[Guest Post] Bronze Age weapons & armour

[Steve is back with weapons from the ancient world. I have included some of his explanatory notes to me, some may find them useful to add a bit of detail. I wish I could just transcribe our conversations, but I'm not spending my time doing that! -HDA]

Part One - Prehistory

*****

Javelin, Amentum - Greeks used a twisted leather thong attached to a javelin to extend the throw similar to an atlatl, but without the finickiness of loading it onto the branch, as the thong was just affixed to the javelin.  As it untwisted, it also imparted spin.

Javelin, Pilum - You'd best know what this one is.  Heavy, hypodermic looking javelin that the legion is famed for.  Fucked with shields and over-penetrated to strike men who used them on account of their design.

Dolabra - The real weapon that built the empire, the legion's entrenching tool. Mattock/pickaxe.

Xyston - A normal Macedonian spear.

Gastraphetes - Greek crossbow that would have allowed them to span a draw weight greater than they could have by hand, by pushing down on a mechanism that then pushed back up against the string, bracing it against their belly ("belly bow").

Epsilon axe

Epsilon axe - Shaped like the Greek character epsilon.


Labrys axe - Presumably ceremonial, associated with Minoan religion, therefore all minotaurs carry greataxes in D&D.

Kontos - The first light lances.

Sarissa - Alexander's Macedonian pike.

Falx - Dacian terror weapon, the first two-handed weapon Romans encountered. They temporarily up-armoured the dacian legions to counter it with banded iron armguards (manica), greaves, and reinforced helmets. Thus we have Roman segmented iron half-plate, if only for a short window.

Rhompheia - Basically the same thing.

Sica - Thracian shortsword, associated with assassins. This is the root of the word "Sicario."

Dory - The hoplite spear. 300 Spartans, phalanx warfare, etc.

Khopesh - Weird Egyptian bronze sword that developed out of axes, like a cut out epsilon axe

Spatha - Roman cavalry sword, longer than a Gladius, ended up becoming the main armament of the late empire, influenced the development of the migration period sword/Viking sword/Carolingian sword, would eventually stiffen and taper and develop into the arming sword.

Falcata/Kopis - Leonidas' sword, different name depending on whether you're Spanish or Greek.  Like a big Kukri knife.

In case it's not obvious for the armours I tried to use plain English to describe them. Breastplate instead of Cuirass, etc. So a segmented iron breastplate here is a "Lorica Segmentata" should you want to get that in-depth.

ANTIQUITY

Simple Melee	dmg	notes
Club	D4 B	light or versatile
Dagger, bronze/pugio	D4 P	finesse, light
Handaxe, bronze	D6 S	-
Greatclub	D8 B	two-handed
Javelin	D6 P	thrown (30/90)
Javelin, amentum	D6 P	thrown (30/120)
Javelin, pilum	D6 P	thrown (20/60), near miss disables wooden shield
Mace, bronze	D6 B	-
Pick, dolabra	D6 S/P	versatile
Quarterstaff	D6 B	two-handed
Sap	D4 B	finesse, light, knockout
Sickle	D4 S	light
Spear, bronze/xyston	D6 P	thrown (20/60), versatile
Simple Ranged
Crossbow, hand-spanned	D6 P	ammunition (60/120), loading (1), two-handed
Crossbow, gastraphetes	D8 P	ammunition (80/160), loading (1), two-handed
Dart	D4 P	finesse, thrown (20/60)
Shortbow	D6 P	ammunition (80/160), str 11, two-handed
Sling (stone)	D4 B	loading (0), ammunition (30/90)
Sling (dart)	D6 P	loading (0), ammunition (30/90)
Sling (bullet)	D6 B	loading (0), ammunition (30/120)
Martial Melee
Battleaxe, epsilon/labrys	D8 S	versatile
Lance, kontos	D6 P	reach, thrown (10/30), versatile
Pike, sarissa	D8 P	heavy, reach (15 ft, cannot attack 5 ft), two-handed
Polearm, falx/rhomphaia	D12 S	heavy, two-handed
Shortsword, gladius/xiphos	D6 P	light
Shortsword, machaira/sica	D6 S	finesse, light
Spear, dory/trident	D6 P	reach, thrown (10/30), versatile
Sword, khopesh/spatha	D8 S	-
Sword, falcata/kopis	D8 S/P	-
Whip	D4 S	finesse, reach, knockout, no opportunity attacks
Martial Ranged
Net	-	special, thrown (5/15)
Shortbow, recurved	D8 P	ammunition (100/200), str 13, two-handed

Light: Ideal for off-hand use when dual wielding.
Versatile: May be used in one or two hands. Roll the next higher die for two-handed damage.
Finesse: May use DEX modifier in place of STR for attack/damage rolls.
Heavy: Small creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls.
Reach: Adds 5 feet to striking distance, unless more is indicated.
Ammunition/Thrown: A ranged weapon. The first number is short range (attacks incur no penalty), the second is maximum range, in feet.
Loading (x): Require the user to spend an indicated number of actions reloading the weapon. If the number indicated is 0 it can be fired once per round, but no more.

