Astral Magic
By Kevin Gates & Adam A Thompson
Astral Magic is a new way for spellcasters to gain access to metamagic-like abilities. Through study of the mystical properties of the stars and constellations spellcasters are able to modify the warp and weft of their spells, increasing their power, changing their shape, changing their range, and modifying them in other ways.
Planisphæri Cœleste
Astral Magic
Recorded in the pages of the grimoireConstelation Magic by the sage Gevestikan are the secrets of using the power of the stars to modify spells.
A character who finds one of the rare copies of this tome gains access to a new knowledge skill – Astronomy. Reading the tome makes knowledge (Astronomy) a class skill and gives the reader a +2 competence bonus in the skill. Fully studying the tome takes a total of 24 hours of reading.
A character with ranks in Knowledge (Astronomy) has 3 uses of star magic per day. You make a Knowledge (Astronomy) check to successfully invoke the stars you know. Using Star Magic is a move action.
Stars
Rigel – on a DC 20 check, the damage rolled for the next spell you cast cannot be less than 50% of the possible damage. On a DC 25 check, it can’t be less than 75%, and on a DC 35 check, it’s maximized.
Izar – a DC 20 check lets you cast an area spell that excludes one
ally within the area of effect. A DC25 lets you exclude 2 allies. A DC 35
check lets you exclude all allies within the area.
Altair – a DC 20 check lets you invoke Altair. When a spell requires concentration, invoking Altair allows the caster to instead concentrate as a swift
action for one round per three caster levels (minimum 1 round).
Alpheratz – Invoking Alpheratz lets you cast your next touch spell as a ranged spell at the following distances. DC 20: 15 feet. DC 25: 30 feet. DC 35: 60 feet.
Pollux – Invoking Pollux requires a DC 30 knowledge (Astronomy) check, and allows the next spell you cast to effect 1 additional target who is within 30 feet of all of the original targets. Spells with the target “self only” cannot be modified with this ability.
Optional Rules
By night under the open sky knowledge (Astronomy) checks are +2. Underground they are -4.
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Variant Rules by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Get yerselves to OwlCon XXX!
We’ll be there at Rice University in Houston in person, gaming, talking dungeon-making, and even running a few games this year: High Water Marks andKeepsakes (see below).
We had a great time last year, playing a bunch of 4e DnD, Advanced Civ, Rail Baron, and immersive BattleTech in the pods, and vowed to return. And so we will. Look for us at these locations. We’ll also likely tweet our locations @clawclawbite (also at http://twitter.com/clawclawbite).
Register here and attend as well, and you too will have fun the weekend of Jan 28-30, 2011.
| High Water Marks | 4 – 6 players |
| Sun1000 (6) | Intermediate |
| Your 5th-level party starts off in a downtrodden village where it has rained a full fortnight. Among the muck, the fistfights and verbal ill-will broken out between the denizens hints at problems that run deeper than the water. With all the enemies afoot, you will soon learn that a more sinister plot faces the village from higher ground.GM – Stephen Hilderbrand | |
| Keepsakes | 4 – 6 players |
| Sun1500 (5) | Intermediate |
| You and your 5th-level party are traveling on a road along the southern route in a expansive moor, a journey not without considerable challenges. While paying a toll under the shadow of a keep among rocky crags, it is recommended that you seek accommodations within, as a chilly rain has begun to fall, and the eerie glow of the overcast night is about to follow suit.GM – Stephen Hilderbrand | |
Posted in convention by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Vargyr Feywolves
These savage beast-men hail from the dark woods of the Feywild, descended from both wolves and wild elves. Feral, they live in tribes and hunt the untrammeled moon-lit forests of the deepest depths of that enchanted land. In appearence they are much like wild elves, small of stature but strong and fast, with light beards that grow into wild sideburns, long, furry ears, and pronounced cannine teeth.
Occasionally a great warrior will arise from the Vargyr and lead their tribes in forays into the lands of the seelie fey, raiding, killing, and tearing down the strongholds of the Eladrin nobles.
This adventure is the tale of one Eladrin’s war to revenge himself upon the horde of Vargyr who descended upon his family’s lands, killed every member of his family and household, and left him for dead upon the battlefield. Now he quests for a group of heroes who will return with him to his family stronghold, drive the Vargyr warriors out, and slay the mighty warrior who leads them. This is the war of the last Silma-Eltha.
