Elementalist summoning spells 1

As discussed previously, I've been thinking about creating some new spells to flesh out the spell list for a hypothesised elementalist magic-user sub-class. Firstly I want to focus on the ability of the elementalist to summon and control elemental creatures, which I think would make for a fantastic and pretty unique class. I've got plenty of ideas for a full range of summoning spells from 1st to 9th level, and some new creatures which can be summoned. Here are the first two spells in the series, starting at the high-end -- 9th level, to give a glimpse of the sort of deeds a master elementalist may be capable of.

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

Demand
Level: 9
Duration: Instant
Range: 60'

Cast in the presence of a summoned djinni or efreeti, this spell forces the creature to grant the caster a single wish (as the 9th level magic-user spell). The creature cannot deny the caster's demand, but will always attempt to twist the intent of the wish by fulfilling it to the letter. Once the wish has been granted, the summoned creature is released and has a 50% chance of returning to its home plane and a 50% chance of immediately attacking the caster. The granted wish itself cannot be used to prevent the possibility of the summoned creature attacking the caster.

Pact of Brass
Level: 9
Duration: 101 days
Range: 0

This powerful spell allows a caster to bind a summoned efreeti into service for 101 days, as detailed in the creature's description. The efreeti must first be summoned with another spell or magic item. The binding of the pact also requires the caster to prepare two brass amulets - one which he must wear and one to be worn by the efreeti. These amulets must be inscribed with magical writing, and cost at least 4,000gp each. The power of the spell is such that the summoned efreeti cannot deny the pact and must accept the wizard's amulet. Once the pact is made, it can only be broken if either of the amulets leaves its owner's possession. The bound efreeti cannot discard its amulet of its own accord, however, they are intelligent, chaotic and wily creatures, and often contrive ways to trick the caster to command them to do so, thus breaking the pact. If the pact is broken before its proper end, the efreeti is 90% likely to attack the wizard who bound it.

A wizard may only bind one efreeti to service at any one time.

Expanded thief class for Labyrinth Lord

Finding myself with some time on my hands today, I managed to do a proper write-up of yesterday's musings on a class combining the LL thief and assassin with the 1st edition AD&D thief-acrobat. Thus, I present - the expanded thief class.

It's just a first draft, and of course as yet completely untested, so any comments or suggestions for improvement are most welcome!

Thief / assassin / acrobat mashup

I found myself, some days ago, browsing the AD&D 1st edition Unearthed Arcana, and re-read the description of the thief-acrobat split class for the first time in quite a while. It got me to wondering whether that class' abilities could be integrated into the standard thief class, without requiring a separate sub-class. In class-based games this is how my tastes go - I want a few very archetypal classes (fighter / thief / magic-user), perhaps with a sprinkling of options within each one to give a bit of variety. The number of classes in AD&D 1e/2e is too great for my sensibilities, let alone the madness of all the classes and 'prestige classes' (or whatever) in 3rd and 4th edition D&D.

The thief-acrobat abilities seem like the perfect example of the kind of 'options' I'm talking about for a class. You're still a thief, but you can choose (at character creation, ideally) if you want to specialise more in traditional thievery or in fancy acrobatic tricks. Likewise, I think the skills of the AD&D / Advanced Labyrinth Lord assassin class could easily and pleasantly be integrated as options for the standard thief. That's another class which, according to my criteria, isn't really necessary - it's just a thief with a couple of skills swapped out.

So I compiled a list of all these thief-like skills, including those from the acrobat and assassin:

1. Pick locks
2. Find & remove traps
3. Pick pockets
4. Move silently
5. Climb walls
6. Hide in shadows
7. Hear noise
8. Back stab
9. Script: Read languages / Use scrolls
10. Disguise (as assassin)
11. Poisons (as assassin)
12. Tumbling (as acrobat)
13. Balance (as acrobat)
14. Jumping (as acrobat)

So, just in theory, a newly created thief character could simply pick 9 out of those 14 skills.

(Note that I've not included the assassin's 'percentage chance to kill things automatically' ability - I've always regarded that as a bit over-powered and silly. Besides, it's sort of just a variant on back-stabbing for multiplied damage.)

