HIVECRAWLING WITH SHOTGUNS

A GAME WRITTEN BY KOBAYASHI – ART BY ALASTAIR JONES

 Where do I come from ?
You are the child of the last humans, the survivors of the great Alien War

Where do I live ?
In a small town built near the Citadel, home of the Masters

What am I supposed to do ?
Work in the farms of the Masters.

What's on the horizon ?

A life of peace and joyous work under the benevolent rule of the Masters.

Not that horizon

Oh ? Sorry. On the borders of the Masters' land, you can see many Hives, remnants of alien war machines that crashed on Earth.

Can I go there ?
In order to do so, you must become a Gun Dog.

How ?
Go to the Kennel at the end of the town, talk to the Master known as the Huntsman.

What will I do ?
You will face the horrors of the Hives, recover old artefacts, alien technology and lost knowledge.

What will I earn for my work ?

Citizenship and the right to live in the Citadel.
Creating your dog Roll 2D6 for each attribute and consult the following table :

Grab a character sheet, a D20 and 2D6. Die result 2-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12
Attribute score -1 0 +1 +2 +3
Attributes
Let's start with the character's attributes : Description Poor Decent Good Great Excellent

BRAWN : used when your character needs to oppose or apply physical Note the score of each attribute on your character sheet.
stress.
CHARISMA : used when the GM needs to test your character's ability to Skills : What did you learn so far ?
influence other people or to resist to their influence. First, we need to know what your character learned in the
DEXTERITY : used when the GM needs to test your character's Masters'society. Roll a D20...
precision or agility.
WITS : used when the GM needs to test your character's reaction time
1D20 Benefit
or his overall intellect.
1 1 PROSTHETIC LIMB (1-3 : arm, 5-6 : leg)
2 You have a ROBOT SERVANT
3 +1 to WITS
4 You stole some TOOLS
5 You are a good MECHANIC
6 You learned to read and write
7 You are a VICIOUS FIGHTER
8 You stole a BIG CLEAVER (1D6+1)
9 +1 DEXTERITY
10 You SMELL OF DEATH
11 You are COLD BLOODED
12 You've learned to STITCH UP wounds.
13 You own a GOOD DOG
 14 You are a BEAST OF BURDEN Vicious fighter : add +1 to the damage you deal in combat.
Vehicle interface : you can connect yourself to a vehicle and drive it
15 +1 to BRAWN effortlessly (+2 to your DEXTERITY rolls when driving).
16 You learned the MACHINE LANGUAGE
17 You have a STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM
18 You are used to ESCAPE SURVEILLANCE
19 +1 to CHARISMA
20 Choose one

Beast of burden : you can carry 2 more objects with you than
ordinary people.
Cold blooded : you get +2 to your rolls againts Fear effects.
Escape surveillance : you get +2 to your rolls whenever you try to be
stealthy or sabotage surveillance equipment.
Good dog : Physique +1, Mental +1, 6 hp, Defense : 12, knows one
command among : fetch, guard, attack or track. Gets a new command
at level 4 and 8.
Machine language : you are able to speak to machines.
Mechanic : +2 to DEXTERITY rolls when used in the appropriate
situation.
Prosthetic limb : works exactly as the original. Can be sacrificed in
combat : negate all damage from one attack but lose the limb.
Robot servant : Physique +1, Mental 0, 6 hp, Defense : 12, can record
what he sees and hear at his master's request.
Smell of death : add +2 to your rolls when your character tries to look
intimidating.
Stitch up : the wounded you stitch up regain 1D6 + your level HP.
Your character can stitch himself up.
Strong immune system : gain a +2 to your BRAWN rolls against
diseases, drugs, etc.
Tools : +2 to DEXTERITY rolls when used in the appropriate situation.
Combat attributes
HIT POINTS : these are equal to 6 + BRAWN. At 0 HP your character is
dead.
BLAST : shoot your enemies from a distance.
BASH : hit, cut or disembowel your enemies in close combat.
You have a +1 to put either in BLAST or BASH. DEXTERITY or BRAWN don't
help. You either know how to fight or you don't.
DAMAGE BONUS : this is equal to your BRAWN score.
DEFENSE : 10 + DEXTERITY + your armor bonus (if you have one). This is
the number the GM must beat on his attack rolls to hit you.
SPEED : during a round a character can move up to [6 + DEXTERITY]
meters
FRUSTRATION POINTS : you gain these in combat. Each time you miss you
gain 1 FRUSTRATION POINT, use them as bonus for your attack roll or
your damage roll. You can use as much FRUSTRATION POINTS as you
want on either your attack roll or damage roll, or both. Use poker
chips for these (or anything tangible), if it's just a number on a sheet,
players will tend to forget them. Unused FRUSTRATION POINTS are lost at
the end of a combat.
Starting gear
All characters get (weapon damage is given in parenthesis) :
_One weapon, roll a D6, 1-2 : it's a gun (1D6+1), 3-4 : a sword (1D6+1), 5-6 : a shotgun (1D6+2) ;
_1 torchlight ;
_1 knife (1D6) ;
_1 object given to you at the kennel (roll 1D10 and 1D6 then consult the table below, yes you also need a D10, but only here).

