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MODIPHIA
ISSUE #2 SUMMER 2017 modiphius.com
EXCLUSIVE!
Strategy guides and
background articles for
Modiphius range of games,
including...
Achtung! Cthulhu
Conan
Space 1889
Star Trek Adventures
Airfix Battles
A NEW STAR TREK ADVENTURES MISSION AND
AN INTERVIEW WITH STAR TREKS RICK STERNBACH
CONTENTS
FOREWORD 05
A welcome from editor Paul Cockburn.
D-DAY COUNTER-ATTACK 17
New cards and scenarios for Airfix Battles.
40
Achtung! Cthulhu fiction from John
Houlihan.
WEAPONS AS TOOLS 40
Getting the most from your gear in the
Conan RPG.
DESIGNER ON DECK 44
Modiphia chats with Rick Sternbach,
Star Trek production illustrator and designer
17 28
MODIPHIA Modiphius Entertainment Ltd 2017. CONAN 2015 Conan Properties International LLC (CPI). CONAN, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, HYBORIA and related logos,
characters, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of CPI). All rights reserved. AIRFIX Hornby Hobbies Ltd. ACHTUNG! CTHULHU TM
and 2012-2017 Modiphius Entertainment Limited. Star TrekTM & 2017 CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights
Reserved. Fallout 2017 Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company. All Rights Reserved.
ASSASSINS OF INFINITY 48
More details on the Hassassins of the
Infinity RPG.
66
INTO THE WASTELAND 62
New sculpts and an overview for the Fallout:
Wasteland Warfare miniatures game.
MUTANT CHRONICLES 66
We made it! All the latest news, and whats
next, plus the Metropolitan Prophets.
CREDITS
Publisher
Chris Birch
Editor
Paul Cockburn
64
Publishing Assistant
Salwa Azar
MUTANT CHRONICLES and related logos, characters, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of Mutant Chronicles International Inc.
All rights reserved. INFINITY is Corvus Belli S.L.L.2014. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information retrieval system without written permission of the publisher, save where indicated for use in play. Any trademarked names
are used in a historical or fictional manner; no infringement is intended.
BOOKS COMING SOON
Conan the Thief
Conan the Mercenary
Conan the Pirate
Conan the Brigand
The Book of Skelos ACCESSORIES
Conan the Wanderer Gamemaster Screen
Conan the Adventurer Geomorphic Tile Sets
Conan the Scout Doom & Fortune Tokens
Conan the King Q-Workshop Dice
Nameless Cults Card Decks
Ancient Ruins & Cursed Cities Stygian Doom Pit
Conan Monolith Boardgame Sourcebook Fabric & Poster Maps
Conan and the Shadow of the Sorcerer Character Sheet Pad
Legendary Beasts & Otherworldly Horrors Conquerors Bag modiphius.com/conan
2017 Conan Properties International LLC (CPI). CONAN, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, HYBORIA and related logos, characters, names,
and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of CPI. All rights reserved. ROBERT E. HOWARD and related logos,
characters, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of Robert E. Howard Properties Inc. All rights reserved.
The 2d20 system and Modiphius Logos are copyright Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. 20152017. All 2D20 SYSTEM text is copyright Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.
4 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
FOREWORD
W
hen I was a have an idea for any of our games that youd
kid, a time now like us to showcase, then send a synopsis
uncomfortably (or even the whole thing) through to me
closer to the era via support@modiphius.com, with the word
of R E Howard SUPPORT as part of the subject line.
than the current
day, I was obsessed with Conan. I bought all Modiphia is here to shine a light on these and
the books, even the obvious cash-ins by later many other titles, and to provide more and
writers; I adored Barry Windsor-Smiths Marvel more cool new stuff for each of them. Im more
comic books; there was even a time when I than a little old-school in my custodianship
thought Conan The Destroyer was an OK film. of a games magazine as much as possible,
alongside authoritative new content from the
Our Cimmerian friend isnt quite the A-lister authors of individual games, I want to hear
today that he was back then, which has been from people playing the games, and how they
a pity during the era of role-playing games, are using those titles out in the wild. Wed love
both tabletop and computer. Sub-consciously, to hear from people writing gaming blogs,
I think any number of characters I played in publishing fanzines or vblogs, or just with
AD&D or similar titles would have been quite enough time to write us an email with their
happy to crush their enemies and see them observations, and their new ideas.
driven before them, but there would always
have been some paladin tut-tutting, or a Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this second issue
ranger saying we could sneak around the of Modiphia, and find a few ideas in here to
back of the fortress. Still, I always found that enhance your favourite games. Well see you
kicking the door in and yelling Im coming to all again in the autumn.
get you! tended to get everyone on the same
page as far as tactical planning goes. Paul Cockburn
Editor
Another favourite of my youth was, of
course Star Trek, and its awesome watching
Modiphius bring new energy to the universe
of Starfleet through Star Trek Adventures.
Im delighted that we can publish here some
reader contributions the first of many such
for all our different titles, Im sure. If you
SUMMER 2017 5
Achtung!
Cthulhu
ADVENTURES
HOW TO WRITE FOR THE SECRET WAR
Want to contribute to Modiphius
oldest and best loved RPG?
John Houlihan is here
to show you how...
A
chtung! Cthulhu is both But with both a recently-launched Living
Modiphius oldest and Campaign which began with A Light on
one of its best loved the Mountain, and work on the brand new
roleplaying games. Since Forest of Fear campaign book also now
2013, players and GMs well underway, the High Command behind
have been wading through Achtung! Cthulhu is seeking to recruit a new
its exciting and unsettling World War Two set of writers and contributors to power its
setting, battling fiendish Black Sun villains, continuing adventures. Do you fancy your
exploring ancient ruins and dark secrets, and chances? Have you ever wondered what it
recoiling in terror from unspeakable horrors takes to write a compelling Achtung! Cthulhu
summoned from the outer dark. scenario? Well, wonder no more.
6 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
WHAT IS ACHTUNG! Any new adventures will need to exist
CTHULHU? within this canon and not directly contradict
this established lore. Its top secret at the
Understanding the universe and getting the
moment, but well issue you with a copy
tone right is critical. Achtung! Cthulhu is a
after youve pitched your idea.
pulpy but intelligent, terrifyingly two-fisted
journey through World War Two, and you nn This years main campaign is the Forest
need to be aware of its background and of Fear and its background storyline and
existing adventures to be able to write overriding story arc are documented in the
successfully for it. free booklet Secret War Operations.
SUMMER 2017 7
nn If you pitch a 400+ page campaign written PITCHING YOUR IDEA
solely by you, its probably pretty unlikely
Begin by pitching us your idea with its
to happen (though never say never,
title, a short summary, and then expand it
of course). Successful contributors to
into a one-page briefing document. This is
bigger campaigns will most likely end up
your big chance to sell the central idea of
working as part of a writing team in a much
your adventure. Include its date, theatre of
more collegiate process.
operations, and any other period details. Most
nn Creatures: invent new creatures and nn All adventures should work for players
monsters by all means, but check existing existing characters and campaigns, as well
resources like Terrors of the Secret as the pre-generated characters youll
War as well. Avoid drawing on include.
sources outside the Achtung!
nn Balance is important players want to have
Cthulhu canon; including some
a good time, but also to be challenged;
creatures can create licensing issues.
peril, choice, and adventure should be their
Drop us a quick email before you
constant companion. Aim for a good mix of
hang your story on a particular
risk and reward.
creature, or if in doubt, invent
something original which will avoid nn Pacing: Many successful adventures start
any clash, though its better to slowly and build to an exciting climax. How
find some new and original way to will you pace yours? A series of peaks and
deploy an existing creature. troughs? A thrill-a-minute ride? A gradual
8 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
rise to an earth-shattering finale? A slower- nn Introduction chapter with a What is
paced more gentle thought piece? All are Achtung! Cthulhu and Overview sections.
acceptable depending on subject matter
nn Plot Chapters (split into Episodes and
and tone.
scenes these should have the stat blocks
ADVENTURE encountered).
FORMATTING YOUR
ADVENTURE DEBRIEFING
Make the Achtung! Cthulhu Style Guide your Thats a whacking great slab of advice to absorb in one great
bible formatting is important! Publishing chunk, but hopefully it will prove useful, not just for Achtung!
resources are extremely limited and we dont Cthulhu but for all your adventure writing and pitches. If its
have time to re-edit incorrectly formatted whetted your appetite to explore the world of the Secret War,
work, so its important to get the format especially for submitting for the Living Campaign, then fantastic,
right from the outset. Fortunately Achtung! wed be delighted to hear from you. Work on your one-page pitch
Cthulhu has a well-established template for marked Achtung! Cthulhu Adventures in the subject line and
its adventures, developed in conjunction with send it to john@modiphius.com. Most of all, good luck and good
both players and GMs, and you should follow hunting well be waiting to hear from you!
this existing plan:
SUMMER 2017 9
OUTOF THE ETHER
I
n Space: 1889, the
fantasies of Jules Verne,
H G Wells, Arthur Conan
Doyle, H Rider Haggard,
and others are brought to
life classical adventures
and science fiction stories with
a nostalgic touch. You play in an
era of technology and progress,
in a world illuminated by gaslight,
powered by steam, and infused
with the spreading wonders of
electricity and ether.
10 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
The Ubiquity Rule System is use any dice available, with even
used in various RPGs such as numbers counting as successes.
Hollow Earth Expedition (a Hollow To avoid time-consuming dice
Earth pulp setting with Nazis and rolling orgies you can also Take
dinosaurs), Desolation (a post- the Average, which is half of your
apocalyptic fantasy world), and characters Rating, to get an
All for One (musketeers in 17th automatic success. For example, if
century France) demonstrating a players character has a Larceny
its tremendous versatility. Its rating of 6 and the Gamemaster
basic rules are simple and quickly sets the Difficulty of the task at 3
explained. The Gamemaster successes, the player may Take
determines the Difficulty Rating the Average to automatically
of an action, which the player succeed without rolling any dice.
must then exceed this with his
roll. The combined rating of a Talents allow for special actions,
Skill and an Attribute determines such as drawing a weapon more
the size of the dice pool used to quickly, providing allies with skill The Space: 1889 Core Rules are
resolve the action. Players can bonuses, or even entrancing a available in stores now! Check
target during combat so that they out the free Quickstarter on
lose interest in attacking. Style clockwork-publishing.com
points enhancements can buy
bonus dice, boost Talents, and Sourcebooks on Venus, Mercury,
reduce damage. and the Marvels of Mars
(including detailed information on
Martian technology and creatures)
will soon be available as well.
SUMMER 2017 11
Researchers wanted in Port Progress!
AN APPEAL TO THE YOUNG ENGINEERS OF THE WORLD
Your laboratory is too small? Waiting years to get a power connection? Does your
PhD supervisor not grasp your theories anymore? You neednt fret any longer
apply today for an Edison scholarship in the city of technology and peace!
This year, the leading theme of the Edison scholarship is The next generation
of ether travel. Therefore, this call particularly addresses researchers and
inventors in the following fields:
12 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
with the privilege of living here! Babbage analytical engine to a steam-powered compactor in the
Our high standard in selecting our analyze your tests. basement. Your shirts, suits, and
citizens secures a cultivated and dresses go into the laundry chute
law-abiding neighborhood. In the East of the outer ring you through which they slide directly
will find the well-appointed library. into the buildings chemical-
During the weekend, if your There is a briefing every Monday hydraulic dry cleaning.
ambitions grant you a break, the to introduce you to the work
tram will take you to the harbour with index, microfilm archive, and The broad Boulevard de Coulomb
where you can take a trip to phonographic records. constitutes the inner ring road
Jamaica Bay, visit the aquarium, and encloses the Volta Park
or take a walk along the beach The living quarters of our including the opera house. You
hoping for a sudden inspiration employees are easily accessible on may also enjoy the end of your
which you can then discuss with Ampre Street, the next ring road workday in an Italian, Siamese, or
your colleagues at the clubhouse. towards the city center. This is also Martian restaurant, which are all
where the doctor practices and located in the ground floor of an
On the day of your arrival, your lawyer offices are located. office building.
personal mentor will meet you
for a first conversation, designed As a scholar, you will receive a Fees for medical treatments are
to help you settle in. The leading monthly wage of $25 as well as covered by your scholarship up to
engineers among them the a temporary residence in Ohm an additional $25. You can cover all
architect of the visionary Port Avenue (on special application, your expenses arising during your
Progress, Mr Edison himself this applies to a small staff of stay conveniently by transferring
are accommodated in classicistic consultants as well). At ground your patents to the Edison Trans-
mansions along the Faraday Belt, level, you will find shops for the Etheric Company, the Edison
the outer ring road. Here you will everyday and not-so-everyday Difference Systems, or the Edison
also find your workplace in one of needs. Even on a winters evening, General Electric Company (which is
the spacious workshops. you can go shopping in bright light: currently being established).
all street lanterns are electrical.
