Memories of Connor's Adventures

Orlando the Adventurer pulled a Scimitar from beneath his Robes and smiled...

Tuesday 31 October 2017

Rythlondar Campaign: Castle Morbundus



Room 77: Above the door is marked with the word 'Slocum's'. This great diamond shaped chamber is walled by twenty statues, each a different creature. Once per turn the die of power on the central pedestal creates a living version of one of these creatures and teleports it into a random encounter area (Levels 1-4) in the Castle Morbundus.


1d20           Encounter
   01             White Toad*
   02             Vampire
   03             Ghoul
   04             Gargoyle
   06             Hell Hound
   07             Umber Hulk
   08             Basilisk
   09             Giant Snake
   10             Giant Rat
   11             Giant Ant
   12             Werebear
   13             Doppleganger
   14             Troll
   15             Zombie
   16             Gelatinous Cube
   17            Skeleton
   18            Ochre Jelly
   19            Salamander
   20             Balrog**

*The die of power has created this one and deposited it in the upper Castle. If this is defeated the die of power Activates generating a random creature per turn, teleporting them into the castle. Ignore duplicate rolls of this creature.
**The die of power has created this one and deposited it in room 70. If this is defeated this result shuts down the die of power. If the Balrog in 70 yet lives, ignore the result and continue generating other creatures.

Sunday 29 October 2017

Dungeon Mastery: The Storm-Marshal's Tower

Background: The Storm-Marshal's Tower stands at the centre of the village towering seventy feet high (not including the iron ball atop its roof). It has been there for as long as the populace remember.

For the Dungeon Master: Despite the villagers memories that the Tower and its Storm-Marshal have been a fixture in the village, it arrived last night in a lightning storm. The Storm-Marshal's appearance and the tower he calls home are a Psionic Illusion imposed on the populace. He is entirely Alien to this world, and is here to Harvest its unique electrical energy to recharge his tower before he can again continue his journey. 

The Storm-Marshal: AC3; 4HD*; MV 30' (10'); AT Cudgel, Lightning-gun; DA 1d4+1/1d6+1; SA Cleric L4; NA 1 (Unique); ML 12; INT 18; AL Lawful; TT See Description ; 250XP
Description: This old Man with white hair is always seen in work overalls with a tool-belt, a heavy cudgel for a walking stick, and an odd smell of ozone about him. He is a Psionic Alien able to manipulate the way anyone within a mile of the tower comprehends his appearance and the appearance of the tower. Unfortunately his psionic talents affect the brains of Chaotics in an unpleasant way. Chaotics should roll a d20 against their charisma. If they roll below their charisma the Chaotic character sees a strange black tower that looks like it has tentacles reaching into the air, and the Storm-Marshal has no eyes- he is psionic and doesnt need eyes to see. His skin is greasy, and his hair are thick see-through ropes pumping white blood. If he senses more than one person can see him as he is, he withdraws to the tower. If attacked in the tower by someone who can see through his illusion, he resorts to the Lightning-gun (25'/50'/75') on his tool-belt.

The Tower
Area 1: The stone ramp slopes at thirty degrees and seems quite sturdy and is designed for the convenience of the elderly tower occupant. Above the door is a great clock dial that indicates Sunshine, Cloudy, or Electrical Storms before they arrive. The ball of iron atop the tower seems to be connected to ground via an iron rod.

Area 2: The stairs climbs up to the left of the entrance headed for upper levels. There is a locked door that will prevent anyone but the Storm-Marshal from accessing area 3. The door (AC-1) can take 100hp before it fails. The Storm-Warden recharges his weapon simply by laying his tool-belt down on the chest.

Area 3: the chest here contains massive energies absorbed from electrical storms. If the organic battery (AC6) is subjected to 100hp damage it will explode destroying the tower and unleashing an electrical discharge of 20d6 hp electrical damage to much of the village out to 300 feet radius.

Area 4: Second floor hallway at the top of the stairs leads to an unlocked door.

Area 5: The 'Weather Clock' is a fascinating mechinism that looks like a gnomish mecanical apparatus. It is an illusion. This is the Pilot station, and is discerned to be inherently organic by anyone who sees through the psionic illusion.

Area 6: Those in this room looking out the windows will see beyond the edges of the village and surrounding fields. There are no windows of course. If the Storm-Marshal willed it, the PCs could see anywhere the Storm-Marshal has been.
Once the Pilot activates the tower it will ride lightning to its new destination. The tower can take 1,000hp damage at AC-10 at which it will die, but the destruction of the organic battery will destroy it.

