Dual-Classing in Swords & Wizardry Complete

Dual-classing is an option that appears in 1^st and 2^nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but was not so far as I am aware in 0E D&D. It’s a way for human characters to multiclass, but in a fashion which doesn’t work in the same way as traditional multi-classing, a feature reserved for demi-humans.

One reason you could opt to allow dual-classing is to accommodate smaller groups. If you are playing a game with only one or two players this will let them have more options for their characters, and help them to fill more than one role. Another reason could be story-driven; you could include monasteries, warrior’s school, wizard’s insitutes, temples, thieves’ guilds and other such institutions which can offer training for the right price (and right skill). This could be another option for players to explore with their characters.

Dual-classing is basically a “career change” option in which the character decides to shift focus from his existing class to a new one. It’s a bit convoluted as presented in AD&D (both versions), requiring significant base attributes to qualify, followed by specific rules on how the XP gain works, depending on what abilities are used. Logisitically it’s a bit of a mess, because you have to track whether the PC was using his old class abilities or his new class abilities in a given instance, or limit what abilities can and can’t be used, and the old class can never advance after a dual-class transition. The system I propose below is a reductionist view, cleaning up this process for ease of use.

Dual-Class Requirements: a human (and even any demi-human at the GM’s option) can choose to dual-class in a secondary class at a later date. When he does so, the following rules take effect:

Prerequisites: the character must qualify for the prime requisite XP bonus in both the old class and the new class in order to dual-class. Example: a magic-user that wishes to dual-class as an assassin must have an INT, DEX and STR of 13 or better.

Optional Training Cost: the GM may want the character to spend 1D6 months and 1D6X100 gold pieces training before gaining level 1 in the new class, to justify the development of the new abilities at level 1.

Hit Dice: Hit dice are based on the old class level and do not improve until the new class’s bonuses would exceed the old class. For example: a wizard (level 5) who cross-classed as an assassin would not gain new hit dice until he reached assassin level 6. He would use the better of the two attack chart options for his class.

Saves: use the better of the two classes saves. In our magic user/assassin example a level 5 magic user has a Saving throw of 11. He will go to Save 10 when his assassin class reaches level 6.

Attack Rolls: On attack rolls use the better option of the existing class levels vs. the new class. So, to look at our magic-user level 5 who dual-classes into assassin, his chart is the same for both classes, so when he reaches assassin level 6 he’ll advance on the attack table like normal. A level 5 magic-user who dual-classes into fighter has a magic-user THAC0 of 18 at level 5, which means his THAC0 goes to 17 when he reaches fighter level 5. If you use the attack bonus and ascending AC option on page 44 of S&WC it’s even easier to figure, and according to that chart a level 5 MU has a +1 attack, while the fighter improves to +2 at level 4, so our dual-classed MU 5/F 4 has +2 attack.

Armor and Weapon Proficiency: when dual-classing the character gains the additional armor and weapon skills of the new class. However, the character still suffers any special restrictions regarding the use of such weapons and armor in the old class; this means a magic-user can’t cast spells in non-magical armor, and a thief can’t use thieving skills while wearing anything heavier than leather (just like multi-classing restrictions).

Experience Gain: while advancing in the new class the character divides all XP gained by ½ but applies the remainder to his new class only. When his new class reaches the same level as the old class he may start applying 100% of the XP gained to the new class. Thereafter he gains all class advancements as he improves his new class like normal (so improves hit dice, saves, attack modifiers and abilities as the new class only).  He retains his old class levels and abilities but only at that level of experience.

Optional Continued Class Advancement: The GM can optionally allow the dual-classed character to advance in the old and new class once both of them are the same level. At that time, continue to divide the XP into two parts, but both classes gain the XP. This requires keeping track of two separate XP totals. For example: our magic-user level 5 reaches assassin level 5. He had 25,000 XP in magic-user when he decided to dual-class in assassin. Once he reaches level 5 (12,000 XP) in assassin he may now proceed to advance in both classes, tracking XP separately but dividing all XP earned equally between the two classes. Once he reaches this point all multi-classing rules in the main book now apply.

 Example Dual-Classed character:

Vastor Redscar

Chaotic Human male of Aeronost

Magic-user level 5/Assassin Level 6 (MU XP 25,000-frozen, Assassin XP 27,000-active)

STR 14, DEX 16, CON 10, INT 13, WIS 12, CHA 8

HP 17, HD 5D4+1D6, Save 10, AC 6 [13] (leather plus Dex bonus), Attack Bonus +2 (or TAC 17)

Languages Known: aeronistic (common), Emon, elvish, Camrinal (forbidden tongue)

Weapons: long sword (1D8), short sword (1D6) (fights w-weapon style)

Assassin Skills: climb walls 88%, tasks and traps 30%, hear noise 4 in 6, hide in shadows 25%, move silently 35%, open locks 25%

Assassin Abilities: disguise, poison, backstab (+4 to hit and triple damage),

Spell Slots: 4 level 1 slots, 2 level 2 slots, 1 level 3 slot

Spell Book:

1^st Level: charm person, detect magic, light, magic missile, read magic, sleep

2^nd Level: darkness 15’ radius, ESP, invisibility, knock, phantasmal force, strength

3^rd Level: darkvision, fireball, haste, hold person, monster summoning I, protection from normal missiles, slow

Vastor Redscar was a student of the dark arts out of Asvinar under the tutelage of the wizard Taraman Dazaes when his master was assassinated. He was spared by the assassin, a woman named Rapineleth, who was impressed at his resourcefulness. She indoctrinated him in to the Guild of the Riven Flesh, an esoteric order of cultic assassins dedicated to the mad god of darkness, Ghaol, where he has prospered ever since. 

Lost Lands still lost; Frog God cultists need to pray for improved inventory and shipping controls

I was very excited today as my Swords & Wizardry editions of Lost Lands: Stoneheart Valley, Lost City of Barakus and Sword of Air were scheduled to arrive. Alas, only Stoneheart Valley was actually for S&W, the other two were for Pathfinder....also known in this neck of the desert these days as "that thing we played while we waited for  a real D&D to come out."

The Frog Gods are awesome and I have to thank Krista for her work in sorting things out, but they definitely need some organization/inventory management, especially since I bet they have an escalation of sales thanks to all the special offers they are pumping out these days. I'm still waiting for a couple other books from last month (Tome of Horrors Complete for S&W and a print copy of The Tome of Adventure Design) and suspect that someone else may have received them in error. A couple months ago I ended up with a bonus copy of Razor Coast, too....not a cheap book.

Soon now, hopefully, I will have a complete set of The Lost Lands in the S&W format once this shipping error is corrected. I plan on starting a campaign in the grandest old school tradition once it's all actually here....although with Stoneheart Valley I think I have enough to get the ball rolling (plus I always had Tomb of Abysthor, which is part of the book, as one of my favorite D20 era Necromancer Games modules).

