Thursday, February 22, 2024

Castles & Crusades: Saving Throws... Focusing On Death


In the earliest editions of D&D, death, along with poison was your best save.

In Castles & Crusades, the death save is a charisma save. 

Also under the purview of charisma are charm and fear

This has consequences.

For example, in C&C, half-orcs suffer a -2 penalty to their charisma stat, thus, they are less personable (of course) but also, more suspectable to death, charm, and fear than any other race. Does that make sense to you?

Also in C&C, bards have charisma as their prime stat. This makes sense for their profession, charming and all that, but, this also makes bards very resistant to fear and death, right up there with knights and paladins. Does that make sense to you?

So, in C&C, saving throws are based off your main stats. You have prime and secondary stats where you roll a 12 or higher for prime and an 18 or higher for secondary. Those are just the base numbers to which you add your level (unless you're stepping on another class's toes, such as a cleric trying to pick a lock) and your ability bonus. So, assuming average stats at 1st level, you're actually rolling over 11 and 17 respectively. Then you calculate in the challenge level, a spell -- the spell caster's level, a monster -- its hit die, for a trap it's the level of the trap setter, and so on. 

  • For example: A medusa is a 6HD creature. Here are what various PCs would have to roll (on a d20) to avoid petrification. This assumes an average wisdom score.
    • PC level 1, wisdom prime: 17
    • PC level 1, wisdom secondary: 23
    • PC level 5, wisdom prime: 13
    • PC level 5, wisdom secondary: 19
    • PC level 10, wisdom prime: 8
    • PC level 10, wisdom secondary: 14
    • PC level 15, wisdom prime: 3
    • PC level 15, wisdom secondary: 9
    • PC level 20, wisdom prime: -2
    • PC level 20, wisdom secondary: 4

Characters start with 2 primes and 4 secondaries, 1 prime from race, 1 prime from class. Humans are the exception getting 2 primes, thus starting with 3 (other races get other perks, dark-vision and such.)

Here are the C&C classes by prime stat...

  • STR: Fighter, Ranger
  • DEX: Rogue, Assassin
  • CON: Barbarian, Monk
  • INT: Illusionist, Wizard
  • WIS: Cleric, Druid
  • CHA: Bard, Knight, Paladin

Most, but not all, of a class's abilities will function off their prime stat. Class ability rolls are essentially saving throws. So, charisma is crucial for all of the bard's performance and influencing skills, likewise, charisma is crucial for the successful use of a knight's and paladin's battlefield leadership abilities.

Anyhow, bards, knights, and paladins are, by default of this system, the hardest to kill by death attack.   These classes are also the most resistant to fear and charm. Charm makes sense for bards and the other two make sense for knights and paladins, but all three classes  inherently have an advantage in situations specifically calling for death. Now, you can choose charisma as your second or third prime, but you're probably sacrificing some class abilities in doing so. 

Charm makes sense for charisma to some degree, but fear and death do not. Look at those around you, impersonable grouches are usually quite resistant to charm and those who think they're slick often fall prey to other slicksters. Of course, the smart-ass might say, impersonable grouches can be charismatic in their own way, but now we're muddying the waters.

Of the six abilities, the charisma saves make the least sense. This is probably a case of trying to spread the saves evenly among six stats so as to avoid the game having a dump stat. How better to give charisma some weight than by linking it to death? And this is not necessary. You see, charisma is the social save.

Should there even be a death save?

For example: Poison is damage (and pain.) When you're stung by an insect or bitten by a snake, the amount of damage you take depends on the strength of the poison/venom/toxin. If that particular beast (whatever it is) hits you, you've been poisoned. What exactly, are you then saving against? It's like you have a free, vague, parry maneuver to reverse reality, saying -- no, actually, I was not bitten. 

Larger animals with poisonous bites, due to their sheer size, also do damage with their bite/sting/claw. This is where modern versions of D&D might have it correct in the fact that they might state damage as 1d6 (+2d6 poison damage.) If you do not have the hit points to survive this, have you not then, by default, suffered a death attack?

Going back, death should not be linked to any one particular stat. Perhaps the only death save that should exist in any game should come into play if your hit points happen to fall to exactly zero and you are making a save every round to see if you fall negative and die. In such a case, you could argue for a con-based save or a will-based save (wisdom.)

