The GLOG: Character Creation

So I have my fantasy heartbreaker: The GLOG.

I've put some stuff for it before, but nothing that really documented the character creation process.  So this is that document.  It has four different methods of character generation, each suited for a different purpose, and all similar enough that characters generated via different methods can play beside each other.  One fast, one faster, one for level-0 funnels, and one very slow and detailed.

etam cru

But you don't care about my fantasy heartbreaker.  You just want to know what's in it for you.  Well, it has:

• A d100 table of professions and equipment suitable for level 0 funnel characters.  (There are many like it, but this one is mine.)
• Random Bonds between starting characters, complete with mechanical effects.  An updated version of this.
• Random personalities, goals, and original reason for adventurin' (suitable for NPCs).  Pretty boring stuff, honestly.
• An updated version of my 3d6 Lifepath Generator, expanded and improved.  (The old one kind of sucked.)

Total length: 24 pages.  

Get it HERE.

It's suitable for all games that generate stats with 4d4.

If your game uses the inferior 3d6 method to generate stats, you can get your filthy version HERE.

chenthooran

Player-Player Bonds

So a lot of games establish player bonds during character creation.

"You once fought along side the person to your left."

"You have sworn to protect the person on your right."

Et cetera.  And that's a pretty cool idea.  But. . . it's possible for that sweet backstory to drop into the background.  Players and DMs might easily forget that Alice swore to protect Bob.

Hopefully, if those bonds are represented mechanically, they'll be more in the forefront of everyone's mind.  For example, if two member of your adventuring party are ex-husband and ex-wife, they might share a Vendetta, and be paying very close attention to each other's turns, because the Vendetta ability triggers whenever the other person fumbles.

big barda by Mike Hawthorne

Player-Player Bonds

1. Battle Brothers/Sisters - Years spent fighting together.
You each get +1 to hit as long as you attack the same target as your battle brother/sister simultaneously.

2. Destined Twins - You share everything.
Your HP is pooled and shared between the two of you.  Any negative physical effect that happens to one of you happens to the other, including death and or maiming.  (e.g. sympathetic limp if the other one loses a leg, nausea if the other one throws up, etc.)  This also works well for conjoined twin characters.

3. Favored Son or Daughter - You adventure alongside your offspring.
Your favored son or daughter must be lower level than you (and therefore, probably created after you).  They must also be the same race and class.  As long as you begin each session asking them "So what have we learned from all this?" they gain XP 10% faster, and whenever you assist them, you can double your bonuses you add to their attempt.

4. Friendship - Merry and Pippin.
You each get +4 to save vs fear when fighting beside each other.

5. Love - Shouldering one another's burdens.
When the object of your love would be hit in combat, you can take the blow instead.  This doubles the damage that the attack does.  Only works if you are adjacent to the target.

6. Master or Mistress - You have a servant or a slave.
Whenever you would take damage that would drop you to 0 HP or less, you can shove your servant in the way instead, as long as they are adjacent to you.  You take no damage, and your servant takes twice as much damage as you would have taken.

7. Multiple Personalities - A person of two minds.
This isn't really a player bond, it's more of a metagame mechanic.  Two players play this character, so if player A isn't there, player B plays that character.  If both players are there, treat the character as if they were 1 level higher.  If there is disagreement of what to do, flip a coin to determine who the dominant soul is.  This dominant soul cannot be challenged for 30 minutes of game time.

8. Protected - People are guarding you with their life.
If you take no damage during an entire gameplay session, everyone gets +10% xp. If you die, everyone gets half xp this session.

9. Rivalry - Striving to outdo one another.
When your rival gets a critical success, you get +4 on your next roll of the same type and crit on a 19-20, as long as it's made quickly.  You don't necessarily want them to fail, you just want to outdo them.

10. Servant or Slave - You have a master or mistress.
If your master spends their entire action giving you a command, you immediately get a free action to carry it out. (Hopefully this leads to lots of "Iago, slay this villanous goblin!"  "Yes, master!  I attack the goblin!") You must succeed on a Charisma check to disobey your master, or lie to them.  (You should also decide if you love your master or hate them.)

11. Sworn to Protect - Bound by honor.
If you are standing adjacent to the person you are sworn to protect, you can take hits for them.  Whenever they would take damage from a melee attack, you can roll an attack roll against the monster who damaged them.  If you succeed, the protected person takes no damage, and you instead take twice as much damage as they would have taken.

12. Vendetta - Filled with schadenfreude.
Whenever the target of your hate critically fumbles a roll, you get a +4 on the first roll you make next turn, and critical on a 19-20.  The other person doesn't have to be a hated enemy.  They could just be a cleric from another religion, or your ex.

How to Implement These?

I don't fuckin know.  Maybe at character creation, players who agree to a bond start with -1000xp for every bond or something.  This doesn't de-level them down to level 0, it just delays how long it takes for them to reach level 2.

These Aren't Balanced!

I know.  This was more of a brainstorming session, actually.

by Abigail Larson

Longstriders

Longstriders (a.k.a. longlanders) are either very tall people or very skinny giants.  In fact, scholars refer to them as common giants.

They look like humans whose arms, legs, and torso have been doubled in length without getting much wider.

