Spes Magna Games

Matt Jackson, gamer/mapper icon, recently posted CollaboDungeon 01 on his site. As Matt explains, “An idea that came to me while walking my pooches just now. A dungeon and collaboration between all of us to to make something, just for fun. The CollaboDungeon! I post a new map, you blokes and I turn it into an adventure.” Since I’ve turned one of Matt’s maps into an adventure before, I figured why not? Also, I needed something to run for my middle-school gamers at this week’s Ludi Fabularum meeting, so Matt’s map became a stone, and I killed two birds with it.

The result? The Barnacle Barrow of Blunderbuss Crain, a Dungeon World adventure set on Jonathan Newell’s wonder-full Genial Jack from Lost Pages . (Nota Bene: That second link in this paragraph is an affiliate link. If you use it to purchase the PDF, then I got a few coppers. The third link is for the store that sells copies from the first print run. The first link lets you glom the adventure via Google drive.)

When I cobbled together my brief review of Genial Jack, I noted that none of the new races introduced in the book have subraces. To quote me, “Oddly, none of the races have subraces. …. [This] seems a blank space that begs the application of creativity by the players and DM.” Permit me to muse about how subraces might be presented for one of the groups residing in Jackburg.

My choice? The Fomorians. Another quote, this time from Genial Jack: “The giants know as the Fomorians were banished from Faerie by Queen Mab after their leader, King Balor, sought to depose her.” These outcasts went off and conquered an island, which later got earthquaked and deluged, vanishing beneath the waves. Genial Jack literally took in the survivors, and they’ve been part of Jackburg ever since.

Since the book itself establishes that there are two types of Fomorians, it seems most sensible that those become subraces. If I make up a Fomorian PC, I choose between Fair Fomorian or Foul Fomorian. Reading the Fomorian traits presented in the book, I start to see a way they can be retooled gently between “core” traits and subrace traits. Ergo:

Fomorian Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.

Age. Fomorians age slowly, reaching adulthood around 25 years of age. They can live indefinitely, with some being thousands of years old.

Alignment. Fomorians retain a tendency toward Chaos from their former ruler, the mischievous Queen Mab.

Size. Fomorians vary in height widely, but all adults are over 10 feet high. You are Large in size.

Speed. Your walking speed is 40 feet.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with your choice of smith’s, brewer’s, or mason’s tools.

Languages. You can read, speak, and write Common and Jetsam, as well as a dialect of Giant.

Fair Fomorian

You appear very much like a human, but of prodigious size. As a Fair Fomorian, you may be considered comely to human eyes.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Persuasive. You gain proficiency with the Persuasion skill.

Benevolent Gaze. You can cast Bless once, and it recharges after a long rest.

Foul Fomorian

About nine of out ten Fomorians have warped bodies, perhaps missing a limb, or having mis-sized limbs or misshapen bones.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Intimidating. You gain proficiency with the Intimidation skill.

Evil Eye. You can cast Bane once, and it recharges after a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Tags: 5E D&D, Dungeon World, Genial Jack, Lost Pages, Matt Jackson, place of power

Most people in the typical D&D 5E world are commoners (MM, p. 345). A commoner is likely to lose initiative to a feral zombie. Even if the commoner wins initiative, he or she is unlikely to survive the first round of combat against a feral zombie. The feral zombie is only 20% likely to miss a commoner with an attack, and its claws are going to take a commoner to 0 hit points with one successful attack. The commoner is 60% likely to be infected by the feral zombie’s claw attack. Say one feral zombie breaks into a household in which five commoners live. All of the commoners are killed. Four hours after the attack, one feral zombie has become four feral zombies (with three-fifths of the dead commoners becoming new feral zombies). In a commoner-rich environment, such as a city, the presence of a pack of feral zombies quickly becomes a serious threat.

That major urban’s center first line of defense, the guard (MM, p. 347), is also a poor match against a feral zombie. A pouncing feral zombie can kill a guard in one round about half the time, and the guard is unlikely to survive a second round of combat against a feral zombie. The city’s first response to the feral zombies is going to fail, and every guard killed is 55% likely to become a new feral zombie.

Since feral zombies abhor sunlight, the majority of attacks occur after sunset. During daylight hours, feral zombies move into hiding. They aren’t inactive, however. Defenders who move into an infected area to root out the monsters still have a fight on their hands as they move from house to house, shop to shop, sewer tunnel to sewer tunnel. Meanwhile, the majority of those injured but not killed are suffering the effects of feral zombie infection. Many of them are dead six hours after being attacked, and the initial attacks (at least) are likely to overwhelm the city’s healing capabilities.

