RSA: Speak with Plants

This one appears in nearly every version of D&D that I can think of, yet I have rarely seen it used. Maybe after druids became more of a thing, but as a clerical spell? And a relatively high level one at that (4th)? Not so much. It's not that SwP doesn't have its uses, but it takes up a slot that could be used by things like Neutralize Poison or Cure Serious Wounds. The good news for the spell is that since it's clerical, the caster can trade out for a day if need be without it taking up a fixed spot in a spell book. 

So what exactly does the spell do (or not do)? It has a range of 30' (yards in wilderness) and a duration of 3 turns. It "gives the cleric the power to talk to plants and request simple favors of them." One example the description lists is undergrowth bending out the way to allow a clearer path through. It also allows communication with plantlike creatures (eg Treants).

An interesting caveat is that while a request is automatically received favorably by the plants, they must be able to perform and understand what the cleric is asking. Since the spell's operative verb is "speak" it's fairly obvious that covers the comprehension part of things. I imagine "understand" in this context has more to do with the complexity of the request. 

Beyond the undergrowth example, or translating Treant-ish, I could see this spell being handy for things like quieting threats from shriekers or yellow mold. I know I've already written about fungi vs. plants on this blog, but for simplicity in gameplay let's just consider them equivalent. (If there were a "Speak with Mushroom" spell I might have a different opinion.) One could also use it to more effectively camouflage a party to hide from pursuit or to stage an ambush. It could also be used to wipe out a trail to prevent being tracked. 

I have to say the spell contains a lot of potential for creative uses. I just wish it was lower level to make it less unlikely to see play. The Ring of Plant Control offers similar options to the PCs, but is much more powerful in many ways. Maybe a scroll or potion to introduce the spell into a campaign instead?

Moldvay Musings XVII: DM Information - Scenarios

The first sections of Part 8 in Moldvay (Dungeon Master Information) fascinate me on several levels. While the "B" in "BX" is by its nature basic and tries to keep things simple to let people get their feet wet who might have been new to the game (or running it), this section actually holds a lot of cool stuff that's far from just typical murder-hoboing and ties in to some of my thoughts on a BX setting. Not to mention demonstrating the BX wasn't "the kiddie version" of D&D.

The chapter is broken down into several parts that can walk a tyro DM through creating an adventure and even lay the groundwork for a rich campaign. Let's start by taking a look at the first bit: Choosing a scenario. Moldvay defines a scenario nicely for us in the following passage:

B51:

"A scenario is a background theme or idea which ties the dungeon together. A scenario will help keep a dungeon from becoming a boring repetition of 'open the door, kill the monster, take the treasure.' A good scenario always gives the players a reason for adventuring. The DM should also design a dungeon for the levels of characters who will be playing in it. A good scenario will also give the DM a reason for choosing specific monsters and treasures to put in the dungeon."

The idea seems, well, basic, doesn't it? Remember this was 1981, though. Not everyone implicitly understood this. I love that he spells out that adventure design should have a theme and a rationale and should avoid simple grinds. He neatly sums up monster ecology too by stating one should choose critters appropriate to the scenario.

He then goes on to list several kinds of scenarios. While many of these can be translated into a dungeon crawl (or contain one), it's the different reasons for the adventure in the first place that are the real meat on the bones. The doesn't claim to be exhaustive, but I would be hard-pressed to think of any adventures that don't fall broadly under one or more of these categories.

1. Exploring the Unknown
2. Investigating a Chaotic Outpost
3. Recovering Ruins
4. Destroying an Ancient Evil
5. Visiting a Lost Shrine
6. Fulfilling a Quest
7. Escaping from Enemies
8. Rescuing Prisoners
9. Using a Magic Portal
10. Finding a Lost Race

Now obviously, several of these are pretty standard. The section even gives examples of published adventures that fit some of the categories (B2 is the quintessential investigation of a chaotic outpost), but some of these are ones that I've seen much less often. When was the last time your campaign found a lost race or reclaimed ruins for settlement? That's some good adventure fodder there. You could even combine scenarios. Perhaps the PCs must use a magic portal to find a lost shrine?

The next parts of this section are relatively mundane, but still useful. They cover such issues as the location of the dungeon proper (Is it a cave? A crypt? A castle?), the monsters within, the map itself, and how it's stocked. The random stocking tables aren't always the best way to fill the map, but they can be handy at times.

The final section offers good advice and help with prepping an NPC party ahead of time. You might not need one right away, but like treasure maps, you'll be happy you have one ready instead of having to work one up in the middle of a session. 

Kaag the Hill Giant

Several months ago, I posted an encounter from my then-ongoing BX campaign involving a group of bugbears and an aranea. In it, I mentioned that the spider wanted some giant's blood for an experiment. This is the giant the PCs went after.

Kaag, the Giant of Soot Hill

AC: 3

HD: 8+ (36 hp)

Move: 120' (40')

Att: 1 (rock or spear)

Dmg: 2d6+2/2d8+3

No. App: 1

Save: F8

AL: C

For a hill giant, Kaag is an exceptional example of his breed. He is stronger and smarter than most of his kin. Kaag lives in a large hall set partway into a hillside cave. He has spent a good deal of effort to enlarge the cavern and finish the exterior building. The location is known as Soot Hill because Kaag burned all the trees on and around it to give him a better view of anything approaching. 

Like most hill giants, Kaag can be violent and greedy, but he usually satisfies these cravings by hiring out to local humanoids as an enforcer. He is paid in food (usually livestock or game), drink (barrels of ale), or treasure (he loves gold in particular).

Kaag bears humans no malice, but dislikes being disturbed. He speaks Giant, Chaotic, Orcish, Goblin, and Common. 

When Kaag fights, he can hurl melon-sized rocks with great accuracy up to 100’ (yards outdoors) for 2d6+2 damage. In melee, he wields a huge spear of unusual workmanship*. He is unarmored, but carries a large hide shield.