The script skill, which includes read languages (usually gained at 4th level) and use scrolls (usually gained at 10th level), could probably do with a bit of expansion. Ideally all of these skills would provide some benefit at 1st level. So I'd extend the read languages ability (at a lower percentage of success) to 1st level, and possibly include some kind of code-breaking abilities too, which would be pretty useful for a thief.

Likewise, I'd consider giving back stab a progression of sorts (as it does in AD&D, but doesn't have in LL), so the damage multiplier increases at higher levels.

Also the poisons skill would need some kind of progression - perhaps a percentage chance to analyse or even create poisons?

It'll need a bit of work, but I think it's a pretty promising idea...

More spells of thread & rope

I've felt inspired to continue the series of thread & rope spells posted previously. I'm very keen on the idea of series of themed spells, ranging all the way from 1st through 9th level, so I'll see if I can achieve that with thread themed spells. Not there yet, but here are some more for the series.

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

Conducting Skein
Level: 4
Duration: 1 turn
Range: 10' per level

During this spell's duration the caster gains the ability to deliver touch spells through ropes, threads and skeins. Both the caster and the target must be touching the conducting skein.

Conducting Web
Level: 7
Duration: 1 turn
Range: 10' per level

This spell allows the wizard to massively amplify the effects of a single touch spell through a normal or magical web. The caster must be touching the web as he casts the desired touch spell, which can be up to 3rd level. The touch spell's effects are then amplified and conducted to every creature in range which is in contact with the web. Each affected creature is allowed a saving throw, if the conducted spell allows one. Only one spell can be conducted per casting of conducting web.

Conjure Rope
Level: 1
Duration: 6 turns
Range: 0

This simple spell has been the saviour of many an adventuring party who were stuck deep underground lacking basic equipment. It produces a normal 50' hemp rope for the duration.

Rope Walk
Level: 1
Duration: 1 round, +1 round per level
Range: Touch

This spell enables the subject to walk along extended ropes at his normal rate of movement, and with no risk of falling. Only ropes which are on a horizontal and which could normally support the subject's weight can be traversed - the spell does not grant any gravity-defying powers. The subject is so at ease while rope walking that he may perform any normal actions, including attacking or spell casting. However if he takes any damage the subject must make a saving throw versus wands or fall.

Web of Arachne
Level: 9
Duration: Permanent
Range: 20' per level

This spell creates a huge volume of sticky threads which entrap any creatures caught within the affected area in the same way as the 2nd level web spell. In addition to the normal entanglement, all creatures entangled in or touching the web must make a saving throw versus spells or enter a state of suspended animation (as temporal stasis) for 2d6 days. The caster can move freely through a web he has created.

A wizard can only have one web of Arachne in existence at a time, and in order to create a web in a new location must personally destroy the old web by casting dispel magic. Apart from this one situation, the web is unaffected by dispel magic, and is not damaged by fire (normal or magical). Sections of the web can be disintegrated.

Web Walk
Level: 2
Duration: 2 rounds, +1 round per level
Range: Touch

The subject gains the ability to climb or walk along ropes, skeins and webbing as quickly and easily as he can move on the ground. The affected creature can traverse threads of any thickness, even those which could not normally support his weight - however the spell's magic only allows thin threads to support the subject's weight plus up to 150 pounds. This spell has the additional effect of preventing the subject from becoming stuck in webs created by giant spiders or magical web spells, though it does not help creatures who are actually bound up in webbing.

Dwarf & Halfling variants

I mentioned previously that I had variant dwarf and halfling classes planned for my up and coming Labyrinth Lord game. I really like the standard classes' abilities, but didn't feel that the standard noble dwarf or jolly halfling fit in at all with what I had in mind for the setting, so I wanted to rework them somewhat. The variant classes I came up with ended up being mostly just a matter of flavour, as opposed to properly different classes, but I thought I'd post them here anyway, just out of interest.

(I also had in mind using the Mutant class from the 'mutants & mazes' section of Mutant Future for the mongrel-men who live in the vaults below the great city. I'll have a proper look at that when I receive my recently ordered Mutant Future hardback, but it sounds like it'd be a fun class!)