Vargyr Feywolf ✦ Level 16 Skirmishers
Size origin type ✦ XP 1,400
Initiative +15 Senses Perception +8
HP 148; Bloodied 74
AC 30; Fortitude 28, Reflex 28, Will 28
Speed 8
Powers
Claw ✦At-Will, Standard Action, Melee 1
melee basic
The wolf-elf lunges at you with tearing claws.
Attack: +21 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 7 damage.
Short Bow ✦At-Will, Standard Action, Ranged 10/20
ranged basic
Attack: +19 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8 + 5 damage.
Longtooth Shifting ✦ Encounter, Minor Action, Personal
Healing
The wolf-elf unleashes the primal beast within and takes on a more savage countenance.
Special: The Vargyr Feywolf must be bloodied to use this power.
Effect: Until the end of the encounter or until rendered unconscious, the Vargyr Feywolf gains a +2 bonus to damage rolls. In addition, for as long as the Vargyr Feywolf is bloodied, it gains regeneration 4.
Alignment neutral Languages Common
Skills Athletics +20, Nature +13
Str 24 (+15) Dex 21 (+13) Wis 11 (+8)
Con 12 (+9) Int 10 (+8) Cha 21 (+13)
Equipment:small hand weapon, leather armor, short bow
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged creature: paragon skirmisher, War of the Last Silma-Eltha by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Gamma World
Frank organized a Gamma World adventure this weekend, and we had a blast. We got to choose whether we were city dwellers with greater Alpha Tech hell-bent on ensuring order or whether we’d rely on more mutations as members of an outcast tribe on the edge of the world with the goal of reclaiming our mother elder from a band of kidnappers. We chose the latter, falling back on the classic underdog hero’s role. This seems fitting for an introduction to a new system…
I ended up a radioactive swarm comprised of rodents that once were lab rats. The shared sentience assumed the name of “Doctor Radkowski”, one of the doctors killed in the blast from the Great Mistake. Over the course of the session, they devoiced the “d” in “rad” to a “t”, as only a punning rat swarm could do. They sang arias, tossed grenades, and swarmed over all the guard bots and mutated plant beasts that they could. Other characters in the party included a radioactive punk rock timecop, an electrified giant spotter with a dual nature and delusions of grandeur, and a shadowy, largely amorphous being that called itself “The Hamburgler”, named for a term it found on a discarded fast food wrapper.
All signs pointed to the kidnappers hailing from the city, including the paths dragged into the sand. The trail grew warmer, and we had to find a pass into the city. We posed as arms dealers and learned of a widow who held a position in town. Soon we were fighting off robotic sentinels and animated plants. In all, we had a blast.
The system is interesting in that it is very similar to 4e DnD, only the character skills are limited, and the bonuses stack on a per-level basis, rather than every-other-level. The generic gamma world is very tongue-in-cheek, necessary for such an otherwise gritty setting. The system leaves a lot to the storyteller to fill in, which leaves lots of room for role playing. Don’t let the tongue-in-cheekness fool you; it’s plenty deadly out there with 20-something hit points and 3d6 and 4d6 damage in the air.
The box set comes with a printed battlemap geared toward the near future setting. Frank used it well, creating some nice verbal terrain out of the cryogenic capsules in the center of the room.
Another thing I liked about the system is that the character sheet isn’t even geared for leveling very far; the post-apocalyptic setting is perfect for one-off and short, multi-session story arcs. This is about the attention span of most of us these days, especially if a gamer has to miss a session every now and again.
Finally, the randomness of the character generation is something to aspire to as a game designer. How does it work that not making choices at the beginning is more fun than choosing my own starting gear? Because it’s challenging. It’s what makes the post-apocalyptic world pop.
Back to another GM thing that Frank did well — the building of Alpha and Omega Tech decks based on which side we chose to play. This made this kind of decision important to the story, a welcome element in any role playing game. Even in a one-off, it’s nice to see the effects of your choices as a player.
In this last image, I was the brown wafer of a disc under the red d6 (I was bloodied at the time). When you play, here are a few final thoughts: don’t forget to use Second Wind once you’re bloodied, always use your Alpha Tech powers (they go away after encounters — trade or gift them if necessary), and don’t get too stuck to the notion of “classes” (ranger, etc.) or “roles” (striker, etc.); if you play it right, everyone has a chance to defend, strike, control, and lead over the course of a single Gamma World session.
