Category Archives: Games

BoL Bestiary: Bone Apes

Bone Apes are chimpanzee-sized hominids that appear to be covered in thick bone-colored fur. These creatures make their homes in abandoned graveyards, lost cities, and anyplace else where human remains are likely to be found.

Bone Apes attack by swinging thighbones as clubs or by hurling skulls at their opponents (to a range of 20′). They often carry several such missiles in small bags that they weave from shredded clothing and other readily available fibers.

Bone Apes have powerful jaws that they use to grind bone into a fine meal which they combine with their spittle, smear upon their fur, and allow to harden into a rudimentary form of armor. If pressed, Bone Apes will bite, but they prefer to reserve their teeth for the grisly task that gives them their coloration and their name.

Attributes
Strength 2
Agility 3
Mind -1

Combat Abilities
Attack with thighbone club +2; damage 1d6
Attack with thrown skulls +1; damage 1d2
Attack with bite +0; damage 1d6
Defense: 3
Protection: 1d2 (bonemeal armor)
Lifeblood: 11

S&W Bestiary: Cairn Witch

Wherein your humble scribe presents a new monster for Swords & Wizardry (Core Rules), the Cairn Witch.

A Cairn Witch is a fearsome, evil hag-like being that haunts the areas around burial mounds and sites of ancient battles. These creatures possess powerful spell-casting abilities, which they use to great effect. Treat cairn witches as 7th level magic-users. A cairn witch will normally do its best to use its arcane powers to sow discord among an adventuring party, endeavoring to drive the group apart so that its individual members are easier targets for her wrath. Though they are not undead, cairn witches may be turned as though they were 12 hit die creatures.

Cairn Witch: HD 7; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 weapon or 2 claws (1d4 or 1d3/1d3); Move 9; Save 9; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: spells, 40% magic resistance, half damage from non-magic weapons.

El-Aqarat Adventure!

Last night we got in another session of the Arabian Nights style Basic RolePlaying adventure I’ve been running. Everyone had a blast and though there were no flying carpet antics this time, there was some great role-playing as the heroes found themselves in the City of Brass and then some interesting combat against a group of Ghûls that had decided to attack the very bandits that the players we seeking to fight against. Ah, three way combats. They’re fun, but complicated.

In any case, now that this particular adventure is complete, here’s the notes I put together to run it. They’re laid out in PocketMod format (though I put the template together myself in InDesign). So they’re a bit like a One Page Dungeon, but different. Enjoy or ignore, it’s your call.

S&W Bestiary: Dung Spider

Wherein your humble scribe presents another new monster for Swords & Wizardry (Core Rules), the Dung Spider.

Dung Spiders are poisonous arachnids roughly the size of two large fists held together. They take their name from the unique way in which they lie in wait for prey. A dung spider curls its long legs in on itself and sits on the ground, appearing to be a small pile of animal feces, biding its time until some unfortunate creature passes close enough for it to strike. When a target comes within 10′ of the dung spider, it uncoils rapidly and launches itself at its victim. The first time a creature encounters a dung spider surprise is automatic. Any future encounters will also result in automatic surprise unless the victim is particularly wary of being attacked by a dung spider.

Dung Spider: HD 1; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 bite (1d2 + poison); Move 12; Save 16; CL/XP 3/60; Special: lethal poison (+3 saving throw), automatic surprise.

S&W Bestiary: Coineater

Wherein your humble scribe presents a new monster for Swords & Wizardry (Core Rules), the Coineater. Don’t read too much into the timing of this particular post.

Coineaters are man-sized humanoids with remora-like heads. They actively seek out individuals in possession of any quantity of coins greater than a handful and will follow them about while emitting an annoying high-pitched whine. This sound increases the chance of a wandering monster encounter to 3-in-6 per turn.

If the target of the coineater’s pursuit leaves a pile of his coins equal to approximately 1/3 of the gp value possessed in a small neat stack the coineater will devote its attention to devouring the previous metals and cease following the target. A coineater so appeased will not follow the same individual for a full year.

If attacked, or if not provided with appropriate tribute within 2d4 turns, a coineater will respond by latching onto the target with its vicious, rasping mouth and will begin sucking the unfortunate victim’s blood. A coineater will cease this blood drain immediately if the appropriate tribute is offered. Otherwise, it will continue to drink until the victim is dead. After the death of its victim the coineater will devour 50% of the target’s coins and then head off in pursuit of a new source of nourishment.

Coineater: HD 10; AC -1 [20]; Atk 1 bite (1d4); Move 15; Save 6; CL/XP 12/2000; Special: blood drain (1d6).

S&W Bestiary: Pra Saguna

Wherein your humble scribe presents another quick monster for Swords & Wizardry (Core Rules), the dreaded Pra Saguna.

Pra Saguna are the restless dead warriors of certain remote cultures found deep within the jungles of the southern continents. Their corpse-like bodies are garishly decorated with paints and dyes, and their hollow eye sockets glow green beneath the full moon under which they prefer to hunt.

