SWORD & SORCERY RULES
for Super Hero Slugfest
by Michael Callahan
at Asterisk@webtv.net

SWORDS & SORCERY SLUGFEST (a permutation of  SUPERHERO SLUGFEST)

(Unless otherwise noted all of the revisions of and the optional rules
SUPERHERO SLUGFEST will be used in this variant.)


Character Creation

In homage to and in conformity with the conventions of fantasy
role-playing games, a player can personify either a warrior or a wizard.
If one chooses to play a warrior, the player receives five Construction
Points with which to build their character.  (Before CP's are added,
selections made, or dice rolled, player and non-player characters, and
all monsters as well, start with the Basic Traits package and are the
equivalent of zero-level beings.  Each Construction Point increases the
level by one-thus, beginning PC's enter the game at fifth level.)
Players must apply four of these CP's to the improvement of their
character's Traits.  The last Point represents the power of a magical
melee weapon (a boon, an heirloom, or perhaps 'acquired' by the
character in a previous adventure).  Roll once on the Random Special
Ability Table to determine the nature of the weapon's power; other
magical artifacts can be likewise generated.  Player character wizards
also receive five Construction Points-however, only one of these can be
alloted to increasing the character's Traits, the others are used to buy
Power Points.  Next, the player determines their character's spell
repertoire.  For each Power Point, the player picks an ability from the
Random Special Ability Table (to this end, "Flight" is substituted for
"Knockdown").  Thus a beginning PC wizard can generate between 4-24
spell effects per 'game day'.  Sorry, wizards cannot hoard and
accumulate unexpended Power Points.  No wizard can 'embody' more Power
Points per day than their maximum storage permits.  Unused PP's are
carried over to the next day; otherwise, Power Point slots are
're-energized' if the wizard sleeps for at least six hours straight.
PP's affixed to an artifact or weapon are recovered by the next
encounter.  Should the wizard endow someone with a Power Point, the
recipient can only employ effects already known by the wizard who imbued
that character.

So how does one cast a fireball or shockbolt?  The mechanism has been
provided by these two phrases from the Power Points section:
"...increase a trait by +1.", and "Effects can last up to one turn...."
An explanation by way of an example: Waldo the Wizard is having a bad
day-it began, when just after dawn, he was accosted by a truculent troll
(are there any other kind?).  As a fifth level or beginning player
character, he knows these four standard spell effects: Mind Control,
Read Minds, Reflect, and Fear.  During the first combat turn,
discharging one Power Point, Waldo only gained one effect, and
unfortunately (I told you it was one of those days), the troll is now
immune to Fear.  He refrained from attempting to mentally dominate his
opponent because of the poor odds of success and that the troll's next
attack could be decisive.  Realizing that he needed to end this fight
quickly, in the next turn, Waldo improvised a new offensive spell-The
Blazing Beam of Troll Trouncing.  Expending two of his three remaining
Power Points, the player rolled a couple of six-siders and produced
eight spell effects!  Waldo has a factor of 1 in the relevant Traits of
Attack, Range, and Damage.  Since our wizard is already in melee the
variable of Range is a moot issue.  Understandably, he is fretful about
overcoming the troll's impressive Defend Trait, and so four additives
each are dedicated to the other component Traits (for a +5 Attack and
Damage in this combat turn).  Good luck, Waldo.  As you can see, Waldo's
Traits are not so much intrinsically changed or bettered, as for this
purpose, used for a basis of measurement.  

Let me use Waldo to address another topic (that Blazing Beam of Troll
Trouncing must have worked after all).  Waldo is gambling in a tavern.
Waldo is a magic-user, he is not a card-shark, and if he doesn't win
this pot he will be calling himself Waldo the Begger.  He spends one
Power Point and generates four spell effects.  Our
less-than-sportsmanlike wizard then successfully deploys one of these
effects as Mind Control to 'persuade' his opponent to fold.  Scooping up
his winnings Waldo quickly leaves town.  The GM rules that the encounter
is over and the left-over three spell effects have dissipated.  Now if
Waldo had wanted to play another hand, or if his victim's suspicious
friends decided to detain Waldo before he could mount his horse, then
the encounter is continuing (albeit, in a new phase), and the
uncommitted spell effects (as well as any unreleased Power Points)
would be available for Waldo's use.

Other Races and Classes

Instead of furnishing an encyclopedia of templates (the particulars of
which I presume most Game Masters prefer to develop for themselves), I
shall withdraw from my stockpile two examples which GM's can use as
guidelines for creating their own augmentations or additions to the
basic options of the human warrior or wizard (in order to sustain the
appeal of these primary stereotypes, in contrast to their exotic or
specialized alternatives, I have tried to implement a principle of
balance: for every 'advantage' there is a roughly comparable
'disadvantage').
Dwarf: +10 Hits, and roll twice on the Random Special Ability Table
(re-roll duplication) to determine the magical melee weapon's powers; a
Dwarf cannot be a wizard, and his Speed Trait can never be greater than
1 (otherwise as a warrior). 
Druid: Automatically possesses Animal and Plant Control as Special
Abilities; but if the Druid attempts to enter a man-made enclosure, he
or she must roll as if attacked by the Special Ability Fear.

Experience

For every opponent who is at least two levels higher than and is
single-handedly vanquished (slain or rendered unconscious and captured)
by a player character that PC is rewarded with one Construction Point
and a +1 to their Wherewithal task resolution roll (or, if you will,
advances a level).  A PC warrior must devote their CP to the improvement
of a Trait, however, a player character wizard may either increase the
prowess of a Trait or buy an extra Power Point.

Monsters

To ascertain how dangerous a given monster is, the Game Master rolls
1D6: 1=a fifth level monster is encountered (i.e., the GM has five
Construction Points with which to 'evolve' the Traits of and/or acquire
Special Abilities-including "Flying", "Split Attacks", and Power
Points-for the monster, creature, or entity; 2=sixth level; 3=seventh
level, etc.  If the GM's in a foul mood, he or she can roll more dice.
With the available options, any entry from your favorite fantasy
beastiary should be capable of being modeled.

Cannonfodder

Rabble (and perhaps goblins): use the Civilians statistics from the
Extras section of SHSF (in this case, and those below, the Speed Trait,
if above 1, represents horses and the Range Trait, if above 1,
represents bows, javelins, slings, etc.)
Outlaws or Militia: as Thugs and Police.
Cultists, Criminal Enforcers, and Mercenaries: as Terrorists and
Mercenaries.
Soldiers: as Soldiers.
Elite Soldiers: as Kung Fu Guards.