Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Kettil the Dane's trip to the Caves of Myrddin.

Kettil was in the last foray into the caves of Myrddin and witnessed the demise of Gomma the Ugly. Four brave souls (and 1 born loser) went off to explore that day, Madin a MU of some power (what kind is hard to say as no spells were cast that day); Gomma the Ugly, Boner the Specialist along with is retainer Gentle Ben; lastly there was Kettil the Dane.

We decided to enter the North Tower after spying some 3 naked female "statues" in the courtyard and under the watchful eyes of a murder of crows. After finding a trap door and battling a "golden" spider (it was driven off with a vial of acid), we made our way down eventually to the dungeon "proper".

Here is the main map of the level and my notes:


The hall on the west page end continues to show below with the death of Gomma at the hands of 3 different trapped halls...


I believe the order of his death was, south door and flame trap took 1/2 his hits. Then he went to north door and fell in pit to his death. From there the party tied a rope to final door and gave a yank from 40 feet away to have the rop cut in twain by a blade trap. So beware dungeon delvers of Myrddin, for the Black Mage lies!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Happy Holidays to all!

Hope everyone has had a great holiday season, I hope to pick up blogging in the new year.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Happy birthday U.S. Marine Corps!

Boot camp picture from 1988. Good luck finding me.


Me during the short Gulf War (0811 - Marine Artillery Canoneer)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Gorham Nested Random Encounter Table

Taking the ideas spread by Roger here and by Noisms here, I have come up with a quick table for my Gorham city state and the lowland marshes nearby.

Monday, October 3, 2011

My latest city map. Gorham.

Taking my notes for Ugarit and moving them over to my latest creation, Gorham - the city state of the Undying Witch King. Here is the hand drawn map, scanned and colored using Gimp.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Book needs a good home...

// The dice have spoken and Mr. Rients you are the lucky recipient, I will contact you via email to get your mailing address. //

While away in Daytona Beach this past week, (1 year anniversary with the wife), I made my usual trek to hunt out used book stores. This time I found a place that looked like a nightmare out of the "Hoarders" tv show. This place was wall to wall books and stacks of books (with a resident cat no less).

The best find was a copy of M.A.R. Barker's "Man of Gold". So I snagged it. It is not in the best shape but it is a good readable copy. Luckily I already have a copy, so this one is going out to one lucky blog reader. If you are interested in a free copy of the book (not even going to charge mailing - unless you live outside the U.S. - then we will see how that goes), just comment on this post and in a couple of days I will do a random draw to see who the lucky recipient is.

//EDIT // I will give people until 10PM EST tonight to request an entry in the give away. I will then randomly determine the winner tomorrow morning. //


Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Space Fantasy OD&D Style

So recently I have purchased the 2nd season of the Clone Wars animated series on DVD, and I have to say these shows are miles above the prequel trilogy and very entertaining. It really makes me want to play some Star Wars type game – but I refuse to go back to Saga or Revised – I am done with extensive lists of feats and skills – just not my cup ‘o tea anymore. I have nothing against either rules-set but I just don’t have the time or inclination to go back to them.

Then I found this thread over at the Dragonsfoot forums about Darth Vader’s tomb in a dungeon. Awesome idea, which of course lead me back to Sham’s blog and this post here about the Ashen Order. Again, awesome.

So I think Star Wars via OD&D is surely possible, and heck we have Xplorers, Stars Without Number, and Humanspace Empires to mine for game rules, what more do we need?

Well, monsters and gear for one thing. So after some quick brainstorming I give you my spin on some good ol’ recognizable robots and adversaries in a space fantasy setting.

I may have to work up some a class or two – like the Mystic Warrior Monks (can be either Law or Chaos ).

The below can be downloaded here, or on my side bar.


Battle-Bot (N): AC 7 Move 6 HD 1 – A very basic model of the battle robots produced. Skeletal frame armed with blaster. These bots are not the brightest, but are cheap and mass produced.

Super Battle-Bot (N): AC 5 Move 9 HD 2 – These more bulky and advanced version of the battle-bot. These robust robots have built in blasters incorporated into their right arm.

Commando-Bot (N): AC 5 Move 12 HD 2 – These stealthy robots are an advanced version of the simple battle-bot. Capable of strategic thinking and planning, they are dangerous adversaries. Very expensive to build, luckily very few are in existence. They are typically armed with blaster rifles.

Assassin-Bot (N): AC 5 Move 9 HD 3 – These tall gangly robots are built for assassination. They are armed with blaster rifles and will pursue their target at all costs.

Destroyer-Bot (N): AC 3(5) Move 15(6) HD 4 – These advanced robots are capable of forming into a ball for fast movement, they also deploy shields when in fighting mode that provide added protection. They are armed with 2 multi-blasters (capable of 2 shots each for a total of 4 attacks each round). The AC is 5 when rolling or inside the shield barrier, the move rate is 6 when deployed for combat and “walking”.

