HiBRiD Stats: Alien Xenomorph: General Description and Xenomorph, Annoying

In light of the fact that I have been watching action movies with Odin Johaansen and getting ready for GenCon 2109, I have been inspired to stat out the xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. For your enjoyment, I present them here.

Xenomorphs

Originally created as a biological weapon, xenomorphs have expanded throughout the universe to adapt to any planet housing advanced carbon-based life forms. While carbon-based lifeforms themselves, they are extremely resistant to heat, cold, radiation, and vacuum environments by a silicate-based exoskeleton. They have acid for blood, superhuman reflexes and strength, and move extremely quickly and silently in most environments, making them formidable threats to all species they encounter, whom they consider only as either threat, food, or hosts for their young.

Xenomorphs possess an array of senses with sensitivities and ranges well beyond those exhibited by humans. Upon hatching, they only possess hearing, infrared, and pheromone sensing capabilities but upon maturing, they gain other perceptive abilities as well. Their perception organs are housed beneath their elongated carapace on their heads, thus preventing them from becoming a point of vulnerability to an opponent. This carapace also acts as a natural flash compensator and receiver for telepathic messages or commands given by their queen.

Adult xenomorphs possess a reactive and adaptive intelligence rather than an inventive one. This means that while xenomorphs do not have a technology of their own, their observational learning abilities enable them to learn to use tools, assess the physical properties of matter and their environment around them, and use advanced tactics and strategy in combat when countering threats or seeking prey or hosts. This lack of sentience and ability to create their own technology has not prevented them from interstellar travel, as they have learned to hitch rides on the crafts of other species or infect others with their embryos without the infected host’s knowledge.

Xenomorphs form a hive like-civilization not unlike that exhibited by termites. Their hive will center on a queen who is surrounded by any number of guards. The purposes of each xenomorph in their society is very strictly defined. Annoying xenomorphs serve to create embryos in living organisms. Standard xenomorphs live to maintain the hive, defend it from intruders, and serve the queen in any way possible even giving their lives without regard if so commanded. Badass xenomorphs serve to lay eggs and guide all activities of the hive.

Xenomorph, Annoying (100 cm with tail (50 cm body), 5-10 kg

Annoying xenomorphs are any such creatures in the larval stage that can threaten the lives of heroes. They cannot communicate, do not strategize, and only react to the environment enough to accomplish their biological need, depending on the variant.

Known Variants

The two most common variants are the annoying facehugger and the equally annoying chestburster.

Facehugger: The facehugger implants a kernel of preprogrammed cellular material down its target’s throat via a sting after attaching itself to the target’s face and cutting off circulation with its strong prehensile constricting tail, releasing a combination toxin with immunosuppressant, sedative, anaesthetic, and psychotropic effects while doing so. Upon successful implantation, the facehugger dies, and the kernel of genetic material then incorporates DNA from the host into its own DNA nucleus, allowing for rapid gestation times of 1 to 10 hours. After gestation, the new annoying creature begins to bite through its host in the form of a chesburster

Chestburster: Upon breaking though the chest of its host, it bursts forth and runs away to hide so that it can grow unmolested. The annoying chestburster grows rapidly through a series of hourly moltings. Each molting results in an increase in height by 30 cm/hour, with legs forming after the first molting, and the secreted exoskeleton hardens by 2 points of ArmV per hour until it reaches the stats of a standard xenomorph. 

STR          +6

RSIL         0

RFLX        +5

INTL         -5

WILL        0

PERC        +5

Action Move: 15 m (crawl, swim)

Action Load: 0 kg

Action Range: 10 m (infrared, sound, pheromones) (Add human senses if Chestburster Variant,)

PHYS:     10

ARMV:     5

Attacks/Skills

Stealth                                  +5
Pounce/Charge                      +5    Afterward, may grapple or sting
Grapple                                 +11  Afterward, will sting or bite
Sting (Facehugger Variant)     +5    Poison (Incapacitating/anesthetizing-dies after depositing embryo)
Bite  (Chestbruster Variant)    +5    3d6 (9) when opponent at 0 PHYS, bursts out and runs away to hide

Origin Traits

Amphibious

Immunity: Mineral acids

Fear: Fire

Whisper Creek Dads' Facebook Page Dungeons and Dragons Game

Well, I have finished my preparations for my attempt to run a Dungeons and Dragons game using the HiBRiD rules. In the process, I wrote a quick Genre Description for the game for any interested in reading the backstory of the world. Many of you who played back in 1992 to 1998 will recognize much. To the new initiates, I hope it will provide some insight and background as your characters meet their demise, er, go about their adventure...

Setting

History

The First Age

At first, there were two entities: Hujraad and Angstbrecht. Angstbrecht formed as a manifestation of the conscious desire for collecting for one’s self. Hujraad formed as a manifestation of the conscious desire for serving others. Through their inadvertent interactions with the universe around them, they formed Namenlos Welt and all its living creatures and gained consciousness. As the creatures evolved and also gained consciousness, they came to refer to these entities as gods.

The gods came to watch their creations and realized that each sentient creature had both the capacity for selfishness and selflessness and each sought to bring their own natures out in the creatures that worshipped them. Each provided his worshippers with conduits to the power of the universe-the power known as Ite’. Hujraad brought into existence dragons to act as natural indirect conduits radiating Ite’ between his followers and the world around them while Angstbrecht bestowed the powers of  directly upon his worshippers through infernal pacts for which the petitioners would give their souls to him. The worshippers of each god failed to see the point of view of worshippers of the other god, and though many small fights, skirmishes, and struggles within and among the various creatures and peoples of Namenlos World went on for millennia, they were never in any real danger of elimination for all was balanced. This First Age lasted until the day the two stars fell to the north and the south.

