Scientific Sorcery

[Lord High Munchkin]

Dear All,

Just enquiring if anyone has anyone got around to designing any scientific sorcerous items? Any holes spotted in the 'Hawkmoon' rules for such devices?

Regards

 

[tarkhan bey]

I have not ,as yet, attempted to design any sorcerous artefact's but I have an idea for one that I could use some help with. The concept is for a machine that allows the soul of a dead or elderly person to be reborn into a new and much younger body.
I am attempting to port in several characters from a previous camnpaign which used the Elric/StormbringerV rules. One of the characters is an unmasked Granbretan Noble of the order of the Peacock.( An order of my own design whose members are thespians,musician's and other assorted entertainers.) This noble whose name is Aladahn Zain is the deposed Duke of Bromli and has recently discovered that he bears a striking resemblance to a pre tragic millenium performer named David Bowie.
He discovered this during the ransacking of an ancient laboratory which he had discovered. An ancient disc device(CD) for holding information had been held in a stasis field for centuries if not longer. Having disabled the stasis field he was able to open the CD only to find pictures of what appeared to be himself on the interior cover.
Now, I had already decided that in the years prior to the tragic millenium and specifically in the early part of the twenty first century that science had developed enough to enable the very wealthy to clone themselves. A means had also be found to enable the actual transfer of the soul into the new body.This ability was lost in the Tragic millenium.The King Emperor has had his body continuously cloned over the centuries though his soul remains trapped within the globe until such time as this Sorcerous technology resurfaces.
Alahdan Zain was one of the last of these pre tragic millenium celebrities to be grown by the Clone Sorcerors of Londra.His cloning vat had only been discovered, a few years earlier,in a ruined district of South London. The order of the Serpent is currently investigating these ruins and believe that they may hold the secrets to the ancient art of soul transference.
The newly grown clone was presented to the King Emperor who approved of this emaciated and pale creature.Pleased, the King Emperor elevated him to the nobility and named him "The Thin White Duke of Bromli". Inexplicably, he also permitted Aladahn Zain to join the order of the Peacock as he seemed to exhibit a natural if slightly unusual talent for music.
How Aladahn Zain became one of the unmasked is neither here nor there and I appear to have wandered off topic somewhat. :roll:
The whole idea idea is that there is(or may be)such a thing as a soul transference machine, but how might it work? Where is it? Can it be transported or could it be reproduced? Is there a chance that the wrong soul(A Demonic otherplanar entity)could enter the body?
I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and ideas for the machine and the artefact spell used to create it.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Dear All,

Not too hard, it could probably be done by cunning use of several of the spells in the new 'Hawkmoon' book... well sort of, by combining them.

First build a clone machine with the 'Clone' spell - one might want to use 'Imbue Artefact' in order to do a few future cloning operations while you're at it.

Next build a 'Psychic Projection' machine using 'Imbue Artefact' - a reusable machine will be handy for these purposes.

The clone "husk" might have some residual memories - so clean it out with a few doses of 'Diminish Power' (perhaps in the form of an injection of a compound). Keep the husk quiet and incapable, possibly by the use of narcotic drugs.

Crank up the 'Psychic Projection' device and turf out the spirit of the POW-blasted clone. If the desired spirit is already incorporeal fine, if not use the 'Psychic Projection' device to make it so. In pops the new spirit into the clone husk and the POW-zapped spirit can do little about it.

Both devices could be combined, but actually are probably more useful as two separate machines.

A wandering spirit could get in, if it was quick enough, but I would perform the whole operation in a sealed, lead-lined lab just in case.

All the best

 

[tarkhan bey]

Excellent stuff LHM.
I have also been thinking about the renaissance of blackpowder cannons that the main book mentions and I am not sure that I am happy with them being "relatively easy to make". I reckon that they too should be some kind of artifact created by scientific sorcery,possibly a more readily available spell than that required to create certain other devices, but an arcane device none the less. What do you guys out there think that the artifact spell"Create Black Powder Weapon" might look like?
Was also wondering how people would feel about the existence of wheel lock pistols and matchlock arquebuses in the Hawkmoon setting. I believe that there is clearly a place for them but wonder how rare they might be and if a further spell might be necessary to create them?
All thoughts and idea's will be gratefully taken on board and plagiarised.

 

[Loz]

Excellent stuff LHM.
I have also been thinking about the renaissance of blackpowder cannons that the main book mentions and I am not sure that I am happy with them being "relatively easy to make". I reckon that they too should be some kind of artifact created by scientific sorcery,possibly a more readily available spell than that required to create certain other devices, but an arcane device none the less. What do you guys out there think that the artifact spell"Create Black Powder Weapon" might look like?
Was also wondering how people would feel about the existence of wheel lock pistols and matchlock arquebuses in the Hawkmoon setting. I believe that there is clearly a place for them but wonder how rare they might be and if a further spell might be necessary to create them?
All thoughts and idea's will be gratefully taken on board and plagiarised.

It largely depends on how true to the Hawkmoon saga you want to be. Black powder weapons aren't mentioned at all in the books; Granbretan concerns itself with deeply esoteric weaponry such as the acid cannon, whilst battlefield weaponry manifests itself in Brass's turret-mounted cold cannon. Otherwise the flamelance and sword remain supreme.

