GUARDIANS OSR Superhero RPG- DC Heroics House Rules

 

It's been a rough year with sickness. But here I am. Let's go.

Guardians is a fun little game from Night Owl Workshop games. They have a lot of fun OSR retro feel games: Raiders!, Freebooters, and Colonial Troopers are also favorites of mine. All of their games are fantastic. CHECK THEM OUT. 

Guardians is pretty good with it's base rule-set. There are some..... issues (pardon the pun!) as there usually are with games that take the old D&D rules concepts and apply them to other genres. The main issue, admittedly, is the attribute chart. Supers go waaaaay above 18 and as currently written the attribute bonuses and extra strength damage are out of proportion to the rest of the game and damage from superpowers. This has been addressed on the forum AND on the discussion tab on the Guardians page on DrivethruRPG.   I personally am ok with this. I love to tinker and a number of us have come up with options and easy fixes for this. It is NOT a deal breaker at all as I see this as an inadvertent way to adjust the POWER level of the game. 

Cosmic level Superman? Use as is. Chris Reeves movie level Superman? Use one of our alternatives. It is as simple as changing a bonus to hit and a damage bonus. Kid's stuff compared to what we have done to some other games in the past. 

With that out of the way.....
I wanted to tinker with a few things to bring it inline with what I loved as 'my' period of DC comics from the 1970's to the 2000's. I want to be able to tweak and build Batman, Superman, etc under one rule set. COULD I PLAY ANOTHER GAME FOR THIS? Of course. I've owned versions of DC Heroes, DC Universe, DC Adventures, etc for decades now. Hell I have multiple copies of Batman RPG 1989 (my absolute favorite version of the MEGS line.) But it's something about the classic D&D rule-set. Nostalgia? The touch of a familiar friend? 

That is the BEAUTY  of Guardians, it's familiar rule-set allows easy tinkering and adding various ideas and rules tweaks from other games with related rule-sets. Hell I plan to use a bunch out of the Raiders! game as well as Mark Hunt's Gangbusters for a pulp 1930's game. Plug, tweak, and go!

The House Rules
It's not going to be perfect but it should be fun!
First let's address the attribute chart. Mine is a combination of ideas thrown out by Andrew and others on the forum and discussion tab. It will be in line with the existing rules for damage from existing powers such as Force Bolt, Lightning, etc. I am keeping the carry weight as is and add a distance element taken from DC Heroes and other games to throw things around. 

Ability Scores
Use the standard chart up to Ability score 20 (19 and 20 can be achieved by trading a feature point for a +2 to an Ability if non-Human origins.) Once the Super Attribute power is taken the Ability score is doubled as per normal rules, tripled at Superior, and quadrupled at Ultimate. The new BAM modifier is added to the original BAM modifier. (Which can get weird if taken with a score under 10, especially with Strength damage but hey let's roll with it.) For Strength Damage the combined BAM is added to the damage roll.

Super: BAM +2, Strength Dmg 4d6    
Superior: BAM +4, Strength Dmg 6d6
Ultimate: BAM +6, Strength Dmg 8d6

So: A character with a score of 16 (+2 BAM) bumps the attribute up to Superior (16 x 3 = 48). The BAM is now +6 when the original and the Superior BAM is added. If it was Super Strength the Damage would be 6d6+6. Considerable.
To avoid character's just obliterating each other with one punch I am placing a Non-Lethal option into the mix below. Also the large hit point values of characters helps negate this 'problem.'

The damage is also added to the damage of any weapon's being used although normal weapons will quickly break. (I would use the breaking objects rule for weapons not imbued with Powers.)

If using standard Energy Point costs it should cost 1 EP to activate this damage. This would emulate the exhaustion of prolonged combat. I address this in Energy Points below.

Powers
As per the base rules on page 9 any Origin except Human can opt to take an extra Power by taking an extra Limit or one less Power with one Less Limit. 
EDIT : Human Origin can take an extra Gift (usually Gadget Point) instead of Power.

To add more options and to up the number of Powers at lower levels the character may do this twice instead of just once. Humans may do this with Gifts.

In addition, if using Optional Skills below, a Power can be exchanged for three skill bonuses.

