The Isle of Abaddon (Session 4): "A Real Slugfest!"

My Isle of Abaddon campaign is moving along nicely. This session took place January 11th over Google Hangouts.

Our Heroes:

Curatos - Cleric of Bramah 1, Lawful (played by Glen)

Mournith - Fighter 1, Neutral (played by Bert)

Lasoleg Looseleaf - Elf 1, Neutral (played by Chris)

Zollo - Magic User 1, Neutral (played by Rob)

Mooklah the Grooch - Grooch 1, Neutral (played by Jack)

After defeating the evil in the burial mound of Gilliard Wolfclan, the party returns to Rook’s Landing to rest and recover. Our session starts with our party answering a dinner invitation from the eccentric gnome alchemist, Doctor Malachia J. Katzenjammer. Katzenjammer’s dining room furniture has been adapted to fit human sizes, but is made in such a way that it is obvious that the carpenter has never met  a human; none of the furniture fits them properly. Still, Katznejammer proves to be a gracious host. Roast giant snail with gravy, mashed turnips, and plenty of decent brandy is on the menu.

Also present at the party is a man in fancy green robes and unfortunate hair, Herbunculous Skruggs. Skruggs is a sage from the mainland, specializing in archaeology and mollusks. He has come to Abaddon to continue his studies,and is debating setting up shop in Rook’s Landing (he has an appointment with Lord Rook tomorrow).

The party takes this opportunity to ask Skruggs about the magic sword they found in Gilliard Wolfclan’s tomb. They are concerned that the bone and meteoric iron weapon might be cursed. Skruggs informs him that the sword is of the style given to the greatest warrior chiefs of the barbarian tribes in Times of Old. While the sword (along with the entire Wolfclan) likely has a poor reputation with the local tribes, it probably isn't cursed. Curatos’s Detect Evil spell declares it clean, as well.

After dinner, Katzenjammer has business proposal for the party. One of the wizards who lived on Abaddon 300 years ago was Keldon Kesterloth, an alchemist of some note. Katzenjammer and Skruggs have located what they believe is the location of the ruins of Kesterloth’s old manor house. Katzenjammer wants the party to go the the manor and retrieve Kesterloth’s magical cauldron. This artifact will allow Katnzenjammer to greatly increase his own alchemical skills. He will pay the party the sum of 500 gold crowns for the cauldron’s retrieval.

The party agrees, and after some haggling, they get Dr. Katzenjammer to foot the bill for some horses, a wagon, and some traveling supplies. The party isn't sure how “ruined” the ruins are, so they decide to get some hirelings, specifically, some laborers to do some heavy digging and a torchbearer.

After spreading some gold around, they hire two diggers--the brothers Raig and Wormore (Kickassistan’s current series of henchman articles has come in very handy.) They also convince Katzenjammer to write a letter of introduction to one of his cousins, a failing potter’s apprentice named Ribitzi Badgerfarb. Ribitzi hates potting, and the gnome is happy to join the party as a torchbearer once they buy out his apprenticeship contract.

Loaded with gear and support crew, the party finally heads out, bearing north along the coast and avoiding the hills, which they have been informed are “dangerous.” On the first day out, Mournith, acting as party scout, spots a group of small humanoids sacked out in the shadows of a copse of trees. Taking the better part of valor, the party skirts around the unknown monsters and continues on their way uninterrupted. Eventually they come upon the ruins of Kesterloth’s Manor. The once fine house has been mostly burnt to the ground. Only a few walls, a short tower, a couple of ground floor bedrooms, and the ruins of an elegant staircase remain on the surface. Mysterious gray slime covers much of the ruined tile floors, like massive snail trails.

It’s coming on dark, and the party decides to check out the ground floor before sacking out for the night. In one ruined bedroom, they discover a nest of giant rats. They wipe out the vermin, suffering a few bites. The humans worry a bit about disease, but Mooklah the Grooch is happily immune. Picking through the rats’ nest, they find not 2000 coppers, but an old silver and ruby ring, still around a human finger bone, old and well-gnawed.

