American Magic
Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:03 pm
by Killer Cyborg
AlexanderD's recent request for "ancient mystical lost treasures" got me thinking.
America may be young as a nation by most standards, but we still have a pretty rich history and plenty of strictly American folklore and customs.
One thing that bugs me in movies and TV shows is that whenever there's a powerful magical artifact, or creature/monster, or spell, or whatever, it's virtually NEVER American in origin. It's always European, or Asian, or African, or from pretty much any other place on the planet. Or from space.
And if it IS from America, it's always tied in to the Native Americans in some way. It's one of their legends (real or made up for the story), or their monsters, etc.
Personally, I'd like to see more stuff that taps into the history of the United States itself.
A couple of
good examples of the kind of stuff I'd like to see more of would be in the early seasons of the TV show
Supernatural.
The first example being the giant pentagram railway, and the second being the demon-slaying revolver made by Samuel Colt.
In this thread, I'd like to see some write-ups or ideas for Rifts artifacts/monsters/whatever that originate in the old United States.
Nothing that originates with Native American lore.
And, for the love of God, nothing that has anything to do with Roanoke, just because that's been done to death, re-animated, then done to death again.
Also, something fairly balanced, something proportional with the setting and system would be desired. It can be more powerful than average, but it shouldn't put Greatest Rune Weapons to shame, or make the Old Ones quake in their boots.
Here's one example of the kind of thing I'm looking for:
Old Bang-AllThis .48 caliber long rifle was owned by legendary keelboatmen, fur trapper, and hell-raiser, Mike Fink. Fink was an incredible sharpshooter, quite possibly the only man to ever beat Davy Crockett in a shooting match (although some say this was because of Crockett's reluctance to point his weapon in the direction of a female). Fink's reliable Pennsylvania flintlock only failed him once, resulting in the death of a beloved friend, William Carpenter. After this tragic event, they say that Fink threw down his rifle and cursed it.
Fink's own life seemed cursed as well from that point on, as many people believed that Fink's shooting of Carpenter was deliberate, a falling out over a woman. Shortly thereafter, Fink was shot and killed by Levi Talbot, in retaliation for Carpenter's death. Talbot later drowned in a river.
Fink's rifle was lost to time, for the most part, after the shooting of Carpenter. It has turned up in the hands of collectors occasionally, only to disappear again after tragic events. After the Coming of the Rifts, the boost in magical energy seems to have enhanced the weapon, turning it into a powerful artifact.Country of Origin: USA
Caliber: .48
Feed: Muzzle-Loader
Weight: 7.5 lbs, fully loaded
Barrel Length: 33"
Overall Length: 48"
Effective Range: 300' (normal range for long rifles is 150')
Damage: 1d4x10 (normal damage for .48 long rifles is 4d6)
Old Bang-All's damage is SDC against SDC targets, or MD against MDC targets. The weapon is magical, so it can affect vampires, werewolves, and other such creatures.
The shooter can make a successful "Pull Punch" check in order to reduce the rolled damage to any specific (lower) amount of damage.
Misfire Rate: 0% (normally 10%)
Rate Of Fire: Inexplicably easier to reload than a normal long rifle, but it still takes 2 actions to reload at for a first level character with WP Blackpowder Weapons. A 3rd level character with the WP can reload in only one action. At 7th level, a character can both fire and reload in one attack/action.
Strike Bonus +2 Natural bonus to strike (allowing for critical hits to be rolled on 18+ for normal characters). Also, unlike other firearms, the shooter's Physical Prowess strike bonuses count when firing this weapon.
Curse: The owner of this weapon slowly changes in temperament, developing issues with rage and jealousy. They also develop a penchant for playing practical jokes, particularly (and increasingly) cruel jokes, even injurious jokes. They also take more and more pleasure in bragging and showing off, to the point of challenging strangers to contests of strength or skill.
(Basically, read up on Mike Fink- the owner starts adopting his personality, particularly the less pleasant parts)
Re: American Magic
Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:34 am
by taalismn
Found it!
And now, a retro-PC version of American legends......
