Spes Magna Games

As promised last Savage Wednesday, here’s the link to the work-in-progress The Kids’ Game campaign setting for the Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition game that starts this coming Saturday.

Now that you’ve read over the document, you can see the heavy borrowing from Torg by West End Games. I played Torg quite a bit while stationed in Hawaii. I was publised in two of their monster books and even got to rep WEG at a gaming convention in Honolulu. Good times.

Two key concepts from Torg are that there are alternative realities ruled by malevolent powers and that the heroes can bend the rules of reality. I’m keeping both of these concepts for The Kids’ Game, albeit in altered forms.

Speaking of those Torg monster books, they were Creatures of Aysle and Creatures of Orrorsh. One my contributions were the shadow dogs, the idea for which I took from a Grant Morrison Doom Patrol comic book.

A shadow dog is an Aylish creature which resembles a canine to some extent, but is in truth a magical creature gifted with the ability to track virtually anything with uncanny success. The shadow dog’s head is a flat wedge split by a great, drooling mouth filled with long, needle-sharp teeth. It has no eyes or ears, and relies solely on its enhanced sense of smell and its sorcerous talents. The lean, hard flesh of the shadow dog is covered with short, wiry black hairs that serve as olfactory receptors. Its large paws sport thick, curved talons.

Shadow Dog

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Notice d10, Stealth d6, Tracking d10
Pace: 8″
Parry: 5
Toughness: 4
Special Abilities:

Bite: STR + d4.

Detect: The shadow dog detects the “scent” of its quarry’s aura in a 100 yard radius with a Notice or Tracking roll.

Fleet-Footed: Roll a d10 when running instead of a d6.

Senses: A shadow dog is blind and deaf. Its sense of smell is supernatural, removing trait roll penalties for physical action. The shadow dog’s sense of smell functions out to 12″ under normal conditions.

Size -1

Tags: monsters, Savage Wednesday, Savage Worlds, The Kids' Game

This week’s Tuesday Terror comes from the AD&D Monstrous Compendium Annual: Volume Two, published in 1995.

Also called deep men or dark men, amiq rasol are vengeful undead spawned from pirates who were lost at sea, murdered, or marooned. These creatures haunt coasts and islands, preying upon the living. Amiq rasol appear much as they did in life, albeit perhaps paler with shabbier clothing. When seen through magic (such as true seeing) or when they attack, the amiq rasol’s true appearance reveals itself: that of a corpse whose eyes glow with hellish green fire and whose nails and teeth have become bestial.

Amiq Rasol
Medium undead, neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 58 (9d8+18)
Speed 45 ft., swim 25 ft.

STR 13 (+1), DEX 14 (+2), CON 15 (+2), INT 12 (+1), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 12 (+1)

Saving Throws DEX +4, WIS +3
Skills Deception +3, Perception +3, Stealth +4
Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities cold
Condition Immunities charmed, paralyzed
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages the languages it knew in life
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

False Appearance. Unless seen via appropriate magic (such as true seeing) or when it attacks, the amiq rasol appears to be a living creature.

Actions

Multiattack. The amiq rasol makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage. Against a creature that is grappled, incapacitated, or restrained, the bite inflicts an extra 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the amiq rasol regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4+2) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the amiq rasol can grapple the target (escape DC 13).

Charm (3/Day). The amiq rasol targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the amiq rasol, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the amiq rasol. The charmed target regards the amiq rasol as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under the amiq rasol’s control, it takes the amiq rasol’s requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the amiq rasol’s bite attack.

Each time the amiq rasol or the amiq rasol’s companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the amiq rasol is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters, Tuesday Terror

This Sunday, the AD&D game continues as the characters — all squires serving Lady Mirelyn — continue to investigate sinister and secretive skullduggery in Saltmarsh’s allegedly haunted house. So far, the squires have found little evidence of haunting, but they have found evidence of murder in the form of a rot grub bloated corpse in the house’s basement.

Last Thursday, I presented AD&D versions of two creatures from the 1981 printing of TSR’s Gamma World. I’m a little more pressed for time this week, so here’s one more mutant monster reimagined.

