Spes Magna Games

Our every-other-Sunday 5E D&D game continues today. Terry DMed the first part of the campaign, running our characters through 5E conversions of AD&D’s Against the Cult of the Reptile God and the laughably bad The Forest Oracle. I’m DMing the game now with everyone running new characters.

In terms of campaign continuity, the first group of heroes are still out and about dealing the The Forest Oracle. Our new group of heroes have traveled to Dark Shelf (a site found in another AD&D adventure that I’m converting more or less on the fly) to investigate strange goings on at the quarry. So far, the heroes have discovered that the dwarven night shift at the quarry is actually a mob of goblins (moblins?). Among those goblins are a number of tunnel goblins, the second of three new monsters I’ve statted up for the game.

The heroes’ first foray into the quarry tunnels didn’t go well. A lack of common sense alerted goblin and human guards, and the heroes quickly found themselves outnumbered and nearly overwhelmed while enemy reinforcements could be heard echoing in the tunnels. With unconscious allies in tow, the heroes beat feet and found a hiding place in the wooded hills northeast of the quarry. Later the next day, the heroes limped back into Dark Quarry. They regrouped, recovered, and hired a couple of river guides. Heading up the river from the coast, the heroes found a way into what they rightly believe to be the lowest levels of the quarry. They defeated a couple of ooze para-elementals without too much trouble, and then the session ended.

Since Jesús, one of the players and a former student whom I taught many years ago, plays a parrot-themed aarakocra ranger whose favored enemies are goblins, the heroes have a solid idea about the capabilities of tunnel goblins even though they have yet to face them in combat. That’s likely to change today. Also, as the party has leveled up, I can pull out some tougher opposition for them. Might be a good excuse to try out a goblin swarm or two. Cue evil laughter.

Tunnel goblins excel at mining and underground construction. Goblin tribes use tunnel goblins as a skilled labor force as well as scouts and guards. With their innate nimbleness and magical ability to move through rock, tunnel goblins may prove to be more than a nuisance to unwary trespassers.

Goblin, Tunnel
Small humanoid (goblinoid), neutral evil

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 5 (2d6-2)
Speed 30 ft., climb 15 ft.

STR 8 (-1), DEX 14 (+2), CON 9 (-1), INT 9 (-1), WIS 12 (+1), CHA 7 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

Keen Hearing. The tunnel goblin has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing.

Light Sensitivity. While in bright light, the tunnel goblin has disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Nimble Escape. The goblin can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.

Actions

Multiattack. The tunnel goblin makes two attacks with its rocks. It makes the second rock attack roll with disadvantage.

Mining Tool. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage.

Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/80 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) bludgeoning damage.

Reactions

Rocky Step. When a tunnel goblin uses Nimble Escape and ends its turn out of line of sight of an enemy, it may make a rocky step as its reaction. The tunnel goblin merges with a stone surface. At the start of its next turn, it uses its reaction to exit a stone surface within 30 feet of its point of entry.

Tags: 5E D&D, AD&D, monsters

Well, my last blogpost was 4 August. It’s mid-October now. I might have set a new personal best for unproductivity. So, let’s review what’s been going on in my neck of the woods.

I’m back in the classroom, teaching 7th and 8th grade English and literature. Good times. The COVID procedures are working, but they have also proven to have a sort of mental weight. We’re a bit more than a month away from Thanksgiving. We’re finishing up our first quarter this week. It’s been close to exhausting.

The number of games I’m participating in has doubled thanks to remote gaming. For good or ill, this is not a pace I can maintain now that I’m back to work full-time. Consequently, I fear the week-day evening games must fall by the wayside. That means the Tuesday night Microlite and the Thursday night Fate Condensed games are likely defunct, which is a shame. They were both fun.

The every-other-Saturday d20 System game mashing together 3.5 D&D, d20 Modern, and Call of Cthulhu continues. We’ve been at it for several months. The PCs have gone from beginners to double-digit levels. I still envision the Grand Finale before Thanksgiving. Either the heroes will have gone back in time to save the future (which is their present), or else the Great Old Ones shall return and bring an end to everything.

The every-other-Sunday 5E D&D game also continues. Terry finished up running a couple of 1E adventures (Against the Cult of the Reptile God and the laughably bad The Forest Oracle) not too long ago. I took over the DMing, and everyone made up new characters, forming a group of adventurers who set out to tackle new problems while the original group Terry DMed are still engaged in The Forest Oracle. Along the way, we’ve got a nice little corner of a campaign world taking form. The new group of heroes have traveled to Dark Shelf to investigate strange goings on at the quarry.

Last of all, I celebrated the ninth anniversary of my heart attack this past weekend. Huzzah.

But back to 5E D&D. During our last Sunday session, the party found a slaughtered Traveling Folk family. The party was also ambushed by lynx spiders. My son Christopher’s character was paralyzed by spider venom and then dragged into a burrow. While the party was rescuing their paralyzed comrade, another PC was rendered helpless by spiders and dragged away into the darkness of their caves. Fortunately, the rest of the party managed to save both characters.

