Everyone Else III: Sailors on the Starless Sea

One day, getting ready to begin running a Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign, I stopped at Hairy Tarantula on Yonge Street in Toronto and picked up both Sailors on the Starless Sea (by Harley Stroh) and People of the Pit (by Joseph Goodman).  Being a 0-level module, and having already run Portal Under the Stars using the Beta, I decided that Sailors on the Starless Sea was a logical choice for starting a campaign.

As you may be aware, I have written about designing 0-level adventures for the Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg previously, and my views here are going to take that analysis into account.  There are going to be spoilers in this review as well, so if you are going to be playing in this module, do yourself a serious favour and read no further!

The basic premise of Sailors on the Starless Sea is that cultists are attempting to revive two fallen brother Chaos Lords.  They have been converting local villagers to beast men or preparing them as a sacrifice to bring the Chaos Lords back.  The PCs begin by investigating a local ruined keep, trying to rescue kidnapped villagers.  In the course of their investigation, they become part of truly epic events.

The adventure further breaks down into (1) getting into the keep, (2) exploring the keep, (3) the dungeons underneath the keep, (4) the sunless sea, and (5) the epic climax.  Many of these parts allow for multiple avenues of exploration, and, in some cases, they intersect in interesting ways.  For instance, there is a tomb that might be uncovered while trying to get into the keep, or it might be uncovered exploring the banks of the sunless sea, or it might not be uncovered at all.  None of these options is the “right” one, and none of them are “wrong”.

The module also allows the players two chances to replenish their supply of 0-level characters.  This is a good idea, and is something I wish I had thought of in my own analysis of the 0-level funnel.

Following my own analysis, I can certainly see how both character death and character growth are planned for within the context of the module.  Harley Stroh did a stellar job here.

The village the PCs come from is not described, so no difficulties arise from starting occupations.  If you are going to run this as part of a campaign, you might actually take the PC starting occupations as your baseline for describing what the village is like.  The climactic encounter, moreover, may make returning to the village different, so you can gloss over this if you like.  I did.

I had suggested that the initial adventure should include some means for elves to buy one set of mithral armour and one mithral weapon at standard prices when they attain 1st level; Sailors does not do this.  On the other hand, there is no reason why this must immediately be available to Elf PCs.  Obtaining mithral arms and armour may well be part of the next adventure.  This isn’t something you need to worry about, but it is something the prospective judge should keep in mind.

Sailors has more than enough encounters that will make characters progressing into Thieves and Warriors make sense.  Warriors certainly have the opportunity to access to weapons and armour. 

Previously, I had written “Potential warriors are also going to need opponents they can fight.  As with the initial offering in the Core Rulebook, this should be a combination of simple and difficult fights, and the difficult fights should be resolvable using brains over brawn.  The opponents must also be interesting, at least some of them demonstrating some unexpected property…even if you only make the giant rats have hand-like paws and be capable of speech.”  There is certainly no problem with Sailors on the Starless Sea in this regard!

Regarding Clerics, I had written “Your initial funnel must include the divine in some way, shape, or form.  It may include a hidden shrine where the influence of a god is felt, or it may include a fight against some unholy thing in which a holy artefact is of aid.”  Well, Harley Stroh certainly manages to do this, and then some.  From an evil shrine to the Chaos Lords and cultists themselves, the divine (or potentially divine) is felt strongly in this adventure.

I had also been concerned about potential wizards needing a way to access spells, and Harley includes an exceptional means to this end as well – a magic ring that can access three spells for good or for ill.  So, even if you follow the advice in the Core Rulebook, and give XP per encounter, allowing the PCs to level up when they gain 10 XP, the would-be wizards potentially begin their magical careers with something wizardly to do.  Not that Sailors is shy about making them work for it. 

I had also expressed some concerns about transition.  Following the Core Rulebook, most of my players’ characters achieved 1^st level after a particularly deadly encounter on the Sunless Sea, and thus levelled just prior to the climax of the module.  It was remarked that it felt as though the characters, having survived the deadliest thing so far, had pulled themselves together and were now better able to face what was to come.  This covered both my concerns about transition, and about the 1st-level finale.   The final battle against beast men, cultists, and a resurging Chaos Lord definitely resolved issues arising from the 0-level funnel, and showcased character growth. 

I had written that this part of the adventure “answers some unresolved questions, faces similar opponents, and/or fulfils the promises of the first half”.  I believe that Sailors on the Starless Sea does this magnificently.

