There are still some seats available in The Arwich Grinder, and one in The Dread God Al-Khazadar. I intend to be there in person!
Saturday, 19 February 2022
Thursday, 16 December 2021
Holiday Posts
Looking for something to spice up an adventure this holiday season? Look no further! Well, okay, you may have to look a bit further...but here's a start.
Last Updated 16 August 2024
Father's Day
Halloween
Keeper of the Seven Keys (Part I)
Keeper of the Seven Keys (Part II)
Thanksgiving
Yukon Cornelius, Warrior of the North
This Yuletide: Beware the Bumble!
The Great Intelligence Wishes You a Merry Christmas
Happy Holidays from the Laser Snowmen!
Yukon Cornelius, Warrior of the North
Yukon Cornelius is a prospector in the far north, possessed of great courage, daring, and northern lore.
Yukon Cornelius has a pack of unlikely and mismatched miniature dogs. Although none are appropriate to pulling a sled, they are nonetheless able to do so. One is a Saint Bernard, which carries a potion of healing (2 HD) in a small keg. These dogs are AC 14 and have 6 hp each. They have no effective attacks, apart from yapping at foes and cowering behind Yukon Cornelius. These dogs can made a collective attack roll (with a +4 bonus) once per game session. If they succeed, they do no damage, but instead allow Yukon Cornelius to re-roll a failed Deed Die. Regardless of the result of the second roll, Yukon Cornelius must abide by it.
Wednesday, 15 December 2021
The Brightest Smiles For Christmas Come From the....
Elf Dentist
Why are you such a misfit? Far from being a nitwit, you quit from being an ordinary elf. Magic is not for you - except the magic of good dental hygiene and a bright smile filled with straight teeth.
Hit points: An elf dentist gains 1d6 hit points at each level.
Weapon training: An elf dentist is trained in the use of tooth extractors, which look a lot like large pliers, as well as other instruments of dentistry. If used as weapons, these do 1d6 damage. Working with these tools, as well as various dental amalgams and braces, has eradicated all sensitivity to iron from these elves. They can use any armor, but the armor check penalty is applied to their attempts at dentistry.
Alignment: Elf dentists are almost always Neutral, happy to provide their services to paladin and bumble alike. Some are Lawful.
Very few are Chaotic, and the dentistry of these elves give children nightmares.
Magic: Elves practice arcane magic, but elf dentists give up all that. They gain no spells.
Infravision: An elf dentist can see in the dark up to 60’.
Immunities: Elf dentists are immune to magical sleep, paralysis, and cavities.
Heightened Senses: Elves are astute and observant. All elf dentists receive a +4 bonus to detect impacted molars, cavities, and damaged teeth.
Luck: Elf dentists apply their starting Luck modifier to rolls for hit points. That modifier does not change as the elf dentist’s Luck score changes.
Languages: At 1st-level, an elf dentist automatically knows Common, the elven racial language, and one other language. An elf dentist knows one additional language for every point of Int modifier. Additional languages are randomly determined as specified in Appendix L, as though they were ordinary elves.
Action dice: An elf dentist’s action dice can be used for attacks or skill checks at any level.
Mighty Deed of Dentistry: Elf dentists earn their keep by working on the teeth of others. They pull fangs, perform root canals, and fill cavities. Prior to any attack roll, or as a skill check, an elf dentist can declare a Mighty Deed of Dentistry. This works much as does a Warrior's Mighty Deed of Arms, but it only extracts teeth or schedules a dental appointment.
The Dental Die does not add to attack or damage, but determines the number of teeth removed with a successful attack...or the number of days to the target's next dental appointment. A Will save (DC equal to Skill Check plus Dental Die result) is required to miss the appointment. For most creatures, every 3 teeth removed reduces bite damage by -1d on the dice chain.
1 - Misfit
2 - Hygienist
3 - Apprenticed Dentist
4 - Dentist
5 - Master Dentist
Saturday, 11 December 2021
This Yuletide: Beware the Bumble!
These hairy creatures are reasonably intelligent, ape-like giants who dwell in the far north. Their favorite food is reindeer, although they will eat any meat. Their superior sense of smell, hearing, and sight, allow them to track potential meals with almost supernatural skill. Fortunately, they are unable to swim, and will be stopped by any body of wide, deep water.
If a bumble hits with its claw, it grabs its opponent unless they succeed in an opposed Strength check vs. +8. The victim is then subject to the bumble's bite attack until it can get free.
Humbled Bumble: There are stories of bumbles who, having had their teeth removed, become tractable because they can no longer hunt sufficiently. A humbled bumble only does 1d3 damage as it gums creatures with its bite. It is far easier for such a bumble to trade services for shelter and food.
Friday, 10 December 2021
The Great Intelligence Wishes You a Merry Christmas!
Water molecules trapped in crystalline form, capable of reading minds, intelligent snow is a form of programable matter from some distant world or plane. Molded by the thoughts of Dr. Simeon - genius or madman - they became devouring monsters with shark-like teeth made of ice.
