Raumschiff Sonntag!

Random duration of spells, poisons, elixirs and stuff

If you want to randomly determine duration time of magical spells, potions, poisons, narcotics or other (not necessarily) magical substances or effects, you may use the tables presented below.

Step One: roll 1d100 to determine the units. Probably you should skip this part if you don't know what are you doing. No one likes murderous rage lasting for seven months or two-round infravision:

01-50: rounds
51-75: minutes
76-90: hours
91-95: days
96-97: weeks
98-99: months
00: years

Step Two: generate the strange dice. Roll 2d20:

2. 1d4+2
3. 2d6
4. 3d8
5. 1d12
6. 6d10
7. 1d6+3
8. 4d4
9. 1d20
10. 1d12+1
11. 2d8
12. 1d3+4
13. 1d10x2
14. 7d4
15. 3d6-2
16. 1d10+1
17. 3d6
18. 3d10-2
19. 1d8+3
20.1d12+1d6
21. 2d20
22. 1d8+1d6+1d4
23. 3d12+1
24. 2d8-1
25. 4d6+6
26. 4d20
27. 7d3
28. 1d4x2
29. 1d6+2
30. 5d6
31. 1d6x3
32. 1d4+5
33. d6-1 (min. 1)
34. 3d12-2
35. 3d8+6
36. 8d8-7
37. 1d12+5
38. 1d20+2
39. 1d4
40. 1d4x10

List of resources updated

The good news is: I've finally updated the big-ass list of the Underworld Kingdom Blog Resources! If you somehow missed it (link is available in the Library of Knowledge menu in the right column of this blog), you can find there all blog posts containing creative content.

The bad news is that the list contains link to only 115 posts. This means that only 20% of my posts contains some creative stuff. Over 120 posts contains images (Cavern Days, Spaceship Sundays and so on) so the rest must contain um, bullshit :D

Conclusion: I'll try to post more creative stuff, less bullshit :D

Perilous Path blog termination

I decided to nuke my failed experiment - the Perilous Path blog, which I used to publish infrequent updates about my non-DnD simulacrum game. All stuff from there (little over ten posts) will be eventually reposted here.

This week I'll start reposting more interesting stuff, as well as writing something more about the game world.

Spaceship Sunday

Fixed color tables

During the history of this blog, I've posted several random tables containing random objects of different colors (dusts, incense, even giant slugs!). When I was working on the magical dusts entry, my girlfriend (who is also a gamer) asked me "why don't you make two random columns, one containing color and one with the effects?"

Answer to this question is really simple - of course I can make all "colors effects" random, which should make using all stuff without identification more challenging but I decided to allow players (not the PCs) to learn about the world. They should (but we all know that it's not certain!) learn that - in example - black potion should be the potion of invisibility, and the red dust may haste its user (but not always - note the tone differences). I think that's the important part of the campaign world / worlds - to let players to learn about the properties of some more or less mystical / unusual things by themselves, without using abstract things like the identify spells and similar bullshit (which is sometimes good, but - in my opinion - only sometimes).

Funny thing is that all colors have different effects on different substances (compare tables containing dusts and incense, for instance) so this may lead to some serious (sometimes even lethal) mistakes. But well, no one ever said that the red potion will have similar effect to the red dust / incense / wand / whatever!

Save vs. positive effects

Yesterday, during the writing of this random table, an idea came to my mind: how about - in some situations - introducing the items / effects that require failed saving throw to succeed? Example:

Golden Figurine of Saint Ormal: if rubbed (works once per year), save vs. magic or gain 1d8x1000 XP

It's really simple (and somewhat nasty) method of keeping PCs unsure of effects of many unidentified magical potions / dusts / devices - even with successful save player will never be sure if the effect he / she just avoided was negative or positive.

Of course, using save vs. positive effects in all situations (eg. while gulping healing potions or reading magical scrolls) would be not very good idea (unless you are really vile referee :D) but I think that from time to time it may add some spice to the game.

