Image: PAPER && PAYCHECKS. This is also the Name of Stuart Marshall,
over at Dragonsfoot.
Stuart's avatar (the last I saw) was/is Dr. Who. Stuart is the one
who completed the 1st edition of OSRIC, so I have heard.
| The Setting | Artifacts and machinery | Vehicles | Magic in the modern world | Travel |
| Player character tactics | Weaponry | Notes | The City Beyond the Gate, Part I | Best of Dragon V |
| - | - | - | - | Dragon |
Readers of Poul Anderson’s
novel The
High Crusade
will recall the daring victory
of a medieval barony over
a galactic
empire — a feat so fascinatingly
unlikely
as to be worthy of inclusion
in an AD&D™
character’s Book of Marvels.1
Modern
and future settings offer
a rich alternative
to the usual AD&D
milieu, for characters
bold (or unlucky) enough
to leave
their familiar Prime
Material plane and
take the High Crusade. Some
new rules
are necessary to cover the
many differences
between modern or future
(scientific)
and vaguely medieval (sorcerous)
settings. This article attempts
to provide
a basic framework for the
DM to devise
rules for the modern setting,
and is designed
to be used in addition to
the information
provided by Sixguns
and Sorcery (DMG, p. 112).
Adventurers being who and
what they
are, there will undoubtedly
be combat in
the modern setting, and
therefore modern
man and his weapons must
be expressed
in AD&D
terms. Herein, this has
been done following the
familiar heroic
fantasy belief that the
“medieval” (AD&D)
character has far greater
strength and
endurance than modern man
— thus
dominating close combat
situations —
but in this situation he
faces weapons of
awesome power and complexity.
This is
not so much a myth; habitual
hard labor
and the use of armor and
hand weapons
will build a physique rare
in modern,
industrial-society man,
and modern weapons
deal death far more efficiently
than
those of medieval times.
A few moments of thought
on modern
military weaponry will remind
the DM
that AD&D
characters are in the old tactical
bind of fighting an opponent
who
of this article, and weaponry
enthusiasts setting for play, and remote or rural
areas can be created with
the use of an
has a longer “reach” and
can kill them
will find that this article
has simplified
and scaled down modern arms
to a horbefore
they get close enough to
deliver rific extent. Statistics for specific weaatlas
and texts on geography.
The most
any attack. Survival will
depend in part
exciting && dangerous
setting, howevpon
makes and models may be
substi- er, is urban, and features of other areas
upon wise player tactics
(discussed below),
and in part upon magic.
Within limtuted
for the general values given
in the can be extrapolated from urban elements
itations, magic must work
in the modern
Additional Weapons Table
by the inter- or from the existing AD&D
rules.
ested DM (hopefully, with
play balance
setting if players are to
have a chance.2
With these decisions in mind,
the DM
can prepare for adventures
in the modern
world (whatever that is).
Much of the topic
(such as full-scale modern
combined arms
combat) is beyond the scope
of this article,
and weaponry enthusiasts
will find modern
arms simplified and scaled
down to a horrific
extent. Statistics for modern
weapon
makes and models may be
substituted for
the general values given
in the Additional
Weapons Table (hopefully,
with play balance
kept in mind).
Favorite landmarks, camping
areas, or
even specific neighborhoods
and homes can
be easily utilized by the
DM as the setting
for play, and remote or
rural areas can be
created with the use of
an atlas or texts on
geography. The most exciting
and dangerous
setting, however, is urban,
and features
of other areas can be extrapolated
from
urban elements or from the
existing AD&D
rules.
Modern men (in North America,
at least)
will typically be zero-level
types with 1-6 HP each.
Some few will have exceptional
abilities (perhaps even
psionics)3, but such a
thing as a magic-user or
cleric (as the
AD&D
world knows them) will not exist.
This does not mean that
modern men cannot
become members of
such classes, but
merely that not even the
minimum basic
training is available on
their native world.
The DM may allow exceptions
to this rule;
a few individuals4
who came to the modern
setting from other planes
may be spellcasters,
and may have secretly gathered
and trained
apprentices. They may well
be the
leaders of secret societies
discussed
below under "Travel.")
Some individuals will have
training
similar to that of the AD&D
adventurers,
and some of these are detailed
below.
Bulletproof vests, riot
gear (shields,
helms, etc.), and other
protective clothing
will have to be expressed
in AD&D
terms. (AC7 is suggested
for a police
officer wearing that gear
just mentioned.)
Police patrols (in cruisers
or walking a
beat) generally consist
of 2 men, armed
with revolvers (“.357 or
.38 revolver” entry
on Additional Weapons Table)
and a
nightstick or billy club
in the U.S. or Britain,
or a “bean bag” cosh in
Canada
(treat both as doing 1-4
damage vs. S or
M, 1-2vs. L, otherwise identical
to clubs).
Most policemen will be equivalent
to 1stor
2nd-level fighters, having
6-15 hit
points apiece.
More powerful fighting forces,
such as
SWAT teams and military
forces, will
have heavier weaponry (see
“Weaponry”)
and will be fighters of
4th to 7th level.
Military and industrial
guards may have
guard dogs (cf. MM,
War
Dog). <(Dog: Medium Fighter,
Large
Fighter, Medium Normal)>
Here the DM may use the
Animal Guard Reaction Table from TSR’s TOP
SECRET® game, or predetermine
the
beasts’ reactions. In any
event, the DM
must decide the extent and
effectiveness
of their training.
Other exceptional characters
encountered
by a venturesome party may
include
individuals with karate,
judo, or <use MA rules in OA>
other unarmed combat training.
Treat all
such as 1st- to 5th-level
monks, 75% being
of 1st level, 10% of 2nd
level, 8% of
3rd level, 5% of 4th level,
and 2% of 5th
level; none of these individuals
will have
any of the special abilities
of the AD&D
monk, although weapon damage
bonuses,
open hand combat, saving
throw advantages, surprise probability, thief abilities,
and freedom from damage
while
falling all apply. The DM
may invent other
types of exceptional characters,
or
employ government agents
and vigilantes
of all types, including
super-powered
beings, and the aforementioned
travellers
from other planes.
A critical decision will
be what attitude
the modern inhabitants will
have toward
the AD&D
strangers. Certainly the AD&D
characters will be (at least
until they find
and learn concealment and
conformity)
conspicuous, and will attract
considerable
attention. Will crowds gather?
Fantasy
readers will remember many
such encounters,
such as the classic scene
of
the witch rampaging through
London in
C. S. Lewis’s The
Magician’s Nephew;
consult these.5
Will modern men react with
fear? (And
thrown rocks?) Bewilderment?
Derision,
assuming the adventurers
are pranksters
or lunatics? Self-doubt,
thinking the
strangers to be hallucinations
(brought
on by drink, drugs, nerves,
or perhaps
creeping insanity)?
Remember that the
reactions of exceptional
characters (such
as guards) will be influenced
by their
training.
The DM must also determine
ease of
communication. Will the
fantasy tradition
of being able to speak a
truly common
tongue prevail, or will
it be a matter
of putting up with gibberish
and gesturing
until a Tongues
spell is cast? The
value of a gold piece in
modern currency,
and where such tender will
be acceptable,
are other questions the
DM must
resolve. (It is a rare party
that can Charm
its way into a bank and
make off with loot
without raising some sort
of alarm, given
their ignorance of modern
technology.)
Artifacts
and machinery
Modern machinery will be
almost entirely
unrepairable by AD&D
characters,
who will often mistake or
be unable to
comprehend its purpose anyway.
(This
is not that unfair when
you consider the
vast difference in technology
evident
even in the metallic alloys
of a modern
sword, compared with a medieval
weapon
— and that most modern drivers
have only a vague idea of
how their car
works.) Modern machinery,
especially
assembly-line complexes
found in factories,
may prove very dangerous
to AD&D
characters ignorant of remote
control,
electricity, and the like.
Gary Gygax, writing in issue
#30 of
DRAGON™ Magazine, gave the
following
damage values for electricity:
low-tension
alternating
current, 1d6 (4d6 if
victim
is well grounded); low-tension direct
current,
1d6 per segment until the
victim
is freed; and high-tension direct
current,
1d20 per segment until the victim
is
freed.
How the DM handles AD&D
characters
vs. computers is entirely
up to him or
her (and on the DM’s head
be it). Tongues
spells may or may not work.
Artifact tables
such as the one in the GAMMA
WORLD™ rule book, AD&D
module
S3, Expedition to the Barrier
Peaks, or DRAGON
issue #100 ("The City Beyond
the Gate") can
be used for the examination
of modern
items.
Vehicles in the modern setting
are of
countless types, from the
carts and
beasts of burden familiar
to AD&D characters
to dreaded Iron Dragons
that roar
along their rails with awesome
speed
and weight. The accompanying
table
lists the movement rates
and unique features
of a few representative
vehicle
types. Specific makes and
models can
easily be added using this
format. (Some
of the impact damages are
from Mr.
Gygax.)
Most vehicle movement rates
given in
the table have been scaled
down to as
much as one-tenth of reality.
The DM
may wish to restore some
or all of a vehicle’s
move in races, pursuit situations,
and the like. Off-road and
battlefield
(i.e., ramming, evasive
action) travel
tends to be slower than
open-road movement
anyway. Vehicles will move
at top
movement rates only after
attaining full
speed in preceding rounds.
