Spes Magna Games

The giant stone swords of Agmundr stand on a rocky outcropping along Sverdsfjord, one of the southernmost bays in that rugged, northland known locally as Izotz. Centuries ago, two kings vied for control of Izotz. Ecgberht and Hildebrand waged war against each other, and the conflict grew increasingly bitter and lawless as both kings sought the advantage over the other. Villages were burned, and their citizens put to the sword. Sacred places were defiled. The blood of innocents cried out for justice, but ambition and malice deafened both Ecgberht and Hildebrand. Into this chaos from out of the ice-locked north strode Guđbrandr.

Haunted by visions of those innocents caught in the conflict between the two kings, Guđbrandr swept into the borderlands between the kingdoms. The opposing armies broke against Guđbrandr’s righteous fury. Others, war-weary, flocked to Guđbrandr’s banner. Before long, Ecgberht and Hildebrand found themselves on the defensive. When winter came and the polar bears arrived to support Guđbrandr, the warring kings decided that perhaps peace was a better option.

In the dead of winter, Guđbrandr met with Ecgberht and Hildebrand at Agmundr by the frozen Sverdsfjord. Guđbrandr took the kings’ swords and thrust them into the rocks. Then he took his own blade and did the same with it. The two kings knelt and swore fealty to Guđbrandr and amity between themselves. The witnesses to this agreement stood awed as the three swords turned to stone and grew to enormous size. The largest sword belonged to the victorious Guđbrandr, and the two smaller swords to the defeated kings Ecgberht and Hildebrand.

Since that day, those northern lands are ruled by a triumvirate of kings descended from Guđbrandr, Ecgberht, and Hildebrand. Each king’s coronation takes place at Agmundr, and the ancient oaths of fealty and amity are repeated in that god-touched place.

Anyone who dedicates himself to a cause or quest may journey to Agmundr and swear an oath on the power of those stone swords.

Barbarians of Lemuria

Upon swearing an oath on the power of Agmundr to accomplish some task, a hero gains 1d6 Fate Points. The hero can use these Fate Points to grant himself a one-off boon, just as if he were a priest.

Dungeon World

When you bolster yourself prior to swearing an oath on the power of Agmundr, you gain preparation as normal, plus you gain hold equal to preparation+2. If you violate your oath, the power of Agmundr will make its displeasure known. As long as you act to fulfill your oath, you may spend hold, 1 for 1, to choose an option:

• Defy danger as if you rolled a 10+ instead of rolling the dice.
• Heal damage equal to half your max HP.
• Inflict maximum damage with an attack.
• Use an advanced move appropriate to your class one time as if you were one level higher.

Swords & Wizardry

A character who swears an oath on the power Agmundr to accomplish some task gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws until that task is fulfilled. If the character does not diligently work at performing the task, a deadly weakness sets in (50% reduction in Strength), and an attempt to entirely abandon the quest incurs a curse.

Tags: Barbarians of Lemuria, Dungeon World, places of power, Swords & Wizardry

Check your conscience before you go to bed. Check under your bed, and in your closet as well, especially if your conscience isn’t clear. And I mean really clear, not just rationalized into something you think qualifies as clear. The sudden feaster smells your sins, and their stench whets its appetite for flesh. Your flesh. When a sudden feaster appears, seemingly out of nowhere, its fanged maw gapes wide and snaps shut fast and hard enough to sever limbs, making it all the easier for the feaster to gorge itself on your blood.

A sudden feaster is a fearsome, ogre-like creature driven by dark urges to hunt and devour the wicked. This monster is not, however, some righteous avenger of wrongs. Rather, it delights in the pain it inflicts, in the seeds of terror it sows in its victim’s life before it strikes.

Stats for Barbarians of Lemuria:

Attributes
Strength: 4
Agility: 1
Mind: 1

Combat Abilities
Attack: bite +0 (damage d6+2)
Defense: 2
Protection: d3-1 (magical hide)
Lifeblood: 14

Special
A sudden feaster can appear from and disappear into spaces too small to accommodate its bulk, doing one or the other once per round. If its victim cannot see it, a sudden feaster may make a check, modified by its mind and opposed by its victim’s mind, to create a sense of dread in the victim.

Stats for Dungeon World:

Intelligent, Large, Solitary, Stealthy, Terrifying
Bite (d10+1 damage, 1 piercing)
16 HP
1 Armor
Close, Forceful, Reach
Instinct: To eat the wicked

* Appear from or disappear into surprising places
* Make scary noises
* Sniff out the wicked

Stats for Swords & Wizardry:

Hit Dice: 6+2
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Attacks: 1 bite (1d10+1)
Saving Throw: 11
Special: appear/disappear, sow terror
Move: 9
Alignment: Chaos
Number Encountered: 1
Challenge Level/XP: 8/800

A sudden feaster can disappear into or appear from spaces too small to accommodate its bulk, doing so once per round. If it is unseen, it can sow terror by scraping its nails slightly on a solid surface, causing a board to creak ever so lightly, rapping on a window pane, et cetera. The victim’s idea that something might be lurking nearby festers in the subconscious. The victim must make a saving throw or suffer a fear-induced –2 penalty on attack rolls and saving throws for 1d4 rounds.

