OSE Monster: The Hungry Wall

While working on a living dungeon, I realized that I really wanted something that communicated that sense of passive danger in a really grotesque way so why not have the very walls around you try to eat you? 

This is my version of another monster from the world's oldest and most popular roleplaying game and I call it... THE HUNGRY WALL

 

The Hungry Wall

AC 9 [10], HD 8 (36hp), Att Special, THAC0 12 [+7], MV None,
SV D8 W9 P10 B10 S12 (8), ML 12, AL Chaotic, XP 650 , NA 1, TT None

• Hiding in Plain Sight: A mass of putrid grey flesh that appears, through magic, as a normal wall. It is made up of absorbed victims. The wall radiates Chaos and Magic but Infrared shows no oddities. Within 5 feet, characters are able to hear low moans of pain and sorrow.
• Lure: All mundane equipment absorbed is lost forever. Piles of loot at the base of the wall often serves as a lure.

• We are Legion: The wall’s attacks are dictated based on what it has absorbed. If it has absorbed a wizard, it is able to use the spells the wizard had memorized at the time of it’s absorption. Likewise with magical items being carried by the victim.

• Defensive: Will not initiate combat but if characters come close to it, it will weakly grab at the passing character and beg for death or redemption. If attacked, a Hungry Wall will respond to each attack with one of it's own. These base attacks are only melee ranged and do d6 damage. A standard wall starts with 3 attacks. With every new body that is absorbed, the number of attacks returned increases by one. 

• Absorption: If a character happens to be securely grabbed by the wall, they must pass a Save vs Spells or be absorbed by the wall. Their powers and HP will immediately be added to the wall’s abilities. Absorption takes 1d4 rounds.

Whispers in the Blood Mire release

 True to form, I completely forgot to post about the adventure I released until now! Whispers in the Blood Mire!

So! The pitch!

For generations, the small village of Edgemere has held a tenuous balance with the Blood Mire. Children grew up knowing the folk tales and warnings about wandering out past the walls alone or at night, about a temple that used to be but had long since been swallowed by the Mire, and the strange and lonely family that had come to build a mansion in the Mire and then disappeared. No one knows what happened to the family, the lights just went out in the Mire one day and that was that.


Fifty years later, the lights are said to be on in the house once more and a strangeness like none have seen before has settling over the area. More are reporting hearing whispers and cries in the Mire late at night and seeing dancing lights when the moon is at its fullest. No one in the village dares enter the Mire in these strange times but now the children are starting to go missing. Grieving families are convinced that it is the lost children that they hear whispering in the Mire. Others believe it’s something much worse. 


Steeped in a world of decay, infestation, betrayal, shrieking specters, and unknowable power, this is a horror adventure for low level adventurers that is well suited for a multitude of approaches and solutions. This adventure is designed to be used for Old-School Essentials but can easily be adapted to any other old-school system!

So go on! Pick it up since it's only $5 for a little while longer!

Whispers in the Blood Mire (PDF @ DTRPG)

OSE Class: The Devout

 In my attempt to integrate Wonder and Wickedness spell casting into my campaign, I decided to tinker with the Cleric to avoid having two different spell casting systems at play. I wanted them to feel distinct and "cleric-like" while still removing the spell list component to the class.

The result is the class below. Enjoy!

The Devout

Requirements: None
Prime Requisite: WIS
Hit Dice: 1d6
Armor: Any, including Shields
Weapons: Any Blunt Weapon
Languages: Alignment, Common
Saves: As Cleric
Level Progression: As Cleric
Features:

• Holy Symbol: Devout must carry with them a symbol of their faith to aid in their mission and focus.
• Turn Undead: Use rules for Cleric
• Deity Disfavour: Devouts must be faithful to the tenets of their alignment, clergy, and religion. Devouts who fall from favour with their deity may incur penalties.
• The Healing Word: A Devout can heal 1HD per level by laying hands on a wounded character. Cannot exceed max HP. Can spend HD used in whatever way they choose. Can also be used to heal Paralysis.
• Holy Wrath: At 3rd level, Devout may enchant one mundane weapon once per day. Deals additional 1d6 damage for 1 Turn. While enchanted, is considered a magical weapon. Duration increases 1 Turn per level after 3rd.

