Sure, you could get a horse. They’re plentiful, and they’ll eat grass... but what if you could get a POLAR BEAR instead? In more varied fantasy games than your regular Western-Europe-inspired ones, mounts can be whatever you need them to be, you don’t have to stick with horses. Bears, giraffes, hippos, elephants, giant spiders or Wyverns make for powerful and dangerous mounts for higher-level characters. An element than can be back-borrowed from MMORPGers is just using statistics as whatever they are, and “re-skinning” something to look like what you want it to look like. So a player wants a war goat mount? Okay, it’s still got the stats of a heavy warhorse, but now its bite attack is replaced with a headbutt. Someone wants a Wyvern? You can probably squeeze the stats of a giant eagle until they fit, and maybe add some poison damage to its primary attack. It’s not likely to break the game. How you can use this in your game • Personalizing regions and cultures makes them seem much more distinct, even if the realism suffers a little. So Goblins might ride wolves or Worgs, or giant spiders. Dwarves might ride war goats, or pigs. Orcs might ride... rhinos, I guess? Those were pretty useful in Black Panther. • Allowing players to have something of what they want, without sacrificing game balance too heavily, makes everyone happy. Most of the time, their mounts aren’t even involved in encounters, but it’s something that players feel more comfortable with, if they feel they’ve gotten some flavour that they wanted for their character. • Mounts also allow for faster travel, or more difficult travel (for flying, swimming, or burrowing mounts). This can be used even for a particular section of an adventure (rounding up a herd of Pegasus to fly the characters to a sky-castle, for example). It makes that feel meaningful, even if the mechanical effects aren’t that different from saying that they ride their horses to the land-castle. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash 10 January 2019) Categories All Old Pamma is a staple of village life- she travels from town to town, peddling her potions and herbs.
Pamma is an aged human, well in her sixties, but keeps herself active and healthy. She dotes on the young and polite, and will often slip them a boiled sweet while their parents are busy. However, she runs a far darker trade than anyone ever expects or her. Pamma supplies a society of assassins with a vast variety of poisons and their remedies. She labors long and hard to craft these dangerous concoctions, and makes a comfortable living from it. Most of the money goes into supporting her own family, and her numerous grandchildren, but none of them have any clue of her real agend Statistics: Pamma is a 5th-level expert. She has no fighting ability whatsoever, and her physical scores are impressive for someone of her age, but still likely to be outclassed by a heroic character. However, her access to poisons is almost limitless, and her ability to craft rare, exotic, untraceable, and lethal solutions to any problem impresses even the society she works for, to the point that they have an unspoken agreement never to harm her. She is not above dosing prospective clients with one part of a combining poison, just as insurance. She is Lawful Evil in alignment, but not malignant- she mostly wants to continue her work and not be bothered. How you can use Pamma in your games: • Early on, Pamma can make for a useful and even mentoring NPC. She might ask the PCs to recover some rare herbal components which have double usage- paralytics to help control muscle spasm (or create paralyzing poisons), for example. • Having Pamma accused by suspicious villagers of poisoning someone, and the PCs needing to defend her, can make for an interesting moral quandary. Pamma certainly crafted the poisons used to kill someone, but she would never be so ham-handed in their usage, and she will deny any involvement. Proving the innocence of an old, trusted friend should pull at the heartstrings of any former mentees. • Finding a situation where Pamma needs to ‘come clean’ to the PCs due to trouble with the assassins’ guild could make for a fun reveal. When the PCs have finally reached a point where she doesn’t need to lie to them or defend herself any more might make her open up about a lot that’s been going on. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 9 January 2019) Studying monsters is vital to surviving their attacks. But knowing their physiology may help you do more than just survive.
