I is for Iblis

Iblis or ʾIblīs is the name of the Devil is Islamic texts such as the Koran/Quran.  He is a very powerful being, though he has no power over good men and women.

And oddly enough I had never heard of him.  Well. Let me rephrase that.  Never heard of him as a devil mind you.  There was this old Battlestar Galactica (1979 flavor) episode that dealt with a devil like creature.  A Count (or was it duke?) Iblis.  It became obvious he was a bad guy and Apollo associates him with other names like Satan, Lucifer and Mephistopheles.  Now that is exactly the time I was reading a lot of D&D and lot of religious texts and I had never heard of Iblis before.  So I had to go and find him.  In 1979/1980 that meant going to the library.  Of course I had no idea how Iblis was even spelled since it was pronounced "IB-blee".  When I saw the name written I pronounced it "EH-bliss".  Took me a bit.

Iblis interestingly enough is missing from the 1st Ed AD&D rules Monster Manuals.  Satan is missing too, but that is another day.  Iblis though could be something very special.  He is described as a ruler of the Jinn, or least one that did not bow down to humans.  D&D (and many other games) have D'jinn/Jinn in them, so adding him is not a big stretch.  If Islam can have good, neutral and evil Jinn then so can I!

Shayṭān are corrupt, evil spirits of elemental forces.  They are similar in many ways to the D'jinn/Jinn and Efreet/Ifrit. In fact most scholars believe they are the same as Jinn and Ifrit save that they follow Iblis.  All are evil.
There are five basic types of Shayṭān; air, water, earth, fire and dust.  Iblis rules them all.

ʾIblīs 

NAME: Iblis
Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)
Movement: 120'
Armor Class: -4
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 180 hp (22 HD)
Attacks: claws (2), or by sword or by spell
Damage: 1d10/1d10 or 2d10+5
Special: Fear gaze, spells, summon shayṭān, +3 or better weapon to hit, immunity to fire, electricity and poison, regeneration (4 hp/round), see in darkness, magic resistance (75%), telepathy 200 ft.
Save: F22
MORALE: 12
XP: 12,000


ʾIblīs (Iblis) appears as large man or Iftit as his mood takes him. His form changes and he never appears the same way twice. He is jovial, but quick to anger and prone to violence.  For this reason he is often classified as part of the Rage Demons or even the Baalseraph or Eodemons.  He claims no kinship to any group and maintains that he alone is the source of evil in the world (a dubious claim at best). Iblis can command 1-3 shayṭān at will and summon 2-12 elementals to do his will.  He can also command any Djinn or Ifrit in the area, but he can't summon them to him.
Iblis is very knowledgeable about magic and there is no wizard spell that he does not know or have access to. He does not learn clerical magic and loathes witches. Wizards often seek him out to learn secret lore, but the summoning of Iblis is a secret itself and to do so incorrectly invites his wrath.


White Dwarf Wednesday will be posted later today.

H is for Hellhound

Hellhounds are an interesting beastie.  In many RPGs they are the first monster one runs into to let you know that there is something "else" out there.  But they are far more interesting than that.  The Hell Hound, spectral hound, barhgest, black shuck, Cu Sith, or any other number of spectral, ghostly or otherworld hounds represent one of our deepest fears; that something familiar we have let into our lives is in reality a demonic being.

Even before there were demonolgists or even Christians, Muslims and Jews, we had "hellhounds" of one sort or another.  Greek myths had them as companions to the Goddess Hecate.  Likewise the Norse had them as companions to the Goddess Hel.  The also, respectively, featured unique hounds like Cerberus and Garm that guarded the gates of the afterlife.

Hellhounds though also are also popular in popular literature. The most popular story of a hell hound was Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles.  Though it could have been more about a Black Dog or even Black Shuck.  In the end it wasn't any of those of course.

Dogs of course are one of humanity's oldest companions.  When we were just figuring out what to do with civilization, dogs were there with us.  They have evolved much as we have.  As a psychologist and atheist I find it very fascinating that we can demonize them so.   As a gamer I find them equally as fascinating.