A snowman created from intelligent snow is not only immune to cold damage, it is healed 1 hp for every die of damage such an attack would normally do. It takes twice normal damage from heat and fire. It has the power of instant formation, effectively using its Action Die to teleport from one location to another, usually attracted by thoughts or directed by some Great (and malevolent) Intelligence.
A PC facing an intelligent snow snowman can attempt to think it temporarily out of existence. To do this, the PC makes an opposed Will save against the snowman. If the snowman is being directly controlled by an Intelligence, the PC makes an opposed Will save against the controlling Intelligence instead. Success in either case prevents the snowman from reforming for 1d8 turns....although other snowman can use their instant formation ability to teleport to the same location.
It is even possible for PCs to attempt to wrest control over intelligent snow from whatever Great Intelligence currently controls it....but this would require an extended contest and is unlikely to succeed, especially if the controller has built up their dominance over years.
Without anyone to control it, intelligent snow eventually melts and becomes water. The water mixes with other water, dilutes, and becomes innocuous. A big enough reservoir of intelligent snow (or water), however, might become powerful enough that even a drop could dominate and transform a living creature, as happened on Mars in 2059.
Thursday, 9 December 2021
Happy Holidays From the Laser Snowmen!
These alien snowman come from some strange and cold alien world - possibly far Yuggoth, Ribos, Hoth, or some cold and frigid asteroid circling forever around a distant sun.
Although immune to cold damage, they take twice normal damage from fire. Laser snowmen are intelligent enough to follow even complex orders, but are themselves the servants of alien wizards or cold intelligences inhabiting distant worlds.
Despite appearances, laser snowmen are cybernetically enhanced living creatures with frigid slush moving slowly through their pale veins. A living being bold enough to place one of the snowman's black faceted eyes in an empty socket discovers that it grafts itself to flesh, providing sight and a laser beam attack to a 120 foot range. Any natural "1" on a laser eye attack, however, causes the eye to shatter (instead of other fumble attacks), inflicting 1d6 damage on the creature grafted to the eye. A Fort save (DC 15) is required, or the unfortunate character also permanently loses 1d3 points of Intelligence or Personality (50% chance of each), as shards of the black facets penetrate their brain.
Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Pulp Plants
The judge will also have to consider the effects of being a plant-based monster on Mighty Deeds and critical hits. It would not be a stretch to imagine that some of these do nothing, while others might have a reduced (or even enhanced!) effect. In many cases, the description of a plant creature should give the judge some guidance. In many cases, though, things are left to the interpretation of the person running the game. That is okay; you've got this. The rules bend to you, not the other way around.
It is also notable that, while most plants are immobile, plant monsters are often capable of a surprising range of mobility. Still, there is nothing wrong - and everything right! - with treating some plant monsters almost as hazards which are (literally) rooted to the spot!
Here are three plant monsters you can use in your home game. Note that, while these are inspired by the accompanying images, I did not take the actual text into account.
When standing still among green vegetation, walking kudzu is difficult to see, allowing it a +6 bonus to all attempts at hiding.
Its arm-like vine tendrils can grab creatures it hits, allowing it to hold onto them. Held creatures can attempt to escape with an opposed Strength check vs. +4
Why walking kudzu is interested in humanoids from the animal kingdom (including humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, etc.) is a question which is perhaps better not asked (or answered). If the walking kudzu is able to hold such a humanoid for a full 5 rounds, it will plant seeds within it. Without magical aid (1 HD of clerical healing is sufficient), these seeds germinate in 1d5 hours, doing 1d5 damage per turn thereafter. If a victim reaches 0 hp, what remains of it becomes the nucleus of a new walking kudzu. Don't let the illustration fool you; walking kudzu victimize all genders equally.
Note that a walking kudzu continues to regenerate even after being reduced to 0 hp. It just grows that fast. Even if fire or acid are used, there is a 50% chance that the walking kudzu will begin regenerating again after 1d5 hours. Even if that chance fails, the walking kudzu may begin to regenerate days, months, or even years later. Only if completely reduced to ash, disintegrated, or completely dissolved can an adventurer be certain that a walking kudzu will not return to life.
The giant predatory flower can lash out with two stamens, each capable of reaching as far as 30' away. A creature struck by a stamen in automatically captured unless it succeeds in Reflex save equal to the attack roll. Each round, a captured creature may attempt an opposed Strength check (against +6) to escape, and the giant predatory flower can bring prey 10' closer, eventually lifting them into its flower bell, where creatures are drowned within its mildly acidic juices. Climbing out of the flower is a DC 15 check, and each round that a creature spends within it must succeed in a DC 10 check to swim. Creatures failing this check (and most will, as they tire) take 1d6 temporary Stamina damage from drowning. This Stamina damage is fully restored if the creature gets 10 minutes access to air and rest.
Giant predatory flowers are often able to attack with surprise (1 in 3 chance). They capture animal prey, depositing each into their inverted-bell flowers before seeking additional prey. This allows the plant to gain vital nutrients it cannot easily obtain from the soil. Giant predatory flowers are essentially mindless, and cannot be trained, but they are sometimes planted by cruel and devious magicians who have other means to avoid their clutches.
