Spes Magna Games

Benchleydale Academy is (to quote the group’s description) “the NSFW hardcore gonzo 1st edition AD&D chills, spills and thrills” game masterminded by Timothy Connolly. The public face shines on Facebook via Benchleydale and Beyond. I’m more a lurker than a participant in Benchleydale Academy, at least so far. One of these days, a Benchleydale event will happen at a time when my schedule permits me to get stuck in the interwebs for a few hours.

The Academy has a number of a partners, many of whom offer prizes to Academy members who participate in on-line contests. Each contest consists of a themed challenge, a sort of mini-creative writing exercise that requires a response of exactly eleven words. Recently, I won two of these contests. I’ve yet to receive the prizes, but surely when I receive them pictures shall be shared.

I’m receiving “a sealed deck of Atmar’s Cardography”, specifically the Break Through the Icy Divide, “a 52 card dungeon crawl module for use with your favorite roleplaying game”, produced by Norse Foundry, provider of “quality products such as Role playing Game Dice, Game Mats to shield your table from any damage, and the finest of dwarven currency to carry everywhere you go.” To win this prize, I had to charm a frost giant and describe what it would do for me. My eleven-word description? He will call me George and love me and pet me.

I also won the contest sponsored by Antediluvian Miniatures, purveyor of fine figures “[i]nspired by the lost worlds of Jules Verne, HG Wells and other illuminating tales”. From Antediluvian Miniatures, I shall receive a few figurines cast in pewter. The contest attached to this prize was to name and create a dinosaur. Here’s mine: Umbrasaurus: Dead dinosaurs come back as incorporeal spirits that haunt primordial places. (Nota Bene: The name does not count against the eleven-word limit.) See below for the monster stats of sample umbrasaurus.

Umbrasaural Deinonychus
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1-3
Armor Class: 4
Move: 21″ (MC: A)
Hit Dice: 4+1
% in Lair: Nil
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 1-2/1-2/2-8
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: +1 or better weapon to hit
Magic Resistance: See below
Intelligence: Semi-
Alignment: Neutral evil
Size: L (12′ long)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil/nil
Level/XP Value: V/290 + 5/hp

In life, this monster was a fast carnivore that used its speed, grasping forearms, large teeth, and fierce rear talons to bring down prey. Whatever dark necromancy transforms a dead dinosaur into an umbrasaurus has altered the form and function of the deinonychus, granting into horrible powers and a dim, evil intelligence.

The incorporeal umbrasaural deinonychus has most of its existence on the negative material plane. It still moves swiftly, but now it flies, even moving through solid matter (albeit at two-thirds its normal speed). So swift and silent does the umbrasaural deinonychus move that it surprises opponents 50% of the time. Its claws and fangs inflict icy wounds, and its bite is so cold that each hit drains 1 point of the victim’s dexterity. If a living opponent reaches 0 dexterity, the victim becomes paralyzed and helpless. Note that dexterity returns to a creature 2-8 turns after being drained.

Sleep, charm, hold, and cold-based spells cannot affect the umbrasaural deinonychus. Poison and paralyzation are likewise ineffective. A vial-full of holy water inflicts 2-8 points of damage if it hits the umbrasaural deinonychus. Treat the umbrasaural deinonychus as a wraith for purposes of turning the undead.

Tags: AD&D, monsters

Welcome to 2021, and Merry Christmas!

Let’s kick off the New Year with another For Gold & Glory monster. This is inspired by Jack Badashski’s Reaper.

Arrach

Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Rare
Number Appearing: 1d8+2
Organization: Squad
Activity Cycle: Night
Intelligence: 13-14
Treasure: C (magic items are armor or weapons only)
Alignment: Lawful evil

Armor Class: 3
Movement: 12, fly 24 (MC 2)
Hit Dice: 6+6 (33 hp)
THACO: 15
Attack: 2 by weapon
Saving Throws: Fighter 7
Special Traits: Dancing weapons, magical weapons needed to hit, snares, spell immunities
Magic Resistance: None
Size: Man-sized (about 6′ tall)
Morale: 15
Experience: 3,000

The arrach are semi-corporeal undead, shadowy figures of bone, tattered robes, and blood-stained weapons, held together by malice and bloodlust. By day, the arrach wait impatiently in sunless places. After the sun sets, the arrach rush from hiding, seeking victims in a vain attempt to sate their hunger to inflict pain and death.

Arrach hunt in squads that operate with martial discipline. They fight intelligently and ruthlessly, not hesitating to retreat in order to survive long enough to fight again.

