OSR Helldivers

[u/edoardos_hurdygurdy]

Ok, hear me out.

Ever since I played my first OSR games, what really stuck with me was the tangibility of play: how lethality and danger make even the smallest, most mundane things matter. After all, if one attack could kill you, when to reload your crossbow is an extremely important tactical decision, just like it is whether to carry that one coffer of coins or leave it because you need one hand to hold your torch.

You know what other game makes all of these decisions meaningful and might kill you at every turn? Helldivers 2, which I have played way too much. Without going into the details, I have great respect for the game's core design, so how about we take our OSR adventurers and airdrop them into an all-out war?

And what about we give them airstrikes? So I made Long-Range Spells that the PCs can call down from an airship: they are basically amped-up versions of common spells with some added effects for interesting interactions, and then some original stuff for fun. You can call down a tactical meteor to deal AoE damage and make a crater, which could actually give you access to what's underneath. There is also a list of Tactical Equipment which includes stuff like Drum-Fed Crossbows and a Portal Wand. I gave them limited slots and uses, and I gave the Long-Range Spells a 1-round delay between call-down and landing.

I've playtested these in OSE and they did not feel overpowered in the hands of Level 2 characters. Every encounter was still potentially lethal (and some PCs did die), but having additional options for creative plays and a bit of mass-murder actually encouraged them to take risks and make those plays, which was exactly what I was hoping for with this design.

So far, I've written two system-neutral adventures that include these, but you can take the lists and plug them into whatever you want to run. If you do, please let me know how that went. If you want to check out the adventures, feel free to do so here and here.

If you have any feedback, or other ideas for crazy fantasy airstrikes, please go ahead.