Lynx spiders hunt in packs, preferring to hide in tall grass or other similar vegetation in order to ambush their prey. These monstrous arachnids are indiscriminate eaters, just as likely to prey on wild animals as they are on unwary travelers. As hunting spiders, these creatures do not typically spin webs except to line the tunnels into their burrows.

Lynx Spider
Small beast, unaligned

Armor Class 14
Hit Points 9 (2d6+2)
Speed 40 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 40 ft.

STR 10 (+0), DEX 18 (+4), CON 12 (+1), INT 3 (-4), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 6 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +6
Senses blindsight 20 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages —
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Grassy Camouflage. The spider has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in grassy terrain.

Keen Sight. The spider has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Pack Tactics. The spider has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the spider’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

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

Web Sense. While in contact with a web, the spider knows the exact location of any other creature in contact with the same web.

Web Walker. The spider ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 5 (2d4) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way.

Spit Venom. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 10/40 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (2d4) poison damage and blinded on a failed save (Constitution DC 11), or half as much damage on a successful one and not blinded. A blinded target repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the blinded condition on a success.

Tags: 5E D&D, Heart Attack, monsters

A new spell and a new monster, both inspired by crustaceans.

Cavitation of Bubbles
4th-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S, M (a crustacean’s claw)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You create a dome of bubbles on a solid surface within range. The dome is a hemisphere with a 20-foot radius and 1-foot thick walls. The multitude of bubbles make the dome opaque to sight, although light does refract through the bubbles.

When the dome appears, each creature within a square through which the bubbles pass must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature ends up inside dome in the space nearest to its starting space. On a successful save, the creature ends up outside the dome in the space nearest to its starting space.

The dome is an object that can be damaged and thus breached. Each 5-foot section of dome has AC 10 and 3 hit points, and it is vulnerable to piercing damage. Reducing a 5-foot section of dome to 0 hit points destroys that section. Each creature within 10 feet of the destroyed section must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 5d6 thunder damage and is stunned until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and is not stunned.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 4th.

“Crabmen are man-sized intelligent crabs. They walk upright on two pair of legs. The small pincers tipping the short arms above their legs are used for fine manipulation. The two longer arms end in large claws. Two slender eyestalks bob above the beak-like collection of mandibles which makes up the crabman’s mouth. Male crabmen are often brightly colored and females may be reddish-brown, green, or black” Monstrous Manual, page 47. (Nota Bene: That’s an affiliate link.)

Coastal Hunter-Gatherers. Crabmen live in tribal groups in coastal regions. Most of the time, crabmen are peaceful, content to hunt sealife and gather molluscs and aquatic plants for food. Crabmen may raid coastal towns, especially during times when food is scarce or their territories are threatened. Crabmen covet shiny metal, especially silver-colored metal. Crabmen lair in coastal caves and some of the time dig burrows into seaside cliffs. These burrows consist of tunnels radiating from a common chamber, each tunnel leading to a crabman’s lair.

Xenophobes. Crabmen speak only their own language of hisses and clicks. Humanoids lack the anatomy to speak the crabmen’s tongue in anything other than the most rudimentary manner. Even then, crabmen seldom listen. They have little to no desire to communicate or associate with other intelligent creatures.

Predator and Prey. Sahuagin view crabman legs and claws as tasty delicasies. Crabmen in turn hate sahuagin more than any other creature.

Crabman
Medium monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 32 (5d8+10)
Speed 25 ft., swim 15 ft.

STR 17 (+3), DEX 10 (+0), CON 15 (+2), INT 8 (-1), WIS 11 (+0), CHA 9 (-1)

Skills Survival +2
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Crabman
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Amphibious. The crabman can breathe air and water.

Regrowth. After a long rest, the crabman regrows severed limbs and damaged eyestalks.

Actions

Multiattack. The crabman makes two pincer attacks.

Pincer. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage.

Crabman Hunter
Medium monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 75 (10d8+30)
Speed 25 ft., swim 15 ft.

STR 18 (+4), DEX 10 (+0), CON 16 (+3), INT 10 (+0), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 11 (+0)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +2, Survival +3
Damage Resistances bludgeoning from nonmagical weapons
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Crabman
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Amphibious. The crabman hunter can breathe air and water.

Keen Sight and Smell. The crabman hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.

Regrowth. After a long rest, the crabman hunter regrows severed limbs and damaged eyestalks.

Actions

Multiattack. The crabman hunter makes two pincer attacks. If the crabman hunter is grappling a creature, the crabman hunter can also use its bite once.

Pincer. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) bludgeoning damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 13) if it is a Medium or smaller creature and the crabman hunter doesn’t have two other creatures grappled.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is grappled, the crabman hunter attacks with advantage.

Crabman Elder
Large monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 142 (15d10+60)
Speed 25 ft., swim 15 ft.

STR 20 (+5), DEX 10 (+0), CON 18 (+4), INT 12 (+1), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 13 (+1)

Skills Perception +5, Survival +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning
Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Crabman (may understand one or more other languages)
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)

Amphibious. The crabman elder can breathe air and water.

