Conditional Modifiers, etc.

Has anyone ever come up with a full list of conditional modifiers for Dragon Poker? My starting list would be:

If it is a Thursday, all cards of the player sitting in the eastern chair are wild.

On every other full moon the player with the most spades must draw twice.

If it is a Monday and there is a lunar eclipse, all player must draw twice.

(Trey): If the player to the left has more than 2 black cards, you must discard 1 red card (if you have one).

But I don't want to repeat another person's work.

Getting Minis

I may be going out and getting some minis today. If so, it's the last chance to influence my choice of army. I'm fine with any of them, though the Protectorate seems to have had some strangely inaccurate flamethrowers recently.

New Setting

Well, I decided that I wanted to mess about some more with modern or near past/future settings. Here's the one I'll be tinkering with (and hopefully getting you guys to help tinker - I hope it's interesting enough for that.):

The basic premise is that it's a modern, or near future time period, probably at most 2012-2015. There are a few differences, but the major one is that there are vampires, and possibly other "legendary" creatures (more on those others later. For now, let's focus on the vampires). That doesn't mean that we have something where there's a murder every other day and two on the weekends. If that were the case, all of the vampires would have been wiped out already. There are rules, specifically (Just the main two - reasonable ones will be added later on):

1. Don't reveal yourself to a human unless you're okay with turning them, taking them as a servant, or killing them. There are exceptions, but following this is the only way to be completely sure that you're safe.
   
2. Those without knowledge of the rules are not to be punished for breaking them.
   

In addition to those rules, each area will have certain laws that are unique to it.

What I'm seeing the best quality of this setting being is that it's versatile, for a number of reasons. I'll get back to this once I've explained the power structure of the vampires:
The first thing you need to know is the difference between a Clan and a Tribe. Clans are a particular bloodline, usually with their own powers, and possibly appearance depending on which clan it is. Tribes are groups with the same general goals, but they don't need to be related. There are also Independent vampires, but they can be from either one. Clans and Tribes will both take in those vampires that, for one reason or another, haven't been trained in the rules. Clans will dump them once they're trained, unless they test as a member of a Clan, in which case, they'll take them to them. Tribes will adopt them if they fit in well.

So, just from that you can choose to do lots of different things. You could do the different politics between factions, you could have a war going on, you could be someone researching something independently...

Let's take a look at that last one, shall we?

My thought is, if you choose to be looking for something at the start of the game, you get to build a section of the world. If someone say they're searching for a cure for Burblington's Disease, the disease gets added. If they're looking for a producer of Adorphenine (a combat drug), then Adorphenine exists, although the producer might be elsewhere. There are restrictions of course - if you're looking for something that's only rumored to exist, those rumors might be wrong. This only applies if you actually play the character, or have a good reason why you don't (illness, moving, etc.).

What I'm hoping for help with is the various factions, etc. The format I want is this:

Name:

Background:

Genealogy (if applicable):

Major members:

Alliances/Enemies:

If you want to make NPC or characters, this uses Shadowrun 1e rules, which I'll explain if needed.

Solo Warmachine 2: Start Game Overview

I'm using a group of 4 Bursters, 1 Defiler, and 1 Corpseeater (A Corpseeater is as a Defiler, but costs 10, and living enemies killed by the spray explode in a 3" AOE) for the Cryx, and 4 Repenters, 1 Redeemer, 1 Crusader, and a minimum strength Choir of Menoth for the Protectorate forces. The Cryx are behind a set of walls, which provide a natural chokepoint, and the Protectorate forces are grouped around it, preparing to attack.

Solo Warmachine Part 3: Third Mid Game Report

And once more continuing on from where we left off:

Tynnwr Pell ((Tin-wer Pell) One of the Reapers, it's Welsh for Far Puller), shot Lektrik with a harpoon. Since the damage roll was a 5, and he had 2 boxes left, Lektrik became the 2nd casualty for the Swans. The rest of the Cygnaran reinforcements arrived. One of the Whirlwinds moved forward to get a better view, but the wrecks still kept him from getting a clear line of sight. The Tremor (named Richter) was deployed at a carefully chosen spot, so that he doesn't end up knocking down any friendly units as he went around, and the new Whirlwind joined the other one that was hanging back. There was an attack made by Lektra but it missed the Skarlock. The 5th Sartalis received the next part of their group. Pladur Defnyddiwr ((Pla-dur Deaf-ny-widder) The other Reaper - the name is Welsh for Scythe User) shot at Lektra, and hit for 3 damage. There was a slight problem at this point, namely that Lektra's damage sheet had been misplaced, but it was resolved at the next attack, as I knew she didn't have enough to soak up the extra 4. Third casualty for the Swans. Slayer advances into the wreck of B2. Richter moves further around - he'll be able to get close to the 5th Sartalis next turn, assuming that they don't move away. Next, all the Whirlwinds attacked the Slayer. They got twenty attacks. The first did 2 boxes, the 2nd missed, the 3rd did 5. Yikes. Fortunately, the 4th hit, but it bounced off the Slayer's armor. Anyway, a bunch of hits later, and the Slayer goes down. I doubt I'll try moving on them again any time soon. Maybe with Reapers. Anyway, moving on past the digression... One Reaper harpooned Richter, and dragged him into melee range. Using both attacks, I was able to hurt him pretty badly. The second Reaper did the same, which resulted in fresh raw materials for House of Paincakes. Richter then retaliated by hitting the one on the left (His right), and beating him up some. The two Whirlwinds who'd been hanging back moved into line with the third. Then the rightmost Reaper repeated what he'd done before, and destroyed Richter. At this point the game is likely to end in a stalemate, as the Whirlwinds couldn't survive ending their turn in range of the Reapers, and the Reapers couldn't stand up to the barrage of fire if they end their turn in in sight of the Whirlwinds. As such, the next post will likely take place in the Bloodstone Marches, especially a Cygnaran factory that has been nabbed by the Cryx.

Solo Warmachine Part 2: Second Mid Game Report

This was going to be the end battle report. But, since I decided to test out a houserule for reinforcements, and I didn't get around to playing yesterday, it's still going.

