Rieker's Island, it was called by the men from across the sea. The natives called it Lacoyacoyo, which was Anuati for 'Hunting Grounds'. Largest in an archipelago of twelve islands, Rieker's Island was topped by a massive semi-active volcano, on the slopes of which grew vast, thick jungle, all the way to the black sand beaches that ringed it on all sides. A few small reefs made navigation treacherous in these waters, but a good sized port shanty had sprung up nonetheless, bustling with merchants, soldiers, explorers, pirates, and many more. The island was always hot, even in the winter, but this year was different.
The natives spoke of such hot summers as the one currently holding the island in hushed whispers amongst themselves. They called them the Seasons of the Great Hunters. Legends spoke of inhuman demons lurking in the heat shimmers, waiting to skin men alive and take their souls. They told the 'white men' as they called the men from the sea, that these years were to be feared and respected, and that even the 'white men' should offer up some small sacrifices to appease the Hunters. Most of them would not listen, not catering to the 'silly beliefs' of the natives...
On the shores, natives spoke of invisible demons, not knowing how right they were. High in orbit, cloaked by a sophisticated energy field that bent visible light, a spacefaring vessel was launching a deadly payload to the planet's surface below. It was a pod, roughly the height of three men. It streaked through the fading light of sunset, and ploughed a great furrow across one flank of the mighty volcano at the heart of the island. As it popped and creaked, the heat of re-entry slowly dissipating, stasis fields inside were being shut off, and occupants revived. Soon a small hatch on one side of the pod retracted, and a spider-like creature, about a foot and a half wide and three feet long, with eight long, finger-like legs and a long, prehensile tail, crawled into the dying light. It skittered down the side of the pod, and into the underbrush of the island, and immediately after it came eight more from inside the pod. A final spider-creature came out, this one a third larger than the others and black all over...
Welcome!Welcome to a new RTD! Rieker's Island is a RTD set in an alternate version of the world, one in which humans are technologically still in what amounts to the Golden Age of Pirates. Sailing ships and carriages are the finest, fastest transport available to man, bayonetted muskets are the height of military technology, and medicine mostly consists of cutting pieces of you off until they think you won't die from gangrene this time, hopefully. The world geography, politics, and other such things are not exactly the same, but I'll leave them vague until it becomes relevant. Predators have decided to bring their unique brand of safari to this world, and they've brought their favorite new toy with them, the Xenomorphs. You, as the player, will play as one of the three races, Xenomorph, Predator, or Human, and will attempt to survive and succeed on Rieker's Island.
Statistics, Vital and OtherwiseYour stats will be relatively simple, as will combat. You have only four stats:
Wounds - How many injuries your character can take before they succumb to the sweet embrace of death. Humans start with 3, Predators with 4, Xenomorphs with 3.
Strength - How strong and physically robust your character is. Humans start with 3, Predators start with 4, Xenomorphs start with 4.
Cunning - How quick witted, clever, cunning, lucky, or well-prepared your character is. Humans start with 4, Predators start with 3, Xenomorphs start with 2.
Dexterity - How adept your character is at avoiding injury, slipping out of grabs or into tight spaces, and also determines initiative. Humans start with 3, Xenomorphs start with 4, Predators start with 2.
Human Predator Xeno
W-3 w-4 w-3
S-3 s-4 s-4
C-4 c-3 c-2
D-3 D-2 D-4
Combat will be handled with simple opposed rolls, with stats being used as additive bonuses to the rolls. To determine initiative, both players will have a D6 rolled for them, with their Dexterity modifier added to it. The highest initiative wins, matching initiatives means both turns are simultaneous. To attack, one player rolls a D6 + strength, and the opposing (Player or NPC) rolls a D6 + dexterity. The highest roll deals a single wound, unless the rolled result is a 6, then they deal 2 wounds. Rolls adding up to six are not 'critical', only rolled sixes are. To fire a ranged weapon/use a thrown weapon, one player rolls a D6 + dexterity, and the other player rolls a D6 + dexterity. Critical rules are the same for ranged weapons.
If you wish to attempt a 'special' attack or maneuver, such as feinting to trip your enemy off a cliff, or laying in wait to ambush your foe, or attempting a sneak attack, you roll a Cunning roll. Cunning rolls are always D6 + cunning versus a straight D6. The success of a Cunning roll determines how successful your maneuver was. Let's say a Xenomorph was trying to cling to the ceiling in a chamber so that when someone came through the door, it could drop on them from above. The NPC Xeno would roll a D6+2 versus a D6.