The Second Age

To the north, the first of these “stars” was in actuality the city-ship of a magical star-faring folk known as the Tayfolk from a galaxy and plane far away. With its crash landing, the resulting explosion smashed into the single continent of the world into three, driving each apart away from one another, and polluting the world with a new source of magic that settled across the planet like nuclear fallout. As the magical and physical dust settled, this Tayling magic manifested in several ways. Most dramatically, a metal referred to as “mithral silver” appeared seemingly from out of thin air. Lighter and stronger than steel, it was quickly horded by metalworkers who prized it for its properties. It also enabled works made with it to have magical properties. The Tayfolk fallout also integrated into the bodies of various creatures across the planet, creating magical versions of normal creatures as well as strange combinations of living creatures with all sorts of magical abilities. Finally, the fallout gave certain humanoids the ability to use of scientific methods and faith instead of the methods created by Hujraad or Angsbrecht to draw out their power.

To the south, the second of these “stars” was a ship of over 50,000 troops in stasis known as “Knights of Purity”, who had followed the Tayfolk ship across the realities with a single purpose: to eliminate the Tayfolk, whom they considered abominations. After their crash, they immediately began to search and sweep northward across continent of Treh’dann to find their targets. As they came across elves and ogres, they slaughtered such creatures whenever they were encountered, as their DNA matched that of the Tayfolk so precisely. The Tayfolk, knowing the Knights were searching for them, hid themselves in their city-ship underneath a mountain and began to work feverishly in secret to research ways to change themselves in such a way as to prevent their detection by magical means and elimination by the Knights of Purity Control.

But unlike science, in which any system falls into chaos if left alone, the magical energy brought by the Tayfolk existed as a thermodynamic opposite, drawing itself together and consolidating itself when left alone. Over the millennia, this unique property eventually led to all the magical creatures and mithral silver items infused with the “magical fallout” found themselves inexplicably drawn together into a great battle, historically known as the Battle of Ty, that resulted in the complete glassing, irradiation, shattering, and sinking of one of the three continents through nuclear destruction, as well as the complete conversion of the planet from a sphere to a donut shape. In terms of civilization, the changes brought about the complete elimination of all formal magical education, and the elimination of all mages save for two, all elven civilization, and all the ogres on the planet. The Tayfolk magical energies once again were dispersed by the great explosions, they once again slowly beginning their path towards reconsolidation. This battle is when the Second Age is said to have ended.

The Third Age

After the Battle of Ty, the forces of the Knights of Purity were driven from the battlefield, and left to their original purpose of searching out the Tayfolk, who had avoided involvement in the battle as they continued to research their salvation. The magical Tayfolk fallout, however, now was discovered sitting in the bloody battlefield consolidated into two much more concentrated, magically-dense forms scattered across the battlefield. The first form, a great three-volume tome known as the Book of Ages, was discovered on the battlefield by the two surviving mages and a disciple of a priest of Hujraad. The second form was dispersed in slivers of mithral silver. The remaining forces of Hujraad came together and on the battlefield forged in the Treaty of Ty a plan for preventing the consolidation of the Tayfolk magical energies and such magic destruction again. The two remaining mages, Farrn and the Green Mage of Oss would research the energies to determine how to permanently remove them as a menace of their world. Each took one of the two volumes of the Book of Ages to their towers in this effort. A preist of Hujraad known as Kotras, was charged with taking the third volume and hiding it where it could be referenced but far away from other prying eyes that might covet its power. The dwarves and remaining elves and their natural abilities with mithral silver were tasked with gathering up by the mithral and squirreling it away deep within their homes deep within the mountains to work on integrating it into the land itself so that it would never be accessible by those who would use it for their own ends, at least until a way to remove the Tayfolk magical energies could be eliminated forever.

Millenia passed, but again, the nature of the Tayfolk magical energies brought themselves together, and again a great battle was fought. This battle, known as the Battle of the Northern Cross, was fought between two forces. The first force was that of Farrn, the mage wielding magic from the volume now known as the Book of Ages Past, fielding an army of undead and the force of anti-life in the name of Angstbrecht. Everywhere his army tread was turned black and dead. There was no warmth as every bit of energy was sucked from the world in the places where they occupied. The other force, led by The Green Mage of Oss wielding magic from the volume now known as the Book of Ages to Come, fielded all living creatures both normal and magical, as well as the few remaining elves and stragglers who had independently studied magic to fight in the name of Hujraad. Interestingly, the third volume now known as the Book of Now, was absent from this battle, however, Kotras its protector, is said to have appeared just before the battle began to consult with the Green Mage. Kotras is also noted to have led a force of dwarves led by a group of orcs known as The Ascended into that battle as an elite force that turned the tide of the battle and prevent the fall of Hujraad’s forces that terrible day. This time, the Knights of Purity stayed away from the battle and continued their search for the Tayfolk.

The Battle of the Northern Cross, however, was significant for another reason. Previously, the pacifistic people known as the Brih’ja’dunians who lived in the southernmost tip of the continent not far from where the Knights of Purity had landed, seemed unaffected by the events of leading up to and after the Battle of Ty. Throughout the First and Second Ages they kept to themselves. During this time, like Farrn and The Green Mage of Oss, they too noticed the way the magic of the Tayfolk worked and figured out the reason for the horrible devastation of their world and why it seemed to happen again and again. Somehow, they managed to implement a different plan, stepping step outside the patterns of normal men and magic and over centuries and infiltrating all major cities across the continent and eventually into the society of the Tayfolk themselves. As the threat that Farrn closed in on their city-state, they realized they must activate their plan they had been quietly planning for millennia and had to take an active role on the world stage. Though they elected to stay out of the battle, they did commit to the role of supporting the forces of the Green Mage of Oss logistically to an incredible extent in the face of the lifeless territory occupied and controlled by Farrn’s advancing army. More activelt, on the day of the battle of the Northern Cross, they made themselves known to the Two Princes of the Tayfolk. This was coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally) timed as the Tayfolk had just managed to discover the secret to changing themselves forever into beings more powerful than any the world had seen. As the battle began in the mountains between the Forces of Farrn and the Green Mage of Oss, so a battle also raged within the mountain home of the Tayfolk. The mountains were laid open through the help of the Brih’Ja’Dunian sleeper agents within the Tayfolk mountain and the Knights of Purity stormed in. After a heated battle, the two brother rulers of the Tayfolk, Ashran and Desorak, realized they were about to lose everything and in a final act of honor, they launched their city-ship from underneath the mountain, tearing it asunder, and flying their home from the surface of the planet into the Red Sun, vaporizing  it, along with the Brih’Ja’dunian agents, almost all of the Knights of Purity, as well as themselves and all their people, content to die an honorable death rather than be dominated by these lowly humans who had foiled over 10,000 years of research. This marked the the end of the Third Age and the beginning of the Dark Age.