Going back to C&C. I believe fear should be covered by wisdom. Charisma should only handle social interactions, bard stuff, the knight's/paladin's warlord stuff, the assassin's disguise ability, bribing a guard, etc. I would also shift confusion from wisdom to intelligence, with, charm and fear going to wisdom. This leaves charisma to dominate the social realm. 

So the abilities and their saves in C&C, rules as written are...

  • STR: Paralysis, Constriction
  • DEX: Breath Weapon, Traps 
  • CON: Energy Drain, Disease, Poison, 
  • INT: Arcane Magic, Illusions
  • WIS: Divine Magic, Confusion, Gaze, Petrification, Polymorph
  • CHA: Death Attack, Fear, Charm
My changes...
  • STR: Paralysis, Constriction
  • DEX: Breath Weapon, Traps 
  • CON: Energy Drain, Disease, Poison, Polymorph*
  • INT: Arcane Magic, Illusions, Confusion
  • WIS: Divine Magic, Gaze, Fear, Charm, Petrification
  • CHA: Loyalty, Morale, all things Social
*Polymorph was originally attached to wisdom, but I moved it to constitution because of its archaic ties to system shock. Though petrify/polymorph are also classically linked, petrification is usually caused by gaze attacks which seem to be, at their core, an assault upon your will, where as polymorph is battling the structure and health of your physical body.

Now those pesky half-orcs aren't so shit-on by fate. Not that their existence is pleasant.

As for death attacks (not counting death specifically linked to things like poison) the best way to handle this is to allow the PC to use their BEST saving throw. This way, death favors no single class and with saving throws scaling as the threat-level rises, success is no guarantee.

 And so it's full circle with death becoming your best save.

And if your best save can't save you, then to Hell with you!


Thursday, February 15, 2024

Tweaking The Castles & Crusades Assassin

This is regarding the Assassin as presented in the Castles & Crusades Player's Handbook 8th Printing as seen on the right below...


In this printing, the Assassin (which alphabetically should, and has up until now, been first) is presented at the end of the class section, as an optional class(?) that "turns the idea of a hero on its head." 

Do not dis the Assassin!

Anyhow, this Assassin is a pretty good version of the concept. Most of their classes are. And I like the fact that C&C classes go up to 24th level. 

The Assassin...

  • Prime Attribute: Dexterity
  • Hit Die: d6
  • Alignment: Any non-good
  • Weapons: Any
  • Armor: Leather, Leather Coat, Padded
Abilities...

Only those given at 1st level, more come at 13th, but I'm not concerned about those at the moment.
Anyhow, these abilities are good, exactly what you'd think they'd be, but a couple could be tweaked and made mechanically more interesting, at least to me.