Have fun with Gamma World; I highly recommend it from the bottom of my six-valved, mutant heart.
Posted in Gamma World, Review by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
MilleniumCon 13 & Pathfinder
We rolled up to Round Rock last weekend to play some D&D, and ended up playing Pathfinder all weekend.
For those who don’t know, MilleniumCon is a yearly convention put on by Lone Star Historical Miniatures and is primarily focused on, as their name implies, historical miniature wargames. It’s pretty much the closest convention to us here in Austin, so we usually make it. They generously provide space for the RPGA folks, and this year they also had Pathfinder Organized Play set up in one of the four-table conference rooms.
Originally Dan and I had intended to get in some XP for our 4e RPGA characters. I was looking forward to honing my tactics with my elven barbarian Sithadel, specifically figuring out how to play him without getting him killed. He tends to die once per convention – that’s what I get for making a dex-based barbarian I guess. I like to play unconventional characters.
That all got derailed when I took the Pathfinder core book to work. Dan picked them up when they came out however long ago but I had only read the alpha version they put out online when Pathfinder was first announced. At any rate, I decided to roll up a character just for grins. I came up with Kes, a 1st level wizard specialized in abjuration and prohibited from casting evocation and necromancy. At the end of the process I was really curious to see how this character played, and how Pathfinder played.
So when we got to MilleniumCon we went ahead and jumped in on a Pathfinder game and played. It reminded me a bit of the old RPGA, with the adventure record sheets given out at the end of each session. I liked how some of the organized play elements were structured. For example, at the end of each adventure you get a list of magic items you can buy with the gold you’ve accumulated. By the end of four adventures we had a decently broad list to pick from. Overall it seems nicely structured to keep the characters balanced and play fun.
So, we played two slots of Pathfinder on Friday night, and two more slots on Saturday. At the end of it all I have to say that I enjoyed playing Pathfinder quite a bit. Of course I think the changes to skills in PF are great moves: I’ve hated Hide vs Spot and Move Silently vs Listen since the first time I had to roll them both when 3e first came out. The changes to the classes are great, too. My 1st level wizard was able to contribute to the combat on every round because now 0th level spells aren’t used up when you cast them, so I could throw an acid splash or cast daze every round. The changes to concentration and spell casting times also pleased me – I’ve always thought that spellcasters had it too easy in melee. Now you really have to think twice about where you put your wizard. The changes to how poison work also impressed me.
There were a few downsides, or course. Over and over again I had to hear from the other players how much more they liked Pathfinder then 4th edition D&D. I play 4e, 3.5e, and a little Pathfinder in one game, and I don’t like the “us vs them” these conversations usually take, so I always get turned off when the topic comes up. And of course the Pathfinder fans trotted out the same old saw about how confusing grapple was in 3e. I have always disagreed – 3e grapple wasn’t a blocker for us, and as far as I can tell it’s pretty similar in Pathfinder.
But the real downside for me was all the minmaxing. Just like in the bad old days of ultimate 3.5 cheese some of the players were rolling with some uber powerful summoner class that they couldn’t stop talking about. I was lucky enough to not actually have to play with the roll-players, but it reminded me of how much less 4e games seem to breed uber-powergamers. And I was reminded once again how much I disliked that.
But that was really minor for me and was totally overshadowed by how much fun I had and by how well-organized the mustering and gaming was. Kudos to the Pathfinder Organized Play folks. Next year I’ll definitely be back for more.
Posted in convention and tagged news: convention by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Frost Maiden
Daughters of the frost giants, these ice-cold maidens stalk the frozen wastes, luring unwary warriors to their death on the chill bettlefields of the north.
Frost Maiden ✦ Level 16 Controller
Medium elemental humanoid ✦ XP 1,400
Target: one creature
Attack: +20 vs. Will
Hit: 3d8 + 11 psychic damage.
Minor Action Powers
Alluring Lure ✦ At-Will, Range 10
Charm, Psychic
Come, warrior, catch me if you can!
Target: One Creature
Attack: +20 vs. Will
Hit: The Target is pulled 4 squares and dazed until the end of the Frost Maiden’s next turn.