A compact
or subcompact car, snowmobile,
or motorcycle
will take 1 round to accelerate
to
full speed, large trucks
3 rounds, a diesel
locomotive 5 rounds, and
everything
else 2 rounds. The “normal”
move distance
shared by most of the road
vehicles
is the 55 mph legal speed
limit.
| Vehicle | Max. move
(distance per round) |
Length | Width | Height | Weight
(not incl. load) (#) |
Impact
damage per 10 mph of velocity |
Features |
| Car,
subcompact
(incl "mini") <(1973 Chevrolet Vega GT Hatchback, 1972 Ford Pinto Runabout, 1971 AMC Gremlin X, 1981 Ford Fiesta Mark I)> |
55"
(normal: 48") |
up to 14' | 5' | 4'4" | up to 2500 | 1-2 | 4 passengers
(2 in comfort), 25-30 MPG, poor protection in collision |
| Car,
compact
<(AMC Concord)> |
66"
(normal: 48") |
14' to 17' | 6' | 4'4" | 3000 | 1-4 | 5 passengers
(4 in comfort), 20-25 MPG |
| Car, standard
(incl police cruiser) |
70"
(normal: 48") |
17' to 18' | 6'6" | 4'4" | 3500 | 1-4 | 6 passengers
(5 in comfort), 15-20 MPG |
| Car, large | 78"
(normal: 48") |
18'-20' | 7' | 4'6" | 5000 | 1-6 | 6 passengers,
7-15 MPG, heavy passenger protection |
| Jeep | 48"
(off-road safe speed: 30") |
11' | 5' | 5'10" | 3750 | 1-2 | 6 passengers
(2 in comfort), 30 MPG, can carry up to approx. 1500 # of cargo |
| Armored car | 48"
(amphibious: 9") |
18' to 20' | 7'6" | 8'6" | up to 10 tons
<approx 20,000> |
1-8 | 3 crew,
up to 9 passengers, gun turret with 7.62mm machine gun (2,400 rounds) and 0.50 (700 rounds), possible side gunports (13 or so), armored; maximum passenger safety |
| Small truck
(incl 2-ton <approx 4000 #> pickup, vans) |
70" empty
(normal: 48") |
20' | 7' | up to 8' | approx. 5500 | 1-6 | 6 passengers
(2 in comfort), 20 MPG, can carry approx 2 tons <approx 4000 #> cargo |
| Large truck
(incl highway rigs, tractor trailers) |
90" on road
(normal: 48") |
up to 70' overall
(usually 50') |
up to 8' | up to 16'
(usually 12') |
up to 200,000 | 1-8 | 3 passengers (up to 20 can be carried in trailer),
10 MPG, can carry up to 60,000 # cargo) |
| Tractor
(incl bulldozer) |
14"
(normal: 4") |
up to 20' | up to 10' | 10' | up to 200,000 | 1-8 | 4 passengers (2 in comfort);
durable; will survive many collisions; motive power of 30-50 horsepower (up to 200 hp possible) |
| Tank | 30"
(normal: 18") |
30' | 12' | 10' | up to 50 tons
<100,000#> |
1-8 | 4 passengers,
gun turret with various armament (see Weaponry); armored; maximum passenger safety |
| Locomotive (includes subway and other trains) | 85" (normal: 30") | 60' | 10'6" | 15'6" | up to 250,000 lbs. | 1-10 | 4 passengers (2 in comfort);
average road unit has 2,500 horsepower and (can pull up to 30 cars) |
| Motorcycle | 80" (normal: 48") | 5'6" | 1'6" | 2'6" | 500 lbs. | 1-2 | 2 passengers (1 in comfort); |
| (or snowmobile) | 50" (normal: 20") | 6'6" | 3' | 3'6" | 360 lbs. | 1-2 | 35 MPG; much maintenance required; fragile, rendered inoperable by virtually any sort of collision |
Q: In "Modern Monsters"
(issue #57) the
speeds given for modern
automotive vehicles
in AD&D
terms seem awfully low
(example: 70"/round is about
8 mph).
Why was this done?
A: As mentioned in
that article, the speeds
of such vehicles were scaled
down by as
much as a factor of ten;
this was done
partly for game balance,
and because offroad
speeds will be much slower
than
normal and game scenarios
may have
overland travel involved.
DMs using this
material may wish to increase
these
speeds, but should be careful
in doing so
to preserve game balance.
(79.16)
Additional notes on the table:
Armored
car — A representative listing
based loosely on the Cadillac-Gage
Commando vehicle, with reference
to
other NATO types. Many armored
cars
are modified to serve as
armored personnel
carriers.
Large
truck — This blanket listing
covers all trucks above
the size of a pickup.
The length varies by type,
and by law
from state to state or country
to country.
Note that cross-country
travel in a rig
will be difficult for a
party unfamiliar with
toll roads, CB radios, truck
stops, and
highway patrols.
Tractor
(includes bulldozer)
— This
entry covers farm tractors
and similar
vehicles for construction,
forestry, and
mining vehicles, including
all types of
crawlers. A front-end loader,
for example,
has 260 horsepower, weighs
51,820
Ibs., and can scoop 7 cubic
yards in its
front bucket, which can
reach up 40 feet.
Most such vehicles are much
smaller,
and can reach up 20 feet
with the bucket;
2 fully armored characters
could fit in the
bucket comfortably. Crawlers
(tracked
vehicles such as caterpillar
bulldozers)
range from 145 hp and 37,120
Ibs. all the
way up to 700 hp and 190,300
Ibs., and
have a front blade up to
18 feet in width.
From experience I can say
that if a tractor
hits a tree, the tree usually
loses!
Again, this is a representative
listing. The M60 Main Battle
Tank, for
instance, is 48 tons; it
and the Sheridan
light tank are the American
AFVs most
likely to be encountered.
The Sheridan
fires a 152mm shell or a
Shillelagh missile
(see Weaponry; information
on specific
types can easily be found
at a local
library, or in many wargames).
They vary greatly in
size (10 feet long to almost
80 feet) and
power (from 10 to 6,600
hp), and are usually
diesel-electrics in the
U.S. (Most
subways and interurban trains
are electrical,
and travel at high speeds.)
Mainline
locomotives have upwards
of 1,200
hp, and approximately the
dimensions
given in the table; a typical
type (the
General Motors GP-38) has
2,000 to
2,200 hp, 65 mph maximum
speed,
weighs 250,000 Ibs., and
is 59’2” long,
15’4” high, and 10’4” wide.
A larger unit,
the General Electric U30C
“U-boat,” is
3,000 hp, 70 mph maximum
speed,
weighs 363,000 Ibs., and
is 67’3” long,
15’4½” high, and
10’3¼” wide.
Freight cars can carry from
50-125
tons of cargo each. Bulk
goods (coal,
ore, grain, chemicals) are
usually carried
in 100-ton cars, while merchandise
is
carried in 50- or 60-ton
cars. A survey of
U.S. railroads shows that
freight train
speeds vary from 6-40 mph
(the average
is 15 mph), and
passenger train speeds vary
from 10-60 mph
(the average is 33 mph).
The maximum
speeds allowed by the railways
vary from
6-100 mph, and the overall
average maximum
speed worked out ot 31 mph.
(At least
260 railroads have no maximum.)
On roads
with different max. speeds
allowed for
passenger and freight trains,
passenger
trains are always the faster,
usu. by 10 or
15 mph. Note that a train
at speed may take
a matter of miles
to come to a stop; engineers
usu. can't help but hit
unfortunates
tied to the tracks!
This listing
can also be used for ATV
fun vehicles.
These vary from 12-30 hp
(30" move distance),
and have tracks or large
low-pressure
tires. Most carry five gallons
of
gas, can negotiate the worst
terrain short of
mountainous, and carry four
people (six in
a pinch). Some are amphibious
(6" move
rate). These vehicles vary
in weight from
350-850 lbs., and range
up to 10' long, 4'
high, and 5' wide (most
of them are around
8' x 3' x 4 1/2'). Motorcycles
and snowmobiles,
it should be remembered,
also vary
widely in dimensions and
performance.
Both can be increased in
terms of passenger
or cargo space; the former
with sidecars and
"saddlebags" or racks, and
the latter with
trailer units.
Magic will ultimately determine
the
fate of an AD&D party
in a modern setting.
It is the party’s “heavy
artillery,” and
must be expended with caution,
for it is not wholly
renewable. Magic-users without
spell books
will be unable to regain
their spells.6
Clerics in a modern setting
will be out of touch with
their deities (commune
spells notwithstanding)
and will be unable to regain
spells
above second level.
Spell-casters of all types
may have difficulty
obtaining the proper material
components
for their spells (for example,
a druid
looking for mistletoe on
downtown city
streets during the summer),
and substitutions
may greatly affect spell
efficiency,
power, and the safety of
the caster.
It is recommended that modern
characters,
unaccustomed to magical
illusions,
must roll a saving throw
of 20 to
disbelieve any illusion
cast unless they
have special reasons to
the contrary (i.e.,
they have seen the illusion
being cast,
encountered the party in
a “fun house,”
or something of the sort).
Some spell effects are mentioned
in
the Weaponry section. Development
of
new spells by member spell
casters can
gain the party some heavy
close-combat
weaponry: electrified bolas,
for instance.
The DM may elect to penalize
strong parties
by allowing some or all
magic items
or artifacts to malfunction
or fail to operate
in the modern setting.
Travel
Travel to and from the modern
setting
can be accomplished by means
of magic
items (cursed scrolls, a
We//
of Many
Worlds,
Cubic Gate, Amulet of the
Planes, a Portable Hole
placed within a
Bag of Holding, etc.), artifacts,
gates,
spells (Plane Shift, Wish,
a Gate spell
acting upon a Sphere of
Annihilation,
etc.). Intruders from other
planes may
well find traps and a reception
committee
awaiting them, for the ruling
powers
of each plane may regard
the place as
their private garden or
hunting preserve
(readers may recall Farmer’s
World
of
Tiers series),
and may form secret societies
or alliances to control
the use of
gates —and ultimately all
of the worlds
to which they lead. This
could form the
background for a long-lived
campaign.
TSR module Q1,
Queen of the Demonweb
Pits, presents a fine example
of
worlds interconnected by
gates. The DM
should also decide if there
are any limitations
upon the summoning of demons,
devils, and the like. Characters
looking
for a way home may well
find magic
items and scrolls left behind
by earlier
groups of adventurers which
have been
abandoned, cached in tombs,
caverns,
and the like, discovered
and put on display
in museums, and so on.
Adventurers, you are strangers
in a
most dangerous new territory.
Avoid
pitched battles, and concentrate
on concealment,
guerrilla ambushes, and
weak
targets. (Oh yes, and have
fun!)
More details? Right, then
— stay hidden;
find a safe hideaway (deep
woods,
abandoned barn or warehouse,
cave,
large storm sewer network,
or the like),
and keep to it, making occasional
forays,
mainly at night. Go quietly,
try to avoid
attention.
To learn what is necessary
for further,
more effective concealment
— local
dress, language, and customs,
basic
knowledge of current events
— ambush
a hapless motorist or passer-by
(someone
not living locally will
not be noticed
missing as quickly, and
if confronted the
party must pose as “travellers
from afar”
anyway) and Speak
With Dead until you
know all you need. Pick
an importantlooking
target. Once you have learned
to
recognize lawmen, soldiers,
and “lords”
or their equivalents, Charm
them as necessary
to maintain your safety.
