"Not all that matters is monstrous..."

The rationale for many an adventure is that the party has discovered a rumor / been assigned a quest to some mysterious out-of-the-way place where terrible monsters guard a fabulous treasure, or perhaps to destroy an slowly stirring ancient evil.

But some adventures can start because the location itself is the target of the interest of the dominant civilization -- which might clash with the longtime residents.

Three ideas along these lines:

• defending the borderlands;
• there's gold in them thar borderlands;
• oh, how lovely the borderlands are this time of year.

Defending the Borderlands

The forces that are assigned here (or happen upon it, or are rescued by it) are tasked with standing against any incursion of enemy forces. These could be hordes of rabid elves, barbarous halfling hordes, or even cunning, well-disciplined orc legions.

Short of actual mass combat, adventures here could be scouting sorties, raids into the wilderlands, or even assassination attempts on key leaders of the enemy.

There's Gold in them thar Borderlands

This is less about some underground complex, but a discovery that valuable resources -- like gold, or orichalcum, or hard-to-find magical reagents -- is located adjacent to the current country's land holdings in some unclaimed or contested area.

Adventures here could be about adventurers helping the country lay claim to the land, clearing out stubborn pockets of local residents or integrating them into the society, discovering the secret to the land's wealth, or claiming a small slice of the land for themselves or their patron.

Oh! How Lovely the Borderlands are this Time of Year!

In this scenario, the value of the land is its breathtaking vista. Perhaps there's a striking feature of the landscape that makes of a nice view, or an lovely old ruin from a past civilization (supposedly long cleaned out). There could be interesting restaurants with mouthwateringly good local cuisine that showcase the view, nice little trinkets (that came from the old ruin over there, completely safe). There could be festivals that re-enact old tribal rituals in more conqueror-friendly, tourist-friendly ways.

Adventurers of all alignments and all levels come to this new darling of the travel scene; what could possibly go wrong?

Enigmundia: Pagan Spells of Mercury -- 1st Level

Past posts in this series will be refined and reformatted; for now, I'll tackle the last two pagan spells from the pagan god Mercury.

Now, Mercury is a slippery fellow. He is worshiped by messengers, travelers, traders, thieves, mages, and other lesser known groups and cults. He has dealings with many gods as their Messenger, and is rumored to communicate with mortals either directly or through their dreams (courtesy of Somnus and Morpheus). Perhaps his strong showing in the pagan spells, and his invocation in many spells to other pagan gods, shows just how important he is now in the waning influence of this fading pantheon.

Floating Disc (1)

It allows the caster to transport items on an invisible disc of force. Movement is said to be accompanied by the faint flutter of wings; an echo, perhaps, of the wings that adorn Mercury in his many depictions across ruins and hidden cults.

Ventriloquism (1)

The messenger of the gods lends the ability to send messages through the air in one of his most trivial of applications of power. However, it is one of his favored spells -- possibly due to the great deal of mischief that has been, and will be done, with this spell.

And that wraps up the 1st level spells of Labyrinth Lord. I'll try to clean all the past entries up and make them more consistent soon. Also, I think I'll shift the actual spells into my Mystara interpretation in the coming months, as Enigmundia seems to be RuneQuest-bound in my mind. However, I do enjoy the research of these 'pagan gods', so the essence of the cults and their ties to spells will remain in Enigmundia.

Enigmundia: More Pagan Spells from Minerva

In this penultimate post on 1st level pagan spells, I tackle two more that are associated with Minerva:

Read Languages

The gift of understanding other written languages is certainly part of the portfolio of Minerva. In addition to wisdom and education, she is also a keeper of knowledge and secrets. When this spell manifests, the reader's eyes become akin to those of an owl in appearance -- and remain so for the duration of the spell.

Shield

Minerva's affinity with the legendary Aegis is well-known. Supplicants may summon a small measure of its might through this spell. At higher levels, an apparition of Minerva may be seen extending her Aegis over the spellcaster.

Past Pagan Spells 

For the curious, the older posts may be found here:

Pagan Spells of Apollo
More Pagan 1st level spells
Pagan 1st level spells
Pagan Spells of the Underworld

Enigmundia: Pagan Spells -- Light, Continual Light, Magic Missile, and Protection from Evil

Here are four spells that have one god in common -- one god with different epithets.

