Settings

In a campaign choices must be made concerning the power level desired, the amount of magic in the setting, and the amount of technology which is present. In this section there will be discussion of the various choices, and the consequences for each setting for making such choices. Wanderstruck, unmodified, lends itself towards high-power and high-fantasy campaigns, with a moderate tech level. This is entirely acceptable, and a GM does not have to vary from this, but if you choose to, here are the options for modifying the base settings of the game.

**High and Low Fantasy**

High fantasy settings are rife with magic, and things such as spellcasters, dragons, and magic items are readily available. Wanderstruck as a base system is high fantasy, as many of the classes have the ability to cast powerful spells, or craft magic items, or call upon supernatural powers to aid them.

Low fantasy settings have magic and associated powers as a much more limited resource. The Arthurian legend is a classic example of low fantasy; all of the main characters are human, there are only two spellcasters, and magic items are rare and precious.

To play a low fantasy campaign using Wanderstruck, it is necessary to limit both the species and classes allowed for the players. Full casters and two-thirds casters should be limited, as well as the more inherently magical species, such as centaurs. The one-third caster classes (jinxer, paladin, etc.) may be edited to lessen or remove entirely the magical powers they have access to. While alchemy may be practiced, it will be closer to chemistry than true magic, although supernatural effects may be attained through alchemy still. The monsters in a low fantasy setting will for the main be other humans or animals; although some magical beasts may show up, they will be far rarer. Magic items will be few and far between; the party might only ever get one or two over the course of a long adventure.

There is also a middling course, wherein the setting is magical, but those who actively use magic are more rare. The Odyssey is a good example of this; the gods are active and influential, the various enemies encountered are magical and beyond what is real, but the main characters are all average humans; very clever and proficient humans, but humans nonetheless. The setting itself is drenched in magic, and powerful magic users and magic items exist. The extreme rarity of both magic users and magic items creates a more middling world; partial casters are an option, but full casters are still off the table. All species desired by the GM are available, and the options for enemy monsters is likewise expanded.

The level of magic available in a setting should be determined by the GM during the creation of the world; from none to all, or somewhere in between.

**High and Low Technology**

Just as the amount of magic in the world can differ, so can the availability of technology. Wanderstruck supposes a late-Medieval/early-Renaissance tech level, with gunpowder weapons existing, and some beginnings of steam-powered technology. This too might be changed to suit the needs of a setting, with tech scaled back to the Stone Age, or with the introduction of futuristic elements.

**Low Tech**:

The changes needed to make a game low tech depends on how far you wish to go. For a purely Medieval approach, gunpowder based weapons may be removed from the game. This change also removes the classes gunner, called, and machinist from the game unless a more suitable archetype is chosen. For Bronze Age settings, the following changes are suggested.

Bronze Age Armor

Armor in the Bronze Age was rarer, as bronze is less suitable for full suits of armor than iron or steel. For weapons, assume they are all made of bronze instead of steel, and this changes their hardness and HP accordingly. Iron weapons may be found in Bronze Age settings, but they will be very rare, as only meteoric iron can be worked in order to fashion weapons. The only ranged weapons available are bows, thrown weapons, and slings.

In Stone Age settings, armor is limited to leather, and only wood or wicker shields exist. Hand-axes, spears, daggers, clubs, maces, bows, slings, and staves are the only manufactured weapons available. While copper might be worked to produce jewelry, it is not a suitable material to create weapons out of, as it is too soft and does not hold an edge. Alchemy would also not exist as such in the Stone Age.

While the standard monsters can be used in these settings, care must be taken, as some abilities will be much stronger. The DR for Fey creatures is much stronger in the Bronze and Stone Ages. Magic items are also likely to be affected, as manufacturing processes were cruder in the Stone Age. The Bronze Age may replace iron or steel used as a component in the creation of most magic items with bronze.

Paper manufacturing and writing existed in some form in the Bronze Age, but not the Stone Age, and as such casters who use a spell book or write down their spells must be severely altered or banned from Stone Age settings.

The Stone Age does, of course, cover a vast period of time, and it is possible to play in any phase of that; from the later part when small towns and trading networks existed, through the very beginnings when all people existed as small groups of hunter-gatherers, without agriculture, pottery, or permanent architecture.

**High Tech**

Wanderstruck innately has some technological elements in it, from guns to alchemy, and the strange steam powered workings of the called or machinist classes. There is the option to introduce more futuristic elements however, either in broad or limited scope. Perhaps the players happen upon a crashed starship, long abandoned but with still active defenses. Maybe they are flung into the far future by a magic spell gone horribly wrong. Perhaps the GM simply wishes to create a world of steam or stars that still has magic and monsters in it. This section will give some rules for putting such technology into Wanderstruck.