Above
all, HIDE.7
If you do not, you will probably
die (or
at least, end your days
in a lunatic asylum,
unless you are lucky enough
to
meet an understanding group
of AD&D
players or SCA members),
for communications
are far better than the
norm at
home, and the forces of
law are far more
powerful. Use lots of cover
and try to
arrange fights to your liking;
hand-tohand
ambushes and the like. None
of
this Monty Haul-style facing
down the
German army8;
massed modern weaponry,
to put it bluntly, will
slaughter you.
(Paladins will have some
problems.)
Bullets can penetrate even
the thickest
personal armor, and the
shock of a single
high-velocity round striking
a target
can kill (DM: Apply this
rule for zero-level
characters — party men-at-arms,
bystanders in the modern
setting, and
the like, and for party
beasts of burden,
such as mules). To match
the awesome
punch of modern weaponry
you need
magic; magic items so that
each party
member has some magical
defense or
attack, and a high-level
magic-user or
two for the heavy gunning.
Coordinating
actions so as to maximize
a party’s
“punch” (first-round damage
inflicted) is
necessary; teamwork is a
must.
Protection From Normal Missiles
will
be useful against the smaller
stuff; Wall
of iron and Wall of Stone
will provide
protection against small
arms fire, but
will shatter under the force
of artillery or
tank projectiles and explosions
equal to
the cumulative force of
12 grenades, doing
1-10 points of shrapnel
damage to all
within 2” (save vs. “Other”
equals no
damage). A Wall of Force
will of course
provide protection from
all missiles and
weapon effects, even something
as large
as an aerial bomb or a heavy
tank or
artillery shell. Explosions
of sufficient
force may destroy the Wall,
however.
If you can prepare before
your trip,
take scrolls of these along,
plus potions
of Haste and — especially
— Extra-
Healing. They will be needed.
Ideally,
the non-spellcasters should
have a Ring
of Spell Storing or two
among them.
Relevant here is the comment
made in
an earlier article in this
magazine about a
magic-user blithely standing
in a hail of
fire casting Lightning
Bolts as though
“he were some sort of armored
tank.”9
That’s essentially what spell
casters are
going to have to do, somehow.
The
magic-user (preferably with
the rest of
the party, including several
other similarly
employed spell casters)
prepares a
spell behind the protection
of a cube- or
dome-shaped Wall of Force
(or Prismatic
Sphere), and when the protection
ends, lets fly with as heavy
an attack as
he can muster. Note that
his targets aren’t
very stupid, and survivors
(if any)
will head for the hills
the next time such a
wall springs into existence
and this funny-
looking guy in the robes
starts chanting
and gesturing and brandishing
material
components. Trained opponents
(police
SWAT teams, military, and
the like)
will probably throw as heavy
an attack as
they can muster at the spellcaster
and
his friends the moment their
defenses
are down. The party may
well decide to
vary their tactics a bit.
Tanks are impervious to anything
short
of a Disintegrate
spell. They are best
fought by killing the crew
or forcing
them to abandon the vehicle
(that is, if
you discover in time that
this metal
monster has a crew). Heat
Metal and
Lightning Bolt attacks are
best for this,
although the ultimate is
a Fireball cast in
through a gunport, open
turret top, etc.
Go for the weakest part
of the opponent,
always: the crew, through
the chinks in
the armor. Crowds of people
can often
be defeated by a single
Blade Barrier or
Reverse Gravity. As for
all extended expeditions,
lay in a stock of curative
spells
and scrolls; your DM will
ensure that
they’re needed.
Weaponry
One can spend lifetimes
merely listing
modern weaponry, and accordingly
this
article only contains a
very basic weapons
table. This is designed
to be used in
addition to the Sixguns
& Sorcery table
(DMG, p. 113), and contains
representative
listings of weapon types.
A few comparative
examples of specific weapon
models are given to facilitate
extrapolation
for weapon types not covered
here,
or for more detailed combat.
A deliberate
attempt has been made both
to retain
the simple, uncluttered
combat system
of the AD&D rules
and to scale things
down so as not to stretch
game balance
too far.
For
example, the “.50 aircraft machine
gun” (cannon) listed on
the table sticks
out like a sore thumb; its
range and fire
rate look a little high.
They aren’t; I’ve
scaled the latter down by
a factor of nearly
100! The rationale for this
is that any
single target creature will
be in the gun
sights of an aircraft for
only an instant as
it strafes, and thus only
20 projectiles
have any chance of hitting
(if you balk at
rolling 20 “to hit” dice,
tough! Go back to
the broadswords!). The real
reason is
that game balance is stretched
even at
permitting 20 rounds; allow
half of them
at -1 if you prefer.
I’m sorry if the machine
gun is such a
fearsome weapon, but I’ve
scaled the
darn thing down as much
as I can. If you
want to be harshly realistic,
increase the
fire rate to 400-500 projectiles
a round.
AD&D
characters won’t have a chance. I
could even have made the
“to hit” accuracy
much higher; any fool can
cut
across a TARGET at waist
level so as to hit it
— and characters lying prone
for cover
can’t close to FIGHT or
CAST spells all that
well.
For the purposes of hitting
only, modern
weapons such as artillery,
tanks and
aircraft are considered
to be equal to an
11th-level fighter (stop
chuckling...).
Note that weapon ranges
in this table are
modified for game balance.
Modern
game rules will give more
accurate
ranges.10
Use “Other
Shoulder Arms”
(DMG, p. 113) for modern
rifles and carbines,
modifying range, damage,
and
rate of fire as necessary.
Each DM must decide on how
to best
simulate modern weaponry
in AD&D
terms.
Artillery:
In cases where rapid combat determinations
are required, handle artillery
(including howitzers, long-range
guns, tanks, aerial-drop
bombs, and missiles
such as anti-tank and air-to-surface)
as doing 6-36 points of
shrapnel/shock
damage with grenade (see
below) side
effects. Any direct hit
by a high-velocity
shell will vaporize the
target creature,
literally blowing it to
smithereens, forever
gone —- or, if a save (vs.
“Other”) is made,
will do double damage. Some
limpet
mine or shaped-charge explosives
will
also have this effect. Characters
may be
thrown 1-4” by the blast.
Artillery starts firing
at never better
than -5 due to firing from
instructions,
rather than from direct
sight. In rare
cases where artillery is
firing over open
sights, it is too close
to the target to have
a better chance of hitting.
Successive
shots will fire at 1 better
“to hit” until -2 is
reached. Heavy armored vehicles
such
as tanks fire at -2 due
to poor visibility,
unless they are using infrared
viewing
systems. Particulars of
most modern
fighting vehicles can be
extrapolated
from the information given,
with perhaps
the aid of a current Jane’s
book.
TSR’s TOP SECRET game contains
two tables of use to the
DM handling
vehicle-related combat situations.
Use
of the Path Obstructions
Table will cover
the use of spells, flasks
of oil, caltrops,
etc., to delay pursuit.
Note: Some armored
cars are designed to run
even after
the tires have been damaged
by caltrops,
mines, or gunfire. Eventually,
the
DM will probably find the
Explosive Use
Against Stationary Vehicles
table necessary.
Add 25% to the die roll
for fireballs,
Lightning Bolts, and other
incendiary
spells.
For the examination and possible
understanding
of modern weaponry by
AD&D
characters, use the charts given
on pages 20 and 21 of module
S3.
Clarke’s Axiom (“Any sufficiently
advanced
technology is indistinguishable
from
magic”) applies. It is suggested
that the
DM decide on the expertise
of AD&D
characters with modern weapons
following
the suggestions under “Gun
Accuracy”
(in the conversion table
on page
112, DMG) and “Artifacts”
(DMG, p.
114).
If the party should gain
control of
something too powerful for
your liking
(such as a main battle tank),
simply tell
them that it’s far too complex
to learn
how to operate unless they
can Speak
With Dead with the entire
crew for a
week or two, and are willing
to practice
(hopefully without attracting
too much
attention). If they persist,
let them kill
themselves — it won’t be
difficult! For
large-scale tank actions,
the reader is
referred to a wargaming
book such as
Battles With Model
Tanks by Donald
Featherstone and Keith Robertson
(London,
Macdonald and James, 1979).
DMs should give forethought
to the
possibility of firearms
and explosives being
brought back to the “normal”
AD&D
world by fortunate characters.
Will the
stuff still work? Can it
be duplicated by
an alchemist and/or smith?
Should some
exotic (and rare) substance
(such as jeweler’s
rouge, in Roger Zelazny’s
Amber
novels) of the modern setting
serve as
the only combustible substance
in the
AD&D setting?
Decisions must be made.
As an alternative to the
weapons table
given herein, TOP SECRET
combat tables
can be modified to suit
(not advised
unless one enjoys juggling
figures) or
adapt favorite miniatures
rules. Note that
TOP SECRET fire rates must
be drastically
scaled down to prevent one
policeman
with weapons in hand calmly
pumping 50 or 60 shots into
the hapless
AD&D
adventurers charging at him.
| - | Damage1 | - | - | - | - | Range | - | - | Range
modifier5 |
- | - | Encumbrance |
| Weapon | S-M | L | Fire
rate2 |
Supply3 | Reloading
time4 |
S | M | L | S | M | L | - |
| 9mm or .45 automatic | 1-8 | 1-6 | 4 | 7 or 8 | 1/4 | 6 | 12 | 18 | +3 | +1 | 0 | 20 |
| .357 or .38 revolver | 1-8 | 1-6 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 18 | +3 | +1 | 0 | 15-26 |
| Submachine gun | 2-8 | 2-8 | 20 | 20-50 | 1/4 | 7 | 15 | 20 | +2 | 0 | -1 | 60-90 |
| Machine gun | 2-8 | 2-12 | 20 | 20-50 | 1/4 | 11 | 19 | 35 | +2 | +1 | 0 | 200-400 |
| .50 aircraft machine gun | 2-12 | 3-18 | 20 | Varies | -- | 200 | 1000 | 2500 | 0 | -2 | -5 | -- |
| Flamethrower | 2-12 | 2-12 | 1 | 500 | 3-6 | 1 | 4 | 9 | +4 | +1 | 0 | 100-800 (empty-full) |
| Bazooka
|
5-30 | 4-36 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 30 | 120 | 0 | -1 | -3 | Varies |
| Mortar, light | 4-36 | 3-24 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 8-60 | 110 | 150 | -2 | -6 | -7 | 300-500 |
| Mortar, med. | 5-40 | 4-36 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 15-150 | 500 | 980 | -1 | -5 | -8 | 1050 (assembled) |
| Mortar, heavy | 6-48 | 5-40 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 34-250 | 700 | 1200 | -3 | -4 | -8 | 6000 (assembled) |
| Grenade | 4-10 | 4-10 | 1 | -- | -- | 2 | 6 | 10 | 0 | -2 | -5 | 22 |
| Spear gun | 2-12 | 2-12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | -2 | -5 | 50 w/o projectile |
| Dart gun | 1-4 | 1-2 | 4 | Varies | 1 | 11/2 | 21/2 | 4 | 0 | -2 | -5 | 15-20 |
| Blow gun | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11/2 | 2 | 0 | -2 | -5 | 25 |
| Bola(s) | 1-6 | 1-4 | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | -3 | -6 | Varies |
| Boomerang | 1-6 | 1-3 | 2 | -- | -- | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -2 | -5 | 5 |
| Garrote | 1-4 | 1-2 | 1 | -- | -- | 1/2 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Whip | 1-4 | 1-2 | 1 | -- | -- | 1/2 | 1 | 11/2 | -- | -- | -- | 5 |
| Whip, drover's | 1-8 | 1-6 | 1 | -- | -- | 1/2 | 11/2 | 21/2 | -- | -- | -- | 25+ |
1 -- Per projectile (multiple attacks often possible per round; see
"Fire rate"). S, M, L refer to size of creature.
