Living Greyhawk Journal #2, Summon Merchant

At some point in time I joined the RPGA though for the life of me  I do not recall when it was. I know it was before November of 2000  but I am not sure how much before that. I am certain it was  strictly for the modules that they put out for belonging. It was  not early enough to have gotten any of the REALLY nice modules  though. I have a few of the later ones but the specifics again  escape me.

It was in 2000 that they started sending out the Living Greyhawk  Journals. To have gotten these had eclipsed any joy I got from  getting the modules that were released, again since I did not get  any of the original modules they released by in the early 80's.  The Journals short lived as stand alone publications but then  again the to quote Tyrell from Blade Runner "The light that burns  twice as bright burns for half as long...". The six issues they  released were all great.

The issue that stands out in my mind is the one above. Issue #2  was not the best for the article content. Though this was great  information the real gem here was the insert that came with the  magazine. This is the issue that came with the poster map of the  City of Greyhawk. The map was keyed and the magazine also featured  the information of the keyed items so the content was essential as  well.

The magazine articles even without the map will make the Journals  worth having.This issue had some great material on city as well as  material for the Living Greyhawk Campaign. The articles contained  in this issue are below:

Campaign News
Gem of the Flanaess: City of Greyhawk Map Key
Gem of the Flanaess: The Artisan's Quarter
The Way of the Lake
Enchiridion of the Fiend Sage - Second Report
Dispatches
Contact List
Special Insert: City of Greyhawk Poster Map

All of the stand alone issues of the Living Greyhawk Journal (0-5)  are worth picking up if you are a Greyhawk fan. I hate to single  out any one issue to pick up because all were good and what makes  this one great for me may not be what works best for you. The map  is a great item to have so if you are picking up issue #2 please  make sure it is included.


Spell:

Summon Merchant

Level: Fifth
Range: 6"
Duration: 3 Turns + 1 Round/Level
Ares of Effect: One Merchant
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 Round
Saving Throw: None

By means of this spell the magic user is able to summon a merchant to their location. The merchant summoned will belong to the same race as is summoned by the Summon Exchequer spell. The summoned merchant will be able to sell items as well as purchase them.

The merchant summoned will buy any item that they are offered though they are shrewd negotiators. The base price that is paid will never be more than 50% of the listed value of the item that they are purchasing. The price can be adjusted by the Reaction Adjustment based on the sellers Charisma stat. This amount will be adjusted by race though. Gnomes, Halflings and Dwarves will get the full benefit. All other races besides Humans will get half the amount. Humans will receive no benefit.

The merchants will also sell items. The exact items available is always up to the discretion of the DM but as a base the Basic Equipment List in the 1e PHB would be a good baseline. The merchants will not have any living creatures for sale ever though. The amount charged can be role played if desired. If not then the merchants will charge a base five times what an item normally costs. This is not affected by the Charisma but will be by race. Gnomes, Halflings and Dwarves will be charged 50% less than the 5x amount. All other races besides Humans will pay the full 5x amount. Humans unless the players role play it out will pay the 5x amount plus an exaggerated amount left to the DM's discretion.

The material component of this spell will be a bar of platinum. The value of the bar will need to be at least 100gp. The bar is surrendered to the merchants when they arrive. The value of the bar will be used as credit for any items purchased though. 

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Assault on the Fane of Lolth, Cassandra's Mystical Armor

I do not know much about this or even how I came to posses it. I suspect it was included with something else I purchased on eBay. It is possible that I picked it up in some box set or other item I purchased used locally. I really can't recall when I got it. I was able to find information on it online though and have copied it below.

This adventure was released as a free promo for Game Day 2005. The adventure is designed for a group of 4th-level characters.

A Fane of Lolth, hidden under the city of Anserell, has reveled itself by attacking the local Temple of Pelor. The drow were defeated and chased back underground. Weakened by the attack the priests of Pelor have decided to hire adventurers to go underground and complete the job of clearing out the drow.

