KILL BILBO, a Crazy Hack for DCC RPG

 

You’re no hero (oh boy, definitely NO!).

You’re:

a Uruk reaver,

a Snaga cutpurse,

a Warg Rider,

a tight-lipped Voidcaller, master of the Black Tongue.

 

You seek the Boss’ precious treasure and man-flesh,

winning it with sword and cunning,

caked in the blood and filth of your own kin – your best friends and worst enemies.

 

There are treasures to be won in the lands of the Free People of the Middle-Earth,

and you shall have them,

because you will…

 

…KILL BILBO!

You have toiled and dug deep in the most barren and dangerous lands of the Middle-Earth. You have fought for ages against Elven-scum and Dwarf-beasts. You have savored man-flesh after scourging their kingdoms from the face of the world.

And now, how dare the Boss send the Spooks instead of your team!? You am going to prove to the Boss that you can get the Job done!...

…of course, what is the Job?

The High-Ups in Lugbúrz won’t tell you (even after torture!). But you know, yes! A “Bilbo” has stolen something precious from the Boss. Maybe something powerful. You am going to get it back! (before those damn Spooks from Morgul, that is!) The Bilbo is something small, like human-spawn, with hairy feet, with lots of bagginses or pockets … so it is probably a burglar! Yes! A Bilbo is a half-man-thief. And your pack am going to find and kill the Bilbo!

A brief Orc vocabulary:

Boss = Sauron

Lugbúrz = Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower

Spooks = Nazgûl

THE JOB

You are Orcs in Middle-Earth, on a lonely mission to hunt down Bilbo Baggins and the precious gift he carries, to get it back for your Boss. You are going to cross the Middle-Earth into human, dwarven and elven lands to find it. You will use all your cunny, strength, and “evilness” to succeed!

Against you are arranged not only the Free People of the Middle-Earth but also monsters and your own Kin, either trying to get ahead of you or working for the Nazgûl (the only creatures Sauron trust to find and carry the Ring back).

I am not going to waste my time describing the setting: this is Middle-Earth (book, comics, movie, RPG versions etc. – use your favorite take!). Ideally, you would start the game in the end of the road sought by the Fellowship of the Ring – in Lugbúrz itself, the Dark Tower! You first missions should be to evade Orc patrols that might interfere with your goal and leave Mordor. If you are lucky (more on that later) you can reach “the Bilbo” before the Spooks get a sniff on you. Your only allies are your fellow pack-members (the other PCs).

Yes, the Ring is not with Bilbo, but what do you expect from Orcs. They didn’t receive the memo (that went to the Nazgûl). But confusion is part of the fun!

THE RULEZ!

Your pack starts big! (but not for long) A Funnel in the best DCC RPG tradition! Roll four 0-level Orcs for each player. The DCC RPG Core Rulebook for 0-level characters work here, except for the following:

First, roll two d6s of different colours for each Orc.

One d6 is the “good die”, the other is the “bad die”.

Each die indicates which stat is affected: 1 – Strength, 2 – Agility, 3 – Stamina, 4 – Personality, 5 – Intelligence and 6 – Hate! (yes, “Hate!”, more on that later).

The “good stat” is rolled with 4d6 (maximum 18).

The “bad stat” is rolled with 2d6.

If both die comes with the same number, ignore this rule.

Orcs live hard lives and most die miserably. The “bad stat” reflects which attribute was crippled by your upbringing and the “good stat” which one showed how you managed to survive. They also can be used as roleplaying tools.

ON ORCS AND LOW STATS

Yes, Orcs can have a REALLY low Stat. What that means? I am glad you asked it.

- Strength 2 means you can only carry 1 item on each hand and NOTHING else. However, you are so puny and pathetic that you are going to be the target of an attack only if no other target is available (of course, if you attack someone forget this).

- Agility 2 means you roll a 1-5 natural roll on Agility Skill checks that is a Fumble. The Fumble should be comic and should probably hurt the closet ally or Minion (more on Minions soon). The “good news” is that you are so clumsy that if you roll a Fumble in combat (natural 1) ONE target in melee with you also suffers a Fumble (you are a walking disaster).

- Stamina 2 means you have to stop and take breath every other round (i.e. you only act once every other round in combat). However, you can play dead as a pro.

- Personality 2 means you are an animal and humanoids react to you the same way people would to a rabid dog. However, natural beasts treat you as predator and will avoid or (at first) won’t attack you.

- Intelligence 2 means you cannot speak any sentence with more than one word! The good news is that there is practically no difference between your brain and a rock (you are immune to charm and mind control, but not fear or madness).

- Hate! 2 means that you are constantly at the point of Burnout (more on that later) and operates on frustration and obtuseness alone. You are more bull-headed than a bull. Every time you miss an attack you add +1d4 to your next attack roll until you succeed. That is cumulative.

ORC OCCUPATIONS

Roll either 1d8 twice and choose or 1d10 once (Orcs start with one weapon, one ration and one simple item of their choice, like a rope or a torch – or the Judge can roll their favorite table):

1 – Lugbúrz: you know about Sauron, his Captains and main servants, and you can identify marks of different Orc bands or direction to Orc Enclaves (or even the lair of powerful monsters). You are usually good at bossing around other Orcs.

2 – Half-Orc: you are an experiment of Saruman, the White. Using a cowl or otherwise hidden most of your face allows you to pass as a (very ugly) human. You are aware of Saruman’s spy network and can speak most human languages.

3 – Morgul Rat: you were created under the ghastly fist of the Witch King in Minas Morgul. You know a lot about curses, magic, Wizards and similar stuff.

4 – Mirkwood Orc: you lived around Dol Guldur and is trained in forest lore. You can speak with spiders.

