Spes Magna Games

And as [Jesus] went, they spread their clothes underneath in the way. And when he was now coming near the descent of mount Olivet, the whole multitude of his disciples began with joy to praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “Blessed be the king who cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory on high!” And some of the Pharisees, from amongst the multitude, said to him: “Master, rebuke thy disciples.” To whom he said: “I say to you, that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.” (The Gospel According to St. Luke 19:36-40)

Triumphal Mien (Enchantment/Charm)
Level: Cleric 6
Range: 0
Duration: 8 hours/level
Area of Effect: 1″ + 1″/level of spell caster radius sphere
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 turn
Saving Throw: Special

By means of this spell, all living creatures with more than animal intelligence that are within the radius of the spell or who enter the radius of the spell view the cleric as comrade, friend, and/or leader. There is no saving throw against this effect the first time a creature enters the radius. The charmed creatures love and respect the cleric. They listen trustingly and obey requests insofar as communication is possible and the requests seems plausible and do not subject the one charmed to needless injury, destruction, or do not go against the creature’s alignment or nature. Requests that violate these strictures permit automatically end the spell’s effects on that creature. A creature that exits and/or re-enters the radius is also permitted a saving throw (with a +2 bonus). Success ends the charm on that creature. Otherwise, saving throws are permitted against this spell’s effects as described under charm person or mammal.

The material component is several palm fronds woven into a circlet.

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I still have two gaming items for sale via eBay. If you’re interested, check these out, and maybe even put in a bid.

Heroes of Olympus: A Task Force Role Playing Game was published as a boxed set in 1981. Conceived and written by B. Dennis “Chariot of” Sustare, this unusual game combines fantasy roleplaying in mythical Greece with squad level wargaming action. This game was (at least) almost unique among roleplaying games of the time.

I wrote Path of Legend for the Dawnforge: Crucible of Legend campaign setting published by Fantasy Flight Games using the d20 System. This adventure was designed to introduce players to Dawnforge. According to the front cover, it is a “Legendary Quest in the World of Dawnforge”. According to the back cover, “The adventure leads new heroes from 1st to 5th level, and also offers them the chance to earn their first legend point. The adventure provides a compelling mix of location and event-based encounters, and rewards roleplaying and puzzle-solving as well as combat.”

Tags: AD&D, Catholic, ebay, spells

Better with the blogposting and what not this week, so hurray for me. Still, nowhere near as productive as I ought to be, so boo for me as well.

Jethro Tull doesn’t quite qualify as prog rock. I’m not sure what Jethro Tull qualifies as. The band has drifted in and out of different styles over its decades of musical output. Yesterday, driving to a tutoring gig, I listened again to some Jethro Tull’s greatest hits. There are these words from Tull’s fourteenth studio album’s sort-of title track:

“I see a dark sail on the horizon / Set under a black cloud that hides the sun. / Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding. / Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.”

And so we have another magic item.

A Sword of Clear Understanding performs as a +1 weapon. When carried or wielded, the sword increases its bearer’s wisdom. The overall increase equals 4 points if the bearer’s wisdom is 6 or less, by 2 points if at 7-13, and by 1 point if wisdom is 14 or higher. Furthermore, the bearer enables non-thief characters to read languages as if he or she were a 4th-level thief. If carried by a thief of sufficient level to read languages, he or she increases the normal chance by 10 percent.

70% of these swords are broadswords, 20% are longswords, 5% are short (small) swords, 4% are bastard swords, and 1% are two-handed swords.

Tags: AD&D, magic items, prog rock, ThursdAD&D

I’m back to selling a few gaming items via eBay. If you’re interested, check these out, and maybe even put in a bid.

Heroes of Olympus: A Task Force Role Playing Game was published as a boxed set in 1981. Conceived and written by B. Dennis “Chariot of” Sustare, this unusual game combines fantasy roleplaying in mythical Greece with squad level wargaming action. This game was (at least) almost unique among roleplaying games of the time.

RuneQuest Monsters was published by Games Workshop for use with the Avalon Hill/Chaosium RuneQuest roleplaying game. This book was authored by familiar names of gaming lore, such as Steve Perrin, Lynn Willis, and Sandy Petersen. The book features some wonderful interior art, including some full-color, full-page illustrations. Among the many monsters within include the frumious bandersnatch, the enigmatic dragonnewt, the shaggy jack’o’bears, and the fearsome walktapus.

I wrote Path of Legend for the Dawnforge: Crucible of Legend campaign setting published by Fantasy Flight Games using the d20 System. This adventure was designed to introduce players to Dawnforge. According to the front cover, it is a “Legendary Quest in the World of Dawnforge”. According to the back cover, “The adventure leads new heroes from 1st to 5th level, and also offers them the chance to earn their first legend point. The adventure provides a compelling mix of location and event-based encounters, and rewards roleplaying and puzzle-solving as well as combat.”