In addition to using the wickedly curved blades common to their culture, Pra Saguna possess a breath attack, in the form of a cloud of deadly spores, that does 12 hit points of damage. They may use this attack up to 5 times per day, though no more than twice per combat.

Pra Saguna encountered when the moon is full regenerate 3 hit points per round. Outside of this time frame, they are much easier to dispatch, as their regeneration ability weakens to only 1 hit point per round in other lunar phases.

Pra Saguna: HD 6; AC 3[16]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 9; Save 11; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Undead, Regeneration, Breath Attack.

Traveller: The Claybourne Subsector

Wherein your humble scribe, desperate to fill up space while he feverishly works away at the next batch of entries in the Demons Of Adad Untash, posts some old Traveller homebrew stuff that might be interesting to someone. Maybe. OK, probably not. But still…

For what it’s worth, this subsector was put together during a brief and ill-advised flirtation with T4 a long time ago. I don’t think there was anything in there that would make these hard to use with Classic Traveller or any other edition. But I could be wrong. In any case, you’ve been warned.

Claybourne Subsector Map
The Claybourne subsector occupies grid location A of the KOBE Sector. The fringeward and trailing boundaries of the Shardyn Alliance meet in the Claybourne. The Claybourne was named for Kenneth Claybourne, legendary explorer, statesman, and founding father of the Alliance.

Name Hex UWP Gas Giant Naval Base Scout Base Notes
Pentheus 102 D-7765969-N yes no no
Shintara 104 D-333125A-N no no no
Janus II 106 A-989989D-N no no no
109 D-113124A-N yes no yes
201 E-2576575-N yes no no
Gato 203 A-00067AE-N yes no no Research Station
205 X5850000C-N yes no no
Evans 207 E-548742A-N yes no no
Budapest 209 B-AA89B8C-N yes yes no
301 E-AA9674B-N yes no no
Farven 303 E-8604409-N yes no no
Backbreaker 304 B-3238BB-H no no no
Gaiman 306 X-835656B-N no no no
Sellers 307 X-2416208-N yes no no
Hepaxion 310 E-636AAB9-N yes no no
Farhome 402 C-462624B-H no no no
Pennick 403 C-332232A-N yes no no
McInnis 405 B-987AA9C-L yes no yes
Pipe 408 B-443235A-N yes no no
Deerfly 410 C-7566569-N yes no no
502 E-524341A-N yes no no
Freedom 505 D-7AAAC9B-N yes no yes
Elaine 506 E-89A898A-N yes no no
Maas 510 C-666986D-N yes no yes Research Station
Haven 603 C-333450A-N yes no no
Albian 605 A-856877C-H yes yes no
Posada 605 C-665411B-N yes no no
606 X-5564236-N yes no no
Bis Gamma 609 A-131430B-N yes yes no
701 E-3635008-N yes no no
702 E-4625347-N yes no no
703 E-16239-N yes no no
Yangto-Kim 5706 B-8AA316C-N yes no no
Emental 707 B-000541C-N yes no yes
Trade 709 B-9A6599D-L yes no no
Acorn 710 D-251113B-N yes no yes
802 C-562857C-N yes no no
Dinjara 805 C-466988B-N yes no no
Claybourne 809 B-987AA5D-N yes yes yes Subsector Capital
Keyen 810 D-976866B-H yes no no Prison World

S&W Bestiary: Vampire Toad

Wherein your humble scribe presents, for no reason in particular, a new monster for Swords & Wizardry (Core Rules), the Vampire Toad.

Vampire Toads are large (5′ long), ebon-hued amphibians who have been infected with an arcane affliction akin to “normal” vampirism. The bite of these creatures drains a level from the victim if a save is not made. Each level so drained adds 1 hit die to the Vampire Toad (to a maximum of 8 total HD), increasing its hit points as well as its ferocity in combat.

Though they are not truly Undead, Vampire Toads may be turned as though they were by anyone wielding a silver mirror.

Vampire Toad: HD 4; AC 5[14]; Atk 1 bite (1d6 + level drain); Move 6; Save 13; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: +1 or better magic weapon to hit, 35% magic resistance, level drain (save applies).

The Sunken Temple Of Arn

In honor of the late Dave Arneson, who left us one year ago today, I present my (non-winning) entry in last year’s One Page Dungeon Contest. I was gunning for the “old school” category and took my inspiration almost 100% from Supplement II: Blackmoor.

So in case you missed it (and you know you did) here’s your chance to visit .

Here’s the entirety of the background, as a teaser:

In ancient days the monastic assassins known as the Sons of Arn built a great temple to their strange god on an island off the southern coast.

For many years they managed a troubled coexistence with the other religions. But when they dared to strike down the high priest of the sea god, their island temple was cast beneath the waves forever in an act of divine retribution.

Their knowledge lost and their religion destroyed, the Sons of Arn vanished from the world, leaving only half-remembered whispers in their stead. But now rumors abound of a shipwreck whose lone survivor escaped from a Sahuagin band that makes its home in a submerged ruin eerily reminiscent of the legendary Sunken Temple of Arn.

