The Black Hack: Tah-tah'kle'-ah

Tah-tah-kle'-ah HD 7

Talons - STR (1 Nearby) 8 dmgƒ 

Bite - STR (1 Close) 3 dmg    

Tail Swipe - STR (1 Nearby) 5 dmg    

• Bloodthirsty! The tah-tah-kle'-ah deals double damage against targets below 1⁄2 max HP.
• Graceful! Roll a d6 at the start of each turn, on a 1 or 2 tah-tah-kle'-ah gains an extra Action.

From the Yakama tribe come tales of supernatural women who resemble giant owls, dwelling in caves by day and flying out at night to prey on all manner of creatures — including humans. In fact, they are said to prefer the taste of children. Legend has it they can hunt humans by mimicking their language. 

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The Black Hack: Forest Naga

Forest Naga HD 4

Claws - STR (1 Close) 3 dmgƒ 

Bite - STR (1 Close) 3 dmg    

Tail Swipe - STR (1 Nearby) 5 dmg    

• Spiteful! Deal Ongoing Damage to a target that makes an even Defence Roll. 
• Blessed of Kali! May cast the spell Predator’s Stealth: Magical silence covering everything Nearby to a target - lasts Ud8 Moments. 

Forest nagas are still found in the lands surrounding Schwarzhold Forest and near the southwestern portion of the Lieber River. 

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Help Wanted!

I've just completed the first draft of an Adventure for the Black Hack Second Edition. It's called A Dark and Stormy Night. I'd like some extra eyes on it, so if you have time to take a look and get back to me by Tuesday 10/30 by 8pm EST, then please send me an e-mail at mark at crossplanes dot com with the following Subject: Dark and Stormy Help.

Here is the first draft of the cover.

New Release: The Race Hack Second Edition

Hi all,

I've just released The Race Hack Second Edition for David Black's The Black Hack Second Edition.

Additionally, if YOU bought The Race Hack First Edition and you have given me permission to e-mail you on RPGNow.com, you will be sent a Coupon to buy it for $1.29 ($1.99 Retail).

You can get The Race Hack Second Edition right here!

The Black Hack: Fighter-Thief Class

FIGHTER-THIEF

STARTING STATS

Starting HP : roll 1d6 + 4

Starting HD : 1d8

Usable Weapons & Armor: Any and cloth, leather, chain, and shield

Attack Damage: See 'Sneaky Bastard'

D6 SCAR

1   Missing pinkie

2   Half an ear

3   Crooked nose

4   Two missing teeth

5   Jagged facial scar

6   Whip marks all over back

EQUIPMENT 

Every Fighter-Thief starts with a Thieves' Tools. Also, choose to start the game with either A or B:

• A - Leather vest (AV2), dagger, sword, 1d8 coins, half-mask with a skull motif.

• B - Scale tunic (AV2), a two-handed weapon, 2d6 coins, a list of your targets.

THIEVERY

Roll Attribute Tests with Advantage performing the following actions:

• Delicate Tasks

• Moving Silently and Unseen

• Climbing or Listening and Eavesdropping

NIMBLE EXPERTISE

(See TBH 2E pg. 21)

SNEAKY BASTARD

• A Fighter-Thief has a ‘pool’ of Damage Dice (d4s) equal to their HD.
• When making an Attack distribute any number of these Damage Dice among any number of Nearby targets.
• For each target the Player assigns the Damage Dice, the Player must come up with an exciting and bespoke narration for the Attack.
• Make an Attribute Test for each target to see if they are hit, if so, roll the Damage Dice assigned to them and reduce their HP by that amount.
• If a Fighter-Thief has Moved silently to get behind a Creature, and they are unaware of the Figher-Thief ’s presence, the Fighter-Thief may add their Fighter-Thief ’s Level to that creature's damage.
• The pool of Damage Dice resets at the start of the Figher-Thief's turn.

A DAGGER FOR EVERY OCCASION 
(See TBH 2E pg. 21)

GAINING A NEW LEVEL

Acquire and share a number of Experiences equal to your current HD to advance a Level. When you gain a Level:

• Roll ad d20 once for each Attribute - if you roll over, it goes up one point, make an extra roll either Dexterity or Strength

• Gain 1 HD - roll a d8 - gain that many additional maximum HP.

