Houndmaster, an OSE Class

This was born out of a discussion with my partner, broadly on the topic of having the Druid-style play of animals as followers, but getting rid of the spells and other such trappings.

Combined with my love for the class of the same name from the Darkest Dungeon, and here we have it! Also in my game I plan on removing the default 11 morale score for War Dogs (as per Advanced OSE) and instead have them use normal follower morale, since that makes the Houndmaster’s ability more notable.

The Houndmaster

Requirements: None
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Levels: 10
Weapons and Armor: Houndmasters can use any weapon, and can wear all armor except plate. They can’t use shields.

Description

Houndmasters are people who have an almost supernatural bond with dogs. They know how to train and command them better than anyone and are often the ones developing new breeds of dogs. Often found in the courts of rulers or nobles who enjoy dogs, the Houndmaster can also be found out adventuring with their four legged friends. 

In the Greylands Houndmasters have a strong inclination towards Beast worship, maintaining small shrines and giving offerings to Brother Dog.

Abilities

Animal Bond: You feel a strong bond with your dogs. As a result you can’t have non-dog followers. You can have a maximum of 3 dogs with you at first level, and then +1 to that maximum for every 2 levels after that (so 4 at level 3, 5 at level 5, 6 at level 7, etc).

Special Training: Under your care and training hunting dogs and war dogs become a lot more effective and dangerous. They gain the following benefits.

• Your dogs have their morale set at 11.
• Your dogs add your character level to their max HP
• Your dogs add your character level to their damage rolls
• At level 5 your dogs get +2 to their to hit rolls. At level 9 that bonus increases to +5

Emotional Support Dog: Once you reach level 2 you can designate one of your hounds to be your support dog. Once per day, you can spend a turn petting and soothing your support dog, allowing you to restore 1d3 HP both to yourself and to it. If your support dog dies you lose 1d4 hit points (this can’t bring you below 1 HP and can’t kill you). You must spend a downtime action to train a new dog for the role.

Level Progression

Experience requirements like Magic-user, attack bonuses and saving throws like Cleric

Talking Animal - A Greylands OSE Class

I kept working on a replacement for the dwarf and halfling classes from B/X, similar to my take on the Elf, in a continuing effort to help define the setting of my campaign a bit more. However that one was just not coming together. After spending over a week of not being able to actually write it out, I decided that if it isn’t working, it isn’t working. Instead I am going to draw on another common trope of folk stories, which is animals talking and behaving like humans.

Thanks to everyone on Discord who helped with ideas and links to existing ones, and thanks to this blogpost in particular since I am basically copying large chunks of it!

Talking Animal

Requirements: Minimum DEX of 9
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 9
Weapons and Armor: A Talking Animal can use any weapon appropriate to its size (so no two-handed swords or polearms for example), but not firearms. They can wear up to medium armor (as long as it is tailored to them individually) and can use shields.

Description

Like their bigger and stronger cousins, the War Bears, this class represents what are ostensibly normal animals that due to the powers of Chaos and the influence of the Primordial Beasts have the ability to speak the human tongues, walk on their hind legs and even use their paws to wield weapons or use tools.

Talking Animals are seen as a fantastical curiosity in the stable corelands of the world, but out in the rough and unfinished parts that still feel the influence of Chaos, they are rarely even given a second thought.

These animals do not really have any real culture or customs, being simply individual occurrences (or at most, a small family unit), however a common practice is a sort of ancestral veneration of the Primal Beast that is associated with their specific species. Beyond that they simply act like other people in whatever area they are, though often in slightly exaggerated stereotypical manner in some unconscious attempt to draw attention to, and act as a mirror of, certain human traits. Most talking animals tend to feel mildly embarrassed at their tendency to do that.

Abilities

Small size: Talking Animals all seem to end up roughly the same size, which is about a meter tall when standing up. As such they can not effectively wield large two-handed weapons or tools, any armor they wear must be tailor made for them (doubling its base price) and when fighting opponents that are larger than human-sized, they get a +2 to their AC.

