(I know I've been MIA for a week or so; I got hit with the flu. Blegh.)
I've basically decided to pick up the A to Z April Blogging Challenge -- you know, the one letter a day, 26 days, Sundays are a break meme. To make it more of a challenge I also decided to do it cold, with no pre-prepped list of topics. I am a brave fool, why yes ;3
I make no guarantee said topics will have gameable material or even be game-related except in my own head. Fair warning ~ *grin*
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monster: Brass Jackal
Brass Jackal
Armour Class: 2
Hit Dice: 2**
Move: 150' (50')
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-6 (special)
No. Appearing: 1-2
Save As: F2
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil (special)
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 30
Clockwork constructs of bronze and black iron, brass jackals take their name from the smooth shell of brassy armour that encloses their delicate internal workings. The eyes of a brass jackal are softly glowing orbs of blood red crystal, and their teeth likewise. Brass jackals are sometimes used as roaming sentinels but are more commonly encountered as the guardians of treasures and shrines.
In combat a brass jackal bites, its crystalline teeth inflicting 1-6 hit points of damage. The danger it poses lies not in its bite alone, but in combination with its sideslip ability; every other round the jackal may teleport anywhere within a fifteen foot radius, taking that opportunity to attack as if backstabbing like a thief.
Brass jackals are immune to non-magical weapons. They have a +3 bonus to saves against spells cast directly upon them.
Armour Class: 2
Hit Dice: 2**
Move: 150' (50')
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-6 (special)
No. Appearing: 1-2
Save As: F2
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil (special)
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 30
Clockwork constructs of bronze and black iron, brass jackals take their name from the smooth shell of brassy armour that encloses their delicate internal workings. The eyes of a brass jackal are softly glowing orbs of blood red crystal, and their teeth likewise. Brass jackals are sometimes used as roaming sentinels but are more commonly encountered as the guardians of treasures and shrines.
In combat a brass jackal bites, its crystalline teeth inflicting 1-6 hit points of damage. The danger it poses lies not in its bite alone, but in combination with its sideslip ability; every other round the jackal may teleport anywhere within a fifteen foot radius, taking that opportunity to attack as if backstabbing like a thief.
Brass jackals are immune to non-magical weapons. They have a +3 bonus to saves against spells cast directly upon them.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monster: Khetirr
Khetirr
Armour Class: 5
Hit Dice: 1+3*
Move: 150' (50')
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 + flames
No. Appearing: 1-8 (1-12)
Save As: F1
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 19
The khetirr is an elemental-touched variant of the giant ferret. It's pelt varies from sooty black to the colour of burnt cream, and the creature can envelop itself at will in an aura of crackling flames. The khetirr is more foul-tempered than the average ferret and will attack any creature that disturbs it or its lair; if successfully trained as a kit, it makes for an unusual guard animal.
In combat the khetirr bites for 1-8 hit points of damage. When its flame aura is active, its bite attack inflicts an extra 1-4 hit points of damage; likewise, any successful attack with a melee weapon causes 1-4 hit points of damage from the flames as the attacker gets scorched in the process. If especially riled the ketirr may lock its jaws upon a successful bite, inflicting 1-3 hit points of damage automatically per round but causing its Armour Class to worsen to 7.
Armour Class: 5
Hit Dice: 1+3*
Move: 150' (50')
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 + flames
No. Appearing: 1-8 (1-12)
Save As: F1
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 19
The khetirr is an elemental-touched variant of the giant ferret. It's pelt varies from sooty black to the colour of burnt cream, and the creature can envelop itself at will in an aura of crackling flames. The khetirr is more foul-tempered than the average ferret and will attack any creature that disturbs it or its lair; if successfully trained as a kit, it makes for an unusual guard animal.
In combat the khetirr bites for 1-8 hit points of damage. When its flame aura is active, its bite attack inflicts an extra 1-4 hit points of damage; likewise, any successful attack with a melee weapon causes 1-4 hit points of damage from the flames as the attacker gets scorched in the process. If especially riled the ketirr may lock its jaws upon a successful bite, inflicting 1-3 hit points of damage automatically per round but causing its Armour Class to worsen to 7.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Inspiration from odd places
On rpg.net, a spambot popped up in a thread and (among other randomness, presumably), posted the following:
There are vampires in caves and forts all over Cyrodiil, and Daedra Hearts can be found in the realm of Oblivion.
A poster noted "That's quite poetic for a spambot." I think I'll take it one step further, and see what I can't whistle up as game inspiration -- with a few name changes and whatnot of course -- from such an interesting~ little spambot ...
There are vampires in caves and forts all over Cyrodiil, and Daedra Hearts can be found in the realm of Oblivion.
