d30 Feature of the Week: Methods of Torture/Execution

WARNING: IMAGE BELOW CONTAINS VERBAL DESCRIPTIONS OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE (PG-13?)

Sure, it's a little jacked up, but this week's d30 feature reflects historically accurate methods of torture and execution. I can't say yet whether or not that I believe it belongs in the d30 Sandbox Companion, so your comments (positive or negative) as to wether this should/shouldn't be included are strongly encouraged.

WARNING: DOWNLOAD CONTAINS VERBAL DESCRIPTIONS OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE (PG-13?)
To download a free PDF of this d30 Torture/Execution Page from MediaFire, click here.

Free Download: Master Dungeon Mapping Key

For the last few weeks, my co-conspirator Dave Welborn and I have been proofing the svirfneblin out of the d30 DM Companion. In trying to make the thing as meaty as possible, we trimmed some fluff, and expanded the meatier parts, but still had a page to fill. Since the Dungeon Crawl Worksheet was so well-received, it seemed only natural to create a Master Dungeon Mapping Key to accompany it (will appear as a single spread in the book). There's a couple of things I'd like to have added, but didn't seem to have space for (e.g., a "rope bridge" similar to the phanaton platforms from Isle of Dread.) I think the major bases are covered, though. More importantly, I don't think I've seen a key as comprehensive as this, with all the major architectural features, natural features, and furnishings.

To download a free PDF of this Master Dungeon Mapping Key from MediaFire, click here.

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Bestial Beast

DESCRIPTION Bestial beasts are the spectral presences of centaurs who were particularly evil during their life. As undead, they exist primarily on the negative material plane, and in the prime material plane they are quite powerful at nighttime but completely powerless during the day. Bestial beasts are non-corporeal and, therefore, immune to sleep, charm, hold, cold and poison, and can only be hit by magic or silver weapons. Furthermore, bestial beasts have a sort of “magic sense” which affects magical attacks against them (excluding magical weapons like swords and bows) with a -1 penalty on “to hit” rolls. Additionally, their spectral substance makes them extremely strong, giving them a +6 damage adjustment with all HTH weapons, and making their trample attack twice as effective as it would have been when their were living (2-12 each instead of 1-6 each.) They are usually found haunting small villages and towns, and there is a 50% chance any bestial beast will also be accompanied by 4-16 wild dogs. The sound of a bestial beast’s galloping hooves is able to cause a reaction of fear among those who hear them as follows: 1) creatures with 1-2 hit dice must save vs. magic or flee in panic, 2) creatures with 3-4 hit dice must save vs. magic or be paralyzed with fear (50%) or run in fear (50%, as above), 3) creatures with 5-6 hit dice must save vs. magic or fight at -1 on their “to hit” rolls, and 4) creatures with 7 or more hit dice are immune to the effects. All canine creatures are immune to this fear, regardless of hit dice.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very Rare NO. APPEARING: 1-4 ARMOR CLASS: 3 (2) MOVE: 24” HIT DICE: 7 % IN LAIR: 10% TREASURE TYPE: I (x2), Q (x2), X (x2) in lair NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12/2-12 SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below INTELLIGENCE: Average ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil SIZE: L PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 3 HIT DICE: 7** MOVE: 240’ ATTACKS: 2 hooves or 1 weapon DAMAGE: See below NO. APPEARING: 1-4 SAVE AS: Fighter: 7 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: H, I (x2), L (x2) in lair ALIGNMENT: Chaotic

d30 Feature of the Week: Sandbox Settlement Suppliers Generator

I'm sure this week's d30 feature is far from flawless, but should come in handy nonetheless. It's designed to quickly generate suppliers in different settlements by size of community. I think it's better suited for quickly determining whether the party is lucky enough to find a sage, alchemist, or armor smith living in the thorpe they just stumbled across, rather than determining how many of each type that megacity on the other side of the mountain might have. So you can see how it's obviously destined for the d30 Sandbox Companion.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS: 1) Determine the size of the community. 2) Roll for each type of supplier in that community based on the odds in the chart. 3) Let me know how this works for you (and any suggested shifts in the odds based on something that seems overly or underly available based on community size.)

