Animal Planet aka In Search Of

A quick search of my posts does not bring up anything about Animal Planet. Weird. I will likely equally refer to Animal Planet as In Search Of or ISO. Seems like an evocative name.

Flight of the Dragon Prince

I often find inspiration in music. A song with catch my ear and I will listen to it on repeat until it becomes second nature. With Trokair on my mind, ideas from the world have been bubbling up while listening to music at work or on the drive home. The inciting song this time is I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin.

Apex (Chaos Cult)

Stolen without shame from Infinity Train seasons 2 and, especially, 3. Some spoilers follow.

The Black Duke - Summary

Honestly not sure how to title this.

Order of the Bow Initiate (3e Prestige Class)

An old prestige class that inspired the character who became the Black Duke. They vastly changed it in a later book. Both versions are presented here.

Fist of Hextor (3e Prestige Class)

An old prestige class that was the basis of the Black Fists of Horde. An untyped +4 bonus to attack each turn. The class requires Power Attack to enter, so why would you ever apply the bonus to damage?

Detect Evil (3e)

Detect Evil

Level: Clr 1, Rrg 2

Components: V, S, DF

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 60 ft

Area: Quarter circle emanating from the character to the extreme of range

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 min/level (D)

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

1st Round: Presence or absence of evil

2nd Round: Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells) in the area and the strength of the strongest evil aura present. If the character is of good alignment, the strongest evil aura's strength is "overwhelming", and the strength is at least twice the character's character level, the character is stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.

3rd Round: The strength and location of each aura. If an aura is outside the character's line of sight, then the character discerns its direction but not its exact location.

Aura Strength: Depends on Evil Power

Evil Power (calculation)

• Evil creature (HD/5)
• Undead creature (HD/2)
• Evil elemental (HD/2)
• Evil magic item or spell (CL/2)
• Evil outside (HD)
• Cleric of evil deity (Level)

Aura Strength

• Lingering: Dim
• 1 or less: Faint
• 2-4: Moderate
• 5-10: Strong
• 11+: Overwhelming

Length Aura Lingers: How long the aura lingers after the end of the spell or destruction of the item/creature depends on original strength

• Faint: 1d6 minutes
• Moderate: 1d6x10 minutes
• Strong: 1d6 hours
• Overwhelming: 1d6 days

Note: Each round, the character can turn to detect things in a new area. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.

Knightly Orders in Trokair

A little detail on the knightly orders of Aelonia. 

Q20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?

Coldsnap, (mature) adult white dragon, lairs in the peaks of the mountains near Fortune. It is rarely seen, perhaps preferring to hunt prey in the icy Unknown North. Perhaps the barbarian captain Voruun, who hails from that frozen land, has more information. Or Korg'tar Fleshrender and the Bloody Hand Orcs, who live further up the mountains.

Q19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?

This is just a list for now, lacking description. I was sick and will go back to fill it in.

Q18. What is there to eat around here?

As mentioned in Q13, the Long Pike Tavern in Fortune is known for its fish stew. Other randomly generated foods include brined faceless bongo (another fish dish), wyvern buns (baked buns stuffed with spicy, fermented chicken, usually wing meat), salt-preserved-lemon mooncake (intense tart lemon flavor), and tea-smoked star rabbit (roasted and smoked over dried tea leaves).

The Ghostly Minstrel offers dragon custard (each flavor is a different color; rumored but unlikely to be made from dragon's eggs), basil and cinnamon steamed pudding, arcane vegetables (each enchanted to taste like something entirely different, from bacon to petrichor), unicorn cones (multicolored corn tortillas twisted into a cone and filled with sweet or savory goodness), Great Dark ale bread, and tenderized shade spider legs.

Wayfarer Guide (3e Prestige Class)

An old 3e prestige class that facilitated in-game travel across the map.

Mage of the Arcane Order (3e Prestige Class)

An old 3e prestige class that was the basis for Magic City Vane's guild.

