Sunday, June 11, 2017

A little MCU Civil War for Blood of Heroes

I decided to stat up a few of the characters from Captain America: Civil War. Namely, Capt, Falcon, Bucky/Winter Soldier, and  Black Panther.

Did everyone see that Black Panther teaser trailer? Dang, that looks like it will be good.

One of these days I really need to play some Blood of Heroes. It has been a long time since I've played it, and I really enjoyed it.

Captain America
Dex: 8              Str: 6                Body: 7
Int: 7                Will: 9              Mind: 9
Infl: 8               Aura: 8             Spirit: 8
Initiative: 27                            Hero Points: 100

Powers: Recall 5, Regeneration 5, Running 5

Skills: Acrobatics 8 L, Artist (Painter) 5, Charisma: 10, Martial Artist 9 L, Military Science 8, Thief (Concealment, Escape Artist) 8 L, Vehicles 8 L, Weaponry 10
Bonus: Martial Artist has Focus of Will

Advantages: Ambidextrous, Medium Government Credentials, Intensive Training, Iron Nerves, Language (French), Leadership, Lightning Reflexes, Popularity, Sharp Eye, Connections: Avengers (High), SHIELD (High), Black Panther (High)

Drawbacks: Forced Exile, Public Identity

Equipment:
Shield (Body: 25, EV: 5, Gliding 2, Kinetic Absorption 10, Hardened Defenses) Limitation: Gliding only applies to throwing range.

UNIFORM (Body: 9, Radio Communication: 8)

Motorcycle (Str: 3, Body: 5, Running: 7, R#: 2)

Background:
Alter Ego: Steven Grant Rogers
Wealth: 7
Motivation: Upholding the Good
Occupation: Avenger
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Joseph Rogers (father, deceased), Sarah Rogers (mother, deceased)
Base of Operations: Mobile
Height: 6’
Weight: 194 lbs
Age: 97 (biologically 31)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond

Falcon
Dex: 6              Str: 4                Body: 5
Int: 6                Will: 7              Mind: 7
Infl: 5               Aura: 5             Spirit: 5
Initiative: 21                            Hero Points: 50

Skills: Acrobatics 6 L, Martial Artist 7 L, Medicine (First Aid, Medical Treatment) 7, Military Science 6 L, Vehicles 6 L, Weaponry 7
Bonus: Martial Artist has Focus of Will

Advantages: Intensive Training, Lightning Reflexes, Sharp Eye, Connections: Avengers (High), US Air Force (High)

Drawbacks: Public Identity

Equipment:
EXO-7 FALCON SUIT (Body: 5, Flight: 8, Projectile Weapons: 5, Radio Communication: 8) Limitation: Flight is winged.

Goggles (Body: 2, Microscopic Vision: 3, Shade: 3, Telescopic Vision: 3, Thermal Vision: 3, Ultra Vision: 3)

Redwing (Dex: 4, Str: 1, Body: 3, Int: 1, Flight: 8, Projectile Weapons: 4, Radio Communications: 8, Telescopic Vision: 4, Thermal Vision: 4, Ultra Vision: 4)

Background:
Alter Ego: Samuel Thomas Wilson
Wealth: 7
Motivation: Responsibility of Power
Occupation: Avenger
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Unrevealed
Base of Operations: Mobile
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 174 lbs
Age: 37
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Winter Soldier/ Bucky
Dex: 7              Str: 6                Body: 7
Int: 6                Will: 3              Mind: 2
Infl: 3               Aura: 3             Spirit: 3
Initiative: 20                            Hero Points: 50

Powers: Regeneration 5, Running 5

Skills: Acrobatics: 7 L, Martial Artist: 8, Medicine (First Aid): 6 L, Military Science: 6 L, Thief: 7L, Vehicles: 7 L, Weaponry: 10

Advantages: Double Jointed, Intensive Training, Iron Nerves, Language (Russian), Lightning Reflexes, Sharp Eye, Connection: Captain America (High), Black Panther (Low)