2 -- Attacks per round (scaled down for AD&D purposes; not always
true-to-life).
3 -- Attacks possible (rounds that can be fired before reloading).
4 -- In round.
5 -- Don't forget to also apply hit modifiers from the table on page
112 of the DMG.
Ranges are up to the number given (save for
mortars; see text).
The number given represents units of ten feet. <outdoors?>
S = short, M = medium, L = long.
6 -- In gold pieces.
Additional notes on the weapons listed on the table:
This is the magazine-loading,
self-ejecting, semiautomatic
modern handgun seen in most
armies (and all spy movies).
Magazine sizes (“Supply”
column on the table)
vary with type as follows
— 7 shots:
Walther
PPK, Colt Government, Beretta,
Browning 1910 and Cougar.
8 shots:
Luger, Walther P38, Mauser
Model Hsc.
One model, the Browning
Hi-Power, has
a 13-shot magazine. The
weight given is
an average.
.357 or .38 revolver -- Revolvers
of this
type include all spun-cylinder, manually
loaded "western" revolvers, from the .38
snub-nose Police Special and the infamous
.357 Magnum to the Colt Peacemaker.
British military officer's sidearms manufactured
by Smith & Wesson and Webley also
fall into this category, as do most police
sidearms. All are six-shot models. The
average weight is 20 gp, the 15 gp model is
the snub-nose and the 26 gp weight is for the
Magnum.
Hand-held weapons
such as the Thompson “tommy
gun,” M3 “grease gun,” Sten
gun, etc.
These can be fired one-handed,
at a cumulative
“to hit” penalty of -1 per
bullet.
Supply varies by type. Some
magazine
sizes: Thompson, 20 or 50;
M3, 30; UZI,
25, 32, or 40; Sterling
MK-4, 32. Increase
range modifiers to S +4,
M +2, L -1 if fire
traversed across target.
Weight also varies
by type (refer to TOP SECRET
rules
or a gun collector’s catalog).
Bazooka (and anti-tank missiles) —
This listing represents an
average infantry
anti-tank weapon. Some specific
models follow. A “direct
hit” (roll of 20)
will vaporize any creature
as discussed
above under “Weaponry,”
and will hurl
any survivors within 1”
off their feet,
tossing them 1-4” away.
(All gear carried
will have to make item saving
throws.)
Passengers and crew within
armored
vehicles hit by a bazooka
must save (vs.
“Other”) or take full weapon
(shrapnel)
damage. The modern NATO
Carl Gustav
recoilless gun has a 2-man
crew, fires 6
times a round, and can penetrate
up to
15¾ inches of armor.
It fires anti-tank
missiles up to 210”, HEAT
to 150”, HE
and smoke to 300”, and flares
up to 600”.
The more infamous World
War II-era
models include the PIAT
(S 7, M 15, L 30)
which could penetrate up
to 4 inches of
armor, the bazooka (S 14
M 30 L 120),
later replaced by the more
powerful
super-bazooka and the German
“stovepipe”
and its replacement, the
one-shot,
disposable Panzerfaust,
which could penetrate
7” of armor. As an example
of the
weight of a modern Bazooka-type
weapon,
the M67 LAW (expendable
rocket
launcher), successor to
the super-bazooka,
weighs in at 28 gp, and
its rocket
projectile also weighs 28
gp.
Modern guided infantry anti-tank
missiles
(such as the U. S. Army
Dragon) will
destroy any armor with a
direct hit of 20,
vaporize any creature as
discussed in
the text, and hurl survivors
1-4” (system
shock survival rolls apply).
Guiding (by
control wire or radio) takes
time, and so
these missiles have a minimum
range
(82%“) as well as a maximum
range
(426”). They are -4 to hit
at S, 0 at M, and
+2 at L by reason of this
visual guidance.
There are scores of such
weapons available;
interested DMs should check
out a
current Jane’s Weapon Systems
or similar
reference. <(Jane's
Information Group)>
Mortar
(light, medium, heavy) — Mortars
are essentially area weapons,
hav-
ing terrible accuracy when
used against
a point target (such as
an individual or
small group of characters),
and the range
modifiers reflect this.
(The average error
for mortar aiming is 1%
of the range at
which it is firing.) Mortars
have a minimum
range due to the limited
range of
elevations; bombs fly up
into the air and
take 30 to 45 seconds to
come down to
earth. Reloading times are
given as zero
because they are incorporated
into the
scaled-down fire rate; to
reload a mortar,
one merely drops the projectile
into the
open maw of the barrel anyway.
Heavy
mortars can penetrate all
vehicular armor,
but aren’t very portable.
Light mortars
can be packed (and operated)
by
one man.
Some typical mortars: Granatwerfer
34 (the standard German
WWII mortar)
fires 10 times per round,
maximum range
of 822”; U.S. 81 mm Ml fires
18 times per
round, max. range 984”;
light 50mm
WWII infantry mortar (all
major combatants
had similar versions of
this) fires 30
times per round, max. range
135” to 162”
(depending on type).
Changing targets takes ½
round. Firing
at a moving target, or firing
through
smoke, dust, or snow both
cause a cumulative
“to hit” modifier of -1
.
Grenade
(plus other explosive missiles)
— This weapon has nasty sideeffects,
as described in module S3,
p. 24.
‘These are quoted hereafter:
The stated
damage on the table is dealt
to all creatures
within 1” (save for half,
damage).
All within this blast radius
are stunned
for 1-4 rounds and deafened
for 1-4
turns. Creatures within
a 2” radius are
stunned for 1 round and
deafened for 1-4
rounds. If detonated within
a container,
all within 2” will suffer
0-9 additional
points of damage from shrapnel
(roll
d10, a roll of 0 meaning
no shrapnel hit).
Other grenade-like missiles
consist of
hurled or projected canisters
of smoke
(for concealment), tear
gas (effects equal
to a Stinking Cloud), napalm
(burns for 4
rounds: 2-12/2-8/2-8/1-6,
and water won’t
extinguish), gelignite,
nitroglycerine,
and other blasting explosives,
which can
for game purposes be considered
to do
6-36 damage plus system
shock to all
within 2” (save equals half
damage, no
system shock). Molotovs
and incendiaries
are equivalent to the familiar
AD&D
“oil pot.”
Spear
gun —This weapon uses a mechanical
(i.e., spring), compressed-gas,
or explosive charge to propel
a thin metal
rod at a target. The rod
or projectile
may have a variety of heads,
including
arrowheads, poisoned or
sleep-drugged
points, and explosive tips.
The weapon
will function underwater,
and is typically
connected to a projectile
by a wire line
(of up to 12” in length).
The statistics
given are for a heavy-duty
weapon; a
lighter sporting piece will
do l-6 points
damage, and has ranges of
S 2, M 4, L 6.
Dart gun — These weapons
typically
fire from 1-4 projectiles,
but different designs
may fire only 1 dart before
requiring
reloading, or fire a “clip”
of up to 9 or
even a dozen darts. Such
darts have a
low penetrative power, and
will be turned
aside by metal plate (e.g.,
plate mail).
They are usually drugged
or poisoned,
such poison causing unconsciousness
or death.
Bola
— This weapon consists of 2 or
more balls (of iron, carved
wood, or
stone) attached by lengths
of rope or
cord. Its weight therefore
varies depending
upon how many stones there
are
(such stones typically weigh
3-5 gp
each). When thrown, it causes
impact
damage plus possible entanglement
of
the target creature. This
chance of entanglement
is 80% for S-sized creatures,
60% for M-sized creatures,
and 40% for
L-sized creatures, modified
by +5% for
every point of the target’s
dexterity above
15. Non-avian entangled
creatures of all
sizes will be able to free
themselves in
1-4 rounds. The DM must
decide the
precise nature of the entanglement
in
accordance with the prevailing
situation
and the creatures involved.
Boomerang
— Made of wood, ivory, or
metal, typically 3-4 feet
in length, this
throwing weapon is aerodynamically
shaped. This shape usually
includes a
body curve and twist of
the body’s surfaces.
It will not return to the
thrower; only
light, relatively harmless
types of boomerangs
(doing 1 HP damage plus
possible
stun if target has less
than 1/2 hit dice)
will do that — and then
only if they miss
their target. When using
this type of
boomerang, the thrower must
concentrate
on the returning weapon
to catch or
avoid being hit by it, and
cannot engage
in spell casting or other
activities while
employing it. (It is suggested
that all
classes be allowed to use
boomerangs.)
Garrote
— This thieves’ and assassins’
weapon is absent from the
Players
Handbook.
Although a belt or a length
of rope
may serve in a pinch, the
garrote is typically
a length of waxed cord or
(in modern
times) wire. Most slings
will serve
admirably as garrotes. A
garrote causes
constriction damage per
round and
brings death by strangulation
in 3-6
rounds unless cut or loosened.
Note that
against neckless creatures,
where a
needed supply of air cannot
be constricted,
a garrote is useless, doing
no
damage. Striking from behind
allows “to
hit” and damage bonuses
(PH, p. 27).
Distances shown are for
normal-sized
character vs. normal-sized
victim. Reach
and strength play a part.
It is suggested
only strengths of 18+ be
used to increase
damage (1 HP more per 10
percentile,
points of strength, disregarding
points
left over), and that for
every 2 points of
strength (again, disregarding
fractions)
the victim is stronger than
the attacker,
damage done is decreased
by 1 point.