Diin Adarin - Pyromagus (Demonblood Magus)

This is an idea that sprung from reading my friend Adkit's novel and seeing a reference to a wizard whose fire spells could burn fire-immune creatures like efreeti and red dragons.

Q17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?

How about we do this list-style? Just a sample of such societies.

Q16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?

Not around Fortune. The Bloody Hand Orcs may pit prisoners against each other for entertainment. They may even jump into the fray against particularly strong or skilled combatants.

Q15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?

Two wars recently ended, planting the seeds for future conflict.

Q14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?

Wyndhaven does not bother with a countryside so I will answer for Fortune.

Q13. Which way to the nearest tavern?

Fortune is home to the Long Pike Pub and the Absent Bell Inn. The Long Pike is named for the fish, though the sign depicts one above a long spear, and is known for fish stew. The Absent Bell Inn is missing its bell. No one quite knows when it went missing (years/decades ago) but the empty belltower remains.

In Wyndhaven, adventurers often meet at the Ghostly Minstrel in Delver's Square. It is an inn, restaurant, and pub all in one.

Q12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?

Not really, at least in the default starting areas of Fortune (border town with a bandit problem and nearby dungeon) and Wyndhaven (vast city filled with crime and danger).

Aelonia is filled with do-gooder knights and adventurers; the default assumption among their populace is that armed and armored folks are there to help defeat the local monsters, not cause trouble.

Magic City Vane does not permit visitors to bear armor and weapons without licensure but, then again, anyone who can reach the city likely has less to fear from steel than magic.

The Duchy of the Black Hand is a fascist state that limits weapons to its authorized forces; armed outsiders are always considered threats. Trying to sneak into the Duchy under cover of the forest may lead you into conflict with the elves of Mahuul Maakh.

Q11. Where can I hire mercenaries?

Fortune has a number of former soldiers from the Free City Rebellion who are looking to continue their lives as sell-swords or hirelings for adventurers. They are more numerous than usual for a town of Fortune's size due to the bandits along the trade route (creating demand for additional caravan guards) and the proximity of the city ruins (drawing adventurers in need of hirelings).

Wyndhaven has its share of mercenaries, though they tend towards cruel scoundrels and humanoids (orcs, hobgoblins, etc.) who were worth their weight in gold to shed blood during the rebellion but outcast once more with the return of "polite" society. Wyndhaven has always been the most welcoming of the Free Cities when it comes to outcasts and villains. You can often find hired muscle competing in the gladiatorial arena to prove their abilities.

Unaffiliated bands of mercenaries also roam the Free City Region in search of work or turning to banditry, especially raiding the refugees fleeing to Aelonia or the Duchy. They make for easy pickings as their numbers are too great for Aelonia to settle and protect them all and the Duchy has no desire for them in the first place and jealously guard their border.

Q10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage, or other expert NPC?

From Fortune, you will need to head to Free City Valor find such experts, and there is no guarantee they will be interested in your question. You might get Lord Corben to dispatch a message on your behalf, which would be faster, save you the travel, and aid in getting their attention in the first place.

Dragon Hierarchy

It is a common observation/complaint that dragons have become less common as enemies as D&D has advanced through its editions. They have been hyped and their stat blocks inflated to make them exceptionally difficult enemies that many DMs reserve as "end boss" style baddies that, unfortunately, many campaigns do not reach.

Gideon "Goldenheart" Brochard, the Shining Knight

Inspired by my friend Adkit's novel (Drinking Gold), the 3e adventure Bastion of Broken Souls, and a dude from Ptolus.

Q9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?

Fortune is much too small to host any such guild. Your best bet is to venture into the city ruins and seek out Damon Rhiales, the necromancer. He may be willing to teach you new spells in exchange for money or favors.

In Wyndhaven, there are a number of independent spellcasters who might be swayed to share spells in exchange for money. There is also the secretive mage guild known as the Inverted Pyramid. Tracking them down and convincing them to let you join is sometimes a life-long endeavor but many of the most powerful wizards in the city are rumored to belong, with the notable exception of the Iron Mage.