Assassin-Probe-Bot (N): AC 4 Move 12 HD 6 – These spider-like probe robots are built for murder. They are armed with eight scythe-like legs capable of punching through the most durable armor. Quick and stealthy, these are very dangerous robots.

Clone Soldier (N): AC 3 Move 9 HD 1 – These mass produced soldiers are the backbone of many systems. Created in vats these short lived soldiers are trained to obey orders and fight to the last. They are typically armored in full-battle armor and armed with blasters.

Clone Operative (N): AC 3 Move 9 HD 3 – These are the special forces of the clone soldiers, capable of advanced planning and tactics.

Light Battle Armor AC 7 Move 12 – This is the lightest form of armor and includes an open faced helm and blast vest.

Medium Battle Armor AC 5 Move 12 – This armor has a closed helm, bracers, and a breast plate.
Full Battle Armor AC 3 Move 9 – This full body armor encloses the wearer fully and is air tight and capable of withstanding a vacuum for up to 3 hours.

Energy Sword (2 damage dice) – These tubular hilts emit a blade of polarized energy when activated that glow in a variety of colors. The blades are able to cut through most materials.

Blaster Pistol (1 damage die) – Small hand held laser “blasters”.
Blaster Rifle (+1 to Hit, 1 damage die) – A rifle sized version of the blaster pistol.

Thermal Grenade (3 damage dice) – A fist sized grenade of terrible power, those within 30 feet must save (is save is made only take ½ damage) or take full damage from blast.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Some old Xplorers RPG material

I found the half-assed attempt at a fanzine I tried last year in an old backup of my now dead pc. There was a very cool piece of art by Kelvin Green for the powered armor, so I cleaned up the document and posted it to my download section. The Boarding Action Number 1 contains my weapons and armor tables along with the aliens (stuff that was already in the download section) but with the added art by Mr. Green (who's stuff is pure awesome).

You can download Boarding Action #1 here, or in the sidebar.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Map of the known world - Ruins & Ronin Constantcon Game


This is the setting for my upcoming game of Ruins & Ronin.

If you are creating a character for my game, roll 3d6 six times for your stats (arrange as you like). Then roll 3d6x10 for your starting gold. I will post more notes on the world soon.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Ruins & Ronin - Constantcon

I have decided to join the Constantcon and run some of my Ruins & Ronin along with Swords & Wizardry Core rules (sans the thief class). Here is the announcement I posted to Zak's thread.

Wed Aug 24th

10:00PM (22:00) EST / 01:00 GMT

Ruins & Ronin / Swords & Wizardry Core Rules

1st Level Characters

This game will be my mega-dungeon for Ruins & Ronin set in a foreign land where most classes are available. Players should roll up a first level character using either my Ruins & Ronin rules or Swords & Wizardry Core Rules. All of the below character types are available:
- Bujin
- Half-Ogre
- Shugenja
- Sohei
- Fighter
- Cleric
- Magic-User
- Headhunter (class is available on my blog)

For characters created from R&R only equipment from R&R may be purchased. For characters created with S&W, they may purchase equipment from either book (except Plate Armor, not available) however if their equipment is lost or damaged, it may be hard to replace due to the remote location.

As you can see all characters will be humans (or at least half human) and there are no dwarves, elves, or halflings to be found. Other character types may show up later. The game is set on the remote south sea island of Azai a small colony of the Empire of the Eternal Sun. It is also a trading port for many nations in the vast Southern Sea. As such there are typically many visitors in the main castle-town (small city) of Gozu.

Contact info: You can contact me at mike.davison317 AT gmail dawt com. We can only have 4 players at a time, so if there is more than 4, I may set up two different game nights. As this is a mega-dungeon, there may be many character deaths and opportunities for new players to join.


Here is the map of Azai.




Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Kill Bot 100

When I moved all of my S&W stuff from my old site to the new site, it seems some things didn't make the move and were lost. I just found the Kill Bot 100 (no, I swear it is not a terminator knock-off) for "The Resistance" setting using S&W White Box. You can download it here, if you wish (or on my sidebar).

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Creating my Tekumel underworld.


I recently got a copy of “The Best of the Journal: The Pettigrew Selections” for Tita’s House of Games. The underworld article is really cool for generating Tekumel based underworld sites so I decided to give it a go.

I decided that we are going straight out of the box EPT and this would be my Jakalla underworld “mega-dungeon”. So let’s get busy.

Rolling up the levels for my underworld, I rolled 1d10 and got a “1”. This gives me 7 levels as my underworld is under a true “metropolis”.

Starting with level 1, I roll 1d6 (+1 for 1st level) to determine the number of structures on this level. I get a “1” for a total of two. Then, rolling 1d20 for each I determine this level has a Shrine and a Temple. I roll a d6 plus modifiers for each and find that both have 5 rooms.

