Temple o' the Toad pt 4

The Party had some odd events befall...

A pit in a natural cavern appeared to be a well of some sort. Four equidistant metal rings were secured to the floor along the rim of the 10' diam shaft. From these, a set of four slimy metal chains dangled into dark water 50' below, and a quick Levitating Recon by Borune revealed nothing else. The party debated hauling up one or all of these, separately or simultaneously, and decided to drag on one of the chains, bringing up a metal bucket of blackish water. I was surprised when they left it at that, and went to explore the stairs to lvl III! They didn't even examine or dump out the bucket! It was unremarkable, but that only meant that one of the remaining three buckets was the one which held "a (very) Minor Random Magic, Tech, or useful Mundane Item", which I decided I'd determine on the fly, sunken to the bottom of the bucket... and so they passed on the only piece of unguarded treasure in the place!

A stone table in the center of a large, seemingly empty domed chamber was lit by a feeble "spotlight" from above. This pedestal was inscribed with a Glyph of the Unseen Object, which caused all to Save upon viewing, so that only Borune was able to perceive that their were items of possible interest arranged upon it. As I like surprises, these were also determined when they entered; a Crystal Flask w/stopper (Endless Water), a "faceted metallic egg" (Tech Grenade, "irritant" - like mace), and a shiny aluminum canister (of Scoobies). This proved enough to entice the party to send the unwounded fighters in to examine the table, while the others remained tightly packed in the hallway outside. A few Chupacabra scuttled forth from narrow side tunnels, and were soon dispatched, and then the Duodon* extended its snaky necks through two of the rat-holes, and attacked with two of its most powerful Spells, a Fireball for the majority of the party huddled "safely" in the hall outside, and a Lightning Bolt for Tarkas, who had shown himself to be a powerhouse against the Chupes. Total confusion ensued... were more giant snakes coming out of all the side tunnels, where were spells coming from, should we retreat down the hall and up the ladder, what about the loot on the table (maybe its not even real!), ...and on the following rnd... the Duodon heads, now exposed, revealed that they were the source of the spells by casting Web to block off all retreat, then Magic Missiles to disrupt spell casting. As the fighters took cover behind the table and fired ranged weapons, Rose managed a Silence Spell, which effectively robbed the Duodon of its spells, and so it withdrew its heads into the secret vault which was its lair, but the secret entrance was discovered, and the party either wisely pressed what little advantage they had, or foolishly charged onward despite injuries... anyway, they pursued and slaughtered the beast, which couldn't seem to score any decent damage or catch a break with any of its remaining spells. Such are the dice. The Party discovered a pile of bones and debris which also held assorted coins and jewelry, and also a personal Energy Field Generator harness, the power pack readout revealing 14 charges remaining (determined to be a Displacer emitter, acting as the Cloak)

Also in the Duodon's secret vault was a statue of Hastur, squatting and contemplating his palms. After a few rnds, a sphere of faint grayish radiance appeared in its lap, the party became inexplicably FREAKED OUT by this, snatched up everything, and made their way back upstairs. OK, I'll admit there was a nasty Glyph on the statue which would have affected any approaching it, and the party was depleted, but the radiance was obscuring a Gnartian Artifact, a very powerful legacy of the Elder Races. Once again, I hadn't determined exactly what is was, but it was an Artifact! All they had to do was grab it and pull it out of the radiance! (If they had, I had a scary earth-tremor planned, which would crack the ceiling and dislodge some debris, but not collapse the place) There were NO MORE Wandering Monsters left in the place! This was THE PRIZE from the entire dungeon! I dunno. The "radiance" may appear again, if they go back, or maybe not! Oh, and just so ya know, although powerful, a Gnartian Artifact is not of the caliber of an AD&D Artifact, and often has a limited # of uses, and this particular one was Cursed to summon an angry Byakhee to carry the bearer off when used. I'm not running a "give away"!

