Spes Magna Games

Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee. Be not afraid at their presence: for I will make thee not to fear their countenance. For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee. (Jeremiah 1:17-19)

Pillar of Iron (Abjuration)
Level: Cleric 5
Range: 0
Duration: 1 round/level
Area of Effect: 1″ diameter by 2″ high column
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 8 segments
Saving Throw: Special

Explanation/Description: When the cleric calls upon his or her deity for strength and protection, a burst of radiance radiates from the cleric, forming a column of bright light equal to continual light. Enemies within the spell’s area of effect must make a saving throw. Failure to make the save means the creature is violently thrust 10-30 feet directly away from the cleric. If the creature hits a solid object as a result, it takes 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of forcible movement. The area of effect is equal to a protection from evil spell. The cleric is immune to fear and magical silence for the spell’s duration. The cleric and those friendly to the cleric who are in the area of effect make “to hit” and damage rolls at +1, while enemies within the area of effect suffer a -1 on “to hit”, damage, and saving throws. The material component is a small iron rod.

Tags: AD&D, Catholic, spells

This Sunday, the AD&D game continues as the characters — all squires serving Lady Mirelyn — continue to investigate sinister and secretive skullduggery in Saltmarsh’s allegedly haunted house. So far, the squires have found little evidence of haunting, but they have found evidence of murder in the form of a rot grub bloated corpse in the house’s basement.

Last Thursday, I presented AD&D versions of two creatures from the 1981 printing of TSR’s Gamma World. I’m a little more pressed for time this week, so here’s one more mutant monster reimagined.

Fen
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 4-40
Armor Class: 7
Move: 6″//12″
Hit Dice: 2+1
% in Lair: 30%
Treasure Type: D
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 1-6/by weapon
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low to average
Alignment: Neutral (evil)
Size: M
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: III/65 + 3/hp (Assistant or guard: III/110 + 4/hp. Leader: IV/170 + 5/hp. Chief: V/300 + 6/hp. Shaman: III/135 + 4/hp.)

Climate/Terrain: Coastal waters and swamps/tropical to temperate
Organization: Tribal
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Omnivore
Morale: Elite (14)

Fens are intelligent, man-sized humanoid fish. On land, they walk on stubby fins that double as legs. Fens have both lungs and gills, and they may remain out of water for as long as 24 hours without suffering any ill effects. Due to their translucent skin, fens blend into their environs when underwater so as to become invisible (requiring the ability to see invisible objects to locate them) as long as they are not attacking.

Fens are immune to electricity, and they take half damage from fire-based attacks. They make saving throws against light-based attacks with a +2 bonus. Fens fight with weapons, especially stabbing weapons and nets. They also use their tails to club their enemies. Once per day, a fen can polymorph into a large bird (treat as a giant eagle, but the fen’s hit points do not change). A fen can maintain its bird form for up to 1 turn.

For every 10 fens encountered, there will be a leader with armor class 5, 19 hit points, and 4+1 hit dice and four assistants with with armor class 6, 14 hit points, and 3+1 hit dice. If more than 24 are encountered, there will be in addition a chief with armor class 4, 22 hit points, and 5+1 hit dice and 12 guards with armor class 5, 12-14 hit points, and 3+1 hit dice. For every 10 fens encountered, there is a 50% chance for a shaman with 3+1 hit dice and the spell ability of a 3rd-level cleric.

The lair of these creatures is usually underwater in caves. Fens rarely build crude villages on the coast or on a hillock in a swamp. A fen lair will be protected by 2-8 giant electric eels (if underwater) or 2-5 crocodiles (if built on land). Female fens are nearly indistinguishable from males, and usually stay in the lair, where they guard hatcheries and train the tribe’s animals. Females and young typically number 85% and 125% the total number of males.

Fens are omnivorous, but they are likely to prefer human flesh to other meats.

Tags: AD&D, Gamma World, Mirelyn's Skyrealm, monsters, ThursdAD&D

This last Sunday, I re-restarted an AD&D game. The characters all live on a flying island and serve as squires to Lady Mirelyn. For their first mission, the characters were dispatched to the sleepy town of Saltmarsh to investigate why the town has been consistently behind on its annual harvest taxes for the past several years.

Turns out, the root of the problem has something do with a haunted house….

Anyway, I’ve got a small group with only one player new to tabletop RPGs. Amusingly enough (to me), our new player is a former student of mine, whom I taught way back when he was in middle school. He’s all grown up now, older than my son. It’s funny as he struggles to address me as anything other than “Mr. Chance”.

