and choose those you like, fiddle with them, or
ignore them all.
305
Die Hard
Game Masters who want to extend the shelf lives of characters a bit, without going all the way to the excesses of
squishing rolls (see p. 305) have characters recover from
shock damage at the height of the roll instead of the width.
Its a small thing, but it sheds those unwanted shock marks
a bit faster.
There are other ways to increase the viability of characters. If you like, you can increase the number of damage
boxes per hit location, or instead of 2 shock points equaling
1 killing point of damage, you can change it to a 3 to 1 ratio. Simply mark a vertical line through the damage box for
1 shock point, a diagonal slash for 2 and finish the X for 3.
This change will keep your characters kicking a bit longer.
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How are misfires, jams, accidental discharges and gun cleaning handled in Godlike? Read on, all is explained below.
Misfires
Jams
Accidental Discharge
Gun Cleaning
Hit Location
Left Side Bottom (1/2 HAR)
Right Side Bottom (1/2 HAR)
Left Side Top (3/4 HAR)
Right Side Top (3/4 HAR)
Crew Compartment (Full HAR)
Crew or Rear (Lowest HAR Rating)
Example: John is firing a Bazooka at the rear of a Tiger
VI II Heavy Tank. He has a Bazooka dice pool of 7d.
He places one die at 10, drops a die because hes making a called shot, and rolls the remaining 5 dice, getting
a 10, 9, 6, 6 and a 1. He hits with a 2x10 against hit
location 10 (the rear of the vehicle). The Tiger VI II
Heavy Tank has an HAR rating of 10 to 7since the
rear has the lowest HAR rating of the vehicle, Johns
Bazooka blast hits HAR 7. With his 2x10 and the Bazookas Penetration of 5, Johns total weapon Penetration is 7. The Bazooka round pierces the armor and
detonates within the vehicle.
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Anyone with a Body stat of 4 or more can carry any machine gun under 32 lbs as if it was a submachine gun (note
that any belt fed gun needs a second man to feed it, making
this ploy ineffective). Those with a Body Stat of 5 to 6 may
Rolling Will
This is a slight alteration of the Will against Will bid system. Its here for those of you who like a bit of randomness
in your games. If you want a situation where a great roll
will save the day despite shitty circumstances, these rules
are for you.
During the declaration phase of combat, if you want to
counter a Talent ability aimed at you (and are able to), you
can choose to risk between 0 and 10 Will points in defense.
You must of course have enough Will points to risk the
amount, for without any Will points, youre out of luck; no
defense is possible. The enemy in turn risks Will points in
the same manner, picking a number from 0 to 10, trying to
force his attack through your defenses. You can defend only
when you are being targeted by a Talent power. You cant
keep a defense when you are not under attack.
Now heres the kicker: Its a blind bid. When youre
asked to make your bid for defense or attack with your
Will, just grab a die out of sight and place it at your desired
number (or if you pick zero, just say zero when its time).
Then, at the same time, the attacker and defender
reveal what they risked.
The number of Will points risked are then rolled in a
dynamic contest against each other as regular dice. The one
with the highest and widest result (in that order) wins. If its
the attacker, the power gets through and is rolled normally,
if its the defender the attackers power doesnt work. The
winner gains back the width of his roll in Will points, the
loser loses all the Will points he risked. If the rolls tie, both
parties lose the Will points they risked and nothing happens. Either way, all Will spent in this manner is lost.
Just like the bidding system, surprise attacks negate the
possibility of a battle of Wills.
Example: Timothy (Will 19) has targeted Hans (Will
23) with his 6d lightning attack Miracle in the declaration phase of combat. Hans is a Talent, and since it is a
If you want to add a new level of vulnerability to your Godlike game, you can use the two against one rule. This allows
two Talents to team up against another Talent in a battle of
Wills, using their Wills in tandem to crush the third Talents
power. The battle of Wills is treated the same, except the
two Talents get to pool their Will in their contest against
their target.
This two against one Will attack has an added benefit
as well: with it, the two attacking Talents can affect a third
Talents power even if that Talent is not trying to affect
them with his power.
Example: Grady and Winston team up their Wills to
assault Vaughn, who is using his Hyperstat in Body to
lift a tank. Even though Vaughn is not using his powers
to attack Grady or Winston, they can still affect him
because, two is better than one.
Grady and Winston put together a pool of 10 Will
points. Vaughn can only risk 8 Will points. Grady and
Winston win and Vaughns power kicks out. Shortly
thereafter the tank drops on him. Squish.
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APPENDIX B: NPCs
APPENDIX B
NPCs
These first ten Talents were exceptional creatures and possessed powers far beyond the norm for their kind. Most of
the NPCs below were built with between 60 and 150 Will
points. Despite their exceptional nature, very few survived
the war.
Note: Powers are always calculated starting with a base
1/2/4, and another 1/2/4 is added for each Quality the
power possesses. Hence, Der Fliegers Flight Power is 1/2/4
plus four more 1/2/4s for a Point Cost of 5/10/20.
Der Flieger
Age 28, Ht 61 Wt 205.
Nationality German.
Education Gymnasium at Hamburg. Officer schooling at
Bad Tlz.
Dependants None.
Motivations To crush Bolshevism and serve the Fhrer.
Body 3 Coordination 3 Sense 2
Brains 2 Command 3 Cool 4
Skills Athletics 2, Brawling 2, Driving 1, Endurance 2,
Flight 3, Grenade 3, Health 1, Inspire 3, Intimidate 3, Knife
Fighting 2, Languages (German 2, English 1), Leadership
3, Machine Gun 3, Mental Stability 3, Navigation (Air) 3,
Pistol 2, Radio Operation 1, Rifle 3, Sight 2, Submachine
Gun 3, Survival 1, Swimming 2.
Base Will 31
Flight (Qualities: Attacks, Defends, Robust, Useful
Outside of Combat. 5/10/20). 2hd (Extras: No Altitude
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Pevnost
Briety Krizova (Circa 1943)
Teleport (Qualities: Robust, Useful Outside of Combat. 3/6/12). 10d (Extra: Maximum Capacity +5/+10/+20.
Flaws: Only works on doorways previously traveled
through -2/-4/-8; Forced Attendance -1/-2/-4; Slow 2 per
passenger -2/-4/-8; 30 points).
APPENDIX B: NPCs
Zindel
Amina Salasee (Circa 1941)
Transmute Enemies to Salt (Qualities: Attacks, Defends, Robust. 4/8/16). 10hd (Extra: Reflexive +2/+4/+8;
Radius 6 [250 yards], +3/+6/+8,6 Ranks for 18 points.
Flaws: King Midas [to salt only] -2/-4/-8; Limited Target
[Enemies Only] -2/-4/-8; 100 points).
Cien
Piotr Ciowiski (Circa 1943)
Viljo
Joseef Seppanen (Circa 1940)
Hyperskill: Knife Fighting +2d (1/3/7) (2 points).
Hyperstat: Coordination +7d (2/5/10) (14 points).
Hyperstat : Sense +4d (2/5/10) (8 points).
Affinity: Arctic Conditions (Qualities: Attacks, Defends, Robust, Useful Outside of Combat. 5/10/20). 2hd
(Regular Type Conditions [Arctic] +3/+6/+12; 32 points).
+1d to all actions in Arctic conditions.
Vogel
Jan Dinesen (Circa 1945)
Aesgir
Christian Hansen (Circa 1944)
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APPENDIX B: NPCs
Talent Powers (Cost: 150 Will Points)
Daegal
LInvocateur
Heavy Armor (Qualities: Defends, Robust, Useful Outside of Combat. 7 per Rank). 10 (Flaw: Only when holding
Aesgir -2/rank; 50 points).
Hyperskill: Spear (1/3/7) 2hd (Flaw: Only with Aesgir -1/-2/-4; Final Point Cost is 1/1/3; 2 points).
Teleport (Qualities: Robust, Useful Outside of Combat. Point Cost: 3/6/12). 10d (Extra: Maximum Capacity
+5/+10/+20. Flaw: Must travel the equivalent distance on
foot through Valhalla -1/-2/-4; Only when holding Aesgir -2/-4/-8; Side Effect: Teleport is accomplished by
traveling through a pocket dimension on foot; 50 points).
Break (Qualities: Attacks, Useful Outside of Combat,
Robust. 4/8/16). 10d (Flaw: Only when holding Aesgir
-2/-4/-8; 20 points).
Fetch (Qualities: Attacks, Defends, Useful Outside of
Combat, Robust. Point Cost: 4/8/16). 2hd (Flaw: Can only
Fetch Aesgir -4/-8/-16; 2 points).
Combat Fugue (Qualities: Attacks, Defends, Robust.
Point Cost: 4/8/16) 2hd (Flaw: Automatically activates
when in danger, -1/-2/-4. Side Effect: No recollection of actions while in Fugue. 12 points).
Go First 6 (Qualities: Attacks, Defends, Robust; 8
points per level; Attached to Combat Fugue, -1 per level; 42
points).
Hyperstat: Body +9d (2/5/10) (Flaw: Attached to Combat Fugue, -1/-2/-4; 9 points).
Hyperstat: Coordination +9d (2/5/10) (Point Cost:
2/5/10. Flaw: Attached to Combat Fugue, -1/-2/-4; 9 points).
Instant Death (Qualities: Attacks, Robust. 3/6/12) 3hd
(Flaws: Attached to Combat Fugue, -1/-2/-4. Must touch
subject -1/-2/-4; 6 points).
Side Step (Qualities: Defends, Robust. 3/6/12) 2hd
(Flaw: Attached to Combat Fugue, -1/-2/-4. Final Cost:
2/4/8; 8 points).
Vevel
Jean Neuman (Circa 1943)
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APPENDIX B: NPCs
Generic Troops
313
APPENDIX C
Open Source
Superhero Rules
Special Note
The following rules are designed using the same basic task resolution system used by the worlds most popular fantasy role-playing
game. Theyre meant for use by people who like the idea of playing
superhero games like the one presented in this book, but dont
want to learn new rules. As such, weve tried to make them as complete as possible. However, in some cases where we didnt make
any conversions (such as the power creation rules) we simply refer
to the main text of the rules presented elsewhere in this book.
Another point that bears mentioning is that at times the
phrasing and references in this section may appear a bit vague or
strange. Remember that the entire concept of open-source gaming
is still relatively new and there are many legal questions that we
had to struggle with in producing these rules.
The open source rules, unlike the core rules presented in this book,
do not use a bell curve. Instead, the roll of a single, twenty-sided
die determines every action. If the die roll is greater than or equal
to a Difficulty Class (DC) chosen by the GM, the action succeeds.
If not, it fails. To reflect a characters training or the influence of the
environment on an action, such as trying to light a fire in a driving
rainstorm, we add or subtract modifiers from the roll. Positive modifiers increase the chance for success, while negative ones decrease it.
If two characters work against each other, then their players
both roll a d20, add any appropriate modifiers, and compare the
results. The character with the higher roll succeeds, while the
character with the low roll fails. This is called an opposed roll. An
opposed roll is typically described as an opposed roll between two
stats or two skills. In the case of a tie, the two opponents should
re-roll until their results are not equal.
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Level of Difficulty
Trivially easy
Simple
Easy
Average
Difficult
Very difficult
Extremely difficult
DC
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
The following rules are based on the core engine that drives the
worlds most popular alliteratively titled fantasy role-playing game
(heretofore referred to as That Game). The rules are meant to be
fully compatible between the two games. In general, the rules presented here have much less detail than the rules your familiar with.
However, you can easily incorporate the skills, feats, and detailed
rules that you like from That Game without writing over anything
weve provided here for you.
In general, if the rules are already out there in That Games
main book, we tried to provide them in condensed form. In addition, you have to read the core superhero rules in this book,
primarily those relating to super powers, in order to fully understand the rules presented here. Again, we did not want to needlessly
duplicate rules that are already presented in this book.
Wink-Wink, Nudge-Nudge
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Character Creation
Statistics
Skills
Feats
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315
Mood
Stats
Gritty
2
Low-powered 2
Moderate-power 12
High-powered 20
Super-powered 40
Generating Statistics
Skills (Max)
10 (4/1)
10 (4/1)
20 (8/4)
30 (12/6)
40 (16/16)
Feats
2
2
3
4
6
Saves
3
3
6
10
20
Power Points
40
20
60
80
140
Statistics
316
Characters in the basic version of these rules are meant to be run-ofthe-mill people who happen to develop super-human powers that set
them apart from the rest of humanity. Since 10 is the average human
statistic, every character starts with a 10 in each stat. You have 2 points
that you may add to your stats however you wish. In addition, for each
point that you reduce one of your stats, you may increase a different
stat by 1 point. No stat may go below 3, and no stat may go above 18.
Using Statistics
Veterans of games that use the same core system as these rules will
notice that we use the standard ability scores largely unchanged
and have added a new one: Cool. While most of the core stats in
the rules presented elsewhere in this book map rather well to the
open source system, Cool didnt fit in to any one ability. Furthermore, the grim and gritty nature of these rules makes
Cool a rather important stat. As such, we decided to include it
as a core statistic.
Skills
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Skill Descriptions
The following skills are arranged by the stat they are linked to. For
example, since Climb is listed under Strength, add your Strength
modifier to the die roll whenever you use your Climb skill.
Strength Skills
Armed Combat#: Use this skill when fighting with a bayonet, knife,
club, or other hand weapon.
Brawl#: Use this skill to attack someone with your bare hands.
Climb: Use this skill to climb any vertical surface, such as a tree or
cliff face.
Jump: Use this skill to vault over a pit or jump over an obstacle.
Swim: Use this skill to swim across any body of water.
Dexterity Skills
Drive Vehicle*: If you take this skill, choose tank, car, or motorcycle.
You are trained in driving that particular type of vehicle. You may take
this skill more than once in order to drive more than one type of vehicle.
Heavy Weapons#: Use this skill to fire machine guns, bazookas,
and other squad support weapons.
Gunnery#: Use this skill to use vehicle-mounted weapons, such as a
tanks main gun or the cannons and machine guns on a fighter plane.
Hide: Use this skill to conceal yourself in cover out of the sight of others.
Pilot*: Use this skill to pilot an airplane.
Shoot#: Use this skill to hit a target with small arms, such as pistols, rifles, and submachine guns.
Sneak: Use this skill to move quietly.
Constitution Skills
Concentration: This skill allows you to resist pain and continue unimpeded despite any wounds you may have sustained. It also allows
you to maintain your mental acuity despite physical exhaustion.
Endurance: This skill allows you to run long distances, work hours
after others would have dropped from exhaustion, or go without
food or water.
Intelligence Skills
Wisdom Skills
Detect Lie: You may use this skill to determine if someone is lying
to you. Typically, Detect Lie is opposed by a Bluff skill check.
Listen: Use this skill to hear quiet sounds that might normally go
unheard. For example, you do not need the Listen skill to hear a
gun shot in the room next door. However, you may need to make
one to hear two people whispering one another in a nearby room.
