Thinking About Armor

February 9, 2016March 21, 2021 / jstater

While playing with Blood & Treasure’s second edition, I was thinking about armor and it occurred to me that you could characterize the armor table as follows (with AAC standing for Ascending Armor Class, and DAC standing for Descending Armor Class):

Leather = AAC 12 / DAC 8

mixture of leather and metal, but mostly leather (like brigandine) = AAC 13/ DAC 7

mixture of leather and metal, but mostly metal (like jazeraint) = AAC 14 / DAC 6

Metal mesh = AAC 15 / DAC 5

mixture of mesh and solid, but mostly mesh (like mirror armor) = AAC 16 / DAC 4

mixture of mesh and solid, but mostly solid (like plate & mail) = AAC 17/ DAC 3

Solid metal = AAC 18 / DAC 2

The values above are for a full or almost full suit of armor – from shoulders to lower arms and torso down to knees. For half-armor – shoulders to upper arm, maybe covering upper legs – you deduct a point from the Armor Class value. You could probably take it further, and drop the bonus by 2 for “quarter-armor” for those punk barbarians out there who like to accessorize with armor without really committing to it.

A shield still gives the normal 1 point bump (or in Blood & Treasure, a 1 point bump for bucklers, and a 2 point bump for larger shields).

The point of this would be to make it easy to figure out what protective value different types of armor should have – not just real armor that doesn’t show up on the old leather-mail-plate table, but also illustrations of fantasy heroes and heroines in the fantastic armor artists often dress them.

Also …

GRIT & VIGOR

In print

200 pages of rules and ideas for modern adventures

Gunslingers, daredevils, private eyes, samurais, scoundrels and even scholars!

Hard cover $26.99 | Paperback $18.99

As always, if you purchase a hard cover and email me the receipt, I’ll send you a download link for the PDF

Storm Demon

September 14, 2013March 30, 2021 / jstater / 2 Comments

Here’s a monster I cooked up for the new Hex Crawl Chronicle (coming soon!)

Since it’s for a HCC, it’s in the good old fashioned Swords & Wizardry format.

STORM DEMON

Storm demons resemble large, blue-black crickets with glossy carapaces. They have six limbs, the bottom two serving as legs and providing them with an impressive jump. A storm demon’s jump carries them up to 50 feet, and they can jump and attack, gaining a +1 bonus to hit and damage when they do so. The demon’s other four limbs are used for combat, the upper limbs for attacking with hook-like appendages, the middle two generating lightning bolts (see below) or attacking with weapons, for the middle limbs end in something like humanoid hands.

Storm demons can generate lightning bolts by rubbing their middle hands together. They must rub their hands for at least one round, and then can release the lightning in the next round. The lightning bolt has a 100-ft range and does a number of dice of damage equal to the number of rounds the demon spends generating it.

When flying, a storm demon’s wings disrupt the atmosphere, summoning fierce lightning storms in a mile radius.

A storm demon has a 10% chance to gate another storm demon to its assistance.

Storm Demon: HD 8; AC 0 [19]; Atk 2 hooks (1d8), 2 weapons (1d6) and mandibles (1d6); Move 12 (Fly 24); Save 8; AL C; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Magic resistance (45%), agitate atmosphere, lightning bolts, immune to electricity.

Mu-Pan – One-Eyed Boys

March 21, 2011March 26, 2021 / jstater / 2 Comments

One more before I post the update to Megacrawl 3000 …

0443. Three one-eyed boys (hitotsumi-kozo) dwell in this hex in a cave studded with sapphires (worth 100 gp each, a total of 23 are present). The cave is set in the side of a long hill, the base of which is cluttered with goji berry bushes. The one-eyed boys gather the goji berries and mash them into juice that they ferment in clay pots buried in the floor of their cave.

Although removal of the sapphires is very tempting, it is a dangerous thing to do. If a sapphire is plucked from the wall of the cave, a blue ray erupts from the wall and strikes the person holding the sapphire (no roll needed). The ray always strikes the person in the forehead and sets up a communication between the thief and something from beyond the void (per the contact other plane spell). The experience leaves most people a bit jumbled (1d8 points of ability damage spread between intelligene, wisdom and charisma as the player prefers). This damage can be healed with magic (restoration), but will not heal naturally.

If all of the sapphires are stolen from the cave, the rays create a portal through which 1d6+4 star warriors emerge. The star warriors are hairless humanoids with translucent, sapphire skin and eyes and wearing long, metallic coats of miniature scales (the material is aluminum – light weight and quite strong) and carrying two war hammers each. The star warriors track down the sapphire thieves and return them (the sapphires) to the cave. The thieves are either killed or they are taken back to the cave and taken through the portal.

| Hitotsumi-Kozo: HD 3; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d4); Move 9; Save 14; CL/XP 7/600; Special: Bad luck, frightful appearance, ray of enfeeblement, silence, true seeing.

| Star Warrior: HD 5; AC 1 [18]; Atk 2 hammers (1d6); Move 12; Save 12; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Track sapphires unerringly, immunity to cold, ESP at will.

