[Inktober 2016] Day 7—The Lost Caravel of One-Eyed Wilhelm

The Lost Caravel of One-Eyed Wilhelm

(Key word: lost)

The notorious One-Eyed Wilhelm established a hideout for his pirate crew inside a seaside cave. Several living quarters, a mess, and an animal pen comprise this vile settlement, nestled against a cliff.

The cave is deep, and just large enough to navigate the caravel.

One-Eyed Wilhelm and his crew returned to port, the ship heavily laden with treasure of all types, both mundane and magical. No sooner had they anchored, an earthquake struck. The quake brought down enough of the cliffside to completely seal this cavern. Fifty years have since passed; if anything yet moves on the boat or shore, it is undead.

[Mini Map Monday] The Sepulcher of Craemal the Decayed

I had some time on my hands today, plus a stack of 3" x 5" gridded cards, and a couple of pens, so I decided to jot down a quick off-the-cuff mini map. This has the distinction of being my first attempt at "Dysonizing" a map with cross-hatching.

The map is a bit linear, I'll admit, but I think it makes sense as a sepulcher. I imagine Craemal the Decayed as a low- to moderate-level lich. I also imagine that directly below the large mausoleum there's a room that matches the dimensions and is Craemal's workroom/library. The workroom/library would be accessed through Craemal's sarcophagus. There is a 200' shaft, perfectly smooth, that leads downward to a series of spikes set into the floor of his workroom/library. An illusory panel in the sarcophagus hides the shaft from detection...until it's too late.

In addition to the basic map, I have a numbered version as well as a gridded version. If you're interested in me posting up links to either of these maps, let me know via comments and I'll throw up a link.

As always, feel free to use my map in your home games. You can rename it, modify it, stock it, or abuse it in any manner legal in your particular jurisdiction. If you do use it, all I ask is that you let me know and tell me about it afterwards.

[A to Z April] L is for Leprous Ghoul (creature)

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

The term “Leprous Ghoul” is really a double misnomer: the creature is more closely akin to a ghast than a ghoul, and the disease it carries and transmits is not true leprosy. The creature appears to be a ghoul, or ghast, but in a greatly advanced state of decomposition. The typical leprous ghoul will be missing toes, fingers, ears, and nose, and likely has gaping, seeping wounds variously around its body.

The leprous ghoul covers itself in torn wrappings and ragged cloth in a mockery of life and in an attempt to hide the hideous scabs and wounds. The cloth is stained with indescribable fluids. This, plus the ghoul's usual diet add to a sickening stench which affects all those who come near to the creature.

The leprous ghoul is fast, vicious, and cunning. They live only to eat and spread their namesake disease, leprousy (so spelled to distinguish it from the traditional disease, leprosy, with which it shares little true similarity.)

While the leprous ghoul does not transmit ghoul fever, it uses both its bite and claw attacks to transmit its leprousy, which advances quickly after infection. After infection, a creature will rapidly lose parts of its body: fingers, toes, nose, ears, hair, etc., continuing to lose parts and develop gaping, weeping sores until finally succumbing to the disease and dying. Any creature that dies as a result of leprousy becomes a leprous ghoul and rises within 24 hours after death.

Leprous GhoulCR6

XP 2400

CE Medium humanoid

Init +4 Senses Darkvision 60'; Listen +4; Spot +11
Aura Stench DC(16)

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 42 (6d12+3)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +7
Turn Resistance 4

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.
Melee Bite +7 (1d8+4)
Full Attack Bite +7 (1d8+4) and 2 claws +5 (1d4+2 plus paralysis and leprousy)
Special Attacks Leprousy, paralysis, stench
Special Qualities Darkvision 60', undead traits, +4 turn resistance
Space 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.

