Tag Archives: Spells

Spell: Freamon’s Well Trade

May 29, 2015 8:22 pm / 1 Comment /

Because the last three modules I read have a well in them, I offer you a level 2 Magic user spell for OSR Games. In DCC format. Notes for other systems below.

Wizard Spell, Level 3. Range: Special, Duration: 1 minute per caster level, Casting time, 1 minute. Save: N/A

General: There are wells everywhere. This spell requires the kind of well with a rope and a bucket or a similar mechanism for lowering things in and bringing things up. The well can be dry and still work. When the caster performs this ritual, she connects randomly with another spell caster who is performing a similar spell or using a technology with similar effect on a well in some other country, time, planet or dimension.

While repeating the spell’s words, the caster or an ally places something of any size up to an elephant in the bucket and lowers it into the well until it is out of sight. After 1d20 seconds there is a slight tug on the rope. When the bucket is brought up, it contains something else, determined by the table below. In DCC, the nature of the item will be determined by a spell check and Judge discretion. The exchange happens simultaneously on both sides of the connection and items received cannot be sent back. The item can be much larger and heavier than the bucket; if it is larger, it will expand once removed from the bucket. The value of the item sent will largely determine what is sent back. Unless the caster rolls a very high spell check, a copper piece will not bring forth magic sword!

This can be repeated until the spell’s duration is extinguished, so careful tracking of the time is required. Assume the bucket can be raised and lowered in about 20 seconds on average if the players act quickly. Repeated trades are at -1 spell check cumulative. Unless otherwise stated in the table, the same two wells are connected for the duration of the spell.

Those who have used the spell several times have learned that it can help to include a note with the first traded item. Often a drawing of the desired item or the situation at hand is sent down with an offering of gold, medicine or food. If a written note is sent, the caster makes a luck check at -3 in the hopes that whoever is on the other end can understand the writing.

Any success of 30+ will prevent the caster from using this spell again for 1d6 months of game time.

Manifestation. Roll 1d3: 1) Loud splash as bucket reaches water, a few drops of which splashes up over top of well (or dust if well is dry);  2) A geyser of iridescent liquid of unknown and undrinkable composition rises from the well, pushing the bucket up mere seconds after the objects are swapped; 3) The bucket is hard to hoist (twice as long to bring up) no matter the weight of the item coming up.

Corruption. Roll 1d8: 1) Caster vomits far more liquid than she could possible have in her body; 2) Caster will feel severely dehydrated for 1d14 days; 3) for 1d4 days, caster’s hair will stand up completely as if touching a static electricity ball; 4) Caster will be convinced she is being cheated in all exchanges and divisions of treasure for 2d7 days; 5) caster will not be able to see what is exchanged, ever; 6 minor; 7) major; 8) greater.

Misfire. Roll 1d3:  1) Caster realizes she has accidentally exchanges her most valuable possession instead of what was intended; 2) The rope breaks, sending the item into the well to be lost forever; 3) The well explodes as a geyser of hot, geothermally  heated water, causing 1d8 of damage to all within 25 feet each round. It will then erupt every hour on the hour for five seconds. The item is obviously lost. Roll 1d6 modified by luck: on 6+ the item is found in the bucket 50 feet away.

 

Spell check results:

1) Lost, failure and worse! Roll 1d6 modified by Luck: (0 or less) corruption + patron taint + misfire; 1-2 corruption; 3) patron taint (or corruption if no patron); 4+ misfire.

2-6) Lost. Item sent is dangerous or makes the situation worse. Examples: a vial of oil in a forest fire; a poisonous snake; evidence the caster is the killer (even if she’s innocent).

6-11) Lost. Item returned is a total zoink and not useful at all except for the most clever of players. Examples: a knuckle bone; a cup with a hole in the bottom; a dirty limerick in the language of the pegusi.

12-13) Failure, but spell is not lost (nor is sent item). Spell can be attempted again in 4 hours.

14-15) An item of roughly equal value is returned. While it might be useful in the situation, it will be of the same world and within the same bounds of reality as the caster’s. Examples:  key to locked chest; the letter of marque from a farway land; a wand of1d4  magic missiles.

