To my relief, everything looks perfect.
Thus: GET IT HERE...
(Hardcover, softcover and free PDF options. Note: the books are being sold at-cost.)
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Theorems & Thaumaturgy: Here It Is!
To my relief, everything looks perfect.
Thus: GET IT HERE...
(Hardcover, softcover and free PDF options. Note: the books are being sold at-cost.)
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Phase Elves for Basic Labyrinth Lord
A variant of the elf class with a nod to OD&D.
The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.
Phase Elves
Of the many species of elves, phase elves are perhaps the oddest. They originate from an inter-dimensional space which is inaccessible to other races, and about which they never speak.
Physically they appear similar to other elves -- tall and slender, with elegant features. It is, however, always possible to identify a phase elf by his or her eyes, which are either pure black or pure white, without an iris or pupil. Their hair also tends to be of unusual hues such as violet or cyan (though this is not unknown in other species of elf).
What makes phase elves truly unusual is their double personality. Each individual has two independent but interconnected personae. The two personae usually share the same name, and have complete knowledge of the other's actions, but their personalities and goals are often at odds. The two personae are sometimes even of different alignment. On any given day, only one of the two personalities is manifest in the physical world, the other having shifted into the phase dimension.
A phase elf PC thus has two classes -- magic-user and fighter -- one for each personality. At the start of each game day the player can choose which personality manifests. The phasing of personalities typically occurs at the moment of waking in the morning. When a phase elf switches personalities, the only noticeable change is that the colour of his or her eyes invert (white becomes black, and vice versa). However at the moment of phasing the character's personality and class abilities switch.
When a phase elf's fighter persona is manifest, the character functions exactly as a fighter, losing all spell-casting ability. Likewise, when the character's magic-user persona is manifest, he or she gains the ability to memorize and cast spells, but must abide by the armour and weapon restrictions of the magic-user class.
Both personae share the same hit points (d6 Hit Dice), and use the same saving throws (the standard elf matrix). Attack rolls are made using either the fighter or magic-user matrix, dependant on the manifest persona.
Phase elves use the magic-user experience table, and can advance to a maximum of 8th level.
The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.
Phase Elves
Of the many species of elves, phase elves are perhaps the oddest. They originate from an inter-dimensional space which is inaccessible to other races, and about which they never speak.
Physically they appear similar to other elves -- tall and slender, with elegant features. It is, however, always possible to identify a phase elf by his or her eyes, which are either pure black or pure white, without an iris or pupil. Their hair also tends to be of unusual hues such as violet or cyan (though this is not unknown in other species of elf).
What makes phase elves truly unusual is their double personality. Each individual has two independent but interconnected personae. The two personae usually share the same name, and have complete knowledge of the other's actions, but their personalities and goals are often at odds. The two personae are sometimes even of different alignment. On any given day, only one of the two personalities is manifest in the physical world, the other having shifted into the phase dimension.
A phase elf PC thus has two classes -- magic-user and fighter -- one for each personality. At the start of each game day the player can choose which personality manifests. The phasing of personalities typically occurs at the moment of waking in the morning. When a phase elf switches personalities, the only noticeable change is that the colour of his or her eyes invert (white becomes black, and vice versa). However at the moment of phasing the character's personality and class abilities switch.
When a phase elf's fighter persona is manifest, the character functions exactly as a fighter, losing all spell-casting ability. Likewise, when the character's magic-user persona is manifest, he or she gains the ability to memorize and cast spells, but must abide by the armour and weapon restrictions of the magic-user class.
Both personae share the same hit points (d6 Hit Dice), and use the same saving throws (the standard elf matrix). Attack rolls are made using either the fighter or magic-user matrix, dependant on the manifest persona.
Phase elves use the magic-user experience table, and can advance to a maximum of 8th level.
Saturday, 27 October 2012
Gnome Class for Basic Labyrinth Lord
To that end I thought I'd whip up a gnome class, as I've always been fond of the oft-reviled wee folk. I've tried to give them a bit of flavour to differentiate them from dwarves, with whom they are often conflated.
