The Crib (aka Using other Games)

[Kesh]

crib

\Crib\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cribbed (kr?bd); p. pr. & vb. n. Cribbing .]
1. To shut up or confine in a narrow habitation; to cage; to cramp.
2. To pilfer or purloin; hence, to steal from an author; to appropriate; to plagiarize; as, to crib a line from Milton. [Colloq.]

Welcome to The Crib.

This thread is intended to be a place where people can share how they can use gaming supplements from other (non-d20) RPG systems in your d20 Modern campaign.

It's not for full conversions, or even reviews. Just to tell people, "Hey, I found this book for <generic RPG>, and here's how I'd use it in a d20M campaign." Don't worry about rules as much as style & substance. How does it fit a Modern campaign? Does it need FX or can it be used in a 'normal' game? Is it an adventure, rules addition or a setting? Would it fit well into an existing Urban Arcana (or other) campaign setting?

Note that you should indicate whether the book is still in print or not. If in print (or available for download legally, etc.), please provide a link to the product, or the publisher's site so people can read more about it. If OOP, people should be warned, so they can check eBay or other places where used books can be found.

As an example, I'll start us off with one book, and try to add at least one per week for the next month or two. We'll see how well it goes.

 

[Kesh]

Book of the Weaver

Book of the Weaver is a supplement for White Wolf Game System's Werewolf: the Apocalypse setting. This setting allows players to take on the role of werewolves, beings that have been charged with protecting the planet from those who would harm it, while struggling with their half-human/half-spirit heritage.

BotW is a supplement detailing those mortals and supernatural beings who are slowly bringing stagnation into the world through technological advancement. Essentially, it's a book of the 'bad' side to technology. While there are good aspects of modern technology, such as medical assistance, instant communication and ease of transportation; there are also drawbacks. This book takes those drawbacks to supernatural proportions.

As part of the game setting, this supplement discusses The Weaver, a powerful entity that assists in the creation of our world. It is part of a triumvirate of spirits: the Wild creates spontaneously, the Weaver binds that material into useful form, and the Wyrm destroys the excess and the old. Unfortunately, the Weaver has gone mad. Now, rather than simply creating order, it seeks to create perfect stasis.

The Weaver wants to bind reality into one, unchanging, 'perfect' form.

This can provide the basis for a d20 Modern campaign, or even a series of campaigns. Though in the Werewolf game this being is simply unstoppable, you could make it a more tangible villain for your Modern campaign. Or, make it just as godlike and untouchable. Either way, it presents an excellent 'super villain' in this role.

With that out of the way, let's get to the meat of it. This book is intended to detail the various ways the Weaver is attempting to bind our world into stasis. Mortals, organizations and supernatural beasties are all given the treatment here.

Most of the new equipment described in Chapter 2 of the book would make for interesting additions to a Modern campaign. While some are obviously magical in nature, others can be reproduced almost entirely through modern (or post-modern) technology. Of course, the stats given are unusable in a d20 system, so you would have to essentially rebuild those from scratch.

Chapter 3 details spirits and beings loyal to the Weaver, many of which would have interesting uses in an Urban Arcana game. Plastic and Nuclear elementals, for instance, provide some new twists on an old idea. Spider-spirits are the Weaver's main workforce, invisibly guarding technology and adding even more rigidness to existing infrastructures (such as the Internet). If you allow Astral travel in your campaign, these beings exist only there and are likely to attempt binding an unwary astral traveller into their webs.

In addition, the spider-shapechangers in the book have an excellent flavor as servants of the Weaver, with plenty of plot-hooks in place. This could make an interesting flavor twist to any shapechanger race you want to use, or you could homebrew a were-spider template for your game.

Drones are humans posessed by Weaver-spirits. These enhanced beings effectively become supernatural 'Terminators', magically enhanced to track down and destroy (or bind) enemies of the Weaver. That likely includes the PCs! A template granting the listed abilities and immunities (translated to d20) would make for a dangerous opponent.

