FATE: Enchantress of Venus
Or, a little more Planetary Romance for your life thanks to Leigh Brackett
Draft 1.0 April 11, 2013 - Blue Tyson
SETTING
Old Venus. Lush, dangerous jungles where the air can be too thick and heavy and mysterious, misty seas beyond which lie dangerous outposts of the primitive and ancient. Like on Mars, immigration from Earth is driving back the older native populations, sometimes violently.
ISSUES
Stark's friend the barbarian prince Helvi is missing!
What the hell is going on in Shuruun, the pirate city?
THE PLAYERS
Eric John Stark
N'Chaka, Man-Without-a-Tribe
Outlaw of Mars and Earth
Wild Man of Mercury
Very Bad Girl Magnet
Fights For the Oppressed
F: Incredible +4
A: Remarkable +3
S: Excellent +2
E: Remarkable +3
R: Good +1
I: Incredible +4
P: Incredible +4
Resources Typical (+0)
Popularity -Excellent (-2)
Other Skills
Amazing (+5) Alertness, Sword, Spear
Incredible (+4) Intimidation, Survival
Excellent (+2) Contacts, Investigation, Ride, Swim
Good (+1) Guns, Stealth
Helvi
Barbarian prince of Yarell
Friend of Stark
Lost His Brother Tobal to Lhari Slavery
F: Excellent +2
A: Good +1
S: Good +1
E: Good +1
R: Typical +0
I: Typical +0
P: Good +1
Resources Excellent (+2)
Popularity Good (+1)
Other Skills
Amazing (+5) Alertness, Sword, Spear
Incredible (+4) Intimidation, Survival
Excellent (+2) Contacts, Investigation, Ride, Swim
Good (+1) Guns, Stealth
Malthor
Ship Captain
Secret Slaver For the Lhari
Would Even Sell His Daughter Into Slavery
F: Good +1
A: Good +1
S: Good +1
E: Good +1
R: Good +1
I: Good +1
P: Good +1
Resources Excellent (+2)
Popularity Excellent (+2)
Other Skills
Remarkable (+3) Sail
Excellent (+2) Deceit, Intimidate
Good (+1) Leadership
Mike Larrabee
Lame Earthman stuck in Shuruun
Known for the Royal Venus Bank Job
F: Typical +0
A: Poor -1
S: Typical +0
E: Good +1
R: Typical +0
I: Good +1
P: Typical +0
Resources Poor (-1)
Popularity Typical (0)
Other Skills
Remarkable (+3) Burglary
Good (+1) Leadership, Sail
Zareth
Young Daughter of Malthor
Too Brave For Her Own Good
More Honest than Dad Would Like
F: Poor -1
A: Good +1
S: Typical +0
E: Typical +0
R: Typical +0
I: Typical +0
P: Good +1
Resources Feeble (-2)
Popularity Typical (+0)
Other Skills
Excellent (+2) Rapport, Stealth
Grandmother
Lhari Matriarch
Hugely Massive and Fat
F: Awful -3
A: Awful -3
S: Typical +0
E: Poor -1
R: Excellent +2
I: Excellent +2
P: Remarkable +3
Resources Remarkable (+3)
Popularity -Remarkable (-3)
Other Skills
Remarkable (+3) Intimidate, Leadership
Varra
Lhari Falconer
Not Keen on Marrying Egil
Would Rather Like Most of Her Relatives Disposed Of
F: Good +1
A: Good +1
S: Good +1
E: Good +1
R: Excellent +2
I: Excellent +2
P: Excellent +2
Resources Excellent (+2)
Popularity -Excellent (-2)
Other Skills
Remarkable (+3) Falconry
Egil
Lhari Cruel Wannabe
Really Wants To Marry Varra
F: Good +1
A: Good +1
S: Good +1
E: Good +1
R: Typical +0
I: Typical +0
P: Typical +0
Resources Excellent (+2)
Popularity -Remarkable (-2)
Other Skills
Good (+1) Guns, Leadership
Cond
Lhari Cruel Double Wannabe
Egil's brother
F: Good +1
A: Typical
S: Good +1
E: Good +1
R: Poor -1
I: Poor -1
P: Poor -1
Resources Excellent (+2)
Popularity -Remarkable (-2)
Other Skills
Good (+1) Guns, Leadership
Arel
Lhari Useless One and Not Sad About It
Happy To Be Out of the Spotlight, She Is
F: Typical +0
A: Typical +0
S: Typical +0
E: Typical +0
R: Good +1
I: Good +1
P: Good +1
Resources Excellent (+2)
Popularity -Remarkable (-2)
Other Skills
Remarkable (+3) Falconry
Bor
Young Lhari
F: Typical (+0)
A: Good +1
S: Typical +0
E: Good +1
R: Typical +0
I: Typical +0
P: Typical +0
Resources Good (+1)
Popularity -Good (-1)
Other Skills
Excellent (+2) Reptile Handling
Treon
Deformed Llari
Deferential But Different
F: Poor (-1)
A: Poor (-1)
S: Typical +0
E: Typical +0
R: Excellent +2
I: Good +1
P: Typical +0
Resources Good (+1)
Popularity -Good (-1)
Other Skills
Excellent (+2) Lore, Mysteries
Lhari
Displaced ancient race of overoptimistic crazed slave rulers with a Frankenstein complex. Only a few remain thanks to past follies.
Nerve Gun (+3)
The Lhari weapon can be set to cause paralysis or death.
Lhari guards
Treat these as Good (+1) minions if doing important duties, Typical (+0) if not, armed with Nerve Guns and swords.