Drawbacks: Forced Exile, Guilt, Mistrust, Serious Physical Restriction (missing arm), Serious Psychological Instability, Socially Inept

Equipment:
ARM (Str: 7, Body: 9)

BODY ARMOR (Body: 8)

Knives (x2) (Body: 7, EV: 3)

Pistol (Body: 5, EV: 5, Range: 5, Ammo: 7, R#: 2)

Submachinegun (Body: 4, EV: 5, Range: 5, Ammo: 6, R#: 2)

Background:
Alter Ego: James “Bucky” Barnes
Wealth: 1
Motivation: Seeking Justice
Occupation: Fugitive
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: George M. Barnes (father, deceased), Winifred C. Barnes (mother, deceased)
Base of Operations: Mobile
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 195 lbs
Age: 99 (biologically 33)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

Black Panther
Dex: 9              Str: 5                Body: 6
Int: 8                Will: 9              Mind: 8
Infl: 7               Aura: 7             Spirit: 8
Initiative: 28                            Hero Points: 70

Powers: Running: 5

Skills: Acrobatics: 9 L, Animal Handling: 6, Charisma: 9, Gadgetry: 7, Martial Artist: 9 L, Medicine: 7, Military Science: 8 L, Thief: 9 L, Vehicles: 9 L, Weaponry: 9 L

Advantages: Ambidextrous, Area Knowledge (Wakanda), Credentials: Government (High), Double Jointed, Intensive Training, Iron Nerves, Language (English), Leadership, Lightning Reflexes, Sharp Eye, Connections: Captain America (High), Winter Soldier (Low), Wakandan Government (High), International Political Community (Low)

Drawbacks: Authority Figure, Public Identity

Equipment:
PANTHER HABIT (Str: 6, Body: 8, Claws: 7, Kinetic Absorption: 8)

Background:
Alter Ego: T’Challa Udaku
Wealth: 22
Motivation: Responsibility of Power
Occupation: King
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: T’Chaka Udaku (father, deceased)
Base of Operations: Wakanda
Height: 6’
Weight: 190 lbs
Age: 32
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Dinosaurs & Stream of Annihilation

I've been sitting here for a little while thinking about statting up some more dinosaurs, because you really can't have enough dinosaurs. Then along comes Stream of Annihilation, and now I'm faced with deciding whether to still stat some dinos or accept that Wizards will probably be giving stats to about 15 more dinos in the near future.

I'm really looking forward to Tomb of Annihilation regardless.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Asmodeus, the Lord of the Ninth

I decided to take a shot at statting up Asmodeus. At this point, he's a full-fledged god (I think), so maybe this is just his avatar. Anyway, here he is.

Asmodeus is the lord of the Nine Hells. All of the other archdevils bow to his will. He can reshape any layer of Hell as he sees fit, change the form of any other devil (including the archdevils) at a whim, and he's instilled a huge sense of paranoia in all of his subordinates. You never know who might be a spy for the Lord of Nessus.

While clearly diabolical in appearance, he is still handsome. He also happens to be 13 feet tall. He wears such finery as would bankrupt many a mortal kingdom, and he wields the infamous Ruby Rod. An artifact of great beauty, glistening with an unearthly luster, and worth more than any mortal could hope to raise, the Ruby Rod is a powerful weapon of evil. It is also said that Asmodeus still has the bloody wounds that he gained when he was cast out of the Upper Realms, and when a drop of his blood touches the ground, a Pit Fiend or other powerful devil grows from that spot.

Asmodeus is always calm, charming, and seemingly in control. Even when someone manages to surprise him, which is pretty much never, he still gives one the sense that he is already three moves ahead of them. Asmodeus is also patient. Very, very patient. His plans can take thousands of years to unfold. He does not like to directly participate in combat if he can help it. He is certainly more than capable of defending himself, but he rather crush the wills of his enemies with his power. Failing that, he is more than happy to let his subordinates handle the task of killing adversaries. Such scut work is beneath him.