In addition to the usual Appendix N influences, this module draws from King Kong and The Island of Dr. Moreau for imagery and content.  Well, in a way.  Where Dr. Moreau made beast men out of beasts, the villains in this module make beast men out of men.  I also found this very reminiscent of the "Count Brass" cycle of Michael Moorcock, which may have been the actual source reference.  In any event, they are fun references, and my players had a great deal of fun with this module.  As did I.

Overall, I found Sailors on the Starless Sea to be a nearly perfect 0-level adventure.  I certainly had a hell of a lot of fun running it, and I would recommend it to anyone. 

Easily five stars out of five!

Everyone Else II: Doom of the Savage Kings

This is the first regular module for Dungeon Crawl Classics that I owned, as it came with the core rulebook I pre-ordered.  It was attached to the core rulebook with those little gummy bits that publishers sometimes used.  Sometimes this gummy stuff is hard to remove, or it stains the pages it was attached to.  In this case, the publisher used the right amount of the right gummy stuff to avoid both of these problems.

Doom of the Savage Kings is a 1^st level adventure by Harley Stroh.  If you’ve been reading my blog, you will hopefully have noticed that I am a big fan of Harley Stroh’s work.  Doom of the Savage Kings is an exceptional module, but it is no exception to the general quality of Harley’s work.  From here on in, there be spoilers, so you have been warned.  If you are going to be a player in this module, I urge you not to read any further.  This is a great module, and you will only damage your own enjoyment of it.

The basic scenario of Doom of the Savage Kings models the epic poem, Beowulf.  A monster has arisen in the moorlands, and it threatens the doomed village of Hirot.  Beyond the general structure, though, the module goes in unexpected directions.  The monster is an enormous demonic Hound, which should recall The Hound of the Baskervilles – so much so that I chose not to use the cover illustration to define the Hound’s appearance to my players.

Unlike Beowulf, the local noble-in-charge, the Jarl, doesn’t want the PCs to interfere, and he is ready to go to great lengths to prevent their involvement.  Harley Stroh seems to have a good idea of what is going to happen at the average game table, and to have a good grasp of how players think.  He uses the potential rumours in the module to sow misinformation in a way that makes play more entertaining, because some of the rumours build on common rpg tropes.   For instance, many groups come to believe that the Jarl, or his sorcerer, is responsible for the Hound.  Misdirection keeps the Hound mysterious until a final showdown.

For those who have read Beowulf, there are three other strong echoes to the epic poem. 

The first is the strong sense of Christianity impinging on the pagan world that infuses Beowulf.  In Doom of the Savage Kings, there is a strong clerical presence that harkens to the self-abasement and mortification of early Christendom.  As with the epic poem, it can be used to contrast with the pagan elements of the relatively primitive village (including a witch, the Jarl’s sorcerer, and the monolithic stones at which sacrifices are left for the Hound).

The second is the Serpent Mound, which is also strongly pagan, and is both contrasted to and comparative with the village of Hirot in many ways.  The Serpent Mound, of course, echoes the dragon in Beowulf, and does so successfully with several strong thematic elements, such as a water serpent, some truly nasty (and fun!) tomb ghouls, and thousands of shed snakeskins covering the floor of one chamber.  The Serpent Mound also has one of the best trap encounters that I’ve ever read.

Finally, the moor where the Hound makes its home is strongly reminiscent of the lair of Grendel and his Mother in the epic poem.  The Black Pool is an excellent location that fits very well with the magic system of the game, and the mood of the module. 

In the past, I had suggested that DCC really needs a semi-sandbox module to demonstrate what the game is capable of.  I feel that Harley Stroh has managed this very well with Doom of the Savage Kings.  If you didn’t pre-order the Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg, and you cannot find a pre-ordered copy in your friendly neighbourhood gaming store, it is worth your while to seek this one out on ebay or elsewhere. 

I’m going to talk a bit about my own experiences with this module.

In my home game, this was run for a group of players as a follow-up to Sailors on the Starless Sea.  The characters were drawn to Hirot specifically to seek out the witch Ymae, as one player was told that she might help him discover the properties of a ring found in Sailors.  I had the party travel a few days up into the mountains, and had them deal with wolves – not so much as combat encounters, but to make sure that they felt that the wilderness was dangerous, and to reinforce the themes of the upcoming module.  Joseph Goodman makes a good case for making inns and other waystops desirable in campaign play, and I wanted to make sure that the players were not wholly complacent about camping out.  I also made sure to mention their being followed by croaking ravens.

The players arrived near Hirot just in time to witness a sacrifice being led to the standing stones, as per the module.  My players are still somewhat used to games where they can successfully challenge anything they encounter, and it took them a few moments to realize that the Jarl and his Thegns were capable of simply riding them down.  Needless to say, antagonism was created almost instantly.