Arrach speak whatever languages they knew in life. Most arrach were evil soldiers of some sort who died violently.

Combat: Arrach attack with weapons, favoring swords, scythes, and spears. Each arrach carries 1d4+2 weapons and 1d3 bear traps. These weapons and traps are carried by folds of tattered cloth, skeletal limbs, et cetera. The round after an arrach’s weapon inflicts damage against a living foe, the weapon animates, flying up to 30 feet per round but never moving more than 30 feet from its owner. An animated weapon attacks once per round for four rounds, using the arrach’s THAC0. After four rounds, an animated weapon returns to its owner. The arrach’s dancing weapon attacks are in addition to its normal attacks.

The arrach’s bear traps pose a more subtle threat. Each trap functions much like a snare spell cast by a 6th-level priest, except that the arrach cannot use a tree, and the beartrap inflicts 1d6+1 points of damage. Each beartrap can be used once per night, and the arrach must spend three rounds setting the trap for it to function.

Arrach are immune to normal weapons and cold-based attacks. Nonmagical silver weapons inflict only half damage to them. As undead creatures, they cannot be affected by charm, hold person, and sleep spells. Poison and paralysis are likewise powerless against them. Holy water inflicts 2d4 points of damage per vial to an arrach, and sunlight renders this monster powerless and vulnerable to mundane weapons.

Tags: AD&D, For Gold & Glory, monsters, undead

Merry Christmas!

A few weeks ago I asked the Interwebz if there were any retro-clones of 2E AD&D. After weeding through the answers that didn’t go with my question, I discovered For Gold & Glory (FG&G hereafter) from God Emperor Games. I downloaded the PDF for the most reasonable price of $0. I’ve not given it a detailed read yet, but I like what I’ve skimmed.

FG&G is recognizably 2E AD&D, but it’s been streamlined, condensed a bit, and clarified. If your curious, click over via the link above. (Nota Bene: That link is an affiliate link.) There’s a 20-page preview available. The rules cover character creation and advancement, combat (including THAC0), skills (the FG&G term for proficiencies), and other player topics.

There are also sections for the DM covering magic items and monsters. The bestiary starts with aerial servant and ends with zombie. Along the way, you meet some familiar faces with new names: the corpse ravager (carrion crawler), gazer (beholder), and tunnel lurk (umber hulk). The PDF comes in at 384 pages from virtual cover to virtual cover with art drawn from public domain sources, mostly paintings that one might find hanging in museums.

If I were to start up a 2E AD&D campaign, each player having a copy of FG&G would suffice quite well. One can get the PDF and a black-and-white softcover book for about $11, or $15 for the hardcover. That’s a good price. Books with color art cost more, of course, depending on whether the color is standard or premium (whatever that means).

From what I’ve read, FG&G conforms so closely to 2E AD&D that all of my 2E AD&D stuff would work quite well with FG&G without modification. Since 2E AD&D was pretty close to 1E AD&D, that opens up a lot more of my old stuff for use as well.

I opened up another drawer in that virtual treasure chest of stock art from Aegis Studios that I purchased. Today’s monster is written up for FG&G with another piece of art by Jack Badashski, found in Necrobyss Stock Art #1. (Nota Bene: That’s also an affiliate link.)

Xinjirow

Climate/Terrain: Tropical land
Frequency: Rare
Number Appearing: 2d4
Organization: Nest
Activity Cycle: Night
Intelligence: 3-5
Treasure: B
Alignment: Neutral evil

Armor Class: 2 body, 7 eye
Movement: 9, burrow 6
Hit Dice: 8 (36 hp)
THACO: 11
Attack: 3 claws 2d6
Saving Throws: Fighter 8
Special Traits: Eye blast, surprise
Magic Resistance: None
Size: Huge (about 20′ long)
Morale: 12
Experience: 2,000

With its chitinous plates, spines, three segmented appendages ending in bony claws, and single massive eye, the xinjirow looks as if it squirmed from a nightmare into the waking world. The xinjirow burrows through the rich soil of tropical lands, using its spines to detect vibrations as well as to push it through the earth. When it detects possible prey, the xinjirow bursts from the ground and attacks.

Xinjirows live in subterranean nests. They drag unconscious or dead prey back to the nest in order to feed in the dark. The xinjirow has infravision with a range of 60 feet.

Combat: Xinjirows are intelligent enough to coordinate their attacks. When ambushing prey, the xinjirow imposes a -5 penalty to their foes’ surprise rolls. This monster burrows even through solid stone. It moves through soft earth at a movement rate of 6. Solid stone slows the xinjirow to half its burrow speed.