  • Armor Allowed: As above, but they can wear any armor above AC:12 with a -1 penalty to their abilities per point above AC:12. I like this, nothing to tweak here. As the Assassin levels up, you can begin to weigh the risk/reward of better armor. Also, this could easily be ported over to Wizards -- any armor above 10 could give a -1 penalty to the casting strength level of their spell, hence an easier saving throw for the target. This idea could actually be applied to any class with armor restrictions. Basically, a -1 to all rolls for every point of AC you normally can't have.
  • Case Target (Wisdom): Basically, if they spend 1d3x10 minutes observing a target, the CK (Castle Keeper -- "DM") gives them some sort of useful information. Too vague for me, and clearly designed for non-dungeon use.
    • Tweak: Spend the first round of combat casing a specific target and receive a to-hit/damage bonus equal to +1/+2 at 1st level, +2/+4 at 6th, +3 /+6 at 12th, +4/+8 at 18th, and +5/+10 at 24th.  An Intelligence check must be made to gain these bonuses, the CC (Challenge Class) is modified by the target's HD. You can not even attempt this if you take damage before your turn. These bonuses last that entire encounter against that particular target.
  • Climb (Dexterity): This is your basic, almost supernatural, ability to climb pretty much anything you want without equipment. Doesn't really need tweaking.
  • Death Attack: You must be hidden while studying your target for 3 rounds, then make a Sneak Attack (see below, not the same as the Rogue's classic Back-Attack.) If you succeed, the target must make a constitution save or die instantly. All well and good, but I will always prefer a Death Attack that's triggered by a natural 20. Either way, in this game, Death Attack saves are made with charisma. Monsters only have two saves, physical & mental. It seems to me that this would be a physical save for monsters.
    • Tweak: Death Attack triggered on a natural 20, then 19-20 at 12th level, and 18-20 at 24th.
  • Disguise (Charisma): You need props, make-up, and 1d3x10 minutes of prep, with some penalties for age, race, sex, etc. Then the CK rolls secretly for you and reveals if you succeeded at the appropriate time. Usual disguise rules stuff. 
    • Tweak: An almost supernatural ability to fit in where you don't belong. I've said it before, it's like stealth out in the open. The roll is made by YOU when the moment of truth comes. CC modifier equal the highest HD present.
  • Hide (Dexterity): The classic Hide in Shadows. There's really not much to tweak here. At 3rd level the Assassin can attempt to hide and move silently at the same time -- this requires two rolls, both at -5. I would require no such thing. Stealth is one of the hallmarks of thieves/rogues/assassins!
  • Listen (Wisdom): "Hear Noise." Pretty standard here, however, in SIEGE, since this is a class ability, classes that don't have it do not get to add their level to the ability roll (SIEGE check.) Here, I'll bring up one of the criticisms of SIEGE, and it really goes back to the origins of D&D itself. Why does wisdom represent awareness? Wisdom, more accurately stated, is willpower/faith. I would argue that all observation/perception type abilities/skills should be under the purview of intelligence. I know, you can have absent minded professors and such, but should clerics be the most observant members of a party? In C&C, clerics kick-ass in this department because wisdom is their prime stat. Trust me, I love clerics, but, I think not.
  • Move Silently (Dexterity): See Hide, above.
  • Poisons (Intelligence): With the aid of some alchemical equipment, the Assassin can identify and manufacture poisons and antitoxins at 1/3 the market price. The handling of poison makes Assassins a bit resistant to them (+1 vs poison at 3rd level.) Pretty vague here. No time table is given nor are alchemy kits listed in the book.
    • Tweak: You can harvest poison/toxins (actually, this would be venom, not poison) from slain monsters. An intelligence roll vs. the monster's level (HD) must be made as well as 1 turn of time (that's an old-school turn, C&C does not have 10 minute turns). Failure means you either botched it or the source was destroyed when the creature was killed. A natural "1" results in poisoning yourself. Vials are needed for storage. A vial of poison/toxin can be turned into 1d4 antitoxins with a full days work -- and another roll, failure means no antitoxin and the poison is destroyed.
    • Tweak: Your +1 save vs. poison/venom at 3rd level continues to increase with levels, it becomes +2 at 7th, +3 at 12th, +4 at 18th, and +5 at 24th. 
  • Sneak Attack: In C&C, Rogues have a back attack and a sneak attack. Assassins don't have the back attack because they have their death attack. With Sneak Attack, you can surprise attack someone walking by or even standing face to face. You get a +2/+4 attack/damage bonus and the target can't roll for initiative until the following round. But, you basically need the CK's permission to pull this off and the CK may require you make a Hide and/or Move Silently check anyway, at which point it becomes a weaker form of back attack. In this form it's more of a role-playing ability.
    • Tweak: After initiative is determined, in the first round of combat, the Assassin can use Sneak Attack on anyone who acts after him. Thus, he gets the jump on that particular target.
  • Traps (Intelligence): Finally a game that bases traps on intelligence instead of dexterity. And it's interesting that finding traps requires intelligence yet listening at doors requires wisdom. Nothing to tweak here though. One roll to find, another roll to disarm. And if you wish, a roll to set a trap of your own. Obviously setting your own trap would take time and it's not something I've ever seen come up in any game or system.
The 13th level+ abilities are mostly bonuses to surprise, initiative, dexterity, and sneak attack. At 15th level you gain a Signature Move which increases the potency of your death attack by +2 (meaning -2 to save) and at 20th level you gain an ability called Slow Kill which causes extra bleeding damage.

More to come on Castles & Crusades.

Great game.


Saturday, December 9, 2023

O.C.C.: NIGHTBANE

(Sans any skills or martial-arts what-so-ever.)

On a world where your Nightbane transformation was PERMANENT, this is what you became...

A blend of leather and metal -- straps, chains, and spikes... But this is no armor, no true exoskeleton. This is your flesh. It doesn't come off, it can not be changed. Covered, perhaps. You can still bleed, a knife still cuts, a bullet, potentially fatal, but, probably not. You are tough. Tough as nails, tough as spikes. You can take... a lot. And give a lot more.