Halfling
Halflings in S'raka are not the cosy, furry creatures of modern myth. They are a race which has evolved from the genetic randomness of the mongrel-men who inhabit the vaults and catacombs of the city. Halflings are tiny, half the height of most humans, and usually have one or more animal-like features such as: small claws, long whiskers, pointed ears, fur, a small tail, etc. They typically have a slightly rodent-like appearance, and are quick, alert and agile. Most halflings spend their lives in the vaults of S'raka, where they live as scavengers. A few of the more gifted members of this race sometimes venture to the surface, and may find a way to make a living as adventurers or business-owners. They are generally regarded as vermin, in the same social class as beggars or mongrel-men.

S'rakan halflings have the following differences to the standard halfling class:

• They have infravision to 60 feet.
• Their hiding ability works on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6 in any environment, wilderness, urban or underground.

Dwarrow
The dwarrow are a race similar to the standard dwarves. They live underground in labyrinthine cavern complexes which they constantly expand and mine for minerals. Dwarrow differ somewhat in appearance from the standard dwarf – their skin is gnarled like old tree roots and is dark brown or grey in colour and their eyes are jet black. Although they are important trade partners, the dwarrow are seldom trusted by humans – they are usually exceptionally avaricious and scheming, regarding all forms of precious metal and gems as the sole property of their race.

Preparing to play Labyrinth Lord!

So I'll be running Labyrinth Lord tomorrow, for the first time. Though, of course, it's not at all like running a game for the first time, as it's just like the D&D of my childhood! I spent yesterday evening drawing up a dungeon map and stocking it.

I drew the dungeon completely freestyle, on un-gridded paper, which I found had a remarkably freeing effect. In fact I was struck by what a pleasurable experience it is, to sketch out rooms and corridors with no preconceived idea of "what should go where", only a rough idea of how many rooms I wanted (about 25 in this case). I ended up, by mistake (due to low lighting), drawing the whole map in purple, but that only adds to its charm I think. And I even coloured in the "bits between the rooms" (for want of a more specific word!), which I never normally do with maps. A thoroughly enjoyable exercise, and one which revealed to me something of the creative / artistic nature of the process of dungeon design.

The stocking was equally fun. I had a few ideas for encounters or areas that I wanted to include, but the rest I trusted to the luck of the 1d6 room contents roll. One thing that particularly impressed me in the process of making an adventure for Labyrinth Lord was the ease of creating new monsters. I found it equally as easy to create a new creature as I did to look one up in the book, which led to several new beasts just in this small one-level (so far) dungeon. The time from imagining what the monster would look like and how it would behave to having its stats written down was not more than a minute or two, which I find very impressive - compare that to the same process in more modern RPGs (d20 system anyone?). Partly, of course, this was helped by a latent but intimate familiarity with the game from years of childhood play, but I found the combination of a simple basis for a monster (HD, AC, Save as, Attacks / damage) plus the freeform "and then make up whatever rules you like for its special abilities" works a whole lot better than in more rules-heavy games.

I just hope we have as much fun playing the dungeon as I did making it! I'm very much looking forward to playing the classic game again and seeing it with adult eyes.

Spells of thread and rope

I was thinking this morning how one of the greatest pleasures I find in D&D is the magic system. I know that this is also for many people one of the most loathed aspects of the game, but I just love the complexity of it and the near infinite possibilities for new spells. Then I remembered having created a bunch of new spells back in my AD&D days, which I promptly dug up. I had a phase of inventing spells on a certain theme - dimensional magic being a big one, for instance. The spells below were a quartet based around threads and ropes, which I had in mind for an arachnomaniac wizard, perhaps. I've converted them into Labyrinth Lord format.

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

Attach Rope
Level: 1
Duration: 1 turn per level
Range: 0

With this spell the caster can attach the end of a rope (normal or magical) firmly to any surface without the use of a knot. The caster touches the rope to the surface and an incredibly strong magical bond is formed. The bond is so strong that it cannot be broken - if great force is applied, the rope itself will snap first. At the end of the spell's duration, or at any time the caster wishes, the rope is released. This spell cannot be used to attach a rope to a mobile creature.

