New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Kraben

Before you say it, of course this creature is inspired by the three-eyed raven that appears in Bran's dreams in Game of Thrones. (BTW, I believe in the books it's actually a crow.) But I thought a 3-eyed raven would be more interesting in the role of spy rather than simply a symbol or as just a dreamworld familiar.

DESCRIPTION Krabens are a species of three-eyed ravens most often found as the familiars of magic-users and employed as spies. The kraben’s natural stealth makes them perfectly suited for this job, able to move silently and hide in shadows as a 7th-level thief. Their natural intelligence also enables them in this capacity; while they are only capable of speaking their only language, they are able to understand the common tongue, as well as 3-5 common languages (e.g., elvish, dwarvish, etc.) and an additional 1-2 uncommon languages (e.g., trollish, hill giant, etc.) Furthermore, krabens make all their saving throws as a 1st-level magic-user.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 1-2 ARMOR CLASS: 7 MOVE: 3”/36” HIT DICE: 1/2 % IN LAIR: 90% TREASURE TYPE: A NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-2 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: Saves as 1st-level magic-user INTELLIGENCE: Average to very ALIGNMENT: (Lawful) neutral SIZE: S PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 7 HIT DICE: 1/2 MOVE: 30’/360’ ATTACKS: 1 beak DAMAGE: 1-2 NO. APPEARING: 1-2 SAVE AS: Magic-user:1 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

Another d30 Sandbox Updated: Content Listing

Last week, I revealed the new cover image for the d30 Sandbox Companion. Today, you're getting a look at the re-drawn back cover image, originally intended for the back cover of the d30 DM Companion, and then for the front cover of the d30 Sandbox Companion. The original was done at a time when I was just getting back into the illustration thing, and I was testing out various pen types and tips, and it just ended up being a little too... "chunky" for my tastes. I'm much happier with the re-draw (as is usual for me.)

I know, I know... you're asking...
"Where's the damn content listing you promised me in the title of this blog post?"

Here you go...

FORMS/TEMPLATES
Wilderness Mapping Master Key
Hex Crawl Worksheet
Settlement Worksheet
NPC Record Sheet

WILDERNESS AND LOCALES
Hex Terrain Generator
Natural Features, Phenomena, and Locales
Weather Events
Foraging & Hunting by Terrain & Season
Caves & Lairs Generator
Ruins Generator
Temples & Shrines Generator
Cult Generator
Magical Places
Pilgrims Generator
Road Encounters (2 pages)
Castle Stronghold Generator (2 pages)
Heraldry Generator
Expanded Heraldry Generator

SETTLEMENTS
Settlement Background: Government, Disposition, Economy, Issues, and Threats
Misc. Settlement Encounters: Attacks, Annoyances, Propositions, and Observances
City Guards, City Watch, Border Patrols
Methods of Torture & Execution
Settlement Suppliers by Size of Settlement
Shop Stocker
Tavern Name Generator
Tavern Accommodations, Features, Reputation, and Food

NPCs
NPC Attribute Generator
Classed NPCs
Quick Character Inventory: Weapons, Armor, and Class-specific Equipment
Quick NPC Magical Item Determination by Class/Race
NPC Motivation and Personality + NPC Family Background
NPC History by Class/Race + Added Skills
NPC Physical Traits, Personality, and Quirks
NPC Height Determination by Race
Freeman NPC Occupations
Nobles and Noble Household Personnel (Villani/Bordars)
Sage Generator (2 pages)
Quick Language Determination & Languages Spoken Crib Sheet
Advanced Language Determination
Henchmen/Hirelings Recruitment (2 pages)

Obviously, this is subject to change, re-arrangement, and what not. But I'm feeling like this is pretty close. Last week, I thought I'd be looking at about 44 pages. Now I'm feeling like it's going to be 54. After talking to my co-conspirator Welbo, we felt like we might need as many as 3 pages for the "How to Use This Book" section, and 2-pages for the index. (These sections took only 1 page each in the d30 DM Companion.)