The god is known as Apollo Phoebus, who is interesting because he is one of the few gods who had no direct equivalent during the transition from the Parthenian Age to the Imperian Age. His Parthenian name was Apollo; his Imperian names included Apollo Phoebus (in his aspect as god of light) and Apollo Helius (in his aspect as god of the sun.

There are other reputed invocations that call upon Helios and Sol as sole names, not as epithets of Apollo -- most of them deal with aspects of the power of the sun.

For now, let's take a look at how Light & Magic Missile are handled as part of the Imperian magical tradition.

Light (1) and Continual Light (2)


Invocations to the spells for Light and Continual Light are to Apollo Phoebus, which is a source of surprise to many. As god of light, it would seem that granting Continual Light would be an easier spell to cast, but it is theorized that all gods are concerned about granted permanence to their spells being to easy. Another theory is that the prison that binds the old gods makes such permanent boons difficult, hence the presence of the easier to cast Light spell.

Magic Missile (1)

There are many distance spells open to mages, but one of the most dangerous and accurate spells is magic missile. The signifier of light-kissed arrows flying unerringly to their target is a sure sign of Apollo Aphetor -- his aspect as god of archery.

Protection from Evil (1)

As Apollo Alexicacus, his aspect as protector and warder against evil, comes to the fore. Mages with a number of spells already from his portfolio tend to call upon him for this spell, as they have already formed a familiarity with his particular brand of power.

However, most mages seem to prefer to spread their invocations across several sources -- there are rumors of benefits and banes to spellcasters that tend to favor a single source.

Enigmundia: Pagan Spells -- Charm Person, Protection from Evil, Sleep

My prior post on mage spells powered by pagan gods tackled three 1st level spells and one 2nd level spell. Here are three more by different gods.

Charm Person (1)

It should come as no surprise that Venus is the primary source of sudden charm. Given her powers, her past, and her nature, the only surprise seems to be that the spell is so subtle in its effects. Those who've endured its effects in the name of mystical inquiry have stated that the caster seemed to have suddenly become more attractive and worthy of friendship, and that romantic or sexual thoughts were only at the very edges of consciousness. Her patronage is often signified by the scent of rosewater and myrtle.

This effect is similar to another favorite patron for this spell: Bacchus. Victims of this flavor of the spell have mentioned experiencing a strong but ultimately fleeting bond of friendship with the caster, much like one who has shared a round of strong drink with a group of strangers and have become fast friends. The feeling of friendship evaporates in the same way that the prior night's drunken memories fade and are gone. His patronage is signified by the faint scent of wine that grows stronger as the spell nears its end.

Protection from Evil (1)

Terminus, god of boundaries, is often called upon to define the limits of property and location. Though fairly focused, his power and authority afford an easily tapped set of spells -- such as this one -- for mages.

No visible signs are shown, though ghostly boundary markers appear briefly when the protection is triggered by need.

As an aside, Terminus is also often called upon when inscribing certain magic circles or sacred geometry.

Sleep (1)

Because the name of the god is synonymous (in ancient Imperian) with the common name of the spell, many mages are unaware of the patron of this spell: Somnus.

Somnus is the god of sleep, and ruler of a vast land of dreams, chimeras, and nightmares in the Underworld. He belongs to a set of gods (known in the Parthenian tongue as the Demos Oneiroi) of that place not directly related to death or hell, and raises the eyes of many scholars and mystics regarding our understanding of those vast unknown depths. They have been mentioned elsewhere in this blog as Hypnos, Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasus.

For this spell, in the caster's shadow, appear to wings briefly stretch and move, arising from the caster's shoulder or brow.

Enigmundia: Pagan Spells -- Detect & Read Magic, Hold Portal and Knock

As I mentioned in my post regarding Wizards and their pagan sources of power, I decided to embark on a series of spells and my suggested patron pagan gods.

In Enigmundia, the equivalent of the Roman Empire -- the Imperium -- had a policy of integrating the portfolio of the gods from their conquered lands into their pantheon. To that end, all my suggested patron pagan gods per spell will be Roman.

Detect Magic (1) & Read Magic (1)

It stands to reason that a spell granting the ability to detect magic would derive power from a deity that has magic in her portfolio. In the Imperium pantheon, that would be Minerva.

Analogous to the Greek Pallas Athena, Minerva is a virgin goddess whose aspects include the portfolios of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts and magic. She can therefore be the entity tapped for any magic spell, but given that magic is one of her portfolios, she is most often the one called upon by ancient rote rituals for these spells.

