The Lightkeeper

 

About halfway through writing the Master of Ropes I wondered what else I could apply a similar class concept to and immediately thought of torches, so to continue the work of gearomancy I present the Lightkeeper:

Lightkeeper

Starting Gear: Lantern, 3 pints of oil, 3 torches, 10 candles.

Skills: Lantern, torch and candle making.

A: Enkindler, Guild Crafter

B: Lantern Lore

C: Torchbearer

D: Illuminator, Torch Soul

Enkindler: Light sources you carry burn for twice as long. By snapping you can create a small spark of flame. You can brighten and dim light sources you carry, making them up to twice as bright or dimmed to the point the light goes out.

Guild Crafts: By joining the Lantern Guild they have taught you unique ways to craft light sources. You can apply these any time you make torches, lanterns or other light sources. Using such techniques takes any listed requirements, access to alchemist ingredients and 1 gp per batch you make (1 lantern, 6 torches, 18 candles) on top of any normal material costs.

Lantern Lore: As a trained member of the Lantern Guild you have come to understand the secrets to creating lantern masterpieces, each with unique abilities and gifts.

Torchbearer: As long as you are holding a light source it cannot go out by mundane means, including running out of fuel or naturally sputtering out. Allies get +1 to morale checks while within your light.

Illuminator: As light brings illumination, your light brings truth. You can burn a whole torch or pint of oil worth of fuel in an instant, creating a blinding flash of light. All illusions, shapeshifters and other magical deceptions within 30 ft of you must save or have their nature revealed.

Torch Soul: Pulse with the inner heat of the flame, you always count as a lit torch. Only magic can extinguish you, dealing 1d6 damage. With a minute of rubbing your hands together you reignite.

Guild Crafts Modifiers:

• Masterwork: When you craft light sources you can take the time to prepare them as the masters of old. These light sources will burn for twice as long thanks to your expert work.

• Marine: Water is often an enemy to the flame, but to the Lantern Guild this means nothing. Using a pound of salt you can infuse a light to burn with a blue white flame, allowing it to burn in water as well as air.

• Bloody: These light sources can burn using the life force rather than oil or another source. Each hour they burn the light source deals 1d3 damage to the bearer. If unattended they go out at the end of the hour.

• Trick: Many of the guild’s light sources are sold for their unique properties. With your education you can change the color of the light, add sparking effects or other minor tricks. A popular modification is the candle clock, which sparks each hour. Trick candles and other knickknacks are also possible.

• Smoking: The smoke essence contained within all things can be cultivated and brought forth. When such a light source burns it produces a thick smoke that can fill a room in half a minute. Such a smoke causes coughing and cannot be seen through. These sources of light and smoke burn particularly quickly and are consumed in a minute.

• Miner’s: Tired of dealing with silly things like sconces, these light sources are coated with a special adhesive, allowing them to be stuck to surfaces by simple contact. A single strong tug is enough to remove them, and they fall off when extinguished. Despite the puzzling of many scholars no one is sure why this adhesive only works for light sources.

Lantern Lores:

• Heartfire Torch: As fire illuminates it can show the secret fires of the heart. The wood must be infused by whispering a secret to it that has never been told, though it can be done by anyone. While this torch burns small strands are visible through the smoke to the bearer, giving them a general insight on how two creatures feel about each other. The strands that would connect the bearer to anyone else are never visible.

• Wistful Lantern: This lantern always looks back, never focusing on the present. Craft it with components at least a century old, often requiring the melting down of historical artifacts. While burning this lantern spectral images of what happened 10 minutes ago in this location become visible. For each extra pint of oil sacrificed to the flame you can push this vision back 1 hour, 1 day, 1 month, 1 year, 1 decade, 1 century, etc.

• Shadow’s Candle: The wick of this candle must contain a strand of hair stolen from someone sleeping. As long as you hold this candle and it burns you cannot be perceived by others, nor will they wake from slumber. This enchantment breaks if you cause major disturbances or harm.

• Hand of Glory: The grim work of this candle requires the left hand of a person who died by hanging. By using the fat of this deceased evildoer to make a candle and place it in the hand the hand of glory is complete. When lit anyone present save the wielder must save or be paralyzed until the candle departs, save ends.

• Soul Lantern: Requiring rare Stygian iron this lantern is infused with the magic of the lands beyond the river. While this lantern burns its ghostly light renders the dead visible. If a creature dies and soul is not claimed you can transfer their soul into the lantern for as long as the fire within burns. Such a soul can faintly be seen within the pale flickering flames and you can hold conversation with them.

• The Kindling: Many Lightkeepers consider this torch an overstep beyond their role as warden of illumination, yet this lore is still passed down generation after generation. Crafting this torch requires burning something of value to you. While this torch burns all burning objects visible burn down twice as fast, but also twice as bright.

In addition to these lores, there is the magnum opus of being named a Sunbringer, a crown all Lightkeepers seek. There is also the lesser known role of Starsinger, nearly forgotten in this age.