"Let’s face it, You’re not ready"

• OK, so this is adapted from Survive the Apocalypse, and makes a useful Mundane Modern Item table; nothing too fancy, but useful

   

  Tools for the Apocalyptic Wanderer (d30)

  • 1  Weapon with spikes on it
  • 2  Fire Starters – Matches, Magnifying Glass, Magnesium, Flint and Steel
  • 3  Hatchet, Fireman's Axe
  • 4  Adjustable Wrench or Folding Shovel
  • 5  Weird helmet
  • 6  2 – 3 gallon cooking pot
  • 7  First Aid Kit (salve, hypos?)
  • 8  Book of Edible Plant Life
  • 9  Map or Compass
  • 10  Collapsible Saw
  • 11  Crowbar
  • 12  Hunting Knife, Bowie, Machete
  • 13  Crank Flashlight, glow stick
  • 14  Can-opener, or other odd tool
  • 16  Caribiner
  • 17  Needle and Thread
  • 18  Binoculars, Telescope
  • 19  Leatherman tool
  • 20  Fishing Line and Hooks
  • 21  Small Radio, Communicator
  • 22  Wool Blanket or Fur
  • 23  Boot Lace, rope, twine
  • 24  Harmonica or Kazoo
  • 25  Canteen for Water (empty?)
  • 26  Canteen for Fuel (full?)
  • 27  Tarp, canvas
  • 28  Power Source, fuel
  • 29  Rations, preserved foodstuffs
  • 30 New idea

...and the Award goes to...

Houserule:
MVP AWARD: each time XP is awarded, the Players (not each PC) vote
for which PC gets the MVP award.  DM presents a list of exceptional instances of
gameplay, and the winning PC is granted an XP bonus, up to +10% of the PCs
share of  XP.  DM does not vote, but does resolve any "ties", possibly choosing
to divide the bonus among two or more PCs.  Exact amount awarded is up to DM.
(Optional: Players cannot vote for own Character; prob depends more on # of Players rather than modesty issues)
Nomination-Worthy:  mind-blowing originality, "staying in character" despite obvious advantages to the contrary, self-sacrifice on Party's behalf, really good decisions, keen strategy, etc.

"LANDMARK" LEVELS

Houserule: When reaching the XP lvls of 5, 10, and 15, PCs of all classes receive a +1 to their Primary Ability Score as a result of intense training in their chosen class, max of 18.

Why not?  Would seem odd if it did not occur, to me.  Of course, the increase could happen every four XP levels, or every six, but I'm going with 5/10/15 for my game, as 15th lvl is nearly impossible to achieve in it.  You started out with an 18 and don't get to advance?  Lucky you, what are you complaining about?

I'm using Labyrinth Lord Ability Scores, NOT AD&D Scores (no % STR!), not using any Weapon Specialization, or Weapon vs Armor Type mods

KILLBOTS

The Killbots from Futurama have two attributes I'd love to utilize:

Kill limit

For unknown reasons, a kill limit of 999,999 is hardcoded into killbots. I'm thinking of a large, old-style LED counter, red -of course -displayed prominently on the chest or torso, which increases as it kills, accompanied by a pleasant "BING!"  Perhaps lesser models have a limit of 999, or 99.  When the kill-limit is reached, they become peaceful and in fact rather friendly. Perhaps the players encounter one that is within one or two kills of its limit... however, their kill counter has the option of being reset, possibly unintentionally...

Activation

Killbots start shooting immediately when hearing a word that has to do with weapons. Supposedly, this has been installed to easily activate the Killbots on immediate demand, but it also causes troubles, including accidentally shooting each other or themselves when talking to each other.
Imagine a sealed vault containing a massive Warbot of the Ancients, possibly the very first chamber of an underground complex, or central nexus to lvl one, which the party will surely have to pass through numerous times.  It remains completely unresponsive until one of the PCs happens to mention "that wound I took in the arm", or "wish I still had that Fireball", or "I only have 3 charges left in my Wand of Magic Missiles"... whereupon it immediately "lights up" and a powerful vibration/hum is felt/heard as the automaton intones "Arm/Fire/Missiles!" and launches the appropriate attack!  Maybe its sealed behind a partitioning wall of Glassteel or some such, and just maybe that accounts for the obviously dead and contorted - but not obviously wounded (?) -corpses in there as well, victims of the colorless, deadly poisonous gas which has kept the Killbot insulated from the effects of time for so long... maybe the party should be given a rnd to prepare, as the machinery supporting the Killbot evacuates the poison gas before lowering the barrier... this might actually give them a chance against the thing... and of course, if the Kbot is defeated, the machinery will raise the barrier again in 10 rnds, and refill the chamber with gas... better loot those corpses quickly!