(In a module of this type, one of the first questions to arise is “Why don’t we just go to the authorities for extra provisions/aid/money…or even let them take care of it?”  Harley Stroh wisely answers this question right from the first encounter.  It didn’t stop my players from trying, but at least the Jarl’s rebuffs were consistent with their expectations.)

That first encounter with the Hound was actually resolved pretty easily by the PCs.  There was an OSR (Oh Shit, Run!) moment where one PC fled, but the other PCs then resolved the encounter, and made a bit of light sport over the runner.  This was something I enjoyed. 

The runner, played by my son, noted that the Hound was not dead.  The group had experience with vampires in a different game, and he was quick to note that if it turns into gas and boils away, it is going to come back later.  He was, of course, right.

This group is pretty proactive, so after realizing that no help is coming from the Jarl, they explore the town a bit.  They hear some rumours, and discover the flophouse, wherein they get an idea of where to find the Serpent Mound.  The one PC has a chat with the Mad Widow Ymae, and goes out very impressed.  They head out for the Serpent Mound.

The Serpent Mound is a very cool mini-dungeon, that rewards thought over blundering in.  I don’t want to talk too much about the individual encounters, but the players had fun with it.  The one death that occurred was due to the aforementioned trap, and, because the area was sealed off, the PCs were able to express some pity when the dead character began scratching at the stones.  At least they had little to fear from him!  The players missed some cool magic items because they used detect magic instead of investigation, and their spell was blocked by stone.

Leaving the Serpent Mound, they were ambushed by Iraco and his huntsmen.  The players were very casual about leaving, so I just decided that they were surprised.  The arrows flew swiftly, and with deadly force.  Players complained that they weren’t allowed to roll to see if they were surprised.  I shrugged and said “Too Bad”.  Then, when battle was joined, one of the PC warriors used a Mighty Deed to knock Iraco prone, and the party was able to slay him.  Two huntsmen rode off to warn the Jarl, and the others surrendered.

Now, having read other people’s play-throughs of Doom of the Savage Kings, I decided to let the Hound use hit-and-run tactics on the PCs.  The players actually thought camping out near the river was a good idea, and it was there that the Hound found them.  Creating magical darkness, the Hound attacked, wounding a few, and being wounded in return, and then left the PCs for Hirot, where it killed a few folk.  Meanwhile, blundering about in the darkness, one of the PCs rode down one of the captured huntsmen, another fell into the river, and yet a third fumbled Ekim’s Mystical Mask and her face disappeared!  She failed her save, and passed out, only to be found when the darkness passed.

Of course, the PCs expect that they are going to confront the Jarl, when instead the Jarl confronts them.  They have brought this doom to Hirot by interfering with the sacrifices, and there must be another tonight.  He brushes aside their accusations, and warns them that if they continue their slander he will deal with them harshly.  They hold a lottery to see who the next victim will be – and it is the mouthy Wizard who first urged the party to come to Hirot to seek out the witch.  He is allowed no weapons, and his companions are prevented from going to his aid.

Now, the funny thing is, this Chaotic Wizard is played by my son.  He’s the one who had the OSR moment, who rode down the NPC, and who has generally been trying to move behind the scenes to his own benefit.  He manages to hide a dagger in his sleeve, and is able to cut his bonds, but he is otherwise alone when the Hound comes.

Imagine the scene – the misty land.  The standing stones.  The Hound appearing out of the darkness with lambent green eyes.  The Wizard, alone, knowing full well that this is a foe beyond him.  At this point, too, the others still have some back-up characters from their 0-level funnel, but this is my son’s last character, and, if he should fall, he is back down to starting anew.  Because he knows I will make him start anew.  And because he knows I will roll the dice in the open and let them fall where they may.

Now, I have rolled 1d5 to see how many rounds the Hound spends with the Wizard before going back to Hirot to kill some villagers.  Specifically, the Hound will end up killing the surviving huntsmen and the leatherworker.  Why?  Because they were close to the PCs in some way.  Earlier, I had the Hound kill three of the thieves at the flophouse for the same reason.  So, I know that the Wizard needs to survive three rounds (unlikely!) and the players do not.

Initiative is rolled.  The Wizard gets to go first!  In desperation, he attempts to cast Magic Shield, because his mercurial magic causes the spell to harm the nearest living thing, and he hopes (1) it will protect him, and (2) it will harm the Hound.  He rolled well on his Initiative, but, when it comes to the spell check, a natural “1” is rolled.  The table groans, knowing that the Wizard is doomed. 