Hellhounds were introduced to the D&D game back in the earliest days in the Greyhawk supplement to the Original D&D rules. This book included another dog-like creature, the Blink Dog, which seems to be the "good" counterpart. They appeared next in the classic Monster Manual and have been in every edition of the game ever since.

Given the horror aspect, and out of respect to ACD, here is the hell hound for various game systems, but focusing on Victorian age ones.


Hellhound
Ghosts of Albion, Unisystem

Creature Type: Demonic Animal
Life Points: 30
Drama Points: 1

Attributes
Str: 4
Dex: 4
Con: 3
Int: 1
Per: 5
Will: 4

Ability Scores
Muscle: 14, Combat: 14, Brains: 5
Special Abilities: +10 to Brains Score for smell and hearing sensing, Demon, Fear, Hard to Kill, Lesser Sensing, Cold Vulnerability, Breathe Fire, Resistance (Fire).

Anyone seeing a Hellhound for the first time must make a Fear check (Willpower x2).
Hellhound do not take damage from fire but take double damage from cold.

Manoeuvres
Name Score Damage Notes
Bite +14 11 Slash/stab
Fire Breath +14 15 fire* (extra fire damage based on SL)
Deflect +9 - Magic defence action; deflects spell 45˚


Hellhound
Savage Worlds (Rippers / Gaslight)

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Guts d8, Notice d8, Stealth d6, Survival d4, Tracking d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 5, Toughness: 9
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+2
• Breathe Fire: A hellhound can breath a jet of flame that causes fire damage (Spirit +2)
• Fear: Anyone that sees a hellhound must make a Guts roll.
• Fleet Footed: Hellhounds have a d10 running die.
• Go for the Throat: If a Hellhound gets a raise on its attack roll, it strikes its opponent’s least armoured location.
• Resistance (Fire): Hellhounds take n damage from fire.
• Weakness (Cold): Hellhounds take +4 damage from cold or cold based weapons.

Hellhound
Victoriana 2nd Edition 

Rank: 2 (Generalist)
Physical competence: 6
Mental competence: 4
Health: 5 (10)
Signature Skills: Conceal +5, Hide & Sneak +5, Perception +5,
Traits: Fire immunity, Night Vision

Armour: 1 (thick fur)
Combat Abilities: Bite (2 dice), Breath Weapon (3d)
Damage: Bite (3d), Fire (4d)


Hellhound
Victoriana 1867 Edition 

Mental Competence: 10
Physical Competence: 15
Health: 35/15 (surrounded by flames)
Skill Picks: Hide & Sneak (10), Dodge! (8)
Combat Picks: Bite 2d+4 lethal (10), Gaze (8) – opposed roll against opponent’s resolution, or the target is stunned for 2 rounds, Breath Fire (10) for 4d+4.

Hellhounds are 1st circle demons, slightly above imps.


Hellhound
Basic Era D&D / The Witch (because I can)

Armor Class:  3 [16]
Hit Dice: 4d8+4* (22 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite / breath weapon
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d6+3 / 1d8 (fire)
Special: fear, low-light vision (120’), scent
Movement: 90’
No. Appearing: 1 (1-3 in lair)
Saves As: Fighter 5
Morale: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Evil
XP: 150

Hellhounds cause fear as per the spell (Save vs. Paralysis to negate).  They also breathe out a lick of flame while attacking, save vs Breath Weapon for half-damge. 

Five systems is pretty good.  That's a whole pack of hellhounds.

G is for Geryon

Every D&D player from the late 70s and 80s knows about the Arch Devil Geryon.  He never really seemed to fit well with the other Arch Devils/Dukes of Hell.  For example, most devils have horns, Geryon did not.  The other devils were fallen angels or appeared in various Christian demonologies.  Not so for Geryon.
He was described as "The Wild Beast" which I took as being a reference to the Great Beast, but still he wasn't more or less beastly than some of the other devils.

Geyron is based on the character from Dante's Inferno who lives between the Seventh and Eighth Circle of Hell.  He bares no resemblance to the mythical Geryon of the Twelve Labors of Heracles.

