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Mishabroo

April 7, 2012 /

Kelyn was born into a family of modest means. For reasons known only to the gods, he was born an only child. Others in the village of Issenthale, where he grew up, considered this a bad omen for the family. It wasn't his use of magic - a handful of children in Issenthale had the gift. More than that, the local mage was friendly enough and did what she could to help crops grow and protect the village from goblin and ire goblin raiders. What troubled the people of this small village was that Kelyn manifested his powers at five years old.

Most children with the gift do not begin to manifest the gift until twelve or thirteen years old. Even the local mage marveled at his tender years. She immediately began his training despite the fact that Kelyn's family could not afford the training. She was more concerned about him controlling the power rather than money. She felt responsible to do what she could to help.

When Kelyn began his training, the mage soon discovered that he had a great talent for magic. He had a knack for learning the language of magic very quickly. At the time, his ability to manifest magic seemed to be quite limited.

After two years, though, the mage doubted her ability to handle him and recommended that the family send him to her mentor in the city of Ilrion. The family did not want to be separated from Kelyn, but painfully agreed that it was best. The mage supported his training to avoid inflicting double pain on the family.

On the journey to Ilrion, he managed to make his favorite toy move on its own. Although roughly formed from odd-shaped wood scraps, Kelyn loved this toy because it was made by his father. Kelyn managed to hide his toy's power for a number of years while he trained.

When he ended his training at the age of 17, he made an unusual request at his graduation. The custom was that a graduate could only take one item from the house and the clothes on their back. Most graduates took the opportunity to take one of the magical devices the great mage either made or found on his many journeys. Kelyn asked only for Mishabroo, the toy made for him by his father. The great mage knew that it had some magical power, but he dismissed the animated toy as a trifle.

Those that know of  Kelyn of Ilrion are well aware of the error of that assumption. Mishabroo is the feared companion of Kelyn. Despite its rough appearance, unchanged since its creation, Mishabroo demonstrates a wide range of powers.

Since Mishabroo was awakened on that journey to Ilrion, Kelyn has imbued it with many abilities. Mishabroo has been given a level of intelligence and an ability to communicate through telepathy. Mishabroo can also plant any memory it possesses into the mind of another creature. These memories include many that Kelyn has placed there himself. If Mishabroo is somehow teleported away from Kelyn, it will always reappear at Kelyn's side a short time later.

In combat, Mishabroo can grow to twenty feet tall. It can also transform into stone or iron at any time. It can also extended any one of its limbs out to double its current height. When this power is manifested, the hand and limb appear to be attached by a thick rope. The rope is not visible until this specific power is manifested.

Using Kelyn and Mishabroo

Kelyn is ultimately fated to become a god of magic. When Mishabroo has all the powers described above, Kelyn is almost a demi-god in power. At this point of Kelyn's life, he has researched several unique spells, he has created all manner of constructs and bizarre creatures. He has traveled the Astral Sea and is able to summon any primordial he wishes. He has traveled to the stars and knows how to construct a spacefaring ship.

If Kelyn is encountered just as he is graduating, he will be a 4th level mage. At this point, Mishabroo can communicate through telepathy and has the intelligence equivalent to a dog. Mishabroo can also extend his limbs, however he cannot grow in size, nor manifest any of the other abilities listed above.

Kelyn is at his weakest at this point if you use the ACKS rules. He is not able to create scrolls, potions, etc. He can only imbue Mishabroo with powers from spells he already knows. This means his spell book contains: ESP, Phantasmal Force, Extend Limbs (a custom spell taught by his mentor) and any other spells the GM wishes to provide.

Once Kelyn is able to research spells at 5th level, he begins to amass formulas for creating magic items and generating his own spells. His spell book should include many custom spells, including the processes to call specific primordials.

At levels between 4 and 14, here are some guidelines for the powers that Mishabroo has and certain spells that should be in Kelyn repetiore:

6th level - Mishabroo can visually plant a memory in any creature. Kelyn has just begun to place his own memories into the Mishabroo. Mishabroo can also communicate telepathically and has the intelligence of a dog. Kelyn should have at least Clairvoynace, ESP, Phantasmal Force, Extend Limbs.

7th level - Mishabroo can manifest all powers listed above and can grow to twenty feet in height. Kelyn should have all the spells listed above plus his own spell Grow Wooden Objects. This version allow him to increase the size of any wooden object up to 20 feet tall or double its normal height, whichever is greater. Intelligent creatures get a saving throw.

