Thursday, August 27, 2015

Marvel FASERIP Goodies

Feeling the love for TSR's late, great 1984 Marvel Super Heroes RPG ... aka FASERIP?  Then steal these!

Villains as PCs?  Easy to do with FASERIP!
(Picture from a Marvel FASERIP game I ran at Gen Con 2015 - good times!)

First, my house-ruled Combat Cheat Sheet — with basically all the rules you need to play, as well as my own special-sauce tweaks and modifications — can be downloaded here.

Or, if your players don't like randomly rolling up new characters, check my very simple Point-Buy System for Marvel FASERIP right here.

Why You Should Be Running a Cloud Game (Part 4)

Missed the earlier three parts of this series?  Wondering what all this stuff about a "cloud" role-playing campaign is?  Start here instead.

For my second attempt at running a "cloud" campaign, I tried to address the two problems that I encountered Skull Mountain (discussed here).  I wanted a game that required considerably less preparation on my part, because I was burning out fast.  And the game needed to support a broader selection of player styles - not just dungeon crawls.

My Second "Cloud" Campaign: The Liberty League

 

The Justice...er...Liberty League!

The concept was pretty straightforward.  A by-the-book, typical superhero world. The eponymous "Liberty League" was basically just a re-skinned version of the Justice League:  "Captain Victory" instead of Superman, "Power Princess" instead of Wonder Woman, "Mister Martian" instead of Martian Manhunter, et cetera.  But the League had vanished during a mission in outer space.  That's where the PCs came in.  They were the "second stringers," the "has-beens," and the "small-town heroes" that were chosen to step up and fill the shoes of the world's preeminent superhero team.

In most respects, it ran just like a regular superhero game.  All of the PCs were on the same team, the newly reconstituted Liberty League.  Each session, some villain would threaten the city or the world, and the League would  mobilize and resolve the situation (or at least try to).  I had a total of about 15 regular players, all taking turns playing in groups of 4 to 8. 


The Liberty League:  What Worked?

A Simple & Easy Game System - Initially, for about 2 games, we used Green Ronin's very excellent Mutants & Masterminds for the Liberty League campaign.  And let me say at the outset, I really enjoy the M&M system.  It has an excellent superhero "feel," really detailed and nuanced character generation rules, and wonderful supplements and support that are great for looting ideas.  But despite all this, and almost immediately, it became clear that M&M was a bad fit for running a "cloud" campaign. 

Building an M&M character is slow and complex.  So complex that, at least for me, it pretty much required using Hero Lab or similar character generation software.  Even then, it tended to take an hour or more to create a single, relatively standard character.  Worse, few of the players had ever played M&M which, while still rooted in the D20 explosion, is definitely its own beast with a lot of tricky nuances.  Finally, there was combat.  In a normal campaign, detailed, drawn-out combats aren't necessarily a bad thing.  But in a "cloud" game, where your typical player is maybe showing up only once every 2 or 3 sessions, you need to cram each session with as much action and excitement as possible.  You definitely cannot afford to spend lots of time on character generation, unimportant fights, or looking up rules.  If you want the "cloud" to succeed, and players to keep showing up, you have to deliver the fun every time.

So, we needed to make a change.  After a quick survey of my players, I went with what I still believe to be the greatest superhero RPG ever created:  TSR's Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game, often referred to as the FASERIP game, first published in 1984. 



Why FASERIP?   Oh, let me count the ways...

