updated 01/25/2022 This monster came into being during a game. The party was trying to trap an unknown monster, patrolling the city invisibly at night. A thief tried to mug the one PC who was visible, and was beaten unconscious for his trouble. The party decided to use him as bait, to see if it would attract a monster. If turned over to the city
…
Darkworld Troll January 12, 2022
updated 01/25/2022 I'm not sure where I got the idea for this one, but it may be that the Rock Trolls of the Sword of Shannara inspired me, although these are quite different. Darkworld Troll Frequency very rare No. Encountered 1d12 or 6d6 Size L (7' tall) Move 150 feet Armour Class 2 Hit Dice 10+6 Attacks 3 Damage 1d6+8 / 1d6+8 / 3d6 Special
…
Cave Blinder January 12, 2022
updated 01/25/2022 Someone on Dragonsfoot needed a low level monster for an Underdark campaign, and this one popped into my head. This monster was originally published in Footprints, and the short fiction that was published along with this description is here. Cave Blinder Frequency very rare No. Encountered 1 (1d6) Size M (5' tall) Move 150 feet Armour Class 5 Hit Dice 3 Attacks 1
…
Glarck’s Remote Spell Books January 12, 2022
Glarck's Remote Spell Books by Bryan Fazekas, published in Footprints One of a traveling magic-user's greatest difficulties is carrying spell books. By their nature spell books are heavy, and magic-users of any significant experience require numerous books. The books are also extremely valuable, subject to damage or theft. During his long life the arch-mage Glarck tried many solutions to this problem, including: Books stored at
…
Glarck’s Printing Press January 12, 2022
Glarck's Printing Press by Bryan Fazekas, published in Footprints The Archmage Glarck, who for centuries ran the famous wizard's college that still carries his name, realized early in his career that the main limitations for wizards are the number of spells they can carry in memory, and in the labor required to create scrolls and other magic items that extend their abilities. As owner and
…
Weapons of Change January 6, 2022
Weapons of Change June 2013 This article was originally published in & Magazine Issue 5 in May 2013. Please note that the fiction section is the author's original version. The version published in the magazine was shortened for editorials reasons. Magic weapons are not always what they seem to be Wisl of Coomb drummed his fingers on the table, visibly irritated and obviously expecting faster
…
Revised Undead Turning Tables January 6, 2022
The article Extendable Rules for Turning Undead was originally written in 2005 and updated in 2011. It provides a consistent set of tables for turning undead, and consistent rules for determining the turning value of new and unique undead. This post contains just the tables for quick reference. For details regarding how to determine the Adjusted Hit Dice, read the main article. Table U5 --
…
Q&A With Tim Kask July 9, 2021
June 2013 This article was originally published in & Magazine, Issue 4 in February 2013. Recorded by Bryan Fazekas. Tim Kask, one of the people who helped create OD&D and AD&D, posts frequently to a Q&A forum on Dragonsfoot. Tim is kind enough to answer a lot of questions and has graciously permitted & Magazine to reprint select portions from his forum. Tim Kask is one of
…
Undead Unlimited! July 9, 2021
June 2013 This article was originally published in & Magazine, Issue 2 in August 2012. Written by Bryan Fazekas. Most adults have seen at least one of the plethora of zombie movies that have spawned like blowflies on a corpse since Night of the Living Dead premiered in 1968. In most of the movies the undead multiply as the people who are wounded – or killed but
…
Level Draining Is Metagaming July 9, 2021
June 2013 This article was originally published in & Magazine, Issue 2 in August 2012. Written by Bryan Fazekas. This is certainly an inflammatory title for an article. Next to alignment, level draining is possibly the most argued and divisive topic in Dungeons and Dragons. Many players express a horror of level draining that transcends character death – they'd rather have their character killed than level drained.
…