#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 8, Room 6

 Going back to Room #2 the next passage looks similar to the passageway for Room #3.

 The tunnel is largely empty.  

#RPGaDay2023 OLDEST game you've played

 Not sure if this means "This Year" or "Ever." Let's go with Ever.

The Oldest game I have played is Original Dungeons and Dragons.

I spent a summer after my freshman year at college playing in an OD&D campaign. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least!

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 8, Room 5

 Passageway 4 ends in a locked door. The lock can be picked or forced open with a combined strength of 24.

Inside this small oval shape room, the party finds a collection of treasure.

The lamps (six total) glow with an arcane light (via a continual light spell).

There are all sorts of small chests here (10+1d6) each containing gems (5d8 x 100 gp worth), a decanter of endless water, a spell book with random spells (1d10 1st level, 1d8 2nd level, 1d6 3rd level, 1d4 4th level, and 1 5th level). Despite it's obvious age it appears to be magically preserved.*

*If a player reads a spell from this spell book as if it were a scroll, it will destroy the whole book.

There is a dagger +2, +3 to lycanthropes.

A shield +2, +3 vs. missile fire. 

A scroll of teleportation (with detailed descriptions of the 1st level). 

As well as 1d4+3 random other magic items. 

Three of the small chests act as large bags of holding. A person could carry one each.

There is a jeweled crown (cursed, after possessing it for one year the wearer thinks they are a king and demand to be treated as such). 

And a gilded, jeweled dagger. It is sharp but not magical. It is worth 1,000 gp.

Otherwise the room is a dead end.

--

Game Masters should reward XP value equal to 1/2 of the GP value of treasure found. 

Kickstart Your Weekend - The Beast & Snow #1

 I wasn't going to promote any Kickstarters for a bit after a month of doing nothing but Wasted Lands, but this one came up and I couldn't say no.

The Beast & Snow #1 - NSFW Queer Fairytale Romance

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/comicuno/beastsnow1?ref=theotherside

Revision fairy tales? Vampires? Strong female leads? Kat Calamia and Phil Falco? Dorilys Giacchetto cover? Liana Kangas cover? Stjepan Sejic cover?!

Sign me up! No need, I did that myself.

Ok so this looks like a lot of fun and I am getting a strong "Carmilla" and "Vampyres" vibe from this. 

The art looks great and the story should be great from what little bit I can gather here.  They are just missing a witch from being perfect! (I am nothing if not consistent.)

And if you think I am NOT doing versions of these characters for my home game using my Monster Mash rules then you don't know me or this blog very well. 

They have met their funding and unlocked their first stretch goal. Looks like they might need more stretch goals at this rate!

But seriously, this looks like a lot of fun and I hope there are a lot of issues in this series. 

#RPGaDay2023 Most RECENT game bought

 Not counting collections (I'll detail that later) the most recent game I have bought was bought FOR me and not BY me.  That would be my Spanish Language D&D 5e books.

I got these as Birthday presents back in June because I am learning Spanish now. They are actually a lot of fun and have been a great challenge.  I am looking for other RPGs in Spanish too.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 8, Room 4

 Continuing on in this passageway the party encounters a long corridor. 

This corridor is lit with an eerie eldritch light. The floor is made up of tiles.

The corridor is 50ft long, and every five feet there is a pressure plate on the floor that fires a magic missile at the party. 1d6 hp of damage, it will always hit one character at random.

A thief can find the traps (the pressure plate), but the trap itself is magical and needs a dispel magic to stop. The dispel magic only works for 1 of the 10 traps in this area.

Doing so will result in 50 xp.

#RPGaDay2023 First RPG BOUGHT (this year)

 I had to think about this one, but my first RPG purchase of 2023 had to be my Deluxe Edition of The Dark Eye.

There is a lot about this game I really love and want to do more with. I still might get around to doing some more too.