  • Easy to Learn and Play?  Check.  While there are some nuanced rules, all a player really needs to do is roll on a chart and tell the GM what color (white, green, yellow, or red) result they got.  As with many "old school" games, combat is relatively quick and dirty, and the system's gradients of success allow a GM to easily improvise the full range of classic superhero combat moves like throwing cars, hitting villains with telephone poles, and that sort of fun. 
  • Fast - or Better Yet, Fast & Random - Character Generation?  Check.  You can randomly roll a character in just minutes.  Or, to accommodate those players who preferred to play a particular character concept, the game can easily be modified to add in a point-buy system.  (I'll be posting my own point-buy system and house rules for FASERIP soon).
  • Easy Access to Materials?  Super-check.  Not only is there a ton of (admittedly somewhat outdated) supplements and materials for the game, all of those materials are available for download *free* at www.classicmarvelforever.com.  That website also features a ton of great fan-made creations, lively forums, and supplements with stat blocks for every single Marvel character in existence before 1993.
  • The Nostalgia Effect?  Check.  If you were gaming in the 1980s and early 1990s, this was *the* system for pick-up games.  Who doesn't have great memories of slamming super villains through buildings?
A Familiar World, Rich in Adventure - The default assumption for Liberty League was that anyone and anything that existed in either Marvel or DC comics existed in the game - just with a slightly different name (an expy, in comic-book lingo).  So, when agents show up from the American Elite Governmental Intervention Service, or A.E.G.I.S., my players didn't need a long or detailed explanation for who these guys were.  I could just say, "They're basically S.H.I.E.L.D.," and everyone at the table immediately got it, and we could get right back to playing.  Or, when the PCs confront the power-armored, magic-using, sovereign ruler of Morovia - Menander Osterlich IV, known to the world as the super villain "Master Menace" - they immediately deduced that this guy was essentially Doctor Doom and acted appropriately.  Whenever a player needed help coming up with a character concept, I would simply ask "Who is your favorite superhero?"  Change the name and a few details, and there you go.  You really like Iron Man?  Great.  You're Brent Baxter, owner of Baxter Industries, and designer of the Ultra-Weapon power-armor.  Why spend days or weeks designing a world, when you can just borrow everything, mash it all together, and start playing?

A Natural Fit for Episodic Play - The superhero genre, by its very nature, is a good fit for episodic play.  The default assumption is that the PCs are busy with their normal lives and maybe the occasional patrol, and only leap into action once the villains' dastardly plot has been revealed.  In the Liberty League campaign, I made it even easier for the PCs to quickly jump into the action by borrowing a page from the Justice League, and giving them their own satellite base complete with teleporter.   


 Gathering the group is easy when they have one of these...

Very Light Prep - Prepping a Liberty League session was easy.  I could basically just borrow a plot from the comics, re-skin some super villains, and either whip up some stats or print out a few pages of baddies from www.classicmarvelforever.com.  Sometimes, I would make some custom paper miniatures, like those shown here.  The only other prep work I would regularly do is write up a short "script" for the players to read aloud at the start of the game, usually in the form of a TV news report.  This helped set the mood, provided a bit of foreshadowing, and allowed me to showcase the effects of the PCs' actions upon the world.  I love these things, so here's an example, from right after the PCs failed to stop a bunch of super villains from breaking out of prison, and one PC signed a lucrative endorsement deal with a fast-food restaurant:
 

The Liberty League - Game Five
“Gang War”


<<< click >>>


News Anchor #1:  “…Roxxol stock plummeting over 200 points in volatile trading.  Tyrell Industries is up 8 points.  Wolf?”


News Anchor #2:  “Thanks, Chet.  A massive manhunt continued today following last month’s astonishing breakout from the federal Superhuman Lockup for Advanced Metahumans, or ‘SLAM’, in Brooklyn, New York—known to super-criminals across the country simply as ‘the Block.’  Raids in thirteen states and five foreign countries have so far turned up no trace of the 162 escaped inmates, whose ranks include such notorious criminals as Sinister Simean, Professor Null, Blackstar, and Behemoth, who wrecked five square blocks of Empire City just a few months ago.  Senator Gregory McGill announced today that the Senate Armed Services committee plans on holding hearings regarding the breakout, the allegations of inadequate security measures at the prison, and the decision by federal Bureau of Prison officials to employ poorly understood ‘Builder’ alien technology in the prison’s construction….”