Quick goal overview:

Have at least 1 model left alive when the other side is gone, or have no models of either side remaining.

Picking up where we left off:

B2 moved forward and left and hit Lektra, doing 6 points of damage. He didn't quite move into her back arc, which meant she couldn't use her hooks on him. The damage she took crippled her left arm , and she fled 6" forward, over the wreck of B1. Lektrik continued his missing streak (Although that's not really fair to him. This had only been going for two rounds). L2 (Storm, another Leaper) moved 6" around the large elevation (He was on a lamp where I'd set him a while before starting. As you can see, I wasn't really prepared for this battle) he was on, so that he was closer to the ground, and could hopefully survive the fall. B2 went for Lektrik and, I'm fairly sure, missed. Storm jumped down at this point, taking 18 boxes. He tried to hit B2, but, again, missed. Lektrik took a shot at B2, and actually managed to hit this time. I think that he did 2 points of damage, but it was a while ago. There's something to be said for writing these sooner. B2 counterattacked Lektrik, and did 7, crippling his right arm., and beating up his left one pretty badly. Storm and Lektrik both fled. B2 used his free strikes on each, but didn't manage to damage either one. B2 moved after them, and was able to destroy Storm. (Here's where houserules start coming into play - there aren't any rules for getting reinforced, so I made some) Here, since both sides were down by one third (Actually, I rolled because I was getting desperate for some help on the Cryx side - I still had a leaper to take care of, and Lektra wasn't going to stay out forever, but it turned out that the Cryx were at half strength, and the Cygnar 2/3rds, so that became the rule). As it turned out they would have been better off with out it! The Cygnar got 3 Whirlwinds (d6 for rapid fire, but they cost 12), and a Tremor (An Ironclad, but just moving about causes the ground to shake for 1" around them, and they cost 10), while the Cryx rolled low and got nothing. This led to further adaptation of my house rule, specifically that any reinforcements above Light Warjacks enter the turn after they're rolled, and that you can only place half of any Heavy Warjacks you get as reinforcements then, though the next half come on at their next turn (Yeah, I was favoring the Cryx. Still, it's a fair rule outside of this specific spot). Lektra moved up, turned her back to B2, and put him in a headlock with the hooks. Lektrik then moved in and did a few damage. I broke free of the lock, then rolled for reinforcements again, and got 2 Reapers, a Slayer, and a Skarlock. Since I really needed to get someone who wasn't likely to get blown up in the next round onto the table now, I converted one of the Reapers to a Defiler. Not a bad trade at that point, as it allowed me to Burst my Burster, and cripple just about everything on Lektrik. As this was now the Cygnar turn, I brought two of the Whirlwinds into play, and was beaten pretty badly by them. Having, in effect, d24 shots taken at you with metal storms will put some serious injuries onto a Warjack. I took a shot at the Whirlwinds, but didn't realize what the SP in front of the range meant, and I forgot that it had an ongoing corrosion effect, so it wasn't as effective as it could have been. I then fled, taking the damage from the free strikes (Yeah, I know those shouldn't have been done for a ranged attack.) to my head somehow, and having it crippled as a result. Lektrik couldn't attack, and Llysnafedd (No clue how that's pronounced, but it means Slime in Welsh) wasn't in range of Lektra. The Whirlwinds didn't have line of site either. Next turn I brought on a Reaper and the Skarlock. That's where I'm at right now.

Solo Warmachine Part 1: Mid Game Report

Just to get a feel for the combat rules, and my army I'm playing a game against myself. I'm using two modified Deathrippers (They have the bomb attack of a Scrap Thrall, and cost 8) versus 3 2 Lancers (Well Pseudo-lancers. They don't have the Shock Shield, but they only cost 4, and can pass over any obstruction less than 4" in height) and one Snag (Snags look like Leapers, except the last bit of their tail divides into two hooks. They can lock two weapons, but only in their back arc. They can only get over obstructions 2" or less in height. They cost 6) I'll post more once I've finished the game, but I realized halfway through I should post something on here about it.

Anyway, here's the mid-game battle report:

Play is on an open field. My Bursters (See above) are placed so that one is facing the two Leapers and Snag that are on the field (S1 and L1. (Lektra and Lektrik respectively. It seems appropriate given the heavy electrical theme of the Cygnar) At this point it doesn't really matter so much though) head-on (B1. Normally I'd name them, but, y'know, they explode, so...), and the other is going to come at them from the side (B2). Cryx went first. I held B2 in reserve (Said like that it sounds well... Tactical. What actually happened was I forgot I had the thing until after I'd already engaged them.), and sent B1 towards the Cygnar to engage them. I was able to hit Lektra and deal damage. The problem was that she (Yep. It's anthropomorphic. This game these weirdos have pilots instead of being controlled by Warcasters, as I want to learn these things slowly, and it's the gender of the pilot in question) was able to hit me on her turn, though Lektrik wasn't. At this point two things happened. One, I showed my ignorance of the damage system - each of us only took 1 box of damage on our grids because I didn't realize that damage taken was determined by how much over the armor it was. Two, I realized that I couldn't keep trading blows - Leapers have more boxes than I do, and even if Lektrik kept missing I'd be down. As such I used Burst (Effects are the same as the Scrap Thrall ability mentioned above). I was able to deal am additional 9 points of damage to Lektra. She now had all of 6 smashed, as well as all of 1, and the first two of 2. In addition she had the wound from the previous turn in the first space of 3. Lektric is apparently extremely lucky about not getting hit, as he took no damage from the secondary blast. I replaced B1 with the first Wreck Marker I made, and moved in B2 from the side. That's where I'm at right now.

Oh, by the way: I'm using models I made for these, which is another reason why I don't have a warcaster - I like the way they look, and want to wait until I get the minis to use them.

Crafting A Cryx

Well, a Wreck Marker for one, anyway. It might not be perfectly to scale, as I was guessing what it should look like. Still, it's only part of the Deathripper (one green bar on the chassis), so it should work okay. Just about everything is painted for it, though the tusk bits need some of my version of Jack Bone.