The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.
Gnomes
Requirements: STR 9, DEX 9
Prime Requisites: STR, DEX
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 8
Gnomes are a wee race of cunning burrowers. They are sometimes mistakenly regarded as relatives of dwarves or halflings – an assertion at which they take offence. In stature, gnomes reach about 3½ feet, and 60 pounds. They tend to dress in shades of brown and green, favouring soft leather and felt. The pride and joy of every gnome is his or her hat. They sport felt hats of a variety of shapes, colours and sizes – a tall red cone being the traditional choice.
Gnomes typically dwell in deep forests and secluded valleys, and have little contact with other races. They speak their own language and the common tongue. They are also privileged to know the secret language of burrowing mammals such as badgers, moles, rats, and rabbits. Such creatures, including giant varieties, are often found in the company of gnomes.
Due to their habit of living in burrows and warren complexes, gnomes can detect unsafe construction when below ground. A gnome must spend one turn searching to use this ability, and has a 2 in 6 chance of success. Gnomes can also always tell how deep underground they are, accurate to within 20', and never lose their orientation underground.
Like halflings, due to their small stature, gnomes gain a +2 bonus to armour class when fighting larger than man-size creatures. Gnomes may use any armour and any weapons except large or two-handed melee weapons, longbows and heavy crossbows.
They use the same combat, saving throw and experience tables as halflings. A gnome with at least a 13 in one prime requisite gains a +5% experience bonus. A gnome with 13 or greater in both STR and DEX gets a +10% bonus.
Gnome Backgrounds
- Troll hunter
- Brewer
- Badger master
- Tinker
- Burglar
- Outcast
- Hatter (optionally mad)
- Woodsman
Thursday, 25 October 2012
PDF Downloads Moved
As you might notice, I've had a wee bit of a reorganise on the old blog.
The main item of note is the new publications page, which is now home to all the PDFs I've published.
The main item of note is the new publications page, which is now home to all the PDFs I've published.
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Dreamlands: Random Character Backgrounds
Following on from my recent post on B/X character backgrounds, I thought I'd share the one-page PDF I've made for players in my upcoming dreamlands campaign.
One of the concepts of the campaign is that adventurers from virtually any possible world can enter the dreamlands -- thus there is essentially no "campaign setting". The point of this is two-fold:
To this end I thought it'd be helpful to produce some random tables for players who like random character generation to roll on. So we have tables for the following:
Here's the PDF.
Recommended for use with JB's B/X Headgear and 100 Reasons tables.
One of the concepts of the campaign is that adventurers from virtually any possible world can enter the dreamlands -- thus there is essentially no "campaign setting". The point of this is two-fold:
- To give players complete free reign over the character they create, with no limitations imposed by the DM's preconceived notions of a campaign world.
- To encourage an odd mashup of characters. Just for fun.
To this end I thought it'd be helpful to produce some random tables for players who like random character generation to roll on. So we have tables for the following:
- Sex
- Sexuality
- Skin colour
- Cultural origin
- Religion
Here's the PDF.
Recommended for use with JB's B/X Headgear and 100 Reasons tables.
Saturday, 20 October 2012
249 new spells
249 new spells!