Saturday 28 October 2017

Pre-emptive Strike: A children's Guide to Better Presents

How to Negotiate with the Jolly fat man in the red suit

Psychological blackmail: when mommy and/or daddy take you to see Santa and you sit on santa's knee, do so with a smile then pull his beard. If it comes off announce "you're not Santa!" and look at your parent(s) with an angry look. This makes them feel guilty. They buy more presents. This can be risky. If santa's beard is real you need to smile and give him a hug...but dont tell him what you want for Christmas. This means mommy/daddy must resort to the write a letter to Santa method of getting information.

Prophaganda: when writing a letter to Santa never include what you want for Christmas. This is a ruthless parent trap that mommy/daddy resort to in order to discern what you want. By only writing about the gifts you want to give to others in your letter to Santa you undermine the ability of mommmy/daddy to use it as a method of interrogation. I recommend you start with:
Dear Santa, please make mommy and daddy happy this Christmas. This will make your mommy and daddy worry you are fixating on their wellbeing. Next you ask for big presents for your brother(s) and/or sister(s):
please also give (name all brothers/sisters) big presents and a hug.
Now end the letter with: I hope you are well, (your name)
This will undermine the willpower of mommy and daddy.

Thursday 26 October 2017

Old School: The Rythlondar Campaign

The Early Dungeons & Dragons campaigns seems to have involved Cannon fodder gaming to the Nth degree. Adventures were not designed for the party of four, rather the party of twenty. Player Character death tolls were significant, and those sacrificed so the few in charge could grow in power, wealth, and experience.
If you have never heard of this campaign, thats okay, but you likely played rooms from it's dungeons. Having availed myself of the Rythlondar PDF I found it to have been the source for encounters found in TSR Adventure Modules I had played.
Dungeons and ruins are scattered across the landscape. Amongst them a Dungeon known as 'The Weir'. Those of you who recall the Mentzer D&D Expert Manual and its map of the Town of Threshold will notice a weir on the map near Lake Windrush. While this is not the original Weir of Rythlondar, It is named for it.
The Original Weir is apparently a mountainous structure with towers at the surface, and was part of a Fortress known as Tar Norgard.

Adding the Weir to Threshold
While the Weir is visible on the Surface, there are numerous entrances to the dungeons beneath (Some Secret and undiscovered). Its designed to be a Sandbox. Though there are significant lairs within the Dungeon where populations exist of one creature type, You can bypass several levels down a staircase. Hallways link regions and function as corridors of movement for powerful creatures coming and going.

All encounters should be generated randomly unless you are in a lair controlled by a monster type or otherwise intelligent group.

                  Random Monsters by Dungeon Level                                                
  Roll          One                       Two                                   Three                              
1d20                                                                                                                            
 01             2 Ogres                   3 Giant Snakes              Superhero                      
 02             2 Wraiths               2 Manticores                 Scavengers
 03             Berserkers             Goblins                           Gargoyles                       
 04             1 Wereboar           Kobolds                           Hydra
 05             1 Giant Snake       2 Wereboars                   Fire-breathing Hydra  
 06             Hobgoblins           3 Wereboars                   8 Gargoyles
 07             Skeletons              2 Fighters                         Displacer Beast            
 08             Zombies                 15 Skeletons                   7 Wererats
 09             Conjurers               2 Elite Skeletons*          2 Burglars                     
 10             Orcs                        2 Giant Weasles             6 Minotaurs
 11             Centipedes            Myrmidon                       3 Harpies                      
 12             4 Heroes                Berserkers**                   Yldog, Evil Priest
 13            8 Magicians           4 Fighters                         45 Gnolls                       
 14            5 Ghouls                Wererats                           Umber hulks
 15            8 Orcs                      7-headed hydra              Fighters                         
 16           1 Giant Scorpion    2 Myrmidons                  Clerics
 17           Scavengers             10 Ogres                            Magicusers                   
 18                                             10 Bugbears                     4 Trolls
 19                                              3 Wereboars                   Gelatinous Cube          
 20                                              Manticore                        Ocre Jelly                      

* Skeletons wearing magic armour and not automatically turned by a Vicar.
** Summoned by Disguised Cultists who escape.


