Serial 1 Episode 4

 

New BX Class: Dhampir Vigilante

 

(EDIT AS OF JANUARY 30TH 2021: I've changed and updated the Class after some play-testing HERE. The version below is the older one.)

  As mentioned in a previous post, I chose White Star's Alien Brute class to represent the Crimson Hound stats-wise. It seemed like a good enough fit as I didn't exactly have time to create and playtest a whole new Class before starting off the show. 

  It just so happened that since then I've noticed a book come up in the blogosphere; BX Options: Class Builder. Using its system both directly and as a guideline, I grabbed everything the Alien Brute had and added a few things to create the Dhampire Vigilante Class for BX games. 

  If the Crimson Hound survives Serial One, that's the Class he'll take up starting Serial Two!

  Hope you all like it, consider the text an informal version for now and feel free to leave feedback in the comments.

DHAMPIR VIGILANTE

Requirements: Minimum Str 13, Minimum Dex 13

Prime requisite: STR

Hit Dice: 1d8

Combat Progression: As Fighter

Saving Throws: As Dwarf

Maximum Level: 14 (Or no limit if your game doesn't stop at Level 14 for Humans.)

Armour/Shields: Any

Weapons: Any

Languages: Common, Shadows

Abilities, Skills & Weaknesses

• Combat Machine: Extra attacks up to current level on enemies of 1HD or less.
• Infravision 30 ft.
• Unarmed Combat: Fists or fangs, 1d8
• +2 on Saving Throws v.s Death/Poison
• Skill, Supernatural Lore: 3 in 6 chance to have useful information about the supernatural. If a roll fails about a specific subject matter, the information can only be learned through the story. A new roll can be attempted after a level has been gained as long as the character had some downtime to do research in the meantime. The GM can give penalties for obscure lore or declare that a roll can't be made in the first place.
• Skill, Urban Tracking: 3 in 6, the ability to track someone or something down in a city via gathering clues and talking to people. It's always possible that no clues at all are out there for the time being and thus that such a roll fails automatically. How long such an investigation takes is up to the GM, but the Player can always stop searching before the end if it's taking too long, the roll is then automatically declared failed.
• Climb Sheer Surfaces: Same progression as a Thief
• Hear Noise: Same progression as a Thief
• Hide in Shadows: Same progression as a Thief
• Move Silently: Same progression as a Thief
• Supernatural Healing: The Dhampir Vigilante can cast Cure Light Wounds once per day but only on himself/herself.
• Stronghold: At Level 10
• Vulnerable to Holy Water: Contact with Holy Water will cause 1d4 damage to the Dhampir Vigilante.
• Weakened by Daylight: When exposed to daylight directly, all Saving Throw rolls take a -1 penalty.
• One Foot in the Grave: While the Dhampir Vigilante is not Undead, their connection to their Vampiric ancestry means that they can be affected by a Turn Undead attack. They can only be Turned however, never destroyed by it.

XP CHART

• Level 1: 0 xp
• Level 2: 3400 xp
• Level 3: 6800 xp
• Level 4: 13 600 xp
• Level 5: 27 200 xp
• Level 6: 54 400 xp
• Level 7: 108 800 xp
• Level 8: 204 000 xp
• Level 9: 324 000 xp
• Level 10: 444 000 xp
• Level 11: 564 000 xp
• Level 12: 684 000 xp
• Level 13: 804 000 xp
• Level 14: 924 000 xp
• +120 000 xp per Level if your game goes beyond Level 14

 

Serial One Episode 3

 

Now on Instagram!

For those interested, I've made an instagram account for the show @chroniclesofthecrimsonhound

Serial One Episode Two

 

Serial One Part One

 

Character Sheet of The Crimson Hound

 THE CRIMSON HOUND (ADAMUS WARD)

ALIEN BRUTE Level 1*

Experience: 0 /2200

Race: Dhampir

HD: 1d8**

HP: 11

STR: 17 (+2)

DEX: 14 (+1)

CON: 18 (+3)

INT: 13 (+1)

WIS: 14 (+1)

CHA: 10 (--)

SAVING THROWS: 11 v.s Poison/Death, 13 v.s Everything Else

AC: 13 (10 + 2 Leather Armor +1 Dexterity Bonus)

Bonus To Hit:+0

Melee Attack Bonus: +2

Ranged Attack Bonus: +1

Class Abilities

• Can use all Weapons and Armors
• Combat Machine (Extra attacks up to Level v.s enemies of 1HD or less)
• Keen Senses (Dark Vision 40 ft)
• Unarmed Combat (Fists or Fangs, 1d6+1)
• Languages Known: Common and the Language of Shadows

Equipment: Handgun  (1d6, Rate of Fire 2) + 20 bullets, Leather Armor, 1 Concussion Grenade (3d6+1, range 30 ft), Slim Backpack (Easily detachable when needed via a clips system, hidden beneath the cape), Mini-Computer (Handheld), 2 Med Kits (1 round to apply, heals 2d4 HP), 82 GP. 

  He rents an apartment in a bad part of town that costs 30 GP/month, 1 month is already deducted from his current GP.

Story: Adamus Ward is nothing but a fake I.D illegally bought by the Crimson Hound to disappear within the masses of Glumengrad, but he's taken a liking to it. Born with the designated name of Hound #6, Adamus knows nothing of the details of his birth. All he knows is that he was raised from childhood to be a soldier in humanity's war against the supernatural. 