(Shame there wasn't one more, making it a nice round number! ;)
Accelerated Healing, Accelerated Immune System, Accelerated Metabolism, Alter Reality, Amalgam of Earth and Air, Amalgam of Fire and Water, Animate Puppet, Animate Puppet, Mass, Animate Statue, Arcane Mark, Artificial Intelligence, Ascend, Attach Rope, Banish Elemental, Banish Elementine, Bind Spirit, Bond Bane, Brimstone Monolith, Cannibalize, Channel, Charm Spell, Charm Undead, Chimera I, Chimera II, Chimera III, Choke, Command Construct, Command Dead, Command Elemental I, Command Elemental II, Command Elemental III, Command Rope, Command Spell, Command Undead, Conducting Skein, Conducting Web, Conjure Rope, Contact Elemental Spirit, Contact Other Plane, Contact Spirit, Control Ooze, Corpse Visage, Curse of Undeath, Death Geas, Death Recall, Demand, Detach / Graft, Detect Disease, Detect Poison, Detect Undead, Devolution, Dimension Door, Greater, Dimension Leap, Dimensional Simplicity, Dimensional Ward, Disappear, Divide Body, Divide Mind, Dream Travel, Dreaming, Drone, Dweomerlight, Dying Words, Edibility, Egg of Life, Elemental Cancellation, Elemental Gate, Elemental Plane Protection, Elemental Plane Protection, 10' Radius, Elemental Portal, Elemental Portal, Greater, Elemental Wrath, Explosive Growth, Exterminate, Extinction, Extraordinary Regeneration, Fastness, Figment, Firelight, Flesh Blast, Full Codex, Fungal Growth, Gaseous Form, Gelatinous Transformation, Genesis, Ghoul Touch, Glamour, Grapple, Grease, Guardian Spirit, Hapless Fool, Haunting, Hibernate, Hide, Hive Mind, Hive Sight, Illusory Abode, Immunity to Disease, Immunity to Poison, Impregnate, Incinerate / Uncinerate, Inhabit Figurine, Instant Memorization I, Instant Memorization II, Inter, Invisibility, Lesser, Invisibility, Limited, Knowledge of Life, Lasting Breath, Lend Strength or Fortitude, Lich Touch, Life Cycle, Life Energy Protection, Light Codex, Locate Remains, Lost & Found, Marionette, Mass Devolution, Mass Mutation, Meld Elemental, Memorium, Mists of Madness, Mnemonic Obfuscation, Mummy Touch, Mutate, Natural Weaponry, Natural Weaponry, Improved, Organ Transference, Organ Transference, Greater, Pact of Brass, Parasitic Implantation, Pass Undead, Pathless Land, Phantasm of Forgetting, Phantasm of the Laughing Gnome, Plant Metabolism, Plant Symbiosis, Polyvorousness, Portent of Doom, Pre-emptive Strike, Preserve Dead, Prismatic Beam, Raise Dead, Lesser, Ray of Fire / Cold, Ray of Pain, Read Magic, Read Magic, Read Magic, Read Magic, Reassemble, Regeneration, Regeneration, Greater, Regenerative Pupation, Reinstate Spirit, Relentless Binding, Replicate Lifeform, Reptilian Metabolism, Resist Turning, Revert Shapechange, Rope Like Steel, Rope Walk, Rope Ward, Rotational Acceleration, Sacrificial Resurrection, Script Codex, Seal Tomb, Seasong / Windsong / Firesong, Shadow Touch, Shapes, Skein, Skeletal Army, Skeletal Servitor, Skin Transformation, Skull Sight, Skull Speech, Slapstick Fun!, Slime Blast, Solid Fog, Sound Codex, Spectral Hand, Spell Door, Spell Reading, Sphere of Annihilation, Spider Skein, Spook, Spore Blast, Spore Cloud, Spying Sigil, Staunch Blood Flow, Steal Life Force, Steal Spell, Strengthen Rope, Summon Demon, Summon Dimensional Horror, Summon Elemental Horror, Summon Elemental I, Summon Elemental II, Summon Elemental III, Summon Elementine, Summon Familiar, Summon Fey Kin, Summon Greater Elemental Kin, Summon Greater Elementine, Summon Swarm, Summon Undead I, Summon Undead II, Summon Undead III, Summon Undead IV, Summon Undead V, Summon Undead VI, Summon Undead VII, Survival of the Fittest, Swarm Transformation, Symbiotic Familiar, Symbol, Teleport, Tessellate, Tidal Force, Time Flow, Transfer Pregnancy, Transformative Pupation, Trigger, Uncontrollable Hideous Laughter, Undead Regeneration, Undo, Unhallow, Upper Hand, Vacuum, Valiance in Death, Vampiric Enslavement, Vats of Creation, Venom, Venomous Blood, Viral Phantasm, Virus, Vitality Surge, Voodoo Doll, Wall of Gloom, Web of Arachne, Web Walk, Weird, Xenogamy, Yeast Growth, Zoetrope, Zombie Servitor, Zone of Creeping Terror, Zone of Death, Zone of Sinister Stillness, Zone of Weakness
These are the spells contained in Theorems & Thaumaturgy.
