jacinto Uncategorized

Eschatological Conspiracy for a New Age

I just heard about a game called Nephilim. I only know its most basic premise, but this is what I am filling in the gaps with.

  1. All text in a small Kansan town is replaced with the Tetragrammaton, written in tiny letters over and over again.
  2. A small meteorite crashes into the center of Time Square. It is a figurine of Baphomet.
  3. Graffiti versions of the Eye of Providence start popping up all over Miami, just as a large number of people start to disappear
  4. Everyone in Seattle dreams the same dream every night. They can’t remember the details, but it involves a great deal of fire.
  5. All of the goats in the tri-state area have vanished.
  6. A genetics researcher is in a bit of trouble. They thought they were developing extra-wooly sheep, but now the lambs speak, and do so with the voice of mulitudes
  7. A meteorologically improbable hurricane hits Florida, and there are reports that it is raining snakes in the worst of it.
  8. Milk and honey are oozing out of the ground in northern California.
  9. All the children in a small North Dakotan town are speaking a strange language no one understands. A school teacher thinks it might be Greek.
  10. A band called the Whores of Babylon just reached the Top 40 list. No one knows who they are or where they came from, but everyone sure likes their music.
  11. An oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico detonates. Rescue teams find an unidentifiable piece of red metal with the word Malebolge engraved into it.
  12. There’s a fire-and-brimstone cultist gaining a following in Ohio. His message is the same old story, but his son’s name is Adrammelech.
jacinto classes, is this gonna work, LotFP

but i repeat myself

Yet another draft of the Summoner class. Not sure why it has been so hard to nail down something that I like longer than a few days. I ran a game with someone playing the previous version, and one spirit felt almost too useful, while another seemed to be mostly a liability. Also, breaking creatures down by spell level is fussy and inconsistent and makes it hard to drop into any DnDish game. I also wanted to focus more on Things Going Wrong, as well as having more guidance on how the critters actually act. Also tries to scratch an itch I had with the 4e Warlock. The patrons felt more like an excuse for shooting laser beams than big nasties with motivations of their own.

Summoner 
A class for LotFP
HP and Saves as Cleric, Experience as Elf


Summoners call forth spirits. They can only summon spirits with whom they have made a pact. Forming a pact simply requires the spirit’s acquiescence, which can be acquired through violence, deception, persuasion, or bribery. Spirits follow commands delivered verbally and in person by their Summoner to the letter, and often try to twist the words of an imprecisely delivered order, though they will do their best to conceal their ability to do so.

The sum of the HD of all Spirits a Summoner has pacts with cannot exceed the Summoner’s level. When a Summoner gains a level, they can either raise the HD of a Spirit they already have a pact with, or leave the level open to make another pact later. Summoners start with a single 1 HD spirit.

Summoning or dismissing a spirit takes one full round. If a spirit is reduced to 0 HP or fewer, the Summoner takes d6 damage per spirit HD, and the spirit cannot be summoned until it has positive HP. Spirits recover a number of HP equal to their level per day. They cannot regain HP any other way.

Spirits can only cast certain spells, but gain spells per day as a Magic-User. They do not need to prepare spells to cast them; instead, they can expend a spell slot to cast any spell with a level equal to or less than the slot’s level. Any negative effects from casting a spell are visited upon the Summoner.
All spirits have the following attributes, unless otherwise noted:

Max HP: +d6 per level
Attack Bonus: equal to half level
AC: 12+half level
Saves: 12-half level
Damage: d12 (melee)
Movement Speed: As running unencumbered human

Right now I only have 2 spirits because Lamentation of the Flame Princess has a relatively small spell list (especially at higher levels), and I want to keep the spirits’ spells distinct and thematically coherent.

RED MADAMA
Spirit of Insanity, Compulsion, and Change

Red Madama is a wicked butterfly demon, a spirit of air and madness. When she is called forth, the Summoner can transform into her at will, leaving behind a single set of instructions that she will follow to the letter. In order to change back or give new orders, the Summoner must succeed a Wisdom check. In combat, Red Madama and the Summoner take separate turns, and track their HP, attributes, and status effects independently, transforming back and forth without a Wisdom check as their turns arise.

When she is acting under her own power, Red Madama is grandiloquent, arrogant, and generally insane. She is willing to place herself in terrible danger in pursuit of impractical and elaborate schemes, which may or may not align with the Summoner’s interests. Red Madama often pursues extraordinarily violent revenge against those she believes have slighted her, but will also act with destructive generosity towards those she thinks have helped her.


Spells Known
Generally pertain to illusion, delusion, and transformation

I: Cause Fear, Charm Person, Command
II: Change Self, Forget, Phantasmal Force
III: Howl of the Moon, Phantasmal Psychedelia, Suggestion, Fly (uses butterfly wings)
IV: Confusion, Hallucinatory Terrain, Polymorph Self
V: Chaos, False Seeing (Reversed True Seeing),  Insect Plague (red butterflies, not locusts)
VI: Babble (Reversed Tongues), Geas, Phantasmal Supergoria
VII: Unholy Word, Power Word Stun, Prismatic Spray
VIII: Antipathy/Sympathy, Demand, Mass Charm Person
IX: Shapechange, Polymorph Any Object, Symbol, Weird Vortex


MOTHER OF THE DEPTHS
Spirit of Secrets, Dark Knowledge, and Deep Seas

clothing by Iris van Herpen


The Mother of the Depths is a hadopelagic sea-demon from beneath the bottom of the world. She manifests as a tall woman wreathed with nautiloid limbs. She can only be summoned from bodies of water with a depth greater than an inch and a diameter greater than a foot, and she cannot set foot on dry land. However, she can move instantly between any two bodies of water in line of sight of each other. She can attack any target in melee range of any body of water in line of sight.

