d30 Feature of the Week: City Encounters (4 Types)

This week's d30 feature is part of the ever-updated-and-slowly-but-surely-going d30 Sandbox Companion. This page of 4 charts creates the following type of city encounters:
1) Unprovoked attacks: misunderstandings, malevolence, and mental impairment
2) Annoying encounters: from beggars & buffoons to prostitutes & performers
3) Criminal solicitations: guaranteed to get your PCs in trouble!*
4) Festivals and celebrations: game, political, popular, and religious

To download a free PDF of these d30 City Encounters charts from MediaFire, click here.

* The management wishes to express this in no way is a certified guarantee of any sort.

Building a Better Treasure Type Resource: PDF Download - Early Editions Treasure Types

Are you tired of having to search endlessly through editions to find the Treasure Type that matches the monster you've got listed? And what about constantly having to convert those %5 intervals into d20 numbers? Look no further! You're Treasure Type prayers have been answered! Whether you're DM'ing Oe, 1e, BX or HB, this doc has you covered. It's self-contained and fairly self-explanatory.

What are you waitin' fer? Download this baby!

And if you missed my previous post actually showing the subtle differences between each edition, check out the original post.

160 "New" Oe/BX/1e Monsters?

If you've had chance to meander over to the Old-School Adventure Accessories™ page of this blog, or read this blog regularly, you've heard mention of a certain Creature Compendium. I've slowly, but surely, been making headway with it (sometimes in deference to finishing up items for the d30 Sandbox Companion). What you may not realize is... for every 1 monster that gets posted to this blog, there are 2 that don't. It's not that those 2 aren't any good, it's just that so many new ones come up that I think are cool, I keep pushing others to the backseat. Which brings me to the headline of this post...

First, I apologize if my headline seems misleading. You probably came here thinking you'd find 160 new monsters. I must admit, I use the word "new" loosely... 1/3 of the 160 monsters (and counting!) that are currently slated for inclusion in the book have been posted to this blog in the past, and the other 2/3 aren't on this blog (though they'll be new in the book). Below are the names of all 160 monsters I have created for the book, with links to the ones that have been posted to this blog over the past 10-1/2 months. (That's right, this blog is nearing its paper anniversary - ironic, huh?) I know the image of the cover says "175" right now; that's a placeholder, but it's also my minimum target number.

Just a couple of notes...

1) The "misoji worm" is now the "sanju worm" (a bit of a correction to the mis-interpreted Japanese word for "30", and a "thank you" to Welbo, my Japanese-speaking co-conspirator.)

2) A few of the monsters accessed via the links below have been refined (in the book), but those refinements have not been updated to the blog. For example, several of them pre-date the "dual format" stats that I've come to adopt as my standard M.O., though the full dual-stats will be available in the final book. Additionally, some of the stats have been refined, and some of the listings have been expanded. But, in general, most of these posts have everything you need for inclusion at the gaming table.

So, without further ado... the current (though always expanding) list of creatures slated for the Creature Compendium. (BTW, if there are any "non-linked" names that peak your curiosity, let me know and maybe I'll slate those for upcoming Monster of the Week posts.)

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE! As new monsters are posted to the blog, they'll be added/linked here!
NOTE: Since this original post, approximately 10 new creatures have been added to the list.

A Abysmal Adarna Bird Airwalker Aqraseth Arassas Aziza B Bat, Arctic (Ice) Bat, Death (3 Species) Batar Beetle, Giant Flayer Bestial Beast Biloko Bloodbeast Bloodgill Braincrab Buru C Cactus Cat Cacus Cadejo (2 Types) Calytaur Centaur, Cyprian (2 Types) Cow Demon Cyclorc D Devil Monkey Dingonek Djetabi Dobarchú, Greater Dobarchú, Lesser Donestre Dover Demon Dracopede (4 Species) Dragi Dragonboar, Wooly Draugr Dwarf, Black Dwarf, Red Dzee-dzee-bond-da