—

Also – to avoid confusion when talking about the Cloud Dragon, Gold Dragon etc kingdoms and the monsters of the same names, I’ve given the kingdoms alternate names:

Jin – Gold Dragon Kingdom
Meng – Mist Dragon Kingdom
Ying – Shadow Dragon Kingdom
Yun – Cloud Dragon Kingdom

Of the kingdoms, Meng no longer exists (at least, not in a normal way), its citizens now serving as the empire’s merchant class based in the coastal cities.

Mu-Pan – Red Goblins

March 19, 2011March 26, 2021 / jstater

0421. An army of 270 oni-aka (red goblins) raiders has encamped in this hex. The army is preparing to sack the city-state of Pantung [0322]. The raiders are working on behalf of a cabal of villains (an ogre magi, sorcerer ox and evil naga, themselves the puppets of an oni. The raiders are under the command of the hobgoblin marshal Valtrahar. Valtrahar rides atop a palanquin carried by four ogres. He wears a black bronze jingasa with a porcelain mask that bears starched whiskers. He is accompanied by a hired shugenja called Imyneda, a melancholy woman with fulvous skin, gray-green eyes and dark brown hair in braids. Imyneda has a large woman with a round, bland face who complains incessantly as she rides along on her yak. The army has three trebuchet pulled by teams of yaks.

| Valtrahar: HD 6 (34 hp); AC -1 [20]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6+1); Move 9; Save 11; CL/XP 6/400. O-yoroi, no-dachi, tanto.

| Imyneda, Shugenja Lvl 5: HP 13 [20]; AC 9 [10]; Save 11 (9 vs magic); CL/XP 4/120; Special: Spells (3rd). Bo staff, tanto, spellbook.

—

Picture found HERE.

The Beastmaster

February 1, 2011March 24, 2021 / jstater / 6 Comments

The beastmaster is a human or humanoid raised in the wild by animals. Perhaps the earliest beastmaster in literature was Enkidu, the wild man encountered by the mythic hero Gilgamesh. Romulus and Remus, the legendary brothers responsible for founding the city of Rome, are raised by a she-wolf, though there are no accounts of them having acquired extraordinary abilities.

The earliest beastmaster in modern literature is likely Mowgli, the jungle boy of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, first published in the story “In the Rukh” in 1893. Mowgli is raised by wolves after becoming lost in the jungle as an infant. Because of this upbringing, Mowgli learns the language of animals. Mowgli also has a loyal animal friend, Bagheera the black panther.

A female beastmaster appeared in 1904 in the form of Rima the Bird Girl in W. H. Hudson’s novel Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest. Rima lived in South America, and was feared by the natives for her “magical” powers, which included talking to the birds, befriending animals and plucking poisoned darts from mid-air. Unfortunately, Rima’s story ends in tragedy, as she was burned alive by the native tribesmen.

In 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs created the most famous beast-master in literature in Tarzan of the Apes. Tarzan was a child raised in the African jungles by intelligent great apes called Mangani. In the wake of Tarzan’s popularity came a wave of books, comic books, movies, radio shows and television shows starring the “Lord of the Apes”. This lead to dozens of imitators, from Bomba the Jungle Boy to Marvel’s Ka-Zar.

From Mowgli, Rima, Tarzan and their many imitators, we can sketch out the special abilities of the beastmaster archetype. He or she must be a person raised since infancy or childhood by animals in the wilderness. The beastmaster’s feral childhood gives them a number of special abilities, but also makes them an outside in the society of human beings.

Prime Attribute: Constitution
Hit Dice: 1d6+3 (+4 hit points per level after 9th)
Armor Permitted: Shields, no armor.
Weapons Permitted: Any
Attack: As fighting-man
Save: As fighting-man

Beastmaster Class Abilities
Beastmasters cannot speak anything but the language of animals at 1st level. They can pick up a few words of common by 2nd and speak it haltingly by 3rd level.

The beastmaster can move as silently as a panther in the wilderness. This means he surprises his enemies more often than normal men. His own senses, made keen by a life in the wild, mean he is surprised less often than normal men.

The beastmaster can camouflage himself in the foliage to the point of becoming virtually invisible if he does not move.

Beastmasters are skilled trackers. When attempting to follow tracks, they can make a saving throw to avoid losing the trail.

The beastmaster is as swift as the animals who raised him. He increases his speed by +3. An unarmored and unencumbered beastmaster therefore has a speed of 15 rather than 12.
Since they are used to fighting without the benefit of armor, beastmasters develop a fluid, mobile fighting style that grants them a flat -2 [+2] adjustment to their Armor Class.

Beastmasters can banish or control animals (but not monsters) the same way a cleric can banish or command the undead. The beastmaster rolls using the same table. For beastmasters, a result of “D” indicates that the animals are forced into his command for a period of 24 hours.

