Wasted Lands Playtest: The Dark Elves of the Wasted Lands

 The Wasted Lands Kickstarter is up and moving along nicely.  As you can imagine from my posts here, I do have a campaign in mind and potentially my own setting. BUT that is far off and in no way official yet.

But I can play around with ideas. One thing I need to overcome first is this:

How do I get my D&D 5e players away from D&D and into the Wasted Lands?

Look. I love D&D, I do. But in the last six months, I have been turned off and looking for other options. I have presented some of those options here and I do have more. One today is can I use the Wasted Lands as a Dungeons & Dragons replacement?

Jason has touched on this topic on his blog; Will Wasted Lands Be a Retroclone? But I want to go a step deeper. And in particular, can I use the various races/species that my D&D 5 players are wanting to play? Again, Jason touches on this, Races (Species) in Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age, but while his rationale is to move WL away from D&D (and a good rationale it is too) I am using the same logic to give my players a D&D experience with better rules.

To do this I want to start out with something on my mind a lot this month, my Shadow Elves.

The Wasted Lands has al sorts of human-like species running around and to be clear these humans are not the humans like you and I. They operate in and occupy the same ecological niche as do humans and maybe, just maybe, they pass on something (DNA, Collection Unconsciousness, the Akashic Records) down the millennia to us. This is why we remember them as gods. Though not all characters will become gods, as I pointed out yesterday. 

So to kill a few birds with one stone, I want to talk about the Dökkálfar of the Wasted Lands today.

The Dökkálfar, or the Dark Elves, are not to be confused with the D&D Drow, though obviously, there are connections. Since elves, the fae and other near-immortal creatures have drifted into myth and legend there is no reason not to assume that they once lived during the Dreaming Age.

Appendix 1 of the Wasted Lands Core Rules gives us examples of how to make other species. This might change a bit, but here is how I'd implement a Dark Elf, or more to the point, one of my Shadow Elves.

Dökkálfar

Size: Medium (5 feet tall)
Vitality Die: As class.
Saves: Dökkálfar gain +1 to Persona saves, +1 to Agility saves, and +2 to save against spells and effects that read or transmit thoughts or emotions.
Move: 30 ft.
Senses: Dökkálfar have darksight, enabling them to see in near-absolute dark for up to 60 feet. This sight functions in all but the most absolute darkness; so long as there is any ambient light, they can see, albeit fine details may be difficult to discern in the darkest caverns.
Weapons and Armor: Dökkálfar are proficient with all bows and swords. They can wear armor up to chain mail.
XP Cost: 1,750

All other details are, in a sense, cosplay.

Do they have pointy ears? What color is their skin, hair, eyes? What sort of society do they have?

None of that needs to be handled by the rules. It can be determined at your table. The rules are "old school," but the spirit is "new school."  Want to play Dragonborn? Aarocka? goblins? orcs? SURE! come on in. The rules are not going to stop you.

Are these Dökkálfar the Chaotic Evil Drow that everyone loves? Maybe. Are they my Lawful Evil Drow? Could be. Are they my Shadow Elves? Again, it could be. It will depend on the campaign at hand. 

Likely I will make them similar enough to my Shadow Elves so that when I finally get done with my Tomb of the Vampire Queen adventure, I can use these Dökkálfar in place of the Shadow Elves.

Tomorrow I'll put this into practice and convert some Spellcraft & Swordplay characters to Wasted Lands.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 6, Room 28

Archway 4, Room 28: The Chamber of the Mirrors

This room is just to the right of the central passageway.

This room is filled with mirrors. The mirrors are all different sizes and shapes, and they are all covered in dust. The only light in the room comes from the mirrors, and the reflections of the party members are distorted and twisted.

As the party approaches the mirrors, several of their reflections jump out.

For every party member, there are 3 "reflections" in truth, Galley Beggars. They look like distorted versions of the characters but do not have their powers or weapons. Their only attack is their scream.

Their bones, a huge pile of them, are located under a mirror on the floor.

Within the bones are gems, one for each Galley Beggar, worth 25 gp.

Wasted Lands Playtest: Raven, Swordsmistress of Chaos

Getting back to some Wasted Lands playtesting, I wanted to try a different character and a character whose ultimate goal doesn't end as becoming one of the Gods we know but rather a legendary figure.