Spot: Use this skill to pick out a hidden detail or to notice a hidden
item. This skill is most often used when searching a room or other
area for hidden items.
Charisma Skills
Bluff: This skill covers the fine art of telling believable lies.
Diplomacy: This skill covers persuasive speech and attempts to
forge friendly relationships with others. If you want to convince
someone to do something for you, use the Diplomacy skill.
Disguise: This skill covers the ability to pass yourself off as someone else. Part of this skill covers creating a convincing look, but
much of it represents your ability to properly act the part that you
are trying to portray.
Cool Skills
Unlike the other statistics, Cool has no skills associated with it.
However, during combat or any other stressful situation as determined by the GM, you use your Cool in conjunction with skill
checks normally modified by Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
Cool represents your mental stability and capacity for grace
under pressure. Characters with a high Cool might not perform
as well as other characters in relaxed, pressure-free environments.
While under fire or feeling intense pressure to perform, characters
with high scores in Cool perform best. The rules covering this use
of the Cool stat are detailed under Combat.
Anyone can attempt to talk their way past a guard, though obviously some people are more adept liars than others. On the other
hand, not everyone can attempt to pick a lock or translate a note
written in a foreign language. Some skills can be used by anyone,
even if they posses no ranks in that skill. These skills are called
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317
Combat Skills
The skills in the above list marked with a # are combat skills. They are
most often used to determine if your character successfully hits a target
in combat. Combat skills work much like any other skill. The most
important difference between combat skills and regular skills is that it
is much harder to gain ranks in combat skills. Characters often start
the game with fewer ranks in combat skills than in non-combat ones.
Simply put, theres no replacement for combat experience.
Note that all combat skills are considered untrained. If you
attempt fight using a weapon with which you have no skill ranks,
you simply receive no skill bonus with that weapon. See the Combat section for more information.
Starting Skills
Feats
Everyone has a special, unique talent or aptitude. While a characters stats and skills provide a basis for building a unique character,
there isnt that much difference between two characters with an18
Strength or 4 ranks in Auto Repair. Feats help make characters more
unique and help support rules for quirks and abilities that are part of
a character concept but that do not fit into either a stat or skill.
Feats come in several different flavors, below are a list of
sample feats and some guidelines for creating your own.
Sample Feats
Custom Feats
The list above covers the basics of what feats can and cannot do.
The general guidelines of what a feat can do are:
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To create a feat, design the feats mechanics using the above guidelines,
describe how the feat works in real world terms, and then describe it in
terms of how and why your character acquired it. Feats are meant to
help make your character an individual, and should be chosen to flesh a
PC out, not simply give him the most advantageous bonuses possible.
Gaining Feats
First level characters begin the game with 2 feats. After that, a
character gains a new feat when he chooses to spend experience
points to learn a new one.
Power Mechanics
Superhero powers work like skill or ability checks. Roll a d20, add
your ranks in the power, and compare the result to a Difficulty
Class chosen by the GM or dictated in the powers description. If
the result is greater than or equal to the DC, the power works. If
not, the power did not activate.
Hyperstats
The open source rules for Hyperstats work a little different than the
ones presented in the standard rules. The open source rules use a
slightly different set of statistics: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution,
Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Cool. Strength, Dexterity,
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma match the main rules Body,
Coordination, Brains, Sense, and Command, respectively. Subtract 5
from a core Hyperstats value to determine the equivalent ranks in the
corresponding open source stat. Obviously, to convert from an open
source stat to a core one add 5 to the open source Hyperstats ranks.
Cool translates directly over to the open source rules, while
Constitution has no analog. When converting a character, simply
cash out the points spent in Hyperconstitution and put them
towards Hyperbody or some other appropriate power. When converting from the core rules to the open source rules, spend points
on Hyper levels of Constitution if your character has Hyperbody,
to simulate his level of superior toughness.
Note: Secondary abilities listed at each level of a Hyperstat are
not cumulative. When you buy a Hyperstat at a certain level,
you only get the secondary abilities listed at that level, not the
benefits of all lower levels as well.
Hyperstats do not replace or directly enhance a characters existing
stats. Instead, they offer additional capabilities and bonuses that
apply in certain situations. For example, while a characters Strength
bonus is normally applied to both melee attacks and damage, Hyperstrength only gives a bonus to damage. Hyperstats and regular stat
Hyperstrength
Weight
400 800 lbs.
800 lbs. 1 ton
1 2 tons
2 4 tons
4 8 tons
8 12 tons
12 24 tons
1 DC
5
15
25
35
45
55
65
2 DC
0
5
15
25
35
45
55
3 DC
0
0
5
15
25
35
45
4 DC
0
0
0
5
15
25
35
5 DC
0
0
0
0
5
15
25
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319
Hyperdexterity
Rank 1
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
320
Rank 5
Hyperconstitution
Rank 1
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
Rank 5
Hyperintelligence
Rank 1
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There is no limit to the number of ranks you may purchase in Intelligence-based skills.
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
Rank 5
Hyperwisdom
Characters with Hyperwisdom cannot necessarily detect things outside of the human range of perception, but can utilize those senses
with a much higher level of accuracy, skill and ability.
Rank 1
Rank 2
Rank 3
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321
Rank 4
Your sense of smell is so sharp that you may track people by their
scent. You gain 10 ranks in the Scent skill. Scent is a Wisdombased skill. You may spend skill ranks to improve your Scent skill.
Your vision and hearing are extremely acute. You gain 10
bonus ranks in Listen and Spot. These bonus ranks may
stack with ranks purchase during character creation and can
take your ranks in the relevant skills above the maximum
normally allowed for your level. However, you may still only
purchase as many ranks in the skills as allowed by your level.
You have an effective Wisdom score of 42 for all purposes.
You can read printed materials by touch alone.
You can hear individual heartbeats from 60 feet away.
You are never caught flatfooted.
Rank 5
Hypercharisma
This is the power that scares governments more than anything else.
Hypercharisma is more than simply powerful rhetorical skills. People listening to orators with Hypercharisma often have lowered heart rates, decreased blink rates and other symptoms of hypnosis. Naturally, nothing
scares a normal leader more than someone with parahuman charisma,
who can make the most suicidal or irrational command seem attractive.
These effects rarely last, and often fade over time, if the hero cannot
continuously re-apply his Charisma Hyperstat attacks to the target.
Unlike Hypercool, the stat levels gained from Hypercharisma
do not provide additional Will.
The primary limitation to Hypercharisma is comprehension. A
human superhero with Hypercharisma cant convince a visiting extraterrestrial to do anything if the alien doesnt understand English.
Similarly, individuals who have been deafened (by an explosion, for
example) cannot be swayed with Hypercharisma.
Rank 1
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
Rank 5
Hypercool
Some of the subtlest heroes are those whose powers are internal, not
external. Characters who are inhumanly Cool seem eerily composed
in almost any circumstance. Some Hypercools dont even register
as super-humans during mundane government tests, because the
attributes of hero-level Cool primarily consist of self-knowledge and
self-command.
Much like the Cool stat, the Hypercool power functions a little
differently than the other Hyperstats. At each rank of Hypercool,
you gain a Cool modifier that replaces your Cool stat modifier in all
situations. Remember, the effects under each rank do not stack. If
you advance your Hypercool rating from rank 2 to rank 3, the abilities listed under rank 3 replace those listed under rank 2. You do not
add any modifiers or stack any bonuses that the two ranks give you.
Rank 1
322
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in Auto Repair to bring it up to +5, the maximum normally allowed for second level characters. In addition, he
could spend more Power Points to further boost his Auto
Repair Hyperskill. Even though Henry might have the
Auto Repair Hyperskill, he still cant fix a jeep if he doesnt
have any tools or spare parts, or if the jeep is a shattered,
burning pile of wreckage, unless the GM rules otherwise.
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
Rank 5
Hyperskills
On a concept level, powers work the same in the open source rules
as they do in the core rules. You may either purchase a power from
the provided list, or you may create one from scratch.
Power Stunts are a specific type of feat. They serve to give you a
bonus in particular situations for which you have honed the use of
a power or to reflect the specific nature of your abilities. All Power
Stunts follow the same structure: They give you a +2 bonus when
using a power under specific circumstances.
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323
Some powers, such as Dead Ringer listed below, are always in effect or require a single use the results of which
may be sufficient in one situation but not up to the task
in another one. For example, Dead Ringer allows a hero
to assume the likeness of another person. Once the hero
has used the ability, he doesnt need to keep checking
against it maintain his disguise. For powers that activate
once and last an extended period of time or that are in
continual operations (such as a power that allows a hero
to breathe underwater) you must pay a flat cost to purchase the power rather than investing points to purchase
ranks in it. To determine the cost of a flat cost power,
compute the cost needed to buy one regular die and one
wiggle die for your power. This is the flat purchase cost
of that power in the open-source rules. Since a regular
die plus a wiggle die guarantees success in the rules
presented earlier, they are used as the equivalent cost of
a continuously operating power in the open-source ones.
Always check with your GM when designing a new power.
In addition, your GM has the right to modify a power
should it prove to be unbalancing. Try to use the sample
powers listed below as guidelines when designing your own.
Cafeteria-Style Powers
The following powers are buffet style powers, ones you can
pick and choose ready-made, for those of you who dont want to
construct your own powers, or who want to get some ideas before
setting pencil to paper.
As presented these powers are in their most basic form. Feel
free to modify them with Extras, Flaws or Power Stunts as you see
fit. The examples listed with each power are by no means the only
Qualities, Extras, Flaws or Power Stunts available with the power.
Aces
You are stupidly lucky. Things just tend to go your way. If you choose
you can add up to your total ranks in Aces to the normal d20 roll for
any of your actions, be it an attack roll, or skill or stat check. Aces may
also be used to modify a critical threat check. You can decide whether to
add your Aces ranks after you see what youve already rolled.
Now for the bad part, Aces is expensive, sometimes very
expensive. Every Aces rank used costs 1 Will point; this point is not
risked but must be spent from the characters pool of Will points.
In addition any action that is made to succeed by Aces never yields
a Will reward, no matter the circumstances. So, if you roll a 20
with your Aces, you dont get the 1 Will point reward you would
normally get for the use of almost any other power.
When used in combat, Aces, unlike other modifiers, may be used
to cause a critical threat. Thus, if a character with Aces rolls a 16, he
may use a +4 Aces bonus to bump the die roll to 20 and a critical threat.
Focus: You can add youre a +2 Power Stunt bonus to your Aces dice pool
when you are trying to affect the outcome of a very specific event, but
only if that event is taking place outside of combat. Combat precludes the
concentration necessary for this ability. Will costs remain the same.
324
Alert
Your power can alert you to the presence of specific danger. You may
use it to detect the possibility of attack in a certain situation by concentrating for one round and rolling a power check. If you fail to beat the
DC of the power check, Alert cannot be used again to determine the
danger level of that same situation or location for about 12-24 hours.
To determine the DC of an Alert power check, consult the following chart:
DC
Result
DC 10 A general feeling of danger is indicated.
DC 15 Time remaining before the danger is indicated in
general terms (seconds, minutes, hours).
DC 20 General power level of attack indicated in general
terms (a platoon of soldiers, a tank, a sniper etc...).
DC 25 Both time and power level are indicated.
DC 30 General power level, direction and time of danger is indicated.
Detailed (+2 points per rank): With a successful roll your power
gives you a detailed idea of the danger facing you. Although certain
details elude you, (the names, ranks, units and such of your enemy),
other details are quite clear, such as their armament, placement and
level of preparation.
Dreams (-2 points per rank): The power only works in your sleep,
the night before an attack. You only receive a bad feeling the
next day about some specific location, nothing more, despite the
result of your power check.
Bind
Your power can constrict a target, limiting its mobility. Whether you
create a sticky webbing or a telekinetic rope to Bind the target makes
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Make this as a normal trip attack, except that the target cannot
attempt to trip you.
Physical Stuff (+1 point per rank): Your power creates a substance
or object that it binds with. This material is real, and remains
behind even after you release your bind.
Poof (-2 points per rank): Look away from your targets even for a
second and the Bind you have on them immediately vanishes.
Block
You can stop a single attack with your power. This attack must be
against you; you cannot block attacks directed at others. It can be
any type of individual attack, a machete, a bullet or a punch, but
your power cannot affect Area attacks such as fire or gas, or attacks
composed of many smaller attacks, like grenade fragments, explosives or mines. You cannot stop more than one attack per round, but
how your Block works is up to you. Whether you use Telekinesis,
a super-strong arm or beams from your eyes to deflect the attack
matters very little, the result is the same: The attack is blocked. You
cannot move in the round in which you attempt to Block.
You can only use your Block if you know you are in danger of
being attacked and if you can see the attacker. In other words, you
could Block a rifle attack by a man standing and shooting at you,
but not a sniper shot.
To Block an attack, make a power check opposed by your opponents attack roll. In essence, you are rolling a new Armor Class
for the attack. Note that even if your Block power roll doesnt beat
your opponents attack, he still doesnt hit if his roll doesnt beat
the targets AC.
Blind Block (+2 points per rank): Your power automatically intercepts the strongest attack coming at you in any round, and even
works in the dark.
Containment
With your power, you can isolate and separate certain elements or
attacks. Whether it represents an inherent control over a type of
chemical or a telekinetic shield is no matter, the effect is the same: you
contain something in a limited area through your willpower alone.
Containment differs from Block in that it cannot stop sudden
incoming attacks such as bullets or knives. If given sufficient time
to react however, it could stop such attacks. Think of it as a mental
shield that is built through concentration, while Block is a defensive
reflex. Containment is treated as a dynamic contest between the
power and the element, object or being it is trying to contain.
With Containment a hero might be able to isolate an explosion in an area, protecting those outside his shield, stop an oncoming wave of water, block a fusillade of bullets (by making a shield
before being fired at), keep one soldier separate from another, or
contain a cloud of poisonous gas. The shield is a singular uncom-
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325
DC
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Weight/Size Affected
<100-210 pounds
210-250 pounds
250-370 pounds
370-500 pounds
500-800 pounds
800 pounds-1 ton
1-2 tons
2-4 tons
4-10 tons
When used to deflect attacks, you can generate a shield with a total
number of hit points equal to the result of your power check. You may
create a new shield every round, thus replenishing it against enemy attacks. Such a shield can cover a five foot tall by five foot wide area, plus
five feet for every 2 penalty you take on the Containment power check.
Shield Focus: You may add a +2 Power Stunt bonus to your power check
if you spend a round taking no action other than gathering your will
and preparing your shield before activating your Containment power.
+1
DC
5
10
15
20
25
30
+5
Actual Physical Boundary (+2 points per rank): Your power generates a real physical boundary, such as a wall, a container or another
real object to contain materials within. Once created, these containers remain behind for the number of minutes equal to your ranks in
Containment, and then they vanish.
No liquids or gas (-1 per rank): Your power cannot contain liquids or gas.