Light Armour	AC	notes
Quilted linen	11+dex	-
Breastplate, leather	11+dex	-
Breastplate, linen	12+dex	-
Heart protector, bronze	12+dex	-
Medium Armour
Hide armour, crocodile	12+dex (max 2)	-
Mail shirt	13+dex (max 2)	stealth disadvantage
Scale shirt, bronze/iron	13+dex (max 2)	stealth disadvantage
Breastplate, segmented iron	14+dex (max 2)	stealth disadvantage
Breastplate, bronze	14+dex (max 2)	-
Half-plate, bronze	15+dex (max 2)	stealth disadvantage, str 13
Half-plate, segmented iron	15+dex (max 2)	stealth disadvantage, str 13
Heavy Armour
Suit of bronze plate	17	stealth disadvantage, str 15
Shield, bronze	+2	-
Shield, wooden	+2	-

*****
Pictures are from books by Osprey Publishing. Check them out, really great stuff!
Here is a video that bears on the previous entry in this series (Prehistoric weapons). Making an atlatl spear-thrower:

[Guest Post] Revising the Weapon/Armour lists - Introduction & Prehistory

[My good pal, former protege and gaming Oprah, Steve has been haranguing me for a long time about realism & historical accuracy in the D&D equipment list. Finally I asked him to put up or shut up: give me something I can use at my table or blog about! Monday morning, the following came across my desk. Actually much, much more than the following... but we'll start with this and see how far we get. -HDA]


*****

Switching from Pathfinder 1st edition to 5th edition D&D has been a breath of fresh air. While I adore Golarion despite its faults and appreciate the attempted breadth of simulationism with the rules, the situational bonuses and penalties clutter play at all but the lowest levels. I admire the OSR community a lot, and enjoy mining it for ideas, but the days of AC lookup charts, THAC0 and other trappings of the retro editions are behind me. More accurately, 1st edition is an exercise in futility in terms of getting anyone who would sit around my table to actually relearn those old ways, even as my players drown in the modern comforts of d20.

5th edition has struck a great balance with me between playable simplicity and tactical RPG gaminess, and I’ve been able to woo my players over to it despite what was initially perceived as fewer character options and a less granular, lower fidelity system of modifiers. The fact that the math doesn’t break down into absurdity after half a dozen levels is a pretty cool feature, go bounded accuracy! A lot has been written about this in other places and I’m not here to plug editions, but essentially for my group, adopting 5e has helped us (well, some of us) move away from the optimization death spiral, re-focus on play of the game, and value character creation choices that are meaningful instead of hunts to stack bonuses.

One thing that disappointed me about 5e was the weapon and armour lists. I understand their utility, but coming from Pathfinder, which has a robust gear list (even if many of those arms and armours are not only ahistorical but suffer from power creep as well), I felt like the options were not only bare-bones but pointed once again to a very few optimal loadouts. Essentially, I understand that the weapon and armour lists seem to serve as placeholders somewhat, with broad categories that might represent any number of different weapons in fantasy or history, or different time periods, somewhat jumbled together as is normal for the fantasy milieu. Ascribing gold piece values towards these items also seemed strange. I’d rather have the GM eyeball that according to the region, using the PHB as a guide. [1]

A project to create a complete equipment list that covered all these possibilities quickly grew to become too unwieldy, and I determined that what I was actually trying to do was interpret the broad categories of arms and armour into specific historical contexts. To that end, I’ve created several re-imaginings of the equipment list below. These could represent different periods of history or different cultures, as they did on Earth. They could represent different worlds with differing technological bases entirely. They might interact in interesting ways as well, when explorers from a far-off, technologically superior empire encounter more primitive humanoids living in a remote region whose equipment is simpler but more readily adapted to their environment.

The lists may also be juxtaposed, as they were in history for example when the Romans still employed bronze in some contexts or when stone age and bronze age weapons co-existed. Some of these changes re-balance the gear list a bit, and this is done according to my preferences for retaining combat utility while favouring realism. It results in weird situations like a stone axe being as effective on paper as a horseman’s axe. My suggestion would be to apply disadvantage against a weapon user attempting to attack someone armoured from a later period, or one-handed slashing weapons against heavy armour. Some late period weapons may ignore early period armour entirely (eg, firearms).

PREHISTORY

Simple Melee	damage	notes
Club	D4 B	light or versatile
Club, mere	D4 B	finesse, fragile, light
Club, sharktooth	D6 B/S	fragile
Club, stone	D6 B	fragile
Dagger, stone	D4 P	finesse, fragile, light
Greatclub	D8 B	two-handed
Handaxe, stone	D6 S	fragile
Javelin, stone	D6 P	fragile, thrown (30/90)
Spear, stone	D6 P	fragile, thrown (20/60), versatile
Yklwa, stone	D6 P	fragile, light, thrown (10/30) [2]
Simple Ranged
Blowgun	1 P	ammunition (25/50), loading (0)
Shortbow	D6 P	ammunition (80/160), str 11, two-handed
Sling (stone)	D4 B	ammunition (30/90), loading (0)
Spear-thrower, atlatl	D6 P	ammunition (30/120), loading (0)
Martial Melee
Early sword, bronze/copper	D6 S	versatile
Macuahuitl	D8 S	fragile
Macuahuitl, great	D8 S	fragile, versatile
Tepoztopilli	D10 S/P	fragile, heavy, reach, two-handed
Martial Ranged
Net	-	special, thrown (5/15)