I've got my test copy on order with lulu now, so it's only a matter of a few weeks until it'll be publicly available.
(ps. if anyone wonders, the 4 times read magic is because the spell appears in the list of 4 classes in the book...)
(Shame there wasn't one more, making it a nice round number! ;)
Accelerated Healing, Accelerated Immune System, Accelerated Metabolism, Alter Reality, Amalgam of Earth and Air, Amalgam of Fire and Water, Animate Puppet, Animate Puppet, Mass, Animate Statue, Arcane Mark, Artificial Intelligence, Ascend, Attach Rope, Banish Elemental, Banish Elementine, Bind Spirit, Bond Bane, Brimstone Monolith, Cannibalize, Channel, Charm Spell, Charm Undead, Chimera I, Chimera II, Chimera III, Choke, Command Construct, Command Dead, Command Elemental I, Command Elemental II, Command Elemental III, Command Rope, Command Spell, Command Undead, Conducting Skein, Conducting Web, Conjure Rope, Contact Elemental Spirit, Contact Other Plane, Contact Spirit, Control Ooze, Corpse Visage, Curse of Undeath, Death Geas, Death Recall, Demand, Detach / Graft, Detect Disease, Detect Poison, Detect Undead, Devolution, Dimension Door, Greater, Dimension Leap, Dimensional Simplicity, Dimensional Ward, Disappear, Divide Body, Divide Mind, Dream Travel, Dreaming, Drone, Dweomerlight, Dying Words, Edibility, Egg of Life, Elemental Cancellation, Elemental Gate, Elemental Plane Protection, Elemental Plane Protection, 10' Radius, Elemental Portal, Elemental Portal, Greater, Elemental Wrath, Explosive Growth, Exterminate, Extinction, Extraordinary Regeneration, Fastness, Figment, Firelight, Flesh Blast, Full Codex, Fungal Growth, Gaseous Form, Gelatinous Transformation, Genesis, Ghoul Touch, Glamour, Grapple, Grease, Guardian Spirit, Hapless Fool, Haunting, Hibernate, Hide, Hive Mind, Hive Sight, Illusory Abode, Immunity to Disease, Immunity to Poison, Impregnate, Incinerate / Uncinerate, Inhabit Figurine, Instant Memorization I, Instant Memorization II, Inter, Invisibility, Lesser, Invisibility, Limited, Knowledge of Life, Lasting Breath, Lend Strength or Fortitude, Lich Touch, Life Cycle, Life Energy Protection, Light Codex, Locate Remains, Lost & Found, Marionette, Mass Devolution, Mass Mutation, Meld Elemental, Memorium, Mists of Madness, Mnemonic Obfuscation, Mummy Touch, Mutate, Natural Weaponry, Natural Weaponry, Improved, Organ Transference, Organ Transference, Greater, Pact of Brass, Parasitic Implantation, Pass Undead, Pathless Land, Phantasm of Forgetting, Phantasm of the Laughing Gnome, Plant Metabolism, Plant Symbiosis, Polyvorousness, Portent of Doom, Pre-emptive Strike, Preserve Dead, Prismatic Beam, Raise Dead, Lesser, Ray of Fire / Cold, Ray of Pain, Read Magic, Read Magic, Read Magic, Read Magic, Reassemble, Regeneration, Regeneration, Greater, Regenerative Pupation, Reinstate Spirit, Relentless Binding, Replicate Lifeform, Reptilian Metabolism, Resist Turning, Revert Shapechange, Rope Like Steel, Rope Walk, Rope Ward, Rotational Acceleration, Sacrificial Resurrection, Script Codex, Seal Tomb, Seasong / Windsong / Firesong, Shadow Touch, Shapes, Skein, Skeletal Army, Skeletal Servitor, Skin Transformation, Skull Sight, Skull Speech, Slapstick Fun!, Slime Blast, Solid Fog, Sound Codex, Spectral Hand, Spell Door, Spell Reading, Sphere of Annihilation, Spider Skein, Spook, Spore Blast, Spore Cloud, Spying Sigil, Staunch Blood Flow, Steal