Common Knowledge

Longstriders are wanderers, and so you'll find them around the world, traveling in small bands or families.  But a great deal of them also live around Revanwall, where nearly all of them have been forcibly integrated into human cities, where they serve as prestige slaves or honor guards.  Their culture, names, and religions are the same as their master's.

In the past, they were the victims of a brutal genocide that killed over 60% of their numbers, with the remainder enslaved.  But those days are mostly past, and enough longstriders have purchased their freedom in those centuries that they have sizable communities elsewhere, far from Revanwall.

In the Revanwall cities, you can still see their unmistakable bones used in various employs.  For a brief moment, it was the height of popularity to have a scabbard made out of a longstrider's 3' long femur.  Like coming back from from WW2 with a Luger.  You'll also see their blue-tinged bones in walking sticks, pipes, sword-grips, chandeliers, scrimshaw . . . everywhere, really.  Even ancient longstrider burial grounds have been exhumed, with the long bones harvested and the rest scattered.

I WANT TO RIDE A GIRAFFE

Outside of Revanwall, most people know longstriders as travelling merchants.  When they settle down in villages they tend to work physical jobs, like construction.  Established families usually get into moneylending.  They ride around on lightly-reskinned giraffes called longlander horses.  

They are known for their sharp business sense and affability.  They are so affable, in fact, that they won't even flinch when you bring out a scabbard made of longstrider bone and offer to sell it; they'll just start talking price, like any good merchant.  People will tell you that they're completely honest, or they'll tell you that they're the greatest liars the world has ever seen, but no one has a moderate opinion of their honesty.

I assumed this would be a common fetish, but I was wrong
there's very few pictures of massively elongated people out there

Uncommon Knowledge

The longlanders are a people without a history.  Are they interested in investigating their old cities, trying to reclaim their lost culture and language?  Nope.  There isn't any old culture or language to discover.  Anything to that effect was destroyed in the years since their enslavement.

This isn't to say that the longstriders haven't had "messiahs" or charismatic leaders that argued for a longstrider nation.  But these calls for homeland and history have always ended in violence, genocide, and persecution.  It is no wonder that modern longstriders have sought to distance themselves from these notions.

And so longstriders seem oddly incurious.  If you ask one, "Don't you want to know where your family came from?  Or where your home is?"  The longstrider will answer, "My family are those around me that I trust, and my home is where I wish to sleep tonight."  This is an answer which is both unusually tolerant and sadly close-minded.  It's the response of a people who have fled their history.

bayonetta is like 10' feet tall

Secret Knowledge

But there is something buried deep in the history of the longstriders.  Something that they don't understand and don't trust.

Longstriders can transfer curses with their breath.  They can literally inhale someone's curse, transferring it to themselves.  And they can transfer a curse back into someone else just as easily.

This power is never discussed openly, and it is only used with great reservation.  Many longstriders are ignorant of it themselves.

And when a longstrider eats the hearts of greater giantkin, their body undergoes a strange metamorphosis, and they develop potent powers.  There are a few longstriders who mutter that these powers mean that they were meant to be rulers among giants, but they are quickly silenced.  There is no suggestion more distasteful to the average longstrider than the notion that they are destined to be rulers.

Longstriders are humble with a passion and broadness that is incomprehensible to other races.  This is because, wherever their long legs carry them, they are always guests or slaves.  And arrogant guests do not survive long.

robert wadlow

LONGSTRIDER CHARACTERS

• Like a normal human, but stretched.  2x the height, 3x the weight.
• Most rooms and passages sized for humanoids count as cramped (-2 to hit).
• +100% range on thrown attacks.
• Can transfer curses to/from themselves via breath.  Can inhale a curse from a target's lungs, or exhale a curse into a target's lungs.  Unwilling targets must be restrained/asleep/unsuspecting, and get a save to resist.  The first time an unwilling target makes a save, the curse is effectively locked in place (as far as this longstrider is concerned; other longstriders can still attempt).
• Metamorphosis.  See below.
• Lifespan as human.

Metamorphosis: The first time a longstrider eats the heart of a giant with 4 HD or more, their eyes turn completely blue (pupil, iris, and sclera) and they can identify magic items as if they were a wizard of equal level.  If they are already a wizard, they can identify magic items as if they were a level higher.  Lifespan 2x human.

The first time a longstrider eats the heart of a giant with 7 HD or more, their hair falls out and their mucus membranes (lips, inside of the mouth, tongue, inside of eyelids, etc) turns milky white.  They gain the use of a secret chest, which is more or less like the spell.  It lets them store up to 5 items in an extradimensional bag inside their forehead.  Lifespan 3x human.

The first time a longstrider eats the heart of a giant with 10 HD or more, their skin turns pure blue and their eyes glow as bright as a candle.  They get telepathy with a range of 100'.   Additionally, their breath can transfer all enchantments, not just curses.  Lifespan 4x human.

Note: Think of them as fragile ogres.  They have long, thin limbs that tend to shatter after falling, and they lack the great strength of their giant kin.  Still, it seems a little odd to have 1 HD giants out there, so assume that any longstrider that you'll see in Centerra is a 3 HD peasant, at least.  If one of your players wants to roll up a 1 HD longstrider teenager, let them.  Option: add the caveat that three years need to go past before you can level up to 2 HD, and another 3 years before you can read 3 HD, or something like that.