5 – Hai: another experiment of Saruman, you do not suffer penalties under daylight (but you can’t be a Voidcaller).

6 – Misty Mountains Goblin: you know a lot about mines, dungeons and the underworld. Your hate for Dwarves is legendary.

7 – Gundabad: you came from far in the north. You don’t suffer from cold, you can climb really good and speak with all kind of bats.

8 – Roving Orc: you are part of Orc bands that rover the land. You are trained to find food (horrible, but food) in places where even Orcs would starve. You are good at scouting and reading tracks.

9 – Old One: there are very few of you today and other Orcs believe you are immortal. You came from the Dark East, where the Great Enemy, it is said, created the first Orcs from corrupted and tortured Elven blood. You know all about Elves, including their hated tongue (you can’t speak it, but you understand it) and how to hunt them.

10 – Half-Troll: a recent experiment of Sauron. You are always hungry and needs thrice more food, but you can bite ANYTHING (even metal or rock given time). You deal 1d3 + Strength modifier damage with your bite. You are the first one to suggest that you pack eat their Minions when you are low on food.

 

ON ORC HATE!

Orcs don’t have Luck (they are probably the unluckiest creatures in the face of Middle-Earth). To compensate their miserable and violent lives, Orcs are powered by Hate! (with a “!”).

Hate! works exactly as Luck, with one difference: Hate! points spent in damage rolls or Critical Table rolls are doubled.

Orcs gain 1 point of Hate! every time they roll a natural 1 on a Skill check or Action Die, or when they suffer a Critical Hit (and survive of course).

Orcs also gain 1 Hate! the first time in the game session they see an Elf or Dwarf, or any group of 20+ Humans/Halflings (that includes most human towns). At the Judge’s discretion, seeing a place of pristine and unspoiled beauty also gives you 1 Hate! (once per session), but the Orc must find a way to spoil it before the end of the session or they will lose d3 Hate! points (this includes most Elven woods).

Orcs can gain more Hate! than their maximum. Extra Hate! is called Wrath!!! and every time an Orc gains at least 1 point of Wrath!!! they most roll a Will save DC 15 or go berserker. “Berserking” Orcs must attack/destroy something (even allies and Minions) until their Wrath!!! is spent. They won’t retreat, they won’t stop. They are immune to fear and have +1 Die Step to attack rolls, Strength rolls and damage rolls.

If your Hate! reaches 0, an Orcs must make a choice: they can try to reignite the flames of their Hate! or they can suffer Burnout.

Reigniting Hate! is easy: your Orc must immediately roll an opportunity (opportunistic?) attack against a Minion (or ally). If they hit, that backstab is a Critical Hit. The Orcs is back to Hate! 1 and life is good.

Burnout is hard. The Orc has Hate! 0 for the rest of the game session and they are also stunned for one round. The Orc is literally too spent and tired to move on. After that one round they can act normally and start the next session with Hate! 1. Finally, a Burnout Orc will suffer a backstabbing attempt from one of their Minions (and that Minion will be treacherous from now on and should be eliminated). The backstab moment is decided by the Judge. A good (Orc) way of avoiding this is (of course) killing all Minions.

 

ON PVP

The entire idea behind “Reigniting Hate!” is that Orcs can’t help themselves. They are a backstabbing bunch but also absurdly (almost comically) frustrated creatures, given to their literal role of cannon fodder for the Evil Overlord. That said, “Reigniting Hate!” should be freely used against Minions, but as a Judge I would only allow it to be used allies (i.e. other player characters) if the party authorizes the gamble and is playing for (dark) fun. This rule is NOT made to encourage PvP.

 

ON PERCEPTION AND RANDOMNESS

Luck is used as passive perception in the DCC RPG Core Rulebook (active perception or search is usually Intelligence). If there is one thing that Orcs are good is perception (especially hearing and scent), so if the Judge needs to roll a Perception check for Orcs just roll a 1d20 + Orc level (except for sight during daylight, that is a flat d10). Finally, all Orcs have Infravision since level 0.

Now, if you need to roll “Luck” to see if something bad will happen to someone in the pack, just ask all Orcs to roll a d20. The lowest result is the unlucky guy/girl of the moment.

 

ON MINIONS AND ALLIES

After the first game session (or first mission), every player will choose one of their 0-level Orcs to level up (see the Orc Classes below). All other 0-level survivors, if any, become Minions. They never level up, but if the leveled Orc dies, the player can elect a Minion to become a new 1^st level Orc (either after the scene where the leveled Orc die or next session, Judge’s call).

After 1^st level, every time an Orc levels up. Each 1^st level Orc attracts one new Minion. Don’t bother rolling stats. Threat these Minions as +0 attack, +0 on all saves and 1d4 hit points NPCs. They have one 1d6 weapon and a random item chosen by the Judge (roll your favorite table). If the main Orc dies, the player just roll stats for a Minion and that poor creature is “promoted” to a 1^st level Orc.

Orcs can try to actively recruit, but this should be a special mission designed by the Judge (Questing for the Impossible, the BEST rule of DCC RPG Core Rulebook ever). The maximum number of Minions that an Orc should is 3 or his level (Judge’s choice, usually I max it at 5 for each player).

 

ORC CLASSES

 

URUK (Class)

The big Uruks are Warriors. Ignore the Luck Weapon rule (Orcs don’t have Luck), instead of that grant the following ability to every Uruk:

All Your Hate In One Blow: before rolling damage an Uruk can spend 1 Hate! They don’t need to roll the dice and deal full damage. After the hit, the weapon is broken. Magic weapons (good luck finding an elven/dwarven magic weapon that won’t bite your hand) are not broken but are bent (-1 Die Step on all future attack rolls) and can’t be used again for this rule.