• Review: The Dark Eye
• Review: The Dark Eye - Witch's Dance
• Character Creation Challenge: The Dark Eye

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 8, Room 3

The first four tunnels are on the left, and they are all lined up next to each other.  The fifth tunnel is on the right and at an angle away from the others.

The farthest tunnel opening on the left leads to a short but wide tunnel. The walls are smooth, as is the floor, but it is obviously carved out of the rock.  Within this tunnel, the party encounters a group of four small demons.

DRETCH

These creatures are fat, with long, spindly arms and legs.  They have rudimentary human heads, with slobbering jaws and folds of fat.  Dretch demons have some weak demonic powers.  

Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 4 (18 hp)
Attacks:  2 claws (1d4), 1 bite (1d6)
THAC0: 16 [+3]
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Saving Throws: D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (4)
Morale: 6
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 225
Number Appearing: 1d4+1 
Treasure Type: J, K, L, M

• Low intelligence: Dretch demons are not intelligent and act accordingly.
• Demonic Powers: Dretch demons have some minor demonic powers. Each usable once per day.

• stinking cloud once per day
• teleport
• cause darkness (10ft diameter)
• summon 1d4 giant rats

Mail Call: More Witches!

 Yeah...I am obsessed. Mail call today, and it was full of some great witch books.

Up first, another witch-centric RPG I backed on Kickstarter, Last Sabbath.

Last Sabbath RPG Art, bookmark and pin

The game looks phenomenal, and I want to try it out really soon.

And one I have been waiting 20+ years for.

Ashley Poston has a novel out about 17-year-old Tara, one of my all-time favorite witches. 

This is her pre-Sunnydale days, and I can't wait to jump into this.  And because I had a credit lying around, I picked it up on Audible as well.

While I am sure the narrator will be great, it would have been nice to get Amber Benson to do it.

--

So yeah I *know* I am obsessed, and I know I catch some grief for it online, but you know what? 

I don't actually care.

This is my little corner of the Internet, and I get to do what I love here. And if that gets me 10 fans or 10,000*, then fantastic! Plenty of other sites out there that leave me scratching my head asking "who would even find that fun??" but hey, their sites, their rules. 

To quote Steve Martin, "The most amazing thing to me is, I get paid for doing this!"

(*It is less than 10,000, but a lot more than 10!)

#RPGaDay2023 First RPG GAMEMASTER

 Another one that has been on my mine a bit lately.

My first Gamemaster was myself really. We all kind of taught ourselves how to play back then and I didn't have older brothers or friends that played.  But that changed when I got to Jr. High.

My first real DM was Jon Cook and we played this hybrid version of Basic (B/X) D&D and 1st Edition Advanced D&D. 

In a lot of ways I guess I am still chasing that high.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 8, Room 2

 Beyond the doors is a large cave system. The cave is huge and while fires can be seen down many of the tunnels (larger tunnels than the ones on the level above), this level is cooler.

There are five tunnels leading out of this chamber. 

#RPGaDay2023 FIRST RPG played (this year)

 This one is easy because we played it New Year's Eve and Year's Day. My first game for 2023 was D&D 5e Dragonlance: Shadows of the Dragon Queen.

I was a player in it, not the DM, which was a nice change of pace.

My oldest was running it, and he combined it with bits and pieces of Rise of Tiamat and Horde of the Dragon Queen from the start of D&D 5.

Honestly, he did not care for the adventure as it was written and wanted to tweak it a bit for us.  We did not play many more sessions of this. My "falling out" with D&D 5 had a lot to do with that and his promotion as a pastry chef meant he had less time.  But we did have a great time. I was cleaning up our game room the other day and all of our minis are still in the "current campaign" box.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 8, Room 1

 These stairs go down into this tomb for quite a long way. Also, any dwarves (or other similar characters) will also note the stairs are moving towards the north.  

The stairs end in a large and somewhat cooler chamber.  There is a set of large iron doors.

These doors are large and heavy.  To open these doors requires a combined strength of 40 points or magic. Unless staked open they will slam shut.