A 1st level beastmaster can choose to have one animal with no more than 1 HD into his loyal animal companion. The animal friend will only accompany the beastmaster if it is treated like a friend. More powerful animal friends can be acquired at higher levels; an animal of 2-5 HD can be chosen at 6th and an animal of 6-10 HD can be chosen at 12th level.

Sample Beastmasters

W. H. Hudson’s RIMA the Bird Girl

Rima lives in the tropical forests of Guyana. Rima is the daughter of woman who could also speak the secret language of the birds. Rima’s people, it is revealed, were a pacifistic, vegetarian tribe who were wiped out by native tribesmen and plague. Rima is herself hated by the tribesmen who know of her, for they fear her unnatural abilities.

Human Beastmaster Lvl 3
Str 13, Int 9, Wis 15, Con 13, Dex 13, Cha 11
HP 23; AC 6 [13]

Unlike Mowgli and Tarzan, Rima is not portrayed as a warrior. She is a slight girl with dark hair who wears a smock made from spider webs.
Rudyard Kipling’s MOWGLI, “Little Frog”

Mowgli is a young man from India who was raised from infancy by a pack of wolves. Mowgli’s many adventures include his killing of Shere Khan the tiger and his rescue of the civilized couple who adopted him, his discovery of a great treasure in a ruined temple (and his discovery of what men will do to one another to claim such a treasure) and his leading of the wolves in their war against the dholes.

Human Beastmaster Lvl 6
Str 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Con 13, Dex 16, Cha 10
HP 46; AC 6 [13]

Mowgli fights using his “tooth”, a long knife that deals 1d4 points of damage. His high strength grants him a +1 bonus to hit and damage in combat. Mowgli’s boon companion is a black panther named Bagheera (HD 3, 18 hp, treat as a leopard).
Edgar Rice Burrough’s TARZAN, Lord of the Apes

Tarzan is actually John Clayton, Lord Greystoke. As an infant, his family was stranded on the West coast of Africa by mutineers. He is raised by a tribe of intelligent great apes after his mother died of natural causes and his father is killed by the leader of the apes. Over the course of his adventures, Tarzan marries an Englishwoman named Jane Porter, fights Germans, explores lost cities and even delves into the subterranean world of Pellucidar.

Human Beastmaster Lvl 12
Str 16, Int 14, Wis 13, Con 15, Dex 15, Cha 14
HP 85; AC 6 [13]

Although he can pass in civilization, Tarzan prefers his life in the jungle. He usually carries a knife into combat. Tarzan is often accompanied by his faithful Waziri warriors and Jad-bal-ja, the Golden Lion (HD 5+2, 32 hp).

—

Image by Andy Kuhn. He draws comics.

Retro-Engineering: Darkness and Dread

December 21, 2010March 23, 2021 / jstater / 7 Comments

In the annals of the old school wave that hit the d20 system in the 2000’s, Darkness & Dread from Fantasy Flight Games is generally, and unfairly, overlooked. Ostensibly, Darkness & Dread was intended as a tool box for running dark fantasy, horror-style games with the d20 rules. In fact, it plays very much like a weird love child of old D&D and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, with d20 serving as a surrogate mother.

This is most obvious in the classes – all 24 of them. All of the classes have either five or ten level, and all can be entered into after first level (remember, in d20 you don’t gain levels in a class, you just gain levels, choosing to take that level in whatever class you like) only if one has a requisite number of points in a given skill – a nod to WFRP’s career system. Moreover, they divide the careers into categories (Academic, Expert, Laborer and Orator) and have an optional rule that permits one to randomly determine their profession at 1st level – another nod to WFRP. Like old school D&D, the classes are much lower powered than their d20 equivalents. The spell casting classes (Acolyte, Alchemist, Apprentice and Herbalist), for example, never make it past 4th level spells (the apprentice). The game also suggests that treasure be doled out at 10% the normal level (i.e. fewer magic items – and in d20, you get loaded down with magic items). Most of the classes depend on the skill point system in d20, so don’t necessarily translate well into older editions that tend to hand-wave skills and ignore professional and craft skills. A few make for nice additions to a low-powered game, or interesting variations on the old standbys.

Acolyte (Academic)
Within a religious hierarchy, the acolyte is an administrator, a priest assigned to a small village, or a similar minor underling.

Prime Requisite: Wisdom and Charisma, 13+ earns +15% experience
Hit Dice: 1d6
Armor Permitted: Leather
Weapons Permitted: Club, dagger, staff, light and heavy crossbow
Attack As: Cleric
Starting Gold: 1d4 x 10 gp
Entry Requirements: To take levels in acolyte after 1st level, one must gain the sponsorship of a religious organization and complete training in its basic tenets.

