R.I.P. Google+

"Not one of the Host of Despair managed to land a killing blow on Anti-Lord Ekrish. Triumphant even in defeat, Ekrish raised his index and pinkie fingers to the heavens, calling down a lightning bolt that turned him instantly to stone at the peak of Humanity Cliff. The sight awed the surviving Host so greatly that they swore off evil forever. On quiet nights, one can still hear the Anti-Lord's statue-corpse reverberating with the echoes of his epic ballads."

-The Codex of Righteous and Infinite Defiance

Life goes on. Heck, I just picked up all this sweet loot the other day.

Call an ambulance, 'cause my Appendix N just burst.

It'll take more than that to kill us, you bastards.

On Zak Smith

Mandy Morbid published a post on Facebook describing abusive behavior committed by Zak Smith. You can read the testimony of Mandy and two other brave individuals, Jennifer and Hannah, HERE. If you do not have access to Facebook, the post has also been reproduced in full at Dungeons & Donuts HERE. Vivka Grey has also published a post regarding similar abusive behavior.

There have already been many responses to Mandy's post which have been written far better than anything I can come up with at the moment. I endorse the following posts, among others:

• The aforementioned Dungeons & Donuts post by Kiel Chenier.
• Response from Scrap Princess at Monster Manual Sewn from Pants.
• Response from Patrick Stuart at False Machine.
• Response from Joseph Manola at Against the Wicked City.
• Response from Dismaster FraNe at Dismaster's Den of Unfinished Thoughts.
• Response from Timothy Brannan at The Other Side.

I am sorry for promoting Zak's work in the past. In the future, I will do my best to avoid writing anything on this blog which I believe would promote his work. I no longer encourage anyone to buy or use anything he produces. Zak does not deserve to be a part of any RPG community.

Please see the end of this post for an update regarding the next paragraph.
Likewise, until Lamentations of the Flame Princess stops selling and promoting Zak's work, I do not intend to write any more posts about LotFP, buy any more of their products, or otherwise promote the brand. Even if LotFP does completely drop Zak, I am not sure that I could continue to call myself a fan of the game in good conscience due to James Raggi's promotion of Jordan Peterson, as well as the way he has treated at least one of my friends in private. But if you're reading this, James, I'm sure that doing the right thing by Mandy and Jennifer and Hannah would do a great deal in earning back the trust of myself and many others.

There are many great OSR games and publishers and writers and artists out there, and many great RPGs in general. I think it is time for me to try and be more selective about those I endorse.

I am sorry for any harm I have caused through anything I have written or said, on this blog or elsewhere, involving Zak Smith. Abuse should not be tolerated.

Mandy, Jennifer, Hannah, and Vivka: I believe you.

UPDATE, 02/23/2019
Lamentations of the Flame Princess has released a statement regarding Zak Smith. If you have access to Facebook, you can read it at the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/LotFP/posts/10156179503045886

To summarize, LotFP is parting ways with Zak Smith.

Overall, I am satisfied by this response. I believe that James Raggi and LotFP are taking the right actions by cutting ties with Zak Smith in this manner. Earlier, I said that doing the ethical thing in this situation would do a great deal in the way of earning back my trust, and I meant it. Thus, I once again feel fairly comfortable with the prospect of buying and writing about products from LotFP, should I choose to do so.

My LotFP "boycott," if you want to call it that, is over for the time being. I do think I should both play and write about a wider variety of games, for the sake of my own enjoyment and for the sake of adding more variety to the blog. This could be "other stuff in addition to LotFP" or it could be "other stuff instead of LotFP," depending on my interests going forward. But I hold no ill will toward Lamentations of the Flame Princess regarding the actions of Zak Smith. I hold the latter responsible for his own actions. I will, of course, continue to avoid buying or promoting the work of Zak Smith.

Second Note from Sumnergrave

(This is for my Mansions & Mindfucks campaign, currently in progress.)

Second Note from Sumnergrave - Given to Shelbe Black by a witch near Deathfrost Mountain in southern Germany.


Dear adventurers (especially you, Shelbe Black),

As of late, I have come to indulge in - one might say wallow in - a most peculiar emotional vice, thanks to you. I would call it pure schadenfreude, were it not directed at none other than myself, in a detached, ironic sort of way. An enjoyment of my own suffering, as if the I who were suffering were a different being from the I who were observing and deriving great amusement from that selfsame pain. You have split me, for the moment, with a sharp and agonizing mirth, as surely as you have split so many bodies with your weapons.

This is all to say that, quite by accident, you have thwarted one of my most costly, most time-consuming, best-laid, most vital plans, at least for the time being...and I'm not even mad. You have been as entertaining as I'd hoped. You really got me this time.*

Please allow me to eat my slice of humble pie in the following manner: my associate here (the shockingly honest witch you see before you) has brought you an enchanted snow globe which you may use to access your home, in a fashion, and the research facilities therein. I'm sure you're eager to have that parasite out of you, dear Shelbe. Besides, I would imagine you have some baggage to drop off. Just gather everyone around you and give this device a good shake.

That debt being paid, I propose we return to the business of your book. About two hundred miles north of your current location is the city of Würzburg, and just beyond that lies the town of Karlstadt. There is an item I need fetched from this area and delivered to a Miss Orelia Woolcott, whom you should be able to find in the vicinity of Caversdale, England. Both the process and the results of obtaining and delivering this item will undoubtedly give you a wealth of new material for the Memoirs.

I will be in touch with further details the next time you dream. Might I suggest you wait until you get back to Germany before you sleep, though.

Yours in the agony and ecstasy of life's wretchedness,
Ambrose Clark Sumnergrave

*Of course, one could endlessly debate how much one should attribute this achievement to skill and cleverness, and how much to luck, and how much to my own foolishness and overconfidence and divided attention - it's not easy, playing god - but that's just splitting the hairs of Samson's holy beard, isn't it? You deserve recognition. I'm sure Joop will paint you a medal if you ask nicely.

Castlevania III + LotFP (+ Ravenloft?)

I'm a big fan of both Castlevania III on the NES and the recent Castlevania series on Netflix. I thought it might be fun to make a party of pregenerated characters based on the heroes of the game and show, plus a few appropriate magic items. Here's what I came up with.

Everything is statted for Lamentations of the Flame Princess because that's what I'm used to, and because it seemed appropriate for some gothic fantasy-horror dungeon crawling. I initially used Tabletop Smash to make the characters, and then tweaked them from there.

I made Alucard an "Elf" for now, as a stand-in for a half-vampire; I figured I could tweak the class later if need be, but an Elf with the right spells could probably work in a pinch.

