Spes Magna Games

In a comment to this post, krys remarked, “Only 4 dragons eh? I was hoping there’d be more with different factions, orders (both secret and open) and sects of followers. I like what I’ve heard though.”

I felt this comment deserved some clarification. Yes, Tiamat’s Throne as a campaign setting has its astropolitics dominated by four dragons, but Tiamat and her dukes are more like plot devices than monsters. Each one is roughly equivalent to a planet-smashing interstellar battleship.

The presence of Tiamat and her dukes does not preclude the existence of lesser dragons more suitable for use as challenges for the PCs. I envision these dragons working more or less the way such monsters did in Old School RPGs. Sure, they’re apex predators, but a sufficiently experienced and well-prepared gang of adventurers could take one on and win.

When it comes to factions, which is a topic I’ve barely addressed in blogposts, rest assured that there will be a major faction dedicated to the worship of Tiamat and her dukes. I’m thinking of this faction being a cross between the Templars and the Gestapo. Splinter dragon cults are also likely. What’s more, since I want Tiamat’s Throne to be a science-fantasy space opera sandbox, customization from individual GMs is not only to be expected but encouraged. The sector is a huge place with 18 known, inhabited worlds. There’s easily room for any number of additional factions, orders, et cetera.

Work on Tiamat’s Throne has slowed down a bit lately, due in part to one of my seasonal funks, but I can feel the itch the write more building up in my brain and fingers. My self-imposed playtest release date of February 2013 is still in effect. I’m also considering going Kickstarter, but I don’t want to do that until I have the playtest document(s) ready for release.

Tags: Stars Without Number, Tiamat's Throne

Excerpts from my first non-Pathfinder project, Tiamat’s Throne, a sci-fi/fantasy setting using the Stars Without Number core rules:

The Rage of Dragons

In 2665, the time-space continuum ripped. What I mean is this: A hole was torn from another universe into ours. This was no accident. Forces beyond human comprehension purposefully rent asunder the fabric of reality separating the two universes.

And through this tear came the dragons.

Hundreds of them, each one with the size, speed, and power of a frigate. They rampaged across the sector, raining down death and terror on world after world. Humanity — reeling from the sudden disruption of technology and the psychic chaos of that metadimensional “shriek” — rallied as well as could be expected. Some dragons died in combat against armed spaceships. A few worlds managed to lessen the destruction wrought by the dragons.

Then, the dragons turned on each other. By the end of 2675, only four dragons survived, and the weaker three combined could not match the power of Her Draconic Majesty Tiamat the Unconquerable.

…

Kouranism: Many wizards suffer from Kouranism, a magical condition that mutates the body and mind while making it possible for the sufferer to manipulate eldritch energies in ways not possible for the unafflicted. Rules for this new skill are found in the Kouranism section below.

…

When the Eugenics Commissars finished designing the duonos genome, the plan was that the new species would be genetically predisposed toward obedience. Thus, genome manipulation aimed at docility and timidity. The first two or three generations of duonos functioned well in their various roles as compliant domestic servants too afraid of their masters’ authority to be disobedient. In the fourth and following generations, however, a genetic instability evidenced itself. Centered in the amygdala, this instability resulted in a minority of duonos exhibiting the binary psychological traits of fear or wrath. Put more simply, some duonos were typically docile and timid, but only up to a point. After that, these aberrant duonos — called koleros — became violent, sometimes shockingly so as they fell into the grip of rage verging on psychotic in intensity.

…

Wizard Class Traits

Prime Attributes: Intelligence or Dexterity
Hit Dice: d4
Special Ability: The wizard is the only class that can learn to cast spells.
Wizard Class Skills: Artist, Combat/Magitech, Culture/Any, Kouranism, Language, Religion, Perception, Profession/Any
Additional Skill Points per Level: 2

…

While most worlds have intermittent problems with the undead, Castor is overrun with them. Her cities exist in a state of constant siege. The most prominent undead menace are the hordes of zombies. Tens of thousands of zombie surround the cities, and more wander the wilderness between Castor’s urban centers. Other undead monsters are less common, but more dangerous, especially those that can fly such as ghosts and spectres. These types of monsters can not only bypass city walls, but they can also threaten the dirigibles that link the cities via the airways.

Despite the planetary quarantine, groups of adventurers sometimes travel to Castor. Caches of pretech can be found in ancient ruins by those willing and able to brave Castor’s the undead terrors.

Tags: Stars Without Number, Tiamat's Throne

What follows is one of the villains from my most recent Quid Novi? mini-adventure, The Coming Storm. In related news, I’ve re-edited the last two Quid Novi? mini-adventures (the aforementioned one and The Ruined Fort) into a single PDF, which is now available for sale at DriveThruRPG and Paizo. The links are in the sidebar on the left side of your screen.

