Here is a stab at Liam's big dragon, Aži Dahāka. I used a couple of different tools and then manually tweaked them.
More details on his monster here soon. Right now I want to know how these stats look to you.
Aži Dahāka
Dragon, Great Wyrm Fiendish
CR 28 XP 3,100,000
Chaotic evil Colossal Dragon
Init +4; Senses Blindsense, Darkvision 60; Listen +53; Spot +53
DEFENSE
AC 41, Touch 2, flat footed 41 (+ No Armour, + Shield, none)
(+39 Natural, -8 size)
hp 660 (40d12+400);
Fort +32, Ref +22, Will +32
Damage reduction 20/magic, Immunity to fire, Spell Resistance 32, Resistance to cold and fire 10
OFFENSE
Speed 40, fly 200ft.
Melee
Single Attack Bite +50 (4d8+17)
Full Attack
Bite +50 (4d8+17)
2 Claw +47 (4d6+8)
Crush +47 (4d8+8)
Tail +47 (4d6+8)
2 Wing Slap +47 (2d8+8)
Space 30ft.; Reach 20ft.
Special Attacks
Breath Weapon DC(40) 24d10 Fire 60ft cone, Frightful Presence DC(38) , Sorcerer 19,
Spell-like Abilities Sorcerer level 19,
Smite good 1 per day add extra damage = to HD total
Spell-like Abilities
Spell-like Abilities (CHR) 3rd DC(21) Locate object 11/day
Spell-like Abilities (CHR) 3rd DC(21) Suggestion 3/day
Spell-like Abilities (CHR) 6th DC(24) Find the path 1/day
Spell-like Abilities (CHR) 8th DC(26) Discern location 1/day
Spells Known:
Spells (will choose these later)
Level 0 (6) DC 18
Level 1 (8) DC 19
Level 2 (8) DC 20
Level 3 (8) DC 21
Level 4 (8) DC 22
Level 5 (7) DC 23
Level 6 (7) DC 24
Level 7 (7) DC 25
Level 8 (7) DC 26
Level 9 (4) DC 27
STATISTICS
Str 45, Dex 10, Con 31, Int 26, Wis 27, Chr 26
Base Attack 40 Grapple 73
Feats
Alertness: +2 listen +2 spot,
Blind-fight: Re-roll miss chance for concealment,
Cleave: Get extra attack if kill monster,
Flyby Attack: Can make standard action during move,
Great Cleave: Can make extra attacks if kill opponent ,
Hover: Can Hover,
Improved Initiative: +4 Initiative checks,
Iron Will: +2 on will saves,
Multiattack: Secondary Attacks are at -2 instead of -5,
Power Attack: Subtract from to hit add to damage,
Snatch: Snatch prey in mouth or claw,
Weapon Focus: +1 to attack rolls,
Widen Spell,
Wingover: Can change directions quickly while flying
Skills Appraise 28, Bluff 44, Concentration 46, Diplomacy 51, Hide 14, Intimidate 49, Know Arcana 41, Know Geography 41, Know History 41, Know Local 41, Know Nobility 47, Knowledge (any one) 41, Listen 53, Move Silently 39, Search 51, Spot 53, Swim 47
Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon
ECOLOGY
Environment Deserts
Organization Unique
Treasure Standard x 3
Friday, September 9, 2011
Pathfinder Resources
So fast one today. I have a lot going on.
I am looking for some good Pathfinder resources. In particular monster construction.
I have been pushing to do "Here there be Dragons" in Basic era format for the likes of Labyrinth Lord, Basic Fantasy and Swords & Wizardry. Liam, the author, wants to do it for Pathfinder. We might do both.
I am very out of practice in writing monster stats for 3.5/Pathfinder.
Are their any good guides or online resources where I can "check my work"?
The big issue of course is skill and feat calculations.
Anything is good!
I am looking for some good Pathfinder resources. In particular monster construction.