Asmodeus
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil

Armor Class 25 (natural armor)
Hit Points 620 (40d10+400)
Speed 40 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha
30        16        30        29        29        30
(+10)    (+3)      (+10)    (+9)      (+9)      (+10)

Saves Dex +12, Con +19, Wis +18, Cha +19
Skills Arcana +18, Deception +19, Insight +18, Perception +18, Persuasion +19
Damage Resistances acid, cold, lightning
Damage Immunities fire, poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned
Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 28
Languages all, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 30 (155,000 XP)

Discorporation. When Asmodeus drops to 0 hit points or dies, his body is destroyed but his essence travels back to his domain in the Nine Hells, and he is unable to take physical form for a time.

Fear Aura. Any creature hostile to Asmodeus that starts its turn within 30 feet of him must make a DC 27 Wisdom saving throw, unless Asmodeus is incapacitated. On a failed save, the creature is frightened until the start of its next turn. If a creature’s saving throw is successful, the creature is immune to Asmodeus’ Fear Aura for the next 24 hours.

Innate Spellcasting. Asmodeus’ spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 27). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: charm monster, detect magic, dispel magic, fireball, suggestion, wall of fire

3/day: divine word, dominate monster, fire storm

Legendary Resistance (5/day). If Asmodeus fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Limited Magic Immunity. Unless he wishes to be affected, Asmodeus is immune to spells of 6th level or lower. He has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.

Magic Weapons. Asmodeus’ weapon attacks are magical.

Regeneration. Asmodeus regains 30 hit points at the start of his turn.

Ruby Rod. Any properties of the Ruby Rod that require a saving throw have a save DC of 19. Asmodeus can use an action to activate one of the following effects:

Cone of Cold: 75-foot cone, doing 70 (20d6) cold damage on a failed Dexterity saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Line of Acid: 150-foot line, doing 70 (20d6) acid damage on a failed Dexterity saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Line of Lightning: 150-foot line, doing 70 (20d6) lightning damage on a failed Dexterity saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Each effect may only be used 1/day.

While holding the Ruby Rod, Asmodeus possesses the Aura of Might. Any creature attempting to attack Asmodeus must first succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, acting normally on a successful saving throw, or prostrating itself before Asmodeus and rendering it Stunned until the start of its next turn on a failed saving throw.

Once per day, the Ruby Rod can activate the Reverie of Nessus as a reaction (see below). Any creature touching the Ruby Rod without Asmodeus’ permission takes 21 (6d6) necrotic damage every round that it touches it.

Actions
Multiattack. Asmodeus makes three attacks with his Ruby Rod.

Ruby Rod. Melee Weapon Attack: +19 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d8+10) bludgeoning damage plus 21 (6d6) necrotic damage.

Teleport. Asmodeus magically teleports, along with any equipment he is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space he can see.

Reactions
Reverie of Nessus (1/day). Asmodeus can incase himself in a 10-foot spherical Wall of Force. The area 50 feet around the sphere, but not within it, becomes an antimagic field. This effect lasts for 3 round. On the first round, Asmodeus is purged of unwanted enchantments. On the second round, he is purged of any diseases, poison, or physical maladies (including missing body parts). On the third round, he is healed to full hit points and is refreshed as if he had just completed a long rest. This ability triggers automatically if Asmodeus ever fails a saving throws against an unwanted enchantment spell or effect.

Legendary Actions
Asmodeus can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Asmodeus regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.

Attack. Asmodeus makes one attack with his Ruby Rod.

Teleport. Asmodeus uses his teleport action.

Word of Submission (Costs 2 Actions). Asmodeus can force a single creature that can hear and understand his voice to make a DC 27 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature submits to all of Asmodeus’ commands for 1 day, doing whatever he asks as if his every request was a suggestion spell that does not allow a saving throw. On a success, the creature cannot be affected by this ability ever again.