Life Force, Steal Spell, Strengthen Rope, Summon Demon, Summon Dimensional Horror, Summon Elemental Horror, Summon Elemental I, Summon Elemental II, Summon Elemental III, Summon Elementine, Summon Familiar, Summon Fey Kin, Summon Greater Elemental Kin, Summon Greater Elementine, Summon Swarm, Summon Undead I, Summon Undead II, Summon Undead III, Summon Undead IV, Summon Undead V, Summon Undead VI, Summon Undead VII, Survival of the Fittest, Swarm Transformation, Symbiotic Familiar, Symbol, Teleport, Tessellate, Tidal Force, Time Flow, Transfer Pregnancy, Transformative Pupation, Trigger, Uncontrollable Hideous Laughter, Undead Regeneration, Undo, Unhallow, Upper Hand, Vacuum, Valiance in Death, Vampiric Enslavement, Vats of Creation, Venom, Venomous Blood, Viral Phantasm, Virus, Vitality Surge, Voodoo Doll, Wall of Gloom, Web of Arachne, Web Walk, Weird, Xenogamy, Yeast Growth, Zoetrope, Zombie Servitor, Zone of Creeping Terror, Zone of Death, Zone of Sinister Stillness, Zone of Weakness
These are the spells contained in Theorems & Thaumaturgy.
I've got my test copy on order with lulu now, so it's only a matter of a few weeks until it'll be publicly available.
(ps. if anyone wonders, the 4 times read magic is because the spell appears in the list of 4 classes in the book...)
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Theorems & Thaumaturgy -- The Final Touches
It's very oh so nearly finished! I've been storming through the layout over the past couple of weeks, and have now finished all but one section of the book. That means I only have 5 pages of layout left to do -- a matter of a few hours' work at the rate I've been going.
So from there all I need to do is the back cover blurb, which I'm struggling with a bit, to be honest! I'm sure I'll work something out though.
Those last little bits completed, I'll be uploading it to lulu, and ordering a test printing for myself. Wow, I cannot wait to see it in the flesh at last! I plan to use it in my upcoming dreamlands campaign...
All going well, I anticipate that the book should be available for public consumption, as a free PDF or a not-for-profit book, within the next month. (I'm hoping for the end of October, but that somewhat depends on how quick the shipping of my test printing is...)
As a last minute bonus, I've added an extra appendix with example lists of memorized spells for each type of magic-user, for characters ranging from 1st to 10th level. Need a fully "stocked" 8th level illusionist in a pinch? Well, look no further.
So from there all I need to do is the back cover blurb, which I'm struggling with a bit, to be honest! I'm sure I'll work something out though.
Those last little bits completed, I'll be uploading it to lulu, and ordering a test printing for myself. Wow, I cannot wait to see it in the flesh at last! I plan to use it in my upcoming dreamlands campaign...
All going well, I anticipate that the book should be available for public consumption, as a free PDF or a not-for-profit book, within the next month. (I'm hoping for the end of October, but that somewhat depends on how quick the shipping of my test printing is...)
As a last minute bonus, I've added an extra appendix with example lists of memorized spells for each type of magic-user, for characters ranging from 1st to 10th level. Need a fully "stocked" 8th level illusionist in a pinch? Well, look no further.
