Gnartian Player Class, Mastermind

MUTANT MASTERMINDS (MM)

Start with one Random Good Mutation, plus one per CON bonus (three Mutations for 18 CON, two for 16, 17, one for 13-15).  One Mutation is gained for each lvl of experience.  To determine, the Player rolls for as many Mutations as the PC has lvls, then chooses one not already possessed from this list.  Each Mutation may be used no more than 1/day, and the total number of Mutation uses/day is equal to XP lvl + CON bonus.  Upon reaching 12th lvl, Masterminds automatically gain any one Mutation of their choosing per lvl.  Immune to Radiation Sickness, Radiation damage is halved (Save for 1/4), Immune to Mutation Defects/Drawbacks, able to communicate with sentients via Telepathy, though this is widely considered impolite.  Masterminds have an enlarged frontal cortex, usually making them recognizable as such, and has led to such appellations as Craniacs, Braniacs, and (less complimentary) Butt-Heads.  MM Attack and Save as Thieves, can use any weapon, but cannot wear metal helms or armor. 

Houserules: 

Saves vs Radiation = Paralysis/Poison, Save of 20 = gain Good Mutation, Fail of 1 = Bad Mutation

Saves vs Mutation Attacks/Effects = Spells/Magic.  CON bonus applies, or WIS bonus vs Mental Effects, domination, etc
Radiation 'Class" I -X, causing this # of d6 damage, Save for 1/2

If exposed to Radiation Class greater than the MM's level, his CON bonus is applied to his chances to gain a Good Mutation (instead of a natural 20, a MM w/an 18 CON would gain +3; so a Save vs Radiation of 17+ would grant a Good Mutation, if it doesn't kill him!)

My interpretation is a Mutation of the original stock:

http://www.savageafterworld.com/2009/10/new-character-race-mastermind.html 

Sleeclops, or Cystak?

+

= ???

Launch of Gnarth 2.0 Campaign

skirting the shores of the Great Crater Lake

The Party  (I think they need a Gang Name)
Rose, Human, Knight of the Mystic Order of Gnarth, master of longbow and 2-handed sword,
Tarkus Traptripper, Human, Fighter and door-opener of renown,
Xy, Green Gnartian, Mutant Mastermind and Magic-Sniffer,
Gorn, Reptilian, Fighter, deadly with Gnartian Quill Pistol, known to eat his kill,
and introducing,
Cenaturi, Purple Gnartian, Mutant Mastermind whose cunning will likely prove beneficial for The Party in many ways...

Finally... started playing again, DMing my Gnarth campaign.  Everyone was a bit rusty, some hadn't been to the table in almost a year.  Follies incl. The Party serendipitously 'finding' a map which revealed the one room they hadn't yet discovered in the Serpentman Caves, a hidden temple with an altar and curtained alcove.  Tarkus Traptripper once again performed his perfunctory duty, yanking aside the curtain, which triggered the Trap; a chute in the alcove swung open and dumped a startled and angry Vorpion in his lap.  Although severely mauled by the initial attack, Tarkus gave back just as well, and the creature was sound surrounded and eviscerated from all sides.  Centauri claimed the segemented, insectoid tail claw of the Vorpion... to wear as a hat.  A pretty cool magic item hidden in the altar would likely have been discovered, if The Party hadn't, for some reason, assumed that the initial examination of the altar by a single PC was sufficient...!  The Party is unwittingly still carrying the key to this stash, hidden within a looted bronze cobra statuette.  Will they ever find it, and if they do, go all the way back?

After exiting the caves and crossing out of the Rust Desert, they encountered a band of Blue Gnartian Raiders, approx 200 yards away, as each group crested opposing rocky dunes along the shore of the Great Crater Lake... the Raiders were all armed with longbows, the party was not!  After injuring most in a segment of surprise, Initiative was rolled for the following round, the Party won... and stood there.  Some attempted to decipher what the Blue Leader was shouting to his minions from atop his rusty-armored Monoceratops, it was something along the lines of, "Keep firing, fools!"  After a few rnds of this, the Blues eventually lost a man to the one decent archer among The Party, and Blue Leader lost patience and charged.  Despite the pincushioning of nearly all the PCs, and the subsequent dino-trampling of Tarkus Traptripper, the party rather easily dispatched their mismatched foes in melee.  Even the Monoceratops, draped in his scraps of rusty armor, just rolled terribly.  Blue Leader offered to take them to the 'unguarded' bandit hideout, but Centauri the Mastermind knew from his Mutant ESP that while the treasure was real, there were two Blues on guard, or so the Leader thought; once they approached the hideout, the Surprise tables were turned, and the party was able to approach withing the range of their ranged weapons, and slaughtered the slacking guards without hassle.  A secreted, badly rusted and unlocked chest was found, containing coins and a few minor pieces of jewelry.  Xy, the other Mutant Mastermind, sniffed to Smell Magic, but the enticing scent of cinnamon was not detected, and the Party assumed the Bandit Lair for the night.

