Froglings for Advanced Campaigns

A (Rare) Frogling Cleric

Froglings
Requirements: DEX 9
Ability Modifiers: DEX +1, CHA -1
Ability Min/Max: STR 3/18, DEX 12/19, CON 8/18, INT 3/18, WIS 3/18, CHA 3/17

Froglings are frogs that walk and speak in the manner of men.  They are short, only about 4' in height on average, and range between thin and stout.  Froglings make their home in a distant, marshy country known as Hoppland; however, they are found throughout the World of Nightwick as brewers, merchants, and adventurers.  Their skin ranges between slick and bumpy, and is usually a dull green or brown - though more exotic colors and patterns are not unheard of.  They favor flamboyant clothing and jewelry in garish colors.

Like Dwarves, Froglings cannot use large or two-handed weapons but may use any other weapon or armor as indicated by class.

Froglings can leap 30 feet horizontally or 15 feet vertically.  Since their body is built to withstand leaps of this  sort, they ignore the first thirty feet of falling damage, treating a fall of 40 feet as though it were only 10.  Froglings may also swim as fast as they can walk unless encumbered.  They need less oxygen than other characters while swimming.  The effects of this must be determined by the individual Labyrinth Lord.  However, if they are in a dry climate, such as a desert, or a cold climate, such as a high mountain top, they take a -2 penalty to all actions due to their inability to function properly in such environments.

Due to the dangers lurking in their swampy home, Froglings may roll an extra die whenever the Labyrinth Lord tests for surprise.  The Frogling takes the better of the two results.

Froglings receive the following saving throw bonuses:

• +4 vs poison
• +1 vs wands
• +2 vs spell and spell-like devices

Froglings are more resistant to poison than humans, and their somewhat fairy nature makes them more resistant to spells and incantations.

Froglings may select the following classes, with the indicated level limits.

Class	Level Limit
Assassin	9
Cleric*	6
Fighter	6
Magic-User	6
Thief	12

Frogling thieves receive the following bonuses and penalties to thief abilities:

Skill	Adjustment
Pick Pockets	-5%
Climb Walls	+10%
Hear Noise	+1

Hear Noise can never be greater than 1-5.

*Frogling clerics are extremely rare, and they are always Lawful.  The Church of Law is always very proud of these converts and heaps great praise upon them, as well as lavish benefits.  St. Toad is said to be the first Frogling to have converted.

Still Looking for Players

There are still two slots open for Saturday's G+ game.  Shoot me an email if you're interested.

More Dark Country Monsters

Goblin Spider
No. Enc.: 0 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (30' human form)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 6+4
Attacks: 1 (bite) or 2 (claws, human form)
Damage: 2d6, poison or 1d8/1d8
Save: F6
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: XIX
Level/XP: 9/410+6

Goblin Spiders are horrible shapeshifters that can be found in remote places throughout the World, though they prefer remote wilderness locales.  Each has two forms.  One is that of an enormous, venomous spider and the other is that of a human.

In their spider form they appear as an enormous wolf spider.  Their bite is quite venomous and failure of a Saving Throw causes a hideous death.  The victim becomes paralyzed and dies within 2d6 rounds.  They are also incredibly stealthy, surprising on a 1-3 on 1d6.

In human form they universally appear as wizened crones whose wrinkles are so numerous they appear as spiderwebs crisscrossing her face.  Small spiders will occasionally wriggle in and out of these folds.  In this form they possess a number of magical powers.  Three times per day they may cast the spell charm person, twice per day they may cast web, and once per day they may cast invisibility on themselves.  This invisibility will still be maintained if the Goblin Spider changes into a spider.  Regardless of the form, the Goblin Spider may only be hurt by +1 or better weapons.

They usually lair in isolated cabins, and pretend to be a welcoming old woman simply looking for company.  Most people in the Dark Country are too smart for this tactic and the Goblin Spider is not above simply ambushing them while invisible.

Hoggsby
No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 2 (claws)
Damage: 1d8/1d8
Save: F4
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XXI
Level/XP: 6/90+4

Hoggsbies are a type of undead creature which has stayed in one place so long that it has literally merged with its home.  They normally appear as skeletal or rotting corpses draped in brown rags with sharp, iron claws.  They are always found in a barrow, dungeon or other such locale.  Here they can appear as a piece of furniture, section of wall, pile of rubble or some other dungeon feature.  When a character is unlucky enough to come near one they animate, attacking with their two claws.  They always gain surprise unless the character being attacked is a Ranger or Frogling, in which case they gain surprise on a 1-2 on 1d6.  A Hoggsby cannot be hit except by +1 or greater weapons and possesses undead immunities.