Beneath the staircase they find an old door, rusted shut. After battering this down, they discover stairs leading down to the cellar. The party leaves that be for now. The second bedroom and its attached office are free of monsters. A bookshelf hold the ruins of many books about history and finance. In the false bottom of a drawer in the ruins of an old desk, Curatos and Lasoleg discover a silver dagger and an old brass key. .

Finally, they check out the “tower” where the silver-gray slime is thickest. The tower is in fact a first-floor room with the ruins of a second-floor room on top of it. Battering down the slime-stuck door, they discover that the room is thick with slime. Large clusters of yellow-green nodules, the size and shape of footballs, are stuck in the corners. Stairs lead up to the second-floor room. Lasoleg shoots some arrows into the clusters, and nothing happens. He enters the room to retrieve his arrows.

Suddenly, everyone outside is covered in sticky gray slime that sprays down upon them from somewhere above. A striped slug, about five-feet long clings to the side of the tower, spraying the PCs with slime, reducing their dexterity and movement. The killer mollusk leaps from the wall and lands on Mooklah, chomping him with its lamprey-like mouth. It’s wicked fast for a slug.

The party counterattacks. Curatos and Mooklah are disturbed to discover that the slug is immune to their blunt weapons (mace and maul, respectively). Lasoleg’s arrows pepper the creature, and Mournith cleaves into it with the Wolfclan sword. After a few rounds, the slug lies dead and in pieces.

Satisfied that the ground floor is now relatively safe, the party camps out for the night.

Elves and Dwarves of Wyrld

Let's talk about the elves and dwarves. I'm not out to reinvent these guys, but they have a few peculiarities to Wyrld.

Elves of Wyrld
The Annunaki brought the elves with them when they came down from the stars. Long-lived and beautiful, the Annunaki used the elves as slaves for all manner of foul pleasures and entertainments.

Elves are beautiful and androgynous beings. Some sages suspect that they may be at least partially plant-based. This would explain their long lifespans and their resistance to sleep and charm. Thanks to their long life and alien nature, magic comes readily to elves.

Generally, elves worship no gods. They went down that path once before with the Annunaki, and it didn’t turn out well for the elves. Instead, elves revere the impersonal forces of nature--fire, wind, storms, the sea, etc. Some of the most depraved and chaotic of elves cast their lot with the Dead Gods.

In recent years, many elves, especially older ones, have begun to feel an uncontrollable pull towards the depths of space. They lapse into weird meditative states, casting their minds across strange alien vistas. Eventually, their minds leave their body and never return. Their physical body petrifies, transforming into a weird substance somewhat like ivory, somewhat like wood, somewhat like amber.

Elves tend to have names like Wuxia film heroes--Thunder Eagle, Starlight Radiant, Clever Foxfire, etc.

Mechanical Stuff

Wyrd (and Abaddon by extension) uses the Elf race/class from Labyrinth Lord. with a D6 as its Hit Dice.

Like all PC races, elves do not have infravision.

Elves have a +2 to the Search skill, and have a 1-in-6 chance to detect secret doors passively (without dedicated searching).

The spellbook of a 1st level Elf starts with 1) Read Magic, 2) One spell of their choice, 3) One spell determined randomly

Elves require one free hand to cast spells. An elf using a 2-handed weapon can hold said weapon in one-hand while casting. Most elves avoid shields and prefer longbows and greatswords for this reason.

Fluffy Stuff
There are three main breeds of Elf. Each breed has distinct tendencies towards alignment and types of magic, but no hard rules.

Arboreal Elves (Forest Elves)

Live deep in the pine and oak forests of the cold North.
Tan, ruddy, or copper-toned skin with black, brown, or honey hair.
Taller than humans.
Tend towards Law.
Usually prefer swords and elemental spells.

Floral Elves (Glade Elves) 

Live in the forested hills and glades of the temperate lands.
Creamy skin, often with blue, green, or pink tints. Hair may be colored red, blue, green, purple, or other almost any other hue.
Shorter than humans.
Tend towards Neutrality.
Usually prefer bows and enchantment spells.