16-19) An item of slightly greater value is returned. It will definitely be useful and might even be something the caster hoped for. It could be slightly unusual for the existing campaign. Examples: a bag holding a swarm of hornets; a scroll of time travel -1 hour; a glass horn that summons giant rabbits.

20-21) An item definitely more valuable than the item sent, both from a situational and market value standpoint. It could have come from another world with different technology. Examples: the crown jewels of the king of frogs; contact lenses that reveal class/level; a lighter requiring no fuel.

22-25)The player can as the caster choose any item of similar value that the Judge will allow. It is not from another world (so it must be something the character can contemplate) but might be exotic for the existing campaign. Examples: a scroll of banish evil; a pound of purple mushroom powder; the piece of evidence that shows the baron was indeed a traitor (Which does not need to be true. The player must explain how it fits the crime, even if it is a frame up).

26-29) The player can choose an item (that the Judge will allow). This can be something of similar value in the player’s world or a world from another fiction that the DM will allow. It will be expended upon use. Examples: a machine gun with 80 rounds of ammunition; a pickup truck with a full tank of gas; a raven that delivers messages to far away places then dies; a triceratops.

30-31) The caster cannot believe the other side sent this item through, it is such an uneven! This is definitely from another place or time that will not only greatly help our immediate situation but could also fetch a fortune at market. Examples: a laster pistol with 1d20 charges; a ring of charm giant; a bottle of 40 penicillin; a talking triceratops warrior.

32-33) The Judge can decide an item that will disrupt the current situation or serve as an adventure hook for a side quest. Examples: a medical tricorder, an electric guitar that spits fire, Baba Yaga’s phone number (and a phone).

34+) The Judge will choose a ridiculous item that will either sole the crisis or transport the party from the current reality to another. Examples: an medical droid that can raise the dead once. A clone ray that creates 10 independent exact copies of a PC. A portal to another dimension/campaign setting.

Wow. DCC spells require lot of time to write!

If you use LotFP, Swords and Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, B/X, Basic Fantasy, 0e -5e and so forth, use the table above but roll d100 and divide by 3, rounding down. Add the any of the caster’s spell casting ability score or bonus as a raw number (INT bonus is +3, add 30 to the d100 before dividing by 3). You should probably make this a level 5 or six spell while you are at it.

If reader feedback warrants revision, I will post it here. I hope this is not too powerful!

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New Spell – Divine / Infernal Pact

July 21, 2012 11:42 pm / 1 Comment /

New Spell – Divine / Infernal Pact

Cleric and/or Magic User

Level: 1
Casting Time: 1 Day
Duration: Special

Casting this spell contacts a being from another plane, planet or dimension. For clerics, this can be a saint, bodhisattva, demigod, angel, devil… For magic users, the otherworldly being can be a demon, elemental, efreet, primordial chaos god, alien, etc.

The caster then bargains with the being for more power. If the caster is willing to pay the price, then in addition to his normal spells, he gets extra spell slots which can are replinished daily with specific spells granted from this being. It is even possible for clerics to gain magic user spells and vice versa, provided the GM allows it. If this spell is found on a scroll, any character class can do this.

The duration of the pact and the price to be paid varies by player, campaign and GM. For a few extra healing spells, for example, Apollo might require a weekly sacrifice of 10GP’s worth of honey for every 10 HP healed that week. For a fireball spell, Baal might require the sacrifice of a third-level or higher cleric of Ishtar. Or the GM might plant an adventure hook in Mithra’s demand that the Minotaur of Lundimium be smuggled to Crete. St. Michael might want a hospital to be protected during a siege. Whatever the price, the GM should make sure it seems a bit more than the player would like.

Once a pact is over, it’s over and considered satisfied. If obligations are fulfilled to the exact letter if not spirit (that is, if there is trickery that technically works) a lawful supernatural being will consider the matter closed (but not forget). A chaotic or neutral being would likely seek vengeance. Failure is considered the same as breaking a deal and some sort of retribution will be sought.

