Spes Magna Games

If you’ve never checked out The Public Domain Review, you should. It’s nifty. Keen, even. The two illustrations that accompany this post come from Iconographie descriptive des cactées, ou, Essais systématiques et raisonnés sur l’histoire naturelle, la classification et la culture des plantes de cette famille by French botanist Charles Lemaire (for more information, check this out).

Many dangers exist in the radioactive deserts of the mutant future.

Erinaceus
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 30′ (10′)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d4 (plus 3d6 poison)
Save: L2
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: None
XP: 245

Mutations: Projectile Thorns (Class 3 Poison), Unique Sense (“Smell” Water [60 feet])

An erinaceus is a roundish, predatory cactus with a thick, tough exterior. It rolls slowly by shifting water stored in its tissues toward the direction of travel. This plant senses water, to include the natural moisture stored in most creatures’ bodies, via an olfactory sense analogous to the sense of smell. An erinaceus brings down prey by means of its projectile thorns. These thorns have the same ranges as a thrown dagger, and each packs a powerful toxic punch (save for half damage permitted). Once its prey is down, an erinaceus rolls to it and uses its roots to extract the prey’s blood.

Hexadres
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: None
Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks:
Damage:
Save: L6
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: None
XP: 1,070

Mutations: Fragrance Development (Plants), Neural Telepathy, Teleport

A hexadres is an intelligent, telepathic cactus. Inoffensive and contemplative, a hexadres prefers to simply teleport away if molested. Of course, a hexadres is often protected by various creatures that have fallen victim to the plant’s enticing scent. A hexadres communicates via telepathy.

Tags: monsters, Mutant Future

Now that I’ve finally finished The Four Color Hack, it’s time to finish The Grimm’s Fairy Hack, my second spin-off from The Black Hack. I’ve got one more section of essential rules related to the dark fairy-tale setting, and then the playtest rules are ready for upload to DriveThruRPG. This final section includes some special rules applicable to the fairy-tale world of TGFH along with some sample creatures, such as the Evil Tree below. After the Evil Tree comes rules for Temptations.

Evil Tree

The wild, wooded places between walled villages threaten travelers in a variety of ways. Even the trees themselves may seek to grab, tear, and crush.

Hit Dice: 7
Damage: 2d8
Special: An Evil Tree appears very much like a normal tree when it wants to (roll with Disadvantage to spot). It doesn’t move quickly, but its branches and roots have an extensive reach (attack anyone Nearby). An Evil Tree fears fire and axes (roll with Advantage when applicable). Some Evil Trees possess magical powers, such as the ability to animate normal trees or swallow a creature whole.

Temptations

Temptations abound in the fairy-tale world. Temptations exist to lure the unwary and thoughtless into danger. Temptations take a variety of forms, anything from delicious apples to piles of gold to beautiful ball gowns. No matter it’s form, a Temptation has four parts:

* A HD Equivalent: Temptations do not have HP, but they do impose a penalty on Stat checks to resist them.
* A Preferred Target: Temptations are often targeted against a specific type of character.
* A Preferred Stat: Temptations target a specific Stat that is used to resist the Temptation.
* An Effect: What happens if a character fails to resist the Temptation. This effect can range from something as simple as “The character opens the door” to powerful magical effects like “The character turns into a talking frog.”

For example, while traveling along the road, the characters sees stylish sunglasses resting on a fence post. The sunglasses are a Temptation.

Sunglasses (3 HD; Popular; Upbringing): The character takes the sunglasses and wears them all the time. The sunglasses allow the Goblin King to know the character’s whereabouts.

There is often a way to undo the effect of a Temptation. The method for undoing the Temptation may be simple or complex, easy or hard. In the case of the sunglasses, another character may take them away and break them, for example. On the other hand, perhaps a character transformed into a talking frog may regain his original shape only by receiving a willing kiss from a princess who holds a lilypad retrieved from the Marsh of Lost Heroes.

Tags: monsters, TGFH, The Black Hack

Thy heart be lifted up, and thou remember not the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: And was thy leader in the great and terrible wilderness, wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath, and the scorpion and the dipsas, and no waters at all: who brought forth streams out of the hardest rock, And fed thee in the wilderness with manna which thy fathers knew not. And after he had afflicted and proved thee, at the last he had mercy on thee, Lest thou shouldst say in thy heart: My own might, and the strength of my own hand have achieved all these things for me. (Deuteronomy 8:14-16)

Fire Serpent
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: Bite
Special: Breath weapon, immune to fire, poison
Move: 12
Save: 15
HDE/XP: 6/400

Fire serpents, magical beasts that hunt during the heat of the day in certain deserts, appear much like normal snakes except for their brilliant scarlet coloration and the heat shimmer that surrounds them. An adult fire serpent may reach lengths between 12 and 16 feet. A fire serpent is uncomfortably hot to the touch, but not hot enough to cause immediate damage. When startled or threatened, this creature curls into striking position and exhales a gout of flame in a line 5 feet wide and 30 feet long. The blazing heat of this breath weapon inflcits 4d6 points of damage (a successful saving throw indicates half damage). A fire serpent’s bite packs a deadly poison. Those that succumb to this toxin burn from the inside.