Sunbringer

 Capture a shard of the sun and house it in a lantern.

Ascended to the role of Sunbringer, you have risen beyond your peers. This lantern will never dim, another battle won in the war against darkness. All darkness, magical or otherwise, is banished within this light. Your sun lantern can flare to a blinding light for as long as you wish and for your glory you can never be blinded. You have taken the first step on the path to Sunforger, the attention of both the Light and Dark will is now upon you.

Starsinger

Sing the light of a star into a glass phial.

You know a song to capture the eternal light of the evenstar in a crystal phial. While the light may dim it will never truly be gone, just as the hope of mortals. Anyone who can see the silver light gains +1 to morale and saves against fear. Many immortals crave to bask in the light of the evenstar so closely and treat you with respect beyond your mortal peers. Finally you may hold the phial aloft and in a cry of glory expend the light in a silvery burst – all allies within the light are rallied as the darkness is banished from their heart and unholy creatures are filled with dread for your power.

The Master of Ropes

This little class came about randomly from a side world building project I’m working on, based around the idea of using knots for magic. As a player who often loves gearomancy making a whole class around a single piece of equipment sounded like a fun challenge. Thus I present to you the master of ropes:

The Master of Ropes

Starting Gear: Two knives, Rope reel, As many inventory slots of rope, cord, and/or fiber as you want.

Skills: Rope making. (1) Sailing, (2) Knitting, (3) Weaving, (4) Mountaineering

A: Rope Friend, Knot Whisperer

B: Rope Lores, Iron Serpent

C: Eye of The Knot

D: Silver Cord

Rope Friend: By concentrating you can control a number of ropes equal to the number of templates in this class you have. These ropes can move as fast a walking person and can maneuver and coil like a serpent, allowing for actions that don’t require dexterity (pull a lever, hold a torch, but not write a letter or dice onions). You can also talk to ropes, threads, string, etc as long as they aren’t made into something like cloth.

Knot Whisperer: The knowledge of knots has soaked deeply into your hands and soul. Nothing is more steadfast than your knots, which can only come undone by other creatures. Ropes you grasp dance to this knot song, and with seven heartbeats will tie or untie themselves in any configuration.

Rope Lores: As an initiate of the Cord Schools, you have been taught to fashion sacred cords. By fashioning each rope as detailed below you gain access to their magics.

Iron Serpent: Ropes have such faith in your command that as long as they are anchored or grasped they can perform impossible feats, such as rising straight into the air like a pole or hovering parallel above the floor. While grasping a rope you can imbue it with your strength, making it as hard and rigid as iron.

Eye of The Knot: Within the knot space and time are twisted, pulled tighter between the coils. When you pull a knot closed around a creature or object you can begin the sacred knot chant for thirty seconds. Upon completion they are sealed into this interdimensional knot space until the knot is undone. You can have a number of such sealing knots active at any time equal to twice the number of templates in this class. Creatures get a save to avoid being pulled into the seal.

Silver Cord: You now understand that the sacred connection between the body and soul is held together by a brilliant silver cord. By loosening this cord your soul can journey beyond while you sleep or meditate, allowing you to explore the great astral dimensions. With instruction you can teach others this ability, allowing them to come along with you on such adventure. Should the silver cord be cut (a very difficult task) your souls are cast adrift across the universe, likely forever lost.

Rope Lore:

1. The Loop of Truth: Over the course of a week you can speak truths into a rope, imbuing it with the virtue of honesty. One fiber of the rope must be a lions hair or saints hair. Anyone looped by this rope can only speak truths, and must save to avoid answering questions.

2. The Endless Coil: By folding at least a kilometer of rope into a single coil or spool you can push the rope density beyond what space-time can handle, collapsing your creation into a rope singularity. This coil of rope is endless, more rope can always be fed out.

3. The Golden Thread: By spinning thread with passion and love in your heart you can create a ball of golden thread in a week. By thinking of something you love you can toss the ball, which will roll and unwind to show you the path there. It’s also a ball of golden thread. Excessive creation of golden thread will often draw the attention of the fair folk, golden thread is kinda their thing.

4. The Trick Rope: Your ropes can find a space between, in the cracks and left over spaces beyond reach. Such a rope must be stolen without being noticed, then unwound and rewound again. By holding onto your rope or climbing it you and others can enter this liminal space. The between spaces are usually abandoned and safe, a place to catch your breath. The trick rope must be kept dangling out into the real world, a tether between dimensions. Should it be cut or pulled away you and your companions will be cast adrift in the spaces between forever.

5. The Noose: This rope is fashioned from a noose used to hang another. By placing the noose around your neck you are both living and dead, with one foot in the world of the living and other in the world of the dead. Phantoms and spirits are often intrigued by your curious state.

