Combat Mutilations II

Part I

Question is: what consequences are those mutilations going to have on the character?

-porphyre77

These consequences are largely not very restrictive. The goal is not to make unplayable characters, but to feel the violence of the fight (and then anyway, if they have a mutilation, that's because they were below 0 hit points, and they should normally be dead by the rules). Consider this as a saving throw to sacrifice a body part in exchange for life.

Severed finger : no effect
Severed foot : decreased movement of one level
Blind eye : -1 on surprise rolls.
Severed hand : no two-handed weapons
Severed leg : decreased movement of two level
Severed arm : no two-handed weapons, -1 Strenght and Dexterity point  

Combat Mutilations

Mutilations, even if they are usually not very fun for players, add some character and a certain uniqueness to the characters. If I had to take this aspect into consideration, I think I would go with a rule like this:

From 0 hp, the character falls into unconsciousness. At the end of the fight, see the following table:
0, saving throw vs death, succeeded : survival, failed : death.
-1, saving throw vs death, succeeded : severed finger, failed : death.
-2, saving throw vs death, succeeded : severed foot, failed : death.
-3, saving throw vs death, succeeded : blind eye, failed : death.
-4, saving throw vs death, succeeded : severed hand, failed : death.
-5, saving throw vs death, succeeded : severed leg, failed : death.
-6, saving throw vs death, succeeded : severed arm, failed : death.    

[Monster] Ophidian undead

I was not very active lately. However, I created a new monster to scare to death your beginners as high-level parties.

Ophidian Undead

No. Appearing: 1-10
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 2
Movement : 60'
Attacks: See Below
Alignment: Chaotic

In the distant kingdom of Stygia, the priests of Set perform strange rituals in the heart of darkened temples.One of the worst is the Call of the Swarms of the Snake God. Nobody except the evil clergy of Set knows how to proceed the ritual, but what is certain is that it ends with the invocation of amphisbaenians. These two-headed snakes with fangs dripping with venom then creep into a corpse through the nostrils and animate it with an unholy life, blowing up the eyeballs if they are still in place. These walking corpses have therefore instead of eyes the two heads of the amphisbaena pointing in the empty sockets.

In addition to the attack by the undead (1d6 damage), each head of the amphisbaena tries to bite every round to inoculate their poison, suddenly arising of the eye sockets and retracting the second after. Bites that are benign do not damage but if a saving throw versus poison is failed, the victim convulse for 3d6 rounds. Two simultaneous bites on the same person entails a saving throw against death.

Killing the undead does not necessarily kill the snake: if it is cornered and alone, it is killed automatically by the characters if they specify it. Otherwise, in a melee, the amphisbaena has a chance to escape and animate another body.

They are repelled by clerics as ghouls. 

Clerics & Anti-clerics - Part 4

If I had to involve Clerics in my campaign (nonexistent for a while, but who knows ?), here is a description I would make for my players (a summary of what I said previously) :

Clerics are religious warriors who are part of a very hierarchical order worshiping one only God. Once they proved their worth against Chaos, they are finally allowed to follow the Lamas' (or specialist in the Book) teachings. These scholars guide clerics through the five levels of the Book, each one bringing them broader spiritual knowledge manifesting itself by supernatural powers that reflect the cleric's deeper understanding of Creation.

But this exegesis is not unique: other interpretations, sometimes based on apocryphal texts, exist. Some say the world is the result of an unfortunate blend of darkness and light that will eventually split again. Others go even further by suggesting that the Creator is imperfect, as its creation, and that God has nothing to do with neither one nor the other. Lawful clerics are part of the mainstream whereas Chaotic are heretics, often rejected and fought by the Church. Patriachs, who inhabit strongholds, are the regional leaders of the Church wheras Heresiarchs are their counterparts.

Finally, Anti-clerics, who swapped their healing magic against a necromantic magic, gather together in sects worshiping (or even conjuring) demon lords. These cults, based in fortresses, are led by Evil High Priests who seek to overthrow the Church and impose their religion. 

Rules modifications :

Clerics 
-Chaotic clerics can repel the undead.
-Clerics use spell books as magic-users.
-Limited to 5th-level spells.

Anti-clerics 
They are treated as Clerics except for the following: 
-Anti-clerics use Thief Advancement Table for experience only. 
-Charisma is their Prime Attribute. 
-Anti-clerics cast reversed versions of reversible spells.  
-Turn undead ability is replaced by the Demon Control ability. 
Demon Control : Anti-clerics can conjure and/or control a demon whose true name they discovered in their treaties of demonology. Anti-clerics roll on the Turning Undead Table to determine the success of their attempt. If the roll is successful, the demon is under control (as the effect of a charm) for 2d6 days x anti-cleric level. The dice roll must be kept secret. Once this time has elapsed, the demon is free to do what it wants (like disembowelling the anti-cleric) for a number of rounds equal to its type. After that, it returns to where it came from. If the roll is unsuccesful, the demon is free to do what it wants (like disembowelling the anti-cleric) for a number of rounds equal to its type. After that, it returns to where it came from.

Taqat is mapped !