This means my shrine will consist of an Inner Shrine (s5), Inner Hall (s4), Outer Hall (s1), Prayer Room (s2), and an additional Prayer Room (s3).

My temple will consist of: Altar Room (t5), Inner Hall (t3), Outer Hall (t1), Storage Room (t2), and a Prayer Room (t4).

Rolling a 1d20, I get a “17” and find the shrine is dedicated to a “demonic being”, awesome. This seems like a cool theme for the 1st level of my underworld. I then roll another 1d20 and with a result of “2” find that the temple is dedicated to a god of stability. We have some conflict already on the 1st level.

Next I mapped out both structures, note that I have separate entries for both and both have further exits into the rest of the first level of my underworld.

Next, I plan to flesh out the rest of level 1 and begin stocking the level. Stay tuned.



Friday, August 5, 2011

So much Empire of The Petal Throne goodness...

So last night I got to play in Hill Canton's Empire of the Petal Throne game on google+ (and had a blast). Today I got my latest shipment from Noble Knight Games... awesomenicity.


Friday, July 29, 2011

Working on a new map.


Big lake, will eventually have many islands. So far I don't hate it.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Not a bad test score, I guess..

MIke Davison took the Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World and got 50%!



You are a Gary Gygax Swashbuckler. You are cunning in the ways of Gary Gygax. You've probably been to Gen Con once or twice, and if I searched your house, I bet I'd find a Gary Gygax autograph, a humorous D&D-related T-shirt, and/or a stack of Dragon magazines.

Paladin Code: You completed this quiz without using Google.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Drums in the deep.

Well it only took me 6 months after we moved into our new home, but I finally got me drums set up in my basement game room. Now I have Dungeons, Dragons, and drums....

Friday, July 8, 2011

Inspiration strikes!

Scott has been posting about his Dwarf-Land campaign lately and it looks awesome. Me, I have been re-reading The Hobbit along with The History of the Hobbit (Part 1 - Mr. Baggins) and well when I saw this post at Scott's blog - I knew I had to draw my own Outdoor Survival Map. I have never owned the Avalon Hill game, but I found a good quality picture of the map online and went straight to work on one of the blank Judges' Guild map sheets I had (the last one actually - I and just reordered a few from Noble Knight Games).  So here is my latest hand drawn map (I am not too pleased with my art here, but it is a good working map for now).



I am using the 3 LBB to stock the map and have made some tweaks to the table for determining who lives in the castle as seen below (I wanted to have more demi-human types around). I want a setting more like early middle-earth, except more Hobbits. I want Tolkien mixed with H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. (Greedy, I want it all).

RANDOM CASTLE OCCUPANTS
d6   CASTLE OCCUPANT  
1    Men      
2    Men       
3    Men      
4    Demi-human  
5    Demi-human 
6    Demi-human  

d6   MEN SUBTABLE
1    Lord
2    Superhero
3    Wizard
4    Necromancer
5    Patriarch
6    Evil High Priest

d6   DEMIHUMAN SUBTABLE
1    Halfling Hero
2    Halfling Hero
3    Dwarf Myrmidon
4    Dwarf Myrmidon
5    Elf Hero-Warlock
6    Elf Hero-Warlock


I have completed the rolls for each castle, here are the results (some have already been named):


SETTLEMENTS
-    TOWNS
0118 Westfold (men)
1917 Loudwater (men)
2313 town
2317 town
2323 town
2717 town
4317 Eastwatch (men)

-    CASTLES & HOLDFASTS
0824 Fane of the Fiery Eye – Evil High Priest
0930 Castle – men - patriarch
1014 Castle – dwarf – myrmidon
1117 castle – men - wizard
1211 castle – elf – hero/warlock
1305 castle – elf – hero/warlock
1408 castle – Halfling - hero
1831 castle – men - patriarch
1922 Hob’s Shire – Halfling - hero
2128 castle – men - wizard
2205 castle – Halfling - hero
2232 castle – men - lord
2308 castle – Halfling - hero
2424 castle – elf – hero/warlock
2510 castle – dwarf - myrmidon
2703 castle – elf – hero/warlock
2719 castle – men - lord
2806 castle – men - patriarch
2928 castle – elf – hero/warlock
3332 castle – elf – hero/warlock
3414 castle – hafling - hero
3626 castle – dwarf - myrmidon
4120 Bastion of Belegore the Undying - necromancer
4202 castle – dwarf - myrmidon

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

I'm still alive!

It has been a busy summer between work and time with the family, but I am still here and checking out the blogs. I expect to start posting in the next couple of weeks again.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

My latest haul from Noble Knight Games....






Eager to try out my latest catch, I rolled up my first Tunnels & Trolls character for his turn in the Arena of Khazan...