20 FAVE MAGIC ITEMS from my GAMES

Was going through my old stuff from my previous games, looking for stuff that would translate into my new campaign, and found a few 10GP gems...honestly, most have been archived for so long I don't know if some were cribbed from old Dragon magazines or not, but I think these are my own ideas, or at least my versions of ideas I saw elsewhere.  Just wait, it'll happen to you, too.

1.  Ring of Recall:  Upon death, PC is instantly transported to a particular temple or shrine, hopefully to be Healed/Raised by the Clerics there.  Provided only to the members of the sect, or possibly those performing a special mission for the order.  PCs get fixed up, but have to trek back to the rest of party, if there's a time limit involved, maybe they're out, but it beats dead... used this in an "introductory adventure" for new players, 'cause I thought for sure someone was gonna get killed simply because they would make "newbie" mistakes, but they were so cautious I don't Recall it being used!

2.  Great Green Axe:  inspired by Gawain & the Green Knight, massive headsman's axe of greenish bronze (?), req STR of 16+ to wield, does 1-10/1-10 dam, +2, does dbl damage to green things.  I loved this 'cause ya never know when something green will show up!  I suggest that it be wrested from the cold, dead hands of a wickedly jolly green Giant of some sort

3.  Shield Ring:  as Spell; AC 4 vs most attacks, AC 3 vs missiles, AC 2 vs thrown weapons, negates Magic Missiles, but does not protect from the rear! The particular ring I recall generated an actual, though ghostly, shimmering shield when struck, and I think there was some sort of roll to see if MM were reflected back at the caster... 50/50 each seems reasonable

4.  A Scroll of a random Clerical or MU Spell "addressed" to a particular PC, which they can use regardless of Class...  "Dear Tremaine, this may come in handy one day..."  Maybe its only Hold Portal, but look how happy the Fighter is!  I dunno.  It was surprisingly well received.  I just rolled randomly to determ whose name was on it, but it became a temporary obsession to the PC who ended up with it, "Who left this?  How do they know me?!"

5.  "Skully":  a sage-like talking skull which can be consulted for information, % chance to know answer: Common Knowl 75%, Uncommon 50%, Unusual 20%, Specialized 10%, Esoteric 5%.  Can also "Legend Lore" famous, legendary, specific persons/places/magic, and relate legends/stories, 30%.  When owner dies, all factual knowledge of this person is gained by Skully, so as he is passed on, he becomes increasingly knowledgeable.  Looking back, think this was inspired by Land of the Lost Library of Skulls...   anyhow, great way to have an NPC that isn't expected to help in combat!  and, it just now occurred to me, maybe useful somehow in restoring another's memories, you tell me

6.  Stone of Invisibility:  just a small stone which renders one invis when held.  Because it must be held, certain actions are not possible while invis, like most Thief Abilities, Spellcasting, etc.  Can render several people invis if they link hands with PC holding the stone.  The thinking player's version of the all-too-abused Ring o' Invis.  The party used it to remain unseen in a cavern, against the wall, all holding hands (and their breath!), while Lizardmen trooped on by, and "popped out" to ambush them, looking like a death-dealing line of preschoolers being led to the cafeteria

7.  Vorpal Gurkha:  just a simple +1 dagger, but a roll of natural 20 gives the Magic-User the thrill of decapitating a (man-sized) foe!  (who else is going to end up with it, the Fighter?  he already got a Scroll of Hold Portal)  It's desperation time when the Wizard reaches for a dagger, anyway!