A group of adventurers using the city as its base of operations could depart on some heroic endeavor and return days later to find the city overrun with undead monsters. The adventurers could also face problems related to refugees who flee the city with infected friends and family, hoping to find succor in a nearby town and bringing the infection with them to a new location. In cases where the nearest other community to is too far to reach before the infection kills its host, the adventurers then must deal with feral zombies running loose in the countryside, preying on farmers and travelers. As the plague spreads, society breaks down. Structures that nourished communities become compromised, and people become desperate. Opportunists loot homes and shops, and even otherwise decent people are more likely to take drastic steps to survive and protect their loved ones. Law and order give way to what Jack London called “the law of the club” (see chapter two of The Call of the Wild).

And, of course, D&D being a fantasy game full of monsters, strange cults, and dark gods, the feral zombie outbreak could have sinister origins. Cultists and cult fanatics (MM, p. 345) under the sway of evil priests (MM, p. 348) direct the chaos. They smuggle feral zombies into new locations. Masquerading as beneficient helpers, they finagle their way into positions of trust and authority within populations of survivors. If the adventurers figure out what’s going on, they find themselves opposed by good but desperate people who have been duped by the forces of evil. Before the adventurers figure out what’s going on, they themselves might number among the dupes, embarking on missions of mercy that really expand the influence of those who seek to spread the undead plague. Meanwhile, other groups and creatures inimical to civilization muster at the borders of the affected regions. When the center fails to hold, the frontiers run the risk of collapsing as well.

One way to outline the horror unleashed by a single pack of feral zombies set loose in a city comes from the wonderful RPG Dungeon World, which uses a technique called a front. If you’re not familiar with fronts, check them out by clicking here. A front “is a collection of linked dangers—threats to the characters specifically and to the people, places, and things the characters care about.” If the characters don’t intervene, the front progresses to its natural conclusion, usually ending in widespread death and destruction.

A series of zombie plague adventurers can be started as two or three types of dangers. The most obvious type of danger is the Horde, described at the aforelinked site. Combine the Horde danger with an Ambitious Organization and Arcane Enemies, and you’ve got a wealth of material that can be spun into several adventures to challenge any group of characters.

Tags: 5E D&D, Dungeon World, monsters

As part of a September Setting Sale at DriveThruRPG, some of my PDFs are (drumroll, please!) on sale. I know. Shocking.

That’s a Goblin for $2.01

Catch your players off guard with this Old School supplement that presents 23 goblin mutations, 15 fey goblin abilities, 3 goblin subspecies, and 6 goblin tactical specialties. Mix and match to create scores of different goblins! Also included is Tributary of Terror, a mini-adventure taking place within Reyr’s Well, a detailed fantasy hamlet suitable for just about any campaign world.

Goshahri: The City in a Cave for $1.84

Goshahri: The City in a Cave presents not a dungeon or even an adventure per se, although it includes a brief adventure. Instead, Goshahri is a place to be included as a recurring location in a Referee’s campaign world. Adventurers may visit Goshahri, perhaps to seek black market goods, to curry favor from the Bandit King, to deliver ransom payments, to rest and recover from an adventure, et cetera. While visiting Goshahri, adventurers may find themselves embroiled in the mysteries and intrigues that simmer just beneath the surface of the Bandit King’s domain.

Better Craft & Magic Bundle for $1.75

Improve your Pathfinder game with three products: Ars Metamagica, an alternate system for metamagic; In One’s Blood, a collection of new sorcerer bloodlines; and Making Craft Work, my all-time bestseller that turns the Craft skill into something that both makes sense and is useful for characters.

Ean Illiam’s Cavern Stores for $0.67

Find what you’re looking for in Ean Illiam’s Cavern Stores. Fully compatible with Dungeon World, this campaign location includes excellent features, such as cartography by Matt Jackson that includes blank spaces; not-too-complete descriptions of the cavern stores; two adventure fronts; stats and descriptions for the people, creatures, and animals found in the stores; pictures of the major and minor NPCs; and lots of helpful sidebars, including questions to ask and blanks to fill in, as well as new magic items and tables for randomly generating NPC names, types, instincts, and knacks.

Tags: Dungeon World, Pathfinder RPG, Swords & Wizardry

From “Tres Brujas” by The Sword from Warp Riders:

Inhaling deeply of the sacred smoke,
Slipping in between the worlds,
He beheld a living column of light,
And it sang to him without a word.

Three witches you shall meet
Upon the path to your fate.
The first will love you, the second will deceive you,
And the third will show you the way.

Click here to see the video. Read on for an idea about how to use this song for your Dungeon World game.

