Easy Roller Dice: Review

I am... particular about my gaming dice.  I don't just buy or use any old dice.  My main set is a collection of Chessex sparkled dice, themed after the elements (fire, earth, air, and water) and a set of Q-Workshop dwarven runed Fudge Dice, from their first production run.  I don't like other people using my dice, and I keep them in a custom embroidered Crown Royal bag which says, "TIM'S DICE, HANDS OFF."  I have a whole separate bag of dice that I use as loaners and to store the dice I've acquired which don't make it into my main dice bag.

I say "particular", others might say "insane".  I'm OK with that.

I was first exposed to Easy Roller Dice through their frequent sponsorship of Happy Jacks RPG Podcast, on which I am a part-time host.   Being something of a dice snob and perfectly happy with the amount and quality of dice I owned, I honestly didn't pay them too much attention.  But then they started showing up at my gaming table as most of the people I game with are also Happy Jacks related, and I couldn't help but notice them.  I decided that should the opportunity present itself, I would get myself some Easy Roller dice.

Well, the opportunity presented itself, and I am now the proud owner of a set of pristine black smoke Easy Roller dice and a matching dice bag.  Yes, they're the ones shown in the picture up above.
First off, the bag.  This is a nice little dice bag!  It's made of a thick, faux velvet, lined on the inside with a red, satin-esque material.  The drawstrings are thick, and there's an Easy Roller Dice Co tag sewn into the side.  This dice bag is going to hold up for a long while.

Now on to the dice themselves.  They're really nice.  The numbers are thickly and uniformly inked, and the white coloring makes for a nice contrast against the black smoke.  They feel solid, but not overly heavy.  They roll well, and by that I don't mean they provide the results I'm looking for.  I mean that when you roll them, they roll exactly as much as they should.  They don't stop short after a heavy "thunk", nor do they skitter all the way across the table.  Universally they seem to be just a hair smaller than my Chessex dice, but that's only noticeable under close scrutiny.

All in all, I really like these dice, and I'm looking forward to using them in a game.  They're certainly going to become a part of my main set, but they've given me a conundrum: I don't want to just throw the dice in my Crown Royal bag, but I don't want to shove another bag into it.  So now I have to figure a way to integrate my Easy Roller dice into my main set.  Like I said, I'm particular about my dice, heh.

And hey!  Easy Roller Dice is once again offering a discount for Happy Jacks listeners.  Simply enter the promo code "HAPPY" (minus the quotation marks) during checkout and receive a 20% discount on your entire order.  You can snag a single set of dice, a bag of 6 complete sets of dice (42 individual dice), or one of their brand new gaming mats.  Check them out at: http://www.easyrollerdice.com.

Labyrinth Lord: A Petty God

In support of the upcoming release of Expanded Petty Gods, and my own exceedingly minor contribution therein, I'm going to pen a brand new Petty God...

...I should state that Labyrinth Lord is not my old-school game of choice, so apologies if some of the stats seem wonky. This should also work in B/X D&D.




The remainder of this post is designated Open Game Content as outlined in section 1(d) of the Open Game License.

When it is late at night and you find yourself still on the road, when the inn you had hoped to reach by sunset must be just over that next hill, when the waning moon's light is so weak as to render your map nigh unreadable, that is when the darkened traveler has you in his clutches. 

The Darkened Traveler
Name: Cobryn (men), Nondil (elves), Hoibur (dwarves), Bidgish (orcs)
Symbol: a swath of black with a meandering brown path from side to side
Alignment: Chaotic
Move: 180' (60')
Armor Class: 0
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 72 HP (12 HD)
Attacks: Special
Damage: Special
Save: T12
Morale:10
Hoard Class: XII
XP:2400

Cobryn, the darkened traveler, is the petty god of those who have become lost while traversing a road, searching for an inn or way-station late at night.  In his normal form, when he's actually seen in his normal form, he appears as a dark-skinned and dark-haired gnome frolicking amongst the trees and bushes along the road.

While in his domain, Cobryn is a master of mimicry and illusions.  Should he encounter those who fall under his purview (and he always seems to be around when that happens) he will silently watch, unseen, to get a feel for the party.  Should he react favorably towards them, he will mimic the sounds of a full tavern just up ahead and lead the party to their destination.

Should he react unfavorably towards them, Cobryn will summon into existence an illusory inn and lead the party into it.   Only a saving throw vs. spells with a -10 penalty will reveal the inn's true nature.  Once inside, the party will enjoy illusory drinks, eat illusory food, stay in illusory rooms, and wake up after a few hours sleep on the ground along the road, with 10% of their coinage gone.

Cobryn is not a combatant.  Should one of the party make their saving throw, reveal Cobryn for what he is, and initiate combat, he will use illusions to make good his escape.  However, with the party no longer under his purview, he can only use the Hallucinatory Terrain, Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force, Project Image, and Ventriloquism spells as written, each which he can use up to three times per day.  Should Cobryn be bested in combat, he will not die (after all, he is a god) but he will yield and offer up his collected coinage in exchange for his release.

Cobryn is exceedingly fond of food and drink, especially ales, meats, and cheeses. Should an offering be made to him as soon as the party realizes their situation, anywhere from a +2 (for a basic spread) to a +4 (for a full selection of meats, breads, and cheeses with ale, mead, or wine) bonus can be applied to the reaction roll (which means you'd subtract it from the die roll, making the reaction more favorable).

Reaction Table (2d6)

Roll	Reaction
2	Friendly: Cobryn uses mimicry to lead the party to the closest inn.
3-5	Indifferent: Cobryn uses mimicry to lead the party to the closest inn, but not directly.
6-8	Neutral: Cobryn watches the party but takes no action for or against them.
9-11	Unfriendly: Cobyrn "captures" the party in an illusory inn.
12	Hostile: Cobryn "captures" the party in an illusory inn and takes 20% of their coinage.

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls: Exploring, Part Two

Originally released in 1975, Tunnels & Trolls was the second fantasy role-playing game ever, having hit the market just one year after Dungeons & Dragons and three years before RuneQuest.  This year, Flying Buffalo, Inc. released Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls (dT&T), stating that "it's back, and better than ever!"

In this series of articles, I'm going give dT&T a thorough work-through, starting with character creation.  The article continues below.

In part one of this series, I began generating Penhaligon, the half-elf rogue.  Welcome to part two, where we finish him off.

As a rogue, Penhaligon has some specific skills on which I'd like to touch, even if only momentarily.  The first is "magical attunement"; Penhaligon has the capacity to learn magic, although he has no formal training.  He will start the game with one spell for which he meets the IQ and DEX requirement.  The second is that he is "talented"; he immediately gets one extra talent and upon achieving each even-numbered level he will get an additional "rogue-like" talent for free.  The third is that when he reaches 7th level, he'll be able to become a full fledged warrior, a full fledged wizard, or keep going as a rogue.  Both magic and talents will be discussed later.

