Blood Dawn The Prophecy

This is one of those books that I really have no idea how it got into my collection. I  know it was not a Half Price Books purchase because it has no sticker. It is possible  that I just don't remember buying it individually but more than likely it was bundled  with some other book that I wanted or bought as part of a huge lot. The sad part is that  is all I can say about the book personally. This got bought (not sure how), scanned and  boxed. Someone compared it to Fallout online but since it predates the games maybe the  comparison should go the other way. For the record I have never played any of the  Fallout games either.

Published: 1996
Pages: 240

Description (drivethrurpg):

In an instant, billions died. Now, sixty years after the nuclear holocaust the last  vestiges of mankind crawl around in the radioactive hell that is the United States and  Europe. In this desolate, post-apocalyptic world of magic, mutations, and machines, you  as prophet must rebuild civilization. Out in the Waste, a bullet is worth two weeks of  food, and reading and writing are illegal! Yet the fate of mankind lies in the hands of  you and a few others. You cannot fail in your mission to take the Earth back from those  who destroyed it.

Blood Dawn revolves around a group of Prophets (the players) who are sent out into the  blasted ruins of Earth by the Underground Collective, a secret society devoted to taking  the Earth back from those who destroyed it. The Prophets are a rag-tag bunch of misfits,  humans, mutants, or worse, who have been selected by the Underground Collective and then  "enhanced" to increase their power and survivability. The players must travel The Waste,  winning its denizens over to their side, in the fight against those who live in the  protected Dome cities, those responsible for the Earth's destruction.

Blood Dawn is a skill based system, utilizing a d20 as its base. Players can choose from  six races to play, and equip them with a wide variety of skills and equipment to make  each truly unique.

Asylum - Eastern Seaboard

This is the second and final supplement published for Asylum. Again since I have not played the game I can't speak in full honesty to the value of the supplement for the game. In my opinion though this may be as valuable as the game for many users.

The supplement describes the Wards that six cities on the east coast have become. This is in addition to Chicago which is described in the core rulebook. This greatly expands the area of play that characters can use though why they would travel between Wards might be had to explain unless the Staff Manual supplement is used.

I think the best use of this might be as reference materials for other games. It might be possible to tone down the crazy and sue this as material for almost any post apocalyptic game a DM might want to run. I can even see keeping a portion of the insanity as using them as a basis for some alternate Paranoia type settings.

In the end if you own the core game I think this is just as important to own as the Staff Manual. This allows not only movement but expands on ideas that the GM can use in whatever Ward they may choose to use as the players home base. I think this is a case where the game as a whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. I think if you can see yourself playing the game then this is something to buy.

Published: 2003
Pages: 156

Publishers blurb:

Ever wonder what your city would be like as a Ward? Now you can find out!

This second supplement to the Asylum RPG details the six East Coast Wards, which are built on the ruins of former cities: Mt. Ward (Montreal), Massward (Boston), NYWard (New York), Discward (Washington, D. C.), Atward (Atlanta), and MyWard (Miami). Each Ward section details that location, complete with histories, a map, a description the major buildings and forces, a list of local rumors, and an adventure geared specifically towards that setting. Each Ward section is written by a native of that area for more accuracy. The insanity is coming to your city!

Asylum - Staff Manual, Wave of Wonder

Not having played the game it is a fair assumption that the first supplement to the  game has not been used either. That would be an accurate one. Asylum - Staff Manual  provides the GM information on the saner of the insane....those that run the Wards. It  even provides information so that the players can now play the role of the staff. This  immediately brought to mind the song and story The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether.

I think this book is one that might give the GM enough material so that a sustained  level of campaign play might be possible. I can see this becoming something along the  lines of a Logan's Run situation where some of the players in the role of staff are  sent to recapture escaped inmates played by others. There are a number of possible  scenarios that I can see coming from that. In the end since the book can be picked up  fairly cheap if you have the other why would you not have this one. Not having it  would border on the insane....sorry had to do it.

Published: 1997
Pages: 124

Publishers blurb:

The first supplement for the Asylum game, this book details life as Staff. It  discusses Offices itself, in terms of general layout and routines, and also explains  such elements as education and training. The Staff are discussed in detail, including  several Staff Classifications never seen by Inmates in the Ward. A full character  creation process is provided, so that players can become Staff, and the book contains  several sample adventures specifically geared towards these nominal rulers of the  Ward. It's a whole new side to the insanity!