Asmodeus’ Lair
Asmodeus rules the Nine Hells from Fortress Nessus. This bleak citadel sits at the endpoint of The Serpent’s Coil, a vast spiraling canyon said to be where Asmodeus landed when he fell from the upper realms. Fortress Nessus is a place of splendor, every surface decorated with precious metals, rare fabrics, and gems of astonishing size. A sense of regret and despair permeates these splendid hallways, however, affecting those who stay too long with a powerful melancholy. Though the citadel seems uninhabited, with vast hallways that stretch for miles, the constant sound of weeping can be heard echoing from its walls.

Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Asmodeus can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects: he can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.

·        Asmodeus can summon any devil he wishes and compel it to provide a service.

·        Asmodeus radiates a debilitating cold that affects all creatures within 300 feet of him. Each creature other than Asmodeus must make a DC 27 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion.


·        Asmodeus casts the command spell on every creature of his choice in the lair. He needn’t see each one, but he must be aware that an individual is in the lair to target that creature. He issues the same command to all the targets.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

The Wereshark

There wereshark was originally created by John Eric Holmes, according to a source I looked at. It first appeared in AD&D in 1983 in Monster Maual II. It has since appeared a number of times in the different editions through the years.

Originally, the wereshark only had two forms: the humanoid form and the shark form. It gained a hybrid form in 3rd edition, though if I were to use one, I'd probably stick to the two forms. The wereshark detailed here is based on existing D&D material. The Razor Coast campaign from Frog God Games has a slightly different take on the wereshark (spoilers). They're still arrogant and cruel, but they are less individualistic due to being dedicated to an evil shark god. So you end up with groups of the darn things, and they do have the hybrid form.

Now on to the stats:


The original MMII picture.

Wereshark
Medium humanoid (human, shapechanger), neutral evil

Armor Class 11, 12 in shark or hybrid form
Hit Points 97 (15d8+30)
Speed 30 ft. (0 ft. in shark form), swim 40 ft. in shark or hybrid form

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha
18 (+4) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 9 (-1)

Skills Perception +2
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered
Senses blindsight 30 ft. in shark or hybrid form, passive Perception 12
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Amphibious (shark or hybrid form only). There wereshark can breathe air and water.

Blood Frenzy. The wereshark has advantage on melee attacks against creatures that don’t have all of their hit points.

Shapechanger. The wereshark can use its action to change into a Large shark-hybrid or Large shark form, or back to its true form, which is humanoid. In shark-hybrid or shark form, it gains a swim speed of 40 ft., and loses its 30 ft. speed in shark form. All other stats, other than its size and AC, remain the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.

Actions
Multiattack. The wereshark makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite.

Bite (shark or hybrid form only).Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with wereshark lycanthropy.

Boarding Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing or slashing damage or 8 (1d8+4) piercing or slashing damage if used with two hands.

A character cursed with lycanthropy gains a Strength of 18 if his or her score isn’t already higher, and a +1 bonus to AC while in shark or hybrid form (from natural armor). Attack and damage rolls for the natural weapons are based on Strength.

Weresharks are avaricious brutes, individualistic and always out for their own gain. As humanoids, they are muscular, frequently showing evidence of a shark attack in the form of scars or possibly even a missing limb. These old wounds are not evident when in shark form. Arrogant and cruel, weresharks are also fiercely territorial and will defend a claimed area to the death. The only creatures weresharks will usually associate with are real sharks, though it’s not unknown for a wereshark to cooperate with sahuagin or a priest of an evil sea god.


A wereshark fighting on land will use weapons appropriate to its previous maritime existence, such as a boarding axe. It much prefers to do its fighting in the water, where it has an advantage. Weresharks don’t tend to worry about infecting victims with lycanthropy. It’s a rare occurrence for a wereshark to leave a victim alive, so it rarely becomes an issue.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Of Gods, Demons, & Devils

I'm just going to ramble a bit about all those powerful supernatural entities D&D has running around in the Outer Planes.