Grapple
Level: 2
Duration: 1 turn per level
Range: 0

The caster touches the end of a rope (normal or magical), and instructs it to attach itself to a surface which is within sight. The rope then snakes out and joins itself, as per the 1st level spell attach rope, to the surface indicated. The rope can only attach itself to surfaces that are within its reach (as determined by the length of the rope). As with attach rope, mobile creatures cannot be affected.

Skein
Level: 1
Duration: 1 hour per level
Range: 0

The caster reaches into his lightly clenched fist and pulls out a glossy, almost transparent thread. The thread can be unraveled for up to 200' per level of the caster, or until the caster wishes the spell to end. The skein created is as strong as thin copper wire - it can be deliberately cut or broken without much difficulty, but is unlikely to break without interference. At the end of the spell's duration, or at any time the caster wishes, the skein vanishes.

Spider Skein
Level: 2
Duration: 1 turn per level
Range: 0

The caster touches a surface and a sticky thread forms, connecting his hand to the surface touched. The caster can cause the thread to extend to a maximum length of 100' per caster level, and at a maximum rate of 60' per round. The skein is attached with incredible strength (as per the 1st level spell attach rope) to both the caster's hand, and to the surface touched. This spell is thus typically used to allow the caster to descend safely from great heights. The spell does not confer the ability either to retract the skein or to climb up it again quickly. The caster may climb up the skein, but only at the normal rate of climbing.

The thread itself breaks if more than 300 pounds of weight are suspended from it, or can be deliberately snapped by a creature with 18 or higher Strength. The caster can disconnect either end of the thread at will. When the spell's duration expires the thread vanishes.

Elementalist spells in Labyrinth Lord

Inspired by Carter's comment on an old post about elementalists in Savage Worlds, I got to thinking about what spells an elementalist might have available in Labyrinth Lord. I was imagining that the list would be pretty thin, and that a lot of new spells would need to be added, but after poring over the AEC spell lists I discovered that there's actually a fairly good selection already.

(While making these lists, I was interested to note that while I consider cold-based effects to be totally within the sphere of an elementalist, I don't feel the same about lightning effects. I'm not sure why!)

1st level

1. Burning hands
2. Create water (C)
3. Feather fall
4. Manipulate fire
5. Purify water (D)
6. Resist cold (C)
7. Unseen servant
8. Wall of vapor (I)
   

2nd level

1. Fire trap
2. Fog cloud (I)
3. Heat metal (D)
4. Produce flame (D)
5. Pyrotechnics
6. Resist fire (C)
   

3rd level

1. Fireball
2. Fly
3. Gust of wind
4. Protection from fire (D)
5. Stone shape (D)
6. Water breathing
   

4th level

1. Fire shield
2. Flash fire (D)
3. Ice storm
4. Lower water (D)
5. Move earth, lesser
6. Temperature control (D)
7. Wall of fire
8. Wall of ice
   

5th level

1. Atmosphere bubble
2. Cone of cold
3. Conjure elemental
4. Control winds (D)
5. Distort distance
6. Flame strike (C)
7. Passwall
8. Transmute rock to mud
9. Wall of stone
   

6th level

1. Control weather
2. Freezing sphere
3. Part water
4. Move earth
5. Summon aerial servant (C)
   

7th level

1. Control weather, greater (D)
2. Earthquake (D)
3. Fire storm (D)
4. Statue
5. Wind walk (C)
   

8th level

1. Incendiary cloud

9th level

1. Meteor swarm

Yes, so it gets a bit minimal at the higher levels, but it'd only require the addition of maybe twenty or so new spells to flesh it out into a pretty appealing spell list. And some of those spells are pretty obvious - ones dealing with summoning different kinds of elementals, for instance. Something for a rainy day :)

Thoughts on campaign structure

A few things have been mulling around in my mind lately about how to structure a good campaign (good meaning: 'the kind of campaign I want to run'), and what sorts of limitations can be put on the game to achieve that.

My current Age of Chaos campaign was designed from the beginning with certain in- and out-of game limits which were attempts to define how it should work. Here are some of these principles:

1. A fixed group of characters is not required. This was the original impetus for the campaign, in fact. To be able to run a game with players who aren't all able to commit to coming to every session.
2. Each session should be its own self-contained adventure. This kind of follows from the first principle - if the group of characters can be different every session, then the normal idea of a campaign as a continuous story doesn't necessarily work out.
3. It's a sandbox - the players are the ones who drive the action, through their choices of where to go and what to do. The DM does not have some over-arching plot in mind which the PCs are implicitly expected to follow.
4. No moral imperative - connected with point 3 - the campaign won't take the form of saving the world or suchlike. It's more about exploration.
   

