New Vivimancer Spell: Divide Ancestry

Want to rid yourself or your friend of that embarrassing goblin heritage? Not averse to murder? Then try this vivimantic procedure!

Divide Ancestry
Level: 4
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
Casting Time: 1 day
Cost: 150gp (drugs)

Cast upon a creature of half-race (e.g. a half-elf, half-goat, half-goblin, etc), this unusual procedure causes the subject's body to split permanently into two halves: one pure-blooded being of each parent race. The resulting beings are fully independent and begin their divided existence with identical memories and mental faculties, though the former diverge immediately -- there is no telepathic bond between them. Any talents related to one side of the ancestry are possessed only by the corresponding being.

During the procedure, the subject must be kept under the influence of deeply soporific drugs to the value of 150gp.

Wormskin Sale! / Issue Four PDF

For anyone who has heard rumours about Dolmenwood -- the weird fairytale woodland setting spawned from the brains of myself and Greg Gorgonmilk -- now is a great time to get into it.

The first three issues of the Dolmenwood zine, Wormskin, are on sale. A mere $1.99 for the PDFs and $4.99 for the print + PDF combos. A steal.

Also: issue four is just out! (PDF only for now. Print edition coming in a few weeks.)

The Complete Illusionist? (Plus New Spell: Unreal)

Since I started collating the illusionist spells that I've developed over the last few years and discovered that they number "quite a few", I've not been able to stop thinking about doing a proper Complete Illusionist book. I've looked at the spell lists and it looks like I actually only need a couple of dozen spells more in order to reach a nice number of spells per level. (I'm looking at 30, 24, 24, 18, 18, 18, 12, 8, 8 -- from 1st to 9th level.) Seems eminently doable! So, two things:

Firstly, call for contributors! If you have some new illusionist spells written up, send them my way! (Either to the email address in the sidebar of the blog or in g+.) I'm especially looking for spells of level 3 or above, up to ninth level.

If I include a contributed spell in the book, you'll be credited and I'll send you a free copy of the PDF. If someone sends me loads of spells that I'm into and I include four or more in the book, I'll also send you a print copy.

Get those illusionist thinking caps on! (Fez's I suppose.)

Secondly, here's a new spell:

Unreal
Level: 8
Duration: Permanent or 1 turn per level
Range: 60’

Rather than creating an illusion of a something real, this spell creates an illusion from something real. A non-living, non-magical object of up to 10’ cube in size or a single creature may be affected. A creature may save versus spells to resist.

If the spell successfully takes effect, the target ceases to be real, becoming an illusion of itself. It may be seen, heard, smelt, etc, but is completely intangible. For example, a solid section of wall made unreal may be passed through, though it appears solid; a person made unreal continues to act freely, but cannot physically interact with anything.

Objects targeted by this spell become permanently illusionary. Targeted creatures return to their normal state after one turn per level of the caster.

New Illusionist Spell: Imaginary Companion

This spell popped into my head just after waking this morning. Illusionists have been on my mind a bit, recently, as I recently started collating all of the expanded illusionist material which I have -- some from the original Theorems & Thaumaturgy and some as-yet unpublished spells -- and discovered that I have a total of 48 new illusionist spells. I've always wanted to do a proper expanded illusionist class, so this might be the catalyst.

Imaginary Companion

Level: 2

Duration: Permanent

Range: 0

Casting Time: 8 hours

Cost: 100gp

Inhaling the smoke of a mixture of rare, psychoactive herbs (cost 100gp), the illusionist falls into a deep sleep lasting for 8 hours. During this slumber, the illusionist’s spirit wanders in distant regions of dream where denizens of the Dreamlands may be contacted. The illusionist experiences a dream of great vividity and significance, wherein he encounters a kindred spirit in the dream world and enters into a soul-binding pact with it. Upon waking, the presence of the dream spirit remains with the illusionist at all times. The illusionist can see and speak with the dream spirit as if it were physically present. The entity cannot, however, normally be perceived by others. Thus, depending on how openly the illusionist interacts with the dream spirit, others may be led to question his sanity.