It attacks with its bony claws, but its first attack is with its fearsome eyeblast, which is 5′ wide and up to 100′ long. The searing heat of the eyeblast inflicts 6d8+6 points of damage, but a creature may save versus breath weapon to take half damage.

The xinjirow’s single eye can be targeted separately from its body, and the eye has 4d8 hit points. Damage inflicted to the eye does not count toward the damage needed to kill the xinjirow.

Tags: AD&D, For Gold & Glory, monsters, reviews

Merry Christmas!

First up, as promises a few days ago, there’s trouble in Schuhdorf! An evil noble lady with magic powers has polymorphed Schuhdorf’s leaders into goats and stolen them before flying off in her giant shoe. Later that night, eerie singing from the woods lured away several of the village’s children. Can the heroes track the children and rescue them? The Lady in the Shoe is a 5E D&D adventure for five 2nd-level characters includes details about how to scale the dangers for weaker or stronger parties. It’s pay-what-you-want with a recommended price of $1.

In other news, I purchased a virtual treasure chest of stock art from Aegis Studios, one of which is Jack Badashski’s burbling Skull Ooze, which appears below as a new monster.

Nota Bene: That last link is an affiliate link.

Ooze, Skull

The skull ooze is one of the more insidious fragments of Juiblex that has squirmed its away from the Abyss to the Material Plane. This blob of inky viscosity hides within a skull, waiting for something living to stray too close. Don’t let the skull ooze’s tiny size fool you into thinking it’s a small threat.

Tiny ooze, unaligned

Armor Class 13
Hit Points 7 (2d4+2)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR 5 (-3), DEX 16 (+3), CON 12 (+1), INT 1 (-5), WIS 6 (-2), CHA 1 (-5)

Damage Immunities acid, cold, lightning, slashing
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8
Languages —
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Amorphous. The skull ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing, although it has to leave its skull behind.

Corrosive Form. A creature that touches the skull ooze or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 2 (1d4) acid damage. Any nonmagical weapon made of metal or wood that hits the skull ooze corrodes. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the skull ooze is destroyed after dealing damage.

The skull ooze can eat through 2-inch-thick, nonmagical wood or metal in 1 round.

Spider Climb. The skull ooze can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Actions

Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) acid damage, and the skull ooze attaches to the target. While attached, the skull ooze doesn’t attack. Instead, at the start of each of the skull ooze’s turns, the target takes 2 (1d4) acid damage. In addition, nonmagical armor worn by the target is partly dissolved and takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armor is destroyed if the penalty reduces its AC to 10.

The skull ooze can detach itself by spending 5 feet of its movement. A creature, including the target, can use its action to detach the skull ooze, but this subjects the target to the skull ooze’s corrosive form.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters

This Christmas Eve, don’t forget the tomte’s bowl of porridge topped with a buttery pat.

Tomte

This fey creature appears as an elderly man the size of a young child. It wears simple albeit often brightly colored clothing. One seldom encounters a tomte, and this encounter most often occurs on or near a farm or perhaps in a barn or livestock pen.

A farmer who believes a tomte resides on his property enjoys a mixed blessing. If the tomte is treated well, it helps protect the farm and its creatures from harm. Unfortunately, the tomte has a short temper and is easily offended. An angry tomte may pull pranks on the farm’s residents, break farm equipment, or even harm livestock.

Small fey, neutral

Armor Class 12 (16 with barkskin)
Hit Points 18 (4d6+4)
Speed 25 ft.

STR 16 (+3), DEX 14 (+2), CON 13 (+1), INT 11 (+0), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 12 (+1)

Saving Throws STR +5
Skills Athletics +5, Perception +3, Stealth +4
Damage Immunities cold
Condition Immunities charmed
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Great Strength. The tomte possesses supernatural strength. It counts as one size larger when determining its carrying capacity and the weight it can push, drag, or lift. The tomte makes Strength checks and Strength saving throws with advantage.

Innate Spellcasting. The tomte’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 11). The tomte can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:

At will: barkskin, druidcraft, light, mending, shillelagh, speak with animals
3/day each: animal friendship, cure wounds, expeditious retreat, silent image
2/day each: animal messenger, enlarge/reduce (self only), invisibility
1/day each: bestow curse, plant growth

Actions

Club. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage, or 7 (1d8+3) bludgeoning with shillelagh

Tags: 5E D&D, Christmas, monsters