By JESSE SCOBLE AND JEFF MACKINTOSFL-HAZARDPD Role-Playing Game and Resource Book. WRITTEN BY a y C JEFF MACKINTOSH. Jesse Scoste — on Davin L. Puen a2 EDITED BY .= Mark C. MACKINNON YS LUCIEN SOULBAN v EDITING ASSISTANCE BY RICH SPAINHOUR GRAPHIC PRODUCTION AND LAYOUT JeFF MACKINTOSH Copyright © 2001 Guusovaxs Or OxeR First Printing —Jaly 2001 é AlLrights reserved unde part of tis book may be reproduced in part orin whole, in any form or By any means without permission f fiom the publisher, exceptfor personal copies ofthe character sheet, or brief quotes for we in reviews, ore, if | a vy Fe iam i tapaetas pe ANTES Pigppacions odes Wap ari >a q5 core 0 4 FoReworD : INTRODUCTION INTERDIMENSONAL Ets AND PLANETARY ROMANCE SEER ease a 9) Baza OAV Ersooe Sunwaris The Fist Nigh teil of Conion 14 Te send pe nf etl is 16 Te Third Nigh The Wold ft Springs 18. Theft Ni The World of he Denon God 21. Theft Ni The Wad of Td 24 The Sith Nh The World of Gain Light 26 The Seventh Night: The World of Endless Adventure 31 Whar is RouePLavine? 32. Score oF ris Book 32 Orne SuPpuewents CxapTer TWO: CHARACTER CREATION 34 Character CREATION FLOWCHART 35. Step 1: GM Discussion 35. Came Draion 38. Scheduled lay Tie 535. The Seting ad Rete Tineine 35. Themalicntesty Level 5 Character Pit Total 36 Cuaracter OUTLINE i What Kind of eng ar You? 537 What did yo do fore the canpign eat 37. ASSIGN STATS ‘38 Stat Ratings 38 Step 4; CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES 71 Step 5: Craracter Directs 76 Stee 6: Skis 82. Step 7: SUPERHUMAN ATTRIBUTES 83. Ster 8: Reuic CREATION 84 Step 9: Derive VALUES 84 Combat Vale 85 Health Pins 35 faegy Pins 85 Step 10: BACKGROUND Points ANID 86 CHAPTER THREE: CHARACTERS 87 MawoTo MiZuHARA 90 Nanawt Jina 92 Masawucit Fujsawa 95 SHAYLA-SHAYLA 98 AruRa Mann 100. Miz MisiraL 103 Aueue 106 runs 109. KarsUHIKO JINNAL 111 Bucrow 116 Gawus 118 Naxsro. 120 Kinva 121 Rune Venus 122 Faror 123 Lonos 124 Dr. Sctatweaucn 125 Queen Diva 126 CHapreR Four: GAME MECHANICS 127 INTRODUCTION 127 Dice ano Dice Rous 127. Stat Citecks 128 Skint CHECKS 129 Comsat Dice Rous 129 WueN To Rou Dice 130 TaxinG ACTION 131 Comsat 131 Initiative 131 tack 132 Non-Combat Actos 12 Defend 13 Deliver Damage 134 HaNo-Hep WeArons 135 MoveMENT AND COMBAT 135, Venicus 1N EL-HAZARD 135 Standard Vehicles 135 Vehicle Modifications 136 Recoverinc Lost Points 136 Health Pins 136 egy Pins canis137 CHAPTER Five: WORLD OF EL-HAZARD 138 JAPAN 138 Anceat pan 138 arta Temple 138 Shanon High School 141 EL-HAzARD 141 flora and Fama 142 rica 142 Pace of Frisia 146 Hay ie God 145 Stary tothe Sy 147 feof Gad 149 Holy MOUNTAIN OF GoD 149 Gad vs. Gast 19 Mount Melon 150 Gade ofthe Press 150 Borde of tne Plas 150 Fountain Arran 150 ALLIANCE 15) Alan ears 151 Rosaria 151 Gann 151 Sata Hil 151 Os and 152 Geos 152 Lae 152 Fabien and 153. Histony OF THE ANCIENTS 153 Rui ofthe Ancients 153 Ande Ear 154 BaRAGE MARKET 154 Desert oF BLEACHED WuiTe Bones 154 Sanb PiaTes 155. The Bucrom Empine 156 Left Bagram 15 Phys 157 Lie Ge 157 Soil ierrchy 158 Hv Arcee ere 159 Sieg Dees 1 lie aon 160 PHANTOM TRIBE 160 Death ofthe be 1 Underground Cavers 15 Throne of he rnc of Dep Shadows 161. Genetics Labortvies 162, Ruat Peortes oF E1-HAZaRo 152 Lands Clase and Fro Rstia 162 MecHa & Retics oF NoTE 182 Eye of God 168 Albis 163 Scout Ships 168 Sand Fae’ skinmer 163 Priestess immer 163 lant Bugom Fer 168. Gian Bug eorpions eC TNE Walesa is 164 CHapreR Four: GAME MastER’S SECTION 165. Tue Rotts of tHe GM 165, CampaiGns, Mini-CaMPaicns, AND ONE-SHOTS: 1G Conn 165 ink ompi 165. One-Shot Adventures 166 ESTABLISHING THE THEME 167 PRESENTING THE VILLAIN 167 PLaveR CHARACTERS AS VILLAINS 168 The Story Arc 168 INTEGRATING THE GaME WITH THE SERIES 169 MOVING BEYOND THE SeRiEs 170 CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT 171 Apvice For THE GM 172 Orie GUARDIANS OF ORDER Anime ROLEPLAYING GAMES 173 CHaPreR SEVEN: CAMPAIGN SEEDS 174 Berore THE First NIGHT: ‘Tut Wortb OF ABDUCTION 175. Tht Next NiGHT: THE Worto OF Last Hopes 176 RING oF Goto 176 Return oF Yesteroay’s LicHT 177 Tue NIGHT THAT HELL'S ANGELS FELL 0 EARTH 177 Tt Worto oF THE Bucrom 178 A PLacue oF DowPHin-Bears 178 THE WORLD OF FATORA 178 THE NIGHT OF THE Goos: THe WorLp OF MULDOON 179. WALKING Our OF THE DARKNESS 179 THE NIGHT OF LONELINESS: THe Wort OF BROKEN ALLIANCE 179 THE NIGHT OF HEAVEN & EARTH: THe Wort oF TencHi Muyo! 180 E1-Hazaro OAV Creoits: 182. REFERENCE SECTION 184 INDEX“So,” he says, “would you ever consider working for a gaming company?” “Nah, not realy,” says 1. “Tm not really into writing game material, and there can’t be much job