Z'al Baaz (Human/Warrior)
ST 10  CON 7
IQ 10  DEX 11
LK 11  CHR 9
Personal Adds (Melee): +/-0
Ht: 6'1" / Wt. 200 lbs

Z'al was captured by slavers and sold to the arena... his story to follow.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

My own dice bowl...

Saw this over at breeyark's blog, so I had to make one myself....

















need to find a better way to cut the felt - mine is not quite circular.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

So I fell off the bandwagon...

I did well for the fist week or so of the A to Z challenge, but I couldn't keep the pace. My apologies. Hopefully I can start posting some regular content again in the next few days...

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

April A to Z: J is for Just Because...

Just because it is my birthday, I am taking a day off of the challenge. : )

Cheers.

Monday, April 11, 2011

April A to Z: I is for Imagery

Today's post is a complete cheat of the A to Z challenge, too busy with work and "I" is stumping me. So, we go with Imagery. No game should go without lots of good imagery from the DM. Good descriptions and words taken from good pulp writers can help that immensely. I suggest of course the staples R.E. Howard, C.A. Smith, and of course H.P. Lovecraft to start. Good examples can be found online, so without further delay - and to give you something worthwhile to read today, I give you two examples of great stories with links to them for your online reading pleasure. I hope to be back on track tomorrow with "J".

From "The Charnel God" by C.A. Smith (can be found here).

"Mordiggian is the god of Zul-Bha-Sair," said the innkeeper with unctuous solemnity. "He has been the god from years that are lost to man's memory in shadow deeper than the subterranes of his black temple. There is no other god in Zul-Bha-Sair. And all who die within the walls of the city are sacred to Mordiggian. Even the kings and the optimates, at death, are delivered into the hands of his muffled priests. It is the law and the custom. A little while, and the priests will come for your bride."

"But Elaith is not dead," protested the youth Phariom for the third or fourth time, in piteous desperation. "Her malady is one that assumes the lying likeness of death. Twice before has she lain insensible, with a pallor upon her cheeks and a stillness in her very blood, that could hardly be distinguished from those of the tomb; and twice she has awakened after an interim of days."
The innkeeper peered with an air of ponderous unbelief at the girl who lay white and motionless as a mown lily on the bed in the poorly furnished attic chamber.

"In that case you should not have brought her into Zul-Bha-Sair," he averred in a tone of owlish irony. "The physician has pronounced her dead; and her death has been reported to the priests. She must go to the temple of Mordiggian."

"But we are outlanders, guests of a night. We have come from the land of Xylac, far in the north; and this morning we should have gone on through Tasuun, toward Pharaad, the capital of Yoros, which lies near to the southern sea. Surely your god could have no claim upon Elaith, even if she were truly dead."

"All who die in Zul-Bha-Sair are the property of Mordiggian," insisted the taverner sententiously. "Outlanders are not exempt. The dark maw of his temple yawns eternally, and no man, no child, no woman, throughout the years, has evaded its yawning. All mortal flesh must become, in due time, the provender of the god."
Phariom shuddered at the oily and portentous declaration.
- - - -


From "Gods of the North" (aka: "The Frost Giant's Daughter")  by R.E. Howard (can be found here).

The clangor of the swords had died away, the shouting of the slaughter was hushed; silence lay on the red-stained snow. The bleak pale sun that glittered so blindingly from the ice-fields and the snow-covered plains struck sheens of silver from rent corselet and broken blade, where the dead lay as they had fallen. The nerveless hand yet gripped the broken hilt; helmeted heads back-drawn in the death-throes, tilted red beards and golden beards grimly upward, as if in last invocation to Ymir the frost-giant, god of a warrior-race.

Across the red drifts and mail-clad forms, two figures glared at each other. In that utter desolation only they moved. The frosty sky was over them, the white illimitable plain around them, the dead men at their feet. Slowly through the corpses they came, as ghosts might come to a tryst through the shambles of a dead world. In the brooding silence they stood face to face.

Both were tall men, built like tigers. Their shields were gone, their corselets battered and dinted. Blood dried on their mail; their swords were stained red. Their horned helmets showed the marks of fierce strokes. One was beardless and black­maned. The locks and beard of the other were red as the blood on the sunlit snow.

"Man," said he, "tell me your name, so that my brothers in Vanaheim may know who was the last of Wulfhere's band to fall before the sword of Heimdul."

"Not in Vanaheim," growled the black-haired warrior, "but in Valhalla will you tell your brothers that you met Conan of Cimmeria."