--

This level has been largely protected from the volcanic activity of the level above.  

Wandering monsters are found here using the table for 8th level (and sometimes 7th level).  Again, magic sensitive characters can detect low levels of necromantic magic here.

Monstrous Monday: What is Monster Mash II A Midsummer Night's Dream?

 What is Monster Mash II: A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Much like my first Monster Mash, this one has classes that people typically think of as "monsters" for the D&D game, but uses the special "race-as-class" feature of older, Basic-era, versions of D&D like Moldvay Basic/Cook & Marsh Expert and BECMI.

This book features 12 faerie and sylvan-based classes. Bugbears, Centaurs, Hamadryads, Leprechauns, Nymphs, Pixies, Púcas, Satyrs, Werebears, Werefoxes, and Woodwoses.

Each can be played as a Basic-era "Race-as-Class," with each gaining special abilities as they level up, or as an Advanced "Race" with recommendations for classes. 

Also included is the Faerie Witch, because, well, it is one of my books. 

There are also new spells for Clerics, Druids, Illusionists, Magic-users, and Witches. 

And new occult powers and ritual spells for Faerie Witches. 

This book can be combined with my first Monster Mash for even more combinations.

Grab yours now!

Monster Mash

Monster Mash II: A Midsummer Night's Dream

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 31

 The last room on this level is a large landing between the flights of stairs going down.  All around the party are portals to the Plane of Elemental Fire. Standing on the landing wielding a huge flaming sword is a fire giant.

The fire giant is named Heiðra. He is a former ally of the Vampire Queen. She cursed him to remain here and keep any who would seek her final resting place away. He will do all that he can to keep the party from moving forward. 

Heiðra has the stats of a fire giant, save his sword does an additional 2d6 fire damage.  He has an abode in the Elemental Plane of Fire and there is a portal nearby. He will not retreat, though, and will fight to the death.  If he is dropped to half his HP he will summon 1d4+1 Hellhounds. 

#RPGaDay2023 10th Anniversary Edition

Next month, which is also later this week, Dave Chapman's RPGaDay celebrates its 10th anniversary, and I plan on participating again.

And this year I have even more social media sites to get involved with!   Here are the text versions of the prompts.

1) FIRST RPG played (this year)

2) First RPG GAMEMASTER

3) First RPG BOUGHT (this year)

4) Most RECENT game bought

5) OLDEST game you've played

6) Favourite game you NEVER get to play

7) SMARTEST RPG you've played

8) Favourite CHARACTER

9) Favourite DICE

10) Favourite tie-in FICTION

11) WEIRDEST game you've played

12) Old game you STILL play

13) Most memorable character DEMISE

14) Favourite CONVENTION purchase

15) Favourite Con MODULE / ONE-SHOT

16) Game you WISH you owned

17) FUNNIEST game you've played

18) Favourite game SYSTEM

19) Favourite PUBLISHED adventure

20) Will still play in TWENTY years time

21) Favourite LICENSED RPG

22) Best SECONDHAND RPG purchase

23) COOLEST looking RPG product / book

24) COMPLEX / SIMPLE RPG you play

25) UNPLAYED RPG you own

26) Favourite CHARACTER SHEET

27) Game you'd like a new EDITION of...

28) SCARIEST game you've played

29) Most memorable ENCOUNTER

30) OBSCURE RPG you've played

31) FAVOURITE RPG of all time

I am sure this will be a lot of fun, and I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone does. 

See you all next month...er...Tuesday.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 30

 The alcove on the near right in Room 26 hides a secret door. This one is expected is not a bit obvious.

There is a corridor that goes on for some 100 feet. As the party moves on the corridor twists and turns as well as widens.  It opens into a chamber. At the other end of the chamber there is a flight of stairs that goes down as far as the eye can see.

Inspecting these stairs show signs that they one had been grand but have suffered damage from the volcanic activity.  Closer inspection reveals the source of this activity, many open portals to the Plane of Fire where lava and fire are coming through.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 29

The alcove on the far right in Room 26 opens to a long hall. As the party moves down they hear growling.