Note that garrotes may be
easily concealed
in, or as part of, clothing.
It is
suggested that magic-users
be allowed
to learn proficiency in
the use of a garrote
(employing the waistcord
of their
robes for this purpose).
Whip
(including Drover’s) — Whips
vary in size and damage.
Statistics given
are for a small, single-strand
type, 5 feet
or less in length. More
elaborate specimens
may have multiple ends,
and these
may be salted (soaked in
brine) or braided
around metal spikes, stones,
or pieces
of glass. These variant
weapons will
do additional (+1) damage.
Drover’s whips are much
longer and
heavier weapons, typically
of braided,
tanned animal hide which
has been varnished
or tarred, and sometimes
exceeding
20 feet in length. Carried
coiled on
the shoulder, they are thrown
from this
position, and are thus aided
by a height
advantage over the opponent
(e.g., attacker
on horseback or atop wagon,
target on foot). A strength
of 15 or greater
is required to wield this
weapon, and
once thrown, it cannot be
lashed back
and forth, but must be pulled
in and recoiled
for another throw (a process
which
takes 1 round).
Poisons:
Spear guns, dart guns, and
blow guns may all use poisoned
projectiles.
Refer to p.
20 of the DMG for poison
types: Insinuative Type
A is the most
common, followed by a “sleep”
drug
causing unconsciousness
for 1-8 turns.
DAMAGE, S-M:
DAMAGE, L:
FIRE RATE:
SUPPLY:
RELOAD TIME:
RANGE (S/M/L):
RANGE MODIFIER (S/M/L):
ENCUMBRANCE:
1 — AD&D
characters, like everyone
else, acquire souvenirs
and momentoes
of their adventures, ranging
from awesome
artifacts to useless bric-a-brac.
These are “Wonders.” Tales
of derringdo,
quaint customs and folklore,
and
sordid accounts of personal
adventures
“Marvels.” Most professional
adventurers
pride themselves on their
collections
of Marvels and Wonders.
(Thanks to writer
Alexei Panshin, who used
Marvels
and Wonders as the basis
of a most interesting
game in the third Villiers
book,
Masque World, an Ace paperback.)
2 — However,
modern technological
artifacts and weaponry need
not work in
the fantasy setting, at
the DM’s option.
3 — See the
AD&D
Rogues Gallery,
pp. 28-29, for an encounter
table of zero-level
characters with some above-average
characteristics.
4 — See C.
S. Lewis’s Narnia series
and P. J. Farmer’s World
of Tiers series.
5 — An interesting
alternate world
would be one in which magic
is commonplace
and handled as a business
(such as in Poul Anderson’s
Operation
Chaos, Robert Heinlein’s
Magic, Inc., or
Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy
stories).
Unwitting parties could
well run afoul of
local union rules and the
like.
6 — Museums
and libraries may prove
to be a source of new spells,
perhaps
ones devised by long-dead
magic users
or earlier visitors from
other planes.
7 — Illusionists
really come into their
own here. Comic readers
and radio buffs
will recall Dr. Strange’s,
Professor Xavier’s,
and the Shadow’s neat trick
of
clouding the minds of those
around into
not seeing the hero, forgetting
they saw
him, or not seeing him as
he really is.
Refer to the “Magic in the
modern world”
section of this article
for the effectiveness
of magical illusions on
modern
men, <>
8 — From
Jim Ward’s article in issue
#15 of DRAGON Magazine,
Monty
And
The German High Command.
Bazookas
and panzerfausts can knock
out storm
giants, according to this.
Um, storm
giants tossing boulders,
it says. Maybe
they were some other species
mistakenly
identified in the heat of
battle.
9 — From
Keeping
The Magic-User In
His Place, by Ronald
Pehr, in issue #24 of
DRAGON Magazine.
10 — To
somewhat pacify purists, here
are more realistic ranges
for some often used
weapons: 9mm and .38 handguns,
S 10 M 25 L 80; Lee Enfield,
S 50 M 200 L
500; Submachine gun, S 16
M 40 L 100.
See the shift in power?
The DM should
settle on ranges and rates
of fire that best
balance his or her own campaign.
Note
that some weapons, ranges
(e.g., the
grenade and boomerang) are
markedly
increased for characters
with exceptional
or magically augmented strength.
Well...
I tried to have my players take their PCs into a "strange articficial tunnel floored with a trio of steel ribbons," whilst chasing an Evil Wizard that dabbled in technology. They heard strange rumblings and wailing sounds--all muffled. Then they found a place where they could ascend a to ledge about three feet above the tunnel floor, and on it they were assialed by a band of club- and knife-armed youths whom they defeated rather handily. After that they retreated the way they had come, passing back through the portal of glowing energy that had taken them into the tunnel.
It didn't take them long to realize that they were in the NYC subway during the infamous blackout--that caused by the Evil wizard escaping them, and that once above-ground their odd appearance would have brought down the local constabulary, of course. I had such plans for mayhem too... :\
Cheers,
Gary
THE CITY
BEYOND THE GATE, Part I
| Introduction | The Goal | General Guidelines | Encounters | - |
| - | - | - | - | - |
INTRODUCTION
As Roger Moore noted in
his adventure
The Dancing Hut (DRAGON®
issue #83),
high-level adventures are
much in demand,
and often the most powerful
magic items
are the sources of many
adventures. So it is
with this particular adventure.
However,
unlike in The Dancing Hut,
characters who
visit The City Beyond the
Gate will not find
powerful enemies to challenge
them in
combat, nor magic in great
amounts. Instead,
they will find themselves
in an alien
world where they must use
wit, wile, and
stealth to achieve their
goal. They will find
themselves in a modern,
technological city.
Obviously, an entire city
cannot be presented
in the excruciating detail
required to
give players a complete
sense of their locale
and its atmosphere and populace.
Therefore,
this adventure is for the
most part
given in a very general
form, with guidelines
and suggestions to aid the
DM in
clearly and accurately conveying
a sense of
this new milieu. Please
note that, to this
end, many of the locations
described in the
following text are not critical
to the completion
of the adventure. They are
described
here in the interest of
giving a reasonably
complete picture of the
city in which the
adventure takes place.
The City Beyond the Gate
is designed for
characters of 9th level
and up. However,
with some modification of
the Gate Island
section and the goal of
the expedition, this
adventure could conceivably
accommodate
characters of as low as
4th or 5th level.
THE GOAL
The fabled Mace of St. Cuthbert
has
been lost from the sight
of both human and
demi-human for many centuries.
Some
claim it lies at the heart
of an active volcano,
guarded by salamanders and
flowing
lava; others swear it lies
buried deep inside
the earth, warded by powerful
magics raised
by those who would see its
power denied to
the forces of Law and Good.
A few assert
that it has never left the
possession of the
Saint, and even now he holds
it in his
strong right hand. But a
few claim that
none of these are so --
that long before the
Sainted Cuthbert rose to
his exalted station,
his mace was hidden away
from those who
would steal it before he
returned for it,
hidden away outside the
bounds of normal
time and space, in a place
so outlandish that
the Mace's power and destiny
would be
unknown and unknowable,
and thus safe.
These same seers claim that
the time is
coming for the &face
to reappear in the
world and lend its strength
to the forces of
right before returning to
its owner.
The Mace of Cuthbert was
hidden in a
universe other than that
in which the "natural
laws" of magic and miracle
hold sway.
In fact, it has been secreted
in a technological
universe. To be more specific,
it is on
our Earth, in London, England,
in a museum.
The job of quantifying the
milieu of a
technological world such
as this one is difficult
but vitally important. The
best treatment
of the subject is found
in issue #57 of
DRAGON Magazine, in the
article "Modern
Monsters:
The perils of 20th-century
adventuring," by Ed Greenwood.
However,
if a copy of this article
is unavailable, do not
panic -- all vital information
is to be found
below. "Modern monsters"
is a useful and
entertaining background
work for those
DMs who plan to run this
adventure. Players
with some idea of what they
will be
getting into might also
wish to examine the
article, for it contains
a section on tactics
that just might keep their
characters alive.
GENERAL
GUIDELINES
Magic works in "our world,"
though with
some limitations. Magic-users
without spell
books will, of course, be
unable to regain
cast spells. Clerics will
be completely out of
touch with their deities
and their servants,
and subsequently will not
be able to regain
spells above second level.
There may be
problems obtaining material
components
for spells, and substitutions
may result in
interesting alterations
of spell effects at the
DM's option. Some spells
are affected by
the location; see below
for more information
on spell alterations.
Modern humans
will generally be 0 level,
with 1-3 HP. Police and
security
officers will generally
be the equivalent of
2nd- to 4th-level fighters.
SWAT teams,
military forces, professional
mercenaries,
and the like will range
from 5th to 8th level
in the fighter class. Thieves
of all levels up
to 14th will be found. The
higher the thief?s
level, the rarer and more
specialized he will
be; for example, thieves
of 10th level and up
in the modern world will
often be sophisticated
cat burglars or jewelry
thieves a la
"The Saint." Thieves from
the modern
world will not have the
ability to read foreign
languages.
There are no native spellcasters
on Earth.
Note that the Anglican and
Catholic
churchmen of the vicinity
are not likely to
look with kindness upon
"pagan" priests
(i.e., player-character
clerics) who perform
so-called "miracles." Also
note that while
the use of the more spectacular
spells may
panic the populace, minor
magics are likely
to go unnoticed, except
perhaps by psychic
researchers and tabloid
newspaper reporters,
either of whom will cause
no end of
trouble for a party.
Encountered natives with
training in
karate, kung fu, or other
martial arts should
be treated as 1st- to 5th-level
monks. Of the <or, use the MA rules in OA>
total, 75% will be 1st level,
10% 2nd level,
8% 3rd level, 5% 4th level,
and 2% 5th
level equivalents. They
will possess none of
the special, semi-magical
abilities of regular
monks, having only combat
abilities, saving
throw bonuses, and thief
abilities as seem
reasonable.
Street thugs and such ilk
will range from
0 level to 2nd level in
either fighter or thief
classes, with fighters predominating.
For
examples of extraodrinary
0-level types, see
the AD&D Rogues Gallery,
pp. 28-29.
The most common weapons
to be encountered
in the modern world are
knives,
billy clubs and handguns.
Treat knives as
daggers, adjusting damage
to fit blade size.
The standard switchblade
knife given in the
table below has an eight-inch
blade; the
blades of folding (pocket)
knives range from
three to seven inches, and
combat and
survival knives range from
six to eighteen.