For those of you without a copy of 5th edition, a brief explanation of the weapon properties should you care to use them.
Fragile: Weapons crafted from flint, stone, bone, horn, antler, shark-teeth and obsidian. On a to-hit roll of 1 the weapon chips or breaks, treated as an improvised weapon thereafter.
Light: Ideal for off-hand use when dual wielding.
Versatile: May be used in one or two hands. Roll the next higher die for two-handed damage.
Finesse: May use DEX modifier in place of STR for attack/damage rolls.
Loading (x): Require the user to spend an indicated number of actions reloading the weapon. If the number indicated is 0 it can be fired once per round, but no more.
Reach: Adds 5 feet to striking distance.
Ammunition/Thrown: A ranged weapon. The first number is short range (attacks incur no penalty), the second is maximum range, in feet.
Heavy: Small creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls.

Light Armour	AC	notes
Breastplate, wicker	11+dex	stealth disadvantage
Scale shirt, hide	11+dex	-
Scale shirt, horn	12+dex	stealth disadvantage
Medium Armour
Breastplate, rattan	12+dex (max 2)	stealth disadvantage
Hide armour	12+dex (max 2)	-
Heavy Armour
Suit of splinted woven fibre	14	stealth disadvantage
Shield, hide/wooden/wicker	+2	-

*****

[1] - I have done this too, my old primitive equipment list (now rendered somewhat outdated by this article) had custom prices for everything. However, I do think Steve not including prices with these lists was a bit of an oversight. We may revisit this topic later in the series.

[2] - Yklwa: From the Tomb of Annihilation adventure, it's a very short-hafted spear.

[More great reading on armour, both primitive and otherwise HERE and HERE.
Sorry about the formatting. I have never used HTML before, so the tables were hard to figure out. Use these weapon/armour lists for a wild frontier game, maybe some neanderthals, lizardmen, ogres or something.

EDIT: Added in a few extra changes Steve sent me. Next up: the bronze age!! - HDA]

Enemies of the New Sun in the Wilderlands

I read Shadow of the Torturer five times in a row before I got my hands on the rest of the Book of the New Sun. The whole thing was like a cruise missile right into my brain, and I haven't seen many people (except WWCD?) try to adapt anything from these books into their games. I introduced a Postulant of the New Sun in Land's End recently. I don't know if his involvement in the campaign will be significant, but I thought some highly enjoyable homework would be in order.

It's time to look at the mysterious ur-monsters of Urth! Details on these creatures are very scarce, so here are a few relevant quotes from the books. Glory in the masterful prose of Gene Wolfe for a little bit, and I'll try to make sense of it all further down.


**** ACHTUNG! SOME SPOILERS AHEAD. JUST READ THE DAMN BOOKS! ****

Eric He

The Shadow of the Torturer:

- I saw a caique, with high, sharp prow and stern, and a bellying sail, making south with the dark current; and against my will I followed it for a time—to the delta and the swamps, and at last to the flashing sea where that great beast Abaia, carried from the farther shores of the universe in anteglacial days, wallows until the moment comes for him and his kind to devour the continents. Then I abandoned all thoughts of the south and her ice-choked sea and turned north to the mountains and the rising of the river.


- The water closed over me, yet I did not drown. I felt I might breathe water, yet I did not breathe. Everything was so clear that I felt I fell through an emptiness more translucent than air. Far off loomed great shapes—things hundreds of times larger than a man. Some seemed ships, and some clouds; one was a living head without a body; one had a hundred heads. A blue haze obscured them, and I saw below me a country of sand, carved by the currents. A palace stood there that was greater than our Citadel, but it was ruinous, its halls as unroofed as its gardens; through it moved immense figures, white as leprosy.

Nearer I fell, and they turned up their faces to me, faces such as I had seen once beneath Gyoll; they were women, naked, with hair of sea-foam green and eyes of coral. Laughing, they watched me fall, and their laughter came bubbling up to me. Their teeth were white and pointed, each a finger's length.

I fell nearer. Their hands reached up to me and stroked me as a mother strokes her child. The gardens of the palace held sponges and sea anemones and countless other beauties to which I could put no name. The great women circled me round, and I was only a doll before them. "Who are you?" I asked. "And what do you do here?"

"We are the brides of Abaia. The sweethearts and playthings, the toys and valentines of Abaia. The land could not hold us. Our breasts are battering rams, our buttocks would break the backs of bulls. Here we feed, floating and growing, until we are great enough to mate with Abaia, who will one day devour the continents."


The Claw of the Conciliator:

-"You were correct when you said Erebus and Abaia are as great as mountains, and I admit that I was surprised you knew it. Most people lack the imagination to conceive of anything so large, and think them no bigger than houses or ships. Their actual size is so great that while they remain on this world they can never leave the water—their own weight would crush them. You mustn't think of them battering at the Wall with their fists, or tossing boulders about. But by their thoughts they enlist servants, and they fling them against all rules that rival their own."


- "We watch the giant because he grows. In that he is like us, and like our father-husband, Abaia. Eventually he must come to the water, when the land can bear him no longer. But you may come now, if you will. You will breathe—by our gift—as easily as you breathe the thin, weak wind here, and whenever you wish you shall return to the land and take up your crown. This river Cephissus flows to Gyoll, and Gyoll to the peaceful sea. There you may ride dolphin-back through current-swept fields of coral and pearl. My sisters and I will show you the forgotten cities built of old, where a hundred trapped generations of your kin bred and died when they had been forgotten by you above."


