Hol (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
HoL is a role-playing game
created by Dirt Merchant Games and produced by Black Dog Game Factory, a subsidiary of White Wolf
which produced adult oriented RPGs. The HoL Core Rulebook was published in 1994, and was followed up by one other supplement Buttery Wholesomeness in 1995. Although HoL is playable, it was meant as a satire of RPGs. The pages of the books are written by hand, and the authors freely take stabs at other popular role-playing games, particularly Vampire: The Masquerade
and Dungeons & Dragons
, and those who play them.
game set in the very distant future where mankind has colonized the entire galaxy
. Characters in the game have been either trapped or imprisoned on the planet
HoL (The Human Occupied Landfill), which is located outside the galaxy as far away as possible from everyone else. HoL is a penal colony
for the scum of the galaxy as seen in the eyes of the C.O.W. (Confederation of Worlds), which is the ruling government body of the human territories.
Over the centuries, mankind has colonized space through the use of the Quazi-Dimensional stardrive, which is powered by energy produced through the mating rituals of Jumpslugs, giant slugs that feed on human corpses and are tended by social rejects in full-body containment suits. The enemy of C.O.W. are the aliens known as the S.N.E.E. (Sedud Neerg Elttil Esoht, or "Those Little Green Dudes" backwards) who constantly plot to take over the universe.
The C.O.W. also uses HoL as a dumping ground for trash, so the entire landscape is covered with mountains of rotting debris, from candy bar wrappers and starship hulls to toxic nuclear waste and used medical syringes. HoL is a breeding ground for cute little bulbous creatures called "Wastems", which characters can capture as pets, eat as tasty pudding snacks, or use for target practice. Beware of the ones with an evil gleam in their eye, however; it could be a Wastit, the carnivorous man-eating version of the timid creatures. Not every critter on HoL is cute and furry, especially the subterranean horrors called Fleshtenders. Victims of Fleshtenders (if they happen to survive) only remember seeing two evil eyes and very big teeth. HoL is also a cesspool of gangs and criminal psychopaths.
Given this world of "kill or be killed", the main goals of characters in HoL are survival and escape. They can be attacked at anytime by just about anything from ax-wielding maniacs to mutant creatures. It is a place of all kinds of unimaginable horror – and entertainment, for the citizens of C.O.W. who like to spend their free time watching holographic channels dedicated to the viewing of the non-stop slaughter via explosive robotic cameras called Crickets.
Although it is never verified in any of the HoL game books, some fans of the game have speculated that Hol was once Earth
.
Todd Shaughnessy was brought in as a third major writer, with Chris Elliott contributing artwork and writing. Shaughnessy and Elliot refined the gaming system. The game was play tested in the spring of 1992 at gaming conventions on Cape Cod, the University of Rochester, and the U.S Military Academy at West Point, NY.
, and parodies of two Marvel Comics
superhero
es, the Silver Surfer
and the Incredible Hulk
.
The Buttery Wholesomeness supplement provides the rules for creating new characters of the player's design. With that book, players pick a Totem that list the basic personality of their character. Picking the "Bush Baby" Totem, for example, creates fast, nimble characters. Those of the "Sloth" Totem are generally smart, but slow and lazy in action. The character creation system is as much of a disturbing joke as the system, full of charts that tell you to roll on other charts, and like the character generation system of Traveller
(of which it is a parody), your character can die during creation.
Stats are typically rated from -2 (terrible) to +10 (nigh godly), though both higher and lower ratings are possible.
Die rolls of 2, "Snake Eyes", are always a very, very bad thing (regardless of bonuses), and results in whatever horrors the twisted mind of the HoLmeister decides to inflict upon the character. HoLmeisters are encouraged to take out pent up aggressions in these situations. Players may also randomly roll to determine the character's fate on another chart, where they might get lucky and only snap a groin muscle.
Die rolls of 12, "Box Cars", are always a very good thing, and allow the player to reroll the dice and add it to the twelve they've just rolled. Rerolls also add a point to the "Grace of God" Pool (see below) which can save a character in moments of certain, otherwise unavoidable death. Multiple rerolls are possible, as is getting a snake eyes on a reroll.