In order to make this pact, the character must learn the true name of the supernatural being. As you adventure, you will encounter the temples, libraries, statues and churches. You should make notes.  The more information you have about the being, the better your chance of finding its true name. To attempt to learn the true name, you must make chant a daylong ceremony.

To determine your chance of success, roll d% under your score as as calculated below:

Base Percentage = 10%

If you know the being’s life story or important legends: +5%

If the being is related to or in the same pantheon as one you worship or apprentice to or are related to:  +10%

You have at least one holy text: +10%

You have a personal item or relic of the being: +20%

You have at least one graven image or realistic likeness: +10%

You have consulted a library or sage regarding this being and spent at least 1000gp in research: +10%

For your level: +1%

For your wisdom bonus: +1% over 12

If you succeed, you have the name of that god and have contacted it. Most gods will not be happy to be contacted, but here’s your chance. Make the best of it. If you fail, you can never learn the true name of that deity, even if they whispered it in your ear. Sorry.

So there you have it. I’ve worked this over and over in drafts and this seems to be the most reasonable option. Other options had clerics using this method to demand spells of different gods, but gave them way too man spell slots. And I thought magic users contacting the divine and infernal as Stephen Strange might, would be cool.

Thoughts?

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Initiate Paladin Spell Revised

July 14, 2012 10:42 am / Leave a Comment /

I’ve significantly altered the Initiate Paladin spell I posted earlier this week.  I’ve altered that version and also posted it below.

  • Any PC who is not chaotic can be initiated (this is, again the LotFP version which pits Law vs Chaos as Gods vs. Magic). They do have to belong to the deity’s faith, but they do not have to change their alignment if it’s neutral.
  • Paladins do not need to remain chaste or refrain from evil acts provided those restrictions are not placed on him by the god or the initiating cleric. Of course, there should be plenty of taboos just to add flavor tot he situation, but we can leave those up to each DM and player.
  • Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do my last round of revision before the post published. I hope this spell is interesting to you. I have reposted it below.

Initiate Paladin

Cleric Level 5

Duration: See below

Range: 0

Bestows paladinhood, and an attendant quest, on a follower of the cleric’s faith. This spell may be cast on any classed or non-classed character who is not aligned with chaos or arcane magic in any way (magic-users and elves are therefore excluded). The paladin retains all the skills and abilities of his current race and class, but has some additional benefits and restrictions placed on him.

Paladinhood comes with a difficult quest that must be followed tenaciously until completed. Any delay of more than a week reduces the paladin’s level by 1 per day until he or she corrects course and pursues the quest, although it is permissible to pursue the quest indirectly in some cases. Recouping from injuries does not count as sidetracking, nor does performing other duties for the cleric.

The cleric who casts this spell has vouched for the paladin’s worthiness in the eyes of the deity. Failure of the paladin, barring death in its pursuit, reflects on the cleric’s reputation and standing in the congregation and church hierarchy. The GM should consider a number of consequences for the paladin failing, disgracing the faith, etc. and only tell the player a few of them. Examples could include a quest of penance, loss of spells, etc.

The spell ends immediately on completion of the quest.

Requirements and Restrictions

The paladin must be or become a follower of the cleric’s faith and must faithfully follow the rules of that faith in order to retain the benefits of the spell. This includes such things as observing holy days, dietary restrictions, etc.

The paladin must follow the directions and instructions of the casting cleric or the god directly. If someone higher in church hierarchy gives a conflicting order, the paladin must refuse.

The paladin must conspicuously wear the symbol of his faith on his or her garb, unless sent on a quest requiring undercover work. In that case, some symbol (tattoo, jewelry) must be secretly worn.

The paladin cannot forsake or repudiate his deity while a paladin. Doing so means instant immolation and death.

The paladin must give away all treasure aside from armor, shield, weapons, holy books and survival gear. If a paladin needs material goods in order to accomplish the quest, this does not countermand that.

This last rule may be revoked on a case by case basis depending on the quest’s requirements. All money and other treasure earned by the paladin must go to the church or the truly needy.

