My Dice Tower: Picts & Sieges


(Picts vs Late Romans)

Some of you might ignore what is a the dice tower: it’s a game tool to roll dices in
an efficient and amusing way, a dice tower is a miniature hollowed tower with a couple or more deflectors inside , the dice falls from the top inside the tower, bounces on the deflectors and comes out of an opening at the bottom.
In the world of board games and rpg these towers have spread in recent years, but the idea comes from far away.
It seems that everything started in 1985 when archaeologists found in a roman villa in germany a metallic object, a dice tower of the 4th century AD, it was apparently a gift for the owner of the villa (probably the commander of a legion stationed on the empire frontier).

(the roman dice tower)

This tower was pierced with a a latin inscription:


The Picts are defeated.
The enemy is destroyed.
Play in safety!
Use it and live luckily/happily.)

This beautiful item also had 3 bells which ring when the dices come out of the lower opening.
An awesome artifact indeed.
In short, I decided to build my dice tower because … it’s fun.


(The inside of a Dice Tower)

I was thinking of making it in plywood and for that reason I first decided to make a cardboard prototype.
I started to use this prototype and I found it good and for now I did not feel the need for anything else.
And here the siege comes into play, in a sense.
I found in the house a perfect element for my tower:

The empty box of a “Zampone” (tipical italian pork sausage enveloped in a hollowed out pig’s trotter) eaten at New Year’s Eve and retained for future modeling projects,
it is made of plasticized cardboard of the right size.


(an example of a Zampone package)

I made three oblique cuts on it and inserted the cartboard deflectors (You have to be careful to leave enough distance to the dices to move from one deflector to the other), I cut also the front opening and then I covered the entire body of the tower with gray colored duct tape to increase its solidity.

And the siege? A legend says that the Zampone was created in 1510 during the long siege of the town Mirandola by the troops of Pope Julius II.
The besieged citizens to better survive the difficulties and to prevent the pigs that had been fattened up with such care from falling into the hands of the papal soldiers, ground the meat and stuffed it into the paw skin.



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Zathrum designer’s notes


Everything started when I got the idea of playing Sword & Backpack RPG in solo mode using Bivius.
S&B uses 1d20 so it was perfectly natural to use a d20 as the B.R.O. in Bivius.
I’ve been thinking that 1d20 has many faces 😀 and I could use this fact to create a more detailed oracle (Bivius has only the Rule # 8 for a binary Y/N answer).

The most natural thing for me was to convert The FU oracle (a d6 table) in a d20 version but with many more variations. I thought of a very famous d20 oracle toy, ( but its answers were not suitable for an rpg: too vague or inconclusive. A quick Google search led me to a list of English conditionals.
I took some that seemed fit (if, while, unless…) and added other ones.
However, I wanted an oracle that was not too rigid in the answers, but adaptable to the situation.
For this I have inserted the conditional in parenthesis as a simple suggestion after the Yes / No responses, if not fit you simply ignore it and use the basic Y / N response.
Now I had a very detailed oracle for questions to be answered during the game, I had Bivius for the rest and S&B as the starting point.

But Bivius is a complete RPG (it has standard RPG rules plus an integrated solo engine), I had seen that the d20 had great potential for the variety of possible outcomes with only one roll.
I then thought of creating a real self-contained Game Master Engine (GME) but still compatible with Bivius and S&B, What could be the other indispensable tables?
To create the story I liked the Bivius system of the two options but having 1d20 available instead of a binary random generator I could also vary the chances of the two options as other games had done. I’m a roleplayer of d6s and d10s games, I’m used to thinking about the odds in terms of percentiles, real-world probabilities are measured in this way as well.
Calculating the odds between two options by rolling dices of different type or using a dice pool is not for me, I wanted a simpler but precise system, a way to calculate the odds in percentiles, roll one d20 and get immediately the selected option.

Each number of a d20 has a 5% probability, it was a great way to calculate the odds that an option would take place. The other option would have occurred otherwise.

To get a simple but complete system other than the oracle and the option selector, I only needed two more things : a scene generator and a NPC generator. With four d20 tables there is enough to run a solo RPG adventure.
I used Zathrum in some short adventures and it all went well!