Kaag’s Treasure

• 3 scrolls: Protection from Lycanthropes, Protection from Elementals, and a Treasure Map (leads to a Ring of Regeneration).
• Sword +1, locate objects (shortsword)*
• 6000 gpv skulls**

The scrolls are useless to Kaag as he can speak several languages, but does not read. They are hung on the wall as decoration. (He finds the colorful inks pretty)

*The sword is too small for him to wield normally, so he has converted it to his spear point. It grants him +1 to hit and counts as a magic weapon for hitting special creatures. He has no idea of its location powers.

**The gold coins have all been melted down. Most of it coats the skulls of various creatures, including people. These are battle trophies of foes Kaag found especially worthy and sit on shelves around the cave. There are 88 skulls of human, demi-human, or humanoid origin. In addition, there are:

• 1 troll skull
• 2 cave bear skulls
• 2 ogre skulls
• 1 stone giant skull
• 1 dire wolf skull
• 1 owlbear skull
• 1 dragon skull (from a young black)

Over the years Kaag has gotten fairly skilled at the process and re-did the older ones to improve the job. The skulls are quite beautiful, if in a macabre way. If the PCs manage to befriend Kaag, he may show off his collection, boasting of his prowess in battle.

There is also a large lump of leftover gold that he re-melts when he wants to coat another skull. The lump contains 1000gpv of unused gold. It lies under a cloth among some sacks and casks (food and ale).

RMA: Camels

No, I don't have a cigarette!

I think one of the reasons that camels are rare in my games, and I suspect other peoples is two-fold. One, they are heavily associated with desert climates and most campaigns are not set in the desert (at least not for extended periods). The second reason is that most games don't track resources and travel the way that lets these creatures shine.

Camel (from Cook)

AC: 7
HD: 2
Move: 150' (50')
Att: 1 bite /1 hoof
Damage: 1/1d4
No. App: 0 (2d8)
Save: F1
Morale: 7
Treasure: nil
AL: N

So we can see these stats are not impressive. Camels are not very tough, fast, brave, strong, or impressive in a fight. In the description, it even specifies that riders cannot perform a lance charge from camelback. Horses, on the other hand, can faster, do more damage, have better morale, and/or carrying capacity, depending on what type you choose. So why choose a camel?

Terrain: While it is true that a riding horse can easily outpace a camel (240' vs. 150'), remember that desert terrain drops movement by 2/3. Camels treat this as clear terrain, meaning under those conditions the difference is 160'  vs. 150'. Draft and war horses are even slower. This can make a crucial difference when it comes to overland travel in a harsh environment like a desert.

Climate: It's true that a camel cannot carry as much as some horses, but by moving faster through the desert, you need fewer supplies. Also, you don't need to carry water for the camels (provided you plan on being out for two weeks or less. I know that many campaigns aren't tracking every coin of encumbrance, but water is heavy and in the real world horses be thirsty critters! 5-10 gallons per day is normal for horses (as opposed to 2 quarts for people). For the record, that's 40-80 pounds! So even low-balling it for a horse that's more acclimated to the environment, you'd still need to pack 400cn of water for every day you plan on being out in the sandbox. And that's just for one horse!

Imagine a scenario where a desert caravan with horses has to drag along casks of water in a wagon or some such only to have the containers destroyed by some foe or clever monster. They know the party will never make it out of the desert alive, so they just wait a few days and then pick over the caravan after everyone is dead of dehydration. A cleric with the Create Water spell could thwart this plan, but the odds favor it as a successful tactic. How many 6th+ level clerics are wandering the dunes anyway?

So we can see that using camels in such a situation would mean carrying a couple of gallons of water  per day for a party vs. 20+ gallons. This could be managed with several skins or one small cask. Food is still an issue, but that's true of both horses and camels.

Camels are specialized animals, for specialized environments. While it's true they aren't very impressive in a fight, that shouldn't be the only measure of their worth to a party of adventurers. Especially if they need are traversing the Emirates of Ylaruam or such places. 

Curious Objects: Wand of Negation

The wand of negation is a fun one for a couple of reasons. 1) It doesn't show up very often (at least in my games), so unusual items can lend themselves to create unusual situations. 2) It is an item specifically designed to counter other items. Like a less powerful rod of cancellation, but more specific in nature (and with more charges). 3) It is one of the few examples of pre-declaring actions in initiative.

The item's description is fairly brief, so here it is from Cook (X50) in its entirety:

"A charge from this wand will cancel the effect of one other wand or staff for one round. The user chooses the wand or staff to be negated and the decision to use it must be announced before rolling initiative."

I suppose this could be read as negating an effect that has already taken place, but that doesn't really make sense. So many effects from wands and the like are instantaneous. How do you negate a fireball that has already gone off? It seems more sensible that the wand would suppress the use of the opposing item for that round, which ties nicely in with the initiative qualifier.

So it is, in effect, a highly specialized dispel magic. A MU or elf with one of these could be a very effective countermeasure to an enemy spellcaster. If you recall from my previously referenced post on initiative, the idea that a caster must pre-declare casting a spell before initiative is rolled. An enemy with higher initiative could attack the caster and "disrupt" the spell before it goes off. Mind you, there is nothing in the rules about pre-declaring using a wand or staff, though.

I wrote the example below as much to show a spellcasting type making themselves useful in a fight without actual casting as I did to show the item itself in action. I find it helps me to make up these sort of in-game situations to visualize how different spells or items might be utilized.

So imagine a scenario where a party which includes an MU who has this wand, but is out of spells for the day encounters a hostile bunch Orcus-worshippers including an chaotic priest wielding a staff of command. 

1st Round: The cleric tries to remove the enemy spellcaster from the board by using the staff on the MU. He makes his save, but can see that the cleric has some bad juju at his disposal and gets the wand ready.

2nd Round: The MU's player pre-declares he is targeting the staff and rolls well for initiative. When the cleric starts to point with the staff at the next foe. FZZT! Charge wasted. The cleric sees what is happening and does not want to waste his precious charges, so he puts up the staff and grabs his unholy symbol. The MU sees this and, since the wand only works vs other wands (or staves), he draws a dagger. Not really playing to his strengths, but it's better than nothing.