                  Random Monsters by Dungeon Level                                                         
  Roll          Four                               Five                                                 Six                      
1d20                                                                                                                                      
 01             4 Heroes                         6 Trolls                                          Rust Monster   
 02             Spectre                            Giant Statue                                 Lich
 03             Gnoll King                      2 Thieves                                       5 Shadows       
 04             4 Gnoll Lieutenants     Wizard & Minions                       2 Black Dragons
 05             3 Stone Giants               Sentient Door                               3 Giant Bettles    
06              5 Shadows                      Lord Karnak & Archers             Copper Dragon
 07             2 Wyverns                      3 Cockatrice                                 Giant Leech        
 08             Black Pudding               Giant 4-armed Gargoyle            Flesh Golem
 09             Salamander                   Fighters                                         Lich                     
 10             Black Dragon                 Magic Users                                  5 Shadows
 11             Evil Men                         Minotar                                         10 Ogres             
 12             2 Enchanters                 Sword Guardian                           3 Trolls
 13            3 Swashbucklers           Invisible Stalker                           6-8 Giant Crabs
 14             2 Medusae                      Elf                                                   2 Manticores
 15              3 Salamanders             Lamassu                                        3 Ogre Magi       
 16              Scavengers                   Chimera                                         18 Tritons
 17                                                      Fire Giant & 2 Hellhounds                                      
 18                                                      4 Giant Scorpions
 19                                                      Fire-breathing 11-headed hydra                           
 20                                                      4 Displacer Beasts                                                    


     Random Monsters by Dungeon Level      
  Roll          Seven                                                 
1d20                                                                      
 01             7-headed Fire-breathing Hydra   
 02             7-headed hydra
 03             2 Rust Monsters                              
 04             Gorgon
 05             4 Manticores                                    
06              11-headed Fire-breathing Hydra
 07             Harpy                                                 
 08             3 Umber hulks
 09             4 Bugbears                                        
 10             2 hellhounds
 11             12 Trolls                                             
 12             Lich
 13             Vampire                                             
 14             2 Wyverns
 15            3 Owlbears                                         
 16            2 Giant Statues
 17             Conciousness of the Old One*         
 18            
 19                                                                          
 20                                                                          

*Level 8 is a Prison confining 'The Old One'.
It is accessed beyond the Temple of Gargon on Level 7.

As you can see colossal populations like 45 Gnolls are encounters you would consider a meatgrinder encounter designed to slaughter Player Characters. The very Idea that this dungeon might be below the Weir near Threshold would cause the population to Flee.

Saturday 21 October 2017

Dungeon Mastery: In the employ of a Patron

Lady Marilinev, The Early Years
Dungeons & Dragons is a lie. The fact is your dung covered peasant or blood soaked mercenary couldnt hob-nob with Princes. You just didnt get invited to those parties. Butcher some bandit on the side of the road and you might hang simply because one of them was heir to Castle Blood over on yonder hill. Your Dungeons & Dragons character is a criminal simply for running around with weapons without the consent of the people in charge.

Lawful Employment?
Employment by a Patron means consent of your conduct. If you discover the cultists beneath the old castle on the hill, its because you act on behalf of your Patron.
Apart from a good income, you can enjoy some degree of political immunity from prosecution while you get to stick a sword in Hamlet because he is 'in the way' and all for a purse filled with gold for your services.

But of course employment with a Patron has its own risks. You are choosing to sacrifice Neutrality and support a faction. A faction with enemies. You might be waylaid by agents of a rival Patron. Where your Patron might have afforded you some respect, some upstart rival looking to whisper in the Prince's ear and seize your Patron's wealth might send thugs to assault you in the streets. Or perhaps your own Patron has grown weary of you and decided they can no longer afford your incompetence. You might be given bribes to change sides and find yourself faced with a terrible choice that challenges your Alignment. Perhaps your actions result in your banishment from the city by its ultimate Authority.

This is a world of schemes, poisons, assassins, seduction, manipulation, wealth, and politics. Your tax coin hard at work...

The Dungeon Master is the Shadowy Hand
A significant problem is you dont know what is going on behind the scenes.

Having a Patron direct the Players into the sewers to find out how a rival is smuggling Dwarven made pizza bases into the city is easy enough, but going multi-task Macheavellian in their machinations is beyond most Young and/or inexperienced Dungeon Masters. Your best bet is to build a network map of interconnecting conspiracies and individual relationships.

PCs sent into the sewers? Who are the NPCs following them? The 'B' Team? Some other Patron's agents? There are a million conspiracies and the PCs just found a single thread. While you as Dungeon Master might roll a handful of dice on a piece of paper and establish a network of conspirators, conspiracies, and how the Player Characters fit into the picture.

The Patron
How capable is the Patron of the Player characters in being involved in a conspiracy? I suggest a point based system. add the Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma bonuses and call it their Machiavelli Score. the higher their capacity to interact with the conspiracy ball of thread, the greater the significance of the Conspiracy they may be involved with. That network of dice rolled on a piece of paper suddenly has meaning beyond abstract art.

Deus Ex Machina
Its bad enough in the real world where people can do secret things in dark rooms without anyone's knowledge. In Dungeons and Dragons where every wizard with a crystal ball is an unstoppable spy, unless the victim of their espionage is somehow aware that an Amulet of Protection from Scrying will prevent the secret police from showing up at their door ten seconds after they think about murdering the Prince let alone has such an amulet, there is a point where the setting is undone by the deus ex machina of the Surveillance state.

