Free Orcs

Quick Update

2010-11-09T16:26:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have have created allot for DnD, and have allot more I want to create for DnD. That was the point of this blog. I wanted to share what I have with others.

I have come to two unfortunate conclusions. 1, my job does not and outside commitments often tied to my job must come before this, and take up a surprising amount of time. 2, I don't expect anyone to read this site if I don't update on some kind of regular schedule with content of a certain quality.

I still have the desire to write and post. There's a few things I really want to explore, especially in the area's of dnd and technology, solo dnd in wiki format, and easy to use, fun monsters.

If anyone has a blog, and is looking for guest writers, I would love to hear from you. You can post here or email me at bal112083(at)gmail.com.

Solo D&D

2010-07-21T10:42:00.000-04:00

The World's Worst Video Game?

Some people on Twitter (I use Twitter much like an RSS Newsfeed for RolePaying) have been talking lately about Solo Dungeons and Dragons. I don't know much about SDnD, but the concept intrigues me, mostly because my gut says there is no such thing.

Now you can drop Solo D&D into Google and come up with plenty of results, so of course it exists, but is something Dungeons and Dragons just because you have a Dungeon Master's Guide in your lap? My instincts say no. You have to have another person. Dungeons & Dragons, at its core, is a social game. Without someone else playing with you, you've just stumbled into a low tech Balder's Gate.

Yet, the concept does not horrify me. I kept thinking about it, even after my initial research. I like video games. I like Dungeons and Dragons. Enough people are clearly passionate about this. It has its flaws, but maybe we can fix them? Let's take a look at what I see as the immediate issues SDnD.

It's not Social

This is of course it's most distinguishing characteristic. It's a solo game. I don't propose we change this, as then we are talking about another activity all together. However, just because something is single player, doesn't mean it can't be social.

For this matter, the internet provides the key. If one type, model, or source of content, for SDnD was popular enough then people would gather in forums there. They could compare adventures, character builds for solo running (which has to be balanced in whole new way), even compare tactics.

Some adventures could have a way to provide points, or accomplishments along the way. There could then be some kind of scoreboard, or publicly hosted character site. Even the top scores on a pinball machine have a social aspect to it.

Predictable Combat

You've got that stats for your PC. You've got the stats for the monsters. You're trusting yourself to not plan ahead and do your best to really try to kill you're PC, and not act on any knowledge you have about the stats you have in front of you that might not have been revealed to the PC or monster yet. I don't buy it. I mean, look at how long that sentence was.

I suppose the solution would to not present the whole Monster Stat block, but instead a series of what if hidden boxes. Like a spoiler box on a forum, or text that needs to be highlighted. You don't see the Will defense till you try and target it. You have a box that says 'When Bloodied' which perhaps says 'Nothing happens' when revealed, but you just don't know that the first time you play this adventure.

It makes it easier to allow yourself to stay surprised. Its still more like trying to solve a puzzle with limited outcomes. A paragraph on monster tactics will never replace a thinking, not you, DM.

Story

The easiest way to do this is with a very linear story/dungeon. You must go this way, after you finish this, is much easier to write in this situation, because you are the DM, and you don't want to reveal the big secrets till the end.

Yet I am reminded of choose you're own adventure books. They let you make choices. My instincts tell me this could work really well in a wiki format. For door one click here, door two click here.

For places, or people, who may have changed depending on what you've done, you could use coded, tracked accomplishments. When you find the key on the skeleton lords body, a little note tells you to add #1342 to your list of accomplishments. Later, when you get to the baron's basement door there's a box of hidden information labeled 'If you have Accomplishment #1342'. The hidden text reveals that if you try this key the door opens.

Another accomplishment could be something less positive. If you fail to save the Baker's Daughter, you gain an accomplishment for that. Next time you're in the bakery there is a large box of a hidden text for that accomplishment. You find the Baker to be less friendly.

Needs work.

DM Report 07/14/2010

2010-07-19T06:00:00.026-04:00

I run an open, Sandbox like world in my current campaign. For the most part, I still strive to make most encounters challenging without being overwhelming. However, I made it quite clear to my players at the start, there are certain things in this world that are established at a certain level. Go there too soon, and it will not scale down to you.

Recently, my players came across a large temple. It was meant to be a bit of a dungeon crawl, where players had to work their way from the bottom to the top. My players decided to fly to the top (they have a hipogriff), and start looking around up there. Never, ever, do I like to discourage creative thinking, so even though I knew I didn't want them to get into the room at the top before the rest of the temple, I didn't stop things. When they made good rolls, I gave good information. Eventually I let them blow off a bot of the wall, in the very last room of the dungeon crawl and go in there.

The rewards present by clearing this room were really great. If they managed to win, pulling off this crazy idea of starting here, they may not bother going down at all. This fight was meant to be a very challenging fight for them at the end, after they had gained two more levels. I did not scale it down. I killed two pcs that night, as they all fled for their lives.There was allot of profanity at the table. Everyone had an awesome time.

Whenever, the party is getting walloped I try to remember my DM tips more so than usual. Getting walloped by someone doing really cool things (described by the DM) and talking to you the whole time, is much more fun than the DM rolling lots of dice.

Now they know what to expect in that room. They've resolved to go back in the front door, and hit that final room hard, with a plan, and no less than a full party. Its going to be great.

Free Orc Friday! Celestial War Paladin

2010-07-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

A long, long time ago. . .

There was a band of savage, orc nomads. They wandered barren wastelands, fighting among other nomadic groups and occasionally raiding the nearest towns. One day they crossed paths with a band of adventurers, among them a cleric of a goddess of fire and war. They were beaten so thoroughly, and put in such a frenzy f terrified awe, that they swore themselves to the goddess, and soon became feared in their own right.

Many traveled to the goddess' realm during the Divine War, and their decedents kept up this warrior tradition, being called on, in small groups whenever the goddess wills it.

Celestial War Paladin Level 14 Soldier
Medium immortal humanoid XP 1,000
Initiative +12 Senses Perception +11
HP 141; Bloodied 70
AC 30; Fortitude 27; Reflex 25; Will 26
Resist 10 fire
Speed 5

[m] Longsword (standard; at-will) • Fire, Weapon
+21 vs AC; 1d10 + 6 damage plus 1d8 fire damage, and the target is marked until the end of the Celestial War Paladin’s next turn

[M] Bolstering Strike (standard; at-will) • Radiant, Weapon
+21 vs AC; 2d8 + 6 radiant damage, and one ally within 2 gains +2 to defenses till the start of the war paladins next turn.

[M] Warrior's Surge (standard, usable only while bloodied; encounter) • Healing, Weapon
The orc raider makes a melee basic attack, spends a healing surge, and regains 45 hit points.

Alignment Unaligned Languages Giant
Skills History +12, Religion +12
Str 22 (+13) Dex 16 (+10) Wis 18 (+11)
Con 21 (+12) Int 11 (+7) Cha 15 (+9)
Equipment Plate Armor, Heavy Shield, Longsword

Oathbound: Spellblind Part II

2010-07-15T06:30:00.000-04:00

Please note: There was a mistake on the last Spellblind post, where the Oath was written to give the Spellblind only a +1 bonus. This bonus is meant to scale, as you level and has been corrected.

-

Spellblind Protector

"Even as my allies spout on about how they are in control of their powers and items, so I am called to stand in front and protect them from harms way. Yet I shall do so. A child who knows no truth of the world needs all the more protection."

