Spes Magna Games

infernal: (adj.) liable to or deserving condemnation

Savaş hails from an alien world. Once he was something at least very close to human. He had a body of flesh and bone and blood. He loved a woman and the children she bore him. He served proudly as a warrior in the army of his sovereign, fighting with honor and ferocity to protect his people and their interests. Then came the demons from the stars, who disguised themselves as men and murdered warriors, stealing and imprisoning their brains within infernal machines of almost limitless destructive power.

This is how Savaş became an inhuman, infernal machine, designed and used by the demons in their endless wars against their enemies spread across thousands of worlds. After centuries of bloodshed, Savaş managed to overcome the demons’ control. His mind, so long unmoored from his body, grew strong enough to make a decision.

And so Savaş deserted the demons’ war, stealing a transport capable of voyaging between stars. When he found a distant world untouched by the demons or their enemies, Savaş abandoned the transport, crashing it into the arctic, nearly airless heights of an ice-capped mountain range. Everything and everyone Savaş loved is gone and turned to dust. He bears the guilt of one forced by amoral masters to slay thousands of sentient creatures in bloody conflicts in wars fought on countless worlds for centuries. Still, perhaps at long last, Savaş would know peace and independence.

And even the gods might have trouble preserving those who would dare come between Savaş and those goals.

Savaş is a death machine from TSR’s first edition of Gamma World, modified slightly and adapted for Swords & Wizardry. He is a ridiculously powerful NPC, able to single-handedly wreak destruction on an enormous scale. As a machine, Savaş doesn’t require food, water, air, sleep, et cetera. He is immune to poison and disease. Savaş is 20 yards long, 9 yards wide, and 4 yards high. He weighs a bunch of tons, and he is powered by a fusion reactor.

Savaş
Hit Dice: 167 (750 hit points)
Armor Class: 1 [18]
Attack: up to 6 weapons +15 (damage varies, see below)
Special: Advanced weaponry, anti-gravity pods, energy screens, sensors, telepathy
Move: up to 90 miles per hour (flying)
Saving Throw: 3
Alignment: Neutrality
Number Encountered: Unique
Challenge Level/XP: 155/49,400

Advanced Weaponry: Includes the following weapons. A single battery is treated like one weapon.

* 2 Blaster Cannons: 10d10 points of damage out to 750 yards, 7d10 point of damage out to 1500 yards, or 5d10 points of damage out to 3000 yards. A cannon takes 4 rounds to recharge after being fired.
* 6 Black Ray Cannons: Instant death to a single living target with 300 yards who is not protected by a force field. A single cannon can be fired once every 4 rounds.
* 16 Batteries of 4 Mark VII Blaster Rifles: 32d6 points of damage out to a range of 450 yards. A single battery can be fired once every 5 rounds.
* 4 Trek Guns: Fires a trek bomb that disintegrates everything within a 30-yard radius of the point of impact. The gun has a range of 200 yards. Each gun holds 2d10 bombs.
* 8 Laser Batteries of 5 Guns: 20d6 points of damage out to 750 yards, 15d6 out to 1500 yards, or 10d6 out to 3000 yards. A single battery can be fired once every 5 rounds.
* 6 Mini-Missle Launchers: 1d100 missiles per launcher. A mini-missile has a range of 2 miles. It explodes upon impact, inflicting 10d10 points of damage in a 20-yard radius.
* 1 Fusion Bomb Launcher: 5d10 fusion bombs total. The launcher has a 3000 yard range. A fusion bomb explodes, inflicting 15d10 points to everything in a 50-yard radius.

Anti-Gravity Pods: Permit flight at up to 90 miles per hour.

Energy Screens: Take 400 points of damage at AC 1 [18] before they shutdown. Recover 50 points of capacity per hour when not used.

Sensors: Sight into the infrared and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum to a range of 6 miles. Standard sensors approximate human sight and hearing.

Tags: A to Z 2014, Gamma World, NPCs, Swords & Wizardry

godforsaken: (adj.) lacking any merit or attraction; dismal

At the end of the last age, the armies of two warring kingdoms met on the fertile plains of Chumvitupa. The opposing commanders were both grand clerics, one serving Veshah, the other paying homage to Cro*. The latter cleric, Sjarel the Seven-Fingered, agreed to parley with Lus-Neske, Grand Cantrix of Veshah, one last time before the two armies clashed.