• Gain a Damage Die.

The Black Hack: Pholcitaur & Skulltopus

Pholcitaur HD 2

Claws - STR (1 Close) 3 dmgƒ 
• Frenzied! Every time the pholcitaur misses, it gains an additional Attack in all subsequent turns. All additional Attacks cease if it deals damage.

The pholcitaur generally dwell in ancient ruins that were left behind by the Progenitors, whom they worship. The pholcitaurs believe that they were created by the Progenitors and that is their sacred duty to preserve the secrets of their creators. Sadly, this often brings the generally peaceful folk into conflict with adventurers and treasure seekers.

Skulltopus HD 3

Tentacle - STR (1d4 Close) 4 dmgƒ 
• Arcane Resistance! Roll with Advantage when making an Attribute Test to resist magic.
• Slippery! Once per battle, when a Character hits the skulltopus, they are forced to re-roll the Attack.

Nyarlathotep has a wicked sense of humor. Sometimes, after a spectacular failure by a cultist of Cthulhu to raise their dead and dreaming master, the Crawling Chaos will raise of them from the dead and infuse a bit of chthonic essence to them. He does it to leave a message for other cultists: wait until the stars are right to meet your end.

(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

The Black Hack: Basilisk & Cyborg

I'm working on a Bestiary for The Black Hack, here are a couple of previews:

Basilisk - HD 2                            

Gaze - WIS (1 Nearby) 2 dmg    

Petrified! Creatures damaged by the basilisk must Test their CON or be Paralysed. 

Cyborg - HD 6                              

Hand Cannon - DEX (1 Distant) 5 dmg    

Snikt! - STR (1 Close) 7 dmg 

• Armoured! The cyborg has an AV equal to 1⁄2 its total HD (rounded down).

New Release: The Class Hack Second Edition [UDATED]

Hi all,

I've updated my Class Hack, Race Hack, and Class Hack 2 to David Black's The Black Hack Second Edition. It's up for sale right now.

Additionally, if YOU bought The Class Hack First Edition and you have given me permission to e-mail you on RPGNow.com, you will be sent a Coupon for $1.00 Off The Class Hack Second Edition.

You can get The Class Hack Second Edition right here!

The Black Hack: Alternate Armor Rules

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for Armor in an OSR game.

I think it fits closest as a solution for The Black Hack (although I am not sure how armor will be handled in TBH 2E).

Essentially, when you are hit by an attack you roll a d6. If the number rolled is equal to or less than your armor, you take 1/2 damage from the hit (round down).

This does require a reworking of TBH's armor:

Gambeson 1 or less on a d6
Leather 2 or less on a d6
Chain Mail 3 or less on a d6
Plate and Mail 4 or less on a d6
Shield (no small or large) +1 (e.g. If I'm wearing Chain Mail and carrying a Shield, I need a 4 or less on a d6).

Cross Planes X-Mas in July Sale

I want to apologize for not drawing attention to this sale sooner.

All of my supplements for The Black Hack are on sale for a mere 75 cents through 7/29.

That includes The Class Hack, The Class Hack 2: Eclectic Boogaloo, and The Race Hack.

I know I'm biased, but these are a good deal.

The Class Hack 2: Eclectic Boogaloo for The Black hack is LIVE on OneBookShelf.com!

Are you a fan of David Black's The Black Hack?

Did you happen to enjoy The Class Hack and the The Race Hack?

THE CLASS HACK 2: ECLECTIC BOOGALOO presents 15 Additional Traditional and Racial Classes.

Part One presents Traditional Classes: Animator, Blackguard, Commander, Jester, Kensai, Knight, Psionicist, Samurai, Thaumaturgist, and Witch for you to play.

Part Two presents Racial Classes: Drake, Gnome, Half-Orc, and Tiefling for you to play, as well.

You can find the PDF here.

Class Hack 2 Preview: Kensai for The Black Hack

KENSAI

Starting HP : d10 + 4

HP Per Level/Resting : 1d10

Weapons & Armor : Any and All 

Attack Damage : 1d8 / 1d6 Unarmed or

Improvising 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

Attack Damage is 1d10 with one specific type of 

weapon.