Spell:

Wave of Wonder

Level: Eighth
Range: None
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: 6" Radius
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 Segment
Saving Throw: Special

When this spell is cast the magic user causes a wave of mystical energy to spread out from them in a circle. All touched by this wave will have something occur to them. These  waves continue as long as the caster is able to concentrate on the effect.

When the spell is cast the DM will need to roll for each potential target ion the area  of effect. The spell will affect all in the are be they friend, foe or bystander. The  effect will be determined from one of the four tables below. The DM will need to roll  a d4 to determine the appropriate table for each target and then percentile dice for  the effect.

Table 1

01-10    Target is slowed for one turn
11-18    Caster deluded in believing target is affected by second roll
19-25     Target affected by double force Gust of Wind spell
26-30    Target affected by Stinking Cloud spell effect
31-33    Rain falls on target for one turn
34-36    Target attacked by a wild rhino, elephant or giant mouse
37-46    Target affected by a lighting Bolt as if cast by a wand
47-49    Target surrounded by and blinded by 600 butterflies for one turn
50-53    Target is enlarged as per spell
54-58    Target is surrounded by a 3" sphere of darkness for one turn
59-62    Target is surround by entangling grass growth for one turn
63-65    Target is affected by a vanish spell. Non-living object become ethereal.
66-69    Target is diminished to 1/12 of usual size for one turn
70-79    Target affected by a fireball as if cast by wand
80-84    Target becomes invisible until broken or for one turn
85-87    Target polymorphed into a tree for one turn
88-90    Target pelted by 10-40 1gp base gems. Each hitting does 1 hp of damage.
91-97    Target surrounded by brilliant shimmering lights and is blinded for 1d6 rounds
98-00    Target is affected by a Flesh to Stone spell

Table 2

01-10    Target affected by a Web spell
11-18    Caster affected by a Shocking Grasp spell
19-25    Target is affected by a Reverse Gravity spell
26-30    Target affected by Otto's Irresistible Dance Spell
31-33    Area covered in 800 ceramic beads. All must save each round to stand.
34-36    Target attacked by a giant dove, a giant rabbit or a giant iguana
37-46    Target affected by a Chain Lightning spell
47-49    Target covered in liquid chocolate. Double wandering rolls until cleaned.
50-53    Target affected by a Haste spell
54-58    Target has Hold Monster/Person cast on them
59-62    Bottle of endless wine appears for one turn. Target must drink bottle leaves.
63-65    Target polymorphed into a random creature (DM choice on selection method)
66-69    Target spins for 2-4 rounds at a high rate with no control.
70-79     Target gains 1d8 hit points permanently.
80-84    Target affected by Magic Missile as per spell from wand
85-87    Target levitates without control for 2-5 rounds then falls.
88-90    Giant mouth appears and bites target for 3-18 points of damage
91-97    Target affected by a Potion of Fire Breathing
98-00    Target affected by a Disintegrate spell

Table 3

01-10    Target affected by a Scare spell
11-18    Caster afflicted with sever rash. Dex reduced to 3 for one day
19-25    Target affected by Darkness spell every other round for two turns
26-30    Target fumbles all attacks for 2-5 rounds in next combat
31-33    Target affected by an audible glamor spell
34-36    Target attacked by a giant eagle, giant lynx or giraffe
37-46    Target affected by Delayed Blast Fireball in 5-30 rounds
47-49    Target and random other in area switch all equipment
50-53    Target affected by a Confusion spell
54-58    Target affected by a Mirror Image spell
59-62    Target begins to sing for 2-8 rounds as if commanded by a Charm spell
63-65    Target attacked by a half strength Invisible Stalker
66-69    Target affected by uncontrollable Jump spell for one turn
70-79    Target shifted to Astral Plane for 1d6 Turns
80-84    Target affected by a Strength or Weakness spell 50% either
85-87    Anything target is holding affected by an Enlarge spell
88-90    Target covered in flaming oil and suffers 2d6 damage for three wounds.
91-97    Target affected by a Faerie Fire spell
98-00    Target affected by an Incendiary Cloud spell

Table 4

01-10    Target affected by Color spray spell
11-18    Caster affected by a Ray of Enfeeblement spell
19-25    Target loses one level but gains 1 point on 1d6 attributes
26-30    Target gains one level but loses 1 point from 1d6 attributes
31-33    Target attacked by undead. Roll as if cleric of same level to determine type
34-36    Target most valuable item replaced with bad fake
37-46    Target stunned for 3-12 rounds
47-49    Target laughs uncontrollably for 3 rounds (no other actions permitted)
50-53    Target gains ability to cast Improve Invisibility once per day
54-58    Target is always surprised from now on (remove Curse cures this)
59-62    Target changes sex
63-65    Target affected as if used a Gaseous Form potion
66-69    Target fails next 2-5 saving throws
70-79    Target attacked by clone of themselves
80-84    Target affected by a Stoneskin spell
85-87    Leprechaun appears causing as much chaos as possible
88-90    Target affected as if going through a Blade Barrier spell
91-97    Target becomes deaf and mute for 2-5 days
98-00    Target affected by a double strength Cone of Cold.

