Predator / Yautja (Hunter Alien) –for Twilight: 2000 4E

Predator / Yautja (Hunter Alien) – Twilight: 2000 4E

Size: Human-sized but taller, 2.2–2.4m, heavily muscled.
Armour: Advanced alien composite (counts as Kevlar vest + helmet + full body suit).

Attributes

Strength: A (d12)
Agility: A (d12)
Intelligence: C (d8)
Empathy: D (d6)

Skills

Close Combat: A (d12)
Ranged Combat: B (d10)
Recon: A (d12)
Stamina: A (d12)
Mobility: B (d10)
Survival: B (d10)
Tech: C (d8)
Command: D (d6)

CUF: A (d12)
Hits: 8 (6, +2 for Alien physiognomy)

Special Rules & Abilities

Cloaking Device
Predator may activate invisibility: requires a Stamina roll at the start of each combat round. If successful, Predator counts as Invisible (Recon vs Recon opposed roll to spot). Invisibility gives enemies –2 to Recon or Ranged attacks against it. Fails if Predator takes a Critical Injury or sustains Armour Piercing damage.

Thermal Vision
Ignores normal concealment penalties in darkness, jungle, or smoke.

Regeneration Pack
Once per fight, Predator may heal 1d6 damage instantly by retreating for a full round and applying alien medicine.

Hunter’s Code

  • Predator won’t attack unarmed or helpless opponents.
  • Always seeks out the strongest threat first.
  • Might leave if badly wounded but the prey proved “worthy.”

Weapons & Gear

Wrist Blades (Close Combat, Melee, ROF 1)
Damage: 3
Crit: 2
Armour: -1

Plasma Caster (Ranged, Smart Shoulder-Mounted, ROF 1, Linked to Thermal Vision)
Range: Long
Damage: 4
Crit: 4
Armour: -1
If cloaked, firing plasma caster cancels invisibility for 1 round.
Targeting system means +2 to Hit, cancelling out many range/situational penalties.

Net Launcher (Ranged, Short, ROF 1)
Damage: 1
Crit: 3
Special: On hit, target is trapped (Mobility roll vs Predator’s attack). Failure = immobile until freed.

Combi-Stick (Melee or Thrown)
Damage: 3
Crit: 3
Range: Medium (when thrown)
Armour: 0

Self-Destruct Device
If the Predator is reduced to 0 HP, it may choose to activate its wrist bomb:
1d6 rounds countdown, obvious beeping.
Blast: 10d6 damage, radius 10 hexes (buildings/jungle destroyed).
PCs may attempt Tech B (8+) to disable if they reach and operate the arm device.

Armour

Alien mesh suit and Helmet: Armor 3 (covers all hit locations).
Helmet provides thermal vision link.

NPC Usage

Solo boss fight — The Predator is more dangerous than an entire Soviet patrol. PCs should not expect a fair fight.
Tactics: Stalks from concealment, uses net or plasma to thin the group, then isolates survivors for melee.
Weakness: Cocky; can be baited into duels. Without plasma caster or cloaking, it’s “just” an apex commando with better strength and armour.

The Fantasy War – putting the War in Wardrobe

I wrote some notes a while ago so forgive me for brevity. This morning on the bus….I kinda expanded them. Images are placeholders, I’ve pinged my artist, Dino, to produce some nice original art.

The Long Stair was an internet thread on rpgnet which imagined, possibly to excruciating detail, what happens when a fantasy world crosses over with ours.

This was then followed up with crossing Forbidden Lands (Free Leagues flagship fantasy game) with Twilight 2000 (IMO the best evolution of the YZE).

Now, we had written stuff a while ago about Narnia which kind of tracked with this. (OMG that was 2008).

The idea what what would happen in our world if there was interaction between modern soldiers and fantasy races with magic.

Fantasy Races?

So, Twilight 2000 only really deals with humans. Sure you can get supplements (right here) that add in horrific monsters (in The Gloom) or Dragons (in Here Be Dragons) or mutations (in Enhanced) or Zombies (in Twilight Tangents) but we hadn’t covered Orcs, Goblins and Elves – the standard fantasy fare.

I use the word race very deliberately. There’s only one human race. There is only one surviving human species.