POSSIBLUH RELATE?
ONLY YOU CAN DECIDED!

This book cost a dollar at the Dollar Store when I was a kid
Fuckin' loved it
Thanks for buying it for me, Mom.

Brackles, a PC Race

Inspired by a sweet picture over at Dungeons and Drawings, those mayfly fairies I wrote up that one time, and this video about cicadas.

My goal here was to create a player race that was all about depleting a non-renewable resource and then dying.

Brackles are plant people that live in forests.  They are born in the spring and die in the winter. Because of this, they are only suitable in a campaign where the DM keeps track of the weeks and the seasons.

They have angular faces with no visible eyes.  Their mouth resembles a beak.  While most of their body has the same proportions as a thin, wiry human, their heads are frightening clusters of thorns.  Despite their freakish heads, they are gentle creatures.  They sleep in trees, especially willows.  They call to each other by vibrating their heads.  It sounds a bit like a cicada.

They are hermaphroditic.  Brackles are born with approximated memories from their ancestors, so they remember basic history, geography, and language.  They even remember some of their parent's close companions and enemies.  (Woe to the man who angers a brackle--he may have a dozen more seeking revenge next year.)  They are fond of forests but tend to hate elves, who they see as impatient, inflexible, and terrified of change.  (They hate ents even more.)  Brackles are about moving, living, acting, doing, and dying.  They have healthy appetites, and get really excited at the prospect of drinking fresh water.

Despite (or because of) their short life span, brackles tend to be very focused on the future.  Most of them are concerned with only the future viability of their offspring, but some of them travel widely and take up other causes.

Each brackle is born anew.  (And PC brackles always start at level 1.)  They usually imitate their parents, so if a wizard brackle will spawn more brackles that will probably want to be wizards themselves.  But they're flexible, and will practice whatever craft pleases them.  Some of them live in cities, briefly, but only until the fall when a powerful instinct drives them to travel widely to plant their seeds.  (This is also when they grow wings.)

Nearly all of them write poetry.  A lot of it is quite good.  (Not poetry like sonnets, but poetry like haikus.)

In this world

we walk on the roof of hell, 

gazing at flowers. 

Centuries of past incarnations are remembered in brackle brains, like half-remembered dreams.  When two brackle meet, they often discuss their memories to see if they share some ancient ancestor.  But they exchange pollen first, of course.

Brackles don't have cities, but they do maintain a few holy sites for their old pagan religion.  They cluster around these monoliths at the start of winter and then all die together, forming a miniature forest of dead brackles.

Not all of them are pagans, and missionaries have brought many of them to the Church.  Quite a few brackles will approach a Church at the start of winter, in order to donate their worldly possesions and die politely in the graveyard.

STATS

Each brackle is born with 3d6 razor-sharp needles from their heads, which they can shoot as accurately as arrows.  The thorns deal 1d8 damage on a hit (except for Winter, see below).  Once fired, these needles can never regrow.  But on the upside, they never count as inventory items.

Brackles also get +1 Con and -1 Cha.

They have different racial abilities based on what time of the year it is.

In the Spring, brackles still have their baby scream, much like a mandrake.  They usually busy themselves learning as much about the world as they can.  Although they might speak perfect Common and have a head of their parent's memories, they might have forgotten what a cow is called, or that fish exist (followed soon after by the happy discovery that fried fish are delicious!)

• Small size (as halfling, 3'-4' tall)
• Shoot Thorns (1d8 damage)
• Scream 2/day: All creatures in 30' take 1d6 damage.  Brackles are immune to this. Save for half.

In the Summer, brackles develop a wide range of horrible pollens.  They also develop brilliant plumage from their heads and shoulders.  This is also when they seek out other brackles for pollination.  Brackles compulsively pollinate each other when they meet.

• Medium size (as human, ~5'-6' tall)
• Shoot Thorns (1d8 damage)
• Pollens 1/day each.  10' Cone.
• Sleep: Targets save or fall asleep for 1d4 minutes, as the sleep spell.
• Paralyze: Targets save or are paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.
• Poison: Targets save or lose 1 hp per round for 2d4 rounds.
• Fertilize: Useful for when you bump into another brackle.

In the Fall, brackles travel far and wide in order to plant their seeds in good locations.  They are very instinctual creatures.  They develop wings in this phase, and most of them are elated by the ability to fly.

• Medium size (as human, ~7' tall)
• Shoot Thorns (1d8 damage)
• Can fly at double normal speed.  Can only take off by running down a 100' hill, jumping off a 50' cliff, or leaping into a stiff headwind.  (By default, assume that the average day has a 50% chance of having a stiff headwind.)  They are clumsy in the air, though, and require large amounts of open air to make turns.
• Develop 3d6 seeds over the course of the fall.  A brackle that doesn't plant all of these seeds by winter will go irrevocably insane.  Planting locations must be widely spaced, in fertile ground, and safe from predation.