You might notice that Sypha and Alucard are at level 9 even though they only have enough experience to be level 8 according to the rulebook. I put them at level 9 so that the whole party would be the same level, but I did not want to completely ignore the advantages of some classes (especially the specialist) leveling up faster than others. My compromise is to start everyone at 256,000 experience (meaning Grant is already partway to level 10), and to consider Sypha and Alucard "in debt," meaning that they are treated as Level 9, but their lower amount of experience points means that they will take longer than usual to go from level 9 to level 10.

I didn't list ages for the characters, but you can probably assume they are all about 30 years old, with the exception of Alucard, who I think is about 17 or 18 in the first two seasons of the Castlevania TV show.

Someday, I'd like to run this party through the original Ravenloft adventure, or even a campaign in the 2E Ravenloft setting that started with Realm of Terror. After all, I did happen to randomly pick up a copy of Castles Forlorn a while ago...

Trevor C. Belmont, Level 9 Lawful Fighter
Has 256,000 XP, Needs 384,000 XP for Level 10
CHA 18 (+3) CON 16 (+2) DEX 16 (+2)
INT 12 (+0) STR 17 (+2) WIS 12 (+0)
Saving Throws: Paralyze 10, Poison 8, Breath 9, Device 9, Magic 12

HP 72, BAB +10, Melee AB +12, Ranged AB +12
Melee AC 17, Ranged AC 18, Without Shield AC 16, Surprised AC 12
Open Doors 3
Has Fighter Combat Options.
Lightly Encumbered (2 points)
Equipment: The Morning Star (see below), Holy Cross Boomerang (see below), Short Sword (Small Weapon), Sack w/ 20 Silver Sling Bullets, Waterskin, 50' Rope, Holy Water x10, Torch x10, Tinderbox, Shield, Leather Armor, Cestus, Garrote, Sling, Backpack, Empty Sack x4, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Garlic, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol, Ink, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Mirror, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x10, Bottle x4, Whistle, Wolvesbane

Grant DaNasty, Level 9 Neutral Specialist
Has 256,000 XP, Needs 288,000 XP for Level 10
CHA 16 (+2) CON 15 (+1) DEX 17 (+2)
INT 14 (+1) STR 16 (+2) WIS 14 (+1)
Saving Throws: Paralyze 9, Poison 10, Breath 12, Device 11, Magic 10
(+1 Bonus for Magic Saves and +1 Bonus for Non-Magic Saves)
HP 53, BAB +1, Melee AB +3, Ranged AB +3
Melee AC 17, Ranged AC 17, Without Shield AC 17, Surprised AC 12
Climbing 6, Languages 2, Open Doors 3, Search 6, Sneak Attack 6, Stealth 6
Lightly Encumbered (2 points) - But see Boots of Striding & Springing below.
Equipment: Magic Stopwatch (see below), Battle Axe (Medium Weapon), Dagger (Minor Weapon), Light Crossbow, Quiver w/ 20 Bolts, Waterskin, Tinderbox, Torch x10, 50' Rope, Crampons, Crowbar, Boots of Striding & Springing (see below), Leather Armor, Cestus, Garrote, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Garlic, Wooden Holy Symbol, Ink, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Mirror, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x10, Bottle x4, Whistle, Wolvesbane

Sypha Belnades, Level 9 Chaotic Magic-User
Has 256,000 XP, Needs 432,000 XP for Level 10
CHA 16 (+2) CON 16 (+2) DEX 14 (+1)
INT 18 (+3) STR 12 (+0) WIS 14 (+1)
Saving Throws: Paralyze 11, Poison 11, Breath 14, Device 11, Magic 12
(+3 Bonus for Magic Saves and +1 Bonus for Non-Magic Saves)
HP 48, BAB +1, Melee AB +1, Ranged AB +2
Melee AC 15, Ranged AC 15, Without Shield AC 15, Surprised AC 12
Languages 4
Spells Known: Read Magic, Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Identify, Magic Missile, Mending, Unseen Servant, Continual Light, Knock, Phantasmal Force, Dispel Magic, Explosive Runes, Water Breathing, Wall of Fire, Wall of Ice, Cloudkill, Major Creation
Unencumbered (1 point)
Equipment: Spellbook, Staff, Sack w/ 20 Silver Sling Bullets, Waterskin, Tinderbox, Lantern, Flask of Lamp Oil x10, Leather Armor, Cestus, Sling, Backpack, Empty Sack x4, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Garlic, Wooden Holy Symbol, Ink, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Mirror, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x10, Bottle x4, Whistle, Wolvesbane

Alucard (Adrian F. Tepes), Level 9 Chaotic Elf
Has 256,000 XP, Needs 576,000 XP for Level 10
CHA 15 (+1) CON 17 (+2) DEX 15 (+1)
INT 18 (+3) STR 16 (+2) WIS 10 (+0)
Saving Throws: Paralyze 9, Poison 8, Breath 9, Device 9, Magic 11
(+3 Bonus for Magic Saves)
HP 60, BAB +1, Melee AB +3, Ranged AB +2
Melee AC 16, Ranged AC 17, Without Shield AC 15, Surprised AC 12
Languages 4, Open Doors 3, Search 4
Has Fighter Combat Options. Only surprised on a roll of 1.
Spells Known: Read Magic, Charm Person, Sleep, Spider Climb, Detect Invisible, Invisibility, Levitate, Fly, Gaseous Form, Haste, Improved Invisibility, Polymorph Self, Telekinesis, Teleport
Lightly Encumbered (2 points)
Equipment: Spellbook, Longsword (Medium Weapon), Short Bow, Quiver w/ 20 Arrows, Waterskin, Tinderbox, Torch x10, Shield, Leather Armor, Cestus, Garrote, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Steel Mirror, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x10, Bottle x4, Whistle

The Morning Star, or the Vampire Killer

• Base damage 1d6, Allows melee attacks on opponents up to 10' away
• +1 to hit and damage, +2 against undead and demons/devils, +4 against vampires and lycanthropes
• On a natural 19 or 20 to-hit roll, does double damage to vampires. On a natural 20 to-hit roll, does double damage to other undead, demons/devils, and lycanthropes.
• Can hit and damage opponents that can normally only be hit or damaged by magic or silver. Can kill vampires and lycanthropes just as effectively as their "normal" weaknesses.
• Once per day, the wielder can call upon God to light the Morning Star with holy flame for 1d6 turns. The flame is blue, and gives off as much light as a torch. It will not harm or burn the wielder or anyone of Lawful alignment. A (non-Lawful) opponent struck by the flaming weapon takes an extra 1d6 damage. On a natural roll of 6, the target must save vs. device or be engulfed in flames (as per the rules for flaming oil).
• Chaotic characters cannot use the supernatural powers of this weapon when wielding it. A Neutral character who kills a demon/devil, a lycanthrope, a vampire, or any other type of undead being with this weapon automatically changes their alignment to Lawful.