When she find a way around her Summoner’s orders, The Mother acquires as many specimens, artifacts, and pieces of knowledge as possible. She holds power over secrets, and so she will also try to erase little-known pieces of information to which she already has access; this includes destroying books and killing people. The Mother is patient, and will sometimes forgo taking advantage of loopholes in her Summoner’s orders in hopes that they will make the same error at a more expedient time.

Spells Known
Generally pertain to necromancy, darkness, and the discernment
I: Comprehend Languages, Darkness (Reversed Light), Turn Undead
II: Forget, Locate/Hide Object, Ray of Enfeeblement
III: Bestow Curse, Speak With Dead, Strange Waters
IV: Polymorph Others, Wall of Ice, Wizard Eye
V: Airy Water, Animate Dead, True Seeing
VI: Shades, Tongues, Legend Lore
VII: Part Water, Control Weather, Unholy Word
VIII: Demand, Trap the Soul, Vision
IX: Imprisonment, Time Stop, Power Word Kill
jacinto Uncategorized

So It Shall Be

Spirits for a Summoner to make pacts with. All spirit abilities are in addition to casting spells.
FIRST ORDER SPIRITS
First Order spirits can neither cast spells while in contact with salt nor cross a line of salt.
  • Ignis Fatuus: can ignite flammable objects with a touch
  • Familiar: can turn into any mundane creature cat-sized or smaller
  • Goblin: can eat anything horse-sized or smaller
  • Great Stag: Carries 1 passenger. Moves three times as fast as an unencumbered human
  • Nosferatu: -1 to enemy morale rolls

SECOND ORDER SPIRITS
Second Order spirits cannot cast spells while in contact with rowan wood.
  • Carmilla: recovers half damage dealt as HP
  • Cynocephalus: can assume the likeness of any human it or the Summoner has seen
  • Homunculus: can use equipment like a PC
  • Juggernaut: Carries 2 passengers. +2 AC to everyone on its back
  • Troll: 20 AC when guarding something

THIRD ORDER SPIRITS
Third Order spirits cannot casts spells while in contact with cold iron, and take double damage from cold iron weapons.
  • Bahamut: Carries 3 passengers. Great serpentine fish, mobile in land and sea
  • Husk: Summoner can possess it, controlling it directly as their own body lies helpless.
  • Lamia: can command snakes
  • Roc: +3 to grapple checks; can fly
  • Undine: nearby allies can breathe underwater

FOURTH ORDER SPIRITS
Fourth Order spirits cannot cast spells while in contact with silver and take double damage from silver weapons.
  • Behemoth: can trample enemies for d10 damage
  • Ifrit: attack with flame, dealing d10 damage to all enemies in a 100 foot line
  • Dryad: allies that spend all their time in its presence heal d4 HP per day
  • Marid: any ship it is on will not sink due to natural storms
  • Wicker Man: carries 4 passengers, who are immune to all damage except fire

FIFTH ORDER SPIRITS

Fifth Order spirits do not have a particular weakness.

  • Colossus: +d12 damage
  • Dragon: Carries 5 passengers. Also flies
  • Dracula: can turn into a great swarm of bats (attack all enemies in cloud)
  • Revenant: Can possess the remains of creatures of up to 10 HD, gaining their abilities 
  • Seraph: can learn 5th level Cleric spells
jacinto classes, is this gonna work, spell

As You Wish It…

I lurve monster-conjuring, but Sword and Wizardry’s Conjure Monster spells just don’t do it for me, and LotFP’s Summon has too many Radiant Frond Phallus Crabs. I wanted a class that was thematically similar to Final Fantasy style summoning, but also something that matched the King Solomon style bossing-genies-around. Rotten Pulp has an excellent take on this, but I was looking for something a little different. Here it is.


SUMMONER, a class for LotFP and retroclones

HP as Cleric, Saves and Equipment restrictions as Magic-User, XP as Elf

from final fantasy XIV

Summoners call forth spirits. When they do so, the spirit appears before them and obeys all of their spoken commands to the letter. In order to call forth a spirit, a Summoner must make a pact with it. 

There are 5 Order of spirits. A spirit’s Order determines how powerful it is and what kinds of spells it can cast. A Summoner can only make a pact with one spirit from each Order. This requires no more than the Summoner requesting a pact and the spirit accepting, though spirits are rarely accomodating. A Summoner can induce a spirit to accept a pact through bargaining, trickery, or violence.

Summoning or dismissing a spirit takes a number of rounds equal to half the spirit’s HD. If a spirit is reduced to 0 HP, its Summoner takes d6 damage for every HD the spirit had and cannot summon that spirit again for a full day. Spirits recover 1 HP a day no matter what, and cannot be magically healed. 