Let's take the example of Raven, the Swordsmistress of Chaos.

I talked a bit about Raven in the past, but here is a summary/recap.

Back in 1987, I was a freshman in college. My then Favorite Local Game Store was also my Favorite Local Used Book Store.  They sold new books, used books as well as new and old gamebooks.  I got a copy of the first printing Deities & Demigods here along with scores of old copies of Dragon and White Dwarf. One book they always prominently displayed was the American versions of Raven Swordsmistress of Chaos.

I never grabbed the book but as an 18-year-old guy, I always was attracted to the covers. I even had a character named Raven, who like the cover, was blonde and had a pet raven.  I was vaguely aware there were more books in the series but never knew how many. 

Over the last couple of years, I have been on a quest to find and read all the Raven books by "Richard Kirk" who was, in reality, the pen name of authors Angus Wells and Robert Holdstock.  Both wrote Book 1, and then they alternated with Wells on Books 3 and 5 and Holdstock on Books 2 and 4.

Well, I succeeded in my quest and I found them all and read them.

While they are not...good...they are fun little romps in late 70s Swords and Sorcery (and Sex, but not as much as the Corgi covers hint at). Sometimes described as a mildly ribald Red Sonja or a less ribald Ghita Of Alizar. The books, however perfect for game fodder. 

Raven as a Legendary Figure

While Raven is the cover girl and the eponymous main character, the warlock Spellbinder narrates and tells the events many years after the fact. Even the scenes where he was not present.

The story Raven begins with that of a runaway slave girl named Su'ann. She is rescued by a mysterious warlock-like character named Spellbinder, who recognizes that she is "the pivot on which the world turns" partially because she is also protected by giant raven, and he senses something in her. 

Spellbinder and Su'ann, now calling herself "Raven," hook up with a band of outlaws and pirates.  They go from adventure to adventure, but all the time, Raven is training with swords, spears, and what would become her "trademark," a set of throwing stars.  It was the 70s, man.  Raven, though is not training out of boredom, nor even for the higher purpose fate seems to have, but is very vague about, for her.  She wants to kill her former slave owner, the Swordsmaster Karl Ir Donwayne.  

The story is a simple one, but close to many FRP gamers. Raven wants to kill Karl Ir Donwayne. How is it going to do that? Well, they need to Skull of Quez to appease this ruler to get to Donwayne. But they have to find the mysterious island first and then kill some beastmen. And there are shadowy loners, men with mysterious pasts. Raven jumps in and out of bed with Spellbinder, Gondar the Pirate captain, and even Krya M'ystral, the Queen and sister of the ruler they were trying to go see.  This is all in the first book.  There is a nice gory battle with Karl Ir Donwayne too, but he comes back in future books to bother Raven some more.

It is very much a pastiche of Swords & Sorcery (& Sex) in a world lost to time. So perfectly set up for the Dreaming Age of the Wasted Lands.

Raven as a Character

Raven is a "pivot point" of Fate, an agent of chaos. She is, however, not "evil," so the traditional D&D Basic/BECMI alignment system doesn't work for her very well. She has no supernatural powers to speak of, but she is able to complete some feats of skill and combat that go beyond what is expected. Her raven guide is one example, her ability to master a number of weapons quickly is another.  For a while, I thought she was akin to a NIGHT SHIFT "Chosen One" (and the similarities she shares with Buffy are pretty strong).  I was reading over author/designer Jason Vey's posts about Class Abilities and customization that got me thinking that a Divine instrument character is also a good fit for the Would-Be/Could-Be gods that I have discussed already.

I have a concept. I have some good ideas. What Class in Raven?

The natural choice is "Warrior"; she is obviously that. But "Renegade" is also a great choice.

I could multi-class her, starting out in Renegade and advancing as Warrior. I could use some very limited Divine Touchstones to give her some flavor of the other classes. 

I could even bring in the "Chosen One" class from NIGHT SHIFT. Since they are 100% rules compatible. 

In the Wasted Lands RPG, there is an Appendix for character point buy building. Essentially you pick and choose the ability you want your "class" to have and build it up that way. Except there is no class and no class level, every ability has a level.  

Raven has aspects of Warrior, aspects of Renegade, and even some Chosen One and Survivor (both from Night Shift).