The caster will be required to make a saving throw versus magic to maintain their concentration for each round past the first. When they either elect to break concentration or it is broken then they must make a saving throw or be affected by a backwash effect of the spell. If the save is made nothing happens. If they fail then they must continue to try and make saves until one is made. For each failed save they will suffer the effects of one roll.

The material component of this spell is a Wand of Wonder that will have all of its charges depleted with the casting of this spell. Each time this spell is cast there is a 5% cumulative chance that the caster will attract the attention of a powerful entity from the plane of Limbo. This will most likely be a Slaad though the DM may choose any creature they desire.

Please note that much of the material for tables 2-4 were taken from the article in Dragon #147 by Richard Hunt. The effects from table #1 are from that article as well but I assume they mimic the original Wand of Wonder.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were  all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate  for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be  slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it  is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not  to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let  me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Asylum, Silence the Dead

It is said that Albert Einstein defined insanity as follows.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

This has always hit a little too close to home for me but I can see it as being the one viable definition. Asylum is a game about insanity. It is one that I have not had a chance to play and I wonder if buying games expecting to play them at some point qualifies me as a suitable case for treatment.

The idea behind the game is one of the darker ones I recall having read before. There is no darker power behind this. Being driven insane by seeing one of the Great Old Ones or finding out they are real is better than the reason for it happening in Asylum. In the game premise is that a natural disaster has caused climatic change and that is driving the entirety of humanity insane. A little more jarring as this is something that one can see as possibly happening.

I want to inject that I want to be sure that by writing about the game I do not want to make light on the topic of insanity. People who suffer with any form of mental illness are not people to make jokes about. When I first saw the game I had reservations about this but my desire to see more of what it was about eventually won out. I think the game handles it well enough though using marbles as the randomizer was something I might have avoided but then this was written a few years ago.

I really want to compare the game to what I think the gaming offspring of World of Darkness and Paranoia might look like. I am not sure it is completely accurate but the game is very much story driven and the players will each have their own issues they have to try and deal with. The motivation for the game is different than most games as well. I am note sure this game would be for everyone though. If the group is more of a roll playing one than a role playing one this might not be for them.

One of the big pluses of the game for me was that it was very rules light. This leaves the game master with the option to not only allow the game to flow in the direction the players want but also to allow them to handle the topic of insanity as they and the group need to have it handled. The system can be manipulated by those wanting to Min/Max it but this is something that the game master can perhaps handle in other ways.

This is a game I struggled with buying for sometime but in the end I am glad I did. I think it is worth picking up to read if noting else even if you are never going to play it. In the line of White Wolf games there is in game fiction that is better than most of the White Wold fictional offerings and there are even part of the rules that are written as if in game though this is not immediately apparent.

Published: 1996
Pages: 176

From the back of the book:

Paranoids. Sociopaths. Pyros. Kleptos. Delusionals. They're all here -- and you're one of them. Enter the world of Asylum, where the United States has been reduced to a collection of walled Wards, built from former cities and surrounded by desolate wastelands. The sun has been gone for over a hundred years, hidden from view by the airborne algae called Blanket Seed, and everyone has gone mad. Those in the Wards are called Inmates, and they are cared for by Staff and watched over by the Orderlies who are as insane as they are.

Fight for your survival in the violence-prone streets or up on the Beltway. Ponder who you really are, and attempt to discover if any of the equally tenuous people nearby can be trusted. Try to eke out a living with your Occupation, selling your wares or your services in the bazaar-like Mall. But, most of all, whether you revel in it or despise it, accept that the world is no longer sane, no longer ordered, no longer normal.

Insanity can be strangely liberating.

　


Spell:

Silence the Dead

Level: Zero
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Area of Effect: Corpse Touched
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Segment
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user will cause the spirit or soul of the corpse touch to become incapable of being communicated with. This will not prevent any other actions such as reanimation of the corpse or a Resurrection or Raise Dead spell from being cast.