In addition to the intro and index page additions, there was a point a while back when I took out 2 pages of "Road Encounters" as well as a "Pilgrims Generator" page from the d30 Sandbox Companion layout; they just felt like they were out of place and interrupted what I call "conceptual chunking" of pages (really, just the natural flow/connection of content). However, I found a natural way to work those pages back into the layout (such that I'm happy with their placement, and they don't feel like they impede the flow/use of the other content.) That being said, it doesn't mean I'm not still considering a d30 Encounter Companion!!!

d30 Feature of the Week: Abridged Castle/Stronghold Generator

While I use the word "abridged," this week's d30 feature isn't terribly so... abridged, I mean.

In the d30 Sandbox Companion the full Castle/Stronghold Generator is only 2 pages, and the majority of the first page (80% or so) is taken up by a chart that creates patrol size/composition (based on the resident type for the castle/stronghold). Otherwise, this contains the entirety of those 2 pages (though, it technically is only 60% of the total content of the 2 pages).

I was considering adding a line to give the option of allowing the level of the resident/owner to determine the size of the castle/stronghold, but I think it's much more interesting to let fate decide. For example, "How did that relatively low-level fighter get such a big castle?" (Do I detect the legacy of a coup d'état?) Or maybe, "Why doesn't that high-level fighter have a bigger castle?" (Is he wasteful? A spendthrift? Did he lose a great portion of wealth somehow?) This is something that I think is nicely inherent in the results of the table. Take the following results as an example...

Results: 15th-level cleric; 14-level round keep; old portion=good condition/some age, new portion=newly completed. He's got a rather large place that's mostly new or in good condition; that seems to fit with being a 15th-level cleric. Implications/overall take: this guy's got his shit together.

Results: 16th-level fighter; 2-level round keep; old portion=partially inoperational*/destroyed, new portion=in need of major repair. What's up with this guy? A 16th-level fighter with a crumbling ass keep? Possibilities: 1) he's crazy, 2) he's cursed, 3) it's a retreat of sorts and he's got a better one somewhere else, 4) there's 14 dungeon levels hidden underneat, 5) it's an illusion... and, honestly, I could keep going.

See what I mean?

Click here to download a free PDF of this
d30 Abridged Castle/Stronghold Generator from MediaFire.

To get an update on the d30 Sandbox Companion, read yesterday's post.

*I know this should be "inoperative," as "inoperational" isn't really a word.
This will be fixed for the d30 DM Companion, but will most likely stay incorrect in this PDF/post.

d30 Sandbox Companion Update

Somehow, someway, I've been making pretty good headway on the remaining items for the d30 Sandbox Companion. On the heels of finishing up the Ruins Generator last week, I finished up the castle generator yesterday, and as of right now, it's looking to be 44 pages of d30 goodness. That's 8 more pages than the d30 DM Companion!

So here are the major items I have left:
- Master Wilderness Mapping Key
- Weather Generator
- Natural Features, Phenomena, and Events
- Temple Generator
- City Guards, City Watch, Border Patrols
- Sale Items (Shop Stock Items by Type)
- NPC History by Class/Race
- Hireling/Henchmen Recruitment (2 pages)

I also still have to draw all the interior illustrations, and re-draw the back cover illustration (that used to be the cover illustration), but- hey... check out that snazzy new cover illustration!

I'm a little behind my original schedule (August/September), but I had some personal and work commitments that just seemed to keep putting this project on the back burner. Not to say other things won't come up, but I've renewed my commitment to finishing this thing up... soon!

Unless my plan changes at the last minute, tomorrow's d30 Feature of the Week will be the castle generator, and another update should follow next week.

Encounter Table Idea I've Been Playing Around With

This is an approach to an adventure encounter key that I've toying around with. I'm looking to possibly use it for one of my mini-adventures. It's not much more than a set of encounters that are "pre-scaled" to several adventure levels. Would anyone find this handy and/or useful if they were using an existing adventure?