Prerequisites: Spellblind Oath, Oathbound: Spellbound Feat, Defender Role

You have set an example for others to follow that one not need to dependent on magic to do great things. Not only have you kept pace with your magic wielding counterparts but you continually protect them from the harm. Much if that harm coming from magic, you might add. Over time, you've become more and more adept at the natural art of magical interruption.

Spellblind Protector Path Features

Hidden from Arcane Eyes (11th Level): The DC for all scrying on your person is increased by 5. At level 20 the DC increases by 10.

Intense Action (11th Level): When you spend an action point to take an extra action all enemies in a close burst 3 are marked until the end of your next turn.

Grounded Mind (16th Level): You may roll 1 saving throw at the start of your turn, for any domination, dazed, or fear effect that a save can end. If you are granted a saving throw at the start of your turn through any other feature, you must use this saving throw against a separate effect.

[M] Protective Strike (Weapon) Encounter Spellblind Protector Attack 11
Standard Action Melee 1
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength or Constitution vs AC
Hit: [2]W + Strength or Constitution Modifier damage and all adjacent allies gain a bonus to defenses equal to either your Charisma or Wisdom Modifier till the end of your next turn.

Stubborn Preservation Encounter Spellblind Protector Utility 12
Immediate Interrupt Personal
Trigger: An enemy hits your Will Defense
Effect: Your will increases by +4 till the start of your next turn.

[M] Aura Killer (Weapon) Daily Spellblind Protector Attack 20
Standard Action Melee 1
Target: One Creature Marked by you
Attack: Strength or Constitution vs Fortitude
Hit: 4[W] + Strength or Constitution Modifier damage and the creatures aura ends (save ends).

Critical Failure's Part 2

2010-07-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I mentioned the idea of a Magical Mishap being added to Critical Failure table. I did this once by accident (having forgotten the option of Fall prone), and while they did not roll the needed '5' I got a very positive "Oh no" response from my players. "Oh no", with possible expletives, is something I want to hear my players say. As opposed to real life, in DnD this is a very good thing. It means the players are paying attention, realize something difficult or different may come up that they need to respond to, and that they're thinking about the situation. In short it means they're engaged.

So of course I needed to add it to my Critical Failure list officially. Here's my new one:

Fall Prone
Drop Weapon
Throw Weapon
Hit Self
Break Weapon/Magical Mishap
Nothing

The deal here, is that if you're wielding a mundane weapon or implement it breaks on a 5. Magical Weapons are tougher, but might give you magical backlash. Rolling a 5 with a magical weapon or implement, means that a Magical mishap has happened, and you need to roll on the Magical Mishap table. It's a d100 table.

That's allot of Magical Mishap possibilities. That means a few things you need to be aware. First off, it means that getting any particular option is very rare. There's only a 1/2,400 of even getting to the Magical Mishap table (not including the possibility that maybe your using a mundane weapon), and only a 1/240,000 chance of getting any individual Mishap. Thanks to Crothian of Enworld for help with the math.

Because there are so many options, they vary greatly in level of effect. Some add temporary minor effects, and a couple might even kill the PC. They're also all, relatively short descriptions. They will need flavor embellishment from the DM for sure. Some will need some rule moderation depending on the situation. Remember when this happens, these may be failures, but we want to lean toward fun if it gets out of hand.

Because each option is so very rare, a few of them break the game.

Any mention of weapon, is intended to cover implements as well. Swap Burad for gnome or halfling if not using Burads in your game.

Take the time to look through this list and edit it to your liking. Its editable for just that reason. Some of them might not be ok options for your group. Some might be too tame for an epic failure, or too game breaking for accidental effect.

Link to the list (its long so its a separate document): Magical Mishaps

Critical Failure's Part 1

2010-07-13T06:00:00.018-04:00

The idea that something truly awesome might happen when you roll multiple natural 20s in a row, or something equally heinous would happen when rolling multiple natural 1s in a row is not something new to roll playing.

When 4th edition rolled around, my group made the jump and found we liked it. There was something lost in not rolling to confirm the crit, but we never house ruled a change. We did however insists that a natural 1 was always a success, even a level 1 attacking a god, and a natural 1 was always failure. That was just the epic nature of the game. Its always possible to fail or succeed, at least for a moment. Its one of things that makes DnD feel Epic to me.

Another carryover, was the idea that when you rolled a natural 1, you had to roll that d20 again to see how bad it really was. Roll any number but 1, and it was just a regular, run of the mill, thats too bad, failure. Roll a 1 on that second roll, and things get critical. Out comes the critical Failure Chart. Roll a 1d6 to see what happens.

My old chart looked like this:

Fall Prone
Drop Weapon
Throw Weapon
Hit Self
Break Weapon
Nothing

You have a 1 in 400 chance of getting to that point and still on a six your in the clear. There is, as of the moment, no positive counter to this chart. My players have never complained. There's something about this that makes failure exciting.

Due in part to the odds of reaching this chart being low, I had a habit of misplacing it. Recently, I was having difficulty working on the fly to redo it for a roll and instead of drop Prone I quickly wrote down 'Magical Mishap' instead of Fall Prone. My players seemed rather intrigued by this possibility, so of course I needed to come up with actual possibilities and modify the way I did things. More on that tomorrow.

Map of Grand Hall

2010-07-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Grand Hall was the capital city in my current points of light campaign. Here we have a a city that was once much larger and prosperous. With the decline of the last great kingdom, the city has suffered many more attacks. In addition, the lack of a unifying government decreased trade with neighboring communities. As population decreased and areas took damage, they were never repopulated and slowly fell into ruins and slums.

The grey is meant to represent ruins, and abandoned areas, while the other colors distinguish different styles of architecture in the city. I've include one with my notation and one without. Enjoy.

Free Orc Friday! 3 Orc Feats

2010-07-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

For Free Orc Friday, I give you three quick feats to help your Orc player feel like he's part of a bona-fide player race.

Head for Blood
Prerequisites: Orc, Warrior's Surge Racial Power
Benefit: You can use Warrior's Surge, in place of a Melee Basic Attack, if your target is bloodied.

Natural Tribesman
Prerequisites: Any tribal feat, orc
Benefit: Treat the number of allies in range with the same tribal feat as being one greater.

Warrior Leader
Prerequisites: Orc, Warrior's Surge Racial Power
Benefit: You gain either your Wisdom Modifier or your Charisma Modifier in bonus hp when you hit with Warrior's Surge.

Civilized vs Savage

2010-07-08T16:37:00.000-04:00

When we think of races that have been included in Player's Handbook or Campaign Setting versus the Monstrous Races we often make a distinction in how those races act and live. The Player Races are more civilized and the Monstrous Races savage. The printed material often backs this up to a certain degree, and may even change their stories a bit when it becomes time for a Monstrous Race to become a full Player Race. Jared von Hindman comments on this with the Minotaur in a recent article for Wizards' website.

Our own prejudice against monsters often takes this on even further though. In 3.X, where I started DMing, one of my biggest grievances was with the low Intelligence score on the Minotaur. I didn't like the idea that all Minotaurs were savage brutes. Even if a minotaur wasn't nice, it should at least be cunning. This understanding has been allot more popular as well, with the popularity of World of Warcraft.

Other races have received similar, or reverse, treatment with setting. Orcs, one of the most loved Monstrous races, is also the one most relegated automatically to savage, but not so with Eberron Setting. The halflings who are so often associated with the peaceful hobbits of Tolkien, are brutal, and dangerous in Dark Sun.