3rd Round: The cleric, being an NPC, doesn't "declare" he is casting a spell, but the DM tells the players that the priest is holding up his symbol and starting to chant. The MU beats him on the initiative again and flings his dagger at him. It hits, but only for 1 point of damage. That's enough to disrupt the light spell the cleric was trying in order to blind the MU. By the book, the cleric also loses the spell as if it were cast. By this time the other PCs have smacked down several of the minions and closed with the priest and he's got more on his mind than just the MU now.

REF: Red Dragon

More fun with random tables, kiddies! This time it's wilderness. Some rolling of the dice brings us to barren mountain terrain and a result of Dragon, Red. Yikes!

Okay, let's not panic just yet. Some more rolling (and a random dragon name from fantasy name generator) Gives us the following:

Vulluth the Red
AC: -1
HD: 10 (40 hp)
Move: 90 (30') Fly 240' (80')
Att: 2 claws/1 bite/ breath
Dmg: 1d8/1d8/3d8/special
# App: 1
Save: F10
Morale: 10
AL: C

Vulluth is awake, can speak, and cast spells

Spells:
1st Level - Detect Magic, Charm Person, Sleep

2nd Level - Detect Evil, Phantasmal Force, ESP

3rd level - Invisibility 10' radius, Hold Person, Lightning Bolt


So 40 hit points is the first thing that jumps out at me. I'll be honest, if I were placing this dragon as a non-random encounter in my game, I'd boost that total a bit (but keep it within the 10HD cap of 80). This means his breath weapon is going to be much less scary than it could be. He's still got great melee attacks & damage, though. But to be honest, even though they were also rolled randomly, I think Vulluth's real puissance is his spell list.

Other than his detection spells -and maybe ESP- every one of these is combat applicable. Invisibility 10' radius is usually meant to make a party invisible, but it will work for the dragon as well (yes, it still works on the caster even if he is bigger than 10' across) . Imagine Vulluth hearing the party approach and turning invisible. I would be applying some surprise checks, not to mention save penalties to the rolls vs dragon breath that first round!

Sleep, Charm Person, and Hold Person are all classics. Granted a higher level party may dodge the snooze bullet, but the others can eliminate potent combatants right away. Phantasmal Force is also a great combat utility spell.ESP might require a bit more creativity, but knowing what your foe is thinking can't hurt.

The best part about Lightning Bolt isn't even the damage. It's the idea that the PCs are expecting fire attacks and then ZAP!  Or maybe I'm just a jerk DM.

So the party (or some of them) manage to slay the wyrm. Let's look at the loot!

TREASURE:
10,000 cp
3,000 pp
6 pc jewelry-

• 1,300gp
• 1,200gp
• 2x 1,000gp
• 2x 800gp

30 gems-

• 10x 10gp
• 5x 50gp
• 5x 100gp
• 7x 500gp
• 3x 1000gp

Magic-

• Potion of ESP
• Cursed scroll (re-roll prime requisite)
• Scroll of Resist Fire (clerical)
• 3x +2 arrows
• Boots of Traveling and Leaping
• Ring of Invisibility

Not a terrible haul. Nearly 30K in cash (and XP) from the hoard. The magic has some fun items, especially the ring and boots. The cursed scroll makes me smile (see "jerk" above) and some thief or elf type is going to love getting a couple +2 arrows in their quiver.

RMA: Thouls

These have come up recently in a few online forums and groups, so now they are on my mind.

A memorable take on the creature by the late, great Steve Zieser!

Thouls are pretty well known among a certain segment of the old-school D&D crowd. They are definitely one of the weirder creations within the BX books. The theory behind their creation that I subscribe to is that some DM was trying to fake their players out with something that looked like a normal humanoid, but had weird abilities.

Despite the fact that they have an almost iconic status. I have rarely seen them used outside of a written encounter in the module B10: Night's Dark Terror. 

Thoul (from Moldvay):

AC: 6

HD: 3**

Move: 120' (40')

Att: 2 Claws or weapon

Damage: 1d3/1d3 or weapon

No. App: 1d6 (1d10)

Save: F3

Morale: 10

Treasure: C

AL: C

Thouls are described in Moldvay as "a magical combination of a ghoul, a hobgoblin, and a troll." What this means in practice is that they look like a hobgoblin, but can paralyze you and they regenerate. They do appear as a level three wandering monster. With two potentially paralyzing attacks per round, 1d6+ of these creatures could give a low-level party a very bad time indeed. There are a couple of points to clarify, though.

1. They do not look exactly like hobgoblins. At close range, there are visible differences. A party might be able to spot them and prepare accordingly (or flee!).
2. Despite "ghoulish traits", they are not undead. This means that while a cleric's turning power is useless, Sleep or Charm spells can work. 
3. Their regeneration is only 1hp/round. While it is (apparently) not stopped by fire or acid damage, it will not revive a killed thoul.

I imagine thouls as a sort of sub-race to the hobgoblins. The description says they might be found guarding a hobgoblin king. Perhaps they are viewed as useful freaks? Who knows? As a DM, I think I would likely use them mixed in with the normal hobbos, so as the PCs work their way through the foe, there are a few nasty surprises waiting in the mix. Even though a Sleep spell can work on them, if they are among a bunch of 1+1 HD hobgoblins, the lower HD critters will take the brunt of the spell's effect. Their regeneration also means a bit more book-keeping in running them, but adds tot he scariness of the encounter.

Moldvay Musings XVI, Part 2: Beat to Quarters!

The HMS Suckerfish, a small sailing warship equipped with a catapult, sets sail from her home port. The ship has a trained crew of 10 sailors, a navigator, and a full complement of 25 marines. Her destination is 450 miles away, a journey of 5 days (90 miles per day base speed) with favorable wind & weather. A roll of 2d6 is made for each day.

