Saturday, August 29, 2020

Hard Sci-Fi Gunfighting Rules

 I'm thinking of making a fairly hard sci-fi RPG. No FTL, no aliens, no uplifted organisms, just spaceships and railguns. Since I have a bunch of ideas bouncing around my head right now about how the shooting people will work, I'm going to put it all to paper even though I have no plans to really start work on this until I actually finish my GLOG hack to some degree (if that ever happens). These rules are borrowed in part from Boot Hill 3rd Ed, a TSR Wild West RPG.

Guns (and others)

WeaponWound Modifier
Cost
Slots
Properties
Light Pistol
0
$300
1
Ammo 15, Range 30', Semi-auto, Recoil 1
Heavy Pistol
+1
$400
1
Ammo 12, Range 35', Semi-auto, Recoil 2
Revolver
+2
$350
1
Ammo 6, Range 40', Semi-auto, Recoil 3
SMG
+1
$500
2
Ammo 30, Range 35', Select-fire, Recoil 1
PDW
+2
$500
2
Ammo 30, Range 30', Select-fire, Recoil 1
Carbine
+2
$600
3
Ammo 30, Range 50', Select-fire, Recoil 2
Assault Rifle
+2
$700
4
Ammo 30, Range 55', Select-fire, Recoil 3
Battle Rifle
+3
$1000
5
Ammo 30, Range 60', Select-fire, Recoil 4
DMR
+3
$1200
5
Ammo 15, Range 70', Semi-auto, Recoil 4
Sniper Rifle
+4
$2000
6
Ammo 10, Range 80', Manual, Recoil 5
AMR
+5
$3000
7
Ammo 5, Range 80', Manual, Recoil 8
LMG
+2
$2500
7
Ammo 240, Range 50', Full-auto, Recoil 5
MMG
+3
$3000
8
Ammo 240, Range 50', Full-auto, Recoil 6
Shotgun
+3
$500
4
Ammo 6, Range 25', Manual, Recoil 3
Combat Shotgun
+4
$700
5
Ammo 10, Range 25', Semi-auto, Recoil 4
Grenade
0
$300
1
Thrown, Range 20', AoE 10'
Grenade Launcher
0
$2500
5
Ammo 6, Range 30', Manual, AoE 10
RPG
+7
$2000
5
Ammo 1, Range 50', Reload 2, Inaccurate

Properties
  • Ammo: How many shots a gun can fire before it needs to reload.
  • Range: A shot has no penalties within the range of the gun, and takes a -1 penalty for each range increment it is outside of that initial range.
  • Recoil: This will be explained more fully later, but generally how hard the gun is to control.
  • Semi-auto: The gun can fire single shots or burst fire (by squeezing the trigger rapidly).
  • Select-fire: The gun can fire single shots, burst fire, or full automatic.
  • Manual: The gun can fire single shots only.
  • Full-auto: The gun can fire burst fire or full automatic.
  • Thrown: This weapon can go over cover. Only one thrown weapon can be used per round. Instead of an attack roll, roll a DC 15 Ranged Weapons check. If you fail, the weapon rolls by the amount you failed by time 5' in a random direction.
  • AoE: All targets in range must make a DC 15 Reflex Save, moving to avoid the effect on a success and being affected on a failure.
  • Reload: You must spend two actions reloading before you can fire this weapon again.
  • Inaccurate: All attack rolls with this weapon are made at a -3 penalty.
Weapon Modifications
Granular weapon modifications like sights, foregrips, and the like aren't considered (assume they are included in the cost of the weapons), but there are some which are relevant. The costs may vary depending on which gun they are for, and some may not be able to accept certain modifications.
  • Silencer*: A silencer reduces the sound of firing a gun (not a shotgun or a grenade launcher) in-atmosphere significantly. $50-1000.
  • Flashlight: Self-explanatory. $20.
  • Bayonet: A melee weapon (no stats because I don't know how these will work yet) for the barrel of a carbine or rifle smaller than an AMR. $50.
  • Underbarrel Shotgun: A shotgun that mounts on a carbine or rifle smaller than a DMR. As a combat shotgun but ammo 3, 1 slot. $800.
  • Underbarrel Grenade Launcher: A grenade launcher that mounts on a carbine or rifle smaller than a DMR. As a grenade launcher but 1 ammo, 1 slot. $1200.
  • EM Assist: Can be added to any gun (not a grenade launcher). When used, adds +2 Wound Modifier and +1 Recoil. Has the property Capacitor 5 (can be used to fire 5 rounds before it must be reloaded), or Capacitor 15 for three times the price. 1 slot, $300-3000.
  • Recoilless: Recoilless guns do not in fact make the gun easier to control - the Recoil property of the gun remains the same. However, when fired in a 0 g environment, the weapon does not move the user.  Recoilless guns cost twice the price of a regular gun, require special ammunition (which costs twice as much as the standard), and are 1 slot larger. EM Assist can still be used, but it causes the user to move in 0 g as a 1 Recoil gun. RPGs are already recoilless.