But I digress.

Given that most of my players are D&D veterans, I want to change up things a bit to try to recreate that sense of wonder we first had when we started playing and hadn’t read the entire Monster Manual. This means new monsters. Well, sort of. Today’s offerings aren’t really new. They come the 1981 printing of TSR’s Gamma World, which remains one of the greatest RPGs of all time.

Ark
Frequency: Uncommon
No. Appearing: 20-200
Armor Class: 5
Move: 15″
Hit Dice: 2
% in Lair: 20%
Treasure Type: Individuals L, M; D, Q (x5), S in lair
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 2-8 or by weapon
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low to average
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Size: L (9′ tall)
Psionic Ability:
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: II/28 + 2/hp (Leader-type or guard: III/125 + 4/hp. Chieftan: IV/165 + 5/hp)

Climate/Terrain: Any non-desert/tropical to temperate
Organization: Band
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Carnivore
Morale: Steady (11)

Arks are intelligent, brutal dog-men of great height but slender build. They live and travel in rapacious bands, wherein the largest and strongest dominate their smaller, weaker pack mates. Arks are generally on friendly terms with other evil races, such as badders. Arks are strong and fast. They have infravision. They speak their racial tongue, chaotic evil, and often (60%) badder and/or the common tongue.

For every 20 arks encountered, there will be a leader-type with 3+3 hit dice and 16 hit points. If 100 or more of these creatures are encountered, there will be a chieftan with 4+4 hit dice, 22 hit points, armor class 3, and +2 to damage. The chieftan has 2-12 guards with 3+3 hit dice, 16 hit points, armor class 4, and +1 to damage. If arks are encountered in their lair, there will always be a chieftan with 5-20 guards. The lair also contains females and young equal to 50% and 200% respectively the number of males present.

Arks are nomadic 80% of the time, but occasionally (20%) take up residence in an abandoned (or cleared) village, building, or cave. If nomadic, arks are quite likely (65%) to have 2-8 ark-hounds (treat as hyenas) or 1-6 ark-beasts (treat as hyaenodons) (80% and 20%, respectively). These beasts serve as pets and guards. If the arks have settled a location, double the number of beasts possible. Arks capture others for slaves and food, especially humans, as arks view human hands as a delicacy. Arks always have captives numbering 1 victim per 10 arks.

Arks are not dangerous only because of their numbers and their vicious natures. They also possess strange, magical powers. An ark who concentrates (treat the ark as motionless opponent as per DMG, p. 70) is capable of telekinesis with a range of 1″ per hit die, affecting 250 gold pieces of weight per hit die. Multiple arks can cooperate to increase the range and strength of their telekinesis, but the arks must be touching each other to do so.

Ark leader-types, chieftans, and guards can drain life energy from creatures of semi- or greater intelligence. This life leech ability can be used once per day. It affects a 3″ radius around the ark, and it affects all creatures in the radius (except the user). An affected creature loses 1-6 hit points (save versus death magic negates). The ark gains a number of hit points equal to the total damage inflicted (but this power cannot increase the ark’s hit points to more than twice normal value). Excess leeched hit points not destroyed in combat dissipate after 24 hours.

An ark chieftan can control weather as a druid once per week, but only after 1 turn of concentration. After the period of concentration, another 1-4 turns pass before the weather change is complete. This power weakens the chieftan, causing a loss of 3-10 hit points.

A peculiar aspect of ark psychology is their fear of large, winged creatures. Arks have -1 “to hit” and a -2 morale penalties against such creatures.

Badder
Frequency: Uncommon
No. Appearing: 40-400
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12″ (3″)
Hit Dice: 2-7 hit points
% in Lair: 40%
Treasure Type: Individuals K; C in lair
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-6 or by weapon
Special Attacks: Empathy
Special Defenses: Empathy
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low-average
Alignment: Lawful evil
Size: S-M (4′ to 5′ tall)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: I/5 + 1/hp (Leader or assistant: I/14 + 1/hp. Chief or bodyguard: II/40 + 3/hp.)

