The most underrated of dungeon exploration equipment is:

The Shovel.

I posted way back a million years ago about playing a character who's main weapon was a shovel. Durn the Dwarf, bearer of the rune shovel died in a dismal cave. Talysman was running the game and in fine old school fashion when the dice said that Durn died that's what he did. I was thinking today that the shovel really is a top notch dungeon exploration weapon/tool. Maybe the western martial arts crowd would say that there's no room for such an unwieldy two handed weapon in a dungeon environment, but I think I'm not going to worry about that too much in a game where the dwarves who are famous for dwelling underground (in presumably tight quarters) are also famous for wielding big axes and hammers. What I mean is, in a world of 10' corridors it hardly seems like an issue. Though if the caves did suddenly get all realistically twisty and narrow what better than a trusty shovel to make a bit more room for the broad shouldered barbarian? If these games were realistic then dwarves and goblins would be crawling around in the dark in tunnels too small for humans and I doubt they'd carry much more than a shiv or two.

Ah but if your after realism then the shovel is the first thing your PC should pick up when spending their 3d6x10 gold!  Let's look at a potential real world situation: Say you come across a rabid raccoon attacking your neighbors cat and you must rise to the occasion and intervene. What would you rather have a knife or a shovel? Are you going to bend over and take a stab at the raccoon? That would be rediculous, certainly far more dangerous and nerve wracking than being able to put the shovel between the two animals and if you had to be more forceful you could from a safer distance. Heck, I think in that situation a shovel would be preferred to a .22. You might hit the cat after all.  Now, if this situation sounds like it has nothing to do with D&D, look at your preferred 1st level monster list. A lot of those creatures resemble a rabid raccoon! In size, temperament or both.

But a shovel is a ridiculous weapon you say? Let's look at the Level 1 Wandering Monster table. Of the 20 entries on the table 9 (almost half!) are  monstrous creatures the shovel could be used to chop or swing at. These are creatures like the fire beetle and the spider crab as well as the aerial attackers: the killer bee , the sprite and the stirge. 10 on this list are humans or humanoids. They probably don't want to get whacked by a shovel either. That leaves the green slime. This type of creature is best prodded from a safe distance rather than attacked. Don't have a ten foot pole? A shovel will do in a pinch.

The Level 2 list breaks down similarly. Not until we get to the level 3 monster list does the shovel start to seem outclassed, but I think it's just an oddity of the popular imagination that a sword seems like it would do much better. Against these creatures you really need higher hit dice or a magic weapon or both. And if that's the case, then why not play a Dwarven Shovelmaster (3rd level) with a +1 Rune Shovel?

How about weapon restrictions? There isn't anything that prohibits a wizard or cleric from carrying a shovel is there? Is your wizard tired of striking Gandalf-esque poses while not actually doing much that is useful? Put a shovel head on that staff and get busy! My point is this: If you can walk into a dungeon with a magic missile spell memorized then certainly do so, but bring a shovel too.

Some things Mike Mearls said yesterday

Mike Mearls said stuff on Reddit.

Regarding the 5e DMG that's coming out in about a month:

"There are rules for domains and managing a realm or business as part of the downtime system."

That's good news.  I think that experiencing the characters go from murder-hobos desperate for gold to movers and shakers in what is really a totally different game is a big part of the draw and what makes rpgs a unique thing.  Also kender will not be in the DMG which is really really good news.



"Here's what I'd do if I designed the game solely for myself.
More dice, fewer static modifiers. I'd use a die in place of the proficiency bonus. I like rolling dice and find it easier to teach that way."

The person asking the question clarifies: Replacing a +2 with a d4, +3 with d6, +4 with d8, +6 with d12, etc.  That sounds FUN.  Doesn't DCC do something like that?



"I wish the MM could be an app rather than a book. Working in page counts sucks, to be honest. I would've loved to break out tables of bonds, traits, and flaws for every intelligent creature in the game. Don't get me wrong, I love physical books, but on the digital front there's so much potential in breaking out of physical restraints."

This sounds cool, but I feel pretty sure WotC would do it all wrong. I want to see a They Stalk the Underworld app, that would be awesome.  and there could be links to things like John the Retired Adventurer's Wandering Monsters  Lair/Spoor/Tracks/Traces.