Fungal Elves (Midden Elves)

Live underground in the Deep Down Below.
Bone white or gray skin. While, gray, or black hair. Solid black eyes.
About human-height.
Tend towards Chaos.
Usually prefer spears and necromantic spells.

Dwarves of Wyrld

After the Annunaki came down from the stars, they needed a labor force. Elves were too fragile and valuable, and humans were too wily and delicious, so the Annunaki created the Dwarves. Craftwise and sturdy, the Dwarves raised mighty cities and dug deep mines for their alien masters.

Dwarves are shorter than humans, but have almost the same mass, making them dense but powerful.. Male dwarves cultivate mighty beards as a symbol of pride. Female dwarves are beardless but craft their hair into elaborate braids.

When a dwarf dies, his heart concretes into a gem of otherworldly color and shape. Dwarves revere no gods, but practice an elaborate form of ancestor worship. They build great family shrines to house the heartstones of their forebearers where they can meditate and study the wisdom of the past. The greatest of dwarven artifacts are set with the heartstones of dwarven heroes of old.

Dwarves and humans have been allies for centuries, and the ties of friendship between the two races are old and deep. The alien nature of the elves cause them great suspicion.

Mechanical Stuff

Dwarves in Wyrld use the race/class as found in the main Labyrinth Lord book.

Dwarves are amazingly tough, and use a D10 for their Hit Dice.

Their squat build prevents Dwarves from using polearms or longbows (shortbows are okay).

Instead of the underground detection stuff, Dwarves has a +2 to the Architecture skill.

As with all PC races, Dwarves do not have infravision.

Fluffy Stuff
There are two main breeds of dwarves. They have some flavor/narrative differences, but are mechanically identical.

Dwarves of Fire
There are the feisty, loud, hard-drinking, Scottish-accented dwarves. The tend to have fair-to-ruddy skin and red, orange, or brown hair. Dwarves of Fire are masters of metal work and make their homes in stony hills and mountain fortresses. Dwarves of Fire tend towards Neutrality and prefer axes.

Dwarves of Stone
These dwarves are serious and conservative folk, sometimes leaning towards grim and dour. They are almost Calvinist in their attitudes towards work, family, and community. Unsurprisingly, Dwarves of Stone are master masons and stoneworkers. They build their homes and vaults underground or deep in the hearts of mountains. They have brown-to-gray skin with dark hair. Dwarves of Stone tend towards Law and prefer hammers.

Clerics of Wyrld

In setting up my Beyond the Wall campaign for my home group, I've let my preparations for my G+ Labyrinth Lord game slide. Well enough of that. Let's hash out some house rules and fluff for clerics (and druids, if you must).

Clerics in Wyrld

Clerics conform almost exactly to the rules of Labyrinth Lord. They use a D6 as their Hit Dice and start casting spells at first level.

Clerics get bonus spells for high Wisdom, as explained in the Advanced Edition Companion.

Clerics cannot be Neutral in alignment. They must either cast their lot with Law or Chaos. A theoretically neutral god would not be interested enough in humanity to grant spells or powers.

On the other hand, druids, who worship the impersonal powers of nature, must be neutral.

The Powers of Law

The humans of the Brazen Empire worship two gods of Law, Bramah and Unaste, the Divine Couple. Lawful clerics must choose which god they serve.

Not every priest is a cleric. In fact, most of Bramah and Unastre’s clergy is composed of non-spell-casting lay-leaders (usually fighters or 0-level humans). Clerics are the special chosen of the gods, tasked with defending the faith and bringing the might of the gods to the unholy.

After disappearing for 300 years, the island of Abaddon seems to have largely forgotten the gods of Law. It's time to fix that, padre.

Bramah
God of Heroes, the Sun, Smiths, Civilization
Symbol: Golden bull
Bramah is the deified hero who defeated the Witchlords of Ur and founded the Brazen Empire. He forged the sun and set it in the sky and built the first cities.

Unastre
Goddess of Magic, the Moon, Sex, and Death
Symbol: Six-armed woman
Unastre was a powerful demoness who forsook her hell-borne nature and took up the cause of Law. She raised Bramah from the dead when he was killed by Santanis.