<<< click >>>

Announcer:  “…tonight on Entertainment Weekly, our own Samantha Reece interviews Wildebeast, the scandal-rocked teen superhero and founding member of Team Tomorrow, on the explosive new allegations in Argent Arrow’s upcoming book.  Sex parties, rampant drug use at the team’s island fortress, and even claims of interspecies….”

<<< click >>>

Commercial:  “You know me.  I’m Rock ‘the Brick’ Bunker.”  (punches generic bad guys).  “After a hard day of fighting bad guys, I work up a monstrous appetite.  That’s why I love the amazing $4.99 lunch deals at Sub-Wich.  For just five bucks, I can get an incredible foot-long bacon and guacamole Sub-Wich sub, and chips and a drink for a buck extra.  A remarkable deal like that deserves….”

<<< click >>>

News Anchor #3:  “...six confirmed dead at Kane Cemetery, part of the ongoing gang war that has rocked Hudson City for the past two weeks.  At 10:05 this morning, members of the Kongpin gang opened fire at the funeral of suspected mobster Johnny “Two Guns” Franco, believed to be a lieutenant in the Driogano crime family and second-in-command to Alphonse “Big Al” Driogano.  This follows on similar attacks over the past three days by costumed criminals Baron Ether, Blue Condor, and Killer Grizzly—apparently at the behest of suspected crime boss Oswald “the Walrus” Ormsbee.  Sources within the Hudson PD believe that what started as a minor squabble over territory in the Heights following Driogano’s indictment on federal money laundering and racketeering charges, has now devolved into an all-out three-way gang war, with Kongpin and the Walrus both battling what is left of the Driogano organization….
* * *
 

The Liberty League:  What Didn't Work?

While very popular with my crew, Liberty League (like my prior effort, the Skull Mountain "cloud" campaign) suffered from a couple problems. 

The biggest problem was one that is common in the superhero genre:  characters tend not to change very much over time, and there is no real equivalent to the almost Pavlovian system of XPs and character-level-advancement that D&D does so well.  Without this steady stream of rewards, excitement can wane a bit as even beloved PCs eventually start to feel static.

Also, like dungeon crawling, the superhero genre is a bit of a niche.  In a regular weekly game, you can expect players to keep showing up, even if the current campaign is not exactly their cup of tea, because they know that eventually the group will move on to a game that is more to their liking.  But in a "cloud" game, where players are free to come and go whenever they please, and make no commitment to a regular schedule, keeping player interest at a white-hot intensity is a must.  So, when a few players began (gently) pushing me to get back into a more traditional D&D-style fantasy game, I started drawing the Liberty League to a close and began planning my next "cloud" campaign...

...but I'll talk about that campaign, dubbed Neverwinter Nights, in my next post. 

Continue to Part Five.

Friday, August 21, 2015

My Skull Mountain Carousing Tables (Part 1)

As I mentioned in my last post, I love a good Carousing table.  And for my Skull Mountain campaign, I made a whole series...all for different types of activities that your heroes might engage in.

How it Works - Each time the PCs spend any "down time" in town, they can roll a single 1d30 on one of the following Carousing tables.  When we were using Dungeon Crawl Classics, we modified the result by the PC's Luck bonus. 

All the table does is (1) vacuum treasure from the character, and replace it with XPs and sometimes (2) provide the PC with an interesting complication or bonus.  In my own campaign, the only way to convert gold to XP was by rolling on one of these tables.

Oh, and if you decide to use these, make sure you change them up.  My own players never got to see these...at least until they made their roll and found out the result!

A Note on XP Values - This table uses the vastly "scaled down" XP tables from Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.  If you're thinking of using something like this for regular D&D, I would suggest multiplying the XP award by 10 or even 100.  The goal is for Conan's player to be happy he just pissed all his money again in a brothel!  Now he's ready to level up, and looking for more adventure!