Sjarel delivered an impressive string of expletives and threats so grotesque and imaginative that several of Lus-Neske’s aides turned pale and trembled. Lus-Neske herself remained calm, even bemused. After Sjarel had vented his spleen, the Grand Cantrix smiled.

And then she sang a transcendentally beautiful ode that smote even Sjarel’s twisted heart, shaking Cro’s champion to the very core of his being. In tears, so overwhelmed with emotion that he could barely speak, Sjarel surrendered, falling to Lus-Neske’s feet and abasing himself before the Grand Cantrix.

Cro was so amused by this turn of events that he sent a howling wind that drove a flood of scorpions before it. This chittering, stinging tide of poison swept across Chumvitupa, scattering both armies. Sjarel the Seven-Fingered screamed until stinging things clogged his throat. Days later, when the flood of scorpions dispersed and skittered away, the fertile plains of Chumvitupa had been transfomed into a godforsaken expanse of dust and bizarre formations.

Today, nothing native to Chumvitupa isn’t deadly. Scorpions, spiders, spitting cobras, and beaded lizards abound. Chumvitupa’s sparse plant life is inedible. What water can be found collected into hollows turns sour quickly, even should it fall during one of the region’s rare, violent downpours. Salts and noxious substances seep from the ground, quickly turning fresh water into a toxic soup.

Cleric and druid spells are also affected by Cro’s curse on Chumvitupa. Anyone who casts a cleric or druid spell, including spells cast from magic items such as scrolls, must roll 2d6 and consult the following table:

2-3: The caster suffers 1d6 points of damage per level of the spell. The spell is wasted.
4: Another one of the caster’s spells takes effect instead.
5: The spell takes effect, but targets the caster.
6-8: The spell is wasted. It has no effect.
9: The spell takes effect, but against a random target.
10: The spell takes effect, but at 50% its normal strength, range, duration, et cetera.
11-12: The spell takes effect as normal.

* Veshah, the Goddess of Good, Archery, and Music. Veshah represents the good things in life. She defends her commmunity with her bow and arrows, and she enriches the spirit with her music. Complex exhibitions of orchestral archery are part of Veshah’s high rites.

Cro, the God of Truth, Chaos, and Opposites. Cro always speaks the truth. Cro always lies. Cro stands firm against what is evil. Cro revels in evil, his hands stained with innocent blood. Cro is all things, and all things are Cro.

Tags: A to Z 2014, place of power, Swords & Wizardry

dandy: (adj.) excellent

The Baron Calogero, wealthy effete aristocrat, lives in an elegant chateau, surrounded by the finest luxuries money can buy and waited on by a platoon of the finest servants ever to grace a noble’s household. He is witty and stylish, and invitations to his parties are much sought after by aristocrats and successful merchants. His wife, the Baroness Lamya, possesses stunning beauty and all of the social graces. Nearly everyone admits that few men have life better than Calogero.

Unknown to most, Calogero, a master of disguise and swordsmanship, fights for justice against the forces of chaos under the nom de guerre of the Crimson Rose. Assisted by an elite team of trusted allies, the Crimson Rose engages in daring incursions, striking against those forces that would oppress and tyrannize.

Calogero is one of the most accomplished swordsmen in the land. He fights with a long sword, attacking up to three times per round. Calogero’s attack bonus and the damage he inflicts with his sword depend on how many attacks he makes.

If he makes three attacks in a round, he does so with a -1 penalty to attack rolls, and each attack inflicts 1d4+1 points of damage. If he makes two attacks in a round, his attack rolls are unmodified, and each attack inflicts 1d6+2 points of damage. With a single attack per round, Calogero has a +1 attack roll bonus and inflicts 1d8+3 points of damage.

Due to his enormous skill with a sword, Calogero can divide his attacks between multiple targets, moving as far a 5 feet between attacks. If the damage roll from a successful attack yields the minimum result (2 points with three attacks, 3 points with two attacks, 4 points with a single attack), Calogero not inflicts that damage, but also forces his foe to make a saving throw. If the saving throw fails, Calogero can disarm his foe, knock his foe prone, or leap 10 feet away from his foe (Calogero’s choice).

Due to his enormous wealth, Calogero seldom lacks whatever equipment he needs. He can easily afford the best weapons, armor, horses, et cetera. Among his most prized possessions is his magical quizzing glass.