Features
Allowing Supreme and Ultimate advancement for Features just like regular Powers. It costs one feature point to advance a Feature. This will not affect most Features.  Features with mechanical bonuses are treated just like normal Powers for advancements (with the exception of movement rate.)

For example: Swinging is taken at Supreme (2 feature points.) The ground speed remains at 1.5 normal as per the basic level of Swinging but the range is now 150' (3x basic), and the Dexterity saving throw receives a +2 bonus (as per Supreme saving throw advancement.)

Floating Feature Points
Instead of sticking three Feature points on one single gadget they can be spread out to other gadgets, vehicles. etc. This makes them a bit more utilitarian. 
Issues I've added in eight more issues to the twelve introduced in the core rules. The added Issues give a bit more variety and add a few classic tropes. These are inspired by the Drawbacks in DC Heroes.

1d20

1. Bad Press
2. Dark Secret
3. Dependency
4. Disability
5. Duty
6. Enemy
7. Guilt
8. Innocent
9. Kid
10. Loved One
11. Mental Breakdown
12. Obsession
13. Old
14. Phobia
15. Rage
16. Scarred (Enemy if already Inhuman)
17. Secret Identity
18. Traumatic Flashbacks
19. Uncertain
20. Wanted

Dark Secret: The character has a secret from the past, an incident in his or her life that if revealed would end the hero's career and lose the character's friends, social standing, and freedom. The character may have to go to extreme lengths to protect the secret. If discovered publicly the Dark Secret would be shifted to the Wanted issue.

Guilt: The hero is plagued by memories of an event or action in the past. Any non-damage rolls connected to the event or action or deemed relevant by the Referee are rolled at disadvantage; roll twice and take the worse result.

Innocent: The character is particularly naive to the darker elements of the world and society believing in the inherit goodness of all. This results in a -4 penalty to saving throws to avoid persuasion, trickery, or other mental manipulations.

Mental Breakdown: The character suffers from psychotic breaks. This could include catatonia, memory loss, split personality, schizophrenic behavior, severe
depression, etc. This leads to bizarre and possibly violent behavior if their behavior is questioned or challenged. The hero suffers a breakdown any time a 1 or 11 is rolled on attacks, saving, or skill throws. The incident and all social or tactical consequences lasts 1d6 turns.

Obsession: The character is obsessed with a person, object, place, or perhaps a certain behavior. Money, bats, riddles, etc. The obsession dominates the character's life.

Rage: The character is prone to fits of extreme violence. When first entering combat and every time the hero is hit he must make a Wisdom save at a -4 penalty or lose control and attempt to kill the enemy. Attacks during the fit or rage are at a +2 bonus to hit.The fit of rage lasts for 2d6 rounds. (This is different from the Brute's Berserk ability as a character with Rage is pissed but mostly still in control.)

Secret Identity: If the character's true identity is made public it will be a major disruption in his or her life. The hero's job may be lost, family members could become targets for enemies, etc. The loss of anonymity brings many consequences and responsibilities that the character may not want.

Traumatic Flashbacks: When associated with a location or specific item (such as the location of the murder of the character's parents or the gun that killed them) the hero suffers a -4 to all attacks and skill throws due to distraction.

Uncertain: The hero suffers from confidence issues questioning the competency of his or her abilities or perhaps beliefs. This self doubt causes the character to second guess his or her actions causing disadvantage on Initiative rolls; the character rolls two dice and must take the worse result.

Miscellaneous Drawbacks: If something isn't listed make it up. If the Referee approves of it then go for it.

Energy Points I'm doubling the energy points available per level. I am considering subtracting one from energy point costs. Thus most Powers that require EP will be free to use and the more powerful ones will still have a cost. I feel this is closer to the power levels of DC.

Characters will now recover 1 EP per level for every minute of rest. Gadgets recover the same.

Using EP to recover Hit Points I'm also changing the EP to recover hit points rule. Instead of restoring just one hp by spending one Energy Point in a round the character can now take the full round and
restore 1d6 hit points by spending one EP, provided his or her hit points are not -10 or worse

Modify Rolls Using energy points for additional things (ala DC Heroes and other point games).
In addition to recovering hit points EP can be used in combat. One EP can be spent to add a bonus to an attack, saving throw, or skill throw. This bonus is limited to one point for every odd level of the character.

