Thursday, May 28, 2015

Bujilli: Episode 131

Previously...
Bujilli and Leeja watch as two aristorcratic Cameleopards and their Blue Emu hench-bird have crossed through the mirror-aperture to a place where there is a strange four-handed clock that might just be from Tsan Yian...and out past the perimeter something Voorish is moving through the murk as though hunting after the scent of prey...

Off in the distance, farther than either could see, someone was ringing a pair of sonorous bells through a ragged melody that Leeja could only half-remember. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite recall where she had heard such a thing previously. The sound reminded Bujilli of the tinkly little bells his mother's people tied to the bodies they placed out for sky-burial high up in the mountains surrounding their villages...but this wasn't a random sort of sound. It was rhythmic, repetitious, deliberate.

Bujilli chose to focus on the mirror-aperture and what lie beyond. It appeared to be some sort of palace. Diaphanous silk hangings fluttered in a gentle breeze between elegantly-faceted pillars of alabaster, onyx and malachite. A swarm of little Efts wheeled and cavorted through the upper air, shedding a soft, if slightly wavering bluish light across everything.

The Cameleopards casually strolled towards the large four-handed clock mounted within some sort of casket-cabinet fashioned from rich, dark wood and sturdy red-gold fixtures. They both were obviously impressed with the workmanship involved in crafting such a marvelous bit of furniture.

Bujilli strained to listen to the Cameleopards.

No sound passed through the aperture.

He could watch, but he could not listen-in on their conversation. Nor could he warn them, not without crossing-over himself. He considered it, but something bothered him about the clock. He held back.

That clock was marked-out in Tsannic glyphs. The numerals were in the style used by the peoples of Tsan Yian; the cruel empire where Bujilli's estranged father Lyhydris was a petty lord.

He remembered very vividly what had happened when he had attempted to cast one of his father's Tsannic spells*...

Bujilli and Leeja watched as the Cameleopards vigorously discussed various features and aspects of the strange clock while long-suffering Molimer the Blue Emu shifted his grip on the werm-glaive and kept watch over his patrons.

Orange light gleamed around the edges of the mirror-aperture forming a crisp rectangle amidst the swirling murk. Leeja noticed that the light radiated outwards like rippling waves, casting her and Bujilli's shadows outwards into the murkiness. She did not like letting the light make them more visible, but there wasn't much she could do about it as long as they stayed there looking through the mirror-aperture.

Off in the distance a girl laughed loudly then began to recite some sort of bad poetry only to have her oddly-echoing voice drowned-out by a fluttering flock of some sort of chittering gibbering things. Unlike the masks they had seen earlier, these things made a heavier flapping noise with what was most likely very large wings.

"Could that be The Hollow Girl?" Leeja wiped away a slight trace of blood from her upper lip. The Voorish thing had veered closer to their position, but didn't seem to be coming directly at them. Yet.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Bujilli studied the ornate clock. Each of the four hands moved around the circumference of the mechanism in a manner that suggested something important, something his father had mentioned in passing within one of his Little Brown Journals.

"Do you want to go through this aperture?" Leeja scowled. She could see the thing fade and slowly withdraw back into itself. Wherever it led to on the other-side, she wasn't sure she wanted to get stuck there, even with Bujilli's Synchronocitor. There never were any guarantees that such a device might work, especially if the rules or laws of nature were even slightly different over there.

The third hand struck thirty-six.


*See Episode 13...

Meanwhile...
Doktor Oorgram closed the file and sealed it with the regulation blue wax and yellow ribbon according to current protocol. This work of degenerate literature was supposed to be transcribed into Franzik, either the Western or Southern forms, but the file-sleeve had been mis-labelled. The contents were partly in Tsalalian, with a section in Old Pruztian and a third part cut up and re-pasted into some sort of jumbled cipher that could only be resolved visually. He recognized the cipher from his second year at Art School in Drunstadt, before the war, prior to his forced-conscription into the military and his being placed into the Imperial Aesthetic Evaluation and Revision Kommand. It was the sort of thing he had dabbled in himself, in kinder, gentler times. Now he marked it for destruction before the watch-roach on his desk noticed his hesitation...



Fractals slithered into a radically new arrangement along the edge of the mirror-aperture and Bujilli was forced back by something much like a pressure front. The squiggling, curling, coiling clouds of light went suddenly rigid and angular and dark.

"Scheiss! something's happening to the aperture--"

"VODORM. KasLANK. Ulj."

Red glyphs of warning flared at the periphery of Bujilli's field of vision. He could feel some power from the other side forcing the mirror-aperture open in preparation for locking it into place.

A tall, narrow almost humanoid figure strode across the marble tiles.

It wore a strange, flat bronze mask of sorts.

Or rather the mask wore it.

Bujilli pushed the aperture as hard as he could manage, using his mind, his will to make it roll along its axis once more. Orange light flickered about him, skittered and scattered out into the murk like a swarm of bats trying to escape into the night.