Holy Cross Boomerang

• Base damage 1d4, Short Range 20', Medium Range 40', Long Range 60'
• +1 to hit and damage against undead and demons/devils, +2 against vampires and lycanthropes
• On command, returns to the hand of the last person to throw it. If thrown and retrieved in this manner in the same combat round, there is not enough time to also move that same round.
• Can hit and damage opponents that can normally only be hit or damaged by magic or silver. Can kill vampires and lycanthropes just as effectively as their "normal" weaknesses.
• Once per day, if brandished while calling upon God, it can be used to cast Turn Undead as a Cleric of the wielder's level. Count 0-level characters as level 1.
• Chaotic characters cannot use the supernatural powers of this weapon when wielding it. A Neutral character who kills a demon/devil, a lycanthrope, a vampire, or any other type of undead being with this weapon automatically changes their alignment to Lawful.

Magic Stopwatch

• Can be used to cast Haste or Slow 1d4 times per day (roll each Midnight) as a Magic-User of the wielder's level. Count 0-level characters as level 1.
• Can be used to cast Time Stop once per day as a Magic-User of the wielder's level. Count 0-level characters as level 1.
• Haste and Slow can be cast additional times per day at the cost of 1d4 damage to the wielder and 1d4-1 years worth of magical aging per use. Time Stop can be cast additional times per day at the cost of 1d12 damage and 1d10-1 years of magical aging per use.

Boots of Striding & Springing (Borrowed from the AD&D 1979 Dungeon Master's Guide, tweaked by me)

• Unencumbering item when worn.
• +1 AC when the wearer is not surprised.
• The wearer's movement speed is 120'/40' when Unencumbered, Lightly Encumbered, or Heavily Encumbered. This is reduced to 60'/20' when Severely Encumbered. The wearer is still immobilized when Over Encumbered.
• The wearer can jump up to 15' vertically and 30' horizontally. Jumping a supernatural distance in combat requires a save vs. paralysis; failure means that upon landing the wearer stumbles and is unable to move on the next round.
• Negates up to 40' of falling damage (or 4d6). If this occurs in combat, the wearer must make a save vs. paralysis as above.
• The wearer suffers no damage from a Forced March as long as the powers of the boots are still active at the end of the march (see below). The wearer must still rest after marching as usual.
• After 12 hours of use, the powers of the boots will become inactive for 12 hours as they "recharge."

Potions for the Party

• Cure Light Wounds x3
• Cure Serious Wounds x2
• Cure Critical Wounds x1
• Cure Disease x2
• Remove Curse x1
• Neutralize Poison x3

Shared Items

• Wagon
• Riding Horse x2
• Riding Gear x2
• Saddlebag x4
• Animal Feed x14
• Winter Travel Clothing x4
• Regular Tent x2
• Bedroll x4
• Iron Ration x28
• Cooking Pots x2
• Fishing Gear
• Shovel
• Miner's Pick
• Drill
• Mallet
• Manacles
• 10' Pole x4
• 50' Rope x4
• Grappling Hook
• Spyglass
• Specialist's Tools
• 2,520 silver pieces (630 each)

Derceto Manor - Dunwich, Suffolk, England

These notes are for a Lamentations of the Flame Princess campaign I'm running for some friends online, which I'm calling Mansions & Mindfucks. It takes place on Earth in 16XX, in an alternate history where the city of Dunwich avoided any major storm damage in the 13th and 14th Centuries and remained a major port and population center even into the Early Modern period.

Things haven't quite gone in this direction, but my original idea was for the campaign to focus on supernatural investigations and haunted houses, with the PCs being members of a club which exists at roughly the halfway point between occult detectives and traditional D&D adventurers. Think of it like a hoity-toity thieves' guild whose members are all amateur occultists and ghost hunters on the weekends - a heavily-armed Scooby Gang with sticky fingers and loose morals.

The campaign began with the PCs all receiving notice that they have jointly inherited Derceto Manor in Dunwich; a puzzling message considering that none of them knew the previous owner who left it to them in his will. Since the players have arrived in Dunwich, I figure I should actually make some notes about their inheritance. For reference, I'm using a wonderful map designed and drawn by Dyson Logos called "Metivier Manor" (with some small modifications).

Derceto Manor

• Location: Outskirts of Dunwich, Suffolk, England
• Land: 7 Acres
• Total Estate Value: 2,000,000 silver pieces
• Yearly Maintenance Costs: 20,000 to 137,280 silver pieces.
• Yearly Taxes: 80,000 to 154,000 silver pieces
• Upkeep Costs: 50 silver pieces per resident per month
• Annual costs are due on April 1. Monthly costs are due on the first of each month.

Structures on Property

1. Derceto Manor itself
2. Small House for Servants (Pregzt, Boleskine, Marsh, and Whateley)
3. Combined Garage/Stable
4. Tool/Gardening Shed
5. Crypt Entrance (locked)
6. Pavilion
7. Well
8. Cesspit
9. Abandoned, Overgrown Garden (with various broken statues, crumbling walls, and other assorted masonry)
10. Foundation of a structure that might have once been a tiny Chapel

People of Interest

Ambrose Clark Sumnergrave - Former owner of Derceto and mysterious benefactor from beyond the grave. Disappeared about six months ago after changing his will to state that he should be presumed dead in the event of such a lengthy absence. Said to have often spent months at a time away from home, leaving it to the expert care of his servants. When he was home, he often threw lavish but intimate parties for the intelligentsia of Dunwich. Said to be a skilled writer in many fields, whose poetry and fiction are especially affecting, if morbid and almost unintelligibly abstract. Dabbled in painting, but was certainly no master. Many people's memories of him are unusually vague or contradictory.

Reginald Timsh - The lawyer handling the will. He doesn't actually know much about Sumnergrave or understand the purpose of this unusual distribution of the Derceto estate, but he received a great deal of money from some mysterious source to handle this case, and he believes in giving his clients what they pay for. See Alfred Cunningham, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 13.

Bartholomew James - Sumnergrave's former accountant. See Percival St. John, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 38.

Kelvin Pregzt - Handyman for Derceto (craftsman). See Thomas Grayson, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 18.

Geoffrey Boleskine - Groundskeeper for Derceto (laborer). See Eugene Madget, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 26.

Zadok Marsh - Sumnergrave's former personal coachman. See Gordon Balladeer, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 8.