Heimdul roared and leaped, and his sword flashed in deathly arc. Conan staggered and his vision was filled with red sparks as the singing blade crashed on his helmet, shivering into bits of blue fire. But as he reeled he thrust with all the power of his broad shoulders behind the humming blade. The sharp point tore through brass scales and bones and heart, and the red-haired warrior died at Conan's feet.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

April A to Z: H is for Humanoids

I chose not to use the typical Tolkien or D&D based humanoids as adversaries in my game. Typically encounters will be with humans. When humanoids are encountered they will be of the following variety:

Beast-Men: Beast men are genetic experiments from ages past that have survived and reproduced on their own in the wild. They are creatures of chaos, and they carry a hatred for humanity in their hearts for their miserable lot in life. They are represented by the stats for Gnolls from the Holmes edition. They are mostly animal headed (not restricted to dogs or jackals - could be goats, cats, etc) fur-covered humanoids. They are usually encountered in the Desert of the Dead Gods, though a few tribes have ventured farther afield to raid human and Sumalhi settlements. They rely on their thick hide for armor, though a few may scavenge armor taken from the dead. They fight with any weapons they can get their hands on. Each tribe has a shaman that leads them in their worship of ATUM'BOM the god of chaos and destruction of humanity.

Mutants: Mutants are the surviving members of humanity that were trapped in radiation filled zones after the collapse of the ancients. Their mutations stabilized after a few generations and were passed on to each surviving generation that followed. They are represented by Goblins, Orcs, Hobgoblins, Bugbears, and Ogres in my world. For every 20 encountered (regardless of type) one will be a "Wild Mutant", these wild mutants will have 1d6 unstable mutations (these can be determined by choosing spell effects to apply to the mutant or using your favorite Gamma World type game to generate a mutation for them). These mutants live in nomadic tribal groups, and some have ranged far beyond the Desert of the Dead Gods and may be encountered in practically any terrain. Some even reside in the slummier quarters of Ugarit and other city-states. They are treated as second class citizens by all however, which causes much resentment amongst the mutants. A recent cult (started by human sympathizers and lead by human high-priests) is very popular among the mutants, the Cult of CA'AMERKU the Avenger. This cult has inspired many mutants to rebel at their status in society and has caused some recent riots and violence in the upper city of Ugarit.

Friday, April 8, 2011

April A to Z: G is for Gnomes

After some consideration, I have changed course on the use of demi-humans in my setting. Though I plan to alter how they are used for this game, I will still allow some of them to be used. Today we will discuss Gnomes...

The Gnomes (called the Sumalhi in my game) reside in the foothills west of Ugarit in houses carved into the steep, rocky hillsides. They stand just under 4 feet tall with ruddy brown complexions and stark white hair (no beards). They are of slender builds and average under 120 pounds. Their eyes are black and pupil-less. They are decent fighters and especially resistant to magic (+4 to saves vs. magic) They have normal eyesight and no "infravison", though they can detect slanting passages, slopes, traps, shifting walls, and new construction 1/3 of the time underground. In addition They are renown healers and are adept herbalists, a Sumalhi can cast heal light wounds once per day (this is treated as an innate ability and not a spell). They advance as Fighting Men.

The Sumalhi were an ancient star-faring race before the time of isolation and a colony was founded on this planet during the height of Human Space.

In my game the Sumalhi will replace Dwarves as player characters.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

April A to Z: F is for Fane of the Ebon Drake

The Fane of the Ebon Drake is located on the 3rd sub-level of level 1 (not yet mapped) of the under-city of Ugarit. This natural cavern has an opening in the ruins of old Ugarit on the swampy shores of the Sea of Reeds (a flat flood plain that feeds into the Narrow sea south of the modern city).

The cult of the Ebon Drake has cleared out the adjoining halls to this cavern for use as their temple headquarters. It is here that the High-Priest Arkon resides. There is an abundant guard here as well to ensure none but cult members have access to this area.

The cave itself is home to DYR'KON the Black Dragon. He is a ancient, old drake (over 200 years old) and very intelligent. He allows the cult to reside here as they have proven useful in bringing him slaves and virgins to eat. In his old bloated form he is not eager to venture forth for his meals (though do not take this as a sign of weakness as he is still a cunning dragon). He has not ventured forth from his cave for near a decade now, and most folk think he has died (and believe the cult to be charlatans).

Wandering Monster Encounters Near the Fane of the Ebon Drake

  1: Giant Crocodiles (only in natural caves near water)
2-4: Temple Guards (3d6)
5-7: Temple Acolytes (2d4) with Temple Guards (2d4)
8-9: Temple Priest (2nd level) with (2d4) Temple Acolytes
 10: Hight Priest Arkon (3rd level) with 12 Temple Guards

Hight Priest Arkon (Cleric 3rd level, HP: 13, AC: 6, Spells: 2 1st level) He has leather armor and a ring of protection +1, a +1 dagger (called the Fang of Dyr'kon), and a scroll with Hold Person.
Temple Priests & Acolytes have 1 or 2 HD, and AC 7 as well with leather armor and daggers.