Construct components on An academic background is not
illuminated, flexible drawing Your apartment building reaches required. Whether you are a
boards. Browse through endless up to seven stories. On the genius tinker, a researcher with
storage halls searching for roof terrace, where the house extraordinary experience, or
raw materials. Use the latest community maintains picturesque a sharp-minded lady who was
tools or pass on the job to one pleasure gardens, observatories, denied access to a university
of our assiduous craftsmen. or heliograph stations, you will be apply now. Language skills and
Make a reservation for a spot in close to the stars. Some rooftops visits to other planets give you
the chemistry lab, and find an even provide landing space for a an edge!
experimenting table waiting for small aircraft.
you the very same day, including
Send your application in duplicate,
all required equipment, chemicals, You can reach your elegantly
including certificates, letters of
and a lab technician attending to furnished apartment by a
recommendation, and (if available)
your every need. Use the pressure paternoster. Your Remington
publications, patents, design drawings,
and isolation chambers, the water typewriter already awaits you
or photographs, to:
tanks or the glass-coated on your desk. You can use the
incubators in the greenhouses. pneumatic telegram tube for your
The Edison Scholarship
Every workshop has a hot water written correspondence. Thanks
119 Boulevard de Coulomb
connection as well as a power to its label, the pneumatic tube
Port Progress, NY
supply and a telephone. Apply can easily be told apart from the
USA
for computing time on the citys waste shaft, which is connected to
SUMMER 2017 13
A Guide to Port Progress A: FARADAY BELT
14 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
technology: the Kinetograph, terrestrial animals. Should they also run a high risk of ending
an early film camera. Through succeed, it is only a matter of up as a lab rat for an innovative
a peephole in a cupboard, the time until carelessness or criminal treatment. It is thus not just for
Kinetoscope, the viewer will intent might lead to the break-out humanitarian reasons that the
soon be able to watch the of a monstrosity. doctors sometimes go to the poor
celluloid film which is illuminated areas of New York. For a small
5: Storage Halls
by a light bulb. In the game of fee, willing test persons can be
Some of these guarded buildings
Space: 1889, Dickson can also found here on every corner.
store secret prototypes, from
supervise research projects on
personal gear to vehicles and
analytical engines as a Mentor. C: OHM AVENUE
aircraft (according to some
Just as his Kinetoscope from the
rumors, even weaponry). 13: Shops
year 1891 did not grant the viewer
The shops provide many a
a look inside the inner mechanism, 6: Library
commodity, although at higher
Dicksons lab is also locked and In addition to a remarkable
prices than in New York City.
secured with a punch card lock. collection of reference books,
Service providers like the
Adventures might include alarm the library also entails audio-
Pinkerton Detective Agency
system tests, the introduction of documents on phonographic
have their offices here as well.
a Differoscope as a street sign rolls. Edison collects Martian
(with official, secret, or subliminal writings, especially about his 14: Post and Telegraph Office
messages), or analytical engines idol, the inventor Zeenos
designed to support political Quantaani who is supposed to D: BOULEVARD DE COULOMB
unification processes that then have lived thousands of years
15: Edison Trans-Etheric
take on a life of their own. ago in the Tossian city
Company
Thymiamata. There is even a
4: Alice Eastwood A branch of Edisons ether
secret archive in the basement
It is one of Edisons concerns transport company that offers
where scholars with language
to improve the oxygen supply flights (from Lakehurst) to Mars
expertise work on translations.
during long ether journeys. (Thymiamata, Syrtis Major,
One of the archivists is actually
Can the robust plants of Copratia) and Venus (Venusstadt,
an agent for the German secret
Mars or the thriving plants Nuova Firenze).
service Abteilung Z.
of Venus be cultivated in
16: Edison Difference Systems
terrestrial greenhouses? By a 7: Port
recommendation letter of Alfred 8: Aquarium 17: Edison General Electric
Russel Wallace, Edison came 9: Beach Company
across this 30-year-old teacher, 10: Clubhouse The office building seems to
botanist, and wilderness guide. be unused, but now and again
Eastwood has started to plant B: AMPRE STREET stagecoaches drive up to the
various extraterrestrial crops construction site. Soon every
11: Lewis Latimer
in the greenhousesand the window will be illuminated with
Starting his career as an
biologist always has a need electrical light. This will be the
engineering draftsman, Latimer
for new supplies. She tries to place of the company uniting all
(an African American) made a
crossbreed these alien crops with of Edisons electricity firms.
name for himself as a legal expert.
plants from Earth. At the same
He deals with patent matters and 18: Italian restaurant
time, she is drawn back to the
is loyal to Edison (just as most of 19: Siamese restaurant
Rocky Mountains now and again.
New Yorks judges). 20: Martian restaurant
During these trips, she leaves her
research to her staff, and their 12: Hospital
E: HUB
work is piling up. By now, they are The hospital provides a high
already crossbreeding alien and standard of carebut patients 21: Opera house n
SUMMER 2017 15
The Perfect Introduction
to the Secret War
Our Living Campaign for
Achtung! Cthulhu kicks off TM
L
ooking back at the Normandy
landings of 1944, we see
them as a huge success,
the beginning of the end for
Germanys armed forces in the
west. Of course, it was anything
but plain sailing for anyone involved, especially
those involved in the near-shambles on
Omaha. At the other end of the Allies landing
area, there was reason to be anxious too
when the only German armoured formation in
position to challenge the landings launched a
counter-attack against the airborne forces on
the Orne and the British Sword beach.
SUMMER 2017 17
18
3 MORTAR TEAM MG SECTION MAJOR
4 Men with 2 3 Mortars 6 Men with 2 Vickers MGs 1 Major
ALLIES ALLIES ALLIES
3
+ + +
MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
2 2 2 5
PINNED
PINNED
PINNED
nor Move and Fire in the same turn.
Indirect Fire May fire at any square Jeep You may buy a Willys Jeep
within range to which a Commander has Motorised You may buy a Transport without using an Armour choice and
Line of Sight. without using an Armour choice. without spending a Star.
RETRE AT RETRE AT RETRE AT
SOMUA S307(F) HALF TRACK SOMUA S307(F) HALF TRACK UNIC U304(F)
WITH PAK40 WITH MULTIPLE MORTARS
1 Pak 40 Gun on Somua S307(f) 1 8cm multiple mortar rack HALF TRACK
(Panzaergrenadiers) AXIS on Somua S307(f) (Panzaergrenadiers) AXIS 1 8 cm mortar on 1 Unic U304(f) AXIS
+ + +
3 3 3
Permission is granted to reproduce the items on this page for personal gaming use.
Armour [1+] If target Unit is hit, roll HE[6+] four times. Firer
becomes pinned after firing. May fire Smoke. Target a square and place a
75mm Gun 5 AT(3) or HE[6+] Inaccurate Before rolling for effect on target
Smoke(2) counter in it.
Unit, roll 1 [WD] to hit its square. If missed & 1 Indirect Fire May fire at any square within
French Conversion If purchased is rolled, opponent moves area of effect 1 square range to which a Commander has Line of Sight.
PINNED
PINNED
PINNED
with 2nd French conversion, reduce total towards or away from firer. Otherwise, miss means
cost by 1 . no rolls on target Unit. French Conversion If purchased
French Conversion If purchased with 2nd with 2nd French conversion, reduce total
French conversion, reduce total cost by 1 . cost by 1 .
RETRE AT RETRE AT RETRE AT
ALLIED ALLIED ALLIED
FORCES FORCES FORCES
Hornby Ltd. Hornby Ltd. Hornby Ltd.
Permission is granted to reproduce the items on this page for personal gaming use.
AXIS AXIS AXIS
FORCES FORCES FORCES
Hornby Ltd. Hornby Ltd. Hornby Ltd.
SUMMER 2017
19
D-Day Counter-attack!
Oppeln, if you dont succeed in throwing the British
back into the sea, we shall have lost the war
GENERAL MARCKS (COMMANDER, LXXXIV CORPS)
I
ts the afternoon of June 6th 1944 and GAME SET-UP FOR D-DAY
some of the tanks of the tardy 21st COUNTER-ATTACK 1
Panzer Division have at last assembled
MAPS
to help the static coastal German infantry
divisions against the Allied invasion. nn Long Road and Checkpoint (long sides
Split up into three kampfgruppen, the together, with roads meeting in the middle).
available parts of the Panzer Division will try to See opposite page.
make it to the coast as the first step to pushing
nn Terrain: uses 2 Square Cover pre-placed
the Allies back into the sea. The main tank
and 6 Edge Cover pieces (2 for the German
group, led by Colonel Oppeln-Bronikowski,
player, 4 for the British).
will attack between the Orne river and Lion-
sur-Mer. Group Rauch has the objective of the nn British deployment zone: leftmost row of
coast at Lion-sur-Mer, while east of the Orne the Long Road map.
Group von Luck will attack towards the canal
nn German deployment zone: rightmost row
bridge (now known as Pegasus Bridge) and
of the Checkpoint map.
the Orne river bridge. Historically some units
made it to the coast, but withdrew to prevent
NUMBER OF ROUNDS
being surrounded and wiped out.
Unlimited.
We present three variants of this scenario:
EDGE COVER
1. Oppelns main attack versus prepared
2 for the German player, 4 for the British.
troops of the Staffordshire Yeomanry
(Shermans) and infantry of 2nd battalion,
VICTORY CONDITIONS
the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry;
The scenario ends when all the units of one side
2. As above, but played out on a larger scale
have left the maps or have been destroyed.
four-map variation for two Airfix Battles sets;
German units can leave by any map side, but
3. Counter-attack east of the Orne with less will only gain Stars for exiting the map if they
tank involvement. leave by the left-hand edge of the Long Road
map (the north edge). British Units can leave by
The scenario introduces the following new
any map side, but this scores neither side any
Units: for the Germans, three half track vehicle
Stars. The winner is the player who has scored
conversions from Baukommando Becker,
the most Stars at the end of the game.
using captured French chassis to mount
German weapons; for the British, fleshing out
BRITISH
their standard infantry units with MGs,
3" mortars and introducing a British infantry nn Each destroyed German Unit with no
Major. These six cards are shown on p.18 for Armour or with Armour 2 or less:
you to use. Stars of the Unit.
20 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
NORTH
nn Each destroyed German Unit with Armour the beaches. Its the moment weve been
more than 2: double Stars of the Unit. waiting for!
BRITISH BRIEFING
ALLIED FORCES
Steady, men! Weve reached our first objective
after that tough fight off the beach well UNIT STARS
done, chaps. Well maintain our defensive Choose Your Forces 16
positions here, because it sounds like Jerrys
moving up some tanks. Best if we wait for Force restrictions: Your Force must include at
them, and give em what they wont be least one infantry Unit and one 6 pdr Unit. You
expecting! must use only British cards with the optional
addition, from the American Force deck, of
Keep the anti-tank well protected by the rifles, Shermans (except the Calliope), M3 Halftracks
and make sure we have some armour ready and Paratroopers. Otherwise use normal
to counter-attack when I give the word. Building Your Force rules.
We must throw the British back into the sea, UNIT STARS
or we will have lost the war! Thats what the
Herr General said. Now we have clear orders: Choose Your Forces 24
get through to the coast, then attack onto
SUMMER 2017 21
Force restrictions: Your force must include ALLIED FORCES
at least 2 Panzer IV tanks (including
Commanders). You cannot include any vehicle UNIT STARS
with Armour 5 or greater, nor can you include
Choose Your Forces 22
Panther or Sturmgeschtz vehicles (these
vehicles were not available to 21st Panzer Force restrictions: Use the force restrictions
Division). Otherwise use normal Building Your from variant 1, but your Force must include
Force' rules. at least two infantry Units, at least two 6 pdr
Units and a maximum of one Sherman Firefly.
French conversions Otherwise use normal Building Your Force rules.
There are three new German vehicles that are Deployment: You may deploy as many Units
converted from captured French originals. If you as desired as reinforcements, rather than
buy two vehicles with a French conversion place them at the start.
ability, the total cost of the two vehicles
together is reduced by 1 Star, so for example AXIS FORCES
buying 2 Somua halftracks only costs 3 Stars.
UNIT STARS
GAME SET-UP FOR D-DAY vehicles (these vehicles were not available to
MAPS
GAME SET-UP FOR D-DAY
nn Long Road, Cross Road, Checkpoint and
Forest (see next page for layout).
COUNTER-ATTACK 3
This variant of the scenario is the same as the
nn Terrain: uses 4 Square Cover pre-placed
variant 1, with the following adjustments to
and 12 Edge Cover pieces (4 for the German
reflect that it is taking place on the other side
player, 8 for the British).
of the Orne river.
EDGE COVER
nn Terrain: uses 2 Square Cover pre-placed
4 for the German player, 8 for the British. and 2 Square Cover for the British to place
freely, plus 6 Edge Cover pieces (2 for the
VICTORY CONDITIONS German player, 4 for the British).
