The Other Side blog

Thursday, November 9, 2023

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: Kriegskönig, The God of War

Getting down to the last few gods here before I can call this project done. I ended up with a lot more entries than expected. This is good for the first run I think. Even ended up with more feedback online.

Now I just need to come up with a name for this collection. "Myth, Monsters, & Magic" has a nice ring to it, but is that too close to "Man, Myth, & Magic?" I mean there is nothing wrong with "Deities & Demigods II" but I was going to put them on DriveThruRPG (for free) to get better distribution.

Anyway, let's talk about a guy whose sphere of control is on a lot of our minds right now. Kriegskönig, the War King, The God of War.

Kriegskönig

The Kriegskönig, aka the War King, is the god of war for these peoples. I am taking some liberties here with both Ares/Mars and Tyr/Tiwas. I am going to lean in more on the Tyr side of the this and make this guy more Lawful Neutral than Ares' Chaotic Evil. Mostly because Ares was always my least favorite god in Greek Myth and I felt that by the time he became Mars, he had "matured" more. I think this has more to do with the different approaches the Greek and Romans had to war.

Similarly, Tyr is more of a Justice god and he had more prominence in the Pagan Germanic tribes' worship. After all he gets a weekday named for him (Tuesday) along side Odin (Wednesday), Thor (Thursday), and Frigg (Friday).

So my Kriegskönig should also be important, but his demeanor is different since I decided that when these two groups of different Pagans met up they did not go to battle with each other but instead blend into a community. This might not be very historically realistic, but it serves my game purposes well. Besides I have gods of hunting, and for berserkers, and one more of wild nature and violence coming up.

Kriegskönig then is the God of War, but war as a last resort. He battles not because he lusts for it, but because he is very, very good at it. He was the leader of the armies of the Gods that fought Die Hüne. He is the one who fights the hordes of demons to keep Érde (Earth) safe.

KRIEGSKÖNIG (God of War)

Intermediate God

ARMOR CLASS: -4
MOVE: 24"
HIT POINTS: 300
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d10+4 x3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Enspire Battle Frenzy
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +3 or better to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%

SIZE: M (6' 8")
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, Fighters, Warriors, those that seek justice
SYMBOL: Hawk
PLANE: Himmel

CLERIC/DRUID: Nil
FIGHTER: 20th level Fighter
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 20th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 20 I: 17 W: 18 D: 18 C: 20 CH: 18

Kriegskönig is the War King, the God of War. He does not seek to start wars but he is there when he is needed. He appears as a very tall imposing warrior. His face is scarred from his many battles.

In battle, he wields a great sword that he can use thrice per round. He has bonuses to hit and to damage due to his high strength. Though he is not a mindless brute in battle. Kriegskönig is well know for his battle strategies and can use 10 warriors to do the work of a 100 if needed. He can inspire a battle frenzy or battle trance where anyone under his command is a more effective fighter. This grants anyone in combat on the same side he is fighting an extra attack per round. Warriors in his armies or fighting by his side can never be frightened.

The Kriegskönig is not just the god of War. He is called on for matters of justice and legal disputes, so in this aspect, he is also the God of Judges. It is said that when souls go to their reward in the Afterlife it is Kriegskönig who decides where they go and what they will do in eternity.

Animal: Hawk
Rainment: (Head) warhelm or bare (Body) armor
Color(s): Black, red
Holy Days: Tuesdays
Sacrifices: War is sacrifice, so fallen enemies
Place of Worship: Battlefields, both present and former

Kriegskönig is not a demanding God except in times of war. Then he expects his worshipers, especially his warriors, to be brave. Clerics of this god tend to be dual-classed fighters or paladins.

Links

The Gods

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 9

Stalking the halls of this maze are two Warp Beasts / Displacer Beasts.

There is nothing out of the ordinary about these two, other than the obvious, they wander these halls looking for prey.

Note: I always like these guys. I always wanted to add them to this level. I know the art is not exactly right, but I like how it came out anyway.