Climate/Terrain: Any land/any non-tropical
Organization: Tribe
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Omnivore
Morale: Average (10)

Badders are militaristic, humanoid badgers. They have a tribal society, the strongest ruling the rest, allowing fealty to the badder king. Badders enjoy dwelling in dismal surroundings, preferring subterranean habitats to others. Badders hate full daylight and attack at a -1 when in sunlight. They have normal infravision (60′ range). Badders are quick and agile, which in part accounts for their high armor class. These humanoids hate gnomes and dwarves, and will attack them in preference to other creatures. Badders are slave takers and are fond of torture. They speak their own tongue, lawful evil, and (80%) one or two other languages.

For every 40 badders encountered, there will be a leader and 4 assistants, all of whom have 1 hit die. If 200 or more badders are encountered, there will be the following additional figures: a sub-chief and 2-8 guards, each with 1+1 hit dice, armor class 5, and doing +1 damage. In their lair, there will be a badder chief and 2-8 bodyguards, each with 2+2 HD, armor class 4, and doing +2 damage. Also, there will be females and young equal to 60% and 100% respectively of the number of male badders encountered. Badders often have beasts in their lair, specifically 5-30 badgers (60%) or 3-18 giant badgers (40%), with these animals being present 60% of the time.

There is a 25% chance that any force of badders encountered will have 10% of its strength mounted on giant badgers. If this is the case, there will be an additional 10-40 giant badgers without riders.

Badders are fair miners, and they are able to detect passages which slope, unsafe areas, and approximate depth and direction between 50% to 80% of the time.

Exceptional badders (e.g. leaders, assistants, et cetera) have empathy. This allows them to detect the basic needs, drives, and/or emotioned generated by any unshielded mind within 1″ per hit die. This makes an alert badder difficult to surprise (1 in 6 chance). Badders can project emotions into the minds of creatures of semi-intelligence or less. This ability has a range of 3″ and affects a 1″ wide path. Creatures are permitted a saving throw versus spell to resist the effects, which last for 1-4 melee rounds per hit die of the badder. Exceptional badders use their empathic projection ability to frighten animals, entice prey, et cetera.

Tags: AD&D, Gamma World, Mirelyn's Skyrealm, monsters, ThursdAD&D

This Sunday, I’m re-restarting an AD&D game. I did this once before, several years ago. It didn’t last long. This time, I’m hoping for more longevity. I’ve got three players so far. We’re making up characters this Sunday.

All the characters work for Lady Mirelyn, a knight errant who occupies a fortress that sits atop and within a flying island called a skyrealm. I’m sticking reasonably close to first edition rules, including Unearthed Arcana, but I am incorporating some material drawn from second edition AD&D, a Dragon magazine or two, and my personal preferences.

Since the characters all live on a flying island, it seems reasonable that flying will be part of the campaign. Lady Mirelyn has a skyship, the Galerider. She and her knights ride hippogriffs, which brings me to today’s post.

Aerial Travel

Long distance travel on a hippogriff is quick. A rider travels one mile per hour for every 3″ of flying speed, and a hippogriff can bear a rider for up to nine hours before it must rest for at least that long. Also, a hippogriff needs an hour of rest for every three hours of flight. It is possible to push the hippogriff to ignore fatigue and hunger, but this is not without its risks.

Aerial Combat

Hippogriffs cannot hover. They are maneuverability class C without a rider, or maneuverability class D if carrying a rider. While flying, a hippogriff attacks with either its claws or its bite. If the hippogriff drives at least 30 feet, it can inflict double damage to a target that is not diving. As war-trained mounts, Lady Mirelyn’s hippogriffs fight on the second and succeeding rounds of melee, as long as their rider remains mounted.

A hippogriff cannot maintain flight if it sustains damage greater than 50% of its hit points. It must land as quickly as possible. If a hippogriff sustains more than 75% damage, it cannot control its descent, but instead plummets. Fortunately, as creatures with feathered wings, a hippogriff is treated as if its hit point maximum is 50% higher than it really is for purposes of determining whether flight can be maintained. This adjustment neither changes the amount of damage a hippogriff can sustain nor does it absorb damage from attacks.

Missile fire from the back of a flying hippogriff is tricky. Treat short range as medium (-2 “to hit”) and medium range as long (-5 “to hit”). Shots fired at ranges longer than medium will always miss.

Flight Saddles

Lady Mirelyn’s knights use specialized saddles. It takes two melee rounds to properly strap into the saddle, and this prevents the rider from falling or being knocked from his or her seat under most circumstances.

Weight Classes

Lady Mirelyn’s hippogriffs come in three weight classes: heavy, light, and medium. They have the same loads as heavy, light, and medium warhorses, respectively. A hippogriff cannot fly if encumbered. The statistics for each type of hippogriff are shown on the table.