To download a free PDF of this Settlement Suppliers Generator from MediaFire, click here.

Update to Post: I went ahead and rolled up a quickie settlement this morning using this generator, as well as my previous "Settlement Background," "Magical Places," and "Cult" Generators to create the following locale...

Town of 720 people
heterarchy (foreign ruler)
rejecting of outsiders
minor issue with beggars/vagrancy
nearby threat = evil elves

With the following suppliers:
1 fletcher
1 healer
2 inns
2 leathercrafters
1 magic items vendor
1 potion vendor
2 provisions (food/rations) providers
1 reseller (used items)
1 smith (general)
2 tailors
3 tool shops
2 weapons shops

nearby magical place = peak of visions
(actually a hallucinatory terrain; peak doesn't exist)

nearby cult
follows/worships red dragon
taken to wearing wigs
mantra = "I bow to the unmet illusion of secondhand death."
(Soundslike a bunch of nutjobs to me.)

Another Really Old Old-School Artist: Johannes Gehrts

If you couldn't tell from his name, Johannes Gehrts was German, as was the subject of many of his works... Germanic and Norse mythology, that is. In fact, you could pretty much do a standalone version of the Norse section of Deities and Demigods with Gehrts's illustration (no offense to Herr Dee and the other wonderful folks who brought you the TSR version.)

Pictured at left: Siegfrieds Tod.

Pictured below are the various deities of Norse mythology, presented in the same order as the "Norse Mythology" section of Deities and Demigods. 1st row (L to R): Odin "All Father" (supreme ruler of the gods) with Freke and Gere (Odin's wolves) and Hugin and Munin (Odin's ravens) "Thought & Memory"; Baldur. 2nd row (L to R): Frey (god of sunshine & the elves) with Gullin-Bursti (golden bristles - Frey's golden boar); Freya (goddess of love & fertility). 3rd row (L to R): Hel (goddess of death); Loki (god of mischief, strife and fire) with Sigyn (does not appear in book). 4th row (L to R): the Norns (the fates); Thor (god of thunder) with Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr (Thor's goats).

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Dzee-dzee-bon-da

This week's MOW entry is obviously a little Lovecraftian, though actually a creature from Native American mythology/legend. I was particularly inspired by the short description that's floating around the internet... "a monster, so ugly that even he is terrified of his own appearance."

DESCRIPTION Dzee-dzee-bon-das are true abominations of nature... creatures so hideous they scare even themselves. It is for this reason that only one dzee-dzee-bon-da will appear in one place at a time. Any creature gazing upon a dzee-dzee-bon-da must save vs. paralysis or die immediately from from fright. Any creature with 3 or fewer hit dice that makes a successful saving throw will still become catatonic for the remainder of their life with no chance for cure, any creature with 4-7 hit dice that makes a successful saving throw will still go into convulsions for 4-24 turns, and creatures with 8 or more hit dice that make a successful saving throw will attack at -1 "to hit" for 3-18 turns. Any dzee-dzee-bon-da that gazes upon itself, must save vs. paralysis or fall unconscious for 2-5 turns. In addition to their horrifying appearance, dzee-dzee-bond-das also produce a stench that is so strong, any creature coming withing 50' of it must make a saving throw vs. poison or fall unconscious for 3-12 turns. Description: Dzee-dzee-bon-das are drooling beasts of twisted flesh that possess 2-5 arms with taloned hands (each of which provides an attack that does 2-8 points of damage), 5-8 eyes (which eliminate bonuses for attacking from behind and allow surprise only on a 1), 3-4 legs, 5-8 tentacles (mostly on its head), and 2-5 horns.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very Rare NO. APPEARING: 1 ARMOR CLASS: 4 MOVE: 6" HIT DICE: 8 % IN LAIR: 90% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 2-5 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12 each SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: L (10’-12’ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 4 HIT DICE: 8** MOVE: 60' ATTACKS: 2-5 claws DAMAGE: 2-12 per attack NO. APPEARING: 1 SAVE AS: Fighter: 7 MORALE: 7 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

