Grudgeball

The continent of Spindlewick has seen a lot of wars over the eons. Just about everybody has had a go at everybody else at some point. You almost can't fire a ballista without hitting an old battlefield.

Obviously, at some point, the High Druids decided that all this probably wasn't so good for the bits of landscape playing host to the battles. After some petitioning, and possibly a few battles of their own, involving magically animated trees, they managed to get most of the sides involved to agree to only start wars over "proper" things, like territory, farmland, kidnapped royalty, and suchlike, rather than any time a king felt the national ego could do with a boost.

For times like that, there is now Grudgeball.

Grudgeball is usually played on a large oval or square field. Two teams of of players try to hit the ball (actually a goblin skull alchemically treated to give it bounce) through the opposing team's goal hoop using hefty wooden mallets. A Druid referees, and makes a vain attempt to enforce the "no intentionally hitting other players with your mallet" rule. The ball may be handled with the mallet, or the head or body of a player, but not the feet or hands.

A Grudgeball team is made up of 11 players, 8 of whom may be on the field at any one time. Up to two of these players may be "heavies" (defined as anything that's more than 10 feet tall when it stands up straight, or that weighs more than 25 stone), with the special limitation that if both heavies are deployed on the field at once, if one is incapacitated or sent off, their "slot" must be left open, and not filled with a normal player from the bench.

Arcane magic is usually banned on the field, but divine magic is permitted (on the grounds that nobody is willing to tell a god he's not allowed to get involved), although smiting of players is generally considered bad form. Intentionally enchanted mallets and other items are likewise banned, although some relic mallets that have picked up a sort of ambient enchantment from the belief of the fans do see use (and get stolen a lot by rival teams), and golems and reanimated dead are permitted (on the condition that they can say "I am a player" to the Druid referee).

Games usually last an hour, or until a riot breaks out.

Doctor Who Now?

Microlite: Feats of Power III - this time it's Clerical.

Rogue Feats (Continued)

Lucky Bastard
Once per session you can either re-roll a dice you just rolled, or force the DM to re-roll a dice he just rolled, on the condition that the outcome of that roll effects you. The second roll stands, even if it's worse (for you) than the first one.

Cheating Bastard
You get +2 on the Knowledge skill, and can cast all 0-level mage or illusionist spells, as well as arcane spells from scrolls.

Cleric Feats
(just as a reminder, in m20, Clerics get a number of turning attempts per day equal to their level + mind bonus + 2)

Wrathful God
When an enemy attacks you in melee, you can expend a Turn Undead attempt to deal that enemy the same amount of damage as you take.

Loving God
When you cast a healing spell, you can expend a Turn Undead attempt to roll d10s instead of d8s to see how many hp you heal.

God of Storms
You can throw small bolts of lightning as a ranged attack. Essentially, they work like a thrown spear (including your Strength bonus to damage), except their use your magic attack bonus to hit. Additionally, if you expend a Turn undead attempt, the bolt deals double damage.

Civilized God

Any time you would normally grant an ally a bonus on a roll (through aid another, flanking, a spell, etc.) they get an additional +2 on that roll. You can expend a Turn undead attempt to grant an ally a +3 bonus (including the extra bonus from this feat) on any one roll they are about to take.

God of Light

you can provide illumination sufficient to see by at any time you like. Additionally, if you expend a Turn Undead attempt, all allies within 60 feet of you get +1 on all rolls for 1 round.

God of Shadows

You get a +3 bonus to Subterfuge, and can expend a Turn Undead attempt to make a sneak attack like a Rogue.