Day 1: Roll result = 9 A strong breeze. 120 miles covered (+1/3 move)
Day 2: Roll result = 2 Becalmed. No movement.
Day 3: Roll result = 5 Moderate breeze or broad reaching. 60 miles covered (2/3 move). 180 total miles traveled. But the Ocean wandering encounter roll came up as a 5. A d8 says its a Swimmer. A 9 on the subtable roll says its a Sea Snake. This is really a non-encounter, unless someone goes swimming/overboard. Moving on...
Day 4: Roll result = 3 Ext. light breeze or beating before the wind. Only 30 miles covered. 210 total.
Day 5: Roll result = Normal winds. Normal (90 miles) movement. 300 miles total. But another encounter. This one comes up Men. To simplify, this is our ship to ship encounter.

Normal winds will be simplified to normal weather. Regular visibility is 24 miles and a full crew means it's reasonable that the Suckerfish has a lookout. No surprise is possible under such conditions. (X64) Ship encounters are considered to start at 300 yards (the other ship can be positively identified). Rolling for direction (a d6 for the hex faces) a 1 says the other ship appears off the starboard bow (ahead and to the right). It's an enemy ship! A small galley fitted with a ram and catapult. Why is a galley way out here away from the coast? Who knows?

The Suckerfish has the weather gage (they are upwind) and the ships move at the same encounter speeds. Still, the galley has a 50% chance of staying clear (01-50 = success). An 87! The Suckerfish closes the gap and initiative is rolled. 5 for the Suckerfish, 1 for the galley.

At 300 yards, the catapult is fired with flaming pitch. Four marines man the weapon, meaning it fires every 5 rounds and attacks as a 4th level fighter (X64). The galley has AC 8 and the attack roll is a 16, a hit! The flames deal 2 hull points of damage. Dropping the galley from 80 to 78, but the fire continues to burn. The sailors (10) abandon their posts to put out the flames. It will take them 2 turns to put out the fire and during that time flames will continue to spread and damage the ship. The galley is using the rowers anyway for the encounter, so the sailors can be spared.

Next the galley fires its catapult back. This time it's a rock. An 18 hits handily (AC 8), dealing 11 points of (3d6) damage to the Suckerfish's hull. She is now at 69 hull points. Both ships move toward each other, even with the Suckerfish's reduction in speed (-10%) due to damage, the ships will be too close to use their catapults next round.

Initiative comes up a 2 and 2. Simultaneous actions! The galley is attempting to ram and the Suckerfish is trying to grapple. The galley needs an 11 to hit. 15! The ram deals 50 hull points (1d4+4 x 10. Rolling a 1). The galley would rather not grapple and tries to evade (so as to ram again). The Suckerfish needs a 1 or 2 on a d6 to tie onto the galley. A 1! The lines snake out and the ships are grappled. At this point melee ensues. The crew and marines of the Suckerfish are at a -2 in the first round as they board the galley. After that it's just a large combat.

In the end, assuming the Suckerfish is victorious, she still suffered 61 points of damage out of her 80 total hull points. Nearly 80%! Her speed is drastically reduced (18 miles per day instead of 90) and the best the crew can do for repairs at sea will only get the ship back to 50% for a speed of 45 mpd. Licking her wounds, she limps to the nearest friendly port of call for proper refitting.

Moldvay Musings XVI, Part 1: The Briny Deep

'The sea is an awesome place, the home of terrible monsters, the source of unpredictable currents and strange mists, and the scene of terrible storms that can smash the strongest ship to splinters. Perhaps the most deadly of the sea's hazards, however, is the lack of landmarks. Once out of sight of land, there is little to steer by. A small mistake in navigation or a sudden storm can drive a ship hopelessly off course until a familiar shore is sighted. Only the bravest and most hardy adventurers dare challenge the sea!'

-X63 

                      

I've talked a lot about aquatic encounters but so far haven't discussed water travel itself. You can find most of what you need rules-wise in Cook's section "Part 9: Special Adventures." It really could have been named "Adventures at Sea", since the only topic really covered is waterborne adventuring.

It seems that things like ocean travel are somewhat uncommon in many D&D games. Or if it does happen, it's mostly just getting from point A to B a la Isle of Dread so that the "real" adventure can start. I'm not saying it never happens, but it's far from the norm.

That's a shame, since Part 9 includes nearly everything one needs (with a little common sense interpretation) to run a full-on nautical campaign. Granted, it doesn't include "Sea Machine" style rules for huge naval battles, but that's true of BX for land battles as well. Let's take a look at what rules a DM would realistically need to have an oceangoing-based campaign, and how Moldvay/Cook addresses those needs.

It seems to me that nautically specific rules would need to include:

• Ships and their stats: things like capacity, speed, toughness.
• Wind and weather
• Navigation
• Monster/animal encounters
• Ship to ship combat: maneuvering, attacking, and ship damage.
• In the water: fighting, swimming, and drowning.

Rather than regurgitate every rule from the books, I'm simply going to cite the relevant sections for now. Later, we'll show some examples of the rules in action.

1. Ship stats: This one is pretty obvious. There is a fairly comprehensive list of waterborne vehicles on page X63, from rafts to warships, along with most of the relevant figures. In addition, the purchase costs are in the equipment section on page X9. Obviously the ship names are fairly generic here, but that's a benefit really. For instance, it wouldn't take much imagination to use the river boat listing for a chinese sampan.
2. Wind and weather: To my thinking, the weather section on X63-64 is one of the most impressive examples of BX's ability to provide detail without sacrificing brevity or clarity. In less than one column of text, it offers both "basic" and "expert" rules (see what I did there?) to choose from. A DM can use the simple rules, which address everything from being becalmed to wrecked in a storm with a roll. Or one can use the optional Weather Modification chart for more granularity while staying consistent with the original mechanic. 
3. Navigation: Navigators are nicely covered under the specialists section of the Expert rules.  
4. Encounters: X57's wilderness encounters charts offer options for swamps, rivers, and oceans. I use the rivers table for freshwater lakes as well.
5. Ship combat: I confess to never having used the BX ship combat rules on X64 in play. Not because they are bad, but it simply hasn't come up. The last game I ran where a ship was attacked, a barge was attacked from the riverbank then boarded. The rules here cover visibility on clear or poor weather, surprise, evasion, and the fighting itself. There are rules for ramming, catapults, burning ships, repairing damage, grappling/boarding, and sinking. [SIDE NOTE: It always bothered me, the idea of sailing vessels having catapults. Logically the rigging (sails/ropes/masts) would interfere with the arc of the projectiles. In re-reading the section for this post, I see that this was actually taken into account. Only warships (which cost extra) can have catapults. The conceit being that their decks are modified to allow a clear field of fire.]
6. In the water: BX keeps rules for things like swimming simple. By default, PCs know how to swim. Metal armor or heavy loads will drag you down. Fighting in the water is difficult. Pages X51 and 63 give you enough to make intelligent rulings from. 

