Goodbye B-Movie Monday, Hello Filmation Friday

B-Movie Monday here at the Amazing RPG Fun Pad was created for two reasons: to share my immense love for B-Movie trailers and to give me a reason to do at least a blog post a week. And fun it was, for me and I hope for you. I have an itch to do something else, though, so I've decided to end B-Movie Monday with the December 27th Edition. I'll still post fun trailers, posters and dvd covers, but for now I want to take a break.

Starting the first or second week of January I will be debuting Filmation Friday! Filmation Friday is a celebration of the last animation studio to keep all of their animation in the States, and the masters of stock footage animation. Each week I may have a Filmation cartoon, some fan art, rpg stats or whatever strikes my fancy, as I dip into the vast weirdness that populates the Filmation universe as my inspiration.

So as I said in my very first post:

From Fulci...



to Filmation,

I hope you enjoy my irregularly updated blog!

[B-Movie RPG] Dr. Freudstein from The House by the Cemetery

Submitted for your approval another Fulci creation using Cinematic Unisystem! From the classic 1981 Italian horror movie classic Quella villa accanto al cimitero (better known in America as The House by the Cemetery I give you the diabolical Dr. Jacob Freudstein. All abilities for Dr. Freudstein are guessed at because they are never really explained in the movie, which is actually pretty normal for an 80s horror movie. I originally wrote this up on the Eden Studios Message Boards.

Dr. Jacob Freudstein

The House by the Cemetery French language poster

Jacob Freudstein was a doctor in the 1800s that began to experiment in means of prolonging the human lifespan. His research became an obsession. Freudstein began to indulge in increasingly bizarre and bloody experiments. The medical authorities of Boston rescinded his medical status. Driven into hiding, the Doctor retired to his home in the town of New Whitby, Massachusetts. Soon rumors began to circulate about the strange house by the cemetery. By the middle of the century Jacob Freudstein, his wife Mary, and their daughter May were dead. The house gained a reputation for strange disappearances and murders happening around the grounds. No matter who tries to sell the land or what the realtors call it, the residents call it “the Freudstein House”.

Jacob Freudstein walks today as a creature similar to a zombie. Well over 150 years old, he exists by harvesting the blood, limbs and organs of the people he kills. Limbs and organs he grafts onto himself to replace parts of himself that have rotted away. The only original body parts of the doctor that remain are his head and torso. The vocal chords have atrophied to the point where the only way Freudstein can communicate is with cries, moans, and grunts. Like most zombies and revivified beings, Freudstein is very hard to destroy.

With a steady stream of “donors”, Freudstein could exist in this undead state forever. Reports suggests that he still lives in the cellar of his house or in catacombs that exist beneath the cemetery that sits by the house. The true number of people he has killed has never been calculated, and his current activities are unknown.

It is also unknown if anyone else has used the Freudstein method of revivification.

Name: Dr Jacob Freudstein
Motivation: Live Forever by Killing People
Critter Type: Revived Zombie Doctor
Attributes: Str 8, Dex 3, Con 7, Int 5, Per 4, Will 5
Ability Scores: Muscle 22, Combat 16, Brains 14,
Life Points: 70
Drama Points: 3
Special Abilities: Appearance –6, Iron Mind, Regeneration (7 per hour), Zombie, Deranged Cruelty, Deranged Obsession (Eternal Life), Mute, Unique Kill (Must incinerate head), Weakness (Must Harvest Victims Limbs, Organs, and Fluids to Replace Aging or Damaged Parts), Haunted (His wife and Daughter, antagonistic), +5 Doctor, +4 Science.

Maneuvers

Name-Score-Damage-Type
Break Neck-22-32-Bash
Grapple-18-0-Resisted by Dodge
Choke-22-7-must grapple, possible asphyxiation
Toss-18-8-Bash, must grapple first
Big Ass Knife-16-24-slash/stab
BAK (Thrown)-15-21-slash/stab
Ax-16-40-slash/stab
Punch-16-16-bash
Wall Slap-22-24-bash, must grapple first
Throat Rip-13-32-must grapple, if damage fatal throat ripped out

When I can find my pdf copy of Ghosts of Albion (and have some free time to do it), I have an idea for making Freudstein as a malevolent ghost who can materialize to murder his victims.

Plus, Ghosts of Albion will hopefully be coming out in print soon…

[B-Movie RPG] Two Characters from Fulci's The Beyond (for Unisystem)

I love cheesy 70s-90s horror movies. Although there is usually no logic or reason to these films, but there are plenty of characters, monsters, and situations to steal for gaming. So when I get some gumption out, I think I'll stat some of these things utilizing various RPG systems. This originally was posted on the Eden Studios Message Board for the Angel RPG in The 80's Rule post

***

I love threads like this. My first additions to this thread are two characters from the Lucio Fulci movie The Beyond. Or shall we say, the Buffyverse/Swinging Seventies/Heroes of the Millennium versions of these characters. There are mild spoilers, so be warned.