Orc Leader
CR 6; XP 2,400
Orc bard 5/red dragon disciple 2
CE Medium humanoid (orc)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10
Weakness light sensitivity

DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)
hp 58 (5d8+15 plus 2d12+4)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +5
Defensive Abilities countersong, ferocity, well-versed (+4 saves vs. bardic performance, sonic, and language-dependent effects)

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +6 (1d4+2) and bite +6 (1d6+3), or
Melee +1 longspear +7 (1d8+4/x3)
Ranged javelin +6 (1d6+2)
Reach 10 ft. (with longspear)
Special Attacks bardic performance (14 rounds/day), bloodline arcana, claws and dragon bite (5 rounds/day), fascinate (Will 14), inspire competence +2, inspire courage +2
Spells Known (CL 6th; concentration +8)
2nd (4/day) – blistering invective (Ref 14), boiling blood (Fort 14), cure moderate wounds, gallant inspiration
1st (5/day) – cure light wounds, saving finale, touch of gracelessness (Fort 13), vanish
0th – detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, message, read magic, resistance

STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 14
Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 18
Feats Dodge, Harmonic Spell, Intimidating Prowess, Lingering Performance, Toughness (B)
Skills Intimidate +12, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Linguistics +8, Perform (sing) +10, Perception +10, Spellcraft +5, Use Magic Device +10; Armor Check Penalty -1
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan
SQ bardic knowledge, blood of dragons, versatile performance (Bluff, Sense Motive), weapon familiarity

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bloodline Arcana: Whenever the orc leader casts a spell with the fire descriptor, that spell deals +1 point of damage per die rolled.

Claws and Dragon Bite (Su): The orc leader can grow claws and fangs as a free action. These are treated as natural weapons, allowing it to make two claw attacks and a bite attack as a full attack action using its full base attack bonus. The orc leader can use its claws for a number of 5 rounds per day. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.

Ferocity (Ex): An orc remains conscious and can continue fighting even if its hit point total is below 0. It is still staggered and loses 1 hit point each round. A creature with ferocity still dies when its hit point total reaches a negative amount equal to its Constitution score.

Lore Master (Ex): The orc leader is a master of lore and can take 10 on Knowledge (arcana) skill checks. It can choose not to take 10 and can instead roll normally. In addition, once per day, the orc leader can take 20 on any Knowledge skill check as a standard action.

GEAR
+1 longspear, divine scroll (tar ball [CL 3rd], lily pad stride [CL 5th]), potion of aid, masterwork chainshirt, key to strongbox, 2 javelins, plus 175 gp of personal items

Tags: dungeon crawls, NPCs, Pathfinder RPG

From the free version of Sine Nomine Publishing‘s Stars Without Number (page 59):

“One of the characteristics of old-school inspired games such as this one is the large number of unique, special-case systems that arise. A given alien beast might have a 20% chance of knocking a human prone with its attacks, for example, or a 1 in 6 chance of swallowing a person it bites. A forgotten research station might be glowing with a deadly radiation that drains away one point of Strength for every ten minutes the PCs stay inside. Players shouldn’t be surprised to face these situations. Part of the charm of the genre is that PCs can never be entirely certain of their chances, or wholly confi dent about what an alien creature or abandoned outpost might do to them. GMs should avoid creating such one-shot systems when more general systems would serve just as well, but they shouldn’t feel obliged to transform every peril into something that can be diced out with the rules in this chapter.”

My first response after reading this? “Amen!” I said to myself.

As I’ve talked about before, the GM doesn’t have to follow the same rules the players do. The GM needs to be fair, consistent, and not be a jerk, but otherwise the rules can be bent, ignored, and/or modified as the GM deems necessary to create a fun, involving game.

In other news, I completed my entry for the Secret DM’s contest (see the blogpost immediately below this one). There’s now little point in anyone else entering because of the sensational surprises in “The Sinister Silo”. Ergo, y’all might as well just let me win. Right?

Tags: Sine Nomine Publishing, Stars Without Number, The Secret DM

Hey! All you old school grognards!

Check out this excellent contest sponsored by the Secret DM. Grand prize includes one each of the 1E rulebooks recently reissued by WoTC. Here’s what you go to do to win:

“During the month from July 27th, 2012 through August 27th, 2012, you must submit a set of 10 to 20 room descriptions that evoke the feeling of a 1st edition dungeon crawl. The specifics are entirely up to you, and may include whatever traps, monsters, treasures, etc. you feel necessary. Each entry will be reviewed by a panel of judges, and an overall winner will be declared based on quality, originality, fun, and 1st edition-ness.”

Speaking of contests, my much more modest monthly What Is It? contest is back in the swing of things. Check it out as well. The winner of this contest receives a $5 gift certificate to DriveThruRPG.