Spes Magna Games

I received John August’s Writer Emergency Pack via the mail this week. The idea behind it is simple: two decks of 26 cards each, numbered 1 through 26 twice. One deck has illustrated Idea cards, like the “Lose the Cavalry” card showing the cavalry soldier doing his Sean Bean imitation. The other card with the same number is the Detail card. One side has a bit of narration explaining the idea of the idea card. The other side (shown in the pic) has specific suggestions about how to implement the idea. In game mode, players start with a well-known story, such as Hamlet or Curious George. They then take turns retelling the tale based on their respective cards. After spring break, which is next week, I shall introduce at least my 8th graders to these cards.

For this post, I’m looking at the cards as a tool for generating ideas when writing. This could be fiction writing for a lark, class assignment writing for a grade, or adventure writing for a game. In order to put the Writer Emergency Pack into play, I need a story; therefore, “The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf” from Aesop’s Fables as told by J. H. Stickney, published in 1915 by Ginn and Company. Next, I draw three Idea cards after shuffling the decks. I get Fight the Giant, Narrator, and Talk It Out. The story is already in third person, so Narrator doesn’t really fit. Between the other two, I like Talk It Out the best. I follow the instructions on the accompanying Detail card.

1. Three locations or situations in which the shepherd boy and the wolf could talk at length?

The most obvious location is the meadow where the sheep graze. Perhaps the boy tracks the wolf back to its lair, or the wolf tracks the boy back to his home.

2. Three characters the shepherd boy could confide in?

The shepherd boy works for the sheep’s owner. The shepherd boy likely has family: parents, an older sibling. A farmer irate at the boy’s pranks might take pity on the boy and offer a friendly ear.

3. A conversation between the shepherd boy and his younger self. What advice would he give?

This one stumped me at first. I mean, the shepherd boy is a boy. His younger self would be even boy-er. But, why fight it? This might be counterpoint to the advice received by the boy’s confidants. The boy’s inner voice urges him toward further shenanigans. Or, perhaps, through the “conversation”, the boy remembers simpler, better times when obedience and duty didn’t seem to be so burdensome.

4. The antagonist is nonhuman. How does the wolf speak? How does it describe what it wants?

It’s a fable. The wolf talks, most likely with a German accent. The wolf wants lamb, but the only way he knows how to get it is to be a predator.

When I put this together, the familiar fable refashions into a different tale. At some point in the story, the boy and wolf have a talk. They explain their respective positions. Doubtless, accusations and misunderstandings arise. Since the boy is a bit of a lout and the wolf is, well, a wolf, I hear them reaching some sort of accord. The shepherd boy agrees to give the wolf X number of sheep as payment for revenge against those who mocked the boy, for example. Or, perhaps, the boy and wolf become friends. Sure, the wolf still eats the sheep, but so do the people in the village from which the boy comes. In this scenario, however, the wolf and the boy team up to defend the sheep and the maybe the village itself against a wolf pack under the command of a Big Bad Wolf. That way, we get some exciting action scenes, and both the boy and the wolf earn a place of respect in the community.

Regardless of which way I would take the story, the familiar fable becomes something rather different, and therein lies the fun. The Detail cards suggest rather than prescribe or proscribe. In answering the questions a Detail card asks, I’m still the creative force. My likes, dislikes, personality, et cetera, drive the story from the starting points of the Detail card’s questions.

If the Writer Emergency Pack works well in class, I’m inclined to seek out some of John August’s other products.

Tags: story games, Writer Emergency Pack

“Yes!” replied Ahmeek, the beaver, He the King of all the beavers, “Let yourself slide down among us, Down into the tranquil water.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Song of Hiawatha, Canto XVII

Last post, I updated the giant lynx from the AD&D Monster Manual for use with 5E D&D. Today, I give the giant beaver an even fully treatment, taking as my starting point the fact that beavers in Song of Hiawatha are intelligent, can talk, and have magical powers. Also, since they gave shelter to Pau-Puk-Keewis, a rather nasty character, it stands to reason that beavers are evil, which means that giant beavers would have bigger evil.

So, why are giant beavers evil? Well, they’re expansionistic and territorial, and when giant beavers expand their territory, they do by damming up rivers, which means flooding some areas and cutting off other areas from fresh water. Giant beavers control water supplies in order to bring other creatures under their domination.

