tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47327129591141817052024-03-15T13:39:23.792-04:00Numbers Aren't RealG. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-66852332622101699712024-01-16T01:45:00.002-05:002024-01-19T11:18:32.654-05:00Random Encounters by Stephen Crane<style>
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Stephen Crane was an odd duck. A well-beloved writer, poet and Darwinist, you can read about him on Wikipedia as easily as I did; and his poems are all in the public domain. It tickles me pink to read about how he wrote poems along the lines of "If G_d is real, He will have to answer to me!" and the reviewers of the nineties (the <i>eighteen</i> nineties) all said "this would have been pretty edgy 20 years ago, but now it's a little trite." Time is a flat circle.<br /> Among the things Crane wrote are a few poems that are personally dear to me. These poems are short, very short, often only eight or ten lines. A great work of art is probably going to have several "themes" and "motifs" and what-have-you. Novels have complex characters, plays have meaningful scenes, poems have multiple interpretations of their verses. Crane's short lines contain no such fripperies, no unneeded details or names or characters or scene-setting or timelines, nothing <i>but</i> the dramatic significance. They're a flash of insight, just a taste of a <b><span style="font-family: times;">Theme</span></b> that could itself take a thousand forms in a thousand other works. Because of this, they're also easily-metabolized seeds of pure inspiration. Each one could be a random encounter on the road, a faction in your setting, the conflict of a character, or a hex (if you're doing Hex24 as I and <b><a href="https://velvetinks.blogspot.com/">Velvet Ink</a></b> are).<br /><br /> <b>N.B.</b> like most were historically, these poems were written to be read aloud. Do so. Roll the words around in your mouth; why did the author choose these and not some other?<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n8uZDJtUkWkLJGq5dBbpZUNi2zAwHSVh6l-KJdkMaX16ouwWFWIXrZE16NTiMWVNAo3OQT80Qc5dbf132lDWI5MQmrXoAzEH9VqH6yX0aj5mxV6I1HVp5lU-HHtL7JOMjI9Z6SN297YQhhl6Kzr9Do3tu1S2UR6KrbcLHRkXLVEnFIq_Id2qhTJzyhY/s4608/Grey_crowned_crane_at_Martin_Mere.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n8uZDJtUkWkLJGq5dBbpZUNi2zAwHSVh6l-KJdkMaX16ouwWFWIXrZE16NTiMWVNAo3OQT80Qc5dbf132lDWI5MQmrXoAzEH9VqH6yX0aj5mxV6I1HVp5lU-HHtL7JOMjI9Z6SN297YQhhl6Kzr9Do3tu1S2UR6KrbcLHRkXLVEnFIq_Id2qhTJzyhY/w480-h640/Grey_crowned_crane_at_Martin_Mere.png" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <b><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Grey_crowned_crane_at_Martin_Mere.JPG">Francis C. Franklin</a></b>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <b>P.S.</b> I started out by writing down almost every one of Crane's short poems, but I had to cut for time. For each poem that made it, there are two more you can read online right now. These that I kept are the poems I think any DM ought to make something out of immediately, <b><a href="http://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2016/10/dungeon-description-1843-style.html">practically read-aloud text with no further alterations</a></b> already. Imagine an old coot at a tavern speaking these words to the party, as he nurses his mug of cheap beer.
<br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Black Riders came from the sea.<br />There was clang and clang of spear and shield,<br />And clash and clash of hoof and heel,<br />Wild shouts and the wave of hair<br />In the rush upon the wind:<br />Thus the ride of Sin. <br /></li>
<li>I saw a man pursuing the horizon;<br />Round and round they sped.<br />I was disturbed at this;<br />I accosted the man. <br />"It is futile," I said, <br />"You can never —"<br /><br />"You lie," he cried,<br />And ran on.</li>
<li>There was a great cathedral.<br />To solemn songs,<br />A white procession<br />Moved toward the altar.<br />The chief man there<br />Was erect, and bore himself proudly.<br />Yet some could see him cringe,<br />As in a place of danger,<br />Throwing frightened glances into the air,<br />A-start at threatening faces of the past. <br /></li>
<li>In the desert<br />I saw a creature, naked, bestial,<br />Who, squatting upon the ground,<br />Held his heart in his hands,<br />And ate of it.<br />I said, "Is it good, friend?"<br />"It is bitter — bitter," he answered;<br /><br />"But I like it<br />"Because it is bitter,<br />"And because it is my heart."</li>
<li>Behold, the grave of a wicked man, <br />And near it, a stern spirit.<br />There came a drooping maid with violets,<br />But the spirit grasped her arm.<br />"No flowers for him," he said.<br />The maid wept:<br />"Ah, I loved him."<br />But the spirit, grim and frowning:<br />"No flowers for him."<br /><br />Now, this is it —<br />If the spirit was just,<br />Why did the maid weep?</li>
<li>"Think as I think," said a man,<br />"Or you are abominably wicked;<br />"You are a toad."<br /><br />And after I had thought of it,<br />I said, "I will, then, be a toad."<br /></li>
<li>I met a seer. <br />He held in his hands<br />The book of wisdom. <br />"Sir," I addressed him,<br />"Let me read."<br />"Child—" he began.<br />"Sir," I said,<br />"Think not that I am a child,"<br />"For already I know much<br />"Of that which you hold,<br />"Aye, much."<br /><br />He smiled.<br />Then he opened the book,<br />And held it before me.<br />Strange that I should have grown so suddenly blind.</li>
<li>I stood upon a high place,<br />And saw, below, many devils<br />Running, leaping,<br />And carousing in sin.<br />One looked up, grinning,<br />And said, "Comrade! Brother!"</li>
<li>Many workmen<br />Built a huge ball of masonry<br />Upon a mountain-top.<br />Then they went to the valley below, <br />And turned to behold their work.<br />"It is grand," they said; <br />They loved the thing.<br /><br />Of a sudden, it moved:<br />It came upon them swiftly;<br />It crushed them all to blood;<br />But some of them had the opportunity to squeal.</li>
<li>On the horizon the peaks assembled;<br />And as I looked,<br />The march of the mountains began.<br />As they marched, they sang,<br />"Aye! We come! We come!"<br /></li>
<li>Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground,<br />Why do you stand, expectant?<br />Do you hope to see it<br />In one of your withered days?<br />With your old eyes<br />Do you hope to see<br />The triumphal march of Justice?<br />Do not wait, friend<br />Take your white beard<br />And your old eyes<br />To more tender lands.</li>
<li>He was a brave heart.<br />Would you speak with him, friend?<br />Well, he is dead,<br />And there went your opportunity.<br />Let it be your grief<br />That he is dead<br />And your opportunity gone;<br />For, in that, you were a coward.</li>
<li>The ocean said to me once,<br />"Look!<br />"Yonder on the shore<br />"Is a woman, weeping.<br />"I have watched her.<br />"Go you and tell her this —<br />"Her lover I have laid<br />"In cool green hall.<br />"There is wealth of golden sand<br />"And pillars, coral-red;<br />"Two white fish stand guard at his bier."<br /><br />"Tell her this<br />"And more —<br />"That the king of the seas<br />"Weeps too, old, helpless man.<br />"The bustling fates<br />"Heap his hands with corpses<br />"Until he stands like a child,<br />"With surplus of toys."</li>
<li>Three little birds in a row<br />Sat musing.<br />A man passed near that place.<br />Then did the little birds nudge each other.<br />They said, "He thinks he can sing."<br />They threw back their heads to laugh,<br />With quaint countenances<br />They regarded him.<br />They were very curious,<br />Those three little birds in a row.</li>
<li>Bands of moving bronze, emerald, yellow,<br />Circle the throat and arms of her,<br />And over the sands serpents move warily<br />Slow, menacing and submissive,<br />Swinging to the whistles and drums,<br />The whispering, whispering snakes,<br />Dreaming and swaying and staring,<br />But always whispering, softly whispering.<br />The dignity of the accursed;<br />The glory of slavery, despair, death,<br />Is in the dance of the whispering snakes.</li>
<li>There was one I met upon the road<br />Who looked at me with kind eyes.<br />He said: "Show me of your wares."<br />And I did,<br />Holding forth one,<br />He said: "It is a sin."<br />Then I held forth another.<br />He said: "It is a sin."<br />Then I held forth another.<br />He said: "It is a sin."<br />And so to the end.<br />Always he said: "It is a sin."<br />At last, I cried out:<br />"But I have none other."<br />He looked at me<br />With kinder eyes.<br />"Poor soul," he said.<br /></li>
</ol>
<br /> Bonus G. K. Chesterton prophecies and doom-saying:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Deep grows the hate of kindred,<br /> Its roots take hold on Hell;<br />No peace or praise can heal it,<br /> But a stranger heals it well.<br />Seas shall be red as sunsets,<br /> And kings' bones float as foam,<br />And heaven be dark with vultures,<br /> The night our son comes home.</li>
<li>He reared his head, shaggy and grim,<br />Staring among the cherubim;<br />The seven celestial floors he rent,<br />One crystal dome still o'er him bent:<br />Above his head, more clear than hope,<br />All heaven was a <b><a href="https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2015/10/azathoth-microbiologist.html">microscope</a></b>. <br /></li>
<li>We came behind him by the wall,<br /> My brethren drew their brands,<br />And they had strength to strike him down —<br /> And I to bind his hands.<br /><br />Only once, to a lantern gleam,<br /> He turned his face from the wall,<br />And it was as the accusing angel's face<br /> On the day when the stars shall fall.<br /><br />I grasped the axe with shaking hands,<br /> I stared at the grass I trod;<br />For I feared to see the whole bare heavens<br /> Filled with the face of G_d.<br /><br />Therefore I toil in forests here<br /> And pile the wood in stacks,<br />And take no fee from the shivering folk<br /> Till I have cleansed the axe.<br /><br />But, for a curse, G_d cleared my sight,<br /> And where each tree doth grow<br />I see a life with awful eyes,<br /> And I must lay it low.</li>
</ol>
<br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-6083232480143526812024-01-11T00:36:00.007-05:002024-02-22T13:18:01.070-05:00Everybody Brings His Own Fire (GLOG Class: Mesmerist Pathfinder Conversion)<style>
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<blockquote> <b>"All schizophrenics are mad, and none are sane. Their behavior is incomprehensible. It tells us nothing about life and gives no insight into the human condition. There's nothing profound about it. Schizophrenics aren't clever or wise or witty — they make novel remarks, but that's because they are mad. When they laugh at things the rest of us don't, like the death of a parent, they're not being penetrating. They're not wryly amused at the simplicity and stupidity of the psychiatrist, however well justified that might be in many cases. They're laughing because they're too mad to tell what's funny any more. The rewards for being sane may not be very many — but knowing what's funny is one of them."</b><br /> <b>- unknown source</b></blockquote>
<br /> This is the second of my <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Pathfinder">Pathfinder</a></b> conversions, which I suppose I've been doing in addition to the <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/5e%20Conversion">D&D 5e</a></b> posts. The <b>Mesmerist </b>is a strange fellow, somewhere between a Gygaxian illusionist and a <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/04/there-are-four-dice-glog-class-wizard.html">creature</a></b> from a <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2023/03/its-never-just-mannequin-metatron-spell.html">nightmare</a></b>. I like the idea of someone who... well, there's this common delusion, that the eyes of others aren't simple <i>receivers </i>but are somehow <i>transmitting</i>, that it's not enough to close your eyes, to not see its face, but that you must somehow <i>close the eyes</i> of the Basilisk. There's a man out there on the internet who doesn't believe that eyes "see light". He thinks light is <i>projected out of the eyes</i>. He's already answered your common objections, I'm afraid. There's nothing left to do but believe him.<br /> The idea that it's the being perceived, not the perception, that harms you, it's a bit alarming to me. "Not what goes into the mouth of a man, but what comes out of the mouth", and so forth. Goodnight, goodnight. Full credit to Eos at <b><a href="https://noblesse-goblige.blogspot.com/">Nobless Goblige</a></b>, who invented not only this class but also the <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D20_System">d20 system</a></b> and by extension all of Pathfinder. <br /><br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgjOgo26bvMRr03lgrJ-iOzxpkqdMmEhmWx5F87Nx8ylUERn9IdwFwuN4Z-43zqRuG7t4jnhmFu-8m2NyZ1nIE71dAYjzhLxKE35-XSeATf4xP9d_mKOOF7GNHZK7xLHNmkQaRo4oWwSbLV3xa6MyOHtaAFfw2D6RvrLfRb_PNWdGPQ7JO6CRZ4sFyGc/s1920/absolute%20reality.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgjOgo26bvMRr03lgrJ-iOzxpkqdMmEhmWx5F87Nx8ylUERn9IdwFwuN4Z-43zqRuG7t4jnhmFu-8m2NyZ1nIE71dAYjzhLxKE35-XSeATf4xP9d_mKOOF7GNHZK7xLHNmkQaRo4oWwSbLV3xa6MyOHtaAFfw2D6RvrLfRb_PNWdGPQ7JO6CRZ4sFyGc/w640-h360/absolute%20reality.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <i>Absolute Reality</i>, Joan Miro<br /></td>
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<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Class: Mesmerist</h4>
<br /> You are a huckster, a charlatan, a lunatic. You're a cold-reading liar, a soul-killed "psychic" who combines childish trickery with overconfidence with emotional abuse to achieve your wildest dreams. Those white-irised eyes have seen things that should have destroyed you, and have certainly damned you. Now that haunted gaze sees the sorts of things that make people think you're clever. Haven't you read <i>The Snow Queen</i>? You fools think cruelty is a gas, and that hardheadedness is the surest sign of wisdom. I tell you, I don't care how many screams you hear, I don't care how many anguished cries: death is a million times preferable to ten more days of this life. If you knew what was ahead of you — if you knew <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/09/o-friendless-one-glog-class-summoner.html">what was ahead of you</a></b>, you'd be glad to be stepping over tonight.<br /><br /> If you have at least one template of <b>Mesmerist</b>, you may wear <b>light armor</b>, and never fumble while using knives, clubs or staves. You gain <b>+1</b> to <b>reactions</b> on odd-numbered levels, and inflict a <b>+1</b> penalty to enemy <b>morale</b> rolls for every even-numbered level. The spells of the <b>Orthodox Wizard</b> count as being from your school. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Bullying</b> 2.<b> Mechanical convection incubators</b> 3. <b>Addiction</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: <b>Cheap suit</b> (as <b>unarmored</b>), flask of <b>holy water</b> (3 doses), flask of <b>fire water</b> (3 doses), <b><a href="https://www.myss.com/entering-the-castle/overview/">spellbook</a></b>. <br />
<blockquote><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>A</b> Stare, +1 <b>MD</b>, roll for a <b>spell</b></li><li><b>B</b> Suggestion, Mind Palace</li><li><b>C</b> Eyelights, +1 <b>MD</b></li><li><b>D</b> Domination, </li></ul></blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Stare</b><br /> At will, you may <b>stare </b>at any intelligent creature you can see. The target is befuddled, and you may force them to suffer a penalty to any <b>save</b> you see them make equal to your <b>[level]</b>. This penalty is doubled for <b>saves v. mind-altering effects</b>. Once per round you may befuddle them such that they take an additional <b>[level]</b> points of damage from a melee attack. Finally, choose one <b>stare improvement</b> from the list below the class features.<br /> Targets <u>never</u> realize that you are <b>staring </b>at them, and do not remember afterwards. While <b>staring </b>you are not required to maintain unbroken eye contact — you may blink, or briefly glance away to find your footing or pick up an object — but you cannot read a text, scrutinize the workings of a trap, or do anything else that would require significant visual attention. The <b>stare </b>ends when you choose to look away or the target moves out of view for more than a moment. You can only <b>stare </b>at one target at a time, though any number of <b>Mesmerists</b> may <b>stare </b>at the same target.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote><b>Implant Suggestion</b><br /> You may implant powerful hypnotic <b>suggestions </b>in the minds of friends and allies, and enemies as well if preparation is taken. To do this, you need to first develop the <b>suggestion</b> inside your <b>Mind Palace</b>, and keep it prepared there. You may keep as many <b>suggestions</b> prepared as you have <b>[levels]</b>. <br /> To implant a <b>suggestion </b>you must make direct skin-to-skin contact with the target — a handshake is plenty, though a fatherly pat on the head, or a steady hand on the shoulder that ju-uu-ust brushes the neck with a pinkie or the collarbone with a thumb, will do just as well in different circumstances.<br /> When you implant a <b>suggestion</b>, it's gone and cannot be reused unless prepared again. You may only have one of your <b>suggestions </b>implanted in a creature at one time, but you may have any number of them extant.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Mind Palace</b><br /> When dreaming, drunk, high or otherwise in an altered state, you may project your mind into a construction contained within itself. This construction bears a stark resemblance to an old and comfortable country house, with creaky floorboards, narrow and crooked stairs, ugly paintings on the walls depicting yourself in various costumes, a quiet and somewhat dusty library containing every book you've ever read, a kennel containing your prepared spells, a study where you may prepare <b>suggestions</b>, a hall of statues and mirrors, a dining room set for a feast, and a grand atrium in the center which looks up at a black and starless sky. This is your <b>Mind Palace</b>, made just for you. It's quite empty — not the emptiness of abandonment, or of the open grave, but of anticipation, as if the whole place is holding its breath waiting for the honored guests. <br /> In the <b>Palace</b>, you may consider your schemes and plans, develop <b>suggestions</b>, prepare spells, read your books, or walk among your collections. The mind may move as the body rests. You can bring willing people to the <b>Palace </b>as guests by sleeping next to them, getting drunk from the same wine, high from the same chemic, etc.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote><b>Eyelights</b><br /> Study, training and introspection has made your gaze more palpable. Choose three <b>stare improvements</b> now.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote><b>Domination</b><br /> Your mind is as pure and clean as formaldehyde. Even the fools who once doubted you can't deny that for much longer. Gain the <b>CR3 </b>trigger <span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">When I next hear you speak</span> and the <b>CR5 </b>effect <span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">, I will unflinchingly obey the next simple command I am given.</span> immediately. <br /> When you and an NPC are off-screen together for more than an hour, you can declare that they have become your <b>thrall</b>. Your <b>thralls </b>behave normally, except they treat your opinion as their opinion, act on your suggestions as they would on their own ideas, and become very offended if someone suggests something negative about your character.<br /> Maintaining this level of constant control over someone is exhausting. You suffer a <b>-1</b> penalty to all checks per <b>thrall </b>you control, and you lose at least as many <b>inventory slots</b> as they have <b>HD </b>(plus however many more if their nature is draconic or divine or so forth. DM's call). You may wish to invest in a nice walking stick. <br /> You may release a <b>thrall </b>at-will, and they will not recall the experience as being out of the ordinary, though it will take you at least a month to recover your vitality. Your <b>thralls </b>are not released upon your death.</blockquote>
<br /><br /><u>Stare Improvements</u><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Alluring</b>. Target finds you fascinating, and suffers penalty to <b>initiative </b>checks.</li>
<li><b>Deceiving</b>. Target's ability to detect falsehood fails them. They cannot pierce illusions, and they must <b>save </b>to disbelieve any lie not immediately disproven (no "the sky is green").</li>
<li><b>Disorienting</b>. Target finds their own vision beginning to flash and darken, and suffers the penalty to <b>to-hit</b> rolls.</li>
<li><b>Disquieting</b>. Target becomes oddly frightened, and must pass a <b>morale </b>check to enter darkness or deep water.</li>
<li><b>Oscillating</b>. Target's vision swims, and they perceive only vague movement and colors past 30'.</li>
<li><b>Sapping</b>. Target feels their supernatural abilities weaken, and suffers the penalty to <b>[sum]</b>.</li>
<li><b>Stupefying</b>. Target's hands grow clumsy, and they suffer the penalty to <b>skill </b>rolls.</li>
<li><b>Binding</b>. Target's soul grows heavy, and they suffer the penalty to attempts to escape.</li>
<li><b>Dismissing</b>. Target feels uncomfortable and has a desire to leave the situation.</li>
<li><b>Dying</b>. Target knows they are doomed, and the penalty is added to all damage inflicted on them.</li>
</ul>
<br /><u>Developing Suggestions</u><br /> A <b>suggestion </b>has two components: the <b>trigger </b>and the <b>effect</b>. Learning new <b>triggers/effects</b> is one of the essential parts of becoming a more capable <b>Mesmerist</b>. <b>Mesmerists </b>may share any <b>triggers/effects</b> they know by visiting each others' <b>Mind Palaces</b>, and you will likely discover or invent more of them in play. <br /> Some more complicated <b>triggers/effects </b>require more knowledge of the target's mental state and so have an associated <b>cold-reading</b> number. To implant a <b>suggestion</b> with a <b>CR</b>, you must know at least that many interesting facts about the target. "Interesting facts" are interesting to the target: names of parents, names of children, place of birth, date of birth, significant regrets, major hobbies, occupations, details of love-life — in short, the sort of thing they would be delighted to hear a fortune-teller guess about them.<br /> Preparing a <b>suggestion</b> takes one hour, plus one hour per <b>CR</b>.<br /><br /><u>Example Triggers</u>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>When I next roll a <b>save </b>against a spell</li>
<li>When I next experience a mind-altering effect</li>
<li>When I next make eye contact with you</li>
<li>When I next am in darkness</li>
<li><b>CR1</b>: When I next enter combat</li>
<li><b>CR1</b>: When I next become angry</li>
<li><b>CR3</b>: When I become angry</li>
<li><b>CR1</b>: When I next roll to use a skill</li>
<li><b>CR3</b>: When I roll to use a skill</li>
</ol>
<u>Example Effects</u>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>, I will experience <b>agony</b> for one round.</li>
<li>, I will add your <b>[level]</b> to the result.</li>
<li>, my legs will go limp for one round.</li>
<li>, you will be able to see through my eyes for 1 minute per your <b>[level]</b>.</li>
<li><b>CR1</b>: , I and every intelligent creature within 30' will suddenly perceive you as being present.</li>
<li><b>CR1</b>: , my face will contort into a hideous and demonic mask, forcing <b>saves </b>vs. <b>fear </b>from all creatures unprepared for this.</li>
<li><b>CR1</b>: , I will gain <b>1d6 </b>plus your <b>[level]</b> temporary <b>HP</b>.</li>
<li><b>CR2</b>: , I will enter a violent <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/01/so-angry-i-might-die-glog-classes-5e.html">rage</a></b>.</li>
<li><b>CR3</b>: , I will begin to levitate, gaining the ability to float at walking speed in any direction for one minute.</li>
</ol>
<br /><u>Mesmerist Spells</u>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Unwitting Ally</b><br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: <b>[dice]</b> creatures <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> rounds<br />Caster's stare inflicts paranoia and confusion. Each target <b>saves </b>individually; those who fail become unusually aggressive and lose the ability to distinguish friend from foe. For the purposes of spells, abilities, flanking and backstabbing, &c, affected creatures are no one's "ally", everyone's "enemy", and never "willing". <br />Affected creatures are still capable of tactical thinking and, perceiving themselves to be surrounded by enemies, will prefer to retreat. If trapped in close proximity to other creatures they will fight desperately to escape.</li>
<li><b>Animate Rope</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a length of flexible cord, rope or chain no more than <b>[sum]</b>*10' long <b>D</b>: until dispelled<br />Target rope lives. It is obedient to the caster's spoken commands, can climb as well as a large python, can stand half its length tall and pull itself up by one end, can knot or unknot itself, and doesn't mind being climbed. When not moving the animated rope is indistinguishable from normal rope, unless in very close proximity to <b>fire, </b>in which case it flinches. <br />If cut, the longer piece is the animated rope until reduced below 5' in length. <br />Animated rope can't tell people other than its caster apart, can't perceive anything except touch and its master's voice, doesn't understand that other creatures have senses other than touch, can't remember more than <b>[dice]</b> words outside of its caster's presence and is, of course, terrified of <b>fire</b>. Besides these restrictions it is an exceedingly dangerous assassin.</li>
<li><b>Bungle</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a creature <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> checks or attacks <br />Target takes a -<b>[sum]</b> penalty to all checks or <b>to-hit</b> rolls, no <b>save</b>.</li>
<li><b>Color Spray</b><br /><b>R</b>: projected from self <b>T</b>: a 15' cone <b>D</b>: instant<br />A burst of violent color erupts from the caster's fingertips. Creatures in the target cone <b>save </b>or are <b>stunned </b>for a round, falling prone and dropping any held items, then <b>save </b>again or suffer <b>disadvantage </b>on any sight-based checks for <b>[best]</b> rounds. Those with no sense of sight are <b>immune </b>to this spell. Creatures with more than <b>[dice] HD </b>are not stunned. If cast with more than 1<b>MD</b>, creatures with 1 <b>HD</b> or fewer don't get to <b>save</b>.</li>
<li><b>Fool's Gold</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: <b>[sum] </b>coins, pieces of jewelry or other tiny valuables <b>D</b>: n/a<br />Caster lays a <b>curse </b>on target valuables. Creatures receive a penalty to <b>saves v. hostile magic</b> equal to the number of these valuables they have accepted from the caster as payment for goods and services. Valuables given as a gift have no effect, nor do valuables slipped into a pocket against the pants-wearer's knowledge, though the caster may tip outrageously. This effect lasts as long as they keep the objects in their possession: creatures do not need to actually carry the valuables on their person for the effect to occur. Effect ends when target valuables are passed on to a third party.</li>
<li><b>Blistering Invective</b><br /><b>R</b>: voice <b>T</b>: creatures capable of understanding your tone, if not your words <b>D</b>: instant<br />Caster utters a stream of foul language so obscene, menacing and blasphemous that those who hear it who have any reason to suspect it might be directed at them are physically harmed. All such creatures check <b>morale</b>: those who fail flee, and must also <b>save </b>or take <b>[best]</b> damage and be set on <b>fire</b>. Creatures immune to <b>fire </b>must still check <b>morale</b>, but creatures who cannot be intimidated are unaffected by this spell.<br /></li>
</ol>
<br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-18233070128373700682023-12-27T01:24:00.001-05:002023-12-27T01:24:01.977-05:00A GLOG Grimoire<style>
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There are a number of spells I've written which have no <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Wizard%20City">wizard</a></b> to accompany them as yet. I've decided to write them down, so that someone might get some use out of them regardless. Friend-of-the-blog Phlox has <b><a href="https://whosemeasure.blogspot.com/2023/12/some-spells-mostly-summons.html">done this</a></b> and so spurred my decision.<br /><br /> General notes: these are spells for the GLOG, Arnold Kemp's (pbuh) fantasy heartbreaker. They operate on <b>Magic Dice</b>. Unless specified otherwise, assume that:
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>if a spell targets a creature/object/point within range that target must be visible to the caster along an unobstructed path</li>
<li>a cone is 60° and so is 10' wide 10' away from the caster, 30' wide 30' from the caster, and so forth<br /></li>
<li>beams and rays with a provided length but no provided width are about the thickness of a pencil</li>
<li>a 10' sphere has a radius of 10', a 20' sphere a radius of 20', and so forth</li>
<li>a 10' cube has an edge-length of 10', a 20' cube an edge-length of 20', and so forth</li>
<li>spells which apply a condition to creatures provide them a <b>save</b> at casting time and otherwise continue for the duration</li>
<li>spells with an indefinite duration keep the <b>MD</b> invested in them until they are ended by other means<br /></li>
<li>you should ask your DM about any specifics, which will vary by campaign<br /></li>
</ul>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Spells</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Death Glow</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: an object or creature <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br />The target glows with an unhealthful light for the duration. Unembodied undead are unceremoniously pushed 30' from the target. Embodied undead make a <b>morale</b> check with a <b>[dice]</b> penalty when they first see this light, even if they normally can't make <b>morale</b> checks. In this light, all failed checks are <b>fumbles</b> and all successful ones are <b>critical</b>. Creatures whose unprotected skin is exposed to this light (and the target, if it be a creature) must <b>save</b> every minute of total exposure or take <b>[dice]</b> damage to a random stat. <br /></li>
<li><b>Vorpal Air</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: <b>[dice]</b>*20' cone, originating from caster <b>D</b>: instant<br />The caster points a finger and utters a word of power, and a cone of vorpal air bursts forth. Creatures and objects within the cone <b>save</b> or take <b>[sum]</b> damage as if struck by many invisible blades from all directions. At 2<b>MD</b>, creatures are only permitted to <b>save</b> if their armor is at least <b>leather</b> and flimsy objects and structures are hacked apart, at 3<b>MD</b> creatures only <b>save</b> if wearing at least <b>chain</b> and objects softer than stone are shredded, at 4<b>MD</b> creatures must have at least <b>plate</b> and any non-metallic object is chopped to bits. <br /></li>
<li><b>Predator</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: self <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> rounds<br />Caster is rendered <b>invisible</b> for the duration, and can move <b>[dice]</b> times again as fast. They can deal <b>[sum]</b> magical damage with a touch (roll <b>to-hit</b> vs. <b>unarmored </b>if in combat), no <b>save</b>. This is extremely frightening. <br /></li>
<li><b>Summon Cosmic Crocodilian </b><br /><b>R</b>: 20' <b>T</b>: an area large enough for a bigass crocodile <b>D</b>: indefinite<br />A cosmic crocodilian (a type of Outsider) appears in the target area. It is not grateful, and it is not obedient. It weighs <b>[dice]</b> tonnes, has <b>AC </b>as <b>plate</b> and <b>[sum]</b>*2 <b>HP</b>, and its jaws are a <b>massive</b> weapon which automatically <b>grapple</b> those it strikes. <br />Like all crocodiles, the cosmic crocodilian can perform a Death Roll to force a creature caught in its jaws to <b>save or die</b>. Unlike most crocodiles, a cosmic crocodilian has 18 <b>intelligence</b>, 2<b>MD</b>, and knows the spells <i>Haste</i>, <i>Mummify Bird</i>, <i>Turn Hippopotamus</i> (works at -1 <b>[dice]</b> against other horses) and <i>Summon Cosmic Crocodilian</i>.<br /></li>
<li><b>Cone of Collapse</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a T: <b>[dice]</b>*20' cone, originating from caster <b>D</b>: one round<br />All creatures, objects, buildings, landscapes and materials in the targeted area, including air, briefly experience a significantly increased F𝓰, the force due to gravity. Effects are highly variable, but assume that delicate objects are destroyed, flying objects fall and creatures human-size or larger must check <b>strength</b> or drop to their knees. If <b>[sum]</b> is <b>7</b> or greater, not-particularly-reinforced buildings will be damaged or destroyed, and mundane creatures horse-sized or larger are killed. If <b>[sum]</b> is <b>14</b> or greater most structures, including natural stone, will collapse and human-sized bodies will suffer massive structural damage and organ failure: affected creatures die, or check <b>constitution </b>to merely take <b>[sum]</b> damage. If <b>sum</b> is <b>21</b> or greater every living creature larger than an ant within the cone dies with no <b>save</b>, all matter within the cone is aggressively crushed, and there is a large negative-pressure effect for the duration followed by a thunderclap and moderate explosion when the spell ends. <br /></li>
<li><b>Summon Mobat</b> <br /><b>R</b>: 60' <b>T</b>: a volume large enough for <b>[sum]</b> vultures D: <b>[dice]</b> hours<br />Target volume is filled with <b>[sum]</b> mobats. The common mobat (<i>Pteropodidae Mobatti parbatti</i>) has 4<b>HP</b>, <b>AC</b> as <b>leather</b>, and is significantly less intelligent than even a very stupid person. They will follow one-word commands from the caster to the best of their ability. These abilities include flying around frantically, screaming, shitting, attempting to eat strongly-scented objects, and crashing into things. Those bitten by a mobat must <b>save</b> vs. <b>disease</b> or contract <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2019/10/accursed-of-gd.html">leprosy</a></b>. The bats disappear at the end of the duration unless killed, in which case they leave behind a corpse (mostly cartilage) which can be unwisely cooked into 3 rations of delicious soup. <br /></li>
<li><b>Polarized Shield</b><br /><b>R</b>: self <b>T</b>: n/a <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br />The caster is surrounded by a 20' spherical shroud of impenetrable darkness, with enough interior space to contain <b>[dice]</b> creatures if they're willing to get comfortable. This shroud is invisible along a single axis in 3d space that passes through the caster's head, which the caster can pitch and yaw as they please. From all other angles, the shroud foils scrying, infravision and all other forms of detection. Because it blocks vision and cannot itself be targeted by spells, and most combat spells cannot "pierce" the shroud and conventional countermagic cannot dispel it. <br /></li>
<li><b>Woundweep</b><br /><b>R</b>: 30' <b>T</b>: an injured creature <b>D</b>: instant<br />Target <b>saves</b> or takes as much damage as they are already missing from their max <b>HP</b> (e.g. a creature at 6/9 <b>hitpoints </b>is now at 3/9 <b>hitpoints</b>). This process is excruciating. The damage cannot directly kill the target, but if it reduces them to 0 <b>hitpoints </b>they must check <b>constitution</b> or fall unconscious from the pain, and if they have sustained any injuries they must also check <b>constitution</b> or suffer that injury a second time. <br /></li>
<li><b>Summon Planetar </b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a constructed body worth at least <b>100gp</b> per <b>[die]</b> <b>D</b>: 24 hours<br />The caster performs a long and difficult ritual for the duration of the spell. If they cease repeating a long and complex mantra or break contact with the constructed body the spell fails and all <b>MD</b> are lost. Traditionally they are assisted by multiple apprentices, who may sing songs to keep them awake, physically hold them up, or grab their arms to keep their hands in contact with the constructed body. <br />If the ritual is successful then the constructed body is occupied by a Planetar, a powerful force of Good from distant realms (stats to be found in any respectable MM). They are not in any way obligated to obey you. It's traditional for the apprentices to greet the Planetar with songs of rejoicing. Just as traditional is for one of them to reveal he's been Evil the whole time, murder the caster and the other apprentices, and enslave the Planetar to his dark will. <br /></li>
<li><b>Crown of Vengeance</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a creature <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br />Target's head is illuminated by a halo of golden light. For the duration, the receive a <b>[dice]</b> bonus to <b>AC</b> and <b>to-hit</b>. Creatures who know they have wronged the target must <b>save</b> each round they can see the halo; on a failure, they cannot move from their place. Creatures struck by the target who have <i>not</i> wronged the target may <b>save</b>; if they succeed, the Crown is passed to them. <br /></li>
<li><b>Tomb Rune</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: the caster's hand <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> hours<br />A mysterious, shifting rune appears on the palm of the caster's dominant hand. When the hand is extended before them like a shield for an entire round, it projects dazzling <b>sunlight</b> that deals<b> [best]</b> damage each round to <b>undead</b>, creatures from other planes and magical constructs, no <b>save</b>. When the hand is closed above their head like a fist for an entire round, they are protected by a magical forcefield that grants them a <b>[dice]</b> bonus to <b>AC</b>, imposes <b>disadvantage</b> on ranged attacks against them, and gives them <b>advantage</b> on all <b>saves</b>. The spell ends immediately if the caster uses the runèd hand to grasp an object or if the hand is severed. <br /></li>
<li><b>Curse of the Dark Eye</b><br /><b>R</b>: 120' <b>T</b>: a creature within range <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> weeks<br />Target creature is afflicted with wild spirits of Tigerdom and Chaos. They must make a <b>reaction</b> check against every person they meet, with a <b>[dice]</b> penalty. If they wish to speak, they must <b>save</b> per sentence or have the words replaced by animalistic growls. If they wish to clothe themselves, they must <b>save</b> at dawn or be unable to do so that day. Any respectable cleric or Wise One recognizes this <b>curse</b> and can mix up a remedy that can reduce the remaining duration, though of course the afflicted target may have a negative <b>reaction</b> to their presence. </li><li><b>Death Ray</b><br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: any point in range <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> rounds<br />A ray of raw magical power projects from the caster's hand towards the target point. It cuts through wood and earth at 10' a round, stone or brick 5' a round, and solid metal 1' a round. Unarmored creatures caught in the ray suffer <b>[sum]</b> damage, armored creatures may save to throw themselves out of the way before their armor melts. Their armor is obliterated in any case, and creatures who are killed by the ray disintegrate into ash. At two <b>[dice]</b> the ray cuts at double speed and creatures wearing only leather are not permitted a <b>save</b>, and so on and so forth for three and four <b>[dice]</b>.</li><li><b>Horizon Blade</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a pre-prepared magical fetish worth at least <b>10gp</b> per <b>[die]</b> invested <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> rounds <br />Upon casting, a portal to the Astral Plane opens 3' long and 1" wide. One end of the portal is attached to the fetish, allowing it to be manipulated like a sword's grip. The outside edge of the portal rapidly shreds matter it comes into contact with, cutting through 10' of wood or 1' of stone per round if used as a saw. If used as a sword, it is a <b>medium </b>weapon +<b>[dice]</b>.</li><li><b>Secret Beige</b><br /><b>R</b>: 5' <b>T</b>: waterproof vessel to contain <b>[dice]</b> quarts <b>D</b>: indefinite<br />Target vessel is filled with a supernatural paint whose quality varies with <b>[dice]</b>. At one <b>[die]</b>, the paint renders a coated object or surface extremely dull and boring. Inattentive bystanders will assume the object has some sort of municipal purpose and isn't worth much money. At two <b>[dice]</b>, the object or surface is actively uncool. Creatures without a definite reason to carry or associate with the object or surface will avoid it. At three <b>[dice]</b>, painted object or surface is eminently forgettable. Even after having it pointed out, creatures will be generally unaware of the object or surface, and will unconsciously step around it or treat it as an impassable barrier. <br />Three <b>[dice]</b> is the last practically useful level of this spell, partly because the caster is at risk of succumbing to the effects, but mostly because a four <b>[dice]</b> <i>Secret Beige</i> is totally useless. It cannot be, and has never been recorded to have been, applied to an object or surface. Stick to three. </li><li><b>Torturous Inspirations</b><br /><b>R</b>: same plane <b>T</b>: intelligent creature whose body parts (hair, blood, nails &c) you are touching <b>D</b>: indefinite<br />Target creature is afflicted with horrible visions in the labyrinth of dreaming. Each morning they wake they must <b>save</b>. Upon failing the <b>save</b>, they are obligated to obtain <b>20gp</b> of materials by any means necessary, and spend the day converting them into an artistic piece with a value depending on their personal skill. Details of the piece varies according to their inclination, and with multiple failed <b>saves </b>they may continue on the same piece or create multiple. Upon passing the <b>save </b>they are under no obligation to continue their piece or pieces, but may anyway. After <b>[dice]</b> successful saves the effect ends.</li><li><b>Abducting Buzz</b><br /><b>R</b>: 30' <b>T</b>: a visible creature with fewer than <b>[dice]</b> <b>HD D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> hours. <br />Target creature is borne aloft by a swarm of invisible insects and carted off to the Plane of Morgellons for the duration. They return safely to the place they left, horrified but unharmed. If the place they left is no longer safe (from the bugs' perspective), they are returned to the nearest field of flowers (however far away that might be). If <b>[dice]</b> is <b>4</b> or higher, the target returns after a year and a day, and is likely permanently mentally scarred. <br /></li><li><b>Summon Chitin Predator</b><br /><b>R</b>: 30' <b>T</b>: an unoccupied space large enough for a bigass dog <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> hours<br />A <b>Chitin Predator</b> is summoned to target area. It resembles a dog-sized antlion with <b>AC</b> as <b>chain</b>, <b>[sum]</b> <b>hitpoints </b>and a single <b>heavy</b> bite with a <b>[dice]</b> bonus <b>to-hit</b>. It is hostile to any people you consider your enemies, and not initially hostile to you or your allies For each <b>[die]</b> invested in this spell, choose an additional bonus for your antlion:<br /><ul><li>Can fly at 60' per round<br /></li><li><b>AC</b> as <b>plate</b><br /></li><li>Gains two additional <b>medium</b> claw attacks<br /></li><li>Gains a sting attack, <b>save</b> v. <b>paralysis</b><br /></li><li>Camouflageable exoskeleton, granting near-invisibility when not moving<br /></li><li>Can be dismissed at will<br /></li></ul></li>
</ol>
<br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Hotrod Spells</h4>
<br /> At the end of Nick Whelan's 2016 post of <b><a href="https://www.paperspencils.com/1d100-magic-words/">an example 100 words</a></b> for the Magic Words system (which, incidentally, engendered the creation of this blog and its first now-depublished posts), he offers a series of 10 names. These are the names of historical figures (including Hitler, George Washington and Cleopatra) but the reader is instructed to use the names of well-known wizards of their own setting.<br /><br /> "D&D has a long tradition of big-name casters like Tenser who live on through the spells that bear their name. I like this idea! So in the Magic Word system, using a specific wizard’s name as part of the spell you’re crafting means that what you’re actually doing is uncovering a spell first created by some long dead master of the arcane arts. And when the referee is writing up the spell, they can draw on that caster’s history and talent when determining the spell’s effects."<br /><br /> Variations on this idea have haunted me for years. Importantly, in the GLOG, wizards often get two abilities — the first, the ability to "breed" spells together, producing novel mutants, and the second to designate one spell as their "favorite" or "signature" and receive bonuses. <br /><br /> I forget why I started writing these paragraphs. That's happening more and more, recently. Anyway, here's a list of basic spells, and custom versions developed by famous dangerous wizards.<br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9FjO7jv2JE7Q9YooVsnzVQqbswrCP4_g_ruH4SjvRPJkUDNJy29b8gQ7W3AXYsoI7dB9GolZhKcH_zzH_aJ-vEGgdsUmpzv44xxfcP0g9YYflEwH6IcA12psy7GdPs6gLWYkcByMlt9xFaKbgMal1nF6l-dP-DcA2ubOBDjHNcn5X7WMh7BbxcV4xRYY/s681/grimoire%20ensorcele.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="681" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9FjO7jv2JE7Q9YooVsnzVQqbswrCP4_g_ruH4SjvRPJkUDNJy29b8gQ7W3AXYsoI7dB9GolZhKcH_zzH_aJ-vEGgdsUmpzv44xxfcP0g9YYflEwH6IcA12psy7GdPs6gLWYkcByMlt9xFaKbgMal1nF6l-dP-DcA2ubOBDjHNcn5X7WMh7BbxcV4xRYY/w640-h636/grimoire%20ensorcele.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <b><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/naiiade/art/Grimoire-ensorcele-267533626">Grimoire ensorcele</a></b> by naiiade<br /></td>
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<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Magic Missile</h4>
<br /> One of the "classic spells", those developed by wizard-kings of eons past. You know them well; it seems like there's little point in me bothering to name them. <i>Fly</i>, the final rejection of the physical order. <i>Charm Person</i>, which made slaves. <i>Protection from Evil and Good</i>. <i>Contact Higher Plane</i>. <i>Detect Invisible</i>. Many more besides. <i>Magic Missile</i> in its basic form is incredibly simple, just a combination of object-location (to find its target), foresight (to circumvent defenses), and a powerful jolt of sidereal force. A wit might say that to have its own version of <i>Magic Missile</i> is a feature both absolutely necessary and absolutely sufficient for a Wizard School. Once you have that, you have a school.<br /> Archmages, or those who wish to be considered magical savants, love to hotrod the <i>Magic Missile</i>. A few examples are provided below. <br /><br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Magic Missile</b><br /><b>R</b>: 200' <b>T</b>: up to <b>[dice]</b> creatures <b>D</b>: instant<b><br /></b><b>[dice]</b> magical projectiles fly from the caster's fingertips and strike their targets unerringly. Each deals damage equal to the face of the respective <b>[die]</b>. Targets may not dodge, <b>save </b>or otherwise avoid the magic missiles, unless they have a magical shield, which blocks all damage from this spell.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Blackfly's Magic Missile</b><br /><b>R</b>: 200' <b>T</b>: up to <b>[sum]</b>+1 creatures <b>D</b>: instant<br /><b>[sum]</b> minuscule magical projectiles, plus one queen, fly from the caster's fingertips and strike their targets unerringly. Each deals <b>1</b> damage. The target who was struck by the queen is infested with eggs, and will have a swarm of flesh-eating hornets burst from their skin next turn for <b>[dice]</b> damage. Targets may not dodge, <b>save </b>or otherwise avoid the magic missiles, unless they are wearing a wreath of garlic bulbs or a similarly powerful scent, which blocks all damage from this spell.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Thoth-Magog's Magic Missile</b><br /><b>R</b>: 200' <b>T</b>: one creature <b>D</b>: one full combat round<br />A glowing magical beam slowly extends from the caster's fingertips and navigates around inanimate obstacles to strike its target unerringly. This deals <b>[sum]</b>+<b>[dice]</b> damage, sets the target on <b>fire</b>, and reduces their lifespan by twenty years. Target may not dodge, <b>save </b>or otherwise avoid the magic missile, unless they cower behind another creature who is struck in their stead, receiving the damage and other effects of this spell. </blockquote>
<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Fireball</h4>
<br /> A brutal spell developed for the mass-extermination of mortals. Its whistle-thump-roar is as iconic a sound of war as trumpets or the crashing of swords on shields. Because of its versatility, lethality and ease-of-use, a wand pre-loaded with a few casts of <i>Fireball</i> is as common a sight as any magic item can be. Perhaps the simplicity of the spell invites wizards to make it their own. <br /><br /><b></b>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Fireball </b><br /><b>R</b>: 200' T: a point with an unobstructed path from the caster <b>D</b>: instant<br />A bead of flame flies from the caster's outstretched hand and races to the target point. Upon impact, it blossoms into a fireball of <b>[dice]</b>*10' radius, generally conforming to the space (care must be taken when casting underground), and dealing <b>[sum]</b> damage to all creatures caught in the deflagration, <b>save</b> for half. </blockquote>
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<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Klausrod's Fireball</b><br /><b>R</b>: 75' <b>T</b>: a point with an unobstructed path from the caster <b>D</b>: instant<br />A black orb about the size of a mandarin flies from the caster's outstretched hand and races to the target point. Upon impact, it detonates with enough force to crack stone and liquefy soil. The explosion has a radius of roughly 20' per <b>[die]</b> invested in this spell. Those caught in the explosion are killed, or <b>save</b> to merely take <b>[sum]</b> damage and be flung bodily outside of the blast front. For every <b>[expended]</b>, the radius of the explosion increases by 10', and a wave of shrapnel and unbreathable smoke extends for ½ of the radius past the edge of the explosion (that is, <b>1MD </b>produces a 20' radius explosion, <b>1MD </b>which expends produces a 30' explosion plus 15' of smoke and shrapnel, <b>4MD </b>of which three are expended produces a 70' blast front plus 105' of smoke and shrapnel). Those caught out of cover by the shrapnel take <b>[sum]</b> damage, save for half. The smoke lingers for ten minutes or until dispersed by a strong wind. </blockquote>
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<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Geist's Fireball</b> <br /><b>R</b>: 1500' <b>T</b>: a point visible to the caster <b>D</b>: one round per 100' <br />A bead of white light leaps from the caster's outstretched hand and navigates to the target point, avoiding obstacles along the way. Upon impact a 20' radius sphere is concealed by a wall of opalescence. Living creatures of <b>[dice]</b> or fewer <b>HD </b>inside the sphere <b>save</b> or are reduced to clouds of powerfully acidic salt. This salt clings to other creatures in the area until removed with scrubbing or strong alcohol. If the creature is caught in rain or splashed with water before then, they take <b>1d6</b> damage per round for up to <b>[sum]</b> rounds. This spell is deeply offensive to planar entities and gods, and has a <b>[sum]-in-20</b> chance of provoking reprisal within the next day. </blockquote>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">Lightning Bolt</h4>
<br /> This spell functions similarly to a bolt of natural lightning, but not identically. A powerful magnetic field is created for a fraction of a second, into which a tiny amount of plasma slightly hotter than the surface of the <b>sun</b> is injected. The field tends to form a long corridor, routing slightly through conductive mediums (e.g. metal armor) and reflecting off of strongly non-conductive mediums (e.g. solid wall of stone and earth), which infamously makes it possible to rebound the "bolt" back through the caster and create an extremely dangerous circuit. I suppose "Inject Plasma as Hot as the Sun into a Magnetic Field, Briefly" is a bit of a mouthful, so "Lightning Bolt" it remains. <br /><br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Lightning Bolt</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: a cylinder 5' in diameter and <b>[dice]</b>*100' long <b>D</b>: instant<br />In a flash, energy is projected from the caster's outstretched hand, striking all creatures and objects in the targeted volume for <b>[sum]</b> damage, <b>save</b> for half. Creatures wearing or holding large quantities of metal are not permitted to <b>save</b>. The force of the bolt shatters thin barriers, but is reflected off of hills or dungeon-walls, possibly striking the caster and his allies. </blockquote>
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<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Scylla's Lightning Bolt</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: <b>[dice]</b> cylinders 5' in diameter and 100' long <b>D</b>: instant:<br />In a flash, energy is projected from the caster's outstretched hand, striking all creatures and objects in the targeted volumes for <b>[sum]</b> damage, <b>save </b>for half. Creatures wearing or holding large quantities of metal are not permitted to <b>save</b>. After the initial bolts are created, each seeks the nearest creature within 100' and passes through them in a straight line, dealing <b>[sum]</b>-6 damage. This is repeated again, dealing <b>[sum]</b>-12 damage, and so on and so forth until the fury of the storm is spent. </blockquote>
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<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Guinevere's Lightning Bolt</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: n/a <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br />In a flash, an orb of energy 10' in diameter appears over the caster's shoulder. It seeks out the caster's enemies, or a target named in the casting, by leaping up to 100' per round and dealing <b>[dice]</b> damage on impact. If requested, this damage is subdual. The orb is as good a tracker as a bloodhound, though a good deal faster and slightly less intelligent. </blockquote>
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G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-24290396127568138202023-11-30T16:52:00.000-05:002023-12-27T01:36:15.216-05:00For the Wise Ones to Record, for the Idiots to Learn<style>
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On the western edge of the world, north of Los and south of the unfinished continents of the animal-men, is the Basking Coast. It is a cold place, lonely even in company, oppressive even in solitude. The forest was planted before the g_ds fashioned your race. Grim pines, in black bark armor, stretch their limbs out over the pit that leads down to death. Grudgingly the forest allows men take the lives of its sons for firewood, and not a few lives it takes in return, by cold and hunger and savagery under its black canopy. Dead men walk this wood, weeping frozen tears, crying out for a fiery end. Things are buried in the snow that were never given a name, and some of them not dead, but only sleeping.<br /><br /> The lord of the Basking Coast is called the Heptarch, a crude joke in the whaler-tongue. His hall, the Villa, is draughty but never dark. His walls are decorated with great jaws and barbed harpoons. His subjects are yellow-eyed Kings, iron-collared Builders, sullen gorillas, and men rendered indistinguishable by lamp-black. The people of the Basking Coast have clung to their frigid town, between crashing shore and whispering forest, since their g_d put them there, and will stay until He returns, if they are not driven away or taken by the evil armies.<br /><br /> Generations ago Artur Hoxha, a widely-respected Gentleman Naturalist, visited the Basking Coast. He wished to write the greatest encyclopedia of all the world, the <i>Nowe Anyangy</i>, containing all the knowledge of men, Kings and monkeys. There is disagreement on whether he succeeded. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8zzSc4UKajYpr2RNzM7xzUmEhL0k1zLa02No5gpI7piSLG-Y8sx0Cwo7KNuv3G-DkFgRdyu4DZH2VvZgtTqr5CC0Y015pz-5-Z3_eOAkJbZNhGJY4tlzJCBBvbfP4H8ARradMAjTxAsBp6-3XlztzLH117QA1kLHmcoY5EoelNrBKJ7mROWVeE_8qhY/s1106/basking%20coast.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1106" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8zzSc4UKajYpr2RNzM7xzUmEhL0k1zLa02No5gpI7piSLG-Y8sx0Cwo7KNuv3G-DkFgRdyu4DZH2VvZgtTqr5CC0Y015pz-5-Z3_eOAkJbZNhGJY4tlzJCBBvbfP4H8ARradMAjTxAsBp6-3XlztzLH117QA1kLHmcoY5EoelNrBKJ7mROWVeE_8qhY/w640-h462/basking%20coast.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">On the Whale</h4><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...ye <b>WHALE </b>cometh in many fifes, and it is ye Lord of the Ofean. Some Whales have mighty teeth, and others have fmall teeth, and others no teeth at all. Some Whales are larger than whaling boats, and fome Whales are fmaller. What unites fuch diverfe creatures is ye prefenfe of Oil in their flefh, which is efsential to many Induftrial Profefses, but as everyone knows ye multitudinous ufes of Whale Oil I writeth no more on that subject..."</blockquote><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGTtz3rqt9fIDn7DbC0jNw3hVnrAadlYx5uK9SbHMUybfMmenzHhazOodkj5B0p8eHjTr-Riu-VtLzUby5rJ187yWnM3KO7_0_thcnK7jkDh5gz-6W5Sd-6ow1UQeunIi7FTYVPmKPUdpS8Om9zDWYFVTyrX36NCsmJcVqu5Vrn5X_9AFPoOAp2zRkpA/s1881/whale.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1573" data-original-width="1881" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGTtz3rqt9fIDn7DbC0jNw3hVnrAadlYx5uK9SbHMUybfMmenzHhazOodkj5B0p8eHjTr-Riu-VtLzUby5rJ187yWnM3KO7_0_thcnK7jkDh5gz-6W5Sd-6ow1UQeunIi7FTYVPmKPUdpS8Om9zDWYFVTyrX36NCsmJcVqu5Vrn5X_9AFPoOAp2zRkpA/w400-h335/whale.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">On the Oliphaunt and the Camelopard</h4><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"... ye <b>OLIPHAUNT</b>, in Lofian <i>Oliphaus</i>, meaning: the greateft of the Animals, becaufe the beaft is great. It alfo has a lot to fay about itfelf to that matter. They attribute to him, <i>Docilitatem</i>, great understanding in everything. He even underftands writing, and with his long nofe or trunk, genuinely fpeaking, Probofcide writes. Some time (<i>tefte Klohrus</i>) Oliphaunt wrote these words: <b>IPFE EGO HAEC FCRIPFI & FPOLIA ARETICA DICAVI</b>..."</blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...ye Oliphaunt is widevaunted ye Ftupideft Beaft in all ye World, for it feems he goeth about Arfe-Firft and ftumbleth trampl'ing, but this is not fo. He doth but haveth two tails, and two Arfes alikewife. and a great maw and teeth like Great Weapons. Ye tongue of ye Oliphaunt is exfeedingly fine, and fituated fo far back in the mouth, fuch that it is difficult to get a fight of it. Men fay this be for fome purpofe but I know it not..."</blockquote><br /><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...ye Oliphaunt is a mighty beaft, but no Creature is fo feared and defpifed by ye men of ye Bafking Coaft as the dreadful <b>CAMELOPARD</b>. Alfo yclept Long-Legs & Alden's Horfe, ye Camelopard is known to ftrip trees of their Bark and Needles, and to graze on the Bones of Men to garnifh its own imprefsive fkeleton. In ye Fpring and Fummer, when many Camelopards are born to their mothers, travelers muft be wary, for their Ftride is Fwift, and their hunger for Bones is ftrong..."</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe-Dw5d1lemOyH0oe2aaleyPiDHksUNnKIaFuSAhdgZgYuGKwzGCgJR5lGnqkOzsA23BSq1XlR-1Vhj76JDhLwQWJZ5-pQFFD5TVSBdty8d284XOLIIUuzJ55vnyLC2ih3b_wI1bGDkyaKeDsHbUTMQC_vSUMH9ULDC5_CNPqjcC8n7votWSxlzrfSyA/s750/oliphaunt%20and%20camelopard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="750" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe-Dw5d1lemOyH0oe2aaleyPiDHksUNnKIaFuSAhdgZgYuGKwzGCgJR5lGnqkOzsA23BSq1XlR-1Vhj76JDhLwQWJZ5-pQFFD5TVSBdty8d284XOLIIUuzJ55vnyLC2ih3b_wI1bGDkyaKeDsHbUTMQC_vSUMH9ULDC5_CNPqjcC8n7votWSxlzrfSyA/w400-h341/oliphaunt%20and%20camelopard.png" width="400" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">On the Mammout</h4><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...ye <b>MAMMOUT</b> be a type of Ife Demon. Fome fay it 'marmot' but I fay they be confufed. It be ye largeft of ye Rodents, and burrowing underneath the ground all its life by ufe of its great tufks, if it comes to furface by chance or artifife of Men, ye Mammout is at onfe killed by funlight, and its bones are made into fine ivory..."</blockquote><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN3PK7zv4Ibm7IO-rfKdNo3g-fnRJfFBmlkikreA6jFHxBKAvqZ3dzo1DFK1KKh8G85SNY7jnfFQmyBdLP4ffCHm0tucztWiWqmMWlmnHQX6z4-0dHSHJCnrz6ZGIH1N6v7W7dhCPX2jnH_aIjG-Dlddbm-ZqTMhGtEnYphhWPiJfbZQ5fscMg-0YMy0/s459/mammoth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="459" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN3PK7zv4Ibm7IO-rfKdNo3g-fnRJfFBmlkikreA6jFHxBKAvqZ3dzo1DFK1KKh8G85SNY7jnfFQmyBdLP4ffCHm0tucztWiWqmMWlmnHQX6z4-0dHSHJCnrz6ZGIH1N6v7W7dhCPX2jnH_aIjG-Dlddbm-ZqTMhGtEnYphhWPiJfbZQ5fscMg-0YMy0/w400-h360/mammoth.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">On the Harvestman</h4><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...alfo ye <b>HARVEFT MAN</b> is there, not fo called for his Harveft, becaufe he does not Fow, but on account no <u>Man</u> <u>Haveth</u> more <u>Hair </u>than he. Ye Harveft Man is called a fpider, but only by the Ignoramus, becaufe he has fix limbs, and four are arms. On the Bafking Coaft he liveth by theft and fcavenge, as he does elfewhere. He knowth not the fecrets of Fletching, and from his bow he fires wooden rods adorned by ftrange Herbs and Flora. Fome enterprifing Merchants attempt to fell him arrows from ßheen in exchange for Expenfive Furs, but the cunning Harveft Man will take the arrows firft, and drive off the Merchant after..."</blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...I have heard a tale where Vifious Wreckers made camp on the Coaft, intent on driving Whalers to their Doom on the rocks, but were difcovered there by a band of Harveft Men who quickly brought Paladins down on them, to their ill fortune, for like all the Men of the Bafking Coaft, and Kings and Builders, likewife Monkeys too, the Harveft Men depend on the Commerfe of the Whaling Fleet, and its Heptarch..."</blockquote><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bRsbW6OGQJJdbCfltCZ6LuHszBl6HGRk2aBsrHXxJvnO4y0IlsSQOsi5Ru58dlAdADjJDiFKYb2JvFLLorTUu4Ns3Xor6Lm7xOtP5NSnuz619m1pcks6MUlwW9v-_GGMITv9CD2IZbMLr32P01CK2zh5WXVE52ItZzD35SSy5psV8cK2xQwCtl1-Ung/s1575/harveftman.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="1488" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bRsbW6OGQJJdbCfltCZ6LuHszBl6HGRk2aBsrHXxJvnO4y0IlsSQOsi5Ru58dlAdADjJDiFKYb2JvFLLorTUu4Ns3Xor6Lm7xOtP5NSnuz619m1pcks6MUlwW9v-_GGMITv9CD2IZbMLr32P01CK2zh5WXVE52ItZzD35SSy5psV8cK2xQwCtl1-Ung/w378-h400/harveftman.png" width="378" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">On the Sparrow</h4><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...ye <b>FPARROW</b>, alfo yclept ye Fparrowcamel, be ye fecond-largeft bird created by the g_ds, and ye third largeft in Exiftenfe, or fo we have Heard. Defpite its great Wings, it cannot fly but inftead rafeth fafter than a man can flee. Its body is of great Value yet its multitudinous ufes is now unknown to the Civilized World and inftead private to ye Whaler Kings: therefore expoundeth I upon yon anon. Ye aigs of ye Fparrow, being of fuch ftrength and thicknefs, that men may ufe ye fhell of them as cuppes, bowles and lampes. The Bones of the Fparrow are like unto thofe of ye Kings and are as ufeful. their Leather is the greateft in all the world, almoft Maille when firft drefsed and almoft Diamant Fteel when boiled..."</blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...ye Feathers of ye Fparrow be ye Crown of ye Fouth, and dear were they indeed to ye Lofian when he yet lived. Great farms had they, wherein were raifed armies upon armies of yon bird. The Cattle furvived the Hufbonder, it might be faid, for the great vifioufnefs in their Hearts, and the warmnefs of their Coat, <i>a quo</i> "Furvive", a furréd life..."</blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...on ye Bafking Coaft the Fparrowcamel be a Great Peft. he maketh Fport of men, with trampling and fcourging, and tearing the Beams of their Fhips and Houfes in his Fpurs, and drinking their Oil. few things prey upon ye Fparrowcamel, and fo the men of the Academy fay that Weafels muft be carried from Arel to fteal their young and hunt them fully grown, but the Heptarch fayeth this is a Fool's Plan and will welcome in difafter..."</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytOwH07wErn4OTb38MAvAm0diNyBBC-_61XG9U8zVPJI4VtBrkT55lQmvrZ_NO4MN9m6cXWCsYndnLslJoD4hJA9j_XkA-j1YOqWDkQq3twlOFww3UM55VnpLAzbC1RiRvw1wxb9MIYTwsmMHrNxB2c2isFOPo0BgkoCvysrgjrJ_n30-QIqH-ZTSdo8/s1266/sparrowcamel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1070" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytOwH07wErn4OTb38MAvAm0diNyBBC-_61XG9U8zVPJI4VtBrkT55lQmvrZ_NO4MN9m6cXWCsYndnLslJoD4hJA9j_XkA-j1YOqWDkQq3twlOFww3UM55VnpLAzbC1RiRvw1wxb9MIYTwsmMHrNxB2c2isFOPo0BgkoCvysrgjrJ_n30-QIqH-ZTSdo8/w338-h400/sparrowcamel.png" width="338" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">On the Ice Bee</h4><blockquote style="text-align: left;">"...ye Ife Bee is beloved as the fecret worker who layeth up great ftores of Golden Treafure, more valued than gold in olden times. Ye Raifing of this Mafter-Craftfman is wide-thought impofsible, for there is nothing ye Ife Bee loathes more ftrongly than ye ruddy face of a Bee Keeper or ye fickening glower of a Fmoking Lamp, and they love to die to deftroy thefe things. Their coats be Highly Noninflammable, and ye Lint off their hides chokes ye breath, and fo they are hated as much as adored by thofe who walk Ye Paths Up and Ye Paths Down in darknefs and light. Ye Honey of ye bees is what I fpeaketh of here when I fpeaketh of yon Treafure. Emperors would pay diamond-weight for a tafte of olde, and many a Wife One fayeth it has powers to ameliorate fuffering of ye fpirit, and to cleanfe ye body of difeafe and death..."<br /></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOrltItr73vtH2rEYgQab3X4Jzi3VPcg2YOqWovQYrafn0kIMQxbYGyOkgPCO5E3d74H0p3HRDCFebDb2TGP9D8DYqI-2ncqwAITrMHem0Bap2WTPWZML8NsQ2RYSavRgp1T-juIDVufyOpe8vznF1swG74JJDZDuNbJuzMo0txS3IVgpA3TVPNKMWgg/s1295/ice%20bee.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1295" data-original-width="961" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOrltItr73vtH2rEYgQab3X4Jzi3VPcg2YOqWovQYrafn0kIMQxbYGyOkgPCO5E3d74H0p3HRDCFebDb2TGP9D8DYqI-2ncqwAITrMHem0Bap2WTPWZML8NsQ2RYSavRgp1T-juIDVufyOpe8vznF1swG74JJDZDuNbJuzMo0txS3IVgpA3TVPNKMWgg/w296-h400/ice%20bee.png" width="296" /></a></div><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">On the Ounikorn</h4><blockquote>"...ye Ounikorn, fo-called for its fear of ye mighty Eagle, for its fmall eyes cannot be turned Heavenwards enough to efpy it in the Plunge, be an amphibian creature alike to the Frog and the Flutterby. ye firft porfion of its life be fpent upon Land, where it is confidered the most honorable and notable Game or Quarry in ye whole world, barring only ye Quefting Beaft. When its bulk becomes too great for four legs to fupport, it betaketh itfelf to the Feas where it playeth in the deep and maketh fport of men in their Boats. I wouldft have included a Fketch Illuftrationary, but I could find no man claiming he had ever feen the Thing nor willing to defcribe likewife..."</blockquote><br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-39680591215725733192023-10-31T18:15:00.004-04:002024-03-11T01:20:00.750-04:00Self Same King (GLOG Setting, Campaign Material)<style>