OSE Class: The Spellsword

The game I am going to running soon will not have Elves as a playable class as I'm taking a slightly different approach to how they are presented. So, if I take one, I should give one back so here is a human-centric class intended to take the place of the fighter-mage in my game. I call it the...

Spellsword

Gaunt and haunted, some say that the Spellsword hunts monsters. Others say they hunt witches and magic-users who have strayed too far from the path towards Chaos. In a world increasingly hostile to Man, they have trained and studied to make themselves a formidable foe but at what cost?
Requirements: Minimum CHAR 9, Minimum CON 9
Prime Requisite: INT and STR
Hit Dice: 1d6
Armor: Any, including Shield.
Weapons: Any Weapon
Languages: Alignment, Common, Elvish
Saves: Half-Elf
Level Progression: Half-Elf
Features:

• Arcane Magic: Use rules for Half-Elf
• Feel Magic: When spending a Turn focusing, Spellsword is capable of sensing magical enchantments within 60'. Only direction and rough idea of strength can be detected. Must recharge for a Turn after use.
• Chances: Lvl 1: 15%. Raises 5% every Level.
• Detect Secret Doors: 2-in-6 chance of discovering secret or hidden doors when searching.

OSE Class: Goblin

So there are a lot of different versions of goblin classes but I wanted to go ahead and throw my hat in the ring as well. The approach I took was using the Halfling class as a base and working off of that. I find "weird" classes to be appealing and the idea of being able to do an all Goblin group is especially interesting to me. Without further ado, here is the Goblin!

Goblin

You are not like the others in your clan. For one reason or another, you didn't fit and it was leave or die. So you left and now are trying to find your place in a world that loathes you.
Requirements: Minimum DEX 9 and CON 9
Prime Requisite: DEX
Hit Dice: 1d6
Armor: Appropriate to Size
Weapons: Appropriate to Size (no 2 handed weapons)
Languages: Common, Goblin
Saves: Halfling
Level Progression: Halfling
Features:

• Defensive Bonus: Due to small size, they gain +2 bonus to AC when attacked by large opponents (larger than human sized).
• Hiding: 
• Dungeons: Goblins can hide with a 90% chance of success. 
• In the Woods or Undergrowth: 2-in-6 chance of success.
• Detect Trap: 2-in-6 Chance.
• Infravision: Can see 60’ in the dark.
• Light Sensitive: -1 to-hit in full daylight.
• Outsider: Goblins suffer -1 on Reaction Rolls when interacting with NPCs if their true nature is revealed.
• Compulsion: Goblins have poor impulse control. Choose or Roll 1d6 to determine their compulsion- 
• 1- Eccentric Speech: Speaks strangely such as only in 3rd person, sentences out of order, only in rhyme or riddle. 
• 2- Borrower: “Borrows” small things from places they visit and people they meet. 
• 3- Raw: Only eats raw bloody meat. 
• 4- Dysmorphic: Believes that they are something other than a goblin.
• 5- Fear: Afraid of non-threatening things such as children, small dogs, dolls, etc. 
• 6- Superstitious: Holds strange personal beliefs and rituals that must be appeased or suffer -2 to all Mental checks each day they do not do it.

OSE Class- The Could-Have-Been

*It's been a little bit since I last posted. New job adjustments and what-not.  But now things have calmed down again so let's jump back into it with a new class!*

The Could-Have-Been

You do not know where you came from or what your purpose is. Your clothes are not your own but you do not know where you got them. Fully dressed, you might look sick but otherwise “normal”. But beneath the thick coat and long tangled hair, something is amiss. You are the unnatural product of mixing magic and life. How that is expressed differs from setting to setting whether it be stitched together parts from various bodies or a clockwork heart. Requirements: Minimum STR 9 and CON 9 Prime Requisite: STR Hit Dice: 1d8 Armor: Leather, Chainmail, Shield. Weapons: Any Weapon Languages: Common and Random Language (You do not know why you know this) Saves: Fighter Level Progression: Fighter Features:

• Amnesia: You do not know where you come from or who made you. You carry around a memento without context in the pocket of a strangers coat.
• A Doom that Walks: Unless care is taken to conceal it, your unnatural state will be noticeable to others who encounter you and they will be uncomfortable. -1 on Reaction Rolls for anyone who realizes what you are.
• Unsettled Husbandry: Animals sense that you are unnatural. -1 when trying to ride or handle animals.
• Sensitive to Magic: Due to your unnatural beginnings, you are more sensitive to magic than most. 30% chance to be able to detect the direction and general strength of an enchantment within 60'. Requires that you do nothing else but "sense" for one Turn. Ability needs to recharge for a Turn after using.
• Resistant to Poison: Lvl 1-3: +2 to Saves to Resist Poison; Lvl 4-10: +4
• Resistant to Charm:  Lvl 1-3: +2 to Saves to Resist Charm; Lvl 4-10: +4

Working with Dangerous Power

The one thing that I have always felt lackluster about most Adventure Games that I've played is how the magic systems work. The requirements to cast spells felt a little video game-y and there wasn't really a lot of risk to harnessing and manipulating what seemed to be strange and wonderous power. You fail the roll, you might hit an ally instead and lose the spell for the day. That's kinda it.
Dungeon Crawl Classics handles their magic is a very interesting and scary way. If you are a wizard, you are going to inevitably end up kinda fucked up the more you use your abilities. Mercurial Magic aspects combined with vicious corruption tables after failure make for a very haunting combination.
The only issue I have with using DCC is that the whole thing is so damn big and overwhelming in both scope and sheer amount of table searching so I've been looking elsewhere for an alternative that can satisfy my desire for weird fantasy with a brutal magic system. The conclusion that I came to is that Old School Essentials (OSE) would be a great choice as it is lightweight, deadly, and easy to learn so why not just bolt on the corruption table to that? And that is exactly what I did. Many of the below entries are from DCC's core book with minor changes or omissions to make it fit OSE better but it can easily be used for any OSR system out there.
Before I drop the table, a few clarifications. The list is 26 entries long. I've made Minor, Major, and Greater Corruptions into a range of results as opposed to individual tables and laid all of the entries into one, easy to reference table. The breakdown is simple, spells of level 1-3 would be considered Minor, 4-6+ would be considered Major/Greater (Referred to as Major from this point on) for easy of porting.
The process is quick and simple. If your Magic User critically fails their roll, depending on the level of their spell, you have them roll either a d10 or a d20. Spells of level 1-3 are open to Minor Corruptions and are a d10 is rolled on the table. Spells level 4+ are open to Major Corruption and therefore are rolled with a d20. The level of the spell is then ADDED to the result of the roll and the table is referenced. This helps gate lower level spells from getting really bad results and also allows higher level casters the chance to get lucky and get a possibly less shitty outcome for their hubris.

Example: Mork the Wizard attempts to cast Magic Missile and rolls a 1. Since Magic Missile is a level 1 spell, Mork will roll a d10 and add the spell level. He rolls a 6, so his entry would be 7 after adding the spell level (+1). The result is that one of his legs has now grown 1d6" and he walks with a strange gait from now on. Simple!

