Freedom Squadron returns!
Action & adventure await in a world inspired by the greatest action figure franchises of the ‘80s and ‘90's
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Stretch Goal 4: Freedom Squadron Action Deck
over 2 years ago
– Wed, Oct 20, 2021 at 07:46:18 AM
Savage Worlds uses a deck of cards for various forms of randomization. The most important of these is combat initiative, hence the term "Action Deck."
Like many Savage Worlds enthusiasts, I collect neat, thematic card decks to use in my games. I've got 18th century decks, Godzilla decks, Mexican Revolution decks, samurai decks, Star Wars decks, and Universal Monster decks. I've got the eight suit cards for Accursed and the oversized official Savage Worlds cards. I've even got a licensed G.I. Joe deck that was apparently assembled by someone unfamiliar with the franchise (Why is Destro on the eight of each suit? Is that Wet-Suit on the Joker?).
Our fourth stretch goal is an opportunity for Evil Beagle Games to fulfill a promise from the original Freedom Squadron Kickstarter campaign and create an awesome Action Deck of our own. Each suit will be keyed to a different faction (Freedom Squadron, the Carnage Corps, VENOM, and the Terrornauts) and feature art from the game. It should look swell.
But that's all a ruse...
The real purpose behind having this stretch goal is to raise even more money for our final stretch goal, the third chapter of Project: AWESOME. That's going to require more new art than anything else we've created so far, because it's going to feature characters who haven't appeared in either the Freedom Squadron RPG or VENOM Assault. Heck, it's going to feature a species that hasn't been visualized in the game before.
The third part of Project: AWESOME is Rise of the Robo-Cons and features stats and the first Species Framework for GIANT TRANSFORMING ROBOTS in Freedom Squadron!
Humanoid Transforming Vehicular Robot by Jeshields. Not final art.
GIANT TRANSFORMING ROBOTS
Pledge now if you haven't. Talk your rich uncle into backing one of the General Steel Wants You!, Mission Team, or Your Game, Your Story options. Tell your friends. Spread the word.
We'll get to the giant transforming robots eventually... but we'll get there a lot faster if we hit our penultimate and ultimate stretch goals!
-Sean Tait Bircher, co-lead developer for Freedom Squadron for Savage Worlds
Stretch Goal 3: Glamor and Glitter
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 07:00:08 AM
We've already got the holograms.
Glamor and Glitter
I know we’re still a little shy of Stretch Goal 2: the VENOM Lieutenant Generator, but we're closing in fast. With that in mind, let’s skip ahead and talk about why I’m eager to unlock Stretch Goal 3.
My wife and partner, co-lead developer Robin English-Bircher, is every bit as much of a cartoons, toys, and TTRPGs nerd as myself and her adventure, Project: AWESOME Part 2—Glamor and Glitter, is where my favorite part of the Plot Point Campaign really kicks in.
I jokingly refer to it as “Freedom Squadron vs. The Toys That Made Us,” but it’s not really a joke. Our advantage over a certain set of licensed military action-adventure and shape-changing robot RPGs is that we can pick and choose whatever is cool from across the whole spectrum of ‘80s and ‘90s action toys and cartoons. As Project: AWESOME unfolds, we get to reveal a deeper, weirder world for Freedom Squadron adventures.
Those of you familiar with the VENOM Assault board game already know that we have our own shape-changing robots, inhuman underground monsters, and hard light hologram-wielders heroes. Waiting in the wings, we have cyborg police detectives and the talon-gloved mastermind they battle, creatures who are stone by day and billionaires who are one step ahead in their gambits, and our own take on mutated animal heroes.
Glamor and Glitter steps further into that world by shining the spotlight on a new arena of battle against VENOM: the war for hearts and minds at the center of pop culture! As VENOM’s allies in the Neo-Communist Kommissariat crack down on dissidents, a new rebellion brings glamor to the night. The DJ chanteuse Zhemchuzhina glitters as the rising star of Neo-Communist opposition, spreading the word of freedom through underground raves and secret shows!