Paul Bunyan
They came in cautiously, and armed to the teeth. It had taken some time to gather them all, but when at last they made their move, they were ready. Fully four ten- hands of braves, five hands of armored warriors, and a hand of Serpents under the leadership of acting War-Chief Yonpacnac, a veteran of many combats against the Xiticix and Whites, approached the danger zone.
They burst into the edge of a clearing, ready for anything, weapons loaded and primed, with all the determined courage of men on a suicide mission. And they stopped, locked in their tracks by what they beheld.
Even the most battle-hardened of the warriors who had come for this, were taken aback by the devastation they were witness to... Even with the reports of the airborne warriors, they were still shocked by...Acres and acres, miles and miles of open ground lay where once a mighty forest stood. A great vista of stumps, piles of sawdust, rotting piles of leaves, and raw scars of drag paths greeted them. Already, the creeks, now revealed, stripped of their surrounding cover, were sluggish and swollen with silted runoff and eroded earth from the previous night’s rain.
“The Great Mother...She bleeds!” croaked a brave, who somehow found his voice.
Though he too was shocked by the sight, Yonpacnac took control of the situation as a good War-Chief should. “Enough! Fan out! Search and take note of all you see! But maintain continuous contact, and remain in mutual cover position! Danger may still wait here!”
Diligently, showing their professionalism, the braves broke up into recon groups and began methodically patterning the area of devastation, weapons at the ready, supported by their airborne brethren flying overwatch, and their heavy artillery nearby, watching for trouble. It took time to search the vast waste, but because they were thorough in their work.
But they at last found the evidence they had feared they would find.. the drag paths, the vehicle ruts, the foundations of campsites and buildings, the unmistakable imprints of giant boots tracking across the devastated landscape...followed by the equally large hoofprints of an enormous quadruped.....
With a dry mouth, and itching throat, Yonpacnac keyed his radio to the frequency reserved for the War Camp he had left many miles behind.
“Tell the elders....Tell them....The signs are obvious....The Destroyer has returned.”
Paul Bunyan is a figure out of American myth; an icon of a glorious time when a young United States of America was stretching its legs, pushing its borders, building bigger, faster, and more of it, and reaching out to explore and exploit frontiers and resources that seemed endless, infinite. Paul Bunyan epitomized the American frontier laborer; larger than life, bigger than anything imaginable, a rough and tumble self-reliant giant who ventured into a dark unknown and cut it all into logs, planks, and panels to feed an expanding America. And he was capable of anything; pushing up mountains, digging the Grand Canyon, straightening out rivers, driving a log jam across the Atlantic, and taming such incredible beasts as the Sidehill Waggler, the Flap-jaw Snooze, and the ape-faced Walabang. He was so big he combed hibernating bears out of his beard, tamed the giant Blue Ox Babe, and ran a lumber camp so big that its dining room had a locomotive to deliver flapjacks to the far end before they got cold. Together with other legendary American giants like Tony Beaver(of the South), and A.B. Stormalong( a marine giant who, among other things, sailed a ‘Yankee Clipper’ the length of Cape Cod, and kept tempests in his sock drawer) Paul Bunyan cast a giant shadow and left an equally giant mark on a country that didn’t believe in going halfway.
But by later standards Paul Bunyan could be considered far differently; as a merciless despoiler of the environment, and an unenlightened exploiter of finite natural resources, Paul Bunyan clear-cut entire forests into deserts, destroyed such incredible natural wonders as the Mountain that Stood on Its Head(with its suspended forest) and the Woods of Limber Lumber. He destroyed untold acres of natural habitat, and unknown numbers of unique and irreplaceable species. His impact on the Native American psyche was so great that the Indians dared not even speak of him, save as the Destroyer.
Now, with the return of magic, monsters, and wilderness to the Earth, and North America, Paul Bunyan once again walks the land, as both savior and destroyer, hero and villain. Bunyan could be considered a hero in that he clears inhospitable wilderness and kills the many monsters that live there, but his actions also threaten wilderness communities and those who make their living off the forests, including Whites and D-bees.