Since “giant beaver” does not exactly inspire dread, let’s take Longfellow’s cue and call these new monsters the “Ahmeek”. The Ahmeek resemble human-sized beavers that have hand-like forepaws. Much of the time when on land or in their fort-dams, they amble about on all fours, but Ahmeek can waddle bipedally with comparative ease. These militaristic creatures live in fort-dams built from mostly from logs and mud. A fort-dam’s walls are seldom less than 5 feet thick, and the main points of ingress or egress are always submerged. A typical fort-dam houses about 40 Ahmeek warriors and their families, along with their leaders.

Ahmeek Warrior
Medium monstrosity, lawful evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 26 (4d8+8)
Speed 25 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR 14 (+2), DEX 15 (+2), CON 14 (+2), INT 9 (-1), WIS 11 (+0), CHA 8 (-1)

Skills Perception +2
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Giant Beaver
Challenge 1 (200)

Hold Breath. The Ahmeek can hold its breath for 15 minutes.

Keen Hearing and Smell. The Ahmeek has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Siege Monster. The Ahmeek deals double damage to objects and structures made of wood.

Swimby. The Ahmeek doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it swims out of an enemy’s reach.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4+2) piercing damage.

Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage, or 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters, The Song of Hiawatha

One of the nifty aspects of the AD&D Monster Manual might be missed by a less-than-careful reading.

“Really?” you say. “And what might that nifty aspect be?”

Yes, really, and good question. Of course, we all know that the Monster Manual includes giant animals. There are giant ants, giant beetles, giant gars, giant pikes, giant slugs, giant turtles, and more. A few of these over-sized animals have intelligences approaching or even exceeding human average. Some of this might be due to the influence of J. R. R. Tolkien. Giant eagles, for example, have Average intelligence. Worgs and giant spiders have Low intelligence. In a decidedly non-Tolkien move, giant beavers are Low to Average.

And then there’s the giant lynx, which is Very intelligent. In numerical terms, that’s an 11-12 Intelligence, compared to 8-10 for Average.

Back in the day, when I DMed AD&D, yes, I did use giant lynxes at least once. I don’t recall many of the details, but I’m pretty sure the PCs had to negotiate with the canny arctic feline for something related to the adventure. When I DMed in high school, I was on a mission to use every single monster in the Monster Manual (I and II) and Fiend Folio in an adventure somehow. I never achieved that goal, but not for lack of trying. For example, I made a jungle ruin-crawl adventure that included every single plant and fungus monster from the Monster Manual. Also, there was a mind flayer. I guess it was the gardener.

Even farther back in more distant days, Theophrastus (circa 320 B.C. or thereabouts), wrote about lynx stones in his On Stones, an ancient text about stones. On Stones was used by mineralogists for centuries. A lynx stone forms when lynx urine hardens into a stone-like substance. Since the lynx doesn’t want humans taking its lynx stones, the clever beast buries its urine.

Theophrastus says the lynx stone attracts straw, wood, copper, and iron. The urine of tame lynxes doesn’t produce lynx stones, nor does the urine of female lynxes, tame or otherwise. Ovid, Pliny the Elder, and Isidore of Seville all confirm the existence and origin of lynx stones, although Pliny and Isidore call the substance lynx water. Pliny and Isidore also note that lynxes know this happens. According to Pliny, lynxes cover their urine to speed up the solidification process. Isidore says lynxes bury their urine because they are naturally jealous and don’t want humans owning lynx stones.

So, obviously, if motivated by knowledge and jealously, lynxes must be intelligent, maybe even Very intelligent.

Giant Lynx
Medium monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 22 (4d8+4)
Speed 30 ft.

STR 12 (+1), DEX 17 (+3), CON 12 (+1), INT 12 (+1), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 10 (+0)

Skills Athletics +3, Perception +4, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances cold
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages Giant Lynx
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Aggressive. As a bonus action, the giant lynx can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.

Pounce. If the giant lynx moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the giant lynx can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Keen Hearing and Sight. The giant lynx has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing and sight.

Running Leap. With a 10-foot running start, the giant lynx can leap up to 15 feet.

Snow Camouflage. The giant lynx has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in snowy terrain.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) slashing damage.

Tags: 5E D&D, AD&D, monsters

The masterly Matt Jackson continues to post captivating CollabDungeons. Numbers two and three beg to be admired and adapted into adventures. When Matt posted the first CollaboDungeon, I imagined it as one of several tombs now lost in some remote wilderness region. Then, I wrote this:

For centuries, persons of wealth, power, and achievement sought to be buried in the wide, winding valleys near the wooded frontier of the kingdom. The villages nearest to the frontier adopted various funerary specialties. The coffinmakers here, the masons there, the mourners elsewhere, and so forth. Representatives from each village, elected by their constituents, formed the Mortuary Moot, a rowdy assembly of leaders who met regularly to debate and settle disputes related to the economic governance of the region. The people prospered until Mount Beinn, looming on the eastern horizon, roared back to life. Enormous clouds of volcanic ash rushed down the valleys, blasting the forests away and burying most of Mortuary Moot under yards of debris. Thousands died. In the aftermath, evil humanoids from the Wilderlands ventured into the frontier, killing or driving away those who survived Beinn’s fury.