But, following through with the magic system, a roll is made.  Misfire.  Another roll is made.   “Caster completely encases himself in a shield that blocks all attacks, damage, spells, and physical contact between him and the rest of the world, such that he is completely encased in a transparent bubble which renders him invulnerable to attack but also unable to move or communicate outside the bubble for 1d4 rounds.”  How many rounds?  3.

Stunned silence.

Then my son:  “Luckiest.  Misfire.  Ever.”

Is that more of an endorsement for the system or for the module?  I honestly cannot say.  But I do know this:  Doom of the Savage Kings is one of the best modules I’ve ever had the joy of running.  I sincerely hope you will have a chance to get your hands on a copy, if you haven’t done so already.

Patrons & Projects X: Radu, King of Rabbits

As I write this, Angels, Daemons, & Beings Between is at $3,240 with 37 hours to go.  So, here is a last minute look in case you are unsure whether or not this project is worth supporting:  the draft version of Radu, King of Rabbits.

I had initially said I'd post this when the site hit the $4000 mark, but I'm going to do it now anyway.  Hopefully, we'll still hit that mark, and maybe even the one after.  If not, it won't have been for lack of interest, or lack of trying, and I am thankful to everyone who has supported us, who is supporting us, and who may support us in the future!  The DCC community rocks like the game itself rocks.  Which is to say, it rocks a lot.

Thanks.

Radu, King of Rabbits
From ancient times, every creature had a Lord or Lady who was the patron of their kind.  The King of Rabbits is not powerful, but he is cunning and swift, and his ears can pick up the first hint of danger when its source is yet miles away.  He appears in the guise of a large rabbit, which can walk as a man when he wills it, and which sometimes smokes a mixture of lavender and tobacco in a briarwood pipe.  Radu demands that his followers oppose the traditional enemies of rabbits – creatures such as eagles, foxes, and stoats – but that opposition doesn’t preclude using such creatures.  The supplicant who removes a threat to rabbit-kind through trickery, as does Radu, is more worthy than one who would do the same through martial prowess.  Bonding with Radu must take place where there is an active rabbit warren, or in some other area where rabbits tend to gather.
Invoke Patron check results:  When this spell is cast, the judge chooses either the rolled result, or, if that makes no sense within the context of the aid requested, the first lower result that is applicable.  The stats for the various allies are as follows: Wise Rabbit:  Init +6; Atk none; AC 17; HD 1d8; HP 4; MV 40’; SV Fort –4, Ref +4, Will +6; AL N. Giant Rabbit:  Init +3; Atk kick +0 melee (dmg 1d4); AC 12; HD 2d8; HP 9; MV 50’ leap 15’; Act 1d20; SV Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +2; AL N. Rabbit Swarm:  Init +3, Atk bites and kicks (dmg 1d2); AC 9; HD 4d8; HP 18; MV 40’; Act special; SP damages all targets in a 20’ x 20’ space, half-damage from non-area attacks; SV Fort –2, Ref +2, Will +4; AL N
12-13	Radu hears the petitioner’s plea, and his quick mind offers some stratagem that grants a +6 bonus that can be used for the caster’s next saving throw, skill check, or spell check, but not for an attack.  Alternatively, the caster may choose to gain a +4 bonus to Armor Class for an entire round.
14-17	Radu sends a wise rabbit to act as a helper for 1d4+CL rounds.  The caster can speak with the wise rabbit, and it can offer him aid that grants a +4 bonus on any skill checks of spell checks made during this time.  The caster may make a Luck check; if successful, the wise rabbit can provide any specific information needed.  The judge may give a bonus or penalty to this check depending upon what information is sought.
18-19	Radu lends strength and speed to the caster’s legs, allowing him to move at +10’ per round, and make leaps of up to 15’, for a period of 1d6+CL rounds.
20-23	A giant rabbit appears, with a saddle and other accoutrements to allow the caster to ride it.  It remains for 1d6+CL hours, during which time the caster may use it as a steed.  It will not fight except to defend itself, and will not willingly charge into battle.
24-27	As above, except the giant rabbit remains in the caster’s service for 1d4+CL days.
28-29	Radu sends a swarm of rabbits to confound the caster’s enemies.  The rabbit swarm digs up through whatever surface the caster’s strongest enemies currently occupy, and bedevil them until dispersed, slain, or 2d6+CL rounds have passed.  The swarm is not under the caster’s control.
30-31	Radu favours the caster, and sends 2d3 rabbit swarms to his aid, as above, and allows the caster to control them for 2d6+CL rounds.  In addition, a giant rabbit arrives beside the caster, ready to be ridden or to fight, as the caster requires, for a similar period of time.
32+	The King of Rabbits creates a conduit to Radu himself, and will answer truthfully whatever questions the caster asks of him.  Time seems to stand still, even in combat, as Radu answers a number of questions equal to the caster’s CL.  These must be questions which can be answered in a dozen words or less, although Radu may speak more, and loves a cunning turn of phrase.  There is only a 1 in 20 chance that the King of Rabbits doesn’t know the answer to any given question, and even then there is a 5 in 6 chance that Radu can acquire the answer, and whisper it to the caster within 1d5 hours.  Once Radu has answered, or undertaken to discover the answer, to these questions, normal time resumes.  The King of Rabbits is not altogether patient, and does not suspend time so that the caster can cast other spells, heal wounds, or the like.  Only the caster and Radu are within the suspended time bubble; all others are frozen in place as time is stopped.

