Legends of Today RPG

Every city has sewers and storm drains. This dirty water drains out, leaving the city behind. In ancient times, people in China thought of dragons as the spirits of rivers. One of these mighty water spirits is Blackwater, the Polluted Dragon. It's hard to imagine the motivations of this powerful being that uses its abilities to remove pollution and waste. For some, this is absolutely a benevolent act; Blackwater intends to safeguard mundane society despite the fact that most mundanes fear and hate it. For others, this is a nefarious scheme. Blackwater must be receiving some benefit from his work. Blackwater is not explaining its goals and motivations. When magical or mundane forces interfere with its operations, Blackwater has a variety of techniques that it uses to protect its interests. Like all dragons, Blackwater can easily change its shape and appearance, taking the form of any humanoid or creature. Using the concentrated filth and corruption found in waste waters, Bla...

The words 'Heal the Divide' have appeared all over the world, especially in cities and places of high mundane population. It has been shortened to #Heal in many media. The Heal movement advocates bringing magic and the mundane world back in balance. It is one of the most popular social movements of the time, with many casual supporters but a large number of strong advocates that regularly appear on television, post to social media, form marches and walks and generally spread the message. Heal the Divide is a tenet of the World Tree spiritual movement. World Tree states that we are all part of the world, magical and mundane, like different branches on the same tree. World Tree is not a religion per se, but an awareness of the diversity of the world and the need for all beings to live together in balance. World Tree followers say that although the races/species diverge and separate, they all have a common need for a world to live upon and space to grow.

A dangerous and libelous pamphlet, Burn It Down is a radical guide for magicals and their mundane supporters in current-day society. Most people don't see physical copies of Burn It Down , although certain people have made a habit of printing copies out to be posted on public buildings, handed out in subversive meetings, etc. It is most commonly posted on Internet forums, circulated in email lists and social media. For those who have not read it, Burn It Down advocates a complete restructure of contemporary society in favor of giving rights to magical creatures and recognizing the existence of magic. It also insists that the mundane world needs to cede a portion of its governmental controls to the magical beings that have equal right to the world. It is condemned by every major government and religion as inflammatory and impossible. It is also routinely cited by magical firebrands and change idealists.

The diminutive gnomes are known for their positivity and energy. Other races may be more magical, more impressive, but the gnomes are known for being inquisitive and driven. Of the magical races, the gnomes have learned the most about the mundane world, because they are the most interested. They explore all aspects of the mundane. Just like a mundane person, they know the shows on TV, the popular apps, they text, they play video games. At the same time, they understand the magical world and have an innate connection to the magical peoples. Elves and tieflings rarely have the patience to deal with gnomes. For humans, their great curiosity can be overpowering.

The demonic appearance of tieflings has always informed other races' opinions of them. The mundane world fears tieflings and has always thought them kin to mythical demons. The truth of tieflings is that they are a magical race as old as elves and dragons. In days long past, their magical power was unparalleled. The dragons saw them as a true threat; as a race, the tieflings were considered vicious and cruel; their focus was the perseverance of their own race above all others. Their diet consisted of magic and the flesh of other humanoid races. A great sundering of magic was worked upon the tieflings, separating their magical auras from their mortal bodies. It was not a complete separation; there is still great power in tieflings. Their separated power is far greater though, and moves independently, giving rise to stories of demons, monsters, shades and so much more. Tieflings have binary genders but unhindered concepts of gender and sexuality. Their relationships vary and tiefli...

The children of dragons are born without fixed forms. Dragons themselves are powerful, immortal beings that change shapes effortlessly. Their children inherit a portion of this magical power but even that portion is significant. Dragonborn tend to adopt humanoid forms around other races. These are often human-like versions of classican dragon features with bright, shining scales and reptilian eyes. They may have human-like faces or snouts like lizards. Because their form changes so effortlessly, dragonborn may change appearances frequently. The strongest magical affinity for dragonborn is alteration. Many dragonborn adapt to their environment effortlessly, their bodies changing as needed. If they move through the water they grow webbing between their fingers and toes, gills opening along their necks. As they take to the air, wings form from their backs, bearing them aloft. To be a dragonborn is to be a child of magic. Being mercurial and fluid in form, dragonborn are excellent at u...

