Went on a shopping spree...

I have procured Beyond The Wall and Other Stories (finally) and Fantastic Heroes and Witchery. Will have more to say as soon as done reading them. Mostly, though, I'm glad to be finally tasting the OSR's flavors of the month, the better to mine them for stuff.

ETA 11/26: Well, I was going to, but then I got distracted, because Doctor Who.

They have a Cave Troll...

Troll, Cave

Armor Class: 18
Hit Dice: 7*
No. of Attacks: 2 claws/1 bite or 1 weapon/1 bite
Damage: 1d6/1d6/1d10 or by weapon/1d10
Movement: 40'
No. Appearing: 1d8, Wild 1d8, Lair 1d8
Save As: Fighter: 7
Morale: 10 (8)
Treasure Type: D
XP: 735

Evolutionary cousins of the more widespread forest troll and scrag, or river troll, cave trolls, sometimes known as mountain trolls, are easily distinguished from their brethren by their grey, lumpy skin, bulkier frame, and diminished noses. Cave trolls lack the feral cunning of their cousins, though they have a somewhat greater aptitude for (extremely rough) speech and tool use, often brandishing heavy branches or even crude spears in battle. Although like all trolls they are fast healers, a cave troll's wounds mend in hours rather than minutes, and it has no affinity for regrowing lost appendages. Its primary means of defense instead lies in its extremely thick, rubbery skin, which is studded with rock-hard osteoderms like those of an Ankylosaur. So well-protected is a cave troll's hide that nothing short of a magic weapon can pierce it (though like all trolls, fire and acid have also proven deadly to them). Cave trolls also fear the sun, and are scrupulously nocturnal, for it is their greatest weakness. Exposing a cave troll to direct sunlight disorients it: It can act for only one round and is turned to stone in the next round if it cannot escape. Use the morale value in parentheses if a cave troll is confronted with fire, acid, or bright lights (at least the equivalent of a Continual Light spell). Cave trolls stand ten feet tall (when they manage to straighten up to their full height) and commonly reach a ton or more in weight.

Stats given are for BFRPG, but I'm sure you know how to convert the parts that need converting for your system of choice.

Aventures in the East Mark Explorer

So Adventures in the East Mark, which recently kickstarted its English release, offered a preview of its Explorer class, which I downloaded today. Rangers happen to have been my favorite class for as long as I've been playing D&D, but the AD&D interpretation of them never quite rubbed me right. But I remain fond of the concept and whenever I see that someone has a take on them, I like to give it a look. This time around, I think I like what I see and I may just use it next time I have need of a ranger. They don't seem to have included attack or save tables for it in the preview, though. I figure, just on eyeballing, that Cleric attack tables and Fighter saves would probably be fair. But if anyone's got it already (either the translation or the original Spanish release) and wants to correct my guess, that would be great too.

Back on the horse

Okay, so a few days ended up being more like... a month. So sue me, it's been kind of a difficult fall for me. What else is new?

I've been rolling around the idea of a Wizard Without Spells in the vein of Talysman's Cleric Without Spells for a while now, but the going is a little slow. For some reason spells as specific, repeatable programs with a single function is one of those D&Disms that does get tiresome for me now and then. I dunno, I'd like to try out something a little different when it comes to magic.If anyone still reads this and has suggestions for products or blog posts or whatever I should look at, let me know.

Literary Cleric Answer key

Sorry I haven't been posting more, I've just had stuff on my mind that's upset me too much to think much about gaming. I might be a few more days before I feel up to a more substantial post, but we shall see. Here's the answers for my last post.

1. Eli, The Book of Eli
2. Saint Walker, Green Lantern
3. Brutha, Small Gods
4. Shepherd Book, Firefly
5. Friar Tuck
6. Claude Frollo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
7. Cardinal Richelieu, The Three Musketeers
8. The Undertaker-- specifically as he was portrayed in the late 90s "Ministry of Darkness" angle
9. The High Sparrow/Septon, A Song of Ice and Fire
10. Scar, Fullmetal Alchemist
11. Monsignor Martinez, King of the Hill
12. Mightily Oats, Discworld
13. Aang, Avatar: The Last Airbender
14. Durkon Thundershield, Order of the Stick
15. Joshua "The Burned Man" Graham, Fallout New Vegas
16. The Impressive Clergyman, The Princess Bride
17. The Baby-Eating Bishop of Bath and Wells, Blackadder
18. Thulsa Doom, Conan the Barbarian (the Ahnuld one)
19. Jaela Daran, Eberron Campaign Setting
20. Yuna, Final Fantasy X

Which Literary Cleric am I ripping off for this NPC

I love Jack and his blog, but given that he's already moved on to villains I think this one is gonna have to fall to me. Answer key will be posted when I feel ready to.