SPIRIT ORDERS

Note: All spirits can cast at least 1 spell per day, and no spirit can cast more than 5 spells per day. Spirits learn spells by eating them, and can cast any spell they know; they do not need to memorize them beforehand like a traditional Magic-User
1st Order Spirit: can cast a number of first level spells per day equal to the Summoner’s level. Has 2 HD, 10 AC, and deals d4 damage on a hit.

2nd Order Spirit: can cast a number of second level spells per day equal to half the Summoner’s level. Has 4 HD, 12 AC, and deals d6 damage on a hit.

3rd Order Spirit: can cast a number of third level spells per day equal to one third the Summoner’s level. Has 6 HD, 14 AC, and deals d8 damage on a hit.

4th Order Spirit: can cast a number of fourth level spells per day equal to one fourth the Summoner’s level. Has 8 HD, 16 AC, and deals d10 damage on a hit.

5th Order Spirit: can cast a number of fifth level spells per day equal to one fifth the Summoner’s level. Has 10 HD, 18 AC, and deals d12 damage on a hit.

So ideally this class will be as much about phrasing commands intelligently and managing Spirits in multiple location as it is about having the right spell. I think I might set up a random tables for for when players send spirits out on a mission unsupervised. 


OLD BAD WORSE VERSION FOLLOWS:

Summoners call up Spirits. In order to do so, they must first enter a pact with it. Spirits in a pact will fight and cast spells at their Summoner’s command.


Each Spirit is associated with a Spell Level; they can only cast spells of that level–no higher and no lower. Spirits can cast any spell of the appropriate level known to them. They learn spells by eating them (in written form).


Spirits must agree to enter a pact. Summoners may induce a spirit to do so, through bargaining, trickery, or force. A Summoner cannot have a pact with two or more spirits with the same Spell Level. However, they can enter a pact with a Spirit more powerful than them. If a Summoner can track down and bind a Spirit, it is theirs to command.


When a Summoner calls up a Spirit, it appears before them and asks for orders. It will follow orders to the letter, and continue to follow a command until its conditions are met or told to do something else. Spirits only follow orders directly vocalized by their Summoner. It takes a number rounds equal to a Spirit’s Spell Level to summon or dismiss it, and giving a Spirit a new command takes up a Summoner’s entire turn. If a Spirit dies, the Summoner takes d6 damage for every HD the Spirit had, and the Spirit cannot be summoned again until the following day. Otherwise, spirits can be called forth as often as the Summoner wishes. Spirits regain 1 HP per day, and cannot be magically healed.


Spell Level
HD
AC
Damage
Spell Slot Progression
I
2
10
d4
1/Summoner level
II
4
12
d6
1/even  level
III
6
14
d8
1/level divisible by 3
IV
8
16
d10
1/level divisible by 4
V
10
18
d12
1/level divisible by 5


*Spirits start with 1 random spell of their Spell Level, regardless of Summoner level. The maximum number of spell slots a Spirit can have is 5.


A Summoner begins play with a pact with a Level I Spirit who knows 1 random 1st level spell.


EXAMPLE SPIRITS


LEVEL I
Homunculus: Child-sized figure made of darkness; possesses a toothy grin. Summoner can see through its eyes and speak through its mouth.
LEVEL II
Phantom: Can possess the remains of the fallen to gain +1 HP per HD the creature had in life.
LEVEL III
Lamia: Upper body of a human, lower body of a great serpent. Mundane snakes follow her commands.
LEVEL IV
Ifrit: Can throw balls of fire that deal d10 damage on a hit.
LEVEL V
Seraph: Can learn Level V Cleric spells, as well.


jacinto Uncategorized

More treasure

Got my copy of Dyson’s Delves, and it seems really handy. Don’t think I like the proliferation of plate +1‘s, though. I am not having consistently scaryweird magic items, but I still like special equipment to feel qualitatively/mechanically different than whatever they can buy in town. Also tried to include interesting mundane stuff, like a bow that shoots grappling hooks or a spear that is also a gun.

Still don’t like too much magic stuff, though, so I think if a character has more than one magic item on their person, they’ll have to roll on the Maleficar‘s Cast the Bones table to activate or benefit from them. Magic items as neat niche tricks.