Natural weapons: Be it claws, fangs or anything else. Unarmed attacks by talking animals deal 1d4 damage.

Animal Traits:
Either select or roll what kind of animal you are. In addition to anything granted by your species you also have the ability to communicate with mundane, non-talking versions of your species.

1. Badger - You may fly into a fit of rage, allowing you to make as many attacks per round as your level, but making you easier to hit (-2 to AC). Lasts a number of rounds equal to your level and you can’t use that again until a night of sleep.

2. Hedgehog - Due to your spikes you can’t wear any armor, but you have a natural bonus of +2 AC and anyone attacking you in close quarters suffers 1 point of damage.

3. Fox - Once per day you can cast Read Magic and can cast non-divine magic from scrolls with a 10% of a magical mishap occurring.

4. Wolf - If you are in a melee where you and your allies outnumber the enemies you get +1 to hit and +1 to damage. During downtime you can call forth 2d6+character level regular wolves to join you for one session, after which they leave. You can’t use this ability again until you’ve gained a level.

5. Squirrel - You can climb up sheer surfaces like a Thief on a 5-in-6 chance.

6. Rabbit - You can jump up to a distance of 30 ft.

7. Weasel - Your natural attack does 1d4+1 damage. On a successful hit you can latch onto the enemy. At the beginning of each round of combat they can try and shake you off with a save vs paralysis. If they fail they take an automatic 1d4 damage.

8. Boar - You may use your tusks to charge someone, giving you +1 to hit and double damage if the hit succeeds. You need at least 20 ft of clear space to pull off a charge.

Level Progression

Experience and saves as Dwarf.

The Wondrous - The Greylands alternative to the Elf

I have been doing some worldbuilding and/or refining of ideas in my head about my Greylands setting and one of them is to lean a bit more into getting rid of your Tolkienesque stuff like dwarves and elves and lean into more human-centric stuff. I am also working on a replacement of sorts for Dwarves and Halflings, but more on that in the future.

I still like the “Elf” in B/X as the powerful intersection between Fighter and Mage (balanced with very slow leveling), so I figured I’d try a different spin on it. As such I am leaning into the many stories of children born from mortal mothers and a dragon, zmej or other serpent as a father, or heroes such as Krali Marko who was nursed by a supernatural mother like Vila Samodiva.

The Wondrous

Requirements: Minimum POW of 9
Hit Die: 1d6
Maximum Level: 9
Weapons and Armor: Wondrous can use all non-black powder weapons and all types of armor.

Description

While Chaos has been observed to produce many strange things such as naturally occurring dungeons, fell beasts, the Little Folk, mutations, magic and worse, its effects are not always as dramatic. Often it simply just makes people that are strange, weird or just kind of off.

The Wondrous are those people. Born of a mortal parent and a supernatural being of some kind, the Wondrous are obnoxiously competent compared to most of humanity. Being innately magical due to their heritage and close relation to Prima Materia grants the Wondrous the ability to master and cast spells, while most of them also being very adept at combat. The downside, however, is that the societal perception of them as being too full of themselves does make them advance slower in its arbitrary measurement of one’s place in the hierarchy (a.k.a. gaining levels).

The Wondrous are rare, but not unheard of, within the stable and mundane parts of the world, but seems to be a very steady phenomenon in more Chaotic zones, perhaps due to humanity’s never-ending propensity to have sex with supernatural creatures.

Outwardly most Wondrous look just like normal humans, however there is something off or strange in their eyes that betrays their true nature.

Abilities

Spellcasting: The Wondrous can cast spells similarly to magicians, but due to their inherently magical nature they also can learn a new spell every time they level up, without needing to devote time and resources to research or learn it from a teacher. Of course, they can still do those things if desired.

They can not learn any Healing or Law-associated spells, as those are the domain of the followers of the Sun God.

