GLOG Hack: Godkillers

 At last, friends, I do believe it is time. I've been working on this hack on and off for roughly eight months, ever since I first joined the GLOG community, and it has evolved massively from the scope I had originally planned. And the scariest thing is that it's still going upwards. But I'll talk about my plans afterwards. Right now, I present my magnum opus, the big kahuna: Godkillers!

CLICK FOR DOC

Featuring: 

• The best dice, the d12.
• Post level 4 progression because you're gonna kill some Gods, kid.
• A generally higher power level than most GLOG hacks, though still very deadly.
• A word-based magic system that allows absolute freedom to cast whatever the hell you want.
• Universal Templates: one level classes allowing for even more customisation.
• I have playtested this a lot and am still not sure how balanced most of this is.
• So many classes. Like genuinely, I look at this and wonder when I found the time to write all this.
• An ancestry table and an alternate advanced ancestry system.
• Probably a bunch I forgot to talk about. Go read it and find the rest.

Plans for the future:

• A hirelings and retainers system.
• More Ancestries and Classes.
• A domain system.
• Weapon and armor crafting.
• Alchemy and potion making.
• Tier 3: Godkiller.
• Psionic and Magictech Classes.
• Vehicle rules (Ships, Spaceships, Horses)
• Corruptions (I've already finished two but I want a few more before I do a release)
• Better monster rules and a Bestiary of some kind.
• Some dungeons and adventures specifically for the system.
• Magic items.

As you can see, there is still a lot I want to do, but I am happy with what I've thrown together so far. Quite a few playtests have been done, but far more are definitely necessary. Please, please tell me your thoughts, whether through the comments or discord DMs. Godspeed, friends, and await more content coming soon!

Pandaemonium Playtest Release: Adventures in the Circles of Hell

 Stuff is hectic right now, isn't it? Pandemics really have made the world slightly boring. Well, worry not, for I am here to remind you that at least you don't live in Hell itself! Pandaemonium is an RPG set in the Infinite Rings of Hell, where all of your characters are horrible people and power is all that matters. I don't have the time right now to finish fleshing out the rules, but the system itself has been finished and playable for quite a while now, so I decided to release it so that people could feed my ego. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF

Featuring:

• In-depth Demon creation mechanics
• Lots of d6s
• Faction-based advancement
• Betrayals and backstabbing
• Easy to build backgrounds

Please, feel free to praise me! And also give criticism where necessary. While I may not be in a position to rewrite right now, it will certainly be taken into account when I get things up and running again. And please, roll up your Demonsona and tell about them. Well, that's me done for a bit! Steal liberally and unapologetically, my friends, and godspeed to you all!

Eidomon: Slightly Updated Rules for Legallydistinctémon

All these new fads, and here I am, jumping on as many bandwagons as possible. This time the GLOG discord has decided to turn its corrupting gaze towards Pokémon, creating Legallydistinctémon like Balor of the Evil Eye gazing upon another hapless victim. But as more people have written on it, the tone of it all has become quite different, I think, and thus for my first order of business I will suggest a new name: Eidomon. Besides being amazing wordplay, the reason for this specific choice will become clear as this post continues. Click here for the original post.

However, so far there has been one rather large issue with the Eidomon idea: we don’t actually have rules. Well, that’s not entirely true. SunderedWorldDM took a very good stab at it, but there are a few changes I’m going to make to that system. So, here we go:

Throughout the ages, Eidomon have existed alongside the civilisations of the world as allies, enemies and food in equal measure. Created through the collective consciousness and beliefs of the world, they are dreams given physical form. For years, we have observed them, but it was not until the First Binder brought the Eidomon named Ghandra into his spirit that we discovered their true potential.

RULES

You play as an Eidomon Binder, someone who has learned how to bring the essence of an Eidomon into their metaphysical form and summon them at will. Each Eidomon in existence has a level (LVL) and a number of power dice (PD) equal to their level. PD are d4s. Each Eidomon has a number of Moves equal to their level as well. Moves are essentially spells, and are unique to each Eidomon. To use a Move, you decide how many PD you wish to invest. [dice] is the number of dice you invest, [sum] is the total of their results. If you roll a 1-2, the PD returns to your pool. If you roll a 3-4, the PD is lost for the duration of the battle.