I have been pushing to do "Here there be Dragons" in Basic era format for the likes of Labyrinth Lord, Basic Fantasy and Swords & Wizardry. Liam, the author, wants to do it for Pathfinder. We might do both.
I am very out of practice in writing monster stats for 3.5/Pathfinder.
Are their any good guides or online resources where I can "check my work"?
The big issue of course is skill and feat calculations.
Anything is good!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Vacation in Vancouver
All this talk of NC-17 and R rated blogs has reminded me of one of the few purely adult games I have played.
While all my games can be considered to have "Adult themes", after all the main characters of "The Dragon and the Phoenix" and "Season of the Witch" were two lesbians, I generally try to run a game that is enjoyable on many levels. So my Tara player could stand up against the patriarchy and fight for her right to love another woman and my Robert character could concentrate on killing monsters.
Ghosts of Albion: Obsession deals with a serial rapists/killer that is trying to find a perfect match for the woman he really desires but can't have. So yeah, not all my games are kid-friendly.
But lately I have been wanting to get back to another game I was playing online using WitchCraft. The game was called "Vacation in Vancouver" and the hook was that members of Vancouver's supernatural community were going missing. Long story short there was this entire underground where vampyres, demons and witches were getting together and engaging in all sorts of lewd sexual acts in exchange for essence. After a while even open acts of magic were considered acceptable.
The game though was not really about sex or even depravity (there was a lot of sexual slavery going on and it was hard to know who was using who), but about addiction and loosing yourself.
A couple of characters had to be literally pulled back from the edge.
As a role-playing experience it was intense. There was not much combat to be honest. Part of that was out of choice (the characters were investigators, not thugs) and part out of necessity (combats online can be dull, even in Unisystem).
The game ended like so many others, not with a big finale, but a gradual dying off.
The mystery of where all the supernaturals were going was solved, but not the one of the demonic sex trafficking. The demons never actually killed anyone, in fact they seemed to be concerned for the wellfare of the Gifted and Lesser Gifted in their "care". And there were plenty of volunteers for the demons too since the exchange of Essence was pleasurable for both (but only humans can 'regenerate' Essence).
I'd like to revisit that world someday. But the alchemy of the players and the right situations is gone. I *know* for a fact that if I went in with a another group it would be of the "kill demons and ask questions later" sort.
It was one of those rare RPG moments were the bad guys might have won and there was nothing the PCs/Cast could do about it. While the game was fun and provided some of the best pure Horror roleplaying I have run in a long time, I am just not sure how it could even be revisited.
I guess there is the feeling of it not being finished and too many questions left unanswered. The big questions of course were who was in charge of the trafficking and if it could even be stopped, how? And then there was "Kim". That was the character's name. She willing sold herself to a demon for the pleasure it provided. I wonder what happened to her.
So. I guess I don't kill characters, but having their minds tore apart by Essence overload and sold into deviant sexual slavery for a bunch of demons is not exactly beyond me.
*Picture unrealted. I thought it looked cool.
Ghosts of Albion: Obsession deals with a serial rapists/killer that is trying to find a perfect match for the woman he really desires but can't have. So yeah, not all my games are kid-friendly.
But lately I have been wanting to get back to another game I was playing online using WitchCraft. The game was called "Vacation in Vancouver" and the hook was that members of Vancouver's supernatural community were going missing. Long story short there was this entire underground where vampyres, demons and witches were getting together and engaging in all sorts of lewd sexual acts in exchange for essence. After a while even open acts of magic were considered acceptable.
The game though was not really about sex or even depravity (there was a lot of sexual slavery going on and it was hard to know who was using who), but about addiction and loosing yourself.
A couple of characters had to be literally pulled back from the edge.
As a role-playing experience it was intense. There was not much combat to be honest. Part of that was out of choice (the characters were investigators, not thugs) and part out of necessity (combats online can be dull, even in Unisystem).
The game ended like so many others, not with a big finale, but a gradual dying off.
