Monday, April 30, 2018

Fiend Folio: The Marauder





By Domo Wasaki

The Marauder roams the Multiverse hunting bounties, with rumors claiming him to be some kind of cosmic enforcer. He will always reveal a handbill for his victims to anyone trying stop him. However, he is more than willing to mow down anyone who stands in his way.

Dead or ... Dead. The Marauder take his bounties very, very seriously and never brings a target in alive.

Stranger in a strange land. It is unknown what type of humanoid the Marauder is, or even it's gender. It's regulator suit doesn't require it to eat, drink, or breathe.


Marauder
Medium humanoid, neutral evil
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Armor Class 16
Hit Points 128 (16d8 + 48) 
Speed 30 ft.
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   Str        Dex         Con           Int         Wis        Cha
17 (+3)    20 (+5)   16 (+3)    14 (+2)    15 (+2)     9 (-1)
__________________________________________


Skills Intimidation +3, Perception +6, Stealth +9
Damage Resistances Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning
Damage Immunities Poison
Condition Immunities Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses Truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Celestial, Common, Deep Speech, Undercommon
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
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Deadly. The Marauder scores a critical on a 19 or 20.

Magic Resistance. The Marauder has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Deadly. The Marauder has advantage on initiative rolls.

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ACTIONS

The Marauder makes three attacks.

Shooting Irons. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 40/120 ft., one creature. Hit: 16 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage.

Skinning Knife. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
one creature. Hit: 16 (2d4 + 5) slashing damage.


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Sunday, April 22, 2018

Domains of Dread: Gaining Corruption Part 2

In ADnD 2E's Domains of Dread, there are thirteen steps to corruption and various changes to a character along that path.



I've decided to convert the Moderate Changes tables from page 165.

Moderate Changes Table (Roll a d6)
1. You grow claws that inflict 1d4 slashing damage. However, they inflict disadvantage on any Dexterity ability check requiring fine work of any kind.

2. You grow fangs like a viper that inflict 1d4 poison damage. However, your tongue becomes forked, you speak with a hissing lisp, and your Charisma is reduced by -2.

3. Your eyes have adapted so well to darkness that you have darkvision out to 150 feet and they look like a cat's. However, your Charisma is reduced by -1.

4. You are permanently under the effects of the spider climb spell. However, the palms of your hands are covered with small suckers, like those of an octupus and your Charisma is reduced by -1.

5. Your saliva becomes highly acidic (1d4 acid damage, range 15/30 feet). However, anything inanimate you place in your mouth (cups, spoons, etc.) dissolves in 1 round.

6. Your face becomes distorted and grotesque which reduces your Charisma by 1/2. However, anyone within 30 feet who can see your eyes must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you. Anyone attempting to avert their eyes from you has disadvantage on all attack rolls against you.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Creature Crucible: Atomic Knight for Apes Victorious and Labyrinth Lord

"Following the catastrophic Hydrogen War of 1986, a petty tyrant named the Black Baron ruled a small section of the Midwestern United States with an iron fist. He was opposed by Sgt. Gardner Grayle and the Atomic Knights, who wore medieval suits of armor that were impervious to the Baron's energy weapons, the armor having been irradiated in the war. The other Knights were twins Wayne and Hollis Hobard, Bryndon Smith, the last scientist left on Earth, and brother and sister Douglas and Marene Herald."


Atomic Knight
for Labyrinth Lord
AL L, MV 60', AC 3, HD 6, #AT 1 [sword or lance], THAC0 15, DG 1d8 or 1d6, SV 6 fighter, ML 11, Riding 63%, XP 320




Atomic Knight for Apes Victorious


No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d6+3)
Movement: 30' (10')
Intelligence: Average to High
Psionic Potential: 3d4, inactive
Hits: 2d8
Armor: -6
To Hit: 13
Save: H3
Attacks: 1
Damage: Sword 1d8
Morale: 9
XP: 20


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Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Domains of Dread: Gaining Corruption Part 1

In ADnD 2E's Domains of Dread, there are thirteen steps to corruption and various changes to a character along that path.

I've decided to convert the Minor Changes tables from page 165.