Special Abilities
Acolytes gain access to a small number of divine spells. Acolytes prepare and cast spells as clerics. They can select spells from the following list:

Level 0: Detect magic, detect poison, light, purify food & drink
Level 1: Cause fear*, cure light wounds*, detect evil
Level 2: Bless, find traps, hold person, speak with animals
Level 3: Continual light, cure disease*, darkness, prayer

* Denotes a reversible spell

Ward the Unholy: Acolytes can call on their god to hold supernatural creatures at bay. This divine blessings grants the acolyte and her allies a +1 bonus to AC and a +1 bonus to saving throws against magic and mind effects. To use this ability, the acolyte must have 5 gp worth of incense, holy water, and other religious paraphernalia at hand. These items are consumed when the acolyte uses this ability. The acolyte can do this once per day at 1st level, gaining an additional use at 3rd, 6th and 9th levels.

Tend to the Flock: At 5th level, an acolytes time spent dealing with the people in his parish makes him skilled at managing large crowds and leading mobs of commoners and other folk who adhere to his faith. By chanting prayers and benedictions, the acolyte can calm others and steady their nerves. All allies within 60 feet of the acolyte who are 3 or more levels below the acolyte’s total level gain a +2 bonus to save vs. fear and a +1 bonus to hit in combat. The acolyte can use this ability twice per day, and each use lasts for 5 rounds + the acolyte’s Charisma modifier.

Strength of the Faithful: At 10th level, the acolyte is perhaps one of the most accomplished members of his church hierarchy. His faith is unshakable in the face of the horrors that lurk just beyond the knowledge of mortal men. He gains a +2 bonus to saving throws against fear. In addition, once per day he can choose to automatically succeed at a single save against fear.

				Spells
Level	XP	HD	Save	0	1	2	3
1	0	1	15	1	–	–	–
2	1,000	2	14	1	–	–	–
3	2,000	3	13	1	1	–	–
4	4,000	4	12	2	1	–	–
5	8,000	5	11	2	1	1	–
6	16,000	6	10	2	2	1	–
7	32,000	7	9	3	2	1	1
8	64,000	8	8	3	2	2	1
9	100,000	9	7	3	3	2	1
10	140,000	10	6	4	3	2	2

Prospector (Expert)
Prospectors seek out veins of gold and other precious metals, but many of them also delve into forgotten ruins in search of lost treasures and valuable relics from an earlier era.

Prime Requisite: Dexterity & Intelligence, 13+ earns +15% experience
Hit Dice: 1d8 (or 1d6+1 if you prefer)
Armor Permitted: Leather
Weapons Permitted: Club, dagger, dart, javelin, mace, morningstar, sling, spear, staff, light and heavy crossbow
Attack As: Thief
Starting Gold: 2d4 x 10 gp
Entry Requirements: To take levels in prospector after 1st level, one must already have the ability to search for and disable traps.

Special Abilities

Skills: Prospectors can use the following skills as a thief (using whatever rules you prefer for thieves): Climb Walls, Find & Remove Traps and Open Locks. They are also capable of appraising the value of metals and stones and they can survive in the wilderness.

Trap Mastery: Prospectors are experts at setting traps and concealing pits. Damage from these traps depends on the prospector’s level, with traps doing 1d6 damage at 1st level, 1d8 damage at 2nd level, 2d6 damage at 3rd level, 3d6 damage at 4th level and 4d6 damage at 5th level.

Oiled Reflexes: If a 3rd level prospector is about to set off a trap due to a failed attempt at removing it, he can immediately make a second remove traps attempt to keep it from triggering. If this second attempt fails, the trap is triggered. If it succeeds, the trap is not removed, but does fail to trigger.

Danger Sense: 5th level prospector’s can re-roll failed saving throws against traps once per day, or twice per day if their intelligence score is 13 or greater.

Level	XP	HD	Save
1	0	1	14
2	1,000	2	13
3	2,000	3	12
4	4,000	4	11
5	8,000	5	10

Pit Fighter (Laborer)
Pit fighters are down-and-dirty gladiators who fight for money, fame and glory.

Prime Requisite: Strength & Dexterity, 13+ earns +15% experience
Hit Dice: 1d10 (or 1d6+2 if you prefer)

Armor Permitted: Leather and shield
Weapons Permitted: Any weapon
Attack As: Fighting-Man
Starting Gold: 2d4 x 10 gp
Entry Requirements: To take levels in pit fighter after 1st level, one must already have an attack bonus of at least +1 and must train as a gladiator for 1 month.

Special Abilities

Frenzy: Once per day, a pit fighter can enter a berserk fury for 5 rounds + the pit fighter’s constitution bonus. During the frenzy the pit fighter gains a +1 bonus to hit and damage, +1 hp/level, +2 on all saves against fear and a -2 penalty to AC. When the frenzy ends, the penalty to AC continues until the encounter is over.

Dirty Fighter: Pit fighters do whatever it takes to overcome their enemies. If a pit fighter of 3rd level or higher attacks from the rear or attacks an opponent who is surprised or flanked by an ally, he does double damage.

Fearless Frenzy: At 5th level, pit fighters gain a second use of frenzy each day and are completely immune to fear.