In part two of this topic (next post), I'll put up a sample ocean voyage, complete with weather, encounters, and an enemy ship! 

REF: With a left and a left and a left and a left and a right and a...

Random Encounter Fun time!

So we're going back to the dungeon this time and it looks like we're doing level 3. A roll of 18 on the chart reveals our encounter is with... TARANTELLA!

That's right! A troupe of italian folk dancers spring out of an alcove and...

April Fools! 

Not that tarantella, no I'm referring to the horrid pun in Moldvay that is the tarantella. (Get it? 'Cuz it sounds like 'Tarantula'? Oh my sides.)

Despite the whimsical nature of the creature's creation, this can be a pretty challenging encounter.

It says 1d3 appearing. Rolling a 5 on a d6 gives us 3 of the critters. 

So three giant spiders attack a party of let's say four 3rd level PCs. Now, unlike other giant spiders, the tarantella's venom is not directly lethal (though a save vs. poison is still required). Instead, it causes "painful spasms which resemble a frantic dance." This gives the victim a -4 to attacks and foes gain a +4 to hit. The spiders have 4HD apiece, so they're hitting relatively often vs. a party that probably doesn't have much in the way of magical protection yet (THACO 16). Further, they have AC5 and enough hit points (15-20 on average) that they can withstand some damage before getting killed.

So the nutty(er) part about the tarantella's attack is that the dance has a "magical effect" and anyone seeing the victim dancing must save (vs Spells this time) or start dancing themselves! This means one hit and failed initial save could lead to the entire party succumbing to the effects on the following round. Victims will eventually (5 turns) collapse exhausted (defenseless). Where I assume the spiders can go about enjoying their meal(s).  

Now, a couple notes, some to do with rules details, some more personal interpretation. First off, those fighting the spiders will need not only save vs poison every time they are hit, but vs spells every time a comrade starts to cha-cha, At least vs the initial victim of a bite. Truly harsh DMs could make PCs save not only against seeing the bitten PC's dance, but against each new "infected" dancer's gyrations. Given that 3rd level PCs are failing such saves at least half the time, this doesn't bode too well for them.

Next. Remember that each bite also deals 1d8 plain old damage. Even if the spiders don't leave the "dance party" alone to exhaust themselves, they are getting +4 to hit on those who are dancing. It wouldn't take long to just kill the PCs that way either. 

Neutralize Poison and Dispel Magic will stop the beat, but that's usually beyond the ability of 3rd level PCs. I would also question (and this is one of those interpretations I mentioned) whether an infected MU or cleric could even cast a spell while dancing. That may make such a fight too dangerous for a random encounter by some standards.

So. On to the encounter itself. This could be a simple as the PCs disturbing a nest of these horrid arachnids and paying the price. For a little more fun, what if said spiders were not just looking for a meal? What if they were charmed watchdogs? They bite interlopers, let them dance themselves to the point of collapse, and then haul them back to... who? Or maybe they are the pets of some tribe of humanoids who have an immunity. Once the PCs are exhausted. The owners come out, loot them and dump them in a hole or leave them naked in the dungeon to be killed by some other nasty random encounter. 

RMA: Medusa

Monsters with petrification attacks are not new fodder for this blog, and this Greek classic has been mentioned in those conversations, but I haven't done a full write-up on her before. She is a rather interesting monster for a few reasons, so let's get to it, shall we?

First off, I'm going to mention the pedantic issue of the name and then drop the issue. I know that in mythology Medusa was the individual character's name, not a race. I'm not sure of why D&D handles the name this way - perhaps because of the other D&D Gorgon - but for whatever reason, like the Pegasus, Medusa has become synonymous with the creature type.

Secondly, you know I loves me some Harryhausen, but just to be clear, he completely made up* the whole "half snake, half woman" design for 1981's Clash of the Titans. The original creature was a woman with snake hair and a face that would make a train take a dirt road.

Medusas (Medusae?) have a reputation for being TPK material, which may be why I have not seen them used much. Granted there is one in B2's Caves of Chaos, but other than that I personally haven't run into them much. When you look at the stats, though, they have some weaknesses along with their obviously strengths.

Medusa (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 4**
Move: 90' (30')
Att: 1 snakebite + special
Damage: 1d6 + poison
No. App. 1d3 (1d4)
Save: F4
Morale: 8
Treasure: F
AL: C

NOTE: For convenience I'm going to refer to the medusa as "she/her" instead of "it", even though the Medusa isn't really human (I'm not going to even get into the idea of an all-female species!)

With her poor AC and so-so hit dice and low morale, its obvious she isn't a combat powerhouse. We'll get to her petrification ability in a moment, but first I want to talk about the snakes. Despite having a head full of them, she only gets the one 1d6 bite per round. Sure it's save or die. But it's death in one turn, which gives the afflicted character a chance to keep fighting, or get a Neutralize Poison cast on him before keeling over. Beyond that, she has no other attack.

"But wait!" You say. "Her gaze is an attack!"

Nope.

The description is quite clear. It is the act of looking at the medusa's face that petrifies its victims, not her looking at you. She can (and often does) try to find ways to trick people into looking at her face (she's Chaotic, after all), but Flesh to Stone beams don't shoot out of her peepers. Some petrifying creatures, like the Gorgon and Cockatrice, attack to "stone" their victims. Not so the medusa.