STATISTICS

Str 19, Dex 19, Con 0, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk 3; Grapple 7
Feats: Alertness, Great Fortitude, Multiattack, Toughness
Skills: Balance 8, Climb 9, Hide 9, Listen 4, Move Silently 9, Spot 11
Languages Same as base creature (usually Common)
Environment Any
Organization Solitary, gang (2-4), or pack (4-10)
Treasure Standard
Advancement 9-12 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment --

Stench: as Ghoul stench
Paralysis: as Ghoul paralysis
Leprousy: as Mummy Rot, with the following changes: damage is 1d3 Con and 1d3 Cha after 1 minute incubation, and once every hour afterwards until healed or creature dies.

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Previous "L"s:
2014: L is for Lell (npc)
2013: L is for Ladder, Nature's (spell)
2012: L is for Lung Leech Swarm (creature)
2011: L is for Lehman Caves

[game report] Near-TPK

Game night tonight. 3.5 edition.

My 19th-level dwarven rogue and his companions found themselves trapped in a castle's inner room, one exit. Resurrected (and rescued) a cloud giant high priest whose skeleton we found shackled to the wall. However, we found ourselves facing a vampire (storm giant), 3 spectres (giants), 4 mummies (giants), and several other undead giants. Led from afar by a lich giant. We put ourselves under a shaped wall of force, but there was just enough space for the vampire to make his way through in cloud-form.

My character has nothing that could hit him as he was, so I spent most of the night readying an action. If I could get a shot at a physical attack, I could unleash some serious damage with my twin hand-axes.

The vampire finally re-manifested...but outside the dome. Our key tactical plan morphed: I would be teleported out from under our "dome of force" and unleash everything I had on him. Then we'd be teleported out of the castle. He was at near-full strength; I wasn't. But I was the only one that could touch him in melee at that point. So I took a deep breath; the sound of the All-Father's hammer was ringing through my mind.

Song lyrics came to mind:

I wake up in the mornin'
And I raise my weary head
I got an old coat for a pillow
And the earth was last night's bed
I don't know where I'm goin'
Only God knows where I've been
I'm a devil on the run
A six gun lover
A candle in the wind, yeah

You're brought into this world
But they say you're born in sin
Well at least they've given me something
I didn't have to steal or have to win
Well, they tell me that I'm wanted
Yeah I'm a wanted man
I'm colt in your stable
I'm what Cain was to Able
Mister catch me if you can

I'm goin' down in a blaze of glory
(Down)
Take me now but know the truth
I'm goin' down in a blaze of glory
(Down)
Lord I never drew first
But I drew first blood
I'm no one's son.
Call me young gun

....

Bon Jovi - Blaze Of Glory

I was ready to unleash, we were all ready to go. I was ready for the supreme sacrifice. The elf was ready to teleport us...and it fizzled. We were locked in place by a counter-spell.

OOPS.

That's when we saw TPK coming on the horizon. The only way out was to dispel the force wall and fight our way through to the door.

And THAT was when our other spell-caster remembered he had a miracle spell readied and a (hopefully) willing deity. One of the party cast a desperation destruction on the vampire--his last...which finally succeeded (try #3). That's what we wanted to accomplish before fleeing anyway--the vampire's dereat--so miracle was cast--successfully--and we were then able to teleport back to the cloud giant city from whence we set out.

Much rejoicing for our return, made even more special by returning the high priest back to his home. (Can you say XP and story points out the wazoo?)

One other high point: the shackled skeletal giant we found? Throw-away detail. DM had to quickly stat up an NPC to aid us. Our group LOVES to throw wrenches in the DMs works like this.

[A to Z April] U is for Undyrglade (item)

The origins of this hammer are lost to the mists of time.

When wielded in battle, Undyrglade appears to be a +2 hammer. However, if electricity is applied to the hammer, its true, cursed nature reveals itself to an especially watchful character. (DC 20 spot/perception check.)

On the round immediately following the application of electricity to the hammer (from any source), if Undyrglade lands a successful melee attack, 1d4 ghosts will appear (2d4 on a successful critical hit). Each spirit that appears does so within a 10'-foot radius from the wielder of Undyrglade. Each of these spirits takes the form of a character that was slain by Undyrglade. It is unclear whether the ghosts are the actual spirits of the creatures or simply spirits taking the form of those creatures.