Being part of your very soul, Eidomon do not have separate HP. Instead, the Binder has one HP pool, equal to the total level of the team multiplied by four. Any hit against an Eidomon reduces the Binder’s HP. Hits are determined by a d20 roll. To hit, you must roll a ten or over. Your roll is reduced by the level of the opposing Eidomon, and you may spend PD to add [sum] to this roll. You lose a battle if your HP reaches zero. If you ever take 1/6th of your HP in a single turn, the Eidomon you currently have on the field is unusable for the rest of the battle. The amount of Eidomon you can have on the field is determined by the type of battle (single, double, etc.). Initiative is determined by 1d20+LVL for each Eidomon, going in order from highest to lowest. Ties are broken by LVL or Rank. Each turn, the Binder may take an action and move, and so may each of their Eidomon.

After winning a battle, you gain half the total level of the opposing team in Ranks, which you can distribute to any Eidomon in your possession. Each LVL costs 10 Ranks. Every Eidomon evolves at LVL 5. An evolved Eidomon does not gain extra PD (your PD remains at 4), however each LVL one of your PD becomes a d6 until all four of them have been stepped up. You still gain extra Moves. An Eidomon who reaches LVL9 may enter Burst Mode, where for a single turn every single one of their PD will roll maximum value, however they will all be burnt on use. You take 3 damage for each dice burnt this way.

Unbound Eidomon have HP equal to their LVL x 10, and a maximum of four moves. Catching an Eidomon requires a 1d20 roll with a target number of the Eidomon’s HP + their LVL. Eidomon who are asleep or incapacitated do not gain their LVL as a bonus.

To begin as an Eidomon Binder, roll a team on this generator, give them names and one Move each. You begin with 18 Ranks to distribute as you wish among your Eidomon. Here are my starting Eidomon:

Cobroxin: LVL1 R2

Maddening Fangs: Deal 1 damage per round for [sum/2] rounds. Impose an extra [dice] penalty on the enemy’s to-hit roll for the same duration.

A massive green snake, the size of a double decker bus. It is said that its venom sends even the most sane person to pure insanity. Evolves into Jormungacid, a frilled snake as large as a double decker aeroplane. Cobroxin lives in the deep trenches of the ocean.

Gravursa: LVL1 R0

Graviton Surge: Bind [dice] targets to the ground for [dice] rounds, preventing movement entirely.

A pastel blue Koala, covered in glowing runes. Trees around it buckle under the weight of its gravitational field, resulting in large destruction wherever it rests. It evolves into Singularityrant, a black bear that sucks in matter around it, functioning as a living black hole.

Bullreas: LVL1 R1

Glacial Charge: Deal [sum] damage and push the enemy back by [dice]x10 feet.

A stark white oxen that lives on the surface of lakes, freezing the ground underneath it just by walking on it. Evolves into Avalox, an Eidomon so cold that it creates blizzards wherever it walks. A charging herd of Avalox and Bullreas is frequently mistaken for rapid glacier movement.

Kleti: LVL1 R2

Freezing Touch: Deal [sum] damage and prevent the opponent from using 1 PD next turn.

A big white yeti, just a bit taller than an average human. They are known for occupying abandoned mountain towns to simulate human society. Kleti evolves into Sasquake, a hulking snow white monstrosity known to hang on the side of mountain passes and drop onto unsuspecting prey, causing tremors as they land.

Ambrex: LVL2 R0

Light: Shed light in a 30ft radius for [dice] hours.

Telekinesis: Move [sum] kg of material anywhere within [dice x 10] kg.

A sleeping dinosaur, trapped in amber. Its latent psychic energy allows it to float, functioning as very useful lights in dark caves. It evolves into Crystasaur, a living psychic crystal formation. Multiple Crystasaurs in one place form psychic supercomputers that give guidance to nearby villagers as to how to improve their lives.

Wyrkagan: LVL1 R3

Fire Breath: Deal [sum] damage in a 30ft cone.