Temple Guards (Move 120'/turn, HD 1d6, HP 4, AC 7) Each has leather armor and short sword.
DYR'KON the Ebon Drake
   Move: 90'/turn or 240'/turn Flying
     HD: 8
     HP: 64
Attacks: Breath or 2 claws / 1 Bite
Damage: 1d6 claw, 4d6 bite or Acid 60'x'5 cone

(Note: My mission here is to use ONLY the Holmes Edition as a complete game, so no characters above 3rd level. Spells above 2nd level are only available via scrolls.)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

April A to Z: E is for Encounter Tables

As short post today, as I had a hard time coming up with a subject for "E". Not sure why I am sure there are a dozen or more topics I could have chosen for this letter but my brain was not cooperating with me today. So, I have outlined the level 1 wandering monster tables for the Under-City of Ugarit below.
 
Under-City Level 1 Master Table
1-3: Temple Sub Table
4-6: Undead Sub Table
7-9: Vermin Sub Table
 10: Special Sub Table

Under-City Level 1 (Temple Sub Table)
  1: Berserkers of Yamm (2d6)
2-4: Acolytes* (2d8)
5-7: Priest with Acolytes (2d4) and Guards (2d6)**
8-10:Temple Guards (2d6)

*Acolytes will be from one of any of the gods of Ugarit (or make up your own).
**Priest is a 3rd level Cleric in this case (along with 2d4 1st level clerics and 0 level guards).

Under-City Level 1 (Undead Sub Table)
1-2: Skeletons (3d4)
3-5: Zombies (2d4)
6-7: Ghouls (2d6)
  8: Wight
  9: Ghast
 10: Mummy

Under-City Level 1 (Vermin Sub Table)  
1-3: Giant Rats (3d6)
4-6: Giant Snakes (1d4)
7-8: Giant Spiders (1d6)
  9: Giant Centipedes (1d4)
 10: Giant Scorpions (1d3)

Under-City Level 1 (Special Sub Table)
 1-2: Adventuring Party (2d8)
 3-5: Thieves & Slavers (3d8)
   6: Escaped Slaves (1d10)
 7-8: Beast-men (3d6)
9-10: Mutants (3d6)

Monday, April 4, 2011

April A to Z: D is for Desert of the Dead Gods & The Lack of Demihumans

Desert of the Dead Gods

The city of Ugarit rests on the western edge of the Narrow Sea at the foot of the Sumalhi Hills. Beyond the Sumalhi hills lies the vast plain of the Desert of the Dead Gods. The land here was once the prosperous and vibrant land where the ancients had vast cities that dotted the plain. Now the plain is sun baked and fire blasted by weapons in ages lost to history. These weapons laid cities to waste and turned some areas of the land into black baked glass. The area is now home to numerous nomadic bands of mutants and beast-men who were rumored to be the slaves of the ancients. Few are brave or adventurous enough to explore these lands, but it is rumored that the ruins are littered with artifacts and treasures of the ancients that once lived here.

Encounters in the Desert of the Dead Gods:

1: Wild Dogs (3d12)

2: Ghouls (2d10)

3-5: Nomadic Tribe* (3d100)

6: Iron Golem (1)

7: Band of Adventurers** (3d4)

8: Giant Spitting Snake (1d3)

9: Giant Ants (2d100)

10-11: Giant Scorpions (2d4)

12: Blink Dogs (3d6)

*The Nomadic tribes will be either:

1-3: Mutant Humanoids (use the following creatures as the tribe members: Goblins, Bugbears, Hobgoblins, and Ogres - these are mutated humans or experiments of the ancients, their true origin is not known).

4-6: Beast-Men (use Gnolls as beast-men stats - the Beast-men are jackal headed humanoids that hunt the Desert of the Dead Gods looking for slaves and treasures).

**The Band of adventurers will be composed of the following:

2d4 Fighting Men

1d3 Magic-Users

1d4 Thieves

1d3 Clerics or Draala (1-2 = human cleric, 3 = draala)

2d6 Slaves / Porters carrying equipment

Demi-humans

The Ugarit campaign while using the Holmes edition and the Monster Manual, does NOT use Elves, Halflings, and Dwarves. Nor does it use any of the standard monster races (well not by name anyway). Some new character races will be introduced as substitutes for these races.

Draala

I will use the Draala (a very familiar race to players of Star Frontiers) in my game - this race was described in detail in the latest issue of Fight On! #11 written by Jason Vasche.

April A to Z: C is for Cults of Ugarit

In my Ugarit setting, clerics are not restricted to blunt weapons as some of the cults very much wish to shed blood for their gods. My clerics are restricted based on which cult they belong to. The city of Ugarit is considered the city of the Gods as all major cults have a base there (and make war for control of the under-city and it’s precious resources in artifacts).

There are many more cults than what I have described here but I provide a sample of some of the cults vying for control of Ugarit and the under-city.