But first... let's get Penhaligon some gear.

Much like other fantasy role-playing games, the economy of dT&T is based around the gold piece (GP), silver piece (SP), and copper piece (CP), with an exchange rate of 1GP = 10 SP = 100 CP.  There are a number of ways in which the rule book advises equipping your character: everything from the basic "roll 3d6 x 10 for GP, spend as desired" to "lets just assume you have everything you need."  For this exploration, I'm going to fall back on the tried-and-true 3d6 method.
Penhaligon has... 130 GP.  Not bad.

For what it's worth, I am exceedingly impressed with the attention to detail given to weapons and armor in dT&T.  In a game like dT&T - ostensibly a rules light old school game - one might expect a more old-school D&D approach to weapons and armor, what with just a short sword and long sword as the options.  That is just not the case.  There are fifteen different swords, each with different damages, STR requirements, DEX requirements, costs and weights.  There are seven daggers, two of which are double daggers.  There are hafted weapons, shafted weapons, unclassified weapons, polearms, projectile weapons, thrown weapons, gunnes, and the list goes on.  The same is true of weapons and shields.  And, on top of that, dT&T includes a fairly comprehensive system to modify the standard weapons and armor, changing their manufacture, materials, design, enhancements, and size.  So while dT&T combat might be a study in abstraction, what your PC wears and uses going into combat is definitely not.

I think that Penhaligon is going to be a sabre guy.  He's going to use a small sabre which costs 55 GP, has a requirement of STR and DEX equal to 8, and does 3d6 damage plus his adds.  Due to money concerns, he's not going to modify his weapon at all.  That leaves him with 75 GP.  Not a whole lot left; he certainly can't afford a nice suit of armor, so let's set him up with quilted fabric "armor".  It costs 50 GP, has a STR requirement of 6, and takes 4 hits (I'll get into that when I cover combat, later.)  So now he has a whopping 25 GP left.

The rule book follows weapons and armor with a substantial dissertation on poisons, but I don't think Penhaligon is a poisoner.

The generic equipment lists in dT&T are nice.  They're not as comprehensive as the weapon and armor tables, but pretty much everything you need as an adventurer is in there.  Penhaligon needs a basic delver's package (which includes a backpack, a tuckerbag, a waterskin, some matches, some torches, some twine, and some chalk) and goes for 5 GP.  He also needs a shirt (lightweight, 2 GP), trousers (lightweight, 4 GP), a belt (2 GP) and sandals (4 GP).  He's now down to 8 GP and is carrying 248 "weight units", or about 25 pounds of stuff.

I was hoping to have gotten to talents and magic, but this is getting a bit long today.  So!  Here is Penhaligon as he sits now:

Name: Penhaligon
Type: Rogue
Level: 1
Gender: Male
Kindred: Half-Elf
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175
Hair: brown
STR: 15
CON: 15
DEX: 13
SPD: 13
IQ: 9
WIZ: 10
LK: 11
CHR: 10
Adds: 5
WT Poss: 1500
WT Carried: 248
Gold: 8
Equipment
Weapons: short sabre (3d6+5 damage)
Armor: quilted fabric (4 hits)
Other Property: lightweight shirt, lightweight trousers, belt, sandals, basic delver's package

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls: Exploring, Part One-and-a-Half

Originally released in 1975, Tunnels & Trolls was the second fantasy role-playing game ever, having hit the market just one year after Dungeons & Dragons and three years before RuneQuest.  This year, Flying Buffalo, Inc. released Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls (dT&T), stating that "it's back, and better than ever!"

In this series of articles, I'm going give dT&T a thorough work-through, starting with character creation.  The article continues below.

In part one of this series, I mentioned the "specialist" character type, and promised I'd explain it later.  This is that explanation.

I'll start by saying that the specialist is very rare.  The only way a specialist character can be generated is if triples are rolled for one (or more) of the character's prime attributes.  No triples rolled?  No specialist.  Point-buy prime attributes?  No specialist.

Basically, a character who is a specialist is extraordinary in some way.  A specialist will still choose to be a warrior, wizard, or rogue, but they'll be a much-stronger-than-others warrior, or a much-smarter-than-others wizard, or a way-luckier-than-others-rogue.  So much so that it becomes a part of their identity and they are recognized for it.

It's very conceivable that a specialist character could start at 2nd level or beyond, given that with the  TARO rule (Triples Add and Roll Over), the minimum score for one of a specialist's prime attributes will be 7 (1+1+1 plus 1+2+1 = 7) and could be much greater.

As far as basic character creation is concerned, that pretty much sums up a specialist character.  The Elaborations section of the rule book contains many more options for specialists, but I'm not going to cover those until later.

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls: Exploring, Part One

Originally released in 1975, Tunnels & Trolls was the second fantasy role-playing game ever, having hit the market just one year after Dungeons & Dragons and three years before RuneQuest.  This year, Flying Buffalo, Inc. released Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls (dT&T), stating that "it's back, and better than ever!"

In this series of articles, I'm going give dT&T a thorough work-through, starting with character creation.  The article continues below.

At their core, dT&T characters are defined by 8 "prime attributes".  They are: Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Speed, Luck, Intelligence, Wizardry, and Charisma.  Prime attributes are initially rated from 3-18, but can go well beyond that based on character race ("kindred") and earned experience, and can be generated either by a 3d6 roll for each (rolled in order, or assign to taste), or distributing 84 points among them.

While point distribution can eliminate the randomness of rolling dice, the option of creating a "specialist" character is lost, which is an option when triples are rolled.  "Specialist" characters will be addressed later, so at this point, I'm just going to note any attributes for which I roll triples.  In addition, a point-buy would invalidate the TARO ("Triples Add and Roll Over") rule; if you get triples on any rolled attribute score, roll again and add that to the total.  As long as you keep rolling triples, you add that value and roll again until you stop rolling triples.  So if I were to roll 4, 4, 4, I would roll again; if I rolled 2, 2, 2, I would roll again; if I then rolled 1, 2, 3 I would stop rolling, and the total would be 24 (4+4+4+2+2+2+1+2+3).

I'm opting to roll 3d6 and assign to taste; my scores are: 14, 8, 10, 13, 13, 12, 10, and 12.  I did not roll any triples, so I do not need to apply TARO or mark any of the scores as a triple.  After generating prime attribute scores, the dT&T rulebook goes into determining personal adds, but I'm going to hold off on that.  I'm also going to hold off on assigning my scores to the prime attributes, because I want to choose my character type first.