Against The Wicked City talks a bit about how those demon lords & arch-devils used to be a bit closer in power level to the PCs. It is certainly true: powerful enough to be dangerous, but weak enough that a decently high level party could stand a chance of taking them out. As new editions have come and gone, we've seen these beings become increasingly more powerful.

It seems that 5e has kind of scaled it back a bit, though at CR 30, Tiamat could really ruin your party's day. Send her consorts along for the ride, & a 20th level party would probably decide to nope out, until better circumstances presented themselves.

Anyway, so far CR 30 is as high as things go, with the demon lords statted up so far being between CR 21 & 28. Of course, some of these guys used to be CR 35 or 40 or more, and I know some people don't like this downpowering.

I've decided to try to stat up a CR 30 Asmodeus. I'll be posting these stats soon. I know some people are going to be all "He's a god now. He shouldn't have stats at all or should be CR 45 at the least." A CR of 45 seems kind of pointless if you ask me.

If you can't stomach these ultra powerful beings being downgraded from previous versions, you do have options: aspects, proxies, & avatars.

Aspects are duplicates of an entity, bestowed with a small part of the being's power. They first appeared in the D&D miniatures game. They can be of various power levels and are used to represent the being in matters either too dangerous or too trivial for the entity to deal with directly. When they are created, and multiples can exist at the same time, they are of the same mind as their creator, but from that point on, they are essentially free-willed. Supposedly, an entity can create one really powerful aspect, but only one due to how much power is invested in the creation.

Aspects never willingly come near each other, and are likely to try to destroy each other if they are forced into each other's presence. If the original entity is destroyed, the aspects continue to exist, and it's possible for one to ascend to the position of the original entity.

I've never seen a proxy in an adventure, while I've seen aspects a few times. The proxy is a servant of the entity in question that has proven itself and is given a bit of the entity's power. So kind of similar to an aspect. The proxy then goes out to represent the interests of the boss.

An avatar is, I believe, a manifestation of the entity under the entity's direct control. It's not as powerful as the original, but it's still one bad mofo. If it's destroyed, the entity is all nice and safe back on it's home plane of existence.

If you've read this far, thanks. As I said, this was just a bit of rambling. Now the question is, do those stats written up for the demon lords & Tiamat represent the entities in their full glory? Or are they just avatars or aspects?

Monday, April 17, 2017

The Boarding Axe

I've been thinking about Frog God Games' Razor Coast campaign lately, which led me to think about the boarding axe. The boarding axe was a common maritime tool used for a variety of purposes, such as fire fighting, gathering firewood, smashing through doors, walls, etc, and of course, battle.



Boarding Axe Function and Form goes into much more detail about the various designs of the axe as well as its many varied uses. It's kind of an interesting read.

Based on what I've read there, this is what I've come up with for a boarding axe for 5e.

Boarding Axe   10 gp   1d6 slashing or piercing   3 lbs   Versatile (1d8), special

The boarding axe's spike may be used as a crowbar, granting advantage to Strength checks where the spike's leverage can be applied.

So what do you think? Balanced? In need of some work? Let me know.

Monday, March 27, 2017

A little Netflix MCU for Blood of Heroes

I haven't posted anything for a while, so I thought I'd put up some Blood of Heroes stats for some of the heroes from the various Netflix series. Daredevil season 1 & 2 have both been very good, and I enjoyed Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. I'm still not sure what to think about Iron Fist. In any event, here are some stats for the blind vigilante, the alcoholic private detective, and the wrongly accused former bar owner.

