Monday, January 30, 2012

Monster Monday: Mu-Tant

Here is another Uz monster usable in Old School campaigns:


Mu-Tant
No. Appearing: 2d6
Armor Class: 17
Hit Dice: 3
Move: 90’
Attacks: 2 (Claw, 1d4)
Morale: 8
Alignment: Neutral
Mu-Tants are a degenerate, servile race often employed by the various extraterrestrial entities which haunt the Desert of Demons.  They approach 7’ in height, and are covered with a thick, blue-grey carapace.  Their hands are malformed and have fused into pincers.  Their misshapen heads appear to have large, exoskeletal brains; however, Mu-Tants are only slightly above an animal in intelligence.

It is possible that Mu-Tants were once a highly advanced race, and that whatever entities first enslaved them removed their capacity for creative thought.  As it stands, Mu-Tants make somewhat effective body guards and laborers, but they can become irritable and often strike down overconfident masters.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Crowdsourcing: Magical Mishaps

Everybody loves Jeff's Carousing Rules, but being a drunken lout isn't appropriate for every character.*  I've particularly heard cleric players complain that their character is unlikely to seek the pleasures of the flesh.  I've also often thought that magic users might be more at home in an alchemist's lab than in a brothel.

As such, I would like to propose two subsystems to attach to the carousing rules.  One will model a magic user conducting magical experiments in his or her free time, and the other will model a cleric's giving alms to the poor and helping the local church/temple conduct services and exorcise people.

Let's deal with magic users first.  Money is expended in the same manner as the normal carousing rules.  In this case, the money represents the magic user's paying for various magical components and a space to practice his or her arts.  Note that this expenditure does not count towards the creation of spells or other such magic items.  This experimentation is purely theoretical.  Members of a local wizardly organization, such as a guild, can pay an additional 50gp per pip to gain access to that organization's superior facilities and components.

Instead of saving against poison, the magic user must save vs. spells or roll on the chart below:

  1. Well, that was a waste of time.  Gain no XP.  Roll intelligence check or gain a reputation as a fraud among other magic users.
  2. BOOM!  Your experiments cause an explosion to rip through your laboratory space.  1-3 explosion contained within laboratory 4-5 laboratory is destroyed 6 explosion rips through the entire town.  Save vs Breath Weapons or begin next adventure d3 hit points short.
  3. How were you to know they didn't want people digging up those bodies?  Roll a Charisma check.  Success indicates a fine of 2d6 x 25gp.  Failure (or inability to pay the fine) indicates 1d6 days in the lord's dungeon.
  4. You accidentally turn yourself into a member of the opposite gender.  Reroll your Charisma score.  If you should find a way to restore your original sex, your Charisma score returns to normal.
  5. Your experiments kill the local livestock.  The peasants are angry!  1-3 they don't know it was you and blame some unfortunate 4-5 they know it was you but are too scared of magic users to take action 6 expect torches and pitchforks.
  6. Your experiments cause you to age. 1-3 you age five years 4-5 you age ten years 6 you age twenty years.
  7. You are sucked into a nightmare dimension.  You emerge after 1d6 days completely naked and babbling incoherently.  Lose all personal effects and begin the next adventure d3 hitpoints short.
  8. Somehow you've ended up with a second, smaller head of the alignment opposite of your own.  Make a save vs. Spells.  Success indicates the head disappears after the next adventure.  Failure indicates the head remains permanently.
  9. Your magical experiments have attracted a local ghost.  You are now haunted.  Ghostly voices fill your head making it difficult to concentrate.  Take a -2 penalty on all saves and checks during your next adventure.  Afterwards roll 1d6. On a roll of 6, the ghost is still interested in you and you will suffer the ill effects for another adventure.  Otherwise, the ghost loses interest and finds someone else to haunt
  10. You've trapped yourself inside a summoning circle.  Make a charisma check to convince someone to release you.  If you fail, lose 1d6 x 25 gp.
  11. You probably shouldn't have eaten that nugget of purest green.  Your skin is changed into a bizarre color. 1 Blue 2 Green 3 Orange 4 Purple 5 Black 6 Red 7 White 8 Ulfire 9 Jale 10 Dolm.  The non-weirdo colors are all bright and crayony.
  12. That potion was disgusting!  Save vs. Spells or have your teeth fall out.  1-2 they don't grow back 3-5 they do 6 they do, but now they're fangs.
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Ok, now I need your help with the last eight.  Post your proposed results in the comments below!


*Just most of them.

Uz Visual Inspiration

You'll notice a severe lack of Mesopotamian looking stuff, but that's more because I couldn't find any I like.

As always, click to embiggen.