No costs are listed on the table, as the cost of an item will vary based on how out of place it is. A plasma rifle is a powerful magic item in a Medieval setting, but might be standard issue in wars of the future.

SM stands for Stature Minimum, which is the minimum Stature needed to wield an item in one hand. Wielding a weapon with both hands reduces this by 5, and dual wielding increases it by 3.

Prof stands for proficiency; if this is not a high tech setting these all count as exotic weapons, otherwise 0 is simple, 1 is martial, and 2 is exotic.

Capacity refers to the number of rounds a weapon may fire before it must be reloaded.

For damage types, E refers to electric damage, F refers to force damage, and N refers to nuclear damage. Nuclear energy and radiation are explored later in this section.

For special, cone refers to the fact that the weapon in question launches a 30ft cone of projectiles, which is treated as an area of effect weapon. Shotguns count as cone weapons if they are sawed off. Grenades and rockets have a radius burst upon point of impact. Creatures in the area of effect may make G resistances to halve the damage, with the DC equal to 16 + CB of the weapon wielder. FA refers to the weapon in question being able to fire on “fully automatic”, which allows for one to three shots to be fired per second. Automatic fire should not be rolled to hit per shot, but may be rolled as a percentile per round, with modifiers based on CB and the AC of the target. Firing a machine gun into a herd of slumbering cattle is quite effective, albeit morally reprehensible; while shooting at moving targets over a distance is more difficult.

Flintlocks and blunderbusses are weapons from the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. Revolvers and breechloaders are weapons of the late 19th century. The weapons of rifle through bazooka are the weapons of the 20th and 21st centuries. Flechette guns through electric rifles are the “steampunk” weapons. The end of the list are the futuristic weapons. All of the futuristic weapons are powered by rechargeable fuel cells, instead of using standard ammunition. A creature who understands how to fire one gun will know how to fire another; reloading is another matter.

A machine gun is usually a mounted weapon, or stands on a tripod and is serviced by two people.

A grenade launcher is either a separate weapon, or an attachment to an automatic rifle. As a separate weapon, it weighs 15 pounds, and holds 10 grenades. As an attachment, it adds 5 pounds to the weight of the rifle, and holds only one grenade. Stature Minimum only applies to the launcher as a separate weapon.

A flechette gun launches a large number of small sharpened projectiles at opponents. Coil guns and rail guns both use an electromagnetic field to accelerate projectiles to a high rate of speed and launch them at foes. These guns subtract 1 from miss chance. An electric rifle shoots a bolt of electricity at a target within the range of the weapon. These weapons require electric fuel cells as ammunition.

A plasma launcher is worn as a full body pack, and requires two hands to operate properly. It launches a large projectile of superheated plasma at a target, which explodes upon impact. The radius for the explosion is 20ft. It is powered via fuel cells, which must be recharged. A Power score of 15 or greater is required to use this weapon.

A fusion gun is overkill in the best of circumstances, as it fires a small nuclear projectile. Anyone within 1000ft of the detonation must resist vs radiation exposure, unless properly shielded. After five minutes, everyone within 5000ft must do the same. The radius for damage dealt directly by the explosion is 250ft. This gun ignores miss chance, and ignores all cover short of battleship grade armor plating. Objects within a 200ft radius of the explosion also take damage, factoring in hardness. A Power score of 20 or greater is required to use this weapon.

A bulletproof vest covers only the chest and vital organs. Riot armor covers the full body with the same material as a bulletproof vest. Combat armor adds further protective layers to the armor. All of this armor is treated as armor by firearms, and firearm attacks against creatures wearing this armor are not made against touch AC.

A reflec suit provides full protection against lasers and ray spells, and causes them to reflect off harmlessly. It provides very little protection against any other kind of weapon. A reflec suit may be worn with other kinds of armor.

An enviro suit is not meant to be armor primarily, but is meant to allow creatures to survive in hostile environments. It protects the creature from all gas-based attacks, as well as radiation, poison and toxins which do not pierce the suit, extremes of temperature, and disease. The suit provides tolerance 5 against fire, cold, and corrosive. The suit has enough air to operate for four hours before the supply needs to be recharged.

Space suits and vac suits are two iterations of the same concept; a suit which allows the wearer to operate in the vacuum of space. It protects the wearer from radiation, gas-based attacks, vacuum, and extremes of temperature. The wearer is immune to cold damage, and has tolerance 15 fire. A space suit is bulkier and less agile than a vac suit. The suit has enough air to operate for four hours before the supply needs to be recharged.