Fen
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 4-40
Armor Class: 7
Move: 6″//12″
Hit Dice: 2+1
% in Lair: 30%
Treasure Type: D
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 1-6/by weapon
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low to average
Alignment: Neutral (evil)
Size: M
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: III/65 + 3/hp (Assistant or guard: III/110 + 4/hp. Leader: IV/170 + 5/hp. Chief: V/300 + 6/hp. Shaman: III/135 + 4/hp.)

Climate/Terrain: Coastal waters and swamps/tropical to temperate
Organization: Tribal
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Omnivore
Morale: Elite (14)

Fens are intelligent, man-sized humanoid fish. On land, they walk on stubby fins that double as legs. Fens have both lungs and gills, and they may remain out of water for as long as 24 hours without suffering any ill effects. Due to their translucent skin, fens blend into their environs when underwater so as to become invisible (requiring the ability to see invisible objects to locate them) as long as they are not attacking.

Fens are immune to electricity, and they take half damage from fire-based attacks. They make saving throws against light-based attacks with a +2 bonus. Fens fight with weapons, especially stabbing weapons and nets. They also use their tails to club their enemies. Once per day, a fen can polymorph into a large bird (treat as a giant eagle, but the fen’s hit points do not change). A fen can maintain its bird form for up to 1 turn.

For every 10 fens encountered, there will be a leader with armor class 5, 19 hit points, and 4+1 hit dice and four assistants with with armor class 6, 14 hit points, and 3+1 hit dice. If more than 24 are encountered, there will be in addition a chief with armor class 4, 22 hit points, and 5+1 hit dice and 12 guards with armor class 5, 12-14 hit points, and 3+1 hit dice. For every 10 fens encountered, there is a 50% chance for a shaman with 3+1 hit dice and the spell ability of a 3rd-level cleric.

The lair of these creatures is usually underwater in caves. Fens rarely build crude villages on the coast or on a hillock in a swamp. A fen lair will be protected by 2-8 giant electric eels (if underwater) or 2-5 crocodiles (if built on land). Female fens are nearly indistinguishable from males, and usually stay in the lair, where they guard hatcheries and train the tribe’s animals. Females and young typically number 85% and 125% the total number of males.

Fens are omnivorous, but they are likely to prefer human flesh to other meats.

Tags: AD&D, Gamma World, Mirelyn's Skyrealm, monsters, ThursdAD&D

This week’s Tuesday Terror can be viewed at this link. It think that site is the sculptor’s, who goes by the pseudonym steambastet. Below is what I think the creature in the picture could be as a D&D monster.

Despite its appearance, the sveppadýr is not undead, but instead is a plant creature, an amalgam of roots, fungus, bone, and vines that occurs in spontaneous response to the wanton slaughter of wildlife. It stalks poachers, despoilers, and hunters alike.

Sveppadýr
Huge plant, unaligned

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 114 (12d12+36)
Speed 60 ft.

STR 21 (+5), DEX 14 (+2), CON 16 (+3), INT 5 (-3), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 8 (-1)

Skills Perception +6, Stealth +6
Damage Resistances cold, fire; bludgeoning
Damage Immunities lightning; piercing and slashing from attacks made by plants or with wooden weapons
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion
Senses blindsight 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 16
Languages understands Common, Elvish, and Sylvan but can’t speak them
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

Charge. If the sveppadýr moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a ram attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the sveppadýr can make one hooves attack against it as a bonus action.

Hunter Becomes the Prey. The sveppadýr knows the distance to and direction of any creature that has killed a beast, fey, or plant within the past 24 hours, so long as the sveppadýr and the killer are no more than 5 miles apart.

Magic Resistance. The sveppadýr has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. The sveppadýr always makes its saving throws against spells and other magical effects that use plants (such as entangle).

Regeneration. As long as the sveppadýr is touching the ground, it regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn. If the sveppadýr takes cold or fire damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the sveppadýr’s next turn. The sveppadýr’s body is destroyed is destroyed only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regeneration.