 

SNAGA (Class)

These sneaky bastards are Thievies that follows the Path of the Assassin. However, they don’t have Disguise self (unless you are a Half-Orc), Forge Documents (idem), and Cast Spell From Scroll (unless you are a Morgul Rat). The good news is that if you are NOT a Half-Orc or Morgul Rat, you always carry TONS of poison with you. At any moment you can spend 1d3 Hate! and declare that you have poison with you (you either crafted it from local creatures while resting, or bleed it from your own dark blood… or stole from the last Orc pack you met):

“I have POISON!” (1d20 + Snaga Level)

1-10 - Sleep/Short Term Amnesia, choose one (can’t be used in combat, must be place in water/food, enough to affect 1d6 targets); or

Pain (the first time the targets roll an Action Die, it suffers 1d4 of damage, then 1d6, 1d8 etc., can save at the end of every round, lasts 1d4 rounds + Snaga level); or

Numbing (-1 Die Step penalty to Action Die and Skill checks, can save every round, lasts 1d4 rounds + Snaga level).

11-15 - Deadly (3d6 damage in 1d3 rounds, save for half); or

Weakening (all damages dealt are reduced by half, lasts 1d4 rounds); or

Paralysis (save or target is paralyzed in 1d3 rounds, lasts 1d4 minutes).

16-20 - Doomed! (save or die, success leaves the target stunned 1 round in pain)

Big targets required double or triple the doses to be affected (Judge’s call). The Snaga still must roll a Handle Poison check and follow the same rules as a Thief.

Snaga recovers Hate! real fast and are dangerous… but that is because (besides sneaking) they are weaklings and usually small. To reflect that when you decide to become a Snaga at 1^st level, you must automatically reroll your Strength as a “bad stat” (roll a 2d4). If the result is lower than your current Strength, then that is your new value.

 

ON ORCS AND ALIGNMENT

The older I get the most I can’t stand Alignments. I just don’t care. Orcs traditionally should be creatures of Chaos, although their behavior in Lord of the Rings reflects a very dark side of Law in my opinion. Anyway, in my home games I let a Thief choose his Path unrelated to his Alignment and on this hack I don’t care about Alignments.

 

WHIPMASTER (Class)

These boys/girls are the ones responsible for Morale in the troops. Mechanically, they work as Halflings, but remove Small and Slow. Whipmasters are (obviously) proficient with Whips and one of their weapons must be a Whip when using Two-Weapon Fighting. Whips deal 1d4 damage and have enough reach to hit targets from the second rank (3 ft. reach if you must). Whipmasters are cowards and have Sneak & Hide as Halflings (they use it a lot when in Burnout to flee their Minions).

Whipmasters can spend Hate! to help others as a Halfling and this is represented by them whipping other Orcs into “motivation” (this is just description, don’t roll damage). If a Whipmaster can’t whip an Orc, they can’t help that “poor” Orc.

Whipmasters can spend 1 Hate! before attacking to execute a Mighty Deed of Arms with their whips as a Warrior of the same level (i.e. they gain the Deed Die for one attack roll). Most Whipmasters use this to disarm foes or steal the staff of troublesome Wizards.

Finally, a Whipmasters can spend 1 Hate! to negate a fear effect (or Morale failure) of 1 ally or Minion that they can whip. This does not require an action.

There can be ONLY ONE Whipmaster in a pack. If a NPC Whipmaster shows up, there will be a fight eventually (or a backstab attempt).

 

WARG RIDER (class)

These mounted reavers also work mechanically as Halflings (but without Small, Slow and Hide & Sneak).

One of your Minions is always a Warg. The Two-Weapon Fighting of the Halfling class represent the bite of a faithful (?) Warg. Your Warg is your secondary attack and it can deal either 1d6 damage or attempt a trip attack. Warg damage increases +1 for every two Warg Rider levels. Your Warg moves at double the normal Speed (60 ft.) and can talk with wolves and Wargs. As long as you’re riding it, it obeys you (otherwise it must roll Morale if attacked and if it runs away, you have to track it and bring it back).

While riding your Warg your own attacks have a +2 bonus against targets that are on foot. Also, you can withdraw from targets on foot without suffering an attack of opportunity in melee. (Both these advantages won’t work against big monsters, such as trolls.)

Your Warg has 1d4 hit points per Warg Rider level. Every time someone targets you Warg, you can decide that they targeted you instead (and vice-versa). If the Judge needs to roll a check for your Warg, just roll either a flat d10 (untrained) or d20 (trained), depending on the Skill Check.

Warg Riders receive double the benefits of spending Hate! while riding their Wargs. Unlike Halflings, they can’t spend Hate! to help others. If their Hate! reaches 0 they are instantly dismounted (and bitten) by their “loyal” Warg (which will usually run away until the Warg Rider recovers 1 Hate!).

Warg Riders don’t gain Minions when leveling up and must Quest for them. However, they can choose to Quest for wolves/Wargs as Minions when doing so (just use Wolf or Dire Wolf stats from the DCC Core Rulebook).

 

ON 2X AND 3X HATE!

Both Whipmasters and Warg Riders receive double the bonus from spending Hate! on some circumstances. If they spend Hate! to boost damage or Critical Hits, the effect is tripled.

 

SHIELDS SHALL BE SHATTERED!

This amazing OSR rule is used in KILL BILBO. Uruks, Snagas, Whipmasters and Warg Riders can use it: they can break their shields to negate one melee attack (attacks from bigger creatures such as trolls or special attacks such as breath weapons are decided by the Judge).

 

VOIDCALLER (Class)

Voidcallers are really rare and every pack con only have ONE. Your Orc must be a Morgul Rat to be able to learn this demanding “trade”. Voidcallers are a hack on the Elf class. They obviously don’t have mithril and are not allergic to iron… in fact, they LOVE iron armor and can use it as Clerics. They don’t have Heightened Senses or Luck. Voidcallers always suffer -1 Die Step for every action done under direct daylight or inside elven realms (and also can’t cast spells under the direct sunlight).