In this photo-fantasy world, they didn’t get humans, they got Orcs, Goblins and Elves. In the hominid evolutionary tree, Orcs are the descendent of ape-like ancestors similar to the modern day Earth Gorilla. Goblins too – descended from chimpanzee-like ancestors.

Rise of the Orc

The Orc is a tribal, aggressive species standing on average 1.8 metres (6’) though specimens are recorded much larger. In terms of body mass, the Orc is commonly up to 500 lbs (226 kgs) of muscle and bone. They have a characteristic gait with the heavily muscled arms reaching down to their knees and can reach a top speed of 40 km/h – fast enough to outrun all but the fastest sprinters. Physically humans are not a match one on one. They have astounding endurance and are very hard to kill.

Orcs are smart, maybe not human smart, but they can learn. They’re delighted to learn about new weapons and toys, new ways to create fire or explosions and they find slapstick humour, particularly where someone gets hurt, to be utterly hilarious. (Not so different from humans).

Orcs live in Prides, where the decisions of the family group are decided by the female Orcs. They’re responsible for food prep, for rearing young and also for the social order. All of the females in the Pride are related but many of the make Orcs will be “hangers on”, drawn by the “wealth” of the Pride (territory, conquests, potential for mates, charismatic leadership). The females select who is their mate (if any) this adds to the males prestige.

Orcs are opportunistic omnivores, able to digest everything from raw meat to tree bark. They are seldom cannibals but will consider humans and even Goblins as a valid food source.

Culturally, the Orcs will form war bands for conquest, based on loose alliances. They can, however be controlled by the Fein who have millennia-old spells to ensnare the mind of the Orc and turn them to war.

STR AGI INT EMP
d20 d10 d6 d6
Close Combat d12, Stamina d12, Mobility d6, Ranged Combat d8, Recon d10, Command d10
Brawler, Melee, Killer, Load Carrier, Ranger
All Critical Thresholds are +1 when attacking Orcs. And their melee attacks Critical Threshold is reduced by 1
Equipment: Sword, Halberd, Mail Armour, Shield

The Goblins

Goblins are the arboreal equivalent of the Orc, weighing much less (50 kgs) and much smaller in stature (1.2m, 4 ft). Their arms are proportionally longer and well suited for moving through trees. On land they’re fast but not for sustained periods. Proportionally they’re stronger than most humans reflecting a life of action rather than sedentary life. Goblins are also smart tool-users, proficient at the bow and practiced with crossbows of their own design.

Goblins live in large community groups, each numbering around 100 individuals. Under normal circumstances, they hunt and forage for food but have been put to work in agriculture and war by the Fein.

STR AGI INT EMP
d10 d12 d8 d8
Close Combat d8, Stamina d12, Mobility d6, Ranged Combat d10, Recon d12, Command d6
Brawler, Archer, Mountaineer, Pitcher, Combat Awareness
Goblins can move through the trees at twice ground speed.
Equipment: Short Sword, Long Bow, Leather Armour

The Fein

The Fein are a slender race of humanoid elfin vampires, reaching 2.1 metres (7 ft) in height. They wear long flowing robes and have golden adornments on their fingers, beck and ears, which are long and pointed. At some point in their past, the Fein developed a type of magic which extended their lives but required the living to sacrifice theirs. They will feed on any living creature, draining its life fluids (blood, sap, ichor) to sustain their own lives. This way the Fein can live for thousands of years. A human will sustain them for 1 month, an Orc for two months and a large tree for a year.

They still eat food for pleasure and sustain their lifestyles through the control of other races, notably Goblins for manual labour and Orcs for war. Their history is a long series of highly triumphant novels about how their intervention has been vital for the survival of all. The Fein worship their royal family, a particularly wretched line of vampires who only feed on other Fein. At some point in the past, they were creatures who lived commensally with the trees using magic to create song and great works, but over the years their lust for immortality drove them to use their magic to unnaturally prolong their life.

Culturally the Fein consider all races to be subservient, as they alone are uniquely long lived. Their methods are cruel and their magic is effective. They are often armed with a keen and slender needle rapier which is effective against armour, ignoring any protection provided by mail armour.