In dT&T, a character type is analogous to the character class of other fantasy RPGs, although they're not as tightly defined and are subject to player interpretation.  In that respect, they're almost like powers in Savage Worlds, where a bolt is a bolt is a bolt until the player assigns trappings and you wind up with a gout of magical flame, demonic pac-men summoned through a small, magical gate, and energized bullets shot from a spiritual gun.  Thus, a dT&T warrior type could represent someone like Conan the Barbarian, a knight like Sir Lancelot, or a martial artist like Bruce Lee.  The available character types in dT&T are the warrior, the wizard, and the rogue.

While the dT&T warrior and wizard are fairly self-explanatory,  the rogue bears a bit of explanation.  While the standard fantasy trope of a rogue is the shadowy, sneaky thief type, in dT&T the rogue is a catch-all type for those characters who want to adventure but didn't get the training required to be a warrior or a wizard.  As such, they get aspects of both types; they have some fighting ability and some ability to cast spells and later (at 7th level) have the option to focus all that potential and become either a full warrior or a full wizard.

I think that the character I'm creating is going to be a rogue, and so I'm going to assign my attribute scores as follows: Strength 12, Constitution 12, Dexterity 13, Speed 13, Luck 14, Intelligence 10, Wizardry 10, and Charisma 8.  With an average of 10-11, my rogue is strong and healthy (STR & CON 12), agile and quick (DEX + SPD 13), very lucky (LK 14), of average smarts and ability to use magic (IQ & WIZ 10), but not very likable (CHA 8); he probably skated by relying on luck and inherent ability to get by in his pre-adventuring days instead of his ability to charm others.
Now, I could loop back and figure out his personal adds, but I've decided I don't want my rogue to be human; I want him to be half-elven.  The way that dT&T handles different kindred is through an attribute multiplier.  Basically, you multiply each attribute by the kindred's multiplier, rounding off fractions as follows: if the multiplier is > 1, round down; if the multiplier is < 1, round up.  So, a human, for instance, has a multiplier of 1 for each attribute.  Half-elves have the following multipliers: Strength x 1.25, Constitution x 1.25, Dexterity x 1, Luck x .75, Intelligence x .9, Wizardry x 1, and Charisma x 1.25, which was found in the Elaborations section, much later in the book.

I should add that I had to jump to the Elaborations section for the half-elf because it's not considered one of the "core" playable kindred in dT&T.  They ("the Good Kindreds") are considered to be humans, dwarves, elves, hobbs (halflings), fairies, and leprechauns.  Half-elves are considered part of "the Familiar Illkin", along with creatures like gnomes, goblines, kobolds, orcs, and so on.  There are also "the Less Common Illkin" and "the Extraordinary Illkin", comprising more monstrous and odd choices for player characters, but they're all playable (given GM approval, of course.)

So now, my half-elven rogue has the following scores: Strength 15, Constitution 15, Dexterity 13, Speed 13, Luck 11, Intelligence 9, Wizardry 10, and Charisma 10.  Turns out, he's much more strong and healthy, not quite as amazingly lucky, a little less smart, and much more likable than I had originally thought.

Now, with prime attributes, kindred choice, and character type established, I can total up his personal adds.  Originally called combat adds in previous editions of T&T, personal adds are a combat modifier that a character receives based on the character's attribute scores.  Basically, for each point over 12 in STR, LK, DEX, and SPD, the character gets one "add".  So, looking back at my character's scores, he has 5 personal adds (3 for STR, 0 for LK, 1 for DEX, and 1 for SPD).  As attributes go up due to earned experience ("Adventure Points"), his personal adds will go up as well.

I can also now determine his character level, which is the integer value of his highest attribute divided by 10; with 15 as his highest score, my half-elven rogue is level 1.
Height and weight for a dT&T character are generated usually by player fiat.  However, there is a table for randomly generating HT and WT, and if your character is a non-human kindred, there are multipliers for the value generated on that table as well, just like with the prime attributes.

So!  Here is my first dT&T character so far:

Name: Penhaligon
Type: Rogue
Level: 1
Gender: Male
Kindred: Half-Elf
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175
Hair:
STR: 15
CON: 15
DEX: 13
SPD: 13
IQ: 9
WIZ: 10
LK: 11
CHR: 10
Adds: 5

That's all for now.  Equipment, weight carried and magic will be covered in part two of this series.

GURPS: Fantasy II Review

One of, I think, the most maligned RPG books from a serious publisher, GURPS Fantasy II: Adventures in the Mad Lands stands as one of the few examples of what happens when you let game designers take lots of drugs while watching H.R. Pufnstuf having just read H.P. Lovecraft's take on Winnie the Poo.

(Note: I have no actual evidence of drug use on behalf of the designers.  I just like to think they were trippin' balls when they wrote Fantasy II.)

Fantasy II centers around a primitive group of hunter/gatherer type people known as Madlanders, their homelands (oddly enough called the Mad Lands), and their surrounding neighbors (Savarginia, Togeth, and the Whiteness).  The Madlander culture is very defined and it covers everything from daily life, theological and philosophical outlook, sports and recreation, folk tales and heroes, to how the typical Madlander deals with people from the other nations, magic, and the gods.  It even has a complete lexicon for the Madlander language.  It's... very detailed in that regard with almost Gloranthan levels of detail.

What keeps me coming back to Fantasy II, though, are the monsters and the gods.  Well, actually, some of the monsters (just the really frightening ones), the concepts behind the gods (the actual Mad Lands gods are kinda silly, with most being just gigantic, divinely intelligent animals actually rumored to be based on Winnie the Pooh), and the relationships between monsters and gods.  I'll explain:

In the Mad Lands, the gods are insane and chaotic.  They're not gods that you worship, they're gods that you fear.  From time to time the gods will physically show up in the Mad Lands; when that happens their very presence warps everything around them.  Monsters in the Mad Lands were all once human and have become monstrous because of close proximity to a god; when that happens, the god unintentionally takes something away from you, leaving you in a monstrous state.  The truly frightening thing about monsters in the Mad Lands is not how horrible or scary they are, it's that you could fairly easily become one.  While one can petition the gods for magical powers (becoming a shaman), only the truly insane would do such a thing; there's just as much of a chance that you'll become some sort of monster as you would get the power you're seeking.  It's all very Lovecraftian in certain ways, which is something I really dig.

So there's the Fleshless, for instance, a horrible once-human creature that lived on after having all of its skin and muscle removed.  Basically ambulatory skeletons with organs hanging off their ribcage, pulpy nerves and veins dangling from their bones, eyes in their sockets and tongues in their mouths, the Fleshless wander around trying to convince Madlanders that they're not monsters and going into murderous rages when they sense they're loathed or feared.  Or the Skinless, who have had their skin removed through divine contact, their exposed muscle tissue glistening red in the sun, their blood dripping out of open capillaries leaving a trail behind them as they walk.  Still in need of shelter and food, the Skinless view Madlanders as competition for living space and resources and raid them regularly.  Or the pathetic Faceless, whose faces have been burned off by the touch of a god; a layer of soft, puffy tissue is all one sees where ears, eyes, nose, and mouth should be.  The Faceless wander the woods forlornly, with no need to eat or drink, only able to sadly whimper.  The Faceless imprint themselves upon the Madlanders they encounter, wrapping its arms around the victim, whimpering and holding on for dear life as if it were pleading for the Madlander to help it.  Unfortunately, the Faceless bring horrendous bad luck to those upon whom they imprint as if it were a disease; once you've encountered a Faceless, escaping it usually isn't the end of the horror it brings.  And that's only three of them.

