Jotunbrud - A Race For 2e AD&D

Jotunbrud are demi-humans who have the blood of Frost Giants in their veins. As the Frost Giants (or Jotun, as they are known) possess some degree of magical aptitude, some have been known to take human form, and breed with other races for unknown reasons. Occasionally, these trysts can produce a hybrid child, which possesses only a fraction of the Jotun's power, but more than enough to set them apart from the common man.

Jotunbrud vary in height, but few are below 6' 6", with some reaching 8 or 9 foot tall. Many have a much darker skintone than their Frost Giant progenitors - a deep blue, rather than "frosted" ice-white. In Jotunbrud communities (rare as they are), and in the case of most individuals, ritual scarification is a common practice, decorating their skin with fine, oddly precise marks and patterns denoting tribal alliance, past deeds, and social standing.

Jotunbrud receive a +1 bonus to Strength and Intelligence, but also receive a -2 penalty to Charisma. While the blood of giants grants them strength and hardiness, and the natural magical ability of the Jotun gives them a sharp intellect, their unusual looks and somewhat alien mindset makes them less able to get along with those of other races.

Due to their size, they take damage as a Large-sized creature, and are capable of using weapons designed for larger creatures with some effort (a -1 penalty to attack rolls). This also applies to armour - most will need to be specially fitted for the Jotunbrud (being larger than a Medium sized creature, but unable to wear the armour of a true Large-sized creature). This adds 15% to the normal price of such items.

A Jotunbrud character has the following level limits:

Fighter 10
Thief Unlimited
Illusionist 15

They may also multi-class as Fighter/Thieves, Fighter/Illusionists, Illusionist/Thieves and Fighter/Illusionist/Thieves.

A Jotunbrud character requires the following ability scores:

Strength 9/19
Dexterity 3/16
Constitution 6/18
Intelligence 6/18
Wisdom 3/18
Charisma 3/16

My take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the Frost Giants, for a little fun and to add some more possible races to The Wall campaign.

Generic Fantasy Skirmish: Kobolds

"Can't be that bad, can they? They're just Kobo-"
     -famous last words of Kellen The Overoptimistic

Yep, it's everyone's favourite trappy little dog-lizard sadists, now in skirmish form!

For those of you who don't know - I am converting In The Emperor's Name into a more generic fantasy skirmish game (imaginatively titled Generic Fantasy Skirmish for the moment).

I wanted these guys to be cheap - Kobolds normally operate in hordes, using numbers rather than skill. And, in skirmish games, it can really make a difference - drowning the more elite armies with the weight of your dead (after all, when it's a d6 you're rolling, failure is common enough)...

So, some of these guys have some of the new rules/abilities I've been working up. Some are taken straight from the Core Rules and other Retinue Lists (the Small ability is pretty much what Gretchin get, and the Infiltrate ability is just a more freely-available version of the Alpha Legion Special Ability), but some are completely new - they'll feature more in later posts.

Type	Heroism	FV	SV	Speed	Notes
Sapper	6+	+0	+0	+2	Small
Sniper	5+	+0	+2	+2	Small
Sneak	5+	+2	+0	+2	Small, Infiltrate
Wyrmshaman	4+	+1	+1	+2	Leader, Small, can buy spells @ 10pts from the Arcane spell list
Wyrmguard	4+	+2	+1	+2	Leader, Small, Defensive Master

Type	Notes	Restricted To
None	Clothing [5+ To Hit]
Light	Leather Armour [6+ To Hit]
Medium	Hide, Chain,  [7+ To Hit]	Wyrmguard
	Amulet of Protection [7+]	Wyrmshaman

Type	Notes	Combat Bonus
Improvised	Tree Branch, Chair Leg	-1
Light	Dagger, Club, Sling	+0
	Pick, Shortbow, Hand Crossbow, Throwing Dagger,	+1
Medium	Short Sword, Mace, Staff, Spear, Sword [Wyrmguard only]	+1
	Crossbow, Javelin [Wyrmguard only]	+2

New Special Abilities [5pts Each]
Infiltrate - some characters are particularly good at hiding - these characters always deploy last (in case of multiple opposing models with this ability, use an Initiative roll - winner deploys last), and can deploy up to 12“ from the table edge, so long as they are not in Line of Sight with any enemy models.
Small - Small characters are unable to use Heavy Weapons or Armour, but can move through Difficult terrain without penalty. This ability costs no points, but the model representing the character must be small.