So how do we define a Monstrous Race? It becomes especially difficult with a point of light campaign. No more do goodly races from large kingdoms of peace and light, welcoming in outsiders and defying evil. The norm now is to distrust outsiders. Adventurers approaching a small town they have never been to before are likely not to be let in without some intimidation or bribe, never mind being welcomed. They may even be attacked on sight.

Is this so different to a pack of gnolls ambushing travelers who had wandered into their territory?

If its not your level of aggression towards outsiders is it simply the fact that you live in a city that makes you civilized? I find it hard to label all nomadic or tribal people savage. I use catfolk (in 4e use shifter stats) as a tribal people that most people would find quite civilized.

4th edition has made a big step towards keeping more and more races unaligned. Every race, like every human, can run the gambit. I favor this lingering gray, though certainly plenty of people oppose it. They would very much prefer it to be the good guys vs the bad guys and leave it at that. That can certainly be entertaining. We all like to be heroes at times. I like to make my heroes work a bit.

Just some thoughts for now. If you liked this article check out the one I linked to above and Chris Simms' writing on the nature of canon.

Duergar Enemies

2010-07-07T06:30:00.000-04:00

As a follow up to an earlier post about Duergar I've taken the proposed options and created a couple of sample monsters for your players to fight. It's no good if only your players have this options.

Duergar Tunnel Dropper

The Duergar Tunnel Dropper represents the elite of their Shock Troopers. They hold the lines until bloodied, when they become the lines. Tunnel Droppers try and wedge themselves in hallways, giving enemies as little room to negotiate as possible. When they can't find a restrictive space to fight it in, they slam their mauls into the ceiling and floor, to reshape the terrain to a more inhospitable fashion.

The combination of expand and Poison Veins gives them a devastating attack once bloodied, that shows the power of these evil underdwellers.

Duergar Tunnel Dropper Level 6 Elite Brute
Medium natural humanoid XP 500
Initiative +6 Senses Perception +6; darkvision
HP 168; Bloodied 84
AC 21; Fortitude 22; Reflex 15; Will 18
Immune illusion; Resist 5 fire, 5 poison
Saving Throws +2
Speed 5
Action Points 1

m Maul (standard; at-will) • Weapon
+9 vs AC; 2d6 + 6 damage
C Earth Stomp (standard; recharge 5 6) • Zone
Close Burst 1; +7 vs Reflex; 1d10 + 4 and the burst becomes a zone of difficult terrain.
Poison Veins (minor; encounter (only when bloodied)) • Poison
The Duergar Tunnel Dropper deals an additional 1d8 damage to his next attack, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls and ongoing 2 poison damage (save ends both). This effect ends if no attack is made by the end of you're turn.
Expand (when first bloodied; encounter) • Polymorph
The duergar tunnel dropper becomes Large, occupying 4 squares instead of 1. Any creatures in the squares that the shock trooper comes to occupy are pushed 1 square. The tunnel dropper also gains reach 2 and a +5 bonus to its melee damage rolls. The tunnel dropper remains Large until the end of the encounter.
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Deep Speech, Dwarven
Skills Dungeoneering +12
Str 19 (+7) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 14 (+5) Int 10 (+3) Cha 8 (+2)
Equipment Chainmail, Maul

Duergar Frontliner

The Duergar Frontliner sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. Trained to work in large groups, as a unit, and to protect the other members of their squad. They unleash a weakened version of their poison blood and then gladly sacrifice themselves.

Duergar Frontliner Level 11 Minion Soldier
Medium natural humanoid XP 150
Initiative +8 Senses Perception +9; darkvision
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 27; Fortitude 24; Reflex 23; Will 20
Resist 10 fire, 10 poison
Speed 5
m Warhammer (standard; at-will) • Weapon
+18 vs AC; 8 damage
Poison Veins (minor; encounter) • Poison
The Duergar Tunnel Dropper deals an additional 1d8 damage to his next attack, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls.This effect ends if no attack is made by the end of you're turn.
Sacrifice (immediate interrupt; an adjacent ally takes damage)
The Duergar Frontlner instead takes the damage
Alignment Evil Languages Deep Speech
Str 21 (+10) Dex 19 (+9) Wis 18 (+9)
Con 17 (+8) Int 12 (+6) Cha 10 (+5)
Equipment Chainmail, Warhammer

Oathbound: Spellblind

2010-07-06T10:58:00.001-04:00

I like the idea of Oaths in the DnD world having a strong bearing not just on the RP of some characters but of the mechanics. The Book of Exalted Deeds had some good ideas for this in 3rd edition. The thing about giving a mechanical benefit for an Oath, is that you really need to find balance with the sacrifice and the benefit. The Oath itself is a feature available to any class or race. It does not have any prerequisites but you may like to add some for your campaign. You gain the benefits simply by approving the Oath with your DM.

I did not specifically block arcane characters from taking these feats, to allow for characters who feel cursed by their own abilities.

The following has not been playtested fully. More options in later posts.

Spellblind

The Spellblind are a group of people not affiliated by any organization but a common philosophy. They see magic in the world as dangerous or unnatural, and would rather intelligent humanoids not use it at all. They have since sworn that they would not let the power of magic sway them in this world, relaying on ingenuity and personal strength wherever possible. Some people take this Oath to extremes, hunting down wizards and sorcerers, sometimes even priests hoping to cleanse the world. Others are peaceful monks, who travel a diplomatic world, showing themselves as an example of what could be, but never interfering directly with others. Some still keep to themselves, taking the Oath due to a personal event in their past, never mentioning to anyone the ideals they hold dearly.

Oath: You have sworn to limit your contact with the magical world. You cannot use or wield any magic items.
Benefit: At level 3, you gain a +1 Item Bonus to all defenses, and to-hit. This bonus increases by 1 every 5 levels thereafter.

Note to DMs: It should be made clear what the first part of the Oath means between player and DM when the Oath is first accepted. Can a character benefit from an allies ritual? If the main entrance into the dragon's lair is a magical lift does this character need to climb the walls instead? I suggest somewhere in the middle of the road. Remember that there is already sacrifice involved here and to keep the game fun. Whatever you decide it should be clear to the player at the start.

Remember to adjust the treasure accordingly. All the other players should not get an extra share, since this player is still getting the benefits of the most common magic items. If the player still takes his share of treasure, try to find places for him to spend that money. Maybe the players could use a base of operations? Lavish luxuries? Fund a school?

Heroic Feats

Oathbound: Spellblind
You have made a personal pledge against the temptation of magic, and your senses have become all the sharper.
Prerequisites: Spellblind Oath
You can use Perception in place of Arcana when detecting the presence of magic. You gain a +2 Insight bonus vs those who use magic as their primary source of power.

Spellblind Destroyer
You have mastered your weapon, unhindered by the crutch of enhancement. You know how to spot an opening and exploit it so that your blows strike with all the more precision.
Prerequisites: Oathbound: Spellblind
Once per encounter, as a free action after hitting an enemy with an attack, they gain Vulnerable 5 to all attacks from you (save ends).

Spellblind Healer
You have looked into the hearts of men and know of their inner strength.
Prerequisites: Oathbound: Spellblind
When you use a power that enables you or an ally to regain hit points, add your current Item Bonus from your Spellblind Oath as extra hp gained.

Spellblind Fearmonger
You enter battle with fierce determination. When your allies realize your power is not enhanced by other means, they soon learn respect.
Prerequisites: Oathbound: Spellblind
Once per encounter, as a minor action, you mark all enemies in a close burst 3. This mark ends at the end of your next turn.