6. The Innocent Rope: Taking a rope that children have played with for at least a week you can draw out the innocent and playful nature infused within the cords. As long as you are jumping rope with this particular length of rope other creatures cannot bring themselves to harm you, save for the mindless and most vile of creature.

The above rope lores are only the most common such tricks, it is like there are forgotten or hidden rope lores to discover. The following are two examples of such lores, presented in Delta Template formats:

The Linked Chain:

A heretical lore, you can forge a chain into a loop and invite the traitorous links into your heart.

 As long as this chain hangs around your neck all your rope magics apply to chains as well as metal ropes. The chains always seek bloodshed and can be commanded to whip around in a frenzy, dealing damage as a mace.

 

The Circle of Thread:

Splintering from the Rope Schools three decades ago, followers of The Thread can forge a golden needle, then embroidering the sacred runes into the back of your hand.

For as long as this rune remains intact all rope magic applies to cloth as well. As long as you are wearing clothes you handmade yourself your defense counts as Chain armor.

The Elemental Disciple

 

Elemental Priests have always been a favorite of mine in Dark Sun and while placing them onto the wizard chassis would be the simplest approach it didn’t quite sit right with me. With all the unique abilities they posses I decided instead to make their own class, with their own spells and magic dice. For now I simply present the base four elements, but have plans to move onto the para-elements as well.

The Elemental Disciple

Starting Gear: Basic weapon, leather armor, a wooden icon of your pact.

Skills: (1) Music, (2) Oral History, (3) Herbalism, (4) Medicine

+1 ED for each template you posses.

A: Elemental Invocations, Sense Element, Defy Defiler

B: Align to Element, +1 Invocation

C: Gate Element, +1 Invocation

D: Sanctify Shrine, Transcend Element +4 Invocation

Elemental Invocation: You use Elemental Dice (ED) to cast Elemental Invocations just like you can with Magic Dice (MD). When you gain Elemental dice you must swear yourself to one of the four elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water).

You begin play with two elemental invocations from your elemental list by rolling a d6 twice. When you gain the second level in this template roll a d8 to choose your new invocation, and roll a d10 when you gain the third level in this template. Upon gaining the 4^th template in this class choose 4 invocations and learn them.

Additional invocations can be learned from prayer scrolls by bringing them to an appropriate shrine and meditating upon them. This costs 25 cp in prayer materials and takes 1 hour, at which point you learn the invocation. You cannot learn invocations of other elements, but you can cast from their prayer scrolls. These scrolls come with one inherent ED and the scroll is consumed – you may add your own ED to the invocation but these ED only return to your pool on a 1-2.

After a night of good rest you can meditate to regain your Elemental Dice, but note Elemental Dice only recharge while you are in contact or adjacent to your chosen element. Earth disciples must be touching rock or soil (but not silt), Air disciples must be in at least a minor breeze, Fire disciples must bask in a fire at least the size of a torch, and Water disciples must be near a pool of water (at least 1 gallon of water poured out counts).

 

Sense Element: By closing your eyes and concentrating you can sense the presence of your element with 30 ft or so. This can sense your element through up to about a foot of solid non-living material.

• Air Disciples detect air

• Earth Disciples detect earth, soil and stone

• Fire Disciples detect fire

• Water Disciples detect water

If there is a mystical disturbance related to your element in the area you can sense that too.

Defy Defiler: When you are within the destructive life sapping radius of a defiler’s spell you hear the land shriek and groan in pain, and you can come to its aid. You volunteer your own life force in place of the land’s, taking [dice] damage and protecting the land from destruction.

Align to Element: Once per day you can ignore your element for one minute. For each ED rolled you may extend this ability to [sum] willing recipient.

• Air Disciples ignore all winds, gales, storms and toxic gases

• Earth Disciples may walk through earth and stone as if it were not there. If the duration ends while inside the stone, Save or die.

• Fire Disciples are immune to fire and heat for this time, but not direct contact with magma.

• Water Disciples can ignore water and breath underwater

Gate Element: Once per day you can summon forth your element directly from it’s elemental plane, calling about 1 cubic foot per Elemental Disciples template. By rolling an ED you can do this an additional time. A list of suggested effects are listed below, but more creative applications are obviously possible. Any foe that is not surprised may Save to halve the effects.

• Air Disciples call forth a terrific wind that zips across the battlefield. This wind can be directed to strike a foe, potentially knocking them over. This can also negate toxic clouds, stop arrows, and more.

• Earth Disciples can call stone in any basic shape near them, potentially dropping it on foes (1d8 damage), creating walls, or any other creative endeavor.

• Fire Disciples can forth columns of flame that strike a foe for 2d6 fire damage. Nearby flammable material ignites.

• Water Disciples can summon forth water, able to extinguish fires, relieve dehydration or douse individuals (but never doing damage)

Sanctify Shrine: An Elemental Disciples may now seek out a place of elemental importance and can sanctify it. Sanctifying a shrine requires clearing it of all mystical taint and 1000 cp in sacrifices.