I've previously done some stats for characters from the Arrowverse:

Green Arrow, Arsenal, Speedy, and Merlyn

Sarah and Laurel Lance

Deathstroke and Wildcat


Daredevil

Dex: 9              Str: 4                Body: 6
Int: 7                Will: 9              Mind: 9
Infl: 6               Aura: 6              Spirit: 7
Initiative: 26                            Hero Points: 70

Powers: Analytical Smell and Taste/ Tracking Scent: 11, Detect (Lies): 11, Directional Hearing: 11, Hypersensitive Touch: 11, Life Sense: 11, Mind Over Matter: 10, Radar Sense: 11, Super Hearing: 11

Skills: Acrobatics: 9 L, Charisma: 8, Martial Artist: 9 L, Medicine (First Aid): 6, Military Science (Tracking): 9, Thief: 9 L, Weaponry: 10

Advantages: Ambidextrous, Area Knowledge (Hell’s Kitchen), Confidant (Father Lantom), Credentials (Legal), Double Jointed, Scholar (Law), Gift of Gab, Intensive Training, Iron Nerves, Language (Spanish), Lightning Reflexes, Local Hero, Sharp Eye, Connections: Claire Temple (High), Stick (High), Elektra (Low), Foggy Nelson (High)

Drawbacks: Enemy (Wilson Fisk), Guilt, Catastrophic Physical Restriction (Blind), Secret Identity

Equipment:
ARMORED SUIT (Body: 8)
Billy Club (Body: 8, EV: 3, Snare: 4, Stretching: 1) Bonus: Creates Swing-Lines

Background:
Alter Ego: Matthew Michael Murdock
Wealth: 5
Motivation: Seeking Justice
Occupation: Lawyer/ Vigilante
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Jack Murdock (father, deceased)
Base of Operations: Hell’s Kitchen
Height: 5’10”

Weight: 175 lbs


Jessica Jones

Dex: 4              Str: 8                Body: 7
Int: 5                Will: 4              Mind: 4
Infl: 3               Aura: 3             Spirit: 4
Initiative: 12                            Hero Points: 40

Powers: Flight: 6, Iron Will: 4, Regeneration: 7, Running: 5

Skills: Artist (Actor): 4, Charisma (Intimidation): 5, Detective: 6

Advantages: Area Knowledge (Hell’s Kitchen), Sharp Eye, Connections: Luke Cage (High), Trish Walker (High), Jeri Hogarth (High) Claire Temple (Low)

Drawbacks: Guilt, Minor Irrational Attraction to Alcohol, Public Identity, Traumatic Flashbacks

Background:
Alter Ego: Jessica Jones
Wealth: 4
Motivation: Unwanted Power
Occupation: Private Investigator
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Brian Jones (father, deceased), Alisa Jones(mother, deceased), Phillip Jones (brother, deceased), Trish Walker (adoptive sister), Dorothy Walker (adoptive mother)
Base of Operations: Hell’s Kitchen
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 126 lbs
Age: 34
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black


Luke Cage
Dex: 4              Str: 7                Body: 8
Int: 4                Will: 5              Mind: 5
Infl: 4               Aura: 4             Spirit: 4
Initiative: 14                            Hero Points: 40

Powers: Skin Armor: 2

Skills: Charisma: 6, Martial Artist (Assault, Blocking, Techniques): 6, Vehicles (Land): 5

Advantages: Area Knowledge (Hell’s Kitchen), Iron Nerves, Connection: Jessica Jones (High), Claire Temple (High)

Drawbacks: Enemy (Diamondback), Public Identity

Background:
Alter Ego: Luke Cage
Wealth: 4
Motivation: Unwanted Power
Occupation: Former Bar Owner
Marital Status: Widowed
Known Relatives: Reva Connors (wife, deceased)
Base of Operations: Hell’s Kitchen
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 187 lbs
Age: 36
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Friday, March 3, 2017

Elven Courtblade?

So, what do you all think of this for an elven courtblade?

1d10 slashing  two-handed  finesse  special

Special: Must have elven weapon training to be proficient with the elven courtblade initially. It is possible to train to be profiicient with the elven courtblade if an appropriate teacher can be found.

Just a bit of randomness that popped into my head while at the gym.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Liska, the skulk daughter of Graz'zt.

Liska, daughter of Graz'zt and a skulk, is the last of the demon lord's children that I am statting up. She made an appearance in Dungeon 212, back in March 2013. Her stats are 4e, and while I'm not overly familiar with that edition, I would say she seems quite a lot more powerful than what I've come up with. Still, I like what I've come up with.