It is unknown if the current Paul Bunyan of the rather fantastic reports is a true native of Earth, a d-bee, or a supernatural alien intelligence posing as a myth of the American past. Whatever he or it is, Paul Bunyan is BIG.
Paul Bunyan isn’t particularly bright(it doesn’t take that much brains to sneak up on a tree), but he is rather blunt and to the point, with a decidedly direct, brute force, approach to problem solving. He is devoted to his followers, and will do just about anything for them, but is neutral(i.e. cold and noncommittal, if not outright arrogant and surly) towards anyone else, especially those who approach him with a complaint. He is also an incredible braggart, given to spinning tall tales, and boisterous merrymaking(at which time its especially prudent to stay out of his way; a hundred-foot tall giant getting swaggeringly drunk and clog-dancing is a truly dangerous entity). Rough-and-tumble types will take an immediate shine to the big galoot; anyone else will find the giant to be course, rude, and full of himself. Has a soft spot for small children and animals, but has never married, or had kids of his own(though, given American folklore, anything is possible).
It is unknown exactly what keeps the massive giant going. Though he is well-known to consume massive (legendary) quantities of food, at his reported rate of consumption, he would devastate as much farmland in a sitting as he does acres of forest in a day’s work. Yet no evidence of large scale pilferage outside the areas of deforestation have ever been reported. This has led to speculation that Bunyan and his camp followers may be supplied from an outside force, such as a dimensional gate. This, in turn, has fueled theories that Bunyan may be an alien entity who is directed by other forces; rumors of massive planet-scale strip-mining and lumber-cutting operations by unknown parties working for the Naruni or other unscrupulous mega-entities abound, and may explain Bunyan’s hiatus from Earth. Another favored theory is that Bunyan feeds off the bio-energy of the plant life(and whatever fauna he catches in the process) he destroys.
Paul Bunyan(or whatever he is) has kept his operations(depredations) to the American North/NorthWest and Canada, but a wilderness scout who once worked with his camp has reported that several times during his stay there, the giant had said something about “those forests on that rock in the middle of the Atlantic look mighty tasty...like they haven’t felt the touch of an ax in centuries...”
Alignment: Anarchist
Age: Unknown(not likely to predate the formation of the United States of America)
Sex: Male
Height: 80 ft
Weight: 25 tons
Physical Description:
A mountainous giant of a man, with a muscular, rugged physique, thick, leathery, skin with a heavy outdoorsman’s tan(I.e. arms and above the neck). Has thick wiry black hair, and a heavy growth of beard. Dresses in lumberjack’s outfit of heavy woolen cap, jeans(often with suspenders, and heavy boots.
Disposition:
Rough around the edges, tough guy with a rustic sense of humor, a he-man’s appreciation for the simple pleasures of life, and a rather bad temper. Bunyan is also capable of displaying considerable friendliness and charm, but he also tends to be condescendingly patronizing towards smaller people. Likes to be helpful(especially if asked nicely), but tends to take a straightforward, brute-force approach to solving problems, with little thought to long-term consequences(he may, for instance, dam up a river to facilitate a log rafting operation, and not realize who he’s flooding out further down the river when the dam lets go). Don’t even try to talk to him about “soil erosion”, or “conservation”....it’s way beyond him. Also has trouble conceiving of life outside timbering; while he is aware of Indians and other peoples, he just can’t see them and their cultures as anything other than interesting curiosities, and he cannot see any link between them and his own activities.
Fairly tolerant towards non-humans, but is just as likely to mistake particularly unusual-looking beings for particularly ugly vermin, and any non-humans joining his camp, while readily accepted, are likely to be hung with some oddball, or slightly derogatory, nickname like “Noze”, “Snoky”, “Half-Pint”(as in Dwarf), etc.... Notably partial towards beings of Scandinavian descent(many of his human cutting crews were Norwegian or Swedish immigrants) no matter how funny-looking, so a non-human is likely to get more attention and respect if they can pass themselves off as Scandinavians.
