Begotten, lost in time
These advanced Old Ones will be appearing very soon in “Stealing Moments”, an upcoming adventure from Unicorn Rampant written by S.D. Hilderbrand. As usual, feel free to borrow them if you need an aberrant encounter to throw into your game this week!
The result of prolonged exposure to Old Ones, persons too near their reality warping effects undergo a transformation into beings which resemble them in some ways. These changed creature’s features are bestial and reminiscent of fish, lizards, and amphibians, with claw-tipped hands or occasionally tentacles for arms. They are cunning and physically powerful, yet twisted and crippled in appearance. These creatures are ruled by the Old Ones through fear, violence and mental domination.
Those that can still speak do not usually chose to do so. Instead they mainly communicate simple thoughts to each other by telepathy, accompanied by whimpering groans and croaks.
Elder Begotten of the Old Ones CR 9
usually chaotic neutral with evil tendencies
Medium Size Abberation
Init: +2 Senses: darkvision 60′
Listen +10 Spot +10
Languages: Telepathy 60′ and either common or none
AC: 20 (+2 dex, +8 natural armor)
HP: 127 (HD 15d8+ 60)
Defenses: SR 18, DR 5 / lawful
Fort: +9 Ref: +7 Will: +8
Speed: 30 ft, swim 30 ft
Attack: +16 appendage 1d6+4 or +15 greatclub 1d12+6
Full Attack: +16 appendage 1d6+4 and +16 appendage 1d6+4 or +15/+10/ +5 greatclub 1d12+6
Attack Options: Lightning Touch
Space / Reach: 5ft. / 5ft.
Base Attack: +11 Grapple: +15
SQ: DR 5/lawful, SR 15, darkvision 60′
SA: spell like abilities: blur
Feats: weapon focus (appendage), power attack, ability focus (Otherworldly Gaze), quicken spell-like ability (blur)
Abilities: Str: 18 Dex: 15 Con: 18 Int: 9 Wis: 12 Cha: 6
Skills: +10 listen, +10 spot
Lightning Touch (Su): Begotten of the old ones can generate, as a free action, a burst of electricity from within their bodies that damages and may stun their victims. The touch deals 1d8 points of electricity damage and stuns the target for 1d4 rounds. A DC 21 Fortitude save avoids the stun effect – the save is constitution based. They may use this ability once per round, delivered by melee attack.
Otherworldly Gaze: As a standard action begotten can focus their otherworldly gaze upon a mortal creature and create a haze of confusion as the spell. A DC 18 will save is required to avoid this confusion (save is wisdom based), which lasts as long as the begotten concentrates upon it. This is a mind-affecting ability.
Spell-like abilities: 1/day – blur (caster level 8)
DR: 5 / lawful (axiomatic)
Spell Resistance: 18
COMBAT
Sometimes armed with simple weapons, but generally attacking with whatever appendages the old ones have given them, the begotten are straightforward combatants. If encountered in a group, those in the rear will focus their otherworldly gaze on those being attacked, while their brethren attack with their claws and lightning touch.
Posted in Creature and tagged Stealing Moments by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
4th edition first impressions
The topic of this first editorial is a popular one these days: the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Like many of you we got our hands on the new rule books earlier this month and started up a new campaign to play “Keep on the Shadowfell”. We’ve played two sessions of that game so far and I have been enjoying it immensely. Of course the caveat is that this is just my first impression as we’ve only hit 2nd level and had less than ten encounters so far. But overall I think 4th edition is excellent. The writing is clear and imaginative, and things are clearer than they’ve ever been in D&D. The downside is that that clarity and simplification of parts of the game has eliminated a lot of the fun flavor that has always made Dungeons and Dragons capture the imagination so strongly.
The thing I like about 4th edition the best is the balancing of the classes. I’m playing in this game, but I usually DM, so I really appreciate the effort they’ve made to keep power levels even across the classes, and the work they’ve done to keep the rules exploits to a minimum. Even the powergamer in our group seems happy with it, and every character has an important role to play in every fight we’ve been in. One of the central tenants of the design seems to be strictly limiting each player to one standard action per turn. Unfortunately this streamlining seems to have eliminated druids altogether, along with summoning spells. More on that below.
I like the way they’ve changed the non-combat magic into rituals that any character can potentially use. My character is a dragonborn warlord with the multiclass wizard feat, and I’m excited to be in a party that doesn’t need a wizard or a cleric to benefit from powerful magics.