Liska
Medium fiend, chaotic evil

Armor Class 19
Hit Points 135 (18d8+54)
Speed 30 ft.
Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha
18 (+4) 20 (+5) 17 (+3) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 19 (+4)

Saving Throws Str +8, Con +7, Int +6, Cha +8
Skills Acrobatics +8, Deception +8, Intimidation +8, Perception +7, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning, poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages Abyssal, Common, Elven
 Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

Assassinate. Liska has advantage on any attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn yet in combat. In addition, any hit she scores against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit.

Chameleon Skin. Liska has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide. Liska may hide by pressing herself against a solid surface that is at least as tall and wide as she is. While she remains there without moving or taking actions, Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect her are made with disadvantage.

Fiendish Blessing. Liska’s AC includes her Charisma bonus.

Innate Spellcasting. Liska’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16). Rule-of-Three can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
3/day: alter self, command, detect magic
1/day: plane shift (self only)

Poison Use. Liska is proficient in the poisoner’s kit.

Sneak Attack. Once per turn, Liska can deal an extra 21 (6d6) damage to one creature she hits with an attack if she has advantage on the attack roll. Liska doesn’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and Liska doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Stealthy Step. Liska is able to move stealthily at a slow, normal, or fast pace with no penalty.

Vanish. Liska can use the Hide action as a bonus action on her turn. Also, Liska can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless she chooses to leave a trail.

Actions
Multiattack. Liska makes two dagger attacks if wielding one weapon, three dagger attacks if wielding two weapons.

Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d4+6) piercing damage.

Equipment
Dagger of Venom. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

You can use an action to cause thick, black poison to coat the blade. The poison remains for 1 minute or until an attack using this weapon hits a creature. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 2d10 poison damage and become poisoned for 1 minute. The dagger can't be used this way again until the next dawn.

Liska fights with two of these daggers.

Liska is another of Graz’zt’s daughters, a deadly skulk assassin of great skill. Her first loyalty is to her own survival, then to her father. She defends the demon lord’s interests faithfully, using guile and subterfuge, and a cadre of male drow loyal to her. She doesn’t hesitate to put her own continued existence first if circumstances dictate it, though she immediately goes back to defending Graz’zt’s interests as soon as possible.

Liska’s cadre of drow warriors are unshakably loyal to her, giving their lives if need be. Liska takes her favored warriors as consorts, though her affection is fickle.


Liska is a slender, hairless humanoid with grey skin and elfin features. Being a skulk, she is able to change the color of her skin to match her surroundings, making detecting her extremely difficult. She wears minimal clothing so as to make the most of her camouflage abilities.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Zeitgeist's setting, and the deva & goblin.


So, it occurs to me that I could have a wee bit more about Zeitgeist's setting. Like anything at all. This is what I get for posting while on lunch at work.

Zeitgeist takes place on Lanjyr. It used to be a relatively stereotypical fantasy world until about 300 years before the start of the ap. A goddess died, terrible things happened, magic stopped working some places, etc. As a result of this, the industrial revolution came to the world.

The PCs start out in Risur, which has a rather Great Britain feel to it, but it's in a subtropical region. It's industrial revolution came a bit later, and there is a lot of social issues as a result. Risur has traditionally been very magic and nature oriented, and now it's moving to industry and technology. The PCs start out as members of what is essentially Risur's version of the Secret Service and/ or the FBI.

So you're starting from a very different place than in most aps. Some of my players had difficulty adjusting to this. Anyway, things happen, the PCs get thrust into the middle of it, and ultimately some really epic stuff happens.

So, the deva. In this setting, the deva is someone who was originally your garden variety mortal, but they were in the blast radius when that goddess died. As a result, a piece of her divinity became lodged in that person's soul and now they reincarnate when they die. The deva doesn't really have memories of their former lives, though there are vague rumors that some have managed to figure out how to do that.