The Dark Age

Once again, the planet was changed. The city-ship of the Tayfolk had been a lynch pin holding the entire continent of Treh’dann together. As it ascended into space, great tectonic shifts occurred. The fissures that had formed when the city-ship had first landed fully cracked, breaking the continent into multiple islands. The islands each were surrounded by cliffs over 100 meters high, though there were several places on most of them close to sea level where port cities were able to be once again established.

The remaining sentient races, seeing what Tayfolk magic had brought, banned it in an agreement known as the Accords of Kotras that was signed by the leaders of every major city state on each of the now 13 continents. Any sentient creature imbued with the ability to cast academic magic was hunted down and immediately sent to the nearest city-state sanctioned conditioning camp, one on each continent. In these camps, the mage was driven through torture to either hate all wielders of academic magic (including themselves) or they simply died resisting the torture. Those few that survived the camps were sent to be part of a group that was formed to enforce the Accords recognized as the “Order of the Accords”. Informally and to common folk they were more commonly known as “The Mage Hunters”, and were tasked with the lifelong charter of hunting any escaped and renegade mages down to be brought to a conditioning camp and conditioned. To aid the Mage Hunters, the dwarves forged special shurikens hyper-dense with Tayfolk magic that would automatically seek any out who also possessed such magic when thrown in their general vicinity. Once a target’s flesh had been penetrated by the shuriken, the target’s spirit and magic bound with the magic within the shuriken instantly, and the target “bled” Tayfolk magical energy into the shuriken until it was depleted from the target. This “bloodletting” is extremely painful to the target and can last hours or even days and is referred to by Mage Hunters as “field conditioning” of the target. Once the magical energy was gone, the soul settled back into the creature’s body. If the shuriken was removed while spirit and magic were intertwined, the creature would die instantly. The more such shurikens were used, the denser with Tayfolk magic they became. Possession or even handling of one of these mithral silver shuriken is considered an act punishable by death by Mage Hunters and the shuriken have now become such a strong symbol of the Order that they are referred to as “Mage Killers” in the same manner as are the members of the Order.

Geography

The great tectonic movements from the end of the Third Age some 60 years ago have settled, resulting in the once great continent being shattered into thirteen continents each with but 100 kilometers of ocean between one another. Each continent contains a single great city-state that controls each continent and each of which is thriving like the post-WW2 United States. Expanding out from each city-state are several cities and out from them are several towns.  Between each of these more urban areas are vast areas of well-developed and productive fertile farmlands where the lakes of blood and scorched earth once were.

The lattitudes of Namnlos Welt are much different from those of our own world, in that the northern most latitude of the planet is equivalent to that of our own world 65 degrees, as seen in northern Canada, Russia, Scandinavia and Alaska. As latitudes progress southward, at the equator of Namenlos Welt, they progress in temperature more slowly such that the equator is similar to at our own 30 degrees north latitude and at the south most pole, the temperatures are akin to the equator in our own world. Climate changes resulting from elevation and moisture patterns are otherwise similar to our own world.

Wildlife

Standard wildlife similar to that of our own world coexists with a vast variety of all types of magical creatures too numerous and varied to represent here. Anything from plants to animals from earth’s past myths and legends to oozes to jellies can express surprising traits and abilities.

Technology

For the most part, technology is the equivalent of late middle ages in our own world.

One unique development in technology is that it has started to advance in just the past few years due to the presence of the sixty-four Knights of Purity who survived the Third Age and to this day suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as they are haunted by the sight of seeing the rest of their number perish inside the Tayfolk city-ship as it vaporized in the sun. These few surviving Knights, much older and with no Tayfolk to fight, have taken to introducing some of their technologies to the peoples of Namenlos Welt, including rudimentary metallurgy and the metric system. As none of them are scientists, however, little true progress has yet been made. The relearning of everything that was once considered “alchemy” in a systematic fashion and renaming the science “chemistry” has created a strong foundation on which to systematically build and this is just now starting to show some signs of promise, especially among the more innovative, forward thinkers in the universities within the city-states and among the dwarves and gnomes.

Supernatural Phenomena

Magic exists in this campaign and it has shaped the world in ages past. In general magic comes from one of three sources: Tayfolk, Hujraad, or Angstbrecht.

Tayfolk derived magic is considered profane and the cause of all woes of humanity and demihumanity by learned folks. Common folks generally perceive all magic as suspicious and associated with either Hujraad or Angstbrecht; few know that Tayfolk magic ever existed at all or if it even still exists. As the agents of Hujraad tend to help humanity wherever they go, they are generally looked upon more highly, however, still suspiciously. Even if Hujraad’s followers practice magic in public many know that when magic is about, it is there for a reason and it rarely a good one.

