Spes Magna Games

Last week, Kiai! joined The Ways Of… in my DriveThruRPG store. Kiai! details a 20-level samurai class for 5E D&D, complete with samurai weapons, samurai armor, three samurai archetypes, and a dozen new spells.

In other similarly themed news, I’ve outlined the Bushi, Wu Jen, Shugenja, Sohei, and Yakuza as archetypes for core classes, but I’ve not made much progress on that document…so far. In a fit of boredom, I updated the dragonborn to fit an Oriental Adventures milieu, and I have vague plans for updating or creating other races, perhaps to include a plethora of humanoid animals inspired by the Japanese zodiac.

Our videoconference foray into The Lost City with four 3rd-level monks, each one using a different archetype from The Ways Of…, went well last week, but last night’s session got canceled due to me not feeling well. We’ll try again this coming Monday, and that session will likely see the inclusion of a fifth player running a samurai. It’ll be easy enough to work the new PC in by saying he was part of the original caravan that got caught in the sandstorm, with the samurai arriving at the lost city ahead of the others and eventually being taken in by the Warrior Maidens.

In other news, I’ve long enjoyed the OpenD6 Gaming System, and I adore the Mini Six version put about by AntiPaladin Games. You can get the Mini Six PDF for free, and, for at least the next week or so, you can get the print-on-demand softcover and PDF for less than $3 US.

Mini Six is less a complete RPG than it is an RPG toolkit. The system is easy to grok, and its major elements are modular, which means they can be used as-is, modified, or even ignored, depending on what sort of gaming experience you’re looking for. By way of example, Mini Six characters have four attributes: Might, Agility, Wit, and Charm. Do you want to run a high-magic game where every character is a wizard? Well, you can add Wizardry as an attribute. Going science fiction? You might want to include Tech as an attribute. Want to go minimalist? Reduce the attributes to two: Physical and Mental. Off a bizarre tangent and inspired by Freudian fever dreams? Id, Ego, and Superego might work as attributes.

In my spare time (which I have too much of this summer), I’ve started putting together a Mini Six player’s guide inspired by unequal parts of Mini Six, basic D&D, and RuneQuest. For this untitled project, I’ve expanded the attributes to the classic six from D&D and included themed perks related to class, race, and background. With class and race abilities turned into perks, it is possible to simulate a multi-classed character or a character with a multi-racial family tree.

(Nota Bene: Those last several links are affiliate links. If you click and buy, I get a few copper pieces.)

Tags: 5E D&D, Character Classes, Mini Six

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

In my last post, I introduced Buyan, a magical island found in Slavic and Russian folktales and myths. Today, we meet Koschei the Deathless. If you’d like to read a tale featuring this villain, here’s a link to a PDF of “The Death of Koschei the Deathless” taken from The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang.

So tall he towers over the tallest men, emaciated yet vigorous, unkempt hair and beard grown into ragged and long strands, completely naked. Koschei the Deathless, sorceror and kidnapper, lives in a decaying fortress lost within a rugged highland forest. From this lair, Koschei rides out mounted on his remarkable steed, one of Baba Yaga’s magical horses given to Koschei by that monstrous witch. Koschei abducts women, especially the wives of aristocrats. He locks them up in his fortress’s dungeons, guarded by frost giants and winter wolves, often for no reason other than to enjoy slaughtering those who come to rescue the ladies.

Only Koschei’s deathlessness overshadows his legendary wrath and cruelty. In ages past, Koschei took his soul and hid it within a needle. He put the needle inside an egg. A duck carries this egg in its body, and, in turn, a white-furred hare holds within its body the duck. Koschei locked the hare inside a sturdy chest constructed from iron, crystal, and gold. He buried the chest beneath the roots of an oak tree that grows in Buyan’s forested wilderness. As long as Koschei’s soul remains protected, Koschei cannot die. No force mundane or magical can kill him.