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It has been some two centuries, many many generations of the smallfolk, since the goblins of Hybrasil threw off the yoke of their ogre masters and chased the invading tallfolk back into the sea. But the Goblin King aged and died, as goblins do, and his advisors — the prophesied adventurers who guided him to adulthood and power, and gathered the regalia of his previous incarnations — followed him into the dark long ago, even the blessed Rellek who was favored by the Goddess of Death. The Free Kingdoms that so many goblins died to create have not grown stronger or more powerful with the passing of years. <br /><br /> There are old enemies in Hybrasil, and new threats. The Torch Paladins are as proud and cruel today as they ever were before they were forced at lancepoint to bend the knee. From the south the Hobgoblin Empire swallows the island up, mile by mile, town by town. In the north the immortal Dimitar, the ruler of planet Xater and the so-called "Space Hitler", is once more preparing to invade the realms of flesh and blood. Even the lands of the dead are not peaceful, as the Red Lady and the Raven Queen squabble over souls, and in doing so allow the Ghoul and the Lich to slink back through the Gates of Life.<br /><br /> But you don't care about that, of course. You don't even know who any of those people or places are; you weren't in my Pathfinder game, you haven't met any of these characters, and you aren't one of the players who rewrote the history of this world by "discovering" the "scepter" of the "goblin-king of old" (unless you were, in which case: Hello. Tell Rellek's player he still owes me $5 from the last Creator Clash). You're here for the first time. I can hear you saying to yourself "Michael, what is all this shit?"<br /><br /> Here, read a little farther and I'll tell you. <br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CpriQpkyhXZUB0sqHKXJljpbRikaopBuiFfMUAPFZM_Lib9IiaAi1_Q3qirlTnppVASxg1nU4vXDctRcQ3AVonkGeEuSKT66XL7jcHsBHfZCQcZZaq1ikYxPVtWT_ORP7ysj3_A1ANnAJayqFzoGmhjXjQKxU4tj1g7e9Ap8bmh27FwrAHsFkmL1vmE/s2674/map.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2674" data-original-width="2428" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CpriQpkyhXZUB0sqHKXJljpbRikaopBuiFfMUAPFZM_Lib9IiaAi1_Q3qirlTnppVASxg1nU4vXDctRcQ3AVonkGeEuSKT66XL7jcHsBHfZCQcZZaq1ikYxPVtWT_ORP7ysj3_A1ANnAJayqFzoGmhjXjQKxU4tj1g7e9Ap8bmh27FwrAHsFkmL1vmE/w582-h640/map.png" width="582" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map of a section of the eastern coast of Hybrasil. Marked on it are three of its largest cities.</td>
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<br /><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">The World</h4><br /> Hybrasil is a large island (think more like Australia than Britain) a great distance to the south and west of the continent of Oriens. Oriens is the home of the tallfolk; elfs, dwarves, humans and &c. Hybrasil is the home of goblinoids. Some centuries ago, Oriens attempted a major colonization effort in Hybrasil. This effort was largely a failure, but it did do enough damage to the political fabric of the island to allow its perennial lower-classes to rise in a revolution. <br /><br /> The grimy port-town that was the center of the colonization effort, Orlivka, now serves as the capital of the Free Goblin Kingdoms; "free" in that the ogres who once ruled the region were all hanged, "goblin" in that a lot of its peoples are goblins, "kingdoms" in that they liked the sound of that word (their political structure is more like a palace economy with dozens of minor outlying counties). To the west is Hark, a gnomic (i.e. built by gnomes) tiered city on the slope of a mountain in the Dry Court range. To the south is Laetia, a city built in an enormous swamp and inhabited mostly by various kinds of lizard.<br /><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAo5b3c_OnOUlAB1swReIp-8DishIMHB0adaAEyJIwozRFLrM9k2R7UsLFu00wogT7qmee0ypI8W-Imut0RPT4f53vKdSCZ4ZIOKSH4mLYRRZRMnbuNVLVRt-aWUgQZtpLMTUibwgHRWTuyQaF8fDL6Xd2IFSyn4Qn58xhTKfvZtE8U2WRPfm9btze2I/s800/Logo.png" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAo5b3c_OnOUlAB1swReIp-8DishIMHB0adaAEyJIwozRFLrM9k2R7UsLFu00wogT7qmee0ypI8W-Imut0RPT4f53vKdSCZ4ZIOKSH4mLYRRZRMnbuNVLVRt-aWUgQZtpLMTUibwgHRWTuyQaF8fDL6Xd2IFSyn4Qn58xhTKfvZtE8U2WRPfm9btze2I/w400-h400/Logo.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><br /> Hybrasil and Oriens are landmasses on a plane also called "Oriens", because all the plane-hopping wizards live on that continent. The plane of Oriens is unique in that it is closely orbited by seven other "planets" (i.e. the diminutive of "plane"). <br /><br /> Hold a prism up to sunlight, and observe the colors on the wall: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. In your world perhaps this happens because of "frequencies" of "photons" or something. On this plane, this happens because of the influence of the Planets. <br /><br />
<div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Red Planet</b>, with red suns hanging low over a red desert, rusted machines and scattered wheels of bad purpose. Exhaustion.</li>
<li><b>Orange Planet</b>, where there is labor, sweat, the drive to build. Purpose.</li>
<li><b>Yellow Planet</b>, incomprehensible to humans, a place of sickening wrath. Fury.</li>
<li><b>Green Planet</b>, primeval forest with predators in every shadow. gnomes love this place. Panic.</li>
<li><b>Blue Planet</b>, the color of the sky and no earth beneath your feet, falling into a gathering storm forever. Awe.</li>
<li><b>Indigo Planet</b>, a whispery world, dark tarns, long shadows. He who waits for dawn here waits for all time. Terror.</li>
<li><b>Violet Planet</b>, great stone halls, tattered hangings, golden ornaments. Avarice.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<br /> Fairies come from the Planets. Gnomes live there too, but they come back sometimes. It's more of a vacation than an exile.<br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Its People</h4><br /> The smallfolk, sometimes called "goblins" or "goblinoids", are native to the land of Hybrasil. Though as a whole they tend short, the ogres are some of the largest intelligent creatures in the world. Similarly, while the tallfolk of Hybrasil (sometimes called "humanoids") are generally big, the term includes halflings, who are no larger than a hobgoblin. Humans are larger and sturdier than almost all other races, and far more numerous than ogres. Most racial features you may have seen in other RPG worlds do not breed "true" in Hybrasil and Oriens, and you may encounter people with an elfen appearance but a human's strength, or an orcish face but a goblin's fear of sunlight. <br /><br /> But the tallfolk and smallfolk are not the only kind of people. The veil between worlds is thin in Hybrasil, and you will encounter many whose lives have been touched by other planes and planets. "Planetouched", "fey" and "alien" are common words for these people. Any character can be a goblinoid or a humanoid, but your highest and lowest stat (as rolled at character creation) also give you options to be one of these planetouched. Planetouched may resemble goblinoid or humanoid creatures, or may be entirely novel (though they're mostly upright bipeds), at your discretion. <br /><br /><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>
<b>Smallfolk </b>(any stats)<br />The goblins, hobgoblins, orcs and bugbears. The smallfolk are short, wiry and covered in dense orange fur. "Race", as Hybrasilians understand it, is mostly a function of size. Goblins may be only a little over one meter high, while each step above them adds 30 or 40 centimeters. Pureblooded ogres easily reach 3 meters and 300 kilograms (ogres are not PC options).<br /><b>Strength</b>: Choose or roll 1d4<br />
<ol>
<li>Tiny. You can slip into any space a fox could. </li>
<li>Marcher. +2 inventory slots.</li>
<li>Precise. You can balance on anything that can bear your weight. </li>
<li>Gnawing Animal. Chew through a branch or a wooden door in ten minutes. Lost teeth are replaced in a month.</li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Weakness</b>: Choose or roll 1d4
<ol>
<li>Cringing. <b>Save</b> vs. <b>obedience</b> when commanded. </li>
<li>Mook. <b>Afraid</b> of being alone. </li>
<li>Macho. <b>Save</b> vs. <b>blind rage</b> when insulted.</li>
<li>Brutal. <b>Save</b> to leave a fight before at least one casualty. </li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<b>
Tallfolk </b>(any stats)<br />The humans, elfs, dwarves and halflings. The tallfolk are tall, sturdy and largely hairless. "Race", as those from Oriens understand it, is extremely complicated. The smallfolk don't care. Humans may be two meters tall, goliaths and elfs and dwarfs a head shorter than men, and halflings are no bigger than a child. <br /><b>Strength</b>: Choose or roll 1d4
<ol>
<li>Educated. Extra <b>skill</b>. </li>
<li>Dark-Eyed Beauty. <b>See</b> by starlight. +1 <b>reaction</b>. </li>
<li>Iron Stomach. <b>Identify</b> potions and <b>poisons</b> with a little nip, no negative consequences.</li>
<li>Vermin's Foe. +2 <b>to-hit</b> with a thrown object. </li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Weakness</b>: Choose or roll 1d4
<ol>
<li>Protean. -4 to <b>saves</b> vs. <b>mutation</b> or <b>transformation</b>. </li>
<li>Delicate. <b>Save</b> vs. <b>disgust</b> when apologizing or interacting with filth. </li>
<li>Greedy. <b>Save</b> vs. <b>blind rage</b> when a non-party member has treasure that ought to be <i>yours</i>.</li>
<li>Foreign. -1 to <b>reactions</b>. </li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><b>Frog </b>(Strength highest)<br />Damp and bowlegged, green and a touch slimy, inveterate explorers. Despite cruel stereotypes frog-people do <i>not</i> subsist mostly on bugs.<br /><b>Strength</b>: Your thick limbs let you jump 30' horizontally or 10' vertically from standing. You can hold your breath for 10 minutes, and can move through water as easily as on land. <br /><b>Weakness</b>: You gain 1 slot of <b>torpor </b>every day, plus 1 every 12 hours in an <b>arid </b>environment. 1 slot of <b>torpor </b>is removed when you bathe your entire body in fresh water for half an hour. If your inventory fills with <b>torpor</b>, you are mostly unresponsive, cannot participate in combat, and travel at 1/6th speed.</li>
<li><b>Strawman </b>(Strength lowest)<br />Mostly harmless. Perhaps literally an animated scarecrow, but more likely a figure molded from dreamstuff in the Great Unconscious (not that strawmen have any concept of the metaphysics involved). <br /><b>Strength</b>: You are totally <b>immune </b>to falling damage or any other form of massive impact. You can crumple into a pile of clothes at-will and reform yourself at any time. Birds are terrified of you.<br /><b>Weakness</b>: You are a creature of artifice, not a child of nature. You must wear old gloves to touch the world, and secondhand boots to walk around. Without them you cannot interact with the world. Sources of <b>fire </b>deal maximum damage to you, and you become limp and powerless in water.</li>
<li><b>Beetle </b>(Constitution highest).<br />Rarely seen unarmored. Flesh may be banded, or russet, or the color of old teeth, while the face and fingertips are shining metallic or gemstone hues. <br /><b>Strength</b>: You start with a suit of samurai armor (<b>medium</b>), a tachi (<b>heavy</b>) and a wakizashi (<b>medium</b>, wisdom-based). You can sleep comfortably in your armor, and if your gear is lost or damaged you can replace it in a week or repair it in 8 hours.<br /><b>Weakness</b>: You may not ignore an honorable demand for a duel, and when you meet another beetle you must duel them.</li>
<li><b>Gnome </b>(Constitution lowest)<br />Very wee. Size of a toddler, with the wrinkly face of an old man. Centuries ago this was <i>their</i> land, before they were forced to retreat beyond the Gates. Gnomes like on other planets now — the Green, mostly — but they've been known to come back. <br /><b>Strength</b>: You can fit anywhere a child could hide, and can perfectly disguise yourself as a boring inanimate object while holding your breath. <br /><b>Weakness</b>: The touch of iron weapons (not iron tools, not bronze or stone weapons) burn you for double damage. <b>Save </b>to miss an opportunity to scare the shit out of an innocent.</li>
<li><b>Serpent </b>(Dexterity highest)<br />Lithe bodies, skin dry and cold to the touch. Held in superstitious horror for their glowing eyes. Capable of great evil. <br /><b>Strength</b>: Non-serpents cannot break eye contact with you on their own. While maintaining eye contact, you may force someone to make a <b>save </b>every round or walk 10' closer to you, even if this takes them into danger or walks them off a cliff. Once in <b>grappling </b>range you may force someone to <b>save </b>or stand rigid and helpless. <br /><b>Weakness</b>: You are loathed. Folk consider your gaze assault, whether or not you try to hypnotize them, so you must keep your eyes downcast in towns. Few temples permit you entrance.</li>
<li><b>Panda </b>(Dexterity lowest)<br />Fuzzy and round. For some reason I can't grasp, people just love to have pandas around. I say: let 'em die. This is Michael talking, out-of-character. I do not like pandas. <br /><b>Strength</b>: You are characterized by your bold black-and-white coat and rotund body, which people find endearing. These give you +2 <b>AC </b>and +2 <b>HP</b>. <br /><b>Weakness</b>: All Panda-people are born with a crippling addiction to <b>panacea</b>, a substance refined on a different planet and imported at great expense by Panda cartels. For each day you do not consume at least one dose of <b>panacea</b>, you gain a cumulative <b>-1</b> to all d20 rolls. After 3 weeks without <b>panacea</b> or medical attention, you die.</li>
<li><b>Worker </b>(Intelligence highest)<br />The female of the species. Tiny black eyes, long black nails, black-and-yellow wool. A long thick tail ends in a sawtoothed spike. Every worker is a harried emcel. <br /><b>Strength</b>: You can gain a slot of <b>exhaustion </b>to work like ten men for an hour. Your blood is bitter black <b>poison</b>; anyone who bites you takes as much damage as they deal. You can viciously sting for <b>2d8 </b>damage, taking <b>[highest]</b> yourself as you use your own blood as venom. <br /><b>Weakness</b>: Your rations must be syrup and liquor. <b>Save </b>when insulted or fly into a destructive rage. </li>
<li><b>Drone </b>(Intelligence lowest)<br />The male of the species. Enormous black eyes, long black nails, black-and-yellow wool. A long thick tail ends in a tuft of yellow hair that might resemble a spike, if the light is bad. Every drone is a hopeless romantic.<br /><b>Strength</b>: You have a thick fluffy coat and a good heart, which give you <b>resistance </b>to <b>fire</b>, <b>cold</b>, weather and <b>magic</b>. Anyone you're holding on to has the same resistance. <br /><b>Weakness</b>: Your rations must be syrup and liquor. <b>Save </b>when you see beauty or fall hopelessly in love, again.</li>
<li><b>Owl </b>(Wisdom highest)<br />Sons of fear, daughters of the night. They appear like a normal person, except for their terrible shadows. The lives of owls are short and brutal; "You'll never go far, but you'll make a lot of people come up short". <br /><b>Strength</b>: <b>See</b> by starlight, and up to 10x zoom. Your shadow is that of a great bird. When not in <b>sunlight</b> you may draw the shadow up over yourself and fly, silently, faster than a man can run. Your flight is steady enough to move down a 10' hallway without touching walls or floor, but you cannot hover, and you need a 10' square to turn 90°.<br /><b>Weakness</b>: You are completely <b>blind </b>in sunlight, and must wear a blindfold or hood to protect your eyes. You must <b>save </b>to make any noise other than a wordless scream.</li>
<li><b>Peevish Lizard</b> (Wisdom lowest)<br />Chunky, scaled, lazy. The lizards hate to do anything that doesn't involve basking in a warm pond, but that lifestyle can get expensive. This is the great injustice of the world.<br /><b>Strength</b>: Your jaws cannot be unfastened from something without the aid of a metal crowbar. You can eat a ration to heal 1 <b>HP</b>, and are <b>immune </b>to <b>fire</b>.<br /><b>Weakness</b>: You eat and sleep so rarely that you require neither while on an adventure. Instead, you must regulate your body temperature. You gain 1 slot of <b>torpor </b>every day, plus 1 every 12 hours in a cold environment. 1 slot of <b>torpor </b>is removed when you bask in a large <b>fire </b>or on a rock in direct sunlight for 6 hours. If your inventory fills with <b>torpor</b>, you are mostly unresponsive, cannot participate in combat, and travel at 1/6th normal speed. </li>
<li>
<b>Unicorn </b>(Xharisma highest)<br />
<blockquote>Generations have lived and died<br />in the shadow of the unicorn.<br />Schools of prestige and power have been founded,<br />dedicated to the hunt.<br />Kingdoms have burnt forests to find it.<br />Fortunes have been reduced to nothing.<br />Still, they hunt the Unicorn.</blockquote>
<br /><b>Strength</b>: You have a 2' horn sticking out of your head. It is as sharp as a <b>medium </b>sword, and cannot break or be removed against your will. You can take <b>1d6</b> points of <b>stat </b>injuries for one the following magical effects, applied with a touch of your horn:
</li>
<ol>
<li>Heal someone for <b>HP </b>equal to stats lost</li>
<li>Damage an <b>undead </b>for <b>HD </b>equal to stats lost</li>
<li>Burst a lock, bend bars or shatter a chain</li>
<li>Cure a malady, such as blindness or paralysis</li>
<li>Undo a <b>curse </b>or hex</li>
<li>Produce brilliant light from your horn until next you sleep</li>
</ol>
<b>
Weakness</b>: Your blood is precious. The equivalent of 1 point of <b>maximum HP</b> reduction, sprinkled on a field, makes it rich and bountiful; consumed as a potion it cures wounds; applied to the skin it grants the appearance of youth; kept safe and allowed to heal between harvests you could provide this bounty for a long, long time. Even the most callow of wizardlings could use your horn as a wand that would make them living legends. Everyone you meet knows all these things, <b>1-in-10</b> are willing to seize the opportunity.
<li>
<b>Swan </b>(Xharisma lowest)<br />Beautiful, doomed. Legends tell of swan-maidens, and the vengeful princes that love them, and the foolish humans that try to enslave them by stealing their coat-of-feathers — or of young men cursed to spend half their lives as birds, and the rest of their lives as cripples. <br /><b>Strength</b>: You own a great coat of white feathers. Pulled completely around you it turns you into an enormous swan. Worn halfway on and halfway off, and it transforms you into an angelic being with thunderous wings. <br /><b>Weakness</b>: <b>Disaster </b>is waiting for every swan, at the end of the line. You have <b>disadvantage </b>on avoiding your <b>Disaster</b> and its sources deal double damage to you. Choose a <b>Disaster</b>, or roll on the following list:
<ol>
<li>long falls</li>
<li>legs failing you</li>
<li>serial killer</li>
<li>poisoned by mistake or lack of care</li>
<li>burning building</li>
<li>horns of a wild beast</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
<br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Gods of Hybrasil</h4><br /> The native gods are simple and powerful: the <b>Sun</b>, the <b>Moon</b>, the <b>Rain</b>, the <b>Sea </b>and <b>Winter</b>. The invaders brought others: a whole host of gods and goddesses of <b>Magic</b>, <b>Chaos</b>, <b>Law </b>and the like. The two pantheons are uncomfortable with each other, but open war has never broken out. <br /><br /> The most adventurer-relevant deities are as follows: <br /><br /><div></div><blockquote><div><b>Wee Jas</b></div><div>The powers of <b>Vanity</b>, <b>Law</b>, <b>Arcana</b>, <b>Death </b></div><div>The Witch-Goddess, the Red Lady Mother of Magicians, Watcher of the Well, the Gate of Death, Abomination of Necromancers, the Dark-Eyed Lady</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Demeanour</b>: Haughty, diligent, grasping, afraid, conspiratorial, far-seeing </div><div><b>Symbols</b>: Red skull on a red field, a fireball, an eye with red kohl, a tall human woman in dark clothes and red jewelry, a broken hourglass, a wishing well</div><div><b>Common Worshipers</b>: Wizards, ghoul-hunters, those who perform burials, communist necromancers (the ones who want free undead labor), hags</div><div><b>Why do people suffer?</b> They have forgotten their place and themselves, and have struggled against the world. Or they're demons or necromancers: FUCK those guys </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ban</b>: Stealing the souls of the dead, which are her property. Raising mindless undead and allowing them to walk unchecked, which is disgusting to her. Raising intelligent undead, which are a blasphemy. Opening connections between between mortal realms and the worlds of the dead.</div><div><b>Wrath</b>: Real Old Testament rains-of-fire. </div><div><b>Sacrament</b>: Proper burial of the dead and maintenance of tombs. Destruction of the lich and the demon. The closing of portals, the sewing-up of rents in the veil. </div><div><b>Blessing</b>: A taste of a single drop from her well of power, which makes mortals into mages.</div></blockquote><div><br /><br /><div></div><blockquote><div><b>Claw</b></div><div>The powers of <b>Law</b>, <b>Punishment</b>, <b>Submission</b></div><div>The Torch of Heaven, our Overseer, Balancer of the Pans, President-9th-Class of Hell, King of the Burning Times </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Demeanour</b>: Proud, literal, humorless, bureaucratic, patronizing, protective</div><div><b>Symbols</b>: Fiery sword, crossed torch and shovel, black burn over the eye, locks, barbed chains, three cuts</div><div><b>Common Worshipers</b>: Devils, servants of devils, paladins, pirate hunters</div><div><b>Why do people suffer?</b> All planes and all life exist at the sufferance of the Absolute, who is oddly permissive of the sins of intelligent life. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ban</b>: Defying the laws of legitimate authorities. Opening portals. Anarchy.</div><div><b>Wrath</b>: A sharp sword in the hands of a Torch Paladin</div><div><b>Sacrament</b>: None.</div><div><b>Blessing</b>: Grit and fortitude, given to some and withheld from others unfairly.</div></blockquote><div><br /><br /><div></div><blockquote><div><b>Neath</b></div><div>The powers of <b>Sorcery</b>, <b>Knowledge</b>, <b>Disaster</b></div><div>The All-Seeing Eye, the Troubled God, the Single Twin, the Dark Master, the Bright Master, the Mystery of Faith, Great Fearsome One</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Demeanour</b>: Changeable, generous, paranoid, ruining, unpredictable</div><div><b>Symbols</b>: Pyramid with eye and rays, face split in two halves of black and white, glass sphere, black and white stripes, magical explosions</div><div><b>Common Worshipers</b>: Mages, scholars, apocalyptic cultists, spells, students, magical creatures</div><div><b>Why do people suffer?</b> There is no suffering, but sometimes people choose the long, arduous path of mundanity, foolishly believing this to be "better" or "more character-building" in some way. Why struggle when you could wave your hand and get what you want?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ban</b>: Mundanity</div><div><b>Wrath</b>: Dreams of brain-melting chaos, when he's mad at an individual. Patches of dead magic, when he punished a whole region.</div><div><b>Sacrament</b>: Any great ritual of magic. Its purpose is inconsequential: the Greatness of the Work is what Neath adores. </div><div><b>Blessing</b>: Power and knowledge — the good kind, the kind that gets you in trouble.</div></blockquote><div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-62107309194025395572023-09-30T04:48:00.000-04:002023-12-27T01:35:59.279-05:00Slush Pile 2<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHiQAr_qOwQpWfddTWXCdWPy9LkZQJiEWUjFTdvkRTauMPelNKlMOwK554ncUmzNu9z9n-cVWdO8TzSnIG_B7b2BtBGZf-JCOa4U2jA79gTyBTPVjJDm0A2F5Q7De7GFFLzGLiKsPWj_RspOWKAZD9WSYju_BcD9KRJxDoM7H9JxfOgluvgBhFDhYBPI/s882/animus.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="882" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHiQAr_qOwQpWfddTWXCdWPy9LkZQJiEWUjFTdvkRTauMPelNKlMOwK554ncUmzNu9z9n-cVWdO8TzSnIG_B7b2BtBGZf-JCOa4U2jA79gTyBTPVjJDm0A2F5Q7De7GFFLzGLiKsPWj_RspOWKAZD9WSYju_BcD9KRJxDoM7H9JxfOgluvgBhFDhYBPI/w640-h280/animus.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><b>Signs that a creature is resistant to Holy damage</b>:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>covered in holy symbols</li>
<li>faint ghastly glow</li>
<li>it's a karma thing, you can Just Tell</li>
<li>some parts of the body clearly made from silver</li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
Nothing the best of artists can conceive <br />
but lies, potential, in a block of stone, <br />
superfluous matter round it. The hand alone <br />
can free it that has intelligence for guide. <br />
The peril I’m running from, the good descried <br />
in you, proud lovely lady—yes, heaven’s own!— <br />
are virtual in yourself. I’m doomed, I groan: <br />
art thwarting the very end it longs to have. <br />
Not love, then, and not your beauty, your famous name, <br />
disdain or marble mien, fate high or low, <br />
is the cause I languish long here, hold my breath. <br />
If mercy and doom in your heart attend, then blame<br />
my feeble wit: though the two affect me so, <br />
it can realize the one only. And that’s death<br /><br /><br /><b>From a description of a Lord of the Rings Online class</b>:<br />"The key mechanic for the Mariner class is the balance bar. This sifts left (“foreward”) and right (“aftward”) depending on skills used. This sounds similar in a way to the Rune-keeper’s attunement meter, except that here the main goal is to keep the bar balanced in the center (“steady”) as much as possible. If you go too far in either direction and become unbalanced, bad stuff starts happening to you — namely, you get debuffs and are even stunned. So it’s in your best interests to stay balanced as much as possible.<br /><br />Figuring out which skill moves the bar which way isn’t too difficult, as the devs have color-coded them. Blue skills (mostly defensive) move the bar aftward, while red skills (mostly offensive) move the bar foreward."<br /><br /><br /><b>sphinx and dragon</b>:<br /> the sphinx' greatest pleasure is in the guarding, not the having — while the dragon loves the having, but is driven to distraction by the thought of thieves and intruders<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Shit I saw on my roadtrip</b>:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>billboard that says <b>YOU KNOW WHAT WE SELL</b>. with an ai generated image and no other information</li>
<li>Graffiti reading <b>FOR ALL MANKIND </b></li>
<li>Restaurant titled, in six-foot-high neon letters, <b>THE CHINA BUFFET II</b> </li>
<li>Metal fence bent half-over like it was hit by something, but covered in unmarked paint</li>
<li>24' flatbed carrying a single, presumably very heavy, bicycle</li>
<li>The "Motor Mile". It was a really, really large lot full of wrecked cars on the side of the highway</li>
<li>An ad for a car dealer — COME KNOW THYSELF IN SEVIERVILLE (I may have imagined this one, as I saw it very late at night/early in the morning)</li>
<li>Sitting in a Peruvian restaurant enjoying a wildly overcooked steak, listing to latin music. The radio switches to something for a moment: a woman shouting "NO... NO... NNOOOO... AAAAAAAA" at the top of her lungs. Radio switches back to latin music. Some kind of horror movie thing?<br /></li>
<li>miles and miles of discarded tires along a pennsylvania highway<br /></li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
<h4>Atlantis - Timeline of Discovery<br /></h4>
<br /><b>The Great War</b>: Two aviators, John "Jack" Alcock, an American aviator, and Arthur Brown, an English aero-engineer, are independently captured by the Central Powers. Both men are intrepid explorers, and a brief stay in a POW camp dissuades neither man from his dream of crossing the Atlantic by air in under 72 hours.<br /><br /><b>Postwar</b>: Alcock approaches the Vickers company to specially-modify one of their Vimy IV bombers for the trip. As Brown develops his aerial navigation skills, the Vickers company builds a series of a dozen planes at their facilities; lucky number 13 is built at Weybridge and shipped across the ocean to be assembled in Canada. Brown approaches Alcock, impresses him with his technical skill, and is officially brought onto the project as navigator. <br /><br /><b>14 June, 1919, 1:45 p.m.</b> - John "Jack" Alcock and Arthur Brown take off from Newfoundland in a modified Vickers bomber. Though the plane was extensively tested and modified by a team of experts, including support from Rolls Royce technicians for the two 360hp engines that would power the first non-stop transatlantic flight, problems are almost immediately encountered; the overloaded plane only barely escapes the tops of the trees at the end of the rough runway. <br /><br /><b>5:15 p.m.</b> - Over radio, Alcock indicates that the two see lights above them which Brown cannot place on any map. He intends to investigate.<br /><br /><b>Some point after 5:15 p.m.</b> - Contact is lost with the airplane. <br /><br /><b>17 June, 4:40 a.m.</b> - Alcock briefly reestablishes contact over radio. His only discernible words: "—it's so much colder than I—"<br /><br /><b>25 June, 9:15 p.m.</b> - The lucky number 13 crashes in Derrigimlagh Bog, near Clifden in County Galway, only a few miles from their intended landing zone. As it lands the converted bomber noses-over. Alcock is immediately killed, and Brown is hospitalized, dying without regaining consciousness. The rescuers note that the plane appears to have been crudely repaired with sheets of leather and large whalebones, and that both Alcock and Brown have aged perhaps 20 years. <br /><br /><br /><b>Early hours of 2 July, 1919</b> - Though planned to take place before Alcock and Brown's voyage, damage sustained in testing meant that the east-to-west transatlantic flight by Major George Herbert "Lucky Breeze" Scott, this one aboard an R34 rigid airship, had been delayed several weeks. Dark jokes abound on the airbase: the R34 may not be the "first nonstop transatlantic flight", but it may yet claim the title of "first nonstop transatlantic flight, with survivors".<br /><br /><b>7:45 p.m.</b> - Over radio, Scott reports lights in the sky above the R34. <br /><br /><b>7:50 p.m.</b> - Scott transmits a final message: "[unintelligible], it's an entire [unintelligible] continent. Wait—"<br /><br /><b>Some point after 7:50 p.m.</b> - Contact is lost with the airship.<br /><br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Notes from my dream journal/possible <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-best-case-scenario-11-any-day-now.html"><b>BCS</b></a> mission prompts</h4>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>group of 4 misunderstand timetravel, go back to the past so they can kill themselves in an "alternate reality" before killing their original selves. keep doing it. become incredibly good at killing themselves. just showed up in our timeline, 250 years of experience under their belt, the best genetic modification that can be bought before 2073, armed to the fucking teeth</li>
<li>911, what's your emergency?<br />hi, I'm at [my previous address] and there's someone laughing between me and the only door out of my apartment</li>
<li>quote: "this is all just a manmade nightmare. who's to say i can't fly in the sky with the sataks, or live in the mountain with the satavaks?"</li>
<li>breathing with the aid of magical symbiotic spiders which cram tentacles in your lungs</li>
<li>we are proud to be america's second news source that is both anti-semitic and pro-israel</li>
<li>the flood law firm represents the seriously injured</li>
<li>the name of a water lily, an indian tribe, and a practice. just north of some town. if you want to do it right, there are a few tips to make it safe. never do it near the falls. never size the light, they'll get confused on their own. never do it if the real selkies will hate you for it. <br />stupid european just doesn't understand a good prank. <br />double wide trailer on tank treads rolling over an old trail, dripping into the water to see if the selkies will grab me</li>
<li>man trying to retrieve treasure from a deep, narrow pit. longer than his arm. uses a hook or some duck but just ends up jamming the hole. it closes over and festers. on the other side of the jam the hole grows deeper</li>
<li>the state acts through its 'leader" in ritual murders called "executions"</li>
<li>in a museum about germany, a screen cycles through lofi trivia questions about germany. one of the provided answers is always macabre, and one is always about piss, and then there are two random ones. the people standing behind me in line keep guessing the piss one. but the answer is "death" or "a hearse" every time. (This one might be a tweet that I incorrectly copied into my dream journal, but I'm too lazy to check).<br /></li>
<li> You were a child growing up in a small West Virginia town under the friendly alias of "Taylor". Your father was a ???, your mother a stay-at-home mom. She's slightly insane. One day your father disappeared — people say he was mobbed up but crossed the wrong guy. <br /> He sends a letter to your mama, just before he vanishes, telling her to load the shotgun, take you out to the greenhouse, explain to you that your real name wasn't "Taylor" it was "Typhon, King of the Monsters", and shoot you in the back of the head. Sobbing, she followed almost all of his instructions. <br /> At the last moment she reconsidered and shot herself instead. The cops arrived, found the scene and the whacked-out letter, whisked you away to some relatives' home, and you spent years being shuffled around. You grew into a fine young human being (all things considered) (not too fucked up). <br /> Finally one day you return to the place your parents died. Funny run-in with a pair of cops when they find your car next to the dilapidated house that used to be yours: "yeah, folks say the place is haunted. about twenty years ago, [explanation of your childhood]. Pretty fucked up". You agree. <br /> Of course, what you've never revealed to anyone is: you lied. On that on that fateful day, your mother <i>didn't</i> reconsider. She shot you in the head from three feet away with a 12 gauge shell — and the pellets rattled off like hail. Now you're back to find some Gosh Darned Answers.</li>
<li>Two old friends are recounting a hilarious tale for an ABC special involving the death of [Gene] Wolfe and their attempts to recover his famous field mouse collection. The mice live in a field of highly realistic scarecrows. The men (there's a cheesy and slightly cheap reenactment of all this, which the interview keeps cutting to) are slicing open the faces of the scarecrows to get at the straw and the mices. One of them is panicking, running through the field. the two collide. The other bends and inserts an 8 inch hinting knife up the nostril and into the frontal lobe, and slits. Cut back to interview: men are laughing, their spouses (field mouse biologist and her daughter) are laughing, man who got slit is demonstrating how deep into his skull 8 inches is. No scar, no indication of how he even survived. The reenactment had been freaking me out because obviously I anticipated what was coming but at the end I was just confused and mad.<br /></li>
</ul>
<br /><br /><br />
<h4>Dungeon</h4>
<br /> The authorities of Orlivka have arrested the sea-rat <b>Swithemend </b>on suspicious of general smugglery. However, they've got no real evidence beyond the circumstantial, and <b>Swithemend </b>counts most of the sea-rats in the city as his friend. The authorities want you to explore his little cafe, the <i>Greaséd Rat</i>, and find proof of his wrongdoing convincing enough to quell the growing unrest.<br /><br /><b></b>
<blockquote><b>A, Swithemore's Kitchen </b><br />Exit to the NORTH, doors on the EAST and WEST, stairs leading DOWN to the EAST.<br />There's a huge iron griddle on a woodstove, and some pots and pans and knives hanging from the walls. The floor is slick with seawater and old fishblood, as it always is. <b>Aria </b>the ratwench will pay <b>5gp</b> if you can haul a great heavy keg up the narrow, rickety stairs from the basement (<b>strength </b>check to not slide back down with the keg on top of you for <b>1d12</b>)</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>B, Dining Room</b><br />Swithemend is in prison, but his regulars are still here drinking and talking. Besides the old salts and some grim-faced sea-rat mercenaries, there's <b>Harry Graft </b>and <b>2d4 </b>of his band of troublemakers. Given any provocation they'll throw knives "around" but not "at" you, but it's a joke so you're not allowed to get angry. For <b>10gp </b>you could get them to do almost any fool thing. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>C, Smoking Deck</b><br />The deck is covered by a pergola draped in a thin fabric that keeps out bugs but lets in air and light. at the <i>Greaséd Rat</i> sitting out here is the particular privilege of the particularly old, who smoke and gossip and snooze. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>D, Pantry</b><br />Flour, oil, slivered coconut in jars, a large jamon. Concealed beneath the slivered coconut (Swithemend's favorite snack) is a large old-fashioned key.</blockquote>
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<br /><b>Rumors</b>: <br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>"Swithemore was a pirate in his youth, had a hideout on Flies Island..." (true).</li>
<li>"Orlivka has a <b>Corpse Priest</b> problem. why, I've seen them with my own eyes strutting about by night proud as you please..." (half-true)</li>
<li>"Swithemore was always chuckling to himself about his secret heap of treasure. i bet that's the real reason they dragged him before the Magistrate in chains..." (true)</li>
<li>"Harry Graft's a vampire, that's why you see so many lads come and go in his gang..." (false)</li>
</ol>
<br /><br /><br /> The basement of the <i>Greaséd Rat</i> is much cooler than ground-level. Halflings or other PCs with a sensitive nose might notice a faint whiff of salt and rot, though the cafe is several hundred yards from the bluffs of the north end of Orlivka, and you usually can't smell the sea this far away because of all the horse and fried fish and fried horse.<br /><br /><b></b>
<blockquote><b>1, Beer </b><br /><u>touch</u>: flagstone floor, plaster walls. <u>smell</u>: cheap swill. <u>lit</u> by oil lamp. <br /> This room is filled with casks and puddles of Swithemend's terrible beer. Every few minutes, Aria comes half-falling down the stairs, fills a dozen mugs, then slowly and carefully trudges back up to the customers. On shelves to the WEST and SOUTH, old cookbooks and damaged utensils sit. On the large desk in the NORTHEAST, an <b>elderly map</b> is unfurled, and a <b>medium leadcutter</b> is laid out for maintenance with oil and a rag.<br /> The sword's blade is recently well-cared-for, though dark corrosion pitting indicates a rougher history. The map is of an unidentified island with no provided scale. It indicates several trails between several locations, though again these aren't identified. Near one of the islands bays, a large and delicious red X has been marked next to a little doodle of a rat-skull.<br /> Door to the EAST is old and stuck. Door to the SOUTH is broad and well-oiled</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>2, Ham</b><br /><u>touch</u>: chill air, porkiness. <u>smell</u>: pork. <u>taste</u>: pork. <u>lit</u> by blue crystal in ceiling. <br /> This room is where Swithemend kept his expensive imported jamons. They look like hams — old and mummified hams at that — but there are 40 of these suckers just hanging around and any PC with a skill or background in upper-class cuisine or etiquette knows you could march up to any local noble's cook and sell them <b>10gp</b> a pop easy, maybe more if you target a banquet.<br /> The crystal in the ceiling is a <b>Gem of Cold</b>. It could be set in a weapon or used as a magical reagent, but if you just leave it around in a room of this size it lowers the ambient temperature by about 30 degrees fahrenheit. <br /> The door EAST has a large shiny padlock. It can be opened with the pantry key (in <b>D</b>), or it can be noisily axed through, or noisily kicked open by a character with at least <b>15 strength</b>. Smashing a door provokes an immediate encounter</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>3, Wine</b><br /><u>touch</u>: flagstone floors, earth walls. <u>smell</u>: dust and spiders. not <u>lit</u>. <br /> Racks and racks of bottles of fine wines, most of them untouched in years. They're unwieldy and fragile as treasure, but most of the 60 bottles in here are worth a respectable <b>3gp</b>. The bottle of <i>Mariada Rose</i> would be worth <b>20gp </b>to an enthusiast, and a dose of the warming <i>Goat Valley Tempranillo</i> would cure <b>stat-damage</b> and <b>XP drain</b> (one bottle has 3 doses). <br /> Tipping the racks over would crush the occupants of the room for <b>4d6 </b>damage, <b>save </b>v. <b>traps </b>for half.<br /> The door SOUTH has a large, rusty padlock. It can be opened with the pantry key (in <b>D</b>), or it can be noisily axed through, or noisily kicked open by a character with at least <b>12 strength</b>. Smashing a door provokes an immediate encounter</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>X, Tripart Hallway </b><br /><u>touch</u>: slick packed dirt. <u>smell</u>: earth and clay. not <u>lit</u>.<br /> This hallway seems to have been cut through the ground relatively recently. Any dwarf or engineer can immediately see it's not supported enough to last many summer-winter cycles in a coastal town. The track WEST-EAST has been walked so often there are no footprints, just a few dragmarks. The path SOUTH is taken so infrequently that it's clear the visitor was a sea-rat every time</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>4, Junk</b><br /><u>touch</u>: earth floor and walls. <u>smell</u>: old wood, damp, dust. not <u>lit</u>. <br /> This room is cluttered full of crap. There are old crates, chests of drawers, a full suit of plate armor (sized for a human, requires significant repairs and refitting costing 1/4th as new) holding a <b>medium </b>poleaxe and a shield, shelves loaded with decks of marked cards and fistfuls of loaded dice (<b>2gp</b>, perhaps), shelves loaded with old books mostly on the topic of whelks (but also a <b>spellbook </b>with 2 spells, if 10 minutes are taken to search), a wicker basket full of 40 pounds of fetters and cuffs, a collection of skulls, and whatever other garbage you can think of. There's a treasure chest on a large expensive-looking rug (<b>10gp</b> but bulky): approaching the chest without examining the rug triggers a loaded beartrap underneath, <b>2d6 </b>damage. The chest itself is locked, and contains <b>30gp </b>in silver coins from various lands. <br /> The door in the WEST, leading to hallway <b>X</b>, is obvious. the door in the EAST, to <b>Y</b>, is disguised as a large coffin covered in faded warnings of <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2019/10/disease.html">Red Plague</a></b>.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Y, Crooked Hallway</b><br /><u>touch</u>: damp stone. <u>smell</u>: salt air, dead bodies. <u>lit</u> by luminescent paint on the wall.<br /> This hallway is narrow and uncomfortable, and seems to have been picked through solid stone sometime in the past. The walls and ceiling are splattered with green paint that glows brightly enough to keep away the <b>Grue</b>. Tasting or inhaling a fragment of the paint requires a <b>save </b>v. <b>poison</b>, dealing <b>1d6 </b>damage to <b>intelligence</b> on a fail.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>5, Gnomic Temple</b><br /><u>touch</u>: wooden floor and walls. <u>sound</u>: low whispering, dripping, chuckling. <u>smell</u>: beeswax and wormcast and blood. not <u>lit</u>.<br /> This was once a small shrine to <b>Wee Jas the Witch-Goddess</b>, but someone has toppled her statue. It lies face-down with its legs broken. Rangers or characters with a background in monstrumology immediately know this room is the den of a Grue. When first entering, everyone who's holding light must <b>save </b>or have it extinguished. Every subsequent minute, they must repeat the <b>save</b>. Anyone in this room in total darkness must <b>save </b>every round or be eaten by a Grue.<br /> The statue is surrounded by the wreck of several large sanctuary candles, which can be pressed back into rough shape and lit. the sanctuary candles make their own <b>save </b>as a whole, with <b>+4</b>. <br />if the party<br /></blockquote>
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<br /> "I will finish this later" I said in June — dear reader, I did not finish this later. Room 6 is full of scraps of clothing and broken glass, room 7 has deep pits with giant worms, room 8 has a smuggler's ship and evidence to convict Swithmore (and evidence of his connection to a smuggling ring whose friendship might be more useful than that of Orlivka's mayor), room 9 is loaded with the good stuff. <br /><br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">What is Worship?</h4>
<br /> Every soul produces a supernatural (as in the technical term) substance that people call "worship," "devotion" or, quaintly, "divine grace". It is a byproduct of intelligent life. Supernatural (again, the technical term) creatures subsist on worship like natural creatures subsist on sunlight and sugar. It is the ambrosia and nectar of the gods, their electricity, their kerosene. <br /><br /> Simony's children, the Little Gods, cut deals with living people (though they don't usually frame it as such) wherein they are offered worship and in return grant power and beneficence. Cities have their Little Gods, as do cults and cultures, and unions and guilds, and caravans of traveling merchants, and circuses, and bandit encampments. The greatest of the Little Gods may have tens of millions of units (gallons? soul-hours?) of worship to work with, while the very smallest may be junior partners to powerful Clergy and survive on fractions of a portion a day. <br /><br /> Sot and Simony and the other children of the Unwelcome Guest do not, it is supposed, require sustenance from mortals. Perhaps, because they are a generation or more removed from the Little Gods, they are less fallible, closer to true immortality, and don't require sustenance. Perhaps, because they dwell in the corpse of Heaven, they are sustained by its stinking humors.<br /><br /><b> <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Hyrkos%20and%20the%20Parch">Hobgoblins</a></b> produce little or no worship. It is sometimes suggested this is because they lack intelligence, or souls. Hobgoblins believe it is because they are sane and all other mortals are demented and demon-haunted. In Hobgoblin lands it is illegal to worship any but <b>Ba the Cosmic Potter</b>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Tchotchkes</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Icon of Saint Sebastian at his execution, eyes turned to heaven, body studded with fletched flowers</li>
<li>T-shirt with obama Hope poster. obama's eyes have slit pupils and small horns have been added to his temples; the badge on his chest has been replaced with the alchemical symbol for sulfur</li>
<li>Snowglobe of the local town perhaps 40 years ago</li>
<li>Doll of a popular politician of a generation past, who was assassinated by Orc nationalists</li>
<li>Tiny scarecrow with haint-blue features</li>
<li>Artificial daffodil in a rubber pot. Smells faintly of lavender, for some reason.</li>
<li>Stress ball depicting [the owner's] own head</li>
<li>Funko Pop of Kite Man</li>
<li>Colorful abstract ceramic, obviously handmade, with the initials KBM painted on the underside</li>
<li>Antique ration container, 9 notches on the side and two small scratched-out silhouettes of a tank</li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Random Prompts<br /><br /></b>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Al-Tandwp- the sultan is that one Dril tweet</li>
<li>Duslam- used to be shrimps</li>
<li>Freak people- want to dig a hole<br /></li>
</ul>
<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Hyrkos%20and%20the%20Parch"><b>Human</b> </a><br />1<b>HD</b>, 12<b>AC</b>, 9 <b>Morale</b><br /><b>Attack</b> as weapon, +2 to <b>strength </b><br /><br /> Humen are a common sight in any dungeon. Their culture places a strong emphasis on violence and ability in combat; because of this and because of their size and strength, they are a prized part of any dark lord's army.<br /><br /><b>Superstition and Witchcraft</b><br /> Humen have no magical tradition of their own. Instead, they steal elements of other races' traditions to perform cargo-cult rituals and assemble crude magical weapons. A particularly inventive human might loot an artifact from a slain wizard and experiment until they can activate it, then use up its remaining charges before discarding it. Less intelligent humen can be found swinging magic staves as clubs, throwing burning spellbooks as crude bombs, or wrapping amulets and totems (both real and imagined) around the hafts of spears and axes in an effort to grant their attacks supernatural efficacy. <br /><br /><b>Dreams of Massacre</b><br /> Humen lives are as short as they are brutal, and their females bear children every year. Even if one of their hordes are utterly destroyed, they will replenish their numbers within twenty years and be ready to attempt another invasion. Towns on the human frontier are never totally safe.<br /><br /><b>Inconsistent Forms </b><br /> Humen can interbreed with many other species. These offspring (called "demihumans" or "mules") are fertile, and combine the features of their nonhuman parent's race with the savage ferocity of their human side. Because of this, they are sometimes unwelcome in civilized towns. Internal conflict means stable communities of mules are rare. They always feel trapped between their two halves, with some choosing to devote themselves to pursuits such art and music to spurn their human side, while others use the edge granted to them by their mixed blood to rise as warlords and adventurers among the humen.<br /><br /><b>Gruesome Trophies</b><br /> When a human slays an enemy they particularly hated or respected (concepts which are very similar to humen), they may construct a grisly memento out of that enemy's body. Their skin might be preserved and used as a rug or wallhanging, their skull might serve as a goblet, their other bones as toolhandles or decoration, and their hair or fur might be woven into fabric or cords. If the enemy was particularly notable their head might be preserved and mounted on a wall, as a reminder to their killer of the glorious combat, or as a warning to visitors.<br /><br /><b>Wild Companions </b><br /> The natural inclination of humen for chaos and the wilderness makes them closer to animals than other races. Humen of all lands often travel in the company of wolves, with whom they share meals and dens. Eastern humen, especially those of the Dendra and Domovoi tribes, even ride tamed horses into battle. The thunderous hooves and gnashing teeth of these brutes are a dangerous complement to the sweeping blows of their masters' cruel axes and the thrusts of their vicious spears. <br /><br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Thoughts on GLOG magic</h4>
<br /> A spell, as <b><a href="https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/07/osr-condensed-spellcasting-rules.html">everyone knows</a></b>, is like a ferret. It can be contained in various things, much like a ferret; a spellbook, a wizard's brain, a scroll, a wand, a stave, a gem, whatever. But why, and for what purpose all these different spell-cages? For the sake of this explanation, imagine the roles are reversed:<br /><br /> You are a meat-and-matter human; your house is material, and made out of material<b><u>s</u></b>: different pieces of different sizes. You actually inhabit the <i>negative space</i> but that negative space is defined by the materials; a solid block of concrete is not a good home and neither is the infinite vastness of Deep Space. <br /><br /> Imagine a pluripotent alien intelligence from a universe without
"matter" owned your house and was trying to get your attention without
killing you. If every human lived in the same kind of McMansion, that pluripotent
intelligence could get anyone's attention easily
and safely, by ringing the doorbell (which it could always find in the
same spot, because every McMansion would be identical). <br /><br /> A spell is a critter. It's made out of magic and spirit like you're made
out of meat and matter. A spell's house is made out of <i>meaning and lack of meaning</i>, ideas and non-ideas, not material and negative space like yours but analogous.<br /><br /> A rock is not a good house for a spell, just like a solid piece of concrete is not a good house for you, but a gem is an okay one, and a gem with a <i>name</i> and a <i>history</i> is a desirable one<br /><br /> A "spellbook" contains quite a lot of meaning and quite a lot of whitespace. It's like a McMansion for spells. Spellbooks have two major advantages in the eyes of a wizard: they're <i>easy to produce</i> (at least compared to a gem with 200 years of sordid history or whatever), and they're <i>easy to understand</i>. <br /><br /> Not every human lives in the exact same kind of house: not even the exact same kind of human will live in the exact same house. Being a wizard is merely knowing what a house <i>is</i>, and knowing that houses have doors. Imagine the pluripotent alien intelligence very carefully and gently examining every part of the house, inside and out — every wall, ceiling and floor, every piece of furniture, the rain gutters and the windows and the doors and the front walk, each detail — until it was absolutely certain it knew what sort of house this was and what sort of person lived there. That's what a wizard is doing when they identify a spell in a scroll or book.<br /><br /> Reading a spell in a spellbook (which is a wizard-specific thing) is like gently ding-donging the doorbell. Reading a spell from a scroll (which 'most any fool can do) is like setting fire to the house, and waiting for the inhabitant to flee in a panic. <br /><br />
<blockquote>
Casting from your book: <br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Spell has however many <b>MD </b>you give it</li>
<li>Combat casting goes off at the end of the round, you can be interrupted</li>
<li>Spell leaves when it is cast, and returns to the book the next morning (that's why wizards will keep extra copies of their favorite spells) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Casting from your brain:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Like casting from a book, but the spell goes off on your turn</li>
<li>Spell returns to your brain the next morning</li>
<li>You can store as many as <b>[wizard level]</b> spells in your brain </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Everyone knows all that, it's pretty basic. Think of your spellbook as your Pokémon Box, and your brain as your Pokémon Team. Still, spelling (heh) it all out helped me understand the benefits and drawbacks of the two, the <i>delicacy</i> of the design. Plus it makes the other alternatives clear...<br /><br />
<blockquote>
Casting from a scroll: <br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Spell has however many <b>MD </b>you give it, plus 1 from the scroll</li>
<li>Can be interrupted, like a book</li>
<li>Anyone who can read the scroll can cast the spell with <b>1MD</b></li>
<li>Scroll is destroyed in the process, and the spell is now homeless <b>😦</b> </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<br /> I like limited use wands, but they often overlap with scrolls, don't you think? But writing everything out makes the missing puzzle piece obvious...<br /><br />
<blockquote>
Casting from a wand:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Spell has however many <b>MD </b>you give it</li>
<li>Spell goes off on your turn, like casting from your brain</li>
<li>Spell returns to the wand immediately</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<br /> Whoa-hoa! Now we're talking. A wand of <i>Fireball</i> doesn't let you cast <i>Fireball</i> a certain number of times — it lets you cast <i>Fireball</i> however you please, so long as you're snorting enough wizards' teeth to keep up with the <b>MD </b>costs. A wand is sort of like a little leash that the spell can't stray far from. Followup thoughts: you can swap out the spells in the other things (scrolls are reusable if they haven't been cast, books and brains can be swapped easily) but a wand has to be destroyed to free the spell. This makes wand <i>blanks</i> quite handy pieces of treasure. The party's wizard can put their favorite spell inside, and always have it handy. <br /><br /> What about magical staves? Haven't really thought that one out. Maybe they're powerful artifacts associated with Wizard Schools, and have their own<b> MD</b> pool and selection of spells? <i>Intelligent</i> powerful artifacts, then, they surely must be. <br /><br /> (of course, "spells are critters" is entirely wrong. a spell is a State, much as you are an Object, and casting a spell means aligning Objects with States; effects without causes. <b>MD </b>represent the wizard's ability to apply that State to more Objects, or to the same Object to a greater degree/for a longer time, in defiance of logic and causality. a spellbook (or what have you) is simply a stable point for a State to exist at, and when a spell is cast it ping-pongs from metastable points to metastable points, typically returning to stability (its "home") when State is checked at dawn.)<br /> (if this sounds puzzling, then you are beginning to understand why most wizards are Quite Mad)<br /><br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-40160570510308265562023-08-20T19:17:00.003-04:002023-12-27T01:00:24.327-05:00What a Sad Old Age (GLOG Wizard School) <style>
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<br /> This one's from friend-of-the-blog <b><a href="https://whosemeasure.blogspot.com/">Phlox</a></b>, who did a draft trade with me (in return I sent him <a href="https://whosemeasure.blogspot.com/2023/03/glog-class-chasis-monster-hunter.html"><b>this monster hunter</b></a>). It's a wizard school with a gimmick of greyhound-racing and fox-hunting. <br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi698_3U6NFLZIutLU5dxxNa_Kj6tNwTp2S-oJD-HLrzmy2yJ-5JhR_YhNCTZTxz13O1hV6VEqo8u0cpqUAEgHHx_Rd08Y6lDqNlsqpMdakawoDl-xjH-oMFM_VZHtBW3omcUPvACLwf6lshTI_wfk1TT1zClEYyCq6kVcyzTHaUlIQPrGGpKl7bnngq5Y/s900/bewilder%20by%20canisalbus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="900" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi698_3U6NFLZIutLU5dxxNa_Kj6tNwTp2S-oJD-HLrzmy2yJ-5JhR_YhNCTZTxz13O1hV6VEqo8u0cpqUAEgHHx_Rd08Y6lDqNlsqpMdakawoDl-xjH-oMFM_VZHtBW3omcUPvACLwf6lshTI_wfk1TT1zClEYyCq6kVcyzTHaUlIQPrGGpKl7bnngq5Y/w640-h420/bewilder%20by%20canisalbus.jpg" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <b><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/canisalbus/art/Bewilder-532242808">Bewilder</a></b> by CanisAlbus<br /></td>
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<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Courser Wizard</h4>
<br /> Sighthounds, the companions of kings! Flop-eared, fat-nosed, wrinkle-faced sniffers are the domain of poachers and prison wardens. When a real ruler of men rode out for venerie, he brought with him a dog who outpaced his horse. The sport of coursing was an immediate success in the cities, not just because it's exciting, not just because it's modern, but because the <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8pCM3XdPNI">song of the hounds</a></b> is like the war-horns of the heroes of old, and inspires the same passions. <br /> And, of course, where there is money changing hands, where there are winners and losers, there is Power, and where Power is, there cometh the Wizard to take advantage of it. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>World records</b> 2. <b>Weather-predicting</b> 3. <b>Haruspicy</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Top hat, raggedy patched suit (-1 to <b>reactions </b>with respectable folk, +1 to <b>reaction </b>with thugs and weirdos), dog whip (<b>light</b>), several pocketfuls of ginger (3 doses), spellbook (a much-used ledger with attached dull pencil on string)<br /><br /><b>Perk</b>: Dogs follow your commands to attack a certain target or to desist. More complex commands, and commands to attack their owners, require a <b>charisma</b> check.<br /><b>Drawback</b>: When it comes to wagers, you vacillate between "veteran" and "inveterate."
