Novellan Mountains d30 Encounter Table

The Novellan Mountains, which form the northern border of Telengard and extend eastward to the dwarven kingdom of Gannar, are known as a particularly dangerous place.  Bulettes abound in these high mountain passes, and the most dreaded of the Arandish red dragons, Razgar, is known to roost somewhere in this mountain range.  And of course the Arandish rock troll is another well-known denizen of the area. . . so adventurers beware!

Click here for the free downloadable pdf of this encounter table, including a 1d20 version.


Novellan Mountains Encounter Table – 1d30
   
1: Ape, Albino
2: Bear, Grizzly
3: Bear, Cave
4: Beetle, Spitting
5-6: Bulette
7: Cat, Mountain Lion
8: Cat, Sabre-Tooth Tiger
9-10: Cyclops, Horned
11: Dragon, Red (60% chance that this is Razgar the Red Dragon)
12: Dragon, White
13: Dwarf
14: Giant, Hill
15: Giant, Stone
16: Griffon
17-18: Hobgoblin
19: Lycanthrope, Werewolf
20: Men, Brigands (30% that the band includes dwarves)
21: Men, Ranger (50% chance Telengardian Roughrider)
22: Morlock
23: Neanderthal
24: Ogre
25: Orc
26: Roc, Giant
27-28: Troll, Rock
29: Wolf, Dire
30: Yeti (see Monster Manual p. 103)

Accepting the d30 Blog Post Challenge -- And Cheating!

The Rusty Battle Axe recently posted a d30 table for Random Blog Topics.  I accepted the challenge, rolled a 15 on his Table, and got a result of "Lions, Tigers and Bears."  Secretly, I had really been hoping to roll an 18, for a result of "The Best Names for Taverns, Pubs, Inns and Bars," but I felt honor-bound to stick to the roll and started composing some thoughts on Lions, Tigers, and Bears:

I am quite fond of large predatory land mammals, and although I have more gut-level fear of sharks than polar bears, I harbor a healthy respect for large land creatures, and lions, tigers, and bears are all three types I would just as soon never meet in real life.  For that very reason, I think they make excellent low- to mid-level foes for wilderness-adventuring parties in D&D, and Ara's forests, swamps, and mountainous regions are populated with some particularly dangerous varieties.

I then planned to write up stats for a few such creatures -- only to realize I had no good ideas, or at least no new ones.  With big cats, I think I pretty much blew my wad with the Swamp Tiger, and although I'm obsessed with mountain lions right now, the mountain lion already has stats in Labyrinth Lord (p. 67).

I also wanted to do a B/X conversion / slight modification of the polar bears belonging to the Frost Giant Jarl in module G2 -- only to find that, once I looked them up, those bears are statted as Cave Bears, also already described in Labyrinth Lord (p. 64)!

So, at a total loss, I finally decided to do what so many of my great heroes and forebears throughout history and fiction have done: cheat!  I granted myself a bonus of +3 to my d30 roll, which gave me a result of 18, or The Best Names for Taverns, Pubs, Inns and Bars.  Here goes:

A great many of my inn and tavern names follow the formula:

"adjective" + "animal or monster name"

The adjective in this formula is usually sexually connotative, like "impotent," "randy," "horny," "well-hung," "cuckolded," "hermaphroditic," or "lucky." Examples: The Big-Balled Dragon, The Cuckolded Cheetah, The Randy Griffon, or even The Badger's Testicles Inn (a slight modification of the formula).  Sometimes the descriptive adjective is non-sexual, something more run-of-the-mill like "hairy," three-legged," or "rabid." Examples: The Greedy Lion, The Hairy Ogre, The Erratic Crow (this last a popular pub in Swampsedge).

What follows are some brief descriptions of a few well-known (and, I hope, well-named) bars in Ara.

The Impotent Owlbear 
The Impotent Owlbear is one of the most popular merc bars in Redvine, in northern Achelon.  Many of the best caravan guards, swords-for-hire, northern monster-hunters, and Achelonian rangers frequent The Impotent Owlbear.  The tavern's name is meant to demean the deadly monster so hated by most of the pub's frequent clientele, and the establishment is well-known for displaying a huge owlbear skull above the front door -- reportedly a remnant from a monster the pub's owner, an ex-monster-hunter named Orgle, killed single-handedly many years ago before he started the pub.

