[Stuff] Dungeon Defensive Magic

One thing I miss about G+ is how you could just quickly post a couple of ideas and leave them hanging there for later consideration. Doing so on a blog like this is not as easy or as simple, but still is a lot better than scribbling out an easily-lost note.

One thing that has struck me recently is dungeons -- a lot has gone into discussing why dungeons exist in such ubiquity in fantasy game worlds, other than the obvious need for adventurers to go into them, raid the monster lairs within, and bring out treasures. One obvious reason, of course, is that there are actual subterranean races in the world, so naturally, they are going to want someplace to live, and unlike the surface races, who built out and up when they left the caves, the subterranean races built in and down. Another major reason discussed is for safety against large monsters, such as dragons and giants; stone buildings just won't cut it, so dungeons are more common as being easily defensible.

You can't tell me the walls inside aren't enchanted...

Another reason is for defense against magic. Lots of magic spells are inoperative through more than so much metal or a larger stretch of stone, so a home deep within the rock of the earth is going to be nicely defensible against such spells. Add to this the ability to enhance that defense in all three dimensions and dungeons look even more appealing. You can't cover an entire surface city in lead or three feet of rock but if you build your city underground, the entire thing is immune to certain spells... and if you put defensive runes on the ceiling, you have even more defense against magic. If you build out the walls, you have even stronger magic built in to the defenses (why are there dressed walls everywhere in dungeons? Simple... to put magic in the walls, which is even stronger than runes alone).

Of course, there is no system for such kinds of defensive magic at all in the game; but then, there is also no system of magic in the system for clerics of agriculture or druids to enhance harvests and such, yet it is kind of assumed that they do. So that's a system of magic that might need be detailed for long-term campaign play...

[New Spell] Manipulate Landscape -- New 6th Level MU Spell List

I’ve never much liked a few of the 6^th level spells included in the Expert rules – I always felt that lower water, move earth, and part water were kind of all the same spell in many ways, and so I have combined them into a single spell, manipulate landscape. I then added two higher-level spells to the 6^th level spell list – polymorph any object and shape change.

This has become a serious consideration of late as I am likely, going forward, to limit class levels – and thus magical spells – to 14^th, as per the Expert rules, and thus 5^th and 6^th level spells for clerics and magic-users, respectively.

1. Anti-Magic Shell

2. Control Weather

3. Death Spell

4. Disintegrate

5. Geas*

6. Invisible Stalker

7. Manipulate Landscape (NEW)

8. Polymorph Any Object**

9. Projected Image

10. Reincarnation

11. Shape Change**

12. Stone to Flesh*

* Reversible Spell

** Refer to Labyrinth Lord for these spells

Manipulate Landscape

Level: Magic-user 6

Duration: 12 turns

Range: Line of sight to one mile

This spell enables the caster to manipulate the nearby landscape as though she were playing with a sandbox or with modeling clay. The caster chooses one type of landscape and area to be manipulated, and during the duration she can play with and mold it as she wishes, even defying the laws of nature -- temporarily. The area that can be affected is as follows:

Water: An area 100’ by 100’ by 100’ or 1,000 10’ cubes

Soil/Sand/Gravel/Mud: An area 60’ x 60’ x 60’ or 216 10’ cubes

Stone: An area 30’ x 30’ x 30’ or 27 10’ cubes

Any form that works within the natural laws of the caster’s world remains permanent (when dealing with soil, sand, gravel, mud, or stone); otherwise when the spell ends the landscape quickly – and dangerously – re-conforms to the laws of gravity and nature. Note that the caster does not need to concentrate at all times during the spell, only when she is making changes; these remain until the end of the spell, or until the caster ends the spell. The caster may cast other spells while this spell is still in effect.

If the caster creates a bridge of sand and gravel spanning a canyon, it falls back into piles of sand and gravel at the bottom of the canyon (along with anyone still on it) at the end of the spell. A 20’ wide x 500’ deep by 1,000’ long canyon through a river would instantly collapse when the spell ends, as would a 20’ x 20’ x 510’ causeway made of mud and gravel, or a 50’ x 50’ x 400’ “statue” of water. Tunnels carved in solid stone, a new configuration of hills and valleys, a new bed for a river, or a ford created across a river from native stone -- these would remain in place provided they are not gravity-defying, and of course, are thereafter subject to natural erosion. Permanent effects cannot be undone by dispel magic or anti-magic effects, as the new landscape is “natural.”