Level	XP	HD	Save
1	0	1	14
2	1,000	2	13
3	2,000	3	12
4	4,000	4	11
5	8,000	5	10

Medium (Orator)
Mediums are those rare, special individuals who have the ability to pierce the psychic veil, using ESP, object reading and other talents.

Prime Requisite: Wisdom & Charisma, 13+ earns +15% experience
Hit Dice: 1d6

Armor Permitted: None

Weapons Permitted: Club, dagger, staff, light and heavy crossbow

Attack As: Magic-User
Starting Gold: 1d6 x 10 gp
Entry Requirements: To take levels in medium after 1st level, one must already have a wisdom score of 13 or higher and must have failed a saving throw vs. fear from some supernatural creature.

Special Abilities

Skills: Mediums can pick pockets as well as a thief of equal level. In addition, they receive a +1 bonus to reaction checks when speaking for their party and collect double the normal number of rumors.

Sense the Unseen: With quiet study and meditation, mediums can read the emotional background of a specific area, such as a room, a forest clearing or a short section of road. By studying the area for a peaceful hour, the medium can learn if a traumatic event took place there by making a successful saving throw with a -2 penalty per year since an event took place. If the medium doesn’t know about a particular event, she can use this method to learn of the last traumatic event that took place there. If the saving throw is successful by more than 3 points, the medium gains a hazy, incomplete mental picture of the event. If she beats the saving throw by 6 or more points, she gains a perfect mental picture of the event, but will suffer any fear effects associated with the event. This power can also be used to read a specific object, like a dagger or article of clothing.

Sixth Sense: At 3rd level, a medium can make a saving throw to detect any supernatural or undead creature that comes within 100 feet of him. If the check succeeds, he senses the creature’s general location. The power of the sensation depends on the Hit Dice of the creature detected: It is faint for creatures with 1-3 HD, disturbing for creatures to 4-8 HD, powerful for creatures with 9-12 HD and overwhelming for creatures with 13+ HD.

Pierce the Veil: A 5th level medium can cast her sight into the land of the dead. She may cast speak with dead once per day.

Level	XP	HD	Save
1	0	1	15
2	1,000	2	14
3	2,000	3	13
4	4,000	4	12
5	8,000	5	11

—

Other excellent mini-classes include the antiquarian, engineer, physician, sage, artisan, kennelmaster, merchant, thief, tracker, grave robber, sewerjack, veteran, worker, beggar, gambler, grifter and minstrel. One immediately recognizes some old class titles from old D&D.

Darkness & Dread, written by Mike Mearls, has many more excellent ideas that I’ll cover in future editions of Retro-Engineering. In the meantime, if you’re heading into Middenheim or considering sending your players into Hammer Film territory, check Amazon for a copy – the book is pretty easily adapted to older editions of the rules.

Two Bad Brothers That We Know So Well

December 7, 2010March 21, 2021 / jstater / 7 Comments

One of my favorite game mechanicians of the d20 era was Erica Balsley. She was a monster gal – did some great stuff for the Tome of Horrors and Creature Catalog and did some neat conversions for Bard Games’ old Atlantis setting. Years ago, I came across a template she wrote for the “Mephit Lord”. The mephit lord template was applied to mephits to make high-powered elemental baddies like the Steam Lord, Smoke Lord, etc. All mephit lords had an attack called a “clutch”, which tipped off their origins …

Now, I’ve long since lost track of that original template – it was on some message board somewhere – but it eventually showed up in the Book of Templates Deluxe Edition. I still have the stats for Heat Lord and Snow Lord, though, and here they are in Swords & Wizardry format.

Fire Lord: HD 12; AC -3 [22]; Atk 2 claw (1d6+4) or 1 clutch (4d6); Move 15 (Fly 24); Save 3; CL/XP 18/3800; Special: Fire mephit abilities + breath weapon (4d4), clutch, regenerate 4 hp/round, only harmed by +2 or better magic weapons.

The clutch of the Heat Lord deals 4d6 points of fire damage to living opponents, and instantly melts or incinerates any non-living, non-magical matter of man-size or smaller. Magic items are allowed a saving throw to resist this effect.

Ice Lord: HD 12; AC -3 [22]; Atk 2 claw (1d6+4) or 1 clutch (4d6); Move 15 (Fly 24); Save 3; CL/XP 18/3800; Special: Ice mephit abilities + breath weapon (4d4), clutch, regenerate 4 hp/round, only harmed by +2 or better magic weapons.

The clutch of the Snow Lord deals 4d6 points of cold damage to living opponents and instantly freezes and shatters any non-living, non-magical matter of man-size or smaller. Magic items are allowed a saving throw to resist this effect.

Mephit Lords are always accompanied by 2d6 mephits of the appropriate type. They can summon 1d6 mephits with a 75% chance of success.

The relevant mephit stats are:

Fire Mephit

A fire mephit breathes a 15-foot cone of fire that deals 1d8 damage (saving throw for half). Once per hour it can cast burning hands, and once per day it can heat metal. A fire mephit regenerates if it is touching a flame at least as large as a torch.