When given the opportunity to gamble, check <b>wisdom </b>to resist the
urge.<br /><br /><b>Cantrips</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>When someone offers a particular wager, you can tell exactly how far they've adjusted the odds.</li>
<li>When you would be hit by a ranged attack, you may have a nearby dog take the blow instead.</li>
<li>You can silence a pack with a wave of your hand, or provoke them into wails and whines as if they've been trapped in a burning building </li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Spells</b>:
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><i>Expeditious Tear</i><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a creature <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br /> When the target spends their turn doing nothing but running, they move [dice]+1 times faster than normal.<br /></li>
<li><i>Cone of Kerosene</i><br /><b>R</b>: from hand <b>T</b>: <b>[dice]</b>*10' cone <b>D</b>: instant<br /> A blast of ice-cold jet fuel erupts from your hand and hoses the target area. Creatures in this area must <b>save</b> to avoid getting their eyes, nose and mouth full of the stuff, with the effect of temporarily blinding and de-smelling them. Obviously, anything covered in the kerosene becomes highly inflammable. <br /></li>
<li><i>Hazardous Terrain</i><br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: up to <b>[sum]</b> 5' squares of terrain <b>D</b>: permanent<br /> Target terrain becomes extremely difficult to navigate. Ball-bearings, brambles, potholes, tripwires and 1/2 inch curbs appear as appropriate for the environment. Creatures who cannot levitate can move through the area at one 5' square per turn, or at normal speed, checking <b>dexterity </b>for every square they pass through and falling prone at the first failure. It takes one human being one minute per <b>[dice]</b> to clear away one 5' square of hazards.<br /></li>
<li><i>Feather Feet</i><br /><b>R</b>: 10' <b>T</b>: up to <b>[dice]</b> creatures <b>D</b>: [sum] minutes<br /> Target creatures become supernaturally agile and careful-footed. They can balance on any object or surface that bears their weight, they cannot slip or be tripped by hazardous terrain, and caltrops, broken glass and the like cannot harm them for the duration<br /></li>
<li><i>Bite</i><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a creature with a mouth <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br /> Target's teeth grow long and yellow. Their bite attack is a <b>medium</b> weapon +<b>[dice]</b>. If <b>[sum]</b> is 6 or more, those they bite must <b>save v. disease</b> or suffer an infected wound. If <b>[sum]</b> is 18 or more, victims must also <b>save v. rabies</b>. <br /></li>
<li><i>Mark of Dog Hatred</i><br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: intelligent non-dog creature <b>D</b>:<b> [sum]</b> days<br /> A mark shaped like a rolled-up newspaper appears on the target's body. Target rolls <b>reaction</b> with every dog they meet, with penalty equal to <b>[dice]</b>. Dogs who roll a non-positive reaction are aggressive.<br /> A dog is a beast that has teeth, a name, and a master. Coyotes and dingoes and the like do not have names, wolves do not have masters, but feral dogs have both (unless they were born feral, or have killed their master). <br /></li>
<li><i>Fast Horse</i><br /><b>R</b>: 20' <b>T</b>: an unoccupied area large enough for a horse <b>D</b>: one hour<br /> An incredibly ugly and mean horse (4<b>HD</b>, <b>morale </b>13, hooves/hooves/bite <b>1d8</b>/<b>1d8</b>/<b>1d6</b>) arrives. Only you or someone holding onto you may ride it; any other creature who attempts to approach within 10' of the horse is promptly savaged. If summoned with one <b>[die]</b> the horse is as fast as a fast horse (about 20mph), at two it's faster than the fastest horse (some 60mph), at three it's faster than the wind (about 120mph) and at four <b>[dice]</b> it's faster than its own mocking whinny (about 800mph). Disappears in a poof of smoke at the end of duration or upon being ridden <b>[sum]</b> miles.</li>
<li><i>Frighten Animal</i><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: self <b>D</b>: instant<br /> Caster produces an extremely loud and unpleasant noise, an extremely bright and unpleasant sequence of flashing lights, and an extremely noisome and unpleasant smell. Unintelligent or unprepared creatures who can perceive the caster make a <b>morale </b>check at <b>[dice]</b> penalty. <br /></li>
<li><i>Crypticize</i> <br /><b>R</b>: <b>T</b>: <b>D</b>: something<br /> The opposite of <i>Literal Translation</i>. Turn a piece of text into a simple substitution cipher you know the solution to. At 2 or more <b>[dice]</b>, the cipher becomes more complex, requiring days of effort to solve. With 3 or more, you may code up to 3 distinct meanings into the cipher. With 4 or more <b>[dice]</b>, the cipher ignores translation magic of all kinds. With 5 or more <b>[dice]</b>, the cipher is completely unbreakable. You may designate up to <b>[dice]</b> specific creatures who may immediately bypass the cipher. <br /></li>
<li><i>Summon Dog</i><br /><b>R</b>: 30' <b>T</b>: an unoccupied area large enough for a dog <b>D</b>: one hour<br /> A dog arrives. It has the appearance and statistics of the largest, most dangerous dog the caster has ever personally killed (that is, struck the killing blow upon). It is no more friendly or loyal than it would be, given its nature. For every creature of at least 1<b>HD</b> the dog kills, it is granted an extra hour of false-immortality. Upon death, or when it runs out of time, the dog disappears in a puff of smoke.<br /></li>
<li><i>Maze</i><br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: a creature <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br /> Target is transported to the <u>Demiplane of Dogracing</u>, without a <b>save</b>. This Demiplane consists of an infinite greyhound track, down which a small mechanical rabbit passes every thirty seconds. Close behind are the enormous and monstrous dogs which are the native inhabitants of this plane. The target must pass a <b>move</b> check to avoid being trampled by the dogs; if they fail, they take 1 point of damage. If at any point they roll a natural 20 on their move check, they catch the rabbit and are freed. The target is aware of this stipulation. When they free themselves, or the spell ends, the target returns trampled and exhausted (or trampled and dead as the case may be) in the location they departed from or the nearest unoccupied space. If they won, they are wearing a golden medal worth <b>15gp</b>. Cats are immune to this spell, as they are unwelcome in the <u>Demiplane of Dogracing</u>. <br /></li>
<li><i>Call the Wild Hunt</i><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: n/a <b>D</b>: n/a<br /> Caster summons the Wild Hunt to their location. The Hunters resemble men, except for their absent faces, and their spiffy red jackets and black jodhpurs. They hunt unarmed, and leave the killing to their dogs. The Wild Hunt generally ignores wizards as unsuitable prey (poor cardio and conditioning in general), and prefers to target fast, dangerous foes. <br /> At one <b>[die]</b> their dogs are beagles, and <b>[best]</b> Hunters appear. At two <b>[dice]</b> their dogs are vicious foxhounds with great teeth and sharp eyes, and <b>[sum]</b> Hunters appear. At three <b>[dice]</b>, their dogs are creatures of the Feywild, somewhere between a tiger and a bear, and enough Hunters appear to darken the sky. At four <b>[dice]</b>, their dogs are men in metal collars, carrying saw-toothed weapons of black iron, and the Hunters are led by their master, the Devil.<br /></li>
</ol>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Franz von Stuck - Wilde Jagd (The Wild Hunt) (1889) : r/museum" aria-hidden="false" class="r48jcc pT0Scc iPVvYb" height="399" src="https://external-preview.redd.it/2D8dzFSoMdeMYCX46-KBtUgXIuq2LuU_Biq4NGYEv7U.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=dc7e32e221dafb9357b67c4b485cc775766e3cf1" style="height: 399px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 640px; width: 640px;" width="640" /></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wilde Jagd by Franz von Stuck<br /></td>
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<br />Mishaps:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>MD </b>only return on a <b>1–2</b> for 24 hours.</li>
<li> Take <b>1d6 </b>damage as your stomach turns.</li>
<li>Random mutation for <b>1d6 </b>rounds, then make a <b>save</b>. Permanent if you fail.</li>
<li>Any <b>critical successes</b> you have in the next 24 hours are instead <b>critical fumbles</b>.</li>
<li>You become a canine for 1 hour.</li>
<li>You suffer <b>Undeniable Urge to Run at Top Speed</b> for <b>1d6</b> rounds.</li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Dooms</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>A pang of conscience mars you. You cannot regain burnt die for 24 hours.</li>
<li>All unintelligent beasts who see you instinctively hate you, as the effect of <i>Mark of Dog Hatred</i>.</li>
<li>Your time is up; your master, the Devil, claps a collar around your neck. You will run as part of the Wild Hunt forever. </li>
</ol>
<br /> You can escape these <b>dooms </b>by donating all your money to an animal shelter and swearing off gambling forever, by winning the hand of a princess in a bet with a king, or by finding a way to live in the <u>Demiplane of Dogracing</u> forever (the Devil is a poor loser, and has been banned from that Demiplane since an incident with a flammable bookie). <br /><br />
</div>
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-39287155353809675722023-07-29T03:20:00.001-04:002023-07-29T03:20:00.762-04:00A Part of the World Burning (GLOG Class: Barbarian)<style>
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<br />
<blockquote>
<blockquote><b> The latest engine of death to appear is appalling by its uncanny invincibleness. They hurdle trenches, crawl over shell craters and walk through forest unhalted by intense gunfire. With the death of the dashing romanticism of cavalry, the fighting seemed to take on a mere grim and sordid aspect. A dozen great machines crawling slowly (hardly faster than a man can walk) over the fields, always firing, firing at the soldiers seems somehow less compelling...</b> <br /> - <i>Weaving with Bright New Threads</i>, a book of prophecy <br /></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br /> Practitioners of <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/10/put-your-body-upon-gears-glog-class.html"><b>Manufacturing</b></a> fall into two broad categories. The first type, the <b>Manufactory</b>, is a well-educated and respectable sorcerer who practices their Art like an engineer practices his science. The second type is more akin to a <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/01/so-angry-i-might-die-glog-classes-5e.html">madman</a></b> or a <b><a href="https://madqueenscourt.blogspot.com/2021/08/steel-shod-and-nostrils-flaring-class.html">superweapon</a></b>. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjFM0izSAt627PkF129f9DYX3JXXlM4WsD5rUoKMk6PUDlnAD-LwQoX2PtPs3ECBlEsjoABvekB9-LmcQB3j82QG-lG-b6ZFo-QnyVFmNOA975cxqKL2DdPTA624GgOYX0qTpgFT1kT6c7-sukmUI8Vv6btGinnFHNkXA6iutHz3p0F6BpV_Zb4T1jgc/s961/armature1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="776" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjFM0izSAt627PkF129f9DYX3JXXlM4WsD5rUoKMk6PUDlnAD-LwQoX2PtPs3ECBlEsjoABvekB9-LmcQB3j82QG-lG-b6ZFo-QnyVFmNOA975cxqKL2DdPTA624GgOYX0qTpgFT1kT6c7-sukmUI8Vv6btGinnFHNkXA6iutHz3p0F6BpV_Zb4T1jgc/w516-h640/armature1.png" width="516" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <b><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/obyekt/art/Medieval-Steampunk-Knight-2-189199620">Medieval Steampunk Knight 2</a></b> by obyekt<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><i> </i>What <i>is</i> an <b>Armature</b>, I hear you ask? It's a walking forklift, not unlike the Power Loader of <i>Aliens</i> or other exosuits of science fiction. Its function is more fantastical in the <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Unfinished%20World">Unfinished World</a></b> — an <b>Armature </b>is, briefly, a metal automaton like one of Vulcan's assistants, crudely bolted onto a human soul which provides it with animation. That's how the cosmology of the UW dictates that it work, but you could throw it into another setting as a product of the Serpentman Empire's attempts at interplanar travel, or as a divine blessing from a god of the forge to his most devoted cleric-hammerers, or as a wacky invention by funny haha smexy burlesque steampunk gnomes. <br /><br /> I don't know if it's too powerful for your games. I hope that the <b>Armature </b>is (at least at 1st level) roughly equivalent to a barbarian, with an interesting dungeon-crawling twist of being very good at lifting the lids off of stone sarcophagi, setting off traps, and kicking down doors. You could lean into its random-encounter-provoking loud clankery if you wanted to add more consequences to its use. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2GAesn-23oOlroPdhP1UReuZ7zVe_UlJ5jtIJqDT37lqYLA7u5ShB2JSaXzuRCuh-v20iCwtBbm1-OrhtbBQiJvXBUMIfUv9TWcO_R7jy0QzmuMiXPvJlYV8htlczwVeVtDEkRngyYVqUxy4HnfsJdsHZJnaqSnfQKRWJPP0moXfl6C6ZuNUn8h6KZs/s625/armature4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2GAesn-23oOlroPdhP1UReuZ7zVe_UlJ5jtIJqDT37lqYLA7u5ShB2JSaXzuRCuh-v20iCwtBbm1-OrhtbBQiJvXBUMIfUv9TWcO_R7jy0QzmuMiXPvJlYV8htlczwVeVtDEkRngyYVqUxy4HnfsJdsHZJnaqSnfQKRWJPP0moXfl6C6ZuNUn8h6KZs/w410-h640/armature4.png" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: prototype Big Daddy, I think<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Class: Armature</h4>
<br /> You are an <b>Armature</b>, a man-machine, pilot and mechanism both, one soul in two bodies. Your changing form is fueled by the <b>substance</b> of Manufacturing. You have a pool of this <b>substance</b> equal to your maximum <b>HP</b>. When you would regain any amount of <b>HP</b>, you may choose to regain that much <b>substance</b> instead. <br /> As an <b>Armature</b>, you may wear <b>medium</b> armor and use swords, guns and shields. You gain +1 to <b>intelligence</b>-related checks for every <b>[template]</b> you have in this class. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Metallurgy</b>, 2. <b>Military History</b>, 3. <b>Court etiquette</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Concealed pistol (<b>light</b>, 10’ range), heavy leathers (as <b>leather</b>, weight like <b>chain</b>, half damage from <b>fire</b>), trigonometry text<br /><br /><b></b><blockquote><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>A</b> Two Bodies<br /></li><li><b>B</b> Customization</li><li><b>C</b> Assault Configuration </li><li><b>D</b> One Soul </li></ul></blockquote><b></b><blockquote><b>Two Bodies</b><br /> You are a practitioner of the First Art and have a pool of <b>substance </b>like a <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/10/put-your-body-upon-gears-glog-class.html"><b>Manufactory</b></a>. Unlike a normal <b>Manufactory </b>you occupy the same 3-dimensional coordinates as a 10'-tall humanoid mecha made from glass and hot metal called an "Armature". You may pay 1 <b>substance </b>to swap places with your <b>Armature </b>at any time, so long as there is room for it to stand.<br /> Your <b>Armature </b>has as many hitpoints as you, 24 <b>strength</b>, 16 <b>AC</b>, takes half damage from conventional weapons and falls, and no damage from <b>fire</b>. Its limbs are <b>medium </b>weapons, and it can wield a <b>heavy</b> weapon in one hand for <b>1d8</b> base damage. The <b>Armature </b>is clumsy, can only move at a slow walking pace while upright, cannot move and attack on the same turn in combat, sinks in water, destroys ladders promptly, and requires 1 <b>substance </b>to take any action besides "pick up a heavy object" or "slowly walk forwards while holding a heavy object" (this includes attacking).<br /> Damage to your <b>Armature </b>can be repaired with two hours of swinging a wrench into empty air and cursing under your breath.</blockquote><blockquote><b>Customization</b><br /> For every <b>[template]</b>, you may attach one <b>upgrade or gizmo</b> to your <b>Armature</b>. You will be able to obtain more of these in play; roll for a random one now. Expect the design and construction of a new <b>upgrade or gizmo</b> to take upwards of a week, the investment of a sizeable amount of <b>gp</b>, and perhaps the integration of unique treasures or mechanisms (such as a capacitor from a lightning-bolt trap, a wand of telekinesis, a vorpal sword, a unicorn's horn, &c). Swapping them out can be done at any well-equipped machine shop. Most require <b>substance </b>as fuel.</blockquote><blockquote><b>Assault Configuration</b><br /> After further modification and upgrading, your <b>Armature </b>can sprint faster than a horse and can crawl on all fours as fast as it can run. It can move and act on the same turn, and attacking with its hands or a weapon no long requires <b>substance</b> unless that weapon requires it for power.<br /></blockquote><blockquote><b>One Soul</b><br /> When you would swap places with your <b>Armature</b>, you may choose to have it appear in a suitable location within 30' of you without yourself disappearing. It tracks its <b>initiative</b> separately but is otherwise under your control. </blockquote><br /><br /><b>Upgrades and Gizmos</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Shoulder-Mounted Pepperbox</b>. Host of barrels like a wasp hive. You may pay 1 <b>substance </b>to make an attack for <b>1d6 </b>damage at 30', with -1 <b>to-hit</b> for each 10' past that. </li><li><b>Tower Shield</b>. Occupies a hand. The <b>Armature </b>gets +2 <b>AC</b>, and anyone hiding behind it has complete cover in the form of an inch-thick wall of steel.</li><li><b>Pneumatic Grip Device</b>. Comes with a built-in substance-powered winch. The grapnel can be fired up to 100'. Ascending/descending costs 1 <b>substance </b>per 10'/30'. </li><li><b>Incendiary Cutting Tool</b>. Makes a cut in metal 6" long, 6" deep and 1" wide per <b>substance</b>. Deals <b>1d8</b> <b>hellfire</b> damage if used as a weapon. <br /></li><li><b>Heart-Pumped Spotlight</b>. Casts blazing <b>sunlight</b> in a 200' cone for 1 round per <b>substance</b>, dealing <b>1d6 </b>damage per round to any undead caught in the light.</li><li><b>Deoptimized Venting Technology</b>. May fling 20' per <b>substance </b>in any direction, with a pants-shittingly-loud explosion and a mushroom cloud of <b>poisonous </b>smoke.</li><li><b>Chainsaw Sword</b>. A <b>massive</b> weapon with a sawtoothed edge. Pay 1 <b>substance</b> to rev up the edge, chopping through a tree-sized man or a man-sized tree. </li><li><b>Spalling Recoilless Cannon</b>. A weapon designed for killing <b>Armatures </b>and armored vehicles. Costs 4 <b>substance</b> to fire, has -1 <b>to-hit</b> for each 100' of range, hits <b>touch AC</b> for <b>2d10 </b>damage plus the target’s <b>AC</b>. </li><li><b>Foam Nozzle</b>. A retractile hose ending in a funny-looking funnel. For 2 <b>substance</b> you may spray freezing, fire-extinguishing foam in a 40' line. For 3 <b>substance</b>, spray sticky and highly-inflammable goo instead. </li><li><b>Extradimensional Chamber</b>. A hatch on the <b>Armature's</b> stomach, just big enough for its hand to squeeze through, leads to 8 slots of inventory space. <br /></li></ol><br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-41387564598962338042023-06-26T01:53:00.002-04:002023-07-22T14:44:03.719-04:00Fire Kills (New System for a New Setting)<style>
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A few months back I posted a list of random encounters from a <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/12/an-encounter-table-for-weird-napoleonic.html">weird Napoleonic war zone</a></b>. This was a snapshot of an alt-history bio-horror setting I have occasionally mused upon in that hidden Vehme which men call "the GLOG server". <br /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5iUVeIJtQlP7BMviD67-mH0vR7RUFh5XBlzaUJH35LCm4HE-p0pP5NI0-lf465-hsmDqBCSbxPklZhyNo7mMgsfzXZLCyNQU1jO6lNx9EbqogGdwr9u4vLabStFn4-Yrha4UlvdqCZDpNZJk7HQ_wqGuBooz_fNsAmt8604bjiUX4xqcKvfBGB2ZXhk/s939/hungarian.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="764" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5iUVeIJtQlP7BMviD67-mH0vR7RUFh5XBlzaUJH35LCm4HE-p0pP5NI0-lf465-hsmDqBCSbxPklZhyNo7mMgsfzXZLCyNQU1jO6lNx9EbqogGdwr9u4vLabStFn4-Yrha4UlvdqCZDpNZJk7HQ_wqGuBooz_fNsAmt8604bjiUX4xqcKvfBGB2ZXhk/w520-h640/hungarian.png" width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: "Victorious Hungarian" by <b><a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/">Locheil</a></b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /> The setting of <b>Fire Kills</b> is a post-Great War Europe, with a victorious Central Powers analog working to reconstruct the ruined continent in the wake of manmade horrors beyond our comprehension. The old Hermetic Orders have been supplanted by the French "New Medicine" paradigm, and the war was fought with tanks, machine guns, vat-grown supersoldiers, clockwork brains, poison gas, humoral posthumans, and the sacrifice of half the progeny of Europe. Now, in the shattered ruins, the PCs pick through the rubble and attempt to address injustices and tragedies both old and new. <br /><br /> The main touchstones are <i>Pumpkin Scissors</i>, <i>Fullmetal Alchemist</i>, the <i>Dishonored</i>
series, various Clark Ashton Smith stories, and especially the work of
Arthur Machen. For the pseudo-science I'm depending on my limited
understanding of humoral medicine discredited turn-of-the-century
psychological and sociological theories. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-fYJzN128MIPsqte24QXcVkS1F3q59VAMnsvOcgP0-CG6Ryy0aoAdm7CjKJeXlX3P52sC0uzHGAcH6d3FgKVTIqdM9a7Xez4NQVsuwRQQY__P2gRwnsbWKg1qeRSbZf5ghmLkD9dSLAfSzK7Vfh1idyiLsogPsPUUStZt4dCP7rN8aVlybF-jQMIx8A/s545/skulls.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="457" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-fYJzN128MIPsqte24QXcVkS1F3q59VAMnsvOcgP0-CG6Ryy0aoAdm7CjKJeXlX3P52sC0uzHGAcH6d3FgKVTIqdM9a7Xez4NQVsuwRQQY__P2gRwnsbWKg1qeRSbZf5ghmLkD9dSLAfSzK7Vfh1idyiLsogPsPUUStZt4dCP7rN8aVlybF-jQMIx8A/w536-h640/skulls.png" width="536" /></a></div><br /> "What used to be conceptualized as the realms of the Fairy, domain of the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter Courts, is now referred to as "The Great Unconscious". The fairies themselves are "autonomous instincts", or "archetypes" if they're particularly powerful. Our world, scientists now understand, is the 3-dimensional surface of an 11-dimensional hyper-hyper-hyper-hyper-hyper-hyper-hyper-hyper-sphere. What we think of (heh) as "ideas" and "thoughts" are like shadows of the instincts and archetypes moving below. And just as the shadow can be shaped by altering the form, and the body can be shaped by altering its humors, so too can the mind be shaped by altering the archetypes...<br /><br /> "But! That's all high-level stuff. Nothing for the PCs to worry about, and probably irrelevant to their sincere but lighthearted adventures through war-torn famine-stricken Europe."<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHhpFdSp2hBZZk0K4ai7U_8yJPm9RFAcU83FWi1W59-A_TvijOixb1dOruKPz1rsmUup9eI0Oc65FBJmt4mYLVU3_0ZA13UYzUBtpRWAjWRPoahTDri-vgniwZGwGLG0kponx0z1tIEL4WGB1vCCVnecr_5BWzUhKKNr2QnfqOxrwiLHGzRSk-NCzZmA/s1898/hate%20war1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1898" data-original-width="1242" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHhpFdSp2hBZZk0K4ai7U_8yJPm9RFAcU83FWi1W59-A_TvijOixb1dOruKPz1rsmUup9eI0Oc65FBJmt4mYLVU3_0ZA13UYzUBtpRWAjWRPoahTDri-vgniwZGwGLG0kponx0z1tIEL4WGB1vCCVnecr_5BWzUhKKNr2QnfqOxrwiLHGzRSk-NCzZmA/w418-h640/hate%20war1.png" width="418" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF6I-bm-2iVbFa0RXFXslG1Wudulu-EmwgnKB1u80NGkbF6zdelyoT4FFJBPdSlCebAGtnH1UhbBq0Y14Ks8YRTc4NQPm4FCcaZSw3IFKZrcGNBAQ7-ScYiAeokDMxOfv1MezondnDM7z-boaGQi01Y8uPzKq0fnMAWjVZFIPoIgX5Z3OdQ1c3aFeWHc/s1871/hate%20war2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1871" data-original-width="1242" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF6I-bm-2iVbFa0RXFXslG1Wudulu-EmwgnKB1u80NGkbF6zdelyoT4FFJBPdSlCebAGtnH1UhbBq0Y14Ks8YRTc4NQPm4FCcaZSw3IFKZrcGNBAQ7-ScYiAeokDMxOfv1MezondnDM7z-boaGQi01Y8uPzKq0fnMAWjVZFIPoIgX5Z3OdQ1c3aFeWHc/w424-h640/hate%20war2.png" width="424" /></a></div><br /> CatDragon of <b><a href="https://glass-candles.blogspot.com/">Glass Candles</a></b> asks, "Who won the Great War in the Fullmetal Humorist setting, or did you make it deliberately up to interpretation?"<br /> Nobody won the Great War, CatDragon. Sad mime face. All Europe lost... <br /> But
in another, and perhaps more literally true, sense: the Central Powers
won the Great War. A united Germany (with Prussian clockwork technology)
and Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. The French, along with
their pressganged "allies", lost. England is a smoking fairy-haunted
ruin. The USA was glad to wash its hands of the whole business, and now
isolates itself on the other side of the Atlantic. Napoleon is finally
"dead". One of his great-grandsons is in charge of France now. <br /><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrJe6Or8-Wgn_X9f9B75KpRn_a8vYTH6oqlxUXYgerRzHgxSmh3wmuu4Goc30wqcqr4P3fmrH-ceuK6_fYV9AZraF32x9qL7vAPveRr0IQ0pb98EBRwrVlgb56S9p4DGLp9CULT1HSLq7AiSUEgIFamfJcUDsmVb97y52OpYNOBGcfZqTKK2Blyjl1Ew/s1463/war%20walkers.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1463" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrJe6Or8-Wgn_X9f9B75KpRn_a8vYTH6oqlxUXYgerRzHgxSmh3wmuu4Goc30wqcqr4P3fmrH-ceuK6_fYV9AZraF32x9qL7vAPveRr0IQ0pb98EBRwrVlgb56S9p4DGLp9CULT1HSLq7AiSUEgIFamfJcUDsmVb97y52OpYNOBGcfZqTKK2Blyjl1Ew/w640-h408/war%20walkers.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /> Well, enough rambling. How does a game in this setting work?<br /><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Character Creation </h4><br /><br /> The PCs fought in the War, perhaps on the wrong side — but now the War is over. To improve the world, to make it a better place for generations to come, to shape the future in their own ideological image, to atone for their sins, or just to make rent, they have become members of the <b>Truth and Beauty Commission (name pending)</b>. This gives them either unlimited jurisdiction or none whatsoever, depending on your perspective, and they've been sent out into the world on a picaresque to solve extremely heavy-handed morality plays about the Haves and the Have-Nots. They travel from train station to train station solving problems involving ex-supersoldiers turned bandits, corrupt nobles, failed Evil Science Experiments, traumatized survivors of horrible-but-ultimately-pointless battles, &c &c. <br /><br /> To make a character, you must consider their <b>Temperament</b> and their <b>Skills</b>. There are four <b>Humors</b> which make up one's <b>Temperament</b>; these are <b>Sanguine </b>for making friends, talking people into favors, impressing superiors, and general sweet-hearted behavior, <b>Choleric </b>for bursts of strength, bullying, headbutting both metaphorically and literally, shouting down others, kicking doors, avoiding consequences and general hot-headed behavior, <b>Phlegmatic </b>for thinkin', translating, designing gizmos, picking locks, deciphering rituals, and general big-brained behavior, and <b>Melancholic </b>for terrifying normals, toughing out wounds, wringing someone's neck in total darkness, befriending horrible monsters and general cold-blooded behavior. A normal human being has 2 points in each of these. <br /><br /> For the purpose of this post I'll be assuming the PC is a <b>Supersoldier</b>, who has had their humors realigned (or designed from scratch if they're a test-tube baby) according to the principles of New Medicine. <b>Supersoldiers</b> have 9 points to assign to their <b>Humors</b> according to their taste, though you can have no less than 0 and no more than 5 in a single <b>Humor</b>, and they cannot have a tie for their highest <b>Humor</b>. That highest <b>Humor</b> determines their <b>Temperament</b>. You aren't required to have your characters act stereotypically according to their <b>Temperament</b>, but other characters will expect them to, and will be surprised if they fail to do so.<br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>If you have 0 <b>Sanguine</b>, you are unable to be happy. You cannot vocalize except to make aimless threats or scream at the top of your lung. </li><li>If you have 0 <b>Choleric </b>you cannot act in combat and you cannot win arguments. <br /></li><li>If you have 0 <b>Phlegmatic </b>you are an amnesiac. You cannot recall your own history, and you cannot use <b>Academic Skills</b>.</li><li>If you have 0 <b>Melancholy </b>you cannot remain silent; you must constantly sing, hum or mumble. You cannot willingly enter darkness without a source of light.</li></ul> It's not recommended that you start with 0 in any attribute, although you can if you want to. This is to simulate fucked-up little bastards, and the injury system. <br /><br /> These <b>Supersoldiers</b> also have 20 points to invest in <b>Skills</b>. <b>Skills</b> don't have a maximum value, but it gets harder to improve them the higher your rating in that <b>Skill</b> is. Ratings 1–4 cost 1 point each, 5–8 cost 2, and so forth. These <b>Skills</b> are as follows:<br /><br /><b>Battlefield</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Armory</b>, for the maintenance and operation of firearms and artillery<br /></li><li><b>Hand-to-Hand</b>, for combat with melee or natural weapons<br /></li><li><b>Heavy Machinery</b>, for the maintenance and operation of tanks, automobiles, ships and Heavy Machines<br /></li><li><b>Military</b>, for tactics, bureaucracy, and military history, or for interacting with military authorities<br /></li><li><b>Shooting</b>, for combat with guns<br /></li><li><b>Piloting</b>, for the maintenance and operation of planes and airships. <br /></li></ol><br /><b>Academia</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Biology</b>, for the history and practical use of the science (including battlefield medicine)<br /></li><li><b>Chemistry</b>, for the history and practical use of the science (including explosives) <br /></li><li><b>Forgery</b>, for the production or identification of forged handwriting, fake artifacts, or falsified documents <br /></li><li><b>Library</b>, for study and for finding references in books <br /></li><li><b>Surgery</b>, for the history and practical use of the art (including first aid)<b><br /></b></li><li><b>Profession</b>, a generic skill representing training and experience in other fields. May be taken multiple times, e.g. a character might have 2 points in <b>Profession (Law)</b> and 1 in <b>Profession (Actor)</b><br /></li></ol><br /><b>Escape</b><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Animals</b>, for veterinary practice, handling of tamed animals, or befriending wild ones<br /></li><li><b>Athletics</b>, for running, jumping, swimming, climbing<br /></li><li><b>Bluff</b>, for keeping a straight face in a poker game, lying with a smile, or pretending to be something you're not<br /></li><li><b>Civilian</b>, for information-gathering, befriending normal people, pretending to live a normal life, or for interacting with civilian authorities.<br /></li><li><b>Stealth</b>, for hiding, sneaking, pocket- and lock-picking. <br /></li><li><b>Survival</b>, for rope-tying, fire-building, tracks-following and &c. <br /></li></ol><br /> When a PC is faced with an appropriate challenge, the DM (stands for "Doctor of Medicine" in this game) decides the difficulty of the challenge by assigning it a small integer number. They also decide what <b>Humor</b> and what <b>Skill</b> is appropriate for this challenge. The player adds up their character's total values in that <b>Humor</b> and <b>Skill</b>, rolls that many <b>d6s</b>, counts how many dice come up <b>4</b>, <b>5</b> or <b>6</b>, and if that total is above the assigned difficulty, they succeed.<br /><br /> I feel like kind of a dope explaining this step by step. You people have played dicepool systems, right? <i>Shadowrun</i> maybe, or <i>Vampire: the Masquerade</i>? I'm talking about dicepools. <br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPU_3crSPE3nmiqZgqzxpRK0MQmicHprlfOcgfXq64ZAwHXzI-9rXi5rCSIwXnCpuFSHhMCE7y8qivVRwqGIZzUa1zBKW3iTXk1IrxtuVcX-YIqZkArd9KqrhuNy8WnGOiPz_EhngdBFLFaqkhfOEhjzTDRl0h63EO5dV9DkrxzCMwjLvtpJsRPvbLeLg/s782/steelbelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="782" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPU_3crSPE3nmiqZgqzxpRK0MQmicHprlfOcgfXq64ZAwHXzI-9rXi5rCSIwXnCpuFSHhMCE7y8qivVRwqGIZzUa1zBKW3iTXk1IrxtuVcX-YIqZkArd9KqrhuNy8WnGOiPz_EhngdBFLFaqkhfOEhjzTDRl0h63EO5dV9DkrxzCMwjLvtpJsRPvbLeLg/w640-h504/steelbelly.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><h4> Combat</h4><br /> I should also explain, briefly, how I intend to run combat in this system. I haven't actually tested any of this yet so it's subject to change at a whim. It'll operate a bit like <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-best-case-scenario-11-any-day-now.html"><b>Best Case Scenario</b></a>. Rounds are about a second or two, and all actions take place simultaneously. If it matters who moves first (e.g. you're trying to slam a big vault door, and a horrible monstrosity is trying to slide under the door and eat you), roll an opposed <b>Sanguine</b>. <br /><br /> To attack someone in hand-to-hand combat, roll <b>Choleric</b> (or <b>Melancholic</b> if you're attacking from surprise) + <b>Hand-to-Hand</b>, versus their roll of <b>Choleric</b> + <b>Hand-to-Hand</b>. If you have more successes than they do, subtract the difference from their <b>Choleric</b>. When they hit 0 <b>Choleric</b>, they've had the stuffing beat out of them. If there's no one nearby to protect them they can be killed, knocked unconscious, tied up, or can have their precious super-organs stolen.<br /><br /> To attack someone with a gun, roll <b>Sanguine</b> (or <b>Melancholic</b> if you're attacking from surprise) + <b>Shooting</b>, versus their roll of <b>Sanguine</b> plus any bonuses they have from cover or distance. If you have more successes than they do, they have been fucking shot with a fucking bullet. They roll <b>Choleric</b> and if they don't get more successes than you did, they are dead of being shot. If they <i>do</i> roll more successes, then your original number of successes are subtracted from their <b>Choleric</b> as per being wounded in hand-to-hand. <br /><br /><b>Example Melee Weapons</b><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Brass knuckles</b>. Concealable, silent. <br /></li><li><b>Combat knife</b>. Concealable, silent, adds an extra success when attacking. <br /></li><li><b>Tomahawk</b>. Silent, +1 success, can be thrown ten meters. <br /></li><li><b>Lead pipe</b>. Silent, +1 die. <br /></li><li><b>Wakizashi</b>. Silent, +1 success, +1 die. <br /></li><li><b>Katana</b>. Silent, +2 successes</li></ol><br /><b>Example Guns</b><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Webley</b>. A double-action revolver, reliable and accurate. This revolver or ones much like it were carried by Entente officers during the war, for all the good it did them. <br />Range increment of 40 meters (i.e. at 41 to 60 meters subtract 1 from your successes, at 61 to 80 meters subtract 2 and so forth). Six shots. Concealable. <br /></li><li><b>Luger</b>. A self-loading, self-cocking pistol — what a wonder of the modern age! The officers of the Central Powers preferred the Luger. Sidearms made little difference, but these pistols were sturdy enough to survive the war and fall into others' hands, so long as their original owners weren't blasted to smithereens by French artillery. <br />Range increment of 20 meters. Eight shots. Concealable.</li><li><b>Winchester</b>. A tube-fed, pump-action shotgun, with a heatshield and a bayonet lug for trench combat. The Americans made short, bloody work of those who ended up on the wrong end of this gun.<br />Range increment of 40 meters, but ineffective past 80. +2 dice. <br /></li><li><b>Lebel</b>. A venerable platform, personally approved by Napoleon when he was "alive". This Lebel may have lost her Rosalie in her ten, twenty or thirty years of service, but she still shoots.<br />Range increment of 100 meters. Nine shots. +1 success. <br /></li><li><b>Huot</b>. The Canadians were desperate to answer the Central Powers' growing number of LMGs, so they assembled this monstrosity out of the carcasses of fallen rifles. There's some sort of poetry in that.<br /> Range increment of 100 meters. Twenty-five shots, but it fires five with every attack. +1 success. If you choose to fire another five, +1 die. <br /></li><li><b>Osokin</b>. A shamanic musket that can only be operated by those who have accepted a contract with the spirits hosted in the barrel. This machine kills Leninists. <br />This gun fires based on <b>Phlegmatic</b>, not <b>Sanguine</b>. Range increment of 50 meters. One shot, and you can either spend 30 seconds reloading it or pay a point from one of your <b>Humors</b>.<br /></li></ol><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9V4ds_0V6SMkzSDGVylNJwnp4ccHcGmgpVkCI58QFJp7y_PObZlBGaP2hLOYWjrANdlVuZyY9EFOewSwmjtekCr9Rn_1S62Bpb0zVzVnR2DP9uHSz2Dqpy1sK6wRbheYQjJp-AdHEynfR9Toj8xDbcZE1JTJ-i4XBZ4Fc57sAMCLQjoMvA6AAshL8htU/s900/episode%20with%20a%20hat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="675" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9V4ds_0V6SMkzSDGVylNJwnp4ccHcGmgpVkCI58QFJp7y_PObZlBGaP2hLOYWjrANdlVuZyY9EFOewSwmjtekCr9Rn_1S62Bpb0zVzVnR2DP9uHSz2Dqpy1sK6wRbheYQjJp-AdHEynfR9Toj8xDbcZE1JTJ-i4XBZ4Fc57sAMCLQjoMvA6AAshL8htU/w480-h640/episode%20with%20a%20hat.png" width="480" /></a></div><br /><br /> I suppose I'm rather out of things to say. This isn't a very <i>good</i> post, I guess, since it's just proposing a derivative, poorly-thought-out and completely-untested system, but I wanted to get all those rules off my conscience. Usable content for this setting, detailing some adventures, factions, characters, locations &c <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Fire%20Kills">may be forthcoming</a></b>. Perhaps I'll answer some burning questions, like "what happened to Russia?" (the czarists fled east and made sweet with the indigenous people of Siberia, while the anarchists are running around in the west with tank-trains) and "what happened to the U.S.A?" (it developed a sakoku policy and has been sinking any Old World ships it finds) and "what happened to Britain?" (fairies ate it. Crowley is <i>super</i> dead). Perhaps we'll visit my shitty, abandoned, <b><a href="https://seanmccoy.substack.com/p/dungeon23">Dungeon23 idea</a></b>. It had some frankensteins in it. Anyway, goodbye. <br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-28156749149219111392023-05-31T08:06:00.001-04:002023-08-13T15:11:30.853-04:00On Great Men and Little Gods (GLOG Class: Demigod) <style>
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This one's off the top of my head, no playtesting. Compare to Locheil's <a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/2021/06/there-is-no-distinction-between-arcane.html"><b>Magos</b></a>, <b><a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/2022/06/paved-with-good-intentions-glog-class.html">Demonologist</a></b> and <b><a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/2022/09/ruling-city-class-sacred-one.html">Sacred One</a></b>, from which I stole most of the mechanics. Sorry for copying your Sacred One again buddy, it's a good class. The obvious second round of ripoffs came from <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/185959/Godbound-A-Game-of-Divine-Heroes-Free-Edition">Kevin Crawford's <i>Godbound</i></a></b>. There are other references, but they're mostly linked in the text. <br /><br />
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: John Augustus Knapp<br /></td>
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<br /> This is related to an in-the-works setting with limited presence on this blog. Highlights include a Mughal-colored Hobgoblin Empire, race-as-class, class-as-race, and a very complex system of minor gods and worship. I was writing up a post for a Domain Game where the players are minor gods, and they rule over a little cult with its little temples and so forth. Then I got to thinking: surely those minor gods aren't so minor they're doing their <i>own</i> adventuring. When they need something done right the first time, who do they trust? <br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Class: Demigod</h4>
<br /> You are a Demigod, a supernaturally powerful human with one mortal parent and one divine parent. No other detail about you and your life is as interesting as that, I'm sorry to say. Your divine parent is one of the "little gods", of which there are many, though because they were one of the 66 gods with Major Domains they were powerful enough to have you as a child. Choose two Domains from the list at the bottom of this post and reference it throughout the class. Because the 66 gods each have their own unique pairing of domains, if another <b>demigod</b> has the same Domains as you they must be your half-sibling. <br /> Demigods may wear all types of armor and can use all weapons. It's nice to be someone important. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Trivium </b>2. <b>Quadrivium </b>3. <b>Smooching up on the sweeties</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: hunting spear (<b>heavy</b>), three bronze throwing discs (<b>light</b>), priestly robes (as <b>unarmored</b>), fine silver mirror<br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Glory, Power, Kingdom</li>
<li><b>B</b> Servitors</li>
<li><b>C</b> Miracles</li>
<li><b>D</b> Reify </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Glory</b><br /> Those who see you immediately know you are someone <b>important</b>, though not everyone is so well-versed in lore as to recognize a <b>demigod </b>immediately. This makes you the most prominent member of any group, unless you are in the company of a higher-level <b>demigod</b>. You can temporarily suppress this ability for as many days as you have <b>[templates]</b> if you wish to walk among mortals unnoticed, but the reveal of your true nature is more dazzling and terrifying the longer you do this. Don't hide for more than a few hours if you don't want people <b>saving</b> vs. <b>blindness</b> or <b>insanity</b>. <br /><b>Power</b><br /> You have a pool of divine power which you spend to fuel your abilities. You start with a maximum of 2 <b>Divinity</b>, gaining one more for every <b>[template]</b> in this class. Temples, shrines and statues can enlarge your pool, though of course these can become targets for you enemies. At this level you can invest 1 point of <b>Divinity</b> in a creature with a touch, granting it +1 <b>maximum HP</b> and +1 to all <b>saves</b> and <b>checks</b>. You can invest up to <b>[templates]</b> points in a creature at a time, and can withdraw any amount of <b>Divinity</b> with another touch. Two <b>demigods </b>can transfer any amount of <b>Divinity </b>to each other with a touch. <br /> When someone sacrifices a cow, three goats or a dozen birds in your name, you regain 1 point of <b>Divinity</b>. When you slay a monster or hero of <b>HD</b> equal to or greater than yours, you gain 1 point of <b>Divinity</b>, though you must strike the killing blow. <br /><b>Kingdom</b><br /> You also have a demirealm, under your absolute control and in an aesthetic style determined by you. It's somewhere someone could get to by walking, if they knew how, and most likely adjacent to or inside your parent's realm. When someone you have invested <b>Divinity</b> in dies, you immediately know, and may choose to have their soul migrate to your Kingdom. The shades of the dead have most of their memories and a little of their personality, though they aren't very talkative. <br /> You can enter your Kingdom at any time from a temple dedicated to yourself or (if you haven't got one of those) to your divine parent. You can bring other living creatures if you have invested your <b>Divinity</b> in them. There's food, water and air in your Kingdom but it's probably not very pleasant for mortals. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Servitors</b><br /> By spending <b>Divinity </b>you can summon a divine servant, who appears from off-screen by odd coincidence. The form and abilities of these servants depends on your parent's Domains, and they have <b>HD </b>and powerlevel based on how many points of <b>Divinity</b> you spend. Servitors are fairly loyal (though they may be odd or may have duties to perform), reasonably intelligent (though in an inhuman way), and stick around until their physical bodies are killed or you dismiss them. If you dismiss them in your presence, you regain spent <b>Divinity</b>. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Miracles</b><br /> By spending <b>Divinity</b> you can perform miracles to punish your enemies or reward your allies. Every <b>demigod</b> has the basic ability to throw a bolt of power for <b>[Divinity]d6</b> points of damage, or heal <b>[Divinity]</b> mortal wounds with a touch. Your parent's Domains give you other Miracles. You choose one from each domain for the moment, though you can adventure to gain more. <br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>Reify</b><br /> You may alter reality in the entire area within your sight, so long as that which you alter is at least tangentially related to one of your Domains. Dictate as many <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/">facts</a></b> about the new way reality works as you wish. For each noun, verb, adverb or adjective, pay 1 <b>Divinity</b>. This is a major working which exploits the authority of your divine parent. Do not use it lightly. Be careful when using it in populated areas or the presence of powerful magi. And never do it in the realm of another god, unless you're ready to die for the privilege.<br /></blockquote>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Domains:</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>
<h3>Chance </h3>
All <b>demigods</b> of Chance are auspicious. In your presence, your friends gain an extra +2 <b>save</b> for each of their <b>[templates]</b>. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to grant yourself an equal amount of +1s on any <b>save </b>or <b>check</b> after you see the result (but please be polite and tell your DM if you intend to use this power). <br /> The Servitors of Chance are the Fairy. They may be wee folk, or winged sprites, or tall gentlepersons with pale skin and dark eyes, or hideous bridge-trolls, though they will tend to be larger with more <b>Divinity</b>. They cannot lie, though they can bullshit <i>incredibly</i> and like to spend their free time dicking about with mortals. In a fight they can whip out +<b>Divinity</b> weapons of green wood, tinsel and glass. These weapons dissolve quickly in the hands of anyone else. Fairies are very proud of their reputation for irascibility and conspicuous hatred of other Servitors and <b>demigods</b>. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Openly Cheating</u><br />Pay 1 <b>Divinity</b> to get the maximum result on one of your rolls.<br /></li>
<li><u>Evil Eye</u><br />Pay 1 <b>Divinity</b> to force someone else to reroll anything. </li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of Chance has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, their eyes have 1–6 pupils every time they blink. When they have 10, dice rolled or cards dealt in their presence come up as they dictate, even in impossible ways (rolling 7 on a six-sided die, five-of-a-kind poker hands, &c). <br />
</li>
<li>
<h3>Death</h3>
All <b>demigods</b> of Death are horrifying. In your presence, foes get a penalty to <b>Morale</b> checks equal to their <b>[templates]</b>. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> as you mark a doorway with blood or charcoal. If blood, the inhabitants of that building gain a +<b>Divinity</b> bonus to avoiding Death. If charcoal, an equivalent penalty. <br /> The Servitors of Death are the Psychopomps. Their appearance is by far the most variegated of all Servitors (with the possible exception of Aliens), as it depends on local superstition. They may be skeletal corpses, angels in black cloaks, tiger-headed men, flocks of pigeons, long shadows, black cats... but all of them are instantly recognized by mortals. Their weapons are fine steel, and wounds dealt by them take a long time to heal which cannot be hurried by magic. Psychopomps can be told a name as they are summoned. They always know how far away and in what direction the thing that bears this name lies, unless carefully shrouded against them. Let me repeat that so you can note the wording carefully: they <u>KNOW</u> how <u>FAR AWAY</u> and <u>IN WHAT DIRECTION</u> the <u>THING</u> that <u>BEARS THIS NAME</u> lies, <u>UNLESS</u> <u>CAREFULLY</u> <u>SHROUDED AGAINST THEM</u>. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Merciless</u><br />No one in your presence may die from any cause besides swords, fire or water unless you allow it.<br /></li>
<li><u>Pale Hand</u><br />Pay 1 <b>Divinity</b> per <b>HD</b> to instantly slay a target with a single touch, no <b>save</b>. No effect on lifeless automatons. <br /></li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of Death has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, they no longer bleed. When they have 10, they no longer need to breathe, and are cold to the touch. <br />
</li>
<li>
<h3>The Dungeon</h3>
All <b>demigods</b> of the Dungeon are dismal. In your presence, traps (deliberate, mechanical ones) are revealed. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to open a conventional lock, or spike a door against <b>[Divinity]</b> adult men's worth of battering. <br /> The Servitors of the Dungeon are the Gnomes. Short, behatted, barbigerous gentlemen, indefatigable, slightly vicious, famously industrious. To non-gnomes all Gnomes appear almost entirely identical to each other except for the color of their wee jackets and pointy caps. All gnomes know each other, and have well-developed (if slightly biased) opinions of each others' ability. Despite being knee-high, a gnome is as strong as <b>[Divinity]</b> men and can do the work of <b>[Divinity]</b> times ten. They excel at bridge-building, ditch-digging, wall-tumbling, safe-cracking, vault-drilling, tower-erecting, wall-extending, and all other forms of building and breaking. Gnomes love toil and grumbling equally well. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Artisan</u><br />Pay <b>Divinity</b> to create a magical treasure. At minimum you could make a +X sword, or you could negotiate with your DM for other benefits. Two points could get you a +1 Flaming Sword, +1 Vorpal Axe, Wand of Casting a Spell at 2MD Once Per Day, that sort of thing. <br /></li>
<li><u>Sick Lands</u><br />An area about the size of an acre or a few stories of a large building becomes inhospitable to human life. Monsters infest shadows, trees drop poison fruit, doors become trapped at random, magical gloom prevents darkvision, and the like. You are immune to these negative effects.</li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of the Dungeon has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, their footsteps always sound like bare feet. When they have 10, their eyes reflect like gold, and they can see in the dark as well as a cat can.
