GLOG class: Toon

So for a little while I've been thinking about introducing cartoons as a character type into my games. A character that permits, even demands the player to be goofy is exactly what some folks are looking for. This class is a first draft and draws from some standard cartoon tropes.

Toon

For every Toon template you possess, gain a +1 on reaction rolls 

Starting Equipment: Bludgeon, Acme Catalog

Starting Skill: 1. Song & Dance Man - 2. Silent Actor - 3. Animal 

A: Episodic Existence
B: Two Toon Traits
C: Two Toon Traits
D: Remaining Toon Trait

Episodic Existence - You cannot be killed by conventional means. If you are murdered by any kind of damage other than acid you begin the following session right as rain, ready for action. You either have no recollection of your previous demise, or write it off as a gag. You always casually forget the details of your previous exploits and adventures as though they never occurred. Only major events, like the death of a party member, make a dent in your continuity warping existence.

Toon Traits

Stretch & Squish - While unarmored, you enjoy a +2 to max HP per Toon template

Back Pocket - You have no need for backpacks and burlap sacks, everything you need seems to fit into your back pocket. Additionally, a number of times per session equal

to your total toon templates you may produce a random item from the following table: 

1) A pie     

2) A mallet 

3) An anvil 

4) A salmon 

5) A bomb (Like a big black iron ball with a fuse sticking out) 

6) A double barrel shotgun

Blast Proof - On a successful save explosives cause you no HP damage, instead you are temporarily burnt to a crisp, your headwear smoldering and your facial 

features rearranged.

2 Dimensional - You can hide behind objects that would not be otherwise broad enough to hide behind, such as lampposts, trees, fence posts, flagpoles, etc. 

Exit stage right - Once per session you may declare yourself to be walking off screen. At any point thereafter you may re-enter the scene and reveal yourself from the 

background of the scene, ideally from somewhere implausible. 

36 Fantasy City Encounters

Everybody has space for another table of things to see while wandering the winding back alleys of a fantastic metropolis

1. 2d4 dwarves in elf masks, pubcrawling

2. A courtier and their guard are splattered with mud by a speeding carriage

3. d6+1 greasers tuning up an arcanocycle give you the evil eye

4. A wizard whizzes by overhead on a magic carpet 

5. d4 naked halflings, covered in molasses, push through the crowd. Pursued shortly by a large woman with a carving knife

6. This side street is lined with pillows and rugs, tall hookahs and crowds of lounging cityfolk. Shisha vendors preach the unique flavors of their secret blends. 

7. A fishman is loudly arguing with a street vendor about the exchange rate of abalone shells to hash coins

8. Various folk of all shapes and size squat around the corner of a bar, smoking and playing a complex card and dice game involving intersecting chalk circles on the ground  

9. A birdperson offers you a flier to a cockfight

10. A small gang of gagoyles are running an outdoor seafood buffet, the smell doesn't bother them

11. A swarm of beggar children surround you, you can feel your shoes being untied

12. A man is passed out in the gutter, an older man is urinating on him 

13. Two dogs grapple over a dead chicken in the middle of the road

14. A dirty old man is singing songs and strumming a fish skeleton like a mandolin 

15. Two magitech cyborgs tumble out of a nearby bar, slamming pneumatic fists into one another and belching flame

16. An old blind woman has enchanted 1d6+1 musical instruments to busk for passerby

17. The taxman and his posse are charging you with a "Just passing through tax"

18. A woman is selling fairies trapped in bottles as lanterns

19. A mage-peddler has set up an illusion of himself to give sales pitches while he takes a nap. The illusion cannot hold objects, so patrons must make change out of a bowl of currency

20. A lad is taking a nap with his pigs in a big pile

21. It seems like there are dozens of crows lining the rooftops of this alley, and they are all watching you

22. A procession of unusually large pumpkins are being hauled into the inner city on wide wooden pushcarts. 

23. All the local children are dressed up in spooky masks and causing a ruckus, it's some kind of holiday

24. You see the glint of brass in a gutter, the handle of an old oil lamp. There is a faded inscription on the side in an obscure language

25. Folks in the undercity swap stories of a huge blind crocodile, with jaws wide enough to swallow a cow whole, lurking in the sewers

26. A festival is being celebrated with 1d12 days of nonstop drumming, the revelers take it in shifts

27. A giant has led her herd of sheep into the city, hoping to trade for a new pipe

28. A man is hanging from a public gallows, he has no pants, but fine shoes

29. A dozen fresh pies were just dropped off at the nearby tavern, the entire neighborhood is congregating for breakfast

30. You stumble across a relatively famous costumed vigilante, beaten to hell and unconscious in a gutter 

31. Exhaust grates in the city walkways release a thick vapour that seems to twist into sneering human faces

32. A gaunt alien beckons you over from a dim alley, "Hey kid, wanna buy a couple demon hearts?"

33. A young noble is throwing a massive block party, open bar, free food, blood sport with random compulsory participation, good times

34. A dead body falls out of a passing corpse wagon, you feel like you can hear it whispering...

35. A fishmonger hawks trinkets and magic charms found in the bellies of sewer sharks and sky whales 

36. Some mysterious figure has purchased this entire block of the city, and today is eviction day. Squatters are haunted by horribly violent nightmares. 