A poster noted "That's quite poetic for a spambot." I think I'll take it one step further, and see what I can't whistle up as game inspiration -- with a few name changes and whatnot of course -- from such an interesting~ little spambot ...
Deadly Gardens
Brought upon by musings and the previous post --
I like plants that decide the PCs are dinner. I especially like plants that have bulbous, snapping jaws, like the greenfang and marrowlight and the upcoming post of "killer watermelons" -- nothing says "aiiie" like a plant sprouting (ha) a gaping maw. Plants are supposed to get eaten, not be the eaters!
Thorned plants can also be fun, whether found in rough sculptures, taking on animal forms, or even animating the dead. But they're a different kind of fun than killer chompers.
So, I want to hear about any deathplants out there in other people's games! What kind of greenery have you sicced on your players?
I like plants that decide the PCs are dinner. I especially like plants that have bulbous, snapping jaws, like the greenfang and marrowlight and the upcoming post of "killer watermelons" -- nothing says "aiiie" like a plant sprouting (ha) a gaping maw. Plants are supposed to get eaten, not be the eaters!
Thorned plants can also be fun, whether found in rough sculptures, taking on animal forms, or even animating the dead. But they're a different kind of fun than killer chompers.
So, I want to hear about any deathplants out there in other people's games! What kind of greenery have you sicced on your players?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Some wee wandering critters, post the first
Over on Zak S's blog he made a post that ended with his asking commenters to fill out a What's Chewing On That Carcass? Table For The Last NonDungeon Place Your PCs Were. It's been a bit since an active game, but memory told me my table would be:
1. (really twitchy) green rat people
2. a deathcluck
3. giant fire ferrets
4. brass jackal
5. rabid watermelons
6. Pac-Man
And, for the giggles, I think I'll write up and post all of these. They won't be groundbreaking but it'll entertain me ;3
Now, the green rat people were in fact one of the very first things I posted here on this blog, but I don't think I've ever done the rest. So, without further ado:
Deathcluck
Armour Class: 8
Hit Dice: 1/2*
Move: 90' (30')
fly 90' (30')
Attacks: 1 flurry
Damage: 1-4
No. Appearing: 2-16
Save As: Normal Man
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: Nil (special)
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 7
The nightmare of farmers and foxes alike, the deathcluck is best described as a manic, predatory chicken. In nearly all ways a deathcluck resembles a mundane dusky brown hen, if an unusually large and stocky one; then the thick pick of a beak and long curved spurs get noticed, followed by the streaks of red feathers down its face -- and the bloody gleam in the bird's beady eyes. Flocks of deathclucks have been known to invade farmsteads in order to free -- or kill -- mundane poultry.
In combat a deathcluck lashes out in a flurry of spurs and pecking, inflicting 1-4 hit points of damage. Every three rounds it may use a fury battery, flying at its victim's face and pummeling with its wings, stunning it for one round if a save vs. paralyzation is failed.
A rare strain of deathcluck possesses a ruddy, copperish sheen to its plumage and the ability to ignite its victim's wounds on fire once a day, inflicting 1-3 hit points of damage a round until extinguished. This variant is sometimes given the (very overblown) name of flaming chicken of doom.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Humanoid Trait Tables
The following set of tables can be fun for quick-and-dirty humanoid species creation, or just for spicing up an everyday encounter with goblins and orcs.
Not every single table needs to be used, but nothing says you couldn't, either ~
Roll 1-3 times on each or as desired:
Hit Dice
1. 1HD
2. 2HD
3. 3HD
4. roll again and add a +2 hp modifier to the result
5. roll again and add a +4 hp modifier to the result
6. Hueg Humanoids! roll twice and add the results together, ignoring another roll of six
Animal Traits
1. claws or small horns (1-4 hp damage)*
2. fangs or large horns (1-6 hp damage)*
3. hooves
4. wings (50% functional)
5. fins (50% granting a swim rate)
6. animal hide (fur, feathers, scales ...)
* may be completely theriocephalic
Weird Traits
1. extra arms (1-4)
2. extra legs (1-4 ... centaur goblins?)
3. multiple eyes
4. skin oozes slime
5. tentacles
6. mismatched body parts
Funky Colours
1. neon blue/green/pink/etc
2. animal pattern (leopard spots, tiger stripes ...)
3. monochromatic
4. camoflaged
5. paisley (wtf)
6. roll twice; use both
Special Abilities
1. infravision
2. poison (paralysis)
3. charm resistance
4. Armour Class bonus (1-6; tough hide, scales, awesome armour, magical aura ...)
5. speedy (extra attack/round)
6. elemental attack (1-6 hp damage)
Special Weaknesses
1. photophobic (-2 penalty to actions in sunlight or bright light)
2. vulnerable to holy water
3. obvious weak point (double damage if struck; marking on forehead, discoloured patch of flesh ..)