"What's happening?" Leeja drew her hand-axe and started to run through her repertoire of spells, as meager as her selection might be.

He couldn't speak. Everything had to go into getting the aperture spinning again, so it could close, so it would spin itself out of existence the way it was intended. Sweat poured from his skin. his muscles spasmed and fought against phantom impressions and false signals. Then it got worse.

Bujilli screamed. Fell to his knees in wave after wave of rapidly accelerating vibration that threatened to tear him to pieces. He fought to remain conscious. forced himself to keep pushing at the aperture along its axis despite the agony. He felt his grip on the mirror-aperture slipping. Slip. Rip away with a vast rushing cacophony of wind and vibration that crashed into silence.

Rollok's head plopped to the ground where the mirror-aperture wasn't. The monocle rolled off into the murk.

The aperture was closed. Gone. The way to Yian-Ho had been sealed successfully...more or less.

Leeja helped Bujilli back onto his feet. He wobbled slightly, but could remain standing on his own.

It had been an intense effort.

"What was that...thing...on the other-side?"

"One of the Arkash-Tal. Servitor-Guardians who were once alive, once somewhat human, but are neither of those things any longer. They keep watch over certain proscribed places..."

"Like that palace we saw."

"Yes."

"The passage, the aperture-thing; it is closed now?"

"Yes."

"Good. I suggest we get moving. There's been a goodly amount of noise and sorcerous turmoil here to attract gods only know what."

"I agree. Which way do you want to go?"



What should they do next? Which direction should they go?

You Decide!


Synchronocitor Status: Fully Recharged.


Roll for Initiative!
Someone please roll 1d6 for 1) Bujilli, 2) Leeja, 3) Whatever else is out there that they might meet up with...

Which Direction?
Do you want Bujilli & Leeja to go take a look at the spot where they think the Hollow Girl was supposed to be, according to the testimony of the Jub-Jub Birds? Or would it be a better idea to go get a look at that Voorish thing that seems to be meandering about the place, if only to get the drop on it before it notices them? perhaps they should head back towards the undulating wave-things or go off into the surrounding forest. They might instead head away from the Voorish thing either deeper into the surrounding gloom or towards a rockier, more rugged area that seems to be parallel to the wooded region they are in already. they could try to find their way back to the spot where they originally entered this space...but that might prove far more difficult than expected, if in fact it is even possible. Or they could try to use the Synchronocitor and see where it might take them this time. Whichever direction is up to you readers. You decide!

Roll for Possible Observation.
Please roll 1d6 and let me know the result. If you get a 1, there is a bonus Random Encounter. If you get a 6, then the encounter is from the other side of another mirror-aperture.

Optional Spot Mirror Roll. (1d30)
We'll also need another d30 roll to determine if Bujilli or Leeja spot yet another mirror in the distance. A result of 10 means maybe/it isn't clear, a result of 20 means that there seems to be a mirror in a random direction, but it looks closed/shuttered; and a result of 30 means that they spot a mirror in the distance that might be open and accessible...or at least whatever they are seeing appears that way from a distance. A result of 1 means something else mirror-related happens, possibly some sort of environmental effect or shift in the surrounding terrain...

What Should They Do Next?

You Decide!

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Monday, May 25, 2015

Angstiverm (Monster Mondays)

Angstiverm
Hit Dice: 2+
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 Sting (1d4+Poison)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Poison (see below)
Move: 4/16 (swimming)
Alignment: Neutral
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Drab and unremarkable sightless werms coated in a stale-smelling mucous, Angstiverms wriggle and squiggle through brackish bodies of water, delve-bogs, tunnel-marshes, buried lakes and the like. They are not truly aquatic, only taking to the water as it allows them better movement and more opportunity to find prey. Unlucky adventurers can sometimes find these things infesting the carcasses of dead basilisks or other such creatures. Their favorite lurking places tend to be pits, especially those dug as traps in old tombs or the like. There they wait patiently, burrowed into the mucky bottom layer of filth and debris for someone to get stuck and then they strike.


The venom of Angstiverms induces extreme boredom, causing the victim who fails their Save to lose their natural healing ability (no hit points recovered naturally), not be able to sleep, and to lose the ability to concentrate, memorize things, or cast spells for the next 1d4 days.

Angstiverms take double damage from fire or acid, but if so attacked they release a toxic heavier-than-air green miasma that causes 1d4 damage per turn that persists for 1d6 hours.




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Friday, May 22, 2015

Petty Gods Now Available!


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Thursday, May 21, 2015

Bujilli: Episode 130

Previously...
Bujilli and Leeja have left the undulating gronking-wave-beast-thing behind to go examine a mirror-aperture. They are curious as to where it might lead and what they might learn from it...

Leeja stopped with a low-toned hiss. Her claws were out. Her hair lashed about her like a halo of angry white cats.

"What is it?"