Cult of Yamm – As mentioned in my “B” entry, the cult of Yamm is a very active (and aggressive) cult in the under-city. Yamm is the god of primordial chaos and represents the power of the sea, untamed and raging. His cult thrives on violence and are the most feared cult in the city. They have no presence in the above ground city of Ugarit as the other cults banded together to abolish their temple years ago, but they thrive in the under-city where it is much harder to root out secret temples. The priests of Yamm are not restricted to any melee weapons, however they cannot use missile weapons as they are seen as weak and unworthy of use.

Cult of the Ebon Wyrm – This cult reveres an ancient black dragon rumored to lair deep within the under-city. Some cult members make pilgrimages to the lower levels once a year in hopes of receiving special blessings from the fabled drake. Most cult members wear dark hooded cloaks and carry wicked curved daggers as a symbol of the wyrm’s fangs. Priests of the Ebon Wyrm cult can make use of short swords, daggers, and short bows in addition to clubs and maces.

Cult of the Virgin Spear - This cult reveres Anat the War Goddess. The followers of Anat are all females and must remain virgins until they have killed their first man in combat. So the cult of the Virgin Spear is composed of all the virgin followers of Anat that have yet to kill in battle. The priests of the Virgin Spear are able to use both spears and short swords in combat.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

April A to Z: B is for Berserkers of Yamm

The cult of Yamm has certain followers who ingest a sea moss found in caves along the coast of the Narrow sea. The moss, called "Yazeem" provides a euphoric feeling of invincibility and a heightened sense of awareness (a +2 to initiative rolls). These users of Yazeem are known as the Berserkers of Yamm. Their hands are stained green from their frequent use of the sea moss, and most dye their hair and beards green to match. They do not wear armor and employ a wide variety of melee weapons, none employ missile weapons.

A band of Berserkers of Yamm will typically number between 6-36 members, anytime a band of 12 or more are encountered, they will be lead by an Acolyte of Yamm (a 1st or 2nd level cleric, roll d6, 1-4 1st level, 5-6 2nd level). These acolytes will also have dyed hair and green stained hands (though their stains are from administering the Yazeem to their party rather than ingesting it themselves). Most often these bands are out hunting out other cults or searching for slaves.

Berserker of Yamm
Move: 240 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 hit point
Armor Class: 9
Treasure: 3d8 coppers
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Attacks: 1
Damage: By weapon

Acolyte of Yamm (1st level)
Move: 120 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 1d6
Armor Class: 7
Treasure: 3d8 silver
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Attacks: 1
Damage: By Weapon

Acolyte of Yamm (2nd level)
Move: 120 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 2d6
Armor Class: 7
Treasure: 3d6 gold
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Attacks: 1
Damage: By Weapon
Magic: 1 1st level spell

Friday, April 1, 2011

April A to Z: A is for Acolytes of Ugarit


For my first installment of A to Z April, I present to you six NPC clerics for the Holmes edition of my Ugarit setting. These clerics could be potential allies or adversaries in the ancient-under city of Ugarit. The ancient under-city has numerous temples to the various cults found within the city walls of Ugarit. Each cult vies for control of more and more territory of the under-city. There are priceless artifacts from the forgotten age hidden amongst the ruins of the ancient city.

The city of Ugarit has been inhabited since the time of founding some 60,000 years ago and has survived massive devastation and countless empires only to be built again atop the ruins. There are many layers to the under-city each inhabited by cults and creatures that have retreated from the blinding sun of the arid world above.

AKKOR - Acolyte of Hadad (1st Level Cleric)
[STR 16, INT 8, CON 9, WIS 12, DEX 6, CHA 13, AC 6, HP 5]
Equipment: Leather armor, shield, mace, small pouch containing 14gp, small vial of holy water in leather pouch worn around his neck.

Akkor is a brute of a man, though slow witted and fat, he is as strong as a bull and easy to get along with. He enjoys a good laugh and can drink most under the table.

BASHERA - Acolyte of Anat (1st Level Cleric)
[STR 11, INT 10, CON 13, WIS 14, DEX 9, CHA 9, AC 4, HP 5]
Equipment: Mail, shield, mace, small pouch containing 6gp, copper arm band worn as symbol of martial strength on right arm

Bashera is a fiercely independent priestess of Anat the war goddess. She thrives on violence and likes to compose poetry of her battle glories to recite afterwards. She takes offense at those who mock or scoff her poetry. When not fighting or working on poetry, she tends to be quiet and sullen. Bashera is tall and fair.

JESHEM - Acolyte of Yamm (1st Level Cleric)
[STR 10, INT 14, CON 8, WIS 13, DEX 11, CHA 7, AC 7, HP 4]
Equipment: Leather armor, club, small pouch with 12gp, dagger, small holy symbol* worn on leather thong around neck

*The holy symbol of Yamm is a round, bronze disk with a wave symbol cutting through the center (~).

Jeshem is a wicked, cunning young priest. He has a keen eye for potential slaves and will not hesitate to take those he considers weak and sell them into slavery. He is somewhat paranoid and will trust no one fully. (Nor should they trust him!) Jeshem is short, lean, and wiry. As is the custom for cultists of Yamm, Jeshem’s hair is dyed green as his is short-cropped beard.