In this part of the hall has the heads of various demons fixed to the walls like trophies, which is exactly what they are.

As the party approaches the demons growl and hiss. The party can read a plaque under each one, it has the demon's name and the date it was killed by the Vampire Queen.  The characters need to be careful, getting too close and the demon head can bite for 2d6 hp of damage. 

Each head is still "alive" but lock in a sort of perpetual death. They can't regenerate their bodies and they can't die. 

The demons demand to be released, but they honestly have no idea how that can be accomplished. 

Friday Night Videos: Sinéad O'Connor

A few times in my life are clearly defined as "Before" and "After." 

Graduations. Marriage. Kids. But one that has left a significant mark on me (and my wife Natalie) was Before and After hearing "The Lion and the Cobra" by Sinéad O’Connor. Seeing her in concert remains one of the best shows I have ever been to in my life. 

I do not believe in any sort of afterlife at all. But I hope she finally found some sort of peace.

The effect her music, especially her first few albums, had on me is quite frankly immeasurable. Not surprisingly, she also inspired some of my favorite RPG moments.

I have already talked about characters I have named after her. and how her album, The Lion and the Cobra, has constantly been among my top 5 forever. 

The Dragon and The Phoenix

I am not going to say there would have been no "The Dragon and the Phoenix," my epic Buffy RPG campaign without Sinéad's "The Lion and the Cobra," but it and everything that came after it (my work on the Buffy RPG, Ghosts of Albion) would have looked very different.

Back in 1988, listening to "The Lion & the Cobra" (for like the 1000th time likely), I had an idea of a character that loved someone so much that they breached the walls of death and came back to that person. It was a powerful image and something I wanted to do ever since. Eventually, that image from so long ago became a central theme of "The Dragon & the Phoenix."  The song was "Troy" (as in Trojans) and the final adventure was named "No Other Troy." Both for the Sinéad O'Connor song and the Yeats poem.

The build-up for this adventure, an interlude, was set to "Drink Before the War," also from "The Lion and the Cobra."

While "The Lion and the Cobra" had a HUGE impact on my life, it was not her only album. Another contributing factor to both my Ravenloft games of the 1990s and "The Dragon and the Phoenix" was "I am Stretched on Your Grave" from her wildly successful "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got."

Another element added to the soundtrack of my early 2000s games was her 1994 album "Universal Mother," with "Fire On Babylon" being the main choice. 

Sinéad also appeared on many other albums. One song of hers really help me find the tone I was looking for for my The Dragon and the Phoenix game. It is "Empire" off of Bomb the Bass's album "Clear."

Other Games

Though back in the late 80s / early 90s the Buffy RPG was not even an idea yet. What was an idea were my ideas for a Star Trek TNG game after picking up some FASA Trek material for TNG. Back then the idea of a Ghost Ship and the song was "Jackie" also from "The Lion and the Cobra."

This was, no doubt, inspired by what I was doing back then. A lot of horror role-playing.

Another song, which while by itself did not lead to any RPG ideas, it lead me to Enya which more or less was my soundtrack for writing Ghosts of Albion. The song was "Never Get Old" also from "The Lion and the Cobra."

Other Videos

I can't have a proper tribute without mentioning "Nothing Compares 2 U."  I was at a party one night back in college. People were drinking and generally doing what you do at an underage college keg party. The TV was on MTV as background noise. Sinéad came on with "Nothing Compares 2 U" and I swear the whole place ground to a halt so people could watch her. Ok, maybe not to a halt, but it was early enough in the release of the song that not many had seen the video yet. I already had heard the song many times, I bought the album on the day it was released, so I knew it. I think I may have even seen the video. But now everyone else was discovering something I already knew. Just how fantastic she was.