E Eaglehound Elemental, Mudmist Elemental, Sand Elephant, White Eloko Emerald Stinkbug F Fear Liath Fetch Filth Licker Fire Fox Firewalker Flash Dragon Fluxbug Flying Head G Gaseous Lantern Giant, Dirt Giant, Phase Golem, Canine (Flesh) Gorilla, Giant Spider Gowrow Guardian Bramble Gyrax (Gray Gnome) H Hayra Heikegani Hibagon Hsigo Hyrcinian Bird I Ipotane Izzoo J Jelly Death Jenglot K Kala Kam Khiimori Kraben L Leech-Man Lich, Nephil Liger Lizards, Giant Trapper Lithopede Longma

M Mapinguari Mind Hunter Mind Moth Molecricket, Giant Mothman Muckwing Mudloc N Naga, Raja Nightmander O Octoman Ophiotaurus Orling Oxyx P Pink Slime Possessor Psi-bat Pukis Q Quickslime R Rarog Ratatoskr Red Ether S Saleerandee Scorpion, White Shock Snail Skeleton, Ruby Skeleton, Rupture Skeleton, Stone Skinkman Skinwalker Skyfish Snake, Giant Two-headed Spindler Spider, Giant Trogloraptor Spirit, Flailing Sprite, Dohma Sumuru

T Taega Tangleworm Tarantula, Bone Taroltula Thuzzendahg Tiddy Mun Tukkator U Üuloch V Vittora Vulbat W Wampcat Whipwhirl Whitewinder Woodpecker, Giant Worm, Carriage Worm, Crimson Death Worm, Rider Worm, Sanju (30 varieties) Worm, Sarcophagal Wyrdwun X Xanther Y Yak-man Youree Z Zathoa

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Giant Flayer Beetle

This is one of those monsters that, when I came up with it, I said to myself... "damn, that's cool." Obviously, you're the judges here, but I still think it's pretty cool.

DESCRIPTION Flayer beetles are nasty buggers that feed in a way very similar to their namesake, burrowing into the head of a victim and sucking out the victim's brains. These cerebral pests attack by attempting to grapple a victim’s head and plunge its tentacles into the various facial cavities (ears, nose, throat, eyes sockets) of that victim. On a natural 20 “to hit” roll, they will succeed in doing so, landing their attack in one of those locations (1=left ear, 2=right ear, 3=nasal passage, 4=mouth, 5=right eye socket, 6=left eye socket) and then “dig” into the victim’s skull, reaching the brain and killing the victim in 1 turn, unless the flayer beetle is killed. Additionally, any area affected by this type of hit will permanently lose its functionality (e.g., hearing, sight, ability to speak, et al.) unless cured by a potion of extra healing or the 6th level Cleric spell heal. On any other successful “to hit” roll (apart from a natural 20), the flayer beetle has succeeding in “jabbing” its victim with 1-6 of its 6 tentacles, doing 1-6 (points of damage in the process (1 point for each successfully jabbing tentacle).

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very rare NO. APPEARING: 1-6 ARMOR CLASS: 6 MOVE: 6”/15” HIT DICE: 2+4 % IN LAIR: 15% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Animal ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: S (18” long) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 6 HIT DICE: 2+4 MOVE: 60’/150’ ATTACKS: 1 special DAMAGE: See below NO. APPEARING: 1-6 SAVE AS: Fighter: 2 MORALE: 8 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

New Monster Index: Oe/1e/BX Stats for 30+ Spiders!Free PDF Download - Monster Index: Spiders

AN EXHAUSTIVE OLD-SCHOOL INDEX OF SPIDER INFORMATION!

First it was stats for 30 dinosaurs. Then it was stats for 71 lycanthropes. Last go 'round, it was stats for 50 giants. And since you seem to love downloadin' 'em as much as I dig compiling them, here come the 31 spiders!

Like the Monster Indexes that have come before, I've combed a couple of decades' worth of 1e, 2e and BECMI resources for stats and information on all the spiders I could find that still felt old-school, adjusted a few other so they would be, and then added 1 or 2 or 3 (e.g., my bone tarantula and taroltula creations, and most recently the giant trogloraptor spider). In this 4-page PDF you'll find stats for 31 spiders (mainly of the "giant" variety), including number appearing and (in some cases) lairs and locales.

Please note! This is really a working document, but it should be 99% complete. It just means that I have not given it a thorough proofing, though I did give it a couple of "once overs."

Click here to download a free PDF of Old-school Adventure Accessories™
item MX3, Monster Index: Spiders from MediaFire.

