Fimir for C&C

Today, I shift away from Chaos Goblins and the Undead and toward the Fimir, found on pages 218-219 of the 1989 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WHF).

WHF tells us that the Fimir might be “part Human and part Demon” and that they “haunt bogs, fens and desolate moorlands throughout the northern and western wastes of the Old World.” While usually fond near coasts, Fimir dwell “anywhere that is suitably dank and dismal”, where they live in “strongholds [that] are typically forbidding, craggy piles of rock, crudely built in the semblance of human castles on jutting headlands and other rocky eminences”. These strongholds are “constantly wreathed thick, writhing mist”.

“The Fimir are creatures of mist and darkness, and shun bright light.” They live in communities populated “almost entirely of males”. These creatures have a caste system. From lowest to highest, these castes are the Shearl (thralls), “a cast of servitors and menials”; the Fimm (warriors), “to which the bulk of Fimir nobility belongs”; the Dirach (demonfriends), “a small but powerful cast of magicians”; and the greatly feared Meargh (hags), “the witch-queens that rule over Fimir strongholds. The Meargh are the only female Fimir.”

Fimir live by raiding isolated communities to seize food and prisoners. Since the Meargh are sterile, Fimir “abduct Human women” with which to breed; offspring of these blasphemous pairings are always fully Fimir whose castes are obvious at birth. Very few female Fimir are born, and most of those are killed by the stronghold’s reigning Meargh.

These raiding parties “generally consist of a dozen or so Fimm and a roughly equal number of Shearl”. Along coastlines, Fimir “travel in low-hulled, black longships.” For important raids, a Dirach leads the Fimir. Meargh are seldom encountered outside their strongholds. Fimir favor “great heavy maces and axes, which a Human would need both hands to wield; some Fimir, especially the nobility, go into battle with one of these weapons in either hand. Fimir do not generally use missile weapons, since the fog which is their natural element precludes missile fire.”

“Fimir dress in an almost Human fashion, but always leave the legs, arms and tail bare. The Fimm often weapon shirts of chainmail in battle, and nobles favor long cloaks fastened at the shoulder by heavy brooches of gold set with gems.” Fimir nobles love blood-colored gems. “Dirach and Meargh wear long, drab-coloured robes and cloaks.”

Fimir resemble large humanoids with powerful chests, short legs, feet with three clawed toes, and long arms that nearly reach the ground. Fimir are quite strong, with strong muscles hidden beneath a flabby layer of fat covered by leathery skin. They have large, mostly bald heads that resemble a cross between a boar and a lizard, with a single lidless eye. Fimir have no exterior ear structures. The average Fimir stands about eight feet tall, but they typically stand hunched over. Fimir also have “powerful, snake-like tails, which average about 6 feet in length.”

Fimir

Magic: Dirach cast spells as an 8th-level wizard. Dirach always know summon lesser monster. Due to their pacts with hellish powers, a Dirach can summon a specific type of monster, as desired, and the summoner can communication with its summoned monsters. Meargh cast spells as 10th-level wizards. Furthermore, a Meargh can prepare cleric spells of up to 3rd level in place of wizard spells of the same level. These cleric spells are gained through devotion to evil deities.

Furthermore, once per day, Dirach and Meargh can cast fog cloud. The bilious fog created by this ability is centered on and moves with the caster.

Strength Bonus: Due to their size and strength, Shearl, Dirach, and Meargh receive a +2 bonus to melee weapon damage (including tail lashes). Fimm receive a +4 bonus to melee weapon damage.

Tail Lash: In place a melee weapon attack, a Fimir may lash out with its tail, striking at a creature no farther away than 10 feet. A The tails of Shearl, Dirach, and Meargh inflict 1d6+2 points of damage. Fimm have stronger tails that end in bony knobs or spikes for nobles. These tails inflict 1d10+4 points of damage.

Twilight Vision: No type of fog — natural or magical — obscures a Fimir’s vision. Fimir dislike bright light. They suffer a -2 attack roll penalty in bright light as well as a -2 penalty on saving throws against fear while exposed to bright light.