So, what can Raven do?  Going through the list of abilities, I see Raven is very close to the Night Shift Chosen One and the Wasted Lands Warrior, minus a few abilities and adding a few more. Her abilities are:

Brutal Warrior (Leveled) (10 xp per scaled)
Melee Combat (5 xp)
Stunning Blow (10 xp)
Killing Blow (15 xp)
Supernatural Attacks (5 xp)
Sixth Sense (5 xp)
Improved Defense (5 xp)
Ranged Combat (5 xp)
Extra Attack (2) (15 xp per)
Vitality Dice 1d8 (Leveled) (5 xp)

Plus, the following from Renegade and Survivor:

Stealth Skills (Leveled) (10 xp per scaled)
Climbing (10 xp per)
Sneak Attack x3 (5 xp per)

Each one of these abilities has an XP value attached to it and some are "leveled." I *could*, in theory, keep all of these leveled ones at the same levels and build an XP advancement for her custom "class," but keeping them all on separate "levels" allows even greater customization. She has some stealth skills, but despite being a pirate at times, being a "thief" is not part of her history. Sure, she does do it, but her prowess with a sword (Brutal Warrior) and throwing stars (Ranged Combat) is more important.

I wanted to ensure she gets Supernatural Attacks since she fights zombies/the undead and even a "God." Though this god is more akin to the servants of the Old Ones or an Old One himself.

Other Abilities

These are great, and I love how it is all working out together. But what about her other abilities? Such as the part about being an agent of Fate, or her raven companion?  In other words, what makes her a Wasted Lands character and not just a generic D&D fighter?

Simple. This is exactly what the Divine Touchstones are for.

Raven has not overt magic. She doesn't even have supernatural abilities other than what is stated above. But there is something...extra about her.  The Divine Touchstones allow me to codify these.  For this I am sticking with the ones in the Core Rules.  I can see her getting a +1 to melee combat (to cover how she was already a capable fighter), a Favored Weapon benefit for her throwing stars, and of course a "Spirit Guide" in the form of her raven.

Putting it all Together

Putting this together, I get a great customized character that perfectly fits the concept of what I want.

Raven, Swordsmistress of Chaos

Class: Custom (XP buy)
Level: 6
Species: Human (Primate)

Alignment: Light Neutral (Twilight leaning)

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) A
Agility: 17 (+2) N
Toughness: 15 (+1) N
Intelligence: 12 (+0)
Wits: 13 (+1)
Persona: 17 (+2)

Fate Points: 10
Defense Value: 5
Vitality: 30 (6d8 +6)
Degeneracy: 
Corruption:

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+2/+1
Melee Bonus: +7 (see below)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (Throwing Stars +5) (see below)
Saves: +2 to all

Abilities

Brutal Warrior (Level 6) (10 xp per scaled)
Melee Combat (5 xp)
Stunning Blow (10 xp)
Killing Blow (15 xp)
Supernatural Attacks (5 xp)
Sixth Sense (5 xp)
Improved Defense (5 xp)
Ranged Combat (Level 2) (5 xp per)
Extra Attack (2) (15 xp per)
Vitality Dice 1d8 (Level 6) (5 xp per)
Stealth Skills (Leveled) (10 xp per scaled)
Climbing (10 xp per)
Sneak Attack x3 (5 xp per)

Divine Touchstones
1st: +1 Melee Combat
2nd: Favored Weapon (Throwing Stars)
3rd: Spirit Guide (Raven)

Divine Notes: Agent of Fate
Background: Former Slave

Gear
Sword, leather armor, buckler, daggers, throwing stars, net

Ok! I like how she worked here. These are superior to her BECMI stats I did a while back. While she made for an interesting Dungeons & Dragons character, her nature and her world are much more similar to the Wasted Lands than they say to Mystara, the Forgotten Realms, or Krynn.

This also shows off how powerful the customization is in the Wasted Lands RPG. Any character concept is possible. This sort of customization is more "expensive" than, say a by-the-book character, but I am fine with that, to be honest, to get the character I want.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 6, Room 27

Archway 3, Room 27: The Chamber of the Vampire Queen Altar to Orcus

The central passage way leads you to the grand temple dedicated to both the Vampire Queen and to Orcus.  Though one only needs to look at the walls to see the main veneration here is to Darlessa the Vampire Queen.

There are bodies of shadow elves, centuries dead covering the floors. There is not enough here to determine what killed them.