Alignment neutral Languages Giant, Common Skills Intimidate +20, Thievery +18
Str 13 (+9) Dex 21 (+13) Wis 15 (+10)
Con 18 (+12) Int 10 (+8) Cha 24 (+15)
Equipment: Gossamer garment.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged creature origin: elemental, creature: paragon controller by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
The Ruins of Soguer – The Mages’s Guild Tower, Part 2
Once again we return to the adventure The Ruins of Old Soguer, being posted piece-by-piece here on Tailslap. Today’s post details the first two floors of the Mage’s Guild Tower in the central portion of the ruins. There, a figure from the past languishes under a mysterious curse.
Previous sections of the adventure can be found here:
The Ruins of Soguer – Introduction
The Ruins of Soguer – Start of the Adventure in Aguies Town & Castle
The Ruins of Soguer – River Journey to the Ruins
The Ruins of Soguer – The Western Ruins
The Ruins of Soguer – the Central Ruins
The Ruins of Soguer – The Mages’s Guild Tower, Part 1
Journeyman’s Hall
I – Haunted Mirror – here a cursed magic mirror shows the night of Soguer’s destruction and serves as a conduit to the Shadowfell.
Stepping into the thick fog at the top of the stairs you see the corpse of a long-dead man in worn leather armor. Patches of fog fill the room and partially conceal the tables and chairs scattered about. Corpses of men in ragged leather armor and light hand weapons surround a stand-up mirror near the center of the hall.
A DC 10 Arcana check reveals that the mirror is magic. DC 16 Arcana reveals that is is useful for scrying, DC 21 Arcana to know that it is somehow broken. A DC 25 Arcana check reveals that the barrier between the worlds is thin in the city, and that the mirror is stuck showing scenes from the land of the dead – the Shadowfell.
Looking at the mirror causes it to show scenes of the twilit city as it once was – bustling with people and commerce – with the regal king in gleaming mail astride a green dragon outside a magnificent palace. Then, the scene turns to night. Some type of calamity seems to grip the city. Some people shuffle down the street with blank looks, transfixed by some type of ominous droning, while others scream and flee in the opposite direction. Then shadowy figures are drawn to the scene, approach the mirror’s view, and come out of the mirror into the hall.
Encounter (level 12 +, xp 2400 / 3000 / 3600)- Wraiths from the Shadowfell come through the mirror and attack the players. A DC 28 Arcana check is required to control the mirror enough to stop the additional wraiths from coming through, or a DC 25 Strength check to break it will stop the tide of wraiths. Otherwise another wraith comes through the mirror every other round.
2 x oblivion wraiths (level 14 brute – xp 1000)
1, 2, or 4 vortex wraiths (level 9 soldier – xp 400 each) + one additional vortex wraith every other round.
Treasure – the dead adventurers carry shoddy armor and weapons, and 500 gold worth of scavenged jewelry, flatware, and other art objects.
J – Dead Journeyman’s Apartment – Here a dead journeyman, Malaki guards his chambers and his spellbook.
These chambers feature two small apartments, each with a disheveled bed, and a chair and small table broken and knocked to the ground. Debris litter the floor, including a large illuminated tome lying open on the floor, its pages open to reveal some type of arcane diagram. Standing above the book is a ghostly apparition of a young mage wearing robes and wielding a runed dagger and a wand of oak.
Encounter – xp 1200
1 x watchful ghost (with magic ritual dagger instead of sword and spectral wand instead of crossbow) – (Open Grave)
Treasure (parcel 8) – The ghost’s ritual book contains the following rituals: Water Walk, Phantom Steed, Silence, Shadow Walk, Wizard’s Sight, Water Breathing, Arcane Barrier, Detect Treasure and Shrink.
K – Crumbling Masonry – An open pit that falls through to area A.
Hazard
Level 10 Warder – xp 500
The bottom ten feet of these stairs have collapsed, leaving a large hole that plunges down to the floor of the main hall twenty feet below.
Hazard – Careful climbing or a great leap are needed to ascend these stairs. Failure results in a painful fall.
DC 21 perception or dungeonering check to notice the cracked stonework at the edges of the pit.
Trigger – If anyone comes within 5′ of the edge of the pit.
Attack – immediate interrupt
Target – the first creature coming within 5′ of the stairs
+13 vs Reflex
Hit – 2d10 falling damage and secondary attack from falling stones
-Secondary Attack – +13 vs Fortitude, 1d10+5 damage
-Effect – the floor at the edge of the pit crumbles, widening the pit that looks down into the Main Hall (area A).
