[Now Available] Dragonborn for Labyrinth Lord

 

DRAGONBORN

By James Mishler & Jodi Moran-Mishler

This work contains two forms of the dragonborn race:

First, a racial class for use with Labyrinth Lord, complete with several new dragon-magic spells;

Second, a race for use with Advanced Labyrinth Lord.

Notes are included for dragon-bloods, the half-blood offspring for dragonborn and humans.

Magic Item: Dragon Scrimshaw Scales

Dragonborn Lairs

Dragonborn Monster Entry

New Monsters: Dracosteeds and Dragonhounds

10 pages altogether, seven pages of content, one cover page, two pages of OGL.

$1.00 -- CHEAP!

[Kickstarter] Goblinoid Games "Burial Plots" for Cryptworld!

Goblinoid Games has started a Kickstarter for a new supplement for Cryptworld: Burial Plots, a collection of five adventures written by Tim Snider of The Savage AfterWorld! Several levels to pledge enable you to not only pick up Burial Plots, but also pick up one or more of the Pacesetter games and/or supplements: Cryptworld,  Majus, Rotworld, Timemaster, or Monsters Macabre (NB, I contributed to Monsters Macabre, but I am not financially involved in any way with this Kickstarter or the Pacesetter games).

 

COVER ART: Jethro Lentle

 

INTERIOR ART: Brian Thomas

 

BURIAL PLOTS includes five adventures for the CRYPTWORLD Horror Role-Playing game. They are also for use with the original Pacesetter edition of the horror role-playing game CHILL.*

 

The adventures are:

 

Condition Critical

Dr. Howard Eastman has called a press conference at his remote research facility to announce a medical breakthrough that will “eradicate human illness and suffering forever.” But what if the cure proves to be worse than the disease?

 

Unquenchable

Three days ago, a group of hunters failed to return from their annual deer hunt near Akron, Ohio. Your team of expert trackers and investigators has been brought in to assist in the search. But there seems to be an undercurrent of unease amongst the police who whisper of a disturbing discovery they’ve made. Is there something sinister lurking in the forest?

 

Death in the Dust

In 1888, the silver-mining boomtown of Weaver, Arizona, was abandoned after a series of unexplained disasters, and the town was left to crumble in the desert sands. Today, the former ghost town has been revitalized as a historical attraction. Is history about to repeat itself?

 

Forget-Me-Not

Horrific axe murders recently committed in Oregon's Tillamook State Forest are identical to those committed by the legendary "Paul Bunyon Butcher" 40 years ago. However, the original killer – now elderly and feeble – remains behind bars. Has a copycat killer surfaced, or is this the work of something even more sinister?

 

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

The Christmas season is typically a time of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. But one THING has decided to make this year's Yuletide visit to relatives a horrific holiday from Hell.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE KICKSTARTER

Simple Vancian Magic

Of late there has been a bit of chatter about Vancian style magic in D&D, as in, how much magic in D&D actually resembles the magic portrayed by Jack Vance in his Dying Earth series.

 

Short answer, "sorta-kinda." Longer answer, it is similar to Dying Earth magic in that it is "fire and forget," but in practice, there is a lot more granularity to the D&D system than there is to magic as portrayed in Dying Earth. That of course does not take into account the later appearance of Sandestins (effectively, re-skinned genies), which Vance introduced in his later Dying Earth stories. D&D magic-users can cast a LOT more spells at higher levels than any wizard of Dying Earth (or even of Lyonesse); however, D&D magic is a lot less "colorful" than that found in Dying Earth, but that is really more of a function of rules versus literature. If a judge wanted to, she could make D&D magic just as colorful as that found in the Dying Earth.

 

Also, in Dying Earth, wizards had to get by a lot more on their wits than most magic-users seem to do in games these days (or even back in the day). A truly Vancian magic-user would have Charisma as his second-highest stat, merely to take advantage of reactions, bargaining, intimidation, and simple bluster and bluff, and in combination with his Intelligence, wit and repartee. Most D&D magic-user players, at least, from being on the other side of the screen as I have, seem to just fade behind the meatshields after they have used their spells, or at best, fall back on flaming oil, caltrops, and other such more physical "bags of tricks."

 

That said, the brief and simple system to make D&D magic more "truly Vancian," is simple.

 

A magic-user can memorize a number of levels of spells equal to her level plus her Intelligence bonus. The magic-user cannot memorize the same spell twice. Memorization requires an hour of rest and then one round per spell level to impress the spell in the mind. Once the spell is cast (or miscast, or lost), the spell is gone from the mind. 

 

Note that no magic-user in their right mind would ever bring their spell books (plural, one to six spells per spell book, no more) with them into the dungeon, as they are far too rare and valuable. Any foolish magic-user who does this deserves everything she gets (or rather, loses) when Something Bad happens to her spell books.

 

The Cugel Corollary: Anyone who wishes to may attempt to cast a spell from a spell book, if they can read the language (this presumes that spells are written in a readable language rather than a magical cipher). Use the character's "Spell Learning Probability" based on Intelligence and subtract 10% per level of the spell to be cast. ANY failure indicates that Something Bad happens to the attempted spell-caster...

 

For a longer, more involved version of the system, read my Jack Vance Dying Earth-inspired Adventurer class.

[White Star] Alternate Star Knights Class and Star Force Meditation System

Here is the alternate Star Knight Class and Star Force Meditation system I've used for my White Star games. It is continually under development and adjustment. It is rather more complex than the system used in White Star, but it is more like what I envision Star Knights being capable of... note that it is NOT designed with "balance" in mind. If you want to "balance" the added abilities gained from this system, you can increase the XP needed for Star Knights to rise in level. I don't really worry much about it myself...