You hardly have a face, only a hint. Your lips will never again touch those of another. Do you have other options? Not your immediate concern.

You will almost certainly never walk the daylight again.

There's an invasion. A bleak mirror-world clandestinely attacks, ultimate motive, unknown. Do you defend? How can you when you are so shunned? Sometimes you have no choice but to engage and the more you fight, the more you appreciate what you are, nightmare it may be. 

Oh, how you love kicking ass.

So be it.

 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Spotlight: OSRIC Player's Guide


Charlie Mason of Seattle Hill Games has put together a Player's Guide for OSRIC.

It is 220 pages, soft covered, spined in orange, and contains all the information a player needs for 1st Edition AD&D... as presented in OSRIC. This isn't his version of OSRIC, this is OSRIC, word for word, at least, part of it, races, classes, equipment, spells, combat rules, etc.... just laid out better including much better art.

The PDF is free, and the print copy from Amazon is only $8.

Now, numerous times, I've contemplated contacting the right folks to acquire the current Black Blade Publishing copy of OSRIC, not because I need it, rather, because I want it. But I keep hesitating. Why? Because I'm not a big fan of the layout. It pains me to say that, considering the effort these fine folks must have put into producing the book. The major flaw is the fact that many charts are not contained on the same page or two-page spread... probably to save space. You should never have to turn a page back and forth to scan the contents of a chart. All charts should be contained on a single page/two-page spread and if this creates white space, so be it, add art.

Then I got wind of an OSRIC revision project in the works, perhaps still a couple years off from completion...

So, my question at this point: Is this Player's Guide a part of that current OSRIC revision project or is it just a stand alone thing? 

Because this book is nice. Well laid out and the interior art is PERFECT. If the revision of OSRIC is done exactly like this... It would certainly make for a fat tome, no doubt, but adding the rest of OSRIC to this exact book, in this exact fashion... I'd pay a king's ransom for it.

Of note, spells in OSRIC are listed alphabetically by class, whereas traditionally, they are listed by level by class. I'm a fan of alphabetical period, not by class, not by level. Any time I need to look up a spell, I know the spell I'm looking up, finding it should be easy. If you don't do it straight alphabetically, there should be some sort of tab noting what section of the spell descriptions you've opened up to, to help guide you to you're destination.

ERRATA NOTE: On page 4, in the section on Dwarfs, under Infravision, there is a reference to the Light and Vision rules on page xxx (it should say 162). If you know the diligent folks working on this project, kindly pass this along.

Anyhow, a few samples and link below...




Classic orange spine.


Cleric!


Nice.


Fighter!


I approve.


Sample two-page art spread.


Yep.


Cool.

You can purchase a copy at the link below.

 OSRIC Player's Guide

Nicely done.


Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Boosting...TMNT Is Back!



As most of you probably know, Palladium Books has brought back the much beloved TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES & OTHER STRANGENESS Role-Playing Game. 

An absolute no-brainer for me!

I went in for the old-school black & white, with red editions.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Practical Insanity

 

So... After reading a page from the grotesque tome on the satanic alter, you must now save vs spells or roll for insanity... ah you failed... now you suffer from Equinophobia... the fear of horses... 

Huh? 

In most games, when you go insane, you accrue insanity points, which ultimately leads to losing your character, and/or, you roll on a phobia table to find your new fear. In either case, it's usually up to you to role-play the symptoms of your new affliction which may or may not make any sense at all.

On page 83 of the DMG, Gygax himself suggested that DMs should assume the role of insane characters.

Well, that's no fun.

Insanity should have real, immediate, in-game mechanical costs that make dungeon-crawling more difficult. Having an insane character should be an irritating condition that you'll want to be cured of, much sooner rather than later. In-game insanity doesn't have to resemble real world insanity. Your character is going mad and simply isn't functioning the way they're supposed to. Which leads to...

Practical Insanity

1. Amnesia: You've forgotten just who exactly you are and now function at half of your current level as far as, to-hit, saves, spellcasting, and turning is concerned. Or -2 if you're 1st level.

2. Kleptomania: You now have the pick-pocket ability of a thief of half your level (even if you're already a thief, because now you're sloppy about it.) Any time the party takes a rest, you must save vs spells or attempt to steal a random item from a random party member. If in town, you must attempt a theft at least once per day against a randomly determined target. You will always deny your theft (but you might have one person that you secretly brag to about it.)