In the Winter, many brackle have nothing else to live for, and so they lie down and die.  Brackles that are adventurers sometimes stick around to help their friends or a particular cause.  They are so close to death.  They feel like they are dead.  These brackle can be very selfless, and will not hesitate a second to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

• Medium size (as human, ~7' tall)
• Shoot Thorns (1d4 damage + deadly poison.)
• Lose 3 points of Str, Dex, and Con.
• Automatically fail any saving vs death.
• Ignored by non-intelligent undead, intelligent undead feel a vague kinship with them.
• Can get +10 on a single action, but will then die immediately afterwards.

Necromancers

Still working on spell lists.  Holy fuck, spell lists.

I'm using a flexible MP system instead of spell slots (1 MP = 1st level spell).  And also, nearly all spells are first level spells that can be promoted into more powerful forms by spending more MP on them (equivalent to preparing them in a higher level spell slot).  A fuller discussion is here.

Here's the Necromancer.  They can raise undead minions, which is flipping sweet, but when they use a spell to raise one, the MP (spell slot) remains expended for as long as the undead is a minion of the necromancer.

SCHOOL OF NECROMANCY

Masters of undead minions. All three basic types of minions are flawed: Skeletons cannot recover lost HP in any way, zombies can be healed but their maximum HP erodes by 1 HP every day, and skin kites have a cumulative 1% chance of going berserk every day. The two kinds of advanced minions are better, but still have drawbacks. Poppets require your blood, while the crack zombies eat themselves to death in just a few rounds.

Perks

• +4 to Save vs Level Drain.
• Unlike other wizards, you can control the undead minions that you raise. However, the MP that you spent on that spell will never be regenerated as long as you control the minion (it stays expended). Commands that you can give mindless undead are limited to a single verb, optionally accompanied by pointing at something.

Drawbacks

• The hatred and fear of paladins and peasants everywhere.
• When you die or get knocked unconscious, you lose control of your undead minions, who will then behave erratically. Roll a d3: 1 – Return to your body and guard it against everyone, even your allies, 2 – Wander off in different directions, 3 – Attack everything, and when there is nothing left to attack, devour your body.
• Most hirelings will refuse to work for you.

spells 1-10 are ones you potentially start with, 11-30 are the ones you find on your journeys.

Spell List

Charm Undead Detect Undeath Fear Gentle Repose Invisible Servant Raise Skeleton Raise Skin Kite Raise Zombie Rot Speak With Dead

Blindness Blood Elixir Blood Funnel Call to Restless Spirit Curse of Undeath Essential Salts Explode Undead Exterminate False Death False Life

Gaseous Putrefaction Graft Undead Gnashing Shadows Kill Possess Undead Minion Raise Poppet Raise Twitcher Ruin (Frailty) See Invisible Wrack (pain)

And here's a selection of the more interesting spells:

Blood Elixir 1 Mana

R: touch T: corpse D: permanent

This spell takes 1 minute to cast, must begin within 1 round of the corpse's death, and requires reagents costing 100s (usually bat's blood, colloidal silver, and a Small vial). The brief ritual produces a blood-red elixir imbued with the knowledge of a random spell that was in the corpse's mind at the time of his death. If drunk, the spell is transferred to the drinker's brain, who is then free to either cast it or add it to their spellbook. Obviously, this spell has no effect on corpses who didn't have any spells Prepared at the moment of their death.

Call to Restless Spirit 1 Mana

R: dungeon T: - D: 0

You call out to restless ghosts. The call goes out throughout the entire dungeon, building, graveyard, battlefield, or whatever. If there are any aggressive ghosts or incorporeal undead anywhere in the dungeon, the nearest one will answer your call.

If there are no aggressive spirits, the nearest restless one will appear. Restless spirits usually want someone to deliver a message to a loved one, or to bury their corpse in a proper graveyard. If it is placated, usually by bundling up a mouldering skeleton in someone's Inventory, it will answer 1d6 questions about the place. (If there is a corpse of an adventurer in the dungeon, you have at least one restless corpse. But a particular dungeon may have more, or it may have none.)

Detect Undeath 1 Mana

R: - T: - D: constant

When you have this spell Prepared, you can activate it to determine if something is alive, undead or neither. 50' range.

Essential Salts 1 Mana

R: touch T: corpse D: permanent

This spell takes 1 minute to cast, must begin within 1 round of the corpse's death, and requires reagents costing 100s (usually ash from holy books, black salt, and a Small jar). The brief ritual produces a heart-sized pile of crystallized ashes, which contain the soul of the recently deceased.

Reversed: Call to Captured Spirit – This is a 1 hour ritual that requires only a fire. The soul contained in the salt is called forth, and can be conversed with freely while it is manifested within the smoke. Each spirit has a characteristic type of smoke, and they vary by color, density, odor, etc.

You have no special power over the spirit. All you can do is talk to it, although it the spell prevents it from leaving or from ignoring you—it must respond to your questions with something. Spirits that opposed you in life will continue to oppose you. If there is nothing that the spirit cares about anymore, it will be difficult to motivate. Some spirits are naturally helpful, some are perpetually stubborn. (When in doubt, roll a reaction roll.)