I'm still working on these, including rejigging costs and some abilities for weapons (like re-making the Ranged section so Melee can be a little more dominant), so these are a work in progress!

As a bonus note, miniatures!

This pair would make a perfect Wyrmshaman and Wyrmguard...

The "Mellified Men" - an OSR Monster!

 So, a little last minute, but here's my entry for The Grand Original Map Contest!

These guys will be statted out for OSRIC/Generic OSR D&D.

Centuries ago, there was a race of men, their name lost to the ravages of time, who worshipped nature in all its myriad forms. However, every so often a cult would arise to venerate one particular aspect of nature above all others - the deeps of the sea, fire, or in one case, the humble bee.

Well, the not so humble bee - this particular cult had found a species of bee whose honey held strange properties. It seemed to both radiate and absorb magic, and could "store" spells cast into it. Whether this was a natural mutation, the design of some curious wizard or divine intervention, the cult latched onto this new-found source of power, and began breeding and keeping the bees, collecting their honey, and worshipping them as divine agents.

As their belief swelled, and their breeding became more complex and refined, they finally birthed a Queen of such great size that, even as a larva, it dwarfed all but the biggest men. This Queen was seen as an Aspect of The Great Queen - the Mother-God of all bees, if you will. Around her, men and bees constructed a great hive, a labyrinth of honeycomb that stretched for miles underground.

As part of their strange rituals, this cult would add their lesser dead (slaves, drudge workers) to the Great Hive, allowing them to nourish their charges even after they had passed on.

Their more respected members were submerged in the honey vats after death - the honey acting as a preservative, mummifying the corpse with little other work needed.

Their greatest members, their Mages and Priests, were allowed to choose the date of their death. When this date had passed, they began eating nothing but honey - slowly, they would waste away, but their bodies would radiate strongly with magic, as it suffused every fibre of their being. When the finally passed, they were sealed into their own honey-filled casket, and the surviving members of the clergy would perform arcane rites and blasphemous rituals on them to ensure that they would be spared the worst of the ravages of death, to join the Great Queen and become one with the Hive.

However, for some reason (recent surges of magic, disturbance of their resting place, specific alignment of the stars), a few of these Bee-Priests have risen, and have began production once again - and they'll do anything to keep their practices secret.

In terms of appearance, these "Mellified Men" resemble other preserved corpses - their skin is leathery, with a yellow-brown colouring, and surprisingly little obvious decomposition (barring the wasting of muscles, and some of the thinner sections of skin having bones showing through). Some wear jewellery and ornamentation, clearly as part of their burial attire.

The Hive

Even the walls of this place are laced with the corpses of the cultists. Some sections have retained an odd semblance of life, powered and maintained by the power of the honey even after centuries. 
Sticky, brittle bones reach out at you as you pass, hoping to serve their Queen from beyond the grave.

No. Encountered: 2d8 metres
Armour Class: 5
Hit Dice: 10HP/5ft
Attacks: Special
Damage: 1d6
Special attacks: See above
Special Defences: Spell immunities
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Non-

The Hive Wall does not act as a creature as such, more like a trap - anyone passing within 5 feet must make a Saving Throw vs Breath Weapon or be grappled, and take 1d6 damage per round they are grappled. Once grappled, the character may make a Strength check/Bend Bars roll once per round to escape The Wall's foul clutches, and may take no other action until free. 

Drone Zombies

These shambling creatures, taught skin a yellowish-brown hue, seem to be the workers and grunts of the operation. They don't seem too bright.

