KNIGHTS OF TORQUE & RECOIL

The Official Series Bible for the modern day pulp hero roleplaying setting! As an elite member of the Fairhope Foundation, you will battle the insidious Yellow Perilla Cult, a global criminal cartel! Drive fast cars! Shoot big guns! Use amazing super-science! All information is presented without rules system information, so you can adapt it to the system of your choice.

CENTRAL CONFLICT
The Cult of the Yellow Perilla is a centuries-old international criminal cartel dealing in everything from human trafficking and drug smuggling to illegal technology and forbidden science. The Fairhope Foundation, a charitable organization devoted to peace through knowledge, fields special teams of heroes known popularly as the Knights of Torque & Recoil to battle the Cult.

Gideon Fairhope and his team, the original Knights of Torque & Recoil, disappeared while on an expedition to the Amazon about 20 years ago. In spite of several follow-up excursions, no trace of the original expedition has ever been located. The disappearance of Dr. Gideon Fairhope remains one of historys great unsolved mysteries. The Foundation is currently run by Fairhopes granddaughter, Christina Fairhope Hallowell. The Foundation today gets a significant portion of its funding from licensing the stories of its heroes to video games, movies, television shows, comic books, action figures, and even paperback novels. As a Knight of Torque & Recoil, you are not only famous, youre merchandised.

HISTORY
In 1933 the famed explorer and scientist Dr. Gideon Fairhope set off to the Far East in search of a flower called the yellow perilla, a rare plant rumored to have amazing medicinal properties. In that pursuit he accidentally discovered and eventually made public the existence of an ancient cult of thieves and assassins. Members of this Yellow Perilla Cult use extracts of the flower to heighten their senses and reflexes, increase their strength and stamina, and even speed up the human bodys healing process. Fairhopes adventures led to the uncovering of sects of the Yellow Perilla Cult throughout Asia as well as in India, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the United States. Using the money he made from the miracle medical breakthroughs that resulted due to the yellow perilla, Fairhope started the Fairhope Foundation. While much of it was used for medical and scientific research across a variety of fields, a portion was set aside to create a team dedicated to tracking, investigating, and exposing the Cult and its operations. The Cult took offense at this, with some of the more traditional members feeling that the sacred flower had been defiled and disrespected, and others simply upset at the loss of profits and the overall damage done to their organization. They declared war on the Foundation, as well as any medical or scientific organization and any government that uses research or technology based on the flower.

FACTIONS & NPCS The Fairhope Foundation

The majority of the work done by the Fairhope Foundation is scientific research, medical research, and exploration. They also finance museums, underwrite educational television, public broadcasting, and documentary films. The Knights of Torque & Recoil are a very small part of what the Foundation does, but are the most well-known part. While some Knights work directly for the Foundation in another capacity, most are independent and operate under grants from and/or licensing agreements with the Foundation. Many use the opportunities provided by working as a Knight to fund their own research or humanitarian projects.

Scope: Global The Foundation has a presence around the world, not only with official offices but also through partnerships with museums, hospitals, and universities. There are also bolt holes in both urban areas and more remote hot spots, where Knights can equip themselves, rest, and recover during missions.

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Personnel: Average The Knights themselves can be classified as Small, with a handful or Intimate groups active at any given time. Actual employees and support staff of the Foundation constitutes an Average number of personnel for an organization with Global scope, although with no main campus where the bulk of the staff are located. Friends and allies of the Foundation represent a Global scope, with government agencies, law enforcement, and the typical citizen being generally helpful and positively disposed toward the organization. Equipment: Above Average
The Knights get to use cutting edge equipment, some of which is otherwise only available to governments and law enforcement. This is because, in many cases, the Foundation was involved in the gadgets invention. Weapons are largely non-lethal these days, although firearms and explosives are certainly not unheard of. Communications gear is first rate, and transportation is fast. Faster than that. No, faster than that even. Exceptional (high end) gear certainly exists in the Foundation laboratories and vaults, but is rarely issued to Knights for fear that it may fall into the wrong hands.

Personnel: Average
Cells are Intimate, and even the largest gathering of Cult members would be considered Small.