General Carousing Table
(Roll 1d30, modified by Luck)


1 or less
Major Misunderstanding with the Overlord’s Guards.  Your drunken antics have led to real trouble, and you now find yourself accused of a capital offense (roll 1d10):  (1) killing a guardsman over dice; (2) killing an off-duty guardsman in a bar brawl; (3) killing guardsmen as they attempt to arrest you for some other offense; (4) blasphemy, desecration of a holy place, and theft of temple offerings; (5) murder of a noble; (6) murder of a citizen; (7) arson; (8) robbery of a noble; (9) treason; or (10) roll again three times.  You decide the details, and whether you are innocent or guilty.  Roll a Personality check.  On a success, you may pay 1d6 x 100 gp (or 1 magic item) as a bribe, and escape justice.  On a failure, you may pay 1d6 x 1,000 gp (or 2 magic items) as a bribe, and escape justice.  Failure to pay the bribe means that you must face justice under the Codex Legis of Iron and Rust (as determined by the GM) to determine whether you win your freedom or face immediate public execution.  Gain 10 XP if you pay a bribe to earn your freedom, or 30 XP if you face the Overlord’s justice and can survive (not likely).
2
The Wages of Gluttony!  Your wanton debauchery, love of lotus, or simply gluttony is not suited to a life of adventurer.  Make a Stamina check.  On a failed roll, start the game down 2d6 hit points (minimum 1).  On a natural 1, lose 1 point of Stamina permanently.  Gain 10 XP either way.
3
Robbed Blind!  You succumb to the wine following epic drinking and general debauchery.  When you awake in your room, all of your coin and equipment is gone, likely stolen by last night’s (only dimly recalled) paramour.  Roll a Luck check for each magical item in your possession:  on a failed check, that item has also been stolen.  Gain 10 XP plus 1 XP for each 100gp stolen (rounded up, max 50) plus 10 XP for each magical item stolen.  You begin the game with only 3 pieces of clothing, of your choice.
4
You Couldn’t Really See the Rash by Candlelight.  Your indiscriminate choice of bedmates has exposed you to something rather nasty, such as the great pox (syphilis), grandgore, whoresnitch, or whatnot.  Roll a Stamina or Luck check, whichever you prefer.  On a success, a poultice from the healer has fixed you right up, and you suffer no ill effects.  On a failure, you suffer a -1 to all attack, save, skill, spell, and ability checks this game.  On a natural 1, lose 1 hp permanently from your unfortunate condition.  Gain 10 XP either way.
5
Epic Gambling Losses.  Argh, you have gambled and lost it all!  Lose all coin and non-magical treasure (but keep equipment, weapons, armor, etc.), but gain 10 XP plus 1 XP for each 100gp lost (rounded up) (max 50).
6
Attempted Robbery!  After a night of hard drinking, you are set upon by footpads in a darkened alley.  Roll a Luck check.  On a success, you were sober enough to drive off the robbers without serious injury.  On a failure, you are badly beaten and robbed:  lose all coin and non-magical treasure, and roll a Luck check for each magical item in your possession.  On a failed check, that item has also been stolen.  Gain 10 XP plus 1 XP for each 100gp stolen (rounded up) plus 10 XP for each magical item stolen.   You also begin the game with only half hit points (rounded up).
7
Minor Misunderstanding with the Overlord’s Guards.  Your drunken antics have led to legal trouble, and you now find yourself accused of (roll 1d6):  (1) assault on a city guardsman; (2) assault on a citizen; (3) vagrancy; (4) public drunkenness; (5) destruction of property; or (6) unlawful dueling.  Roll a Personality check.  On a success, you may pay 1d6 x 10 gp as a bribe, and escape justice.  On a failure, you may pay 1d6 x 100 gp (or 1 magic item) as a bribe, and escape justice.  Failure to pay the bribe means that you must face justice under the Codex Legis of the Iron and Rust (as determined by the GM) to determine whether you win your freedom or face imprisonment.  Gain 5 XP if you pay a bribe to earn your freedom, or 10 XP if you face the Overlord’s justice and remain free.
