Spes Magna Games

Another Shadowdark post with more wonderful art by Fernando Salvaterra. All art is used by permission.

King of Corruption

Tentacles squirm, appear, and disappear. Tendrils wriggle in place of its lower jaw. Glowing white eyes shine malevolently. Rich robes and cape shift as if the body beneath has no set form or number of limbs.

AC 16, HP 57, ATK 1d4 tendrils +5 (1d6 plus disease), MV near, S +1, D +4, C +3, I +2, W +3, Ch +2, AL C, LV 10

Command Undead. Skeletons and zombies obey its commands.

Disease. DC 16 CON or infected. DC 16 CON each day or lose 2d4 HP (can’t heal naturally). Ends on success.

Disintegrate into Swarm. Collapses into a writhing mass of biting tendrils. Moves and attacks as a rat swarm (Shadowdark 245). Regenerates 1d8 HP on its turn unless wounds are cauterized with holy water.

Greater Undead. Immune to morale checks. Only damaged by silver or magical sources.

Reaper, Skeletal

Mottled bones almost devoid of tissue. Pinpoints of light for eyes. Ragged clothing and cloak. A blood-stained scythe ready to strike!

AC 14, HP 15, ATK 1 scythe +3 (1d10), MV near, S +3, D +0, C +2, I +0, W +2, Ch +2, AL C, LV 3

Greater Undead. Immune to morale checks. Only damaged by silver or magical sources.

Lasting Wounds. Damage from its scythe can be healed only by nonmagical means.

Tags: monsters, Shadowdark, undead

I think Shadowdark is my new favorite game. I’m running it for a group of middle school students during our lunch/recess hour. So far, everyone says they’re having fun.

I’m also enjoying Fernando Salvaterra’s wonderful artwork. This time, I offer up two of his kobolds as monstrous NPCs. As always, I’ve used these pic with permission, and you should consider supporting Fernando via his Patreon.

Dalto the Daring

Gleaming armor and flashing blade! Dalto the Daring darts and jabs, barking strange quips in his native tongue.

AC 16 (chainmail), HP 17, ATK 1 Sharpsteel +6 (1d6+3), MV near, S +0, D +3, C +1, I +0, W -1, Ch +1, AL C, LV 3

Acrobatic Flourish. Move up to near and make a DC 12 Dexterity check.

• Success = Advantage on next melee attack this round
• Critical success = As success and +2 AC for one round
• Critical failure = Melee attacks against Dalto have advantage for one round

Dalto’s Sharpsteel. This +1 shortsword has the finesse quality. Dalto has weapon mastery with this blade.

Dodge. 1/day, an attack that would hit misses instead.

Moldo of the Evil Doll’s Head

Sinister and sibilant! Moldo commands dark magic and wields a hell-crafted staff to which he often speaks. When he listens, does he hear the doll’s head’s evil words?

AC 13 (leather), HP 18, ATK 1 +1 staff +4 (1d4) or 1 spell +3, MV near, S -1, D +2, C +0, I +1, W +1, Ch +3, AL C, LV 4

Dodge. 1/day, an attack that would hit misses instead.

Scorpion Sting (CHA Spell). DC 11. Near range, one target. 1d6 damage and target has disadvantage on next attack roll or check.

Sinister Distractions (CHA Spell). DC 13. Near range, one target. For 1d10 minutes, the target hears eerie noises and glimpses disturbing shapes that impose disadvantage on checks related to concentration and perception. A target with keen senses (e.g., a goblin) can be surprised normally while the spell is in effect. A successful Wisdom check by the target reduces the duration to 1d10 rounds.

Spider Swarm (CHA Spell). DC 12. A spider swarm appears within near. Stays 1d4 rounds. Follows sorcerer’s commands.

Staff of the Evil Doll’s Head. This +1 staff that enables a spellcaster to cast illusion (DC 13 Intelligence check). Moldo cannot use this ability; he doesn’t even know about it. On a critical failure with illusion, the staff summons a barbed devil that attempts to slay the staff’s user and then disappear with the staff.

Tags: monsters, Shadowdark

The wonderful sword illustrations below are by Fernando Salvaterra, and I’ve used them with permission. If you’re looking for a great artist to support via Patreon, check Fernando out here.

Moon Sword. This +1 shortsword sheds light out-of-doors depending on the phase of the Moon: new (no light), crescent (5-ft. radius), quarter (10-ft. radius), gibbous (15-ft. radius), full (20-ft. radius). A shapeshifter wounded by the Moon Sword must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or revert to its natural form and stay in that form until the next moonrise.

Sword of Stars. The bearer of this +2 shortsword cannot become lost when traveling under the night sky. A Lawful bearer can cast with a successful DC 15 Wisdom check the spell Prophecy once per week (assuming the bearer completes penance after each casting).

Sun Sword. Damage from this +3 shortsword counts as fire damage against creatures with special vulnerabilities to fire (e.g., mummies and trolls). Also, these creatures as well as creatures that hate sunlight have disadvantage on their attacks against the wielder of the Sun Sword. Once per day upon command, the Sun Sword glows as if affected by a Light spell.

Tags: magic items, Shadowdark

Cleaning up old files on my computer, I found a folder full of stock art gathering virtual dust, and so I moved the folder to a more visible part of my desktop to remind me not to pay for things that get lost. The illustrations for the two monsters below come from Creeper Classics 1. The art in this post (and copyrights for the art) belong to J.M. Woiak and Heather Shinn of the STINKYGOBLIN.

Enjoy two more monsters for Shadowdark.

Eyebeast, Drooling

The drooling eyebeast (the least eyebeast) is an undulating sphere the size of a human head. Wart-like growths cover its moist flesh. From its top grow four flexible stalks, each ending in an eye. It has a large central eye above a wide, drooling maw. Numerous fangs grow from the upper jaw.

AC 12, HP 9, ATK 1 bite +2 (1d4 + attach) and 1 eyebeam (far) +4 (1d8), MV near (fly), S +0, D +2, C +0, I -1, W +2, Ch -1, AL C, LV 2

Alert. Cannot be surprised by visible creatures.

Attach. Attach to target; bite auto-hits next round. DC 14 STR on turn to tear off.

Eyebeam. Roll 1d4 to determine type of energy: 1 = heat, 2 = cold, 3 = electricity, 4 = necrotic.

Ooze, Salt

A mound of light grey slurry, wet and gritty. Malicious and among the weakest of creatures from the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Salt.

AC 13, HP 16, ATK 2 slams (1d6), MV near (swim), S +2, D +1, C +1, I -3, W +1, Ch -3, AL C, LV 3

Dessicating Aura. Flesh-and-blood creatures within close suffer 1 point of damage at the start of turn.

Impervious. Only damaged by magical sources. Immune to cold.

Tags: monsters, Shadowdark

The wonderful illustration above is by Fernando Salvaterra, and it is used with permission. If you’re looking for a great artist to support via Patreon, check him out here.

Cockatrice, Greater

A molting, lizard-chicken hybrid with a crimson, razorlike crest and a tail that is the body and head of a venomous serpent.

AC 12, HP 18, ATK 1 bite +4 (1d4 + petrify) and 1 bite +4 (1 + poison), MV near (fly), S -2, D +2, C +1, I -3, W +1, Ch -3, AL N, LV 4

Petrify. DC 12 CON or petrified.

Poison. DC 18 CON or go to 0 HP with a death timer of 1.

Tags: monsters, Shadowdark