Control
Cost Addition
/Rank
Frequency Control of (Pick One):
+4
All the
Air Pressure, Temperature,
Time
Humidity, Gravity, Light.
+3
Common Electricity, Common elements
(iron, carbon etc...), Animals
+2
Regular
Plants, Particular Animals,
Metabolisms
326
Area of Effect
1 foot radius
5 foot radius
10 foot radius
15 foot radius
20 foot radius
25 foot radius
+5 foot radius
Example: Dan has Control Gravity at +6, and he attacks
a bank robber with it. Dan only wants the robber to suffer
the ill effects as he increases his gravity, so he decides to
crank up the gravity by 100% in a 5 foot radius. Consulting the table above, Dan must beat a DC of 20 with his
power check (DC 10, +10 for the 100% increase) and he
rolls a 17 + 6 for a total of 23, good enough to activate his
power. Dan can increase the gravity of the robber by 200%
for 6 minutes, dealing 1d2 points of damage per round.
DC
+15
+20
+5
+10
Area of Effect
room temperature solid to liquid
room temperature solid to gas
room temperature liquid to solid
room temperature liquid to gas
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Life forms are living entities such as plants or animals (humans may
not be controlled in this fashion, see Thought Control on p. 338 for
other options). You can control life forms by concentrating one round
and making a successful power check. If the animal is within sight
range (though not necessarily out in the open), the power will affect it.
The range of such effects are up to you, as long as they are within sight
range. With a control power over a life form, you can cause the creature or plant to do anything it is normally capable of accomplishing,
with the added direction of your intelligence (for example you could
control a chimp to open a door, but not a rat). Once out of sight range
however, your hold over the creature fails immediately.
This effect lasts for a number of minutes equal to your ranks
in this power. To activate this power, you must make a power check
opposed by the targets Will save. Animals without a listed Will
save make their saving throws at +0.
Plants make their Will saves at +0, unless otherwise listed. Plants
may be commanded to attack through use of this power, using the
heros ranks in control as their base attack bonus. Thorny plants deal
1d4 points of damage on a successful hit. Small or medium plants may
not deal damage (either normal or subdual), but they may take all other
combat actions, such as aid another, grapple, or trip. Large plants may
deal 1d6 points of bashing damage with a successful attack. Since plants
are effectively mindless, a character that wishes to control plants must
maintain his concentration to keep the plants under his control. If the
character loses his concentration, the plants immediately stop moving.
A character with the life form Control power may attempt
to control multiple plants or animals at once. Each target beyond
the first grants a +2 situation bonus to all the creatures Will saving
throws. A character attempting to control multiple life forms makes
one power check that is compared to all of his targets saving throws.
Blind Control (+2 points per rank): You can control elements, phenomenon or life forms out of your direct observation, as long as they
are within a range where you could see them if they were exposed.
Blanket Control (-2 points per rank): If you Control something that
is deleterious to humans, you may take this Flaw, otherwise it is not
available. When you use your power, the effect is always centered
on you, exposing yourself to the same effects.
Dead Ringer
DC
5
10
15
This simpler form of imitation only reworks your face (and
if you have heard the subjects voice, his or her voice as well). It
only generally changes your body to match what could be seen in
your observation. Organs do not change, nor your blood and urine.
Fingerprints and other unseen details do not match the subject.
You can store a number of remembered forms equal to your
Intelligence bonus +1, to a minimum of 1. Transformation takes
a minute of concentration. You may discard and hold on to forms
in your memory as you wish, so long as the total in you repertoire
does not exceed your maximum. Once you have discarded a form,
you must study or touch the target again. If you choose to study
him, you gain a +5 competence bonus to your Intelligence check to
duplicate him or her.
In game terms, the power is more limited than it seems. It is
only possible to duplicate humans, not animals or other organic
forms. Dead Ringer is only cosmetic in nature. Despite physical
changes in blood and body shape, your statistics do not change to
match those of the target; they remain at your normal levels. Oh,
and no, of course, you cant duplicate super-human abilities.
Animal Magic (+10 points): Not only can you duplicate humans,
but you can copy animals as well, but you can only shrink to half
your size or grow to double it. You gain no special abilities inherent
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327
Vampiric (-5 points): You must taste the blood of the target you
wish to duplicate. Sight-only duplication is not possible.
Detection
Cost
Range of Detection
DC
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Range
10 yards
50 yards
1250 yards
1.4 miles
2.8 miles
56 miles
224 miles
896 miles
7168 miles
DC
Modifier Result
+0
A definite knowledge that a target exists within the area.
+2
A general idea that multiple targets exist(s) in the
area is indicated. Nothing else.
328
+5
+10
+15
Close Your Eyes and See: Close your eyes, concentrate for one round.
If you succeed at your roll, you gain an extremely clear picture of the
targets of your scan. You can read words or discern individual faces
seen in the vision, or otherwise describe the targets in extreme detail,
when normally they would just be a fuzzy idea in your head.
Tracking Detection (+2 points per rank): You can choose a single
target successfully scanned by you and maintain an up to the minute track on just where that target is.
See It First (-3 points per rank): You can only detect objects you
have directly seen before. Photos, drawing or any other reproduction of the object will not help. You must see it, to track it.
Blind Spots (-2 points per rank): Your power does not work in
certain areas. These gray areas come and go at the GMs discretion.
Disintegration
You can destroy objects utterly, effectively erasing them from existence with the use of your power. You must be able to clearly see
the object in question, and you can only disintegrate whole objects.
If something is disintegrated, its gone forever.
Against living targets, concentrate for one full round. On your
turn in the next round, make a ranged touch attack using your
Disintegration ranks as your base attack bonus (and not modifying
your attack with your Dexterity bonus or penalty), to hit your target with this power. If you hit, the target gets a Fortitude save (DC
10+ your Disintegration ranks). If the target saves, it immediately
loses half of its current hit points. If it fails its save, the creature is
immediately disintegrated.
As long as you hit your target with your ranged touch attack,
youre considered to have successfully used this power, whether or
not a living target makes its saving throw.
When dealing with non-living items, you may attempt to disintegrate 10 cubic feet of material. For every cubic foot beyond the
first 10, increase the DC of your power check by 2. To determine
your base DC, add 5 to the hardness rating of the material you
wish to affect.
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Piecemeal (+1 point per rank): You can disintegrate select pieces
of objects, a tire from a car, a turret from a tank, an arm from a
human being. Ouch.
Non-organic (-3 points per rank): You can only disintegrate nonliving things. Plants, animals and people are outside your powers
ability to affect.
Fade
You can become transparent to the point that, if you hold still or
move slowly, you may not be seen. At a distance, in darkness and
in foggy conditions, or on backgrounds rich in color or patterns,
you may even be nearly invisible.
Concentrate one round, make a power check, and you, and
any equipment or clothing on your body fades into the background. When you Fade, look up the level of your success on the
table below. It indicates how transparent youve become. Whenever
you come into someones field of vision, make a Hide skill check
opposed by his Spot skill. If your result is lower, the table below
gives the percentage chance that even though your opponent got a
higher result, he does not actually see you. In combat, any attack
that hits you has a percent chance equal to your concealment percentage to actually be a miss.
Once detected, Fade confers little in the way of defense. Fade
never lets you become truly invisible. Subtle highlights of light and
shadow can be seen for those who know how to look, tracing the
contours of your body. If you move, you create a visible blur to
those near you. If people are looking for you, it wont be long until
they find you, but until then, you have a good chance of remaining
hidden through the use of your power.
DC
10
15
20
25
30
Result
10% concealment.
20% concealment.
30% concealment.
40% concealment.
50% concealment.
Visible up close (-1 per rank): Your Fade power is only effective at
a distance of more than 10 feet; otherwise, youre completely visible, albeit very transparent.
Fetch
You can teleport objects. Concentrate one round; roll your power
check and poof! any object you can clearly see jumps into your
hands. This power works just like teleport, but is much more
limited in its applications. You cannot teleport living things, and
you can only teleport things into your hands, not away from them.
You cannot teleport sections of an object (for instance, you could
not Fetch the trigger of a gun, only the whole gun) just complete
objects. You must have a clear view of the object you wish to Fetch,
and then concentrate for one round, on a successful roll, the object
jumps to your hand, covering the space in-between instantly.
You can Fetch stuff you could normally lift as if your Fetch
rating was your Strength score. You cannot Fetch items heavier
than what you could lift over your head if your Fetch rating was
your Strength score.
DC
10
15
20
25
30
+5
Range
30 feet
60 feet
120 feet
240 feet
480 feet
Double previous DCs range
Distort: Add a +2 Power Stunt to your Fetch dice pool when you
wish to teleport an object, but dont care how complete it is when it
appears in your hand. Distorted objects come back twisted, broken
or incomplete when you use this Power Stunt.
Cornucopia (+2 points per rank): You can tag up to the maximum weight of objects you can Fetch so that you can Fetch to your
hands from any distance or locale. You must roll each time you
wish to do so however (DC 10).
Chain Lightning (-1 points per rank): Whatever object you Fetch
comes along with anything it is touching, up to your Fetch limit in
weight. Fetch an enemies gun, and his holster, strap and clothes
(anything touching the gun which is not living) comes along as well.
You cant control this reflex. It always happens. Essentially, you
always Fetch the maximum amount of weight that you can teleport.
Flight
Roll your power check and take to the air. Its that simple. If youre
trying a difficult maneuver, roll again and consult the chart below for
the DC you need to meet or beat. Your movement rate flying depends
on your ranks in Flight - theres a chart below. (If you want to be substantially faster, buy Super Speed and attach it to your Flight power.)
If you want to fire a gun while flying, theres a 2 penalty to the attack
roll because you are unable to properly brace yourself to fire.
To make a tricky maneuver, look up what you want to do on
the Flight Maneuverability table. Cross-reference the maneuverability type with the DC listed for that type of maneuver. If you fail
to meet the listed DC, look up the maneuverability that you were
able to achieve and assume that you achieved that level of success,
which may or may not spell problems for you.
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329
Ranks
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
+1
Top Speed
(Yards/Round)
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
120
135
150
+15
DC
5
10
15
20
25
Result
Clumsy
Poor
Average
Good
Perfect
Top Speed
(Miles/Hour)
10
20
35
45
55
70
80
90
100
110
+10
Poor Clumsy
Half
Half
No
No
No
No
45
22.5
45
45
Half
Half
45
45
Double Double
10 ft. 20 ft.
Running Start (-1 per rank): You need to take a running start of at
least thirty feet before you take off.
Go First
Characters with this power react to danger more quickly than other
characters. For every rank of Go First, you may add 1 point to
your initiative rolls.
330
Harm
Whether its fiery breath, death rays from the eyes or crippling bolts
of electricity, there are a lot of super-humans whose primary power
is this: They hurt the other guy. The easiest way to handle these
is to buy ranks of the Harm power. Harm attacks are resolved as
ranged weapon attacks, with your ranks in Harm acting as your
base attack bonus. Do not add your Dexterity bonus or penalty to
this attack, but do add other situation modifiers.
As a default, the Harm power does 1d6 points of damage and
has a base range of 30 feet.
Area (+5 per rank): Your attack explodes upon impact causing
normal damage over a 30-foot radius centered on the point where
you targeted your attack. Everyone in the area of effect is allowed
a Reflex save against your power check to take half damage from
your Harm attack.
Penetrating (+1 per rank): Your attack penetrates Armor much like
anti-armor weaponry. Halve the hardness rating of any materials
that you strike with your power.
Spray (+3 per rank): Just like a machine gun your harm is dealt
out in a spray of attacks. Reduce the burst penalty for attacking
multiple targets by 1 for each level of Spray you have (this can only
reduce the penalty to 0, not give you a bonus).
Vicious (+2 per rank): Your Harm does more damage than normal.
Add 1d6 to your damage roll. You can buy the vicious Extra multiple times to add further dice.
Long Range (+1 per rank): Increase the base range of your Harm
ability by 30 feet. You may take this Extra more than once, adding
30 feet to your base range each time.
Graphic (-1 per rank): Your Harm destroys the target, crushing
bones, spewing blood and bile and flaying flesh. Its effects are so
graphic that its difficult to watch and sometimes, even difficult
for you to use. While witnessing your handiwork, make a Mental
Fatigue check.
Jumpy (-1 per rank): Whenever youre startled, your power tends
to go off unchecked. If something takes you by surprise - anything
from a sudden loud noise to a sneak attack - make a Mental Fatigue
roll. If it fails, you dont lose Will points, but your power goes off in
a random direction. It might hit one of your buddies, it might discharge straight up into the air, or it might even hit an attacker. Some
GMs just determine this by deciding themselves. Some roll a single
die with 1-2 meaning it hit an ally, 3-8 meaning it went into an inanimate object or the air, and 9-10 meaning it actually went towards
an enemy - if theres one around. You cannot use your power in a
directed fashion in the same round it goes off accidentally.
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Healing
Ghost
You can project your senses outside of your body in a ghostly form.
This form is not visible to humans.
The GM makes a power check for you in secret and consults
the table below to determine how long you may project your ghost
form. You may choose to end he effects of this power at any time
before the end of its duration.
You must be in a safe, quiet location to use your power. On
a successful roll, your Ghost form appears and may be used to spy
on removed locales. Your form only travels as fast as you can under
normal conditions, so sending it to a distant location requires a great
deal of time. The form can pass through physical objects with ease,
but it cannot float or fly. If your physical form is disturbed while
Ghosting, make a Concentration check or your Ghost form immediately dissipates, and your consciousness returns to your body.
DC
5
10
15
20
25
30
Result
1 hp
1d4 hp
1d6 hp
1d8 hp
1d10 hp
1d12 hp
Force of Will (+1 point per rank): For every 5 Will points you put into
an attempt to heal, you increase the result of your power check by 5.
Empathic Healing (-1 point per rank): Any damage left over on
the target after you roll your healing attempt on them is automatically inflicted upon you as well. For example, if you healed all but
2 points of damage on a target, that damage would be instantly
inflicted on you as well.
Heavy Armor
Specific Damage Source (-4 per rank): Choose one effect from the
following list: Fire, water, radiation, acid, bullets, cold. Your Heavy
Armor power works only against that one type of damage. You
may purchase the Heavy Armor power with this flaw more than
once to gain resistance to multiple sources of damage.
Will Drain (-1 per rank): The power eats Will at the cost of 1 point
per combat round of active use.
DC
5
10
15
20
25
30
+5
Duration
15 minutes
30 minutes
1 hour
2 hours
4 hours
8 hours
Double time
Disturb (+1 per rank): Animals can see you in your Ghost form.
Dreamwalk (-1 per rank): Your power only works when you are
sleeping (in a safe and comfortable environment). Otherwise, it
operates normally.
