My first Scenario... HELP!

[Deviantpersonality]

Hey, first post.
Well, i stumbled upon the seven13 system a few day ago, (Ok yesterday) and decided i liked it. (Especially the setting..Drool)
So after some heavy reading of the quickstart rules, ive decided to try a small "test" scenario with some of my friends.

Frankly, theres a few things id like to have clarrified:
1). How do you decide which partof the target you hit? (Body, head etc.) i couldnt find it in the quickstart rules.
2). how would a group of Darkling ever manage to cause harm?

Ok, and now for my setting:

Two "high-school" aged ladsare waiting in a forest for one of their friends, when darkness starts falling (i.e. night is comming)
They find some tracks, which they may (I certainly hope they do) follow to find a abandoned structure.
If they should decide not to enter, they will be attackedby the "monsters of the forest" (Kirojix2) and if they enterthey will be set upon by a few Darklings (like thats a threath)

They should (if they survive) find a secret basement, or run home and be devoured by Koraji (just kidding)
In this basement they will face a few more Darklings, and at last, "the big, bad.. Koraji chief" (You guessed it, i like Koraji, i have done so ever since one of them ripped the arms of one of my players Characters in a combat test)

In the room with the chieftain, will also be a gruesome scene with their butchered friend in the middle.

thats is, comments, suggestions, and general help apreciated.
meh...

[Christopher Ashe]

Heya thanks for checking out the game. I'm actually in the process of revising the rules for the QS version (updating it and whatnot), so I'll check on that hit location issue. First, to answer your questions:

1. Hit Location

First and foremost, seven13 encourages players to declare an intended location on attack (called shots as it were). The complexity modifier for this is -1 to Body, -2 for a leg, -3 for an arm or -4 for the head. As the GM you could go all the way up to -7 if they get really specific. So, if your base complexity is -3 and you want to try for a head shot, you must do so at -7 complexity, not an easy task under stress. I should point out that this is based on a moving, active opponent - zombies should not be getting an additional -4, they barely move at all.
The reason this is an encouragement is because the modifier applied for a called shot only affects the shot if the character is successful. If a character fails the to-hit roll only because of the modifier he is still allowed random location. Say, for example, a you have an active rank 4 (52%) and want to fire at the arm to disable an opponent swinging a sword. This brings your active rank down to 2 (26%). we'll say you roll 45, not good enough for the arm shot but good enough normally. Therefore, you would still be allowed the random location, which I'll discuss in a second.
The reasoning behind this system is twofold: 1) People, more often than not, do not swing or fire randomly in combat - there is generally an intended target. Whether they hit what they are intending to or not is a completely different matter. 2) The rule encourages characters to actually role-play and describe a hit instead of just telling you "i attack the demon with my sword." - I hate that shit.

For random hit location, you simply add the two numbers on the dice and refer to the character sheet to see where the hit ended up - the numbers are listed by the six hit locations. In our above example, on a success roll of 45, the opponent would be hit in the body. The two numbers on the dice (45 in this case or 4 and 5) will always add up from 1 to 17 (in this case 4+5, or 9). If the character rolls 00, ultimate critical success, then more than likely the opponent is either dead or hit in the worst possible place. For the random locations, refer to the Combat & Damage section of the sheet or use this:

Head: 1
Body: 8-11
Left Arm: 12-14
Right Arm: 5-7
Left Leg: 2-4
Right Leg: 15-17

2. Darklings Suck

That pretty much sums it up - they suck. They really do. However, it's not one you have to worry about, its 10+. While it may not be in the QS Guide, Darklings are a prime example of what I call the Mob Effect.

First and foremost, Darklings do 7 Damage (avg STR 2 + Avg Unarmed/ACT 3+ 2 Unarmed bonus - source AppC pg 243 if you have the book) and reduce Break Level by 1 per successful hit. So, a Darkling is reducing a character's Break Level each hit. Big deal, he probably won't survive one hit from the character and your average character has a BL 12 and -7 CT in the body right? Keep that in mind.