[Tablanomicon of Jahibnfil] Assorted Alchemy

Roll
1	Quiescent Quicksilver: A vile of near-inert quicksilver that absorbs all sounds for 10 minutes on release.
2	Think-Man’s Pumice: Transforms gold into lead. Useful in certain limited situations.
3	Liquid Lunch: A liquefied luncheon, feeds four. Delicious and nutritious.
4	Geas Grease: The first person to slip over in a pool of geas grease owes its creator one major favour.
5	Sovereign Glue: Two things joined by this substance cannot be unjoined except by magical means or universal solvent.
6	Merchant Paste: Rub on silver or copper coins to make them appear gold for three days. Enough for 500 “gold” pieces.
7	Alchemic Armour: Apply to add +3 to the armour value of a particular suit of armour. The effect dissipates after five hours. Unfortunately, so does the armour.
7a	Illusionist's Fire: target appears to catch fire, but suffers no harm.
9	Mouldy Bread: Either cures any disease or gives you terrible food poisioning.
10	Tracer Dust: Once you sprinkle this on someone, a specialised lodestone compass will point to them for five days.
11	Universal Solvent: One dose dissolves any kind of physical bond between two objects or creature.
12	Mass Opiate: Specially treated holy water that causes everyone in a 20-foot radius to forget their struggles.
13	Dragonfire Tar: Clings to target, dealing 1d8 damage per round until they jump into the water.
14	Rock Oil Solution: Add to water to create up to 10 oil flasks.
15	Cleansing Agent: Add to any body of water to cleanse it of all imperfections. Do not pour into ocean unless you like global ecocide.
16	Sleeping Draught: Stopper says “Sleeping Draught, Do Not Disturb”. It doesn’t like being disturbed.
17	Ghoststrike Oil: When applied to weapon, it becomes semi-insubstantial and ignores armour. It also attracts ghosts.
18	Elixir of Life: Heals the drinker completely of all wounds and adds +1d6 years to their lifespan. Positive effect is somewhat offset by cocktail of water-borne parasites and diseases.
19	Philosopher Stone: Contains the voice of one noisy dead philosopher.
20	Metaversal Solvent: As universal solvent, but can dissolve metaphysical and metaphorical bonds. Use with extreme care.

Microlite: More Feats of Power!

These were actually penned by TheLoneAmigo, but as he's not around today, I'm presenting them. Part 1 here.

Fighter Feats (Continued)

Tangling Chains

On a successful attack roll with a flail, spiked chain, or whip, you can move your target up to your Strength modifier x 5 feet towards you.

Ready Polearm

Once per round, if an enemy moves before attacking you (and is within melee range) , you may make a free attack on them.

Lightning Reload
You may reload a crossbow as a free action.

Mighty Bowman

You may add your Strength modifier to damage rolls with bows.

Nimble Throwing

You may add your Dexterity modifier to damage rolls with thrown weapons, rather than your strength modifier.

Wizard Feats (Continued)

Tome of Knowledge

At the start of each day, you may prepare one spell you know and can normally cast, ready to be read from your tome. Once during that day, you can cast that spell for free while wielding a tome.

And now some for the Illusionists...

Cloak of Distraction

At the cost of 1 hp you can replace your AC with a Subterfuge + Dexterity roll against 1 attack when wearing a (suitably flashy) cloak.

Orb of Mystery

When wielding an Orb and casting an illusion or enchantment spell, at the cost of 1 hp, you can re-roll your magic attack, and add your Mind bonus to the result (in addition to the fact it's already added to your magic attack anyway).

Rogue Feats

Charming Bastard

You get a +3 bonus to the Communication skill.

Sneaky Bastard

You get a +1 bonus to the Subterfuge skill, and can always hide, even in the middle of combat, with a Subterfuge + Dex roll.

Athletic Bastard

You get a +2 bonus to the Physical skill.

[m20 magic item] Bottled Lightning

A post inspired by the above picture, the awesome lightning pirates in Stardust, and the fact that "mana potions" are boring.

Lightning is power. In a magic-rich environment, this is true in more ways than one (that one otherwise being "the power to fry anything stupid enough to be standing out in the open"). The wizards of the Coin long ago worked out that properly captured and processed, lightning could be used as a power source for their spell-workings. Most wizard towers have a lightning-rod and processing equipment installed, although unless the resident feels like messing with the local weather patterns or annoying a god, there's always the problem of getting a regular supply (compounded by the fact it goes flat after a while). Many wizards prefer to just buy it from the few skyship crews who specialize in lightning collection.

A bottle of reasonably fresh, refined, lightning costs about 350-400gp. It can be used in one of two ways:

Firstly, a wizard (or cleric) can drink it as a standard action. If he then casts a spell on his next turn, that spell's HP cost is reduced by 1d6. If the caster doesn't cast a spell on his text turn, however, the build-up of power discharges, dealing him 1d6 damage.

Second, it can be shaken and thrown, causing it to explosively discharge. This deals 3d6 damage to the target, and 1d6 damage to anybody standing next to him (Reflex save for half. DC = thrower's attack roll).

Stale, old, bottled lighting would use a d4 or d3 instead of a d6.