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: Betrüger, The Trickster God

Keeping up with my gods of The Black Forest here. I said originally I was not trying to replicate the Proto-Indo-European Gods, but I think I have been drifting in that direction. So trying a bit of course correction. Today's god actually got his genesis back when I was reading Robert A. Heinlein's "Job: A Comedy of Justice." In it one of the main characters, Margrethe, talks about how Loki is not just other version of Hermes/Mercury. This was followed by discussions in Dragon magazine on whether or not Loki should be Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Evil.

These ideas, all circa 1986, have led me to this god.

Betrüger

Betrüger is a trickster god. One of the big archetypes for gods really. He often appears in the form of a talking fox, but due to his nature he can appear as anyone or anything. His favorites are a young androgynous man, an old man, a beautiful young woman (where he often plays jokes on Magni and Muthi), and various talking animals. His jokes can be somewhat dangerous, but he is rarely cruel. He saves his cruelest pranks on the dull-witted and those in power.

He adores humans, though in the same way a person might adore a particularly strange pet. His stories abound with him talking advantage of those unaware and rewarding clever behavior. His tongue often gets him into trouble as well as getting him out of it. He sees himself as the smartest of all the gods.

BETRÜGER (Trickster)

Intermediate God

ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVE: 24"
HIT POINTS: 275
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-24
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charming voice, Spells
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +3 or better to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%

SIZE: M (5' 7")
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, Bards, Illusionists, and Thieves
SYMBOL: Fox
PLANE: Himmel

CLERIC/DRUID: Nil
FIGHTER: 10th level Fighter
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 20th level Illusionist
THIEF/ASSASSIN: 15th level in each
MONK/BARD: 20th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 16 I: 23 W: 18 D: 20 C: 20 CH: 20

Betrüger is the trickster of the Gods. He is fond of jokes, lies, stories, and general mischief. To say "Betrüger is bored" is the same as saying there is trouble brewing somewhere.

This god typically avoids combat. Not that he can't fight or is unskilled; he is quite adpet. He just finds combat beneath his dignity. He would much rather talk his way out of a scrape without needing to raise a weapon of spell.

When pressed, he can fight with a raiper twice per round doing 1d10+2 per hit. He can sneak attack as a 15th-level thief and he can also cast spells as a 20th-level illusionist.

He is the patron of thieves, con men, illusionists, bards, jugglers, and any who make a living of their wits alone.

Animal: Fox
Rainment: (Head) horns or bare (Body) simple, but well-made garments
Color(s): Black, red, green
Holy Days: Fridays
Sacrifices: A coin tossed into a well or pool.
Place of Worship: Anywhere.

Betrüger requires his clerics to multi- or dual-class into thieves or illusionists. He also requires that they have an intelligence score of at least 13. A score of 15 or higher is recommended.

Links

The Gods

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 8

The monster in encounter area 8 can be smelled before it is seen.

The creature crawling on all fours is a gigantic ghoul. It is about the size of a Frost Giant. Even though there is room, it is still on all fours.

Ghoul, Giant

Armor Class 6 [13]
Hit Dice 11+11* (61 hp)
Attacks 2 × claw (1d12 + paralysis), 1 × bite (1d8 + paralysis)
THAC0 11 [+8]
Movement 90’ (30’)
Saving Throws D6 W7 P8 B9 S10 (11)
Morale 12
Alignment Chaotic
XP 1100
Number Appearing 1 (1)
Treasure Type Bx2

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Mail Call: Back to Basic

Been down with COVID-19 so most of my posts have been things I wrote a while back.

But here is something new, some of my latest mail calls. All with a Basic, as in B/X, theme.

Up first is the OSE version of Dark Places & Demogorgons.

I like the idea of an OSE version, but I am more likely to play it using its original rules. Still nice to have and the Cryptid Manual is a great addition to any OSE game. My only question is do I shelves these with my OSE books or my Dark Places & Demogorgons ones?

Speaking of Demogorgons.