Patron Taint:  Radu, King of Rabbits
When patron taint is indicated for Radu, roll 1d6 on the table below.  When a caster has acquired all six taints at all levels of effect, there is no need to continue rolling any more.
Roll	Result
1	Ears of the Rabbit:  The caster’s ears grow noticeably larger.  If this result is rolled a second time, they are also longer, like a rabbit’s ears, and move upward on the caster’s head, to further resemble a rabbit’s ears.  If this result is rolled a third time, the caster has a full set of rabbit’s ears.  These make wearing a helmet (or even an unmodified hat) difficult, but can grant a bonus to avoid surprise at the judge’s discretion.
2	Teeth of the Rabbit:  The caster’s front teeth grow longer, resembling buck teeth.  If this result is rolled a second time, many of the caster’s other teeth fall out, and the incisors are lengthened to fully resemble a rabbit’s teeth.  If this result is rolled a third time, the caster also becomes nauseated if he consumes meat, and can subsist on a vegetarian diet.
3	Feet of the Rabbit:  The caster’s feet grow larger.  If rolled a second time, the caster’s feet become too large to fit standard footwear, but are not yet strong enough to go barefoot easily.  The third time this is rolled, the caster’s feet become large and tough, and the caster can go barefoot.  The fourth time this is rolled, the caster gains the ability to leap 5 feet forward or upward from a stand, or 15 feet with a running start.  The fifth time this result is rolled, the caster’s hands and feet become clawed, and the caster can dig through sand or loose soil at a rate of 5 feet per minute.
4	Coat of the Rabbit:  The caster grows fur.  At first, this is a soft and barely discernable coat, but if this result is rolled a second time, the fur becomes apparent.  If this result is rolled a third time, the caster gains whiskers and a fuzzy tail.
5	Size of the Rabbit:  The caster becomes smaller.  The first time this is rolled, he is noticeably (but not abnormally) shorter.  Each subsequent time this result is rolled, the caster loses approximately one foot in height, until he reaches roughly 3 feet, roughly the size of a Halfling.  The caster’s base movement becomes 20’.
6	Soul of the Rabbit:  The caster becomes more nervous and susceptible to fear.  When this is first rolled, the caster gains a –2 penalty to all fear-based effects.  This penalty increases by –2 each time this result, to a maximum penalty of –8.  When the penalty reaches –8, the caster must make a DC 10 Will save each time he is damaged in combat, or flee on his next action.  The penalty applies to this save.

Patron Spells:  Radu, King of Rabbits

Radu, King of Rabbits, grants three unique spells, as follows:

Level 1:  Alertness of the Hare

Level 2:  Lucky Rabbit’s Foot

Level 3:  Warren Walk

Spellburn:  Radu, King of Rabbits
The King of Rabbits has a special care watching over rabbits, hares, and similar creatures.  He has no particular desire for blood or sacrifices for himself, but he does know how to use those sacrifices to aid his charges.  When a caster utilizes spellburn, roll 1d4 on the table below when a request is made, or use the ideas below to develop unique events for your home campaign.
Roll	Spellburn Result
1	Radu needs to apportion part of the caster’s vitality to a warren of his charges.  The caster gains visions of a flood of rabbits fleeing some predator or disaster in their warren, fuelled by the caster’s own essence (expressed as Stamina, Strength, or Agility loss).
2	Radu offers the caster twice the spellburn he has requested at no cost, so long as the caster undertakes a small task for him.  Roll 1d6:  (1) slay or drive off a fox lairing near a large warren, (2) bring choice garden herbs to a specific site for Radu’s consumption, (3) undertake to thwart or slay a caster favoured by Mulferret, Queen of Weasels, (4) free specific domesticated rabbits from a farmer’s hutch, (5) escort a troupe of rabbit diplomats or unmated female rabbits from one warren to another, or (6) prevent humans or other creatures from digging up a warren to build an inn or other structure.  If the task is completed successfully within a given time frame, all is well.  If not, Radu takes the spellburn from where he chooses at a time of his choosing.
3	The caster gains a vision of fighting a fox, dog, cat, or other predator while in a rabbit’s body.  Immediately afterwards, the wounds from the fight appear on his own body (expressed as Stamina, Strength, or Agility loss).
4	For a moment, the caster becomes attuned to Radu, and hears, sees, and feels the lives of all rabbits and rabbit-like creatures in the world.  This is too much for a mortal mind to bear, and the caster is blasted by the experience (expressed as Stamina, Strength, or Agility loss).  At the judge’s discretion, the caster may recall something of interest out of this mental maelstrom of sensations.

