Watcher

The Watchers are a race of bio-mechanical floating orbs of flesh and metal with camera lenses as their corneas, a large central eye that is always turned toward to their prey.  The center eye provides levitation and other basic cognitive functions.

In addition to the large central eye, Watchers have 8 retractable compartments containing foot-long extensions that appear long enough to cause their effects before retracting back into the metallic carapace of the Watcher.  Four of these extensions are standard to all Watchers, and 4 with special powers based on the type of Watcher.  Each power recharges 4 rounds after use, and each Watcher can use 2 extensions each round (3 if they do not move):

  • Telekinesis: objects up to 300 lbs.
  • Lightning Bolt: 3d6 to all in a line, bouncing off conductive surfaces, DC 25 reflex for half damage
  • Stun Ray: stuns target for 1d4 rounds, +15, DC 25 fortitude to halve (min 1)
  • Fear: DC 25 will save negates, cower in fear for 1d4 rounds
  • 4 specific to the type of Watcher

This eye is a gem (the types vary by Watcher) worth 10,000 credits.  Any damage dealt to the Watcher in 20 or more points (after the DR/10) in a single strike disables one of the 8 extensions.  Roll 1d8 to determine which, rerolling any results that correspond with extensions which are already disabled.

In addition, a simplified humanoid brain is used to power the Watcher.  Some of these come directly from humans, while others are synthesized via artificial means.  These brains are programmed like computers, allowing the Watchers to be provided commands that govern their abilities, granting them semi-sentience.

Other stats of interest:

Init: +6 Senses: darkvision 60’ Listen -2 Spot +25
Languages: Telepathy 60’ and either common or none

AC: 26 (-1 size, +3 dex, +14 natural)
HP: 130 (12d12+44)

Defenses: SR 20, DR 10 / psychic
Saves: Fort: +9 Ref: +7 Will: +11
Speed: fly 30 ft.

Attack: Lightning Touch +9 ranged touch and bite +7 melee (2d4), various extensions
Full Attack: Lightning Touch +9 ranged touch and bite +7 melee (2d4), various extensions
Attack Options: Lightning Touch, Spell-like effects

Space / Reach: 10ft. / 5ft.
Base Attack: +8 Grapple: +12

SQ: DR 10/psychic, SR 20, All-around vision, Flight

SA: spell like abilities: Blur
Feats: Alertness, Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (Blur)

Abilities: Str 11 Dex 16 Con 18 Int 16 Wis 14 Cha 15

Skills: Hide +12, Knowledge (arcana) +14, Knowledge (planes) +8, Search +18, Spot +25, Survival +6
Spell-like abilities: 1/day – blur (caster level 13)

DR: 10/good
Spell Resistance: 20

There are several varieties of Watchers, four of which are detailed here.

Reflect Watcher

  • Mirror Image: Reflects 50% of attacks back on attacker
  • Pass Through Glass: Can pass through reflective surfaces
  • Force Shield: 20’, similar to a wall of force.  Impassable, except via telekinesis and shadow dancing.
  • Laser Light: 1d6+1 and target must succeed on a DC 25 reflex save or be blinded for 1d4 rounds.

Holo Watcher

  • Ghosting: All attackers have a 50% miss chance.  Hits occur against the inner hull, which is considerably smaller than the appearance of the holo watcher.
  • Illusions: Projects illusions every round (disbelieve on DC 25 will save).  Favored illusions include doorways and passageways that appear to open along the walls, pits that lead the target to them, as well as spurious letters and numbers and obscuring the actual letters on walls, doors, etc.
  • Spotlight: Target must succeed on a DC 25 reflex save or be blinded for 1d4 rounds.
  • Ghost Sound: Sounds of approaching enemies, impending doom, creaking locks, levers, doors, etc.

