Spes Magna Games

And it’s back to my series of 5E D&D conversions of material from the AD&D Deities & Demigods. When last I left off, I’d tackled a bit of the Finnish Mythos as well as several magical items. Returning to the Finnish Mythos, I’m faced with a minor irritation. Most of the Finnish Mythos consists of heroes, and converting heroes to 5E D&D is a bit of a pain. So, in order to minimize the pain bits, I’m going to limit myself to three final Finnish Mythos conversions.

The first is Louhi, the wicked crone who rules “the evil land of Pohjola with an iron hand.” In later posts, I’ll get to the Son of Pohjola, Louhi’s savage offspring (and one of the few NPCs from Deities & Demigods that I ever used while DMing). I’ll finish up the Finnish Mythos with the air maidens, those angelic servants of Ukko, the supreme god of the Kalevala.

(Nota Bene: That link above is an affiliate link.)

Louhi rules the evil land of Pohjola with an iron hand. She opposes all of the good heroes of Kalevala, and works continuously for their downfall. (Deities & Demigods, page 60)

Louhi
Medium humanoid (human), lawful evil

Armor Class 14
Hit Points 110 (13d8+52)
Speed 25 ft.
Ability Scores STR 8 (-1), DEX 18 (+4), CON 19 (+4), INT 19 (+4), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 7 (-2)

Saving Throws INT +14, WIS +14, CHA +3
Skills Arcana +9, Intimidation +3, Perception +9, Nature +9
Damage Resistances necrotic, poison
Senses passive Perception 19
Languages Common, Giant, Infernal
Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)

Illusion Immunity. Louhi cannot be fooled any illusion created by a cantrip or 1st-level spell (or their equivalent).

Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Louhi fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.

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

Mind of Iron. Louhi’s proficiency bonus for Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws is doubled.

Queen of the Dead. Undead never attack Louhi unless controlled to do so, and even then, the undead have disadvantage on attack rolls to hit Louhi. When Louhi casts animate dead or create undead, the undead she creates have 15 additional hit points and inflict an additional 5 points of damage with their attacks.

Spellcasting. Louhi is a 15th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Intelligence (save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). She prepares spells from the cleric (up to 5th-level spells), druid (up to 5th-level spells), and wizard (up to 8th-level spells) lists. She has the following spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): dancing lights, mage hand, minor illusion, poison spray, sacred flame
1st level (4 slots): cure wounds, mage armor, silent image, thunderwave
2nd level (3 slots): hold person, phantasmal force, spike growth
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, protection from energy, vampiric touch
4th level (3 slots): divination, phantasmal killer, wall of fire
5th level (2 slots): contagion, mislead
6th level (1 slot): circle of death, create undead
7th level (1 slot): etherealness
8th level (1 slot): incendiary cloud

Spell Recovery (1/Day). Louhi has learned to regain some of her magical energy by meditation. When she finishes a short rest, she can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than 15, and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher.

Actions

Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d6-1) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage, or 3 (1d8-1) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage if used with two hands.

Legendary Actions

Louhi can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Louhi regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.

Cantrip. Louhi casts a cantrip.

Detect. Louhi makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.

Teleport. Louhi magically teleports, along with any equipment she is wearing or carrying, up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space she can see.

Lair Actions

Within the evil land of Pohjola, Louhi reigns supreme. If Louhi is encountered in her lair, she has a challenge of rating of 15 (13,000 XP). While in her twisted forest home or forboding castle, on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Louhi takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:

Blinding Ice and Snow. A whirling cloud of ice and snow roars up around Louhi. Each creature within 10 feet of her, including around a corner, must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of Louhi’s next turn. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to this effect until the end of the Louhi’s next turn.

Grasping Shadows. Sinuous shadows appear in a 20-foot radius centered on a point on the ground that Louhi can see within 60 feet of her. That area becomes difficult terrain, and each creature there must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the shadows. A creature can be freed it it or another creature takes an action to make a DC 18 Strength check and succeeds. The grasping shadows fade away when Louhi uses this lair action again or when Louhi dies.

Queenly Might. Louhi rolls 1d8 and regains a spell slot of that level or lower. If she has no spent spell slots of that level or lower, nothing happens.

Regional Effects

The region around Louhi’s forboding castle is warped by her powerful magic, which creates the following effects, all of which fade within 1d10 days if Louhi dies.

* Icy fog lightly obscures the land within 6 miles of Louhi’s castle.