A paladin may not use arcane magic items of any sort.

Alternate rules:

  • After a third stint as a paladin is completed, the character is a permanent paladin with no specific quest.
  • While a paladin, the character does not level in his/her original class but levels as a cleric starting at 0 XP, gaining hit points and additional cleric spells beginning at level 2. If the level in the character’s main class is equalled, the PC must choose whether to become a permanent paladin. At that point, they would need to change their alignment to lawful if necessary and never level in their original class, but as a cleric. They would keep all the skills and abilities of their previous class.

Benefits

+2 HP/level at the time the spell is cast.

Once per day, a paladin may cast the following cleric spells:

Detect Evil (Chaos)

Sanctuary (on self only)

Bless (on self only, 8 points to add to rolls as per the LoTFP version of this spell)

Cure Light Wounds

Turn Undead (in LotFP this is a spell. In other B/X type games, make this an ability as a cleric has but useable once per day)

Once per week, a paladin may cast Cure Disease and Dispel Magic.

The cleric may consult with the GM to determine alternative spells to add or substitute for these, depending on the nature and domain of the deity.

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New Cleric Spell: Initiate Paladin

July 12, 2012 11:01 am / 1 Comment /

After reading an excellent post on prestige classes on Will B.’s blog A Wizard’s Kiss, I was inspired to create a paladin non-class by creating a clerical spell that bestows paladin benefits on PC who already have a class. Paladinhood is granted to any non-chaotic, and comes with restrictions as well as benefits. Obviously you want to tailor this to your own campaign, but as a starting point, this feels good. In LotFP, elves and magic users are excluded from paladinhood because they are required to be chaotic. Adjust as you need to for your game.

This is designed for LotFP Grindhouse Edition (free rules here), but can easily be used for Labyrinth Lord, B/X D&D and other OSR fantasy games.

 

Initiate Paladin

Cleric Level 5

Duration: See below

Range: 0

Bestows paladinhood, and an attendant quest, on a follower of the cleric’s faith. This spell may be cast on any classed or non-classed character who is not aligned with chaos or arcane magic in any way (magic-users and elves are therefore excluded). The paladin retains all the skills and abilities of his current race and class, but has some additional benefits and restrictions placed on him.

Paladinhood comes with a difficult quest that must be followed tenaciously until completed. Any delay of more than a week reduces the paladin’s level by 1 per day until he or she corrects course and pursues the quest, although it is permissible to pursue the quest indirectly in some cases. Recouping from injuries does not count as sidetracking, nor does performing other duties for the cleric.

The cleric who casts this spell has vouched for the paladin’s worthiness in the eyes of the deity. Failure of the paladin, barring death in its pursuit, reflects on the cleric’s reputation and standing in the congregation and church hierarchy. The GM should consider a number of consequences for the paladin failing, disgracing the faith, etc. and only tell the player a few of them. Examples could include a quest of penance, loss of spells, etc.

The spell ends immediately on completion of the quest.

Requirements and Restrictions

The paladin must be or become a follower of the cleric’s faith and must faithfully follow the rules of that faith in order to retain the benefits of the spell. This includes such things as observing holy days, dietary restrictions, etc.

The paladin must follow the directions and instructions of the casting cleric or the god directly. If someone higher in church hierarchy gives a conflicting order, the paladin must refuse.

The paladin must conspicuously wear the symbol of his faith on his or her garb, unless sent on a quest requiring undercover work. In that case, some symbol (tattoo, jewelry) must be secretly worn.

The paladin cannot forsake or repudiate his deity while a paladin. Doing so means instant immolation and death.

The paladin must give away all treasure aside from armor, shield, weapons, holy books and survival gear. If a paladin needs material goods in order to accomplish the quest, this does not countermand that.

This last rule may be revoked on a case by case basis depending on the quest’s requirements. All money and other treasure earned by the paladin must go to the church or the truly needy.

A paladin may not use arcane magic items of any sort.

