Stock #37-2715 C i t ontents n his i From the editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ssue teChnomAnCer needs hunters! . . . . 4 by Kelly Pedersen When a great game setting comes along, it can be like magic. el PAso viCe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 And when a magical setting comes along . . . well, that’s pretty great. This issue of Pyramid has at its beating heart the joys of GURPS by Paul Stefko Technomancer, the modern-day magical setting where just about eidetiC memory: anything can happen – and twice before breakfast! merlin deClAssiFied . . . . . . . . . 20 Not all the supernatural creatures of Merlin have its citizens’ best interests at heart. That’s why Technomancer Needs Hunters! by David L. Pulver Learn from Kelly Pedersen – long-time Pyramid contributor and revised temPlAtes, GURPS playtester – how to combine the GURPS Monster Hunters series with Technomancer. Get suggestions for Monster Hunters/ Come Fourth! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Technomancer hybrid campaigns, three new motivational lenses, by Kelly Pedersen and David L. Pulver tips for adapting Monster Hunters champions to the Technomancer rAndom thought tAble: world, and details on using wildcard skills with GURPS Magic spells. You’ll also find two weapons and two monsters updated to Questions And GURPS Fourth Edition stats. teChnomAnCers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Slide across the hood of a mana-powered hotrod while your kick- by Steven Marsh, Pyramid Editor ing theme song wails, and get into 1980s magical-cop-show excite- ment with El Paso Vice. Frequent Pyramid contributor Paul Stefko About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 adds magic to the GURPS Action series, then brings it all together for use in the Technomancer world with new magical hero lenses (one for each Action template), three new spells, a new magical style, and recommendations for what rules to use to bring the wizardly a C rtiCle olors weirdness to life. Then gear up with special paranormal equipment – including stats for tactical flying carpets – and jump into the action Each article is color-coded to help you find with specific campaign ideas. your favorite sections. David L. Pulver – author of GURPS Technomancer – expands the Pale Blue: In This Issue titular world in this month’s meaty installment of Eidetic Memory. Brown: In Every Issue Merlin Declassified provides overviews of assorted companies that have combined magic and web-based technology. It furnishes Green: Columnist additional historical details, including information on a natural Dark Blue: GURPS Features Powerstone, the current state of weapons of mass destruction, and Cover Art the unintended consequences of one desperate pharmaceutical com- pany. It also offers 10 new spells and suggestions for golem armor. Abrar Ajmal As long as we’re conjuring up Fourth Edition fun, Kelly Pedersen and David L. Pulver join forces to give you updated stats for many of the creature and character options presented in Technomancer with Revised Templates, Come Fourth! New Printings, Like Magic! For just over Unleash the power of chimeras, half-breeds, demons, and a year, we’ve been bringing classic GURPS books other supernatural entities. back into print with our On Demand program. This issue’s Random Thought Table looks at a fundamen- One of the items that we revived recently was tal assumption of the Technomancer setting, what it has in GURPS Technomancer. Of course, a PDF has common with other game worlds, and what can be unlocked with that lore to unleash new kinds of excitement . . . in the been available for years, but if you’d love to have a Technomancer world or other settings. physical copy – especially now that there’s a snazzy Whether you’re a longtime fan of Technomancer, a neo- support issue of Pyramid – check out what we phyte looking to visit, or a thaumaturgic tinkerer seeking new have to offer at sjgames.com/gurps/ondemand. elements to add to your own GURPS game, there’s never been a better time to visit a world that’s out of this world. Editor-in-Chief z STEVE JACKSON Executive Editor z MIRANDA HORNER Chief Executive Officer z PHILIP REED GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH Production Artist & Prepress Checker z Chief Creative Officer z SAM MITSCHKE Assistant GURPS Line Editor z NIKOLA VRTIS Chief Operating Officer z SUSAN BUENO JASON “PK” LEVINE Page Design z PHIL REED Marketing Director z RHEA FRIESEN GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH & JUSTIN DE WITT Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON P m 2 m 2018 yramid agazine ay F rom the e ditor e m also been devised to allow those who aren’t fans of the set- xPerimental agiC ting to get something out of the experience. Discover magical When is an update not an update? lenses to add to an Action campaign (pp. 11-18), an assort- This issue is an interesting experiment for Pyramid . . . and, ment of new creature templates that can be dropped into vari- to a certain extent, GURPS. Longtime fans of the GURPS line ous campaigns (pp. 30-34), or a couple of converted monsters know that we have done conversion supplements in the past, (pp. 9-10) that should work great as adversaries for a Monster designed to bring a GURPS Third Edition Hunters campaign. setting or genre up to Fourth Edition. We hope you’ll enjoy this visit to the Perhaps the