An Empire of Mages with a million apprentices and crystal balls lying around most certainly has an NSA where those assets are merged to discern what Your conspiratorial Patron had for breakfast and are keeping it in a personal file in their massive bureacracy. Even an amulet of protection would not protect you from a wizard with a crystal ball and spells allowing them to listen to conversations in a room without targeting the wearer of the amulet directly. What are the odds that file gets handed to the Prince of some city revealing the conspiracies of its Patrons, and the involvement of the Player Characters?

Perhaps there are six crystal balls in your entire Dungeons and Dragons setting and Dragons use them to while away the centuries watching the Human Soap Opera into which your Player Characters have Stumbled.

You as Dungeon Master will decide what is going on in your Dungeons and Dragons game. If you want Patrons employing PCs in elaborate conspiracies then its up to you.

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Blood Sports: Martian Chess

The Rules of Jetan 

FOR those who care for such things, and would like to try the game, I give the rules of Jetan as they were given me by John Carter. By writing the names and moves of the various pieces on bits of paper and pasting them on ordinary checkermen the game may be played quite as well as with the ornate pieces used upon Mars.
THE BOARD: Square board consisting of one hundred alternate black and orange squares.
THE PIECES: In order, as they stand upon the board in the first row, from left to right of each player.
Warrior: 2 feathers; 2 spaces straight in any direction or combination.
Padwar: 2 feathers; 2 spaces diagonal in any direction or combination.
Dwar: 3 feathers; 3 spaces straight in any direction or combination.
Flier: 3 bladed propeller; 3 spaces diagonal in any direction or combination; and may jump intervening pieces.
Chief: Diadem with ten jewels; 3 spaces in any direction; straight or diagonal or combination.
Princess: Diadem with one jewel; same as Chief, except may jump intervening pieces.
Flier: See above.
Dwar: See above.
Padwar: See above.
Warrior: See above.
And in the second row from left to right:
Thoat: Mounted warrior 2 feathers; 2 spaces, one straight and one diagonal in any direction.
Panthans: (8 of them): 1 feather; 1 space, forward, side, or diagonal, but not backward.
Thoat: See above.
The game is played with twenty black pieces by one player and twenty orange by his opponent, and is presumed to have originally represented a battle between the Black race of the south and the Yellow race of the north. On Mars the board is usually arranged so that the Black pieces are played from the south and the Orange from the north.
The game is won when any piece is placed on same square with opponent's Princess, or a Chief takes a Chief.
The game is drawn when either Chief is taken by a piece other than the opposing Chief, or when both sides are reduced to three pieces, or less, of equal value and the game is not won in the ensuing ten moves, five apiece.
The Princess may not move onto a threatened square, nor may she take an opposing piece. She is entitled to one ten-space move at any time during the game. This move is called the escape.
Two pieces may not occupy the same square except in the final move of a game where the Princess is taken.
When a player, moving properly and in order, places one of his pieces upon a square occupied by an opponent piece, the opponent piece is considered to have been killed and is removed from the game.
The moves explained. Straight moves mean due north, south, east, or west; diagonal moves mean northeast, southeast, southwest, or northwest. A Dwar might move straight north three spaces, or north one space and east two spaces, or any similar combination of straight moves, so long as he did not cross the same square twice in a single move. This example explains combination moves.
The first move may be decided in any way that is agreeable to both players; after the first game the winner of the preceding game moves first if he chooses, or may instruct his opponent to make the first move.
Gambling: The Martians gamble at Jetan in several ways. Of course the outcome of the game indicates to whom the main stake belongs; but they also put a price upon the head of each piece, according to its value, and for each piece that a player loses he pays its value to his opponent. 
-'Chessmen of Mars' By Edgar Rice Burrows

I had heard a tale that Edgar Rice Burrows, in writing the various Barsoom books had crafted a set of Rules for a Martian Variant of Chess: Jetan.

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Creature Catalog: The Ironborn


Ironborn
AC 2
HD 2d4
MV 3' (1')
AT 1 Bite, Weapon or Spell
DA 1hp/1hp or as Spell
SA Fighter L1 or Magicuser L2
NA 1-4 (10-100)
ML 11
INT 13
AL Any Alignment
TT O (1-4 scrolls)
XP 13

The Ironborn  (or Skand as they know themselves) have only been discovered by gem cutters as fossils in iron oxide gems mined deep in the earth. Their civilization has never been discovered.
They are 1/8th of an inch tall. They build villages on the backs of giant beetles, harvesting fungi spores that grow on the backs of their mobile homes. They are an ancient people, It is little wonder that they have existed hidden for millions of years.
A Skand Magicuser might rise in spell power allowing them to craft great citadels on the backs of Beetles, though it is rare. Most Skand live a life of Agrarian toil.

