One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” -Hunter S. Thompson


Wednesday, April 24, 2019

The Forbidden Wilderlands Calendar

One of the big efforts I'm trying to make in my Forbidden Wilderlands campaign is to keep proper track of time. I'm using a modified version of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy calendar as follows:

BALOZKINAR’S CORRECTED COMMONERS’ CALENDAR

Current Year: 4433 BCCC

The days of the Week:

Raistlin Eyeby RaistlinEye

Airday
Waterday
Earthday
Fireday
Spiritday

The Months:

There are six weeks in a month with a week long festival at the end of the year.

(January) Thawmist
(Febuary) Flowerbloom
(March) Sweetrain
(April) Longrass
(May) Warmshade
(June) Thistleburn
(July) Harvestime
(August) Blackmoon
 (September) Willowind
(October) Maggotfeast
(November) Coldrain
(December) Gloomfrost
(December) Year's End

Monday, April 22, 2019

The Greater Homunculus

Fblthp, the Lost  by Jesper Ejsing
Greater homunculi are created to act as servants to wizards and artificers. Their role is to fill in that space between a tiny homunculus familiar and that of a large shield guardian or golem. These creatures have been granted a certain amount of intelligence and free will that allows them to complete tasks without requiring explicit orders. This free will can be a problem when rivalries or trouble making homuculi run amok when the master isn't around to keep them in check...

Homunculus, Greater
Small construct, neutral

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 23 (5d6+5)
Speed 30 ft.
    STR                       DEX                    CON                  INT              WIS                      CHA 
   12 (+1)                  14 (+2)                 12 (+1)              10 (+0)          10 (+0)                 11 (+0)
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, poisoned
Senses Darkvison 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages speak and understand language of creator
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Keen Sight. The Homunculus has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Actions
Multiattack. The Homunculus makes two fist attacks or four short bow attacks.

Fist. Melee weapon attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4+1) bludgeoning damage.

Shortbow. Ranged weapon attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercinging damage.


Bucking Tradition: The Forbidden Wilderlands Square Crawl

When I first conceived of doing the Forbidden Wilderlands I had planned it as a hex crawl that I would adapt from the Wilderlands of High Fantasy Elphand Lands hex map. I wanted to have a blank map the players could fill in as they discovered stuff but I couldn't find a blank hex map of the size and style I wanted. Then I saw the Mutant Year Zero RPG and how they present a map with squares instead of hexes. I was a little concerned about what a square crawl would mean in terms of how a traditional hex crawl works, but to be honest it works perfectly fine. Moving diagonally is allowed and costs no extra movement (though technically it should, I didn't think that level of detail mattered). Each square is 5 miles square. The best thing is that the sheets of paper I made my map with are big enough the players can write all sorts of notes on the map directly so eventually we will have a pretty cool artifact of the campaign!

This is the map in all its glory!

This is the starting area of the campaign 

Just a random shot of the map.

Player Notes

More player notes

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Experience Points in the Forbidden Wilderlands Campaign

This is how I having been giving out XP out in my Forbidden Wilderlands campaign. So far it's been working out pretty well. The idea was to reward finding treasure and discourage fighting monsters old school style. When the players first realized how little XP they got from fighting monsters it was a real shock to them. I use the carousing rules from Jeff Reints blog. I've had mixed reactions from it and I'm not sure if we will continue to use it. 

Experience Points Check List
Did you:
  • Show up to the game session? [100 XP/Individual]
  • Travel through at least one unexplored hex on the map? [100 XP/Individual]
  • Discover a new adventure site/dungeon level? [100 XP/Individual]
  • Defeat one or more monsters? [half defeated monsters listed XP divided by group]  
  • Find a treasure? [1 XP/gp divided by group
  • Build a function in your stronghold? [100 XP/Individual]
  • Risk your life for another PC? [100 XP/Individual]
  • Perform an extraordinary action of some kind or earn inspiration? [100 XP/Individual]
  • Spend gold on carousing [see carousing table per Individual]
  • Did you suffer from your flaw? [100 XP/Individual]
  • Did you roleplay your Bond/Ideal? [100 XP/Individual]

Carousing Rules
1) Spend 1d6 x 100 gp and gain that much XP
2) Make DC 15 Constitution Save
3) If you fail roll 1d20 on carousing table.
4) If you spend more money than you have you owe that much to an organization or friend.
                 