Deva Traits

Ability Score Increases: Your Intelligence score increases by 1, your Wisdom score by 2.

Age: Devas are reincarnated as adults and have an immortal life span. They can still died from disease or injury.

Alignment: Many devas tend towards good. Lifetime after lifetime has taught them that being virtuous to others has its own rewards.

Size: Your size is medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 ft.

Astral Resistance: You have resistance to necrotic & radiant damage.

Cantrip: You know one cantrip from the cleric spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability score for this spell.

Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes: When you make an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check & don't like the result, you can roll 1d10 & add it to the result. You must complete a long rest before you can use this ability again.

Worldly Knowledge: You have proficiency in the History skill.

Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common & Elven. If you've lived in Risur for a significant amount of time, you can also speak, read, & write Primordial.

This is obviously very heavily borrowed from World Builder Blog.

As for the goblin:



Goblin Traits

Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2, your Wisdom score by 1.

Age: Goblins mature faster than humans, reaching adulthood by age 10. Goblins rarely live past 50 years of age.

Alignment: Goblins used to tend towards Neutral Evil. In this new civilized age, goblins now tend towards Neutral.

Size: Goblins range 3 to 4 feet in height, and typically weigh 40 to 60 lbs. Your size is small.

Speed: Being unusually fleet of foot, your base walking speed is 30 ft.

Darkvision: Goblins are used to living underground. You can see in dim light as if it was bright light up to 60 ft., and in darkness as if it was dim light.

Nimble Escape: When an attacker targets you with a melee attack & misses, you may Disengage as a reaction and move away from your attacker.

Sneaky: You are proficient in the Stealth skill.

Goblin Weapon Training: You are proficient in the scimitar & shortbow.

Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common & Goblin. Goblin uses the Dwarven script. Immigrants to Risur are typically also able to speak, read, and write Primordial.

I borrowed heavily from Myth Weavers & the Small But Vicious Blog for the goblin.

Zeitgeist: the Gears of Revolution for 5e



If you're not familiar with Zeitgeist, published by En World, it's a very good AP. It's very different from the other APs out there, and players who want to hack and slash rather than roleplay & investigate probably won't like it. That was a mistake I made when I tried to run it; I didn't make a good choice on who to invite to play it.

Anyway, I wanted to run this for 5e. It's been published for 4e, which is reflected in a couple of things in the material, and Pathfinder. I started converting the Pathfinder stuff to 5e. A couple of people on the En World forums have also done some conversion work, and I borrowed some of that. If I post any of that material, I will properly credit the source. En World announced not long ago that they would be putting out some converted material, which should be nice.

First up: playable races.
Deva
Dragoborn (any)
Eladrin
Gnome (forest & rock)
Goblin
Goliath
Half-elf
Half-orc
Human
Lightfoot Halfling
Minotaur
Mountain Dwarf
Tiefling
Wood Elf

There are wood elves & eladrin in this setting. Obviously, you can get the eladrin from the DMG.

Goblins can now be found in Volo's. I originally came up with something different, which I'll put in my next post.

There are Devas here, which is a type of aasimar. I'll put that in my next post, too. Both the deva & goblin are originally other people's ideas.

For the minotaur, you have the UA material & material from Kobold Press to choose from.

Everything else is straight out of the PHB. I will say I like the stuff over on Tribality to mix things up a bit for dragonborn.

That's all for now.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Second item up on DM's Guild.

Hi all. I've finally gotten around to posting a second item up on DM's Guild. Like the first thing I posted, it's pay what you want. So check it out, see if you like it. If you're so inclined, toss a couple of quarters my way. I'm not proud, I'll take quarters.

PC Race Options: Half-ogre & Grippli Player Character Races

It has the information I originally posted on this blog, as well as stats for the typical NPC grippli you might meet.

And just as a reminder, here's the first item I posted on DM's Guild.

Folio of Fiends

The next thing I'll be posting will be a collection of 24 creatures from myth, legends, and cryptozoology. They're all original creations, not updates of creatures from other editions.

Thanks!