Striker Watcher

  • True Strike: Deals 1d4 damage on an automatic hit each round (recharges every round).
  • Force Push: Either a living or inanimate target 3 squares.  In this case, the metal spheres can be pushed into the goals for points.
  • Dive: The Watcher can shift 1 square to block a shot.
  • Laser Beam: 2d8+4 damage on a successful hit (+10 with a DC 25 reflex save for half).

Defender Watchers (Minor)

  • These Watchers have the same base powers of the Watchers, but only the 4 core extensions (lightning bolt does 1d6+1 to all targets in a straight line).
  • 60hp, AC 23.

Shadow Watcher

  • Invisibility: to those who see the visible spectrum, but visible via infrared sensing.
  • Fireball: 3d6 to a 4×4 square area, DC 25 reflex for half damage.
  • Darkness: as the spell, in a 20’ radius.
  • True, Extra-sensory Sight: Can see all, never flat-footed.

Many more varieties exist; feel free to extend these Watchers to fit your own campaign.


Posted in Creature, d20 Future by with no comments yet.

A Fast and Simple Critical Fumble Option

I like critical fumbles in my games for a number of reasons.  First of all, as a storyteller I like it when disaster strikes.  When I’m visualizing and describing a pitched battle I relish the possibility that one of the combatants might slip in the growing pool of blood on the flagstones or over-swing their battle-axe and accidentally strike one of their comrades.  It makes the battles feel more real to me, and it also makes combat feel more dangerous.

In practical terms, it does make combat more dangerous for everyone involved.  If big monsters might accidentally kill their minions when they’re trying to smash that knight, or if the players might lose their footing and fall prone, then there’s more damage being handed out every round.  It makes the monsters go down a little more quickly, but it also exposes the players to more danger.  As DM I consider this a win-win because I like my games to feel as dangerous as possible, and I like combat to go quickly.

But I don’t like to slow my games down with looking anything up.  I’ve been playing and running games long enough that I know pretty much all the rules by heart, and for my fumble rules I wanted to come up with something that could easily be memorized and that wouldn’t slow down combat with referencing a table.  Therefore, I came up with the following optional rule.

Critical Fumbles

Any time an attacker rolls a 1 on their attack roll die, they fumble.  Roll another d20 to determine the severity of the fumble.

Die Roll        Fumble Result
16-20           Character is off-balance and grants combat advantage until the end of the current character’s next turn.
11-15            Attacker looses their footing and falls prone.
6-10             Attacker drops their weapon or loses their next attack if weaponless.
1-5                Attacker targets an ally or themselves with the fumbled attack.  Re-roll the attack to see if it hits the new target.

I like it because it’s nice and simple – there are four results with increasingly dire consequences, so it’s easy for me to remember “off balance, fall prone, drop weapon, or attack self or ally”.

Let us know what you think in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.


Posted in 1st edition D&D, 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Variant Rules and tagged by with no comments yet.

What’s Mine’s Yours Re-released

In a continued effort to revamp S.D. Hilderbrand’s adventures, Inverspace Press has released a clean version of What’s Mine’s Yours.

What’s Mine’s Yours is a 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure for 1st level characters.  This adventure begins in the marketplace in the town of Fort Wood, where the players are approached by representatives of the Guild, a Merchant collective heavily invested in mining operations.

They are escorted to a courtyard at the Guild headquarters in Fort Wood, where they are provided with the setting. Kobolds have taken control of a mine of great importance to the Guild.  Their task is to free the mine of the kobolds.

The party travels to the mine, where they take stock of the situation from afar. It appears the kobolds have taken control of the mine. However, once the party encounters the kobolds, they discover there is a more sinister story surrounding the Guild’s doings in the mine. This adventure easily serves as the first adventure undertaken by a new party of 1st level characters.

Download for just $1.99 from rpgnow.

Future adventures will provide follow-on adventures to this introductory adventure.


Posted in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure and tagged by with no comments yet.