Alternate rules:

  • After a third stint as a paladin is completed, the character is a permanent paladin with no specific quest.
  • While a paladin, the character does not level in his/her original class but levels as a cleric starting at 0 XP, gaining hit points and additional cleric spells beginning at level 2. If the level in the character’s main class is equalled, the PC must choose whether to become a permanent paladin. At that point, they would need to change their alignment to lawful if necessary and never level in their original class, but as a cleric. They would keep all the skills and abilities of their previous class.

Benefits

+2 HP/level at the time the spell is cast.

Once per day, a paladin may cast the following cleric spells:

Detect Evil (Chaos)

Sanctuary (on self only)

Bless (on self only, 8 points to add to rolls as per the LoTFP version of this spell)

Cure Light Wounds

Turn Undead (in LotFP this is a spell. In other B/X type games, make this an ability as a cleric has but useable once per day)

Once per week, a paladin may cast Cure Disease and Dispel Magic.

The cleric may consult with the GM to determine alternative spells to add or substitute for these, depending on the nature and domain of the deity.

—–

One thing I wanted to avoid by default is “Oh, crap, a Paladin is in the party, no killing things, no stealing…”  So the restrictions on alignment/morality are that you must live by the code of the god in whose name you are deputized. So if there’s already a militant vegan lawful good cleric in the party who initiates a paladin, everyone is in theory either OK with that sort of character or they’ve figured out how to live with it. Also notice there is no alignment restriction except no chaotic characters.* So a thief who is made a paladin by Hera’s cleric is a paladin who must do as honors Hera and doesn’t necessarily need to turn in thieves or rebuke someone for killing an elderly orc. Although one could argue that this problem is half the fun of having a paladin in the party, in which case feel free to have a paladin of a very strict moralistic god!

 

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Twenty Consequences of Miscast Spells

April 26, 2012 10:32 am / 2 Comments /

Crimson King said:

I’m playing a Mage game, and it has this system where if you fuck up a spell or if non-mages see you casting it there’s a strange paradoxical backlash and reality warps around you in awkward and unsettling ways, like there’s a brief and terrifying rain of bees or you develop temporary coprolalia.

(yes I’m playing World of Darkness oh god don’t judge me)

so Twenty Consequences to Doing Spells Wrong, perhaps, ranging from mildly inconvenient to permanently disfiguring.

I promise: I won’t judge you.

Roll 1d20 Side Effect
1 Hair turned to feathers
2 One week of bad social luck (lower CHA or penalties to reaction rolls)
3 Character passes out for one day.
4 Two random limbs paralyzed for 1d4 days.
5 Disabling itch effects everyone within 100 feet for one hour.
6 Involunatary charm others effect strikes at next inopportune moment.
7 Character is muted for 1 day.
8 Character’s touch destroys currency, cheques, credit cards, etc.
9 Character attracts attention of any law enforcement nearby for 1 month.
10 Whoever is pursuing party gets 50 percent closer. If no one is pursuing, someone is now.
11 Nose resembles Star-nose Mole’s nose
12 Character’s failure will become legendary. Songs written, jokes told.
13 Character convinced there is rot in fingers. Will not stop until they are all cut/bitten off.
14 One limb is severed, escapes, then grows into a monster/demon.
15 Full-body rash. Concentration impossible for 1 day. Disappears after 1 week.
16 PC becomes enamored of next person who attacks PC.
17 Character of out and in both backwards sentences all speak must player.
18 Character is cursed. Must sell off all assets and possessions within 24 hours or die. Cannot sell to anyone they know.
19 The universe reveals location of amazing treasure (red herring).
20 TV-style amnesia. Conk on the head will NOT fix.