 

Over time I have referred to a number of sources to develop this system, including Labyrinth Lord, Labyrinth Lord AEC, White Star, White Star Companion, Star Sailors, and Between Star & Void, among other sources.

 

 

Star Knight Consular
Primes: Wisdom + Charisma
Hit Die: d8 + Charisma Bonus
Force Die: d8 + Wis Bonus
Star Sword Ability Bonuses: + Charisma Bonus to Hit and Parry
Star Sword Mastery Bonus: 1st+2nd +0; 3rd-6th +1 7th+ +2
Parry: 1 free Parry and Redirect per round, 1 FP per Parry or Redirect thereafter, -1 to Parry and Redirect per attempt after the first Parry that cost Force Points.
Meditations: Channel Star Force, plus Level +1 + Cha Bonus meditations
Special Ability: Misdirection, costs 1 FP. If target fails saving throw, you change his mind (on a minor, immediate subject) or misdirect his attention for up to on minute. If he fails a second saving throw after that minute, he forgets anything about the incident.

 

Star Knight Guardian
Primes: Wisdom and Dexterity
Hit Die: d10 + Dexterity Bonus
Force Die: d6 + Wis Bonus
Star Sword Bonuses: + Dexterity Bonus to Hit, Damage, Parry, and Redirect
Star Sword Mastery Bonus: 1st-4th +1; 5th-8th +2; 9th+ +3
Parry: 1 free Parry and Redirect per round per level, 1 FP per Parry and Redirect thereafter, -1 to Parry and Redirect per attempt after the first Parry and Redirect that cost Force Points.
Meditations: Channel Star Force, plus Level +1 meditations
Special Ability: Seize Initiative, costs 1 FP. If opponent fails saving throw, you gain initiative.

 

Star Knight Mystic
Primes: Wisdom + Intelligence
Hit Die: d6 + Intelligence Bonus
Force Die: d10 + Wis Bonus + Int Bonus
Star Sword Bonus: + Wisdom Bonus to Parry
Star Sword Mastery Bonus: 1st-4th +0; 5th-8th +1; 9th+ +2
Parry: 1 FP per Parry or Redirect, -1 to Parry or Redirect per Perry or Redirect attempt after the first Parry.
Meditations: Channel Star Force, plus Level +2 + Wis Bonus + Int Bonus meditations
Special Ability: Attuned to the Star Force. If a Void Power Gift is used within 1 mile per level, you automatically sense the use of the Gift. With one minute concentration and expending 1 FP, the Mystic can scan for presence of Void Gift users within same area. Some Void Gifts might hide the presence of Void users.

 

Star Sword Parry and Redirect
Whenever a Star Knight armed with a Star Sword is attacked and hit, he may attempt to parry the attack. The Star Knight rolls an attack roll against the attack that was rolled to hit him; if his roll is equal to or greater than the roll to hit him, he parries the attack. Melee weapons are destroyed (unless they are of similar caliber to a Star Sword), as are slug-thrower bullets and the like; laser and blaster bolts, however, may be redirected by the Star Knight against any target he can see within the remaining range of the original weapon blast. This is made as a normal attack using the Star Knight’s Star Sword bonuses. If the attack hits, it deals the normal damage due to the weapon type.

 

Power of the Star Force
All Star Knights can call upon the power of the Star Force at need. They can use their Force Points (and Hit Points) to increase a failed roll to hit, to parry, or to save after the roll has been made. This can be done for any roll that is not a Natural 1 fumble or for any attempt that does not require a Natural 20 to hit. This should only be used for important, major, life-and-death, save-the-world kinds of rolls, not for every normal, everyday rolls.

 

After the roll is made but before the effect occurs (or fails to occur), the Referee must tell the Star Knight that he failed; do not tell the Star Knight how much he failed by. Then offer the Star Knight the opportunity to expend Force Points to make the roll a success. If the player says yes, he then spends a number of Force Points needful to make the roll succeed.

 

If the number needed is more than his current Force Points, he suffers damage to Hit Points as though he had spent them as Force Points (i.e., 2 HP per FP). If he does not have enough Hit Points left, he then suffers Constitution damage at a rate of one point of Constitution per Force Point; this might even kill the Star Knight!

 

Call Upon the Void
The Star Knight can also or instead call upon the Void for the needed points to make the hit, parry, or saving throw, they can also call upon the Void to cause a target to fail their saving throw against a Meditation. The first time the Star Knight does so, she gains a pool of Void Points equal to the number of points needed to make the roll succeed. The first time the Star Knight gains Void Points, and each time there after, the Star Knight must make a percentile roll against the new Void Point total.

 

If the roll is equal to or less than the Void Point total, the Star Knight falls from the grace of the Star Force and turns to the Void, becoming an NPC Void Knight from that point on.

 

There are ways for a Star Knight to decrease her Void Point pool; these are at the discretion of the Referee.