DM Report 07/03/2010

2010-07-05T08:12:00.000-04:00

I was sitting in my living room last night watching television when I began hearing fireworks. Looked out the window, and try as I might I couldn't see them, only hear their boisterous noise. This happened several times till my wife firmly declared "You can never see fireworks from here." This didn't stop me for instinctively looking out the window every time I heard the noise.

There's nothing more disappointing than non-existent fireworks.

Chris Sims recently finished up a series of posts on Critical Hits about dealing with solo creatures. One of the practices he encourages is letting people know ahead of time that there's a solo coming to help build up tension. This should make things more fun. Read his post for all his points, its a good one.

However, I'm currently running a deep points of life campaign. Its a pretty dark world where life s less than great. Sometimes, if the PCs aren't careful, they can stumble into some pretty nasty surprises completely blind. So recently the PCs accidentally angered an adult silver dragon. The fight that followed was pretty one sided. The PCs wiped the floor with him. The warden and warlord kept the guy flanked in two zones, and there was grab grass present. Each turn he could either try and reposition himself. Silver Dragons are brutes so his to-hit and defenses weren't all that great. He never got out of the zone, and was prone at the end of every round.

The odd thing is, this fight was a success. The PCs loved it. This was not their first 4e dragon and each time before they had a much tougher times, including one that could have been a TPK, where they decided the best way to fight a blue dragon was on a boat. So this time, even though it was not much of a fight, they loved it. They felt powerful, and that was fun. Its been a long road to mid paragon, and it was great for them to just be awesome. I stopped the fight at one quarter hit points none the less.

So sometimes I think its ok to hear fireworks but not see them. I'll do my best to make sure it does not happen twice in a row however.

I also played with the Oblivion Moss from the MM3. It was good fun. I took the suggestion to make the players roll for their dopplegangers. This was frustrating experience for them. I found the more I described how the Mindmasters were scanning their minds and how the other mosses were beginning to look more and more detailed the more interesting it was for the players. They don't have the book yet and they began frantically speculating what would happen if someone died.

That gives me an idea for a monster. . .

Free Orc Friday! Orc Demon-Pacted

2010-07-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

Some orcs worship gods of destruction, others seek primal routes but many find demons to be truly worthy of their reverence. Demons represent primal destruction and raw power. Demon worshiping orcs can sometimes be now more than a loosely grouped horde of barbarians, asking no more for their reverence than an excuse to obliterate the goodness of the world.

Others though, find themselves to be more clever. They are not content to worship the demon lords but forge pacts of power between them, granting them brief glimpses of the raw, destructive energies of the Abyss.

The Orc Demon-Pacted can be found in both savage orc tribes and more civilized areas. They may be working with other orcs or other evil humanoids, generally plotting their destruction all the while.

Orc Demon-Pacted (Level 6 Artillery)

Medium natural humanoid XP 250

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +3

HP 58; Bloodied 29

AC 18; Fortitude 21; Reflex 15; Will 17

Speed 6

Standard Actions

[m] Dagger (Weapon) • At-Will

Attack: +13 vs AC

Hit: 1d4 + 5 damage

[r] Eldritch Blast (Arcane, Implement) • At-Will

Attack: +11 vs Reflex

Hit: 1d10 + 4

Minor Actions

[R] Warlock's Curse

• At-Will
Ranged sight, nearest enemy; the target is cursed. A cursed target takes 1d6 extra damage anytime Orc Demon-Pacted deals damage with a power.
Triggered Actions
Dark Recoil • Immediate Reaction; Recharge 5 6

Trigger: The orc demon-pacted is hit with a melee attack

Effect: The attacker is teleported 5 squares and marked by the Orc Demon-Pacted's nearest ally

Skills Arcana +9, Bluff +9

Str 16 (+6) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 10 (+3)

Con 16 (+6) Int 13 (+4) Cha 13 (+4)

Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Giant, Common

Equipment Dagger, Leather Armor

Dragonborn True Warrior

2010-07-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

These fine fellows came up in my RL game recently where I needed strong warriors for an isolated dragonborn village, drifting between savage and civilized.

When dealing with any kind of minion or type of intelligent humanoid thats going to be used more than once in a fight, remember its ok to break apart from the text. This may seem like old hat for some people but I find myself needing to remind myself. If there are twenty Dragonborn True Warriors coming at the PCs, and they all wield scale armor and bastard swords, your players either thinks:

1. My DM is just reading off the card or

2. This means something. Maybe they're part of a well trained unit, all under the same fighting style, or the bastard sword is important to their culture is some way.

I don't want 1. to be what they think of, because eventually its going to be important that they notice that a group of humanoids are all strangely alike.

So I'll grab some minis with different weapons and go with it, or describe some as wielding two swords or a great axe. No need to change the mechanics to create a vibrant group. Same thing with the dragonbreath. PCs know that dragonborn have several kinds of dragonbreath. They don't all need to breath fire unless theres a reason behind it.

Dragonborn True Warrior		Level 12 Minion Soldier
Medium natural humanoid		XP 175
Initiative +11 Senses Perception +7 HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion. AC 28; Fortitude 28; Reflex 24; Will 24 Speed 5
m Bastard Sword (standard; at-will) • Weapon
+19 vs AC; +21 while bloodied; 5 damage
C Dragon Breath (minor; encounter) • Fire
Close blast 3; +17 vs Reflex; +19 while bloodied; 4 fire damage
True Warrior’s Strike
When the dragonborn true warrior hits an enemy with an opportunity attack, the target is knocked prone.
Alignment Any		Languages Common, Draconic
Skills History +9, Intimidate +16, Athletics +17
Str 22 (+12)	Dex 16 (+9)		Wis 13 (+7)
Con 19 (+10)	Int 13 (+7)		Cha 16 (+9)
Equipment Scale Armor, Bastard sword
© 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. This monster statistics block has been generated using the D&D Adventure Tools.

Energy Motes

2010-06-30T12:32:00.000-04:00

Energy Motes

The energy mote is a creature I stumbled upon in the DDI Adventure Tools. Originally from the SPEC 1-1 Shades of the Zhentarim, RPGA Adventure, they're level 1 minions, with a ranged radiant attack that explode when they die.

In a game that recently concluded, in Enworld's Living 4th Edition, I scooped these monsters up for my own purposes. Having never played Shades of the Zhentarim. I knew I wanted to have artificer based villain, and was looking for proper fodder. To me, energy motes are floating balls of energy, created and controlled through a form of electrokinesis.

I used the energy mote, pretty much as is, from the DDI, and added the phasing ability so they could shift through walls, and the floor.

I wanted them to hold up a full, interesting encounter, so I made two more, tougher versions to add variety. I present to you the Red Energy Mote, and the Purple Energy Mote. They have been slightly tweaked for better gameplay than the way I originally ran them.