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It’s Free!


I’ve created a new page listing free online products, broken down by category: Solo RPGs and Solo Engines, Free RPGs, Random Generators, etc.

it’s HERE


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NSAABH: Ripley and HAL


This is a scenario for a NSAABH (Nine Steps And A Bloody Heart) investigative solo adventure, to play you need a suitable RPG system (Traveller, FATE, etc.)

You can download NSAABH here


Scenario: “You are one of the 5 crewmembers of the space tanker Boatswain, the ship AI awakens the crew from cryo-stasis. The ship is in quarantine, the AI states there are traces of alien DNA on board. The nearest base is too far to receive a distress signal and no other ship is in range. Hand scanners don’t reveal anything relevant but the computer takes full control of the ship and turns off the life systems. Wearing your spacesuits you and your crewmates have 3 hours of life support to save your life”


  • (Clubs) Why the computer has gone crazy?
  • (Diamonds) How can you take back control of your ship?
  • (Spades)Where is the only place to do it?
Clubs Diamonds Spades
1) Hacked by a rival corporation 1) Destroy the computer database 1) Ship’s Safeboat
2) Short circuit 2) Convince the AI the biohazard is over 2) Engine Room
3) Accidentally infected by a crewmeber videogame 3) Isolate the AI and activate the auxiliary computer 3) Infirmary
4) Sabotaged by crewmember #3 4) Override the quarantine protocols 4) Main Bridge
5) A dangerous alien is destroying circuits with an acid slime. 5) Overload the AI imput channels and force a reboot of the system 5) Cryogenic Chamber

Surprise List
1) The AI sings the song “Daisy Bell” every 5 minutes
2) Crewmember #3 is a malfuctioning android and kills crewmember #4
3) Artificial gravity disabled

Mr Wrong: crewmember #1
Mr Maybe: crewmember #2

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A new kid in town



While I’m completing a sourcebook for Bivius, on the weekend I wrote this solo system, it’s called ZATHRUM and uses 1d20. It’s free and you can download it here.
Unlike many other players I played mostly RPGs with d6s or d100s, now I can not wait to use Zathrum together with Sword & Backpack, a simple OSR game that intrigues me and also offers free adventures

One d20 to rule them all …

Posted in Solo RPG, Zathrum | 1 Comment

Bivius Pulp: Chapter Two



Hallo folks! Sorry for the delay, I had very little time to write and translate this chapter, I’m trying to imitate the stereotyped characters and the flat dialogue of movie serials of the 30’s and 40′. I plan to continue the series until the end of the 12 chapters, it will take a lot of time but I’m enjoying myself to follow these first moves of the story.What are those metal boxes? What is Siefer doing? I have deliberately kept some elements of the story undefined because I want to discover them little by little.

you can read the previous chapter here

Chapter 2 : AT DANGER’S CALL

In the previous Episode:
It’s 1936. The men of the secret organization Dark Ring commit crimes to get hold of mysterious metal boxes. Aboard the Zeppelin “HERREIHOFFEN”, Comet Telamon and his sidekick Vernon try to stop them, but in the fight Comet  is pushed out of the airship falling down without a parachute.

Scene 0): Cliffhanger Solution:
A movie serial hero always survives a Cliffhanger, so why doing a test?
Because if the hero passes the test, he can saves himself from danger in a heroic and spectacular way
but if he fails then the Cliffhanger solution will be more mundane and less satisfactory for the audience (eg Deus Ex Machina).
In a Movie Serial the solution was fast therefore I will solve the Cliffhanger with a test with Pulp Hero stat vs Low Level Threat (contest between unequals).
Now the solution.
[Option A: Comet reaches the thug who has parachuted, fights and lands with him, detail: the villain is killed with his own knife]
[Option B: Comet managed at the last moment to cling to the edge of the cargohold door, detail: torn jacket]
[1d6 roll = 6 ie Option A] success, nice 🙂

Comet is falling to the ground but he manages to keep calm, he sees under him the waiter’s parachute opens
then the hero reaches the agent of the Dark Ring and grabs him by the straps.
They fight in air, the ground is fast approaching, the heavy tries to hit Comet with the knife, but the hero deflects the blow to the attacker and kills him.
The two land in a cornfield. Comet is unscathed and looks over him the giant airboat that slowly flies away.