Equipment: Above Average

Most Cult operatives have Average or Below Average gear, depending upon the area; a child soldier, for example, probably has an old surplus rifle and no smartphone, while a dacoit leader probably has the best off-the-shelf equipment. The Above Average stuff is reserved for les moreaux, who tend not to flash it around in order to avoid advertising their status and arousing suspicion. Only Wu Xiang and his mist trusted henchmen get to use the Exceptional (high end) weapons and gadgets.

The Fifth Estate

A loosely-knit group of citizen journalists, the Fifth Estate operate a group blog and pervasive social media presence that challenges the accuracy of the (admittedly fictionalized) accounts of the Fairhope Foundations actions. They fact check every official statement, write reviews of every game, movie, and comic, and collect every action figure with a Knights names attached to it. At their best, they can help provide intel and convey messages for the Knights. At worst, theyre as bad as paparazzi for destroying privacy and blowing undercover operations. They frequently stumble into harms way and need to be rescued, to the frustration of most Knights.

The Yellow Perilla Cult

The Cult currently operates as a cross between a drug cartel and a terrorist organization. They engage in the drug trade, murder for hire, human trafficking, and essentially anything thats illegal, immoral, and potentially profitable. They operate as small cells of no more than 10 people, each reporting up to a single member of a higher cell, who in turn report to a single member of the cell about them, all the way up to the head of the Cult, Wu Xiang. Many operatives of the cult dont even know that theyre working for the cult. They may truly believe that they are faithful members of a radical extremist terrorist group, a religious cult, or an organized crime family. They may think their leader is the top boss, not just their contact in the cell above them. This has allowed the Cult to prosper and flourish, in spite of the major setbacks inflicted by the Fairhope Foundation and its Knights.

Scope: Global
Citizen journalists of the Fifth Estate can be found anywhere the Foundation operates.

Personnel: Small
There are only a handful of Fifth Estate members worldwide, and are typically encountered as individuals or in Intimate groups. They do hold conventions upon occasion, where their sympathizers can reach Large numbers.

Equipment: Average
The Fifth Estate members typically only have access to commercially available technology.

PLAYER CHARACTER ROLES

A member of a Knights team typically holds one (or more) of the following roles within a team. Other characters types are of course possible, subject to gamemaster approval.

Scope: Global

The Cult has operations in nearly every major city in the world.

Knights of Torque & Recoil: The Official Series Bible

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The Protagonist
If this were a pulp novel, this is the person whose name would be on the cover. Actually, this is the person whose name is in the title of the movie, comic, TV show, movie, and/or video game. The Protagonist is the team leader, the public face, the public relation person, and the tactician.

Office Building
The Fairhope Foundation has offices in many major cities, especially those with one or more prestigious universities. These deal mostly with grant writing, accounting, public relations, licensing, and marketing. A Knights suite will include a bullpen area with desks and a conference room, a weapons locker, and a small clinic for first aid and emergency medical care. There may be a motor pool located in an adjacent parking garage. Living quarters are off-site, usually personal residences.

Block

Stat: Diplomacy, Important Contacts, Information Gathering, Sexiest Person Alive

The Soldier of Fortune

Every team needs muscle, but the Soldier of Fortune is a bit more than that. They act as bodyguard to the Protagonist, lookout, scout, and overall expert at keeping team members from getting killed. A typical Soldier of Fortune has a military, intelligence, or law enforcement background.

Research Facility
Foundation research facilities may be located on or off campus. They include laboratories, a small medical clinic, office space, and a conference room. If a weapons locker exists, it is very small. There is often no motor pool, with Knights driving their own cars or Foundation-assigned vehicles. Living quarters are offsite, in private residences. What research facilities may lack in other amenities, they make up for in science! If state of the arm technology is needed, or something needs to be analyzed, anything and everything required is there.

Block Stat: Weapons Master, Athlete, Icy Stare, Perception

The Scientist
The Scientist covers a lot of ground, and can include doctors, engineers, computer specialists, and homegrown gadgeteers. Theyre the brains of the team, and tend to know at least a little bit about everything. They often function as the team medic and/or quartermaster as well.

Bolt Hole

Block Stat: Science, First Aid, Bureaucracy, General

Knowledge

The Mentalist
Powers in Knights of Torque & Recoil are very, very low-level psychic abilities. They might be able to bend spoons, move small objects, or create a tiny flame. They could have flashes of insight about the future, or be able to sense emotions or general intentions. Being a Mentalist may be their primary or secondary function on the team; theyre always able to offer other skills in the field.