"The Vooric influence--it's moving."

"Is it coming this way?"

"I...don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. Whatever it is, I think it is hunting, searching after something...or someone..."

"Scheiss." Bujilli shifted his awareness to better discern the strange vibrations and ripples of things moving in the near aethyrial.

Biting green light shimmered across the murk, lashing outward and upward in a yowling frenzy.

"What is--"

"Do you really want to stick around and find out?"

"No. Let's go check out the mirror that's opening up. We might need some sort of exit sooner rather than later."

"It'll at least give us an option. I like having options."

A swarm of masks screamed and howled as it fluttered overhead in a looping spiral led by a glowing green face that pointedly ignored them.

The surrounding murk grew dimmer, thicker, colder as they walked away from the undulating wave-beast-thing. Drops of water condensed out of the swirling mist, lightly dampening their hair and slowly soaking their clothes.

Vast, black trees loomed out of the fogginess. they appeared almost hollow, like tubular shadows or the filmy remains of trees long absent.

The trees became a copse. A grove. A forest. Dark and dismal with wet, black limbs swaying out of step with the prevailing breezes.

Behind them, farther than either could see, someone was ringing a pair of sonorous bells through a ragged melody that they seemed to only half-remember.

Orange light gleamed just ahead. Angular and sharp-edged, crisp in the midst of the billowing fog...



Meanwhile...
Alphonse let the three little gnawed-bone charms dangle from his fingertips as he closed the door. One was from a rat, one of the big, brainy-things from the warrens along Curwen Street. He could tell by the runes growing out in ossified ridges along its length. The other two were from birds, probably penguins, with Tsalalian giggle-glyphs daubed sloppily across one another in three kinds of paint. Cheap things. But effective enough. Against tiny things. Like little folk from within the walls. Just to be safe, he added a fourth charm to the set. The naacal-incised curled lead curse tablet wrapped around a length of yellowish ape-sinew would discourage unwelcome visitations or observations...



"I thought it would be bigger."

"It's a mirror. We're lucky it isn't some spoiled princesses' hand-mirror."

"True. But what do we do now?" Leeja shivered as she looked about the place. It was rife with opportunities for ambush--all of them easily used against them by whomever or whatever might be out there.

Bujilli stepped up to the mirror-aperture and examined it. He had read a few things about mirrors in his Uncle's collection of grimoires and texts, but it had never been anything he had delved into in any real detail. Now he wished he had.

One side of the aperture was warmer than the other. If he let his eyes go out of focus, he could almost discern some vague impressions of a room of some sort, one with a balcony and the mirror in that room was facing out toward the balcony and a starry night sky.

The opposite side of the aperture was dimmer, colder and hurt his eyes when he tried to look at it.

Bujilli considered his repertoire of spells. He cast a minor spell* that let him sense  whether there were any thinking minds present on the other side of the mirror-aperture in the room beyond. Nothing. At least nothing he could recognize as a mind he could relate to in any meaningful way.

He cast another spell**, this one let him look into the space past the aperture. Rich tapestries, overstuffed cushions, censers emitting sinuous trails of incense smoke, glittering gems scuttled across a band of heavily-carved dark wood set over ten feet above the polished marble floors...

"It's some sort of mansion or palace..."

A cluster of Efts swam through the night air shedding a soft green light as they went on their way. The carpets in this place were thick and exquisite and had all sorts of strange geometrical figures woven into them by expert hands. Diaphanous, filmy curtains of silk fluttered gently in a slight breeze...

"Can you open the way?"

He considered the aperture using his sorcerously augmented sight. It resembled a sort of vacuole, like one might discover in the fossilized remains of an Orbiculate. He'd read about such a thing in one of his Uncles less cryptic scrolls. Smooth, slightly curving; the passage was rotating slowly...

"Yes. I think I can..."

"Good. Then you might want to consider doing so--we have company."

"Who?" Bujilli examined the artery-like passage connecting back through the aperture to the mirror in some exotic locale far from anywhere he'd ever been before. Fractals slithered across the hyperfolded skin of the thing like a type of weather...

"Two very tall quadrupeds, one of whom is wearing a monocle. They have a large, blue bird with them. The bird is armed with a glaive of some sort...it looks like it might be alive, or at least wriggling somewhat. I don't like the looks of them."

"As far as I can tell, there's no one in the immediate area on the other side. I can try to open the way through the mirror, but I don't know what will happen--I've never done this before. The passage might collapse, or it might remain open and allow these newcomers to follow us, if they are so inclined."

"Or..."

"Or what?"

"What if we offer them the chance to use the passage? you could open it for them and that would let you observe how it reacts, without having to go through it yourself." Leeja drew out her hand-axe. whoever these new-comers might be, they were drawing very near, very quickly.

"An interesting proposition. Ah. There. I have it. I can open the way into this other place now--"

"What have we here Jasko?" The monocle-wearing Cameleopard lowered its head to give Bujilli and the mirror-aperture a better look-see.

