By Michael Surbrook
DOOMED HERO
Monsters from Doom & Doom II for use in Hero games
Before I present the material, lets get one thing straight: this is
not
an attempt to simulate Doom or Doom II. What I am presenting here is more
of an "adaption" of the Doom denizens for use in (say...) a Fantasy Hero,
Dark Champions or an off-beat Champions setting. For example, I have made
a few minor changes to some of the monster's powers (usually in SPX).
When designing the creatures stats and powers, I used a copy of the Doom
FAQ, which listed such useful details as each monster's height, mass,
speed, damage capability and so on. I based the characteristic values on
these numbers, as well as personal feelings and play experience. As
always, your mileage may vary. Feel free to alter the designs given, I
certainly don't consider them 'carved in stone'. Suggested alterations
including giving certain demons skills, adding combat levels, altering the
values given for BODY and increasing the creatures defenses (a good
suggestion if you drop the BODY stats).
To truly simulate Doom, one would want to make everything an
automaton,
since you can't stun anything in Doom. One would also have to tinker with
the damage values given for certain weapons as well. I am going to
present everything using standard Champions rules, after that, you're on
your own.
A quick note on the disads for the Demons: I have only written down two
for each, Distinctive Features, and the Psych Lim: Hostile - will attack
anything that hits it (com, total). This last represents the fact
that
the typical Doom demon will lash out at the last thing that hit it, so
firing into a mixed batch of Demons will often result in a nice Carnival
of Carnage (TM) as they dispose of each other!
The cast list:
- Zombie Human: These are possessed soldiers that have been brought
back to life to serve their demon masters. Zombie Humans are found just
about everywhere, but due to their slow reflexes, speed and general
lack
of intelligence, are nothing more than a mere nuisance. They appear a
simple human corpse dressed in filthy fatigues. They grunt to each other
when moving about, and groan if shot, but can't really speak. The Zombie
Human is armed with whatever weapon he was carrying when killed. In Doom,
killing a Zombie nets one pistol ammunition, but since the game graphic
shows a rifle, I decided to arm them that way.
- Zombie Sergeant: Similar to the Zombie Human, the Zombie Sargent is
a little tougher and armed with a nice pump-action shotgun. They aren't
much better than a Zombie Human, but their shotgun can be very dangerous
up close. They are walking corpses dressed in dirty red and black
uniforms.
- Zombie Chain Gunner: Physically pretty much the same as Humans and
Sargents, the Chain Gunner is much tougher, faster than the other
humans. He is armed with a rapid-fire chain gun that is quite capable of
hosing down an area with a lethal rain of bullets. The Chain Gunner is a
large, burly human dressed in a red uniform.
- Imp: Your generic 'grunt' demon. A man-sized monster, brown in
color, covered with spiky skin. Throws balls of hellfire and has nasty,
sharp claws.
- Demon: This is a very large demon that vaguely resembles the
front half of a bull. It is pink, with big teeth, shirt arms, and horns.
- Specter: This looks just like a Demon, except it's invisible. In
a brightly lit area, it presents a faint, fuzzy outline, in shadows, any
where else, all you can do is listen for it.
- Lost Soul: Small, humanoid skulls with horns. They float around
in packs and try to gang gunch anything they perceive as the enemy...
which is just about everything.
- Revenant: A dead demon brought pack to life through a combination
of magic and cybertechnology. It's tall, with a mean right hook and a
shoulder mounted "rocket" launcher. The game version actually launches
rockets, this version uses more generic "fireballs".
- Cacodemon: A big, orange floating head, that resembles the D&D
Beholder. It spits gasballs of electrical energy, and has a mouthful of
nasty teeth..
- Pain Elemental: A much more uglier version of the Cacodemon (if
possible), the Pain Elemental is born, with useless, stubby arms. It
spits out a seemingly endless supply of Lost Souls.
- Arachnotron: This is looks like a brain mounted on a multi-legged
mechanical chassis. Arachnotron's are quick, nasty, and more than willing
to hose down their target with a steady stream of plasma fire. Note: the
Arachnotron's Growth is defined as its width, insted of height.
- Hell Knight: Large, brownish man-goats that stand about 8 to 9
feet tall. They throw green balls of plasma, and are quite tough. Note:
due to the simularity between the Hell Knight and the Baron of Hell, the
Personal Immunity on their powers extends to each other as well.
- Mancubus: The Mancubus is a tremendously fat humanoid with a pair
of hellfire launchers instead of hands. He waddles about, muttering
incoherently, and will unleash a devastating barrage of hellfire when ever
he spots an enemy.
- Archvile: This tall humanoid figure is possible one of the most
fearsome of opponents. The Archvile has several notable features. The
first is its highly distinctive purr, sounded when ever it is hunting,
the second is its thunderclap attack, which will send opponents flying.
Finally, the Archvile can raise recently slain demons back from the dead,
sending them back into the fray.
- Baron of Hell: An even tougher version of the Hell Knight, a Baron
looks almost exactly the same, except he is pink and has an even more
powerful plasma attack.
- Spider Demon: This immense creature looks like a larger version of
the Arachnotron. It mounts a chaingun instead of a plasma thrower, and
can reduce most opponents to pulp in very short order. Note: due to the
presumed size of the chaingun's ammo bin, this power has been bought at 0
END. Note: the Spider Demon 's Growth is defined as it's width, instead
of height.
- Cyberdemon: The biggest, baddest denizen to be found in Doom. The
Cyberdemon stands something like 15 feet tall, and has an immense rocket
launcher in place of a left forearm. He takes forever to kill, even with
the biggest weapons, and can destroy almost any target with a single shot
of his launcher. Note: as with the Revenant, I've made the launcher a
more generic "hellfire" weapon, as opposed to firing physical rockets
(thus ending the question of ammo capacity).
Have fun!
(Legal Disclaimer: Doom and Doom II are registered trademarks of ID
Software. The Zombie Human, Zombie Sargent, Zombie Chain Gunner, Imp,
Demon, Specter, Lost Soul, Revenant, Cacodemon, Pain Elemental,
Arachnotron, Hell Knight, Mancubus, Archvile, Baron of Hell, Spider Demon,
Cyberdemon are all the creations of ID Software. Used without ID
Software's permission. No copyright violation intended. Character
designs for Hero Games written by Michael Surbrook for private use only.)
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* "'Cause I'm the god of destruction, that's why!" - Susano Orbatos,Orion *
* Michael Surbrook / susano@access.digex.net *
* Attacked Mystification Police / AD Police / ESWAT *
* Society for Creative Anachronism / House ap Gwystl / Company of St.Mark *
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