Your Supernatural Patron is one the of Spooks (and yes, you are playing a very dangerous game). Use Sezrekan’s Patron Check table. Every time the table says you are teleported, you actually summon the Dread of the Nazgûl and every enemy on sight must roll a Will DC check against your roll or flee (this doesn’t work against Elves). Another option instead of Dread is the creation of a dense and cold mist that only you can see through (this should give you a fair chance of escaping from Elves, unless of course those pointed-eared bastards banish the mists). The 24-27 results will either summon a very powerful Dread (that will probably taint the area for years to come) or summon enough mist to cover an entire town.

Sezrekan’s Patron Taint is perfect but change Third Eye’s references to the Eye of Sauron. All the stuff about consuming gold pieces and magic items must be changed to relics and treasure stolen from Humans, Dwarves or Elves.

Voidcaller with Hate! 0 will bring the attention of a Nazgûl in 1d3 days (Judge rolls secretly). The party must evade the Spook or (if caught) cajole it and give it REALLY good explanations for what they are doing (and probably do one dangerous mission for the Spook). If the Nazgûl suspects that the pack knows about the Ring and is trying to get Bilbo, it will kill them. End of the game.

Magic in the Middle-Earth is powerful but costly and rarely flashy. Voidcallers always require at least 1 Spellburn to cast a spell, but they can burn any physical stat, Personality or bleed a Minion! (killing a Minion will grant +2d4 to the spell check roll)

I am trying to create Mercurial Magic for Orcs but, to be honest, Goodman Games did an AMAZING job in that regard with DCC Lankhmar. So, I would advise using the Spell Stipulations instead of Mercurial Magic and the Nehwonian Corruption tables for your Voidcaller. All references to Luck should use Hate! and change Nehwonian references to Middle-Earth.

Finally, Voidcaller can’t burn Hate! to avoid Corruption or regain lost spells.

Your spell list is changed to this one:

1^st level

Animal summoning

Cantrip

Charm person

Chill touch (check my unbalanced version)

Choking cloud

Darkness (Cleric Spell, -2 Die Steps to cast under direct sunlight)

Find familiar (bats, wolves, frogs, giant bugs etc., Judge must approve type and powers)

*Invoke patron (all Voidcallers have this)

Mending

*Patron bond (all Voidcallers have this)

Resist cold or heat (Cleric Spell)

Sequester

Sleep

Ventriloquism

Ward portal

2^nd level

Curse (Cleric Spell)

Detect invisible

ESP

Fire resistance

Forget

Invisible companion

Knock

Locate object

Lotus stare (Cleric Spell)

Magic mouth

Mirror image

Phantasm

Ray of enfeeblement

Scare

Stinging stone (Cleric Spell)

Shatter

Shield maiden (this summon a lower wraith to serve you, the wraith is dispelled by direct sunlight)

Wood wyrding (Cleric Spell)

3^rd level

Binding

Breathe life

Consult spirit

Dispel magic

Emirikol’s entropic maelstrom (this is know as Lesser Black Breath)

Fireball (this is cast on a casket filled with “black dust” made during your last rest, you must place the casket in the place of detonation and cast the spell)

Gust of wind

Haste

Lightning bolt (only outside, under a cloud filled sky and this beauty always require 1 Hate! and 4 Spellburn – or a sacrificed Minion – just to cast)

Paralysis* 264

Phylactery of the soul

4^th level

Control fire

Desecrate (Cleric Spell)

Transmute Earth (casting time is the rolled result in minutes)

Vermin Blight (casting time is 1 minute)

5^th level

Hepsoj’s Fecund Fungi

Lokerimon’s Unerring Hunter (this summons something dreadful, a barrow-wight or Thing from the Deep, only works at night)

Magic Bulwark

Mind Purge

Weather Control (Cleric Spell)

 

ORC-DRAUGHT

The players now must select the Brewer. This is the Orc responsible for brewing the Draught, a burning and horrible concoction that is the closest thing to healing that an Orc pack has. There can be only one Brewer in the party (because Brewers are loath to share their secrets as that is their only advantage).

Every time your pack has some chance to rest for a night, the Brewer will roll a d20 and add his level. Divide the final result by 4 (round up). That is how many Orc-Draught doses the pack has. The maximum number of doses a Brewer can keep is the number of players plus the Brewer level.

Each dose, if drunk, will heal 1 Hit Dice. If the Orc rolls the highest number possible on a Hit Dice, roll again and add it (i.e. the die explode!). However, the total amount healed in this case is temporary and those extra Hit Points will disappear (the Judge should roll a secret d20 to find out on how many hours). Most Orcs die by drinking the Draught.

Instead of healing, 1 dose can be used to ignore one poison or disease effect for one day (if you reach an Orc Enclave, they can literally beat the poison/disease out of you later).

Each Brewer has one sack of secret ingredients and one big flask of Draught that is shared.

Because of its importance to the pack, Brewers can direct backstab attempts made against them to one of their Minions (if they don’t have Minions, they are out of luck).

When a Brewer dies, it is revealed that they had a secret apprentice in the pack. The players must decide which player was the apprentice. That apprentice is now the new Brewer. The new Brewer still needs to obtain the old Brewer’s sack of secret ingredients (or otherwise Quest for the Impossible to create a new one).

Brewers can, of course, Quest for Impossible for more doses or stronger/different versions of the Orc-Draught.