The mystery of where all the supernaturals were going was solved, but not the one of the demonic sex trafficking. The demons never actually killed anyone, in fact they seemed to be concerned for the wellfare of the Gifted and Lesser Gifted in their "care". And there were plenty of volunteers for the demons too since the exchange of Essence was pleasurable for both (but only humans can 'regenerate' Essence).
I'd like to revisit that world someday. But the alchemy of the players and the right situations is gone. I *know* for a fact that if I went in with a another group it would be of the "kill demons and ask questions later" sort.
It was one of those rare RPG moments were the bad guys might have won and there was nothing the PCs/Cast could do about it. While the game was fun and provided some of the best pure Horror roleplaying I have run in a long time, I am just not sure how it could even be revisited.
I guess there is the feeling of it not being finished and too many questions left unanswered. The big questions of course were who was in charge of the trafficking and if it could even be stopped, how? And then there was "Kim". That was the character's name. She willing sold herself to a demon for the pleasure it provided. I wonder what happened to her.
So. I guess I don't kill characters, but having their minds tore apart by Essence overload and sold into deviant sexual slavery for a bunch of demons is not exactly beyond me.
*Picture unrealted. I thought it looked cool.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
This doesn't really make sense
Everyone else was doing it, thought it might be fun.
But this is what I got:
Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site
I mean, I don't try to be NC-17 or even R-rated really. I would have been perfectly happy with PG-13. I like to keep my content fairly open.
I guess there are some key-words that were tagged.
Oh well.
I re-did it after this post and must have pushed some content down.
Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites
Go figure.
But this is what I got:
Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site
I mean, I don't try to be NC-17 or even R-rated really. I would have been perfectly happy with PG-13. I like to keep my content fairly open.
I guess there are some key-words that were tagged.
Oh well.
I re-did it after this post and must have pushed some content down.
Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites
Go figure.
Practical Magic: Spells
Not the book or movie, I already did that.
I have been working on finishing up all the new spells for my witch books, and I am taking what might be an unpopular point of view.
D&D, in any version, is a game about combat and being able to protect yourself and others from damage and cause damage. The spells of the cleric and magic-users reflect this.
What isn't in most D&D books are the day-today magics, the workhorse magics or even the practical magic.
For the witch I wanted to give her her own magical niche in which to operate. I figure that most of the witches in a game world are not of the adventuring type, so they have spells that linked more to what they need to do and not cause damage per se. So charms, minor curses and hexes, but also finding things and protection.
I have also looked into the gaps of the spell lists. Quick question, what spells go into making a creature like an owlbear? Where would you start? Well I have those spells too. Good low level witches will often act as a mid-wife in many villages, so the same spells that are used to protect the mother and newborn (and to ensure conception to begin with) can be altered to other means. Not always evil or insane means. In my game "Batlings" are a magical crossbreed that are not aberrations, but a new race born of magic.
I have given long thought to how each spell can be used in an adventure like setting. I have also thought about how each spell would be useful to that NPC witch, either the local herb woman or the evil Witch Queen that the PCs must defeat. There are still going to be some though that are useful to the witch, but maybe not a useful in combat situations.
I am still following Tom Moldvay's advice on witches. Even though this is a "retro era inspired" game, modern audiences have expectations. Years of Charmed, Buffy, and Harry Potter have given us new ideas on witches. I want to retain that late 70s, early 80s feel, but sell it to a post 2010 audience.
Whatever your expectations are I hope you enjoy.
D&D, in any version, is a game about combat and being able to protect yourself and others from damage and cause damage. The spells of the cleric and magic-users reflect this.
What isn't in most D&D books are the day-today magics, the workhorse magics or even the practical magic.
For the witch I wanted to give her her own magical niche in which to operate. I figure that most of the witches in a game world are not of the adventuring type, so they have spells that linked more to what they need to do and not cause damage per se. So charms, minor curses and hexes, but also finding things and protection.
I have also looked into the gaps of the spell lists. Quick question, what spells go into making a creature like an owlbear? Where would you start? Well I have those spells too. Good low level witches will often act as a mid-wife in many villages, so the same spells that are used to protect the mother and newborn (and to ensure conception to begin with) can be altered to other means. Not always evil or insane means. In my game "Batlings" are a magical crossbreed that are not aberrations, but a new race born of magic.