Tayfolk

Tayfolk-based magic is derived from study and practice and originates in the contamination of the surface of the planet from a long-dead race of aliens. With the loss of the Tayfolk, the energies associated with their magic is decreasing in power and frequency as the energies continue to once again consolidate. The Book of Ages that manifested from Tayfolk magic was lost to the wizarding community and the few rogue academic mages that manage to evade the Mage Hunters seek it to learn its secrets and use it as a source of power. All the mithral silver that manifested from Tayfolk magic during the first three Ages has been all collected, but as the few remaining Tayfolk magical energies begun to consolidate, they are once again manifesting as mithral silver. This substance is actively sought out by those hunted mages who depend on them to cast their spells, and those who wish to use it in the creation of magical items such as weapons, armor, or other inanimate objects.

Hujraad

Hujraad-based magic is derived from the preternatural conscious entity, Hujraad. Hujraad generally bestows magics gently and indirectly to all in the world through radiation out from dragons that live on the planet. In the First Age, there were many dragons that connected the followers of Hujraad with their god’s power. But after the Battle of Ty and the Battle of the Northern Cross, they have been drastically reduced in numbers. The elders remember stories of them but their presence today is unseen and unfelt by all but the truly faithful who insist they still live or they would not have their abilities but do not know how many of them or where they might be. There are even talks of those who merged their human blood with that of dragons to keep their lines alive. Despite any such efforts to maintain the bloodlines, with the decrease in the number of dragons in the world, the magical potential provided by Hujraad has also begun to decline in power.

Angstbrecht

Angstbrecht-based magic is bestowed by the infernal entity Angstbrecht upon directly its practitioners who must petition it from him with some sort of pact or corrupting ritual. Up until the Third Age, the followers of Angstbrecht were many. After the fall of Farrn in the Third Age, however, his worshippers have been driven away to places unknown. The followers of Hujraad, however, still maintain that they are out there and struggle to work against his “evil” ways. As with dragons, there are whispers of those who still worship at the altar of Angstbrecht, make pacts with the infernal being, or have even corrupted themselves by mating with him to gain his graces and gifts. Unlike the power of the Tayfolk and Hujraad, however, Angstbrecht’s power remains strong and his influence has begun grow as it has filled the power void once held by these competing sources of power. It is only the will of good people that prevents darkness from consuming the world of Namenlos Welt once again.

Races

Elves

Elves, once prevalent throughout Namenlos Welt’s First Age, have been all but eliminated and those that remain are now sterile and doomed to live their lives unable to produce any more offspring. The few elves remaining are now hunted down by the few remaining Knights of Purity as sport when they are feeling particularly restless, and this is tolerated by most folks as many of them are grateful for the assistance they have received from the Knights in reestablishing the cities and the elves are generally associated with the evils of magic. Any time there is a wandering monster check, there is a chance one of these sorts of encounters will occur, depending on the proximity to a city-state (30%), town (20%), farm (10%), or in the remote wilderness (5%).

Mountain Folk

Of the standard Dungeons and Dragons “races”, only dwarves, gnomes, and half-orcs play roles remain as dominant races of the world. All humans refer to them as “Mountain Folk” as that is generally where they dwell. The Mountain Folk  play as significant a role in the Accords of Kotras as humans because of Kotras himself being a half-orc who reunited all these other races under the mountain. They currently work to obtain mithral and will support Mage Hunters and their cause, however two generations out, some humans are beginning to wonder what the dwarves are doing with all the mithral they have amassed.

Dwarves

Dwarves rule the mountains and trade with humans living within their cities and citadels as equals. The dwarves covet mithral silver above all other metals and will trade or do anything to obtain it as per their charter in the Accords of Kotras, but have been known to use it for defenses, weapons, and other more useful things. Generally, dwarves tend to enjoy staying in the mountains and if they vacation, do so in the foothills close to home. There are two clans: One wears kilts and speaks with an accent like those from Scotland in our own world while the other tends to exhibit a culture like that of medieval Germany and speaks with an accent similar to Germany in our own world.

Gnomes

Gnomes live within dwarven-built cities and share a strong sense of cultural community. They have become fascinated with tinkering with the mithral and always seem to be looking for magical creatures, people, or items to do experiments with just for the joy of doing so. They tend to be travelers looking for something to catch their fancies, new things to tinker with, new peoples to learn about and news gatherers for the rest of the mountain folk. Gnomes tend to speak rather quickly and act very decisively.

Half Orcs

Half-orcs are honorable warriors that live in the foothills and have given themselves fully to hunting down mages on their own outside of the Accords of Kotras. They look upon the safety of all humans, dwarves and gnomes as their responsibility, as they have no people of their own and take this honor as the meaning of their lives. The Order of the Accords was initially their idea and though they do not use mithral silver shurikens and are not officially members of the Order of the Accords, they are looked upon as samurai or knights by humand and demihumans alike wherever they go and are revered by even the self-loathing Mage Hunters.

Humans

A number of cultural groups have appeared among the humans of Namenlos Welt.

Brih’Ja’Dunians

The Brih’Ja’Dunians still live in their own City-state and are rarely encountered outside the walls of the city-state. They are known to have a pacifistic and advanced society though no one seems to have any precise examples of such great advancements.  It is also known they are not a magical people as has been borne out by countless Mage-Hunter accounts. Most often, they will be encountered as an occasional scholar out of their homelands, traveling with anyone of any sort of race for some sort of academic pursuit. They have dark skin, with women shaving their heads and men wearing beaded braids pulled back to designate their family and personal identities and accomplishments. Their society is completely egalitarian and progressive.

Tallahassii

These rope warriors of the norther archipelago of Racsagadan are a fierce matriarchal society of warriors and traders. They are known for their acrobatic rope-based fighting styles, inhuman speed, and contempt for almost all men, especially any who look down on women.

