Spes Magna Games

Then Elias was afraid, and rising up he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there, And he went forward, one day’s journey into the desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper tree, he requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord, take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers. And he cast himself down, and slept in the shadow of the juniper tree: and behold an angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat. He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again. (1 Kings 19:3-6)

Fantasy roleplaying games often include divine magic, usable by clerics or other servants of deities. Among the magical effects these divine servants call upon is the ability to create food and drink. For example, in the most recent edition of D&D, the spell create food and water is a 3rd-level spell that creates “45 pounds of food and 30 gallons of water”, which is “enough to sustain up to fifteen humanoids or five steeds for 24 hours.” Furthermore, the “food is bland but nourishing, and spoils if uneaten after 24 hours. The water is clean and doesn’t go bad.”

Other fantasy games based on some version of D&D have similar spells. Thus, we find Create Food and Drink in Charlie Mason’s excellent White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game as a 5th-level Cleric spell. That makes it among the highest-level Cleric spells in the game, a use of a rare resource just to create “a one-day supply of simple food and drinking water for 24 humans”.

I’ve played fantasy roleplaying games for nigh on four decades, and I have no memory of any player ever using a spell to create food or water during a game. The closest I remember is goodberry, a 1st-level spell that not only creates food but also helps heal injuries.

When we look at religion and mythology for examples of divine food, we don’t often find things as mundane as “bland but nourishing”. Ambrosia, soma, amrita, magical peaches, et cetera, variably grant immortality, greatly extend the consumer’s lifespan, heal injuries and disease, and so on.

So, here are my suggestions about making spells that create food and water a little more magical for three different fantasy roleplaying games.

AD&D

Create Food & Water
Level: 3
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Area of Effect: 1 cubic foot/level
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 turn
Saving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast, the cleric causes food and/or water to appear. The food thus created is highly nourishing, and each cubic food of the material will sustain three human-sized creatures or one horse-sized creature for a full day. For each level of experience the cleric has attained, 1 cubic foot of food and/or water is created by the spell. Up to three times per day, a creature can spend 3 turns to make a meal of this magical food and/or water. During this time of rest and gustation, the creature heals 1d8 hit points (as cure light wounds). If the creature is afflicted by blindess or disease, the creature gets to make a new saving throw against the effect (assuming a saving throw was allowed to begin with). If the creature succeeds on this saving throw, the creature is healed of the condition (as cure blindess or cure disease).

D&D 5E

Create Food and Water
3rd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

You create 45 pounds of food and 30 gallons of water on the ground or in containers within range, enough to sustain up to fifteen humanoids or five steeds for 24 hours. The food is pleasing and nourishing, but spoils if uneaten after 24 hours. The water is clean and doesn’t go bad.

A creature who consumes this food and drink during a short rest regains a number of hit points equal to 1d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. The meal also ends any one of these conditions which might be afflicting the creature: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned.

White Box

Create Food and Drink
Spell Level: C5
Range: Close
Duration: Instantaneous

This spell creates a one-day supply of remarkable food and drinking water for 24 humans (or horses, which drink the same amount as a man for game purposes).

Up to three times per day, a creature may consume this remarkable food and water, taking 30 minutes to rest, eat, and drink. After doing so, the creature is affected in one of the following ways:

1. The creature is cured of all diseases, including those magically inflicted.

2. The creature regains 1d6+1 HP.

3. A poison affecting the creature is counteracted (but the food and water cannot bring the dead back to life).

Tags: 1E AD&D, 5E D&D, Catholic, spells, WhiteBox Adventures

And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. (Genesis 3:14)

Nahash
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 3
Move: 18″
Hit Dice: 8
% in Lair: 15%
Treasure Type: E
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-4
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: 35%
Intelligence: Exceptional
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Size: L (20′ long)
Psionic Ability: 100
Attack/Defense Modes: C, D/G, I
Level/XP Value: VII/1,550 + 10/hp

The demonic nahashim appear as huge serpents with black to gray scales, uneven red stripes, and crimson eyes. These monsters can be found throughout the Abyss. On the Prime Material Plane, they seek to deceive and tempt, especially if doing so brings ruin to the innocent.