It's interesting, looking back, how the campaign has developed. The first point has become pretty moot, as the group of players actually is more or less the same every session - there's a core at least, and the occasional drop-in from another friend. This has also nullified the second point - the story can continue directly from where the last session left off. I guess I came up with those guiding principles from perhaps a more idealistic perspective (the idea, which really appeals to me, of having a large rotating pool of players), rather than a practical point of view (that actually we have a pretty static core of 4 players in our RPG group).

So far point 3 has gone well. I've not deliberately introduced any pre-planned story arcs (although hints of plots and subterfuges have come up during play, which is only natural), and the players have chosen their course of exploration. I do get the feeling they're a little shy of choosing their own path, which is perhaps due to a difference in experience, as they mostly grew up on D&D 3.5 or later, whereas I grew up on Basic/Expert D&D. I think the emphasis in those two eras of the game was pretty different. Since reading ars ludi's thoughts on his West Marches campaign I'm very much taken with the idea of the players deciding between games where they want to go next, giving the DM some time to prepare something which they might encounter there. This unfortunately also requires knowing how many people are going to come to each session - it's all very well planning a daring raid on a Goblin city, but when only two players come to the game it suddenly doesn't seem such a good idea.

Point 4 is a tricky one for me. The campaign currently seems to be veering in exactly the opposite direction - a band of witch-hunters out on a crusade against Chaos. It's not really what I had in mind, and I can't quite put my finger on what it is I don't like about it.

All in all it's very interesting to see that really what I'd prefer to run is a series of more modular games, where each session has a pre-defined emphasis ("we're going to explore the ruins of the old mill", "we're going to try to steal the Duke's diary from his library", "we're going to follow that treasure map we found", etc). A sort of modular sandbox. I want the players to be totally free in their course of actions, but I guess I want to know up-front what they intend, so I can prepare something engaging, and I want each session to be an adventure - with enticement, danger and reward (or pain)!

Ah I guess I'm just suffering from having had three slow-paced town based sessions in a row! Still, things are looking up - strange things await the PCs in those cellars...

One conclusion I can draw for now though is that I'd definitely like more players, to enable this kind of tag-team adventuring...

Age of Chaos - Sessions 11 & 12

We've just had two fairly slow and uneventful sessions in a row, the first due to there unexpectedly only being two players and myself present, and the second due to a rather short amount of play time available. The characters are building up for a return to the ruined manor house which they have been exploring, and the whole business of getting from the city of Aglong back to their base in the frontier-town of Keet has been getting a bit long-winded.

So the two sessions instead became a kind of addendum to session 10 - the "R&R in town" session. There were a couple of things that needed to be resolved, but not much really. In retrospect I think it was a shame I didn't have any little interesting side-events happen, or even a mini town adventure, rather than just dragging out the couple of minor tasks the PCs had to finish up in town. But then there is also an argument that that becomes unrealistic - when "adventure" follows the PCs wherever they go (like the apparently cursed Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher), even if they choose to head away from the dangerous wild lands of Chaos!

It's a difficult point in this kind of campaign - if the players decide to just linger in town chatting with NPCs, well, that's their prerogative. It's certainly made me consider re-organising how the campaign works though, to make it a bit more cut-to-the-chase, and especially so after reading Ars Ludi's very inspiring posts on the West Marches campaign.

Featuring:

Barur son of Tharur - Dwarven noble
Arthanius Lex - Witch-hunter and hound-master
Darian - Youthful wandering bard

The main item which the PCs still wanted to sort out in Aglong was trying to talk with Lady Esmelna, the heir of the Baron who'd owned the ruined manor in Ballan. They headed through the snowy city streets towards the noble quarter, where they'd been told the rough location of her house. Finding the walled house without too much difficulty, they inquired with the guards at the gates as to whether it might be possible to speak with the Lady. The PCs didn't look or act too suspicious, so the guards fetched the house keeper, a man called Asmenius. The Lady had no time that day, but after a bit of 'haggling' they arranged a meeting for the following afternoon.