I have given long thought to how each spell can be used in an adventure like setting. I have also thought about how each spell would be useful to that NPC witch, either the local herb woman or the evil Witch Queen that the PCs must defeat. There are still going to be some though that are useful to the witch, but maybe not a useful in combat situations.
I am still following Tom Moldvay's advice on witches. Even though this is a "retro era inspired" game, modern audiences have expectations. Years of Charmed, Buffy, and Harry Potter have given us new ideas on witches. I want to retain that late 70s, early 80s feel, but sell it to a post 2010 audience.
Whatever your expectations are I hope you enjoy.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Chicago School of Magic
So yesterday I worked with my boys to start up a new Witch Girls Adventures game. I am calling it "Magick Kids" for them. They are boys and 8 and 11 at that and would not be open yet to a game with "Girls" in the title.
I am using some ideas from WGA, from the Claremont game I was playing some years back and even some characters (or character ideas) as NPCs from Magic Chicks, Eerie Cuties and School Bites.
I am centering everything around the Chicago School of Magic.
Here is some of the background on the school. I leaving some of it vague so I can come up with it in-game.
The Chicago School began in appropriately enough in Chicago. Some like minded witches and wizards gathered together to create a wholly new school to support what they felt was the "working-class" magical student. They gathered in Chicago's Haymarket and drew up their charter. Like the general populace of the city at that time, the wizards were a pragmatic sort and many came from a number of different countries and traditions. They agreed that a new school, with a new vision was needed and opted not to name it after any one wizard or school from the "old countries". So in 1869 The Chicago School of Magic was founded.
Over the last 140 years the CSM has produced a number of fine wizards. Many have gone on to great careers in magic, but a fair number have also gone in politics. Many even suspect that the infamous Chicago Machine is somehow driven by magic. They have had their infamous moments as well. The Great Fire of Chicago burned down their original school building (and current rumor is that is was a student in Evocations working on "extra-credit"). The famous curse on the Chicago Cubs was done by a graduate that was not allowed to bring his familiar, a goat, to a game.
I am using some ideas from WGA, from the Claremont game I was playing some years back and even some characters (or character ideas) as NPCs from Magic Chicks, Eerie Cuties and School Bites.
I am centering everything around the Chicago School of Magic.
Here is some of the background on the school. I leaving some of it vague so I can come up with it in-game.
The Chicago School began in appropriately enough in Chicago. Some like minded witches and wizards gathered together to create a wholly new school to support what they felt was the "working-class" magical student. They gathered in Chicago's Haymarket and drew up their charter. Like the general populace of the city at that time, the wizards were a pragmatic sort and many came from a number of different countries and traditions. They agreed that a new school, with a new vision was needed and opted not to name it after any one wizard or school from the "old countries". So in 1869 The Chicago School of Magic was founded.
Over the last 140 years the CSM has produced a number of fine wizards. Many have gone on to great careers in magic, but a fair number have also gone in politics. Many even suspect that the infamous Chicago Machine is somehow driven by magic. They have had their infamous moments as well. The Great Fire of Chicago burned down their original school building (and current rumor is that is was a student in Evocations working on "extra-credit"). The famous curse on the Chicago Cubs was done by a graduate that was not allowed to bring his familiar, a goat, to a game.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Return to Witch Girls Adventures
My kids have been playing a lot of Wizard 101 over the weekend. Of course like a good dad I investigated the game first. It has really gotten me in the mood to run some Witch Girls Adventures with them.
I would let them play their characters in the computer game but I'd need to alter some things. There are a bunch of schools in W101 that would need moved over to WGA, but that is easy.
I think it will be fun.
Updates soon.
I would let them play their characters in the computer game but I'd need to alter some things. There are a bunch of schools in W101 that would need moved over to WGA, but that is easy.
I think it will be fun.
Updates soon.
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