IN PLACE OF WEAPONS
  1. Abyssal Imprecation: Curse in an alien tongue. 0-handed weapon. Range: Targets everyone in earshot. Roll d20+Attack Bonus+Charisma modifier. Deals d8 damage to everyone it hits.
  2. Dreadful Doll: 0-handed weapon. Range: 100 feet. Roll d20+Attack Bonus+Charisma modifier to command this cloth-and-wire doll to attack or grapple.
  3. Gillespie-Thurber’s Dark Speech Dictionary Volume 6, W-Z: 2-handed weapon. Range: Earshot. Roll d20+Attack Bonus+Wisdom modifier against targets AC. On a hit, you can give the target a Command as the Cleric spell, but only with words that begin with W, X, Y, or Z.
  4. Dagger of Consumption: on a successful hit, recover HP equal to half of damage dealt
  5. Bow that can also launch a reusable grappling hook arrow
  6. Sword with a shield welded to the hilt (longsword damage and +1 AC, one handed weapon)
  7. Rapier with a lantern set into the hilt. Uses oil as fuel. Pressing a button in the handle releases all the remaining oil into special channels in the blade, causing it to deal +d6 damage for 3 rounds.
  8. A spear that is also a rifle. 2-handed weapon with reach. Acts as a ranged weapon 1/encounter. Can stab and shoot same target in one round.
  9. Dark sword: deals damage as longsword. On a sucessful hit, for every d4 damage the wielder chooses to take, the target takes d6 additional damage
  10. Storm Staff: One handed weapon. Range: Line of Sight. Roll d20+attack bonus+Intelligence modifier against target’s AC. On a hit, target takes d8 damage as they are struck by lightning. Only works outside. Critical fumbles disastrous.
  11. Slow Knife: dagger. On a hit, roll d20. Target takes 1 damage a round for that many rounds. Does not stack.
  12. Morphic Armament: Made of a weird rubbery substance. Can turn into any mundane weapon.
  13. Spiral Staff: 1 handed staff. When they use it, the wielder must make an Intelligence check. If they succeed, they cast a random spell on the target. If they fail, they cast a random spell on themselves.
  14. Giant War-fan. 2-handed. d8 damage, can clear mist, gas, and odors.
  15. Harpoon gun. 2-handed, ranged. d8 damage, target now connected to gun with a rope.
  16. Blunderbuss: 2 handed. Ranged. d10 damage, uses anything that fits inside as ammunition
  17. Blast Hammer: 2 handed weapon. Warhammer with an explosive cap on the business end. Deals d12+d8 damage on a hit, but only d12 damage if the explosive cap has been used and not replaced.
  18. Gemini Bow. Shortbow that can be split into 2 shortswords.
  19. Shotgun. d12+attack bonus+Dexterity mod damage. Attack roll is always an unmodified d20.
  20. Giant scissors. 2 handed, d12 damage.


IN PLACE OF ARMOR
  1. Colossus Armor. 20 AC, doesn’t stack with any other bonus to AC, wearer’s movement speed is reduced to ponderous graceless stomping
  2. Asbestos Armor: AC as chain, encumbrance as plate. Reduce damage from fire and heat by 10.
  3. Sealed Armor: AC as chain, encumbrance as plate. Reduce all damage from acid by 10.
  4. Hermetic Armor: AC as chain, encumbrance as plate. Reduce all damage from magic by 5.
  5. Furnace Armor: AC as chain, encumbrance as plate. Reduce all damage from cold and ice by 10.
  6. Chitin Armor: as chain. The armor has 2 extra arms you can manipulate as if they were your own.
  7. Revenant Plate: as plate. When killed, you can continue to act for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom score before perishing.
  8. Revenge Cuirass: as leather. When killed, you explode, dealing 3d6 damage to everything in a 20 foot radius.
  9. Cat Hood: AC as plate, encumbers as cloth. Cloak with cloth cat ears stitched on hood. Makes you good at dodging.
  10. Viking Helm: ahistorical helmet with horns. Wearer deals +d4 damage for melee attacks, but takes +d4 damage from melee attacks, too
  11. Red Ribbon: +1 to all attribute checks to avoid harm
  12. Skull Helm: +1 to Dangerous Magic rolls
  13. Knight Helm: You can take damage for anyone adjacent to you
  14. Bat Wing Cape: you can glide 10 feet for every foot that you fall and do not take falling damage as long as you have room to glide.
  15. Security Mittens: +1 AC, don’t require a free hand. Can’t do anything that requires 5 fingers.
  16. Ghost Garb: AC as leather, encumbrance as cloth. You don’t leave footsteps or scent, and you count as half your size and weight for squeezing through spaces and figuring out what can support your weight.
  17. Morphic Armor: can turn into any type of mundane armor
  18. Jade Armor: as plate. wearer will not age.
  19. Coat of Teeth. As chain. Enemies have a -1 to morale
  20. Robe of Rags: as unarmored. Wearer is immune to disease and poison
TRINKETS
1-4. Random book
5-7. Random spell formula
9. Gurning Poppet (see Wrathful Countenance link)
10. Flower Servant (see Wrathful Countenance link)
11. Somnolent Bell (see Wrathful Countenance link)
12. Random spell formula
13. Vial of Werewolf Serum: Drinker becomes a werewolf. See below.
14. A deed to a fallow and monster-infested estate.
15. Map to a long-lost, extremely dangerous, and thoroughly lucrative ruin.
16. A leaky pen. If someone writes a name other than their own with this pen, that name is now theirs. Everyone but their closest companions will act as if the writer is a completely different person that they do not know, and the world will act as if their old identity has gone missing. Works once before the ink runs out.
17. Moon earrings. Wearer receives +1 bonus to reaction rolls at night.
18. An extremely nice hat. Nothing magic about it, but everyone who sees it will agree it is the best hat they have ever seen.
19. A musical score that kills anyone who listens to it to completion.
20. A wooden mask that lets the wearer assume the perfect likeness of whoever’s name  is carved into its forehead; only works on the first name carved



PC WEREWOLVES

Lycanthropes are hunted and reviled by all who know their nature (except their closest companions). Those afflicted with lycanthropy can turn into a werewolf at will. They must make a Wisdom check to turn back. When they have less than half of their maximum HP and take damage, they must make a Wisdom check if they do not want to transform. When they transform, all equipment changes with them. In werewolf form, they
  • Gain HP equal to twice their level as the moment of their transformation, even if this would raise their HP above their normal maximum
  • Have Armor as chain no encumbrance
  • Have 18 Strength
  • Deal d12 damage with their melee attacks
  • Cannot use magic, weapons, complex devices, or anything that requires patience, manual dexterity, or concentration
  • Must make an attack round, even if it is an ally
When a werewolf turns back into human form, they lose HP equal to twice their level, but this cannot bring them below 1 HP. Those afflicted with lycanthropy take double damage from silver weapons, regardless of what form they take, and switch to the elf’s experience chart, regardless of class.


jacinto Uncategorized

So What’s the Deal About the Isle of Saturday?

