Spes Magna Games

First up, a sales pitch for Spes Magna’s newest product and second release for the fifth edition of D&D:

Glory draws nigh! Grab your shield and axe! Defend dwarvenkind against your ancient foes!

Old School meets New School in The Dwarf. Now you can relive the glory days of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game, back when a dwarf was a dwarf instead of a dwarf fighter or rogue or whatever. The Dwarf presents a complete race-as-class that includes two new subraces, three new archetypes, and three new backgrounds, all for a mere $2 US.

Speaking of 5E, Dangerous Monsters over on Patreon welcomed four new monsters this past weekend. I hoping Dangerous Monsters 3 will go out to patrons by Easter.

Next up, how about a quick movie review of Leprechaun: Origins? It’s 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s the official trailer. Watch it carefully. Who didn’t you see? That’s right. You didn’t see Warwick Davis as the Leprechaun. You don’t even see a leprechaun. Let’s face facts. No one can label any of the movies in the Leprechaun franchise as “good”. They’re all horrible, but at least some of them are memorable and entertaining in a way that one might not want to admit. In short, as horrible as the Leprechaun franchise is, Leprechaun: Origins is worse. Seriously. Leprechaun: Origins is dull, shrill, repetitive, and includes about 11 minutes of end credits punctuated by shots of someone off camera with a flashlight spotlighting the movie’s props because, gosh darnit!, I really loved that toolshed interior the first time it showed up in the film.

Rather than watch Leprechaun: Origins, just watch the trailer while swabbing a nostril with a Q-Tip dipped in Tabasco. It’s just as unpleasant, but is over in a fraction of the movie’s actual running time.

And now, it’s time to revisit the wonderfulness that is The Black Hack with a quick trip into the Gloaming Cave.

The Gloaming Cave gapes in a low hillside not far from a sluggish creek somewhere in Razorleaf Wood. Few travel too deep into that accursed forest, and not only because of the skulking greenteeth and mobs of arboreal spider-kobolds. Razorleaf Wood conceals many hazards both natural and supernatural.

No one says with accuracy where the Gloaming Cave waits because it doesn’t seem to stay in one place. Characters searching for the Gloaming Cave must contend with its penchant for not being where it’s supposed to be. Each Day of travel in Razorleaf Wood looking for the Gloaming Cave requires rolling the d6 On the Trail Usage die. Any result other than 1-2 with the On the Trail Usage die results in an encounter. Select a monster or monsters whose HD total the die result. On a 1-2, the characters draw closer to the Gloaming Cave, and the On the Trail Usage die is downgraded one step. When the On the Trail Usage die is used up, the characters find the Gloaming Cave.

The Gloaming Cave hates light. Even on the brightest day, sunlight penetrates the cave no more than a Nearby distance. Most of the time, sunlight reaches no farther than Close. After that, lightless black reigns. In the Gloaming Cave, Flasks of Oil and Torches have a d4 instead of a d6 Usage die. Even magical Light may fail; treat such spells as if they had a d6 Usage die.

The cave’s malevolent magic plays tricks with the senses. WIS saves to avoid sensory confusion are made with Disadvantage. Of course, the undead shadows lairing in the Gloaming Cave are immune to these effects.

Whether it is true that blind cultists interred Senka, that infamous shadow sorcerer, within the Gloaming Cave has yet to be confirmed. If the Gloaming Cave hides Senka’s tomb, it seems likely that his final resting place remains unplundered. Who knows what fantastic treasures may remain undisturbed?

Greenteeth
Silent, well-camouflaged, its wide mouth full of fangs, the greenteeth skulks at the water’s edge, waiting patiently for a victim to drown and devour.

Hit Dice: 3
Damage: 2d4 (4)
Special: WIS saves to detect the greenteeth while it hides are made with Disadvantage. If it inflicts damage, it grabs its victim, who must make a STR save to avoid being dragged under the water.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters, place of power, The Black Hack

Over in a 5E Facebook group, a fellow named Kalon Ohmstede asked about “some additional minotaur stat blocks”. Most of the responses he got weren’t at all helpful, basically boiling to irrelevancies. I like the idea of minotaurs getting an expanded treatment in a fantasy game. See this older post, for example.

