Magic Mushrooms

Two random charts: One for the primary effect and one for the side effect of a magic mushroom.  I will spare you guys the addiction and overdose charts for now.  This is pasted from a spreadsheet, so the formatting is a little funky:  Duration of the effect follows the short description.  Sub charts follow the primary charts.  I grant non-commercial rights to use these charts in private games.  I retain all other rights.

Roll on both charts.

Primary Effect Chart (d30):

1. Cures 3d6 HP worth of damage. instantaneous
2. Grants one extra attack per round. 2d6 rounds
3. The mushroom secretes a contact poison which does 50 damage (Save vs. Poison for 1/2 damage) instantaneous
4. The ingester grows to 10 x her original size.  HP and Strength double, Dexterity is halved and AC receives a -4 penalty. 1d4 hours
5. The ingester shrinks to 1/10 her original size.  HP and Strength are halved, Dexterity is doubled and AC receives a +4 bonus. 1d4 hours
6. The ingester receives +8 to one randomly determined attribute and -4 to another.   2d10 rounds
7. The ingester receives 15 temporary HP which disappear in 1 hour if not used. 1 hour or less
8. Sticky sweat: +2 bonus to AC and the ability to stick to and climb on vertical surfaces and ceilings. 4d6 rounds
9. Spore breath: The ingester takes 2d6 damage and can spray a 15' cone of spores that do 10d6 damage (Save vs. Poison for 1/2 damage) to all in their path.
10. The ability to see in darkness as if it were daylight 2d6 hours
11. Irresistible aroma: +2 to Charisma and most members of the opposite sex are strongly attracted. 1d4 days
12. Magic Resistance: A percentage chance that any magical attack or effect will completely fail to work against the character.  Roll 1d10 on the Magic Resistance sub-chart. 1d10 rounds
13. Grants the ability to see invisible and shadow creatures, and to discern the true nature of illusions. 2d12 rounds
14. Doubles movement rate. 1d4 hours
15. Breathing is unnecessary.   1d4 hours
16. Cures all diseases. instantaneous
17. Cures blindness. instantaneous
18. Cures deafness. instantaneous
19. Cures muteness. instantaneous
20. Ingested poison: roll 1d10 on the poison types chart in Mutant Future, a kick-ass post-apocolyptic RPG freely available in text format from Goblinoid Games.
21. Turn into a shadow (cannot be targeted by physical attacks, can slip through even the tiniest cracks, all equipment is transformed but no other physical objects can be picked up, carried or manipulated while in shadow form) 1d12 rounds
22. Time slows: +2 to AC, +2 to hit, +2 to Dexterity, 1 extra attack per round. 1d4 rounds 
23. Dried mushroom functions as a grenade: roll 1d10 on the Mushroom Grenade sub-chart. special
24. If cultivated on a body within 1d4 hours of its death, this mushroom will re-animate the body as a free willed zombie with all of its former memories minus the last 4d6 days.  The mushroom-zombie sustains itself by consuming magical radiation, and can only "live" for 1d4 days without it.   special
25. Body becomes slightly lighter than air.  Without at least 10 pounds of ballast, the ingester will slowly float away at the rate of 20' per round. 1d4 hours
26. Immune to fire and heat damage. 2d6 rounds
27. Immune to cold damage. 2d6 rounds
28. Ingester must tell the truth. 1d4 hours
29. Roll on the Side Effect Chart instead.
30. Roll twice on this chart, ignoring any result of 29.  This result may be rolled more than once.

Side Effect Chart (d20):

1. Sleep (15 minute onset time). 1d4 hours
2. Sharp Headache: 1d6 damage and -1 to all attacks. 1 hour
3. Blind in daylight, sensitive to low light 1d4 days duration
4. Nausea and intense vomiting.  No other actions possible. 3d6 rounds
5. Double vision results in a -2 penalty to hit. 4d6 rounds
6. Persistent diarrhea.  Effects adjudicated by the GM. 3d4 days
7. Skin turns a random color (roll 1d10 on the Skin Color sub-chart) 3d12 days
8. Deafness (roll 1d6 on the Deafness Duration sub-chart) special
9. Strong odor is emitted (roll 1d6 on the Strong Odor sub-chart) 1d6 hours
10. Clumsy: -4 to Dexterity 1d4 hours
11. Strong intoxicant: -5 to Intelligence and Wisdom 1d4 hours
12. Weakened:  -4 to Strength 1d4 hours
13. Save vs. Poison or the ingester must attack the nearest living creature (must save again each round). 2d4 rounds
14. Blindness (roll 1d6 on the Blindness Duration sub-chart) special
15. Muteness (roll 1d6 on the Muteness Duration sub-chart) special
16. All of the ingester's hair falls out over the course of the next day until the ingester is completely hairless. Hair begins to regrow in 1d4 weeks
17. Intense visual hallucinations: -4 to hit.   3d6 hours
18. Terrible nightmares: No benefits can be gained from resting, and the ingester takes 3d6 damage each time she begins to dream after falling asleep. 1d4 days
19. Roll on the Primary Effect Chart instead.
20. Roll twice on this chart, ignoring any roll of 19.  This result may be rolled more than once.

Magic Resistance Sub-Chart (d10):

1. 15%
2. 20%
3. 25%
4. 30%
5. 40%
6. 50%
7. 60%
8. 70%
9. 80%
10. 90%

Mushroom Grenade sub-chart (1d10):

Duration Note: Clouds left by a grenade dissipate naturally, lingering longer in still, contained areas than outside.

1. 15' radius cloud of smoke
2. 10' radius spore cloud; Save vs. Poison or sleep for 2d6 rounds
3. 10' radius blast for 4d6 damage
4. 10' radius spore cloud; Save vs. Poison or hallucinate for 1d4 hours
5. 10' radius blast for 6d6 damage
6. 500' radius flash of light (Save vs. Energy Attacks to avoid 3d6 rounds of blindness if looking at the light)
7. 10' radius blast for 8d6 damage
8. 25' radius magical darkness (permanent)
9. 10' radius blast for 10d6 damage
10. 10' radius spore cloud (Save vs. Magic to avoid petrification)

Skin Color sub-chart (d10):

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. green
5. Blue
6. Indigo
7. Violet
8. Black
9. White
10. Tie-died swirl of every color.