The Even Dirtier, Simpler Monster Conversion Method for Swords & Wizardry to Dungeons & Dragons 5E (playtest update)

Playtest Update #1: I am revising how to do quick and dirty hit points based on my playtest experiences tonight.

As I was mulling over my recent Swords & Wizardry Complete acquisitions it occurred to me that at its core there is a single on-the-fly method to use S&W stat blocks with minimal or...seriously...almost no "real" conversion at all in D&D 5E. In fact most of the conversion work would be in guesstimating DCs for saves and skill/ability checks; the stat blocks themselves can be used with some simple rules in place for quick on-the-fly numeric conversion. The new method below will work with any 1st edition stat block as well, and I think is a bit cleaner than my prior system for conversion.

Here are my conversion method suggestions so far:

Preamble: before converting something in a S&W Complete tome from Frog God make sure they didn't do it already in Fifth Edition Foes; and remember a significant number of the creatures in Monstrosities are already in the 5E MM.

1. Hit Dice
I've mentioned in a prior conversion that you could figure "5E HPs" by looking at the hit dice of the monster and comparing that to the equivalent CR on the table on page 274 in the 5E DMG; there's a simpler formula that gets a good approximation:

The Dirt Simple Hit Point Method: Roll HD as normal (or figure from an average; usually 4.5) and multiply by 4. This will generate a wider range on the hit dice and avoid uniformity. You should still roll regular hit dice for humanoids (like humans and elves) that normally progress with levels, however. PLAYTEST UPDATE: I didn't like the hit points this way in tonight's game, and have revised this to work as follows: use regular hit dice rolls for level/class based humanoids. Take the hit dice, roll or multiply by the average (4.5) and then multiply by 2 otherwise (shortcut: take HD and multiply by 9). X4 is a lot of hit points...do not use unless you want to challenge the party, or have a lot of high damage dealers in the group.

2. Armor Class:
S&W's armor classes include an ascending scale that is very close to what 5E uses....you rarely see S&W ascending ACs that are higher than what you normally see in 5E. If you're using a non-S&W stat block for conversion, or a module for S&W that uses descending AC, remember the formula: subtract descending AC from 20 for 5E AC.

3. Saves: 
On the saves, I think you could give S&W conversions a bit of oomph and also simplify your math by dividing HD by 3 and rounding down; apply this modifier to any saves the creature makes in lieu of determing attributes. If the creature has a noteworthy stat mentioned in its description, apply a +3 or +4 bonus for that stat's saves only.

4. Attack Rolls: 
There are a few ways to do this, neither is any better than the other, but I settled on the following because it is easiest to do on the fly:

The Dirt Simple Attack Bonus Generator: use the HD as the attack bonus. This may mean the monster is 1-2 points higher on average (or lower) than the option one conversion, but it works just fine and is going to give you a range that will be level appropriate or even superior to other monsters without being out of bounds. Bump this up by +2 if the creature is noted for exceptional strength (or dexterity if ranged or finesse) on specific applicable attacks.

5. Initiative Bonus:
In 5E very few monsters have an initiative modifier beyond Dex. My suggestion is divide HD by 3 (round down) and provide as the init mod/Dex mod. If the creature has a noteworthy Dex, use the mod you settle on instead.

6. Damage:
I have worked out three methods, but personally default to the preferred version:

The Preferred Quick and Dirty On the Fly Damage Conversion: add the hit die number to each damage set rolled. So a 5 HD beast with 3 attacks dealing 1D4/1D6/1D6 (average damage 9.5) now deals 1D4+5/1D6+5/1D6+5 (average damage 24.5). If you want a really tough boss monster then add double the HD to each damage roll.

If you compare the above to our HD determination method, to use the example a 5 HD monster has 90 hit points (average) on conversion....going by the DMG chart on page 274 that means it's average damage expression is around 15-20, so we're higher than the average for defense CR right now, which is just fine, I assure you.

Option 1-The Extra Dice Method: treat hit dice as extra damage dice instead. Add those damage dice evenly as multples to the existing attacks. So in the case above with three attacks dealing 1D4/1D6/1D6 from a 5 HD monster, you have 5 extra damage dice to deal: adding it evenly works out as follows: 2D4/3D6/3D6 (for average damage of 24); you can fudge it to make attack expressions line up properly (in this case we assume the D6 attacks are claws so they'd be equal).

Option 2-The Extra Deadly Straight Multiplier Method: if you want the monster to be a terrifying threat, do this. Just multiply the damage rolled by the hit dice of the monster. It's up to you if you multiply any adds, but strictly by the 5E rules you shouldn't. So a 5HD monster with  1D4/1D6/1D6 expression in this gets a damage average of 47.5....yowza!!!! but it does make the monster hit much tougher.

7. Save DCs
Just use this formula for a good average: 8+HD=Save DC. Maybe give it +2 if it has exceptional ability of note in the stat that fits any spell casting ability. If the creature has more than 10 HD then increase the Save DC by 1 for ever 5 additional HD after that (i.e. HD 11-15 = DC 19; HD 16-20 = DC 20, etc.)

8. Converting Save or Die Effects:
For save or die effects, to convert to 5E I suggest the following: figure the damage type (i.e. necrotic or poison), then change it to a save vs. DC against appropriate stat from step 7 above. Then have the attack deal dice of damage of that type equal to the HD or the monster, using D8 (or higher if it seems appropriate). Problem solved. EX: A 7 hit die creature has save vs. poison or die. Convert this into a Save vs. Con DC 15 or take 7D8 poison damage (or 1/2 on successful save). Convert other effects precisely, but maybe add a save after 1/0th of the time has passed for the effect to shake it off. EX: save vs. paralysis or become paralyzed for 1 hour. Allow a save to recover after 6 minutes. Another example: creature does a paralysis for 1 minute, so let the victim save after 1 round.

A little secret: this is going to be a houserule for my upcoming S&W Complete game; I never liked save-or-die even in the 80's, so all save or die effects in my games will deal damage equal to the hit dice instead.

9. Magic Resistance:
You can use the percentage as-is, or just subsitute the 5E standard magic resistance. I do the latter (easier) but either method is fine. Feel free to beef up resistances and immunities on the creature if it looks like it could use some.

10. Converting "hit only by magic weapons:"
In 5E this is always resistance against normal damage, but silvered/magic weapons bypass.

11. Level Drain
Convert that into 5E's "reduced hit point maximum" rule with Save DCs vs. constitution.

12. Movement: 
Divide by 4 and multiply that result by 10 feet for movement.

13. Everything Else:
When you're done, you might see something that makes less sense in 5E without it. For example, MR is a big deal in S&W Complete, but not as much in 5E....a lot of creatures that used to be highly magic resistant now express that through additional resistance/immunity in 5E, so feel free to beef defenses up if needed.

12. Pulling it All Together: The Cheat Sheet
Here's my "preferred list" cheat sheet for conversion. Print it out and stick it inside Monstrosities and Tome of Horrors Complete....congratulation, you've just doubled (or tripled) your monster options for 5E.

