Spes Magna Games

During the last winter of King Geirthjof’s reign, the jǫtnar raged down from their mountain lairs, ravaging Geirthjof’s frontier lands. Forts burned, and hundreds of people fled the advancing jǫtunn horde. When news of the incursion reached Geirthjof, the aged king donned his armor, took up his lance, and mounted his griffon to lead his armies into battle one last time.

At Forni Pass, Geirthjof met the advancing jǫtnar, knowing he had to stop them in the chokepoint leading out of Baridipopo Valley. Otherwise, the jǫtnar could spread out through the more loosely defended lands closer to the capital. The battle lasted throughout the day and into the early hours of the evening. Thousands died, and Geirthjof himself fell under the axe of the jǫtunn jarl Thrúdgelmir, but not before the king struck the jarl a mortal blow.

The strange mingling of human and jǫtnar gore, of noble sacrifice and bestial rapaciousness, cursed the land. As winter months turned to spring, Baridipopo Valley failed to thaw. Indeed, cold and ice tightened their grip even more over the region. Today, no matter what, Baridipopo Valley remains locked in deepest winter. The arctic conditions fade as one moves away from the valley, but the valley itself is always frozen. Heavy snow and ice, sudden windstorms and blizzards, and air so cold that it burns the lungs combine to make life within Baridipopo Valley almost impossible. Even animals native to the arctic lands around the valley do not venture far into this eternal winter.

King Geirthjof’s frontier on the other side of Baridipopo Valley has yet to reclaimed. The pass through the valley cannot be used for trade and travel. The frontier’s burned-out forts and destroyed villages remain as grim monuments to jǫtunn savagery. Bands of jǫtnar prowl the frontier, but even they seldom venture into the valley.

“Why?” you ask.

It’s not because jǫtnar cannot survive the frigid conditions of Baridipopo Valley, but because of the other dangers resulting from the strange curse that seized the land after Geirthjof’s death and victory. More than winter’s hazards await any who would trespass on the valley’s unhallowed land. Undead monsters made from corpses, ice, and terror stalk the valley. Colonies of deadly ice bats swarm through the dead, frozen forest.

Still, the brave or the foolish risk Baridipopo Valley’s dangers. The jǫtnar were known to have looted and pillaged the frontier, but the spoils of the victories were never recovered. Is their lost treasure locked in ice somewhere in Baridipopo Valley? So far, few adventurers have entered the valley and emerged with more than tales of terror and body parts lost to frostbite, but the successes are tantalizing: weapons with remarkable qualities, coffers full of gems and gold coins, et cetera.

What greater treasures may yet be discovered?

Tags: monsters, place of power, Swords & Wizardry

Alar mantids are a race of winged insectoids who dedicate themselves to meditative martial arts and aesthetic discipline. They typically live in remote monastic communities hidden in forest or mountain locations. Alar mantids resemble praying mantises nearly the height of a man. They have two sets of wings: two larger feathered wings and smaller set of moth-like wings. While they loathe violence, alar mantids are not pacifists, and they are formidable opponents when forced to fight.

If an alar mantid’s claw attack roll is 5 higher than the required to hit number, the target has a 75% chance to be stunned by the blow for 2d6 rounds. Moreover, the mystic perfection of the blow also has a 25% chance to kill the opponent, provided the opponent’s hit dice are no more than 1 higher than the alar mantid’s. All alar mantids can speak with animals at will (as the spell). Also, all alar mantids have the following thieving skills: Climb Walls 88%, Delicate Tasks 30%, Hear Sounds 4 in 6, Hide in Shadows 25%, Move Silently 35%, and Open Locks 25%.

Swords & Wizardry

Hit Dice: 4
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Attacks: 2 claws (1d6+2)
Saving Throw: 13
Special: Speak with animals, thieving skills
Move: 15 (Fly 18)
Alignment: Lawful
Challenge Level/XP: 6/400

Tags: monsters, Swords & Wizardry

Aidon’s Histidine Ungues
Spell Level: Magic-User, 2nd Level
Range: Caster
Duration: Special (see below)

By means of this horrid spell, the magic-user transforms one of his arms (his choice) into a terrible, worm-like appendage ending with wickedly sharp, strong pincers. The magic-user can use this monstrous limb to make two different types of attacks:

1. Pincer Attack: This melee attack strikes with a +2 bonus to hit and inflicts 1d8+2 points of damage.

2. Poison Attack: This melee attack strikes with a +1 bonus to hit and inflicts 1d4+1 points of damage. The victim must make a saving throw or become paralyzed for 1d4+1 minutes.

Each use of the arm depletes some of the spell’s magic. When cast, the spell has a number of uses equal to the magic-user’s level. Each pincher attack, whether successful or not, counts as one use. Each poison attack, whether successful or not, counts as two uses. When all uses are depleted, the caster’s arm reverts to its normal form.

