Spes Magna Games

If you’re wondering, no, I’ve not forgotten about the goblin spider lair. I just have to remember to find the maps that I was working on.

And, so, onto today’s post.

Patreon artist Fernando Salvaterra recently posted this fun illustration of three skeletons about to teach a group of tomb trespassers a lesson about property rights. Nota Bene: If you click on the pic, it embiggens.

Each skeleton has a magic item it uses in combat. These magic items detect as evil. Each has the same deleterious effect when used by non-evil creatures, namely that the creature suffers a -1 penalty to saving throws against fear effects per item used.

The Archer
Number: 1
Size: Medium
HD: 2 (d12) (13)
AC: 13
Saves: P
Move: 30 ft.
Attacks: 2 with Short Bow (1d6 plus magical effect) or 1 with Short Sword (1d6)
Special: +1 or Better Weapon to Hit, Magic Quiver, Regeneration 1, Undead
Int: Average
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead (Unique)
Treasure: 4
XP: 56

Combat: The Archer prefers ranged combat, firing two arrows per round from its shortbow. If forced into melee, it pulls the short sword from its skull. The Archer cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and even magical slashing or piercing weapons inflict but half damage to it.

Magic Quiver: The Archer’s magic quiver holds a dozen arrows. Each day at sundown, the magic quiver refills with a dozen arrows. When an arrow is pulled from the magic quiver, roll 1d6 to determine that arrow’s magical effect:

1-4 = +1 to hit and damage
5 = +2 to hit and damage
6 = +3 to hit and +1d6 damage against a living creature

Regeneration: The Archer regenerates 1 hit point per round until reduced to 0 hit points, at which time it regenerates 1 hit point per hour. The Archer cannot regenerate damage from holy water.

Undead: The Archer is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and all mind-affecting spells (charms, compulsions, et cetera).

The Spearman
Number: 1
Size: Medium
HD: 3 (d12) (20)
AC: 13
Saves: P
Move: 30 ft.
Attacks: 2 with Magic Spear (1d6+1)
Special: +1 or Better Weapon to Hit, Magic Spear, Regeneration 1, Undead
Int: Average
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead (Unique)
Treasure: 4
XP: 120

Combat: The Spearman prefers melee combat, attacking twice per round with its magic spear. The Spearman cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and even magical slashing or piercing weapons inflict but half damage to it.

Magic Spear: The Spearman’s magic spear is a +1 weapon. If thrown, it splits into two spears that may target any two creatures within 10 feet of each other (or both may target a single creature within spear range). The thrown magic spears disappear at the end of the round, reappearing in the Spearman’s hand as a single spear.

Regeneration: The Spearman regenerates 1 hit point per round until reduced to 0 hit points, at which time it regenerates 1 hit point per hour. The Archer cannot regenerate damage from holy water.

Undead: The Spearman is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and all mind-affecting spells (charms, compulsions, et cetera).

The Captain
Number: 1
Size: Medium
HD: 4 (d12) (26)
AC: 18
Saves: P
Move: 30 ft.
Attacks: 2 with Magic Sword (1d8+1)
Special: +1 or Better Weapon to Hit, Magic Sword, Regeneration 1, Undead
Int: Average
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Undead (Unique)
Treasure: 4
XP: 224

Combat: The Captain prefers melee combat, attacking twice per round with its magic sword. The Captain cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and even magical slashing or piercing weapons inflict but half damage to it.

Magic Sword: The Captain’s magic longsword is a +1 weapon. Against lawful good creatures, the sword inflicts an addition 1d6 points of damage with a successful hit.

Regeneration: The Captain regenerates 1 hit point per round until reduced to 0 hit points, at which time it regenerates 1 hit point per hour. The Archer cannot regenerate damage from holy water.

Undead: The Captain is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and all mind-affecting spells (charms, compulsions, et cetera).

Tags: C&C, Goblin Spider Lair, monsters, undead

As mentioned last week, Bosukumo’s lair consists of four levels connected via strong teleportational magic. This magic is subtle because it is blended into the very structure of the interconnecting passageways that run between the levels.

Whenever the players’ characters enter a level, roll 4d10 to determine what passages lead away from each of the outer archways. Orient the passages so that they best connect each archway. Roll 1d4 to determine to which level each passage leads. A second 1d4 determines to which outer archway the passage connects.

1 = Entry Level
2 = Eight-Pointed Star Level
3 = Halls and Rooms Level
4 = Water Pit Level

1 = North
2 = East
3 = South
4 = West

Don’t worry about repeats or strange results. For example, it is possible that the northern outer archway leading away from the Water Pit Level leads to the norther outer archway of the Water Pit Level.

Tags: Goblin Spider Lair, maps, Monday Map

Bosukumo is not an average goblin-spider. It has 6.5 hit points per HD (26 hit points), and it enjoys a +2 bonus on saving throws against magical effects that affect the mind or emotions. Bosukumo’s gaze poses a threat. Once per day each, Bosukumo can inflict charm monster or hold monster on a human, demi-humanoid, humanoid, or giant that meets its gaze. This ability works in any of Bosukumo’s forms. Because of these additional abilities, Bosukumo is worth 294 XP. What’s more, Bosukumo’s treasure type is 4 (Hoard).

In other respects, Bosukumo is a typical goblin-spider, the stats of which follow.