THE QUICK AND DIRTY S&W to 5E CONVERSION CHEAT SHEET:

• Size: medium, unless text suggests a larger or smaller creature.
• Hit Dice: Take HD number and multiply by 9. Roll HD as normal (figure a Con mod) for level/class based humanoids.
• Armor Class: use the ascending AC as is.
• Initiative: divide HD by 3 and round down for init mod/Dex mod.
• Save Modifier: use HD as CR to look up save bonus; for quick conversion divide by 3 and round down.
• Attack Bonus: use the hit die as attack bonus (so 5 HD = +5 attack).
• Damage: add HD as a bonus to damage to each damage roll; for boss monsters double the bonus.
• Save DC: 8+HD=save DC. Add +2 if it's a spell casting monster or boss monster.
• Movement: divide by 4 (round up) and then multiply by 10 feet
• Convert Abilities/Save or Die Effects: use the force to guide you; for save or die deal damage of appropriate type equal to HD in damage of monster (with save for half). Convert MR to 5E, and magic weapon immunity to 5E resistance.
• Challenge Rating: calculate it using the 5E DMG or just make it equal to HD

Here's a link to the Cheat Sheet

Done!

Challenge Rating
Now, calculating the CR....this is obviously easy enough to do with the final conversion averages, using the rules on page 274-277 of the DMG, and good to try out since it will give you an idea of what converted S&W monsters look like in 5E under this method. If you are rushed (doing a conversion on the fly) but use the cheat sheet version above, just look up CR by hit die and call it a day.

Sample Conversions:

Malcarna (from Monstrosities, page 313)
Chaotic Evil large fiend
CR 6 (2,300 XP)
Hit Points: 45
Init Mod: +4
Defenses:
Armor Class: 16 (natural plus shield)
Magic Resistance: rolls advantage on saves vs. magic
Resistance: fire, only magic or silvered weapons do regular damage
Immunity: charming, banishment
Saves: +2 on all saves; +6 Charisma
Attacks: 
Multiattack: 1 tail plus 3 weapon attacks
Tail Attack +5 to hit (reach 10 feet, 1 target) 1D8+5 bludgeoning damage
3 long swords +5 to hit (reach 5 feet, 1 target each) 1D8+5 slashing damage each
Movement: 30 feet
Hideous Beauty: targets must make a Wisdom save DC 13 to even attempt to hit a malcarna. Creatures of level 4 (or HD 4) or less roll at disadvantage to this save.
A hideous four-armed snake-tailed demon reminiscent of the Marilith, a half-demon often born of Marilith and mortal relations. 

Spire Monkey (from Monstrosities, page 456)
Unaligned small beast
CR 1/2 (100 XP)
Hit Points: 18
Init Mod: +0
Defenses:
Armor Class: 12
Saves: +0 on all saves; +4 Dexterity
Attacks: 
Multiattack: 3 claw attacks
claws +2 to hit (reach 5 feet, 1 target each) 1D3+2 slashing damage each
Movement: 40 feet (both normal and climbing speed)
Spire Monkeys are two-headed, six-armed little simians that live on rooftops and trees. 

Xole (Monstrosities, page 520)
Chaotic Evil medium elemental 
CR 6 (2,300 XP)
Hit Points: 91
Init Mod: +2
Defenses:
Armor Class: 17
Immunity: fire, cold
Saves: +2 to all
Attacks:
Multiattack: 2 (weapon and tail)
Stone Mace +7 to hit (5 foot reach, 1 target) 1D10+12 bludgeoning damage
Tail Swipe +7 to hit 10 foot reach, 1 target) 2D6+7 bludgeoning damage
Movement: 30 foot (earth-phasing or regular)
Earth-Phasing: xole move through earth in a semi-incorporeal state. It takes 1 movement action to begin the process, then they move normally.
Evil Elementals: Xole are evil and can be affected by protection from evil.
Elemental Mace: the mace can only be lifted/wielded by elementals of stone and earth.
Xole are similar to salamanders, but native to the plane of elemental earth; 7 foot long humanoid torsoes and 10 foot long tails.

Cinder Ghoul (Tome of Horrors Complete S&W version, Page 270)
Chaotic Evil medium undead
CR 5 (1,800 XP)
Hit Points: 54
Init Mod: +2
Defenses:
Armor Class: 15
Immunity: necrotic, fire, psychic, poison, disease, does not breathe
Saves: +2 to all
Attacks:
Slam +6 to hit  foot reach, 1 target) 1D8+6 necrotic damage plus 1D6+6 fire damage plus target must make a Save DC 14 vs. Constitution or it's hit point maximum is reduced by the necrotic damage dealt and can't be regained until after a successful save at the end of a long rest. If the target is reduced to 0 HP on its maximum it dies (and probably comes back as a cinder ghoul).
Movement: 30 feet flying
This ghost-like monster of ashes and charred body parts is a terror to behold.

(Conversion Note: the ToH stat block doesn't mention fire immunity but...come on, it's gotta have it; the rest are implied for 5E undead immunities)

Tales from the Watchers of the Sullen Vigil: The Mountain City of Asvinar

I'm working on a new scenario, which takes place in and near the following city...

Asvinar

Population: 3,000 humans, 350 halflings, 485 brunendar dwarves, plus roughly 2,500 seasonal workerss

Ruler: Baron Anton Feredath

Notable Personalities: High Priest Tunin of the Temple of Nevereth, Sheriff Goster Sotherlon, Warden Taelen Doar, Watcher Trevor Kathin, Lady Tartessa Vindrese, Cult Lord Galadacho, dwarf clan lord Vaken Durnagor

Key Locations: The Mountain Quarter (gambling and brothels), Gostimer Keep, The Watch Tower, Temple of Nevereth, The River Quarter (shipping, river docks, refinery), the dwarven quarter (home to clan Brunendar)

Asvinar is located 175 miles southeast of Aelghast along the banks of the Senderan River valley where it emerges from the Southern Droamspire Mountains (nick named the Claw Mountains locally).

Asvinar is a modest city which thrives on the mining operations in the mountains as well as brisk trade with the coastal port and capitol of the kingdom of Aeronost, Aramen. Most of the raw iron ore in Aeronost comes from this region, and it has made many merchants and prospectors wealthy men. Less common but much coveted are the mines which tap upon precious metals such as gold and silver.

Asvinar has a friendly connection to three local nonhuman tribes. First of these relations are the Brunendar dwarves, a clan of dwarves who dug up from the depths of the underlands a little over a century ago and after a brief period of tense relations forged a friendly alliance with the ruling baron of Asvinar at that time, Lord Trenton Gostimer.

Second of the nonhuman tribes are the silt halflings of the coast, who dwell in dozens of prosperous villages and minor sea ports at the river delta where the Senderan River pours out into the Pavain Sea. The silt halflings call themselves the Senderathi, after the river, and pride themselves on their great familiarity with the region. The Senderan River is only 150 miles in length, but without this river much of Aeronost would be without arable land; the silt halflings are responsible for much of Aeronost’s agriculture.