As the Kommissariat closes in on Zhemchuzhina, Freedom Squadron discovers it needs her superhuman audio engineering skills to decode an alien message. A three-way battle for Zhemchuzhina’s life ensues as the Mission Team infiltrates the Neo-Iron Curtain, the Kommissariat unleashes its secret police, and VENOM dispatches the Terrornauts to infiltrate the music scene!
It's part Jem and the Holograms, part Interstella 5555, and part Atomic Blonde, all set to "Heads Will Roll" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and "Der Kommisar" by After the Fire... with a cameo by Cold Slither. I can't wait!
Advanced Technology in Action!
In addition to furthering the story of the mysterious artifact introduced in Secret in the Ice!, Glamor and Glitter also previews the new large-scale power rules coming in the Advanced Technology Guide. These rules allow Freedom Squadron Scientists, Tech Specialists, and others to construct or invent countermeasures against mass teleporters, satellite weapons, weather-control systems and more!
Advanced Technology, unlike Weird Science, is linked to the natural, normal physics of the Freedom Squadron universe. Though the results can still be unpredictable (which is why you can still Critically Fail activating Advanced Technology and suffer Backlash), Advanced Technology powers draw on power sources outside of the caster and can be wielded by those trained in their use (like the X-Weapons Specialist Framework) who are not their inventors. This also means that powers can be linked to vehicles or large-scale constructs like satellites!
While I'm not going to give away the full math right now, let's simply state that that large-scale powers cost more Power Points for bigger results. The Advanced Technology Guide will eventually contain guidelines on converting every power to the large-scale rules, while Glamor and Glitter will contain specific examples from some of the devices used in the adventure. A couple of examples follow:
BLAST
Range: 48 (Large)/96 (Huge)/192 (Gargantuan)
Damage increases to 2d8+Size (of the device or vehicle) for Large, 2d10+Size for Huge, and 2d12+Size for Gargantuan (3 dice of the proper Scale for a raise). Users must still pay extra Power Points for Power Modifiers like Armor Piercing, Heavy Weapon, or Lingering Damage.
Example: VENOM builds a Gargantuan kinetic bombardment satellite to target Freedom Bastion. The satellite does 2d12+20 damage (3d12+20 damage on a raise) for a cost of 6 Power Points (the base 3 Power points for the blast plus 3 Power Points for the weapon’s Scale). In order to do as much damage as possible, VENOM Commander allocates another 2 Power Points to increase damage to 3d12+20 (4d12+20 on a raise), 3 Power Points for maximum Armor Piercing, 2 to make the attack count as a Heavy Weapon, 2 for the aftershock to count as Lingering Damage, and 30 Power Points to fire from geosynchronous orbit. The attack costs 45 Power Points, meaning Freedom Squadron has time to scramble an attack on the satellite before it charges up enough Power Points for another use!
CONFUSION
Range: 24 (Large)/48 (Huge)/96 (Gargantuan)
Devices that project confusion affect all targets in a Blast Template based on the size of the device (SBT for Large, MBT for Huge, and LBT for Gargantuan). The Area Effect modifier adds an additional adjacent template per Power Point.
I know it seems like we're a long way off from achieving Stretch Goal 3, but I believe we can make it. We'll be updating the campaign with some revised higher-dollar backer tiers later today that will hopefully incentivize meeting all of our stretch goals, so keep an eye out for those. In the meantime, back the project ASAP if you haven't and make sure you're getting all your desired rewards if you have!
-Sean Tait Bircher, co-lead developer for Freedom Squadron for Savage Worlds
Stretch Goal 2: The VENOM Lieutenant Generator
over 2 years ago
– Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 09:47:28 PM
Infamous VENOM lieutenant Sabotage and her nefarious toys
We inch closer to our second stretch goal every day, but I'd really love to see us blow all of them out of the water. There's so much I want to share with you! To that end, let's see if we can rev up the engine in our last five days.