Countermeasures
– DC 16 Acrobatics check to to gingerly stand at the edge of the pit without the masonry opening up further (player is attacked as above on failure).
– DC 21 Athletics or Acrobatics check to cross the pit (player falls for 2d10 damage on failure).
Master’s Chambers – these rooms contain only fine furniture in various states of decay, except one chamber.
R – Alidol’s chamber
This chamber’s walls and ruined furniture bear are cracked, scorched, and twisted. Above the door a curse still burns on the wall in letters of cold black magical flame – it reads “Alidol – you are cursed to languish here, un-helped within your tower until you have died here.”
Master’s Workshops – The landing at the top of the stairs leading up to this floor features doors carved with stars and constellations over tall mountain peaks.
L – Master’s Workshops – these chambers contain tables and a few pieces of discarded alchemical equipment but are otherwise empty.
M – Alidol’s Private Laboratory – The door is arcane locked and requires a DC 21 Strength or Thievery check to open it. The laboratory is currently occupied by a mute, mad naked old man who is an incomplete simulacrum that looks just like Alidol, and a shield guardian that guards the clone.
Overturned tables and broken alchemical equipment litter this chamber. A stone door leading to a side chamber on the north wall lies broken on the ground. A large humanoid made or stone, wood and metal stands still near the southwest corner for the room, and in the middle of the chamber stands a naked old man with a long beard that hangs to his knees and a mad gleam in his eyes. Catching sight of you, he screams wordlessly and lunges at your throat!
A DC 16 Arcana check identifies the old man as some type of magical copy of Alidol. DC 21 Arcana reveals that it is a simulacrum – a copy made of snow – that is incomplete and therefore not controlled by its creator.
Encounter – level 12 – xp 2800
Uncontrolled simulacrum (use flesh golem stats) – xp 1400
shield guardian – xp 1400
N – Warded Treasury – The secret door to this area is DC 21 Perception check to find, unless they specifically search that wall, in such chase it is a DC 16 Perception check. Within is a magic staff and a tome guarded by two deadly traps.
Opening the secret door reveals a small vault, with a table at the west end. Upon the table are a steel staff tipped with a pointed mason’s plumb and a brass-bound tome.
Traps – spectral tendrils – level 13 trap – xp 800 – (DMG p.91) will attack any entering the treasury, and a kinetic wave (level 19 trap – xp 2400) which wards the staff’s display table and will also attack any who approach the table.
Treasure – PARCEL #1 – Architect’s Staff +3 (level 15, Arcane Power), Summoner’s Tome +1 (level 5, Arcane Power) – contains the Summon Fire Warrior (Arcane Power) and Summon Shadow Serpent (Arcane Power) powers.
O – Simulacrum Creation Chamber
The stone door to this chamber lies broken on the floor outside in the laboratory. Within a large metal coffin covered with runes lies empty, and various labeled vials and boxes of reagents stand on some shelves and a table.
A DC 16 Arcana check reveals that this coffin is the focus for a ritual used to make magical copies of oneself.
Treasure – PARCEL #9 – 1,000 gp worth of arcanum and 2 emeralds worth 500 gold each.
P – Master’s Hall
A large stone table is set in the middle of this solemn hall, surrounded by four stately chairs and flanked by stout pillars. Surrounding the table is an engraved magic circle.
A DC 10 Arcana check reveals that the circle is some type of runes of protection or privacy, and a DC 16 Arcana check determines that the circle is inactive.
Q – Roof
From the wide, flat platform that is the top of the mage’s guild tower there is a magnificent view of the ruins of the city – the river, the trees, the ruined buildings, the walls and gates, and towards the sea, another stone tower. Near the south edge of the roof there are faintly glowing arcane runes in several overlapping circles.
A DC 21 Arcana check reveals that these hastily summoned but very powerful runes ward the tower and permanently protect it from intrusion by demons.
Posted in Adventure, Location and tagged The Ruins of Soguer by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Character Race: Treant
RACIAL TRAITSLanguages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Insight
Nature’s Health: You have one additional healing surge per day.
Firmly Rooted ✦ Treant Racial Power
Digging your root-toes in, you hunker down and stand your ground.Encounter ✦ Immediate Reaction when effected by a push, pull or slide
Target: Personal
Effect: You are not moved by the push, pull or slide that triggered the power.
