Expanded Worlds
Stripped of humanity by brutal living conditions, radiation, drugs, or magic, marauders still look like humans. But they delight in unremitting and extreme violence. They torture their victims to death over excruciating minutes or hours and take trophies of flesh.
Motive: Raid and kill for what they want
Health: 18
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (6 points)
Armor: 1
Movement: Short
Modifications: Tasks related to initiative, intimidation, and Intellect defense as level 7.
Combat: Marauders are armed with weapons taken from past victims. They never stop— the first time a marauder would normally be killed, savagery revives them with 12 health.
Interaction: It is essentially impossible to negotiate with marauders. They only laugh as they stab for the eyes.
Use: A group of marauders is squatting in a location the PCs need to explore for unrelated reasons.
Loot: Marauders carry weapons and light armor. One in three might carry a cypher. A politician consistently holds some elected public office. A politician could be a mayor, a city councilperson, a senator or representative, a governor, prime minister, president, and so on. To enact policy change, most politicians must compromise. To some politicians, retaining their position is the most important goal.
Motive: Enact policy change and/or win the next election
Health: 9
Damage Inflicted: Minor wound (2 points)
Movement: Short
Modifications: Tasks relating to knowledge of current events, government, and civic operations as level 6.
Combat: Politicians are more talkers than fighters, and those of sufficient importance are either accompanied by bodyguards or can call some to their presence at a moment’s notice. Politicians try to negotiate to avoid or end combats.
Interaction: Politicians welcome interaction. Some politicians will say anything, even if they don’t intend to follow through. Others try to hold to promises made, especially if those promises were publicly made. Many collect favors but intend to call those favors in at a later date.
Use: A politician to whom one or more of the PCs owes a favor asks for a meeting, then requests they undertake some action which might be construed as bordering on the illegal. But a favor is a favor.
Loot: Many politicians have at least one very expensive item, such as a designer watch, on their person. Marauders are sometimes called berserkers in historical and mythological genres.
GM Intrusion: The marauder screams and makes an especially violent attack—treat the attack as level 6 inflicting 8 points of damage. Marauders in a modern, horror, or crime and espionage setting might ride right through the heart of a city in a pickup truck with gun rack in the window, or in a motorcycle gang.