Treat billy clubs as identical
to clubs, except
doing 1-4 points vs. size
S or M and 1-2 vs.
size L opponents. Handguns
and other
weapons likely to be encountered
are presented
on the "Firearms
and other weapons" table given herein (based on the
original in "Modern monsters").
London "bobbies" (or "woolies,"
as they
are sometimes known by runaways
and the
like) will be equipped with
billy clubs and
.357 revolvers.
Lower-class thieves will
possess anything short of
a submachine
gun.
Terrorists, while unlikely
to be encountered,
can be assumed to possess
all of the
above weapons (excluding
the drover?s
whip), plus hand grenades
(doing 4-10/4-10
to all within 30? (save
vs. petrification for
half damage) plus stunning
(for 1-4 rounds)
and deafening (for 1-4 turns)
effects; victims
30?-60? from the explosion
suffer 1 round
of stunning and 1-4 rounds
of deafness; save
does not apply to these
effects. Terrorists
may also possess simple
bombs (producing
8-48 points damage, plus
a system shock
roll for survival for all
within 60?) and
stunning and deafening effects
as above;
save vs. petrification for
half damage and
no system shock).
SWAT teams are
equipped as regular police
officers, also '
having rifles, shotguns,
tear gas (treat as a
stinking
cloud), and body armor that improves
their AC to 5.
The drover?s whip is included
in the table
because of the numbers of
horse-drawn beer
wagons traversing the streets
of London
during the average day.
The driver of any
wagon with more than two
horses will possess
such a whip, but he rarely
uses it on his
team in such a way as to
cause damage.
ENCOUNTERS
The following tables are
basically selfexplanatory.
Please bear in mind that
these
are strictly "extraordinary
-<>- encounters "
that is, encounters other
than the usual
traffic to be found on the
streets or in the
park areas. There will always
be traffic
during the day and through
most of the
night, with a minimum of
twenty cars,
trucks and taxis per one-block
area at any
given time. During the day,
there will always
be 5-20 humans of both sexes
and
assorted ages within 40?
of any PC(s),
unless action is taken by
the PCs to avoid
people. Only late at night
will the streets
and parks be virtually empty.
Street encounters
(1 in 4, check every turn)
Dice Daytime encounters
01-08 1-2 street urchins
09-11 Truant officer
12-18 1-4 police officers
on foot
19-27 Crowd of 10-20 shoppers
(50-100
near peddlers, 10% chance
for a
pickpocket to be with them)
28-34 Pushcart peddler (DM?s
option as
to wares)
35-41 Pickpocket (treat
as 10th-level
thief)
42-55 Horse-drawn hackney
cab
56-65 Bus (35% double-decker)
66-70 Beer wagon
71-81 Group of 2-12 tourists
82-89 Group of 2-6 children
90-93 1-6 punks
94-98 Reporter
99-00 Special (see subtable)
Street encounters, continued
(1 in 4, check every turn)
Dice Nighttime encounters
01-10 1-4 street urchins
11-25 1-4 police on foot
26-37 1-3 police on horseback
38-45 1-2 police in patrol
car
46-52 Bum/wino (15% chance
is also
pickpocket, equal to 6th-level
thief)
53-61 Street gang (25% punks)
62-67 1-4 muggers (treat
as 2nd-level fighters with clubs or knives)
68-77 Bus (35% double-decker)
78-88 Horse-drawn hackney
cab
89-96 1-3 prostitutes
97-00 Special (see subtable)
Park encounters
(1 in 6, check every 5 rounds)
Dice Daytime encounters
01-15 1-3 police officers
(40% on horseback)
16-20 1-3 street urchins
21-25 Truant officer
26-32 2-16 children
33-38 Lovers
39-46 Band in bandstand
47-52 1-3 persons riding
horseback
53-62 Nanny with pram (baby
carriage)
63-74 2-12 people playing
soccer
75-85 Picnicking family
86-98 Horse-drawn hackney
cab
99-00 Special (see subtable)
Dice
01-25
26-35
36-50
51-60
61-65
66-75
76-95
96-00
Nighttime encounters
1-3 police officers (50%
on horseback)
Lovers
Street gang (35% punks)
1-4 muggers
Bum/wino (15% may be pickpocket,
as above)
Horse-drawn hackney cab
1-3 prostitutes
Special (see subtable)
Special encounters subtable
Dice Encounter
01-23 Major fire/fire engines
on their
way to a fire
24-31 Traffic helicopter
or other lowflying
aircraft
32-44 Major traffic accident
45-54 Mugging/robbery in
progress
55-64 Street gang warfare
(night only)
65-79 Police van (25% chance
police will
stop PCs and try to arrest
them)
80-88 A tall, blue box with
a bright light
on top is found. A tall,
curlyhaired
man with a floppy hat and
a long scarf enters the
box, followed
by a girl saying, "But Doctor,
where are we going now?"
The light starts to blink,
and the
box makes hideous screeching
noises and slowly vanishes.
This
encounter can only occur
once.
89-95 Terrorist attack (bombing,
sniper,
or the like)
96-00 1-8 terrorists (incognito,
not on an
attack)
Notes on encounter tables
Street urchins are ?wild?
children who
live in the streets of London
and are often
accomplished thieves (1st-4th
level). Sometimes
orphans, more often than
not they are
rebellious kids escaping
school or bad family
situations and trying to
survive on their
own. To best portray the
majority of these
children, think of Fagin?s
crew in Oliver
Twist. Urchins are not easily
identified as
such; they may have slightly
grubbier clothing
than the children found
on the Park-
Day matrix, but that may
be the only
outward distinction between
them.
Truant officers are the
bane of street
urchins, seeking to take
them off the street
and see that they are taken
care of. A truant
officer is not necessarily
a bad person, but
he may be overworked and
as a result a
little bad-tempered. Most
(75%) truant
officers work in plain clothing,
while the
remainder wear uniforms
similar to those of
the police. They are unarmed.
Police encounters
should be treated with
common sense. Bobbies who
are armed will
shoot persons attempting
to escape arrest if
they're considered dangerous
and can't be
run down on foot. English
cops may have a
reputation for being peaceful
and helpful,
but they are police officers
just the same.
Play them like they were
polite N.Y.C. or
L.A. cops.
Punks are outrageously
dressed persons
of either sex, usually in
leather or other
non-standard garb. Their
hair will be in
various shades not normally
found in nature
or completely shorn off,
and their behavior
will be calculated to shock
or disgust. Think
of a belligerent Boy George.
Street gangs
will sometimes be composed
of punks, but generally
will conform to the
American stereotype of the
gang. They will
number from 2-16 youths,
armed with
knives (10% chance for 1-4
9mm pistols).
All but the leader will
be 0-level humans;
the leader will be a 1st-level
fighter. A gang
will usually (75%) be composed
of males
ranging from fourteen to
twenty years in
age. The remainder will
be either all females
of the same age (60%) or
mixed.
Beer wagons
are huge, wheeled vehicles,
averaging 20? -30? long
and carrying a
dozen or more barrels of
English beer,
delivered daily to the local
pubs. They are
drawn by teams of six to
ten large horses
(Clydesdales or Percherons),
guided by a
driver who sits 10? off
the ground. Consider
the horses to be equal to
heavy warhorses,
but with only one hoof (smash)
attack for 1-
6 points each. By law, beer
wagons always
have the right-of-way on
London streets; if
one is encountered, it is
likely that the party
noticed the ruckus made
by traffic getting
(or being made to get) out
of the wagon?s
way.
Reporters are
likely to notice anything
out of the ordinary about
a party, like full
armor and drawn weapons,
and they will
investigate. Even if PCs
are disguised, a
reporter is still 40% likely
to notice something
odd and check out his hunch.
To this
end, he or she will tail
the PCs, attempting
not to be noticed, and will
take notes on
their actions when applicable.
A reporter
may also consult police,
street urchins and
other sources of information
on PCs, and
may possibly alert police
and other "hostiles
? to the party?s location.
40% of all
reporters are female. 10%
work for radio or
wire services and 25% for
television. The
remainder are employed by
the many London
newspapers. Television reporters
are
40% likely to have a camera
crew ready
nearby. More experienced
newspaper and
wire-service reporters may
be the equals of
1st- to 3rd-level fighters
or thieves, depending
on the beat they work and
the type of
newspaper that employs them.
Terrorists
are not likely to be nice. They
will always be politically
motivated, and
fanaticism is not uncommon.
Should a
terrorist group get an idea
of what a party is
capable of, it will attempt
to gain control of
the PCs by using hostages
or other means.
There is the possibility
that if the terrorists
see the party being persecuted,
they might
offer shelter and aid, at
the DM's option.
Terrorist groups will be
composed of 1-6
each of fighters, thieves,
and assassins, with
levels from 3 to 6 (d4 +
2).
FIREARMS AND. OTHER WEAPONS Range Range modifier
| Weapon |
Damage (S-M / L) |
Fire
rate |
Supply | Reload
time |
S | M | L | S | M | L |
| 9mm/.45 pistol | 1-8 / 1-6 | 4 | 7 or 8 | ¼ | 6 | 12 | 18 | +3 | +1 | 0 |
| .357/.38 revolver | 1-8 / 1-6 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 18 | +3 | +1 | 0 |
| Rifle | 2-12 / 2-10 | 2 | 2 | ½ | 11 | 19 | 35 | +3 | +2 | 0 |
| Shotgun | 1-8 / 1-6 | 1(2) | 1(2) | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | +2 | 0 | -3 |
| Sawed-off shotgun | 1-10 / 1-4 | 1(2) | 1(2) | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | +5 | 0 | -2 |
| Submachine gun | 2-8 / 2-8 | 20 | 20-50 | ¼ | 7 | 15 | 20 | +5 | +1 | -1* |
| Slingshot | 1 /0-1 | 3 | - | - | 1½ | 2½ | 5 | +1 | 0 | -3 |
| Switchblade | 1-3 / 1-2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Garrot | 1-4 / 1-2 | - | - | - - | - | - | - | - | - | ** |
| Drover?s whip | 1-8 / 1-6 | - | - | - | ½ | 1½ | 2½ | - | - | - |
| Blackjack | 1-4 / 1-2 | - | - - | - | ½ | - | - | - | - | - |
* -- Increase range modifiers
to + 8 (S), + 4 (M), and 0 (L) if fire is traversed across target.