The casting of this spell will prevent any form of communication with the spirit from the Prime Material Plane through normal spells or abilities. The use of a Limited Wish or Wish spell will allow communication though the DM may find useful ways to allow that. The spirit or soul can communicate normally on the outer plane that they were to find themselves.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

A|State, Siphoning Mist

This may be one of the creepiest covers I have ever seen for a game. I almost didn't buy it when I saw it as it was that disturbing to me for some reason. I am glad I finally decided to get it. The game is yet another I have not had a chance to play but I really want to. Rather than me try and describe it I am going to copy the Introduction from the publishers site. If that does not make you want to play it or pick it up there is nothing I could write that would make that happen.


Published: 2004
Pages: 256

From the back cover:

Welcome to The City…

A sepiatone world lit by guttering gas lamps and the flickering filaments of electric bulbs. A closed world, isolated and alone.

A world of contrasts and contradictions. The citizens live their lives in a tangle of technological obscurity.

A world of pain, fear, longing and hatred. Where the basest human emotions rise to the surface, where men will cripple each other for a dull shilling.

A world of superstition, folk tales, wild religion and rampant rumour. The Shift and The Bombardment are apocalyptic legends from the far past, feeding the nightmares and fantasies of current generations.

A world of strangers and beings who do not belong. The Shifted, strange entities, whispered about in pubs and taverns. Mentioned in guarded conversations, lest the very mention of their name summon them from the dark.

You will never forget the The City.
But The City will forget you.

From the publishers Site:

I n t r o d u c t i o n    t o    t h e    w o r l d    o f    a /  s t a t e  

Welcome to The City. A sepiatone world lit by guttering gas lamps and the flickering filaments of electric bulbs. A closed world, isolated and alone. Stinking canals radiate out through The City, thick with effluent and the detritus of millions of lives. Dank alleys wend between corroding concrete towerblocks, wide boulevards swarm with peddlers, traders, sellers, buyers, thieves and victims. The City is full of dark places where the lights of knowledge, morality and justice fail to glow.

Welcome to The City. A world of contrasts and contradictions. The citizens live their lives in a tangle of technological obscurity. In crumbling brick tenements, they crowd round dim televisions, sedated by the media output. In the factories, workshops, mills and yards, they toil and strain with rusting, decaying machinery. Above them all, the macrocorps stand like gods, islands of glittering advancement in a sea of black oil, flaking iron and reeking gas.

Welcome to The City. A world of pain, fear, longing and hatred. Where the basest human emotions rise to the surface, where men will cripple each other for a dull shilling. Yet light, life, love and hope manage to raise their voices, occasionally heard above the clamour of darkness. Through all the evil and wreckage, some still manage to retain a sense of decency and honour.

Welcome to The City. A world of superstition, folk tales, wild religion and rampant rumour. The Shift and The Bombardment are apocalyptic legends from the far past, feeding the nightmares and fantasies of current generations. Some pray to God for salvation, others pray to a cold, empty universe. In hidden places, black rites are carried out, for reasons as varied and obscure as The City itself. Folk heroes and villains stalk the streets: Ticktock Man, The Leaper, Iron Lady. They all contribute to the second city, the city carried on the tongues and in the minds of its citizens.

Welcome to The City. A world of strangers and beings who do not belong. The Shifted, strange entities, whispered about in pubs and taverns. Mentioned in guarded conversations, lest the very mention of their name summon them from the dark. The Ubel, twitching and creaking through the backstreets in their bloodstained rags, chittering incomprehensibly. Lugner, whispering maddening dreams in the night. Drache, as insubstantial as mist, clouds of unreason. Hager, assassins and kidnappers, looming figures cast in black cloth and pale flesh. The Simils, pitied and reviled in equal measure, clanking golems of iron, brass and stone.

Welcome to The City.
You will never forget The City.
But The City will forget you.

Nearly one thousand years ago, as far as anyone can tell, an event took place. Why and how this event happened remains unknown. But it happened, and since then, things have been different in The City. Philosophers, scientists and poets agree that the The City once had a name. In the present it is simply called The City, for there is nowhere else other than the blasted Outlands.