22 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
ALLIED DEPLOYMENT ZONE
NORTH
Hornby Ltd.
Hornby Ltd.
AXIS DEPLOYMENT ZONE
SUMMER 2017 23
A VULTURE AMONG
THE STARS
A
The following
A MISSION FOR
Vulture Among the Stars is
is a reader a short encounter between
submission
STAR TREK ADVENTURES
a Starfleet vessel and a
from Fred Love. Ferengi Marauder employed
While not an by the Orion Syndicate.
official scenario The encounter begins when
the balance of matter and antimatter in its
for Star Trek the Starfleet vessel receives a garbled distress
engines. This imbalance tears space-time to
Adventures, call from a transport ship under attack near an
create a wormhole that immediately sucks in
it should drop asteroid field. By the time the Starfleet vessel
any lifeboats that havent been secured. The
into most arrives at the scene, the transport has suffered
Starfleet captain will have to decide whether
campaigns severe damage and has jettisoned its crew
to pursue the fleeing Marauder or enter the
without and passengers in four lifeboats. The Ferengi
wormhole to rescue the lifeboats.
difficulty. Marauder is in the process of looking to collect
the lifeboats with its tractor beam.
DIRECTIVE
The Starfleet crew will have to rescue the This scenario utilizes a single Directive, which
lifeboats while engaging the Marauder. If requires Starfleet personnel to investigate any
the Ferengi vessel takes serious damage, it and all credible distress calls and render aid if
attempts to flee. Before retreating, however, possible. Gamemasters may call attention to
the Marauders engineer deliberately disturbs this Directive at the start of play.
24 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
GM Guidance: Gamemasters begin this place in three zones. The first is a small zone
scenario with a minimum of four points of of open space at the center of the Pinicon
Threat, with one additional point of Threat for Cluster, where the Ferengi Marauder and
each Player Character above four. That way, the transport are located. The transport
if the game features five Player Characters, routinely travels through the Pinicon Cluster
Gamemasters start with five Threat. Its as a shortcut on its standard trading run. The
probably best to introduce the scenario, Marauder captain learned of this and attacked
through the distress call, during a quiet part in the center of the asteroid belt, where
of the campaign, though it will serve as a the transport was at its most vulnerable.
diversion, if required. The Marauder captain intends to take the
passengers captive and turn them over to
THE DISTRESS SIGNAL the Orion Syndicate to be ransomed to their
various homeworlds.
Captains Log, Stardate 48214.85. We
have received a distress call and are The second zone is in the rocky debris of the
currently traveling at maximum warp to asteroid field, which surrounds the first zone
investigate. The signal appears to have in a roughly spherical shape. The third zone
originated from a transport vessel called is empty interstellar space that surrounds the
the S.S. Eye of Malornia, traveling near an asteroid field.
expansive ring of asteroids known as the
Pinicon Cluster. The message, a garbled Its possible to plot a course through the
voice recording from the transports asteroids and into the center of the Pinicon
captain, sounded panicked and made it Cluster, but it requires the officer at the Conn
clear the vessel was under attack. Sensors to make a successful Daring or Control +
indicate the discharge of energy weapons Conn Task with a Difficulty of 2. Failing the
and explosions, and a radiation signature task activates the ships navigation failsafe
consistent with a heavily damaged warp protocols and drops the ship out of warp
core. Our ETA puts us in the center of the outside the asteroid belt and at long range
Pinicon Belt in ten minutes. from the Ferengi ship and the transport
vessel. Any maneuver that requires the ship
to enter or exit the asteroid belt will require
The crew can discern more about the tactical
the successful completion of the task, with a
situation by employing the ships long-range
failure resulting in the ship remaining in the
sensors. This requires a Reason + Sciences
zone in which it started, yielding the initiative
Task with a Difficulty of 1, assisted by the
to the Ferengi vessel.
ships Sensors + Sciences Task. A successful
Task reveals that a single attacking vessel
has inflicted critical damage to the S.S. Eye of
THE LITIGATOR
Malornia, which could lead to a catastrophic The Starfleet ship must drop out of warp to
breach of the transports warp core. If a Player investigate the source of the distress call.
Character uses Momentum to improve the Once traveling at sub-warp velocities, the
outcome of the sensor scan, the crew learns Player Characters will be able to use sensors
that the transport has ejected four life boats to detect four lifeboats drifting near the center
and that the attacking vessel is a Ferengi of the asteroid field (assuming they dont
Dkora-class Marauder. know this already), along with the crippled
transport vessel and the Ferengi ship.
A successful sensor scan also reveals
information about the region of space where Gamemasters may read the following text to
the ships are located. This encounter takes the Players or paraphrase its contents:
SUMMER 2017 25
Each lifeboat contains between 10 and 12
Setting the Scene: The heavily damaged
humanoid life-forms, and each lifeboat is
transport ship S.S. Eye of Malornia drifts
equipped with rudimentary thrusters and
in open space at the heart of the asteroid
minimal shielding to block hostile transporter
field, its warp core ready to blow at
beams. However, the lifeboats are not equipped
any moment. The passengers of the
with any defenses that will allow them to put up
transport have abandoned the ship and
a fight against a Dkora-class Marauder.
wait helplessly in four lifeboats. A Ferengi
Marauder has one of the lifeboats caught
If the Starfleet ship moves aggressively
in a tractor beam and is preparing to bring
toward the Ferengi vessel, its captain will
it into its cargo hold. In moments, all hands
hail the Starfleet vessel, looking to speak to
aboard the lifeboat will become captives.
the commanding officer. Appearing on the
viewscreen is a female Ferengi with a snarling
These sizeable craft, utilized mainly by individual Ferengi the Ferengi Starfleet vessel, this is Captain Brasha of
Alliance is most accurately described as a collection of culturally- the Litigator, the Ferengi barks. You risk
affiliated businesses for defense, trade, salvage, piracy, and any being blown out of the stars if you travel any
other activities their owners think they can profit from. deeper into the Pinicon Cluster. If you wish
to collect the passengers and crew involved
Traits: Ferengi Marauder
in this properly licensed personnel relocation
SYSTEMS operation, you may contact the Orion
Syndicate and arrange for the payment of an
Communications Engines Structure
appropriate fee.
9 10 10
Player characters with Ferengi contacts may
Computers Sensors Weapons
have heard of Brasha. She yearned for great
8 9 7 wealth and infamy as a child, but the highly
misogynistic culture on Ferenginar provided
DEPARTMENTS
her no opportunity to do so. She ran away
Command Security Science from home and joined the Orion Syndicate,
which eventually bought her a Marauder to
3 2 2
captain after shed proven herself a shrewd
Conn Engineering Medicine raider and smuggler.
1 2 2
No amount of bargaining or reasoning with
Power: 10 Scale: 5 Captain Brasha will convince her to give up
on the lucrative prospect of taking hostages
Shields: 12 Resistance: 5
back to her Orion employers, and the Starfleet
Crew: Proficient (Attribute 9, Discipline 2) vessel most likely will have to engage in ship-
to-ship combat with the Litigator. The Starfleet
Weapons:
vessel may try to transport the survivors
nn Phaser Banks (Energy, Range Medium, 8A, Versatile 2) aboard, but doing so would require both the
Starfleet ship and the lifeboat to lower their
nn Electro-Magnetic Pulse (Energy, Range Close, 10A, Piercing 1,
shields, making both easy targets for the
Dampening)
Litigators electro-magnetic pulse weapon.
nn Photon Torpedoes (Torpedo, Range Long, 5A, High Yield) In any case, if any of the lifeboats lower their
shielding, the Ferengi may attempt to beam
nn Tractor Beam (Strength 4)
the passengers as well.
26 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
At a suitably dramatic moment, Gamemasters inside a kaleidoscopic pinwheel of color and
may consider spending two Threat to cause gravimetric distortion. The deck rocks beneath
the Eye of Malornias warp reactor to lose their feet as the ship lurches violently from
containment and explode. In that case, any side to side. Any lifeboats in the wormhole
starship nearby suffers 3A Piercing 2 damage spiral completely out of control like leaves in
from the explosion. At the Gamemasters a hurricane. The Starfleet ship will have to pull
discretion, the explosion also may destroy a the lifeboats aboard using a tractor beam, a
number of lifeboats. Difficulty 3 Control + Security Task assisted by
the ships Structure + Security.
Brasha wont risk her command if the fight
turns against her. If the Litigator suffers The Gamemaster may spend 2 Threat to
three or more breaches, or if the Starfleet create a gravimetric eddy, which automatically
vessel manages to rescue two or more of the causes the Starfleet ship to lose its tractor lock
lifeboats, Brasha will flee. But not before she on any lifeboats. Additionally, the eddy also
plays one last trump card severely stresses the structural integrity of the
lifeboats. Any lifeboat that suffers a second
SUMMER 2017 27
BEFORE the FLOOD
FICTION PREVIEW
WRITING: John Houlihan
ART: Borja Pindado
28 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
This issue our fiction excerpt is from Before the Flood, the fourth volume
in John Houlihans acclaimed Seraph Chronicles series, which sees one
man defy dread Cthulhu and his minions down the ages. The novel is
available in print and PDF from Modiphius and on Kindle and paperback
on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, where you can also find the first
three novellas, The Trellborg Monstrosities, The Crystal Void and
Tomb of the Aeons. For more information check out john-houlihan.net.
T
he year is 2034 and Britain CHAPTER ONE:
is a drowning isle, after a THE ISLAND
cataclysmic wave destroyed
Pip... pip... piiiiiiip. It is 7 oclock and this is the
her cities, killing millions,
voice of the Free BBC, today, October 9th,
raising the sea level by 60
2034. Minor incursions continue, but no major
metres and changing the
engagements with the creatures have been
landscape forever. The Flood has brought
reported in the last 48 hours.
Albion to her knees and now the Devils, a race
of malevolent sea creatures, haunt her coasts
Unconfirmed reports of a newly surfaced
as the survivors retreat inland, struggling for
island structure off the coast of Anglesey
their very existence.
have been dismissed by Ruth Miller. The
Internal Security Minister for the Provisional
Mankind learns to fear the sea and avoid the
Government said All kinds of wild rumours
water.
and gossip are swirling during the current
conflict. I urge our brave defence forces to
When a mysterious island surfaces off the
remain calm and treat such wild speculation
coast of Wales, a small team of British militia
with the healthy pinch of salt it deserves.
under the command of the war weary veteran
The creatures...
Sergeant Emma Stokes, is dispatched to
investigate this new threat. But a chance
Turn that fucking thing off. I growled at
meeting with a mysterious Major takes them
Adams and, with surly reticence, he obeyed.
on a dangerous odyssey through this drowned
You can switch off the attitude too, I said. Im
world, to a hidden fortress-city which seems
in command here and I dont give two fucks
to offer new hope in the battle against the
whether you like it or not. Now, make yourself
creatures. Yet as humanity clutches on by its
useful, raise HQ and get me an activity report
fingertips, who are the real enemies in this
for this sector. Something doesnt feel right
deadly flooded world?
here, and I want to know why.
SUMMER 2017 29
Adams slapped his headphones on with a grunt and fiddled towards their own death? Not that they had much choice.
with the buttons on the ancient set. He was probably Everyones got to do their duty nowadays havent they, sir?
cursing under his breath, mouthing silent obscenities while Otherwise theyre just a walking waste of rations. Its either
he thought I couldnt see him. Well fuck him. Fuck them all. I march, starve or be hanged and sometimes you could toss
didnt volunteer for this. Who in their right mind would? a coin for which of the three is the worst.
I regarded my militia unit as it huddled dolefully in the Anyway, wed been out for a couple of days by that stage
ruins of a booth in the abandoned fun fair, where they and the Devils were busy, much busier than normal. They
were doing their best to shelter from the sheets of rain, were out in force and wed slipped past several patrols,
which came down like stair rods. It was a bitter cold night, before finally going to ground in an abandoned holiday
harsh and unforgiving as it gets on the Welsh coast in late home. Id spotted another chain of them, lurking down by
autumn and the rags and tags which these soldiers, had the shore, which meant they werent going to be so easy
scrounged together, provided scant protection against that to evade, so, making sure my men were hunkered down,
kind of weather. I crept closer for a shufti.
Im rambling, sir? Do you want me to tell the story or not? At my side was Challis, my corporal and second in
Okay, so let me get to it in my own way and then you can command, the only other real soldier in the patrol. Him,
judge for yourself. Weve got a little time now havent we? at least, I knew I could count on. Together we watched the
Time is not quite so much of an issue any more, that at Devils pass from the shelter of a dilapidated old seaside
least youll have to admit? fun fair, its peeling posters and rotting rides providing us
with decent cover as they sauntered by. Ten braves and
My name? Stokes, recent promotion notwithstanding... one shaman, hopping and flopping in that disgusting way
Sergeant Emma Stokes, 43rd Wessex Army Reserve or they have on land. I shouldered my weapon and led them
the TA in old money. Call me Stokesy if you must call me a little through the red dot sight, imagining squeezing the
anything, sir. trigger and opening up with a three-round burst that would
have split that shamans fishy skull. A little bit of payback
Thanks, I will take a smoke. for London and everything weve suffered since I was
owed we all were.
