Jack Vance 1916-2013

Jack Vance, one of the greatest fantasy/S-F authors of the 20th century, has passed away.

http://jackvance.com/

Besides his tremendous body of work as an author, Vance is also noteworthy for his influence on RPG's.  His legacy regarding D&D is well documented, but his Demon Princes series was also a notable influence on Traveller, as well.

C&C: the Minstrel class

This is a variation of the Bard class as it appears in the C&C Player's Handbook.  It is based not so much on the viking skald, but rather more on the traveling musicians of Irish and Welsh lore, as well as the British troubadour.  The Minstrel is less of a warrior than the Bard, and relies more on subtlety, as well as some magical ability.

There are many similarities between the two classes, as one might expect.  Charisma is, of course, the Prime Attribute for both classes, and the EPP chart is also the same.  The Minstrel is allowed the same armor and weapons as the Bard, and both classes may be of any alignment.  The Bard's special abilities (Decipher Script, Exalt, Legend Lore, Fascinate, and Exhort Greatness) are also shared by the Minstrel.

Being less of a straight-up fighter type, the Minstrel uses d6 for their Hit Dice (instead of d10), and their BtH progresses as per a Rogue.


Minstrels also have the Listen ability, as per the Rogue class (wearing metal or large helms negatively affect using this ability, of course).  They also have the Pick Pockets ability, to represent their ability with various sleight-of-hand tricks, but their bonus using this ability is only equal to half their level, round up (for example, a 7th level Minstrel would only get a +4 bonus to attempt this ability).  Because they are well traveled, and it is useful to be able to perform to a wide variety of audiences, Minstrels also get Bonus Languages: they get +1 language that they read and speak at 1st level, and they gain another language at 6th level, and another again at 11th level.  Also, they can use the ability modifier for CHR instead of INT to help determine the number of starting languages they speak, assuming that their CHR score is the higher of the two (which it probably is).

Last but certainly not least, Minstrels are also spellcasters.   They will never be the equal of equivalently trained Wizards or other spellcasting classes, but combined with their other abilities, they still get by pretty well for themselves.  The use of their spells (also known as 'songs of power') require the minstrel to play a musical instrument and sing while the spell is being cast; the singing and playing are the Verbal and Somatic components of the spell, while the instrument being played acts as the Focus.  The musical instrument/Focus replaces most Material components usually required by the spell, although Material components that are fairly expensive (100 GP or more) are still required.

Otherwise, Minstrels learn, prepare, and cast spells as other arcane spellcasters do.  They gain bonus spells for having a high INT score, in a manner similar to Wizards and Illusionists. They carry their own spellbooks (a.k.a. 'songbooks') for the purpose of preparing their daily spells.  Because the written notes for these spell include both magical and musical notations, any given song of power usually takes up twice as much space in the songbook as an equivalent spell in an arcane caster's spellbook.

Spells per day

Level              0     1     2     3     4     5     6
1                  1
2                  2     
3                  2     1
4                  3     1
5                  3     2     
6                  3     2     1
7                  3     3     1
8                  4     3     2     
9                  4     3     2     1
10                 4     3     3     1
11                 4     4     3     2     
12                 5     4     3     2     1
13                 5     4     3     3     1
14                 5     4     4     3     2    
15                 5     5     4     3     2     1
16                 5     5     4     3     3     1
17                 5     5     4     4     3     2     
18                 6     5     5     4     3     2     1
19                 6     5     5     4     3     3     1
20                 6     5     5     4     4     3     2 

0-LEVEL SPELLS
1. Comprehend Languages
2. Dancing Lights
3. Daze
4. Detect Magic
5. Ghost Sound
6. Influence
7. Message
8. Prestidigitation

1st-LEVEL SPELLS
1. Alarm
2. Animal Friendship
3. Charm Person
4. Hypnotism
5. Identify
6. Read Magic
7. Remove Fear
8. Sleep
9. Sound Blast
10. Ventriloquism

2nd-LEVEL SPELLS
1. Calm Animals
2. Command
3. Hypnotic Pattern
4. Misdirection
5. Scare
6. Shatter
7. Suggestion
8. Tongues

3rd-LEVEL SPELLS
1. Charm Monster
2. Dispel Magic
3. Emotion
4. Fear
5. Hold Person
6. Lesser Restoration
7. Remove Curse
8. Remove Paralysis

4th-LEVEL SPELLS
1. Dismissal
2. Dispel Illusion
3. Hold Monster
4. Legend Lore
5. Sending
6. Shout

5th-LEVEL SPELLS
1. Dream
2. Feeblemind
3. Mass Suggestion
4. Nightmare
5. Permanency
6. True Seeing

6th-LEVEL SPELLS
1. Awe
2. Geas
3. Insanity
4. Repulsion

Free Comic Book Day 2013

"Comics!  Get yer free comics!"