The Archivist class from 3.5’s Heroes of Horror had abilities allowing successful Knowledge checks to grant bonuses to attack and damage rolls against creatures, as well as finding out their special abilities and weaknesses. Text extracts: “Continuous rapid blows to protrusions on back can impair creature’s balance” “Vulnerable pressure point between fifth and sixth rib” “Tentacles are razor-sharp and capable of snake-like reflexes” “Powerful but inefficient neck. Exploit by changing direction of attack” “Weak abdominal tissue” I would suggest +1d6 damage per 5 extra points by which the attack roll beat the creature’s AC, after an appropriate Knowledge check first. How you can use this in your game: • A tome of knowledge specific to a powerful monster needs to be found, allowing the PCs to defeat it more easily. • A villain who studies and hunts their prey like an assassin may use similar knowledge to this, studying a specific person or group for hours or days at a time. Some knowing whose knee to kick and whose throat to strike, Batman-style, can be a terrifying opponent. • Vital strikes like this may disable spell-like or other abilities for a round instead of causing extra damage, allowing other combatants to close without getting petrified, for example. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 8 January 2019) Bridges are important for travel- they take a lot of effort to build, and save a lot of effort for everyone else for later. Bridges have often been the sites of battle, because of their strategic importance. Often, going to the next bridge down would take hours or days of travel, meaning that controlling the method of crossing the river or chasm was vital. They’re also tactical choke points, where a small force can hold off attackers without the attackers being able to swarm them, or have advantageous points of fire on people crossing. Narratively, a battle atop a bridge over a flooding river, an icy chasm, or a bottomless pit is also a cool memorable moment as well, and one that your players may remember for some time. Savvy players may also remember that a bridge can be broken, harkening to Indiana Jones’s Temple of Doom adventure, or Gandalf’s confrontation with the Balrog of Moria. Or go for some thrilling heroics, Star Wars-style, and swing or fly across the distance. How you can use this in your game: • Having a bridge as a control point means that either the PCs or their opponents are going to be at some kind of disadvantage. Smart opponents making their home there will likely have already make preparations for this kind of assault, and have ways of channeling invaders past traps, attackers, and missile weapons. • Holding a bridge against a much larger force is a time-honoured tradition, and the kind that gets people noticed for heroic acts (see yesterday’s post about Medals). Giving the PCs the task to hold the bridge and stop an invading force of (Orcs, Goblins, Skeletons, etc.- something that’s functionally simple to run in hordes, but can also be threatening) means you can get into video game levels of crazy stunts, letting your players try out all their tricks and crazy ideas, without getting stomped for them. I’ve personally played a 5th-6th level party against a force of 200 or so Orcs, with some leveled captains and so on, and it was a fight still remembered nearly five years later. • Bridges are another way of threatening consequences, without the consequences being a trap of some kind- everyone can see the raging river underneath, and it might not kill them, but falling is definitely bad. This increases the overall tension and means people *may* be a little more cautious, but without just throwing more damage at your PCs. Opponents or PCs may also try tackling, bull rushing, or kicking opponents off, and tactical actions like that are always more interesting than just swinging for damage. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 7 January 2019) Categories All “For gallantry in the face of overwhelming enemies, you are hereby recognized henceforth as a member of the Royal Star Order.” Indeed, there are times when getting paid in exposure and recognition just don’t cut it. You want noble-level recognition! Orders of Merit as a method of decoration of heroic deeds go back to real-world Egyptian days, with the Order of the Golden Collar. Plus, it lets you make up some cool medals and flavor them for whatever place your players are in. You may want to add a once-per-day magic effect, or some kind of 0-level spell like Guidance or Resistance. For some interesting real-world examples, the British Victoria Crosses are allegedly made using metal from two Russian cannons seized in the 1850s, and a fragment of that metal has been present in each of them. In Warhammer 40,000, the Crux Terminatus is meant to include a tiny piece of the Emperor’s armour itself, conferring sanctity and invulnerability. Striking medals from the armour or weapons of a defeated foe makes for a really flavourful source. How can you use this in your game: • Meeting a high-level NPC with one of these medals early on lays groundwork and lets you have a little bit of exposition for all the world-building you’ve been doing. A Knowledge (History) or (Nobility and Royalty) will tell you who you’re meant to salute or kneel to, and might even let you know what this person did to earn that recognition (holding a fort against Orc attacks single-handedly, and so on). If this NPC loses their medal or is forced to sell it, this might motivate the PCs to assist them. • Obviously, being granted