Soak Damage This can also be used to help soak damage. One EP can be spent per every odd character level to remove one point of damage. Example: a 5th level character is hit for eight damage. The character can spend three EP to remove three points of damage.

Healing Damage is still healed after a combat by resting one turn to regain 1d4 hp, doubled it attended by a character with the Medical Background gift. Double the amount listed on pg 68 for rest. DC characters seem to bounce back fairly quickly!

Non-Lethal and Lethal Combat (New!)
The reasoning behind this is that I feel it adds even more of a four color feel to the game if my mega super isn't blowing people to negative hit point bits with each hit. For the gritty feel just ignore!

This will require the player to keep track of what hit points were lost from each type of damage. The damage totals for each will be important later for healing.

Similar to DC Heroes, character damage from natural weapons is considered non-lethal combat unless a character declares that he is trying to do lethal damage. This includes unarmed attacks and damage from powers. The character can never be brought below 0 hp and at 0 hp the character is unconscious. Non-Lethal damage is healed at twice the amount discussed above.

Weaponry (melee weapons, firearms, explosives, ect) and environmental damage (drowning, fire, falling, etc) are always considered lethal.

The Referee has the final say on what is lethal.

Skills (New!-ish) SUPER OPTIONAL
I want to add some more flavor to the Super-Agent Class, to help better distinguish one Super-Agent character from another in more than just combat and gadgets. Gifts does this to a degree as is but I would like to have options to further this along. Skill bonuses does this and I can base it on the rules found in other OSR games such as Raiders!.

They work as follows: a skill gives a +4 bonus to relevant rolls (as judged by the Referee) related to the skill in question. They represent expertise on various subjects.

To gain skills: each Power or Gift is worth three skills. Each skill gains the +4 bonus. These can only be taken once each.

Acrobatics
Appraisal
Artist
Climbing
Demolitions
Disguise
Driving
Gambling
Hide
Horsemanship
Language
Mechanic
Medicine
Pick Pockets
Pilot
Security
Sneak
Swim

Sciences

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
  
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Paleontology
• Physics
• Psychology
• Etc.

Summary
Ability Scores
Use the standard chart up to Ability score 20.
Once the Super Attribute power is taken the Ability score is doubled as per normal rules, tripled at Superior, and quadrupled at Ultimate. The new BAM modifier is added to the original BAM modifier.
For Strength Damage the combined BAM is added to the damage roll.
*Super: BAM +2, Strength Dmg 4d6
*Superior: BAM +4, Strength Dmg 6d6
*Ultimate: BAM +6, Strength Dmg 8d6
The damage is also added to the damage of any weapon's being used although normal weapons will quickly break.
If using standard Energy Point costs it should cost 1 EP to activate this damage.

Powers
Any Origin except Human can opt to take an extra Power by taking an extra Limit or one less Power with one Less Limit.
Character may do this twice instead of just once.
Power can be exchanged for three skill bonuses.

Features
Allowing Supreme and Ultimate advancement for Features just like regular Powers, one Feature point per advancement.
Features with mechanical bonuses are treated just like normal Powers for advancements (with the exception of movement rate.)
Can be spent on one single gadget or can be spread out to other gadgets, vehicles. etc.

Issues
Bad Press
Dark Secret
Dependency
Disability
Duty
Enemy
Guilt
Innocent
Kid
Loved One
Mental Breakdown
Obsession
Old
Phobia
Rage
Scarred (Enemy if already Inhuman)
Secret Identity
Traumatic Flashbacks
Uncertain
Wanted

Energy Points
Double the energy points available per level.
OPTIONS: Subtract one from energy point costs.
Recover 1 EP per level for every minute of rest.
Gadgets recover the same.
Take the full round and restore 1d6 hit points by spending one EP, provided his or her hit points are not -10 or worse.
One EP can be spent to add a bonus to an attack, saving throw, or skill throw.
This bonus is limited to one point for every odd level of the character.
One EP can be spent per every odd character level to remove one point of damage.

Healing
Rest and treat one turn to regain 1d4 hp, doubled if attended by a character with the Medical Background gift.
Double the amount listed on pg 68 for rest.