Insubstantiality
You can become immaterial. Roll a power check and slip through
any object as if it wasnt there. Unfortunately, when youre out of
phase with the physical world, you cannot breathe, hear, speak or
interact with any normal object or person physically, since your
atoms do not intersect with the solid world. In addition, after a number of minutes equal to your ranks in Insubstantiality, you begin to
asphyxiate from lack of air. Better not stay insubstantial too long...
While insubstantial, you may move at half your movement
rate. If you try to move through a solid object, find the DC you
need to beat with a power check. You may move a quarter of your
movement rate while passing through solid objects. Make your
power check before attempting to move through the object. If you
fail, you simply bounce off it as if you were still solid.
You may not be harmed by any physical means while you are
insubstantial. However, you cannot use any means, including powers, to affect any material object, including other people.
There are other problems associated with true insubstantiality,
for one, you tend to sink into the earth just as readily as through
any other object. So the only effective way to get through a wall,
a door or other obstacle without sinking into the earth is to jump,
turn insubstantial, and then revert to solid form for your landing.
You can also turn other objects you are holding insubstantial
along with yourself. You can render up to half your maximum lift
in pounds insubstantial, for as many seconds as you can hold your
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331
DC
10
15
20
25
30
Material Type
Loose earth or dirt
Rock or living material (plant or animal)
Concrete
Steel, iron, and most other metals
Lead
No Sink (+2 points per rank): When you turn insubstantial, you
remain level with whatever ground you are already standing on.
Unshakeable (+2 points per rank): You dont become visible unless
you want to, even if you are injured.
Sectional (+2 points per rank): You can turn a single body part
insubstantial while keeping the rest of your body solid.
Tiring (-1 point per rank): You take a point of subdual damage for
every minute you remain invisible.
Jinx
Lose Possessions (-2 points per rank): Everything you are wearing
or carrying drops off you the minute you become insubstantial.
Invisibility
332
but still see, you might be able to talk your GM into it by buying
an Invisibility Extra like See while invisible for +1 point per
rank. But only if hes not too picky about physics.)
This is the opposite of Aces. Things just tend to go your way, but
insomuch as people or threats that oppose you fail at whatever they
attempt to do to you. With it, you can force a penalty up to your
ranks in Jinx on any opponents die roll.
Like Aces, Jinx is expensive. Every Jinx rank used costs1
Will point. In addition any action which is caused to fail by Jinx,
but which helps you succeed, never yields a Will reward, no
matter the circumstances. So, if you roll a 20 in an opposed test
against someone on whom you used your Jinx, you dont get the
1 Will point reward you would normally get for the use of almost
any other power.
Blanket Jinx (+4 per rank): Enemies within 20 yards all suffer from
your Jinx power. The Will necessary to use this power is multiplied
by the number of people affected.
Stun
Stun is a specialized form of Harm. With it you can Stun any target
within range. Make a power check opposed by your targets Will
save. If you succeed, you Stun your target for 1d4 rounds. You may
attempt to affect multiple targets by splitting your ranks in Stun
amongst them. Roll separately against each target.
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Multiple Actions
Touch Only (-1/-2/-4): To use the power you must touch the
subject. Obviously, this makes it rather difficult to affect more than
one target.
This power allows you to take extra actions during a round. To activate this power, make a power check and consult the table below:
DC
15
25
35
+10
Effect
Gain a partial action for the round.
Gain an extra full round action or two partial actions.
Gain three partial actions or one full round and one partial action.
+1 partial action
Blunt (-1 points per rank): You can only complete tasks that dont
require complex or delicate maneuvering. You can punch, dodge,
or kick, but not sew, sort or write at high speed.
Perception
Precognition
You can catch glimpses of the future with your power. The future
seen is by no means permanent, and actions taken to change
future events are quite effective. For instance, a vision of your own
death in Nashville four days from now can be sidestepped by doing
your damnedest not to be in Nashville on that day.
This power can work three different ways. First, you can
attempt to see the future by voluntarily entering a trance. This is
a fatiguing process, and costs you 2 Will points per Precognition
rank used. Usually, in such a trance, a specific question or future
event is the chosen subject of inquiry. Such as When will Monstro
attack? or What will happen to me tonight?
Secondly, the power may spontaneously activate when you
are in or near an area that will be important to your survival in the
future. This is at the GMs discretion, but if this occurs, you lose 1
Will point per rank used.
Thirdly, the power may activate in your dreams warning of
some impending event. In this case, the only Will lost is any Will
which would have been gained from that night of sleep when the
power check is made. Also, this third version of the power is far
less reliable than the other two, in that no matter how well the
roll is made; the vision will always seem dreamy and indistinct.
Subtract 5 from the result of a power check made in this fashion.
Consider the chart to below to determine the level of success
of such attempts.
Type
of Roll
DC 5
DC 10
DC 15
Result
Update: If you have successfully seen the future, you can add +2
Power Stunt bonus to your Precognition check when trying to see
an up to the minute update of your vision, which will reflect the
changes you might have made through your actions.
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333
Static (-2 per rank): Your visions of the future consist of a single
static image, and nothing more.
Projected Hallucination
Everybody Sees It (+3 per rank): Anybody present sees the illusions
you project.
Psychic Artifact
With your hero ability, you can create invisible psychic artifacts that
mimic, at least physically, the abilities of common tools, weapons
and equipment. At this most general level, the power allows you to
create any sort of equipment, weapon or tool (since it has all four
power qualities). For example, you could create a fully functional
shovel, shield or even a pistol with the full Psychic Artifact power.
If you want to have a more limited power, such as being able to
only produce one particular type of weapon or piece of equipment, reduce the cost accordingly. For example, if you wish to be able to only
produce a psychic lock-pick, you could remove the attacks, defends
and robust qualities right there, reducing your cost to 2 per rank.
To create an artifact you must concentrate for one round and
make a successful roll against the DC set by the complexity of the
item, and the amount of damage it causes (if any). On a successful roll, the artifact is created, and lasts for the number of minutes
equal to your ranks in Psychic Artifact, or until you wish it
away. You can only create one artifact at a time.
The artifact is invisible to everyone except you. Otherwise, it
behaves exactly like a normal physical version of the object. When
attacking or using your Psychic Artifact, you utilize the skill a
normal version of the artifact would have utilized, not your power
ranks (for an extra level of Robust however, you can attack with
your power ranks instead of the relevant skill). Weapons made in
334
DC
+0
+5
+10
+15
Size
Damage Complexity
Tiny (a ring)
1d4
Simple (a block of wood)
Small (a book)
1d8
Plain (a grappling hook)
Medium (a sword) 1d12
Clockwork (a watch)
Large (a car)
1d20
Complex (a pistol)
Rapport
You can tag a target with your mind, and in a state of deep
concentration see it, no matter where it goes. You must be able
to touch a target to make a rapport with it and once made, the
rapport is not broken until you wish it or the subject dies. Once a
target is lost, you must touch it once more to restore the link.
The vision of the target is extremely vivid. You see everything
it could possibly see, and in addition, you see its entire body as
well. There is no sound associated with rapport, and sounds cannot
be perceived through the link.
When a person linked to you with rapport dies violently, you
suffer subdual damage equal to the damage dealt by the attack that
killed him.
Read Lips: By careful observation you can read the lips of those
seen within the vision of your Rapport. Add a +2 Power Stunt
bonus to your skill or Intelligence check when trying to figure out
just what people are saying on the other side of the link.
Multiple Targets (+5 points): You can tag one extra person for each
time you pay for this Extra.
Emotional Rapport (-10 points): You can only link to those for
whom you feel an overpowering emotion, hate or love, it doesnt
matter (this is at the GMs discretion). Those you feel indifferent
towards, your power cannot affect.
Regeneration
Your power can restore your body to health, despite gross physical
damage (but you can only heal yourself, not others). If you are conscious and concentrate for one combat round, spend a number of
Will points up to your rank in Regeneration, and make a Regeneration power check. Consult the table below to determine the extent
of your injuries you were able to heal. Injuries may not be healed
if you are unconscious or drugged. Severed limbs or completely
destroyed organs cannot be re-grown with this power.
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DC
10
15
20
25
30
Result
Heal 1d4 damage per Will point spent.
Heal 1d8 damage per Will point spent.
Heal 1d12 damage per Will point spent.
Heal 1d20 damage per Will point spent.
Heal all damage OR restore a crippled limb OR cure
one disease. You may select one of these options per Will
point spent, and may choose one option more than once.
Regrowth (+2 per rank): Like a lizard, you can re-grow severed or
destroyed limbs or organs on a successful power check (DC 30).
Sidekick
You have a single invisible friend who follows your mental or verbal
orders. The abilities that the Sidekick possesses are up to you.
Determine the total number of points spent on this ability and divide
this pool between the Sidekicks physical stats: Strength, Dexterity,
and Constitution (from inception, these stats remain constant). The
Sidekicks other stats (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) are the
same as yours. If the Sidekick has any other super abilities, they must
be purchased separately and attached to the Sidekick.
Sidekicks are invisible. Attacks against Sidekicks are treated
as a dynamic contest between the Sidekick power and the attack.
First, the attack must hit the Sidekicks AC, which is computed as
normal for a human-sized target with the Dexterity score you assigned to it. If the attack hits, there is a 50% chance that such a hit
actually misses, because the Sidekick is an invisible target. Third,
the attack must overcome any defensive powers you have invested
in the Sidekick. Finally, you are allowed to make an opposed power
check against the attack roll. If your power check comes out higher,
the attack fails. Otherwise, if the attack inflicts one or more hit
points of damage, the Sidekick disappears and cannot be re-formed
for one hour. In addition, you lose a point of Will. Reforming a
Sidekick requires a successful power check (DC 15). In addition,
you must spend one point of Will.
Side Step
someone attacks you, you may attempt to use this power. Make
a Side Step power check opposed by the DC of the Reflex save or
your opponents attack roll. If you roll higher, you take no damage
from the attack. In the case of an area of effect attack, such as a
grenade, you immediately move outside of the attacks radius. If
this would be physically impossible, the attack affects you as normal. If you fail to beat the DC or the attack roll, you take damage
from the attack as normal. In the case of a Reflex save, you take
damage as if you missed the saving throw.
Anyone with Side Step can attempt to lead an attack towards another location for instance, the thugs knife pass misses
you and hits his accomplice instead. If you attempt this, subtract
five from your power check. If you succeed, the attack is resolved
as if it originally targeted the person you lead it into. Compare
the result of the attack to the new targets AC. Attacks the require
Reflex saves to avoid cannot be lead in this manner.
You may use this power only once per combat round.
Side Step Multiple Attacks (+2 per rank): You can Side Step multiple attacks at once. For each time you buy this Extra you may
Side Step 1 extra attack per round.
Hand to Hand Only (-1 per rank): Your Side Step is useless against
anything except hand-to-hand weapons.
Super Speed
This is the power to move really, really, fast - so fast that youre a
blur to the normal folks watching you. You also gain the power
to survive that kind of high-speed movement without blacking out
from lack of oxygen or getting a terminal windburn on your face.
Super speed does not mean the ability to perform intricate tasks
quicker, or to do more things in a given span of time. If thats what
youre after, see Multiple Actions on p. 333. This is just the power
to go damn fast: In practice, its much like flying a plane, driving a
motorcycle or using some other vehicle to cover distance rapidly. It
speeds up your movement, not your reaction time.
Super speed must be attached to a skill, a stat or a power. If
you want to be a super fast flyer, attach it to the Flight power. If
you want to only cover ground rapidly, attach it to a Running skill.
If you want it to be a little more versatile and cover running and
swimming, attach it to Strength.
When you use the attached skill (running, swimming, flying,
tunneling through the earth - whatever), you use the following
chart to figure out your base speed based on the result of your
power check. For each point of Will you spend on the check, add 5
to the check result. You may spend these Will points after you roll.
Super Speed DC
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Yards/Round
10
110
220
330
440
550
670
790
920
Miles/Hour Notes
6.8
75
150
225
300
375
Faster than a .38 Special
457
540
620
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335
1030
1150
700
785
Mach I
Just so you know, the speed of sound in air is 760 mph (near sea
level) - and almost every bullet has an airspeed between 1200 and
3000 yards/round.
If you wish to turn or make any fancy maneuvers while using
Super Speed, consult the maneuver table under the Flight power to
determine the DC of the action.
Mach One Punch: This Power Stunt allows you to attack with your
fists using Super Speed instead of your relevant combat skill. Using
your power, you strike the target hundreds of times a second with
your fist, causing 1d8 points of subdual damage.
No Gs (+3 points per rank): You can turn on a dime despite your
super speed without any ill effects (no DC check necessary, no matter how extreme the maneuver attempted).
Slow Braking (-2 per rank): You require a full round of braking
to stop safely. This means you also need enough space - if youre
zipping along at 900 yards/round, you need 900 yards of space to
stop safely. If you dont have enough room, you wipe out and take
damage. For every 100 yards/round you were moving, you suffer
1d6 points of damage.
Telekinesis
Multiple Hands: You can normally lift only one object with Telekinesis. With this Power Stunt, you can lift two objects at once whose
total weight does not exceed your total TK carrying capacity.
Weak (-1 per rank): No matter how many levels you take in TK,
you are never able to lift more than 200 pounds with it. You still
gain the bonus ranks for making attacks however.
336
Clumsy (-1 per rank): If youre trying to move an object with grace
and finesse, you must make a TK power check (DC 20) to avoid
accidentally breaking the object or causing it to swerve about
unpredictably as you move it.
Teleportation
Range Modifier
DC
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
+5
Range
10 yards
50 yards
1250 yards
1.4 miles
2.8 miles
56 miles
224 miles
896 miles
+100 miles
Size Modifier
DC
+0
+5
Weight Teleported
heros weight + up to 20 pounds
+100 additional pounds for each +5 DC
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Maximum Capacity (+5 per rank): You can carry up to 500 pounds
in items with you while teleporting without raising the DC of your
power check. Each 100 pounds beyond 500 increases the DC by 5.
You still must touch all the objects your want to transport.
Half Will Cost (+2 per rank): You suffer half the normal Will penalty for teleporting. Otherwise the cost is determined normally.
Thought Control
No Will Cost (+3 per rank): You suffer no Will cost for teleporting.
Disorientation (-2 per rank): Upon arrival you cannot act until you
successfully make a Wisdom check (DC 15).
Nothing Biological (-2 per rank): You cannot teleport anything biological (except yourself that is). If you attempt to move anything living,
it suffers your 3d10 points of damage. You must make a successful
grapple attack to teleport someone who is actively resisting the attempt.
Time Fugue
You can freeze time for a single object or creature with your power.
Everything smaller than the fugued object that is in direct contact with
it is frozen as well. You must be able to see the object, and make Time
Fugue power check that beats the DC based on the size of the target. If
you succeed, the object is frozen in time for 1d4+1 seconds. You may
extend this period at the cost of 1 Will point per second of fugue.
Objects frozen with this power will resume their former movement when the fugue ends (so frozen bullets will suddenly continue
along their normal path, falling people will hit the ground etc)
People in a fugue have no recollection of the time spent within the
fugue. You can fugue a number of objects equal to your ranks in
Time Fugue at any given time.