So while GURPS Fantasy II: Adventures in the Mad Lands is probably considered a failure by Steve Jackson Games, it contains within it a lot of cool stuff that can easily be imported into other games (I once ran a GURPS Russia/Fantasy/Fantasy II game where the characters started off in GURPS Russia, went through the Banestorm to GURPS Fantasy, where GURPS Fantasy II gods and monsters were terrorizing the Northern Territories).  And I like that.  It's one of the reasons it remains one of my favorite GURPS books.

Savage Worlds: Latent Talents

So I'm working on a new Savage Worlds game I'm going to run.  The setting is post-apocalyptic Earth, but it has nothing to do with zombies or mutants or nuclear war.  The characters are going to wake up in this post-apocalyptic world, having been in a coma since before the apocalypse; they'll have no idea why the world is suddenly so horribly effed up and it will all be discovered in character through the game.

As the characters explore their new world, they'll get the chance (if they so desire) to learn certain, well, supernatural powers.  I wanted the players to set their characters up for doing so, if they so desired, without knowing the powers that will be available to them; given that powers in Savage Worlds start with an Edge, I created the following Edge which can be taken at time of character creation:

Latent Talent
Requirements: Novice
This is a new Edge which represents an Arcane Background the character does not know he or she has.  At some point during the game, due to either a unique situation or proper training, the talent will become manifest and this Edge will be replaced with the applicable Arcane Background.

Basically, the player can take Latent Talent at character creation, and when they come across some way of learning a power in-game, the Latent Talent Edge gets replaced with the proper Arcane Background Edge.

Swords & Wizardry: the Followers of Tset

Today is Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day!  In honor of this auspicious occasion, I present the Followers of Tset, a cult dedicated to the worship of an ancient being who desires to tear down society through corruption and deceit, and rebuild it to his desires.  Players of a specific personal horror storytelling game should quickly pick up on the influence.  :)

The remainder of this post is designated Open Game Content as outlined in section 1(d) of the Open Game License.

The Followers of Tset
While many horrors face the heroes of every fantasy world, few are more frightening than the Followers of Tset.  The Tsetians worship an ancient being that believes it will one day return to a world built to suit its own desires, and the Tsetians work tirelessly to pave the way for that being.  They seek to subvert and destroy all that is good in life, one person at a time; by doing so, the Tsetians believe they are removing the bonds which tie people to a flawed world and are preparing them to receive their dark master when it returns.

To help in their mission, Tset himself grants specific powers to his faithful.  These powers are expressed as cleric spells, but one does not need to be a cleric to cast them; one only needs to be a faithful worshiper of Tset.  Once a Follower reaches a level that, were he or she a cleric, would grant him the ability to cast one of the Tsetian spells, he or she will be able to do so regardless of his or her class.  Note that these Tsetian spells require very minimal verbal, somatic, and material spells in their casting; most are cast with a simple wave of the hand and a mental prayer to Tset.

Contradict
Spell Level: C1
Range: 120 ft.
Duration: Instantaneous
Using this spell, the Follower of Tset disrupts the target's thought processes, causing the victim to take the opposite course of action from what was intended.  A magistrate might release a criminal he was about to sentence, for instance, or a lover about to forgive their partner for a transgression might chastise them instead.  A saving throw negates the effect.

Subvert
Spell Level: C2
Range: 120 ft.
Duration: Variable
This spell is much like Contradict in that, if a saving throw is failed, the subject will act on his or her darker impulses, taking the opposite course of action that he or she would normally take.  But unlike Contradict, Subvert lasts much longer; each day, the target gets a new saving throw.  If the saving throw is failed, the target remains under the effects of the spell.  Only when the saving throw is successful will the spell end.

Dissociate
Spell Level: C3
Range: 120 ft.
Duration: Variable
Using this spell, a Follower effectively causes the victim to be shunned by the rest of society.  If the victim fails a saving throw, those with whom the victim interacts - be that PCs, NPCs, retainers, whatever - will perceive the victim as sullen and unfriendly.  The harder the victim tries to socialize, the stronger the effect will be.  The spell continues each day, much like Subvert, until the victim succeeds in a saving throw.

Addiction
Spell Level: C4
Range: Touch
Duration: Variable
One of the Tsetians most powerful weapons, Addiction creates just that in the spell's victim if a saving throw is failed.  The Tsetian introduces a substance or a feeling to the victim, and it is to that substance or feeling which the victim becomes addicted.  The victim sees the Tsetian as the only person who can provide for their addiction, thus keeping the victim coming back.  As with Subvert, the effects of Addiction continue on a day-to-day basis, until a daily saving throw is met with success.

Dependence
Spell Level: C5
Range: Touch
Duration: Variable
The ultimate form of the Addiction spell, Dependence creates a need for the Tsetian itself in the mind of the victim.  Should the victim fail a saving throw, all of his or her desires and efforts will be dedicated to insuring he or she is in close proximity to the Tsetian at all times.  Should he or she get separated from the Tsetian, he or she feels helpless and lethargic.  Like Subvert, the victim makes a new saving throw every day and will only be free of the spell's effect with a successful roll.

Edwin Bristletoes, sample Tsetian
4th level chaotic halfling fighter
STR: 11, INT: 10, WIS: 12, DEX: 14, CON: 13, CHA: 12
AC: 7 [12], HP: 20, SAVE: 11
Equipment: Leather armor, short sword (1d6-1), sling & stones (1d6-1)
Spells: Contradict, Subvert
At one point, Edwin was a typical, happy-go-lucky halfling adventurer, until he joined up with an adventuring group who secretly had a Tsetian as one of its members.  The Tsetian took great joy in corrupting the little man and converting him to the service of Tset.  Now, retired from the adventuring life, Edwin frequents Muddyfoots - his local tavern - constantly on the prowl for strangers or newcomers (those who have weak ties to the area) or those who seem down on their luck.  If they easily succumb to the powers of his Tsetian spells (which to Edwin means a weak will) he will make attempts to befriend them and, eventually, take them before the high priest of Tset in the area.

Dragon Dice: Battle Box Review

Back in the early 90s, TSR Inc. was struggling.  AD&D was losing popularity to games like Vampire: the Masquerade, and a new fad was taking the gaming scene by storm: collectable trading card games (CCG) like Magic: the Gathering.  TSR needed to come up with something to recapture the hearts and minds of the gamers they were losing to CCGs and newer RPGs.