Use the standard OSRIC Zombie stats, with the following changes:

Special Abilities: Hivemind
Int: Non - Special
Hivemind: In groups of at least 20 other Drone Zombies, each Drone Zombie's Intelligence rises to Low, making them capable of using weapons (change damage as appropriate) and basic ambush tactics. They will still fight to the death.

Hive Guardians

These creatures seem to be infused with a strange intelligence and vitality - they seem less decomposed than their fellows, and are capable of some very complex strategies. These zombies can be seen taking charge of Drone Zombies in non-controlled situations, and when controlled may act as "generals".

Use the standard OSRIC JuJu Zombie stats, with the following changes:

Special Abilities: Hivemind Synapse
Hivemind Synapse: Hive Guardians may grant the effects of Hivemind to groups of Drone zombies numbering less than 20,  so long as they remain within 50 feet of the Hive Guardian (line of sight does not affect this ability).

Bee-Priests

These Undead wear fine robes spun from silk, decorated with complex geometric patterns (mostly hexagons), and are decked out in fine jewels. These spellcasting Undead are frequently found leading large groups of other Mellified Zombies from the back, providing support and heavy firepower.

(Turned as type 10)
No. Encountered: 1d4
Size: Man-sized
Move: 120 ft
AC: 1
Hit Dice: 8+3
Attacks: 2
Damage: by weapon or spell
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defences: See below
Magic Resistance: See below
Lair Probability: 25%
Intelligence: Exceptional
Chaotic evil
Level/xp: 8/3,810 + 12/hp

These creatures share other undead’s immunity to charm, hold, and sleep spells. Electricity and cold
does only half damage, and they are unaffected by normal weapons. They also the ability to cast spells either as a Cleric or Wizard of 10th-level. Most will use the Inflict Wounds spells to heal their troops, along with classic offensive spells.

Similar to the Hive Guardians, these creatures possess the Hivemind Synapse ability, except they can maintain it out to 200 feet.

Most of these creatures will travel with a guard of 8d10 Drone Zombies, and 1d10 Hive Guardians.

Generic Fantasy Skirmish: More Thoughts

So, I started back at converting In The Emperor's Name to represent a fantasy skirmish system. I mean, sure, there are dozens of skirmish systems floating about the net for free, there's Mordheim and such, but ItEN is just such a cool little game, and it's very easy to hack, change, add new Retinues and such, that I couldn't resist.

I had thought about making my own system (based off d10s, similar to the new Mongoose Judge Dredd game), but meh - too much work. Maybe some day...

So, the current work is to:

• Convert and re-jigger the weapons list (many of the unpowered melee weapons in the list share the same stats, which would make a game like this kinda boring), rewrite the Ranged weapons options (as a fantasy game, hand-to-hand is more appropriate - so maybe shorten the ranges, cut out most of the "heavy" weapons but leave the option to buy greatbows/flintlocks/cannons for a slightly higher price).
• Work out a rule to represent smaller combatants (ensuring they have a lower Grit score, etc), possibly with a special rule...
• Small - characters with this ability can only use Light weapons and cannot wear Heavy armour, but can move through difficult terrain and full speed, and gain... some other bonus I haven't thought of yet.
• Spell Lists - most Warbands will have access to a Caster unit (Wizard/Shaman/Cleric/whatever), who can buy spells, but each will only have access to a handful of possible Spell Lists - like, Wood Elves can buy spells from the Nature lists, Dwarves from the Rune-smith list, etc. Currently thinking of the following:
• Death/Necromancy (debuffs, allows access to Undead in the Warband)
• Life/Healing (all buffs)
• War (all offense)
• Shadow/Illusion (some debuffs, some offense, some defense)
• Nature (battlefield control, healing, maybe some summon-type stuff)
• Write out the Retinue/Warband lists. So far, my thoughts are:
• Humans - the "baseline", stats-wise. Fairly balanced, with a variety of troop-types available.
• Dwarves - have a higher Grit than others, mostly tough "tank" units, with a Rune-wizard available (using spells that buff others and themselves), as well as the option to buy things like Heavy Bolt Throwers and all that nonsense.
• Elves - three separate lists so far...
• High Elves - any High Elf model can buy Spells for 10 points, and their Mages can buy them for 5 points. A wide selection of spell-lists available.
• Wood Elves - higher SV and Speed, access to Nature spells, maybe a Beast-tamer unit, mainly skirmisher/stealth-type units.
• Dark Elves - higher FV and Speed, access to Illusion spells, maybe some rules for Poison weapons.
• Kobolds - poor stats, but so cheap you can buy dozens of the little buggers. Comes with access to the Draconic Spell List.
• The Green Tide - Orcs (tough but slow), Hobgoblins (nice and balanced), Goblins (small and sneaky), Ogres (big and tough) who might get a re-do of the rules for Stupidity, maybe allow another Beast-tamer unit, gain access to the War Spell List.
• The Forces of Darkness - something like the classic Warriors of Chaos, big, tough, slow, access to some weird special units, and stuff like the War and Death Spell Lists.
• Adventurers - more like "Hired Guns", to be purchased by any army (using the Strange Ally rule), but include an option to take them for no extra cost in certain warbands (like the Elven Ranger being free to work with the Elven Warbands, but costing extra points in the Human Warband).
• And, of course, a few others as they come to me.