You can find a nearby participating store here.

The Holmes D&D rulebook should have had a Lucha Libre class

So, I was watching Santo y Blue Demon Contra los Monstruos with my wife (hey, don't judge us, man), which, just in case you are unfamiliar with this cinematic masterpiece, involves two masked Mexican wrestlers fighting a mad scientist, various zombies, and yes, about a half-dozen different monsters of the old-school, ripped-off-from-Universal-Monsters mode, complete with cheap sets, spliced-in footage from other movies, and a shameless lack of acting talent.  The monsters include a vampire (along with two sexy female vamps), a Frankenstein monster, a wolfman, a mummy, and a cyclops.

The latter is what interests me.  Based on a monster suit from an earlier film, what the film refers to as a cyclops is also an amphibian gill-man, giving it a bit of a Creature from the Black Lagoon vibe (in a very cheap, knock-offish sort of way) as well.

While watching the film, I was thinking to myself, "I've seen something like this somewhere before... was it in a gaming book?"  About halfway though the movie, it hit me where I had seen something similar enough that I can't help if it if perhaps the creature shown in los Monstruos might perhaps have served as some sort of visual inspiration.

That's from the UK version of the Holmes 'Blue Book' edition of Dungeons & Dragons.  The art in the UK edition has some one-eyes orcs in it as well, but I've always assumed that the above illustration was meant to be a troglodyte.  Is it possible that the artist was a fan of cheesy Mexican wrestling films, or am I merely reading too much into what is probably a coincidence?

Photodump Friday 4/12

Monster Monday: Swordwraith

Swordwraith

No. Enc.: 1
Size: Medium
HD: 8 (d12)
Move: 30 ft
AC: 18
Attacks: Incorporeal Weapon (1d12)
Special: Energy Drain, Incorporeal, Darkvision
     60', Daylight Powerlessness, Unnatural Aura
Saves: M
INT: High
Align: Lawful Neutral
Type: Undead (Extraordinary)
TR: Nil
XP: 900+8


A swordwraith is an extremely rare form of undead, the result of a Lawful Neutral warrior of great skill (8th level or higher) who dies due to the betrayal of a comrade-in-arms.  Three days after the warrior's death, his or her spirit may return as a swordwraith, to seek vengeance against those who betrayed their shared cause.  Upon finding and slaying the traitor, most swordwraiths then pass on to whatever afterlife awaits them, but a few continue to stalk the earth, striking down those who draw the swordwraith's ire.

The swordwraith appears as a spectral warrior, bearing the wounds and injuries they did at the moment of death, up to and including lost limbs and decapitations (of course, the loss of a head or limb does not hinder the swordwraith in any fashion).  Despite the name, a sword-wraith might use any weapon, not just a sword, depending on what weapon they specialized in during their living years; a few even use missile weapons (standard range for the missile weapon in question, with the swordwraith never running out of arrows, bolts, sling bullets, etc).  They can travel tirelessly by night, remaining relatively dormant in the shadows during the daylight hours.

Combat: A swordwraith is normally insubstantial, like a more standard wraith, and thus only magical weapons of +1 or better can affect their ectoplasmic form. A swordwraith attacks by passing through objects to attack their foes unawares. They strike, disappear back through an object, and return again, harrying their opponents unto death.

Incorporeal Weapon: The swordwraith's weapon of choice does 1d12 damage (no matter what a normal version of said weapon does).  Due to the swordwraith's great skill with their chosen weapon, that are +3 to hit with it.

Energy Drain: In addition to suffering the above normal damage, living creatures hit by a swordwraith’s attack lose one level. For each such level lost, the swordwraith heals five hit points. These losses are permanent, and can only be regained by the use of a Restoration or a Wish spell.

Unnatural Aura: Animals, whether wild or domesticated, can sense the unnatural presence of a swordwraith at a distance of 30 feet. They will not willingly approach nearer than that, and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they are within that range.

Sunlight Powerlessness: Swordwraiths are powerless in natural sunlight and flee from it. A swordwraith exposed to direct sunlight cannot attack, and must retreat.

Inspiration: Warren Zevon's "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner",  NOT based on the 'undead template' of the same name as created by WOTC (honest!)

Classic Traveller... free!

Specifically, the Starter Edition of the Classic Traveller line is available for free at both DriveThruRPG and RPGnow.  This was originally done as a Christmas promo, but apparently has been allowed to continue.  If you've never played Traveller in its original incarnation, this is an excellent way to introduce yourself to one of the true classics of the early days of RPG's.

There are three books that comprise the Starter Edition (rules, charts & forms, adventures); be sure you download all of them.  Then break out the d6's, and get ready to start travelling...