 

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Creepy Witch Spells

December 6, 2011 11:36 pm / 4 Comments /

Zak S. from Los An-guh-leez writes:

At least 10 Unusual New Creepy Witch Spells on a random table

 

Hexenmaske, Berchtesgaden (Witch Mask) by Colin Smith

Creepy Witch Spells
1 Eternal Shame Victim must save or will perform humiliating acts on oneself or another in full view of the world. If he saves, he does these in private or with only a few witnesses.
2 Dreamwalk Caster may possess a sleeping victim, provided that victim has given her any object.
3 Indelible Mark An invisible mark that can be seen and sensed by other witches, fortune tellers, faerie and goblins.
4 Gluttony Caster may afflict victim with an addiction. Requires some amount of the substance if physical (eg. wine) or must be cast while the victim is doing the activity that is to be the addiction (eg. gambling).
5 Shower of Obstacles Victim will perceive imaginary obstacles preventing progress in one activity. While they may be overcome singly, something will always come up.
6 Chatterbox Victim will not be able to lie or disassemble in any way. He will tell secrets and say more than is necessary.
7 Just Resting The witch seizes on a short moment of denial that happens at death. The victim will seem not dead just often enough to convince all around that she isn’t dead. “I swear she twitched.” But she’s deal all right. Can be cast conversely as well (not dead but seems it).
8 Suspicious Voice Victim will begin to speak with a slight accent, casting doubt on his identity or origin.
9 Gold to Lead The victim’s best quality will utterly fail for one month. The brave will hide in bed. The honest will spin a web of deceit. The honest will steal.
10 Freakishly Endowed One random external body part will grow to at least ten times normal size without causing injury or pain. Saving throw allowed every 1d10 weeks.
11 Lycanthrope The witch can cast a curse of lycanthropic *behavior* (not form or abilities) during the full moon. Weretype is determined by the animal parts used in ritual.
12 Cassandra The victim is cursed with the gift of one major prophecy that will be correct and that she will passionately believe. No one will believe her under any circumstance.

I chose 12, since the d12 gets little love.

Without any context for witch, I chose it to mean a woman with malevolent intent. Of course I know about how this term can be pejorative and so forth. But to be fair, she did weigh the same as the duck.

These spells are ritual spells that take hours or days to prepare and cast. They are spells for the long game, not the combat round. In my mind, these are just the sort of psychotic but still human behaviors that someone (say a prince or princess) might immediately want to blame on someone else. Except in the case of our game, they are real curses from real witches.

I also realize that there are no casting times, durations or other common spell stats. We’re all playing by different rules, so going to that level of detail would be fruitless for my purposes (and Zak requested this and I think he uses 3.0, which I’ve not played much).

If you want to submit a request, just post a comment in the ‘Bring It’ post. Like everything in the blog, this is released under a creative commons license detailed in the footer.

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Healing the Undead : Post 100

March 11, 2011 11:19 pm / 1 Comment /

Clerical healing should recompose the body of the decayed undead. Skeletons, zombies, ghouls, wights, mummies, liches all take damage from cure light wounds, cure serious wounds and heal.  Higher-level undead such as liches would get a saving throw against healing. Mummies too, if you think that’s reasonable. I don’t count vampires in this at all, but you can if you want.

If an undead is healed an amount equal to its HP, the body is completely recomposed and the spirit is briefly recalled to the body in order to die again. If it helps the adventure or mood, the dearly unparted might have time to say something brief on the way back out.

I can think of one way this might be useful. One of my favorite deities posted here is Owrox, who abducts souls for ransom. If a magic user were to animate a body, then a cleric heal it back, the soul would be recalled briefly. If if could be directed to its proper destination somehow, that would allow escape from Owrox or some similar demon. And it just might work. Once.

The enmity of a soul-stealer would be a tremendous burden for anyone who tried such a thing. And of course how would you ever find a cleric and a mage in the same party of people? Someone would have to be awfully rich to do such a thing…

Note: I have no idea if this is already in place in more recent editions. If so, well it wouldn’t be the first time. I’m playing in my first game of post 1e D&D in a few weeks, in a Pathfinder mini-campaign.

Also, this is post 100.

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Belt of Fireball Skulls

January 6, 2011 4:53 pm / Leave a Comment /

First, an undamaged skull must be cleaned, inside and out. The jaws also need to be affixed to the skull with metal wire.

The skull is placed on a very hot fire. For three hours, the mage must chant to encourage the skull to take the fire in, then for another three she must convince it to shrink until it is the size of a pine cone. Both of these stages require a saving throw or intelligence attribute check to proceed. If they fail, the skull shatters.