Keen Sight and Smell. The crabman elder has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.

Regeneration. The crabman elder regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point. After a long rest, the crabman elder regrows severed limbs and damaged eyestalks.

Actions

Multiattack. The crabman elder makes two pincer attacks. If the crabman elder is grappling a creature, the crabman elder can also use its bite once.

Pincer. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) bludgeoning damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is a Large or smaller creature and the crabman elder doesn’t have two other creatures grappled.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d4+5) bludgeoning damage. If the target is grappled, the crabman elder attacks with advantage.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters, spells

A post for today featuring yet another new AD&D monster? Can do easy!

Zeni
Frequency: Uncommon
No. Appearing: 4-24
Armor Class: 8, 6, or 4 (see below)
Move: up to 12″
Hit Dice: 1+1 to 3+3
% in Lair: Nil
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: See below
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Animal
Alignment: Neutral
Size: S to L (3′ diameter per HD)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: 1+1 HD (III/56 + 2/hp), 2+2 HD (III/95 + 3/hp), 3+3 HD (IV/160 + 4/hp)

Zenis resemble ordinary barrel cacti, at least until they attack or move. These carnivorous plants move via rolling, and it takes time for them to build up speed. On the first round, zenis roll at 3″, and this speed increases by 3″ per round until a maximum speed of 12″ is reached.

As zenis increase in size, their exteriors become thicker and more resistant to injury. The smallest zenis are AC 8. Medium-size zenis are AC 6, and the largest zenis are AC 4.

Zenis attack one of two ways: rolling into their prey or by releasing a cloud of spines. A creature struck by a rolling zeni takes damage based on the zeni’s size and speed. A 1+1 hit die zeni inflicts 1-4 points of damage. This damage increases to 2-8 points for a 2+2 hit dice zeni and to 3-12 points for a 3+3 hit dice zeni. The monster inflicts additional damage equal to its movement rate divided by 3. So, a 3+3 hit dice zeni moving at 9″ inflicts 6-15 points of damage when it rolls into a creature. If the creature struck by a rolling zeni is not larger than the zeni, the creature may be knocked down unless it succeeds on a saving throw versus breath weapon. The saving throw is made with a +4 modifier if the creature is same size as the zeni.

Usually after it rolls into its prey, a zeni releases a cloud of spines. Each spine has wing-like structures that enable it to buzz about much like an insect. The spines fill a sphere in a 10-foot radius around the zeni. Creatures within the cloud sustain 1 hit point of damage for each melee round they remain in it, regardless of armour class. The referee will cause all creatures with one or fewer hit dice to check morale. Fire will force the spines back to their zeni, and a fireball clears the spines from its blast area. The spines lasts for up to 2 melee rounds for each of the zeni’s hit dice, and then they return to their zeni.

Zenis take half damage from lightning attacks. They are immune to fear, poison, and paralysis.

Tags: AD&D, monsters

On the Facebook, Luke Gygax posted, “Great job to Melf And The Green Arrows! Our Founders & Legends III Team broke the $6,000 mark! I’m so happy!”

Great job, indeed! I know my post about Founders & Legends III didn’t offer a glowing account of my limited experience with the on-line convention, but $6+K for Extra Life? That’s the icing on the cake and the cake, too.

On to another topic: It’s been months since I posted a new monster for AD&D. That doesn’t seem right. So, to honor the for-sale-via-Etsy tick horror, here we go.

Sceartán
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 2-12
Armor Class: 7
Move: 3″ (3″)
Hit Dice: 3-5
% in Lair: 5%
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 2-5
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low
Alignment: Neutral evil
Size: S
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: 3 HD (III/80 + 3/hp), 4 HD (III/135 + 4/hp), 5 HD (IV/210 + 5/hp)

Sceartáns resemble bloated, fleshy ticks with the distorted faces of pudgy infants. They hunt forests, lairing in constricted burrows that some of the time lead to caves or caverns. These horrid things seek to drop upon prey or burst from hiding. They surprise others on a 1-4, and they treat falls as 20 feet shorter than actual for determining falling damage.

When sceartáns rush their prey, they double their movement rate for 1-4 melee rounds. Sceartáns attack via a long, hollow tongue that ends in a jagged spike. A hit by a sceartán scores 2-5 points of damage and indicates the monster has attached itself. Each melee round thereafter it drains 1-6 hit points of blood, until reaching satiation at a blood drain equal to its hit points. The sceartán then detaches and attempts to scurry for safety to slowly digest its meal. A sceartán must be killed, severely burned, or splashed with holy water to detach it prior to satiation. Holy water does not damage sceartáns, but they find the substance noxious.

If a sceartán is forcibly detached, its victim must make a saving throw versus poison. Failure indicates that part of the sceartán’s tongue spike breaks off in the victim’s body. The fragment wriggles deeper into the wound unless extracted within one melee round (causing 1-4 points of damage to the victim). Otherwise, only a cure disease spell prevents the fragment from reaching the victim’s heart and causing death in 1-3 turns.

Tags: AD&D, monsters