The third of the nonhuman tribes in this area is the Fallindreth elves. These mountain elves are an exiled tribe descended from the Ilmarain elves of the Summer Court. Little is known of them; they have been in the mountains for at least four centuries, and regularly engage in trade and commerce with certain mountain villages while harboring a deep suspicion of the merchants, soldiers and miners out of Asvinar. The recent presence of the Brunendar dwarves only made things worse, for unknown reasons.

Asvinar is home to about four thousand citizens (mostly human, with some halflings and dwarves), and a seasonal population of migrant workers for terraced farmland. A larger year-round population of miners brings in many strangers, but the Aeronost merchants who prosper from their operations don’t care; they need whatever labor they can afford, and hired blades to protect them from bandits and monsters. The city in turn responds by profiting from the stray coin these laborers will spend when on leave from the mines. Though the priests of the goddess Nevereth speak poorly of the gambling halls and dens of sin which have sprung up in what is called “the mountain quarter” of the city, Baron Feredath chooses to take no action, for his family quietly profits from several such establishments, even as he runs six of the two dozen-odd mines in The Claw.

Terrain in the region is arid and desert-like, with scrubby trees in the mountains. The highest mountains in The Claw are around 12-13,000 feet in height, far short of the high mountains in south western Atlenar. Like much of Aeronost the region is rife with succulents, mostly in the form of large-barrel bodied cactus. Overland travel without roads is tough going. Roads out of Asvinar lead north along The Claw into northern Aeronost and the banks of Lake Vunares, and east along the river to the coast and the capitol. One forlorn road, well-kept but poorly traveled winds out to Aelghast.

Key Locations in Asvinar:

The Mountain Quarter: this is actually a stretch of civilization running along the roads that lead up into the mountains, and eventually branch to head out to Aelghast or Lake Vunares. About a mile of road is occupied by numerous taverns, bars, gambling dens and brothels. The business stays outside of Asvinar’s city limits but it’s reputation is well known and despised among the locals. One notable personality here is Warden Taelen Doar, who acts as an ostensible “peace keeper” hired by the Baron to make sure the quarter is peaceful. He relies on a group of two dozen of hired mercenaries to do the job.

Gostimer Keep: the sea of power in Asvinar and center of power for the mountain province. Baron Anton Feredath is overlord of the land, and also a stakeholder, having six successful mines in operation. He keeps a standing garrison of two hundred soldiers that is a mix of local men and hired mercenaries out of Aramen or Catalone.

The Watch Tower: The Watchers of the Sullen Vigil maintain a tower at the highest peak overlooking the western passage out of the mountains. The Watch Tower is sometimes called Hawk’s Rest as it is often the favored perch of local hawks. A lone member of the Sullen Vigil named Trevor Kathin maintains the tower, which serves as a restpoint for knights of his order as well as a trading post. The tower affords a view of the west, including the passage all the way to distant Aelghast.

Temple of Nevereth: located along one of the terraced levels of the city in the river valley where Asvinar rests, the temple of Nevereth is a beautiful cathedral-like structure noted for its impressive stained-glass windows which some claim were saved from an older Camrinal temple long ago. The high priest of the temple is Elder Tunin, a man who in his youth was part of the crusades of Aeronost some forty years ago to exterminate the remnants of the cults of the old gods in Thaerinal to the south and (less successfully) among Mandrelavas. As an older man he is troubled by the sinful behavior that the mines bring to Asvinar but his spirit is no longer what it was. He does have a contingent of paladins in his service, who identify themselves as the Knights of Nevereth’s Tears in reference to a reliquary in her temple, place in the center of the holy symbol of her order in which is believed to be tears shed by the goddess herself at the destruction of Camrinal. These paladins spend much of their time seeking out evil cults in the mountains, but mostly only succeed in fighting an occasional monster of bandit group. The lead paladin is Traina Evenmore, a blond woman of thirty years who secretly delights in combat despite the pacifistic directive of her faith.

The River Quarter: located at the base of the valley along the river, this quarter of the city is dominated by mercantile trade, shipping centers, the river docks, and a cluster of local halflings who have acclimated to life amongst humans. A refinery for ore is also located here just down river, as is a lumber mill. The woman in charge here is Lady Tartessa Vindrese, a half-elven woman (exceedingly rare) of the Vindrese lineage out of the capitol. Her father Golan Vindrese placed her in charge of his mining operations, and to get her out of the Capitol where she was causing much trouble. Vindrese continues to be a problem locally, as she secretly runs many of the operations in the Mountain Quarter as well as the thieves’ guild locally which has an ongoing quietly run protection racket amongst the shipping guilds and barge owners.

The Dwarven Quarter: home to clan Brunendor, this is where about five hundred dwarves live in a section of the upper valley that they have turned into a deeply carved catacomb of homes, businesses, refineries and smithies. Vaken Durnagor is current clan lord, the clan itself named after the legendary hero of their ancestors, Brunendor the Axe. Durnagor is a typically burly, dour dwarf of middle years with three wives and four children to his name.

The clan puts a certain measure of effort into excavating the depths of the earth and finding the connections and passages to the underlands in this region. They were driven out of the depths of the earth a century ago, but have spoken little of what it was they fled from….or continue to watch out for. The clan maintains a standing militia of its own, 100 strong, which regularly forges into the depths to slaughter humanoids such as orcs and goblins and keep the old dwarven roads clear.

Monsters of Sarvaelen: Creatures encountered by the Sullen Watch

Since I'm riding a wave of interest in turning Sarvaelen into a S&W setting, here are stats for some of the unique monsters of the world of the Watchers of the Sullen Vigil...

Ghuls of Camrinal

Hit Dice: 3          

Attacks:  two claws (+3 to hit, 1D6 damage each) and bite (+3 to hit, 1D4 damage plus ghul fever)             

Armor Class: 7 [12]         

Saving Throw: 15

Special: ghul fever, cannibals, half-dead, fear immunity, disease immunity, +2 turn resistance

Movement: 9

Alignment: any, but inevitably gravitate toward chaos

No. Encountered: solitary or in small groups (2-12)

CL/XP: 4/120

Traits:

Ghul Fever: once bitten by a ghul, the target must make a saving throw vs. the poison of the bite or suffer from a debilitating fever. The principle effect is 1D6 minutes long and induces nausea and severe cramping, causing the target to suffer a -4 penalty to attacks, saves and any other physical prowess checks the GM deems appropriate.

Cannibals: Ghuls are known cannibals. The ghuls of Aelghast restrain themselves, and feed only on their own (so far as anyone knows) and the dead (suspected but not proven; they are very careful to avoid being caught). Any ghul that feeds off of living kindred flesh may immediately recover 1D6 hit points.