THE VENOM LIEUTENANT GENERATOR
The great thing about Freedom Squadron is that your heroes get to interact directly with the main players, fighting boss-level threats like VENOM Commander, the arms dealer Gorgon, the seductive Vipress, and the rest. Those villains' status as "carded characters"--as part of the metaplot of the VENOM Assault board game and the Freedom Squadron universe--means those victories are frequently only temporary. The VENOM Lieutenant Generator eases the work for Game Masters to come up with unique sub-bosses--villains that the heroes can defeat for good--while also providing some treats for players.
Scott Crosson, Aaron Burkett, and Ted Pick Jr. have a doozy of a random generation system well planned out, utilizing a combination of Archetype stat blocks to provide a basis for the GM to build the villain and Keywords to provide individuality. Gear Point values for VENOM arms and equipment allow GMs to swiftly equip their villains (or for players to equip themselves with looted VENOM gear). New VENOM-specific Edges allow villains (and defecting anti-heroes) to operate in a different fashion from their Freedom Squadron opponents.
I don't want to give it all away, of course, but let's build a sample Highly Competent Lieutenant using some of the options available. We'll begin with the Brute Archetype:
Highly Competent Lieutenants get two rolls on the Keyword table. With a 6 and 18, we get:
Bravo: add the Iron Jaw and Strong Willed Edges
Obliterator: add the Dead Shot or Mighty Blow Edge, add Improved Level Headed
As this Archetype already receives Mighty Blow, I'm going to substitute out that second instance of the Edge and give the character Bruiser.
This villain is vicious hand-to-hand combatant, obviously a student of VENOM's martial arts instructor Pitmaster. We roll any die to determine sex, get an even result, and determine she's a woman. A story immediately comes to my mind, so I add a few extra little twists (like raising her Smarts to the minimum required by Level Headed), add Hindrances of my choice and spend those points, and voila!
MAMA BEAR
File Name: Irina Makarova
Primary Military Specialty: Hand-to-Hand Combat Instructor
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Growing up in a nation increasingly embracing authoritarianism, Irina Makarova was an easy mark for VENOM's recruiters looking for a street brawler ready to teach VENOM Troopers her dirty tricks. Makarova found much to admire in Pitmaster and agreed to handle the induction of new soldiers before they move on to Pitmaster's master classes in brutality. Her motherly concern conceals a cruel eagerness to see her pupils tear each other apart, betting on their success and failure with the other instructors even as she tends to her students' wounds.
Gear: VENOM Arctic Armor (+5, ballistic protection, +4 Vigor vs cold and thirst, low light vision, breathing gear), "Bear Claw" power gloves (Str+2d6 including Bruiser Edge, Heavy Weapon)
I love a good redemption arc. As mentioned above, the VENOM Edges and Gear that will be part of the VENOM Lieutenant Generator are also appropriate for Freedom Squadron heroes who have defected from VENOM--and there's no Framework more appropriate for that than the Ex-VENOM Agent! While we're discussing VENOM options today, let's throw in a preview of that Framework.
EX-VENOM AGENT
Even the worst of us can suffer a crisis of conscience—and Freedom Squadron would rather offer VENOM defectors a chance at redemption than squander their insights and skills. Though Ex-VENOM Agents rarely rose high in the ranks before recoiling at VENOM Commander’s monstrous plans, they can still use their knowledge of VENOM’s codes and standard operating procedures against them.
Trust, however, is hard to earn for even the most earnest of Ex-VENOM Agents. After intensive debriefing, they are remanded to Carnage Corps for testing and retraining. No would-be double agent or assassin has passed through the Carnage Dome without being caught, but that doesn’t make it any easier for the Freedom Squadron rank and file to trust a former enemy.
HERO'S JOURNEY (THREE ROLLS)
Ex-Venom Agents come from myriad divisions and make three rolls on any table they qualify for, including the Carnage Corps table.
EX-VENOM AGENT ABILITIES AND BONUSES
Highly Trained: All VENOM recruits are experienced soldiers who spend time under the brutal tutorship of Pitmaster. They begin with Electronics, Fighting, and Shooting d6 and the Martial Artist and Soldier Edges.