Enter Lester Smith's Dragon Dice.

Dragon Dice took the CCG idea and applied it to something which all gamers knew and loved: dice.  In the Dragon Dice game, you collected and marshaled special dice which represented your armies.  You would battle against other players dice armies for control of terrains, also represented by dice, over the fantasy world of Esfah.  The game was considered a success, and in 1995 Dragon Dice won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game.

In an effort to reach out to, and capture the hearts and minds of, other tabletop gamers who might not follow CCGs and RPGs, TSR put together the Dragon Dice Battle Box, a more accessible, easier to learn, and more boxed tabletop game style edition of Dragon Dice.

Opening the Dragon Dice Battle Box, one finds a game board, 36 random Dragon Dice, the simple Battle Box rules, symbol sheets, and the full Dragon Dice rules for when you want to go beyond the Battle Box rules and experience the full Dragon Dice game.

In the Dragon Dice Battle Box rules, you learn that the dice have special meanings.  Six sided dice represent your soldiers, the troops with which you will fight your battles.  Eight sided dice represent the terrains for which you will battle, and twelve sided dice represent horrible dragons summoned to the battlefield with magic that are dangerous to both combatants.  You further learn that the colors of the dice are important as well: blue and green d6s are Coral Elves, red and gold d6s are Dwarves, black and gold d6s are goblins, and red and black d6s are Laval Elves; all races who live on Esfah.  You then learn that the symbols on the dice have different meanings as well: some represent movement, some represent melee attacks, some represent missile attacks, and some represent magic.  Finally, you learn that each die has an "ID" icon - it looks like a dwarf or elf or goblin, depending on the die you're looking at - and that "ID" icons count for whatever it is that you're rolling (so if you're rolling for melee symbols, and you roll an "ID" icon, it counts as a melee result.

Then it explains the game board, showing the places where the terrains and armies will go, where the dragons will be put until they're summoned, and where any dead dice will be place.  For what it's worth, this game board is the true star of the Battle Box; it really helps the Dragon Dice beginner understand the game.  In the full Dragon Dice game, there is no game board; the terrain dice and armies get put on separate cards which get arranged around the table in a sometimes confusing array (especially with more than 2 players).

Finally, it goes on to explain game play.  Essentially, three d8s are rolled and placed in the three terrain spots in the center of the board.  The d8 terrain dice have symbols on them as well, which dictate the type of battle that can occur at that terrain - from the furthest distance (lowest values - usually a 1 or a 2) where only magic combat can occur, to middle distances (usually somewhere between 2 and 5) where missile combat occurs, to close up distances (usually between 6 and 7) where melee combat occurs, to the eight face, where one of the armies controls the terrain and are holed up in a city or a temple or a tower, depending on the terrain.  Then each player divides their dice up into three armies, and places them at each of the three terrains.  The players go back and forth in turn order with each turn comprised of two marches.  In each march you can attempt to maneuver a terrain, and then make an attack at the terrain. 

To maneuver a terrain, you roll your army at that terrain and hope for movement symbols or "ID" icons.  The other army can let you do so, or oppose the maneuver.  If they choose to oppose you, they also roll for movement and "ID" icons; the side with the highest count wins.  If you win the roll, you can then move the terrian die up one step, closer to the eighth face, or down one step (to get to a type of combat which would be more advantageous to your army).

To make an attack, you roll your army at that terrain and hope for the type of symbol (or "ID" icons) dictated by what's shown on the terrain die: magic, missile, or melee.  If it's missile or melee, your opponent then rolls his or her army, looking for save results (again, or "ID" icons; at this point, just assume "ID" icons as read, heh).  Save results subtract from missile or melee results, and whatever is left over is applied to the opponents army as damage.  If the terrain is at a magic face, you count up the number of magic symbols and use those to power spells that can help you or harm your enemy (including summoning a dragon to a terrain, which attacks ALL armies at the terrain, regardless of who summoned it!)

After your two marches are completed, you can then move up to 4 d6s from one terrain to another, unless you summoned a dragon.  This allows you to help armies that look to be in trouble on your opponents turn, or strategically place your troops in areas that will help you win the game.

You win the game by maneuvering two of the three terrains to the 8th face.  Or, of course, by destroying all of your opponents troops.  Once you control an 8th face, any opposing army at that terrain may only attack you using magic or missiles; melee is not allowed (again, because your troops are now ensconced in the city or tower or whatever icon is on the terrain die's 8th face).

The Dragon Dice Battle Box is a great game.  It provides a quick, simple, and fun introduction to a much more detailed and involved - but equally (if not more so) fun - game.  The Battle Box is simple enough to teach to children (who, I can tell you, usually enjoy it greatly) and gives enough of the full game to serve as a great introduction to older, more advanced gamers.  I would highly recommend it as a good "gateway drug" into the Dragon Dice game... if you can find a copy on eBay that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.  If you want to get into Dragon Dice without combing eBay and other second-hand sites, check out SFR, Inc.  They purchased the game's complete IP from TSR/WotC and have been making new dice representative of new races and all sorts of advancements for Dragon Dice.

Far Away Land: Great Koothooloo

Unfortunately, in all of it's wacky awesomeness, Far Away Land just does not have enough pseudo-Lovecrafian elements... and by pseudo-Lovecraftian elements, I mean totally Lovecraftian monsters. So I'm going to change that.  Enter Great Koothooloo and his Cultists; Shoob Noogerath, Tsoothoogua, and Hastoor are soon to follow.

GREAT KOOTHOOLOO (40)
Archetype: Monster
Size: Enormous (+30)
HP: 82, AC: 8, ACT: 10
BRT: 7, DEX: 4, WIT: 4

Great Koothooloo (pronounced koo-thoo-loo) is a monstrous being of pulpy green flesh, with flappy, clawed feet and hands, huge bat-like wings, and a tentacled, octopus-like head.  Great Koothooloo exists in a sort of suspended animation in a sunken city constructed using techniques and geometries which would drive most denizens of Far Away Land insane were they to walk its streets.

Great Koothooloo can only leave his home when the stars are "right", which seems to happen with surprising regularity thanks to the Koothooloo Cultists (detailed below) who constantly plot and scheme to bring about those occasions.  When that happens, Great Koothooloo's sunken city rises above the waves and Great Koothooloo is free to walk about Far Away Land, equally likely to scoop up handfuls of people and eat them or force them to dance and chant in wanton displays of hedonistic worship.  Either way, insanity abounds.

While Great Koothooloo can be beaten back with physical attacks, it is only a temporary solution.  Should Great Koothooloo take a lethal amount of damage, it will simply dissipate into a foul smelling conglomeration of viscous goo which seeps back to Great Koothooloo's sunken city and reforms at full strength some time later.  Far Away Land's best hope is to stop the Koothooloo Cultists from releasing Great Koothooloo in the first place.