Edit: I've now started work on the second Wreck Marker, which looks nothing like any of the 'jacks I've seen, nor does the Cygnar Warjack it died on.

Enter The Warmachine

Well, the title (Slightly more grandiose and theatrical than I normally indulge in, I admit) refers to the fact that I picked up a copy of the rules for Warmachine yesterday. I have no minis yet, but I look forward to getting some. I'm currently going with Cryx, though Mercenaries are also appealing, and I have no objections to either Cygnar or Khador. Still, the Cryx have a visual style I like, and I know for a fact that the local gaming store has Asphyxious and Deneghra. Of course, I still may go with the Mercenaries, as I like their looks too, and the FLGS has a bunch of them I can use. Anyway, assuming that I go with Cryx, I'm still wavering between warcasters. Will I choose The Iron Lich, The Pirate Queen, or the Warwitch? Anyway, here's an army list for them, assuming a 100 point Grand Melee:

Warcaster: Iron Lich Asphyxious (+6 Warjack points)

Asphyxious' Battlegroup:

Slayer X 5 (6? I don't remember if I used the extra points or not. I'll get it later. For the time being, this should be a good list for starting off, possibly after a Duel or two, either way, though as I included those Necrotechs, I might want to alter it so that I have a few more Reapers. They seem to the most "anti-warjack" of the Cryx contained in the Prime rulebook.)

Nightwretch X 3

Corruptor X 2

Reaper X 2

Units:

Bane Thrall X 2 (Leader & 9 Grunts)

Bile Thrall X 1 (Leader & 9 Grunts)

Mechanithrall X 1 (Leader & 9 Grunts)

Necrotech & 1 Scrap Thrall X 3

3 Scrap Thralls X 2

Anyway, I think I'm going to try out a Duel first, as that many things would cost pretty heavily. Here's the list:

Warcaster: Warwitch Deneghra (+5)

Cost:

Battlegroup:

1 Defiler---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

1 Nightwretch---------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

Units:

1 unit of Bane Thralls (Leader & 5 Grunts)-----------------------------------------------------5

1 unit of Bile Thralls (Leader & 5 Grunts) ------------------------------------------------------5

1 Necrotech w/ Scrap Thrall-------------------------------------------------------------------1

As a note to the mathematically inclined, if you add everything up it should come out to 106 and 20 points. This is because of a special rule in Warmachine - Your warcaster adds points that can only be spent on warjacks. As such I (may - not sure, if I actually spent his points or not) has 106 point cost, and the second 20, because Aphyxious adds six and Deneghra 5.

Witch - Special Features 1: Potion Making

Potion Making:

One of the key features of the Witch in my campaign is the ability to create potions. After all, not only is it something people currently associate with them (Eye of newt, etc), it has a long historical tradition. Shakespeare had witches crafting some sort of evil brew at one time, and the most recognizable thing associated with a witch, (Pointy hats not included. Those are, I believe, fairly recent, plus wizards have a pretty good claim to the things if anyone does wear them in a campaign of mine.), with the possible exception of a familiar, is their cauldron. As such, I propose the following rules for potion making by witches:

The witch must know the recipe and have the ingredients. Optionally, there must be a certain number of them, as well, but that's purely optional. For example:

Potion of Cure Light Wounds:

Leshtir-grass (1 lb.)

Kobold Bone Marrow (One armbone worth)

Bugbear Liver (Whole)

Orc Eyeballs (5)

It will take 5 hours to create one.

Potions will fail on a roll of 1-2 on a d6. This reflect the difficulty of getting temperature, etc. exactly correct on a wood fire.

New Class: Witch - Spell Lists

Okay, as I said in the first PF post, I'm going to be creating a witch class... Here's the spell list for them.

Level 1:

Hex

Duration: 1 month per caster level, or for duration stated, as long as it does not go over one month/level

Range: In view. Familiars do not count for this, as it generally requires a gesture, word, etc.

Hex allows the caster to cause one target to have minor detrimental effects. Treat as -3 to all rolls, unless there is a specific effect stated. For example a Hex is cast on a peasant with the description "Whenever he uses a sharp object, let there be a risk of harming himself". Anytime he cuts wood, uses a pitchfork, cuts meat, etc. roll as though he were attacking himself.

Disguise:

Duration: One year/level, or for duration stated provided it does not exceed one year per level of the caster.

Range: Self

This spell allows the witch to make minor alterations to his or her general appearance. -4 on rolls to determine identity.

Ignite:

Duration: Instantaneous

Range 10'

An Ignite spell will set fire to any reasonably flammable substance - wood, paper, and oil are all included, but hair, cloth, etc. are not. The DM should use their discretion with respect to this, keeping in mind that it is not an attack spell.

Level 2:

Totem Sheath

Range: Personal

Duration: As long as the totem is held, or until it is destroyed. Does not count as held if the hand, tentacle, etc. is severed

This spell requires the caster to take one day to carve a small figurine from wood, stone, soap, or some other material. This does not have an effect on the strength of the spell, only on how difficult it is to break. They must then take an additional two hours to bind a spirit to the carving. When this totem is grasped, and the spirit's name called, it will protect the wielder from small weapons, such as arrows, daggers, shortswords, etc. but not longswords or weapons larger than them.

Level 3:

Curse

Range: 10 miles per caster level

Duration: Permanent

Many witches have a signature curse. The exact effects of this spell vary, and are established between the player and the DM. Some examples of curse effects are:

General affliction: -10 to all rolls, - 5 STR and CON.

Bleed: All wounds do an additional 3d6 damage, inflicted over 2 rounds.

Pain Transference: Any damage done to the witch or another specific target (one person) is transferred to the afflicted party, OR half of any damage caused by the target to another is shunted back.



______________

More spells will be added; this is just the first few that I wanted to put out there.

[Edit: Apparently, lots more spells will be added. I'm in the process of statting up Lynette as a fifth (Huh. I somehow put an extra "e" on that. Accidental flavor text?) level witch (So she can curse things), and using the standard AD&D spells per level list for the mage. Turns out, I can cast 2 2nd level spells, and 4 1st levels. If the trend continues unchecked, then I'll need probably 10-12 at the least, just for 1st level, and the same for the rest.]