The Citadel of the Autarch:


- Master Ash pursed his lips. “Your Commonwealth is stronger than I would have believed, then. No wonder your foes are in despair.”

“If that is strength, may the All Merciful preserve us from weakness. Master Ash, the front may collapse at any time. It would be wise for you to come with me to a safer place.”

He appeared not to have heard. “If Erebus and Abaia and the rest enter the field themselves, it will be a new struggle. If and when. Interesting."


- “But you were right when you called them the slaves of Erebus. They think themselves the allies of those who wait in the deep. In truth, Erebus and his allies would give them to me if I would give our south to them. Give you and all the rest.”


- "Why?” I asked. “Why?” I was on my knees beside him.

“Because all else is worse. Until the New Sun comes, we have but a choice of evils. All have been tried, and all have failed. Goods in common, the rule of the people ... everything. You wish for progress? The Ascians have it. They are deafened by it, crazed by the death of Nature till they are ready to accept Erebus and the rest as gods."


- And yet there is a third explanation. No human being or near-human being can conceive of such minds as those of Abaia, Erebus, and the rest. Their power surpasses understanding, and I know now that they could crush us in a day if it were not that they count only enslavement, and not annihilation, as victory. The great undine I saw was their creature, and less than their slave: their toy; it is possible that the power of the Claw, the Claw taken from a growing thing so near their sea, comes ultimately from them.


The Urth of the New Sun:

- "...Great Erebus, who has established his kingdom there, will soon be driven before them, with all his fierce, pale warriors. He will unite his strength with Abaia's, whose kingdom is in the warm waters. With others, less in might but equal in cunning, they will offer allegiance to the rulers of the lands beyond Urth's waist, which you call Ascia; and once united with them will devour them utterly."


- "The armies of Erebus follow the waves," he said, "and all the defeats they suffered at your husband's hands will be avenged."


- "When has Abaia sought our good?"
"Always. He might have destroyed you..."
For the space of six breaths she could not continue, but I motioned Valeria and the rest to silence.
"Ask your husband. In a day, or a few days. He's tried to tame you instead. Catch Catodon... cast out his conation. What good? Abaia would make of us a great people."



Putting It All Together


According to Wikipedia: Erebus means 'darkness,' and can refer to either a primordial god born of Chaos, or "a place of darkness between earth and Hades." Abaia is a huge eel from Melanesian mythology.

I suppose this might explain where Wolfe got the words, but not his inspiration in creating these entities. If it weren't for that underwater monster in The Knight (I think aquatic things are a bit of a preoccupation for him) I would say the inspiration is pure Lovecraft. To wit:

1 - Live in the ocean (Erebus in the cold northern waters, Abaia in the equatorial ones)
2 - Of enormous size, too big to walk on land
3 - Space aliens who landed on earth aeons ago
4 - Could destroy humanity but would rather enslave it

Sounds just like Chthulhu, right? But what it also reminded me of is Armadad Bog, the god of the Viridians! Reading through the Wilderlands book gave me a few ideas:

Erebus, Abaia, and Armadad Bog are aliens from a far-off planet. They fell to the seas during the Uttermost War and remained after the other races departed. They predate the gods and most other sentient beings. Perhaps they were bio-weapons created by the Markrabs? Perhaps summoned by the Demon Empires, or even the elder races? Nobody knows anymore.

By crossbreeding humans with aquatic races (merfolk, deep ones, skum, etc) and their own alien genes, they created three of the peoples of the wilderlands:

-In the Sea of Five Winds, Abaia created the Orichalans, purple-skinned and hated by everyone for the excesses of their lost Dragon Empire.
-In Trident Gulf, Armadad Bog created the Viridians, decadent green-skinned imperialists.
-At the same time[1] in the Uther Pentwegern Sea, Erebus created the Avalonians, tall & pale ice-wizards of the far north.

This Lovecraftian crossbreeding was essential to the system. The entities can only exert psychic control over:
a) those who open their minds to them (the Ascians, madmen, or your classic Chthulhu Cult)
b) their children: the Viridians, Avalonians and Orichalans.

None actually know it, but the Viridan and Orichalan Empires were driven onwards in their conquests by the alien seed in their blood, which wanted only the enslavement of all humankind. Tragically, these cultures continue to choose their leaders from the "truest" among them: the greenest Viridians, the tallest & palest Avalonians, etc. In other words, those who have the most alien blood, and are most susceptible to influence by these malignant beings! Emperor Hautulin Seheitt of Viridistan has been acting strangely of late, and nobody knows why. Armadad Bog is stirring in the Gulf, and his dream of a global Viridian Empire rises in his children once more...

Armadad Bog is worshipped clandestinely as a god in Viridistan, and Erebus is venerated in Valon as Aram Kor, patron of wizards and lord of ice. Almost nobody knows the truth about them except a hidden sect which has guarded this lore throughout the ages. In Viridistan it's called Mer Shunna and I'll write them up for the next Nameless Cults!


*****

[1] According to the Wilderlands timeline, the cities of Viridistan and Valon were founded only 19 years apart.