Blindness/Deafness/Muteness Duration sub-chart (d6):

1. 1 hour
2. 1d4 hours
3. 2d6 hours
4. 1 day
5. 1d10 days
6. permanent

Strong Odor sub-chart (d6):

1. Skunk: -10 to Charisma 
2. Rotting Meat: -5 to Charisma, carnivorous and scavenging predators attracted.
3. Syrupy sweet: swarms of insects are attracted.
4. Shadowy Aroma: The shadow world draws closer.
5. Aggressive pheromone:  The ingestor must make a successful Charisma attack to avoid being attacked by any creature that comes within 15' of her.
6. Fear pheromone:  Any creature coming within 15' of the ingestor must make a Save vs. Poison or flee for 1d4 rounds

Demon Resource

So I was making a really kewl boss creature for my 4e game (a shadow demon that has been slowly coming through into this world by taking over the body of Hammer, a warforged barbarian in my game, who brought this on himself by knowingly drinking what I had described as the "amniotic fluid of an elder frog god" just to see what would happen...) because the party has finally crossed the mountains and located a shabori (shaman) who can help them expel the demon from Hammer.

The party has been told that enough of the demonic entity has already crossed over into this world that it will be a horrific struggle when it emerges from the body of their friend.  I gave this baddie some amazing mind-bending and terrifying powers, and after the party faces it tomorrow I will post a little write up of the demon because I think it is an excellent example of how to make a 4e creature that is terrifying and fun to fight without it being a slog-fest of slowly chipping away hundreds of HP.

I decided I wanted a good "authentic" demon name, a name that the shabori could let slip in the village and all the natives would freak out and chase the party away and make them perform the exorcism out in the middle of the jungle.  I googled "indian names for demons" and found a resource that I am going to come back to over and over again, a Demon Dictionary.  Check it out!  Demontastic.  I came up with "Tchort", a Russian name for Satan, which apparently translates as "Black God".

Blind Dwarf Attack!

I love my character in the Labyrinth Lord game I am playing with my friend Carter of Carter's Cartopia as DM.  I am a dwarf, Hakken Aksa-Dak, and I was blinded three sessions ago whilst exploring Stonehell Dungeon.  I was twisting a serpent statue which (of course, in retrospect) shot poison gas out at me.  Everyone else made their saves, but poor Dak has not seen the light of torch since.

Always one to turn life's lemons into healing potions, I got the rest of the party to clear out of the room while I went about trying to remove what I presumed and hoped was a container of poison gas concealed in the middle of the statue.  Carter rolled with what I was trying to do and eventually let me get out the gas container and stopper it with a rag while we carved a cork for it.  

Ever since, I have been the maniacal and probably more than slightly crazed (and of course, always drunk) first line of assault.  Did I mention that I have had 2 HP for the last three sessions as well?  We use the "Shields Will Splinter" houserule, so I can survive at least one hit, but really I expected to die many times as I charged, blind, screaming and holding a container of poisonous gas, straight into the middle of a band of lizardmen or hobgoblins.  This tactic has worked with varying success, but so far I have not died and I have been able to contribute something meaningful to combat.

I have also been tickled pink by all this.  Even though we just found a major pile of loot and high-tailed it out of the dungeon to re-supply and get my blindness removed, I almost don't want to give up the ride just yet.  Playing a blind, suicidal dwarf has been a lot of fun!

Snuff Demons, Hekura, and little magic monkeys that grant you immortality if you eat their crushed bones

Yup, its been a while since I posted about my 4e campaign.  That does not mean shit has not been happening!  The party has finally made it across the imposing 30,000' tall mountain range to the verdant jungle beyond that slopes far away until it finally meets another ocean.  Along the way, exploring a forgotten temple they found 20 miles under the mountain along the tunnel they were following, they accidentally released a great elder being.

I will have to do a separate post about this incident, or perhaps ask Mike (the player of Tilia the albino minotaur in the campaign) to write another guest blog post detailing his decision to drop a magical fungus (that he knew fed off of magical radiation and water and could grow with breathtaking rapidity in the right conditions) into a closed series of flooded tubing leading down to a contained elder entity that was doing very little else but radiate intense magical energy which was being trapped and siphoned by the magical wards and systems in place around it.  This thing was called Kariki Kalos by those who built the temple and here is what it looks like (the jellyfish like cap is 3000' feet across, the main body from tentacle tip to the top of the cap is 3500', and the long stinging (radiant and lightning damage) tendrils stretch out up to 15,000' behind).  A "light organ" inside the cap emits a burning beam of light and from each lidless eye (18 in all, in a circle around the gaping mouth) a ray of darkness is cast.

But that is not what I want to write about.  On the other side of the mountain now, the party has taken up with one among many independent, but loosely organized (by kinship, trading and raiding ties), bands of an indigenous human population that call themselves "the fierce people".  After an initial tense and frequently hostile confrontation with an overwhelming force of fierce warriors brandishing bows and blowguns, many with glowing red or black eyes and red or black slime oozing out of their noses, the party finally fell in with an older shabori (shaman) who had foreseen their arrival and was eager to question them.

The shabori, Titsi-Waa, somehow managed to intimidate the waitari (chieftain, literally "the fiercest") that was confronting the party.  The shabori puffed himself up as much as his lame leg would allow, and then something strange happened.  His chest began to expand and swell, as if something was inside it.  Then his eyes flashed and the waitari big man backed down, called to his men, and ran off up the mountain pursuing the original mission of glorious death while fighting an awakened god.