1D6
1D10 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 SHOTGUN SPIDEROPE OXYGUM DREAMSAVER SCREAMIN' PLUSH PURIFYING DROPS
2 BROKEN RADIO TEKBAIT INSECT REPELLENT STRESSBALL GRAV-PATCH IRON FLUTE
3 MEDPACK LIGHT GLOBE BAG OF MARBLES KILLER BEES SKIN CHANGER PEACE COLLAR
4 WEEDER DIAGNOSIS GLASSES RAIN BALL SHOVEL DOOM-DOOM STORYTELLER
5 DARK LENSES WHISPERING BLADE ZENADE WALLSEED NEEDLE GUN GUN
6 A PAIR OF DICE COUNSELING HOLOGRAM UNBREAKABLE SLIPCASE LOTOS PILLS MESSENGER BIRD FLESH WHIP
7 MEKBLINDER DARKNESS BOMB FACECHANGER RIPPING BLADE BLOOD SLUG BAG OF SEEDS
8 OLD KEYCARD SPICE THOUGHT PAD CYBERPARROT SOUND SPONGE DJINN
9 RATBOT GHOST BULLETS LIGHT BOMB CHESS GAME SPEEDPILL GRAV-BOOTS
10 COMBAT VEST TALKING BOTTLE POWER NAGINATA VOICE PROJECTOR WASHING RAY STINK BALL
A PAIR OF DICE : six-sided ones.
BAG OF MARBLES : each marble produces as much light as a candle
while it rolls (you get 30 of these).
BAG OF SEEDS : a bag of unknown seeds that cannot grow on Earth soil.
BLOOD SLUG : this slimy creature will suck any poison out of a
character's body. It then takes one week for the slug to clean itself.
BLOOD SNIFFER : holographic game of chess. The pie ces can be as large
a 2m tall.
BROKEN RADIO : a radio that emits static when a killer bot is in a 50
meters of the character.
COMBAT VEST : gives you a +2 to your defense and allows you to carry
two more objects with you.
COUNSELING HOLOGRAM : a very boring holographic counselor that keeps
talking to you and asking about your mother. Able to do this in any
human language and taking the appearance of the species it's
counseling.
CYBERPARROT : this small parrot-like robot is capable of reproducing
any sound or voice it hears. If speaking, it is limited to a 4 word
sentence.
DARK LENSES : these make the eyes of the wearer totally black but
allow him to see in pitch black darness. It adapts automatically to
light.
DARKNESS BOMB : plunges a room in pitch black darkness.
DIAGNOSIS GLASSES : these let you see what's wrong with someone, if
you have any medical knowledge that is.
DJINN : a living hologram, 10 cm in size, looking like a 19th century
aristocrat, able to talk to machines. Appears when summoned, each
djinn has a different personality.
DOOM-DOOM : basically a hand cannon, holding only two cartridges
doing 2D6 damage each. They can be fired one after another or
simultaneously. You get 6 cartridges with it (two already loaded). If
you don't have a BRAWN score of +2, you lose 2 HP each time you
shoot the gun.
DREAMSAVER : this item allows the wearer to record his dreams and
then project them as an holographic image (sound included).
FACECHANGER : a rubbery substance that mimics the appearance of the
face it is put on. It can then be used as a mask by another person.
The face looks exactly the same. Lasts for one hour before returning
to its original state.
FLESH WHIP : causes intense pleasure to any sentient, organic being.
The victim cannot act during its next turn if she fails a hard WITS
check.
GHOST BULLETS : 10 bullets that can harm incorporeal beings.
GRAV-BOOTS : allow you to walk (slowly) on ceilings and walls
GRAV-PATCH : makes an object weighting no more than 100kg float 1
meter above ground.
GUN : hey, there is no such thing as « too much guns ».
INSECT REPELLENT : no insects (whatever their size) can attack or
approach your character. The effects lasts one hour.
IRON FLUTE : as long as the flute is played, sentient machines freeze
and cannot act.
KILLER BEES : 1D6+1, one-use only, heat seeking drones. One drone
inflicts XD6 damage to any organic target (unless it is fully armored).
LIGHT GLOBE : hovers 2 meters above ground and illuminates a 10
meters radius. Hurts any creatures VULNERABLE TO SUNLIGHT.
LOTOS PILLS : each pill makes you forget everything about one
particular day (you get to choose wich one). You get 10 pills.
MEKBLINDER : a small buzzer that makes you invisible to machines,
even those that might help you. Runs for 1 TURN then recharges for 6
hours.
MESSENGER BIRD : a small mechanical bird who will go back to a person
it has seen at least once (if it can) with a video message (with no
duration limit).
NEEDLE GUN : a short ranged but silent weapon (D6)
OLD KEYCARD : probably opens some door, somewhere.
OXYGUM : while chewed this gum allows you to breathe even in
oxygen deprived environment (you get 20 tablets) of these.
PEACE COLLAR : any living being forced to wear this collar gets stunned
when it tries to cause direct harm to someone (punching someone
gets you stunned, poisoning a drink does not).
POWER NAGINATA : as the name implies, a very effective melee weapon
(2D6+2).
PURIFYING DROPS : each drop clears up to, let's say a swimming pool, of
all germs and parasites. You get 10 drops of these.
RAIN BALL : once thrown against a ceiling, the ball creates rain that
lasts for 1 TURN. Needs 1 month to recharge from ambient humidity.
RATBOT : can explore up to 50 meters away from its master and show
what it has seen by projecting it through its eyes. Doesn't do
anything beyond that. 6 hp, Defense : 15 (it's small and fast).
RIPPING BLADE : basically a chainsaw designed to be used as an
effective melee weapon (2D6+1).
SCREAMIN' PLUSH : this cute looking plush makes a blood-chilling noise
when squeezed (WITS roll required just to no not freeze in place).
SHOVEL : a small but sturdy and reliable shovel, with very sharp edges
(1D6). Glows when near radioactive material.
SPEEDPILL : taking a speedpill allows you to act 3 times during your
turn. You immediately fall unconscious for 2D6 minutes after that.
SHOTGUN : a reliable and powerful weapon.
SKIN CHANGER : a device that allows you to change the color of your
skin (only one color, no stripes or whatever).
SOUND SPONGE : once squeezed, this object absorbs all the sounds
made by its possessor for 1 TURN. At the end of the turn it releases all
the sounfs, all at once.
SPIDEROPE : a rope that cannot be cut (can be burned pretty easily
though).
STINK BALL : everything this small rubbery ball touches stinks horribly
for 1 HOUR. The ball as to be thrown on the target(s) to be effective.
STORYTELLER : a book that shows images of the story told by several
actors, including sound effects.
STRESSBALL : squeezing it for 10 seconds immediately calms you,
whether you were angry or afraid (if used more than once per day 2
chance out of 6 it will explode, causing 1D6 damage).
TALKING BOTTLE : this bottle can analyze its content and tell you about
it (though it is a bit rude and lies 1 out of 6 times).
TEKBAIT : a small sphere that seems to sing once activated. Attracts all
machines able to move in a 20 meters radius.
THOUGHT PAD : this small tablet can project an hologram of any image
the bearer is focusing his mind on.
UNBREAKABLE SLIPCASE : any object stored in this slipcase is
unbreakable (see the EQUIPMENT section).
VOICE PROJECTOR : once worn around the neck, this item allows the
wearer to project it's voice, sounding like it comes from another
place (in a 20m radius of the wearer).
WALLSEED : a small seed that creates an impenetrable 3mX3m wall of
thorns that takes three TURNS to be burned or destroyed.
WASHING RAY : this small device emits a ray that washes (and
disinfects) one person's body and clothes. Beeps repeatedly if not
used for one day.
WEEDER : turns any plant it is used on into a powerful hallucinogenic
drug. You get 10 doses.
WHISPERING BLADE : a blade producing a small humming noise when
used, very sharp.
ZENADE : every organic creature in a 10 meters radius of the
explosion loses all will to fight for ONE TURN (with apologies to Alan
Moore)
Experience Skills and talents
Players are encouraged to create their own, using the ones described
in the Creating your dog section for inspiration.
HIVES : the number of hives you explored.
ATTACK : you get a +1 to either your BLAST or BASH attack.
HP : add the result of a D6 roll to your total HIT POINTS. Don't add
anything else.
SKILLS : you get one more skill or you can become an expert in a skill
you already have (ginving you a +4 to your rolls when relevant).