Being a demon, the nahash cannot be harmed by any sort of normal weaponry or by silver weapons, even those that are magical. It takes half damage from cold, electrity, fire, and gas. The nahash is immune to poison. It communicates via telepathy as well by speech, always as if under the effect of a tongues spell. It has infravision (of the normal 60-foot variety), sheds darkness in a 15-foot radius, can teleport (no error), and can gate in another nahash (50%), a type V demon (25%), or 4-16 manes (25%) (40% chance of success).

A nahash’s bite is not especially powerful, but it carries a horrifying poison. If a poison saving throw fails, the victim dies immediately. Even if the poison save succeeds, the victim takes 3-18 points of damage. Any creature slain by the nahash’s poison dries up and turns to dust in 1-4 rounds. Nahashim love to devour this dust.

A nahash has three minor psionic disciplines. One of these will always be hypnosis. Its magical abilities, any one of which can be used at will, are detect invisibility, dispel magic, fear, phantasmal force, and telekinesis 2,500 gold pieces weight. Once per day, it can transmute water to dust, affecting up to 80 cubic feet of water.

Nahash
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 102 (12d10+36)
Speed 45 ft.
Ability Scores STR 14 (+2), DEX 16 (+3), CON 17 (+3), INT 16 (+3), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 18 (+4)

Saving Throws INT +7, WIS +6, CHA +8
Skills Deception +8, Insight +6, Perception +6, Persuasion +8, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances cold, fire, electricity; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical and nonsilver weapons
Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from silver weapons
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 20 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages all, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. The nahash’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: darkness, dispel magic, fear, phantasmal force, see invisibility, telekinesis, teleport
3/day each: charm person, suggestion
1/day: create or destroy water (destroy only, as if cast in a 4th-level spell slot)

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

Summon Demon (1/Day). The nahash has a 40 percent chance of summoning one nahash, one marilith, or 4d4 manes.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful save. A creature that dies from nahash venom turns to dust in 1d4 rounds.

Tags: 1E AD&D, 5E D&D, Catholic, monsters

This morning on FaceBook, Scott Denman asked, “Can a devil and modron have offspring??”

The answer is, of course, “Yes.”

Theirs was a forbidden union, an erinyes and a rogue pentadrone, and Pentastrife, their only child, is a fearsome creature. Pentastrife resembles a tall human of indeterminate gender. It has five arms, five legs, and five great fleshy wings. It has five eyes, five mouths, and ten each nostrils and ears, arranged in rings around its bald head.

Frequency: Unique
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 2
Move: 12″/15″
Hit Dice: 60 hit points
% in Lair: 20%
Treasure Type: R
No. of Attacks: 5
Damage/Attack: By weapon (x5)
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: 15%
Intelligence: Very
Alignment: Lawful evil (neutral tendencies)
Size: M (6-1/2′ tall)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defens Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: IX/7,610

Pentastrife fights with all five arms at once, wielding whatever combination of weapons it has available. For example, it might wield a longbow with two arms and three long swords with its other limbs. Regardless, Pentastrife always makes five attacks per round, whether wielding one weapon or five. It is also quite strong, possessing an 18/51 strength (apply +2 to-hit and +3 damage bonuses where appropriate). Instead of its weapon attacks, Pentastrife may spew a stream of paralyzing gas from one of its five mouths, doing so no more than once every 5 turns up to 5 times per day. The gas forms a cloud 3″ long, 2″ wide, and 1″ high. Any creature caught in the cloud must make a save versus paralysis or remain immobile for 5 rounds.

Pentastrife cannot be affected by illusions or magic that affects the mind (beguilement, charm, domination, hold, hypnosis, sleep, et cetera). Fear and other emotion spells have no affect, nor do attacks based in the Positive or Negative Planes (including life-draining or life-stealing). Cold, gas, and acid attacks against Pentastrife are always at -2 per die of damage. It cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, fire attacks, or by iron weapons (even magical ones). Pentastrife has potent magical powers, usable at will, once per round: animate dead, cause fear, charm person, detect invisible, illusion, invisibility, know alignment, locate object, polymorph self, produce flame, suggestion, and teleport (no error).

Pentastrife has double human senses and double normal infravision and ultravision (180 feet and 200 yards, respectively). It cannot be surprised by visible creatures.

