Spes Magna Games

So, it seems there’s a lot of internet drama about a certain game company and certain people associated with that game company who’ve done and said Bad Things. Since social media’s main function is to encourage gossip and conclusion jumping in order to drive up ad revenue for Very Rich People, many gamers are gossiping and griping and leaping from one place to another. I made the mistake of wandering into a social media thread complaining about the ubiquity of this gossip, griping, and leaping, and about how such things have taken over the content of at least one social media subgroup.

Two thoughts wandered into my head as I read the often stupefying comments:

1. There’s no good reason to read any of this.
2. Social media content of This versus That is a ratio. Tired of That? Then post some of This.

It’s been a while since I posted anything related to either frogs, Swords & Wizardy, or Mutant Future. Regarding the first topic, it appears I like posting about frogs. Here’s a froggy-themed index of previous posts:

OSR Games

The Anuran Antres of the Sinister Salientians

Firefrog

Frog Wraiths

Giant Heliotrope Frog

Hypnotoad

Kung Frogman

Lesser Servants of Wastri

Mutant Frogs

Savage Worlds

Bullywugs

Wastri & Minions for 5E

Killer Frog

Hopefuls & Skewers

Priest of Wastri

Wastri the Hopping Prophet

And now for an old monster made new again for two of my favorite OSR systems, I summon forth the grippli from AD&D’s Monster Manual II, published way back in 1983:

The grippli resemble small, intelligent, humanoid tree frogs. They eat insects and fruit. Grippli hands and feet are adapted for easy movement through tree branches. They have 700-year life spans and produce few offspring. Grippli live in swamps and rain forests. Their gray-green skin gives them natural camouflage…. Grippli are not warlike. They love bright colors and have been known to make raids to steal bright colored clothing for their huts. They defend themselves with snares, nets, poisoned darts and bolts, and occasionally a sword or dagger. Grippli see equally well during the day and night, but they cannot see in total darkness. A grippli lair is built on the ground and consists of mud and wood huts (Monster Manual II 71).

For Swords & Wizardry

Hit Dice: 1+1 (2+2 for guards, 3+3 for tribe mother)
Armor Class: 9 [11] (8 [12] for guards, 7 [13] for tribe mother)
Attack (Damage): Weapon
Move: 9/15 swimming
Save: 17, 16, or 14
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 1 HD (2/30), guards (3/60), tribe mother (5/240)
Special: Surprise on 1-4

A tribe mother leads a grippli lair. A tribe mother is immune to poison. Once per day, she can emit a noxious cloud of musk. The cloud spreads to a 20-foot radius around the tribe mother. Grippli within the cloud become fiercely inspired, gaining a +1 bonus on to-hit rolls for 1d4+1 rounds. Other creatures caught in the cloud must make a saving throw to avoid being rendered helpless for 1d4+1 rounds due to nausea. Those who make the saving throw are helpless for as long as they remain in the cloud plus one more round. The cloud lasts for three rounds unless dispersed by strong winds.

A tribe mother has 1d3 guards who also serve as her mates. These guards have a +1 damage bonus due to the size and strength.

For Mutant Future

Number Encountered: 1d10 (5d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90′ (30′), Fly 150′ (50′)
Armor Class: 8 (7 for guards, 6 for tribe mother)
Hit Dice: 3 (5 for guards, 7 for tribe mother)
Attacks: 1 (weapon)
Damage: weapon
Save: L3 (L4 for guards, L5 for tribe mother)
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: XIII
XP: 80 (500 for guards, 1490 for tribe mother)

Mutations: Chameleon Epidermis, Night Vision

A guard has a +1 modifier on to-hit and damage rolls due to his greater strength. A tribe mother is immune to poison. Once per day, she may release a toxic cloud that fills a 20-foot radius with Class 10 poison. Grippli are not only immune to the cloud, but the musk grants them a +1 to-hit bonus due to increased aggression. These effects last for 1d6 rounds.