Non-Lethal and Lethal Combat (New!)
Considered non-lethal combat unless a character declares that he is trying to do lethal damage.
This includes unarmed attacks and damage from powers.
The character can never be brought below 0 hp and at 0 hp the character is unconscious.
Non-Lethal damage is healed at twice the amount discussed above.
Weaponry (melee weapons, firearms, explosives, ect) and environmental damage (drowning, fire, falling, etc) are always considered lethal.

Skills (New!-ish) SUPER OPTIONAL
A skill gives a +4 bonus to relevant rolls (as judged by the Referee) related to the skill in question.
Each Power or Gift is worth three skills.
Skills can only be taken once each.

The Cultist, The Torturer, and the Slaver classes for OSR Sword & Sorcery Games.

Why these three classes? Honestly because I'm bored in my medical retirement and I want a few classes besides my Barbarian, Brute, etc builds to run my Sword & Sorcery and Bronze Age settings and games. Anther huge inspiration is Thulsa's amazing Xoth. These types of characters are sprinkled throughout Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique and Hyperborea tales. Many other genre stories haves similar dark, morally questionable characters so here we are. As has been noted before this is simply a GAME, relax. If your player wants to play a Slaver it doesn't mean he's evil and wants to own slave in real life. Slavery was a common thing in the past especially in the Bronze Age. Relax. It happened. Acting with escapism in a RPG doesn't mean you want to own other people. Calm down.

Might edit later for clarity....

Cultist
Hd: 1d6
Hit/Save: Cleric

Exp: Cleric
Armor: None. They rely on magic, trickery, and stealth. They come off as a bit cowardly in combat.
Weapons: Any small or medium one-handed weapons, any missile weapons. 

Fanatic
Their devotion their dark gods help fortify their minds against other ways of thinking.
+2 Saving throw bonus vs charm, illusions, mind-altering spells and effects.

Thief Skills
Cultists become skilled at stealing sacrifices away into the night and other secretive business for their gods. They're shady bastards alright.
Backstab, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently

Sacrifice
Cultists sacrifice animals or intelligent creatures to increase the power or efficiency of a spell.  Each sacrifice is dedicated to a specific spell the Cultist may cast that day. To earn the bonus the sacrifice can be made at anytime before the spell is cast. 
 
A sacrifice ritual itself takes 1d4 rounds. The sacrifice must be unconscious or helpless to resist, death in combat is not a sacrifice. Often the spilling of the creature's blood is required.

Once the sacrificial ritual is conducted the Cultist must choose ONE and only one of the following bonuses from a sacrifice (the bonus is listed as Animal sacrifice /Intelligent creature sacrifice):
⦁ Caster Level: +1 level /+2 levels. For example, a Dispel Magic spell cast by a 3rd level Cultist with an animal sacrifice on the spell would be treated as if the Cultist were 4th level.
⦁ Dice Bonus: +1 dice/+2 dice. For example, a Cause Light Wounds spell cast with an intelligent sacrifice on the spell would cause 3d6+1 damage instead of 1d6+1.
⦁ Duration: adds 20%, round up (multiply by 1.2)/ adds 50%, round up (multiply by 1.5.) For example, a Protection from Evil spell with an intelligent sacrifice on the spell would have a duration of 18 turns instead of 12.
⦁ Range: adds 20%, round up (multiply by 1.2)/ adds 50%, round up (multipy by 1.5.) For example, a Sleep spell with an animal sacrifice on the spell would have a range of 288' instead of 240'.
⦁ Saving Throw: +2 penalty/ +4 penalty to the targets saving throw. You get the point.

Spells
Cultists are given power in the form of spells for the loyalty to their dark gods. If the Cultists angers his masters he will lose his spell abilities and most likely be hunted by other members of the cult if he is part of a group. It may be possible for the Cultist to  make amends to his masters with special sacrifices and most likely a difficult task to be performed. 

Cultists cast a number of spells per day equal to the Cleric
They are not confined to just clerical magic, their masters' gifts include a few magic user spells.
 
Due to the infernal or eldritch nature of their gods they cannot heal or comfort others, they cannot purify or return life. Their masters take, they rarely give.  Cultists can only cast the reverse of the following spells (taken from Labyrinth Lord version of Basic):
⦁ Bless, Continual Light, Cures, Heal, Holy Word, Light, Raise Dead, Regenerate, Remove  Curse, Remove Fear, Restoration, Resurrection, etc. 