Physical Attributes/Superlatives:
IQ: 10
ME: 18
MA:24
PS: 70(supernatural)
PP: 20
PE: 30
PB: 10
SPD: 45
(ISP): None
(PPE): 500
Hit Points: 400 HP
SDC:1,000 SDC(Non-MDC worlds)
MDC:10,000( 3,000 MDC on Rifts Earth)
Horror/Awe Factor: 12
Natural Abilities:
Regenerate 4d6 MD per minute
Magic: Paul Bunyan instinctively knows a number of _Earth Element Warlock_ spells that he uses to alter the landscape around him. All of the following are performed at a 15th level of mastery:
Identify Minerals
Locate Minerals
Dowsing
Rock to Mud
Create Mound
Dig
Chasm
Grow Plants---It is unknown if Bunyan is consciously aware of this ability of his; it seems to be always on. As a result, the plant life around him always seems to be larger and lusher than anyway else(before its cut down, of course). Some analysts of supernatural beings think that this spell is evidence of Bunyan’s efforts to appease the environmentalists out for his head, others feel that Bunyan sees the lush plant growth around him and is deluded into thinking that there are limitless reserves of timber and that his work has no effect on the ecosystem...unaware that it is his own supernatural nature that fuels the plant growth.
Psionics: None
Level of Experience: Equivalent to 10th level Wilderness Scout
Skills of Note: Pilot Boat, Boat Building, Math: Basic, Language/Literacy: (American-English, Swedish, French, Norwegian), Carpentry, Blacksmithing, Land Navigation, Wilderness Survival, Identify Plants and Fruits 98%, Hunting. Geology 80%,. Hand to Hand: Expert, Boxing, Wrestling, Swimming 90%, WP Ax, WP Chain, WP Blunt, WP Rifle/Shotgun
Combat Bonuses: +7 save vs Horror Factor, +9 save vs magic, +2 save vs psionics,+5 strike, +8 parry/dodge, +5 pull/roll with punch,+45 to SDC damage.
Combat:
Actions/Attacks per Melee: Six
Restrained Punch---2d4 MD
Full Strength Punch---2d4x10 MD
Power Punch-----4d4x10 MD
Stomp---1d6x10 MD
Kick---2d4x10 MD
Body Block/Throw/Tackle---1d4x10 MD plus victim loses initiative and one attack
Crush/Squeeze: 1d4x10 MD
Enemies: Indians, environmentalists, wilderness monsters, Millennium Trees
The goddess Artemis has warned Bunyan that he ever comes near the forests of Europe, she’ll stick him full of arrows. It can be safely assumed that Native American gods and goddesses are out to get him as well.
Allies: Babe, the Blue Ox. Settlers, loggers, and miners. Paul Bunyan also has a 3,000+ man logging camp crew(effectively an army), mostly 1-5th level vagabonds and wilderness scouts, but with a few mutants(with superpowers like Superhuman Strength, Extraordinary Endurance, Bad Attitude, and Invulnerability---they made them tough in the good ‘ole days)and lots of sharp tools.
During one of his early visits to Scandinavia, Bunyan met the Norse god Thor, and the two exchanged pleasantries, but no more. However, Bunyan thinks the two could get along famously, and he’d just love to test the Thunder God’s strength in a wrestling match, or a hammer and axe contest of skill. Thor is aware of this, and hopes to oblige the young giant with a test of strength, confident that he can wipe the floor with the young American upstart(Incidentally, reports of the two meeting have fueled some obscure rumors that Bunyan may be Thor’s bastard child, sired in an illicit affair with a giantess, or an Indian spirit during Lief Erickson’s exploration of North America).
Loki, on the other hand, would love to trick Bunyan into, say, pruning Yggdrasil... He’s also toyed with the idea of fooling Thor and the giant Hrungnir with the tale that Bunyan is Hrungnir’s bastard...just to see Bunyan caught up in the war between Asgardians and Giants.....adding a New World element to the entertainment...
Equipment/Possessions:
Double-bladed Ax---Bunyan’s favorite weapon is this enormous black-metal axe, that is really, whether he is aware of it or not, a greater rune weapon! When Bunyan gets to whirling this thing over his head, lightning flashing, most intelligent beings take cover!