"The damp little monkey appears to have captured the backside of a mirror, my good Rollok."

"Indeed. Whatever for?"

"No good says I." Grumbled the large, blue emu in a heavy leather apron set with square rivets. The blade of his glaive seemed composed of compressed metallic, writhing, wriggling things. Werms of some sort.

"I was curious..."

"Ah. Of course. that's understandable. You wanted to see what was on the other side and like any good monkey you thrust your paw through the hole to grope about for some kernels of rice or some such."

"That is how they trap monkeys you know."

"This one has no tail. Not much of a monkey if it doesn't have a tail." the Blue Emu scratched himself in disdain.

"So what have you discovered little not-monkey?" Rollok squinted to look into the mirror-aperture through his monocle to no avail.

"Yes! Tell us!" Jasko moved closer, as though to sniff the mirror.

"I think it is a palace of some sort..."

"A palace! How wonderful!"

"Will you be visiting this palace? Or are you more of a voyeur, perhaps you're more interested in peeping-in on this potentate's harem? Eh?"

"We'd be willing to let you go take a look if you'd like..." Leeja smiled sweetly at the trio of strange entities.

"An interesting notion. Hmmm...."

"What an intriguing opportunity..."

"I don't like it--"

"Shush Molimer. You need not be so negative. I think it could be a pleasant diversion."

"Indeed. Yes. Please open the way for us to go forth and explore this palace you've discovered."

Bujilli reached into the orange light of the aperture. His Counsel guiding him as he shifted the subtle flows of energies he could work with and avoiding contract with those streams or fluctuations dreadful or deadly to touch. He gently coaxed the artery-like passage to dilate as it rolled along its axis.

Faceted pillars of alabaster and onyx and some strange greenish stone, possibly a type of malachite, held up three overlapping series of delicate arches that unfurled like flowers into a deeply-groined ceiling overhead. A soft, warm wind teased his nose with a peculiar fragrance that was both earthy and spicy, wonderfully aromatic but altogether unfamiliar...

POP!

The way was open.

The two aristocratic Cameleopards and their muttering Blue Emu henchmen strode through the aperture. They wasted no time in setting about examining and critiquing everything they saw, including the massive, ornately carved casket...no...not a casket...not a coffin...a clock...a clock with four hands...the rim etched in Tsannic glyphs...

Something vast and ancient and implacable stirred in deep places below those glistening marble tiles.

Bujilli felt his grip on the mirror-aperture slipping...


* ESP, Labyrinth Lord, page 31.
** Clairvoyance, LL p. 28.


What should they do next?

You Decide!


Synchronocitor Status: Fully Recharged.


Roll for Initiative!
Someone please roll 1d6 for 1) Bujilli, 2) Leeja, 3) The two Cameleopards and 4) Molimer the Blue Emu. Molimer gets a +2 bonus to being a grizzled veteran. Rollok and Jasko, the two Cameleopards suffer a -3 penalty each, as they are entirely caught-up in their explorations and especially their running commentary...

Close the aperture or Follow After?
Do you want Bujilli & Leeja to go through the mirror-aperture? Or should Bujilli attempt to warn the three creatures about what he feels/suspects? Or would it be better to just close the aperture before anything happens? Or it might be possible to hold the aperture open and observe what takes place on the other side...at least for a little bit longer. You decide!

Roll for Possible Observation.
Please roll 1d6 and let me know the result. If you get a 1, there is a bonus Random Encounter. If you get a 6, then the encounter is from the other side of the mirror-aperture.

Optional Spot Mirror Roll. (1d30)
We'll also need another d30 roll to determine if Bujilli or Leeja spot yet another mirror in the distance. A result of 10 means maybe/it isn't clear, a result of 20 means that there seems to be a mirror in a random direction, but it looks closed/shuttered; and a result of 30 means that they spot a mirror in the distance that might be open and accessible...or at least whatever they are seeing appears that way from a distance. A result of 1 means something else mirror-related happens, possibly some sort of environmental effect or shift in the surrounding terrain...

What Should They Do Next?

You Decide!

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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

& Magazine Issue 11

Would you want to drink a beer with this guy?

& Magazine
Link: http://www.and-mag.com/
Download it HERE.
Download the other Ten Free Issues HERE.
Discuss it at: & Magazine Forums at OSR Gaming


& Magazine is primarily devoted to 1st Edition AD&D, but a great deal of the content can be ported over to any other edition and quite a few other systems without too much trouble. There are a good variety of maps, monsters, scenarios and more in every issue and it just keeps getting better.


Issue 11 of & Magazine is devoted to Humanoids, with four feature articles focusing on goblinoids, orcs and humanoid societies with two bonus articles that explore an alternative non-spell-casting version of the Ranger class and a look at the extended family of Sphinxes. Then you get a bunch of maps, numerous magical items, spells (including Kobold spells), an examination of the Ogre Mage (with a follow-up piece discussing undead ogre mages), a couple of mini-adventures and a hexcrawl, plus a recipe for 'fusion chicken.'