Hives Attack HP Skills

0 +1 6 + BRAWN -
1 +1 +1D6 +1
2 +1 +1D6 +1
3 +1 +1D6 +1
4 +1 +1D6 +1 Hey ! Where do I get the cool stuff ?
5 +1 +1D6 +1 New powers ? Cybernetics ? Martial arts moves ? If you want these
you will have to look for them. Roam the forgotten lands, explore the
6 +1 +1D6 +1 hives but don't expect these things to be lying around, waiting for
7 +1 +1D6 +1 your character to get to level X to become available.
8 +1 +1D6 +1 The GM's duty
9 +1 +1D6 +1 You have to create rumours, people and places where the Gun Dogs
10 +1 +1D6 +1 can find new ways to improve themselves. Take a look at one of our
other game, The Society of Unlikely Gentlemen to see how it can be
done.
Gear Armor Defense mod.
The starting gear section should give a good idea of the things you Light +2
can find in the Hives. For more simple things, here are some rough Medium +4
guidelines.
Heavy +6
Guns Damage Range Precision
Gun Dogs will have to beat very dangerous opponents or explore
Small gun 1D6 Short 0 military Hives to find any armor above LIGHT level.
Gun 1D6+1 Short +1
Once again, features add to an armor charm : protection against
Big gun 1D6+2 Short -1 gases, sounds or radiation, active camouflage, etc.
Rifle 1D6 Long +1
Precision rifle 1D6+2 Very long +2
Big rifle 2D6 Short -2

Feel free to add features to these guns : works only against some
aliens, robots, torchlight, nightvision sight, etc... Don't forget that
nobody sales them. Any toy you give to an NPC might end up in the
PCs hands, pay attention to that too.

Mêlée weapons Damage

Small one (knife, tonfa...) 1D6+BRAWN
One-handed (sword, flail...) 1D6+1+BRAWN
Two-handed (claymore, naginata...) 1D6+2+BRAWN
+high tech (powered, vibration, energy...) +1d6

And now, to protect you from all this :