3. Catatonia: Melancholia to the extreme. When a stressful situation occurs, save vs spells or retreat into yourself. You won't do anything. You can be carried. Lasts 2d4 hours.

4. Schizoid: You think you belong to another class. Determine the class randomly (use the 4 archetypes, 1-fighter, 2-wizard, 3-thief, 4-cleric, reroll if you roll your class.) You fight and save as if you belong to that other class at half your current level. Wizards and clerics must save vs spells in order to cast a spell or turn undead, but only if someone else reminds them that they are capable of doing so.

5. Delusional: You think you're better than you actually are and wonder why you don't experience better results. In combat, you attack with a +4 bonus but only do half damage. Targets save vs your spells at -4, but your spells only do half damage or only affect half the normal number of targets and only last half the normal duration. You only receive half of your XP earned.

6. Suicidal: If a trap is discovered, you must save vs spells or purposefully trigger it. If a chasm presents itself, you must save or throw yourself over -- hopefully your friends will stop you. You'll be the first into combat every time.

7. Schizophrenia: Like Schizoid, but the other class changes daily.

8. Panic Disorder: Your anxiety is extreme and your fear is all consuming. When a stressful situation occurs, save vs spells or retreat as fast and far away as you can get. Your anxiety builds with every successful save you make against this disorder causing any subsequent saves to suffer a cumulative -1 penalty until at last you're overcome by fear and flee. The DM should make you call split second answers to right, left, or straight as you race through the dungeon away from the danger and the other PCs until you are alone and lost. Only then might you get a grip.

9. Melancholia: Save vs spells every morning to see if you have the will to live. If not, all rolls suffer a -5 penalty. Save vs spells to see if you'll even try to help in any given situation.

10. Obsessive/Compulsive: You insist on doing things a certain way even if it doesn't make sense. A fighter will switch weapons every round or with every foe or will insist on using his least effective weapon, how else will he improve? A wizard will cast spells in a certain order (who cares if you need fireball, it can't be cast before feather-fall!) A cleric will always waste the first round of combat in prayer or spend 1d4 turns ritually cleansing their equipment after every battle -- if they don't do this they won't be able to cast any more spells that day. A thief takes twice as many rounds/turns to do his thing, etc.

11. Manic-Depressive: On any given day, you're either (1-3) Hysterical or a (4-6) Melancholiac.

12. Hallucinatory: In combat there is a 25% chance, after you've resolved an action, that you did so against a foe that isn't really there. 

13. Sado-Masochism: In any given combat, you're either a (1-3) Sadist or a (4-6) Masochist.

14. Homicidal Mania: You will murder any NPC that you think has failed you, lied to you, betrayed you, or even looked at you funny (yes I know, this is every PC that has ever existed. God Damn murder-hobos!) Even other PCs need to look out.

15. Hebephrenia: Any time a stressful situation occurs, you must save vs spells or behave as if you are under a confusion spell for the duration of the stress. Someone may attempt to snap you out of it with physical contact (slap!) in which case, you get another save.

16. Paranoia: You don't trust anything, every door, staircase, chest, ladder, every thing is a potential trap. Your movement is cut in half. Actions take twice as long. e.g., picking locks, searching rooms. Every NPC is lying to you, anyone who thinks otherwise is a complete idiot. You must save vs spells to be healed, because, fuck-no you don't trust their God! You will only eat rations and use equipment that you brought along yourself. And all gold is cursed...

17. Hysteria: Any time a trap goes off, or a party member dies, or you run out of rations or light, or you're lost, etc., you have to save vs spells or FREAK THE FUCK OUT!... causing an immediate random encounter check at +1 probability (most likely now a 2 in 6 chance.) 

18. Sadist: When you slay someone in combat you will keep on attacking that target until it becomes pulp (this includes casting spells on it.) Save vs spells to snap out of it.

19. Masochist: When in combat, you must save vs spells in order to attack, otherwise you just stand there and take it.

20. Psychosomatic Disorder: You keep insisting there is something wrong with you. Don't you see these sores all over my arm? And soon there will be. You must save vs spells or terrible sores start to appear on your body. They ooze puss and they bleed and you must save everyday to avoid this terrible malady from worsening. Every time you fail a save, more sores appear and you lose 1 hit point from your hit point maximum until you die or your insanity is cured. Once cured, your original hit point maximum will be restored minus 1 hit point per week afflicted.