First off, the two TSR-Blue maps by M. W. Poort/Fingolwyn could easily get added onto B2: Keep on the Borderlands or one of the other classic modules. A DM can always use nice maps of small castles or keeps. Good stuff.

There are some pretty decent magic items sprinkled throughout the pages of this issue. The Portable Tunnel in particular is a nifty magic item and could open up some interesting alternative adventuring opportunities.

Getting More Mileage From Goblinoids presents a way to break past the lingering impression that goblins, etc. are simply dumb brutes. I rarely run these creatures as dummies, but quite a lot of people do, so this article might help change a few minds...or not. Personally, I am not a fan of lumping all creatures of a specific type, say Ettins for example, into one fixed category in terms of overall intelligence. Sure, a large number of them might be of low intelligence, but there could be a few exceptions...otherwise it begins to make one wonder just how these things could ever survive. In my experience, the dumber monsters can be fun from time to time, either as comedic relief or  a distraction, but the more intelligent things are the most frightening. They set traps, learn from previous encounters, and sometimes decide to get pro-active and hunt down those filthy adventurers that have been harassing their folk. But that's just an opinion, based on a particular approach and play-style, and by no means the only option, nor even necessarily the best. This article offers an approach worth considering and hopefully it will spark some discussion or equally well thought-out feedback. There's certainly plenty of room for alternative approaches and other ideas and it would be interesting to see some sort of follow-up to this piece that explored this matter from another perspective.

Humanoid Society offers some good insights as to why the various goblinoids have shamans or witchdoctors, how their societies are structured and what makes them able to continue operating, let alone competing with the other societies. Mr. L also does a good job of addressing the often misunderstood Alignment aspect of these (and many other) creatures. Chaotic isn't necessarily stupid and evil beings still have to raise their young and eat regularly if they're going to survive. The expanded information for handling Leaders as well as the new spells for shamans and witchdoctors are pretty useful.

Points of View offers up two pages of ideas for freshening-up a game with a number of examples drawn from world history, biology and Star Trek. New DMs and worldbuilders might particularly find this a helpful jumping-off point for some inspiration.

Reviving the Lowly Orc presents two new variant-versions of orcs that are a little bit different. Both versions are interesting, and are presented alongside some suggestions for tactics and ideas for integrating these critters into an ongoing campaign. The Bloodcaps are a more elite sort of warrior-orc, while the Soul-bound orcs would really fit in well alongside the other servants and followers of an unscrupulous necromancer or the like, especially with their built-in 'advancement-through-fratricide' quality. The right person, in the right place at the right time could really stir up some serious trouble with these creatures...and they provide a great challenge for a bard of all things. A bard might get them to kill their fellows in order to grow more powerful, which could be a good short-term solution...but would then lead to a bigger, stronger monster to deal with afterwards. Good stuff.

The variant Ranger class drops the spells and expands on their tracking ability, offering a set of modifiers to handle nearly any terrain and the most obvious environmental factors. This version is a little beefier as well, making it a fighter who hunts more than a mystical woodsmen. If you don't like letting Rangers use spells, then it's worth taking a look at this alternative approach.

The Extended Family of Sphinxes article was another high-point to this issue. Integrating the Lamia, Lammasu, Manticore, Shedu all into the Sphinx family tree is a great idea, The Apsasu and Umbral sphinx are nice additions to the group as well. Are Lammacores and Shedua far behind?

Creature Feature focuses on the Ecology of the Ogre Magi, including the undead version. Part One begins with some entertaining fiction, then gets into the nitty-gritty details of converting the 'off the shelf' version of the ogre magi into a slightly more refined and elegant creature, the Oni. This is a nice revision to a classic beast and opens up some good opportunities for nefarious plots and so forth--the Oni could give the Rakshasa a run for their money. A covert shadow-war between gangs being manipulated behind the scenes by Oni and Rakshasa masters could make for some interesting adventures.

There is a 2-page piece describing an Ogre Berserker Company...and it is pretty good. It also includes an undead ogre berserker, just in case, like for those special occasions when extreme undead ogre mayhem is called for.

Leomund's Long Coats was one of my personal favorite articles in the entire issue. These are some very useful magic items that players are going to demand once they read about them.

Spell-Caster's Paradise I & II reveal some nasty-useful Kobold Shaman spells and a magic item that can be used to unlock a series of new, variant versions of some classic spells.

Tactical Magic expands upon Appendix P from the DMG in order to build a more robust and varied process for randomly rolling-up spells and magic items for pre-gen (or other) characters. There are some good ideas here, and it's an interesting piece, building on the bones of the DMG to create something useful.

Brewmaster: Games Within Games presents a few new games of chance to try out the next time your party of adventurers heads over to the local tavern.