While casting at a shrine add +1 ED to all invocations. While at your shrine by way of an hour long ritual you may transport yourself and up to 8 other creatures to the elemental plane of your element (or come back if on the other side)

Transcend Element: You can now use the Align Element ability for a number of hours equal to your level each day. If you would be struck by an attack that uses your element you can Save to instinctively activate this ability to ignore it.

Invocations

Note: Invocations with an (R) next to them denote that the invocation can be found in Skerple’s wonderful GLOG: Many Rats on a Stick edition.

Air Disciples Invocations:

1. Feather Fall (R)

2. Wind Blade

3. Dust Devil

4. Wind Whispers

5. Levitate (R)

6. Control Air (R)

7. Sturdy Circle in The Air (R)

8. Call Lightning

9. Call Elemental

10. Commune

11. Wind walk

12. Cloudkill (R)

Earth Disciples Invocations:

1. Dust Devil

2. Hold Person (R)

3. Spider Climb (R)

4. Control Earth (R)

5. Stoneskin (R)

6. Encase

7. Control Stone (R)

8. Obedient Stone (R)

9. Call Elemental

10. Commune

11. Serpents of The Earth (R)

12. Earthquake

Fire Disciples Invocations:

1. Light (R)

2. Protection from Fire (R)

3. Control Fire (R)

4. Crush Flames (R)

5. Vision Ignited

6. Scorching Ray (R)

7. Flame Cloak

8. Ignite (R)

9. Call Elemental

10. Commune

11. Walk The Cinder Path

12. Fireball (R)

Water Disciples Invocations:

1. Cure Wounds (R)

2. Fog (R)

3. Moon Lust (R)

4. Clarity (R)

5. Control Water

6. Animate Potion (R)

7. Speak with Water

8. Bless Water

9. Call Elemental

10. Commune

11. Desiccate (R)

12. Resurrection (R)

Acid Rain

Sphere: Rain, Water

R: 100’, T: Point, D: [Sum] rounds

A cloud bursts into existence, raining down acid on all caught beneath. This storm is 30’ in radius and deals 2d4 damage each round. Once a foe has taken damage from this spell their defense is treated as 2 lower until repairs or healing are performed. If you wish you may create an eye of the storm at the center, 5’ in radius.

 

Bless Water

Sphere: Water

R: Touch, T: Pool of water, D: 1 hour

Bless water, from one to [sum] gallons. This is treated as holy water against undead and fire (and sun, magma, and silt) elementals. Alternatively [dice] weapons may be blessed with this water, granting them a +1 magical bonus until sunrise.

 By spending 2+ ED you can permanently bless water this way.

 

Commune

Sphere: All

R: 0’, T: Self, D: [Sum] Minutes

By meditating you may speak with the cosmic elemental spirits themselves, asking [Dice] questions of them. These spirits know a great many things and usually will answer honestly, but aren’t compelled to. If you cast this spell in a place of notable power to your element you gain an additional question.

Call Elemental

Sphere: All

R: 15’, D: Concentration

Summon forth an elemental to do your bidding. The creature has 2x[dice] HD, Defense as Chain, and an attack that deals 1d6* damage. Each elemental can use the Elemental Priest ability Gate Elemental once per day. The elemental is loyal to you and its elemental masters. At the end of the duration the elemental vanishes.

• Air elementals can fly rapidly, fit through cracks and are immune to non-magical ranged attacks.

• Earth elementals have defense as Plate and deal an additional 1d6 damage on attacks.

• Fire elementals ignite their target, dealing 1d6 damage until they extinguish themselves.

• Water elementals can swim, fit through cracks, and heal 1d6 damage per turn.

By investing 4 ED you can charge the summoned elemental to a long term task such as delivering a message or guarding a shrine. In a year and a day the elemental returns to its home if it has not completed its task.

Call Lightning

Sphere: Air, Rain

R: 120’, T: Self, D: [Sum] Minutes

You call forth a miniature cloud above you, allowing you to fire lightning bolts at targets in range. Each lightning bolt does [Dice]d6 damage and the target may save for half. Once you have fired [Dice]+1 lightning bolts the spell ends.

Condensation

Sphere: Rain, Water

R: 60’ T: Water or Fog, D: 0

Instantly turn up to [sum] gallons of water into that many 30’ cubes of fog, or vice versa. When mist is turned into water you can choose where that water forms, such as in a vase. This process can turn all the water in a fresh corpse into a 30’ radius fog cloud, drying out and shriveling the corpse instantly.

Dew Touched

Sphere: Rain, Water

R: Touch, T: Up to [sum] creatures, D: [sum] hours

For the duration as long as the targets are in contact with fresh water (even a few drops on the skin) they are kept at a cool refreshing temperature. They take [dice] less damage from fire and lightning.