Immensely popular amongst adventurers, merchants, and local nobles alike, The Hairy Ogre in Tradefair (The Western Lands) is named for its proprietor, a hairy yet affable ogre named Bob.  (Some actually believe that Bob is actually half-ogre, half-human -- he is short of stature for an ogre -- but Bob is proud of his ogrish heritage so no one says this aloud.)  The Hairy Ogre's main competition in Tradefair comes from the Dragon's Teeth Inn, and upscale bar catering primarily to rich traders and the more pretentious locals who haven't realized (or don't care) that the food prepared by the chef at Dragon's Teeth is vastly outclassed by Bob's legendary stews and inventive home-baked breads.

Noffellian bars are usually named for Noffellian heroes, kings, and gods.  Tarandis and Noffel are the most popular king names in this context, and in northern Noffel lots of bar and inn names have "Frey" in them somewhere.  There is a famous pub in Jakama called Zapar's Fancy -- with the best seafood in Noffel, some say.  Many Noffellian pubs love to include the words "sword," "iron," and/or "blade" in their names.

Telengardian Inn names tend to be matter-of-fact and serious, e.g., Wayfarer's Haven, The Ironcrown Tavern (both in Ironcrown) and the Silver Dragon Inn (in Hollyn).

In the Free City of Kaladar, there are at least sixteen different pubs and eating establishments with the words "Green Dragon" in their names, but the most famous one is in the Lord Mayor's District, and is called simply The Green Dragon.  (This "Green Dragon" motif is in fact popular throughout south-central Ara; there are a few Green Dragon Inns and Green Dragon taverns in Achelon, and a Green Dragon Traveler's Hostel in Greywood in western Delzar.)  The Greedy Lion in the dangerous North Wall District of Kaladar is known in certain circles as a place to pick up dangerous and not-quite-legal mercenary and courier work.  The single most famous (and expensive) inn in the Free City of Kaladar is the Hotel Kaladarian, formerly the Queen of Achelon's palace back when Achelon ruled Kaladar prior to the Free Kaladarian Decree of New Calendar year 60.

Lastly, despite my better judgment I must mention The Aroused Barracuda in Thieves' Port.  This is probably one of the seediest and most dangerous bars in Ara.  No one enters unarmed, and only one in six patrons (on average) walk out alive.  A tough place catering to those who don't want to be found nor fucked with.

Four Horrid Spells

Who knows why, but I seem to love magic-user spells on themes of slime, scum, filth, and grotesquery.  So I present four horrid spells, two of which were actually created by more inventive people than me, as noted individually below.

Stickyfoot
Level: 2 (M-u)
Range: 100'
Stickyfoot creates a small (3’ x 3’) patch of a transparent, sticky substance which instantly bonds one person or human-sized being’s feet to the floor.  This patch may be cast anywhere within sight of the magic-user up to 100', and it sets instantly, so it must be cast directly under someone in order to be effective.   Once it adheres to its target’s feet and sets, the Stickyfoot substance immobilizes the target for 1d4 rounds, then vaporizes, freeing the target.  While immobilized, the target attacks at -1, and any DEX-related AC bonuses are negated.  The Stickyfoot spell can only be used against one human-sized target at a time (exceptionally large targets are not affected), and will only work in areas with solid floors (for instance, the Stickyfoot substance would not adhere to the side of a sand dune or to a patch of slimy swamp muck).

[Stickyfoot was conceived and written by Dave Miller for the original Crimson Blades of Ara game.]

Troglodyte Stench Burst
level: 3 (M-u)
range: 100 feet
Creates a 10’ radius spherical cloud of Troglodyte stench, enfeeblingly repulsive to humans and demi-humans, which appears within 100’ of the caster and lasts for 1d6 rounds.  Those humans or demi-humans trapped within the transparent cloud must save vs. poison or suffer a –2 to all attack rolls while still in the cloud.  Even those who escape the radius of the cloud find that the stench, and the –2 attack penalty if not saved against, will cling to the target for 10 additional rounds. 