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I've attempted to use the AD&D xp system for this entry, but I'm not sure if my math is right.  Otherwise they should be compatible with any sort of OSD&D you wish to use them in.

Realms of Crawling Chaos: Lovecraftian Dark Fantasy Review

Realms of Crawling Chaos: Lovecraftian Dark Fantasy (hereafter ROCC) is a short supplement produced by Goblinoid Games for Labyrinth Lord.  This is a capsule review of the 66 page pdf version.

The explicit goal of ROCC is to create a framework for dark fantasy games with a Lovecraftian flare.  It relies primarily on Lovecraft's work to do this, but also includes some material from Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith's respective works.  The book begins with a discussion of the themes and elements present in such a campaign.  This is by far the weakest part of the book.  The discussion of Science in this section seems a bit out of place.  While it obviously is a major part of Lovecraft's theme, it is rather alien to Labyrinth Lord and the kind of games it seeks to emulate.  

Still these are minor quibbles.  Despite the errors and some of the strangeness in this section, I still found it very inspiring.  It provides a framework for Lovecraftian campaigns quite different than the one I was expecting.  While many of the insights are not new to me, the way that Proctor and Curtis wed these ideas to Medieval Fantasy creates a new sort of genre.  Well, that might be a bit extreme, but it is certainly unlike previous attempts at Lovecraftian D&D such as Carcosa.  Reading it, I get the image of villagers huddled in their homes, afraid of the terrors that lurk in the darkness outside.  I imagine foolhardy warriors and wizards who brave ancient ruins for terrifying artifacts.  In short, it makes me want to run a game, and that is the best one can expect from a product such as this.

Next the book introduces new character races.  These are rather gonzo, but their inclusion is not unwanted.  My favorite by far is the Sea Blood, which turns the Deep One into a playable race.  Stats are provided for both AD&D style races and race as class builds.  This section ends with a discussion of what classes are appropriate for a ROCC game.  Some of the text is contradictory, such as whether or not Magic-Users may be allowed in certain campaign types.  It is also strange that this should be found in a chapter titled "Character Races," but that is probably a nit pick.

The rules continue with new magical spells.  ROCC introduces the concept of Formulae, which require ingredients to work their magical effects.  I'm a tremendous fan of this idea; however, I found the execution lacking in some places.  There are very few formulae and those that are present are rather bland.  A few stand out as being excellent, but I think the book could have benefited from more and more flavorful formulae.  The list of regular spells has some good entries, but much like formulae most aren't terribly exciting.  

The monster section is excellence.  I was happy to see such obscure entries as Bokrug, the Water Lizard from "The Doom that Came to Sarnath."  I may wonder how useful they are to someone who already has D&D stats for Lovecraft's various entities, but to me they are a welcome addition.  

The section on artifacts is also good.  I especially like the Great Race Ray gun, since I'm generally a fan of Science Fantasy.  Granted I could simply use the technology rules from Mutant Future, but it was nice to see it nonetheless.

The rules for Psionics are a mixed bag.  They're easy to understand, but there are few powers provided.  I especially find the lack of a enthrall or dominate power to be saddening, since I wanted to add it to my Hypnotoad writeup.  I also was frustrated by the lack of rules for Psionic characters, but understand why they were not included.  One could easily make a Psionic class if one has access to Mutant Future.

The four appendices are all excellent.  My personal favorites are the rules for Eldritch Tomes (which will undoubtedly end up in Nightwick Abbey) and Random Artifacts.  I'm not entirely sure why these were appendices, but I'm very happy they are present.  The literary sources entry is very interesting, and breaks down where each item in the rules came from on a story by story basis.

The art in this product is excellent.  I find the pictures to be very evocative of the kind of campaign ROCC can engender, and it also has a consistent feel.  Many RPG products have a very disjointed art presentation, but Goblinoid Games seems especially good at making sure their art has a tone and feel that is consistent throughout.  

On the whole I'd say Realms of Crawling Chaos is a good sourcebook.  I am a bit disappointed with it in some places, but at $5 for the pdf, it's very difficult not to recommend it.

I give Realms of Crawling Chaos: Lovecraftian Dark Fantasy 3 1/2 out of 5 Stars.