 

STAR KNIGHT MEDITATIONS
Alter Reflexes
Awareness
Block Energy
Celerity
Channel Star Force
Charm Beasts
Charm Person
Comprehend Languages
Darkvision
Defensive Coordination
Detect Evil/Good
Detect Gifted
Detect Invisible
Detect Life
Detect Thoughts
Detect Traps
Dispel Effect
Eschew Food and Water
Expand Senses
Feather Fall
Foresight
Heal Other
Healing Meditation
Healing Trance
Interstellar Navigation
Leap
Levitation
Locate Object
Mind Shield
Mind Voice
Neutralize Poison
Protection from Firearms
Read Languages
Remote Viewing
Speak with Animals
Speak with Plants
Speed Burst
Star Force Meditation
Star Light
Star Speed
Star Sword Form: Attack Style
Star Sword Form: Defensive Style
Star Sword Form: Offensive Style
Star Sword Form: Protective Style
Star Sword Form: Whirlwind Attack
Suspended Animation
Telekinetic Force
Telekinetic Hand
Telekinesis
Telekinetic Shield
Telepathy
Tongues
Vision
Water Breathing

 

Base Cost Note: Meditations with (Reaction) listed in the base cost can be activated instantly, out of initiative order, in reaction to an enemy action or other event. The activation interrupts the event, and thus the Meditation can affect the results of the event. The use of a reactive Meditation counts as the one Meditation activation per round allowed to a Star Knight.

 

Duration Note: Meditations with durations marked with a (C) can be continued at the end of their duration through another expenditure of the base cost; this continuation does not count as the activation of a new Meditation for that round.

 

Bonus Stacking: Bonuses from different Meditations for the same modifier do not stack; only the highest-currently active bonus applies. Thus, alter reflexes and celerity both provide a +2 bonus to Initiative when wielding a Star Sword; the bonuses do not stack, and the Star Knight can benefit from only one bonus to the same modifier at a time.

 

Alter Reflexes
Prerequisite: Awareness, Celerity, Speed Burst
Base Cost: 3
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute (C)
The Star Knight doubles their personal movement and may attack twice per round for the duration of this Meditation. He also receives +2 to Initiative rolls.

 

Awareness
Base Cost: 1
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation makes the Star Knight immune to surprise. Should the party the Star Knight is a part of be surprised, he remains unsurprised, and any adjacent allies may make a saving throw to also remain unsurprised.

 

Block Energy
Prerequisites: SS: Defensive Style, SS: Offensive Style, Telekinetic Force, Telekinetic Hand
Base Cost: 4 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute (C)
This Meditation works exactly as Parry and Redirect with a Star Sword, with the same costs and modifiers based on sub-class, except the Star Knight no longer needs to be wielding a Star Sword. They can attempt to deflect energy attacks and catch or deflect physical missile attacks with nothing but their bare hands.

 

Celerity
Prerequisite: Awareness
Base Cost: 2 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 Minutes (C)
The Star Knight gains a +1 bonus to Initiative; this bonus increases to +2 if he wields a Star Sword.

 

Channel Star Force
Base Cost: 1d6 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 1 round
For the duration of this Meditation, the character can perform tremendous abilities beyond their physical norms. The character could lift a ton or more, see in the dark, hold an object with an unbreakable grip, run at double movement, leap as per the leap Meditation, or ignore poison in the atmosphere or your own blood stream. Basically it allows the use of any Meditation that affects only the Star Knight, even those not known, for the duration. This Meditation requires too much concentration for use in combat, and cannot be used to gain the abilities of any combat-related Meditations.

 

Charm Beasts
Prerequisites: Charm Person, Speak with Animals
Base Cost: 5
Range: 120 ft
Duration: One hour
This manifestation functions similarly to charm person, but can affect large creatures or massive beasts.

 

Charm Person
Base Cost: 1
Range: 120 ft
Duration: One hour
This Meditation affects living bipeds of approximately human size, including most aliens. If the Meditation succeeds (saving throw allowed), the unfortunate creature falls under the caster’s influence.

 

Comprehend Languages
Base Cost: 1 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation allows the Star Knight to understand the unfamiliar and unknown spoken languages of sentient beings, including robots. The Meditation does not impart the ability to speak the language, merely to understand the language spoken.

 

Darkvision
Base Cost: 3 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight can see in low light and even total darkness at a range of up to 60’.

 

Defensive Coordination
Prerequisite: SS: Attack Style, SS: Defensive Style, SS: Protective Style
Base Cost: 3
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight and all his allies within 30’ receive a +1 bonus to all saving throws and all enemies who attack them suffer a -1 penalty to all “to-hit” rolls for the duration of this Meditation.

 

Detect Evil/Good
Base Cost: 1
Range: 120 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight detects any creatures with evil intentions or evil thoughts, as well as places tainted by the Void within the Meditation’s range. Poison is not inherently evil, and cannot be detected by means of this Meditation. The reverse Meditation, detect good, works the same way except that it detects good intentions and places that are powerful in the Star Force.

 

Detect Gifted
Base Cost: 1
Range: 120 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation allows a Star Knight to detect the presence of any living creature within 120 feet that possess the ability to use the Star Force or Void Power. It does not determine the specific number or location of those detected, only that they are present.

 

Detect Invisible
Base Cost: 2 (Reaction)
Range: Line of Sight
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight can perceive invisible creatures and objects. This includes objects or individuals concealed by obstruction, concealment or a personal cloaking device.

 

Detect Life
Base Cost: 1
Range: 120 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation allows a Star Knight to detect the presence of any living creature within 120 feet and whether or not they are sentient creatures. It does not determine the specific number or location of those detected, only that they are present.

 

Detect Thoughts
Base Cost: 1
Range: 60 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight can read the surface thoughts and emotional state of other living beings within range. The Star Knight must spend one full round concentrating on a target; if the target fails a saving throw, the Star Knight can read his thoughts as he wishes thereafter during this use of this Meditation. The Star Knight may make as many attempts as he wishes to break through to read the thoughts of a target, however, each time the target makes his saving throw he gets a +1 bonus to the next saving throw, and if he ever makes his saving throw by 10 or more, he knows that someone is trying to read his mind.