The bigger and heavier an object is, the harder it is to fugue.
Consider the following chart to determine the opposing dice pool
for objects you attempt to fugue.
DC
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
Weight Affected
<100-210 pounds
210-250 pounds
250-370 pounds
370-500 pounds
500-800 pounds
800 pounds-1 ton
1-2 tons
2-4 tons
4-6 tons
6-10 tons
Slow (+3 per rank): You can choose to freeze or slow time down
for objects or people.
Touch only (-2 per rank): Your power only works on objects or
people you can touch.
There are only two types of powers that can directly affect anothers mind, the Hypercharisma power and Projected Hallucination.
Hypercharisma is covered under the Hyperstats section. Projected
Hallucination is covered as its own power.
Transform
You can transform your body into anything you can imagine
while retaining your intelligence (other than a human being). Any
creature, substance or object you have seen or can envision, you
can become. With this power, you could turn into an eagle, a
griffin, a cloud of gas, or a four-post bed. Concentrate one round,
succeed in power check against the DC indicated for your transformed states weight and resiliency, beat the Transformation
difficulty number and poof, you become that new thing. This lasts
for a number of hours equal to the width of the roll, or whenever
you wish to revert back.
DC
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
Weight Affected
<100-210 pounds
210-250 pounds
250-370 pounds
370-500 pounds
500-800 pounds
800 pounds-1 ton
1-2 tons
2-4 tons
4-6 tons
6-10 tons
DC Modifier Example
Easy (+2)
Substances are related (Transform a person
into another animal.)
Medium (+5) Substances are similar (Transform from an
animal into an inanimate object.)
Hard (+10)
Substances are dissimilar (Transform from a
person into a fictional object or animal.)
In your new state, you may use any abilities that form possesses
(with fictional creatures, only non-super-human abilities can be
imitated). As an eagle, you may fly and attack with claws, as a bear
you can bite and claw, etc. When you transform you must divide
your Transform ranks between any of these special abilities (or any
abilities you formerly possessed in your human form, including
super-abilities). Any skill or stat bonus possessed by this new form
is limited to a maximum score equal to the Transformation ranks.
If you invest zero ranks such abilities, you look cosmetically like
the animal or form you have assumed, but you lack them.
On the other hand, you are also limited by that forms limitations. So as a four-post bed, you could not see, hear, smell or touch,
or as an eagle you could not speak. You gain your new forms
hardness and AC, but you keep your original pool of hit points.
Transforming from one shape to another does not change your current hit point level. If you are reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, you
immediately return to your normal form.
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337
Transmutation
You can alter the atomic structure of objects, changing one type
of substance into another. This power does not allow you to
change the form of the target, only the substance it is made of. The
target can be transformed into only one type of substance. With
this power, you could turn a gun into acid, or a tank into gelatin.
Concentrate one round, succeed in a dynamic contest against the
DC indicated for your targets weight and the Transmutation DC
modifier and poof, its transformed into that new substance.
Note: Living targets are killed instantly when transmuted into
another substance and they remain dead when the effect of the
power is removed.
DC
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
Weight Affected
<100-210 pounds
210-250 pounds
250-370 pounds
370-500 pounds
500-800 pounds
800 pounds-1 ton
1-2 tons
2-4 tons
4-6 tons
6-10 tons
DC Modifier
Easy (+2)
Example
Substances are related (Transmute
a metal into another metal.)
Medium (+5)
Substances are similar (Transmute
water into hydraulic fluid.)
Hard (+10)
Substances are dissimilar (Transmute water into steel.)
Extremely Difficult (+20) Transform a living creature
Note: These two specialist types stack. If a character has Target Specialist (Flesh) and Result Specialist
(Gasoline), he receives a +4 bonus when trying to turn
someones flesh into gasoline.
King Midas (-2 per rank): You can only transmute objects into one
type of material, be it carbon peroxide, sand or even plastic.
Using Powers
Power Range
Its difficult to concentrate while bullets rip through your flesh, and
most super-human powers require concentration to work. Since heroes
seem to get shot so much, its important to cover this eventuality.
First off, someone whos rolling to activate a power must make a
Constitution check with a DC equal to the amount of damage taken.
If a power is always active, it still may fail if the hero is injured.
If a hero is using a power that doesnt require a roll and he gets hit,
he must make a Constitution check with a DC equal to the damage
taken minus 10. If the DC is 0 or less, the hero does not need to bother
to roll the check, it succeeds automatically. If the roll fails, the power
shuts down until a successful Constitution check (DC 10) is made.
Some hero powers just naturally have side effects which may not
directly affect game play, but which are very noticeable to those
witnessing their use. For example, a hero who flies may project a
beam of light from his legs as he jets through the air, or a hero who
hurls balls of fire may have hands that burn while he is preparing
to attack. These are not really significant enough to add cost to
the Power Point total of the power, though they may prove useful.
Some heroes have no side effects to their powers at all.
The hero with flaming hands may be able to light a fire with
his fingers, or the flying hero may be able to illuminate an area
with his contrail. Imaginative players may come up with dozens
of ways to use their side effects in a productive manner, but the
GM can come up with a million more ways to make those side
effects deadly. Flying with a glowing contrail at night is guaranteed
to bring on an anti-aircraft gun attack, and walking around with
burning hands in a building may just set off the fire alarm...
Choose your side effects carefully, theyre free and they may
be useful, but they might just come back to haunt you in the end.
338
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Base Will is fairly stable: Its your default Will when youre not
swollen with self-confidence or crushed by loss. If you lose all your
Will, it will gradually rise back up to the Base Will levels, provided
you are not under constant adverse conditions.
The general Will trait is more important and less stable. Will
is used in two ways: You can risk it, or you can spend it. If you
spend it, its gone: Spend 3 Will, your Will rating drops by 3 (not,
however, your Base Will rating). If you risk it, it means theres a
chance you could lose it, or a chance you could keep it - or, for that
matter, a chance you could increase it.
1) You know you are under attack: Your power may not be used
to defend against attacks you dont know are coming, unless
that power is a defensive power with the Always On Extra.
2) You can see the Attacker: The defense is no good if you dont
know the exact distance and direction of your attacker, unless
that power is a defensive power with the Always On Extra.
The rules for Hyperstats, Hyperskills, and Powers assume that you
want to play a relatively gritty, down-to-earth superhero game. Not
everyone wants that, however. In order to support a more epic,
four-color comic feel, try the following variations on these rules:
Using these optional rules results in a much different game, but one
that can better model the freewheeling heroism of classic comic
book heroes. Of course, these rules were designed first to work
with the gritty, realistic tone of the rules presented earlier in this
book. Luckily for you, these rules are completely open source.
Bend, fold, and mutilate them to your hearts content. We wont
mind. In fact, thats what we hope some of you choose to do. We
cant wait to see what you come up with.
Will
You may have noticed that we use the term Will in relation to three
different numbers: Will points, Base Will, and Will save. A Will save
represents a characters ability to see through lies, deception, or to
exercise raw willpower to resist an effect. Base Will is a measure of
a characters normal level of self-confidence. Will points represent
the current status of a characters confidence. Base Will and the Will
save generally only change when a character gains a level, while Will
points can change often during the course of a game session.
In general, when we refer to spending Will or using Will,
were talking about Will points. When the rules refer to Base Will
or a Will save, they explicitly state this.
You cant use any of your paranormal abilities - Powers, Hyperskills or Hyperstats - if you have 0 Will.
Whenever you use any super-human ability, you must risk
a point of Will (See Gaining Will and Losing Will below).
If you succeed at activating the power, you do not lose
that Will point, if you fail, that Will point is lost.
Gaining Will
Your Will rating increases by 1 point whenever one of the following things occurs.
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339
Losing Will
Mental Fatigue
DC
10
15
20
Description
Witness a close friend killed
Witness a gruesome death
Witness a close friend killed in a gruesome manner
Immediate Result
First off, if you fail a mental fatigue check your character loses control.
You, as the player, have three choices.
Long-Term Effects
340
Losing Cool or Wisdom are obviously bad, because that puts you
on a slippery slope down to lost Will and pure madness. On the
other hand, losing Base Will makes it a lot harder to recover from
fights with other super-humans. Permanent mental illnesses though,
are no picnic. But at least you get to choose, right?
We dont really have room for detailed mental illness rules,
but look to the main rules for details. In general, the illness is your
brains way of coping with the unacceptable trauma of combat.
As a rule of thumb, when the mental illness fully takes over,
youre at a 4 penalty to all rolls due to the shakes or your brain
trying to shut down. (Or if you drown it all out with booze, make
it a 2 penalty to everything but the penalty stays with you for
hours after the crisis is over while the booze is still in your system.)
In fact you can treat it sort of like having a new feat, except its
a horribly deblitating one thats twice as bad as a normal feat is
good.
Mental illness is likely to come to the fore, whatever shape
it takes, under the stress of a crisis. Going into combat again or
suffering some other severe crisis triggers an immediate Mental
Fatigue check at DC 10. If it fails, the mental illness takes over and
you suffer the usual results of a failed Mental Fatigue check.
Its possible to develop multiple mental illnesses in response to
repeated mental traumas. Thats bad news. If that happens, going
into combat or some other severe crisis triggers a Mental Fatigue
check once for each mental illness. If you want your character to
become one of those poor souls shaking and weeping in the psych
ward, this is how it happens.
Saving Throws
Fortitude Save
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Reflex Save
Use Reflex saves to determine if a characters speed and agility allow him to avoid the effects of an explosion, a booby trap, or anything else that can be dodged. Add a characters Dexterity modifier
to all Reflex checks.
Will Save
Combat
Combat in the open source rules works much like a regular skill
check. Roll a D20, add you skill ranks, add the appropriate stat
modifier, and then compare the result to a DC. In combat, however,
the DC is always the targets Armor Class, the skill is a weapon
skill, and the stat modifier is either Strength, for hand-to-hand
combat, or Dexterity, for ranged combat.
Fights are broken down into rounds. How long a round lasts varies
from round to round based on what happens, but they average out
to six seconds each. During a round, a character may:
Initiative
Making an Attack
Damage
Subdual Damage
Not every attack deals lethal damage. Punches and kicks, for
example, have little chance to kill a character but may render him
unconscious. Keep track of subdual damage separately from regular damage. A character that takes more than his total hit points in
subdual damage is knocked unconscious for 3d20 minutes.
Weapon Damage
Weapon Type
Pistol
Carbine
Long Rifle
Submachine
Gun
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341
2d8
3d6 to all targets in 10 yard radius*
3d8 to all targets in 10-yard radius*
3d10 to all targets in 10-yard radius*
2d6 damage per round until fire extinguished.
DC 15 Dex check for others to extinguish, DC
20 Cool check for target to extinguish himself.
1d4
1d6
1d8
1d3**
* Successful Reflex save (DC 15) to take only half damage from the
attack. In addition, if the target is in a foxhole and is not at ground
zero of the attack, he takes only half damage. In addition, if the
weapon detonates in a pit or foxhole, characters outside of the hole
but within 10 feet take only half damage. With a successful save, a
character in a foxhole takes only 1/4 damage.
** Deals subdual damage.
All melee weapons add the attackers Strength modifier to their
damage rolls. Barehanded attacks and kicks deal subdual damage.
Combat Modifiers
Listed below are a set of common combat conditions and the effect
they have on attack rolls. Generally speaking, a situation that gives
the attacker an advantage confers a +2 bonus to hit. A situation
that hurts the attackers chance to hit causes a 2 penalty to hit.
Obviously, it is impossible to describe every possible combat condition, but here are a few common ones:
Circumstance
Attacker untrained with weapon
Attacker on higher ground
Attacker prone
Defender sitting or kneeling
Defender prone
Defender running
Defender has cover
Melee
Ranged
-2*
-2*
+1
+0
-4
**
+2
-2
+4
-4
+0***
-2***
See Cover
*This penalty does not apply to barehanded attacks, only to attacks made with weapons.
**The defender loses any Dexterity bonus to AC.
***Roll randomly to see which grappling combatant a combatant
strikes. That defender loses any Dexterity bonus to AC.
Cover
Given the damage ratings for firearms listed above, and given that
the average human has around 10 hit points, cover and staying the
hell out of harms way are the best methods to live through a fight
involving firearms. If a character hides behind something capable
of stopping a bullet, figure out what percentage of the characters
body is visible to anyone firing a gun at him.
If the attacker rolls a hit on his attack roll, there is a percent
chance equal to the percent of the characters body behind cover that
the bullet harmlessly strikes the cover, doing no damage to the target.
342
Burst Fire
Healing
Armored Vehicles
Heavily armored tanks and other vehicles take damage only from
mortars, artillery, cannons, and other heavy weapons. In addition,
a character with 2 or more ranks of Hyperstrength can damage
armored vehicles with their fists. To determine how many hit points
of damage a tank can take, multiply its heavy armor rating from
the main rules by 10. A vehicle with a heavy armor rating of 0 has
5 hit points. A vehicle reduced to 0 hit points is immediately disabled. In addition, each crewman must make a Fortitude save (DC
equal to damage taken) or immediately drop to 0 hit points.
Whenever an explosive device hits a vehicle, each crewman
must make a Reflex save or take half the damage dealt by the attack.
Fire attacks deal full damage to each crewman on every successful
attack, though there is no chance for the crewmen to catch fire.
As you can see from the weapon damages and wound recovery
times, characters pay a heavy price for taking even a burst of
machine gun fire. The easiest way to make characters more survivable is to give them some multiple of their Con in hit points. In
addition, you can increase healing rates by the same multiple and
perhaps even cut them in half or by a quarter to further reduce the
penalty for dropping below 0 hit points.
Mood
Gritty
Low-powered
Moderate-power
High-powered
Super-powered
In addition, feel free to drop the Keeping Your Cool rules if you want
your game to have a less gritty, more comic book feel to it. If you
want your superheroes to shrug off machine gun bursts and charge
valiantly forward into enemy fire, the Keeping Your Cool rules only
get in the way of a good time. On the other hand, they make combat
much deadlier and emphasize the terror of actual combat.
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is distributed under the Open Gaming License v1.0a. Visit the Open Gaming Foundation at www.opengamingfoundation.org.