And I like the way combat flows in 4th ed, with character’s turns going quickly, no more durations to track, and the ability that many powers give you to act on other’s turns, helping allies and hindering foes. The addition of minor actions is also a big improvement. The game-rules aspects of the game are stronger and in many ways more fun.
On the downside, some of the work done balancing the classes and feats can make the characters feel a little cookie-cutter compared to 3rd edition. It’s nothing like 1st or 2nd though, where every 10th level fighter is exactly the same. But the choices, especially in the feats, feels limited. Even worse are the skills, where I really miss the profession and craft skills. Of course, the 3rd edition skill system had problems in these areas as well (ie- there’s a ride skill, but no sailing skill), but 4th edition leaves the players and the DM to work these things out for themselves. I could definitely see a group of inexperienced gamers asking “my character wants to re-forge his father’s broken sword!” and the group getting bogged down in weather or not his character can know how to do that. Hopefully good groups will roll with it and role-play it out somehow, but it was nice to have non-conflict-oriented character details presented to you as an option. It lent substance to my claim when I said my wizard grew up a goat-herd for him to have a few skill points in Profession (farming). In terms of game play, I worry about non-combat challenges being viable with such a limited set of skills.
The lack of Druids, Bards and Barbarians is lamentable. I assume there is another book in the works, or perhaps one for each class, to cover these fantasy staples. The lack of evil clerics in the player’s is also disconcerting. For me a big part of D&D has always been the scariness of the bad guys, and clerics that can’t raise an army of the dead just feel wrong. The DMG suggests replacing their radiant damage with necrotic, but it feels like a poor solution. Maybe October will see another edition of the Book of Vile Darkness to cover these things (are you listening, Monte?). And the lack of summoning spells is also distressing. Other than a flaming sphere, you can’t really call powerful allies from beyond to aid you, and neither can the bad buys. One of Claw Claw Bite‘s first posts in October will be a power that summons elementals. This power will be designed to stay within the rules balance of 4th edition and bring back my favorite thing from 1st edition about summoning them. Stay tuned to see that.
So why all this talk of October? In October this year Wizards of the Coast is planning to release a new OGL-style rules-set for 4th edition that updates the d20 license and allows 3rd party publishers like us to release material for 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons. So while we’re already writing material for 4th edition, and plan on releasing adventures for both 3rd and 4th edition, we can’t release any of that material until October when that license is made available. Under the terms of that license we can release products for both editions for 6 months at which point we are only allowed to release material for one edition or the other. So we have to make a decision in April 09 about which version we’ll continue to support. We hope to hear from you about which you’d prefer, but we have almost a year to see what the gaming community in general thinks about 4th edition, and 6 months putting out material for 3rd and 4th edition.
So, what do you think? Leave a comment here at clawclawbite.com, or write us at ccb@unicornrampant.com to let us know.
Thanks again,
Adam Thompson
Unicorn Rampant
Posted in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Editorial by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Evil Faeries: Prankster Posions Pixies
Prankster Pixie CR 10
poison pixie sorcerer 8
chaotic evil female small fey
Init: +2 Senses: Listen +1, Spot +1
Languages: Sylvan, Common
AC: 20 (+2 dex, +4 mage armor, +4 shield) touch 12, flatfooted 12
HP: 28 (HD 10d4)
Resist: +2 vs enchantment & charm, Spell Resistance 23, Damage Reduction 5 / cold iron, %50 miss chance from blink
Immune: magical sleep
Fort: +3 Ref: +5 Will: +8
MV: 30 ft.
Attack: +7 dagger (1d4-1) or +7 shortbow (1d6)
Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Base Attack: +5 Grapple: +4
SA: sorcerer spells, spell-like abilities
Feats: weapon finesse, spell focus enchantment, greater spell focus enchantment
Abilities Str 8 Dex 15 Con 11 Int 12 Wis 13 Cha 19
Skills: Bluff + 17, Concentration + 6, Knowledge (Arcana) + 1, Spellcraft + 5.
Spells Available (DC 13 + spell level, +2 vs enchantment)
0th (6/day): guidance, ray of frost, prestidigitation, daze, ghost sound +4
1st (7 /day): sleep, color spray, reduce person, shield, mage armor
2nd (7 /day): hideous laughter, invisibility, scorching ray
3rd (6 /day): hold person, blink
4th (4 /day): dimension door
Spell-Like Abilities: 3 / day – disguise self, suggestion, command and charm person. (DC 13 + spell level – saves are charisma based)
Possessions: dagger, shortbow, 10 arrows.