 

Detect Traps
Base Cost: 2
Range: 30 ft around character
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight can perceive both mechanical and technological traps at a distance of 30 ft.

 

Dispel Effect
Prerequisite: Detect Evil/Good, Detect Gifted
Base Cost: 4
Range: 120 ft
Duration: Instant
This Meditation can be used to immediately end any single Gift or Meditation that is currently active in range.

 

Eschew Food and Water
Base Cost: 1
Range: Self
Duration: 24 hours (C), Special
During the duration of this Meditation the Star Knight needs not eat any food or drink any water; the Star Force sustains him and provides all needful nutrients.

The Meditation can be continued beyond the first day, though each day costs a number of Force Points equal to the number of days (2 on the second day, 3 on the third day, and so forth). Only once the Star Knight has consumed a full day’s worth of food and water does the number of Force Points required to use this Meditation reset.

 

Expand Senses
Prerequisite: Remote Viewing
Base Cost: 5
Range: Special
Duration: 1 minute (C)
The Star Knight is able to see and hear far off people or places, anywhere on the same planet, in near orbit, or on a moon orbiting the same planet, instantly, though he must name a specific location or direction within that range. If he has not actually been in that place, or does not actually know the person, he must make a saving throw each round to find the location or person. He must meditate in peace and quiet to use this Meditation. Any distraction will draw him back to his normal senses.

 

Feather Fall
Base Cost: 1 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute (C)
The Star Knight slows any fall experienced by the Star Knight to merely 10 feet per round. The Meditation thus must be continued for falls longer than 60 feet. The effect of the Meditation ends the moment the Star Knight lands on his two feet, on the ground or otherwise (such as on a hovercar), or grasps any object that is connected to the ground in any fashion (such as a flag post or antenna of a building). The Star Knight can attempt to direct his fall in a gliding fashion to an area up to 5 feet distant from his point of fall per 30 feet of fall by making a saving throw with a bonus from Dexterity; failure indicates he goes into an uncontrolled spin and when he does land, he suffers 1d6 points of damage.

 

Foresight
Base Cost: 5
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute (C)
This Meditation gives the Star Knight a prescient awareness. For the duration, they gain a +2 to Armor Class and Saving Throws, and they cannot be surprised.

 

Heal Other
Prerequisites: Detect Life, Healing Meditation, Healing Trance
Base Cost: 4
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
The Star Knight can touch a wounded individual and instantly restore 1d6+1 hit points. This Meditation cannot heal Constitution damage or be used to regain Force Points.

 

Healing Meditation
Base Cost: 1
Range: Self
Duration: Instant
This Meditation heals the Star Knight of 1d6+1 hit points of damage. It cannot be used to heal damage to Constitution or to regain Force Points. It cannot be used by spending hit points to activate the meditation.

 

Healing Trance
Prerequisite: Detect Life, Star Force Meditation
Base Cost: 1
Range: Self and Touch
Duration: 8 hours
This Meditation allows the Star Knight to recover an additional point of damage per level after a day’s rest. Alternatively, they can use this Meditation to assist another’s healing by concentrating with them while they rest. It cannot be used to heal damage to Constitution or to regain Force points.

 

Interstellar Navigation
Base Cost: 1 per Parsec
Range: Self
Duration: 1 hyperspace jump
This Meditation enables the Star Knight to navigate a hyperspace jump without the need for a navigation computer. The time to calculate the jump is merely one minute per Parsec. The Star Knight can cut this time down to one round per Parsec, but then must make a saving throw after jumping into hyperspace; if the saving throw fails he ends up miscalculating the jump, ending up one Parsec away from the original target per point by which the save failed. If the save failed on a Natural 1, the jump is off by an additional 1d100 Parsecs.

 

Leap
Base Cost: 1 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
Once activated, this Meditation allows the Star Knight to leap and jump prodigious distances. They can easily leap 30 feet horizontally or 15 feet vertically. If an enemy is unsuspecting, this can easily surprise them on a 1-4 on d6 or allow the user to retreat from combat without suffering an attack.

 

Levitation
Prerequisites: Feather Fall, Telekinetic Hand
Base Cost: 2
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute (C)
The Star Knight can levitate up or down up to 20 feet per round; horizontal movement is not possible, save by moving along the walls or ceiling with hands.

 

Locate Object
Base Cost: 2
Range: 120 ft
Duration: Instant
This Meditation gives the Star Knight the correct direction (as the crow flies) and distance toward an object the character specifies with a description. The object cannot be something the character has never seen, although this Meditation can detect an object in a general class of items known to the Star Knight: stairs, a Star Sword, etc.

 

Mind Shield
Prerequisites: Detect Thoughts, Mind Voice, Telepathy
Base Cost: 5
Range: Self
Duration: 24 hours
This Meditation protects the mind of the Star Knight for the next 24 hours. During that time, they are immune to all Meditations and Gifts that affect the mind. They are also immune to any natural, technological, or chemical attempt to influence their mind. Pain and torture are useless against them, as are truth serums or pheromones. This power can be nullified by dispel effect, though the Star Knight gets a saving throw to resist the dispel effect Meditation or Gift.

 

The downside of this Meditation is that if the Star Knight attempts to use detect thoughts, mind voice, or telepathy, he must make a saving throw; if the saving throw fails, the Force Points spent are lost and the use of the Meditation fails. If he fails the saving throw with a Natural 1, the mind shield also fails.