Tags: spells, Swords & Wizardry, Vancian magic

The highly intelligent hypnotoad appears as a large amphibian measuring about two feet long. It has large oscillating multicolored eyes, and it emits a droning hum when it uses its psychic power. Its eyes glow all the time. A hypnotoad’s mesmerizing gaze affects a cone that’s 30 feet long and 30 feet wide at its farthest reach. All living creatures with a nervous system caught in the cone must make a saving throw or become fascinated and stand gazing at the hypnotoad for 1d6 minutes.

During this time, a hypnotoad can plant powerful suggestions in as many as 3d6 hypnotized creatures at once. (All creatures must be subjected to the same suggestion, and they gain a saving throw to resist the suggestion.) A hypnotoad’s suggestions can compel even directly self-destructive actions, but affected creatures are permitted a new saving throw with a +4 bonus in this case. Very reasonable suggestions may cause the saving throw to be made at a penalty (such as -1, -2, et cetera), at the GM’s discretion.

Stars Without Number

Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 1
Attack Bonus: +1
Damage: 1d3 bite
No. Appearing: 1
Saving Throw: 15+
Movement: 15 ft. (leap 100 ft.)
Morale: 7

Swords & Wizardry

Hit Dice: 1
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 bite (1d3)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Hypnotism, leap
Move: 3 (or leap 100 ft.)
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Tags: monsters, Stars Without Number, Swords & Wizardry

Here I am, finishing up the 30-Day D&D Challenge in a bit more than thirty days. Lesson learned? Don’t start this sort of thing the same month I go back to work for a new school year.

Day 25: Favorite Magic Item

This is an easy one. My oldest character, Lord Korbok, had a set of six magical nails called the nails of Prynn. Each nail was about 6-inches long, and each was sturdy enough to support a couple hundred pounds. When one of these nails was held point-first against a surface and the command word spoken, the nail would insert itself into the surface. The nails were extracted via another command word. The magic of the nails was strong enough to have them penetrate worked stone. Korbok used them for climbing. He also used them in combination with his cloak, which permitted him to dimension door a certain number of times per day. Korbok would poke a hole in a door with a nail, peek through the hole, and then dimension door to the location he could see.

Day 26: Favorite Nonmagic Item

I like for my characters to have some signature item. Lord Korbok smoked a pipe. He collected them (or, more often, stole them). I’ve had characters who liked fancy hats, collected trophies from fallen enemies, carried books of poetry, et cetera. For a while I ran gnome cleric/rogue in 3.5E. At least once per session, I managed to finesse (or dumb luck) my way into a situation where the gnome profited at the expense of the rest of the party. He’d then spend his ill-gotten goods to buy love tokens for another player’s female elf. These love tokens were never magical items, although they were sometimes practical, such as the time he bought her a quiver of silver-tipped arrows.

Day 27: A Character I Want to Play in the Future
Day 28: A Character I Will Never Play Again

Same answer for both: Lord Korbok.

Why I want to play him again is simply because he’s my oldest and most played character. I doubt I’ll ever get the chance to play him again. No one I know runs 1E or 2E, and, even if they did, Lord Korbok is a tough PC. After running him for years and years, he’s collected quite the arsenal of magic items, henchmen, et cetera. He’s not the sort of character that would easily get dropped into an ongoing campaign, or so I imagine at least.

Also, I’m not sure playing Lord Korbok again would be all that satisfying. Most of his adventures took place within the context of a specific group of gamers, none of whom I game with today. The most consistently present of those gamers, Fred, died a few years ago. I may encounter the same situation with Lord Korbok I encountered with his EverQuest version, Korbok Ironspyre.

Fred and I didn’t live near each other. He was about an hour away, and the obligations of family, work, et cetera, made it difficult to get together except on weekends and holidays. So, we played EverQuest. He ran a dwarf called Grusty Ironspyre, and our in-game story was that we were brothers. Grusty and Korbok had many adventures.

Some time after Fred died, I logged back onto EverQuest. It just wasn’t the same. The main reason I played EverQuest was because Fred played EverQuest, and vice versa. Without Fred/Grusty, it seemed kind of pointless. Korbok Ironspyre traveled one last time back to Kaladim. He found a low-level dwarf fighter and bequeathed all of his treasure, armor, and weapons to that newbie, and then Korbok Ironspyre retired. I’ve never played EverQuest again.

Day 29: The Number I Always Seem to Roll on a d20

I always seem to roll a whole number. I mean, seriously, what a bizarre thing to be expected to write about.

Day 30: The Best DM I’ve Had

I don’t want to say. I game with friends, and I don’t like ranking friends against each other. In my current gaming group, three of the current players have GMed in the past. I’d play with any of them as GM again. They all three have their individual strengths and weaknesses, but the bottom line is this: I don’t game with them because I admire their gaming prowess. I game with them because I enjoy their company.

Tags: 30 Day D&D Challenge