Familiar: snake familiar.
Posted in Creature and tagged fey by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
The Seat of the Seer
Presented here is the first encounter in the upcoming adventure “Anointing the Seer”. Here, a group of giants have taken up residence in a cursed cathedral. Dangerous magic briers guard the exterior, and within the brutes feast on the trapped townsfolk. Feel free to drop it into your games to use as you see fit.
Seat of the Seer
Dungeon Features
Secret Doors in this area are priest-doors, concealed to appear to be part of the ornately carved stone or wood they are set into, and are a DC 18 Search check to find.
The Cursed Seat of the Seer (EL 12)
This temple is much transformed after the attack on it. It is surrounded by magical briars, and inside giants feast on the townsfolk, who have been polymorphed into animals.
Exterior
Surrounded by small outlying buildings, this large and stately temple is completely overgrown with gargantuan brambles, to the point where is is nearly concealed. A large double door can be glimpsed through the thorn-covered trunks of the plants.
In order to enter the temple via the doors one must somehow pass through the patches of brier brambles that block the doorways. If the plants are not killed then they must be defeated in an opposed strength check (DC 19) in order to open the doors. Other methods of entry include teleportation or flying or climbing up and breaking through some of the stained glass windows on the east face of the temple. Either method requires navigating the brambles, which will attempt to grapple the intruders.
Interior
The smell of offal, greasy cooking fires and death permeate this area. The interior of the temple is also sparsely overgrown with patches of the thorny brambles which push up through the flagstones. Several dead peasants and acolytes are caught in their branches. The stone walls are adorned with tapestries of the Seer’s visions and the stories of the petitioners helped by them. Several carcases worth of bones lie upon the floor.
1/4 of the squares in the temple are grown over with brambles in approx 10′ patches in the first room of the temple. Some of the pillars also have brambles in the chapel.
Creatures: Nearly 100 domestic animals cower in the temple. They are the temple priests and townsfolk who had come to observe the coronation, polymorphed into sheep, pigs and dogs. Several giants and and an air elemental have been left behind by the vengeful family to ensure that the temple is not re-inhabited.
Ogre Barbarians (3): HP 79 each
Tactics: The brutes will likely be roused by anyone entering the temple and will have assembled to defend it. The giants may attempt to push intruders into the brambles as they fight, and will mercilessly bludgeon anyone caught in them. Similarly, the air elemental will attempt to scoop up the rear ranks of any intruders in its whirlwind form and drop them into the brambles. If the group is defeated, the air elemental will return to the warlock to inform him that someone has reclaimed the temple. The giants will fight to the death.
Traps: The exterior of the temple and portions of the first room are overgrown with the effects of the brier brambles spell. Anyone entering the area of the spells effect risks entanglement and the plants sleeping poison.
Treasure: Almost the only thing left in the temple’s treasury is a scroll of break enchantment that the temple priest (in his form as a ram) will bring to the party if they are otherwise unable to disenchant the villagers. The giants have little of value on them.
Development: Once the giants are slain and the elemental has fled, the party should be able to disenchant the remaining animals, who creep cautiously up to the PCs once the violence has ended.
Once freed they will relate what happened: the new priestess was in the process of being anointed when a holy trance came upon her. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she began speaking in a strange, strained, voice. “I see… doom! The drake… he is brought low by his son…” The peasants go on to inform their rescuers that a witch and two warlocks, one young and one of middle age, suddenly appeared in a burst of flame and interrupted the anointing of the new Seer and turned them all into animals. One of the older villagers, the abbot of the temple, will angrily go on to identify the witch as the evil old witch who used to live in the village, but was driven off years ago. Some say she inhabits a farm nearby in the wild woods, and the players will be given sketchy directions by one of the village’s hunters.
Attempts to scry upon the priestess will fail, as she is in the Dragon’s lair, which is warded against scrying.
Ad Hoc XP Adjustment: +15% for difficult terrain (the brambles)
Posted in Encounter and tagged Anointing the Seer, Location by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Crystal Plate Mail
This armor is made from the same magical mix of adamantium and diamond that Glass Swords are constructed from. As armor, this material is not only as tough as the finest steel, giving a +1 enhancement bonus to AC, but also protects the wearer from magical effects.
