Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Weird Fantasy

I'm a weird-o (if that's the correct spelling). I've come to this conclusion as "geek culture" has become more prominent, and I came to realize that while my interests have some overlap with geek culture, I'm definitely not part of that culture. Of course, definitions vary, so we won't linger on that. The point is - I like weird stuff, including weird fiction and weird fantasy. I'm more of a Clark Ashton Smith guy than a J.R.R. Tolkien guy.

This brings me to my next mini-project. Bloody Basic - Weird Fantasy Edition.


Here's my intro to the edition:



Does this sound right to you? It's one of those situations where I know what mean, but I don't know if I'm conveying what I mean.


I'm still working on monsters - trying to get the basics in (after all, we're still dealing with good, old-fashioned dungeoneering), with some CAS-inspired stuff added in. I don't want to go the Lovecraft route because I think that it is a little overexposed at the moment, and it tends to dominate. Alignment is replaced by passions, which are dangerous to indulge (one loses wisdom or constitution, as over-indulgence leads characters to madness or physical degredation) but are worth bonus XP when they are indulged. I might switch out the bonus XP for special abilities, though - something more palpable and flavorful that just raw numbers.

I might mess with spell names, treasure and the weapons and armor to use more archaic, ornate language, a la Clark Ashton Smith. I say I might, because I'm not sure if that's just adding complexity without adding enough flavor to make it worth while.

So, what else? And what public domain art would make for a good cover image? I'd love to hear some ideas from the peanut gallery - make sure this edition is all it could be. Let me know in the comments or on G+, if you would be so kind. Thanks!

Friday, April 24, 2015

The Eyes Have It [Monsters]

The Floating Eye of Death via HERE

Ah, yes - eye monsters. Monsters composed of a giant eye with a toothy maw and the ability to use magical rays. I think another game called them beholders, but since me calling them beholders might get me in trouble, I call them eye monsters here, the "evil eye" in Blood & Treasure (voted number one RPG in the world by the owner of this blog), and I've heard many other euphemisms in other portions of the open content RPG world. Whatever you call them, they're a modern classic and below you will find a few variations that might be fun for your game.

Large Aberration, Chaotic (CE), High Intelligence; Cluster (1d6)

Hit Dice: 9
Armor Class: 21
Attacks: 2 lashes (1d6)
Move: 5 (Fly 30)
Saving Throws: F10 R11 W8
Experience Point Value: 800 (CL 9)

Descryers are evil eyes of an especially brilliant hue. Like their kin, they can communicate with any sentient creature within 100 feet, with their thoughts entering a person's mind like a tongue entering one's ear - a very creepy, unwelcome feeling to be sure.

The descryers are the sages and oracles of their species, capable of perceiving past, present and future, and seeing beyond the material world. They are less dangerous in combat than their kin, but very useful to their people. Most are treated as oracles, and are housed in temples under the guard of their zealous cultists the akshi.

Descryers sees magical emanations naturally. It is constantly treated as though under the effects of detect magic. They are also treated as though under constant true seeing and detect good effects.

Unlike their kin, the descryer does not possess gaze attacks. Rather, they are capable of casting powerful divination effects. When they do so, they emit brilliant light, with a different color of light connected to each of their abilities. Creatures within 30 feet of this light must pass a Fortitude saving throw or be struck blind for 1d6 minutes. Creatures so affected must also pass a Will saving throw or have their emotional state altered for 1d6 hours (see descriptions below for effects).

Each divination power can be used by a descryer once per day, but no more than once every 1d4 rounds. Their powers are as follows:

CONTACT OTHER PLANE: As the magic-user spell. Accompanied by a moody blue light that causes crushing despair (as the bard spell).

DISCERN LOCATION: As the magic-user spell. Accompanied by an intense red light that causes rage (as the spell) .

FORESIGHT: As the magic-user spell. Accompanied by a pale yellow light that causes fatigue.

LEGEND LORE: As the magic-user spell. Accompanied by a scathing green light that affects people per the cause fear spell.

PROBE THOUGHTS: As the magic-user spell. Accompanied by a piercing white light that causes an effect similar to the calm emotions spell.

VISION: As the magic-user spell. Accompanied by a deep purple light that causes weakness (as the ray of enfeeblement spell).