For more advanced games (such as Labyrinth Lord Advanced Ed, etc) other spells that the DM deems appropriate can be added to the lists. Also games supplements such a the Complete Book of Necromancers can add some spice to the spell lists.

In the event of a duplicate spell being on  both clerical and magic user lists use the clerical version.

1) Cleric: Magic User:
(Cure) Cause Light Wounds Charm Person
Detect Evil Read Language
Detect Magic Read Magic
(Light) Darkness Shield
(Remove) Cause Fear Sleep

2) Cleric: Magic User:
(Bless)  Curse Detect Invisible
Know Alignment ESP
Hold Person Web
Silence
Speak with Animals

3) Cleric: Magic User:
Animate Dead Clairvoyance
Continual (Light) Darkness Infravison
Dispel Magic Protection from Normal Missiles
Locate Object
(Remove) Curse

4) Cleric: Magic User:
(Detect) Lie Arcane Eye
(Cause) Cure Serious Wounds Charm Monster
Protection from Evil 10' Confusion
Dimension Door
(Remove) Curse

5) Cleric: Magic User:
Commune Cloudkill
(Cure) Cause Serious Wounds Contact Other Plane
Insect Plague Feeblemind
(Raise Dead) Ray of Death Hold Monster

6) Cleric: Magic User:
Blade Barrier Anti-Magic Shell
Conjure Animals Death Spell
(Heal) Harm Disintegrate
(Stone to Flesh) Flesh to Stone

7) Cleric: Magic User:
(Holy) Unholy Word Instant Summons
(Regeneration) Necrosis Simulacrum
(Restoration) Drain Energy Statue
Symbol

Slaver

Hd: 1d6

Hit/Save: Thief

Exp: Thief

Armor: Leather and shield

Weapons: Any, prefer the whip and club to capture potential slaves.

Sap

Slavers want living prisoners for profit and are masters of knocking victims senseless and making off with their new acquisitions. To sap a victim the slaver must use a blunt object such as a club, mace, etc and catch a target unaware. He attacks with a +4 to hit and x2 potential damage as per  a backstab. 

The chance to sap the victim is 5% per point of potential damage done and if successful the

 victims is completely incapacitated for a number of rounds equal to the potential damage inflicted.

Actual hp damage dealt is the minimum amount as the Slaver controls the blow.

Thief Skills 

Slavers learn a variety of skills to obtain their merchandise. It's a rough and tumble business and sometimes requires a bit of stealth. 

Backstab, Climb Walls, Hide in Shadows,  Move Silently , Open Locks

Whip Mastery

The primary tool of obedience in their trade; Slavers know how to most effectively use a whip. 

+1 to hit with a whip, deals 1d4 damage. Slavers can inflict only one point or even no damage if they choose. 

Torturer

Hd: 1d6

Hit/Save: Fighter

Exp: Fighter

Armor: Chainmail and shield

Weapons: Any, have a preference for blades and whips.

Know Pain

The torturer can take one round to examine a creature and make a roll to know the exact amount of hit points the creature has taken from damage, poison, sickness, etc. 

40% plus 5% per level. 

Menace

Torturers exude an air of menace and fear to those around them.

Once/day/level the Torturer can menace creatures with a total HD equal to his level. Thus a fifth level Torturer can menace up to five HD of creatures with the lowest HD creatures affected first. The targets are allowed a saving throw vs spells or suffer a 2 penalty on all rolls involving melee combat against the Torturer, saving throws involving torture, etc. 

Sawbones

The torturer can heal 1d3 hp of damage by cauterization, crude stitching, etc. The treatment takes 1d6 rounds and can lead to scarring with a 5% chance per point healed of leaving a large scar. If on the face the character receives a 1 Cha penalty. 

Torture

Inflicts 1d2 hp dmg per turn (10 minutes) of torture and a saving throw vs death ray/poison is rolled at the end of each turn or answer one question truthfully. 

-1 per point of dmg taken.

-1 per 4 hours without rest, food, etc.

-4 if drugged.

If allowed to rest for at least one minute, start over. 

Horror Trilogy: Bare Bones notes from an as yet unfinished adventure book.