At the conclusion of this chanting, the soul is pulled back to the skull, which then speaks with the mage, who has but a few minutes to strike a deal. In return for some favor, the soul will hold the fire in the skull. Common favors include acts of vengeance, contrition, the delivery of a message or just letting the skull see the sun set over its homeland one last time.

The favor must be accomplished within the year, but once it is, the skull becomes a fireball grenade.  When the mage says hold the skull and reminds it of the favor done, the fireball automatically hits and does maximum damage at one level higher than the mage’s casting level. These can be given to others to use, but they must know the favor and speak it aloud to throw (this is the ‘pin’).

If the mage screws up the favor, or does not complete it within the year, or dies, the skull goes mad, flying around breathing fire (as a young dragon) for one turn, targeting the mage and then any random bystanders.

These are often worn as part of a necklace, belt, bone bikini or other ridiculous fantasy getup.

Note: This is a first level spell with a casting time as mentioned above. One need not know the fireball spell to make one.

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Mages Crave the Taste of Brains

December 29, 2010 8:29 am / 3 Comments /

Milaran had climbed as far as he could go, knowing he was surrounded by Tullully’s men. He’d cast nearly every magic in his head, but the price on it was too high.

Tullully would have that head and eat the brains inside, gaining his power (very little) and his knowledge of the art (likewise, he decided, in light of his circumstances). It was how Tullully maintained control of the wagons, how he ensured his place at the top. Any dead kin or foe’s head was delivered to Tulully and the patriarch helped himself to any spells remaining in their sweetbreads.

It was Milaran’s own mistake that got him here. He had let it slip that there was a scroll he’d seen while abroad in Skaarsport. Someone talked and now his great uncle wanted the spell. And he’d likely get it too.

Milaran reached into his pocket and pulled out a pink, hairless thing shaped vaguely like a cat. It was a familiar he’d grown from his body weeks before. It couldn’t help him now, so he tossed it as far as he could, letting gravity carry it down the mountain. With any luck, it would bear witness to his last great moment.

The men were working their way up the slopes. He pushed them out of his thoughts and repeatedly recited the new spell he’d learned, taking care to replace certain pronouns. He went over the new formula over and over until it replaced what had been there. It was during his seventy-seventh recitation that an axe fell.

Tullally ate Milaran’s brains straight out of the skull, which had been opened from above, set on a special table and decorated with paint and jewels. The family had been assembled and the charges. No one had objected, of course. All new knowledge was to be shared with the head of the clan, and he would show them Milaran’s crime as soon as he’s finished eating his brains.

Tullally could taste the places where old family spells had resided in the boy’s brain: How to make a ball of magic, How mold one’s flesh into a small companion, The first spell that taught the language of magic. These were all familiar flavors that Tullally himself had taught countless boys in the camp.

After much poking and prodding with his spoon, Tullally found a new taste on the right side, near the front. It was clearly of a very different lineage of the magic. In food terms, it tasted as different from the rest of this brain as oysters differ from a white bean. It was salty to taste and rubbery in texture. His spoon scooped again and he had it–a spell not known in the east of the continent, perhaps not cast anywhere in many millenia.

The boy’s last spell, the treasure he’d secretly learned in the north.

Not four feet from him, watching from between folds of the tent, was a small, pinkish creature, vaguely shaped like a cat.

After scraping in the last bite of that lobe, Tullally stood and proceeded out of the tent and into the open, away from the camp toward the nearby pond. The family followed, anxious to see that their leader had gained. Tullally felt the words rise from his gut, like strong whisky riding a belch. The first syllable was an ‘esss…’ sound, which he held as long as he could for dramatic effect. Then he moved through the syllables, recognizing very little of it.

The last syllable left his lips, a reflexive first-person pronoun. It had all built up to that last syllable, but by the time he’d said it, there was no turning back or changing.