The Seven Doors Hotel Affair

There are areas in this world where the barriers between dimensions are not as strong as we believe. In the best of times these areas have a reputation for strange noises and unusual sightings. Sometimes the barriers grow thin enough to allow close hell dimensions to bleed into our own. Rituals and spells work far easier in such places, and blood shed in such a place can lead to unwanted gates opened. Soon they gain a reputation for being accursed. Some are even said to be entrances or gates to Hell.

At the turn of the century the Seven Doors Hotel was built over such a place. Formerly the land was deep in the swamps, but soon the land was drained and used for building. Strange occurrences soon began to happen there in the new hotel. In the late 20s, an artist named Schweick visited the hotel with a strange tome called The Book of Eibon. He disappeared several months later, after an incident that resulted a fire that destroyed a third of the building. Fifteen locals and the remaining guests of the hotel also perished, their remains never recovered.

Other strange incidents continued to plague the Seven Doors Hotel in the decades that followed. It went through several owners until Elizabeth Merill inherited it in the summer of 1981. This was when the disappearance of an artist named Schweick and the reading of the Book of Eibon led to the opening of one of the so called Seven Gates of Hell.

Liza Merill

played by Catriona MacColl

Elizabeth Merill inherited the Seven Doors Hotel on the fall of 1981. This came after failures in several other arenas, including and model, dancer, and fashion designer. Her plans for renovating and reopening the hotel came to a halt when a desiccated corpse was discovered in the basement. This discovery began a chain of events that led to the opening of one of the mythical Seven Gateways of Hell.

Liza is a bright, beautiful woman who just wants to find a place in the world to call her own. She is by nature a nervous woman, that situation not helped by her apparent lack of luck, and an increasing tie to the world of the supernatural.

Name: Liza Merill

Motivation: To have a normal, peaceful life

Critter Type: Human

Attributes: Str 2, Dex 2, Con 2, Int 3, Per 2, Will 3

Ability Scores: Muscle 10, Combat 10, Brains 11,

Life Points: 29

Drama Points: 10

Special Abilities: Attractiveness +3, Hard to Kill 1, Bad Luck 2, Emotional Problems (Fear of rejection, easily flustered), Psychic Visions.

Maneuvers

Name;Score;Damage;Notes

Dodge;10;None; Avoid getting hit

Knife;10;4;Slash/stab

Kick;9;6;Bash

Punch;10;4;Bash

John McCabe

played by David Warbeck

Jonathon McCabe left England for unspecified reasons and settled in New Orleans during the mid-70s. He came to be the chief surgeon of a small hospital when he met Liza Merill in 1981. Soon he was drawn into the strange incidents surrounding the Seven Doors Hotel.

John has a good bedside manner, but has a tendency to be incredibly blunt. The brusqueness turns to anger when he thinks he his being lied to. He wants nothing to do with the world of the supernatural, but is slowly finding himself forced into it beyond his control.

Name: John McCabe

Motivation: Find a rational explanation for things, the hippocratic oath

Critter Type: Human

Attributes: Str 3, Dex 3, Con 3, Int 3, Per 4, Will 3

Ability Scores: Muscle 12, Combat 12, Brains 12,

Life Points: 34

Drama Points: 10

Special Abilities: Fast Reaction Time, Nerves of Steel, Attractiveness +1, Mental Problems (Mild delusion (there's always a rational explanation), mild recklessness), Honorable (mild), +4 to Brains for Doctor, +3 to Combat for Gun-Fu.

Maneuvers

Name;Score;Damage;Notes

Punch; 12;6;Bash

Dodge; 12;None;Avoid getting hit

Scapel;12;4;Slash/stab

Pistol;15;12;Bullet

Brain Shot;8(11)*;varies by attack;Bash doubled, Slash/stab tripled, Bullet quadrupled

Grapple;14;None;Resisted by Dodge

*Including the +3 to Combat for Gun-Fu.

With luck I'll have more characters including Peter West from Zombie and the good doctor from the House by the Cemetery.

Peace out,

Madavid13

Spelljammer Giffs for Cinematic Unisystem

One of my great loves is the Spelljammer setting. This fantasy space campaign setting for AD&D 2e is unjustly maligned and teased by some. But I love it from the amazing fantasy spaceships to the giant space hamsters.

I also love the Unisystem--the RPG system designed by CJ Carella and used by Eden Studios. There are two versions of the system. Classic Unisystem is used for All Flesh Must be Eaten, Witchcraft and Conspiracy X 2.0. Cinematic Unisystem, a more streamlined version, is used for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Army of Darkness, and Ghosts of Albion.