Sunday 15 October 2017

Stellar Cartography: Alpha Centauri B...

 Apparently that is Proxima B, so a quick adjust of the image and...
Hot Jupiter spotted.

Distance from centre: 0.8632 Rsolar (10 Diameters from the Star centre), 0.0040142817AU
Radius:
       Of Star: 0.8632 Rsolar (10 Planet diameters)
      Of Planet: 0.08632 Rsolar
Temperature (Planet): 3382K
Period (Days): 0.09754

Sufficiently close enough to turn Gas Giant CO2 into graphite Dyson shell.


Planet Name: Hot-pot
Star: Alpha Centauri B
Semimajor Axis: 0.0040142817AU thats inside the star.
Temperature (Planet): 3382K
Period (Days): 0.09754
Radius (Planet): 0.08632 Rsolar

I must be wrong because at that orbit and distance from star its at 25% the speed of light. Unless there is a Dyson Sphere in close to the star doing 0.25 light speed...

Update: we are good...

   0.15 percent of the speed of light = 449 688.687 m / s   
Circumference is 2*pi*r =0.0252223172 AU circumference.
3,773,204,950 metres.
Time is 8427.456 seconds
3773204950/8427.456=447,727.6357 metres/second. 
This planet would only be doing slightly less than 0.15 light speed. 

Much more reasonable.



Update: this is better

Planet Name: Hot-pot
Star: Alpha Centauri B
Semimajor Axis: 0.006690472678432314 AU
Temperature (Planet): 2852K
Period (seconds): 18,114 seconds
Radius (Planet): 33,362 km (Jupiter: 69,911 km)
Orbital velocity: 0.00115804919 x light speed (>1% light speed)

This is what I would describe as a diamond class dyson sphere. The temperature reduced its atmosphere to a graphite shell around the core and the 'gravity' induced by the 1%+ orbital velocity likely turning it into diamond.

Thursday 12 October 2017

Signs of Madness: Secrets of the Necronomicon

In searching for some link to the Necronomicon I am exploring the ancient Volcae Culture and any secret it might reveal. In the Asiatic Shamanism we see an inversion of phonetics in word construction. where now we have Cthulhu, the original Volcae would be Huc-thul.

Huc

The Word Huc appears in four five areas of Interest:

Évariste Régis Huc, C.M., or the Abbé Huc, (1813–1860) was a French missionary Catholic priest and traveller, famous for his accounts of China, Tartary and Tibet, in his book "A Journey Through the Chinese Empire". Since the travels of the Englishman, Thomas Manning, in Tibet (1811–1812), no European had visited Lhasa. Huc stimulated European interest in Central Asia and blazed a trail for Asian studies.

Huc, a village in TodireÈ™ti, Vaslui, Romania. One of nine villages in the Romanian District. Location: 46°51′N 27°22′E

The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUCHUC-JIR, and The College-Institute) is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas, and the main seminary for training rabbiscantors, educators and communal workers in Reform JudaismHUC was founded in 1875 under the leadership of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise in Cincinnati. The first rabbinical class graduated in 1883. The graduation banquet for this class became known as the Trefa Banquet because it included food that was not kosher, such as clamssoft-shell crabsshrimpfrogs' legs and dairy products served immediately after meat.

The Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra or HUC (Hospitals of the University of Coimbra), is a university hospital that partners with the University of CoimbraPortugal. This complex is known as a centre of research with a broad range of clinical services and medical specialties. It is a branch of the larger Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, a rebranded merged institution created during the eruption of the European sovereign debt crisis and the Portuguese economic and financial crisis in 2012. In its early days, it used to function in two separated buildings which can be traced back to the 16th century. Part belonged to the College of St. Jerome begun in the 1560s. In 1836 it was handed over to the University of Coimbra, and twelve years later several hospital departments were transferred there.


Huc-quo-la-jish is Navajo for glove. La-jish refering to an article of clothing or hand covering. Huc-quo meaning 'come', Possibly a reference to ejaculation of sperm coating a hand.


Thul

 As with the word Huc the word Thul appears in several points of significance:

Thul is a Habitational name from Thule in Silesia, or Thüle or Thülen in Westphalia. nickname for someone with an unusual style or growth of hair, from Middle Low German tul 'tuft'.


Originating in India, Thul is a common family name in India and Cambodia.