Experience
Benefit
1 skill rank
1 saving throw point
1 stat point
1 Power Point
1 new feat
Cost
100 xp
150 xp
400 xp
200 xp
500 xp
Name
Skill ranks
Total feats
Maximum
Current level + 3
Current level + 1
Awarding Experience
Gaining Levels
Mood
Stats
Gritty
400 xp
Low-powered
600 xp
Moderate-power 400 xp
High-powered 400 xp
Super-powered 250 xp
Mood
Gritty
Low-powered
Moderate-power
High-powered
Super-powered
Skills
100 xp
100 xp
100 xp
100 xp
50 xp
Max Feats
1 + level
1 + level
2 + level
(level + 1) * 2
No max
Feats
500 xp
750 xp
300 xp
250 xp
200 xp
Saves
150 xp
200 xp
100 xp
100 xp
50 xp
Powers
200 xp
400 xp
100 xp
50 xp
25 xp
343
APPENDIX D
Game Mechanics
Squad Combat
An NPC squads dice pool gets one die per NPC. A squad
has a cap of 15 dice in its pool rather than the 10d limit
of individual characters. With three NPCs its 3d; with a
dozen NPCs its 12d; with 15 or more its 15d. Thats far
fewer dice than theyd get if you added up their individual
dice pools, but most NPCs spend a lot of time taking cover,
waiting for orders, clearing jammed weapons, etc.
With a squad you dont have to declare their actions
in detail in the Declare phase. Just add up how many NPCs
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
are acting, what weapons theyre using, and figure out how
many dice to roll. In the Roll phase, roll em.
In the Resolve phase, assign each set that comes up to
a single action by a single NPC however you like. This is
almost always going to be attack rolls, but you can assign
sets to non-attack actions like diving for cover or trying to
rally their fellows with the Inspire skill. But common sense
must apply. If a squad has nine rifles but seven are out of
ammo, dont assign more than two sets to rifle shots.
For a squad attack, no set can be higher than Width
3. If its Width 4 or more, divide the Width between two
separate actions.
When these rules first appeared in Donars Hammer, we
calculated the squads dice pool by taking the highest single
dice pool of a member of the squad and adding 1d per
additional member. This version is easier and plays better.
Recalculate squad write-ups in adventures as needed.
Weapons
The weapons that the NPCs use affect their dice pool.
Slow: Weapons with Slow ratings dont fire as often as
others. If the squad is firing Slow weapons, it takes a number of NPCs equal to the Slow rating plus one to add 1d to
the dice pool. If nine Heer are firing Kar-98 rifles (Slow 1),
it takes two of them to add 1d; they have a total pool of 4d.
Spray: Add the Spray rating of the NPCs weapons to
their dice pool. Each of the widest matching sets in the roll
(or the tallest if Widths are tied) must be assigned to an attack by each Spray weapon.
Elite Units
Morale
Squad Attacks
Squad Condition
Health
Squad Movement
A Squad Example
345
Bombardment
Taking Cover
Throughout World War II, shelling brought random, indiscriminate maiming and death. While cover mitigated damage, and the probability of dying in any single barrage was
relatively small, the sheer number of barrages made artillery
the king of the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the random, indiscriminate maiming
and death of a player character sucks. It might be historically accurate, but is it fun?
Artillery and mortar fire in Godlike is incredibly
deadly, particularly if a character is at ground zero and out
in the open when a large shell hits. This represents single
shots aimed specifically at a Talent.
The following rules simulate a different kind of artillery damage: that which can occur when an area is bombarded by artillery barrages of varying intensity and duration. In this kind of barrage most soldiers huddle under the
best cover they can find and feel sorry for the ones who are
ordered to go out and seize objectives despite the shelling.
Intensity
The artillery dice pool equals the bombardments Intensity. Roll the dice, looking for matching sets. As normal,
the Width of the set indicates the damage, the Height is
the damaged hit location.
Each character in the location being bombarded rolls
Coordination+Dodge, unless they are out in the open and
the GM decides they were surprised, or unless they were
already under cover.
Match the height of the Coordination+Dodge roll
against the Taking Cover Table on p. 18. This indicates the
hit locations protected from the shelling. If the characters
are in prepared positions, the position itself determines the
amount of protection they receive, but they still roll the
dice. A successful Coordination+Dodge roll means the character ducked down in time to avoid most of the damage.
Each character takes damage from every matching set.
If a hit location is protected by cover, that location is not
damaged (though there might still be Shock damage, see
below). A failed roll means the character was caught out in
the open and all hit locations are vulnerable.
Damage
In addition each character, even if safely under cover, receives the following damage:
Description
Mortar attacks: Width 1 in Shock to the head.
Cannon attacks: Width in Shock to the head.
10
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Minefields
Minefields in Godlike
Description
347
One-Roll Patrols
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Patrol Types
Complication Dice
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Terrain Dice
349
Beach
1 Soft sand
2 Rocky/coral shingle
3 Seawall
4 Beach obstacles
5 Beach house/hut
6 Dunes
7 High/low tide
8 Rubble pile/pillbox/defensive structure
9 River/stream mouth
10 Pier/dock
Forest
1 Thick woods with thin undergrowth
2 Thick woods with heavy undergrowth
3 Thin woods
4 Forrest trail/logging road
5 Ridge/hill with thin woods
6 Ridge/hill with thick woods
7 Thick brush/thick vegetation
8 Clearing with/without manmade structure
9 River/stream with bridge
10 Deadfall/barricade/other road obstruction
Hills
1 Valley with stream/river
2 Ridge line overlooking a shorter, parallel ridge
3 Gentle slope with little cover
4 Steep slope with loose earth/tree trunks
5 Barren hilltop
6 Thick brush consisting of thorn bushes/ivy/brambles
7 Sparse vegetation among field of scattered boulders
8 Thin forest with little undergrowth
9 Dense forest with deadfall/vines/loose earth
10 Isolated cabin/other manmade structure
Bocage
1 Animal pasture
2 Manor house
3 Crossroads
4 Sunken road
5 Farmhouse/barn
6 Cultivated field (open or planted)
7 Orchard/vineyard
8 Light woods
9 Stream/pond
10 Footpath/animal track
Mountain
1 Cold mountain stream
2 Cliff side
3 Road with steep drop off on one side
4 Cave/rock field
5 Thin woods
6 Scrub/brush
7 Valley
8 Ridge line/series of ridges
9 Ice sheet/snow cap
10 Chalet/cable car house/other manmade structures
Jungle
1 Marsh/swamp
2 River/stream
3 Thick rain forest with heavy undergrowth
4 Thick vegetation waist high or taller
5 Ridge/hill with thick vegetation
6 Clearing with heavy undergrowth
7 Bamboo grove
8 Natural obstacles (vines)/manmade obstacles (panji)
9 Rice paddy
10 Wooden buildings/huts
Desert
1 Sand dune
2 Hill with sparse/no vegetation
3 Wadi (dry riverbed or valley)
4 Hammada (hard packed barren plateau)
5 Small mesa
6 Cliff/steep wadi slope
7 Oasis/spring with light vegetation/olive grove/palm
trees
8 Scrub
9 Sangar (improvised defensive position)/pillbox
10 Railroad station/ruined stone fort/other manmade
structures
River
1 Dike/berm/levee along rivers edge
2 Hedge row
3 Stone/metal road bridge
4 Metal railway bridge
5 Lift lock/dam/reservoir
6 House/farm house/barn
7 Mill/stone tollhouse/other manmade structure
8 Stone wall
9 Thin woods
10 Pillbox/other defensive structure
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Steppe
1 Marsh/bog
2 Stream/river
3 Grassland (up to waist high)
4 Scrub/thick brush
5 Thin woods
6 Ridge with sparse vegetation
7 Short, wide hill or ridge
8 Tall hill with commanding view
9 Farm house/barn/other manmade structures
10 Pillbox/other defensive structure
FUBAR!
FUBAR Roll
of the FUBAR roll will apply. The player now has the
option of spending another Will. This continues, with the
player and GM spending Will, until either the player decides not spend any more Will points, or the GM runs out
of Will points.
If the GM won this special Contest of Wills, the result
of the FUBAR roll applies. The result can apply to the current combat round (the one that caused the FUBAR roll),
the next combat round, or a later combat round.
For instance, a jammed weapon applies immediately
(the same round that resulted in the FUBAR roll), allowing
the player to clear the jam next combat round. A dropped
grenade applies in this round, though the player can try to
scoop up the grenade or dodge out of the way next round.
By contrast, a distraction might not apply for several
rounds (it waits until the player attempts another dice roll).
FUBAR Generator
x1 Distractions
The next time the player rolls the dice, they are distracted by something happening nearby. A grenade
goes off near them. Something darts into their peripheral vision. Someone behind them screams, or yells,
Duck! The target is momentarily distracted.
2x Minor Annoyance. Apply a -1d penalty to the next dice
roll.
3x Major Annoyance. Apply a +2 Difficulty to the next
dice roll.
4x Minor Distraction. Apply 1 Gobble die to the next dice
roll.
5x Major Distraction. Apply 2 Gobble dice to the next
dice roll.
x2: Explosive Malfunction
The players explosive weapon malfunctions. This typically applies immediately if the FUBAR roll occurs as a
result of an explosives or grenade roll.
2x Dud: Fails to detonate. No damage from the explosive.
3x Short Fuse: Detonates early. Apply Area dice to target and
units nearby. Does not harm the enemy.
4x Fumbled Explosive: Explosive drops at the players
feet. Roll Coordination+Skill to scoop it up next
round and throw, or Coordination+Dodge to escape.
5x Badly Fumbled Explosive: Explosive drops at
the players feet and is close to detonation. Roll
Coordination+Skill or Coordination+Dodge at Difficulty 5.
x3: Firearm Malfunction
The players firearm malfunctions. This typically applies immediately if the FUBAR roll occurs as a result
of a firearms roll.
2x Jam. Roll Coordination+Firearms to clear, taking
5-Width combat rounds.
3x Underpowered Cartridges. Apply -1d penalty for the
rest of the ammunition in the magazine, clip or belt.
Spending a combat round changing ammunition negates this penalty.
4x Spoiled ammunition. Treat as a jam, then apply the
Underpowered Cartridges result to the rest of the
magazine, clip, or belt.
351
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
x8 Enemy Artillery
An unexpected enemy artillery barrage hits the players
position. Note that other players might be affected if
they are in close proximity of the player triggering this
result.
2x Short Mortar Barrage. An Intensity 4 mortar barrage
hits, centered on the player, lasting 1 combat round.
3x Short Artillery Barrage. An Intensity 5 artillery barrage
hits, centered on the player, lasting 1 combat round.
4x Longer Mortar Barrage. An Intensity 6 mortar barrage
hits, centered on the player, lasting 3 combat rounds.
5x Longer Artillery Barrage. An Intensity 7 artillery
barrage hits, centered on the player, lasting 3 combat
rounds.
x9 Friendly Artillery
An unexpected friendly artillery barrage hits the players position. Note that other players might be affected
if they are in close proximity of the player triggering
this result.
2x Short Mortar Barrage. An Intensity 4 mortar barrage
hits, centered on the player, lasting 1 combat round. Rolll
Cool+Mental Stability or lose 1 Will.
3x Short Artillery Barrage. An Intensity 5 artillery barrage
hits, centered on the player, lasting 1 combat round.
Rolll Cool+Mental Stability or lose 1 Will.
4x Longer Mortar Barrage. An Intensity 6 mortar barrage
hits, centered on the player, lasting 3 combat rounds.
Rolll Cool+Mental Stability or lose 1 Will.
5x Longer Artillery Barrage. An Intensity 7 artillery
barrage hits, centered on the player, lasting 3 combat
rounds. Rolll Cool+Mental Stability or lose 1 Will.
x10 Horror of War
The player is confronted with the horrors of war as
a friendly (or, if no friendlies about, enemy) combatant is killed in a particularly gruesome fashion near
the player. The player is likely to be sprayed with the
combatants blood and guts. The player must make a
Cool+Mental Stability roll, with the usual results applying.
2x Head Shot: The victim is shot through the head. Roll
Cool+Mental Stability.
3x Disemboweled: The victim is disemboweled. He
lies screaming in fear and pain as he dies. Roll
Cool+Mental Stability at Difficulty 3.
4x Decapitated: The victim is decapitated. Roll
Cool+Mental Stability at Difficulty 5.
5x Dismembered: The victim is destroyed by artillery, leaving behind dismembered body parts. Roll Cool+Mental
Stability at Difficulty 7.
Luck Roll
Related to the FUBAR Roll is the Luck Roll. The Luck Roll
allows the GM to determine, randomly, which player is affected by some random happenstance on the battlefield.
The GM can use the Luck Roll to determine the player
affected by a FUBAR Roll, in the case where it either
doesnt make sense to apply the FUBAR Roll to the player
whose roll triggered it, or in order to spread the bad luck
around.
You are familiar with explosive devices and can use (and
disarm) them in the field. Preparing an explosive for detonation is always a difficult task, and the results of an Explosives roll are very particularif there are time constraints,
failing a roll may result in a mistimed detonation or failure
to detonate altogether. If you have plenty of time and good
materials, you still need to roll, but any match is considered
a success.
Skill Additions
(Brains) Explosives
Circumstances
Difficulty
+2
+2
+2
Enemy materials
+1
Under fire
+3
Roll
Result
No matches
First aid can be used to treat wounds that are not serious enough to require surgery but still pose a threat to the
individual. You can heal Shock damage on a successful roll.
Killing damage cannot be reduced with First Aid.
First, choose which hit location to treat. Roll
353
6 gauze bandages.
1 book of triage tags and a pencil.
4 small bottles of Tincture of Iodine
1 large bottle of ammonia.
5 tourniquets.
Forcep case with scalpel, scisscors, clamps, pins.
1 bone knife.
Adhesive plaster and wire for splints.
Morphine (8 treatments), atabrine, atropine, aspirin,
cocaine hydrochlorate, sulfa, vitamin C pills.
Difficulty
No supplies
+2
+1
Medics pouch
+0
Field hospital
Under fire
+2
+1
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Army
Response Time
Artillery Difficulty
American
5 Width minutes
British
5 Width minutes
10
German
30 minutes
Japanese
5 Width minutes
Soviet
n/a
n/a
(Command) Intimidation
Torture
Deadly Threats
(Command) Leadership
You are trained in the principles of leading men in combat. With a successful Command+Leadership roll, you can
motivate a number of men equal to the Height of your roll
to overcome the shock of failed Mental Stability checks and
continue to move or attack. Leadership may also be used
proactively to motivate troops to brave particuarly dangerous enemy fire in the first place. It takes 5 Width rounds.
(Brains) Mortar
You can fire and maintain mortars, and you can direct mortar fire by correcting the angle of fire by eyesight or with
forward observers. Designate a particular target point and
check the result below for the results. Anyone in the open
facing a mortar barrage must make a Cool+Mental Stability
roll or immediately retreat for suitable cover.
Target Disposition
Difficulty
+2
+2
Moving target
+2
+2
+1 to +3
Roll
Result
Difficulty
Next Round
+2
No matches
Lands wild
+1
Lands long
+0
Lands wide
+0
Roll difficulty or
higher
Lands within 10
yards
Lands exactly on
target
(Coordination) Parachute
Difficulty
Mountainous country
+2
Under fire
+2
+3
(Body) Running
(Coordination) Skiing
(Body) Swimming
You can stay afloat and pull yourself through the water
without difficulty. Under particularly stressful circumstances, you must make a successful Body+Swimming roll. The
GM decides the number of rolls needed (based on distance) and the difficulty (based on encumbrance and other
conditions). If you fail, you sink. Roll again to resurface
and keep swimming. Fail this second roll and you begin to
drown (see p. 25). A successful roll allows you to resurface.