Aliban's Tower by Jeff A. Menges

This spell is often used to create a permanent stone tower, complete with outer walls, inner walls, floors, stairways, doorways, and windows. One application can create a 30’ diameter round tower five stories tall (each 15’ tall counting stone floors, with 5’ thick outer walls). Multiple applications of the spell can be used to seamlessly build larger towers with thicker walls, dig dungeons through stone, or built permanent stone walls. A permanent stone wall 10’ thick by 20’ high by 100’ long (the missing area goes into merlons, crenellations, and machicolations) can be created with a single casting of the spell.

The spell can also be ended at any time by the caster before the duration is over.

[New Spell] Improved Magic Missile

Improved Magic Missile

Level: Magic-user 2

Duration: 1 turn per level

Range: 150’

This spell creates one magic missile per level of the caster. These missiles take the form of motes of dancing magical force of whatever color the caster wishes; they dance around her head in an orbit much like Ioun stones. These magic missiles remain orbiting until the caster chooses to use them.

Elrond was always ready to throw down...

Each missile may be used for the following:

On the caster’s turn, may be used to unerringly strike a target within 150’, dealing 1d6+1 points of damage each. The caster may use one, several, or all in the same turn as she wishes. This counts as the caster’s attack for that round.

On an opponent’s turn, the caster may throw one or more at any attack that has hit the caster or an ally within 150’, after the roll to hit has been determined but before damage is rolled. Each missile so used reduces the damage dealt by the attack by 1d6+1 points of damage. Damage from attacks may be reduced to zero, but any points from the missile(s) so used greater than the damage dealt are lost. No damage is dealt by the missiles even if the attack is a natural attack (claws, bites, etc.). These missiles can even counter other magic missiles, dragon breath, and other magical attacks that deal hit point damage.

Three or more missiles may be expended together to target a single human, demi-human, or humanoid creature, which will be affected as though by the spell hold person. The target gets a saving throw at normal chances to negate the effect. This “hold” is more limited, taking the form of magical shackles on arms and legs, a rope wrapped around the body, or even a cage of magical force. Those affected can speak, but cannot move, attack, cast spells, or take any other action. They can break the bonds, however, doing so causes them to instantly suffer the damage they would have suffered had they been targeted by the missiles normally. Maximum duration is equal to the remaining duration of the spell.

Five or more missiles may be expended together to target a single monster, which will be affected as though by the spell hold monster. Effect is the same as per above, plus creatures with breath weapons will be muzzled, those with gaze attacks will have a magical cover over their eyes, and so forth.

Any magic missiles not used by the time the spell duration ends simply fade away.

Simple Vancian Magic

Of late there has been a bit of chatter about Vancian style magic in D&D, as in, how much magic in D&D actually resembles the magic portrayed by Jack Vance in his Dying Earth series.

 

Short answer, "sorta-kinda." Longer answer, it is similar to Dying Earth magic in that it is "fire and forget," but in practice, there is a lot more granularity to the D&D system than there is to magic as portrayed in Dying Earth. That of course does not take into account the later appearance of Sandestins (effectively, re-skinned genies), which Vance introduced in his later Dying Earth stories. D&D magic-users can cast a LOT more spells at higher levels than any wizard of Dying Earth (or even of Lyonesse); however, D&D magic is a lot less "colorful" than that found in Dying Earth, but that is really more of a function of rules versus literature. If a judge wanted to, she could make D&D magic just as colorful as that found in the Dying Earth.

 

Also, in Dying Earth, wizards had to get by a lot more on their wits than most magic-users seem to do in games these days (or even back in the day). A truly Vancian magic-user would have Charisma as his second-highest stat, merely to take advantage of reactions, bargaining, intimidation, and simple bluster and bluff, and in combination with his Intelligence, wit and repartee. Most D&D magic-user players, at least, from being on the other side of the screen as I have, seem to just fade behind the meatshields after they have used their spells, or at best, fall back on flaming oil, caltrops, and other such more physical "bags of tricks."

 

That said, the brief and simple system to make D&D magic more "truly Vancian," is simple.

 

A magic-user can memorize a number of levels of spells equal to her level plus her Intelligence bonus. The magic-user cannot memorize the same spell twice. Memorization requires an hour of rest and then one round per spell level to impress the spell in the mind. Once the spell is cast (or miscast, or lost), the spell is gone from the mind. 

 

Note that no magic-user in their right mind would ever bring their spell books (plural, one to six spells per spell book, no more) with them into the dungeon, as they are far too rare and valuable. Any foolish magic-user who does this deserves everything she gets (or rather, loses) when Something Bad happens to her spell books.

 

The Cugel Corollary: Anyone who wishes to may attempt to cast a spell from a spell book, if they can read the language (this presumes that spells are written in a readable language rather than a magical cipher). Use the character's "Spell Learning Probability" based on Intelligence and subtract 10% per level of the spell to be cast. ANY failure indicates that Something Bad happens to the attempted spell-caster...