Her critics (and there are so many of them) are all quick to point out that Prince wrote this song. Yes. Yes he did and Prince is amazing. He has written so many songs for so many artists. But when Prince wrote this he was singing about a lover. Sinéad was singing about her abusive mother and how she really just wanted to be loved by her the same way she loved her.

Tell me that doesn't make it hit harder.

Speaking of critics.

At the concert to celebrate Bob Dylan's birthday right after the Pope thing, she came on stage and was booed by the crowd. Singer Kris Kristofferson came out, gave her a hug, and told her, "Don't let the bastards get you down." She did her song and fled the stage, where Kristofferson was there to give her a hug. My admiration of him went up several notches after that. In 2009 he recorded an acoustic song, "Sister Sinead."

I'm singing this song for my sister Sinead
Concerning the god awful mess that she made
She told them her truth just as hard as she could
Her message profoundly was misunderstood

There's humans entrusted with guarding our gold
And humans in charge of the saving of souls
And humans responded all over the world
Condemning that bald headed brave little girl

And maybe she's crazy and maybe she ain't
But so was Picasso and so were the saints
And she's never been partial to shackles or chains
She's too old for breaking and too young to tame

It's askin' for trouble to stick out your neck
In terms of a target a big silhouette
But some candles flicker and some candles fade
And some burn as true as my sister Sinead

- Kris Kristofferson, "Sister Sinead" 

#FollowFriday: ME!

 Ok...maybe a little self-serving here. Ok. A lot. But I spent some time organizing my social media profiles and thought I'd share them all here for ease.

Here is my new Link in Bio from bit.ly. 

Oddly, iframes are not working with this one.

As you can see, you can now find me on bsky (BlueSky), Mastodon, and Threads, in addition to all the other places I have been at forever. 

Share yours below and connect with others. With social media a vast and unconnected set of sites, it is hard to find out what cool things people are doing now. Or at least keep track of them.  

I guess this is one of the reasons why I continue to blog here, it is my corner of the Internet, and I can do what I like, as I like. 

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 28

 The closer alcove on the left back in room 26 appears to be a short alcove with another bas-relief of the Vampire Queen (similar to Level 2, Room 18) this time she is playing the violin.  

It is fairly obvious that the violin is of different construction than the rest of the bas-relief. 

A thief can use a find traps roll or an elf with a secret door roll to discover this secret door.

The door conceals a treasure cache.

There are treasure types Hx2 and Mx2 here.

Updates: Wasted Lands, Gen Con, AI, and more!

 Wow. What a month. I have been heads down playtesting The Wasted Lands all month. The Kickstarter was funded and was completed just about 2 hours ago. 

All the documents are ready. Now comes the layout and buying the last bits of art. It has been a wild ride, really. I can't wait to get my copies.

Wasted Lands core rules mock-up

Gen Con & AI

Sadly I am not headed to Gen Con this year despite being invited by a couple of publishers I have worked with in the past year.  Honestly, prep for the Fall term is kicking my ass and despite the volume of posts here, most have been pre-written days ahead.  In addition to my normal course load (ok, it is actually more this year) I am also part of the team that is working on finding ways to prevent students from using AI for plagiarism. I have never felt more akin to Sisyphus in my life, to be honest. But I do what the Gods command. So I have been eyeballs deep in all sorts of AI tools (and brushing up on my Python) since December just to keep up. I have all these cool AI tools to play with, but the goal is to figure out how to keep students from using them OR how they can use them in ethical ways. One thing though is abundantly clear, these tools are not going away.

So, no Gen Con for me this year. Looks like I'll be at Gary Con again in 2024. Not a bad place to be to celebrate 50 years of D&D.

Monster Mash II

I released Monster Mash II to only a little fanfare. I really need to talk about it more. I am rather happy with it and the art is AMAZING!

Looking Ahead to October

Again I'll be hosting the RPG Blog Carnival in October. My theme is "Gods and Monsters." I hope to talk more about Gods, demons, and monsters. It should be a lot of fun.