AD&D Character 1

Going with the concept of The Wyrd from Quickly, Quietly, Carefully.

Name: Laysha Dooning

Class: The Wyrd

Int: 13
Str: 10
Con: 12
Dex: 12
Wis: 15
Cha: 12

Repercussions
_____________________

Artificial lights within 10' will not stay lit, and any she passes are extinguished.

Skin nodules swell for days, then burst to release spiders (One-time, until/unless rolled again)

Livestock sickens (Within 1 mile?)

Flapping things flap on the roof at night

Go deaf in one ear

6|4|2

5|5|5

5|5|3

6|4|2

5|2|3

6|5|4

New Spell: Etheric Screen

Not quite sure how to describe this one... Sorry, but no fiction on it.

Level 2

Etheric Screen (Mage)

Range: Special

Area of Effect: Special

Duration: Special

The caster of an Etheric Screen must inscribe a permanent screen in a desired location, using (Number of corners) gems of not less than 100 GP value, as well as paying a group of skilled stonecarvers (150 GP/hour) to create a relief in the desired shape. The gems will then be set at each corner. Once that is complete, the only remaining component is a sheet of metal or glass, which is carried by the caster. Any caster can contact a permanent screen from anywhere, with the contact lasting 1 hour per caster level. However, using another permanent screen allows the contact to last until one or both parties wish to cancel it. The caster level used is that of the mage initiating contact. If two permanent screens are used there is no limit on how many times a day this spell can be cast.

Pure Fiction - Notes on Classifying

The title of the last post may be a bit confusing to some. I don't know. Anyway, here's how things are titled:

Pure Fiction 1: Refers to those stories with Lynette the Shadowed as a main character.

Pure Fiction 2: As above, but with Damien Halkrone.

Etc.

Pure Fiction 1 - #1: Hiding in Shadows

Okay, here's the deal: Any post with Pure Fiction in the title and/or tags will be part of the adventures of one or more of the people introduced in a fiction section of a spell, item, monster (Note to self: Use "Moonster" for something.), etc. The reason I'm doing this is that I left Lynette the Shadowed being hunted by Zanevan Spellbane in Totem Sheath, and then the next time I mention her she's safely sitting in a circle of Silver Negation, with no mention of him, or what happened in between. Also, the "pure fiction" portion may sometimes have an effect on what I do in game. For example Zanevan using witchling to refer to Lynette, even though that's completely in character for him, or the typo I made here where I had unsing. I'm now going to introduce witches as a class, though I don't know what "unsinging" will be.

Moving on to the story...

From the spell "Totem Sheath": Lynette the Shadowed fumbled hastily through her belt pouch, searching for the idol she had created weeks before, when she first learned that Zanevan Spellbane was hunting her. Finding it, she grasped the small wooden figurine - a wyvern - tightly in her hand and called the name of the spirit she had bound to it. Just as the assassin's arrow was about to strike, a protective layer of magic flared up around her, almost like a second skin, and it bounced harmlessly off.

Created for this:
Zanevan swore as the witchling used the power of some fell spirit to keep his arrow from harming her. Bad enough when the "normal" mages used shielding spells, but to summon things to protect them... He moved down the rocky hillside, stumbling over the loose pebbles that had collected there, but by the time he reached the road, she was gone.

Lynette looked back quickly. Good. The magehunter was still at the top of a hill, and not one he could get down easily. She turned and ran.

Anyway, submissions are welcome, and I may decide to do one or more of these as a "Multi-blog collaborative writing thing" at some point.

Subteranean Complex (AKA "Dead Elves Mess With The Players")

Okay, basic description of the place, then a bit of commentary on what exactly is going on here. Fairly standard except for some of the mechanics. Warning: I will be doing a playtest of this on here, using a play-by-post format. Those of you who would be interested should keep away from here except for the player view, at most, and shouldn't read the "DM's Grand Tour" part until we move to the next level/have finished up this one,. Also, I will go through the section in here that I say will probably cause the mapper headaches, and actually describe it properly then, but it'll be super boring to the average guy who has no need of it to hear the twists and turns being described for 100+ feet of hallway. Also, it's fairly linear, as I want to try out the mechanics, but if we decide that it was fun enough to continue, we'll move out into the northern forests of Salnar, and thus to the area I've been working on for the West Marches style campaign.



Player View:

The Player View doesn't include what this is stocked with, etc. or anything else that would A. Give the players an advantage that they wouldn't otherwise have (For fairness, as a standard group wouldn't be able to prepare based on special knowledge), and/or B. Be something that the players wouldn't pretty much certainly explore at this point - Locked rooms, anything beyond secret doors (or the doors themselves), and the non standard mechanics

So, let's take a look around... The first room is a 4X3 (for this dungeon vertical dimension is first, unless there's some weirdness going on with the shape) rectangle, probably umpteen-gazillion places have it as an entry way. On the east wall there's a straight staircase, going up 10-12 feet to the surface. In the central square of the top (North) wall there's a door. It leads to the second room in the complex, but it's locked. On the third square of the east wall there's another door. The ceiling is 10 feet high, which I'm using as the standard assumption unless noted otherwise. The corridor beyond this one (Door that is) is actually pretty interesting. It's ten feet of standard hallway, then it has two squares where the south wall has a five foot square taken out of it, and the north one has the same done with a triangle. Moving on we come to a turn, then another door. This opens into a 1X3 room with an extra square in the center of the north wall, making it 2X3 there. This section of the room also has a door in it, leading to another 1X3 room, though the central square is open on the top and extends another 30 feet. Beyond that top square to room opens out into a 3X4 chamber. This area has two doors, in the center of the east and west walls respectively. And here we split off into two sections:

East door: A twisty, turny, hallway with a few more weird spots in it and then we get to a room. It's a 1X3, except for the westmost square, which has a 10 foot triangle cut out of the north and south walls.

West door: Leads to a standard corridor, nothing special. A few squares south it turns east. There's another door on the south side of the next square [This quirk in the corridor was actually put in to cover up a mapping error]. This leads to a straight run down, culminating in a triangle.