A signifier tends to be present when spells are called upon for this effect. I suggest the ghostly image of an owl hovering near the wizards when the spell is cast.


Hold Portal (1) & Knock (2)

Because Janus is set over doorways, doors, gates, beginnings, endings, and transitions -- he can be tapped for the ability to hold a given portal.

For each spell, the spell caster calls upon a specific aspect of Janus.

• Hold Portal calls upon Janus Clusius (Janus as the Guardian of Closed Doors)
• Knock calls upon Janus Patulcius (Janus as the Guardian of Open Doors)

For signifiers of Janus, normally the door is sufficient -- but at higher levels, a ghostly spinning coin is sometimes visible during the casting, showing the two faces of Janus on either side. It stops on the aspect of Clusius or Patulcius depending on the spell cast.

NOTE: I updated this post because I woke up this morning and noticed that it kind of trailed off. Never post under the influence of pain medication, I say.

Reading Room: Thieves by Retro-clone

"Hah! You thought I wasn't a thief, didn't you? Well, these
are leather pants, buddy. So there!"

Similar to my entries for the Fighter and Cleric classes, I'm reading through the retro-clone descriptions of the Thief Class to get some sense of the essence of the character class before building it in HERO System 6th Edition.

Yes, there is an 6th Edition Fantasy Hero book out, and I'll be referring to it as well for the mechanics. However, I'm trying to build something that hearkens back to then essence of the D&D classes -- Fantasy Hero really broadens the definitions and gives more options to allow different types of classes so something may be lost. Anyway, HERO prides itself on allowing folks to build exactly the characters they want -- I'm just trying to figure out what I want from the classes first.

Basic Fantasy RPG says:

Thieves are those who take what they want or need by stealth, disarming traps and picking locks to get to the gold they crave; or “borrowing” money from pockets, beltpouches, etc. right under the nose of the “mark” without the victim ever knowing.

Thieves fight better than Magic-Users but not as well as Fighters. Avoidance of honest work leads Thieves to be less hardy than the other classes, though they do pull ahead of the Magic-Users at higher levels.

They may use any weapon, but may not wear metal armor as it interferes with stealthy activities, nor may they use shields of any sort. Leather armor is acceptable, however.

Clearly, Basic Fantasy RPG doesn't avoid the implications of the character class name and makes the acquisition or procurement of wealth or items as the primary motivator for someone who's entered into the profession of rogue -- THIEF, I mean.

It's interesting that they point out that thieves are better fighters than magic-users, but point out their lack in hit points (even supplying a rationale for it). I hadn't noticed the hit point edge they gain after 9th level, but it's good to know.

The infamous leather armor restriction is there, along with the rationale that it interferes with theiving activities.

Labyrinth Lord says:

Thieves have a range of unique skills associated with their profession that make them very handy companions in adventures. However, thieves can be a bit shady and they sometimes are not as trustworthy as other classes.

A thief will usually belong to a Thieves Guild from the character's local town, where he can seek shelter and information between adventures.

Because of their need of stealth and free movement, thieves cannot wear armor heavier than leather, and they cannot use shields. They have a need for using diverse weapons, and are able to use any kind.

A thief has the ability to backstab. He must catch an opponent unaware of his presence, using move silently and hide in shadows.

A bit more coy about the inherent lack of morality and ethics that come with being a Thief ("You can't trust him! He's wearing leather armor -- he'll rob you blind!"), Labyrinth Lord mentions other classic thief bits: the Guild and the backstab ability.

Swords & Wizardry says:

Note: the Thief is an optional character class that the Referee may choose to allow or forbid, depending on the campaign.

The thief is a figure in the shadows, an expert in stealth and delicate tasks. As a thief, locks, traps, and scouting are your trade; you are the eyes and ears of the adventuring party, the one who handles the perils of the dungeon itself. In many ways, you are a scholar of the world; in the course of your profession you pick up knowledge about languages and even magic.

True, in combat you are not the equal of armored Fighters or Clerics, but they have to rely on your knowledge and specialized skills to get them safely into and out of the dangerous places where treasure is to be found. You are the guide; the scout; and when necessary, the deadly blade that strikes from the shadows without warning.

In your profession, it takes great skill to survive – the life expectancy of most Thieves is very short. However, if you rise to high level, your reputation in the hidden community of tomb robbers and alley skulkers will attract followers to your side, often enough allies to place you in power as a guildmaster of Thieves.