Dust Devil

Sphere: Air, Earth, Silt

R: 60’, T: Space of air, D: [dice]x10 minutes

A small patch of wind is animated to serve you. It has 1 HD but cannot attack directly. You can order it, directing it around or asking it to do things for you, but it has trouble interacting as it is a swirling dust devil (it can still move light objects around, perhaps even a shield with major concentration). It can swirl around foes, creating dust clouds to distract them.

Earthquake

Sphere: Earth

R: 1 mile, T: Earth, D: [dice] rounds

Shake the ground below, you level structures and ruin lives. This spell requires at least 3 [dice] invested to be cast. All creatures must test morale and take [dice] damage. Structures Save or crumble, with a modifier based on their sturdiness. Those within collapsing structures are usually buried, often dying while buried alive.

Encase

Sphere: Earth

R: Touch, T: Willing Creature or Object, D: [sum] hours

The touched creature or object must be standing on stone or earth when you cast this spell. The affected creature sinks into the earth into a tiny peaceful chamber for the duration, healing 1d4 HP per hour.

Feather Step

Sphere: Silt, Air

R: Touch, T: Creature or Object, D: [sum]x10 minutes

For the duration the creature or object becomes exceptionally light but can still walk. Doing so allows them to walk across pressure plates, flimsy bridges, even silt, without causing it to break. Due to their lack of weight their jump distance is doubled, but so is the distance they are pushed.

Flame Cloak

Sphere: Fire

R: Touch, T: Creature, D: [sum] Minutes

The creature is wreathed in flames, protecting them against the cold and reducing all incoming cold or fire damage by [dice]. Any creature that gets too close or tries to strike the creature with a melee attack takes 1d6+[dice] fire damage as the flaming cloak burns them.

Speak with Water

Sphere: Water

R: Touch, T: Water, D: [dice]x10 Minutes

You may speak with water and it can talk back, answering questions and holding conversation. Water is generally agreeable, but note the priorities of water are not that of humans, for great oasis might ponder slowly, while rushing rivers jump quickly from topic to topic. By using 3 or more [dice] you may ask the water to perform a minor favor for you.

Walk the Cinder Path

Sphere: Fire

R: [dice]x50 miles, T: Self and 1 + [dice] creatures, D: 0

You and any other creatures step into a fire at least the size of a camp fire, and emerge out of a similarly sized fire of your choosing within range. Alternatively you may specify a general area and come out of the nearest fire there, but there is usually a 2 in 6 chance that there is no available fire at the moment of casting if done this way.

Wind Blade:

Sphere: Air

R: 0, T: Self, D: [sum]x10 minutes

Summon a nearly invisible blade of pure wind in your hand, as a longsword. You are always proficient with this magical blade and for the duration you can always reform it in your hand. Dropping the wind blade causes it to evaporate. By slashing the air you can “throw” the blade, giving attacks the range of a sling.

Wind Walk

Sphere: Air

R: Touch, T: Self and 1 + [dice] creatures, D: [sum] hours

You and other creatures may race across the winds, moving quickly across the open earth. While doing so your movement is 4 times faster and you ignore effects of terrain, though great storms might slow you still. While safe, landing with any precision is difficult due to the speed, usually off by 1d6 meters.

Wind Whispers

Sphere: Air

R: 1 mile, T: Self, D: [dice]x10 minutes

Opening your ears you invite the wind to whisper to you what secrets it has heard. By focusing in a particular direction you can faintly hear conversations up to 1 mile away. Alternatively if looking for rumors this may grant you a [dice] in 6 chance to hear these rumors. These abilities don’t work through encased chambers.

GLOGtober 23' - 7: VTM - The Imperfect Mysteries

 Closing out GLOGtober with a twist on the prompt 'Vampires'. Thanks for reading along this month!

Vampire: The Masquerade - The Imperfect Mysteries

One of the games I’ve run a lot of besides D&D is Vampire: The Masquerade, which is often boils down to being a game about a group of vampires investigating something. Often structured around ideas of Machiavellian plots and social drama, he players are frequently tasked with uncovering a dark scheme or digging up blackmail against their rivals.

In these games most vampires have something to hide, such as a lover across sect lines, or the aid they gave to the usurpers in the last coup. When constructing scenarios you often have one of these secrets as the focus, or at least in the line of fire, able to be dredged up if the players connect the right dots. Obviously making these secrets take work to uncover is natural, it shouldn’t be easy to uncover that the Brujah Primogen is actually just a Nosferatu who is in way too deep.

In writing the situations the necessary clues might be found, however I often find myself obfuscating lines of reasoning beyond what is useful or necessary. Surely as immortal centuries old monsters these kindred would know how to not get caught and employ the perfect cover up to avoid suspicion. Every single conceivable dead end can be covered, mind wiping everyone in the area and using six layers of middle men to get it done. Yet despite this potentially being the case, I’ve found when I do this it often detracts from the fun of the game.