Since the beginning of the year, I have also been taking Spanish, so I am going to try my hand at watching nothing but Spanish-language horror movies. Part of my "continuous improvement" this year. I have lost 40 lbs, brought my A1C down to normal for six straight months, and will be off my high-blood pressure meds! Not too bad, really.

Sinéad O'Connor

I can't let the day pass without some mention of Sinéad O'Connor. I am planning a tribute post tomorrow. To say she had an impact on my life is a massive understatement. 

Ok. Have a course to finish up today and I promised a colleague that I would read over theirs before tomorrow.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 27

 The first alcove on the left hides a secret door. In leads down a small flight of stairs to a room filling with water.  The water though, turns to steam nearly as fast. 

Rising from the steam is a demonic figure, similar to the small demons from Room 11, but this one is much larger.

Steam Mephit Lord: HD 8; AC 3 [16]; THAC0 11 [+8]; Atk 2 claws (1d8); Move 120' (40') [Fly 240' (80')]; Save D8 W9 P10 B11 S12 (8); Morale 10; AL C;  Special: Breathe steam cloud (3d6, save for half), gaseous form.

This creature is twice as large as the mephits encountered earlier. It appears to be "melting," but that seems to be part of its form.

The Mephit Lord is trapped here, like many other creatures, by the Vampire Queen.

Alcastra and The Illhiedrin Book

I have not been talking much about the various Judges Guild books in a while because of how racist current stewards Bob Bledsaw II and III have been. Really put a sad blemish on what I had always enjoyed as a "local" company.

But that also, unfortunately, did Bob Bledsaw the First and all the other fine authors (like Daniel Hauffe and Jennell Jaquays) a huge disservice.  So I want to revisit some of the Judges Guild books of my youth and see how they could play into my current games. In particular, my War of the Witch Queens or my 1979 Campaign.

Since I always look for witches, I will start with Alcastra and The Illhiedrin Book. 

I don't have the cover as the top image. The reason is simple, when this post gets shared on social media, whatever image is first is used as a thumbnail, and the cover was suggestive by 1981 standards and likely to get me into Facebook jail by 2023 standards.  Shame, really. It is one of the more recognizable covers. 

The adventure is a rare example of an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure from Judges Guild (not just a Dungeons & Dragons one) and a low-level adventure at that.

Like many older adventures, much detail is given to Alcastra's tower and its occupants, but only a little on the spell-caster herself.  In fact, this is all we really know about her:

This is a pity.  Though it is interesting (to me anyway) that her class is "Wizard" and not "Magic-user," as expected. 

Why is she naked on the cover? I am going with it is hot where she is at.

Of course, I would instead use her as a witch. Given her general appearance, I am tempted to make her into an Egyptian witch of the Classical Tradition. For this, I will use my syncretized Greco-Egyptian Gods and use my Classical Witch Tradition book. I would swap out some of the Classical Witch spells for some others, likely from my Witch book for Basic-era games though I should also look into some of my other books.

Alcastra the Fairspoken

13th level human Witch, Classical Tradition (Greco-Egyptian)

Strength: 11
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 18

Saves
Breath Attacks: 12
Poison or Death: 9
Petrify or Paralysis: 9
Wands: 10
Spells and Spell-like device: 11

Hit Points: 33
Alignment: Chaotic Good
AC: 3 (Bracers of defense)
To hit AC 0: 16

Occult Powers
Familiar: Hawk (+1 to Wisdom and Dexterity checks)
Lesser: Gift of Prophecy
Minor: Drawing Down the Moon

Spells
First: Cause Fear, Charm Person, Read Languages, Sleep
Second:  ESP, Hold Person, Invisibility, Spell Missile
Third: Dispel Magic, Scry, Spark of Insight
Fourth: Fate, Polymorph Other, Witch Power
Fifth: Flame Strike, Teleport
Sixth: Anit-Magic Shell, Bones of the Earth
Seventh: Sirocco

Equipment
Bracers of Defence
Dagger +2
Staff of Ra. Acts as a Staff of Striking and can cast the following spells:
  3/day: Color Spray, Light
  1/day: Flame Strike, Fury of the Sun, Sun Blessing

--

A good build to be honest. She also has two apprentices, Mirranscheim (human) and Rhall (half-elf), both 3rd level.  The only stats we get for them are their Charisma scores. I am tempted to make Rhall a desert elf. Just to give her a more interesting background. But in my game, desert elves don't have anything to do with humans if they can avoid them. Rhall could be an outcast. 