The event came to be known as The Shift, a change in reality so great that the very fabric of The City was changed forever. Places and people were altered, new beings sprang, fully formed into existence. One fact that is known is that almost immediately after The Shift, The City was subjected to a rain of fire known as The Bombardment. Infernos fell from the sky and laid waste to whole tracts of land. More important than the destruction of the physical was the destruction of knowledge that The Bombardment caused. Datacores were wiped, libraries reduced to ashes and the memories of the survivors scarred. No remnant of life before The Shift and The Bombardment remains, only a few structures of vast size and strength remain to remind the inhabitants of the past. For centuries people have lived in limbo, the only history that of the past hundred decades.

Rumours circulate that The Outlands were once fertile and green, now they are a blasted land of desert and rock. The City is a place of dark alleys, ponderous architecture and stinking canals. In the century following these two cataclysmic events, the survivors sought to band together and make some sort of life for themselves. Not only did they have to deal with a lack of technology, they had to deal with the creatures which became know as the Simils, the Ubel, the Drache and the Lugners. The struggles of the first century gave rise to organisations which still exist today. The eight macrocorps all grew from the ashes, each with their own unique story of war, decimation and survival.

Over the coming centuries, The City and its inhabitants would reach a twisted equilibrium with their situation. Society grew and expanded, the population stuttered, fell and then grew. Sciences and technologies were rediscovered, yet even today, many live in poverty and primitive conditions. The rediscovered technologies were harnessed by those who had the power and influence to utilise them. The macrocorps became bastions of knowledge, hoarding their precious discoveries to themselves, only to find them ripped away by unceasing war and the more subtle influences of espionage and treachery.

Now, centuries later, The City is a study in contrasts. The majority of the population live in tenements and towers built of brick, stone and concrete. Their dwellings are lit by gas piped in from huge rubbish heaps, their clothes made from crude fibres and their property that of a society barely reaching the industrial age. In the domains of the macrocorps, things are very different. The corporate citizens have access to the finest food, to unlimited power and light, to shining vehicles and well made clothes. Their soldier who guard them ward off rioters armed with black powder sparklock weapons, the soldiers themselves carrying sleek gauss rifles and compact lasers.

In the slums of Mire End, Dreamingspires and Fogwarren, life is a daily toil, making enough to get by as best you can. The middle classes fear the slums, envisioning them encroaching upon their own moderately comfortable lives. In the corporate bastions of Luminosity Tower, Konkret and The Forbidden City, the corporates look down upon the teeming million, their workforce and their potential doom.

Through the backstreets and alleys, Ubel stalk, ripping and tearing those who come too close, leaving only a cooling corpse as an echo of their passing. Simils made of iron and brass, surmounted with a human head, clank their way through the streets on lay down their existences in the hell of the Contested Grounds. Lugner spread rumour, fear and suspicion through their whispers and fleeting dreams.

Some seek to stand up to the despair and hopelessness. Lostfinders search and investigate for little or no reward while Stringers piece together fragments of information to feed into the hungry newswires and memory cores of the Dataflow. The Provosts of the Three Canals try to enforce some form of law and order in a chaotic society, holding on to the belief that there is the one place in The City where life is that little bit better. Others believe that the forces which prevent anyone leaving this place are corroding, that soon they will be able to leave this place for a better life among the stars.

The clouds will one-day part. And then, the people of The City will once again have that rarest and most precious of commodities: hope. 



Spell:

Siphoning Mist

Level: Third
Range: None
Duration: 2 Rounds/Level
Area of Effect: 6" Radius Sphere
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 4 Segments
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user brings into being a sphere of thin mist. The mist is thin enough that it can easily be seen through though obscuring vision is not the intended effect.

The mist will fill the allotted space in a matter of seconds once the spell is cast. The following round all creatures not connected with the caster ot their party will suffer 1d6 of damage. The DM will need to assign each creature affected to one of the casters party before rolling for damage. It will be possible that there may be multiple or no creatures assigned to a party member.

After assigning the creatures the DM will then need to assign one half of the damage that was syphoned from the victims to the party members. These points will heal any damage that has been taken but can not increase the hit points beyond the characters maximum. Any points not sued in a given round are lost as far as healing effect is concerned.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

GW1 - Legion of Gold, Spell Lock

Gamma World holds a place near and dear in my heart. There is no  other game that I like more and seem to play the least. I am a  sucker for the end of the world stories and games. I have played  Morrow Project and Aftermath which are both more realistic games  in the same genre but at the end of the day I want mutated talking mastiffs or flying laser shooting sunflowers.

GW1 - Legion of Gold was the first module released for the Gamma  World setting. It came out in 1981 and was written, at least in  part, by none other than Gary Gygax himself. It is labeled as an  Exploration Module but in the end it is really more of a dungeon  crawl with a few side adventures. Not that there is anything wrong  with this as the module is open ended enough that the players may  end up taking things in a whole different direction.