The Coin

The world is flat. Any fool can tell you that. Of course, long ago, the fools of a past age thought it was flat like a shining coin, soaring through the void with its three luminous moons like some mad god's lost change.

The discovery of a bunch of elephants and a planet-sized turtle adhered to the other side of the "Coin" kind of upset this theory, but sadly, by then, the name had stuck.

So, this is my campaign world. A little Discworld*, a little D&D kitchen sink, far more planning than is healthy, and far less planning than it seems to warrant. The map above was originally created by TheLoneAmigo, then got tweaked by me (you can blame me for the horrible shade of orange on the deserts, him for the place names).

*which is to say, a lot Discworld.

Microlite: Feats of Power!

One of the main issues I have with Microlite20, at least in the form Jarrah uses, is that it provides relatively little room for character differentiation - the only ways in which characters of the same class/race combo differ from each other is in their stats (rolled at random) and their equipment (so now we're back to characters being defined by their items... a particularly odious 3.5ism that I never enjoyed).

Thus, I've proposed a system that draws in some of the elements I love about D&D4e and the feat system from 3.5e. I'll be the first to admit that t's not particularly "balanced"... but balance isn't really our core emphasis in this version of D&D so much as ensuring everyone has an interesting time. Since it's all a mess of houserules anyway, anything too odious can be easily reigned in.

Feats of Power

At 1st level, a character selects one of their Class Feats. These serve to further define the character. At every odd level thereafter, an additional feat slot is opened up. Characters may fill these feat slots with techniques and clever stratagems they learn from wizened masters, combat teachers, or come up with in their own path.

Fighter

Nimble Swordsman
You may add your Dexterity bonus to attack rolls (in addition to your strength score) in any round where you move at least once.

Cleaving Axe

Whenever you hit with an axe, you may deal damage equal to your Strength bonus to any other adjacent enemies.

Hammer Smash
Even if you miss, you still do damage equal to your Strength Bonus to the creature you were attacking.

Defensive Counterstrike

Whenever an adjacent enemy attacks one of your allies, you may make an immediate attack against them as a free action. You can only do this once per round.

Wizard

Wand of Accuracy
At the cost of 1hp, you may re-roll a magic attack roll and add your Dexterity bonus if wielding a wand.

Staff of Defense

When wielding a staff, add +2 to your AC.

more to come...

Flight spells on the Coin

A long time ago the gods made it pretty clear that if the mortal races were supposed to be able to fly they would have been issued wings up front. After some lightning bolts were thrown around, the wizarding community got the hint and gave up on spells that allow humans to soar like birds.

Of course, wizards are smartasses. They've since worked out a myriad of spells that do similar things without breaking the "no flying mortals" rule. Feather Fall will slow your decent, Levitate will allow some vertical movement without actually counting as flight, and finally, the coin version of the spell Fly actually imbues aerial mobility on a broom* which a mortal spellcaster might just happen to sit on...

*or carpet, or staff, or cauldron. Different cultures have different versions with different degrees of speed and stability.

eXPloration: the pictorial guide (part 2)

I'd just like to thank every artist who's fantastic work I've ripped off for this.

You also get 2 xp for visiting each of these locations...

The Pyrsburg, realm of mages and merchants, hub of trade (if you can read French, just ignore the text)

Al-Harraj, city of a thousand genies
Spinotaur City, center of learning in Zwuyala
The great city of the drow that nobody can pronounce the name of.
Cannon Valley, the ancient stronghold of the dwarves
Broken Glade, the elven retreat on Spindlewick
The very Edge of the World (although you have to look over it to get the XP)

I couldn't find a picture of Yendys, as nobody has ever felt inclined to draw Sydney as a fantasy city. I guess I'll just have to do it myself...

Also, Xp will be given for...

Getting ship-wrecked (unless you did it intentionally) - 1 xp
Watching a city burn (once per city) - 2 xp
Watching a dragon fly - 1xp
Flying on a dragon - 5xp (less for later dragon flights and other forms of aerial transport)

And that, for the moment, concludes the pictorial guide to eXPloration in Jarrah's campaign.

eXPloration: the pictorial guide (part 1)

really, as an artist, I should be doing these drawings myself, but instead I've just stolen them wholesale from around the internet. So, without further ado, some inspirational artwork to represent the various things you can earn exploration XP for in my campaign:


Gazing upon the Coin from one of it's three moons - 20xp

Climbing the Spindle, the mountain at the center of the world, home to the gods - 15xp
Visiting the secret grove of the high druids, or the hidden monastery of the Tax monks - 8xp

Cross the Spindlewick mountains, or the Great Howling Desert of Aratha - 5xp

To be continued...