Somebody asked: "Will we see Dungeon and Dragon magazine again? Will there be digital content on the website, similar to the maps, art, and adventures we saw in the 3E era?"

and Mike said:
"We're exploring options for the magazines right now. Nothing to announce yet, but we know they're an important part of D&D's history.  That said, the magazine business is in rough shape. Subscriptions to them were dropping heavily in their last years in print, and that was six years ago. You can expect anything we do will be delivered digitally."

I'm still holding out for the D&D Mega-Blog.  Only WotC could do it, and it would be a reinvention of the magazine.

Everything you know about halflings is true.

WHAT IF everything you know about halflings is true?

They live underground, and are obsessed with comfort and pipeweed:

they're cannibals that want nothing more than to poke you to death and eat your face:

by this guy in Peru.  I love this picture.

Wait! They're basically regular folks, but smaller and with big hairy feet:

They pretty much don't believe anything you say:

They ride dinosaurs:

Ok, and sometimes goats:

You've probably seen them training and riding around on other things too, dogs, pigs, lammas, etc.  It's all true.

They are weirdly pale with flush red noses:

 They're great climbers:

And they're good at skulking about.  In other words, they make great thieves: 

But some are crafty magic-users:

And some are just barbarians:

Lately they've gotten really into collecting fungus:

Oh, and they're into tattoos.

Got all that?  They're your basic smoking and shrooming albino cannibal pastoral hedonists who love their domesticated critters and the all finer things in life, including yours.

Unhallowed Spells

The idea that there should be a spell called "Beastial Inheritance" came into my head as I woke up this morning but my sorta still asleep brain didn't have time to figure out what the spell does.  Upon further reflection here's how I think it might work:

Beastial Inheritance
Magic-User  Level 4
The MU must ritualistically kill a lycanthrope with a cursed blade then sheath it or put it away. If the next time the blade is used it is used to ritualistically cut a normal animal and a human then the bodies and spirits of the animal and the human are combined into a new were creature.  The victim/volunteer need not be willing,  and the Magic-User may cast the spell on him/herself.  The creature will serve the Magic-User for the caster's level+2d6 days.

This spell gives the PCs the power to create whatever were-creature they want: were-sharks, were-chihuahuas, were-emus... That sounds like fun, right?  Note the spell says "normal animal" so no were-tarasques or were-dragons.

That was fun.  Here are a few more vaguely Halloween themed spells:

Necrotic Transformation
Magic-User  Level 3
As the Magic-User casts this spell they undergo a ghastly transformation into an undead creature. The player may choose one die/table on the Undead Remix tables each round if a save vs. magic/Cosmic Doom/Necrotic Transformation is made.  If the save is failed then roll the appropriate die and record the result.  Once a save has been failed the remaining die are rolled normally.  The spell's duration is the caster's level+d6 hours.  At the end of the spells duration the caster must make another saving throw.  If this is failed the undead state continues for another d6 hours after which another saving throw is rolled.  If that roll fails the caster forever remains undead.

Were-Golem
Magic-User Level 2
The material component for this spell is a bit of clay mixed with at least one drop of lycanthrope blood.  The spell must be cast just as the moon is rising and must be completed before the moon clears the horizon.  While the spell is being cast the clay is molded by the Magic-User into the form of a creature.  at the spells completion the clay will grow in size to the equivalent of a number of normal men equal to the caster's level.  The creature will come alive and serve the Magic-User until the moon sets.  The creature will have armor class as chain mail and will have the same HD as the caster.  The creature may have spikes or claws or wings or anything else that can be reasonably modeled in clay in a few minutes and they will be fully functional.

The DM should give the Player a ball of clay to mold to determine the nature of the Were-Golem that is created.  A timer of 2 minutes should be used to limit the time that the creature can be formed.

Moon Ray Cartography
Magic-User  Level 1
This spell must be cast on the night of a full moon.  A clear crystal worth at least 100 gp must be held aloft so that a moon beam may shine through it.  The light of the moon beam will form a map on the ground below the crystal.  This map will describe clues to the nature and location of a treasure.  Because the map will only last the caster's level+D4 rounds this spell is often cast over a bed of sand or unfurled roll of parchment to record the map.