* While Louhi is at rest, storms rage within 6 miles of Louhi’s castle, forming blizzard conditions.

* Icy, jagged formations create labyrinthine passages within 1 mile of Louhi’s castle. The formations act as 10-foot high, 10-foot thick walls that block line of sight. Creatures can move through the passages as if they were difficult terrain. Each 10-foot cube of ice has AC 5, 30 hit points, resistance to bludgeoning and slashing damage, vulnerability to fire damage, and immunity to psychic and lightning damage.

Tags: 5E D&D, Deities & Demigods, NPCs

Behold I will bring them from the north country, and will gather them from the ends of the earth: and among them shall be the blind, and the lame, the woman with child, and she that is bringing forth, together, a great company of them returning hither. They shall come with weeping: and I will bring them back in mercy: and I will bring them through the torrents of waters in a right way, and they shall not stumble in it: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. (Prophecy Of Jeremias 31:8-9)

Safer Route
2nd-level divination (ritual)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (an iron needle and a bit of magnetite)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 day

You touch a willing creature, granting it a heightened ability to navigate through and survive in the wilderness. For the spell’s duration, the target makes all ability checks and skill checks with advantage so long as those checks deal with overcoming or avoiding hazards presented by terrain, weather, and becoming lost. The target also makes Wisdom (Survival) checks with advantage when foraging for food and water, and, when successful, the target increases the amount of food (in pounds) and water (in gallons) by the target’s proficiency modifier (1d6 + the target’s Wisdom modifier + the target’s proficiency modifier, to be precise).

Tags: 5E D&D, Catholic, spells

In 2002, I contributed several spells to Spells and Spellcraft, published by Fantasy Flight Games. Not too long ago, I retooled a few of the spells I contributed to Spells and Spellcraft for folks to use with 5E D&D game. Many of the spells I wrote for Spells and Spellcraft were third-edition versions of spells I created for AD&D way back when. (Nota Bene: The link for Spells and Spellcraft is an affiliate link.)

Catalytic Mouth
3rd-level illusion (ritual)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a small bit of honeycomb from the hive of giant bees and jade dust worth at least 10 gp, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Until dispelled or activated

This spell duplicates the effects of magic mouth, but with the additional ability that the magical mouth can speak a command word or phrase used to trigger a spell or magic item within 30 feet of the space in which the catalytic mouth is placed. Once the catalytic mouth speaks the command word or phrase, it is dispelled.

Crescendo of Indefatigably
1st-level enchantment

Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when about to attempt an action
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

You sing a single, pure note when you are about to attempt an action. You have advantage on the die roll made to attempt that action.

Debilitating Decrescendo
3rd-level enchantment

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

You sing a powerful, clear note that degenerates into a discordant gasp directed at a creature you can see within range. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 5d6 psychic damage and acquires one level of exhaustion. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage and doesn’t gain a level of exhaustion. The target can never acquire more than one level of exhaustion from this spell.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

Tags: 5E D&D, spells

Taking a break from statting up heroes from the Finnish Mythos of the AD&D Deities & Demigods. Today, we have a few magic items. Direct quotes all come from Deities & Demigods. (N.B. I’ve noticed on a couple of sites that it’s customary to note that some links are affiliate links. The link to the Deities & Demigods book is an affiliate link. That means if you click here and buy there, I get a small amount of money for the transaction.)

The Elder Sign
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

“This small grey (sometimes greenish) stone in the shape of a five-pointed star is a powerful protection against all minions of the Old Ones. The true potent Elder Signs are few in number and incredibly ancient, having been made by the elder gods. They have the following powers:”

* While carrying the Elder Sign, you have immunity to psionic powers (such as the innate spellcasting of the Great Race of Yith). Your Armor Class improves by +3 against attacks from the minions of the Old Ones.

* When you use an action to strongly present the Elder Sign, minions of the Old Ones such as Shoggoths, Byakhee, Flame Creatures, Deep Ones, and Mi-Go flee from you. An affected creature moves as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

Magic Wool
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

“Certain mighty persons of Pohjola [the land of evil and wizardry] have some of this material which, when rubbed against the flesh, produces a flock of thirty sheep once a month.”

Magical Brush
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

When you are injured or otherwise in trouble, the magical brush sheds blood, no matter the distance between you and the magical brush.