4. poor Armour Class (1-4 penalty)
5. unnaturally low morale
6. weak against element (half again damage from fire, cold, or electricity, etc)
Intentions
1. to pillage and raid all they encounter
2. to found a new humanoid camp or colony
3. to party! come join the fun!
4. to find allies against enemy humanoid community/tribe
5. to find captives for sacrifice to their gods
6. roll twice
Not every single table needs to be used, but nothing says you couldn't, either ~
Roll 1-3 times on each or as desired:
Hit Dice
1. 1HD
2. 2HD
3. 3HD
4. roll again and add a +2 hp modifier to the result
5. roll again and add a +4 hp modifier to the result
6. Hueg Humanoids! roll twice and add the results together, ignoring another roll of six
Animal Traits
1. claws or small horns (1-4 hp damage)*
2. fangs or large horns (1-6 hp damage)*
3. hooves
4. wings (50% functional)
5. fins (50% granting a swim rate)
6. animal hide (fur, feathers, scales ...)
* may be completely theriocephalic
Weird Traits
1. extra arms (1-4)
2. extra legs (1-4 ... centaur goblins?)
3. multiple eyes
4. skin oozes slime
5. tentacles
6. mismatched body parts
Funky Colours
1. neon blue/green/pink/etc
2. animal pattern (leopard spots, tiger stripes ...)
3. monochromatic
4. camoflaged
5. paisley (wtf)
6. roll twice; use both
Special Abilities
1. infravision
2. poison (paralysis)
3. charm resistance
4. Armour Class bonus (1-6; tough hide, scales, awesome armour, magical aura ...)
5. speedy (extra attack/round)
6. elemental attack (1-6 hp damage)
Special Weaknesses
1. photophobic (-2 penalty to actions in sunlight or bright light)
2. vulnerable to holy water
3. obvious weak point (double damage if struck; marking on forehead, discoloured patch of flesh ..)
4. poor Armour Class (1-4 penalty)
5. unnaturally low morale
6. weak against element (half again damage from fire, cold, or electricity, etc)
Intentions
1. to pillage and raid all they encounter
2. to found a new humanoid camp or colony
3. to party! come join the fun!
4. to find allies against enemy humanoid community/tribe
5. to find captives for sacrifice to their gods
6. roll twice
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Magic Item: Greysoul Shards
Greysoul Shards: Found in bundles of 1-4, wrapped in rough linen or the furry hide of some small beast, greysoul shards are long thin wedges of a strange translucent black substance -- not metal nor glass -- that taper to razor-sharp points. Though some claim the shards to be tangible darkness, this has not been proven.
A shard may be thrown like a dagger, inflicting damage as the same, but that is not their main purpose -- a target struck by a shard finds that the shard passes through their body, skewering their shadow and pinning it to the nearest solid surface. A creature so pinned cannot move further than the length of their shadow until the shard is pulled free (which may be done by anyone other than the victim) and is wracked with icy terror, forcing a morale check every round -- with a -1 cumulative penalty -- to be able to function.
With every use there is a 50% chance that a shard will shatter once pulled free of a victim's shadow.
A shard may be thrown like a dagger, inflicting damage as the same, but that is not their main purpose -- a target struck by a shard finds that the shard passes through their body, skewering their shadow and pinning it to the nearest solid surface. A creature so pinned cannot move further than the length of their shadow until the shard is pulled free (which may be done by anyone other than the victim) and is wracked with icy terror, forcing a morale check every round -- with a -1 cumulative penalty -- to be able to function.
With every use there is a 50% chance that a shard will shatter once pulled free of a victim's shadow.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Magic Item: Mala of the Hexad
Mala of the Hexad: The mala of the hexad is a set of prayer beads, meant to be worn around the neck or brandished at a target. There is no one substance from which the mala must be made; examples have been known to be fashioned from bone, wood, musk, rose petals, or large seeds.
