Anachronistic Adventurers: The Enforcer

"That I have taken moments to write down a part of what occurred as that blow fell does not signify that I remained inactive for any such length of time. I think I must have sensed something of what was coming, for I realize now that I was crouched as for a spring as I saw the blow aimed at her beautiful, upturned, pleading face, and ere the hand descended I was halfway across the hall. "

The enforcer is the epitome of the modern fighting combatant, from professional soldier to citizen militia, mercenary-of-fortune to experienced insurgent, and from ultimate martial-arts television contestant to mob button man and even police SWAT. The enforcer is trained and skilled at using force to take control of dangerous situations, remain calm under fire, follow a set of rules of engagement, and within those rules adapt and overcome unforeseen obstacles as necessary to achieve victory. The enforcer represents the infantryman, marine, and special forces of the era of modern firearms, and is as adept with tools of personal combat as most modern folk are with a television remote. The weapons used by such warriors vary, depending on the era an enforcer comes from, and they might be as primitive as single-action revolvers and bolt-action rifles, or as complex as assault rifles with laser targeting sights.

And sometimes they end up in fantasy lands, where they are attacked by orcs and need to defend themselves with spears.

The "modern" combatant being stuck in a more primitive, fantasy-themed world is a common trope in a great deal of adventure fiction, especially the "planetary romances" more common in the early part of the 20th century than today, but still very popular with a wide range of gamers (and game writers). The enforcer is the first in a line of Anachronistic Adventurers products designed to provide rules for running modern (or near-modern) heroes in a typical fantasy roleplaying game setting. While it's impossible to address every possible issue that might arise for such characters (does a wish spell restore the function of a cell phone?), each product in the line will look at one area where the modern and fantasy realms are most likely to overlap and give guidance for running heroic anachronisms. We also discuss the idea of Progress Levels (PL), a simple way to determine the general technological advancement of a campaign (and outlined in more detail at the end of this product).