Tags: monsters, Mutant Future, Swords & Wizardry

With the publication of Volo’s Guide to Monsters (VG), new rules introduced 5E D&D players to monstrous character options, specifically bugbears, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, orcs, and yuan-ti purebloods. Other character options included in VG include aasimar, firbolgs, goliaths, kenku, lizardfolk, tabaxi, and tritons. For whatever reason, only aasimar have subraces, a lack-of-feature shared by dragonborn, half-elves, half-orcs, humans, and tieflings.

Turning away from 5E D&D to Warhammer Fantasy Battles, we find different types of goblins, three of which I’ve developed into 5E-style subraces for goblins. First, however, I need to tweak VG’s goblin traits just a bit:

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

The other goblin traits listed in VG remain unchanged. This trait is added:

Subrace. Three subraces of goblin exist: forest goblins, hill goblins, and night goblins. Choose one of them for your character.

Forest Goblin

Forest goblins live in wild woods, especially rain forests in any clime. They dwell in burrows excavated among the roots of ancient trees as well as in crude tree forts high above the forest floor. These goblinoids have little skill in most crafts. Their tools tend to be made from wood, leather, bone, and vine. Forest goblins seem to know nothing of metal working, although they may make use of metal tools taken from more civilized trespassers who venture into forest goblin territory unprepared for the goblins’ traps, ambuscades, and poison-tipped darts.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Forest Goblin Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison used by beasts, fey, monstrosities, and plants, and you have resistance against poison damage from those same sources.

Tree-Borne. Whenever you make a Strength (Athletics) check for climbing or jumping, you are considered proficient in the Athletics skill, and you add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Hill Goblin

Stocky and hardy, hill goblins have burly builds, their arms somewhat longer than their legs. They dwell in rocky hills and caves, often mining the latter for ore and precious stones. Hill goblins are somewhat less war-like than other goblins, but they defend their territories with alarming savagery.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Cave-Borne. Whenever you make a Wisdom (Perception) check while in hills or caves, you are considered proficient in the Perception skill, and you add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. Also, when you make a Dexterity saving throw against a trap or hazard involving stonework or rocks, you are considered proficient in Dexterity saving throws, and you add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Night Goblin

Night goblins rarely venture far from their subterranean homes, and even then sally forth only during the most overcast days or at night. Secretive and vicious, night goblins pay homage to horrid deities and fiends who demand blood sacrifices, especially of sentient creatures. Owing to their preferred environs and horrid practices, night goblin adventurers are rare.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Improved Darkvision. Your darkvision has a radius of 90 feet.

Light Sensitivity. While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Night Goblin Magic. You can imbue a single weapon attack with dark magic as a bonus action. This changes the weapon’s damage type to poison. You can use this ability once and regain the ability to use it when you finish a short or long rest. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast expeditious retreat once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast levitate once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

Tags: 5E D&D, character races

In Men & Magic, Gary Gygax wrote, “There is no reason that players cannot be allowed to play as virtually anything, provided they begin relatively weak and work up to the top, i.e., a player wishing to be a Dragon would have to begin as let us say, a ‘young’ one and progress upwards in the usual manner, steps being predetermined by the campaign referee”. (Nota Bene: The link above is an affiliate link.)

In some ways, 5E D&D looks back to earlier editions, and ignores the 3E/3.5 era in favor of earlier versions of the game. We see this in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, for example, which offers creatures imported from earlier D&D editions for use as player characters, specifically the aasimar, bugbear, firbolg, goblin, hobgoblin, kenku, kobold, lizardmen, orc, tabaxi, tritons, and yuan-ti purebloods. I can’t help but like the options, even if I’ve never used them as a player or DM.

(Well, never is a bit much. Way back in AD&D days, I did run an ogre as a character. His character class? Ogre. I don’t recall all of the details about him, but he had d8 Hit Dice, advanced pretty like a fighter, and attacked like a monster. If I can find his character sheet, I’ll post it.)