As a One Page Dungeon, The Sunken Temple Of Arn lacks game stats, but should be useable with pretty much any system you want. I specifically had OD&D in mind when I wrote it (obviously), but Swords & Wizardry (Core or WhiteBox) or Labyrinth Lord should work fine. Of course, so would Barbarians of Lemuria, Basic RolePlaying, OSRIC, or any other system that tickles your fancy.

One quick note for those who might not be familiar with a couple of the monster names: per Blackmoor (and some later books):

  • Koalinth are aquatic hobgoblins
  • Kopoacinth are aquatic gargoyles
  • Lacedon are aquatic ghouls

Most people who happen across this post probably know that stuff already. But hey, it never hurts to pass along a bit of (slightly) lost wisdom, eh?

Ringside!

Wherein your humble scribe presents a stable of boxers for use with RINGSIDE, that odd little boxing simulation game by Brian Blume that appeared in Dragon #38.

Boxing, like baseball, has always fascinated me. I can’t quite put my finger on why. It’s certainly not something I’m good at. But that’s not the point of this post, so we won’t dally there. Instead, here’s a small stable of boxers I rolled up for RINGSIDE. I’d love to figure out how to do something with them – a campaign or tournament or something.

Side Note: I absolutely adore the idea of strange, convoluted campaigns for war and sim games (like the great Starfire! campaign I never got off the ground back in ’95), but they never come to fruition. Blame it on real life. Blame it on laziness. Blame it on being unable to find other people who share my level of weirdness. Who can say?

Anyway, I don’t expect that many (if any) of y’all are even aware of the existence of RINGSIDE, but hey, consider this post a reason to rush out and track down a copy of Dragon #38 (and #61, where the aging rules for boxers appear). You know you want to 🙂

And now, without further ado, here are the boxers who train at Pao’s Gym:

Heavyweights

Israel Rasmusson
A classic out-fighter.
Agility 60
Uppercut 3
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 3
Combo 3
Left Jab 3
Left Hook 1
Endurance 13
Counter 23

Nigel Oginski
Pure brawler, baby.
Agility 53
Uppercut 3
Right Jab 1
Right Hook 4
Combo 2
Left Jab 2
Left Hook 1
Endurance 9
Counter 13

Rodney Madrid
A crafty counter puncher.
Agility 46
Uppercut 1
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 3
Combo 2
Left Jab 2
Left Hook 1
Endurance 19
Counter 30

Eleazar Mancuso
A dangerous in-fighter.
Agility 42
Uppercut 2
Right Jab 2
Right Hook 4
Combo 4
Left Jab 3
Left Hook 1
Endurance 19
Counter 24

Welterweights

Emmett Ashby
A well-rounded boxer-puncher.
Agility 55
Uppercut 1
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 2
Combo 4
Left Jab 1
Left Hook 2
Endurance 19
Counter 16

Roy Hollinger
A glass-jawed counter-puncher
Agility 53
Uppercut 3
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 1
Combo 1
Left Jab 2
Left Hook 4
Endurance 3
Counter 27

Alberto Charron
A southpaw in-fighter.
Agility 50
Uppercut 3
Right Jab 1
Right Hook 1
Combo 1
Left Jab 3
Left Hook 3
Endurance 24
Counter 18

Clarence Hibbs
An aging out-fighter.
Agility 44
Uppercut 2
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 3
Combo 3
Left Jab 3
Left Hook 2
Endurance 15
Counter 20

Lightweights

Abraham Levario
A fiery-tempered out-fighter.
Agility 60
Uppercut 3
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 2
Combo 2
Left Jab 3
Left Hook 2
Endurance 10
Counter 30

Reuben Aguila
A brawler through-and-through.
Agility 53
Uppercut 3
Right Jab 2
Right Hook 3
Combo 2
Left Jab 2
Left Hook 2
Endurance 15
Counter 12

Mervin Tiley
A boxer-puncher who has seen better days.
Agility 50
Uppercut 1
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 2
Combo 2
Left Jab 1
Left Hook 3
Endurance 3
Counter 11

Salvador Taveras
A lefty in-fighter.
Agility 44
Uppercut 2
Right Jab 1
Right Hook 1
Combo 3
Left Jab 2
Left Hook 4
Endurance 17
Counter 22

Bantamweights

Edwin Fane
A boxer-puncher and former Olympian.
Agility 58
Uppercut 2
Right Jab 1
Right Hook 3
Combo 3
Left Jab 3
Left Hook 2
Endurance 16
Counter 24

Dallas Langley
An out-fighter known for his intricate tattoos.
Agility 54
Uppercut 2
Right Jab 4
Right Hook 2
Combo 4
Left Jab 2
Left Hook 2
Endurance 10
Counter 15

Clark Wair
A counter-puncher with good foot speed.
Agility 52
Uppercut 1
Right Jab 3
Right Hook 2
Combo 2
Left Jab 1
Left Hook 3
Endurance 6
Counter 28

Steven Overton
A brawler with big dreams.
Agility 44
Uppercut 3
Right Jab 2
Right Hook 3
Combo 3
Left Jab 2
Left Hook 3
Endurance 19
Counter 17