Anyone fortunate enough to locate the oak tree, dig up the chest, and open the container must still contend with the hare, which then races away, seeking to evade capture. If pursuers catch and kill the hare, the duck bursts forth and flies away. Should the duck be caught and killed, the hunter can extract the egg and use it to control Koschei, who sickens and loses his great strength and his sorcerous powers. Cracking the egg open to get the needle breaks this control and restores Koschei’s might, but breaking the needle instantly slays the villain.

Koschei’s steed, which he addresses only with various insults such as “jade” and “nag”, has magical powers. It gallops faster than any mortal horse, and it speaks several languages. It tracks victims for Koschei with its remarkable sense of smell, and no one has ever thrown the horse off their trail. Koschei also possesses at least one amazing magic item, a normal-seeming handkerchief which, when waved three times, transforms into a strong bridge long enough to span any river or chasm. Once Koschei crosses the bridge, it reverts to a handkerchief.

This link takes you to a PDF containing game stats for Koschei the Deathless, making this miscreant usable for Dungeon World, Fate Accelerated Edition, Mini Six Bare Bones Edition, and Swords & Wizardy. Koschei’s stats for Barbarians of Lemuria appear below. Huzzah.

Koschei the Deathless
Attributes: Strength 4, Agility 0, Mind 3, Appeal 0; Brawl 2, Melee 3, Missile 2, Defence 0
Careers: Gaoler 2, Hunter 1, Scholar 1, Sorcerer 3
Lifeblood: 12
Protection: 0 (no armor)
Weapons: Scimitar d6+6
Special: Koschei is deathless as long as his needle is intact. He ignores all damage to Lifeblood.

Koschei’s Horse
Attributes: Strength 3, Agility 1, Mind 2
Offence: Attack with hooves +2; d6 damage
Defence: 2
Protection: d3-1 (tough hide)
Lifeblood: 20
Special: Koschei’s horse speaks several languages. Its swiftness is legendary. It can accurately track a target via scent.

Tags: Barbarians of Lemuria, Buyan, Dungeon World, Fate Accelerated Edition, magic items, Mini Six, monsters, Swords & Wizardry

wiggly: (adj.) tending to move or cause to move with jerky movements, esp. from side to side

I know this has been said before by many, but it bears repeating: Star Wars isn’t a very good movie. It has not stood the test of time and, in my case, I feel that is because I’m no longer 10 years old. The subsequent movies only got worse, and the last few were barely watchable to awful. None of the big screen Star Wars movies have been well-written or well-acted. (Of course, even the worst of them is still better than best Transformers movie, but I digress.) I’m firmly convinced they remain marketable because other people are now 10 years old while still other people wish to hang onto that wide-eyed, uncritical age. I don’t fault people for this. If you like Star Wars, good for you. May the Force be with you.

There is, however, one good thing that came out of Stars Wars, and that’s Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games that came out in 1987. It uses WEG’s d6 system, and it is a hoot to play, although I never played it much. When I did, my character was an alcoholic failed Jedi who, more than anything, just wanted to be left alone, but since the Empire wouldn’t do that, he crawled out of the bottle to join the Rebellion.

A few years ago, AntiPaladin Games released Mini Six, based on the OpenD6 System. Mini Six is an OGL product, and you can get the PDF for free at this link. That’s pretty awesome.

All of which finally brings me to today’s critter: the dreaded Mongolian death worm, suitable for Mini Six. Keep your eyes on the sand and tread carefully.

Mongolian Death Worm
Scale: 0D
Might: 2D+2
Agility: 4D+1
Wit: 0D
Charm: 1D
Skills: Brawling 3D, Spit Acid 3D (3D damage), Stealth 4D
Special: Target’s bitten by a Mongolian death worm must pass a Moderate Might roll or be poisoned. Poisoned victims suffer 3D damage. Mongolian death worms can burrow through sand at full speed.
Static: Dodge 13, Soak 8

Tags: A to Z 2014, AntiPaladin Games, Mini Six, monsters