My autumn game is coming up, and I really want to do a sandbox hex-crawl. It feels a little overwhelming, though, so I have decided to start the players out on an island with no easy way to leave, then making sure several of the adventure hooks lead to a way off. All in all, the set-up is a little contrived, but I think my players want more structure than I have been giving them, anyways. It also gives them things to want; I always wished my players would give their characters more motivations and ambitions, but having just rolled a character for a clearly defined setting, it dawned on me I never told them anything about the world other than what they needed to now at that exact moment.

So, here are the things that everyone on the island, including Level 1 PCs, knows. It also fits onto one page, so I have done my due diligence in not giving players homework. 

The Isle of Saturday  is currently under the effects of a dragon’s curse; no wind blows and no current flows for hundreds of miles around, making travel to mainland impossible. It has been this way for hundreds of years.

Well known (but still difficult) ways to get off the island:

  • Help the engineers at the decrepit and widely scorned University construct a self-powered ship (a project they have been working on with no success for some centuries)
  • Destroy the source of the curse, an ancient and powerful dragon sealed away beneath the Isle by the long dead and still revered Hero Saturday.

Famous things:

  • The Vaults: numerous dungeons scattered across the Isle. Each contains the tomb of a companion of the Hero Saturday, as well as the now legendary weapons they used to fight the dragon
  • The Merchant Guild: organizes the trade caravans that link the Isle’s ailing bastions of civilization. Always looking for guards, and those with enough money might even be able to set up a business and join as a member
  • The University: Though crumbling and thought to be an endless source of white elephant projects, its members will pay handsomely for creature specimens, archeological finds, and pieces of ancient technology
  • Castle Drear, the abandoned castle of Hero Saturday, now being excavated by the current Lord of Saturday for reasons unknown.

The Isle’s Factions

  • Havenhoist, The Duke of Saturday: Hereditary ruler of the Isle. All towns, villages, and settlements belong to him. He commands the only army on the Isle, and Wonceworm, his loyal Court Wizard, is the famous for his magical ability (in addition to being the one who enforces the Duke’s ban on uncertified magic). The Lord of Saturday’s capital is Brass Town, built directly above the dragon’s prison. 
  • Lady Orchid: Exiled sorceress and Pretender to the Throne. She plots coups and invasions from her lair in the Dark Grotto, and leads a coven of warlocks, werewolves, and undead. The most distant, wild places of the Isle are her domain.  
  • Irk, The Bandit Chief: colossal leader of a loose network of brigands, burglars, and grifters that spans the Isle. He is based in an ancient heathen temple.
  • The Dragon Bishop: leader of a cult that worships the dragon responsible for the Isle’s curse. He leads his followers from the Temple of the Dragon, carved from the petrified remains of what is rumored to be the cursed dragon’s sibling.
map for players, location names subject to change

Court Wizard Wonceworm. from suikoden.

Bandit Chief Irk. from suikoden.
jacinto Uncategorized

A PC

For the Akenia game. To make up for trying to drop a perfectly good character (so I can playtest this Witch), I have put some extra effort into this one. This probably means I’ll die first session, but as a DM, I find setting buy-in from the players makes things easier and better anyways.
The Magus Mao
Class: Witch
Alignment: Dark
HP: 1
AC: 12
Damage roll: d6
Attack roll: d20
XP: 1,208 
Sessions played: 1

from final fantasy tactics a2

                              

Attribute
Score
Modifier
Strength
10
+0
Constitution
12
+0
Dexterity
9
+0
Intelligence
13
+1
Wisdom
8
-1
Charisma
18
+2



Save
Score
Breath
16
Poison
13
Petrify
13
Wands
13
Spells
14




Spells
Attraction (grappling hook): 3 in 6
Destruction (bow): 3 in 6


Possessions:
Cardinal Mangle, loyal cat-steed (or very feline horse, if giant cats aren’t a thing)
Set of Skirmisher Armor (Cat Hood+Padded Pants+Security Mittens)
Crosier (Standard weapon used as Witch wand)

The story so far:
Mao is a magician from the Mana Wastes, nearly graduated from the Witch Academy and trying to collect the research necessary to complete a thesis on Dark magic.

Currently in the Spire of Asmodal, having just helped acquire the Bow of Wilda and liberating a bunch of extra-dimensional interlopers. 

Short term goal: Eat cooked food and sleep inside
Medium term goal: Examine the Chaos Crystal, finish thesis, and get a degree in Witchery
Long term goal: Benevolent world domination

I’m looking forward to finally playtesting this class.

jacinto Uncategorized

Psychological Warfare

While I love this post, I can’t get behind Patrick’s distaste using Charisma and Wisdom for attack rolls. That was one of the bits I liked about 4e. Plus, I just love wacky weapons: books, dolls, jars, brooms, souls, cards. I’d like to defend Constitution, but I just don’t know how that’d work.
  