One thing that caught my eye in ItEN was the Appendix for using the game to play Space Hulk-style games - which really flipped a switch somewhere. Mainly because, it would be simple enough to use those rules as a framework to create a "dungeon crawl"-style scenario for the game - perfect! I might add rules for the Defending Warband to buy traps, turn it into a real Tucker's Kobolds deal...

AD&D2e - Making the Ruleset

-->

So, this is not a complete set of house rules and optional systems, and let's face it, there's no such thing - especially where the OSR is concerned, there'll always be new, exciting and weird things to throw in.Instead, these posts will act as an accompaniment to my reading of the Massive PDF of ALL The 2nd Edition Books That Are Now Out Of Print, as well as peeks into a few other books not included or otherwise forgotten. When I finally accumulate all the rules I wish to keep/toss out/change, I'll post them up in one (really fucking long) post, or even in a .pdf for the players (and your lovely selves).


So, without any further ado:

---

• No Racial Minimums - maybe it's coming from the newer generation of gamers, but I like to think that I can pick a Race, and not have to roll to see if I qualify for it (I mean, you're trying to tell me there are no sickly dwarves?)
• Stat Generation - I like players to have some control over their characters, so you have the choice - either 4d6, drop the lowest, and allocate as you wish, or the Class Stat Arrays from the various Complete books, which allow players to play a specific class easily (and come with a host of drawbacks, too).
• Demihuman level limits are out. I don't know how long the game will run (most certainly not long enough for this to be an issue), so this shouldn't come up.
• Sub-Races - the various Complete Race books ensured a proliferation of sub-races that almost matched 3.5's excesses. I'll skim them, and include maybe one or two extra subraces, but not much more than that.
• Complete Book Of Humanoids deserves special mention here, as it's pretty swingy. A few of the races here (Half-Orc, Half-Ogre, maybe the Hobgoblin and Minotaur) are pretty standard and acceptable, but some are just too weird, and some are just plain broken (both over-and-underpowered). Again, I'll skim it and make a list.
• Speciality Priest, and Preists of specific Mythoi, are in. They might be a touch more powerful, but they add some real flavour to the game. Gods and Pantheons are fairly up for grabs at the moment, so I'll take suggestions...
• As for Kits, I'll most likely let the players pick ones they want, then give them a yay or nay. Some of the Kits are a lot more powerful than others, and some aren't that great, but have major repercussions on the game. I don't want Kits that tie a player too strictly to one place or organisation, so I'm currently combing through the Kits to see what ones fit... I'll make that my next post.