Scrutinizing the Scroll Part II: Comprehending the Quill

As a followup to my earlier post Scrutinizing the Scroll, I've decided to expand on the paper discussion there with some additional information about the various writing instruments associated with the various writing forms. As mentioned in that original post, all writing requires both a substrate (e.g., paper, papyrus, and wet clay) as well as a medium and, often, a utensil. In this post, I'll take a deeper look at those utensils in an attempt to provide the inventive DM additional fodder for scroll-related quests and the like.

Prehistoric Writing Instruments
The theories about what the cavemen used as a utensil are widely varied, but are nonetheless pretty interesting. While most of the following utensil types supposedly originate during prehistoric times, their use goes far beyond and, in many cases, continue through to today.

The Finger
Anyone who's ever had dust, food, or the blood of your recently killed prey on your fingers, and then wiped them off on whatever's nearby, knows it's not a far stretch to imagine that the human finger was the original writing instrument.

In game terms, the finger is not necessarily the most suitable writing instrument for producing a successful scroll. But if all you've got is the blood of that troll you just killed, and you need to draw a protective rune on the door you're about to lock, it will have to do.

Chewed Twigs
The basic concept of a twig roughened at the end to produce a set of "bristles" may find its origin with prehistoric cave-dwellers, but reaches it true place as an accepted writing instrument with the likes of the Egyptians, who wrote with both pointed sticks and, later, brushes made from rush stems.

Obviously chewing the end of a common stick to create a brush is not going to always produce the most advantageous of writing instruments. However, if the wood is forgiving and the production methodology is a step up from the standard combination of saliva and molar, an acceptable utensil can be created with meager of means. The Egyptians proved that.

Bone "Pencil"
This is a truly interesting device. It begins by taking a bone of an animal--preferably one that's straight and thick, like a leg bone. Then one end is carved into a diagonal point, resembling a pencil. The marrow-filled inside of the bone, being full of holes like a sponge, is used to "suck up" the medium (die, paint, blood, et al) to give it stability. Then the bone can be used like a pencil.

In game applications, the success and usefulness of any particular bone specimen would depend on: 1) the size of the bone, 2) the finesse of the scribe carving the bone, 3) the quality of the tools being used to carve the bone, 4) the flexibility/rigidity of the bone, 5) the fluidity of the medium being used, and 6) the "sponginess" of the bone (birds, for example, have a much higher air to bone ratio than a tiger.)

Charcoal
In some cases, the medium was the utensil too. Charcoal is a prime example of this. In its simplest form, it really nothing more than burnt stick with carbon residue. In it's more advanced forms (still in historical terms/not modern production methods) billets of wood are piled on their ends to make a conical pile. Openings at the bottom allow the center to then act as a flue for the flame to start underneath and spread rapidly through the wood. The whole pile is covered with turf or moistened clay to reduce outside the inclusion of outside oxygen, making for a stronger end product.

For characters attempting to make their own charcoal (from whatever obscure vine or tree wood is appropriate to the spell type), success is dependent upon combustion rate. But even when successful, the end product for small scale production is about 50% by volume and 25% by weight.

Reed Styluses (Sumerians)
As mentioned in the last post, the Sumerians living in the fertile valley between the Tigres and the Euphrates went straight to the most available materials... reed styluses and wet clay. As the writing utensils developed, so did the style of writing.

Honestly, the only simpler solution than a stick is a finger. Fingers, however, make pretty big indentions, requiring massive clay tablets. Let's face it, clay isn't exactly the lightest stuff on Earth. By comparison, reed styluses (okay, that's not technically "a stick", but for the sake of this discourse let's assume it is) provide and economy of space on such a substrate. And when you're drawing everything pictographically, everything pretty much takes a lot of space. So the Sumerians developed an economical system of writing based on an evolved utensil. By chiseling the tip of the stylus, it allowed for easier mark-making, and the pictorial form of writing (which required a lot of organic forms and lines) evolved into a more abstracted form (using fewer lines, mostly straight), eventually being replaced by cuneiform writing (a set of minimal markings, pressed instead of drawn into the clay.)