For what it's worth, Great Koothooloo goo is highly sought after by wizards.

Claws (4): 3d6 damage. Trample (4): 4d6 damage. Swallow (4): 4d6 damage.  Insanity (4): creature goes temporarily insane, either cowering and whimpering in fear, screaming and running in the opposite direction, or dancing and chanting in a wanton display of hedonistic worship.

KOOTHOOLOO CULTIST (1)
Archetype: Humanoid
Size: Average (0)
HP: 14, AC: 0, ACT: 5
BRT: 1, DEX: 2, WIT: 1

Koothooloo Cultists are humans who have gone incurably insane, becoming worshipers of Great Koothooloo.  Most Koothooloo Cultists have a slightly green tinge to their skin.

While a Koothooloo Cultist works tirelessly to set events in motion which will cause the stars to be "right", thus raising Great Koothooloo's sunken city above the waves and releasing Great Koothooloo onto Far Away Land, they are not babbling maniacs... well, most aren't babbling maniacs. 

Light/Heavy Weapon (1). Magic (1): Equal to LVL, only knows Contact Great Koothooloo spell.

New Spell
Contact Great Koothooloo (1)
Damage: none, Range: all of it
Duration: instant
This spell allows the caster to tap into the mind of Great Koothooloo as it lay dreaming in its sunken city under the sea.  It does not provide a conversation any more than an ant would have a conversation with a human, should the ant be able to magically tap into the human's mind.  However, that doesn't stop the caster from thinking that Great Koothooloo was speaking directly to him or her, and trying to interpret the alien thoughts as commands, or the wishes and desires of Great Koothooloo.

Savage Worlds: Wild Magic

My monthly table-top group is playing Savage Worlds fantasy.  In the GMs world, dwarves are not spellcasters; they're runecasters.  I figured that a dwarven spellcaster would be a bit awkward about, and have poor control over, magic, so we converted the wild magic rules from second edition AD&D's Tome of Magic.  Thus was born Bodin son of Bardin, the dwarven wild mage.

What appears below is our conversion of wild magic from second edition AD&D to Savage Worlds.  While the main mechanics are solid and work well, the whole thing is a bit, well, shifty and requires a bit of improvisation.  Especially with regards to the Wild Surge Results Table, which has not yet been converted in any way.

Arcane Background (Wild Magic)
Arcane Skill: Spellcasting (Smarts)
Starting Power Points: 10
Starting Powers: 3

A magician with this arcane background does not use magic as do other magicians.  Instead, wild mages are fast and loose and have tenuous control over the forces they unleash.  A wild mage's laissez-faire approach to magic often causes wild surges of uncontrolled magic which affect not only themselves, but those around them as well.

Wild Surge: When a wild mage rolls a 1 on his Spellcasting die (regardless of his Wild Die), a Wild Surge is threatened.  He must roll a d6; on a result of 1-4 he is automatically Shaken (which may cause a wound).  On a result of 5-6, he must roll on the Wild Surge Results Table (from the AD&D Tome of Magic book).

Variable Effects: Because a wild mage has only partial control on the magic he unleashes, the results of the Wild Die affect the spell whether or not the success comes from the Wild Die or not.  If the Wild Die shows a 1, the spell goes off with all variable effects reduced by one step.  If the Wild Die shows a 2-5, the spell goes off as normal.  If the Wild Die shows a 6, the spell goes off with all variable effects increased by one step.

Variable effects include all aspects of the spell cost, range, duration, and effect which are not a fixed value; a spell which causes 1d6 damage per power point has a variable power point cost, for instance.  Similarly, a spell which has a range of Smarts x 100 yards has a variable range.  A one-step reduction in power points would be 1 less power point; a one-step reduction a trait would be one die-type less (so, with Smarts = d6, a one-step reduced spell with a range of Smarts x 100 yards would have an actual range of 400 yards).  At no point can a successful spell be rendered ineffective; power points cannot be reduced past the minimum needed to cast the spell, and traits cannot be reduced past d4.  One-step increases are the same but on the opposite end of the spectrum: 1 additional power point, or one additional trait die type.

Note that the power point cost of the spell is not actually changed.  A wild mage who puts 3 power points into a spell and rolls a 1-2 on his wild die still spends 3 power points but the spell goes off as if 2 power points were spent.

Far Away Land: Gubbering Mouther

Earlier today it struck me as odd that the first creatures I wrote up for Far Away Land were greenskins - goblins, orcs, and ogres - and not one of my favorites, the gibbering mouther.

So!  With no further ado, I present the gubbering mouther, all statted out in Far Away Land format.  Enjoy!

GUBBERING MOUTHER (8)
Archetype: Monster
Size: Average (0)
HP: 23, AC: 5, ACT: 6
BRT: 4, DEX: 1, WIT: 1

A gubbering mouther is a slimy, pulpy mass of quivering reddish, greenish, or grayish flesh, constantly searching eyes, and misshapen mouths; each mouth ceaselessly yammers mad babble and inhuman gibberish.  It seems to be driven only by a desire to consume the vital fluids of living beings, leaving only their dry, dessicated husks behind.
Multiple Bites (2) 2d6 damage, Spit Acid (2) 1d6 damage, Babbling (2) target is stunned, Elongate

Many, many thanks to +matt jackson for the awesome illustration, all Far Away Land style.

Far Away Land: Greenskins

So, it strikes me that humans and numans couldn't have been the only things pulled into Far Away Land from the Materiosphere via the Cosmic Apparati of the Boom.  They had to have pulled in things from Toril, or Oerth, or even Krynn, right?  Or WFRP's Empire?

With that in mind, I introduce to you the gublin, the urc, and the ugre.  If only I knew someone with the artistic skill to draw these up all FAL-style.

GUBLIN (1)
Archetype: Humanoid
Size: Small (0)
HP: 14, AC: 1, ACT:  5
BRT: 1, DEX: 2, WIT: 1 

Gublins are short, green-skinned humanoids that live in dark forests or deep caves.  They are cowardly unless in great numbers, and generally do not venture out during the day.  Black-hearted and selfish, gublins will take whatever goods they can get away with taking and never share with anyone, including other gublins.
Light Weapon (1), Night Sight, Better Smell

URC (2)
Archetype: Humanoid
Size: Average (0)
HP: 15, AC: 1, ACT:  5
BRT: 2, DEX: 1, WIT: 1

Cousins of the lowly gublins, urcs are greyish-green skinned humanoids which stand just a hair shorter than humans but are as stocky as dwarves.  As with gublins, urcs live in dark forests or deep caves.  Where gublins are cowardly, urcs are aggressive and overbearing and constantly plot against those who are aggressive and overbearing towards themselves, including other urcs.  Urcs can be found outside during daylight hours, although it is not their preferred time.
Heavy Weapon (1), Night Sight, Better Smell

UGRE (4)
Archetype: Humanoid
Size Giant (+2)
HP: 21, AC: 2, ACT:  4
BRT: 3, DEX: 1, WIT: 1

The dumb, brutish older brother of the urc, ugres are greenish-gray skinned humanoids which stand approximately 9' tall.  Ugres are mean-and-nasty with a side order of mean-and-nasty, with a helping of not-very-bright for dessert.  Where urcs and gublins will wear armor and use modern weapons like swords, ugres prefer to stomp around in skins and furs, wielding huge wooden clubs made from heavy tree branches.
Heavy Weapon (2), Night Sight, Better Smell

Many, many thanks to +matt jackson for the awesome gublin illustration, all Far Away Land style.