Half-Dead Immortals: Ghuls don’t age. They look like zombies, with rotting skin and bones visible, clearly not being quite “alive” yet not dead, either. However they do breathe and effects which affect the living usually also harm them (except for diseases). Ghuls are susceptible to turn undead effects, but with a +2 bonus to the saving roll. They “appear” as undead on spells that detect such conditions, but with an eerie aura of half-life suggesting something unusual about them.

Seen Too Much: Ghuls have already experienced some amazing horrors in their time. Ghuls are immune to fear effects.

Disease Immunity: Ghuls are immune to the effects of all disease.

The ghuls are a survivor race, mutated descendants of a handful of Camrinal citizens that survived the apocalypse and kept their wits about them. Even hideously changed into half-dead beings the ghuls prosper, though in time it seems the madness inevitably creeps over them.

The ancient empire of Camrinal was a vast, dominant power that subjugated the old kingdoms to its rule about two hundred years ago. Camrinal not only ruled by force of arms but by force of magic as well, for it indulged the aristocracy of its era with a culture of free experimentation and arcane dabbling that eventually led to a magiocracy in which only those who demonstrated sorcerous talent were allowed to hold the reigns of power, ownership of property or positions of strength in the Empire. Magic had, in this now lost era two centuries gone, become ubiquitous.

When the fires of destruction rained down upon Camrinal in the Final Conflict, the vast majority of the old empire was wiped out, but many of its lesser citizens and a few elites survived. Today these survivors are mostly found as changed beings among the population known as the ghuls, but in some odd corners of the world there still exist untainted purebloods, though they often do not realize their own lineage.

As ghuls age they gradually begin to lose their mental faculties, and slowly go insane. When this happens they become feral creatures, driven purely by a desire to devour flesh. When a ghul dies or is slain, it returns within 1D4 days as an actual undead ghoul.

Feyril

Hit Dice: 6          

Attacks:  two, by weapon (+6     attack, 1D8 cleaver or pick plus special, below)  

Armor Class:      3 (17)

Saving Throw: 11

Special: slayer of mirth (deals double damage to surprised target that was laughing/happy); silver or +1 or better weapons required to hit; magic

Movement: 9

Alignment: chaos

No. Encountered: usually solitary but 10% chance of 1D4 working in a group

CL/XP: 800

Traits:

Slayer of Mirth: the feyril despise the happy, friendly or optimistic. A strike against an unsuspecting target that is in such a state deals double damage due to the sheer venom of the feyril attack.

Skin of the Goddess: The rugged skin of the feyril can only be harmed by magical or silvered weapons.

Magic Skill: feyril are usually (60% chance) magic users of INT 13-15 on average. They typically know the following spells as a wizard of 6^th level experience, but will choose any spells that help hunt prey:

Level 1 (4/day): sleep, charm person, read magic, magic missile

Level 2 (2/day): Invisibility, Strength

Level 3 (2/day): Hold Person Slow

Feyril are short, dwarf-like men who have developed a superstitious reputation thanks to the folklore which precedes them. The stories speak of how feyril are not really men at all, but a curious sort of creature born from the turbulent, bubbling dreams of the mad goddess Matrigias, said to have been the first of the Old Gods, and that she was accosted in terrible ways by the male gods who were unable to control themselves. From this horrific union she became pregnant, bloated from one horizon to the next with the spawn of the world, and when she at last broke water she was destined to give birth to all of the animals of the world. The stories say that Matrigias was driven mad by the endless spawn of animals which crawled from her womb to populate the world, and that she shed unbearable tears of blood and water at the endless pain. From these tears grew the feyril, squat and toad-like little men that were described by some as almost like infants in appearance, but horribly wise to the world due to the suffering of their mother. The feyril crawled forth, to extinguish any joy or revelry where they found it. Such was it that when mankind was at last born into the world he could know joy, for the feyril had stolen all of the pain and suffering of their mother by then. It was only later that humanity came to fear the feyril, for they found the joy and merriment of men to be offensive, and sought to extinguish it by means of murder and fright.

Naga (of Nagapuram)

Hit Dice: 6+4

Attacks:  one weapon (+6 attack, polearm 1D8+1 damage) and bite (+6 attacl, 1D4 damage plus venom below); or one bite or weapon and constriction (+6 attack, 1D8+2 damage) 

Armor Class: 3 (17) or by armor

Saving Throw: 11

Special: constriction, naga venom

Movement: 9 (land) or 15 (swimming)

Alignment: chaotic

No. Encountered: 1D4 or 2D12

CL/XP: 8/800

Traits:

Naga Venom: if bitten by a naga, the target makes a saving throw against poison at -2 due the potent nature of the venom. If failed the target is paralyzed for 1D6X10 minutes. Naga can only perform this bite once every 2D4 hours, as it requires time to regenerate.

Magical Talent: naga are naturally skilled mages and clerics. Any given naga has a 10% chance of being a magic user or a 14% chance of being a cleric of 1D6 levels of skill. In any community of naga there is a 50% chance of a magic-user or cleric of at least 6+1D6 levels of the give class.

Naga in Sarvaelen are an ancient race, cursed long ago with the serpentine traits that mark their lineage. Once, or so the story goes, the Naga were among the greatest of the old ones, the races that predate modern men long ago. A series of ancient tomes, most of which are now lost to history called the “Yavandreth Manuscripts” tell a bit of the ancient tale of the naga. A mostly complete  set of the four surviving tomes can be found at the Library of the Sun in the port city of Aramen, Aeronost’s southern port and capital of the so-called Stormsinger Coast province. There the lone monk Procosius maintains these books and remains the land’s foremost authority on Naga lore.

As legend goes, naga were once men, albeit of a breed of old that was naturally inclined to sorcery and spoke directly to the Old Gods but were changed in some forgotten time to the half men, half serpents they now are. The naga ruled all of Sammar in the south and were allied with Camrinal, but were cast down during the Great War two centuries ago. Their ancient king was the sorcerer Kaliya, a powerful necromancer and priest of the old gods revered by his people. These four gods they worshipped were said to grant great strength to the naga.

According to the Yavandreth Manuscripts, Kaliya did something to anger his gods. There are conflicting tales. One says he was to sacrifice his eldest child in honor of the gods and as a payment for his great necromantic talent, but he refrained from doing so and brought down a great curse upon his people. Another tale suggests something similar, but that it was his wife, Padmavati, could not bear to lose her child and so spirited him away before Kaliya could sacrifice the infant. Yet another tale says nothing of this curse induced by loss of sacrifice and instead suggests that the naga were formed when they sought to make a dark pact with the elder god called Dev Yama’Dragoth. Yama’Dragoth granted the naga their wish, giving them supreme power and immortality as sorcerers, but in exchange he took their humanity, leaving only the twisted, serpentine forms naga are known for today.