So, looking at OSRIC, let’s piece together what goblins might look like as a character race. Here’s an initial list of goblin racial abilities:

• -1 on attack rolls in direct sunlight
• infravision to 60 feet
• 25% chance to notice new or unusual construction
• Speak kobold, orcish, hobgoblin, lawful evil, and goblin

I also notice that a goblin chief has 12 hit points. At 4.5 hit points per Hit Die, that’s almost 3 Hit Dice. Goblins may also be shaman (7th level maximum) and witchdoctors, which are cleric/magic-users with a maximum magic-user level of 4th.

Goblins

Goblins are small, evil creatures with red eyes and a yellow to reddish skin tone. They mature quickly and have an average lifespan of 50 years. Goblins are tribal, with the strongest ruling the tribe. The tribes all owe fealty to the goblin king. Some think goblins are a distant cousin to kobolds, and like their cousins they prefer to live underground. Goblins detest direct sunlight. They are good cavers and have have a deep racial hatred of gnomes and dwarfs.

Summary of Goblin Racial Abilities

• +1 Dexterity, -1 Strength

Languages: A goblin speaks its native tongue plus kobold, orcish, hobgoblin, and the appropriate alignment tongue. Regardless of Intelligence, a goblin may only ever learn two languages in addition to those listed.

Vision: Infravision to 60 feet. A goblin’s sensitive eyes cause a -1 attack roll bonus in direct sunlight.

Mining Skills: Within 10 feet, a goblin certain facts concerning engineering, stonework, et cetera. Although no significant time is required, the character must deliberately observe his or her surroundings (i.e., the player must state that the goblin is using this particular talent to gain information).

• Detect the existence of new construction: 25%
• Detect sliding or shifting rooms or walls: 25%
• Detect traps involving stonework: 25%

Multi-Class Restrictions: The more restrictive of any two class requirements apply to multi-classed goblins for the use class abilities.

Permitted Class Options: Cleric, Fighter, Thief, Cleric/Thief, Cleric/Magic-User, Fighter/Thief

Movement Rate: 60 feet

Starting Age:

• Cleric: 10+2d4
• Fighter: 5+2d4
• Thief: 10+2d4

Racial Limitations

Minimum/Maximum Ability Scores: If, after adjustments, the ability scores rolled do not fall within these limits, then the race of goblin is not a valid choice for the character.

• Strength 5/17
• Dexterity 8/19
• Constitution 6/18
• Intelligence 3/15
• Wisdom 3/13
• Charisma 3/12

Level Limitations

• Assassin: NA
• Cleric: 7
• Druid: NA
• Fighter: 5 (STR 17), 4 (STR 16), 3 (STR 15 and below)
• Illusionist: NA
• Magic-User: 4
• Paladin: NA
• Ranger: NA
• Thief: 8 (DEX 17 or higher), 7 (DEX 16 or below)

Tags: OSRIC

Let’s take a look at cloud giants from 1981 to today, specifically focusing on the giants’ cloud castles. We start with a survey of the cloud giant across five editions and three decades, ending with OSRIC, which largely repeats 1E AD&D.

D&D Expert: “[Cloud giants] live in castles in the sides of mountains or atop masses of clouds.” Cloud giants have no magical abilities.

1E AD&D: “Unlike the commoner sorts of giants, cloud giants usually reside in crude castles built atop mountains or on magical cloud islands.” Cloud-dwelling cloud giants can levitate.

2E AD&D: “The majority of cloud giants live on cloud-covered mountain peaks in temperate and sub-tropical areas. These giants make their lairs in crude castles. Only 10% of good cloud giants live in castles on enchanted clouds. …. Cloud lairs are fantastic places with giant-sized gardens of fruit trees. According to legend, some giants mine their cloud islands for small chunks of the purest silver.” Cloud-dwelling cloud giants can levitate and create fog clouds and walls of fog.

3E D&D: “The majority of cloud giants dwell on cloud-covered mountain peaks, making their lairs in crude castles. …. About 10% of the population builds castles on enchanted cloud islands and tends to be isolated from other cloud giants.” These cloud giants have magical abilities similar to 2E AD&D cloud giants.

