Dark Tower D20/3.0, Spell Storage I

Almost seven month ago back when I first started posting I wrote  about a little module put out by Judges Guild called Dark Tower.  I will post a picture of another module bearing the same name  today. There have actually been two since the first. This is the  middle offering.

This is the D20 3.0 version of the module with the same name. It  was also released with the Judges Guild brand name in 2001. I  have not had a chance to compare the two but except for the stat  differences it seems that the changes made are few. There was  some clean up to the maps which were needed. There was also  additional material that was written by Paul Jaquays for the  original after it was published that was incorporated.

In the end it is a module with the name Dark Tower. It also bears  the brand name Judges Guild. For nostalgia reasons alone that  makes it worth picking up. It can still be found for very  reasonable prices. For an OSR DM it would be cheaper to pick this  up and retrofit it back to the edition of choice.


Spell:

Spell Storage I

Level: Fourth
Range: None
Duration: Special
Ares of Effect: Special
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 Round
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user is able to then cast  additional spells into special designed foci. These will hold a  spell for later casting. These devices can only be used by the  caster that originally put the spell into the device.

The caster will be able to store one spell per device. The spells  must be third level or less with the use of this particular  spell. The caster may cast a limited number of spells into any  number of foci. The limit on this is that they must have the  spell to cast and they must be cast continuously with no more than  one round of break per spell.

The number of foci that a caster can have is limited by their  level. The caster can have a number of foci equal to one plus  their level at the time the spell was cast into the foci. The  spell will remain in the item for a period of 24 hours. At the end  of that time the spell energy dissipates.

The material components of this spell will be a small foci that  is designed specifically for a particular spell level. The cost  of the foci will be 50gp per level of the spell it is intended to  hold. Each foci may hold one spell. The foci may be reused after  the spell it contains is used or has lost the energy stored  within it. 

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. 

Tegel Manor - Gamescience, Cassandra's Imaginary Trap

This is the Origins Prepublication Preview of the Gamescience reprint of Tegel Manor. When I bought this it was marketed as a limited print run and I paid more than I should have for it. You still see these for sale in the secondary market so I am not sure that it was all that much of a limited print run.

This is no different than the standard Gamescience version from what I can tell. I would not recommend this version of Tegel Manor if you can't pick it up considerably cheaper than the original Judges Guild version. I might even say that it would be worth it to pay upwards of double the price for the original.

This version never impressed me much in either print version, this one or the normal colored cover version. I think this product serves as a testament to how good the original version is as there is no reason for this to command the cost it does except that the original is that good.

There is nothing really wrong with the Gamescience version of the module it just lacks the original charm of the original. Like most of the "universalized" Judges Guild products they lack something that was present in the older products. In the end there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it but as I said for me the extra money is better spent to get the original.


Spell:

Cassandra's Imaginary Trap

Level: Third
Range: 6"
Duration: Special
Ares of Effect: Special
Components: V,S
Casting Time: One Round  
Saving Throw: Special

When this spell is cast the magic user causes an imaginary trap to come into being. The trap can be anything that the caster desires be it simple or as elaborate as the location allows. The trap can be placed on an individual item, on a door or other lock or even be a free standing trap located in a room or hallway.

The trap that is created will be one that is detected by anyone who comes near it even if they are not actively searching for a trap. The DM should make a point of rolling dice to make it appear that the party thief of most appropriate person found the trap based on normal percentages.

The person detecting the trap will know what it is and can see what should be a way to disarm the trap. A thief will be able to make their normal attempt to disarm the trap but it will always fail. The only way that the trap can be disarmed is for the person attempting to disarm it to instead declare that they believe it to be an illusion. If an attempt is made to disarm the trap then any attempt to disbelieve should fail. If the trap is deliberately triggered the DM can determine the effect. Anyone affected by the trap is entitled to a save if they disbelieve the effect but otherwise will suffer damage accordingly.

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.