Coffee Set of Ghantr-Ooon [OD&D] [Magic Item]

This collection of five plain-looking bronze cups has no handles or ornament other than a single band of differing material around the circumference, 1” in width. These coloured bands each sport a different icon as described below. Accompanying these is a grinder made of dark wood with complex cog apparatus, spinning handle and a removable lid. Alongside this is a copper jug with plunger lid to strain and pour liquids.

Grinding the reagent pictured on any one of the bands, then brewing the resultant powder using the copper flask and 1/5 of a waterskin of boiling water will produce the following one dose of brews when poured into the corresponding cup.

Grinding anything other than depicted reagents in the grinder causes a horrible clanking sound (and see Other below).

The colour of the steaming brew produced is the opposite colour to the colour of the band of the cup’s reagent (refer to a colour wheel). Unless a duration is specified, treat as potions that must be drunk immediately while hot, or they revert to clear water.

Ivory / White / A Tooth / makes a black brew

Gives the ability to breathe one cloud of black vapour that will dissolve 10’ of stone, but then inflicts extreme dizziness for 1d6 turns. It has no other effect on flesh or wood.

Azurite / Blue / An Insect / makes a neon orange brew
Produces an intense itching inside the brain pan of the drinker that persists for a turn if they Save Vs Poison, or a day if not. Depending on circumstances this is deleterious to concentration in combat, and if the drinker’s HP fall to ¼ or less, acts as a failed save against a Confusion spell.

Amber / Yellow-ish Orange / An Eyeball / makes a blue brew

Allows the drinker to blast bolts of blue energy from their eyes as a ranged weapon (50’) causing 2d6 damage per hit. The effect lasts for 1 turn.

Jade / Deep Green / A Fresh Fingertip / makes a red brew

In melee, successful strikes from the drinker cause a rattling blow straight to the skeletal structure of their opponents (including chitinous plates and the like). Roll 1d3 once when drunk – this is the amount of extra damage caused by strikes from the opponent for the duration. No effect on non-skeletal frames.

Peridot / Lime Green / A Frog / makes a violet brew

Allows the drinker jumping abilities as Boots of Travelling and Leaping. Provided the drinker is unarmoured, they can also breathe underwater.

Other

If a brew produced by anything other than the reagent pictured is poured into a cup, a noxious smelling black foam pours out of the cup, destroying it and attacking any nearby as a Grey Ooze for 1d6 rounds and consuming 5 charges.

The coffee set has d100 charges when found, and correctly preparing any one brew consumes a single charge. Once all charges are used, the set appears ancient, sadly dented and forgettable. The complete set, intact with all bands undamaged, is worth 2500gp on the open market, but Magic-Users of Alchemists will be aware that the actual value is nearer to 8000gp if charges remain.

Ghantr-Ooon was a hag known throughout the Southern Crustlands for her cruelty and abduction of children. Her downfall came about when she was ambushed and hanged by a rope of hair made from unicorn pelt by the hero The Nauseous Chanter.

[OD&D] The Scorching Gantlet (UD-1) module released!

 

I've just released a new adventure for OD&D type rulesets, The Scorching Gantlet. Don't @ me about that spelling!

This is a very brutal 'escape the dungeon' style adventure where the PCs have their equipment confiscated and must escape with their lives from an evil fire giant's labyrinth. It's best suited to 6-8 players of around 2nd level and contains 38 rooms over 2 levels. Old-school, borderline funhouse stuff!

It's available to purchase on DrivethruRPG and on Itch.io, with plenty of free community copies at the latter if you can't or don't wish to pay for it.

From the blurb: 

Run the Gantlet of Farradok!

Imprisoned by a sadistic fire giant and stripped of their weapons and equipment, the adventuring party must escape from the fiery labyrinths beneath his court - but it won't be easy. His three evil champions and retinue of hobgoblins have also joined the game...

The Scorching Gantlet is a punishing old-school dungeon crammed with evil traps, monsters and puzzles - players will need to be resourceful, hardy and brave as they scrounge and solve their way to the surface.

 This dungeon will (hopefully) be the first in what I hope is a series of lo-fi offerings with a DIY spirit, that don't sacrifice solid craftsmanship. Have fun!

[OD&D] Fragile Gothic Protagonist Character Class

Totally un-play tested and just something for a bit of fun. Primarily inspired by Emily St Aubert from The Mysteries of Udolpho, though a Neutral/Chaotic aligned example might be someone like Fuschia from the Gormenghast books.

Fragile Gothic Protagonist

Prime Requisite: CHA

Gothic Protagonists attack as Magic Users and roll Saving Throws as Clerics. They are restricted to human characters only. Their STR and CON scores are restricted to a maximum of 9 points - simply reduce to 9 if these scores are higher and the class is selected for play. They receive a +2 Loyalty bonus from hirelings and henchmen. 