355
(Brains) Tactics
Height Modifier
60 or more men
+4
Tank(s)
+3
+2
Machine guns
+2
15 or more men
+1
Night
Enemy territory
Surrounded
4 or fewer men
(Brains) Telephony
Custom Characters
+1 in a stat
+1 in a skill
You can use and repair military voice, crank, and battery
operated telephone sets. You know how to run and connect wire, as well as conceal it from enemy eyes, and can
cross-wire sets to ring and answer at multiple locations
simultaneously. You can detect tampering on a line with
a Brains+Telephony roll at difficulty 3; beat a difficulty
of 6 and you can locate which portion of the line is being
tampered with.
356
Character Creation
Dice
Antitank Rocket
Brawling
Endurance
Grenade
Knife-Fighting
Machine Gun
Map Reading
Navigation (Land/Sea)
Pistol
Rifle
Run
Stealth
Swim
Survival (Jungle)
Tactics
Dice
Electronics
Hearing
Radio Operation
Telephony
Dice
Rifle
Sight
Stealth
Survival (Jungle)
Dice
Antitank Rocket
Brawling
Climb
Endurance
Explosives
Grenade
Knife-Fighting
Machine Gun
Map Reading
Mortar
Navigation (Land)
Parachuting
Pistol
1
1
Dice
Radio Operation
First Aid
Rifle
Medicine
Skiing
Mental Stability
Stealth
Run
Submachine Gun
Survival
Dice
Tactics
Engineering
Explosives
Flamethrower
Mortar
357
Talents
These new Talent powers, extras and flaws by Dennis Detwiller appeared in the Godlike sourcebook Will to Power.
New Miracles
Plasticine Touch
Qualities
Each Die
10
20
Hardness Table
Hardness
Substance
Liquid
Goo, Jell-O
Glass, wood
Iron (LAR 2)
Corundum (HAR 8)
10
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Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Extras
Flaws
Size Shift
Qualities
Each Die
10
20
You can cause yourself or any object you can touch to grow
or shrinkincluding people. Touch the target, get a success,
and the object grows or shrinks. This shift costs 1 Will
point per die thrown, 2 per Hard Die and 4 per Wiggle Die
(you can always choose to throw fewer dice). Objects and
people remain in their new size state for Width in minutes,
but only one object per touch is allowed to change. (This
means if you shrink a soldier, only his body shrinksnot
his gun, clothes or helmet.) You must touch the specific
target you wish to shift.
Enlarged people add the Width of the Size Shift roll
to their Body score (to a maximum of 10), and lose that
amount from their Coordination (to a minimum of 1),
for as long as the shift remains. In addition, they gain
the equivalent amount of Extra Damage boxes to every
hit location for as long as the shift lasts. When the effect
vanishes, these damage boxes vanish as well, along with any
damage contained in those extra boxes.
People and objects shifted upward in size grow in
multiples of the Width of the roll. (Optionally, if you want
extra realism you can multiply height by the width and
weight by the width cubed, to reflect the fact that volume
changes on a different scale than height; see the Size Tables.)
All qualities of the object (Damage, Penetration, Heavy
Extras
359
Flaws
One or the Other (-2/-4/-8): You can only Size Shift in one
direction, up or down, your pick.
Self Only (-2/-4/-8): You can only Size Shift yourselfnot
your clothes or equipment or weapons, just your body. Or
as a -1/-2/-4 variant, you can shift yourself and your clothes
and weapons, but nothing that youre not carrying or wearing.
Height
Weight
x2
x8
x3
x27
x4
x64
x5
x125
x6
x216
x7
x343
x8
x512
x9
x729
10
x10
x1,000
Height
Weight
1/2
1/8
1/3
1/27
1/4
1/64
1/5
1/125
1/6
1/216
1/7
1/343
1/8
1/512
1/9
1/729
10
1/10
1/1,000
Unconventional Move
Qualities
Each Die
10
20
360
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Top Speed
(Miles/Hour)
Top Speed
(Yards/Round)
15
10
22
17
30
22
37
27
45
35
52
40
60
45
67
50
10
75
55
The default cost includes all four qualities, and allows you
to:
Flaws
New Extras
These new Extras expand the usefulness of nearly any Talent power.
Locked On (+4/+8/+16)
Your attack power locks onto any target you can see
with a single successful attack roll. From that point on,
unless you choose to roll again, you may hit that target over
and over again in the same place for the same amount of
damage as your initial rollas long as you can see it.
Obscured (+2/+4/+8)
Rev-It-Up (+3/+6/+12)
Safety (+2/+4/+8)
Doubler (+3/+6/+12)
Seeking (+2/+4/+8)
Engulf (+5/+10/+20)
Your attack power inflicts its damage on all the hit locations
on a target, when you successfully hit the target that is.
Your power looks out for you. If it fails under less than perfect circumstances (such as say, your Flight power failing at
2,000 feet), it will do the minimum necessary to get you to
safety before cutting out. This Safety works for all transport
powers.
New Flaws
These Flaws restrict the use of nearly any Talent power, and
scrape up a few more Will points for character creation.
Beacon (-4/-8/-16)
361
Loopy (-2/-4/-8)
Loud (-1/-2/-4)
When you use your powers, your body glows for the Width
of the activation roll in rounds (in combat) or minutes
(outside of combat). While youre asking yourself why this
is a Flaw, consider the following question: Who would you
shoot at first, the regular grunt or the glowing guy?
Uneven (-2/-4/-8)
362
Shocking! (-2/-4/-8)
Glow (-1/-2/-4)
Go Last (-2/-4/-8)
Name
Weapon/Damage Slow
Spray Area
Health
This page may be photocopied for personal use only. 2012 Shane Ivey, Dennis Detwiller & Greg Stolze. Download a printable version at www.arcdream.com.
Morale
Notes
Name
Weapon/Damage Slow
Spray Area
Health
Morale
Notes
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Selected Bibliography
Ailsby, Christopher, SS: Roll of Infamy (Motorbooks Intl).
Ambrose, Stephen E., D-Day June 6, 1944 : The Climactic Battle
of World War II (Simon & Schuster).
Astor, Gerald, The Bloody Forest (Presidio Press).
Bailey, Ronald H., World War II: Partisans and Guerrillas (TimeLife Books).
Barker, A.J., Pearl Harbor (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Berg, Scott A., Lindbergh (Berkeley Publishing Group).
Bethell, Nicholas, World War II: Russia Besieged (Time-Life Books).
Bevor, Anthony, Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942-1943 (Penguin USA).
Bishop, Edward, Their Finest Hour: The Story of the Battle of
Britain 1940 (Ballantine Books Inc.)
Botting, Douglas, World War II: The Second Front (Time-Life
Books).
Boyle, David, World War II: A Photographic History (Barnes &
Noble Books).
Caidin, Martin, ME-109 (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Caidin, Martin, Zero Fighter (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Churchill, Winston, Second World War Volumes 1-6 (Houghton
Mifflin Co.).
Collins, Larry & Lapierre, Dominique, Is Paris Burning? (Castle
Books).
Commager, Henry Steele, Henry Steele Commagers The Story of
the Second World War (Brasseys Publishing).
Cooper, Bryan, PT Boats, (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Darman, Peter, Uniforms of World War II (Chartwell Books Inc.).
Elstob, Peter, Bastogne (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Elstob, Peter, Battle of the Reichswald (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Ford, Brian, German Secret Weapons: Blueprint for Mars (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Fort, Charles F., Wild Talents (Barnes & Noble Books).
Forty, George, U.S. Army Handbook 1939-1945 (Barnes &
Noble Books).
Frankland, Noble, Bomber Offensive (Ballantine Books Inc.).
Henderson, Harry B. and Morris, Herman C., World War II in
Pictures (The Journal of Living Publishing Corp. New York).
Holmes, Richard, Bir Hakim (Ballantine Books Inc.).
364
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
INDEX
Index
Affinity Sense 57
Aachen 238
Agedabia 142
Akagi 183
10.5 cm K 18 267
Alert 58
8 cm Granatwerfer 34 267
15 cm Infantriegeschtz 33 267
15 cm Kanone 39 267
81 mm Model 99 271
Alternate Form 58
Area/Penetration Chart 22
Argonaut 190
Always On 52
21 cm Mrs 18 267
90 mm Gun M1 273
24 cm Kanone 3 267
90 mm Model 94 271
Armor 19
ArmorHeavy Armor 19
A Word on Cover 16
Ablative 75
Abruzzi 214
Absolute Concentration 88
Athenia 110
Absolute Duplication 66
5 cm Granatwerfer 36 267
Aces 56
Attach 53
5 cm Pak 38 267
Addiction 57
Affinity 57
ArmorLight Armor 19
Animal Magic 66
Augusta 153
Archer 278
365
INDEX
Bougainville 219, 220
Co-Stars 288
Brains Skills 10
Caserta 247
Coventry 134
Cover 18
BA-10 281
Ceylon 177
Break 60
Create 63
Chain Lightning 69
Backfires 53
Breather 77
Bad Dog 84
Bremerhaven 143
Brescia 247
Crpon 228
Brindisi 216
Character Advancement 27
Chetniks 209
BAR 273
Choseul 219
Battle Fatigue 94
Damage 13
186
Automatic 82
B
B-17 Flying Fortress 206, 219, 220,
222
Bayeux 228
Bayombong Talent Museum 168
Bazooka M1 273
Bazooka M1A1 273
Beacon 362
Belgium 31, 114, 121, 122, 188, 236,
237, 240
Bellerophon (Salet Miceweski) 31, 127, 129
Bens, Eduard, President 239
Benghazi 142, 173, 174
Beria, Lavrenti, Commissar 101, 130,
151
Dampen 64
Bryansk 214
BT-7 Fast Tank 280
Budapest 223
Blanket Control 63
Blanket Jinx 78
Blind Spots 67
Blind Teleportation 86
Blitzen 143, 240
Block 60
Bloody Ridge 189, 193
Blue Accord 141, 148
Blunt 79
Bocage 229, 232
Body Skills 9
Body Stat Table 8
Bombardment 346
Bne 195, 199
Bormann, Martin 147, 248
366
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Coastwatchers 193
Cold 25
Blackpool 128
Clumsy 85
Cobaka (Name Unknown) 188
Buddy, Buddy 87
Bitburg 237
Daimler-Benz G5 269
Bismarck 148
Dachau 248
Damage Location 14
Bishepur 231
Bind 59
Cover Fire 16
Combat 13
Combat Precognition 70
Cme-du-Monte 226
Command Skills 10
Compegne, Isabelle (Alias ) 207
Constructing a Campaign 285
Contagious 57
Contagious Dampen 65
Containment 60
Continuity 286
Control 62
Carbine M1 272
Cornucopia 69
INDEX
Detailed 58
Emotional Rapport 82
ExtraLevitating 81
Detection 66
Empathic Healing 75
Endless 52
ExtraLocked On 361
ExtraMaximum Capacity 86
Fetch 69
ExtraMothering 80
Feuerzauber (Obersturmbannfhrer
Ernst Karsten) 125
ExtraMutable 83
Engulf 361
Fiddly Bits 73
ExtraNo Blur 68
ExtraNo Gs 85
Eritrea 135
ExtraNo Inertia 52
ExtraNo Leverage 52
ExtraNo Sink 77
Eustis 157
Everybody Sees It 88
Disarming 17
ExtraNo Weight 53
Disintegration 67
ExtraNon-Verbal 87
FK 16 nA 267
Exceptional Block 60
ExtraNot Affected 73
Flamboyant 57
Disorientation 87
Exeter 114
ExtraObscured 361
Flamethrower 23
Disturbing 70
Expensive 53
Flamethrower M1 274
Extended Duration 81
ExtraPhysical 70
Dodging 18
Extra Tough 68
ExtraPhysical Stuff 60
ExtraPiecemeal 68
Flammenwerfer 34 267
ExtraAffinity Sense 52
ExtraPrecise Control 63
Flammenwerfer 40 267
Do-It-Yourself Skills 9
ExtraAlways On 52
ExtraRadius 92
Flammenwerfer 41 267
ExtraAnimal Magic 66
ExtraReflexive 53
FlawAblative 75
Doppelgnger (Obersturmbannfhrer
Franz Stadler) 170
ExtraRegrowth 82
FlawAbsolute Concentration 88
FlawAbsolute Duplication 66
Doubler 361
ExtraResiliency 90
ExtraAutomatic 82
FlawAddiction 57
Dream Walk 70
ExtraRev-It-Up 361
ExtraBlanket Jinx 78
Extras 52
FlawAttach 53
Dreams 58
ExtraBlind Teleportation 86
FlawBackfires 53
Drowning 25
ExtraSafety 361
ExtraBreather 77
FlawBad Dog 84
ExtraSeeking 361
ExtraBuddy, Buddy 87
FlawBeacon 362
ExtraBumping 359
ExtraSectional 77
FlawBlanket Control 63
FlawBlind Spots 67
ExtraCombat Precognition 70
FlawBlunt 74
ExtraContagious 57
ExtraShared 76
ExtraContagious Dampen 65
ExtraSharing is Caring 57
ExtraSilent 87
FlawChain Lightning 69
ExtraCornucopia 69
ExtraDestructive 361
FlawClumsy 85
ExtraDetailed 58
ExtraSuperimposed 79
ExtraDisturbing 70
ExtraTouch 85
FlawDisorientation 87
ExtraDoubler 361
ExtraTracking Detection 67
FlawDream Walk 70
ExtraDuplicate 64
ExtraUnconscious 53
FlawDreams 58
ExtraUnlimited 60
FlawEmotional Rapport 82
ExtraEndless 52
ExtraUnshakeable 78
FlawEmpathic Healing 75
ExtraEngulf 361
ExtraUnshaken 76
FlawExpensive 53
ExtraEverybody Sees It 88
ExtraVanish 89
FlawEye Contact 87
ExtraVicious 74
FlawForced Attendance 87
ExtraExceptional Block 60
ExtraViola! 73
ExtraExtended Duration 81
ExtraVisible 81
FlawGive or Take 57
ExtraFiddly Bits 73
ExtraYour Element 57
FlawGlow 362
ExtraFlamboyant 57
Eye Contact 87
Dunkirk 119
Duplicate 69
Dsenpack (Jetpack) 149