Baron Calogero
Hit Dice: 5+5
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Attack: up to 3 sword attacks (damage varies)
Special: +2 AC against melee attacks, master swordsman
Move: 12
Saving Throw: 12
Alignment: Law
Number Encountered: Unique
Challenge Level/XP: 7/600

Magical Quizzing Glass: This normal seeming monocle on a stick has two useful magical powers. Once per round, the owner may look through the glass and either use Detect Evil or Detect Invisibility.

Tags: A to Z 2014, NPCs, Swords & Wizardry

brood: (adj.) kept for breeding

A fumgaji (plural, wafumgaji) haunts the outskirts of civilization, lurking in shadowy places, emerging at night to hunt and breed. Wafumgaji practice a horrible form of brood parasitism in which a pregnant female fumgaji sneaks into the home of a sleeping, pregnant humanoid and magically swaps its gestating offspring for the humanoid’s unborn child.

The humanoid victim likely remains unaware of this monstrous switch for weeks, as pregnancy with a gestating fumgaji almost totally resembles a normal pregnancy. Eventually, the unborn fumgaji’s wicked intelligence awakens, and it starts to communicate with its host via telepathy (while she is awake) and vivid dreams (while she sleeps). During this time, the host usually grows increasingly insane. By the time she is ready to give birth to the fumgaji, the host has fallen completely under the monster’s psychic domination, and she will do whatever she must do to protect her “child” until it can return to its true family.

The stolen, unborn humanoid continues to develop within the fumgaji’s womb, and, barring unforeseen circumstances, he or she will be born. At that time, the newborn’s nightmare existence as a “domesticated pet” begins. Raised to amuse and serve evil masters, the child almost certainly grows to become evil as well due to years of physical and mental torture too horrible to speak of.

At first glance in dim light, a fumgaji might appear human, but a second glance likely reveals the truth. Wafumgaji have sickly, pale gray flesh. Anger, hatred, and disgust twist their facial features, sliding uncontrollably from one bestial expression to another. Razor sharp fangs fill their mouths, barely concealed by ragged, blood-red lips.

Wafumgaji attack with these fangs, preferably by surprise. All wafumgaji are telepathic; they have no spoken language (although they are capable of terrifying vocalizations). If a fumgaji does nothing else for the round, it can telepathically assault its victim. A saving throw is permitted against this psychic attack, modified by the fumgaji’s age (+2 for toddlers, +1 for children, +0 for adolescents, and -1 for adults). A failed saving throw causes the affected victim to be confused (as the spell) until the end of its next turn.

Fumgaji
Hit Dice: 1 (toddler), 2 (child), 3 (adolescent), 4 (adult)
Armor Class: 9 [10] (toddler), 7 [12] (child), 5 [14] (adolescent), 3 [16] (adult)
Attack: 1 bite (1d3, toddler); (1d4, child); (1d6, adolescent); (1d8, adult)
Special: surprise opponents on a 1-3 (1-4 for toddlers), telepathy
Move: 6 (toddler), 9 (child), 12 (adolescent), 15 (adult)
Saving Throw: 17 (toddler), 16 (child), 14 (adolescent), 13 (adult)
Alignment: Chaos
Number Encountered: 1d3 toddlers and/or children, 1d4 adolescents, 1d6+1 adults, plus a number of enslaved humanoids of various ages equal to one-half the number of non-adults present
Challenge Level/XP: 2/30 (toddler), 3/60 (child), 4/120 (adolescent), 5/240 (adult)

Tags: A to Z 2014, monsters, Swords & Wizardry

Another April is upon us, which means it’s time for another A to Z Blogging Challenge. (Nota Bene: Click on the pic to the right for more information about the challenge.) This will be the third year in a row I’ve picked up this particular gauntlet. If you’d like to review my previous efforts, please do so:

* A to Z 2012

* A to Z 2013

This year, I’m shooting for a theme. Since it’s April and the first letter is A, I’m going to build that theme around adjectives, with each blogpost featuring a different monster, villain, et cetera, each one characterized by a different adjective that starts with the day’s letter and focusing on OSR game systems, especially Swords & Wizardry and Stars Without Number. So, for example, if I weren’t copping out today with this introductory post, I might have instead written up some sort of atrocious villain.

Anyhoo, that’s it for today. See you tomorrow.

Tags: A to Z 2014, Stars Without Number, Swords & Wizardry