---

Corruption Table:
When a spell casting roll critically fails, roll on the table below.
Minor Corruption (1d10+Spell Level): Level 1-3 Spells
Major Corruption (1d20+Spell Level): Level 4-6+ Spells
2. Character passes out. He is unconscious for 1d6 hours or until awakened by vigorous means.
3. Character’s hair is suffused with dark energy. Roll 1d4: (1) hair turns bone white; (2) hair turns pitch black; (3) hair falls out completely; (4) hair sticks straight up.
4. Character’s facial appearance is permanently disfigured according to the magic that was summoned. If fire magic was used, his eyebrows are scorched and his skin glows red; if cold magic was used, his skin is pasty white and his lips are blue. If ambiguous magic was used, his appearance grows gaunt and he permanently loses 5 pounds.
5. Ears mutate. Roll 1d6-1: (1) ears become pointed; (2) ears fall off (character still hears normally); (3) ears enlarge and look like an elephant’s; (4) ears elongate and look like a donkey’s (character also gains braying laugh); (5) ears shrivel and fold back.
6. Eyes affected. Roll 1d4: (1) eyes glow with unearthly color; (2) eyes gain light sensitivity (-1 to all rolls in daylight); (3) character gains infravision (sees heat signatures at range of 60’’); (4) eyes become large and unblinking, like a fish.
7. One of the character’s legs grows 1d6”. Character now walks with an odd gait.
8. Character’s teeth all fall out over the course of 1d4 days.
9. Character develops horrid pustules on his face and body. These pustules do not heal and impose a -1 penalty to Charisma.
10. Character’s tongue forks and his nostrils narrow to slits. The character is able to smell with his tongue like a snake.
11. Small horns grow on the character’s forehead. This appears as a ridge-like, simian forehead for the first month; then buds for the second month; goat horns after the third month; and finally, bull horns after six months.
12. Character’s skin changes to an unearthly shade. Roll 1d8: (1) albino; (2) pitch black; (3) clear; (4) shimmering quality; (5) deep blue; (6) malevolent yellow; (7) ashen and pallid; (8) texture and color of fishy scales; (9) thick bear-like fur; (10) reptilian scales.
13. Demonic taint. Roll 1d4-1: (1) character’s fingers elongate into claws, and he gains an attack for 1d6 damage; (2) character’s feet transform into cloven hoofs; (3) character’s legs become goat-like.
14. Character’s height changes by 1d20-10 inches. There is no change in weight; the character’s body grows thin and tall or short and fat.
15. Character crackles with energy of a type associated with the spells he most commonly casts. The energy could manifest as flames, lightning, cold waves, etc.
16. A duplicate of the character’s face grows on his back. It looks just like his normal face. The eyes, nose, and mouth can be operated independently.
17. Febrile. Character slowly weakens over 1d4 months, suffering a -1 penalty to STR for each month.
18. Character grows a beak in place of his mouth. Transformation starts as a puckering of the lips that slowly turns into a full-fledged bird or squid beak over the next 1d12 months. Character gains a bite attack for 1d3 damage.
19. Bodily transformation. Roll 1d6: (1) character grows scales across his entire body; (2) character grows gills; (3) character’s teeth fall out and are replaced by horrifyingly sharp ones (1d4 biting attack); (4) character develops webbed toes and feet.
20. Character grows a tail over 1d8 days. Roll 1d6: (1) scorpion tail that can attack for 1d4 damage plus poison (Save versus Poison or target loses 1d4 STR permanently); (2) scaly snake tail; (3) forked demon tail (grants +1 for DEX checks); (4) fleshy tail ending in a useable third hand; (5) fused cartilaginous links ending in spiked stump that can attack for 1d6 damage; (6) bushy horse’s tail.
21. Fingers on one hand fuse while the thumb enlarges. After one week, the hand has transformed into a crab claw. Character gains a natural attack for 1d6 damage and can no longer grasp normal weapons and objects.
22. Third eye. Roll 1d4 for location: (1) middle of forehead; (2) palm of hand; (3) chest; (4) back of head.
23. Small tentacles grow around the character’s mouth and ears. The tentacles are maggot-sized at first, but grow at rate of 1” per month to a mature length of 12”.
24. Character’s limbs are replaced by suckered tentacles. One limb is replaced at random each month for four months. At the end of four months, it is impossible to hide the character’s inhuman nature.
25. Character’s head becomes bestial in a painful overnight transformation. Roll 1d6: (1) snake; (2) goat; (3) bull; (4) rat; (5) insect; (6) fish.
26. Decay. Character’s flesh falls off in zombie-like chunks. Character loses 1d4 hp per day. Only magical healing can stave off the decay.
27. A sliver of soul energy is claimed by a demon lord. Character experiences unearthly pain, suffering 3d6 damage, and a permanent -2 penalty to all ability scores.