How did we happen to be there at that particular place, at
that particular time and meet that particular man? Ive no Engage them? Really? Are you taking the piss... sir?
idea, it wasnt a conscious decision. Fate, circumstance, My orders were to recon the island, take as many photos
kismet, call it what you will. as I could grab and report back, period. Nothing mentioned
about engaging Devil patrols, or in fact, about signing my
What I can tell is my men werent keen. Id had to kick, own death warrant.
haul and bully them practically every step of the way.
You cant blame them I suppose, conscripts dont make Besides Challis and I had the only functioning weapons
the best soldiers and besides, whos ever keen to march and they were old SA-80s, Civil Servants (you cant make
30 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
em work and you cant fire em), practically obsolete to together now arent we, in this peoples war, or whatever
all intents and purposes. The rest? Well they had the odd the fuck you want to call it?
shotgun, a pistol or two and some improvised clubs and
pitchforks, whatever the hell theyd managed to rustle Before? I dont really remember too much detail from
up. We might as well have engaged them with sticks and before, this is all I seem to have known for ever and a day:
stones for all the good theyd have done, small arms like futility, evasion, retreat.
that would have just bounced off most Devils hides, never
mind the payback from that shamans battle magic. Taking
them on would have been like writing the shortest suicide Year by year, yard by yard,
note in modern military history.
the waves crept higher, slowly
I passed my weathered rifle to Challis, so he could take a swallowing this septic isle
look through its scope, pretty much the only decent optic
inch by inch
we had. Challis was my corporal and best shot, a tough,
weathered Antiguan, hard as nails with short dreads like an
early period Bob Marley; a vet of Iraq and the Stan, and a But thats changed hasnt it now, after the outcome of
dozen of those other dirty, pointless oil wars we managed this particular mission? I doubt the spooks from Military
to drag ourselves into before the Flood. Intelligence (the shortest two-word paradox in the
language) expected things to take quite the turn they have.
What do you think? I asked.
Before the Flood? Of course I remember... some of it at
Shit, well theyre all heading somewhere with a purpose least, though it seems like a different world, one I havent
and it dont take too much working out. He inclined his lived in for a long, long time. Oh I remember the reports,
locks toward the island. Let these fuckers pass, itll be dusk remember as we watched the waves slowly rise, year
soon and then we can have a stab at it. He handed me on year, letting our stupid desire for cheap energy and
back the weapon and spat, the spittle hanging like foam off stupider fripperies subsume everything else.
a nearby sideshow counter. Overhead a seagull shrieked.
And for what? To watch some bullshit reality show on a
Agreed. I said and watched the Devil patrol recede along giant flat screen TV, argue on Twitter about banalities or
the shoreline until it was out of sight. allow a succession of liars to sell us endless shit we didnt
want, and didnt really need.
How did I come to be commanding that patrol? By default,
of course sir, how else? Anyone with even the vaguest Oh in our pride, our arrogance, we thought we could hold
hint of combat experience is at a premium nowadays, hell the seas back, but when the waves slowly claimed most
I heard they even gazetted the Royals goat up to major of East Anglia, we didnt worry too much about it, just
for surviving that siege at Swindon. Oh yes even NCOs retreated to higher ground, told ourselves we still had
from the Reserve are considered prime leadership material plenty left and besides, the defences would hold. Year
nowadays for that sort of mission, sir, though most of them by year, yard by yard, the waves crept higher, slowly
would have trouble leading a latrine detail. swallowing this septic isle inch by inch. And still we did
nothing, or at least nothing meaningful. Ever heard of King
I sound bitter? Yeah well Im glad thats coming through. Cnut? Swap a couple of letters, add an s and put blind in
Anyway they dont spare proper officers for that kind of front of it that was us down to a tee.
recon work, Im valuable enough, but not too valuable,
expendable in an acceptable risk kind of way. Put it this So should we really have been surprised when it all finally
way, no-one would have been organising a state funeral came to pass? Oh, it was a shock alright: a mix of our
with full military honours, if I hadnt come back. complacency and their monstrous ambition no doubt. But
with all our satellites and all our science and all our state
My motivation? I have my reasons sir, same as everyone surveillance schemes, how come we didnt spot an entire
else. Survival mainly, revenge partly. We really are all in it alien civilisation lurking on the ocean floor?
SUMMER 2017 31
Oh I forgot, we were too busy, fighting petty wars amongst anyone who believes anything different is a fool. I couldnt
ourselves, fucking each other for a cheap quid or a cheaper even begin to guess what the island was then, didnt want
gallon, or maybe we were just looking in all the wrong to, thats way beyond what any grunt needs to know, but
places. We were so worried about the terror within, we you could tell it was important, it mattered. There were
completely missed the terror from the deep. enough of them swarming around it at any rate. My best
guess back then? Some kind of spawning ground maybe,
Some say the Devils have been at it for years, centuries or a focal point for the dark magic their shamans employ.
maybe: plotting, scheming, making their unfathomable alien
plans and just waiting for the moment to strike. The worst Still, that was irrelevant now, I had a mission and a purpose
thing is, we actually helped them, actually helped them and the sooner it was completed, the sooner we could get
invade us, with our own blind, short term stupidity. When the fuck out of there and come back home.
the waters crept high enough, they finally saw their chance
and they struck and its us, the survivors, whove been In front of us was a small trawler, which would make an
drowning by inches ever since. ideal observation post, but further up the shoreline lay
the beached, rotting hulk of the Prince George, the last
CHAPTER TWO: of our great aircraft carriers, which had been lost during
THE THINGS IN THE MARSH the Royal Navys final stand off the Isle of Man. Crippled
and crewless, she had finally drifted down to this forlorn
We waited the day out until darkness began to bleed into shore, where her prow had ploughed into the shallow
the miserable slate-grey sky and then we were ready to shingle, before coming to rest with a great crunching sigh.
make our move. The Devils dont see too well in twilight, She now lay over on her side, great rents still visible in her
thats the story anyway and I wanted to wring out any hull and superstructure, where they had been blown open
small advantage I could, so we could just get the job done by the Devils magic. Listing and listless she sat there like
and come the fuck home, without contact or casualties. the carcass of some great forgotten leviathan that had
Well, we all know how that turned out... come here to die, giving up its body to rot and corruption,
cloaked in a burial shroud of rust, seaweed and barnacles.
We slunk through the broken houses and deserted
landscape like foxes, Challis on point, me at the rear and
the rest of our ragged little band stretched out between ...it seemed to hum and vibrate
us. We rounded the headland and thats when I caught my
with some kind of primitive
first proper sight of it, the thing which had spontaneously
surfaced off the coast, wreathed in enshrouding mists and energy, as if it were singing
burning with a strange malevolent light. It was an ominous
some unholy song...
sight, squatting there about four or five miles off shore and
it seemed to hum and vibrate with some kind of primitive
energy, as if it were singing some unholy song, calling to I whistled up Haines, a scrawny looking red-headed kid,
the Devils in its own strange language. perhaps fifteen or sixteen, difficult to tell these days but
she was thin as a scarecrow and about as much use in a
When it first appeared, a week previously, there was all fire fight. I dont why, but ever since shed been assigned to
kinds of talk and rumours about what it might be and what our happy little band a few days earlier, as a replacement
it might mean. No one believed the propaganda or the for another dead nameless kid, shed looked at me
Provisional Governments fervent denials: some said it was like I was a combination of Wellington and Churchill or
a new threat, others, a temple to the creatures dark god. something. Maybe it was the gun, maybe the stripes...
There were even a few that thought it was some new kind
of surface home for them, meaning they might retreat I nodded at the island. Youre the shutterbug right? Time
there and leave us alone. to do your thing. I handed her the battered digital camera
which had been entrusted to me. Listen up Haines, youre
Wishful thinking, those fish-eyed bastards want us going to sneak over to that fishing boat, take as many
enslaved or extinguished, nothing more, nothing less pictures as you can of that thing and then get back here
32 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
pronto, understand? So try to keep them in focus and
of course, remember the most important thing... try to
stay alive.
SUMMER 2017 33
Over in the cottage, I could see Challis covertly making the which had masked our approach. Silent as rats, they
clenched fist signal; hold position. I readied my weapon, scurried off. Challis and I followed, keeping our weapons
resting my index finger on the trigger guard and gripping trained in the creatures direction, until finally we were out
the handle so tight my palm started to cramp. Time beat of sight and clear.
itself against the drumming of my pulse, but were the
Devils sounds diminishing, or was that just wishful thinking? The further away from the beach we got, the more I liked
it and after that, we put as much distance as we could
between us and the sea. Unless theyre feeling bold or
Then the air split, a great
after something specific, the Devils dont like to venture
terrible croaking roar, like the too far inland as you know sir, and so we found an old
gutted pub and went to ground there. I set a watch, but
tearing of a shroud, and my
stayed awake anyway, still buzzing on the adrenaline
index finger slipped onto the and preparing for the vigil to wait out the long hours of
the night. I was relieved, wed accomplished our mission
trigger proper.
without being detected and without any casualties and
nowadays, I call that a major win. Now all we had to do
Then the air split, a great terrible croaking roar, like the was bide our time and filter back inland once dawn broke.
tearing of a shroud, and my index finger slipped onto the Even the wretched pile of bones and bleached skulls piled
trigger proper. Behind me I thought I heard Haines whimper up in the corner didnt unnerve me. They were ancient and
as the shamans cry echoed across the bay, indicating our didnt count anymore. Only the living counted now. I was
certain discovery and imminent death. feeling good about things, or about as good as you can
get nowadays.
Challis was still signalling, hold, hold and while I trusted
my corporal with my life, I could see the snout of his I set a watch and everyone else bedded down. Hours
weapon peep over the lip, being readied too. Hold, hold, passed. I dont sleep much, if at all these days and virtually
his signal didnt change and the tension became almost never out on patrol, so I stayed awake and listened to
unbearable. I readied myself to spring around the corner the sounds of the night for a while. Perhaps I was half
and unleash a burst into the heart of them. With a little dozing, perhaps lost in contemplation, but I must have felt
luck, maybe we could take down enough to... something before I heard it, for suddenly I was fully awake,
eyes wide and senses alert.
Then his gesture changed and now Challis was beckoning
us back toward him and the cover of the cottage. I exhaled, The unit slumbered on oblivious, but I went and roused
letting go a breath that seemed to be have been held Challis, who instantly came round.
forever and chanced a look around the hull. The Devils
were moving away from us, heading north, their scaly Somethings up, wake them, but quietly. Im going to take
backs and angular fins turned toward us. Go left... go right, a look.
on such small margins do the fortunes of war and so
much else turn. Want me to come with?
I grabbed Haines and we flew back at the double, vaulting No, stay here, sit tight and dig in. If Im not back in half an
over the ruined stones of the cottage and panting, sank hour, youre in command. Dont come looking... and thats
down, backs against the wall. I dont think Ive ever been an order. Get these photos back to HQ, I said handing over
so relieved in my life and my grin was half exhilaration, half the camera, and the rest of them if you can. The photos
rictus. Challis smiled, but the rest of the patrol stared at us take priority.
with a mixture of incredulity and indifference.
Understood.
Nice to see you fuckers too, I spat, then while Challis and
I covered the beach and the retreating Devils, I ordered Haines. I whispered to the teenager who happened to be
the rest of the patrol back through the abandoned culvert on watch. Come on, youre with me.
34 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
We stalked out into the darkness in the wee small hours old Doctor Who episode or something. I never watched
when your mind and body are at their lowest ebb. You that kind of crap before the Flood, never had time for it.
could just about see your hand in front of your face, but my But the creatures apparently resemble some of those old
instincts arent often wrong and Ive learned to trust them. cardboard and plastic TV monsters pretty closely. Devils?
Oh, Im the first to shoot down any of that supernatural Dagons? Deep Ones? What did it matter what they were
bullshit, but intuition? Out there in the wilderness, well lets called in the end?
just say you get a feel for certain things and Id trust my
instincts over a thousand intelligence reports. Maybe, but theres something else... I didnt have time to
finish my sentence for about five hundred yards away small
An unnecessary risk? Maybe sir and its true normally on pinpoints of light suddenly flashed, fiery interruptions in
a mission of that kind, Id have dug in, stayed put and the dark. Faintly, I could hear the retort of weapons, human
ignored any distant drums from the deep. But something weapons, though much quieter than anything I had ever
about this felt different, like my presence was... required. I heard before.
needed to take a look and thats about all I can tell you, sir.
Whats that Sarge? asked Haines nervously.
So we padded along, taking a circuitous route to cover the
ground, the darkness populating the night landscape with Not sure, but wed better take a look. Stick close by me
indistinct menacing shapes. and silent as the grave, or thats where youll be heading.