 

Mind Voice
Prerequisite: Detect Thoughts
Base Cost: 2
Range: 120 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation allows the Star Knight to send and receive surface thoughts to a target. This power does not allow deep mind reading, only those thoughts the target wishes to share. This communication transcends language barriers.

 

Neutralize Poison
Prerequisites: Detect Life, Heal Other, Healing Meditation, Healing Trance
Base Cost: 3
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
The Star Knight can purge poison from either himself or another living being with a touch.

 

Protection from Firearms
Prerequisites: Awareness, Telekinetic Hand, Telekinetic Shield
Base Cost: 3 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation creates an invisible force field around the Star Knight which no firearm (kinetic missile such as bullet, slug-thrower, needler, gyro-pistol, rocket-pistol, etc.) may penetrate. This also affects thrown weapons such as axes and more primitive missile weapons such as arrows. Any such missiles fall harmlessly to the ground a foot away from the Star Knight, as though they had struck an impenetrable steel wall. The Meditation has no effect on lasers, blasters, or other energy-based weapons; larger, vehicle-scale missiles also are unaffected, as is shrapnel from grenades and bombs. Melee weapons are also unaffected by the effect of this Meditation.

 

Read Languages
Prerequisite: Comprehend Languages
Base Cost: 2
Range: Reading distance
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation allows the Star Knight to read directions, instructions, and similar notations written in unfamiliar or even unknown languages.

 

Remote Viewing
Prerequisite: Star Force Meditation
Base Cost: 3
Range: Special
Duration: 1 minute (C)
This Meditation allows the character to see distant locations; the Star Knight must be able to meditate in peace and quiet during this Meditation. The view-point of the Star Knight moves away from the Star Knight at one mile per level, though it snaps back instantly when willed to do so or when the duration ends.

 

Speak with Animals
Prerequisite: Detect Life
Base Cost: 2
Range: 30 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight can speak with animals within range. There is a chance that the animals will assist him, and they will not attack him or his party (unless he’s got something particularly offensive to say).

 

Speak with Plants
Prerequisites: Detect Life, Speak with Animals
Base Cost: 4
Range: 30 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight can speak to and understand the replies of plants. Plants will obey his commands as far as they are able (e.g. twisting or bending aside to ease his passage, etc.). Intelligent plant Styles, such as plant aliens, get a saving throw to resist the Star knight’s commands.

 

Speed Burst
Base Cost: 1 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation doubles the Star Knight’s movement.

 

Star Force Meditation
Base Cost: 0
Range: Self
Duration: Special
This Meditation enables the Star Knight to regain Force Points through meditation. For every hour the Star Knight meditates he regains a number of Force Points equal to his level plus his Wisdom bonus.

 

Star Light
Base Cost: 1
Range: 30 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation creates a small mote of starlight that sheds full light in a 20’ radius. It floats within 30 ft of the Star Knight, forming where he wills it, and moving as he wills it to move (requires concentration). If the Star Knight does not concentrate on moving the mote of light, it moves with the Star Knight as it was last directed to do so.

 

Star Speed
Prerequisites: Alter Reflexes, Leap, Speed Burst
Base Cost: 5
Range: Self
Duration: 1 hour (C), Special
The Star Knight can run at incredible overland speeds; this Meditation is of no use in combat, and can be used only for long-distance running. The Star Knight can run at a speed of 10 miles per hour per level; as this also combines the effect of the leap Meditation, all ground cover other than badlands and mountains is considered effectively clear for movement purposes. The Meditation ends immediately if the Star Knight stops running for any reason.

 

Star Sword Forms
Star Sword Forms are styles of use of the Star Sword. A Star Knight may use only one Star Sword Form per round, though he may have more than one Form active at a time.

 

Star Sword Form: Attack Style
Prerequisites: Defensive Style
Base Cost: 2
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight focuses his mind on battle at hand, gaining a +1 to all “to hit” rolls for the duration of this Meditation.

 

Star Sword Form: Defensive Style
Base Cost: 1 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight centers himself and prepares to face his foes. All enemies suffer a -1 penalty on any “to-hit” rolls made against the Star Knight and he receives a +1 bonus to all saving throws made to resist any abilities they have which can be resisted with a saving throw.

 

Star Sword Form: Offensive Style
Prerequisites: Attack Style, Defensive Style
Base Cost: 3
Range: Self
Duration: 1 minute (C)
This Meditation focuses the Star Knight’s combat technique into a whirlwind of destruction. They inflict an additional 1d6 points of damage with every successful attack when wielding a Star Sword. This damage bonus does not apply to redirected attacks.

 

Star Sword Form: Protective Style
Base Cost: 1 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight, when wielding a Star Sword, can apply any portion of his bonus to hit for that round as a bonus to the Armor Class of any adjacent ally. The Star Knight can also use his Parry and Deflect abilities when the ally is hit in combat. The Star Knight must declare which adjacent ally is being protected at the beginning of each round, and the amount of the bonus that is being applied to the defense.

 

Star Sword Form: Whirlwind Attack
Prerequisites: Awareness, SS: Attack Style, SS: Defensive Style
Base Cost: 1 per target (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 1 round
For the current round, the Star Knight may make one Star Sword attack at each adjacent enemy. If the attack hits, the target may make a saving throw to suffer only half damage.