Dipsas
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: Bite (1d6-1)
Special: Induce thirst, surprise foes
Move: 9/6 (burrowing)
Save: 17
HDE/XP: 3/60

Another rarer sort of magical snake found in certain deserts is the dipsas, also known as the thirst snake. These snakes lurk near oases, waiting buried in the sand or within the spaces between rocks. A dispas surprises its prey 4 in 6 times. Its bite forces a saving throw to avoid magically induced thirst. This thirst is so powerful that the victim will ignore even attacks for 1d6 rounds in order to slake the maddening hunger for water. Dipsas prefer to attack prey gripped by overwhelming thirst.

Tags: Catholic, monsters, Swords & Wizardry, WhiteBox Adventures

The hanged undead of Galgenwälder are not the only defense present in Galgenbaum. Aside from the town watch, mostly volunteers who patrol certain neighborhoods in small groups armed with clubs and whistles, there are the bailiffs, court officials with some martial training who are empowered to determine guilt and mete out minor punishments on the spot for lesser infractions of the law or offenses against the public order.

More serious threats to law and order might be met by a Henker backed up by a squad of guards and possibly some of the watch as well. A Henker is a religious official who answers only to Galgenbaum’s Mayor-Justices. Each Mayor-Justice has several Henkers under his or her command. Because of their devotion to the gods of law and due process, a Henker possesses certain magical abilities that help defeat and punish scofflaws. Whereas the guard is authorized to only mete out minor punishments, such as a fine or a mild beating, a Henker enforces the law with stiffer penalties, up to and including summary execution.

A Henker is recognizable by the distinctive uniform of black leather, white gloves, high-collared cloak, and hangman’s hood. He wears a noose around his neck as a badge of office. In combat, a Henker fights with a stout rope, one end of which is tied into a noose. He can strike with the rope, using it as a bludgeon or a whip.

He may also command the noose to ensnare a foe’s neck, after which he releases the rope, which snakes up into the air, jerking the foe several feet off the ground. A successful saving throw avoids this attack; otherwise, the foe takes 2d6 points of damage each round from strangulation. The rope can be severed as normal, and the Henker can command the rope to cease its attack.

Once per day each, a Henker may use Darkness 15-Foot Radius and Fear. A Henker is immune to sleep and hold magic.

Hit Dice: 3
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Attack (Damage): By weapon (1d6)
Move: 12
Save: 14
Alignment: Law
Challenge Level/XP: 5/240
Special: Darkness, fear, hangman’s noose, immune to hold and sleep

Tags: monsters, place of power, Swords & Wizardry

Lent is over, and the Easter season has begun. It’s been a trying Lent. My goal was to give up making lame excuses. Overall, I don’t think I did well. My three main projects — The Grimms Fairy Hack, The Four Color Hack, and Boogie Knights of the Round Table — have all languished, neglected and sad. It’s not that I’ve done nothing with them. Well, except for Boogie Knights. That one I’ve not even looked at. It’s also not that I’ve been a complete failure. In no particular order:

I have managed to post a few new monsters. I also took the posts I did converting the skaven to Swords & Wizardry White Box and formatted them into this simple PDF. As the school year winds down, so too do the number of sessions left with Ludi Fabularum, the story game club I facilitate where I teach. For our last meetings this month and next, the students are playtesting the core of The Grimms Fairy Hack. I’m using Adventure Most Fowl by Howard Beleiff and Michael Garcia for the scenario. So far, the sessions have worked pretty well, but we’ve not hit any really crunchy parts yet. Next session, the children almost certainly find the goblins.

Part of what has slowed progress has been bouts in illness that started with my wife, moved to me (including the discovery of a class of antibiotics to which I am allergic), then to my son Christopher. Now the dog is sick. Wife Trina and daughter Adrienne are taking Sammie to the vet as I type this, which means we’re splitting up Mass times this Eastern morning. I need to make the 0800 Mass since I usher and Christopher’s in the choir. Later today, we’ve got two sets of in-laws to visit with, one for lunch, the other for dinner.

Tomorrow, for the first time in years, I’m not going to work. It’s nice having Easter Monday off, but I also have a stack of school work to do, including grading and lesson plans. I’d also like to get some writing done. We’ll see. Tomorrow evening, I’m going to hit a very small, local gym for a fitness assessment, have my body mass index measured, et cetera. If Christopher’s up to it healthwise, he’s coming along. We both need to lose some weight and get into better shape, and this seems like the place to do it. I’d rather give my money to a local business than a chain like 24 Hour Fitness.

Well, that’s my life in a nutshell lately. Good times.

Tags: monsters