The Powers of Chaos

Law is vastly outnumbered by the forces of Chaos. Thankfully, these evil powers fight against each other as much as clash against Bramah and Unastre.

Santanis
God of Evil, Betrayal, Murder, and Darkness

Symbol: Goat skull
Santanis was Bramah’s best friend and battle-partner. He betrayed and murdered Bramah, then devoured the essence of the Dead God Ahrizoth, becoming a god himself. Santinis is the only god of Chaos who is not an unknowable alien monstrosity.

The Dead GodsThe Dead Gods are the insane, alien god of the Anuunaki, brought down from the Outer Dark. The violent and brutish clans of beastmen (goblins, orcs, ogres, etc) worship them, as do the most depraved and insane of human cultists. The exact number and names of the Dead Gods remain unknown, but they are said to include:

Ktulhu – The dreamer in the deeps (Symbol: Fanged tentacles)
The Yellow King – God of sickness, insanity, and ennui (Symbol: The Yellow Sign)
Aboath – God of slime and filth (Symbol: 13 eyes)
Shub-Nergaal – The mother of monsters (Symbol: Black hoofprint)
Nyarloth – The dread herald (Symbol: Black horn)
Yog – God of space, time, and fate (Symbol: Spiral)
Zothmagoth – The mad destroyer (Symbol: Bloody bone mace)


Druids in Wyrld

Druids must be neutral humans. They do not worship gods, but revere the impersonal powers of nature (thunder, fire, wind, etc) and various totem spirits (bear, wolf, raven, etc.) The woodsmen tribes on the frontier are much more likely to have druids among them than clerics.

Druids in Wyrld conform to most of the rules found in the Advanced Edition Companion. They use a d6 for their Hit Dice and get bonus spells for high Wisdom.

Druids get a +2 to their Bushcraft skill.

CLERICS! 

DRUIDS!

Welcome to Rook's Landing

Rook's Landing is the starting town for the PCs when they first arrive on Abaddon. Here's some points of interest, people to know, and a rough map of the town.

Rook’s Landing

Only permanent Imperial settlement on the island of Abaddon. Founded by Lord Tiberius Rook in 2173 (three years ago). Reclaimed an ancient keep of unknown origins on the east coast of Abaddon. Wooden palisades and ruined stone walls. Walls currently being reconstructed by dwarven stoneworkers. Farmlands and grainfields surround village.

Approximately 250 residents. Mostly farmers and fishermen. Many travellers and adventurers coming and going from the Imperial mainland.

Rookskeep

There is no more implacable foe of evil than a bad man gone good, and Lord Tiberius Rook (Fighter 9, Lawful) was a very bad man. He turned to the side of Law 20 years ago. Getting old. Shaky hands. Looks like Bill Nighy. His late wife, Marielle, is buried in a grand tomb in the keep. The senechal Cadmius (0-level, Lawful) keeps his lord’s manor running smoothly. 

Temple of the Divine Couple
Harlowe and Daenae Argosia (Clerics 6, Lawful) are the husband-and-wife clerics of Bramah and Unastre, respectively. Harlowe’s voice is harsh and raspy, due to throat wounds. Daenae is missing her left eye. No potions to sell, but has holy water in steady supply.

The Sundered Shield
Jona Killwarrior (Magic User 5, Neutral) runs this inn and tavern with his wife Mara (0-level, Neutral) and their son Bolo (0-level, Lawful). Big burly man. Doesn’t put up with trouble-makers. Former adventuring companion of Lord Rook. Bolo wants to be an adventurer; his parents are dead against it. Old Tooley (Fighter 3, Neutral), the town drunk, is almost always here.

The Cock and Titmouse
Granger Redlock (0-level, Neutral) is a rough, aging woman with silver-red hair who runs the cheap, shady tavern down by the docks. Caters to sailors and vagabonds.