Few quick questions:
[Quick Question: “This second metal box has been lost during the fight?”]
[1d6 roll = 1, NO]
[Quick Question: “Is the box locked?”]
[1d6 roll = 6, YES]
[Quick Question: “Have the two heavies on the airship been arrested?”]
[1d6 roll = 3, NO]

Comet searches the corpse and collects the box then he goes to a nearby farm to call the authorities.
Meanwhile on the airship, Vernon, though injured, had immobilized the two robbers and raised the alarm. The captain of the LZ 411 HERREIHOFFEN reports the emergency to the police by radio. But it’s too late, the two agents of the Dark Ring have ingested the poison hidden in dental capsules to avoid being questioned.

Scene 1)
[Option A: Telamon is warned by Police Chief Osborne that one of his ships was attacked, detail: Telamon is doing something unusual]
[Option B: Farris delivers the first metal box, detail: someone is horribly punished]
B.R.O. establishes what happens
[1d6 roll = 3 ie Option B]
I have to find out where Farris and his accomplices go
[Option A: a luxurious villa in the hills, detail: it has a large stable]
[Option B: an abandoned  textile factory, detail: a floor of the building is full of mannequins]
[1d6 roll = 3 again, ie Option B]

A black Studebaker Dictator, carrying two men, stops in front of the rusty gate of a ruined factory, after a moment the four-door sedan is swallowed by the ground. A hydraulic platform gently deposited it in an underground road, the car continues into the tunnel while the platform goes back to its place in the driveway. After a few minutes, in an office under the factory, the chrome box is placed on a desk by Farris huge hands.

[Quick Question: “Does Farris hand the box to the master-villain Seifer?”]
[1d6 roll = 4 ie YES]


(Cornelius Seifer)

photo credit: twm1340 Bela Lugosi via photopin (license)

On the other side of the table a man of narrow shoulders and deep voice sits in the shadows, he pulls a key from his pocket and opens the box. With a sinister smile he checks the content: “Well done, my friend …Have you encountered obstacles?”
Farris: “Everything went smoothly, boss. I only had to eliminate two meddlers. This weapon is great”

What kind of weapon Farris used?
[Option A: poison dart pistol, detail: it’s a quick draw sleeve gun]
[Option B: electric zap pistol, detail: Flash Gordon style]
[1d6 roll = 2 ie A]

With a movement the giant assassin triggers the mechanism in his right sleeve and a small dart gun instantly appears in his hand.
A weapon silent and dangerous as a hidden cobra.
Seifers penetrating eyes reveal his impatience: “I’m glad to hear it, but now follow me, we have to finish a job.”
They go into another room where a man is tied to a chair.

Who is the poor fellow?
[Option A: the agent responsible for the failed operation on the Zeppelin, detail: he was beaten up]
[Option B: a kidnapped scientist, detail: he is very old and scared]
[1d6 roll = 4 ie A]
I have to find out what kind of horrible punishment Seifers want to give to him
[Option A: trapdoor over a vat of acid, detail: the acid is a green liquid solvent]
[Option B: the infamous giant pendulum, detail: the victim is tied to a medical examination table]
[1d6 roll = 6 ie A]

Seifers: “Repeat once again what happened on the airship!”
The beaten up man: “Our agents were on board…. and the box was retrieved….. then they were assaulted. The police reported that all three are dead….. It was not my fault, sir!”
Seifers: “And the box? the box???”
“I… I…don’t know, I think the police did not have it… the attackers must have taken it! Please, sir… I can find them and retrieve the box”
Seifers: “Too late my friend, you’ve bought tickets to the airship, you are compromised and you will be eliminated!”

