Alternate Concepts: the Vigilante.

Greetings BWP fans!

Some quick updates first, then I'll get to something fun, I promise. The fixed printing of H&H has been received by the printers, and proof copies are on the way to me shortly to make sure everything went fine. There was a bit of a hangup with the shipping (my fault, never do business at 8'o'clock in the morning on 5 hours' sleep), so it sadly may be a couple of weeks yet before I can once again approve Hulks and Horrors for sale in print, unless I can get the shipping upgraded. The good news is that because of this unfortunate delay, as a gesture of thanks and apology for the inconvenience, everyone who downloaded Hulks and Horrors during the sale period and is signed up to receive special discounts from DTRPG will receive a coupon to give you one more chance to pick it up at the introductory price for a limited time.

You can also see above that BWP finally has a proper logo of it's own! It's a simple design, aiming to evoke classic computer and sports car badges. Let us know what you think!

On to the fun stuff: Alternate Concepts. Tonight I was playing a bit of Batman and Tropico, and between my love of the Bat and the Vigilante character in Tropico 4, it put me in mind to make a little demonstration of the flexibility of the H&H rules system. Sure, H&H is a great SF dungeon crawler, but it's also an old school style game with a very simple class system, simple enough that expanding the rules to cover wildly different concepts should be easier than it sounds. I've been puttering away at a cyberpunk game powered by it for my next commercial release, but tonight I wanted to take a step way out of concept and see about a pulp-style Vigilante class, as well as demonstrate how one might introduce a touch of customization to a class.  Take a look after the jump and tell me how I did.

The Vigilante

Throughout history there have been those who took to the streets of their own accord to take the fight against crime and injustice into their own hands. Donning mask and sometimes even cape, these vigilantes hunt the night for the criminal scum that infest their city, bringing them to justice, or sending them to the morgue, with iron fists or twin .45s. They come from many backgrounds, though the independently wealthy, the ex-cop, and the private detective seem to be particularly common, as well as those merely driven to revenge by some past injustice within their own lives. Vigilantes generally have a high DEX in order to best survive groups of thugs and sneak around in the night, and a high WIS to suit their ever watchful nature and investigative talent.

Table 1: Vigilante

Level	Strong To-Hit	Weak To-Hit	Hit Dice	Rank
1	+1	+0	1d10	Patroller
2	+2	+1	2d10	Defender
3	+3	+1	3d10	Guardian
4	+4	+2	4d10	Avenger
5	+5	+2	5d10	Shadow
6	+6	+3	6d10	Dark Knight

Hit Die: d10

Saving Throw: +1 to WIS

Stat Requirement: DEX 7+, WIS 7+

Weapons: Pistol, Dagger, Sword

Armor: Light

Favored Environment: Oxygen, Medium Gravity

Special Abilities

Specialization: The vigilante chooses a combat specialty at character creation: martial arts (Melee), or twin pistols (Ranged). The chosen specialty determines which to-hit value takes the Strong value, and which the Weak: the martial artists has Strong Melee To-Hit, while the gunslinger has Strong Ranged To-Hit. In addition, Martial Artists deal 2d6H + STR bonus damage on an unarmed strike, while Gunslingers may fire once from both pistols in a round without penalty. 

Resolute: The vigilante is utterly dedicated to his pursuit of justice (or revenge), and because of his training and willpower, he always takes the maximum possible roll for Hit Points at first level, and gains a -1 AC bonus when facing groups of 4 or more enemies.

Masked Man: In order to safely prowl the night and protect himself from reprisal in daily life or legal consequences, the vigilante dons a disguise, usually a mask or cowl, in addition to any other details, and he often conceals his voice and other aspects of his person, such that when in this disguise, he cannot be recognized for his true identity unless unmasked.

Cowardly and Superstitious: The vigilante is a master of intimidation, and through the disguised persona strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. Enemies take a -1 to all Morale rolls when facing a vigilante in combat if his persona is known to them, and a lone enemy who fails a Morale roll will immediately surrender in fear.