Nerf Dart Characterization Project: Equipment Tests Kickoff

Project Kickoff

Well, the project has begun. We decided from the outset to start off with equipment we already have and will progress to more specialized equipment as we continue. That being said, right off the bat, we purchased a chronograph and laser site as those two tools seemed important and were consistent with previously published literature. For those interested, I will begin the documentation and enumeration of startup equipment and costs in my next post, and continue the tally as we move forward for informational purpose, should others wish to replicate or extend our results. Unlike most projects in which I am involved, as this is a hobby, we have not hard budget. With that being said, however, I am looking at keeping the overall cost of the project to under $1000 with a stretch goal of under $500, not including darts, which we use in everyday practice anyway just blasting each other.

Chronograph Test

We started with a chronograph test and videotaped it but lost the footage due to equipment use error. It was actually kind of funny, and right off the bat, my youngest and middlest got to learn, from experience, the importance of backups, redundant copies, and how to use the cloud drives. As I also was chronicling it on my own, I do have the following still shots:

Green Sight Laser Test

We also purchased a green dot laser sight that came with an attachment for a Picatinny rail and attached it to two of our test pistols securely, specifically the Nerf Rival Kronos and the Nerf Mega Cycloneshock. Neither of these blasters has a Picatinny rail, as would be expected due to the fact that they are TOYS! What I did not expect, and was pleasantly surprised by, was that in both cases, we were able to use the attachment that came with the laser site to securely fasten the sight to both blasters. Here is the test footage of the sight on the CycloneShock:

   

Camera Test

Finally, we did a screen test with my camera phone to test the video hardware and start trying to find an angle at which to film the strike point of the ball with the target, as it was recommended to not to film it at a direct 90 degree angle from the target. In the test footage, my youngest held the camera at roughly a 70 angle and came up with the following results:

This footage, while not great, confirmed a number of things:

1. Something we knew but wanted to confirm, was that the camera will not work for purposes of marking ball strike points in post production. Our next test will be with my eldest's GoPro Hero 5 to see if that will work better and we will see if we can ramp up the shutter speed to at least 120 to 125. I do not need professional grade video but I do need it to be accurate enough so that marking strike points and adding an outline of my youngest's head and torso will be easier in post production. I am hesitant to spend money on an SLR camera for this project, as the cost is already so far hovering at 150 dollars.

2. We discovered that the video software my middlest is using does not have the functionality to place dots on the strike points or do layers. We are now looking at free Mac-compatible versions (or Linux or Windows if the Apple platform fails us) of software for this purpose before we move to more costly alternatives.

Solicitation of Feedback

For anyone who has constructive criticism, I would love to invite you to comment and hear what you have to say. I will respond in a timely matter to questions posted on this blog. If you want to suggest equipment, that would be great. If you really want to add value to such recommendations, please list the price and if you would consider any tools if they are the lowest level tools in the category, highest level tools in the category, or the minimum enough to accomplish our goals. 

For anyone who wishes to add negative criticism, use inappropriate language, recommend things out of scope, or tell me not to do this project, go elsewhere. Seriously. Go on Reddit and blast people with your negative opinions, reasons why you think this is stupid or useless, und so weiter. I don't want to hear it and you bring no value. Go away. This project is about scientific discovery. It is about process. It is about experimentation and learning what works so that me and my children can learn together how to create a multifaceted, technical project that piques our interest. Our ultimate goal is to spend time with one another and the people who share our interest in this hobby while creating documentation of useful data that people can use, not to fit some sort of market niche to gather subscribers or free swag.

A New Project: Nerf Dart Characterization

So as many of you may know, I have taken up "nerfing" over the past year or so. It is so much fun and infinitely hackable! I highly recommend the hobby to anyone who still has a bit of their spirit left.

In the process of learning the hobby, I came across the YouTube videos of Coop772, a YouTube personality who takes a similar view to chronicling the foam-flinging hobby that I do to designing roleplaying games: simple, clean, objective systematic approaches to maximize subjective enjoyment of a hobby. I prefer his approach  rather than those video makers who prefer to discuss and dish current hype, use flawed methodologies, listen to themselves talk, or focus on getting themselves seen. While I look forward to and regularly tune in for his video updates, however, I have recently decided to take a suggestion he made in one of his his videos and do some testing myself. 

The Impetus

Recently, I rewarded myself with a Nerf Mega CycloneShock blaster after passing a professional certification exam, because I liked the whistling of the Mega darts as they flew and the solid "whack" sound they made when they hit a target. While playing with it, I was double wielding it with my Nerf Rival Kronos and was dramatically impacted by the horrible shot groupings and lack of precision of the Mega whistling ammunition. I said to myself, "If only there were Mega darts that were as accurate as my Rival ammunition". 

Afterward. I reviewed not only several of Coop772's videos, where I found the one that talked about the superiority of the Rival rounds (which is why I bought the Kronos in the first place) and third party (non-Nerf manufactured) darts as well as one that compared Nerf Mega and Nerf Elite darts (the gold standard for the sport), but a number of other videos to see if there were any such comparisons to address my concerns of the Mega dart imprecision. In Coop772's videos, the data was compelling and robust but sparse, while in the other videos, all I found were flawed methodologies, biased suppositions, and dataless conjectures. I found myself left for wanting a more complete statistical treatment of the subject. Finally, in one of his videos, Coop772 said to do so would take more time than he wished to spend on the topic and if I wanted such data, to do a study myself. I figured right then and there, in classic Hujraad fashion, since I have the means and time, why not? I decided to take his advice and apply a "HiBRID-style" philosophy and "Johaansen-style" intensity to a new project with my kids in the interest of contributing to the literature of foamsports. 

The Question

In order to start my project, I decided I needed to define the question I wanted to answer. After discussing it with the kids, we decided we wanted to answer the following question:

What is the probability of hitting one of our family members in the head with a Nerf dart from a spring-based blaster using each of the four main foam ammunition platforms at 5, 10, and 20 meters?

Why test so many platforms?