When targeted by a spell there is a %50 chance that the spell is reflected. This operates like spell turning, with the exception that the spell bounces off the plate mail’s surface in a random direction (roll d8 for scatter direction) and distance (2d12 -1 squares). If a creature is in the square that the spell is reflected into, it is instead the subject of the spell. This ability is the equivalent to a +4 enhancement bonus in terms of magic item price.
Major Abjuration; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, spell turning, caster level 17; 25,000 gold
Posted in Magic Item and tagged armor by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Share Pain
Abjuration
Cleric Level 3
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: Special
Range: Close (25 ft + 5ft / 2 levels)
Effect: special
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: none
Spell Resistance: No
This spell creates a link between you and the target summoned creature. One half of all hit point damage dealt to you is instead transfered to the target. Forms of harm that do not involve hit points, such as charm effects, temporary ability damage, level draining, and death effects, are not affected. If you suffer a reduction of hit points from a lowered Constitution score, the reduction is not split with the summoned creature because it is not hit point damage. If your summoned creature dies, the summoning spell ends, or the target summon is removed from your plane of existance the spell ends. When the spell ends, subsequent damage is no longer divided between the subject and you, but damage already split is not reassigned.
You can cast this spell as a move action as part of a summoning/calling spell. If you cast this spell on a creature that has already been summoned it is a standard action.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged abjuration, cleric spell level 3 by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Symbol of Withering
Necromancy
Level: Clr 7, Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: 0 ft.; see text
Effect: One symbol
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell affects the target as Wither Limb. If the target crosses a threshold warded with this Glyph, their leg will be withered. If they touch the warded item, the limb used to touch it is withered. If the rune is triggered by reading, the limb withered should be determined randomly.
This spell permanently withers the touched limb. Upon triggering the Symbol, the affected 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.
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.
In other ways, this spell operates the same as other Symbol spells.
Unlike symbol of death, symbol of withering has no hit point limit; once triggered, a symbol of weakness simply remains active for 10 minutes per caster level.
Posted in Spell and tagged cleric spell level 7, necromancy, sorcerer / wizard spell level 7 by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
The Sorrow of Ard Shurel (Magic Item)
The fragments of legend that can be pieced together in regards to this blade are few and scattered. It is whispered that Ard Shurel was a great Warlord, rising to power during the dawn of mankind. Little is known of his path to glory, but myths allude to his gentle spirit, compassionate heart, and endless ferocity.
Having gathered his brothers to his breast, Ard mastered the savage land he found around him. Slaying those who opposed him, and embracing those who would head his wisdom. Long was the struggle with the fel creatures of the night, but gradually a fragile balance was achieved and for a time he was at peace.
The mythos claims that his heart was captured by a beautiful maiden, and that he made her his bride. Fair and pure she was, tall and slender of neck. As all such things go, they were content for a time. Sadly, their happiness was short lived, for a demon of great power had been watching Ard, gnashing it’s great teeth in readiness for the day when it could strike him down.
Undar’gesh was a denizen of the shadows, a whisperer of lies. His minions lurked in darkness at fire’s edge, lusting for blood to quench their never ending thirst. For years they had hurled themselves upon Ard Shurel and his men, crashing down in endless waves upon them. Defeat had left Undar’gesh with a powerful thirst for revenge, and Shurel’s happiness was just another mortal weakness upon which to prey.
Each night the gloom demon would visit the beautiful bride, and whisper in her ear, casting long shadows of doubt in her mind. Her head and her heart became full of glass menageries, brittle and untrue. It was not long as demons measure time before Ard’s sweet wife was lost to her own madness.
The fierce heart of Ard Shurel was sundered. The gentle spirit, and just heart grew bitter and cold with grief. In a fit of rage, he took up his great blade and slew his beloved with a single blow. As he looked upon his dying love, her eyes were cleared of their madness and she had only kind words on her lips for her champion.
Going mad with the horror of what he had done, Shurel turned his blade on his own men, drowning his sorrow in their blood. As darkness stole across the land, and the sunlight bled beyond the horizon, Ard Shurel fell upon his own blade. The last light fled, and there upon the floor lay pulsing blood red blade, a faint sound of laughter echoing in the distance.