Blues for a Red Sun is an interesting scenario centered upon a small ruined temple in an oasis. Boalisks, sandmen, and some wicked undead creatures lurk beneath the sands. I could see swapping-out the main antagonists for mummies, especially spell-casting mummies, to make it even nastier...but it is pretty challenging as-is. Oh, and this is part of a larger complex, so I'd definitely like to see what happens in the next installment.

The Grym Grove features a faerie circle, needlemen, 'grym trolls,' freshwater skrags and a dracolich. It all hangs together pretty well and could easily serve as the backbone of a series of adventures for a group trying to track down whatever happened to that badly wounded green dragon no one has seen in a while. A few rumors, a cranky sage or scholar who is convinced that the dragon is in fact deceased and that its amassed treasure is just waiting to get looted, and this all clicks right into place.

Two Shores and Torjetty Regions are a pair of hexes lifted from the author's campaign and presented as something you can either adopt or adapt as you will. The maps for each of the hexes are hand-drawn in colored pencil, which reminded me of Tim Short's Random Maps over at Gothridge Manor...maybe Tim might consider contributing one of his maps to these guys in the future. I think that would be cool.

There are a few variant potions and a recipe for 'fusion chicken,' which I just might have to try out. How many RPG-zines contain recipes? I think & Magazine is unique in this respect.

The For Further Reading section in  the back is a nice idea...I don't do Facebook, so it wasn't particularly useful for me, but I'm sure it will come in handy for someone else who wanders through that particular digital walled garden. The follow-up section details all the places and spaces out on the web where you can locate or connect with the & Magazine producers and community. They're all over the place...

Okay. So that's a quick run down on everything that is in this issue. There's a lot of good stuff in there, and it's all free, so go download a copy!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The Manor, Issue 8

Go Get It!
Issue 8 of The Manor is available in print via Lulu (for $2.50) and for free at RPGNow in pdf-format.

In this issue you get an old school grappling system ideal for tavern brawls, a sneak peek into Trey Causey's Strange Stars, some tips for making hirelings more interesting & useful, as well as a set of eight magical torches, and some stuff for Torchbearer.

Denis from over at Northport has a couple of nice hireling illustrations in this issue.

That's a lot of good stuff packed into just 26 pages.

Great Stuff!
While you're clicking over to get your copy of The Manor be sure to check out Tim short's mini-classic The Flayed King, also available for free at RPGNow. It's a great little adventure and well worth checking it out.


Wermspittle: Orlando Syndrome

We may take advantage of this pause in the narrative to make certain statements. Orlando had become a woman — there is no denying it. But in every other respect, Orlando remained precisely as he had been. The change of sex, though it altered their future, did nothing whatever to alter their identity. Their faces remained, as their portraits prove, practically the same. His memory — but in future we must, for convention's sake, say 'her' for 'his,' and 'she' for 'he' — her memory then, went back through all the events of her past life without encountering any obstacle. Some slight haziness there may have been, as if a few dark drops had fallen into the clear pool of memory; certain things had become a little dimmed; but that was all. The change seemed to have been accomplished painlessly and completely and in such a way that Orlando herself showed no surprise at it. Many people, taking this into account, and holding that such a change of sex is against nature, have been at great pains to prove (1) that Orlando had always been a woman, (2) that Orlando is at this moment a man. Let biologists and psychologists determine. It is enough for us to state the simple fact; Orlando was a man till the age of thirty; when he became a woman and has remained so ever since...
Orlando
Virginia Woolf



Perhaps there is something in the water. There could easily be some sort of chemical taint, some bizarre pollutant or low-grade toxin at work. One cistern is overgrown with Red Weeds, another is polluted by Spectral Brine from the Corruption Trade and a third is known to be so foul that a mere few drops are deadly poison. And who knows what twisted things the Murkim or the Tsugrin, let alone the Vinkin or those despicable Pruztian Scientists have done in the course of their brutal experiments and mad interrogations.

It remains to be determined if it is some sort of sexually-transmitted disease, or it might prove to be yet another effect brought on by the lingering taint in the Low Lands. So far the Physicians and pharmacists, surgeons and charlatans alike have not been able to arrive at a conclusive or convincing answer. There are dozens of earnest, thoughtful, even deeply considered hypotheses currently being tested and explored, but few reliable results that lead anywhere.

It could be a curse of some sort, of course. Wermspittle has been accursed, anathematized, and damned by a host of religious authorities ranging from the Ecclesiastic Masters of the Achuin Empire on down to myriads of cranky, creepy cults exiled to the Near Deeps or clustered about tiny make-shift shrines off in some alley. But the lingering maledictions of the Achuinites and the muttered imprecations of starving prophets and raving madmen tend to cancel themselves out, more or less, if you believe what the Midwives and Minstrels whisper or rhyme in the dark. Fools and poets debate the morality of such things and drunkards rail against an unnatural violation of their rights, but opinions are cheap and none of it matters.