Purple Energy Mote (Level 2 Controller)

Small natural animate (construct) XP 125

Initiative +3 Senses Perception +2

HP 36 Bloodied 18

AC 16 F 13 R 15 W 15

Speed Fly 6 (hover, phasing)

Traits
Tool of the Master The Purple Energy mote relays everything it can see back to its master, and can communicate telepathically to it's master up to 20 squares.
Standard Actions

[M] Energy Shock (radiant) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1; +6 vs AC
Hit: 1d6+3 radiant damage, and the target is slowed (save ends)
[c] Energy Pulse (radiant) * At-Will
Attack: Close Burst 1; +6 vs Reflex'
Hit: 1d6+3 radiant damage, and the target is slowed (save ends)
Triggered Actions
[c] Kinetic Burst (Radiant) * At-Will
Trigger: Purple Energy Mote is reduced to 0 hp
Attack: Close Burst 3; +4 vs Reflex to any creature who is not a construct or living construct
Hit: 1d6 radiant damage and knocked prone
Effect: Constructs and living constructs in burst regain 6 hit points.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Str 12 (+2) Dex 15 (+3) Wis 12 (+2)
Con 13 (+2) Int 6 (-1) Cha 9 (+0)

Red Energy Mote (Level 2 Skimisher)

Small natural animate (construct) XP 125

Initiative +8 Senses Perception +2

HP 37 Bloodied 18

AC 16 F 13 R 15 W 15

Speed Fly 6 (hover, phasing)

Traits

Tool of the Master The Red Energy mote relays everything it can see back to its master, and can communicate telepathically to it's master up to 20 squares.

Standard Actions

[M] Energy Shock (radiant) * At-Will

Attack: Melee 1; +5 vs Reflex

Hit: 1d10+3 Radiant and the Red Energy Mote Shifts 1 Square

Triggered Actions

[c] Kinetic Burst (Radiant) * At-Will

Trigger: Red Energy Mote is reduced to 0 hp

Attack: Close Burst 2; +3 vs Reflex to any creature who is not a construct or living construct

Hit: 5 radiant damage

Effect: Constructs and living constructs in burst regain 5 hit points.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -

Str 12 (+2) Dex 21 (+6) Wis 12 (+2)

Con 13 (+2) Int 6 (-1) Cha 9 (+0)

PAX EAST Report

2010-03-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

/me blows dust off blog.

Allot of people have been asking me about PAX East. I just returned so I'll using this blog as a blog for the moment.

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First off, PAX was great. Lot's of people. People had good attitudes. It was clear almost everyone had fun.

I was there primarily for the DND, and I'll be talking about that mostly.

Dungeon Delve

WotC hosted a one hour Dungeon Delve that ran an hour long. It was two encounters long and featured pre-made, 3rd level PCs. It was fun, if only because the PCs were solid, the DMs were in high spirits and its a great chance to play a game with strangers. The 2nd encounter was formidable and, I found out, made up of 8th level monsters.

It didn't feel like a loss though. It felt exciting cause the danger was evident.

Playing granted you small wooden coins (you got 2 or three per play session). For two coins you could get a kobold mini, for five an Ampersand patch, and for 15 you could get a D&D backpack. You could obviously play more than once and participation was first come, first serve, with quite a line at times.

I was told that the setup and number of sessions/volunteers was based on the turn out for Comic Con. It seemed Comic Con goers don't like D&D nearly as much as the people at PAX because there simply was not enough sessions and volunteers to go around in any of the D&D events I saw.

Dark Sun Preview

This was fun. I like the brief story and I liked playing the characters. We got to see a thri-keen in action as well as Mul. Both seemed interesting and worthwhile to play.

The goliath gets re-skinned as a half-giant and I have a good guess from the content of the session that Githzerai are going to be the settings Gith.

The background themes give your PC an extra encounter power at level 1, which has a comparable usefulness of the class encounter powers. My half-giant fighter was a gladiator and he could shove someone, do 2d10+str damage, push them 2 squares, knock the target prone, and slow any adjacent enemies.

Not bad eh? Well you're going to need. The adventure set a bar of dangerous adventure. If they encourage this type of play, be prepared for your PC to die, possibly at the hands of another player.

I found this to be a pleasant distinction from the other settings.

MS Surface Scapes

This was a very nifty toy. I did get to play. I even got to fireball goblins. It was fun. It didn't feel like D&D though.

Things I liked: I liked being able to see LoS, blast radius, and movement right on the map.
Things I didn't like: Not being able to use physical dice, the idea that all the math and stats are held in the program (we all know about the mistakes and limitations in/of the CB), the fact that the enemies worked on AI.

About the AI. I know this is optional. I didn't get to see how programmable it was for the DM. In fact we didn't get to see much of the DM side of things at all. But if the bad guys make their own decisions, how is this not a video game? I don't want a video game. We have D&D video games. I want a video tool.

General Notes on PAX

Pros

The enforcers were awesome. Nice, energetic, interested and patient, even when it was clear they did not want to hear your anecdote.
Wil Weaton had a great key note. He really set a good tone and had everyone laughing.
Lots of people to talk to.
Get In Line Games was there keeping people entertained as they waiting to get in. If you could see the screen, it was pretty entertaining.
There were a ton of games to choose from in the free play console room.
Most lines moved very quickly (more props to the enforcers).

Cons (get it?)

There were allot of lines.
There was allot of confusion about lines. For the really big events and panels the enforcers were really good about marking what some lines were, and trying to keep things orderly. On the Expo floor and in side events, like the wotc rooms, this was not the case. People were told lines were things that they weren't (by guests and staffers), lines were often not marked, and lines were sometimes not cut off properly.
Related, is the lack of information. You could sign up for somethings ahead of time, and others not. This information was not centrally located. You could sign up for somethings only when you got there, even for future days of the expo. This means people who were coming on Sunday, potentially didn't get a chance to sign up for some things at all, without even knowing that this was a possibility.
There was girl, barely wearing any clothes, chasing people with glove hands.

Most of the above was caused by vendors not having a good idea how many people would be interested in their events and therefore not having enough staff. There was also a limitation on total space. I heard they are moving to a new location, in Boston, next year.

All and all very positive however.

Reworking the 4e Duergar

2009-11-12T14:37:00.000-05:00

Many people have expressed a disinterest in the cosmetic changes to some races from 3.x to 4e. None brought me more displeasure than the Duergar. The idea of each member of this soft skinned, humanoid race, flinging poisonous quills, from their hair is maddening.

Removing the quills require to change almost known of the fluff. They still can have infernal ties to Asmodeus, be former slaves of the Mindflayers, be distant relations to the dwarves. . . all that wonderful stuff. To balance that out, add the following:

Infernal Blood: Resist 5 Poison. Use Poison Veins as an Encounter Power.

Poison Veins Duergar Racial Power

You feel blood run from open wounds and slide down you're body, preparing to focus it's power into you're next attack.

Encounter * Poison

Minor Action Personal

Requirement: You must be bloodied.

Effect: You're next attack does an additional 1d8 poison damage to one target, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls and ongoing 2 poison damage (save ends both). This effect ends if no attack is made by the end of you're turn.

Level 11: 2d8 poison damage to one target, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls and ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends both).

Level 21: 3d8 poison damage to one target, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls and ongoing 8 poison damage (save ends both).

This gives you a similar power, so you can swap it in when running the Monsters in the MM2 and Monster Builder. The Resist 5 Poison also gives them a little more Umpf when comparing them to other player races, as well as keeping them with similar qualties as passe editions. Also, the visual imagery of the Duergar blood flowing over a weapon, staff or holy symbol and then being used to attack the palyers offers allot of fun opportunities.

PC Feats

Heroic Tier

Duergar Weapon Training

Prerequisites: Duergar

You gain proficiency and a +2 feat bonus to damages rolls with picks and hammers.

Hardened Mind

Prerequisites: Duergar, Slave No More

+2 Racial Bonus on saving throws vs. being dominated.

Slave No More

Prerequisites: Duergar

Gain a +2 Racial Bonus when escaping grabs or disabling devices currently restraining you.