Nature’s Stilness ✦ Treant Racial Power
Composing yourself and standing still, you become indistingushable from a normal tree to the untrained eye.
Encounter – Standard Action
Target: Personal
Effect: As long as you stay still, you are indistingushable from a normal tree. An opposed Nature Skill Check is required for a observer to notice your true nature.
Play a Treant if you want . . .
✦ to play a tough character who is connected to the natural world
✦ to play a wise champion of nature
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the cleric, fighter, shaman, and warden classes.
Physical Qualities
Treant resemble humanoid trees, with two thick legs ending in many root-like toes, two arm-like branches with twiggy fingers, and generally with leaves and foliage sprinkling their bodies and as hair and beards. Young treants can be anywhere from 4 feet to 7 feet tall, and quite heavy due to their woody bodies.
Playing a Treant
To a Treant the natural state of the wilderness is home. Not hunted by predators, they are not combatative in the way most other humanoids are. Generally the only threat to their lives comes from those other humanoids, either by the destruction of their natural habitats or directly. Not requiring food or shelter the way most races do, they are generally uninterested in wealth and posessions beyond the simple things they need to live. Ocassionally, a young treant will have a curiosity about the world and will go wandering, generally unnoticed by those they pass among.
Treant Characteristics: Most treants are slow, thoughtful, sedentary, in tune with nature and the wilderness, solitary, and traditional.
Male Names: Treebeard, Quickbeam, Fangorn, Leaflock, Finglas, Skinbark, Fladrif, Beachbone, Bregalad,
Female Names: Fembrithil, Wandlimb
Treant Adventurers
Three sample Treant adventurers will appear in upcomming posts.
Posted in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Race by Adam A. Thompson with 2 comments.
Jäällätaudin – Icetongue
This ancient blade’s full history is known only to the most studious Dwarven sages of the Dunheng Kingdoms. In its centuries of existence it has appeared in the hands of many heroes only to be lost again with their passing. Most recently it was wielded by Jak, a King of the Fridon people who in tales is called the Giant Slayer. He was a king of the Fridon many years ago, when his people were attacked by the giants from the Danor Mountains. He fought against them wearing the hide of a dragon and wielding Jäällätaudin, and drove them back to their burning peaks.
Icetongue – Paragon Level
Description
Icetongue is a +4 mithrail fullblade (Adventurer’s Vault – superior weapon, +3 profeciency, 1d12 damage, high crit (+2d12 on crit))
Critical: +4d6 cold damage
Power (At-Will ✦ Cold): Free Action. All damage dealt by this weapon is cold damage. Another free action returns the damage to normal.
Power (Daily ✦ Cold): Free Action. Use this power when you hit with the weapon. The target takes an extra 2d8 cold damage and is slowed until the end of your next turn.
Goals
Cold forged of mithrail, Icetongue was made by the Dwarves of Danor to slay fire giants and all their thrall. Any creature with the fire subtype is an enemy to Icetongue, be it azer, elemental, or dragon, and it will demand their death without consideration.
Roleplaying Icetongue
Icetongue speaks in a clear, ringing voice. It speaks Common, Dwarven, Giant and Draconic.
Flame and passion are anathma to Icetongue, and its will is as deliberate and as implacable as a glacier. It will calculatedly drive its wielder to confrontation with its hated foes. Patient, unforgiving and heartless, Icetongue does not care what cost must be paid for victory.
Concordance
Starting Score 5
Wielder gains a level: +1d6
Wielder kills a creature with the fire subtype (max 1 / day) +1
Wielder refuses to fight a creature with the fire subtype -3
Wielder refuses to obey Icetongue’s command -1
Pleased (16-20)
Icetongue becomes a +6 weapon that deals +6d6 cold damage on a critical.
Power (Daily ✦ Cold): Free Action. Use this power when you hit with the weapon. The target takes an extra 4d8 cold damage and is restrained until the end of your next turn.
Power (Encounter ✦ Cold): Standard Action, Melee 1. Thrust Icetongue into any normal fire to douse it. If the fire is magical in nature, such as a zone or conjuration of fire, make a weapon attack against the caster’s Will defense to end the effect.
Satisfied (12-15)
Icetongue becomes a +5 weapon that deals +5d6 cold damage on a critical.
Power (Daily ✦ Cold): Free Action. Use this power when you hit with the weapon. The target takes an extra 3d8 cold damage and is immobilized until the end of your next turn.