Special Training: Rare indeed is the Ex-VENOM agent who hasn’t served in one of their specialty corps (though brainwashing measures ensure no one ever defects from the Pythons or Scourges). The player may choose one of the following packages to reflect the character’s former service:
Arctic Wolf: Survival d6, Zone Specialist (Arctic, Mountain).
Constrictor: Survival d6, Woodsman, Zone Specialist (Forest or Jungle)
Nightstar: Piloting d6, Ace, Zone Specialist (Air)
Sea Serpent: Athletics d6, Focus: Swimming, Zone Specialist (Water), may hold breath for 15 minutes.
Shadow Fang: Stealth d6, Assassin, Thief.
Sidewinder: Demolitions d6, Survival d8, Zone Specialist (Desert)
Thoroughly Debriefed: Any would-be VENOM defector needs to work extra hard to prove themselves to Mirage, Corporal Carnage, and the other officers handling their case. Meanwhile, VENOM itself eliminates rogue agents with extreme prejudice. The Ex-VENOM Agent gains the Carnage Corps Edge and Turncoat as their required extra Hindrance. They’re a target of first opportunity whenever recognized in combat by their ex-allies.
VENOM Insight: Ex-VENOM Agents begin with a +2 Mastery in VENOM Standard Operating Procedure. Their former affiliation with the enemy, however, means they suffer –2 on Persuasion rolls with anyone aware of their former affiliation (which includes any members of Freedom Squadron and other militaries and agencies they may work with). As the Ex-VENOM Agent proves their trustworthiness (and VENOM updates its callsigns and codes) the hero’s insight may lessen. When the character advances a Rank, the player may choose to reduce the Mastery bonus and Persuasion penalty a step, eventually losing both if the player chooses.
Ambush might be the original Ex-VENOM Agent, but you can still back the General Steel Wants You! tier to make a character of your creation the iconic representative of this Framework!
I challenge our (deeply appreciated backers) to help get us over the hump to the $11,500 needed to unlock the VENOM Lieutenant Generator in the next 24 hours. Examine your pledge levels to make sure you've got all the add-ons you want (remember, the Field Manual is the new core book), spread the word to your friends, and reshare our updates where you see them! You all have my thanks and I just want to give you more!
--Sean Tait Bircher, co-lead developer of Freedom Squadron for Savage Worlds
Freedom Squadron on Rook & Rasp!
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Oct 12, 2021 at 02:19:42 PM
If you haven't seen it before, Friends/Foes contributor Ted Pick Jr. ran a Freedom Squadron game over at Rook & Rasp a couple of months ago.
They've been kind enough to invite us back - and I'm running the game this time!
The show is on October 16th (my birthday, by the way) at 12PM Central. The players will all be using Legendary Rank carded characters from the Field Manual and Friends/Foes Manual, so you know they're going up against some serious challenges! I don't have the plot locked in yet, though, so feel free to suggest enemies or missions you want to see in the comments!
What we do have locked in is the heroes the Rook & Rasp team - and co-developer Robin English-Bircher (whose birthday is on the 18th!) - will be playing! Check them out below!
-Sean Tait Bircher, co-lead developer of Freedom Squadron for Savage Worlds
⍟AMBUSH
File Name: Barry Primm
Rank: Senior Commando
Primary Military Specialty:Mercenary/Infantry
Branch: Carnage Corps
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado, USA
As a dishonorably discharged Navy SEAL, Barry Primm was a prime target for VENOM’s recruiters. VENOM knew his daughter was terminally ill and that private insurance wouldn't pay for the experimental treatment she needed in order to pull through. With this leverage, VENOM recruited Primm with promises of money and assured access to the treatment his daughter needed.
At first, the low-level position with VENOM was not very demanding and did not involve too many morally compromising actions. VENOM held to their word, starting treatment immediately. As time passed, Primm was selected for training with the Shadow Fangs, VENOM's elite assassins, due to his previous history and capabilities in the Navy SEALs.