Cannibal Curse
level: 4 (M-u)
range: 20 feet
Cannibal Curse turns one target within 20 feet into an uncontrollably ravenous cannibal for 1d6 rounds.  The cursed individual will viciously attack the nearest member(s) of its own species, biting at his/her/its/their flesh and attempting to eat him/her/it/them.  The cursed individual cannot be reasoned with while the curse is in effect.

[Note: The Cannibal Curse spell could be made available to evil clerics, in which case it would be a level 5 evil cleric spell.]

Vomitus Deluge
level: 5 (M-u)
range: 500 feet
On command, a magical stream of viscous, pungent acid spews forth from the caster and bursts onto its target(s).  The effect has a range of 500 feet and creates a vomitus burst 20' in radius. The burst deals 2d4 points of initial acidic damage. Unless somehow neutralized, the acid lasts another 1d6 rounds, dealing another 2d4 points of damage per round.  All beings caught within the burst of the vomitus deluge are allowed a save versus spells; a successful save reduces all damage by half.

[Vomitus Deluge was created by Jamey Racer II for a D&D 3.5 campaign in 2007-08.]

And of course no list of horrid spells would be complete without our favorite "horrid" spell, the most requested spell scroll in the Kaladarian Grand Wizardry Archive every year since its debut in 1583, the ever-popular Scumbrella!!

Scumbrella
Level: 1 (M-u)
Range: touch
Scumbrella is a 1st-Level magic-user spell that is cast upon a single mundane umbrella.  The next time that umbrella is opened, it dumps sewage and filth all over the person(s) underneath it.  Scumbrella is mainly a “practical joke” spell with very little direct combat application, though the target scummed by a Scumbrella is considered surprised for one round.  Further, if someone with open sores or wounds opens the Scumbrella, a save vs. poison is required to avoid catching some nasty disease.

Finally, to cap off our exciting tour of horrid spells, I present a magic-using NPC who takes advantage of some of them (as well as some great ones by bat from Ancient Vaults), Elzar the Horrid:

Elzar the Horrid
Human Magic-User Level 6
Sex: male
Alignment: neutral
STR 6, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 17, WIS 10, CHA 5
HP: 13
AC: 7
Weapons: dagger (1d4 dam.)
Armor: unarmored (base AC 9)
Spells (1st): Scumbrella, Gobsmacked
Spells (2nd): Mutinous Limb!, Summon Peasant
Spells (3rd): Troglodyte Stench Burst, Vexation of Food and Drink*

*Listed as a Level 2 Druid Spell, but Elzar has adapted this spell for arcane use as a level 3 spell.

Elzar the Horrid is thought to dwell southwest of Wilkiss, somewhere along the northern edge of the Great Western Swamp, in a particularly nasty smelling hovel guarded by a loyal giant toad.  He spends most of his time working to develop new horrid spell scrolls and potions, which he sells (through an agent) in the popular public market in Tradefair.  Elzar is widely held to be the creator of the Troglodyte Stench Burst spell, but he has never publicly verified this fact.  Elzar likes to be left alone and will use his array of horrid spells, including the distinctly antisocial Mutinous Limb!, to deter visitors to his hidden swamp cave.  He wears a ring of protection +1, which, along with his high DEX, accounts for his lowered AC.  Elzar is a Council Adept in good standing (i.e., he pays his Council dues) but he never attends meetings or Council functions in person.

Ancient Vaults Spells - Available in Ara!

I have been following bat's Ancient Vaults and Eldritch Secrets blog for awhile now, and am impressed with the quality of the offerings there and the care with which they are presented.  I have been planning on pilfering a bunch of bat's stuff for use in my Arandish campaingn, and then just recently, Chgowitz at the Old Guy RPG Blog posted this incredibly handy index to Ancient Vaults spells!

So I hereby declare that all Ancient Vaults spells found at the above link are available for use in Ara.

Thanks to bat for the great content and to Chgowitz for the superb organizational effort!

Killer-Looking Harryhausen Cyclops

I recently obtained an awesome 3-DVD set of the Ray Harryhausen "Sinbad" movies: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977).  I dig all these movies (along with Clash of the Titans of course) and especially Harryhausen's monsters; my all-time favorite Harryhausen creations include the statue Talos from Jason and the Argonauts (1963), the baboon prince in Eye of the Tiger, and this awesome looking cyclops from 7th Voyage.

