[A to Z April] F is for Fel Column (item)

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

In the city of Orcweepmere there is a street known as the Way of Gods. Similar streets exist in many cities: it is a place where every conceivable religion--practiced or forgotten--maintains a place of worship. The entrances to and exits from the Way of Gods are always in the same place; however, the distances between the entrances and exits vary from day to day and from traveler to traveler. If asked how big is the Way of Gods, those who know the best invariably answer, “As big as it needs to be.”

In one secluded corner is a square, or town commons. Various temples and places of worship dedicated to minor, forgotten deities fill the buildings surrounding the square. In the center of the square sits a column known as the Fel Column.

The column is 113 feet tall; it is 11 feet wide at the rounded tip and 13 feet wide at the base. Mages and scholars make a great deal out of these numbers; those who best understand divine power understand that these numbers have incredible unholy power. Despite its great height and relative narrowness, the column has no surrounding structure or visible support at the base; it is a free-standing column.

A free-standing column of bile.

The column is a liquid in a constant state of movement, fluid swirling and spinning, seemingly spiraling ever upwards towards the top. It never splashes or sprays outside of the column, even in the strongest winds or tempests. It never varies in size or shape. It never varies in color, it is an unearthly greenish-yellow. No one knows from whence it came or exactly when it first appeared. Everyone who claims to know cites a different date. No one knows what it represents, whether it is a tribute to a deity or a deific being itself.

One thing is certain, however: the bile is incredibly toxic; any who come in contact with the column suffer both physical damage and physical weakness. (In game terms, any creature that touches the Fel Column instantly suffers 1d2 points of permanent CON damage and 1d2 points of permanent CHA damage. Because of the nature of the fluid, there is no save and the damage cannot be cured, reversed, or restored by any means short of divine intercession by means of a miracle spell.) Even creatures who are resistant to or immune from the effects of acid receive damage from the Fel Column.

In addition, the smell which emanates from the Fel Column is disgusting--overwhelmingly so. The stench causes any living creature that comes within 10 feet of the Column to make a Fortitude save (DC 15, Charisma based). Failure causes the creature to be sickened for 2d6 minutes. If the creature is successful with his save, he cannot be affected again by the odor for 24 hours. The sickened effect can be removed by either a delay poison or neutralize poison spell. If the creature is immune to poison, it is unaffected by the smell; creatures who are resistant to poison receive all normal saving throw bonuses.

If any creature attempts to bottle or store the bile or remove any portion of the fluid from the column, in addition to the creature taking the aforementioned damage from both the acid and the smell (as applicable), the bile instantly becomes inert and harmless upon removal from the column.


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Previous "F"s:
2014: F is for Flying Frost (spell)
2013: F is for Frost Wound Patch (locale)
2012: F is for Flesh Alliance (spell)
2011: F is for Found Items

Random Table: Picking

In celebration and honor of having my first set of Zocchi dice, I've created my first d2 and d5 tables, for use, obviously, with my new d2 and d5.

Plus, I need to pay a little Joesky tax. OK, a LOT of Joesky tax. Call this a down-payment on my tax payment plan.

Your characters come up against an NPC. He's a bumpkin and a character. You need a little bit more color...flavor...to his description. You're wracked with indecision. I have you covered.

NPC Nose Picking Table 1: Nostril

d2 Roll	Nostril
1	Left
2	Right

NPC Nose Picking Table 2: Hand

d2 Roll	Hand Used
1	Left
2	Right

NPC Nose Picking Table 3: Finger

d5 Roll	Finger Used
1	Thumb
2	Ring Finger
3	Forefinger
4	Middle Finger
5	Pinkie

You're welcome.

I'm All For Freedom of Speech, But...

I noticed this Facebook issue a couple of days ago and reported it to Facebook. Tracy Hickman let me know about it again yesterday and says it more eloquently than I could. Tracy's notice as follows:

5 STEPS TO IMPROVING THE WORLD 30 SECONDS:
(1) Go to this DISGUSTING facebook page and IGNORE its contents.
(2) Click on the 'gear' next to message and select 'Block/Report'/'Submit a Report' / 'Report Gary's Account'
(3) Select 'This timeline is pretending to be someone I know' / 'Pretending to be a celebrity'
(4) Type 'E. Gary Gygax' in the field.
(5) Click 'submit report.'

I honor and respect the man I thought of as my friend -- the man who helped us all remember how to play. You can honor and respect his memory, too, by crushing this TASTELESS IDENTITY THEFT.

I'll throw in my recommendation to do this as well. I'm all for freedom of speech and allowing a person to be as big of a jerk as he wants to be. However, I'll throw this one under the heading of an "inciting to riot" exception to that right. I don't think the guy realizes that there are a lot of people out there who love and/or respect Gary, and there's a lot of those that could put a serious hurt on him for his words. Y'know, if they were incited to riot against him. For his words. Or something.