Whatever their origin, naga appear to be half men and half serpent, often with strongly reptilian facial features and sometimes the wide, decorative “hoods” of a cobra enveloping their head and neck. Naga are fearsome to behold. Naga are known for their poisonous bite, also a shared feature with the cobra, and they are exceptional swimmers, albeit not aquatic, a common misconception among humans since the only known kingdom of the naga is to be found on the Isle of Stoneblight, where the naga city of Nagapuramcan be found.

Nagapuram is an impressive, ancient city located on an expansive island about two hundred miles off the Stormsinger Coast in the Pavain Sea. The naga call the island Manak’tagar, and defend it vigorously from outsiders; one must seek a benefactor to vouch for a foreigner who seeks to visit the island and its amazing city of ancient monuments. Stories of travelers, diplomats and merchants indicate that there are ten thousand naga within the city and probably three times as many slaves, usually of humans from the south eastern kingdom of Sammar, which does not normally disturb the citizens of Aeronost who have frequently had to deal with hostile pirates from that distant land.

The island itself is ruled by the so called Living Goddess who goes by the name of Padmavati, the mythical first queen of the naga. Whether she styles herself a descendent or a reincarnation of this first naga queen is unknown, but she does believe she is a demigoddess, imbued with the powers of the current naga patron deity, Manasa.

The naga are a potent force locally, and the diplomats of Aeronost have sought to keep them as allies rather than enemies. Still, the naga are so feared that the often do as they will, and treat much of the Stormsinger Coast as their own domain. This has often led to unfortunate bloody conflicts between the soldiers and naval forces charged with protecting the dominion of the Pavain Sea and the forces of Nagapuram.

In the region of Aelghast, there is a small community of about one hundred naga who have taken up residence in the subterranean caverns around a sacred hot spring that they call Uk’halat. The hot spring has been turned into a shrine dedicated to the seven-headed serpent god called Agharda, said to have devoured the original four naga gods of old and absorbed their essence. It is believed by this remote group of exiles that the seven heads of Agharda represent the seven kingdoms of the naga, spread throughout the world, and that worshipping this deity will reunite the naga into a powerful force that will resume the mantle of rule again.

This worship of the seven-headed god is regarded as heresy by the Living Goddess Padmavati, as it was only a century ago that the cult of Agharda was embraced by her people. This period led to a vicious war with the distant eastern empire of Kadatha, and nearly led to the destruction of the naga kingdom. As a result of this conflict Agharda’s worshippers were forced into exile lest they be hung for heresy. This branch near Aeronost follows the fanatical priest Yazzad Sydaris, and calls their unique sect the “Sons of Sydaris” or simply Sydarites. They believe that Sydaris has a unique ability to channel the thoughts and speech of Agharda.

Formal work on the Realms of Chirak, 2nd Edition has begun

I am ready to tackle it. I feel my familiarity with 5E rules is reaching a comfortable point, and the ease with which one can design monster and NPC stat blocks is greatly appreciated. Realms of Chirak 2nd edition will be designed initially for use with D&D 5E and I will use the same publishing scheme I used previously to publish it (as an OGL resource), similar to the method used by Frog God Games and Goodman Games....unless WotC manages to produce an OGL of some sort before I am finished, anyway.

I'll post some rules stuff on the blog as I go to try and vett ideas to the general crowd. I've done a bit of this already....some 5E designs on Chirak races are already up here and if anyone wants to provide some feedback I would welcome it. Players in my group will likely already offer feedback; my next planned Chirak campaign in 5E will be a "one year later" revisit to the fabled Espanean city of Corlione, a locale which the prior adventuring crew all but trashed in their rise from level 1-15 in Pathfinder, before sailing south to the remote lands of U'al for some serious high level gaming.

So yes, their level one 5E characters will get to roam a city still rebuilding from the destructive wake left behind by the prior adventurers. That same campaign even had a grand plot involving time travel using a legendary "Pillar of Eternity" (no relation) which when united with a planetary convergence that happens only once every 2500 years allows for those with the know-how to slide up and down the time stream, to reappear at the exact point in the past --or future-- that the last or next convergence takes place. That campaign witnessed the birth of the Final War and the death of all Chirak at the hands of the cosmic fiend Molabal. It also destroyed Molabal, presumably changing the future history they witnessed.

Anyway....the new Realms of Chirak book is going to focus more tightly on the Sea of Chirak region to start (plus a couple key locales such as Sabiri, Xoxtocharit and Kasdalan), and then I'll work on expansions that focus on the other regions of the setting, since each one alone would merit a book in its own right. I figure this will keep me motivated for some time.

I was considering a Swords & Wizardry Complete editon as well. This requires both more and less work: 5E philosophy of design is much leaner and easier to work with than prior recent editions, and closer in spirit to the classic 0E retroclone, but in terms of "what you need" to run S&W it's still more detail than the original game demands. As such, it would be a matter of refining and paring down that which is not needed and replacing those rules and stat blocks with the slimmer and more frugal classic 0E design. But worth it; both games have a lot in common, and being intensely fun to run and play is top on the list. *

I wish I had the energy to work on a Pathfinder version of Chirak...I certainly have the detritus of such lying around to assemble something. Alas, much like the reason a D20 3.X era version of the game never came to light (despite my personal guide to such used from 2000-2008) the simple fact is that the raw mechanical rigor of that iteration of D&D is just not fun for me to mess with. There are many who love that rigorous approach to the game....I am not one of them. You'd literally have to pay me, quite a bit, to do it, because it feels like a job, not fun to mess with 3.X era stat blocks. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I ever Kickstart this (a possibility once I have a finished manuscript in layout and edited, if only to secure money for decent art) then a Pathfinder version could be a stretch goal or something. Or maybe not, I'm really not much of a masochist....

*On the other hand....I have this idea for doing (yet another) revision to a different setting, one with a grim old school thematic that I think might fit really well with S&W....Sarvaelen, the one I developed on this blog a while back, first for T&T and then later for a medley of BRP/MW/Legend. I only ran one campaign with it so far (in Magic World) but for various reasons I felt like the world wasn't quite "clicking." In my original T&T edition, initially done for the fun of it, I still presumed a world with elves and dwarves and hobbits/halflings...but with the darkness of a Howard/Lovecraft sword & sorcery feel. I later questioned the need to include Tolkienesque tropes in the world, which oddly was both liberating and limiting...in the sense that focusing on humans only helped develop the world as a more grounded and realistic locale, but it also carved out a lot of what at the core of a D&D world makes it D&D for many people (the fantastical elements are permitted for players as well, at least in so far as elves and dwarves are still fantastical, sort of). So now I'm debating the idea of going back to my original conceptualization, and reintroducing more elves and dwarves and such, albeit perhaps in new and darker forms...more mysterious and remote, ancient races withdrawn from the world which only recently saw fit to re-emerge when the empire of Camrinal destroyed itself. Orcs and goblins may surface as well, as a malfeasance boiling out of the damaged earth in the wake of Camrinal's fall, forcing the dwarves to interact with surface dwellers again. We'll see....there's a lot of room in this world for all of these races, as is fit for any good D&D world.