The spirits will usually move to attack (eventually) any creature that is opposing Undyrglade’s wielder. However, there is a 25% chance that any spirit will immediately attack the wielder himself. These spirits act as ghosts in every way; however, attempts to communicate with these spirits (such as with speak with dead or similar spells will fail.


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Previous "U"s:
2013: U is for Ulah of Kaitus (npc)
2012: U is for Upper Snarl (locale)
2011: U is for Urosh, Temple of (map)

[A to Z April] R is for Read This Book!!

While flat on my back this weekend from an apparent case of either Con Crud or Food Allergy Attack, I read a great book that I picked up from a friend at Comic Con last week. I've had the occasion over the past few years at the Life, the Universe, and Everything (LTUE) writing symposium to become friends with author Dr. Michael Collings and his son, Michaelbrent Collings. I'd not had the available shekels to pick up one of Michaelbrent's books until this past week, when I dropped a few bucks and picked up the omnibus edition of his Colony series. (This contains the first three in the series, with #4 just out a few months ago.)

What grabbed me first was his father, who's written countless scholarly papers on horror and horror authors, telling me that "He lets you breathe around Chapter Two, and then not again until the last page." While you would likely expect a father to say positive things about a son's work, Dr. Collings is honest and down-to-earth, so I grabbed at it. The back-copy was what sold it to me, though.

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ZOMBIES. In under 10 minutes, 99.9% of the world's population will be dead… or changed. Conversion is instant. Headshots just make them angry. And they’re getting smarter.





For whatever reason--"Call it Fate. Call it Luck. Call it Karma." (with thanks to Dr. Venckman)--this little blurb got my adrenaline running. Once I picked up the book, I had it done in about 24 hours. It was unrelenting. Not just in the way every zombie story/movie is unrelenting, but these are zombies that LEARN. That can move in three dimensions to chase you.

Definitely a must-read. I'd recommend it to you all. You can get a copy at Amazon at the link above.


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Previous "R"s:
2013: R is for Rest
2012: R is for Rage Hawk (monster)
2011: R is for Real Life

Level Advancement and the Brain Ghoul (new monster)

O.K. I just can't seem to get the hang of this level advancement thing. A little over a month ago I missed the Blogger Level Advancement number by five.

Now it appears I've missed it by ten. I'm not sure what sense level advancement at 20 followers and 40 followers makes; 25 and 50 make a lot more sense, at least to me. But then, it's not my table either.

By any count, I've now made it to the illustrious level of "Thinker" so I'll take what I can get, right?

Most of these last twenty-plus followers were thanks to the A to Z April Challenge. It's not the only reason to participate in the Challenge each year, but it sure doesn't hurt.

So, a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to all my current followers, and an invitiation to any lurkers out there to follow as well. Without you, this blog is nothing more than a little ego-stroke. It's nice to know think believe that my thoughts have an effect out there in the gaming world, if even for a bit of amusement.


Now for my Joesky tax: The Brain Ghoul.

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Brain Ghoul

Tiny Undead (medium parent creature)
Hit Dice: 2d12 (13 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: fly 40 ft. (perfect)
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 size), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-11 (+5 when attached)
Attack: Sting +4 melee (1d6) (attach)
Full Attack: Sting +4 melee (1d6) (attach)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Acid, Constrict 1d3+4, Improved Grab
Special Qualities: Blindsense, Undead traits
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +1
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 14, Con 8, Int 8, Wis 8, Chr 2
Skills: Escape Artist 10; Intimidate 5; Move Silently 15
Feats: Improved Initiative
Environment: Any temperate
Organization: Solitary
Advancement: 3-4 HD (Small (Large parent)); 6-9 HD (Medium (Huge parent))

CR 2

The brain ghoul is nothing more than a floating brain with an attached three-foot-long spinal column. The base of the spinal column has been transformed, however, into a wicked spike, with which the brain ghoul makes its initial attack. Acid drips from the brain itself.