 

For a longer, more involved version of the system, read my Jack Vance Dying Earth-inspired Adventurer class.

First Level Death Spell!

   The door was locked and bolted, but it swung silently open and Xaltotun stood before them, calm, tranquil, stroking his patriarchal beard; but the lambent lights of Hell flickered in his eyes.

   “I have taught you too much,” he said calmly, pointing a finger like an index of doom at Orastes. And before any could move, he had cast a handful of dust on the floor near the feet of the priest, who stood like a man turned to marble. It flamed, smoldered; a blue serpentine of smoke rose and swayed upward about Orastes in a slender spiral. And when it had arisen above his shoulders it curled about his neck with a whipping suddenness like the stroke of a snake. Orastes’ scream was choked to a gurgle. His hands flew to his neck, his eyes were distended, his tongue protruded. The smoke was like a blue rope about his neck; then it faded and was gone, and Orastes slumped to the floor a dead man.

-- Hour of the Dragon, Robert E. Howard 

So you want to pump up the magic-user class?

How about a 1^st level Death Spell!

Herein I am using Labyrinth Lord stats and descriptions…

Think about it. Magic Missile is a 1^st level spell. It has a range of 150’, deals 1d6+1 hit points of damage (average 4.5), and always hits its target. That’s powerful enough to kill most 0-level Normal Men and even powerful enough to kill most 1^st level characters and 1 HD monsters.

Death Spell is a 6^th level spell (can be used as early as 11^th level). It has a range of 240’ and kills 4d8 HD of creatures of 8 HD or less (essentially, Name Level characters are immune), though all the targets get a saving throw versus Death.

Poisons… all characters of all levels fear poison, as all characters of all levels can still be slain by the same simple poison…

So let’s just up the ante a little bit, and give everyone a reason to fear magic-users… because no one fears low-level magic-users once they have reached 5^th level (no more sleep effects on you, right).

Try this on for size…

Death Spell

Level: 1

Duration: Instant

Range: 40’ plus 20’ per level

When this spell is cast a ray of black, coruscating energy emits from the caster’s finger, directed at a single target within range. The target must then make a saving throw versus Death; failure indicates instant death. If the target is of a higher level or hit dice than the level of the caster, the target gets a +4 bonus to their saving throw. If the saving throw succeeds, and the target is of higher level or hit dice, nothing happens. If the target is of equal or lower level or hit dice, the target suffers 1d6 points of damage plus 1 point of damage per level of the caster.

The appearance of the spell can vary from caster to caster, though once a magic-user learns the spell it will always have the same appearance (d10):

1. Arc of Black Lightning

2. Sickly Purple Ray

3. Coiling Indigo Tendril of Smoke

4. Flash of Blue Flames

5. Whip of Green Energy

6. Staccato Bursts of Yellow Beams

7. Scintillating Orange Beam

8. Scorching Red Ray

9. Blinding White Flash of Light

10. Invisible

If you want to limit the use of this spell, have each casting require the use of a material component, such as black lotus, or demon ichor, or some other such material rare and expensive (say, 1,000 gp per casting). Or perhaps the magic-user must craft a special wand to use as a focus, costing 1,000 gp; without the wand, the caster cannot cast the spell.

   Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backward through the veil, and suddenly Harry knew what was going to happen before it did.

   Molly’s curse soared beneath Bellatrix’s outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart.

   Bellatrix’s gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge: For the tiniest space of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.

-- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

Spontaneous Generation in the Dungeon

Back in the day, people believed in the spontaneous generation of life; that is, they believed that life forms, such as worms, insects, and even mice, swans, and other larger creatures, generated spontaneously from unrelated things, such as corpses, water, and barnacles. Of course, today we know this is not true… but what if in your Dungeons & Dragons fantasy world, it was true?

This could easily explain the nature of the population of dungeons; explain how dungeons can so easily and quickly become re-populated; and also eliminates the need for humanoid nurseries, if you dislike the idea of baby orcs or goblin whelps.

Spontaneous generation in the dungeon begins with the death of a living creature in the dungeon. If that creature is not wholly eaten, if it is not buried with proper holy rites, if it is not burned to ashes, or otherwise if its body is not completely destroyed, then one or more new creatures might spontaneously generate from it within three days.

Note that humans and demi-humans are not spontaneously generated in the dungeon, though if their bodies are left in the dungeon, they can spontaneously generate other creatures! It might be most disconcerting for a party to leave their erstwhile delving companions in the dungeon after death, to return several weeks later and discover a whole new orc tribe with their facial features!

Note that evil versions of demi-humans, such as duergar and drow (the “maggots of the earth”), might spontaneously generate in a dungeon; you might also allow for spontaneous generation of human types, such as berserkers and cultists, who might look mostly human, but incomplete, and would lack a soul.