More to come on this, but once I started thinking about how S&W would fit Sarvaelen and the Watchers of the Sullen Vigil thematically it was like that setting finally "popped" for me....I think it's the final piece of the world-puzzle that that setting needed. More to come on that, probably soon.

Atakans and Vumaskans in Swords & Wizardry Complete

Continuing my efforts to dual-stat Pergerron for Swords & Wizardry as well as D&D 5E, I offer up some stat blocks for vumaskans and atakans in S&W Complete:

Atakan (jackal-men)

Hit Dice: 2+1

Armor Class: 3 (17) (plate mail and shield)

Attacks: bite (1D4) or by weapon: longsword (1D8) or javelin (1D6)

Movement 9

Alignment: law

Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

TRAITS

Scent: Atakans have a keen sense of smell which grants them advantage to detect the nature and approximate location of any target within 60 feet that could emit an odor (including invisible creatures or objects).

Hardy Desert Dwellers: Atakans are used to roughing it in harsh desert climates.. Atakans can go for up to one week without water before experiencing dehydration effects.

Character Racial Options: Atakans gain both of the above abilities (scent and hardy desert dweller) plus the bite attack (1D4, Strength based). Atakans may advance without limits as fighters, thieves and magic-users. They may advance to level 9 as clerics. Atakans may multiclass as fighter/thieves.

Atakans are tall jackal-headed men who have the bodies of humans but the heads of jackals. They are not related to jackalweres, which are a cursed race infected with abyssal taint….the atakans are an ancient race which claims to predate human and elvenkind’s existence in the mortal realm. In Pergerron atakans dwell mostly in the wastelands outside of the human city-states of Anansis, and many atakans dwell in the vumaskan lands to the east. They are suitable as a player-character racial option.

A typical atakan mercenary group will contain 3D12 atakans with 2 hit dice and the above stats. For every 15 atakans their will be a 4 hit die leader. There is a 50% chance that an atakan mercenary group is working for and escorting 1D3 atakan magic users of 1D6+1 levels of experience, or 1D4 vumaskan merchants (each of which has a 25% chance of having 1D8 levels of magic user or cleric).

Vumaskans

Hit Dice: 2

Armor Class: 7 (13) (leather armor)

Attacks: by weapon, usually longswords (1D8) and long bows (1D6)

Movement 10

Alignment: law

Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

TRAITS

Shrewd Negotiators: vumaskans can sell a funeral plot to a lich. When negotiating with a vumaskan, the opposition must make a saving throw to avoid buying up whatever bridge the vumaskan is selling.

Vumaskans are tall (6 ½ to 7 feet) human-looking men with six digits on each limb (an extra thumb) and skin colors in a hue of greens and blues with occasionally more exotic tints. Vumaskans don’t travel in large groups, but usually are accompanied by atakan mercenary companies for protection. Any given vumaskan has a 25% chance of being gifted in 1D8 levels as a magic-user (1-3) or a cleric (4-6). 

Vumaskans, the shrewd merchants and rogues of Pergerron (D&D 5E and S&W)

Since I've been getting back in to Swords & Wizardy lately I think I'll start dual-statting my Pergerron entries for both D&D 5E and S&W Complete. After much procrastination I have finally written some details up on the vumaskans of Pergerron....a mercantile race of green and blue skinned half-giants aimed at the spirit of the planetary romance genre: 

Pergerron: The Vumaskans

The vumaskans of Pergerron are considered an indigenous race, one of several (which include the elves, dwarves, atakans and orcs) that predate the appearance of man and may have been created from the dreams and musings of the Primordial gods. Though they are identified as one of these elder races little has been written of ill-will toward the vumaskans by humans; it seems that the bulk of the ire in ancient times was reserved toward the great empire of Sar, which was dominated by elves. As such, it is reasonable toexpect that the vumaskan kingdoms of Asparta to the far east may in fact have much longer lineages than the human kingdoms which arose in the last one thousand years in the wake of the fall of Sar.

Physically vumaskans average 6 ½ to 7 feet in height, almost always towering over mortal men. They have distinct skin tones, varying in hue from aquamarine to light green and cerulean blue. Vumaskan women tend toward greener skin tones while the men are inclined toward blue, but this is only a generality and not always true. About ten percent of the population have distinct ochre, yellow or jet black skin tones of shocking tonal quality. Once in a generation an albino vumaskan is born with shocking white skin. Such vumaskans are regarded as either sacred or profane gifts from the gods, and are always blessed with significant magical talent. Vumaskans are also known for being polydactyl, with four fingers and two thumbs on each hand, and six toes. This polydactylism makes them especially fine manipulators, and contributes toward their reputation for producing elaborate and detailed art.

Vumaskan culture is one of mercantilism and trade. The kingdoms of Asparta are much like the human lands of Anansis and abroad: a loose collection of city-states, although they pay nominal respect to the Caliphate of Dakarta, which is regarded as the spiritual center of vumaskan civilization. The Caliph of Dakarta, called Manaskan Draei, is considered a prophet of the primordial sea god Trigaril. Manaskan Drei’s wisdom is believed to be imparted directly from the Primordial himself. Aside from Trigaril, the vumaskans pay close reverence to Yoka Vataras, the only other primordial they continue to worship. Belief in the Enkanneth is also strong among the vumaskans, which helps to explain their good relations with humans. They especially favor Tekastei, a sort of local culture hero among the vumaskans who is seen as the Enkanneth that befriended the vumaskans during the ancient war against Sar and the fall of the Primordials, and the one who allegedly “tamed” the beastly nature of Trigaril.

Vumaskan language is a practical language which employs a surprising number of adopted words from the human Anansic tongue (common) as well as elvish and ataakan. The vumaskan relationship with the atakans is an interesting one: it is known that their lands overlap with the remnants of the fallen atakan empire, including the famour ruins of Pavagar and Ulhambra in the region of the Starry Wastes. Most vumaskan cities have significant populations of atakans, who willingly work as mercenaries and agents for the vumaskans. Among ataakans in this region of the world they have adopted a curious reliance on the vumaskans for broad political leadership, refraining from the need to rule themselves outside of their family clades. The vumaskans are fine with this, and treat the ataakans as equals while letting them self-govern within their own communities.

Among the men of Anansis vumaskans are regarded as wealthy foreign traders and merchants who bring exotic goods, fabulous art and exotic spices. Vumaskans are known for their production of opium as well, and are a principal supplier of such to those city states which do not frown upon its use (usually inland cities such as Samaskar allow opium use without restriction, while more conservative cities such as those which worship Abia along the Silver Coast have all but outlawed its use).

Vumaskan Characters

Vumaskans are excellent choices as player characters, though uncommon in lands outside of Asparta. They have the following traits:

Vumaskans in D&D 5E:

Attribute Modifiers: vumaskans gain +1 Dexterity and +1 to Strength due to their polydactyl nature and larger physical build.