You can possess a number of mental weapons equal to your Intelligence modifier. Always roll against target’s AC, even when you think it doesn’t make sense.

Dreadful Doll: nightmare of cloth and steel. Plant a shred of your psyche in its head and it is yours to command; you can tell it attack (d20+attack bonus+Charisma modifier, d6 damage on hit) or grapple at a range of 100 feet. Goes inert beyond that.

from Tales of the Abyss

Abyssal Imprecation: profane even for the denizens of the Void. d20+attack bonus+Charisma modifier, d8 damage on hit, roll to attack everything in earshot, including yourself.

Vatic Pronouncement: the future is yours. d20+attack bonus+Wisdom modifier, on a hit you can choose which ally the target will attack on its next turn

Sylvan Drone: droning trance that lets you command animals. d20+attack bonus+Wis modifier, most dangerous member wildlife in earshot deals damage based on size to target

And just because, here’s a monster
Pallid Walker
A small, cloaked creature with a ghastly pale face. It strides about on stilts, stooped under the weight of the jar on its back
HD: 1
Move speed: 60′
Saves: 11 for all
Damage: d6 (dagger) 
Special: Receive +5 to grapple checks, can cast 1 1st level spell
Pallid Walkers always attack the nearest creature. They usually try to grapple unless the fight isn’t going their way. Once a target is successfully subdued, they can place it in the jar in their back. For every creature in the Gentle Stalker’s jar, it gains 1 HD and the ability to cast a single spell with the same level as its HD. Creatures in its jar must make a Strength check (Save vs Paralysis) to get out.

Saving throws drive me nuts. They have a certain arbitrary charm, but there are a lot of them and the categories don’t make much sense and the rolling mechanic is dissimilar to most others in LotFP. So I have replaced them with roll-under stat checks and given each class a bonus against certain kinds of attacks. 20s always fail. It isn’t mathematically identical, and doesn’t tie into character progression, but in most cases making saves will still be pretty scary.

  • Fighters get a +3 bonus to rolls against crushing, constricting, poisoning, and other forms of direct bodily harm 
  • Magic-Users get a +3 bonus against magic that comes from gods or the natural world
  • Clerics get a +3 bonus against magic that comes from humans, demons, or the unnatural
  • Specialists get a +3 bonus to all checks to dodge, avoid, or escape
  • Beast Children get a +3 bonus against bodily transformation of any sort
  • Witches get a +3 bonus against charm, sleep, illusions, anything that affects the mind
jacinto Uncategorized

Black Magic Remix

I like magic to be either excessive anime electrofluorescent hyperkinesis or horrid baroque darkness. Mr. Logan Knight has the latter just about covered, but I think my players would be a little traumatized by the sort of body horror he does so well, so I have written up a couple of substitute charts, with a minor aim of making a more folklore-y Magic-User. 

Psychic TV album art
 Chaos Reigns
  1. Thousands and thousands of bats
  2. Gravity is reoriented for d6 rounds; whichever way the 6 is pointing is the new down.
  3. The Sun fades away, becoming an immense red rimmed eye for the rest of the day. You can see it staring at you no matter what, even if you are inside or underground or are otherwise blinded. The Eye’s cyclopean regard fills you with guilt; once an hour every hour until sunset, you must Save vs Paralysis or spend a turn describing 10 terrible thing you have done that you have not yet described.
  4. The full Moon rises and begins to sing. Animals begin to act aggressively and with vicious cunning, madmen become violent and adept at escape, monarchs begin to plot invasion, and the general populace is driven to fear, paranoia, and despair. The tides are erratic and extreme. Lasts 2d4 weeks.
  5. The Stars flare to life in the sky, then vanish. Navigation by night becomes impossible, roads lead astray, and currents lead .to strange seas. Lasts 2d4 weeks.
  6. The caster begins aging 5 years an hour. When they reach 100 years, they die, and an infant crawls from their body’s clothing. It continues to age at the same rate until it reaches 20. Same character, same memories.
  7. A random spell you know scuttles out of your mouth, transforming into a monster with twice as many HD as the spell has spell levels. Determine its abilities and appearance using the LotFP Summon spell. You cannot cast the spell until you defeat it.
  8. Your hands detach from your wrists and scuttle away, and new hands grow in their place. For the rest of the day, every time you cast a spell, the same thing happens. The hands remain animate until destroyed, and will do their best to make terrible mischief.
  9. You spend d6 rounds coughing up a glistening black fruit. If you eat it, you spend 2d6 rounds coughing up two more fruit. If anyone else eats it, their eyes will roll into the back of their head and they will make a prophecy promising disaster.
  10. A thunderous voice narrates everything you do, say, or think for the next d4 hours.
  11. Everything with a mouth present must Save vs Magic or vomit slick red fish for d4 rounds.
  12. A black tree erupts from the ground in front of you. If anything dies in the presence of the tree, the tree sprouts a hard, spiny fruit with the creature’s soul inside.
  13. You into a small stone idol. You can still see, hear, and cast spells, as well as speak with anyone who holds the idol. Once a day, you must attempt a Save vs Magic to turn back.
  14. Dozens and dozens of classical statues erupt from the ground up to their shoulders, making it difficult to walk, and begin to scream, making it difficult to hear.
  15. For the next d4 days, every time you attempt to speak, including to cast a spell, you must Save vs Paralysis or instead deliver a lengthy and discursive monologue on (1: bean cultivation 2: the daily schedule of an emperor who died thousands of years ago 3: the spiritual beliefs of spiders 4: the life cycle of the cherub 5: the various manias, phobias, a perversions of the nearest, most powerful monarch 6: the correct method of preparing, storing, and administering a heretofore unknown and spectacularly deadly poison 8: famous fish poets 9: the dangers of breathing 10: the magical properties of cheese)
  16. You are now wanted for (1: theft 2: murder 3: witchcraft 4: embezzlement 5: arson 6: public nudity 7: antisocial behavior 8: assault 9: sedition 10: trespassing) in the nearest town, city, or settlement, even if such a crime was impossible.
  17. It starts raining sticky black tar.
  18. A spring opens up beneath your feet. Its water is sweet and clear, and every time someone drinks from it, they age one year.
  19. Terrible Gift
  20. Terrible Gift