Yes sir, she said, forgetting again. Fear made her voice
...the empty eye sockets waver.
What are we looking for, sir? Haines voice wavered as we I put a finger to my lips but even in the darkness the whites
pushed on, still half freaked by that macabre landmark. of Haines eyes were wide, staring, like she was on the
point of totally freaking out. I didnt blame her, I wasnt
I dont know exactly, I admitted. But somethings not right far away myself, but the training took over and I signalled
out there and whatever it is, its not far away. And call me Haines to keep her shotgun low (and pointed away from
Sarge, not sir, thats for officers. me) and we proceeded. We circled cautiously toward the
cover of some scrubby trees where we could observe,
Yes si... Sarge. Do you think its Devils? Haines asked without stumbling smack bang into the middle of whatever
wide eyed. The creatures were nicknamed after some the hell it was that was happening out there.
SUMMER 2017 35
Nerves taut, we slipped across the marshy ground, flitting Still nothing moved and now I began to smell the blood and
from cover to cover, but I kept my weapon raised, ready muck of the brutal aftermath. Flies were already beginning
to open up at so much as the slightest provocation. Have to swarm and surely it wouldnt be long before that would
you ever been in a situation like that, when you know draw more Devils to investigate?
every next step could be your last, sir? Focuses the mind
somewhat, its not easy, but experience helps and although Who were these people and what the hell were they doing
my heart pounded like a rave bass line, we made it into here, miles from anywhere? I hadnt a clue, but there was
the copse without further incident. Again we waited, no saving them now, they were just so much fish bait. HQ
made ready for whatever was out there to reveal itself would probably want to know of course, you dont just lose
but the silence remained unbroken and after a couple an outfit like that and not want to know the reason why,
of minutes, the moon decided to peep out from behind but frankly, sir, duty didnt much come into it.
covering cloud, providing us with the first half decent bit
of illumination.
I waded through the floating
It shone onto a small clearing in the marshland, a raised Devil bodies and the smell
gap in the surrounding sea of tall grasses and there, amidst
was as rotten as a barrel of
the mud and brackish water was a scene of utter carnage.
Bodies, human and Devil lay locked together, stretched out mouldering fish guts.
or half submerged around the fringes of a small, scrubby
island slightly raised above the surrounding waters. What I saw was opportunity, a golden opportunity to kit
my people out with that advanced gear and I simply
It didnt take me long to read the lie of the land: this is ached to take it. Whoever this unit were, they had no
where those humans had made their last stand; they had use for it now and it would mean our chances of survival,
died in a ring around its perimeter, singly or in pairs, back of actually making it back home, just went up by several
to back in some cases. There were only about a dozen notches. I listened again, but it was still quiet, so I sketched
of them from my rough count, but they must have taken my plan to Haines and while she covered me from the
down four warbands worth of Devils, on their own, at copse, I stalked forward, intent on helping myself to those
the very least. Their bodies were everywhere, piled high tempting goodies.
one upon the other, maybe seventy braves in total,
slaughtered as they charged in for a headlong hand-to- I waded through the floating Devil bodies and the smell
hand assault. was as rotten as a barrel of mouldering fish guts. They had
died in their dozens, their soulless eyes glinting vacantly,
That was unusual, the Devils had some ranged weapons, eerily in the moonlight. The only good Devil is a dead Devil
harpoons, spears and the like plus that infernal battle and theres nothing much to add to that, but my finger
magic and they werent usually so reckless as to engage hovered on my trigger, just in case any of them lingered.
a defensive position in a headlong charge like that. I could
only think they wanted to take these people alive and had Closer to that islet, the corpses were piled high and I was
expended many lives in trying to achieve that aim. forced to shoulder arms and physically turf a couple aside
so I could reach solid ground. I was glad I was wearing
The humans werent exactly standard issue either. These gloves, for I really didnt want to have to touch that flabby
didnt look much like ordinary grunts, they were big, fishy flesh. Nose wrinkling with disgust, I rolled a couple
strapping, physically impressive men and women, nothing of braves over until they went belly up then heaved them
like the desperate, malnourished odds and sods I led. They with the toe of my boot, so that they floated off into the
were kitted out in some serious military gear too, state- stagnant waters.
of-the -art hardware and then some: masks, body armour,
night scopes and rifles the like of which Id never seen But this was no time to linger and quickly, I went from body
before. They seemed to have barrels that were more than to body, stripping them of those unusual weapons, night
half silencer, which probably explained those ultra quiet vision goggles, spare ammo, masks and anything else I
thud thud thuds. deemed useful and readily portable. Their uniforms were
36 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
black, almost featureless, some kind of light absorbing anything better to say. I half turned, ready to lever myself
semi-adaptive camo I guessed, with integrated body up when Haines voice shrieked Sarge!
armour, but they bore no insignia or markings I could
readily identify. Where it came from I had no idea, perhaps it had been
wounded and my words had roused it or maybe it was just
No dog tags either, were these boys and girls even ours? lying there, waiting for the unwary. Either way suddenly
Their kit was like something from a sci-fi movie, but hurry, I looming over me was the massive steaming bulk of a Devil
told myself, theres no time to ponder and I worked quickly chieftain, spiked mace raised as it chittered its filthy war
and methodically, stripping the bodies as respectfully as I cry. As I brought up my rifle I can remember thinking, boy
could, making neat piles of their gear, trust me to draw a huge bastard and I even had time to
notice the dancing necklace of human ears which it wore as
Towards the centre of the isle, knee deep in Devil dead a macabre trophy. I tried to fire the SA-80 on the rise, but
I found their CO. She must have been the last to fall, for it was way too late and the chieftains mace shattered its
she was surrounded by Devil corpses, a silenced pistol barrel, sending the remains spinning off into the darkness
gripped in one hand and an F-S knife still locked in the with a distant splash.
fist of the other. Shed plunged it right between the eyes
of the nearest brave in her death throes. A trident had
My fingers clawed for a weapon,
taken her through the throat, half ripping off her mask and
cutting the armour clean through to her chest. She was scrabbling desperately for
a captain, there were three pips adorning one tattered
anything to use...
shoulder and there, on the other, that distinctive badge,
etched into the armour so subtly I hadnt seen it at first:
a wreathed world, topped with coronet and tailed with The force knocked me back clean off my feet and I landed
anchor and the words Per Mare, Per Terram By sea, by hard on my back, air forcefully expelled from my lungs. My
Land. This officer and presumably her men too were fingers clawed for a weapon, scrabbling desperately for
Royal Marine Commandos. anything to use, but they came up empty and the creature
hopped forward and planted a webbed foot on either side
Shit, these were serious soldiers, hard fighters, the kind of me, raising its club for the killing blow. I heard two clicks
of elite unit that rolls up and routinely fucks the enemy as Haines shotgun misfired and I almost laughed at the
without even breaking stride, or passes through them absurdity of it all. I wanted to shout, forget me, run! run!
like a sea of ghosts so that you wouldnt ever know but found my mouth as dry as if I were breathing sand. I
theyd even been there. I didnt think we even had any of looked up into those soulless saucer-fish eyes and in that
these guys left. What the hell were they doing out here instant almost felt glad, glad that my struggle was over,
in this godforsaken hole? Why had they engaged these the pain, the loss, all swept away with one quick swish of
warbands? They were all set up for stealth by the looks of its mace. A moment of agony and then sweet nothingness
it, those suits and silencers were a dead giveaway, so why and finally, peace...
had they become involved in a stand-up fire fight?
But of course it didnt quite happen that way, otherwise
Perhaps theyd had no choice? Spotted or possibly tracked I wouldnt be sitting here making this report, would I? Im
here, surrounded, forced to make a final stand, theyd died not ashamed to say that I cringed, eyes screwed tight,
to a man and taken the best part of four warbands with teeth clenched for the cruel impact which would crush my
them, before measuring out their lengths in this hellish skull and end it all. Yet the long moment played out and
marsh. What was the story here? somehow it didnt arrive. I was still alive. Why?
Not my business, I told myself, just recover the gear, I unscrewed one eye and looked up, still wincing at the
remember what you need for the report and be thankful anticipated blow, but the chieftains eyes suddenly seemed
its not you. I knelt and slipped the captains pistol and to bulge even wider, if that were possible. The mace raised
spare magazines into my belt and closed her sightless eyes above its head slipped from between webbed forepaws
for the last time, whispering rest in peace for want of and it staggered, tottering and bleeding, falling to its knees.
SUMMER 2017 37
There was a flash like quicksilver, so bright it seemed like uniform as the fallen soldiers, but with a single OF-3 crown
liquid moonlight and where seconds before the chieftains on each shoulder.
face had blazed with fierce malice, now, there was simply
an empty void and no head at all. Something bounced Yes, I do believe you would young lady. I would say your
wetly across the turf and then the creatures body sagged, threat would carry slightly more conviction if you had
as if all the air had been let out of it. I watched it crumple, reloaded after your misfire, though.
black ichor pumping from its neck, a black waterfall staining
my fatigues. Stand down Haines, I said, Hes on our side. You are on
our side right, Major? I added with slightly less certainty
My apologies... Sergeant is it? I seem to have bloodied but he nodded graciously.
your battle dress.
Oh, absolutely. Nice to make your acquaintance,
A figure emerged from behind the chieftains corpse. Sergeant?
What the holy living fuck? Stokes, call me Stokesy, this is Haines.
Oh, nothing quite so blasphemous. Please, allow me. Well good to meet you both, though I wish it were in
A gloved hand reached out and helped me to my feet. happier circumstances. Whats brought you to this forlorn
place, if you dont mind me asking?
Thank... you. I mumbled.
Curiosity sir. I saw the muzzle flashes and decided to
My pleasure, naturally. investigate. The rest of my unit is holed up in a ruined pub
about half a mile away.
Who the hell are you? I asked.
Curiosity hm? A dangerous trait that and not just for cats.
Hands where I can see them! Now, or I will shoot you Well, I see youve made a start on salvaging the marines
down! Haines came thrashing through the waters, gear.
brandishing the shotgun and now had both barrels levelled
at this newcomer, who was nonchalantly wiping clean the I, well...
heavy, leaf-bladed knife with which hed performed the
dreadful execution. He sheathed the Khukri and adjusted Dont apologise Sergeant, Poor Captain Priestman and her
the helmet and respirator which cloaked his face. Long brave lads wont be needing it any more. I should not have
pale hair spilled over his collar and he wore the same dark left them here, but other, more pressing matters seemed
to demand my attention, an apparently wild goose chase
that... His rich rather plummy voice dwindled mid sentence.
I should never have allowed myself to be separated from
them, but the prize seemed worth the risk. Im only glad I
was able to return to lend you a hand.
38 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
ASSEMBLE THE AWAY TEAM, NUMBER ONE!
SUMMER 2017 39
WEAPON UTILITY
in Conan 2d20
WRITING: David Thomas
ART: Tim Truman and
Mateusz Wilma
40 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
T
he Conan 2d20 RPG contains THE WEAPONS
some great rules for
Dagger / Knife: Having a basic cutting tool
resources, kits and tools. In
is useful in many situations. A dagger can
reality, many weapons have a
be used to clean and skin a hunting kill, pry
utility benefit outside of their
gems from a statue, open a basic lock, cut an
designed use or are originally
opening in a tent, be tied to a stick to make
derived from tools themselves. In this article,
a crude spear for hunting, shave tinder and
Im going to examine how weapons can be
spark flint, etc. A dagger or knife can thus act
used as tools and resources in the Conan
as a basic kit for hunting and shelter Survival
rules. This brings two benefits to your games.
tests, as well as some Thievery and Craft tests.
First, it actually makes weapons useful outside
This means that the Difficulty for these tests
of combat. Second, it adds realism because
will not be increased for not having the proper
it now matters which weapons characters
kit available.
choose to carry on a level beyond damage
output, etc. Scouts are better off carrying
Bow: A bow, with good range, accuracy,
a tomahawk; fishermen will want a spear or
and killing power, is one of the best all-
javelin; soldiers or mercenaries, especially
around weapons for hunting. It allows the
archers, may want to carry a hammer. This
wielders choice of a reroll of 1d20, or 1 Bonus
allows a utility and realism for weapons that is
Momentum on a Survival test for hunting.
seldom seen in an RPG.
The wielder must choose before the test is
made, with a reroll representing shooting any
A few notes before I dig in. First, Ill give
game that one comes across, and a Bonus
examples of how weapons can be used as
Momentum representing hunting larger prey
tools, but I encourage players and GMs to think
for more yield.
of other uses as well. Second, all of this falls
under the common sense rule: you obviously
wont be using a pole-axe to cut down a tree.
Ive gone general rather than specific here, so
feel free to go into more detail in your own
games. Finally, you can only get the benefit
from one weapon tool on a test.
SUMMER 2017 41
Javelin: A javelin is good for fishing, and better
for hunting animals than a spear due to its
range. A javelin grants 1 Bonus Momentum on
Survival tests for food near bodies of water.