DM's Grand Tour:

This bit covers the stuff that the players might not find.

Locked door, room 1: The space beyond has numerous levers, switches, buttons, etc. covering the walls. In the center there is a dead elf. He appears to have locked himself in and starved to death. The stuff on the walls will change the weird bits of wall in various ways.

Secret door, room beyond the twisty [I fixed it before posting, but this was "twitsy". Anyone want to give me a definition for that?], turny, hallway: Contains several dead elves. They seem to have killed themselves when the food ran out. Also has a record book, talking about the fact hat they were sealed off from the stairs by that (insert non-favorable description of choice here) in the gateroom, and that he didn't close up this room, which should prompt some speculation, as the door is in the westmost wall of the chamber - the one with the ten foot triangles carved out of the north and south walls.

Beyond the pointy bit, eastmost corridor: The pointy bit will actually suddenly transform into a five foot triangle on the east and west walls if the correct lever is pulled. More of this kind of thing in the hallway, then the stairs to the next level of the dungeon.

New Spell: Ultimate Witchery of Seduce Angel

There are no known cases where this spell has been used without the recipient dying when the duration ran out. As such there is nothing to put for the usual tale.

Level 5

Ultimate Witchery of Seduce Angel (Mage)

Duration: 1 month per caster level

Area of Effect: 1 other

Range: 1 mile

This spell causes an Angel to come to earth in front of the recipient, and be in love with them for the duration.

New Spell: Silver Negation

Actually two different version of Silver Negation. Also, I find myself in the strange position of writing spells for a game I don't own - Labyrinth Lord.

The werewolf Nicolen of Vorla wailed as an arrow pierced her side. She began to snarl a rasping, growling, chant. Seeing her intent the monster hunters descended up her in a swarm, but they were too late. The arrow shot from her flesh as the wound sealed before their eyes, and the swords bounced harmlessly off.
Level 3

Silver Negation (Type 1) (Mage)

Duration: 1 hour

Area of Effect: 10' from caster, moves with the caster. Weapons entering the area from outside are affected until they leave, those within when it's cast are permanently affected.

Silver Negation causes all silver weapons that enter the area to no longer affect Werewolves, undead, etc.

Full credit for the Wall of Silence goes to Bat of Ancient Vaults and Eldritch Secrets. It was just too good an example to pass up. It can be found here.

Lynette stepped into the center of the web of glowing, silvery, runes. It was a good thing that she'd heard there was a Wall of Silence moving this way a week before it would arrive. She sat down and settled in for a long wait.

Level 3

Silver Negation (Type 2) (Mage)

Duration: Permanent

Area of Effect: 10'-50' area, does not move with the caster.

The caster carves a circular webwork of runes into the floor, using 100 GP worth of silver for every 10' affected. All spells within this area other than the caster's are negated.

New Spell: Armor Cleaning

Damien Halkrone sighed as he contemplated the scene before him. It wasn't that he had a problem with the aftermath of a battle - he had been a mercenary for years - but his plate armor was covered in gore, and he hated the long, dull, task of scrubbing it.

He looked over at his companion, the wizard Golim. "I don't suppose you have something to get rid of all this?" he said, gesturing at his begrimed armor.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Golim replied.

Damien started as the blood, sweat, and dirt fell away from his armor at a whispered word. His underclothes were still filthy, but they could be cleaned far more easily.

Level 1

Armor Cleaning (Mage)

Range: 50' or Self

Duration: Instantaneous

Armor Cleaning is a fairly obvious spell. It will remove blood, dirt, or other non-destructive filth from the surface of armor, and clean half of anything that has soaked into leather, or hide. Cannot be used on clothing.

Gigacrawler Character 3

Still messing about with all the different options...

Native to Quadrant: Tidal 59

Name: Terlan Harkale

Class: Crawler

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Cha:
Agi:
Phy:
Mag:
Tec:
Int:
Will:

Gear
______________

Snow Suit
Asbestos Jacket
Electro-Whip

Skills
_______________
Melee Weapons
.Melee Weapons (Long Range)
..Melee Weapons (Whip)
Survival
.Survival (Arctic)
Armor
.Armor (Light)
Unarmored

Alterations
____________

Martial Arts
______________
Golden Monkey Hook Strike
Thousand Drunken Tongues Technique

Gygaxian Democracy #2: Astral Vine Imp

Well, I have no clue what an Astral Vine Imp does, so I'm turning it over to you guys.

New Spell: Totem Sheath

Testing a new format for these things, as I really like the way there's a familiar cast of characters that introduce each new spell, monster, and item over on Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets. Rest assured that these people will all be mine.

Lynette the Shadowed fumbled hastily through her belt pouch, searching for the idol she had created weeks before, when she first learned that Zanevan Spellbane was hunting her. Finding it, she grasped the small wooden figurine - a wyvern - tightly in her hand and called the name of the spirit she had bound to it. Just as the assassin's arrow was about to strike, a protective layer of magic flared up around her, almost like a second skin, and it bounced harmlessly off.

Level 2

Totem Sheath (Mage) (Witch)

Range: Personal

Duration: As long as the totem is held, or until it is destroyed. Does not count as held if the hand, tentacle, etc. is severed

This spell requires the caster to take one day to carve a small figurine from wood, stone, soap, or some other material. This does not have an effect on the strength of the spell, only on how difficult it is to break. They must then take an additional two hours to bind a spirit to the carving. When this totem is grasped, and the spirit's name called, it will protect the wielder from small weapons, such as arrows, daggers, shortswords, etc. but not longswords or weapons larger than them.

Edit: As Lynette is now a Witch, rather than a Mage, this is getting turned into a Witch spell.

House Rule: Designated Drinker

Well, considering the fact that I've now read several posts where people have gulped down those unidentified potions they were carrying, I'm introducing a (sort of) safe way to test them.

If a character specifically states that they intend to taste a potion rather than drink it, they will only take part of the effect. "Tasting" has several distinct stages:

1. Take a drop of the liquid on you finger and see what it tastes like. No effects, serves only to provide more information. For example, a Potion of Polymorph tastes like "An extraordinary combination of flavors, each lasting for only a moment". Players who choose to skip this step, will receive information about the flavor in the chosen stage.
   