The Venusian human trap is a nasty piece of work which moves slowly around the jungles of Venus, looking for prey. Its myriad tendrils pull it along, but can also grab prey. If a tendril hits, it holds on, requiring a DC 10 Strength or Agility check to escape. Each additional tendril increases the DC of the check by +2, so that a PC grabbed by three tendrils must succeed in a DC 14 check to escape. Each round that a victim remains in the tendrils, it is pulled 1d3' closer to the Venusian human trap's maw per tendril grabbing them.
A Venusian human trap can only "bite" creatures it has pulled into its space. A successful bite attack traps a victim within the plant, where they suffer 1d7 points of damage from digestive acids each round (Fort DC 15 for half). A trapped victim has a 50% chance of taking 1/2 damage each time the entrapping plant is successfully damaged. Worse, it requires a DC 20 Strength check to force open the maw of a living Venusian human trap to allow its victim to escape. The plant can only hold one victim at a time; once a victim is reduced to 0 hp, the plant requires an hour to complete digestion. Feel free to roll the body before this time is up; you might just get lucky!
See Also: Fungoid, Lorecaps; Mutated House Plant; Potted Plant; Siren Bush; Stinkdew; Varga Plant; Verdant Stalker; and Zephon.
Sunday, 7 November 2021
Empire of the Cyclops Con Debrief
Over the course of the convention, I managed to run three adventures, take a couple of quick sojourns into Gather Town, and spend at least a little while at the Social Hour. All in all, I would consider it a success.
I started my Saturday with Fire in the Mountain, skipping the travelling encounters (except for narration) to focus on the events in the dungeon itself. There were surprisingly few deaths, mostly due to my rolls - lots and lots of "1"s for me all convention - and what deaths there were tended to crowd towards the end of the session. I was really pleased that the players found enough clues to put together at least the broad outlines of the backstory.
Because of time constraints, we didn't get past the room with the Impenitent Abbot. The players never discovered that they could not open the door from this side, and there were likely to be more shenanigans with going down the shafts, dealing with the remaining Impenitent, and finally being confronted by three more capering goat things before being able to escape the mountain. They left the stairway to hell open, but we did have some fun with shifting it to new locations. Even with half the zero-level PCs surviving, one player ended up with no one by the end. These are the perils of splitting the party/
After a brief break, I jumped into running The Arwich Grinder. It has been years - years! - since I ran this for a group that included so many unjaded players, and it was a real joy to heap on the darkness as we went. There were also a fair number of survivors, but again my rolls were less spectacular than they should have been. Also, I had Skatch the Elder reminding people to burn Luck rather than fall for my fearful machinations. Most of the deaths were, again, the result either of splitting the party or of failing to take precautions.
I have run this adventure many times, and it was a delight to have the players realize that there are more than eight Curwens. It was truly rewarding that they realized the names Uncle Charles called them in his delirium were not merely random, but must be family members they were not aware of.
Finally, I was lucky enough to have a player who was new to DCC - this was only his second funnel adventure!
On Sunday, I ran Dread Orchid, which is an add-on to the Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride kickstarter. The player who had requested a cleric was unable to join, leaving a party that could have survived with caution, but preferred bold action. Because this adventure is not available for generally purchase yet (and the kickstarter backers have not even seen it!) I will omit any details save to say that only the thief survived, and then by the skin of his teeth. The halfling, given a chance due to my rolling two "1"s in a row, came close to escaping, but curiosity did him in.
I would like to offer many thanks to my players over this weekend! You rocked the house and made it fun! Man thanks to David Harvison, Eric Betts, Jim Skach, Joe Colistro, Lucas MacClure, Lucas The Beard, Matthew Shayefar, Michael McMurray, Mike Dawson, Mike McKeown (+1!), Ron Kirkley, Russell Bevers, Todd Hennessey, and Zachary Amsden. If I left anyone off the list, please assume that it is because I am an idiot and forgive me the lapse! A couple of glasses of wine, and I am using the Event Sheets to help me order my thoughts!
Final Thoughts:
Goodman Games has done a hell of a job making the convention approximate the in-person experience, especially with the use of Gather Town. And I love being able to game with people in different parts of the world. Online conventions are something I am likely to continue participating in, especially the Goodman ones and Cons farther afield, such as AlbaCon.
But, man, am I ready for in-person conventions again.
Hopefully, I will see some of you at GaryCon 2022. Right now, I am scheduled to be there in person, and I really hope that comes to pass. I have a fantastic and supportive family, but I feel guilty taking up the kitchen for the weekend. I feel guilty not giving them my time when I am right here. And the energy around a Discord table, as good as it might be, can never replace the sizzle of playing in person.
Today in Ontario, our Covid-19 case count rose again, and the Effective Reproduction Rate went over 1. This means that, for each person who gets the virus, it will spread to slightly more than one person. This might reverse, or it might turn into a fifth wave. Alll I can really do is hope that we make our collective Luck check.
If things work out, and I make it to GaryCon, please say "Hello" if you see me! I cannot tell you how much it will be appreciated.
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