These creatures are born of ancient fae magics, timeless and noble. An average elf is human-like in appearance, with slender, supple builds and elongated ears that come to points. Only at a distance is an elf mistaken for a human. Up close they have a distinct presence that makes them seem foreign and otherworldly. Elves are effectively eternal. While they can fall into ill health or die from violence, most elves live hundreds of years before their demise. While there is a certain allure to this, most elves are at a disadvantage in dealing with human society. They truly do not understand the difference between the human culture of five hundred years ago and that of today. With the withdrawal of magic, elves had an understanding of human society. Upon their return to the world, they have been flummoxed by how much has changed. The response has been confusion and a reliance on the younger, more mortal and adaptable magical races in order to bridge the gap in understanding. The other r...

A previous post on Magical Creatures was very popular, so I  wanted to talk about how I did it. I focused on creating monsters according to their threat to a team of adventurers. I kept the Jackelope and Barbegazi as non-threatening level 1s while making the powerful Sphinx and Ent higher level. The one example of a boss I built is the Marshmallow Guy. The process for creating quick NPCs in Open Legend is so simple that I would generally focus on knowing the level of my player team and encounter difficulty. With these things in mind I would decide on the number of creatures I wanted them to encounter and stat accordingly. This means that I'm rarely focused on what creatures I need to build or intent on stat blocks. Some great things about monsters, NPCs or any other opposition in Open Legend: They don't give XP, so you don't have to worry about giving a certain number to hit session goals. Their definitions are loose. No skills, easy attributes and defenses. Y...

Here are some magical creatures you can use with Legends of Today. All of these are built using the Simple Build method for NPCs in Open Legend. If you want to see quick stat cards for the creatures, check here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B2WycMrcBZaYa0xHRGUtTjI4alk?usp=sharing Jackelope (NPC Level 1) An elusive beast that survives on misdirection, the Jackelope has been credited with many mystical powers. Those who have sighted it agree that it is elusive and enigmatic. HP: 10 Guard: 16 Toughness: 10 Resolve: 12 Agility: 3 Perception: 3 Movement: 4 Boon Focus: Haste Bane Focus: Slowed Barbegazi (NPC Level 1) A snow loving creature that uses its large feet as skis. Known to warn others of danger from avalanche. HP: 12 Guard: 14 Toughness: 12 Resolve: 10 Agility 4 Fortitude 3 Movement 3 Prescience 1 Boon Focus(Haste) Boon Focus(Precognition) Energy Resistance(Cold)1 Gryphon (NPC Level 3) Wild and free, the gryphon is a powerful beast. Tameab...

A great way to start a low-level (Level 1) game is to begin with a small setting and expand as needed. With magic in the world, urban landscapes can feel like four-color comic books, decorated with amazing happenings and fantastic beings. But in a rural, small-town setting, the feeling can be very different. You could have a bright, uplifting location that encourages the best in players, pitting their characters against old rivals, like Smallville. If you want something darker, more insular, you could have a setting like Seal Cove. Seal Cove is a small fishing village in the Pacific Northwest. At one time it was a company town where everyone who lived here relied on the Marion Family Fishing Company. The Marion Family is still prominent in the area but they sold their fishing boats and cannery long ago, which led to massive unemployment. Seal Cove shrank to a fraction of its size; the people who stayed behind were those who supported the town. These were the grocers, the mechanics, ...

The Seekers is a high magic, high action campaign concept. This team understands magic, embraces it, and actively seeks it out. The Seekers could be searching for magical power for themselves or trying to liberate magic for others. The Seekers campaign can focus around a Mission that defines why the team works together, as well as what they work towards. Where the Infiltrators campaign example is intended for a gritty, street-level play about a team making things happen, the Seekers is about powerful entities that stride across the world. This campaign might feel like a comic book superhero team like The Avengers , a TV show like Supernatural or an action movie/comic book series like Constantine/John Constantine.   Missions Stopping an Evil : The team might be trying to stop something evil. This could be a magical evil that only they know exist. It could also be a mundane evil that threatens the world they love. Finding a Great Good : The magical world is mysterious. Somew...