A javelin grants a reroll of 1d20 when making
Survival tests to hunt land animals for food.
42 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
the penalty for not having proper tools, for
any Craft test to repair an item in which having COMPLICATIONS
a large hammer would reasonably help.
There is a negative consequence that comes from regularly using
your weapons as tools, and that is dealt with via Complications.
Whip: A whip is commonly used for taming
When rolling a Complication on a skill test in which you are using
wild beasts. Using a whip to control or
a weapon as a tool, the GM may rule that one of the following
threaten any non-mount animal grants a
things happens:
reroll of 1d20 on an Animal Handling test.
Furthermore, the GM may grant a Bonus
1 Complication
Momentum to a whip wielder for any Persuade
or Command roll involving intimidation versus Choose one of the following options, or devise your own:
unarmed humans.
nn Ranged weapons with load Resources lose 1 load.
ARMOR
nn The weapon dulls and loses 1 of its damage dice until repaired
While armor mostly hampers the wearer as (taking an hour) and a D1 Craft test.
the trade-off for the protection it offers, at the
nn The weapon becomes worn in some way, such as an axe haft
GMs discretion some types of armor may be
cracking. Attacks made with the weapon are at +1 Difficulty
useful tools for certain situations as well. For
until repaired (over two hours) and a D1 Craft test. A further
instance, Heavy Clothing may award a reroll
Complication before the weapon is repaired means it breaks,
of 1d20 on Resistance tests against cold or
requiring a day or more time to repair, and a D3 Craft test.
desert environments. A helmet may double as
a makeshift water bowl or soup pot, adding nn The weapon has cut into an insect nest. Two Venomous Swarms
a Bonus Momentum to thirst and starvation (core rulebook, p.332) angrily defend the nest.
based Survival tests.
2 Complications
nn The use of the weapon in hunting has spread blood in the water
or the smell of death in the air. Two Toughened predators, such
as crocodiles, bears, or tigers appear to claim the kill.
SUMMER 2017 43
Designer On Deck
STAR TREK ADVENTURES INTERVIEW
Modiphia chats with Rick Sternbach,
production illustrator/designer for Star
Trek incarnations from The Motion Picture
to Voyager, and consultant on Star Trek
Adventures design elements including the
upcoming geomorphic gaming tiles.
W
ith clients including NASA,
Analog, and Time-Life Books,
Rick Sternbach is a two-time
Hugo Award-winner for best
professional science fiction artist.
His long association with film and
television ranges from The Last Starfighter and Steven
Soderberghs Solaris to the original Cosmos documentary
series, for which he and its astronomical art team received
the inaugural Emmy Award for visual effects. Q: When did you start working on Star Trek, and how did
you get the job?
However, science fact is as much a part of his work as
science fiction. He became involved with true space design My first real assignment with the franchise was on Star
with Voyagers Ares IV Mars orbiter, and his company, Trek: The Motion Picture in 1978. I had visited Paramount
Space Model Systems, has produced planetary terrains Pictures late in 1977, and met with production designer Joe
and globes for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, and Jennings and his art department staff when they were still
a scale model of a proposed asteroid retrieval spacecraft planning to do the Phase II television series. At the time,
for the Keck Institute for Space Studies. He is also a Fellow Joe had nothing for me, but some months later, he called
and founding member of the International Association of to tell me the studio was changing gears and making the
Astronomical Artists (IAAA). feature film, and I was invited to join them. Joe left after
a while to do the Shogun mini-series, and my new boss
Yet for sci-fi fans, it may be Star Trek with which he is was Harold Michelson. Harold gave me some amazing
strongest associated. Rick was central to Treks televisual tutorials on projecting set plans up to full perspective
rebirth in the 1980s and 1990s, updating tricorders, phasers (and accurate) sketches, and was a total pleasure to work
and spacecraft for The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine for. Most of my work involved adding to what graphic
and Voyager. His new Romulan bird of prey design and designer Lee Cole had started with the TV version of the
Senate chamber floor design were memorable features production. She set the style with the backlit control panels
of the prime universes most recent cinematic outing, and signage, and I created a lot of new material, all with ink
Star Trek: Nemesis. He is once again a consultant on the and hot press illustration board and plastic templates and
Trek universes design elements, helping Modiphius bring hi-con negatives and photostats. Way before we had any
authenticity to Star Trek Adventures. personal computers and laser printers!
44 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
Q: What was the most challenging thing about designing Q: Which design are you most proud of?
technology and architecture for Gene Roddenberry's
universe? In the ships area, its a toss-up between the U.S.S. Voyager
and the Klingon VorCha attack cruiser, followed closely
I suppose it would have to be equal parts keeping by Deep Space 9 and maybe fifty other ships and shuttles.
Starfleet/Federation and alien ships and hardware The Delta Flyer was another clean Starfleet design that I
stylistically separate and recognizable, making those had a great time with. Okay, and the Runabout, with Jim
designs visually interesting, and making them make at least Martins able assist on surface detailing. And a few hundred
some science and engineering sense, within the overall Starfleet and alien hand props, with maybe the TNG
Trek context. Ideally, all of these things should look cool tricorder being a nicely iconic bit of equipment.
and look like they might work. When we began Star Trek:
The Next Generation, some bits we assumed would be Q: Have you designed anything that people wouldn't
needed based on previous shows and films, like phasers know was yours?
and tricorders and communicators and other designs,
were required by the scripts. Long discussions in the art Oh, there were lots of pieces and parts that needed to be
department and, piles and piles of sketches led to periodic designed and built, and maybe didnt get a lot of coverage,
approvals by the producers, and eventually everything got like light fixtures and power generators and ceiling fans
built and filmed. and sickbay scanning beds. And an occasional pool table.
The electronic shuffleboard game on the TMP Enterprise
Q: Did you ever put any jokes or Easter Eggs into Refit rec room was mine, but its hardly something to add
your designs?
SUMMER 2017 45
to my rsum. Most of the major ships and props done episodes and hardware, and Ive waved at them from
over the years are pretty well-known, and the rest are afar. They did appropriate a lot of our very specific Trek
there to reinforce the design consistency of the various tech jargon, but I consider that a fun tip o the hat. Now,
cultures and periods. had I been old enough, I would have jumped in with both
feet into a TV show called Men into Space, produced by
Q: Which movie or TV series would you have loved to ZIV Television in 1959. I was eight years old, watching
work on? the beginnings of the space program when there was
nothing man-made in Earth orbit (Sputnik changed that in
If I had the opportunity and the free time and a work visa, 1957), and I saw it all happen. Add to that the Walt Disney
I would have loved to have contributed to the Stargate spaceflight films of the 1950s, and you can get a pretty
franchise in some form. They did some amazingly great decent idea where my mind was headed.
46 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
A FULL RANGE OF BOOKS & ACCESSORIES
NCC-1701-D Limited Edition Corebook Limited Edition Borg Cube Box Set
Away Team Edition Corebook Borg Cube Gamesmaster Screen
Tricorder Starter Set Command, Operations & Sciences Dice Sets
Command Division Book The Next Generation Miniatures
Operations Division Book The Original Series Miniatures
Sciences Division Book Romulan Strike Team Miniatures
Alpha Quadrant Book Klingon Warband Miniatures
Beta Quadrant Book Borg Drone Miniatures
Gamma Quadrant Book Starfleet Away Team Miniatures
Delta Quadrant Book Star Trek Villains Miniatures
These Are The Voyages: Missions Vol.1 Starfleet Geomorphic Deck Tiles
SUMMER 2017 47
Assassins of Infinity
WRITERS: Justin Alexander and Jonathan Killstring Herzberger
ILLUSTRATORS: Xin Aoyama, Bagus Hutomo, and Aituar Manas
I
n the far-flung future of the Infinity Among those factions is Haqqislam. This
Roleplaying Game, open war rages sneak peek from the Infinity corebook details
between mankind and the alien legions the enigmatic Hassassin Society, along with
of the Combined Army on the verdant exclusive stat blocks and descriptions of the
jungle world of Paradiso. This existential Orders of the Hassassins.
threat has not been fully successful in
bringing humanity together, however. Among
the dozen worlds of the Human Sphere,
players will dive into the covert action and
espionage which boils beneath the seemingly
placid relations between the major political
factions.
48 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
In the mid-21st century, the Energy Crisis OLD MAN OF THE
crippled the economies of the Muslim world. MOUNTAIN
A crisis of faith and identity saw a proliferation
The Societys leader is the mysterious Old
of new interpretations of Islamic philosophy
Man of the Mountain. There are some who
and theology, the rebirth of Sufism, and the
say that the current Old Man is, in fact, still
rise of countless populist religious teachers.
Abdulahmed Rashad himself, the founder of
Out of this morass of theological ideas, it was
the order. Whatever the truth may be, it is the
the doctrine of Haqqislam that quickly became
Old Man of the Mountain who is the ultimate
ascendant. It was inspired by the teachings of
determiner of who (or what) constitutes a
Farhad Khadivar, who spoke of the need to
threat to the ongoing Search for Knowledge,
seek the True Islam described by the Quran;
a mission that extends beyond Haqqislam
an Islam that was built upon the central tenet
and includes anyone obstructing humanitys
of the Search for Knowledge. The resulting
development. He designates the targets
populist movement was, importantly, also
marked for death at the hands of his disciples,
successful in reaching out to the Muslim elite
and once they are marked, sooner or later
who saw a return to prosperity in its scientific
death inevitably follows.
and technological idealism.
SUMMER 2017 49
HASSASSIN EXEMPLARS The Hassassins are diverse in their skills and
training but united in their devotion to the
The Hassassins consider themselves seekers
cause and not afraid to die if that is what it
pursuing the Haqqislamite Virtues who, in their
takes. They seek public executions, viewing
defence of the Search of Knowledge, have
their killings as an instrument of propaganda
transformed themselves into the embodiment
for both themselves and the Search for
of the Haqqislamite Ideals. Their teachings
Knowledge.
wed the martial lore of the Nizari Ismailism (an
ancient order of assassins) with the mysticism
of neo-Sufism.
LAYERS OF DECEPTION
Even before Bouraks government was
The Hassassin philosophy centres on the lataif- formed, the Hassassins appointed themselves
e-sitta, the psycho-spiritual organs known Haqqislams intelligence organization. The
as the Six Subtleties. Mastering the use of societys government liaison is officially listed
these organs unlocks a physical and spiritual as an agency of the Diwn al Jund, under the
perfection through which a follower attains his title of Hassassin ETTVAK (an acronym for
ultimate purpose in the art of divine murder. Ettelaat va Amniyat-e Keshvar, a Farsi phrase
meaning Circle of Intelligence and Security).
50 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
HASSASSIN GOVAD Hassassin Govad (Elite)
Named for the Persian word for wind, as ATTRIBUTES
well as Zoroastrian Yazata quasi-divine
Agility Awareness Brawn Coordination
wind spirits, analogous to Christian and
Islamic angels the Govads are the original 10 9 9 9
Hassassin Order, clandestinely operating for
Intelligence Personality Willpower
years before the sects first public appearance.
Carrying out covert missions at the Old 8 8 10
Man of the Mountains behest, the larger
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
intelligence community was entirely unaware
of their presence until about ten years ago, Combat +2 2 Movement +1 1w Social +1 1
when they were nearly wiped out in a costly
Fortitude +1 Senses +1 Technical +1 1
protracted battle with the terrorist group,
Equinox. While the campaign was ultimately
DEFENCES
successful, the Govad barely survived, at one
point reduced to a single operative, Dawud Firewall Resolve Vigour
Al-Dafani.
8 10 9
...the Govads are the original Hassassin Order, nn Old Mans Dirty Work:
Autonomous agents of Alamut,
clandestinely operating for years before the
Govads are masters of death,
sects first public appearance. with all that implies. They can
reroll up to 3 when making a
Combat test, but must accept
the new results.
SUMMER 2017 51
HASSASSIN FIDAY Hassassin Fiday (Nemesis)
Every soldier knows that death is a ATTRIBUTES
possibility. Every contract killer knows theyre
Agility Awareness Brawn Coordination
expendable. But the Hassassin Fiday are
neither of those things; they are something 13 12 12 8
much greater. Fiday they who are willing to
Intelligence Personality Willpower
sacrifice are the Old Man of the Mountains
hidden aces. Selected from Hassassins 8 7 10
whove shown incredible skill, faith, and
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
dedication but lack the ability or desire to
pass their knowledge on to students Fiday Combat +5 3 Movement +2 2 Social +1
are assigned the Hassassin Societys most
Fortitude +3 Senses +1 1 Technical +1 1
dangerous, risky, and important missions.
DEFENCES
And so, they become the societys ultimate
weapon; elite operatives who can infiltrate any Firewall Resolve Vigour
location, and take out any target whether
9 13 15
or not they make it out alive. The rich and
powerful have always depended on the fear of Security Morale Armour
retribution to keep them safe that, and any
4 2
would-be assassins self-preservation instincts.
