Spes Magna Games

Merry Second Day of Christmas!

Most important of all, he taught his son to beware of…[t]he Abominable Snow Monster of the North: he’s mean, he’s nasty, and he hates everything to do with Christmas. (Sam the Snowman, describing the Abominable Snow Monster)

The Abominable Snow Monster of the North
Large giant, chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 114 (12d10+48)
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.

STR 20 (+5), DEX 12 (+1), CON 18 (+4), INT 7 (-2), WIS 11 (+0), CHA 7 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4
Damage Resistances bludgeoning from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities cold
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Giant
Challenge 5 (1,800)

Bounces. The abominable snow monster has an elastic body. It takes half damage from falls.

Enraged by Red. The abominable snow monster hates the color red, which it can see even with its darkvision. When attacking a target bearing the color red, the abominable snow monster has advantage on its attacks.

Keen Smell. The abominable snow monster has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Non-Swimmer. The abominable snow monster cannot swim. Its swim speed is 0 feet, and it always fails Strength (Athletics) checks made to swim.

Snow Camouflage. The abominable snow monster has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in snowy terrain.

Actions

Multiattack. The abominable snow monster makes two attacks: one with its fangs and one with either its greatclub or its talons.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10+5) piercing damage.

Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8+5) bludgeoning damage.

Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) slashing damage.

Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 50/200 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) bludgeoning damage.

Reactions

Bounce Back. The abominable snow monster can use its reaction to immediately stand up when knocked prone.

Tags: 5E D&D, Christmas, monsters

Merry First Day of Christmas!

Today’s long-awaited post wormed its way into my brain this morning while ushering in the narthex before Christmas morning Mass. Enjoy!

Hermey’s Ferocious Forceps
Weapon (great forceps), uncommon

These over-sized forceps are a magical simple melee weapon with the Two-Handed property. A successful attack roll inflicts 1d4 plus Strength bonus points of piercing damage, unless used against a creature with teeth, in which case the forceps inflict 1d6 plus Strength bonus damage. On a critical hit, the forceps inflict double damage as normal. A toothed creature who suffers a critical from the forceps has disadvantage on its bite attack until it takes a short or long rest or receives magical healing.

Tags: 5E D&D, Christmas, magic items

Among the many reasons I’m thankful for Canada, my national neighbor to the north, is the gleefully awful movie The Brain. The plot, such as it is, revolves around the evil machinations of Dr. Blakely (B-movie icon David Gale), the host of television’s Independent Thinkers, a pseudo-religious self-help program that serves as an alien brain’s platform for world domination. Fortunately for the people of Earth, high-school prankster Jim Majelewski (played by then 23-year-old Tom Bresnahan) can resist the Brain’s hypnotic powers. Unfortunately, resisting the Brain’s hypnotic powers causes bizarre hallucinations, which for prankster Jim often involve a topless nurse.

Brilliant!

Alien Brain

Number Encountered: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90′ (30′)
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 12+12
Attacks: 1 (tongue-tacle or bite)
Damage: 1d6 tongue-tacle or 4d4 bite
Save: L10
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: XIX
XP: 4,400

Mutations: Mental Phantasm (unique), Neural Telepathy, Possession (unique)

An alien brain has remarkable Intelligence and Willpower (20 and 18, respectively). In melee combat, it lashes out with its barbed tongue-tacle, which has a range of 15 feet. If the tentacle hits, it grabs the victim and draws him 10 feet per round toward the alien brain’s huge, tooth-filled mouth. There is a 2 in 6 chance to break free from the tongue-tacle, modified by Strength, and the attempt counts as an attack. The alien brain swallows its prey whole on a roll 4 higher than the needed number, or if the alien brain rolls a natural 20. It can swallow anything the size of a man or smaller. A swallowed victim suffers 2d8+2 hit points of damage per round inside the alien brain’s digestive tract. The damage stops if the alien brain is killed.

The alien brain’s most insidious attack is its unique possession mutation. If the alien brain’s psionic energies are broadcast and received via technology, the Brain can affect dozens (or even hundreds or more!) of intelligent creatures at once. It can broadcast a simple instruction to all affected creatures, or it can specifically take over one creature, as normal for the possession mutation. A creature who resists the alien brain’s mental control is automatically subjected to mental phantasms, the nature of which are drawn from the victim’s subconscious.

Tags: monsters, movies, Mutant Future

Back in 2016, I released my own superhero game, The Four Color Hack (TFCH). To date, it’s my only product available print-on-demand. It was mostly well-received. Since it’s release, I’ve netted a bit more than $200 from its sales, which for Spes Magna Games is a lot of money. Unfortunately, I sort of ran out of steam for its continued support, which is a shame. I think it’s a pretty good game.