Alertness of the Hare
Level:  1 (Radu)	Range:  Varies	Duration:  Varies	Casting time:  1 minute	Save:  None
General	Radu and his kith listen and watch.  When there is a threat to all, the strong hind foot thumps the warren-hollow ground, that all may hear and react.  When this spell is cast, the caster – and potentially his allies – gain the ability to sense danger, as rabbits in a warren do.
Manifestation	Roll 1d3:  (1) Those affected hear the thump of a rabbit’s foot whenever danger is present, (2) Those affected feel a cold shiver and see a shadow, as though a hawk had passed before the sun, indicating dangers, (3) Those affected hear a whispering voice, alerting them to danger.
1	Lost, failure, and patron taint.
2-11	Lost.  Failure.
12-15	The caster gains a bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws equal to his Caster Level, lasting for 1d6+CL rounds.
16-17	The caster, and up to one ally per Caster Level, gain a bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws equal to his Caster Level +1, lasting for 1d6+CL turns.  In addition, during this period, the caster may roll two twenty-sided dice for any Reflexes save, taking the better of the two rolls.
18-21	The caster, and up to two allies per Caster Level, gain a bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws equal to his Caster Level +2, lasting for 1d6+CL hours.  In addition, during this period, the caster may roll two twenty-sided dice for any Reflexes save, taking the better of the two rolls.
22-23	The caster, and up to two allies per Caster Level, gain a bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws equal to his Caster Level +2, lasting for 1d6+CL hours.  In addition, during this period, the caster’s affected allies may roll two twenty-sided dice for any Reflexes save, taking the better of the two rolls.  The caster may roll two twenty-four-sided dice for any Relexes saves during this period, taking the better of the two rolls.
24-26	The caster, and up to two allies per Caster Level, gain a bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws equal to his Caster Level +3, lasting for 2d6+CL hours.  In addition, during this period, the caster and his affected allies may roll two twenty-four-sided dice for any Reflexes save, taking the better of the two rolls.  During this period, the caster may spend a Luck point to avoid the special effects of any critical hit or fumble he is subjected to.
27-31	The caster, and up to two allies per Caster Level, gain a bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws equal to his Caster Level +3, lasting for 4d6+CL hours.  In addition, during this period, the caster’s affected allies may roll two twenty-four-sided dice for any Reflexes save, taking the better of the two rolls.  The caster may roll two thirty-sided dice for any Relexes saves during this period, taking the better of the two rolls.  During this period, the caster may spend a Luck point to avoid the special effects of any critical hits or fumbles he is subjected to for 1d6+CL rounds.
32+	The caster, and up to three allies per Caster Level, gain a bonus to Armor Class and all saving throws equal to his Caster Level +4, lasting for 4d6+CL hours.  In addition, during this period, the caster and his affected allies may roll two thirty-sided dice for any Relexes saves, taking the better of the two rolls.  During this period, the caster is immune to the special effects of any critical hits or fumbles he would otherwise be subjected to.