Originally, Primm was reluctant, but the pay was much better, and it would mean that his family could live in luxury. Effectively, Barry Primm would be doing what he had done for the very government who abandoned him and his daughter. Primm excelled in the training and successfully completed multiple missions for his new master Toxin, finding that the strong sense of brotherhood in the Fangs suited him well.
That very same sense of brotherhood made VENOM’s betrayal all the harder to accept, as he stumbled across top secret plans that showed VENOM working with inhuman monsters from a bygone age. Together they planned to enslave or destroy humanity.
Primm went before VENOM Commander, demanding to know if there was any truth to this sinister plot, and if his family would be cared for after the revolution. The vile leader laughed and told him that everything he had discovered was the reality behind VENOM, adding that Primm had unfortunately learned too much. As punishment, VENOM Commander ordered Primm and his family killed.
When the Shadow Fangs attempted to carry out the order, however, Primm defeated several Fang members and escaped. Primm headed immediately to defend his family, but it was too late. Filled with rage and sorrow, Primm turned himself over to Freedom Squadron, swearing to tell them everything he knew in exchange for a chance to fight VENOM.
General Steel refused to hear Primm out, but Corporal Carnage stepped forward and said, “If this snake wants to shed his skin, I say let him, but let him do it in the Carnage Dome. If he comes out alive, he will come out a new man.” Primm accepted, and nearly two years later, he returned with the Corporal to join Freedom Squadron.
“I may wear the symbol of Freedom Squadron, and it may make me part of them, but I will never be one of them."—Ambush
Mission Specialist Use: Ambush holds himself aloof from the rest of Freedom Squadron, still feeling unworthy despite the important intelligence he brought with him. As a former Shadow Fang, he has access to VENOM clearance codes and procedures. As a Contact, Ambush offers a d10 to Tactical, Interaction, or Covert Challenges.
Gear: Custom Shadow Fang armor (+5, ballistic protection), custom Shadow Fang shinobigatana (Str+d6+2, AP 5), VENOM Vikktor submachine gun (Range 10/20/40, Damage 2d6, ROF 2, AP 2, laser sight, scope) and extra magazine, autograpnel, com button, covert surveillance pack, infiltration tools.
Special Abilities:
Licensed to Kill: Ambush gains +2 with Athletics, Fighting, and Shooting, but only to offset Called Shot penalties.
"Run and Gun": Ambush suffers no penalty when making a Shooting roll after Running.
VENOM Insight: Ex-VENOM Agents begin with a +2 Mastery in VENOM Standard Operating Procedure. Their former affiliation with the enemy, however, means they suffer –2 on Persuasion rolls with anyone aware of their former affiliation (which includes any members of Freedom Squadron and other militaries and agencies they may work with).
⍟CATAMOUNT
File Name: Leroy Diego Dotson
Rank: Senior Commando
Branch: SpecOpForce
Primary Military Specialty:Silent Weapons Specialist
Birthplace: Oakland, California, USA
The man called Catamount was born in 1973 to an African American football player and a Latina restaurateur. At the age of six, he began showing signs of the muscular dystrophy that would confine him to a wheelchair before his tenth birthday. Deprived of the life of adventure he always craved, young Leroy retreated into comic books and cartoons, particularly relishing the martial arts spy-fi of “Captain Catamount and Special Squad Delta.”
Dotson’s parents were eventually approached by a cryogenics company trying to drum up business in the greater San Francisco area. For very reasonable rates, they would freeze Leroy until medical science found a cure for his condition. Dotson’s parents accepted the suspiciously generous terms, never anticipating they would not see their son again.
The cryogenics firm went through several reorganizations and buyouts before going bankrupt on Shattered Thursday. The company’s assets—including its patients—were sold off to pharmaceutical corporations and medical research facilities. Leroy Dotson wound up in the hands of an early VENOM cell working on creating super-assassins.
Dotson was in and out of deep freeze for nearly two decades, as the VENOM scientists experimented with various gene-editing technologies to cure his condition and improve his physical abilities. A breakthrough occurred when the VENOM researchers engineered a genetic exchange loop with a captive mountain lion. As they grew closer to success, the scientists also put Leroy through a subconscious learning regimen to program him into the ultimate assassin.