Given that cuneiforms are not unlike runes, a chisel-tipped writing instrument would be suited to such. It is not, however, conducive to more script-like forms of writing, particularly elvish. From a sourcing standpoint, any type of tubular shaped item will do (claw, bone, reeds, bamboo, wood, wax.)

Brushes Made From Rush Stems (Egyptians)
This baby was really a sort of hybrid pen/brush. A thin-stemmed rush, or reed, plant was cut (usually to a length of about nine inches.) Then, via a similar method to their caveman precursors, the chewed or hammered it at one end to soften it. The rush stem was easily frayed, and held enough ink to get through (at least) a few letters before having to re-ink.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind here from a practicality standpoint. First, the more you use something like a rush brush, the more frayed and worn it will become over time. However, trimming it down and re-chewing or hammering the end will "freshen it up." From a material standpoint, whatever sort of stem or reed is used, it must be soft and thready. Again, from a sourcing standpoint, any sort of hollow (or semi-hollow) tubular resource (within reason) will suffice.

The Qalam (Arabia/Persia)
The qalam is an reed pen with a flat nib, the word "qalam" being a derivative of the Greek word for "pen." The angle of use evolved with the various forms of Aramaic (khufic and naskhi) and, later, Hebrew and Sanskrit, all of which feature strong contrast between thick and thin strokes.

The Evolved Stylus (Romans)
The Romans used a couple of basic forms of stylus. For writing with ink (on parchment), they used a very simple pointed wood stylus. For writing on wax, they used a metal stylus with a pointed tip on one end, and a flat end on the other which was used to "wipe out" their mistakes. For some applications, the writing tip of the stylus might have a slightly chiseled tip to allow for variation in stroke width.

When it comes to metal styluses, casting or forging is required. Wooden styluses, on the other hand, are really not much more than a wood dowel with a pointed or chiseled end, requiring very little from a manufacturing standpoint.

The Quill Pen
Invented around 700 A.D., the quill pen was the dominant writing instrument for most of our recent history (pretty much until the fountain pen was invented in the late 1800s A.D.) Essentially, the feather of a bird is cleaned and then sharpened using a special knife (thus the origin of the term "pen-knife.") This is actually a lot more laborious than it sounds, especially because each quill lasted only about week (which is still much longer than a rush brush would last.)

In an historical context, different types of birds yield different types of instruments for different types of styles (chicken and turkey being most prevalent due to availability.) Others were prized for their beauty (like the swan's.)

In a game context, there is the most potential here, particularly given the types of creatures that possess the feathers, and the increased chances of success for particular types of scroll creation. The questing here is almost unlimited. Take, for example, the mythological caladrius, a snow white bird that supposedly would not look at any patient that was not going to make a full recovery. Smells like the perfect quill for a healing scroll.

Quills do have a major drawback, though. While they seem more desirable for their durability (compared to reeds/stems) and variety, they are less flexible in terms of writing style and, therefore, somewhat limited. For example, they do not lend themselves to the calligraphic thin/wide strokes required for the likes of elvish and other hands. Furthermore, unless that magic-user is going to keep a particular creature caged, the supply of quills from it will be limited.

Hair Brushes
It is likely that the Chinese have been using hair brushes for over 3,000 years, though the oldest example only dates back about 2,000. If an animal has hair, and the hair is long enough, it can be made into a brush. Consider the brushes that have been made using the hair of weasels, rabbits, deer, chickens, goats, pigs, and tigers. Moreover, using a brush for calligraphic purposes is a true art form, with almost unlimited potential for beauty and finesse. In fact, in China, it's considered the highest art form, each example being judged on its bones (authority and size), meat (texture of the fluid ink), and muscle (spirit and vital force.)