In later Planescape-related D&D Geryon gets kicked out of Hell, though he is still around.  In my campaign from the late 90s, A Sojourn in Hell, (which merged my old 80s D&D game with my more modern horror ones) Geryon was killed outright.  In the official treatments he was exiled because he thinks that there is some task he needs to do so terrible that he could not perform it as an Arch Devil. I have to admit I kinda like that.

Maybe it was the classic Clash of the Titans, but I have always thought Geyron needs a huge bow.  Play up his hunter-like qualities.

Despite my previous use of him I think I might take him back to his hunter-like role.  He haunts the wilds of the Seventh Circle of Hell

In my update Geyron is no longer a devil or Baalseraph, but he is the archetypical rage demon or a Shedim.

NAME: Geryon
Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)
Movement: 90'/120' (flying)
Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 150 hp (20 HD)
Attacks: claws (2), tail sting or bow
Damage: 1d10/1d10/1d8+poison or 2d8+posin
Special: Fear gaze, spells, bull’s horn, summon shedim, +2 or better weapon to hit, immunity to fire and poison, regeneration (3 hp/round), see in darkness, magic resistance (65%), telepathy 100 ft.
Save: F20
MORALE: 11
XP: 10,000

Geryon is a massive beast. He towers over most creatures at 15' tall. His head is massive, nearly three times as wide as a human's with features of both human, lion and ape.  His head can rotate 180 degrees around, so he can see directly behind himself. He is barrel chested, with massive arms that resemble that of a gorilla ending in lion-like claws.  His 40' long body ends in a snake like tail tipped with a poisonous tip like that of a scorpion.  His massive bat-like wings gives him the overall impression of wyvern.
His eyes burn with intelligence and hate.

Geryon patrols his lands in search of prey to hunt. Normally he hunts the wild kine of the hells, his favorite prey of course is human.  He can attack with his massive claws (he has the strength of a cloud giant) and his tail sting.  The poison of the sting does no additional damage, but the victim must save vs. poison or die in agony.  He prefers to hunt with his bow.  The arrows from this massive bow do more damage than mortal weapons and the arrows are also often tipped with the same poison found in his tail.  The bow itself is so huge that a normal human can not use it and it would require a Strength of 24 to use.

Geryon can be pressed into service by occultists that know the secret means to do so.
Geryon himself can summon other, lesser Shedim to aid him.  He rarely does this though as he sees himself as superior to all around him (save for maybe the Baalseraph Dukes).  Because of his renown as a hunter in the Hells he is often sought after by Baalseraph and Calabim Lords as an assassin.

OGL Section 15.

Geryon from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original material by
Gary Gygax.

Sunday Updates

Moving this to Sunday since there are people hitting the blog then and I generally don't post on Sundays.
Plus I can collect these all through out the week and report them back to you.

Jeff Dee on the recent Villains and Vigilantes lawsuit:
http://my.deviantart.com/art/Villains-and-Vigilantes-RPG-News-360833993

An interesting Kickstarter, Monster Tome:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/monstertome/monster-tome

Tenkar is doing a Sword & Wizardry Appreciation Day on April 17, 2013.
http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2013/04/spes-magna-games-is-adding-to-swords.html

Wizards has put up some humorous walk throughs for two of their classic modules.

• S1 Tomb of Horrors
• S2 White Plume Mountain

Additionally Tomb of Horrors will be redone in Dungeon #213 for D&D Next.
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/TOC.aspx?x=dnd/4new/dutoc/213

You all might know this, but I just found it.  D&D T-shirts at DNDMerch.com.

Have a great sunday!

F is for Foras and Furcas

Today's demons come to us from the Lemegeton of Of The Arte Goetia (Lesser Key of Solomon) and  Dictionnaire Infernal.

Foras is an interesting demon.  He is described as a President.  Now the use of the term president is not the same as our modern usage. In this case President means to "preside over". Like one does a meeting, club or college.