Players need something to hook onto, something to drag them through the world as they pull on strings. You have to remember that you are their eyes that allow them to see these strings, and if you don’t give them anything things quickly dead end. For example I once had an assassin hired against the players, another kindred who was following orders from a mysterious superior in a cult. Yet I didn’t want to reveal this superior to be the Prince’s right hand so I created a convoluted chain of necromancy & telepathy that would make finding the mastermind impossible. Even if the players had followed the assassin back to their lair, subdued them and managed to pry out the meeting spot, they wouldn’t find anything of note there. It’d just be another dead end.

When you put up a wall like this in an investigation game, forcing players to waste time and backtrack it can lead to unsatisfying experiences. Instead remember that your suspects are flawed, they can’t be perfect and cover every single angle. The young neonate doesn’t know that the Toreador can read the history of the murder by simply touching the knife, while the jaded elder forgets the strength of familial bonds as his pawn can’t help but confess to her brother he did something terrible on the same night Elysium was bombed.

It’s through these flaws that the players can move forward. That doesn’t mean that every mystery has to be easy, but allow the plot to have weaknesses. Maybe in my example above the necromancer has to leave behind occult runes hidden beneath the rug. The Tremere in the coterie won’t be able to recognize the exact incantation due to their necrotic nature, but now they know they’re almost certainly looking for a member of the Cappadocians.

These days as I continue to write mysteries and work on improving my skills I’ll often take a step back as my brain comes up with a byzantine eight step plan to perfectly explain how the Archbishop was found staked in the middle of his haven. Reminding myself that this is for my friends I set that convoluted set up aside, finding a more straight forward plan that leaves at least something for the players to check out further.

GLOGtober '23 - 6: Wizard Airships

GLOGtober '23 prompts can be found here.

Airships for Wizards

Airships are a common staple in fantasy, often a big wooden sailing ship that soars through the sky or of a large zeppelin drifting along. Here are a few ideas for how to go about this for your wizard looking to sail among the clouds.

Flying Ship

Perhaps the easiest way to soar the skies is to just cast a fly spell on your ship. This requires the fewest moving parts, but also aren’t the easiest to obtain or maintain. Ideally as a highly trained wizard you can just go down to the docks to your boat and cast fly on it, but this assumes you have the arcane power to make a whole ship fly. Likely the enchantment isn’t permanent, or requires massive resources to do so, limiting how common this is.

Once you pull this off though the whole ship can move solely by arcane force, with no need for sails to pull it along. Having the sails open likely will actually cause problems by the drag they generate. In fact, a typical sailing ship is likely not the best shape for your flying vessel. Perhaps something more akin to a large hollow dagger would be more appropriate, or a giant floating sphere. Wizards love spheres. Or if you’re not talented enough to make a whole boat fly you and your buddies can ride around in a floating canoe.

Elemental Balloon

For those wizards who understand how hot air balloons work it isn’t hard to think up some permanently hot device to keep your new invention afloat, and it’s far too common to jump to everyone’s first terrible idea: a fire elemental. Thankfully a lot of wizards realize how silly and dangerous is, but there’s always those who don’t or who want to try it anyways.

Placing a whole fire elemental inside a little heating device requires advanced knowledge of metallurgy, enchantments and binding spells. With effort it can be done however, providing a constant way to keep your balloon afloat. If you pull the feat off it’s quite the mark of prestige among your associates, and lets you arrive at conclaves in style. Steering may be some trouble, however if you can safely bind fire elementals you can probably get an air elemental to blow you along your course.

Levitating Boat

Those wizards who can’t make boats fly under their power but just saw their peers float by in a hot air balloon might turn to a far more common spell, levitation, allowing their boat to fly too. They’ll have to actually use sails, but that can’t be that different, can it?

As these novices will soon learn, they’re rather wrong. Sails are not the simple solution you think they are, not for air boats at least. As it turns out the reasons sails work with normal boats is due to the difference in how resistant the air and the water are. As the wind strikes the sails it wants to push the boat in the same direction, however the resistance of the water and shape of the hull keeps the boat on the actual course you want to travel. Without this dynamic your new levitating ship will be nothing more than a leaf on the wind.

This doesn’t make these types of a ships impossible to use however, they just need some modifications. Some wizards might be aware of the cruelly named “movable rods”, which are what your peers call your creation when you fail to enchant an immovable rod properly. Often times the enchantment isn’t strong enough, allowing the rod to be move just at much slower speeds. Other times you end up with a rod that can’t be moved on one axis, such as a rod that can only be moves horizontally but is locked in the vertical plane.

By placing the right movable rods throughout a modified ship you can create a flying ship of your dreams. Using several rods that can only move horizontally allows the ship to stay in the sky, however this usually requires a separate dinghy to ferry crew between the fixed altitude and the ground. A secondary set of special movable rods are set in the hull, allowing for movement as if the ship were in water. These rods are set to only move along the same axis as the boat should be traveling, almost making it like the airship were on giant invisible rails. With an additional preparation these rods are minorly unenchanted, allow them to slowly rotate horizontally which in turn allows your ship to turn as well.