• Fire Mephit: HD 3; AC 2 [17]; Atk 2 claw (1d6); Move 12 (Fly 21); Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Harmed by magic weapons, breath weapon, burning hands, heat metal, regenerate, summoning.

Ice Mephit

Ice mephits breathe a 10-foot cone of ice shards that deals 1d4 damage (saving throw for half) and imposes a -2 penalty to AC and attack rolls. Once per hour an ice mephit can cast magic missile and once per day they can chill metal. An ice mephit regenerates if touching a piece of ice of or if the ambient temperature is 32°F. or below.

• Ice Mephit: HD 3; AC 1 [18]; Atk 2 claw (1d6); Move 12 (Fly 21); Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Harmed by magic weapons, breath weapon, chill metal, magic missile, regenerate, summoning.

And if you use these guys against your players, make sure you have them do the song and dance first – it will make the TPK that much more satisfying. Nobody likes to get their butt kicked by a song and dance man.

—

Image from Patrick Owlsley – check out his blog if you love old cartoons!

Tycho Brahe – Warrior Astrologomage!

December 4, 2010March 21, 2021 / jstater / 6 Comments

Man, I love this weird world we live on! Here’s an article on Tycho Brahe, a duelist, astronomer, mathematician (who says fighting-men have to be stupid) and minor nobleman who had a pet elk and dwarf jester who was supposedly clairvoyant (he made is psionic powers roll!). Oh, and Brahe had a prosthetic nose made of gold and silver because his own was sliced off in a duel that may have been precipitated by an argument over mathematics or astrology. Since I would like to believe that every earthbound weird-o from our glorious history has a free, all-access pass to live on in NOD after they slip their mortal coil, how about some game stats!

[Note – edited for a couple great idea in the comments.]

Tycho Brahe, Fighting-Man Lvl 1, Magic-User Lvl 6*: HP 21; AC 9 [10]; Save 10 (8 vs. spells); CL/XP 6/400; Special: Spells (3rd). Rapier (1d6 damage), silver dagger, spellbook, prosthetic nose of silver and gold (worth 150 gp).

Tycho’s Spellbook contains the following spells: 1st – Detect Magic, Light, Read Languages, Read Magic, Sleep; 2nd – Detect Evil, Detect Invisibility, Knock, Locate Object, Mirror Image, Strength; 3rd – Dispel Magic, Hold Person, Lightning Bolt, Suggestion.

Jepp, Dwarf Assassin Lvl 4: HP 16; AC 8 [11]; Save 12 (11 vs. death & poison, 8 vs. magic); CL/XP 4/120; Special: Decipher script, disguise, sneak attack x2, skullduggery, poison, clairvoyance (3/day). Jester’s outfit and cap, pig bladder on a stick, three hidden daggers, vial of mercury (treat as slow poison – save or die in 1d4 days).

Tycho’s Elk: HD 4 (19 hp); AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 gore (1d6); Move 15; Save 13; CL/XP 4/120; Special: None.

Johannes Kepler, Magic-User Lvl 3: HP 7; AC 9 [10]; Save 13 (11 vs. spells); CL/XP 2/30; Special: Spells (2nd). Scholar’s robes, parchment and quills, horn of ink, vial of mercury (was it him or Jepp? Or both?).

Johannes’ Spellbook: 1st – detect magic, light, read languages, read magic, shield; 2nd – continual light, levitate, phantasmal force.

* Yeah, we could make him a sage, but where’s the fun in that.

Below is pictured Uraniborg, Tycho’s stronghold. The gardens are planted with medicinal herbs and flowers. Each of the guard towers is guarded by 4 men-at-arms supplied by his royal patron, men wearing breastplates and armed with pole arms, daggers and light crossbows.

New Class for Thanksgiving: The Puritan

November 25, 2010March 21, 2021 / jstater / 5 Comments

A while back, I got it into my head to design classes based on characters from fiction, since there are indications that AD&D rangers are really just Aragorns (why else can a woodsman specifically use crystal balls?) and the barbarian class owed a bit to everybody’s favorite Cimmerian. Thus were born the Beastmaster (to be published one day), the She Devil (again, you’ll have to wait) and today’s blog post, the Puritan. The Puritan can be regarded as a darker alternative to the Paladin (the turkey leg to the paladin’s turkey breast, so to speak). Enjoy – and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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Historically, the puritans were an English religious sect that operated in the 16th and 17th centuries. The terms “puritan” and “preciseman” were coined as insults; the people called themselves “the godly”. The puritans, by and large, were interested in returning Christian worship to what they believed was a purer form. In general, this involved problems they had with the trappings and rituals of the Catholic Church and its progeny, the Anglican Church. In England and the United States, puritans are often associated with strict moral guidelines, religious zealotry and witch hunts.

Religious reformers offer little grist for the mill when creating a new character class, unless Robert E. Howard enters the picture. In 1928, Howard introduced Solomon Kane in a story entitled “Red Shadows”.