5E D&D: “[Cloud giants] dwell in castles on high mountain peaks, or on the solid clouds that once held their fiefs. Still gracing the skies on occasion, these magic clouds are a lasting remnant of the giants’ lost empires.” Descriptions of cloud islands include “extraordinary gardens” with giant-sized fruits and vegetables. Cloud-dwelling cloud giants “keep griffons, perytons, and wyverns” in much the same way some “nobles keep an aerie for hunting hawks”. 5E D&D cloud giants possess the most magical abilities. They can detect magic; create fog clouds and light; use feather fall, fly, misty step, and telekinesis; can control weather; and assume gaseous form.

OSRIC: “Cloud giants usually live in giant castles at high elevations. When not high up in the mountains, their castles on on clouds given substance by magic.” Cloud-dwelling cloud giants can levitate.

In 1E, 2E, 3E, and OSRIC, only cloud-dwelling giants have magical abilities, the base of which is the ability to levitate, which makes getting to and from their cloud islands a bit easier. Only one in ten cloud giants have this magical ability, and these cloud giants tend to have higher intelligence compared to their ground-bound kin. D&D Expert cloud giants cannot levitate, which means those that dwell in the clouds must reach them via more mundane means. With 5E, all cloud giants possess a range of magical abilities, most of which fit the theme of living in the clouds. (I’m a bit skeptical of telekinesis, which I’m think ought to be replaced with gust of wind.)

If we ignore secondary sources, such as material related to the Forgotten Realms, the origin of cloud islands remains undefined. Did cloud giants create them? Did cloud islands occur naturally? Did some other creature create the cloud islands for the cloud giants, or did cloud giants conquer the cloud islands? I like 5E’s idea that the cloud islands once formed a sort of feudal cloud nation; this idea probably originated with the Forgotten Realms, which is 5E’s default setting.

From Whence Cloud Islands?

Ages ago, followers of Yan-C-Bin, the Prince of Evil Air, opened gates between Elemental Air and the Prime Material Plane. Through those gates floated cloud islands, which Yan-C-Bin’s most powerful clerics and magic-users anchored to mountain peaks and then enslaved the mountain peoples of the region. Over a period of many decades, a combination of slave labor and magic built Hua-B-Nroog, a series of fortresses, monasteries, cathedrals, and towns that formed a cloud nation devoted to the Prince of Evil Air.

From Whence Cloud Giants?

Some cloud giant chieftains looked up from their mountaintop lairs and grew envious. Others looked down at the enslaved mountain people and grew angry. The disparate cloud giant clans formed an army, gathered allies, and went to war against Yan-C-Bin’s followers. After years of savage fighting, the cloud giants emerged victorious. They took Hua-B-Nroog as their own.

From Whence Civil War?

From the start of the war against Hua-B-Nroog, cloud giant chieftains had divided aims. Some fought to free the enslaved mountain peoples from the tyranny of the Prince of Evil Air. Others, however, sought to impose their own tyranny. Each side used the other as a means to their different ends. When the war ended and peace began, the tension between cloud giant factions increased to the breaking point. Civil war engulfed Hua-B-Nroog.

One freedom-loving cloud giant hero fought his way into the heart of Hua-B-Nroog’s largest cathedral. There he shattered the Calming Eye, a magical gemstone that kept Hua-B-Nroog’s various islands stable during even the most violent storms. Other good giants sundered the mountaintop anchors. Hua-B-Nroog broke apart, its cloud islands scattered by the winds.

Tags: monsters, OSRIC, place of power

It’s been a few days since I’ve written about OSRIC. My son Christopher and I were out of town visiting Clear Creek Monastery in eastern Oklahoma, and we were largely sans internet during that time. Now that I’m back home and back on summer vacation, it’s time to get to work.

