HiBRiD Things For Your Game #1: Game Hook-The Sad Manatee

Since my family will be fusing HiBRiD rules with the Castles and Crusades game over the coming months, I am once again filled with excitement as we switch gears to the new genre.

In making my preparations for the game, I have already discovered some differences between the two systems that mesh cleanly but in an interesting manner. As a result, over these next few entries on HiBRiD™_Theory, I will be providing these as free resources you may use in your own games, even if you aren’t using the HiBRiD™ system. Think of them as plug-and-play modules you can swap in and out of your own OSR games to spice them up until HiBRiD can get out on the shelves. The numbers provided should work in any version of D&D™ as well as Assfinder™, er, Pathfinder™, though conversions to any other systems should be pretty easy…

So, without further ado, let’s get this started off with our first contribution: The Sad Manatee…

Dr Fatatee Lives...

My daughter wants to play a manatee. She played one in our Tiny Horsies™ game. She played one in our Gamma World™/HiBRID™ game. She played one in our HiBRiD™ Snakes on a Plane in Redux Canyonside game. But now we are switching to a new genre, and we are faced with the challenge of finding where a land-based manatee will fit in. The manatee is a slightly out of genre character in the Castles and Crusades™ game we will be playing...

...or is it?

The Hook

So, to ease the transition between HiBRiD™ and Castles and Crusades™, I decided to go with a classic “Break the Curse” quest. Each player will choose a natural animal that their character was originally were before the quest. An Evil Mage by the name of Rotenbach (Does that name sound familiar to any of you out there?) has cursed the PCs and turned them into humans. Interestingly enough, in times of great stress, the PCs revert back to their animal form (i. e. during any action scene).

The hook? The PC does not completely revert to their natural form; only to the animal form in one random way. Each player will chose at least 3 but not more than 6 traits that the animal (or previous HiBRiD™ character) possessed. For each trait, the player will designate 1 benefit and one detriment. For example:

Trait             Benefit                                               Detriment

Claws            Cause damage                                     No opposable thumbs

Gills              Can breathe in water                           Drowns on land

Chlorophyll    Heals damage on sunny days                Takes damage in dry climates

The director/CK assigns each trait to one or more numbers on a 1d6. Each time initiative is rolled, the director rolls a blinded 1d6 for the PCs (or rolls a d6 for each one if she wants to mix it up a bit) and that randomly determined trait manifests until the action scene is over.

The director does not manifest the trait until the player is right in the middle of conducting his first action. The manifestation fades after the action scene ends. Players can use a point of Ité to control which trait manifests if they so wish.

This allows the characters to still play their favorite traits of their HiBRiD™ characters on occasion while still getting to experience the Castles and Crusades game and the fantasy genre. If this game goes well, I may run it at GaryCon in 2018….

We have already decided that my daughter’s character will be a manatee trapped in human form. Her character’s quest will be to be turned back into a manatee so she can live her carefree days in the warm waters off the coast of Brih’ ja’ dun eating sea grass and playing with Brih’ja’dunian children in the shallows. I can't wait to see what the boys come up with.

So for anyone wanting a quick game hook, go all “Wizard of Oz” on it HiBRiD-style…have all the characters off to look for the Mage of Osz so they can find what they need and go back home away from the hustle and bustle of humanhood...

…just make sure there are magic missiles and fireballs flying around…