That being said, it's still a dangerous ability. Typically, she will trick a party into looking her while covered with a hood or veil or some such. Then, WHAMMO! A few bad saves and she has a new statue garden. PCs that avoid getting stoned are left either hamstringing themselves by shutting their eyes or trying to mess with a mirror. On top of all this, the medusa is getting a fat +2 to saves against any incoming spells.

It's interesting to note that by strict interpretation, even though multiple medusae can appear in an encounter, each one is only vulnerable to seeing its own face (not the others').

Given its tactics described on B39 and in The Keep, it's fair to assume a medusa has human level intelligence. This begs the question "What does it want?" I expect a lot of good RP fodder and plot hooks could be found here. Obviously if she had or knew something important to the PCs, she might ask a favor in return, as she certainly can't easily move about in normal society to get what she wants or needs.

* “Every statue I’d seen [Medusa] was just a woman with a pretty face and had snakes in her hair. Well, that wasn’t very dramatic, so I gave her a rather demonic look. We gave her a rattlesnake’s tail, so that she could be a menace from the sound effect point-of-view. It was a shock to see her come out from behind the wall crawling on her hands because that was the only way she could propel herself.” 

- Ray Harryhausen

Moldvay Musings XV: I Do Declare!

In an earlier post, I touched on situations that require "pre-declaring" actions in BX. That is to say, before initiative is rolled. This is an interesting artifact of older D&D, as I do not think it is used much in "modern" RPGs. Honestly, we've hardly used it ourselves in my group and I don't even recall using it back in the day. Maybe as my beard grays my gray matter is getting a bit tired.

There are a couple of reasons I think this idea has fallen out of favor. For one, it feels a bit more like a legacy mechanic from D&D's wargame roots than something that was consciously added to the early game; kind of like the whole idea of phases to one's actions (Melee, Ranged, etc.). Newer editions by contrast simply tell the player how much of which kinds of actions they can complete on their turn.

The second reason is that pre-declaring can feel like it is making it harder for players to react tactically in an encounter. If I already declared I was casting Bless, then does that mean I can't switch to Cure Light Wounds when I see our fighter get wounded?

These are valid concerns and they do affect the nature of game play, but before dismissing them out of hand, let's look at some of the benefits of this rule.

1. What's good for the goose. Enemy/NPC/Monster spell casters should need to declare as well. Perhaps as a DM you don't want to tell the party exactly which spell is being flung at them, but the PCs should at least be able to see that the pesky goblin shaman is starting to chant and wave his arms around. This lets the characters A) know who the enemy spell casters are, and B) plan accordingly.
2. Spell interruption as a tactic. It's true that would royally suck as a low level magic user if your only spell of the day got fizzled because some kobold scored one lousy point of damage from a sling stone. Of course, as mentioned in the first point, that means the PCs can do the same thing to the bad guys (assuming the initiative die is behaving). This can give weaker PCs the opportunity to have a greater effect on the combat, especially if they have a good DEX or other initiative bonuses (like halflings). Also, it gives the aforementioned MU that's tapped out on spells something to do: Just chuck a dagger at any enemy casters and Presto! Old School Counterspell! This also gives players a chance to do something about that incoming Fireball before they're stuck saving for half damage. 
3. Making magic more than artillery. If your spell casters are vulnerable in this way, it makes the successful use of any spell more useful. When you look at the spell lists in BX, not that many spells are really designed for use in the middle of the fight. Even with a very generous interpretation of what constitutes a "combat" spell (eg healing magic, protection spells, etc.), it only works out to approximately 50%. If a magic-user or cleric's spells aren't as "useful" in a fight, then it gives the players (and the DM) the opportunity to explore some of the other cool magical stuff these characters can do. (For ideas, might I recommend perusing the series of Random Spell Assessments on this very blog!). This also plays into what I've described as a more BX feel to magic, with a more distinctive "flavor" to magic and spell casting.

Personally, I could see going either way with this rule (ignoring or implementing). On the one hand, I know that players generally are loathe to be limited by arbitrary mechanics, but on the other, I do think that this could bring an interesting wrinkle to the game. Some house rules I might consider if I were to try it could include things like: 

• An ability check (WIS for clerics, INT for MU/Elves) to retain the failed spell. ie it fails, but you don't forget the spell for the day.
• Letting PCs or monsters shield their side's spell caster to grant them an AC/cover bonus until the spell goes off.

Moldvay Musings XIV, Part B: Item Creation

The second part of this section has to do with making physical magic items. Either reproducing one listed in the books or making a brand-new one. A few guidelines are given but, even more so than with spell research, DM discretion is involved.

Unlike new spells, making a magic item requires a caster of name level. MUs, Elves, and Clerics can all create items, but clerics are somewhat more limited than the others. They can only make items that they themselves could use. Note that this is not the same as cleric-only items. Magic armor would be one example that comes to mind.

It's also worth noting that nothing says the caster has to be the only person involved in the item's creation. Perhaps a jeweler crafts the actual ring or medallion that is to be enchanted to the wizard's specifications.

Another thing to keep in mind is that acquiring the materials required are potential adventures in and of themselves. Minotaur bones, meteoric iron, or a mirror that's held a medusa's reflection are not things one can buy in town.

"These items should be difficult to obtain, and the spell caster will often have to adventure to acquire the items, for there are no magic stores."

-X51 (emphasis mine)

Side Note: I don't know that this line was intended to populate over into all facets of a BX setting, but the idea that a place to buy magic items is by default nonexistent is an interesting one. I know that I have ignored this quite frequently in order to give the players more options when it came to what to spend their money on. I am led to ponder a bit about the scope of the game and what the original intentions were, but that's a much larger topic than the one in front of us. Another time, perhaps.

Back on topic, without getting into the specifics of costs and crafting times it's important to look at them in terms of the investment they represent to the PC spellcaster. This includes money and time.

PCs creating items are going to be out of the normal day to day of the campaign for a while. They aren't going to be dungeon crawling while creating a carpet of flying or a ring of spell storing, but they may need to go on adventures ahead of time to get what they need for the task. Alternately, they may hire lower level PCs (or send apprentices) to get the goods. In fact, that is a great way to run a multi-tiered campaign: where the lower level PCs are in the employ of the higher leveled ones. Or as hooks for low level parties working for a high level NPC.