Many minotaurs pay homage to Oevrumines, the brutal Lord of Mazes. The most devout of those minotaurs serve Oevrumines as shamans.

Minotaur Shaman
Large monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 102 (12d10+36)
Speed 40 ft.
Ability Scores STR 18 (+4), DEX 12 (+1), CON 16 (+3), INT 8 (-1), WIS 18 (+4), CHA 11 (+0)

Saving Throws Constitution +5, Wisdom +6
Skills Perception +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Abyssal
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Battleborn (3/day). The minotaur shaman receives a touch of divine ferocity from Oevrumines. When it uses the Attack action, it can make one melee attack as a bonus action.

Charge. If the minotaur shaman moves at least 10 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 11 (2d10) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 10 feet away and knocked prone.

Labyrinthine Recall. The minotaur shaman can perfectly recall any path it has traveled.

Spellcasting. The minotaur shaman is a 3rd-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks).

Cantrips (at will): sacred flame, thaumaturgy
1st Level (4 slots): bane, guiding bolt, inflict wounds, shield of faith
2nd Level (2 slots): augury, prayer of healing, spiritual weapon

Actions

Multiattack. The minotaur shaman makes two attacks: one with its greatclub and one with its gore.

Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage.

Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10+4) piercing damage.

Reckless Inspiration (Recharge 5-6). One creature the minotaur shaman can see within 30 feet of it can use its reaction to make a melee attack with advantage as a reaction if it can hear the minotaur shaman and it has the Reckless trait.

And in the Spes Magna Games arena of new:

Over at Patreon, I’m going to start releasing collections of Dangerous Monsters for my patrons. Each release, and there should be one a month, will include 4-5 new monsters for D&D 5E with the possibility of mapped lairs, versions of the monsters for other game systems, et cetera, as time permits and fancy strikes me. The first release goes out around the end of January or beginning of February, and the first time is free. After that, each release costs $1.

My two most recent releases are Chance Encounters II, which expands your campaign using the fifth edition of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game, and World War Weird Classes, which presents unusual 10 character classes for WWII: Operation WhiteBox.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters

Did you know that Matt Jackson is creating Old School maps that you too can support and own and cherish via Patreon? Well, he is, and you can. The map to to the right is a sample of Matt’s work. If you click the map, it embiggens. If you click this link right here, you can download a short 5E adventure using the map. It is written for 3-5 characters with an average level of three. The adventure features an oldie-but-goodie from 1983’s Monster Manual II, which I’ve posted below after some self-serving promotional stuff.

Did you know that I’ve released two new for-sale PDFs so far this year? Amazing, huh? If only I could be this productive every month.

Chance Encounters II expands your campaign using the fifth edition of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game. Revel at College of Cheer and Good Tidings. Gain a blessing from mulled wine. Be more alert in the glow of a guiding light. Fight side-by-side with a champion toy against an abominable snowman in cursed Arktinis. With five new character options, two new spells, seven new monsters, three new magic items, two new places, and an essay about cinnamon, Chance Encounters II offers something for almost everyone.

The war against the Axis Powers just got weird. World War Weird Classes presents 10 character classes from Demi-God to Gremlin to Zombie. Augment a team of commandos with something supernatural, or put together a Nazi-fighting monster squad. A huge thanks to Pete Spahn not only for WWII: Operation WhiteBox but also for being a class act and offering me numerous suggestions and corrections.

And now for that new monster!

“This carnivorous beast likes human and demihuman flesh. A zorbo has poor armor class and attack damage when first encountered, but it can absorb the natural armor class of its surroundings….” (Monster Manual II, p. 131)

Zorbo
Small monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 10
Hit Points 22 (4d6+8)
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
Ability Scores STR 13 (+1), DEX 10 (+0), CON 15 (+2), INT 3 (-4), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 8 (-1)

Skills Athletics +3
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages —
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Item Absorption. When the zorbo hits a creature with its claws, the zorbo absorbs the Armor Class (including magical bonus) or magical quality of a random protective item worn or carried by the creature hit, even if the net result reduces the zorbo’s Armor Class. The creature can resist this effect with a Wisdom save against DC 13. If the protective item is magical, it loses its magical functions for 1 minute. The zorbo acquires an Armor Class equal to what it would have if it were using the protective item.