They are unable to use armour of any kind and the only weapon they may wield is a Dagger which must be used at close quarters rather than thrown.

With respect to magic items, Gothic Protagonists are restricted to the use of Wands, Rings, Potions and Clerical Scrolls. They may read Treasure Maps without the use of a Read Magic spell and may re-roll Lost checks in the wilderness when following them.

Darkness and Fainting

Gothic Protagonists lose 1d6hp/turn if they are ever in total darkness. Upon witnessing scenes of death, horror, mutilation or peril, they must roll a Saving Throw vs Death Ray or fall into a faint for 1d3 turns.

Natural Grandeur

At character creation the player chooses one of the terrain types (with the exception of Swamps) from Book III pg 18 to be the character's Natural Grandeur, which they have a particular love and/or awe of.

During rest periods (only) Gothic Protagonists can recover HP at triple the usual rate specificed in Book III pg 35 if they are in a situation where they can appreciate sublime views of their chosen Natural Grandeur. Note that knowledge of nearby monster habitats or terrible tragedy will negate Natural Grandeur.

Abilities

Gothic Protagonists also:
Hear Noise on 1-3.
Hide in Shadows on 1-2.
Find Secret Doors on 1-5 (with the ability to 'sense' secret doors as an Elf on a 1-3)

Strongholds

At name level, Gothic Protagonists may inherit a castle, mansion or stronghold, or perhaps be gifted one by a smitten (or duplicitous) NPC. Naturally this should come with many dark secrets, hidden chambers and terrible consequences.

Predicaments

Upon reaching 0hp, a d6 is rolled. If it falls within the Predicament range indicated for their level, the Gothic Protagonist is not necessarily killed, but rather finds themself in a Predicament. Roll on the Predicament table to determine exactly which.

1 The character is captured by the ruler of the nearest Castle on the wilderness map. The ruler's alignment will determine subsequent plans for the captive.

2 The character is captured by humanoid monsters or bandits. Refer to dungeon denizens or lairs on the wilderness map as appropriate.

3 The character falls under a delusional effect akin to Charm Person with regard to a prominent NPC as determined by the referee - undertaking no actions but to seek out and throw themselves at the NPC's feet. This can only be broken by a Remove Curse spell cast by at least a Bishop.

4 The character falls into a permanent oceanic swoon. This can only be broken by a Remove Curse or Dispel Magic spell cast by a Patriarch or Wizard, respectively.

5 The character's immune system fails them and they remain bedridden, given to feverish and potentially prophetic dreams. Cure Disease can only alleviate this for 1d3 days at a time.

6 The protagonist becomes a ghost which haunts the remaining adventurers. The haunting can occur 1d6 times before the ghost succumbs to the ether. 

Gothic Protagonist Level Advancement

Level / Title / XP / Predicament

1 / Waif / 0 / 1
2 / Weeper / 2200 / 1
3 / Wisp / 4400 / 1-2
4 / Woebegone / 8800 / 1-2
5 / Wanderer / 17600 / 1-2
6 / Whisperer / 35200 / 1-3
7 / Protagonist / 70400 / 1-3

[OD&D] Preloaded Spells for NPC Spellcasters

As mentioned in my last post, one of the main things that puts me on the backfoot when running OD&D is having classed NPC groups appear as wandering monsters. They're a crucial part of the feel of this edition of the game. They reinforce the fact that your classed PCs are not unique, and keep the stakes high by potentially having the party's own abilities come into play against them. 

Yet it's undeniable that they come with admin which can feel like 'cheating' if you wing it. Chief among these admin issues is which spells an NPC spellcaster might have memorised (or perhaps in their spellbook - though for this post I'm assuming the former). This gives me analysis paralysis in prep, and feels wrong to handwave during play.

Vapourising a PC party because an NPC party has fireballs feels like something that should always be a threat, but not something that happened because of an ill-considered whim of the Dungeon Master. So I cobbled together this system to determine what they're packin'.

First I roll to see the type of spell preloads the NPCs will have. These preloads only roughly determine the spellcaster's arsenal. Think of them of the 'flavour' of spellcaster.

Then I roll a d4 or d3 as appropriate on each Spell Level (SL) row until the spellcaster's slots for their level are accounted for.