IQ: 10
Damage: 2d6x10 MD
Magic: Elemental Magic(Air)( 4 times per day,equivalent to 6th level Warlock)
Call Lightning, Whirlwind, Electrical Field, Electro-Magnetism
Chain Axe---An enormous double-bladed axe mounted on a 100 ft long chain, designed for sweep cutting entire stretches of forest(no selective cutting here). Used in battle, the Chain axe allows Bunyan to smash large bodies of enemies, and to catch them in a back-and-forth sweep. Does 4d6x10 MD slash damage
Shotgun 0’ Doom----This is a Bunyan-scale double-barrel shotgun-----which is to say, it’s an artillery piece that would only be found on wet-navy battleships. The only good thing about this weapon is that it takes Bunyan a full melee to reload one of the barrels(2 melees to fully reload), giving potential targets a chance to say a few Hail Marys or give the prayer wheel an extra spin. The gun also gives off a sonic boom similar to a Boom Gun’s(with regard to effects, but with an area of effect 4 times as large) and a recoil so tremendous, it knocks back even Paul Bunyan 20-30 feet. .
Bunyan has been known to use this Armageddon gun on supernatural intelligences(he once blasted a Goqua into well-deserved oblivion with a double-barreled blast of rock salt) and annoyances like Death’s Head Transports.
Range: 2 miles
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per barrel
Rate of Fire: Limited to one or two shots per melee
Payload: 2 shots
Money: Bunyan really doesn’t deal with the money-end of operations in his camp, leaving the figuring to his accountants, but he can be assumed to have the equivalent of several million credits available to him for buying personal equipment, special projects, and loans to his lumberjacks.
Babe the Blue Ox
This giant mutant ox is clearly a product of magic mutation; the animal fairly shimmers with blue psychic energies, and can unleash ley line storms and earthquakes with a snort and a stomp. Its been opined that Babe actually feeds off magic energy; otherwise the giant steer would have grazed off the entire continent with his feed demands. The strength of this beast is colossal; Babe could easily pull a battleship across the continent, let alone the sleds of lumber his master cuts down. Not very fast, but tough as an...yeah, well, you know what Babe is...Babe can knock over and trample most robots and send the other types running. Its even rumored that Babe once tried to gore Odin’s horse Slepnir, while visiting Europe, over a patch of particularly fine grazing pasture.....this tale remains unconfirmed.
Alignment: Anarchist
Age: Unknown
Sex: Male
Height: 80 ft at the shoulder, 200 ft long
Weight: 80 tons
Physical Description:
Disposition: Ornery and stubborn. Can be quite friendly and outright warm if looking for a scratch or a handout, or if dealing with children and other vulnerable types(who are also likely to give him a pat, scratch, or handout) but can turn violent at a moment’s notice. Really only respects Paul Bunyan(the only one able to wrestle him into the ground).
Physical Attributes/Superlatives:
IQ:5 (High animal intelligence)
ME: 10
MA: 10
PS: 90(supernatural)
PP:10
PE: 50
PB: 5
SPD: Can run at 100 MPH
(ISP): none
(PPE):300
Hit Points: 500
SDC: 500(Non-MDC worlds)
MDC:12,000(4,000 on Rifts Earth)
Horror/Awe Factor: 13
Natural Abilities:
Because of Babe’s magical nature, magical attacks do HALF damage to the shimmering blue animal; the energy is simply absorbed by the critter.
Babe’s bellow acts in the same way as a Boom Gun’s sonic boom, with regard to hearing damage and disorientation. Can roar once per melee.
Magic: Summon Ley Line Storm---Once a day, Babe can unleash a Ley Line Storm, covering 1 square mile and lasting 3d6 melees. Babe is completely unaffected by Ley-Line Storms.
Psionics: None
Value: If Babe were sold as a slave, he could easily fetch hundreds of millions of credits in places such as Splynn...of course, there would then remain the issue of taming the beast(not bloody likely).