You can converse with the spirit for up to an hour, unless you wish to dismiss it earlier. The salts can be recovered from the ashes of the fire with a simple process. However, if the salts are scattered, or if a single drop of holy water touches them, the spirit will depart forever.

Explode Undead 1 Mana

R: 50' T: undead D: 0

If the target corporeal undead fails a Save, it explodes, dealing 1d6 damage to everything within 20', Save for half. No effect on incorporeal undead. No effect on undead with greater than 4 HD. +1 MP: +2d6 explosion damage, and +2 maximum HD.

Exterminate 1 Mana

R: 50' T: 20' diameter D: 0

Everything in the area take 1 damage, no Save. Swarms in the area instead take 2d6 damage, Save for half. Alternatively, this spell can be cast over 1 minute, which will allow it to kill all vermin in a house, including rats and fleas. +1 MP: +3d6 damage to swarms.

False Death 1 Mana

R: 0 T: creature D: 1 day

Willing creature dies. While dead, it does not rot (see gentle repose) but has no similar protection against being dismembered, eaten, or buried. When the duration has elapsed, the creature returns to life in exactly the same condition that it left it. You can set the spell to have a shorter duration if you wish. +1 MP: Duration extends to 1 month.

False Life 1 Mana

R: 0 T: creature D: 1 minute

Target creature gains 1d10 HP, which does not allow it to exceed it's maximum HP. Record this number. When this spell ends, the creature takes damage equal to the HP it gained.

This spell can even be used to (imperfectly) resurrect creatures that died within the last round with 2d6 HP. Creatures that are resurrected this way die permanently at the end of the spell's duration. The spell ends early if the creature notices that it is dead (no heartbeat, slashed jugular). +1 MP: +2d10 HP.

Kill 1 Mana

R: touch T: creature D: 0

Make a touch attack and then roll 1d10. If the amount rolled is greater than or equal to the targets remaining HP, the target dies, no Save. Otherwise, this spell has no effect. +1 MP: +2d10 rolled.

Ruin 1 Mana

R: 50' T: creature D: 1 min

If the target fails its Save, all damage it takes is increased by 2. +1 MP: +2 damage.

Rot 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 0

Target takes 1d6 damage as part of it darkens and rots. No Save. Can be used to rot out a center section of a wooden door wide enough for passage, or rot the shaft of a wood-hafted weapon. Doesn't work on anything immune to rotting. (So a zombie would be affected, but not a mummy full of preservatives.)

Wrack 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 0

If the target fails a Save, it takes 1d10 non-lethal damage from excruciating pain. +1 MP: +2d10.

And because I figure that the biggest appeal of being a necromancer is bossing around zombies, there are five different kinds of undead you can raise, and a few interesting spells that you can use on them:

You guys get how it works, right?  A 1 HD zombie costs 1 MP (a 1st level spell slot) for as long as it around.  A 3 HD zombie costs 2 MP (a 2nd level slot).  And of course, you need to get those corpses in the first place.  All the undead (except the poppet) have some sort of planned obsolescence baked into them, so you can't keep them around a long time (or you won't want to).

Raise _____
R: touch T: corpse D: permanent
Spells that raise undead have a lot in common.  Exceptions will be noted under the individual spell.

The spell takes 1 minute to cast.  It creates a 1 HD undead, unless the corpse came from a creature with fewer HD.  The spell requires reagents costing 10s per HD, usually in the form of black peridots and silvered coffin nails.  Any wizard can raise undead, but only Necromancers can control them (pXX).  Undead have attack bonuses equal to their HD.  None of the undead listed below are capable of speaking.  +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise Autophage 1 Mana

R: 50'

Autophages look like zombies on crack. They twitch so violently and move with so little coordination that they literally tear themselves apart. Theya are constantly eating themselves and fidgeting.  An autophage uses d12s for HD, has AC 10, Movement 12, and does 1d4+HD damage. It takes damage each round equal to its HD, and is incapable of standing still or being quiet. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise Poppet 1 Mana

T: parts from 10 corpses

A poppet is not created from 1 corpse, but from the leftovers of at least 10 corpses whose HD is irrelevant.  (Any fewer will result in an insane poppet.)  It's appearance depends on the exact parts that went into its construction. Poppets are the only undead that show signs of emotion. They watch you while you sleep. A poppet uses d4s for HD, has AC 12, Movement 10, Stealth 10, and does 1d4+HD damage. It also does +3 damage when it attacks an unsuspecting target. Each day, a poppet must be fed 1 HP of your blood for every HD it possesses, or else it crumbles away into powder. +1 MP: +2 HD.

Raise Skeleton 1 Mana

A skeleton has AC 14, Movement 9, and does 1d4+HD damage. They can wield a weapon, if given one. There is no way to restore HP to a Skeleton once it has been lost. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise Skin Kite 1 Mana

A skin kite uses d4s for HD, has AC 12, Fly 12, and attaches to a target on a successful attack. While attached, it automatically deals 1d4+HD damage per turn. Although they lack sentience and emotions, skin kites are about as smart as a well-trained dog, and are capable of remembering locations, people, and names. Each day, a skin kite has a cumulative 1% chance of going berserk, usually at the worst possible time. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise Zombie 1 Mana

A zombie uses d12s for HD, has AC 10, Movement 6, and does 1d4+HD damage. They get -2 to hit, but if the attack roll succeeds by 4 or more, they grab their opponent. Each day, a zombie decays, causing its maximum HP to decrease by 1. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Elementalist Wizards

So I'm still trying to kludge all my house rules into a system.  