Adventure Ideas and Micro Classes for a Stormtrooper Funnel

So I recently encountered this blogpost right here, it's a really cool read from 2015 about running a Star Wars DCC funnel as a posse of Stormtroopers. I'm not a huge DCC player, mostly because I don't own d24s and shit, but I love any excuse to make players roll on an occupation table, so I'm into it. Let's roll up some 0 level shlubs. 

The table is great, love it, I'm using it, but what am I going to make these Stormtroopers do? This has been the major obstacle for me every time (like maybe twice) I've approached running a Star Wars themed game, what the hell do you do? Like, what gives something that Star Warsy sheen that separates this game from another space opera? I honestly don't have an answer that I can articulate, but it's probably not a big deal.

d4xd6 Stormtrooper Missions 

1.1  Board and sabotage a rebel battleship's shield generator to turn the tide of a battle

1.2  Seek out and destroy a rebel base's shield generator to enable a ground assault

1.3  Destroy a communications relay tower 

1.4  Destroy a rebel heavy armor and munitions depot 

1.5  Destroy a supply convoy (D6: 1-3 Speeders, 4-6 Train)

1.6  Find, board and recover a stolen Imperial shuttle from rebel scum

2.1  Destroy a rogue Jedi 

2.2  Recover a Sith artifact 

2.3  Investigate a distress beacon 
2.4  Liberate Imperial POWs 

2.5  Escort an Imperial aristocrat

2.6  Bust up a worker uprising on a forge world  

3.1  A group of rebel spies are reported to have infiltrated a TIE fighter manufacturing facility

3.2  The rebel scum have boarded our Star Destroyer, we are being overrun! 

3.3. The rebel scum sabotaged the ship, we have to evacuate!

3.4. There has been a massive prison break on a remote planet, apprehend the convicts 

3.5. Reclaim an abandoned Imperial keep, evict any and all squatters or hostile wildlife

3.6  A shipment of blaster rifles was stolen in transit, find the blasters and capture the thieves

4.1. A squad near stationed near your current position have been unresponsive for 7200 hours, check in 
4.2. A squad of deserters have been sighted near your position, hunt them down
4.3. Break off from the main fighting force and take out their anti-aircraft guns 
4.4. One of our spies has been found out! Find them before the rebels do
4.5. A crimelord has some intelligence on the rebels, go and negotiate their price
4.6. A famous bounty hunter is wanted for assassinating multiple imperial officers, bring them down

I think I bring over a little too much baggage from Warhammer 40k's imperial guard when I envision what Stormtrooper life is like, brutal, short, and entirely unceremonial. But I really enjoy imagining that the amount of training one receives upon signing up is less like boot camp, and more like the info class you have to take before they let you skydive. It would explain their eternally memed aiming skills.  

I like the idea that each player's troopers are their own specialized squad, it's fun for flavor and allows the players to feel like their troopers are distinct from their allies mechanically, even if the major difference is basically just what kind of equipment they are deployed with. I have no idea if this is at all accurate to Star Wars canon, but I'm gonna cite the Battlefront video games from the Playstation 2 era as evidence that maybe it is. 

Each player's squad consists of 3 (or more, at GM discretion) Stormtroopers. The player designates what squad type their troopers belong to only when rolling up a brand new squad. A squad that has suffered casualties during a mission must roll up new 0 level recruits before the next mission. All troopers share the same base class, and then gain different little abilities based on squad type. 

I'm not writing this for any particular ruleset, you could use your favorite retroclone, Cyber Sprawl Classics, Stars Without Number would be perfect, whatever, it's all you, baby. Anything that incorporates attack rolls, armor class, and saving throws should be chill. 

This is what I scribbled in my notebook

STORMTROOPER

LV	XP	HD	Attack +	Saving Throw	Title
0	-	1d4	-	16+	Recruit
1	1 Mission	1d4+1d6	+1	14+	Trooper
2	2000	1d4+2d6	+2	12+	Lieutenant

Standard Gear: E-11 blaster rifle, Light armor

ANTI ARMOR squads have received enough heavy weapons training to know which end to point away from their friends. The squad is deployed each mission with 1 rocket launcher, and d4+1 high-explosive missiles.  