Magical Sledge
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

The magical sledge “pulls itself…and can travel over land or water.” It moves at a speed of 60 feet according to your spoken directions. The magical sledge can carry 600 pounds.

The Necronomicon
Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

“The Necronomicon is a powerful and perilous magical tome of ancient origins. It was originally written by Abdul Alhazred, a great magic-user known to some as the ‘Mad Arab’. After ten years alone in the desert he wrote a book called Al Azif — words used to denote the nocturnal sounds of insects which may be the voices of demons. Alhazred was later seized in the streets of a desert city by invisible demons and devoured horribly in front of many witnesses.”

A creature attuned to the book must spend 80 hours reading and studying it to have a chance of understanding its contents. If the creature is non-evil, that creature must make a DC 17 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the creature’s alignment shifts one step closer to chaotic evil (see Slip into Madness below).

Forbidden Knowledge. You can reference the Necronomicon whenever you make an Intelligence check to find information about the Old Ones and their minions. When you do so, double your proficiency bonus on that check.

Open What Ought To Stay Closed. Using the blasphemous incantations in the Necronomicon, you can open portals to alien realms. As a ritual, you can use contact other plane, gate, or plane shift.

Slip into Madness. Each time you use the Necronomicon, you must make a DC 17 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, your alignment shifts one step closer to chaotic evil, shifting from law to neutrality to chaos before shifting from good to neutral to evil. With each shift in alignment, you acquire a minor detrimental property (DMG, page 220). When you become chaotic evil, you become an NPC under the DM’s control. If you were already chaotic evil, you become irrevocably mad (and an NPC under the DM’s control).

Random Properties. The Necronomicon has two randomly determined two minor beneficial properties.

Rake of Iron
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

“This item appears to be 3′ in length but, because of its magical nature and purpose, it can elongate to as far as the user wishes (up to 200 yards).” When used to rake an area as part of a search, you double your proficiency bonus to find what you’re searching for.

Snowshoes of Speed and Traveling
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

While wearing these snowshoes, your walking speed is doubled, and any creature that makes an opportunity attack against you has disadvantage on the attack roll. You ignore difficult terrain created by ice or snow.

True Ankh
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by a cleric of the Life domain)

“This magical device, carried by all the gods of the Nile at one time or another, enables them to raise any dead creature fully….”

The true ankh combines the powers of a rod of resurrection and a staff of healing. It has 10 charges. It regains 1 expended charge daily at dawn. If the true ankh is reduced to 0 charges, it disappears in a burst of radiance, returning to the realm of the gods.

For reasons unknown to me, these three magic items do not appear in the 5E DMG. They might appear somewhere else, but I don’t own somewhere else. These are strange omissions. Some version of these crossbows have been part of D&D for decades.

Crossbow of Accuracy
Weapon (crossbow), very rare (requires attunement)

The crossbow of accuracy is a +3 weapon. All ranges are considered normal. One in 10 of these weapons are heavy crossbows.

Crossbow of Distance
Weapon (crossbow), rare (requires attunement)

The crossbow of distance has double range in both categories. Otherwise, it is a +1 crossbow. One in 10 of these weapons are heavy crossbows.

Crossbow of Speed
Weapon (crossbow), very rare (requires attunement)

This +1 crossbow automatically cocks itself when it is grasped. When you use the crossbow of speed in combat, you roll initiative with advantage. If you are wielding this weapon when surprised, you may make one attack with it during the round in which you are surprised. The crossbow of speed does not have the load property.

Tags: 5E D&D, Deities & Demigods, magic items

And James and John the sons of Zebedee, come to him, saying: Master, we desire that whatsoever we shall ask, thou wouldst do it for us: But he said to them: What would you that I should do for you? And they said: Grant to us, that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. (The Gospel According to St. Mark 10:35-37)

Guard of Glory
3rd-level abjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 19 feet
Components: V, S, M (a vial of holy water)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You sprinkle yourself and one or two willing creatures with holy water while chanting words of consecration. For the duration of the spell, you and the spell’s targets gain certain protections:

* Aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead have disadvantage on attack rolls against the target. The target also can’t be charmed, frightened, or possessed by these creatures.

* When making a saving throw, a creature affected by this spell rolls with advantage.

* All affected creatures have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

The spell’s targets must remain within 10 feet of you to enjoy the benefits of this spell. At least one of the spell’s targets must remain within 10 feet of you for you to enjoy the benefits of this spell.

Tags: 5E D&D, Catholic, spells