In the evening Arthanius went back to the temple of Arg to see if his superior had any news on whether he could provide any support for their explorations in the ruined village. The Eld had good news - that two of Arthanius' fellow order members were available and would accompany them to further root out the chaotic creatures which had infested the village, and to investigate the possibility of reclaiming the village or at least the manor as an outpost of Order. They arranged to all meet at the temple in two days' time, to begin the journey back to Keet.

After a quiet evening and following morning in the Serpent & Eagle inn, they headed back to Lady Esmelna's house for the meeting. The Lady, an aging and proud noble-woman, was a little cold at first, but was soon won over by their descriptions of the manor where she had spent her childhood, and the talk of possibly being able to cleanse the place of the scourge of Chaos. They showed her the painting of her grandfather, which Barur had cut from its frame, and asked her about the orb and quill which the Baron was depicted holding, but she didn't divulge any new information. (Barur didn't mention the fact that he actually had the quill in his possession.) The Lady was glad to give them permission to continue exploring the ruins, but impressed on them several times the fact that everything there is the inheritance of my estate. Meaning to say - "no looting". *

They spent another evening at the inn, and this time were joined by Erik, one of the men from Arthanius' order, who was going to join them on their mission to Ballan. Erik and Arthanius knew each other somewhat, and had some discussion of their recent doings. Erik told the story of how he had travelled to Thane's Haven in the west, braving (and barely surviving) the perils of the Fey Wood in order to take a message to the monks who live at the haven. After the catching-up Erik left to return to the temple, and Barur and Arthanius decided to get an early night in readiness for the next day's journey. At this point Darian, who had wandered off on his own that day, rolled into the inn completely drunk.

The next morning they rose (Darian only after a little 'encouragement'), breakfasted, and made their way to the temple of Arg to begin their journey. They met the other order member who was to come with them - an enthusiastic young lad called Balder, whom Arthanius was a little unsure of - most of the order members are a little older than 18. The Eld, however, assured him privately that the lad was a competent fighter, that he had sworn an oath to serve the god of justice, and that the order needed young blood.

So the five of them set off to Keet: Barur, Darin, Arthanius and his two dogs **, and Erik and Balder of the Order of the Hammer.

The day's journey to Keet was uneventful, and they arrived in the village at dusk. However as they walked along the now-familiar riverside path towards the lights of the village, they noticed a sinister black shape lurking in the edge of the forest behind the settlement. Edging closer to investigate, it appeared to be a man-sized spider-like form hanging unmoving in the branches of a tree. Creeping along the edge of the woods, they got a closer view and Barur (with his dark vision) noticed that the thing was in fact made of wood - it appeared that the branches of the trees had somehow woven themselves into this sinister shape. At the insistence of Balder they lit a lantern and Barur climbed into the tree and hacked the thing down with his axe. They gathered up the pieces, which appeared to be just normal wood, and took it to the Grinwold's Eaves inn to provide the landlord with a gift to feed to the fire. The landlord knew nothing of the spider shape in the trees, and was a little concerned about his fire when they revealed the source of the wood.

Over supper and ale the party discussed their next move - to return to the ruined manor in the morning, and to fully explore the tunnels in the cellars.

* This is developing into an interesting theme in the campaign at present, with the introduction of the witch-hunter character, who is assuredly not an adventurer or treasure-hunter. It'll be interesting to see what happens if they discover any further riches at Ballan, when they've been explicitly told that they do not have permission to loot the place.

** Arthanius' player officially renamed his new dog 'Scourge' (it was called Will when he bought it) - even changing the name on his character sheet.

Fey class for Labyrinth Lord

In my planned Labyrinth Lord game, that I'm now spending a lot of time ruminating over, I'd postulated that I wanted Elves to be somehow distinguished from Magic-users, and not just end up as a kind of multi-classed Fighter / Magic-user. I wanted them to be a more innately magical race.

At the same time I was thinking about the campaign setting, and quickly decided that I'd love to run a city based campaign. The combination of these two ideas culminated in the conception of a huge decadent city which is dimensionally co-existent with a Fey city. During the day time the two cities are separate, but at dusk a great bell is rung, and doorways between the two worlds open.

