RSA: Snake Charm

While a fairly low-level spell, I don't see this one getting a lot of table time. Largely, I think, because it has a pretty narrow focus and the cleric would probably want to know in advance that it would be useful before preparing it.

Snake Charm (2nd level Clerical Spell, from Cook)

Range: 60'
Duration: Special

The cleric can charm 1HD worth of snakes per level. Given that the biggest "normal" snake in the books has 5HD (Rock Python), and the cleric needs to be at least 3rd to cast the spell, chances are he can deal with at least one reptile. The description doesn't specify whether the snakes get a saving throw vs the spell, but my assumption is that they would.

What's interesting is the nature of the "charm." The snakes won't do the cleric's bidding, they just rise up and sway, like in the movies.

Hostile (attacking) snakes will only sway for 1d4+1 rounds. Neutral ones will be "charmed" for up to 5 turns. Plenty of time to get past a nasty save or die situation.

RMA: Insect Swarm

One of the neat things about Basic/Expert D&D is the compactness of the rules and how much material they actual contain. This entry in the basic book is a good example of that. What could be a complex and unwieldy series of entries in the monsters section is distilled to one, easily re skinned, listing.

Insect Swarm (from Moldvay)
AC: 7
HD: (2-4)
Move: 30' (10')
    Fly  60' (20')
Att: 1 swarm
Dmg: 2 pts
No. App: 1 swarm (1-3 swarms)
Save: Normal Man
Morale: 11
AL: N
TT: Nil

So, stat-wise, other than a high morale score it's pretty unimpressive. Of course, that's not the point of the "creature." It's role is to represent one of the more mundane threats in the rules. It gives the DM a handy tool for representing any horde of tiny bitey/sting-y things.

As the book states, "Swarms are not single creatures, but are whole communities of tiny creatures acting together." A swarm might be defending a nest, hungry, or just investigating a curious smell. A normal-sized swarm is 10 x 30', which means more than one PC can be enveloped, and swarms can be larger or appear in greater numbers. Imagine a 30' x 90' area filled with angry bees!

There are a few other things to keep in mind that can make these clouds of critters particularly dangerous.

1) "If a character is within a swarm he or she is automatically hit by the creatures and will take 2 points of damage each round."

Two points doesn't sound like much, but a PC will have a hard time outrunning a flying swarm and a few rounds can seriously mess up a low-level character. Not to mention that unarmored types like magic users take double damage!

2) Running away still means taking a few rounds' worth of damage (albeit halved) as the insects already on the character continue to bite or sting as he swats them away.

3) If you damage the swarm, they will pursue relentlessly. Your best bet is diving in water and submerging yourself.

Now, there are several easy ways to deal with swarms. Fire and smoke are among the easiest. Just swinging a sword won't hurt it, but it will help fend it off somewhat. A sleep spell will knock the whole swarm out, but burning a spell slot to deal with normal bugs seems costly.

Despite not having used these as a challenge in my past games, I hope to spring this one on some hapless adventurers in the not too distant future.

Curious Objects: Wand of Metal Detection

This is one of those very simple magic items, but one that has such an atypical power that it makes me wonder what sorts of interesting uses one could put it to. Like most wands, it carries 2d10 charges and is usable only by MU/Elves. It has a very short description as well.

"This item will point towards any mass of metal weighing 1,000 coins or more if within 20'. The user can detect the type of metal."

 I find it a nice touch that this method of detection involves the wand physically pointing in the metal's direction. I suspect that it was originally imagined as tugging in the user's hand, but I like to picture setting on the floor and letting it spin like a compass needle.

Interestingly, the wand has a very limited range. How often is a hundred pounds of metal within half a dozen paces and you can't already see it? This is highly tailored to dungeon crawling, where the treasure may be behind a secret door or a wall or similar.

Lastly, the user knows the type of metal as well. A thousand coin worth of iron or copper? It might not be worth tracking down. Gold or platinum? That's a different story.

The description also describes the detected metals as "a mass." This could be interpreted to exempt things like a scattering of miscellaneous metal objects like rusted weapons lying about a room or even a man in a suit of plate armor with shield and weapons (and maybe 100 gp or so in a pouch to round it off).

It's a pity thieves can't use the wand, it would be a great tool for a cat burglar searching a room for the hidden loot.