There’s also a market for Babe’s dung, which seems to have almost magical properties in accelerating plant growth...A small company, Blue Ox Fertilizer, rumored to be a subsidiary of the Bunyan Lumber Company, sells the manure for 500 credits per 100 lb bag.
Skills of Note: Swimming 45%
Combat Bonuses:
4 attacks per melee
Kick 1d6x10 MD
Stomp 6d6 MD
Hindquarter Kick(2 attacks) 4d6x10 MD
Body Block/Tackle 3d6x10 MD
Head Butt
Gore: 1d4x10 MD
Bite: 6d6 MD
Enemies: Intelligent plant life, environmentalists, Native Americans
Allies: Paul Bunyan
Equipment/Possessions: None
Hels Hanson
Hels Hanson is worthy of note: He’s Paul Bunyan’s work crew foreman and therefore likely to lead up any force of Bunyan’s minions against his enemies. Hels Hanson is also a giant, though he’s a mere 25 ft tall. Hanson makes up for this, though, in being a hot-tempered psychotic. Without daily doses of a mineral called ‘snoose’(a material with the natural volatility of nitroglycerine---and possibly a form of red phosphorus), Hels quickly degenerates into a psychotic state that can quickly boil over into a full-scale berserker rage. With a full head of steam, it’s been told, Hels has even punched out Bunyan(though he was months in recuperating afterwards, both from the damage he did to his arms, and the subsequent beating Bunyan handed him afterwards).
This has fueled speculation, given Hanson’s ethnic background, that he may be a minor Nordic Berserker deity, or a rather human-looking Gigante(or unusually tall Jotan). Whatever, Hels Hanson is best avoided.
Hels is also somewhat more pragmatic than Paul Bunyan when it comes to technology; while Bunyan shuns high-tech armor and weapon, Hels has been known to wear a suit of heavy MDC armor and tote around heavy weapons like railguns and plasma cannon when his boss isn’t looking.
Alignment: Anarchist
Age: Unknown
Sex: Male
Height: 25 ft
Weight: 1000 lbs
Physical Description: A tall. muscular built humanoid with short scruffy blonde hair(buzz-cut), a craggy, pug-ugly face, and glaring (often bloodshot) eyes). Often has a dusting of bristles on his face. Large hands, with calloused knuckles(gets a lot of use).
Disposition: Gruff, mean-tempred, doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Badass who just happens to be extremely efficient and well-organized, but tends to try to manage things HIS way. Will gladly take second-place under someone else, but only so long as its evident that other person can whip his ass when he gets out of control.
Physical Attributes/Superlatives:
IQ: 9
ME: 10
MA:10
PS: 30
PP:18
PE: 25
PB:9
SPD:25
(ISP): None
(PPE):80
Hit Points: 150
SDC:210(Non-MDC worlds)
MDC:210
Horror/Awe Factor: 13
Natural Abilities:
Berserk----Without a dose of Snoose once every 24 hours, Hanson begins to get twitchy, irritable, and mean tempered,. At the end of 48 hours, his hostility index rises to critical, and any disturbance has a 30% chance of setting him off into a Berserker state. At the end of 72 hours without snoose, he will go into a full-blown Berserk.
When Berserk, Hanson is +6 to save versus horror factor, +1 to initiative, +1 strike, parry, and dodge, and has an additional attack per melee. He is also +6 to physical strength(PS), +10 to save vs all types of mind control and illusions, +8 save vs magic, and +8 vs psionic attack. However, all skills are performed at -60%.
Despite many appeals, Bunyan has never attempted to get Hels into any sort of drug rehab program; to put it bluntly, he likes Hels a little crazy and hot under the collar.