Happy Halloween!

One Page Town Template

I've been thinking about towns lately.  Timrod's recent post about the lack of description about the town of Saltmarsh got me started, then I remembered this excellent post from Brendan.  I liked the aspects of the town Gorgonthorn that Brendan chose to write up, he focuses on being evocative and game-able.  The one thing that he leaves out are rumors and hooks to get you back out of the town which I think is important.  You could also add more info about factions and intrigue if that's your flavor.  Where I'm going with this is that I think we need a one page template for towns.  We have one page dungeon and wilderness templates, but I have never come across a one page town so I made one!

I've used Brendan's description of Gorgonthorn as the model for what should be included and added a place for rumors and adventure hooks.  Then to see if his three pages of description can fit on a single page I filled out the template:

I think i managed to distill the important information that would be handy to have while running a game, and there is room to spare.  To save space I decided not to make a separate key.  Instead, anything keyed to the map is described elswhere on the page as appropriate.  I put all the keys under "NPCs & Organizations" but you could have locations keyed in other sections.  For example, if one of the rumors is that at the edge of town there is a old haunted house the key for that could be under rumors instead.



Here are links to the template:

One Page Town Template (word file)
One Page Town Template (pdf)

UNDEAD remixed

This one is just in time for your Halloween themed games!  In this installment the remix includes the powers and abilities of the Undead creatures.  As with most of these remixes, I've looked to later editions (mostly the 1e Monster Manual) for some inspiration and added a few new elements of my own to fill out the tables but the bulk of the characteristics on the table are from ODnD.  Hopefully the result will be some creepy monsters that your PCs don't know what to do with.

I'm experimenting with a different format for this one, basically taking a cue from Telecanter and added the sentence at the top to organize the rolls.

Let's try this out:

An animal corpse (I'm going to say it's a cow) actually appears beautiful (and otherwise normal) but goes all Jekyll/Hyde and turns into cow-corpse monsters.  They cause Level drain (by trampling) and fear/revulsion.  They are vulnerable to fire and garlic.  (HD: 1 AC: 3 No. App: 15)  I think the local villagers call them the Fell Herd and are totally terrified of them.

How about another?

Bandaged corpses of women.  They cause fear/revulsion and regenerate.  They are vulnerable to mirrors and water.  (HD: 3 AC:7 No. App: 3 Dmg: D8)  These I think will be called the Shunlilly Sisters and the rumor is that they dwell in a big decrepit mansion at the edge of town, and Old Man Shunilly came back from a grand voyage with a mysterious treasure and then disappeared.

These remixes were inspired by Sham's pointing out how the monsters are categorized in the Monster Reference Table.  When I started doing these remixes Sham was still occasionally posting but the Grog n' Blog has been silent for years now.  I'm really grateful that the blog is still up, it's a great resource!

Download the pdf

STONERS Remix

I thought that I already put this up here, but it doesn't look like it.  This is the latest in my ridiculous and unnecessary remixing of all the the monsters from vol II: Monsters and Treasure.  I put the Save vs. Stone creatures together with the Lycanthropes and snuck in the Gargoyles.  The stoners and the werefolk aren't usually associated with each other.  In OD&D there's a cryptic Saturday horror movie matinee inspired connection between lycanthropes and vampires, but for these remixes Undead (including vampires) need to be their own thing.

In my mind the Gorgonae like to turn Lycanthropes into stone because they make the nicest statues, and their Lycanthropic bodies & souls can somehow magically interfere with the effects of the Gorgon turn-to-stone attack.  I don't think that background interferes with the remixing of the original monster write ups.  I'll leave it up to the DM to determine if Gargoyles are in some way magically bound to the Gorgon that made them or if they have their own society and hold secret enclaves on moonless nights to plan their flight to a mythical city in the South Sea.  Maybe a Gargoyle's autonomy depends on the intelligence of the creating Gorgon.

Download here:
GORGONS, LYCANTHROPES & GARGOYLES 

As usual there is a worksheet at the bottom to keep track of what's rolled up.

The only monster remixes I have left to do are humans and undead!  I want to redo Dragons to hew closer to the source material, but I figure I better get these all done before I start redoing them.