Special Qualities: Resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire and sonic, magic resistance 35%

Medium Aberration, Chaotic (CE), High Intelligence; Cluster (1d6)

Hit Dice: 7
Armor Class: 19
Attacks: 2 lashes (1d4+1)
Move: 5 (Fly 40)
Saving Throws: F12 R12 W9
Experience Point Value: 700 (CL 8)

Examiners are the crafty spies of their species. Smaller than their more powerful kin, they are capable of getting into somewhat tighter spaces. Examiners see magical emanations naturally, and are always under the effect of a detect invisibility effect. They are also capable of turning invisible three times per day, and using the blink spell once per day. Examiners are albinos, with pale flesh and pink irises. They communicate telepathically in a high-pitched drone that makes the eyes water.

The examiner possesses gaze attacks, but can only use one per round. It cannot maintain any specific gaze attack for more than one round, and must wait 1d4 rounds before activating that particular gaze attack again. The examiner's gaze attacks have a range of 90 feet (assuming line of sight).
BURN: Subjects must succeed on a Fortitude save or be affected as though by burning hands.

CHARM: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by charm monster.

CONFUSE: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by confusion.

HYPNOTIZE: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by hypnotism.
PARALYZE: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by hold monster.
PROBE: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by detect thoughts (ESP).
SLEEP: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by sleep.

WEAKEN: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or see visions as per a ray of enfeeblement.

Special Qualities: Resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire and sonic, magic resistance 15%


Hit Dice: 11
Armor Class: 23 [Silver]
Attacks: 2 lashes (1d6)
Move: 5 (Fly 30)
Saving Throws: F 9, R 10, W 7
Experience Point Value: 1,100 (CL 12)

The necropsis is an eye monster that has dabbled in the necromantic arts. Steeped in negative energy, they have taken on necromantic powers. The necropsis is incorporeal. It has black flesh and a grey eyeball with a maroon iris. They communicate telepathically within 100 feet, with a ghostly moan.

The necropsis sees magical emanations naturally. It is constantly treated as though under the effects of detect magic. Additionally, the necropsis is also treated as though under a constant detect invisibility affect, and enjoys a constant invisibility to undead effect.
The necropsis possesses a vast repertoire of gaze attacks, but can only use one per round. It cannot maintain any specific gaze attack for more than one round, and must wait 1d4 rounds before activating that particular gaze attack again. The necropsis' gaze attacks have a range of 150 feet (assuming line of sight).

BITE: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by eyebite.

CHILL: Subjects must succeed on a Fortitude save or be affected as though by chill touch.

CURSE: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by bestow curse.
DEATH: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by inflict critical wounds (4d6+4 damage; save for half damage).
ENERVATE: Subjects must succeed on a Fortitude save or be affected as though by enervation.

PAIN: Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by symbol of pain.
RE-ANIMATE: Dead bodies within the monster's gaze are affected per the animate dead spell.
SLAY: Subjects must succeed on a Fortitude save or be affected as though by slay living.

Special Qualities: Resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire and sonic, magic resistance 25%

Hit Dice: 9
Armor Class: 18
Attacks: 4 lashes (1d6 + grapple) and weapon
Move: 30
Saving Throws: F11 R11 W8
Experience Point Value: 900 (CL 10)

The akshi are the insane crossbreeds of the eye monsters and the mind eaters. Bitter exiles from both communities, they sometimes form cults dedicated to the descryers or become underworld warlords, dominating lesser creatures and waging war on both the mind eaters and eye monsters.

Akshi look like humanoids with greenish skin, long arms with three fingers and a thumb, and a head composed almost entirely of a massive eye. Four long lashes are set around the eye. The akshi has no mouth - it drains life energy from creatures with its drain gaze attack, using its lashes to hold creatures in front of it, and its humanoid arms to force their eyes open. Akshi communicate telepathically with a domineering, imperious voice that has an unmistakably bitter edge to it.

Akshi see magical emanations naturally, per the detect magic spell.
The akshi possesses a repertoire of psionic and gaze attacks, but can only use one per round. It cannot maintain any specific attack for more than one round, and must wait 1d4 rounds before activating that particular attack again. The akshi's attacks have a range of 60 feet (assuming line of sight for gaze attacks).