On top of the above afflictions, all insane characters should suffer nightmares. A save vs petrification is required each night to acquire any benefits of a full night's sleep.

Only heal, restoration, limited wish, and wish spells can heal these afflictions. Natural healing is possible but requires two successive saves vs spells done on a monthly basis, one save at the end of each month.

Or something like that.


Tuesday, August 22, 2023

The Dream House Of The Nether Prince -- Hell Done Right!

Of course I had to draw the Big Guy (sorry Hunter, different Big Guy, this one takes his cut in souls.)


Yes, Hell done right!

If you've ever entertained the notion of publishing a brutal dungeon based in Hell, don't bother, here it is...

Though technically, this is the Abyss, but to mere mortals, what's the difference?

A rare module I can read without falling asleep.

Seriously, I can't read modules to save my life, rulebooks yes, modules no, mechanics yes, bland room descriptions no. There are many boring adventures out there, we all owe Bryce, Melan, and Prince a debt of gratitude for laboring through them.

The Dream House of the Nether Prince is written by Anthony Huso, whose blog is here.

(This is not a proper review ((those have been done; a good one is here and another good one is here)) just my initial thoughts on something I find ridiculously refreshing in its darkness and complete and utter devotion to AD&D. It makes me want to drop everything else...) 

In the preface, Huso lists the AD&D core canon, in order of importance (to him) as...

1. Monster Manual 2

2. Dungeon Masters Guide

3. Player's Handbook

4. Monster Manual

5. Fiend Folio

Aside from some monsters scattered throughout various modules, he calls everything else, interpretive dance. He's not wrong, really, if AD&D is the pinnacle for you. Though I think he's the first I've seen to  put Monster Manuel 2 on top. I would replace Fiend Folio with Deities & Demigods.

Dream House is designed for at least 6, 14th+ level characters. There is a culture of sorts here and a currency. Demons are explained, summing up every drop of reference to them in  AD&D. Their ranks, how they're made, how they're unmade, their amulets, what they eat... oh yeah, Huso hits on a core truth in (actual reality) that HUNGER drives everything, all things consume other things, eat or be eaten. Those of you who see the universe as beautiful and harmonious... you are wrong. Demons want to eat you, and the fatter you are the better (they would love modern America, in more ways than one.) In fact, the very fabric of the Abyss itself is made of corpse matter, the bodies and souls of the damned are broken down and molded into new demons or the raw materials of such. Remember how Lovecraft spoke of the human mind's inability to correlate all of it's contents as being a thing of mercy? Huso has correlated all of  AD&D's contents on demons... roll for insanity.

There is no hex crawl here, no rumors nor overland random encounters. You are of a high enough level that you're expected to simply arrive at the Dream House, a sort of, vacation home of Orcus called, Caedis High. Linger outside too long and the weather will kill you.

There are core AD&D references all throughout this book and every one of them includes a page number -- you need those books. E.g., The Fulivium (Black Soul Rain) weather condition threatens mutation and calls for a roll on the subtable on pg. 194 of the DMG, and I thought -- there are no mutation tables in the DMG. Oh, but this is a clever use of Appendix D: Random Generation of Creatures From the Lower Planes. There is also a d100 table in the back of Dream House for generating random undead, 100 entries from all over AD&Dland, the Core books, Modules, Dragon Magazine, White Dwarf, etc., a somewhat useless table for most, but this book knows its core audience.

As with all things Orcus, doom is the name of the game. You are but pawns in the machinations of an ancient unholy grudge match. There are actual battles to be fought here. I'm not sure I'd even attempt to run the finale. No, I think for myself, I would slice it down to -- that thing/person you need/want is somewhere in Hell. How bad do you want it? You've been warned! Nobody's gonna survive this place; nobody's meant to. I find it hard to imagine a party even getting far. Huso's players must have been immensely powerful in their own right, not just 14th level characters. At times, you'll be fighting through literal hordes of demons. There won't be much parlay and if the demons don't kill you, there are plenty of save-or-fuck-you situations that will. 

There are optional mechanics in here (for the final confrontation) pulled from a book called The Primal Order by Peter Adkison, published in 1992. Huso praises it here.