Goblin-Spider
Number: 1-2, 2-5
Size: Small to Medium
HD: 4 (d8)
AC: 14 or 15
Move: 30 ft., 20 ft. (climb)
Attacks: Bite (1d3 or 1d8) or by weapon
Special: Darkvision 90 ft., Poison, Shapeshift, Twilight Vision, Web
Saves: M, P
INT: High
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Type: Shapechanger
Treasure: 4
XP: 130+4

The goblin-spider is a yokai, a type of supernatural creature that most often has an evil disposition. In its natural form, the goblin-spider appears much like a man-sized spider, but its eyes are those of a mammal rather than an arachnid. The goblin-spider is a shapeshifter as well. Intelligent, malicious, and aggressive, the goblin-spider poses a serious risk to the humans and demi-humans upon which it prefers to prey.

Poison: A victim bitten by a goblin-spider must make a constitution save to prevent the immediate affects of the venom taking place. A successful save halves the poison’s initial effects and negates the second round’s effects.

A goblin-spider’s poison on the first round causes 1d10 points of damage. On the second round, it causes a further 1d8 points of damage plus paralyzation for 3d6 hours.

Shapeshifting: During the day, a goblin-spider is about the size of a goblin, and it cannot use its shapeshifting ability. When in small form, it is AC 14 and its bite inflicts 1d3 points of damage. Once the sun sets, a goblin-spider grows to size medium, and it can shapeshift into any small or medium animal, human, demi-human, or humanoid.

In animal form, it gains the appropriate movement, AC, and attacks. If that form has a bite attack, the goblin-spider’s bite remains poisonous. In human, demi-human, or humanoid form, the goblin-spider loses its poisonous bite, but it can wield weapons, wear armor, et cetera.

A goblin-spider speaks the language of arachnids and the Common Tongue regardless of form. In animal form, it speaks with animals at will. In human, demi-human, or humanoid form, it speaks the appropriate racial language.

Web: In either small or medium goblin-spider form, this monster spins webs. A single strand of its silk is strong enough to support the goblin-spider and one creature four times as large. Eight times per day, a goblin spider can throw a web (as the wizard spell). To protect its lair, a goblin-spider creates sheets of sticky webbing from 5 to 60 feet square. It usually positions these sheets to snare flying creatures as well as to trap prey on the ground. A goblin-spider can move across its own web at its climb speed and can pinpoint the location of any creature touching its web.

Tags: C&C, Friday Foe, Goblin Spider Lair

The rubble from a long destroyed tower helps conceal the narrow flight of descending stairs that are the entrance to Bosukumo the goblin spider’s lair. Bosukumo’s vicious humanoid servants creep forth on the darkest nights to do their master’s bidding.

The Entry Level

The aforementioned stairs lead down to a chamber shaped somewhat like half an octagon. The stench and smoke makes breathing difficult. Most of Bosukumo’s followers are goblins, and this level is overcrowded with those squabbling, cowardly, vile humanoids. There are two exits from this chamber.

The exit closest to the stairs’ terminus opens to a columned bridge leading to a second half-octagon room. The bridge is 20 feet higher than the floor below, which is where most of Bosukumo’s goblin followers lair. The stench and smoke from the wafts up from the lower floor.

The goblin rank-and-file set up their beds of dirt and rags along the walls, leaving the floor open for fighting, cooking, et cetera. There is little airflow through Busokumo’s lair. Smoke and stink hang in the air, and the floor and lower walls are smeared with filth.

Thirty feet to either side of the bridge, there are two steep stone staircases leading up from the lower floor to square rooms. Under the bridge, the goblins store a half dozen crudely fashioned ladders long enough to reach up to the bridge.

The Outer Archways

All four geomorphs have archways on their outer walls. Each archway leads to a twisting tunnel carved through stone. Those who constructed these tunnels and the four levels of Bosukumo’s lair imbued their work with strong teleportational magic. Consequently, to where each tunnel leads is determined randomly. The specifics of how this magic works will be detailed next Wednesday.

The Eight-Pointed Star Level

This level is dark and cold, and an oppressive, sub-audible quavering tone hums ceaselessly. The original architects built this level as a storehouse for otherwordly trophies. The L-shaped halls in each corner of the level have bizarre artifacts displayed in cases arranged along the outer walls. The square chamber in the center of the level has shelves holding books and scrolls collected from numerous non-good planes of existence.

All of the doors on this level are magically locked. Attempts to force the doors open may trigger wards designed to rout, disable, or kill would-be robbers.

Halls and Rooms Level

The air quality here is bad, but not as bad as the entry level. Tougher humanoids in Bosukumo’s service lair here, so adventurers will encounter boss goblins, some orcs, and shamans who believe/claim they gain their spells from Bosukumo itself. The humanoids in this area are tougher and more disciplined than the rank-and-file goblins in the Entry Level.

The Water Pit Level

Bosukumo lairs here. This level is divided into four separate sets of rooms around a center square pit that drops down to well of cold water. Bosukumo can scurry along walls and across ceilings, so its movement here is not hindered by either the central pit or the thick webs that line the floor, walls, and ceilings. In one of the chamber is a secret door in the floor. If found and opened, a shaft descending into darkness is revealed. This shaft leads down to another set of magically connected geomorphs.

Tags: Goblin Spider Lair, Wednesday Lore

Well, it’s been a bit since I’ve posted anything here. So, let’s see if some structure can help. On Mondays, I’ll post a map. On Wednesday, I’ll post about what can be found in the areas mapped. On Friday, I’ll post a monster. That might work.

Today, I present four artisanal dungeon geomorphs. Each geomorph has been loving crafted by hand, drawn first with a freshly sharpened Dixon Ticonderoga soft HB 2 pencil and then carefully inked with both a black TUL Fine Liner and a black Paper Mate Flair M felt tip pen. The final step involved using an eraser to remove stray pencil lines while at the same time avoiding as much as possible smearing the ink. I’ve used this method to produce maps for nigh on four-and-a-half decades. The results speak for themselves.

N.B. One square equals 10 feet.

Tags: Goblin Spider Lair, maps, Monday Map