BLAST (PSIONIC): As the mind eater mental blast ability.

CHARM (GAZE): Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by charm monster.

DAZE (GAZE): Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by daze.

DRAIN (GAZE): Subjects must succeed on a Fortitude save or be affected as though by vampiric touch.

HARM (GAZE): Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by inflict light wounds.

PARALYZE (GAZE): Subjects must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by hold person.

WEAKEN (GAZE): Subjects must succeed on a Fortitude save or be affected as though by a ray of enfeeblement.

Special Qualities: Resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire and sonic, magic resistance 55%

Spells: 1/day--astral projection, detect thoughts (ESP), levitate, suggestion

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The Eco-Post-Apocalypse That Wasn't

Image found HERE
I was reading today about some of the dire predictions made around the time of the first Earth Day in 1970 about the world we would be living in today. Grim stuff ... but not a bad premise for a post-apocalypse game that does not involve nuclear destruction, and one that escapes many of the norms for games of that type.

A few of the key predictions that we can use:

* Civilization will end in 30 years (i.e. by 2000)

* Between 1980 and 1989, 4 billion people will starve to death, including 65 million Americans | The world population in 1990 was 5.2 billion and America's was 250 million. That would leave the U.S. with 185 million people in this alternate 1990, and the world with only 1.2 billion people. If we continued these death rates to 2000, we might be left with only 270 million people in the world, and 137 million of them in the United States! This is about as many people who lived in the U.S. in 1940.

* Pollution is so bad that people have to wear gas masks to survive. Nitrogen build-up in the atmosphere is bad enough that the world exists in perpetual twilight.

* New York and Los Angeles (and presumably other cities) become "smog disasters" by the 1980's, killing hundreds of millions of people.

* Oxygen in rivers is used up by decaying life, killing off all fresh water fish.

* Life expectancy for Americans is only 42 years (I'd have died last year!)

* Earth has run out of crude oil, copper, lead, tin, zinc, gold and silver. | No new copper, silver or gold pieces!

* 75-80 percent of all animal species are extinct.

* A new ice age has begun.

So, what are we left with.

Civilizations as we know them have ended - Western Civilization, China, India, etc - all gone. Most of planet Earth is empty of human habitation and most animal habitation, the exception being the country formerly known as the United States of America. With crude oil gone, most internal combustion engines are useless, though presumably coal is still used and so some machinery could be in use ... but ... so many other materials have run out, that I'm not sure how useful they would be. Most people are probably hunter/gatherers, while "civilized" people live with Medieval, Renaissance or maybe early Victorian technology.

Food is universally scarce, which means that cannibalism probably exists everywhere. People don't live very long. An ice age grips the earth, with glaciation pushing into the northern United States and Asia. An ice age also means increased desertification - the Sahara would expand, as would the Gobi desert, and the Great Plains are probably back to being a Great Desert. Most humans are going to live in the tropics and sub-tropics, which I guess means that those Americans who are still alive are concentrated in the Southeastern United States, where the climate is still rather cool. Fires burn almost constantly, because there's so little light and so little warmth.

The old cities are ruins, having been cleared out by deadly smog. The poisons might still lurk, but the engines that created the pollution is now silent. Pollution will take the place of radiation here for the universal mutagen, because what's the point of running post-apocalyptic fantasy if you don't have mutations?

I'm envisioning scenarios of survival on the fringes of the sub-tropics - Mad Max-style nonsense, perhaps, or maybe bands of adventurers from what small civilizations still exist (could Atlanta be the largest human city on earth, with maybe a giant population of 25,000 people?) delve into the icy, poisonous ruins in the northern hemisphere in search of ancient knowledge and machinery. Perhaps we mix both - those explorers use armed vehicles that run on whatever small amounts of fuel are left to delve into the icy north.

Hopefully there are a few gameable ideas for people here. After I get Grit & Vigor published, I want to do an expansion book for post-apocalyptic gaming. I plan to include my Mutant Truckers of the Polyester Road idea, as well as Apocalypse 1898 ... and now this one. I guess I need to get my butt in gear and finish up G&V.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Bloody Basic and the Ulflandia Hex Crawl

Over the weekend, I got the Bloody Basic - Mother Goose Edition PDF up for sale, and just a moment ago I got the Bloody Basic - Contemporary Edition soft cover up for sale. So, if you like the various flavors of Bloody Basic, today is a fine day to be alive. The link to my Lulu shop to the right will take you there.