Dutch East Indies 176
Duties 292
Dying 15
Dynamic Contests 11
E
Eichmann, Adolf 172
Eifel Tower 236
Eighth Air Force 206, 210, 215, 219
Eindoven 237
Einhandgranate (Egg Hand Grenade)
267
Einsatzgruppen (Action Groups) 141
Einstossflammenwerfer 46 267
Eisenhower Plan 175, 296
Eisenhower, Dwight D., General 171,
175, 190, 225
ExtraFlicker 68
ExtraFocus 57
FlawGraphic 74
F
FlawGreedy 64
Fade 68
FlawHand-to-Hand Only 83
ExtraForce of Will 57
FlawInterfere 53
ExtraGlobal Range 86
Falling 25
FlawJumpy 74
Electrocution 24
ExtraHardened 75
FlawLoopy 362
ExtraHeadhunter 84
FlawLoud 362
ExtraInsanely Lucky 57
367
INDEX
FlawKing Midas 91
Focus 57
FlawLeaves Scars 75
Give or Take 57
FlawLimited by Species 90
Food 293
FlawLimited by Type 90
Force of Will 57
FlawLimited Height 57
Forced Attendance 87
Global Range 86
Glow 362
Gneisenau 175
Hiroshima 249
Go First 70
Hood 148
FlawLimited Width 57
Go Last 362
Gobble Dice 18
FlawLose Possessions 77
FlawMental Strain 56
Hornet 178
Goldberg Science 70
FlawNervous Habit 56
FlawNo Contest 56
FlawNo Go 92
Fhrerprotektor 212
Graphic 74
FlawLimited Target 91
FlawLimited to Animate or Inanimate
Forms 90
FlawNon-organic 68
FlawNothing Biological 87
FlawOne of a Kind 73
Greedy 64
G
Reichsprotektor 153
HyperstatHyperbrains 46
Grenades 23
HyperstatHypercool 48
Grunts 288
HyperstatHypercoordination 44
HyperstatHypercommand 48
FlawPeace of Mind 56
Guam 233
Hyperstats 49
Gamgaw 206
Hyperstats Table 43
FlawPicky 60
Gunfire 15
FlawPoof 60
Aiming 15
FlawRunning Start 70
Flaws 53
Gauleiter 121
FlawSee It First 67
FlawSensitive 79
Immunity 75
Hagganah 206
Imphal 229
FlawShocking! 362
FlawShort Duration 56
FlawShy 56
Hand-to-Hand 17
FlawSlow 87
FlawSlow Braking 85
Insanely Lucky 57
FlawSlow Change 66
Instant Death 76
FlawStatic 80
Hand-to-Hand Only 83
Insubstantiality 77
FlawStrenuous 73
Hard Dice 40
Invisibility 77
FlawStruggle 65
Hardened 75
FlawTiring 78
Harm 73
FlawTouch Only 84
Izyum 182
FlawUncertain Arrival 87
Haruna 230
FlawPerception Based 76
FlawUnconscious 78
FlawUncontrollable 56
FlawUneven 362
FlawVampiric 66
FlawVisible 81
FlawVisible Up Close 68
FlawWeak 85
FlawWill Drain 75
Fletcher, Frank J., Rear Admiral 180,
183
Fleury-sur-Orne 231
Flicker 68
Fliegerkorps II 161
Flight 69
368
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Hashomer 209
Hasselt 121
Headhunter 84
Healing 74
Interfere 53
J
Jackson, Harmon L. (Bubblegum
Jackson) 147
Heavy Armor 75
Gestapo 107
Height 10
Getting Better 14
Getting Worse 15
Gewehr 41 266
Gewehr 43 266
Gewehr 98 266
Ghost 70
Heydrich, Reinhard, SS
INDEX
Japanese Mortars 271
Marsala 213
Maximum Capacity 86
Mossad 242
Jinx 78
Mostar 145
Limited by Species 90
Mental Strain 56
Moving Targets 16
Limited by Type 90
Mers-el-Kbir 130
Mozyr 220
Limited Height 57
Messina 215
MP 18 266
Jumpy 74
Limited Target 91
MP 34 266
MG 131 266
MP 35 266
MG 15 266
MP 38 266
Limited Width 57
MG 151 266
MP 40 266
Kachins 206
MG 151/20 266
MG 26(t) 266
MG 30 (t) 266
MG 34 266
MG 37 (t) 266
Multiple Actions 78
MG 42 266
Location 288
MG 81 266
Locked On 361
Loopy 362
Lord Yama (Name Unknown) 205, 206
Multiple Shots 16
Lose Possessions 77
Murder 19
Loud 362
Musashi 239
Kiev 155
Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt 143
Minefields 347
Mutable 83
Miracles 50
Myitkyina 234
King Midas 91
Klingen, Georg (Der Seefahrer )
140, 219
Kniep, Matthias 244
Mothering 80
M1 Thompson 273
Knigsberg 159
Misha 196
Nagasaki 249
Nagato 239
Kraftfahrzeug 15 269
Kraftfahrzeug 2 269
Missions 289
Mk 1 Matilda 277
Model 23 271
Kursk 211
Model 92 270
Model 93 270
Machinegun 22
Model 91 271
Machinegun (Skill) 9
La Belle Curve 7
Madagascar 180
Model 97 271
Model 99 270
Malaya 163
Malta 217
Leadership 10
Montecorvino 216
Montlimiar 234
Manila 243
Leaves Scars 75
Montenegro 209
Montevideo 114
Niko 218
Nikolayev 224
Maquis 235
369
INDEX
No Altitude Limit 70
Poof 60
Richmond 204
No Blur 68
No Contest 56
No Gs 85
Oradur-sur-Glane 229
No Go 92
No Inertia 52
No Leverage 52
Power Mechanics 40
ROKS-2 280
No Liquids or Gas 61
Roma 217
No Physical Change 56
No Sink 77
No Upward Limit 52
PPSh- 41 279
No Weight 53
Ouistreham-Riva-Bella 227
Prague 153
Precise Control 63
Non-organic 68
Precognition 79
Non-Verbal 87
Norsk 202
Preparation 285
Palermo 212
Ryujo 230
Not Affected 73
Nothing Biologica 87l
Panzerfaust 266
Panzerbrandgranaten 267
Safety 361
Panzergranate 267
Projected Hallucination 88
Panzerhandgranate 267
Panzerhandmine 267
Obscured 361
Panzermine 267
Odessa 223
Panzerschreck 267
370
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Prokhorovka 212
Prome 177
Protocol 294
Psychic Artifact 81
Salerno 216
PTRD- 41 279
PTRS- 41 279
Saratoga 170
Part FourTalents 35
Part OneIntroduction 1
Quantifying Skills 9
Panzerwurfmine 267
Parachutists Rifle Type 1 270
Part EightThe Campaign 282
Peace of Mind 56
Rabaul 220
Radius 92
Perception 79
Perception Based 76
Raketenpanzerbchse 267
Physical 70
Randazo 214
Sectional 77
Physical Stuff 60
Range 16
PIAT 276
See It First 67
Picky 60
Rapport 82
Piecemeal 68
Reflexive 53
Seeking 361
Regeneration 82
Regrowth 82
Sense Skills 10
Repulse 163
Ploesti 214
Resiliency 90
Sensitive 79
Pneumo-Ray 203
Resolution 10
Rev-It-Up 361
Sevastopol 159
Richelieu 130
INDEX
SG 43 279
SkillTelephony 356
Strenuous 73
SGM 3 279
SkillThrow 9
Talent PowerRapport 82
Shared 76
SkillTouch 10
Struggle 65
Talent PowerRegeneration 82
Sharing is Caring 57
Stun 84
Slang 261
Talent PowerSidekick 83
Slow 22
Shock Damage 13
Slow Braking 85
Submachine gun 22
Talent PowerStun 84
Shocking! 362
Slow Change 66
Shoho 178
Super Speed 84
Talent PowerTelekinesis 85
Shokaku 181
Talent PowerTeleportation 86
Short Duration 56
Shy 56
Sicily 211
Sniper 16
Supplies 293
Side Step 83
Surhomme (Super-men) 36
Sidekick 83
Syria 151
Silent 87
Singapore 176
Talent Qualities 51
Talent QualityAttacks 51
SkillAnti-Tank Rocket 9
Talent QualityDefends 51
SkillAthletics 9
Talent QualityRobust 51
SkillBrawl 9
SkillCryptography 10
SkillDodge 9
SkillDrive (Type) 9
Taiho 230
SkillEducation 10
Talent 36
Spearfish 180
Taranto 134
SkillElectronics 10
Talent PowerAces 56
SkillEndurance 9
SkillExplosives 353
Talent PowerAffinity 57
Talent PowerAlert 58
SkillFlamethrower 9
Sprenggranaten 267
Talent PowerBind 59
Telekinesis 85
Teleportation 86
SkillGrenade 9, 23, 24
Talent PowerBlock 60
SkillHealth 9
Talent PowerBreak 60
Talent PowerContainment 60
Tellermine 267
Talent PowerControl 62
SkillLanguage (Type) 10
SS berkommandogruppe Heinrich
Himmler 150, 211, 241
Tellermine 35 267
SkillLeadership 355
Talent PowerCreate 63
Talent PowerDampen 64
St. L 233
Talent PowerDetection 66
Talent PowerDisintegration 67
SkillMortar 355
Stadtkyll 128
Talent PowerFade 68
SkillNavigation (Land) 10
Stalingrad 125
Talent PowerFetch 69
SkillNavigation (Sea/Air) 10
Stars 288
Talent PowerFlight 69
SkillParachute 9, 355
Talent PowerGhost 70
SkillPerform (Type) 10
StatBody 8
SkillPilot (Type) 9
StatBrains 8
SkillPistol 9
StatCommand 8
Talent PowerHarm 73
StatCool 8
Talent PowerHealing 74
SkillRifle 9
StatCoordination 8
SkillRun 9, 355
StatSense 8
Talent PowerImmunity 75
Skills 9
Static Contests 10
SkillSailing (Type) 9
Talent PowerInsubstantiality 77
Talent PowerJinx 78
StGw 44 266
SkillSmell 10
Talent PowerPerception 79
SkillStealth 9
Talent PowerPrecognition 79
Themes 283
SkillLie 10
SkillMechanics (Type) 10
SkillMedicine 10
SkillMental Stability 10, 16, 21, 23,
24, 26, 27, 94, 354
SkillSeduction 10
SkillSight 10
SkillSkiing 355
SkillSubmachine gun 9
SkillSwim 9, 355
SkillTactics 10, 356
Superimposed 79
Talent PowerInvisibility 77
371
INDEX
Thought Control 87
Vimont 116
Wiggle Dice 40
berkommandogruppen (Super
Commando Groups) 150, 211, 241
Voila! 73
Wild Talents 36
Visible 87
Will 93
bermenschen (Super-men) 36
Visible Up Close 68
Will Drain 75
UD M42 273
Uncertain Arrival 87
Vittoria 211
Time Fugue 88
Unconscious 53
Uncontrollable 56
WINDOW 213
Tiring 78
Uneven 362
Tobruk 142
Tiddim 223
Unlimited 60
Walchev 133
Unshakeable 78
Walther PP 265
Unshaken 76
Uruguay 114
Transform 89
Yontan 246
Warspite 217
Transmutation 91
Yorktown 180
Trappani 213
Weak 85
Weapon Qualities 20
Your Element 57
Weapon QualityArea 20
Yungping 124
Weapon QualityPenetration 22
Yunnan 178
Vampiric 66
Weapon QualitySlow 22
Weapon QualitySpray 21
Vanish 89
Zed 92
Zhitomir 220
Weapons 20
Vicious 74
Vickers Mk 1 276
Type 96 270
Vickers Mk 4 276
What is a Talent? 36
Viddyhara 36
Zuikaku 230
Zyklon-B 173
Types of Damage 13
Zyklon-C 173
Villains 288
Width 10
372
Ishan Dionesian (order #5035945)
Nation/Ethnicity:
Age:
Date of Birth:
Ht.:
56
Profession:
Motivations:
SKILLS
TALENTS
WEAPONS
Attribute
79
Dice Pool
Brains
15202530
354045
50
34
Body
Command
Coordination
Cool
Sense
Base Will 05
10
10
Date of Manifestation:
Education:
WOUNDS
Wt.:
Spray/Penet./Area Cap.
Dmg.
Range
Close/Max
ARMOR
This page may be photocopied for personal use only. 2001 Dennis Detwiller & Greg Stolze. Download a printable version at www.arcdream.com.
NOTES
EQUIPMENT
MORE WEAPONS
ASSETS
MORE SKILLS
PORTRAIT
Attribute
Dice Pool
Spray/Penet./Area Cap.
Dmg.
Range
Close/Max
MORE TALENTS
This page may be photocopied for personal use only. 2001 Dennis Detwiller & Greg Stolze. Download a printable version at www.arcdream.com.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Acknowledgements
This paperback and PDF edition of Godlike was made possible by the backers of our 2011 Kickstarter campaign. If you
enjoy this game, please join us in thanking them for their extraordinary goodwill and generosity.
Matthew Allen
R Thomas Allwin
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Ludovic Chabant
Joshua Chewning
Chris Clouser
John Cohen
Nicholas Coldrick
Charles Coleman
Phyl Cook
Tom Cusworth
Phil Dack
Neal Dalton
Kirt Dankmyer
David
DavyRam
Thomas Deeny
Benoit Devost
DivNull Productions
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Gordon Duke
Herman Duyker
Edchuk
Eduardo
Stephen Egolf
Tim Ellis
Elmiko
Epimetreus
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Fantomas
David Farnell
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Forrest Franks
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Sergio Silvio Herrera
Gea
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Gianadda
Allan Goodall
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RJ Grady
Dustin Gulledge
Chris Gunning
Amber Hagaman
Kairam Ahmed Hamdan
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Thomas Henderson
Gregory Hirsch
Jason Hockley
Brendan Howard
William Huggins
Christopher Irvine
John Irvine
Jake Ivey
Brown Jenkins
Paul Jenkinson
Johan
Jonathan Jordan
JTC1975
Phil Kalata
Tim Keating
Kris
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Keith Kyzivat
Wade Lahoda
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Longspeak
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Anthony McAuley
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Will Minor
Gary Mitchel
Mike Montesa
Roger Moore
Barry Morgan
Ilan Muskat
Sarah Newton
Nikolay
Michael Novy
Christian Nord
Owlglass
Roy Paeth
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Paradoxdruid
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Peregrinefalcon
John Petherick
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Jos Luis Porfrio
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Runeslinger
Runester
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Tom Smith
Daniel Stack
Austin Stanley
Paul Stefko
Travis Stout
Alex Strang
Jim Sweeney
Chris Sylvis
Joshua Taliaferro
Lore Tarnas-Raskin
Tom Taylor
Temoore
Joe Terranova
Owen Thompson
Gil Trevizo
Bruce Turner
Justin Unrau
Steven Vest
Joe Viturbo
Janne Vuorenmaa
Michael Waite
Steven Warble
Matthew C H Winder
Kyle Winters
Dawid Wojcieszynski
Wraith808
Jack Young
375
Tactics and equipment of the Allies and the
Axis are detailed in Will to Power and the Talent
Operations Command Intelligence Bulletins.
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your fingertips and looks gorgeous on the table.
And the Arc Dream website is loaded with
tons of free adventures and other resources.
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