Magic Resistance. The zorbo has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Actions

Claws. Melee Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4+1) slashing damage.

Nature Absorption (Recharge 6). The zorbo can absorb the natural armor class of whatever natural material it touches. This grants the zorbo an improved Armor Class, depending on the material: Armor Class 20 for stone, Armor Class 17 for metal, Armor Class 15 for wood, or Armor Class 13 for earth. The zorbo also gains a bonus on melee attack damage rolls: +5 damage for stone, +3 damage for metal, +2 damage for wood, or +1 damage for earth. The new Armor Class and damage bonus lasts for 1 minute.

Tags: 5E D&D, Matt Jackson, micro-adventure, monsters

Accessible perhaps only through a high-altitude cavern in a region of feared geological instability, the Calefactive Cavern of Colossal Crystals provides shelter to no living creature for long. Not only is the cavern dangerously hot, not only is its atmosphere tainted with unwholesome fumes, but also the enormous, fast-growing crystalline structures in the cave emanate psychoactive radiation that may cause bizarre changes in living creatures too long exposed to these ineffable energies.

Mutant Future Version:

The atmosphere in the cavern is toxic. Anyone who breathes it for too long may be suffer. For every hour exposed to the toxins, there is a 25% cumulative chance of harm that requires a saving throw against Class 6 Poison (6d6 points of damage, or half that with a successful saving throw). Every hour spent away from the cave and/or spent breathing healthy air reduces the chance of suffering harm for that creature by 25%. The heat in the cave is also problematic. Temperatures in the cave reach 58 °C (136 °F) with very high humidity. A creature must succeed at a saving throw versus Energy Attacks once every 10 minutes or take 1d4 points of damage. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor take a –4 penalty on their saves.

A living creature that survives in the cave for 24 hours must make a saving throw versus Radiation. If the creature fails, it develops a random mental mutation, and the creature also loses 1d4 points from Dexterity and Charisma. Additional saving throws against Radiation occur at an accelerated pace for time spent in the cavern past 24 hours, specifically at 36 hours, 42 hours, and 45 hours. After this time, new saving throws are required hourly. If a creature’s Dexterity drops to less than 3, the creature becomes paralyzed. If its Charisma drops to less than 3, the creature becomes dangerously insane.

Time spent away from the cavern gradually reverses mutagenic effects. Acquired mental mutations vanish at a rate of 0-3 (d4-1) mutations per 24 hours spent away from the cave. Lost points of Dexterity and Charisma return slowly, at a rate of 0-2 (d3-1) points per 24 hours spent away from the cavern.

D&D Version:

Movement in the cavern, to include climbing and flying, encounters difficult terrain. In the case of climbing, the giant crystals offer few handholds and are quite hot to the touch. For flying, the interlocked giant crystals present few straight paths even for flying creatures size Small or larger. The hostile environment of the cave poses several dangers:

* The severe heat forces a Constitution save once every 10 minutes versus DC 10, increased by +1 for each additional 10 minutes spent in the cave. Failure causes 3 (1d6) points of fire damage and increases exhaustion by one level. Characters wearing heavy clothing or armor have disadvantage on these saving throws.

* The bad air forces a Constitution save once every hour versus DC 10, increased by +1 for each additional hour spent in the cave. Failure causes 7 (2d6) points of poison damage and imposes the poisoned condition.

* Every so often, major eruptions of steam occur in the cavern. These eruptions cause between 14 (4d6) and 52 (15d6) fire damage. A Dexterity save (DC 8 + one-half the number of damage dice) reduces this damage by half. The radius of the steam eruption is 5 feet per damage die.

* Pockets of flammable gas also accumulate in the cavern. If exposes to open flame, these pockets explode in a 20-foot radius, causing 14 (4d6) fire damage. With a Wisdom (Perception) check made against DC 15, a creature may notice the tell-tale odor of a gas pocket in time to prevent an accidental explosion.

