Elemental Reductions

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Thoughts on Dragons

This is post is for last month's RPG Blog Carnival topic: hosted on Sea of Stars . The gods have continued to laugh at my plans, so I'm a little late. Nobody is sure what dragons really are. Some believe they are related to demons: that they are merely agents required for the creation of the universe. As evidence of this, they posit: A common language they are all born understanding, even if the least of them are incapable of speaking that tongue. The universal pride and avarice even the most virtuous of their kind demonstrate. Their incredible affinity with certain forms of magic that dragons have, and Their fecundity with creatures of other kinds. In contrast, others, including most of the scholars of the Southern Sands, argue that unlike demons or other outsiders, dragons Can breed true amongst themselves. The most powerful of them lay small clutches of eggs incredibly rarely, while the more common kinds freque...

Stormheart: Between Air & Water

This is post is for this month's RPG Blog Carnival topic: Other, Between, and Under hosted by vdoughnut . Once again, the gods laughed at my plans, and the full work is beyond the scope of a single blog post, so I'll share a link to the GDocs draft, of course down below. First, let me say that for a setting I have never had a chance to play, I really love the concept of Spelljammer . I like creating wild fantasy settings that go beyond another hex crawl on a world, to a world crawl. So along these lines, I decided to make a setting that takes place on a pocket plane between the elemental planes of air and water. Here's the introduction which paints some broad brushstrokes of what's going on: Stormheart is a small but cosmopolitan trading town that mostly exists in a pocket on the border of the Planes of Air and Water, on a plane one hundred miles in radius that separates the Sky from The Deep , l...

After Action Report: Strata Under the Temple Sessions 6

Session 6 Previous AARs: Strata Under the Temple Session 5 Strata Under the Temple Session 4 Strata Under the Temple Sessions 2 & 3 Strata Under the Temple Sessions 1 Case of Characters Player Characters Beep - Thief 4, Halfling, she/her, played by Soddentowel Hivara - Thief 4, Hagamido Saurian, she/her, played by Gwenchant "Red" Kolva - Thief 4, she/her, played by Socrates Steve - Wizard 4, Human, he/him, played by Soddentowel Zago - Wizard 4, Goblin, he/him, played by Socrates Zaphiel - Cleric 4, Elf, she/her played by Gwenchant NPCs Gasatano - Fighter, Hagamido Saurian Polima - Wizard, Hagamido Saurian, partner of Hivara Malita - Cleric of Bufamela-Sa, Hagamido Saurian Events At the end of last session, they defeated the semi-lich, a failed Hagamido that had tried to become a full lich. There was enough loot there for the party to advance to fourth level. Beep got the pair of magical boots, as a concession for not getting an unc...

After Action Report: Strata Under the Temple Sessions 5

Session 5 Previous AARs: Strata Under the Temple Sessions 4 Strata Under the Temple Sessions 2 & 3 Strata Under the Temple Sessions 1 Case of Characters Player Characters Beep - Thief 3, Halfling, played by Soddentowel Evara - Thief 3, transformed into a Hagamido Saurian, played by Gwenchant "Red" Kolva - Thief 3, played by Socrates Steve - Wizard 3, Human, played by Soddentowel Zago - Wizard 3, Goblin, played by Socrates Zaphiel - Cleric 3, Elf, played by Gwenchant NPCs Gasatano - Fighter, Hagamido Saurian Polima - Wizard, Hagamido Saurian Malita - Cleric of Bufamela-Sa, Hagamido Saurian Events While resting in the Hall of Scholars after fighting the Gray Ponderer, a secret door opened in the northern door, and the party was surprised by an emaciated Hagamido female in robes. It manically attacked with an icy touch, and seemed to be immune to their weapons. The party rallied and struck at the creature, but it seemed immune to most of t...

RPG Carnival: Beyond Vancian Magic Wrap-Up

Hello Friends! It was a blast to host RPG Blog Carnival 's 2024 year-end topic, Beyond Vancian Magic ! Thank you all so much for your input! In no particular order, here's what some of you shared as your response to the topic, along with attempts at summaries: Robgoblin kicks things off with Skills for the Magic-User . Starting with propositions for turning read magic and detect magic into skills, then suggesting some innovations with counterspells, upcasting, and harsher spell recovery to bring wizards closer to linear power progression. Xaosseed shares a spell point and spellburn system of magic , which briefly talks about the system Xaosseed uses to add more risk to magic when magic-users run dry, and shares a wish list of what the perfect magic system would have. VDonnut Valley gives us Beyond Vancian Magic - Wizards of Sword of Don II , which talks about magic of the culture in the wake of the fall of the Bronze Towers of Marano. Where onc...

Summoning Elementals

Summoning Elementals "It is known that the one can summon an elemental so easily, it can happen by accident," the teacher said. "It is known," the students intoned. "So it is important to know how to create circles of protection." The teacher picked up a piece of chalk from the table next to him, and held it up. "The simplest circle can be done with nothing more than a piece of chalk, or if one is most desperate, a finger drawn in the sand or dirt." He gets down on the ground at the front of the courtyard the class was sitting around, his knees creaking. He pauses for a moment and looks up to the class with an amused grin on his creased face. "It is said the witches of the north use very sharp knives for this, so that they may draw one anywhere!" He returns to his focus on the ground, and draws a simple circle, then a second one centered inside the first, half the height of a man, with a band a hand-span wide separating them. Then h...

d100 Elven Trinkets

Elven Trinkets Gifts from elves! They have a detectable but faint aura of magic. The mechanics should not be disclosed to the player, except through game play. If more than one token is carried at a time, only the one closest to the token carrier's body is the one that is in effect. If there is any contention or ambiguity, none work. Some GMs may want a token to have been carried for a full day before the bearer can activate it. d100 Item Mechanics 1 Panther Claw The bearer deals 1d4 normal combat damage with unarmed combat. 2 Golden Egg If the person carrying this dies, they are reincarnated, consuming the egg in a small spontaneous fire. They appear within a turn knowing the party and 75% of their previous incarnation's memories, although their knowledge may be different. 3 Golden Twig If the person carrying this takes a hit which would kill them , the twig instead turns into a normal dried twig, and crumbles into multiple pieces, and tha...