I've been working away at the next hex crawl for NOD, which is located just south of the Klarkash Mountains and is dominated by the island of Ulflandia, ruled by Queen Gloriana and inspired by the folklore and fantasy of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, et. al. Below, you will find the introduction. I'm still playing around with things, mostly cosmetic, so it might be changed here and there before it is published. Enjoy!


Ulflandia, which is sometimes called Brigantia, is a large island located off the coast of the Klarkash Mountains, effectively dividing the Tepid Sea from Mother Ocean. The island was a fey stronghold in ancient times, but a series of invasions changed it into an ostensibly human kingdom. In the days of Nomo’s glory, it defied that empire for decades before finally becoming an independent, though tributary kingdom. The island is now dominated by Queen Gloriana from the city of Tremayne, the largest settlement on the island. The island can be divided into numerous sub-regions. The woodlands in the eastern portion of the island are called The Greenwood. The grasslands in the north are called Plains of Logris, while the hills that run down the center of eastern Ulflandia are called the Ruffians. The hilly peninsula in the southeast is called Belerion, the peaks in the south are the Coblyns. The western portion is taken up by the hilly Lawlands and the mountainous Hielands. Between Ulflandia and the Klarkash Peninsula lies the Black Strait. The Klarkash Mountains have been covered in NOD 25, but the hilly portion on the southern peninsula is known as the Braga Hills. The southeastern portion of the map contains a portion of the Wyvern Hills (see NOD 1) and an island chain known as the Zebrides.

In elder days, Ulflandia was home to the giants and fey, who battled and intermarried and generally had a wonderful time, separate from interlopers from outside. Humanoid tribes of gnomes, kobolds and goblins filled things out.

When Partholon sallied forth from Hybresail to leave the decadent wizards behind, a portion of his fleet was diverted. While Partholon landed further north, and came to dominate the human tribes of the area and found Nomo, the other grey elves landed on the isle of Iskey. Under the command of the warlord Nemed, the grey elves fought the native giants and carved out a small kingdom for themselves which they called Tyrnog.

The elves of Tyrnog soon colonized the southern reaches of Ulflandia, founding the kingdoms of Elphyne, Albion, Annouven, Prydain, Belerion, Avalon and Ylfelond. Over time, the elven population of Ulflandia changed. The elves of Tyrnog, called the Aysheeth, were still of the grey variety. The elves of the western lands of Elphyne became the Gruagach (wild elves). The elves of the mountainous Lawlands and Coblyn were known as the Gwyllion (high elves). The elves of the Greenwood were known as the Elvene (wood elves).

In the meantime, the northern portions of the island were begin settled by the orcs and hobgoblins of the Klarkash Mountains, and the wild humans of the Braga Hills. These peoples came collectively to be called the Sassenach by the elves, though later that term only applied to the humans of the Plains of Logris.

In time, the Empire of Nomo came calling. In a series of invasions the Nomoi, under the command of Brutus, colonized the north and began grinding down the old elven kingdoms. They made the fortified colony of Tremayne (Trēsmanus) their capital, and soon conquered the Plains of Logris and then the eastern portions of the Greenwood. The kingdoms of Ylfelond and Avalon were made tributaries of Tremayne, while the other kingdoms of the island proper barely maintained their independence through arranged marriages, bribes and costly wars. The old elven kingdoms gradually faded in importance, devolving into giant citadels hidden by powerful illusions and smaller hill forts that surrounded the old citadels.

The men and half-elves of Nomo made forays against the ancient giant chiefs and the goblin tribes of the Ruffian Mountains as well. Under the command of Aurelios Ambrosios his younger brother Uther Pendragon, the sage wizard and demigod Merlinus, and their collected knights, squires and men-at-arms, the kingdom of Tremayne rose to the heights of its power, only to be disrupted in time by royal struggles and minor civil wars. Modern Tremayne is ruled by Queen Gloriana, who continues the struggle of the heirs of Nomo to bring the entire island under her control.