Town Guard
Katarina Steele (Captain 5, Lawful) is the commander of the town guard. She was a henchman of Lord Rook, and is very loyal. Steele is in charge of 12 guards (3 x Fighter 2, 9 x Fighter 1). Three shifts of four guards at any given time.

Hammer & Tongs Smithy
Groat Hammerlock (Dwarf 4, Lawful) runs this smithy with his husband Jimminy Tongs (Gnome 3, Lawful). Sells most weapons and armor from the core book. Hammer is a fine blacksmith. Tongs makes weapons and armor. They have four young 0-level humans as apprentices.  Hammer and Tongs have “adopted” a baby kobold named Hurgyip that they are convinced they can turn to the side of Law.

Stonemasons’ Guild
Lord Rook recently brought over a small coterie of seven dwarves to rebuild the curtain walls around the town. The dwarves are led by Gildura “Momma” Holdvault (Dwarf 6, Neutral). The guild hall has its own invite-only tavern, and does a side-business in gem trading and appraisals.

Docks
A small fleet of fishing boats leaves the docks every morning, led by Jenny Codsdaughter (0-level, Neutral) who took over for her father three months ago after he was eaten by giant eels. Ships coming and going from the Imperial mainland must check in with the dockmaster Janders Maderlay (Fighter 3, Neutral), a former pirate with a pet miniature flying squid.

Hawk’s Trading Post and General Sundries
Run by former mountain-man Rancibold Hawk (Ranger 3, Lawful). Former henchman of Lord Rook. Always jokes that “mycommanding officer, General Sundries, isn’t in today.” Sells most equipment from the core book except weapons and armor. His old wolfhound Jake sleeps on the porch.

The Compass Rose
Map shop and cartography run by Luminous Rose (Elf 5, Neutral). She often hires adventurers map out new and unknown areas. He homeland is a mystery, and no other elf has heard of her.

Rubbish Heaps
The town heaps its garbage in a small depression north of town. Volkar the Grooch (Grooch 6, Neutral) claims this as his own territory. He goes through Rook’s Landing every night with a large cart, collecting trash.

Yeastworms’s Quite Impressive Original Brews and Spirits
Hissskafluur Yeastworms (Moleman 3, Lawful) runs this brewery. He does a fine business in human beverages. He may pay adventurers good coins for exotic ingredients to make obscure brews.

The Mills
Zephram and Molly-Ruth Gristgrinder (Halfling 1, Neutral) and their 13 children run the grain mills on the south end of town near the river. Granny Gristgrinder (Halfling 6, Neutral) is over 100 years old and runs a bakery right next to the mills. Thanks to all the low-level adventurers travelling through Rook’s Landing, there isn’t a giant rat to be found anywhere in the mills.

Katzenjammer’s Thoroughly Modern Apothecary
Dr. Malachai J. Katzenjammer (Gnome 2, Neutral). Can identify potions. Has 1d4-1 potions to sell at any given time. Sells “Dr. Katzenjammer’s Excellent Rejuvenating Elixir” for 50gp a bottle (heals 1d4 hp, spoils in 7 days, may have other side effects).

Kale’s Livery
Hondo and Jasmeene Kale (0-Level, Lawful) run the stables and livery with the help of their five children. Horses are in short supply, but mules are readily available. Wa horses are particularly hard to come by, and are almost exclusively bred by Lord Rook.

Mind Flayer Trader (Encounters in Abaddon)

Hex 1517

An undead Mind Flayer (12 HD, AC 3) riding on the back of an ankylosaurus with acid breath. The Mind Flayer is a shrewd merchant who will trade minor but useful magical items (1d6+1 potions, 1d4 scrolls, and 1d4-1 wands) in exchange for precious memories (same effect as Energy Drain). One memory, one item.

Abaddon, the map! (and some places of note)

I finished the map of Abaddon last night. I don't usually color my maps, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. As is normal for me nowadays, I stuck with the Jack Kirby color palette. With the groovy powers of modern technology, I was easily able to make versions of the map with and without a hex grid.

Here's some "known" information about some of the areas featured on the map.

Rook's Landing
The only Imperial settlement on the island. Founded three years ago by Lord Tiberius Rook.