Of course, there's no reason why your campaign has to be true to the saga, and so there's no reason why gunpowder shouldn't exist. My guess is, though, that its rare and volatile (as black powder was). I think that's indicative of the fact that, pre-Tragic Millenium, it had fallen out of favour to be replaced by much more advanced energy weaponry. If so, then the knowledge and expertise to make black powder would have been all but lost during the Tragic Millenium. Perhaps its still remembered and even used, though, in deepest, darkest, Asiacommunista....

 

[Mongoose Gar]

There's a Blasting spell in Granbretan which might do -

Casting Time 10 minutes, Instant, Resist (Dodge), Touch, Requires Trappings, Trigger

This spell creates a potent explosive compound that can be triggered by the sorcerer. The blast deals 1d6 damage per point of Magnitude, and has a blast radius in metres equal to half the Magnitude. A successful Dodge check halves the damage from any character caught in the blast.

It's supposed to model more modern and powerful explosives than gunpowder, though - drop the damage to 1d6 per three or four points of Magnitude, maybe.

As for flintlock rules...let me have a think. I must confess I'm a big fan of including early firearms in games....

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Dear All,

It's the 'Trappings' requirement that concerns me - probably should be a workbench. Carrying around explosive precursors strikes me as being a bit more than trappings.

What quantities does it produce? Probably quite small. Black powder actually needs a whole lot of equipment and machinery to produce: powder mills and a wine-drunk urinator to "clump" the raw powder so it can be used in weapons at the least.

Regards

 

[tarkhan bey]

I also am a big fan of early firearms in games. I think that they fit well into Hawkmoon if treated as an artifact and not made readily available.
For example,Prince Azov of Liege has sorceror's at his court who have the knowledge to create blackpowder cannons in the foundry's of his city. He also has alchemist's who are able to replicate and refine black powder and a crafter of clocks from Munchenia who has replicated a wheellock firing mechanism from ancient manuscripts.
So, in agreement with Loz, I think that gunpowder weapon's might be quite rare for the most part, except possibly for wealthy states not in direct competition with Liege.
Was looking through some old Chaosium stuff for inspiration and found an old adventure,"The Shattered Isle".
Included within were ideas for a Granbretan Siege Scarab, A Granbretan Mole Machine as well as rules for a number of pre Tragic Millenium items and vehicles.(Auto rifle,hand grenade,APC,Light Battle Tank and Attack Helicopter with rocket pods and chain gun)
Reminded me of my version of Loz's siege of La Rochelle. Tanks and Apc's versus Stiltwalkers, a pair of Helicopters against a flight of ornithopters and characters lobbing fragmentation grenades thru the hatches of War scarabs. Ah, happy days.

 

[Loz]

I
Reminded me of my version of Loz's siege of La Rochelle. Tanks and Apc's versus Stiltwalkers, a pair of Helicopters against a flight of ornithopters and characters lobbing fragmentation grenades thru the hatches of War scarabs. Ah, happy days.

Wow! Sounds infinitely more fun than my own siege of La Rochelle...

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Dear All,

Have you had a look at 'l'Isle Brisee'? It's the much expanded French version of 'The Shattered Isle' for the first French version of 'Hawkmoon', it has armoured trains (Ok no trains in MRQ 'Hawkmoon') and all sorts of technological goodies.

Loads of lovely stuff and the picture on page 16 is particularly flavourful.

Regards

 

[tarkhan bey]

Unfortunately I haven't seen any of the French Hawkmoon releases. I have heard that they are excellent though. I would be really interested in the expanded version of "Shattered Isle" though, if only someone would be good enough to translate. ( My French is somewhat limited.)
Gareth, if you are on the boards,will you be doing something based on Eire? Please..........
Loz, I had a great time reworking your Straw Dogs campaign which culminated for us at the fall of La Rochelle. I added in another little scenario that you may be familiar with involving the theft of a prototype transport ornithopter from a scientific research station near Bordeaux. I also borrowed the idea about the chase sequence with the smaller attack ornithopters and wound up with a fair simulation of Millenium Falcon vs Tie fighters.
Moved the " Seeing the Elephant" scenario from "Shattered Isle" out of Eire and into the Black forest and made my characters agents of the Duke of Burgundy.
The characters made their way out of La Rochelle in the company of one Maria De Tres Pistolas aboard a flying galleon named "THe Rogue Mistress". You may be familiar with her as well. :lol:

 

[Mongoose Gar]

There's a chapter set in Eire in "Secrets of Tragic Europe".

(Currently, the adventures take the characters to Berlin, Carpathia, Parye, Eire, Ukrania, Persia and two other places.)

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Dear All,

Anywhere perchance near Muskovia, or even Asiacommunista?

Regards

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

Dear All,

Oh, forgot to ask... will there be maps?

Regards

 

[Mongoose Gar]

We'll see - I'll put helpful notes like [[[ ed - map of all Eire here ]]] into the text, but it's pretty caught for space at the moment.