The module starts by giving the GM an introduction and a setting  that could serve as the basis for the setting used throughout a  long running campaign if the GM wanted. The location is the Barony  of Horn which bears a strange resemblance to an area of the world  that was probably well known to the author. There is a map of the  areas as well as the actual city of Horn provided.

The module then has three mini-adventures that will help guide the  adventurers to the final conclusion of the module. Each of these  mini-adventures is different enough that they will not seem to  drag out the modules eventual goal. In some ways they are more  interesting than the actual end game of the module. The module is
32 pages long so each of the mini-adventures will be long enough  to take a single session depending on how much the players explore  and role play. I won't go into too much detail about the mini-adventures and the module cover, as if often the case, gives too  much away about what the Legion of Gold end game is.

The module is chock full of new game material as well as the  adventure. There are no less than seven new creatures presented in  the module. I can't recall if any of these make it into later  editions of the game but it would not surprise me. There is then  expanded information on guns for use in the module and then the  game with some nice tables that will need to be copied. The next  item will be a short description of the 14 villages in the Barony.  This gives an idea as to how easy it would be to make this the  setting for the campaign. Finally comes one of my favorite Gamma  World items. There are two loot tables. I loved the lists of mixed  everyday junk to useful items that made up these tables. Though  comical at times it helped in my mind to paint a picture of the  chaos that was left.

In the end this module is worth picking up. The fact that it could  end up being a campaign setting is nice. The additional game  material in the shape of creatures, baddies and gun rules is nice  as well. Add those up, mis in the art by the likes of Otis and  Willingham and the fact that it is a Gygax piece and it deserves a  place in the collection of any Gamma World GMs collection.

From the back cover...

Excerpts from notes made by Ydal Eilffik, professor at the  University of Horn:

"All know that there is much to worry about in these difficult  times, but the skies have grown darker in the past few weeks, as  if an omen of destruction hangs over us all.

"Baron Jemmas, the Warder, has been very preoccupied in the recent  weeks. This bothers me, for the mind of the ruler of the Barony of  Horn ought to be clear, since his decisions affect us all.

"I can only hazard a guess at the problem that afflicts him for  only vague rumors of the trouble have reached my ears.

"In the past several weeks there have been raids on several  outlying towns of the Barony by mysterious golden marauders.  Whether these creatures are robots, mutants or men, none can be  sure for reports are scarce. The monsters are rumored to have  struck from nowhere, then vanished without a trace, leaving only  destruction in their wake.

"The Warder fears that unless something is done the very heart of  the Barony will fall victim to this threat. It is rumored that he  had offered a substantial reward for the destruction of this  'Legion of Gold;. I only hope it is not already too late."

This is the first GAMMA WORLD module to be produced by the Game  Wizards at TSR Hobbies, Inc. This module includes the main Legion  of Gold adventure, several mini-adventures which lead up to it,  background information, suggestions for the referee, a special  players' map and numerous referee's maps.


Spell:

Spell Lock

Level: Fourth
Range: 6"
Duration: Special
Ares of Effect: One Spell
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 Segment
Saving Throw: Special

When this spell is cast the magic user causes a spell being cast  by another to become locked in mid-cast in the mind of the other  caster. This will have a number of possible outcomes depending on  the levels of the casters as well as the saving throw. The actual  casting of the spell is but a single word and can therefore affect  any spell regardless of where the casters action might fall in the  combat round.

When the spell is cast the DM will need to compare the level of  the two casters. If the caster of Spell Lock is higher than that  of the other spell caster then the spell will go off with no  required rolls. If the other caster is a higher level than the  caster od Spell Lock then the caster is entitled to an initial  save to see if Spell Lock even affects and interrupts the casting.

If Spell Lock has an effect the then the target will need to make  a second saving throw. Regardless of the outcome of the saving  throw the casting of the spell will be locked in the mind of the  caster. This will mean that the spell is not completed and may not  be cast again for a period of time.

If the saving throw is made then the spell will be locked in the  mind of the caster for a number of rounds equal to the level of  the caster of Spell Lock. If the saving throw is not made then the  spell will be locked into the mind of the caster for a number of  days equal to the level of the caster of Spell Lock. In either  case the effect can be removed by a successful casting of Dispel  Magic or Remove Curse on the victim.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the  write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the  80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other  than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be  slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of  spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :)  Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on  me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please  let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.