Lv 1 Tank-Hunter: The trooper can detect trails left by speeders and hover vehicles that others would never notice, as though they had wheels. They also enjoy a +1 on saving throws versus explosions. 

Lv 2 Opportunistic Ordnance: The lieutenant knows how to concentrate their fire and press an advantage. At the beginning of each mission you gain a pool of 3d6 Ordnance dice. Whenever you successfully attack a vehicle, fortification, or droid that has already suffered damage, you may spend any number of these dice, and add the results to your damage roll.


ANTI INFANTRY squads are equipped with assault weapons designed to combat other ground forces. They are equipped with either a Heavy Blaster Cannon, or a Flamethrower.

Lv 1. Suppressive Fire: The trooper designates a medium size area, all foes within that have a sense of self preservation must make a saving throw/morale test or lose their movement actions until the trooper's next turn. On a critical failure they lose all actions. 

Lv 2. Shrapnel Grenades: The Lieutenant deploys for each mission with d3 shrapnel grenades (4d4, small AOE, short range, save for 1/2 damage, ineffective against targets with AC 14+)


MEDICAL squads are responsible for maintaining the fighting strength of the battalion. Although the average medical recruit has no more training than basic first aid, the squad is deployed with d3 dosages of bio-epoxy, which does most of the work for them. 

Lv 1. Preventative Medicine: When an ally within 5' of you takes damage you may siphon off a portion or all of that damage for them.

Lv 2. Field Surgery: If you can reach a comrade's corpse before it cools (# of rounds equal to their HD, minimum 1) you may perform a field surgery to return them and return them to life as an action. For the remainder of the mission the recipient of the field surgery moves at half speed, and will die permanently if they take any damage from any source.


SABOTAGE squads are outfitted for close-quarters combat and demolitions. Recruits are given a "Tactical infiltration and you" pamphlet to read on the shuttle ride to their first mission. Saboteurs are deployed with Scatterguns instead of Blaster Rifles and d4+1 landmines or bricks of C4.

Lv 1. Hold-Out Blaster: You always have a blaster pistol on your person, whether you are taken prisoner, searched, whatever. Also, enjoy a +1 when impersonating a rebel.

Lv 2. I Shoot First: When you make an attack against a foe that has not yet acted in the battle, deal double damage. Also, your armor is treated with an electromagnetic polymer that interferes with electronic surveillance equipment, you cannot be detected by security cameras, droids, or targeting systems. 


SHOCKTROOPER squads are the first into the fray and the last to leave. Instead of standard gear they are deployed with heavier armor (AC 14), a blaster pistol, and a vibroblade, they get an extra pudding in the mess hall for their bravery.  

Lv 1. Fury of the Emperor: If you are wielding two one handed weapons, you may attack with both as a single attack action. 

Lv 2. Powerful Parry: You are no force user, but your ability to predict your opponent's strikes sometimes borders on the supernatural. After a foe succeeds in hitting you with a melee attack, but before damage is revealed, make an attack roll of your own, if your roll exceeds theirs, the attack fails.

SNIPER squads employ slug thrower rifles to engage in long range combat and assassination. Instead of the standard E-11 blaster rifle they are deployed with a sniper rifle and blaster pistol for each trooper.

Lv 1. Storm of Lead: When you inflict a critical hit on a foe, you can make an immediate bonus attack. Also, the trooper ignores the "snapfire" penalty, allowing you to attack with a sniper rifle and move in the same round.   

Lv 2. I am Become Death: Once per mission, if you are equipped with your sniper rifle you may force a target to save or die instantly. To do this you must remain undisturbed for a number of rounds equal to the target's HD.


GEAR

Blaster Pistol - D4 - Short Range - One hand
Blaster Rifle - D6 - Medium Range
Scattergun - D8 - Short Range
Sniper Rifle - D10 - Long Range
Heavy Blaster - 2d6 - Medium RangeFlamthrower - 1d6+4 - Short Range

High Explosive Missile - 4d6 - Medium Range
Shrapnel Grenade - 4d4 - Short Range
Thermal Detonator - 1d12 - Short Range

Vibroblade - 1d4 - One hand
Electromace - 1d6 - One hand
Force Pike - 1d8 

Standard Trooper Armor - AC 12 - Full movement
Shocktrooper Armor - AC 14 - 3/4 movement

Bio-Epoxy - Apply over a full round, heals a living trooper for 1d8+1