Solomon Kane is an English puritan who leaves his country to adventure. As with many adventure-oriented characters of the time period, very little time is dedicated to Solomon Kane’s history, although the poem “Solomon Kane’s Homecoming”, we learn that he lost his love, Bess, at some point before he became an adventurer. During the course of his adventures, Kane battled brigands, sorcerers, pirates, vampires and slave-traders. Most of his adventures take place in Europe and Africa.

Prime Attribute: Wisdom (13+ for 5% XP bonus)

Hit Dice: 1d6+2/level (Gains 2 hp/level after 10th)

Armor Permitted: Leather, ring armor, buckler.

Weapons Permitted: Any.

Puritan Class Abilities
Puritans have a +2 bonus on saving throws made against fear and its effects. In addition, they have a +2 bonus on saving throws made against the spells and magical effects of creatures of chaos or evil.

Puritans enjoy a +1 bonus to hit and damage creatures of chaos or evil. Moreover, their weapons are capable of damaging creatures normally only damaged by magical or silver weapons.

When a puritan turns his gaze on a creature for at least one minute, he can determine that creature’s alignment. This cold stare is unnerving to those of a chaotic or evil disposition, forcing them to succeed at a saving throw or hurry away.

A puritan’s devotion to the gods of law grants him the ability to turn undead, as a cleric, but at a -2 penalty. In addition, he can call down one minor miracle (i.e. level one cleric spell) each day simply by grasping a holy symbol or book and invoking the name of his Creator. The puritan does not have to memorize or prepare this spell in advance. At every odd level, the puritan gains the ability to call down one additional level one cleric spell, thus two at third level, three at fifth, four at seventh, and so on.

Level	Experience	Hit Dice	Attack	Save	Title
1	0	1	+0	15	Confessor
2	2,200	2	+0	14	Penitent
3	4,400	3	+1	13	Pilgrim
4	8,800	4	+2	12	Preciseman
5	17,000	5	+2	11	Firebrand
6	35,000	6	+3	10	Hexenhammer
7	70,000	7	+4	9	Shepherd
8	140,000	8	+5	8	Zealot
9	280,000	9	+6	7	Puritan
10	380,000	+2	+7	6	Puritan
11	480,000	+4	+7	5	Puritan
12	580,000	+6	+8	5	Puritan

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Image: Puritan Jemuel Landes regards traveler “Steel” Sullivan with some suspicion – he claims to be a “football” star from the land of Cleve, but he’s probably a witch. Art by J. C. Leyendecker via Golden Age Comic Book Stories.

The Traveler

October 8, 2010March 20, 2021 / jstater / 5 Comments

An astounding array of creatures passes through the Land of Nod, from elves to native-born humans to ambulatory fungi and floating brains. But among the more interesting are the so-called Travelers. Travelers are human beings, often from our own waking world, who navigate the Land of Nod with the power of their dreaming mind. Although seemingly awake and aware, all travelers actually exist in a state of semi-consciousness, living out their fancies thanks to the shaky fabric of reality that makes up the nonsensical tapestry called Nod. Travelers are adventurers first and foremost, with a thirst for new and strange vistas. Travelers are imaginative and creative and often impulsive, for they are used to reality shifting to please them and sometimes taken back when events do not comply with their wishes.

PRIME REQUISITES: Charisma and Wisdom

HIT DICE: 1d6+1 (+2 hit points per level after 9th)

WEAPONS PERMITTED: Any.

ARMOR PERMITTED: Leather, ring, chainmail, shields.

FOCUS: To use his special abilities, a traveler must possess a focus object and must be holding it in his hand. To use his abilities, the traveler must activate them with a successful saving throw. He must then remain in a somewhat calm reverie; emotional and physical disruptions can stop the traveler in his tracks and necessitate further saving throws to maintain the reverie.

From 1^st to 4^th level, a traveler can impose his will upon his immediate surroundings. To use these abilities, he must be grasping a walking stick with a silver tip. Such a stick can be obtained for 30 gp, and can be used as a club in combat.

From 5^th to 8^th level, a traveler can use his powers to explore on a global scale. To use abilities gained from 4^th to 6^th level, the traveler must possess a golden compass. Such a compass can be constructed by an expert jeweler at a cost of 500 gp.

From 9^th on, the traveler learns to pierce the veil of time itself. In order to use his new abilities, he must possess a pocket watch made of gold and studded with diamonds. Such a device can be constructed by an expert jeweler at a cost of 3,000 gp.

Creatures wishing to accompany the traveler on his extra-dimensional trips must take care. The traveler can travel with one person per two levels. These hangers-on must keep their eyes closed tight while traveling or go mad. Even with their eyes closed, they are ripped from their own sense of dimension and time, and thus must pass a saving throw or become nauseous for 1d4 rounds after they finish their trip.