Paragon Tier

Improved Infernal Blood

Prerequisites: Duergar, 11th Level

You're resistance to Poison is now 15

Improved Poison Veins

Prerequisites: Duergar, 11th Level

Add you're Constitution Modifer to the damage granted by Poison Veins

Epic Tier

Epic Infernal Blood

Prerequisites: Duergar, Improved Infernal Blood, 21th Level

You become Immune to Poison Damage

Epic Poison Veins

Prerequisites: Duergar, Improved Poison Veins, 21th Level

When an enemy within 5 squares of you drops to 0 hp due to poison damage regain the use of Poison Veins.

Sahuagin Eel Lord

2009-11-10T16:43:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows that Sahuagin love sharks, but surely there are many other nasty creatures that lurk the deep. Inspired by Primal Power, I present to you the Sahuagin Eel Lord.

This scaly creature has a strangely bluish tinge compared to it's aquatic allies. As it stares you down with its yello sunken eyes, its hands begin to flicker with energy. Skins of of other creatures make up its clothes and a necklace of bones falls about its neck. Its brings up its hands in summons and from the deep dark below a multitude of creatures answers his call.

Tactics: Sahuagin Eel Lords try to hit as many enemies as possible with their Swarm of Eels attack. Once the zone is placed he sustains the ability for as long as possible, attacking enemies within the zone with Draining Ray.

Encounters: Eel Lords pair ideally with other Sahuagin. Soldiers a minions help it stay at range and artillery make good use of the imobilization effect of the Eel Lords Swarm Attack.

Pair with monsters who can also weaken for a particuarly tough encounter.

2009-10-01T19:33:00.000-04:00

Today, I present for your enjoyment, 17 quick tavern tables. The charts are specifically designed to help you create a new tavern on the fly, in less than a minute!

If you didn’t quite have enough time to prepare or the PCs don’t go quite in the direction you thought they would the tavern is the most common stop along the way. Why not make it interesting?

In under a minute produce a tavern name, fill it with patrons, fill it with people, order drink and inquire about rooms. Guaranteed to help distinguish one tavern from another and help make what was once a footnote an interesting and memorable encounter space.

Tables 1-11 help you generate a name with over 64,000 possibilities (I think. Accurate math not guaranteed.)
Tables 12-15 fills it with people and helps create your space. The last to tables gets your PC's in a room. See the PDF for the whole chart.

The Full PDF

4e/Deity/Yama

2009-09-30T18:46:00.000-04:00

Yama is based on the divine being Yama of Hindu and Buddhist faiths. I originally stated Yama out because I specifically wanted a god of death for my 4th edition campaign who was not evil and did not have evil feeling fluff.

As always, feel free to use as little or as much as this as you'd like.

Yama

Greater God (Unaligned)
Yama is generally depicted as a large humanoid with red skin, and green clothing. Occasionally he is seen as horned, or fully clothed in a large black cloak like his reapers. He never wields a scimitar however, instead carrying a length of rope with a noose on one end.

It is said that he always travels to the South and those wishing to reach him without dying can find his path by doing so as well.

Symbol: Noose
Portfolio: Death
Domains: Death
Favored Weapon: (Spiked) Chain
Allies: Celempietal, Corellon, Grapog, Istus, Mugar, and Obad-Hai

Yama as a god rarely get's involved in any drama or plans involving the other deities. He cares little for wielding more power, contolling domains, of for the majority of the affairs on earth. His major concern is making sure the souls of those who die make it to their final planar destination.

Those divine powers who champion the natural order, respect the dead, or who battle undeath are generally considered among his allies.

Enemies: Lloth, Orcus, Asmodeus

Yama is a powerful, focussed god who rarely gets inteferes with other deities domains. Few dare or bother to cross him. Those who do stand out cheifly in the world. Lloth has made several attempts to help her mortal followers cheat death and would like nothing more than to wield an unending never dying army, all the while hiding her plans away in secret.

While Asmodeus respects death and it's place in the gathering of souls, it is no secret he would like to add Death to his of domains, flooding Baator with new souls and increasing his power.

Orcus' hold over the power of the dead is legendary and his disrespect for it equally

Gender: Male
Home: Naraka: Is a small demi-plane containing Yama's Onyx Fortess and little else. Souls who die go here for some time, before moving on to their final destination. It lies in no fixed location often appearing in the Astral Planes and the Shadow Shard.

Cleric Training: Clerics of Yama are rare, and as such no formal training exists. Clerics usually train under a local priest for some time, learning official funeral rights and respect for both life and death. Due to Yama's fair relationship with the other deities, clerics are then usually allowed to work under a clerical training regiment for another god, or apprentice directly under a cleric, or paladin of an allied deity.

Quests: Quests on behalf of Yama generally involve protecting the sanctity of death. This could be something simple, such as defeating a group of bandits using a graveyard as a hideout, or complex like stopping Orcus' latest plan.

Occasionally, it is said that Yama empowers his mortal followers to act as his reapers on earth, seeking out specific targets that have offended death and sending them onto the afterlife.

Temples: Temple's to Yama range from small, ornately decorated buildings in larger cities to outdoor shrines in the graveyards of most villages and other towns. Most human settlements at least have a shrine to Yama and a local priest.

Rites: Funerals

Herald and Allies: Reapers (see Open Grave), Shades and Angels

Relics: The Obsidian Scythe

Obsidian Scythe (Artifact)

The Obsidian Scythe appears to be a relatively normal looking scythe accept that the blase is made obsidian. Tests show that both the blade and staff are harder than normal, not faltering under normal abuse. Legend has it that the blade was forged from the first Reaper Yama sent forth to this world.

Weapon: Scythe
Enhancement: +5 to attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +5d10 Necrotic
Property: Any creature killed by this weapon instantly moves onto the plane of Narka, destroying any item, short of artifact level power, tying them to this world, including phylacteries.

If any creature killed by this weapon, later is ressurected or rises as an undead, the wielder is instantly aware of the event, as well as the exact location of where they were raised.

4e/Creature/Hill Giant Solo and Guardians

2009-09-28T23:59:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the delay in posts. I was waiting for a reply from a certain company on a certain legal use issue. I have since filed my question through more official methods and I don't think it's worth waiting any longer. (I was also really busy.)

Something quick and simple tonight and more advanced stuff later in the week. Three creatures to help offer a chalenge in the later heroic teir.

First, the Solo Hill Giant.

This Hill Giant is more advanced than the standard version but also comes at a lower level. He's designed to help bridge Heroic and Paragon play, serving as a mini-boss, with the feel of a mini-boss. He's not to far from his standar cousins so by the time they're introduced it should be relatively seemless.

There are no immediate reactions, or bloodied abilites to keep track of. The Hill Giant wants to be in Melee and use Sweeping Club as often as possible, traping the PCs in a corner if one is easily available.

Pair with Striker and/or Artillery if facing five or more foes.

Divine Guardians

These Large Animated Statues are modeled after two major gods. The Guardian of Bahamut is a tough target to tie down, using it's honorable resolve to stay mobile and in the fight.

It's Lightning Breath offers just enough control to help it keep PCs where it wants them and away from anything or one it might be protecting.

The Guardian of Malkind uses it's Shield Slam to move targets around, and War Hammer Sweep to keep them where they are. If Malkind is not available in your campaign Moradin or another warrior god works fine.

The Guardian's work well as a duo, with Malkind's being immune to Lightning, as well as seoarate in a mixed group.

Set them up as temple Guardians guarding an importnat artifact or statues come to life by powerful magic. If springing a surprise or waiting for something to happen, like someone grabbing the treasure in the middle of the room, before attacking, the Guardian's use Bluff to appear inanimate.