Utter Disaster
  1. You turn white hot, then detonate, dealing d6 damage per character level to everything within 50 feet
  2. You have been spurned by the Earth itself. All animals within 100 miles of casting will do their best to kill you.
  3. You will cast d10 random spells in sequence, one right after the other, from lowest spell level to highest spell level, with random targets. These still use Cataclysm points, and you must Cast the Bones as normal.
  4. You melt into a puddle of clear water. It is impossibly deep, and dark shapes can be seen stirring in its depths. They don’t seem very friendly.
  5. Everything goes dark. If you or your allies manage to produce a light, it is flickery and tenuous. The darkness is filled with singing things with soft hands and pale faces.
  6. The immediate area pinches off from greater reality like a piece of dough. You have an hour to find a way back or this demiplane will join up with a reality Somewhere Else.
  7. Some major deity or spirit has noticed your magic use and declared you anathema. All promises, obligations, and contracts with you are now void, and anyone who aids you is considered an enemy of the Church. An angel/archon/spirit of said deity appears and tries to destroy you and your allies.
  8. You know that a malign spirit has bribed one of your party members; if they kill you, they will gain an experience level immediately.
  9. A shadow version of you is born. Its attributes are the opposite of your’s. If you have a 3 in an attribute, the shadow version’s is 18; if you have a 13 in an attribute, the shadow version’s is 7. It wants to kill you, and it is willing to play the long game to do so.
  10. You are perfectly, perfectly still. When your allies examine you, they see that you are actually hollow, and that your skin and hair are part of a paper thin shell. If it is broken, incredibly powerful acid jets out.
  11. There is a piece of chalk in your hand. You sketch a door on the nearest flat surface. It is real, and leads into some sort of cave. You walk in and do not come out. Your allies can hear slithering noises from beyond the threshold.
  12. You slump to the ground, dead, and all of your known spells go off at once.
  13. You have awakened the dead. All graveyards, necropoles, crypts let loose the interred.
  14. You lose all Cataclysm points. A golem, animated from the available materials and with a number of HD equal to Cataclysm points lost, comes to life and tries to kill everything.
  15. The sun does not shine on anything in a 5 mile radius of the caster. The exist in a great circle of darkness.
  16. A small cracked opens up beneath your feet. You can feel heat rising up from it. It is the beginnings of a volcano, and will rise height by 50 feet a minute and erupt when it is mountain sized. Run.
  17. You are now a cat. Roll a new character.
  18. Your mind is consumed by a malign spirit, which then inhabits your body. It is a level 20 Magic-User and has Big Plans for this new body.
  19. Lose a character level and gain a Terrible Gift. If this drops you below level 1, you perish and will return as wrathful, ghostly version of yourself.
  20. The next creature or person you kill with magic rises again with an extra HD and full HP, but still bearing the wounds that killed them. Killing them again will give them another HD and so on and so on.