10GP Gem: a record-keeping page for Proper Nouns, three columns; People (NPCs, legendary figures, etc), Places (visited, rumored), Things (items, creatures encountered)... anything important enough to be given a proper Name.

Highlight o' the Night:  Centauri using his Alter Mass and Telekinetic Arm Mutations in tandem, to make himself weightless, and then carry himself across a field of battle.  My atrophied DM mind was blown.

'The Hobbit' Review

"Shit Sandwich"

Looks like I'll be playing again in 2013...

Have some fun ideas for the new group!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Real World

Don't seem to have much time for D&D lately, trying to focus on issues in my primary life, but I'm sure there will be more as the days grow colder and I am forced inside, hope to be back soon!

Mongrel & The Wrath of the Ape King

Old School rotoscope style animation of a murder hobo with a 70's porn mustache raiding the lair of the Ape King, punching an albino lion into submission before dispatching it by throwing a sword through it's skull... that kinda thing.  Here it is!

"APE KING!"

How about Ants that Explode?

 Autothysis 

 is the process by which an animal destroys itself 

via an internal rupturing or explosion of an organ

Wikipedia:

In at least nine Southeast Asian species of the Cylindricus complex, workers feature greatly enlarged mandibular glands that run the entire length of the ant's body. They can release their contents suicidally, rupturing the ant's body and spraying toxic substance from the head, which gives these species the common name "exploding ants."  The glue bursts out and entangles and immobilizes all nearby victims.  The soldiers of the neotropical termite family Serritermitidae, have a defense strategy which involves front gland autothysis, with the body rupturing between the head and abdomen. When outside the nest they try to run away from attackers, and only use autothysis when in the nest, to block tunnels up, preventing attackers entering.

1. ANT is to GIANT ANT as EXPLODING ANT is to EVERYBODY SAVE VS PARALYSIS
2. This would be a terrible Mutation for a PC to acquire...

Besmirched with Copious Gore

DUNGEONEER'S SURVIVAL TIPS

1. DON'T PANIC.  Sooner or later, that Character is gonna die.  Keep cool.

2. CARRY A TOWEL.  You will likely be Besmirched with Copious Gore within minutes of the first Random Encounter.  Cost 1-3 CP, Encumbrance 1 GP.  Those lacking towels suffer -2 on Reaction Dice (if they have not washed-up since last combat)

Magic Item: Towel of Absorption 

     Terrycloth gimcrack that completely wipes a character clean in one rnd, leaving no trace of dreck on either the person or the towel itself.  One in Ten have the additional property of Absorbing up to 20 lvls of Magical Spells cast at the user (10+1d10); the Towel will Absorb Mental Spells if wrapped around the head, or Absorb Physical Damage Spells if tied around the neck like a cape, all other types of Spells are covered by wrapping the Towel around the waist like a kilt.  Drawback: Encounters with sentient beings will likely involve the question, "Is that a towel... that you're wearing?"

Monster Monday 4

GNARLY EYE

Does anyone need another Beholder variation? Well, here's mine:

AC 1, HD (10), HP 70, Magic Eyes, At Will: Fly, Telekinese 100lbs, Telepathic Communication

Large Central Eye: Slow Spell, all within 90-degree cone, 60' terminus, no Save

Four Eye Stalks:
1. Magic Missile(s); 1d4 Missiles ea rnd, will target Spellcasters to ruin Spells
2. Hypnosis Ray; Save vs Mental Spell or be completely dominated until the gaze of this eye is broken, Stun for 1d4 rnds thereafter, will target most powerful/effective opponent
3. Vampiric Wounding Beam; causes 3d8 damage, Save vs Spells for 1/2, and adds these to HP, targets of opportunity, 1/rnd
4. Nullification Beam; renders targeted Magical/Technological items "non-magical"/inoperable for 1d4 turns, Save vs R/S/W Negates, will target most powerful/effective item used against it, 1/rnd

Happy Holiday... the Eye is Watching You!