Finally, corporations and organizations are given. Perhaps the most frightening is Developmental Neogenetics Amalgamated (DNA), a company which has almost discovered the existance of werewolves. However, they believe werewolves to be a mutation of normal humans... and a threat to humanity. One that needs to be eliminated.

You can easily use this in an Urban Arcana campaign, as a company which has found strange supernatural species (drow, gnolls, etc.) and is attempting a 'cure' for such malformities. Entire Modern campaigns could be formed around shutting this company down, or at least distracting it from the truth... or helping them destroy all the creatures of Shadow.

Overall, this book has plenty of hooks for a Modern campaign, especially if one wants technology with a supernatural twist. Many ideas could also be incorporated into a Genetech or Agents of PSI campaign. DNA could be attempting to rid the world of Moreaus; while foreign governments experiment on injecting their telepaths with nanites to form Drones. The book is likely too over-the-top for a completely non-FX game, however, aside from some of the more mundane equipment and organizations.

The book is in print, and available here or through Amazon.com online.

 

[hellbender]

Kesh, I am going to come out and say it; this thread is a good idea. My only problem is finding the time to do a write-up as well done as yours. I might try doing similar for Mystic China. I get inspiration from a lot of Rifts books as well, but there are too many to do such a detailed crib on.

hellbender

 

[Kesh]

I'm glad someone actually read this thing. That writeup really took me about an hour or so, since I was already familiar with the book.

Next, I'll either do a random Shadowrun supplement, or "The Killing Jar" (a Dark*Matter adventure/supplement). Just depends on if my copy of the latter arrives before the weekend.

 

[hellbender]

Okok, let me get my PbP going and I will do a Mystic China crib.

h

 

[Desdichado]

Conspiracy X has lots of ideas I crib for d20 Modern as does Dark*Matter and Delta Green. I tend to like to play d20 Modern kinda as the X-files Roleplaying game.

 

[Kesh]

Okay, so it's nearly a week late. Sue me.

The Killing Jar is an adventure for the Alternity game setting Dark*Matter. This setting is (to the best of my knowledge) similar to a blend of Call of Cthulu and The X-Files. Investigators work for The Hoffmann Institute and persue reports of supernatural activity, alien visitation and government conspiracies.

This particular adventure is inspired by the legend of the Mothman, a strange creature that terrorized a rural West Virginia town during the 1960's.

The characters are drawn to investigate a car impounded by police in West Virginia. This leads them to a strangely decomposed body found alongside the highway, lab specimens, government agents and a strange virus... all tied to the legend of the Mothman.

This adventure will take characters all across Appalachia, mostly through several locations in West Virginia and Kentucky. I was personally impressed with how well the author (Bruce Cordell) integrated local events, such as the Sternwheel Regatta. As someone who grew up in the Ohio River Valley, I was giddy with glee while I read about towns I grew up near, visited and events I was personally familiar with.

The characters will encounter evidence of extra-terrestrial life (or perhaps super-terrestrial life), government and corporate conspiracies to exploit it, and an ancient curse that gives them the chance to do what is right.

The Killing Jar would work well for a Shadow Chasers campaign, or even a Call of Cthulu d20 campaign / one-shot. Genetech campaigns can treat the monsters as genetically engineered lifeforms or previously unknown natural organisms. Whereas an Agents of PSI campaign may want to play up the possible extraterrestrial angle, making the Mothmen (yes, plural!) an alien race.

However, the adventure is both too supernatural for a typical non-FX campaign, and not supernatural enough for an Urban Arcana one.

As a bonus, the new d20 Menace Manual has stats for creatures called 'Mothfolk' (which I am hoping are the Mothmen), and the organizations chapter includes the Hoffmann Institute. Dark*Matter fans should be ecstatic.

Of course, many of the skills and characters mentioned will not apply to a Modern campaign. However, the adventure is really rather rules-light, focusing more on the story than anything else. Those rules that are called for seem easy to replace with d20 equivalents.

The adventure is out-of-print, but available as a PDF download through RPGnow. I found a print copy through eBay, which is how this Crib was written.

Also, some enterprising ENWorlders are working on conversions here.