December 6th, 2023  in RPG No Comments »

Chaos Goblins for C&C

Yeesh. It’s been about a month and a half since my last post. That’s probably not my worst lag, but it’s an impressive anti-accomplishment nonetheless.

So, I had been posting about converting content from the 1989 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WHF) for use with Castles and Crusades. Today, at long last, is no exception. I took the Mutation tables from the Chaos Beastmen (WHF 216) and Warrior of Chaos (WHF 230) to create a Chaos Goblin Mutations table.

Enjoy!

November 24th, 2023  in RPG No Comments »

Marshlight for C&C

The 1989 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WHF) has few undead not already part of Castles and Crusades. Last post, I converted the Carrion. This post? The Marshlight.

Marshlight
Size: Small to Medium
HD: 1 (d8)
AC: 12
Saves: M, P
Move: Fly 40 ft.
Attacks: None
Special: Darkvision 60 ft., Incorporeal, Mesmerism, Undead Instability
INT: None
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead
Treasure: 1
XP: 15 + 1/hp

From WHF 252: “Marshlights are ethereal creatures which take the form of glowing lights; they can appear to be lanterns, vaguely humanoid figures or other crude shapes. …. They are dangerous not because of any physical damage they cause, but because of the compelling hypnotic effect, by which they lead mesmerised characters to their deaths. It is thought they feed in some vampiric way upon the ebbing life forces of their victims.”

Combat: A living creature with greater than animal intelligence must make a successful charisma save upon seeing a Marshlight that is within 300 feet. Elves and half-elves apply their resistance to charms to his save. If the save is successful, the creature is immune to that Marshlight’s mesmerism for 24 hours. Mesmerised victims walk toward the Marshlight, taking the most direct route available. Mesmerised victims takes no actions other than to defend themselves and move toward the Marshlight. A mesmerised victim who takes damage or who loses line-of-sight to the Marshlight is freed from that Marshlight’s enchantment.

Incorporeal: Marshlights exist only partially within the mortal realms; most of their essence resides in the ethereal. A creature in the mortal realms cannot attack a Marshlight except with magical weapons of +1 or better. Marshlights are immune to cold- and fire-based attacks.

October 9th, 2023  in RPG No Comments »

Carrion for C&C

Let’s take some undead monsters from the 1989 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WHF) and adapt them to Castles and Crusades, to include WHF’s idea that undead are subject to instability.

Undead Instability: Undead do not belong on the Material Plane. Some of whatever gives unlife to what should be a dead thing comes from another plane of existence. Undead might be subject to instability. This is common with uncontrolled undead who venture outside of desecrated or unholy places. Undead directly controlled by a necromancer or similarly powerful master may also avoid instability. Otherwise, check for instability by rolling 1d8 when an undead creature:

  • Is reduced to half or fewer hit points.
  • Fails a saving throw versus a magical effect.
  • Is affected by a turn undead attempt.
  • Enters a consecrated or holy region.

1-2: The source of the undead’s power and the Material Plane separate. The undead becomes incorporeal and can longer use any of its physical attacks. Each round, there is a 50% chance the undead becomes unable to act at all. The undead may be harmed by magical attacks (including magic weapons) as normal. This effect is permanent; don’t check for instability again.
3-4: The source of the undead’s power and the Material Plane separate. The undead becomes incorporeal and can no longer use any of its physical attacks. The undead is reduced to 1 hit point per hit die (if lower than its current hit point total). The undead may be harmed by magical attacks (including magic weapons) as normal.
5: The source of the undead’s power and the Material Plane flux. The undead’s move is halved, and it suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls and saving throws for 1d6 rounds. If normally struck only by magic weapons, the undead can be harmed by normal weapons during this time.
6: The flow of negative energy from the source of the undead’s power to the Material Plane reverses. Roll the undead’s hit dice, reading the result as damage. Intelligent undead suffer half damage from this effect.
7: The flow of negative energy from the source of the undead’s power increases. For 1d6 rounds, the undead’s move is doubled, and it enjoys a +2 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws. If normally struck only by magic weapons, the undead takes half damage from such weapons during this period. If normally struck by normal weapons, the undead takes half damage from such weapons during this period.
8: The flow of negative energy from the source of the undead’s power increases. For 1d6 rounds, the undead benefits from number 7 above. Furthermore, the undead regenerates 1d4 hit points per round during the same period.