STR AGI INT EMP
d8 d8 d20 d12
Close Combat d12, Recon d12, Command d12
Killer, Intelligence, Interrogator, Psy Ops, Fein Magic
With but a touch, the Fein can drain Hit Points from other creatures 1 per turn, healing their injuries. This operates through their Opifex
Equipment: Rapier, Opifex, Magic Scroll

Fein Magic

The Fein use Magic powered by their own life force and the life force of others. Each effect requires at least the expenditure of 1 Hit Point, which can be regained immediately using their Opifex. Humans can learn Fein Magic and use an Optifex.

The Optifex

The Optifex is a piece of magical technology resembling a pocket watch with an interior filled with glass, blood and some sort of insect-like creature. The Optifex cannot be dismantled without killing the creature. This technology enables the Fein to live effectively forever through the vampirism of other species.

Regent

The Fein have a complex ritual which is performed on every Fein. This causes every Orc and Goblin to be immediately subservient to Fein, effectively giving the Fein an extra d12 when using Command with Orcs and Goblins. It has no effect on Humans. Removing the Regent enchantment from a Fein is considered a serious punishment as these Fein are also vulnerable to the influence.

The Silver Gate

The caster can open an Schwartzschild Bridge (actually a Morris-Thorne Wormhole) between two locations. This spell creates a shimmering globe of silvery metal which, at the predetermined time, will transport anything that walks though it to the desired destination. The primary component is at least 200 grams of orichalcum (which may be re-used). Rather than being an unobtainable mystery substance, Orichalcum is a specific ore of copper and nickel (and can be manufactured).
The Bridge is opened above a specific pattern made in Orichalcum powder by the spell. To close the bridge, break the pattern. The pattern is automatically generated (similar to cymatics) depending on the destination and each pattern is unique.
There is no guarantee that anyone crossing a Bridge will survive. Sometimes they come out the other end ‘reassembled’ incorrectly and survival at the other end can also depend on the presence of life-sustaining conditions.

Rending

This spell exists in many forms across cultures. It causes direct harm to a target, Each Hit Point invested causes a point of damage and Stress may also be exchanged for enemy damage, point for point. The flesh of the target is scored and burned by the spell, including their internal organs. Cause of death will be inexplicable to normal medicine if it kills the target. The Caster may also choose to spend a Permanent EMP level to inflict an immediate Death Save on the target.
This spell completely ignores armour and can be cast line of sight or may have effectively infinite range if there is a sympathetic connection (hair, etc).

Place Stelae

The ritual for placing a minimum of three stelae to enable the forming of a dimensional chiasmata (the overlap of two dimensions) on the basis of a Silver Gate. Stelae must be forged from a conductive metal. The first three stelae must be placed within 16 hours of each other and the ritual performed over each one. Additional stelae can be added later. The maximum distance between them is 1.054 kilometres. If performed correctly, the next 32 hours will see the region within the stelae boundary change as the other dimension begins to write itself over Earth, changing plans, changing the air, even changing the sky.
The specific dimension is dictated by changing the directions within the ritual. If the stelae are destroyed, any areas not covered begin to revert though they will not be the same. For the chiasmata to maintain, there must be at least three stelae.

Resurrect

This spell takes the body of a deceased person and summons life back into it. Any decomposition will remain and can be healed (in theory). The spell does not remove the cause of death (wounds do not heal, cancer is not cured) but for the time being, they are alive again.
The spell also won’t heal any putrefaction processed (They’re still rotting). The Referee deducts 1 level from one Attribute, if it is from STR, AGI or INT, it’s likely decomposition. If it’s from EMP, it’s likely due to feeling the pull of death. If the target has an Attribute that was previously reduced to 0 due to another spell or injury, they retain that handicap.

EXCESSION: Session 1

Excession is a new low-to-mid powered superhero game using the Year Zero Engine.

Session 1

Excession is a privately owned non profit organisation that seems to have unlimited money and a private army.