Lost Ones
Poor (-1) Overworked undersea slaves. In normal health, or those not worked too hard yet will be Typical +0 Venusians in general. Lhari tech lets them work, but not for too long. Housed in a camp and barracks and kept under control by collars and guards with Nerve Guns.
Slave Collar
Nerve Charge (+3)
This attacks a slave who tries to cross an invisible energy barrier, or electric eye in effect. It will continue to do so if they persist.
PLAYERS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE STORY SHOULD NOT READ THIS PART
This could be run for one player, using Stark or their own equally highly capable character with Warrior skills. The story sequence then will likely be as the short novel in general.
ONE PC VERSION
1. Stark takes sail across the Red Sea to try and find his friend Helvi. Malthor the ship captain gives him far from the full story.
2. Thrown overboard, Stark is on his own to attempt to swim back to land and make his way through jungle and town to Shuruun.
3. Stark manages this without much effort and Malthor's daughter seeks him out. He learns of the Lhari, the Lords of Shuruun and decides to boldly pay them a visit, front door style.
4. He meets the family of rulers and Very Bad Girl Magnet attracts Varra, which displeases Egil enough to shoot him with his nerve paralysis gun after he has had some discussion with the matriarch.
5. Stark is put into slavery with the rest of the Lost Ones and is reunited with Helvi and Zareth. He begins to plan. Varra and her infatuation will be useful if he can make a deal with her. A deal is definitely what she wants. Stark killing the relatives she despises in return for an end to slavery.
6. Malthor sets a slave up with a weapon to ambush Stark. Despite losing against Stark himself it is just a knife. Malthor is unarmed. Malthor is not remotely a match for Stark. All part of Egil's machinations. Zareth has followed and attacks Egil who is forced to shoot at her, not Stark. She is mortally wounded. Egil becomes another no contest that Stark will have no mercy about in a Taken Out scenario.
7. Stark investigates with Treon's input, deciding to look into the super science that the Lhari are interested in. They find a thought-recording of the ancients detailing their Frankenstein quest and downfall. Treon is able to find a machine that restores him to normal Lhari stature. Effectively raising all his physical attributes one rank, removing the monster taint.
8. Stark and Treon come across guards on the slaves and fight them, the guards possessing superior weaponry and Treon lacking skill.
9. They free the slaves. There are over an hundred and twenty guards. Less of each after the unavoidable confrontation. No guards left, only high double figures of slaves if you don't want to waste time rolling. These twenty guards were of the Typical (+0) variety and only had swords.
10. Treon shows Stark a secret tunnel and way back to the Lhari courtroom.
11. It is Llari, Stark, Helvi and 90 odd slaves vs Llari and around 50 guards. Then Mike Larrabee and the ordinary townspeople (Typical (+0 Mob) arrive. Once Larrabee's leadership gets them involved in the fight it is quickly over. End of Lhari, guards and half the slaves.
12. Of course they didn't kill Bors pet dragon. Eveyone loves a smart pet lizard. Stark or the locals can free it or give it a new home as preferred.
MULTIPLE PC VERSION WITH STARK
If a group of two or three wanted to play Stark and friends then Helvi and Zareth could be used as PCs. If any PCs had met Stark previously and worked with them he would be happy to accept their help in travelling to Shuruun on an adventure. He'd be happy to trade such service in return, never being much in the way of cashed up. The inserting of extra competent opponents means using enough guards or of Malthor's underlings to dump them into the sea. Several for each, as a suggestion. With surprise, likely to be accomplished. If any possess Alertness like Stark's they may get the chance to fight back. Either way, two choices, swim or ship to get to sthore.
MULTIPLE PC VERSION WITHOUT STARK INITIALLY
Stark has gone off to look for Helvi and has left the PCs a message about his intentions and the possibility that the pirate city of Shuruun will be rough. Another of Malthor's captains can provide transport and similar impromptu swimming if they learn of the character association with Stark. Then the PCs must follow in Stark's footsteps. Do they confront the Lhari, try raiding the slave camp? If they end up enslaved, things happen as per the story sequence in general. If they manage to free Stark, Helvi and Zareth then the final confrontation gets moved up most likely and the super science investigation after the corpses are cleared.
THE LADDER
Being a big Marvel Super Heroes fan from way back, this is how I like to think:
Value Adjective
+13 Cosmic 5 (Class 5000)
+12 Cosmic 3 (Class 3000)
+11 Cosmic 1 (Class 1000)
+10 Legendary Z (Shift Z)
+9 Legendary Y (Shift Y)
+8 Legendary X (Shift X)
+7 Unearthly (Epic)
+6 Monstrous (Fantastic)
+5 Amazing (Superb)
+4 Incredible (Great)
+3 Remarkable (Good)
+2 Excellent (Fair)
+1 Good (Average)
+0 Typical (Mediocre)
-1 Poor
-2 Feeble (Terrible)
-3 Awful 0 (Shift 0)
-4 Abysmal
FASERIP - basic human attributes
Physique is split compared to Core, into a Strength component and an Endurance component, the latter of which should be used for the Stress track. Reason is native intelligence.
Fighting (Fight)
Agility (Athletics)
Strength
Endurance
Reason
Intuition (Notice)
Psyche (Will)
secondary
Popularity is a measure of charisma, reputation and public influence. If you like, bad people can have a negative popularity ladder equivalent. Supervillains, mass murderers, ruthless thugs in The Ball, etc.
Popularity
Resources
REFERENCES
Short Novel
Enchantress of Venus http://archive.org/details/EnchantressOfVenus
Author
Leigh Brackett (ology) http://leighbrackett.blogspot.com/
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