A high-level Thief is a deadly opponent, for such an individual has learned subtlety and survival in the game’s most difficult profession.

All characer classes are, of course, subject to DM approval. Swords & Wizardy, however, goes as far as stating that explicitly, indicating that the class is optional and isn't necessarily meant to be a part of the generally available character classes of the game.

The description of the thief class, however, is clearly pro-thief and one that can reflect a PCs own worldview regarding his chosen profession.

Of special interest is the note that it is the game's most difficult profession -- I hadn't though about it, but I do remember that there were no straight thieves in my AD&D games. All my fellow players multi-classed their thieves, thus leading to the party's clerics, fighters, and mages all trying to see "if that door is really locked".

OSRIC says:

Thieves sneak furtively in the shadowed alleyways of cities, living by their wits. They are often members of the criminal underclass, usually trained by a thieves’ guild in the arts of burglary and stealth. It is not uncommon for a thief to seek out the great rewards that can be gained from the adventuring life, especially when circumstances require lying low for a while.

Most thieves come from the teeming masses of a large city, wherein a thieves’ guild is often the only source of justice and exercises as much power as the city’s legitimate government. Of course, not all thieves are members of a guild. Some are freelancers, evading both the authorities and the guild, living on the edge of the knife. Some are even found working on the side of the law; agents or spies who use their skills in more accepted (though equally shadowy) pursuits.

Sensible adventuring parties will almost always include a thief, for the skills of such a character are invaluable in reaching inaccessible places via climb walls, pick locks, and so on. In addition, dungeons frequently contain traps which must be located and disarmed, and the thief’s cunning and stealth conspire to make him or her very useful in a scouting role.

Thieves in OSRIC are modelled on characters of fiction and legend, particularly characters from the works of Fritz Leiber and Jack Vance. Leiber’s “Lankhmar” series is highly recommended, particularly for its description of the operation of a typical thieves’ guild; but the high-level thief’s ability to read (or misread) magic scrolls is a nod to Vance’s Cugel.

OSRIC's take actually mentions the normal origins of such a character -- from the masses of commoners living in a large city -- and gives examples of variants on the profession different from the stereotypical cutpurse or footpad.

OSRIC also mentions the role of the class outside of combat, and makes allusions to the literary origins (and thus legitimacy) of the class in the game.

Reading Room: Clerics by Retro-clone

Go Aleena! Show him that blunt
weapons are more powerful than
sharp magical missiles!

Similar to what I did for the Fighter Class, I'm reading through various retro-clone descriptions of the Cleric Class in an effort to glean the essence of this particular character class before going to town on it in HERO System 6th Edition.

Basic Fantasy RPG says:

Clerics are those who have devoted themselves to the service of a deity, pantheon or other belief system. Most Clerics spend their time in mundane forms of service such as preaching and ministering in a temple; but there are those who are called to go abroad from the temple and serve their deity in a more direct way, smiting undead monsters and aiding in the battle against evil and chaos. Player character Clerics are assumed to be among the latter group.

Clerics fight about as well as Thieves, but not as well as Fighters. They are hardier than Thieves, at least at lower levels, as they are accustomed to physical labor that the Thief would deftly avoid. Clerics can cast spells of divine nature starting at 2nd level, and they have the power to Turn the Undead, that is, to drive away undead monsters by means of faith alone.

They may wear any armor, but may only use blunt weapons (specifically including warhammer, mace, maul, club, quarterstaff, and sling).

In the Basic Fantasy RPG therefore, the cleric class is envisioned as a certain type of priest -- not one who administers to a given community, but one who is sent out to directly oppose the physical forces (and other such minions) present in the world. It's not clear if the community / temple -bound clerics have the same abilities or can even shift back and forth between the two types.

The ability to turn undead here is based on the cleric's faith, implying that a cleric's faith increases as he/she rises in level.

Labyrinth Lord RPG says:

Humans who become clerics have pledged their lives to serve a deity. To this end, they conduct their lives in a way to further the desires and will of their gods or goddesses. Clerics may use divine energy in the form of spells, which are granted through prayer and worship. The power and number of cleric spells available to a character are determined by level. Clerics are also trained to fight, and they should be thought of not as passive priests but as fighting holy crusaders. If a cleric ever falls from favor, due to violating the beliefs of his god or breaking the rules of his clergy, the god may impose penalties upon the cleric.