quintessential example of this Technomancer setting. If it’s your first time vis- is Transhuman Space: Changing Times, iting, thanks for stopping by! And if you’ve been which did the essential work of updat- here before, welcome back for more GURPS new- ing the core elements of that universe ness — and go Fourth for adventure! while extending it forward and leaving the door open to future supplements. What C g Changing Times did for the Transhuman elebrate ood Space setting, GURPS Reign of Steel: Will t W GURPS! imes ith to Live did for the GURPS Reign of Steel. With those Reign of Steel-branded items, As a final item of note, I usually try to keep you have all you need to join the battle these intros as “timeless” as I can, but this is against our robot overlords. too good to pass up. If you’re reading this some- But GURPS has continued to evolve, time in May 2018, we’re making a Twenty Years and the “state of the art” for the system has of GURPS Bundle available for the rest of May moved forward even as our commitment to at Warehouse 23. It celebrates two decades of the Fourth Edition has remained strong. So when I received GURPS Lite with a bundle of PDFs that span those 20 years. a couple of articles that independently tied the GURPS It’s over 75% off cover price, too! Get it at warehouse23.com/ Technomancer universe to GURPS Action and GURPS products/SJG4918. Monster Hunters, I was intrigued. Could we do a quasi-up- date to the setting, right here W h , rite ere in the pages of Pyramid, and rely on Action and Monster W n rite oW Hunters to do the heavy lift- ing of what that world would So what did you think of need to be updated to Fourth our experiment? Should we Edition? do something similar for Well, we certainly tried. other worlds? Do you want Here, then, is an issue more Technomancer? Or that’s perfect for fans of is there another lesson Technomancer. The issue we should be learning? attempts to doing something Let us know publicly at different to help bring this forums.sjgames.com, setting to life in Fourth Edi- or privately via email at tion, but the articles have [email protected]. Pyramid, GURPS, Technomancer, Warehouse 23, the pyramid logo, and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Pyramid is copyright © 2018 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Note: GURPS Technomancer is completely unrelated to White Wolf’s Mage: The Ascension roleplaying game and does not in any way challenge the copyrights and terms used therein. Submission of your photos, letters, humor, captions, and marginalia constitutes permission to Steve Jackson Games Incorporated to use them in all media. All such submissions become the property of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated and will not be returned. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors’ rights is appreciated. P m 3 m 2018 yramid agazine ay t eChnomanCer n h ! eeds unters K P by elly edersen The world of GURPS Technomancer has seen many ben- This is where the brave souls of GURPS Monster Hunters efits from the magic that suddenly appeared in 1945: healing come in. Merlin offers an intriguing alternative to the stan- spells cure wounds and diseases, technological magic allows dard Monster Hunters campaign. Magic and supernatural sapient computers, and affordable enchantments bring the creatures are openly known here, meaning that the champi- wonders of the arcane to the common person. But magic ons can be a lot more open about their activities – no skulking has its dark sides. Vampiric leukemia causes its victims to about after a successful mission, trying to avoid police ques- waste away in agony – and then rise to prey on their friends. tioning. And it can feel pretty cool to be an open member of an Botched spells, accidents at mana-active nuclear plants, official monster-hunting organization. How many people can and deliberate invocations summon demons. And “black” put “Special Agent in Charge, FBI Anti-Vampire Task Force” government programs have made terrible mistakes, creat- on their business cards? ing creatures like rogue dragons and the dreadful atomic Besides the refreshing openness, the setting also offers liches. Technomancer, in short, is a world with monsters. some nice toys for hunters to play with. Assault rifles enhanced And a world with monsters needs people willing to hunt with magical scopes that sense the undead through walls are those monsters. just the tip of the iceberg. Depleted necronium bullets, mana disruptors, and ghost-dynamic lasers (GURPS Technomancer, p. 46) are all welcome addi- tions to the team’s arsenal. Combined with the m erlin lack of secrecy, you can really go all-out on the cinematic action scenes, charging down Main “Merlin-1” is the name given to the world of GURPS Street in your levitating ghost-breaking van firing Technomancer by the Infinity Patrol of GURPS Infinite Worlds. Its anti-spectral lasers at giant shades! inhabitants don’t refer to their world by this name; they just call it Several dramatic opportunities become avail- “Earth.” For a capsule description of Merlin-1, see GURPS Infinite able when the hunters are operating openly. If Worlds, pp. 134-135. the group is part of an official government orga- nization, politics and ambition on the parts of Technology Level their superiors can make their missions more The Technomancer world is TL(7+1)^ with magic serving as a difficult. Private