4CS – Cthulhu Rising Adventure Framework
4CS – Cthulhu Rising Adventure Framework
The End of the World As We Know It. Unless a desperate superhero strike force with one last chance can finish a ritual to banish the big Old Octopus God. Only problem is to do that they need to get to R’lyeh.
SETTING
The near 4CS future. The crazed cultists have won. A successful ritual summoning has brought back an Old One, wreaking havoc. Heroes struggle to shepherd survivors if they are still alive. Nicole Wrath is on the run with superspeedster Emu, attempting to coordinate a global underground secret resistance. Australian Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Djira survives on stimulants and the life energy of a few acolytes trying to buy enough time before dimensional barriers are completely breached. The Band have been beaten down. The Justice Squadron are scattered. Nightblack, warrior of the decades went down fighting in Melbourne, needing an unbreakable shield to go with his sword. Corporate Industrialist Light Knight and her Light Squadron do what those types usually do. Run for a pocket universe fortress to try and come up with an idea, taking the Great Elasto with them. An exhausted Eyebeam and Eric Gale lead mobile mutant strike and rescue teams, fighting Shoggoths and other horrors. Prince Atlantis leads his people in holding off a Deep One invasion.
Barbecue is the woman with the plan. A small, versatile team on a lightning raid to R’lyeh. Then help him finish a ritual to banish the badness. The one problem: it requires a blood sacrifice. One of the heroes must die.
ISSUES
Send the Elder God back
Not Everyone Gets Out Alive
Getting Out Dead Could Be Even Worse
THE PLAYERS – PREGENS
Gulp!
Doctor Benner, melted by radiocative Big MaRS
You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Gulp! Smash
M: Remarkable (30)
C: Good (10)
B: Unearthly (100)
F: Monstrous (75)
I: Feeble (2)
A: Typical (6)
W: Remarkable (30)
Resources: Feeble (2)
Popularity: Good (-10)
Damage: 215
Fortune: 38
Other Skills
Class 1000 (1000) Invulnerability: Cold, Heat, Fire, Disease
Unearthly (100) Super Movement: Leaping only up to 50 zones a turn
Monstrous (75) Body Armor: Physical, Astral Detection
Amazing (50) Body Armor: Energy
Stunts
Anger Surge: Gulp! gets mad when fighting the same people for multiple turns. Each turn her Fighting and Strength go up (10) to a maximum of (100). When that fight is over she returns to the normal Gulp! state.
Alter Ego Betty Benner
I was a victim of shoddy fast food safety practices
A tv reporter on the scene gave me my angry nickname after seeing the manager’s reaction
M: Poor (4)
C: Typical (6)
B: Typical (6)
F: Typical (6)
I: Remarkable (30)
AI: Good (10)
W: Typical (6)
Damage: 22
Fortune: 46
Other Skills
Incredible (40) PhysiRS
Invisible Man
Father of a Mutant
A Thing For Princess Atlantia
M: Good (10)
C: Good (10)
B: Typical (6)
F: Remarkable (30)
I: Good (10)
I: Excellent (20)
W: Good (10)
Resources: Remarkable (30)
Popularity: Amazing (50)
Other Skills
Monstrous (75) Force Field: one zone
Excellent (20) Invisibility, Martial Arts
Good (10) Academics, Science
Typical (6) Flight
VanDemon
Tasmanian curmudgeon
Having a skeleton implanted at a secret military base was rather traumatic
Berserk killer
Loves a beer and a joint
M: Incredible (40)
C: Remarkable (30)
B: Good (10)
F: Remarkable (30)
I: Typical (6)
I: Monstrous (75)
W: Incredible (40)
Resources: Typical (6)
Popularity: Typical (6)
Damage: 110
Fortune: 121
Other Skills
Class 1000 (1000) Her claws vs non-living will cut through anything up to Class 1000
Unearthly (100) Resistance: Poison, Disease
Monstrous (75) Tracking
Amazing (50) Martial Arts, Sword
Remarkable (30) Regeneration (requires rest).
Excellent (20) Claws vs living, Contacts, Espionage
Good (10) Adamantium Skeleton bonus damage when using body parts as weapons
Redback
I was a teenage expatriate Soviet Super Soldier. It sucked.
The old dancer-turned footy player as spy cover story.