Property: The wielder gains Icewalk, the ability to move through difficult icy or snowy terrain at normal speed.
Normal (5-11)
Icetongue’s statistics are as listed above (+4 weapon, +4d6 cold on a critical).
Unsatisfied (1-4)
Icetongue becomes a +2 weapon that deals +2d6 cold damage on a critical.
Icetongue will not use its daily slow power.
The wielder gains vulnerable 5 cold.
Angered (0 or lower)
Icetongue is considered a non-magical weapon for the purposes of attack and damage.
If Icetongue’s wielder rolls a 1 on an attack roll, they take 2d8 cold damage and are slowed for one turn.
Moving On
When Icetongue has defeated the fiery menace that it arose to battle it will leave the stage again. Typically it is buried with the corpse of whatever hero it chose to wield it for that battle, as Icetongue’s heartless drive often causes the death of its bearer even as they slay its foes. If by terrific fortitude or cunning they win Icetongue’s epic battle with their life intact he will either make them seek out a new fiery foe or else make them leave him in a desolate, icy location, such as thrust into the ice atop a glacier or hurled into a mountaintop lake.
Posted in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Magic Item and tagged equipment: artifact weapon by Adam A. Thompson with 3 comments.
The Ruins of Soguer – The Mages’s Guild Tower, Part 1
Once again we return to the adventure The Ruins of Old Soguer, being posted piece-by-piece here on Tailslap. Today’s post details the first two floors of the Mage’s Guild Tower in the central portion of the ruins. There, a figure from the past languishes under a mysterious curse.
Previous sections of the adventure can be found here:
The Ruins of Soguer – Introduction
The Ruins of Soguer – Start of the Adventure in Aguies Town & Castle
The Ruins of Soguer – River Journey to the Ruins
The Ruins of Soguer – The Western Ruins
The Ruins of Soguer – the Central Ruins
5 – The Mage’s Guild Tower, A reclusive old mage named Alidol lives within this tower, trapped by a curse.
Standing here among the ruins of the city is a tall square tower with smooth, windowless, slightly tapered sides. The once-fine facade is cracked and crumbling and vines crawl up the walls. A single wide doorway stands open, the door long gone. You see an old man in tattered clothes and with long, tangled beard and hair peering at you from the doorway.
If the players apprach, the old man greets them cautiously. If not threatened, he will converse with them, telling them that his name is Alidol, and that he was the Master of the Mage’s Guild of Soguer before the fall, and that he has lived in the tower since then. He is hesitant to reveal more detail then that, though he can be convinced to reveal some of his secrets with a skill challange (below).
What he cannot reveal are the details of the curse that he languishes under.
Skill challenge – xp 200 (4 successes before 3 failures)
DC – 14 Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate and Arcana skill checks to learn the old man’s history – that when he was young the pleasures of the flesh and his ambition consumed him and he pledged his soul to Grazz’t. After he amassed great power he became the high mage of the guild, and that then he used forbidden magic to share his soul to make simmalacrum of himself (magical copies who share his soul – and therefore his pact with Grazz’t). He goes on to tell that when the city was attacked he used up all of his power to ward the tower against the demon god that rose up out of the sea and now has no more magic in him.
He then tries to say “With my power gone my simmalacrum were free to act as they willed. They made separate deals with Grazz’t, I believe, then betrayed and cu… cur…” (as part of his curse he is unable to say that they cursed him and left him here to die, and will become angry at this point and begin tearing at his hair and beard in frustration. Once he calms down a bit he will implore the players to help him, though he is unable to say anything about the curse or its nature – he can’t even say that he can’t speak about it.
If asked about creatures in the tower, he will mention his shield guardian, but will say it should not be hostile – it will just protect him, though that’s useless since it is trapped above, where he cannot reach due to the stairs having fallen apart.
If asked about his past and his pact with Grazz’t, the old man will sadly relate that he once burned with ambition and lust, but that after spending forty years alone in the tower he has repented those things and now just wishes to live out the rest of his days in peace.
If the players try to leave the tower, Alidol warns them about the hezrou (toad demon) that stalks the ruins. He will go on to say that his final spell – a ward against demons – still protects the tower and that the Hezrou cannot enter.
Minor Quest (Level 10 – xp 500 for each player): Free the guildmaster from his tower.