But neither of these things deter the Fiday.
ATTACKS nn Inevitable: The Fiday are not
After all, death is their friend, their colleague;
nn Boarding Shotgun: Range C, afraid to greet death, but
they no more fear its arrival then they would
1+8 damage, Burst 1, 2H, consider it poor manners to
the rising of the sun.
Knockdown, Medium MULTI come alone. Every time they
receive a Wound, they add
And the sun always rises. Normal Shells Mode
+1 to warfare attacks for the
(Primary): Area (Close),
remainder of the scene.
Spread 1
AP Slugs Mode nn Loyal Unto Death (2 Heat):
(Secondary): Piercing 3 Hassassins never let
themselves be taken alive.
Fiday are assigned the nn Grazeblade: Melee, 1+7
If the player characters try
damage, 1H, Breaker, Non-
Hassassin Societys most to capture a Hassassin, a
Hackable, Stun, Subtle 2,
Heat point spend allows the
dangerous, risky, and Thrown, Toxic 3
Hassassin to take their own
important missions. life (with a concealed cyanide
GEAR
capsule or similar method).
Holomask, Light Combat Armour,
Smoke Grenades; no Cube nn Zealous Charge: Once theyve
acquired their target, few
SPECIAL ABILITIES things can stop a Fiday. All
nn Common Special Abilities: Defence or Guard Reactions
Fear 1, Menacing 2. taken in response to a Fidays
attack are made at +1 difficulty,
nn Death, My Old Friend: The
and if the test fails, add 1 Heat
Fiday are resolute in the face
to the pool.
of annihilation, granting them
+4 Morale Soak.
52 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
HASSASSIN BARID Hassassin Barid (Elite)
The Hassassins power derives from the ATTRIBUTES
idea that nowhere is truly safe from them; a
Agility Awareness Brawn Coordination
Hassassin could be anyone, anywhere, and
could strike at any time. But as society moved 8 10 8 9
increasingly toward quantronic infrastructure
Intelligence Personality Willpower
and data-based interactions, the Hassassins
knew they would have to adapt. 11 9 8
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
In response, the Barid meaning messenger
were formed. Experts at navigating Combat +2 1 Movement +1 1 Social +1 1
quantronic environments, they provide support
Fortitude Senses +1 Technical +3 1
and intelligence for their fellow Hassassins
but their most notable trait is undoubtedly
DEFENCES
their infowar capabilities. Hassassins in any
realm, their signature message is eerily similar Firewall Resolve Vigour
to their fellow Hassassins; threaten the Search
11 8 8
for Knowledge, and your smouldering corpse
will serve as a warning. Security Morale Armour
2 2
SUMMER 2017 53
HASSASSIN LASIQS Hassassin Lasiq (Elite)
Despite their gregarious demeanour, the life ATTRIBUTES
of a Hassassin Lasiq is a lonely one. Snipers
Agility Awareness Brawn Coordination
par excellence, they provide a quiet, precise
alternative to the orders typical methods. 8 10 8 12
Unlike the dramatic statements that other
Intelligence Personality Willpower
Hassassins employ, Lasiqs are silent,
invisible, and precise; priding themselves 8 9 8
in eliminating only their target, and leaving
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
the surrounding environs more-or-less
untouched by their presence. Combat +3 2 Movement +1 1 Social +3
Lasiqs are silent, invisible, and precise; priding nn Loyal Unto Death (2 Heat):
Hassassins never let
themselves in eliminating only their target.
themselves be taken alive.
If the player characters try
to capture a Hassassin, a
Heat point spend allows the
Hassassin to take their own
life (with a concealed cyanide
capsule or similar method).
54 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
HASSASSIN MUYIBS Hassassin Muyib (Elite)
Sometimes, the Search for Knowledge is ATTRIBUTES
threatened by particularly resilient forces.
Agility Awareness Brawn Coordination
When the dedication of the Fidays, the
precision of the Lasiqs, and the speed of the 11 8 10 9
Ragiks proves insufficient, it poses a difficult
Intelligence Personality Willpower
question; what, precisely, can the Hassassins
do about it? The Muyibs those who answer 8 7 9
have a simple response:
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
Blow everything to hell. Combat +3 2 Movement +1 Social +1
SUMMER 2017 55
HASSASSIN FARZANS Hassassin Farzan (Elite)
Farzan, a Persian name meaning Wise, is the ATTRIBUTES
title bestowed upon the Hassassins mentors,
Agility Awareness Brawn Coordination
teachers, and instructors. Veteran fighters,
their role is to guide the sects initiates in 8 10 9 8
spiritual and philosophical studies, as well
Intelligence Personality Willpower
as martial techniques. Often, this means
accompanying their students into the field, 9 10 9
providing guidance, support, intelligence, and
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
if matters become dire intervention on
their behalf. Combat +2 1 Movement +1 Social +1 1
56 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
HASSASSIN RAGIKS Hassassin Ragiks (Nemesis)
Innovation. Determination. Independence. The ATTRIBUTES
Ragiks of the Hassassin sect embody these
Agility Awareness Brawn Coordination
traits to near-perfection. Selected to become
part of the Hassassin Societys elite, Ragiks are 11 12 10 8
trained in secret camps in the Moons of the
Intelligence Personality Willpower
Seven Imams, supplementing their skills with
airborne assault training which allows them 9 9 11
to be rapidly inserted as blitzkrieg agents
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
into any field of operation, either to turn the
tide of battle or to seize and defend strategic Combat +3 3 Movement +2 2 Social +1 1
positions without external support.
Fortitude +2 1 Senses +1 1 Technical +2 1
2 3
Ragiks are also among the most public-
facing Hassassin orders, serving as liaisons
ATTACKS making an attack against a
between the sect and the Sword of Allah in
nn Hacking Device: CLAW-1, target they have not damaged
order to coordinate the Hassassins military
SWORD-1, SHIELD-1, GADGET-3, in this scene, they generate an
deployments. Some struggle with the need to
IC-1; +1 bonus damage additional 2 Momentum.
emerge, however partially, from the shadows
they have made their homes, but many Ragiks CLAW-1 Spotlight nn Determined: Ragiks gain +2
eventually embrace this role, relishing the IC-1 Hivemines: 1+2 Morale Soak.
opportunity to stand as proud examples of damage, Vicious 1
nn Exemplar: Although the scope
the best Haqqislam has to offer (while also still
nn Grazeblade: Melee, 1+6 is limited, Ragiks are by far
making examples of their enemies).
damage, 1H, Breaker, Non- the most public Hassassins; a
Hackable, Stun, Subtle 2, burden they have trained to
Thrown, Toxic 3 carry. When making a social
skills test, they can reroll one
nn Boarding Shotgun: Range C,
d20, but must accept the new
Also known as the 1+7 damage, Burst 1, 2H,
result.
Knockdown, Medium MULTI
Companions, Ragiks...
nn Loyal Unto Death (2 Heat):
are also leaders, GEAR Hassassins never let
AutoMediKit, Combat Jump Pack, themselves be taken alive.
instructors, and
Medium Combat Armour; no Cube If the player characters try
exemplars in the Search to capture a Hassassin, a
SPECIAL ABILITIES Heat point spend allows the
for Knowledge. nn Common Special Abilities: Hassassin to take their own
Menacing 1 life (with a concealed cyanide
capsule or similar method).
nn Blitz: Ragiks tend to be self-
reliant; they like to hit first,
hit hard, and hit fast. When
SUMMER 2017 57
Mad Jack McMasters
58 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
L
ieutenant Colonel Mad Jack McMasters and deputised for many of Hollywoods leading actors.
VC, DSO, MC + Bar (Sept. 1906-March 1996) Between takes, he found time to represent Great Britain at
was a highly decorated and ever-so-slightly the World Archery Championships, though he refused to
deranged Allied hero, whose absolutely go to the 1936 Olympics on the grounds that Hitler was an
fearless nature, ability to inspire men and absolute blighter and Ill be damned if Ill take part in a
deep loathing of the Order of the Black Nazi-sponsored tournament.
Sun made him one of the Allies most potent weapons in
Achtung! Cthulhu's Secret War. With the outbreak of World War Two, McMasters was
re-commissioned and served as part of the British
McMasters was born in Edinburgh and educated at an Expeditionary Force in France alongside his younger
obscure public school before attending the Royal Military brother, Tom. It was during this campaign he formed his
College, Sandhurst. There he graduated top of his class famous opinion that an officer is never properly dressed
and was subsequently dispatched to learn his trade without sporting a sword and always wore his distinctive
as a soldier and diplomat in India, where he served as basket-hilted highland broadsword, nicknamed 'Nelly',
commander of a squadron of Kashmiri Lancers. during operations.
A superb horsemen and athlete, though a somewhat The audacious McMasters brothers volunteered for several
middling musician, it was in that ancient land that he reconnaissance missions to thwart the German Blitzkrieg
first acquired his mastery and enthusiasm for a host of and it was there that he first encountered the dreaded
ancient weapons such as the broadsword, longbow Order of the Black Sun. Captured by a Black Sun patrol,
and lance, though it was apparently his inept handling Mad Jack bet his and his brother's freedom that he would
of the bagpipes which struck most fear into the prevail in single combat against the masked Canon who
native inhabitants. commanded them. But the Canon fought the younger
brother first and killed the unfortunate Tom in a prolonged
McMasters was stationed along the troubled North West and very deadly single combat.
Frontier and distinguished himself in several minor actions
against bandits and rebellious tribesmen in the high Kush. Incensed, Mad Jack slew both the Canon and the rest
McMasters also served as an agent in South Waziristan of his captors, and it is said he kept the Canon's head
during the short lived Pinks War, where he penetrated preserved in a box which apparently accompanied
deep into the interior before releasing carrier pigeons to him on his campaigns throughout the rest of the war.
guide British bombers to their targets. Sometimes, during the long vigils of the night, he could
be heard conversing with it, reinforcing his reputation for
During his time in India, McMasters played a major part deep eccentricity. His brothers death certainly fuelled
in the suppression of several devilish cults devoted his implacable hatred of the Black Sun and he made it
to the darker gods which held the local villagers in his mission to seek out and destroy its representatives.
thrall. McMasters, fearless to the point of recklessness, Soon after this incident, McMasters was recruited by the
led several raids into these cults hidden temples and secretive British Section M and became one of its most
forbidden tombs. It was there he first acquired his trusted operatives.
nickname and his distaste for what he called blasted
magic and superstition, which keeps the common man in After several subsequent bruising skirmishes, McMasters
bondage. He also made enemies of powerful local realised that cold steel and a dead eye would not be
princes (who were rumoured to be in league with the enough on their own to combat the horrors which the Black
cults) and became a thorn in the side of his superiors, Sun employed as both familiars and living weapons. An
who refused to believe his reports of dark gods and encounter with Professor Richard Deadman led to Nelly
blasphemous monsters. being enchanted with wards and sigils and his arrows
inscribed with the Elder Sign, so that both weapons could
McMasters left the army in 1934 and moved to America, damage supernatural creatures. Despite his distrust of
where he renewed his childhood friendship with screen magic, McMasters deemed this a necessary evil, to
idol Robert Taylor, became a jobbing actor and stunt man, combat the ultimate evil.
SUMMER 2017 59
Used to operating deep behind enemy lines, McMasters As the war drew to a close, McMasters returned from
was seconded to several successful commando operations the East and became a consultant on the operation in
in the early parts of the war and served with distinction Antarctica against the Nazi base at the end of the world
in theatres as varied as Norway and North Africa, where that came to be known as the Assault on the Mountains of
he joined the Long Range Desert Patrol Group. However, Madness. It was there, while taking a stroll one morning to
he was an eager volunteer for any and all missions which go ice fishing, he recorded historys last known longbow
involved direct operations against the Black Sun and kills, when he surprised a Black Sun assassination squad on
conducted several covert raids alongside Eric Badger their way to attack Allied HQ. McMasters shot half of them
Harriss commandos. down with his arrows, then charged the rest with Nelly,
fighting until none remained. Heavily wounded and almost
As part of Operation Archery in 1941, a raid on a secret left for dead on the ice, he recovered to be awarded the
Black Sun base near the Norwegian town of Vgsy, he Victoria Cross for his endeavours.
is said to have given the signal for the attack by playing
(badly) the March of the Cameron Men on his pipes at By wars end, McMasters had earned the rank of
dawn, startling several seals and not a few unsuspecting Lieutenant Colonel and retired from active service. He
SS sentries, before charging in to slay several Black Sun appeared in the 1946 movie Ivanhoe as an extra alongside
operatives in hand-to-hand combat. Mad Jack was awarded old friend Robert Taylor, then spent a year in Australia,
the Military Cross and bar for his part in this operation. where he became a passionate surfer. He was the first
man to surf the river Severns tidal bore and explored and
As the US entered the war in 1943, a chance encounter mapped much of Britains finest surfing coastline, including
with an old Hollywood colleague in the newly formed the then little-known resort of Newquay, detailed in his
Majestic gave McMasters a chance to serve alongside book Seeking the Perfect Wave. His life-long reputation
the Tlingit, or Pathfinder demonhunters. Sharing their for eccentricity was cemented when, on the train home
fondness for melee weapons and a burgeoning hatred of to Surrey, he would often apparently leap through a train
occult horrors, McMasters felt a particular affinity with the window into his own back garden, explaining that he
Native Americans and was seconded to several Majestic preferred this shortcut to the roundabout walk home from
missions in the Far East and Pacific theatres. the station.