Despite being normally imperceptible to others, the imaginary companion is, in fact, semi-real and should be treated as an NPC companion of the illusionist, present wherever he goes. It is able to interact with the physical world as follows:

• The imaginary companion may freely interact with inanimate objects, having the force to carry up to 20lbs or drag up to 40lbs (equivalent to a STR rating of 3). Any who witness the companion interacting with objects may save versus spells. Failure indicates that the companion becomes faintly visible.
• If directed to interact with a living creature, the target may save versus spells. If the save succeeds, the imaginary companion is not able to interact with the target. If the save fails, the target becomes faintly aware of the dream spirit and two-way interaction is possible.
• Creatures which can see invisible and the like are always aware of an imaginary companion, though may save, as above, to prevent it from interacting with them.
• The companion has an Armour Class of 7, 2d4 hit points, and an attack doing 1d3 damage. It may be damaged by non-living forces (fire, cold, crushing, etc) and by any living creature who is aware of it (see above).
• It has a movement rate of 90’ (30’), either walking or flying up to 10’ above the ground. The companion may not move more than 90’ away from the illusionist. If forced to do so, it suffers 1d4 damage and disappears entirely, reappearing only after the illusionist gets a night’s sleep.

The nature of the soul-connection between the illusionist and the imaginary companion is such that the illusionist’s hit point maximum is increased by the number of hit points the companion has. However, if the companion dies, the illusionist instantly and permanently loses these additional hit points.

Many types of dream spirit may be summoned by this spell to become the illusionist’s imaginary companion. In the waking world, they are typically intelligent entities of human size or smaller with capricious, mischievous, or contrary personalities. The following chart provides some ideas, but many more creatures are possible.

1. A small cat with swirling, yellow/purple eyes and violet fur.
2. A transparent owl, apparently made of crystal.
3. An opposite-sex replica of the caster.
4. A miniature, creeping bear with human mouth and hands.
5. A slender, albino child.
6. A miniature, black wyvern.

My Dolmenwood House Rules

I'm running my first Dolmenwood / Barrowmaze session next week, so have worked up a quick house rules one-sheet.

I thought it might be of interest to others. Download the PDF here. (Dolmen art by Matthew Adams.)

Theorems & Thaumaturgy Revised: Spell Lists

I've just been fiddling around with the revised Theorems & Thaumaturgy (it's so nearly finished!!) and thought it might be fun to post the final spell lists. As I mentioned previously, there have been some small changes from the lists in the original edition. The elementalist, in particular, has been expanded slightly.

So first, the changes:

Elementalist
New spells: crystal resonance, sound the deeps, sea lust, castaway, power word petrify, skyland.
Merged spells: banish elementine & summon elementine merged into summon/banish lesser elementine, banish elementine & summon greater elementine merged into summon/banish greater elementine.
Reworked spells: detect magic is now dweomerfire, amalgam of fire and water and amalgam of air and earth are now magic items.
Six new magic items.

Necromancer
Removed spells: detacth/graft and organ transference. (These are now vivimancer spells.)
A few spells have been renamed but are otherwise identical.

Vivimancer
New spells: instinct, minimus replication, detach, organ transference.
Reworked spells: detect magic is now arcane sight, hold animal is now paralysis, plant growth is now overgrow (reversible), revert shapechange is now revert biology, egg of life is now a magic item, hold vegetation or fungus is now animate vegetation or fungus (reversible).

Removed spells: yeast growth, fly, insect plague (too clericy, I think), mutate, mass mutation. (The mutation spells are in The Complete Vivimancer, but I felt they don't make sense to include without the associated mutation charts.)

Eight new magic items.