The evil mastermind lowers a metal switch on the wall and a trapdor opens above the chair of the prisoner.
The man falls in a vat of solvent used to dye fabrics. His screams last for less than a minute while his body rapidly vanishes in the green boiling acid.
Seifers closes the trap door and orders Farris: “Find the missing box, there is no time to request a new one!”

Scene 2)
[Option A: in Telamon’s  apartment, Kathy visits Vernon & Comet , details: the witness contacted Kathy. Chief Osborne has the metal box]
[Option B: In the labs of Bright Comet Enterprises, Comet analyzes the metal box, detail: the lock is uncommon]
B.R.O. establishes what happens
[1d6 roll =  4 ie Option A]

In the apartment on the ninety-ninth floor of Telamon Building, Vernon comes out of his room trudging on crutches.
he has a bandaged leg because of the deep knife wound he received. Comet and his girlfriend Kathy are sitting at the fireplace, Comet asks: “How do you feel, Vernon?”
“The leg still hurts but I have nothing that will not heal in a couple of days. Hallo Kathy”
“Hallo, Vernon” the beautiful blonde smiles
Vernon: “Do we know what’s in the box?”
Comet: “Not yet, the forensic police is still working, it seems that the lock is a booby-trap”
Vernon: “Now what? we wait?”
Kathy: “Not necessarily, I came here because I received a strange phone call to the office. A witness said he saw the man who killed  the two sailors of the EMPRESS and stole the other metal box. I have to go to the port to meet the witness at Joe’s Diner”
Comet: “I come with you, Kathy. Vernon you stay here and rest.”
Vernon: “But…”
Comet: “Someone has to be here just in case… Bye”

Scene 3) Cliffhanger

[Option A: The appointment is at a diner near the pier, when Comet and Kathy arrive the witness is killed by a stranger who then shoots the protagonists, detail: the stranger is wearing a gas mask ][Option B: Comet is driving his roadster to the port with Kathy when a truck tries to send the car off the road, detail: nightime and the road is on the hills]
B.R.O. establishes what happens
[1d6 roll =  1 ie Option B]
The powerful engine of Duesemberg SSJ roadster murmurs in the night when Comet looks in the rearview mirror and says to Kathy: “Someone is following us”. A big truck is approaching curve after curve, the road is downhill and winds through the hills.
Kathy says: “he is reaching us!”
Comet pushes the accelerator, the car runs fast but from the truck a gloved hand points a gun and shoots several times. One of the rear tires of the white roadster explodes and Comet can not steer in time!!!


Useful Links :

Names randomly generated in various ways including this online generator:
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this story are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Posted in Bivius, Bivius Pulp, Solo RPG, Comet Telamon, Pulp, Senza categoria, Solo RPG | Leave a comment



Hi folks, Happy Thanksgiving Day!

I’m translating the second episode of Comet Telamon, meanwhile I have updated the files in the download page here. I also created the table shown above (included in the new version of Bivius Companion).

What do you think? Is it cryptic enough?

It is a symbolic and deliberately ‘weird’ version of the Bivius Table:

O = Even, I = Odd,

Up Arrow = High, Down Arrow = Low,

A = Option A, B= Option B,

Y = Yes, N = No .

If you want to use it as a tattoo, send me a photo, lmao.


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Bivius Pulp: Chapter One


Chapter 1 :  THE AIR PIRATES

Scene 1):
[Option A: Telamon and Vernon pilot a seaplane when they see a large shape beneath the sea, detail: the airplane is a prototype]
[Option B: The bad guys killed two sailors in the hold of a freighter and flee, detail: the bodies have a strange smell]
B.R.O. establishes what happens
[1d6 roll = 3, ie Option B]
Quick Question: “More than one killer?”]
[Pull the d6 = 1 ie NO]
[Quick Question: “he is Farris?”]
[Pull the d6 = 4 ie YES]
I assume that the killer needs an accomplice to escape
[Quick Question: “it is night?”]
[Pull the d6 = 6 ie YES]

November 1936, the city’s port docks.
In the hold of the merchant ship “EMPRESS” just returned from Europe, a sailor makes his way through the rows of wooden crates,
“Hey Jerry, where are you? The Captain wants you on the bridge, Jerry!”, the sailor’s flashlight illuminates only a portion of the immense dark belly of the ship, projecting long shadows everywhere. A strange sweet smell lingers in the still air of the hold.
“JERRY !!!!”
The sailor sees the lifeless body of his friend on the ground, from the darkness appears the shape of a giant with
a grinning face, after an instant the second sailor falls down dead!
The giant grabs a small metal box with his gloved hands and climbs silently a nearby ladder.