Terrible Gift
  1. Your head turns into that of a (1: tiger 2: jackal 3: crow 4: cobra 5: crocodile 6: baboon). If you have a tiger head, you can speak Feline. If you have a crow head, you can speak Bird. If you have a cobra or crocodile head, you can speak Reptile. If you have a baboon head, you can speak Primate.
  2. Your lower body turns into that of a (1: tiger 2: jackal 3: fish 4: serpent 5: spider 6: crocodile)
  3. You are subject to a vision of the Land of the Dead. Your skin becomes ashen. You take d6 damage/minute in direct sunlight, but you can bring false life to the fallen. By spending a number of Cataclysm points equal to a creature’s HD, you can reanimate it to do your bidding. This only lasts until the next sunrise, at which points the creature crumbles to dust.
  4. You can create a concoction from your blood that gives the drinker all of your Terrible Gifts but this one for d6 hours. This requires dealing d12 damage to yourself.
  5. When your GM is rolling your Cataclysm points, for every d6 of HP you sacrifice, you gain d6 additional Cataclysm points.
  6. Your form is fluid. Every time you wake up, your physical appearance and voice change. You re-roll Charisma every day, and there is a 50% chance that you changed sex.
  7. Everyone within shouting distance hears your voice as a rasping whisper, no matter how loud everything else is. There is no way to stop this.
  8. If someone says your name, you know where they are. If you say someone’s name, they become aware of your attention.
  9. Your heart stops. You are treated as Chaotic/undead for purposes of Clerics, Turning, and holy water, but you do not need to eat, sleep, or breathe.
  10. For every secret you know about a person or creature, they take a -1 penalty to saving throws against your spells. For every secret a person or creature knows about you, they receive a +1 bonus to saving throws against your spells.
  11. For every gift or favor a person or creature accepts from you, they take a -1 penalty to saving throws against your spells. For every gift or favor you accept from a person or creature, they receive a +1 bonus to saving throws against your spells.
  12. When you are struck by a silver weapon, it reduces both your HP and Cataclysm pool.
  13. When someone swears an oath in your presence, you can expend a number of Cataclysm points. If they break that oath, they take damage equal to the number of Cataclysm points used. You cannot break any promise or oath you make.
  14. You can gift others with a number of Cataclysm dice, allowing them to cast spells. In return, they can give you a number of HP, points of any Attribute, or improve any of your saving throws by worsening theirs by the same amount. This must be voluntary. You can set conditions or time limits to this transaction. Once the time limit is up or a condition is met, the transaction immediately ends.
  15. You can buy and sell things like memories, senses, souls, and dreams.
  16. You cannot cross the threshold of a home without being invited or cross running water without being carried.
  17. You can counter magic. When a Magic-User of any sort casts a spell in your presence, you can negate it by expending a number of Cataclysm points equal to the spell’s cost. Roll once on Chaos Reigns and once on Utter Disaster when you do so.
  18. If you invest a Cataclysm die in a common animal, you can see through its eyes. If you invest two dice, you can influence its behavior, as well. You can withdraw the dice when your GM rolls your Cataclysm pool.
  19. You don’t have a reflection or a shadow.
  20. Your teeth are sharp and venomous; if you bite something, it must Save vs Poison or take 2d6 damage.


jacinto Uncategorized

Reverse Retro Revival

Patrick Stuart’s post about mining newer editions for ideas has been rattling around my head for a while.

Magic Item Creation

Pathfinder magic item are intimidating, and LotFP’s research rules are that combination of risky and complicated that my players would probably never try.

Magic-users can make magic items. They do so by sacrificing spell slots. They can only sacrifice one spell slot per item. The numerical stuff is easy; a magic sword has a bonus to attack rolls equal to 1+half the level of the spell slot. A magic suit of armor has a bonus to AC equal to 1+half the level of the spell slot. For fussy effects like water walking or flaming weapons, I’d say if the effect can be roughly duplicated by a spell, then it requires the sacrifice of a spell slot 1-2 levels higher. A perpetually glowing lantern requires a 2nd level spell slot because Light is a 1st level spell, whereas a burning sword might require a 4th level slot, since Fireball is generally 3rd level.

It takes a number of weeks equal to the spell slot’s level to make an item. It does not require continuous labor, and can be halted and resumed later. Magic-Users can reclaim sacrificed spell slots by disenchanting the item, which takes the same amount of time it took to create the item. However, spell slots in destroyed or stolen items are just lost (barring a lengthy adventure, I’d imagine)

I like the idea of summon spells working the same way, rather than summoning a bunch of random monsters for a few rounds or punching holes through reality in an apocalyptic display of incompetence. Magic-Users, once they learn the name of a spirit, can summon it when they a preparing their spell for the day. They sacrifice a spell slot, and the spirit has an experience level equal to the slot level. The ally lasts until it is reduced to 0 HP or is banished. Magic-Users can banish summoned allies and regain their spell slot whenever they prepare spells. Banished or spirits previously reduced to 0 HP can be summoned again, though they may resent summoners that bring them to harm.

These rules give item creation a Sauron feel, especially when it comes to make things like Rings of Spell Storing. Magic-Users can become a lot more powerful, but they are betting that they will not lose access to their equipment. I also might include a Horrible Side-effect table if this makes magic items to gadget-like.

And here is the not-Runepriest. I briefly thought about doing an Ars Magica style magic-user transplanted into a DnD style game, but wanted something weirder.

Occultist, a class for LotFP

HP, Saves, and XP as Cleric

Occultists learn Words of Enochian, the heavenly tongue spoken by angels and used to build the world. Anything said aloud in Enochian comes true. Thankfully, Occultists are imperfect practitioners of the art of Creation. As such, they face the following limitations:

  • They can only learn Enochian nouns. Knowing the word for a thing in Enochian means you can create it from nothing.
  • They can know a number of Words equal to their level.
  • They can manifest a number of Words equal to 1+half level. They can unravel anything they have created at any time.
  • While Occultists can create living things, such creatures are nearly mindless, acting only to obey the commands of its creator.

Objects created by a speaker of Enochian are always perfect exemplars of their kind. Just because something takes multiple words in English to describe doesn’t mean it does in Enochian. Things created by the same word always appear and operate exactly the same. Occultists can manifest Words as often as they like. They must hear or read a Word in Enochian to learn it.

Occultists roll on the following table to find out what Word they start out with. The DM figures out how they learn more.

1. Sword
2. Peal of Thunder
3. Flash of light
4. Stag
5. Magnetic field
6. Rope
7. Ember
8. Cloud of moths
9. Plate mail
10. Brace of six knives

I suspect half the fun of Occultists is how they get along with Clerics. Are they like children left alone in a cosmic garage, drilling holes in the walls with heavenly power tools? Or just a different flavor of priest?