60 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition
SAN 50 HP 16 SAN 50 HP 16
Build: 1
Skills*: Climb 40%, Close Combat 65%, Command 65%,
Cthulhu Mythos 20%, Disguise 20%, Dodge 50%, Espionage Mov: 9
30%, Fieldcraft 65%, First Aid 50%, Listen 50%, Occult 20%,
Magic Points: 17
Parachute 50%, Ride 60%, Sabotage 25%, Spot Hidden
45%, Swim 40%, Tactics 60%, Throw 60%, Track 50%. Luck: 90
Language Skills*: English (own) 80%, Hindi/Urdu 65%, Skills*: Climb 40%, Command 65%, Cthulhu Mythos 20%,
Sanskrit 40%, German 50%, Japanese 20%. Disguise 20%, Dodge 50%, Espionage 30%, Fieldcraft 65%,
Fighting (Close Combat) 65%, First Aid 50%, Listen 50%,
* These values represent the characters skills at the time
Occult 20%, Parachute 50%, Ride 60%, Sabotage 25%, Spot
of the Assault on the Mountains of Madness campaign.
Hidden 45%, Swim 40%, Stealth 75%, Tactics 60%, Throw
Adjust as necessary for events taking place earlier in the
60%, Track 50%.
Secret War.
English Longbow (Archery) 75%, damage 2D10+4 (arrows Sten Mk.1 Firearms (SMG) 55%, damage 1D10, atts 2 or
enchanted to be able to damage Mythos and supernatural burst, base range 30 yards.
creatures), range 300 yds.
Nelly Firearms (sword) 75%, Claymore, Scottish basket-
handled broadsword, damage 1D10+4 +db, atts 2, base
Special Abilities: When Nelly inflicts damage on a
range touch (enchanted to be able to damage Mythos and
spellcaster, all their subsequent rolls are at Hard difficulty.
supernatural entities, ignores armour).
This penalty lasts for three hours. Mad Jack relishes close
quarters combat and a chance for Nelly to weave her English Longbow Firearms (Bow) 75%, damage 2D10+4
spell. As well as his formidable double attack, he receives (arrows enchanted to be able to damage Mythos and
up to two chances to parry per round at no penalty. supernatural creatures), range 300 yds.
SUMMER 2017 61
INTO
THE WASTELAND
As Modiphius prepares to render Bethesdas
post-apocalyptic video game series in glorious
32mm detail, we sneek a peep at the beasts
and bots headed to your tabletop.
I
n Fallout: Wasteland Warfare,
players will build their own crew from
a wide range of factions including the
Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutants,
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare includes an
Survivors, Raiders, The Institute, and The
entire campaign arc as well as unique random
Enclave. Youll be able to add allies and
missions with narrative-style objectives, while
well-known characters from the Fallout series,
Crew Caps recovered in missions can be used
and play in games of 3-30 high quality 32mm
to improve the crews perks, weapons, gear,
scale resin miniatures through a huge variety
and upgrades for the next encounter. In either
of iconic scenery and settlement buildings,
Player vs. Player or Tournament mode, players
from the Red Rocket to Sanctuary Hills,
try to survive the tabletop wasteland.
Nuka-Cola vending machines, gas powered
turrets and wrecked vehicles.
The game also includes a customizable solo-
Settlements will include
play AI deck to control enemies that play
buildings, defenses and
to their strengths and replicate a factions
resources that impact
tactics, while attempting a narrative mission
the crews army list
or perfecting settlement-building strategy.
and abilities in
Growing your forces with expansions grants
the wasteland.
you more AI cards, adding further challenges
and variety to the battlefield with new
wasteland encounters. Add creatures and
robots to your collection with Sentry Bots,
Deathblows, Rad Scorpions, Protectrons and
more, ready to make your survivors day hell!
62 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
Through the forthcoming Campaign boxes,
players can also team up with a friend to
build and defend actual settlements
or explore narrative missions in
cooperative games against AI
forces or the post-apocalyptic
dangers of the wasteland.
SUMMER 2017 63
THE
REMOTE
GAUNTLET
TEXT: Bjrn Hellqvist
PAARHUFER MK 79
SEMI-AUTONOMOUS SERVICE UNIT
Manufacturer: Paarhufer Industrie Walking time: 6 hours (patrol)
GmbH, Dsseldorf, West Germany
Lifting capacity grip claw: max
Height: 20.5 (6.2 meters) 1750 lbs (800 kg)
64 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
P
aarhufer Mk 79 is a see what he is doing. The sensor units consist
maintenance robot that can of TV and thermal vision cameras, and the
handle simpler routine tasks programming allows the robot to detect if a
independently, but can also person is in danger zone. To avoid personal
be used by an operator with a injury, the robot is paused when someone is
remote control unit (remote within 10 (3 meters) in a 30 degree sector in
gauntlet). Since its introduction in 1982, the front of it, but if the remote gauntlet is used,
model has become commonplace in the Loop the safety function is switched off. A sensor in
area and in the rest of the industrialized world, the back can detect obstacles, but it is poor at
used for example on construction sites and detecting humans. A pair of forward-looking
in forestry. It needs relatively even ground for headlamps are used for work in the dark and
moving around, but is durable and enduring poor lighting conditions.
in most environments. It is available in both a
civilian and a military version, but the latter is The main tool is a claw for heavy lifting, but it
not used by the Swedish Army. can be replaced with, for example, a felling and
delimbing attachment for forest harvesting.
The robot is ideal for work in radioactive or A newer version, Mk 81, was introduced in
chemically contaminated environments, and 1984, and has two robotic arms for improved
the electronics are protected from anything manipulation capability, and consequently has
but the most powerful Gdel pulses. It is two remote gauntlets connected to the control
programmed to look for a charging station unit. This version is equipped with a camera
when the battery charge drops below 10%, and can be remote controlled from a control
but if it stops before that, an operator can center up to 3 miles (5 kilometers) away.
manually start an emergency drive so that the
robot can reach the nearest charging station. Paarhufer Mk 79 is a successful design,
and is expected to be in service for many
The remote gauntlet has a transmission range years to come. New versions are planned,
of 550 yards (500 meters), but for practical but economically advantageous upgrade
reasons, the operator rarely stays further packages can also extend the working life of
away than 110 yards (100 meters) in order to older robots. n
MYSTERY SUGGESTIONS
nn Its Friday and school is over for the weekend. The characters
find a service robot. In an unlocked shed next to it, is the
remote control unit. The robot is out of charge, and needs to
be connected to the nearby charging post. Will anyone miss
the robot before Monday?
SUMMER 2017 65
Sieging the Solar System WRITING: Marc Langworthy, Bill Heron the Prophet
ART: Paul Bonner, Stefan Kopinski
F
irst things first: we did it! We hard to ultimately deliver an amazing array of
successfully made it to the sourcebooks and material.
end of the Mutant Chronicles
Kickstarter project, and what Our focus since has been on delivering the
a ride its been! I (and this is crossover rules that will allow the roleplaying
Mark speaking) personally game to be played using Siege of the Citadel
came fully on board the project around the components in a more tactical environment.
time the Dark Legion Campaign rules were What does that mean? The third edition of
being written, which seems so long ago now. Mutant Chronicles is a more narrative form
Modiphius has gone from strength to strength of RPG than its predecessor by design;
since, which resulted in the team dynamics for instance, combat is played out across
altering to accommodate the rapid growth, loose Zones rather than tactical grids, with
but we took it all in our stride and worked movement and range tracked in a more
66 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
abstract fashion that requires no measuring of Were also all set to launch the Living
distance. By offering mechanics that integrate Campaign, so make sure you sign up for
with the tactical grid, the crossover rules have updates over this exciting opportunity to
been designed to bridge the gap between shape a part of the rich history of Mutant
the two styles of play. Having been a fan of Chronicles. Beyond that, we have a tactical
the setting since its first edition, Im personally update planned which will offer variant 2d20
very excited to see how the rules are received rules to bring the system in line with iterations
as there is plenty of flavour from those earlier for other settings (such as Conan and Infinity),
editions in there. plus some cool campaigns that will bridge the
gap between the different eras of play.
Although it ended some time ago, there is still
a chance to join in on the hugely successful In the words of the Doomtroopers themselves:
Siege of the Citadel Kickstarter through the There is nothing that cannot be defeated by
Modiphius website. Not only will this great relentless determination and unfettered
opportunity allow you to pick up a huge valour. Fear naught, for we are humanitys
range of miniatures that will further enrich salvation.
your games, it will also provide you with the
opportunity to experience the setting through
a different and dynamic medium.
SUMMER 2017 67
METROPOLITAN PROPHET
One of the most insidious threats of all to
Humanity, Semais Metropolitan Prophets
Metropolitan Prophet (Elite)
are massively muscled humanoids born from ATTRIBUTES
the Ritual known as the Seed of Semai.
Strength Physique Agility Awareness
Usually covered in the gore of their host,
the taut muscles and tendons of their face 12 (+1)/15 (+2) 12 (+1)/15 (+3) 9 8
form a rictus grin that exposes their teeth in
Coordination Intelligence Mental Strength Personality
a feral snarl.
8 8 8 5
Born from a Ritual known as The Seed of
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
Semai, the one-way transformation brings
forth the corruption of an individual in the Combat Fortitude Movement Senses Social Technical
most visceral way possible. Heretics volunteer
EXP FOC EXP FOC EXP FOC EXP FOC EXP FOC EXP FOC
for the blessing, often to conduct suicide
missions or as a safeguard against capture, 2 2 - - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 -
but cults of Semai have been known to target
Wounds: 10/14 Soak: Toughened Hide (All 1/All 3)
specific individuals in positions of power who
are well-placed to carry out acts of terror
ATTACKS
and sabotage.
nn Fists (melee): 2+ 6/3+ 7, 1H, Knockdown,
Metropolitan Prophets remain human in Stun
appearance until the change is triggered,
nn Metropolitan Handcannon (ranged):
though their muscle mass increases and they
Range M, 1+ 6, Automatic, 2H, Ammo
become freakishly dense; more than one
(Black Bullets), Vicious 1
untransformed Prophet has been given away
by a vehicles suspension straining under
SPECIAL ABILITIES
their mass. This has caused some Heretics
to disrespectfully call the creatures Hydes. nn Fear (2)
With but a thought when the time is right, the
nn Feed Upon Fear
Seed can be activated to transform the host,
showering anyone nearby with the gore of nn Inured to Pain
their flesh as it is ripped asunder by muscles
nn Inured to Poison
and skeleton that tauten and thicken. The
change to a Metropolitan Prophet is a one- nn (Monstrous Creature)
way ticket; to all intents and purposes, the
nn Night Vision
human host no longer exists and death is the
only release. nn Slave to Symmetry (1)
68 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
SUMMER 2017 69
THE SEED OF SEMAI
(RITUAL)
Much like Dark Gifts, rituals are cast using a
Willpower test, which includes the fact that the
roll is effectively an attempt to resist mental
trauma. For more information on rituals, see
the Mutant & Heretics Source Book.
70 MODIPHIA ISSUE #2
So, Lets
Hear From YOU...
S
o, that wraps up another one. a $30 voucher which can be spent through the
We hope youve enjoyed this Modiphius.com online store, meaning youll
second issue of Modiphia. have even more games you can write about,
We are trying to pack each earning still more vouchers its the path to
one full of all the very best gagillionaire status.
content for the increasing
range of Modiphius games, and to give you a Some of the games Modiphius publishes are
glimpse into whats new, whats coming and done under license, so just be aware that the
whats happening. All things being equal, sooner we see your ideas the better, because
well be back in a few months time with a we might need to get them checked for
pre-Christmas edition to whet your appetites copyright issues, or somesuch.
some more.
Send your words n pics to:
Id like to thank everyone who has helped pull support@modiphius.com, and they should
this sun-bleached summer edition together, find their way to the crowded editorial desk
especially contributors like John Houlihan here at Modiphia.
and Alan Paull, who are very much our go-to
lets get the ball rolling writers. Right, were off to the beach. Have a great
gaming summer, and well see you sometime
But those guys are bound to take a day or two in the fall. n
off eventually, so Id like to remind all readers
that wed love to hear from you, both in terms Paul Cockburn
of what content youd like to see in future Editor
issues, but also to see your creative ideas for
any of our games. There are a few items in this
issue created by fans, and we would like to
see that grow as we move along.
SUMMER 2017 71