Spes Magna Games

It’s been a while since I posted a new spell. As I’m going down a list of randomly generated Vancian spell names, here’s what’s next:

Biderukic’s Dense Salamander
Spell Level: Magic-User, 5th Level
Range: NA
Duration: 6 rounds

The caster summons 1d4 dense salamanders, who serve him until slain or until the duration of the spell expires. The dense salamanders do not appear immediately; there is a delay of 5 rounds before they appear.

Dense salamanders are sluggish, somewhat intelligent creatures of the elemental planes of fire. They appear to be large snake-like beasts with tough scales that give off dangerous heat. The very touch of a dense salamander deals 1d4 hit points of fire damage, and they wrap their tails around foes to cause an additional 1d4 points of crushing damage per round as the victim writhes in the deadly heat of the serpentine coils.

Dense Salamander: HD 2+2; AC 4 [15]; Atk touch and constrict (1d4 + 1d4 heat); Move 9; Save 16; AL C; CL/XP 4/120; Special: constrict, immune to fire, heat.

Tags: monsters, spells, Swords & Wizardry, Vancian magic

The great city Busara, long a center of culture and learning, gleams like a precious jewel on the western shore of Donao, that vast salt lake of unfathomable depths. Centuries ago, Busara was little more than a fortified library built by the warrior-monks of Zazic*, the goddess of knowledge. Today, that library has grown to become a vertiable city within a city. Thousands of Zazic’s faithful investigate every field of human knowledge, and scholars from across the world make pilgrimages to Busara for a chance to study and learn.

Of course, mere mortal reason cannot sufficiently grasp all that there is to know. If Knowledge is a tower, then mortal efforts are a ladder that cannot reach the top. In her mercy, Zazic does not leave her faithful trapped by the limits of their own intellects. The scientist-prophet Isaija Paskal received a series of architectural visions from Zazic. He also received a compulsion to transform these visions into reality. Thus, Elimungazi was built.

Workers excavated an enormous pit in Busara’s eastern park adjacent to the ancient library, and builders contructed a series of walkways and stairs running from the porticos above to the cobblestone floor below. When confronted with ineffable questions, Zazic’s faithful may receive permission from the hierarchy to meditate, ascending and descending the stairs according to Zazic’s prompts. Only the most spiritually attentive seekers can “hear” all of Zazic’s instructions during this meditative stair-walk. Success unlocks great secrets, and even failure may still yield partial knowledge.

*Zazic collects and collates everything that can be known. She reveals the patterns within disciplines and the relationships between fields of knowledge.

Tags: place of power

Last week, we teachers of 4th and 5th graders field tripped our students to the Texas Renaissance Festival. The highlight of the Texas Renaissance Festival for me is always the Mud Show. I especially adore Billy Billy VonBilly. How much do I adore him? Enough to turn him into a Swords & Wizardry monster:

The mud sprite, a creature of joy and mischief, dwells in muddy places such as a swamp or a pig-cote. They are often encountered in troupes that love to perform low-brow comedy acts for rewards of money, beer, and food. Mud sprites appear human, but they are diminutive, invariably filthy, and often quite hairy. These fey creatures can breathe water and can hide in mud or muddy areas (75% chance of success). When forced to defend themselves, they melee with daggers or throw balls of mud. A target struck by a mud ball must make a saving throw or be blinded for 1d4 rounds.

For Swords & Wizardry:

Hit Dice: 1d6 hit points
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Attacks: dagger (1d4)
Saving Throw: 18 (14 vs. elemental effects)
Special: Breathes water, hide in mud, mud ball
Move: 9 (Swim 12)
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

Tags: Billy Billy VonBilly, monsters, Mud Show, Swords & Wizardry, Texas Renaissance Festival

The faithful of Renceth* have long shuddered at tales of the arch-heretic Galen Polegoas, who had been a well-respected and holy cleric instrumental in several saintly actions against the forces of chaos. Galen’s had a well-deserved reputation for erudition, generosity, and piety. Unknown to most, however, was the fact that gnawing doubts troubled Galen. Galen’s faith in Renceth’s providence was weakening, especially in light of myriad little sufferings people sought his advice about.

In face of so much disappointment, Galen could no longer accept the doctrines that explain how Renceth provides the faithful with what they need, but that the faithful must be alert and discerning enough to recognize these provisions. Instead of proper orthodoxy, Galen perceived Renceth’s conditional providence as being akin to the Tronsosian** commandment to take what they need.

And so Galen consolidated his power base and from the safety of his fortress-cathedral began to preach that Renceth and Tronsos were one and the same. Galen taught that it was true that Renceth provided his faithful with opportunities for success and happiness, and that often those opportunities belonged to other people and were kept behind locked doors. Is not Renceth the God of Keys? Are not keys to be used to open locks? Can one be truly happy without the experience of beauty?

“Those who selfishly hoard what Renceth wills to be yours for your happiness seek to thwart Renceth’s will,” taught Galen. “Therefore, Renceth, Opener of Ways, authorizes you to take what he wills to be yours. And, since it is yours not the other’s, taking it cannot be unlawful. No man can be condemned for taking what it is his by divine will, for protecting what is his by divine will.”

And so the forces of chaos gained a powerful ally, and Galen’s city plunged into violence. A council of bishops convened and demanded Galen appear before them to answer charges of heresy. Galen refused, denying the council had any true authority. Armies were gathered, and Renceth’s faithful marched on Galen’s city. The seige lasted for years. Great was the suffering, and many on both sides died. Eventually, right order prevailed. A loyal remnant within the city opened the gates, and the crusaders surged within, putting many heretics to the sword before Galen was captured.

As justice demanded, Galen was given a chance to defend his actions. He persisted in his errors, and the tribunal passed sentence. Galen was beheaded in the public square, and his body was burnt in a purifying fire. As required by canon law, the charred remains were placed on display as a stark reminder of heresy’s consequences. When the sun rose the day after Galen’s execution, his blackened bones had vanished.

Agents of Tronsos stole those bones, regarding them as sacred relics. These agents interred Galen’s bones in a secret location in a desolate region several miles outside the city. Thieves and murderers devoted to Tronsos guard the site to this day, jealously preventing trespassers from approaching Galen’s grave.

Any cleric of 5th-level or higher who manages to safely approach Galen’s grave and offers appropriate sacrifices of objets d’art (worth at least 3,000 gold pieces) can call forth Galen, who will rise from his grave veiled in fire. The visiting cleric may interrogate Galen, who will answer questions as if the cleric had cast Contact Other Plane. The visiting cleric decides the maximum number of questions and suffers any negative effects that would result.

*Renceth is the God of Prophecy, Friendship, and Keys. Renceth knows the future, but he does not freely share that knowledge. Instead, he puts into the paths of his faithful the people and the resources necessary to open the doors that will be encountered. Those who ignore Renceth’s gifts find their paths full of obstacles whereas the observant find their paths full of opportunities.

**Tronsos is the God of Thieves and Beauty. Tronsos doesn’t reward his faithful. Instead, his faithful take their rewards from those unable to keep them from being taken. Of all rewards, beauty is the most prized, and beauty must be possessed and hidden away, safe from covetous eyes.

Tags: place of power, Swords & Wizardry

It’s been a little quiet around this site for a few days. Busy, busy, busy. I’ve got about 30 pages of Rantz’s Fair Multitude, my next PDF, typed up and semi-formatted. Obviously, my original goal of having this product done by the end of October has fallen apart, but that’s okay. I’d rather it get released later than I planned (or not at all) than it get rushed to the “presses” and end up a mess.

What with today being a holy of obligation for us Catholics, I took the day off from work. I’m right now hanging out at Houston Community College’s Katy campus waiting for my son Christopher to get done with the mandatory exam he has to take before he starts college classes for dual credit for both high school and college. Once he’s done with the test, I’m going to head home, take care of little bit of paper work for school, and then probably relax until this evening when it’s time to go to Mass.

Part of the hanging out/relaxing equation involves typing stuff, including what you’re reading now. I’d like to keep updating this site two or three times a week with OSR stuff, but to do that I have to use my down time to get ahead of the curve.

Anyhoo, enough about me. Let’s look at a new monster inspired by a combination of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary and George Gershwin’s “My Man’s Gone Now”. A version of this monster was featured in the Halloween game of Little Fears that I ran.

Huzuni are a demonic creatures that feed on sorrow, grief, and pain. They enter our world through tears in the barriers that normally keep hellish planes separate from the mortal realm. These tears can be caused by tears shed in desperate sorrow by people who refuse to accept the reality of their losses, who instead, often unwittingly, bargain with chaotic powers for a second chance to be with their deceased loved ones. Huzuni wait hungrily for the chance to slip free of their infernal realm in order to cause more death and pain. A huzun’s natural form varies, but they are invariably a distorted and horrible parody of humanoid. Features are always twisted, out of proportion. Limbs have too many elbows, too many knees. They scuttle about on all fours as much as they walk on their feet.

Many people cannot see a huzuni for what it really is unless it chooses to reveal itself. Children who’ve not yet reached puberty and animals always see the monster’s true form. Otherwise, only intelligent creatures with more than 4 Hit Dice can hope to pierce a huzun’s sinister false form, and even then doing so requires a saving throw. These demons’ false forms vary, but are always seemingly normal and harmless. They often appear in the form of deceased loved ones, especially if those loved ones were children. Some huzuni look like common domestic animals, such as dogs.

Huzuni have the horrifying power of autodismemberment, which permits them to tear their bodies apart into as many three pieces. Each piece darts about independently, and can attack with the demon’s claws and fangs, depending on which body parts a particular piece has. For example, a huzuni could split into three pieces, an armless torso that could bite and two separate arms that can slither about like serpents and claw. Even pieces without apparent sensory organs can still see and hear. Each piece can be attacked and damaged as if the monster were whole.

A huzun’s most dreaded attack is its ability to manifest its foes’ darkest fears, affecting all desired targets within 30 feet who can see the monster. Targets who fails their saving throw against manifested fears can do nothing but stand helplessly, overwhelmed by the terrifying sights and sounds conjured up by the huzun. This fear effect lasts 2d4 minutes.

For Swords & Wizardry:

Hit Dice: 8
Armor Class: 3 [16]
Attacks: 2 claws (1d8), 1 bite (1d6)
Saving Throw: 8
Special: +1 or better weapon to hit, autodismemberment, false form, magic resistance (35%), manifest fear
Move: 12
Alignment: Chaotic
Challenge Level/XP: 12/2,000

Tags: Little Fears, monsters, Swords & Wizardry