A bolt hole is a compact, usually secret safe house stocked with all of the basic gear and amenities a Knight team might need. There is a very basic weapons locked, with Average weapons and a lot of spare ammunition. There is a clinic area with basic and emergency first aid supplies. There are cars, with gasoline reserves and tools and parts for basic repairs. Communications gear is state-of-the-art. Living quarters are sparse, often a common area with beds and a small kitchen stocked with non-perishable supplies. They arent intended to be long-term bases of operations, although they may become so out of necessity.

THE BAD GUYS

Operatives of the Yellow Perilla Cult, from top to bottom, are as follows.

Block Stat: Psychic Power (per), Perception, Sense

Motives, Stealth

Wu Xiang
Named after a traitorous general from Chinese history, no one outside the Cult has ever seen Wu Xiang and lived. There are rumors that he may be neither Chinese nor even any sort of Asian, but an American businessman, a British mad scientist, or an African warlord. Hes been confirmed killed (with a body, even) or presumed dead a dozen times, and each time he comes back. He may use doubles. He may have cloned himself, or be able to regenerate

LOCATIONS
There are three main types of facilities that Knights will spend their time at when not in the field. Any of these can serve as the teams primary headquarters.

Knights of Torque & Recoil: The Official Series Bible

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from mortal wounds. He may not be one person, but a dynasty passed from father to son, or a star chamber comprised of several powerful men. He may not be human at all, but a demon, or an alien, or an extradimensional being. Wu Xiang likes all of these rumors, because he started most of them. Anything that sews fear and confusion among his enemies is a good thing as far as he is concerned.

After her parents were killed by Wu Xiang, she was raised by her grandfather, Dr. Gideon Fairhope, and traveled with him extensively. She has an Olympic gold medal in fencing, is a black belt in several martial arts, has been a professional race car driver, and hold degrees in Business, Communications, and Computer Science. As a teenager, she was an active field agent for the Fairhope Foundation and one of the most popular Knights of Torque & Recoil ever. Upon Gideons death, she retired from the field to take over the Foundations day-to-day operations. Under her direction, she has grown the Foundation into a very wealthy organization holding hundreds of profitable patents, many lucrative corporate partnerships, and tremendous political influence. All Knights officially report directly to her. She remains a darling of the paparazzi. The media refer to her as the Queen of Hearts, for her beauty and charm as well as her sometimes ruthless, off-with-their heads business and political acumen.

Block Stat: Mad Scientist, Criminal Mastermind,

Master of Disguise, Man of Mystery

Les Moreaux
Genetically, surgically, and cybernetically enhanced beast-men, les moreaux are individually crafted to be the perfect henchmen for their mission. One moreaux could be a savage, terrifying monster, while another an intelligent, cultured mastermind. One could be bred to operate in the depths of the ocean, while another adapted to the thin atmosphere of the highest mountaintops. They may appear perfectly human, or as strange as a creature of myth, legend, or nightmare. It all depends on what the Cult needs.

Block Stat: Criminal Mastermind, Master of

Disguise, Ruthless Killer, Tech Expert

Block Stat: Business, Communications, Martial Arts,

Vehicle Operation

Dacoit
Wu Xiang and les moreaux refer to all underlings as dacoit. Named for the legendary bandits of India, this Cult caste includes everything from mobsters to terrorists, mercenary soldiers to pirates, street gang members to child soldiers. They are the muscle used to carry out their plans and schemes. Depending upon the region and the operation, they may be well trained, well paid professionals, fanatics who have been manipulated into believing in the rightness and truth of the Cults cause, or untrained, uneducated common people forced into service. In any case, Wu Xiang considers all dacoit to be easily replaceable and thus highly disposable.

Gideon Hallowell, G
The younger brother of Christina, Gideon is typically referred to as G to avoid confusion with his grandfather. While he is broad-shouldered, wellmuscled, and has his namesakes auburn hair, the resemblance ends there. Gs features are course, with a broad, flat nose and a heavy brow ridge that makes him resemble a Neanderthal. Gs spine was damaged in the explosion that killed his parents, so he walks with the aid of an exoskeleton of his own design. Between his appearance and his physical disability, he is very shy and works hard to stay out of the public eye. Once he gets to know and trust a Knight, he is warm, friendly, and sweet; until then, he is formal and polite, distant but never rude. He has been known to lose his temper when mocked or made fun of, and can pull apart the typical Knight with his bare hands, so Foundation members are quietly warned to be nice.