While this was happening, Tilia pulled down the Goggles of Arcana that she had made last session (from small black crystal disks she discovered behind each of the 18 eyes surrounding the central mouth of the larval form of Kariki-Kalos - the party was beset upon by many of the 30' larval monstrosities, which emitted beams of darkness from their eyes and a blast of burning light from their horned tail).  These give her a bonus to Arcana checks performed while attempting to diving the nature of a magical occurrence.  Looking with "magic vision", she saw four tiny humanoid creatures (hekura) living inside the old shabori's chest.  One of these was performing a magical incantation, growing and swelling and changing in form as it did so.  Tilia was able to divine something of the rough nature of each hekura; one was a protective charm spirit, one (the active one) was a malicious curse spirit, one caused sickness and disease, and one cured such ailments.

Later the party learned that the hekura are a race of spirit beings that live in the spirit world.  Places in the real world marked by large isolated boulders, or rocky mountain sides, are frequented by hekura in the spirit world.  You cannot persuade hekura to live inside you by going to them in the physical world.  You must visit them in the spirit world and sing to them and dance until they voluntarily enter your body, draining a small part of your physical essence but greatly enriching your ability to interact with the spirit world.

The fierce people visit the spirit world primarily through the use of a snuff made from the bark of the ebene tree ground and mixed with saliva and ash.  This mixture is then dried and pounded to form a snuff that is shot through a tube into the nose of the recipient.  There is no attack roll required to hit the recipient if the snuff is taken in this manner.  Part of the inhaler's soul (the noreshi) leaves the body and, attached by an umbilical energy chord invisible to the inhaler and unbreakable to all others, must reside in the spirit world for 2d4 hours.  If the noreshi wanders too far from the body and is lost, or cannot return in time, the noreshi can be come separated from the body and a serious and invariably fatal illness will set in unless the lost noreshi can be found and recaptured.

[mechanics sidebar:  the cosmologies of my campaigns rarely resemble any printed "official" version too closely.  In this case, you could think of the "spirit world" of the campaign as the shadowfell and feywild of 4e rolled into one, with a good dose of what the astral sea is supposed to accomplish in 4e as well.]






The party also eventually learned that the red and black eyes and snot of the warriors they encountered in the jungle (already ferocious looking with faces painted black and large plugs of tobacco in their lips) were caused by beings known as "snuff demons".  Summoned by snuffs artfully composed of ground seeds and powders, the snuff demon marked by red eyes and mucous is known as an aihal and the one marked by sunken black eyes and dark mucous is known as aihan.

Snuff Demon Aihal

After being summoned inside the nasal passages, an aihal snuff demon grants the inhaler the ability to see in the dark as if it were daylight, +2 to hit and damage with basic ranged attacks and the ability to make an extra basic ranged attack once per round as a free action.  Until the aihal is expelled in a dark red mass of goo, the inhaler take a -5 penalty to Will defense.


Snuff Demon Aihan

After appearing in the nasal cavities, aihan radiates a fear aura 2 in which all enemies take a -2 penalty to hit.  The inhaler also receives +2 to hit and damage with basic melee attacks and the ability to make an extra basic melee attack once per round as a free action.  Until the aihan is expelled in a black mass of goo, the inhaler take a -5 penalty to Will defense.

Little Magic Monkeys that grant you immortality if you eat their crushed bones:


Let me say here that my players have a nasty habit of rolling critical successes at all the critical times.  Nat 20's, and even natural 30's on the once a session roll of the d30 that every player gets (check out my sidebar to the upper left, Order of the d30, if you don't know what I am talking about), abound in my game.  Dunno how or why, this has just been one of the luckiest groups I have ever seen.  So the group had just managed to somehow avoid a sure confrontation with an angry allosaurus that had ambushed them when they found themselves in the midst of a wildlife stampede.  The fierce people had united when the side of the mountain blew off, and thousands of warriors beat drums and spears against trees as they marched to the mountain to do battle with the great god that was supposed to rise up during the end of the world.  They drove the animals and dinosaurs of the jungle ahead of them.

Tilia, ever interested in collecting, examining and cataloguing the flora and fauna of the new world, took this opportunity to collect some animal species.

So Tilia rolls a nature check (I usually use checks like this as a rough barometer to see how well a player succeeds, rather than a simple yes/no, succeed/fail target number skill check) and gets a natural 20.  I decide on the spot to introduce an interesting creature to the scene that I hadn't figured the players would run into for quite a while.  Nearly impossible to catch, blindingly quick and possessing the ability to run on air as if it were solid ground, the tiny tsoru-tsoru (fast fast) monkey is as intelligent as a human but has a nearly immortal lifespan.  Cooking a tsoru-tsoru in a stew, boiling it down until there is nothing left but bones, and then grinding those bones and eating the resulting paste grants near immortality and great resistance to physical and mental damage.  The party learned this when the host village that they were staying at began loudly demanding that Tilia cook the tsoru-tsoru and share its bones.

A nature-lover through and through, and already aware of the creature's intelligence, Tilia was loathe to acquiesce to her hosts' demands but also wanted to avoid upsetting them.  Tilia began questioning the monkey (with the aid of the comprehend languages ritual that has come in handy so many times for Beautiful Bob the face man of the group) and soon found out that the tsoru-tsoru (like all young adults of its species) had to remain in the jungle until it had caught enough "lightning bugs" to "last it a lifetime in the cloud city" where the tsoru-tsoru had "sorcerers more powerful than you can imagine".  Some back and forth questioning with the village elders revealed that the lightning bugs spoken of by the monkey and a very valuable spirit creature called a spirit beetle by the elders were the same thing.  Tilia arranged a deal where she would let the monkey go if he would promise to deliver a weeks catch of lightning bugs, which could apparently be used as one-use magical batteries, to add potency to a magical attack or effect or to create and power a one use magical device.  This was made much more poignant by the presence of the pregnant mate of the capture monkey, who had followed the party through the jungle and was hiding out at the smoke hole rim of the thatched roof which enclosed the circular village.  Reunited at last, the couple dissapeared into the jungle and the party turned their attention to more pressing matters...