 

Suspended Animation
Prerequisites: Detect Life, Eschew Food and Water, Healing Trance, Star Force Meditation
Base Cost: 1
Range: Self
Duration: Special
Using this Meditation the Star Knight enters a state of suspended animation, during which his bodily functions slow down dramatically. During the period of suspended animation the Star Knight does not need to eat food, drink water, or breathe air, and is immune to natural variations in heat and cold (between -60 degrees to 160 degrees Fahrenheit). This allows the Star Knight to survive in low-pressure atmospheres or mildly tainted atmospheres, but not in a vacuum or in poisonous atmospheres.

 

The Meditation requires expenditure of 1 Force Point per 24 hours; this is spent automatically, as long as the Star Knight remains in suspended animation. The Star Knight awakens when he runs out of Force Points or when a pre-set condition occurs.

 

Telekinesis
Prerequisites: Telekinetic Force, Telekinetic Hand, Telekinetic Shield
Base Cost: 5
Range: 120 ft
Duration: 1 minute (C)
The Star Knight can move objects using mental power alone. The amount of weight he can lift and move is 20 pounds per level up to 20 feet per round.

 

Telekinetic Force
Prerequisite: Telekinetic Hand
Base Cost: 3 (Reaction)
Range: 30 ft
Duration: Instant
This Meditation gives the Star Knight a potent weapon, allowing them to either thrust targets towards or away from themselves with but a thought for the duration of the power.

 

The target is allowed a saving throw, but if failed will be either flung 30 feet away from the character, or pulled directly towards them. If they impact a solid object, such as a wall, they will suffer 1d6 damage. If they are pulled towards the Star Knight, the star Knight may make an immediate attack against the target at a +2 bonus to hit.

 

This can also be used to snatch an object from a target. If the target fails a saving throw, you can pull an item from their hands or off their clothing into your hand or fling it further away.

 

Telekinetic Hand
Base Cost: 1 (Reaction)
Range: 60 ft
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation allows the character to lift and manipulate one or more objects, up to 5 lbs per level in weight. It requires no more concentration to lift an object than it would with one’s hand. Objects may be carried along in this fashion, floating at the user’s whim. This power can be used on multiple different objects during the duration, but only one per manipulating limb of the Star Knight at a time. The Star Knight must make a saving throw in order to use the telekinetic hand to manipulate buttons or perform other fine work.

 

Telekinetic Shield
Prerequisite: Telekinetic Hand
Base Cost: 2 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The character wraps themselves in waves of telekinetic force, protecting them from attacks. They gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class and Saving Throws.

 

Telepathy
Prerequisite: Detect Thoughts, Mind Voice
Base Cost: 3
Range: 360 feet and Special
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The character can send and receive mental communication with any one target within 360 feet. If they are intimately connected with a target, such as family, friends, or lovers, then they can communicate with them if they are within one mile per level. An unwilling target can make a saving throw to drive the character out of their mind. This power only allows the reading of surface thoughts.

 

Tongues
Prerequisite: Comprehend Languages
Base Cost: 3
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
This Meditation allows the Star Knight to speak and be understood by any sentient being (including robots) within speaking distance. The listener understands the Star Knight in its own native language, even if the Star Knight does not and cannot speak that language. Conversely, the Star Knight understands all spoken languages he hears during the duration of this Meditation.

 

Vision
Prerequisites: Expand Senses, Remote Viewing
Base Cost: 9
Range: Self
Duration: Three questions
The Star Knight senses their destiny and the player may ask the Referee three questions regarding the events of the current campaign. The Referee may answer as directly or cryptically as they wish.

This Meditation is very taxing to the Star Knight and may only be used once per week.

 

Water Breathing
Base Cost: 3 (Reaction)
Range: Self
Duration: 10 minutes (C)
The Star Knight can breathe underwater for the duration of this Meditation.

 

 

[JMG] The Incompleat Realmscrawl

So last year I tried to jump into the 5E market on the Dungeon Masters Guild, with some hex-based mapping of the Forgotten Realms called Realmscrawl (also, alternate version of FR based on some old campaign stuff). Sales went nowhere, for various reasons.

 

I had already done a lot of work on the rest of the Realmscrawl maps, and have decided to release the Incompleat Realmscrawl maps into the wild. The linked product includes all eight of the remaining Realmscrawl map Hexographer files, as well as small PNGs of each region, and one very small scale "mega-map" of all nine regions of the Eastern Heartlands altogether.

 

As mentioned, it is incomplete... none of the maps have any names on them, most got to the placement of locations stage, and Map #9 is only in primitive layout stage. But if you are into FR, or just need a blank sandbox or eight, this is for you, and at the right price... if you have Hexographer, of course...

 

The Incompleat Realmscrawl

 

 

Herein you will find the remaining eight maps of the Realmscrawl line, which never quite took off.

The initial release, Realmscrawl Campaign Map #5: Tilverton, never sold enough for me to further develop the line.

 

However, I still have my initial work done on the rest of the maps; here they are, incomplete, ready to be further developed for your own campaign using Hexographer.

 

Included are the Hexographer files for Maps 1 to 4 and 6 to 9.

 

Maps 1 to 4 and 6 to 8 are essentially complete, save for names. Map 9 is in a rather more primitive condition, but the general outline is all there.

 

Also included are small maps of each of the eight regions, in PNG format, as well as one map of all nine regions stitched together in a primitive fashion (made with slightly older versions of the maps included herein).