Clerics can use any form of armor and weapons except for weapons that have a sharp edge. This eliminates weapons such as swords, axes, and arrows, but not slings, maces, or other blunt items. Strict holy doctrine prevents clerics from using any cutting or impaling weapons.

Clerics have the ability to Turn Undead. The potency of this ability is determined by level. The cleric is able to call upon the name and power of his deity to repel, and even destroy, undead. Turned undead will leave the area by any means they can, and will not attempt to harm or make contact with the cleric.

Here, the cleric is representative of a given deity and not necessarily of a broad pantheon. Again, however, they are differentiated as 'fighting priests' (who are apparently fond of blunt instruments). Labyrinth Lord differs by citing specific penalties for 'violating religious beliefs) as well.

Furthermore, the ability to turn undead is mentioned here as well, but the source of power seems to be the name and power of the deity and not necessarily the cleric's level of faith.

Swords & Wizardry says:

Clerics are armored warrior-priests (or priestesses) who serve the cause of Law or Chaos. Most Clerics have a patron deity or serve a particular religion. As a Cleric, you are a champion of your faith and moral alignment. You might be a shining knight of the faith, an exorcist of demons, or a sinister witchhunter. Because most of a Cleric’s abilities are oriented toward healing and protecting, Clerics tend to play a support role during combat: backing up the front line, but able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the party’s Fighters if the need arises—at least for a while...Clerics may not be of neutral alignment unless the Referee rules otherwise.

Swords & Wizardry takes a slighly different view on the cleric, making him/her not so much a member of the clergy but a roving champion of the faith -- especially since one of the stated examples is one such 'shining knight'.

It also reinforces the role of the cleric in combat as a healer, and a secondary fighter. This is interesting as the prior two descriptions tend to focus on the broader ability to ask for spells from their patron diety.

OSRIC says:

Clerics are moral and spiritual leaders, warriors of faith who preach the will of the gods, interpret omens and portents, and strike down the evil or unfaithful. Most clerics have a patron deity, but some are champions of a particular moral alignment, venerating all deities of that alignment in addition to a patron deity, and yet others are the servants of a particular pantheon of deities. In a world of swords and sorcery, force of arms often speaks louder than moral suasion, and clerics are trained to do battle against the enemies of their gods. Some clerics are fanatics, zealously seeking new converts or hunting heretics. Others seem almost burdened by an inconvenient or even oppressive relationship with the divine forces. Evil clerics—sinister villains who prey upon fear and jealousy—sow discord in the world and gather converts for their demonic masters.

Clerics play an important support role for an adventuring party. Most clerical spells are oriented toward healing, strengthening, and defending others. However, when the need arises the cleric is fully capable of taking a place in the line of battle and smiting down infidels and foes. Clerics employ their holy symbols rather than spell books as a focus for their meditation.

OSRIC also paints a broader view of the cleric -- a preacher, an interpreter of omens, and a righteous hand of the faith. It also is more generous in the definition of the cause that the cleric serves -- even allowing for a cleric to serve a given alignment. OSRIC does reiterate the healing role of the priest, and is the only one to specifically cite in the character description something necessary to gain the spells: the holy symbols they carry.

Consolidated Character Class Guideline Essences:

It would appear that based on what has been written, the Cleric is a secondary fighter (perhaps equal to the Thief in combat skill, or more) with the ability to heal (important in combat) and the ability to gain clerical spells. They are also capable of turning undead creatures -- suggesting that perhaps plagues and infestatons of these undead are not as rare as they should be -- using either their own faith or the authority granted them by their position.

Reading Room: Fighters by Retro-clone

In trying to get a good grasp of the different type of core classes for my setting project in HERO 6th, I've been reading up on the classes from various retro-clones that I have access to. So first up: fighter.

Basic Fantasy RPG says:

Fighters include soldiers, guardsmen, barbarian warriors, and anyone else for whom fighting is a way of life. They train in combat, and they generally approach problems head on, weapon drawn.

Not surprisingly, Fighters are best at fighting of all the classes. They are also the hardiest, able to take more punishment than any other class. Although they are not skilled in the ways of magic, Fighters can nonetheless use many magic items, including but not limited to magical weapons and armor.

Well, that's pretty clear. I particularly like the second paragraph which gives me an idea of how the standard template should be like in comparison with the other character classes.