operations might have to deal way of enabling superscience, but otherwise closely paralleling with public scrutiny, red tape, or competing Earth’s technology. Magic does not replace TL7 and TL8 technology, firms. And while the heroes might enjoy seeing but interacts with or enhances it. themselves hailed in the news, they’ll probably regret giving all those interviews when the next batch of monsters takes notes. h h oW to unt Since people know monsters are real, keeping their exis- corpses. Even government-sponsored champions have rea- tence quiet is obviously unnecessary. For some groups, sons to keep quiet. While the fact that monsters are real operating openly is part of the charm of Monster Hunters might not set off a panic, learning a pack of them are prey- on Merlin! There are still good reasons to maintain tacti- ing on locals certainly can. And many creatures are smart cal secrecy, however. Hunters might not be acting strictly enough to use information the hunters release against the legally – if you don’t have official backing, attacking crea- team. A group that finds itself ambushed by vampires after tures in broad daylight can get you charged with endanger- openly advertising their whereabouts is going to be more ing the public, unlawful discharge of firearms, or desecrating cautious in the future. P m 4 m 2018 yramid agazine ay b Standard magic is typically quicker to unleash. Casters can aCKuP produce effects in only seconds that would take their ritualist The availability of backup is the other change from the counterparts minutes or hours. The GM should expect spells standard Monster Hunters style. In a more typical cam- to be used, and frequently. The counter to this is that cast- paign, it’s a rare or nonexistent luxury. On Merlin, you can ing magic in the standard system also has a higher personal call the police about vampires, and not only will they not cost – spending FP is not usually optional! Mages can quickly laugh at you or report you to the local mental hospital, they’ll deplete their reserves. If fights happen without time to rest show up armed with stakes and garlic. Of course, this can get between them, a wise wizard will be a lot more parsimonious out of hand. The hunters should do a good bit of the hunting with the magic. However, if a champion has invested in wild- themselves, rather than just calling the cavalry when things card College! skills (which the Witch template automatically get a little tough. Several tricks can curtail backup without does), they have the option of spending bonus points to pro- eliminating it. duce energy for a single spell (see Wildcard Wizardry, p. 7), so Perhaps the backup is unhelpful. If the local police depart- the GM should prepare for a couple of super-charged spells ment is armed for weak vampires, they’ll just be in the way every session. when dealing with a major demon. Conversely, any help the The other major distinction between the systems is that team contacts could be overzealous, ready to inflict excessive Ritual Path magic is typically more flexible – casters can collateral damage. Organizations can be subverted by the (theoretically) create any effects they have the Path skills forces of darkness, making calling them in risky or downright for. Standard spells magic is much more limited, to just the detrimental. The heroes may be the backup, the ones sent in list the mage knows. Witches (and sages with the right tem- to deal with problems that regular forces can’t handle. Finally, plate choices) evade this restriction with wildcard College! the campaign can visit, or be entirely set, in a region where skills (p. 7). But characters without that extra versatility will no help is plausible – if the champions are trying to prevent be restricted to the spells they’ve learned. monsters from preying on war-torn Somalia or Kosovo, they When dealing with intelligent foes, don’t be afraid to have probably can’t call on anyone besides themselves. countermeasures in place occasionally. If the team includes a gunbunny, the master vampire should invest in Missile t t m Shield. hat eChnomanCer agiC Of course, don’t shut down the champions’ cool tricks at The Technomancer setting is intimately tied to the stan- every turn; otherwise the players will rightfully complain. Be dard GURPS spell magic system, as outlined in pp. B234-253 sure that some but not all of a hero’s abilities are countered, and GURPS Magic. The Ritual Path magic system of Monster or alternate foes who are immune with those who are vul- Hunters needs to be replaced with the standard magic system nerable. And let people counter the countermeasures, too – if to fit properly. See The Hunters (pp. 6-8) for how to adapt the a vampire master has Missile Shield, a witch casting Dispel Monster Hunters templates because of the magic change, but Magic ruins his day, and gives both the witch and his gun-tot- adventure parameters need some tweaking too. ing companion a chance to shine. u W Pdated eaPons For a description of the manpack necrolaser, see Technomancer, p. 46. For information on the Dragonfang “machine pistol,” see Technomancer, p. 79. Weapons Table Terms and notation are as defined on pp. B268-271. TL Weapon Damage Acc Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost LC BEAM WEAPONS (RIFLE) (DX-4, other Beam Weapons-4, or Guns (Rifle)-4) 7+1^ Manpack 2(∞) tox* 12+2 550/1,650 20/4p 3 75(3) 10† -8 1 $120,000 1 