9th level - Mishabroo can manifest all powers listed above and can turn to stone or iron. Kelyn should have all the spells listed above and the custom spells, Transmute Wood to Stone, Transmute Wood to Iron and Transmute Iron to Stone. All these spells are similar to transmute mud to rock and are reversible. Kelyn should also be able to reliably summon three types of primordials.

11th level - Mishabroo can manifest all powers listed above and can teleport back to Kelyn if it is teleported away from Kelyn. Mishabroo has the equivalent intelligence of a monkey. Kelyn should have all spells listed above and the custom spells Prevent Teleport, Reverse Teleport, Track Teleport, and the ability to call at least five types of primordials. In addition, Kelyn can also creature items that temporarily increase the target's Intelligence.

14th Level - Mishabroo has all the powers listed above and it has the equivalent intelligence of a human (INT 9). Kelyn has many ritual spells at this point. These include Dimensional Lock, Protection from Spells, Maze, Trap the Soul, Clone, Mage's Disjunction, Astral Projection, and Time Stop. Kelyn has also written the Codex Primordicalus - a complete guide to summoning any primordial.

The Mamen

April 4, 2012 /

noisms over at Monsters and Manuals posted something fun that I couldn't resist.

The idea is to roll randomly to pick 2d6 monsters from your bestiary of choice. (Fiend Folio, MM2, Monstrous Compendium from 2e, etc.) Then turn those monsters into PC races for a campaign setting.

I pulled out my Dragon Warriors Bestiary and rolled 8 creatures. Sabre-Tooth Tiger, Tapestry Wards, Caitshee, Titan, Wild Boar, Ire Goblin, Okeman, and Water Leaper. I tend to over-think things, so bear with me as some of these are more fleshed out than others.

Mamen (Tapestry Wards) - These creatures were magically brought into this world from a two-dimensional plane to serve a cruel wizard intent on using them to build an unstoppable army. The Mamen escaped the control of wizard, but not before gaining the ability to appear as three-dimensional humanoids. Three generations later, some Mamen have come out of seclusion to explore their new home. The fourth generation Mamen have adapted mostly to three-dimensional existence, but still rely on talismans made for them at birth that allows them to maintain their three-dimensional shape.

Mamen have the ability to remove their talisman and re-attach it at will. This allows them to become invisible (turn sideways) and attack while invisible (like a monofilament weapon). A strike from a two-dimensional Mamen does 1d8 damage at first level, but increases as the Mamen increases in level.

Mamen cannot be clerics, but can be any other class.

Caitshee - These humanoids have a slight feline appearance in the face due to the inverted triangle shaped nose. They are resistant to magic and can disrupt magic with a certain range per level. This includes disrupting the magic of a party's mage.

Due their magic resistance and magic disrupting abilities, there cannot become mages. Caitshee prefer to be rogues.

Ire Goblin or Bugbear - Nothing too new here except that a few smaller, orange splotched and weaker Bugbears can be psionic. Otherwise, Bugbears cannot be psionic.

Titan - When the gods defeated the Titans, the titans that survived went into exile and lived with other humanoids. The children of those Titans became the epic heroes of legend. The grand-children of those epic heroes are what other races call Titans today.

Physically, they appear human ranging from six to seven feet tall. They prefer to be clean-shaven and wear their hair short. Titan villages are fairly common near Zominakapra and Puli settlements.

Titan can be any class they wish. When a Titan character is created, a d6 is rolled. The result determines which ability score receives a +4 bonus. Depending on rolls, it is possible for a Titan to have a 22 score for an attribute, though that is quite rare.

Zominakapra (Boars of Zominthos)  - These boar-men have the torso and lower body of a man and the head of a boar. Despite their fierce appearance, Zominakarpa are quite thoughtful and intelligent. Zominakapra can communicate with pigs, but rarely do so preferring the company of others.

They can often be found exchanging ideas and philosophies. Those that practice sorcery form societies that mutually benefit all members. Research and discovered spells are eagerly shared with other members. For this reason Zominakarpa characters that choose to be sorcerers gain an additional spell per level for their spellbook.

Despite their perchant for intellectual pursuits, Zominakarpa are swift and deadly in combat. Those that choose to be fighters gain the ability to temporarily use primal rage to wreak havoc on their targets.

