Spes Magna Games

Merry Sixth Day of Christmas!

Dashing through the snow? Not as quickly as the snowdasher, a deadly predator for 2E AD&D.

Snowdasher

Climate/Terrain: Any cold
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Solitary or family
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Low (5-7)
Treasure: E
Alignment: Chaotic evil

No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 4
Movement: 15, Cl 9, Sw 9
Hit Dice: 10
THACO: 11
No. of Attacks: 5
Damage/Attack: 3-10/3-10/3-10/3-10/4-14
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: Impervious to cold
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: H (about 16′ tall)
Morale: Champion (15-16)
XP Value: 4,000

The snowdasher appears much like a polar bear from a distance, but it is larger, more intelligent, and far more malicious than any polar bear. It has six legs ending with enormous paws and fearsome claws. From its snout grows an iron-hard horn of twisted bone. The snowdasher speaks a debased form of the frost giant language.

Combat: The snowdasher blends in well with ice and snow. In such environs, the snowdasher imposes a -2 penalty on others’ surprise rolls. It often charges into battle, using its horn much like a lance. To make this charge, there must be at least 30 feet of open space between the snowdasher and its opponent (and ice and snow — even of a magical variety — never impede a snowdasher’s movement). An opponent struck by a charging snowdasher’s horn suffers 4-32 points of damage from impaling. The snowdasher cannot attack with its claws on the same round it charges, but it can bite the target of its horn. The snowdasher can also attack with its claws and fangs. A paw hit of 18 or better indicates a “hug”. This attack inflicts 4-18 (2d8+2) points of additional damage, and a snowdasher can “hug” up to twice per round.

Habitat/Society: The snowdasher usually stalks frozen regions alone, but may be encountered in a small family group of up to four, usually a solitary female adult and its offspring. This monster most often lairs in ice caves, glacial crevasses, or mountain caverns. The snowdasher survives by hunting, and it is an indiscriminate killer. Although territorial, it often ventures to new hunting grounds when prey becomes scarce. Arctic hunters from have unwittingly led a snowchaser back to their communities, and the monster revels in slaughtering humans, demi-humans, and humanoids.

Ecology: The snowdasher seldom has reason to fear other arctic predators. It has the strength needed to prey on a lone polar bear or even a small or sickly killer whale.

Tags: AD&D, Christmas, monsters

Merry Fourth Day of Christmas!

Today we sail for beautiful Iceland to watch the selfish and indolent get eaten by the fearsome Jólakötturinn.

Also known as the Yule Cat, the Jólakötturinn is a monstrous feline with an unpleasant disposition. In the days leading up to Christmas, it hides in the snow drifts outside town. In the days following Christmas Eve, it stalks the selfish and indolent who could not earn new clothes, which, according to about ten minutes of “research” on the internet, was a common form of payment to employees. The Jólakötturinn especially enjoys hunting and eating naughty children.

The Jólakötturinn appears much like an enormous housecat. It is about 21 feet long from nose to tail-tip, about six feet high at the shoulder, and it weighs about one and a half tons. Its fur adapts to provide excellent camouflage in snowy fields, icy woodlands, and darkened village streets. Its eyes, yellow-green in color, shine with baleful light when its draws blood.

Jólakötturinn
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 5
Move: 15″
Hit Dice: 8+3
% in Lair: 15%
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 2-7/2-7/2-16
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low
Alignment: Neutral evil
Size: L
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: VII/1,500 + 12/hp

The Jólakötturinn climbs well, and it can leap 15 feet upwards and 45 to 75 feet ahead in attack. When it scores two forepaw hits in one melee round, it rakes its victim with its rear claws, attacking twice more for 2-12 points of damage per attack. The Jólakötturinn’s magical eyes enable it to see the selfishness and laziness, and this monstrous cat attacks those “stained” by these moral failings, doing so with a +2 on the “to hit” die. Due its keen senses, the Jólakötturinn is surprised only on a 1. It takes only half damage from cold-based attacks.

Tags: AD&D, Christmas, monsters

It’s April the first, which means ballyhoo and shenanigans!

Meireule “Lord of Misrule”
Demigod

Armor Class: 1
Move: 15”
Hit Points: 95
No. of Attacks: 3/2
Damage/Attack: By weapon type
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: Immune to enchantment/charm, and see below
Magic Resistance: 35%
Size: M (5-1/2′ tall)
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Worshiper’s Align: Any chaotic, plus revelers, children, lunatics, and entertainers
Symbol: Six-pointed star with a heart in its center
Plane: Prime Material Plane
Cleric/Druid: Nil
Fighter: 7th-level fighter
Magic-User/Illusionist: 10th-level illusionist
Thief/Assassin: 8th-level thief
Monk/Bard: 13th-level bard
Psionic Ability: IV
S: 16, I: 19, W: 12, D: 19, C: 18, CH: 20

Meireule, the Lord of Misrule, is a minor deity concerned with festivals, revels, the rowdier side of childhood, and overthrowing the established social order in favor of whimsy and anarchy. He appears as an outrageously dressed man with a large nose, neatly trimmed mustache and beard, and invariably carrying a ridiculously slender staff and a rapier.