D6+2= (1)+2 = 3
D6= (6)= 6
Failure
The Xenomorph rolled only a 3, versus his opponents 6. Such a low roll indicates that the Xeno either failed to cling properly, falling to the floor very noisily, alerting his prey to his presence, or the prey watched him perform this action, and is now setting up a counter ambush. If the Xenomorph had rolled equally to the opposed roll, then his ambush would have been foiled at the very last moment, and combat would begin as normal, with no party suffering ill affects from the cunning roll. If the Xeno had rolled more than the opposed roll, then he would have ambushed the prey, with each point of success indicating how much easier the ambush was. Rolling one point more means you barely surprised them, but still gain the upper hand. Rolling two points more might mean you completely take them by surprise, getting an entire surprise round for free. Rolling more than four points over the opposed roll would have meant the Xeno ambushed his foe, knocked him unconscious, and did it all silently, without being detected. All bonuses from Cunning rolls are situational and decided by the GM (Naturally, your initial intent with the roll does influence how it turns out, but I get the final say so on what happened.
)
Wounds do not ever factor into rolls. You merely subtract from them until you reach 0, at which point you are in critical condition. You can permanently give up one wound, one point of cunning, two points of strength, or two points of dexterity, while in critical condition, to be restored to one wound without fail. If you elect not to do this, you roll a D6 every round you are in critical condition. On a 1 or 2, you die. On a 3 or 4, you stabilize at zero wounds and do not need to make any more rolls. At 5 or 6, you catch a second wind, and surge back to your feet with one or two wounds restored, depending on whether you got a 5 or a 6.
Character SheetsI will say this part only once: Your character sheet must be in the below format. It most be properly capitalized where necessary, and your backstory should not read like the 'Guide to Writing Mary-Sues: 5th Edition'. You must fill out the Character Sheet and then Private Message it to me. Simply posting it in the topic won't get you into the game, I WILL ignore you if I don't have your Character Sheet in my inbox.
Xenomorphs do NOT need to fill out a Backstory, nor do they need to come up with a name, but either is welcome, as long as it makes sense. Predators do not need to fill out a backstory, they have a generalized backstory already. You are a young, unblooded hunter, looking to become a 'man' (Or woman, I'm equal opportunity.) and get your first kill. You do NOT have to call yourself a Yuatja, or use any of the other 'established' stuff about Predator society from the internet. Only what is directly seen in the movies influences this RTD, and you only ever see them hunting in the movies, so that's the only stuff that's laid in stone.
Humans can be one of three 'races' (You can be whatever color you want, unless you're a native. All the natives are black-skinned. As in literally black, not dark brown.) Native, Pirate, or 'White Man'. Natives are aborigines native to the islands, with a complex and deep culture. Despite their simple living, they know far more about the threats they face than any other humans alive on the island (Natives get situational bonuses to cunning against non-humans.). Pirates are the sea-faring cutthroats that lurk around the island looking to pillage and plunder honest men for their own profit. (Pirates get a +1 bonus to cunning against other humans.) White men are the men from across the sea, who bring their guns and swords and ships to these simpler lands, to 'civilize' them. (White men have access to superior equipment and gain a +1 cunning bonus when they acquire Predator technology)
Predators come with standardized equipment, Xenomorphs do not use equipment, and humans get a kit depending on their race. (You can switch out a weapon for something similar, within reason. Natives can use bolas, blow guns, and other simple ranged weapons instead of a bow, pirates can have a spear instead of a gaff hook, or a cutlass instead of a short sword. White men can trade their armor for 2 flintlock pistols.)
Predator Equipment:
-Cloaking device (Grants invisibility under certain conditions, only works on humans)
-Wristblades (Normal melee weapon (No bonus))
-Collapsing spear (Reach melee weapon (+1 strength))
-Plasmacaster (Ranged weapon)
Native Equipment:
-Bow and arrows (Ranged weapon)
-Hunting knife (Normal Melee weapon (No bonus))
-Bodypaint/loincloth/breeches (Aesthetic)
-Spear (Reach melee weapon (+1 strength))
Pirate Equipment:
-Short sword (Normal Melee weapon (No bonus))
-Clothing (Aesthetic)
-Flintlock pistols (x2) (Ranged weapon, single shot)
-Gaff hook (Reach Melee weapon (+1 strength)
White Man Equipment:
-Short sword (Normal Melee weapon (No bonus))
-Flintlock rifle (Ranged weapon, single shot, +1 wounds inflicted)
-Bayonet (Normal melee weapon, can be combined with flintlock rifle)
-Breastplate and helmet (Armor, +1 dexterity)
Name:
Species:
Statistics:
Wounds -
Strength -
Dexterity -
Cunning -
Equipment:
Description:
Backstory:
Once we have a few players, I'll start the plot up, but until then, Predators are on their ship preparing to go to the surface, humans are in the port shanty, and Xenomorphs are growing to full size inside a cave on the island.
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Topic: AvP the RTD: Rieker's Island (Read 13727 times)