Immediately, his bones began to liquefy into a sticky mess, not unlike tar. His body fell over without any support and he rolled out of his clothes. He was a pinkish something, covered in hair. What became of Tullally rolled with slope of the ground, down toward the pond and slid into the water. The family slowly approached, trying to see down in the water.

Tullally still lives as a formless thing in the water. He must drag himself onto land and struggle to get his mouth facing upward in order to cast a spell. He is a level 12 mage and knows 21 spells, including Turn One’s Own Bones to Jelly a level four spell and a unique gift from his kinsman.

I don’t usually indulge in fiction when I post ideas. For some reason this one seemed to demand it, even though I don’t have the knack for narrative writing.

I should acknowledge Harlan Ellison’s short story I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream as inspiration for the final form Tullally takes, even though he clearly has a mouth.

I am indebted to someone from the OSR, perhaps Zak S., maybe James Raggi IV, maybe some other OSR superstar, for the idea that mage brains contain spells that can be turned into potions or other edible magics. I did some searching but couldn’t find it. If someone knows who came up with that (in the context of D&D) please post a comment! Thanks.

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Posted in: content, legacy D&D, monsters / Tagged: , ,

The High Karmic Cost of Cure Light Wounds

December 21, 2010 12:45 am / 3 Comments /

Clerics shouldn’t just be healing anyone, or if they do, they should be extracting a pound of flesh, karmically speaking, from those whose beliefs or alignment are significantly different.

Let’s say, for example, that in the campaign, the gods are completely real and they are at odds with one another or with similarly powerful demons or devils. Why would a priest of Zeus heal a prominent follower of Hades without extracting a price? Do the gods send the energy to the cleric at the time of healing? Or do they give it to them to do as they see fit and then decide whether to keep sending those energies during the night’s meditations?

There may be a few gods in your world that believe in healing everyone, or the possibility of redemption at any moment, even the last. But for the most part, I think there are some interesting situations or house rules that could come up when a priest needs to heal or especially resurrect a non-believer, heretic, heathen or enemy.

Here are some options that come to mind:

The simplest, of course, is to not care when it comes to healing within the party. I like this because the last thing you want is the cleric lording it over the others, “Ahamite the Smug does not regrow the sword arms of those who have not donated a million gold talents to him, payable to his loyal servant, Brother Dick.” But when NPC’s are healing, it’s entirely appropriate and a good plot hook to set a price, be it gold, a quest or some specific vow or service. At the least, the patient should vow to never desecrate or blaspheme the god who is providing the help.

Or you could allow the cleric to exact certain demands, pre-approved by the DM, when the first opportunity to heal arises and have that apply throughout the adventure.

Another way to do this would be to keep tally of every ten HP healed by any god’s cleric and translate that into a karmic debt to the god specifically, with whom the patient must bargain at some later date. Ten HP might mean a week of service or contemplation. Fifty points might mean a major favor, such as escorting a monk or protecting a valuable relic. A hundred HP? Consider conversion! Or at the least, the PC should become intimately familiar with the faith and speak openly about how much she admires the wisdom of the Aardvark god.

The further apart the two faiths are, the more likely some sort of conflict or even alignment change will come into play.

When two clerics of different faiths are involved, one as healer and one as patient, it might be up to the players and DM to decide whether the healing would be given, whether it would work and what sort of effect it might have on the relationship between both clerics and their gods.

Whatever you decide, the consequences of breaking an oath or quest or a betrayal of that god should immediately result in the loss of all HP ever healed, limb regrown or perhaps even life given. It might also include some time in the afterlife of that god, atoning.

It can be as complicated and difficult as you decide it to be as long as it is interesting and adds something to the game. Obviously there is a lot of potential to add not-fun to the game. But clearly, if you were talking about a polytheistic fantasy world with gods of various alignments, this sort of thing would naturally come up.

The last way is, of course, to make no definite statement on whether the gods exist, and decide that the spells work because the gods see things we cannot (or it just works because there is no Loki vs. Thor, just two cults taking power from the plane of energy).

I’d love to hear your ideas, by the way.

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Posted in: house rules / Tagged: , , , ,

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