2. Take a few drops of the liquid and hold it in your mouth. Extraordinarily mild effects. Does not work for most potions (10% or less). For example: The players have found a Potion of Growth. However they know it only as "a black potion, with strands of white swirling through it like fog". One of the players chooses to taste with the result that "Kedru appears to have grown infinitesimally larger, but the effects are so faint that it could easily be your imaginations. Do you wish to move on to the next stage?"
   
3. Take a small sip of the potion, but do not swallow it. Effects are still very mild, works for about 25% of potions. Assuming that Kedru's player wishes to continue: "You have most certainly grown larger this time - about an inch"
   

There will be more of these steps, but I wanted to get these written down.

Please Remember...

... That I often save things as drafts, meaning that they may appear before other posts. Please check the archives occasionally.

Gigacrawler Character 2

This one is the third (Chris Lowrance made one) Gigacrawler character created.

Native to Quadrant: Anarchistic 97

Name: Kera Nisius

Class: Crawler

Race: Android

Gender: Female.

Cha: 15 +2
Agi: 12
Phy: 6
Mag: 8
Tec: 8
Int: 16 +1
Will: 12 -1

Gear
______________
Spider Harness
Glamorizer

Skills
_______________
Spider Harness Operation
Unarmed Combat
Energy Weapons
.Energy Weapons (Laser)
Archery
.Archery (Modern)
..Archery (Crossbow)
Explosives
.Explosives (Modern)

Alterations
____________
Uncanny Valley
Pleasure Model
Mentat Modifications

Gigacrawler Character 1

I've created what I believe to be the first Gigacrawler character ever made, with the possible exception of playtesting by Zak S.

Native to Quadrant: Illogical 1....................................................................................Name: Eric Kalver

Class: Hybrid........................................................................................................Race: Human, Standard

Gender: Male

Agi: 10
Int: 18
Will: 7
Phy: 10
Cha: 3

Tech Level: 18
Magic Level: 15 (Max starting level)

Skills:
Medicine
Medicine (Human, Standard)
Energy Weapons
Energy Weapons (Lasers)
Armor
Armor (Powered)

Gear
______________________
Laser Pistol, Markith Type V
Powered Scouting Armor

ARG(Actual Random Gear)
_____________________________________________
Hive Grenade
6 days of food for another species

Blogwalk Fantasy #1: Waiting in Hiding

See this, and the post it links to, for what this is. Also, the backstory.


You hide in the trees on top of the hill,waiting to see what will happen to the circle of children, as the twisted beasts stalk slowly across the field towards them. While they are slinking through the tall grass, you hear a horrible screeching, and look back at the ring, to discover that one of the children has sliced the creature they are tormenting with a sharp rock. Its blood hisses and burn the grass like acid, but the girl is unhurt, although her hands are covered in it. Looking back at the advancing animals you see that they are preparing to attack.

What do you do?

Keep waiting? [Unclaimed link]

Warn the children? [Unclaimed link]

or, Retreat to Vault Hill?

Enemies of The Octagon (The Dungeon That Is)

This is going to be a series of the things in this dungeon. Not all of them will be so strange, but:

Deadsoil The Crazed: I flipped this name (generated by Seventh Sanctum) around to get: The Crazed Deadsoil, which is less entity like. Then I came up with:

The Crazed Deadsoil: Found on the fifth level of the Octagon Dungeon, The Crazed Deadsoil is a patch of animate gravedirt, similar to an earth elemental. It will reach out arms, like a mimic, if anyone steps on it. It will not move otherwise.

Enemies of the Octagon, Part Two: The Ogre is On Second

Stinkrun The Grasping: This ogre is obsessed with being clean. He is also greedy, the sole reason he serves The Decrepid Bishop Who Collects the Archivist. Found in the exit of level 2.

Enemies of The Octagon, Part 1: Enter the Orcs

Rmusab Thiefthroat: The leader. He can pick locks and pockets.

Tudekb Ironarse: Lazy, hence "Ironarse".

Bduz Darkdoom: An Orc afraid of the dark? Well he is....

Kxant Evilshade: A Necromancer. He knows only Call Undead.

Nruts Ironrot: Uses only wooden weapons, as he is cursed so that any metal he touches will rust instantly.

Tnoz Bigkill: He claims he once slew a Troll. No one knows, but they don't want to challenge it either... After all, what if he did?

Xen Dreadchaos: The only lawful Orc in existence? With a name like Dreadchaos...

Dkugt Giantstench: He stinks. He really stinks. Hence Giantstench

Rnexs Giantgibber: The witch-doctor of the group. He is famous for speaking in tongues.

Tnadz Stonebelch: A druid. He can cause super heated stones to erupt from the ground, dealing 1d8 damage per hit.

Okay, That's Just Weird

I was looking at the random name generator Seventh Sanctum. This is what I got for weird names.

Maul of the Tower
Mystic Gauntlet
The Decrepid Bishop That Collects the Archivist
The Caring Duke
The Compassionate Champion

Not all of them are so odd, but The Decrepid Bishop That Collects the Archivist? I have to use that somewhere.... Hmm. Vampire, third level of the octagon dungeon. Problem solved.

How Do I Kill It, And Why Does it Work: Vampires, Part 2

Ashton/Tylhandrias said:

Hm... A lot of these answers are going to be dependent on setting. For example, if it's a fantasy setting, lots can be explained away by magic.

Anyways, I'll take stab (heh) at this...

Basic vampire physiology:
Vampires cannot be killed through normal means because they regenerate rapidly - so rapidly, in fact, that regeneration is visually noticeable. Take a monster of their approximate level, triple the HP, and allow characters to kill it by doing that much damage - effectively bludgeoning the vampire into meat soup and scattering the bits. Throw in hefty in-combat regeneration as well.