In the appendices there are new demons, new spells (Become Legend stands out), new magic items including some technology, and artifacts. All worth reading; equally as entertaining as the dungeon-crawl itself, if not more so, but that's the rules side of me kicking in.

And the art... by Valin Mattheis, stylized, a mixture of color and black & white, the closest comparison I can give is Scrap Princess. For all of this book's adherence to AD&D, its appearance (layout and art) does not. One critique I have is that stat blocks are literal blocks of text, lots of comas, not fun to read.

Many of the rooms are vast; not your standard little 20'x20' chambers. And with the rule of the Abyss that no vision exceeds torchlight (unless under the Abyssal sky) I wonder how this plays out at the table for those that use theater-of-the-mind. Hand-waving I suppose, lest the players hug all of the walls and rarely experience the center of a room. Yes, just set the mood as dark and give monsters an edge when it comes to ambush.

Properly run, this place is not for the squeamish. Glass-eyed corpses abound and they often whisper. Roll on a random table to see their crime, and then I suggest whispering something vile into the ear of the appropriate player. Creep them out. Did I mention that dead babies are a form of currency here? -- if that is not evil...

The Dream House of the Nether Prince. I think I've said enough.

As someone who has rarely run other people's stuff, I would run this.

No question.


Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The SHIFTERS Campaign

Circa 2006.

A one on one campaign.

Was supposed to be one on two, but you all know how that goes.

Using my own rules for a gritty-as-fuck, realistic super-hero setting called SHIFTERS. The premise was a dipole reversal, during which a chaotic lightning storm covered the planet. Those in the vicinity of the multihued lighting, if they survived, were "shifted" into super-human status. This was street-level stuff, the strongest could maybe lift 20 tons.

The system, of which I had three editions, was an amalgamation of Cyberpunk 2020, Mutants & Masterminds 2E, and Palladium's Heroes Unlimited. There were no hit points, but a damage track involving Stun/KO/Death checks and negative modifiers, what some refer to as a death spiral. All attacks were opposed rolls.

Hunter, a Wolverine type detective, was the main character, with Crow, an all black teleporter showing up later.

It was set locally, for us Detroit. It was bloody and gritty, involving missing persons, pimps, whores, and sex-trafficking. There was a trans-dimensional succubus brothel, a fundamentalist organization seeking to eliminate SHIFTERS called S.N.O. (The Society for Natural Order), evil SHIFTERS, ninjas, and later, an African Civil War. 

Part One: A missing girl who would never be found, but the search involved taking down sex-traffickers, pimps, drug-dealers, the usual scum of the earth type stuff, with an epic tangent involving a gunfight/melee with an agent of S.N.O. in a raggedy liquor store. Ultimately, a succubus brothel was linked but not responsible. Oh, and an epic showdown with ninjas!

My campaign notes...








Part Two: Civil War in Monrovia, Liberia. Members of the press and civilians in need of rescue. The government reluctantly contracts the SHIFTERS to attempt an extraction, a potential act of war. Heavily inspired by the Sierra Leone Civil War and the movie Blackhawk Down.

Hence: Monrovia Down.






Cobra was killed by Hunter on a rainy rooftop after a brutal hour long fight in an abandoned factory district. Shot in the head. 

Haraka was killed in the final battle of Monrovia Down, being thrown out of an office building window several floors up.


Ruby assisted Hunter and Crow during Monrovia Down.


Vertigo, A European mercenary, nearly ended the heroes, but was also killed in the office building battle.


First page of 16 I drew for another story in the SHIFTERS universe.


The SHIFTERS binder.


Version 3 of the rules, not the rules used in the above adventures. 150 hand-written pages.


Including a section for Fantasy.

Who knows, maybe I'll organize, rewrite and publish someday.

Don't hold your breath.

 

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Between Two Cairns Reviews: DATE OF EXPIRATION



A thoroughly in depth, entertaining, and glowing review of DATE OF EXPIRATION by Yochai Gal and Brad Kerr of Between Two Cairns.

Yes, the arrow on page 89 points inside the structure, a valid critique for sure.

And I absolutely LOVE the art of Bill Sienkiewicz -- right on target here!

Thank you guys!


 

Castles & Crusades: Saving Throws... Focusing On Death

In the earliest editions of D&D, death , along with poison was your best save. In Castles & Crusades, the  death  save is a charism...