Necrolaser * Manpack necrolasers inflict 2 points of toxic damage, ignoring DR with the exception of ectoweave or depleted necronium armor. TL Weapon Damage Acc Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost LC GUNS (SMG) (DX-4 or most other Guns at -2) 7+1 Barrett 9d+2 pi+ 3 1,100/4,250 30/10 10 30+1(3) 19 -4 3 $1,250 2 Dragonfang*, .50 Browning * A civilian semi-automatic model, the Dragonfang SP, has identical statistics with the exception that it is Wt. 23/3.3, Shots 10+1(3), RoF 3, LC3. P m 5 m 2018 yramid agazine ay t h he unters Monster Hunters templates need some adjusting to fit Skills: Diagnosis (H) IQ-1 [2] and Expert Skill (Epidemiol- into the Technomancer setting. Additionally, the world has a ogy) (H) IQ-1 [2]. • Three of NBC Suit (A) DX [2]; First larger variety of nonhumans for players to choose from. Aid (E) IQ+1 [2]; Electronics Operation (Medical), Haz- ardous Materials (Biological or Magical), or Research, all m m (A) IQ [2]; Pharmacy (Synthetic), Physician, or Poisons, ore otivations all (H) IQ-1 [2]; Surgery (VH) IQ-2 [2]; Esoteric Medicine The following lenses are appropriate for hunters in the (H) Per-1 [2]; or spend 2 points to raise either Diagnosis or Technomancer setting. Medical professional and researcher Expert Skill (Epidemiology) or any of the optional skills by could be used in standard campaigns as well. one level. * Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120. Medical Professional 10 points In Technomancer, many monster problems are actually public health issues – vampirism is an infectious disease, for For descriptions of several instance, as are some forms of zombies. You’re one of the people devoted to stopping these plagues. Your focus is on mainstream activist groups, infectious creatures, but anyone being hurt requires a medical see GURPS Technomancer, p. 115. response. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all! Advantages: 15 points chosen from among Per +1 or +2 Nonhuman Rights Activist [5/level], Contact Group (Hospital, health department, etc.; 15 points Skill-12, 15, or 18; 9 or less; Somewhat Reliable) [5, 10, or You’re an advocate for the rights and reputation of the non- 15], Contacts (Doctor, public health official, etc.; Skill-12, human races who aren’t monsters. Since creatures running 15, or 18; 12 or less; Usually Reliable) [4, 8, or 12], Healer about eating people give the beings you’re worried about a bad 1 [10], Patron (Local health organization; Fairly powerful name, you’ve taken it on yourself to eliminate the public-rela- organization; 9 or less) or (National health organization; tions problem. If you’re a nonhuman yourself, your activities Very powerful organization; 6 or less) [10], or Resistant to also show the world that your people are on the good side. Disease (+3) or (+8) [3 or 5]. • Add any traits not chosen here to your template’s advantage options. Advantages: You may purchase a racial template for a chi- Disadvantages: One of Duty (12 or less; Extremely Hazardous) mera or half-breed (see pp. 30-32). If this exceeds 20 points, [-15], Enemies (Monster of the week; 9 or less; Unknown) spend optional advantage points from your template to [-15], Fanaticism (The Mission) [-15], Obsession (Collect make up the difference. If it is less than 20 points or if specimens, below) [-15*], or Sense of Duty (Humanity) you don’t purchase a racial template, spend the remaining [-15]. • Add Code of Honor (Professional) [-5] and Pacifism points on traits chosen from among Charisma 1-4 [5/level], (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10] to your template’s disad- Claim to Hospitality (Fellow activists) [5], Contact Group vantage options. (Activist group, nonhumans of a region, politicians of a region, etc.; Skill-12, 15, or 18; 9 or less; Somewhat Reliable) [5, 10, or 15], Contacts (Atoning monster, civil rights lawyer, etc.; Skill-12, 15, or 18; 9 or W E d W F ? less or 12 or less; Usually Reliable) [2, 4, 6, 8, or hy lSE o e ight 12], or Reputation +2 or +3 (As strong lobby- • Obsession (Collect specimens) [-15] (multiplied for self-con- ist for nonhuman rights; Nonhumans and civil trol number; see p. B120) is for champions whose main purpose rights activists; All the time) [5 or 7]. • Add any in monster fighting is scientific. You want to get specimens of traits not chosen here to your template’s advan- any new monster – live is best, followed by an intact corpse, then tage options. tissue samples. You’ll try to avoid means of attack that leave Disadvantages: Either Fanaticism (The Mis- bodies unstudiable, such as fire or acid. Once you’ve got a few sion) [-15] or Sense of Duty (Peaceful nonhu- useful samples of a given species, you can ease off (the GM will mans, above) [-15]. apply a bonus to self-control rolls), though you never object to get- Skills: Politics and Propaganda, both (A) IQ [2]. ting another live specimen. If you run across a variant creature, • Three of Current Affairs (People or Politics) or your obsession returns in full force! Add this disadvantage as an Savoir-Faire (High Society), both (E) IQ+1 [2]; option for the operative lens. Administration or Public Speaking, both (A) • Sense of Duty (Peaceful nonhumans) [-15] works much like IQ [2]; Diplomacy or Law (Civil Rights of your Sense of Duty (Humanity). Creatures that are naturally com- nation), both (H) IQ-1 [2]; or spend 2 points to pelled to feed on other sapient beings