Spes Magna Games

Today I revisit Old-School Essentials via a portrait from Jeshields – RPG Stock Art.

Through the open flaps of the ragged, colorful tent, you see an unpleasant creature. Stunted and wizened, large pointed ears below his stained turban, the stench of urine thick in the air around him, the aged goblin grins, showing scab-black gums almost devoid of teeth. Rats wriggle in the folds of his baggy clothes. One fat rodent sprawls atop his turban, its shiny eyes studying you.

“Welcome!” the goblin says, “I am Yad Al-shaytan. Enter my shop freely and in peace.”

Yad Al-shaytan appears as an aged goblin, itself an unlikely encounter given how nasty, brutish, and short goblin lives tend to be. In truth, Yad has more than goblin blood coursing through his veins. He has lived several decades beyond the normal lifespan for goblins. Despite his apparent age, he remains healthy and vigorous. Some of Yad’s abilities have birthed rumors that Yad is some sort of half-vampire, but he is not undead.

Yad’s colorful, ragged tent looks to have a diameter of about 20 feet with a 20-foot tall center pole. Its inner dimensions are considerably larger, and tables, chests, barrels, freestanding shelves, taxidermied creatures, et cetera crowd the interior, turning the inside into a veritable maze of twisting aisles. Visitors often catch glimpses of strange shadows moving about, but direct observation fails to reveal the true nature of these fleeting impressions.

Yad Al-Shaytan: AC 4 [15], HD 3+3 (16 hp), Att 1 × weapon (1d6+1 or by weapon +1), THAC0 16 [+3], MV 90’ (30’), SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (5), ML 8, AL Chaotic, XP 35, NA 1, TT S x4, T x2
Hates the Sun: -1 to-hit in full daylight.

• Infravision: 90’.
• Regeneration: Yad gains 3 hp at the start of each round, as long as he is alive.
• Summon Beasts: Creatures from the surrounding area: 1d8 x 8 rats, 4d4 giant rats, 1d8 x 8 bats, 3d4 giant bats, 2d4 wolves, or 1d4 dire wolves. Yad uses speak with animals to communicate with these types of beasts.
• Teleport Shop: Within his shop, Yad can cast teleport once per day, causing him, his shop, and all of his property to vanish.

Tags: monsters, NPCs, Old School Essentials

“It was a monster boar indeed–one as huge as a bull, with tusks as great as an elephant’s; the bristles on its back stood up like spear points, and the hot breath of the creature withered the growth on the ground. The boar tore up the corn in the fields and trampled down the vines with their clusters and heavy bunches of grapes; also it rushed against the cattle and destroyed them in the fields. And no hounds the huntsmen were able to bring could stand before it. And so it came to pass that men had to leave their farms and take refuge behind the walls of the city because of the ravages of the boar.”

From “Atalanta the Huntress” in The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived before Achilles by Padraic Colum.

Boar, Monster

AC 5 [14], HD 6* (26 hp), Att 2 x tusk (2d4) or 1 x trample (2d6) or 1 x breath (2d6), THAC0 14 [+5], MV 180′ (60′), SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (6), ML 11, AL Neutral, XP 500, NA 0 (1), TT None

▶ Charge: If disturbed or threatened, will charge to attack. Requires a run of at least 20 yards. Make a tusk attack that inflicts double damage on all in the path.
▶ Fearsome Aura: Animals within 30 feet affected by fear (save versus spells resists).
▶ Scalding Breath: 3-in-20 chance per round of exhaling scalding air. 15′ long, 15′ wide, 15′ high cloud. Save versus breath for half damage.
▶ Trample: 10-in-20 chance of trampling each round. +4 to hit human-sized or smaller creatures.

Tags: monsters, Old School Essentials, OSE

Well, the new year is here, and so it’s time to start a new project. With determination and hard work, maybe this project will get done. “What is the project?” you ask. Well, I’ll get to that in a paragraph. But, first!

In December, I leaped into Dicember 2022, posting almost daily something new at least vaguely related to Old-School Essentials. This weekend, I compiled all the posts into a Word document, did some light formatting and editing, and PDFed it. You can download the PDF via this link.

And now back to that project. I’m shooting to complete two different writing projects, combining them into one. That’s right! I’m tackling both Roy Otus’s Gygax 75 and Sean McCoy’s Dungeon 23. You can read about both at their respective links in that last sentence. Nota Bene: Much of the Dungeon 23 link is hidden behind a Substack subscription box.

Now, practically speaking, since I go back to work on Tuesday, I’m not likely to adhere devoutly to either schedule. Also, since with Gygax 75 I’m writing up the start of a fantasy world, much of what I’m doing at the outset isn’t really coming up with a dungeon room a day for 365 days. Still, I think I’m off to a good start, as shown in the pics below.