In recent years, baronial mayors closest to what had been Mortuary Moot have increasingly sought to reclaim the devastated region. To this end, the mayors have made it clear that they welcome adventurers who seek fame and fortune. With sword, spell, and stealth, those adventurers may drive back the hordes of evil humanoids that plague the region, making it possible for the baronial mayors to send soldiers and settlers back into the frontier. Among the most tempting targets drawing adventurers into the area are the tremuli, the numerous artificial hills under which persons of wealth, power, and achievement were buried. Who knows what treasures wait the next intrepid band of would-be tomb robbers?

I like this idea. It could work its way into a sort of Indiana Jones meets the Magnificent Seven meets Mad Max. The PCs would try to recover lost artifacts while avoiding roaming bands of savages while helping protect the re-establishment of civilization while slowly discovering sinister forces working to exploit, destroy, enslave, et cetera. I wonder if I could talk Matt into doing a blighted wilderness map suitable for a starting campaign location? Perhaps if I threaten him with ash goblins?

Ash goblins are small, murderous humanoids that lurk in volcanic regions. They appear much like normal goblins, albeit with gray flesh and small, close-set eyes. Ash goblins tend to be smarter and more organized than their more common relatives.

Ash Goblin
Small humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil

Armor Class 13 (leather armor)
Hit Points 18 (4d6+4)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 15 ft.

STR 10 (+0), DEX 14 (+2), CON 13 (+1), INT 8 (-1), WIS 11 (+0), CHA 9 (-1)

Skills Stealth +4, Survival +2
Damage Resistances fire
Senses darkvision 30 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Goblin, Ignan
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Hold Breath. The ash goblin can hold its breath for 15 minutes.

Nimble Escape. The ash goblin can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.

Actions

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage.

Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d6) piercing damage.

Tags: 5E D&D, Matt Jackson, monsters, place of power

You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (The Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians 2:19-22)

All religions and secular ideologies hold up certain people as exemplars for those who adhere to the beliefs of the religion or ideology. In the United States, we see this with respect to the Founding Fathers, for example. In the Church, most obviously we see this in the hundreds of saints venerated for their heroic virtue. Numerous other examples could be provided across a wide variety of societies, cultures, religions, political parties, et cetera. When it comes to the various versions of D&D, I’ve often read suggestions that saint-like figures be treated as demi-gods or maybe lesser gods. Most famously, D&D presents to us St. Cuthbert of the Cudgel, a mortal who ascended into the ranks of divinity.

If I were to write up something like a cult of the saints for a fantasy deity, I’d be less inclined to treat those saints as divine themselves, but what would I treat them as? Well, primarily they’d serve the same function as they do in the world today. They’d be role models, men and women and children who offer others examples of grace under pressure. In AD&D terms, they’d be heroes or quasi-deities rather than gods or goddesses. In 5E D&D terms, strong devotion to one of these heroes could be treated as a feat. Here’re a couple of examples:

Sacred Fool
You possess a strong devotion to a sacred fool. This hero is likely someone born into wealth and privilege who renounced his or her birthright in a dramatic fashion, thereafter living life as an example of traits counter to the hero’s culture. For example, a sacred fool born into an sophisticated urban society that strongly emphasized the acquisition of wealth might have become a humble beggar and preacher. Your devotion to a sacred fool provides the following benefits:

• Increase your Wisdom or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks as long as you have not inflicted damage on any intelligent creature since your last short or long rest.
• Choose one of the following spells: animal friendship, charm person, sanctuary, or speak with animals. Using this feat, you can the spell once at its lowest level, and you must finish a long rest before you can it in this way again. Your spellcasting ability is Wisdom or Charisma, depending on which score you increased with this feat.

Scion of a Divine Host
You possess a strong devotion to a martial figure known for his or her victories over unnatural creatures. Choose one type of creature from this list: celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead. Your devotion to a scion of a divine host grants the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• When attacking your chosen type of creature, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls.
• When you can see your chosen type of creature and it attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against that creature.
• You have advantage on saving throws made to resist attacks, spells, and magic effects made by your chosen type of creature.

Tags: 5E D&D, Catholic