If you though the potential for questing quills was unlimited, imagine the questing potential for any animal with hair! The hair brush is also superior to the quill for variety of line weight. And given it's potential for beauty and impact (bones, meat, muscle), the potential benefits for using a scroll created by the hands of a master calligrapher is almost overwhelming. Can you say, "dexterity bonus?"

Music Review: Mindflayer's "Expedition to the Harrier Peaks"

While at Half-price Books this weekend, I had a couple of minutes to kill while I waited for my wife, and I wandered over the CD section looking for something to listen to in the car. I spent all of about 30-seconds there looking. Call it fate or synchronicity, but during those 3 melee rounds, I stumbled across Mindflayer's Expedition to the Harrier Peaks.

This thing pretty much sounds like what I would expect a Mind Flayer's attack to feel like. It's heavy on the distortion and feedback, and light on anything resembling a melody. But if you know anything about noise rock, that's par for the course. Mindflayer (the band) is, in some ways, a supergroup of sorts for the noise rock genre.

If you're interested, there's a video of what is most likely their first show ever at this link. It's a bit more palette-able that what you would find on Harrier Peaks, which is bit more like this.

I am tempted, however, to create an encounter table to go with the map on the actual disk.

d30 Feature of the Week: Cult Generator

I'm not sure if this week's d30 feature will make it into the d30 Sandbox Companion and, in the end, it may come down to page count. This one produces 2,700 variants of cults based on 1) their leader/or creature they worship, 2) a strange practice of the cult, and 3) the cult's mantra.

To download a free PDF of today's chart from MediaFire, click here.

An 80s New Wave Song That Reeks of RPG Battle Anthem

One of my favorite videos/songs from the 80s, from the same blokes that gave us the similar "Wunderbar." (Click on pic to view video at YouTube.)

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Braincrab

This week's MOW entry was inspired by some of the goofier monsters that appearing the Fiend Folio.
And I just liked the idea of a crab taking up residence in a human skull.

DESCRIPTION Usually found in wet subterranean areas below or near human settlements, braincrabs are a form of carnivorous hermit crab. The preferred diet of the braincrab is the brain of its victims, and its preferred home is the skull that remains. The standard method of a attack of a braincrab is to leap (move in parentheses) on to the top of the head of their victim, planting the tips of their 8 standard legs into the victim and injecting them with a paralyzing toxin (save vs. poison or paralyzed 1-8 turns.) After a victim has been immobilized, the braincrab will use its powerful claws to work its way into the victim’s skull via the nape of the neck. If a brain crab has not been stopped within 2 turns of beginning this, there is a 70% chance (+10% per turn thereafter) that the victim’s neck will be snapped, resulting in permanent paralysis. Within 5 turns, the braincrab will have have made its way into the skull and snapped the head of the victim from its body. Once the head has been removed, the braincrab will proceed to devour the victims brain, using its skull as its new home.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very Rare NO. APPEARING: 10-40 ARMOR CLASS: 5 MOVE: 12”//15” HIT DICE: 1 % IN LAIR: 20% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8/1-8 SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Non- ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: S PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 5 HIT DICE: 1* MOVE: 120’//150’ ATTACKS: 1 clamp or 2 claws DAMAGE: paralysis or 1-8/1-8 NO. APPEARING: 10-40 SAVE AS: Fighter: 1 MORALE: 6 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

d30 Feature of the Week: 30 reasons members of your party can't go dungeoneering this weekend.

Sorry. Been slammed with work this week and this is the best I can do for today given the limited amount of time I have.

30. My deity is on vacation, so I'm afraid he won't answer my spells.

29. I need to feed my familiar.

28. Well, it's a full moon tonight, and ever since that wererat bit me...

27. I just feel like all we do is kill monsters and steal treasure. We never just talk anymore.

26. I'm going to see the new John Carter movie in 3D.

25. I've had a rough week with the plague and what not. Tonight I just want to curl up with bottle of gnome wine and re-watch Titanic. (Other members of the party proceed to swiftly kill that member, even though she's a hot female elf.)