The investment of money is another factor to consider. Magic items can cost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of gold pieces to make. The crafting PC would likely need at least one of the following ways to raise the necessary capital:

1. Have saved a lot of cash from earlier adventures.
2. Work for a wealthy patron. Possibly royalty or rich merchants.
3. Plan on selling the item and/or take commissions.

It's also important to note that in both spell research and item creation, there is a 15% chance of failure. This is rolled after the time and money are spent! So the PC's investment is gone either way. An important factor when weighing the costs and benefits.

Finally, it's worth looking at a brief passage on X52:

A spell caster may want to use magic in a way not covered by spells or production: cleansing a defiled temple, opening a gate to another world, setting magical traps, and so on.

This opens up a whole wealth of opportunities within a campaign. Perhaps that party wants to time travel back to when a lich was still a living mortal? Or travel to another plane (not something expressly covered in BX)?  DMs and players alike should see this as a great opportunity to get creative and really give a campaign a distinct flavor beyond "We kill it and take its stuff!"

Moldvay Musings XIV, Part A: Spell Research

One of the comments I hear from time to time from players (and sometimes DMs) about "0E" games like BX is that magic is fairly limited compared to later versions of the game. Though I've written in the past about how I see this more as a feature than a bug, the Expert rules do include a concise yet robust method to give spell-casters more flexibility and freedom. Namely the spell research and magic item creation rules on page X51. I'm going to focus on spells for now, then follow up next time with items. I've talked about both of these when discussing name level mages and their towers, but I wanted to look at the processes themselves here.

The rules for spell research are fairly loose, relying more on DM judgement and context within the game than supplying a hard and fast price list or formula. This is a better choice, in my opinion. Especially for a game like BX which eschews codifying every little detail. To quote Matt Finch, "Rulings, not rules."

The one part that is spelled out (heh, see what I did there?) is a simple cost formula for time and money: 2 weeks and 1000gp per spell level. 

What this section really emphasizes is the idea that the DM and player work together to come out with the spell's level, effects, range, etc. The book describes it as a proposal submitted by the player to the DM, who then A) decides whether such a spell is even possible, then figures out the details. I think a more collaborative approach is perfectly possible however, as long as it's understood that the DM has the final say. 

Oddly, when I talk to fellow BX-ers, it seems that spell research rarely comes up in their games. At least, I haven't seen many examples of it. This is too bad, since it's a great opportunity for player characters to really contribute to the game. Not only does it give their character something potentially unique about them, but it gets the player engaged in the campaign on a different level entirely. 

And that, IMNSHO, is a very good thing. 

Oozy Goodness Part V: Ochre Jelly

Rounding out the BX slimes is our final entry, the Ochre Jelly. This is probably the least used one in my games. Not that I dislike it as a monster, but there's only so many instances where an ooze is needed, so something has to give. OJ seems to be in many ways a "lesser" black pudding. It's worth noting that the pudding is the only one in the Expert set, probably due to its high HD. The jelly has half the HD and lower damage, but behaves similarly. Before we dive in the ochre jelly (ew!) let's have the stats:

Ochre Jelly (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 5*
Move: 30 (10')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d6
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F3
Morale: 12
Treasure: Nil
AL: N

The OJ shares the usual ooze/slime traits: unintelligent, relentless morale, slow movement, etc. Like other gooeys, it isn't harmed by all types of damage. In the OJ's case, only fire & cold affect it. Otherwise it splits up like the pudding (up to five of them). The 2HD baby jellys do half (1d6) damage. The jelly looks like an amoeba more than just a pile of goo, so it has a bit more form than most slimes.

Its corrosive effect doesn't harm metal or stone. That doesn't make a platemail-wearing fighter immune though. It can still seep through cracks and seams. It can demolish wood, leather or cloth in one round (!) so that spear shaft or bow might be toast. I would also think things like magic cloaks, etc. might need to make some saving throws pretty quick.

Overall the ol' YellowJelly would be a respectable threat to low levels PCs and, like a rust monster, make almost anyone fear for their gear. Its susceptibility to fire give the party an easy way to cope IF they know about its specific weaknesses. In classic D&D, smart players are weighing the risks, though. Unless there is something beyond the jelly that is (potentially) worthwhile, it has no treasure of its own as a rule, and even with a special ability bump to XP, no one is leveling just for taking one out. As a DM, I would want to use the jelly in surprise situations or as an impediment to overcome for a larger goal. Perhaps a mad alchemist figured out how to bottle one up and chucks the jar at the PCs like a grenade?

Those ain't apricot!

Oozy Goodness Part IV: Green Slime

Green slime is almost more of a trap than a monster per se.  It's gross and dangerous and PCs hate encountering it, but is it a "monster"? It's hard to say, I suppose. Anyway, let's get on with it, shall we?

Green Slime (from Moldvay)

AC: Can always be hit
HD: 2*
Move: 3 (1')
Att: 1
Damage: special
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F1
Morale:12
Treasure: Nil
AL: N

What jumps out from the stat block is its lack of AC. You literally can't miss this thing. The trick is most attacks don't harm it. Only fire or cold can affect it. It is barely  mobile, so outrunning it isn't the problem. The problem is the slime's nasty tendency to drip onto people and turn them into slime themselves.

Green slime turns flesh into slime. It can completely "melt" a PC in as little as 7 rounds. There is no save vs. the slime. If it hits, it starts dissolving you. The really annoying part of the process is that there are only three ways to get the slime off the victim: Cold, Fire, or a Cure Disease spell. If you aren't lucky enough to have a cleric on hand with the appropriate spell prepared, then you're left with either trying to freeze or burn the slime off. By the book, the only cold attacks in BX are things like white dragons or frost salamanders, or a Wand of Cold, so the most likely scenario is to use good old reliable fire!

Now hold still!

The catch, of course, is that burning off slime also burns the victim. (1/2 the damage each). 