SPELL PRELOAD TYPE

	Magic Users (d4)	Cleric (d3)
1	Major Offensive	Offensive
2	Minor Offensive	Utility
3	Utility	Esoteric
4	Esoteric	/

MAGIC USER: MAJOR OFFENSIVE

	1	2	3	4
SL1	Sleep	Charm Person	Hold Portal	Read Magic
SL2	Knock	Detect Invisible	ESP	Locate Object
SL3	Fireball	Lightning Bolt	Hold Person	Protection / Normal Missiles
SL4	Wall of Fire or Ice (50%)	Polymorph Others	Polymorph Self	/
SL5	Cloudkill	Conjure Elemental	Teleport	/

MAGIC USER: MINOR OFFENSIVE

	1	2	3	4
SL1	Charm Person	Sleep	Detect Magic	Hold Portal
SL2	Detect Invisible	Knock	Invisibility	Detect Evil
SL3	Hold Person	Protection / Normal Missiles	Lightning Bolt	Slow Spell
SL4	Confusion	Hallucinatory Terrain	Passwall	/
SL5	Feeblemind	Animate Dead	Wall of Stone	/

MAGIC USER: UTILITY

	1	2	3	4
SL1	Detect Magic	Light	Hold Portal	Read Magic
SL2	Levitate	Knock	Locate Object	Phantasmal Forces
SL3	Clairvoyance	Water Breathing	Dispel Magic	Fly
SL4	Massmorph	Polymorph Self	Growth / Plant	/
SL5	Transmute Rock To Mud	Telekinesis	Animate Dead	/

MAGIC USER: ESOTERIC

	1	2	3	4
SL1	Charm Person	Sleep	Protection/Evil	Read Magic
SL2	ESP	Continual Light	Locate Object	Wizard Lock
SL3	Fly	Dispel Magic	Haste Spell	Hold Person
SL4	Polymorph Self	Dimension Door	Remove Curse	/
SL5	Magic Jar	Contact Higher Plane	Teleport	/

CLERIC: OFFENSIVE

	1	2	3	4
SL1	Protection / Evil*	Cure Light Wounds*	Light*	Cure Light Wounds*
SL2	Hold Person	Bless*	Find Traps	Bless*
SL3	Continual Light*	Cure Disease*	Continual Light*	Locate Object
SL4	Cure Serious Wounds*	Prot/Evil 10'*	Cure Serious Wounds*	Sticks To Snakes
SL5	Raise Dead*	Dispel Evil*	Insect Plague	Raise Dead*

CLERIC: UTILITY

	1	2	3	4
SL1	Detect Magic	Cure Light Wounds*	Purify Food / Water	Light*
SL2	Find Traps	Speak w / Animals	Bless*	Hold Person
SL3	Remove Curse	Cure Disease*	Locate Object	Continual Light*
SL4	Neutralize Poison	Create Water	Speak w / Plants	Protection / Evil 10'*
SL5	Create Food	Commune	Quest	Dispel Evil*

CLERIC: ESOTERIC

	1	2	3	4
SL1	Detect Magic	Purify Food/Water*	Detect Evil*	Protection / Evil*
SL2	Find Traps	Hold Person	Bless*	Speak w / Animals
SL3	Remove Curse	Locate Object	Cure Disease*	Locate Object
SL4	Speak w / Plants	Neutralize Poison	Speak w / Plants	Sticks To Snakes
SL5	Create Food	Raise Dead	Commune	Quest

 

As always when I'm talking about OD&D, I'm referring to the 3LBB and so only spells from Men & Magic will be referenced here. You also won't see 6th level spells here because the highest level MU on the OD&D wandering monster chart is Wizards, which I interpreted literally as being 'only' 11th level spellcasters. Also, have used '/' as re-rolls for Magic Users, but have added duplicate entries for several Cleric spells to increase the likelihood of them turning up (such as with Cure X Wounds).

Also I assume Chaotic Clerics are always carrying the reversed versions of spells marked *

[OD&D] Classed NPC Motivation Tables in the Megadungeon

One of the things I've found myself briefly panicked by when refereeing OD&D is the (very frequent) occurrence of classed NPCs appearing as wandering monsters. For some reason I have found this very hard to riff with in a way that adds colour to my campaign, and with the OD&D assumption that there's plenty of other movers and shakers apart from the PC party in the megadungeon, it's not something I wanted to find myself flat-footed with again. Players can tell!

As such, I've bashed together this quick set of tables for use when you suddenly have to decide what that group of Theurgists or Conjurers is doing in the megadungeon.

• Neutral groups should be rolled for once.
• Lawful groups roll twice and pick the most righteous
• Chaotic types roll twice and pick the most crazy.

Next up I will be sharing the random tables I have created for the other hard-to-improv sticking point with these guys, specifically which spells Magic Users are carting around.

1d8	Fighters	Magic Users	Clerics
1	Training	Research	Proselytize (20% fanatics)
2	Territory	Experimentation	Plunder
3	Treasure	Reagent/Item	Worship/Ritual
4	Slay	Treasure	Territory
5	Escaping	Rivalry	Crusade (15% schism)
6	Lost (or Befuddled)	Exploration	Avatar(s) of deity
7	Messengers	Lost/Befuddled	Lost/Befuddled
8	Quest (20% Geas)	Quest (10% Geas)	Quest (5% Geas)