24. Do you know what's supposed to be down there? A medusa. Do you know what medusae do? They fuck you up. Go ahead. Go without me. And when you're all turned to stone... well, don't come crying to me to wash the pigeon poop off ya.

23. I'm out of graph paper.

22. I'm out of bat guano.

21. My bag of holding is full.

20. My armor of etherealness is at the cleaners.

19. I'm still feeling out of sorts from facing that umber hulk last week.

18. Maybe you haven't noticed this hole in my head, but a mind flayer ate my brain.

17. The torches and light spells aren't just doing it for me anymore. I think I'm getting seasonal affective disorder.

16. Ever since the party leader died, my morale just isn't what it used to be.

15. I've only got 1 hit point left.

14. I committed myself to creating food and water (per 3rd level cleric spell) at the homeless shelter.

13. Do we actually have to go down there? Can't we just do it on Google+ or Skype?

12. I'm not sure how good my spellcasting will be. I've got that damn "Karma Chameleon" song stuck in my head.

11. It's my weekend to take the kids. But I suppose I could polymorph them into something useful and bring them... that is, if you guys don't mind.

10. Someone stole my ring of invisibility. It was you wasn't it? You've wanted to take it from me since my uncle gave it to me!!!

9. I feel like the only reason you take me along anymore is to unlock doors for you. Do you realize how long it's been since I got to attack from behind?

8. I need to go check in on the contractor over at the castle I'm building.

7. My mother wants me to meet the orc she's been dating. God forbid she tell me there's a little half-orc on the way.

6. There's a bachelor party tonight for one of my men-at-arms and we've got a suite at Greyhawk Castle.

5. I've got to polish my sword. And by polish my sword, I mean-

4. Well, if you had successfully removed my fear the other day, maybe I wouldn't be so afraid to go this time.

3. I'm working on a new spell and I'm almost there. I'll just leave it at this... Leomund's giant penis!

2. Yes, I did save vs. poison against that giant toad last week, but unfortunately I didn't save vs. diarrhea.

1. Yeah... I'm kind of over this dungeon delving thing.

The Best Days for RPG Bloggers To Post?

I've been trying to review my traffic and get a feel for when posts seem to be the most successful and here's what I've come up with...

Mondays are good, if my post is up early enough. If my post isn't up by 8 a.m. or so CST, might as well hold it 'til Tuesday. People seem to like "news" on Mondays (updates on projects, etc.)

Tuesdays aren't bad. But audience falls of a bit from Monday. If you're a blogger, this is a good day for "filler" material - you know, stuff that doesn't require much of the reader. This is usually my day for new illustration, and has become Monster of the Week day.

Wednesdays suck. People must got shits to do. Like me, they're probably dealing with the thick of the week. Maybe I've been slow or slagging with my Wednesday posts, and that's why traffic is down, but I see a lot of new posts popping up on Wednesdays with other bloggers, but even when I post, I just don't see the traffic. (BTW, I wrote this on Wednesday in preparation for posting it on Thursday, not only to then have my best-trafficked Wednesday ever, but also one of my top 20 days of all time. And I picked up 2 new followers. The lure of yesterday's compended creatures must have either enticed, or I've got Wednesday pegged all wrong. I'm sorry Wednesday. Can you forgive me?)

Thursdays aren't bad. They're like Tuesdays, but seem to look forward toward the weekend. It seems to be when people are most interested in some last minute inspirations for their weekend gaming. I'm thinking about moving the Monster of the Week to Thursday.

Fridays are like Thursdays, but better. I know that by Friday I'm pretty much ready to start my weekend, and in some cases I already have. For now, I'll keep Friday as d30 Feature of the Week. There seem to be a good number of downloads of the PDFs that I post. I imagine the DMs out there are downloading and printing them to have them at the table on Saturday, in case they need them.