A very simple one-shot adventure meant to last no longer than a few hours.

I am glad to have it as it is a Greyhawk adventure and it deals with the Drow. I am just afraid that it may end up not being the Drow that I am used to.

It is packed away so I can't speak to the content. It is reported as being eight pages long so I would suspect it would have to be less than a dozen or so rooms. If anyone has a copy they have access to I would love to hear about your experience with it.


Spell:

Cassandra's Mystical Armor

Level: Second
Range: None
Duration: Special
Ares Effect: Caster
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 2 Segments
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user cloaks themselves in an invisible shield that will improve their base armor class. In addition to the armor class adjustment the mystical armor will also provide the caster with a level of damage mitigation.

The amount the spell will improve the base armor class of the caster is based on their level. The base armor class of the caster will improve by one factor for every two levels they posses rounded up. This means at third level the base armor class is adjusted by two and the same amount at fourth level. Magical bonuses from other items will still work though items that adjust the base will only be effective if the armor class provided is better than the spell.

The armor will provide protection for a limited period of time. The armor will last for a limited number points of damage. The number of points it can suffer is equal to the caster level times their intelligence. The armor created by a fifth level caster with a sixteen would last for eighty points of damage (5*16=80). Once the armor has suffered damage in excess of the amount it came into existence with the armor reduction fades.

The armor also provides a minor level of damage reduction to the caster. While the spell is in effect the caster will reduce any damage they suffer by ten percent rounded down.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Wargamer's Digest V2#8, Alignment Flames

I am posting about another magazine but the post will be short. I have never been into wargaming. The extent of my wargaming is with what would be considered public wargames such as Risk, Axis & Allies and so on. I tried Panzer Leader once and didn't get past the setup. So why am I talking about this. well it is because of Wargamer's Digest.

There are two issues of Wargamer's Digest that would strike the fancy of a role player. These are issues V1 #7 and the one above V2 #8. Both of these issues have articles in them written by Gary Gygax. I have both of these issues and am not sure why I picked this one first but I will post the other at some point in the future.

This issue has the story "The Magician's Ring" in it. This article tells the story of another adventure in the dungeons of Greyhawk. There have been other blog posts about this so I won't go into the story or copy it. You can find it transcribed here.

These early accounts of the game in a magazine as Wargamer's Digest had to catch some of the readers by surprise. I can only imagine they felt like I do about the April Fools issues that Dragon magazine used to run. Little did they know that they were reading about the start of a whole new genre of gaming. I wonder if the same will happen too us some day or has it already. How many of use might have scoffed at Ultima Online and then perhaps EverQuest?


Spell:

Alignment Flames

Level: Fifth
Range: 6"
Duration: 1 Round/Level
Ares Effect: 6" Radius
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 5 Segments
Saving Throw: Special

When this spell is cast all creatures in the area of effect are outlined in glowing flames. The appearance of these flames will be similar in appearance to that generated by the Faerie Fire spell. Those in the caster's party will not be affected unless so desired by the caster.

The flames will have the same effect as that of Faerie Fire in regards to making the victims easier to hit. Those attacking the creatures outlined will have a +2 added to their To Hit rolls. The spell will have other effects as well though.

The flames outlining the the creatures will vary based on the alignment of the victim in relationship to the caster. The actual colors will be left up to the DM and it can change from caster to caster if desired. The colors will change based on deviation from the caster alignment on both the law/chaos and good/evil access though.

The effect of the fire will increase the further the victim is from the alignment of the caster. The victim will suffer a -1 to all combat and saving throws they are required to make for each step removed. This results in a maximum penalty of -4. For those suffering a -3 or -4 they will also suffer 1 or 2 points of damage per round respectively. This will also have the effect of requiring a save for caster to perform any spell casting due to the disruption in concentration. Those who save are still outlines in flame and have the effect from that. They will though have the other penalties effect halved.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Greyhawk - The Adventure Begins, Cassandra's Mystical Extension & Great News

The Adventure Begins is as it describes itself as part of the fourth wave of  Greyhawk material which I guess is fairly accurate. It is either the fourth  of the fifth depending on how you handle Greyhawk Adventure and the original  folio edition versus the box set. Either way it was good to see Greyhawk  material again with the Return of the Eight and when this was released in  1998.