  The fact that he was fed with blood injections was just a normal part of his life, although since on his own he has grown to love food. He was one of many Hounds, an elite secret team of monster hunters, none of them entirely normal. One night as they were trying to capture a creature inside an abandoned building, he heard his superiors give the order over the comlink; The building was to be destroyed with the Hounds inside. 

  He alone survived the explosion it seems. To this day he does not know if the organisation who raised and trained him was the government, a corporation or something else entirely. He does not know why he and his brothers and sisters were to be sacrificed. What he knows is that he used to not question these things, everything was a bit of a blur really. He now suspects there was something in the blood they gave him to numb his mind as well, because after he escaped his mind became more and more clear with each passing day. 

  He now continues to do what he's always done, hunt down monsters, only he does it on his own terms as the Crimson Hound. He suspects it will eventually attract the attention of his old patrons who betrayed him and the others. He welcomes that, for it would give him a path to revenge.

*The Alien Brute is a Class found in White Star, chosen because it mechanically fits the needs of the character, not because the character is an actual alien. I hate level limits as a balancing factor so we'll be ignoring it and to balance out the good stuff that the Alien Brute gets compared to the default Fighter Class, we'll bump the XP per Level to 2200, 4400, 8800, etc.

** HD changed from d6 to d8. White Box games assume Fighters and their variant classes have d6 HD so 1d6/level basically means 'same as Fighter'. This campaign will assume Fighters and their kin have 1d8/level, unless temporarily changed by a Guest GM.

P.S: The character sheet and stats can be temporarily changed to fit a Guest GM's rules and/or system, it is used as a starting point and nothing is written in stone.

Video Introduction to the series

 

Introduction to the CHRONICLES OF THE CRIMSON HOUND

(Last updated Feb. 18th 2022)

 WHAT IT IS

  Chronicles of the Crimson Hound is a Pulp-style Cyberpunk Horror online series, told via recorded Tabletop RPG sessions using OSR-style rules.

WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING

  While I will always be playing the titular character of the Crimson Hound in every episode, the show will welcome a rotating cast of different Game Masters, all with their different styles, stories to tell and even house rules. Each of these sessions run by a Guest Game Master will be split into many episodes to create a Serial.

WHAT THE SETTING IS

  The setting this series takes place in is a Cyberpunk world inhabited by humans mostly unaware of the supernatural. It is not set in our future and is its own different world, in the same way that most Medieval Fantasy settings are not set in our past. 

  The stories will mostly take place in the gothic city of Glumengrad, a rainy mix of Gargoyles and Neon. Its citizens, desperate for the distractions of the coolest new tech and upgrades, ignore the dangers of the Supernatural that lie in wait in the shadowy alleys and corners. 

  That is where the Crimson Hound, masked man of mystery, hunts down the monsters and other unnatural dangers to humanity. 

  (For more on the titular character, there will always be an updated Character Sheet after every multi-part Serial is done.)

Some Inspirations: Batman, Batman Beyond, The Shadow, Blade, Hellboy, Blade Runner.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CRIMSON HOUND DIES

  The Guest Game Masters won't be asked to pull their punches; if the titular character dies, the mantle of the Crimson Hound can be passed on to another character so we don't need to change the title of this series!

FOR GUEST GAME MASTERS

  The Crimson Hound has set stats in his character sheet but details can be tweaked to fit your own OSR rules and/or house rules of choice, details will be discussed and clarified before the recorded game takes place. 

  Example: Let's say you use Luck as an Ability Score, I can roll one up for the Serial you'll run.

  It's important to me that the Guest Game Master can have their style reflected in the Serial they run. 

  The Guest Game Master can add lore to the world without having to consult with me (it would be hard to surprise me as the player otherwise) and can calculate XP at the end however they see fit. The Cyberpunk elements such as Cyberware and such don't need any complex set of new rules (unless you feel like creating some for the Serial), they can just be flavor. 

  Example: Instead of a shortsword the thug has a blade coming out of his arm but rules-wise it's the same.

  Really good Cyberware can be treated like Magic Items. Actual Magic Items also exist.

  Default assumptions (Which can be changed at the Guest GM's request but to have a starting point)

• The default ruleset used for the character sheet and equipment is the Siege Engine from AMAZING ADVENTURES. (Click the title for a free PDF of the basic rules.) It's just a starting point assumption, the GM can use whatever rules they want as long as I don't have to change my character sheet. 
• Armor Class is ascending.

Misc

• Despite the tech level, the main currency is still the GP.
• If the Guest GM feels like it, House Rules can be posted in this blog. (Examples: Critical Hit or Fumble tables, house rules for what happens when a character reaches 0 or under, etc)
• This show is not about fanfic cross-overs or visiting established fictional worlds from other sources, the goal is to create an original story. Exceptions can be made if you the Guest GM are the creator of said other fiction, thus making it 'official' instead of fanfic.

Roleplay Limits 

• No situations where I would have to roleplay romantic or otherwise intimate scenes.
• Nothing that would get the video banned from YouTube.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW

  If anyone has any questions, please e-mail me at chroniclesofthecrimsonhound@gmail.com or on instagram: @chroniclesofthecrimsonhound