Spes Magna Games

One of the many cool things about being Catholic is that once a year you get to eat food out of a shoe. That day is today, the feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra, who was born some time around the late 3rd century in Asia Minor. Nicholas was imprisoned for being a Christian under Diocletian, but gained his freedom after Constantine legalized Christianity (Nota Bene: Not made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, as far too many people wrongly claim.)

Nicholas had a reputation for covert generosity, allegedly sneaking around Myra at night, chucking bags of gold through the windows of poor fathers faced with the prospect of having to sell off their daughters into slavery. Supposedly, one such bag of gold landed in a shoe, and thus the Catholic tradition of eating chocolate coins out of shoes today.

Shoes of Plenty
Wondrous item, rare

These normal-seeming shoes possess a remarkable power. When unworn and left in an unobserved place for a long rest, they magically fill with fresh fruit, nuts, and 1d6 gold pieces. The quantity of fruit and nuts is equivalent to one meal for one person.

Tags: 5E D&D, Catholic, magic items

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

Today, our journey through the AD&D Deities & Demigods looking for material for use with 5E D&D continues with our first steps into the Chinese Mythos.

Direct quotes all come from Deities & Demigods.

Canon of Changes
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

“This is a book of the gods that deals with redistribution of matter and motion.” By reading the canon of changes, you can create objects. “It takes 72 hours of constant reading to learn the words for one given thing, and after uttering them it takes another 72 hours for another creation of even the same thing to take place.” It requires enormous stamina to read the canon of changes. After 8 hours of reading, if you’re mortal, you must must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. For every additional 8 hours of reading, you must make another Constitution saving throw, and the DC increases by +2 each time. Each failed saving throw imposes one level of exhaustion. If you successfully complete the 72 hour regimen of study, you can create one object of up to 25,000 gp value that isn’t a magic item. The object can be no more than 300 feet in any dimension, and it appears in an unoccupied space you can see on the ground.

Dancing Sword of Lightning
Weapon (any sword), legendary (requires attunement)

You can use a bonus action to toss this magic sword into the air and speak the command word. When you do so, the sword begins to hover, flies up to 30 feet, and attacks one creature of your choice within 5 feet of it. The sword uses your attack roll and ability score modifier to damage rolls. While the sword hovers, you can use a bonus action to cause it to fly up to 30 feet to another spot within 30 feet of you. As part of the same bonus action, you can cause the sword to attack one creature within 5 feet of it. Instead of attacking, up to four times per day, you can use a bonus action to cause the sword to shoot a lightning bolt (as the spell). The stroke of lightning is 100 feet long and 5 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 8d6 lightning damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.

After the hovering sword attacks and/or fires lightning for the fourth time, it flies up to 30 feet and tries to return to your hand. If you have no hand free, it falls to the ground at your feet. If the sword has no unobstructed path to you, it moves as close to you as it can and then falls to the ground. It also ceases to hover if you grasp it or move more than 30 feet away from it.

Fire Gem
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

This “extremely rare and magical hand-sized” gemstone shoots flame upon command as a ranged weapon attack that uses your Dexterity score modifier to modify your attack roll. On a hit, the target takes 6d10 fire damage. A fire gem has a range of 40/160 feet, and it can be used once per turn. A fire gem has 2d6 charges when found. A fire gem becomes worthless glass when it expends its last charge.

Giant Black Pearl
Wondrous item, legendary

“This 3 foot sphere negates all wind and earth turbulence in a one mile radius. It does this of its own accord and cannot be controlled to make it stop.” Spells or magical effects that manipulate the wind or earth to cause damage to creatures or objects do not function. Spells or magical effects that would manipulate air, the wind, weather, or the earth to cause hostile conditions also do not function.

Iron Wand
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

When held, invisible creatures and objects become visible as long as the creature or object remains within 30 feet of you. This wand has 7 charges. It regains 1d6+1 charges daily at dawn. If you expand the wand’s last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand crumbles into rust and is destroyed. The wand has these other functions:

* Climbing Pole. You can use an action and expend 1 charge to cause the iron wand to “grow to a length of 100” feet. The wand becomes “roughened for easy climbing” (DC 10).The wand has AC 20 and 20 hit points. It regains 1 hit point every 5 minutes as long as it has at least 1 charge. If reduced to 0 hit points, the wand expends a charge and returns to normal size. If it has no charges left, it is destroyed. Otherwise, another action and 1 more charge causes the wand to return to its original size.