Unfortunately for VENOM, the programming relied on the subject creating his own virtual reality—and Dotson’s was filled with adolescent mutant ninja, superheroes, Captain Catamount, and the pleading voice of Wally, the mountain lion that had become his brother. When Freedom Squadron raided the lab, the man now called Catamount put on the battle uniform VENOM tailored for him and fought alongside the forces of freedom.
It wasn’t until Catamount and Wally had been living at Freedom Bastion for a week that anybody realized they weren’t part of the team. A psych evaluation and 16 weeks of basic training took care of that problem. Since then, Catamount and Wally have proven their use to Freedom Squadron time and again.
“The guns thing? I just don’t like them. I mean, I’ll carry one because it’s regulation, but I’m going to try not to use it. I guess it’s something I read in a comic when I was a kid. They’re clumsy and loud and not the Cap… um… the Catamount way.”—Catamount
Mission Specialist Use: Catamount and Wally are a superior hand-to-hand fighting team, and frequently engage VENOM leadership directly, keeping them pinned down while their teammates achieve mission objectives. They can serve as Covert and Tactical Contacts with values of d10.
Gear: custom Kinemesh body armor (Armor +5, ballistic protection), Beretta BU12, twin vanadium steel “Sabretooth” custom karambit combat knives (Str+d4+3, AP 4, +2 Parry each), five combat knives (Str+d4, Range 3/6/12), intrusion tools.
Special Abilities:
Additional Action: Catamount’s cat-like reflexes allow him to ignore –2 points of Multi-Action penalties per turn.
Improvisational Combat: Even the most innocuous thing will do Str+d4 in Catamount’s hands. If he successfully Tests an opponent, he may spend a Benny to get the Drop immediately.
Leaper: Catamount can jump 2” horizontally or 1” vertically as a free action, doubling these numbers if he can run at least 2” prior to the jump. He may add +4 to damage when leaping as part of a Wild Attack.
Licensed to Kill: Catamount has +2 with Athletics, Fighting, and Shooting, but only to offset Called Shot penalties.
· Low Light Vision: Catamount ignores penalties for Dim or Dark illumination.
⍟WALLY
Wally acted as both a donor to and recipient of genetic material in the super-soldier experiments performed on Catamount, making the mountain lion essentially a blood brother to the human. Freedom Squadron’s behavioral scientists haven’t quite figured out how the twain’s connection functions (Occult Operations leader Black Cat insists it’s ESP), but Wally undeniably shows near-human intelligence.
Wally either thinks of himself as a human or thinks humans are fellow mountain lions; in either case, he shows no fear of humans nor targets them as food. He knows not to use his cybernetic claws on non-combatants. He appears to understand even Catamount’s most outrageous commands and acknowledges (though he doesn’t always obey) other commands in English.
Gear: Custom KevRam Vest (Armor +10, ballistic protection)
Special Abilities:
Bite: Str+d8. Wally is never considered an Unarmed Defender and may bite foes he is grappling instead of crushing them.
Cybernetic Claws: Str+d6+2, AP 4, +2 to Athletics (climbing) rolls on any rough or soft surface.
Leaper: Wally can jump 2” horizontally or 1” vertically as a free action, doubling these numbers if he can run at least 2” prior to the jump. He may add +4 to damage when leaping as part of a Wild Attack.
Low Light Vision: Wally ignores penalties for Dim or Dark illumination.
⍟HOLLOW POINT
File Name: Elicia Azarola Ruiz
Rank: Sergeant
Primary Military Specialty: Recon Specialist
Branch: ConOpForce/ReComInt
Birthplace: Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
Elicia never met an extreme sport she didn’t like. Base jumping, biathlon, parkour, skydiving… she took to them all as if born to it. Drafted into the Spanish Army at the start of World War III, she volunteered to serve with the Special Operations Command and tested out as a first-class sniper. Elicia served with a joint TAC spec ops team throughout the war, but tragedy occurred during her final mission.