Carrion
Size: Large (7 ft. tall, 20 ft. wingspan)
HD: 6 (d8)
AC: 14
Saves: P
Move: 20 ft., fly 90 ft.
Attacks: 2 Claws (1d6), 1 Bite (1d8)
Special: Darkvision 60 ft., Dive, Fear, Twilight Vision, Undead Instability
INT: Inferior
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead (Extraordinary)
Treasure: 2
XP: 300 + 6/hp

From WHF 248: “Carrion were once great birds of prey inhabiting the northern fringes of the Worlds Edge Mountains. Now are scarcely recognizable, having been captured and warped by Chaos into the present form. These great, Undead birds now serve the forces of Chaos as aerial scouts and fighters. Occassionally, they will carry a rider – typically a small Chaos Goblin mutant armed with a lance and a bow. They cannot carry heavier riders.”

“Carrion are skeletal flying beasts, mostly birdlike but with membranous wings and tails, reminiscent of bats or pterodactyls.”

Combat: “In combat, Carrion attack with two claws and one bite per round.” In melee combat, Carrion cause fear (PH 175-176) in a 10-foot radius; a creature that makes its charisma check against this effect is immune to that Carrion’s fear for 24 hours. A Carrion’s rider is immune to this fear. A Carrion bearing a rider is not subject to undead instability.

Dive: A Carrion can dive at a foe, gaining a +4 attack roll bonus, but it must move at least 45 feet in one round to do so. A successful attack means the target takes damage from both claws. Furthermore, the target must succeed at a dexterity check to avoid being grasped in the Carrion’s talons. If the check fails, and the target weighs no more than 100 pounds, the Carrion picks up the target and carries into the air. If the victim manages to stab or otherwise harm the Carrion, it immediately drops the victim. A Carrion cannot carry off a target and carry a mount at the same time.

October 6th, 2023  in RPG No Comments »

Shipwreck Island

My Ludi Fabularum game club continues for another school year, this time running during the lunch/recess period, which lets more students play more often and keeps me from having to stay after school. Win, win. So far, I’ve got more than a dozen middle school lads divided into two groups playing an old-school hexcrawl using Castles & Crusades and several TSR D&D and AD&D modules along with a dash of Dungeon Crawl Classics. The picture below is the slowly expanding campaign map.

And here’s action so far:

Star. The shipwrecked adventurers swam to shore, ending up on the cold beach. To the northwest, they could see ice-capped mountains behind a vast forest. To the east? Nothing but rolling, grassy hills dotted with small woods.

1. To the Forest. The adventurers traveled to the forest to seek shelter from the icy wind and the coming night. They encountered a frogbold raiding party. After a fierce but brief battle, the adventurers won the fight. Several surviving frogbold’s fled deeper into the forest. The adventurers rescued several sprites who had been captured by the frogbolds.

2. A Home Away From. The sprites led the adventurers to Brú na Bóinne, a magically hidden fort home to a community of friendly sprites ruled by the aloof Queen Titania. This fort now serves as the adventurers’ home base.

3. The Mad Hermit. The adventurers split into two teams that set out to explore Shipwreck Island. They hope to find a way off the island. One of the teams traveled north through the forest, where they found savage, dwarf-like creatures that had caught a mountain lion. The adventurers freed the mountain lion, which fled, and then defeated the dwarf-like creatures. They tracked the mountain lion to the tree-home of Phosterius and his shape-shifting daughter Susuarana. Phosterius told the adventurers that a way home might be found in lost Quasqueton, which lies somewhere to the west near the sea cliffs.

Group two meets tomorrow for the first of three consecutive sessions of gameplay. I’ve no idea to where group two’s PCs will travel other than they’re not heading out to look for the Mad Hermit.

September 7th, 2023  in RPG No Comments »