M: Incredible (40)
C: Remarkable (30)
B: Good (10)
F: Excellent (20)
I: Good (10)
I: Incredible (40)
W: Excellent (20)
Resources: Good (10)
Popularity: Remarkble (30)
Damage: 100
Fortune: 70
Other Skills
Remarkable (30) Wallcrawling: via costume, Explosives: via belt
Amazing (50) Martial Arts, Spider Bite – Damage: Energy (20); Gas (20); 3 zone grappling hook; radio
Excellent (20) Contacts, Detective, Espionage, Military
Atlantia
Atlantean Princess
Slumming in tight shorts
M: Remarkable (30)
C: Remarkable (30)
B: Amazing (50)
F: Remarkable (30)
I: Typical (6)
I: Excellent (20)
W: Excellent (20)
Resources: Good (10)
Popularity: Good (10)
Damage: 140
Fortune: 46
Other Skills
Excellent (20) Ocean Sciences
Good (10) Body Armour: Physical, Science
Poor (4) Flight
Stunts
Atlanteans can breathe underwater and are cold resistant and swim like fish.
Barbecue
Former Soldier
Short a Leg, but I can Kit Bash one
Cooked a few teammates for Blood and Souls
M: Good (10)
C: Good (10)
B: Good (10)
F: Excellent (20)
I: Incredible (40)
I: Good (10)
W: Amazing (50)
Resources: Typical (6)
Popularity: Good (10)
Other Skills
Unearthly (100) Optics
Monstrous (75) Magic: Dimensional opening and sealing ritual only
Amazing (50) Inventing: Jury Rig pretty much anything he thinks of, Cybernetics, Electronics
Incredible (40) Spirit Sight
Stunts
She has a high-tech Headquarters with all sorts of outlandish technology.
Crimson Warlock
I should be so lucky
My mother is a bad, bad woman with an overly magnetic personality
Recovering Insane Genocidal Maniac
No, you really can’t breed with a robot
M: Good (10)
C: Good (10)
B: Typical (6)
F: Excellent (20)
I: Good (10)
I: Excellent (20)
W: Remarkable (30)
Resources: Typical (6)
Popularity: Good (10)
Damage: 46
Fortune: 60
Other Skills
Amazing (50) Probability Alteration: He can cause unlikely things to happen on a roll
Excellent (20) Mysteries, Occult, Magic: General sorcery and Eldritch bolts, Shields are Incredible (40)
Good (10) Telekinesis
Cthulhu Cultist
Fan of gibbering horrors
Worshipper of Elder Gods
Appears in all genders and sizes
M: Typical (5)
C: Typical (5)
B: Typical (5)
F: Typical (5)
I: Poor (3)
I: Poor (3)
W: Good (8)
Resources: Typical (5)
Popularity: Typical (5)
Damage: 20
Fortune: 14
Other Skills
Occult: Good (8)
Or treat as Typical (5) mooks.
Deep One
Amphibious Old One Servants
M: Typical (5)
C: Typical (5)
B: Good (8)
F: Typical (5)
I: Good (8)
A: Typical (5)
W: Typical (5)
Resources: Typical (5)
Popularity: Typical (5)
Other Skills
Good (10) Body Amour, Claws, Spear
Stunts
Water breathing
Or treat as Good (8) mooks.
Shoggoth
5 metre around nasty blob horror
Steadfast guardian
M: Typical (5)
C: Shift 0 (0)
B: Incredible (38)
F: Remarkable (28)
I: Poor (3)
A: Poor (3)
W: Typical (5)
Resources: (0)
Popularity: -Remarkable (-30)
Damage: 71
Fortune: 11
Other Skills
Excellent (18): Body Armour: Energy, Radiation
Good (8) Body Armour: Physical (smooshy and snotty)
Stunts
A Shoggoth can attack multiple targets in its area with no penalty. Tentacles. Many slimy tentacles.
Big Shoggoth
7 metre around nasty blob horror
Steadfast guardian
M: Typical (5)
C: Shift 0 (0)
B: Amazing (48)
F: Incredible (38)
I: Poor (3)
I: Poor (3)
W: Typical (5)
Damage: 91
Fortune: 11
Other Skills
Remarkable (28): Body Armour: Energy, Radiation
Excellent (18) Body Armour: Physical (smooshy and snotty)
Stunts
A Shoggoth can attack multiple targets in its area with no penalty. Even bigger slimy tentacles.
ADVENTURING
Really designed as a one shot adventure, if they really liked the setting it could be Shoggoth and deep one and crazed cultist fighting time afterwards. Or engineering work, too. Or creepy Call of Cthulhu what did we miss style subplots for afterwards. Then the character that died comes back as an evil horror leader and really, really wants the rest of the heroes to join them.
If the players want to use their own characters and there are several, then suggestions:
A Brick [use a Barbecue kit bashed tech boost if the PC is not strong/hardy enough for the scenario] – Shoggoths are tough
Lethal Killers – for occupying servitors
Sneaky Types – for getting by and/or hiding others
Magic Users – for the ritual and support
Super Genius – for building and ancient languages
Protectors – that can use shields, forcefields, barrier creation, etc.