All this adds up to two things:

1. I tend to think of green slime as a hazard, not a creature.
2. I need to use it in dungeons WAY more often! (evil laugh)

Oozy Goodness Part III: Gray Ooze

I confess, the gray ooze is probably my favorite of the oozles, though I'm not 100% sure why. I think it's because it such a great "Gotcha!" monster. To be clear, I try not to overuse gotcha tactics as a DM, but sometimes it's hard to resist. Gray ooze is hard to spot in a dungeon environment and once it hits, things can turn ugly fast.

Gray Ooze (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 3*
Move: 10' (3')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d8
No. App: 1 (1)
Save: F2
Morale: 12
Treasure: Nil
AL: N

Unlike the black pudding, this blob is somewhat fragile in the hit points area. It's also super-slow, which is why its camouflage is so important. It does decent damage, but the key takeaway from the gray ooze is its effect on gear.

Like the rust monster, the ooze's touch can demolish things like armor. Normal armor is instantly destroyed! Even magic armor is dissolved in one turn. Granted, most combats don't last a full turn, but imagine the fighter being dropped down a chute into a pit with one of these things. By the time  the party pries open hatches and lowers a rope, he and his +1 chainmail might be a puddle of goo. The ooze sticks to the skin after hitting and deals damage automatically every round, so you need to kill it to get it off.

To keep things interesting, the ooze's immunities are different than the cube's or the puddings. You hurt Blacky and Blocky with fire, but you need to zap the G.O. with lightning. It's always nice to keep the party guessing. Of course just smacking it works too.

I like using Gray Oozes in deliberately damp locations; water caves and the like are especially good. Wet stone that's slippery to walk on distracts the players from the possibility of that one slick patch might be something else entirely.

Oozy Goodness Part II: Gelatinous Cube

Ah the gelatinous cube. A slime-based entity that apparently evolved to accommodate graph paper. It's probably fair to say that the cube is an iconic D&D monster. Even if a player hasn't had to deal with one himself, chances are he knows the basic idea of the thing: It slides along corridors slurping up organic debris. They are quiet, hard to see, and dissolve people.

Gelatinous Cube (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 4*
Move: 60' (20')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d4 + special
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F2
Morale: 12
Treasure: V
AL: N

As we can see, old blocky here shares certain traits with other slimers: It's none to fast, it's got a high morale (mindless), and isn't too hard to hit. Their strength as a foe comes largely from the fact that the are "nearly transparent" and surprise quite often (1-4).

The other big deal about the GC is of course its paralyzing attack. Similar to a Ghoul's, the effect only lasts 2d4 turns and can be removed with Cure Light Wounds. Of course, if a character fails their save and is paralyzed while the cube is busily trying to devour him, a few turns is plenty of time to finish off a victim.

Gelatinous cubes aren't horrifically tough, mind you. As long as a party member or two stays clear, they can likely finish one off in a few rounds. Interestingly, the cube is immune to electrical and cold attacks, but fire does the trick nicely. Lobbing flask of burning oil from a distance is a favorite tactic of many adventurers.

A cube has no lair, and its meager treasure type (V) reflects this somewhat. There's always a chance of some coins or gems stuck undissolved in the goo, but probably not much. Far more interesting is for a DM to deliberately place something the PCs want or need within the cube to make dealing with the creature more necessary.

DMs should play up how hard it is to spot a cube in a dark dungeon corridor as well as its chance at surprise. Once the PCs know its there, chances are the bulk of the danger is gone. Conversely, players should rely on ranged attacks (often after some poor soul has gotten paralyzed to reveal the threat) as well as flaming oil or similar.

Cubes can also be incorporated into traps and ambushes. If there is some evil lich or some such "Dungeon Boss" that has stocked his lair with creatures to keep out interlopers, cubes can be used to up the ante. Spiked pit? Yawn. Pit with a cube in the bottom? Now yer talkin'! Or perhaps the cube does the falling. Trap the PCs in a 10 x 10' stretch of hallway with portcullis traps and have the cube fall out of a ceiling panel onto them.

Oozy Goodness Part I: Black Pudding

I'm sure someone somewhere has written or reported upon exactly why Gygax & co. were so keen on including so many different amorphous blob-like monsters in D&D. Don't get me wrong; oozes and their ilk are fun encounters. Heck, I wrote a whole module full of them! But one does have to wonder sometimes if we needed quite so many options in this category. Nevertheless, over the next several posts I'll be taking a look at those escapees from the petri dish  which can be found among the pages of Moldvay and Cook starting alphabetically with the Black Pudding.

Black Pudding (from Cook) 

AC: 6

HD: 10*

Move: 60' (20')

Att: 1

Damage: 3d8

No. App: 1 (0)

Save: F5

Morale: 12

Treasure: Nil

AL: N

So the immediate takeaway from these stats is that this thing can take more than it can dish out. It's HD is very respectable, but it has relatively weak saves and moves quite slowly.The high morale fits its mindless nature. Black puddings are particularly dangerous for two main reasons: They can seep into almost any location within the dungeon, and just smacking them makes a bunch of lil' puddins. but since fire circumvents that, it's not hard for a knowledgeable party to switch to flame-based tactics (torches, oil, fireballs, etc.).

Regarding its ability to split up into 2HD mini-puddings, no upper limit is listed but logically it seems that 5 x 2HD would follow from its 10HD total. A nasty feature of the pudding is the fact it can corrode metal. This means that most loot (coin, weapons, etc.) will be worthless in one turn. Though I would argue magic items might get a saving throw. 

Because the pudding has no treasure of its own, and has a tendency to corrode what it touches, it's not a great monster for the party to seek out as a way to get lots of gold or XP. Admittedly, 1600xp for killing it is nice, but that's not that much for a party that's high enough level to deal with it once it's split 4-6 ways.

Despite being slow, the pudding can dissolve wood, which means it can get through most doors eventually. Plus it can climb walls, cling to ceilings, and squeeze through cracks. I imagine this blob as a menace from the shadows (they're black, after all), relentlessly stalking its prey. It is easily outrun, but continues to seep along behind. 3d8 damage and a THACO of 11 means that unarmored magic-user that's keeping to the back of the party could be the target of a melt-ambush.