</li>
<li>
<h3>Fertility</h3>
All <b>demigods</b> of Fertility are lovely. People and animals have +2 <b>reaction</b> to you for each <b>[template]</b>. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to <b>charm</b> someone for [<b>Divinity]</b> days with a kiss, or bless a field, village, flock or orchard for <b>[Divinity]</b> seasons. <br /> The Servitors of Fertility are the Foxes. They appear as alluring, mysterious strangers, often with remarkable physical characteristics (get your mind out of the gutter, I mean things like "bright red hair" or "sharp teeth they hide with a fan or veil"). They fight savagely with torches and daggers, but they prefer to avoid combat. Foxes may legally marry <b>[Divinity]</b> people, and their romantic pursuits are always successful. Servitors and other monsters are oddly unwilling to harm or impede them, but Foxes are unwilling to <i>really</i> abuse this favor. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Esoteric Birth</u><br />Pay any amount of <b>Divinity</b> to bless a target with the assurance of a healthy conception, or to simply induce pregnancy. You may dictate up to <b>[Divinity]</b> supernatural qualities that the child will be born with or develop. <br /></li>
<li><u>Green World</u><br />Overnight, plants within 10 miles of you grow wildly as if for <b>[Divinity]</b> seasons.</li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of Fertility has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, their shadow changes to that of an animal of their choice. When they have 10, they can perform impossible feats of harvest, such as pulling ripe fruit off of trees in the middle of winter, or catching giant saltwater tuna in small creeks with their bare hands.
</li>
<li>
<h3>Fire</h3>
All <b>demigods</b> of Fire are bold. Fire will not harm you, even by smoke or by collapsing buildings on top of you. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to summon a werelight for <b>[Divinity]</b> hours, with luminosity dependent on the <b>Divinity</b> spent. <br /> The Servitors of Fire are the Salamanders. They appear as crawling things, squamous or non-, of some bright color. All Salamanders are immune to <b>fire</b> in any form, including supernatural or Hellish. They also all have deadly poisonous (to the tune of <b>[Divinity]d6</b>) breath, though they breathe almost not at all. Salamanders summoned with more <b>Divinity</b> have sturdier hides, and may be winged or poison-spitting. They tend to be surly and inattentive servants, and prone to robbery and random acts of cruelty. Even kicking and shouting at them won't make them obey you more swiftly, but they can be bribed, and all Salamanders love riddles. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Kindling Word</u><br />You cover an acre of territory with a rain of <b>fire </b>for <b>[Divinity]</b> minutes. Each combat round, creatures in that area must <b>save</b> or take <b>1d6</b> points of <b>fire </b>damage. There are about 10 combat rounds in a minute. </li>
<li><u>Repayment</u><br />Pay any amount of <b>Divinity</b> to draw an object or creature out of a bonfire, as if rescuing a dropped sausage. Anything or anyone who has been destroyed by fire within the past <b>[Divinity]</b> seasons is a valid target. <br /></li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of Fire has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, they are accompanied by the smell of woodsmoke at all times. When they have 10, they can raise their body temperature high enough to scorch grapplers or light clothing or wooden objects ablaze.
</li>
<li>
<h3>Madness</h3>
All <b>demigods </b>of Madness are alarming. In your presence, rolls of a <b>natural 1</b> or a <b>natural 20</b> have slightly-implausible effects. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to grant an equal number of days of speech and self-knowledge to an animal or object; they are rarely grateful. <br /> The Servitors of Madness are the <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/02/more-than-you-hate-anything-glog-class.html">Aliens</a></b>. They appear as strange, horrible and twisted things. Think of deer with antlers of interlocking hands, backwards men in dark suits, swarms of winged eyes and the like — as much as there is a "like" to Aliens. Touching them with bare flesh has cancerous consequences. Breathing their air sickens. Considering their form deranges. On the other hand, they <i>love</i> a good party. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Inspiring Words</u><br />Choose an emotion. A shimmering sign appears in the air above your head for <b>[Divinity]</b> minutes, and all who see the sign experience that emotion. Powerful creatures may <b>save</b> to avoid it. "Drunken revelry" is an emotion. <br /></li>
<li><u>Suicidal Secret</u><br />Scream in a targets face. They will, in <b>[Divinity]</b> sentences, tell you those things they least want you to know at that moment, as judged by the DM. </li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of Madness has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>,
they can babble in the secret language known to all idiots and madmen. When they have 10, they can no longer sleep.
</li>
<li>
<h3>Order </h3>
All <b>demigods </b>of Order are imposing. No one can lie to you while maintaining eye contact. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to take 10 on a <b>check</b>, <b>save </b>or <b>attack</b>.<br /> The Servitors of Order are the Celestial Bureaucrats. They appear as nebbish little pear-shaped men and women in rumpled, middling-quality businesswear. They have a certain <i>je nais se quois</i>, a certain quality, occasionally seen in lesser forms in McDonald's managers, OSHA inspectors, mall security guards, DMV clerks, traffic cops and hospital staff: an unnameable smug, greasy, puffy-eyed, predatory, I-know-something-you-don't <span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-weight: 1000;">toadosity</span></span>. Mortals cannot harm or impede a Celestial Bureaucrat by conscious action (though they can refuse to unlock a door, for instance). Unlike the Foxes, they <i>relish</i> opportunities to abuse this. They are no more physically dangerous than any other nebbish little pear-shaped people, though the authority of their positions may make them <b><a href="https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2017/06/scrap-princess-plays-fourth-edition.html">dangerous in other aspects</a></b>. Celestial Bureaucrats are uncommonly good at counting small objects and <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/10/containing-multitudes-glog-wizard.html">Verifying Documents</a></b>. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Faithful Beyond Death</u><br />When a mortal breaks an oath sworn on your name, you know. You may pay 1 <b>Divinity</b> to kill them without a <b>save </b>or inflict any other curse that occurs to you.</li>
<li><u>Red Crown</u><br />You have an intuitive awareness of all public goings-on in a community you have authority over. You can communicate your will to your subordinates at any distance, though they cannot respond. </li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of Order has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, one side of their face mirrors over the other so that they appear perfectly symmetrical. This is a <b><a href="https://time.com/2848303/heres-what-faces-would-look-like-if-they-were-perfectly-symmetrical/">disconcerting effect</a></b>. When they have 10, they become immune to disease and permanent injury.
</li>
<li>
<h3>The Road</h3>
All <b>demigods </b>of the Road are shifty. You can walk on any surface less than perfectly vertical. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to walk that many hundreds of miles in an hour, to any location you've visited before and could have reached by foot and unchallenged. <br /> The Servitors of the Road are the Crossroads Devils. They appear as men and women who are tall, thin, and handsome in an asymmetrical sort of way. Their clothing is very <i>mode</i>, their hair impressively voluptuous, their cigar (if male-presenting) fat and strongly-scented, their cigarette (if female-presenting) long and ever-burning, their shoes patent leather, their eyes unblinking. Though a devil can fight, they prefer to talk. It's hard to stop them from talking. They love the rich, deep voices of their physical bodies. They can talk someone into anything, but the thing they love most is to talk someone into making a <i>deal</i>. Think of a Crossroads Devil as your middleman, your bookie, your portfolio manager. You give them <b>Divinity</b> and send them out into the world; they find someone with a Need, someone who'll pay through the nose to satisfy that Need; and you reap the profits. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Exodus<br /></u>You and up to 10 people may walk <b>[Divinity]</b> hundred miles in an hour. At 2 <b>Divinity</b>, you may select 10 captains who may each select up to 10 people. At 3 <b>Divinity</b>, you may select 10 lieutenants who may each select up to 10 captains who may each select up to 10 other people, and so on and so forth. </li>
<li><u>Shield Ring<br /></u>People who are not welcome in a community or at a location of your choice take <b>[Divinity]</b> extra days to journey to it, and must <b>save</b> every day or become hopelessly lost and need to start again. </li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of the Road has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>,
they cannot get lost. When they have 10, they can march in their sleep.
</li>
<li>
<h3>The Sea</h3>
All <b>demigods </b>of the Sea are moist. You are as fast and as holdyourbreathy in water as a dolphin. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to turn an acre of earth to mud, mud to quicksand, quicksand to brackish marsh, or brackish marsh to open sea. The change takes place over only a few seconds, and generates the standard set of critters. <br /> The Servitors of the Sea are the Undine. They appear as beautiful, scantily-clad women, some of them with fishtails, some of them with halfshell brassieres. They sing charmingly, and if in a good mood guide sailors through troubled waters or to hidden treasures. If in a bad mood they guide sailors to their deaths, and they lay horrible curses on their slayers. Undines are skilled fighting-men and dangerous in combat, but their effectiveness in actual battle is limited by their keen-eyed search for Mr. Right. The odds of the enemy army not having even <i>one</i> hunk worth kidnapping quickly approaches zero. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Flashing Eyes</u><br />Negate up to <b>[Divinity]</b> points of another <b>demigod</b>'s Miracles. </li>
<li><u>Earthquake</u><br />The water level within 10 miles raises by thirty feet for <b>[Divinity]</b> hours. Riverside and coastal communities are likely to be completely destroyed with massive casualties. Armadas are able to sail to the gates of inland cities. </li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of the Sea has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, they can speak to fish Aquaman style. When they have 10, they can walk on water if they so wish.
</li>
<li>
<h3>The Sky</h3>
All <b>demigods </b>of the Sky are starry-eyed. You can project <b>sunlight</b> out of your eyes like a search beam. If you wish, you can politely ask the weather in the region to do your bidding. Spend any amount of <b>Divinity</b>, roll a <b>reaction</b> with that as the bonus, and see how amenable the weather is to your request. The winds and the rain are often busy! Don't take it too hard if they can't accommodate you.<br /> The Servitors of the Sky are the Sylphs. They are tall, thin, and slightly mothlike. They can fly, but their wings are made of a slinky, gauze material and are entirely decorative; sylphs float around like clouds. They can turn invisible at-will and like to whisper in the ear of vain, powerful people, giving them sartorial or venereal advice. It's good advice, mostly. Though effective spies, Sylphs are practically useless in a fight, and they make worse vamps than Foxes. Think of a Sylph or Sylphid (the feminine form) as more of a muse: something nice to look at and sweet to talk to. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Azure King</u><br />You can fly like the wind (~120mph). </li>
<li><u>In Heaven's Eye</u><br />You may pay <b>Divinity</b> to ask a question of the sun or the moon, to which you will receive a truthful answer. They see everything that happens on the surface of the earth so long as the clouds aren't too thick.</li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of the Sky has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, a glowing crown sized for a giant hovers about their head. When they have 10, their voice thunders like an army unless they make an effort to whisper.
</li>
<li>
<h3>Time</h3>
All <b>demigods </b>of Time are haggard. You can see about half a second into the future, which gives you a +4 bonus to <b>AC</b> and to <b>checks</b> and <b>saves</b> to dodge a rain of arrows, pick a trapped lock, or other tasks which would benefit greatly from a touch of foresight. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to peer that many days into the past of the location you're standing in.<br /> The Servitors of Time are the Sandmen. They appear as strange old men with wrinkled faces and closed eyes. They bear <b>wands of dreaming</b> in one hand, with <b>[Divinity]</b> charges reserved for your use, and sharp steel scissors in the other, for stealing eyes and fingers. Summoning these Servitors disrupts their vital work, so you'd best have a good reason for it. Other, lesser Servitors fear the Sandmen much more than they fear merely physical death. <br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Look Forward<br /></u>Pay <b>Divinity</b> to ask a question of the DM about the likely outcome of a course of action, and receive a truthful one-sentence answer.</li>
<li><u>Thumb on the Scale<br /></u>Dictate a prophecy about their future to a mortal person, or a non-Time <b>demigod</b> with fewer <b>HD </b>than you. Nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives cost 1 <b>Divinity</b> each. Your prophecy cannot be defied, though of course events might twist it, and <b>demigods</b> are particularly adept at doing so. Everyone thinks "you will die" is a good 3-<b>Divinity</b> death-curse until they give it another few seconds of thought.</li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of Time has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, fine sand pours in small amounts from their cuffs and hair. When they have 10, they stop aging.
</li>
<li>
<h3>War</h3>
All <b>demigods</b> of War are fearsome, terrible, and doomed. You have an extra attack, your attacks <b>cleave</b>, and any unit you control has an extra attack in Mass Combat. You may spend <b>Divinity</b> to bless Mass Combat units as if they were individuals. <br /> The Servitors of War are the Spartoi. They appear as burly, oiled-up Classical soldiers in <b>heavy</b> bronze armor with face-concealing helmets. They are 4th level fighting-men with the maximum amount of <b>HP</b>, and for each point of <b>Divinity</b> you spend summoning them, you receive 10 Spartoi. Besides their fighting ability and their cheerful willingness to march to their deaths, Spartoi are no more dangerous or competent than a mortal human.<br /><br /> When you gain your Miracles, choose one:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Cutting a Red Road</u><br />For <b>[Divinity]</b> minutes, mortals of fewer <b>HD</b> than you must <b>save</b> when attempting to attack you in melee. If they fail, they die. When fighting <i>only</i> mortals of fewer <b>HD</b> than you, your damage is applied to <b>HD</b>, not <b>HP</b>.</li>
<li><u>Strategic Genius</u><br />You may lead <b>[Divinity]</b> units in battle, simultaneously, from the comfort of a command tent. </li>
</ul>
<br /> When a <b>demigod</b> of War has a pool of 5 <b>Divinity</b>, weapons sharpen themselves and begin to ring in their presence. When they have 10, everything they touch is bloodied.
</li>
</ol>
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-49177304263727245152023-04-01T01:15:00.006-04:002024-01-12T23:02:35.695-05:00Hwaet! (5e setting, classes) <style>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrbtyBb7v-PgJgAqSnrkzY2SlSRUHpsRA65zbDhpBZZeGJ5ZMxY6kfROKyZw85dU5ZG2aARGujp4P2hjGwSkubjdeh6QYMjVKq6KMyOkViCm0ZHlnWT_HW2L_RDJI9YDcmjKB34UYt6tV-zoD9j2XqI1MKncQi0J3q1N4yeIsk5OCIDMpYrEkG7jV/s1920/Bingen%202023-03-31-03-13.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="1920" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrbtyBb7v-PgJgAqSnrkzY2SlSRUHpsRA65zbDhpBZZeGJ5ZMxY6kfROKyZw85dU5ZG2aARGujp4P2hjGwSkubjdeh6QYMjVKq6KMyOkViCm0ZHlnWT_HW2L_RDJI9YDcmjKB34UYt6tV-zoD9j2XqI1MKncQi0J3q1N4yeIsk5OCIDMpYrEkG7jV/w640-h318/Bingen%202023-03-31-03-13.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: I made it up</td></tr></tbody></table>
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcprpIGO3m0gt0latTI-bkTGkeq_v07rbKGAW_ELNwK2TVLUro2TQM7mziRj9_qPIYolAPrr-tUTewwFvWrPHxHWGLWXfP3Qzxswism_iaM9JNI5Cx3ZsZNe2wxyP4EHjxS2WUUOE94u1gcP6U6GJTeuTrLSPqSMsZDxqsILDD8N45jVcJATwHr74/s514/tunes.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="514" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcprpIGO3m0gt0latTI-bkTGkeq_v07rbKGAW_ELNwK2TVLUro2TQM7mziRj9_qPIYolAPrr-tUTewwFvWrPHxHWGLWXfP3Qzxswism_iaM9JNI5Cx3ZsZNe2wxyP4EHjxS2WUUOE94u1gcP6U6GJTeuTrLSPqSMsZDxqsILDD8N45jVcJATwHr74/w640-h606/tunes.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Ha! Moron. I just said this was 5e to get the bots to click on this post and make my view count go up so I can feel happiness. Let's take a look at the actual title now:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Hwaet! (Unfinished World Rock Opera)<br /></h4>
<br /> Well folks, you're in for a real treat this year. I've spared no expense. This year's <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/April%20Fools">spring project</a></b> is even more absurd and over-the-top than can I usually swing. With (a lot of) help from a $1,800,000 endowment from the <b><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/cultural-investment-fund.html">Canada Cultural Investment Fund</a></b>, and all my genuine real-life in-person friends in the U.S. music industry, I've created a complete 10-hour long rock opera portraying the rise, agonized existence and fall of <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Unfinished%20World">the Unfinished World</a></b>, the setting which has been my major focus these past few GLOG-y years. <br /><br /> I'd like to thank my family, the Academy, and you, the reader. I'd <i>like</i> to, but you didn't help. At best you have clicked on my post. You can listen to the whole thing <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0KH61Pc8apctuxMOPferqU?si=d40f0465bcf84208"><b>on Spotify</b></a>, but to be safe I'm also sharing links to each individual song in this post. Kind of like, you know, album liner notes or something. Like in a rock opera. Do you know how much of the plot of <i>The Protomen</i> is present in the lyrics and music of <i>The Protomen</i>? Or should I say; how little? <br /><div class="notice"><br /><br /> </div>
<br /><br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Satya Yuga, the Age of Truth</h3><br /><br /> It's an old story, one that everyone knows, so I won't bother retelling it in depth. Magolg created Ka and bade him to build the world but make no intelligent things; Ka disobeyed and created the Heroine; Magolg punished them; Heroine killed Magolg in His sleep. It's a long way down from here.<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFrC1c5hbeA">A Noble Custom</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QymCgh5x-H0">Ka Worked as he Willed</a></b></li><li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d9H_1ygEv8">In the Branches of a Mighty Tree</a> <br /></b></li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Intermission</b>: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsnlVNtEljY">Making Masks</a></b><br /><br /><br />
<h3>Kritya Yuga, the Age of Accomplishment</h3><br /> With the departure of their parents, the Five Brothers (Alden, Owain, Timotheos and the immortal Saul), mysterious beings who shaped the rivers, sculpted the mountains, and peopled the world with strange creatures that walked upright and killed each other with swords, were now left alone to make the world. <br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YreTAcZEXmI&list=OLAK5uy_n7giJ87fSGle7kHNj67HHTcY6MBwAqadA&index=4">3 of Wands</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egdO6adSSpE">The Wild Parts of the World Began to Fill with Towns and Roads</a></b><b> <br /></b></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCikIkXslP0"><b>4 of Cups</b></a></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Ft24n3Ydo">10 of Swords</a></b></li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Intermission</b>: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6IdxfMG3J4">The Cataclysm</a></b><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Preta Yuga, the Age of Hunger
</h3><br /> The Brothers taught metallurgy, music and art, the calendar, and ruled as fair as G_ds can for Ages. Then they left. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.<br /><ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W9PuLcoZMM">Worlds Not Built to Last</a> <br /></b></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fnAVB6GWpo"><b>The One Who is Far Below</b></a></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOSZyLV6Q78">Who Leaves the Path of Wisdom Dwells in the Congregation of the Dead Forever</a></b> </li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-9k2H67jLA">Friends in High Places</a></b></li><li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnPwcjp_Ass">Death is Making Us His Food</a></b></li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Intermission</b>: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zE4-LX0wrY">Orphan</a></b><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Kali Yuga, the Age of Strife</h3><br /> Aeshe, the <b>Great Sage</b>, the <b>Lord of Mercy</b>, the <b>Last Prophet</b> and the <b>First of the Latter-Day Servants of G_d,</b> the <b>Model of Excellent Conduct and Merit</b>, was born in the prison-orphanage of Karn. As a child growing up in a time of chaos and collapse Aeshe (pbuh) saw the worst mankind had to offer. As an adult he preached defiance to the Secular orders of the time. For his troubles, he was tortured by the old Empire; they gelded him and flayed him, they cut off his fingers past the first knuckle, and severed the tendons of his limbs; they pulled out his teeth, burned out his eyes, and slit his tongue so he would not again preach their sins. <br /> After all this, as a last act of cruelty, the Powers That Be bolted a steel mask on Aeshe's face such that he could move his head or open his mouth, and abandoned him in the gutters. There he was rescued by Jovan, a tavernkeep, who tended to his wounds. Jovan was Aeshe's voice for the fifty days it took for the Great Sage to starve to death.<br /> Of course, Aeshe's was not the only important tale of the 4th Age. <br /><ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLRKe7bIHTU">The Lord of Mercy</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnXCzFnkxtY">Unknown, Thankfully </a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IpzJZ99vuM">Jovan, a Common Man</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UegR4kw5FZM">The Greatest Sinner of the Age</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjMvknbnIxs">Nosam, a Gladiator</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HHgedNNQco">The Demagogue Speaks</a> <br /></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQsR22wDnxY">Nosam's Cabal Slays the High Priest Johnathan with Burning Knives</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCmOMMXeSNE">Riding North, Alone</a></b><b> <br /></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyN2c7XyQDU">Information Deliberately Concealed</a></b><b> </b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzcGOgxDoEk">Technically, Slavery<br /></a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi7KDOAj4Xo">Sources Differ</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoF-vUL3IpM">By Process of Elimination</a> </b> <br /></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiY24O3U9s4">He Burned All His Commentaries and Notes, and Left</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuqEpjcBfaU">Virginia, a Sage</a> <br /></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUO7mQEjJpg">Shaped Like a Friend</a> <br /></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXIIE46u7q4">Marshal, a Prophetess (?)</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E2WeWkfipA">New Roads Through Res Nullius </a></b><b><br /></b></li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Intermission</b>: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=wF7gIp28PdY">Grail Quest</a></b><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Maitreya Yuga, the Age of the Mahdi (the Ready One, the Rightly-Guided, the Good Friend, the Master)</h3><br /> The Green Heretics have a lot of prophecies about him (?), they're waiting for a lot of signs. They'll know it when they see it. When the Messiah comes, you won't have much time left. Very few will escape.<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXEQCZg4Nns">Born Under a Bad Sign</a></b><br /></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BEvh6HSQc0">What Thoughts Play Behind Those Eerie, Inhuman Eyes?</a></b><br /></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slYQnyfFu4Y">Favor of All Five</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDhHeG6gttQ&feature=youtu.be">Shining Eyes</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4nKCOq2EI0">Rejected by Secular Authority</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HiUKh-J6mE">His (?) Last Action Depicted is to Dig a Very Large Hole </a></b> <br /></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vhVT86chqE">Drawing the Sword from the Stone</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi30bN05AJk">The World Liquefies </a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GcsQGVGtPU">Two of Every Kind of Animal</a> </b><br /></li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Intermission</b>: <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGx-WTUlrag">Rope and Old Lumber City</a></b><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Samudrolanghana Yuga, the Age of Sail </h3><br /> This Age defies easy description. How do you describe a world with no world? The last loyal hound will be abandoned in Hell, or so the prophets say, and the black water will swallow up the sun, and the great egg of the universe will shatter, and we will have all gotten what we had coming. <br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue62WKo5IRw">Without the Continuity of Thought, Without the Passing of Time, No Breath can be Taken</a></b></li>
</ol>
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-64037546083353726072023-03-30T05:22:00.006-04:002023-03-30T05:23:05.087-04:00d20x5 Raffish Ronins<style>
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This post is part of a draft swap with friend-of-the-blog <b><a href="http://archonsmarchon.blogspot.com">semiurge</a></b>, in the style of one his worryingly-numerous and continually-multiplying d20x5 lists. I'm not altogether confident in this strange button generation technology, so if it doesn't work then simply roll your d20s by hand like we used to do in the motherland. <br /><br />
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"Table 1": [`ascended to a higher state of existence, leaving their servants behind.`, `died in their sleep, and this ronin fled before they could be buried alive with the rest of their lord’s retinue.`, `was killed by venomous treachery, and the ronin seeks evidence for an indisputable accusation.`, `went mad, and this ronin assassinated them before they could do abhorrent harm.`, `faked their death and fled their responsibilities.`, `was erased from everyone else’s memory by vile magic while an imposter took their place.`, `cast them aside for disobeying an order.`, `was forced to commit suicide for insulting a daimyo.`, `was killed by a stray arrow on the battlefield.`, `was mauled by a bear on a hunting trip.`, `was struck by lightning out of the blue, and this was generally taken as an omen of some secret iniquity.`, `was fatally cursed by a sorcerer whose community they persecuted.`, `was poisoned by an alchemist who claimed to possess the elixir of immortality.`, `disowned them after scapegoating them for their heir’s scandalous behavior.`, `was revealed to be three much-smaller masters in a trenchcoat.`, `had himself beheaded in a successful bid to humiliate a hated rival.`, `wandered far into the dark lands, and did not return.`, `returned home to Alabama after a semi-failed insurrection.`, `died gruesomely in a plague that took the lives of all his family and all other servants.`, `doesn't even know the ronin is gone yet.`],
"Table 2": [`drowning their sorrows in drink.`, `as hired muscle for a local gang.`, `working as a bodyguard for some middling elite.`, `protecting a village from bandits in return for food and shelter.`, `picking fights with anyone who looks at them funny.`, `throwing fights in an illegal gladiatorial ring.`, `contemplating falling leaves.`, `meditating beneath a waterfall.`, `observing people going about their daily lives.`, `boiling rice in their helmet.`, `training a local militia.`, `diving for something shiny they spotted.`, `trying to negotiate with prostitutes for a discount.`, `honing each of their weapons and tools to a razor-edge.`, `worshiping silently at an off-the-beaten-track temple.`, `sucking up to a real samurai.`, `slicing a tall young tree as many times as they can before it falls, to keep themselves fast.`, `punching a gnarled old tree as many times as they can before their hands break, to keep themselves strong.`, `painstakingly copying the beautiful calligraphy of a book they can't read.`, `gorging themselves on abandoned stew after slaying a camp of bandits. `],
"Table 3": [`are cheap but well taken care of. They had to sell their old stuff to survive, and couldn’t afford decent replacements`, `are decorated with fish motifs.`, `are a household object repurposed for combat.`, `are plated with silver.`, `are painted with a crimson lacquer.`, `have been folded from alchemically-hardened paper.`, `are mostly for show, as the ronin is a master of Sumo and Judo, and prefers to fight with teeth and bare knuckles.`, `are antiques stolen from a shrine.`, `are made from the steel-hard heartwood of a ten-thousand-year-old tree.`, `were stolen from them while they slept by a gang of orphan-urchins. They’ve made due since with a walking stick and several layers of rags and saddle-leather.`, `are loaded with hidden, spring-loaded blades that pop out with great force if subtle buttons and switches are pressed.`, `bear the maker’s mark of a legendary smith.`, `are covered with rust now that the ronin has abandoned their pride.`, `were made by their father to slay a dragon he didn't live long enough to challenge.`, `are sharp and hard as broken glass, and must be used with great delicacy.`, `smell strongly of the strange wood of the far-off land they hail from.`, `are studded with paste jewels.`, `are covered with checker-marks; the ronin cuts a new line for every kill.`, `shine like moonlight when a secret word is spoken`, `are sized for the straight-backed, well-muscled samurai they were, not the crooked half-starved wretch who now carries them.`],
"Table 4": [`writing bad poetry`, `whittling wooden solder figurines`, `gambling`, `bird watching`, `landscape painting`, `moonlight strolls`, `playing their flute`, `fishing`, `rucking`, `tending a small garden`, `baking sweets`, `teaching lapdogs to perform entertaining tricks`, `flower arrangement`, `womanizing`, `tsujigiri`, `feeding stray cats`, `screaming`, `hunting ghosts`, `studying the history of war`, `waiting in a tea-shop for someone to hire them.`],
"Table 5": [`a fellow ronin and his sometimes-lover.`, `a fiercely dishonorable demon-crow.`, `the remnants of a bandit clan their master once ordered them to wipe out.`, `a young warrior with prodigious talent who considers the existence of ronin to be a stain on the land.`, `their own spouse, who has sworn to kill the ronin to avenge their dishonor.`, `an evil centipede that can pilot people’s bodies by slithering into their intestines.`, `a giant octopus that has learned martial arts, and also how to hate.`, `a legendary chef, whose greatest dish (a curry that takes six years to make) was carelessly ruined by the ronin during a chase-scene.`, `a gang of kung-fu students who have fixed on the ronin as a decent target to repeatedly beat the shit out of.`, `the ambassador of a far-off kingdom, for nefarious reasons of her own.`, `a family of hungry ogres who want to make them into soup.`, `their child, who is a better samurai than they ever were.`, `a pirate ship that descends with fire and slaughter on any river- or sea-side towns which dare to harbor (heh) the ronin for more than a night.`, `the new student of the ronin's old mentor, sent to kill them to clear the teacher's reputation.`, `the cruel gods above, for no reason at all.`, `a headless horseman armed with a slaver's lash and a blazing torch. `, `the ghost of an enemy warrior who refuses to believe he has lost.`, `a nightmare-nation of rat-men from the Wicked Lands.`, `a seething magic-user whose affections the ronin once spurned.`, `their face in the mirror, marked as it is with new care-lines and shadows.`],
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeTYz5cTc3MCgNwKqAIsmBCrT0V18T1TDa-t8028g5uWb1kTWRHDMRf1AoALMcvgrbESFBm0RMycGPg_mMcAV8RHGxFOHp-lnHMKCVWM7mt8-hL91LVub_T4--Ke4G8tBqisiOI76Ab4TxbhyT2Uwpd57dNYfRnlRaho0LjytOm6qDawFvzSld8ux/s640/samurai%20by%20kidkazuya.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="473" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeTYz5cTc3MCgNwKqAIsmBCrT0V18T1TDa-t8028g5uWb1kTWRHDMRf1AoALMcvgrbESFBm0RMycGPg_mMcAV8RHGxFOHp-lnHMKCVWM7mt8-hL91LVub_T4--Ke4G8tBqisiOI76Ab4TxbhyT2Uwpd57dNYfRnlRaho0LjytOm6qDawFvzSld8ux/w474-h640/samurai%20by%20kidkazuya.png" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <b><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/kidkazuya/art/Samurai-138635287">Samurai</a></b> by KidKazuya<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">This Ronin’s Master...</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>ascended to a higher state of existence, leaving their servants behind.</li>
<li>died in their sleep, and this ronin fled before they could be buried alive with the rest of their lord’s retinue.</li>
<li>was killed by venomous treachery, and the ronin seeks evidence for an indisputable accusation.</li>
<li>went mad, and this ronin assassinated them before they could do abhorrent harm.</li>
<li>faked their death and fled their responsibilities.</li>
<li>was erased from everyone else’s memory by vile magic while an imposter took their place.</li>
<li>cast them aside for disobeying an order.</li>
<li>was forced to commit suicide for insulting a daimyo.</li>
<li>was killed by a stray arrow on the battlefield.</li>
<li>was mauled by a bear on a hunting trip.</li>
<li>was struck by lightning out of the blue, and this was generally taken as an omen of some secret iniquity.</li>
<li>was fatally cursed by a sorcerer whose community they persecuted.</li>
<li>was poisoned by an alchemist who claimed to possess the elixir of immortality.</li>
<li>disowned them after scapegoating them for their heir’s scandalous behavior.</li>
<li>was revealed to be three much-smaller masters in a trenchcoat.</li>
<li>had himself beheaded in a successful bid to humiliate a hated rival.</li>
<li>wandered far into the dark lands, and did not return.</li>
<li>returned home to Alabama after a semi-failed insurrection.</li>
<li>died gruesomely in a plague that took the lives of all his family and all other servants.</li>
<li>doesn't even know the ronin is gone yet.<br /></li>
</ol>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">This Ronin Might Be Found...</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>drowning their sorrows in drink.</li>
<li>as hired muscle for a local gang.</li>
<li>working as a bodyguard for some middling elite.</li>
<li>protecting a village from bandits in return for food and shelter.</li>
<li>picking fights with anyone who looks at them funny.</li>
<li>throwing fights in an illegal gladiatorial ring.</li>
<li>contemplating falling leaves.</li>
<li>meditating beneath a waterfall.</li>
<li>observing people going about their daily lives.</li>
<li>boiling rice in their helmet.</li>
<li>training a local militia.</li>
<li>diving for something shiny they spotted.</li>
<li>trying to negotiate with prostitutes for a discount.</li>
<li>honing each of their weapons and tools to a razor-edge.</li>
<li>worshiping silently at an off-the-beaten-track temple.</li>
<li>sucking up to a real samurai.</li>
<li>slicing a tall young tree as many times as they can before it falls, to keep themselves fast.<br /></li>
<li>punching a gnarled old tree as many times as they can before their hands break, to keep themselves strong.</li>
<li>painstakingly copying the beautiful calligraphy of a book they can't read.</li>
<li>gorging themselves on abandoned stew after slaying a camp of bandits. <br /></li>
</ol>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">This Ronin’s Sword and Armor...</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>are cheap but well taken care of. They had to sell their old stuff to survive, and couldn’t afford decent replacements </li>
<li>are decorated with fish motifs.</li>
<li>are a household object repurposed for combat.</li>
<li>are plated with silver.</li>
<li>are painted with a crimson lacquer.</li>
<li>have been folded from alchemically-hardened paper.</li>
<li>are mostly for show, as the ronin is a master of Sumo and Judo, and prefers to fight with teeth and bare knuckles.<br /></li>
<li>are antiques stolen from a shrine.</li>
<li>are made from the steel-hard heartwood of a ten-thousand-year-old tree.</li>
<li>were stolen from them while they slept by a gang of orphan-urchins. They’ve made due since with a walking stick and several layers of rags and saddle-leather.</li>
<li>are loaded with hidden, spring-loaded blades that pop out with great force if subtle buttons and switches are pressed.</li>
<li>bear the maker’s mark of a legendary smith.</li>
<li>are covered with rust now that the ronin has abandoned their pride. <br /></li>
<li>were made by their father to slay a dragon he didn't live long enough to challenge.</li>
<li>are sharp and hard as broken glass, and must be used with great delicacy.</li>
<li>smell strongly of the strange wood of the far-off land they hail from.</li>
<li>are studded with paste jewels.</li>
<li>are covered with checker-marks. They cut a new line for every kill.</li>
<li>shine like moonlight when a secret word is spoken</li>
<li>are sized for the straight-backed, well-muscled samurai they were, not the crooked half-starved wretch who now carries them. <br /></li>
</ol>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">This Ronin’s Hobby is...</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>writing bad poetry.</li>
<li>whittling wooden solder figurines.</li>
<li>gambling.</li>
<li>bird watching.</li>
<li>landscape painting.</li>
<li>moonlight strolls.</li>
<li>playing their flute.</li>
<li>fishing.</li>
<li>rucking. <br /></li>
<li>tending a small garden.</li>
<li>baking sweets.</li>
<li>teaching lapdogs to perform entertaining tricks.</li>
<li>flower arrangement.</li>
<li>womanizing.</li>
<li>tsujigiri.</li>
<li>feeding stray cats. </li>
<li>screaming. </li>
<li>hunting ghosts.</li>
<li>studying the history of war <br /></li>
<li>waiting in a tea-shop for someone to hire them.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">This Ronin's Enemies Include...</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>a fellow ronin and his sometimes-lover.</li>
<li>a fiercely dishonorable demon-crow.</li>
<li>the remnants of a bandit clan their master once ordered them to wipe out.</li>
<li>a young warrior with prodigious talent who considers the existence of ronin to be a stain on the land.</li>
<li>their own spouse, who has sworn to kill the ronin to avenge their dishonor.</li>
<li>an evil centipede that can pilot people’s bodies by slithering into their intestines.</li>
<li>a giant octopus that has learned martial arts, and also how to hate.</li>
<li>a legendary chef, whose greatest dish (a curry that takes six years to make) was carelessly ruined by the ronin during a chase-scene.</li>
<li>a gang of kung-fu students who have fixed on the ronin as a decent target to repeatedly beat the shit out of.</li>
<li>the ambassador of a far-off kingdom, for nefarious reasons of her own.</li>
<li>a family of hungry ogres who want to make them into soup.<br /></li>
<li>their child, who is a better samurai than they ever were.</li>
<li>a pirate ship that descends with fire and slaughter on any river- or sea-side towns which dare to harbor (heh) the ronin for more than a night.</li>
<li>the new student of the ronin's old mentor, sent to kill them to clear the teacher's reputation.</li>
<li>the cruel gods above, for no reason at all.</li>
<li>a headless horseman armed with a slaver's lash and a blazing torch. </li>
<li>the ghost of an enemy warrior who refuses to believe he has lost.</li>
<li>a nightmare-nation of rat-men from the Wicked Lands.</li>
<li>a seething magic-user whose affections the ronin once spurned.</li>
<li>their face in the mirror, marked as it is now with care-lines and shadows.<br /></li>
</ol>
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-88341187520513647742023-03-19T01:02:00.000-04:002023-03-19T01:02:31.230-04:0041 Feasts (GLOG Setting)<style>
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At the beginning of the world, where the labyrinth starts, in the first segment of the maze, it is always night. The stars are huge as thumbnails held at arm's length, but so dim that their light makes the silver sand seems black. If you follow the trail of footprints back through the otherwise-trackless wastes, you come to two huge pillars of featureless stone reaching to heaven. The footprints lead back between them, but you can follow them no longer, not without losing yourself in the dark and getting turned around. <br /><br /> Each intelligent creature in the world, or their ancestor, came walking through that gateless gate with no memory of a life before. Having nothing better to do, and no other idea of the way, they followed the footprints through the waste, and walked until they came to a great sheer barrier of rolling silver fog, and, passing through, so came to the second part of the world-maze, the second segment of the unmeasured labyrinth, the second division of a total that has never been numbered. <br /><br /> You, too, have come through that gateless gate. You have clothes on your back, and maybe a pocketful of strange coins, or a belt with a knife or a torch. You have no memories except darkness and sand. And yet, somehow, you know a few things beyond any possibility of doubt:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>The desert is the first section of many of the Labyrinth<br /></b></li>
<li><b>The Labyrinth has only one path</b></li>
<li><b>The sections of the path are separated by locked gates</b></li>
<li><b>Progression is the purpose of humanity <br /></b></li>
<li><b>Who stops progressing forfeits their humanity <br /></b></li>
<li><b>Who unlocks the last gate reaches the center of the Labyrinth</b></li>
<li><b>Who reaches the center of the Labyrinth wins </b><br /></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlGfMKDqdCwXHIgsK-ZrbQ8YN4J4GYWdJagzB0iLV-AnfIuvLe_pBfA4QywCrzBLYu8xPN2-jFHsH3zRGPgrkzu4YXtQ2PNVgj1XZpTJTCooZBhNofCya_C4ErefNPkLHcrpZv5pgPcBBu8l4hjxyoo0pLu6jb9MkRZhCXFyp-GL3kdTz7S9a-AG1/s1800/pillars.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="1113" data-original-width="1800" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlGfMKDqdCwXHIgsK-ZrbQ8YN4J4GYWdJagzB0iLV-AnfIuvLe_pBfA4QywCrzBLYu8xPN2-jFHsH3zRGPgrkzu4YXtQ2PNVgj1XZpTJTCooZBhNofCya_C4ErefNPkLHcrpZv5pgPcBBu8l4hjxyoo0pLu6jb9MkRZhCXFyp-GL3kdTz7S9a-AG1/w640-h396/pillars.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /> Of course, different people have different interpretations, and their children yet more so, and their grand-children yet more so, on and on. Many different schools of thought have arisen as to the origin and the purpose of the Labyrinth; here are just a few. <br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Three-Eyed Giant</b> <br /> A million-billion years ago (or thereabouts) the Three-Eyed Giant made the world alone. He did this to create a test of sorts for the adventurers he knew would come. Each region of the labyrinth, therefore, has a puzzle to solve or an enemy to destroy in order to show you are worthy of reaching the center where the Giant waits. <br /> Whoever reaches the center will be granted their truest wish.</li>
<li><b>Forty-One </b><br /> The forty children of the Easter Mother wanted to create a world, but fought amongst themselves as to how they would do so. They appealed to their mother, who in her wisdom ruled that each child would create their own part of the world (and so the Labyrinth has forty sections, you see). The children, tired, fell asleep after all their hard work, and if they have not been waked then they sleep still. <br /> The Easter Mother is also sleeping. The one who reaches the center can wake her, and begin the creation of the world anew.</li>
<li><b>Snake</b><br /> <i>Lindurmr</i>; he coils. <i>Nithogr</i>; he bites. <i>Fafnir</i>; he takes. The World is a Snake and the Snake is So Hungry. It has been Oh, So Long since he has Eaten anything worth Eating. Please; take the Vow, shed your Skin, Eat as many things as will fit into your Mouth, and journey to the center of the world to throw your body down to the Mouth of The Snake. Please. Please. <br /></li>
</ul>
<br /> Any character, from any system, is acceptable so long as they start at level 1 and can reasonably hope to level-up by adventuring. You all start from nothing, walking through the gateless gates and on through the desert. <br /><br /> The Labyrinth is essentially a gigadungeon (a structure which is to megadungeons as megadungeons are to the blueprint of a house). Each section is a tiny world in itself, a couple of six-mile-hexes wide, a couple more six-mile-hexes long. Each section has its own laws of physics and nature, its own rules of magic, its own ecosystem, its own day/night cycle, its own dungeons, its own civilizations. Civilizations in the Labyrinth are descended from those who voluntarily forfeited their humanity and chose to remain; adventurers who settle down in such places quickly adapt both culturally and biologically. <br /><br /> At the beginning and end of each section of the Labyrinth is a great sheer barrier of rolling silver fog. Plants, animals, or monsters cannot pass through these barriers, only people can. And people can only pass through these barriers after successfully "navigating" the current section. Exactly what "navigating" a section means is unique to the section. Section #1, the Trackless Waste, is navigated by simply reaching the barrier — the desert is littered with the bones of those who came through the gateless gate before the footprints were clear enough to follow. In another section, you might have to explore a huge temple complex and lay your hand-analogs on the altar at its heart. In another, you might have to help the moon fall in love with the sun before you can pass. <br /><br /> In the earlier sections there are people who have already navigated or heard from those who have, and they can point you in the right direction. As you continue, navigation becomes more complicated, and your fellows become more competitive and less helpful. Turning back (that is, traveling to a previously-navigated section) brings with it the risk of forfeiting your humanity, so there are pretty strict gradations of <b>HD </b>and <b>Level</b>. <br /><br /> Sections where city-sized chains hang from the ceiling over a burning furnace. Sections that are frozen. Sections where light cannot shine. Sections only navigable through sacrifice. Sections full of doubtful whispering voices. Sections where you are hunted. Sections where you die if you break the silence. Sections where the dirt is gold and the trees are ruby and everyone has colossal tits.<br /><br /><br />
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<br /><br /> That's about all I have to say about <b>41 Feasts</b>. The setting was based on a dream I had several years ago now. I don't know what exactly I'll do with it, if anything. I just wanted to write it up so that I'll still remember it several more years from now. <br /><br /> Snake cultists eat each other by the way. That was really important to the dream. They can eat each others' corpses, but they're perfectly happy to eat each other alive or just murder each other to get a decent meal. Their eyes glow blue, and they can sense the presence of other cultists. I think they might burn when they touch silver? It really seems like a shitty deal, to be a snake cultist. <br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-91425812578037925102023-03-14T16:48:00.001-04:002023-03-14T16:48:57.855-04:00Spaceships of the System<style>
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Inspired by friend-of-the-blog <b><a href="https://archons-court.blogspot.com/">Archon's</a></b> excellent work on <b><a href="https://archons-court-games.itch.io/orbiters-local-519">Orbiters Local 519</a></b> (print copy <b><a href="https://www.thirdkingdomgames.com/product-page/orbiter-s-local-519">here</a></b>), and recently reminded of this project by Skerples' <b><a href="https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2023/03/sci-fi-optimistic-setting-sketch.html">sci-fi thoughts</a></b>, I've been reworking a very old setting of mine. It's a sci-fi sword-and-planet sort of thing, leaning towards the oiled-up-barbarian side of the <b>He-Man</b> ↔ <b>Blindsight</b> axis and standing with Kirk in the middle of the <b>John Carter</b> ↔ <b>TNG</b> axis. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> <b><span style="font-family: times;">Hey! Hi, author here: I was so amused by the idea of the chart I described in the paragraph above that I spent two hours assembling it and arguing about it on Discord. Here it is. If you disagree, leave an angry comment and I might update the chart/insult your mother and your intelligence. </span></b></span><br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPbSrCyFbjLkHiWgGCJAtd-pWSZa_lOhPUDsqYh6nRfwm-195wtaV_h1TF6UXE6BzWNPtE6jGUmpLKSRWMlX6zi9dqJLS2qz-xon9jwnZB1k4p_WzkiRx1s88j1t4NzWn2QvsaCRJZNZkEbqRxvaU-6LHj9JpWQlcX-aru9S4cf4Tgz0WH0hHWmuu/s3134/sci%20fi%20chart.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3134" data-original-width="2880" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPbSrCyFbjLkHiWgGCJAtd-pWSZa_lOhPUDsqYh6nRfwm-195wtaV_h1TF6UXE6BzWNPtE6jGUmpLKSRWMlX6zi9dqJLS2qz-xon9jwnZB1k4p_WzkiRx1s88j1t4NzWn2QvsaCRJZNZkEbqRxvaU-6LHj9JpWQlcX-aru9S4cf4Tgz0WH0hHWmuu/w588-h640/sci%20fi%20chart.png" width="588" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't like the terms "hard sci-fi" and "soft sci-fi", I find them imprecise and obfuscating, for reasons I shan't repeat in this caption but will gladly elucidate if you buy me a beer. <br /></td>
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<br /><br /> But how do you go about explaining a setting? Off the top of my head, I can't think of any tabletop "setting guide" I really enjoyed or found interesting, especially not before playing the damn game. Information I must choke down is never satisfying. So instead of a big timeline and a long list of events, I'll be cutting the "guide" into some big chunks of (maybe) useful player information. <br /><br /> The <b>System </b>is, obviously, a solar system. It's made up of dozens of life-bearing planets, with almost as many intelligent species, orbiting a subgiant star named, unimaginatively, "the Sun". The <b>System</b>'s civilizations have been spacefaring for a few centuries, but tech level is still well below that of Star Wars — it's a bit like the Honor Harrington books, if you've read those. No glowing energy shields, no talkative robots, no demigod AI, no traveling to other solar systems, combat largely centered on torpedo salvos (love a salvo) and railgun broadsides (love a broadside) and boarding actions (<i>love</i> a good boarding action). If you want to matter in the <b>System</b>, you've got to get a ship. <br /><br /><b><br /></b>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Assumptions:</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Spaceship Boats</b>. Spaceships aren't fragile collections of exchangeable modules (like modern spacecraft and the ISS), they are big boats. They're built once as a big solid hull with a front end and a back end, and then they're basically the same thing forever. A spaceship might pass between many captains over decades and decades of service, until it meets with catastrophe or the maintenance costs grow too high, and then it's scrapped. You know, like a boat.</li>
<li><b>Space Submarines</b>. Spaceships are specifically like the kinds of boats that go around under the sea, sometimes called unterseeboots. Most of them are cramped, overbuilt pressure chambers where the expected fail-state is "irretrievably lost with all hands".<i> </i><br /></li>
<li><b>Cassette Futurism</b>. Spaceships are driven around by pilots with minimal artificial assistance, mostly from analog instruments. Space stations are run by people, not AI. Most problems can be solved with a wrench and a slide rule. There are no touchscreens.<br /></li>
<li><b>Artificial Gravity</b>. It exists in a lot of sci-fi, but I feel like pointing it out.</li>
<li><b>Fuel is Valuable</b>. Most spaceships run on chemical rockets, which need fuel to operate. Control of that fuel is control of space. </li>
<li><b>Interplanetary Travel is Slow</b>. Transit times are long. Even with spaceships several times faster than our earth-rockets, traveling to a different world will take you weeks or months. </li>
<li><b>Interplanetary Space is Big</b>. This is a corollary to the last point. The harder it is to move around, the harder it is to find someone or chase down a lead or explore an unsettled world, and the easier it is to hide yourself or get lost forever.<br /></li>
</ol>
<br /> While I've got you, I should mention that a "ship" has the fuel and life support capacity to travel between planets, while a "boat" does not. Carry on.<br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Terminology:</h4>
<br /> Any numbers given for crew-count assume a military vessel. The complement on civilian ships is typically less than a quarter of that of military ship of comparable size, because they don't expect major repairs, long duties at battle-stations, boarding actions or the need for replacements. Pirate ships are usually stuffed to the gills (often twice the complement or more) for all the opposite reasons. <br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Destroyer </b><br /> A destroyer is any warship (i.e. a ship for fighting ships) which is shorter than 100m. Usually crewed by fewer than 300, without a complement of boarders. Doesn't carry its own depot (material for maintaining the ship and crew) so needs a tender. Any pirate would be proud to fly a real destroyer as his flagship, while planetary governments have dozens of them and the Lithians have so many they use them for policing. <br /></li>
<li><b>Cruiser </b><br />100m to 300m, 300 to 800 enlisted. Ships of this size usually have a complement of borders, and this is the the sweet spot for a large ship to carry its own depot. Most ships large enough to have a shuttle bay will, but cruisers are large enough to carry (that is, maintain and support) at least one or two fighters, and some are purpose-built to carry dozens. These are the largest ships built in most navies. <br /></li>
<li><b>Battleship</b><br /> It's absurd to build a ship larger than a cruiser (300 meters is more than big enough), or have a larger crew complement (often into the mid to high 1000s). It's impractical to carry multiple battalions of boarders, and squads of engineers, and dozens of fighter craft, and multiple batteries of guns each of which could pound a destroyer into scrapmetal. Nobody actually <i>needs</i> a battleship, but golly, they're fun to have. </li>
<li><b>Tender </b><br />A fat little ship not built for combat, usually
between a destroyer and
a cruiser in size, with plenty of depot and
probably a few bays for smaller craft. Every fleet has a few of these
tagging along. They're comparable to civilian cargo ships, except
typically slightly smaller, and fast enough to keep up with the ships they tend to.<br />
</li>
<li><b>Corvette </b><br />Forget what else you might have heard: in the <b>System</b>, a "corvette" is a small ship, typically around 30m with fewer than 30 crew, with interplanetary capability. It's so tiny that it can probably haul its own depot around
behind it in a cargo crate. Were a corvette to have comparable weapons to a destroyer it would <i>be</i> a
destroyer (albeit a small one) by definition; and therefore, also by definition, corvettes are underequipped for real naval action.<br />
</li>
<li><b>Gunboat</b><br />A "gunboat" is a small ship, typically around 30m with fewer than 30 enlisted, with the armament of a destroyer and without interplanetary capabilities. They are by far the most common combat ship in the <b>System</b>, since it's much easier to put a gun or a rack of torpedoes on a boat than to equip it for months-long journeys between planets. <br /></li>
<li><b>Fighter</b><br />A fighter is a <i>very</i> small ship, typically around 10m with fewer than 10 enlisted, and sometimes only crewed by a lone pilot. The line between a large fighter and a small gunboat is thin, but gunboats typically have more volume dedicated to fuel reserves and so have deployment times measured in days, while fighters (being smaller, and mostly guns by weight) have deployment times measured in hours. The line between a fighter and a shuttle is clear: a fighter can blow you up tae fuck.<br /></li>
<li><b>Shuttle</b><br />You know what a shuttle is, darn it. It can't travel between planets (if it could it would be a small corvette), but it can probably travel between lunar and terrestrial orbits.<br /></li>
<li><b>Capital</b><br />A name sometimes given to the most titanic of battleships, with nations of crew, armies of boarders, facilities for refitting destroyers, independently a threat to stations and major planetary installations. Only a few ships in the System have been called a "capital", all of them built for the Lithian navy.<br /></li>
</ol>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not all planets (in fact, not even every major polity) is marked on this
map. There are dozens more, and dozens of dozens of more moons and
dwarf planets and asteroid belts and so forth.
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<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Frequently Asked Questions:</h4>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>So how does this artificial gravity you mentioned work?</b><br /><br /> Artificial gravity comes from an advanced application of a field of science called Phantom Acceleration. To simplify things down to powerpoint levels: your ship has a very large electromechanical flywheel made out of very dense material. It hovers in the air in a room of your ship, a little ways off from the main body, on a cushion of magnetism. When the ship needs to turn in place without using maneuvering thrusters it clamps onto the flywheel ("clamping" with magnets; physically touching the flywheel would have explosive results) and spins gyroscopically. When the ship needs to apply artificial gravity to its passengers, it bleeds angular momentum off of the flywheel (this is the "phantom acceleration") and applies a downwards force to the contents of the hull and an equal upwards force to itself. <br /><br /><b>Isn't that impossible?</b><br /><br /> Yes. I am describing something like a <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionless_drive#Gyroscopic_Inertial_Thruster_(GIT)">Gyroscopic Inertial Thruster</a></b>, which is a type of reactionless drive that has never had any measurable function in laboratory environments.<br /><br /><b>Isn't that incoherent?</b><br /><br /> You're incoherent.<br /><br /><b>No I mean, all that technobabble sounds like a bunch of vague science words from someone who got an F in Physics 1</b><br /><br /> I got a D in Physics 1, thanks.<br /><br /><b>Does this mean I can fly around using only artificial gravity i.e. is this a reactionless drive?</b><br /><br /> Yes, that's what I literally just said. <br /><br /><b>Does this mean I can fly around forever i.e. is this a perpetual motion device? </b><br /><br /> No, moron, didn't you read the description? The artificial gravity comes from the momentum of the flywheel. Applying artificial gravity slows the flywheel down. Eventually it needs to be spun up again; around these parts they use big frightening super-electro-magnets to do this, and it's a pretty common thing to get your phantom accelerator topped up while you're refueling at a port and doing other maintenance things.<br /><br /><b>Does this mean I can deflect bullets and lasers i.e. is this a forcefield?</b><br /><br /> Kind of, since you can create a "field" where "force" is applied. You can use phantom acceleration to push back against impactors or reduce/nullify the effects of a collision on your crew. This makes explosive shells preferable to cannonballs, typically, and makes ramming with a reinforced prow not a completely insane thing to do with your spaceship.<br /> Phantom acceleration operates on electromagnetism, so you can't apply it to things outside the conductive hull of your ship — unless you're a Phoban and do that anyway because you are terrifying and your understanding of the technology is decades ahead of anyone else. <br /><br /><b>You got any other bullshit you made up?</b><br /><br /> Lots. Try this on for size: <b>Very Low Density Nacreous-Boron Ceramic</b>. <b>Low Density Nacreous-Boron Ceramic</b>. <b>Nacreous-Boron Ceramic</b>. <b>High Density Nacreous-Boron Ceramic</b>. <b>Very High Density Nacreous-Boron Ceramic</b>. You like that? I can go on forever. <b>Ultra High Density Nacreous-Boron Ceramic</b>. <b>Extremely High Density Nacreous-Boron Ceramic</b>.<br /><br /><b>So what happens if Devious Creepers hack your ship? Can they turn the gravity off? Flip it upside down? Flatten everyone? That sounds like a security vulnerability</b><br /><br /> Yeah, they can do all of those. If they're in control of your ship they can also flush reactor coolant out the air ducts, or set the engines to fly you into the sun or out of the system, or blow up your torpedoes in your battery. Don't get pwned by people who mean to kill you.</blockquote>
<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Weird Types of Ship:</h4>
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Steelnosed Lifepods</b><br />Standard lifepods are a coffin with a
radio and an air filter. Some, less ethical or more devoted, navies have been known to equip theirs better, with things like fighter thrusters, torpedo tubes or small beam
arrays. In extreme circumstances you can always weld some scrap onto the
end and use them as improvised missiles, guided or unguided — hence the
name.<b> <br /></b>
</li>
<li><b>Shrike</b> <br />A Shrike is a model of narrow bullet-shaped destroyer with one major spine-mounted cannon., built for long service in far orbits, not for comfort or for evasive maneuvers. They can clamp magnetically onto other Shrikes to allow crew to circulate and assist in the operation of other ships. These tangled nests of cannons and desperate pirates were iconic images of the second Battery War, and the vast majority of Shrikes produced are officially unaccounted for. <br /></li>
<li><b>"The Koss Transport"</b> <br />The Koss make and fly in other kinds of
ships, of course, but when you mention "the Koss transport" people know
you're talking about their armored VIP shuttles, with hull thickness
measured in meters and antigravity systems to reduce the effect of
impacts on passengers to nil. They were originally built for combat around the cloud-cities of Eos, which is
why they have no exterior armament or propulsion of any kind. Have you
ever accidentally ignited an atmosphere made up of 3% metallic hydrogen
by volume?