No wizard is just a "wizard".  Everyone belongs to a school.  So far, I've got Elementalists, Illusionists, Necromancers, and Noise Wizards.  I'll probably throw in a Grognomancer for reverse compatibility.

Every wizard school has perks and drawbacks.  They also have a mostly-unique spell list.  Wizards can learn spells from other schools, but it costs them a Skill Slot.  Hopefully, this will be enough that a necromancer will never feel like an illusionist, even if they've both learned some of each other's spells.

(Every character has a number of Skill Slots equal to their Intelligence, which they can fill with skills, languages, and special abilities that they learn in the course of their journeys, like kung fu.  Spells from a different school compete with all of those other cool things.)

Anyway, elementalists are the most boring of those schools, because half of their spells focus on dealing straight damage (which is a lot of spells).  But I've tried to make them interesting both mechanically and flavor-ly.

Interpreting this bullshit:

If you see 1 MP or 1 Mana, that just means its a first level spell.  2 MP = 2nd level spell, etc.  You'll notice that everything down there is a 1st level spell.

Some spells can be reversed and prepared as their opposite.  This is familiar to you, hopefully.

Some spells can be promoted, and prepared as a higher MP spell (higher level spell).

If a spell can be promoted, you'll see something like "+1 MP: +2d6 damage".

That means that if you prepare the spell in the next higher slot, it'll deal +2d6 damage.

Check out the fireball spell; it'll make sense.

The whole point of making spells promotable is to prevent the quadratic wizard thing. Which is to say, a spell doesn't get more powerful just because the caster is a higher level.  If you want a more powerful spell, spend more MP on it, i.e. prepare it at a higher level.

A lot of these spells might be more powerful than what you're used to seeing.  This is because I've tried to make every spell (nearly) as useful as the benchmarks of sleep, fireball, and magic missile, and certainly more useful than an arrow fired by the party fighter (attack roll, ~1d6+1 damage).  For example, Acid Arrow, if prepared as a level 2 spell, will deal 5d6 (17) damage over 5 rounds, which is an insane amount.  But it seems more balanced when you consider that it requires an attack roll to hit, the target has 5 rounds to wash the acid off by jumping in some water, and the wizard just spent half of his daily MP to cast that wicked bit of magic.

Also, some of these spells are constant spells.

That means that preparing them and casting them are the same thing--you can enjoy the spell's effect for as long as you have the spell prepared.  Sometimes the effect is passive, and sometimes the spell is activated.  If it's an activated effect, it's pretty much the same thing as "If you've prepared this spell, you can cast it as many times as you want today."

There are five constant spells below: feather fall and four different control whatever element spells.

There's 30 spells below.  The first 10 are the introductory spells that you roll on whenever you roll up a new wizard.  The remaining 20 you'll have to discover over the course of your travels. 

There's a lot of spells down there, and you've probably seen most of them, so I've tried to label the interesting ones in red.

SCHOOL OF ELEMENTALISM

The Elements (and their Sub-elements) are Fire, Water (and Ice), Earth (and Acid), and Air (and Lightning).  The explicit Element of each spell is not labeled, but suffice to say that if a spell is about making the ground grab someone's feet, it's an Earth spell.

Perk

• +3 to Save vs elemental damage. No bonus on things that don't involve damage.

Drawbacks

• Cannot cast Fire spells if soaking wet or underwater.
• Cannot cast Water (or Ice) spells if dehydrated (i.e. have you drank water today?).
• Cannot cast Earth (or Acid) spells unless touching the ground, or a building that is touching ground.
• Cannot cast Air (or Lightning) spells unless you have access to the sky (i.e. could a sparrow fly from your mouth to the sky?). A good reason to leave the window ajar when you sleep.

Spell List

Anklecrusher Buoyancy* Control Fire Control Water Control Air Control Earth Feather Fall Ice Breath Ignite Shocking Grasp

Acid Arrow Burning Hands Circle of Frost Dissolve Evaporate* Fireball Frozen Zone Hide in Stone Light Lightning Bolt

Protection from Fire* Purify Elemen t Scorching Ray Stoneskin Water Breathing* Wall of Earth Wall of Wind Wall of Wind Wind Scythe Whispering Wind

Acid Arrow 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 1 rnd

Target takes 1d6 acid damage, which repeats 1 round later unless the target washes it off by jumping in some water (or whatever). Requires a ranged attack roll to hit your target. +1 MP: +3 round duration.

Anklecrusher 1 Mana

R: 50' T: 2 obj/creatures D: 0

Target creatures or objects are grabbed by the ground itself. If a creature fails a Dex Test, it takes 1d6 damage and is immobilized until it can win a Strength Contest against the ground. The effective Strength of the ground depends on what it is made out of: Dirt 8, Clay 12, Limestone 16. Obviously, this spell has no effect on things that aren't touching the ground. If cast on a creature that is prone, they automatically fail their Dex Test. +1 MP: Double number of targets.