Friday, 12 October 2012
B/X Character Backgrounds
For my upcoming dreamlands campaign, I've been vacillating over whether to run the game using the Labyrinth Lord AEC (that is, with the full range of AD&D races, classes and combinations thereof) or whether to keep it simple and just use basic Labyrinth Lord. I'm veering now towards the latter.
What I love about the basic 4 classes (plus demi-humans) is that each class encompasses so many sub-archetypes, without getting into the arms-race of making each of them a class of its own. So, to convey this idea to potential players (many of whom are more used to AD&D or D&D3, with their respective plethora of mechanical character options) I've been working on some tables of character background ideas. The intention is that players can either roll randomly, choose one from the list, or make up something similar. None of the backgrounds in these tables grant any specific mechanical abilities or bonuses, but are intended to be used in the same way a secondary skills in AD&D are -- as an aid to situational rulings on who can do what.
Here's what I've come up with.
Fighter
What I love about the basic 4 classes (plus demi-humans) is that each class encompasses so many sub-archetypes, without getting into the arms-race of making each of them a class of its own. So, to convey this idea to potential players (many of whom are more used to AD&D or D&D3, with their respective plethora of mechanical character options) I've been working on some tables of character background ideas. The intention is that players can either roll randomly, choose one from the list, or make up something similar. None of the backgrounds in these tables grant any specific mechanical abilities or bonuses, but are intended to be used in the same way a secondary skills in AD&D are -- as an aid to situational rulings on who can do what.
Here's what I've come up with.
Fighter
- Monster hunter
- Wildsman / scout
- Barbarian
- Mercenary
- Sailor / pirate
- Guard / soldier
- Gladiator
- Bandit
- Cultist
- Monk
- Monster hunter / inquisitor
- Zealot / evangelist
- Mendicant
- Templar / paladin
- Prophet
- Chosen one
- Tomb robber
- Assassin
- Con artist
- Acrobat / performer
- Bandit / highwayman
- Gambler / hedonist
- Burglar
- Spy
- Astrologer
- Alchemist
- Mystic
- Herbalist
- Sage
- Witch / hedge wizard
- Warlock
- Cultist
- Monster hunter
- Smith / mechanist
- Miner
- Guard / soldier
- Stone mason / gem cutter
- Drunkard
- Berserker
- Outcast
- Gourmand
- Scavenger
- Wanderer
- Tinker
- Burglar
- Bard
- Merchant
- Sheriff
- Noble
- Duelist
- Hedonist
- Aesthete
- Bard
- Fey warlock
- Fated
- Trickster
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Premium AD&D vs D&D3.5 Books
Amazon just kindly informed me of the release of the Premium D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook.
First thing I noticed: that's quite cheap.
Second thing I noticed: hang on, the cover's the same as the original! They (in my mind somewhat controversially) reprinted the AD&D books with new covers, so I would have assumed the 3.5 re-releases would get the same treatment. But no -- they already sport the regulation fake leather tome effect, which is apparently now a requisite feature of all D&D books. Pah.
Edit: though, thanks to Brendan, I now realise that they actually are revamped covers. They're just not as radically reworked as the AD&D reprints were.
On the topic of D&D 3*, I had a funny turn some weeks back where I thought "maybe D&D 3 (not 3.5) has some old-school charm now", haha. After 5 minutes and reading my first class description I realised that this is a fallacy.
First thing I noticed: that's quite cheap.
Second thing I noticed: hang on, the cover's the same as the original! They (in my mind somewhat controversially) reprinted the AD&D books with new covers, so I would have assumed the 3.5 re-releases would get the same treatment. But no -- they already sport the regulation fake leather tome effect, which is apparently now a requisite feature of all D&D books. Pah.
Edit: though, thanks to Brendan, I now realise that they actually are revamped covers. They're just not as radically reworked as the AD&D reprints were.
On the topic of D&D 3*, I had a funny turn some weeks back where I thought "maybe D&D 3 (not 3.5) has some old-school charm now", haha. After 5 minutes and reading my first class description I realised that this is a fallacy.
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