8. Pit Pellet:  rune-inscribed clay token, when tossed to the ground, creates a 10ft diam, 10ft deep Pit, one use only.  Oh, the fun that was had... and yes, you can toss one into a pit you already made and make it 10' deeper, and screw up what should have been a pretty challenging encounter, killing some poor schmuck by dropping him 10'/rnd until your pellets run out, dumping in some flaming oil, and listen to him crying out "I knew I should have taken that Levitation spell!!"

9.  Bloody Bestiary: sprinkling the blood of a creature on one of the (limited) blank pages produces a "Monster Manual" style entry, the bloody script informing readers of relative strength, powers, weaknesses, etc.  May or may not come with the first few pages "filled in"

10.  "Mirror-Mirror" of Opposition:  tortoise shell (?) framed hand mirror, creates duplicate identical in all respects, except the duplicate has a goatee.  Duplicate attacks original, and if any others interfere, their Mirror-Mirror duplicate appears as well.  If a duplicate kills an original, the corpse disappears, and the duplicate immediately ceases attack, explains that he/she is no longer hostile, and play continues with the duplicates assuming the roles of the departed as if nothing had happened!  The only difference is that the PC will forever after sport a goatee, and be subject to looks of suspicion!  The look on their faces when I said, "Gimme your character sheets", and quickly added a "II" after "player name", and a goatee to their "sketch", then handed them back and said, "OK, is the party continuing to search?"... hilarious  (for female characters, I suggest a Marilyn Monroe-style "beauty mark")  Oh, and somewhere down the road, say, "Remember when you were replaced by a duplicate?" and see the look of dread.  Then say something innocuous, like, "Well, you're stroking your goatee, and you notice the faint outline of a secret door"  The rest of the party will be soon be whispering about your "magical beard".

11.  Ring of Regeneration, While You Sleep:  regen 1 HP/hr, but only while asleep!(4+1d4 hrs/night?)  Like a daily Cure Light Wounds  Odd bonus side effect: gain 1d8 HP if subject to a Sleep Spell, which of course the party immediately exploited by using Sleep Spells as Cure Lt Wounds!  "Nap time!"

12.  Hand o' Glory:  just thought it was creepy cool.  10ch (two per digit?  dunno why I chose 10)  Three effects:

Find Treasure, Sleep Spell, Dark 15' radius (only the bearer can see by the light of the Hand), one ch ea  (What if you put a Magic Ring on it?  hmmm... and what if you found a Ring of Regeneration and the Hand of Vecna?  "Just a side project, but don't open that box... it's not finished... yet")

13.  Seasoning of Edibility:  when sprinkled upon any organic material (wood, bone, clumps of peat), becomes edible and nutritious.  In no way affects flavor.  My campaign had a "never-ending shaker", and  a freezer-burnt Mammoth haunch from a long-dead specimen frozen in a glacier was devoured, among other nasty things...

14.  Pincushion Arrow:  +1, becomes 1d4 additional arrows once in flight, roll TH for each

15.  Suture Spider:  brooch/pin shaped like a spider, limited charges, uses fangs, claws and webs to "stitch up" open wounds, healing for 1d4.  Anesthetizing venom is a nice touch.  Damn scary the first time, though!  Be sure to ask, "I just want to be clear - you are placing this metal spider directly over your open wound?"  Try to look worried.  That will teach them for dumping your evil wizard down that pellet hole!

16.   Scoobies:  compressed bars of mysterious origin and material (wood, bone, clumps of peat?), the smell of which is irresistible to carnivorous (animal INT) monsters.  Found sealed in an air-tight, screw-top tin, Scoobies will attract such an encounter from the current table w/in 1turn, and dbl such encounter rates for as long as the tin remains open.  Also, if tossed into the path of a ravenous beast intent on devouring the party, it will distract the beast long enough to chomp down the crunchy treat, maybe a rnd or two to locate and devour it.  Come in fun shapes, like stylized "bones", "hearts", and what the party may or may not recognize as "livers".  Great for guard dogs, too