 

THE CAMPAIGN AND MAPS

A special rule that I like here is that Orcs don’t have access to maps or even an inkling of an idea of the shape of Middle-Earth. So they have only your descriptions, although Lugbúrz Orcs know how to find runes, marks and general directions to other Orc Enclaves. No maps! Let them try to find out the way. Voidcallers can try to track or detect the presence of Nazgûl through Invoke Patron but that is DANGEROUS.

INSPIRATIONS AND THANKS!

Besides (obviously) all those amazing Lord of the Ring RPGs (MERP, Coda, The Ring and homemade ones), this hack was inspired by Burning Wheel’s awesome Orcs, Paranoia and an older hack of mine for We Be Goblins! from Pathfinder. Finally, of course, Kill Bill. Now, the entire idea of KILL BILBO came years ago from a great post in RPGNet (that unfortunately I can’t find).

Just to be clear: this is a satirical hack that should be played for laughs in the best dark humour/Warhammer 1^st fashion that you can imagine.

Finally, bear in mind that this entire madness was not playtested. I hope you like it!

The Tower of Visions, a small dungeon for DCC RPG

(To all my DCC RPG players... stay out! The Judge knows)

I started a “one dungeon room” post series some time in the last year. Those posts were actually my way of making up for a friend, for whom I had promised a dungeon. As usual, I failed miserably in delivering it on time. Let me see if I can wrap it up in one final post.

As I am terrible at drawing, there is no use point using maps, so I will just describe it. Please, bear with me.

The Tower of Visions should be a frigging crystal tower, so it is easy to spot (place it wherever the Judge wants). Its entrance was envisioned to be buried; a crystal tunnel hidden in some cave. Just before the dungeon itself there should be some hostile humanoid tribe living in the caves. While outright combat could be avoided, the humanoids should be clearly hostile or at best they could be bought for a one-time pass through their territory. The idea here is (1) the party cannot retreat to rest without some cost; and (2) if they linger too much, the humanoids will start coming after them. Their only option should be forward. This is the perfect opportunity to roll some crazy humanoid from the DCC RPG Core Rulebook (actually, let me do that right now!)

 

Crazy Humanoids in the Cave

I got “brown”, “fight with two weapons”, “shot and stocky” and “fascinated with jewellery, metal etc.”. OK, so I decided that I will use strange dwarf-like creatures, seemly made of mud or stone, beardless. They wear just crude loincloths, deeply fear open sky, and consider anything made of metal to be holy. Thus, it should be hoarded. Probably remnants of a dwarven clan gone either barbarian or crazy (or both), which caused their elemental heritage to manifest again. There should some 30 humanoids. Use Berserker stats, but our dwarven offshoot use their half-stone fists (1d4) instead of weapons and have a second d20 Action Die (that they can also use to parry, instead of attacking). Their primary goal is not to kill but to stun (if they hit the same target twice in the round, the target must Fort DC 10 or drop anything they are holding and they are stun for 1 round). Our humanoids seek to deprive the party of any metal objects, which are taken into their holy shrine. I am tempted to consider that because they love metal, they either fear or hate magic (probably the first) and must check morale when witnessing spellcasting.

The entrance to the Tower of Visions itself is the Tiger of Doors encounter, HERE.

After the that, the party will reach what I call the Shadowless Room. The Shadowless Room is party’s best place to rest in the Tower of Visions. It is a circular room entirely made of crystal that shines as bright as the sun. Yes, EVERYTHING shines here, from all directions. It is maddening. While it is possible to see for enough time to notice that there are 2 ways out, staying in the room for more than a few minutes will eventually blind any character. At the end of each minute, start asking for Fort saves (DC 10). Failure blinds you for 1d4 hours, then days, months, years and forever! Success just gives the character a -1 Die Step penalty for perception and ranged attacks for the next 1d4 hours. A blindfold can take care of the light and is the only way to stay long in the room. Now, the other weird thing about the Shadowless Room is that its eternal lights play havoc with time. Each time the ENTIRE party gets inside the room, roll a 1d4: (1) means each turn inside is 1 day outside; (2) means time outside stops, so this is the perfect opportunity for rest; (3) means time stop INSIDE, so the party cannot rest until they all leave the room and enter again; (4) means that a paradox happens. Ask the character with the lowest Luck to roll a Luck check. If they succeed, the party will actually meet themselves at the door of the Shadowless Room. Their versions from the future will not let anyone in, but will answer one question about the dungeon (and maybe cast one healing). A failure at the Luck check means time itself is broken. The party are suddenly back at the beginning of the adventure, before the cave and the first encounter, without any XP, loot, damage or whatever (but they DO retain the knowledge from the dungeon – it’s a paradox! – and the Shadowless Room does not exist anymore if they enter the dungeon again).

There are two paths from the Shadowless Room.

One leads to the Stairs of Mortality, HERE. At the end of the Stairs the party reach the Fane of the Lost Reflections, as described HERE. There is one extra item in the Fane: a Mirror Mask, shattered in half and really sharp (it is hard to hold without cutting your hands). This Mask is the key to reach the Tower’s Master. The other half will be in the end of the other path.

The other path from the Shadowless Room leads down, to the Room of the Eyeless Ogre, as described HERE.

From the Room of the Eyeless Ogre, the party finds a weird thing… instead of a room they find a giant hole opened in the otherwise indestructible crystal structure of the Tower. Something BIG broke inside the Tower and literally eat an ENTIRE ROOM (describe clear signs of giant teeth and claws). Following the hole leads the party down to a cold cave where flames burn blue and cold (and anything burned to 0 hit points here return in 1d4 minutes as a hungry un-dead). Spells that deal with darkness, cold and necromancy gain +1 Die Step and are never lost. Spells that deal with light, fire and divination are always lost once cast and the caster must roll a Luck check or suffer a minor Corruption. Divine magic suffers -1 Die Step and the cleric instantly know that the party is in another plane (which one? I don’t know. Niflheim, Gehenna, Malfeas… Judge’s call). What matter is that at the end of the tunnel the party will see themselves in a deep lake over which strange orbs of blue fire burn. There is a hoard – silver coins, jewellery, weapons etc. – and also a big dragon sleeping over it! Yes, a dragon. Do not worry about stats (but if you like it, roll a Large Dragon in DCC RPG Core Rulebook). This particular underworld dragon is sleeping, but if even a tiny coin is removed from the hoard, yes, he will awake in 1d4+1 rounds.