Which brings me to Prowlers & Paragons Ultimate Edition (PPUE) from Evil Beagle Games. PPUE is a new, improved version of Prowlers & Paragons (PP) by Lakeside Games. PP was released about three years before I released TFCH, which is a game I wrote because I wanted to see what a superhero game might look like if it was written specifically for me.

(N.B. The PPUE and PP links are affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I get a few coppers.)

I’ve read in recent days both PPUE and PP. The latter is a good game. The former is a great game. And while neither was written by me specifically for me, they punch a lot of the same jaws that I was aiming for with TFCH. What’s more, PPUE is undoubtedly a better game than TFCH.

Heck, it might very well be the best superhero game on the market today. Seriously. It’s that good.

So, what’s so good about PPUE? Here’s a short but not exhaustive list:

1. PPUE has a unified task resolution mechanic that is easy to grok and is designed to assist the narrative. Everything is rated as X number of dice. You roll the dice, and you count 2s and 4s as one success and 6s as two successes. Subtract the target number from the total number of successes to determine the degree of narrative control the dice roller gets over the action’s results.

2. PPUE respects the genre. Color me pleased that PP and PPUE use comic book terms to describe the flow of action. A page is a round, for example. This sort of terminology found its way into TFCH, proving great minds think alike. The emphasis is on the action, but the comic book melodrama is not ignored. Instead, it’s built right into character creation in the form of Perks and Flaws.

3. PPUE can handle multiple power levels and comic book subgenres. Want to play star-spanning cosmic champions that fight planet-destroying threats? You can do that. Want to play gritty do-gooders who get knocked around in barfights? You can do that too. World War II heroes? Check. Swords and sorcery barbarians fighting evil wizards? Check. Angsty teenagers at an elite prep school for mutants? Yes, that’s possible as well.

4. PPUE has point-based hero creation, but with an emphasis on basic arithmetic. On the other side of the law, the GM can use the point system to make up villains, but that’s not a requirement. PPUE understands that it is not necessary for the enemies faced by the PCs to be made with the same rules as the PCs. Character creation rules are primarily intended to ensure that the PCs are relatively balanced against each other. The NPCs get to do things the PCs don’t get to do, and whinging that this is unfair is beside the point. (If things were fair, there’d be no need for heroes.)

As mentioned in a previous post, I return to campus this week. The students return some time after, and I hope to get my story game club up and running again. PPUE is a strong contender for the first system that I’ll teach the students who participate.

Also, I’ve made up three characters using PPUE. One of them is a hero suitable for play. The other two are villains. The last link is for a villain made using TFCH, just in case you want to do a little compare-constrat. Each link opens a PDF.

Enjoy!

Baron Samedi, a PPUE Villain.

The Galveston Giant, a PPUE Villain.

The Villain, a PPUE Villain. Duh.

Brutacles, a TFCH Villain.

Tags: Prowlers & Paragons, reviews, superhero games, TFCH

There are just a handful of days left for the Merry Christmas in July sale at DriveThruRPG. More ominous: I return to work next Thursday to prep for the start of another school year. This marks my third year teaching at a Catholic school for boys, and I’m almost to the point where I’m looking forward to the students’ boisterous return.

N.B. That previous link goes to my DriveThruRPG store. The links below are affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I get a few coppers.

It seems likely that I’ll be permitted to resume Ludi Fabularum, the story game club that I’ve facilitated for several years, both at my current school and where I taught previously. This means figuring out what game to use with the boys. So far, I’ve got a few choices mulling about in my mind. Here are those mulling choices, in no particular order.

5E D&D: Odds are good that several of the students already play this one. It’s easy to teach and easy to learn, and there is no shortage of support for the game.

OSRIC: Odds are good none of the students already play this one. It’s not as easy to teach or to learn as 5E D&D, but it has the advantage that the rules are available for free. I also own a great deal of compatible material.

The Hero’s Journey: This is a gem of a game. It’s also easy to teach and learn, and I own the core books. THJ was my first choice going into last school year, but the lockdowns, et cetera put the kibosh on Ludi Fabularum for the entire school year.

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying: I adore this game, and I’ve used it for Ludi Fabularum before. The learning curve can be a bit steep. Since it’s no longer published, getting the rules can be tricky.

Prowlers & Paragons Ultimate Edition: This is a new game, an update of the original Prowlers & Paragons. I’ve like the looks of this game. It appears flexible, easy to teach, and easy to learn.

Tags: Ludi Fabularum