Monday, March 4, 2013

This Week's Game, "The Cauldron", pt 2

Party continued to stumble around aimlessly, still unsure where they are, and an encounter roll of 'Primordial w/captive NPC' was converted to 'Insert Magic User Here', allowing for the appearance of Rusty Saturn, a boyish Mage of level 4. 

Our wary adventurers wisely -perhaps- chose to watch an odd ritual of the Elder Things play out, resulting in the summons of a Byakhee, which rode off again into the sky with two of the four Things (and some loot... but they wouldn't have taken down all four; they barely managed to deal with the remaining two!).  After a tough struggle, the Party slew the Primordials and claimed their weaponry, a Sonic Blaster and an Electro-beam Rod.  The plastex cargo box discovered behind a tree contained... A Multi-Phasic Concatenation Coil, which is a piece of alien super-science technology, entirely useless to the Party.  Their unconscious captive rose from a drug stupor the following morning, told his tale of being abducted along with his mentor and other members of a merchant caravan... none of which he has seen since, and next thing you know, he's being traded along with some weird space Coil for a locked metal box. 

Embarassingly eager to hook up with the Party, Rusty's Identify and Read Languages Spells have provided much-needed info; they are trapped in a time/space nexus, an ancient construct of the Primordials, but a way out has not been hinted at.  The Sonic Blaster has four settings: Disruption (3d6 dam, no Save), Stun (1d3 r, Save negates), Deafen (24 hrs, Save vs Wands negates), 'Brown Noise' (lose 1r of action to involuntary explosive diarrhea, no Save).  Rusty was unable to determine how many 'charges' remain in this alien energy device. 

A brief discussion of returning to the Armored Vehicle previously enountered, this time with Rusty's Knock Spell... ended unresolved as the Party made camp for the night.

GAINS: Sonic Blaster, 'Pentacle Rod' (metal rod topped w/plasma globe and pentacle, discharges electric arcs and lightning bolts), and most importantly, an NPC Magic-User!

Friday, March 1, 2013

Gnartian Mutations

Random Tables posted under my Pages, in the sidebar.  Lots of familiar faves, lifted from the Usual Sources, plus a few of my own.  Mute Up!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

This Week's Game, "The Cauldron"

The Party (I think they need a Gang Name)
Rose, Human, Knight of the Mystic Order of Gnarth, the Healer
Tarkus Traptripper, Human Fighter, "the one with the AC"
Xy, Green Gnartian, Mutant Mastermind, psychic visionary
Gorn, Reptilian, Fighter, he bites
Cenaturi, Purple Gnartian, Mutant Mastermind, telekinetic bowler...
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Paranoid, the Party avoided all encounters while attempting to return to Ognar, thereby missing opportunities to learn about the local legends, incl the one about the mist that engulfs whole caravans, and disappears, leaving nothing behind... and during a night encampment, guess what happended?  Everyone has been capriciously and vindictively active in blaming Gorn for this blatant DM hook, as it occurred on his watch!

The Party awoke an unknown time later, scattered at the base of a glossy black 10' pyramid, itself within a metallic obelisk.  Objects, and even the intrepid Centauri, were found to pass though the sides of the pyramid, as though it were liquid, only to be instantly spat out the opposite side, unharmed.  The Party cautiously exited the obelisk, discovered it to be standing near a vertical cliff wall, at the edge of a rocky, sandy, pockmarked wasteland.  Xy used his Psychometry Mutation to attempt to discover the function/use of the Obelisk itself, and had blurred visions of Primordial Ones, long ago, coming and going, performing arcane rituals... No sooner was a nearby cave entrance spotted, than a hungry, chomping, multicolored, plumed, bipedal dinosaur emerged, immediately rushing the Party.  A few horrible wounds were inflicted, but the Gnargosaur was dispatched within a few rounds.  They entered the cave, were Surprised by the charge from the darkness of the second Gnargosaur, but this one fared even more poorly than its mate.