ELVES: Elves are the aristocracy of the ancient fey tribes of Ulflandia. They serve as rulers, warriors and hunters. Under the elves are the working fairies, including such creatures as the brownies (household servants), knockers (miners and armorers), fenodyree (heavy labor), habbitrot (spinners of cloth), kilmoulis (millers of grain) and leprechauns (cobblers and other skilled trades). In some cases, these creatures are more powerful than their rulers, but the fey cleave to their traditions, which place the elves at the top of the pyramid.

Among the elves, there are several tribes, as follows:

AYSHEETH (GREY ELVES): The tall, beauteous elves of Iskey are called the Aysheeth. They descend from the original elven colonists of Ulflandia, who came from the West to escape the wars of the wizards and build kingdoms of their own.

Among the Aysheeth, the nobles wear chainmail under brilliantly colored tabards and capes. They carry round shields and arm themselves with lances and longswords. In their retinues are the galloglass and kerns. The “common” Aysheeth, or kerns, wear lighter armor and carry spears, bows, axes and greatswords. Noble grey elves fight in chariots or on horseback, while the kerns may fight on foot or as light horsemen.

ELVENE (WOOD ELVES): The Elvene are the wood elves of the Greenwood, living in roving bands who hunt and patrol their lands and answer the call of their rulers when it is time to fight. They dress in scarlet and green, and are merrier than the more guarded and elegant grey elves.

Elvene armies are composed of longbowmen and light infantry. Both wear light armor, with chainmail shirts about the heaviest armor among them. They wield longbows, short swords, hand axes and sometimes spears. Cavalry is rare among the elves of the Greenwood, for they often fight in thick woodlands.

GRUAGACH (WOOD ELVES): The Gruagach live in the wildest parts of Ulflandia. They cultivate a wild appearance, growing their hair long and keeping it tangled or spiking it, and painting their faces and bodies with blue dyes. They wear woolen tunics in dazzling plaids and checks.

Wild elf warriors are light skirmishers, for the most part. They wear light armor and wield longswords, greatswords, battleaxes, spears and shortbows. Some fight from chariots, while others are mounted on light horses or, in rare occasions, Irish elk.

GWYLLION (HIGH ELVES): The high elves of the mountains are more akin to the grey elves than their wild cousins of the wilderness and woodlands. They are honorable warriors, and more organized than their kin.

High elf warriors put light and heavy infantry and cavalry into the field, as well as their famous longbowmen.

SASSENACH (HUMANS, HALF-ELVES, HIGH ELVES): The Sassenachs are the descendants of the invaders from Nomo. They include humans (the most numerous of the invaders), half-elves (who are most often to be found in administrative and mercantile roles), and elves (the ruling class). The Sassenachs organize themselves along feudal lines, and hold chivalry in high esteem (at least in theory, though not often in practice).

Sassenach armies are composed of light and heavy infantry and cavalry, crossbowmen, and foreign mercenaries drawn from the other peoples of Ulflandia and from beyond.

The Ulflandians worship the divine pantheon of the Motherlands under different names. The Ulflandians have some unique deities as well, including Sirone, the goddess of healing, Epona, the horse goddess, Canta, the god of medicine and physicians, Puck, the trickster god, and Merlinus, the god of magic.

Asur (Sun, Kingship) = Dagda
Bel (Rebirth) = Bel the Fair Shining One
Ghobb (Earth) = Govannon
Karn (Hunt) = Cernunnos
Nudd (Sea) = Nodens
Tut (Mischief) = Puck
Ys (Fertility) = Matrona

Bacchus (Drunkeness) = John Barleycorn
Diana (Woodland, Hunting) = Flidas of the Beautiful Hair
Hecate (Magic) = Morgana le Fey
Hercules (Heroism, Strength) = Percival
Juno (Motherhood, Queenship) = Morrigan
Mars (War) = Camulus
Minerva (War, Arts) = Brigantia
Pluto (Death) = Dispater
Saturn (Time) = Sucellos
Venus (Love, Beauty) = Penarthun

St. Angus, Youth, Beauty
Arianrhod, Moon
St. Canta, Medicine, Healers
St. Dylan, Sailors
St. Ecna, Sages
St. Elen, Travelers
Epona, Birds, Horses
Merlinus, Magicians
St. Ogma, Bards, Eloquence
Taranis, Thunder


BLACK FRIARSThe black friars are dedicated to the atmospheric deities. A scholarly order, they study the stars and atmospheric conditions. The black friars tend towards Lawful behavior, and tend to be loyal to the Queen (though not always her Church), the Starry Order of blue magicians and the two orders of knighthood.