Sent into the jungles of Brazil to rescue a downed chopper carrying a UN diplomat, her team discovered the passengers were captured. They followed the trail to a dilapidated jungle base where cartel goons were trading the prisoners to a platoon of soldiers for advanced weaponry. Elicia did not recognize the distinctive yellow uniforms then, but soon she would know they belonged to VENOM troopers.
As the TAC team tried to pull back to their extraction point to call for back-up, a squadron of WASPs discovered them. The team tore through the jungle, trying to get to the safety of their extraction point, but the WASPs were too fast. Only Elicia finally made it to the extraction point. Wounded and exhausted, she spent weeks debriefing and recovering. Mirage, one of the officers that took part in her debriefing, offered her a chance to repay VENOM for the loss of her friends. It wasn’t a tough decision for Elicia. She joined Freedom Squadron.
“When my team died, it left me with nothing. I was a hollow shell, but my anger has given this shell a focus. Now I will see justice served in their names."—Hollow Point
Mission Specialist Use: Hollow Point’s background as an extreme athlete has made her a remarkable soldier. Few on the team match her all-around proficiency. As a Contact, she provides a d12 to Tactical Challenges.
Coordination Training: All Hollow Point’s Agility checks are made at +1.
Endurance Training: Vigor rolls to resist Fatigue from any source are made at +2.
Intensive Training: She gets one free reroll on Athletics rolls.
Reflex Training: Hollow Point gains a +2 on Athletics checks when making an opposed roll to interrupt someone (or to avoid being interrupted).
Sniper: If Hollow Point takes a full turn to Aim, she gains one free reroll on the damage when she takes the shot.
⍟SLEDGE
File Name: Andrew Robinson
Rank: Sergeant
Branch: ConOpForce/Infantry
Primary Military Specialty: Anti-Tank Infantry
Birthplace: Branson, Missouri, USA
Andrew Robinson served with the 2nd Armored Division, nicknamed “Hell on Wheels,” stationed on the French Front during World War III. He believed himself to be invincible as long as he was encased in the armored hide of his favored DLP tanks. Fate proved his thinking flawed. An anti-tank weapon struck his vehicle, disabling it and collapsing a nearby building on top of it, burying Sledge and his crew alive. They were trapped in their iron tomb for four days until they were rescued.
Since that day, Sledge has harbored a fear of tight spaces and refused to drive a tank ever again. Instead, he transferred to the Anti-Tank/Vehicle Infantry Division and began to train with the Dragon Anti-Tank RPG and the Wolverine Multi-Missile Launcher. In the last year of WWIII, he racked up over a hundred confirmed enemy tank kills, an astonishing record which eventually saw him recruited into Freedom Squadron.
“Let me introduce you to my little friend here; I call him Wolverine, and when he talks, tanks listen."—Sledge
Mission Specialist Use: If you know you’re going up against armored fighting vehicles, Sledge is an essential teammate. As a Contact, Sledge provides a d10 to Tactical Challenges.
Hindrances: Loyal, Phobia (Major; Claustrophobia), Quirk (Talks to his weapons)
Edges: Alertness, Anti-Armor Training (Imp), Brawny, Calculating (Imp), Danger Sense, Dig In!, Direct Hit! (Imp), Dodge, Elan, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Level Headed (Imp), Non-Commissioned Officer, Marksman, Rapid Fire (Imp), Soldier
Gear: Custom KevRam combat armor (+8, ballistic protection), custom Dragon M72 anti-tank rocket launcher (Range 30/60/120, Damage 4d10+3, ROF 1, AP 34, Heavy Weapon, SBT, Snapfire; alternate EMP warhead ignores Armor, does same damage but only knocks out electronics), custom Wolverine MML-6J multi-missile launcher (Range 80/160/320, Damage 6d6+3, ROF 3, AP 24, Heavy Weapon, SBT, Snapfire), Five-seveN MK 5 pistol, combat knife, com button, combat helmet cam, multi-spectrum binoculars.