Of course, the Academy of the Arcane Order in Magic City Vane is the number one location to find and learn spells. Their libraries are extensive and their faculty regularly invent new spells or variations of existing spells. One simply needs to fly up to the floating city, gain entrance through the magically secured gate, and somehow convince them to allow you access. Easy peasy.

Kuga Yuma, Wyndhaven Neighbor

Today's Swordtember prompt was Anchor and I designed a shortsword that, upon wounding a victim, creates a heavy weight like the Lead Bullet trigger from World Trigger. I immediately had the image of Kuga Yuma wielding the anchor sword and skulking about Wyndhaven, surviving as a thief and maybe assassin.

Yuma is a Neighbor in World Trigger; who would a neighbor be in Wyndhaven? Well, off the coast from Wyndhaven is the merfolk kingdom, so Yuma must be a merfolk who shifted into a human guise and came ashore. No idea yet how he got there or what he is doing, but he uses his anchor blade to steal without having to kill his victims; just a few minor scratches and most people are immobilized by the weights (which fade over time).

Q8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions?

Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?

3e Memories

3e is my favorite edition of D&D, but I wonder how much of that is due simply to familiarity. Before ever playing an actual D&D game, I had read my dad's collection of books (the six OD&D books, the Holmes blue box, and the three AD&D rulebooks) but I did not realize quite how they fit together (I remember trying to create a character in the blue book and looking up the rules for the classes in the PHB).

I really started playing earnestly with 2e in junior high. When 3e was announced, I jumped on the bandwagon and started buying the books and running games with my brother immediately. I knew the rules by heart, memorized the formulas that undergird each table and price (I was famous in my gaming group for knowing the prices of just about every magic item off the top of my head, mostly thanks to reversing the math on them). I spent hours on Monte Cook's message boards, creating homebrew content, answering rules questions, and just absorbing everything. I remember how proud I felt when Derek Dyer, a poster who I felt knew the rules better than just about anyone, chose me as a judge for a prestige class contest because he trusted my judgement of game balance.

The culmination of all that was the ability to run the game without really looking at the rules. Not only did I know the rules, I knew the reason behind the rules and the effects of changing the rules. I remember running the Red Hand of Doom and changing enemies on the fly to make the game more fun (my party technically killed the black dragon on like turn 2 but I managed to stretch the fight out for a full session and everyone loved it).

When 4e came out, I sought to dive into it as well. I bought the PHB at midnight the day it came out and played Living Forgotten Realms for months at the local store (easily racking up hundreds of hours of time playing or running the game). I absolutely fell in love with the Warlord class and wished that 3e had had something like it (it had the Marshal from the Miniatures Handbook, which I also loved). However, 4e was a very different game and I did not like it as much as 3e. The rules were very explicit, the math very obvious. But it just never clicked for me as D&D (I loved it as a tactical miniatures wargame, though).

Then I went to pharmacy school and stopped playing 4e. I still popped into Pathfinder games for years, playing somewhat regularly at game stores or with a new group. Given Pathfinder's pedigree, it kept my 3e knowledge fresh.

5e came out and I tried once again to get into it. I participated in the playtesting of D&D Next, I bought the starter set the day it came out, and then the rulebooks as they released. I liked the 3e aspects that returned and felt the 4e bits they kept were the good ones (including the warlord power for the fighter class). But I never had enough time to play and ruminate like I did in high school with 3e and, of course, I had over a decade of further experience with 3e-style rules.

So now I find myself nostalgic for my old 3e world, Trokair, and the many bits of 3e that explicitly made their way into its very DNA. This post was supposed to be a list of potential houserules for 3e to address problems with the system but then it turned into this.

Q7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?