An Awesome Free Resource (That I Forgot About Until Now)

Wizards of The Coast has kept its D&D 3.5 Archive online, HERE. My personal favourite set of resources are the Art Galleries from the various books, showing a good sample of the artists who worked on the line.

There are also a huge selection of PC Portraits for your perusal, most of which make great NPCs, Hirelings, and inspiration as well.

Here's my favourites!

 

Clearly, this one comes from the "Let's Trace A Fashion Magazine" School.

















This chick exudes a sense of confidence and kick-ass-ness that you just can't beat in a lady adventurer.

Eberron's Changelings were an interesting addition to a cool setting. The artwork simply made them all the more interesting to me.











This guy could be a villain, a hero, or just another town guard - the helm could go either way. Even better - he's a masked vigilante! The Helm could go either way...

 

This guy would make a great Warrior Chief, or maybe a pit-fighter or Gladiator.

 This Half-Dragon could be a great NPC for a more "varied" campaigns, like a Planescape game - he has a look of the merchant about him, to me.

Another Changeling - a Wizard this time. There's something about his expression of disdain and boredom that makes me love this picture so much.

New OSRIC Races: Goliaths and Gnolls

I'm hitting up the wilderness for these two races: the deep forests and sandy deserts for the Gnolls, and the mountains for Goliaths. These Humanoids have been known as enemies (and allies) of the demi-human races in the past, but more and more of them have been entering the fringes of civilisation, looking to further their destinies as great heroes and vile villains.

Gnoll
Gnolls are fast, powerfully-muscled ambush predators, but lack the ability to communicate well outside their species. They tend to group together in loose "packs", which act as both extended family units and their own sub-cultures. While many Gnoll packs fall to chaos, evil, and the worship of Demons, some tread a more neutral line, trying to live in harmony with the forests and nature. Others abandon their packs, or are exiled or abandoned. Such Gnolls either live as bandits, chipping in their lot with criminals, or take up the mantle of adventuring to give their life some purpose.

Summary of Gnoll Racial Abilities
+1 Dexterity, +1 Strength, -2 Charisma

Gnolls have a very acute sense of smell - this lets a Gnoll character track as a Ranger, regardless of class, with a base 70% chance in natural and wooded areas, and a 50% chance in urban areas. Certain factors (such as a target's particularly distinctive smell, or a countermeasure such as peppermint oil) can raise or lower these values as the GM sees fit. Should the Gnoll advance as a Ranger, the chances are increased to 90% and 65% (as the Ranger Class Ability).

Languages: Gnoll, Common, Orcish, Troll, Hobgoblin.

Alignment Restrictions: Gnolls cannot be Lawful, but may be Good. NG, NE, CG, CN, and CE are all possible Alignments for a Gnoll Player Character.

Multi-Class Restrictions: For armour, the more restrictive of any two class requirements apply to a multi-classed Gnoll.

Class Options: Cleric (Evil Deity only), Fighter, Ranger (see below), Thief, Cleric/Thief, Fighter/Thief, Ranger/Thief

Gnolls may advance as Rangers, with the following rules:

• Gnolls may ignore the Good Alignment restriction, and be Rangers of Good or Neutral Alignment (but not Evil).
• A Gnoll Ranger's Damage Bonus vs Humanoids also includes Demi-Humans.
• Gnoll Rangers do not get access to M-U/Druid spells at 8th Level.
• A Gnoll Ranger's followers may not include Good creatures (such as Unicorns), regardless of the Gnoll Ranger's Alignment. They may, however, attract non-Evil Gnolls with class levels.