8
Unfortunate Bed Companion.  It is all just a blur, but this morning your companions woke you and found the following in your bed.  Gain 10 XP, and roll 1d8:
·       (1)  A Dead Tavern Wench.
·       (2)  Giggling, Drunk Halfling.
·       (3)  A Rival Adventurer (milking you for secrets, picking over your stuff and map, likely to cause trouble soon).
·       (4)  The Overlord’s Current Paramour (plans to make him jealous).
·       (5)  Mutatus the Formless, Legendary Transmuter (thoroughly displeased with the experience).
·       (6)  Lots and Lots of Fleas and Lice (-1 to all attack, skill, attribute, and spell rolls for this session).
·       (7)  Your New Husband/Wife (clingy local lad or lass, roll random occupation, now married, rings and all, may insist upon adventuring with you in the future).
·       (8) The God Vorn, Stolen While Sleeping from His Throne (he is foggy-eyed and apparently insensate, but his priests will be out looking for him and quite irate…)
9
Made Quite a Fool of Yourself.  Too much wine, lotus, or whatever, and suddenly you are running naked through one of Cauldron’s finer establishments and temples, breaking things, starting fights, ruining weddings, etc.  You now have a reputation as a drunken lout.  Take a permanent -2 to all Personality rolls with citizens while in town, but gain 1 point of Luck.  If you already have a reputation, the penalties are cumulative (but you still get the Luck).
10
Bloody Barroom Brawl!  The wine flowed a bit too freely, and you were entangled in (or instigated) a rough-and-tumble, bench-clearing barroom brawl.  Roll a Strength check.  On a success, you gain 15 XP.  On a natural 1 (the best result) you also gain 1 point of strength (max 18).  On a failure, you were badly beaten, gain 10 XP, and have spent the last few days abed healing, and begin this adventure down 2d6 hit points (minimum 1).
11
Duel?  What Duel?  The wine flowed much too freely last night, and now you are expected to appear for a duel at the Standing Stones, an ancient circle of menhirs in the Valley of the Dead, this very day.  Roll 1d10 to determine the identity of your opponent:  (1); Random Peasant (roll on starting table); (2) Prissy, Minor Lordling, terrified; (3) Foreign Sorcerer; (4) Dwarven Mercenary; (5) City Guardsman; (6) Major Lord, known for his fondness and skill at dueling; (7) Rowdy Barbarian; (8) Grim Knight; or (9) Deadly Pirate Captain; (10) Notorious Thief.  If you appear for the duel, and win, gain 20 XP.
12
Gambling Losses.  Argh, the dice did not favor you these last few days, and your time in the gambling pits was ill spent.  Lose all coin and non-magical treasure, but gain 1 XP per 100gp value lost (rounded up, max 50).
13
Tagged as a “Mark.”  Some local thieves or ruffians have tagged you as an easy “mark,” and have been following you about.  Have the PC roll Luck.  If successful, the PC has spotted his shadows and knows they are lurking about.  On a failed check, simply list as “no result.” 
14
Hangover from Hell.  You drank a bit too much last night (and many nights before that), and are not at all well this fine morning.  Take a -1 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks, and spell checks this session, but gain 10 XP.  
15
Cursed!  You have inadvertently offended one of the local gods or perhaps a local sorcerer or priest, and now suffer from a minor curse, the evil eye, etc.  Lose 2 Luck permanently, but gain 20 XP.  You may be able to undo the Luck loss by making appropriate recompense…
16
“Bah, Piss on You, and the Horse You Rode in On!”  You have publically insulted a person of some rank.  Roll 1d8 to see the object of your insult…
(1)  The Overlord himself;
(2)  A rival adventurer;