The Duchy of Nightmass
Human lands ruled by Duke Xiro. In constant war with...

Candle Quay
A prosperous fishing city ruled by Lady Cybelle. Known for their strange religious practices.

The Fleshlands
The land here is made of living, quivering flesh. It moans and screams, exudes random limbs and members, and excretes all manner of foul substances. A place of foul magic. The ruins of Mandraxis' manse is here.

Nibiru
This islands holds the ruins of an Annunaki city, ancient for eons.

Lake Venom
A massive lake of poison, surrounded by the Bone Shore. Home to trolls.

Reaver's Island
Home to barbarians and mutants.

Hastur's Teeth
A massive mountain range of jagged granite peaks. Cassilda's Peak is the largest tallest, haunted by strorms and monsters.

Genenna Mons
The largest known volcano on Wyrld.

Three Witches
A trio of volcanoes, taboo and believed cursed by the local amazons.

And yes, the amazons ride dinosaurs.

Abaddon and Wyrld, an overview (with image dump!)

My new setting for my upcoming campaign (ostensibly FLAILNSAILS compliant), is coming along nicely.The Map of Abaddon is done, except for grid and labels. I've got the basic history of Wyrld (the game world) and Abaddon (the island setting) hashed out. Rather than assault people with my tortured prose, I'll just present it as bullet-points.

Broad History of Wylrd
Eons in the past, and Wyrld has no sun and two moons.

The Annunaki come down from the stars, bring with them their Dead Gods and the Elves.

Elves are slaves of the Annunaki, used for entertainment and the magical properties of their blood.

The Annunaki create Dwarves for labor and Men for food.

The Annunaki craft the world under the perpetual twilight of two moons.

Suddenly, the Annunaki leave.

One of the moons falls from the sky, crashing into Wyrld. The planet burns for 1000 years.

Wicked days of fire and darkness, dragons and trolls.

The Witchlords of Ur rise to power, using poorly-understood secrets of Annunaki magical science.

Wyrld is dark and sunless. The Witchlords constantly war between each other and breed all manner of beast, monster, and undead abomination.

Two smiths Bramah and Santanis, human slaves of the Witchlord Mag-Xyloth, rise up forge a rebellion. Their army of Men, Elves, and Dwarves, strike against the Witchlords.

The demoness Unastre falls in love with Bramah, and is redeemed by him. Unastre renounces her demonic heritage. The two marry and become battle-mates.

The Witchlords, in a final gambit, unleash Ahrizoth, the most powerful of the Annunaki's Dead Gods.

Santanis betrays and kills Bramah, then devours and absorbs Ahrizoth's power, becoming a god.

Unastre uses her great magic to bring Bramah back to life, making him immortal.

Bramah forges the sun and casts it into he sky, bringing light to the world and defeat to the Witchlords and Santanis.

Bramah founds the Brazen Empire, and the Dominion of Man begins. Bramah and Unastre reign for 200 years before ascending to the divine.

And so...
The Brazen Empire was founded 2000 years ago. It has been in steady decline for 500 years.

It is currently Imperial Year 2176.

The current Emperor is Vandranis Ro, a sick and ineffectual man bullied by the senate.

Affairs of the Empire will likely never influence this campaign, but it's good to know the basics.

The Island of Abaddon
A large island, far on the western edge of the Empire, mostly outside of its influence.

Inhabited by many wizards, seeking to peruse their own sorcerous projects without imperial interference. (The wizards went Galt!)

The greatest of Abaddon's sorcerers was Mandraxis the Magician. His manse still remains in the Fleshlands.

300 years ago, Abaddon disappeared. No cataclysm or apocalyptic explosions. One day it just disappeared.

Three years ago, it suddenly returned.

Spending three centuries “someplace else” has changed the islands and its inhabitants.

Adventurers and explorers from across the empire have come to Abaddon in search of mystery and fortune.

Lord Tiberius Rook founded Rook's Landing, the only Imperial settlement on Abaddon.

Rook's Landing serves as a starting point for many adventurers.