So, Say this character is fighting 15 of these little bastards. He's quick, we'll give him 3 ApR and assume he kills one Darkling each strike and never misses.
For his actions, the character kills 3 out of 15 (now we have 12.) We'll say on their turn only 5 out of those 12 hit the character. His Break Level is reduced as follows:

12 (start)
Hit 1: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 11
Hit 2: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 10
Hit 3: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 9
Hit 4: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 8
Hit 5: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 7

Now, you can see where this is going. This also is based on the basic QS Guide rules. Eventually this character is going to get hurt. However, there is a rule set called the Mob Effect (In the Book AppD, pg 320 or Ch13 p239). Which states that a more than one opponent ganging up on a single adversary reduce the complexity by 1 per opponent after the first. So, if this character was being attacked by 2 Darklings at the same time, they could attack him at -2 instead of the standard -3. The bottom line of course is zero here. Now, in the book, it says that a mindless mob (Darklings sure as hell qualify) it takes 2 for every complexity rank decrease. Of course here we have 15, which could reduce their complexity by up to -7. So here we can assume instead that maybe the character dodges 2 or 3 by margin of success alone or luck of the dice and is hit by 12 or so. it breaks down like this:

12 (start)
Hit 1: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 11
Hit 2: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 10
Hit 3: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 9
Hit 4: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 8
Hit 5: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 7
Hit 6: 7 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 6
Hit 7: 6 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 5, Critical Tolerance to -1
Hit 8: 5 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 4, Critical Tolerance to -3
Hit 9: 4 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 3, Critical Tolerance to -6
Hit 10: 3 dmg soaked, BL reduced to 2, Critical Tolerance to -7

You get the idea. This character will eventually die - and this is a damage chart for only one round under mob effect. Put characters under a swarm of these little bastards and they will be in trouble. In the end though, I'm just showing you that it's possible - a demon can do this kind of damage in one hit, Darklings really do suck. You wing a little here and there as the GM. Remember that even characters wearing armor (virtually invincible to Daklings) would be overpowered and have their armor ripped off. I'm currently doing some Mob Effect work for the advanced rules, so I'll post some of my own variations when I get them here.

[Christopher Ashe]

For your campaign:

My advice, never assume the characters are going to go to the shack - herd them to it. Use creatures nature and pressure.

They're in the forest and they hear the howls (make sure they're good and in before the howling starts). The second they start trying to hightail it out start the sounds. Tell them they hear snarling coming at them from the way they came, or maybe behind them - emphasize that the forest seems to stretch the sounds out - seems to make them come from everywhere. Combine this with a cloudburst, thunder and hard rain - cold rain, which compounds the inability to determine the source of what is obviously hunting them. Use this to get them frantic and running, by the time they see the cabin, you haven't led them to it as the GM, it won't seem linear - it's a gift from the gods ;)

Inside the Cabin.

So they rush in, cold and soaked, listening to the creak of the old house, the howl of the wind and the snarling of something unknown and sinister outside - all that nastiness only to find they're not alone in the house.

Here's your key theme: they don't know what's there. In horror, less is more. It's all about what you don't see, not what you do. Your players' minds will screw them on this one - they will wonder what the creature is. It's the creature feature factor - in old horror movies, you never really see the monster until the end.

Just some advice ;)

- Ashe

[Deviantpersonality]

For your campaign:

My advice, never assume the characters are going to go to the shack - herd them to it. Use creatures nature and pressure.
[Snip]
Just some advice ;)

- Ashe

Wow, thanks ^^ That quite an a cool way to awesomify the idea.
Ill look at it.

( i actually got a few goosebumps while reading it..)

Also, as their characters have, lets say interresting, personalities, it'll be so much more fun ^^

Again, thanks!

[Deviantpersonality]

First of all, sorry for the double post, i at first was so hooked on the campaign help i didntse this little nugget of info:


Heya thanks for checking out the game. I'm actually in the process of revising the rules for the QS version (updating it and whatnot), so I'll check on that hit location issue. First, to answer your questions:


Thanks for clarrifying it, now i seem to get the idea
(Yeah," i swing my sword at the demon "...that DO #&"@.. i agree there)

I also get the idea of the darkling now (it is, also, much more funn throwing darklings at players in small quantities)

I, sadly, do not have the book yet, but i am going to order it as soon as possible. I am really looking forward to get my little, greedy, paws on it