Fortune is home to a temple of St. Cuthbert, one of the saints in Ro's church. St. Cuthbert is a strict, no-nonsense kind of demi-god and his followers believe in helping those who help themselves (give a man a fish and such). Father Tibault prefers to let adventurers heal naturally when possible (scars build character) but will use his magic when needed (haste, severity) or for a sufficient donation to the poor box.

Q6. Who is the richest person in the land?

You mean rich like in family and experiences?

Q5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?

The greatest warrior near Fortune is probably the ogre chieftain of the Blood Hand tribe of orcs, Korg'Tar Fleshrender.

Q4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?

Near Fortune, the strongest known wizard is Damon Rhiales, the necromancer who took up residence in the city ruins. His nephew, Tam, still comes to town for supplies every tenday or so.

Q3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?

No one in Fortune can handle such a job. Your nearest bet is to head to Free City Valor and see if one of the armorers or barding specialists can accommodate the request. Of course, depending on the monster, you might not be able to enter the city in the first place. For those, Wyndhaven should be your destination. Though, for flying mounts, there is nowhere better than Magic City Vane, home of airborne cavalry.

There are several exotic armorers in Wyndhaven that can customize plate for your monster. Humanoid, beast-like, amorphous ... everything can be found for a price in the most cosmopolitan Free City.

Swordtember 2021

Normally an artist prompt to draw a sword based on the theme word each day of September, I will instead be creating a magic sword description instead. These were initially posted to Twitter.

Q2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?

For questions like this, I will answer assuming a campaign centered on the Ruins of Trokair near Fortune and another centered in Wyndhaven.

Rose and Thorn Duelist (3e Prestige Class)

Created by the incomparable Aelryinth from Okay-Your Turn.

A Rose and Thorn stylist is equal parts grace and cunning. The style is based around the use of two weapons, the Rose (rapier) and the Thorn (long knife/stilletto/main-gaunche).

Q1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?

I am going to approach this mostly as "which gods are available" as you would need to know that before creating any details about the religion. 

20 Campaign Questions

You can run D&D with just some PCs and a dungeon. I think that's totally legit. But if you have a campaign setting, here are some things for you to think about.  Better to muse on these before your players ask you, rather than finding yourself on the spot.

Elf Forests of Trokair

The elves of Trokair make their homes in isolated forests and, while they are open to alliance and mutual aid, outsiders are not welcome within their woods.

Knight of the Chalice (3e Prestige Class)

Old 3e prestige class that I love. 

Devoted Defender (3e Prestige Class)

Old 3e prestige class that I love. 

Variant Races - Adding to the Inhuman

Read a thread about how most RPG elves and dwarves and other races are funny-looking humans instead of actually different creatures. That is to say, they think and act like regular humans, maybe with a few dials turned up and down. There is nothing wrong with it, but the poster wanted something else. He wanted to see races that were more inhuman.

GURPS Ebony Death Goddess

 Dungeon Fantastic: RIP Ray Harryhausen & the Ebony Death Goddess

Ebony Death Goddess

A golem-like construct in the form of 6’ midnight-black statue of a six-armed nude woman. It is made of some unknown stone-like material. Usually found guarding dark temples, or springing from magical statuettes made by some unknown creator. They project a magical field around their swords that allows them to shear through armor with ease. The swords, however, are usually mundane.

ST: 20 (2-1/3+2)    HP: 20      Speed: 7.50
DX: 15                 Will: 12    Move: 8
IQ: 8                    Per: 12
HT: 15                 FP: N/A    SM: +0

Dodge: 11+DB 2   Parry (x4)/Block (x2): 14+DB 2    DR: 5

Scimitar (20) (x4): 3d+3 (2) cutting or 2d (2) impaling; Reach 1. Usually launched as Deceptive Attacks -2 (4 in 6, effective skill 16) or Deceptive Attack -4 (2 in 6, effective skill 12).