Rejuvenation. When the sveppadýr’s body is destroyed, its spirit lingers. After 24 hours, the spirit grows a new body within 1 mile of the old body’s place of demise. The sveppadýr regains all its hit points. While the spirit is bodiless, a banishment spell (or similar magic) can be used to destroy the spirit and prevent its rejuvenation.

Woodland Camouflage. The sveppadýr has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in forested terrain.

Actions

Multiattack. The sveppadýr makes two attacks: one with its ram and one with its hooves.

Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning damage.

Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (4d10+5) bludgeoning damage.

Wall of Thorns (Recharges after Short or Long Rest). The sveppadýr creates a wall of tough, pliable, tangled brush bristling with needle-sharp thorns. The wall appears within 120 feet on a solid surface and lasts for 10 minutes. The sveppadýr chooses to make the wall either up to 60 feet long, 10 feet high, and 5 feet thick, or a circle that has a 20-foot diameter and is up to 20 feet high and 5 feet thick. The wall blocks line of sight, but not the sveppadýr’s blindsight.

When the wall appears, each creature within its area must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 31 (7d8) piercing damage, or half as much damage on a successful save.

A creature can move through the wall. For every 1 foot a creature moves through the wall, it must spend 4 feet of movement. Furthermore, the first time a creature enters the wall on a turn or ends its turn there, the creature must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. It takes 31 (7d8) slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much on successful one.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters, Tuesday Terror

This last Sunday, I re-restarted an AD&D game. The characters all live on a flying island and serve as squires to Lady Mirelyn. For their first mission, the characters were dispatched to the sleepy town of Saltmarsh to investigate why the town has been consistently behind on its annual harvest taxes for the past several years.

Turns out, the root of the problem has something do with a haunted house….

Anyway, I’ve got a small group with only one player new to tabletop RPGs. Amusingly enough (to me), our new player is a former student of mine, whom I taught way back when he was in middle school. He’s all grown up now, older than my son. It’s funny as he struggles to address me as anything other than “Mr. Chance”.

But I digress.

Given that most of my players are D&D veterans, I want to change up things a bit to try to recreate that sense of wonder we first had when we started playing and hadn’t read the entire Monster Manual. This means new monsters. Well, sort of. Today’s offerings aren’t really new. They come the 1981 printing of TSR’s Gamma World, which remains one of the greatest RPGs of all time.

Ark
Frequency: Uncommon
No. Appearing: 20-200
Armor Class: 5
Move: 15″
Hit Dice: 2
% in Lair: 20%
Treasure Type: Individuals L, M; D, Q (x5), S in lair
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 2-8 or by weapon
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low to average
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Size: L (9′ tall)
Psionic Ability:
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: II/28 + 2/hp (Leader-type or guard: III/125 + 4/hp. Chieftan: IV/165 + 5/hp)

Climate/Terrain: Any non-desert/tropical to temperate
Organization: Band
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Carnivore
Morale: Steady (11)

Arks are intelligent, brutal dog-men of great height but slender build. They live and travel in rapacious bands, wherein the largest and strongest dominate their smaller, weaker pack mates. Arks are generally on friendly terms with other evil races, such as badders. Arks are strong and fast. They have infravision. They speak their racial tongue, chaotic evil, and often (60%) badder and/or the common tongue.

For every 20 arks encountered, there will be a leader-type with 3+3 hit dice and 16 hit points. If 100 or more of these creatures are encountered, there will be a chieftan with 4+4 hit dice, 22 hit points, armor class 3, and +2 to damage. The chieftan has 2-12 guards with 3+3 hit dice, 16 hit points, armor class 4, and +1 to damage. If arks are encountered in their lair, there will always be a chieftan with 5-20 guards. The lair also contains females and young equal to 50% and 200% respectively the number of males present.

Arks are nomadic 80% of the time, but occasionally (20%) take up residence in an abandoned (or cleared) village, building, or cave. If nomadic, arks are quite likely (65%) to have 2-8 ark-hounds (treat as hyenas) or 1-6 ark-beasts (treat as hyaenodons) (80% and 20%, respectively). These beasts serve as pets and guards. If the arks have settled a location, double the number of beasts possible. Arks capture others for slaves and food, especially humans, as arks view human hands as a delicacy. Arks always have captives numbering 1 victim per 10 arks.