Currently the major issue with these types of immovable airships are their inability to change elevation. The problem is likely one that can be surmounted with further work, but for now these ships all fly as if on an ocean sky.

GLOGtober '23 - 5: Flooding Dungeons

GLOGtober '23 prompts can be found here.

 

Not intentional traps, just very unsafe: Flooding

Water is a constant danger in any underground space, pooling and filling chambers. Without proper drainage there is no where for the water to go and many a dungeon has been abandoned due to flooding. Flash floods are a particular danger to those exploring underground spaces. While you occasional find some devious trap that floods a room intentionally, you should also be prepared for flash floods that can trap you underground.

When a sudden rainstorm hits the water has to go somewhere and if the dungeon entrance isn’t elevated all that water can come rushing down into the underground complex. If the dungeon had any thought behind it, a wise designer would include drainage channels and elevate the entrance above possible flood lines. But not all dungeons are designed wisely.

As the water fills the dungeon it often sweeps in dirt and detritus, along with other creatures. When the waters recede they often leave debris in their wake, reseeding the dungeon with fresh decor. The waves will also catch lose items throughout the underground halls, filling the murky water with all sorts of potential dangers. Some creatures can thrive in this environment, such as oozes or other naturally born water monstrosities who now enjoy a larger territory. Dungeons aren’t clean places either, so this water can easily become a health hazard as well.

Water can come in waves and poses a real danger sweeping an unprepared explorer away to their doom. Unlucky adventurers can also have passages between them and the exit flood, trapping them beneath the earth with limited supplies. Escaping these situations either involves hoping the water will drain before you run out of food, or trying to swim in pitch black flooded passages. Perhaps if you’re lucky going further into the dungeon will reveal a back way out, or just get you eaten by horrid monsters.

It's advised to avoid swimming through the waters unless absolutely necessary. If the water is still flowing it can be moving deceptively quick, sweeping you away to a watery grave. Sharp debris can lie concealed in the water, harming those who try to move through the waters. Navigating the waters without light quickly leads to drowning unless it’s the most well planned short swim. Even with light the passages are often confusing in the new aquatic perspective and it’s easy to kick up silt and cause a silt out, leading to further disorientation.

Using Floods in Play

Events like this, earthquakes, and other random disasters are likely not things you want to inflict on players randomly. Flooding a dungeon that is just a series of linear chambers and trapping the unprepared players in a single room with a quarter miles of flooded tunnels will likely just lead to their deaths.

Instead if you’re going to use this it’s probably best to plan it out beforehand. Design a dungeon where if it floods the main exit is blocked, forcing the players to try to remember where the other exits were relative to their position. Perhaps you want the players to try to navigate a flooded room or two, trying to figure out how to get a chest full of gold through murky waters.

Alternatively you don’t need to flood the dungeon for long periods of time, but rather just have a wave of water come rushing through. Players have to seek high ground to avoid being swept away, but the waters recede quickly. Maybe it could be a race against the clock to secure the ancient tomes before they’re ruined by the torrent of water, or just a constant worry as the water level slowly but steadily rises as the players explore.

You could also throw this all out and roll for flooding whenever weather tables indicate an especially heavy rain storm. If dungeon entrance is at the bottom of a canyon it might just happen. In this case definitely give players warnings as they hear the storm overhead and the water starting to trickle in. Hopefully most dungeons are designed to avoid flooding.

 

GLOGtober '23 - 3: Catalogue of 1d6 Cursed Items

  GLOGtober '23 prompts can be found here.

 

1d6 Cursed items recovered by The Watchers of Dawn

1. Growing Daggers

By no means a unique item, several of these have been found throughout the Tvidenwald, usually being sold by a traveling merchant. A team has already been dispatched to locate the merchant, who is described as a middle aged man wearing a purple cap calling himself Harthmann. The daggers sold appear normal until they draw blood, at which point the weapon suddenly doubles in size, often driving it deeper into the wound it caused. Thankfully at some point these daggers become rather unwieldy, however the upper limit of this curse is still being explored.

As a standard dagger, however each time it grows increase it gets +1 damage and increase the dice size by one (1d4→1d6→1d8→etc). It will quickly grow too big to yield after 1d12.

2. The Medusa Fountain

Located high in the Hedanthusian mountains, this ancient and ornately carved life sized statue of a medusa covering her face as she weeps mud slurry. Discovered by a team of explorers when the local village went silent. All life in and surrounding the village was found petrified, even down to the spiders in their webs and the growing crops. The petrification process seems to affect all living things near the fountain, turning them to solid stone over the course of twenty four hours. At the recommendation of the Hedanthusian Dawn Captains the statue has been moved to the deepest cellar of the village and a warning perimeter established. For now the statue remains, and thankfully is difficult to transport, keeping it out of the wrathful hands of heretics.