This module explains the City of Greyhawk and its environs as they exist in  591 CY. It also in part explains all of the changes that have occurred since  585 CY which is when the last "wave" of Greyhawk material was supposed to  have taken place.

The first section of the book after the explanation of what it is will be a  summary or earlier Greyhawk content it will make reference to. This is a nice  list though perhaps not exhaustive. There is also a section explaining the  abbreviations that will be used in the book.

Next we are given what pass for a travel brochure for the City of Greyhawk.  It goes into great detail on explaining how "The Gem of the Flanaess" as  Greyhawk is often called offers the best that can be found on Oerik. There  are a quarter page or so explaining how Greyhawk is the center of Trade,  Diplomacy, Finance, Defense, Learning, Magic, Religion and Adventure. I  almost booked my ticket there after reading these for the first time!

Next we are presented with a brief five page section describing the world of  Oerth. This was best brief as I am not sure how much campaign use there was.  The next twenty-five or so pages are better spent. They go over the people  and cultures of the Humans, demi-humans and humanoids of Oerth. It then  proceeds to explain the recent history of if not all then the vast majority  of the nations that make up Oerth.

The next section of the book describes the calendar of Greyhawk. It goes over  the days of the week, the months and what season occurs in that month. It  also goes over the monthly cycles for Luna and Celene the two moons of Oerik  which are always the same due to the orbit and calendar coinciding perfectly.  There is then seven or so pages describing the important annual events. The  last section before getting to the city and surrounding areas is one that the  DM will find useful. It goes over the climate of Greyhawk and provides random  tables to determine weather. This is done for all four seasons. It also gives  monthly average sunrise and sunset times as well as total daylight hours.

Getting into the larger portion of the book dealing with the city and her  surroundings. The first portion is an exhaustive history on the city which  includes information on a famous castle of some note. Next we are presented  with an explanation of the Oligarchy that makes up the government of Greyhawk.  We are also given the names of the members of the ruling council with their  stat block and a bio piece for each. There is also a note if they are members  of the inner circle of the Oligarchy. There is also a period describing the  internal issues the city faces.

We are next given a nice description of the law and military aspects of the  city. This goes into some detail describing the various watches, guilds and  constables that make up the protective forces in the city. We are then given  some information on the Criminal Code of Greyhawk, a list of the Major Crimes  with suggested sentence terms and then a list of the actual sentences that  could be assigned.  This is followed by a short section on petty crimes.

This is followed with a healthy section describing the population of the  city. It provides the DM with a a rough estimate on what the population of  the city has been over the last few years. It then goes into a breakdown on  the demographics followed  by social statuses, dress and finally languages.

The final fifty or so pages of the book are the city and the surrounding area.   It goes over the surrounding lands and then the city defenses in ten or so  pages. It then begins on the city quarters. Each of these are described in  some detail with important places to be found in each made note of. There DM  notes for each of these locations. Each quarter is provided a nice overview  of what can be found within and its importance in the city and what the  players might expect to occur there. The Quarters and areas provided are the  High Quarter, the Garden Quarter, Clerkburg, the Foreign Quarter, the River  Quarter, the Artisans Quarter, the Thieves Quarter and finally the Slum  Quarter.

If you like Greyhawk you need to own this. It may not be a nice as the box  set but it is easier to carry around and provides more than enough detail to  get the DM and players started in what I feel is the best campaign setting  out there.