Stake to the Heart:
For whatever reason, vampires cannot regenerate their heart (feel free to extend this to their brains too! Potentially include their whole central nervous system?). The heart must be completely obliterated for it to be fatal. However, glancing blows can cause complications; if the heart is gouged, much of their regenerative power will go to keeping blood replenished and the heart at the proper pressure. Any implement whatsoever will work - a sufficiently spiky morningstar, for example, could suffice. Stakes are, however, cheap and easily wielded.

Burning:
Cauterizes as it burns, requiring an egregious amount of effort to regenerate. Burning to death requires lighting a significant amount of the vampire on fire; the regeneration must be cancelled and exceeded in fire damage. After this, they rapidly burn to ash. Vampires are especially flammable, but must be exposed to something hotter than fire-warmed steel. Explosions will catch them alight.

Sunlight:
Acts as burning, but instantaneous and affects all exposed body-parts. Magical side effect of vampirism.

Decapitation:
Works as per stake by separating brain and body. Decapitated head must then have its brain caved in with blunt force to ensure a proper kill; bodies may eventually form off a decapitated head, but never vice versa (headless bodies are always non-threatening).

Wrapping it all up:
Vampirism is a magical disease transmitted by blood/saliva/fluid contact (as saliva->blood in bites). It creates a desire for blood (and associated physiology; hearing+, smell+, fangs+) in the victim, and uses the blood in a magical/alchemical reaction to fuel regenerative powers. Vampires may be killed through traditional means, but requires such excessive force that the shortcuts - heart trauma, skull trauma, burning, and sunlight - are the best known.

In following comments:

What did you have there?

@Ashton:

Cool! This is the kind of thing I'm looking for. Just to clarify though: Does this combat regeneration translate to if you cut off a finger, it grows back, etc.?

Ashton/Tylhandrias

@C'nor:
Tylhandrias/Ashton are both my accounts; having some issues with the blogspot commenting. I accidentally double-posted and removed the first. :)

Anyways, you could spin it both ways, but it makes vampires far more exciting (and threatening) enemies if they regenerate back to their original form over time. This would be dependent on wound type / extent, with burns being the hardest things to heal and lacerations the easiest. For example, a decapitated and cauterized head could regenerate its body in approximately a month (but the body couldn't regenerate a head!). It's important to note, though, that since the vampire would require a steady diet of blood to fuel the regeneration, they must be helped along by someone if they cannot seek blood alone - picture an evil minion in a dungeon, spoon-fooding a vampire head with blood daily, in the promise of power later. I think there's potential there. :)

Me:

Hmm. Sets things up nicely for something I was thinking about. See the next post for more on that. [Gnome NPC Gorbalek Lipadip is a servant of a vampire, which explains why he's in the dungeon.]

Me:

Also: Is it simply the there's no way for the body to get blood? If so I imagine a suitably insane character could work up a way to do and IV, even though we're working at D&D tech levels.

Ashton/Tylhandrias:

Certainly! An IV drip for the technically-minded (or the much lower-tech pool of blood, rinsed and replaced every two or three days) would probably be sufficient to allow the vampire to regenerate. Maybe a little gurgling stream of blood, so it doesn't clot... Whatever seems most appropriate for the setting / characters involved!

Me:

Better cloning through magic! (See the results for more on that)

Anyway, what I meant by that is that is: Since both the body and the head can regenerate, you could make both grow, chop off their heads, etc. until you have a vampire army. But, I''m not seeing this being common, as it means they have to share power.

Gygaxian Democracy #1: Gyraling

Gyraling
FREQUENCY: Common
NO. APPEARING: 3-4
ARMOR CLASS: 4 (Ascending)
MOVE: 6"//12"
HIT DICE: 6+4
% IN LAIR: 50%
TREASURE TYPE: Special
NO.OFATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACKS:
1-8/1-8/2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS:See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES:See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE:Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT Neutral
SIZE: S (4' diameter)
PSlONlC ABILITY: Nil
attack/Defense Modes: Nil/nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/475 + 6/hp

A Gyraling is a tentacled octagon, with the mouth of an owlbear, the wings of a pegasus, and eye (Central) of a beholder. It uses its tentacles for walking. It has often been seen to...

(Go!)

Well, This Is Random

First off, sorry about the short hiatus from posting. I'll be putting up the results of the "How Do I Kill It?" soon.

I was actually thinking about something for another blog (not mine, but the owner is taking reader feed back right now). Anyway the gist of it was that you'd write down some things in a language, the chop them in half. Give the players the sheet where they aren't chopped up. Then have one NPC speak in the bits-and-pieces version of the language. For my version it was "Laconic" as a play on Draconic, but it would work with anything. Anyhow, this inspired me to do a post on languages in my Morilar setting. Sadly, Trollish is not on the menu for this post, as I have to do six different languages first, so that my players will be kept guessing about what kind of thing Trolls originated from. Actually, make that seven. Tla'mxi should play a part in it too.

Tla'mxi:

Tla; Wolf
Mxal: Run
Mxi: Runner
Mxin:Runners
Aervi: Troll
Aervin:Trolls
Naedli: Hunt
Naedlis: Hunter
Naedlisan: Hunters
Tarki: Leader
Tarkin: Leaders
Hastri: Dead
Hastril: Dying
Haslirk: Undead
Kasdarlik: Fear
Nogghala (Nog-Guh-hala): Life
Trukslin: Not
Lorgghana (Lorg-Guh-Hana): You
Gihhik: I
Lahastri: Do

Sample sentence: Gihhik lahastri trukslin kasdarlik lorgghana (I do not fear you).