Far Away Land: Review

I've been reading the +Far Away Land RPG (FAL) PDFs for some time now, but I figured a formal-esque review was in order once I received my printed copy of the core rulebook.  While FAL has a number of awesome books - from the Core Rulebook all the way up to the aptly-named Tome of Awesome, this review will cover only the Core Rulebook.

As described on its DriveThruRPG page, FAL is "...a rules-lite fantasy role-playing game that uses six-sided dice. It mixes fantasy, sci-fi, and apocalyptic elements to create an immersive and rich world full of history and adventure. It is easy to learn and a perfect game for new (young) gamers as well as veteran gamers. All of the Far Away Land books contain colorful artwork, humor, and rules that allow gamers and GMs to pick and choose the level of crunch they want in their game."  A very apt description indeed.

First off, the book itself.  Printed from Drive Thru RPG and Lightning Source, it's a great little book.  The colors are bright and bleed-free, and the artwork shows up crisp and clear.  It's a 5.5" by 8.5" book, with 45 individual pages between the covers.  The pages themselves feel somewhat printer paper-y, but the print quality is very good.  Each page has a color coded bar along the top, containing the chapter heading.  The book is filled with FAL's unique and catchy artwork.

The first few chapters of the book cover an introduction, the basics of the game system, and character creation and advancement.  Characters have three Stats - BRT (Brute), DEX (Dexterity), and WIT (Wits) - which range in value from 1 to 5 or so.  Characters also have Boons and Flaws, essentially skills and disadvantages.

The game is a d6 dice-pool system based on Stat +/- Boon/Flaw.  By that I mean that if a character is making a melee attack and has the Melee Boon, the player creates a dice pool consisting of a number of dice equal to the BRT Stat plus the value of the Melee Boon.  So a character with BRT 3 and Melee +1 would have a dice pool of 4d6.  If that same character had a Flaw of Phobia (Snakes) -1 and was fighting a huge snake, the player would roll a dice pool of 3d6 (BRT 3, plus Melee +1, minus Phobia (Snakes) -1).  Once the dice pool is rolled, only the highest rolled result is kept; so if our fighter rolled a 4, a 3, and a 5, the result of the roll is 5.  Should the roll result in multiple 6s, each additional 6 adds 1 to the total; so if our fighter had rolled a 3, a 6, and a 6, the result of the roll would be 7 (6 for the highest die, +1 for the additional 6).  The roll's final result is compared against a Target Number or the result of another roll in the case of opposed rolls, with ties going to the defender.

It is an amazingly simple mechanic which allows for a great deal of customization, especially when you factor in all the Boons and Flaws; a list of each is given in the book and you can always modify existing or create new Boons and Flaws to taste.

FAL is a level based system, and advancement is handled through the distribution of experience points.  In addition to leveling your character, you can also use experience points to advance Stats, Boons, Flaws, and get new Boons.

The next chapter covers magic, which is - IMHO - one of the great awesomenesses of FAL and something I think I'm going to import into my S&W games.  In order to use magic, a character must have the Arcane Boon.  A character can cast a total number of spells per day equal to their level plus three (so a 1st level character can cast 4 spells per day).  There is no limit to the number of spells a magic-using character can know, but they must be learned from a scroll or another spellbook, must be of a level equal to or less than the characters level, and they must spend a number of days studying it equal to the spell's level.  Starting characters should get somewhere between 1 and 3 spells, depending on the GM.  To cast a spell, the player must make a WIT + Arcane roll, unless the spell is unopposed, and the defender must make a higher WIT + Arcane roll to avoid the effect.

Spell range is measured in feet, and duration is measured in time based on the characters level.  So a 1st level character casting a spell with a duration of "minutes" can expect the spell to last for one minute.  Had it a duration of "rounds", it would last for 1 round.

The book comes with a list of spells from level 1 to level 10 and encourages the players to make up new spells.  If you've ever played any version of D&D or other fantasy role-playing game, you probably already know most of the spells; they're nothing to write home about.  But the mechanics of the magic system, they're really cool.  I want to use them in every game that I run, regardless of the system.

The next couple of chapters cover combat and gear.  Combat is very simple and standard for a dice-pool system: attacker rolls Stat + Boon to attack, defender rolls Stat + Boon to defend, high roll wins with the margin of success added to weapon damage and armor class acts as damage reduction.  The truly outstanding parts of the combat system, however, are actions and hit points.

So, during character creation, a character gets a number of actions (ACT) equal to DEX + 3.  Each action a character can take during a round has an associated ACT cost: a move costs 2, a melee attack costs 3, a spell costs 4.  A character can take as many actions as he or she has ACT to pay for.  Of course, ACT is refreshed at the top of each round.  So a character with ACT 5 could both move (2) and make a melee attack (3) in one round.  That same character could not move (2) and cast a spell (4) in one round, as 4+2=6 exceeds their ACT of 5.  I fully and absolutely dig this subsystem.  As with magic, I want to import this into my S&W games.

Also during character creation, a character gets hit points (HP) equal to BRT + 10.  Pretty standard stuff, however, the character is considered to only have superficial wounds until they are at 0 HP.  At that point and below, they're taking serious wounds.  Should the character take enough damage to drop them below their negative level equivalent, then they die.  So, a 4th level character doesn't actually die until they have taken enough damage to reach -5 HP.  Which means that a FAL character actually has more damage capacity than they have HP; a 2nd level character with a BRT of 2 can actually take 15 points of damage before they die.

Wounds heal at different rates depending on whether they are light wounds (the character has 1 or more HP) or heavy wounds (0 or less HP).  And here's a cool thing: the Battle Scar mechanic allows the character to stave off heavy wounds by taking a battle scar.  So if your character is near death and looks like he'll soon cross that threshold, he can take a permanent wound and keep going. Again, more cool mechanics I want to pull into S&W.

Next up is magic items and crafting stuff (including magic items).  While the magic items all bear FAL-esque names (Stompin' Boots, for instance, or Punchin' Gloves) these two chapters are fairly standard fare.  No surprises here, just good, solid, stuff.