17.  X (Enigma) Hole:  dark, one foot diam, impossibly thin "hole" in time and space, similar to the famed Portable Hole.  If any item is put in, another may be drawn out, 1/day.  The catch: no item may ever be repeated; after tossing in a copper once, a copper will no longer produce an effect, but anything can be tossed in; an iron spike, a rock, a banana, whatever.  Where this stuff goes, no one knows (but I thought it might be fun if years and XP lvls later, the Party discovers a "treasure" chest.  what's in it?  well, there's an iron spike, a rock, a mummified black wrinkly thing...)   What do you get back for tossing out all this junk?  The first time it is used, a Healing Potion comes out!  Thereafter, I tried to convince my Players that I had the weirdest table of all time hidden away in my stash, 'cause I rolled a concealed die and said things like "a 10inch diam stainless steel salad bowl" or "a pile of bones, maybe from a bird".  I was rolling a d30, but simply saying whatever weird item came to mind from my last few days, the version I was using tending to produce items totally unfamiliar to a fantasy world, like a butane lighter, "transistor radio" *...  However, if a 30 was rolled, the I'd roll for a minor magic item, like a minor Potion or Scroll of one 1st lvl Spell, which I think only happened once.  Planned on 100 uses, started a list of INs and OUTs, never got there.  Have to reintroduce one!  Maybe I'll make a table of odd bits from around my house (bongo drum, caulk gun, box of rubber bands)  Sooner or later, I guarantee, someone will actually bring up the idea of flushing a Magic Item down this thing, and someone will take a dump in it.  Oh, and what comes out of an X Hole cannot be put back in the X Hole.  Words to live by

18.  Robe of Useless Shit:  someone, somewhere, must have done this one.  Exactly like a Robe of Useful Stuff, or whatever, but every item is flawed somehow; torches sputter out, ladders snap under weight, war dogs piss themselves and whimper...  Gag becomes apparent quickly, but its fun!  I probably nicked this idea!

19.  Dart of Deadlacy:  only misses on TH of 1, and if a natural 20 is rolled, it embeds right between the eyes, damage is 6HP.  Not much for doing damage, but damn useful when you really need to hit, like when that robed guy is raising his arms and chanting... (basically a Magic Missile)

20.  Pick the item you like best from the Comments below.  :)

* received only one station, which played only Casey Casem's Top 40 Metal Show from an alternate universe, and had some sort of malfunction which caused it to "turn on by itself", allowing me to say things like, "scrrrrrchhh... This one goes out to Thongor and Company, who have just disturbed a sleeping Blue Dragon, somewhere below the Caverns of Quasqueton, its Black Sabbath with another metal monster, 'Electric Funeral'.  Good luck boys!" (cue music, Breath Weapon)