Here is a version of the Spelljammer race known as the Giff envisioned as a demon race for the Buffy or Angel RPG.

GIFF

11-point Quality

Giff are a warrior race that has been on Earth for the past three hundred years. They appear to be stocky humanoids with hippo-like heads around 8 to 9 feet tall. Giff skin has the texture of a tough hide, with gray, gold, or black being the normal colors. Their legs are cylindrical, resembling again the legs of a hippo. Most giff dress in military style regalia. This can range from a full general's uniform complete with stars and bars to simple military fatigues. Although they look amusing, they are a race of fighters, and are respected for their battle prowess.

The giff hail from a forest-filled hell dimension they were driven from centuries ago. The exact reason from this has vanished in the mists of time. The entire race was scattered across the multiverse by an unknown force. Several families were dropped in Africa in the 1700s. It is from these clans that the giff of today are descended from.

All giff, male and female, are warriors. To the giff, two things matter most: battle and orders. Battle is a both a job and an art form to the giff. Recreation involves tests of strength and skill with weapons and explosives. The giff love to brawl, and will join a good bar fight just for fun. They also hire themselves out as mercenaries to make money for the clans and themselves. Orders give a giff purpose, something to follow. The giff respect a chain of command, the more

structured the better. If a giff mercenary takes money from a man or organization, he will follow the employer loyally unless he is cheated, the employer is killed, or he breaks a rule set down by the giff clans.

One thing giff will not do is fight other giff under the command of another employer. All giff mercenaries inform potential employers of this. An employer who presses the issue will find giff mercenaries refusing to do simple tasks. Further incidents lead to incidents such as the destruction of the Milwaukee branch of Wolfram & Hart by 10 angry giff with swords, shotguns, and lots of explosives.

Needless to say, the giff will not work for Wolfram & Hart anymore.

Giff have a +4 to Strength and +2 to Constitution. They have 3 levels of Hard to Kill and Natural Armor 4 (because of their hide-like skin). A giff's forehead and snout have hard, bony plates that give them a Natural Weapon doing Bash damage 3 X Strength (1 point), requiring a Head Butt maneuver roll. They also have a natural Resistance of 5 against Mystical effects. This resistance is always on, even against beneficial spells.

On the downside, the giff have a -1 to Intelligence. 9 foot tall hippo men are not like the average folks you see, so giff have the Supernatural Form: Definitely Not Human drawback. The giff devotion to the principles of Order and Battle give them two Mental Problems: a Severe Obsession for Following Orders and a Severe Obsession for Battle. The Battle Obsession is different from the Antisocial Impulse (Violence) drawback in that the giff don't go berserk; they just love getting into fights and contests. Finally, the giff are loyal to their people, resulting in an Obligation to the Giff Race at the Important level.

Giff characters usually have high scores in Getting Medieval, Gun Fu, Kung Fu, and Wild Card (Armory). Many giff have a Mild Delusion (Distrust of Magic) due to their natural resistance. Honorable and Recklessness are common drawbacks.

There are rumors of giff that have turned against their race and serve dark gods. These rumors and usual met with silence or not so friendly brawling when brought up.

Using the Giff in Buffy/Angel

The part that most giff would play in the Buffyverse would be that of either friendly opponent or bombastic ally in the demon underground. Giff are a militaristic people. While they are not by nature a cruel race, they do enjoy a good bareknuckle brawl. The Cast may encounter a giff mercenary employed by a demon gangster who will brawl at command. They may notice that the giff will not break certain rules or truces. A subplot could develop that a Big Bad's actions towards the Cast forces the giff to choose between his employer and his code. If push comes to shove, a giff who has been betrayed is a dangerous thing.

One could also picture a giff character as an ally or a Cast Member. A Slayer who saved a giff would have a loyal friend for life for two reasons. First, a giff would love the constant battle that surrounds the Slayer. Second, the giff respect warriors and hunters and the Slayer is certainly both of those. A giff would give up half his or her arsenal of weapons to help train a Slayer army.

At first glance the boisterous nature of the giff would not lend itself to an investigory campaign . They are more than willing to work for law and order as well. This is not just in the role of the muscle or the weaponsmith. Some giff have become very good at intimidation, able to get a subject making up sins to confess without throwing a punch. These giff are considered odd by their people, but they do have their uses.

There are rogue giff. Giff unrestrained by the codes of their people usually tend towards two paths. The more common path is that of the Beserker, a madness that makes the giff a brutal warrior obsessed with death. Much rarer is the path of the Diabolic. A diabolic giff is capable of cruelties that would make a vampire envious. There are rumors of a sect of giff warriors whose duty is to slay these rogue giff, but those are just rumors.

This version of the Giff is inspired by the version first present in the Spelljammer boxed set by TSR. No copyright or trademarks are being challenged.