Thanks to Steve for giving me the idea for this post in the first place. I'm pretty sick and have a harsh headache right now, which is why I'm writing this up instead of working on playable material for next game (or doing work). Oh well!

Lich Name Generator Table

In best gaming-blog fashion, I am writing about my solution to a problem I ran into today in my home game. I hate coming up with NPC names. It's horrible. I was struggling to decide on the name for a lich in a dungeon, and I thought of that old article I wrote about the Abhorrer. Let's use the same formula for lich names. Once you use a result on one of these tables, cross it out and add your own.

Note: This is not meant to be accurate or 'meaningful,' I want a table that will give me a good-sounding name real fast. That's all.

Dave Trampier classic

LICH NAME TABLE:

1A - Male Old Testament Figure (d20)

1. Abimelech
2. Abraham
3. Absalom
4. Ahasuerus
5. Belshazzar
6. Cain
7. Eliazar
8. Elkanah
9. Ephraim
10. Holofernes
11. Issachar
12. Jephthah
13. Lamech
14. Manaaseh
15. Melchizedek
16. Mordecai
17. Naphtali
18. Nebucadnezzar
19. Sennacherib
20. Zebulon

DUDE. GIRLS CAN BE LICHES TOO!
Yeah I know, that's why we have this next table. I didn't like the sound of the Old Testament names for women though, they are either perfectly acceptable modern names (I wouldn't name my lich-lord Adam or Michael, we can't have a swords-&-sorcery lichette named Sarah or Ruth) have that 'ancient world heavy metal' vibe like Abigail or Salome, or sound indistinguishable from the male names (Naamah, Ephrath). So I went more ancient-world with these ones:


1B - Female Greek Names (d30)

1. Amarantha
2. Andromeda
3. Artemisia
4. Antimony
5. Calandra
6. Callixenia
7. Cressida
8. Cybele
9. Cynara
10. Diamanda
11. Euphemia
12. Euridice
13. Hecuba
14. Ioanna
15. Iolanthe
16. Jocasta
17. Lilika
18. Medea
19. Melantha
20. Orphea
21. Philomela
22. Phaedra
23. Sybella
24. Sophronia
25. Theodosia
26. Thessaly
27. Xanthe
28. Xenobia
29. Yolanda
30. Zelenia

2 - Greek, Roman & Persian Official Titles (d66):


11. Aesymnetes
12. Agonothetes
13. Agoranomos
14. Akhoond
15. Amphipole
16. Anax
21. Apodektai
22. Archiater
23. Archimandrite
24. Argbadh
25. Asapatish
26. Baivaparatish
31. Basileus
32. Chiliarch
33. Choregos
34. Dathapatish
35. Dilokites
36. Dikastes
41. Dimorites
42. Diwan
43. Ephor
44. Kanstresios
45. Kolakretai
46. Lochagos
51. Marzban
52. Mirza
53. Navarch
54. Nawabzada
55. Pirani
56. Proxenos
61. Prytaneis
62. Sakellarios
63. Sebastokrator
64. Sebastos
65. Tetrarch
66. Theoroi


3 - Titles Used by Dictators & Emperors (d30):

1. Dear Leader
2. Supreme Commander
3. The Father/Mother
4. Great Architect
5. Brilliant Genius of Humanity
6. Gardener of Happiness
7. Conducator
8. Great Guide
9. Perpetual Dictator
10. His/Her Excellency
11. Uncrowned King/Queen
12. Lord/Lady of all Beasts of the Earth
13. Last King/Queen of [inappropriate, distant or ancient place]
14. Brotherly/Sisterly Leader and Guide
15. Head of All Men/Women
16. President for Life
17. General(issimo)
18. Captain
19. Chief
20. Caesar/Czar/Kaiser
21. Bottom of the Steps
22. He/She to Whom Homage is Paid
23. Ruler of the [cardinal direction]
24. The Pole-star
25. The Divine Order
26. Who Rules all Under Heaven
27. August One
28. Sage-King/Queen
29. of Ten-Thousand Years
30. The One to Whom one Asks an Apology

Roll once on each table and arrange them to taste! Here are a few trial runs, I rolled these straight through with no editing:

Diwan Antimony, the One to Whom one Asks an Apology

Agoronomos Ephraim, Gardener of Happiness

Czaress Iolanthe Dimorites
The Great Architect, Ephraim Archimandrite

General Baivaparatish Holofernes

Yep, this is good. I'm into it. Thank you to: WIKIPEDIA.

*****

Now it's the weekend, so go have some fun!!

Humans of the Wilderlands

I started running an open-table game set in the City-State of the World Emperor. We'll see how it goes. Some rank beginners to D&D have come out to play, and this is great, but does come with its own set of challenges:

What grinds character-creation to a halt is asking players to MAKE ANY DECISION. I think this has to do with the amount of information people need before they're willing make a choice. In 3rd edition there are dozens of starting feats available to 1st-level characters (I had to create a 3.5 character on the weekend to play in a friend-of-a-friend's game, and hated every second of it. The choices I mean, not the game itself!). There is no way a brand-new player can sit down and make any sort of informed decision about his feat choices on the day of play. He needs to take the book home and study it. Bleah!