There are two kinds of attacks in HoL, Melee (with hand-to-hand weapons) and Ranged (with projectile weapons). Attackers attack, and Defenders either Dodge or Parry the attack. The Attacker rolls 2d6 + Stat + Skill to attack, rolling on the Combat Chart (which is similar to the General Chart, i.e. rolls lower than 15 miss). The total attack roll is modified by the Defender's Feets Stat + 2d6 (this acts as the base Difficulty Modifier against the attack) plus any other modifiers the HoLmeister sees fit (e.g. for cover).
Range attacks are modified by range. Things that are really close get a +4 bonus to hit, and extremely far get a -4 (or worse) penalty.
Everyone in HoL has 20 Wound Levels that start at zero and increase according to how much damage they have taken. To figure out damage, the character's Meat Stat + Armor Value (if any) is subtracted from the weapon's Anguish Value. Once that number is determined the character finds the number on a Damage Multiplier Chart and rolls a d6 to determine the intensity of the multiplier of the weapon's Damage Number. The weapon's Damage Number is then multiplied that many times (from x1 to x5) and added to the character's current Wound Level.
Characters suffer Stat penalties that worsen according to how many Wound Levels they have taken:
Another feature of the game is the "Grace of God" pool. Each character is given a random number of GoG points at creation, rolled by the HoLmeister, but never revealed to the player. In situations of the direst peril, a player can utter the words "Praise Jesus" and spend a GoG point. This sets into action a series of seemingly random and freakish events that prove to be the character's salvation from their current predicament. The example given in the core rulebook depicts a space station's re-entry into HoL's atmosphere being broken by a fruitfly, thus saving the character. Because the player has no idea how many GoG points the character has, it is likely that eventually the rule will be invoked without any GoG points actually left in the GoG pool. This garners the character one "Wrath of God" point. Some HoLmeisters activate the WoG point immediately after the situation the characters were in is resolved by the GoG mechanic, while others save the resolution of the WoG point for later, but in either case, the character is marked for the most unfair, heinous and unforgiving fate the HoLmeister can dream up. These situations are clearly defined as "worse than any snake-eyes roll" and the section explaining the WoG reminds the players once again that "the HoLmeister is allowed to cheat. Whenever he wants to. Period."
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
created by Dirt Merchant Games and produced by Black Dog Game Factory, a subsidiary of White Wolf
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
which produced adult oriented RPGs. The HoL Core Rulebook was published in 1994, and was followed up by one other supplement Buttery Wholesomeness in 1995. Although HoL is playable, it was meant as a satire of RPGs. The pages of the books are written by hand, and the authors freely take stabs at other popular role-playing games, particularly Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....
and Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, and those who play them.
Setting
HoL is a science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
game set in the very distant future where mankind has colonized the entire galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
. Characters in the game have been either trapped or imprisoned on the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
HoL (The Human Occupied Landfill), which is located outside the galaxy as far away as possible from everyone else. HoL is a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
for the scum of the galaxy as seen in the eyes of the C.O.W. (Confederation of Worlds), which is the ruling government body of the human territories.
Over the centuries, mankind has colonized space through the use of the Quazi-Dimensional stardrive, which is powered by energy produced through the mating rituals of Jumpslugs, giant slugs that feed on human corpses and are tended by social rejects in full-body containment suits. The enemy of C.O.W. are the aliens known as the S.N.E.E. (Sedud Neerg Elttil Esoht, or "Those Little Green Dudes" backwards) who constantly plot to take over the universe.
The C.O.W. also uses HoL as a dumping ground for trash, so the entire landscape is covered with mountains of rotting debris, from candy bar wrappers and starship hulls to toxic nuclear waste and used medical syringes. HoL is a breeding ground for cute little bulbous creatures called "Wastems", which characters can capture as pets, eat as tasty pudding snacks, or use for target practice. Beware of the ones with an evil gleam in their eye, however; it could be a Wastit, the carnivorous man-eating version of the timid creatures. Not every critter on HoL is cute and furry, especially the subterranean horrors called Fleshtenders. Victims of Fleshtenders (if they happen to survive) only remember seeing two evil eyes and very big teeth. HoL is also a cesspool of gangs and criminal psychopaths.
Given this world of "kill or be killed", the main goals of characters in HoL are survival and escape. They can be attacked at anytime by just about anything from ax-wielding maniacs to mutant creatures. It is a place of all kinds of unimaginable horror – and entertainment, for the citizens of C.O.W. who like to spend their free time watching holographic channels dedicated to the viewing of the non-stop slaughter via explosive robotic cameras called Crickets.