Bouyancy* 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 10 min

If cast on an object, it will float on top of the water. Underwater objects will be brought to the surface. If cast on a person, it will allow them to walk on top of the water. Works in anything that's mostly water. Works on things no larger than a rowboat. Unwilling targets get a save.

Reversed: Drown, forces an object to stay below the surface of the water. Trying to get your head above water is like pushing against a lead blanket. It is possible to get your head out of the water, but only if you can get your feet on solid ground (shallows) and beat the spell in the Strength Contest (Str 18). A snorkel would also work.

Burning Hands 1 Mana

R: 20' T: cone D: 0

Does 1d4 damage to all targets, Reflex Test for half. Highly flammable stuff (e.g. paper) will ignite. +1 MP: +2d4 damage.

Circle of Frost 1 Mana

R: 0 T: 10' radius D: 3 rnds

Does 1d4 damage to all targets, Reflex Test for half. Everything that fails its Test is frozen to whatever surface they were touching. Boots are frozen to the ground, keys are frozen in their locks. Creatures are usually immobilized from the boots down unless they were playing in a fountain or something. Attempting to break loose is a free action that can be attempted once per round, and requires a successful Strength Contest vs the ice (usually Str 10). +1 MP: +1d4 damage and +3 to Str.

Control Air 1 Mana

R: - T: - D: constant

While you have this spell Prepared, you can control a gust of wind within 50'. The exact effects of this spell never last longer than 1 round (unless the caster is concentrating on it) and are subject to DM interpretation, but should include: (a) clear away fog or gas, (b) extinguish a fire no larger than a torch, (c) blow all the papers off a desk, (d) with concentration, provide enough of a breeze to power a tiny sailboat. Additionally, non-magical gusts of wind will never extinguish a torch you are holding or interfere with a missile you shoot. +1 MP: More awesome effects; talk to your DM.

Control Earth 1 Mana

R: - T: - D: constant

While you have this spell Prepared, you can control a smallish amount of earth within 50'. The exact effects of this spell never last longer than 1 round (unless the caster is concentrating on it) and are subject to DM interpretation, but should include: (a) excavating a bucket's worth of dirt, (b) excavating the same amount, (c) causing the earth to quickly swallow a small item, or quickly swallow a non-resisting person, chest, or signpost, (d) exhume something at the same rate, (e) knock over some hobo's shack with a tiny tremor. +1 MP: More awesome effects; talk to your DM.

Control Fire 1 Mana

R: - T: - D: constant

While you have this spell Prepared, you can control a smallish amount of fire within 50'. The exact effects of this spell never last longer than 1 round (unless the caster is concentrating on it) and are subject to DM interpretation, but should include: (a) causing a fire to double in size, power, and brightness, (b) create a huge amount of smoke, (c) extinguish a fire no larger than a torch, (d) have a small ember (0 damage) jump 1' off the fire, (e) ignite something that is meant to be burnt, such as a match, cigarette, or fuse, (f) heat up a cup of tea to a pleasant temperature, (g) cause a creature that is on fire to take double damage. +1 MP: More awesome effects; talk to your DM.

Control Water 1 Mana

R: - T: - D: constant

While you have this spell Prepared, you can control a smallish amount of water within 50'. The exact effects of this spell never last longer than 1 round (unless the caster is concentrating on it) and are subject to DM interpretation, but should include: (a) propelling a small boat, (b) carrying a small item through the water, (c) allowing someone to swim at 2x speed, (d) forcing someone to swim at half speed, (e) splash something no more than 5' away, (f) dry out something that is wet, (g) freeze a small amount of water, (h) cool down a hot cup of tea. +1 MP: More awesome effects; talk to your DM.

Dissolve 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: concentration

While casting this spell and continuously concentrating on it, the object that you are staring at takes 1d4 acid damage per round as it begins to dissolve (Constitution Test for half). You can even use this spell to bore holes in walls, but it only makes a hole 1' and creates a lot of acidic sludge on the floor. Makes a hole through stone at about 1” per 10 minutes; or about 1” per minute in wood. No effect on metal. +1 MP: +2d4 damage per round.

Evaporate 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 0

About a bucket's worth of water evaporates from the target. Most animals take 1d6 damage, with a Constitution Test for half. Creatures that have contain no water take no damage, but creatures that are made of water (e.g. water elementals) take double damage. This spell also creates a cloud of steam in a 10' radius around the object (see the fog cloud spell). This spell has other uses: it can kill a patch of green slime (and create an acidic cloud) or cause a potion pop its cork and evaporate. +1 MP: +2d6 damage.

Reverse: Condense – condenses a fog or mist into a very brief rain. Affects a 20' radius area.

Feather Fall 1 Mana

R: - T: - D: constant

If you have this spell Prepared an suddenly find yourself falling, you can slow your fall to a silly degree (60' per round) so that you take no damage from the fall. You can cast this spell instantly, even when it's not your turn. 

Fireball 1 Mana

R: 50' T: 10' radius D: 0

Everything in the area take 1d6 fire damage, Save for half. Does not ignite anything. +1 MP: +2d6 damage.