Inability to use firearms: Again due to their personal connection to Chaos the class can’t use firearms or other gunpowder-based weaponry. It simply doesn’t quite work for them.

Immunity to energy drain: A Wondrous often has a very strong personal aura, and are immune to the effects of energy drain (which in my game will make you lose stats, rather than levels, cos fuck that noise!).

Keen senses: The Wondrous are only surprised on a roll of 1, instead of a 1 or 2. They can also spot secrets or traps with a 2-in-6 chance even when not actively looking.

Level Progression

As Elf. Duh.

Between the Serpents of Smoke & Steel - Setting Primer

Here is a very rough primer on the setting for my campaign, Between the Serpents of Smoke & Steel (either BSSS or just Smoke and Steel for short from now on). This is mostly for the benefits of my players, but hey - why not get a blog post out of it while I'm at it?

General Inspiration 

The sales pitch is - Ancient Mesopotamia as written by Robert E. Howard. Though with less racism, hopefully.

So while set in what should be a Bronze Age society, there is still plenty of iron and even steel (I mean it is in the name of the campaign after all), along with borrowing very loosely from the actual historical realities of Sumer, Babylon and Assyria. The Mesopotamian aspect is going to be mostly just an aesthetic coat over fairly typical S&S nonsense. 

The setting is very human-centric. There are no elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes or other such standard fare. Most people you will run into are either humans, or something else, but difficult to identify and put into a neat box. 

Background

The Fertile Lands is the most used name for the territory in the immediate vicinity of the Twin Serpents rivers. The Lands were ruled for several centuries by an empire - not a particularly large one, but a local power in it's own right. However the old empire is no more. About 100 years ago it fell and broke apart under the pressure of the various barbarian groups that had been steadily pushing into its territory for a few decades. That combined with internal problems and pressure resulted in its ultimate rupture and dissolution into a variety of petty kingdoms, city-states, even semi-nomadic groups like the Chariot People. 

The fall of the empire also heralded a more metaphysical shift (or perhaps the shift was what ultimately cased the downfall. It's never easy to say with these kinds of things) in the landscape. The forces of Law, represented by the legalistic, bureaucratic and conservative empire, grew weaker, and an incursion of the forces of Chaos soon followed. Some of those were through mortal agents like the northern barbarian folk, some were a bit more alien, like the enormous chaos worm that devoured an entire city from underneath, leaving a massive gaping wound in the landscape from which hordes of demonic beings spread across the Fertile Lands. 

Violence and death had become very common place around the Twin Serpents. And while the otherworldly vanguard of Chaos was pushed back, Law is still weak. This is where the campaign begins - The city-states, kingdoms, tribes and others all feeling the pressure of this conflict impressed upon their once relatively peaceful lands. Sides are picked, one way or the other, with consequences that mortal minds can only barely comprehend. 

People of the Fertile Lands

Being the territory of a former Empire the Fertile Lands has a fairly wide variety in human appearances. However some trends are still noticed - most people tend to have dark hair, ranging from dark brown to glossy black, skin ranging from dark olive to very deep brown, and eyes ranging in all human ranges, and some not found in Earthly humans, such as red, orange, yellow and so on. 

Material Culture

Being, as stated earlier, a riff on Mesopotamia written by Robert E. Howard the material culture of the Fertile Lands broadly maps to a confused mix of various ancient Mesopotamian cultures, except with way more iron and steel than existed on Earth in that time period. 

Think this kind of stuff, but with way more iron and steel mixed in there.

There are certain things one might expect in a typical D&D fare that are not present - there are no double handed swords, no European Renaissance style plate armor, no lanterns, and so on. Chain armor exists, but is quite rare. Most heavy armor tends to be made of iron or steel scales. 

Due to the dangers from wild animals, bandits, warlords, nomads, demons and other things lurking in the wilds, most humans have retreated to the safety of heavily fortified cities. Most farming is done either close to the city itself, or in the few remaining smaller towns and fortified villages. What is left of the empire's population has become highly urbanized by necessity. 