Jungles and swamps in the south. Badlands to the north. A band of fairly temperate forests and grasslands in the middle. Reavers Island is cooler.

Dinosaurs!
Aesthetic and Feel of the Abaddon Campaign
I'm going for a “weird pulp adventure” sort of feel. Not really “dark” but weird and fantastical. Clark Ashton Smith, Fritz Leiber, and Jack Vance are the heaviest influences. If I'm being honest, there's a bit of “Adventure Time” tossed in there too. Abaddon is a crazy, strange, and wicked land, but the brave and bold will succeed.

The Brazen Empire has a distinct Roman feel, with some heavy Mesopotamian influences.

Visually, I'm trying to lean away from the modern “dungeon-punk” aesthetic and recapture the “old-school” Erol Otus/Bill Willingham feel. So, massive shoulder pads and tons of belts are out. Helmets with horns (or wings!) and cuffed boots are in.

Inspirational Abaddon Image Dump

These images came from all over the Internet and found their way onto my hard drive.I don't know most of their sources. My apologies.

 

 

 

 

Magic Users of Wyrld

So I'm setting up a FLAILSNAILS game, and I'm busy kicking together the setting and house rules. I'll talk more about the setting (The island of Abaddon on the planet Wyrld) soon, but for now I want to start talking about house rules and campaign flavor/information stuff. For this online (Google Hangouts) campaign, I'm going to use Labyrinth Lord as a base, mixing in the skills from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and tossing in some of the combat stuff from Adventurer Conqueror King.

So that brings us to Magic Users.

Magic Users (wizards, mages, sorcerers, etc.) are humans who have rediscovered the ancient reality-warping arts (and sciences?) of the Annunaki. Spells are pseudo-living memetic constructs that a trained magic user crams into their brain through a combination of ritual, self-hypnosis, and coordinated brain damage. That's what "memorizing spells" means. The formula for binding spells into your mind are kept in jealously guarded tomes and grimoires. The act of spellcasting releases the spell from the wizard's mind into the world in an orgasmic release of reality-warping energy.

All wizards on Wyrld, are a little odd, and have the good taste to dress like wizards. Whether that means a robe and pointy hat, star-spangled Jim Starlin cosmic couture, or Erol Otus extravagance is up to the individual, but all magic users dress in distinctive fashion that screams "I'm a wizard!"

Rules Stuff
Magic Users use the rules as presented in Labyrinth Lord with the following changes.

The lore skill, automatic familiar, and Pulse of the Universe additions are intended to allow the Magic User to do some wizardly things even after they run out of spells. Like, they get to walk around with an owl on their shoulder, going "Hrmmm hrmmm yes, this appears to be a burial mound of the Hob-Knee Goblins from the time of the McKendric Supplicants.Very interesting, oh my yes..." and stuff.

Allowed Weapons: Dagger, staff, sling, dart

Starting Spellbook
1) Read Magic
2) Summon Familiar (if they want it)
3) Spell of the PC's choice
4) A spell rolled randomly

If they drop the 100gp, a magic user can start with a (non-special) familiar of their choice.

Each new level, the PC rolls for a new random spell. This spell will be of the highest level they can cast.

There is no limit to number of spells a MU can know.

Lore
A basic “I’ve read something about this” skill.
Base chance: (1 in 6) + INT
+1 again at level 5. +1 again at level 9.

Pulse of the UniverseBy handling and concentrating on an object for 1d4 turns, a Magic User can determine if an object is magical. This is a time consuming process and only works on one object at a time. The Detect Magic spell still exists, and is still useful for its speed and precision. 

(I picked up this idea from another blog. I honestly cannot recall which one. My apologies.)

Spell CastingDeclare spellcasting at beginning of round, before initiative is rolled.
A spellcaster can make normal combat move, but no running. Keep your DEX bonus to AC
MU’s must have both hands free to cast. A staff, dagger, rod or wand is okay, since they are ritual tools.
Damage or a failed saving throw disrupts the spell, but a Save vs. Spell lets the caster retain the spell in memory

.

WIZARDS!