Thaddeus Whateley - Teamster for Derceto's stables. See Henry Waxman,  People of Pembrooktonshire p. 41.

Hubert Hartwood (butler) - Butler, husband of Susan. See Thurston Butcher, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 10.

Susan Hartwood - Household servant, wife of Hubert. See Jaime Bohmer, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 10.

June Carnby - Household servant, wife of Ezekiel. See Theodosa Birkbeck, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 9.

Ezekiel Carnby - Household servant, husband of June. See Samuel Pfaff, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 32.

"Curtis Poe" - Household servant. Real name Lorelei Vaughan. See Lancelot Dashwood, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 13, and Margaret van Mook, People of Pembrooktonshire p. 41.

Notes on Rooms

General Details about the House - Each square on the grid is 5 feet by 5 feet. I was originally going to make them 10 by 10, but that seemed excessive. I am fairly certain I used 5 foot squares when I determined the cost of the house and the value of the arcane library and laboratory, but I'm not totally sure. If things aren't completely accurate to the rules, so be it.

The house is clean and in good repair, despite the untidiness of the estate's grounds. The building's exterior is mostly stone. The windows are glass, and very modern for the time. Fireplaces can be assumed to be present in all major rooms above ground, even if not depicted on the map. Ceilings range in height from 7.5 feet in smaller rooms to 10 feet in larger rooms.

NOTE: As of 01/26/2019, most rooms currently lack descriptions. I plan to edit this post and fill in more details as they come up in the game.

Ground Floor:

Porch - 

Hall - Alabaster bust of James I.

Parlor - Mahogany table. China cabinet with black plates and bowls. Fireplace.

Ball Room - 

Conservatory - Well-tended (unlike the garden), but with space for far more plants than it currently contains.

Closet - 

Music Room - 

Gallery - Nude Self-Portrait, holding sextant, posed near globe. Painting of a black cat with green eyes. Painting of a woman named Lisa with green eyes.

Dining Room - Ridiculously tall table, way too many chairs. Bar. Potted plants in corners.

Cloak Room - 

Sitting Area - 

Pantry - 

Kitchen - 

Servant Area - 

Top Floor:

Landing/Hallway - 

Game Room - 

Study - 

Closet - 

West Guest Bedroom - 

Library - 

Lounge - 

East Guest Bedroom - 

Dressing Room - 

Master Bedroom - 

Secret Study - Contains Ambrose Clark Sumnergrave's collection of notes, journals, memoirs, research materials, scribblings, fragments of dozens of texts, and assorted pieces of evidence, which he supposedly intended to compile into a book entitled Memoirs to Prove the Existence of the Devil. Also contains the Note from Sumnergrave (see below).

Servant Hallway - 

North Servant Bedroom - Hubert and Susan sleep here.

East Servant Bedroom - Curtis sleeps here.

South Servant Bedroom - June and Ezekiel sleep here.

Basement

Food Cellar - 

Storage - 

Wine Cellar - Very few bottles are left (probably enough for one big party or 1d4+1 small social engagements).

Treasury - 

Arcane Library - 3,000 silver pieces in value.

Tunnels and Cells - A "bloodroot" is in one of the cells, preserved in a plasmic bubble of arcane chronostasis. (Magic item by Wayne Renaud. Borrowed from the LotFP Magic Item Contest.)

Laboratory - 5,000 silver pieces in value.

Crypts - The basement's gate to the crypts is locked, as is the gate in the above-ground entrance. Is there a dungeon down here, waiting to be explored?

Note from Sumnergrave - Found among the notes for his Memoirs:

Dear adventurers,

The contents of this room are why you are here. These documents form the basis for my unfinished manuscript, entitled Memoirs to Prove the Existence of the Devil. I want you to finish my book. I want you to take what I've given you and use it as you see fit, provided you complete and publish my work. Once the Memoirs are out in the world, your obligation to me is complete.

I selected each of you because I see potential in you: The drive to uncover secrets. The lust for adventure. The willingness to do what others dare not. Contempt for the ordinary. Fascination with the uncanny. Curiosity about the unknown. Bravery mixed with caution. Quick wits. The ability to think laterally. Careful attention to detail. Iconoclasm. Ambition. Intimate (one might say casual) familiarity with violence and horror. A keen sense of self-interest and considerable greed for profit and the pleasures it brings.

You could become the premiere explorers of your age, which is to say both its premiere scholars and its premiere conquerors. It's funny how those things fall hand-in-hand for your civilization, and perhaps your species.

I will appear to you in dreams and portents. I would tell you to "be not afraid," but alas, I am no angel. I can assure you, however, that as long as you try in earnest to achieve my goals, I will remain your staunch (if distant) ally. And at the very least, any potential wrath on my part will be tempered if you merely remain interesting. Your personalities and experiences will undoubtedly flavor anything you write.

You may have noticed that the gift of my mansion is also a burden of sorts. Taxes and upkeep are quite costly. You are not the type of people to slave away at common sorts of work, and besides, a more usual form of employment would certainly distract you from the task at hand. The solution I would suggest is one that would undoubtedly occur to you eventually, but for the sake of immediate clarity I will put it plainly. Your investigations into the leads I have provided will grant you countless opportunities to simultaneously turn a profit. Extract value as you extract knowledge. Old tombs tend to contain treasure; Take the coins from the eyes of corpses if you must. The right information can be lucrative, as well. Do what comes naturally as you plumb the depths of the supernatural.

I have faith that our authorial partnership will be fruitful. Fret not about how I would want the book to turn out. Make it your own, satisfying to your tastes and needs, and I am sure to be pleased as well. But make sure it is finished and published. Other than that, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."

Your patron,
Ambrose Clark Sumnergrave

P.S. Things will probably go better for you if we all maintain the fiction that I am gone.

Basic D&D Classes as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1E Career Paths

I've been reading the core rulebook for the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and so far I really like it. Many of the other first edition books seem pretty interesting, too, from what I've skimmed of them, but I've mostly looked at the core rules. I definitely want to run this game when I get the chance.

In the meantime, while I've seen many people emphatically claim that WFRP is not D&D and barely anything like D&D (maybe I'll share my hot take on that topic in the future, but not until I've actually played the game first, of course), I started to ponder certain questions as I studied the character creation and advancement rules.

What would it take to make WFRP characters that were roughly similar to the character classes in Basic D&D? What would it take to model the features of the B/X (or BECMI, or Rules Cyclopedia) character classes in the WFRP career system as closely as possible, without any house rules? What kind of career progression could one use to mimic the feel or flavor of playing a D&D character? This is just the result of my first halting, ill-informed attempt to find out. Some would probably say that even considering "character builds" or "hack-and-slash dungeon crawling" in WFRP is against the spirit of the game, but I thought this was a fun thought experiment, and it's my blog, so whatever.