Finally, there are chapters on creating NPCs and special abilities.  The NPC chapter has some good advice on making FAL NPCs and includes sample NPC, eh, "templates".  While most characters would not have any of the special abilities in the Abilities chapter, many FAL monsters do and so the author decided to put the abilities into the Core Rulebook as they are something the FAL GM needs to know.

Oh, and there's an index and really cool character sheets as well.

I'm really digging on FAL.  I want to import almost all of its mechanics into my S&W games but, at that point, I really must ask myself why I'm not just playing FAL.  I guess that when you get a new game and you want to turn all your other games into the new game, that's really saying something about the new game.

So yeah.  Go check out FAL.  Even if the FAL setting isn't your cup of tea, the rule system is so chock full of awesomeness that you'll be glad you did.

Swords & Wizardry: the Necromancer's Tower

INTRODUCTION
The Ruins of the Necromancer's Tower is a very short and easy to play introductory dungeon module written for Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox. It is designed for approximately 3 characters of low level. The Ruins of the Necromancer's Tower can be placed in any campaign setting and should be located within a day or two's travel from the PC's home town, preferably in a wooded locale unfrequented by the locals.

The remainder of this post is designated Open Game Content as outlined in section 1(d) of the Open Game License.

BACKGROUND

Several generations ago, a wizard took up residence in the PCs home area. Krugerov was his name, and he constructed a small tower on a small hill in the middle of the woods a day or two outside of the PCs home town. Every so often he would travel into town to purchase goods and trade with the locals; when he did so he was exceedingly polite and kind and the townsfolk liked him. His reputation sullied, however, when the corpse of a long-dead townsman wandered back into town wearing clothes Krugerov had purchased from the dead townsman's daughter just a scant few days before.

In response to that horrific event the townsfolk banded together and traveled to Krugerov's tower. As he stepped outside to speak with them, the townsfolk overpowered him and hung him from a tree outside his tower. They piled branches and leaves around the base of his tower and lit them on fire. Finally, they set Krugerov's body aflame and left the accursed site.

Since then, no one in the town has mentioned Krugerov by name or reputation and the area surrounding the ruins of his tower has been shunned.

Wandering Monsters
As Krugerov's dungeons are rank with the remnants of the undead and the filth which goes along with that, giant cockroaches (see THE TOWER, area #1) are prevalent.  Whenever a wandering monster check indicates a wandering monster will appear, use the giant cockroach.

THE TOWER

All that remains of the tower now are scorched remnants of a collection of walls, scarcely a few feet in height. Rubble surrounds what remains of the structure, and moss and other new growth protrudes from the ground.

1. Rubble lines the ground at the base of what used to be the walls of a small room. The skeleton of a staircase leading up to a now non-existent second floor lines the west wall. A giant cockroach has taken up residence in a darkened corner under the remnants of the staircase.

Giant Cockroach: AC 5 [14], HD 1, #ATT 1 (mandible bite), Move 16, HDE/XP: 1/15

2. As with #1, rubble lines what walls remain of another small room. Obfuscated beneath the remnants of a secret door in the floor along the east wall is a stairway leading down into darkness. Because the secret door has long been cracked, there is no roll necessary to detect it.

DUNGEON LEVEL 1

1. This 30' by 30' square room is dark, benefiting from almost no light from above.  A collection of rubble and broken stones from the tower's destruction line not only the stairway into this room but the ground surrounding the stairway's egress.  The door on the south wall is thick wood with iron fittings and is locked.  Other than the door on the south wall and the arches on the north and west walls, this room is empty.

2. This 30' by 50' room was once Krugerov's laboratory.  A cold, charred fire pit sits in the center of the room, and a stone workbench - stained rusty red in numerous places - adorns the east wall.  Along the west wall are several wooden bookshelves containing anatomical and surgical tools, and random loose papers containing sketches of humanoid anatomy.

A zombie lies unmoving on the workbench, strapped in place with aged, dry, and crumbling leather restraints, as it has laid since Krugerov was killed.  As the PCs make sound and begin mulling around the laboratory, the zombie will break out of its rotten bonds and move to attack them.

Zombie: AC 8 [11], HD 1, #ATT 1 (strike), Move 6, HDE/XP: 2/30

3. This 110' by 20' room once acted as a prison, where Krugerov would keep his experimental subjects, both alive and undead.  As with the door in area #1, the door on the east side of the south wall is made of thick wood with iron fittings and is locked.  The north wall is lined with concrete cells lined with iron bars.  Two of the cells are connected by a secret passage, built long ago most likely by some of the "guests".

The cells are littered with the bones and detritus from numerous victims; a carrion creeper has taken up residence in the secret passage.  Noise from the PCs explorations will draw the beast out of it's hidey-hole.

Carrion Creeper: AC 7 [12], HD 2+4, #ATT 1 (bite)/6 (tentacles), Move 12, HDE/XP: 4/120, Special: bite 1 hp, tentacle paralysis 2d6 turns if save failed.

Searching through the remains of Krugerov's "guests" will find a total of 50 gp worth of coins of various denominations.

4. This 30' by 30' room was Krugerov's private library.  Accessible only through the locked doors in areas #1 and #3, or through the secret passageway in area #1, this is where Krugerov would keep his most detailed journals, diaries, diagrams, notations, and research.  An ornate oak desk and chair sits in the north-west corner of the room, and equally ornate bookshelves line the south-east corner of the room.  Even in their aged condition, the furniture in this room might be worth something to a merchant or noble.

Anyone searching the desk will find both an ornate brass key and Krugerov's dagger, and anyone searching the bookshelves will find a magical research diary containing the spell Krugerov's Cannibalistic Mutation (both detailed in this post).  The ornate brass key unlocks the door in dungeon level 2 at the base of the stairs.

Moving the bookshelf in the south-east corner will reveal a hidden, spiral staircase leading to dungeon level 2. 

DUNGEON LEVEL 2

Dungeon level 2 is where Krugerov would dispose of the undead creations for which he had no further use.  Similar to the locked doors in areas #1 and #3 of dungeon level 1, there is a locked, thick wooden door with iron fittings at the base of the spiral staircase.

The locked door - which opens using the ornate brass key from Krugerov's private study (area #4 in dungeon level 1) - provides entrance to a 70' by 70' room.  There are six 5' deep recessions in the room.  The north-west recession is actually a pressure-triggered pit trap, which falls 10' to a narrow cave passageway.

The narrow cave passageway leads to a wide open natural cave, approximately 100' by 70', with a 10' drop about half-way through.

What happens in dungeon level 2 is up to the DM.  The natural cave should be filled with all manner of bizarre and unique undead creations; as Krugerov tired of working with them, he would lead them into the north-west pit, which would deposit them into the narrow cave passageway.  They would eventually make their way to the natural cave, where they await discovery by the PCs.  There should be enough undead to make for an exceedingly challenging encounter for the PCs, one from which they stand a decent chance of losing a party member or two.