If the party is smart, they won’t touch anything (of course, they are players… so just wait & see). What matter is that any spellcasters (or the PC with lowest Luck) will start hearing whispers coming from the dragon’s hoard. The whisper promise “the King’s Mercy”, “Truesight’s Blessing” and other nebulous things. If the party follows the whispers, they arrive at what appears to be a crystal ball and a Mirror Mask lying in a corner of the hoard. The Mirror Mask is the other half of the one found in Fane of Lost Reflections.

The crystal ball is the one doing the whispers. It begs the party to take it “back” to the King, but it won’t give any extra instructions. As soon, as someone takes the crystal ball (or the mask), the dragon as usual will awaken. At that exact moment, the crystal ball will (mentally) cry to its bearer to “hold me before the Harbinger’s Gaze!”. If anyone manages to lift the orb in front of the dragon eyes, it will daze the gargantuan creature for 2d4 rounds.

If the dragon awakes and the party is still there, they are basically toast. The dragon will demand their names and quest, and also will ask to be entertained (if the Judge leaves that to the dice, entertaining a dragon is definitely DC 20… but only allow rolls if the PCs can come with something clever). Each success should grant the party 1d4 rounds before the dragon attack. When it (inevitably) attacks, its soul-draining breath should deal something like 4d4 Stamina damage (half if they manage a Refl DC 20). Merciful Judges can allow “Shields shall be Splintered” rules to reduce damage by half. If the dragon is mesmerized with the crystal ball, then it will attack in a mad rage as soon as it breaks free.

Other potential hazards in the dragon’s cave are: (1) it is Artic-like cold, plus there is water, so frostbite/hypothermia is in order (i.e. don’t let the party linger); and (2) the blue fire orbs that fly through the cave deal 1d4 damage and can only be extinguished by touching another living creature (this deals one final 1d4 of damage, shared by both targets, but cancels the life-draining flame). Really evil Judges can suggest that there mindless un-dead (skeletons) hidden in the water. Again, use those hazards to make the party move.

After they (hopefully) get out of the cave, they should (again, hopefully) have the Mirror Mask and the crystal ball. Joining the two halves of the Mirror Mask opens a floating gate to the last room of the Tower of Visions: The Room of the King.

The Tower is actually the retreat for the King of Cyclops, the original bastard who sold his people’s eyes in exchange for magic power. The King himself did not lost his eyes, but actually gained the power to use other people’s eyes to see their future or use their magic. He also became an accomplished thaumaturge and eventually created artificial eyes with new powers (considering that the King is a giant, those artificial eyes are actually crystal balls, and perhaps the King might have created the first crystal ball ever). The King cheated some very pissed-off Chaos Powers when he hid himself in the pocket dimension that is the Tower of Visions. If he ever steps out, he is doomed. So, he uses his crystal balls and captures eyes to see other planes and sometimes even possess and enjoy other people’s lives. As I said, make the dude a total bastard.

The King desires knowledge and experience from the real world. He will ask for one eye of each adventurer in exchange for “the power to know his own End”. That is of course the Doom that linger of most Cyclops and is more a curse than a blessing. However, if a PC says “Yes!” that PC loses the eye and his Luck stat and in exchange for the Doom rules (see the rules here). Classes that run on Luck like Thieves and Halflings will be crippled after accepting this pact, but – hey! – they can at least burn their Doom with double effect before dying.

Denying the King will result in the party getting killed, unless they offer something better. If they make a promise to do something for the King, they might be able to walk away, but they will be cursed by “The King’s Shadow”. Basically, every day they DON’T work towards their part of the bargain, they lose 1d6 Luck. When their Luck runs out their shadows become monsters (same stats and hit points as the original, but each attack ignores armor and reduce Strength by 1d6, PCs with Strength 0 are dragged screaming back to the King to have both their eyes removed before being returned to the real world as blind and probably mad creatures). Because the King’s Shadow is a curse, it can be removed if the party can find and befriend a Cyclops (good luck with that!*).

*Befriend a Cyclops is too easy for me, make the party HELP a Cyclops. I would creature a Cyclops that is in love with a giant and the party must play matchmakers here.

The King of Cyclopes (Elder Cyclops): Init +5; Atk huge fists +8 melee (1d4+4); AC 16; HD 5d8+5, 45 hit points; MV 40’; Act 3d20; SP true sight; SV Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +10; AL C. The King can use his second and third Action Die to cast a random spell as a 10^th level spellcaster. He literally replaces one of his eyes with one of various flying crystal balls in the room. After so used, he can’t use that exactly spell again this encounter.

To make matters worse, every round each character will be hit by a high velocity flying crystal ball. Roll a 1d14 attack against a PC. If hit, the PC can choose to fall prone and lose his next action or suffer 1d8 damage.

One secret to defeat the King of Cyclops is to offer him the crystal ball found in the underworld dragon’s cave. If the King places that orb in his eyes, he will fall screaming and the Tower of Visions will start shaking. In 2d4 rounds the underworld dragon will come to claim the King’s live. The bastard knows he is doomed, so he will do his best to kill the characters BEFORE that happens. (Oh, if the King of Cyclops suspects that the crystal ball offered came from the dragon’s cave he will NOT touch it and will go mad with rage against the characters.)