Pathguy’s Javascript Character Generator

I’ve begun playing with 4e character generators.  Yes, Wizards have their own generator, but I’m more interested in independent approaches to the problem.  I had a lot of fun working with PCGen to generate 3.5 characters (heck, I still use it!), which generates some great PDF character sheets that print nicely.  I’m hoping to find a 4e equivalent to PCGen.  Know of any decent generators?  If so, send them in to CCB!

In my quest to find a decent 4e character generator, I’ve started surveying the online scene (though I would prefer a stand-alone, cross-platform application).  The first link that I followed took me to Pathguy’s Javascript Character Generator, which presents itself in a large, single page and uses Javascript to drive the process.  This site has some nice features, notably the error-checking.  However, navigating through the large, single page (it would be better to only be presented with the choices available to you at each stage of the process) is a bit clunky.  In the end, though, you do get a usable character sheet.  I’ve attached it here (untouched from its output — note the multiple fonts and the check boxes to track remaining powers).

Srylyn Huertyl

Female Eladrin Warlord
Level 5
Good

Strength 18 (+4)
Constitution 13 (+1)
Dexterity 13 (+1)
Intelligence 13 (+1)
Wisdom 12 (+1)
Charisma 20 (+5)
Height: 5′ 8″
Weight: 170 lb
Skin: Tan
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Silver Wavy

Maximum Hit Points: 45

      Bloodied: 22
      Surge Value: 11
      Surges / Day: 8 [includes constitution modifier]

Size: Medium
Speed: 5 squares [includes armor penalty]
Vision: Low-light

Initiative: 1d20 +3 = 2 [half level] + 1 [dexterity]
Base Strength Attack: 1d20 +4 = + 2 [half level] + 4 [strength] – 2 [wrong armor]
Base Dexterity Attack: 1d20 +1 = + 2 [half level] + 1 [dexterity] – 2 [wrong armor]
Base Constitution Attack: 1d20 +1 = + 2 [half level] + 1 [constitution] – 2 [wrong armor]
Base Intelligence Attack: 1d20 +1 = + 2 [half level] + 1 [intelligence] – 2 [wrong armor]
Base Wisdom Attack: 1d20 +1 = + 2 [half level] + 1 [wisdom] – 2 [wrong armor]
Base Charisma Attack: 1d20 +5 = + 2 [half level] + 5 [charisma] – 2 [wrong armor]
Armor Class: 21 = 10 + 2 [half level] + 7 [Scale] + 2 [if carrying heavy shield]
Fortitude Defense: 17 = 10 + 2 [half level] + 1 [warlord] + 4 [strength]
Reflex Defense: 13 = 10 + 2 [half level] + 1 [dexterity] + 2 [if carrying heavy shield] – 2 [wrong armor]
Will Defense: 19 = 10 + 2 [half level] + 1 [Eladrin] + 1 [warlord] + 5 [charisma]

If your campaign uses the fixed-enhancement bonus system [PH2/Dark Sun], level 5 characters get +1 on attack/damage (1d6 extra damage on a critical hit) and +1 on all defenses. These bonuses do not stack with magic items.

Armor: Scale (45 lb)

Shield: Large (15 lb)

Attacks:

      Unarmed Melee: +4 [base strength attack] vs AC; damage 1[W]=1d4+4 [strength bonus]
      Longsword

v

      : +7 vs AC [+4 strength attack] [+3 proficiency]; damage 1[W]=1d8+4 [strength bonus] 4 lb (Heavy blade) versatile
      Sling: +3 vs AC [+1 dexterity attack] [+2 proficiency];damage 1[W]=1d6+1 [dexterity bonus] range 10/20 0 lb (Sling) Load free
      Direct the Strike [special]
      Intuitive Strike +4

w

      [base strength attack] vs will
      Guarding Attack +4

w

      [base strength attack] vs AC
      Lead the Attack +4

w

      [base strength attack] vs AC
      Warlord’s Strike +4

w

      [base strength attack] vs AC
      Stand the Fallen +4

w

      [base strength attack] vs AC

v

      Versatile weapon. Add +1 to damage if using two-handed.

w

    Weapon-based power. Apply adjustments for proficiency, situation, feats, magic, etc.