Yesterday, I posted a description of a Sword and Sorcery city - Taqat -, but as you may have noticed, the map was missing (I was running out of time to achieve it for April 17). This lack is now fixed ! I've uptaded the pdf of the previous post and I've added the text document so that you can edit it, adapt it, improve it and expand it at your leisure... 
Happy ? 

25% de réduction sur S&W !

Comme promis, je fait passer l’information à mes lecteurs (qui ne sont pas légions, mais tout de même !). Souvenez-vous, j'avais relayé l'information selon laquelle Frog God Games et The S&W SRD Store offriraient des réductions pour le 17 avril. Voilà donc les codes à rentrer (n'oubliez pas, ça serait dommage) !

The S&W SRD Store : SWAD252013

Frog God Games : SWApprDay


PS : Pour ma part, mon panier va être bien rempli (Rappan Athuk, The Spire et Grimmsgate) !

Swords and Wizardry Appreciation Day Blogfest - D-Day

The day has come! The stars are aligned! Nine hundred and nighty nine maidens were slaughtered! Everything is ready for... the awekening of the Old Ones ... the Swords and Wizardry Appreciation Day Blogfest !

Here is my contribution (a 5-page pdf) : The Forbidden City of the Black Idols. 
The text version which you can use. 
Enjoy !

PS : Please excuse the grammatical errors.

Swords and Wizardry Appreciation Day - n°2

Il y a exactement 9 heures, j'ai reçu un email qui va particulièrement intéresser ceux de mes lecteurs (qui, je le dit en passant, peuvent s'abonner au blog, ce n'est pas interdit) qui jouent ou suivent de près le rétroclone Swords n' Wizardry (de Matt Finch) : le 17 avril (trois jours après mon anniversaire !), c'est à dire le jour J du Swords and Wizardry Appreciation Day, Frog God Games et une autre boutique offriront 25% de remise sur TOUS les articles estampillés S&W (aventures, livres de règles etc.). Des coupons seront envoyés avant l'évènement. Je relaierais bien sûr l'information.

Je sens que cela finalement me faire craquer : le pdf de Rappan Athuk ne semble plus aussi inaccessible qu'avant ! Je pense que je vais commander aussi Grimmsgate, le Complete Rules et Spire of Iron and Crystal, ne serait-ce que que pour soutenir la géniale équipe de S&W et cet excellent éditeur qu'est Frog God Games.

Sinon, je continue à réfléchir à ma contribution pour l'Appreciation Day Blogfest, contribution dont j'autoriserais l'utilisation à Matt pour le prochain numéro de Knockspell. Néanmoins, l'échéance se rapproche, et il faut que je m'y mette (j'ai été récemment très occupé à soumettre quelques entées de plus pour le projet Petty Gods !).



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Here is Rachel Ventura's quotation :

[...] We will be offering a 1 day only 25% off Swords & Wizardry sale. [...] Frog God Games (http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/) and d20pfsrd.com Store will be offering a 25% off Swords & Wizardry products.  We will be sending out a coupon code before the event. 

  

Sword and Wizardry SRD

Swords and Wizardry SRD

Voilà un site qui vaut bien la peine de cliquer sur un lien... Le DRS de S&W ! Ça c'est une nouvelle, et une bonne ! Sachant que le site référence les règles de la version Complete (payante) de S&W. 

Un index très pratique, des conseils pour maîtriser, des liens vers des blogs S&W (dont le Verre Violet ! d'où le renvoi d'ascenseur qui prend la forme d'un lien permanent à gauche du blog) et vers d'autres éditeurs/magazines/sites de l'OSR.

Que demande le peuple les grognards ? 

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Here be... the Swords & Wizardry DRS ! Do not hesitate: this is a great site which reference the rules of the paid version (Complete Rules) of S&W. Moreover, besides providing such a wealth of information, this site reference this blog (exchange of courtesies ...) and offer some gifts for the S & W Appreciation Day Blogfest

Le Dernier Prêtre de Sobek disponible en PDF !

Le Dernier Prêtre de Sobek est la traduction d'une aventure écrite par Alphonso Warden. Elle décrit une tombe pyramidale à moitié engloutie au fond d'un marais nauséabond et maudit en Orient. Ladite tombe étant bien sûre pleine de défis à relever !

Allez donc voir par ICI. 

Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day

Un nouveau projet stimule en ce moment même la créativité de la blogosphère anglophone : Erik Tenkar (de Tenkar's Tavern) et Matt Finch (de Mythmere's blog, auteur de Sword and Wizardry) viennent de lancer le Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day.

Chaque blog qui y participe doit poster du matériel pour S&W le 17 avril 2013 et les nouvelles règles/comptes-rendus de partie/monstres/objets magiques ou que sais-je seront soit rassemblés dans un nouveau numéro de Knockspell, le magazine dédié à S&W, soit compilés en un document pdf. Erik et Matt sont déjà en train de réfléchir à des récompenses et Frog God Games offrira un pdf de S&W à un blogger tiré au sort. 63 personnes participent déjà, dont un espagnol et un français (votre serviteur).

Ce genre d'initiatives fait particulièrement plaisir. Le mouvement oldschool a encore de belles années devant lui. N'hésitez pas, soutenez-le ! 

Allez donc voir par ICI.