Spes Magna Games

In its full splendor, the pleasure garden was a wonder to visit. Townsfolk once congregated there regularly to enjoy the various entertainments presented in the small concert hall or upon one of the several bandstands. The cleverly trimmed topiaries delighted children, and the centerpiece, a hedge maze, provided fleeting privacy for young lovers to steal a kiss or two. All of this was before the tragic fire in the concert hall that claimed the lives of several townsfolk. One of those killed was a gnome lass betrothed to an emotionally unstable illusionist. The couple had argued earlier that day. The lass went to the pleasure garden alone while her beau sulked at home. When he found out his love had died, the illusionist was inconsolable. He took his own life in the center of the hedge maze a couple of days later. His anguished spirit now jealously guards the decaying pleasure garden.

Haunted Pleasure Garden
CR 12; XP 19,200
CN persistent haunt (60-foot-radius pleasure garden; on the map, this is everywhere within the blue circle)
Caster Level 12th
Notice Perception DC 25 (shadowy robed figure)
hp 54; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour

Effect: The haunt uses material from the Plane of Shadow to shape quasi-real illusions of one or more creatures, objects, or forces. The haunt can mimic any sorcerer or wizard conjuration (summoning) or conjuration (creation) spell of 6th level or lower. These shadow conjurations are three-fifths (60%) as strong as the real things, though creatures who believe the shadow conjurations to be real are affected by them at full strength. Any creature that interacts with the spell can make a Will save (DC 20) to recognize its true nature.

Spells that deal damage have normal effects unless the affected creature succeeds on a Will save. Each disbelieving creature takes three-fifths (60%) damage from the attack. If the disbelieved attack has a special effect other than damage, that effect is 60% likely to occur. Regardless of the result of the save to disbelieve, an affected creature is also allowed any save that the spell being simulated allows, but the save DC always equals 20. In addition, any effect created by haunt’s shadow conjuration allows Spell Resistance, even if the spell it is simulating does not. Shadow objects or substances have normal effects except against those who disbelieve them. Against disbelievers, they are 60% likely to work.

A shadow creature has one-fifth the hit points of a normal creature of its kind (regardless of whether it’s recognized as shadowy). It deals normal damage and has all normal abilities and weaknesses. Against a creature that recognizes it as a shadow creature, however, the shadow creature’s damage is three-fifths (60%) normal, and all special abilities that do not deal lethal damage are 60% likely to work. (Roll for each use and each affected character separately.) Furthermore, the shadow creature’s AC bonuses are just one-fifth as large. A creature that succeeds on its save sees the shadow conjurations as transparent images superimposed on vague, shadowy forms. Objects automatically succeed on their Will saves against the haunt’s shadow conjurations.

Unlike most haunts, this haunt has a sort of innate cunning. It selects effects with intelligence, preferring to divide and conquer groups of trespassers. For example, it might use walls of iron to separate party members from each other, followed by summon monster VI to send shadow creatures after weaker targets while relying on acid fog to slow down and harm others. Of course, the haunt is limited to one effect per round.

Destruction: The bones of the gnome illusionist and his love must be brought to the center of the hedge maze and blessed.

Tags: haunts, Pathfinder RPG

After quite a slump in writing output, I’m back in stride. I’ve nearly completed the first draft of Dodeca Weather, a new PDF that harnesses d12 power to determine your campaign’s weather. A few finishing touches remain before the draft PDF gets emailed to my growing list of playtesters. Excellent!

Dodeca Weather’s GM-friendly, step-by-step process considers climate, altitude, terrain, and season to determine temperature, wind speed, and weather events. Weather characteristics include amount of precipitation, duration, wind speed, and the odds of a weather event continuing after its initial duration has expired. There are also about 6 pages of rules for different weather events, consolidating and expanding upon the core rules. Last of all, the PDF comes with a handy 7-day weather worksheet to help you organize your meteorological data.

Dodeca Weather is scheduled for released around the third Sunday in August.

Tags: d12 power

July’s Quid Novi? featured new game crunch using psionics content from Dreamscarred Press’s Psionics Unleashed.