Special Abilities:
Heavy Weapons: Freedom Squadron teams need heavy weapons specialists to help even the odds against the massive numbers VENOM brings to most battlefields. Sledge has trained enough to ignore any Snapfire penalties a weapon might impose, giving him maximum mobility. If he fires one without moving, he gains a +1 on the Shooting roll.
"Sentinel": Sledge knows how to read tense situations and combat conditions, able to react quickly when the balloon goes up. He draws an additional Action Card, which stacks with Level Headed and Improved Level Headed.
⍟STRETCHER
File Name: Anna Maller
Rank: Senior Commando
Primary Military Specialty: Medic
Branch: Carnage Corps
Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
After acquiring her medical degree at Wayne State University, Anna went right into the Royal Canadian Medical Service (RCMS) and graduated top of her class from the School of Operational Medicine (SOM). From there, Anna was assigned immediately to the World War III front lines in London. She distinguished herself on several battlefields and was soon moved to a field medic position.
While on deployment in France, her team investigated Bloc infiltration of the Château de Montségur. Upon arrival, her team found themselves outgunned and quickly became pinned down. Suddenly, the sky itself ripped open and something not of this world reached though, slaying indiscriminately.
Anna blacked out, only to wake weeks later in a field hospital bed where she learned she was one of the few survivors. For her, however, the nightmare would never end. She saw that indescribable thing reaching out for her and her teammates every time she closed her eyes.
Pain killers kept the visions at bay, and she became addicted. When she was recruited to Freedom Squadron, she became the team’s chief medical officer. The pressure increased tenfold, and her opioid addiction only grew worse as she constantly battled the nightmares. Finally, her addiction was brought to light when she misdiagnosed two members, nearly killing one through an incorrect procedure.
After her court martial, she was handed over to Corporal Carnage, becoming one of the first members of Carnage Corps. Breaking her habit was a very long and painful process that nearly cost her life multiple times over. Thanks to the Corps, she has started on the path to recovery, but it will be long and hard.
“The Medic is the core of teamwork and is the most pivotal muscle, without which the whole body would be unable to move."—Stretcher
Mission Specialist Use: Though cleared for active duty, Stretcher still struggles with opioid addiction. As such, she prefers working only with fellow Carnage Corpsmen—though her brilliance as a field surgeon and insight into VENOM’s occult operations would benefit any team. As a Contact, she adds a d10 to Technical Challenges.
Committed: Medics gain a +2 to all Fear tests (this stacks with the Brave Edge).
Combat Trauma: If Stretcher can reach a Wild Card who has died within three rounds, she can make a Healing check at –6. If she manages to succeed, the character is brought back to life but is still Bleeding Out. If she manages a raise, the character is stabilized, but still Incapacitated until they receive more effective medical treatment.
Field Surgery: Stretcher gains +2 to all Healing checks to remove wounds from physical trauma. She is also capable of removing otherwise permanent Injuries (so long as she gets to the victim within the Golden Hour).
Tireless: Stretcher ignores all Fatigue level penalties, no matter the source. She can still be Incapacitated by Fatigue; she just keeps going at full bore until she is.
Trauma Specialist: She gets one free reroll on Healing rolls.
Stretch Goal #1 Achieved!
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Oct 12, 2021 at 08:40:53 AM
OUR FIRST STRETCH GOAL IS UNLOCKED!
"Secret in the Ice!" by fan-favorite author Ross Watson launches the PROJECT: AWESOME Plot Point Campaign. A blow-out of epic proportions, "Secret in the Ice!" is a summation of everything great about Freedom Squadron, making it the perfect jumping-off point for the wilder, weirder world unveiled as PROJECT: AWESOME unfolds!
Our next goal is the VENOM Lieutenant Generator by Scott Crosson and Aaron Burkett at $11,500. While it's always fun to defeat one of VENOM's carded bosses, it's inherent to the genre that they will return to menace the heroes again. The VENOM Lieutenant Generator gives GMs the tools to easily create new villains the players can either put away permanently or have serve as their own unique archenemies! It also contains Gear Point values for VENOM weapons and VENOM-only Edges!