never count as “peaceful!” raise Politics, Propaganda, or any of the optional skills by one level. P m 6 m 2018 yramid agazine ay Researcher 15 points W W ildCard izardry You don’t necessarily want to destroy monsters; you want to study them! Unfortunately, few creatures are One of the key features of the witch template in Monster very cooperative when it comes to letting you poke and Hunters is its flexibility. With all the Path skills, a witch can prod them. try any ritual. Duplicating this omnicompetence with the standard spell magic system is not easy. A point in every spell Advantages: 15 points chosen from among Contact in the game would be prohibitively expensive, and even a Group (Corporation, university, government research wide selection would be very costly, and tedious to choose agency, etc.; Skill-12, 15, or 18; 9 or less; Somewhat during character creation to boot. Reliable) [5, 10, or 15], Contacts (Magical theorist, monster biology specialist, monster sample pur- Wildcard College! Skills chaser, etc.; Skill-12, 15, or 18; 9 or less; Somewhat Reliable) [1, 2, or 3], Lightning Calculator [2], Natu- Fortunately, GURPS already has a solution to this ral Scientist 1 [10], or Tenure [5]. • Add any traits not dilemma: wildcard College! skills, first described in GURPS chosen here to your template’s advantage options. Magic, p. 202, and greatly expanded in GURPS Power- Disadvantages: One of Duty (12 or less; Extremely Ups 7: Wildcard Skills, p. 16. Each college of the standard Hazardous) [-15], Enemies (Monster of the week; 9 magic system is represented by a College! skill: Air College!, or less; Unknown) [-15], Fanaticism (The Mission) Technological College!, Weather College!, and so on. In [-15], Greed (12) [-15], Obsession (Collect specimens, Technomancer, cast a spell by rolling against the relevant p. 6) (12) [-15], or Sense of Duty (Humanity) [-15]. wildcard skill at a penalty equal to half the prerequisite count. • Add Callous [-5], Code of Honor (Professional) [-5], Magery never adds to College! skill levels, but it still serves as and Curious [-5*] to your template’s disadvantage a prerequisite for casting specific spells (a caster with Magery options. 2 and Healing College! couldn’t cast Instant Regeneration, Skills: Current Affairs (Science & Technology) (E) IQ since that has a Magery 3 prerequisite). Magery also has its [1], Hazardous Materials (Biological) IQ [2], and usual effect on maximum energy for Missile spells and on Hazardous Materials (Magical) (A) IQ [2]. • Five of other limits in Magery and Effect (p. B237). NBC Suit (A) DX [2]; Electronics Operation (Scien- In a Monster Hunters game, College! skills also provide tific) (A) IQ [2]; Bioengineering (Genetic Engineer- bonuses similar to those of other wildcard skills (Hyper- ing or Tissue Engineering), Chemistry, Mathematics Competency, GURPS Monster Hunters 1: Champions, (Statistics), Paleontology (Paleoanthropology, Paleo- pp. 28-29). Every 12 points in a College! skill gives one free botany, or Paleozoology), Physiology (Human or a point per session that can be spent to guarantee success on specific nonhuman race), Psychology (Experimen- rolls for the College! skill. These points can also be exchanged tal), or Pharmacy (Synthetic), all (H) IQ-1 [2]; Biol- for energy to power a single potent spell. Each point spent ogy, Surgery, or Weird Science, all (VH) IQ-2 [2]; or this way gives 25 FP. spend 2 points to raise a Hazardous Materials spe- The GM is free to specify spells that are not covered by cialty or any of the optional skills by one level, or 6 the wildcard, such as new ones or ones that are secret in the points to raise them by two levels. setting. However, a few chances to see such effects in action may give wildcard casters the opportunity to add them to their repertoire. T EchnomancER Wildcard Wizard C t hamPion emPlates 5, 10, or 15 points The character templates in Monster Hunters need In the Technomancer setting, buying College! skills some adjustments to fit into the setting. requires a specific type of Unusual Background, Wildcard Wizard. This costs 5 points to access a single College! skill, Magery Options 10 points to access two to four related colleges (Air, Earth, For all templates except the sage and witch, the fol- Fire, and Water, for example, or Illusion and Creation, Light lowing should be added to their list of optional advan- and Darkness, and Sound), and 15 points if you can buy every tages: Magery 0 [5]; Magery 1 [15] or Magery 1 (One College! skill. College Only, -40%) [11], and 5 or 10 points in spells appropriate to the role. Note that Magery in the Technomancer setting does these options has a few choices. They can be left in, as is. add its level to Thaumatology skill and to spells (except wild- This introduces new types of powers to Merlin and should card College! skills). be exceptional. Add a 10-point Unusual Background to the required advantages and reduce the optional advantage Specific Templates points to compensate. Another option is to make crusaders and psis actually magic users, just in a very different way The crusader and psi templates both depend on super- from traditional spellcasters. Exchange the Mysticism and natural forces that aren’t magic, which is out of theme. Psionic power modifiers for the Magical, -10% limitation. Removing them is simplest, but the GM who wants to keep P m 7 m 2018 yramid agazine ay [3/level], Magery 