I'm sure people more familiar with both Warhammer and D&D can poke all kinds of holes in my choices here. For example: as far as I know, all D&D characters are assumed to be able to read, write, swim, ride horses, drive carts, and row boats (among who knows how many other things) competently in the B/X rules, while these skills are not universal in WFRP. It would probably make more sense to use fewer Warhammer careers for each D&D class, and instead fill in the gaps with non-career skills, but first I wanted to see what I could manage without non-career skills. And that's not even getting fully into the differences in spell lists, weapon proficiencies, combat rules, etc. Maybe this is why I want guidelines for converting material between these games so badly.

Anyway, here are some possibilities I've come up with.

Fighter

1. Marine or Mercenary or Soldier > Mercenary Sergeant > Mercenary Captain > Free Lance > Templar
2. Protagonist > Judicial Champion > Templar > Witch Hunter > Free Lance

Magic-User

1. Wizard's Apprentice > Wizard > higher-level Wizard and/or specialized Wizard
2. Alchemist's Apprentice > Alchemist

Cleric

1. Physician's Student > Initiate > Cleric
2. Herbalist > Druid > Druidic Priest

Thief

1. Tomb Robber > Fence > Thief > Charlatan > Spy > Assassin
2. Thief > Thief (Burglar) > Outlaw > Targeteer > Assassin > Charlatan > Spy

Dwarf

1. Soldier > Tunnel Fighter > Troll Slayer > Giant Slayer
2. Engineer or Runner > Tunnel Fighter > Sapper > Gunner

Halfling

1. Hunter > Scout > Bounty Hunter > Targeteer > Assassin
2. Outlaw > Outlaw Chief > Highwayman > Duelist > Assassin

Bold = Advanced Career, > = Non-Standard Career Exit

When it comes to D&D's Elf class, I just kind of threw my hands in the air after a while. Maybe someone better versed in the intricacies of WFRP could offer some suggestions?

Bonus Content: LotFP Mascot Career Paths

• Flame Princess: Noble > Duelist > Assassin > Witch Hunter, plus 4 Non-Career Skills (Identify Undead, Specialist Weapon - Incendiaries, Swim, and either Fire Eating or Demon Lore) = 7,000 exp. to complete
• Alice: Mercenary > Gunner > Mercenary Sergeant > Mercenary Captain > Judicial Champion > Explorer, plus 4 Non-Career Skills (Chemistry, Game Hunting, Marksmanship, and Swim*) = 7,000 exp. to complete
• Selena: Squire > Free Lance > Templar > Initiate > Cleric of Myrmidia Level 1, plus 6 Petty Magic spells and 4 Battle Magic Level 1 spells = 7,000 exp. to complete
• Kendra: Tomb Robber > Gambler > Charlatan > Spy > Assassin, plus 2 Non-Career Skills (Pick Pocket and Specialist Weapon - Fencing Sword) = 7,000 exp. to complete
• Rhona: Bounty Hunter > Targeteer > Outlaw Chief > Highwayman > Scout > Explorer, plus 6 Non-Career Skills (Fish, Game Hunting, Row, Scale Sheer Surface, Set Trap, and Swim) = 7,000 exp. to complete
• Étaín: Wizard's Apprentice > Wizard Level 1 > Demonologist Level 1 > Demonologist Level 2, plus 16 Petty Magic spells, all of the Battle Magic Level 1 spells, and all of the Demonologist Level 1 spells = 7,000 exp. to complete
• Manya: Wizard's Apprentice > Wizard Level 1 > Necromancer Level 1 > Necromancer Level 2, plus 16 Petty Magic spells, all of the Battle Magic Level 1 spells, and all of the Necromancer Level 1 spells = 7,000 exp. to complete
• Melissa: Physician's Student > Physician > Alchemist's Apprentice > Alchemist Level 1 > Alchemist Level 2 > Alchemist Level 3 (all advances and all but one skill), plus 16 Petty Magic spells and all of the Battle Magic Level 1 spells = 7,000 exp. to complete

Note: For the purposes of calculating the experience point costs of these characters, I assumed that they succeeded on their first attempts regarding all dice rolls needed to gain extra skills in their starting careers, to join the Cleric career, and to gain all non-career skills.

*If Specialist Weapon - Pistol and Specialist Weapon - Blunderbus can be considered one skill (Specialist Weapon - Firearms, as the Skills chapter of the rule book seems to imply), then you can also add Specialist Weapon - Incendiaries with the spare 100 exp.

Carcosa - Differentiating Races by Skills

In Geoffrey McKinney's Carcosa, the rainbow people of the titular alien planet have little to differentiate them mechanically. This isn't necessarily a problem, but I would personally prefer some kind of obvious difference in capabilities for each race, just to make the process of character creation and advancement more interesting. This post is just a simple way to try and add such variety using LotFP's skill system and some good old fashioned house rules.

I'm assuming here that all PCs are fighters and/or sorcerers. If the specialist class from LotFP is in use, I probably wouldn't use these house rules on top of that.

Skills and the Races of Carcosa
When it comes to Player Characters, each race of humans on Carcosa specializes in three skills. At first level, a PC will have 2 ranks in each specialized skill and 1 rank in all other skills (with the exception of Psionics - see below). Every time a PC gains a new experience level, they may choose one of their specialized skills to increase by one rank.

The skill list (mostly taken from HERE) consists of the following:

1. Architecture
2. Athletics (combines Climbing, Open Doors, and Swimming into one skill)
3. Bushcraft
4. Languages
5. Medicine (see the LotFP Playtest Document 0.1 or Eldritch Cock)
6. Psionics (see below)
7. Stealth (includes the functions of Sleight of Hand)
8. Tinkering.

Skill Specializations by Race

• Red - Bushcraft, Languages, Medicine
• Orange - Athletics, Languages, Tinkering
• Yellow - Architecture, Languages, Psionics
• Green - Athletics, Bushcraft, Stealth
• Blue - Architecture, Bushcraft, Medicine
• Purple - Bushcraft, Psionics, Tinkering
• Brown - Architecture, Stealth, Tinkering
• Black - Architecture, Athletics, Stealth
• White - Architecture, Athletics, Medicine
• Bone - Languages, Medicine, Stealth
• Ulfire - Medicine, Psionics, Tinkering
• Jale - Languages, Psionics, Tinkering
• Dolm - Athletics, Psionics, Stealth
• Earthling or Space Alien - Architecture, Medicine, Tinkering

Most of the skills work the same way as in Lamentations of the Flame Princess. However, Psionics starts at 0 by default instead of 1. For example, a First-Level Orange character would have 0 ranks in Psionics, while a First-Level Yellow character would have 1 rank in Psionics. A character's Psionics score represents the number of times per day they can use a psionic power. A character can gain a maximum of 5 ranks in this skill. Naturally, only a character with at least 1 rank in Psionics can use psionic powers. Psionic powers otherwise follow the rules explained in Carcosa.