A d20 in a d5's clothing (a.k.a. Polyhedrous Perversity)

Sure, you've maybe heard of polymorphous perversity, especially if you're a fan or Woody Allen. But I'd like to coin a new term... "polyhedrous perversity." Specifically, I'm talking about the icosahedron (d20) pictured here, parading around as a d5. Yes! It is numbered 1 to 5, four times. It's something I picked up in the dice bin of a FLGS. Not that I had a use for it (as I have not yet succumbed to the temptation that is DCC.)

I've heard tell of a d6 numbered 1 to 3 twice, but can't seem to find much info on this d20 in d5 clothing (or anyone/anywhere else who might be selling them.) Come on you P.A. (Polyhedrals Anonymous) members, help me out on this.

Riot Squad Saturday: Counters & Turn Sequence

So last Saturday's post introduced the Riot Squad game concept and gave the general outline of the rules. Today, we'll take a look at where I see the turn sequencing going, which is directly related to the information on the counters.

Since I have not established the various scenarios yet, I'm going to move forward assuming that there will be a multitude of scenarios (e.g., gang war, political riot gone bad, etc.), each with its own conditions for "victory." In general, I see victory being related to "ground possession"--that is, which factions have which areas under control after the specified number of turns.

OVERVIEW OF COUNTERS

Counter Facing
Something you may have noticed about the counters above is that all of the "civilian" counters face right, and all of the law enforcement counters face left. This is really technically unnecessary, but I thought it would be nice when a riot policeman is giving a protestor a beat down with his billy club, that the two of them are face to face. It seems to enhance the animosity... don't you think? It does have another benefit in the context of Morale Ratings (see below).

Movement Rating
This seems like a given. All counters should be able to move. Otherwise, the game turn would consist of something more akin to a Wild West shoutout, where people just sit and fire at each other from behind the cover of tables, pianos and the bar.

Morale Rating
I don't see how you can have a game about the human spirit without a Morale Rating. In some ways, I see the Morale Rating of a counter as being more important than any other rating. In some scenarios, it will truly be the deciding factor (e.g., at what point does that passive resistor give up and leave?) I also think it's possible that in some scenarios, the Morale Check will act more like a "saving throw" vs. morale, where the citizen counter may find himself face-to-face with a law enforcement counter, and the morale of the citizen is made vs. the "threat" of the law enforcement counter (using the law enforcement counter's Morale Rating as the Threat Rating vs. the citizen's Morale Rating.)

Combat Rating
In some scenarios, I see traditional "combat" being an accepted convention (e.g., lone gunman vs. responding police force). However, in the case of political protests, "combat" may be little more than standing one's ground in the face of an encroaching (police) faction. For that reason, I see each counter needing to be rated for combat (in some form or another). Right now, I see counters armed with ranged weapons as being rated with a number, but unarmed counters being rated with an "H" (for hand-to-hand). This notation/indication may change at the playtesting phase but, regardless, there needs to be an indication there.

TURN SEQUENCE

Right now, I see the turn sequencing going something like this...

I. Movement
I was going back and forth on this for a while, thinking that the Morale Check should have been first. But then I realized when two counters are "engaged" (after a movement sequence), that's when the Morale Check really comes into play (e.g., that beat cop just stepped up to you and is aiming his gun in your face... NOW make that Morale Check.) I'm thinking that "who moves first" will really depend on the scenario (e.g., in a lone gunman scenario, I think the gunman should first, but in a passive resistance protest I think that the law enforcement faction should move first.) And in some scenarios, I could see rolling for initiative. Regardless, 1 pt. of movement equals 1 hex of movement (generally, that is; there may be additional movement types that will require more than 1 pt. of Movement Allowance to complete.)

II. Morale Checks
I don't think that Morale Checks should necessarily be part of every scenario. I could see them being optional in some, required in others, and not required at all in some. When Morale Checks do occur, though, I'm thinking they'll always be after the Movement Phase.

III. Interaction Phase
Please notice I did not say "Combat Phase." In some scenarios, the interaction phase may be bargaining/negotiating. In others, it may well be gunfire. Regardless, it's going to be the outcome of the Interaction Phase that closes things up for the turn, and helps the players decide their actions for the next turn (beginning with the Movement Round.)

JOIN ME NEXT WEEK...
as I move on to outline some scenarios and establish some conditions for "victory."