4E/Creature/Orc - Orc Chain Fighter

2009-08-25T16:37:00.000-04:00

Tactics: Orc Chainfighter's keep dangerous or especially mobile enemies occupied while others are either at a distance or doing damage. They can also act as minor controllers shifting and then yanking their targets around the field.

Notes: I couldn't start a site called Free Orcs without any Free Orcs.

4E/Creature/Minion - Greenscale Warrior/Blackscale Tribal Fury

2009-08-25T16:19:00.002-04:00

Tactics: Greenscale warriors are the front line of most tribes. They protect the mystics and set up basic flanking, but generally try to keep out of the way of the more capable warriors. They do not fear dying for their tribe.

Notes: Lizardfolk really needed a minion in my mind. I'm going to give all of them the hold breath ability to keep the flavor of 3rd edition.

Tactics: Blackscale Tribal Fury lead war parties of lizardfolk into battle. They employ abmushes and flanking tactics, always favoring facing their enemies head on whenever possible.

Notes: These creatures make really good mini bosses. If tow are put together in one encounter it should be a big deal.

3E/Diety - Jortin

2009-08-25T14:14:00.003-04:00

Jortin
Greater God (Chaotic Neutral)
Jortin is often depicted as a mad jester though it is said that when he appears it is in an almost constantly shifting form. Known as the mad god, there seems to be no reasoning with him, or reason to his actions. His clerics are taught to create chaos in their daily life.
Symbol: Lightning Bolt
Portfolio: Air, Weather, Music, Art, Wealth
Domains: Air, Chaos, Luck, Madness (CD 139), Passion (Eb 107), Travel, Weather (CD 141)
Favored Weapon: Long Bow
Allies: Bruch (Brother)
Enemies: None, but is considered unstable by the gods
Gender: Male
Home: Limbo
Cleric Training: Jortin’s clerics are often bards or thieves first. They learn the tools of Jortin while accompanying other members of their dual class on missions.
Quests: Clerics of Jortin are always on one quest: to create chaos within order. Some do this with whimsy; others do this in a more disruptive way.
Temples: Jortin’s Temples are often attached to theatres or other local cultural center. They can also be places to sell and buy illegally in out of the way places.
Rites: Clerics of Jortin celebrate the creation of new works and ideas on a daily basis.
Herald and allies: Air Elementals, Visions
Relics: Jortin's Bow, Jortin's Marbles

Jortin is the mad god, totally emodying chaos and madness. For that reason most gods tned to steer clear of him, not wanting his eire or even general attention. Most mortals would do the same but he also governs the weather and sky's of the world and is a patron of creativity. Servants of the mad god follow him for vastly different reasons.

3E/Diety - Malkind

2009-08-25T14:11:00.002-04:00

Malkind
Greater God (Lawful Good)
Malkind often appears as a large warrior with armor and weapons forged from stone, a great helm shielding his face. His followers are taught to obey and enforce the laws of this world while protecting the weak from evil and injustice whenever possible.
Symbol: Open Hand
Portfolio: Dwarves, Earth, Protection, Medics
Domains: Earth, Exorcism (Eb 106), Glory (CD 139), Healing, Nobility (CW 115), Protection, Strength
Favored Weapon: Mace
Allies: Hextre (Trusted Ally), Hennist (Trusted Ally/Ex-Lover)
Enemies: Tyra (Directly Opposed/Lover of Hennist), Grapog (Directly Opposed), Sindress (Directly Opposed)
Gender: Male
Home: Arcadia
Cleric Training: New clerics are often instructed to train at the side of an experienced cleric or a good knight.
Quests: Clerics of Malkind often accompany armies into battle, protect and help govern settlements (especially new or small ones), or are charged with protecting key individuals.
Temples: Temples of Malkind are always made of stone and metal. There are often built downwards with many sub layers and have outer walls.
Rites: Birth and funeral rites are the most important to a cleric of Malkind, as it is the start of protection and the return to the earth.
Herald and Allies: Archons, Earth Elementals, Spirits
Relics: Malkind's Hammer, The Helm of Malkind, The Light of the Dwarves

Malkind is my god of earht and protection. I very purposefully did not adapt Moradin because of Moradin's heavy association with the dwarves. While Malkind is often revered by the Dwarves, and he likes the dwarves, he's far from a Dwarven god. In fact in many area's Bahamut's not revered and he's The Symbol of Lawful Good.

This is his third edition self. He later reconciles with Sindress, has a son (Celempietal), wages a divine war, and gains more good diefic allies.

3E/Diety - Sindress

2009-08-25T12:20:00.003-04:00

Sindress
Greater God (Chaotic Neutral)
Sindress often appears as a beautiful woman in full battle regalia, with hair made of flames. Her followers are taught that battle is the greatest glory one can hope to achieve. Sindress’ clerics teach that with the help of Bruch, Sindress tricked Hennist and Tyra into falling in love which resulted in the creation of the world. Sindress is the mother of Celmpietal and Guiness.
Symbol: Flame
Portfolio: Fire, Love, War, Illusion
Domains: Charm (Eb 104), Courage (CW 114), Fire, Passion (Eb 107), Planning (CW 115), Trickery, War
Favored Weapon: Long Sword
Allies: Bruch (Fellow Trickster), Grapog (Trusted Ally)
Enemies: Hennist (Foolish and Naive), Hextre (Nuisance), Malkind (Directly Opposed)
Gender: Female
Home: Ysgard
Cleric Training: Clerics of Sindress are taught to fight and defend themselves by senior members and are often sent out to accompany armies into battle.
Quests: Clerics of Sindress are often sent to retrieve artifacts of great power, keep a conflict going, or even start them where there is peace.
Temples: Temples of Sindress often include weapon forges and swinging lanterns of eternal flame.
Rites: Sindress most important rituals are the blessings of troupes and sanctifying of battlefields. The clerics are often a means for young lovers to be married without their parents consent.
Herald and Allies: Angels, Archons, Fire Elementals, Ghosts of Warriors
Relics: Sindress' Sword, Sindress' Helm, Sindress' Plate

Sindress is one of my original pantheon gods andis still present in my 4th edition group. She is a god of passion, with war and fire tying in with this as well. She makes descisions quickly and is always of a stong and confident mindset but doesn't hesitate to change her mind, embodying chaos to a lesser degree than Jortin.

She proved popular with players and is an easy source of plot and adventures.

She is the mother of Celempietal (father is Malkind), and Guiness (father is a follower, Peldar). The version presented here is before these two events.

4E/Diety - Celempietal

2009-08-25T12:16:00.004-04:00

Celempietal
Lesser God (Lawful Neutral)
Celempietal is often seen as a middle aged dwarf with no hair, or beard, whose skin is made out of adamantine. In fairness, he has the tendency to change forms when addressing those of other races so they can be at eye level. His clerics teach order in all things and practice ritual shaving only after they believe they have achieved discipline over their lives. He is the son of Malkind and Sindress.
Symbol: Circle with Dotted Middle
Portfolio: Law, Buildings, and Pacts
Domains: Civilization, Creation, and Protection
Favored Weapon: Warhammer and Shield
Allies: Sindress, Malkind, Asmodeus, Bahamut, Poseidon, and Mugar
Enemies: Grapog, Jortin, and Lloth
Gender: Male
Home: Mechanus
Cleric Training: Clerics of Celempietal Study Law as well as Religious Doctrine in Rigorous Schools.
Quests: Clerics of the law god are often set to guard important texts as well as critical and ancient buildings. Trusted followers might be assigned to oversee the creation of pacts and treaties between rivals and powerful enemies.
Temples: Small Fortreses
Rites: Celempietal honors few days, but considers new pacts, both great and small momentous. They also celebrate the start of a new year as well as major anniversaries of local important texts and nations.
Herald and Allies: Modrons and Inevitables
Relics: The Golden Rulebook, The Five Treatise Scrolls of Legend

One of the first gods my players had a hand in forming. For a very long time the goddess Sindress and the god Malkind were at odds with each other. During the Divine War stakes were high and these two came together with help of the players. Afterwards they remained allies and during a time of passion, as the goddess of passion tends to produce, Celempietal was made.