If the skill specializations listed above seem too rigid or restrictive, the referee could allow each player to pick one of their PC's skill specializations to replace with a different skill. The replacement skill could be determined randomly or chosen by the player. This way, every race would have some chance of having psionic powers, for example.

NPCs need not universally follow the same skill specializations as PCs, although it may be interesting to further differentiate the various human cultures on Carcosa by having them be renowned for or stereotypically associated with specific skills.

Special thanks to Jessica Stewart for helping me write this post.

Checkpoint Levels - We've Got No Class 2.2 Upgrade Patch

We've Got No Class v2.2
Consider everything to be exactly the same as in Version 2.1 except for the following.

Checkpoint Levels

Player characters gain levels. Players likewise gain "checkpoint levels." A player's checkpoint level in a given campaign is determined by the highest level that any of their PCs have ever reached in that campaign, in accordance with the chart below. At the beginning of the campaign (or the first adoption of these house rules in the campaign), the referee should choose either "Easy Mode" or "Hard Mode" for the purposes of determining what checkpoint levels correspond to what character levels.

If a PC dies, the player of that PC may create a new character within the campaign at any level less than or equal to the player's current checkpoint level. For example, in an Easy Mode campaign, the first time a player succeeds in raising their PC to level 4, their checkpoint level becomes 3; therefore, if the PC dies after that point, the player can make a new character that begins at level 3 (or less, if they so desire).

A PC can lose levels due to magical "energy drain" or other such in-game effects, but a player's checkpoint level never decreases within a given campaign. For example, let's say Susie is playing in a Hard Mode campaign, and the highest level that any of her characters have ever reached is level 9, meaning her checkpoint level is 5. Her current PC happens to be level 9, until she loses 7 levels to the chilling touch of an evil specter, becoming level 2. Susie's checkpoint level remains at 5, even though her current PC is at a lower character level. If her PC dies, she can still make a new character at level 5. If Susie wants to increase her checkpoint level beyond 5, she will still of course need to play at least one PC who survives to level 10 or higher.

(Yes, this means that a player could have their level-drained PC rush recklessly into danger specifically to get killed so they can make a new character at a higher level. I personally think that would almost always be incredibly lame, and I probably won't feel bad if the player gets mocked for this, but it is technically allowed.)

By default, each player can only control one PC at a time.* This does not include retainers, henchmen, etc., as they are technically NPCs controlled by the referee (and are simply "ordered around" by a PC unless the referee explicitly allows otherwise), they are created by the referee rather than a player, and they are not subject to the benefits of a player's checkpoint level.

Characters can only advance up to level 14 in the "We've Got No Class" system of house rules, but I extended the chart to level 21 just in case someone wants to use checkpoint levels outside of this context. Note that "Hard Mode" is actually easier on the players from level 16 on.

*If a referee wishes to allow multiple PCs per player, they could simply determine a player's checkpoint level based on the highest level that any of their PCs have ever reached in the campaign, as usual. This could be prone to exploitation, as a player with one PC at a significantly higher level than all of their other PCs could purposefully kill off their lower-level PCs for instant higher-level replacements, and that would be pretty lame. To prevent this, stricter rules may be desired. For example, the referee could allow each player a certain number of "slots" to be filled with living, active PCs, and require each player to track a separate checkpoint level for each slot.

LotFP Playtest Pre-Gens (of the Eternal Whatever)

Remember all of those overpowered pre-generated characters I wrote up for LotFP based on the "iconics" in the game's art? Have some more. This time I made them for use with the playtest rules featured in James Edward Raggi IV's Eldritch Cock and the old Playtest Document. I'm curious about what "high-level" play might be like using the playtest rules, so I'm thinking about giving these pre-gens to some friends and running them through a few Basic D&D and/or AD&D modules. I guess that might be a decent way to test the backwards-compatibility of the playtest rules as well.

I couldn't decide what class to make the Flame Princess, so I just went ahead and made three different sets of stats for her. My intention is to only allow one "version" of the character to be in play per adventure or campaign, but I guess you could just make them identical triplets if you want. At any rate, I assumed there was only one Flame Princess for the purposes of dividing the cost of the "Group Gear."


Alice, Level 9 Fighter
320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 17=Magic Saving Throw 6d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 9=Initiative Die d8, INT 13=Skill Adjustment +2
STR 17=Encumbrance Points 7, WIS 17=Normal Saving Throw 6d6
HP 108, AC 17
Melee AB +10, Ranged AB +10, Firearm AB +10, Guard Bonus +10
Bushcraft +2, Climbing +2, Leadership +3
Encumbrance Points: 3 (Heavily Encumbered)
-Great Mace (Large Weapon), Rapier, Rifled Flintlock Arquebus, Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag x2 (200 bullets), Powder Horn x4 (200 shots of powder), Pikeman's Armor, Buff Coat, Tassets, Lobster Tail Pot Helm, Torch x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Cestus, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 250 silver pieces


Selena, Level 9 Fighter
320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 13=Magic Saving Throw 5d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 17=Initiative Die d12, INT 13=Skill Adjustment +2
STR 17=Encumbrance Points 7, WIS 13=Normal Saving Throw 5d6
HP 108, AC 17
Melee AB +10, Ranged AB +10, Firearm AB +10, Guard Bonus +10
Languages +2, Medicine +2, Search +3
Encumbrance Points: 2 (Lightly Encumbered)
-Sword (Medium Weapon), Dagger (Minor Weapon), Rifled Flintlock Arquebus, Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag x2 (200 bullets), Powder Horn x4 (200 shots of powder), Pikeman's Armor, Buff Coat, Tassets, Lobster Tail Pot Helm, Torch x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Cestus, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 290 silver pieces


Kendra, Level 9 Specialist
320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 13=Magic Saving Throw 5d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 17=Initiative Die d12, INT 17=Skill Adjustment +5
STR 13=Encumbrance Points 6, WIS 13=Normal Saving Throw 5d6
HP 60, AC 13
Melee AB +1, Ranged AB +0, Firearm AB +1, Guard Bonus +0
Architecture +4, Languages +5, Luck +4, Search +5, Sleight of Hand +4, Stealth +4, Tinkering +4
Encumbrance Points: 1 (Unencumbered)
-Specialist's Tools, Rapier, Dagger (Minor Weapon), Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag (100 bullets), Powder Horn x2 (100 shots), Buff Coat, Torch x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Garrote, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 554 silver pieces