Base Saving throw: d20 vs 10

Encumberance 4e

Normal Load:
Heavy Load:
Maximum Drag Load
180 lb.
360 lb.
900 lb.
Encumberance 3.5

Light load:
Medium load:
Heavy load:
Lift over head:
Lift off ground:
Push or drag:
100 lb. or less
101-200 lb.
201-300 lb.
300 lb.
600 lb.
1500 lb.
Languages: Common; Elven;

Rituals Known:

Skills:

Acrobatics: +1 = 1 [dexterity] + 2 [half level]-2 [heavy shield]
Arcana: +5 = 1 [intelligence] + 2 [half level] + 2 [Eladrin]
Athletics: +9 = 4 [strength] + 2 [half level] +5 [class training]-2 [heavy shield]
Bluff: +7 = 5 [charisma] + 2 [half level]
Diplomacy: +12 = 5 [charisma] + 2 [half level] +5 [class training]
Dungeoneering: +3 = 1 [wisdom] + 2 [half level]
Endurance: +6 = 1 [constitution] + 2 [half level] +5 [class training]-2 [heavy shield]
Heal: +3 = 1 [wisdom] + 2 [half level]
History: +10 = 1 [intelligence] + 2 [half level] + 2 [Eladrin] +5 [class training]
Insight: +5 = 1 [wisdom] + 2 [half level] + 2 [canny leader]
Intimidate: +12 = 5 [charisma] + 2 [half level] +5 [eladrin education]
Nature: +3 = 1 [wisdom] + 2 [half level]
Perception: +5 = 1 [wisdom] + 2 [half level] + 2 [canny leader]
Religion: +3 = 1 [intelligence] + 2 [half level]
Stealth: +1 = 1 [dexterity] + 2 [half level]-2 [heavy shield]
Streetwise: +7 = 5 [charisma] + 2 [half level]
Thievery: +1 = 1 [dexterity] + 2 [half level]-2 [heavy shield]

Feats:

Blade Opportunist
Combat Reflexes
Shield Proficiency — Heavy

At-Will:

      Melee Basic Attack: By weapon, damage 1[W]+4 [strength bonus] [standard action]
      Ranged Basic Attack: By weapon, damage 1[W]+1 [dexterity bonus] [standard action]
      Bull Rush: +4 [base strength attack] vs fortitude [standard action]
      Grab: +4 [base strength attack] vs reflex [standard action]
      Move grabbed target: +4 [base strength attack] vs fortitude [standard action]
      Escape: +1 [acrobatics] vs reflex / +9 [athletics] vs fortitude [move action]
      Direct the Strike [Level 1]
      Intuitive Strike [Level 1]
Other Standard Actions: Administer a potion; Aid another [revised: skill check vs. 10+level/2, success helps +2, failure hurts -1]; Charge [+1 to basic melee attack or bull rush]; Coup de grace; Equip / stow shield; Ready an action; Total defense; Sustain standard action; Some skills during combat (i.e., Acrobatics — fast escape; Bluff, Heal — first aid (use second wind DC10, stabilize the dying DC15, grant a saving throw DC15), Intimidate, Thievery depending on circumstances);
Other Move Actions: Crawl; Run [speed 7]; Stand up; Shift; Squeeze; Walk; may include some skills during combat (i.e., Acrobatics, Athletics); half of a Double Move (if taken in place of a standard action)
Other Minor Actions: Draw / sheathe weapon; Drink a potion; Drop prone; Load a crossbow; Open / close a door; Pick up an item; Retrieve / stow an item; Perception — active (as per revision), Sustain minor action; Some skills during combat (i.e., Insight)
Other Immediate Actions: Readied action
Other Opportunity Actions: Opportunity attack
Other Free Actions: Drop held items; End a grab; Talk
Other Non-Actions: Delay; Endurance checks; Insight to counter Bluff; Knowledge checks; Perception — passive
Short rest: Healing surges as available
Five minutes: Normal escape from restraints (Acrobatics)
One hour: Forage; Streetwise check