From the Romani word thul- “fat”, are: Present Past me thul-jo-v “I grow fat” me thul-il-em “I grew fat” Tu thul-jo-s ... fat” voj thul- jo-l “she grows fat” voj thul-il-i “she grew fat”...

From the Hindi the word 'thul thul' meaning 'round' (the doctor goes on his rounds).

From Scandanavian Legends One of Odin's many names was Fimbulthul, thus he, having mastered the runes, was a chief thul. 

Note: Further investigation finds that thul in this case means 'speaker' with references to being old in years. This might be a shaman reference. 

The phrase in Hdvamdl, " It is time to chant on the thul's seat," is sometimes regarded as implying that all thulir invariably sat on thrones or chairs to deliver their wisdom. 


Huc-thul and Cthulhu

Given the connection to Navajo, and middle east-asian cultures, shamans of Gobelki Tepe 20,000 years ago are a common origin point. We would therefore find the madness in the dark amid the ruins of these and their descendant language groups such as the minoans. If we take the engraved bull head, we get a triangle or cone shape with horns or tentacles. This is a description of the Great Race.


'These creatures (The Shadow Out of Time) populated the earth a billion or more years ago and their cities still exist buried in the great Australian desert. They are ten foot high cones, ten feet wide at the base with four ten foot tentacles at the top. Two tentacles end in lobster-like claws, one in trumpet-like ears and one in a yellow globe two feet in diameter with three eyes along its circumference and a set of manipulating tentacles dependent from it. The creatures move rapidly by expanding and contracting the muscular base of the cone. These creatures are highly intelligent, telepathic, and scientifically advanced.

They have no magical powers but many technological devices such as air ships and energy beams. They can project their minds backward and forward in time and across interstellar space. They then seize control of the mind of any intelligent creature, displacing the other mind into the body of the member of the Great Race. Such captive minds are well treated, encouraged to teach the Great Race about their own time and eventually sent back to their original bodies with memory of the experience erased.'
-cthulhu mythos, Rob Kuntz, (Dragon Magazine).
We most definately find evolution of the bull head via the bee symbol found on the Phaistos disc into a tentacled triangle in Minoan. 


Note
Thul-huc sounds like the name 'Turloc'.
Cth- is kwet (to shake), or kwetwer (four).

A Potential Conclusion

Sperm comes from the word sper, but sper comes with four options-spear/pole, to twist, sparrow, and aformentioned 'to sprout'. Only the sparrow version has relevence here for animal pictograms.
Huc-thul (or thul-huc): a possible gobekli tepe shaman name meaning 'to speak-come' much like 'to speak-wind' and 'to speak-golden mouth'. The words will be in the form of 'Animal' pictograms. So... Wolf-Sparrow (wlkwo-sper) means 'to speak-sparrow'. Sper-wlkwo (sparrow-wolf) on the other hand gets us the variant similar phonetic spyeu (to vomit)- kw* which sounds a lot like the word 'Speak'.

So now we look for a shaman elder or chieftan named wolf-sparrow on the gobekli tepe stones (or sparrow-wolf).

References to sparrow & wolf in legend:

  • American Indian tale of Sparrow and Greywolf. Sparrow is Greywolf's sister and warns the guest for speaking like Greywolf's equal.
  • In some Japanese stories of okuri-ôkami, the wolf is never seen, but its presence is known by the constant chirping of a sparrow at the traveler's side. 
In both cases the sparrow is familiar to/with the wolf and advises the outsider of what inspires/draws wolf's anger. 

The adventure continues...

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Dungeon Mastery: Twenty Jars from the Apothecary

 20 Jars from the Apothecary          
 1d20   Contents                                     
   01      Ointment of the Apothecary 
   02      Ointment of Spikenard
   03      Ointment of Ringworm          
   04      Ointment of Ichthammol
   05      Ointment of Eczema               
   06      Paste of Love
   07      Paste of Neem Leaves              
   08      Salve of Slipperiness
   09      Salve of Gilead                           
   10      Salve of Toxic fumes
   11      Salve of Second Chances          
   12      Oil of Cloves
   13      Oil of Olay                                  
   14      Oil of Oregano
   15      Oil of Ulan                                  
   16      Grease of Bearing
   17      Grease of Fox                             
   18      Grease of Knees
   19      Grease of Life                             
   20     Grease of Clothes                       


Sunday 8 October 2017

Dungeon Mastery: Welcome to the Watch!

You are a new Dungeon Master, struggling to develop the Game Management handling skills. Your Players have only heard of Dungeons & Dragons because they found a stash of old Magazines and and books and thought it might be porn. But now, having picked up that jar of odd shaped sex beads and washed them well you now have a Dungeons & Dragons game, even if it is just a hand full of dice and a Players Manual which insists you need some expensive books to play.