If the party managed to kill the King of Cyclopes then the Tower of Visions will start crashing down over them. Each PC can roll a Luck check to grab a random crystal ball before running for their lives!

Having vanquished the traitorous King of Cyclopes is the greatest reward of the dungeon. Afterward, the party will always be followed by a Cyclops (use the monstrous one from the Core Rulebook). They are considered Cyclops-friend. Remember, Cyclopes are man-eating, stinky and barbarian monsters… but they all feel a true debt to the party for killing their terrible King. These Cyclops “hirelings” can be useful, but most of the time they will also give the party a lot of problem. If killed, roll a d6. Anything except a 1 means that another cyclops will show up in a few days or weeks.

There is also a good chance that the nefarious Chaos Powers that made a pact with the King will seek the party, trying to enroll them as new champions of Chaos (after all, they were useful in killing someone that tried to cheat Chaos).

What does this Crystal Ball do? (1d7)

1 – Divination. This crystal ball, if checked during the night, will warn the user about horrible things happening with him during the next day. If the character rolls a Fumble during the next 24 hours, the Fumble is treated as a normal failure. However, if the crystal ball is used by the same person two days in a row, then the next Fumble is actually made worse (add +1d10 to the Fumble Table).

2 – Wild magic. Any character can summon once per day a piece of chaotic magic (non-spellcasters roll a 1d10). Choose your favorite spell generator and roll it (I like the tables from Maze Rats). To determine the power of the spell: 1 (Minor Corruption), 2-9 (Misfire), 10-15 (success), 15+ (wild success, usually targeting an area or 1d6 targets). The Judge will tell with happens.

3 – Clairvoyance. This crystal ball can see any place that within 30 feet or that the party had visited in the last 24 hours. It can see through wood or stone, but not metal. The sensor created can see everything within 30 feet, with the same limitations of a normal person. However, there is always ONE thing that is false in the seeing (a monster, an object, a door). One detail will always be wrong.

4 – Shadow Orb. This crystal ball summons a shadow (see the stat in the Core Rulebook). This shadow will serve the Orb Master for seven nights. After that, the shadow will return to orb taking the Orb Master’s own shadow with it. The now shadowless character can never use the orb again and if attacked by a shadow in the future, he must roll Will DC 10 or be possessed.

5 – Life Ball. This crystal balls, if touched by two creatures, allows them to transfer their life force. Hit points can be passed from one character to another. Unwilling characters can be forced to touch the ball to have their life force extracted by force, usually losing 1d10 hit points per round (however, ask a Will save from both creatures, the one that rolled higher is that round’s winner and deals 1d10 to the other). Unconscious targets cannot resist. Using this crystal ball for evil stuff like draining the life of others is an open invitation for the Judge to inflict Corruption on the crystal ball user.

6 – Fate Orb. This old and cracked crystal ball works as an Invoke Patron for the Three Fates, rolling 3d10! Each time this orb is used it cracks. After three cracks the characters are pulled before the Three Fates and must complete three quests for the Patron or spent eternity trapped inside the Fate Orb.

7 – The Chaos Ball. When the power of the crystal ball are summoned Fate itself is corrupted within a 30 feet radios of the crystal ball owner. In that area Success becomes failure and Failure success. This power can be used once per day and lasts for 1d7 rounds. However, each time it is used the Judge should roll a secret d7: (1) one enemy inside the area is immune, (2-5) nothing happens, (6) the orb activates again in the next day in a moment set by the Judge, (7) the owner loses 1 Luck permanently.

(Remember, Crystal Balls are heavy and cumbersome items! Not easy to carry. Just remember the Palantir from the Lord of the Ring movies)

 

My version of Ekim’s Mystical Mask

In my last post I showed my horribly unbalanced houseruled version of Chill Touch. Now I did the same thing with Ekim’s Mystical Mask, another spell which doesn't sit right with me. OK, my version is probably too powerful, but it carries a few risks. However, it fits nicely with my current house rules, which make Spellburn a really risk endeavor, not to be taken lightly.

I hope you like it. Everything stays as in the DCC RPG Core Rulebook, except for the new table below.

12-13 The mask grants infravision, allowing the caster to see in the dark up to 60’ away. His eyes reflect light like a cat while this mask is in effect. This effect lasts for 1 minute per CL and the casting time is 1 action.

14-17 The mask helps protect the caster against gaze attacks such as that from a basilisk (q.v.). This effect is cast as an instantaneous action against a gaze attack. It completely blocks one gaze attack. The caster’s face takes on a mirror-like quality while this mask is in effect.

18-19 The mask helps defend the caster against baneful magical spells. All spells cast directly at the wizard can be countered by the spell duel rules without the need to spend an Action Die. Area-of-effect spells or other magics that are not targeted directly at the mask wearer are unmodified. The caster’s face takes on a faceted, quartz-like appearance while this mask is in effect. The casting time is 1 action.

20-23 The mask transforms the caster’s face into a horrible visage. All creatures that see the target’s face (including allies) must make a Will save or flee from the caster’s location for 1d4+CL rounds. The targeted creature must be able to see the caster clearly to be affected by the gaze. Creatures that save are immune and affected creatures cannot be affect again until the next sunrise. The caster’s face becomes monstrously demonic while this mask is in effect. The casting time is 1 round.

24-27 The mask protects the caster against attacks from metal weapons, which pass through the caster. Any metal object held by the caster falls to the ground. The caster’s face appears encased in shining steel while this mask is in effect. The casting time is 1 round.