How to Use Your Gun

As an action (you get 30' of movement and an action per 5 second round), you can choose one of the following options, provided your gun can fire in that fashion. Any gun can Hold an Angle or Aim.
  • Single Shot: No penalties, no bonuses, just a to-hit roll and a wound roll if you hit. The target must be visible.
  • Burst: Fire 3 rounds at the target for a +2 Wound Modifier but a -Recoil to-hit.
  • Full-Auto: Fire 15 rounds in a cone (15' wide at 30' away from you). You can roll to hit at a -Recoil against anyone who is exposed in that area at any point before the start of your next turn. You can do this from behind cover without being exposed (blind firing) for a -5 to-hit instead.
  • Holding an Angle: Pick a direct line of sight from yourself. If anyone becomes exposed along this line before the start of your next turn, you may fire a Single Shot or a Burst at them.
  • Aim: You aim at an exposed target. Next round, you have +3 to hit with a Single Shot or a Burst against them.
Cover
When you are behind an object, attacks that would hit a part of your body that isn't exposed instead hit whatever you are taking cover behind. 
  • Full Cover: Full cover is either a corner you can peek around, an aperture you can peek through, or a solid object high enough that you can crouch behind it and be fully concealed. If you are firing around full cover, your head, arms, and shoulders are exposed. Otherwise, none of you is exposed.
  • Partial Cover: Partial cover conceals some parts of your body but does not hide you fully even if you are entirely behind it, such as a very thick and solid fence. Attacks that would hit a part of you which is behind the cover hit you on a 3-in-6. Going prone counts as partial cover against enemies farther than 50' away and reduces Recoil by 2 (by 3 for guns which might fit a bipod).
  • Soft Cover: Any piece of cover which conceals you and would slow down but not stop a bullet is soft cover. The attacker against a target behind soft cover can choose to treat it as partial cover if it is full cover or as no cover if it is partial cover at the expense of a -2 Wound Modifier as they fire through the cover.
Combat in 0 G Environments
As this is a sci-fi thing that involves flying around in space, you're probably going to fight in an environment with no gravity or microgravity at some point. You can consider this as much or as little as you want, but the 3d environments that result can be extremely hard to keep in mind. I do not have a good solution for this yet. Some base rules: if you fire a weapon with recoil while not anchored in some way, you move Recoil * 5' away from the direction you fire; weapons have twice the normal range; you cannot throw grenades over cover (but you can bounce them off walls); and unless you have a maneuvering pack, the only way to move when not in contact with a surface is to shoot or throw things.
 

Armor

 
Armor is all pretty straightforward - it's just a flat reduction to all wound rolls. However, I want techies to be relevant in combat, so hacking and/or EWAR will be possible against the more sophisticated armors.

ArmorWound Modifier |
Slots |
Airtight? |
Cost
Armored Vest
-32No$500
Spacesuit
-23Yes$500
Armored Spacesuit-44Yes$1200
Light Armor-43No$800
Medium Armor-54No$1500
Heavy Armor-65No$3000
Light Exoskeleton-5-2No$7000
Heavy Exoskeleton-7-4Yes$15000 

Ammunition


WeaponsQuantity |
Slots |
Cost
Light Pistol/SMG151/10$10
Heavy Pistol121/10$12
Revolver61/10$12
PDW301/3$20
Carbine/Assault Rifle/LMG301/3$25
Battle Rifle/DMR/MMG301/2$30
Sniper Rifle101/3$30
AMR51/3$50
Shotgun101/3$15
Grenade Launcher61/2$100
RPG11$50

Wounds

When someone gets hit, the first thing you do is roll wound location:
 
d20LocationWound Modifier
1-4Arms-1
5-8Legs0
9-10Shoulders0
11-18Torso+1
19-20Head+1

The attacker can choose to change the wound location by no more than their Ranged Weapon skill (you cannot wrap around from 1 to 20 or vice versa). Next, you roll Wound Severity. Add up all the Wound Modifiers, including those from armor, then add that to a d8. At this point, NPCs simply take that value as damage to their hitpoints.     continue on. 0 or less is no wound, 1-4 is a light wound, 5-7 is a severe wound, and 8 or above is a mortal wound. 