The columns of this room are all carved to resemble the Vampire Queen as if she is holding up this temple.  The back wall is dedicated to a large statue of Orcus, though his features here are more shadow elf in nature.  

In front of the statue of Orcus are Urnu and Runu from earlier in the adventure (Room 13). They are standing admiring the statue. When they hear you come in they turn and ask you to come and admire it with them.  When the party gets to them there are three shadow elves dead on the ground. 

They tell you that they killed the guards, adherents to an ancient religion forgot even to the high elves. They point to the statue and claim it was carved from a single piece of stone and that the artist apon completion marveled at it for many days straight unmoving. At the end of the seven day he took out a knife and cut his own throat knowing he would never do something again as magnificent. (if asked how they know, they will say it is a common enough story among shadow elves.)

They point to one ruby eye remaining. They will show the party the way to next level, they have no desire to get involved with the Vampire Queen, but they want the eye. They can't get it themselves due to a religious taboo that prevents them. (this is mostly true).

They is trapped and difficult to get too.

A thief will need to climb the statue and find and remove the two traps guarding it. 

The eye itself will need to be pried loose. 

Urnu and Runu want the eye. It is very magical and has a strong aura of necromancy about it. They tell the party they wish to return it to their own homeland where it can be put back where it came from. This is all true, but the eye is an evil artifact all the same. They promise to show the party where the secret exit is.

If the party agrees they take the eye and they show them to Room 30.

Monstrous Mondays: Shayṭān and Ifrit

 Been spending a lot of time with Gods and monsters over the last few weeks. Today I wanted to continue that idea with some of the creatures in between. Also, I want to talk more about using monsters like these in the WASTED LANDS and NIGHT SHIFT RPGs.

Your humble author surrounded by Shayṭān and Ifrit

Shayṭān and Ifrit

The wonderful thing about O.G.R.E.S. as presented in the WASTED LANDS and NIGHT SHIFT rules is how flexible it can be. Many monsters are simplified down to basic concepts.  A demon for example is give some basic power levels and then a number of powers that can be added or swapped out for nearly infinite variety. Even the name "demon" is flexible.

Here I think old-school players (and Game Masters) will recognize the foundations of many monsters and fans of modern horror RPGs will recognize the flexibility baked into the system.

While this means there is no great need for multiple Bestiaries, there is still utility in spelling some details out for players that need something quick.

Enter the Shayṭān.

I have been spending a lot of time going over the myths and legends of the world. They are all quite fascinating really, and while my love for the original AD&D Monster Manual knows no equal, one thing is clear, that the monsters depicted within pale in comparison to the monsters of myth. This is not really a slight. Space in the MM was limited, and there had to be a game focus.

Take the Effriti from the Monster Manual and to a lesser degree, the one from the D&D Expert Set. I mention the Expert set specifically because it's entry for Effriti was similar, but different enough, from the Monster Manual to make look into the creature more. The tantalizing and (in my mind) poorly explained "Lesser" also sent me out to explore more. 

These creatures are interesting, something of a cross between a devil and a fire elemental. Interesting enough to be featured as the cover of the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. ut the Ifrit of myth are more interesting still.  

There is also no way I can do them justice here, but I would love to take a start at it.

Shayṭān

The Shayṭān are a class of spirits corrupted by the Deeper Dark. They are, or were, predominantly elemental spirits like the Ifrit, Jinn, and Marid, but some are lesser spirits like the Qareen, and others still are greater spirits like Iblis.

In their corruption, they have become similar to demons, and many scholars will conflate the two. Indeed their methods and their purposes are also very similar.

Like the wind, Shayṭān will most often be invisible and intangible but can appear as various mundane creatures. The greatest power of the Shayṭān is to form bodies out of the base elements (fire, air, earth, water) to interact with humans, whom they tempt away from goodness.  For example, the Ifrit are the Shayṭān of fire. 

The typical Ifrit is a "Rank III demon," according to scholars. It has the following differences, it can only gate in lesser Shayṭān, not other demons. They are harmed by celestials, supernatural attacks, and Chosen Ones (NIGHT SHIFT). 

Iblis

Iblis appears as an Ifrit of the largest size, but he can also appear as an angel/celestial or as a normal human. He is the ruler of all Shayṭān. 