Elemental Common:

Rhuk: Fire Elemental
Earll: Water Elemental
Ghasstr: Earth Elemental
Jirruln: Air Elemental
Lakktiir: Fight
Lakktiira: Fighting
Lakktiiraani: War
Inaariitkkal: Peace
Holg: Death
Holgesun: Dying
Gloh: Life
Nusegloh: Living
Lkritii (Luh-crit-eee): Undead
Gorlak: Fear
Jaln: I
Hiktar: Not
Astarni: Light (As in "There was a great deal of light")
Astarnien: Light (As in "Should I light the the torch?")
Astarnia: Lighting
Astarnial: Lit, as in "He lit the candles"
Astarnialan: Lit, as in "A well lit room"
Rudkhaal: Candles
Draksheem: Lightning
Roodkleer: You
Loktiir: Do
Kraglorsh: Want (As in "Do you want to me to make something to eat?")
Guhhashkii: Need
Halktiir: Me
Luuktirn: To (As in "Do you want me to...?"
Laaktiirn: To (As in "This is to give to her")
Jaarkti: Make
Ehktu: Food (For an elemental this may be the same as "Fuel" in some cases but it is used as we would define "Food")

Sample sentence: Loktiir roodkleer kraglorsh halktiir luuktirn jaarkti ehktu? (Do you want me to make food?)

Stay tuned for the next few languages, as well as updates to these.

Morilar - Salnar Continent: Tla'mxi Legends: Trolls

Long ago the Tla'mxi lived in the eastern mountains, far from their current home in the northern forests of Salnar. Then came the Trolls. The tales they tell of their origins are varied, but the most common holds that a group on the Wolf-Running found a mage attempting to maintain control over a summoned creature (whether it was an elemental, or some strange denizen of another plane is unclear). Whatever it was, he was proving unable to master it. Rather than make an attempt to dispel the being, the mage drained the intelligence, as well as much of the life from the band and their companions [Note: Companions here means wolves, and is being used in a very Valdemaran sense.] . When he focused this new power upon the creature, it melded with it, creating the first Troll. After killing the wizard, it infused a small amount of itself into the Wolf-Runners, who were, in effect, the perfect templates. Each of these became a weaker, but still dangerous beast, similar in form to the original.

[I'll post a statblock here if/when I get around to it]

West Marches - NPC: Gorbalek Lipadip

I'm holding off on posting the results of the How Do I Kill It And Why Does It Work, until some more people have had a chance to post their theories, but I think Ashton's will probably win.

Anyway, this is about some guy named Gorbalek Lipadip as you know, so I should probably get on with it :).

Well, I wanted to get the players to the Octagon Dungeon early on. Still though, how to do it? Then I started thinking about the fact that there's a gnome I rolled up sitting on his butt on the first level of the place. It seems a bit railroad-y but I think I'm going to have his 'grieving wife' have a "Help Wanted" ad in Accorles (Ack-ore-lays) Landing (the local bar, influenced by Icarus Descending from Shadowrun.)

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!! IF YOU WISH TO GET THE STORY AS THE PLAYERS EXPLORE IT STOP READING NOW!!!!

She provides a way to contact her, as well as a generous reward. I figure that 100 gold is pretty fair, considering that A. They have to fight some pretty rough stuff to get to him, and B. They get no other loot from the first level, other than the few coins and such the toughest encounter has.

If they go meet her, rather than simply saying "Well, then let's go to this old ruin, and see what we find.", which they probably will, as they're highly experienced players, she will be, for all intents and purposes, his grieving wife, who thinks he's probably dead, as she posted this about a week ago, three day after he was supposed to be back. She's not actually his grieving wife, but more on that later.

When they go down into the dungeon to try and find him, they will - he's on the first floor trapped by... Let's see... 9 - 1d6 Orcs. Those Orc aren't actually gone, they're simply wandering about, but close enough. Anyway, as you can probably tell, the Gnomish woman above, isn't actually his wife. She's been charmed by a servant of the vampire residing on level three. The reason Gorbalek was down there in the first place was that he was helping the thing grow a new body after the last group of adventurers cut its head off. (Thanks Ashton!). Of course the party won't find this out until they make it past the ogre on level two, plus whatever foul creatures reside down there with the vampire... Duh. I forgot that one of the main tenets of the West Marches campaign is that they start with a partially filled in map. Just labeling it "Strange ruins" should do.

Vampiric Musings, Or How Do I Kill It, And Why Does it Work?

I've been thinking about the standard ways to kill a vampire. I've got a few questions:

Stake to the heart:
1. How much of the heart has to be pierced? Is it a square hit to the center, or will a slight contact that's completely surrounded by heart tissue do?
2. How much of the stake has to be wood? Is it the entire thing, or will a metal tipped one, such as an arrow do? Does a completely metal-shod wooden stake count?
3.Why does it work at all?

Burning:
1. How do you get them to catch fire? Does it count if they simply grab something hot?
2. How much of a vampire must be burned? For example, if you burn a vampire's hand off will it heal?
3. Does sudden, non-prolonged, contact with flame such as that from an explosion kill a vampire if none of the other conditions are met? If so, why?

Sunlight:
1. Why? Just, why?

Also, this will be part of a series of posts titled "How Do I Kill It And Why Does It Work?". This won't cover everything, only those with some special methods of killing them, instead of, or in addition to, the standard means. Each post will be two parts: In the first I ask questions, about things I don't get about the ways you can kill something, and in the second, I post the best responses to those questions with the author's name/identifier being listed. Suggestions for what I should do next, if they include a list of weaknesses, are welcome.

Urban Development

I've finished off the house I designed. It's pretty interesting, but I'm not sure how to describe it. I'll think about it while the glue sets.

Happy New Year!

As I said happy new year. Good luck, and may you dice roll high (this in response to the interisting tradition one redditor has of rolling a d20 on New Year's to see what the coming year will be like. And of course the fact that this is a gameblog. Anyway, I rolled a 19. Anyone else?)

House Planning

Well, today I took my first step into actually planning a house. More details when it's done.

Building A House

This post, on Geektactica inspired me to build a house of the same dimensions. I don't wargame or do anything else that needs it, but why not. I had some cardboard, a pair of kitchen shears, and a tape measure handy, plus it's fun. Sorry to those that would like to see my efforts, but I don't have a camera. Plus, it's not done yet, and I don't know exactly what all the measurements are for some of the pieces.

Edit: Actually it's the lean-to. No door yet, it's not glued together, and I haven't even decided what color to paint it, but it's still a pretty cool accomplishment to have completed my first building.

Edit 2: I've finished off the house, and attached the lean-to. It's currently in use as an attached outhouse. Everything is still unpainted, and it's held together using packing tape, but it works.