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Razortooth Hammerheaded Muckwing

DESCRIPTION The razortooth hammerheaded muckwing (or simply “muckwing” for short) is a giant flying insect that appears as a cross between a dragonfly and a scorpion, featuring a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and a slimy coating oozing from the entirety of its body. If ingested, the ooze of a muckwing is mildly hallucinogenic, and produces a state of "euphoric anxiety" that lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of ounces ingested (e.g., 1 ounce = 1 hour of effect). The muckwing is not normally aggressive but will become so if threatened or harmed in any way. A muckwing is able to attack a single target with a combination of its bite and stinger. The bite of a muckwing (in addition to 1d4 shredding damage from its teeth) deals a poison that (on a failed saving throw) causes its victim to suffer blurred vision for 1d4+1 rounds, attacking with a -1 “to hit” penalty for that duration. Normally, the stinger attack of a muckwing does 1d2 points of damage and injects a mild poison that (on a failed saving throw) has the same effects as its bite (-1 “to hit” penalty for 1d4+1 rounds due to blurred vision). However, there is a 50% chance each time a muckwing makes a successful stinger attack that the poison gland in it’s tail will “rupture,” causing twice the normal piercing damage (2d2 instead of the normal 1d2) and killing its victim on a failed saving throw (vs. poison) in 1d4+1 turns. Additionally, if the muckwing’s stinger dislodges, it will no longer be able to make any stinger attacks, and the muckwing will die in 1d4+1 turns. All effects of the muckwing’s bite and stinger are cumulative. Muckwings are normally found in tropical climes, but are sometimes found in temperate climates during warm, moist summer months following mild, wet winters.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Uncommon NO. APPEARING: 6-36 ARMOR CLASS: 6 MOVE: 3”/15” HIT DICE: 1 % IN LAIR: 10% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d4 + poison/1d2 + poison SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Non- ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: M (3’ long) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 6 HIT DICE: 1 MOVE: 30’/150’ ATTACKS: 1 bite/1 stinger DAMAGE: 1d4 + poison/ 1d2 + poison or special NO. APPEARING: 6-36 SAVE AS: Normal man MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure: Sjaudrvergrhall(for characters levels 4-7)

It's official! My viking mini-adventures are now a trilogy. Though the Great Kahn has closed submissions for his one-page dungeon contest with a Viking theme (the submission period ended last night), I did get my third one in before the deadline. The three aren't "officially" linked, and share little more than an Old Norse "vibe" and some names that sound like various items from the Ikea catalog. But there are three of them, and that's enough of a trilogy for me.

The first was The Tomb of Ludor the Beheader, centered around my draugr monster stats.

For the second, I again looked to one of the monsters from the Creature Compendium, and chose the red dwarf as a focal point of Þrymjahellir (Threemyahetler), who's name means both "cave of thunder" and "cave of lies."

For the third in the series, I found inspiration in Wagner's four-cycle opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. I started thinking "ring" and "dwarves" and that led me to today's entry... Sjaudvergrhall ("hall of the seven dwarves.") I really dig the backstory I came up with, so here it is in it's entirety...

Reginn, son of Hreiðmarr (king of dwarves), was a dvergr (dwarf) of not only great size, but of skill and wisdom. Dark in spirit and versed in magic, Reginn created a testament to himself in Sjaudvergrhall (“hall of the seven dwarves”)—a series of trials meant to test the bravest and most heroic of men, while proving the superiority of dwarvenkind.

Long did Sjaudvergrhall seem only legend, its location lost when Sigurd wielded Gram (the sword he used to slay the dragon Fafnir) and cut off Reginn’s head. But the roots of Yggdrasil (the world tree) have twisted and turned as they’ve grown over the ages, and passage between Midgard (the world of humans) and Nidavellir (home of the dwarves) now offers access to Reginn’s conceit.

A solitary cavern writhes for miles through the bowels of Myrkrbjarg (the “dark mountain”) until it arrives at Myrkrgrind (the “dark gate”)—the entrance to Sjaudvergrhall.

Sjaudvergrhall, like the first two in the viking trilogy, will be available for download on the Old School Adventures™ page. Or... to download Sjaudvergrhall now, click here.

Now, just a bit more housekeeping on this before I close for the day. I'd like to thank William Dowie (a.k.a. The Great Khan), not only for the cool Ramblings of a Great Khan magnet, but for the cool artwork created by his wife Mona. (Pics of all below).