Arks are not dangerous only because of their numbers and their vicious natures. They also possess strange, magical powers. An ark who concentrates (treat the ark as motionless opponent as per DMG, p. 70) is capable of telekinesis with a range of 1″ per hit die, affecting 250 gold pieces of weight per hit die. Multiple arks can cooperate to increase the range and strength of their telekinesis, but the arks must be touching each other to do so.

Ark leader-types, chieftans, and guards can drain life energy from creatures of semi- or greater intelligence. This life leech ability can be used once per day. It affects a 3″ radius around the ark, and it affects all creatures in the radius (except the user). An affected creature loses 1-6 hit points (save versus death magic negates). The ark gains a number of hit points equal to the total damage inflicted (but this power cannot increase the ark’s hit points to more than twice normal value). Excess leeched hit points not destroyed in combat dissipate after 24 hours.

An ark chieftan can control weather as a druid once per week, but only after 1 turn of concentration. After the period of concentration, another 1-4 turns pass before the weather change is complete. This power weakens the chieftan, causing a loss of 3-10 hit points.

A peculiar aspect of ark psychology is their fear of large, winged creatures. Arks have -1 “to hit” and a -2 morale penalties against such creatures.

Badder
Frequency: Uncommon
No. Appearing: 40-400
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12″ (3″)
Hit Dice: 2-7 hit points
% in Lair: 40%
Treasure Type: Individuals K; C in lair
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-6 or by weapon
Special Attacks: Empathy
Special Defenses: Empathy
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low-average
Alignment: Lawful evil
Size: S-M (4′ to 5′ tall)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: I/5 + 1/hp (Leader or assistant: I/14 + 1/hp. Chief or bodyguard: II/40 + 3/hp.)

Climate/Terrain: Any land/any non-tropical
Organization: Tribe
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Omnivore
Morale: Average (10)

Badders are militaristic, humanoid badgers. They have a tribal society, the strongest ruling the rest, allowing fealty to the badder king. Badders enjoy dwelling in dismal surroundings, preferring subterranean habitats to others. Badders hate full daylight and attack at a -1 when in sunlight. They have normal infravision (60′ range). Badders are quick and agile, which in part accounts for their high armor class. These humanoids hate gnomes and dwarves, and will attack them in preference to other creatures. Badders are slave takers and are fond of torture. They speak their own tongue, lawful evil, and (80%) one or two other languages.

For every 40 badders encountered, there will be a leader and 4 assistants, all of whom have 1 hit die. If 200 or more badders are encountered, there will be the following additional figures: a sub-chief and 2-8 guards, each with 1+1 hit dice, armor class 5, and doing +1 damage. In their lair, there will be a badder chief and 2-8 bodyguards, each with 2+2 HD, armor class 4, and doing +2 damage. Also, there will be females and young equal to 60% and 100% respectively of the number of male badders encountered. Badders often have beasts in their lair, specifically 5-30 badgers (60%) or 3-18 giant badgers (40%), with these animals being present 60% of the time.

There is a 25% chance that any force of badders encountered will have 10% of its strength mounted on giant badgers. If this is the case, there will be an additional 10-40 giant badgers without riders.

Badders are fair miners, and they are able to detect passages which slope, unsafe areas, and approximate depth and direction between 50% to 80% of the time.

Exceptional badders (e.g. leaders, assistants, et cetera) have empathy. This allows them to detect the basic needs, drives, and/or emotioned generated by any unshielded mind within 1″ per hit die. This makes an alert badder difficult to surprise (1 in 6 chance). Badders can project emotions into the minds of creatures of semi-intelligence or less. This ability has a range of 3″ and affects a 1″ wide path. Creatures are permitted a saving throw versus spell to resist the effects, which last for 1-4 melee rounds per hit die of the badder. Exceptional badders use their empathic projection ability to frighten animals, entice prey, et cetera.

Tags: AD&D, Gamma World, Mirelyn's Skyrealm, monsters, ThursdAD&D