Okeman - The okeman vary widely in height, body type and coloration. All okeman have dense skin, can move quickly and are susceptible to fire. They can range from four to seven feet tall. They can be thin or thick. Their color can range from light grey to dark brown to any color in-between. Their multi-colored hair contains yellow, auburn, a bit of orange and traces of green.

Okeman believe that everything has an associated spirit. Stones have spirits, tree have spirits, rivers, mountains, even blades of grass are believed to have spirits. Any Okeman employ a unique form of magic that they call Galli Nir. Magic is generated by the proper alignment and invocation of specific spirits. To aid with proper alignment, Okeman mages use a vast array of pre-made charts to help with protocol when addressing the spirits. Their belief and work with spirits leads the Okeman and Puli to be very close allies.

Okeman avoid things made of wood as they believe that all wood contains the vengeful spirit of the tree that it came from. Their respect for tree spirits makes them close allies with the Puli.

Okeman are skilled in leather and stone craft. They also have great strength. All okeman have the ability to call down lightning which does 1d8 damage to all within 30 feet, including the Okeman.

Water Leaper - These albino limbless toads  are extraordinarily  adept at using teleportation magic and other spells that help makes things or people travel easier. Water leapers themselves move around on floating platforms which they call life chairs.

Water Leapers have very little physical defense and can only attack through the use of magic. Once per day, they can concentrate and strike an opponents with a magical disease that targets the bones of the body. Successful usage of this power will either turn an opponents' bones to jelly.

Puli - Despite being relatives of the Caitshee, they do not have magic resistance or magic disruption abilities. Physically, Puli are quite similar. The most striking difference is seen in the long, curved fangs of the Puli.

Puli can be any class, but they are known for their magic. Their particular form of magic relies on ghosts and spirits to access magical powers. Many times, the spirits serve as a conduit of energy, but there are a few times that they are called upon to act more directly.

Puli clerics do not turn ghosts or spirits. They seek to command them instead. A Puli cleric that successfully commands or controls ghosts or spirits are granted an additional spell to cast. The ability works once per day at lower levels, but can be performed more frequently for powerful clerics.

More Alternate Cleric Stuff

April 1, 2012 /

One of things about using clerics without Spell Lists is that it fits well with Scott Ludwig's Basic D&D Custom Class Template. Since the ACKS custom system is really similar, once I get the Player's Companion, I can make comparisons.

The system uses thirds and halves, so custom classes are easy. 1/3 Cleric gets two categories, 2/3 Cleric gets four, 150% gets 8 categories.

For the Human Template, anyone choosing 200% for Divine gets all 11. I would like to have 12, but even one of my five additional categories is a bit of a stretch.

Looking at the sample Paladin at the link: d6 Hit Dice,  three categories, melee weapons as "Monster" and missile weapons as a Magic-User. I like the idea that not all Paladins are the same.

Will a 1/2 Cleric get a category at half strength? That's up to you. It complicates the formulas used to determine success. Since it's a custom class, though, you can just make a table for success.

If you go the full strength route like me, I simply changed the XP values for Divine. Basically, it matches the Arcane table. This breaks the system for calculating a regular Cleric, but since I allow a spell at 1st level, I use a different chart for Clerics anyway.

One other route could be to have a Piety score. By default it could be Level/3 for non-Clerics and set a Hit Dice limit on using the categories. This means a Paladin with Healing is not healing 2d6 hit points until 6th level and reaches a ceiling of 5d6 at 15th level. The other advantage of going this route is that you don't have to say "no spells at 1st level", the only category that can be used at 1/3 power is healing and that only equates to 1 or 2 hit points.

Still some details to work out. The Paladin still feels too powerful even with my change to the XP Table. (Which is 2125 XP to advance to 2nd level on my adjusted charts instead of 1750 xp on the standard chart.) Also, changing the Divine chart has consequences for non-human clerics.

Postscript

Here is the conversion of the Turning Formula for ACKS:

1d20 + ( 3 * (level of cleric - hit dice of undead) )
Hit dice of undead is increased by one for every special ability (asterisk next to HD number)

Success is adjusted roll of 10 or better

For example, 1st level cleric turning skeletons:

1d20 + (3 * (1 - 1) ) or roll 1d20 with a 10 or better.

As Keith Davies mentioned in the original G+ post, there's a better way to state it:

d20 + 3*level >= 10 + 3* (undead HD + special)

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