Civillization is the god of law. He overseas structure both physical and figuritivie. He makes a avaluable additional to most dwarven pantheons but is otherwise filler or plays a limited role. While he promotes order and civillization his ability to protect it is limited and relies heavily on his alliances with other dieties and earthly followers.

4E/Diety - Bane

2009-08-25T12:09:00.002-04:00

Bane
Greater God (Lawful Evil)
Bane often appears as a large warrior in bronze or gold armor and a helm that hides his face in shadows. He is an ever reaching god who would like nothing less than absolute control of the cosmos.
Symbol: Fist
Portfolio: Tyranny, Fear and Evil
Domains: Fate, Skill, Tyranny
Favored Weapon: Spear, Longsword and Gauntlet
Allies: Sindress, Asmodeus, Istus, Tiamat and Lloth
Enemies: Jortin, Malkind, Pelor, Mugar, Bahamut and Obad-Hai
Gender: Male
Home: Chernoggar
Cleric Training: Bane runs his church much like a large military. Early training puts clerics through a boot camp of sorts followed by other specialized areas of training.
Quests: Clerics of Bane are often sent to advise leaders. Their primary goals is to help right societies, into a more organized and authoritarian structure.
Temples: Temples often feature altars of dark iron or stone.
Rites: Prayer before battle. Thanks of present strength. Local ceremonies celebrating long standing organizations.
Herald and Allies: Angels and Archons
Relics: Bane’s Helm, the Bronze Heart, The Iron Codex, The Reneskria Scrolls, Bruch’s Broken Rapier

Another 4th edition god I decided to add to my pantheon. He's roughly the as WoTC's Bane except he was not around for any early events.

Bane killed Bruch as part of a scheme with Asmodeus. Asmodeus got most of Bruch's power and ascended to godhood. Bane got Bruch's realm of Yelmshand and used it to reform his own realm on this world.

4E/Diety - Bahamut

2009-08-25T12:01:00.002-04:00

Bahamut
Intermediate God (Lawful Good)
Bahamut is depicted as a massive, long and sinuous dragon with silver-white scales and blue, catlike eyes. The exact color is hard to specify and may depend on Bahamut's mood, ranging from sky-blue to frosty indigo. About a quarter of the time, Bahamut wanders the world in the shape of a human or some other guise. He is said to have been encountered as a frail old hermit, with the seven great golden wyrms that accompany him disguised as seven canaries singing sweetly nearby.
Symbol: Silver Dragon Head
Portfolio: Air, Honor, Justice, and Storm
Domains: Hope, Justice, Protection, and Storm
Favored Weapon: Broad Sword
Allies: Malkind, Pelor, Jortin, Mugar, Obad-Hai, and Celempietal
Enemies: Bane, Asmodeus, Grapog, Tiamat, and Lloth
Gender: Male
Home: Celestia
Cleric Training: Bahamut only accepts good-aligned priests. They strive to constantly yet subtly act on behalf of good. They oppose evil, but their first mandate is to ensure they do no harm in the process.
Quests: The servants of Bahamut strive to root out evil, especially evil dragons, and protect the weak.
Temples: Bahamut’s temples are beautiful, elegant edifices characterized by clean, simple architecture and furnishings. Within them will be public rooms in which the faithful can gather and private rooms for meditation and recuperation. Dragons will not normally build temples, contenting themselves with simple symbols on the wall that they treat as shrines. Bahamut prefers his followers to worship him with deeds, not objects.
Rites: The counting of deeds. Rite of Rebirth (where humanoids become dragonborn).
Herald and Allies: Good Dragons
Relics: Bahamut’s Silver Shield, The Seven Dragon Spans, Bahamut’s Tear

Bahamut is a god included in both 4th and 3rd edition (and earlier one's in fact). He was one of the only WoTC gods I used in my third edition campaign. I use him almost exactly as they do, with a little embelishment and some slight changes to domain to help balance out the other gods.

In order to keep the number of gods down, I do not use the full draconic pantheon.

4E/Diety - Asmodeus

2009-08-25T11:21:00.002-04:00

Asmodeus

Intermediate God (Lawful Evil)

Followers of Asmodeus promote Tyranny, not only in government but in life. Only through strong social structures can the races achieve a type of divine perfection. Of course, within that structure, one should strive to rise in ranks by any means. The church of Asmodeus urges its adherents to seek power over others, to repay evil with further evil, to exploit kindness for personal gain, and to show no compassion for the weak and downtrodden.

Symbol: Ruby Rod

Portfolio: Power, domination and law

Domains: Civilization, Skill, Torment, and Tyranny

Favored Weapon: Mace

Allies: Tiamat, Istus, Celempietal, Bane and Grapog

Enemies: Corellon Larethian, Malkind, Sindress, Mugar, and Bahamut

Gender: Male

Home: Baator

Cleric Training: Clerics of Asmodeus memorize tomes of the various laws of nearby kingdoms as well as the laws of Baator all the while working under a direct supervisor and taking care of anything assigned. They often do not advance until they take proper initiative.

Quests: Whatever their superiors need them to do. Often this involves the corruption and capture of souls, support for the bloodwar, or making new tyrannies.

Temples: Asmodeus favors easily defended, military structures, often at least partially subterranean. When his followers control the local government, his temples are more often above ground, and become bustling center of commerce and bureaucracy.

Rites: The month of Bathorous is said to revere the devils and Asmodeous. On the 13^th of Bathorous Asmodeus supposedly rose to divinity. Followers also revere promotions in rank, and anniversaries of long standing social structures.

Herald and Allies: Devils, Archdevils

Relics: Ruby Rod, the Cloak of Asmodeus, Whip of Phongor, Bensozia’s Silver Chain Asmodeus is one of the gods included in 4th edition. My homebrew setting was originally 3.0 and he at that time was simply the archlord of hell, a greater power but no god. I explained all the changes from 3.x to 4th edition with world shattering events. The last battle was suppossed to end with Asmodeus stealing the power of existing god Hextre, destorying him in the process. Well my players intervened in a manner not set up and one of my players ended up ascending to godhood instead (the above mentioned Mugar). Well that didn't stop him and he ended up using Bane as a conduit and ascending when Bane killed Bruch. One of his goals as a god was getting the uperhand in the blood war. When he ascended he took the initial burst of power and moved Baator into the Astral Sea. This severed several of the connections between Baator and the Abyss, making it more difficult for the demons to flood Avernus (the first layer of hell) with their superior numbers. Instead of pushing the war further into the Abyss and begin conquering its many layers, Asmodeus instead is focussing on keeping his realm secure and keeping a strong force on Pazunia. The demons instead have funnelled their numbers through other portals and have an increased number on the world. Devils pursue them there, in area's of interest, and the Blood War rages still, especially in the area know as the Fields of Blood. Bensozia was Asmodeus' former consort and mother of Glasya. Phongor is the Inquisitor of Hell.