Much more to come.  Trying to even MENTION all the plot threads that are out there, just tempting the players with all their juicy glory, would take quite a while, let alone fully describing them.

So I got the Red Box yesterday...

I am actually pretty excited about the rest of the D&D Essentials boxed sets, but this one is of little use to me as a player.  As a way to introduce a new player to the concept of the game, it is pretty cool.  It introduces character creation through a choose-your-adventure type format; you run through the solo "adventure" in the player's book and by the end you have filled in your character sheet along the way and learned the basic concepts and vocabulary of D&D 4e.  Haven't had the time to read the DM's book or the included adventure, but it was nice to get a box with dice, tokens, character sheets, et al.  Thanks WOTC for the review material!

A more detailed review will be posted soon at the Eye of the Vortex.

Amazonian Escapades: Day One: "Welcome to New Haven!"

Well hello there! I’m Mike and I am stepping in to write on this blog because Carl asked me if I would provide a perspective for his 4e campaign from the player. First off; I have to start by saying that I am amazed by how Carl was able to step in and start his own campaign so quickly. As some of you may have read already in: This Post he kind of had the job of DMing dropped into his lap at the last minute. His first words to us were, “It’s going to be a jungle setting and you’re fresh off the boat.” How much that line would change our lives, we never knew….

I plan to write in installments if possible, cataloging our exploits as the adventure unfolds. I am also going to try and use this as a place to record the history of the party and the world as we explore it. Not only will this give you, the reader, a good insight from the player’s point of view, but it will also help myself and the party call up relevant information when needed. It will also help us reminisce some day when we’re all heroes of the Amazonian landscape…..if we survive.

So, it all began with a ragtag crew of adventurers seeking fame and fortune promised us on far away continents. There is Antillia the female albino minotaur warden(me!), Hammer the male warforged barbarian, Vomarr the male bugbear cleric of Kord, Rhaziel the male eladrin rogue, and Beautiful Bob the male half-elf ardent who joined us later on in the mines. So, the story begins…

Antillia, Hammer, Vomarr, and Rhaziel caught a ride on a local slave ship headed to a new and unexplored continent with promises of fame, fortune, artifacts, and the raw knowledge of new landscapes and fauna. We all exchanged our greetings as fellow passengers on a long voyage across the sea and became fast friends. (convenient!) We landed on the foreign beach and disembarked the ship, having also gotten to know a slave, Zoggins, and his thoughts of a revolt, we kept an eye on him. Meanwhile, governor Sir John Laymen, greeted us and informed us of how happy he was to see us and how welcome we were. When asked about the area he filled us in on some of the local events. Apparently not everything was going so well in the new world…he did however tell us of the three mines in the mountains and how the slaves were there to be sold to the mine managers. He also mentioned the “White Death” which was a disease that had infected the village and killed many of the people. Apparently a local Doctor had helped cure the disease by traveling across the mountains, which was thought impossible, and collecting herbs that he brought back. Fourth on the list were rumors of the local hunters, Dornal "The Swift", Elijah Silver, and Martin Treebreaker who had found a city made entirely of gold in the middle of the swamp. To top it all off the town was vacant and housing, land, and most tools were completely free.

So, what does a group setting out for fortune, fame, ancient knowledge, and power do with their first day in a town chock full of adventure hooks and plot twists? They claim a house, start a farm, and go fishing! No, seriously, that’s what we did! Well, we DID ask around about some of the rumors pertaining to the “White Death” and the city of gold. We decided to split up to make the best work of it. Antillia and Vomarr went to talk to the Doctor about herbs and the “White Death” cure. Meanwhile, Rhaziel and Hammer went to find the hunters in the local tavern (where they displayed many of their trophies) and inquire about the city of gold. We decided this was the best course of action while waiting for the slave auctions to start later on in the afternoon.

Antillia and Vomarr met with Doctor John Lock and realized almost immediately that he was on some pretty heavy self-prescribed “medication”. He was huddled up in the back of his office mumbling about the great serpent and held out a spoonful of some brownish-green looking paste that he had made in a bowl. So of course, Antillia ate it! Let’s talk about amazing! Antillia began to hallucinate and time seemed to slow down around her. She saw a great green serpent fly up from what seemed like over the mountains, and into her chest. After that Antillia could see life in everything around her, detect spirits that she couldn’t before, and could literally FEEL nature in everything living. She walked outside and gazed upon this ancient stone head and saw shadows of people performing a ritual around it and it seemed to glow in an amazing wash of light. A beam shot from the head in the direction it was facing, towards what we later discovered was the center of the swamp. She was able to make out some of the glyphs on the ancient head, but not what they said. After the trip-tastic fun time they were finally able to talk to the Doctor and determine that this concoction he had made was the product of the Great Serpent that taught him how to mix the right herbs/fruits/youdon’twannaknow/etc. so he could be lead and perceive the great pass (as well as the Great Serpent) in the mountains that opened on a certain celestial alignment. He told us he would be leaving in a week, because the alignment would happen again and he would be able to cross the mountains to get the herbs, that could only be gotten to cure the “White Death” on the other side. He said he had tried to grow them here, but something in the earth allowed some healing spirits to enter the herbs over the mountains and give them their curative property. Also, that something in the region we were in was hindering and killing plant growth. Many of the locals attributed this to the “White Death” as well. Another thing we made note of was that supposedly the Great Serpent was the “One God” of all nature. We bid him farewell in hopes of traveling with him in a week to see this pass through the mountains.