Except...you dont. You only need to be able to roll up new characters.

The Watch is all about Basic Training
Having examined the Players Handbook/ Players Manual you as Dungeon Master simply have to have the Players roll up Characters. 3d6 determines Strenght, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma, hit points, Alignment, starting gold (which your players wont even need because the Watch will provide them with what they need). Just fill out the front of the character sheet along with hit rolls.

 Hit Roll Chart                                                   
 To hit AC:   9    8     7    6     5    4     3    2    1   
 Roll d20:    10  11  12   13  14  15   16  17  18 

The Simplest version of Dungeons & Dragons involves the Players fighting each other... in Basic Training.

It Begins
The Watch Commander steps out onto the steps of the Watch-house, looks about and declares to his Sargent that you are the most pathetic looking lot of squalling babies dragged freshly off the teat.
"However!" The Commander's voice suddenly audible across the yard, "You will be trained, and Gods-willing, turned into Soldiers of the Watch."


Your First Weapon and your First Fight
"Now, fetch a club from the rack each and pair off."

The club can be used by any character class.

Club: 1d4 damage

"You will beat each other unconcious!" The tyrant with the sword seems quite insistent. "Now!"

So have the players pair off as opponents in one-on-one combat and each player determine the order of combat: Roll 1d6 for initiative, and then roll to hit with a 1d20. This is going to be non lethal combat so reducing an opponent to zero hit points here causes them unconciousness, though lets keep it interesting- a critical hit inflicts real damage to the opponent, and a critical miss causes injury to the Players own character.

As Dungeon Master you wont need to refer to the rules, simply have the players roll to hit each others Armour Class (which will be unarmoured with dexterity bonuses/penalties for now).

With the players rolling to hit, their characters beating each other unconcious, you should come away with at one victor from each fight. The Unconcious Player Characters are dragged out of the fight yard. Hopefully if you have four Players you have two Player Characters still standing... the Winners.


Final Round Fight
"On the Battlefield there is only one Winner!" The Commander points to the two remaining champions. "Fight!"

Again have the players roll 1d6 for initative and 1d20 to hit each others character. As before, they must fight until they are unconcious or victorious though they begin with whatever hit points they had left over from the previous fight. Once there is a single character standing, that Character (assumedly a fighter with high hit points) is paid one experience point.

"Well Done!" The Commander looks at you. "See you in the morning." Someone strikes you from behind rendering you unconcious.

If you did this right, your only task as Dungeon Master was to be the Story Teller. The adventure doesnt have to end there. Its best to have the Players undertake basic training until they are all experienced with the concept of combat and have each earned some experience points. It will become apparent after repeating the basic training method that experience points are going to the physically most powerful characters - yhe greatest strength contributing a hit roll and damage bonus, and Constitution to provide bonus hit points to protect against unconciousness. These characters will make the best Fighters.


The Wrong Stuff
Then there are those constantly beaten into unconciousness. They have lower hit points because of low constitution and/or hit dice. These would be better off as Thieves, or Magic-users because they might have a high Wisdom, Dexterity, or Intelligence.

Target Practice
Targets have been erected in the Yard this morning. They are wooden hoops held head height by a pole each side with an old battered helmet hanging by twine in the opening. You are handed a sling and a hand-full of stones. The Commander demonstrates the use of the weapon easily striking a target.

Sling: 1d4 damage
As a missile weapon the Sling is usable by any Character Class.

"You will continue until you are skilled in the striking of the target."

The Players should continue until they have struck their target ten times. The Player Character is then moved back from short range, through medium range, to long range and required to hit the target ten times in each case. The target is AC 3. A critical hit (natural 20) severs the twine (1hp). A critical miss and the player takes damage from their own sling stone. This can be dangerous. The Player Character could be killed from the injury. It should become apparent that the most skilled have the highest dexterity and thus enjoy a significant bonus to their hit rolls when using missile weapons. These are best as Thieves. The Player Characters gets one experience point for a successful target practice.

Turning Undead
You are taken down to the cellar. Here in the Dark is a foul smell. You and the Sargeant, a burning torch illuminating the chamber, find an iron Gate guarding a long cell. There, in the long cell is what you initially take to be a prisoner hungry for food or freedom.
"This is a Ghoul." Its claws rake at the air between you and the cage as it looks to feed on you. "It is an undead thing."
"Now, Present your holy symbol thusly and turn the creature." The Sargeant holds up his holy symbol. "Begone creature of the dark!"
The undead turns and flees to the back of the cage. 

You can play this with each Player Character taking turns to test whether they are Clerics...even if they have already become other Characters. Have the player roll 2d6 to turn. The Player rolls eleven, the ghoul turns and flees to the back of the cage. Obviously the low chance (2 in 11), even for clerics, means success is not the most likely outcome.