If only one PC is playing, just add them to the team if they want to use their own character.
Barbecue has kit bashed some gear to let the players survive underwater and Atlantia is along for support, given her natural abilities. The gear could get damaged, particularly in a succeed with cost or taken out and other such combat scenarios. She could get someone that can’t breathe out at least alive. Allow them more standard type weapons that will work underwater if they want to take them. Spear guns, knives, swords, etc. Assume the gear warm will have an underwater knife in a calf sheath.
SCENARIO SEQUENCE
The Underwater City has been located, the players assemble off New England. Have a cultist patrol attack if you fancy a warmup.
The heroes must traverse an ever blackening sea, harassed by Deep Ones. Using lighting is a beacon to draw attacks with higher probability. Which they should quickly discover.
Finding the city might cause Willpower checks to stay the course. Or Fortune if they fail, to preserve their sanity.
Definitely a whole bunch of attackers to get through, or to delay while part of the group searches for the ritual site. Just some perhaps slightly tougher Deep Ones, even led by a Mage if more than one sorcery capable hero. Not enough to need a Brick though.
Traps. Give them at least one Indiana Jones or D&D classic to survive on entering the ritual chamber. Plus a spears from the wall trap. Deep Ones love their spears. Then one from the floor. And one from the ceiling. If you can’t think of one, the classic stone in floor opens so you fall into a pit of slavering eldritch horrors works wonders.
The tough hero came for a reason. Shoggoths. If it is Gulp!, plenty of them and the chamber is big enough. Otherwise, enough to challenge our super strong friend. Shoggoths have tentacles, so even sneaking past gives them at least one chance to attack.
The idea is to get the ritual done, not beat all the Shoggoths. If the Gulp! smashes them too quickly, throw some more at him, pile on with tougher ones even.
If two magic capable characters make it, the ritual can be performed more quickly with an easier difficulty. Having the main person doing the ritual decide to sacrifice themselves during the performance will definitely go badly wrong if they are dumb enough. The assistant could, but will make a really nasty bad guy later when they return from the dead and the depths.
If only one original PC playing, the Redback will volunteer to take the ritual knife in the heart. Vandemon will overrule her, reasoning that there’s a chance he will survive. Or anybody, if no-one is pretty much dead already. Whether having a pseudo immortal in the ritual messes it up slightly is a GM call. If he makes it back, maybe he has a hybrid infection. Hate Brood and Mythos then.
If the characters don’t work out that using Karma etc. on the ritual roll is a good one, then becoming smooshed Shoggoth stains is pretty well deserved. If you are feeling nice, have a massive aquatic monster smash the walls in to give them a clue this is an even more desperate situation.
After an evil magical ritual in a trapped underwater city, of course the city will fall down around their ears. So they have to survive rubble, any opponents in the city, and an extra few on the way back and if feeling mean, an armed cultist welcoming party. Which a rather grumpy hero group is likely to treat very meanly. If they have done a good job and are almost dead, have someone else take them out. Otherwise, let Gulp! smash puny humans.
REFERENCES
4RS
http://hazardstudio.net/id18.html
http://www.lulu.com/shop/public-domain/4c-system/ebook/product-17558944.html
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?filters=0_0_31808_0_0
http://dorkland.blogspot.com.au/p/the-4c-rules.html
Cthulhu: Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu
4C System Breakdown Review
4C System Breakdown Review – Phil Reed
Public Domain, Free from Multiple places in multiple formats
e.g. there are character sheets, Master Tables etc., look for those too
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/50837/Four-Color-Syste…
https://archive.org/details/4cSystemSuperheroRoleplayinglibr…
4C SYSTEM – Page 1
A toolkit rather than a complete game system. Notes for gamers and publishers, emphasising the public domain aspect.
Hall of Heroes – Page 2
The Really Cool People that donated several years ago so that Phil could take the time to write this. Notes on Dice and Advanced breakouts.
Contents – Page 3 – Table of
Text is public domain, not the artwork.
CHARACTERS – Page 4
Character Origin – Robot, Alien, Skilled Human, Changed Human, Mutant, Technologically Enhanced – with Advanced Options that modify Traits.
Let’s create an example while going through:
Roll 54 = Superhuman.
Traits – Page 5
Primary – Melee, Coordination, Brawn, Fortitude, Intellect, Awareness, Willpower. MCBFIAW = FASERIP
Secondary – Damage, Fortune, Lifestyle, Repute = Health, Karma, Resources, Popularity
9 Rolls = 80, 25, 22, 39, 56, 41, 63, 33, 56 and 54
M: Incredible (40)
C: Good (10)
B: Good (10)
F: Good (10)
I: Excellent (20)
A: Remarkable (30)
W: Good (10)
D: 70
F: 60
L: Excellent (20)
R: 18
Rank Values – Page 7
Giving several examples…e.g. Extraordinary, Remarkable, Super for 30-39.