** -- If garrot attack is
made successfully and a hold can be maintained for three rounds, the target
of the attack will be reduced to
zero hit points by suffocation
(this assumes a breathing target with a vulnerable neck area).
VEHICLES TABLE
| Vehicle | Maximum
move per round |
Weight
(pounds) |
Impact
damage * |
Notes |
| Car, subcompact | 55? | up to
2500 |
1-2 | 4 passengers (2 in
comfort), poor protection in collision |
| Car, compact | 66? | 3000 | 1-4 | 5 passengers (4 in
comfort) |
| Car, standard** | 70? | 3500 | 1-4 | 6 passengers (5 in
comfort) |
| Car, large
(limousine) |
78? | 5000 | 1-6 | 6 passengers, heavy
passenger protection |
| Small truck
(including panel trucks and police vans) |
70?
(empty) |
5500
(empty) |
1-6 | 6 passengers (2 in
comfort; police vans hold 8 prisoners), can carry 2 tons of cargo |
| Large truck
(tractor trailers) |
70? | 200,000 | 1-8 | 3 passengers (up to 20
in trailer), can carry 60,000 lbs. of cargo. |
| Motorcycle | 60? | 500 | 1-2 | 2 passengers (1 in
c o m f o r t ) |
| Moped | 30? | 150 | 0-1 | 1 passenger |
* ? Damage per 10 mph of
velocity. Impact damage applies both to persons struck
by and persons inside the
vehicle, should it crash.
* * ? Includes police cruisers.
As Ed Greenwood pointed out
in "Modern
Monsters," vehicles
in the modern
world will be of countless
forms, and almost
all will be strange and
unfamiliar to PCs.
However, all non-motorized
vehicles will be
easily mastered, once their
purpose and
workings are determined;
even a bicycle can
be figured out in (at most)
a day or two by
the determined adventurer.
Motorized vehicles are another
matter
entirely. The accompanying
table (adapted
from Greenwood's original)
gives the vital
statistics on a good selection
of vehicles
likely to be found in the
areas of London
covered by this adventure.
Note that Greenwood
scaled down movement rates,
sometimes
by as much as a factor of
ten; if you
anticipate the possibility
of a high-speed car
chase through the streets
of London, don?t
forget to restore full movement
rates --
otherwise it will be rather
slow-moving. For
off-road travel, keep movement
rates given
for all situations. Acceleration
to full speed
takes two rounds for most
everything; large
trucks require three rounds,
while cars
smaller than standard-sized,
along with
motorcycles and mopeds,
need only one
round to reach full speed.
However, note
that full speed is substantially
greater than
the maximum speed limit
(which is somewhere
around a 48"-50" rate, and
slower in
some areas).
It is possible for characters
to learn to
drive simple cars and trucks.
This requires
instruction (from someone
who knows how
to drive) given for a period
of time equal in
hours to twenty minus the
intelligence score
of the PC who is trying
to learn. Once this
period of instruction is
over, the PC will
have sufficient knowledge
of how to operate
a vehicle if necessary.
The instruction does
not provide driving skills,
which must be
attained with more practice
than the PCs
will have time for, nor
does it provide more
than a cursory treatment
of the rules of the
road. As a result of these
two factors, PC
drivers will have a 25%
chance per turn
(non-cumulative) of causing
an accident or
attracting the attention
of a police officer.
Of course, such things as
intoxication and
magical effects will alter
this percentage
upward (DM's discretion
as to the exact
modification).
For purposes of atmosphere
and accuracy,
DMs should remember that
traffic in England
follows a flow pattern that
is the
reverse of that in America
-- vehicles drive
on the left side of the
road, not on the right.
Consequently,. the driver's
seat is positioned
differently, and the entire
traffic system runs
a little strangely (to those
used to American
driving). Do not remind
players of this,
though -- let their characters
discover it on
their own. (One fighter
from the original
presentation of this adventure
leaped in the
left door of a police van
to wrest the wheel
from its driver, only to
find an empty seat
and the driver on the other
side pulling a
gun on him. . . .)
OTHER TECHNOLOGY
During the course of this
adventure,
characters will inevitably
encounter items of
modern technology ranging
from butane
lighters and flashlights
to household appliances
to high-powered weapons.
In the
absence of someone to instruct
them in their
use, PCs may attempt to
puzzle out modern
artifacts on their own.
To do so, they roll on
one of the Investigation
Charts given
herein. Put a marker on
the start position,
and have the player roll
a d10 for each
round his character spends
puzzling out the
item. The following modifiers
apply to each
roll (all modifiers are
cumulative):
Intelligence less than 10
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . + 1
Intelligence greater than
14. . . . . . . . . . . . . - 1
Similar object seen in use
. . . . . . . . . . . . . - 1
Object has been explained
by someone
familiar with it . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . - 2
Operated similar object
previously. . . . . . - 2
PEOPLE
AND REACTIONS
The natives of London will
generally not
react favorably to a party
that remains in
full battle array as it
wanders about the city.
Until such time as PCs manage
to blend in
with the crowd, either by
magic or by buying
or stealing ordinary-looking
clothing,
their unusual appearance
will draw attention
to them.
The presence of non-humans
in the adventuring
group will affect the reactions
of
London citizens. Elves and
half-elves will
prove to be an asset, for
their exotic appearance
and often unearthly beauty
will entrance
onlookers, sometimes to
the point
that the rest of the party
will be ignored.
The presence of a half-orc
will automatically
result in the opposite response;
if the halforc's charisma or comeliness is 8 or less, a
disguise will be required
in public, lest some
good people run screaming
from the horror
in their midst. Halflings
will often go unnoticed,
as they look very much like
human
children in general appearance
-- even
more so when clothed to
blend in with the
crowd. Dwarves and gnomes
will attract
attention, but only because
of their size,
and then only for a short
time.
Any party spending time in
public in full
"fantasy" regalia will attract
the attention
of police. Inquiries will
be made as to the
film company that the PCs
are with, and if
this proves fruitless, the
bobbie(s) will attempt
to convince the party that
they are
not wearing appropriate
clothing. There is a
good chance (DM?s decision
on exact odds)
that the entire party will
be considered of
questionable sanity, and
reinforcements will
be sent for to take them
to the Royal Hospital
for examination. While London
police
are generally calm and friendly,
and can be
counted on to endure strange
people and
events with little reaction,
they do have
their limits.
One of those limits is weapons.
Weapons
openly displayed (even if
sheathed) will
immediately bring police
trouble. The
bobbie will call for backup
and will attempt
to bring the party to the
local station-house
under arrest for possession
of dangerous
weapons. A concealment charge
is likely if
the weapons were sheathed,
or worn, as is
the case with many thieves
and magic-users,
up sleeves or in boots and
belts. Resisting
arrest and escaping police
will put the party
on a "wanted" list, with
warnings that they
are armed and considered
mentally unsound.
If PCs go out en masse after
being
placed on such a list, they
may quickly be
identified by police anywhere
in the city
(100% if they are still
in their original garb,
65% even if they have changed
to local
clothes). Shortly thereafter,
they will be
surrounded by a large (2-4
times the party?s
size) armed force. For individuals
going out
alone or in small groups,
there is only a 5%
chance per person (cumulative)
of being
identified.
Except where otherwise indicated
in the
building keys, the following
applies to the
remainder of London as long
as the party
members remain in their
original garb: as
long as no violence or magic
use occurs,
public reaction will be
neutral, tending
towards negative (-25% on
reaction rolls for
encountered individuals).
There will be a
general assumption that
the party is either a
publicity stunt, part of
a movie being
filmed, or simply a more
outrageous than
usual punk gang. The closer
the PCs get to
parks and other areas of
London where
unusual dress is the norm,
the less negative
the average reaction will
be (-10% on reaction
rolls within 3 blocks of
parks and plazas,
no adjustment when in the
parks and
plazas themselves).
Combat or fatal violence
of any sort will
cause panic in onlookers
and bring police
and reporters, as will major
displays of
magic (fireballs, lightning
bolts, or anything
with lots of "special effects").
Once such a
panic is caused, the undisguised
party or
individual PC will not be
able to travel
anywhere in the city afterward
without a
similar panic and its attendant
attentions
starting. Given time to
get to know PCs,
citizens may eventually
come to overlook
their exotic abilities and
origins. However,
most will not want to take
the time.
As to special subgroups
in the population,
well, punks will embrace
PCs for what they
will see as the ultimate
rebellion against
modern society. Major criminals
and terrorists
who have a chance to calmly
evaluate
the party's capabilities
will find advantages
for themselves, and plot
accordingly. Muggers
and the like will hesitate
to assault a
fully outfitted party, although
PCs in disguise
are just as likely as anybody
else to be
victims of an attempted
robbery.
One final topic: language.
Unless the
DM assumes that the common
tongue is
virtually identical to modern
English, the
PCs will not be able to
communicate with
any local citizens. The
use of spells, magical
items, and the like will
help overcome this
handicap, but the DM should
always keep
the language barrier in
mind. (How do you
ask for a restroom, for
instance?)
If the language barrier
is deemed too
great a hurdle, the DM may
declare that
passage through the gate
alters a character?s
memory of language. The
common tongue
is instantly translated
into English when the
character reaches London;
the reverse
transformation of English
into common
occurs when the character
passes back
through the gate into the
AD&D
game
world.
MAGIC
MODIFICATIONS
The alternate universe in
which London
can be found exists on the
Prime Material
Plane of the AD&D
multiverse, one of the
many such alternates (others
include
Midgard, from the module
Aesirhamar,
DRAGON® issue #92, and
the worlds
connected to the Demonweb
in AD&D
Module Q1, Queen of the
Demonweb Pits).
However, there is something
odd about it.
Nearly everywhere in the
multiverse, save
for a few other "freak"
planes, the laws of
magic rule. The plane that
London is on is
something of an ignored
backwater universe,
for it is solidly connected
to the rest
of the Prime Material, Astral,
and Ethereal
Planes at only a few points,
and is at best
tenuously connected with
the rest of the
Inner Planes, and almost
not at all with the
Outer Planes. (This was
one of the main
reasons that the Mace was
hidden there.)
Because it is so weakly
connected to the
rest of the magical multiverse,
Earth has no
magic. There is no leakage
of the extraplanar
energies that cause the
evolution of
magical and semi-magical
creatures and
that produce the oddities
which stimulate
human research into magic.
Because of its
isolation, Earth is magically
null. As a
result of this, some spells
will function
differently or not at all
in London. The
following sections cover
all the spells found
in the AD&D PH,
as well as
those published in DRAGON
Magazine
during the last few years.