* Strike. The iron wand can be wielded as a magical club that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. When you hit with a melee attack using it, you can expend up to 3 charges. For each charge you expend, the target takes an extra 1d6 force damage.

* Superior Invisibility. You can use an action to expend 1 charge to turn a creature invisible. The creature remains invisible for up to 1 minute or until its concentration is broken, whichever happens first.

Jade Scepter of Defending
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

When you hold the jade scepter of defending and take the Dodge action, you gain a +3 bonus to AC and resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

Wind Fire Wheel
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

The wind fire wheel is a 1-foot diameter circular fan. It has 50 charges. It regains 4d6+2 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 20, the wheel regains 1d12+1 charges. While holding the wheel, you can use an action to expend some of its charges to cast one of the following spells (spell save DC 19): conjure elemental (air or fire only, 7 charges); control weather (8 charges); fireball (12d6, 7 charges); flaming sphere (2 charges); fly (3 charges); gust of wind (2 charges); wall of fire (4 charges); wind walk (6 charges); or wind wall (3 charges).

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

Well, I’ve not posted anything in a while. Got to stop doing that, which means posting something. So, here’s a new magic item and, since new magic items ought to be earned, here’s also a villain who uses that new magic item.

The villain’s illustration is by Jeshields, who has some great stock art for sale. Check it out.

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Dúr Feredir makes her living as a mercenary and assassin. She specializes in the longbow, but she is almost as skilled in melee combat. Quick and clever, Dúr poses a serious threat, especially if she gets the drop on her target.

Dúr seldom works alone. She has more than enough experience to know that whatever her strengths, she needs partners or underlings. What’s more, Dúr has not gained that experience without learning important lessons about when and where to pick her battles. She is no crass brawler, but instead considers herself an artist who crafts tapestries of death.

Dúr Feredir
Medium humanoid (human), lawful evil

Armor Class 16 (studded leather)
Hit Points 75 (10d8+30)
Speed 30 ft.
Ability Scores STR 14 (+2), DEX 19 (+4), CON 17 (+3), INT 11 (+0), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 11 (+0)

Saving Throws CON +5, DEX +6, STR +4
Skills Acrobatics +6, Deception +2, Investigation +2, Perception +6, Stealth +8, Survival +4
Senses passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Orc
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)

Assassinate. During her first turn, Dúr has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn. Any hit Dúr scores against a surprised creature is a critical hit.

Cunning Action. Dúr’s quick thinking and agility allow her to move and act quickly. She can take a bonus action on each of her turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Skillful. Dúr gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls she makes with ranged weapons. Dur’s proficiency bonus with Perception and Stealth is doubled. These bonuses are included in Dur’s statistics.

Sneak Attack. Once per turn, Dúr deals an extra 10 (3d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of Dúr that isn’t incapacitated and Dúr doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Unseen Reserves (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). Dúr possesses hidden reserves of vitality which have one or two effects. On her turn, Dúr can take one additional action on top of her regular action and a possible bonus action. On the same turn, Dúr can use a bonus action to regain 14 (1d10+10) hit points.

Actions

Multiattack. Dúr either makes two melee weapon attacks or three ranged weapon attacks. She scores a critical hit on a 19 or 20 with any ranged weapon attack.

Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage.

Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage.

Dúr’s Longbow
Weapon (longbow), very rare (requires attunement)

Any arrow fired from Dúr’s Longbow ignores its target’s damage resistances related to piercing attacks. For example, a nonmagical arrow fired from Dúr’s Longbow does normal piercing damage to a creature whose damage resistance is to nonmagical attacks. If the target has damage immunity to piercing attacks, an arrow fired from Dúr’s Longbow inflict one-half piercing damage (as if the target had resistance). Also, once per day as a bonus action, an arrow fired from Dúr’s Longbow transforms into a lightning bolt that inflicts 4d8 lightning damage on a hit, or half as much damage on a miss, instead of the weapon’s normal damage. Whether the lightning bolt hits or misses, each creature within 10 feet of the target must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Each of these creatures takes 2d8 lighting damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

———-

If you’re in the market for new monsters for your 5E D&D game, check out Chance Encounters IV. Help a guardian angel protect its charge. Party with a gang of beastfolk. Survive the psionic radiation of the Calefactive Cavern. Emerge victorious against the onslaught of bull-headed monsters under the command of a minotaur blood prophet. Chance Encounters IV presents thirteen new monsters and a place of power with which GMs can challenge their players.