No one really knows the root cause, but everyone is aware of the inevitable effect.

Upon reaching puberty the people of Wermspittle run the risk of spontaneously switching genders overnight. Apparently, according to the Midwives, there's only a 20-30% chance of the change actually happening, though there are numerous mitigating and complicating factors, all of which they will discuss with those concerned for a suitable fee. It is also believed that the older one gets, the lower the chances of the change happening and if it hasn't taken place by the time you've reached thirty or thereabouts it might not happen at all...but as with all such things there are numerous caveats and considerations...



Source of InspirationOrlando by Virginia Woolf, which you can read about at Wikipedia, or actually read the thing yourself for free via Project Gutenberg Australia, or purchase a copy via Amazon or watch the movie with Tilda Swinton. There's nothing to be afraid of...it isn't contagious, that we know...

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Alien Meddlers: The Rugalli for White Star


RUGALLI
ARMOR CLASS
6 [13]
HIT DICE
3
TOTAL HIT BONUS
+3
ATTACKS
By weapon
SAVING THROW
16
SPECIAL
Regeneration, Healing Touch, Rejection Protocol
Movement
12
HDE/XP
00/00


Rugalli are ancient beings who wander through space aboard a few heavily colonized rogue planets and moon-ships. They do not employ FTL-drives, preferring to coast along for centuries as they focus on medical research and biological experimentation. Famous and much sought after for their healing abilities, the Rugalli have accomplished incredible feats of medical science well beyond the norm of most space-faring species. 

Rugalli regenerate 1 hit point per turn and can restore 1d4 hit points to anyone they touch once per hour. Any cyborgs or those with technological implants who are touched by a Rugalli automatically take 1d6 points of damage and must make a Saving Throw or find one piece of cybernetic technology rejected and expelled from their bodies as a living replacement takes its place.


Monday, May 11, 2015

Zagmus

Zagmus
Hit Dice: 2+
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 4 Tentacle-Stings (1 hp each)
Saving Throw: 13
Special: Immune to Fire, Dissolve Organics.
Move: 9
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 6/400

Distorted and deranged creations of a Pestimancer, the Zagmus wanders about blindly in search of prey. Their tentacles end in stubby stingers that emit a viscous yellowish fluid that causes all organic matter it touches to dissolve so the nasty thing can then slurp up the sloppy mess it makes.

Anyone taking more than six points of damage in a single encounter with a Zagmus must make a Save or lose either 1 point of CHAR or DEX, player's choice, due to the disfiguring effects of its dissolving attack. Magical healing will restore this loss, but mundane efforts will be to no avail.




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Friday, May 8, 2015

Scuttlers for Petty Gods

Scuttlers are a servitor-species of minions who can be found in Expanded Petty Gods...which is rapidly nearing completion. We're looking forward to it!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Bujilli: Episode 129

Previously...
Bujilli and Leeja watch a quickly escalating squabble between three Jub-Jub Birds from atop a gronking undulating dune-wave-beast-thing...

Blood spattered upwards in a glistening slow-motion arc. Two of the Jub-Jub Birds squawked angrily as they drew back from their one-time compatriot who waved a glass knife about in its left-claw. One of them attempted to calm down their friend only to get slashed superficially. The knife-wielding bird screamed hoarsely. Jabbed wildly. The other two withdrew some more.

"Look." Leeja pointed to the crazed Jub-Jub Bird.

Satisfied at the distance they'd driven-off its fellows, the bird pulled some sort of necklace over its head. Slim yellow-metal chain-links connected to a lozenge-like pectoral of some sort of blackish metal. A large, flat, square-cut ruby smoldered malevolently at the center of the thing.

Bujilli felt the gem notice him. It was like being punched in the middle of his brain.

It reminded him of the Gem of Muktra...that lying, conniving gemstone that held some sort of spirit or synthetic mentality that had manipulated him and tried to get him to carry out its schemes and plans. He'd discovered the Gem as a child. he'd abandoned it long ago and far away.

He looked to Leeja; "Did you feel--"

She stared at him. Blood ran down from her nose.

 "That 'trinket' is a Vooric thing." She pulled out her serrated short sword and hand-gonne.

Bujilli looked back to the birds. Two of them were hopping, skipping and running toward the gronking-undulant-thing. towards Bujilli and Leeja. The mad bird with the glass knife shook itself in rage then began to pursue them, emitting a blood-curdling warbling-gabbling series of clucks punctuated by vicious snaps of its sharp beak.

"They're coming this way."



Meanwhile...
Joy stopped at the side of the little bridge. Little ripples shivered across the cold water below. Minnows nibbling at weeds. It was a beautiful day, despite the rain clouds and intermittent artillery off in the distance. She had reached the pasture without further incident. The cave wasn't far from here...



One Jub-Jub Bird seized upon the other and used them to vault up onto the gronking-thing. Its long, spindly legs sent it high into the gloom as it frantically flapped its much too small wings to give it as much lift as possible.