3 [10] or Magery 3 or 4 (Knowledge College Only, -40%) Everyone Knows The Enemy [6 or 12], and Wildcard Wizard (p. 7) In the Technomancer setting, lore of vampires, demons, cryptids, and other (One College) [5] or Wildcard Wizard things that go bump in the night isn’t necessarily Hidden Lore. The general (Related set of colleges) [10]. In public knows all these things exist, and useful knowledge of their strengths the primary skills section, increase and weaknesses is generally available. Therefore, the skills in Know Thy Enemy Thaumatology to IQ+1 [4]-17, remove (GURPS Monster Hunters 1: Champions, p. 16) need some adjustment. The the Path skills, and instead spend the Hidden Lore skills should be replaced by Expert Skills that cover a wider variety 21 points on spells, which are (H) IQ of creatures. Cryptids and parasites (and lycanthropes, if introduced) are cov- [1]-16, (H) IQ+1 [2]-17, (VH) IQ-1 ered by Expert Skill (Magically Transformed Lifeforms). Demons, free-willed [1]-15, or (VH) IQ [2]-16 (all include spirits, and ghosts are covered by Expert Skill (Spiritual Beings). Mummies, +2 from Magery). If the sage takes vampires, and zombies are covered by Expert Skill (Undead). Rogue psis don’t one of the Wildcard Wizard options, exist, while understanding rogue witches requires no Hidden Lore. Outcast that person may also purchase wild- angels are not known to exist – if the GM decides to include them anyway, their card College! skills (see p. 7), at IQ-2 Hidden Lore skill is still appropriate. [6]-14 or IQ-1 [12]-15, with the points reserved for spells. The witch template changes as fol- lows. Reduce Magery to 3, remove the Since these are the same values, the point cost of powers won’t Ritual Adept advantage, and remove Ritual Mastery from the change, just their behavior. They lose the limitations imposed optional advantages. Add Wildcard Wizard (All Colleges) [15] by the original modifier, but become subject to mana levels to the required advantages. Add 30 points, for a total of 50, to and vulnerable to anti-magic effects. The most complicated the first set of advantage options. Change the Magery option option is to combine both the original power modifiers and to Magery 4 [10], and add Energy Reserve 1-10 [3/level]. In the Magical limitation. This requires repricing the abilities, primary skills, change Thaumatology to IQ+4 [12]-20 and and they become subject to all the limitations of both mod- remove the Path skills, replacing them with the following: ifiers. For Mysticism, the new modifier value becomes -20%, Choose two wildcard College! skills at IQ-1 [12]-15, choose while for Psionic, it becomes -15%. two more at IQ-2 [6]-14, and choose four more at IQ-3 [3]-13, The experiment template is relatively unchanged. However, or exchange any or all of the last four College! options for the abilities stem from magical experimentation whether regular spells, which are (H) IQ+1 [1]-17, (H) IQ [2]-18, (VH) in whole or combined with advanced biotech. This doesn’t IQ [1]-16, or (VH) IQ-1 [2]-17 (all include +3 from Magery). change their mechanical effects or the Bioenhancement mod- ifier (while the abilities were applied with magic, they don’t rely on mana to function), but it does adjust the flavor a little. nonhuman hunters In particular, the Unusual Biochemistry disadvantage applies Technomancer has a number of nonhuman races who to magical elixirs and potions as well as drugs, with the same aren’t “monsters” in the setting, and whose templates aren’t chance of shutting down abilities. The inhuman template should remove option 7 of its “sub- costly enough to make good inhuman racial templates any- ject matter expert” packages. If that person wants to be a way. Playing a champion like this is a different play experi- ence from the typical inhuman character. Being an inhuman minor spellcaster, choose from the Magery options outlined defines you as a champion, whereas being a half-coyote is an above. Appropriate monster templates on Merlin include adjunct to whatever your role is. Inhumans usually have some demons, demonspawn, vampires, and dhampirs. The GM element of atonement to them, even if that’s not their primary can permit outcast angels or lycanthropes if he wants to motivation, and they all have to deal with society’s perception introduce those creatures to the setting. The changeling, of them as monsters. The nonhuman races, however, aren’t ghost, mummy, and seelie from Inhuman Options in Pyramid seen as horrible creatures, just weird. Cat people might have #3/45: Monsters, pp. 4-7, are also appropriate, though the to deal with stereotypical assumptions from the man on the changeling and seelie will suggest some answers to one of street, but they can openly walk into a restaurant or church the mysteries of Technomancer, the nature of fairies. All without being greeted with screams. inhuman templates except the demonspawn, dhampir, and GURPS Fourth Edition statistics for the chimeras and lycanthrope should have Dependency (Mana; Constantly) “half-breeds” that emerged in Trinity’s Shadow are presented [-25] added to their racial disadvantages, and 25 points worth of attributes or advantages added to the template on pp. 30-32. Since most of these racial templates are mod- to compensate. estly priced, it’s easy to add them to the champion templates Remove all traits on the techie template that apply to psy- in Monster Hunters 1. Simply