Revisiting Hawaiian Noir (A Secret History)

    Everyone knows how the war went, and how it ended. Even if you were not one of the brave men and women fighting the Germans, the Japanese, or their allies. American civilian life was alight with newsreels, and propaganda. Of course everyone knows how it ended. Germany smashed and overrun into submission. Then the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan effectively ensuring their capitulation.
    But there's a secret history. A history not recognized by the world. Not because of some great spell or otherworldly power. But simply because it's fantastic, and people can not believe that it could even be real.
    Hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. Magic existed in the world. This is before the written word. Only passed by the oral traditions of people since then folded and assimilated into different cultures and tribes. During these fantastic times medicine men, shamans, sages, thermagists, wizards and their gods (Extra dimensional beings of great power) came together to lock out the evil supernatural. The things that reacted in strange ways as their perception of reality, order and such were so alien as to be dangerous to the people that exist for a mere speck of time, in the cosmic swirling realms. They were successful in this, but their success was greater than anyone expected. It completely locked out the gods and magic from our reality.
    Early on the veil between realities was relatively weak. Things, creatures, and beings still were able to transit between worlds. These transits are where we gain our legends in history. As time passed the veil grew stronger and ultimately impenetrable. Magic, and the supernatural was exiled from our reality.
    A great deal of wars and tragedy have befallen the world in the hundreds of years of its history. These things cause weaknesses in the veil. Places where things could and would occasionally slip through. The phrase "War is hell" has more truth to it than most people will ever know. The Second World War was not exception to this. But what ended it was. Atomic explosions split not only the atom. But broke seals and restrictions. Creating permanent holes in the veil. Letting magic and beings back into our world. But they slunk into the shadows, keeping low profiles.
    The vast majority of people do not know this. They wouldn't believe you if you told them. Hundreds upon hundreds of years of these things being fairy tales, and superstition have conditioned people to not believe. So now a darkness creeps back into our reality. Mostly unseen, seething, and penetrating our world, our lives.

The smashing together of genre

    So I was thinking (Yeah, I know I'm scared too) whats the easiest way the describe Noir Mystery Men, That Old Black Magic? Take one part The Continental Op. from the Red Harvest. Combine that with John Constatine. Then top it off with The Shadow.

    Or another way of thinking of it would be, Mike Hammer, Zatanna, and The Phantom.

    Or another way, Doc Savage, Raylan Givens, and Mandrake the Magician.

So, something to chew on anyways

Noir Mystery Men, That Old Black Magic

Noir Mystery Men, That Old Black Magic is a game of action, crime, betrayal, strangeness, ambivalence, brutality, and cruelty. Set in a dark 1930’s, where black magic and evil ooze secretly from the cracks. The majority of people do not know about his, or would believe it if they were told. But you know better. Using your gifts, be it your hands, gadgets, enchanted object, or magic. You fight what could be a losing battle. For this world is very noir. When things are going good, it's bound to turn bad. If its bad its going to get worse.

This is not a “pulpy” game. You will not find intelligent apes piloting zeppelins, battling nazi squid. But it does include pulp elements as they are firmly intertwined with hard boiled detective fiction and film noir. Take that and combine it with “street level” mystery men, with a deadly dose of secret black magic. That is Noir Mystery Men, That Old Black Magic


This is my quick pitch for the game I've been working on. The system is S&W that has been taken to the anvil and hammered into the shape I like. Very different, yet very the same. More stuff on this to come.

Sample

Hawaiian Noir is a hard boiled, cynical world full of crime, betrayal, and murder. Taking place in an exotic paradise. Where the the weary world's veil grows thin and darkness creeps over.

A little Sample,

Horror/Fear/Sanity check

Sometimes people encounter an act of violence, or entity that floors them. Something truly horrific, weird, or strange. So seeing an angry savage dog wouldn't require it. But seeing an angry savage dog foaming at the mouth, the fur on its head slicked back by blood and gore, yes. Seeing someone shot, no. Finding a pile of corpses that have been machine gunned, yes. A group of people walking at night, no. Encountering the "Nightmarchers", yes. Reading about Kahōʻāliʻi, no. Encountering Kahōʻāliʻi, yes.

When making a check the character must roll over a target number. The roll receives a bonus from willpower. If successful, they have pulled themselves together and operate normally. If they fail they must run away or stand frozen in horror. They also temporarily lose 1 willpower point till they have slept. Characters regenerate one point of temporarily loss will every time they sleep. So if they lose more than one in a day it takes days to regain them. Now if they a roll a 1 it is an automatic failure. In addition to the effects of a normal failure they also permanently lose one point of willpower, and gain a mental disorder.

Been working on the Hawaiian Noir project. Still not ready for public consumption. But is coming along alright. A very small sample of what I've been doing. This is still very rough and is not final by any means.

Colt M1911

Damage: 1d8 Magazine: 7rd box mag Range: 30 yd

Menehune

Natural AC: 11

Hit Points: 1d6

Attacks: 1 by weapon (Spear, Adze, or Leiomano)

Damage: By Weapon (1d4)

No. Appearing: 2d6

XP: 5

Menehune are a mythical people of small stature. They live deep in the forests and hidden valleys of the islands. They are superb craftspeople. They build temples, fishponds, roads, canoes, and houses. Its thought that only one small tribe of these diminutive people still exists.They are good at hiding in their jungle habitat. (+4 to sneak when in jungle)

Hawaiian Noir

So I've been thinking more about this. Having a lot of time on my hands taking my wife to several appointments. Now don't worry people out there in internet land. I will be returning to "Empire". But I really want to get this written down, before it fades out of my brain.

So I don't know about you folks, but when I start to put together a setting campaign. i write out a list of themes, concepts, and things I want included. So here is my Hawaiian Noir brain storming list:

1950's
Noir
Supernatural
Dark
Hawaiian Paradise
City
Slums
Jungle
Mountains
Volcano
Sugar Cane
Criminals
Beach
Liquor
Cocktails
Native Hawaiians
Polynesians
Samoans
Japanese
Spirits
Shinto
Pacific Ocean
Cool old cars
Cool old boats

So then of course the big question comes up. What system? Again I'm torn. Use the home brew I've been jacking with. Or perhaps use "Mean Streets" (Which I do like quite a bit) and tack on some sanity, magic, and supernatural rules. Then again one could easily clip the mythos out of CoC and use that. Might be the way to go. Things to think about.

Edit/Addition
Another thought of system. If I can scratch up the coin, "Silent Legions" might be great for this.

Hawaiian Dick

I've been doing a bunch of reading about Weird Adventures by Trey Causey. You can check out his blog here. Its full of awesome. Anyways, before you say it. Yes I'm way behind the curve. Weird Adventures has been out for a while now. Man have I been missing out. Next pay period that I have some spare loot, I'm definitely getting it. So I've been scouring his blog, absorbing every little bit of it I can. It got me thinking. I would like to do something like this. Not this, but like this. So I started day dreaming at work. Something urban-ish, fatasy-ish, pulp-ish. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, Hawaiian Dick.

Which by the way is an awesome comic. Its had three mini series released. I believe theres a fourth in the works. I'm not really much in the know any more as I dont collect comics like I once did. Regardless, I thought to myself this has everything I want in a game. 50's, noir, Hawaii, and supernatural.  Its fucking win, win. So Empire might need to go on hold for a little bit, while I get this out of my head and onto the page.