The black friars are primarily dedicated to Dagda, Arianthod, Bel, Nodens and Taranis.

The grey friars are druids dedicated to the chthonic deities of earth and the underworld. Like the white friars, they tend toward true neutrality, seeing themselves as guides to the afterworld, and thus above human affairs. They are often to be found in opposition to the necromancers of the Cunning Order of red magicians (see below).

The grey friars are primarily dedicated to Dispater, Govannon, Morgan le Fey and Sucellos.

The white friars are druids dedicated to deities of flora and fauna. They are a neutral order, and consider themselves emissaries of the nature gods to humans, and thus are above other human institutions, including the Queen and her government. They do not often press this claim, as diplomacy is less costly than fighting an angry queen and her armies. White minsters (monasteries) are known for their gardens and the numerous sentient animals to be found around them.

The white friars are primarily dedicated to Cernunnos, Epona, Flidas, Matrona, Puck, and John Barleycorn.

The Queen’s Church handles most of the day-to-day religious chores of the kingdom. Gloriana is the head of the church (hence the name) and has its unswerving loyalty. Sages and adepts make up most of the priesthood, which is divided into Vicarages and Bishoprics, with the immediate superior of the church being the Archbishop of Cantiacorum.

The Queen’s Church honors all of the deities mentioned above, as well as Brigantia (the patron deity of Ulflandia), Camulus, Merlinus, Percival, Saint Angus, Saint Canta, Saint Dylan, Saint Ecna, Saint Elen and Saint Ogma.


Also known as the Knights of the Cauldron, the Questing Knights, and the Knights of Percival, they are an order dedicated to recovering the Cauldron of Dozen-King for their queen, Gloriana. The order is composed of warriors and clerics, all Lawful (Good) in alignment. While the brothers wear their own livery, they sew a badge in the shape of a red heart over their own hearts. Once each year, at the end of campaign season, they gather at their chapter house in Camulodunon to report on their progress and adventures over the previous year, and they are permitted an audience with their queen, who travels to the city from Tremayne for that purpose.

The quest of the knights is supported by the Black Friars, the Queen’s Church and the Blue Magicians. The white and grey friars oppose it, though the white friars neither publicly nor actively, and the yellow and red magicians care little for the quest.

The arms of the order are a field azure numerous crosses or. This livery is worn by the members at their convocations, and is worn by their retainers when on official duty.

The Order of the Red Crosse is dedicated to the veneration of St. George, the local name for Mithras. The knights are loyal to their god first and to the Queen second. They have numerous fortifications throughout the country, and their main chapter house in Tremayne. The knights are commanded by a Knight Commander, and all of the knights wear white emblazoned with a saltire gules while serving the order. Most of the knights are Lawful (Good) clerics and paladins, though the ranks of their warbands are filled out with lay brothers (i.e. fighters).


The members of the Royal Society are more commonly referred to as yellow magicians. Their ranks are primarily filled by sages, alchemists, magic-users (especially transmuters) and scientists. In public, the philosophers wear robes of yellow. It is headquartered in Tremayne at Mumpsimus College. The society is led by a president, elected by the members for a life term, or until recalled by the membership. The society is known for its wealth and influence with the Queen, and is regarded with jealousy by the other magical orders and the merchants of Ulflandia.

Colloquially known as the blue magicians or even blue friars, the Starry Order is composed of Lawful (Good) magic-users, sorcerers and warlocks. It is closely allied with both the Knights of the Red Crosse and the Questing Knights, and with the Black Friars. The order is chartered by Gloriana, and has its headquarters in Cantiacorum, a seaport located south of Tremayne. Members are known for their blue robes and their white headbands.