Tags: AD&D, Mirelyn's Skyrealm, monsters, ThursdAD&D

The twelve days of Christmas come to an end with the twelfth monster in the holiday series. Enjoy!

On the twelfth day of searching / my party came upon: / twelve full moon monsters / eleven bereft phantoms / ten kanga raiders / nine goblin bombers / eight mewling fluxcats, / seven rapid oozes / six vile ọgbanje, / five hungry things, / four burning swarms, / three hell birds, / two bloodmad zogs, / and a birchwrath in a fell wood.

The full moon monster is a bizarre creature, humanoid in form, but with a large, spherical head pocked with craters and creased by ridges. Hard nodules cover its body. Its hands and feet are lumpish. The full moon monster possesses a mercurial nature, making it an unpredictable creature to encounter.

AD&D Version

Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1-12
Armor Class: 1
Move: 15″
Hit Dice: 16
% in Lair: 25%
Treasure Type: E, Q (x5), S
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 2-12/2-12
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: 25%
Intelligence: Average
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Size: L (15′ tall)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: IX/6,850 + 20/hp

The full moon monster can increase or decrease the weight of objects at will, one object at a time, once per melee round. The object’s weight it increased or decreased by 75% for 1-4 melee rounds. If the full moon monster concentrates on the object for one full turn, the change in its weight becomes permanent.

The full moon monster is as strong as a frost giant. In a fight, the full moon monster strikes with its powerful fists. It surrounds itself with a 10-foot radius field of gravity that causes projectiles to fall short. All ranged weapon attacks against the full moon monster through its gravity field are treated as if done from long range (-5 “to hit”). Melee attacks made within the field of gravity have a -4 “to hit” penalty, and creatures (other than the full moon monster) in the field have a -1 penalty to armor class and lose any dexterity bonuses.

The full moon monster takes half damage from cold and fire attacks.

Once per day each, one at a time once per round, the full moon monster may use the following spells: earthquake, lower water, raise water, reverse gravity, and repulsion. Also once per day, the full moon monster can force a lycanthrope in human form that is within 60 feet to transform into animal form and stay in that form for 1 hour (no saving throw).

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5E D&D Version

Huge aberration, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 184 (16d12+80)
Speed 40 ft.

Ability Scores STR 23 (+6), DEX 9 (-1), CON 21 (+5), INT 10 (+0), WIS 11 (+0), CHA 12 (+1)

Saving Throws CON +9, WIS +4, CHA +5
Damage Resistances cold, fire, radiant
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Primordial
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Affect Water Level (2/Day). The full moon monster can cause level of water with 120 feet that it can see to rise or lower. It can affect an area of water within a 160-foot square, increasing or decreasing the water level by up to 80%. The change in water level lasts for 2 hours.

Gravity Field. As a bonus action, the full moon monster surrounds itself with 10-foot radius a gravity field that lasts until the start of its next turn. Ranged weapon attacks that pass into or through the gravity field are made with disadvantage. Melee weapon attacks, Dexterity checks, and Dexterity saving throws are made with disadvantage by a creature within the radius. The full moon monster has advantage on melee weapon attacks made against a creature within the gravity field. The full moon monster is not affected by its own gravity field.

Innate Spellcasting. The full moon monster’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

1/day each: earthquake, reverse gravity

Magic Resistance. The full moon monster has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Repulsion (8 Rounds/Day). The full moon monster causes creatures within a 10-foot wide, 240-foot long line to move away from it. Any creature within the area of effect at the start of the full moon monster’s turn must make a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be forced 30 feet away from the full moon monster. A creature can move within or through the area of effect, but treats the area of effect as difficult terrain. The full moon monster can change the direction of the repulsion path away from itself as a bonus action.

Actions

Multiattack. The full moon monster uses its Weight Alteration. It then makes two fist attacks.

Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8+6) bludgeoning damage.

Weight Alteration. The full moon monster magically alters the weight of an object it can see within 60 feet. The object’s weight is either increased or decreased by 75%. If the object is worn or carried by a creature, the creature may make a DC 16 Strength saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the effect with a success. Otherwise, the alteration in weight lasts for 1 minute.

Reactions

Like a Full Moon. The full moon monster can affect a lycanthrope that it see as if the lycanthrope were under the effects of a full moon.

Tags: 12 Days, 5E D&D, AD&D, monsters