*multiply individual rewards by characters’ tier
Tier 1: levels 1-5
Tier 2: levels 6-10
Tier 3: levels 11-15

Tier 4: levels 16-20

Friday, April 19, 2019

Deities of the Forbidden Wilderlands

This is a list of the deities in my Forbidden Wilderlands campaign. I used a mix of gods from Steven Erikson's Malazan novels, Wilderlands of High Fantasy and Frog God Games. I was trying to go for a very swords and sorcery flavour. The idea was that the gods should be eclectic and not be so ordered that everything makes sense but their spheres of influence overlap or contradict each other depending on race and religious dogma. 


Deity
Alignment
Domains
Amala, Goddess of Wisdom
LG
Knowledge, War
Ardatha, Goddess of Spiders
CE
Trickery
Armadad Bog, God of the Viridians
LE
Death, Evil
Apsal’ara, Goddess of Thieves
CN
Trickery
Beru, God of Storms
CE
Tempest
Burn, Goddess of Earth
N
Life, Nature
Cilborith, God of Elves
CG
Light
Cotillion, God of Assassins
NE
Death
Crippled God, God of Chaos
CE
Trickery
Dessembrae, God of Soldiers
LE
Death
Draconus, God of the Forge
NG
Forge, Knowledge
D’rek, God of Decay and Autumn
CE
Death
Edgewalker, God of the Ethereal
N
Knowledge
Errastus, God of the Deck of Many Things
N
Knowledge
Fener, God of War and Winter
CN
War
Gedderone, Goddess of Spring and Nature
NG
Life
Grizzin Farl, God of Blood and Slaughter
CE
War
Harmakhis, God of Death
CE
Death, Grave
Hood, God of the Underworld
LE
Death, Grave
Kaladan Brood, God of War and Earthquakes
CG
Tempest, War
Kazadarum, God of the Dwarves
N
War
Kilmandaros, Goddess of Destruction
CE
Death, War
K’rul, God of Magic
NG
Knowledge
Mael, God of the Sea and Storms
CN
Tempest
Mitra, God of CIviization
LG
Light
Modron, Goddess of the Roglaroon
N
Knowledge
Mother Dark, Goddess of the Night
LG
Life, Nature
Mowri, Goddess of Beggers, Slaves and Serfs
NG
Life, Nature
Muir, Goddess of Paladins
LG
War
Mycer, God of Peace
LG
Knowledge, Life, Nature
Nerruse, Goddess of Sea and Wind
NG
Nature, Tempest
Olar Ethil, God of Lycanthropes
CE
Nature
Oppon, Twin Gods of Chance
CN
Knowledge, Trickery
Osserc, God of the Constellations
LG
Life, Light, War
Poliel, Goddess of Disease
CE
Death
Sechul Lath, God of Gambling
CN
Trickery
Set, God of Serpents
CE
Death, Tempest, Trickery
Seker, God of Light
LG
Knowledge, Light
Shadowthrone, God of Shadow
LN
Death, Life
Shedenul Soliel, Goddess of Healing
LG
Knowledge, Life
Thoth, God of Knowledge
N
Knowledge
Thyr, God of Law and Justice
LG
War
T’iam, Goddess of Dragons
LG
Life, War
Trake, God of Battle and Summer
LE
War
T’riss, Goddess of Dreams
LN
Knowledge
Umannah, God of the Sun
NE
Death, Light
Ursto & Pinosel, Gods of Beer and Wine
N
Life
Vatha Urusander, God of Light
NG
Life, Light
Vix, God of the Toblaki
N
Nature, War