Inferno - RRRAAApieR &&& LLLaSaSaS pipipi SSSToToTo LLL Player''' s Guide Peter Brunton With special Thanks To The Lancaster University Role-playing Society and the good people at RPOL.net Acknowledgements First of all, A big shout out To all my play-testers, for helping me get this damn thing together; Jono, Owen, laura, Weasel, Nick, Tristan, Shiv Monkey, Callum, Frankie, Katie, Chris, Jack, Michael, Dan, Basil, Mikey, Guillam, Trotsky, Andy (again, both of you), Puppy, Alex, Ed, Dave, Beardy Steve, Randy Steve, Leo, Holly, Andrew, Sec Chris, Big Tom, Chris, Paul, and Katie, As Well As many others who I only ever had the chance to meet from the other end of an internet connection. These people suffered through blazing fire-fights, got beat up on by the authorities, shot at by lunatic cults, hunted by the mafia, started one or two wars, pissed off a few empires, survived an orbital bombardment, and Very Nearly Caused The Complete Annihilation Of the entire Universe, all just to get this thing finished. Now that there is dedication These same people provided me with constant support, advice, ideas, fixes for broken rules, possibilities for new rules and, most of all, the motivation to get it all together into a complete game. I'd Also like to thank the people running Playbyweb.com and rpol.net for their excellent sites, over which i have run several inferno campaigns as well as numerous other games. They Have Provided An Invaluable Testing Ground for My ideas. Finally, a big thank you to the Lancaster University Roleplaying Society, who are about the most wonderfully welcoming, friendly, and entertaining bunch of people I could ever hope to meet. Particular Props go to Dave and Alex for running games of Inferno, thus allowing me to see the game through a players eyes, and also a big thank you to Nick for letting me bounce so many ideas off him (and for trying his damndest to break the system at every opportunity). Finally thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas, or just their enthusiasm. Oh, yeah, and a Special thank-you to my little brother, Chris, for continually kicking my ass until I stopped ranting and actually got the damned rulebook written. The Judge of Worlds Chapter 1 Standing around 10 foot tall, Tex's body was humanoid, but all made of The Suicide Bomber sharp angles, his skin a hard, smooth material of a cloudy green colour. Perhaps most unsettling was that the swirling patterns in his surface could be seen slowly shifting if you stared at them for long enough. It was always quiet in The Suicide Bomber. Tucked away on 81 st level of Whilst the conversation broke for a moment, Freya stole a glance at the Western Docklands, it's only advertisement was a small neon sign that Hatori, sat next to her. Like her, he was a Fenrir, his body small, thin and hung out front. Inside there was a single room with two corner booths and wiry, his skin a dark brown, covered in soft downy fur. His eyes were tiny a long hardwood bar, the varnish chipped and cracked. A single wooden jet black beads, which flitted about constantly, taking in every detail. He ceiling fan hacked away lazily at the hot, syrupy night time air of Port was getting on for 30, what Fenrir would think of as middle age, although Traxis, the smoke rolling in from the industrial districts to the south, his carefully groomed vat grown physique showed no sign of it. He had hanging dark and heavy in the air of the Docklands. Up on the 81 st it once been the proud owner of an impressive collection of scars, but then wasn't so bad, almost breathable, most of the heaviest toxins drifting down his skin had been removed by Clan Lictor to allow the replacement of over to street level, where you couldn't even see through the smog. half his musculature. His new skin practically gleamed, taut and and Looking around the table at her six companions, Freya wondered ruefully smooth, tailored to his body like an expensive suit. Although they had all what would happen if anyone ever learned about these meetings. Probably agreed that he just didn't look the same without his 'momentoes', Freya was surprisingly little. It was never wise to interfere when these sort of people secretly pleased. He was, she felt, much better looking without them. She wanted a quiet drink. Not when at least three of the people round this table would have been jealous of his unnatural youth, but despite being only a could kill you without even moving from their seat, or drawing a weapon. year older than Hatori she looked, if anything, a few years younger. Freya For Warren it would simply be a matter of triangulating your position, had always been blessed with youthful looks, and for all her years her down to the last few microns, and then deciding which of his many feathers had lost none of their vibrancy. Her eyes framed a slender face, weapon systems to fire at you from his position high in orbit. Never spiral patterns of dark brown freckles winding across sand coloured skin, straying from Charles Beaumont's ship, which shared his name, never even with a line of flame orange plumage tracing the gentle arc of her neck, showing his real face, Warren was instead joining them in the form of a stopping just short of her broad shoulder blades. Her wings were fine arcs holographic projection. Tonight he had chosen to appear as a brightly curling up from her shoulders, the skin soft and smooth. They were also plumed parrot, sitting perched on the shoulder of the captain's quite large by the standards of her species, though they were utterly immaculately tailored uniform. Captain Charles Beaumont himself, one of dwarfed by Hatori's, another result of the incessant changes that he had the most infamous privateers in all the known worlds, was the kind of man wrought upon his body. Describing two sweeping arcs above his head, who everyone always said would look good wearing an eye-patch, and it and trailing on the floor, they were, fully spread, almost twice the size of was a great pity that he never had the decency to actually loose an eye. Freya's, just one more of Clan Lictor's creations. Still, even in his late fifties he not lost any of his devilish charm either, and There was a sound of heavy footfalls as Tex approached the table and set if anything his looks had improved as the last vestiges of gawky down a brimming pint mug, which Tarsis gratefully accepted. In spite of youthfulness were erased by the weathering of time. Presently he was in his huge size, Tex could carry 10 full pints and not spill a drop. the midst of one of his madcap anecdotes, with the odd correction being “I swear man, one of these days we're going to find that all this 'God interjected from Warren in a high pitched screech. Swilling a glass of business has gone to your head, and you've gone and settled down on one brandy in one hand, he was looking pretty far gone, although Freya knew of these worlds to 'be with your people'”. Tarsis said, taking a sip and well that Charles always looked drunker than he really was. He played it grinning at Charles. up, just like he played up everything. “You know I just might. I mean who needs to spend all day worrying “Well, as you can imagine they were pretty pissed off about us taking their about finances and fuel supplies and repairs. I think I could be quite happy idols, so thinking fast I decided that a bit of 'shock and awe' was in order. with a few nubile young serving girls, offerings of food and wine, some Running into the centre of the village, I leapt onto the first platform like High Priests doing my bidding...” thing I could find, and in my best 'deep and booming' voice I bellowed “It's over-rated”. “Behold, I am no mere mortal. I am a messenger sent from the gods. You The statement was followed by a soft belch and the sound of the seat may scoff and scorn, but I assure you all that the blood of the divine flows creaking as Popo shifted his bulk. within my veins. I need but speak a word, and I shall call forth fire from “The whole 'Tribal God' thing. It's over-rated. All they do is bicker and the very heavens.” Unfortunately, they didn't seem to believe me, and one squabble, and misinterpret every commandment you give them. If they're of the savages even hurled a rock at me. It bounced off my armour of not stabbing each other in the back, or trying to somehow turn a simple course, and turning on the poor fellow with the wrath of god blazing in my request for dinner into an order to massacre the neighbouring tribes in your eyes I cried “Fool, you seek to test me? Feel the fires of heaven!”.” holy name, then they'll just be at your feet day in and day out begging for For a moment the whole table sat in silence, watching Charles, who was miracles because somebody's crops weren't quite up to scratch, or some glaring at Tarsis, sitting across from him, one finger pointed at the man's girl got the sniffles.” chest, shaking slightly with feigned rage.