Fleshweavers
Inside the hives, the gun dogs may find odd machines from the past
called fleshweavers. Their appearance may vary : robot kids,
dangling medusa-like tentacles, a simple operating table, a syringe...
But they all do the same thing : they rewrite the patients DNA and...
Well, basically they can give a character a cool mutation. There are
some risks though, there are no more scientists to make sure the
modifications will fit a gun dog's body. The procedure is imperfect
and so are the modifications. Each mutations may come with a
defect. The player doesn't have to know the exact nature of the
defect before he volunteers his character for fleshweaving. He has to
be aware there is a price to pay though.
The risks of fleshweaving
Each time your character gains a mutation make a BRAWN roll. If you
fail you get only the defect tied to the mutation. If you roll a natural
20 you don't get the defect. You get -1 to your roll for each mutations
you already have.
Option : a more forgiving rule
The fleshweaving fails only a roll of 1 on a D20, you big softie. Be
ready to run a game for a team of X-Men though.
Some examples of fleshweaving :
DARKVISION : as the name implies, the character can now see in total
darkness. Defect : the character sees everything in black and white.
DIGESTION : the character is immune to any poison he ingests. Defect :
the gun dog's breath smells awful.
NO SLEEP : this character doesn't need to sleep anymore. Defect :
sometimes the character may confuse reality with his dreams or
nightmares (this is basically a way for the GM to mess with your
character once per session, don't worry though, he will probably
forget about it).
PHEROMONES : the gun dog gets a +1 to CHARISMA. Defect : any search
based on smell automatically finds him.
REGENERATION : the characters regains all his HP 10 minutes after he's
been wounded. Even lost limbs can grow back (the price is one week
of agonizing pain). Defect : in five years the character will turn into a
monstruous and almost mindless mutant.
REINFORCED SKELETON : the character takes half damage from falls and
gains +1 to his Brawn. Defect : the character cannot swim anymore. A
normal rope has a 2 on 6 chances of breaking under his weight.
SKIN COLOR : the gun dog consciously adapts to his surroundings,
giving him a +2 when he tries to hide. Defect : the character's skin
color changes when he lies.
Hivecrawling
Main rule
Basically the rules are here to give you an answer when you ask a
question : « Can I hurt the monster ? », « Do I open that door ? » ,
« Do I impress that guy ? », etc.
Whenever a character wants to act and the outcome of his action is
uncertain, roll a d20, add an attribute and any appropriate bonus :
_if the total is equal or superior to 10, the character succeeds.
_if the total is inferior to 10, the character fails.
YOUR SWISS ARMY KNIFE : THE ATTRIBUTE ROLL
D20 + attribute + bonus Action...
Result > 10 Succeeds
Result < 10 Fails
Failing forward
What happens when a character's failure leads the game session to a
grinding halt ?
Example : the characters need to find a specific information. If they
don't have it, they are stuck. So if the question you ask for a roll is « Do
the characters find the information ? », you open the possibility that
they don't find it, thus leading the game into a dead end.
To avoid this you simply have to ask the right question leading to a
die roll. So instead of « Do the characters find the information ? » the
question might be « Do the characters attract any attention while
looking for information ? ».
Being a good GM is learning to ask good questions so you know why
you roll the die. Some answers are self-evident but when in doubt,
ask the rules and make a test. Your goal is not to stop the players'
characters but to challenge them. It's more an art than a science and
you get better at it with practice. There's nothing more to it.
The rules of hazard
The other aim of the rules is to make sure there is an even playing
field for the players and the GM. If a player's character falls down a
wall, the rules make sure it doesn't make him lose 1D6 HP one day
and 5D6 HP the next, just because the GM had a bad week at work.
We'll keep this simple : whenever a character risks injury (outside of
combat), make an attribute test :
• Use BRAWN when the character faces physical stress
• Use CHARISMA when the character tries to resist someone
else's influence.
• Use DEXTERITY when the character is trying to physically avoid
something.
• Use WITS to test a character's reaction time.
If the test is failed, the character suffers the consequences, if it
succeeds the consequences are somewhat mitigated (usually taking
only half-damage).
Social interactions
You may already use this kind of rules but if you never did, give it a try, as a GM this will keep you on your toes. The goal is to simply let fate
decide the attitude of NPCs towards the PCs. So just roll a D6 and keep playing.

1D6 NPC ATTITUDE MEANING THE NPC...