Tags: Barbarians of Lemuria, Dungeon World, monsters, Swords & Wizardry

A few days ago, I posted stats for the man-owl. As usual, I shared the post’s link via Facebook and G+. Not too long after, Eric Webb posted a picture in response, stating “A challenger appears”. The picture is to the right of these words, and my game stats for this alleged challenger appear below. Again, I offer the stats for three different games.

Spiky Golem

The spiky golem is an animated construct made of cuir bouilli with iron fastenings and hundreds of iron spikes, all fashioned around the skeleton of an executed criminal. It is given life by its creator, who summons and binds an infernal spirit to the man-like construct. As a result of this binding, a spiky golem has a dull, malevolent intelligence. Due to enchantments on its intelligence, the golem’s creator forces the monster’s obedience while earning its hatred.

A spiky golem attacks savagely with its powerful arms, delivering blows that both crack bones and tear flesh.

Stats for Barbarians of Lemuria:

Attributes
Strength: 4
Agility: 2
Mind: -1

Combat Abilities
Attack: 2 clubbing blows +0 (damage d6)
Defense: 2
Protection: d6 (rugged materials)
Lifeblood: 14

Special
A spiky golem takes half-damage from spells, and it is immune to mind-affecting spells. Due to the magical enchantments that strengthen its materials, roll 2d6 and take the larger of the two rolls when determining protection.

Stats for Dungeon World:

Construct, Group
Clubbing Blows (d8+2 damage, 1 piercing)
10 HP
2 Armor
Close, Forceful, Messy
Special Qualities: Covered in spikes
Instinct: To crush

* Detach animated spike
* Follow orders hatefully

Stats for Swords & Wizardry:

Hit Dice: 6 (30 hit points)
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Attacks: 2 clubbing blows (2d6)
Saving Throw: 11
Special: Hit only by magical weapons, immune to most spells
Move: 9
Alignment: Chaos
Number Encountered: 1d4
Challenge Level: 9/1,100

Only +1 or better magic weapons can harm a spiky golem. Magic Missile inflict normal damage to a spiky golem. An evil reversal of a Cure Light Wounds or Cure Serious Wounds spell heals a spiky golem a number of hit points equal to half the damage it would normally inflict. No other spells affect a spiky golem.

Tags: Barbarians of Lemuria, Dungeon World, monsters, Swords & Wizardry

Earlier this week, I was working with a student during reading tutoring. Our topics for the day were idioms and common sayings, such as “It’s raining cats and dogs!” or “The cheese done slid off of his cracker.” (The latter must be said with an accent appropriate to the U.S.’s South.) One of the expressions that popped up during the lesson was “lick of sense”, which made me think of a possible spell to be created for use in a game.

Or, in this case, three different games.

Lick of Sense

For Barbarians of Lemuria:

Magnitude: First
Cost: 4
Requirements: Obvious technique
Minimum Cost: 2
Difficulty: Tricky (-1)

This spell’s arcane lick removes negative mental effects, including flaws that affect mind actions, so long as those negative mental effects are either natural (meaning innate to the target or the result of mundane circumstances such as poison) or are caused by magical effects no stronger than a first magnitude spell. Negative mental effects not innate to the target are removed entirely. Mental flaws (such as Fear of Fire) are suppressed for about an hour.

For Dungeon World:

Level: Cleric 3, Ongoing

You give your target’s skin a blessed lick. One of the target’s mental debilities is immediately removed. For the spell’s duration, the target takes +1 forward to avoid negative mental effects. While this spell is ongoing, you take a -1 to cast a spell.

For Swords & Wizardry:

Spell Level: Cleric, 3rd Level
Range: Touch
Duration: See below

With a lick, the target’s negative mental effects, including magically inflicted ones, are removed. For the next hour, the target enjoys a +1 bonus to saving throws against negative mental effects.

Tags: Barbarians of Lemuria, Dungeon World, spells, Swords & Wizardry

The man-owl is a malignant monster that seeks to spread fear and chaos. It flies magically and in total silence. Those who meet a man-owl’s gaze often fall into the grip of crippling apprehension. To help the man-owl terrorize more adventurers and spread even more fear and chaos, its stats are presented below for both Swords & Wizardry and Dungeon World.

Man-Owl
Hit Dice: 3+6
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Attacks: 2 claws (1d6), 1 bite (1d4)
Move: 12 (Fly 15)
Special: Doom gaze, flies silently, -2 to all die rolls in bright light
Saving Throw: 14
Alignment: Chaos
Number Encountered: 1
Challenge Level: 5/240

Doom Gaze Effects: If the victim fails his saving throw, he suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls and saving throws. Every day, a victim of the man-owl’s doom gaze is permitted a new saving throw (with the -2 penalty) to overcome these baleful effects.

Man-Owl
Intelligent, Solitary, Stealthy
Claws (d6+2 damage)
10 HP
0 Armor
Close, Messy
Special Qualities: Look causes crippling apprehension, magical flight
Instinct: To spread fear and chaos

* Make eye contact
* Rend and screech
* Pull someone into the air

Tags: Dungeon World, monsters, Swords & Wizardry