(3)  A random noble;
(4)  A grim priest of Vorn;
(5)  A priest of an evil cult;
(6)  The local watch commander;
(7)  A random local wizard;
(8)  A guild thief or deadly assassin.
This object of your public insulsts is now a deadly enemy, who will actively try to make your life difficult and, if appropriate, even slay you!  Gain 15 XP.  The insulted person may be amendable to some form of recompense, however…
17
Ill-Considered Words.  If you have any hirelings, henchmen, or retainers, you have offended them with ill-considered words (or worse) while in your cups.  Roll a Personality check for each such retainer.  On a failed roll, the hireling, henchman, or retainer deserts from your ranks.  On a successful roll, they reluctantly stay, but suffer a -4 to morale rolls for the current session.  If you have no hirelings, ignore this result.  Gain 5 XP for each deserter.
18
Toss the Dice!  You have lived at the gambling pits this last month.  What do you have to show for it?  Roll a Luck check and see.  If successful, you gain 1d10 x 100 gp in winnings and 10 XP.  If you fail the check, you lose 1d10 x 100 gp and gain only 5 XP.  If you lose more coin than you have, there is likely a loanshark out there somewhere looking for you…
19
“Bah, This City is Boring!”  You attempt to carouse, but the wine is sour, the women decline your advances, and suffer from a tedious time.  In your tedium, you find yourself listening to the old fools who prattle on.  Learn 1 rumor from the Rumor Table.   
20-25
Heroic Carousing!  Carousing like Conan!  Wine, women, song, and all worldly pleasures are yours, won with coin looted from Skull Mountain.  You may trade gold for XPs on a 100 gp to 1 XP basis (maximum 50 XP may be gained this way per month).
26
Heroic Vow!  As “Heroic Carousing” above, plus the following.  As the wine and increasingly boastful tales were told, you found yourself atop a table, before a full crowd at the Black Gate Tavern, vowing to be the first adventurer to slay some legendary denizen or loot some infamous killing ground in Skull Mountain.  Roll (1d30) to determine the object of your boast: 
(1) to slay the outcast wizard Emirkol, who is said to dwell within “the eyes” of Skull Mountain;
(2) to drink of the Font of Power, on “the eye” level, and gain eternal youth;
(3) to breach the Iron Door of Dragons, which has devoured the hands of a hundred adventurers;
(4) to ring the Deep Bell, in the dungeon’s catacombs, which can be heard all the way in Cauldron;
(5) to destroy the Altar of the Beastmen, where they pile the corpses and skins of dead adventurers in tribute to their savage god;
(6) to sample the beauties of Ghola Hoon’s legendary harem, where eternally young beauties redefine the very meaning of debauchery;
(7) to solve the Deathgate Riddle, seven doors, seven certain deaths, and treasure beyond imagining;
(8) to win the Black Helm of Setebos, an item of great magic entombed with the legendary Chaos Knight, said to be hidden amid the Tombs;
(9) to win the Icy Blade of Ragnar the Pallid, entombed with the legendary Chaos Knight;
(10) to spit down into the great, smoking crater that pierces the very core of Skull Mountain;
(11) to breach the infamous Troll Garden, deep beneath the dungeon;
(12) to match wits with the Brazen Idol in a game of riddles, and claim the prize it guards.
(13) to read forbidden lore from the legendary book of souls, the most dangerous of Ghola Hoon’s dreaded grimoires;
(14) to bring back the head of one of the savage beastmen that infest the dungeon, to prove your prowess is second to none;
(15) to brave the dark hall of the Iron Sentinels, who slay any man who tries to pass with fear in his heart;
(16) to slay “the Eye of Fear and Flame,” the dread guardian of the Tomb level;
(17) to slay the dragon, Verrovax, said to dwell on the Eye level;
(18) to find and loot the hidden temple to Lamu, the spider god, and claim the fist-sized ruby guarded by arachnine terrors;