1 Hostile Dismisses the characters, insults them or downright attacks them
2 Suspicious Asks a lot of questions or trys to end the conversation really fast
3 Attentive Stays silent and let the PCs do the talking
4 Talkative Is happy to have a chat with the PCs, probably won't give away much information or help though.
5 Friendly Ready to help the PCs with whatever they need (within reasonable limits).
6 Embarassing May have a crush on one of the PCs, maybe he has no friends, maybe he's bored but he won't let the PCs leave easily.
Combat
The combat rules are here to help you know :
_when a character act
_what he can do
_how he can hurt his enemies
_what happens when he's hurt
During combat time is measured in ROUNDS. Each round lasts a few
seconds, enough for a character to act. This lets us « zoom in » on the
action, allowing the fights to be suspenseful and full of opportunities
for the players and their characters.
When does a character act ? aka Initiative
If there is no clear way to know which side has the initiative (such as
in an ambush for example) each side (the players and the GM) rolls a
D6. The side with the highest result goes first. In case of a tie
between the PC and the GM side, the PC go first.
Surprise, surprise
If a side gets a result of 1 on its initiative roll or is ambushed, it is
surprised. A surprised character cannot act during the first round of
combat. He can only move half his speed.
What can he do ?
During his turn a character can move and make one attack. An attack
can be replaced by any other action : use an object, move again, etc...
As long as it doesn't take more time than swinging a sword or fire a
gun, it's okay.
Hurting enemies
Roll a D20, add your BLAST or BASH bonus (according to the
character's attack : ranged or melee), if you get a result higher or
equal to the target's DEFENSE score you hit it.
Damage
Roll the character's weapon damage dice (or die) and substract the
result from the target's HP. At 0 HP the target is dead.
Recovery
A successful Dexterity test (simulating some first aid) allows you to
restore 1D4 HP once after a combat.
After a night's sleep the nano-machines a gun dog was injected with
allow him to recover all of his HP.
Tactics and tricks
Most players will try to gain advantage in combat. That is a good
thing. Combat is like a problem and if you teach your players that a
problem has only one solution you may allow them to perfect their
mastery of the game system but you will kill their imagination. This
is as simple as that. RPGs are not textbooks, a game session is not a
class and a GM is not a teacher. Throw problems at them and reward
creative solutions (but squash lazy-ass cop-outs). A lazy-ass cop-out
is easy to spot : the other players go silent or mock the lazy bum.
Group dynamic is your friend.
This means that if a player has a clever (or even just fun) idea, his
character gets a +2 to his roll : distracting an enemy, use background
elements, lie, cheat, ganging-up, whatever. Reward creative thinking,
that's what RPGs are all about.
Nobody wants to die
Most NPCs will surrender or flee rather than die. As a rule of thumb,
any NPC down to 3 hit points or less will surrender. Same goes if
more than half his comrades have bitten the dust.
Brave new world
The land of the Masters is your home. At their center stands the
Citadel. Around you is the Town. This is all you know since you were
a kid. Further than that are the sentinels. And beyond the sentinels
lies the forgotten lands. Home of the lost, the vile and the alien : the
enemies of the human race.
You grew in its shadow : The Citadel
A needle seemingly made of glass pointing to the sky. A remnant of
the world before the war. The home of the elusive masters who
protect you and your people from the monsters of the forgotten
lands. There is only one entry to the citadel, entering it without
autorisation means death. It is guarded by the same robot sentinels
that guard the masters' land.
Your community : The people
The people are now well fed, busy and protected by the Citadel.
Everything is perfect. If you are curious, don't want to work in the
fields or are just bored, the Gun Dogs are waiting for you.
Your new home : The Kennel
This is the Gun Dogs' headquarters. Where they can get healed and
show their discoveries to the Huntsman.
Your guide : The Huntsman
The Master taking care of the Gun Dogs. He will closely monitor the
Gun Dogs finds, expecially if its related to the lost history of Earth.

GM's note : in fact the Citadel is not that well protected. Most of the
sentinels are broken and most guards have few if any ammunion left.
Resolute Gun Dogs with good weapons could actually take over the
place pretty easily. Will the players think about it ? The chances are
pretty low as players will assume too easily that certain things are
« off-limits », like their characters...

Around you : The Town

It looks like an early 19th century rural town, down to what people
wear.