So while Antillia and Vomarr were having their little acid koolaid test, Hammer and Rhaziel were seeking out the hunters at the local tavern "The Engorged Serpent". The hunters turned out to be a trio called "The Jungle Boys" and they asked them about their tale. The hunters were glad to tell it, with a few free ales in their hands, and soon the two adventurers were enthralled. Apparently the trio had once been a quartet and had lost one of their hunters to the “serpent-like guardians” of the golden city/temple. They said they had adventured into the swamp, in search of new found glory and trophies. There was a wall of vegetation around a specific area that seemed impassable, but they had managed to find a way in. Once inside the wall the land before them sloped quickly down into a crater so large they couldn’t make out the other side. Immediately they noticed that the crater’s walls were covered in what seemed like a black glass and the obvious giant wall made of gold around the city/temple in the center of the crater. They slid down for a closer investigation when they were ambushed by a group of serpent men. The hunters ran for their lives, but one of them was set upon by the snake-men. (You only have to run faster than the slowest hunter!) Their jaws dropped as the snake men, right off his still squirming body, ate their friend’s face! It was all they could do to gather themselves and make for the passage in the wall. They have never been back to that place since… Well obviously this story had the intended effect upon Hammer and Rhaziel, warding them from ever going to the deadly temple of gold, right? Right?! If anything it only whet their appetites. What could be better for a rogue and barbarian? Plenty of evil creatures to slaughter with the promise of so much gold you can build a city out of it. Not much tops that!

So as the group gathered info the sun slowly waned towards later afternoon. It was nearing time for the slave auction so we pooled our gold and all went to attend. We knew we wanted Zoggins and, borrowing from our knowledge, we decided to stack the odds in our favor. Antillia went separate from the group to bid on the slaves, while Hammer, Rhaziel, and Vomarr spread rumors about the slaves we wanted. It turns out we were against Seyra, Grobin, and Picktooth. They were the representatives of the local mines; "Steaming Pit"(Seyra: Red Headed Beauty), "Yellowbrick"(Grobin: Fat Man), and "Snorter's Sluce and Slurry"(Picktooth: Half Orc). In the end we had scared off many of the potential bids on those slaves and acquired Zoggins, Er’ekt, and Blister. We promptly pulled Zoggins aside and told him how we’d like to set them all free, but employ them working on our farm and keeping up our house. Being a natural born leader, we put Zoggins in charge, and he was thrilled. Antillia showed them all how to farm and Er’ekt was a natural born cook and housekeeper. Meanwhile, night was falling and Rhaziel and Hammer decided to go fishing! We gave Hammer a sunrod and Rhaziel snagged a boat on shore. Rhaziel passed a rope down to Hammer (who doesn’t need to breathe) and Hammer waded around the bottom of the small gulf, searching for lost relics and fish. Hammer had amazing eyes that evening and managed to bring up 2 ancient pots full of a nectar similar to honey. He also managed to get in a fight with a giant halibut and Rhaziel dived in to help him finish it off. When they came to shore Rhaziel brought in the jars and a net full of about eight pounds of fish. The other fishermen were mocking him as they were bringing in their hauls, until Hammer came wading out carrying a 300-pound halibut on his shoulders. All the other fishermen were speechless after that as their jaws hit their decks. We all had a hearty laugh at the tale and set our workers to cutting, cooking, and glazing some fish on a stick to prepare to sell it in town the next day.

While the fish was being prepared for the next day we were approached by a messenger asking us to attend Seyra, the red headed beauty, at the tavern. We were curious who she was, so we asked around some on the way there. It turns out she was one of the people bidding on the slaves and the lady who had won almost all of them. We were intrigued so we went to meet her, at which point she laid a proposition at our feet. She said we had been seen around the town and had heard we were the seasoned type. She said she didn’t have enough guards of her own to escort all the slaves up to the "Steaming Pit" mine, but would pay us to help guard them along the way. First, we asked her a few questions about the need for so many slaves and that began a new tale….

Seyra began her story telling us that her company had lost many of it’s miners recently and production was almost halted completely. When we asked her if it had anything to do with the “White Death” she told us that the disease didn’t reach anyone in the mine. We assumed this was due to the fact that most miners avoided the town during the epidemic, even though local rumor had suggested the "White Death" might be the cause of the mine's shortcomings. So, this naturally raised our suspicions. If it wasn’t the “White Death”, then what could kill so many miners so quickly? She simply told us it was an unforeseen accident and she needed the slaves. We eventually bargained out a price, getting more than the original offer due to the lack of answers, and bid her farewell until the morrow.

We returned to our farm to see that our workers were well settled and then went back to our home where Er’ekt had dusted, cleaned, and put things back in order. We bedded down for the evening with adventure on our minds and a long trip up the river to the mountains ahead….

I’d like to also note at the end of this that we had wondered if the “White Death” might be spread by flying insects, similar to mosquitoes, so we found a local spider webbing that is coated in sap to strengthen and preserve it. It made for a very light netting that was stronger than steel and served as a great way to keep insects out of our sleeping areas.

Places and people of note:

New Hope - Starting Port with a tavern, whorehouse, general store, and blacksmith.

Engorged Serpent - Tavern in New Hope.

Silken Thigh - Whorehouse in New Hope.

Sir John Laymen - Governor of New Hope.

Dr. John Lock - Doctor who lost family to the "White Death". Came back from the far side of the mountains with herbs that can cure the "White Death". Had a religious experience with the "Great Serpent" and is looking for help to gather herbs within the week. The only person to ever cross the mountains.

Jungle Boys - The three best hunters in the area.

Elijah Silver - One of the "Jungle Boys", botanist.

Dornal "The Swift" - Leader of the "Jungle Boys".

Martin Treebreaker - One of the "Jungle Boys", the muscle.

Easter Island Heads - One known to exist in New Hope, suspected that there are many of them that form a circle. The faces all pointing towards the "city of gold" in the middle of the swamp. Antillia saw a beam of light shooting out of the face of the one in New Hope during her experience with the concoction Dr. John Lock fed her. They seem to be guarding something, or sealing something in the swamp.

Matt Humphreys - Farmer in New Hope. The only successful farmer still working a field.

Seyra - Representative of the "Steaming Pit" mine. Red headed beauty.

Grobin - Representative of the "Yellowbrick" mine. Fat man.

Picktooth - Representative of "Snorter's Sluice and Slurry", a river sluicing operation just south of the mines. Half orc.

Zoggins - Hobgoblin leader of our workers.

Er'ekt - One of our workers, cook and housekeeper.