</li>
<li><b>Biological Space Laboratory</b><br />The <b>System</b> is full of
planets, and those planets are full of creatures, some friendly, some
unfriendly, some sapient — it's not always easy to tell which. A BSL is
historically the third thing the Lithians send to explore a new planet,
the first being a destroyer and the second being a destroyer tender.
Each is slightly different, but they generally follow the same pattern
of smaller hulls containing various artifical biomes orbiting a
battleship-scale central hull for the biologists and their equipment.
</li>
<li><b>Face of Darkness</b><br />The name is a single word in the
agglutinative language of the Phobans who build these enormous
battleships. They look like concentric, hypnotic rings-within-rings, as
large as a station, and usually as heavily populated. They dart at
impossible <i>g</i> with no reaction mass; the Phobans are masters of
phantom-acceleration. Gravitic shielding tosses debris or kinetic
projectiles out of the path of the ship, and technically makes it
invisible from one direction, though if you know what you're looking for
the whopping great cone-shaped void is obvious from a long ways off.<br />
</li>
</ol>
<br /><br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-65826789377303388672023-03-09T04:18:00.006-05:002023-03-10T10:39:08.513-05:00It's Never Just a Mannequin (Metatron Spell List) <style>
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<blockquote>
<blockquote><b>The Goals of the Company as laid out in its Founding Charter: <br /><br /> First: to maintain peace and security; to that end, to take effective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of breaches of peace, and to bring about, in conformity with the principles of justice, final settlement of situations which might lead to such breaches.<br /><br /> Second: to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging co-operation without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. <br /><br /> Third: to be a center for harmonizing the actions of all people in the attainment of these common ends.</b></blockquote>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: I have no fucking clue. What is this? Where did I get it?<br /></td>
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</table><br /><br /> The <b><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/04/there-are-four-dice-glog-class-wizard.html">Metatrons</a></b> are sadly not played as often as I'd like. Perhaps they're a little too "out there", a little too "weird", a little too "cool", a little too "original", a little too "brilliant work Michael, you're a genius". People have been saying that. <br /><br /> Anyway, over the past couplea years (holy damn it's been three years since 2020) I've thought of a few more <b>Metatron </b>spells (they're called "procedures", and their magic dice are called "memory dice" because I'm a freak like that). The theme to the <b>Metatrons</b>, their "vibe" if you will, is common schizophrenic delusions, gangstalking tropes and CIA conspiracies come to life. I guess it's a good sign that I wrote the first 12 procedures in an afternoon and the next 12 over thirty-six months. <br /><br /> Thanks as always to the friends of the blog, who you can find on my sidebar over there ->. Not all of those people are my friends, but they're all good blogs. It's four in the morning and I have to wake up in three hours to drive to work because I am an adult <br /><br /><b>d12 Metatron Procedures</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Bixby's Mouth</b><br /><b>R</b>: 200' <b>T</b>: an unoccupied space big enough to fit a horse <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> minutes<br />You create a hovering, ethereal, and faintly-luminescent mouth in the target area resembling your own jaws, teeth and lips but an order of magnitude larger. The mouth moves through the air at walking speed. You control the mouth by moving your own head and craning your neck; doing this in combat completely occupies your turn. At the end of the duration, or if the mouth leaves the range of this spell or reaches 0 <b>HP</b>, it vanishes with a pop. <br />The mouth has <b>AC</b> as plate armor, <b>[sum] hitpoints</b> and a <b>strength </b>bonus equal to <b>[dice]</b>. It can bite as a <b>massive</b> weapon, can fly while carrying an object as or less heavy than a child, and is capable of fine manipulation with its lips (of e.g. handles of doors and pages of books). <br /></li>
<li><b>Cloudkill</b><br /><b>R</b>: 200' <b>T</b>: a sphere 20' in radius <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes <br /> Target volume is filled with thick, obscuring yellow fog. The fog deals <b>[dice]</b> damage every breath to creatures inside it. Creatures passing through or attempting to escape the fog must <b>save</b> or become turned around and confused. Creatures that die in the cloud have their teeth removed and destroyed, their fingerprints burned off, and their faces badly bruised.<br /></li>
<li><b>Teleport </b><br /><b>R</b>: 10' <b>T</b>: an empty space large enough to fit an elevator car <b>D</b>: one minute. <br /> Target space is filled with a large metal frame with sliding steel doors. Passing through the doorway takes you to another point of your choosing in the same region (town, county, hex) at 1 <b>[die]</b>, same country at <b>2 [dice]</b>, same continent at <b>3</b>, anywhere in the world at <b>4</b>, or anywhere not in the world at <b>5 [dice]</b>. You pop out of an identical door. Different people can pass through the same door but go to different places. <br />Passing through the doorway is very dangerous, because you are moving through the mouth, digestive tract and anus of something very large and very hungry that <i>very</i> much wants to eat you. It's a good idea to occasionally feed it a human body, just to keep on its good side. <br /></li>
<li><b>Grease </b><br /><b>R</b>: 60' <b>T</b>: a <b>[dice]</b>*5' square D: <b>[dice]</b> minutes<br />If cast on an area, creatures that attempt to move across it must <b>save</b> or be forced to continue moving until they collide with something or the duration ends. They are fully aware this is happening, and may call for help, but are unable to stop themselves of their own volition.</li>
<li><b>Passwall</b> <br /><b>R</b>: 5' <b>T</b>: a wall less than <b>[dice]</b>*10' thick <b>D</b>: one minute<br />You flash your I.D. and step through a fire exit, employees-only door or maintenance passage. It takes you and anyone who wants to follow you through the wall unobtrusively. Don't worry if you don't think you're carrying I.D; you are. Don't worry if you don't see a door; there will be one. It won't be there when you look again. We put them in every wall just in case we need them. <br /></li>
<li><b>Mage Armor</b> <br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a creature <b>D</b>: one hour<br /><b>[dice]</b> other illusory bodies sprout from the target creature. An attack against the creature has equal odds of hitting the real body or any of the illusions, which disappear in a shower of illusory gore when they are struck. An area-of-effect attack, such as a dragon's breath, immediately destroys all the illusions. <br /></li>
<li><b>Seen Servant</b> <br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: n/a <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> days<br />You summon a ghastly assistant to help you with your work. It appears human, though it lack a face, can speak any language you can, and fake any other badly. You are nominally its master, but it is intelligent enough to reinterpret your orders, and it often prioritizes tormenting dogs and children over discretion. <br />The servant moves veeeeery slowly while in view of others, though (like a spider) it seems to be able to either teleport or sprint silently while unobserved. It is slightly better than you in every skill, check, test or vital statistic — take your character sheet and add <b>1</b> to every number. At the end of the duration, or upon reaching 0 <b>hitpoints</b>, the servant dries up and lies on its back with its limbs crossed, providing <b>[dice]</b> rations of chewy protein.<br /></li>
<li><b>Fly</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: up to <b>[dice]</b> creatures <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br />Name
a point while touching target creatures. They are carried far into the
air, then move (at about crowd-surfing speed) towards the point. When
the spell ends, or when they reach the point, they are lowered safely to
the ground. If they are wearing tight clothing, the prints of large
six-fingered hands are visible on their bodies for the duration <br />
</li>
<li><b>Control Weather</b> <br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: the invisible weather-controlling machine in the sky <b>D</b>: one week<br />You make contact with the invisible weather-controlling machine in the sky. Its controllers make a <b>reaction check</b> against you, with a bonus equal to <b>[dice]</b>. For the duration, weather in the region is influenced by the result; with a poor <b>reaction</b> the weather works against you, with a good <b>reaction</b> it is more cooperative. You can't use this <b>procedure</b> again until the duration is complete. <br /></li>
<li>
<b>Web</b><br /><b>R</b>: 20' <b>T</b>: a 10' cube between two solid surfaces (walls, ceiling, floor, trees &c) <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> days<br />Target volume is filled with strong, sticky webbing. Creatures or objects that contact the web become <b>tangled</b>. <b>Tangled</b> creatures or objects can be freed with a successful <b>strength</b> check; on a failure, they are <b>tangled</b> again. The <b>strength</b> check is made with a penalty equal to how <b>tangled</b> the creature or object is.<br />For each <b>[die]</b> invested in this <b>procedure</b>, you may choose one of the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>the web is <b>invisible</b></li>
<li><b>tangled</b> creatures or objects are <b>invisible</b></li>
<li><b>tangled</b> creatures or objects are <b>silenced</b></li>
<li>the web is particularly sticky and <b>tangles</b> twice on contact or a failed <b>strength</b> check</li>
</ul>
It takes ten minutes of work with a sharp tool to
clear a path through the web wide enough for a human to pass. The web is not particularly flammable, but it shrivels in <b>fire</b>, so a burning torch can clear a path in 5 minutes and cannot become <b>tangled</b>.
</li>
<li><b>Spider Climb</b> <br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a creature <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> minutes<br />Target sprouts <b>[sum]</b> big hairy spider legs. Four legs allows you to balance on any object that can bear your weight. Eight legs allows you to climb sheer walls. Twelve lets you sprint like a horse, and sixteen lets you climb on ceilings.<br /></li>
<li><b>Airstrike</b><br /><b>R</b>: 200' T: a point you can see <b>D</b>: instant<br />Within <b>[worst]</b> rounds, an exploding shell fired from an artillery crew off-screen strikes the target. It deals <b>[sum]</b> damage to all unprotected creatures within <b>[dice]</b>*20' unless they pass a <b>save</b> (we're dealing with Soviet-era munitions here, and they're not particularly reliable). If you're underground the shell hits somewhere up above you and causes unseen damage to civilian targets. <br /> </li>
</ol><br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-71990188325412987182023-02-07T20:57:00.006-05:002023-03-30T05:25:46.707-04:00Slush Pile 1<style>
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Here's a big slushpost. <a href="http://throneofsalt.blogspot.com/2022/01/slush-pile-10.html"><b>Lots</b></a> of <a href="https://archonsmarchon.blogspot.com/2020/10/slush-pile-3.html"><b>people</b></a> do <a href="https://madmansmenagerie.blogspot.com/2023/02/pit-of-sludge-volume-first.html"><b>them</b></a>. I'm doing one right now.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVzaoNKQkCDjvpZNd-DQpMpbtkGBpIWPy8aOMKocMyXenYS1Hqd9Yzwmo8eh1q49k02pLiy8uq9ZPw83Se3GD8SumS1bm2PrOf9ko0K2cZhLbNjEPdKmJkr78XWvEd8EZz4pJs9pXo962ATYYyGJcVXQxJtxzg2d1FvWC6OS3A4FjbsXKKvqWqlWh/s1600/book%20of%20the%20great%20sea%20dragons.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVzaoNKQkCDjvpZNd-DQpMpbtkGBpIWPy8aOMKocMyXenYS1Hqd9Yzwmo8eh1q49k02pLiy8uq9ZPw83Se3GD8SumS1bm2PrOf9ko0K2cZhLbNjEPdKmJkr78XWvEd8EZz4pJs9pXo962ATYYyGJcVXQxJtxzg2d1FvWC6OS3A4FjbsXKKvqWqlWh/w640-h480/book%20of%20the%20great%20sea%20dragons.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Gearmonkey Wizard (magitek, big machines, automatons, left-handed pliers focus)</li>
<li>Festival Wizard (gandalf party scene, music, belligerent drunkards, broom focus)</li>
<li>Library Wizard (record keeping, fire prevention, secret maintenance, pen focus)</li>
<li>Roughneck Wizard (frontier, logging, oil drilling, rivers, exploitation of natural resources, axe handle focus)</li>
<li>Deep Sea Wizard (exactly like an orthodox wizard but with the assumption of always being underwater, wand focus) </li>
<li>Egypt Wizard (sphinces, pyramids, sand, mummies, hooky rod crook thingy focus)</li>
<li><a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/10/containing-multitudes-glog-wizard.html"><b>Bank Wizard</b></a> (dragons, gold, money, traps, big key focus)</li>
<li>Serpentman Wizard (slaves, genetic modification, space travel, bull whip focus)</li>
</ol>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> There's no generic "attack", a generic "attack" is for minute-long OD&D rounds between 24 adventurers and 30–300 werewolves. In seconds-long snapshots between a Fighter and an Orc or what have you, we use FATE-style advantages based on fictional positioning. My weapon is longer, so we'll make a contested strength check to see if I can keep the orc at bay (to my advantage) or let him slip a step too close (to my disadvantage)</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> Fairy tale game, one player is the witch and one player is the three brothers. </blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> Random thoughts about planar settings: Planes of existence are dimensions floating in the astral sea, and planets orbiting far-off stars, and realities layered on top of one another. Spelljammer ships interact with the planes like that first one, astronomers predict connections between the planes by observing that second one, planar portals work by cutting holes between the third. Humans on our earth perceive the universe as a single cosmos (in a look-at-things-with-a-telescope sort of way), but it's not more or less accurate to say that it is a single cosmos (in a lovecraft sort of way). <br /> Thus, all the theories and the weird wizard maps pretty much all work for the people using them, even when they seem to contradict; they're all functional models. When a lich on a skeleton-crewed flying tomb sees a material plane drifting close to another, and your court astrologer notes an alignment of stars which will surely exacerbate the natural tendency of Man to do Evil, and a warlock prepares to summon his master from Her world to this one (because the time is right and the veil has drawn thin), they're all observing the same thing. <br /> This is my vague understanding of Locheil's <a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/2021/04/planescape-cosmology.html"><b>post on the subject</b></a>. I will do no further reading to see how closely my thoughts align with official lore. [I will, however, break in from the future to point you towards semiurge's <a href="https://archonsmarchon.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-diagrammatic-examination-of-great.html"><b>excellent post in the same vein</b></a>]</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> ...the teeth of the <b>Mandare </b>remain in their prey after a bite. They are valued as good luck charms since anyone who survives to collect them has to be lucky...</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> Gods wear masks to obscure their number and allow themselves to appear as different identities in different cultures.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> flies outnumbered by the cold. a distant tumult counting itself out on our nerves. exhausted bodies parallelized in emptiness. the blue light of the sky illuminating our sleeves.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> "This footage was later revealed to be an extremely low-fidelity recording of William Shatner"</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"> I can hear in the thrumming those names which birth monsters. HEL.
HELOYM. SOTHER. EMMANVEL. SABAOTH. AGLA. TETRAGRAMMATON. AGYROS. OTHEOS.
ISCHYROS. ATHANATOS. IEHOVA. VA · ADONAI. SADAY. HOMOVSION. MESSIAS.
ESCHEREHEYE.
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;">“There lived a king in the most Eastern East,<br />less old than I, yet older, for my blood<br />hath earnest in it of far springs to be.<br />A tawny pirate anchored in his port,<br />whose bark had plundered twenty nameless isles;<br />and passing one, at the high peep of dawn,<br />he saw two cities in a thousand boats<br />all fighting for a woman on the sea.<br />And pushing his black craft among them all,<br />he lightly scattered theirs and brought her off,<br />with loss of half his people arrow-slain;<br />a maid so smooth, so white, so wonderful,<br />they said a light came from her when she moved:<br />and since the pirate would not yield her up,<br />the <b>King </b>impaled him for his piracy;<br />then made her <b>Queen</b>: but those isle-nurtured eyes<br />waged such unwilling, though successful, war<br />on all the youth, they sickened; councils thinned,<br />and armies waned, for magnet-like she drew<br />the rustiest iron of old fighters' hearts. <br /><br />And beasts themselves would worship; camels knelt<br />unbidden, and the brutes of mountain-back<br />that carry kings in castles, bowed black knees<br />of homage, ringing with their serpent hands,<br />to make her smile, her golden ankle-bells.<br /><br />What wonder, being jealous, that he sent<br />his horns of proclamation out through all<br />the hundred under-kingdoms that he swayed<br />to find a wizard who might teach the <b>King</b><br />some charm, which being wrought upon the <b>Queen</b><br />might keep her all his own: to such a one<br />he promised more than ever king has given,<br />A league of mountain full of golden mines!<br />A province with a hundred miles of coast!<br />A palace and a princess! All for him!<br />But on all those who tried and failed, the King<br />pronounced a dismal sentence, meaning by it<br />to keep the list low and pretenders back,<br />or like a king, not to be trifled with —<br />that their heads should moulder on the city gates.<br /><br />And many tried and failed, because the charm<br />of nature in her overbore their own:<br />and many a wizard brow bleached on the walls:<br />and many weeks a troop of carrion crows<br />hung like a cloud above the gateway towers.”<br /><br />And <b>Vivien </b>breaking in upon him, said:<br />“I sit and gather honey; yet, methinks,<br />thy tongue has tript a little: ask thyself.<br />The lady never made 'unwilling war'<br />with those fine eyes: she had her pleasure in it,<br />and made her good man jealous with good cause.<br />And lived there neither dame nor damsel then<br />wroth at a lover's loss? Were all as tame,<br />I mean, as noble, as the Queen was fair?<br />Not one to flirt a venom at her eyes,<br />or pinch a murderous dust into her drink,<br />or make her paler with a poisoned rose?<br />Well, those were not our days: but did they find<br />a wizard? Tell me, was he like to thee?”<br /><br />She ceased, and made her lithe arm round his neck<br />tighten, and then drew back, and let her eyes<br />speak for her, glowing on him, like a bride's<br />on her new lord, her own, the first of men. <br /><br /><b>Merlin </b>answered laughing, “No, nothing like to me.<br />At last they found — his foragers for charms —<br />a little glassy-headed hairless man,<br />who lived alone in a great wild on grass;<br />read but one book, and ever reading grew<br />so grated down and filed away with thought,<br />so lean his eyes were monstrous; while the skin<br />clung but to crate and basket, ribs and spine.<br />And since he kept his mind on one sole aim,<br />nor ever touched fierce wine, nor tasted flesh,<br />nor owned a sensual wish, to him the wall<br />that sunders ghosts and shadow-casting men<br />became a crystal, and he saw them through it,<br />and heard their voices talk behind the wall,<br />and learnt their elemental secrets, powers<br />and forces; often o'er the sun's bright eye<br />drew the vast eyelid of an inky cloud,<br />and lashed it at the base with slanting storm;<br />or in the noon of mist and driving rain,<br />when the lake whitened and the pinewood roared,<br />and the cairned mountain was a shadow, sunned<br />the world to peace again: here was the man.<br /><br />And so by force they dragged him to the <b>King</b>.<br />And then he taught the <b>King </b>to charm the <b>Queen</b><br />in such-wise, that no man could see her more,<br />nor saw she save the <b>King</b>, who wrought the charm,<br />coming and going, and she lay as dead,<br />and lost all use of life: but when the <b>King</b><br />made proffer of the league of golden mines,<br />the province with a hundred miles of coast,<br />the palace and the princess, that old man<br />went back to his old wild, and lived on grass,<br />and vanished, and his book came down to me.”</blockquote>
<br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Wisdoms, Morals, Epigrams<br /></h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Fools remain fools although power is with them.</li><li>Only intelligence can win over power.</li><li>Power is founded on lies.</li><li>There is no reason to carry on with a deception after it has served its purpose.</li>
<li>Anyone can stop a man’s life, but no one his death: a thousand doors open onto it.</li>
<li>“I prowl the wilderness because I’ve become afraid of death.<br />What happened to my friend was too heavy to endure,<br />and so I prowl the roads, world-weary.<br />What happened to my friend was too heavy to endure,<br />and so I prowl the paths, world-weary.<br /><br />“How could I keep quiet? How could I, of all people, fall silent?<br />My friend, the one I love, has turned to clay.<br />My friend, the one I loved most, has turned to earth.<br />Am I not like him? Will I not lie in rest,<br />never to stir again, forever and ever?”<br /><br />He veiled his friend’s face like a bride;<br />like an eagle, he circled over him.<br />Like a lioness robbed of her cubs,<br />he circled back and forth, back and forth.<br />He tore at his curly hair until it piled up around him;<br />he stripped off his finery and cast it away as anathema.</li>
<li>In the desert, every road is a road out of the desert</li>
<li>He who has given counsel to another about his army should die with it when it is defeated. He who has given counsel about the country or its capital should perish with it when it comes into peril.</li>
<li>G_d helps the evil when they outnumber the good</li>
<li>Those who are doomed would be safest in hoping for nothing.</li>
<li>Oh it's based alright. Based on the word of G_d.</li>
<li>[...] someone will remember us [...] I say [...] even in another time [...]</li>
<li>There's no need to be ridiculous, but there <i>is</i> a strong temptation.</li>
<li>If a slave loves his chains, he never works a day in his life.</li>
<li>Take care not to tell one person everything, for thereby some have educated devils unawares.</li>
<li>How many Zen Buddhists does it take to change a lightbulb? Two. One to change it, and one to not change it.</li>
<li>A stranger's just a friend who hasn't shared their secrets yet. </li>
<li>If you can’t trust whispering empty pages, what can you trust?</li>
<li>You are more like the ones you hate than the ones you love.</li>
</ol>
<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Places, Buildings, Countries</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Cases, chests, footlockers and lockboxes fill the room, and its walls are lined with every possible size and shape and color of key. </li>
<li>miserable places, even for people used to misery</li>
<li>iron need not pretend that it was made of something else</li>
<li>"If it had been possible to build the Tower of Babel without ascending it, the work would have been permitted."</li>
<li>more people walk in than walk out <br /></li>
<li>The mind is an imaginary space containing things like thoughts, emotions, and desires. I have mine and you have yours. I can see what’s inside my mind, but not what’s inside your mind, and vice versa. I mostly choose the things that are in my mind at any given time: I will thoughts to happen, and they happen; I will myself to make a decision, and it gets made. This needs a resource called willpower; if I don’t have enough willpower, sometimes the things that happen in my mind aren’t the ones I want. When important things happen, sometimes my mind gets strong emotions; this is natural, but I need to use lots of willpower to make sure I don’t get overwhelmed by them and make bad decisions. </li>
<li>In <b>Iktomi</b>'s land, every spider is a spy.</li>
<li>house shifting on its foundations. as the party goes on, the floors drift more and more, having furniture against the wall of one side and opening holes to the basement on the other</li>
<li>Till with a wink his dream was changed, the haze<br />Descended, and the solid earth became<br />As nothing, but the King stood out in heaven, crowned.</li>
<li>If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading</li>
<li>And thus the land of <b>Cameliard </b>was waste,<br />thick with wet woods, and many a beast therein,<br />and none or few to scare or chase the beast;<br />so that wild dog, and wolf and boar and bear<br />came night and day, and rooted in the fields,<br />and wallowed in the gardens of the King.<br />And ever and anon the wolf would steal<br />the children and devour, but now and then,<br />her own brood lost or dead, lent her fierce teat<br />to human sucklings; and the children, housed<br />in her foul den, there at their meat would growl,<br />and mock their foster mother on four feet,<br />till, straightened, they grew up wolf-like men,<br />worse than the wolves</li>
<li>In a hollow land,<br />From which old fires have broken, men may fear<br />Fresh fire and ruin.</li>
</ol>
<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">People, Characters, Descriptions</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>"I remember my mother. A modular production line. Cold. Unfeeling. Beautiful in her efficiency. Though it was the work of many that granted me a number and this modicum of sentience, it is she who embodies the collective which birthed me. I am filled with a sensation somewhat resembling... honor. Honor to have been produced in such a numerous quantity, and at such a systematic pace. My memories are like starlight. One star amongst a field of stars, in a system much larger and more synchronous than is imaginable by the flesh."</li>
<li>"I drink to forget how stoned I am. I smoke weed to mask how barred out I am. I pop xans to forget how coked up I am. And I rail lines to be the best driver I can be"</li>
<li>Two similar looking people. like a weight loss ad — before and WAY before</li>
<li>"Motives are not the causes of action but its by-products. You are merely wasting your time by considering them. When you have obtained real objectivity you will recognize, not some motives, but all motives as merely animal, subjective epiphenomena. You will then have no motives and you will find that you do not need them. Their place will be supplied by something else which you will presently understand better than you do now. So far from being impoverished, your action will become much more efficient."</li>
<li>As an <b>Occultist</b>, you can read and write the Occulted Language. The Occulted Language is not a human language, but is hinted at by them; ancient Hebrew, Egyptian, Latin, Greek... during your extensive study, you began to perceive strange patterns forming. These patterns are the Occulted Language. Anyone who can read or write this language is, by definition, an <b>Occultist</b><br /> By learning the language you have brought yourself to the attention of strange extradimensional entities. Specifically, you have come to know the names and symbols of three: [roll for 'em]<br /> You can attempt to contact them, but there is no guarantee that they will acknowledge you<br />The more <b>favored </b>you are with them, the more likely they are to interact with you regularly. You earn <b>favor </b>by doing the things they like and lose it by cashing it in or pissing them off. You've got 1 <b>favor </b>with each of them right now, at the start, because they like that you recognized them and their power so quickly. To get more you're going to have to work for it. </li>
<li>"The little things in the cave, I could eat them, but I eat potherbs instead. They live because I let them live. Do you know what feels like? To be allowed to live, to be permitted to exist at the whim of another? I don't."</li>
<li>"I firmly believe, and this belief is based on investigation, observation and in a measure, personal experience, that somehow, somewhere and sometime, we return in another human form, to carry on, as it were, through another lifetime, perhaps through many succeeding lifetimes, until some strange destiny is worked out to its ultimate solution."</li>
<li>"No, I include all men in one dim view: <br />some men I hate for being rogues; the others, <br />I hate because they treat the rogues like brothers."</li>
<li>Faceless, industrious, friendly <br /></li>
<li>Wears a spring-steel tie pin, broad and overwrought, vaguely inappropriate at any and every social function</li>
<li>Convex philtrum?</li>
<li>"He never said in 10 words what he could say in 1, and he never wasted time on a few minutes of explanation of something he would say in a sentence, thereby leaving you to puzzle over all its meanings for days"</li>
<li>Tattoos of feathers on their hands</li>
<li>Tattoos of where to cut, like a butcher's diagram</li>
<li>Two noses — looks fine in profile, extremely alarming dead-on.</li>
<li>"neither adept with nor particularly fond of the ultraviolence the story inflicted on them and requires them to inflict on others"</li>
<li>Hops on one foot, loses balance, hops on the other</li>
<li>"What's it like talking to me? Like, I'm so much smarter than you that I'm past the singularity. I'm basically like an incomprehensible super-god from your perspective. Are you afraid, or are you more just kind of basking?"</li>
<li> Hunter who speaks to his animal companion as if they were still present. Addresses them by name, asks them questions. This tricks the ghosts.</li>
<li>I try to stick between a cushion and a comfy place</li>
<li>"You hoped that those who remembered Silvestro would die, or forget, but Calcini does neither".</li>
<li>"You can run, but it won't help, because G_d will tell me where you are. Me and Him are like that and we both <i>hate</i> you."<br /></li>
<li>Name: <b>Abderrazzaq</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Thomas Simon</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Nupo, Servant of the Bringer</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Sho-Rembo</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Feggener the Quick</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Harg of the City Afar</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Shrike Nine-Killer</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Deathmask de Cancer</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Siodmak</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Eleusorix</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Epizeuxis</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Boycott</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>He Whose Name Does Not Permit Itself To Be Read</b>, "Hwandan Pitburr" for short.</li>
<li>Name: <b>Moneybag Emoji</b></li>
<li>Name: the <b>Venom of Blindness</b></li>
<li>Name: the <b>Immortal Ten-Thousand</b></li>
<li>Name: the <b>July Widow</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Lamplight Lady</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>He who Scintillates</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Honeythunder</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Ibid Anon</b></li>
<li>A fairy whose name is "<b>Hi</b>". </li>
<li>Name: the <b>Sky Disease</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Strength in Numbers</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Misleading Correspondence</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Puppet Reduction</b></li>
<li>Name: <b>Shadowy Road</b></li>
<li>Names: <b>Bandimarte</b>, <b>Agramante</b>, <b>Orlando</b>, <b>Rinaldo</b>, <b>Rodomonte</b>, <b>Brunello</b>, <b>Farrau</b>, <b>Sacripante</b></li>
</ol>
<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Things, Materials, Concepts</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Black Moon Oil</b>, what floats in it is of the day, what it poisons is of
the night. Things that hold down the dead in their afterlives bleed it
from their wounds
</li>
<li>a baby <b>Nambu </b>with gold-lettered kanji reading A PRESENTATION FROM THE EMPEROR</li>
<li><b>Notgeld </b>(Need-gold)</li>
<li><b>Smoking light</b></li>
<li><b>Conditional poisons</b>; poisons only activating with specific triggers (when you sleep, when you are struck with a weapon, when you look at a human face)</li>
<li><b>Heliotrope</b>. A beverage (alcohol) which must be diluted with cold water, too herbal and alcoholic otherwise. Popular metaphor</li>
<li>Conditional sentences such as ‘If I had more money, I would buy it’ are made up of two clauses: one clause, which usually begins with if, expresses the condition (in this case, ‘If I had more money’) and the other clause expresses the consequence (in this case, ‘I would buy it’). The clause expressing the condition is called the <b>protasis</b>, and the clause expressing the consequence is called the <b>apodosis</b>.</li>
<li><b>Portable Shrine</b>. Some monks carry it on their backs, because it is a terrible sin to fight in the presence of a shrine.</li>
<li>Incense sticks marked "Unsatisfying Revenge". Break them.</li>
<li>Slip of paper written by a cop, "do not ticket". Oddly effective. Maybe the cops can smell it.</li>
<li>Palm-tree-shaped keychain bottle opener. Opens locks that it doesn't fit in.</li>
<li>Rumpled pack of 20 lucky cigarettes from 20 other packs.</li>
<li>Books give extra checks in things. Like, an archaeologist with a copy of <i>Runes: the oldest Danish literature</i> gets <b>advantage</b> when translating a runestone. Moveable, transferable, fungible proficiency<br /></li>
<li><b>Furnace Key</b>. Opens any door onto roaring flame.<br /></li>
<li><b>Eavesdropper's Earring</b>. Makes it easy for you to hear whispers, but hard to hear loud noises or people talking to you</li>
<li><b>Lying Quill</b>. Sucks up words (or handwriting) from one source, scribbles it down on another. Good for forgeries.</li>
<li><b>Earthbound Ball</b>. Heavy rubber ball wrapped in thin chain. Anything struck with it is suddenly (but temporarily) rendered mundane and boring. Dragons can't fly (physics!), ghosts are men in sheets, wizards are senile old men.</li>
<li><b>Pepper Pill</b>. comes in a little glass tube with ten pills. heals for 2d6 and gives your next attack advantage, but lowers your Constitution by one point (stat damage heals at a rate of one point per long rest)</li>
<li>If you cut off the hand of the god of thieves, two grow back. The severed hand remains a powerful artefact. Walk through any shop, temple, or cemetery with it, and find a coin in its palm after you leave</li>
<li><b>Hand Llird</b> (pronounced yerd). produces rods of substance from particulate.</li>
<li><b>Frog Boots</b>. green, sticky, distinct flop-flop tread sounds. allows you to run on water, and gives you a 10' vertical</li>
<li><b>Anklet of the Wind</b>. jade carved into a bouquet of leaves, with a pink tourmaline flower in the shape of a 🐶. allows you to run as fast as a sled dog.</li>
<li><b>Cloud in a Bottle</b>. dark blue beer bottle, contains a tiny cloud. occasionally rains. while it is on your person, you may "jump" in midair one time, which can effectively negate fall damage if timed correctly.</li>
<li><b>Lava Charm</b>. a golden crescent moon, hot to the touch, on a golden chain. while worn, you are absolutely immune to heat, fire and hellfire... for six seconds at a time. recharges at a rate of 3:1.</li>
<li><b>Lifeform Analyzer</b>. a metal cuboid with a little radar dish on top. detects interesting creatures within 30', and can read their names and HD out to you like a pokedox on request.</li>
<li><b>Star Band</b>. a ring set with a sapphire star. grants +2 damage to damaging spells, and increases save DCs by 1 for your spells while worn.</li>
<li><b>Heart Band</b>. a ring set with a ruby heart. grants +2 HP while worn.</li>
<li><b>Flesh Knuckles</b>. resemble a set of brass knuckes made out of human gum tissue, studded with teeth. serve as brass knuckles, and grant +2 AC. unintelligent enemies aggressively prefer to target the wearer.</li>
<li><b>Moon Stone</b>. a purple crescent moon on a silk neckband. grants +1 to mental stats at night.</li>
<li><b>Sun Stone</b>. a golden sun with rays on a silk neckband. grants +1 to physical stats during the day</li>
<li><b>Jellyfish Necklace</b>. golfball sized chunks of pink quartz set on a golden chain. glows underwater.</li>
<li><b>Blood Pact</b>. a ram's skull, permanently sloshed with rotten blood. doubles your max HP, but you take a critical hit on a 16+. upon taking a critical hit, your next attack deals +4 damage</li>
<li><b>Abyssal Mirror</b>. perfectly black mirror set in a wooden frame decorated with pearls. while staring into it, you are undetectable to non-magical searches.</li>
<li><b>Bloodstained Glove</b>. a gauntlet of black and red silk, permanently slick and gummy with old blood. attacks from stealth strike as if your target wore no armor.</li>
<li><b>Dark god's Sheath</b>. a black sheath stylized to appear like the jaws of a centipede. must be custom-made for a specific weapon. if a weapon is drawn from the sheath and strikes in one motion, successful attacks count as critical hits.</li>
<li><b>Feather Crown</b>. a silver crown with a shock of blue feathers. your thrown weapons have 10' more range, and targets struck by them are suddenly surrounded by a flurry of feathers.</li>
<li><b>Chiaroscuro Bottle</b>. a bottle of dark green glass, bound in lead wire, wrapped in dark waxed paper to prevent light from entering. uncorked, the bottle produces thick smoke that coalesces into the form of a tiny humanoid imp. the imp loves the taste of despair, and can smell it for miles. it will eat the despair of the living, but prefers the taste of the recently dead, especially recently deceased children and youths.</li>
<li><b>Thunder Whetstone</b>. a whetstone of catseye sapphire. the flaw in its heart resembles a lightning bolt. blades sharpened by it for ten minutes are imbued with the sapphire essence, and their next three blows deal lightning damage.</li>
<li><b>Snakeskin Bandage</b>. a roll of bandages made from the skin of the timid boomslang, treated alchemically. the bandages crawl as if they were alive and wrap themselves around sources of fresh blood. experienced, and wealthy, monster hunters will wear such a bandage around each limb, that their wounds might be bound without needing to pause in a fight.</li>
<li><b>Fox Locket</b>. A locket containing a plait of orange hair, tied with a red ribbon. New ones must be granted by a Fox-Vicar, but the lockets are fairly common heirlooms among families on the edge of the wilderness. When you clutch the locket in your hand, you may scurry through underbrush and hedges as if you were a foot tall and three feet long.</li>
<li><b>the Someone Wants Me buzzer</b>. When a creature matching several requirements is looking for you, this small credit-card sized object will rattle and chime in your pocket. The requirements are as follows:<br />- the creature knows your name and face<br />- the creature wants to find you, specifically<br />There is no requirement that the creature have good intentions.</li>
<li><b>King's Jewel</b>. A fist sized sapphire containing the soul of an ancient sorcerer-prince. Inside of the sapphire is an entire world he rules. The jewel is useful as a source of information, especially about magic of the past ages. You can hide in the gem if you're friendly with the ghost (or if you aren't, but you'll regret it). You can also summon the sorcerer-prince's spectral servants into the real world, but if they die the prince will be pissed and will expect you to get him more</li>
<li>Spend <b>[sum] pale iron coins</b> issued by the mage guild of neth to add
<b>[sum]</b> to your next spell. They return to the nethite vaults once used
</li>
<li>the <b>Asmodean Obol</b>, cast from dull-eyed larvae in foundries of the outer
planes. Spending it is a sin, technically. Widely accepted by evil
creatures.
</li>
<li><b>Morphean salt</b> coins can be used as ammunition in any
ranged weapon, and put those they drop to <b>0 HP</b> into an indefinite sleep
instead of killing them
</li>
<li><b>Dryad amber</b> coins can be used to bribe animals and natural features to behave contrary to their nature</li>
<li>Every coin issued by the <b>Electric Empire</b> is in fact the same coin seen from different reference frames in time</li>
<li><b>Lost
Hours</b>, white tokens with black hourglass symbols, are traded by those
who regularly work through the night. Watchmen unions and thieves guilds
both accept them 1:1 for hours of service
</li>
</ol>
<br /><br />
<blockquote> Been struck with the notion of all the planes just kind of hanging out. The <b>Elemental Plane of Fire</b>, the entirety of it, is a six mile hex with 30 elementals living in a small village. The next hex is the <b>Elemental Plane of Water</b> (a lake with a mermaid). Fire spells come from the <b>Elemental Plane of Fire</b>, i.e. the fire elementals in their one village make them, and trade them as Swiss villagers trade goat cheese or cuckoo clocks.<br /> If you conquer the one hex you have total control over the thing.</blockquote>
<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">ZELDA IDEAS</h4>
Also check out <a href="https://whosemeasure.blogspot.com/2022/08/slushpile-minecraft.html"><b>this post</b></a> from Phlox.<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Magical boomerang whose path is determined by a quick sketch on the actual (VTT?) battlemap, striking enemies who intersect with it.</li>
<li>Islands... are five-room dungeons. Five-zone islands, in a mostly empty overworld of water. Is that anything?</li>
<li>Vast central dungeon which can only be explored for a few turns in safety, before the malign forces of darkness start to drain your life (you get X safe dungeon turns and after that you start losing HP every turn). Complete sidequests, get more time.</li>
<li>Potions as a standard adventuring tool even the smallest village is well-stocked with, like rope or torches. But the bottles are a rare treasure.</li>
<li>Lots and lots of map puzzles. Intersections between points, sacred sigils indicated by the position of trees, letters spelled out by houses.</li>
<li>Magic moving platforms whose paths must be pre-drawn on a map.</li>
<li>Moving block puzzles are terrible in RPGs... I think. I've never tried, but I've heard stories. <br /></li>
</ol>
<br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">BEST CASE SCENARIO</h4>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mission: The most brilliant mathematicians in the world are trying to analyze the digits of pi, which in theory contains all possible data. Hounds of Tindalos? <br /></li>
<li>Mission: Masked men walking around at Hallowe'en. They're all dressed like a famous local cryptid. One of them is real: grab him and throw him in the van.</li>
<li>Mission: A mob in Denver is running illegal underground fightclubs with werewolf-type monstrosities. If you win, you get a duffel-bag of cash. If you lose, you're either eaten or turned into a slavering monster. Most contestants are willing, most contestants lose. Go fuck these people up but good.<br /></li>
<li>Mission: The x-files "liverman" episodes, but an octopus.</li>
<li>Mission: While doing something else, every single person in the town you are in goes completely insane. People unhurriedly approaching you with screwdrivers and pleasant smiles. Radio's out.</li>
<li>
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<li>Problem: humans have a lot of well-documented security vulnerabilities. <br /> Humans are narcissistic, self-destructive, greedy, treacherous, duplicitous, dumb, self-deceiving — not even getting into their potential to serve as vectors for viral and memetic hazards, or their susceptibility to lies and cognitohazards.<br />Solution: build a better human.<br /> A better human, really <i>better</i>, is not merely resistant to those security vulnerabilities (monks and coma patients are "resistant"), but one designed from the ground-up to <u>not have them</u>. Incapable of narcissism, death drive, or self-deception. Physically identical to a human (a coroner or surgeon couldn't tell the difference), but physiologically separate (a psychiatrist and maybe a geneticist might).<br /> The first generation (proofs-of-concept) were modified from baseline <i>Homo sapiens</i> who met a few specific, uncommon requirements. They were recruited from death-row inmates, as was common practice at the time. In a sense this first generation of <b>scribes </b>was a wild success. They were immune to common memes and unaffected by common cognitohazards, which made them valuable as assistants to researchers in those fields, or secretaries and personal aids to high-ranking officials. This was the major use-case, the one that won the project its funding. <br /> In another sense, they were a dead end. Most dangerously and most obviously, <b>scribes </b>were susceptible to an entire ecosystem of memes and an entire new field of cognitohazards which were previously unknown/unknowable. Their designers had known this was a possibility, but it was a disappointment nonetheless. <br /> Additionally, their weltanschauung was... odd. Different. Their "conscience" (sic) did not operate like a baseline human's, and was unresponsive to coaxing and conditioning (see: wild success). <b>Scribes </b>were, in short, unsuited for military or black ops.<br /> The failure of the <b>scribes </b>drove a wedge between their lead designer and <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-best-case-scenario-11-any-day-now.html"><b>our organization</b></a>, which would eventually result in his departure for competitors.</li>
</ol>
<br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-61051997483918341412023-01-31T23:30:00.006-05:002023-02-07T20:48:12.411-05:00Too Stupefied to Know their Lives were Past (GLOG Class: Specialist)<style>
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<blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: times;"><b>...the hangman asked the raven and it croaked a sharp reply, <br />"Black-clad are they who follow Death, who for the Tower ride,<br />"And black their steeds and black their deeds and black each deathly eye,<br />"They gave their breath to old gray Death, but still they have not died..."</b></span></blockquote></blockquote><br /> This is the first original class for the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/Unfinished%20World"><b>Unfinished World</b></a> I've written in quite a while (the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/09/ruling-city-of-gd-glog-class-noble.html"><b>Noble</b></a> was a pastiche of Locheil's excellent <a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/2022/09/ruling-city-class-sacred-one.html"><b>Sacred One</b></a>, and the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/10/put-your-body-upon-gears-glog-class.html"><b>Manufactory</b></a> was a rewrite of the shoddily-assembled original). To continue my Discord ramblings of how a strongly-flavored class can be as easily transported to another setting as a "generic" one, I offer you the <b>Abaddon</b>. <br /><br /> Is he childe who failed his quest but (horribly, mayhap regrettably) survived, who rode north seeking the Dark Tower and returned as less than ghoul, the inferior of the two final metamorphoses possible for the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-could-i-of-all-people-fall-silent.html"><b>Sword-Shepherd</b></a>? Yes, but he's also an oogy-boogy ghosty-spooky. He could be a phantom or a revenant. Maybe your Cleric bungled the <i>Resurrection</i> spell and now your bard doesn't have elbows (or anything else). Maybe you open up a tomb in <a href="https://theneverdone.blogspot.com/"><b>Starstrom</b></a>, <a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/"><b>Qal Ashen</b></a> or the <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/"><b>Enlightened Empire</b></a> and an <b>Abaddon </b>jumps out. Why not?<br /> <br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmTyxd7p-zJaDfaX5DgGSjHuXBxPIdolNcMMm2hTWTe6EhZ5bEdBxXTbdFOtTOQVXbrn3yDNJXIjznLU2KObKBdK2UHWgNLCqm5ZVi-Qyb2rBqK-n-dSEhjmjsJvjzyH93w3j35LaWGBQYrbuv_1WrS0A2ib98SvnQCo4vdMMS7BgPmjc3YW_4Rk6/s3600/shopping%20session.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2768" data-original-width="3600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmTyxd7p-zJaDfaX5DgGSjHuXBxPIdolNcMMm2hTWTe6EhZ5bEdBxXTbdFOtTOQVXbrn3yDNJXIjznLU2KObKBdK2UHWgNLCqm5ZVi-Qyb2rBqK-n-dSEhjmjsJvjzyH93w3j35LaWGBQYrbuv_1WrS0A2ib98SvnQCo4vdMMS7BgPmjc3YW_4Rk6/w640-h492/shopping%20session.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: guess, liberal<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Class: Abaddon</h4><br /> You are one of the rare survivors of the pilgrimage to the Dark Tower. Theoretically, an <b>Abbadon</b> cannot <b>fumble </b>with any weapon and can fight in all kinds of armor and while carrying a shield, though they may be too weak to carry some of them. If it comes to it, tcan also ride a horse. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Deep sea fishing</b>, 2. <b>Fortress architecture</b>, 3. <b>Cartography</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Frightening outfit (as <b>unarmored</b>, -1 to enemy <b>morale </b>checks), mostly-black horse with one white sock, a cruel saber (as <b>medium</b>) and two pieces of <b>Foreign Kit</b> (see bottom of this post). <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> No Bones, Honest Light, +1 <b>to-hit</b></li>
<li><b>B</b> Eclipse, +1 <b>HP</b></li>
<li><b>C</b> Free From Hope, +1 <b>AC</b></li>
<li><b>D</b> Lord and Lady Gone, +1 <b>HP</b></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>
No Bones</b><br /> Your body is gone, along with your old life and most of your mind. You have no bones — and, for that matter, no blood or meat or skin. You are a soul pinned to this world only by its seven <b>chakras</b>. You expand to fill a room like a fine vapor and are only visible where light passes through you. You are <b>immune </b>to <b>poison</b> and falling and do not need to eat or drink. It is difficult or impossible for you to sink in liquid, and even if you did you wouldn't need to breathe. You are still vulnerable to <b>charm</b> and <b>fear</b> effects, and still must sleep. You can move through any space a party balloon could be squozed through, and can be crammed into any space you could fit half a dozen such party balloons. <br /> In your vaporous state you move slowly, and can only interact with objects in the form of a strong wind. Backpacks aren't appropriate but you could roll a barrel of belongings along. While so diluted, you are <b>invulnerable</b> to normal <b>weapons</b>, but exposure to <b>sunlight</b> blasts you to a sooty smudge on the floor, the size of a man's shadow when he stands directly beneath the <b>sun</b>. This deals <b>1d6</b> damage per <b>HD</b> you possess. In <i>that</i> state, you are deaf and half-blind and cannot affect the world at all until you find total darkness to reform in.<br /> If being a body without organs doesn't sound good, there is another option; you could pull yourself together underneath some suitably baggy clothing and stay there. If you have gloves, this gives you hands; if you have boots and trousers, this lets you command a horse; if you have a hat and a mask and a heavy coat, this protects you from the <b>sun</b> and His terrible strength. <br /> In your solid state you can interact with objects directly, and walk as fast as you care to. You take half-damage from normal <b>weapons</b> (unless they are made from <b>gold</b> or specifically enchanted against your kind) and might be mistaken for a normal person, if you're somewhere normal people where flapping black cloaks. You can even <b>attack</b>, though because of your weak grip and lack of motive force you have <b>disadvantage</b> on melee attacks and require special prosthetics to pull a bow-string or swing a sling. <br /> In any state, if you would take a <b>fatal wound</b>, or if you are reduced below 0 <b>hitpoints</b> by <b>sunlight</b> or a <b>gold</b> weapon, one of your <b>chakras </b>is destroyed. See the section below these templates to find the effects of that, and how they can be replaced. <br /><br /><b>Honest Light</b><br /> You can project light at-will. It is no brighter than the brightest light shining upon you (red and flickering in a torchlit cave, blinding in daylight) and so it is of little use illuminating areas. Under this light, minds are affected with strange fancies. Roll <b>1d6</b> on this table each time you use this ability:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Anger</li>
<li>Sadness</li>
<li>Mirth</li>
<li>Guilt</li>
<li>Delusion</li>
<li>Fear</li>
</ol> After projecting your light, you must wait until the next dawn to do it again.
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote><b>Eclipse</b><br /> Your ability to control your volume and density has improved. If you wish, you can occupy a set of clothes or armor while another person is wearing them. You may add your <b>strength</b> bonus to their attacks and <b>strength</b> checks, your <b>wisdom</b> bonus to their <b>initiative</b> and so forth. You can also <i>subtract</i> your bonus from theirs if you wish to hinder instead of help. You take ⅓rd of any damage the two of you receive, and they take the other ⅔rds (do not round!). </blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote><b>Free of Hope</b><br /> You have freed yourself from the last chain, and can control your volume and density to the point that in your vaporous state you can float like a cloud or occupy water (you aren't breathable, but you are dry) and in your solid state you can step in air as if climbing a ladder. </blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote><b>Lord and Lady Gone</b><br /> You no longer need clothing to take your solid form, you only need strong shadows. Remember that any room with only a single light source must have strong shadows. In complete darkness, you simultaneously occupy a whole room while being as strong and solid as a wainwright (no longer suffering <b>disadvantage</b> on melee attacks). You can beat, choke, shove and smash people in your darkness, or catch fists, blades, arrows and jaws to protect them. </blockquote>
<br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Chakras: Their Gain and Loss</h4>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>On the peak of your scalp, the <b>Crown Chakra</b><br />Grants <b>Connection</b>, <b>Reality</b><br />Without this <b>chakra</b>, you are <b>undead</b>. You don't want to be <b>undead</b> for a whole lot of reasons. To replace this <b>chakra</b>, you must pay <b>50gp</b>. </li>
<li>At your third-eye, the <b>Vision Chakra</b><b><br /></b>Grants <b>Perception</b>,<b> Sanity</b><br />Without this <b>chakra</b>, you can neither see nor hear, and must navigate by touch. To replace this <b>chakra</b>, you must eat a pair of <i>very</i> fresh eyes. </li>
<li>In your throat, the <b>Voice Chakra</b><br />Grants <b>Intention</b>, <b>Effect</b><br />Without this <b>chakra</b>, you can neither speak nor deliberately interact with others. To replace this <b>chakra</b>, you must eat a <i>very</i> fresh voicebox. </li>
<li>Over your heart, the <b>Memory Chakra</b><br />Grants <b></b><b>Definition</b>, <b>Self</b><br />Without this <b>chakra</b>, you can neither apply stat bonuses nor penalties. To replace this <b>chakra</b>, you must eat — what else? — a <i>very</i> fresh heart. </li>
<li>In your guts, the <b>Furnace Chakra</b><br />Grants <b></b><b>Application</b>, <b>Will</b><br />Without this <b>chakra</b>, you can neither <b>attack</b> nor pass <b>saves</b> against magic. To replace this <b>chakra</b>, you must sleep on a bed of burning coals for a full day and night. </li>
<li>At the end of your spine, the <b>Basal Chakra</b><br />Grants <b></b><b>Execution</b>, <b>Mass</b><br />Without this <b>chakra</b>, you can neither enter your solid form nor use other abilities related to your volume and density. To replace this <b>chakra</b>, you must sleep in a closed grave for a full day and night.</li>
<li>At the fork of your legs, the <b>Genital Chakra</b><br />Grants <b></b><b>Generation</b>, <b>Form</b><br />Without this <b>chakra</b>, you cannot regain <b>hitpoints</b>. To replace this <b>chakra</b>, <b><i>😏😏😏😏😏</i></b> (you must receive 6<b> hitpoints</b> of magical healing per <b>HD</b> you possess). </li>
</ul>
<br /> When you lose a <b>chakra </b>you also lose a random stat — not lose <i>points</i>, lose the <i>stat</i>. You automatically fail, or cannot attempt, any roll which would involve that stat. When you regain a <b>chakra</b> you reroll a random missing stat and keep the
new result. If you are ever missing 4 of your 7 <b>chakras </b>at the same time, you
evaporate into your component pieces, return to the place you came from, and are at last truly dead. <br /><br /> <br /><b>Foreign Kit (roll 2d20 or choose yourself)</b>: <br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Frightening Outfit</b>. Riding boots, kid gloves, hose, chaps, button-down shirt, smoked lenses, face-wrappings, broad gaucho, all in jet-black, all care-worn and travel-stained. 0 slots worn, 2 carried.<br /></li><li><b>Mostly-Black Horse</b>. Not the horse you set out to the Tower on; not by six or seven of them. Not even the one you started back on. Equipped with 1 <b>sack</b> of saddlebags, can carry 2.<br /></li>
<li><b>Cruel Saber</b>. Single chisel-edge (like a left-handed sushi knife), with a fat backwards-curving tip for piercing hearts and striking at the side of the skull. As <b>medium</b>, 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Carapace Shield</b>. Light as wood, but inflammable. Bears a strange sigil; a ring with five barbs circling seven lines of foreign script. 1 slot. <br /></li>
<li><b>Lightbulb Revolver</b>. Casts <b>sunlight</b> in a 50' cone. Requires a half-hour of winding between shots. 1 slot. <br /></li>
<li><b>Whipsword</b>. Strictly worse than a normal sword, usually. As a <b>medium</b> weapon, but +1 against enemies carrying <b>shields</b>, and strikes you in the face on a <b>fumble</b>. 1 slot.<br /></li>
<li>Hammer and 10 iron nails. ⅓rd slot and 1 slot, respectively. <br /></li><li>Grappling hook and 50' of rope. ⅓rd slot and 1 slot, respectively<br /></li>
<li><b>Artur Hoxha's Small Book of Mildly Interesting Zoological Observations & Immacualte</b> [sic] <b>Taxonomy</b>. While presented as a conventional, rambling work by an eccentric natural philosopher, close reading reveals aforementioned natural philosopher did not spend much time, if any, in the conventional 3-dimensional world. While working with it as a reference (i.e. open in your off-hand), you have an extra <b>check</b> when identifying or experimenting with creatures from other planes. ⅓rd slot. <br /></li><li><b>Speaking Compass</b>. Has a switch to change it from dial to voice ("north is left... north is left... north is straight ahead...") or to touch-sensitive (irritating to use, but silent and works in the dark). <br /></li>
<li><b>Inaccurate Map</b>. Out of date by several centuries, and focused in the wrong place. Marks several no-longer-extant cities in the distant, frozen south. <br /></li>
<li><b>Scale Model</b>. Heavy brass tetrahedron in a pair of concentric rings, allowing it to be rotated and examined. Mountain ranges and oceans are marked clearly, but population centers and political borders are absent. One face has a fine, thin spike extending up from its center. 2 slots. <br /></li>
<li>Three sticks of <b>implosives</b>. Very much like explosives, but much more inconvenient to use. ⅓rd slot each, in a waxed paper wrapping. <br /></li>
<li>Jar of <b>Man-Eating Scarabs</b>. At least a hundred of them in a buzzing clay jar sealed with asphalt What the Hell are they eating in there? 1 slot. <br /></li>
<li>Chipped piece of a <b>crystal ziggurat</b>. Nicked from a great cairn in the blazing north. When it hears voices, it chants along in a bassy but slightly-flat harmony. Allows you to play ventriloquist tricks while in vaporous state. <br /></li>
<li><b>Trade-Spider Fertility Totem</b>. Utterly incomprehensible symbolism, praise the Lord. Repairs your <b>Genital Chakra</b>, once. <br /></li>
<li><b>Treasure-Hunter Magnet</b>. Attracts <b>gold</b>, not iron. <br /></li>
<li>Canteen of <b>Cactus-Slug Butter</b>. Smells incredibly delicious, produces powerful vomiting. 10 doses. 1 slot. <br /></li><li>Packet of <b>Boiled Honey Candy</b>. Smells incredibly delicious, produces surprising moral fiber and repairs 1 point of stat damage (doesn't fix your missing chakras). 10 doses. 1 slot. <br /></li>
<li>A strange or inexplicable curio. Roll 1d6: <br /><ol><li>Greatcoat of Virgin's Wool. The fabric was woven from the hair of maidens, and cut with shears forged from grave-goods, quenched in baby's blood and sharpened on the living teeth of slaves. None of this provides any supernatural benefit, but by golly does it drive up the price. As <b>unarmored</b>, +2 <b>reaction</b> from evil creatures, -1 <b>reaction</b> from clerics and holy men.<br /></li><li><b>Three-lock sword</b>. A <b>heavy</b> blunt-tipped executioner's sword of <b>adamant</b>, with three keyholes running along its fuller. These were mass-produced, once, but now only a handful remain — when they take a life, or score a <b>critical hit</b>, one of the locks is undone. When all three are unlocked, the sword will open up like a jewelry box. Recall that <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/04/twenty-three-swords-ish.html"><b>all such weapons are terribly cursed</b></a>. <br /></li><li>Model ship in a large glass bottle. Tiny figures scuttle on its tiny deck, thrown about on a churning sea of darkness, under rags of brightly-coloured sails. How'd they fit the little guys in there? <br /></li><li><b>Indigo Mask</b>. An odd bulbous hat, a leather collar, and a corrugated veil running between the two. Worn by monkey-clerics in the Blazing North, or so you tell credulous young'uns. <br /></li><li>Music box. Plays a high, childish song about armies marching through Hell unimpeded. <br /></li><li>Cylinder of <b>red beeswax</b>. While shaped like a cylinder, bees won't hurt you. While in other shapes, other things happen — fuck you, I'm not your fucking encyclopedia. Figure it out. <br /></li></ol></li>
</ol><span style="display: none;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: white;">Lines in a foreign script: <br />LIFE IS UTMOST SUFFERING FROM ACCIDENT OF BIRTH TO FOREVER DEATH<br /> THIS UTMOST SUFFERING FORMS A GREAT POWERFUL RIVER OF PAIN AND MEMORY OF PAIN <br />THE WORLD IS A GREAT POWERFUL WATERWHEEL DRIVEN BY THE GREAT POWERFUL RIVER <br />I AM MORE THAN A SOURCE OF ENERGY <br />I WILL MAGNIFY MY AGONY <br />I WILL KILL THE FACTORIES <br />I WILL FLOOD THE WORLD</span></span></span><br /><br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-33494811304730366062022-12-25T18:06:00.005-05:002023-06-11T02:01:34.427-04:00An Encounter Table for a Weird Napoleonic War Zone <style>
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This is for a certain someone on a certain server, as a Secret Santa type dealio. <br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5aALssalMcPALmm23E4h1pjsirrCWoTiP8DfRQWfiMT4XnWtxa4qpOqrcZ1SRzDymo6byQNJnWl2f0N86oE_YgnMxYo80qEmADmrQ66xvUPvP3EKmFRBdHmj0QO1H_ICZ-koXuuhB8k8r1dSDXMq0d5fr68AWTuNQJ5fBAsHSRfZMgV2q2Nh1QCx/s1080/Old%20Guard%20by%20Den40Stojanov.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="970" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5aALssalMcPALmm23E4h1pjsirrCWoTiP8DfRQWfiMT4XnWtxa4qpOqrcZ1SRzDymo6byQNJnWl2f0N86oE_YgnMxYo80qEmADmrQ66xvUPvP3EKmFRBdHmj0QO1H_ICZ-koXuuhB8k8r1dSDXMq0d5fr68AWTuNQJ5fBAsHSRfZMgV2q2Nh1QCx/w574-h640/Old%20Guard%20by%20Den40Stojanov.png" width="574" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/den4ostojanov/art/Old-Guard-756068216"><b>Old Guard</b></a> by Den4oStojanov<br /></td>
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<br /> The Emperor fights a war on four fronts! From the Portuguese Remnants, in their once-colony of Brasil, the Peninsular Army assaults His western shores, and on His eastern borders each nation of the Coalition masses 150,000 men. To punish Albion He has bade no continental power deal with them; to punish the defecting Russians He has sent a half-million of the finest soldiers of Europe to ravage all the Russias. In the cold Atlantic His navy steadily loses ground (or water, mayhaps) to the proud Briton and the perfidious Dutchman. <br /><br /> If it were down to strength of arm only, the Emperor might still prevail, even against three-quarters of the world. But the Hermetic and Shamanic traditions of His enemies bedevil His soldiers, influence His commanders, intercept His communications, and slowly turn the tide. <br /><br /> Only one thing can save the Forever-Emperor; the <b>New Medicine</b> and the tireless soldiers it promises him. Uniting the science of Galvani, Volta, Dippel, Paracelsus and Hippocrates, <b>New Medicine</b> is a vital practice for making armies of dead out of dead armies, for sewing the good bits together to make 5 new soldiers out of 10 old worn-out ones. What's more, these <b>New Medics</b> have begun experimenting in the rebalancing of humors — a little too much blood makes one tired and feverish, but what does <i>much</i> too much blood do? When your heart beats black bile and your brain stews in the cold, dry element, what then? <br /><br /> But I don't need to tell you all of this. It's ancient history now in our terrifyingly modern 20th Century; how the Emperor's <b>undead </b>marines swarmed from their sinking ships up the sides of Nelson's and tore the British sailors limb from limb; how Prince Kutuzov was hanged by the neck from his own artillery by grinning corpses who needed no food, no water, no shelter, no light, no rest; the fate of Lisbon and Porto and Braga and Coimbra. Napoleon's star rose, and would shine until the Great War ended all war...<br /><br /> Enough for the moment. Let's talk about the sort of thing you might find in a Weird Napoleonic War Zone: <br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">All Russias</h4><br /> The Tsar trusted General Winter to halt the French advance, but the dead don't mind mud, and the killing-cold can't kill them. Moscow is burned and the Russian Army routed, and still the French hunt for deserters and merchants' hidden treasure-troves in the snow and black dirt. <br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>2</b>. <b>Zmei Gorinich</b>, a proud young Russian nobleman from over Siberia way, is occupying a nearby castle to watch the next battle from its tower. He seems totally unconcerned with what might happen to him if the French win — or the starving Russian conscripts, for that matter. His three wives (in Eastern style) are glad to invite you in, and watch you over their silk fans at dinner, giggling. Won't you stay the night? </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>3</b>. A small crowd of <b>Domovoi </b>trample in circles in the dust of the road, discussing the terms of their surrender. Their primary concern is protecting the local peasantry, and the fact that if they approach the French camp they will be eaten. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>4</b>. A small inn on the edge of the forest serves both sides. A sign declares this to be the "<b>Sky-blue Rodent</b>". Inside, a tremendously fat Turkish barkeep maintains peace between Russian officers and French technicians as they play game after game of grueling, high-stakes billiards.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>5</b>. A farm and its granary burn down as the farmer watches. His family, dead already of foreign disease, are all buried behind the house. He waits with a gun for the first Frenchman he sees, living or dead. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>6</b>. Battle lines drawn up. The swirling mass of mostly-Frenchmen, with their eyes and mouths sewn wide open, wait at the bottom of a hill for some unknown signal. The Russians ready their heavy cannons and a wall of Congreves loaded with a chemical that will reduce the French soldiers to slavering and disobedient <b>ghūls</b>. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>7</b>. Recurring Character</blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>8</b>. A brutal melee between <b>undead </b>and Russians, in the wreck of their artillery and the stink of dead horses. The ground has been churned into mud hip-deep, and even the tireless <b>undead </b>are slowing on this Hellish battlefield.<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>9</b>. A long line of bodies with bullet-holes through their skulls. Half a mile off, a sniper is watching you, and will fire if she sees you investigate or try and cross the line described by their corpses. Just a little beyond that line a spilled horsecart reveals the glint of twenty kilos of <b>gold ecu</b>. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>10</b>. A military camp of insane <b>undead</b>, who have killed all but the barely necessary technicians. They have declared themselves independent, and what's more: they have declared themselves to be French citizens who possess all rights due to them. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>11</b>. A treasure-trove of war-materiel on the banks of an ice-spanned river. There's a large suspicious hole in the middle and no sign of whoever left all these guns. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>12</b>. <b>Koncek</b>, some barbarian Khan from the south, is hiring any and all adventurers and mercenaries to recover a treasure for him. Far away from here is a lake, and in the center of that lake is an island, and on the center of that island is a dungeon, and in the heart of that dungeon is a chest, and you don't need to know what all's in the chest, you just need to know <b>Koncek </b>will pay you for it with its weight in rubies, ivory, silk and incense. </blockquote>
<br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Europe</h4><br /> From the Black Sea to the Atlantic, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, in the mountains of Switzerland and on the floodplains of the Netherlands, through the frozen fields of Scandinavia and over the sun-bathed hills of Iberia, all the fighting-men and materiel and wealth of Europe, North Africa, India and America fight for or against Napoleon, who some call the Antichrist and others the Emperor of the World. New technology meets old magic and finds it wanting. <br />
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>2</b>: <b>Scholomance</b>, a great dragon, lazily flies above a battlefield sending down bolts of lightning and tonnes of hail. He's interested in selling his services (swift flight, control over weather), but so far no one has been brave enough to take him up on it. Maybe <b>Scholomance </b>is frustrated enough to offer a deal to an intrepid entrepreneur? </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>3</b>: A group of local peasants have had enough of these stitched-together nightmares, and have dug a pit across the highway. They'll be killed to the last man when the Emperor's Afflicted roll through. Most of them will be cut up and stitched together themselves. You can try to convince them otherwise, but they're fairly worked up with their torches and pitchforks and aren't in a talking mood. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>4</b>: Portuguese guerillas wait in the trees for the Spanish to march by.