Frozen Zone 1 Mana

R: 50' T: 10' radius D: 2 turns

Area rapidly begins losing heat. Every creature that finishes their turn in this area take 1d6 ice damage, Save for half. Will freeze water solid by the end of the spell's duration. +1 MP: +2d6 damage.

Hide in Stone 1 Mana

R: touch T: stone surface D: 10 min

Your body merges into the stone surface you touch. The stone must be continuous and not smaller than you. You can hear through the stone, but cannot see. If the stone is damaged or messed with via magic, you are expelled and stunned for 1d6 turns. +1 MP: Bring 2 willing people along with you.

Ignite 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 0

Target object takes 1d6 damage and catches on fire. Creatures can make a Save to avoid catching on fire. (Rules for being on fire: take 1d6 at the end of each turn until a turn is spent putting the fire out.) +1 MP: +2d6 damage.

Ice Breath 1 Mana

R: 20' T: cone D: 0

Does 1d4 damage to all targets, Constitution Test for half. Extinguishes all fires smaller than a big bonfire. +1 MP: +2d4 damage.

Light 1 Mana

R: touch T: object/creature D: 2 hr

Touched object shines as bright as a torch where you touch it. Alternatively, this spell blind a creature by expelling all of its light as a bright flash in the eyes. This requires an attack roll. Most creatures are only blinded for 1d6 turns, but light-sensitive creatures (orcs, drow, etc) are blinded for 1d6 hours.

Lightning Bolt 1 Mana

R: 200' T: 1' wide line D: 0

Everything in the line takes 1d6 lightning damage, Save for half. +1 MP: +2d6 damage.

Protection from Fire 1 Mana

R: touch T: object/creature D: 10 min

Reduce all fire damage the target takes by 4. Alternatively, the spell can be cast on the whole party to protect them from the negative effects of heat, as if from a hot desert, for the next 8 hours. +1 MP: reduce all fire damage taken by a further 6 points.

Reversed: Protection from Ice – This should be pretty self-explanatory.

Shocking Grasp 1 Mana

R: 0 T: self D: 10 min

You enchant your hand so that it discharges 1d8 damage worth of electricity into the next thing you touch with it. Touching an unwilling opponent requires an attack roll (but they get no save). +1 MP: +2d8 damage.

Purify Element 1 Mana

R: 50' T: varies D: 0

Causes an element to reject impurities. Affects a variable amount of matter, depending on the element: a large bucket of water, a bonfire of fire, a small boulder of stone, or a large room full of air. Impurities will usually condense/accumulate as pellets and be pushed to the surface/bottom/floor. Doesn't work on creatures.

Scorching Ray 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 0

Fire a ray at a target, dealing 1d10 fire damage with a successful attack roll. +1 MP: Fire +2 additional rays, possibly at separate targets.

Stoneskin 1 Mana

R: 0 T: self D: 10 min

Reduce all physical damage that you take by 2. +1 MP: reduce damage taken by a further 2 points.

Water Breathing 1 Mana

R: touch T: creature D: 2 hr

Target can breath under water, in addition to their normal modes of respiration.

Reversed: Air Breathing – Target can breath air.

Wall of Earth 1 Mana

R: 10' T: 10' x 10' wall D: 1 min

Create a wall in an empty space (not occupied by anything) with any orientation, but if it is horizontal, at least two sides of it must be anchored or the spell will fail. You can mold the wall, similar to cutting holes and notches in a 10' x 10' sheet of paper. Wall is solid—it's a wall. Wall is not hard to destroy, as it has AC 0 and HP 2d8. +1 MP: +2d8 HP.

Wall of Fire 1 Mana

R: 10' T: 10' x 10' wall D: 1 min

Create a wall in an empty space (not occupied by anything) with any orientation. You can mold the wall, similar to cutting holes and notches in a 10' x 10' sheet of paper. Wall does not block sight, but it will deal 1d6 fire damage to anything that passes through it (Save for half), as well as ignite adjacent flammable things after one round. +1 MP: +2d6 fire damage.

Wall of Wind 1 Mana

R: 10' T: 10' x 10' wall D: 1 min

Create a wall in an empty space (not occupied by anything) with any orientation. You can mold the wall, similar to cutting holes and notches in a 10' x 10' sheet of paper. Wall does not block sight, but powerful winds will knock small projectiles out of the air and prevent vermin (anything smaller than a rat) from passing. Ranged attacks (arrows, etc) that pass through the wall get -3 to hit. +1 MP: Additional -5 penalty to ranged attacks.

Wind Scythe 1 Mana

R: 50' T: object/creature D: 0

Make a melee attack roll with the slashing weapon in your hand, and apply it to any object/creature within 50'. If you have no slashing melee weapon, it is as if you attacked with a dagger. The attack gets +2 to hit and deals +1d4 damage.

Whispering Wind 1 Mana

R: 200' T: point in space D: 1 rnd

The wind carries your voice to a point you designate (even through keyholes and cracks in stone, even if you don't give it any message to carry) where it then speaks/shouts/whispers your message. The wind listens for 1 round, and then returns to tell you what it heard.