Lucky Rabbit’s Foot
Level:  2 (Radu)	Range:  1 rabbit’s hind foot	Duration:  Varies	Casting time:  1 day	Save:  None
General	The caster instils luck into the right hind foot of a rabbit.  This luck can include a static bonus and a luck pool.  The static bonus applies so long as there is any luck remaining in the luck pool.  The luck pool can be used like normal Luck by the bearer of the lucky rabbit’s foot, but does not normally replenish once used (even if kept by a Halfling or Thief).  If the luck pool reaches 0, the rabbit’s foot loses all magical properties. Each casting of this spell requires a rabbit to die.  Radu has many rabbits that he watches over, and does not begrudge the caster the use of this spell.  However, every time it is cast, the caster owes Radu a favour, as though the caster had used the invoke patron spell.
Manifestation	One magical rabbit’s foot.  There is a 50% chance that the appearance of the foot does not change; otherwise roll 1d4:  (1) the foot changes colour, with an equal chance of becoming green, blue, orange, pink, and violet, (2) the foot glows softly – not enough to provide real illumination, but about the luminosity of a glow worm or firefly, (3) the foot is semi-animate, and tends to twitch and move on its own, (4) the foot transforms into coloured glass, which is as strong as stone when still magical, but shatters when its luck pool is reduced to 0.
1	Lost, failure, and patron taint.
2-11	Lost.  Failure
12-15	Failure, but the spell is not lost.
16-17	The caster creates a lucky rabbit’s foot, but the foot contains only a luck pool with 1d3 points of luck in it.
18-21	The caster creates a lucky rabbit’s foot that grants a +1 bonus to a single type of roll.  The caster cannot control what type of roll is affected; roll on Table XX (birth augers) in the core rulebook, page XXX to make this determination.  The foot has a luck pool with 1d3 points of luck in it.
22-23	The caster creates a lucky rabbit’s foot that grants a +2 bonus to a single type of roll.  The caster cannot control what type of roll is affected; roll on Table XX (birth augers) in the core rulebook, page XXX to make this determination.  The foot has a luck pool with 1d6 points of luck in it.
24-26	As above, or the caster creates a lucky rabbit’s foot that grants a +1 bonus to a single type of roll that he determines from those listed on Table XX, and the foot has a luck pool with only 1d3 points of luck in it.
27-31	The caster creates a lucky rabbit’s foot that grants a +2 bonus to a single type of roll which the caster may choose.  Table XX (birth augers) in the core rulebook, page XXX, may be used for ideas, but the caster may choose something different but comparable.  The foot has a luck pool with 7 points of luck in it.
32-33	The caster creates a lucky rabbit’s foot that grants a +3 bonus to a single type of roll or a +2 bonus to two types of rolls.  The caster can control only one type of roll affected; if the lucky rabbit’s foot gives two bonues, the other is determined by rolling on Table XX (birth augers) in the core rulebook, page XXX after the first type of roll is determined.  It is possible by chance that these will stack, granting a +4 bonus to a single type of roll.  The foot has a luck pool with 7 points of luck in it.
34+	The caster creates a lucky rabbit’s foot that grants a +3 bonus to a single type of roll that the caster may determine.  In addition, it grants a +2 bonus to a random type of roll determined by rolling on Table XX (birth augers) in the core rulebook, page XXX, and a +1 bonus to another random type of roll, with the determination also made by rolling on Table XX.  The random rolls must be made after the first bonus is chosen, and two of three of these bonuses may stack by chance.  The foot has a luck pool with 7 points of luck in it, and regenerates 1 point of luck each week so long as the pool is never reduced to 0.