Two of my favorite D&D books from two different eras of the game are AD&D’s Oriental Adventures and 3E D&D’s Oriental Adventures. (Nota Bene: Those are affiliate links; if you click and purchase, I get a few pennies.) While I just adore both of these books, they have seldom found use in any game I’ve ever participated in. I’ve used bits and pieces of both as DM, introducing OA monsters and spells into non-OA settings. Lately, I’ve been thinking I’d like do something more with the OA source material.

In the AD&D incarnation of OA, the magic-user analog is the wu jen, who “are sorcerers, men of mysterious power. They command the elements, spirit forces, and the very powers of nature.” That sounds exciting. The aforementioned elements come in five flavors: earth (including metal), water, fire, wind, and wood (including nature). A wu jen who “learns all of the spells of a single element up to the highest level of spell he can cast” has mastered that element. The 3E OA wu jen has a similar class feature.

The division of spells into five elements pretty much required modifying the magic-user’s spell lists, introducing many new spells in the process. While I’ve never played either OA enough to say for certain, my impression is that the wu jen’s spells are weaker than the magic-user’s spells. If I were putting together a group of adventures, and I had a choice between a 5th-level wu jen or a 5th-level magic-user, I’d go for the latter. Maybe.

So, what does this have to do with OSRIC? Am I proposing to convert AD&D’s OA to OSRIC?

Well, answering in reverse: No, and permit me to explain.

It might be possible to modify OSRIC’s rules a bit so that the magic-user’s spell list becomes a wu jen’s spell list. This starts with a modifier that applies to many spells:

Variable Special Effect: A wu jen’s spells do not have defined sources related to their effects. In other words, a magic missile is not “a magical energy dart”. A lightning bolt is not “a bolt of lightning” nor is a stinking cloud “a nauseating cloud of vapors”. The wu jen determines the elemental manifestation of his spells when he casts them. This might modify the effects of the spell, as determined by the DM, but most of the time the effects are cosmetic.

Next up, we must turn to the wu jen with an addendum to the magic-user’s basic class ability:

Spellcasting: At first level, a wu jen chooses one of the five elements. This is his keyed element, but he has knowledge of the other four. When a wu jen memorizes his spells, he assigns an element to each spell. This helps determine the effects of the spell when it is cast. Once per day at 1st level, a wu jen may invest a spell with additional power from his keyed element. Doing so has one of the following effects (chosen by the wu jen):

• The wu jen may ignore a spell component of his choice.
• The spell’s range and duration are increased by 25%. This does not apply to a range of Caster or Touch or to a duration of Instantaneous.
• The spell’s casting time is reduced by 50% (but to no less than 1 segment).
• Saving throws against the spell are made with a -1 penalty.
• For effects not related to range and duration, the spell takes effect as if the wu jen’s caster level were one higher.

When a wu jen gains access to a new level of spells, he gains another use of this keyed element ability. At 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 11th levels, a wu jen adds another key element to his repretoire. Thus, by 11th level, a wu jen has mastered all five elements.

So, what might this look like in play? Eric created Chen Mengjia, a 1st-level wu jen, at the start of the campaign. Mengjia can invest his spells with keyed elemental power twice per day. Through skill and luck, the wu jen has advanced to third level. He has two keyed elements: fire and wind. Mengjia memorizes his spells for the day, assigning an element to each spell.

1st-Level: magic missile (earth), shield (air)
2nd-Level: scare (fire)

During the course of his adventuring day, Mengjia encounters a group of skeletal guardians. He casts magic missile, sending two magical stones hurtling towards the targets. More skeletal guardians arrive, and these have crossbows. Mengjia fears a lengthy battle. He imbues his shield of air with fire. A shimmering barrier of magical heat appears. It has a duration of 19 rounds (the normal 5 rounds/level plus 25%). Later when facing a pair of cockatrices, Mengjia imbues his scare spell with air. A fiery, howling apparition quickly manifests and vanishes. One cockatrice must make its saving throw against scare with a -1 penalty.

Tags: Character Classes, Oriental Adventures, OSRIC