Rhona, Level 9 Specialist
320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 13=Magic Saving Throw 5d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 13=Initiative Die d10, INT 17=Skill Adjustment +5
STR 17=Encumbrance Points 7, WIS 13=Normal Saving Throw 5d6
HP 60, AC 14
Melee AB +0, Ranged AB +1, Firearm AB +1, Guard Bonus +0
Bushcraft +5, Climbing +4, Leadership +4, Medicine +4, Seamanship +4, Search +4, Stealth +5
Encumbrance Points: 1 (Unencumbered)
-Specialist's Tools, Hatchet (Small Weapon), Light Crossbow, Quiver and Bolt x20, Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag (100 bullets), Powder Horn x2 (100 shots), Buff Coat, Lobster Tail Pot Helm, Torch x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Garrote, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 499 silver pieces


Étaín, Level 9 Magic-User

320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 17=Magic Saving Throw 6d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 13=Initiative Die d10, INT 17=Skill Adjustment +5
STR 13=Encumbrance Points 6, WIS 13=Normal Saving Throw 5d6
HP 60, AC 13
Melee AB +1, Ranged AB +0, Firearm AB +1, Guard Bonus +0
Languages +5, Medicine +5

Known Spells: All spells from Vaginas Are Magic, Cure Light Wounds, Identify, Sleep, Summon
Encumbrance Points: 1 (Unencumbered)

-Spellbook, Dagger (Minor Weapon), Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag (100 bullets), Powder Horn x2 (100 shots), Buff Coat, Lantern, Flask of Lantern Oil x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 567 silver pieces

Manya, Level 9 Magic-User

320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 17=Magic Saving Throw 6d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 17=Initiative Die d12, INT 17=Skill Adjustment +5
STR 9=Encumbrance Points 5, WIS 13=Normal Saving Throw 5d6
HP 60, AC 12
Melee AB +0, Ranged AB +0, Firearm AB +1, Guard Bonus +1
Languages +5, Luck +2, Search +3

Known Spells: All spells from Eldritch Cock, Cure Light Wounds, Summon
Encumbrance Points: 1 (Unencumbered)

-Spellbook, Dagger (Minor Weapon), Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag (100 bullets), Powder Horn x2 (100 shots), Torch x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 587 silver pieces

Flame Princess (Version 1), Level 9 Fighter

320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 18=Magic Saving Throw 6d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 13=Initiative Die d10, INT 17=Skill Adjustment +5
STR 17=Encumbrance Points 7, WIS=18 Normal Saving Throw 6d6
HP 108, AC 17
Melee AB +10, Ranged AB +10, Firearm AB +10, Guard Bonus +10
Leadership +5, Luck +2, Stealth +3
Encumbrance Points: 2 (Lightly Encumbered)

-Sword (Medium Weapon), Rapier, Dagger (Minor Weapon),  Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag (100 bullets), Powder Horn x2 (100 shots), Pikeman's Armor, Buff Coat, Tassets, Lobster Tail Pot Helm, Lantern, Flask of Lantern Oil x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Cestus, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 422 silver pieces

Flame Princess (Version 2), Level 9 Specialist

320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 18=Magic Saving Throw 6d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 13=Initiative Die d10, INT 17=Skill Adjustment +5
STR 17=Encumbrance Points 7, WIS 18=Normal Saving Throw 6d6
HP 60, AC 15
Melee AB +1, Ranged AB +0, Firearm AB +1, Guard Bonus +0
Languages +4, Leadership +5, Luck +5, Medicine +4, Search +4, Stealth +4, Tinkering +4
Encumbrance Points: 1 (Unencumbered)

-Specialist's Tools, Sword (Medium Weapon), Rapier, Dagger (Minor Weapon),  Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag (100 bullets), Powder Horn x2 (100 shots), Buff Coat, Tassets, Lobster Tail Pot Helm, Lantern, Flask of Lantern Oil x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Garrote, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 477 silver pieces

Flame Princess (Version 3), Level 9 Magic-User

320,000 XP, needs 640,000 for next level
CHA 18=Magic Saving Throw 6d6, CON 17,=Hit Die d12
DEX 13=Initiative Die d10, INT 17=Skill Adjustment +5
STR 17=Encumbrance Points 7, WIS 18=Normal Saving Throw 6d6
HP 60, AC 15
Melee AB +1, Ranged AB +0, Firearm AB +1, Guard Bonus +0
Languages +5, Leadership +5
Known Spells: All First and Second Level Cleric spells, including reversed versions
Encumbrance Points: 1 (Unencumbered)
-Spellbook, Sword (Medium Weapon), Rapier, Dagger (Minor Weapon),  Flintlock Pistol x2, Shot Bag (100 bullets), Powder Horn x2 (100 shots), Buff Coat, Tassets, Lobster Tail Pot Helm, Lantern, Flask of Lantern Oil x10, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Sling, Backpack, Sack x5, Bottle x4, Steel Mirror, Silver Mirror, Iron Spike x10, Wooden Spike x12, Air Bladder, Candle, Chalk, Ink, Nails, Paper, Pipe, Soap, Whistle, Kingdom Map, Local Map, Silver Holy Symbol, Wooden Holy Symbol
-War Horse carrying Riding Gear, Saddlebag x4, Animal Feed x22, 482 silver pieces


Group Gear (Total cost of 1990 sp)
Coach
Mule x2
Riding Gear x2
Animal Feed x44
Bedroll x7
Regular Tent x7
Extra Set of Normal Clothing x7
Extravagant Clothing x7
Winter Clothing x7
Crampons x7
Iron Rations x150
Waterskin x7
Cooking Pots
Fishing Gear
Lard x10
Garlic x10
Wolvesbane x4
Tinderbox x7
Torch x100
Lantern x7
Flask of Lantern Oil x50
Sling Bullets x140 (inside Sack x7)
Short Bow x7
Arrow x140 (inside Quiver x7)
Spear x7
10' Pole x6
50' Rope x7
Grappling Hook x7
Block and Tackle
50' Chain
Manacles
Lock x2
Crowbar x7
Drill x2
Miner's Pick x5
Shovel x7
Mallet x7
Wooden Spike x16
Hourglass
Spyglass


The End is HERE

D&D Reskin-O-Matic! (A Knockoff of Zzarchov Kowolski's Convert-O-Tronica)

Zzarchov Kowolski wrote a super cool series of posts in 2013 he dubbed the "Convert-o-tronica" detailing a simple method of changing the flavor of a D&D adventure. I've seen other awesome ideas for "reskinning" (in video game lingo) D&D or OSR material on blogs like Rise Up Comus, Better Legends, and Dungeons & Donuts. Plus there's the excellent work of Emmy Allen. I bet that many readers can think of a multitude of other examples of reskinning projects for D&D and similar games, but these are my favorites at the moment, and Zzarchov Kowolski came up with my favorite method of doing this in a pinch.