In celebration of this great cinematic creature, here are proposed B/X stats for it -- not substantially different from a standard D&D cyclops, but I figure those cloven hooves make him a bit lighter on his feet (hence the faster movement rate and lowered AC), plus there's his horn attack.    

Horned Cyclops
No. Enc. 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
AC: 4
HD: 13
Attacks: 1 (Club, Horn or Thrown Rocks)
Damage: 3d10 / 4d6 / 3d6
Save: F13
Morale: 9
Hoard Class:  XVIII + 5,000 gp
XP: 2,400

Indigenous to the Novellan Mountains of northern Telengard, the horned cyclops is in most respects identical to its non-horned brethren (see LL p. 69), except that this type may opt to attack with its horn, which inflicts 4d6 damage.

"Hi!  I'm from the Novellan Mountains!  Let me eat you for lunch!"

Telengard - Rugged Plains and Mountain Fortresses

The northeastern Arandish kingdom of Telengard is a vast expanse of wasted high plains and harsh eastern mountain slopes that has never fully recovered from the ravages of the Old War. Most Telengardians are sheepherders, miners (some working for the dwarves of neighboring Gannar) or mercenaries, the latter typically venturing south into Delzar to fight on the Mizarian frontier. Due to threats from monsters and outlaws, the major towns and villages of Telengard are walled, and most traffic in and out of the lonely kingdom moves along the northern trade routes. Telengardian characters tend to be lean, cautious and tough, respecting individual strength of character more than political power or wealth.

With twice the land area yet half the population of Noffel, Telengard nevertheless subsists largely on the taxation of dwarven goods coming from the east, iron mining, and sheepherding.  Lacking abundant fertile farmland, Telengard must trade with its wealthier neighbor (and former enemy) Achelon, and its southern neighbor Delzar, for many staple agricultural goods.  Telengardians are at peace with Achelon and few Telengardians hold Old-War related grudges, but there are certain proud locals who view Achelon as a rich, pampered country unworthy of Telengard's respect.  Due to its proximity to Gannar, Telengard has a particularly large dwarven population, many of whom serve key roles in local Telegardian town and regional governments.  This is also a region where goblins as Player Characters (an idea brought to my attention by James M. at Grognardia) could come into play.  Very few rodians venture this far north, however -- the climate does not agree with them.

The Telengardian Roughriders
The Roughriders are a well-trained and highly disciplined group of horse-mounted fighters and rangers who patrol Telengard's borders and wilderness areas in small (1-4 man) patrols.  The Roughriders technically take their orders from the king of Telengard, but in practice, each Roughrider precinct (based out of a different Telengardian town or city, the largest being from Ironcrown) exercises a fair amount of autonomy in establishing its regular patrol routes and keeping its region safe.  Originally established at the end of the Old War to hold Telengard's borders against Achelon and to hunt down any renegade Dark Magicians still at large, the Telengardian Roughriders are nowadays mostly kept busy saving citizens and travellers from local monsters and brigands.  Roughriders help maintain the northern east-west leg of the Endyn Trade Route and are easily found there, but their jurisdiction includes all of Telengard, including the region of the deadly Ghardash Wilderness.


The Ghardash Wilderness
The most dreaded wilderness area in Ara, and perhaps the single most dangerous region in Ara, the famed Ghardash Wilderness is actually a relatively small area in north-central Telengard, nestled against the southern slopes of the Novellan Mountains between the fortress city of Ironcrown (to the south and west) and the northeastern dwarven mountain kingdom of Gannar (due east).  The Ghardash Wilderness is where many of the strangest and most deadly monsters summoned to Ara during the Old War eventually settled, and therefore, unlike most other Arandish adventure locations, few humans are to be found within its environs.  Even certain low-level monsters think twice before settling in Ghardash.  Also, don't forget that Razgar the Red Dragon inhabits this area as well. . .