CR 3; XP 800
LE Small aberration (psionic)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 90 ft., scent; Perception +12

DEFENSES
AC 17, touch 16, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 insight, +1 natural, +1 size)
hp 22 (5d8)
Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +8

OFFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee piercing tongue +9 (1d4 plus steal time)
Reach 10 ft. (piercing tongue only)
Psi-Like Abilities (ML 5th):
Constant – defensive precognition (+2 insight bonus to AC and saves), offensive precognition (+2 insight bonus to attack rolls)
At will – precognition
1/day – recall agony (4d6, Will half 14)
N.B. Bonuses for defensive and offensive precognition are included in this stat block. The defensive precognition bonuses do not apply if the timatheof is caught flat-footed.

STATISTICS
Str 11, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 13
Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats Improved Intiative, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +11, Climb +8, Knowledge (pick one) +10, Perception +12, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers +2 Perception, +2 Sense Motive, +4 Stealth (due to size)
N.B. A timatheof’s bonuses to Perception and Sense Motive vanish if its constant psi-like abilities are negated.
Languages Undercommon plus two others

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Steal Time (Su): A creature struck by a timatheof’s piercing tongue must make a DC 13 Will save or have some of its time stolen. A creature affected by steal time loses a move action on its next turn. The timatheof converts and stores this stolen temporal energy. Each stolen move action equals one stored point of temporal energy, and a timatheof cannot store more than its Hit Dice in temporal energy points. A timatheof uses stored temporal energy as a swift action for the following effects:

2 points: Take an extra move action.
3 points: Take an extra standard action.
4 points: Reroll any single d20 roll. The timatheof must take the results of the second roll.
5 points: Recover hit points, daily uses of abilities, et cetera, as if the timatheof had rested for 8 hours.

When encountered, a timatheof typically has 1d6-1 points of stored temporal energy (minimum number of points is 0).

ECOLOGY
Environment any underground
Organization solitary, pair, or company (3-6)
Treasure standard

A timatheof is a cruel monster whose horrid appearance hides a keen, calculating intelligence. This creature’s senses extend continuously a few seconds into the fourth dimension, granting the timatheof precognitive abilities. Timatheof companies carve out underground territories, seeking to dominate weaker creatures for use as guards, slaves, and food.

In combat, a timatheof typically opens with its recall agony psi-like ability. It then rushes about, using Acrobatics, Climb, and Stealth to evade its prey. Stored temporal energy is used intelligently to gain tactical advantages against enemies.

With its weak jaw structure, a timatheof cannot chew most solid foods. Instead, it uses its piercing tongue to gorge itself on fluids, preferring the putrid juices of a decaying body.

I love Dave’s Mapper. If I weren’t already very happily married until death do we part, I’d marry Dave’s Mapper. Well, I’d least ask, and if rejected, I’d write romantic fanfic and post it to a blog bordered by broken hearts.

If you don’t know Dave’s Mapper, you need to, especially if you’re a GM who likes dungeon crawls. Here’s how Dave’s Mapper works:

First, go to the site. I put a convenient link in the first paragraph above. Notice the two frames. The left side of your screen has some helpful buttons, such as the big New Map button. Click it. Click it again. Notice that the map changes each time. Excellent.

Scroll your eyes down the leftmost frame, and you’ll see a list of contributing artists (including yours truly, but I don’t have too many geomorphs uploaded. Yet.) If you click an artist who’s already checked, it unchecks that artist and removes that artist’s geomorphs from those randomly selected for your map. Clicking an artist without a check reverses the process.

Now look at the rightmost, bigger frame that holds the map. There are several buttons along the top. These let you export maps as PNGs, change the map size and arrange of geomorphs, add or remove a grid, and switch from different types of geomorphs (to include a smaller selection of city geomorphs great for generating a neighborhood or two).

Thanks to Dave’s Mapper, you never have an excuse for not having a dungeon map again.

Tags: Dave's Mapper, dungeon crawls

Yes, you too can now partake vicariously of the Chance Family experience and get some free game crunch at the same time. Download your own PDF copy of A Gamer Goes on Vacation today. This 9-page PDF offers such excellent features as:

* A day-by-day narrative of my recent family vacation to East Texas.

* Informative links to Interweb sites related to what we saw and did in East Texas.

* Full color photography.

* Crunch for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, including two new traits, a new magic item, a new haunt, a new simple template, and a new extraordinary ability for tigers.

This PDF was originally written (sans pictures and links) for Game Geek 19, now available for free at this link.

Tags: Game Geek, Summer Vacation