 
I made these notes at least ten years ago. It was originally for a friend's gaming company, Silver Gryphon Games. Life got in the way, especially on the owner's part and this project and others languished. 

I'm currently revisiting a horror game for my group using the Black Hack variations which are out there. As such I decided to put these up here. Perhaps some DM out there will be inspired by them and use what they want or flesh them out for their own game. I'll probably flesh them out later for mine.

The book was to be a homage to seventies horror investigative shows such as Kolchak the Night Stalker and the Norliss Tapes. God bless you Dan Curtis.

The notes are EXTREMELY bare bones. 

Horror Trilogy: The Axeman
SYNOPSIS
Trapped in the eye of a hurricane, the PC's take shelter in an old run-down
hotel with other refugees. But they are not safe as a series of gruesome axe
murders takes place during the storm. Allied with a paranoid PI who
believes the killer is the Axeman of New Orleans and an immortal serial murderer. On their own, surrounded by booby traps, a growing body
count, and a psychotic possible immortal killing machine they must survive
the storm and the Axeman.

THE ADVENTURE
Bakersville, LA
Hurricane Lolita

The PC's
Trapped by the storm in the run-down Gloriana hotel. Flood is rising and
help is hopefully on the way.
Murders in old cheap Hotel (three stories??)

NPC's
Eddie and Edith Vachelli, 60's, owners of the Gloriana. A harmless old Italian couple. They are scared to death of the hurricane.

Pauline Adderson, 36, maid at the hotel. Pauline is a struggling single mom. The hotel barely pays her bills but she is treated well and very loyal to the Vachelli's.

Billy Keene, 46, cook. Billy is a mild-mannered man with a slight creole accent. He generally keeps to himself.

Henry Martin, 42, handyman. Henry is a large but quiet man. He rarely associates with anyone in the hotel except Billy Keene whom he is friends with.

5 trapped guests.
Oliver Monroe, 58, reporter, currently unemployed.

Immortal Serial Killer. The infamous Axeman of New Orleans.

Paranoid retired detective on the trail.

NO EXPLANATION FOR KILLER'S IMMORTALITY. NONE NEEDED.
IT IS.

Horror Trilogy: In Dreams

SYNOPSIS

Ronnie Campbell is a very unusual boy. The traumatic death of his mother

and the constant bullying from a pack of teens at school have unlocked his

latent psi power. Immersed in the world of his books, games, and movies,

Ronnie dreams of the death of his tormentors, and in Ronnie's dreams the

heroes and villians of his stories come to life to kill.

THE ADVENTURE

Liberty, Arkansas

Ronnie Campbell, age 10. Trauma from his mother's death and bullying at school has unlocked his latent psi ability.

Popular movies, horror and sci-fi. Characters come to life as thoughtforms he

dreams up and kills his tormentors.

His dream doppelganger watches the murder from a distance as the killings

happen.

Clues to who is killed ( a little gang of bullies.)

THOUGHT FORMS

Wolfman

The first. Killed Ryan Washington while walking home from the basketball

court one night. Claw marks and tracks are the clues (false conclusion:

animal, werewolf, etc).

Jason Voorhees

The second. Killed Dylan Petesky by hacking the boy to pieces with a

machete in the park while the boys were sneaking around smoking

marijuana. The other boys saw the killing. They also witnessed Ronnie's

doppelganger, but didn't recognize him.

Darth Vader

Attacks Paulie Peterson. PC's witness it. They also witness the doppelganger

at a distance.

Leatherface

Attacks Joey Gibbs.

PC's should find the link and be there. We hope.

Kong

Once the PC's have become a threat to Ronnie's subconscious, it will send

Kong after them. It will pursue them to the death. 

This is a good opportunity for a LOT of chaos. 

STOPPING RONNIE

The only way to stop Ronnie permanently is to stop his dreaming.

This can be done with drugs, a lobotomy, death, or some other permanent

solution to keep from dreaming.

INTRO

The Town

The Murders

PC Involvement

CLUES

Bodies

Witness to second killing.