We started with the most robust data we could find to start as our initial foundation and settled on Coop772s studies. In summary, he states with significant empirical evidence that a number of other darts that are more empirically more accurate than the Nerf Elite darts: Nerf Accustrike darts, a third party dart referred to as a "Koosh Gen 3" dart, a dart from Air Zone known as the Precision Pro dart, and a third party dart modeled on the Nerf Accustrike darts referred to as an "Accufake". In addition to these foam darts, the accuracy of a plastic and rubber dart known as the BoomCo dart has also been noted by not only Coop772 but several other YouTubers, though it is not compatible with blasters designed for any of the Nerf dart platforms. 

In addition to these baseline assertions, Nerf has expanded their Mega darts line to create "Mega Accustrike" darts and a third party "Mega Accufake" dart has come to market. In the foam ball market, the hobby has generally settled on Headshot brand rounds as the Rival Round third party "dart" of choice, and Dart Zone has also come out with a competitive and compatible foam sphere ammunition as well. As these are relatively newer developments, these have not been treated statistically treated in the media either.

Since we use all of these different types of darts, we thought that once we knew the methodology for how to test one type of dart, we could go through and test all of them just for completion's sake with the same methodology. This seemed especially interesting because we occasionally play game variants in which we only allow one type of dart platform or we asssign special abilities to specific platforms, such as shield breaking or double-hits to Mega darts.

Why these distances? 

Because in a foam-combat situations, we decided these three ranges most closely match the three ranges we think of strategically while we are playing, and they also match the general design philosophy in the HiBRID game. Specifically, the Point Blank Range (5 m) almost guarantees a hit regardless of the dart, the Effective Range (10 m) is where the dart will have the most effect on the outcome, and Extreme Range (20m), where regardless of the precision of the dart, the distance is so great that it becomes all but impossible to hit a target. (While darts can go further than 60 feet,  a natural 20 on your task roll or a point of Ite' are the only things that will allow you to strike an opponent at that range anyway).

Stay Tuned...

We are going to first start by assembling and learning to use our equipment and defining initial methodologies and procedures. Once these are complete, we will further refine our study design and discuss our methods as we go. So, like I said, stay tuned...it should be an incredibly HiBRiD-esque ride...

Guest Piece: An Article By Flippy, Author and Creator of the Tiny Horsies Roleplaying Game

The Benefits of RPG for the Children AND Their Parents

Well, with the character creations complete, I have officially begun the final layout of the game rules (at least the Player's Spielbook). While that is in process, I thought I would give you all a break form the HiBRID system itself, and share the following article, written by my friend and fellow independent Roleplaying Game creator and Author: Flippy! His game, Tiny Horsies, is very HiBRID-esque example of an incredibly simple, flexible roleplaying game designed for children and parents, but readily playable (and hackable) as a multigenre roleplaying game.

If you go back to my previous posts starting in August 2015, you will see my in-depth (some may say ad nauseum) review of his tabletop roleplaying game, Tiny Horsies. Since that time, he has released a second edition complete with fixes for the (VERY) few issues I had mentioned in my review (including a copy of the character sheet I presented here on this very blog! (Thanks for the opportunity to contribute, Flippy-hj).

So, without further delay, here is his article:

The Benefits of RPG for the Children AND Their Parents

The adults that grew up playing RPGs now have children of their own and they are sharing their love for the hobby with them. But RPGs are not just a fun activity for children. They also offer several benefits. 

For example, one time, I was playing Tiny Horsies with two little girls. One of the girls had assigned two points to the “Random” ability, which allowed her character to create some minor magical effect. She really liked using it the first time, and later in the gaming session, she wanted to use it again, but for something rather trivial. When I told her that if she used her second point, she’d be left without none, she changed her mind and decided to save her Random point for a moment where it would be more useful. In that session, that girl learned that there are limited resources and that using up something meant that there would be no more of it later. 

Other parents have told me that RPGs have taught similar lessons to their children. Some of these parents use these games to teach their children that their actions have consequences. Others give moral lessons, such as what happens when you lie. Even if the child’s character is not caught, he can see that his lying can have an impact on others. Other parents have taught their children to face their fears, by exposing them to what causes their fear in a non-threatening way. And of course, children learn that it’s easier to solve a problem or overcome a foe if they collaborate with others, which in turn requires some basic negotiation and reaching agreements.

On the other hand, it’s often the parent who benefits by learning a bit more about his or her child. Unlike adults, children will tackle RPG situations in a completely different way. For example, if you place a party of orcs in the way of adult players, it’s a safe bet that the players will result into combat. A group of children might, but they are as likely as to try to challenge the orcs to a game of tag, negotiate with them, or even befriend them.

But the biggest benefit of RPGs is that you get to spend time with your child and live adventures with him or her. This is the kind of memories that you want your child to remember you by when he or she’s older, those times where you were bigger, stronger, but the most fun toy there ever has been. 

When not busy mixing his whites with colors, Flippy works as a writer, translator, and language teacher. In his free time, he plays video games, takes photos, and writes funny stuff. You can find his RPG for parents and children book on DriverThruRPG at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/152860/Tiny-Horsies-The-Role-Playing-Game

A SNEAK PEEK: The HiBRiD Player's Spielbook, Chapter 2: Step Eight of Eight (Possessions)

Step Eight: List Possessions

Finally, all that remains is to determine your character’s material possessions. Your character’s possessions are closely linked to your character’s concept history, and the genre. If your character grew up on the streets, for example, he is most likely barely going to have two pennies to rub together, unless his history says he recently found a bag of money in the street with no name on it. He is likely to have a few ratty possessions of personal importance but little utility in his cardboard box under the viaduct, a few possessions on his person, and a few coins if any walking around money. On the other hand, if your character is a wealthy thrill seeker bored with his privileged life, he is likely going to have a large amount of money in the bank but not necessarily available on his person, a lot of fancy equipment or gear in a traveling suitcase, a trunk with a number of fashionable outfits, and one or two fancy weapons normally available to civilians that may or may not be durable and functional.