(19) to find the temple at world’s end, and face the undying knight who guards the great treasure hidden therein;  
(20) to run the Wizard’s Gauntlet, a series of deadly deathtraps meant to test Ghola Hoon’s would-be apprentices, and return alive;
(21) to breach one of the legendary thirteen gates, portals to other worlds and times, wherein Ghola Hoon hid his most precious treasures;
(22) to activate the Great Machine of the Planes, hidden amid the Wizard’s Gauntlet;
(23) to slay one of the White Wyverns, the great flying terrors said to dwell deep within the caves atop Skull Mountain;
(24) to breach the Twilight Gate, and wrest the fabulous treasures guarded by an entire world of the hungry dead;
(25) to claim a sword from the Mausoleum of Kings, ancient rulers who defied Ghola Hoon and were entombed within Skull Mountain for all eternity;
(26) to find the fabled Demon Stone, an ancient rock from the deepest pits of Hell, said to be hidden in the Hold of Perilous Magic.
(27) to breach the Hold of Perilous Magic, where Ghola Hoon stored his most dangerous arcane devices;
(28) to breach the Dream Gate, and claim the Stone of Nightmares, an immense opal of untold value;
(29) to breach the Serpent’s Gate, and slay the serpent-folk’s sorcerous queen, who is said to guard ancient magic; or
(30) to lie for a full night in the unholy casket in the Temple to Thraaldur, the Eyeless King of the Dead, said to lie hidden amid the Tomb level.
Whatever your boast, be sure to write it down.  If you accomplish the goal, and return alive to Cauldron with proof, receive 100 XP and +2 Luck.
27
One of Us!  One of Us!  As “Heroic Carousing” above, plus the following.  It is a bit hazy, what with all the wine you drank, and you’re not really sure how it happened, but you have been inducted into some sort of weird religion or cult.  Roll 1d8 to determine your new allegiance:  (1) Cult of the Yellow Sign; (2) Spider God Lamu; (3) the Simple Brothers of Fortunate Aklathu; (4) Arioch, the Lord of Seven Darks; (5) Simatala, the Ape God of Lashka; (6) Panzuzu the Devourer of the Dead; (7) Thraaldur the Eyeless King of the Dead; (8) Tittivia, the Queen of Lust.  Roll a 1d20 on Patron Bond spell, +1 per level, minimum result of 12, to determine the effect of the bond. (per page 149).  Also, gain +1 Luck (max 18).
28-29
Boon Companion.  As “Heroic Carousing” above, plus the following.  In your drinking, you have found a boon companion, a novice adventurer and henchman whom you have taken under your wing.  Roll a random 0-level character.  That character will now accompany you as a henchman, who is incredibly loyal, and receives a +4 morale bonus as long as you are present.  After 1 adventure, you may spend 10 XP to level up your henchman.  The henchman is run by the GM, but only receives experience if you give him some of yours.  But if your main character ever dies, you may immediately take control of the henchman, at his current level.
30+
A True Warrior’s Life.  As “Heroic Carousing” above, plus the following. Your brawling, drinking, carousing, and fighting has taught you a bit more about the world and yourself, and made you an even more formidable warrior than before!  Roll 1d16 and consult the following table:
(1)  Gain 1 hp permanently.
(2)  Increase your deed die by one die type (if warrior or dwarf), or gain a +1 to all attack rolls (all other classes).
(3)  Gain a +1 to Intelligence (18 max).
(4)  Gain a +1 to Fortitude saves.
(5)  Gain a +1 to Reflex saves.
(6)  Gain a +1 to Will saves.
(7)  Gain a +1 to all melee damage rolls.
(8)  Gain a +1 to AC.
(9)  Gain a +1 die type to all critical hit results.
(10)  Gain 1d4 hp permanently.
(11)  Gain +1 Strength (max 18).
(12)  Gain +1 Agility (max 18).
(13)  Gain +1 Stamina (max 18).
(14)  Gain +1 Personality (max 18).
(15)  Gain +1 Luck (max 18).
(16)  Gain +1 Strength and +1 Stamina!  Conan, here I come!