Minor Changes Table (Roll a d6)
1. You develop darkvision out to 60 feet or if you already have darkvision it increases by 30 feet. However, you have disadvantage on all saving throws while in direct sunlight.

2. Your hands becomes so strong that they can inflict 1d4 bludgeoning damage. However, if you roll a 20 on an attack roll when wielding a non-magical weapon, the weapon breaks after damage is rolled.

3. Your hearing become supernaturally acute and you gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks involving hearing. However, you are vulnerable to thunder damage.

4. Your Intelligence increases by +2. However, headaches that accompany it impose disadvantage on Charisma and Wisdom ability checks.

5. Your skin becomes thicker and tougher and you base AC becomes 12. However, the change imposes a -1 to your Dexterity.

6. You gain a +1 to Constitution, Dexterity, or Strength. However, the change imposes a -1 to Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Unearthed Arcana: Order Domain



It's that time of the month, Unearthed Arcana is out for April from Wizards of the Coast.

This month is a new cleric domain: the Order domain.

Voice of Authority is, to me, a major departure to their approach to the action economy. I don't know that that is a bad thing, but I doubt it will survive in it's current form.

Order's Dominion is too good, as presented.

Check it out here.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Domains of Dread

I finally went back to my Yawning Portal/Oakhurst game this week after a several month hiatus. Since I had lost some players and gained new ones, I took the game in a very different direction.

We had left off with them getting attacked by a shadow dragon, but as it's breath weapon spewed forth, mists engulfed the characters. Those mists that led to Citadel Cavitius, the domain of Vecna.

My intention is run the ADnD 2E module Die Vecna Die!, but the players might go a different direction.



As I've been reading over Curse of Strahd and my old ADnD 2E products, I'm intending to take a slightly different approach to the Demiplane. My intention is to make travel between the Domains more accessible. Currently, my approach to this is that the Darklords are often too concerned with the torments inflicted upon them by the Dark Powers to notice much and the "locals" being to concerned with mere survival to worry about activating some form of uprising.

This allows my players to move on to a different plot if they so choose.

I'll also be using the following:

I will be using the Alterations to Magic and the Resurrection Madness from Curse of Strahd.

Descent into Darkness form ADnD 2E's Domains of Dread.

Madness from the Dungeon Master's Guide.

I'm also contemplating adjusting Death Saving Throws to DC 15 as it was done in Tomb of Annihilation.

I've gotten one session under my belt and we will see how this goes, I'm really hoping to emphasize the horror of the setting and forcing the characters to face harsh truths.


Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Fiend Folio: Shadow Swarm for D&D 5th Edition








Shadow swarms are undead that resemble dark exaggerations of the shadows of packs of roving predators.

Dark Hunger. In death, the creature’s shadow breaks free, becoming a new undead shadow hungry for more life to consume.
In some dark and dreadful places, undeath is so prevalent that it draws in even the animals of the land, with their lesser intetellect they ban together to hunt, protect themselves from the monsters that prey even upon their kind, and to grow their ranks. Unlike the shadows of humanoids, these creatures leave little of the mind behind when they consume their prey and the corpse's shadow is drawn to hunt with the swarm.

Undead Nature. A shadow doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep, but hunts to constantly beyond the move and to sate it's darker instincts.


Shadow Swarm
Medium undead, chaotic evil
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Armor Class 15
Hit Points 36 (8d8) 
Speed 30 ft.
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   Str        Dex         Con           Int         Wis        Cha
8 (-1)    18 (+4)   12 (+1)    6 (-2)    10 (+0)     8 (-1)
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Skills Stealth +5 (+7 in dim light or darkness)
Damage Vulnerabilities radiant
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages --
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
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Amorphous. The shadow swarm can move through a space as narrow as 1 foot wide without squeezing.

Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the shadow can take the Hide action as a bonus action.

Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the shadow has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
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ACTIONS

Strength Drain. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 16 (4d6 + 2) necrotic damage, and the target’s Strength score is reduced by 1d4. The target dies if this reduces its Strength to 0. Otherwise, the reduction lasts until the target finishes a short or long rest.

If a non-evil humanoid dies from this attack, a new shadow rises from the corpse and joins the swarm 1d4 rounds later.


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Monster Monday: Obstrevoi for Shadowdark

  You can download a PDF here.