Although it is never verified in any of the HoL game books, some fans of the game have speculated that Hol was once Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
Conception
The concept of HoL derived from a conversation Thron had with Cape Cod Community College classmate Duane Waters while driving to school in the winter of 1990-1991. Both were longtime RPGers. Thron, a self-taught graphic artist, was reading a copy of DC Comics' Lobo and Waters remarked that it would be cool if there were a role playing game similar to the comic. It could be called, Waters said, Human Occupied Landfill. Thron took the idea and played around with the concept for months.Todd Shaughnessy was brought in as a third major writer, with Chris Elliott contributing artwork and writing. Shaughnessy and Elliot refined the gaming system. The game was play tested in the spring of 1992 at gaming conventions on Cape Cod, the University of Rochester, and the U.S Military Academy at West Point, NY.
Overview of Game Mechanics
A few samples of the HoL core rules are given here. HoL uses two six-sided dice (2d6) for all task and combat resolutions. The Game Master in HoL is known as the HoLmeister.Making Characters
The HoL core rulebook doesn't provide a system of character generation, instead offering a set of pre-generated characters, including a young boy with an oversized plasma gun whose survival is completely inexplicable, a pedophile priest, a gamer geek, Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, and parodies of two Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es, the Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
and the Incredible Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
.
The Buttery Wholesomeness supplement provides the rules for creating new characters of the player's design. With that book, players pick a Totem that list the basic personality of their character. Picking the "Bush Baby" Totem, for example, creates fast, nimble characters. Those of the "Sloth" Totem are generally smart, but slow and lazy in action. The character creation system is as much of a disturbing joke as the system, full of charts that tell you to roll on other charts, and like the character generation system of Traveller
Traveller (role-playing game)
Traveller is a series of related science fiction role-playing games, the first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop and subsequent editions by various companies remaining in print to this day. The game was inspired from such classic science fiction stories as the Dumarest saga series by...
(of which it is a parody), your character can die during creation.
Stats
Each character in HoL has five Stats:- Greymatta: Intellectual capacity (if any)
- Meat: Physical strength
- Feets: Dexterity
- Mouth: Charisma
- Nuts: Spiritual resolve
Stats are typically rated from -2 (terrible) to +10 (nigh godly), though both higher and lower ratings are possible.
Skills
Each stat has a number of skills associated with it. Given a world of senseless violence, most skills in HoL are simply there to better bash someone's head in, or blast them to oblivion with weapons. Useful skills include:- Operate Starship and Chew Gum at the Same Time: A Greymatta skill that says it all.
- Repair Toasters 'n' Stuff: A Greymatta skill for fixing things.
- Turn Radios into Howitzers: A Greymatta skill for MacGyverMacGyverMacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
ing things. - Organize Fundraiser: The Mouth skill based art of coaxing money and other goodies out of people.
- Make Someone Stop Living With Your Fist: The Meat skill for bashing in skulls while unarmed.
- Making Sharp Things Go Through Soft Things That Scream and Bleed: A Meat skill. Self explanatory.
- Scathing (Ooooo, Big Word!) Sarcasm: A Mouth skill for humiliating your foes into piles of tears.
- Whining Until You Get What You Want: A Mouth skill that forces victims to give in to your demands.
- Make Everything You Say Sound More Important Than the Voice of God: A Mouth skill for fast talking and persuasion.
- That Psycho Bruce LeeBruce LeeBruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
Shit: A Feets skill for dazzling your enemy with martial arts. - Withstand/Enjoy Hellish Agony: A Nuts skill for remaining conscious after being tortured by watching Barney & FriendsBarney & FriendsBarney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...
for 24 hours straight. Closely related to "Withstand Bagpipes." - Spot Wastit: A Greymatta skill. Only useful if you enjoy keeping your face intact. As stated in the core rulebook, a character without this skill cannot tell the difference between a wastem and a wastit, even if the wastit is walking away from a mutilated body with a bloody knife in its hands.