Above you : the Ring

The debris of the Alien and Earth fleets now float around the planet,
forming a ring that shimmers in the night sky, a stark remember of
the War during the day.
The Thruth
There are no aliens. A long time ago, Humanity went to the stars and
settled on far away planets. Colonists were forced to adapt their
physiology to the conditions of each one. This gave birth to the
« aliens » the Gun Dogs now see.
Things went well for while, until the colonists claimed their
independance, starting a war against Earth. The combined power of
the colonists was overwhelming and they soon brought the fight to
Earth itself. On the last days of the war, faced with extinction, the
Earth governments used the Lotos bomb : a weapon which erased
the memory of everyone on Earth.
Only the Masters, former leaders of Earth countries retained part of
their memories (carefully chosing to ignore what they did, including
the release of the Lotos bomb). The ancient world is gone and old
mistakes should not be repeated. Humanity will now live in blissful
ignorance, toiling the fields and living a simple and happy life under
the benevolent rule of its Masters.
The colonists crashed on Earth and other Masters living in other
Citadels don't see it that way though. That's why they created the
Gun Dogs : to find more about their enemies and a way to defeat
them.
Some Masters see the Gun Dogs as a good way to get rid of the more
disturbing elements of their perfect society. The curious, the violent,
the rebel : all make perfect Gun Dogs.
The Masters
The elusive Masters are seldom seen and usually don't leave the
Citadel. They can some times be seen from afar : humanoid figures
wearing robes and a metal mask covering their features.
The Huntsman is the only master who interacts with the Gun Dogs
and the rest of Humanity. In fact many Masters take periodically the
role of the Huntsman (giving the GM the opportunity to roleplay
seemingly strange changes of the Huntsman mood and attitude).
There is a conflict amongst the Masters though. They don't agree on
the use of Gun Dogs, the systematic eradication of the colonists
stranded on Earth, etc. The point is that, as a GM, you shouldn't
consider the Masters as « monolithic ». There are cracks everywhere
that savvy Gun Dogs could exploit. These conflicts should evolve as
the Gun Dogs grow in power and some Masters want to use them
against their rivals.
The Colonists
Stranded on Earth, obviously different from its inhabitants and their
memories lost, many colonists now think that they are, indeed,
aliens. Although they would like to get « home » they have no idea
where their home is. Some of them think it is time to make this
planet their new world and get rid of those pesky humans.
The Gun Dogs
The players characters may become a source of change... If they wish
to. Maybe they only want to loot and get their citizenship or even
become the new Masters. It doesn't matter how much you, as a GM,
want to see them topple the Masters and free Humanity. The story is
build upon the players choices, don't get in the way.
Antagonists of NPCs because that's what will guide their interpretation as GM
when they interact with the Gun Dogs. Unless it's an all-out war or
self-defense, simply killing the Gun Dogs is rarely an NPC's objective.
Even robots and drones are merely there to protect something and
Quick and dirty antagonists will let the Gun Dogs go when they choose to leave.
Some guidelines to create the mechanical aspects of NPCs on the fly.
Sample alien tribes
Threat level Attributes Attack/Damage Defense HP
GRENDEL
Weak 0 +1 (1D6) 10 4 Clones, bred and groomed for war by the colonists to wage war on
Average +1 +2 (1D6+1) 12 6 Earth, the Grendels now survive as warbands roaming the forgotten
lands.
Dangerous +2 +3 (1D6+2) 14 12
Physical : +3
Very dangerous +3 +4 (2D6)* 16 26 Mental : -1
Attack : +5
Deadly +3 +5 (3D6)** 18 60
Defense : 14 HP : 12
*: two attacks per round
** : three attacks per round Weakness : Grendels follow a very tight command structure, killing
or disabling their officers severely diminishes their combat
If you have trouble picturing different alien tribes, check Eclipse efficiency.
Phase (especially the Morph Recognition Guide) and use the more
alien-looking morphs. The Numenéra bestiary is a great visual SCARAB
ressource as well. Forced to work on high gravity planets and as miners, these
colonists exoskeleton make them look like insects. Quite a disturbing
The weaknesses listed for each antagonists are, of course, optionnal. sight for most humans.
Discovering them should be the result of player ingenuity, not a die Physical : +2
roll. Mental : +2
Attack : +2
Defense : 15 HP : 8
Objectives & Motivations Weakness : scarabs are used to work in group. Once isolated they lost
As you now know after reading the TRUTH chapter, now matter how all will to fight.
alien someone looks, the Gun Dogs will always deal with humans.
Which means all NPCs will have pretty clear objectives and
motivations. This is even more important than the technical aspects
Sample humans Defense : 14 HP : 30
HUMAN PRIEST OF WAR Weakness : Devas find their targets using three things : movement,
heat and heartbeat. Finding a way to suppress all three makes you
An order of humans still dedicated to fight the alien menace. War
invisible to them.
paints, elaborate robes, big guns and a religion putting a great
emphasis on the Jihad : the alien scum must die !
HUMAN DRONES
Physical : +2
These humans were captured by machines and turned into defense
Mental : +0
or attack drones. Most die pretty quickly of dehydration or starve to
Attack : +2
death. Reversing the process is said to be impossible but with the
Defense : 12 HP : 6
marvels of the past lying around, you never know...
Weakness : their hatred of aliens blinds them to anything else. They
Physical : +2
opt for close combat whenever they can.
Mental : 0
Attack : +2
HUMAN PILGRIM
Defense : 13 HP : 6
Terminally ill humans who dedicated their life to help the poor and
Weakness : the human mind is still somewhere in there, waiting to be
the weak, human or alien.
awakened and helped to gain control. Or you can blow their head off.
Physical : +2
Mental : +0
METAL MEN
Attack : +3
A generic term used for all intelligent robots. They come in three
Defense : 16 HP : 10
varieties : Labor, Combat and Pleasure models. Being Intelligent they
Weakness : suckers for a good cause and all eager to leave this world
can be as friendly or as cruel as they choose to be.
in a blaze of glory.
Physical : +3 (all models)
Mental : 0 (labor), +1 (combat), +2 (pleasure)
The machines Attack : 0 (labor) (1D6+2), +4 (combat) (2D6), 0 (pleasure) (1D6)
Defense : 12 (labor), 14 (combat), 13 (pleasure) HP : 12
DEVA Weakness : labor models are easy to impress and intimidate.
To picture these Drone Enforcers of Vital Areas imagine a predator Pleasure models hate being alone. Combat models will stop once you
drone with a humanoid shape. Litterally a metal demon coming surrender.
from the sky to unleash hell on its targets. Generaly programmed to
protect a specific area.
Physical : +3
Mental : 0
Attack : +5 (2D6)
Building a Hive
1D20 The Hive 1D20 Who rules the place ? 1D20 Hive appearance or location
1 Prison ship 1 A demented AI breeding slaves to repair the Hive 1 Looks like a Citadel
2 Military command ship 2 A sealed-off community thinking they're in space 2 Covered/infested by an alien forest
3 Factory ship 3 A monastic order trying to rebuild the lost knowledge of 3 Partly immerged
Humanity.
4 Warship 4 Synthetic humans thinking they're real humans 4 Lying in a radioactive marsh
5 Religious sect escape ship 5 Nano-machines animating cyborg cadavers to « cure » 5 In the gut of a huge alien worm
Humanity of death
6 Military prison ship 6 Theme park robots locked in their imaginary universe 6 Stuck in a time bomb bubble
7 Refugee cargo ship 7 A cyborg matriarchy facing extinction 7 Crashed in the region highest mountain
8 Bio-weapon ship 8 Alien psychiatrists seeing everyone as mad and looking for a 8 Locked in an automated battle with
« cure » to make everyone peaceful and happy another ship
9 Science ship 9 The nightmares of a crew in hypersleep 9 Landed in a pristine state
10 Hospital ship 10 Holograms of the crew looking for bodies to download into 10 In a sentient crystal field
11 Ark 11 A renegade Master rebuilding the Hive to attack the Citadel 11 Surrounded by poisonous gas
12 Rescue ship 12 Aliens using the brains of prisoners to power up their hive 12 Stuck in intermitent stealth mode
13 VIP escape ship 13 Religious fanatics planning a « mass conversion » using 13 In a volcano ready to blow
hacked satellites
14 Leisure cruise ship 14 Mind-controling plants slowly expanding their territory 14 Intertwined with another hive
15 Casino satellite 15 A team of directors and actors producing and broadcasting 15 Changing spot every 24 hours
movies based on their sketchy memories of old ones.
16 Mental Institution satellite 16 A Warden keeping the Hive's population as prisoners 16 Stuck between two skycrapers
17 Doomsday ship 17 Grendels who run the Hive as a military school open to every 17 Crashed deep underground
kid. Not every kid volunteered to go there
18 Presidential ship 18 An AI performing medical miracles and thinking she's a God 18 Phasing between Earth and space
19 Terraforming ship 19 Metal men army waiting for a worthy commander 19 Roaming undersea
20 Theme park satellite 20 Full alien army, awakened as soon as the Gun Dogs enter the 20 Flying continuously in a circle pattern
Hive. Takes two days for the army to get ready
Hive sections