Each light wound you have gives a -1 to all rolls on a d20, each severe wound gives a -3. If the total penalty exceeds 5, you must make a DC 10 Con save vs unconsciousness each round. When you take a mortal wound, you must make a DC 15 Con save vs death. On a failure, you die instantly. On a success, you will die in 1d12 rounds unless you receive medical attention. 

After combat ends, roll on a Death and Dismemberment table (I'll make one someday, probably) for any light wounds, severe wounds, and stabilized mortal wounds to determine further effects and healing time.


Saturday, August 22, 2020

GLOG: Mage Spells

Why did I decide to do this to myself? Who knows. But here it is! All of the Mage spells except for those which are already set out in the Witch Spells or Chanter Spells. As usual, there was a good deal of crowdsourcing from the GLOGblins of the OSR Discord.

Acid Splash
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] * 2 rounds
Range: 60'
All creatures within 5' of a point within range must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage, and take [dice] damage on each subsequent round for the duration unless they wash the acid off.

Catapult Element
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 0
Range: 120'
You fling a significant amount of any element other than air or lightning towards a target within range. The target must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage and suffer an additional effect based on the element you flung. Water: Target is stunned for [dice] rounds. Earth: Target is winded and has disadvantage on all rolls for [sum] rounds. Fire: Target is burned and takes +1 damage from all sources for [sum] days. Wood: Splinters strike all adjacent creatures for [dice] damage. Metal: Target takes [sum] additional damage. Acid: Target is covered in acid and takes [dice] damage at the start of each subsequent round for [dice] rounds unless they wash the acid off. On a successful Save, the target takes only half of [sum] damage and the secondary effect is not inflicted.

Chain Lightning
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] minutes
Range: 60'
[dice] + 1 creatures are struck by a bolt of lightning hopping from one to the next, the first of whom must be within range, and all the others of whom must be within 30' of the creature prior to them, must Save vs Magic. On a failed Save, each creature [sum] damage.

Circle of Death
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Duration: Indefinite
Range: 0
You inscribe a large rune (at least 1' across) on a surface. Any creature, except for any you designate to be immune (who must be present when you cast the spell), that comes within 5' of the rune must Save vs Magic. On a failure, if they have less than [dice] HD, they die, and if they have more than [dice] HD, they take [sum] * 2 damage. Once the spell has killed or dealt damage [dice] times, the rune disappears and the spell ends. In order to cast this spell, you must have [dice] * 50 d. worth of silver dust, 10 d. worth of chalk, a cypress twig, and an animal sacrifice of at least a chicken.

Cloak of Darkness
Casting Time: 1 minute
Duration: [dice] hours
Range: 5'
The area within 5' of you becomes shrouded in magical shadows. You can see out of this darkness, but only to a distance of 30'. Any creatures outside the darkness when it was cast must Save vs Magic to even notice its presence. If they do succeed the save, they still only perceive a sphere of darkness. If a creature comes within the area of the darkness after it was cast, if they failed their Save they only notice a chill and unsettling sensation. All creatures who were within the darkness when it was cast can perceive the darkness and move at double normal speed while still within the darkness. Non-magical light cannot penetrate this darkness, and magical light can only penetrate it if it is from an effect with more MD than this spell was cast with (DM's discretion for non-spell magic).

Cone of Cold
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] minutes
Range: 30' cone
All creatures in range must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage and be slowed by [dice] * 5' for the duration. All water in the area is frozen over.

Consuming Shadows
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] rounds
Range: 60'
You create a sphere of complete magical darkness within range, with a radius of [dice] * 5'. Every round a creature starts in the darkness, they must Save vs Magic or take [dice] damage and gain a -1 cumulative penalty to all rolls for 1d4 days. Non-magical light cannot penetrate this darkness, but any magical light can.

