Next week: we resume Divinity Updates with Priestesses of Potnia, Minoan Snake goddess: Part I!
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Wyrd Ways Promo #2
And, as promised, here are some excerpts from my upcoming Wyrd Ways of Walstock module...
The full module (PDF) will be available for sale sometime within the next week. I'll post when it's ready!
Next week: we resume Divinity Updates with Priestesses of Potnia, Minoan Snake goddess: Part I!
Next week: we resume Divinity Updates with Priestesses of Potnia, Minoan Snake goddess: Part I!
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Wyrd Ways Promo #1
I wanted to take a two-week break from Divinity updates
to pitch my upcoming (and very first) module to my many readers. As you can see
from the wonderful cover picture by Luigi Castellani, it is a tribute to
classic adventure with a twist of political satire thrown in.
From the cover:
“‘Wyrd’ things are afoot in Walstock. This town might seem
like your ordinary, post-apocalyptic-now-turned-fantasy locale, but it is not!
Fell Cults have begun to take over and it is up to the brave adventurers to
stop one in particular: the Cult of the Shield Ghul.
But the ‘Wyrdness’ doesn’t end there. Though this adventure
can be used to facilitate your typical
wander-around-and-kill-everyone-to-take-their-stuff-type scenario, it also
includes a sinister (and frankly genius) plot, feuding factions, plenty of
hyphens, not to mention bizarre NPC’s and situations to either interact with or
stab to death.
Prepare yourself for an unusual and memorable gaming
experience. It could be just what the Barber-Dentist ordered!”
The party will essentially be tasked with apprehending a
certain eccentric individual, causing a cascade of events to unfold of both an
intriguing and bizarre nature. And as my playtesters found out, this isn’t your
normal dungeon delve-type adventure: one even suggested putting a warning on
the label.
Credits:
Writing and design: Dan Osarchuk
Cover Illustration: Luigi Castellani
Interior Illustrations: Jim Yoder, Jeff Call, Andrew Walter,
John Blaszczyk, and Stock Art
Walstock Town Maps: John R.L. McNabb
Stats:
Labyrinth Lord & other Classic Game System Compatible
Character Levels: 1-3
Pages: 30
Words: ~25K
Rating: A+, Freaking awesome!
Coming soon to PDF on Drivethru RPG, unless the Hospitaliers
exsanguinate me first!
Next week: Wyrd Ways
Promo #2!
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Clerics of Fenrir, Part IV
Cleric Spells (Fenrir)
The
Great Wolf would rather his clerics bite and rip apart their prey, instilling
fear and destroying all they encounter. But if they must cast a spell, then
here they are- especially if such magic assists in biting off gods’ hands!
1st Level: Command, Cure Light Wounds (reversible), Detect Evil
(reverse), Light (reverse), Protection from evil (reverse), Remove Fear
(reverse), Pass without TraceD, Speak with AnimalsD
(wolves only)
2nd Level: Bless (reverse), Hold Person (requires growling at them
deeply), StumbleD, Detect Invisible* (via scent), Scare* (requires
howling)
3rd Level: Animal Growth (wolves and other predators only), Cure
Blindness (reversible), Cure Disease, Remove Curse (reversible), Striking (on bite
attacks only, +9 vs. hands!), Gust of Wind* (usable against pigs and those in
dwellings), Infravision* (also makes eyes look scary), Protection from Normal
Missiles*
4th Level: Cure Serious Wounds (reversible), Detect Lie, Summon Animal
ID (wolves only), Fear*, Polymorph Self* (only into grandmother
forms that still have big eyes and teeth)
5th Level: Commune (requires making a gruesome kill first), Cure
Critical Wounds (reversible), Dispel Evil (reverse), Summon Animal IID
(wolves only), Fearsome Wolf (as Faithful Hound*, but far more upsetting and vicious)
6th Level: Find Path (involves much sniffing), Summon Animal IIID
(wolves only), Dweomer of Rage* (no potion required), Globe of Invulnerability*
7th Level: Regenerate, Restoration, ConfusionD
Fenris
Cleric Foes
Though particularly vicious players might
certainly enjoy portraying clerics of Fenrir, they are far more likely to be
encountered as adversaries (that is Fenris clerics, not vicious players in this
case).
The following table provides stats
for such foes at various levels. With some minor modification, it could also be
used for other types of clerics too.
Fenris Clerics:
No. Enc.: 1; Align: C...
1st level: Mve:
40’*; AC 7*; HD 1*; Attk: 2*; Dmg*: 1d3 (bite attack) and/or 1d4 (dagger); SP: Cleric
spells, Turn, Fenris Curse (Save to not devour victims they have slain; gain a
Strength bonus and hit points after doing so), Wolf-Hunger* (10% chance); Sve: C1;
Mor: 6
3rd level (Shaman): Mve: 40’*; AC 6*; HD 3+2*;
Attk: 2*; Dmg*: 1d4 (bite attack) and/or 1d4+1 (dagger); SP: Shaman spells,
Become Ethereal 3 rounds/day, Fenris Curse, Wolf-Hunger* (30% chance); Sve: C3;
Mor: 8
Note: Shaman spells and abilities are
described in the Thrym entry in Volume II.