Culture and Religion

Generally quite rigid, though less so since the fall of the empire. The nobility and priesthood are often one and the same in most cities, though not always. Slavery is common, but also not as widespread as it was during the height of the empire - a lot of slaves got themselves freed during the turmoil and are, understandably, very unwilling to go back to servitude. 

The gods of the cities are distant, if not dead. Magic often comes from either people like sorcerers, or people who gain their magic through pacts with powerful entities like the kings of the Elementals, the Lords of Chaos and Law, or other entities of that caliber. A lot of the common people still maintain the old rituals, mostly out of habit, but it seems the god rarely do much to answer them. 

With law being now fragmented and highly decentralized, those who are daring and willing to risk their life for it can go out and make a name for themselves, where otherwise the system would have shoved them back into their spot. Petty warlords, tyrants, cult leaders, "benevolent" dictators and others spring up everywhere on a daily basis. Maybe with some luck and coin, your character might also be one of them. 

One of the biggest mortal forces to occupy the power vacuum left by the break up of the empire has been The Golden Fraternity. A combination of descendants (and in some cases, actual members using life-extending magics) of the old noble caste of the empire, now turned into ruthless merchant-lords. They control virtually all major traffic up and down the Twin Serpents rivers and they can be found almost everywhere, save for the smallest and most wretched villages. 

The next post is going to give a bit more detail on the Undying City, the starting location for the campaign. 

And to close this off, some more visual inspiration! 

Art credits go to whoever drew all of this amazing stuff. Unfortunately I found most of it through Pinterest, so no way in hell I could figure out the artist for most of these. 

Unlocking Classes

 Here's my very messy process on how I handled unlocking new classes in my Greylands game. I've talked about it with other people on the OSR Discord server and there's a few others who also do similar things in their games, though their actual process seems to be slightly different than what I settled on. 

Why bother unlocking classes?

In my specific case, I decided to go down this route after sitting down to do my initial class list for what I was going to have in my campaign. After doing that, I quickly realized that those were probably a bit too many. I know anyone coming from 5E or Pathfinder or any similar game would probably laugh at that notion, but for me the list felt bloated, so I started to trim some classes off.

However, I still wanted those classes to be around. One of the removed classes was the Hill Cantons War Bear, and there was no way in hell I was not shoving war bears into this campaign one way or another! So I made them a possible class that can be unlocked through the course of play. 

Another reason is that letting the players unlock access to new classes through their actions in the campaign just brings a sense of progression not tied to individual character levels or items. They, as a group, have now changed both the campaign and their own options as players through interaction with the game's fiction. 

Class unlock procedure

• Players become aware of a distinct group or faction that I inform them might be unlocked as a playable class.
• They have a positive initial interaction with the group which sets the stage for further relations.
• The players complete 3 distinct actions that help solidify their standing with the group. These vary from group to group and in how difficult or easy they may be.
• Once all 3 actions have been performed that particular class is now unlocked and any future characters may be members of it.

The steps in the procedure don't quite have to happen in order, but I came up with this whole system more or less on the fly and initially they needed 4 distinct actions in order to unlock a class, but those felt too many and kind of cumbersome so I paired it down to 3.

Let's see how this actually worked in the campaign. I'll use as an example the two classes that the group managed to unlock.

Unlocking the Cleric:

1. The party found that the former temple to the Sun Lord in Greytown was little more than 4 ruined walls and no roof. (Party becomes aware of the group, or in this case lack of it)

2. The Acolyte in the party started to gather the locals and any adventurers willing to listen as he tells them tales of the Sun Lord. (A positive interaction regarding the faction/class, and also the first action to unlock the class - restore the interest in having an actual temple with clerics in it in town.)

3. The party gathers and donates 1000 GP in order to have the temple restored and rebuilt. The process takes 1d4 weeks to complete. (Second action to unlock the class - get the actual temple fixed up so that Clerics would even have anywhere to stay.)