The order of species and potential generation is thus, in ascending order:

Slimes, Molds, and Jellies

Vermin

Animals

Humanoids (baseline for human and demi-human bodies left in the dungeon)

Monsters

Monsters*

Monsters**

Etc.

Monsters with an asterisk (*) indicate monsters with that number of special abilities, as per the B/X rules. Note that humanoids (and humans and demi-humans) and certain monsters can rise again as spontaneous undead through this process! Skeletons, zombies, wraiths, and spectres are the most likely to be generated by this process; note that multiple skeletons and zombies can rise from a single body, after all, it is a strange kind of magic!

Whenever a creature dies, is left in a dungeon, and remains mostly whole roll a d6. On a 1-3, one or more creatures spontaneously generates from the body after 1d6-3 days (on a 0, roll 1d24 for number of hours; -1, roll 1d12 hours; -2, roll 1d6 hours).

If the original roll to determine spontaneous generation was a 1, re-roll the die; if the re-roll is a 1, then the creature(s) that spontaneously generates from the body are of one order higher than the creature; continue re-rolling as long as you roll 1s, until you no longer roll a 1.

Otherwise, the creatures will either be of the same sort, or a similar sort, or at the judge’s whim of a lesser order (for example, a boar might generate more boars, other animals, vermin, or slimes, mold, or jellies).

Thus if a cave locust (vermin) is left to rot, and you roll three 1s in a row, humanoids spontaneously generate from the corpse.

It should be noted that orcs, goblins, and other humanoids often have a slimy pit in their lair; there their shaman or sorcerer throws in bodies of victims, and using their dark magic, direct the forces of spontaneous generation such that they can assure the generation of new orcs or goblins or such from the bodies thrown therein…

Halve the number of maximum hit points the creature had (individually, not based on maximum HD roll), rounded up; this is the total number of hit dice of creatures that spontaneously generate from the corpse. The bigger and more powerful the individual, the more potential... In the case of the cave locust, a 2 HD creature with 7 maximum hit points, up to 4 HD of creatures can spontaneously generate from the corpse.

If a massive pile of dead creatures is left to rot, then group them together in 5s or 10s to determine spontaneous generation, and tally up all the hit points of the creatures to determine the maximum number of hit dice that can spontaneously generate from the mass of bodies. This is how dragons and other large creatures can spontaneously generate from lesser creatures.

Spontaneously generated creatures can be a mixed bag, and need not be the same creatures from even the same body; if most of the hit dice are taken up with one creature, and no creatures of that order can be generated with the remaining hit dice, go ahead and choose lesser order creatures. Creatures generated from the same mass of bodies often remain allies, and can communicate with one another or at least understand each other through a common language.

Creatures generated through spontaneous generation can reproduce normally (except for the human-like berserkers and cultists and other such pseudo-creatures).

The odds of spontaneous generation and improved order of creatures might be improved the deeper one goes in the dungeon; or near certain magical emanations; or if the bodies are left in the shrine of a god of the underworld; and so forth. You can also tinker with the number of hit dice generated by hit points, with perhaps 1 HD per three hit points or even less, depending on how quickly you want your dungeon to refill itself spontaneously…

As an example, a party slaughters a small clan of 17 goblins, and leaves the bodies to rot in their lair, sealed away from vermin and other things that might eat the bodies. The judge checks for spontaneous generation in blocks of 5s, with three blocks of 5s and the remainder of 2. On the first he rolls a 4; no spontaneous generation. On the second he rolls a 3; on the third he rolls a 2; and on the two remainders he rolls a 1, and then rolls another 1, and then a 5. The two normal rolls total 30 maximum hit points, generating 15 HD of goblins, replacing almost the entire clan. The two remainders with 6 maximum hit points generate a 3 HD monster; the judge decides that a giant black widow spider emerges from their putrescent bodies. Thus is born the Clan of the Black Widow…

The powerful lord Dahneel Vahr-Ghoom, an 11^th level fighter with 79 maximum hit points, is slain in the dungeon; his body left to rot in a deep well by his erstwhile companions. The judge rolls for spontaneous generation; a 1, then another 1, and another 1, and another 1, followed by a 3. 40 HD of potentially two-star monsters are generated from the dread lord’s corpse. The judge decides to go with the lord himself rising again as an 11 HD spectre; the additional 29 hit dice are divided among seven wraiths (4 HD each) born of his wrath and the lord’s animated skeleton (1 HD), still dressed in his fine armor and wielding his magical sword. The new undead lord seeks the destruction of his former comrades, and quickly takes over the local dungeon level…