Ryan Thompson's Demonology for OSE is now being shipped. I have already stated most of these creatures for myself (and many posted here) but it is always nice to see more and different takes on the same creatures.

This is OSE so it is compatible with B/X and DP&D OSE above. Bring in the real Demogorgon into your DP&D game!

Since it was Halloween, I treated myself to another adventure.

Witch, Grave, and Haunt from Pacesetter Games is for BX and 5e. I got the BX version.

The "Witch" portion is an updated version of The Witch of Monte Rosa. There are some changes to the adventure which is fine. The other two are not unknown to me, but this is the first time I have them in print.

This and the Demonology book will work great for my War of the Witch Queens campaign.

And finally, I have been playing a LOT of Baldur's Gate 3 so I treated myself to a little Print on Demand fun.

This is Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II, released to support the Baldur's Gate II game back in the late 1990s. It would be nice if Wizards put out something to support the new game, given how popular it is.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 7

One of the most prevalent monsters in this maze is found first in Encounter Area 7.

This is a demonic Minotaur.

These minotaurs are related to the demonic lord of minotaurs are are much larger, stronger and deadlier.

Minotaur, Demonic*
Armor Class 3 [16]
Hit Dice 9+9 (50 hp)
Attacks [1 × gore (1d8), 1 × bite] or 1 × weapon (1d8 + 4 or by weapon + 4) or 4d8
THAC0 11 [+8]
Movement 120’ (40’)
Stampede 180' (60')
Saving Throws D8 W9 P10 B11 S12 (9)
Morale 12
Alignment Chaotic
XP 904
Number Appearing 1d2 (1d4)
Treasure Type C

These giant creatures often wield giant axes. 1 in 6 has a Flaming Axe that does an extra 1d8 hp of damage.

Demonic Minotaurs can stampede to run victims down. They need at least 10' to get up to speed. They can then run down up to 10 HD/levels of victims. These victims must be in a line up to 30'.

Monday, November 6, 2023

Monstrous Mondays: D&DGII Strix

Today's monster is a bit based on creatures like the harpy and siren of Greek and Roman myth with features of the Swan maiden of Northern European lore. I started thinking about what kind of creature this could be. Some sort of bird-woman, either cursed or can transform via a cloak of feathers (like Swan Maidens or Freya), but also would have lived in the environs of the area I am using; the Black Forest region.

This got me thinking about how scary the forest would have been to a pagan in the 6th or 7th centuries. All sorts of monsters live there. Certainly witch-like monsters. So I decided to adapt another idea I had had. Something of an "Owl Witch" or a Strix. The name is Latin in origin, and the concept is largely a Norse/Germanic one.

Strix

The Strix are a type of evil witch that lives alone in dark woods. They have the ability to transform into large owls. This ability comes from a magical cloak of feathers they can don. Typically they do this at night to hunt for prey; their favorite food is children that wander too close to the forests.

STRIX
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 9 [5]
MOVE: 12" [6"/24"]
HIT DICE: 6+12 (39 hp)
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: B
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 talons or Spell
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6, 1d6 or by Spell
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Scream
SPECIAL DEFENSES: None [+1 or better weapon to hit]
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Very
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
SIZE: M (5')
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Strixes are witches that can assume the shape of a large owl via the use of a magical cloak of feathers. The witch is connected to the cloak, and only she can use it. Numbers in brackets [] indicate her stats in owl form.

The Strix in owl form can attack via two talons on a single target. Three times per day, they can also scream for 4d8 hp of damage, save vs. Spells for half. In this form, she can't use magic.

In her human form, she can cast spells as a witch (or magic-user) of the 5th level. In this form, she can only scream once per day.

It is said that if a man can steal the Strix's cloak of feathers, then she will be forced to marry him. She will be a dutiful wife as long as the feather cloak stays hidden. If she finds it she will devour her children and fly off, never to be seen again. Any children who manage to live to adulthood will become powerful wizards or shamans.

Links

The Gods