[Quick Question: “someone sees Farris?”]
[Pull the d6 = 4 ie YES]

The intruder, arrived on the main deck, approaches quietly to the anchor chain and lets himself down with the metal box tied to the belt.
From the window of a nearby ship someone sees him in the light of a street lamp. Farris moves away from the pier and gets in a car that runs off into the night. When the alarm is given it is too late.

Scene 2)
The heroes have to react.
[Option A: Chief Osborne asks Comet and the other heroes to assist him in the difficult investigations, detail: other mysterious thefts in the city]
[Option B: Comet and Vernon discover other enemies doing a burglary, details: heroes are back from a trip]
B.R.O. establishes what is happening.
[ 1d6 roll = 1 ie Option B]

Where the encounter takes place?
[Option A: on a China Clipper plane, detail: Comet & Vernon are returning from a trip to Borneo]
[Option B: aboard a Zeppelin, detail: Comet & Vernon are returning from a scientific mission on the Swiss Alps]
[ 1d6 roll = 5 ie Option B]

The passenger airship “LZ 411 HERREIHOFFEN” is flying over the North American coast coming from Europe. The four powerful engines are humming faintly.

In the luxurious passenger lounge, sitting on elegant aluminum chairs, the well-known millionaire Thomas “Comet” Telamon and his loyal assistant Vernon Fisher are sipping their cocktails. Vernon is uncomfortable.
Comet: “Are you OK?” Vernon: “I do not like this place and these fancy clothes”.
Comet:”After two weeks to dig in that glacier in the Alps we deserve some luxury. Relax and think that we have crossed the Atlantic in just three days. Kate sent me a strange telegram to Geneva and I…”
The fearless hero interrupts his sentence unfinished, his hawk eyes have noticed something unusual. A waiter walks nervously to a backdoor, his white uniform can not conceal the straps of a parachute. Comet nods to Vernon. The two heroes follow the suspect.

The airship internal parts are off limits to passengers, I have to check if someone notices the two heroes.
[Quick Question: “someone notices C&V?”]
[Pull the d6 = 1 ie NO]

The two protagonists silently follow the waiter along narrow corridors without anyone discovers them. The airship is approaching arrival and the majority of the crew is working elsewhere.

Where is the waiter going?
[Option A: a cargo hold, detail: a crate with inside the metal box]
[Option B: one of the rear engine, detail: hidden compartment with the metal box]
[ 1d6 roll = 4 ie Option A]

The waiter enters a hold, then Comet and Vernon hear someone speaking softly.
The two heroes observe the inside of the room.

[ 1d6 roll = 3 ie Threat Level: Low]
Normally heavies (aka thugs) are from 2 to 6, if the threat level is low, I establish that they are in 3: the waiter and two standard heavies.


The waiter looks at the two men in dark suits are forcing a crate. One of the ‘heavies’ has a aviator cap and goggles, he uses a crowbar to smash the crate, inside there is a metal box. The waiter orders to open the cargohold door. Then the engine noise gets louder.

I want to stop them but how do it, since we can not use firearms because of the hydrogen tanks that fill the majority of the airship?


Comet suddenly enters into the hold and plunges against the two heavies while Vernon pushes aside the waiter

Comet uses Pulp Hero (High Stat) against the two heavies (Low Threat): Test Between Unequals.
Comet is the stronger, he needs one success to win.
[Option A: test passed, detail: judo move ]
[Option B: test failed, detail: crowbar from behind]
[ 1d6 roll = 3 ie Option B] Oh, boy.
Comet hits hard the two heavies with his powerful punches, he disarms one of the opponents, but the other thug strikes Comet with the crowbar from behind. The hero falters.