SLEEP RESISTANCE: Although not immune to sleep, travelers enjoy a +2 bonus to save against sleep spells and effects. Strangely, when knocked into unconsciousness by a sleep spell a traveler still perceives the world around him, and can act on it by animating inanimate objects. The traveler can animate one small object at 1st level, one man-sized object at 4th level and one large object at 7th level. The object acts with the traveler’s will. If destroyed in combat, the traveler loses 1d6 hit points for a small object, 2d6 for a man-sized object and 3d6 for a large object.

ECCENTRICITIES: The traveler’s ability to perceive the spaces between dimensions gives them a slightly alien mindset that reveals itself in their eccentricities. At each level beyond 1st, a traveler must roll on the following table. The term “unnerved” indicates that the traveler suffers a -1 penalty to all d20 rolls while in the presence of the thing that unnerves him. Rolling an eccentricity a second time makes it more intense (i.e. being unnerved imposes a -2 penalty, etc).

D20	Eccentricity
1	Unnerved by a certain color
2	Unnerved by small animals or children
3	Must stand next to the tallest or shortest or fattest or thinnest person in a room
4	Frightened by gourds and melons
5	Can only eat or never eat with his fingers
6	Accidentally reverses the meanings of words
7	Becomes unnerved, morose, angry or giddy when traveling in one of the cardinal directions
8	Suffers from agoraphobia
9	Stares at people and takes long pauses before he speaks
10	Will not drink water, only wine
11	Unnerved by sea creatures and seafood
12	Laughs at innapropriate moments
13	Unnerved (or even frightened) by an innocuous word or phrase
14	Never calls people by their names, only nicknames that change from day to day
15	Only walks backwards across bridges or under arches
16	Feels the need to touch people while talking to them
17	Unnatural fear of cabbages and other leafy vegetables – this becomes panic at the sight of leafy plant monsters
18	Will not willingly get on a boat – mumbles something about the stars when asked to
19	Talks to himself, often in the middle of the night, increasing the chance of wandering monsters by 1
20	Super fastidious and clean

NON-EUCLIDIAN PRINCIPALS: A 1st level traveler perceives that the shortest route between two points is a non-Euclidian curve and increases his speed by 3 (or by 30 ft in some system or 5 ft in others). To use these abilities, he must be grasping a walking stick with a silver tip. Such a stick can be obtained for 30 gp, and can be used as a club in combat.

MAKE HASTE: For exactly one minute per day, the 2nd level traveler can operate under the effects of a haste spell. The traveler must take care not to exceed one minute of hasted movement, for beyond this he begins aging 1 year for every minute of hasted activity.

BETWEEN DIMENSIONS: The 3rd level traveler’s inherent perception of the space between dimensions allows him to slide between them, duplicating the effects of the dimension door spell. He can do this once per day without incident, but additional uses carry with them an increasing chance of attracting the attention of an inter-dimensional being such as a demon or ethereal marauder. The second time in a day that a traveler uses dimension door carries a 1 in 6 chance of a weird encounter. Each additional use increases the chances by 1.

NORTH STAR: At 4th level, a traveler always knows which direction is north and can duplicate the effects of a Find the Path spell by making a successful saving throw. A failed saving throw gives the traveler false information, usually sending him in the opposite direction that he desired.

THROUGH THE SHADOWS: The 6th level traveler learns the true nature of shadows, and gains the ability to step into them and emerge many miles away as though using the spell teleport. The journey through the shadows seems to take a normal amount of time to the traveler (i.e. covering 6 miles on foot in 8 hours of travel), but in fact takes only 1 minute per mile traveled. The traveler suffers the same possibility of error while navigating the shadow realm, but does not run the risk of teleporting low or high, though their soul can be lost in the spaces between realities.

AMONG THE STARS: At 8th level, the traveler can fall into a deep sleep and travel in astral form, per the Astral Spell. If awakened while so travelling, the shock of returning to his senses robs the traveler of half his hit points (the heal naturally) and his bloodcurtling scream may attract wandering monsters.

PLANE SHIFT: The 10th level traveler can use his ability to slide between dimensions to visit other planes and realities. Traveling to another reality does not necessarily mean the traveler has the ability to survive in that reality, so care must be taken not to visit a place hostile to life.

FOURTH DIMENSIONAL THINKING: The 12th level traveler reaches the pinnacle of his art and learns to move frictionles between the falling sands of time, effectively stopping time around himself per the spell Time Stop.

Level	XP	HD	Attack	Save	Title
1	0	1	+0	15	Rover
2	1,500	2	+0	14	Wanderer
3	3,000	3	+1	13	Vagabond
4	6,000	4	+1	12	Navigator
5	12,000	5	+2	11	Explorer
6	30,000	6	+2	10	Discoverer
7	60,000	7	+3	9	Psychopomp
8	120,000	8	+3	8	Imaginant
9	175,000	9	+4	7	Traveler
10	230,000	+2	+5	6	Traveler
11	300,000	+4	+5	5	Traveler
12	370,000	+6	+6	5	Time Lord