Control Water
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 0
Range: 30'
You can waterbend control any water within range that is not inside a creature. You can freeze, melt, or move up to [dice] ^ 3 cubic feet of water or ice (hitting somebody with this water is Save vs Magic or [sum] damage, freezing them in place is a Save vs Magic to avoid getting trapped and a Save vs Magic each round to escape), or turn [dice] ^ 3 cubic feet of water into ([dice] ^ 3) * 5 cubic feet of fog.

Crown of Madness
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] rounds
Range: 60'
A creature in range goes mad as a crown of iron wraps itself around their head. For the duration, they must Save vs Magic at the start of each round. On a success, they can act normally. On a failure, they move to the nearest creature and melee attack it.

Crown of Stars
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] hours
Range: 120'
[dice] * 2 small stars appear circling your head. You can, as an action, fire a star at a creature within range, which must Save vs Magic or take [sum] / 2 damage. You cast light in a radius of 10' times the number of stars remaining.

Dancing Lights
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] minutes
Range: 60'
You summon [dice] * 4 balls of light, each of which can be any color of your choice, each at a point of your choice within range. For the duration, these balls cast light within 10', and you can move them 30' per round so long as they remain within range.

Darkness
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] minutes
Range: 60'
You create a sphere of complete magical darkness within range, with a radius of [dice] * 10'. Non-magical light cannot penetrate this darkness, and magical light can only penetrate it if it is from an effect with more MD than this spell was cast with (DM's discretion for non-spell magic).

Darkvision
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] minutes
Range: 0
For the duration, you can see through both non-magical and magical darkness.

Elemental Familiar
Casting Time: 8 hours
Duration: 0
Range: 0
You summon an elemental spirit with [dice] HD. This spirit is intelligent, speaks the languages you do, and will do your bidding, but it may have its own agenda as well. This spirit can be of one of the base 4 elements (air, water, earth, fire) at 1 MD, of those, wood, or metal at 2 MD, or of those, acid, or lightning at 3 MD. At 4 MD, you can pick 2 elements. Casting this spell requires [dice] * 10 d. of silver dust, an animal sacrifice of at least a chicken, and an environment containing a significant amount of the chosen element. 

Enthrall
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] minutes
Range: 60'
[dice] creatures of your choice within range who can see you must Save vs Magic or become enthralled for the duration. While they are enthralled, the only creature they can perceive is you, and they must successfully Save vs Magic in order to attack you every time they wish to do so. If they are harmed or affected by another creature, they are no longer enthralled.

Fear
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] rounds
Range: 60'
[sum] creatures of your choice within range who can see you must Save vs Magic or flee from you in fear. While afraid, they have disadvantage on all rolls and must use all of their movement to get away from you. Once they are no longer in your line of sight, they may Save vs Magic at the end of each round, ending the effect on a success.

Feign Death
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] hours
Range: 0
[dice] willing or unconscious creatures you touch fall unconscious if they were not already and appear completely and entirely dead, even to magical detection, for the duration.

Find Familiar
Casting Time: 8 hours
Duration: 0
Range: 0
You summon a spirit in the form of an animal with no more than [dice] HD. This spirit is intelligent, speaks the languages you do, and will do your bidding, but it may have its own agenda as well. You can also bind a creature of no more than [dice] HD you already have a close bond with to you with this spell. This creature does not become intelligent, but it becomes able to understand you in the languages you speak and will do your bidding. Casting this spell requires [dice] * 10 d. of silver dust and an animal sacrifice of at least a chicken.

Fireball
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 0
Range: 90'
All creatures within 20' of a point in range must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage. All flammable objects within the area are set on fire.

Floating Disk
Casting Time: 1 minute
Duration: [sum] hours
Range: 0
You create a floating disk of magical energy, which follows 10' behind you. It can carry [dice] * 10 slots worth of items.

Forcecage
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] hours
Range: 60'
You can create a cage of almost invisible, impenetrable magical energy enclosing [sum] creatures. These creatures can Save vs Magic to escape the cage when it first appears. Creatures attempting to teleport into or out of the cage must first Save vs Magic. The cage cannot be damaged by non-magical means, and has [dice] * 4 HD.

Gust of Wind
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 0
Range: 30'
You create a strong wind 5' wide and [dice] * 30' long at a point in range. All loose objects weighing less than [sum] * 50 lbs are thrown to the end of the wind, and all creatures in the area must Save vs Magic or be thrown to the end of the wind as well. If the thrown objects and creatures hit a solid object as they are thrown, they take 1d6 damage per 10' they are moved before hitting. You can also use this spell when you are hit by a ranged attack to negate [sum] damage. If you negate all of the damage, the attack is redirected to its source.