Vernon uses Boxer (Low Stat) against the waiter(Low Threat): Test Between Equals. Two successes to win.
[Option A: Waiter stunned, detail: Waiter slowed by the straps]
[Option B: Vernon in trouble, detail: Waiter with a switchblade]
[ 1d6 roll  = 1 ie Option B] damn.

The waiter pulls out a switchblade.
Vernon moves back to avoid the knife but gets banged hard in the corridor out of the hold.

Vernon against the waiter:
[Option B: Vernon wounded with the knife, detail: Waiter laughs]
[ 1d6 roll  = 2 ie Option A]

Vernon leaps forward again and punch the waiter with a perfect hook. The opponent falls back stunned

Vernon against the waiter:
[Option A: Waiter defeated, detail: he collapses next to the wall]
[ 1d6 roll  = 3 ie Option B]

The waiter is a good fighter and before Vernon punches him again, he hits the hero’s right leg with the sharp blade of his knife. Vernon tries in vain to maintain the balance but he falls to his knees. Then a kick in the face puts Vernon down. The winner laughs.

Meanwhile Comet uses Pulp Hero against the two heavies
[Option A: Comet wins the fight, detail: one of the opponent says something interesting]
[Option B: Comet defeated, detail: waiter uses a garrote]
[ 1d6 roll  = 6 ie Option A] finally.

Comet’s steel body allows him to withstand the impact of the iron bar, he strikes precisely the attacker’s face with a powerful blow with the elbow. The first thug gets up and slams Comet against the wall but the hero puts him down with a right-left combination.
He has just enough time to hear the warning cry of Vernon before……

Scene 3) Cliffhanger:
OK, we are ready for the end of the chapter:
[Option A: A time bomb is clicking inside a crate!! detail: the three heavies jump off the blimp]
[Option B: Comet falls down with no parachute, detail: the waiter jumps off laughing]
[ 1d6 roll = 3 ie Option B]

The waiter took off his jacket revealing his parachute, he grabs the box, says: “You cannot stop the Dark Ring! Ah! Ah ! Ah!” and throws himself into the void pushing Comet with him.

Comet Telamon is falling into the void without a parachute !!!



Note: Names randomly generated in various ways including this online generator:
Posted in Bivius, Comet Telamon, Pulp, Solo RPG | Leave a comment

Bivius Pulp: Characters


Hi folks, I completed the main characters of this adventure, they were created following the typical stereotypes of the vintage movie serials. I’m going to set the story exactly 80 years ago: November 1936.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Cast:

The Hero:  [Option A: the strong and daring hero, Doc Savage style, detail: uses many gadgets]

High Level Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Health, Pulp Hero
Low Level Stats:  Willpower, Charisma, Millionaire, Explorer, Hard Hat Diver
Gender: Male, Dark Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, Age: 33 Height: 6 Weight: 170
Equipment: Colt 38 Super, he wears a gray suit and fedora, purple tie.
Gadgets: Mini Grenades, Armored Roadster, Special Autogyro
Disadvantages: Code of Honor
Background:  Founder of “Bright Comet Enterprises”, millionaire and philanthropist, he dedicates his life to exploring the wildest places on the planet and to finance prodigious inventions. Along with his friends and associates he fights the enemies of freedom wherever they are hiding.

The Sidekick:  [Option B: Aviator, former boxer detail: as Charles Bronson]

High Level Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Health, Willpower, Aviator
Low Level Stats:  Intelligence, Charisma, Boxer
Gender: Male, Black Hair, Blue Eyes, Age: 36 Height: 6,1 Weight: 200
Equipment: revolver S&W M1917, he wears a dark red shirt, brown trousers and brown wool ivy cap
Background: grew up in the slums, Vernon fought many illegal boxing matches with bare hands until he volunteered in WW1 as a pilot. At the end of the war he went into hiding from a gang of criminals who wanted to force him to resume his boxing career , Talmon saved Vernon and recruited him as a test pilot of his prototypes.