Spell:

Cassandra's Mystical Extension

Level: Fifth
Range: Special
Duration: Instantaneous
Ares Effect: One Spell
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Segment
Saving Throw: None


With this spell the magic user greatly extends the duration of a spell. This spell will only affect spells with a duration and attempting to extend spells without one will fail. Spells of no greater than fourth level can be targets of this spell.

Immediately after casting the target spell the caster must follow with this spell. If more than two rounds pass after the casting of the target spell this spell will fail. The effect of this spell will be increase the duration of the spell by a factor of ten. Spells lasting a round will now last a turn and so forth.

If this spell is extending the duration of something that has already affected an target the victim is entitled to a second saving throw is desired. If that save is made then the original spell and the extension are both dispelled.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit. 

PS...Great news here

WG8 Fate of Istus, Cassandra's Wild Goose Chase

WG8 Fate of Istus was released by TSR  in 1989 as a mechanism to explain the transition between 1e AD&D and 2e AD&D in the World of Greyhawk. It has all the markings of a second edition module on the covers but inside it is written as a mostly first edition module though it has hints of what is to come in the "new" edition. We have the following as a hint of the outcome on the back cover...

"A dread plague has struck the world of Greyhawk, and the adventures must travel the length and breadth of the land seeking an explanation, and a cure. This is no ordinary plague, but one that seems almost like a punishment-or a test-meted out by some greater power."

The greater power is actually Istus. Istus is one of the deities in the World of Greyhawk.  Istus is the goddess of Fate, Destiny, Divination, the Future, and Honesty. She is known as the Lady of Our Fate and the Colorless and All-Colored. One part of the overall adventure targets each character class in the game at the time and at the end of the module all character classes have been modified to fit into second edition as a result of the judgment of Istus.

I know the above will turn some right away but the results can be changed. It is really quite a good resource for anyone using Greyhawk. It provides a good bit of detail for Rookroost, Rel Mord, Jurnre, Elredd, Wintershiven, Leukish, Rauxes, Chendl, Verbobonc, and Hesuel Ilshar. This alone makes it worth picking up and it can be found cheap if you are patient.

In addition to the information on the various cities and important NPCs it contains ten distinct adventures that can be played individually, as part of the overall adventure or ripped off and adapted for your own use. The list of adventures are...

The Sage's Tower
Swords for Hire
Countdown in Jurnre
Diambeth's Delving
Service for the Dead
The Garden of Evil
Down with the Wizard
At the King's Right Hand
Iuz's Gambit
The Scarlet Mosque

Spell:

Cassandra's Wild Goose Chase

Level: First
Range: 6"
Duration: Special
Ares Effect: Special
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 3 Segments
Saving Throw: Negates

The casting of this spell will send a number of creatures on a specific errand for the caster. In reality the errand must be a farce with the intent of getting rid of them. This spell does not impart the ability to communicate with the victims if the caster is not already able to do so.

The number of creatures that can be affected will vary on the level of the caster. The caster can send two creatures plus one per level over first one the errand. The intended victims are entitled to a saving throw modified by any wisdom bonus they might posses. Those who save are unaffected and may or may not be ill disposed to the caster as a result. Those who fail will immediately leave with their sole purpose being that of completing the errand.

Those affected and on the errand will continue to try and complete the errand for the caster for a period of one turn at which time they will be entitled to another saving throw this time at +2. If the save is failed they will continue the errand for another turn at which time they will make another save this time at +4. The process will continue until a save is made with each subsequent save being made at a cumulative +2.

When a save is made the spell will have the affect of not allowing the victim to remember the errand. They will not remember why they went on it nor who sent them on it. They will recall they were trying to do something important but it ended up not being all so important after all and will wonder why they thought it was so important. If at any time the victims life comes in danger as a result of the errand the spell is negated but with the same after effect.

The material components of this spell are the tail feather from a goose and one gold piece per individual affected. The feather will not be used up by the spell but the gold piece must be given to the individuals and will stay in their possession.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of  spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.