Temple o' the Toad pt 3

While investigating a Toad statue, the party is surprised by a relatively small yellow & green toad that had been lurking beneath the thing. I had said nothing more, but two of my Players, knowing my love of Futurama, said, "Do its eyes light up?/Does it start buzzing?", referring to the Hypnotoad from the cartoon. Thing was, it was a Hypnotoad, and so I said, "Yeah, everyone in the room make a Save!" I think they thought I was just going along with their inadvertent suggestion, but I swear, I had "Hypnotoad" written in the room description. Only one PC succumbed to Hypnosis, Xy the Mutant Mastermind. At this cue, the three Froglodyte Mummies hidden in plastered-up niches burst forth, also gaining surprise. These were top-of-the-line Spellcasting Froglodyte Mummies, former Wizards in life, and so in the first two rnd of action, one PC had been Hypnotized, Tarkas was Charmed and made to attack the party, one Mummy managed to cast Mirror Images (2), and the third Mummy cast Darkness, which enclosed both the hypnotized Xy and Quinn (thief) in inky black. Quinn took a cue from his opponents, and downed his Potion of Mirror Images in the dark, stumbling out afterward as three Quinns, two of which promptly disappeared in puffs of smoke as the Mummy in Darkness cast a spread of Magic Missiles at all three of them.* The unfortunate Rose (cleric) took the brunt of fellow PC Tarkas' Charm-fueled attack, and was soon mowed down by the death-dealing Fighter, but not before using a precious charge from her Horn of Valkyrie Summoning. Tarkas then went after the Wizard, Sot Palad, who had used his Potion of Human Control to attempt to take over control of the Charmed fighter, to no effect ("Sure, now I make my Save!"). Borune (cleric) took a Missile from another Mummy, ruining his Spell, as did Sot, but his Shield Spell negated it, allowing his desperation-driven Web to affect... two of the Mummies, as well as Quinn, but not the Charmed Tarkas, Dark Mummy or Xy (also took out the hypnotoad). It was then pointed out that the Hypnotoad could not function w/in the Darkness, so (with some cajoling) it was ruled out, and Xy, still w/in Darkness, engaged his Sonar Mutation, and attacked the Darkened Mummy. (oddly, this one had managed to cast Invisibility on itself, intending to exit the Dark at an advantageous point and attack, but since Xy's Sonar detects only a rough outline, the Mastermind, still in Darkness, didn't even realize his opponent was Invisible!) At this point, a shimmering Amazonian /Nordic Valkyrie appeared, attempting to take out the Mummy who held Tarkas in Charm and somehow managed to fail Save (and Magic resistance!), and was caught in the Web! While various pointless acts of desperation were performed, Quinn used a special property of his magic sword to cut himself free of Webs**, and those others who were Webbed eventually broke loose, the Mirror Image Mummy withered a few limbs with his Undead touch, Sot was reduced to near death by Tarkas in the hallway, and Borune attempted valiantly but unsuccessfully to overbear Tarkas. Quinn, low on HP, but plucky, joined the Valkyrie in beating on the Charm Mummy, as did Xy, who turned his back on his opponent to fire his Gnartian quill pistol at the Charm Mummy as well! (Tarkas on your side is great... but when he switches sides, all that damage the Party so loves becomes a serious threat!) Sot had fled, as did Borune, immediately after reviving the fallen Rose, who took advantage of her foe's Darkness, and hid in it from the other Mummies! Then, the tide turned; Charm Mummy fell, freeing Tarkas, who, along with the now unengaged Valkyrie, and doughty Quinn, finally eliminated the Mirror Images, and soon dispatched the second Mummy. Darkness Mummy, just about to attack the nearby, unsuspecting Rose, also soon fell - Borune had returned and cast Light, and the exposed final Mummy was borne down by everyone with any HP, plus the Valkyrie! Everyone took a deep breath, applied First Aid, and looked around at the carnage... everyone reduced to single-digit HP (Except Tarkas!) and totally depleted of Spells. It was near-perfect. It was at this point I realized I had forgotten the Mummies' Fear aura, and had not made the Party Save vs Fear at the outset!

(best Yakov Smirnov voice) "What a combat!"

Also, Sot Palad became aware of a rattling in his backpack; the Living Dagger of Venom was hungry. In one of those moves that make me love my Group, he took it upon himself to roll a d20 "vs Stupidity" (INT check), and said, "Yeah, I'm stupid enough... I open the box and take out the (unidentified, though certainly poisonous) dagger!" Using it to dispatch an unfortunate Sleeping Froglodyte, he realized that it was a potent weapon indeed, and wisely stowed it again for further examination later. Sometimes... he not so stupid!

MVP candidate: Xy, for exposing himself to near-certain limb Withering in order to do the most profitable action for the Party.

*if ya didn't know, MM is the ideal response to Mirror Images
** the Sword of Free Passage is a short sword +2, allows bearer to cut through Webs in 1rnd, Knock 1/day, and renders him immune to Hold/Paralysis when held

LAND OF THE LOST! ('74)

I loved the original Sid & Marty Krofft series when I was a kid... wonder what I'd think of it now?  But tell me this link to Geography & Technology of the LOTL doesn't inspire your appetite for Brontoburger!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_the_Lost_%281974_TV_series%29_geography_and_technology

Gates, dinosaurs, "undead", hidden subterranean god-creature, crashed spaceship... Sandbox, anyone?  The quintessential sandbox - there is no "beyond the borders"!  You're going to have to keep track of every single looted Sleestak crossbow bolt, because there is no Town, no Trader Caravans... also, no Hirelings, no Temples (well, one!)...  In short, no "support", only what you can scrounge.  Gold and gems would hold little value, but any kind of survival tool/aid would be priceless!
I'm DOING this!