4. The party pays to send a messenger out to inform the nearest church to the lack of priesthood and have them send over people. As the nearest town is barely an oversized village and is also 4 days away, it takes 1d4 weeks for anyone to actually arrive in Greytown. (Third action to unlock the class - get some actual clerics!) 

5. The Clerics arrive and start up regular services in the restored Sun Lord temple, unlocking the class for any future characters. 

Fairly straightforward stuff this. I also generally made a point to inform players for what would be the next step in unlocking a class, if the step was obvious enough. 

Let's look at another example, unlocking the War Bear:

1. The party, as they explore the Greylands, runs into a clearing in the nearby forest. The clearing is full of bears armed with polearms, spears and pikes, walking around on two legs and chatting with each other. In the middle there is a large wooden statue of a bear with a crown of leaves, and treasure piled at it's feet. The party is polite and shows interest in what is going on. (The party becomes aware of the faction or class and has a positive interaction with it, also fulfilling the first step towards unlocking the class.)

2. The bears tell the party that their Master will be showing up soon, and the characters should come meet him and bring a tribute to him. The characters agree, and after they find a suitably impressive piece of treasure they bring it to the clearing, where they meet Medved. They are reverent and polite and offer him tribute. (Second action - they show loyalty to the bears and their leader. As a consequences they can now hire 1st level War Bears as retainers, in addition to the human ones they could find back in town).

3.After further visits and talks with Medved and his bears they learn about the strange activities in the forest by odd looking (and clearly evil) elves. Since the war bears are not exactly subtle or sneaky, the party is asked to provide some intel and information on what is going on, which they do after managing to capture an elven prisoner and bring him in for interrogation. (Third and last action - do a service to the War Bears and gain their trust.)

4. Some War Bears decide to settle in Greytown and take on adventuring as an activity, impressed by the deeds of the characters, unlocking the class for any new characters made in the future.

Another opposite example would be the Goblins that reside underneath the ruins of the manor of the local boyar. They were, in fact, going to be a potential unlockable class, however the party not only didn't have a friendly interaction with them, they in fact would use excessive violence (hurling flaming oil all over the place, taking prisoners and then murdering them after they have surrendered, etc) which immediately closed off any possibility of the goblins becoming playable. 

All in all, for something I cobbled together while playing, I'd say it works well enough. My plan for a future campaign is to actually make class selection very restrictive and limited, so I don't know when I'll use it again, but I suppose this could work for getting access to new types of hirelings, or just a new race for characters, if you use separate race and class in your game. 

Art: Classes

Here's a series of drawings I did depicting the 4 "classic" classes.

First is the Thief, who I thought turned out well enough to be worth actually making this into a series of drawings, rather than just a one-off thing.

After that was the Fighter, who I've also shared in the previous posts. Despite multiple adjustments in photoshop I still can't get the colors on this one to really read as well as they do in my sketchbook. A shame, really, since I think they turned out nice.

Next up was the Magic-User, and this one is my personal favorite of the four. 

And last is the Cleric, who I actually like the least. I think the perspective ended up looking kind of off (that's what happens when all of this is just drawn directly in pen), although I do like the overall color palette. 

 

 Also I am planning on posting more art and sketches in here, since I might as well use this blog for something, since it sure as hell won't be used for too much writing!

The Greylands Cleric, an OSE Class

 In my Greylands OSE campaign the game began without a Cleric class available to the players. Instead I used the Acolyte from issue #1 of Carcass Crawler as the default "Fighting type, but with magical abilities" role. 

However, through gameplay (and a good amount of gold pieces) the players have managed to get the temple of the Most Blessed and Heavenly Sun Lord back in town restored and have sent messages for some more priests to come and restore the faith to this grey and forgotten border town.

With this Cleric class I wanted to do something different, as I don't think I want to just have something that simply covers the same ground as the Acolyte. As such here is my take on the Cleric class (or really more of a Priest class in this case) as they appear in The Greylands.