Veterans with a given ruleset are fine here, but there is also information about the setting that must be considered, and this varies from DM to DM and game to game. Even one-axis alignment (law, chaos, neutrality) is too much setting info to absorb for some people I know to make a decision! Forget about adding complexity to PC races beyond "I'm a dwarf." You're going to hear that Scots accent whether you like it or not.

In the Wilderlands, a human character's origin might actually matter later on, but all cultures and races seem interchangeable at first with only short descriptive blurb. Thus I must force players to roll on a table. If they don't like what they get, they must pick a different option right away, and we can move along to the game itself!

EDIT: after James Mishler's great comment (thanks mate), I thought I should re-write these tables in alphabetical order, to better accord with his descriptions.


Human types in VIRIDISTAN (d%)

01-10: Alryan
11-15: Altanian
16-19: Amazon
20-29: Antillian
30-35: Avalonian
36-39: Dunael
40-45: Ghinorian
46-55: Mixed
56-57: Orichalan
58-61: Skandik
62-71: Tharbrian
72-00: Viridian


Of course distributions will vary based on location, population and political concerns. On the edge of the world, things are different, and it might look like this:


Human types in LAND'S END (d%)

01-10: Alryan
11-35: Altanian
36-45: Amazon
46-55: Antillian
56-57: Avalonian
58-60: Dunael
61-62: Ghinorian
63-77: Mixed
78-87: Orichalan
88-95: Skandik
96-98: Tharbrian
99-00: Viridian


For Wilderlands vets: I have omitted the Gishmesh and Karakhan because I decided that continent is a foreign and mysterious place known to very few. PCs being from there would squash that. Yes the game world does "shrink," but it's pretty huge to start with. The Land's End group have only ranged about 35 miles from town so far!

If a player already has an idea for their character there is no need to roll, but now I have this lying around should the need arise.

State of the Sorcery 2019

Well, it's that time again. Yule logs are crackling, a new Star Wars movie is out, I have to field calls from my relatives asking when I'm going to get my life together. But first let's look at how things went over the last year.

I wrote fewer posts this year mainly because I had other creative projects to balance, like starting a new campaign with some brand-new players. One of my bands recorded a new record so I spent most of the spring & summer practising really hard riffs that nobody will ever listen to! The Land's End crew still gets together about once a month for wilderness exploration and the players are having a great time. I'm learning a lot about the sandbox format in every session.

Most Popular Posts:

Why the OSR? / YOU RECOGNIZE NOTHING - As soon as I said I wouldn't get mad... We haven't been back to game with this group, for a handful of reasons including those I enumerate in the post. Sorry I got so pissy, but this post reached a LOT more people than my blog usually does, so I hope at least a few of you who came for the yells stayed for the skeletons and random tables.

Review: The Stygian Library - Not much else to say here, this is a great module. I will post a follow-up play report once my players have explored it. They're very close now, and I hope my personal touches don't twist it too far out of proportion.

RMGS Round 3 - My second-favourite of the series after Hyper Diabolism Edition. I break down the monster generators in the Tome of Adventure Design, Carcosa and the Gardens of Ynn.

Tomb of Abysthor - pt 2 - The Pit of Bones - Part of my ongoing attempt to adapt that venerable Necromancer Games/Frog God adventure for my home setting and rules. I'm glad people read this post, I'm proud of this little bit of my setting!

Return to Land's End sessions 8 & 9 - The most-read of my play reports! I'm glad someone likes these although I've fallen off writing them of late. They take too much time, I'd rather work on new material for my game. Maybe I can do more point-form reports that contain all the essence of these writeups, but take less time? I don't know if they'll be very interesting to read.


Least Popular Post:

REVIEW: Library Generation Table & Locks, Vaults and Hiding Places - and a blurb - I wonder why more people didn't check this one out? I suppose there isn't much point in reviewing something that's PWYW on DrivethruRPG, folks can just get it for free and see if they like it.


Failures:

Didn't get around to playing Warhammer with my group at home.
Posted less than I did last year.
Wrote more angry rants than I wanted to.


Successes:

Wrote a lot of reviews!
Wrote my 100th post!
My own writing made it into a printed book!
Started a new drop-in game with some players brand-new to D&D!
Refrained from publishing some of the angry rants that I did write!


What's coming next:

Land's End: The Tomb of Abysthor remix is progressing, the group have ventured inside and battled the relentless skeletons of the Font of Bones. I have edited the first two levels in an attempt to stay at least one whole level ahead of my players at all times, but the lower levels will require much MORE work than higher ones! The entire frog level basically needs to be deleted or completely rewritten for E6, same with the temple of Orcus. Meanwhile they are following up clues to the lost temple of Mordiggian the Charnel God, and about to venture into the drowned lands where the lizardfolk live!

Viridistan: My new drop-in game is set in & around Viridistan, the City-State of the World Emperor. After watching what Ben L. did with the Wilderlands for his game, I was inspired to read up on it. I have placed Land's End there so both games take place within the same world. This one will have less wilderness adventuring. Instead it focuses on cults, conspiracies, city adventuring, socializing, random tables, and reskinning all my LotFP adventures with a more Swords & Sorcery theme. In other words, only & entirely things I've never done before! So expect catastrophic failure, or at least some hilarious gaffes along the way.

Fun on the Velvet Horizon: A few of these are in progress, hopefully they'll be done this year.