Points out that Advanced game uses 18 different ranks counting 0 compared with 12 for the Basic.
Skills – Page 7 – Number of and their use.
Roll 78 = 3 Skills
Contacts – Advanced option to replace a Skill with a Contact
Powers – Page 8 – Number of
Roll 32 = 3 Powers
Power Types – Page 9 – Includes Description
There are Basic and Advanced Power Selection Tables
Using the Basic Table
3 Rolls = 69, 67, 11
Shapeshift, Regeneration and Claws
PLAYING THE GAME – Page 20
Details how to use the Master Table and the results for various colours.
Black = Failed, Red = Minor Success, Blue = Success, Yellow = Major Success.
Then the Advanced Table and Row Steps for when you get bonuses and penalties to actions.
Altering the Dice – Spending Fortune – 25 points moves the result one colour for one roll.
Combat turns and Initiative which is optional…the side’s highest Awareness is a bonus to the roll. Melee attack description.
Movement – Page 21
Governed by Coordination rank – Advanced options on Page 22 with Swimming and Exhaustion.
Combat Tables – Page 23
What the colours mean for Melee, Slashing, Ranged, Rushing, Wrestlng, Dodging Attacks.
Multiple Attacks – Page 25
For Melee attacks – get a Yellow and affect everyone as if a Red was rolled. That is a Minor Success on everybody needs a Major Success roll.
Damage – Page 25
Explains damage and the additions from small and large weapons of +5 and +10.
Pulling punches – you can reduce damage or the result. e.g. aiming for someone’s leg with a gun so you won’t kill them by accident.
Advanced Combat – Page 26
Block, Evade, Catching and Waiting
Material Substances – Page 27
How hard it is to break things and Combat results from the above.
GAMEMASTERING – Page 29
A toolkit, so no lengthy digressions. Advice on using the table, character Health/Vitality, Fortunes/Karma and Lifestyle/Resources and how they are gained and lost. Tables and modifiers for Repute/Popularity interactions and modifiers.
Vehicles – Page 30
Handling, Durability and Combat. e.g. what happens if a character with Body Armour runs into your vehicle? Also a very short sample list.
Character Advancement – Page 32
A slightly out-of-genre thing for superheroes, it notes. The spending of Fortune to increase Traits, Powers and Skills. Even gain a new power at random with 1000 points if something happened in game to warrant it.
Master Table – Page 34 – A one page colour version to print.
Genre Suitability: Any. Street level is perhaps the weakest point for FASERIP games and would need the most tweaking. Colourful heroics are fine.
Artwork: Very basic minimal black and white.
0 0ut of 10 Price (lower is cheaper per page)
1 out of 10 Length (lower is shorter)
3 out of 10 Complexity (lower is easier)
6 out of 10 Playability
5 out of 10 Artwork
6.5 out of 10 Overall
A free public domain gaming toolkit is an excellent thing for the community to have available. So bonus points there. Even more so when it is from one of my favourite games. For such a short game it covers the basics in old school fashion. None of the lengthier playing the game or gamemaster sections exist.
A very simple descriptive percentile dice Universal Table mechanic with great freedom of action that can easily be taught to people as an introduction. The table enhances superheroic flavour in its nomenclature. An admirable thing. The game plays quickly. There’s a nice free character sheet available that actually has the table on the Character Sheet as well.
One day soon hopefully I can do a fleshed out version and have 4CSERIP and FATERIP mirroring each other. Genre rules a la DC Heroes is something I have in mind.
There is of course all the http://classicmarvelforever.com for all the old gaming material.
4CS is simpler than MSH so it is definitely in the lower complexity range while offering some tactical type options for those that like that sort of thing. Games in this moderate range appeal to me most as far as ratings bias goes. Plus I was a backer.
The World Metahuman Factbook – Australia
4CS
$2,25 – http://pegasus.rpgnow.com/product/63567/World-Metahuman-Factbook-Australia?filters=600_0_31808_0_0
From the USHER dossiers it seems.
A few assorted superhumans and also some bonus powers and rules for Hate, Fear and Darkness. Also a new origin in Undead – which basically gives +2 CS to Endurance and Psyche but Resources and Popularity are both zero.
Black Swan,
— Eureka,
— Mr Big,
— Nullius,
— Terror Australis,
Tiger,
Australia: amazing! 🙂
Black Swan,
— Eureka,
— Mr Big,
— Nullius,
— Terror Australis,
Tiger,