(Some of these
also appear in UA).
If a spell
is not listed below, assume
that it works
normally unless the nature
of the spell
dictates otherwise.
One
special note: Remember that the
people inhabiting London
generally have no
experience with illusions.
Therefore, they
initially receive no saving
throws to disbelieve
them. Repeated exposure
to illusionary
displays may allow for saving
throws,
and some citizens may believe
they are
viewing an advanced form
of laser hologram
or are hallucinating instead
of seeing
"real" magic.
Cleric spells
Astral
spell is severely limited. The spell
will function as long as
travel by it is only
through the Astral Plane
and around London's plane; any attempts to reach other
planes (including the party's
home) will fail.
Ceremony (consecrate item)
will not work
because it implies the attention
of the god or
the deity?s servants for
the investiture of the
holy aura. Holy symbol will
not function for
the same reason.
Commune,
divination,
and spiritual
hammer will not function
because the cleric
is beyond the reach of his
god for the time
he is in London. The cleric
will realize this
before casting the spell.
Dust
devil will fail 50% of the time,
because the connections
between London's
plane and the Elemental
Planes are so tenuous
that only the smallest and
weakest
elemental beings can find
a path large
enough to allow them passage.
For this
reason, all greater summonings
(such as
aerial servant) will fail.
Gate
and Negative Plane protection
will
not function because of
the separation of
Earth from other planes.
Magical vestment will not
work unless
the cleric casting it has
established in London
an appropriately consecrated
area of his
own religion at least the
size of a chapel.
Word of recall will
not return a cleric to a
sanctuary on a plane different
from that of
Earth; it is possible, though,
for a sanctuary
to be designated in the
modern universe
and thus allow the spell
to be used there.
Druid spells
Call
woodland beings is useless. There
are no such beings to call
in the vicinity of
London.
Chariot
of Sustarre, conjure fire elemental,
and conjure earth elemental
will not
function because of their
Elemental Plane
connections, as explained
in the section on
the cleric spell dust devil.
Fire storm is
likewise partially elemental
in source, and
will fail 25% of the time.
Reflecting pool will not
be able to scry
beyond the universe in which
London lies.
Reincarnate
will not result in the reincarnation
of a character in a magical
or semimagical
form, such as a faun, centaur,
etc.,
that is not native to Earth.
Magic-user spells
All cantrips function normally.
Astral spell: See the cleric
spell of the
same name.
Cacodemon will not function,
as the
Abyss cannot be contacted
from Earth.
Conjure elemental will not
work, as
described for the cleric
spell dust devil. For
obvious reasons, distance
distortion is also
useless.
Con tact other plane will
not work. See
the cleric spell commune.
Demand: See sending.
Drawmij?s instant summons
will not work
for items on other planes.
Energy dram will not function
because it
requires a stronger connection
to the Negative
Material Plane than the
modern world
possesses.
Ensnarement will create a
planar opening
elsewhere on London?s plane,
and a random
human, animal, or alien
will step
through it rather than the
targeted creature.
The spell will continue
to function as
though the desired being
had been ensnared,
though.
Find familiar will locate
no special familiars,
and the only normal familiars
available
in the vicinity of London
will be black cats,
crows, and toads. Treat
all other results as
?no familiar available.?
Gate will not function (see
cleric spell).
Invisible stalker will not
function; see
cleric spell dust devil.
Leomund?s secret chest, if
sent from the
home universe, cannot be
retrieved in London.
If one is placed in the
Ethereal Plane
from the modern world, it
will be lost if the
caster does not retrieve
it before going
home.
Magic mirror has limited
effect. See
druid spell reflecting pool.
Maze
will fail 25% of the time, but when
successfully cast, it will
have double duration
because the isolation of
London's universe
allows a larger extradimensional
maze
to form.
Monster summonings (all levels)
will not
work because there are no
monsters in or
near London.
Protection
from normal missiles will
provide an impenetrable
barrier against
bullets and grenade fragments
-- the best
bulletproof vest one could
want. In similar
fashion, shield will still
act to improve the
recipient's armor class,
and is thus also
handy to have when the lead
starts to fly.
Reincarnation: See the druid spell reincarnate.
Sending
acts as though London is six
planes removed from any
other Prime Material
alternate due to its isolation;
sendings
beyond the Prime Material
Plane also operate
with this six-plane initial
handicap ?
i.e., if one sends a message
to an Elemental
Plane, there is a base 35%
(5% x 6 plane
removal handicap, plus 5%
for an actual
planar displacement) of
an unsuccessful
sending.
Wall
of stone will meld into concrete slabs
and bricks, as well as clay
bricks, cinder
blocks, and asphalt.
Illusionist spells
Purely illusionary spells
(phantasmal
force, create illusion,
and the like) work
automatically on all natives
of London, no
saving throw allowed, as
noted above.
Astral spell: See the cleric
spell of the
same name.
Demi-shadow magic and shadow
magic
victims who fail their saving
throws take
only one-half normal damage.
Magic mirror: See the druid
spell reflecting
pool.
Maze: See the magic-user
spell of the
same name.
Shadow monsters, demi-shadow
monsters,
and shades will produce
monsters that
have one-half the given
hit points and inflict
half the given damage against
victims who
make their saving throws,
due to the remote
position of London with
respect to the Plane
of Shadow.
Shadow walk will function
correctly only
50% of, the time; 25% of
the time it will fail
outright, and the other
25% of the time it
will leave the illusionist
(and his companions,
if any) stranded on the
borders of the
Plane of Shadow.
Summon shadow will not function
because
of the remote connections
between
London and other planes.
Vision will not function
(see cleric spell
commune).
discounts. Let common sense
be your guide
here, and remember that
for most consumer
goods, British prices are
close to American
ones. At the time that this
module takes
place (June 1985), £1
is roughly equal to
$1.33. If the DM wishes
to have more
contemporary values, he
should check with
local banks on the current
exchange rates.
Adventurers will probably
be unfamiliar
with the concept of paper
money, travelers
checks, and bank accounts,
but coins from
an AD&D universe are
not going to be valid
currency in London. PCs
must exchange
their coins for pounds if
they intend to
spend their money in the
city. The following
exchange rates will be in
effect for the duration
of the party?s stay in London.
Roll
variations in exchange rate
every few days
or so in order to simulate
various current
economic pressures and shifts.
AD&D coin Value in British
pounds
Copper 1-5 shillings per
10 cp
Silver £6 + 1d4 per
sp
Electrum See below
Gold £150+1d10 per
gp
Platinum £320 + 1d20
per pp
Electrum is a gold-silver
alloy that is
rarely seen or used. Assume
that most
banks will be unfamiliar
with it and will not
be willing or able to trade
pounds for electrum
coins. If a jeweler or metalsmith
is
contacted, electrum may
be sold for varying
amounts (£10-100 per
ep). Fantastic metals
like mithral or adamantite
will bring varying
prices, depending upon the
DM?s
whims.
American Express and other
similar
institutions, located throughout
London,
will give 100% of cash value;
jewelers and
others will offer 60%. Either
way, even the
poorest character will be
well off here,
thanks to the gold-rich
and inflationary
economies of most fantasy-campaign
worlds.
Open Locks: Thieves
are going to have trouble with
modern cylinder locks, since
they are beyond
medieval state of the art.
To simulate
the impact this new technology
will have on
thief PCs, do the following.
For the purposes
of picking modern locks,
all thieves
are regarded as being 1st
level. For each
modern lock they successfully
pick, they
regain one level of experience
in lock picking
until they return to their
original level
of expertise. Combination
locks will stymie
thieves with an intelligence
of less than 15,
but those with an intelligence
of 15 or better
will progress as with normal
locks, except
that they cannot progress
farther than two
levels below their actual
level for picking
combination locks.
Find/Remove Traps:
The location and disarming of traps is
another matter entirely.
Until informed by
anyone familiar with what
technological
burglar detection/prevention
devices look
like, thieves will have
no chance whatsoever
to detect them, let alone
remove them.
However, once a thief is
given a sufficiently
detailed and accurate description,
the detection
of technological traps such
as photosen-
sors and motion detectors
is handled in the
same manner as lock-picking.
When instructed
by one who is knowledgeable
in
how to disarm such a unit,
the thief will still
have only a 10% chance to
deactivate it
(dexterity and racial bonuses
do not apply
here). Failure on this roll
indicates that the
device is immediately set
off.
On a larger scale of problems,
there are
the following:
Time: First, there
is a time differential
between the two sides of
the gate. The
ratio is roughly one day
(London) to one
month (AD&D universe).
Thus, if PCs
spend any significant length
of time in
London, they may be thought
dead and the
usual procedures (reading
of wills, selling of
property, whatever else
is done depending
on the milieu) will be performed.
The PCs
will NOT find any information
that suggests
that this time differential
exists before
they step through the gate;
let them find out
on their own.
Level Loss: This is
unlikely to occur, though, because
of the second problem. Because
of this
universe's isolation from
the magical energies
of the multiverse, those
influences
which allow AD&D game
characters to be
more powerful than modern
men will be
lacking. Like a vitamin
deficiency weakening
a person's body, the lack
of these vital
environmental factors will
eventually cause
a loss of energy (experience)
levels in PCs
who remain in London too
long. After the
first month (should the
party stay so long),
all characters will begin
to lose one level per
week until they return to
their home universe.
Excursions to the Astral
or Ethereal
Planes will, on a one-time
basis, delay this
weakening for one month,
but will not
prevent it. Once home, characters
will
immediately start to regain
levels at the
same rate at which they
were lost.
One further point before
the adventure
begins. The map provided
covers but a
small portion of the city
of London, although
many major sites of interest
are
included. Characters may
express an interest
in wandering beyond the
edges of these
maps. It is not recommended
that they be
allowed to do so -- even
if you, the DM;
have the resources and inclination
to let
them gallivant all over
the British Isles.
They have a mission to complete,
and they
will start to feel weak
after a while, too, so
short-circuit the PCs any
time they try to
move outside the module?s
area of focus.
The sudden appearance of
blue police vans
in front of the party is
a most effective, if
unsubtle, means of accomplishing
this; even
encounters that might have
otherwise been
mere casual run-ins can
become important
enough to distract the players.
After all,
London is a modern city,
full of the hustle
and bustle of the crowd
and the Crown.
There will always be something
happening
somewhere, something to
interest the party.
Keep them interested in
London -- don?t
give them a chance to wonder
about areas
not on the map.
Good luck. And now .
. .