As part of their action a Bushi can make 1

attack per level. 

     Rolls with Advantage on initiative.

LEVELING UP

Roll to see if attributes increase, roll twice for 

DEX or STR.

The Race Hack, Different Racial Options for The Black Hack is now LIVE on OneBookShelf.Com!

Do you enjoy THE BLACK HACK but want options for races?

THE RACE HACK presents two overall approaches for THE BLACK HACK OSR Compatible Clone.

In Part One, each race is presented with two options: bonuses and penalties to attributes or features to represent racial abilities. In both cases you simply choose your class, modify it with your choice of race, and start playing as you did with the First Edition of the Advanced Version of the Original 1970's Fantasy Roleplaying Game. The races detailed are drakes, dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, halfling, half-orcs, humans, and tieflings.

In Part Two, racial classes are introduced and are simply additional classes for you to select, like Conjuror or Monk, as you did with the Basic Version of the the Orginal 1970's Fantasy Roleplaying Game. The classes detailed are Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling.

The PDF is available here.

The Class Hack: The Occultist for The Black Hack

This is a GIANT THANK YOU for making The Class Hack the #2 #1 Hottest Seller on RPGNow.Com!

While developing The Class Hack, I decided to interpret the classes from the ADnD 1st Edition Player's Handbook and Unearthed Arcana, but I also had an idea for the Sorcerer from later editions.

I figured I'd include it here, as a treat:

OCCULTIST

Starting HP : d4 + 4

HP Per Level/Resting : 1d4

Weapons & Armor : Dagger and Staff

Attack Damage : 1d4 / 1 Unarmed or

Improvising 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

When an Occults casts an Arcane Spell, they may

add an additional target to it, deal it’s maximum 

damage or effect, double it’s duration, or increase 

it’s range to Far Away; however, the roll with 

Disadvantage when testing INT to avoid reducing 

that spell’s slot.

LEVELING UP

Roll to see if attributes increase, roll twice for 

INT or  WIS.

ARCANE SPELLCASTING

Occultist can cast a number of Arcane Spells a 

day, see the spellcasting section.

SPELLBOOK

Occultists start with a Large spellbook containing

a total of 1d4 spells from the Level 1 and 2

Arcane Spell lists.

The Class Hack, 10 Additional Classes for The Black Hack is now LIVE on OneBookShelf.Com!

THE CLASS HACK for THE BLACK HACK by David Black and Gold Piece Productions is now LIVE on RPGNow.Com and DriveThruRPG.Com for $1.00!

This is Cross Planes Game Studio's first OGL and OSR product and it features 10 additional Classes for THE BLACK HACK inspired by 1st Edition of the World's First Advanced RPG:  The Acrobat, Assassin, Barbarian, Bard, Cabalist, Cavalier, Druid, Monk, Paladin, and Ranger.

The PDF is available here.

The Black Hack: A Preview of the Bard from the forthcoming The Class Hack

After purchasing David Black's THE BLACK HACK from Gold Piece Publications, I've begun developing other classes for the game for a product called THE CLASS HACK (I didn't know that OneBookShelf.Com didn't greenlight new publishers on weekends or it would already be on sale). Hopefully it will be available from Cross Planes Game Studio on Monday.

Here is a preview:

       BARD

Starting HP : d6 + 4

HP Per Level/Resting : 1d6

Weapons & Armor : All, Leather, Magic 

Chainmail 

Attack Damage : 1d6 / 1d4 Unarmed or

Improvising 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

Rolls with Advantage when being charming,

performing delicate tasks, climbing, hearing 

sounds, moving silently, recounting legends and 

lore, understanding written languages and 

making music.

LEVELING UP

    Roll to see if attributes increase, roll twice for 

       STR and DEX or WIS.

ARCANE SPELLCASTING

Beginning at second level, Bards can cast a

number of Divine Spells a day, see the following 

page.

SPELLBOOK

     Bards start with a large spellbook containing a

total of 1d4 spells from the Level 1 and 2 Divine

Spell lists. 

I tried to stick closely to the ADnD 1E version so this Bard is a mix of Fighter, Thief, and Druid.  The Fighter is felt most in the use of all weapons and when they level you can Roll for Str AND Dex for improvement.