From the Lemegeton (Keys of Solomon):

The 31 spirit in order, [as Salomon saith,] is named Foras, he is a mighty great president & appeareth in ye form of a strong man, in humane shape he can give ye understanding to men how they may know ye vertues of all hearbs & precious stones, & [he] teacheth them ye art [of] Logick & Ethicks in All their partes if desired, he maketh men Invisible, witty, Eloquent & to live Long; he [can] discover Treasures and recover Things lost, & he ruleth over 29 Legions of spirits, his seale or Character is thus to be made & worne as a Lamen.

So he is a powerful demon who controls 29 legions.  He is also one of the knowledgeable demons so it is likely he is summoned for his knowledge of herbs and medicine.  It is claimed he can teach men the secrets of longevity.

Up next is a demon that is often confused with Foras, Forcas.  Also known as Furcas.  Furcas is also found in the Lemegeton and  Johann Wier’s Pseudomanarchia Daemonum.
He is known to teach logics and the secrets of plants and gems, gives invisibility and reveal hidden treasures.
What is most interesting about Furcas though is his rank.  He is known as a Knight of Hell.  A rank unique to him.  Given the picture of him, and old knight on an old horse, I can't help but think of Don Quixote.

 

He is described in the Pseudomanarchia Daemonum as:

Furcas is a knight and commeth foorth in the similitude of a cruell man, with a long beard and a hoarie head, he sitteth on a pale horsse, carrieng in his hand a sharpe weapon, he perfectlie teacheth practike philosophie, rhetorike, logike, astronomie, chiromancie, pyromancie, and their parts: there obeie him twentie legions.

So despite what sounds like a lower rank he still commands 20 legions of lesser demons. Given his name the "sharp weapon" is assumed to be a fork of some sort.  The AD&D 1st Ed Monster Manual 2 attaches him to Dispater, the oldest of the Arch Dukes.  It could be that Furcas was a knight in whatever service he was in before his fall and he still considers himself such.  This might given him some sort of twisted sense of honor; somewhat like the character Orcini from Doctor Who.  I think it would be interesting to know more about his background.  Maybe he was once and noble and honorable knight till following his Master to Hell.  Maybe he is just as evil all the same.

Zatannurday: Zatanna News and Web Round-up

So I get pictures sent to me all the time of various versions or pics of Zatanna.  Here are some recent ones.  Each has something a little different or special about them.

First up, Zatanna gets another new costume and moves over to the Justice League!
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/zatanna-new-look.html

Looks like a combination of her classic costume and the one she wore in Identity Crisis.
Glad to see the fishnets back, though I do hope she gets her top hat back.  I know, fishnets and high-heels are not good super hero costumes, but she is a stage performer. After all have a look at Misty Lee, a real life magician and performer.  Ok I know that is a cheat.  Misty Lee is also Mrs. Paul Dini.

Also talked about here, http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/47101162553/zatanna-gains-role-in-justice-league-loses-pants  which leads me the the next picture too.

This has been making the rounds and it is a nice contrast to what I normally post, is a "fully dressed" Zatanna.
http://www.geeknative.com/38733/drawing-the-impossible-fully-dressed-superheroines/#lightbox/4/
and
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/47040890525/a-look-at-costume-designs-to-fully-clothe-some-comics

I like it, but miss her classical stage magician look.

And this one from Hanie Mohd
http://haniemohd.tumblr.com/
http://calvinscanadiancaveofcool.blogspot.com/2013/03/more-super-girls-by-hanie-mohd.html

In a very special treat Paul Dini released this animation cell of a proposed Zatanna cartoon,

It would have been so cool!

These great mono-chrome ones,
http://aaronnsn.deviantart.com/

And this one,
http://funrama.deviantart.com/

And finally,

Leonardo Gondim

A to Z posting later today.

E is also for Evil Dead!

The new Evil Dead is out tonight!
Are you going to go see it?

Well the game based on the original Evil Dead movie, Army of Darkness is now on sale.

Army of Darkness

It is 100% compatible with my game Ghosts of Albion.

Pick them both up today!