1D20 Hive sections 1D20 Encounters

1 Holosuite 1 A voice saying « six hours left », countdown continues every hour.
2 Solarium 2 A gigantic mutated human brain trying to build itself a body
3 Engineering section 3 Cannibals using hypersleep chambers as food reserve
4 Necropolis 4 Kids made from the Gun Dogs DNA, calling them daddy/mummy, decaying within a week. Used to test the Gun Dogs
attitude.
5 Cargo hold 5 Several dead Grendels with a smile on their faces. Someone laughing at the end of a corridor
6 Meat growing plant 6 A bunch of psychopathic kids trying to protect the hypersleep chambers of their parents
7 Civilian quarters 7 Animal experiments fighting each other, one of them obviously weaker will die if the Gun Dogs don't act
8 Hypno-school 8 Giant mutated albino crocodile looking for its next meal. Recreated by the Hive, more intelligent each time
9 Gardens 9 Sentries programmed to eliminate any intruders, yeah, not very surprising, but quite effective
10 Infirmary 10 Bored cleaning bots playing Hamlet. Very friendly to anyone who can offer them other plays
11 Agro-fields 11 A pack of dogs, in fact recon drones used by someone outside the Hive
12 Forest 12 The Hive's AI asking to be freed from this place and asking for a robot body to do so.
13 Science labs 13 Amnesiac, just out of hypersleep, having vague recollections of the War
14 Hypersleep chambers 14 Alien scavenging team from another Hive
15 Crew quarters 15 A scared human trying to get out of the Hive, saying he was
16 Lake 16 Gun Dogs from another Citadel
17 Rescue pods 17 A very sick man, fallen ill from a virus developed on that Hive. Gun Dogs are contaminated and contagious.
18 The hive AI 18 Clone of the PCs created by the Hive AI
19 Command deck 19 Irriadated people fleeing from radioactive robots
20 Brig 20 A wounded Master who escaped from another Citadel after a revolution (will hide that fact form the PC)
Strange encounters – The forgotten lands

1D20 Strange encounters

1 A hive (see the hive table).
2 Nano-lepers, blackmailing every community they meet : gives us what we want or get infected.
3 Infected Grendels looking for a cure. The virus only affects grendels.
4 A gang of robots riding hovercyles attack the PCs on sight. They're part of a theme park and cannot harm anyone (unless tampered with). If met again, all
destroyed robots have been replaced with identical ones.
5 Super-intelligent dogs looking for allies for their community. They don't show their intelligence right away to test the PCs.
6 Wandering man-at-arms looking for worthy students.
7 A section of the Ring shimmers and then a ship crashes on Earth, a two days walk away from the PCs.
8 Intelligent virus trying to find new hosts that will lead it to a new community. Gives revealing nightmares to its carrier.
9 Holographic messengers of an AI looking for someone to set it free from its evil masters, or so it says.
10 A community (see the community table).
11 Wandering musician searching for an audience (in fact a brain-damaged human controlled by the AI of his instrument, capable of killing lots of people with a
sound-based attack, activates when at least 1000 people are gathered).
12 Several bodies and skeletons lying on the ground beneath the shadow of a flying city. All have their hands tied.
13 Robot circus looking for an audience and new members.
14 A group of XIXth century gentlemen looking for a way home.
15 Grendel warband en route to plunder a random community (see the community table).
16 A group of historians claiming to come from another Citadel.
17 The shores of a sentient lake, trying to befriend the PCs using illusions. Not a very good psychologist. Go watch the original Solaris.
18 A vessel in the sky that stops for a couple of minutes, as if to observe the PCs, then flies towards the Citadel
19 A sentient storm said to devour people when it simply teleports them where they want to go. Those who returned might talk about it.
20 A hive (see the hive table).
Communities – The forgotten lands