Low-Light Vision: 60ft

Starting age:
• Cleric 20+1d4
• Fighter 15+1d4
• Ranger 20+1d4
• Thief 13+2d4

Racial Limitations:
Minimum/Maximum ability scores (after adjustment for race); if the ability scores rolled do not fall within these limits, then the race of Gnoll is not a valid choice for the character:
• Strength 6/19
• Dexterity 6/19
• Constitution 3/18
• Intelligence 3/15
• Wisdom 3/17
• Charisma 3/12

Level Limitations:
• Assassin N/A
• Cleric 8
• Druid N/A
• Fighter 10
• Illusionist N/A
• Magic User N/A
• Paladin N/A
• Ranger 8
• Thief 7 (Dex 17), 6 (Dex 16 and below)

Thief Skill Adjustments:
Move Silently +10%
Hide in Shadows +5%
Climb Walls -5%
Hear Noise +5%

Goliath
Goliaths are known for their prodigious strength and hardiness, born as they are from the bloodlines of Stone Giants, but they suffer some of the slowness of mind that their Giantish ancestors also face, and their large frames make them somewhat clumsy. A largely nomadic race they tend to make their camps on or near mountains where Dwarves or Gnomes dwell, leading to lots of interactions with them as they use their superior muscle to help out their smaller neighbours. Competitive to the end, a Goliath will stop at very little to gain the upper hand in even the slightest conflict.

Summary of Goliath Racial Abilities:
+2 Strength, +1 Con, -2 Dex, -1 Int

Languages: Goliath, Common, Dwarven, Orc, Gnomish, Hobgoblin. A Goliath may learn a maximum of three languages, regardless of intelligence.

Multi-Class Restrictions: For armour, the less restrictive of any two class requirements apply to multi-classed Goliaths for the use of class abilities, except that thieving abilities can only be used when wearing armour useable by Thieves.

Class Options: Assassin, Cleric, Fighter, Thief, Assassin/Fighter, Cleric/Fighter, Fighter/Thief

Starting age:
• Assassin 20+1d6
• Cleric 18+1d4
• Fighter 12+2d6
• Thief 11+1d4

Racial Limitations:
Minimum/Maximum ability scores (after adjustment for race); if the ability scores rolled do not fall within these limits, then the race of Goliath is not a valid choice for the character:
• Strength 8/20
• Dexterity 3/16
• Constitution 8/19
• Intelligence 3/16
• Wisdom 3/18
• Charisma 3/18

Level Limitations:
• Assassin 10
• Cleric 8
• Druid N/A
• Fighter 10
• Illusionist N/A
• Magic User N/A
• Paladin N/A
• Ranger N/A
• Thief Unlimited

Thief Skill Adjustments:
Climb Walls +10%
Move Silently -5%
Hide in Shadows -10%

New Microlite20 Races!

One of the joys of Microlite20 is how easy it is to make new races and classes. There are so few options, and it's easy to convert stuff over from 3.5, it'd be a shame to stick with what's in the PDF...

The general advice for making your own:

• All races have a total +2 bonus to stats. This can come as a bonus or a malus - Dwarves are +2 STR, Half-Orcs are +4 STR, -2 MIND. So long as it balances out to +2, it's all good.
• Humans are a special case - they get +1 to all skills. This means, as a rule of thumb, those four points are roughly equivalent to the two points of stat bonuses. Thus, a +1 to two skills (or +2 to one skill) is worth +1 to a stat.
• Certain abilities can be substituted for +1 point, and stronger ones would cost you the +2 - add some negatives to balance out more powerful options!

So, without further ado...

Kobold
+3 DEX, -2 STR, +2 Subterfuge

Goblin
+1 DEX, +2 Physical

Tiefling
+1 DEX, roll on the Tiefling Abilities Table twice, and the Appearance table three times.

Aasimar
+1 MIND (or CHA, if you're using it), roll on the Aasimar Abilities Table twice and the Appearance table three times.

Drow
+1 MIND, +1 DEX

Changeling
+1 MIND (or CHA, if you're using it), Minor Shapechange (change appearance at-will, unable to copy a specific person grants +5 to SUBT for the purposes of Disguise)

Bugbear
+2 STR, +2 DEX, -2 MIND
OR
 +3 STR, -2MIND, +2 Subt

Hobgoblin
+1 STR, +1 MIND

Gnoll
+2 Str, -1 MIND, +2 Survival (even non-Rangers and Druids)

This is just a small sample of the races you can make with Microlite20 - go check out the Rules for free!