I borrowed Mr. Kowolski's format for my own examples below. However, mine differ from (and are frankly inferior to) his examples because most of mine would probably require mechanical changes rather than just new descriptions or "fluff," and thus lack the original concept's ease of use. (That would be fine, except that I haven't provided rules or guidelines for doing so...) Still, I hope you find some enjoyable ideas here.

"Cthulhu Mythos"

Classes
Fighter = Thug or Gangster or Soldier
Magic User = Scientist or Sorcerer
Cleric = Medium or Psychic
Thief = Private Eye or Police Detective
Elf = K'nyanian
Dwarf = Deep One Hybrid
Halfling = "The Locals" (rural folk, although they need not be depicted as poorly as they tended to be in Lovecraft's writing)

Monsters
Goblin = Rat-Thing or Devolved Human
Orc = Deep One
Troll = Dark Young
Skeleton = Ghoul
Lich = The Worm That Walks
Dire Wolf = Hound of Tindalos
Dragon = Shoggoth

Pegasus = Byakhee

Dungeon Dressing
Walls = Cyclopean Basalt Blocks
Doors = Apertures opening at strange angles
"Dust" = Weird Ichor
Chests = Sarcophagi

"Krull"

Classes
Fighter = Prince or Knight
Magic User = Wizard
Cleric = Old One (wise man)
Thief = Bandit
Elf = Seer or Widow of the Web
Dwarf = Cyclops
Halfling = Apprentice

Monsters
Goblin = Evil Bandit
Orc = Slayer
Troll = Crazed Cyclops
Skeleton = Slayer without armor
Lich = Changeling
Dire Wolf = Giant Spider (possibly made of silver or crystal?)
Dragon = The Beast

Pegasus = Fire Mare

Dungeon Dressing
Walls = Either typical high fantasy pseudo-medieval architecture, or Strangely Organic Curves
Doors = Heavy Stone
"Dust" = Sand and Mud
Chests = Inexplicably safe lava

"Diablo I and II"

Classes
Fighter = Paladin
Magic User = Sorceress
Cleric = Druid
Thief = Assassin
Elf = Necromancer
Dwarf = Barbarian
Halfling = Amazon

Monsters
Goblin = Fallen One
Orc = Goatman
Troll = Overlord or Butcher
Skeleton = still a Skeleton
Lich = Succubus or Mage
Dire Wolf = Horned Demon or Hidden
Dragon = Balrog or Diablo

Dungeon Dressing
Walls = Stone and Bone
Doors = Creaky Wood
"Dust" = Bones and Brimstone
Chests = Sarcophagi, Wooden Chests, Barrels, Weapon Racks, Corpses

"Dark Souls"

Classes
Fighter = Warrior (or Bandit from Dark Souls I)
Magic User = Sorcerer or Pyromancer
Cleric = Cleric or Herald
Thief = Explorer or Thief or Mercenary
Elf = Swordsman or Wanderer or Assassin
Dwarf = Knight
Halfling = Bandit or Hunter

Start at Level 0 = Deprived

Monsters
Goblin = Hollow
Orc = Black Knight or Silver Knight
Troll = Infested Barbarian or Demon
Skeleton = Wheel Skeleton or Bloathead (or a classic Skeleton that constantly reanimates if "killed")
Lich = Pinwheel or Channeler or Gravelord Nito
Dire Wolf = Great Feline or Giant Rat
Dragon = Dragon or Drake or Hydra or Moonlight Butterfly

Dungeon Dressing
Walls = Vast and Crumbling
Doors = Metal Bars or Rotting Wood or Fog
"Dust" = Ash
Chests = Big Pots or Vases

"Bloodborne"

Classes
Fighter = Military Veteran or Violent Past
Magic User = Cruel Fate
Cleric = Noble Scion
Thief = Professional
Elf = Troubled Childhood
Dwarf = Lone Survivor
Halfling = Milquetoast

Start at Level 0 = Waste of Skin

Monsters
Goblin = Huntsman
Orc = Beast
Troll = Chapel Giant or Brick Troll
Skeleton = Mad One or Silver Lady
Lich = Celestial Emissary or Witch of Hemwick
Dire Wolf = Maneater Boar or Bloodlicker
Dragon = Amygdala or Old One

Dungeon Dressing
Walls = Brick
Doors = Stately and Solid Wood
"Dust" = Spilled Blood or Random Eyeballs Everywhere
Chests = Heavy Stone Chests

"Muddled Christian Allegory"

Classes
Fighter = Wrath
Magic User = Lust
Cleric = Pride
Thief = Greed
Elf = Sloth
Dwarf = Envy
Halfling = Gluttony

Monsters
Goblin = Heretic or Non-Believer or Satyr or Imp
Orc = Various ancient cultures painted as uniform bad guys or Whoever the crusaders are fighting this week
Troll = Nephilim or Giant
Skeleton = still a Skeleton but also a symbol of the plague or a Memento Mori figure
Lich = Angel or Demon or False Prophet
Dire Wolf = Lion or Pit Locust or Serpent
Dragon = Fiery Serpent or Demon or Archangel or Behemoth

Dungeon Dressing
Walls = Anything found in The Divine Comedy or Paradise Lost
Doors = Whatever seems symbolic of some spiritual transition at the time, I guess
"Dust" = Manna or Brimstone
Chests = Reliquary or Ark

"Philosophy"

Classes
Fighter = Logic
Magic User = Epistemology

Cleric = Ethics
Thief = Political Philosophy
Elf = Metaphysics
Dwarf = Metaphilosophy
Halfling = Aesthetics

Monsters
Goblin = The Paradox of the Heap or Moral Luck
Orc = Logical Fallacies (especially Argumentum ad baculum) or the Gettier Problem
Troll = Zeno's Paradox or the Ship of Theseus
Skeleton = P-Zombie or the Mind-Body Problem
Lich = The Problem of Evil or Solipsism
Dire Wolf = Utility Monster or the Problem of Induction
Dragon = Platonic Ideal or the Münchhausen Trilemma

Dungeon Dressing
Walls = Stereotypical Ancient Greek Architecture
Doors = Operated by Maxwell's Demon
"Dust" = Reams of paper, used coffee cups, angels on pinheads
Chests = Chinese Room, Beetle-in-a-Box