Tags: 1E AD&D, monsters

Some of the time, I think I’m in the wrong line of work. I mean, I can write, maybe not well, but certainly well enough to, say, churn out a remake of 1981’s laughably bad Blood Beach. What that’s, you say? Who in their right mind would remark Blood Beach? Well, you’ll have to ask Alex Greenfield and Ben Powell that question. My guess is that they wrote the laughably bad The Sand for the money, which presumably means there’s money to be made writing horrible movies. I wonder if The Asylum is hiring?

Presenting the Sand Monster for both Mutant Future and AD&D.

Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 45′ (15′), burrow 30′ (10′), swim 120′ (40′)
Armor Class: 9
Hit Dice: 18
Attacks: 1 (tendrils) or 4 (tentacles)
Damage: Paralysis or 2d6
Save: L9
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 9,000

Mutations: Burrowing, Gigantism, Unique Sense (vibrations)

The sand monster is an enormous mutant jellyfish that has adapted to life underground as well as in the water. Predatory and voracious, the sand monster burrows under a beach, lurking a few feet beneath the sand. It then spreads out its tentacles and tendrils, covering a 45-foot radius. Then, it lurks out of sight, using its highly attuned ability to sense vibrations to target its prey, which it tries to ambush. It prefers to attack with its tendrils, dozens of slender extensions that are covered with stinging cells that deliver a Class 11 poison (failed save causes 2d6 rounds of paralysis while a successful save results in half movement for 1d6 rounds). Against a helpless target, these tendrils shred flesh, killing the helpless victim in 1 round. If the sand monster abandons its subsurface position, it attacks with its powerful tentacles. These supple limbs can reach up to 30 feet, and they are also covered with the same type of stinging cells found on the tendrils.

Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 9
Move: 3″//12″ (3″)
Hit Dice: 18
% in Lair: 85%
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 1 or 4
Damage/Attack: Paralysis or 2-12
Special Attacks: Paralyzation
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Non-
Alignment: Neutral
Size: L (15′ long with 30′ long tentacles)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defens Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: IX/6,550 + 25/hp

The sand monster is a strange sort of giant jellyfish adapted to life beneath the sands of beaches. This monster burrows a few feet beneath the sand and then spreads out, covering about a 45-foot radius. It senses vibrations within this radius and uses those vibrations to target its prey. The sand monster usually attacks with its tendrils, the sting of which force a saving throw against poison to avoid 2-12 rounds of paralysis. Even if the saving throw is successful, the victim is slowed for 1-6 rounds. If the sand monster leaves its hiding place beneath the sand, it attacks with four powerful tentacles, each of which can reach up to 30 feet. A tentacle inflicts 2-12 points of damage and also carries the same poison as the tendrils.

Tags: 1E AD&D, monsters, Mutant Future

Back in December 2015, I wrote up the poohvian for AD&D. It’s time for an update of Myles Wohl‘s wonderful illustration.

Keepers of Bees. Poohvians are good-natured, short humanoid bears who live in small tribal bands. Pastoral and gentle, poohvians cultivate berries, nuts, and fish in hatcheries, and they always keep honey bees. Poohvians prefer to live in hilly forests, making their homes out of well-constructed burrows or within natural caves.

Rumbly, Tumbly. Poohvians love friendly contests of wrestling during social gatherings, especially after a few mugs of mead and some honeycakes. Almost always, these frequent poohvian celebrations become boisterous, even rowdy, but the grappling matches seldom result in serious injuries or hurt feelings.

Poohvian
Small humanoid (poohvian), neutral good

Armor Class 15 (breastplate, shield)
Hit Points 9 (2d6+2)
Speed 25 ft.
Ability Scores STR 12 (+1), DEX 8 (-1), CON 12 (+1), INT 8 (-1), WIS 10 (+0), CHA 11 (+0)

Skills Perception +2
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Poohvian
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Keen Smell. The poohvian has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Wrestler. Whenever the poohvian makes a Strength (Athletics) check while grappling, the poohvian is considered proficient in the Athletics skill and adds double its proficiency bonus to the check (+4) instead of its normal proficiency bonus (+2).

Actions

Multiattack. The poohvian makes two attacks: once with its claws and once with its bite. Most of the time, however, the poohvian prefers to fight with weapons.

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

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d3+1) piercing damage.

Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) piercing damage.

Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) slashing damage.

Tags: 1E AD&D, 5E D&D, monsters