DarrenGMiller
First Post
This is an account of my new D20 Modern Hudson City campaign. We all live in Horry County, SC. Hudson City is the Dark Champions setting published by Hero Games, written by Steven S. Long. Our modifications to D20 Modern are: 1.) Grim n' Gritty Hit Point & Bleeding Rules; 2.) 4th Edition Critical Hit Rules; 3.) alternate wealth rules. For those of you familiar with Hudson City, I've raised the level of grittiness and corruption in the city.
The game is a high reality, very gritty, street level, very low supernatural, no magic, now tech level, very cinematic game along the lines of the following inspirational material: Christopher Nolan Batman movies, The Punisher, Boondock Saints, Death Sentence, Daredevil, The Brave One, Taxi Driver, Death Wish, Sin City, Die Hard, Cop Land, The Crow, Unbreakable, Four Brothers, V for Vendetta, The Spirit, The Watchmen and other Alan Moore and Frank Miller grahic novels (especially their Batman), Don Pendleton's early Executioner novels (War Against the Mafia), and the TV shows The Equalizer and Dark Justice.
The PC's are normal people (but with above-average stats, most in the 15-16 range) who are living in corrupt, crime-ridden Hudson City. At some point, through their experiences with the crime and corruption of the city, they decide to become vigilantes, eventually taking alternate crime-fighting identities. There is a great deal of "role-playing" and very little "roll-playing" involved. Many action resolutions are approached cinematically, rather than by rolling dice. As I write this, we have played 3 sessions (though we generally role-play by telephone, text, email and our website forums and chat between our weekly sessions to handle small-group and individual situations) and have rolled very few dice outside of combat (a few resolutions such as search and spot). The few times the characters have entered into the vigilante crime-fighting realm thus far, they have either been wildly lucky or received a harsh reminder of their fragility.
I will start my "story hour" (campaign log) in the next post. First, allow me to introduce the cast of player characters:
Aaron Cage - a strip club general manager with a heart of gold (looks a lot like Dwayne Johnson). His club, Close Encounters, is one of the more legitimate clubs in North Elmview. He takes care of his employees and expects them to respect the club's code of ethics.
Johnny Amperello - a former juvenile delinquent who got a job as a janitor at Strake Industries but had to leave due to an accident in which he received a near fatal jolt of electricity. He is a genious (very much like Will Hunting from Good Will Hunting, but Italian). You will sometimes see him referred to as "The Italian" and his alternate identity is "Ampere."
Robert "Conan" Kreider - a former professional bodybuilder who came to Hudson City and opened a gym. He served under James Hardwick's father in the military and is a close friend of Aaron Cage. His alternate identity is "The Man In Black."
Hampton Fiennes - owner of an Elmview laundromat and dry cleaner. He feels responsible for the death of his twin as a child. His wife died in childbirth, so he is raising their young daughter (Cassandra) with the help of a young former medical student (Danni) he saved from muggers in his earliest foray into vigilantism.
Lt. James Hardwick - on temporary leave from the military mourning the death of his father, a retired colonel who was murdered during a break-in. Hardwick is staying with Rob while he is in Hudson City.
All significant PC's and NPC's can be found here.
The story begins with Aaron receiving a visit from Hudson City Police detectives after a former employee at his club is found brutally murdered in a telephone booth several blocks away. If there's anything you need clarification on, please feel free to visit our campaign website, or feel free to ask.
The game is a high reality, very gritty, street level, very low supernatural, no magic, now tech level, very cinematic game along the lines of the following inspirational material: Christopher Nolan Batman movies, The Punisher, Boondock Saints, Death Sentence, Daredevil, The Brave One, Taxi Driver, Death Wish, Sin City, Die Hard, Cop Land, The Crow, Unbreakable, Four Brothers, V for Vendetta, The Spirit, The Watchmen and other Alan Moore and Frank Miller grahic novels (especially their Batman), Don Pendleton's early Executioner novels (War Against the Mafia), and the TV shows The Equalizer and Dark Justice.
The PC's are normal people (but with above-average stats, most in the 15-16 range) who are living in corrupt, crime-ridden Hudson City. At some point, through their experiences with the crime and corruption of the city, they decide to become vigilantes, eventually taking alternate crime-fighting identities. There is a great deal of "role-playing" and very little "roll-playing" involved. Many action resolutions are approached cinematically, rather than by rolling dice. As I write this, we have played 3 sessions (though we generally role-play by telephone, text, email and our website forums and chat between our weekly sessions to handle small-group and individual situations) and have rolled very few dice outside of combat (a few resolutions such as search and spot). The few times the characters have entered into the vigilante crime-fighting realm thus far, they have either been wildly lucky or received a harsh reminder of their fragility.
I will start my "story hour" (campaign log) in the next post. First, allow me to introduce the cast of player characters:
Aaron Cage - a strip club general manager with a heart of gold (looks a lot like Dwayne Johnson). His club, Close Encounters, is one of the more legitimate clubs in North Elmview. He takes care of his employees and expects them to respect the club's code of ethics.
Johnny Amperello - a former juvenile delinquent who got a job as a janitor at Strake Industries but had to leave due to an accident in which he received a near fatal jolt of electricity. He is a genious (very much like Will Hunting from Good Will Hunting, but Italian). You will sometimes see him referred to as "The Italian" and his alternate identity is "Ampere."
Robert "Conan" Kreider - a former professional bodybuilder who came to Hudson City and opened a gym. He served under James Hardwick's father in the military and is a close friend of Aaron Cage. His alternate identity is "The Man In Black."
Hampton Fiennes - owner of an Elmview laundromat and dry cleaner. He feels responsible for the death of his twin as a child. His wife died in childbirth, so he is raising their young daughter (Cassandra) with the help of a young former medical student (Danni) he saved from muggers in his earliest foray into vigilantism.
Lt. James Hardwick - on temporary leave from the military mourning the death of his father, a retired colonel who was murdered during a break-in. Hardwick is staying with Rob while he is in Hudson City.
All significant PC's and NPC's can be found here.
The story begins with Aaron receiving a visit from Hudson City Police detectives after a former employee at his club is found brutally murdered in a telephone booth several blocks away. If there's anything you need clarification on, please feel free to visit our campaign website, or feel free to ask.