Combat
A brain ghoul’s initial attack is made by landing on a victim and plunging its spike into the flesh. It will then wrap the spinal column around the victim’s neck and body to constrict and suffocate the creature while also attempting to pin its arms to its sides. The brain portion then settles upon the victim’s head, relying on its acid attack to eat through the skull of the victim and absorb the victim’s cranial fluids. Any creature killed by a brain ghoul’s acid attack will have its own brain become a brain ghoul within 1d4 hours after death.

A brain ghoul will target all creatures up to one size category larger than its parent creature.

Attach (Ex)
If a brain ghoul’s spike attack is successful, it uses the remainder of the spinal column to wrap around the victim’s neck and body. An attached brain ghoul is effectively grappling its prey and can then begin to constrict. A brain ghoul has a +12 racial bonus on grapple checks (already calculated into the Base Attack / Grapple entry above). An attached brain ghoul can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached brain ghoul through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the brain ghoul.

Acid (Ex)
A brain ghoul secretes an acid that dissolves organic material and metal quickly, but does not affect stone. Any constrict attack automatically deals 1d6 acid damage, and the opponent’s armor and clothing dissolve and become useless immediately unless they succeed on a DC 13 Reflex save. A metal or wooden weapon that strikes a brain ghoul also dissolves immediately unless it succeeds on a DC 13 reflex save. The save DCs are Constitution-based.

The brain ghoul’s acidic touch deals 12 points of damage per round to wooden or metal objects, but the brain ghoul must remain in contact with the object for 1 full round to deal this damage.

Improved Grab (Ex)
To use this ability, a brain ghoul must hit with its spike attack. It can then begin its grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. Once the grapple has been established it can begin to constrict.

Game Night

It's game night tonight and one of my buddies took over the DM screen for the third part of a long-term off-and-on campaign.

Our 3.5/Pathfinder home rules are serving up some battle-damage goodness for our characters tonight. We recently adopted some modified Pathfinder "called shot" rules and walked right into a situation where we could put them into play.

But first, a bit about the new table we have. Our regular game is hosted at a specially-built game room at one of the other guy's homes. We've been playing there on a regular basis for several years surrounding an old dining room table. We've eschewed battle mats in favor of a digital projector mounted on the ceiling shining downward onto the table. The DM projects the map through that onto the table. It's worked well, but the resolution hasn't been the greatest.

Two weeks ago the projector died.

Enter the Mother of Invention. Our current DM donated an old dining room table with removable leaves. We kicked in for a 40" LCD TV which the host then mounted inside the table. A piece of plexiglass on top, the plug into the DM's laptop, and VOILA: instant electronic battle mat. The table is still under construction, with some amenities and niceties being added, but it works for tonight. Pictures forthcoming once the final touches have been made.

So: Called shots. In our party, we have a Dwarven Sonnlinor (a modified specialty priest from 2E house-ruled into 3.x), a Dwarven Knight, a Human Warmage, and a Centaur Ranger.

We entered a room with an undead beholder, a devourer, and some other lesser baddies. All of our beefing-up spells went bye-bye as we climbed up the stairs and entered the beholder's anti-magic ray. My character, the Sonnlinor, leaped on the centaur's back, who promptly charged at the beholder. A called shot on the central eye followed by a natural 20 and 74 HP later (with an Undead Bane weapon, using Smite Evil), and the undead beholder lay in soggy pieces around the room. This was followed by a natural 20 on a ray attack from the Warmage and the devourer was disintegrated. Our Knight then also rolled a natural 20.

I followed that up a few rounds later with a natural 20 on a Shadow.

We're calling it the Blessing of the New Television. Three natural 20s in a row. The DM is calling it a "curse" for some odd reason. The DM, of course, deflated our celebration by reminding us that he could now use the "called shot" against us in the future.

Party pooper.

[OSR Challenge] Dank As A Ditch

Dank As A Ditch: A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! 3.5 Edition adventure set in a Dwarven Stronghold, but easily dropped into any stronghold or similar structure. (With apologies to Theodore Roethke and his ‘Root Cellar.’)

Get Ready:

• Something is wrong in the stronghold’s storage room; dwarves go to the cellar and do not come out. The adventurers boldly volunteer to root out whatever is down there...for a price, of course.