In battle, Meireule fights with his staff or his rapier. The former strikes as a +3 quarterstaff. On any hit, the target must make a saving throw versus spell or be struck silly (as confusion, but treating results of 61 or better as “reduced to helpless laughter for 1 round”). This silliness lasts for 5-10 melee rounds. His blade strikes a +3 long sword. On any hit, the target must make a saving throw versus spell or pass out in a drunken stupor from which he cannot be stirred for 2-5 hours. Lawful creatures suffer a -4 penalty on their saving throws to resist not only Meireule’s weapons but also any of his spells.

Furthermore, no mortal that has consumed alcohol within the past hour can attempt to harm Meireule in any way (no saving throw permitted, but this effect is negated if Meireule attacks the drinker). Of course, Meireule, while not objecting to a light-hearted brawl, prefers to not engage in combat. He enjoys using his illusionist, thief, and bard abilities to sow confusion and merriment.

Like all divine beings, Meireule has the following special abilities, all of which function instantaneously and at will, but not continuously: command (no saving throw), comprehend languages (including the ability to speak or write the language as well), detect alignment, gate (3-18 leprechauns), geas (with a range of 9”), quest (with a range of 9” and no saving throw), teleport with no error, and true seeing.

Tags: AD&D, Deities & Demigods

I shuffled my Atmar’s Cardography cards from Norse Foundry dealt out the top four, and arranged to form a mini-dungeon. With graph paper, pencil, felt tip pen, and an eraser, I turned the cards into the The Chamber of the Crooked Star, a 1E AD&D micro-dungeon. You can download the PDF of this mini-dungeon by clicking on the correct link.

Enjoy!

Tags: AD&D, dungeon crawls, micro-adventure

Benchleydale Academy is (to quote the group’s description) “the NSFW hardcore gonzo 1st edition AD&D chills, spills and thrills” game masterminded by Timothy Connolly. The public face shines on Facebook via Benchleydale and Beyond. I’m more a lurker than a participant in Benchleydale Academy, at least so far. One of these days, a Benchleydale event will happen at a time when my schedule permits me to get stuck in the interwebs for a few hours.

The Academy has a number of a partners, many of whom offer prizes to Academy members who participate in on-line contests. Each contest consists of a themed challenge, a sort of mini-creative writing exercise that requires a response of exactly eleven words. Recently, I won two of these contests. I’ve yet to receive the prizes, but surely when I receive them pictures shall be shared.

I’m receiving “a sealed deck of Atmar’s Cardography”, specifically the Break Through the Icy Divide, “a 52 card dungeon crawl module for use with your favorite roleplaying game”, produced by Norse Foundry, provider of “quality products such as Role playing Game Dice, Game Mats to shield your table from any damage, and the finest of dwarven currency to carry everywhere you go.” To win this prize, I had to charm a frost giant and describe what it would do for me. My eleven-word description? He will call me George and love me and pet me.

I also won the contest sponsored by Antediluvian Miniatures, purveyor of fine figures “[i]nspired by the lost worlds of Jules Verne, HG Wells and other illuminating tales”. From Antediluvian Miniatures, I shall receive a few figurines cast in pewter. The contest attached to this prize was to name and create a dinosaur. Here’s mine: Umbrasaurus: Dead dinosaurs come back as incorporeal spirits that haunt primordial places. (Nota Bene: The name does not count against the eleven-word limit.) See below for the monster stats of sample umbrasaurus.

Umbrasaural Deinonychus
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1-3
Armor Class: 4
Move: 21″ (MC: A)
Hit Dice: 4+1
% in Lair: Nil
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 1-2/1-2/2-8
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: +1 or better weapon to hit
Magic Resistance: See below
Intelligence: Semi-
Alignment: Neutral evil
Size: L (12′ long)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil/nil
Level/XP Value: V/290 + 5/hp

In life, this monster was a fast carnivore that used its speed, grasping forearms, large teeth, and fierce rear talons to bring down prey. Whatever dark necromancy transforms a dead dinosaur into an umbrasaurus has altered the form and function of the deinonychus, granting into horrible powers and a dim, evil intelligence.

The incorporeal umbrasaural deinonychus has most of its existence on the negative material plane. It still moves swiftly, but now it flies, even moving through solid matter (albeit at two-thirds its normal speed). So swift and silent does the umbrasaural deinonychus move that it surprises opponents 50% of the time. Its claws and fangs inflict icy wounds, and its bite is so cold that each hit drains 1 point of the victim’s dexterity. If a living opponent reaches 0 dexterity, the victim becomes paralyzed and helpless. Note that dexterity returns to a creature 2-8 turns after being drained.

Sleep, charm, hold, and cold-based spells cannot affect the umbrasaural deinonychus. Poison and paralyzation are likewise ineffective. A vial-full of holy water inflicts 2-8 points of damage if it hits the umbrasaural deinonychus. Treat the umbrasaural deinonychus as a wraith for purposes of turning the undead.

Tags: AD&D, monsters