Eventually the Cleric will turn the Ghoul proving he or she is a cleric. When they do successfully turn the ghoul they would earn experience points for turning undead. For now that is ten experience points. This can only be earned once per undead.

That should whittle the Player Characters determining which Combat capable class suits them best.

Equipment
The Watch are provided with a standard equipment.

General Equipment
All the Characters are provided standard weapons and equipment that will avail them all equally:

  • Sling
  • Club
  • Backpacks
  • Tinder box
  • Boots
  • Clothes
  • Long Cloak
  • Holy Symbol of the Watch* 
*An 'Eagle' tattooed on the palm of the Player Character's hand using powdered gem stone pushed under the skin, and blessed by the Chaplain as it healed.


Other Equipment
Fighters, Thieves, Clerics, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings will be provided with Leather Armour affording them with AC7 before any dexterity bonuses/penalties.

Magic-users will be granted an education in the Watch library and encouraged to learn the Read Magic and Detect Magic spells.


Enjoy!

Thursday 5 October 2017

Neolithic Greyhawk: Before the Suel Migration


Ull is a primordial forest occupied by diverse predator species. There are primitive peoples who live not so much in the forest, but at its edge. But they eventually gain knowledge of Fire burning back the forest in a terrible conflict.
But, over time the Forest is broken and the Survivors victorious. and they flourish and grow in population, burning back forest whenever there is conflict with the remnant predators that dwell there.



Eventually the forest on which they nourish themselves no longer nourishes everyone. Food and territory is fought over. Those who do not control fortified regions such as mounds or hills are forced out by conflict.
They journey into the Crystalmist Mountains to the east, and North to the Yatils establishing themselves as Mountain-folk. They are increasingly seperate from the Plains-folk.
Iggwilv, amongst this northern mountain folk will one day seize power in Perrenland. In the South, Zil encounters the Drow in the Crystalmists and experience Slavery. Bred with others to create a better slave. They escape east to the Lortmils. Unfortunately they understand a new social order built on Slavery. Zilchus the Tyrant born of two enslaved peoples begins enslaving surrounding peoples. The Master of the Lortmils will eventually become a God of Trade and commerce.


In Ull the Ecosystem has reached breaking point. The Savanna is squeezed dry of every last morsel plant-and game source that is sought by burning off grass to attract game that can be hunted. The pressures on the Ecosystem forces them out.


The Suel Migration begins.

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Dungeon Mastery: 20 Unique Documents from the Library

 20 Unique Documents from the Library                   
1D20  Document Description                                            
 01       Map of the World                                                    
 02       Map of a Southern Continent
 03       One Hundred Year old Map of the Port             
 04       Copper Scroll of Qumran
 05       Copper Scroll of the Thirteenth Priestess         
 06       Copper Scroll of the Bone Ossuary
 07       Treasure Map of the Sky Cave                            
 08       Treasure Map of the Kingdom of Jai
 09       Treasure Map of Hungry Shark (A Pirate)       
 10       Totem Tribe Gold Scroll of Ice Magic
 11       Gold Toko Scroll of Truth                                    
 12       Clay Tablet of Urga
 13       Clay Tablet of the Ancient Kingdom of Mes    
 14       Tablet of Ahmad
 15       Tablet of the True Seeker                                    
 16       Lost Scroll of the Sage
 17       Lost Scroll of the Second Library                      
 18       Lost Scroll of Elundris
 19       Lost Scroll of the Traitor Yu                               
 20       Lost Scroll of Wa the Confectioner                   


Tuesday 3 October 2017

Dungeon Mastery: Twenty Swords from the Workshop of the Smith

 Swords from the Workshop of the Smith    
 1D20    Sword                                                         
 01          Shortsword of Backstabbing    
 02          Shortsword of Ykesha
 03          Shortsword of Warning            
 04          Shortsword of Vengance
 05          Shortsword of Morin                 
 06          Shortsword of Quickness
 07          Longsword of Wounding          
 08          Longsword of Sharpness
 09          Longsword of Searching           
 10          Longsword of the Blaze
 11          Dragon Longsword                    
 12          Greatsword of Judgement
 13          Greatsword of Artorias             
 14          Greatsword of State
 15          Greatsword of the Inferno        
 16          Greatsword of War
 17          Greatsword of Horrid Dreams  
 18          Greatsword of Frozen Hells
 19          Greatsword of Goujian               
 20          Greatsword of Destiny            
_________________________________________

Have a problem with too many generic magic blades in your setting? how about a world where there are Twenty. If you want one, you will need to take it from someone who has one...