When you are upon the path to your fate and inhale deeply of the sacred smoke, you slip between the worlds into the realm of the Three Witches. No food or water, however, make the transition with you. This realm, a strange and magical place of rocks and twisted trees and shifting sands, changes every time you enter it. Dangerous creatures stalk the realm, hostile to all visitors. To reach the First Witch, you must travel through hostile territory, but the scout must roll+Wis with -1 forward.

The First Witch always lives in a modest but sturdy house. She appears as a girl in her teens, but her eyes reflect ancient wisdom. She is the most benevolent of the Three Witches. When you meet the First Witch, roll+Cha. On 10+, choose two. On 7-9, choose one. Even on a failure, the First Witch will not seek to harm you, but something in your manner has offended her love for you.

* The First Witch permits you to rest in her home.
* The First Witch provides you with provisions for your journey.
* The First Witch answers one question about what the future holds.

To reach the Second Witch, you again must travel through hostile territory, but both the trailblazer and the scout must roll+Wis with -1 forward. The Second Witch lives within a dark, treacherous cavern. She appears as a woman approaching middle age, and her demeanor is compassionless. When you meet the Second Witch, roll+Cha. On 10+, choose two. On 7-9, choose one.

* The Second Witch does not deceive you about which path to take.
* The Second Witch does not deceive you about what seeks to bar your progress.
* The Second Witch does not deceive you into leaving behind something that you value.

To reach the Third Witch, you must travel through hostile territory one last time, but the quartermaster, the trailblazer, and the scout all must roll+Wis with -1 forward. The Third Witch lives on the shore of a vast, roiling sea. She appears as a woman well into her twilight years, and she is kindly but condescending. When you meet the Third Witch, roll+Cha. On 10+, choose two questions that the Third Witch will answer honestly. On 7-9, choose one question that the Third Witch will answer honestly. On a failure, she refuses to answer of your questions, but will still show you the way to the final obstacle.

* What is about to happen on the way?
* What should I be on the lookout for on the way?
* What is useful or valuable to me on the way?
* What is not what it appears to be on the way?

Tags: Dungeon World, NPCs, place of power

Meet the barabashka, a horrible poltergeist, just one of the monsters you might have the misfortune to meet while exploring a ghost-haunted ruin in the world of Buyan.

Anger, remorse, guilt. Some emotions live on after death, coalescing into an invisible, malevolent entity. It lashes out, hurling objects and creatures with destructive force. Invisible, incorporeal, and vicious, a barabashka seeks to harm those who trespass on its haunt.

For Dungeon World

Solitary, Terrifying
Telekinetic force (d8 damage)
20 HP, 0 Armor; Close, Near, Reach
Special Qualities: Incorporeal, Invisible to Normal Sight

Instinct: To drive away

* Fool the senses
* Throw something
* Unleash a whirlwind of destruction

For Fate Accelerated Edition

High Concept: Incorporeal, Invisible Malevolent Entity of Telekinetic Force
Trouble: Driven by Powerful Emotions
Other Aspects: My Illusions Terrify, No One Trespasses on My Haunt

Approaches: Careful – Mediocre (+0), Clever – Average (+1), Flashy – Average (+1), Forceful – Good (+3), Quick – Fair (+2), Stealthy – Fair (+2)

Stunts:
* Boo!: Because I create terrifying illusions, I gain a +2 to Cleverly create advantages related to fear.

* Unleash My Fury: Because I can hurl objects and creatures, I gain a +2 to Forcefully attack by throwing something or someone.

For Mini Six Bare Bones Edition

Scale: 0

Might: 0D
Agility: 3D+2
Wit: 4D
Charm: 2D+2

Skills: Brawling 5D+2, Dodge 4D+1, Illusions 8D, Stealth 5D, Throwing 4D+1
Perks: Illusions (as the spell), Incorporeal (cannot be harmed by normal weapons, uses Wit in place of Might); Invisible to Normal Sight
Static: Block 17, Dodge 13, Soak 12

For Swords & Wizardry

HD 6+6; AC 1 [18]; Atks 0; SV 11; Special incorporeal (immune to non-magic weapons), invisible, telekinesis, undead; MV 15 (flying); AL C; CL/XP 10/1,400

Telekinesis: Once per round, a barabashka can lift and throw up to 360 pounds of objects or creatures with a range of 120 feet. It can hurl a single 360 pound object or creature up to 10 feet. Damage inflicted by such throwing is up to the Referee, but about 1d6 per 10 feet thrown or about 1d6 per 30 pounds seems fair. Saving throws may apply, which could negate or reduce effects.

Tags: Buyan, Dungeon World, Fate Accelerated Edition, Mini Six, monsters, Swords & Wizardry, undead