A seeming wingless dragon, like a large four-legged reptile. They do, in fact, have many transparent, insect-like wings that create an infamously ear-piercing buzzing sound as they fly. The record for the most wings found on a Wyrkagan is 200, 100 on each side. It has a very complicated evolution process, turning into one of ten different types of Dracovire. There have also been reports that Wyrkagan are used in the ritual to summon the Divine Eidomon Tiamadon.

Design Notes:

The idea of one HP pool was done to encourage Eidomon switching and also just to differentiate from Pokemon in some degree. This does, however, present some issues in terms of the sheer number of Eidomon you have. As I wrote this I was wondering if perhaps reducing your maximum number to 4 would work better for these rules.

Vayra Asks...

 I'm back-ish. After sickness and stress taking over for a while, we hope I can start uploading regularly again. Here's a few questions from Vayra, who you may remember from a review I did a few months back (weekly reviews, hah). I have answered to the best of my ability.

1) What class knows the most martial arts? Are they real martial arts like kung fu, or made up ones like krav maga?

For Godkillers, take the Brawler universal template. With that, you may use your fists as deadly weapons and take any other class with it. Flavour it however you want. For Pandaemonium, I haven’t implemented any yet, no.

2) Can I start out having already made a deal with the devil or do I have to do that in game?

Please do both. Especially in Pandaemonium. Kind of the whole point of that system.

3) Do you want me to write an 8-page backstory? Can I write an 8-page backstory, if I want to? If I write something down in it like I'm the timelost princess of the brass city and the daughter of the sun and I commanded legions in the Hell War but was betrayed by my father's vizier but I don't know that, or that I'm elf conan and cooler than everyone else, will that be true?

I like long backstories, but not if they are overly self-indulgent. For my more 5e-ish campaigns, at least a page of backstory for me to pull from and ruin your life with is a requirement. It allows me to bring your character in and let you do your own worldbuilding and be more involved in the process. For GLOG and OSR games, write long backstories at your own risk. You had better write three or four, just in case. I hold nothing back.

4) If I eat someone's heart, will I gain their powers? What about their brain?

No clue, but I am 100% willing to find out what happens if you do. I’d say it very much depends on the source of the organ. Though I do have an entire class based around eating organs to gain power.

5) These classes are boring, can I be one from somewhere else? What about from a different system entirely?

Not at the start. I need to playtest. But for the long haul, I’m entirely fine with it as long as it's cool and doesn’t clash with the tone of the game. There is, however, only so much conversion I’m willing to do for you.

6) If I make a sword, which one of us gets to name it?

You do, with input and approval from me. It’ll hurt all the more when you die and I get to take it all from you, or one of your companions takes it and carries on your legacy. I live on drama.

7) Am I allowed to kill the other player characters? What would I have to do to be allowed to? Do I win if I kill them all? Actually, how do I win in general?

Now this is very dependent on what kind of game I’m running. For nearly everything, I want you to talk to both me and the player in question to make sure everyone is on board. You win if you complete your character’s final goal. If that is killing the rest of the party, then brilliant. However, if we’re playing Pandaemonium, stab everyone in the back if it means getting more power. Every person for themselves in Hell.

8) What language stands in for 'Common'? Or what are we all talking to each other in? Like the party, mostly, but also everyone else?

In Godkillers, it's the language of the Kings, a version of the language spoken by the Author in the beginning of the world. In the Barrierlands specifically, it’s a dialect of Infernal due to millions of years spent under the rule of demons. In Pandaemonium, it’s the Foul Tongue, first spewed from the lips of Gharakha of the Endless Pit to allow his eternal armies of monstrosities to communicate.

9) How do I learn how to talk to rocks? No not once a day just, like, normally?

Be a dwarf, a wizard or learn a specific miracle.

10) Which kinds of wizards get to serve kings and live in towers and shit and which ones are run out of town or stoned to death in the streets? Can I be both? At the same time?

Wizards who keep their mouths shut get to serve kings. Wizards who talk too much might start speaking in Truespeech and raze a town or two. You cannot be both. Sorcerers get to be both, but they’re all gone.