The red magicians are a very loose fellowship of magic-users, sorcerers and warlocks, unofficially divided into four colleges – The Conjurers (who wear burgundy robes and golden bells), The Evokers (who wear crimson robes and rose badges), The Illusionists (who wear scarlet robes) and the Necromancers (who wear maroon robes and skullcaps). The society is technically a secret society, with secret passwords and hand signals to allow members to communicate with one another. In reality, the existence of the order is fairly well known, and though the exact location of their lodges is unknown, most people know whether or not there is a lodge in their settlement.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Alia - Mechanical Goddess

Sculpture by John Duncan Fergusson

Goddess of Sun, Wisdom, Harmony, Dance
Neutral (LN)
Worshiped by Mechanical Men, Sages, Engineers, Royalty
Carries no weapons



Cleric 4 (Clerics of Alia only)
30 ft. range
1 minute duration

Harmonious action permits all allies within the spell's range to move and act in perfect harmony while engaged in melee combat. The cleric chooses one enemy target in particular. Each of the cleric's allies, in addition to making a normal move and melee attack, can make an extra melee attack at a -5 penalty on the cleric's chosen foe, provided that foe is within their range.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Five Years and 400 Followers Later ...

Image found HERE

"The Land of Nod is an old school rpg campaign I've been running for the past few years, initially using the 3rd edition of D&D, and then moving to the Castles & Crusades system and finally to something between Castles & Crusades and the excellent Swords & Wizardry clone of the original D&D rules. It seems as I get older, I look for ways to simplify my life - less static and more living.

The Land of Nod is my attempt at making a setting that allows players and referees to get down to the business of playing games. It doesn't have a grand, thousand page history to memorize, or abundant restrictions on what you can play and how. It is a grand sandbox with all the requisites for the heroic adventures that have driven people's imaginations for decades. Most importantly, it is a collection of places to see and things to do.



My plan at the time was to write hex crawls and other Land of Nod-oriented things and post them on the blog. About a month into it, I decided that hex crawl stuff was going to be tough for people to use if it was on a blog, so I thought about doing a quick Word document each month to collect that month's material in one place. Then I thought ... why not a PDF? Then I thought ... why not publish it?

So, not long after the blog started, the NOD magazine started, with 25 issues now completed. In between, I also wrote a few games (Pars Fortuna, Mystery Men!, Space Princess, Blood & Treasure, Bloody Basic, Greatsword), had a chance to work with Frog God Games (I'd like to do more of that), and I'm working on getting another game, Grit & Vigor, published. Pretty sweet.


I usually miss these anniversaries, but today I noticed that I finally hit 400 followers, so I figured I'd take note of this one. I want to thank all my readers over the years, especially the ones who have encouraged me with kind words and the ones who have actually forked over their cold, hard cash for something I've written, for supporting me. My plan is still to write up the entire Land of Nod in hex crawl form. If I live long enough, I think I can get it done!

In other news ...


I'm almost finished with my Mother Goose edition of Bloody Basic. Just finishing up some layout and editing and putting on the finishing touches to the text. This weekend is going to be busy (Viva Las Vegas show and Easter), but if I find a few spare moments I'll get the PDF version up for sale.

The Chaos edition is probably next ... though I might veer into the Jules Verne-esque Victoriana edition. Don't know yet.


It occurred to me today that it might be fun to do a Bloody Basic edition illustrated by women. It could put a light female spin to the game classes (maybe amazon instead of fighter, or amazon and oracle as sub-classes). The question - how to do it without involving stereotypes one way or the other - just good old fashioned fantasy role playing with art involving female characters by female artists. To women out there reading this blog, I'd love to hear from you if this sounds interesting to you. I've been perusing some of my favorite women artists on DeviantArt to approach for commissions, but suggestions from the assembled Nodians are always appreciated.





Baudrons: Scotch name for a cat

Ben: A mountain peak

Bonnet-piece: An old Scottish coin

Cantrip: A freak, or wilful piece of trickery

Clout: A blow

Cutty-pipe: A short clay pipe

Eldritch: Weird

Emprise: An enterprise

Gled: A hawk

Gloaming: The twilight


Unchancy: Uncanny

Wight: A person

Unicorns: Ancient Scottish coins

Also this:


Killer magic item, that wand.
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