a decoration like this is a cool way to reward people. If they melt it down for the gold value, that says a lot about them. If they wear it proudly, that also says a lot about them. Decorations like this can also be a punishment/reward: early in the Vorkosigan Saga novels, Miles is at one point granted the Cetagandan Order of Merit, its highest award for foreigners, by the Emperor he is not-quite at war with. This makes for some difficult explaining, and causes some shadow on his military career. • Draw on the history of the medal. If it’s cast from the armour or weapon of the Evil Dark Lord... at some stage, his followers might want it back, mightn’t they? If a series of murders and thefts target people and families who have had these decorations in the past, it might grant a clue as to what the dastardly plan is. Maybe it radiates just a little bit of evil aura from its old history? (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 6 January 2019) Categories All Malagdax is a dreaded name of the Winter Court, a terrifying being of dread power. He clawed his way to power in the Winter Court of the Fey many millennia ago, across the bodies of several rivals. He has won the loyalty or fearful respect of the Baronnes he needs to support his claim, and sits now as one of the highest-ranking nobles of that Court. Malagdax is a cruel and tempestuous sort, as given to rewarding someone who sings a song in a way he appreciates, as having their throat and lungs removed and displayed in his trophy hall. If they’re very lucky, unlike one of his former entertainers, the organs won’t continue to function and provide soft chamber-music for him. When Dark Fey are mentioned, he is the epitome of what mortal folk dread. Statistics: Malagdax is truly Chaotic and Evil, and possesses all the spellcasting power of a 15th-level Sorcerer. He is also no slouch when it comes to combat, and he can wield a sword as well as any 18th-level Fighter. His powers as an Archduke of the Winter Court mean that he has magical abilities, as well as access to many *many* hirelings, and an impressive armory at his disposal. Expect to face Pixie assassins, sycophantic Warlocks, skinning Devils, Night Hag dreambutchers, and a host of other wicked followers before ever crossing blades with Malagdax. In addition, he is likely to keep innocent (and not so innocent) hostages chained to him in case of attack, to prevent area effects which might harm them. How to use Malagdax in your games: • Malagdax makes an impressive nemesis for a high-level (13th+) party including a spellcaster. He is civilized (at least according to his own rules) and can be dealt with- threatening his power base may make him listen, but he might also carve the pretty eyes out of your diplomat afterwards. • Instead of setting him up as a long-term bad guy, Malagdax might also be someone to take instant offense at any kind of imagines slight for any group that needs to deal with the Winter Court. • As an Archduke of the Winter Court, Malagdax might also make an appropriate patron for an evil-aligned Fey-based Warlock. He is a patron who appreciates and captures beauty, which might motivate a player to flavor their patron as more than a simple malignant presence. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 5 January 2019) ArchivesSometimes, you’ll find gear that’s brilliant... but not in great shape, or incomplete somehow. It might be worn or imortant family or social reasons, or just because you like the aesthetic, but something’s wrong with the armour, and it doesn’t work quite as well as it should. Or sometimes people want to mix and match different suits, combining a plate pauldron with studded leather, or other combinations. This also lets you give what would normally be expensive armour like full plate to a starting character, but they don’t end up overpowered for their level. Statistics: Allow the armour to function as normal for the highest-level (or whatever is closest in function- adding plate components to anything else likely results in maximum of Breastplate effectiveness armour), but with the wearer’s maximum Dexterity bonus to Armour Class at 1 point worse than normal, and their check penalty on movement-related skills 1 point worse than normal. The armour can be repaired to function the same as a regular suit, losing the Imperfect quality, for half the cost of a regular suit of the same style, or with Craft checks and another similar suit. Total value: should be about one-third the value of the highest-rated set, or if you want to give some Militia-Grade full plate to a starting character, make it like 150 gold (affordable but still most of their money). Ways you can use this in your game: • A starting character who wants full plate armour might have a battered old set which their church, family, or military has allowed them access to. This means they still have a drive to complete the set and make it better, but have the aesthetic to match the picture or miniature they’re fond of. • NPCs in Militia-Grade armour may be a way of indicating unprofessional or rag-tag opponents like bandits or mercenaries, meaning your players will pay more attention when the goons wearing fitted and polished full plate turn up. • Another option is to allow any armour taken from someone killed to gain the Militia-Grade quality, unless they’re particularly killed in a way that reduces physical damage to the suit (particular spells, surprise attacks, or at the GM’s discretion). This means your players are more likely to buy (or commission) a suit of armour they want, rather than collecting 35 sets of filthy studded leather from the goblins they battle, and lugging all of it back to town to sell. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 5 January 2019) Categories All What if gravity was a constant threat, rather than just a fact of nature? Sometimes, we don’t think about how lucky we’ve got it. I spotted this amazing image this morning which reminded me of an old 2e Dark Sun release- Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs. It featured a whole area where living was done on rock outcrops coming from the side of sheer and dangerous cliffs. Everything had to be secured, and falling was an ever-present risk. ‘Dungeons’ were just as likely to be vertical (levels of a cliff outcrop, rather than rooms dug into the ground), and methods of floating/flying had to be expected for every encounter. Just changing up the dynamic of your players’ expectations can do a lot to make things really different and interesting. You can change the paradigm of “boots on the ground” and do something really memorable, visually stimulating, and amazingly cool! Much like Bioshock Infinite, you’ll need ways of coping with falling off things from heights that would instantly kill “normal PCs”. Whether some sort of fired grappling hooks, or the ability to land on solid (ish) fog clouds and make your way home again, or even a Feather Fall zone like the one covering most of Eberron’s city of Sharn. You need to find a way of making that height, and the risk of falling/being pushed off threatening, but not paralyzing. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 5 January 2019) Categories All You see strange marks everywhere- odd graffiti, spilled drinks, but sometimes you spy something that makes you really wonder. I’ve been traveling in a different city for the last week, and have spied a lot of these marks outside various shops, on street corners, and so on. They’re very definitely deliberate, and each of the ones I’ve seen is different, but I have no clue what they mean, which of course made me think “how can I use this for a post?”. Markings like these could be similar to real-world ‘hobo signs’, indicating friendliness of the occupants and pets, likelihood to pass on food, danger, where to find medical help, stashed of goods, and so on. A thieves’ guild or group of urban rangers might make use of this kind of sign to evade notice by regular folk, and leave warnings to each other (maybe it’s the written form of Thieves’ Cant?). However, it’s hard to not want to go the full-on magic route this, and make them some sort of arcane sigils. Are these wards to stop a house or business burning down (“nice place you got here... sure would be a shame if something... happened to it”), or even alignment protection wards, keeping out evil spirits or demons? On a side note, Peter V. Brett’s Demon Cycle novels have magical warding circles which keep out the demons rising up from the earth each night- well worth a read, and will definitely have some great ideas for any D&D style game! A last option is that these markings could be some kind of bizarre map. Maybe a cult to a Great Old One leaves these marks, and finding/following them leaves a person just slightly less sane, but able to discover the cult. The circles might represent specific turns that have to be made to reach the next spot, while the lines might represent the number of buildings or blocks you have to pass. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 4 January 2019) Chonekaax is the primordial spirit of lightning’s anger, roused to battle invaders. Chonekaax sponsors those who would battle invaders with swift vengeance. She builds her power over time, and vents it explosively. Those who would serve Chonekaax must dedicate themselves to vengeful wrath, and swear to build whatever power is necessary to keep their lands free. Chonekaax, as a major spirit, is not at the level of a true deity, but is served by shamans. She communicates mostly through omens and visitations, rather than direct communication. However, her image can be seen often in the storms above her island. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 4 January 2019) Categories All This ancient staircase is mossy and worn. Something feels unknowably interesting about the landing at the top. The staircase was constructed by a tribal group called the Rhinvan perhaps a thousand years ago, who all vanished quickly thereafter. The portal at the end of the stairs leads to a quiet area of the Feywild, mostly uninhabited by the Fey themselves. It activates only when the morning or afternoon sun shines through the archway. Ways to use this in your game: • Some secrets of the Rhinvan people might need to be uncovered (perhaps a foe they vanquished, without details as to how), and the PCs might have to search out ruins of the Rhinvan people to see if any records can be found. • The portal has spilled forth some otherplanar monster, which hunts through the portal, and returns home to lair. Tracking the beast will be difficult enough, but following it through the portal and into an alien forest will be even more challenging. • The Rhinvan people have discovered some sort of new power on the far side of the portal, and are returning to confront the people descended from their old foes. Can they be turned back, or some sort of agreement be reached with them? (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 3 January 2019) Categories All Snakes have long been famed for their wisdom, and their ability to read the future. This serpent is perhaps the epitome of that thought. The Ophidian Oracle is a truly colossal serpent which makes its home in a largely-uninhabited desert. It began as a simple neolate in a hatch of many, and has survived so many thousands of years, and shed its skin so many times, that it has transcended mortal limits of wisdom. The Oracle is truly nonhuman, and shares few human concerns, but it will answer any questions honestly. Whether or not it devours the petitioner who has woken it afterwards depends a lot on their attitude, and whether they have brought it offerings. The Oracle’s usual going rate is three cows per question, although it will occasionally accept the questions for less than that, depending on complexity and relevance. It often deigns to swallow whole a petitioner who dares approach it without bringing any offering, but only after answering their question- it has professional pride. Statistics: the Oracle is a colossal heavy-bodied serpent, perhaps six hundred feet in length and close to twenty feet in diameter at the head. Although it poses a terrible threat, its main form of attack is to bite and swallow an opponent. It can swallow whole opponents of up to Huge size, although they often require some chewing first. It rarely stirs its entire body from its warm dwelling, which uses up a lot of energy. The Oracle has a Wisdom score approaching 50, and all Knowledge skills at +30 or above. In addition, it can call upon its own wisdom and use the Divination spell at will, accessing even knowledge that is lost or unknown to the living. Ways to use the Oracle in your game: • The Oracle collects secrets from those who visit it, and has supernatural wisdom. Many approach it for advice. The PCs may be hired to go across the wild desert and ask a question for a noble patron- “what has happened to my trading fleet?” or “which of my allies has betrayed me?”. If they’re lucky, their patron has sent them with cattle to appease the Oracle. If not, it might settle for chowing down on a few adventurers. • While begging vital advice from the Oracle, it offers the PCs a question- if they can do it a favour. Within its cave are many small creatures which plague it and cause itch at its scales, and the PCs look just about the right size to assist. This will be a nerve-wracking adventure alongside the gargantuan coils of the Oracle, as a tribe of Kobolds has made their home within the cave, and scatters at the sight of adventurers, laying traps as they go. They may also have absorbed some of the Oracle’s wisdom, if you’re feeling particularly nasty. • The Oracle needs to shed before it can perform any more divinations, and requires a small valley to do so. The best-situated one, however, has some kind of gargantuan monster (a Roc, perhaps?) living within it that may actually pose a threat to the Oracle. It has grown quite irritable, and refused to answer any more questions, until someone removes the offending beast. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 2 January 2019) Categories All It’s important to cultivate your Mimic’s natural talents, and the best way you can do this is by challenging it with particular objects for it to ‘copy’. Mimics enjoy shapes with varying textures, although as they grow, their mass stays about the same. This means you need to adjust the objects you’re giving them to copy, otherwise you’ll end up with an oversized (or undersized) version. Although it can be hilarious to see a baby Mimic take the shape of a storage chest, it is somewhat less adorable to see a fully-grown one adopt the shape of a velvet hat large enough to swallow a horse. This can also lead to poor survival instincts for your Mimic, and hurting the race’s survivability overall. However, while still young, Mimics seem to enjoy going out to socialize, and, when properly trained, can make valuable additions to any wardrobe. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 1 January 2019) Categories All |
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