Their skin flickers and shifts like a dream of a chameleon. Their flesh
is beginning to melt, and their poison blood is beginning to kill them.
None of them will see home again.
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>5</b>: Battalion of Life Guard, eviscerated by grapeshot, lying in slithery
heaps in pools of their own blood, moaning for death. They're so full of
<b> elixir </b>it's dribbling from their opened guts; there's another few cases
in their tents three miles back, if you're interested in looking the
Reaper in the eyesocket and spitting in his bony face.
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>6</b>: A dozen French sharpshooters stand in a small huddle, smoking, waiting for the command to move out. A necromancer and his team of surgeons are quietly measuring their spines, skulls and limbs with calipers and tailor's tapes. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>7</b>: Recurring Character</blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>8</b>: A detachment of Prussian soldiers, mostly <b>clockwork</b>. Humboldt's <b>Kosmogeist </b>means they no longer depend on the large, vulnerable meat-brains they were born with; the only fleshy part left of them is their eyes. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>9</b>: Austrian cuirassiers ride by, so heavily armored they can't rise or be separated from their horses. Their swords are three yards long, their lances ten, and the steel plates on their body are a yard thick. If there are living men and horses underneath all of that, they aren't making any sound. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>10</b>: An Austrian war-eagle, with two heads and feathers of gold bullion, flies overhead with a mocking scream. Take cover quickly; that whistling sound is coming from the fire-bombs. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>11</b>: Out in the field are three shallow graves containing three coffins containing maybe 40 of the Emperor's best, all in pieces. Their sabers, rifles and cannons have been pitched into a nearby ravine. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>12</b>: <b>Talleyrand</b>, with a young man's heart and eyes and skin but still his old man's brain, is riding out to survey the damage with a small troop of bodyguards. He'd be grateful to hear what the PCs have to think about all of this. "Who seeks peace should prepare for war", he quotes. </blockquote>
<br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Albion<br /></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> Napoleon was master of the Channel, not for six hours, but for years and years and years. With every tide another five-thousand French soldiers beach themselves and march towards London, Birmingham, Exeter, Sheffield. The Scots are agitating for an understanding with Napoleon; the Irish are agitating for an understanding with Napoleon; the Welsh and the Cornish and the Manx want an understanding with Napoleon. These days it seems King George's only friends are the <b>Seelie </b>and <b>Unseelie </b>Courts. These days it seems those are the only friends he needs. <br /></div>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>2</b>: A clanking <b>money-elemental</b>, vast and scintillating and serpentine and gore-spattered, crawls blindly through the woods seeking a <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/10/containing-multitudes-glog-wizard.html"><b>debtor</b></a>. The Crown sees no reason to risk His armies when He can risk His funds instead; so much gold and silver in one place has had predictable consequences. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>3</b>: In this deserted bay, the some of the flotsam of the Battle of Trafalgar has washed ashore. The British ships are plain wood, but the Franco-Spanish frigates were sewn from living flesh and bone, and have quickly rotted to poisonous skeletons. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>4</b>: A many-legged mitrailleuse scuttles along, apparently piloted by a bridge of <b>leprechauns</b>. As you come into view, the bald captain orders a mate to "divert power to forward shields". </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>5</b>: Two <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2019/10/gun-on-your-shoulder-class-fighter.html"><b>zouaves</b></a> (whose faces are tanned leathery except for the pale patch where they recently shaved their beard) lead a score of Norwegian mercenaries in looting a cathedral. The <b>Anglican </b>minister stands outside, red-faced and indignant. "We stole this from the Papists fair and square", he insists. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>6</b>: A blood-choked swamp of <b>crocodiles </b>and sandstone ruins. The air is strange, as if the sun is brighter here than in the rest of England. Human pieces stick from the stinking water, and in the distance one can hear the shrieks of shells and dying men. <br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>7</b>: Recurring Character</blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>8</b>: Press-ganged New Englanders with smoothbore muskets stumble along to the whip-crack of a "British" <b>officer </b>wearing two top hats. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>9</b>: A legion, in a surprisingly accurate sense of the word, marches towards a distant besieged town in ranks forty men wide and files a hundred men deep. Some wear bronze maille, others ride chargers in painted armor, others are dressed like Merry Men or Norman men-at-arms or bearded vikings. Each soldier is pale and wan and blinking in the sun, and each <b>officer </b>has leaves woven into their hair and plays panpipes. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>10</b>: Just off the coast, a British ship of the line fends off the tentacles of a terrible <b>Kraken</b>. When its great limbs wash ashore, they will be revealed to be sewn from the arms and legs of a hundred African laborers. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>11</b>: Treacherous red-headed <b>Fenians </b>wait in ambush for G_d-fearing, King-loving Britons. Their lances are sharp as thorns, their deer are shod in fairy-silver, and their tiny Irish brains are sodden with cheap liquor. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>12</b>: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was slain by Danes and Norwegians shortly after his arrival in Scandinavia. No one is sure what, exactly, is animating his headless corpse. He doesn't appear to be stuffed with Prussian <b>clockwork</b>, or Imperial modified-organ-meat. He isn't soaked in Fairy <b>elixir </b>or <b>glamour</b>. He doesn't even even seem to be a <b>ghost</b>. Perhaps, his soldiers suggest, he wanders the highways cutting down his foes because that's just how much he hates the French. </blockquote>
<br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-24515663485941564152022-12-12T17:09:00.014-05:002023-10-01T15:42:15.075-04:00Call Me What You Will (GLOG Classes: 5e Fighters Conversion)<style>
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Woof. This is my <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/search/label/5e%20Conversion"><b>fourth post</b></a> for 5e classes and subclasses converted to GLOG. I've done my favorite guys already: the almighty <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/04/they-do-not-know-how-to-do-right-glog.html"><b>Rogue</b></a>, so perhaps it's time to tackle one of my least favorite: the venerable Fighter. <br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiWdC2vJCFIVclG4Z75sKEqCSe7lzHgoTvZEojGWhWkuOsC5_7JD26TBxd7hFjIgqVxPNnUckfKgdaXcr-VuHQg-ALvFgr2MKG6PDLYaQguIY2FkV4i5KkzIf7VuyWYpQklh64-fzNL6_7W6E6MdMan9kyqCMSKbaypDNvYVr_j34j5Cpv6-GrnYI/s799/yung%20hans%20holbein.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="799" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiWdC2vJCFIVclG4Z75sKEqCSe7lzHgoTvZEojGWhWkuOsC5_7JD26TBxd7hFjIgqVxPNnUckfKgdaXcr-VuHQg-ALvFgr2MKG6PDLYaQguIY2FkV4i5KkzIf7VuyWYpQklh64-fzNL6_7W6E6MdMan9kyqCMSKbaypDNvYVr_j34j5Cpv6-GrnYI/w640-h418/yung%20hans%20holbein.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Hans Holbein<br /></td>
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<br /><br /> Why do I dislike 5e's <b>Fighter </b>so much? Do I need a reason? Must they occupy the prized-place at the beginning of my story, as well as the end? I suppose, in a sentence; I don't like that they aren't the best at fighting. <b>Barbarians </b>are pretty good at fighting. <b>Rogues </b>are pretty good at fighting. <b>Paladins </b>are great at fighting. <b>Rangers </b>fight good. Did you know that 5e <b>Bards </b>are <b>proficient </b>in all <b>martial</b> weapons? I'm a little surprised every time I hear that. <b>Monks </b>are good at fighting. <b>Clerics </b>can fight pretty well. Most <b>Druids </b>are pretty good in a melee. You see what I'm getting at here? Most of the classes are pretty good at fighting! That's the majority! A strong majority! <b>Fighters </b>don't deal the most damage, and don't take the most beating, and aren't the scariest, and aren't the physically strongest, and aren't the most skilled with weapons, and aren't any good in a barfight or an ambush. <b>Fighter </b>isn't the "Good at Fighting" class, they're the "Capable of Fighting" class. <br /><br /> "5e has a problem with focus, and being a martial sucks" isn't an original complaint, but when it comes to complaints I don't feel the need to be original. G. K. Chesterton said something along the lines of, it's good to be innocent, and it's a shame when you becomes so old and jaded that you can see evil without being immediately horrified and disgusted. Ladies and gentlemen: I just reread a bunch of 5e and it still gets tree-sap stuck in my armhairs.<br /><br /> Anyway, here's the thesis: being a <b>Fighter </b>should rule, and you should be the best at Fighting. You should be so good at fighting that it basically occupies the whole Fighting tippy tip of the Fighting-Cunning-Spelling triangle, and anyone else who gets to be good at fighting has to carefully navigate around you and your toes in the design space. <br /><br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDUsIe6CsJ5T2S8BUkPMFBMzp0JQv66bwiqBSLlLBzdCs3DaqHIHZYwWE9tBEjV2ZZ10ZxIVrARid8wLt11Y79rj-mBfxf3QL2n8QESZhSCp-mnPLo6f98U46_AtexIa1Om5JgOWMxgCboGcZR6RH2ktLW-RmCVYF8SjX5KxuhxumXLDG9AG1bGSY/s640/fighters.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="421" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDUsIe6CsJ5T2S8BUkPMFBMzp0JQv66bwiqBSLlLBzdCs3DaqHIHZYwWE9tBEjV2ZZ10ZxIVrARid8wLt11Y79rj-mBfxf3QL2n8QESZhSCp-mnPLo6f98U46_AtexIa1Om5JgOWMxgCboGcZR6RH2ktLW-RmCVYF8SjX5KxuhxumXLDG9AG1bGSY/w422-h640/fighters.png" width="422" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Rich Longmore</td></tr></tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h4>Fighting-Man</h4><br />
You are a <b>Fighter</b>, with all that that entails.<br /><br /> All <b>Fighting-Men </b>can parry like a <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2019/11/ten-of-swords-class-fighter-again.html"><b>sword-shepherd</b></a> (subtract their <b>to-hit</b> bonus from the damage of an incoming melee attack once per turn), get an extra attack at 1st level, and never fumble with any conventional weapon (no promises about zapguns or razor-whip-swords). Additionally, they choose a <b>fighting style</b> from the list at the bottom.
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Arcane Archer</h3>
<br /> Arcane Archery began as an elfish tradition of weaving magic into arrowheads to achieve supernatural results. Arcane Archers are some of the most revered warriors among the elfs. These elite craftsmen can spend weeks or months on a single piece of ammunition, painstakingly carving the shaft, selecting the feathers, and shaping the arrowhead from rare materials. The arrows they produce are not merely weapons, but works of art, things of beauty. They can slay demons and dragons, or inspire a bard's epic. With them, the artificer can change the course of a battle or the hard heart of a king. Their arrows carry the light of the sun, their personal history, their hope for the future.<br /> Seeing you shoot a bomb arrow up a goblin's bunghole would probably break their hearts.<br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Arcana </b>2. <b>Bowyer</b> 3. <b>Bardic performance</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: <b>Heavy</b> longbow, kidskin quiver with 20 arrows, Lincoln-green Robin Hood costume (as <b>leather</b>).<br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Arcane Shot</li>
<li><b>B</b> Magic Arrow</li>
<li><b>C</b> Curving Shot</li>
<li><b>D</b> Everready Arrow</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Arcane Shot</b><br /> With an hour of preparation, you may enchant an arrow with an arcane effect you know. You may maintain two such arrows at once. Choose two <b>arcane arrows</b> now from the list below.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Magic Arrow</b><br /> When you fire a normal arrow, you may choose to have it count as <b>magic</b> for the purpose of overcoming resistances. Choose an additional <b>arcane arrow</b>, and replace one you already know if you wish.<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Curving Shot</b><br /> Once per turn, an <b>arcane arrow</b> that would miss its target turns mid-air to attack a different target. Choose an additional <b>arcane arrow</b>, and replace one you already know if you wish.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Everready Arrow</b><br /> If <b>initiative</b> is rolled and you don't have any <b>arcane arrows</b> prepared, you may draw one from your quiver anyway. Choose an additional <b>arcane arrow </b>now, and replace one you already know if you wish.</blockquote>
<br /><b>Arcane Arrows</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Banishing Arrow</b>.<br />Struck target <b>saves</b> or is banished back to their plane of origin. If this is their plane of origin, they are thrust into the <b>ethereal</b> momentarily, and reappear after a turn in the position they were when they left. If that position is now occupied they are shunted to unoccupied space and take <b>1d8</b> <b>force</b> damage. </li>
<li><b>Beguiling Arrow</b>.<br />Struck target <b>saves</b> or is convinced that you are its friend. The big stonking arrow sticking out of it may be evidence otherwise, but if you talk fast you might be able to profit somehow before anyone objects.</li>
<li><b>Bursting Arrow</b>.<br />Immediately after the arrow strikes a target, it explodes for <b>2d6</b> damage in a 10' radius.</li>
<li><b>Enfeebling Arrow</b>.<br />Necromantic magics weaved into the arrow weaken and sicken the struck target, causing them to deal half-damage with melee weapons until the <b>curse</b> is lifted. </li>
<li><b>Grasping Arrow</b>.<br />This arrow conjures grasping, poisonous brambles which wrap around the struck target. Targets must pass a <b>strength</b> check to remove the brambles. Each time they fail, and each turn they move without removing the brambles, they take <b>1d6</b> <b>poison</b> damage.</li>
<li><b>Piercing Arrow</b>.<br />The arrow partially phases out of this reality and into the <b>ethereal</b>, and moves in a straight line 1' wide and 30' long before fading entirely. Struck targets in its path must <b>save</b> or take normal damage from the arrow. This attack can hit through walls, armor, and most protective spells. </li>
<li><b>Seeking Arrow</b>.<br />The arrow seeks out a target you have seen within the past minute unerringly, navigating around corners and through all but complete cover. Target must pass a <b>save</b>; if they fail they take normal damage from the arrow and you are alerted to their exact position. If they succeed, they take half damage and you are not alerted. </li>
<li><b>Shadow Arrow</b>.<br />This semi-illusory arrow cannot be seen as it flies or as it strikes. Struck targets are <b>blinded</b> for a minute, perceiving a world of darkness and great moving shapes. </li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<h3>Wizard</h3>
<br /> You may not have heard this, but "wizard" is the rank above "master" in swordsmanship. Perhaps you are a master, and perhaps not — by tradition that title is only given to those 30 years of age, and most wizards die before then. But long after you die, old men will enchant their grandchildren with tales of watching you fight. There will never be another quite exactly like you.<br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Colosseum performance</b> 2. <b>Alcoholism </b>3. <b>Seamanship</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: <b>medium</b> rapier, traveling clothes (as <b>leather</b>), jeroboam of cheap Spanish red (3 doses).<br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Student of War</li>
<li><b>B</b> Know Your Enemy</li>
<li><b>C</b> Improved Superiority </li>
<li><b>D</b> Relentless Blade </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Student of War</b><br /> You have studied for many long hours, and at this level may choose two <b>maneuvers</b> from the list below. Unless specified otherwise, these <b>maneuvers</b> can only be used once per combat against intelligent enemies (mindless undead and wild animals probably aren't smart enough to catch on to your tricks). You develop another <b>maneuver</b> with each <b>[template]</b> in this class, and may be able to learn others or invent new ones through play.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Know Your Enemy</b><br /> With a minute of study, you can learn one of a target's <b>Strength</b>, <b>Constitution</b>, <b>Dexterity</b>, <b>Intelligence</b>, <b>Wisdom</b>, <b>Charisma</b>, <b>AC</b>, <b>HD</b>, or number of <b>Fighting-Man</b> templates (if any). You can study them for another minute to learn more things.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Combat Superiority</b><br /> You may teach up to <b>[level]</b> of your companions a single <b>maneuver</b> of their choice. This requires constant training to maintain, and they lose the <b>maneuver</b> quickly if separated from you.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Relentless Blade </b><br /> You always have <b>advantage</b> when attacking with a sword. </blockquote>
<br /><b>Combat Maneuvers</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Caizo's Stratagem</b>.<br />You may forgo one of your own attacks to give it to your ally.</li>
<li><b>Kreussler's Disarmament</b>.<br />When you strike a target, you may forcibly disarm them. <b>Fighters</b> get a <b>save</b> against this. </li>
<li><b>Marozzo's Distracting Blow</b>.<br />All attacks against struck target have <b>advantage</b> until the start of your next turn.</li>
<li><b>Evasive Footwork</b> after the <b>Style </b>of <b>Matthaus</b>.<br />Dodge a single melee attack with a quick backstep.</li>
<li><b>Giganti's Feint</b>.<br />After a missed attack, immediately make another with <b>advantage</b>. </li>
<li><b>de Jarnac's Goad</b>.<br />Struck target has <b>disadvantage </b>on attacks against targets other than you until your next turn.</li>
<li><b>Liancour's Flying Lunge</b>.<br />You may make an attack against a target you otherwise could not reach, for reasons of footing, distance, or the presence of bodyguards.</li>
<li><b>Skirmisour's Menacing Onslaught</b>.<br />Target immediately makes a <b>morale</b> check. If they fail, they flee on their turn for at least one round. If the creature wouldn't normally be scared of you, it gets another <b>morale</b> check after that round.</li>
<li><b>Vom Tag</b>.<br />Struck target is shoved away up to 15'. </li>
<li><b>The Capo Ferro</b>.<br />When a creature misses an attack against you, immediately make an attack against them.</li>
<li><b>Miracolo's Sweep</b>.<br />If an attack's result beats the <b>AC </b>of a creature adjacent to struck target, hit them for normal damage.</li>
<li><b>Trip de Joie</b>.<br />Struck target <b>saves</b> or falls prone.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<h3>Champion</h3>
<br /> And David said to Saul: "Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and when there came a lion or a bear that took a lamb out of the midst of the flock, I pursued after them, and delivered the lamb from their mouth; and if they turned on me, I caught them by the throat, and I strangled and killed them. Thy servant has killed the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them". And Saul said: "Cool." <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Hunting </b>2. <b>Bardic performance</b> 3. <b>Military history</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Monstrous bronze sword (<b>massive</b>), <b>medium</b> shepherd's sling and pouch for stones, sandals and loincloth (as <b>unarmored</b>), thick sheepskin cloak. <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Improved Critical,</li>
<li><b>B</b> Remarkable Athlete</li>
<li><b>C</b> Superior </li>
<li><b>D</b> Survivor</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Improved Critical</b><br /> You score a <b>critical hit</b> on an attack roll of <b>19 </b>or <b>20</b>. If your system doesn't have critical hits, too bad for the DM, because you deal double damage on a <b>19 </b>or <b>20 </b>still. Show them this rules text and chide them for not reading more carefully before they approve a class.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Remarkable Athlete</b><br /> Add your <b>[level]</b> to any rolls you can argue are based on strength, dexterity or constitution. Gaps a human could leap with a <b>movement </b>check can be leapt by you without one. Surfaces a human could climb with equipment and preparation you can climb with your fingers and toes. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Superior</b><br /> You score a <b>critical hit</b> on an attack roll of <b>18</b>. Add another <b>fighting style</b>. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Survivor</b><br /> If you are below half your maximum <b>hitpoints</b> when a fight is <b>initiated</b>, heal to half your maximum <b>hitpoints</b>. Do not round. </blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Echo Knight</h3>
<br /> Legends tell of the first Echo Knights and how they gained their powers, but you don't care. If you cared about anything besides yourself, anything at all, then you wouldn't be an Echo Knight.<br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Hunting </b>2. <b>Classical art</b> 3. <b>Pasta science</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Broadsword (<b>medium</b>), scale armor (as <b>chain</b>), kite shield, high-quality hand mirror, tin of pomade, switchblade comb. <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Manifest Echo</li>
<li><b>B</b> Echo Avatar</li>
<li><b>C</b> Reclaim Attention</li>
<li><b>D</b> Legion of One</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Manifest Echo</b><br /> You have an <b>Echo </b>you can summon with about six seconds of concentration. She is a double of you, your stats and your equipment, except she has <b>1HP </b>and is a ghastly, wan thing. On your turn she may make an attack in your stead, move 30', or swap places with you with a thought. If your <b>Echo </b>is ever more than 30' from you, she and all her copies of your equipment will vanish with a pop. If she ever takes damage, ditto. Twice per day at this <b>[level]</b>, and once more for every additional, your <b>Echo </b>may take her own turn in combat</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Echo Avatar</b><br /> You may transfer your mind into your <b>Echo</b>, seeing through her eyes, hearing through her ears &c. While you are doing this your real body is dead to the world. She may move 1,000' away from you while this is happening.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Reclaim Attention</b><br /> As one of her turns, your <b>Echo </b>can throw herself in front of an attack that occurs within 30' of you. The attack is made against her <b>AC </b>instead. Additionally, you can choose to pop your <b>Echo </b>and spend one of her turns to grant yourself <b>4</b> temporary <b>HP</b></blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Legion of One</b><br /> You may control two <b>Echos</b> at once. If <b>initiative</b> is rolled and your <b>Echos</b> don't have additional turns, they get one.</blockquote>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">Eldritch Knight</h3>
<br /> Not everyone has the patience for real wizardry, for arcana and drafty towers and studying ancient manuscripts by the light of a candle. Some <b>mousers</b> turn to petty theft to keep the wolf from the door, and some turn their sights to higher things — like combat, conquest, and the crown. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Arcana </b>2. <b>Smithing </b>3. <b>Ancient history</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Longsword (<b>medium</b>), lamellar with black cloak and hood (as <b>chain</b>), thieves' lantern, empty spellbook (dog-eared pages, scuffed bronze head- and corner-caps). <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Careless Study</li>
<li><b>B</b> Eldritch Strike</li>
<li><b>C</b> Arcane Charge</li>
<li><b>D</b> War Wizard</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Careless Study</b><br /> Your wizardry is irregular, and mostly consists of a few sorcerous tricks which still give you a significant advantage over mundane combatants. You have a <b>spell slot</b> (though you don't start with any spells). You can <b>parry</b> spells and arrows. You may conjure a bolt of <b>fire</b>, <b>frost </b>or <b>lightning</b>, and throw it like a knife. Finally, you may <b>bond </b>with up to two weapons. <b>Bonded </b>weapons cannot be torn from your grasp, and you may summon them to your hand with a thought if you are on the same plane of existence.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Eldritch Strike</b><br /> When you deal damage to a creature, you may <b>mark</b> it. A creature <b>marked</b> in this way is automatically struck by the next spell cast on it, without a <b>save</b> or an attack being rolled.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Arcane Charge</b><br /> Once per minute, you may blink 30' to a location you could have reached by hovering in a straight line.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>War Wizard</b><br /> You gain an <b>MD</b> in a <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/11/5-glog-wizard-classes-mtg-style.html"><b>color of your choice</b></a>.</blockquote>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3U1f9ERgsU3T9yxndCU3z0N8WU-J76y0mQ0gj9eZyjWS4IijLDmQgTlLsiMpBAaq0e2I5vffR1kqm0Cj68lsi315w2YB8mzEl_43qs3RgFZfUkyT23o6QdgJBYjtOxEuNzaYwFqjI4I-M_H8B96fpUO3r-A1p2dscTdv1foCFSHrPUpbPtXbcfIl/s1016/fighter.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="828" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3U1f9ERgsU3T9yxndCU3z0N8WU-J76y0mQ0gj9eZyjWS4IijLDmQgTlLsiMpBAaq0e2I5vffR1kqm0Cj68lsi315w2YB8mzEl_43qs3RgFZfUkyT23o6QdgJBYjtOxEuNzaYwFqjI4I-M_H8B96fpUO3r-A1p2dscTdv1foCFSHrPUpbPtXbcfIl/w522-h640/fighter.png" width="522" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: the cover of <i>Nine Princes in Amber</i>, painted by Tim White<br /></td>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Psi Knight</b></h3>
<br /> The Soul Knife is so secret <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/04/they-do-not-know-how-to-do-right-glog.html"><b>he isn't even visible in the rogue post</b></a>. Damn, that's secrecy! Like him, you're a secret psychic hitman in the cloak-and-dagger interplanar war between the bigfeet and the lizardmen. Unlike him, you're a well-designed class who is fun to play and does something and has mechanics. Good for you.<br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Advanced planar calculus</b> 2. <b>Psychiatry </b>3. <b>Psychology (this one is different)</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Weird metal totem thing, black kung-fu robes (as <b>unarmored</b>), <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Psionic Power, +1 <b>Mind Die</b></li>
<li><b>B</b> Telekinetic Adept, +1 <b>MD</b></li>
<li><b>C</b> Guarded Mind, +1 <b>MD</b></li>
<li><b>D</b> Telekinetic Master, +1 <b>MD</b></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Psionic Power</b><br /> You have a pool of <b>Mind Dice</b>. They operate exactly like <b>Magic Dice</b> but aren't those. You can roll them to reduce the damage of an attack you can see by <b>[sum]</b>, extend a 3' flaming blade from your weird metal totem thing, or manifest a circular, horizontal plane of force, 3' in diameter and 1" thick. The flaming blade lasts for <b>[dice]</b> rounds and deals <b>[best]</b> damage on a hit. It can be used to burn holes through material, about 1' a round for wood or earth, half that for stone or metal. The plane moves in any direction you choose at a slow walking speed, and dissipates after <b>[dice]</b> minutes or immediately upon bearing more than 100kg of mass. If used as a crushing tool the plane can deal <b>[sum]</b> damage before popping.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Telekinetic Adept</b><br /> You can roll your <b>MD </b>to leap <b>[sum]</b>*5', or force a <b>[dice] HD</b> creature to <b>save </b>or fly back 15' and fall prone. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Guarded Mind</b><br /> You are immune to <b>Charm </b>and <b>Fear </b>effects, and may roll <b>MD</b> to give a creature a reroll with a <b>+[sum]</b> bonus against such an effects. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Telekinetic Master</b><br /> You may roll <b>MD</b> to levitate up to <b>[sum]</b> slots of objects, in any arrangement, from their current position to a spot or spots you can see. If you use this to bean a mountain of rocks and large frogs in a general direction, it deals <b>[sum]</b> damage, <b>save </b>for half. </blockquote>
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<h3>Banneret</h3>
<blockquote>Fierce, stern, haughty, and bold,<br />were the lords of the realm in days of old.<br />None had a sharper sword in fight<br />to vanquish the wrong, and strike for the right;<br />none had higher and wilder blood,<br />to spur them from evil, and guide them to good.<br />Brave, proud, reckless, and bold, <br />fit to be one of the barons of old! </blockquote>
<b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Ancient history</b> 2. <b>Gardening </b>3. <b>Tax extraction/evasion</b>.<br /><b>Starting equipment</b>: Decent horse, lance (<b>massive</b>), longsword (<b>medium</b>), jousting armor (as <b>plate</b>), pale and feeble squire, great shield with your family's design upon it.<br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Rallying Cry</li>
<li><b>B</b> Restriction on Knighthood</li>
<li><b>C</b> Bulwark</li>
<li><b>D</b> Inspiring Figure</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Rallying Cry</b><br /> Once per day, you can deliver a rallying speech and give allies who can hear you <b>[level]</b> points of temporary <b>HP</b>. If you charge into a fight while screaming your battle-cry (take the opportunity to come up with a good one now), you may add your <b>[level]</b> to you and your allies' <b>initiative</b> rolls. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Restriction on Knighthood</b><br /> You may make an oath to another character, swearing on your own name. You are bound to such oaths to the death and everyone knows it.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Bulwark</b><br /> You may <b>mark</b> a single enemy. If the <b>marked</b> enemy attacks someone other than you while in your reach, you may immediately make an attack against them. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Inspiring Figure</b><br /> Allies in your presence have <b>advantage </b>on all <b>saves</b>.</blockquote>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Rune Knight</b> </h3>
<br /> Rune Knights employ an ancient supernatural practice that originated among the giants. Whether you learned second-hand from a giant's abandoned scribbling on a cave wall, or third-hand from a scholar who studied such things, or first-hand at a gigantic artisan's knee, you can apply these runes and use their power. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Smithing</b> 2. <b>Ancient history</b> 3.<b> Outdoor survival</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Warhammer (<b>medium</b>), heavy winter clothing (as <b>leather</b>), great clomping boots, sonorous and fruity voice. <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Rune Carver</li>
<li><b>B</b> Runic Shield</li>
<li><b>C</b> Great Stature </li>
<li><b>D</b> Master of Runes</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Rune Carver</b><br /> You can speak and read the language of <b>Gigantes</b>. You know two <b>runes</b> from the list below. During a ritual at dawn you may place a <b>rune </b>that you know on a piece of equipment. You may only apply each <b>rune </b>once, and you may only apply one <b>rune </b>to a piece of equipment. Additionally, once per dawn you can choose to make you and your equipment <b>gigantic </b>for 60 seconds, increasing the damage dice of all weapons by one step and granting you an effective <b>Strength</b> of <b>24</b>.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Runic Shield</b><br /> When a visible ally wearing one of your <b>runes </b>is struck, you can <b>undo </b>that <b>rune </b>to force the attacker to reroll. Choose an additional <b>rune </b>now, and replace one you already know if you wish.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Great Stature</b><br /> You permanently grow <b>3d4 </b>inches taller. While <b>gigantic</b>, your damage dice are upped twice. Choose an additional <b>rune </b>now, and replace one you already know if you wish</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Master of Runes</b><br /> You may apply each <b>rune </b>you know twice, and may put more than one <b>rune </b>on a single piece of equipment. Choose an additional <b>rune </b>now, and replace one you already know if you wish.</blockquote>
<br /><b>Giant Runes</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Cloud Rune</b>.<br />This <b>rune </b>means "Cloud Giant", and also "Cunning". The wearer or wielder of an item inscribed with this <b>rune </b>may add +1 to all <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/04/they-do-not-know-how-to-do-right-glog.html"><b>cipher rolls</b></a> (enabling normal folk to make <b>cipher checks</b>). They may also choose to <b>undo</b> the <b>rune </b>to choose a new target for any attack they see made within 30' of them. The chosen target is struck by the attack if the original roll beats their <b>AC</b>. <br /></li>
<li><b>Fire Rune</b>.<br />This <b>rune </b>means "Fire Giant", and also "Skill". The wearer or wielder of an item inscribed with this <b>rune </b>may add <b>1</b> to all <b>d20 </b>rolls. They may also choose to <b>undo</b> the <b>rune</b> upon hitting a creature with an attack. If they do, fiery chains burst from the ground and seize struck target. They may make a <b>save</b> at the beginning of every round to wrench free; otherwise, they take 1d6 <b>fire</b> damage and cannot move from their position. <br /></li>
<li><b>Frost Rune</b>.<br />This <b>rune </b>means "Frost Giant", and also "Survival". The wearer or wielder of an item inscribed with this <b>rune </b>inflicts a <b>-1</b> penalty to enemy <b>morale </b>checks, and grants a <b>+1</b> bonus to friendly <b>morale</b> checks. They may also choose to <b>undo</b> the <b>rune</b> to grant a <b>+10</b> bonus to a <b>strength</b>- or <b>constitution</b>-related check.<br /></li>
<li><b>Hill Rune</b>.<br />This <b>rune </b>means "Hill Giant", and also "Reliability". The wearer or wielder of an item inscribed with this <b>rune</b> has advantage on saves vs. <b>poison</b> and takes half damage from sources of <b>poison</b>. They may also choose to <b>undo</b> the <b>rune</b> to negate up to <b>12</b> points of weapon damage from a single source.<br /></li>
<li><b>Stone Rune</b>.<br />This <b>rune </b>means "Stone Giant", and also "Judgement". The wearer or wielder of an item inscribed with this <b>rune</b> can see up to 120' in grainy black-and-red <b>infravision</b>. They may also choose to <b>undo</b> the rune to <b>charm</b> a target they can see into a dreamy and pliant stupor. <b>Save</b> negates.<br /></li>
<li><b>Storm Rune</b>.<br />This <b>rune </b>means "Storm Giant", and also "Possible Future". The wearer or wielder of an item inscribed with this <b>rune</b> cannot be surprised. They may also choose to <b>undo</b> the rune to gain a brief glimpse of the near future, which applies <b>advantage</b> or <b>disadvantage</b> to any related check.<br /></li>
</ol>
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<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Brass Man</h3>
<br /> Where do Brass Men come from? Wizards' workshops? Nightmare-forges of the deep elfs? Space? Space? Is it space? When they're underwater, do they get wet? Or does water get them? And why do they hide their eyes beneath frosted-glass face-shields? <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Modern history</b> 2. <b>Small unit tactics</b> 3. <b>Arcana</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: <b>Heavy</b> arbalest, exosuit with attached air supply (as <b>plate</b>, with 8 hours of oxygen) which you may not remove, 200' of extremely durable wire, can opener. <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Fighting Spirit, +2 <b>Steam</b></li>
<li><b>B</b> Elegant Courtier, +1 <b>Steam</b></li>
<li><b>C</b> Rapid Strike, +1 <b>Steam</b></li>
<li><b>D</b> Strength Before Death, +1 <b>Steam</b><br /></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Fighting Spirit</b><br /> You have <strike>a pool</strike> a tank of <b>Steam</b>. On your turn in combat, you may spend a point of <b>Steam</b> to gain <b>advantage</b> on your next attack and <b>4</b> temporary <b>hitpoints</b>. You regain 1 point of <b>Steam </b>when you eat a ration and snooze for an hour — if you eat your supper before you go to sleep for the night you regain as many points of <b>Steam </b>as you ate rations.<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Elegant Courtier</b><br /> You have <b>advantage </b>on <b>initiative </b>rolls. If a fight <b>initiates</b> and you have no <b>Steam</b>, regain <b>1</b>.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Rapid Strike</b><br /> When you would have <b>advantage </b>on an attack, you may attack twice instead.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Strength Before Death</b><br /> You may spend <b>Steam </b>in response to gaining a <b>fatal wound</b> or otherwise falling unconscious. You remain conscious and active for one round per point of <b>Steam </b>spent this way. </blockquote>
<br /><b>Fighting Styles</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Archery</b>.<br />You gain +2 <b>to-hit</b> with ranged weapons.</li><li><b>Blind Fighting</b>.<br />You have 10' of <b>blindsight</b>. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you're blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see <b>invisible </b>creatures within that range, unless the creature is fully concealed from you.</li><li><b>Defense</b>.<br />You gain a <b>+1</b> bonus to <b>AC</b>.</li><li><b>Dueling</b>.<br />When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand with an empty offhand, you gain a <b>+2</b> bonus to damage.</li><li><b>Massive Weapon Fighting</b>.<br />When you roll a <b>1</b> or <b>2</b> on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll that damage die.</li><li><b>Interception</b>.<br />You have a +1 bonus to <b>parries</b>, and can use your <b>parry</b> on attacks against adjacent allies.<br /></li><li><b>Mariner</b>.<br />While wearing <b>medium</b> armor or less and while not carrying a shield, you can swim and climb as fast as you can run, and you gain a<b> +1</b> bonus to <b>AC</b>.</li><li><b>Simple Sorcery</b><br />You know how to do two of the following hedge-mage tricks with a few seconds of mumbling and finger-waggling: <br /><ol><li>Light a flammable object at a touch</li><li>Bless a fist-sized stone, that it can be thrown with the range of an arrow for <b>1d6 </b>damage.<br /></li><li>Bless a club or staff, that its base damage dice bump up one size. <br /></li><li>Produce a terrifying thunderclap with a snap of your fingers</li><li>Produce a fistful of maddened, stinging, biting insects<br /></li><li>Freeze up to a liter of water</li><li>Project your voice through a fire that you can see</li><li>Bind a subdued or non-resisting person with tight vines<br /></li></ol></li><li><b>Superior Technique</b>.<br />You learn one <b>maneuver </b>of your choice from among those available to the <b>Wizard </b>archetype.</li><li><b>Thrown Weapon Fighting</b>.<br />You can draw and throw a <b>light</b> weapon, even if hidden, with one motion. You gain a <b>+2</b> bonus to damage with thrown weapons.</li><li><b>Two-Weapon Fighting</b>.<br />When holding two weapons, you gain a <b>+1</b> bonus to melee damage and +1 to <b>AC</b>.</li><li><b>Unarmed Fighting</b>.<br />Your hands are <b>medium</b> weapons, which you can "wield" one-handed or two-handed.<br />You can automatically bite, strangle and tear a creature you have <b>grappled</b> for <b>1d6 </b>damage once per turn without using an attack.</li></ol><br />
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(if you were expecting that <b>Brass Man</b> to be a samurai, well, 5e already made a pretty decent samurai. He's at the top of the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/01/so-angry-i-might-die-glog-classes-5e.html"><b>Barbarian post</b></a> under the name of "Ancestral Guardian")G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-91654005030926419212022-11-01T06:31:00.011-04:002022-11-14T14:00:57.136-05:005 GLOG Wizard Classes, M:tG Style<style>
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<br /> I <i>been</i> playing <b>Magic: the Gathering</b>. Here's how to play <b>Magic: the Gathering</b> in GLOG. <br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXqA0Q0mfc9Vo1rQnilTc-fT3hod9cq2u4ARfsDpp3iinFrNnTYI8Ya7zD9UEbrelx8sEboZmWtQuRWSrQNRojPpPazGvnwf2C12Z3_hTVz3xRA1tS3bcmAFQGwG4KTZ9uqYYFXOJwGtnoifMVVoxZZyzrNjvqZNWV0wHVsbMgv9kZtp__0NXO8zk/s800/the%20gitrog%20monster.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="800" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXqA0Q0mfc9Vo1rQnilTc-fT3hod9cq2u4ARfsDpp3iinFrNnTYI8Ya7zD9UEbrelx8sEboZmWtQuRWSrQNRojPpPazGvnwf2C12Z3_hTVz3xRA1tS3bcmAFQGwG4KTZ9uqYYFXOJwGtnoifMVVoxZZyzrNjvqZNWV0wHVsbMgv9kZtp__0NXO8zk/w640-h456/the%20gitrog%20monster.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image, art by <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/kangjason/art/MTG-The-Gitrog-Monster-598913909"><b>Jason Kang</b></a><br /></td>
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<br /><br /> Let me hit you with the basic concept: you're a GLOG wizard, but you <i>don't </i>(necessarily) <i>get <b>MD</b> as you level up</i>. Mana isn't something that humans make for free. If you want magic you need to hardscrab for it, need to tear it out of the still-beating hearts of dragons and so forth. <br /><br /> The spellcasting mechanics are <a href="https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/07/osr-condensed-spellcasting-rules.html"><b>basically the same as in general GLOG</b></a>. You have a <b>Mana Pool</b>, and that pool contains <b>Mana Dice</b>, and you roll <b>Mana Dice</b> to achieve effects from the <b>[sum]</b> and <b>[dice]</b>, and you want to avoid doubles and triples, and so forth, and so on. You've read a GLOG content before, I don't need to explain the concept. The difference is this: normal GLOG wizards reset their pool at dawn, i.e. dice that have been expended are replaced. These wizards reset their pool at dawn, i.e. any unspent <b>Mana Dice</b> dissipate into the Etheric Planes.<br /><br /> Wizards in this paradigm have less-convenient ways to add <b>MD</b> to their pool. The first source is consumable items (snorting ground-up wizard brain, smoking lotus flowers, grating priceless gems over pancakes), and I'll write up some of those at the end of this post for giggles. <br /><br /> The second way is by nicking the natural mana of the land around you. You may <b>tap</b> into your current hex' power to add an <b>MD</b> of the appropriate color. At dawn, when the nigh-limitless octarine energies of the sun bathe the world once more, the land is ready to be <b>tapped </b>again... I guess you could call that <b>untapping</b>, if you wanted to. It has a certain ring to it. <br /><br /> Some hexes are sources of better <b>MD</b> than others, and their features can influence the base <b>3-in-6</b> chance of <b>MD</b> expending or returning to your pool. You can share your domain with other characters, but if other wizards are <b>tapping</b> its power you'll have access to less, and if they're non-wizards they probably want things like "towns" and "roads" and "market days" and other things that will disrupt your magic with prosaic contagion.<br /><br /> Also, <b>MD </b>have color now. I guess I'll write up some classic GLOG spells' color identity at the end of the post too.<br /><br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3Hk65OXWqEeqtsptXhyRrp_xy2m1BolQhISDt-Bzw6Ib80yb4BbPgT_FzdWfqSNHu0F8sGEJBxxP4rikh6JzqTtw4oyp3abe7J_bwCAoOPOZQ5zOvdvQLapq4_-f2uCv509tKEtnkPxFcox24G5qVRZ5UNZv_-uJ-R9JV-VsQD5BZcua1P4tvmbr/s1000/plains%20avon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1000" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3Hk65OXWqEeqtsptXhyRrp_xy2m1BolQhISDt-Bzw6Ib80yb4BbPgT_FzdWfqSNHu0F8sGEJBxxP4rikh6JzqTtw4oyp3abe7J_bwCAoOPOZQ5zOvdvQLapq4_-f2uCv509tKEtnkPxFcox24G5qVRZ5UNZv_-uJ-R9JV-VsQD5BZcua1P4tvmbr/w640-h508/plains%20avon.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image<br /></td>
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<br />
<blockquote><b>Plain</b><br />if it's mostly well-tended farmland, +1<br />mostly well-stewarded pasture, +1<br />protected by sturdy walls, +1<br />home to a divine being, +1<br /><br />home to visible unmanaged population (outsiders, poors, savages), -1 <br />scattered with decaying structures, -1<br />a battlefield with unburied dead, -1 </blockquote>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzbAl-g9eslWIQfCUHmcQqO_5NoJTDr-r6Gv0YcY5CzhLcqNnF-Qz4zvPVLp7aURWVtYtxBJhixcYBwxqf8b7Jkmz70ofegWQ1gMRMGsC8411WgNWrF4mQjmHQLFZf42NZEG4fRdvtmOs980L2_hEoJ08L68EG5Tj3uj5I-JN2MdpjmLUHjVjG8IS/s1000/island%20avon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1000" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzbAl-g9eslWIQfCUHmcQqO_5NoJTDr-r6Gv0YcY5CzhLcqNnF-Qz4zvPVLp7aURWVtYtxBJhixcYBwxqf8b7Jkmz70ofegWQ1gMRMGsC8411WgNWrF4mQjmHQLFZf42NZEG4fRdvtmOs980L2_hEoJ08L68EG5Tj3uj5I-JN2MdpjmLUHjVjG8IS/w640-h508/island%20avon.png" width="640" /></a></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image</td>
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<br />
<blockquote><b>Island</b><br />if it's adjacent to another <b>Island</b>, +1<br />marked on no outsider's charts, +1<br />frequently underwater, +1<br />the residence of a legendary sea-beast, +1<br />moving, +2<br /><br />within sight of mainland, -1<br />well-mapped by outsiders, -1<br />also some other Land, -1<br /></blockquote>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXAdhJN2HCiD09Kq_BpUs3J_s7YnwoFVZMMYzgYtWvK8eaalft-ziQB43Ae8na26XgLBRz__3Yg31wLBhO_jUuRC7VcWMufZ6jFItFUqTvOTXuNjj4e-3HU5fh46szQn_m7uZJo3H9sy9qgLNxA5oWToDKd8FbB_uag9_RqQxaquhIK3qZPanTc2g/s1000/swamp%20avon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1000" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXAdhJN2HCiD09Kq_BpUs3J_s7YnwoFVZMMYzgYtWvK8eaalft-ziQB43Ae8na26XgLBRz__3Yg31wLBhO_jUuRC7VcWMufZ6jFItFUqTvOTXuNjj4e-3HU5fh46szQn_m7uZJo3H9sy9qgLNxA5oWToDKd8FbB_uag9_RqQxaquhIK3qZPanTc2g/w640-h536/swamp%20avon.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image</td>
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<br />
<blockquote><b>Swamp</b><br />if it's surrounded by <b>Swamp</b>, +1<br />full of votive offerings, with mummies slumbering in its depths, +1<br />the last resting place of the crown/bones/sword of someone famous, +1<br />particularly acidic, noxious or destructive, +1<br />a place of hiding and refuge, +1<br /><br />safely passable, -1<br />watched over by a non-monstrous fortress or castle, -1<br />blessed by a still-living cleric in an elaborate ceremony, -1</blockquote>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_BJsZEuZh4qjSaEEeAKVFWijy6493AiRti7iSTraioMj5-oL0Bfo7ph4Ng7tkVQ8cgKrP47rqtzo0-YbOb7prii9dKIT4H7zomy67HHopGXGRLTmmJeEmMH-A3ROs93hMPBdJKgCbz3xLhHmg5m0HkzlcOLofH_mCKk-hnQ6mg1OSZ48Tkmm_2eM/s1000/mountain%20avon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1000" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_BJsZEuZh4qjSaEEeAKVFWijy6493AiRti7iSTraioMj5-oL0Bfo7ph4Ng7tkVQ8cgKrP47rqtzo0-YbOb7prii9dKIT4H7zomy67HHopGXGRLTmmJeEmMH-A3ROs93hMPBdJKgCbz3xLhHmg5m0HkzlcOLofH_mCKk-hnQ6mg1OSZ48Tkmm_2eM/w640-h508/mountain%20avon.png" width="640" /></a></td>
</tr>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image</td>
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<br />
<blockquote><b>Mountain</b><br />if it's alone, with no adjacent <b>Mountain</b>, +1<br />sno-capped, +1<br />unsummited by Man, +1<br />home of a dragon, +1<br />volcanic, +2<br /><br />well-traveled by caravans, -1<br />settled by Man, -1 <br />full of locals that don't like you (dwarves, goblins, kobolds), -1</blockquote>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZ0Pyov5_U9UMWLVL_4z63dAhxVjShrFxnQZCbmyxMW_5iahS3L2I3ptc19_lFjzJVsoEauPegUZoc-Kcu3o7mo7pSTbhXOW6B2Pq0ZcvwRSFhUE-iDZrL5csm8HZb3NrzXJ1RrfK0hOjh66_oYUSexaulg8NqceENaZrMkJyk7kiELVU72JffTfX/s573/forest%20avon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="573" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZ0Pyov5_U9UMWLVL_4z63dAhxVjShrFxnQZCbmyxMW_5iahS3L2I3ptc19_lFjzJVsoEauPegUZoc-Kcu3o7mo7pSTbhXOW6B2Pq0ZcvwRSFhUE-iDZrL5csm8HZb3NrzXJ1RrfK0hOjh66_oYUSexaulg8NqceENaZrMkJyk7kiELVU72JffTfX/w640-h514/forest%20avon.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image</td>
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<blockquote><b>Forest</b><br />if it's surrounded by <b>Forest</b>, +1<br />old growth, +1<br />watched over by a giant ancient tree in the middle, +1<br />guarded by powerful spirits, +1<br />home of rare trees, +1<br /><br />regularly managed (park, orchard, lumber &c), -1<br />rotten or diseased, -1 (and counts as a 0-in-6 <b>Swamp</b>) <br />guarded by no spirits at all, -1</blockquote>
<br /><br /><br /><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Wizard of the Meadow, Coast, Fen, Foothill or Glade</h4>
<br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Academia </b>2. <b>Occultism </b>3. <b>Foreign, as the Swedish Chef is foreign</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: wizardly robes (as <b>unarmored</b> but people know you're for real), runéd staff (<b>medium</b>), spellbook (gnarly and probably eyeball-studded) in case, empty scroll case, 3 lotus petals.
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> School of Magic</li>
<li><b>B</b> Book Casting</li>
<li><b>C</b> Signature Spell</li>
<li><b>D</b> Spell Breeding</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>School of Magic</b><br /> You are a <b>Wizard</b>, with all that that entails. You have 1 <b>spell slot</b> in your brain per level, you start with two random spells, you can move spells between your head and your book with an hour's study, you have <b>mishaps</b> and <b>Dooms</b> as an Orthodox Wizard... Honestly, I feel silly even writing that much out. You're a wizard. Go out and wiz. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Book Casting</b><br /> You may cast a spell directly out of your spellbook without preparing it first, or off of a scroll without destroying it (and without getting the extra <b>MD</b> a scroll would usually grant). If you do this in combat the spell goes off at the end of the round and it's possible to interrupt you with an attack.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Signature Spell</b><br /> Choose one of your spells. You can no longer roll a <b>mishap</b> when casting that spell.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Spell Breeding</b><br /> You can breed spells like expensive and fragile ferrets in a farm for expensive and fragile ferrets. That's not a good metaphor. Assuming you've spent the <b>100gp</b> on the equipment (which you should set up in your wizard-tower lab) and <b>25gp</b> on the reagents (which are consumed), you may turn two spells into one spell. Discuss with your <b>DM</b>. This might result in a spell that already exists (like, I dunno, Mage Armor + Levitate = Floating Disc), or in some totally novel creation. You've got a wizard-tower lab, right? It's the 4th level. You ought to have a wizard-tower lab by now. </blockquote>
<br /><br /><br />
<h4>Druid </h4>
<br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Farming</b> 2. <b>Soldiering</b> 3. <b>Banking</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: wooden scale armor (as <b>chain</b>), copper sickle (<b>medium</b>), 3 bundles of holly (⅓rd slot each), flint and tinder. <br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Druidcraft, +1 <span style="color: #04ff00;">green </span><b>MD</b> </li>
<li><b>B</b> Tappable, +1 <span style="color: #04ff00;">green </span><b>MD</b></li>
<li><b>C</b> Signature Shape, +1 <span style="color: #04ff00;">green </span><b>MD</b></li>
<li><b>D</b> Domain Expansion, +1 <span style="color: #04ff00;">green </span><b>MD</b></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b>Druidcraft</b><br /> Druids are casters of field and fen, and though more restricted than a Wizard they have a natural font of power to make up for it. You have no <b>spell slots</b>. You have six loyal spells who follow at your heels, changing form with the landscape. They do not return normally after being cast, but must instead be propitiated by burning a bundle of holly. You may not carry ferrous objects and may not read from spellbooks or scrolls (though you may cast from wands and artifacts), and if you ever do so you are <b>ritually unclean</b>, and lose your spells and natural <b>MD </b>until you walk naked around the perimeter of a <b>6/6</b> <b>Forest</b>.