Hoarfrost Hauberk
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] hours
Range: 0
You sheathe yourself in a spiked cuirass of ice. This cuirass has [sum] hitpoints, which take damage that would otherwise have damaged you. If an enemy hits you with a melee attack while any of these hitpoints still remain, they take [dice] damage.

Hurricane
Casting Time: 1 hour
Duration: [dice] hours
Range: [dice] miles
You summon an enormous swirling storm around yourself. [dice] * 20% of the buildings, developed land, and vegetated areas within range are devastated or destroyed by flooding and high winds over the course of the spell. There is a calm area within 100' of where you cast the spell. While in the area of the storm, no ranged attacks can be made and movement speed is halved due to winds, there may be dangerous flooding or landslides, and the strength of all magical wind and lightning effects is doubled. Casting this spell requires [dice] * 100 d. of fine wine and a sacrifice of at least a chicken (1 MD), a pig (2 MD), a cow (3 MD), or a human (4 MD).

Imp Familiar
Casting Time: 8 hours
Duration: 0
Range: 0
You summon an imp with [dice] HD. This imp is intelligent, speaks the languages you do, and will follow your commands precisely     to the word, but it may have its own agenda as well. The imp has [dice] / 2 MD (round down), which are expended on any use and regenerate over a week, not a day, and knows [dice] random Demonic Mage spells. Casting this spell requires [dice] * 20 d. of silver dust and a sacrifice of at least a chicken (1 MD), a pig (2 MD), a cow (3 MD), or a human (4 MD).

Mage Hand
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] minutes
Range: 60'
You create a spectral floating hand at a point within range. The hand is under your direct control. It can move 30' in a round, and can lift at most [dice] * 5 lbs. If wielding a one-weapon, it deals 1d6 damage with a to-hit bonus of 1 + the weapon's to-hit bonus. The hand has 1 HD and an AC of 13.

Magic Missile
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 0
Range: 60'
You create [sum] arrows of magical energy, which each hit a target of your choice within range (you can hit a single target more than once if you wish), dealing [dice] damage.

Magic Stone
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] hours
Range: 0
You touch [sum] small stones and turn them into +1 magic weapons. Rocks are base -2 grapple weapons with -1 thrown 20/60, and the stones can also be used as ammunition for a sling.

Magic Weapon
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] rounds/minutes/hours/days
Range: 0
A weapon you touch is turned into a +1 magic weapon for the duration. If you cast this spell with 4 MD and also expend rowan ash, tea tree oil, salt, iron filings, and 100 s. of silver and gold dust, it is permanent.

Mold Earth
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] minutes
Range: 0
For the duration, you can shape the earth with your bare hands. Each round, you can displace [dice]^3 * 125 cubic feet of earth, or [dice]^3 cubic feet of stone.

Ray of Frost
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] rounds
Range: 90'
You shoot a ray of cold at a target within range. The target must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage and suffer a debuff based on hit location for the duration. 1d4: 1. Head, -[dice] on Saves. 2. Torso, lose 1 HD permanently. 3. Arms, -[dice] on attack rolls. 4. Legs, -[dice] * 10' movement speed.

Ray of Sickness
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] rounds
Range: 90'
You shoot [dice] rays of sickening energy at [dice] targets in range. Each target must Save vs Magic or take [dice] damage and become sickened for the duration. The target receives a -1 to-hit and AC penalty each round they are sickened (the penalty lasts for [sum] days), and may Save vs Magic at the end of each round to end the effect.

Ritual of Lichdom
Casting Time: 24 hours
Duration: 0
Range: 0
You must cast this spell with at least 4 MD. You take [sum] damage and automatically trigger a Necromancer Doom. When you trigger the final Necromancer Doom, instead of dying as you normally would, you become a lich. Casting this spell requires a stone altar, a ritual circle of sycamore ash and at least 1000 d. of silver dust, a dagger worth at least 1000 d., and at least 100 human sacrifices. In addition, for the final casting of this spell to be successful, someone must let your blood with the dagger upon the altar as you cast the spell and you must have a phylactery worth at least 5000 d.

Scorching Ray
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 0
Range: 90'
You shoot [dice] rays of heat at [dice] targets within range. Each target must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage. If you target a flammable object, it instantly bursts into flame.