Movement: 35 feet; the larger average size of the vumaskan gives them a longer stride.

Shrewd Negotiators: vumaskan culture encourages quit wit and fine negotiating skills. As such, vumaskans start with proficiency in Persuasion and Deception.

Fine Manipulation: The six-digited hands of vumaskans with two thumbs make them exceptionally talented at fine manipulation. They gain proficiency in Sleight of Hand.

Vumaskans in Swords & Wizardry:

Attributes: Vumaskans generally have better strength, dexterity and charisma than a normal human; if you are using optional attribute requirements they should have at least 9 in each of the above to qualify for vumaskan as a racial option.

Shrewd Negotiators: vumaskans can be shrewd negotiators. Typically this means in traditional old-school form that the GM should consider any reasonable persuasion from the player to be indicative of the shrewd and manipulative vumaskan’s acumen for negotiation. However, if you would like a mechanic for this, try the following: if a vumaskan is speaking with an NPC and is trying to convince him to do something out of the ordinary (but not harmful) the GM may opt to let the target make a saving throw against common sense to see if he buys into whatever the vumaskan is selling. Alternatively you can make the vumaskan PC roll against Charisma (D20 equal to or under) with a penalty set by the DM (equal to what seems right, or 1/4^th of the Hit Dice rounded down, or if the target has a Wisdom score apply a penalty of -1 for every point over 14).  Success means the target must make a saving throw or think the vumaskan’s idea is really great.

Fine Manipulation: vumaskans gain a +15% bonus to Delicate Tasks & Traps and Open Locks skills.

Class Options: vumaskans can advance without limit in cleric, fighter, thief and magic-user classes. They may advance to 12^th level as assassins or monks and may multi-class as cleric/fighters, fighter/thieves or thief/magic-users. There are no vumaskan druids, rangers or paladins. If you are using an expansion (such as the Player’s Companion) with bards as a class then vumaskans may advance to 15^th level as bards.

I've got a fever...a fever for the Frog God

In case you hadn't heard, Frog God Games has this new daily deal thing going. So far I've picked up The Lost City of Barakus and Against Tsathogghua in PDF for $2, Tome of Adventure Design in PDF for $10.50, and today I snagged Razor Coast in print and PDF for $60. Honestly this started even before the new sale deal when I pre-orded my copy of Fifth Edition Foes last week and then got a coupon for Stoneheart Valley in print for $20. Good stuff. I suggest signing up for news and offers on their site, it's worth it.

If you didn't know it, this is a hardcover revision of Wizard's Amulet, Crucible of Freya AND Tomb of Abysthor represented as a full setting

A couple important details if you've never ordered from Frog God before, because until I got Fifth Edition Foes this was not obvious from their website: when you buy a print copy of a book, you also get the PDF as part of the deal. Most web retailers note this (Pelgrane and Kobold Press, for example) but for the longest time I didn't try to buy from Frog God directly because it seemed like the listing was for the print or PDF, not both. So, keep that in mind....it makes their prices a better deal, and the sales even nicer.

If you get a coupon and it doesn't work, contact their service via email on site. They had my issue fixed like two minutes later and the code worked.

Most of Frog God's games are in Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry formats, so you can pick your preferred poison. So far they have the free version of Wizard's Amulet and the forthcoming Fifth Edition Foes out for 5E (the PDF is available immediately, and its pretty awesome). I am hoping for a lot more 5E from them in the future, but honestly conversion in 5E is a piece of cake (something I suspect WotC intended for this edition), so I've been snagging lots of Pathfinder-friendly versions to that end....although in retrospect S&W versions might actually be easier to convert to 5E. Ah well...

Anyway, these sales are great....I've actually been keen on most of what Frog God has to offer, but their products are not available through retail and frankly have been priced at "prestige" level prices, putting the bulk of their tomes out of my $$$ comfort zone for something I wasn't sure I'd use at the game table or not. $100 for Razor Coast? Eyyaaaaah I'll just wait and watch Ebay for a few years. $60? Well that's not too much more than the Core Rules for Pathfinder.....sure, I'll bite. PDF comes with it? Deal!!!!!

The description of this module alone sounds worth it. I shall now hope that future sales include discounts on the other books in the series.

Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day: The Rising Dark Campaign Setting

Well, it's April 17th, and that means that Erik Tenkar's masterful execution of Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day is underway! I've been mulling over what to do for this event, and settled on the following. Here, my S&W cohorts, is a complimentary copy of The Rising Dark Campaign Setting, a short exploratory campaign region I worked up for S&W a while back and published. This download shall be available from 12:01 AM April 17th until I get around to taking it down (EDIT took it down 4/18 but if you are still interested snag it over at rpgnow.com).

Meanwhile, here's a coupon you can use at the D20PFSRDshop.com, compliments of John reyst:

SWAD252013

Also, head on over to the Frog God for this coupon:

SWApprDay

Enjoy!

The OSR Resource Page

This page will serve as the permanent index for the OSR content that has appeared on the Realms of Chirak Blog. Throughout my blog there are more general discussions, rants and raves about these systems, but this link list is specifically aimed at gathering up crunchy resources for your ease of reference and use.



Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons and Labyrinth Lord Resources

The Basic/Expert project is a recent thing I decided to do, as I have grown a new appreciation for the books that got me into D&D in the first place:

Part VI: The Minotaur Racial Class

I love minotaurs as optional PCs, and here's how Id' do it in B/X.

Part V: Grave Knights

The Grave Knight makes the leap from Pathfinder to B/X D&D

Part IV: Valgos, Slayer of Elves

An orcish NPC villain for B/X D&D

Part III: Orc Racial Classes

Orcs get a PC/NPC treatment with actual racial classes

Part II: Multiclassing

Multiclassing ideas and rules for B/X D&D

Part I: The Start, Sample PCs, and more

A general discussion of what I'm up to and some characters I rolled up



Swords & WIzardry Complete Resources:

S&W Rules for the Ages of Lingusia

I published all of my custom house rules here, derived from my original 1e and 2E house rules and updated for S&W Complete.

Combat Maneuvers in S&W

Some new combat rules I employ with S&W COmplete

Lawful Kinded of Lingusia

First of three S&W Complete updates for races in my campaign

Neutral Kindred of Lingusia

The second such update.

Chaotic Kindred of Lingusia

The third such update.


Stats for the Legendary Rogue Wormi Vellsoth in Lingusia

A famous character turned NPC in my Lingusia campaign. Alas he's the only one I took time to stat out in S&W.




Castles & Crusades Resources:

The Lair of Gug and the Lost Shrine of Degalthor

A module built using Engineering Dungeons for C&C

The Hexblade

A sword-wielding mage for C&C

Malfeus Thorne

An NPC hexblade for C&C




Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and OSRIC Resources:

The Hexblade Class for AD&D

Hexblades revisited once more

The Fearsome Four

NPCS in Lingusia for AD&D