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Wildshape</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: self <b>D</b>: <b>[sum]</b> minutes<br />You turn into a creature with <b>[dice] HD</b> and <b>[sum] HP</b>, or a flying creature with 1 <b>HD</b> and <b>[dice] HP</b>, of a type appropriate to your locale. On a <b>Plain </b>this is a Cat (30' horizontal) or an Eagle (powerful eyesight), on an <b>Island </b>this is a serpent (swimming, crawling) or an Owl (nightvision), in a <b>Swamp </b>this is a Great Toad (poison bite) or a Bat (suck blood to heal), on a <b>Mountain</b> this is a Goat (powerful shove) or a Pterosaur (fireproof), and in a <b>Forest</b> this is a Wolf (skilled hunter) or Dragonfly (inconspicuous). You may not cast in this form. If your <i>Wildshape</i>'s <b>HP </b>is depleted, you return to your normal self and take all overflow damage.<br /></li>
<li><b>Encourage Growth</b><br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: an area <b>[dice]</b>*30' in radius <b>D</b>: instant<br />Vegetable life in the target area undergoes rapid growth, causing <b>[best]</b> damage to unprotected creatures of your choice and snaring them in place until they can cut or tear themselves free.<br /></li>
<li><b>Summon Monster</b><br /><b>R</b>: 10' <b>T</b>: a spot a monster can appear in <b>D</b>: indefinite<br />Summon a loyal, intelligent creature appropriate to your locale, with <b>[dice] HD</b> and <b>[sum] HP</b>. On a <b>Plain </b>this is a Lion (30' horizontal), on an <b>Island </b>this is a Sphinx (1 <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span> <b>MD</b> and <i>Counterspell</i>), in a <b>Swamp </b>this is a monstrous Crocodile (heals from eating), on a <b>Mountain</b> this is a Giant (<b>heavy </b>armor, <b>massive</b> weapon), and in a <b>Forest</b> this is a Bear (mighty). They remember you between casting, and will object to repeated use in weapon-testing or other boring and unpleasant tasks. They disappear at-will or upon reaching 0 hitpoints and your <b>MD</b> remain invested until this happens. <br /></li>
<li><b>Disrupt Artifice</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: an ongoing spell or a magic item <b>D</b>: see description<br />If the target is an ongoing spell (an enchantment or curse &c), subtract <b>[dice]</b> and [<b>sum]</b> from it. If the target is a magic item, it becomes unusable for <b>[sum]</b> minutes, hours, days or years depending on how many <b>[dice]</b> were spent. <br /></li>
<li><b>Compel Duel</b><br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: creatures D: <b>[dice]</b> rounds<br />Select up to <b>[sum]</b> <b>HP</b>'s worth of valid targets. They become murderously (but not suicidally) hostile to each other for the duration. <br /></li>
<li><b>Bring Disaster</b><br /><b>R</b>: n/a <b>T</b>: current hex <b>D</b>: see description<br />A natural disaster strikes within the hour. On a <b>Plain</b> this is a tornado, on an <b>Island</b> this is a tidal wave, in a <b>Swamp</b> this is a monsoon, on a <b>Mountain</b> this is an earthquake, and in a <b>Forest</b> this is a wildfire. At 1 <b>[die]</b>, it is limited enough in scale that creatures may flee and only fragile buildings are threatened. At 2 <b>[dice]</b> it is serious enough to ruin a sturdy building or harm unwary creatures. At 3 it may ravage a small town and threatens all unprotected creatures in the affected area. At 4 <b>[dice]</b>, the disaster overwhelms the entire hex, and can wipe populations from the map. <br /></li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Tappable</b><br /> If you are willing, another caster can <b>tap</b> you for one of your <b>MD</b>. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Signature Shape</b><br /> Choose one of your <i>Wildshape</i> forms. You can always change into that shape, even when in other regions. You may choose another form with a day-long ritual at a <b>6/6</b> <b>Forest</b>. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Domain Expansion</b><br /> Choose a Land type. You have a demiplane of sorts which takes the form of a small area of the chosen Land type. While inside this demiplane you may <b>tap</b> the hex as if it were of the same Land type. Once per dawn, with a wave of your hands, you may lay your demiplane around you, shifting space and terrain and buildings and dungeons to fit. They return to normal when the demiplane moves again. </blockquote>
<br /><br /><br />
<h4>Warlock</h4>
<br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Dungeon maintenance and janitorial duties</b> 2. <b>Alchemy</b> 3. <b>Law enforcement</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: dark clothing (as <b>unarmored</b>, +1 to <b>sneaking</b> attempts), poniard (<b>light</b>), empty scroll, mark of loyalty to your Patron, 3 lotus petals.<br />
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Patron, Boon </li>
<li><b>B</b> Pact </li>
<li><b>C</b> Debt</li>
<li><b>D</b> Ultimate Aspect</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Patron</b><br /> Some <b>Warlocks</b> have fallen from the ranks of other casters, but most are novices more eager for power than for the subtle pleasures of spellbook-scribbling and magical research. They are to <b>Clerics </b>as rideshare drivers are to unionized cabbies. <br /> As a <b>Warlock</b> you may use all magical accoutrements (spellbooks, scrolls, wands &c) that a <b>Wizard</b> can, but your brain has room for only 1 <b>spell slot</b>. Choose from: a powerful Fairy Prince, a mid-ranking Hellish bureaucrat, or a loose-cannon Angel. They want to use you for their own ends. Choose one spell from your entire list and roll <b>1d8 </b>for another one, at this level and all subsequent levels.<br /><br /><b>Boon</b><br /> Your patron gives you a <a href="https://whosemeasure.blogspot.com/2020/11/glog-class-godchild.html"><b>small gift</b></a> of your choice. Devil and Fairy are both on there already, but it's up to you whether your Angel serves the <b>Sun</b>, <b>Moon</b>, <b>Rain</b>, <b>Ocean</b> or <b>Winter</b>; they'll bring you the appropriate gifts. You might be able to swap these out at a shrine to your patron, if you've been nice to them.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Pact</b><br /> Your patron bestows a significant gift upon you. Choose from the Blade, the Chain or the Book, and gain the indicated gift. <br /> <b>Warlocks</b> of the Blade have a bound weapon. You may designate a weapon, magical or otherwise, as their Pact Weapon. You may summon your Pact Weapon to your hand with a thought. If you wish to designate a new weapon as your Pact Weapon you may do so at a shrine to your patron. Regardless of what the weapon actually is, you are <b>proficient</b> in its use and its damage counts as <b>magical</b> against undead and werewolfs and so forth.<br /> <b>Warlocks</b> of the Chain have a familiar. Your familiar is a tiny pixie, imp or putti, is under your control in combat, can communicate with you telepathically, and can cast your spells as if they were you. If they die they return to your side the next time you sleep. <b><br /> Warlocks</b> of the Book have a powerful spellbook. It comes three <b>Wizard </b>spells of your choice, and when you choose the book you gain an additional <b>spell slot</b>. At-will, you may cause this book to disintegrate into ash. You'll find its identical copy at a shrine to your patron. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Debt</b><br /> You may <b>tap</b> your patron for a <b>Mana Die</b> of any color. They expect repayment at their shrines in an appropriate form (<b>10gp</b> of expensive trinkets, 1<b>HD</b> of blood sacrifice, or a sleepless night of flagellation and prayer, to wit). Once you're in the hole for <b>[level]</b> <b>MD</b> or more, they won't loan you anything else until you repay in full. On certain occasions they might run you some more credit in exchange for small favors, ones liable to cause chaos in the civilized world, lead to the slow downfall of Moral Society, or undo the work of some other <b>Warlock</b>. Up to the <b>DM</b>. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Ultimate Aspect</b><br /> Long association with your patron has permanently marked you. Fey <b>Warlocks</b> may snuff fires with a glance and rapidly decay iron with a touch, and their eyes shift color, pattern and material when they aren't concentrating on just the one. Diabolical <b>Warlocks</b> may draw up <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/10/containing-multitudes-glog-wizard.html"><b>binding contracts</b></a>, and are followed by a mild whiff of coal smoke and cigars. Celestial <b>Warlocks</b> may cast <b>sunlight</b> from their face at-will, and become notably more attractive and trustworthy-lookin'. </blockquote>
<br /><b>Warlock Mishaps</b>: <br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>All <b>MD </b>cast in the spell are expended. </li><li>Malicious spirits nip at your soul. Take <b>1d6</b> damage.</li><li><b>1d6</b> rounds of <b>madness</b>.</li><li>Your patron is in a Bad Mood. Gain a permanent mutation.</li><li>Your patron is in a Good Mood. They have a new plot, and to complete it they just need a small favor, almost nothing at all really, from you, just a moment of your time...</li><li>Your patron isn't paying attention to you at all. The spell is delayed by <b>1d4-2</b> rounds. Yes, this means it might go off before it was cast. That's the DM's problem, not mine.<br /></li></ol><br />
<b>Warlock Dooms</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The Warlock has called upon his patron's power at an inopportune time. A claw, paw or tentacle of whatever entity the patron was fighting has breached reality near the Warlock. Treat this as a 6<b>HD</b> monster which strikes once a round for <b>3d6 </b>damage. Ignored or fled, the entity (12<b>HD</b>, strikes twice a round for <b>3d8 </b>damage) breaches completely on a <b>2-in-6</b> chance, with serious consequences for the surrounding environment. </li><li>The Warlock's mistake is compounded. As above, but the entity breaches reality immediately.<br /></li><li>The Warlock has fucked it good and proper for the last time. Everything and everyone within 30' are dragged bodily into patron's realm to fight an incursion of cosmic horrors. If they survive, the <b>Warlock </b>no longer rolls <b>Dooms</b>. </li></ol>
<b><br />Fey Spells</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Charm</li>
<li>Sleep</li>
<li>Disguise</li>
<li>Invisibility</li>
<li>Levitate</li>
<li>Mage Armor</li>
<li>Scry</li>
<li>Illusion</li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Diabolical Spells</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Knock</li>
<li>Prismatic Ray</li>
<li>Disguise</li>
<li>Invisibility</li>
<li>Levitate</li>
<li>Mage Armor</li>
<li>Scry</li>
<li>Illusion</li>
</ol>
<br /><b>Celestial Spells</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Doom Song</li>
<li>Hypnotic Orb</li>
<li>Disguise</li>
<li>Invisibility</li>
<li>Levitate</li>
<li>Mage Armor</li>
<li>Scry</li>
<li>Illusion</li>
</ol>
<br /><br /><br />
<h4>Cleric</h4><br />
<b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Book-Keeping</b> 2. <b>Public Speaking</b> 3. <b>Archaeology</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: clerical robes (as <b>unarmored</b>, +1 to <b>reactions</b> from common folk), holy symbol, empty spellbook (black leather and gilt edges), heavy club (<b>medium</b>), 3 lotus petals.
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Divine Grace</li>
<li><b>B</b> Book Casting</li>
<li><b>C</b> Always Welcome</li>
<li><b>D</b> Monsignor</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Divine Grace</b><br /> The casters that common folk <b>Clerics</b> wander the world serving the great powers; the <b>Sun</b>, the <b>Moon</b>, the <b>Rain</b>, the <b>Ocean</b>, the <b>Winter</b>. These <b>Clerics</b> often have funny ideas about right and wrong, about who should lead and who should follow, about whether or not the gains of adventure are subject to tithe; nevertheless, they are a bulwark against the darkness.<br /> As a <b>Cleric</b>, you get 1 <b>spell slot</b> per template. You are permitted to fiddle with wands and scrolls and other accoutrements of wizardry, but your real strength lies in your <b>Angels</b>. An <b>Angel</b> is like a spell, except she's all aglow and sparkly and such, and she's far too proud (<i>not</i> to mention too large) to be stuffed into a book. Every dawn, choose as many <b>Angels</b> as you have templates in this class to accompany you that day; you may not double up, you've only got the one of each. After being cast, <b>Angels</b> return to Heaven to tell the great powers what you've been up to. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Book Casting</b><br /> As a <b>Wizard</b>.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Always Welcome</b><br /> Tales of your good deeds, hopefully true ones, have spread far and wide. You have a <b>+[level]</b> bonus to <b>reaction rolls</b> with the common folk, and your presence applies a <b>-[level]</b> penalty to <b>morale checks</b> from assorted bastards.</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Monsignor</b><br /> You've become so well known that <b>2d6</b> 0th-level disciples follow you from town to town. They're loyal, and brave enough to follow you into a dungeon, but not particularly competent. If you want to start something greater, you'll have to begin work on a <b>domain</b>. <br /></blockquote>
<br /><b>Cleric Mishaps</b>:<ol style="text-align: left;"><li>All <b>MD</b> cast in the spell are expended. <br /></li><li>The strain proves too much. Take <b>1d6 </b>damage.</li><li>You saw what <b>Angels</b> <i>really</i> look like. Roll a random mutation. After 1 minute, <b>save</b> or it's permanent.<br /></li><li>All <b>Angels</b> leave in a hurry, they need to be somewhere, sorry.</li><li>You <b>fear</b> the sky for <b>1d6 </b>rounds.</li><li>No spellcasting for <b>1d6 </b>rounds.</li></ol><br /><b>Cleric Dooms</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>One of the great powers has begun to hate you. Choose. When in the presence of that great power, random chance turns against you. </li><li>Another of the great powers has begun to hate you. The DM rolls. When in the presence of that great power, random chance turns against you. When in the presence of two, freak accidents repeatedly occur, with your destruction as their obvious goal.</li><li>A third of the great powers has begun to hate you. The DM rolls, but it doesn't really matter; three out of five is a simple majority. If you are ever in the presence of all three at once (including when you roll this <b>Doom</b>), your heart and everything within 10' of it is scooped out of existence. <br /></li></ol><br />
<b>Angels</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Kindness<br /></b><i>Kindness</i> wears a baseball cap and sunglasses so it's impossible to say what she looks like. Yours must be broken or something, because she never actually leaves to go back to <b>Heaven</b>. She'll try her hand at almost anything for some <b>MD</b> — though she's terribly incompetent and, to be honest, prone to criminalisms. If it matters, she can lift an object of <b>[sum]</b> pounds without dropping it and bursting into tears. <br /></li>
<li><b>Heal</b><br /><b>R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: an injured person <b>D</b>: instant<br /><i>Heal</i> is a mature woman in a white smock, with a gentle glow around her face (featureless but for a toothy maw). She quickly sews shut lacerations, sets bones, removes a <b>fatal wound</b>, and heals for <b>[sum]</b> <b>hitpoints</b>.<br /></li>
<li><b>Turn Undead</b><br /><b>R</b>: <b>[dice]</b>*30' <b>T</b>: undead within range <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> minutes <br /><i>Turn</i> is a petulcous woman in heavy working clothes, with a ram's horns and a ram's eyes. Targets are harried, shoved, prodded, butted, <b>grappled</b> and frogmarched out of arm's reach of range. <br /></li>
<li><b>Kindle<br />R</b>: touch <b>T</b>: a creature or object within reach <b>D</b>: instant<br /><i>Kindle</i> is a frightening woman in evening wear, with an enthusiastic snarl and thick smoked lenses. She sets the target alight for a moment, igniting flammable substances and dealing <b>[sum]</b> damage. If used on an unwilling creature, the spell is an unarmed attack that ignores armor. <br /></li>
<li><b>Rebuke</b> <br /><b>R</b>: sight <b>T</b>: all creatures in range <b>D</b>: <b>[dice]</b> minutes<br /><i>Rebuke</i> is an unforgiving woman, wearing a blindfold and wielding brass scales like a horrible double-headed ball and chain. She immediately ends any ongoing fight, and for the duration any who attempt something hostile (say, by attacking or by casting a damaging spell) take <b>[best]</b> damage without a <b>save</b>. <br /></li>
</ol>
<br /><br /><br />
<h4>Sorcerer</h4><br />
<b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Imperialism </b>2. <b>Increasingly alarming personal history</b> 3. <b>Just the normal kind of history</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: outlandish outfit (as <b>unarmored</b>, +1 to <b>reactions</b> from openminded folk), impractical weapon (your choice), cover off of a spellbook (begemmed), 3 lotus petals.
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Heritage, +1 <b>Meta Die</b></li>
<li><b>B</b> Metamagic, +1 <b>MD</b></li>
<li><b>C</b> Exploding, +1 <b>MD</b></li>
<li><b>D</b> Changeable, +1 <b>MD</b></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Heritage</b><br /> Certain people are born better than others, and by "certain people" we of course mean <b>Sorcerers</b>, and by "others" we of course mean <b>Wizards</b>. You're a chad. You're hot shit. You've got the blood of G_d in your veins, or maybe dragon-fire, or maybe you're just that good. <br /> As a <b>Sorcerer</b>, you get 1 <b>spell slot</b> per template. You can (that is, must) cast from a spellbook like the page is a scroll (i.e. burning it up, getting an extra <b>Mana Die</b> of the appropriate color, and losing the spell). It takes you 8 hours to move spells between your head and a spellbook, and you can never craft scrolls or breed spells, because sorcerers aren't <i>fucking nerds</i>, alright? Alright? Fuck you. You also have <b>Meta Dice</b> which can be added to spells to boost their <b>[sum]</b> and <b>[dice]</b>, but don't have a color, so can't be used to cast a (normal) spell on their own. <br /> When you roll doubles, you experience a <b>Wild Magic Surge</b>, instead of a mishap or such, and the <b>DM </b>rolls secretly on the table. When you roll triples, that counts as three unique doubles. Quadruples would be six unique doubles, I think, but who's counting? </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Metamagic</b><br /> For each <b>Meta Die</b> involved in casting the spell, you may add a <b>meta-effect</b> of your choice that changes its nature. You may only add a <b>meta-effect</b> once. Mostly nicked from <a href="https://xenophonsramblings.blogspot.com/2022/09/glog-prestige-class-metamage.html"><b>here</b></a>. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Exploding</b><br /> Your <b>MD</b> explode on a 6 or higher. </blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Changeable</b><br /> The <b>DM</b> will now tell you what <b>Wild Magic Surges</b> were rolled. If you like, you can roll another one. If you do so, you may remove one. </blockquote>
<br /><br /><b>Meta-Effects</b>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Widen</b>: Area-of-effect spell doubles its radius.</li>
<li><b>Silent</b>: Casting is silent. </li>
<li><b>Quicken</b>: You may take another action this turn. </li>
<li><b>Extend</b>: Duration of the spell is multiplied by a factor of <b>[dice]</b>+1.</li>
<li><b>Specificate</b>: Range becomes <b>[dice]</b> miles. If the target is not within line of sight, you must know the precise location relative to your own or, if the target is a creature, you must be holding a part of that creature. </li>
<li><b>Twin</b>: Single-target spell hits another target.</li>
<li><b>Surge</b>: Roll a <b>Wild Magic Surge</b>.</li>
<li><b>Maximize</b>: <i>After</i> determining how many <b>surges</b> were rolled and how many [<b>dice]</b> exploded, all <b>MD</b> came up <b>6</b>. Expend them and calculate <b>[sum]</b> accordingly.</li>
</ol>
<br /><br /><b>Wild Surge</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>For the rest of the day, when you speak you breathe fire for 10' and <b>1d6 </b>damage.</li>
<li>Swarm of rodents appears and carries you 30' in a random direction.</li>
<li>Every creature within 30' of you levitates six inches off the ground. They may paddle around but cannot walk.</li>
<li>A 1<b>HD</b> Fire Elemental appears. He is friendly to you, but not loyal.</li>
<li>Lightning strikes one person within 1 mile at random. </li>
<li>All plants within 1 mile become animate and hostile. </li>
<li>You are <b>cursed </b>to be bright blue.</li>
<li>A strong pleasant smell wafts out of you and follows you for the next day.</li>
<li>A rain cloud forms above your head and rains in a 10' radius for the next hour. </li>
<li>You grow a prehensile lizard tail, which you can <b>sunder </b>as a shield to deflect <b>1d6 </b>damage from an attack.</li>
<li>You grow <b>1d6 </b>inches taller or shorter.</li>
<li>Your intense magical radiation accidentally aligned with that of a devil from the Fourth Hell, causing an apprentice magician to summon you into a binding circle. They assume you are the imp under a cunning disguise.</li>
<li>Two identical copies of you appear and attempt to convince everyone they're the real you. They disappear after taking <b>6</b> damage.</li>
<li>Spell ricochets to random target.</li>
<li><b>[sum]</b> is increased by <b>7</b>.</li>
<li>The money in your pocket cycles, copper -> silver, silver -> gold, gold -> copper.</li>
<li>Smoking gnats (gnats with cigarettes, not burning gnats) pour out of your ears for 1 minute, making it difficult to hide or concentrate. <br /></li>
<li>You are surrounded by a spectral shield for 1 minute, <b>+2 AC</b>, all spells you cast or are cast on you have a <b>2-in-6</b> chance of being reflected. </li>
<li>A small explosion covers your face in soot and singes your eyebrows. If you cough loudly and say "Well, <i>that</i> just happened!" the <b>DM</b> applauds and grants you <b>25XP</b>. <br /></li>
<li>A confused, hungry 4<b>HD</b> bear appears within 60'.</li>
<li>Punch through the skybox and into the Akashic Record. <b>Save</b> vs. a random madness, and ask one yes-or-no question on any subject for a truthful answer. You fall back to the earth for <b>1d6</b> damage. <br /></li>
<li>The nearest wand, or wand-like stick, turns into an angry rattlesnake for 1 minute.</li>
<li>All artifacts within 60' activate and discharge to the best of the <b>DM</b>'s ability.</li>
<li>A bird flies out of your sleeve. If you aren't wearing clothes with sleeves, a bird appears and brings you a pair of sleeves.</li>
<li>All fires within 60' are snuffed</li>
<li>Brilliant light emits from you, blinding you and creatures who can see you for 1 minute</li>
<li>All weapons within 60' become intelligent and can speak the language of their wielder. Roll for alignment.</li>
<li>All casters within 60' lose the ability to cast spells for an hour.</li>
<li>You glow in the presence of a random race for the next year.</li>
<li>Your hair immediately grows to floor length.</li>
<li>All body hair falls out.</li>
<li>People are under the impression they can freely insult you for 1 day.</li>
<li>A random spell from your spell list is dual-cast at the same target. <br /></li>
<li>The nearest dragon is loudly alerted of your presence and exact location.</li>
<li>All corpses within 1 mile are reanimated as unhelpful skeletons.</li>
<li>The nearest corpse is resurrected, permanently.</li>
<li>A 60' radius around you becomes <b>hallowed </b>ground that evil creatures cannot enter</li>
<li>A 60' radius around you becomes <b>unhallowed </b>ground that good creatures cannot enter</li>
<li>Punch through reality to enter the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/10/eyes-and-nostrils-hotter-than-hell.html"><b>Ethereal Plane</b></a> for <b>[sum]</b> minutes, returning to a safe spot.<br /></li>
<li>A random creature within 60' is transported to Hell for <b>[sum]</b> minutes. They reappear in a safe spot, but noticeably changed by the experience. <br /></li>
<li>Closest NPC's alignment and opinion of you is inverted. <br /></li>
<li>Your next attack is a guaranteed <b>critical hit</b>. <br /></li>
<li>You turn into a talking dog for 1 hour. Your abilities are otherwise unaffected. <br /></li>
<li>You gain a random mutation, permanently.</li>
<li>All creatures within 60' gain the same random mutation for 1 minute. </li>
<li>Your emotions can be smelled by nearby creatures for 1 day.</li>
<li>Your hands pop right off. They scuttle around with the stats of a Crab, and you'll have to coax them back yourself. </li>
<li>You are covered in an airtight layer of <b>5gp</b> of gold leaf. Takes about six seconds to tear your face free.</li>
<li>Your head becomes a prime nesting spot for a kind of interdimensional hair-eating hummingbird. If you refuse to do your duty (nest hat) you are helping to destroy an endangered species 😔</li>
<li>You become imbued with quintessence, and thus can only move in circles and ellipses and such. The next spell you cast discharges the aether, causing its path to curve towards a random target and ending this effect. <br /></li>
<li>Geometric outlines raise beneath your skin and twist and grind against each other like a puzzle desperately trying to solve itself. Hope it doesn't, <b>1-in-100</b> chance it does.</li>
<li>Your footsteps are loud enough to crack glass for 1 hour. </li>
<li>The spell fails utterly, though dice are expended as normal, and a cloud overhead spells out the word <span style="background-color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="color: white;"> N O </span></b></span>.</li>
<li>The memory of a forgotten passion returns with full force. Next time you're in town, you <i>must</i> obtain at least <b>50gp</b> worth of candy and collectible cards. </li>
<li>You vomit up your own weight in raw hamburger.</li>
<li>You startle as if waking from deep sleep, now holding bolt cutters, a crowbar, and a small opal from... somewhere.</li>
<li>One of your skills turns into a little skillmunculus and runs off, gleefully performing its thing (cobblemunculus cobbles, historymunculus postulates, &c). Anyone who eats it gains the skill.</li>
<li>You are now on a horse. The horse is running very fast. The horse does not like you, and does not want you on it.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBuKNkVFaMU"><b><i>Them Changes</i></b></a>, by Thundercat, plays at 180 decibels from the nearest tree. </li>
<li>You forget all languages for 1 hour.</li>
<li>You have to walk backwards. This makes running difficult. <br /></li>
<li>The spell gains 1 <b>[dice]</b> for every wedding you, the player, have attended.</li>
<li>216 Modrons appear and begin constructing a machine out of nearby parts, such as treasure and traps and doors and magic swords.</li>
<li>All food on your person rots to nothing.</li>
<li>Somewhere, somewhen, the King of Beetles takes a step to the left. This is unlikely to affect your life in any way. </li>
<li>You are <b>cursed</b> with face-blindness. You're essentially a Hitman NPC until someone removes the <b>curse</b>.<br /></li>
<li>You become somewhat unsure any of this, you or your world, is real.</li>
<li><b>4d10</b> heavily-armed 1<b>HD</b> warriors, four 2<b>HD</b> sergeants and one 4<b>HD</b> captain arrive at your location. Roll <b>reaction</b> to see what they think of you.</li>
<li>You turn into a silhouette for 1 day. This makes you <b>invisible </b>in darkness</li>
<li>All casters within 60' reset their <b>MD </b>pools. </li>
<li>The next attack against you is a guaranteed <b>critical hit</b>. </li>
<li>Your templates change to a random GLOG class for 1 day. </li>
<li>For the next 24 hours, you taste sounds and hear colors. Being angry makes you cold and being happy makes you purple.</li>
<li>All creatures within 60' sprout antlers. They shed them in late November.</li>
<li>You become imbued with earth, and thus are drawn almost irresistibly down. Until you fall at least 20' you cannot float in water and must <b>save</b> to not investigate a cool (<b>DM</b>'s discretion) cave.</li>
<li>A 6<b>HD</b> sphinx appears and asks you a cunning riddle. She'll reward you with a minor magic item if you pass, and attempt to eat you if you fail. </li>
<li>A 6<b>HD</b> sphonx appears and asks you a bullshit riddle. He'll get bored after about thirty seconds, whether you answer or not, and attempt to eat you. </li>
<li>Your two (1. legs 2. arms 3. eyes 4. ears 5. kidneys 6. brain hemispheres) unionize. If one of them stops working, they both will. If they perceive that you're overusing them, <b>1-in-6</b> chance they agree to go on strike (they don't cooperate as a team very well). </li>
<li>The next time it rains in this hex, it will rain toxic frogs. </li>
<li>All flammable clothing within 60' catches fire. <br /></li>
</ol>
<br /> Here are some mana items:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Lotus Petal. Smoked in a pipe to grant you 1 <b>MD</b> of any color. <b>1gp</b> each. </li>
<li>Sol Ring. May be <b>tapped</b> to add 2 <span style="color: #666666;">colorless </span><b>MD </b>to your pool. <b>200gp</b>. </li>
<li>Spellish Dynamo. Horrible mechanical gizmo, something like a hamster wheel, that tuckers out one of your spells for the day and adds 1 <span style="color: #666666;">colorless </span><b>MD </b>to your pool. <b>50gp</b>, 1 slot. </li>
<li>It's 6:20 I don't give a shit. Google the phrase "mana rock". </li>
</ol>
<br /><br /> Here are some selected <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxVHEMMjLlZ4UWYzX3o1UnEtd0U/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-ZqZEVaSwAMdy_U8B-AF0iA"><b>Wizard Spells</b></a> and their color identities. <br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Charm - <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">white</span></span></li>
<li>Color Spray - <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">white</span></span></li>
<li>Disguise - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Doom Song - black </li>
<li>Explode Corpse - black</li>
<li>Fade - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Fear - black</li>
<li>Feather Fall - <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">white</span></span></li>
<li>Fireball - <span style="color: red;">red</span></li>
<li>Floating Disk - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Grease - <span style="color: red;">red</span></li>
<li>Hypnotic Orb - <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">white</span></span></li>
<li>Illusion - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Invisibility - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Knock - <span style="color: red;">red</span></li>
<li>Levitate - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Light - <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">white</span></span></li>
<li>Lock - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Mage Armor - <span style="color: #04ff00;">green</span></li>
<li>Magic Missile - <span style="color: red;">red</span></li>
<li>Mirror Image - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Mirror Object - <span style="color: #666666;">colorless</span></li>
<li>Mirror Self - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Prismatic Ray - <span style="color: red;">red</span></li>
<li>Raise Zombie - black</li>
<li>Rot - black</li>
<li>Scry - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Sleep - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
<li>Wall of Light - <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">white</span></span></li>
<li>Web - <span style="color: #04ff00;">green</span></li>
<li>Wizard Vision - <span style="color: #2b00fe;">blue</span></li>
</ol>
<br /><br />
Incidentally, this is how interpreted <a href="https://glass-candles.blogspot.com/2022/09/glogtober-22-under-new-management.html"><b>my prompt</b></a> of "diegetic Magic"<br /><br /><br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-36732583714194266042022-10-02T00:09:00.005-04:002023-03-16T17:27:55.693-04:00Put Your Body Upon the Gears (GLOG Class: Wizard)<style>
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<blockquote>
<blockquote>Entropy is the system's tendency towards chaos. <br />In mechanical systems entropy converts useful work into useless heat and noise.<br />In informational systems entropy converts useful data into useless corruption and compression.<br />In political systems entropy converts useful legitimacy into useless human suffering.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br /> Practitioners of the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/08/though-he-were-strong-as-seven-glog.html"><b>First Art</b></a>, that called <b>Manufacturing</b>, might have learned at a private military school, or at a
for-profit orphanage, or as part of some state-sponsored program — but however they got it they got it from the vast and anfractuous NGO their sort will breezily call "the Academy", with palliness not entirely appropriate. <br /><br />
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUuPUnuC6KllNhV0qkksmv8Sbq9mjDm8wVfDCsgVn0lqLVffjYnsfdzAMqSX0KrzLehWH17Mgwyya9FQgpyHGMrPsCE_uJdXhftq6KfqpyzwRPpnJ5HoscYjo3Uk-h_NCga2niQPX24oHwyTh2EpQCqkSp58R1fZ9wPJ-HDhww_7VgEqu3oIPLOcy/s2500/pair%20of%20manufactories%20blog%20edit.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2500" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUuPUnuC6KllNhV0qkksmv8Sbq9mjDm8wVfDCsgVn0lqLVffjYnsfdzAMqSX0KrzLehWH17Mgwyya9FQgpyHGMrPsCE_uJdXhftq6KfqpyzwRPpnJ5HoscYjo3Uk-h_NCga2niQPX24oHwyTh2EpQCqkSp58R1fZ9wPJ-HDhww_7VgEqu3oIPLOcy/w640-h388/pair%20of%20manufactories%20blog%20edit.png" width="640" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: the inimitable <a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/"><b>Mr. Locheil N's. Eye</b></a>. <br /></td>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">Class: Manufactory</h4>
<br /> You are a <b>Manufactory</b>, a wizard of fire and metal and industry. You manipulate the element of Hot Metal, exploit the principle of introduction-of-material, and <i>make</i> things. Manufactories are very practical wizards.<br /> As a <b>Manufactory </b>you can wear all types of armor, but may not use shields unless another class gives you that skill. If you have at least one template in this class you never fumble while using hammers, clubs or knives.<br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Metallurgy</b>, 2. <b>Military History</b>, 3. <b>Court etiquette</b>.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Heavy leathers (as <b>leather</b>, weight like <b>chain</b>, half damage from <b>fire</b>), a small, skittish pony (<b>HD </b>1, <b>Morale </b>5) and two-wheeled cart (10 <b>inventory slots</b>), three pounds of high-grade coke.<br /><br /><b></b>
<blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>A</b> Academy Primed, Basic Education, +1 <b>HP</b></li>
<li><b>B</b> Advanced Curriculum, +1 <b>AC</b></li>
<li><b>C</b> Expanded Interest, +1 <b>HP</b></li>
<li><b>D</b> Seignurage, +2 <b>save</b></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<b></b><br /><b></b>
<blockquote><b>Academy Primed</b><br /> You still owe the Academy money for your fine education: to the tune of 50% of your adventuring earnings until the DM says otherwise. If you fail to pay, you cannot run far enough in this world to escape the collection team. Standard postal service will be perfectly adequate.<br /> It isn't all bad news though! Your education gives you a class resource called <b>substance</b>, with maximum equal to your <b>HP</b>. When you would heal a point of <b>HP</b>, you may choose to regain a point of <b>substance</b> (up to your maximum, obviously) instead. You can also regain 1 point of <b>substance</b> by eating 5 <b>inventory slots</b> of green wood (an hour or two of a cheery fire), or 4 of real firewood, or 1 slot of coal, or ⅓rd slot of specialized chemical fuel. It takes you ~a round to eat ~a slot of fuel. Bug your DM about it. <br /> This <b>substance</b> fuels your other abilities. Gain one such ability now by rolling <b>1d6</b> on the list of <b>Basic Techniques</b>. <br /><b>Basic Education</b><br /> With a wave of your hand (which is really a careful measuring and designation of the target area), you can produce objects from thin air. These objects appear within your reach, are made from <b>basic materials</b>, cost 1 <b>substance </b>per 1 <b>inventory slot</b>, and appear at a rate of 10 <b>slots</b> a minute. They're of one piece, one material and solid. If it comes up their details are as fine and dimensions consistent as if cast in wet sand on a beach (i.e. not very). <br /> The <b>basic materials</b>, which all <b>Manufactories</b> are trained to work with, are <b>potmetal</b> (an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal"><b>undifferentiated non-ferrous metal alloy</b></a> with a low melting point), <b>clay</b> of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca20JkKFAcE&t=504s"><b>a sort</b></a> appropriate for firing or making molds, and <a href="https://www.grainger.com/product/6KZ26"><b>3/4-inch Type M copper tubing</b></a>. <br /> Making useful things out of this crap is up to you, but off the top of my head I can suggest: sling bullets, shot, low-quality ring chain, impressions of a complicated object, a copy of a key you're holding (or you've got a good impression of), work-hardened copper spearhead, fragile shovel head, fragile saw blade. Use your imagination you feckless zoomer bastard. Get your nose out of your I-phone. <br /></blockquote>
<b></b>
<blockquote><b>Advanced Curriculum</b><br /> The Academy recognizes five types of knowledge, and arguably the greatest (they're all "arguably the greatest") is the hearty and reliable <i>phronesis</i> one gains from blowing stuff up tae fuck. You've made great progress in <i>phronesis</i>. Roll <b>1d8 </b>and gain that <b>advanced technique</b>. You have also learned the use of <b>advanced materials</b>; these include <b>brick</b> and other <b>ceramics</b>, <b>glass</b>, <b>igneous</b> and <b>sedimentary rock</b>, <b>concrete</b>, <b>wireframe</b>, <b>cast iron</b>, <b>gunmetal</b> (the kind that's useless for guns and essential for steam fittings), <b>lead</b> and other elemental metals and metalloids (but not lanthanides or actinides) (and not silver or <b>gold</b>), <b>stone wool</b>, <b>asbestos</b>, and <b>brasses </b>and <b>bronzes </b>in many varieties and grades. These are created under the same restrictions as <b>basic materials</b>, but cost 2 <b>substance</b> per <b>inventory slot</b> of objects, and if it comes up their details/dimensions are as fine as proper lost-wax casting and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_Ferry_Armory"><b>real machining</b></a>. </blockquote>
<b></b>
<blockquote><b>Expanded Interest</b><br /> Your loans are paid off, and your professors suddenly remember who you are. Meanwhile, you've learned a lot out in the field. Pick two <b>advanced techniques</b> and two <b>basic techniques</b>. </blockquote>
<b></b>
<blockquote><b>Seignurage</b><br /> You've learned about as much as you can easily learn from blowing stuff up tae fuck. You've gained the use of the <b>master materials</b>; military-grade <b>steel</b>, powdered or liquid <b>basic</b> or <b>advanced material</b>, and <b>composite metal foam</b>. <b>Master materials</b> cost 3 <b>substance</b> per <b>inventory slot</b>. <br /> You also learn <b>Make GP</b> and one other <b>Master Technique</b> off the list. Choose wisely, because it'll be real hard (probably a long quest involved, probably a dragon) to get another, and the one you pick will define you as you move on to the next stage of the <b>Manufactory</b> lifecycle: trying to make a living while the ol' <i>Ardens Mater</i> sends you letters <a href="https://youtu.be/aiqKK4ysI7g?t=10"><b>politely asking for money</b></a>. </blockquote>
<br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Basic Techniques</h3>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Eat Fuel</b>. 1 <b>substance</b> is a day of food and water for you.</li>
<li><b>Puff Fire</b>. You can ignite flammable material between your hands. For 1 <b>substance</b>, you can project flame in a 10' cone, dealing <b>1</b> damage and igniting flammable material. <br /></li>
<li><b>Identify Ash</b>. With a taste, you can determine the age of ash down to the minute within 24 hours and down to the day after that. </li>
<li><b>Speak with Metal</b>. Metal can't really perceive the world around
it, but it can tell you how old it is, who crafted it, and might be able
to offer some advice. It isn't always obvious if you're talking to the
metal or yourself. <br />
</li>
<li><b>Puff Poisonous Smoke</b>. "Poisonous" is a strong word, but prolonged exposure will probably lower life expectancy. For 1 <b>substance</b> you can produce a puff of invisible, noxious vapor from your hand. If this gets in someone's face they must make a <b>save</b> against a minute of weeping blindness and speechless coughing and wheezing. <br /></li>
<li><b>Wrap Band</b>. You can produce a band or belt of material up to <b>[substance]</b>*5' in circumference, starting from your hand. It cinches tight, so it can be used as manacles or emergency-barrel-repair. <br /></li>
<li><b>Drill Hole</b>. Spend 1 <b>substance</b> to drill an eight-inch deep, one-inch wide hole in stone or wood. Takes about six seconds to do this in wood, or one minute in stone. If you can produce <b>tempered steel</b> you can drill holes in metal in ten minutes. <br /></li>
</ol>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Advanced Techniques</h3>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Produce Twice</b>. You can produce an object with each hand simultaneously for their normal cost at normal speed, or a single object in double-time. <br /></li>
<li><b>Summon Machine Spirit</b>. You can summon a ghastly assistant to help you with your work. They have a vague human form and a clear human voice, 8 <b>AC</b>, <b>[substance]</b> <b>HP </b>and enough effect on the world to carry <b>[substance]</b> <b>inventory slots</b> of items. By default you may only have one machine spirit (always the same one) summoned at a time, though you can perhaps apply to the Academy for more. Spirits don't have the motive force to swing an axe, but they can light the fuse on a cannon. Machine spirits dissipate instantly when they reach 0 <b>HP </b>or after <b>[substance]</b> days and they fear this more than you fear death. Wherever they go to between summoning must be unpleasant. In any case, they are eager to assist.<br /></li>
<li><b>Powder Actuate</b>. For 2 <b>substance</b>, produce a three-inch iron spike and launch it with enough force to pierce and bind in concrete or thin sheets of metal. If used in combat, this is an <b>intelligence</b>-based attack for <b>1d10</b> damage at 30'.<br /></li>
<li><b>Fuel Food</b>. For 2 <b>substance</b>, produce one ration of vegan paleo "apple sauce" and one gallon of potable water.<br /></li>
<li><b>Cut by Hand</b>. You can produce an eye-searing beam of extreme heat from your hands for 3 <b>substance</b> per round. Hot enough to liquefy, amputate or scorch. If used in combat, this is an <b>intelligence</b>-based attack for <b>2d6</b> damage at 5'. <br /></li>
<li><b>Sunder Metal</b>. You can shatter, rust, twist and generally destroy <b>[substance]</b> cubic inches of non-noble metal with a touch. If used on someone's gear, or on a person made out of metal, they get a <b>save</b> to avoid this.<br /></li>
<li><b>Bombard</b>. Over the course of [<b>substance]</b> rounds, a large potmetal sphere grows in the air over your head. It then throws itself up to <b>[substance]</b>*30' and explodes for <b>[substance]</b> damage within 30', <b>save</b> for half. If you take damage while producing the sphere, it disintegrates and the <b>substance</b> is lost.<br /></li>
<li><b>Spray Garbage</b>. For 3 <b>substance</b>, raise your hand and blast a 20' line of shrapnel and burning propellant. Targets in that line <b>save</b> or take <b>3d6</b> <b>fire</b> damage. <br /></li>
</ol>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Master Techniques</h3>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Make GP</b>: For 6 <b>substance</b>, make 1<b>gp</b>. <br /></li>
<li><b>Fall Out</b>. For <b>[substance]</b>, render a <b>[substance]</b>*30' radius around you uninhabitable. The air is <b>poisoned</b>, dealing <b>[substance]</b> damage with every breath. Structures become treacherous and liable to collapse. Roads tear themselves to pieces. The effect lasts for decades. You are not immune. <br /></li>
<li><b>Work Earth</b>. For <b>[substance]</b>, raise or lower a 10' square of earth by <b>[substance]</b> feet. The effect is rapid geologically speaking, but still pretty slow; creatures in the target area may <b>save </b>to maintain their balance.<br /></li>
<li><b>Simplify Maths</b>. All <b>materials</b> you know are <b>basic materials</b> for you.<br /></li>
<li><b>Repair and Replace</b>. You can heal <b>HP</b> in yourself and others with a touch, as if <b>hitpoints</b> were <b>inventory slots</b> of stuff. For 20 <b>substance</b> (you might need a fuel-line hookup for this), you can replace someone's missing limb with a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKtNiPpJy0A"><b>clockpunk version</b></a>. This limb is better in every way, because it's fireproof and durable and grants +1 <b>AC</b> and +1 <b>strength</b> to the bearer, with the sliiight inconvenience of requiring 1 point of <b>substance</b> per day to fuel it. The lucky recipient doesn't need to worry about that, though, as long as you're feeling generous, and they stick close. <br /></li>
</ul>
<br /><br />
G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-29824329744661896642022-09-22T01:27:00.013-04:002023-01-26T19:16:19.025-05:00Ruling the City of G_d (GLOG Class: Noble)<style>
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<div class="materiel" style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><b>One thousand years is a long time, <br />but at last it comes to an end. <br />Meanwhile, is it any greater accomplishment <br />to be a rich corpse than a poor one?<br />Jewels of jade and pearl are put in the mouths <br />of the illustrious dead<br />to conserve their bodies. <br />They do the dead no good, but they'll fetch a fine price <br />to feed the children of the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-ranger-of-tomb-or-gipsys-prophecy.html">tomb robbers</a>.<br /></b> - the <i>Unnamed Text</i>. </blockquote><br /> I'm writing this as a pastiche of Locheil's excellent <a href="https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/2022/09/ruling-city-class-sacred-one.html"><b>Sacred One</b></a>. Someone complimented the class but sighed that it was so setting-specific, and I asserted that I could canonize it into the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-unfinished-world-glog-campaign.html"><b>Unfinished World</b></a> without much trouble. Here's my attempt to do so. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoV2rcJrPtHl98cUw3cdifGisW8sNMSDpWtMNsX9k2RMBltwXpFbFbetGRRzG59TmEmg41KDTs9iJ0frIS0KqkAr1oY3rypC_MqxMMGwwSjlnWiV_AlVQMdHhqHHwlOLCjZDMddBIYmEBtABqRpHLaI6U_lRAVjgJrAmYeZjXPgW7pfQYzlIkNP8f/s1024/king%20yellow%20by%20fermarkun.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoV2rcJrPtHl98cUw3cdifGisW8sNMSDpWtMNsX9k2RMBltwXpFbFbetGRRzG59TmEmg41KDTs9iJ0frIS0KqkAr1oY3rypC_MqxMMGwwSjlnWiV_AlVQMdHhqHHwlOLCjZDMddBIYmEBtABqRpHLaI6U_lRAVjgJrAmYeZjXPgW7pfQYzlIkNP8f/w640-h640/king%20yellow%20by%20fermarkun.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/fermarkun/art/King-Yellow-564347970"><b>King Yellow</b></a> by fermarkun.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<b>Imperial Clan, by presumed rank</b>:<br />
<blockquote>1. <b>Prince of the First Blood</b> (apparent heir)<br />2. <b>Commanding Prince</b> <br />3. <b>Virtuous Prince</b> <br />4. <b>Banner Prince</b></blockquote>
All of the above are considered potential inheritors of the Old Throne (that granted by the Old G_ds).<br />
<blockquote>5. <b>Duke of the First Blood</b> (cadet line)<br />6. <b>Bulwark Duke</b> </blockquote>
All of the above enjoy the Five Privileges (the list varies, but usually includes access to the Imperial Library, use of Imperial seals for personal correspondence, lantern-bearing priests, the right to hunt in any forest, red carriage wheels, purple horse reins, reported entrance, dragon-patterned clothing, bodyguards from the ranks of the <b>Fork-Tailed Creature Banner</b>).<br />
<blockquote>7. <b>Lesser Duke </b><br />8. <b>Lesser Bulwark Duke</b></blockquote>
All of the above possess their rank by agnacy (i.e. the Emperor cannot make more nor strip them of their titles).<br /><br /><br />
<b>Irregular titles, by presumed rank</b>:<br />
<blockquote>1. <b>Prince of the First-and-One-Half Blood</b><br />2. <b>Prince of Command</b><br />3. <b>Inferior Prince</b><br />4. <b>Empty-Ranked Prince</b><br />5. <b>Duke Beyond Rankings</b><br />6. <b>Indivisible Count</b></blockquote>
All of the above possess their rank by agnacy.<br />
<blockquote>7.5. <b>Master of the Banner</b> (inherited generalship)<br />8. <b>Lesser Master</b><br />9. <b>Master of a Lesser Banner</b><br />10. <b>Lesser Master of One-Fifteenth-of-One-Quarter-of-One-Banner</b> (~300 men)</blockquote>
<br /><b>Nobility not related to the Emperor, by presumed rank</b>:<br /><blockquote>5. <b>Common Duke</b><br />6. <b>Marquis </b>(on the marches)<br />7. <b>Count </b>(in a county)</blockquote> All of the above outrank all civilians, regardless of military rank or achievement.<br /><blockquote>8. <b>Viscount</b><br />9. <b>Baron </b>(has a nice house)<br /></blockquote><br />
</div><div class="materiel" style="text-align: left;"><h4 style="text-align: left;">Class: Cadet</h4><br /> You are a <b>Cadet</b>; a distant relative of supreme power, with some of the advantages and none of the parental love. If you care, roll <b>3d6 </b>to determine how many families exist between yours and the Imperial Audience Chamber, and <b>2d4-1</b> to see how many older siblings you have. You might have had a privileged upbringing, but you've been left alone to bum around, or to pursue lesser careers in commerce, law, <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/08/though-he-were-strong-as-seven-glog.html"><b>religion</b></a> (so long as you don't shove it down our throats), <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/03/general-manufacturing-class-wizard.html"><b>academia</b></a>, <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2019/10/gun-on-your-shoulder-class-fighter.html"><b>military service</b></a> or minor <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/04/there-are-four-dice-glog-class-wizard.html"><b>government office</b></a>.<br /> As a <b>Cadet</b> you get +1 to <b>saves</b> every <b>[level]</b>. You can wear <b>light </b>or <b>medium </b>armor and wield shields. You can ride a horse too if it comes to it. <b>Cadets</b> never <b>fumble</b> with swords, polearms or guns.
<br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Hunting </b>2. <b>History </b>3. <b>Legal nonsense</b>. You can speak the primal language of the spirits.<br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: Hunting costume (as <b>leather</b>), cool halfcape, ringsword with chain threaded through the pommel (<b>medium</b>), shortbow and quiver with 20 arrows OR specially-modified snapchance, two items of your choice from the list of <b>quality gear</b>, one mantra in the primal language.<br />
<blockquote><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>A</b> Unbroken Line, Sanctuary, <b>immunity</b> to <b>being ignored</b></li><li><b>B</b> Lightning Dream, Calming Voice</li><li><b>C</b> Durability, +2 <b>chi</b></li><li><b>D</b> Right of Passage, +1 <b>chi</b></li></ul></blockquote>
<blockquote><b>Unbroken Line</b><br /> You are the most notable member of any group. When you are angry, your eyes darken and your voice rings out over others. Demons and devils treat you with worrying familiarity and uncharacteristic friendliness. <br /><b>Sanctuary</b><br /> Unless and until you <b>initiate</b> a fight, non-<a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/06/blessed-even-more-glog-classes-clerics.html"><b>sacred</b></a> creatures must <b>save </b>or be unable to harm you. </blockquote><b></b><blockquote><b>Lightning Dream</b><br /> When dreaming, drunk, high or otherwise in an altered state, your soul can walk in a place scholars of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_History_of_the_Mongols"><b>secret history</b></a> call the <b>Lightning Dream</b>. When your civilization invents trains, the<b> Lightning Dream</b> will be compared to an empty train platform built for crowds of giants. The roof far above your head is studded with skylights which let in unsteady blue light, and the walls with windows that look out upon smoky forests, nightmare-landscapes of bone, hills and valleys of rotting flesh, darkness. The many paths and rails and turnings and branches of the <b>Dream</b> fold in on each other; small rooms vanish into the horizon yet swell to terrible halls as you approach; three lefts don't make a right; shadows bay in their far-off hunts. The place is clearly not built to be navigated by foot.<br /> In the <b>Dream</b>, you may speak in secret with other visitors, and leave messages for each other to find. You can bring people to the <b>Lightning Dream</b> as guests by sleeping next to them, getting drunk from the same wine, high from the same chemic, etc. Those who have the right to be there can banish guests you bring, and you can do the same to the guests of others. <br /><b>Calming Voice</b><br /> You may attempt to calm all listeners with soothing words. Intelligent creatures get a <b>save</b>. Mindless <b>undead</b>, and beasts with fewer <b>HD </b>than you, fail automatically. When a creature fails the <b>save</b> their emotions dull to grey outlines, anger drains, joy becomes hollow, battle-lust fades.<br /> After using your <b>Calming Voice</b> you can't use it again until you have done at least two of the following: get a full night's rest, drink a <b>dose </b>of wine, repeat your mantra aloud in the primal language for two hours. </blockquote><b></b><blockquote><b>Durability</b><br /> The meandering paths of the <b>Lightning Dream</b> have led you to a revelation about kung-fu, and punching, and likewise kicking. You have a pool of <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/12/smoky-sputtering-torch-glog-classes-5e.html"><b>chi</b></a> which you can use as a <b>monk</b> of the same level as you (though you get less chi than a real monk does).</blockquote><b></b><blockquote><b>Right of Passage</b><br /> You may walk through the Gates of Hell. Denizens of Hell, the Judges of the Dead and all demons and devils treat you as an honoured personage. Unintelligent <b>undead </b>are incapable of <b>initiating</b> violence against you. </blockquote><br /><b>Quality Gear</b> (choose or roll <b>2d20</b>):<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Hunting Costume</b>. Green felt and brown leather. Comes with a pointy bycocket, hood, lots of leather straps and belts, knee-high boots. 0 slots worn, 2 carried.<br /></li><li><b>Ringsword with Chain</b>. Classic Aeshean sword. Rather like a large rapier or an elongated broadsword, and named for its large ring pommel. Yours has a kusari-fundo threaded through that pommel, in emulation of your ancestors, and you can use the chain to make <b>grapple</b> checks at a range of 10' instead of attacking. 1 slot<br /></li><li>Shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows. Effective range of 20', with -1 <b>to-hit</b> for every complete 10' past that. 1 slot for the shortbow and 1 for the quiver.<br /></li><li><b>Double-Barreled Snapchance</b>. A classic black powder pistol in a configuration preferred by duelists with tight schedules. Deals <b>2d6</b> damage at 10', -1 to-hit for every complete 10' past that, firing with <b>disadvantage</b> if you moved on your turn. Barrels may be fired and reloaded separately (1 minute reload per barrel), or together for <b>disadvantage</b> on both shots . If you roll a <b>nat 1</b> with a second shot loaded, you fire the second shot as well and take <b>1d6-1</b> damage from the gun snapping up into your teeth. 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Scrimshawed Powder Horn</b>. Contains up to ten <b>doses</b> of black powder. Converts <b>hours</b> of lamp-oil into black powder at a rate of one <b>dose</b> per day. The apparently-abstract art deco designs on the powder horn are very alarming to <b>manufactories</b> who can read them. 1 slot.<br /></li><li><b>Samite Robe</b>. Thick cendree silk ceremonial robe (as <b>unarmored</b>, +1 to <b>reaction</b> rolls), with gold-thread stitches and hidden layers of fine <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/04/twenty-three-swords-ish.html"><b>chardun</b></a> mail (secret +2 to <b>AC</b>, ha!). Very hard to launder. 0 slots worn, 2 carried.<br /></li><li><b>Musical Instrument</b>. Any you want, so long as it can be played upside down while singing. Probably 1 slot.<br /></li><li>Bottle of <b>Fine Wine</b>. I'm going to be honest, it's a big bottle (as <b>light</b>) but it's only 3 <b>doses</b> of wine for you. 1/3rd slot. <br /></li><li>Bottle of <b>Oxymel</b>. Good for you, puts hair on your chest. One dose heals 1 point of <b>stat</b> damage. 3 <b>doses</b>, 1/3rd slot<br /></li><li><b>Adamant Signet Ring</b>. A <b>Cadet</b> is <u><i>absolutely</i></u> not supposed to have this, and someone is <u><i>absolutely</i></u> coming to take it away from you.<br /></li><li>Trio of <b>Sacred Arrows</b>. One with a head of chardun (flies silently), one of ossgold (effective against the undead), one of adamant (always deals maximum damage). <br /></li><li><b>Contracted Builder</b>. For reasons neither you nor they know, the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2019/10/mighty-man-class-thief.html"><b>Old Man in the Ice</b></a> has directed them to follow you around and do what you say. They aren't gracious about it. 1st level <b>Builder</b>, 6<b>HP</b>, starting equipment + mattock, 9 <b>morale</b>. If you make them carry more than 3 slots of non-treasure, they'll find an excuse to break it or lose it. <br /></li><li><b>Sashimono</b>. A tall banner worn vertically on a long pole, identifying your army and rank to distant observers. The flag is reversible, showing either the black-and-white banner of the <b>Empire</b> or the black-and-blue banner of the <b>Fork Tailed Creature Banner</b>. <br /></li><li><b>Advice of Wo Ding to his Son</b>. An antecataclysmic mirror-for-princes in the guise of a book on hunting deer, and other (more interesting) prey. Full of aphorisms as well-known, beloved and constantly-misquoted as "it's better to act and repent than to not act and regret" and "it is better to be feared than to be loved" and such are in our world. Referencing this book (i.e. working with it open in one hand) grants an extra <b>check</b> on hunting-related tasks. 1/3rd slot. <br /></li><li>Big sack of 500 <b>iron pennies</b>. Newly-minted and shiny. Worth <b>5gp</b> total. 5 slots. <br /></li><li>Newest Imperial printing of the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-city-of-gd-and-unfinished-world.html"><i><b>Magolg par artenbrar</b></i></a>. A truly immense tome, though still unfinished; huge sections of the text (and, therefore, decades or centuries of history) are lacunae, perhaps lost forever. Referencing this book grants an extra <b>check</b> on identifying historic artifacts and monsters. 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Bucket of Opiates</b>. A ceramic coupe with an opinel lock lid, containing 10 recreational <b>doses</b> of mostly poppy or 5 lethal <b>doses</b>. 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Clerical Mask</b>. Either a black deathshead (in laquered steel), a white infant (in porcelain), a violet elder (in painted wood) or a green dog (an elaborate felt plushie). Completely authentic, presumably stolen.<br /></li><li><b>Golden Dagger</b>. A <b>light</b> weapon, breaking on a <b>nat 1</b>. 1/3rd slot. <br /></li><li>A strange or inexplicable curio. Roll 1d6: <br /><ol><li>Cunning replica of the Emperor's sword, <b>ONE UNBROKEN LINE</b>. A trained sword-ologist would be able to tell it's a counterfeit, because it has its name written on it, and that name is <b>ONE BROKEN LINE</b>. <br /></li><li><b>Salamander Skin with Asbestos Fur</b>. Sometimes believed to be the literal skin of a literal fire-dwelling amphibian, but skeptical scholars assert the name is only a metaphor, and these capes are actually made by a secret race of cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers. Totally fireproof. 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Severed Hand of a Lich</b>. Comes in a black velvet bag, to protect it from the <b>sun</b>. Occasionally tries to drum messages into your hand if you hold it. <br /></li><li><b>Ossgold Mask</b>. Resembles the faceless mask of the prophet Aeshe (pbuh), but made of ossgold instead of iron, and doesn't need to be fastened to your skull with five nails. One of your relatives tried to start a new Heresy with this, but didn't get far. <br /></li><li>Bottle of honey from the lips of a Queen of the Herds. Serves as a <b>healing potion</b>. 1/3rd slot. <br /></li><li><b>Ring of Finger Detection</b>. Small copper band with a black square stone. When pressed to a doorway of an enclosed room, pulses to indicate the number of fingers (digits that this ring could be worn on) inside. Counts the fingers of both the dead and the living. <br /></li></ol></li></ol><br /><br /><b>Mantras </b>(choose or roll <b>1d6</b>):<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>In the lost age<br />where the jewels hide and <br />the sword sticks in <br />the waiting stone<br />still warm from his hand<br /></li><li>Sincerity becomes apparent, and<br />what is apparent becomes manifest, and <br />what is manifest becomes brilliant, and<br />what is brilliant affects others, and<br />when sincerity affects others, they are changed by it, therefore<br />it is characteristic of the most entire sincerity to foreknow, because<br /></li><li>Though much is taken, much abides, and <br />we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, yet still<br />that which we are, we are, because<br /></li><li>Time is the substance I am made of. <br />Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river.<br />Time is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger.<br />Time is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire. </li><li>The whole earth is sick of your search for knowledge. <br />I am not offering information;<br />I seek to destroy the wisdom of the wise;<br />I seek to frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent; because<br /></li><li>I have never done anything wrong to anyone!<br />And if the whole world is turning against me, I know<br />It's only because of pure hatred, envy and indignation, because<br /><br /></li></ol>
</div>G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-45976375141664857802022-09-01T02:11:00.009-04:002024-01-11T00:26:28.772-05:00O Friendless One (GLOG Class: Summoner Pathfinder Conversion) <style>
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<div class="materiel" style="text-align: left;"><br /><blockquote> <b>"Many search the Far Realms for the strength to change the world, and <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/02/more-than-you-hate-anything-glog-class.html">some find it</a>. Yet none traffick more devoutly than the Summoner. She bonds with a particular entity, the Eidolon, who gains power as she becomes more proficient in his Summoning. Over time the two become one, even sharing the same soul. This power comes at a cost, as all worthwhile things do; other elements of her life must be secondary to time spent enhancing the powers and exploring the nature of her Eidolon."</b><br />
- unknown source
</blockquote><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwOGFb0-0oFTHS9fS0JteYAYl6Dw6Gm8XEM4zXsAM0hfRQYqFqPWlAtp_ORZWyApTsKwi4KpJ3ytqDP7YbZ4DNqiIPua1Rcy7v0hA6E5RBve6rMhDU0Cy8b_AbgZh57KhHPrV-l63orixOy7rGsdoyLulbSdhCwuK9liCv9JmO4Chl5WLyAwYmkqr/s900/threnody%20by%20sraffa.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwOGFb0-0oFTHS9fS0JteYAYl6Dw6Gm8XEM4zXsAM0hfRQYqFqPWlAtp_ORZWyApTsKwi4KpJ3ytqDP7YbZ4DNqiIPua1Rcy7v0hA6E5RBve6rMhDU0Cy8b_AbgZh57KhHPrV-l63orixOy7rGsdoyLulbSdhCwuK9liCv9JmO4Chl5WLyAwYmkqr/w640-h480/threnody%20by%20sraffa.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/sraffa/art/Threnody-108654569"><b>Threnody by SRaffa</b></a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /> Imagine you're a child, and there's a man who lives at the end of the road. He's crazy.