Louis and Jana are two hard chargers for the Excession organisation. Louis is a German-American with a real love of animals and an equal love of his well groomed porn-star moustache. Jana is a matronly experienced soldier with no need to prove herself. They like to get in quick, hit hard and leave the nerds to come in and tidy up. They’re both relaxing in the Ready Room when they feel the whole building, all 19 storeys, shudder. A shadow falls over the building and over the comms there’s the sound of gunfire and panic. Both grab their webbing and weapons and bolt up the stairs as the Evac siren sounds and the office workers begin to spill out of the offices and to the stairwell.

Taking the steps 4 at a time, they arrive at the roof and take cover behind an aircon unit to see a tall (3 metres tall!) silvery armoured figure directing energy weapon fire upon a fire team on the roof. They’re pinned down behind a pipe. The energy weapons fire is coming from a suspended black disc, perhaps 3 metres wide. But above it, in a seeming haze, is the ‘impression’ of a much larger vessel, perhaps cloaked.

Louis bolts for the stairs and leaps over the bannister, plummeting two floors to the upper armoury and grabs a LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weaton) and an AMR (Anti-Material Rifle) and then starts climbing up the stairs again, meanwhile Jana unclips a frag grenade from her webbing and lobs it at the silvery figure. The grenade detonates with seemingly no effect. Arriving back up, Louis hands her the LAW and he cocks the AMR. Both take aim and Louis makes an abdomen hit while the LAW round hits the being in the chest. This seems to stagger the being so they signal for the fire team to depart. One of them isn’t so lucky, Hank gets grabbed by the being and thrown off the roof….

Jana reports this over the comms and luckily there are two Enhanced on their way up. One is codenamed Jade Dragon, a superlative martial artist withthe ability to transmute objects and people to jade. The other is Strobe who has limited control over his personal space time – in effect he can stop time for a few seconds. Strobe hears about the falling Hank and detours to a window, grabbing a firehose as he runs. He shoots out the window and dives out, stopping time as he begins to fall, allowing him to catch up to the plummeting soldier. He grabs him roughly and the hose goes taut, slamming them into the side of the building three floors lower.

Meanwhile Jana and Louis pump more AMR rounds into this thing and lob grenades – which seems to stagger it. It raises a hand and there’s a pause ….and then the black disc rains heat death rays upon the rooftop. Hair singed, they barrel into the stairwell and begin to descent the stairs as quick as they can as the plaster cracks and the glass melts. They’re met by Jade Dragon on his way up who can see that the whole top three floors of the building are going up in smoke. He leaps over the balcony and falls five floors before deftly grabbing a railing and throwing himself to safety.

The vessel, slowly moves off….

Fire marshals and first aiders are checking everyone at their assembly points outside the building and the four, Strobe, Jade Dragon, Jana and Louis are approached by an elderly man, one of the trustees. They know him as Arthur Joyce. He mutters that “They’re back….” and instructs the team to go find Zachery Ackermann. When they ask him how, he says the address is with his secretary…

Switch To:

November 1945. The back of an Army truck. Sergeant Roy James and Corporal Curtis Cox have been seconded to Excession. The third man in the truck is wearing a white suit and they know he’s a Brit by the name of Arthur Joyce who made his name in the SOE during the war. They’re driven to an airfield and put onto a transport plane which flies them to the heart of Kansas. Then two more hours of driving and they find themselves in the middle of a cornfield looking at a furrow caused by a fallen meteor. But this meteor seems to be made out of silvery metal. Joyce orders Corporal Cox to jemmy open the thing and he does while Sergeant James covers with his rifle.

The capsule opens and there’s a rush of strange smelling gases. As the mist clears they see a hairless small baby, white in colour with no nose, looking at them. They tell Joyce it’s just a kid and he suggests they’ll have to deal with it. “After all, it’s an invader”. Corporal Curtis picks it up and as his flesh touches it, the baby shifts colour to his skin colour and develops a human nose and a patch of dark hair on its head. Within seconds it’s indistinguishable from a human child. Joyce again uses his horrible euphemisms about killing and the two soldiers take a stand. They ain’t killing a kid and, heck, even Nazi babies aren’t born evil – they reckon they can raise this kid. Joyce concedes and tells them to get married – if they can find a woman who’d stoop so low. Curtis asks what they’ll call the kid. Joyce interrupts, “Call him Zachery”.

End of session 1.