Grimly determined, Leeja stalked toward the ruby-wearing bird with the glass knife.

The Bird landed twenty feet or so behind Bujilli and Leeja with a squawk.

The fallen bird, that its friend had used to launch itself to safety, reared up out of the murk and low-hanging fog in a flurry of feathers and imprecations.

The glass knife erupted from its throat in a sizzling cloud of blood and acid.

Bujilli grabbed Leeja by the shoulder. She hissed in anger but held her place, but only just barely. He stepped in front of her and cast Wrathful Facade. Normally it took more time to implement, but he sacrificed some of his vitality to quick-cast the spell.

Greenish tendrils of shimmering light swirled into place, molding the features of some sort of malign entity dredged from the deepest, darkest fears of the Jub-Jub Bird. For a moment Bujilli regretted not being able to clearly discern the face he now wore, but only for a passing second. Then he cast Confusion on the bird.

The ruby flared and sputtered with violent red sparks of rage. Bujilli held forth his hand and made a gesture of dismissal, one of the Tsannic gestures he'd seen in one of his father's Little Brown Journals. It wasn't a spell, but it worked; the Gem sputtered and faltered, which was enough for the Confusion spell to affect it as well as its host.

Screaming madly, the Jub-Jub Bird plunged headlong and heedless into the murksome mess surrounding them, quickly becoming a faint red glimmer that was lost.

"Well done sir." Chortled the surviving Jub-Jub Bird.

Bujilli turned towards the bird. He still wore the Wrathful Facade.

Leeja still held her weapons ready and glared at the bird.

"Urk...erm..." It spluttered and fouled itself. "Per-Perhaps we might come to some sort of accommodation?"

"I'm not sure I'd trust someone who leap-frogged over their friend like you did."

"I wasn't thinking. I panicked. I didn't mean to--"

"Your friend is dead. Killed by your other friend, who is now the thrall of a Vooric-thing. what were you three doing with such a thing?"

"We found it."

"You found it. Where?"

"A hole in the ground...of sorts."

Leeja raised her blade with a wicked grin.

"There!" the bird gesticulated wildly towards a point off to the right; "Over there! Between those tree-things, where the squiggly-grass writhes and the Hollow Girl hangs in her cage."

Bujilli let go of his spell. The green-lit mask roared as it ripped itself free then fluttered off into the gloom spouting gibberish and abuse in a ridiculous mish-mash of fragments from dozens of obscure languages.

"Was it supposed to do that?" Leeja followed the cacophonous mask as it escaped, ready to shoot if Bujilli gave her the word.

"No. It is not supposed to do that. Not under any circumstances--"

The Jub-Jub Bird lunged forward driving it's clawed foot dead-center into Bujilli's chest.

Buk-CHOOM!

The bird fell over backwards, missing half its head.

Leeja re-holstered her firearm and knelt down to check on Bujilli.

He sat up, unhurt, except for his pride.

"Ungrateful--"

"It sacrificed its friend to escape, maybe it felt like it had best attack you while we were both distracted. In any case the dirty thing is dead and we're done with it."

"Yeah. Thanks." He got back onto his feet. Off in the distance he could see a shimmering orange shape. Tall. Clean edged. Rectangular. Growing brighter as he watched. A mirror-entry was opening up in the distance off to their left.



What should they do next?

You Decide!


Synchronocitor Status: Fully Recharged.


Roll for Initiative!
Someone please roll 1d6 for 1) Bujilli, 2) Leeja, 3) The three Cameleopards and Blue Emu that are approaching the newly-opening mirror from behind the undulating wave-dunes. [They are coming out of the murk with the mirror between them and Bujilli & Leeja.]

Right, Left, Forward or Elsewise?
Should they go left and investigate the place where the Jub-Jub Bird claimed to have discovered the malevolent trinket? would you prefer that they went to the right and investigated the newly-opening mirror-aperture? Or should they just sit quietly and ride the gronking-beast on to wherever it is headed? Or do you have another suggestion? Let's hear your thoughts! You decide!

Roll for Possible Observation.
Please roll 1d6 and let me know the result. If you get a 1, there is a bonus Random Encounter brought about by the brief tussle with the Jub-Jub Birds. If you get a 6, then someone or something up above might be inclined to investigate.

Optional Spot Mirror Roll. (1d30)
We'll also need another d30 roll to determine if Bujilli or Leeja spot yet another mirror in the distance. A result of 10 means maybe/it isn't clear, a result of 20 means that there seems to be a mirror in a random direction, but it looks closed/shuttered; and a result of 30 means that they spot a mirror in the distance that might be open and accessible...or at least whatever they are seeing appears that way from a distance. A result of 1 means something else mirror-related happens and we'll have a new table for that sort of thing shortly.

Which Way To Go? What Should They Do Next?

You Decide!

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