Speak With Elements
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] minutes
Range: 0
For the duration, you can speak to [dice] elements of your choice: air, water (including ice), earth (including stone or magma), fire, acid, lightning, wood, and metal. These elements may not be friendly or helpful, but they remember everything which has happened in their vicinity for as long as they have been in their current form and state of matter.

Starlight Lance
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] rounds
Range: 120'
You launch a javelin of hard light at a target within range. The target must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage and be launched backwards [dice] * 10' to the ground or until they hit a wall, where they are fixed in place for the duration. Each round they are fixed in place they may Save vs Magic, escaping once they have succeeded [dice] times. The javelin casts light in a 10' radius.

Summon [creature type]
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 0
Range: 0
You summon a random [creature type]. The creature has HD determined by dice invested: 1 die for 1d6 HD, 2 dice for 1d8 + 1 HD, 3 dice for 1d10 + 3 HD, and four or more dice for 1d12 + [dice] HD. If you know the true name of a specific [creature type], you can instead summon it directly, as long as the dice you invested allow a creature of that HD to be summoned. The creature makes a reaction roll to determine its feeling about being summoned, unless it would clearly feel a specific way about it already. As part of casting this spell, you can expend 100 d. of silver dust or salt, 10 d. of chalk, 5 candles, and the blood of a freshly killed humanoid to create a magical circle. If you do so, the summoned creature is trapped within the circle until you release it. You may banish the summoned creature at any time while you can see it, although if it is unwilling to be banished you must first Save vs Magic. If you fail the save, you cannot banish the creature.

Unseen Servant
Casting Time: 1 minute
Duration: [sum] hours
Range: [dice] * 60'
You summon an invisible, intangible servant. It will do your bidding and can perform any and all unskilled mundane tasks at the speed a human could perform them. It cannot take harmful action and cannot go further than the range of the spell away from the location where the spell was cast.

Vampiric Touch
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 0
Range: 0
One creature you can touch must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage. You regain hitpoints equal to the damage dealt.

Wall of Force
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] minutes
Range: 60'
You create an almost invisible, impenetrable wall of magic within range. This wall can be in any shape with an area of [dice] * [dice] * 100 square feet. It cannot intersect any creature, but may intersect and go through inanimate objects. If you enclose a creature, they can Save vs Magic to escape. This wall cannot be damaged by non-magical means, and it has [dice] * 3 HD.

Wall of Ice
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: Indefinite
Range: 60'
You create a thick wall of ice within range. This wall can be in any shape with an area of [dice] * [dice] * 200 square feet, and it is [dice] * 5' thick. It cannot intersect any creature. If you enclose a creature, they can Save vs Magic to escape. Each 5' by 5' pillar of ice has 5 HD. The wall lasts until it melts.

Wall of Light
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [sum] minutes
Range: 60'
You create a wall of blinding light in a color of your choice within range, which casts light 30'. This wall can be in any shape with an area of [dice] * [dice] * 100 square feet. It cannot intersect any creature, but may intersect and go through inanimate objects. If you enclose a creature, they can Save vs Magic to escape. Physical objects and magical effects can pass through this wall. If a creature passes through the wall, they are blinded for [dice] rounds and must Save vs Magic or take [dice] damage.

Wall of Stone
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: Indefinite
Range: 60'
You create a wall of stone within range. This wall can be in any shape with an area of [dice] * [dice] * 50 square feet, and it is 2' thick. It cannot intersect any creature. If you enclose a creature, they can Save vs Magic to escape. Each 5' section of wall has 7 HD and can't be damaged by martial weaponry. Pickaxes deal 1d6 damage.

Werelight
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: [dice] hours
Range: [dice] * 10'
You create a light which hovers over your shoulder. It casts light within range, although you may dim it to cast light within a smaller radius of your choice at will, as well as brightening it up to its maximum radius.

Saturday, August 15, 2020

GLOG: Life Mage

 This post is inspired by a post ArkosDawn of Tome of Dreams made on the OSR Discord (it's kinda hard to see, blame Blogger): 

So now I've made a class from that idea (although the math is a touch different). This class isn't really for Carolingia, although it doesn't exactly not work with the setting. It just doesn't feel quite right.

The Life Mage

Starting Equipment: A leather helmet, any weapon (3 javelins count as one weapon, ranged weapons come with 20 ammunition), a small shield, a dagger, and 3 glass vials.

