Passion
This variant rule has the DM keep track of the passion of the characters, enabling the DM to introduce quests of passion into the campaign. From these characters earn passion points which can then be used to modify rolls and to improve the likelihood of successful negotiations in certain contexts, for instance when seducing lovers, sweet-talking captors, or rallying troops.
Try passion out in your games, along with fame, infamy, fear, and other traits, and see how it livens up the experience, providing role-playing prompts and entry points when players feel somewhat distanced from their characters, or too wrapped up in the standard rules.
Posted in Variant Rules and tagged fun by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Withering Grasp
With a touch, the caster permanently withers an opponent’s limb.
Necromancy
Level: Cleric 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 5, Corruption 4
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: permanent
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
With a magic phrase, your hand glows with dim red energy. Grasping your foe’s arm, all his strength leaves him and he drops his weapon, his once-mighty limb withering away.
This spell permanently withers the touched limb. On a successful melee touch attack, a random limb is crippled and useless and the victim suffers 2d6 points of damage. Depending on what limb is withered, this spell has different effects.
Crippling a leg causes the opponent to fall down unless they make a DC 15 balance check, and halves their land speed. Furthermore, moving on only one leg requires a DC 10 balance check.
Crippling an arm, tentacle, or other grasping limb causes anything held with that arm to be dropped, and prevents it’s use. Full-body strength checks suffer a -4 penalty, as do grapple checks.
Crippling a wing prevents flight and causes an airborne creature to fall from the sky.
If they wish, the caster can attempt to cripple a specific limb. This type of “called shot” suffers a -4 penalty to the melee touch attack.
As this spell instantaneously destroys use of the limb, heal, restoration, regeneration, or similarly powerful healing magic of at least 5th level must be used to restore use of the crippled limb.
As this spell only requires verbal components, it is often used in close quarters and when wrestling desperately with opponents.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged cleric spell level 5, corruption domain 4, sorcerer / wizard spell level 5 by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Crippling Grasp
Necromancy
Level: Cleric 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 3, Corruption 2
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 1 rd / level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
With a magic phrase, your hand glows with dim red energy. Grasping your foe’s arm, all his strength leaves him and he drops his weapon, his once-mighty limb now useless.
This spell cripples the touched limb. On a successful melee touch attack, a random limb is crippled. Depending on which limb is crippled, this spell has different effects.
Crippling a leg causes the opponent to fall down unless they make a DC 15 balance check, and halves their land speed. Furthermore, moving on only one leg requires a DC 10 balance check.
Crippling an arm, tentacle, or other grasping limb causes anything held with that arm to be dropped, and prevents it’s use. Full-body strength checks suffer a -4 penalty, as do grapple checks.
Crippling a wing prevents flight and causes an airborne creature to fall from the sky.
If they wish, the caster can attempt to cripple a specific limb. This type of “called shot” suffers a -4 penalty to the melee touch attack.
After the spells duration ends, when it is dispelled, or when heal, restoration, remove curse, or similarly powerful healing magic is used, the victim regains use of the crippled limb.
As this spell only requires verbal components, it is often used in close quarters and when wrestling desperately with opponents.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged cleric spell level 3, corruption domain 3, necromancy, sorcerer / wizard spell level 0 by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Whirling Doom
Evocation [Force]
Level: Clr 9, Good 9, War 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Wall of whirling blades up to 20 ft. long/ level, or a ringed wall of whirling blades with a radius of up to 5 ft. per two levels; either form 20 ft. high
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex half or Reflex negates; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell functions in all respects as blade barrier, with the exception that the caster can cause the wall of blades to move.
Each round the caster can use a standard action to move the barrier 10 ft in any direction. Additionally, the barrier can be turned, by moving the endpoints of the barrier up to 10 ft each.
Any creatures that the blade barrier passes over take 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 15d6), with a Reflex save for half damage.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged cleric spell, cleric spell level 9, evocation, good domain, war domain by Adam A. Thompson with 1 comment.
Prattleberries
These grape-sized berries bear strange markings on their skin. When eaten, their sour-sweet juices tingle through the tongue and jaws.
Adventurers who consume the mystical berries are advised to avoid operating siege machinery or riding horses while under their influence.
Prattleberries are commonly used for long-range communication. For two weeks out of the year, each bud on the plant produces a pair of berries with identical sigils. When picked and eaten, the creature is able to slip his attention into a dreamstate where he may communicate freely with any creature that has eaten the partner berry.
Once eaten, a creature can communicate telepathically with the partner berry eater on the same plane up to 100 miles away. Along with sight and sound, the dreamstate communication allows the dreamselves to feel physical sensations including taste and smell. When in this state, their real bodies are treated as stunned.
This effect lasts up to 90 minutes. It does not have to be used continuously but will no longer function two days after they were consumed. Slipping in or out of the dreamstate is a move action.
An unwilling recipient of incoming communications is able to chose not to participate in the dreamstate, and will hear the faint, incomprehensible voice of the one trying to initiate the dreamstate.
In regions that prattleberries are native to, finding them when they bear fruit requires a DC 25 Survival check.