Any living creature that survives in the cavern for 24 hours must make a Wisdom save against DC 15. Failure means the creature develops an innate psionic power that can be used at will. The creature uses its Intelligence as its spellcasting ability. The creature also loses 1d6 points from both Dexterity and Charisma. If Dexterity drops to 0, the creature dies. If Wisdom drops to 0, the creature becomes afflicted with indefinite madness. The saving throw must be repeated every 1d6 hours after the first 24 hours.

Psionic powers are gained in the following order: detect magic, detect thoughts, clairvoyance, and arcane eye.

Psionic powers fade after 24 hours spent outside the cavern. Lost points of Dexterity and Charisma return at a rate of 1d4 points each per long rest. A creature suffering paralysis due to lost Dexterity loses the paralyzed condition when Dexterity recovers 1 point, but indefinite madness does not go away on its own.

Over at the DMs Guild site, sales/downloads of The Dwarf are going fairly well. I’ve not received any feedback yet, but I’m still pleased with the initial response. For those who’ve not heard, The Dwarf brings you an old class made new. Back in the Golden Age of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game, dwarf was not just a race, but it was also a character class. Now you can relive the days of race-as-class. The Dwarf includes the complete dwarf character class, new dwarf subraces, new dwarf subclasses, and new dwarf backgrounds.

I’ve also made grand progress on Chance Encounters I. This supplement presents new options for characters, including a new bard college, a couple of new spells, a half dozen new monsters, and a few other goodies for use in 5E D&D games. I’m thinking the supplement will be completed, edited, et cetera, and available for purchase before the end of January. At the moment, I am uncertain whether Chance Encounters I will be available through the DMs Guild. I’m leaning toward releasing it through DriveThruRPG.

Tags: 5E D&D, Mutant Future, places of power

First, an update. If you’re one of those few people who obsessively keeps track of the progress of Spes Magna projects, the reason nothing has been completed and released lately is due almost entirely to my real job. In short, I’m teaching about a dozen classes across five grade levels in a seven-period-a-day schedule. My committment to my students takes priority over Spes Magna Games, which, to be honest, is more of a hobby than a real business venture.

In other news, and before we get to some October horror, please note that I have a couple of items for sale via ebay:

1. The first edition of Cyberpunk from R. Talsorian Games, complete in its original box. The box is good shape considering it’s nearly 30 years old. Some corner wear. Some yellowing. No split edges or tape. Includes all the original books: Friday Night Firefight, View from the Edge: The Cyberpunk Handbook, Welcome to the Night City: A Sourcebook for 2013, and the player reference sheets. These materials are almost new as this game has only ever been gently used.

2. Path of Legend for Fantasy Flight’s Dawnforge campaign setting. I wrote this adventure shortly after contributing a chapter to the campaign setting itself. Path of Legend introduces players and their new heroes to the Dawnforge world with an epic quest that combines location and event-based encounters that include roleplaying, puzzle-solving, and, of course, combat. The book is most gently used. It is one of the complimentary copies I received for writing the adventure. It’s never been used for play, and it’s almost like new.

And now, let’s meet the Masks of Nyarlathotep.

Hit Dice: 2-5
Nota Bene: The Masks of Nyarlathotep, insane cultists who serve the Crawling Chaos, are kept in asylums under the care of loyal servants. When enemies of the cult require correction, the keepers of the Masks release their charges with necessary instructions, monies, equipment, et cetera. Masks vary in skill and deadliness, but even the weakest are a cut above the norm. In combat, they fight with mundane weapons, preferring razor-sharp blades so that they can better see the looks of terror in their victims’ eyes. A Mask wears a grotesque configuration of straps that affixes a leather strap across his or her mouth. Painted on this strap are a pair of smiling lips. While not monstrous enough to threaten Sanity, this accessory holds dark power. A Wisdom Save is necessary to see the accessory as anything other than a normal part of a trustworthy face. All Masks can cast a number of random spells equal to half his or her Hit Dice.

Tags: horror, monsters, The Cthulhu Hack