The first pic shows the Flux’s Flying Fort. The second pic shows the Eastern Reaches, the rugged environs in which the adventure involving the Flying Fort takes place. I’ll likely run some version of the adventure at OwlCon in February. I might attempt a second run at North Texas RPG Con in June. Also, it’s quite probable that some variation of the adventure will kick off my soon-to-begin Old-School Essentials campaign that I’ll run for my Sunday group.

Huzzah!

Tags: #Dungeon23, #Gygax75, adventure design, Old School Essentials, world-building

In years past, I’ve done Advent and/or Christmas-themed posts once December rolls around. For example. I’m not doing that this year, but I am doing something similiar via social media. For example, in the Old-School Essentials (OSE) public Facebook group, I’m participating in the Dicember challenge to follow the Dicember calendar and come up with something for each day of December. I’m going to stick to OSE content for those posts, which I’ll compile into a document of some sort once January hits.

Speaking of OSE, a long time ago, some Germans coined the term Öhrwurm, which was a compound of dried, ground insects used to treat ear ailments. I think in the 1970s, some author used the English translation of Öhrwurm to mean a bit of music so catchy that it metaphorically burrows into your ear and keeps humming away, which brings us to today’s creature.

Ondlibi Worm Infestation
Found in the steaming Ondlibi rainforests, these gray-brown, psionic maggots that hatch from tiny Ondlibi fly eggs, usually deposited in narrow, warm orifices, such as ear canals. Wise travelers wear headgear that covers the ears.

AC 9 [10], HD 1 hp, Att NA, THAC0 NA, MV 3’ (1’), SV D14 W15 P16 B17 S18 (NH), ML 12, AL Neutral.

• Infest: 4-16 eggs hatch in 1-6 hours. Worms burrow into host right after. Symptoms include itchy rashes, low-grade fevers, and psychic cacophony (see below).
• Just a Maggot: No threat at all in combat. At its largest, it’s a fat worm about the size of a human pinky’s terminal knucklebone.
• Psychic Cacophony: Worms detect and mimic host’s thoughts, mentally echoing snippets of them repeatedly. Host cannot concentrate or sleep. Cure disease kills the infestation.

Tags: B/X D&D, monsters, Old School Essentials

In effort to spend less time watching TV and/or playing Fishdom (which is open on my tablet while I type these words), I’ve started working on a new Spes Magna Games product titled Caveat Emptor, which presents a collection of Old School Essentials magic items with sinister origins and/or somewhat unpredictable effects. Here’s a sample, with some art by Jeshields:

Origaminicon

Legends claim that only a small number of these books exist. The first was created by an oni lord who had become enthralled by a beautiful princess. The oni lord presented an Origaminicon to her, hoping to win her affection by means of his clever gift. The princess carefully folded every page according to the book’s instructions. Before her father’s court with the oni lord in attendance, she sang the command words, animating two dozen origami animals, which she then ordered to tear the oni lord to pieces for her cruel amusement.

An Origaminicon measures 6 inches by 9 inches. Bound in leather with ornamental corner pieces fashioned from silver, the covers have rectangular plates of the same metal, inscribed with delicate pictures of animals. Inside the book are 49 pages, the first of which bears the book’s title.

After the title page, each pair of pages follow a pattern. Every other page is blank on both sides and creased in such a way as to make it easy to tear from the book. In between each page is a command word and a beautifully illustrated set of diagrams that show how to cut and fold the removed blank page in such a way as to create a charming origami animal.

It takes 1-3 turns to complete an origami animal, during which time the folder must roll under his or her Dexterity on 1d20. Each origami animal has its own command word that, when spoken by the folder, animates the paper creation for 1-3 hours. If the folder’s Dexterity check was successful, the origami animal grows in size and strength. Otherwise, it remains rather tiny. In either case, the origami obeys its folder’s simple commands to the best of its ability.

Full-Size Origami Animal: AC 6 [13], HD 3 (13 hp), Att 2 paper cuts (1d4), THAC0 17 [+2], MV 120’ (40’), SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16, ML 12, AL Neutral.

• Immunity: Unharmed by gas; unaffected by charm, hold, and sleep spells.
• Infravision: 60’.
• Made of Paper: Suffers from double damage from slashing weapons and from fire.

Tiny Origami Animal: AC 8 [11], HD 1 hp, Att nil, THAC0 NA, MV 90’ (30’), SV D14 W15 P16 B17 S18 (NH), ML 12, AL Neutral.

• Immunity: Unharmed by gas; unaffected by charm, hold, and sleep spells.
• Infravision: 60’.
• Made of Paper: Suffers from double damage from slashing weapons and from fire.

Nota Bene: Each command word in the Origaminicon functions only once.

Tags: B/X D&D, magic items, Old School Essentials