THE TIMELINE

xxxx

LOCATIONS

xxxxx

NPC's

Ronnie

The Bullies

Parents

The Thoughtforms

The Cops

The Dr's

National Guard

Horror Trilogy: The Pentagram Murders

Prominent members of a small town are being torn apart by a demon. They

have publicly admitted they are former members of a satanic cult and accuse

their leader, a witch, of summoning the demon to murder them and take their

souls. As a skeptical police force and citizenry do nothing, the PC's must

stop the witch and her demon before they cause further death and destruction

beyond her former cult members. AND since the PC's are now actively

involved they become targets too

Raiders of the Lost Artifacts: New Backgrounds and Alternate Skill System

A few quick ideas.

New Backgrounds
Blue Collar
The character has extensive experience as a factory worker, in commercial fishing, construction, taxi driver, postal worker, and other jobs not considered a desk job. When dealing with a situation that falls into a skill or knowledge involved with their job experience they may have a bonus on die rolls. Factory workers may know how to drive forklifts and metal working machines, taxi drivers may know how to handle traffic and find locations around town, etc. 

Crime
Similar to the Law background but involving the underworld and seedy side of life. The character may be a reformed criminal, a bounty hunter, or perhaps even  still doing some shady things on the side.

Alternate Skill System
Another alternate to the existing skill system is the also used method of using the Luck roll as a skill roll with the attribute bonus added to the roll. This works well as a simple skill check, the skill improves with each level, and one does not have to worry about assigning a difficulty number. Of course a bonus or penalty can be added to the roll as desired.

Raiders of the Lost Artifacts: Explorer

Explorers are men and women who travel to distant lands to find new cultures, animals, and treasures. Some do it for science, others do it for fortune and glory. This class differs from the Treasure Hunter being more robust and focused on outdoor exploration as opposed to specialized tomb/ruin raiding.

This class can represent explorers, hunters, scouts, and any other outdoor orientated character concept.

Military, aristocracy, and science are excellent backgrounds for the Explorer.

Explorer
XP, HD, BHB, and Luck as Mercenary.

Explorers can use any weapon or armor.

Climbing
As a Treasure Hunter. Explorers are experienced at moving over rough terrain and climbing through hills, mountains, and ruins. 

Hunter
Using a ranged weapon an Explorer can aim for one full round, taking no other actions, and receive a +2 to the attack. This increases to +3 at 5th level and +4 at 10th level.

Languages
As a Treasure Hunter. Useful to the Explorer as he encounters new people and lands. 

Stealth
As a Treasure Hunter. Explorers are experienced at stalking game.

Survival
The Explorer is experienced at finding food, water, and shelter in the wild. This also allows for navigation and tracking with difficulties set by the Referee. This ability is based on Intelligence.

Optional Skills
Less combat orientated and more versatile than Mercenaries. If the optional skills system is used they are treated as a Treasure Hunter.

Raiders of the Lost Artifacts: Sailor

 Professional seamen such as Captains, experienced deckhands and fishermen, etc. The high end of men sailing the seas. Military, Aristocracy, and Science are appropriate backgrounds.  This class will also benefit from multiclassing with others for a well-rounded adventurer.

Sailor
XP, HD, BHB, and Luck as Mercenary.

Sailors can use any weapon or armor, but cannot always swim with it.

Climbing
As a Treasure Hunter. Sailors often have to clamber all over ships be they sail, steam, or diesel.

Gambling
Sailors are notorious gamblers. Ship life is routinely boring and the cards and dice add a bit of spice as well as causing the occasional assault. The Sailor enters into an opposed roll against other gamblers, high roll wins, and gets to add an additional cumulative +1 bonus to this opposed roll at levels 1, 4, 7, and 10. Roll the bones!

Salty
+1 to attack unarmed and melee attacks.

Seamanship
When controlling or working a sea vessel a Sailor receives a +1 bonus to Sailing rolls at levels 1,3,6,9, and 10. 

The Referee should set a difficulty number for this roll based on the optional Skill rules in Appendix Four. Roll d20, add Level, Dexterity, and the Seamanship Bonus to the roll.

This ability also includes the art of navigating or finding ones position using Intelligence instead of Dexterity. Bonuses may be given for good charts, maps, etc.

Swimming
Sailors are skilled at swimming, holding their breath underwater up to a full minute, etc. This ability is based on a Constitution Luck roll. 

Optional Skills
If the optional skills system is used the Sailor is treated as a Mercenary.