Traits: Automaton; Cannot Learn; Combat Reflexes; Dark Vision; Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Eat or Drink; Doesn’t Sleep; Extra Attack 3; Fragile (Unnatural); High Pain Threshold; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Indomitable; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous, No Blood); Pressure Support 3; Reprogrammable; Unfazeable; Unhealing (Total); Temperature Tolerance 10; Vacuum Support.
Skills: Broadsword-20 and Shield-20.
Class: Construct.
Notes: Cannot negotiate. Carries four scimitars and two indestructible medium shields (DB 2). Dull-witted but they fight intelligently. While it will engage multiple foes, it will generally try to attack one target as much as possible. Can and will use Cross Parry (see GURPS Martial Arts, p. 131) to deal with heavy attacks or if it needs a +2; Disintegrates into dust when destroyed, leaving only four normal quality scimitars (each $600, 3 lbs.); its shields are made of the same mysterious material as the statue and will disintegrate with it.

Notice the "magical field" effect is the (2) after weapon damage. It means that DR is halved vs the attack.

GURPS Gelatinous Cube (obstacle)

 Dungeon Fantastic: Iconic Monster Use & GURPS 10' Gelatin Cube Monster

 

Killer Cube O' Gelatin
A 10 foot cube of hunting gelatin. "Attacks" by moving into/onto a target and then digesting it. Usually motors along at less than 1 yard/second, eating mold, fungus, carrion, and wood (including doors in a pinch!), but it can and will speed up if attacked or it senses a large amount of food.

ST: 0 HP: 10 Speed: 4.00
DX: 6 Will: 10 Move: 2
IQ: 1 Per: 8
HT: 10 FP: 10 SM: +4

Dodge: N/A Parry: N/A DR: 0

Slam or Touch (N/A): 1 point corrosive damage (every 5 pts damage reduces DR by 1 and inflicts 1 damage) (doesn’t affect most metals or any stone/pottery) plus paralysis (contact agent, resisted by HT-2), lasts 1 minute after no longer in contact with cube.
Envelopment (N/A): It can fully envelop paralyzed foes; envelopment does 10 points of corrosive damage per second, plus paralysis as above.

Traits: Amphibious; Discriminatory Smell; Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Sleep; High Pain Threshold; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Immunity to Mind Control; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous; No Blood); Invertebrate; No Legs (Slithers); No Manipulators; Regeneration (1 HP/Hour, not from fire); Silence 3; Universal Digestion; Vibration Sense (Air).
Skills: Stealth-12.
Class: Slime
Notes: Nonsentient and can’t negotiate. Plant/Slime spells won’t work. Gelatinous cube jelly is worth $10 a quart, 1d6 quarts can be gathered from a slain cube.

 

And from the comments section of that link:

• Wounded guys left behind, unconcious enemies left for "questioning later," corpses left for eventual resurrection - all have some real concerns with this thing. Armed and ready adventurers? None.
• Or deploy them by the dozens as support for the 10 x 10 x 10 yard Mother Cube that does 3d corrosive or so and has a boatload more HP. 
• An interesting variation on the cube would be to make it Diffuse, and make it a cloud of corrosive digestive vapor-slime instead. That would make it much harder to kill.
• Basically, it's a way to:
• explain why corpses, etc. disappear
• why chalk marks and such disappear from walls when your players ask why you didn't mention their chalk marks from eight sessions ago
• make it dangerous to leave wounded companions behind or leave corpses behind for later recovery and resurrection
• make it dangerous to let your guard down
• make a mobile obstacle, so previously "safe" places might not be safe this time. Or later on.
• make it dangerous to run in a dungeon, even to try and run out of the dungeon.

But it's not a foe any more than that 10' pit is.

I really like the idea of the cloud of corrosive vapor-slime. Harder to kill and likely faster moving. Maybe after sufficient meal it thickens out into a regular gelatinous cube and either remains stationary or slowly treks back to a "lair" to digest. It then returns to its vapor form before going on the hunt again.

 

Graveyard Nymph

Goblin Punch: Graveyard Nymph

I am considering this versus making it a naiad and putting it in the flooded tombs.