Labyrinth Lord says:

Fighters, as their name implies, are exclusively trained in the arts of combat and war. They are specialists at dealing physical blows. Unlike other classes, fighters are particularly burdened in a group of adventurers because they are tougher and must take the lead to defend others. Fighters can use any weapons and armor.

Shorter than Basic Fantasy RPG, and talks about familiarities with all weapons and armor, and makes a distinction about the ability to 'deal physical blows'. Also there's an emphasis on the role of fighters in a party as defenders due to their toughness. However, there's a suggestion of professionalism here as well, with a word choice of 'exclusively trained' which differentiates them from talented fighters or dangerous barbarians.

Swords & Wizardry says:

Fighters are warriors, trained in battle and in the use of armor and weapons. Perhaps you are a ferocious Viking raider, a roaming samurai, a dashing swashbuckler, a deadly swordswoman, or a chivalrous knight. Whatever type of Fighter you choose to play, you will probably end up on the front lines of your adventuring party—going toe-to-toe with dragons, goblins, and evil cultists, hacking your way through them and taking the brunt of their attacks. The Fighter character is best-equipped of all the character classes to dish out damage and absorb it, too. Clerics heal and Magic-Users cast spells, but the swordplay and archery are generally up to you. You are going to serve as the party’s sword and shield, protecting the weaker party members and taking down the enemies before you.

Verbose in description, it also gives various cultural incarnation of the fighter class. Like LL it talks about the fighter's role in the party, and identifies the strengths of the class in comparison to other character classes.

OSRIC says:

Fighters are trained in the use of weapons and armour, usually beginning their adventuring careers after a stint of training as a town guardsman, soldier, man-at-arms, bandit, pirate, or mercenary.

Fighters are the backbone of an adventuring party; without them to hold the line, the other members of the party will be overrun before they can bring their own skills to bear. Fighters are the most powerful characters in melee or missile combat, whether on offence or defence. Together with the ranger and paladin, they have the most hit points, and their ability to survive the most brutal battles is therefore unrivalled.

They also have the best chance “to hit” of all the classes, particularly at higher level. They may use any kind of armour, shield, or weapon.

I rather like how it was written. It gave the breadth of roles covered by the character class, identified the role played by the character class in parties, and identifies the combat strengths of the character class when compared to the others.

Consolidated Character Class Guidelines:

Not suprisingly, a Fighter is consistently defined as someone capable of fighting well -- skilled with all weapons and armor, tough in a fight, and so on. Although, in terms of progression, the Underdark Gazette has an interesting view on fighter level progression.

It's not always clear whether the combat ability is purely due to training, or perhaps due to natural skill or talent or curse -- the descriptions differ slightly here. What does matter is that in face-to-face melee combat, the fighter is head and shoulder above all other classes.

Working Miracles -- A Different Take On Clerics in Labyrinth Lord

St. Pio, also known as Padre Pio, portrayed
in a non-realist manner, but also without
the typical halo. Maybe before he was canonized?

Inspired by this post in Blood of Prokopius, I decided to write down my thoughts on clerics and their 'spells'.

A change in terminology

I'd prefer to that the term 'miracle' be used instead of 'spells'. It's more of a flavor thing, but I think it's important. Rituals and sacraments can be performed by any priest of the faith (with the proper spiritual effect taking place invisibly), but the true working of miracles that create changes in the world come from blessed miracle workers.

However, not all the clerical 'miracles' can truly be considered miraculous (tough crowd!), especially the lower level ones.

Experience levels -- increasing faith and authority

A different way to think about clerics is to consider what experience and experience levels mean to them. For fighters, you could argue that they grow in martial prowess. For mages, you could argue that constant use of their intelligence and spell-casting abilities allows them to refine their arcane techniques.

What about clerics? I'd argue that for most games it's an increase in faith -- with increased faith, they are able to effect miracles of greater impact in the world. Without it, they cannot ask for even the simplest of miracles. But it's not just that! If we follow an organized religion, it can be argued that faith must be backed up by authority -- without the centralized body recognizing the cleric as having the ability to call upon the greater miracles, all that faith cannot be harnessed.

Punishment and atonement

With Faith & Authority as two critical elements for the ability to work miracles, the wily DM can come up with variants on the following themes as to how a loss in the ability to work miracles can arise:

• the cleric, who constantly breaks the strictures of his/her faith, questions the nature of his abilities and thus suffers a loss of faith;
• the cleric, who has blatantly broken laws that his/her faith hold sacred BUT believes that his deity will approve anyway, can find their authority stripped from them. 