A draft through a narrow crack led Gorn to squeeze through into the base of a 10' diam vertical shaft.  A leather satchel was found badly concealed under some rocks.  Found to contain a small plastex box, with a Hyposyringe and several differently-marked glass ampoules, as well as a leatherbound book, and a metallic (?) white tetrahedron, 4"/side.  Still lacking a Magic User, they had no other means to identify these items.  A search of the dino lair revealed only a possibly viable Gnargosaur egg, which the Party smashed, after a pointless discussion.  Returning to the obelisk, they found no doorway, only an outline of it, but the white tetrahedron was drawn to this area, and when touched to the Obelisk, the doorway area dematerialized, allowing reentry.  The book was yet another 'hook', designed to provide some info and background re The Party's current situation... but no one has yet examined it!  Perhaps they fear it is a dangerous Spellbook, but it is a journal, describing another unfortunate soul's entrapment by the mist, and various encounters he had experienced in this weird place, and clues as to how to escape...  I'm gonna have to drop some hints, I think they're getting frustrated about wandering aimlessly in dangerous terrain, without a clue as to where they are, or how to get back!

The Party decided to skirt along the base of the cliff wall, to avoid getting lost by setting out aimlessly across the wasteland.  An encounter with a large group of Parn Mantis proved to be a major one, with Centauri momentarilly downed, and all, even Tarkus, taking major damage.  Later encounters with a Psiclops and a Landsquid were overcome, and in a reversal of former procedure, they decided to strike out aimlessly across the wasteland...

...an abandoned 20th(?) century Armored Car proved tantalizing, but the Party could not gain access to its potentially fabulous cargo*... although an Adder in the cab nearly killed Rose, the only Healer, but she happens to bear a Gnarn Stone which Negates Poison; only a few charges left! 

...a swarm of Displaced Dolm Ants heavily drains Rose's Healing and Offensive Spells, and seriously messes-up everyone, Centauri employs his Telekinetic Arm to drop a bag of bowling balls to squishy effect...

...truly bizarre quasi-living Pillar of Flesh provided extended shenanigans, as various Party members fell under its Hypno-lure and decided to hug it and get slowly absorbed, while those managing to resist either spent their time detaching their comrades and dragging them out of the effect, or launching missile weapons to dubious results.  Every few rnds, someone would be freed, someone else would succumb, and once again, whomever were left standing would alternate the drag-someone-to-safety/fire-all-missiles routine.  After using up way too much of their valuable ammo, the Pillar eventually collapsed into a pool of bubblin' goo. 

...a sealed Crypt is opened with the white tetrahedron, now understood to be a key of sorts, but a Shoggoth is revealed, and the Party barely manages to reseal the doorway before being slaughtered to a man...

...still wandering around, they decide to head for the dark cloud seen off in the distance, and after being dive-bombed by Pelgrane, eventually make their way to the base of a rocky plateau, topped by a dense, steamy jungle.  An entire day spent in this densely populated area yields, againt all odds, absolutely no encounters whatsoever.
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1)  Somebody needs to check out that book they've forgotten
2)  Two Mutant Masterminds, two kick-ass Fighters, and a Mystic Knight (Gnartian 'Cleric') make a good combo... but w/o a Mage, they're doomed.  Haven't rolled any NPC encounters yet, but the next one is likely to be a lower-level Mage!
3) The Party is already completely lost, but don't know it

GAINS: Magetti Stone (4" tetrahedron), Field Journal of Alphonso Magetti (unread!), Drug Kit (contents yet to be determined), Psiclops' bag (three bowling balls, a Sleestak skull (?), various potentially edible tubers and dried giant insect legs)
KILLS: 2 Gnargosaur, 4 Parn Mantis, 2 Psiclops, 12 Dolm Ants, 1 deadly poisonous adder, 1 Landsquid, 1 Pelgrane, and a Quivering Column of Flesh
LOSSES: Several close calls, but everyone lives! 

* Gold bars, lots of 'em.

Monday, January 21, 2013

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:

Friday, January 11, 2013

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.

Monday, December 24, 2012


Looks like I'll be playing again in 2013...
Have some fun ideas for the new group!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

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!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

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!"