5th level: Mve:
40’*; AC 6*; HD 5+4*; Attk*: 2; Dmg*: 1d6 (bite attack) and/or 1d4+2 (dagger);
SP: Cleric spells, Turn, Fenris Curse, Wolf-Hunger* (50% chance); Sve: C5; Mor:
10
* The effects of certain
Divine Tests of Fenrir (Wolf-Hunger) can change his clerics permanently,
granting them various boons and penalties that would affect the stats so marked.
The cleric has a 10% chance per level of having experienced each of the
following and would then be subject to the specific boons and restrictions
thereof when encountered. See that section for specifics.
Roll for each:
1. An increased chance of hitting with their bite attack...
2. An improved AC & speed...
3. Larger size for greater Strength and Constitution...
4. Lycanthrope form...
In addition, beating
the percentage by 20% or more means that the cleric has experienced that Test
twice, thereby giving him double the bonus and penalty. For example, a 4th
level cleric of Fenrir has a 40% chance of experiencing each of the above. On a
d100 roll of 21-40, it’s shown that he’s experienced that Wolf-Hunger once. On
a roll of 01-20, it turns out that he’s actually experienced that Wolf-Hunger
twice!
Fenris clerics of
higher levels can even have a chance of having experienced various Wolf-Hungers
thrice or more (by beating the percentage by 40%, etc.), all depending on howl
far the Referee is willing to go.
Next week: Preview of my upcoming
module: Wyrd Ways of Walstock!
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Clerics of Fenrir, Part III
Wolf-Hunger
Fenrir compels his cleric to hunt,
consume, and destroy- and he should relish the task! Such results can also be
used to randomly determine what a Fenris cleric’s motivations are when
encountered as an NPC: how quickly he
will try to eat the party... and whether he will use relish or not!
Divine
Tests
1. Hunters need rest to grow larger
and more vicious. The cleric must do so for the next 2d6 turns unless any prey
comes within 10’ of him first.
2-3. Fenrir’s hunger must be
sated now! The cleric need bite the first being he sees but can save to resist
the urge. If he saves, then he must bite the second being he sees, and so on.
Once he bites a being, then this particular instance of Wolf-Hunger is
complete, though the being will likely attack the cleric then (a base 75%
chance)!
4-9. The Great
Wolf consumes some of the cleric’s spells (50% chance for each one), making
them unavailable until the next stroke of midnight. Roll 1d6 for each one lost to determine
what the cleric need do to use it before then:
[1]
Empower or assist a monster or other vicious beast with its hunting.
[2]
Hunt, slay, and consume 3d6 HD worth of being(s).
[3]
Terrify an innocent by stalking them- dressing up as their grandmother would certainly
help add to the terror.
[4]
Attack those who are in their homes, especially by using threats of blowing
their house down.
[5]
Slay a jailor or other one who chains, or even free one who is chained (who can
then be eaten afterwards- with or without relish).
[6]
Eat a god, or at least part of one (e.g. an arm)... or eat a follower of one of
the gods if nothing else!
10-11. As offspring of Loki, Fenrir has
been known to associate with gods and other demon lords. Use a Test from one of
the following in this case rather than Wolf-Hunger, but make sure the results
are wolfish nevertheless! Roll 1d3:
[1]
Hel (see Volume I)
[2]
Loki (see Volume I)
[3]
Thrym (see Volume II)
12-17.
Fenrir howls and his cleric changes, becoming forevermore like the Great
Wolf himself. Roll 1d4 to determine his new trait. Subsequent instances of the
same result will only compound the effects and the penalty that goes along with
them:
[1] Gain a wolf head that improves the cleric’s chance
to hit with his bite attack by +1 and any smell and hearing-based rolls by +3,
but also gives him a -4 reaction penalty when dealing with any non-wolves, non-followers
of Fenrir, or others who don’t particularly care for those with wolf heads.
[2] Gain a furry hide that improves his AC by 1 and
speed by 10’ but also reduces his chances of successfully using his Turn
ability by 3.
[3] Grow larger, gaining 1 foot in height and a proportional
increase in weight along with a +1 Strength and Constitution bonus.
Unfortunately, the cleric also loses the ability to cast one of his spells
forevermore as a result, as well as not being able to fit into his favorite
pair of pants ever again.
[4] Like a lycanthrope, the cleric changes into a
wolf-man every night of the full moon. When this occurs, he experiences the changes
for #1, #2, and #3 above. In addition, the cleric must kill anyone he
encounters while in this state, unless they too are devotees of Fenrir. If the cleric
already has experienced 1 or more of the changes above or experiences this
result twice, then the effects and penalties double in magnitude. For example, if
a cleric already has a wolf head, then his wolf head becomes more potent in
lycanthropic form, granting a +2 to hit with his bite attack, improving smell
and hearing by 6, as well as causing a -8 reaction penalty instead. He would
also gain the furry hide and larger size of results #2 and #3 above.
18+ Ragnarok (or something close to
it) occurs! A Fenris Wolf arrives within 1d6 rounds and then attacks everyone
in sight until slain. See the Tyr entry in Volume I for details on these
monsters (AC is 1 [18]). For every Wolf-Hunger result over 18, another one
accompanies it. Though he might enjoy the carnage, the Wolves are just as
likely to attack the cleric too!
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