Skills: Occult Knowledge and 1d3: 1. Surgery, 2. Butchering, 3. Wrestling

Damage: 1d8

A: Sacrificial Spellcasting, +1 MD Cap
B: Measured Risk, +1 Spell
C: Vampiric Strikes, +1 MD Cap +1 Spell
D: Life Transference, +1 MD Cap, +1 Spell

Sacrificial Spellcasting:

You can cast spells using your life force, the life force of a willing ally you can touch, or that of an incapacitated enemy you can touch. You can deal damage to the source of the energy depending on how many MD you wish to cast the spell with: 2 damage for 1 MD, 4 damage for 2 MD, 8 damage for 3 MD, or 16 damage for 4 MD. You don't get MD from damage dealt to an incapacitated enemy that is greater than their hitpoints before the damage was dealt. You know two spells from the first six on the list, and gain one more at each further template of Life Mage (from the first 8 at B, first 10 at C, and all 12 at D). You can only cast spells of MD equal to or lower than your number of templates in this class.

Measured Risk: 

If damage you deal (including the damage from Sacrificial Spellcasting) would bring a creature below 0 hitpoints, once per day you can choose for this damage to only bring them to 0 hitpoints. This ability has a 1-in-20 chance of killing the creature outright instead.

Vampiric Strikes:

When you deal damage with a weapon attack, gain 1d4 hitpoints.

Life Transference:

You can transfer hitpoints between yourself and a willing creature you're touching. 

Cantrip:

When you touch something, you can create a small and very clean cut in it with a thought. If you do this to a creature, it won't deal damage, but it will draw blood. Some especially durable objects may be immune.

Drawback:

You cannot enter a home without explicit permission. If anyone decent learns the source of your magic, they will either try to kill you or get a mob together to kill you (probably excepting other PCs).

Spells:

Edit: Descriptions for all of these spells can be found here.
  1. Song of Slaying
  2. Bane
  3. Hex
  4. Charm Person
  5. Blindness/Deafness
  6. Inflict Wounds
  7. Vampiric Touch
  8. Blight
  9. Control Blood
  10. Word of Pain
  11. Summon
  12. Hemorrhage

 Miscasts:

  1. Take 1d6 damage
  2. Take +1 damage from all sources for the next hour
  3. All creatures within 30 feet take 1d4 damage
  4. Your eyes are clouded with blood for 1d4 hours
  5. Your blood roars in your ears for 1d6 hours
  6. You are paralyzed for 1d4 hours

Dooms: 

  1. Your muscles become feeble. Lose 2 Strength, 1 Dexterity, and 1 Constitution.
  2. Your blood runs thin. Whenever you gain a wound, you bleed out in 2d4 rounds without treatment.
  3. Your brain grows soft. Lose 1d4 of a random mental stat at the start of every week.

Sunday, August 9, 2020

A Short History of My Characters

 A bunch of people on the OSR Discord have been making lists of all the characters they've played, a trend started by Throne of Salt. I haven't been playing RPGs for nearly as long as most of the people who've posted, but I figured I'd hop on the bandwagon nonetheless. 

Past Characters

Olorín (5e V-Human Mystic)

Oh god, I know. Yes, he was literally Gandalf. Yes, it was my first RPG character ever. No, I did not know how anything worked. Yes, the Mystic is a badly designed and ill-considered class that was a very bad decision for a first character. Lasted until... 6th level, I think, until the campaign petered out (very generic fantasy, first time DM, lots of railroading and a very annoying DMPC). 

Finduilas (5e Half-Elf Fighter/Warlock)

A rather edgy and downright sociopathic mercenary in an evil campaign. She started as a pure Dex-based Battlemaster, then multiclassed to warlock when we found a grimoire filled with the names of extraplanar beings (this was sorta planned, I rolled amazing stats even for 4d6 drop low and I didn't want that 18 Cha to go to waste). She was pretty fun to play and murdered a ton of innocent people, along with a fair amount of cultists. She got to 10th level but advancement was super fast because the DM wanted to end the campaign but didn't want it to just stop right away. The Raven Queen is by far the best warlock patron in 5e, WotC should have made her official, I will die on this hill.