Magical dusts

OSR needs more and more (and more, and more...) random tables. There's no such thing like too many random tables :D

Roll 1d20 to determine the color of the magical dust:

1. Light red. Immunity to poison for 1d4 days.
2. Blue. Heals 2d8 HP.
3. Yellow. Murderous frenzy for 3d8 rounds.
4. Light green. Paralysis for 1d8+1 hours.
5. Cyan. Water breathing for 2d6 hours.
6. Green. Immunity to fire for 2d4 hours.
7. Red. Haste for 2d10 rounds.
8. Silvery. Save or die.
9. Pink. +1 to-hit for 1d12 hours.
10. White. Invulnerability for 3d6 rounds.
11. Purple. Levitation (controllable) for 1d4 hours.
12. Brass. 100% electrical resistance for 2d6+1 hours.
13. Brown. Night vision for 2d8 hours.
14. Orange. One breath of fire per dose ingested.
15. Black. Invisibility for 1d6 hours.
16. Magenta. Save vs. poison or you'll be sexually aroused for 2d6 hours.
17. Golden. Save vs. magic or you'll gain one level (!).
18. Color-changing. Causes one random mutation.
19. Graphite. Save vs your worst save or you'll have only 1 HP for 1d4 days.
20. Multicolored. Roll twice!

Nicknames of the Kings

...because I had no better idea for a random table. Maybe you'll find it useful in some occasions. Roll 2d12 twice:

Probably I will include it in the Perilous Ages game.

Help needed! Random tables for medieval game!

As you probably noticed, I'm working on the medieval old school game. And I need your help.

Do you have any ideas for the random tables you want to see there? Here you can find the list of things I've already come up with.

Any help will be deeply appreciated!

Starship Sunday

AKA Spaceship Sunday. It seems that it will be even longer than combined Cavern/Underworld Days series!

Again, more drawings. If you click on the image, you'll be taken to its DeviantArt page.

BandB PDF for less than four bucks?

Do you want to grab a Bandits and Battlecruisers PDF for the price slightly bigger than the price of the Towers of Krshal? If yes (which means that you've missed it during the Free RPG Day :D), here's the deal.

Step one: prepare $3.75 on your Paypal. Say goodbye to them because you'll never see them again.

Step two: send them to me via Paypal (necro_cyberDELETEME@DELETEMEo2.pl). Remember to send them as a gift (or whatever it was named there, I don't remember).

Step three: I will send you the PDF on the email you used to transfer the gold via Paypal. I'll try to do it ASAP.

Step four: enjoy the game!

World of Ortix rating on yourwebsite

I have no fucking idea what yourwebsite.com is (I found it in sites referring to my blog) but 4.6/5 is a pretty good result! I like the fact that you like my writing :-)

Answering the Top Ten Troll Questions...

My answers to Random Wizard's questions.

Race (Elf, Dwarf, Halfling) as a class? Yes or no?

Of course yes, as long as I use any character classes.

Do demi-humans have souls?

Of course yes, because they may trade / lose them!

Ascending or descending armor class?

Classic 'un.

Demi-human level limits?

I don't know! No one ever survived long enough!

Should thief be a class?

[link]

Do characters get non-weapon skills?

Yes.

Are magic-users more powerful than fighters (and, if yes, what level do they take the lead)?

It depends but there's no general rule. There are spells capable of wiping out entire cities but swords don't run out of charges / slots.

Do you use alignment languages?

I don't use alignment system so I guess nah.

XP for gold, or XP for objectives (thieves disarming traps, etc...)?

Gold and slaughter. And, of course, carousing!

Which is the best edition; ODD, Holmes, Moldvay, Mentzer, Rules Cyclopedia, 1E ADD, 2E ADD, 3E DD, 4E DD, Next ?

For me? 0e.

Unified XP level tables or individual XP level tables for each class?

Individual.

Have you ever started writing the game...

...because you found an artwork so amazing that you couldn't resist the urge to create a game, just to use that artwork on its cover? I did!

More info about it on the Perilous Path blog.

Spaceship Sunday

More drawings.