Warren Walk
Level:  3 (Radu)	Range:  Varies	Duration:  Varies	Casting time:  1 Minute	Save:  None
General	The caster, and possible one or more allies, passes through one rabbit warren, exiting through another rabbit warren one minute later.  Depending upon the value of the spell check, the second warren may be very far away.  The caster must begin at the site of a rabbit warren and must exit through another rabbit warren (although either warren may be abandoned).    The caster may choose to exit through a rabbit warren that he is aware of, so long as it is within range, or may choose to exit through any random warren within range (rolled randomly from known warrens, or chosen by the judge, as the judge deems appropriate).  The travellers need not worry about food or water while travelling, as this appears in the tunnels of the warrens.  Unwilling creatures cannot be forced to warren walk with this spell.  Obviously, this spell cannot take the caster to a place where rabbits do not exist, or where rabbits create individual burrows rather than warrens.
Manifestation	Roll 1d3:  (1) the warren mouths seems to stretch to accommodate the travellers, snapping back to its normal size immediately after they pass, (2) the travellers shrink to pass through the warren mouth, regaining their normal sizes once they have exited the far warren, (3) the travellers are transformed into rabbits, with their gear merging into their bodies, becoming their normal selves again only after they have exited the far warren.
1	Lost, failure, and patron taint.
2-11	Failure.  Lost.
12-15	Failure, but the spell is not lost.
16-17	The caster may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren not more than 10 minutes distant.  It takes the caster 1d3 minutes to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.
18-21	The caster and up to three other creatures may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren not more than 25 miles distant.  It takes the caster 1d6 minutes to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.  If any of the other travellers with him do not remain with him during this time, but strike out on their own, roll 1d6, modifying the result by the straying traveller’s Luck modifier:  (0 or less) the traveller becomes lost inside the warrens, and is never seen again, (1-2) the traveller exits through the same warren that he entered by, after 1d6 hours, (3-4) the traveller exits through another warren which is neither the intended target nor the starting point, after 1d6 x 10 minutes, (5+) the traveller exits through the same destination warren as the caster, 1d6 minutes after the caster does.
22-23	The caster and up to six other creatures may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren not more than 50 miles distant.  It takes the caster 3d6 minutes to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.  If any of the other travellers with him do not remain with him during this time, but strike out on their own, roll 1d6, modifying the result by the straying traveller’s Luck modifier:  (1 or less) the traveller becomes lost inside the warrens, and is never seen again, (2-3) the traveller exits through the same warren that he entered by, after 1d6 hours, (4-5) the traveller exits through another warren which is neither the intended target nor the starting point, after 1d6 x 10 minutes, (6+) the traveller exits through the same destination warren as the caster, 2d6 minutes after the caster does.
24-26	The caster and up to nine other creatures may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren not more than 100 miles distant.  It takes the caster 3d10 minutes to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.  If any of the other travellers with him do not remain with him during this time, but strike out on their own, roll 1d6, modifying the result by the straying traveller’s Luck modifier:  (2 or less) the traveller becomes lost inside the warrens, and is never seen again, (3-4) the traveller exits through the same warren that he entered by, after 2d6 hours, (5-6) the traveller exits through another warren which is neither the intended target nor the starting point, after 2d6 x 10 minutes, (7+) the traveller exits through the same destination warren as the caster, 3d6 minutes after the caster does.
27-31	The caster and up to a dozen other creatures may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren not more than 500 miles distant.  It takes the caster 3d14 minutes to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.  If any of the other travellers with him do not remain with him during this time, but strike out on their own, roll 1d6, modifying the result by the straying traveller’s Luck modifier:  (3 or less) the traveller becomes lost inside the warrens, and is never seen again, (4-5) the traveller exits through the same warren that he entered by, after 3d6 hours, (6-7) the traveller exits through another warren which is neither the intended target nor the starting point, after 2d12 x 10 minutes, (8+) the traveller exits through the same destination warren as the caster, 3d10 minutes after the caster does.
32-33	The caster and up to fifteen other creatures may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren not more than 1,000 miles distant.  It takes the caster 3d16 minutes to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.  If any of the other travellers with him do not remain with him during this time, but strike out on their own, roll 1d8, modifying the result by the straying traveller’s Luck modifier:  (4 or less) the traveller becomes lost inside the warrens, and is never seen again, (5-6) the traveller exits through the same warren that he entered by, after 3d8 hours, (7-8) the traveller exits through another warren which is neither the intended target nor the starting point, after 3d12 x 10 minutes, (9+) the traveller exits through the same destination warren as the caster, 5d12 minutes after the caster does.
34-35	The caster and all allied creatures present may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren anywhere on the same plane.  It takes the caster 1d6 hours to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.  If any of the other travellers with him do not remain with him during this time, but strike out on their own, roll 1d8, modifying the result by the straying traveller’s Luck modifier:  (4 or less) the traveller becomes lost inside the warrens, and is never seen again, (5-6) the traveller exits through a far distant warren, at least 10d10 x 100 miles away from where he wishes to be, arriving after 2d6 days, (7-8)   the traveller exits through the same warren that he entered by, after 1d6 days, (9-10) the traveller exits through another warren which is neither the intended target nor the starting point, but is at least no more than 1d10 x 10 miles from the intended target warren,  after 3d6  hours, (11+)  the traveller exits through the same destination warren as the caster, 1d6 hours after the caster does.
36+	The caster and all allied creatures present may pass through the warren, reappearing through another warren anywhere, even within another plane of existence.  It takes the caster 3d6 hours to navigate the winding passages of the warrens before he can discover the extradimensional passage that will allow him to arrive at his destination.  If any of the other travellers with him do not remain with him during this time, but strike out on their own, roll 1d10, modifying the result by the straying traveller’s Luck modifier:  (6 or less) the traveller becomes lost inside the warrens, and is never seen again, (7-8) the traveller exits into the wrong plane, where the rabbits may be very strange indeed (for example, a fiendish plane where the rabbits are as large as tigers and carnivorous, a plane of clouds where the rabbits are winged, a western plain where six-shooters and jackelopes are the order of the day, or a sylvan plane where the rabbits can all teleport and have horns like those of unicorns), arriving after 3d8 weeks, (9-10) the traveller ends up on the correct plane, but is at least 10d10 x 100 miles away from where he wishes to be, arriving after 2d6 weeks, (11-12)  the traveller exits through the same warren that he entered by, after 1d6 weeks, (13-14) the traveller exits through another warren which is neither the intended target nor the starting point, but is at least no more than 1d10 x 10 miles from the intended target warren,  after 3d6  days, (15+)  the traveller exits through the same destination warren as the caster, 1d6 days after the caster does.