Estella of Chelen (5e Aasimar Bard/Sorcerer Gestalt)

This strange character was for a PbP game about princesses. She was a Lore Bard/Divine Soul Sorcerer gestalt (all the PCs were gestalts), and the gestalt rules the DM used for this were super super high-powered. We also had an absurd standard array - my stats, after racial adjustment, were 6 14 18 20 13 20. We started at level 10, but the DM disappeared two days or so into play, far less than a single session of a live game.

Aoife nic Conchobar (5e Human Druid/Paladin)

A moon druid with 2 levels in paladin for that sweet sweet smite. She was more of the Goblin Punch type of druid than anything else, so she hated shoes and writing and houses. She was great fun to play, and we rushed through Curse of Strahd (same DM as with Finduilas, realized once again they didn't really want to be doing this and also we were all heading off to college rather soon), so she got up to 11th level rather quickly. Strahd got absolutely destroyed.

Aoife nic Conchobar, again (5e Human Druid/Paladin)

I was disappointed with how little I'd gotten to play Aoife before the campaign was rushed to a close, so when my new college group started with Curse of Strahd I brought her out again. Once again, she was super fun to play, and Wild Shape is such an amazing intrigue/sneaking tool (not that she had much patience for intrigue). We made some extremely foolish decisions and got TPKed by Strahd at 6th level.

Amanda Jessup (5e Human Cleric)

After the Strahd TPK, the group decided we wanted something different, so we started a fantasy Western (in 5e because 5e players gonna 5e). I played a war cleric with a double-barreled shotgun. It was amazingly fun to brandish a large devastating weapon while ranting about the glory of my god in a truly terrible Southern accent, but the campaign petered out after just a few sessions because the transition from in-person to online was not great (fuckin' pandemic). Nonetheless, a great character while she lasted.

Hollis (GLOG Kidnapper)

This was one of my two randomly rolled level 0 characters in one of Arnold K's playtests of Lair of the Lamb, but the other one died pretty quick. He was (randomly) plump and passionate, but I really wasn't sure what to do with the Kidnapper profession. After acquiring a phobia of water through a method I won't mention for spoilers, he fell into a pit trap filled with water... Then the rest of the party died while attempting to find a way to rescue him, so he presumably starved to death while horribly afraid, or just drowned. Nonetheless, it was a super fun game.

Hereward the Watchful (GLOG Sheen Zouave)

Hereward was my first character in Deus ex Parabola's online Face campaign. He had killed a wizard with his bare hands, and could therefore taste if an item was magic or not. He was also a crack shot with his snapchance (flintlock pistol) He was a devout orthodox Aeshean rather disgusted by the absurd amount of heresy in the party, but nonetheless gained a grudging mutual respect with Vayra's blue heretic Alpha Priest. Then he fell 50 feet onto a ledge on an extremely difficult climb, compound fractured his femur, and died shortly after.

Current Characters

Saoirse nic Conchobar (3.5e Elf Druid)

Regarding the name, no, I am not a creative person. This is my character in Vayra's very slow-moving but very fun PbP campaign, set in a fantasy megacity. She's an urban druid, not one of those symbol-rejecting asshole druids, and her preferred summon is a dire rat. I suppose one might call her the druid of a zondervoze. She's basically a magic anarchist hobo. One of my favorite character concepts ever.

Domhniall Santino Akbar (GLOG Deltan Sage)

My current character in the Face campaign. He's indeterminately old (but at least 100, I think), very knowledgeable, at least a little condescending, and a devoted purple heretic. He calls himself a wizard despite being only questionably magic (he can blow incredible smoke things from his pipe, whistles very well, and is preternaturally good at lighting fires), but he is very good at reading runes and symbols, speaking ancient languages, and is quite well-known across the lands from his long life and far travels. He recently picked up an unfinished adamant sword in full knowledge that it was cursed, which ended up reversing his ability scores. RIP 18 Charisma, you will be missed.

Rahmuna Marghadi (GLOG Acrobat)

Rahmuna, my character from Squig's online Seas of Sand campaign, is a noble from Zolunis who ran away and joined the circus to become an acrobat, then joined the crew of PCs through some somewhat indefinite events vaguely involving piracy and mutiny, maybe? Yes, she's literally Ty Lee, but she can't paralyze people with her punches (yet), and her circus performer background was randomly rolled, I swear. We've only played two sessions so far, and I've only been there for one of them, but she got addicted to the saliva of a giant beast masquerading as an oasis and then saved our ship (the Invisible Hand) from being devoured by said giant beast through a fortuitous crit while at the helm, so we're off to a good start.