Tags: ebay

Tuesday Terrors have obviously been on hiatus for a bit, but today this sort-of-weekly feature returns not with a monster but with a new spell. To see the spell in action, click here. can be viewed with caution by clicking on the monster’s name below. The artist is Tooth Wu. Check out his ArtStation portfolio.

“We had the blaggard cornered. Xurek went at him head on while Pallamon moved in from the flank. It was the end. After days of fighting our way through his minions, it was the end. And then he cast…that spell. Xurek and Pallamon went down screaming. I ran. Discretion is the better part, right?” — Brego the Discreet

Pestilent Phylactery of Velenu
3rd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (viper fangs sealed in a phylactery)
Duration: Instantaneous

You wrap the phylactery around one of your limbs, which then becomes covered in writhing, biting growths that resemble vipers, centipedes, and fanged tentacles. You use these these horrid growths to attack up to three targets within range. You can direct the growths to attack one target or several.

Make a melee spell attack against the target for each growth. You have advantage on the attack roll if the target is within 5 feet. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 piercing damage and 1d6 poison damage. For 1 minute after a target is hit, the target must make a Constitution saving throw. If the target was hit by more than one growth, the target makes the Constitution saving throw with disadvantage. On a failed save, the target takes 2d6 poison damage. On a successful save, the spell ends for the target.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you create one additional attacking growth for each slot level above 3rd.

Tags: 5E D&D, spells, Tuesday Terror

Well, I’ve not done a very good job keeping up with this blog, my writing, et cetera, over the past two or so weeks. Not sure why. No excuses. Here I go again.

First up is a magic item inspired by The Moody Blues, probably the first prog rock band. The song is “Candle of Life” from To Our Children’s Children’s Children.

“Something you can’t hide says you’re lonely. / Hidden deep inside of you, only / It’s there for you to see. Take a look and be. / Burn slowly, the candle of life.”

Candle of Life: A candle of life is a magical taper that bolsters the life force of the one who lights it. The candle illuminates a 15-foot radius, and it will burn for 4 hours. It is possible to extinguish the candle by typical means, but it can be placed in a lantern or otherwise sheltered to protect it from drafts, et cetera. While the candle burns, the one who lit it must remain within the its radius of illumination to gain the following benefits. The user regenerates 1 hit point per turn so long as he or she is not dead. The user gains a +4 bonus to saving throws against disease, death magic, energy drain, poison, and aging. If one of these effects would not allow a saving throw, the candle‘s user is entitled to a saving throw, but with no special bonus.

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Next up, how about a new monster by a talented artist? Visit this site and check out a few creatures created by Lukaz Jaskolski. The monster below is inspired by his bug horror entitled “Predator Creature 1”. Enjoy!

Mortid
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1-6
Armor Class: 2
Move: 15″
Hit Dice: 8+8
% in Lair: 40%
Treasure Type: J-N, Q (x2)
No. of Attacks: 5
Damage/Attack: 1-6/1-6/2-5/2-5/1-4
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Average
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Size: M
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: VII/2,200 + 12/hp

The mortid is a horrific undead creature with a thick carapace and a skull-like visage. It scuttles about on four legs, and it attacks with its four claw-like appendages and its jagged teeth. Like most undead, the mortid hates the living, especially all types of elves.

This monster is stealthy and expert at camoflauge. It surprises prey on a roll of 1-4 (out of 6). The mortid can leap 3″ upon prey in order to attack. Its upper limbs strike with scimitar-like blades. Its lower striking appendages are blunter but still effective weapons. The mortid’s bite is not especially strong, but it has a powerful negative force that drains 1 life energy level from the victim, complete with corresponding losses in hit dice, ability level, attack level, et cetera.

The mortid is affected only by magical weapons. It regenerates at a rate of 3 hit points per melee round, but is destroyed if brought to 0 hit points. Sleep, charm, and hold spells do not affect the mortid. Neither does poison or paralysis, and it takes only half damage from spells based on cold or electricity.

Holy water splashed upon the mortid causes 2-7 hit points of damage per vial-full that strikes the monster. A cleric can turn the mortid as if it were a vampire.

Any elf drained of all life energy by the mortid becomes a half-strength mortid under the control of its slayer. This transformation takes place 1 day after the elf is buried, but only if the elf is buried. If the mortid which slew the elf is itself killed, the mortids created by it become free-willed monsters.

Tags: AD&D, magic items, monsters, prog rock, ThursdAD&D