Ghardash Wilderness d30 Encounter Table

1: Bear, Grizzly
2: Bugbear
3: Bulette
4: Cat, Panther
5: Cockatrice
6: Dragon, Green
7: Dwarf
8: Ghoul
9: Hobgoblin
10: Lycanthrope, Werebear
11: Lycanthrope, Werewolf
12: Manticore
13: Men, Brigands (20% chance that the band includes rodians, 20% that it includes dwarves)
14: Men, Insane Magic-User or evil Cleric (level 5-9)
15: Men, Ranger (Telengardian Roughrider)
16: Ogre, Wild
17: Orc
18: Owlbear
19: Roc, Small
20: Shadow
21: Spider, Giant Black Widow
22: Throghrin
23: Troll, Hill (same as standard troll)
24: Troll, Rock
25: Troll, Tree
26: Wight
27: Wolf
28: Wolf, Dire
29: Wraith
30: Razgar the Red Dragon


Click here to download a free pdf of this Table, along with a 1d20 version.

Northern Arandish Forest d30 Encounter Table

To accompany my previous post on the geography and culture of Achelon, I here offer an exciting encounter table usable in any northern forest in Ara, be it in northern Achelon, the Western Lands, even near the Ghardash Wilderness in Telengard -- though the latter will also have its own particularly nasty encounter table (forthcoming).

For the d30-less (poor forsaken souls!), I also offer a d20 version of this encounter table, included on the free downloadable pdf version of the Northern Arandish Forests d30 table.  See also two new Arandish forest-dwelling monsters at the end of this post!

Northern Arandish Forests Encounter Table – 1d30
1: Bear, Grizzly
2: Bee, Giant Killer
3: Bugbear
4: Cat, Panther
5: Dwarf
6: Elf
7: Ghoul
8: Hobgoblin
9: Lycanthrope, Werewolf
10-11: Men, Brigands (30% chance that the band includes rodians)
12: Men, Lone Mad Hermit
13-14: Men, Local Patrol*
15: Men, Ranger
16: Ogre
17: Ogre, Wild**
18: Orc
19: Owlbear
20: Roc, Small
21: Snare: One PC rolls initiative vs. the snare and is caught if s/he loses.  The trappers (50% chance human brigands, 50% chance tree trolls) appear swiftly and attack.
22: Spider, Giant Black Widow
23: Troll, Hill
24: Troll, Tree**
25: Wight
26: Wolf
27: Wolf, Dire
28: Encounter a Ruin***
29: The party stumbles across a partially decayed corpse
30: A dying Magic-User propped against the base of a tree hands a party member an indecipherable scroll, then perishes

* In Achelon, this would be the Queen’s soldiers; in Telengard, the Roughriders; in the Western Lands, any one of many possible local militias – maybe two competing ones!
** New Arandish monster, described below.
***I suggest you use the Random Ruin Generator by Robert Lionheart, in Knockspell #3.

New Monsters

Ogre, Wild
No. Enc. 1d4 (2d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
AC: 4
HD: 6
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d10 / 1d10 / 1d12 + rabies infection
Save: F5
Morale: 10
Hoard Class:  II + V
XP: 570

Faster, stronger, and far more bloodthirsty than normal ogres, the wild ogres of northern Ara are fearsome opponents.  Wild ogres are larger and hairier than standard ogres, and attack mainly with long, sharp, deadly claws.  Wild ogres are fiercely territorial and do not like to be disturbed by humans or other "civilized" beings.  A wild ogre's bite attack infects its target with rabies unless a save vs. poison is made -- the rabies infectee goes mad and dies within 1d6 days unless cured via the cleric spell Cure Disease.

Troll, Tree
No. Enc.  1d6 (3d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Move: 120' (40')
AC: 5
HD: 3
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite), set traps (see below)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d8
Save: F4
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: X
XP: 65

A smaller and more mischievous cousin to the larger trolls of Ara, tree trolls are in fact extremely rare EXCEPT in the forests of Northern Ara, especially in Achelon, where they seem to proliferate.  Tree trolls are not typically keen on direct attack strategies, preferring instead to soften their foes with tricks, psychological warfare, and rope or vine snares before attacking in large groups.  Unlike, say, rock trolls, who tend to fight to the death once they smell blood, tree trolls will retreat in the face of particularly strong foes and/or combat circumstances that turn against them.  Tree trolls have the same regeneration abilities and susceptibilities to acid and fire as their larger brethren.  Tree trolls live in treetops and hollow stumps and logs.