Before we get started, this isn’t a review. The closest you’ll get is that I enjoyed most of the series. Binged both seasons over the course of a week because I wanted to finish it before we drop our Netflix subscription. What I do want to focus on some of my favorite inspiration that came from watching the show.
Loot Item: Shimmer
Throughout the show, Shimmer felt like the purest form of miracle snake oil possible. It had healing properties so it saved people’s lives. It was super addictive so it destroyed people’s lives. It boosted abilities to super human levels. It degraded their bodies to be fragile husks. You get the idea. Plus it was neon pink which was a fun choice.
Shimmer: ITEM, Ingest this miracle snake oil to increase STR, DEX, and CON to +10 for 4 ROUNDS. Afterwards roll a D20. On a natural 20, ignore the side effects, otherwise reduce your max HP permanently by D4 + X times you’ve used Shimmer.
If you’re wondering if you could still use this for healing, a character who just ingested Shimmer would have a CON bonus of 10 (remember that in the STATs can never go higher than 10). This is going to boost their DEFENSE all the way up to 20 in most cases and if the player spends one of their 4 ROUNDS on a RECOVERY action that would be CON+1 which should be plenty for an ICRPG character.
NPC: The Mad Chemist
In the Waste is Not Kind, there are references to the Chemist, a villain threatening the Waste with toxins and poisons and the Chemist in Arcane was such a compelling character, he presented a solid template to build off of.
What I would really want to implement in my own version of the Chemist is the patient menace. He’s not a fighter and he’s not looking to destroy anything. He has a work he believes in and will adjust loyalties as long as he can continue his work.
He’d be a villain for sure, but he could also be a resource to players. Maybe his work is a source of complications that throw wrenches into the story. Either way, the Mad Chemist would make a great NPC to drop into a world.
Faction: The Firelights
A street gang of freedom fighters and rebellious warriors? Count me in. Plus they develop their own unique tech of hoverboards to zip around on, how cool is that!?
Dropping in a faction like the Firelights would probably start with some kind of raid the players get caught in the cross fires of. They see them zipping around, throwing exploding crystal bombs and they come off as basic villains.
If the players are intrigued they can have more face off or maybe get captured before learning about their cause and their leaders. It was really impactful in the show to have the leader be an old friend so I’d be on the look out for a connection to the players.
FIRELIGHTS: Rebellious street gang trying to save their home.
Goal: Eliminate threats to their home and families.
Resources: Loot they’ve developed themselves, which means they are the only source or users.
Headquarters: An underground treehouse with fireflies flittering about. Only discoverable if brought there by the Firelights themselves.
Leader: A mysterious figure with a white owl mask, code named as EKO.
Fighting Style: They attack using melee weapons while zipping around on hoverboards. They always DASH and have the ability to dash out of the scene for a round before returning from any direction.