And now the complete, final spell lists:

Elementalist
1st level
Burning hands (MU)
Create water (rev.) (C)
Crystal resonance
Feather fall (MU)
Firelight
Lasting breath
Manipulate fire (MU)
Purify
Ray of fire/ice
Read magic (MU)
Resist cold (C)
Seasong/windsong/firesong
Shapes
Sound the deeps
Summon/banish lesser elementine
Wall of vapour (I)

2nd level
Dweomerfire
Elemental cancellation
Fire trap (MU)
Fog cloud (I)
Incinerate (rev.)
Produce flame (D)
Pyrotechnics (MU)
Resist fire (C)
Sea lust
Summon/banish greater elementine
Tidal force

3rd level
Banish elemental
Fireball (MU)
Fly (MU)
Gust of wind (MU)
Heat metal (rev.) (D)
Protection from fire (D)
Stone shape (D)
Summon elemental I
Vacuum
Water breathing (D)

4th level
Contact elemental spirit
Fire shield (MU)
Flash fire (rev.) (D)
Ice storm (MU)
Lower water (D)
Move earth, lesser (MU)
Summon elemental II
Summon elemental horror
Temperature control (D)
Wall of fire (MU)
Wall of ice (MU)

5th level
Atmosphere bubble (MU)
Command elemental I
Cone of cold (MU)
Contact other plane (MU) *
Control winds (D)
Distort distance (MU)
Elemental plane protection
Flame strike (C)
Passwall (MU)
Summon elemental III
Transmute rock to mud (rev.) (MU)
Wall of stone (MU)

6th level
Command elemental II
Control weather (MU)
Freezing sphere (MU)
Move earth (MU)
Part water (MU)
Stone to flesh (rev.) (MU)
Summon aerial servant (C)
Summon greater elemental kin

7th level
Command elemental III
Control weather, greater (D)
Delayed blast fireball (MU)
Earthquake (D)
Elemental plane protection, 10’ radius
Fire storm (rev.) (D)
Statue (MU)
Wind walk (C)

8th level
Castaway
Elemental portal
Elemental wrath
Incendiary cloud (MU)
Meld elemental
Power word petrify
Skyland

9th level
Brimstone monolith
Demand
Gate (MU) *
Elemental portal, greater
Imprisonment (MU)
Meteor swarm (MU)
Pact of brass

Necromancer
1st level
Cause light wounds (C)
Command dead
Command undead (rev.)
Darkness globe (MU)
Detect disease
Detect undead
Dying words
Exterminate
Haunting
Locate remains
Pass undead
Preserve dead (rev.)
Ray of enfeeblement (MU)
Read magic (MU)
Scare (MU)
Chill touch
Skeletal servitor
Summon necromantic familiar
Unseen servant (MU)

2nd level
Choke
Corpse visage
Death recall
Detect magic (MU)
Feign death (MU)
Rigor mortis
Lend strength or fortitude (rev.)
Ray of pain
Resist turning
Seal tomb (rev.)
Speak with dead (C)
Spectral hand
Summon vermin
Zombie servitor

3rd level
Animate dead (MU)
Cause disease (C)
Fear (MU)
Hold person (MU)
Skull sight
Skull speech
Summon monster I (MU) *
Unhallow (rev.)
Valour in death
Vampiric enslavement
Zone of sinister stillness

4th level
Bestow curse (MU)
Cause serious wounds (C)
Charm monster (MU) *
Inter (rev.)
Curse of rotting
Raise dead, lesser
Reassemble
Summon monster II (MU) *
Swarm transformation

5th level
Cause critical wounds (C)
Death spell (MU)
Gaseous form
Guardian spirit
Magic jar (MU)
Portent of doom
Summon monster III (MU) *
Summon shadow (I)
Wall of gloom
Zone of creeping terror

6th level
Bind spirit
Contact spirit
Curse of undeath
Harm (C)
Knowledge of life
Grip of death
Sacrificial resurrection
Spiritwrath (MU)
Summon monster IV (MU) *