No. Appearing: Unique
DV: 0
Move: 30ft. Fly: 60ft.
Vitality Dice: 22 (180 Vitality Points)
Special: 4 attacks (2 claws, bite, 1 great sword), Shayṭān abilities, Summon Rank I shayṭān 100%, Summon Rank II shayṭān 85%, Summon Rank III shayṭān 75%, Summon Rank IV shayṭān 60%, Fear gaze, spells, +3 or better weapon to hit, regeneration (4 vitality/round), see in darkness, telepathy 200 ft.

Iblis, sometimes referred to as the Great Duke, the Enemy, or even just The Shayṭān, is the ruler of all shayṭān. His preferred form is that of a normal man, sometimes in the guise of a priest, pilgrim or other holy man. He can also appear as an 18' ifrit surrounded by flames. He has a third form, that of an angelic being that some claim is his original form before he was corrupted. 

Ilis enjoys corrupting other mortals as he himself had been. He shares no love for the other denizens of the Deeper Dark and sees other shayṭān as his to control. He claims no kinship to any other group and maintains that he alone is the source of evil in the world (a dubious claim at best).

Iblis is very knowledgeable about magic and there is no spell that he does not know or have access to. Sorcerers 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.

Use in the Wasted Lands

In this game, Iblis and the Shayṭān are new to the world and are seeking out ways to control the minds, and souls, of the humans left here after the Old Ones have departed. 

Use in NIGHT SHIFT

Is this the same Iblis as the one from The Dreaming Age? Iblis himself seems to think so but plenty of scholars and occult philosophers point out that we know when he began to appear in myth and texts and say it is unlikely, save that this Iblis occupies the same concept as the Iblis before. Or they are indeed one and the same 

Use in Old-School Games (OSR, Dungeons & Dragons)

Iblis is on par with the powerful Arch-Dukes of Hell. In fact he is their rival in many things. Iblis considers the Arch Dukes to be "lesser copies" of himself and the Lords of Hell feel Iblis should be brought to heel as a renegade member of their ranks. Their multitude of similarities only heighten the minor differences they have.

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Please don't forget to sign up for the WASTED LANDS Kickstarter beginning tomorrow!

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 6, Room 26

Room 26: The Chamber of the Blood Pool

Going back to Room 24 and taking the next left, this takes you to another dark chamber. 

This room is dominated by a large stone pool in the middle of the floor. The pool is still filled with blood.

Upon entering the candles light and six ghostly figures appear. They come into focus as they light the candles, telling the party (in Elvish) that they welcome them and must prepare them for the bath. At this they take out long wicked-looking knives and they attack.

The ghosts are Umbrals, and they are former shadow elf maidservants to the Vampire Queen.

The umbrals can't harm anyone with their knives, but the wail of lament is another story.

The walls are covered in murals that tell the tale of how the Vampire Queen came to the Shadow Elves, slew thousands (she walks on their skulls), and enslaved the others. Other murals show this bathing room where the maidservants cut the throats of other shadow elves to fill the bath, where the Vampire Queen goes in looking like a monster and comes back out looking young and beautiful again. There are a few panels where the Vampire Queen can be seen striking her servants and drinking their blood. 

The umbrals have no treasure, but there are still the remains of some gowns in a dressing nook. They have gold threads and jewels totaling 3,000 gp. 

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 6, Room 25

Archway 1, Room 25: The Hall of the Dead

This archway on the far left from Room 24 leads down to a dark chamber. 

This room is filled with the bones of Shadow Elves (based on the skulls). The bones are piled high in heaps, and the floor is red-brown with what looks like dried blood. 

In the center of the room is a raised platform, on which is a sarcophagus. The sarcophagus is made of black marble, and it is covered in intricate carvings.  The writing is an ancient form of elvish with many words from the Chaotic alignment language added in. Bards, Elves and a magic can be used to decipher it.  It reads "Here lies Agartis, Commander of the Shadow Elf legions, left hand of his Dark Mistress, Darlessa, the Queen of Vampires."

If the party opens the sarcophagus inside, they will find a richly dressed warrior, who spares no time in getting up to attack.

The warrior is a Barrow Wight. He is armed with a +2 longsword and wears boots of spider climbing.

He turns as a 7 HD creature. 

When Agartis begins his second round, he will be joined by 3d4 skeletons. These skeletons also attack. They are turned as Zombies.