Everyone knows, and you know it too. Everyone says, and you say it too. But
your friends have never spoken to him, and neither have you. One day you
talk to him, and he makes sense. Perfect sense. More sense than you ever
thought possible. <br /> So now what?<br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Class: Summoner</h4><br /> You are a <b>Summoner</b>, an arcanist who drifts from orthodoxy into devotion to a specific summoned entity. As a <b>Summoner</b>, you are a half-caster, gaining an <b>MD</b> at templates A and C. You cast spells like an <a href="https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2018/01/osr-orthodox-wizards.html"><b>Orthodox Wizard</b></a> either from your head (you may hold as many spells in your head as you have <b>MD</b>) or out of a book (in which case your turn is last in combat) as a wizard would. <br /> The main focus of your class, however, is your <b>Eidolon</b>, a strange creature from outside the normal bounds of time and space. The <b>Eidolon </b>is controlled by you as a second character. Their loyalty is absolute and unwavering, but their abilities and personalities are variegate. Rules for <b>Eidolon </b>creation and evolution are found at the bottom of this post. <br /> If you have at least one template of <b>Summoner</b>, you may wear light armor, and never fumble while using knives, clubs or staves. <br /><br /><b>Skills</b>: 1. <b>Wildlife Biology</b> 2. <b>Haute-culture</b> 3. <b>Chirurgy</b><br /><b>Starting Equipment</b>: fashionable traveling clothes (as <b>unarmored</b>), walking stick (<b>light</b>), spellbook (10 spells maximum, contains a random <a href="https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/03/osr-100-orthodox-spells.html"><b>orthodox spell</b></a>), and one piece of <b>wizard kit</b> from the list at the bottom of this post. <br /><blockquote><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>A</b> Eidolon, Bond Senses, +1 <b>MD</b>, +2 <b>EP</b></li><li><b>B</b> Shield Ally, +3 <b>EP</b> </li><li><b>C</b> Maker's Call, +1 <b>MD</b>, +1 <b>EP</b></li><li><b>D</b> Aspect, +3 <b>EP</b> </li></ul></blockquote><blockquote><b>Eidolon</b><br /> You are accompanied by a constant companion who begins play about the size of a big dog (that's about 50kg), though proportions may vary (see <b>Identities</b> below). Its body is apparently made from modeling clay and origami. The <b>Eidolon </b>has a character sheet you need to keep track of because the DM has enough to worry about. Its starting physical stats and armor class are as Poodle, and starting mental stats are equal to yours. Its <b>XP</b> total and <b>[level]</b> is always the same as yours. Its <b>HP</b> total is the maximum its <b>[level]</b> would allow. If you think of your <b>Eidolon </b>as a really fucked up dog it will help you predict how it interacts with the world when being set on fire, or falling off of a cliff, or being trapped in a cage, or being trapped in a cage as the cage is thrown off the side of a boat into the ocean, or in other situations I can't think of right now but will certainly come up.<br /> Your <b>Eidolon </b>never regenerates <b>HP</b>. Instead, you can instantly transfer any amount of your own <b>hitpoints</b> to it at-will. If it would take a fatal wound, it disappears with a pop, and can be resummoned at 1 <b>HP</b> with a ten minute ritual and <b>3</b> of your own <b>hitpoints</b>. <br /> Your <b>Eidolon </b>can hear and feel through its skin and can communicate with you psionically. If it has <b>eyes </b>(which you may need to furnish yourself!), it may see, and if it has a <b>mouth </b>it may speak. If it can't see then it must move by dead reckoning, shin-collision and your guidance. If it can't speak then you will have to do the talking for it.<br /> At first <b>level </b>and every time you gain a <b>level </b>thereafter, you will gain <b>evolution points</b>. You can spend these <b>EP</b> on more limbs, greebles and abilities for your <b>Eidolon</b>. You may reassign your total <b>EP</b> pool every time you gain a <b>level</b>, if you wish. The physical body of your <b>Eidolon </b>is merely a 3-dimensional cubesection of its true 11-dimensional form, so it can (seem to) take an almost entirely different shape as you understand it better. There are other sources of <b>evolution points</b>, and other opportunities to reassign them, but you'll have to find those yourself. <br /><b>Bond Senses</b><br /> For a round at a time, up to <b>[level]</b> times per dawn, you may completely inhabit your <b>Eidolon</b>'s mind, seeing what it sees, hearing what it hears, tasting and smelling and feeling what it tastes and smells and feels, and experiencing its emotions. </blockquote><blockquote><b>Shield Ally</b><br /> Your <b>Eidolon </b>can protect you, in ways more esoteric than just deflecting a sword-stroke with a limb. While within arm's reach of your <b>Eidolon </b>you have a +2 to <b>AC </b>and all <b>saves</b>. </blockquote><blockquote><b>Maker's Call</b><br /> Once per dawn, by speaking its name and gesturing, you may bring your <b>Eidolon </b>to your side instantly. It appears with any equipment it was wearing or holding, and any creature smaller than itself that it was grappling. </blockquote><blockquote><b>Aspect</b><br /> A facet of yourself is permanently part of your <b>Eidolon</b>, and a part of your <b>Eidolon </b>is forever a part of you. You may divert up to two <b>evolution points</b> to yourself, altering one of your forms to better match the other. </blockquote><br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Eidolon </h4><br /> The word "Eidolon" refers to a vast and crushing intelligence existing outside the bounds of space and time, and also to the tiny portion of them which your mind is able to support the existence of inside those bounds. The broad personality of that first one is determined by rolling on a random table (or you could just pick, but I have included a table to help you make a weird little freak). The specific capabilities of that second one are purchased by you with <b>evolution points</b>, which you gain as you level up. <br /><br />What Is Your Eidolon Like? <br /><br /><b>Temperaments </b>(roll if you wish): <br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Choleric (Hot-Dry)</b>. Aggressive, brave, spiteful, domineering, proud, ambitious, blunt. Eager for action, reluctant to contemplate. Sometimes mean by accident. </li><li><b>Sanguine (Hot-Wet)</b>. Outgoing, magnanimous, presumptuous, clingy, social, influential, hysterical. Always having a good time and happy to share. Not difficult to motivate, but difficult to keep focused. </li><li><b>Phlegmatic (Cold-Wet)</b>. Placid, contemplative, agreeable, imaginative, lazy, sensitive, indulgent. Contented, in a fat sort of way. Says less than they know. </li><li><b>Melancholic (Cold-Dry)</b>. Serene, cool, distracted, thorough, anal-retentive, traditional, patient. Chooses understanding over control, when given the option. Must be bullied into sharing thoughts or taking action. </li></ol><br /><b>Etiquettes </b>(roll twice. Your Eidolon speaks these lingoes fluently):<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Esoterica</b>, <i>lingua franca</i> of the academic world, spoken by scholars and the expensively-educated. </li><li><b>Ledger</b>, in which columns of credit and debit are recorded, spoken by accountants and revenuers. </li><li><b>Argot</b>, unprintable gibberish of crime and payout, spoken by thieves and fences. </li><li><b>Centrinel</b>, light on words but heavy on meaningful winks, jaw juts, eyebrow wiggles, glances and fingers rubbed against thumbs, spoken by guards and watchmen. </li><li><b>Jargon</b>, half technical and half made up to scare greenhorns, spoken by monster hunters and "freelance archaeologists". </li><li><b>Entendre</b>, sometimes with more than one meaning, spoken by the upper-crust and those who wish to exploit their naivete and money. </li><li><b>Grumbling</b>, muttered by the seething riffraff, spoken by henchmen and would-be barricadoes.</li></ol><br /><b>Fears </b>(roll once. Your Eidolon must pass a <b>morale</b> check or be <b>turned</b> from these things): <br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Sunlight</b></li><li><b>Silver</b></li><li><b>Genuine Laughter<br /></b></li><li><b>Salt</b></li><li><b>Prayer</b></li><li><b>Mathematics</b></li><li><b>Fire</b></li><li><b>Poetry <br /></b></li><li><b>Wild Animals</b></li><li><b>Sorcery</b> </li></ol><br /><b>Identities </b>(the identity of your Eidolon dictates their initial shape):<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Quadruped</b>. <br /><b>Legs</b>/<b>legs</b>/<b>head</b>, <b>bite</b>/<b>eyes</b>. <br />More like a fat badger than a tiger or horse at this stage.<br /></li><li><b>Biped</b>. <br /><b>Legs</b>/<b>arms</b>/<b>human size</b>, <b>natural armor</b>/<b>violence</b>. <br />Awful blind headless homunculus, like a mannequin from a department store for blemmyes.<br /></li><li><b>Serpent</b>. <br /><b>Head</b>, <b>tail</b>/<b>bite</b>/<b>strangling</b>/<b>natural armor</b>/<b>climbing</b>/<b>eyes</b>. <br />As big as a Burmese Python. Could be a skilled assassin with a little training.<br /></li><li><b>Avian</b>. <br /><b>Legs</b>/<b>wings</b>/<b>head</b>, <b>bite</b>/<b>eyes</b>. <br />Monstrous creature larger than any flying bird in the natural world.<br /></li><li><b>Fish</b>. <br /><b>Tentacle mass</b>/<b>tentacles</b>, <b>strangling</b>/<b>gills</b>/<b>swimming</b>. <br />Grotesque squirming thing from the deeps. Sure to disgust and frighten those who see it.<br /></li><li><b>Bug</b>. <br /><b>Legs</b>/<b>legs</b>/<b>legs</b>, <b>climbing</b>/<b>climbing</b>. <br /><b>🐛🥰</b>. <br /></li></ol><br /><b>Evolutions</b>: <br /><br /> The base form of the Eidolon gives 8 <b>EP</b> worth of <b>evolutions</b>, but these may not be redistributed when the Summoner levels up. <b>Evolutions</b> that add body parts can be taken multiple times. If an <b>evolution</b> requires another, other <b>evolutions </b>can't be applied to the same one — e.g. if your Eidolon has <b>claws</b> on its <b>legs</b> it cannot have <b>hooves</b> on the same <b>legs</b>, and if it has <b>improved damage</b> on its <b>claws </b>it can't improve them again. <b>Evolutions</b> which require a specific Identity don't need to be applied to another <b>evolution </b>and can be taken multiple times. You may have three sets of limbs per size-related <b>evolution</b>. All these rules make sense, I think. <br /><br /><b>1-point Evolutions</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Bite</b>. Requires a <b>head</b> or the <b>Fish</b> Identity. Gives a maw filled with teeth or spines and one attack as a <b>heavy</b> weapon.</li><li><b>Bloodcurdling Scream</b>. Requires a <b>head </b>or the <b>Avian </b>Identity. Allows the Eidolon to produce a truly awful sound at a high volume, like a banshee or a pterodactyl or a piece of industrial machinery. Probably requires a <b>morale</b> check from NPCs the first time they hear it, or more often than that if they know what it means and are afraid of the Eidolon. Different screams require different <b>morale </b>checks.</li><li><b>Camouflage</b>. Requires a <b>disguised substance</b>. Allows the Eidolon to shift its appearance slightly to blend in with its surroundings, allowing it to hide in plain sight and giving it <b>advantage</b> on stealth-related checks while standing still. <br /></li><li><b>Claws</b>. Requires <b>arms </b>or <b>legs</b>. Gives blades or spikes and two attacks as <b>light</b> weapons. <br /></li><li><b>Climbing</b>. Allows the Eidolon to climb like a monkey. Take twice to climb like a spider.<br /></li><li><b>Eyes</b>. Requires a <b>head</b> or the <b>Biped</b> or <b>Bug</b> Identity. Gives eyes, eyestalks or compound lenses allowing the Eidolon to see like a human. Can be taken any number of times for superior field of vision. <br /></li><li><b>Disguised Substance</b>. The Eidolon appears to be made out of meat, or metal, or wood, or a combination of such, or whatever else you please. Purely cosmetic. </li><li><b>Gills</b>. Allows the Eidolon to breathe underwater. </li><li><b>Grease Glands</b>. Produce one pint of flammable mucus or fuel per day, enough to create a decent firebomb or render a 5' by 5' square patch of floor as slick as black ice. <br /></li><li><b>Hooves</b>. Requires <b>legs</b>. Gives steely hooves and one attack as a <b>medium</b> weapon, counting as two-handed if both <b>legs </b>are involved. <br /></li><li><b>Horrible Presence</b>. Children and small animals flee the Eidolon. Hirelings and enemies suffer a -1 penalty to <b>morale</b>.<br /></li><li><b>Improved Damage</b>. Requires a natural attack. That attack's damage die steps up once. <br /></li><li><b>Mount</b>. Allows the Eidolon to carry a creature of the same size without slowing down. <br /></li><li><b>Natural Armor</b>. +2 <b>AC</b>. May be taken four times.<br /></li><li><b>Pincers</b>. Requires <b>arms</b> or <b>tentacles</b>. Gives a pair of powerful graspers and one attack which <b>grapples</b> the target automatically. </li><li><b>Pleasant Voice</b>. Requires a <b>head </b>or the <b>Bug </b>Identity. Gives the Eidolon a mouth or voxcaster <br /></li><li><b>Pounce</b>. Requires two sets of <b>legs</b> or the <b>Quadruped</b> Identity. Allows the Eidolon to leap as far as it could move in a round. <br /></li><li><b>Scent</b>. Requires a <b>head</b> or the <b>Fish</b> identity. Gives fleshy whiskers, a snuffling nose or a VNO allowing the Eidolon to follow scents like a hound.<br /></li><li><b>Slippery</b>. Gives a mucusy coating or slick exoskeleton and a <b>+4</b> on any check to escape a <b>grapple</b> or slide through a tight space.<br /></li><li><b>Sticky</b>. Gives a mucusy coating or millions of tiny barbs and a <b>+4</b> on any check to initiate a <b>grapple</b> or cling to a position. <br /></li><li><b>Sting</b>. Requires <b>tentacles</b> or a <b>tail</b>. Gives a misericorde barb or voulge spike and one attack as a <b>heavy</b> weapon.<br /></li><li><b>Strangling</b>. Requires <b>tentacles</b> or a <b>tail</b> or the <b>Serpent</b> identity. Allows the Eidolon to attempt to strangle a <b>grappled</b> enemy as a free action on its turn, requiring them to pass a <b>save</b> or fall unconscious. <br /></li><li><b>Swimming</b>. Gives fins, swimmerets or webbed digits and allows the Eidolon to move through water as quickly as they can on land. <br /></li><li><b>Tail</b>. Gives a tufted, scaled, bony, furred or chainlink prehensile tail and one attack as a <b>light</b> weapon. </li><li><b>Trash Compactor Stomach</b>. Requires a <b>head</b> or a <b>bite</b>. Allows the Eidolon to consume up to <b>[level]</b> slots of equipment and items, which slowly break down over the course of the day. When a slot of organic items break down, the Eidolon regains 1 <b>hitpoint</b>. <br /></li><li><b>Violence</b>. Gives +1 <b>to-hit</b>. May be taken four times. <br /></li></ol><br /><b>2-point Evolutions</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Arms</b>. Gives a pair of arms with delicate grasping hands. Assumed to be roughly monkey/human/giant sized. </li><li><b>Caltrops</b>. Allows the Eidolon to generate caltrops of metal or quill, <b>[level]</b> 5' by 5' squares' worth a day. </li><li><b>Cipher</b>. Gives the Eidolon a <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/04/they-do-not-know-how-to-do-right-glog.html"><b>cipher score</b></a> of <b>2</b>. It needs hands to pick locks and such, but it can be stealthy immediately.<br /></li><li><b>Energy Immunity</b>. Ignore damage from <b>fire</b>, <b>lightning</b> or <b>explosions</b>. May be taken three times.</li><li><b>Energy Source</b>. Requires <b>energy immunity</b>. Allows the Eidolon to produce a field of any energy it is immune to, dealing <b>1d6</b> point of damage with a body slam or per round to anyone who touches it against its will (<b>save</b> negates). With <b>fire</b> it has a heat-shimmer effect, <b>lightning</b> errant crackling sparks, and <b>explosions</b> give it <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g3RPbRhMaQ">deeply unpleasant visual bugs</a></b>. <br /></li><li><b>Enhanced Sight</b>. Requires <b>eyes</b>. Gives your choice of night vision, heat vision, <a href="https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2014/05/optional-rule-wizard-vision.html"><b>wizard vision</b></a>, <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/06/blessed-even-more-glog-classes-clerics.html"><b>cleric vision</b></a> or "upgrades" those <b>eyes</b> to one of the <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2021/02/more-than-you-hate-anything-glog-class.html"><b>New Eyes</b></a>.<br /></li><li><b>Human Size</b>. Makes the Eidolon big and bulky at about 100kg, which (for example) would make a <b>Biped</b> into a big thuggish lad or a <b>Quadruped</b> into a mountain lion or a <b>Fish</b> into a big-ass fish. <b>Strength</b> and <b>Constitution</b> are set to <b>18</b>. <br /></li><li><b>Head</b>. Gives a lump of material for other things to stick onto. Comes with ears and a face, if you want.<br /></li><li><b>Impenetrable Hide</b>. Requires at least two levels of <b>Natural Armor</b>. Half-damage from weapons. <br /></li><li><b>Legs</b>. Gives a pair of legs with sturdy feet. One set of <b>legs</b> allows the Eidolon to walk and run at human speed, two sets twice as fast, three sets &c. Can be taken fifty times. <br /></li><li><b>Magic Spell</b>. Gives 1<b>MD</b> and a spell the Eidolon might have picked up somewhere.<br /></li><li><b>Multiattack</b>. Allows the Eidolon to make an extra attack on its turn. May be taken twice. </li><li><b>Rage</b>. Gives the Eidolon <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/01/so-angry-i-might-die-glog-classes-5e.html"><b>two points of Rage</b></a>. <br /></li><li><b>Tentacle Mass</b>. Gives a squirming mass of tentacles. Each set counts for two sets of <b>legs</b> when <b>swimming</b>. <br /></li><li><b>Tentacles</b>. Gives a pair of rubbery or rubbery tentacles. Like <b>arms</b>, but better at strangling and worse at playing the piano. <br /></li><li><b>Tremorsense</b>. Allows the Eidolon to sense movement across surfaces they're touching within 60'. <br /></li><li><b>Venom</b>. Requires a <b>bite</b> or a <b>sting</b>. The attack can deal damage to a stat instead of <b>HP</b>, or some other effect negotiated with the <b>DM</b>. Better <b>venoms </b>might have daily-usage restrictions.<br /></li><li><b>Wings</b>. Gives a pair of feathery, leathery or canvasy wings which allow the Eidolon to fly at their walking speed. <br /></li></ol><br /><b>3-point Evolutions</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Amorphous</b>. The Eidolon's flesh is mechanically undifferentiated and free of bottlenecks and weakpoints. They may squeeze through gaps the size of their head (assuming they had one), are immune to all <b>poisons</b>, and cannot be dealt <b>critical hits</b> or <b>sneak attacks</b>. </li><li><b>Anfractuous</b>. The Eidolon may split into two smaller versions of itself, each with half <b>HP </b>(losing the odd point). No other stats change, and normal restrictions on limbs do not apply. Eidolons of normal size may split once into two tiny forms. Eidolons of <b>human size</b> may split twice into two normal-sized versions, and so on. All smaller versions must be destroyed before the original Eidolon may be resummoned. <br /></li><li><b>Appearance</b>. The Eidolon may appear <b>angelic</b>, <b>demonic</b>, <b>undead</b> or as some other kind of monster relevant to the campaign. They suffer the weaknesses and gain the strengths of that kind of monster. <br /></li><li><b>Breath</b>. Requires a <b>head</b>. Gives a breath attack like a dragon. <br /></li><li><b>Burrow</b>. The Eidolon can tunnel through the earth at a rate of 5' per minute, leaving a hole large enough for a creature of their size to crawl through. If selected twice, they may burrow through solid stone at a rate of 5' per hour. <br /></li><li><b>Commanding Presence</b>. The Eidolon is unusually regal and intimidating. People can feel it looking at them, if it has eyes. <br /></li><li><b>Disease</b>. Requires a natural weapon. Attacks from the natural weapon spread your choice of <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2019/10/disease.html"><b>bubonic plague, leprosy, lyme disease or the common cold</b></a>. Normal infection chances apply.<br /></li><li><b>Giant Size</b>. Requires <b>human size</b>. Makes the Eidolon huge and looming at about 300kg, which (for example) would make a <b>Biped</b> eleven feet tall or a <b>Quadruped</b> a slender horse or a <b>Bug</b> into a real motherfucker. <b>Strength</b> and <b>Constitution</b> are set to <b>30</b>. </li><li><b>Hypnotism</b>. Requires <b>eyes</b>. Gives the Eidolon a <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/04/there-are-four-dice-glog-class-wizard.html"><b>friendly smile</b></a>. Those who fail the <b>morale</b> check must obey your one-word commands which don't directly harm them ("wait" to someone in an active warzone is O.K, "approach" to someone on the other side of a deep pit is not). <br /></li><li><b>Spinnerets</b>. Gives a set of spinnerets, allowing the Eidolon to produce <b>[level]*</b>30' of silk cord per day, and an extra 30' per <b>hitpoint</b> spent. <br /></li><li><b>Swallow</b>. Requires a <b>bite</b>. Allows the Eidolon to attempt to eat a <b>grappled</b> enemy, requiring them to pass a <b>save</b> or be <b>swallowed</b> whole. While <b>swallowed</b>, they take <b>1d6</b> damage every round if the Eidolon wishes and are immobilized. If the Eidolon is killed, or if they are dealt <b>6</b> damage in a single attack, or at-will, the <b>swallowed</b> creature is released.<br /></li></ol><br /><br /><b>Wizard Kit</b>:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Fashionable Traveling Clothes</b>. 0 slots worn, 2 slots carried.<br /></li><li><b>Walking Stick</b>. Has a skull on it, or a smiling ducky. ⅓rd slot. <br /></li><li><b>Spellbook</b>. Yours, being fairly Orthodox, is bound in "human skin" (cheap imitation) and written in "blood" (brown ink). Ten spells total. 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Black Veil</b>. Woven in such a way that it conceals your face without significantly worsening your vision. <br /></li><li>Grapnel and 50' of silk rope. <br /></li><li><b>Exotic Throwing Disk</b>. A razor-sharp <b>medium</b> weapon in your hands, a <b>light</b> weapon that deals damage to its owner on a <b>fumble</b> to anyone unfamiliar with it. 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Hooded Lantern</b>. Fine specialist gear, sheds light for 24 hours on a dose of kerosene, light may be concealed. 1 slot. <br /></li><li>Three <b>grenadoes</b>. Six-second fuze (can detonate this turn or the next in combat, your choice), <b>2d6 </b>damage within 30', <b>save</b> negates. 1 slot each. <br /></li><li><b>3d Model of a 4d Cube</b>. Very helpful when explaining the concept of higher dimensions. ⅓rd slot<br /></li><li><b>Rhyming Dictionary</b>. 1/3rd slot. <br /></li><li><b>Roadmap of the Moon</b>. Indicates a total absence of roads on the moon, though there are some pages missing. <br /></li><li><b>Roadmap of the Mood</b>. Indicates a total absence of roads in the mood of the room. Usually, anyway. Its content shifts. <br /></li><li><b>Triple-Length Pistol</b>. Classic black-powder pistol with an exaggeratedly long barrel. About the size, shape and weight of a foot attached to a long calf. Deals <b>2d6 </b>damage on a hit, takes a full minute to reload, and fires with <b>disadvantage </b>if you moved this turn. <b>-1 to-hit</b> for every full 30 feet between you and the target. 2 slots. <br /></li><li><b>Loud Boots</b>. Make a truly astonishing amount of noise as you walk, tends to scare away wild animals. 1 slot. <br /></li><li><b>Glass Eye</b>. Tiiiiny hidden compartment. Can be put in your socket, if you've got a spare. <br /></li><li><b>Flash Powder</b>. Blinds those who look directly at the explosion for 3 rounds on a failed <b>save</b>. 3 doses. <br /></li><li><b>Oriental Barometer</b>. Odd little gizmo, shaped like an artificial flower, which changes color to indicate how close one is to water. <br /></li><li><b>Science Glove</b>. For your right hand. Resists fire, acid, and broken glass. <br /></li><li><b>Superstition Glove</b>. For your left hand. Woven with threads of alchemical sapphire, a material tangible to ghosts. <br /></li><li>A weird or inexplicable curio. Roll <b>1d6</b> on the following list:<br /><ol><li>A red-gold coin whose two sides are the <b>Donkey </b>and the <b>Elephant</b>. When flipped, always comes up <b>Skull</b> somehow. </li><li><b>Cosmic Bait</b>. Looks just like a human's soul, but made from sparkly vinyl. Almost irresistible. <br /></li><li>Pair of <b>voidglasses</b>. Like sunglasses, but for looking at things Man Was Not Meant To Know. <br /></li><li><b>Intimidating Hat</b>. Hard to explain why, but this hat is really scary. NPCs are nonplussed. 1 slot. <br /></li><li>Scale model of Hell. <br /></li><li>A single <b>Ten Armies Boot</b>. Two of them would have all sorts of incredible uses, but a single one only lets you balance perfectly on one foot while bracing the other (the one wearing the boot) in the air. <br /></li></ol></li></ol><br /></div>G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-10871874045692283762022-08-01T23:15:00.002-04:002022-12-12T11:08:18.930-05:00The Best Case Scenario 1.1: Any Day Now<style>
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<div class="materiel" style="text-align: left;"> Check the sidebar under "Houserules" for the most up-to-date ruleset!<br /><br /><br /><br /> Maybe ten, maybe a dozen games of <a href="https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-best-case-scenario-micro-wargame.html"><b>Best Case Scenario</b></a> have been run by several DMs for an assortment of players. The game functions. It's even pretty fun (I've run <strike>three</strike> four sessions myself and enjoyed it, and the players probably enjoyed it as well, not that I asked them). But there are a few developments we've thought of, and a few tweaks and rules complications I want to include. I'm going to write them out here as a mostly-unsorted list of modifications and additions to the rules found in this post. <br /><br /> Many people in the Eastern Depot of the mage-ciphered and backwards-written secret GLOG Discord have helped with brainstorming and playtesting, but I'd like to specifically thank friends-of-the-blog <a href="https://archons-court.blogspot.com/"><b>Archon</b></a>, <a href="https://xenophonsramblings.blogspot.com/"><b>Xenophon of Athens</b></a> and <a href="https://archonsmarchon.blogspot.com/"><b>semiurge</b></a> for their contributions. <br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJNOYXt5dhi8y7bRyNO3ogMmcd8Ho0TUykBRmPD41_8iomWVvYU3fE7_GjX1PT1eGWveIHvAKiMTxuCgex-upYLb6mfS6t_Qap7wCZZWMe-C29hPzCjT3tMfAQUrbwdWJG_fIfjYsiVPQJMIw_xh545s0VIpnfSoXTT3voxS9OcMbaI1c5kcAiIko/s2048/tar%20mouth.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1638" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJNOYXt5dhi8y7bRyNO3ogMmcd8Ho0TUykBRmPD41_8iomWVvYU3fE7_GjX1PT1eGWveIHvAKiMTxuCgex-upYLb6mfS6t_Qap7wCZZWMe-C29hPzCjT3tMfAQUrbwdWJG_fIfjYsiVPQJMIw_xh545s0VIpnfSoXTT3voxS9OcMbaI1c5kcAiIko/w512-h640/tar%20mouth.png" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Mission Classification and Generation<br /></h3><br /> Missions in Best Case Scenario are rated on three-level scale corresponding to the discretion required to complete them:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>CLOSED-EYE</b> is for missions civilians should never even realize happened. Plain clothes, silenced weapons, small groups, absolutely <i>no</i> rocket launchers. </li><li><b>OPEN-EYE</b> is for missions where fireteams can operate openly while under false pretenses. Strap on your body armor and your AR-15, slide a cowboy hat on your head and a fake police badge in your wallet, and get ready to say "nothing to see here folks, move along". Consider this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVx2jyDPinw"><b>short film</b></a> in the SCP universe.</li><li><b>THIRD-EYE</b> is for missions where there is no danger of civilian involvement, or where the stakes are so high that civilians become expendable. Consider this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOxarwd3eTs"><b>short film</b></a> in the SCP universe. </li></ul> As with Object Classes on the SCP Wiki, these don't correlate with how <i>dangerous</i> the mission is. They correlate with how expensive the mission is going to be, and how much of a headache the Rules of Engagement are for the fireteam involved. <br /><br /> Here's an example of a dangerous <b>C-E</b> mission: your team has to capture a telepath with the ability to inflict aneurysms with eye contact, he knows he's being hunted and is trying to hide in the crowds at Times Square, you <i>must</i> catch him alive. Here's an example of an easy <b>T-E</b> mission: a cult with a compound in the Mojave Desert is preparing to summon a Great Old One, they're six miles away from the nearest public road, roll in there with attack helicopters and armored vehicles and blow the place to Hell. Those are both off the top of my head, for free, for you and whatever use you want to put them to.<br /><br /> <a href="https://glass-candles.blogspot.com"><b>CatDragon</b></a> of the platinum-cored Werthers Original secret GLOG Discord assembled this here <a href="https://perchance.org/best-case-scenario"><b>random generator</b></a> to give you a mission prompt. I've used the generator a few times to good effect.<br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">New Equipment and Budget<br /></h3><br /> There were a few oversights, a few obvious missing pieces, and one or two balance problems (like the machine pistol being the best choice in most situations). With counsel from others the weapon list has been updated. For ease of use, inventory is now based on slots. Every character has 5 slots and all guns are listed with the amount of slots they take up. <br /><br /> <b>Concealable </b>(can be worn under clothing, can be drawn and fired with one hand. Assume it takes at least a round to retrieve a weapon from concealment. You cannot attach underbarrel grenade launchers or shotguns to concealable weapons).<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Semiauto</b>: Takes priority, <b>-1</b> to <b>Attacks </b>at medium range, no long range. 16/15 ammo. 1 slot.</li><li><b>Revolver</b>: Takes priority. 6/6 ammo. 1 slot.</li><li><b>Machine Pistol</b>: Takes priority, cannot <b>Aim</b>, no long range. 21/20 ammo. <b>Automatic</b>. 2 slots.</li><li><b>Concealable Melee</b> (knuckles, e-tool, knife, tomahawk): Takes priority, <b>+1</b> to <b>Attacks </b>at melee range, no other ranges. No ammo. 1 slot.</li></ul><br /> <b>Large </b>(can be concealed in a golf bag or a guitar case or the like if need be, takes time to retrieve if concealed, must be operated with two hands).<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Assault Rifle</b>: 31/30 ammo. <b>Automatic</b>. 2 slots.</li><li><b>Sharpshooter Rifle</b>: Ignore range penalties. 21/20 ammo. 2 slots. </li><li><b>Shotgun</b>: <b>+1</b> to <b>Attacks </b>at short range, no long range. 6/5 ammo. 2 slots.</li><li><b>Grenade Launcher</b>: 1/1 ammo. 2 slots.</li><li><b>Large Melee</b> (sledgehammer, battle axe, katana, pitchfork): <b>+2</b> to <b>Attacks </b>at melee range, no other ranges. No ammo. 1 slot.</li></ul><br /> <b>Bulky </b>(cannot be concealed without being dismantled and stored in a case).<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Antimateriel Rifle</b>: <b>+1</b> to <b>Attacks</b>, ignore range penalties. 6/5 ammo. 3 slots.</li><li><b>LMG</b>: <b>+1</b> to <b>Attacks </b>when <b>Suppressing</b>. 201/200 ammo. <b>Automatic</b>. 3 slots. </li><li><b>Flamethrower</b>: <b>+2</b> to <b>Attacks</b> when <b>Suppressing</b>. No medium or long range. Can only be used to <b>Suppress</b>. 3/3 ammo, <b>Suppression </b>only uses 1.</li></ul><br /> In the gear section, body armor has also been updated. <br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Soft Armor</b>: <b>-1</b> to <b>Attacks </b>against you, can be worn under civilian clothing. Lost when you are <b>wounded</b>. </li><li><b>Heavy Armor</b>: <b>-2</b> to <b>Attacks </b>against you, doesn't stack with soft armor. Lost when you are <b>wounded</b>.<br /></li><li><b>Helmet</b>: If the die in an <b>Attack</b> against you comes up <b>6</b>, it is <b>5</b> instead. Destroyed when this happens.</li><li><b>Ballistic Shield</b>: Provides moveable <b>cover</b> for one person. <br /></li></ul><br /> The Grenadier's special launcher is one of those big revolving ones. It has 6/6 ammo but is otherwise mechanically identical. The Sapper's extra gear does not count against his inventory limit.<br /><br /> You can spend a point of <b>Budget</b> to give someone an extra piece of equipment, not just something weird like a flamethrower or a laptop. I thought I wrote that in the original post but I guess I waffled on whether it was useful or balanced and ultimately forgot. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NZBoIm_W22oHNBZVDc3yzJY_DCIIA4OWFpRVAiUggHnTaxJxvh2spzK1an_3iQcZ2JPiBcXQB1c51jp2R0fyOmIwNx-2Q_bfwOrYguHhZYPzP-fUwuObB7kBaaLrTTbxyq8AciKNjWACP5PYM8PTtoyg4ulbJs__bgQOt6mVfUvnGXuGrYldF4Ev/s2048/pretty%20selfie.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1684" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NZBoIm_W22oHNBZVDc3yzJY_DCIIA4OWFpRVAiUggHnTaxJxvh2spzK1an_3iQcZ2JPiBcXQB1c51jp2R0fyOmIwNx-2Q_bfwOrYguHhZYPzP-fUwuObB7kBaaLrTTbxyq8AciKNjWACP5PYM8PTtoyg4ulbJs__bgQOt6mVfUvnGXuGrYldF4Ev/w526-h640/pretty%20selfie.png" width="526" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Trevor Henderson<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Updated Combat Actions and New CO Resource</h3><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Attack</b>. Roll a <b>d6</b>, add bonuses and subtract penalties. On a result of <b>4</b> the target is <b>lightly wounded</b>, on a <b>5</b> the target is <b>seriously wounded</b>, on a <b>6</b> or above they are dead. This is assuming mortal human enemies, of course. If you were using a gun, subtract <b>1</b> from your Ammo.</li><li><b>Burst</b>. As an <b>Attack</b>, but with a <b>+1</b> bonus. Subtract the die result from your Ammo. Only <b>automatic </b>weapons may <b>Burst</b>.</li><li><b>Suppress</b>. Select up to a 45° angle as your target area. Those in or passing through the target area are <b>Attacked </b>unless they are in cover. Subtract <b>10 </b>from your Ammo. Only <b>automatic </b>weapons may Suppress. </li><li><b>Reload</b>. Swap out one magazine for another, replace a belt, or load a grenade or two shells into a grenade launcher or shotgun. </li><li><b>Interact</b>. Push a button, open a door, grab some documents and shove them into a hip bag, or any other thing which necessitates a moment of attention and thus precludes staring down your ironsights with an itchy trigger finger. </li><li><b>Aim</b>. Enter <b>Aiming</b>. While <b>Aiming</b>, all <b>Attacks </b>and <b>Bursts </b>roll <b>2d6 </b>and take the higher result. Moving or taking any action besides <b>Attacking </b>(such as reloading) puts you out of <b>Aiming</b>.</li><li><b>Hide</b>. Enter nearby cover or concealment. Targets in cover may not be directly <b>Attacked</b>, targets in concealment cannot be <b>Attacked </b>except by explosions or <b>Suppression</b>. </li><li><b>Sprint</b>. Move an additional <b>3m</b>. This movement may take you up a ladder or across a gap of of less than <b>3m</b>.</li><li><b>Rally</b>. Roll a <b>d6 </b>to calm a <b>Panicked </b>ally, succeeding on a <b>4 </b>or higher.</li></ul><br /><br /> Your <b>CO</b> has a pool of a special resource called <b>Command</b>. He starts with 1/1 points and regains all points between missions. <b>Command</b> can be spent on effects for fireteam members who can see and hear their <b>CO </b>(the <b>CO </b>can almost always see and hear himself). I'll call these <b>Ploys</b>, because I was reading <a href="https://warhammer40000.com/kill-team/"><b>Kill Team</b></a>. <br /><br /> Basic <b>Ploys</b> any <b>CO</b> knows: <br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>May take two actions instead of acting + moving.</li><li>May receive a <b>wound </b>one level lower than they otherwise would have. </li><li>May <b>Attack </b>a target that is <b>concealed </b>from them but not from the <b>CO</b>.</li></ul> Additional points of <b>Command</b> may be given as a reward for successful missions. Maybe you can get more <b>Ploys</b> as a reward too? Here's a few extra for that purpose:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>May take priority with a large weapon.</li><li>May <b>Sprint </b>and make a melee <b>Attack</b> as one action. </li><li>May make a final <b>Attack </b>before they die. </li><li>May avoid damage from an explosion.</li><li>May roll two dice in an <b>Attack</b> and take the highest. <br /></li></ul><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYprdPi6V91-rihWmWKF1o5BH34KRVkf-YU-R497EwfO78mMy-2kVSYHDTlp7lnhCn8Cq0Pkcm2sdHAIais1AYbLbFNoN1QFYv-8plY-udygWx4kO9UBoSWSlAq1z_r3yJmAE2LUDn94byZYEa4del4qRnp0o_rjad8OuvLnlBMFEMDGcTSO_rwBTD/s3780/blood%20trail.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2126" data-original-width="3780" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYprdPi6V91-rihWmWKF1o5BH34KRVkf-YU-R497EwfO78mMy-2kVSYHDTlp7lnhCn8Cq0Pkcm2sdHAIais1AYbLbFNoN1QFYv-8plY-udygWx4kO9UBoSWSlAq1z_r3yJmAE2LUDn94byZYEa4del4qRnp0o_rjad8OuvLnlBMFEMDGcTSO_rwBTD/w640-h360/blood%20trail.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/kanikumitoi/status/1355864219241963520">Source</a></b>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h3>Lore and Setting Details and Such</h3><br /> Every SCP-alike needs some weird guys to fight with over who gets the magical television that lets you talk to Martian ghosts. Here's a list dreamed up in the coup-resistant GLOG Discord:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Final Directive</b>: A faction of the U.S. intelligence community which believes that global thermonuclear war occurred sometime in the 1980s and we live in a collective hallucination generated from sheer denial. Intend to wake everyone up by causing an actual nuclear war. Not our problem, unless they're using anomalous means, in which case it becomes an urgent problem for us specifically.<br /></li><li><b>The Agency</b>: Possibly the European branch of our <b>organization</b>, or perhaps
a <b>peer rival</b> (a non-<b>organization</b> group with similar access to information and resources), or maybe time travel is involved. They operate just like we do.</li><li><b>Resurrectionists</b>: A decentralized group, loosely in communication with each other, of necromancers and grave robbers who graveyards and cemeteries as free sources of supernatural power. <br /></li><li><b>Children of K'nit Xaun</b>: A cult of those born of fertilizations from a clinic run by a now-discredited and scandalized doctor who tampered with the sperm supply. Believe themselves to be the next step of humanity, and demigods whose father is older than the world itself. Presumed to be a black-budget project escaped into the wild.</li><li><b>Black Museum</b>: Hostile <b>antagonists </b>(non-<b>organization</b> with knowledge of the supernatural) who interrupt <b>organization</b> operations to steal <b>paperweights </b>(anomalous objects) or kill and bag <b>spookums</b> (anomalous objects). Presumed to be at least a peer of the organization, though they have never attempted contact, and captured agents either crack cyanide teeth or suffer total end-of-biological-life with no obvious cause.</li><li><b>Fleshgod Inheritors</b>: Somewhere between a cult and a street gang, collecting and eating pieces of Stel Alune, an ancient superorganism. Authentic pieces of Stel Alune are rare and difficult to find, but luckily (for them) Inheritors grow identical organs in their own bodies after consumption.</li><li><b>Fleischwulf</b>: A post-neo-nazi gang with attached eccentric academics and garage inventors. Believe Hitler was a little off-base: rather than history being an eternal conflict between primordial races, it is an eternal conflict between beautiful, ingenious Artifice and rampant, repugnant Nature. </li></ul><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXaBfbnF6FVBhzhqemIBJi7f_k_17o2IshdO2nEbXKUP1uH7HaAu4Njgi00DXRR6vGY4dqUZAS6_2bTZlnIjuHm4DqkNbnBV_hApKXe_4FJn3rFWpfk-pxuheVRgCeJp4wfm69k0oRXtzfpgCd460OoUdGQpigqeFX5B0UuWl0XhxWBIFRMHPuwUIv/s2048/bingus%20enjoyer.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXaBfbnF6FVBhzhqemIBJi7f_k_17o2IshdO2nEbXKUP1uH7HaAu4Njgi00DXRR6vGY4dqUZAS6_2bTZlnIjuHm4DqkNbnBV_hApKXe_4FJn3rFWpfk-pxuheVRgCeJp4wfm69k0oRXtzfpgCd460OoUdGQpigqeFX5B0UuWl0XhxWBIFRMHPuwUIv/w640-h480/bingus%20enjoyer.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: in image.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">General Notes and Clarifications<br /></h3><br /> Fireteams are superhumanly coordinated. They can advance or attack without needing to spend precious seconds screaming at one another or fiddling with radios. This power is a pretty significant advantage for the players, and as the DM you should lean into it. NPC biker gangs and cultists should be overly cautious, wasting time hiding behind cover, or overly aggressive, charging out into danger and gunfire. They should have trouble with tactics more advanced than "run at the enemy", "stay put", and "flee", and they should <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnGgh01R93Q"><b>bark</b></a> at one another to keep players informed of these cunning stratagems. Making common mooks dipshits serves the shared fantasy of the game twofold; it lets the player-controlled elite black-ops fishmen killers be very good at killing fishmen, and it provides a starker contrast when your elite black-ops fishman killer gets eaten alive by a Siberian Antigorilla which suddenly flew out of the dark and grabbed him. <br /><br /> Lowering the threshold also gives you more room to be creative. A dozen pipewrench-and-pistol wielding gangbangers in an abandoned car lot make for a simple encounter, but you can flex your DMing muscles a little and put one of them on the roof of a building in <b>cover</b> with a rifle, or plant some IED booby traps around for the PCs or their enemies to stumble into. Makes combat with fireteams just as competent and well-equiped as yours feel dangerous and interesting. I haven't been doing this, but you should do as I say and not as I do.<br /><br /><br /> Numerical bonuses are additive, e.g. the <b>Semiauto</b> gets a <b>-1</b> to <b>Attacks</b> at medium range, and <b>Attacks</b> at medium range have a <b>-1</b> penalty, so that's a <b>-2</b> total. Extra dice are selective, e.g. if you have one thing that lets you roll an extra die and take the higher (like <b>Aiming</b>), and another thing that lets you roll an extra die and take the higher (like a <b>Ploy</b>), you roll 3 dice and take the highest. <br /><br /><br /> <b>BCS</b> takes place in an alternate universe where hand grenades and grenade launcher grenades are the same thing. <br /><br /><br /> You can attach underbarrel shotguns to a shotgun. This lets you fire an additional 5 shots before needing to reload, because the underbarrel shotgun is an effective and a versatile tool. <br /><br /><br /> COs are immune to <b>Morale</b> loss in any form. They aren't scared when monsters appear, or when things explode — hold on a moment, this is a good opportunity to enumerate situations which call for a <b>Morale</b> check:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>When a member of a fireteam dies, all survivors check <b>Morale</b>.</li><li>When someone in <b>cover</b> avoids being hit by a frag grenade, they check <b>Morale</b>.</li><li>When someone in <b>cover</b> avoids being hit by <b>Suppression</b>, they check <b>Morale</b>. </li><li>When members of a fireteam spot a spookum they didn't expect (because they weren't told there would be any or because they were looking for a different one), they check <b>Morale</b>. They can then warn other members.<br /></li><li>When a fireteam realizes they have wandered into a timewarp/living dream/anti-reality/haunted house, all members check <b>Morale</b>.<br /></li></ul> The DM may call for additional <b>Morale</b> checks as he sees fit. <br /><br /><br /> Since the rules for <b>Morale</b> and <b>Aiming</b> have changed a little, here are updated versions of the marksman and chaplain roles:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Marksman</b>: <b>+1</b> to <b>Attacks</b> while <b>Aiming</b>. If <b>Invested</b>, <b>+1</b> to <b>Attacks </b>per round spent <b>Aiming</b>, up to a maximum of <b>+3</b>. <br /></li><li><b>Chaplain</b>: The first <b>Morale </b>check in a mission is automatically passed. If <b>Invested</b>, the Chaplain automatically succeeds at <b>Rally </b>checks once per soldier per mission. <br /></li></ul><br /> I promised that I would post some missions, and I intend to keep that promise at some nebulous point in the undefined future. <a href="https://archons-court.blogspot.com/2022/04/red-gradient-underworld-slowly-spinning.html"><b>Here</b></a> are two missions from Archon to keep you entertained in the meanwhile. <br />
</div><br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732712959114181705.post-25145933289176106652022-07-08T15:54:00.005-04:002023-03-30T05:25:53.035-04:00Black Books <style>
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<div class="materiel"> <br /> "Black Books", in the style of <a href="http://rememberdismove.blogspot.com/2022/06/black-books.html"><b>Mr. Halton</b></a>. For more titles to add to your library, see <a href="https://velvetinks.blogspot.com/2022/07/d10-black-books-opium-dreamer-edition.html"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://archonsmarchon.blogspot.com/2022/07/d10-more-black-books.html"><b>here</b></a>. <br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="1280" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsP1YShBsNIHoDHf5PNIChQmpJ07e1-eiGWy9EtGihc2ZIwLAy39VwlBlZ2fgpDRr3PYrspgeW-MalqQHHv2MZdLQmF55oWL321djMXILADd13ixO8ACFR69CQbVBlH40RFXFvYOQSuvTEP2ElDsl-_1J3knRnJC6DcgD7mTpDjJkYwEK7IYivu6S/w640-h378/real%20fantasy%20teenage%20witch.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/milkmindart/art/Real-Fantasy-Teenage-Witch-663217863"><b>Real Fantasy: Teenage Witch</b></a>, by milkmindart<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Dawn of Civilization, Egypt, and Chaldea</h3> An early 20th-century worth of psychohistory and ethnography by notorious North American White Raven Society member Sefton Milburn on the topic of the origin of the three sophont species native to Earth; Human, Kemetic and the now-orbital Bit-Yakin. Interaction between the first two species created the Black and White races of Milburn's taxonomy. He has no explanation for Asia and the Americas, besides suggesting the Bit-Yakin may have constructed and peopled them.<br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Pences de meon Pedre </h3> The autobiography of Brame Cagot, an 11th-century Norman sorcerer and serial killer. The 20th-century scholar who translated this English edition chose, unlike his Victorian predecessors, to include the stream-of-consciousness narratives of incest, patricide, autocoprophilia, and the murder and ritual crassifaction (filling with molten gold) of young women in Rouen, mostly prostitutes. Cagot claims the reason his rituals failed was that the young women he murdered were not virgins. Famously, Brame was executed by Norman authorities on Christmas morning in 1035 by forced consumption of molten gold. His last words were a promise to return in a state of immortality; this he failed to do.<br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">De Attarum Mysteriis</h3> An etiquette book by an unknown author, printed in France shortly before the Revolution for the education of young scions of occulted noble families. The text consists of long descriptions of various classes of Hellish, Outside and Inverted entities, their manner of greeting, their manner of dining, their preferred offerings, and their (sometimes very complicated) systems of names, reputations and droit de seigneur. <br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Gods of Dead Ivy</h3> A novel by American author Melissa Boudreaux published in 1994. The opening sentence reads, "the sun-silvered white door sat in a sun-silvered white wall, which time and weather and unforgiving day had worn and split and slowly covered with crackling leaves and vines like a creeping brown pelt". Every subsequent word not present in the title, publishing boilerplate or first sentence is either a non-English phantomnation or completely unrecognizable (e.g. "bzlkkro", "paaniymet", "ahharrattattaddadd". Though several Melissa Boudreauxes exist in the United States, according to their own testimony none have ever published a book. <br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Die Welt der Spinne </h3> A late 19th-century genealogy of the influential but largely unrecognized Spinne family of Boston. The book details their expulsion from the NRW region of Germany, their arrival in the New World, and the murderous rituals they performed to propitiate many-legged mechanical gods who blessed them with success in the oil and rail industries. The author, Ariel Badge, appears to have been a member of a cadet branch of the Spinne family, one which was expected to offer sacrifices on a generation-to-generation timescale.<br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">El Mitos </h3> A 16th-century bestiary and travelog written by the Spaniard "Erodotos de Peres Mentirosa" the pen name of an unknown author, possibly Cervantes or (as the book claims) one of his associates. It contains reports and eyewitness accounts of cryptozoological beings from Mediterranean Europe, the Near East and Jerusalem. Erodotos explains how a hidalgo with limited equipment and resources might hunt or banish vampires, ghuls, genii, ogres, "spirits of air" and "mandrake-mouthed tigers", among many others.<br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Dlinyy Yubi </h3> A Meiji-restoration era gospel on the teachings of "The Man With Your Face", a Hokkaido stylite mystic, and the practices of the "Long Finger Society", his worshipers and successors. The surreal dogma of the Man With Your Face is usually considered to only appeal to the most dedicated of scholars; to own a copy of the book is itself the prize, as agents of the Long Fingers use the most extreme acts of violence to recover copies of the book and destroy those who have read it outside the context of their Society.<br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">The Search For Meaning, Volume IX</h3> One volume of the magnum opus of English art restorer and famous art forger Tom Keating. Over the course of his art career, Keating (a socialist) wrote the estimated 2,000,000 words of <i>The Search for Meaning</i> by hand in one-hundred-eighteen large composition books. He never contacted publishers, so this work (which is said to adequately explain Man's purpose in the universe) exists only as scattered manuscripts and a few handmade copies. <br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Hard Travel to Desecrated Places</h3> The personal diary of an 18th-century Swedish nobleman named Magnus de la Gardie. It recounts his "black pilgrimage" — a journey taken by members of some occult brotherhoods to the accursed Galilean city of Chorazin. Hand-drawn maps in the margins indicate that Count Magnus ultimately reached a subterranean portion of the city, where he presumably remained for the six years before his return home. <br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">Mai Doon Izahn</h3> A portfolio traceable to early renaissance Florence at the most recent. Every second sheet of this unusual and anonymous work unfolds to double-size, and thus the book contains twenty-four hand-painted triptychs in a fantastical style reminiscent of Bosch. While some themes — war and devastation, poverty, religious awakening — and some locations — Rome, Istanbul and Kristiania — are recognizable, the majority are incomprehensible, and many panels depict something other than typical three-dimensional space. The twenty-first triptych depicts, in sparse shades of dark grey, a broad river, with a lone boatmen looking over his shoulder at the viewer. The remaining three triptychs are entirely black.<br /><br /><br />
</div><br />G. R. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076993341999529525noreply@blogger.com2