I might detail them since they could accompany the party on this adventure.  To make sure their mistress' plan is carried out.  Not sure if they run around naked as well. Let's say no.

Mirranscheim and Rhall

The adventure itself is pretty basic. It could be built up by making "The Creature" a bit tougher.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 26

 The passageway opens into a large circular room. In the center is a large fire. There are four alcoves spaced about the room walls.  The scene on the ceiling is though a sight out of a nightmare.

Near the top of the room, writhing on the thermals, are four (4) elemental fire Leeches. 

These creatures are native to the Elemental Plane of Fire where they are analogous to Giant Leeches. Instead of draining blood the drain heat.

There are also 1d4+4 Fire Opals found on the ground here, worth 100x1d6 GP each. They are from the Elemental Plane of Fire and are worth twice as much to an alchemist or wizard specializing in fire magic.

Mail Call: Enter the Creative Commons Era

 To recover from their massive PR screw-up involving the OGL, Wizards of the Coast swang the completely other direction and released the D&D 5 SRD under the Creative Commons License. 

I know much less about this license than I do about the OGL. I am pretty competent in the OGL and have been part of the Open Gaming Foundation since its beginning. So yeah, I have had nearly 23 years of practice with it. 

I got my copy of the new Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised via their Kickstarter recently and it looks fantastic.  It uses the CC 4.0 By Attribution license.  So I thought I'd grab some more Creative Commons books and see how they are made.

Not a bad collection, really.

The Arcanum 30th Anniversary Edition is an update to the venerable Arcanum and Compleat books from the 1980s.  I always have had a soft spot in my heart for this series. The 30th Anniversary Edition also does a good job of updating these rules and provides a nice history.  

It has been released under the CC BY-SA - Creative Commons Share Alike license. Sadly, Zila Games seems to be either defunct or at least lost their website. 

In a move I think surprises no one, Basic Fantasy RPG Core Rules 4thEd from Chris Gonnerman also has gone Creative Commons. This one was also released under the CC BY-SA - Creative Commons Share Alike license.

All three are worthy updates to their original versions. If somewhat thicker.

The rules have not really changed all that much. The presentation of all three is also better, with Swords & Wizardry inching out as the best-looking update.

This might be just what I needed to help get over my creative hump on my High Witchcraft book I have been playing around with for years.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 7, Room 25

 Past the corridor there is a split going left and right. The right leads to a door that is locked, barred, and magiced.

Removing the bar requires a combined Strength of 28 to lift. After that a thief with need a successful remove traps roll. Then a magic-user (or witch) will need to cast a dispel magic or remove curse on the lock.

Inside the room is a bound Ifrit.

Bound in a Thaumaturgic Triangle is an Ifrit. Not just any Ifrit, but Princess Azadiha. She has been bound her for over 1,000 years.  

She will beg the PCs for her freedom saying she will grant each one wish (treat as a limited wish spell). She won't try to "twist" the wishes, but they will not be very powerful all the same. 

She is telling the truth and wants to kill the one her put in this circle. Not the Vampire Queen, but one of her chief summoners. (Insightful GMs can use the name of a local or personal NPC for the summoner here). 

The Princess is dangerous but honest. The Vampire Queen is not her interest, but if the PCs mention they are hunting for her, she will be inclined to aid them. 

For freeing her the PCs gain 3,000 XP.  She has no treasure.

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Azadiha is an NPC in my games. She was painted by my wife.