Block Stat: Criminal, Killer, Greedy, Immoral

SUPPORTING CAST
The Fairhope Foundation staff that Knights of Torque & Recoil player characters will encounter most.

Block Stat: Technology, Engineering, Upper Body

Strength, Intimidating

Christina Hallowell
Christina appears to be in her late 20s or early 30s, although she is at least two decades older than that. She has the body of a gymnast and the face of a supermodel, with long, golden hair and pale blue eyes.

Dr. Ethan Shen

Ethan is a slim Chinese-American in his late 20s, winner of several awards in physics. His role with the

Knights of Torque & Recoil: The Official Series Bible

David Webb (order #3430395)

Fairhope Foundation is that of Information Liaison. If a team needs anything, from political or industrial espionage intelligence to scientific research to blueprints of a public building to a common background check, Ethan is the point of contact. He and his team will pull together and get it to the Knights as soon as possible. While he will communicate with the Knights in a variety of ways, including phone, video conference, text, and email, he will never appear in person and his actual physical location is considered classified.

Block Stat: Intelligence Gathering, Computer

Science, Physics, Communications o

The Squires
The Squires are official Fairhope Foundation irregulars. Unlike the Fifth Estate, Squires are certified by the Foundation and are card-carrying allies. They are students, graduate students, first responders, members of law enforcement, medical professionals, and others who have taken courses offered by the Foundation in order to aid the Knights as well as their community. More than a fan club, they are a network of skilled people who believe in and support what the Knights stand for. o

A fight breaks out between members of the Fifth Estate and the Squires at a comic book convention. The Knights are dispatched to put a nice PR face on the incident, and discover the whole thing was orchestrated by the Cult. The Fifth Estate has stolen a piece of cutting-edge tech from the Foundation, and now the Cult is after them. The Knights have to save the blogger and recover the device before the Cult gets there. A local gangster has discovered that his boss is one of les moreaux, and has turned himself in to the police out of patriotic duty and for protection. This may or may not be a trap. Everyone thinks the new boyfriend of one of the Knights is a les moreaux spy. Hes not, but its providing a good distraction for the actual spy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Official Series Bible the guide to this and all other systemless settings published by Asparagus Jumpsuit. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension the archetypical modern pulp hero film, if you define modern as the 1980s. Big Trouble in Little China a truck driver runs afoul of a Chinese demon/crime lord and his mystical martial artist henchmen. It gets hilariously weird from there. Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze the archetype for all pulp heroes and their sidekicks, who actually began as a pulp magazine character. Jake Speed a lesser-known film from the 1980s about a hero whose exploits are documented in paperback adventure novels. The Compleat Shemp -- Another fine Asparagus Jumpsuit publication that deals with creating memorable supporting characters, including some of the archetypes discussed here. A great companion piece to this document or any Pilot. TVTropes.org a friend has referred to this site as LEGO blocks for screenwriters, but it works for other creative ventures as well, including RPG setting design.

Block Stat: Perception, First Aid, Self Defense,

Critical Thinking o

PLOT HOOKS AND RUMORS

o A flower with properties similar to the yellow perilla has been discovered in the Amazon near where Dr. Fairhope vanished. Could this be where he disappeared? Wu Xiang is kidnapping world leaders and replacing them with surgically altered and specially trained les moreaux. Dr. Shen is really a complex artificial intelligence, which is why he never appears in person. The Cult has kidnapped Dr. Shen. He must be rescued before they break him and learn Foundation secrets. A Fifth Estate member releases a blog post claiming shes discovered the true identity of Wu Xiang. She then disappears. o

o o

ASPARAGUS JUMPSUIT is Berin Kinsman (formerly known as UncleBear) and his wife, the artist Katie Kinsman.
Visit us at asparagusjumpsuit.com.

KNIGHTS OF TORQUE & RECOIL, THE OFFICIAL SERIES BIBLE 1992-2012 Berin Kinsman. All rights
reserved. This is version 1.1 of this document, released on November 27, 2012.

Knights of Torque & Recoil: The Official Series Bible

David Webb (order #3430395)