Given these examples, it is easy to see how you can rationalize any number of possessions unique to your character that would not be common to others possessing the same profession or skills. It could also take a long time trying to make sure you capture all the things your character would normally have.

To make determining possessions a quick and easy process, your character’s possessions are classified into five types: Clothing, Concept Kit, Specific Items, Improvised Items, and Holdings.

Clothing

The first type of possessions is the clothing your character is wearing. Your character begins with any clothes you choose, including underwear, socks, and footwear. If you do not indicate clothes on your character sheet, your character is naked.

Hujraad’s Hacks: Naked Characters? Seriously?

Yes. Seriously. Naked. It may seem that it needs to go without saying, but just in case you don’t believe me or are unclear on this topic, I will restate it once again: if you do not list your character’s clothing, your character is naked. This includes underwear and socks.

Concept Kit

Your character is assumed to begin play carrying items related to his concept skills. To reflect this assumption, you may list one concept kit. This concept kit is assumed to contain all of the items necessary for your character to perform the sorts of actions characters typically carried out by characters of the role defined in your character’s concept.

Listing a concept kit does away with the need to list specific items, and is based on the role of your character.

Each concept kit reflects actions not related to combat and never includes weapons or ammunition. A concept kit for a character with “barbarian” listed as the role in the  concept, for example, would be assumed to contain tools for foraging, navigating, tracking, setting snares, and climbing. Major things that would be assumed to be in the kit on a day-to-day basis would be flint and tinder, a few lengths of rope, pitons, an axe for wood chopping, a utilitarian knife, camouflage paint, twine, et cetera.

Hujraad’s Hacks: The Weaponlessness of Concept Gear

It might seem that some character concepts would require if not strongly suggest that weapons be included in a concept kit. As an example, let’s look at a common role for many Wild West games, the “gunslinger”. If you were to make a character with gunslinger concept, of course, your character is going to have guns, bullets, and a gun belt, et cetera. But what else would a gunslinger need that you might not think about? Definitely, a gunslinger would need a good hunting knife, some rations, some tools for taking care of his horse’s shoes, a tent, some firemaking tools, and a bedroll. By listing a “gunslinger’s kit” for your character, you can save the time it would take to write down all of these mundane things, as well as the effort of having to write down other things you might not think of or have the time to think about. This frees you from having to worry about the boring items and get right down to the part of the character creation process that you might enjoy a bit more: designating their character’s custom-designed, unique weapons.

Uses

A concept kit is composed of both consumable items that are used up over time as well as durable items that are not. To simplify this, each kit possesses 20 “Uses”. Whenever an item that might be used to accomplish a task requires the use of a piece of equipment in the kit, the Director will judge whether or not one of these uses is spent. If so, you will subtract one “Use” from the number of “Uses” for the kit. Once the number of “Uses” for a concept kit is depleted, the character must get a new kit or otherwise take measures to get the kit replenished.

Specified Items

In addition to your character’s concept kit, you are free to list any Specified items your character would carry on his/her person that would not be included in the concept kit. Examples of such items include weapons, ammunition, money, car keys, good luck charms, et cetera.

While a concept kit has a mixture of durable  and consumable items, Specified items are classified as either durable items or consumable Items.

Any Specified durable items that may be used repeatedly to carry out the activities of daily living or perform actions while adventuring that can be easily carried in a backpack, tool belt, or by some other readily convenient means are assumed to be within your character’s immediate reach (but may take time to access) if needed, unless something happens over the course of the game, such as being lost or stolen. Examples of durable items include weapons, a wallet or purse, a walking stick, a backpack, eyeglasses, car keys, personal communication devices, or a daily planner or journal.

Any Specified consumable items that will be used up over the course of normal use as game play proceeds must be noted on your character sheet separately, and the number of each item must also be listed. Over the course of the game, as these items are consumed, you will need to keep track of the number remaining. Examples of such items include darts, arrows, rounds of ammunition, money, batteries, matches, food, nuts and bolts, nails, solder, et cetera.

Hujraad’s Hacks: Only Specified Items

If you are not in a hurry, rather than listing a concept kit, you are more than welcome to list each and every individual tool or piece of equipment on your character sheet to your heart’s content as a Specified item. If you choose to follow this path rather than using a concept kit, remember to classify and list your objects separately as durable and consumable Items, and to designate the number of consumable items next to the item’s name on your character sheet.

Improvised Items

The next type of possessions your character will possess are referred to as Improvised items. Improvised items represent any of a number of random, nameless, household, items that your character might need at any given time that you would have no way of knowing he would need beforehand. Perhaps your character, stranded on a rural dirt road and camping out until help arrives, feels a sudden need for a bag of marshmallows? Perhaps your character was mystically transported from a rainforest to a desert and suddenly finds a real need for a canteen of water? What if your character went to the library expecting to find an answer in a book, only to find a secret passage instead along with a sudden need for a flashlight? Improvised Items can really save you and your character’s bacon in any of these situations.

Improvised items may be any non-magical, common item of minimal to moderate value that is within the genre of the game setting and easy to legally obtain. Items that are rare, magical, related to weapons, or not within the genre for the game, extremely expensive, or unique in a particular way may never be declared as an Improvised Items.

Improvised Items are classified into two types. The first type, clutter, may be simple items with few if any moving parts, easy to fit into a large pants pocket or small purse, and possess low or no monetary value, typically less than ten dollars in our own world. You can think of these things that you might find in a kitchen junk or desk drawer, behind or underneath the cushions in a couch, or in the very bottom of a purse or backpack. The second type, knickknacks, are items of up to moderate complexity, no larger than a breadbox, and cost less than a hundred dollars in our own world.