Encounter Powers:

      Second Wind

      Spend an Action Point [free action, not in surprise round]

      Fey Step [Eladrin][move action]

      Inspiring Word [minor action][2x/encounter]

      Guarding Attack [Level 1]

      Crescendo of Violence [Level 2 Utility][immediate reaction]

    Warlord’s Strike [Level 3]

Daily Powers:

      Lead the Attack [Level 1]

    Stand the Fallen [Level 5]

Eladrin

  • +2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity or Charisma (already included; you chose Charisma.)
  • +2 Arcana, +2 History
  • Eladrin Education (already included)
  • Eladrin Will (+1 on will defense, +5 vs charms)
  • Fey Origin
  • Trance
  • Fey Step

Warlord

  • Canny Leader (+2 on perception and insight for self and all allies within ten squares who see & hear you)
  • This warlord chose the inspiring presence. Any ally in sight who spends an action point to attack regains hit points equal to half your level plus your charisma modifier. Can receive benefit from only one warlord at a time.
  • Inspiring Word (target spends healing surge and gains an additional1d6 at level 5)

Srylyn Huertyl’s Equipment:

64 lb
5 lb
2 lb
5 lb4 lb
2 lb
1 lb
1 lb
5 lb
1 lb
10 lb
10 lb
1 lb
1 lb
2 lb
4 lb
1 lb
_____
119 lb
Weapons / Armor / Shield (from above)
Sling bullets (group of 20) x1
Backpack
Bedroll
Chalk
Flint and steel
Grappling hook
Poisoner’s Kit
Hammer
Mirror
Oil flasks x1
Pitons x10
Pouch (belt) x1
Rations (1 day) x10
Rope (50′, hempen) x1
Sacks x1
Soap
Sunrods x2
Waterskins x1
WhetstoneTotal

Magic items:

      Weapon:

      Weapon:

      Weapon:

      Weapon:

      Armor:

      Shield:

      Arms:

      Feet:

      Hands:

      Head:

      Neck:

      Ring:

      Ring:

      Waist:








Resistances:

Action Point Tally:

Daily Item Powers Per Day: Heroic Tier Milestones: 

Death Saving Throw Failures: 

More about Srylyn Huertyl: Trained on the shield at an Eladrin defense academy, Srylyn took to adventuring in early middle age.


Posted in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Character, Review and tagged by with no comments yet.

Stealing Moments Re-released

Inverspace Press is pleased to release S.D. Hilderbrand’s Stealing Moments, a Pathfinder/d20/3.5 Dungeons and Dragons fantasy module for 10th-12th level characters. Originally written in 2005, the module has undergone a number of refinements and improvements over the years.  It is part 1 of 3 in the Time Out of Mind trilogy, a series that takes the PCs in a journey through time and space as they chase down a party of false heroes who wield a powerful artifact.

The adventure also ships with a party of five 10th-level false heroes, the PCs’ nemeses, with full illustrations to wow your players and keep them in character.

From the introduction:

FALSE HEROES

A group of rogues has moved into a cave up in the Silvermist Mountains a few miles uphill hike from the local town of Farreach.  These false heroes were once noble and devout, but have become corrupted by loot, lust, and the desire for greater power.  They are now working for (or more accurately controlled by) begotten of the old ones, who in turn are working for a stalking eye.

They have been performing experiments on the Silver Orb of the Ages, a magic artifact made of magesilver, a magic metal which amplifies arcane magical power.  The Orb can help control the flow of time, making it a powerful item indeed.  However, the stalking eye knows not how to wield the Orb’s power, and must rely upon the false heroes to learn its secrets.

Buy a copy from rpgnow; send us a note if you would review the product and we’ll send you a copy for half price!

As always, stay tuned to Claw/Claw/Bite for more adventures.


Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Adventure by with no comments yet.