Magic: None
Psionics: None
Level of Experience: 9th level Wilderness Scout
Skills of Note:
Carpentry. Hand to Hand: Expert. Boxing, Athletics, Wrestling, Basic Mechanics, WP Blunt, WP Whip, WP Axe, WP Energy Heavy, WP Heavy
Combat Bonuses:
5 attacks per melee
+5 strike
+8 parry and dodge
+15 to damage
+5 roll with impact/punch
+4 pull punch
+5 save vs poison/magic
+4 save vs horror factor
Restrained Punch 5d6 SDC
Full Strength Punch 3d6 MD
Power Punch(2 APMs) 6d6 MD
Kick 3d6 MD
Stomp 1d4 MD
Body Block/Tackle 1d4 MD
Enemies: Anyone who gets in his way
Allies: Paul Bunyan
Equipment/Possessions of Note:
Heavy MDC Armor: Hels has a suit of UT Titan Armor(195 MDC) specially made for his oversized frame. He is also very enthusiastic about heavy weaponry and has a collection of rail guns, plasma cannons, rocket launchers, and probably a subscription to the Big Gun of the Month club. In fact, when he’s not terrorizing employees, expect to find him out removing stumps with his latest high-caliber toys. His favorite melee weapon, however, is a Gargoyle Blast Whip he acquired in Germany.
Bunyan’s Lumbering Camp
Paul Bunyan has a 3,000+ man logging camp crew(effectively an army), mostly 1-5th level vagabonds and wilderness scouts, but with a few mutants(with superpowers like Superhuman Strength, Extraordinary Endurance, Bad Attitude, and Invulnerability---they made them tough in the good ‘ole days)and lots of sharp tools, heavy vehicles, and big guns. Consider these guys to be a real bunch of Real Men(few, if any, women have been observed in the camp)(GMs...feel free to counter these guys with Real Environmentalists---nothing like getting the adventurers caught in an automatic weapons-and-chainsaws firefight between the Timber Industry and the Greeners).
The camp is highly mobile and Bunyan can have his people packed up and ready to move in a day or so. They can be found just about anywhere; if there isn’t timber to be had, they’ll settle down to strip-mining or other environmentally conscious activity to pass the time.
Formatted as a Mercenary Company, Paul Bunyan’s camp is as follows:
Size: Equivalent to Mercenary Army 3,000-5,000 members(300 pts, plus 20 for budget/weaponry, and 20 pts for outfits)
A.Sponsorship: Independents(+10 pts)
B.Outfits---Specialty Clothing(20 pts)---All of Bunyan’s workers are issued working clothing suitable to the job; rugged heavy-duty wear, hardhats, protective equipment, etc. Special outfits, from swampsuits and arctic gear, to radiation suits(for mining the neutronum spike forests of Spiny IV) to spacesuits are available for those special jobs
C.Equipment---Unlimited Equipment(50 pts)---Has the full range of support gear and equipment, including a fully-staffed clinic(for those times when the chainsaw don’t go where it’s supposed to).
D.Vehicles Specialty(30 pts)---Bunyan’s vehicle garage includes special lumbering and mining vehicles. If in an off-planet setting, will have access to a few run-down heavy transport freighters and trampers.
E.Weapons, Power Armor, and ‘Bots--Extensive(40 pts)--Bunyan’s people tend to well-armed and equipped. Favorite weapons include bladed weapons---vibroblades, axes, and chainsaws, but also expect to find plasma cannon, laser cutters/cannon, and explosives(for obstacle clearance, naturally)
F.Communications: Full range(15 pts)
G. Internal Security: Tight(10 pts)---It’s a working camp, so security isn’t what it could be, but there is the threat of monsters, monkeywrenchers, hayduker environmentalists, and Real Men getting into fights, so there is a strong security presence.
H.Permanent Bases: None---Frequently moves his base of operations with few, if any permanent facilities(mostly rented warehouses and the occasional recruiting/business office). The Mobile Camp itself would count as a Company Town(40 pts) on wheels.
I. Intelligence Resources: Scout Detachment(5 pts)---Bunyan typically has a few wandering bands of scouts out hunting or looking for new lands to exploit
J.Special Budget: Large Loans(25 pts) ---Up to a million credits are available for special work and assignments.
K.General Alignment: Anarchist and Unprincipled(4 pts)---Most of Bunyan’s people are hard-workin’ folk trying to make a living off the land and sending money home to the family.