Summoning Rules: My adaptation of Ben L's awesome monster-summoning pact rules will hopefully continue this year. This is closely tied with FotVH of course.

Nameless Cults: More of these will be added. I have selected six of the seven demon-lords that rule the forces of Chaos in Land's End. Further development on the cults of Orcus, Tsathoggua, Abraxas and more is upcoming, along with some antagonists that aren't 'infernal' so much as 'extraterrestrial'...

Play Reports: probably not!

More new material: I have written a few original dungeons for Land's End that crib from my favourite bloggers less than usual. Nothing to make a big deal out of, about the size of a dungeon from Fight On! But if my players have fun playing 'em, I'll reproduce them here for you guys to check out.

Reviews: Well, I did buy a fuckton of new gaming books this year! It'll take me a while just to read em all. I'll write up a few just keep my hand in, you understand. I am so busy that I would rather dedicate my limited blogging time to playable things for my setting. Still, if I can drive a handful people towards a really cool product, that's worth doing.

Review, Remix, Repent: I am teeing up on a controversial, well-reviewed but much-maligned module, one which perhaps fell victim to the hype surrounding it. I am attempting to extract the interesting parts. We'll see if it ends up being more work than it's worth, and who wants to lynch me after.


*****

Happy new year everyone, drive safe and drink lots of water!!

K.I.O.S. - Knights In Orcus' Service

So... I read the Metamorphica Revised. I bought Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness on eBay. I dug into the classic Chaos Patrons Revisited. I love Noisms' idea and it's an inspiration for this post but it doesn't exactly suit my setting, which has exactly seven demon lords. I thought I would have more fun if I wrote up a unique table for each demonic patron! So here is my take on the Gifts of Orcus, done in the classic style of Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness.


Chaos Patron: Orcus

[Stats are for both stupid systems since I run E6 Mathgrinder and Labyrinth Lord]

Like all Demon Lords, Orcus grants gifts to his devout clergy and lay servants alike. When a cultist gains a level they must roll on the Gifts of Orcus table below, according to this scheme:

-Single-classed clerics roll every level starting with 2nd.
-Non-cleric cultists roll on every even-numbered level.

Those who convert to Orcus late in life (after 1st level) must immediately make all the rolls they're entitled to while being inducted through a terribly painful ritual of some kind (sleeping amongst corpses for 6 days and nights, ritual flayings, etc). This changes the character's alignment to chaotic if it wasn't already. Under some circumstances a character may be able to avoid death by signing on with Orcus (just like in Chaos Patrons Revised), but this would require a save to avoid undeath as in result 97-99, and maybe some bonus rolls on the table just to teach them a lesson.

Advancing the cause of the demon lord can affect the gifts he grants. The DM will adjudicate a modifier ranging from -15% (extremely happy, you've advanced the cause of Orcus) to +15% (extremely disappointed, report for torture immediately). Orcus dislikes when undead are harmed but violence among his living cultists is fine, provided his long-term plans aren't ruined. Only the strong are deserving of his gifts.

Goblinoid Games

GIFTS OF ORCUS: d100

1-4 Infernal Assistance - Granted a demonic minion of HD equal to your level. It serves faithfully until destroyed, but may have its own agenda or tasks to fulfill.

6-11 Black Crushing Sorcery - Learn a random necromantic spell from the cleric or M-U list. If normally incapable of casting it due to class or level, the cultist can use it once per day as a spell-like ability. Roll d100 for spell level, with the same modifier used on the main Gifts table: 01-10 4th level, 11-30 3rd level, 31-60 2nd level, 61-00 1st level.

12-17 Grave Goods - Orcus grants the cultist a useful item from the abyssal treasure-vaults of the restless dead. Its purpose may be obscure, but it will always be something he is able to use. This is an opportunity to give the character a clue like a treasure map, mysterious key, one of those artifacts from Goblin Punch that I like so much or just a good magic item. If you're absolutely out of ideas, maybe use those tables from Realms of Crawling Chaos.

18-22 Familiar - Orcus grants the cultist a familiar. It takes the shape of (1d6) 1-4 a skeletal or zombie animal, 5-6 an imp or quasit.

[PF: standard familiar rules apply / LL: use this]

23-30 Undead Servants - A cadre of lower-level undead appear beside the cultist. Consult the 'Type of Undead' table below and subtract four from the cultist's level to determine kind and number. Mindless undead will obey until destroyed. Those of free will are more like hirelings or henchmen and are reluctant to undertake suicide missions, may have their own goals, etc.

31-35 Chaos Armour - Orcus grants the cultist a suit of bad-ass chaos armour. It will be a random type of metal armour irrespective of character class. If the cultist can't or won't wear it he may pass it on to someone else. I suggest allowing NPC cultists to cast spells in chaos armour without penalty.

Regardless of make & material, the armour gains the following magical bonuses every time this gift is rolled. [PF: +1 to AC, grants DR 5/magic or law / LL: +1 to AC, +1 weapons required to hit]

Make a save when the armour is first worn, or if this gift is rolled again [PF: Will DC 20 / LL: vs spells at -2] or it bonds to the wearer and cannot be removed short of a limited wish or similar magic.