The Medusa Fountain appears as a human sized statue of a weeping medusa sitting on a stone block, carved in a wonderful life like visage. With her face buried in her hands, a continual trickle of mud slurry drips down the statue. The statue weighs just over a thousand pounds. Anything living within 1 mile of the fountain will slowly turn to stone over the course of 24 hours.

3. Intre Carmian, The Poetry Between

Recovered from the unholy city of Visgarmora, this tome defies efforts to study it. The book apparently has a simple dark azure cover with a title in simple silver letters, and the pages full of disjointed writings regarding ‘the storm’. Our inquisitors believe that the book projects an amnesia field, causing any who approach the tome to forget what happened while they were close to it. When one comes around after this forgetful event, they often find they’ve gained some new and strange wound. Researchers believe that the tome is demon infested, creatures of memory who enjoy inflicting pain and confusion. Once a safe method of disposal has been ascertained the book will be destroyed.

Intre Carmian appears as a simple book, with several texts within alluding to releasing ‘the storm’ and ‘opening the self’. Studying them may reveal untold secrets, but is obviously rather difficult to do. Unfortunately anyone who can perceive the book or is too close to it cannot remember such experiences, usually escaping this effect 1d10 minutes later with a few strange wounds. These wounds deal 2d8 – 1d6 damage (minimum 0).

4. Visage Seeds

Captured in the raid on followers of the Marble Made Flesh, a case of several bone postules was found. In examining them one of the inquisitors made the mistake of touching one, which quickly animated and burrowed into his hand. While proper precautions were taking, the man seemed fine save for the obvious entry wound. Upon awakening the next morning in the quarantine cell however it was discovered his entire form had changed to a younger half elf. This process would occur each morning at dawn, and observers could see the vicissitude of his entire body as bones cracked and reshaped. While surgeons were eventually able to find and remove the visage seed, the curse carries on. Due to the fact that the surgeons found a cluster of multiple visage seeds within, the inquisitor is being take to Viilimond for a cleansing blessing or failing that, execution.

Upon contact of bare flesh with a visage seed the small object burrows into them, dealing 1d6 each round. Once it has dealt 6 damage this way it burrows into their flesh, beyond reach. Forevermore each dawn upon waking the body of the cursed individual bends and twists, taking on the appearance of a random person.

5. Drowning Candles

These dark candles are found among followers of The Kraken. Appearing as deep blue or black candles that always seem wet, they can be deadly to those inexperienced with their dark magic. As the candles burn they draw in the aquatic energies of their benthic master, reversing what one needs to breath. This allows his servants that are usually bound to the water to walk among us to sow their destruction without needing to fear asphyxiation. For most people however, being too close to a drowning candle causes them to choke as their ability to breath air is replaced with a need to draw oxygen from water. Numerous commoners and even nobles have been found dead in the same chamber where a drowning candle was burned. While many of these deaths are accidents, it is also a common assassination technique used by heretics of The Kraken.

Drowning candles appear as normal candles made of a dark wax, though are always damp to the touch. Despite this they are easy to ignite and can even burn under water, giving off a cold white flame. Creatures within 20’ of the candle that breath air begin to suffocate as they must now draw in oxygen via immersion in water. Likewise creatures that normally breathe underwater must now draw in air. Creatures unable to get their new source of oxygen begin to suffocate.

6. Ranelalina, Idol of Lelandandril

One of the many cursed idols that makes their way out of the moon shadowed lands of Lelandandril, idols of Ranelalina are seeds of corruption that must be rooted out. As with all Lelandandrite idols it is possessed by one of their demons, Ranelalina. Touching such idols always curses the trespasser and allows the demon to worm their way into their mind. While the idols themselves are not able to cause much change in the world themselves they quickly turn those who touch them into puppets for their dark ends. It is documented that Ranelalina has a fascination with rot, and her shrines are often adorned with the putrid carcasses of her enemies. Often worshipers will fill her well with rotting flesh and drawing in such foul sickness into their own bodies, claiming that she will bless them. This is not unfounded as her devotees have been witnessed striking an inquisitor and causing their arm to rot off in minutes.

The idol of Ranelalina is made of a dark stone and is the size of a lantern, appearing as a vulture with the head of a jackal. When you touch the idol of Ranelalina a connection is made that only potent purifying magic or Ranelalina may end. Those connected to Ranelalina feel their reflexes slow as atrophy sets in, losing 2 dexterity as long as they are connected. However while holding the idol their body can adapt to overcome rot and disease, gaining 2 constitution. As well, Ranelalina may speak into the mind of the connected, giving them whatever dark advice she holds. Thrice per day they can touch a corpse causing it to rot into a putrid mess as it leaks diseased fluids, reducing all incoming damage by 2. It is said that by making proper offerings to Ranelalina she may grant more power, however she always has a cost.