Saturdays... f'ing forget it. Unless my followers are sick or on spousal lockdown for the day, they're up and out early for a day of delving, and they ain't got time for no blogs, regardless of how interesting or insightful they might be.

Sundays are nice. Get up late, cup full of hot joe, and a head full of memories of yesterday's battles with lich lords and what not. See what happened at the other tables yesterday, and think about it in the context of others, or rules, or experiences. I used to post on Sundays about old games from my collection, or what I might have stumbled upon over the weekend. I'd like to get back to that.

Creatures Compended: The NBD Monster Roster (10.11.11 to present)

Below is an overview (with links) to the various Oe/BX/1e monsters I've published on this blog since launching it in October of last year.

Abysmal
Originally Published: 02.28.12

Beguine
Originally Published: 01.27.12

Calytaur
Originally Published: 01.05.12

Djetabi (Serpopard)
Originally Published: 02.01.12

Golem, Canine Flesh
Originally Published: 10.29.11

Dobarchú, Greater (Water Demon)
Originally Published: 01.24.12

Dobarchú, Lesser (Water Hound)
Updated Stats: 01.24.12
Original Stats Published: 11.10.11

Draugr
Originally Published: 02.22.12

Elephant, White
Originally Published: 12.24.11

Flailing Spirit
Originally Published: 03.06.12

Guardian Bramble
Originally Published: 11.30.11

Hsigo (Flying Monkey)
Originally Published: 02.14.12

Liger
Originally Published: 01.31.12

Ophiotaurus
Originally Published: 01.29.12

Scorpion, White
Originally Published: 02.07.12

Sea Creature (d30) Generator
Originally Published: 01.20.12

Skeleton, Stone
Originally Published: 11.07.11

Spindler
Originally Published: 01.17.12

Worm, Carriage
Originally Published: 01.10.12

Worm, Crimson Death
Originally Published: 01.09.12

Worm, Misoji
Originally Published: 01.31.12

Worm, Rider
Originally Published: 01.11.12

Worm, Sarcophagal
Originally Published: 01.12.12

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Flailing Spirit (Undead)

DESCRIPTION A flailing spirit is the spirit of a person who was so evil during their life that, upon their death, their spirit was literally ripped to shreds. They appear not unlike a tattered ghost, but are more akin to spectres. As non-corporeal undead, they may only be hit by magic weapons and are unaffected by silver. Additionally, they are immune to the effects of sleep, charm and hold spells, as well as cold-based attacks, poison and paralyzation. Holy water causes 1-4 points for each vial that successfully hits a flailing spirit and a raise dead spell will destroy it. Flailing spirits have variable amount of hit dice and an inversely variable number of attacks based on how badly they are “ripped.” Flailing spirits with 5 hit dice are considered to be “more ripped,” and therefore have more attacks (6 touches) from the flailing shreds of their being. Those with 6 hit dice have 5 attacks, those with 7 hit dice have 4 attacks, and those with 8 hit dice have 3 attacks. Regardless of the number of hit dice, all flailing spirits attack as an 8 hit die monster and save as a 6th level fighter. Each successful touch from a flailing spirit causes an energy drain (in experience points) equal to the number of points of damage times 1000 (1000-6000.) Any drain greater than the number of experience points of a character will reduce that character to 0 hit points and reduce them to a “0” level.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very Rare NO. APPEARING: 1 ARMOR CLASS: 1 MOVE: -/24” HIT DICE: 5-8 % IN LAIR: 20% TREASURE TYPE: C NO. OF ATTACKS: 3-6 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 + energy drain SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better weapon to hit MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below INTELLIGENCE: Average ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil SIZE: M PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 1 HIT DICE: 5-8** MOVE: -/240’ ATTACKS: 3-6 touches + special DAMAGE: 1-6 + energy drain NO. APPEARING: 1 SAVE AS: Fighter: 6 MORALE: 11 TREASURE TYPE: C ALIGNMENT: Chaotic