36-41 Demon Weapon - A magic weapon appears at the cultist's feet, of a kind he is able to use. Inside is the bound spirit of a demon of the lower planes. Use the Realm of Chaos daemon weapon rules if you can figure them out, the ones in the Metamorphica, or create an intelligent magic sword as per the DMG. It is always chaotic in alignment and serves Orcus, although may have its own personal goals.

[Tables for creating demon weapons may go here, if I can get around to it]

42-49 Death Mask - The cultist is granted an ornate and valuable ceremonial mask. At 2nd level it is made of a base material like lead, iron or bone. As the cultist gains experience the mask's value climbs commensurately [100 gp per level] and it transmutes to copper, silver, then gold. Rolling this gift again doubles the mask's value and decoration each time: old and powerful cultists have ritual masks carved in wild patterns and studded with precious gems, and these are usually still worn while serving in Orcus' undead legions.

They don't do anything magical. Just hide your deformities, look ballin' and are worth a fair bit of dough when the forces of Law loot your corpse!

50-52 Rictus - The cultist's face melts into the desiccated, eyeless grin of a corpse. [PF: -6 CHA / LL: -3 CHA] All who come within 10' and see his face are struck with supernatural dread. 

[PF: Will DC 12 + (cleric level or 1/2 other class level) or frightened for 1d4 rounds / LL: As the spell Cause Fear]

53-56 Mark of Orcus / Dead Truce - His symbol is seared permanently onto the cultist's face, hands or some other prominent place for all to see. If an undead creature sees the symbol it must succeed on a save in order to attack the cultist, although it is free to attack his companions or take any other action. Free-willed undead are not affected.

[PF: Will DC 10 + (cleric level or 1/2 other class level) + CHA bonus / LL: Roll on the turn undead table as a cleric of your level]

57-62 Lich Touch - The cultist develops an icy-cold aura. His breath fogs even in warm weather and raindrops freeze on his skin. Touch an opponent in melee to deal cold damage.

[PF: 1d8 + 1/2 level / LL: 1d10]

63-66 Face of the Goatlord - The cultist's face deforms to resemble a monstrous, fanged black goat. His voice takes on a hircine quality and he may stutter or bleat from time to time. If he already owns a Mask of Orcus, it will change to fit his new anatomy.

67-79 Marked by the Grave - An aura of undeath surrounds the cultist, so roll on this great table by Necropraxis.

80-83 Mummified - The cultist's skin becomes withered and leathery, and his voice croaks with the dust of the tomb.

[PF: +4 AC, -4 CHA, +50% damage from fire / LL: +2 AC, -2 CHA, +1 damage per die from fire attacks]

84-87 Skeletonized - One random limb shrivels painfully into an appendage of bone. Roll d4: 1 left arm, 2 right arm, 3 left leg, 4 right leg.

A withered arm gives [PF: -4 STR / LL: -2 to hit & dmg] with any task involved. A withered leg reduces your movement speed [PF: -5' per round / LL: From 120' to 90' or from 90' to 60', you get the idea]

88-90 Contagion - The cultist is infected with an incurable disease of some kind: leprosy, the black plague, red ache, the trembles, polio. It is survivable, but not without damaging the cultist's body irreversibly. However, it can now be transmitted by touch:

Roll 1d6, and count down the stats on your character sheet in whatever order they're written. That statistic is reduced by 1d3 points, permanently. The cultist may touch opponents in melee to damage that same characteristic by 1d3 points. Whether the cultist's victims can recover from this disease or the attribute damage is up to your system and your DM. Play hard...

[PF: Fortitude DC 10 + (cleric level or 1/2 other class level) + CON / LL: Save vs. poison]

91-93 Dead Already - The cultist's organs begin to wither as his body prepares itself for unlife. For now he is still alive and needs to eat, sleep & breathe, but is harmed by Cure and healed by Inflict spells just like undead creatures. He cannot recover hit points naturally, is immune to bleeding damage & won't bleed out below 0 HP, is immune to sneak attacks and critical hits.

94-96 Level Drained! - The cultist loses one level and all corresponding abilities, spells, saves, etc. He retains all experience points and can advance to the next level as normal to make up his losses. I like these Necropraxis level-drain rules, they're what I use at home.

97-99 WAKE UP! TIME TO DIE - The judgement of Orcus descends. The cultist must make a saving throw [PF: Fortitude DC 20 / LL: vs. death with a -2 penalty]. If it's failed by a margin greater than [PF: 10 points / LL: 5 points], he is instantly slain! If the save is failed by a smaller margin, Orcus grants his follower hideous unlife. Refer to the 'Type of Undead' table below based on your level.

If the save is passed, Orcus spares your miserable life for now. Take gift 42-49: Death Mask instead.

00 Chaos Attribute - Found unworthy of a divine gift! Roll on a giant mutation table instead. I'll be using the Metamorphica or you can go back to the original Chaos Attributes table, or I have an old compilation of tables here that includes plenty of greats.

* Type of Undead Table *

-2: skeleton (1-6)
-1-0: skeleton (2-8)
1-2: skeleton (2-12)
3-4: zombie (2-12)
5-6: ghoul (2-12)
7-8: wight (2-8)
9-10: mummy or wraith (2-5)
11-12: vampire or spectre (1)
13+: death knight or lich! (1)


*****

Next up for this treatment: Abraxas! In the meantime, here is some goatlord-approved music: