Spes Magna Games

Years ago, I briefly ran a version of Clio, Muse of History, in a superhero game. Here’s a redo of her for TSR’s classic Marvel Super Heroes. I took as my starting point the Olympians from the Judge’s Book and then modified as mythologically appropriate.

Background

Real Name: Clio
Occupation: Historian
Legal Status: Citizen of Olympus
Identity: Publicly known, but she is not widely believed to be the Muse Clio
Place of Birth: Olympus
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Zeus (father); Mnemosyne (mother); Calliope, Polyhymnia, Euterpe, Terpsichore, Erato, Melpomene, Thalia, and Urania (sisters); Hyacinth (son, deceased); Hymenaeus (son); Rhesus (son, deceased)
Base of Operations: Mobile
Past Group Affiliations: Gods of Olympus
Present Group Affiliation: None

Statistics

Fighting Good (10)
Agility Excellent (20)
Strength Incredible (40)
Endurance Amazing (50)
Reason Good (10)
Intuition Excellent (20)
Psyche Incredible (40)

Health 120
Karma 70
Resources Excellent (20)
Popularity 20

Known Powers

Body Armor: Clio’s Olympian physique grants her Good (10) protection against physical attacks.

Deific Transformations: Like most Olympians, Clio can change her appearance, form, and size. This ability permits Animal Transformation – Self, Growth, Imitation, Invisibility, and Shape-Shifting at Incredible (40) ranks.

Dimension Travel: Clio can travel between Olympus and Earth with Incredible (40) ability.

Goddess: Clio is an Olympian goddess. She has the Immortality power. Clio also has Class 1000 resistance to aging and disease.

Postcognition: Clio has Monstrous (75) precognition.

Ultimate Skill – History: Clio has Unearthly (100) knowledge of history.

Other Information

Equipment: Clio often carries a lyre.

Talents: Clio has the Performer talent. She is fluent and literate in all ancient and contemporary Mediterranean languages as well as English.

Contacts: Clio has contacts among the Olympians.

Tags: Marvel Super Heroes, superhero games

More than two centuries ago, stars fell from the night sky, bringing with them the Ancient Ones, conquerors who commanded terrible technologies. Wars raged for decades. Cities fell. Alien energies burned forests and reduced grasslands to dust. Little by little, Oerth’s defenders turned back the blood-dimmed tide. The stellar invader’s defenses failed, and they either retreated back to the stars or vanished into the Nether Gloom.

A few weeks ago, I started running a sporadic DCC/MCC mashup set in a post-apocalyptic World of Greyhawk. The funnel adventure took place in the Hommlet on a dark, stormy night during which a mob of bullywugs attacked the village. Below are the stats for the bullywugs and two mutant forms of bullywug. Enjoy!

Bullywug

Bullywugs, vicious humanoid frog-men, primitive and violent, live in wetlands and rainforests, venturing forth to raid and kill. These creatures are given to religious mania, and charismatic leaders find bullywugs useful servants. This is especially true among followers of Wastri the Hopping Prophet.

Bullywugs speak their own language. Leaders often speak one or two other languages as well. It is rumored that perverse matings of bullywugs and humans produce degenerate humans afflicted by froggish features and behaviors.

#APP 10d8 (20% in lair); Init +1; Atk as weapon +1 melee or tongue spike +2 ranged (1d4 plus poison); AC 11 + armor; HD 1d8+1; MV 20 ft., 20 ft. climb, 30 ft. jump, 20 ft. swim; Act 1d20; SP camouflage, jump, tongue spike; SV Fort +2, Ref +2; Will -1; AL C.

Camouflage: Skin coloration varies from light to dark shades of gray, green, or brown. If motionless, a bullywug is 75% like to be unseen.

Jump: A bullywug’s jump clears a vertical distance equal to half the horizontal distance. With a standing jump, a bullywug can leap 15 feet straight up.

Tongue Spike: Range 20 ft. with no range modifers. Fort SV DC 10 or paralyzed for 1d5 melee rounds.

Armor & Weapons: Bullywugs seldom wear armor heavier than leather or use shields. They prefer spears.

For every 10 bullywugs: 1 bullywug with 9 hit points.
For every 10 bullywugs: A cumulative 10% chance of a tribal shaman with 3+3 hit dice who has the abilities of a 3rd-level Cleric.
For every 20 bullywugs: 1d5-1 tad-things and 1d3-1 bull bullywug.
For every 30 bullwugs: 1 leader with 2+2 HD and at least 10 hit points.
If 60 or more bullywugs: 1 great chief with 4+4 HD and at least 16 hit points. A great chief has an effective STR bonus of +2.

Bullywug, Bull

A bull bullywug (sometimes called bullywug ogres) grows to greater size and strength than normal for even the healthiest bullywugs. Normal bullywugs fear these mutant bullywugs, and bullywug chiefs reward bulls with special privileges. Bulls have all the abilities of normal bullywugs.

#APP 1d3-1 per 20 bullywugs; Init +0; Atk as weapon +5 melee (+3 damage) or tongue spike +3 ranged (1d6 plus poison); AC 12 + armor; HD 4d10+8; MV 30 ft., 20 ft. climb, 30 ft. jump, 20 ft. swim; Act 1d20; SP camouflage, jump, tongue spike; SV Fort +4, Ref +2; Will +2; AL C.

Bullywug, Tad-Thing

Tad-things are not immature bullywugs as many assume. They are a strange bullywug mutation. A tad-thing has a ball-like body roughly the size of a grapefruit. A half dozen or so sinuous tentacles grow from the body, which is split by a sphincter-like mouth full of sharp teeth. Bullywug raiders often carry buckets holding water and 1d3 tad-things. Bullywugs throw the tad-things as a ranged weapon with range increments of 10/20/30.

#APP 1d5-1 per 20 bullywugs; Init +2; Atk tentacles +1 melee (1d4 plus blood drain); AC 12; HD 2d6; MV 10 ft., 10 ft. climb, 30 ft. swim; Act 1d20; SP blood drain (automatic 1d4 damage after bite), tentacles (10-ft. reach), zombification; SV Fort +0, Ref +2; Will +0; AL C.

Zombification: A humanoid creature killed by a tad-thing rises as a 1-HD zombie in 1d5 rounds (DCC 431).

Tags: DCC, MCC, monsters

Today I revisit Old-School Essentials via a portrait from Jeshields – RPG Stock Art.

Through the open flaps of the ragged, colorful tent, you see an unpleasant creature. Stunted and wizened, large pointed ears below his stained turban, the stench of urine thick in the air around him, the aged goblin grins, showing scab-black gums almost devoid of teeth. Rats wriggle in the folds of his baggy clothes. One fat rodent sprawls atop his turban, its shiny eyes studying you.

“Welcome!” the goblin says, “I am Yad Al-shaytan. Enter my shop freely and in peace.”

Yad Al-shaytan appears as an aged goblin, itself an unlikely encounter given how nasty, brutish, and short goblin lives tend to be. In truth, Yad has more than goblin blood coursing through his veins. He has lived several decades beyond the normal lifespan for goblins. Despite his apparent age, he remains healthy and vigorous. Some of Yad’s abilities have birthed rumors that Yad is some sort of half-vampire, but he is not undead.

Yad’s colorful, ragged tent looks to have a diameter of about 20 feet with a 20-foot tall center pole. Its inner dimensions are considerably larger, and tables, chests, barrels, freestanding shelves, taxidermied creatures, et cetera crowd the interior, turning the inside into a veritable maze of twisting aisles. Visitors often catch glimpses of strange shadows moving about, but direct observation fails to reveal the true nature of these fleeting impressions.

Yad Al-Shaytan: AC 4 [15], HD 3+3 (16 hp), Att 1 × weapon (1d6+1 or by weapon +1), THAC0 16 [+3], MV 90’ (30’), SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (5), ML 8, AL Chaotic, XP 35, NA 1, TT S x4, T x2
Hates the Sun: -1 to-hit in full daylight.

• Infravision: 90’.
• Regeneration: Yad gains 3 hp at the start of each round, as long as he is alive.
• Summon Beasts: Creatures from the surrounding area: 1d8 x 8 rats, 4d4 giant rats, 1d8 x 8 bats, 3d4 giant bats, 2d4 wolves, or 1d4 dire wolves. Yad uses speak with animals to communicate with these types of beasts.
• Teleport Shop: Within his shop, Yad can cast teleport once per day, causing him, his shop, and all of his property to vanish.

Tags: monsters, NPCs, Old School Essentials

If you’re wondering, no, I’ve not forgotten about the goblin spider lair. I just have to remember to find the maps that I was working on.

And, so, onto today’s post.

Patreon artist Fernando Salvaterra recently posted this fun illustration of three skeletons about to teach a group of tomb trespassers a lesson about property rights. Nota Bene: If you click on the pic, it embiggens.

Each skeleton has a magic item it uses in combat. These magic items detect as evil. Each has the same deleterious effect when used by non-evil creatures, namely that the creature suffers a -1 penalty to saving throws against fear effects per item used.

The Archer
Number: 1
Size: Medium
HD: 2 (d12) (13)
AC: 13
Saves: P
Move: 30 ft.
Attacks: 2 with Short Bow (1d6 plus magical effect) or 1 with Short Sword (1d6)
Special: +1 or Better Weapon to Hit, Magic Quiver, Regeneration 1, Undead
Int: Average
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead (Unique)
Treasure: 4
XP: 56

Combat: The Archer prefers ranged combat, firing two arrows per round from its shortbow. If forced into melee, it pulls the short sword from its skull. The Archer cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and even magical slashing or piercing weapons inflict but half damage to it.

Magic Quiver: The Archer’s magic quiver holds a dozen arrows. Each day at sundown, the magic quiver refills with a dozen arrows. When an arrow is pulled from the magic quiver, roll 1d6 to determine that arrow’s magical effect:

1-4 = +1 to hit and damage
5 = +2 to hit and damage
6 = +3 to hit and +1d6 damage against a living creature

Regeneration: The Archer regenerates 1 hit point per round until reduced to 0 hit points, at which time it regenerates 1 hit point per hour. The Archer cannot regenerate damage from holy water.

Undead: The Archer is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and all mind-affecting spells (charms, compulsions, et cetera).

The Spearman
Number: 1
Size: Medium
HD: 3 (d12) (20)
AC: 13
Saves: P
Move: 30 ft.
Attacks: 2 with Magic Spear (1d6+1)
Special: +1 or Better Weapon to Hit, Magic Spear, Regeneration 1, Undead
Int: Average
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead (Unique)
Treasure: 4
XP: 120

Combat: The Spearman prefers melee combat, attacking twice per round with its magic spear. The Spearman cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and even magical slashing or piercing weapons inflict but half damage to it.

Magic Spear: The Spearman’s magic spear is a +1 weapon. If thrown, it splits into two spears that may target any two creatures within 10 feet of each other (or both may target a single creature within spear range). The thrown magic spears disappear at the end of the round, reappearing in the Spearman’s hand as a single spear.

Regeneration: The Spearman regenerates 1 hit point per round until reduced to 0 hit points, at which time it regenerates 1 hit point per hour. The Archer cannot regenerate damage from holy water.

Undead: The Spearman is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and all mind-affecting spells (charms, compulsions, et cetera).

The Captain
Number: 1
Size: Medium
HD: 4 (d12) (26)
AC: 18
Saves: P
Move: 30 ft.
Attacks: 2 with Magic Sword (1d8+1)
Special: +1 or Better Weapon to Hit, Magic Sword, Regeneration 1, Undead
Int: Average
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead (Unique)
Treasure: 4
XP: 224

Combat: The Captain prefers melee combat, attacking twice per round with its magic sword. The Captain cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and even magical slashing or piercing weapons inflict but half damage to it.

Magic Sword: The Captain’s magic longsword is a +1 weapon. Against lawful good creatures, the sword inflicts an addition 1d6 points of damage with a successful hit.