Tags: 5E D&D, magic items, monsters, NPCs, Spes Magna Products

Well, there’s some semi-big news ’round about here. First, I started a The Four Color Hack campaign yesterday. It’s a small group, including one player who’s only in town every two months or so, but we had fun. Three of the four players had sat in on my very first playtest, back when the combat system said it emulated the fastly furious action of comic books, but failed miserably to do so. I’m happy to report that the terrible slog that was TFCH combat back then is a thing of the past. That’s not to say we didn’t hit some rough patches, and I did get some good feedback from players, but I think most if not all of the problems were due either to me not explaining things well or to the system being unfamiliar to the players.

Speaking of The Four Color Hack, I’ll almost certainly be uploading the necessary files to DriveThruRPG this week so that TFCH can go from PDF only to print-on-demand. I’m also trying to teach myself how to use Scribus well enough so that I can offer Demi-Human Adventurers for Swords & Wizardry White Box as another print-on-demand product. Huzzah.

But, wait, there’s more in the news department. Ludi Fabularum: Games of Stories, the 16-hour course I’ve developed, kicks off tomorrow with my first group. I’m using Skill Centric Role Play by David Holmes and Hero Kids by Hero Forge Games along with a student workbook of my own in order to teach skills related to writing, editing, teamwork, et cetera. Interest in both Ludi Fabularum and my services as a private tutor seem to be picking up.

Unfortunately, I’ve had more than one prospective client opt for not hiring me due to my fee. Tutoring isn’t a side job for me. I’m trying to build it into my primary source of income, which means meeting a minimum income. It bums me out having to tell a prospective client that I can’t afford to lower my fee below X. I mean, I love teaching, and I want to help, but at the end of the day I’ve got bills to pay just like everyone else.

To help, I’ve set up a GoFundMe to raise money for scholarships for Ludi Fabularum. I’m shooting for $2000, which is enough to offer about two dozen partial scholarships for students. You can read more about this fundraiser at this link.

And now to continue pillaging the AD&D Deities & Demigods for things to convert to D&D 5E. Today is the first of two posts that update material from the Celtic Mythos for use with D&D 5E.

Cauldron of Scrying
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement by a cleric with the Nature domain or a druid)

This iron pot (weight 10 lb.) functions only when filled with a gallon of fresh blood from a beast. For an hour after the cauldron of scrying is filled with blood, you can cast the scrying spell (save DC 17) while touching the cauldron. The cauldron of scrying acquires different properties if filled with different types of blood.

Cauldron of Mind Reading. If the cauldron is filled with a gallon of fresh blood from an aberration or monstrosity, you can use an action to cast the detect thoughts spell (save DC 17) while you are scrying with the cauldron of scrying, targeting creatures you can see within 30 feet of the spell’s sensor. You don’t need to concentrate on this detect thoughts to maintain it during the duration, but it ends if scrying ends.

Cauldron of Telepathy. If the cauldron is filled with a gallon of fresh blood from a giant or humanoid, you can communicate telepathically with creatures you can see within 30 feet of the spell’s sensor. You can use an action to cast the suggestion spell (save DC 17) through the sensor on one of those creatures. You don’t need to concentrate on this suggestion to maintain it during its duration, but it ends if scrying ends. Once used, the suggestion power of the cauldron of scrying cannot be used against until the next dawn.

Cauldron of True Seeing. If the cauldron is filled with a gallon of fresh blood from a fey, you have truesight with a radius of 120 feet centered on the spell’s sensor.

Tathlum
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

The tathlum is a weapon of war made from the severed head of a creature. The tathlum‘s creator coats the severed head with lime taken from the creature’s territory, doing so seven times and allowing each coat to dry before applying the next one. The tathlum is thrown like a thrown weapon with a range of 20/60. Against creatures of the same type as the creature from which the severed head was taken, the creature hit by the tathlum takes 12d6 necrotic damage and is blinded for 1 minute. A creature blinded by this spell attempts a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a successful save, it is no longer blinded. The tathlum functions once per day.

Torc of Protection
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

When you wear this neck ornament consisting of a band of twisted metal, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws. The torc of protection does not function if you wear metal armor or use a shield made of metal.

Torc of the Gods
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)

This magical device functions like a torc of protection. Additionally, you can cast both polymorph (Wisdom save DC 17) and shapechange once each per long rest while wearing the torc of the gods. The torc of the gods does not function if you wear metal armor or use a shield made of metal.

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