Spes Magna Games

The guard watched as the portly, balding man in symbol-spangled robes sauntered up to portal.

“No one’s allowed here,” the guard said. He tightened his grip on his halberd.

“That’s almost always true,” the man said, mopping sweat from his wrinkled brow, “but as you can plainly see, I am Her Imperial Majesty, the Dread Queen of this realm. Let me pass.”

The guard nearly fumbled his halberd in his haste to unlock and open the portal, all the way mumbling a string of apologies. The pudgy magic-user patted the guard reassuringly as he passed through.

“Make sure you lock up after me,” the magic-user said with a grin.

Valfoxell’s Adventitious Pretense
Spell Level: Magic-User, 3rd Level
Range: Caster
Duration: 1 hour

For the duration of this spell, the caster’s words acquire an air of unquestionable truth, no matter how unbelievable those words may actually be. Those who hear the caster’s lies are permitted a saving throw to realize they are being duped. Valfoxell’s Adventitious Pretense does not function in combat.

Tags: spells, Swords & Wizardry, Vancian magic

In case you were wondering (and I know you were), I’m not just making up the Vance-style names for the spells and magic items I’ve done in recent days. Nay, nay. Instead, I’m using this great list of randomly generated Vancian spell names. Therefore, coming soon:

Valfoxell’s Adventitious Pretense
Kolando’s Prohibitory Suspense
Biderukic’s Dense Salamander
The Pattern of Gallant Commerce
Pieritz’s Aqueous Apprehension

I’m kind of digging the challenge I’ve posed myself. Usually, when I make up a new spell or magic item or monster, I start with the concept, work out the stats, and then come up with a name. Using these random names scrambles that process around, and sort of forces me to think outside my usual patterns.

It’s a long weekend for me this weekend as well. No work on Monday. Well, that’s not quite accurate. I do have work to do on Monday, but I’m not going into work to do it. Got assignments to grade, lessons to plan, et cetera. Here and there, I also want to get all five of the random names above turned into something for Swords & Wizardry. I also really need to update the Obsidian Portal site for Man Day Adventures’ Amazing Future Tales. I’m chronically behind on that project.

What’s more, I’m running an All-Hallow’s Eve session of Little Fears. I wouldn’t normally run an evening game on a work night, but 1 November is All Saint’s Day, a holy day of obligation, and I’m taking that day off. Regarding the session I’m going to run, I’ve only got the vaguest of outlines done. I need a bit more than that done before I can run the game.

Speaking of Little Fears, a few weeks ago I secured permission from my administration to start a story game club at Aristoi Classical Academy in Katy, Texas, where I am in my fourth year of teaching 5th grade. I typed up flyers (see the pic above). I talked with my class and a few other students in other classes about what story games are and how they work. I bought a copy of Little Fears (autographed by the author!). We had a our first meeting on Tuesday, 24 September. Five students were in attendance. We made up Little Fears characters, and then started the first story. I’m planning on writing up the session as a narrative. I’ll post it when I get done.

Tags: game play, Little Fears, Vancian magic

I hadn’t done any cleric spells, which just somehow seemed wrong; therefore, today’s post. I picture Gaion as having been some wise-cracking saint honored by a moderately bellicose religion.

Gaion’s Derisive Acolyte
Spell Level: Cleric, 3rd Level
Range: 60 feet
Duration: 1 hour

By means of this spell, the cleric conjures a smiling, insubstantial youth clad in suitable vestments that floats nearby for the duration of the spell. This youth produces light about as bright as a torch to a radius of 20 feet. In combat, the acolyte gleefully mocks the cleric’s enemies. These jibes and taunts encourage the cleric and those allies of the cleric’s alignment who are within range, granting all affected a +1 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws against fear (and improves morale, if the recipient is not a player character).

Tags: spells, Swords & Wizardry, Vancian magic

The Kivulis of the Cairn Lands specialized in magic related to light and shadow. Each of these five protectors wore a Charm of Emitting Shadow as a badge of their authority. When the Ebon Contagion swept across the Cairn Lands, not even the Kivulis could stem the tide of soulless evil that followed. The sacred burial grounds guarded by the Kivulis for generations became corrupted, and the cairns themselves cracked open as the hallowed dead within clawed their way to the surface as undead horrors.

Four of the five Charms of Emitting Shadow remain lost, presumably somewhere within the haunted wilderness that once was the Cairn Lands. Princess Nuru of House Taa wears the fifth charm, and it is no secret that she wishes to found the Kivulis anew as a first step toward reconsecrating the Cairn Lands.

The Charm of Emitting Shadow: This colorless crystalline sphere holds within it a shadowy imperfection that seems to shift and twist as if seeking escape. When held and concentrated upon, the shadow within the sphere leaps forth, extending from the holder across intervening surfaces to a range of 60 feet. As long as the charm’s user concentrates, he can will the shadow to shift location, but it always remains anchored to the user. The shadow can manipulate objects with its shadowy hands, lifting and moving up to 20 pounds per point of Wisdom possessed by the user. It is up to the Referee’s interpretation whether the objects can be thrown, and, if so, to what effect. The charm will not function in total darkness.

Tags: magic items, Swords & Wizardry

Every now and then in the Old School Gamers Facebook group, people post pictures and say, “Stat this.” On Tuesday, 8 October, Ethan Myerson posted the picture you see to the right of these words. (Click on the pic to embiggen. Click here to check out Ethan’s iStock site.)

Ethan’s stat request struck a chord with me because he said his kids came up with the idea for the firefrog, and then he drew the picture to fit their idea. That’s just cool, and so I tossed together this as my version of the firefrog:

About five feet long, firefrogs are the product of mad breeding experiments. They have claws and teeth, and attack relentlessly. Three times per day, a firefrog may spew a 5-foot-wide, 30-foot-long line of caustic chemical that ignites shortly after coming into contact with air. Creatures struck by this burning liquid suffer 1d8+4 points of damage (saving throw for half damage permitted).

Swords & Wizardry Stats

Hit Dice: 2+8
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Attacks: 2 claws (1d3), 1 bite (1d6+1)
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Leap, liquid fire
Move: 6 (Leap 12)
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 4/120

Tags: monsters, Swords & Wizardry