stability there.” Just after graduation [mine], he comes to me again and says, “So, are you interested in helping ‘us out at the summer cons this year?” “Nah, not really,” says I. “I think fm done with gaming. Doesn't really hold my interest anymore, and I've hit my sickly-sweet saturation point on anime.” How many years ago was that? More than enough; somewhere between three and an eternity. But that was all before road-tripping, the girl, and the wrecked car. How did it all change? A piece of work, a bit of research on Toronto, with no anime influence. ‘That was the bait. I dida small job for Mark (that sadly still sits in a filing cabinet somewhere, locked away by the cruel gods of licensing). That led to a second piece, which wasn't really watching anime so much as reworking a demo team adventure [ had written a couple of years before. ‘The road trip (and car, both) had come to a sudden end, and I found myself back in Guelph. An overheard conversation between Mark and Jeff led me to butt in and offer my “advice;” I'm still not sure how they pulled off the smoke and mirrors, but the hypothetical person they discussed hiring suddenly actualized into a job offer for me. Come aboard as Administrative Assistant —“you won't even have to watch much anime.” That second piece of writing became the BESM module So We Have...An Obelisk? It was followed by an excruciatingly lengthy assignment to write a module for the Tenchi GM Screen... of course, to do that I had to watch Tenchi. “Not too bad,” I thought, “some fun antics, neat characters, and nifty adventures.” I wasn't really watching anime, I told myself. Then Jeff says that Pioneer, happy with Tenchi, is considering giving us El-Hazard. Did I want to work on it with him? “Let me watch it first,” says I, “to see if like it.” Wait. Suddenly I'm willing to watch anime that we don’t have the rights to yet. Pioneer green-lighted the project, and Im watching El-Hazard over and over (and over and over). Beyond that, I'm watching Lain, and P, and Grave of the Fireflies, and Princess Mononoke... maybe I can handle it, again (and some of it is pretty cool). I'm working and writing in the gaming industry, and have been here for a year (and ‘some of that is pretty exciting). Maybe I can handle that, too. I'm enjoying Jinnai’s machinations, and Alielle's coy seductions. Slowly the book pulls together. It’s been a very peculiar ride, and I hope you enjoy the book in your hands — it’s been a helluva lot of fun writing it. Iwould like to thank: Mark especially for the trust and opportunity; Karen & Lucien for excellent suggestions (and enduring Jinnai’s laugh carrying down the hall); my Mom, well, for being herself; Roxanna for pretty much everything she does; and finally, my partner in crime, Mr. Mackintosh, for making this book so purdy. Jesse Scoble June, 2001CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONINTERDIMENSIONAL EXILES AND PLANETARY ROMANCE ‘Hazard belongs to the interdimensional exiles” sab genre offanasy. Inmost ofthese stores, a strange event ranspots one ot ‘more characters from thee familar modern-day existence toa world where magical powers, non-human rcs, or lost alin evilizations t. Classic examples ofthe “interdimensional exes” plot in ‘modem fantasticictonincade worksas verses Frank Bam's ‘The Wizard of Or(1900), CS. Lewis's The Lin, the Witch and the Wardrobe 1950) and hundeeds of other stories and movies. The subygence is a development ofthe traditional time-travel fentasy sch as Mark Tain’ A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court (1888) with one main diferenc: the new worlds not he pas, but rather a completely diferent planet or reality, In this setting, the travelers typically find themselves ina situation that makes them ky players in astrugle between good and ei. Oten they are reluctant togive up the idea of going home, but as they make friends (and often in overs) they find themselves increasingly edt thei ‘new locale. When andifthey finally discover away back, it soften a gut-wrenching decision: do they abandon their new frends and return to arth, or stay, never to return? “The costumes, architecture, and musi of E-Hacards fantasy ‘word evoke the Arabian Nights, which reinforced bythe ites of «ath episode. The worl setting, however, with its mix of psychic Powers, alien races, and lost technologies owes as much to ‘American pulp scence fantasy as the ancient Middle East, A clear inspiration was Edgar Rie Burroughs jon Carter of Mars stories, which began with A Princess of Mars (1917) Burroughs tales ofan Earthman magically transported to an otherworldly Mars (Barsoom) inhabited by heroic swordsmen, beaifalprnceses, fying arbonts, and mult-mised monsters spawned an entre sub- genre of American science fantasy — the planetary romance. Of the many work that followed the Mars novels in the planetary romance tradition, one particular influence singled out by EI- Hlazards creators is SF writer Edmond Hariltn's The Star Kings (1947). Here, modern-day Earthman Jon Gordan trades places with the body of @ man 200,000 years in the future and has ‘numerous adventures. 