Each example of the mala of the hexad grants its owner a +1 to any defense against offensive elemental sources; this may be a bonus to a saving throw against a spell, a bonus to Armour Class against an elemental's attack, or similar. Additionally each mala sports 1-6 stone beads, usable once a day unless noted, selected randomly from the following types:
- air (crystal): speak telepathically for up to one hour, or plant a single suggestion
- earth (jasper): meld with earth/stone for up to four hours
- fire (carnelian): double movement rate for an hour or gain an extra action
- water (aquamarine): heal disease or purge poison a number of times a day equal to the number of stone beads
- light (topaz): go without food and water for 24 hours
- darkness (onyx): paralyze and blind target, paralysis lasting for four hours
Each example of the mala of the hexad grants its owner a +1 to any defense against offensive elemental sources; this may be a bonus to a saving throw against a spell, a bonus to Armour Class against an elemental's attack, or similar. Additionally each mala sports 1-6 stone beads, usable once a day unless noted, selected randomly from the following types:
- air (crystal): speak telepathically for up to one hour, or plant a single suggestion
- earth (jasper): meld with earth/stone for up to four hours
- fire (carnelian): double movement rate for an hour or gain an extra action
- water (aquamarine): heal disease or purge poison a number of times a day equal to the number of stone beads
- light (topaz): go without food and water for 24 hours
- darkness (onyx): paralyze and blind target, paralysis lasting for four hours
Sunday, March 13, 2011
One-shot items
I've always had a soft spot for single-use magical items, especially in the low level games I find myself running. They're a convenient way to give a reward to PCs without needing to worry about lingering issues of power, can occasionally result in interesting examples of strategy, and frankly are just plain fun.
(why yes, I'm also quite fond of them in my video games, why do you ask?)
The quintessential single-use item is of course the potion, and one can get a fair bit of mileage out of different sorts of potions and elixirs. Adding other types of items -- be they called tokens, charms, or whatever else -- brings in a welcome variety, and the trick here is to make each type somehow interesting or evocative. A single token needn't have a whole history attached to it (though there's no reason one couldn't do that!); but a little bit of detail beyond "this item grants [blah blah blah]" goes a long way, even if it is only a name and a brief description.
The following are a handful of example items; being intended for a Red Box game they are quite low-key, but they serve the purpose. Higher level games can always scale up accordingly:
- Dragon King's Scale: a single scale of glittering silver-gold, granting a +2 to Armour Class for four rounds
- Direction Mirror: a small round mirror that will reflect a single spell of level two or less
- Voiceless Bell: a jade bell with no clapper that creates silence for two rounds
- Scorpion Tail: palm-sized indigo scorpion sting that paralyzes for two rounds
- Sheepcount: a handful of woolen bolls that cause sleep for 1-4 rounds
- Blessed Kiss: silver prayer beads that allow a single turning as a 1-3 level cleric
- Time's Arrow: multicoloured dart that grants a single extra action in the following round
- Sage Insight: a small illuminated scroll that grants a +1 to a single save type for 1-6 rounds (different scrolls for different saves)
- Decree of Order: a golden orb that grants a +2 bonus against chaos for two rounds
- Will of Discord: a scarlet spiral that grants a +2 bonus against law for two rounds
- Essence Fang: shard of solid elemental energy (foam of water, tongue of flame, coil of air, crystal of earth, etc) that inflicts 2-5 hit points of damage of the appropriate elemental type
(why yes, I'm also quite fond of them in my video games, why do you ask?)
The quintessential single-use item is of course the potion, and one can get a fair bit of mileage out of different sorts of potions and elixirs. Adding other types of items -- be they called tokens, charms, or whatever else -- brings in a welcome variety, and the trick here is to make each type somehow interesting or evocative. A single token needn't have a whole history attached to it (though there's no reason one couldn't do that!); but a little bit of detail beyond "this item grants [blah blah blah]" goes a long way, even if it is only a name and a brief description.
The following are a handful of example items; being intended for a Red Box game they are quite low-key, but they serve the purpose. Higher level games can always scale up accordingly:
- Dragon King's Scale: a single scale of glittering silver-gold, granting a +2 to Armour Class for four rounds
- Direction Mirror: a small round mirror that will reflect a single spell of level two or less
- Voiceless Bell: a jade bell with no clapper that creates silence for two rounds
- Scorpion Tail: palm-sized indigo scorpion sting that paralyzes for two rounds
- Sheepcount: a handful of woolen bolls that cause sleep for 1-4 rounds
- Blessed Kiss: silver prayer beads that allow a single turning as a 1-3 level cleric
- Time's Arrow: multicoloured dart that grants a single extra action in the following round
- Sage Insight: a small illuminated scroll that grants a +1 to a single save type for 1-6 rounds (different scrolls for different saves)
- Decree of Order: a golden orb that grants a +2 bonus against chaos for two rounds
- Will of Discord: a scarlet spiral that grants a +2 bonus against law for two rounds
- Essence Fang: shard of solid elemental energy (foam of water, tongue of flame, coil of air, crystal of earth, etc) that inflicts 2-5 hit points of damage of the appropriate elemental type
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