1	This blind wanderer carries the last copy of a forgotten holy book, in a language only he knows how to read. The gods guide him with such surety that few people ever notice he can't see them.
2	As a world-shaking disaster loomed and chaos reigned, he stood in public and delivered a sermon, urging people not to lose faith. Then a few started listening to him. Gradually, a few became many, and then many became all. Their hope was rewarded, and so was his.
3	Believe it or not, the small animal this simpleminded novice keeps by his side is his god's earthly form.
4	This gentle priest has a suspicious amount of pull with those in power, and an equally suspicious knowledge of the ways of thieves and assassins. He is deceptively handy with a weapon. Though he has taken a vow never to kill, he maintains that he is under no obligation not to cripple his enemies.
5	This fat friar settled down with a band of outlaws to keep them on the up-and-up. He can wield sword or staff alongside any of them.
6	This stern archdeacon is tormented by his lustful obsession with a wandering dancer, whom he believes is a witch that has enchanted him.
7	This scheming patriarch seeks to expose the indiscretions of the queen in order to increase his political influence over the king.
8	This deathless outcast has fought against and fought alongside his half-demon brother countless times. Unbeknownst to him, the higher power he conducts dark rituals in the name of is none other than the son of the corrupt king he seeks to overthrow. It is whispered that there is one day a year on which he can never be defeated.
9	This small, worn-looking high priest was granted his office after the assassination of his predecessor, when a mass of his supporters invaded the chamber of the church's council with him raised upon their shoulders. Thanks to his negotiating of a deal with the Regent of a major kingdom, clerics of his faith are no longer barred from fighting.
10	This scarred warrior-priest has renounced his religion, but has sworn to avenge the people who practiced it on the order of wizards who committed genocide against the people who practiced it using their own magic.
11	This dark-haired priest has killed hundreds, always after he solemnly repeats a single phrase in a foreign language.
12	For this axe-wielding reverend with an excruciatingly long name, the crusade against evil is not just a metaphor.
13	Though only twelve, this fun-loving youngster rose high in the ranks of his monastic order-- even without taking advantage of the fact that he is the vessel of a powerful spirit.
14	This plain-speaking dwarvish cleric was turned into a vampire recently, but he still intends to keep to his good-aligned faith.
15	This devout missionary once went astray and became second-in-command of a legion of brutal slavers, but returned to the fold after its leader had him set on fire and thrown off a cliff.
16	This well-dressed, doddering clergyman speaks at great length with an incredibly annoying speech impediment-- unless a nearby nobleman orders him to hurry it along.
17	While he has a good reputation, this depraved bishop openly practices cannibalism and usury.
18	A brutal warlord, this unaging snake-cult leader maintains that flesh is the strongest thing there is-- evidenced by the near-mindless obedience of his followers.
19	This dark-skinned young girl showed a gift of prophecy from an early age, leading her to become the spiritual leader of a nation when she was only four, after she ferreted out a cabal of disguised rakshasas. She shows a cleverness and wisdom far beyond her years. Within the temple that is her home, she is much stronger than she would be outside.
20	The daughter of a priest who sacrificed his life in a vitally-important ritual that must soon be repeated, this sheltered priestess is expected to follow in his footsteps, but she has fallen desperately in love with one of her traveling companions.

Okay I promise this will be the last post about how devils look for a while

My man Shonuff over at the Basic Fantasy RPG forums agreed to take my request for devil designs, and I'm proud to report that three are already done.

There's the Barbed Devil:

9/22: The Bearded Devil

9/23: The Chain Devil. Man that looks metal.

The Ice Devil (which I showed you before:

And the Pit Fiend (with, apparently, a friend):

I'm extremely happy with them, and if he does the rest I'll add them to this post later.