Random Details on the Races of the Coin

(the Coin, by the way, is the name of the planet my current D&D campaign is set on. More explanation on the subject will be forthcoming at a future point)

Dwarves:
Dwarves don't pray, or worship gods. They acknowledge that the gods exist, and that they're very powerful, but they draw the line at actually being deferential to such beings. What they will do, however, is bargain.

The closest thing to a dwarf prayer would go something like this:
"Hey, any gods who might be listening, I'd be willing to, I dunno, forge you some neat stuff in the afterlife, if you'd nudge things my way right now. Not that I need it, mind you, it's just that it would be awfully convenient..."

Dwarf clerics should probably be more accurately called "professional god bargainers".

Elves: Nobody has ever seen a fat elf. Some conspiracy theorists believe that all the ugly-looking elves are rounded up and kept hidden in dungeons beneath the elven capital of Yendys. Everybody else just thinks this is more evidence of the elves being an entire species that is annoyingly lucky.

Most elves are incapable of growing facial hair. They are perpetually aggravated that the human wizard community refuses to take their mages seriously as a result.

Gnomes (aka Halflings): Gnomes are by their basic nature, obsessive. Most people don't notice, because the average gnome obsesses over living a quiet, comfortable, unremarkable life in a nice little pastoral hamlet, and eating five square meals a day.

Adventuring gnomes are mostly those weirdos who become obsessed with travel, money, magic, power, bloodshed or similar, rather than pies.

Orcs and Half-Orcs
Orcs are an artificial species, crafted long ago by some forgotten Dark Lord from a mixture of goblin and human biology and beer. They have gone extinct several times since then, but as the recipe for their manufacture has been passed down from evil wizard to evil wizard, such reprieves haven't lasted.

Orcs can be found in two locations - in the service of an evil magic user with a spare vat to make them in, or skulking about in otherwise uninhabited regions after their dark master has been offed by some adventurers.

Half-orcs occur when a human and an orc love each other very, very much.

All greenskins enjoy singing.

my take on eXPloration

entirely stolen in format from Jeff Rients' post on the subject. XP values calibrated for microlite20

• 20xp for visiting any of the Coin's three moons and gazing upon the elephants and the turtle (10xp each for the other two moons).
• 15xp for scaling the spindle (talking to the gods when you reach the top is entirely optional. They might get pissed either way).
• 8xp for visiting the secret grove of the high druids or the hidden monastery of the Tax Monks. 10xp if the inhabitants actually invite you in.
• 5xp for crossing the Spindlewick mountains, or the Howling Desert.
  
• 2xp for each Great City you visit (Al Harraj, Pyresburg, Spinotaur City, and That Underdark One Nobody Can Pronounce).
  
• 2xp for visiting Cannon Valley.
• 2xp for looking off the edge of the world.
• 2xp for braving the misty hills or any similar monster-haunted, malevolent and generally creepy location for three nights.
  

Non-location XP

• 1xp for seeing a dragon.
  
• 5xp for the first time you ride a dragon. Other modes of aerial transit (flying carpet, skyship, roc, spell) as well as later rides on a dragon will give less xp.
• 2xp for watching a city burn. Once per city (no camping, people).
• 1xp for getting shipwrecked (either sea or skyship), but no xp if you do it intentionally.
  

Cubic Dungeon

So, here's an idea that came from me messing about with Dyson Logos' dungeon Geomorphs, and the nifty random dungeon generator made from them.

I give you, the cubic dungeon:


Of course, to any hapless adventurers transported inside it (whether by a goblin doorway, or an angered sorcerer, or something else entirely) it does not at first appear to be a cube. From inside, it's a normal dungeon, until you discover that walking in one direction long enough will bring you back to your starting point, as will taking three right (or left) turns in the right location.

The party mapper will be tearing his hair out.


Above is the 6 geomorphs I pasted together. I took the liberty of tweaking the left "arm" design slightly so as to avoid having dead ends. Also note that while there are several secret doors in the complex, there is only one truly secret room. Perhaps that holds the key to escaping?