The Girl: [Option A: reporter, detail: as Gwyneth Paltrow]

High Level Stats: Intelligence, Health, Willpower, Charisma, Journalist
Low Level Stats:  Strength, Dexterity, Stealth, Horsemanship
Gender: Female, Blonde Hair, Green Eyes, Age: 27 Height: 5.9  Weight: 124
Equipment:  black leather handbag, folding camera, pencil, notebook, W-E doric fountain pen, silver lighter and cigarette case, she wears a light brown tailleur and black fedora
Background: resourceful and beautiful journalist of the newspaper “Century Herald”, girlfriend of Comet Telamon and niece of police chief Osborne.

The Old Timer: [Option B: police commissioner, detail: as George Gaynes]

Name:    Chief  IRVINE OSBORNE
High Level Stats: Health, Willpower, Charisma, Police Commissioner
Low Level Stats:  Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence
Gender: Male, Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, Age: 58
Equipment: uniform, Colt Detective Special
Background: Chief of Police Departiment of the unnamed city, honest, willing but a little absent-minded.

The Master Villain:  [Option B: foreign spy, detail: as Bela Lugosi]

High Level Stats: Intelligence, Willpower, Charisma, Spymaster
Low Level Stats:  Strength, Dexterity, Health, Gadgeteer, Languages, Hypnosis
Gender: Male, Black Hair, Black Eyes, Age: 54
Equipment: black suit, walking stick with silver handle in the shape of an eagle head, Browning Mle 1910
Background: Leader of the “The Dark Ring”, he is a cunning and ruthless spymaster sent by an evil european empire

The Strong Heavy:  [Option B: fearless Gangster, detail: chewing tobacco]

Name:    Jack Farris
High Level Stats: Strength, Health, Willpower, Gangster
Low Level Stats:  Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma, Swimming
Gender: Male, Bald, Brown Eyes, Age: 38 Height: 6,3 Weight: 250
Equipment: blackjack or Colt M1911, tobacco, dark blue suit, black fedora, black sedan
Background: former smuggler and assassin of exceptional strength, recruited in the organization of enemy saboteurs “The Dark Ring”

Names randomly generated in various ways including this online generator:
Posted in Bivius, Comet Telamon, Pulp, Solo RPG | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bivius Pulp: Introduction



I’m going to play a pulp adventure in the style of the movie serials of the 30s
What I will use:
1) Bivius rpg
2) a green 1d6

The idea is to create a typical character from the movie serials and its standard structure :
12 short chapters, each ending in a cliffhanger where the hero always comes out alive.

Creation of the cast:
I will use the following stats: 6 attributes, a profession and some special skills for a total of:
10 stats for the hero and the master villain, 6-8 for the others
B.R.O. establishes the option to use.

The hero:
[Option B: the masked avenger, The Shadow style, detail: has an esoteric power]
[I roll the d6 = 4, ie Option A]

The sidekick: (supporter character)
[Option A: Driver, former circus acrobat, detail: as Danny Kaye ]
[I roll the d6 = 3, ie Option B]

The girl: (supporter character)
[Option A: reporter, detail: as G. Paltrow]
[Option B: secretary, detail: as Betty Page]
[I roll the d6 = 6, ie Option A]

The old timer: (supporter character)
[Option A: scientist and inventor, detail: as Ian McKellen]
[I roll the d6 = 3, ie Option B]

The master villain:
[Option A: masked villain, detail: voice deformed with a microphone]
[I roll the d6 = 1, ie Option B]

The strong heavy: (leader of the minions)
[Option A: Spy & dark lady, detail: she uses a french knife-gun]
[Option B: fearless Gangster, detail: chewing tobacco]
[I roll the d6 = 1, ie Option B]

Now I define more stuff for the settings:

The evil gadget:
[Option A: death ray, detail: generates a thunderstorm over the target a few seconds before the strike]
[Option B: special zeppelin, detail: equipped with smoke generators]
[I roll the d6 = 2, ie Option A]

The city + the PC’s HQs:
[Option A: New York, detail: the base is hidden under Central Park]
[Option B: a nameless metropolis, detail: the base is a skyscraper]
[I roll the d6 = 5, ie Option B]