The Sorrow of Ard Shurel
+2 wounding man-bane bastard sword
Chaotic Evil – Ego Score: 15
Int: 14, Wis: 14, Cha: 10
Speaks common and abyssal
120 ft. vision and hearing
Powers: minor image 1/day, locaete object 3/day
Special Purpose: to destroy love wherever it is found
Dedicated Power: when the sword is around those who love each other (platonic or romantic) it can use song of discord at will.
Strong Mixed Auras; 135,000 gold
Posted in Magic Item and tagged weapon by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Vitriolic Blast
The goblin adepts and sorcerers of Lord Fevul’s armies have passed knowledge of this spell down through the generations. It allows the caster to evoke cones of burning acid with which they spray their enemies. In battle, echelons of them will advance into the ranks of their foes, spraying deadly acid, and decimating their opponents.
Minor Vitriolic Blast
Evocation [Acid]
Level: Adept 3, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 10 ft.
Area: Cone-shaped burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell creates a cone-shaped spray of acid that originates at the caster’s rod or staff and extends outwards.
The cone is 10 ft long and deals 1d6 points of acid damage per caster level, up to a maximum of 5d6 points of damage. A reflex save is allowed for half damage.
Any creature that failed it’s reflex save takes 1d6 points of acid damage on the subsequent round. There is no save against this damage, although application of large quantities of water or oil before the round has passed can prevent further damage.
Arcane Focus
The focus for this spell is any staff or rod that has been anointed with special oils costing 10 gold.
Vitriolic Blast
Evocation [Acid]
Level: Adept 5, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 30 ft.
Area: Cone-shaped burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell creates a cone-shaped spray of acid that originates at the caster’s rod or staff and extends outwards.
The cone is 30 ft long and deals 1d6 points of acid damage per caster level, up to a maximum of 10d6 points of damage. A reflex save is allowed for half damage.
Any creature that failed it’s reflex save takes 3d6 points of acid damage on the subsequent round. There is no save against this damage, although application of large quantities of water or oil before the round has passed can prevent further damage.
Arcane Focus
The focus for this spell is any staff or rod that has been anointed with special oils costing 50 gold.
Major Vitriolic Blast
Evocation [Acid]
Level: Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 45 ft.
Area: Cone-shaped burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell creates a cone-shaped spray of acid that originates at the caster’s rod or staff and extends outwards.
The cone is 45 ft long and deals 1d6 points of acid damage per caster level, up to a maximum of 20d6 points of damage. A reflex save is allowed for half damage.
Any creature that failed it’s reflex save takes 5d6 points of acid damage on the subsequent round. There is no save against this damage, although application of large quantities of water or oil before the round has passed can prevent further damage.
Arcane Focus
The focus for this spell is any staff or rod that has been anointed with special oils costing 200 gold.
Posted in Spell and tagged adept spell level 3, adept spell level 5, sorcerer / wizard spell 1, sorcerer / wizard spell 3, sorcerer / wizard spell 6 by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Foe’s Shade
Illusion (Shadow)
Level: Darkness 8, Sorcerer / Wizard 8
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Short (25 ft + 5 ft / 2 levels)
Effect: One quasi-real illusionary foe shade
Duration: 1 rd. / 3 levels
Saving Throw: Will disbelief (if interacted with); varies; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
You use material from the Plane of Shadow to shape quasi-real illusionary copy of your opponent. This shadow foe then attempts to slay the creature that it is a copy of, acting immediately much like a summoned monster.
The foe is actually one-half (50%) as strong as the original creature, though creatures who believe the shadow conjurations to be real are affected by them at full strength.
Any creature that interacts with the foe can make a Will save to recognize its true nature.
A foe’s shade has one-half the hit points of it’s original at the time of creation. It deals normal damage and has identical abilities and weaknesses to the creature it is a copy of at the time of casting, including prepared spells and equipment. Against a creature that recognizes it as a shadow creature, however, the foe shade’s damage is one-half (50%) normal, and all special abilities that do not deal damage are only 50% likely to work. (Roll for each use and each affected character separately.) Furthermore, the shadow creature’s AC bonuses are one-half as large.
A creature that succeeds on its save sees the foe shade as a transparent image superimposed on a vague, shadowy form.
Objects automatically succeed on their Will saves against this spell.
Creatures who’s spell resistance is not overcome can not be affected by the foe shade.
Posted in Spell and tagged illusion, illusion (shadow), sorcerer / wizard spell level 8 by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.