Improvised items are not actual items that you list on your character sheet but instead, they are blanks on your character sheet that act as placeholders to be used  during play. When you need an Improvised item, you will simply declare your character has the item as as either a knickknack or item of clutter. The Director will then judge the item and designate which of the two types of Improvised Item it qualifies as. Once your Director classifies the item, you may write it down in one of the appropriate spaces designated on your character sheet. Once all a character’s Improvised items have been all been declared, you may no longer declare improvised items.

Hujraad’s Hacks: Multiple Improvised Items

An Improvised item might not be a single item but several items for a single purpose. If your character finds a flashlight with two dead batteries, for example, and you wish for your character to be able to use it at that very moment, you might say, “I just so happen to have a few batteries among the clutter in my pocket”. In such a case, the Director may just treat it as a single Item of clutter. On the other hand, if the same character needs two miner’s helmets, the Director may claim that each constitutes a single knickknack, so will request you list each of them individually on your character sheet. In short, whenever you claim your character has an Improvised item, your Director has the final say as to whether it is considered an item of clutter, a knickknack, neither, or multiple items, and inform you how to reflect them on your character sheet during play.

Trading Knickknacks and Clutter

In some situations, your character may run out of one type of Improvised item or the other. If you need an item of clutter but have no items of clutter remaining, you may declare the item is a knickknack. If you need a knickknack but have no knickknacks remaining, you may claim the item as two items of clutter. If you need a Knickknack and only have one item of clutter remaining, you may ask one of the other players if they would be willing to transfer one of their Improvised items to you. Similarly, if other player characters have declared all of their Improvised items, you may declare an Improvised item and give it to another player character.

  

Holdings

Holdings are possessions your character possesses elsewhere, that are not within 100 meters of his person. They can be vehicles, houses, investment accounts, and anything else that holds value but your character is not carrying.

You are free to document any Holdings your character possesses so long as your Director approves them and judges they fit in with your character’s history and concept. For example, if you claim your character has multiple homes, 17 high-performance sports cars, and over a million dollars in assets but is a homeless bum, your Director may disallow it unless your character history reflects this seeming contradiction in some way.

Completing Step Eight

To complete this step, first describe and list all the clothing your character is wearing.

Next, look at your character’s concept and concept skills and take a second to think about what sorts of equipment your character would need to perform tasks associated with the concept skills you have chosen and write down a type of concept kit that might reflect these items along with the list of what your character is wearing as clothing. Next to the name of the concept kit, write down how your character is carrying it (in a backpack, distributed throughout your character’s various pants and shirt pockets, in a duffel bag, et cetera) and write the number of Uses it currently has remaining. By default, all concept kits start out with 20 Uses.

Third, after you have documented your character’s concept kit, write down any Specified durable items your character typically carries as goes about his life or adventures. Do not forget to document any weapons carried, as they are not considered part of any concept kit. As you list each item, think of any consumable items related to it your character might need, such as ammunition,  batteries,  and so forth. List these items and the quantity of each item your character is carrying on your character sheet as a Specified consumable item.

Fourth, list your character’s Holdings, and describe where your character lives and sleeps most of the time. Also list any modes transportation your character owns or otherwise has access to (such as a car, horse, hang glider, for example) and describe where they are usually kept. If your character has equipment stored with the method of conveyance, list those items with it as well. If your character has no holdings, indicate that as well.

Finally, because they are placeholders, there is of course no need to designate Improvised items on your character sheet. Instead, just make yourself familiar with where you will document each item as it is claimed on your character sheet and you are ready to begin playing.

Step Eight Example: Johnny Parkour

Excited to be almost done creating his character, Ogun finally turns his attention to his character Johnny’s possessions. Being athletic from the circus, he decides that Johnny wears loose fitting clothes that allow him to move quickly and writes down the following:

Stretchy Cotton Underwear

Baggie, well-worn canvas trousers with pockets

Comfy socks

Short sleeved cotton shirt

Flannel button down shirt

Light trapeze boots

Light leather gloves

Leather Duster

Balaclava

With Johnny’s clothes complete, Ogun moves on to determining his concept kit. The role for his character is “provacateur”, which really does not describe what sorts of things Johnny does from day to day. Johnny’s descriptor of “acrobatic” helps, but not all that much. Ogun turns to Johnny’s history. As he reads it, Ogun realizes that Johnnys Mission to find the missing fortune teller would suggest a need traveling gear, maybe some survival gear, and exploration equipment, like rope, a 3 meter pole, flashlight, matches and so forth. He decides to group these together in his mind and records the following on his character sheet, underneath the word “Balaclava”:

Adventurer’s kit (Backpack)-20 Uses

With the majority of his needs taken care of, Ogun decides to determine Johnny’s Specified items. Having aspects geared towards using marbles, he definitely decides he needs them but not many other weapons. He also decides that the circus folk gave him 100 dollars to start on his journey, which he keeps in a wallet that fits on the inside pocket of his duster. He writes the following Specified consumable items on his character sheet:

4 Pouches (1 in each pocket) of 200 marbles each - 200

1 Pouch (Clipped firmly to belt) of 200 marbles - 200

Wallet with 100 dollars

He then adds his Specified durable items:

Lucky lemur’s foot

1997 Saturn SL with 450,000 km on the odometer

With his Specified items out of the way, Ogun finally turns to Johnny’s Holdings. For the most part, Johnny lives and travels about with his circus family, so he possesses no Holdings of his own; everything is owned by the circus family as a whole and everyone within their family shares their possessions with one another. He shares a tent with his parents, though he has his own room. He is currently driving his dad’s old car, but since it is readily available to him, he has listed in his Specified Durable items. The nice thing about this is that though he has not a  lot of wealth, he does have a significant number of resources available from the circus family should he need some things while in pursuit of his Mission.

With this final step complete, Johnny Parkour is ready to dive into the action!