A bellcurve for d20

The thought just struck me: what would the impact of using alternative dice rolling have on To-Hit Rolls in D&D / Labyrinth Lord / Castles & Crusades?

The dice mechanic I'm looking at to generate a bell curve for the roll wouldn't be a 3d6, but the JAGS use of four modified d6s rolling 0 to 5.

The bellcurve looks like this (courtesy of anydice.com)

Now I have to figure out what that means in terms of hitting Armor Classes (Ascending or Descending).

Plague Zombie research

Of course, I believe this is one of the EABA
books I don't own yet. This, and a few others.

I recently finished Max Brooks's "World War Z", and all throughout I was thinking about what an RPG campaign would be like dealing with that kind of situation.

Naturally, I didn't think of a modern day setting, but a traditional fantasy setting outbreak of these kinds of plague zombies and a Fading Suns husk outbreak.

So far, my research has netted the two following links:

• http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Zombie_Rules_(D20_Modern_Variant_Rule)
• http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/188172-zombie-plagues-your-campaign-setting.html

And I of course remember the EABA setting Dark Millenium. Here's a short blurb from it:

As Europe entered the 11th century, millennial fever became all too real. On the thousandth anniversary of the death of the Son, evil opened a doorway into the world, and all Hell literally broke loose.

The first seal in the Revelations of St. John has been broken, but not in the way people thought. The dead have risen, but they are hungry for the flesh of the living!

It all starts with the plague zombies of course, and how to stat them out for RPGs like Labyrinth Lord, Castles & Crusades, and Fading Suns.

Next, you have to deal with rules that handle things like called shots ("shoot them in the head!"), the fact that any portion of the body still connected to a still-function brain and brainstem will still move ("erm, that half-zombie's still crawling towards us..."), issues about liquid to liquid transference causing infections ("did you, or did you not get some of that zombie muck on your open cuts and wounds?"), and the incubation and transformation of the infected into more zombies.

And then you deal with possible cures in the setting, and their limitations. Does cure disease work? Up until what point will it stop working? In an outbreak, must all clerics use up their cure disease slots? Can clerics turn plague zombies, and if so, are they considered the equivalent of regular zombies? Will a fireball really destroy all zombies in a given area, and if not, how do you determine which ones had their brains fried, and which ones are still marchin' on?

Retroclone build: Encantadians as adventurers -- Ability Scores!

Decided to try the builds in both Labyrinth Lord and Castles & Crusades for the hell of it.

The Labyrinth Lord method I chose was the "roll 5 sets of complete stats and pick one set" for each character. And here's what I got:

            STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
Alena        14  12  13  12  10  17    thief
Amihan       12   9  15   9  13  15    fighter
Pirena       15  10  11  13   8  13    magic-user
Danaya       12  12  13  10  15  16    cleric

Of course, since I couldn't reorder the stats, I compromised by choosing the best stat combos for each classed I'd selected for each character prior. Choosing the cleric was easy -- just find the highest Wisdom. And choosing the thief becomes easy as well -- the only other high Dexterity went to the cleric. But the magic-user and the fighter are problematic: one set of stats has the highest Strength and the highest Intelligence of all! In the end, I figured that the high Intelligence is more critical to the magic-user and the Str 12 Con 15 combo would be acceptable for a fighter.

Alena
Class: Thief

Amihan
Class: Fighter

Danaya
Class: Cleric

Pirena
Class: Magic-User

Clerics and the common folk in Labyrinth Lord

Coming from a predominantly Roman Catholic country, I really do see a lot of homes with home altars -- some little corner of the house (sometimes in the living room, or on a staircase landing, or in a bedroom, or even right beside the entrance to the home). In one subdivision, every south east corner block had a miniature grotto dedicated to the Virgin Mary. And there are annual processions, usually during Holy Week, when traffic in different barangays are stopped by a winding trail of people following a raised statue of a saint or (if lucky) some relic with songs, prayers, and...

... it made me think about the role of clerics in D&D / Labyrinth Lord / Castles & Crusades.

Now while official doctrine says that these things aren't holy themselves and don't have mystical powers (except perhaps the relics?) and only serve to stir up the faith of the faithful, the fact is a lot of folks look to these things like magic items that ward off evil. I mean, why else do some folks follow Feng Shui and have their houses blessed by a priest?

