Monday, January 31, 2011

In Which Misreading Leads to Creativity

I was reading the paper this morning and quickly glanced over a headline that read “Steep Gun Laws Considered.” In my haste, I read “Sleep Gun Laws” and thus the following was born. Use it in your next weird science fantasy campaign or have it left over from the Elder Race that founded the campaign world.

Sleep Gun: Formed from an unearthly substance similar to glass, yet stronger than adamant, this object is of a fluted, Baroque design. The device features a protruding grip by which to hold it while aiming the object’s tulip-shaped barrel towards an opponent. When operated, the item fires an invisible, soundless beam of slumber-inducing particles, causing the victim to fall into a deep sleep. This beam acts like the 1st level magic-user spell, sleep, but only affects a single individual of up to 4+1 HD. Although the victim does not receive a saving throw to avoid the effects of the beam, the sleep gun must successfully strike its target and requires a successful “to hit” roll on the part of the operator. The sleep gun ignores armor for the purpose of determining a successful strike, but DEX adjustments apply to both the operator’s attack roll and to the defender’s adjusted AC. Sleep guns have 2d10 power charges when found.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the society that created this, people must submit to "vitality scans" as a requirement for universal health care. If your vitality scan shows you as over 4+1 HD you are put on a special list of people dangerous to society because you are immune to the lawful effects of the sleep gun.

Anonymous said...

Enter the Sandman!

Jacob said...

Loved this post. I'm a new follower of yours and a total stranger, but I needed this today! Thank you. :)

C'nor (Outermost_Toe) said...

Hmm. Interesting to see what different people come up with given the same thing. I was thinking of something more like this when I read your misreading:

A large percentage of the population is know to be sleepwalkers - it is believed that this is caused by the interactions of the radiations of our binary suns on humans, though a minority argue that, in accordance with thaumaturgic principles, the magical sleep of a successful spell of the same name is stolen from those that would otherwise enjoy it. In any case, as more and more people did strange and terrible things over weeks, or even months, with no knowledge of it upon awakening, there was a clamor for something to be done. Thus was born The Sleep Weapon Act:

All weapons must be secured at night with a memory lock. Failure to comply will result in summary execution for intentional endangerment of the citizenry.