Underworld Systems and Character Types

Forgive me if this is a bit rambling.  My thoughts on these subjects are a bit half-formed, but I feel like I need to get something about them hammered down before I continue developing the Underworld.

In the days when the Underworld was called the Lost Lands, I went through a number of possible system options.  It was originally designed alongside a homebrew system created in order to fill the requirments of Matt Finch's Quick Primer on Old School Gaming while still being appealing to the new schoolers I played with.  It did this with some success, but it lacked the kinds of guidelines I like when making wilderness and dungeon areas (such as No. Appearing and Treasure Class).  I toyed with using the "Lost Lands" as the basis for a Swords & Wizardry based game, even going so far as to write up a pretty extensive house rules document that is now lost to the ages.  I've even considered using a combination of yellow book BRP and the Bronze Grimoire to power the setting, but nothing came of that either.

Now that I've picked it up again (as a side project) and given it a bit of a face lift, I need to think about what system I'm going to use to power it.  Obviously, I could go the route of Scott of Huge Ruined Pile and make all the material as systemless as possible.  I don't feel comfortable with that option.  The amount of  changes that would have to be made to any given system to accommodate just the monsters is pretty large.  Almost all of D&D's monster list is completely useless.  The only exceptions being certain undead and summoned monsters.  I'm fine making a wholly new monster list, but I wouldn't want to burden some other sap who decided this setting was the bomb and wanted to use it in his or her home game.  Therefore I need some system I can provide stats for, though I will probably put out little handouts on how to run this setting with other systems.

So what system?  I'm currently getting better acquainted with Labyrinth Lord since the group that I will be DMing for is relatively familiar with that system.  I'm also a fan of LotFP:WFRPG.  So some sort of B/X D&D hack?  Well... no.  I've never really been comfortable making monsters for those systems as I never know how much xp they should be worth.  The most likely answer is the Swords & Wizardry White Box, which is by far my favorite retroclone.  It has a bare bones sensibility that I think will lend itself well to tinkering and this project in general.

Of course I could pick up another side project that would fill a similar niche in my creative efforts but not be as arduous a task.  Possibly more on that later.

With that out of the way, I need to decide what character types I wish to represent with these rules.  Fighters and Magic Users fit in easily to the setting.  Clerics stick out like a sore thumb.  They fit great in Nightwick Abbey's pseudo-Medieval milieu, but their holy magic and mace wielding antics are a poor fit for a setting where even the nicest gods have terrible serpents for pets.  I could just stick to Fighting Men and Magic Users, possibly importing LotFP:WFRPG's encumbrance rules and lack of weapon/armor restrictions, but I'm not sure about that yet.  I feel like I want to allow some other class options for the players if only to give them more options.

That being said, none of the other classes developed for TSR D&D strike me as appropriate for this setting.  Thieves could work, but I find that they generally muck up OD&D.  Still they are an option.  The others work less well.  I'll probably have to create some of my own with the setting in mind, but I'll burn that bride when I cross it.

To close, here is an inspirational image for the setting:

Now back to thinking about Nightwick Abbey...

Labyrinth Lord House Rules

Here is the first draft of my Labyrinth Lord houserules for Nightwick Abbey.  They are in no particular order.

1)  3d6 Assign to Taste -- If you want to assign them in order, go right ahead.

2)  Use HD from Advanced Edition Compendium.

3)  Use Common Abilities from LotFPWFRPG.

4)  Replace the Thief class with the Specialist Class.

5)  Druids from the AEC are available as a Human class.

6)  Ascending AC.  Unarmed Human starts at 10 AC.

7)  Use Encumbrance rules from LotFPWFRPG.  This includes removing weapon and armor restrictions.

8) Reroll any result of a 1 or a 2 on starting HP.

9) Use Small/Medium/Large weapon rules from LotFPWFRPG.

10) Fighters gain Follow Through.  When they kill an enemy, the may make an additional attack against an adjacent enemy.  They can do this until enemies stop dying.

11) 10% on money spent on genre or character appropriate actions is gained in XP.

12) Only Human or Changeling characters to start, but future characters can be of other races.

13) Magic-Users can only gain spells from research, scrolls and captured spell books.

14) Use magic research rules from LotFPWFRPG.

15) Magic-Users must have their hands free to cast spells.  That means no weapons or torches.

16) Some secret doors and traps will use different die types for detection a la AD&D.

That's it for now.  I'm sure more will come up during extended play.  Now that I look at it, I'm really playing a hybrid of LotFPWFRPG and LL.  Oh well.