7th level
Death geas
Destruction (C)
Drain energy (C)
Necrosis (C)
Summon demon (MU) *
Summon monster V (MU) *
Undead regeneration
Zone of weakness

8th level
Clone (MU)
Power word blind (MU)
Skeletal army
Summon monster VI (MU) *
Symbol (MU) *
Trap the soul (MU)

9th level
Power word kill (MU)
Raise dead (C)
Reinstate spirit
Steal life force
Summon monster VII (MU) *
Zone of death

Vivimancer
1st level
Detect poison
Edibility (rev.)
Entangle (D)
Jump (MU)
Natural weaponry
Read magic (MU)
Reptilian metabolism
Skin transformation
Sleep (MU)
Speak with animals (D)
Spider climb (MU)
Spore cloud
Summon familiar (MU)
Vitality surge

2nd level
Accelerated healing
Accelerated immune system
Accelerated metabolism
Arcane sight
Drone
Fungal growth
Infravision (MU)
Instinct
Life energy protection
Minimus replication
Polyvorousness
Staunch blood flow
Symbiotic familiar
Venom
Water breathing (MU)
Warp wood (D)
Web (MU)

3rd level
Cannibalize
Divide body
Feign death (MU)
Hibernate
Insect swarm (D)
Natural weaponry, improved
Neutralize poison (D)
Overgrow (rev.)
Paralysis
Repel vermin (D)
Revert biology
Vats of creation

4th level
Animate vegetation or fungus (rev.)
Chimera I
Detach (rev.)
Hive mind
Hive sight
Immunity to disease
Plant metabolism
Plant symbiosis
Polymorph others (MU)
Polymorph self (MU)
Speak with plants (D)
Spore blast
Swarm transformation (q.v. necromancer spell list)

5th level
Animal growth (D)
Anti-plant shell (D)
Devolution
Divide mind
Immunity to poison
Regeneration
Transfer pregnancy
Venomous blood
Wall of thorns (D)

6th level
Anti-animal shell (D)
Charm plants (MU)
Chimera II
Flesh blast
Impregnate
Life cycle
Organ transference
Reincarnate (MU)
Repel wood (D)
Transformative pupation
Virus

7th level
Parasitic implantation
Regeneration, greater
Replicate life-form
Vats of creation, greater
Xenogamy

8th level
Chimera III
Clone (MU)
Explosive growth
Mass devolution
Organ transference, greater
Regenerative pupation
Shape change (MU)
Survival of the fittest

9th level
Artificial intelligence
Creeping doom (D)
Extraordinary regeneration
Extinction
Genesis
Temporal stasis (MU)

Notes on Barrowmaze in Dolmenwood

I'm gearing up to run some games in Barrowmaze set in the heart of Dolmenwood. Reading through the Barrowmaze Complete book, which I received last week, I've been making notes on combining the two settings.

First thoughts:
Barrowmaze is located in hex 1306, where the forest thins and boggy ground prevails. Prigwort is the closest settlement. (I intend to write up more details on this village, but you could also just use the info on Helix given in the Barrowmaze book.)

The cult of Nergal dispersed, abandoning Barrowmaze, some 1,100 years ago.

The Anganach (ancient gods) are those worshipped by the original, scant folk of Dolmenwood, whom the Drune named the “interlopers”. Their presence is still felt, at times, in the wood and their names live on in local folklore, although they are no longer commonly worshipped as gods.

St Ygg is a saint of the One True God.

Replace the Necromancers of Set with the Drune, who use serpent symbolism in many of their markings and rituals.

Replace the bugbears hired by the Necromancers of Set with wild goatmen.

Instead of steel skeletons, the Drune create golems of thorny iron-wood.

The tablet of chaos, buried in Barrowmaze for centuries, began calling out to those sensitive to its message around fifteen years ago. The maze is coming back to “life”. The Acolytes of Orcus arrived ten years ago, called from a land in the distant east, followed shortly after by the Drune.

Runic tablets are written in the ancient language of the interlopers. This requires magic or research to read.