Blister - One of our workers, half orc. Dumb as a sack of rocks, but works like an ox.

Antillia - Female Minotaur Warden (Player)

Vomarr - Male Bugbear Cleric (Player)

Hammer - Male Warforged Barbarian (Player)

Rhaziel - Male Eladrin Rogue (Player)


Thanks for reading and I hope I gave you a good look at what we’re up against! I think the sheer amount of plot hooks and story background made sure we would be busy for some time to come. I’ll post the next bit of our adventure as soon as I can! I also apologize for any naming differences between my post and previous posts, I am going off my notes where names are spelled how they sounded to me.

8 Devils

I retain all commercial rights to this material.  Feel free to use, steal from, modify or do what have you with this post in your own personal gaming life.  This is material that will be published in a modified form in an upcoming supplement I am working on. 

 Mechanics note - there are references to attribute attacks (Charisma attack, Dexterity attack, etc.) in the text.  Either replace with a standard melee or ranged attack roll, make the effect an auto-hit and give the target a save to resist it, or make up your own attribute attack rules because I cannot share mine with you at this time!

8 Devils Willing to Make a Pact With a Mortal:

Devilish Pact optional rule: Instead of gaining the normal benefits of leveling up, a character can choose to make a pact with a devil upon attaining a new level.  The character must seek out the name of an individual devil, conduct an expensive ritual (1d6 x 100 GP) to summon it and make a pact with it to gain the abilities granted by the devil.  Even attaining this knowledge may take many game sessions of persistent seeking as adjudicated by the GM.  Either choose a devil or roll 1d8 after performing the ritual to determine which devil was contacted and the effects of the pact.  

• Drawbacks of a Pact: All Devilish Pacts come with a drawback: Whenever the pact maker is recalled by others, their first impressions are overwhelmingly negative.  Even if actual interactions with people go well, when they think back on those interactions they will realize that there was something amiss.  There is just something off about that one... Over time, if a character stays in the same area, the entire population of the area will grow to dislike the character even if the character gives them no real reason to do so.
• Leveling Up a Pact: Upon gaining a level, a player may choose to level up the character’s Devilish Pact rather than gaining the usual benefits that accrue to the character's class at the new level. No HPs are gained, the chance to hit does not improve, no new spells are learned... a devil requires total devotion from those servants who hope to gain great power. Leveling up the Devilish Pact requires another ritual; each subsequent ritual costs twice as much as the one before.
• Breaking a Pact:  Each devil demands a different form of payment in return for granting a pact boon.  If at any time this payment is not or cannot be made, the pact is broken.  The devil will provide no more services, and depending on the exact terms of the pact made, there may be other consequences of breaking a pact. Death and loss of the immortal soul of a character is a real possibility unless the character was an extremely shrewd negotiator when making the pact in the first place.

Roll 1d8 for random Devilish Pact assignment:
1: Orobas
A Devil who appears as a noble horse or a princely man.  His pact grants limited knowledge of the future, improving AC by a +2 bonus, granting a +1 bonus to hit and the ability once a day to take the better result of two dice throws instead of making a single dice throw.  Orobas tasks those who agree to his pact with uncovering knowledge and secrets and is aware of anything that they observe or experience.

Level 2: Further +1 bonus to AC

Level 3: Further +1 bonus to to hit

Level 4: The ability to ask a question and divine the true response even if the person questioned does not verbally respond.  This ability requires a Charisma attribute attack.

Level 5:  The ability to speak the language of and command lesser devils (5 HD or fewer) while they are within speaking range.  They will follow orders only while within this range.  If they are currently under orders from another, this requires a Willpower attribute attack.

Level 9 (levels 6-8 are required to be dedicated without reward but at no ritual cost to furthering the relationship with Orobas for Level 9 to be attained): The ability to summon devils (4d6 HD a day) and command devils of up 9 HD with no limitations on range or duration. Summoned devils remain until dismissed or killed.

2: Valefor
Normally appearing as a lion with a bellowing ass’s head, Valefor is a sneaky devil who seeks to accumulate great riches.  His pact grants +2 to Dexterity, and the ability to pick locks and pockets at a success rate equal to five times dexterity (this can be modified downwards in exceptionally difficult circumstances as adjudicated by the GM).  Once a day an infernal cloud of darkness can be summoned in a 15’ radius circle surrounding the pact maker (who is the only one capable of seeing in this magical darkness).  Valefor demands 1/4 the total value of all treasure gained using the abilities granted by his pact.  This treasure must be placed inside the inscribed symbol of Valefor within 24 hours of being obtained or the pact is broken.

Level 2: +15% to pick locks and pockets

Level 3: The ability to speak to and give simple commands to vermin (up to rat size)

Level 4: The ability to speak with, give complex commands to and receive back reports from birds (up to crow size)

Level 5:  The ability to climb on vertical surfaces and ceilings like a spider.

Level 6: The ability to automatically open all non-magical locks and have the regular % chance to open even magically sealed locks and wards.

Level 7: The ability to walk through walls of up to 3’ in thickness and to walk on water.

Level 8: The ability to temporarily change the physical composition of a metal into any other metal for 24 hours by touch (affects up to 25 pounds per round of metal, and even very large objects can be affected over multiple rounds)

3: Forneus
Forneus takes the form of a sea-monster, with the exact details of his appearance changing with each summoning.  One feature remains the same; Forneus has a melodious voice and an extremely persuasive speaking manner.  He grants +1 to Charisma and the ability to understand and speak fluently all spoken languages.  Once per day a Charisma Attack may be made to attempt to charm an intelligent target within hearing distance; once charmed, the target will obey all non-suicidal orders.  This charm effect lasts for 24 hours at which time a new Charisma Attack must be made to sustain it or the target is no longer charmed (the target will have full memory of being charmed).  Forneus is a master negotiator; he never fails to secure the rights to the eternal souls of those who sign a pact with him.  Upon the body reaching 0 HP, the soul immediately becomes the property of Forneus rendering all attempts to revive the dead character ineffective.  In addition, animals will be distrustful of and act hostile towards the character even in life.