L.Criminal Activity: None really aimed at those outside the camp, but given the rogues and rough-and-tumble types making up Bunyan’s camp, expect there to be some rather crooked floating card-games, and more than a few camp followers with a penchant for trouble. Equiv. to Con Man and Prostitutes(10 pts)
M: Reputation/Creditials: (In)Famous(50 pts)...Bunyan is well-known, legendary in fact. Many community leaders will hire him to clear land and exploit local resources, and wink at any infarctions or suspect business practices.
N. Salary: Good(10 pts)
Paul Bunyan’s Mobile Camp
It’s worth noting that Paul Bunyan’s camp is made up of modular mobile structures that can be either quickly folded up and towed, or quickly jacked up on wheels/runners and hitched together to form an enormous ‘train” for movement. Traditionally, Babe the Blue Ox did the hauling, but Bunyan has been known to lend a hand, or use heavy hauler engines when the camp must be separated into one or more “trains”. Some of the modular buildings in Bunyan’s traveling camp can be quite impressive; Bunyan has invested in a modular barracks system in which the separate housing modules can be rearranged or stacked to form multistory complexes if needed . All barracks/living modules have independent life support and emergency power, and have from 400-800 MDC per floor. Typical warehousing and support structures will have from 100-500 MDC. The Mobile Camp snakes along for over three miles and typically moves at about 25 MPH.
The Great Griddle
“It was horrible...for miles the air was choking with the smell of bacon fat, cooking sausage, and cornmeal....like the kitchen of a giant greasy spoon...normally we wouldn’t have minded it, but we were doing some trackin’, and most of us hadn’t had much more than a nibble of hardtack and a sip of water while on the trail. Plus our DogBoy sniffer, who was leadin’ us, went half out of ‘er mind and lost the trail!”
-Eddie Morris, deputy, Cascatown constabulary.
The Great Griddle is another thing worthy of mention. For some obscure reason, Bunyan’s men run off a traditional breakfast fare of eggs, sausage, and ...flapjacks. Those who survive months of this cholesterol-heavy diet without blowing an artery are Real Men with a reserved spot in the camp. In order to make the massive amounts of pancakes the giant camp requires, Paul reasoned, a giant cast iron griddle was needed.
This massive disk of magically hardened iron(8,000 MDC) measures a full half-mile across and weighs in excess of 1,000 tons. Paul Bunyan is the only one who can move the massive thing, rolling it on its edge like an enormous tire. Heating up the thing requires conveyor-belts of coal and firewood to feed its firepits. Greasing it requires teams of boys skating on sides of bacon fat(cholesterol has never been a concern of Bunyan’s Real Men). Pancake mixture is poured onto the griddle from overhead line buckets and sluice gates, the cooking mixture flipped with strategically placed charges of explosives. All in all, a pretty impressive amount of effort to go to for the morning stack and syrup.
Why not just build dozens of conventional steam tables? Because the easy way lacks the big, ludicrous, impressive extravagance of American Legend.
More practically, to the adventurer who just HAS to run across the griddle during an encounter with Paul Bunyan and his crew, one should be careful of some points.
One, the griddle’s greased surface is slippery, and characters must make a balance roll every melee they’re in motion, or lose their footing. Giant robots must make a control roll at -15%.
Second, the sputtering and steaming surface of the griddle is hot. Falling against it does 1d6 SDC to exposed flesh.
Other dangers include smothering in batter, getting entangled in, or coated by batter(particularly hard on sensitive sensory equipment and optics) and being caught by one of the dynamite charges(4d6 SDC, or 1d4 MD for megadamage beings). There’s also the danger of being caught by the camp cooks, who are likely to be rather excited by these weirdoes running across their griddle. Taking a flying tour of Paul Bunyan’s mess tents with a mob of cleaver-waving maniacs in hot pursuit can make the players wish they’d stumbled into some other American folktale instead...like, say, _Star Trek_.
(the obvious choice would be his axe).
Perhaps when you wear it, you become a "Smooth Criminal" and get 98% to pick pockets, prowl, and concealment.