 

PAY WHAT YOU WANT
 

Click Here to get the Incompleat Realmscrawl at DMG

[New Spell] Investiture of Eternal Guardianship

Investiture of Eternal Guardianship
3rd-level transmutation
Casting Time: 8 hours
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (gems worth at least 10,000 gp, which are consumed in the casting; plus, a single solid object of any value made of any material as the focus of the spell)

 

You transform a living creature into an immortal guardian of a single place; an intelligent creature must be willing (not under any sort of magical duress). So long as the creature so affected does not leave this place, it will not age or die of natural means, though it can be killed normally. It also need not eat, drink, breathe, or sleep (though it may do so if it wishes). It heals normally, even without eating or drinking, and it need not sleep during its long rest, merely rest. The creature also never advances in levels or hit dice, and gains no experience points while thus enchanted. The creature can learn new languages, and can learn new knowledge from willing teachers or from books, though none of this can cause it any improvements in abilities or statistics.

 

I know he aged, so the comparison isn't quite perfect, but it is apt...

The area the guardian tends and must remain in may be no larger than a sphere 10 feet in radius per level of the caster; thus 20th-level caster allows for a sphere up to 200 feet in radius. Often the area the guardian must reside within is smaller, as set by the caster during the casting of the spell, perhaps a single room or cavern or small system of rooms or caverns, and the border is delineated by some design or motif, such as differently-colored bricks or stones, a painted line, a fence, or even a hedge of shrubs.

 

The creature innately knows where the boundary is, and never willingly passes the boundary, knowing it can mean instant destruction. Low-intelligence creatures cannot reason beyond their fear of the boundary, while intelligent creatures might determine that there is no ill effect… within their natural lifespan. Should the creature ever be forced to leave the defined area that it guards, for any reason, the spell ends, and it instantly ages all the years that have passed since the spell was cast. Should it age past its natural lifespan, its body will wither, turn to dust, and the dust will blow away.

 

The creature knows of any being that passes into its guarded area; by concentrating for a round it can view the being(s) remotely, as though present and within 10 to 30 feet. When so concentrating it can also hear the being(s) clearly, as though it were present, though it only understands any languages it already knows. If it is intelligent, it may also speak to the being(s), as though from the air or, perhaps, from some appropriate bit of décor within the area. The creature can always see clearly within its area as though it were perfect daylight, even through magical darkness.

 

Casting dispel magic on the creature or the entire area is inefficacious; the spell can be dispelled only by casting dispel magic (or other such spell) specifically, intentionally, and directly on the singular item that acts as the focus of the spell. This focus item cannot be removed from the area of effect; any attempt to do so merely causes the item to disappear from the hands or pockets of whomever attempts to remove it and causes it to reappear elsewhere within the area of the spell. The spell is also dispelled if the object is ever destroyed (thus the object is usually of some strong metal). Note that the object cannot be enchanted against destruction, nor with any other magical ability; the item detects as magical, while the area and the enchanted creature do not detect as magical or enchanted.

 

If the focus item is destroyed, or if the spell is dispelled, the guardian creature does not age instantly, and merely continues aging as normal, no longer having any benefits of the spell.

At Higher Levels. The spell cast with a 3rd-level spell slot only affects beasts, oozes, and plants. The spell affects low-intelligence (Intelligence 6 or less) elementals and monstrosities when cast with a 5th-level spell slot. A spell cast with a 7th-level spell slot affects higher-intelligence elementals and monstrosities, as well as low-intelligence aberrations, celestials, dragons, and fiends. A spell cast with a 9th-level spell slot affects high-intelligence aberrations, celestials, dragons, and fiends, as well as fey, giants, and humanoids.

 

Designer Note. I thought of this spell while playing the other day, wondering just how certain living creatures guarding a treasure remained alive and whole after centuries of being locked away in a dungeon with no "natural ecology" on which to survive...

[Pokémon Campaign] Pokémon Campaign

I've been pretty quiet here lately, been concentrating on playing games rather than writing about them... well, of course, I have to do SOME writing about most of the games I run. I've been running two campaigns, both 5th Edition.

 

I recently put the bigger campaign on hiatus, as I've got less time right now. The campaign is set in Kvin Mondöj, though less Heavy Metal and more Kitchen Sink. I ran the campaign at a local game store every other Sunday for several months, and even though we'd have an average of 8 to 10 players at a time, most of the characters reached 5th or 6th level... and that's where I find 5th Edition to kind of break down, with twice as many characters at that mid-level. I hope to pick up the campaign again, but first I'll have to figure out how to run it in a balanced yet challenging fashion for that many players at that level and higher...

 

It got a little weird at times, almost but not quite this weird...

 

The other game is a one-on-one I've been running with my wife. She's a huge Pokémon fan and so she introduced me to the anime midyear last year. After watching several episodes, I commented on how it would make a wonderful tabletop RPG, and wondered why such had not appeared as yet (in official licensed form)... and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

At first I looked through the usual suspects for a system to use (all the old Guardians of Order systems, for example), but I felt that they really didn't capture the experience just right. So I punted and started designing a Pokémon trainer class for 5E. I also snagged the Kanto Pokédex from Caniswolfman24 on Reddit; though it is a very good start, it only captures each Pokémon in a snapshot, and even then, as mix of each of the various generations as the author preferred... and as I wanted the Pokémon to be able to level up, just like they do in the game (and the anime), I had my work cut out for me...

 

And then, too, I needed a world... well, a Region, really, as these adventures needed to take place in their own region. I could have used Kanto, or Johto, or any of the already defined regions, but I wanted something that would be unknown and wild and open... a real Pokémon Sandbox, so to speak. So I created the Byoga region (not based on any real Japanese region or other worldly region), and set about creating the region based on my wife's favorite artist. Try to figure it out...