treat them as additional chotronics or psionics (unless the GM is adding them to the advantage or disadvantage options, depending on whether Technomancer setting). In addition to the general Magery racial cost is positive or negative. The nonhuman rights activ- ist background lens (p. 6) lets a player spend lens points as options (above), include Magery 2 (Technological College well. The GM may work with the player to remove advantages Only, -40%) [17] in the advantage options. that the racial template makes redundant. For example, a spi- Reduce the sage’s Magery to 2 and remove Ritual Mastery der-person commando could reduce ST because the racial from the advantage options. Add the 10 points gained to the template provides Lifting ST. first set of advantage options, changing it from 20 to 30 points. To this set of options, add the following: Energy Reserve 1-5 P m 8 m 2018 yramid agazine ay t h he unted Most monsters from GURPS Monster Hunters 3: The Breathe Radiation (20 to cast, 14 to attack): 20 rads; Reach Enemy can be used in a Merlin-based campaign. Zombies C-2, +1 to reach for every energy spent. Made as a Decep- work for necromantic zombies (GURPS Technomancer, tive Attack (-2 to defend against). Can’t be parried, only p. 56), and chupacabras (Technomancer, p. 65) are known dodged or blocked, and a shield must be lead-lined or oth- to haunt Mexico and the American Southwest. Humanity is erwise radiation-resistant to block. still a threat – members of organizations like the Brothers Radiation Aura: 4 rads, -1 rad per yard from the lich. Auto- of the Morning Star or the Condor Group (Technomancer, matically effects everyone within 4 yards, no active defense pp. 118-119) make excellent cultists and rogue witches. possible. GURPS Fourth Edition racial templates for other mon- Spells: At least 30 spells, half of which should be from the sters, plus chimeras and halflings, can be found on pp. 30-34. Necromantic college or the Radiation subcollege. Necro- mantic and Radiation spells are known at skill level 21, or m m 20 if Very Hard. Other spells are known at 17, or 16 for onsters oF erlin Very Hard. Use the descriptions from Technomancer of creatures’ Traits: Appearance (Monstrous); Combat Reflexes; Depen- creation, lifestyles, motivations, etc., with the statistics from dency (Mana; Very Common); Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Monster Hunters. Threats tougher than those described in Eat or Drink; Doesn’t Sleep; Energy Reserve 30; Immunity Technomancer can be justified as “advanced,” magically to Metabolic Hazards; Immunity to Radiation; Indomi- empowered, or just-plain-mean versions. Other monsters table; Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction 2; No Blood; from Merlin need a bit more work and some may require No Vitals; Unliving); Magery 3 + Magery 2 (Necromantic an upgrade to challenge a team of hunters, but well reward and Radiation Spells Only); Supernatural Features (Body the effort. What party of heroes would pass up the chance to Temperature 120°F†; Glows in the Dark†); Unhealing fight dragons (Technomancer, pp. 57-59), chonchons (flying (Partial)‡. vampiric heads, Technomancer, pp. 55-56), or the mysteri- Skills: Innate Attack (Breath)-18; Intelligence Analysis-15; ous and sinister seelie (Technomancer, p. 66)? Intimidation-18; Karate-18; Tactics-16; Wrestling-16. When using other beasts from Monster Hunters sources, • Atomic liches have a wide range of other skills. The give them some Technomancer twist. Creatures that need original batch were volunteers in a CIA program and have magic to exist should have Dependency (Mana; Constantly), skills appropriate for a highly trained intelligence agent. making them vulnerable to magic-dead areas and anti-magic Notes: Affected by True Faith and Necromantic spells that technology. But go beyond that! Intelligent monsters can use affect undead. Cannot use holy items. Neither has nor uses magi-tech devices just as well as people can. A master vam- FP, but can burn HP for extra effort. Sterile. pire with a ghost-dynamic laser grid in its lair is both an interesting challenge and one that feels unique to Merlin. * Has 30 points of energy to spend on spells. “Pure” magic should be used heavily by smart villains, too. † Together, these traits give +4 to determine the lich’s true GURPS Magic provides lots of options for spells for the nature (or +6 when using a thermographic camera or other champions’ foes to use against them, both subtle and very, heat sensor) and -4 to reactions when discovered. very overt. ‡ Can heal only in a radioactive environment (at least 10 rads/hour) or with magic such as Steal Vitality. Atomic Lich An atomic lich appears as a human skeleton, charred by flame, that emits a faint glow in the dark. It is dangerously Danger! Highly Radioactive radioactive to anyone nearby. Radiation is a common threat on Merlin. Atomic The stats below represent a potent foe, one who has sur- liches leak it, NEMA reactors go critical and release vived for a long time gathering magical power and minions. both demons and fallout, necronium dust escapes It should be a tough fight for any group, or a suicidal one for from the ghost bomb the techie is building . . . The an unprepared band of hunters. GM should be familiar with the rules for radiation For more details on the creation and nature of atomic (p. B435). GURPS Disasters: Meltdown and Fallout liches, see