Level 2: The charm ability may be used twice per day on two different targets.

Level 3: Calm the Mob - once per day, the pact grants the ability to stop all within a 25’ radius from fighting or arguing for 1d6 rounds.  During this time those affected will civilly respond to questions, defend themselves and attack if attacked, but will not initiate hostilities of either the physical or verbal kind for the duration.

Level 4: Silver Tongue - grants the ability to make a Charisma attack against any intelligent target within earshot - a success means that any request that is not patently absurd or directly life threatening will be granted by the target.  The target will instantly rationalize this event and within 1d4 hours will be unable to remember any specifics of the encounter.

Level 5:  The ability to summon and command lesser devils or imps (5 HD or fewer, 2d6 total HD each day).  Summoned devils remain until dismissed or killed.

Level 9 (levels 6-8 are required to be dedicated without reward but at no ritual cost to furthering the relationship with Forneus for Level 9 to be attained): The ability to summon any devil (total of 4d6 HD a day, no other limit on HD of summonable devils) and attempt to negotiate for its services.  This requires a successful Charisma Attack and a successful Willpower Attack.  It also requires an expensive summoning circle (20,000 GP cost) to have any chance of succeeding.  Summoned devils remain until dismissed or killed.

4: Bune
Bune appears as a dragon with one human head and two dragon heads.  He takes a portion of the life essence of those who make a pact with him, resulting in a -2 penalty to Constitution (and resulting permanent loss of 2d6 HP).  He also requires the physical body after death of those who deal with him; when a character who has made a pact with Bune dies, the body is immediately animated as a zombie of HD equal to 1/2 the character’s Constitution (rounded down) and is now controlled by Bune.  Any undead controlled by the character at the time of death are also now controlled by Bune.
Bune grants the ability to animate and control up to 2d6 HD a day of skeletons or zombies.  The maximum number of HD of undead that can be controlled at any one time is 24 HD.  Older creations become free-willed if new undead are animated that put the total amount over 24 HD of undead controlled.  Orders are given telepathically within visual range and will be followed to the ends of the earth.

Level 2: At will, can see through the eyes of any controlled undead and can give telepathic directions with no range limitations now.  In addition, can speak through the mouths of any controlled undead.

Level 3: The ability to speak with a corpse as long as most of its skull is present.  The corpse will answer truthfully but only knows what it knew in life.  Each corpse can be asked 1d6 questions.

Level 4: Up to 4d6 HD a day of skeletons or zombies can be animated and the maximum number of HD of undead that can be controlled at any one time is now 48 HD.

Level 5: Draining Bite - a Reflex Attack can be made to successfully bite a target for 4d6 damage OR 1d6 Strength damage.  Any HP or Strength lost in this manner become temporary HP or Strength for the biter that last for one hour.  Any controlled undead gain the ability to make this attack as well as the character, but only one such attack can be made in any given round regardless of who makes it.  Any target slain by this attack instantly animates as a zombie under the control of the character.

Level 6: Touch of the Grave - any normal melee attack that hits also paralyzes the target for 1d6+1 rounds if they fail a save vs. Death .  Any controlled undead gain the ability to make this attack as well as the character, but only one such attack can be made in any given round regardless of who makes it.

Level 7: The ability to control and command even greater undead such as vampires.  Any greater undead reduced to zero HP by the character or an undead under the character’s control is instantly restored to full HP and is now under the command of the character.  The greater undead’s HD count as normal towards the max number of HD that can be controlled by the character.

Level 8: There is no limit to the total number of HD of undead that can be controlled by the character at any one time.

5: Astaroth/Astarte
Appears most often in male guise as Astaroth, seeming to be a singularly unattractive angel, or sometimes as Astarte, a female form with the head of a young cow.  In either form, a viper is wielded in the left hand as a weapon.  Both forms emit such a foul stench that precautions must be taken to even think coherently in their presence.  Astaroth is a fallen angel who dreams one day of returning to the celestial ranks; he demands one boon from each pact follower, a boon that will surely be claimed some day in an effort to further his plots.  In addition, a pact with Astaroth results in a -1 penalty to Charisma and a permanent foul odor.  Astaroth grants +1d8 extra magical poison damage to all melee or ranged attacks and the ability to emit a 10’ radius noxious cloud at will which has the following effects; all within its radius must Save vs. Poison or flee for 1d4 rounds.  Those that remain take 1d8 poison damage a round and suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls (the character is immune to these effects).  

Level 2: Living Weapon - any single weapon within 20’ turns into a snake and bites its wielder with its wielder’s normal chance to hit, doing 3d8 poison damage.

Level 3: Once a day, Astaroth may be called upon for the correct answer to a “yes or no” question (as adjudicated by the GM).

Level 4: The ability to speak with and understand all serpents and dragons.  A Willpower attack may be made to attempt to charm a serpent or dragon of HD less than 1/2 the character’s Willpower (rounded down) - the charmed ophidian will obey any orders that do not involve surrendering treasure or direct physical harm to itself, and the charm lasts for one week unless renewed.  The total number of charmed serpents or dragons under the control of the character at any one time may not exceed the character’s Willpower.

Level 5: The ability to transform once a day for up to 1d4 hours into a serpent with a colored tail, two small feet, a chestnut neck and spines similar to hedgehog.  In this form (another aspect of Astaroth/Astarte), the character gains a flight speed of 240’ (excellent maneuverability), an AC bonus of +4, the ability to breathe a noxious cloud once every 1d4 rounds that is a cone 30’ long and 10’ at its apex doing 6d6 poison damage (Save vs. Poison for 1/2 damage), and the ability to shoot 1d4 spines a round to a range of 100’ (each requiring a ranged attack roll) that do 3d8 poison damage each.  All personal equipment merges into the new form, which lacks hands and is correspondingly handicapped.