The curse laid on Alidol prevents him from leaving the tower until he has died there. It also prohibits him from helping anyone lift his curse in any way. If the players kill his simmalacrum he has technically died in the tower and is then free to leave.
Success – If the players free Alidol from the tower, he will thank them gratefully and promise to assist them any way he can. If the subject of the inquisition comes up he will inquire about it, and if the church of Baccob is mentioned he will let them know that one of his simmalacrum was working to join the church of Boccob many years ago. He will accompany them out of the ruins if they will allow him to join them, eventaully making his way back to Aguies with them. While with the party, he will happily share his vast knowledge of the arcane, making Arcana skill checks to identify creatures and help with arcane skill challanges at +30.
Tower Locations
Much of the tower is shrouded with patches of dense fog, all corridors are filled with fog, all doors are Arcane Locked (DC 21 Theivery or Strength to open), and there are some illusionary features thoroughout. The entire tower is also warded by a spell that protects against demons – Alidol’s ward from the fall of Soguer – that keeps the hezrou out.
Ground Floor
A – Main Hall
A chair stands alone near the door in this large open room. The floor is littered with dirt and bits of wood and fallen masonry. Pillars support the ceiling twenty feet above, which shows cracks and some dark holes where pieces of stone are missing. A door leads to a hallway with smaller chambers – also with long-rotted chairs and tables. At the end of the hall is a spiral staircase leading up. Empty sconces and burned out torches line the walls.
B – Meeting Rooms – These chambers contain only the broken remains of tables and chairs.
C – Guest Chambers – Here three bedrooms hold simple furniture that looks fragile with age – a bed, chair, table, and empty chest.
D – Kitchen – This kitchen features a large rusty stove, and some tables and shelves still stand among the debris.
A simple wooden spoon lies on the table, next to a worn wooden bowl. The spoon is magical – if it is placed in the bowl or any container it fills with plain-tasting but nutritious gruel (as Everlastng Provisions – it provides food and water for up to 5 people a day). If Alidol sees the players examining with the spoon – his only source of food – he becomes agitated and takes it away from them.
Novice’s Chambers
E – Warded Door (Arcane Locked – DC 21 Theivery or Strength to open) – The password is “korth” (draconic for danger), but Alidol’s curse prevents him from telling them what it is.
F – Scribe’s Workshop
Two long tables with benches and a bookshelf fill this chamber. Scraps of paper and a set of quills sit on the tables. Some books stand on the shelves. A few small vials, bits of paper and a few books sit among the thick dust that coats the floor.
This is where books and documents were copied and some scrolls were made – a search of the papers on the floor (easy perception check – DC 10) will turn up a complete scroll of water breathing. The books on the shelves that have survived the ages and vermin cover arcane and mundane topics, history “Wars of the Fridon”, philosophy “Natural Science of the Rivers”, “On Rulership”, religion “Tracts of Truth and Guidance”, fiction “There and Back Again”, erotica “Ten Tales of Romance”. There are 10 salvagable books all told.
G – Novice’s Dormotories
These simple rooms hold a single bed, a footlocker, a small table and a chair in various stages of decay.
The rooms are empty, the novices having taken their posessions with them as they left the city after the fall.
H – Unstable Masonry – Hazard
Level 10 Lurker – XP 500
Small debris litter the dusty staircase here.
Hazard – These crumbling stairs could collapse at any moment – plunging the unwary down to the hall below and leaving a pit that must be climbed or jumped over.
Perception – A DC 21 Perception or Dungeoneering notices the cracked and dangerous stonework on the stairs.
Trigger – The first creature to climb the stairs causes them to crumble under them. The stairs make the following attack.
Attack – immedeate interrupt
Target – the first creature climbing the stairs
+13 vs Reflex
Hit – 2d10 falling damage and secondary attack from falling stones
-Secondary Attack – +13 vs Fortitide, 1d10+5 damage
-Effect – the staircase crumbles, opening up a pit that looks down into the Main Hall (area A). Once the pit opens, a DC 21 Athletics or Acrobatics check is required to cross it.
Countermeasures
– DC 16 Acrobatics check to carefully cross the stairs one at a time without triggering the stairs to collapse (player is attacked as above on failure).
– DC 16 Athletics check to run and jump over the stairs without triggering the collapse (player is attacked as above on failure).
– DC 21 Athletics or Acrobatics check to cross once the stairs have collapsed (player falls for 2d10 damage on failure).
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