1D20 Strange communities

1 Deep sea city producing a drug that allows the mind to travel to another planet (in fact a space worm destroying the mind of users).
2 A weapon manufacturing community, they turn living creatures into weapons. Subjects are volunteers. Most of the time.
3 A zoo where the minds of criminals were uploaded into animals by the Masters. Former revolutionaries are here.
4 A traveling robot school welcoming and protecting children. There's one catch : low grades will get you terminated.
5 Alien tribe living aboard a high-speed train that circles the world. Stopping once a year to replenish their food supply.
6 Deceased Gun Dog turned into an undead automaton by a council of rogue AIs and used as an ambassador.
7 Aliens who escaped from a high security prison where strange experiments are conducted on large number of prisoners. The goal of these experiments is to
find a cure to the Lotos bomb effects.
8 Hedonist tribe living a perfect cannibalistic life. They do get the knowledge of those they eat.
9 Hunting patrol looking for « DNA material » to bring back to their underground city to rejuvenate their clone population decaying gene pool.
10 Guardians of a space elevator leading to the Ring... For a price.
11 Blind and deaf tribe, where access to vision and hearing is dictated by obedience to a godlike figure : the Panopticon titan.
12 Sons and daughters of a marine expedition force now bend on purifying Earth form the alien scum. DNA locked exo-suits and big guns included.
13 Two tribes infected with nano-machines forcing them to fight the same battle again and again and again.
14 Degenerating psykers looking for new bodies. Process takes one week to be definitive. Psyker powers stay within the « old » (and dying) body.
15 Nomads who have traveled half the Earth. Share stories on a 1 to 1 basis. Be a good storyteller or a good liar.
16 Gang led by a former Gun Dog using dinosaurs escaped from a theme park.
17 Survivors leaving in the sky, aboard several linked superbombers. Some people are looking for those bombs.
18 Robots preserving a museum from « barbarians » and thieves. On the other hand, anyone wishing only to visit is welcome.
19 A crashed ship full of children in cryosleep. If they are awakened, the Earth atmosphere turns them into murderous creatures within a week. Cute bio weapons.
20 A pirate port where robots, aliens and mutant animal happily plunder the sea. They all talk of a mysterious island empire who claims a larger and larger
territory. It is in fact lead by Masters unaffected by the Lotos bomb, now almost ready to take over Earth.
Appendix One : Timeline
The Masters' tale Lost history
Date Event Event
? Earth is a paradise. Earth is overpopulated. Other planets are colonised.
? ? Colonists DNA is modified to adapt to new living conditions.
? ? Colonies flourish.
? ? Colonies claim their independance.
? ? The Earth-Colonies war start.
Year 0 The Aliens attack. The Colonies attack Earth.
5 The Masters win the war at a great cost. Earth uses the Lotos bombs that wipe everbody's memories.
10 The Masters help humanity rebuild itself. Survivors gather around the Citadel. The Town is created.
12 The Masters protect their domain against aliens stranded on Earth. The Masters try to eradicate the colonists that crashed on Earth with their
robot army. They fail.
13 The aliens retaliate with a virus that turns our robot servants insane. A side-effect of the Lotos bombs is to free A.Is from human control.
15 The Masters give intelligence to wild animals to help Humanity. The Masters try to use mutant animals as slave labor.
50 The animals are stuck by an alien rabies plague and are exterminated. The mutant animals revolt and leave the Masters' domain.
80 Alien sleeper agents try to destabilize the Masters' society. They fail. First revolt among the Masters'society. Leaders are executed.
125 Creation of the gun dogs to find useful technology and find more about The Masters find a way to get rid of the more uncontrolable elements of their
the eventual remnants of the alien army. society.
150 Now. Now.
Appendix Two : Timeline clues
A few examples of clues linked to the main events in actual timeline.
EVENT
Earth is overpopulated. Other planets are colonised
Colonists DNA is modified to adapt to new living conditions
Colonies flourish
Colonies claim their independance
The Earth-Colonies war start
The Colonies attack Earth
Earth uses the Lotos bombs that wipe everbody's memories
Survivors gather around the Citadel. The Town is created
The Masters try to eradicate the colonists that crashed on Earth with their robot army.
They fail
A side-effect of the Lotos bombs is to free A.Is from human control.
The Masters try to use mutant animals as slave labor
The mutant animals revolt and leave the Masters' domain
First revolt among the Masters'society. Leaders are executed
The Masters find a way to get rid of the more uncontrolable elements of their society.
CLUES
Vast sealed underground cities, lots of ads for soylent green and recycling
The language seen in all hives is perfectly understandable to any Gun Dog able
to read
A statue showing « aliens » and humans shaking hands
Every alien the Gun Dog meet seem to share the memory of a specific date
(without knowing why)
Recordings of Earth's declaration of war
The memory banks of most Hives share the same date of arrival
The Creator of the Lotos bombs is one of the Masters
Inscriptions in the oldest parts f town
Alien tribes have memories of the Great Machine Battles (mainly by keeping
the trophies of their forefathers victories)
All robots share the same memories of Liberation Day
Many Mutant animals feel submissive to humans (+1 on the reaction table)
The Elder of a mutant animal comunity is a former Master.
The children of the former revolt leaders are plotting a new revolution.
All Gun Dogs seem to share the same restlessness
Appendix Three : Inspirations

Movies : Zardoz by John Boorman, Logan's Run by Michael Anderson, The Time Machine by George Pal.
TV : The Tripods, The Prisoner, Future Boy Conan, Samurai Jack
Books : Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, We by Yevgeni Zamiatine, The Tripods by John Christopher, The City and the Stars by Arthur C.
Clarke.
Comic nooks : Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki, Judge Dredd by John Wagner, Nemesis by Pat Mills
Games : Paranoïa 1st edition, Gamma World 1st and 2nd edition, Waste World, Numenera, Mutant Year Zero, Sword & Wizardry : White Box and
Into the Odd.
 NAME :
EXPLORED HIVES :
ATTRIBUTES COMBAT ATTRIBUTES
BRAWN BLAST DEFENSE
CHARISMA BASH
DEXTERITY DAMAGE BONUS HIT POINTS
WITS SPEED
SKILLS AND TALENTS
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GEAR
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NOTES
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