Encounter Tables: lots of dinos, of course, giant-sized critters seem to "fit", perhaps a few more monstrous beasties underground, plus the occasional non-native, anything from 60's Surferboy (bad wave, man) to Judge Crater to a cunning Mind Flayer... subtable for determining if they are n00bs or long-term residents

Pylons: the keys to finding a way out, perhaps several or all must be discovered and used toward this end, perhaps each controls a certain aspect of the Land (seismic stability, temporal stasis, gravity, weather...)

Lost Vehicles: crashed WWI biplane, 1990 Jeep Range Rover, Egyptian Galley...

• 1 Cosmography
• 2 Light crystals
• 3 Pylons & Matrix Tables
  • 3.1 Skylons
  • 3.2 The Land's "Heart"
• 4 The Lost City
  • 4.1 Library of Skulls
• 5 The Builder Temple
• 6 Mist Marsh
• 7 Food Availability
•  
• see also Characters and Species 

DEMIHUMANS, THE XP "CAP", and what it means to be HUMAN

I've always hated the idea that demihumans can only reach a certain XP level, esp given their longer lives. Sure, they get nifty abilities like "determine approx depth underground", but is it worth grinding to a halt in all other areas around lvl 8?
My solution when designing "Player Species" for Gnarth was to allow unlimited advancement for all, regardless of Class. But what about the Humans? What makes them "special"? Like everything else on Gnarth, I took a cue from pulpy sci-fi romance and adventure media; The Human Protagonist is always quite adept at Adapting, picks up the necessary skills relevant to the Alien World Quickly, seems extraordinarily Lucky, and proves surprisingly Difficult to Kill! In game terms: Humans receive +10% earned XP, have +1 to all Saves, and add +1HP/lvl to rolled HP. No extraordinary, specific ABILITIES like "Infravision", but rather a few generalized, broadly useful EDGEs!

THE GRAND LEGACY OF PROF. HUBERT J. FARNSWORTH

A little re-tooling of this excellent list of inventions makes a gnarly gonzo DungeonStocking/Room Contents/Weird Encounter table... (use link at bottom for details, links w/in table are broken)

(d50)

1.Adolf Hitler Shark
2Albino Shouting Gorillas
3Anti-Pressure Pill
4Atomic Supermen
5Bacterial Spew Chamber
6Bad-Ass Gravity Pump
7Birthing Machine/Reanimator
8Clone-O-Mat
9Colossal Tammy-Tinkle Doll
10Cool-O-Meter
11Dark Matter Afterburner
12Dark Matter Engines
13Death Clock
14Forward Time Machine
15Doomsday Devices
16Electronium Hat
17Electric Frankfurter
18Empathy Chip
19Enlarging Ray/Super-Sizer
20F-Ray
21Fing-Longer
22Mind-Switcher
23Galactic Terminatrix 3000
24Gizmometer
25Killbots
26Makeup for Dogs
27Maternifuge
28Micro-Droid Machine
29Net Suit
30Nose Machine
31Parallel Universe Box
32Planet Express Ship
33Pointy Rock Tied to a Stick
34Q. T. McWhiskers
35Relative Box
36Smell-O-Scope
37Sport-Utility Robot
38Universal Translator
39What-If Machine

40 Safety Sphere
42 Doom-proof Platinum Vest

43 Assorted lengths of wire

44 Universal Robot Controller

45 Scooty-Puff Jr. (or Sr.)

46 Chicken Walker

47 Holophonor

48 Suicide Booth

49 Head Jar

50 Quantum Interphase Bomb

#44-50 are not Farnsworth creations, and were added to increase the list to an even 50 entries. Details for all entries can be found on the Infosphere (except #43)

It is possibly worth noting that the Prof also invented Fast Cars, Beautiful Women, and Trendy Nightspots, all while living in a tiny apartment.

http://theinfosphere.org/Professor_Hubert_J._Farnsworth#Creations