Adventurers from this other world use the class presented below, my adaptation of the Elf class for this campaign. (I've also got variants of the Dwarf and Halfling classes planned, coming soon...)
(Note that while the class refers to spells from the Advanced Edition Companion, this is a race-class for use with basic Labyrinth Lord.)

(Update: I've now uploaded this class as a PDF.)

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.
Fey
Requirements: INT 9
Prime Requisite: STR and INT
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 10

Tall, thin and ephemeral, the Fey are a race native to a magical dimension which exists in parallel to the world of men. They are of diverse appearance, and always have one or more unusual features that mark them as obviously non-human, such as: pointed ears, silver or violet hair, cat-like eyes, sharp pointed teeth, extra fingers, etc. They typically weigh about 120 pounds and are between 5½ and 6 feet tall.

Often Neutral in alignment, Fey are fickle, mysterious and mischievous. They enjoy music and song, as well as fine food and drink - but all their pleasures have a strange otherworldly quality, which other races can find both intoxicating and eerie. Fey are excellent fighters, being able to use any weapons and armor, and are naturally magical. A Fey must have at least 13 in both prime requisites in order to get the +5% to experience. They must also have an INT of 16 and a STR of 13 to get the +10% bonus. They advance in level according to the Elf Level Progression chart.

Fey have infravision of 60 feet, and have keen eyes that allow them, when actively searching, to detect hidden and secret doors with a roll of 1-2 on 1d6. Because of their magical nature, Fey are completely unaffected by the paralysis ghouls can inflict. Fey can speak their alignment language, common, elvish, pixie and goblin.

Although they do not study magic, Fey are able to use all magic items available to Magic-users, with the exception of scrolls.

Fey Spell Progression
Fey cast spells according to the Druid spell progression chart in the Advanced Edition Companion, and gain spells from the lists given below. However their manner of spell casting differs from that of other spell using classes. As Fey are naturally magical they do not need to pray or study books to be able to use their spells. The spell progression chart represents both the number of spells a Fey can cast per day, and also the number of spells he or she knows. For example, a 1st level Fey knows two 1st level spells, which he or she can cast once per day each. Fey regain their spells automatically after a night's rest. Upon gaining an experience level, Fey automatically learn any new spells allowed to them. Fey's known spells are usually determined randomly.

Fey Spells
(Spells marked 'C' are from the Cleric spell lists, 'D' are from the Druid spell list in the AEC, those marked 'I' are Illusionist spells, and those marked 'MU' are drawn from the Magic-user spell lists.)

1st level:

1. Auditory illusion (I)
2. Color spray (I)
3. Dancing lights (I)
4. Detect illusion (I)
5. Detect invisible (I)
6. Detect magic (MU)
7. Detect snares and pits (D)
8. Doppelganger (I)
9. Entangle (D)
10. Faerie fire (D)
11. Protection from evil (C)
12. Resist cold (C)
13. Speak with animals (D)
14. Wall of vapor (I)

2nd level:

1. Augury (C)
2. Blur (I)
3. Charm person or mammal (D)
4. Fire trap (D)
5. Heat metal (D)
6. Hypnotic pattern (I)
7. Invisibility (MU)
8. Mirror image (I)
9. Obscuring mist (D)
10. Produce flame (D)
11. Resist fire (C)
12. Stumble (D)
13. Ventriloquism (MU)
14. Warp wood (D)

3rd level:

1. Blink (MU)
2. Dispel magic (MU)
3. Haste (MU)
4. Plant growth (D)
5. Protection from fire (D)
6. Pyrotechnics (D)
7. Rope trick (MU)
8. Snare (D)

4th level:

1. Confusion (I)
2. Create food & water (C)
3. Detect lie (C)
4. Implant emotion (I)
5. Protection from electricity (D)
6. Speak with plants (D)
7. Sticks to snakes (C)
8. Temperature control (D)

5th level:

1. Greater confusion (I)
2. Phantasmal door (I)
3. Teleport, Fey
4. Transmute rock to mud (D)
5. True seeing (C)
6. Wall of fire (D)