6: Marax
Appearing as a bull with a man’s face, Marax is an extremely learned devil.  He consumes the Willpower of those who deal with him (-2 to Willpower) but grants amazing knowledge of plants, stones and the stars and the ability to synthesize this new information (+1 to Intelligence).  This knowledge allows for brewing of simple healing potions and poisons (1d4 days gathering and preparation required, chance of success equals five times Intelligence, produces 1d6 doses): healing potions cure 1d6 damage per dose and poisons do 3d6 damage/dose if activated on contact, 4d6 damage/dose if introduced through a wound or 5d6 damage/dose if ingested (Save vs. Poison prevents all damage).  The true composition and value of any stone, mineral or gem can be determined with 100% accuracy.  Stars can be used to navigate by with no chance of getting lost, and auspicious dates can be chosen for specific tasks (the GM will determine what the exact benefits of attempting a task on an auspicious date are).

Level 2: Can make a protective plant-based oil using the same rules given for creating potions above; this oil grants a non-cumulative +2 bonus to AC per dose if applied to the skin, clothing or armor and lasts for 1 hour.

Level 3: Can brew a potion of strength using the same rules given above; this potion grants a non-cumulative +4 bonus to Strength per dose and lasts for 1 hour.

Level 4: A powder can be made of crushed gemstones, each dose requiring 500 GP worth of gems in its creation.  This powder when sniffed grants the ability to see and hear the events of the past in the present location of the character as if the last 1d4 years had been recorded from this very vantage point.  This takes total concentration and nothing else can be attempted besides looking into the past.  Finding a specific incident or moment in time farther back than 1 week takes 6d10 minutes, while reviewing the past week takes only six minutes.

Level 5: Can brew a potion of invisibility using the same rules above, this potion renders the imbiber invisible for 1 hour per dose (note this invisibility is not dispelled by attacking).

Level 6: Can brew a potion that raises the dead.  This potion takes rare alchemical and plant ingredients that either cost 5d6 x100 GP or involve an expedition into the wilderness in search of them.  Only one dose at a time may be produced.  The potion must be poured into the mouth of the recently deceased within 24 hours of death, and its chance of success equals five times the Constitution of the deceased.  This potion retains its potency for exactly 12 months from the date of its creation.

7: Seere
Normally seen taking the form of a beautiful man on a winged horse, Seere is an unusually good natured free spirit for a devil.  He requires only the eternal loyalty of those who make a pact with him, and seems to be creating a large loosely organized coalition for some purpose.  Seere may demand a service at some point in exchange for his pact, and if this service is not provided, the pact is broken.  
+1 to Dexterity.  Seere grants a 240’ movement rate across any surfaces or through any conditions, including over water, up a wall or through a bramble patch.  This increased speed results in one extra attack a round.  Seere also grants the ability to escape from any non-magical bonds in 1d4 rounds.

Level 2: A single charging melee attack can be made against a target at least 10’ away.  This attack does triple normal damage.  If the attack is successful, the character can continue to move up to her full movement rate away without prompting a return attack.
Level 3: Seere grants an instinctual knowledge of the presence of precious metals or gems.  The more valuable the item, the farther away this presence can be felt (10’ per 100 GP of value as a rough rule of thumb).  The general direction in a straight line to the item is known.  This ability does not require concentration, as soon as the pact maker enters within the radius that a valuable item could be felt in, she is aware of its presence and has a relative idea of its composition, value and distance.
Level 4: +1 to Dexterity, the ability to run on air as if it were solid ground, and the ability to make a charging attack against two separate opponents in a single round.  These are Dexterity attacks and if successful they do 2d6 damage and knock the wind out of the target, stunning them for 1d4 rounds.

8: GaapGaap only appears at high noon and in the guise of a mighty human king.  He demands constant sacrifices and burnt offerings to be made in his honor at noon of every fifth day.  If these offerings are late or do not meet with Gaap’s approval, he may appear to exact a terrible price (1 in 6 chance, GM adjudicates what happens when Gaap visits - the first time should be a truly memorable “warning”).  Those who make a pact with Gaap have their passions of love and anger intensified.  +2 to Charisma and Strength, -2 to Willpower.  Those meeting the pact maker’s eyes must make a Save vs. Magic to disobey anything they are told to do (obviously suicidal or other extremely out of the ordinary requests may grant the victim a second Save vs. Magic to resist the order at the GM’s discretion).  The pact maker sees the world clearly in black and white, either loving something or hating it.  A Charisma attack may be made during an opponent’s turn, once before the beginning of the character’s next turn, against a target that is attacking a comrade of the pact maker.  If this Charisma attack is successful, the target takes 1d6 damage and its attack against the comrade fails.  The devotee of Gaap may call out one enemy by name at a time as the special target of her wrath.  Melee attacks against the Wrath Target receive +2 to hit and do double damage.  

Level 2:  The Wrath Target is magically held in place, unable to move in any direction but still able to attack and defend.  A frenzy of four Strength attacks may be made against the Wrath Target for 3d6 damage each.

Level 3:  The pact maker can pass strength on to a loved comrade, healing by laying on hands for 3d6 HP.  This ability can only be used on each comrade once per day.

Level 4: The pact maker can instantly teleport to the side of any loved one or hated enemy no matter the intervening distance and without knowing the current whereabouts of the person.

Level 5: +2 to Strength.  A frenzy of six Strength attacks may be made against the Wrath Target for 4d6 damage each.  The Devotee of Gaap must make a Willpower attack against Gaap (21 Willpower) when Gaap appears during the ritual to attain this Level 5 power.  If this attack fails, the pact maker loses touch with reality and becomes drunk with the power of Gaap.  At the beginning of any melee, the pact maker must roll under their Willpower on 3d6 or she will make a randomly determined target her Wrath Target and proceed to focus her attacks on that target (friend or foe).  At the GM’s discretion, other events may also trigger this same uncontrolled aggression, such as improper sacrifices to Gaap or a willingness to use the Anger powers granted by Gaap more than the helpful powers fueled by the emotion of Love.