GURPS Technomancer, pp. 54-55. offers more rules and ideas. Another option, which ST: 18 HP: 26 Speed: 7.50 greatly simplifies the rules for radiation exposure and DX: 14 Will: 14 Move: 7 is more cinematically friendly for long-term recovery, IQ: 16 Per: 14 Weight: 50-100 lbs. are the rules for radiation found in GURPS After the HT: 16 FP: N/A* SM: 0 End 1: Wastelanders (Radiation Threshold Points, p. 24), and GURPS After the End 2: The New World Dodge: 11 Parry: 13 DR: 6 (Hardened 1) (Radiation, p. 25). Anyone who dies of radiation must Fright Check: -6 roll at Will-3. If they succeed, they rise again as a toxic zombie – on a critical success, a vampire. Atomic Fist (14): 1d+4 crushing + 1d-2(10) burning rad; Reach C. Made as a Deceptive Attack (-2 to defend against). P m 9 m 2018 yramid agazine ay 100 miles from the nearest penguin group and out of the Collective’s range. They’ll still be in the Don’t Forget to Research! form of a penguin, though; that must be dealt Monsters being common knowledge can lead to complacency. with separately. “Oh, a vampire; everyone knows the drill,” a team member might Spells: A typical killer penguin knows three or four say. “Grab the stakes and the garlic.” This attitude should come spells, usually from the Air, Water, or Weather back to bite them, perhaps literally. Just because general infor- colleges. Each tends to specialize; those operat- mation about a type of creature is available doesn’t mean the spe- ing in a group rely on others to cover what they cifics of this particular threat will match up perfectly. Numerous lack. If they have time, they will always cast spells variations on monsters can exist, justified by magical mutation, ceremonially, using the whole group’s energy. previously unknown variants, or just normal adaptation. Feel free Traits: Amphibious; Bad Grip 1; Dependency (Mana; to introduce totally new monsters! Lycanthropes don’t currently Constantly); Disturbing Voice; Fanaticism (Pen- exist on Merlin, so it will be a surprise when the champions run guin Collective); Magery 1; Modular Abilities across one – up until they can track it down to a contaminated (Mental Uploading, 1 slot, up to 8 points; Only batch of Transformation elixirs sold by a shady bio-magical firm. when within range of the Collective); Sharp Beak; Temperature Tolerance 3 (Cold); Unfazeable. Skills: Brawling-12; Guns (Rifle)-15; Observation-12; Killer Penguin Survival (Arctic)-14; Tactics-12. Notes: Collective Intelligence: Killer penguins gain intelligence Tekeli-li! from numbers. If there is another nearby, both gain +1 IQ; – Cry of the Magickal Killer Penguins, Kenneth Hite, five grants +2; 10 grants +3; 20 is +4; 50 is +5; and 100 is Suppressed Transmission: The First Broadcast +6. This affects all their IQ-based skills, definitely including their spells. Hive Mind Support: When a penguin is within A killer penguin looks much like a regular penguin, albeit range of the Penguin Collective, roll 3d every turn of com- an unusually large one (5’ high). Close examination reveals bat, or every minute of a stressful situation. On a 6 or less crude digits on its flippers. For further details, see GURPS (increase the target number by the same bonus that group Technomancer, pp. 65-66. size gives to IQ), the hive mind takes notice. All penguins in Killer penguins aren’t that dangerous individually; a hunter the group gain +2 IQ (in addition to any bonus from group is usually a match for two or three. The problem is, they’re size) and Observation-18 and Tactics-18. The hive mind rarely found without company. Most have a group of other can also “upload” useful skills or spells into the individual’s penguins nearby, and any discovered within 1,000 miles of the minds, requiring about 30 seconds of concentration by a Antarctic coastline have the support of the full Penguin Collec- penguin for every skill point received. tive. In those circumstances, equal numbers of penguins and hunters present good odds . . . for the penguins. a a ST: 11 HP: 12 Speed: 5.25 bout the uthor DX: 10 Will: 11 Move: 2 (6 in water) Kelly Pedersen lives and works in Saskatoon, IQ: 9 Per: 10 Weight: 40-75 lbs. Saskatchewan, which is definitely not a hotbed of magical HT: 11 FP: 10 SM: 0 research and development, and hardly any magical creatures menace its citizens. Nevertheless, he manages to have fun. Dodge: 8 Parry: 9 DR: 1 (Tough Skin) He’d like to thank Nicolas Juzda in particular for help with Fright Check: +2 this article – as always, a good chunk of its quality comes from that assistance. Assault Rifle (13): Inflicts 5d piercing. See GURPS Monster Technological Levels and Updated Weapons provided by Hunters 1, p. 62, for full stats. David L. Pulver. For David’s Eidetic Memory and bio in this Beak Strike (12): 1d-1 large piercing. Reach C. issue, see pp. 20-29. Flipper Punch (12): 1d-1 crushing. Reach C. Shapeshift Others (Killer Pen- guin) (12): About 1% of penguins know this spell. Roll a Quick Contest between the highest Will among nearby penguins and the victim’s Will; if the penguins win, the subject is forced to join the group mind. If within range of the Penguin Collective, the Quick Contest is instead made against the Collective’s Will of 18, and it must be repeated every hour. Once joined with the group, all the target’s knowledge is imme- diately shared. The victim can be freed only by taking them at least P m 10 m 2018 yramid agazine ay