 

The main map isn't finished yet; I just wanted to get a decent feel for the overall region, and then drill down to the individual hexes. The campaign started in Café Town, and her first adventures were all in the Café Hills. The region hexes are 5 miles, and the township hexes are each 0.20 miles. I packed a LOT of stuff in each hex; with the way Pokémon trainers wander, they tend to miss a lot, so she was guaranteed to find SOMETHING each session (each session is one or more "episodes," depending on the action that takes place and the length of the session).

 

Anyhoo, here are three of the maps, and I'll see about posting some of the information about the Pokémon Trainer class and the various Pokémon Racial Classes...

 

 

[Review] Project Oasis by Joseph Bloch -- 5 out of 5 Stars

Project Oasis, written by Joseph Bloch (Adventures Dark and Deep, Castle of the Mad Archmage) and self-published through BRW Games, is a 36-page PDF campaign supplement for Mutant Future and Apes Victorious, both being post-apocalypse (PA) games by Goblinoid Games.

Set 1000 years after the Devastation, it is a “kitchen-sink” style setting, containing all the themes and ideas from a wide spectrum of early PA literature, film, and television, focusing on the materials developed in the 1970s. Planet of the Apes, Ark II, Omega Man, Logan’s Run, Twilight Zone, Mad Max – it’s all here in a fantastic melting pot that gives you an entire continent of possible adventure.

 

 

The two-page introductory section explains the basics of the world and how it came to be; speaks of technology and geography; and gives some basic guidelines for the kinds of campaigns the setting is designed for (very different from many modern PA settings, due to the strong influence of the middle-era of the PA genre). Details are brief, but give a game master more than enough material to get started.

 

We then get to the meat of the booklet, the 22-page gazetteer. This covers every major power in the PA setting, a mix of stone-age savagery to high-tech insanity. Virtually every kind of PA trope is covered in this, with lots of opportunities for a game master to start a campaign in exactly the kind of setting he wants, then move the adventure on to other regions. There are ape realms, human-friendly, human-neutral, and human-enslaving; there are high-tech mutant realms hidden under wastelands, low-tech mutant wilds, human-mutant cooperatives, and mutant-power domains; there are hidden high-tech cities of wonder where the people are dedicated to recovering what was lost, high-tech cities of wonder where the people are kept in dystopian decadence, and there are low-tech kingdoms dedicated to keeping things exactly the way they never really were in chivalrous glory. And that’s just for starters!

 

I’m being a bit nebulous here, as I believe that it would give you, the reader, far greater joy to discover the world of Project Oasis on your own, rather than have me list off the regions chapter and verse.

 

Two things I will discuss are "Project Oasis" itself and the inclusion of adventure hooks with each region. First, Project Oasis is not simply the name of the book, it is also a major faction in the PA world. Project Oasis is a very high technology organization, operating from a secret base, that seeks to bring the world back from savagery (echoes of Ark II, Earth II, and Planet Earth); to this end, they send out teams of adventuring types to help uplift goodly domains and bring down or stall villainous ones. This provides an excellent hook on which the game master can hang her campaign, as it enables player characters to travel all over the continent (and beyond) with as much technological support as the game master wishes them to have at the time. Second, each of the region entries has three adventure hooks included, at least one of which deals with Project Oasis and how it, and its representatives, might interact with the peoples and powers of the region. So the book itself, as mentioned in the introduction, really gears play toward a Project Oasis-based campaign, though myriad other options are readily available.

 

The volume finishes with three short appendices, two dedicated to new monsters (one for Mutant Future, the other for Apes Victorious), and the other a listing of inspirational material. The new monster sections include everything mentioned in the work that was not otherwise found in Mutant Future and/or Apes Victorious, each section covering the same monsters. The list of inspirational material provides most of the books, films, and television shows you would need to read or watch to better understand the setting. Personally, if you have no experience with the middle-era PA genre, I’d watch Ark II, the Planet of the Apes movies and television series, and the Logan’s Run movie and television series; these give you a complete overview of the relevant material and, most especially, style of the genre.

 

Finally, there is the continental map. Created using Hexographer, it shows the relation between the new geography of the continent and all the various regions, including cities, major towns, ruins, and other notable locations. The only problem with it is that I have not been able to find a scale for the map anywhere on the map or in the book… I think it is 30 or 40 miles per hex? [NOTE: Confirmed from Joseph that the scale is in fact 30 miles per hex.]

 

Click to embiggen; this is a small and shrunken snippet of a full continental map!

 

The upshot of the review is that this is the best PA campaign setting on the market today, if you are into the middle-era PA genre. If you aren’t, well, get on the bandwagon! The PA middle-genre provides you with all the action, adventure, seriousness, and wild and wacky wahoo you could ever want out of a PA setting, and this book distills it all down for you. Project Oasis plus Mutant Future and Apes Victorious can provide literally years of PA adventures. With Project Oasis Joseph Bloch has presented the PA gamer community with a PA campaign “Greyhawk Gazetteer” upon which to build and develop their own campaigns.

 

Project Oasis is a book I wish that I had written. And really, I can’t give it better kudos than that.

 

Five out of Five Stars

 

Project Oasis
by Joseph Bloch

Published by BRW Games
36-page PDF with PNG Continental Map
$9.95

Buy Project Oasis at DTRPG

Buy Project Oasis at RPGNow

 

Note: I purchased Project Oasis with my own money. I have not been offered anything in return for a review. The links above go through the Affiliate Program at OBS, so if you buy something after clicking through, I get a taste of the action. Hope all the cyber-cops are happy with this disclaimer.