I took a quick look at several spells from Labyrinth Lord that might deal with a concern that common folk might have -- keeping their homes and families and neighborhoods safe from evil while they went about their daily lives! Here they are:

Protection from Evil (1st level Clerical Spell, 12 turn duration)

Okay, now this helps protect the target of the spell from attacks of evil creatures by giving bonuses to Armor Class and to Saving Throws. Nothing to scoff at, espeically if you're a poor commoner without the benefit of decent saving throw rolls from racial, class, or level bonuses.

But that's not all! It also prevents you from being touched by summoned or created creatures (including natural weapon attacks). Now, missile attacks aren't stopped, and the protection is voided if the protected one attacks the creature or tries to use it to back the creature away.

Unfortunately it has a very short duration, and doesn't seem applicable to effects that I want the rituals and altars to have.

Protection from Evil 10' Radius (4th level Clerical Spell, 12 Turn duration)

Same as above, except that it has an area effect radius of 10 feet (so that's 20 feet in diameter centered on the target of the spell.

Dispel Evil (5th level Clerical Spell, 1 turn duration)

Affects all undead or enchanted creatures within 30 feet of the caster -- they gotta make a saving throw or be destroyed. If they make it, they gotta run.

Awesome, but ridiculously short effectivity. I'm thinking more of something like this:

Ward Threshold from Evil (5th level Clerical Spell, 1 day duration - renewable)
Same as Protection from Evil, except that it protects all entrances, exits, and surfaces of a home that is inhabited. That protection is voided if the undead or enchanted creatures are invited or brought in on purpose or under false pretenses. It is renewed by any true resident of the home who touches the focus of the warding (a religious symbol on a door, or the home altar) and says a short prayer to the deity or immortal whose protection was invoked in the first place.

Dispel Evil from Town (6th level Clerical Spell, 1 turn duration)
Same as  Dispel Evil, except that it requires at least two other clerics casting the normal Dispel Evil spell, and requires the constant prayers of true residents of the town as a procession is led through the main streets of the town. The spell does not take effect until after the procession is completed (usually 1 hour). Trusted warriors and adventurers have been hired to guard the clerics during this delicate time, though many often forgo payment for the protection of friends and family in the town.

Shifting to Castles & Crusades

Or am I?

Actually, I did like the Labyrinth Lord approach -- but at some point I realized I preferred ascending Armor Class rules and a more unified resolution approach (fie on thee percentile skills for thieves). At the same time, I'm not much for the separation of races and classes in Castles & Crusades and prefer the more simplistic race is class approach especially for an online Play-by-Post game which I plan on using it for. But we'll see if that's more trouble than it's worth.

My original Play-by-Post game was blown out of the water by a sudden increase in workload and responsibility last year. I plan to return to it this month, but I also hope to make combats run themselves (sorta) by posting the NPCs and PCs in a single table that shows all the ACs stats and initiatives in one table and just have people declare and roll dice and call their successes or failures as they fall.

As for setting -- still my version of Mystara. We'll see if we keep them in the same dungeon or flash forward a few days into a fresh start. I guess it depends on how many original players jump back on.

For now, I plan on 'converting' each of the characters and see where that brings me.

And the Characters Trickle In

As the Labyrinth Lord characters (partially built -- ranging from character concept stage to "I've done everything except the equipment list" stage), trickle in for my Play-by-post game, my thoughts begin to split along two paths: the actual dungeon adventure and the PCs themselves.

Actual dungeon adventure - While I'm really tempted to inflict either Michael Curtis's Stonehell Dungeon or James Edward Raggi IV's Death Frost Doom on the players, I haven't bought either (yet), and I'm on a strict budget for the next couple of months.

Furthermore, my old D&D modules are all boxed up, leaving only stuff from Goodman Game's Dungeon Crawl Classics to experiment with on my players. I've already selected one, and we'll see how it challenges the players.

If they read it, that's okay as long as they don't metagame or kill the fun for the others. I mean, it's kinda cheating yourself, right? And if some of them do use player knowledge sneakily -- I guess that's part of the old school experience right?

The PCs themselves - So far one player wants to be a fighter or a thief, while two players have already rolled up Elves. For purposes of role-playing, I may want to find more material on the elves of Karameikos so that they can get a handle on what elves have to deal with in this setting.

Hope someone gives some thought to a cleric -- PC or NPC. Healing can be real important on these dungeon crawls.