Power armor is the ultimate in wearable combat armor. Scout armor focuses on speed and maneuverability, and has less armor and weapons storage, while marauder focuses primarily on combat. Power armor only functions as long as the power supply lasts, and when that ends it becomes dead weight. The armor has enough power and air enough for 5 hours of operation before a recharge is necessary. While power armor does not allow flight, it does prevent the wearer from taking fall damage. It also protects the wearer from radiation, gas-based attacks, vacuum, extremes of temperature, and light-based blindness. It provides the wearer with immunity to fire and cold, and tolerance 15 for electricity and acid. Attacks using firearms and laser weapons are not made against touch AC for creatures in power armor. A scout suit gives the wearer 4 extra P and 4 extra G. The marauder suit grants the wearer 8 extra P, and allows them to treat their S score as 5 higher for Stature Minimum for weapons. Power armor is normally only available in military combat situations, and is generally banned for civilian ownership, sale, or use.

Radiation:

The dangers of radiation have been mentioned several times, but it has some other effects which should be described in depth. Nuclear is another form of elemental damage, which some weapons or creatures deal. Nuclear damage also inflicts radiation poisoning unless protective armor is worn. The spell *Protection from Energy* will defend against this, and having protection from both poison and disease at the same time will as well. Incorporeal undead are unaffected by radiation, though corporeal undead are.

Radiation sickness has both acute and minor forms. Being within 200ft of a powerful source of radiation will cause the acute form, while being between 200ft and the outer limits will cause the minor form.

Acute radiation poisoning causes 1d6 V drain, and requires a VR every minute. Three successful resistances cause the condition to decrease to minor. For each failed resistance, the creature takes 1d6 V, 1 point of S, and is *nauseated*. If more than three resistances fail, the creature is also *staggered*. This damage will not heal naturally, but must be fixed with a spell such as *Heal*, or one more powerful than that. If a subject’s V drops to 0 from this, they die and may not be resurrected. Corporeal undead instead take 1d6+1 S drain, and must make S resistances. They disintegrate if this causes their S to reach 0. If their S begins below 0, they disintegrate on their first failed resist.

Minor radiation poisoning does 1d4 V drain, and then requires a VR every minute. Three successful resistances stops the damage from accumulating. On each failed resistance, the target takes 1 point of V and 1 point of S drain, and is *nauseated*. Once the poisoning is relieved, the creature is *nauseated* until healing magic is applied. The creature dies if their V drops to 0.

Future Settings:

The mixing of magic and technology allows for interesting possibilities. Magic spells such as *Teleport* may be modified to allow for space travel. Spells which are used for protecting people underwater may be modified to protect those in the vacuum of space. Alien ruins may be explored, and empires of various aberrations may span across the stars. The possibilities in the modern world track more closely to urban fantasy; with wizards working for the police, or the entirety of the supernatural hiding itself from the mundane world.

**High and Low Power**

This is the determination of how powerful the campaign world will be, and how powerful the characters will be in it. Campaigns of both sorts can be entertaining, but which sort you want should be determined when designing the world and the campaign. Low power campaigns occur between levels 1-4, when the party has a small impact on local events. Moderate power campaigns occur from level 5-9, when the party is very influential on the local level, and is starting to have effects more regionally. Instead of affecting a small town, they might now affect an entire duchy. Mid power campaigns occur from level 10-15, as the party is now a force which can affect entire nations, and is called upon to deal with pressing threats. At the high end, they can affect whole continents with their actions. High power campaigns occur from level 16-20, and here the party deals with threats that concern the fate of the entire world, or other planes of existence. Epic campaigns concern levels higher than 20, and often deal with existential threats to reality. One campaign may go through multiple power levels, depending on the length of the campaign and the will of the GM.

The world itself also has a power level determined by the GM. This describes the number of high-level NPCs which exist in the world, and the availability of powerful magic items. Low power worlds might have only a handful of NPCs above level 16, and great difficulty when attempting to purchase magic items. A high power world, conversely, will have many NPCs with character levels, and powerful magic items will be available for purchase. A low power world will see many peasants, and NPCs with class levels will generally be rare. Wars will be fought with armies, and while powerful spellcasters or high-level warriors might direct the battle, there won’t be enough of them to compose the entirety of forces, and the majority of the common soldiers will be base NPCs. In high-power worlds wars are fought between smaller groups of people with character levels, as a conventional army can be wiped out by a small number of powerful individuals.