Regeneration: The Captain regenerates 1 hit point per round until reduced to 0 hit points, at which time it regenerates 1 hit point per hour. The Archer cannot regenerate damage from holy water.

Undead: The Captain is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and all mind-affecting spells (charms, compulsions, et cetera).

Tags: C&C, Goblin Spider Lair, monsters, undead

Well, my summer vacation is about 3/4 done, and it’s been an odd one.

We’ve had two storms that took out the power in Houston, the latter being Hurricane Beryl, which left pretty much the whole city in the dark. For about two weeks of my eight week vacation, Casa Chance has had no electricity. Good times.

I continue to GM games. I’m running a C&C/DCC/MCC mash-up every other Saturday. This campaign is loosely set in The Marmoreal Tomb. The PCs live in Sisak (from Dungeon #24 [July/August 1990]), very nearly the easternmost vestige of civilization. There are two groups of PCs. They’ve fought an evil wizard, a murderous demon-wolf, a human-sacrificing gnome, a hill giant family, a stone minotaur, and a bevy of evil humanoids. They’ve also started to deal with the meta-plot consequences of the campaign world being invaded by modrons.

I’m also running a DCC/MCC mash-up set in a post-apoc World of Greyhawk. In the funnel session, a mob of 0-levels defended the Inn of the Welcome Wench from a bullywug invasion during a horrific thunderstorm. In the second session, the survivors investigated the absence of Rufus and Burne. The PCs broke into the pair’s tower to discover the wizard Burne transformed into a horrid creature using its eye and mouth tentacles to operate Rufus as a puppet. The PCs found themselves facing a deadly threat, and so they fled the tower.

During and since North Texas RPG Con, I’ve picked up a few new RPG products. Let’s read about one of them now. I’ll get to the others later.

Tales from the Tavern, Issue #1 from Elven Maid Inn. This 98-page, system-agnostic gaming magazine is full of good stuff. There’s an essay. There are two interviews. There’s an explanation of Dystopian Dawn character creation. I dig the crossword puzzles and the two “NPC Extravaganzas”, which give system-neutral write-ups for NPCs to be dropped into my campaigns. There’re also monsters, fiction, spells, and campaign lore. It’s a great debut issue, and I’m looking forward to Issue #2.

Caveat: The editing in Issue #1 is spotty. There are numerous typos throughout, some of which would have been caught by spellcheck. This doesn’t make Issue #1 not well-worth checking out, but it does irritate my inner English teacher. Also, those last two links are affiliate links, and I’m the affiliate.

If you’re looking for worthwhile creators on Patreon, here’re the ones I currently support:

Talons and Tales: Art and stories created by a youthful artist. There’s not a lot of content here yet, but what there is amuses and inspires. Talons and Tales had me hooked with 29 June’s “Squirrel Rogue” post, especially the sketch of the squirrel rogue crouched in front of a locked chest, pausing long enough to give the viewer the side-eye.

Tome of Salvaterra: Many wonderful examples of stock art, maps, and creatures illustrated by Fernando Salvaterra, who is “a Brazilian freelance writer and illustrator who loves RPG and maps.” I get a real old-school vibe along with some whimsy as well.

Jeshields – RPG Stock Art: The title says it all. Illustrations come in black-and-white and/or color (depending on your level of patronage). There are monsters, characters, and items, oh my! There is a lot of content here. JE releases 10 illustrations a month and gives away credit for his on-line store of stock art. Not only that JE’s runs a great game of marines versus aliens.

Silver Compass Maps: Silver designs maps for table-top gaming. I’ve used several of them via Foundry when playing on-line. These maps usually have variants, such as daytime or night for outdoor maps. Silver does some lovely work, and my players have commented how nice her maps are.

AlexTheMapMaker: This my newest Patreon. Alex puts out one to three maps monthly. His town maps are what sold me. They’re simple, easy to read, and come with a handy key of main buildings. He also has battlemaps as well as isometric and traditional dungeons. What’s not to like?