NYKO – Acolyite of Ea (2nd Level Cleric)
[STR 8, INT 14, CON 9, WIS 14, DEX 8, CHA 11, AC 9, HP 8]
Spells: 1 1st level spell
Equipment: no armor, small pouch containing 16gp, copper wrist band, wooden staff carved with cuneiform script (as symbol of Ea, go of knowledge)

Nyko is an aloof, sage-like priest. His knowledge is immense as is his ego. He can recite histories, poems, and sagas of all cultures and religions. He is tall, lean and bald.

TULEK – Acolyte of Shalim (2nd Level Cleric)
[STR 10, INT 9, CON 13, WIS 11, DEX 13, CHA 8, AC 7, HP 10]
Spells: 1 1st level spell
Equipment: Leather armor, hooded cloak, club, small pouch containing 14gp, copper ring with onyx stone (worth 5gp, symbol of Shalim god of Dusk).

Tulek is a man of little words. His devotion to Shalim (god of Dusk and Assassins) has given him the skills to work quickly and quietly. He is small, and of dark hair and complexion.

ULMAC – Acolyte of Ashima (2nd Level Cleric)
[STR 10, INT 10, CON 9, WIS 17, DEX 10, CHA 12, AC 7, HP 9]
Spells: 1 1st level spell
Equipment: Leather armor, club, small pouch containing 10gp, 2 knuckle bone dice in leather pouch worn on thong around his neck.

Ulmac is a boisterous, jolly soul. He casts his dice (fates) for those that ask (and that supply him a few coppers for his troubles). He is quick to point out that Ashima is fickle and nothing is carved in stone until it has come to pass. He is tall and barrel chested with a bald head and red beard.

The pdf of these NPCs can be found here and in my download sidebar.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Road trip!

I am off for the next 4 days, so I am off to Nashville for the weekend. Never fear about my A to Z challenge, I have already written my "A" and "B" posts and will be posting them from my hotel room (how lame am I?). Looking forward to this trip and the month of A to Z posts too.

For all my fellow OSR bloggers taking the challenge good luck & have fun!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

More on my DoomQuest hack.

I am still looking at the DoomQuest hack in Fight On! #11, and playing around with the mechanics. I think there is a really cool minimalist game here and I am glad to see I am not the only one enjoying this.

I have changed the format of armor in DoomQuest. While I love the way RuneQuest armor works, it slows combat down and I want something more abstract like D&D combat. So, taking my current love of abstract armor to work with any historical/fantasy like setting, I used the Fields of Glory armor classification again for this hack. We have 4 armor categories: Unprotected, Protected, Armored, and Heavily Armored. Each category provides an Absorption rating and an encumbrance rating, as well as determining your move rate.

So I have given the values as below:

Unprotected (U): AP 0 / ENC 0 / MV 12"
Protected (P): AP 3 / ENC 6 / MV 9"
Armored (A): AP 5 / ENC 10 / MV 7"
Heavily Armored (H): AP 7 / ENC 14 / MV 5"

Again, it is up to the players and the GM to determine what makes up each of the categories. I would suggest light armor (such as quilted, padded, or leather) or shield only as protected. Shield & light armor for Armored, and shield and heavy armor for heavily armored (such as mail and plate).

I have stated up a few Monsters / NPCs with these rules and here is a ghoul and a wight as examples:

Ghoul (eater of the dead)
sword: 14 / sorcery: 6 / social: -
enc: 22 / move 9" / Xp Value: 140
Armor: 3 (P) / HP 7 / attack: claw (d8)
special: -

Barrow Wight (dead noble wearing armor buried in)
sword: 12 / sorcery: 16 / social: -
enc: 18 / move 7" / Xp Value: 160
Armor: 7 (H) / hp 24 / Attack: weapon (d6)
Spells: Fear, Befuddle, Death Touch
Special: Can only be harmed by magic weapons & spells.

Monday, March 28, 2011

My A to Z schedule (well A to D at least)


While initially I had intended to blog about Ugarit for my A to Z challenge, I think I will instead blog about the Holmes edition of Dungeons & Dragons and how I plan to use that as a “complete” game for my mega-dungeon campaign using Ugarit as my backdrop. So I will still reveal bits and pieces of Ugarit while also talking about my favorite edition of Basic D&D.

Here is my current list of blog topics:

Friday Apr 1st: A – Six Acolytes of Ugarit (6 cleric NPCs)

Saturday Apr 2nd: B – Band of Berserkers (an encounter with berserkers of Yamm)

Monday Apr 4rd: C – Cult of Yamm (detailing the chaos god Yamm)

Tuesday Apr 5th: D - Dwarves of Ugarit

Of course with my ADD the above is subject to change (well except for A, which is already written). :)