Once picked from the stem, the prattleberry will spoil and lose its ability after 6 days, unless steps are taken to preserve it and the partner berry. If a pair of prattleberries spoil, they can be made ripe again (and therefore regain their magical ability) for an additional 6 days with a DC 18 Craft: Cooking or Survival check. Thereafter, they become rotten for good and decompose.
To preserve a pair of prattleberries, a creature with ranks in Survival, Craft: Cooking, or Craft: Alchemy can make a skill check (DC20) to bottle them in preservative. The process takes 8 hours to complete and requires a sealable jar and 2 gp worth of materials.
Properly preserved pairs of prattleberries probably price approximately 10 platinum pieces.
Posted in Magic Item by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Plague Dog
Plague dogs are canines that carry a plague that afflicts humanoids.
These dogs are surprising nimble for as sickly as they look, with tufts of fur stripped, visible scars, and a foamy gleam in their eyes and maws. Though their mouths don’t seem to close comfortably, there is no comfort that they will likely close around nearby flesh. Only the most aggressive breeds become proper plague dogs; their temper is only tempered by their desperation.
Size/Type: Medium Magical Beast
Alignment: Usually lawful good
Environment: Bogs, marshes, dark city alleys
Organization: Solitary or pack (10-20)
Challenge Rating: 3
Initiative: +3
Senses: Darkvision 60′, low-light vision, scent
Armor Class: 16 (+3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 13
Hit Dice: 5d10 (30hp)
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +5
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+5
Feats: Iron Will, Run, Track, Blind-fighting
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., plague-carrying, low-light vision, scent
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 11
Skills: Hide +4, Listen +6, Sense Motive +3, Spot +5, Survival +5
Treasure: None
Advancement: 5-7 HD (Medium); 8-12 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: +2 (cohort)
Plague dogs are canines that carry a plague that afflicts humanoids.
These dogs are surprising nimble for as sickly as they look, with tufts of fur stripped, visible scars, and a foamy gleam in their eyes and maws. Though their mouths don’t seem to close comfortably, there is no comfort that they will likely close around nearby flesh. Only the most aggressive breeds become proper plague dogs; their temper is only tempered by their desperation.
Combat
Plague dogs often hunt in packs, surrounding their prey, allowing some of them to take advantage of flanking and delivering their plague through their diseased maws. However, some are loners that roam the dark alleys of cities.
Plague (Su)
Plague dogs carry plaguelets in their saliva, tiny creatures that eat through the flesh of humanoids.
Plague Offal/Dung (Su)
The dung of plague dogs also carries plaguelets. Any creature coming in contact with plague dog dung must make a Fortitude save or contract the plague.
Skills
A plague dog has a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent.
Posted in Creature and tagged dog, magical beast, plague by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Plague
Plague is a new supernatural disease type, with symptoms resembling the black plague.
Gamemasters will likely want to limit the amount of plague in their games, as it tends to drag the players down, but in certain tainted planes, over-populated cities, and bogs, plague might creep its way into the game.
Plague infects its victims on contact with an infected creature, requiring a DC 22 Fortitude save to avoid. The incubation period is 1d12 days since there are so many ways in which it can spread. Plague causes 1d4 Con damage per day afflicted with the disease on a failed save, and once they feel symptoms of the disease, can easily spread it to those they touch. Unlike normal diseases, the victim must make 3 days worth of successful saves to begin recovering from the plague.
Plague is immune to remove disease, though heal and other higher-level spells will remove plague from a victim.
Posted in Variant Rules and tagged Disease by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Hellskin Tunic
These shirts are made from the hides of slain fiends. As such, their appearance varies depending on what type of demon or devil originally wore the hide: some are scaly, some smooth and barbed, some blue-white as ice, and some fiery red.
Those who wear these specially-treated shirts find that they help resist the points of weapons and the tearing of teeth and claws. While worn they confer a natural armor bonus of +2.
Minor abjuration; caster level 3, Craft Wondrous Item, magic vestment, barkskin or mage armor; 8,000 gold
And thanks to my players for inspiration: the story of Doombringer’s return
Posted in Magic Item and tagged shirt by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Return to Sender
Transmutation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 2
Components: V, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Effect: One touched object
Duration: 1 minute/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes (object)
Material Component: A voided stamp or other sticky object
Any non-magical hand-held object you cast this spell on will return to the caster if thrown or left in a location. When it is thrown or launched, and impacts with its target, the object immediately returns via the most direct route. When it is left alone, it returns upon command. At the end of the spell’s duration, it returns regardless of receiving a command.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged sorcerer / wizard spell level 2 by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Discus of Annihilation
This metallic disc soars up to 120 feet away, striking targets for 3d8 dmg and returning to the wielder’s hand. Unfortunately, it has a limited number of strikes (usually around 10 charges) before it annihilates itself. Without specific training, it is difficult hard to be accurate with the discus. Wielders are required to have martial or exotic proficiencies to avoid penalties.
Variants that do not annihilate themselves include a sonic disc (1d8+1d6 sonic damage), flame disc (1d8+1d6 fire damage), holy discus (1d8+1d6 holy damage), etc, etc.
Craft Magic Arms, return to sender; permanency; Cost 12,000 gp. The only magic given off by the standard version is the return to sender spell. Alternate versions also give off the enchantments that provide each bonus.
Posted in Magic Item and tagged missile, thrown, weapon by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.