Task Resolution
Resolving the success or failure of a task involves rolling two six-sided dice (2d6) and adding the character's Stat rating and related Skill values, plus a difficulty modifier set by the HoLmeister. Difficulty typically scales between +4 (Easier than a Cheap Streetwalker) to -4 (Bogusly Difficult), although higher and lower modifiers are possible. A total of 15 or above is a success, 14 or lower is a failure; more detail is given by the General Chart (one of many charts in HoL).Die rolls of 2, "Snake Eyes", are always a very, very bad thing (regardless of bonuses), and results in whatever horrors the twisted mind of the HoLmeister decides to inflict upon the character. HoLmeisters are encouraged to take out pent up aggressions in these situations. Players may also randomly roll to determine the character's fate on another chart, where they might get lucky and only snap a groin muscle.
Die rolls of 12, "Box Cars", are always a very good thing, and allow the player to reroll the dice and add it to the twelve they've just rolled. Rerolls also add a point to the "Grace of God" Pool (see below) which can save a character in moments of certain, otherwise unavoidable death. Multiple rerolls are possible, as is getting a snake eyes on a reroll.
Combat
When two HoL characters meet, they usually end up trying to kill each other, so combat is just one of those things a character could face every minute of their HoL life. As in most RPG systems, opposing forces roll for initiative (a d6 roll + Feets Stat) to see who goes first.There are two kinds of attacks in HoL, Melee (with hand-to-hand weapons) and Ranged (with projectile weapons). Attackers attack, and Defenders either Dodge or Parry the attack. The Attacker rolls 2d6 + Stat + Skill to attack, rolling on the Combat Chart (which is similar to the General Chart, i.e. rolls lower than 15 miss). The total attack roll is modified by the Defender's Feets Stat + 2d6 (this acts as the base Difficulty Modifier against the attack) plus any other modifiers the HoLmeister sees fit (e.g. for cover).
Range attacks are modified by range. Things that are really close get a +4 bonus to hit, and extremely far get a -4 (or worse) penalty.
Damage
Weapons in HoL can be anything; a rolled-up newspaper, broken bottle, Enemy-B-GoneTM, Kitty Kitty Bang BangsTM or whatever. Every weapon has an Anguish Value and a Damage Number. Anguish Values are rated from 1 (staple in a finger) to 20 (Unprotected Re-entry into the Atmosphere). The higher the number, the more the weapon "hurts" the character, and is strictly for the enjoyment of role-playing. Damage Numbers have no upper limit.Everyone in HoL has 20 Wound Levels that start at zero and increase according to how much damage they have taken. To figure out damage, the character's Meat Stat + Armor Value (if any) is subtracted from the weapon's Anguish Value. Once that number is determined the character finds the number on a Damage Multiplier Chart and rolls a d6 to determine the intensity of the multiplier of the weapon's Damage Number. The weapon's Damage Number is then multiplied that many times (from x1 to x5) and added to the character's current Wound Level.
Characters suffer Stat penalties that worsen according to how many Wound Levels they have taken:
| Wounds | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 5+ | -1 to all rolls (Hurtin') |
| 10+ | -2 (Smoking the pain pipe) |
| 14 | -3 (Need a doctor) |
| 15 | -4 (Feasting with agony) |
| 16 | -5 (Feeling imminent doom) |
| 17+ | Unconscious |
| 20+ | The Big Dirt Nap! |
Rewards
Surviving is the best reward. A more generous HoLmeister can reward players P.R.I.C.Kudos, which can raise a Skill point by one or add another first level Skill to a character's sheet. They can also reward Big P.R.I.C.Kudos that can raise a Stat by one.Another feature of the game is the "Grace of God" pool. Each character is given a random number of GoG points at creation, rolled by the HoLmeister, but never revealed to the player. In situations of the direst peril, a player can utter the words "Praise Jesus" and spend a GoG point. This sets into action a series of seemingly random and freakish events that prove to be the character's salvation from their current predicament. The example given in the core rulebook depicts a space station's re-entry into HoL's atmosphere being broken by a fruitfly, thus saving the character. Because the player has no idea how many GoG points the character has, it is likely that eventually the rule will be invoked without any GoG points actually left in the GoG pool. This garners the character one "Wrath of God" point. Some HoLmeisters activate the WoG point immediately after the situation the characters were in is resolved by the GoG mechanic, while others save the resolution of the WoG point for later, but in either case, the character is marked for the most unfair, heinous and unforgiving fate the HoLmeister can dream up. These situations are clearly defined as "worse than any snake-eyes roll" and the section explaining the WoG reminds the players once again that "the HoLmeister is allowed to cheat. Whenever he wants to. Period."