1 oT Deterrent EE |‘Lara was not the fist anime series to use the extra dimensional exes plot, although tremains the show closest in pst to the pulp-ra planetary romance. Perhaps the most popular Japanese series in this sub-genre to preede EF-azard was Aura ‘Batter Dine (1983). Create by many ofthe people responsible forseminal mecha epic Mobile Suit Gundem (1979), Dunbine was a rmecha series with a twist the heroes were ordinary people from Earth magically ransporte into the scenceantasyreaim of Byston ‘Well. Their interdimensional status gave them an enkanced “aura power” that transformed the into holy wartirs able to control ‘magically super-charged mecha, making them valuable soldiers ina ‘ar between good and ev fatons. In a pot element commen to {nterdimensional exile stores, some ofthe vistors from Earth joined the side of good, some tured to ev, and al ell broke lose ina story often described as “Shakespeare with giant robots” Similar themes were used in other dramatic anime that postate both Dundine and Eetfzar, notably Magic Knight Reyearth (1994), Fash Yogi (1995), and The Vision of Fflowne (1996). EHHazard aay have ben the fist anime series ofl exploit the concep for «comedy aswel as drama, but it was nt the last. In partelar, the hilarious Those Who Haunt Bes (1997) features similar crany hijnks, a trio of misfits om Earth appear along with ther main battle tankto wreak havoc among the clichés of fantasydom, ‘An important element inthe interdimensionl eles sub= genre isthe conceit that travelers fom our Fath wl ain speci status or abilities when they appearin thec new dimension, They also hve a habit of popping up in the middle ofa power struggle, usually just in time t0 save a prince or princess.) This not only allow the eile Earthlings to ecome central tothe story, butitis also a potent example of wish flilment — a device ruthlessly deconstructed in Stephen Donaldson's asic Thomas Covenant series (19771983). A character may be an ordinary person on art, but inthe other world he o she issomething very special. In Burrough’s Barsoom stories, prospectorJohn Carters muscles were adapted to Earth, so when he visited low gravity Mars, he was stronger and more agile than the plane's ative, In many anime shows, the characters are summoned to asume particular roles: magical nights priestesses, ete. In E-Hacarditisthe dimensional transition isl that grants the characters their powers, with the twist that not all these powers are immediately apparent to them, toutmust be discovered asthe tory progress. Perhaps the greatest strength of the interdimensonal exiles concept i its ability to juxtapose the fail and the alien. By ensuring the viewpoint characters are people fom our own word itiseasierforthe audience to identify with the characters situation, Since the exes are also ignorant of the setting, having people ‘explain to them isa leitimate part ofthe story. This device isan ‘quay useful mechanism for roleplaying game. Players who are familiar withthe sting canbe natives, while neweomers cn play vistors ffom our word, where their ignorance of the setting is perfectly in character. army Tuco One ONINTRODUCTION TO THE MAGNIFICENT WorLD ‘Welome to Ebflazard: the Magnificent World (sometimes called “The Mysterious World”), a seven-volume original animation video (OAV) series first released in Japan in 1995 by Pioneer LDC under the tite Shinpi No Sekai El-azard. Shortly thereafter, it found its way to North American audiences in both dubbed and subtitled versions, on tape and laserdisc. Pioneer Entertainment (USA) Ine. plans to release flYZazard on DVD format some time in 2001 ‘The series begins with the falar setting of high schol in JTopan, and introduces star student Makoto Minuhara, his val and arch-nemesis, Katsuhiko Jinnai, the villain’: younger sister, ‘Nanami Jinnai, and a friendly, chain-smoking teacher, Mr, Fajisawa. ‘Their ives are changed forever when Makoto explores lost runs beneath the high school, and releases a mysterions ‘woman from a deep sleep. With no explanation, she unleashes powerful energies that transport the four of them to another