28-29 The mask reflects melee and ranged attacks back at unlucky assailants. Any attacker that successfully strikes the mask’s wearer with a physical melee or missile attack must make a Luck check or find their attack turned against them. The attacker’s same attack roll (including any and all modifiers) is applied to its own AC and inflicts normal damage if the blow lands successfully. The caster’s face appears to be that of his attacker(s) while the mask is in effect. The casting time is 1 round.

30-31 The mask transforms the caster’s entire head into that of a snake. While in effect, the mask grants the caster both the illusion generating and hypnotic gaze powers of a serpent-man (see page 425). As an incidental benefit, it also allows the caster to pass himself off as a serpent-man under cursory inspection. The mask’s effect on the caster’s face is self-evident. This effect lasts for 1 minute per CL and the casting time is 1 action.

32+ With this powerful casting, the wizard’s face is occluded by a living void that will pull all magic within. Every spell cast in a 30 feet cone in front of the caster is instantly nullified (and treated as lost or spent until the next sunrise). The caster cannot cast a spell while this is in effect. Anything touching the caster’s face is instantly gone, as if placed inside a bag of devouring. After this effect ends the caster must roll a Fort save DC 10 or visible age (10 years to humans, proportional to other races’ lifespan, the Judge can describe this as a 1 Stamina permanent damage).

Yet another houserule for Chill Touch

 

Chill Touch is a boring spell in DCC RPG, everyone knows that. I really doubt that my home version is properly balanced solution, but it sure looks fun at the table! It was inspired by the AD&D 2^nd version. Everything stays as in the DCC Core Rulebook, except the craziness below.

First, yes, Chill Touch still requires spellburn and actually I think that 1d3 of Strength would be better, considering the boost below. Chill Touch here is practically a Patron Spell in power, but I hope the Strength damage will keep casters from enjoying themselves too much.*/**

*The Judge is encouraged to reduce the damage to 1d2 or 1 Strength for Wizards that took Arcane Affinity (Necromancy).

** A caster can use a defenseless target and drain the Strength from the victim (but the Judge is encouraged to roll a second d20 just to see if the PC gains Corruption). This second option is a secret dearly kept by necromancers and black magicians.

Also, before going to the new table, Chill Touch also another caveat: if the caster is healed the spell instantly ends (the necromancy energy being cancelled by the healing). Otherwise follow the results below.

NEW TABLE

12-13 The caster’s hands are charged with negative energy! On the next round, the next creature the caster attacks touches suffer 1d6 damage OR 2 points of Strength damage (creature without Strength suffer -1 to attack and damage). To touch the target the caster ignores any AC from armor (unless the armor is made of metal). A Will save is allowed to ignore the Strength damage. Un-dead creatures do not suffer damage but must save or flee for 1 round. 

14-17 On the next 2 rounds, any creature touched by the caster attacks suffers 1d6 damage and 2 points of Strength damage (creature without Strength suffer -1 to attack and damage). To touch the target the caster ignores any AC from armor (unless the armor is made of metal). A Will save is allowed to ignore the Strength damage. Un-dead creatures do not suffer damage but must save or flee for 1d4 rounds.

18-19 On the next turn, any creature touched by the caster attacks suffers 1d6 damage and 2 points of Strength damage (creature without Strength suffer -1 to attack and damage). To touch the target the caster ignores any AC from armor (unless the armor is made of metal). A Will save is allowed to ignore the Strength damage. Un-dead creatures do not suffer damage but must save or flee for 1d4 minutes.

20-23 On the next turn, any creature touched by the caster attacks suffers 1d8 damage and 1d3+1 points of Strength damage (creature without Strength suffer -1 to attack and damage). To touch the target the caster ignores any AC from armor (unless the armor is made of metal). A Will save is allowed to ignore the Strength damage. Un-dead creatures do not suffer damage but must roll Morale (Will DC 10) or flee for an extra 2d4 minutes.

24-27 On the next turn, any creature touched by the caster attacks suffers 1d8 damage and 1d3+1 points of Strength damage (creature without Strength suffer -1 to attack and damage). The caster can end the spell to cripple any target that suffered Strength damage. Crippling a target leaves him with Strength 3 (-5 t attack and damage). To touch the target the caster ignores any AC from armor (unless the armor is made of metal). A Will save is allowed to ignore the Strength damage. Un-dead creatures do not suffer damage but must save, but flee for 2d4 minutes and if they meet the caster again before the next sunrise they must check morale of flee for 1d4 minutes more.

28-29 As above, but while the spell lasts the caster is overcharged with negative energy. He cannot be healed, unless he spends an Action Die to discharge the spell first. If killed while the spell is in effect, the caster will return as vengeful un-dead. However, he can roll a Will save DC 10 to ignore any drain or damage from an un-dead.

30-31 As 24-27 and 28-29, but any living creature attacking the caster in melee suffers 1d8 damage and 1d3+1 points of Strength damage (creature without Strength suffer -1 to attack and damage). Save still apply. Un-dead that hit the caster in melee must save or flee.

32+ The caster’s body glows a sickly blue light as he crackles with withering necromantic energy. Any creature within 10’ of the caster takes 1d8 damage and 1d3+1 Strength damage each round it stays within the field, and un-dead creatures flee automatically for 1d4 hours. There is no save at this level. The caster not only recovers the spellburned Strength but gain a +1 bonus to Strength every round he damages a living creature (maximum Strength 20). Until the next sunrise, the caster cannot benefit from any form of magical or natural healing. The caster still becomes (a now powerful) un-dead if killed during this spell.

On the vicissitudes of a Wizard in DCC RPG

“Low-level wizards are powerful. High-level wizards fear for their souls.”

The phrase from the DCC Core Rulebook sums up nicely how awesome and crazy is the life a wizard. I would like the share how things are going for the spellcaster PC in my DCC RPG campaign.

Our games have been running a little erratically since 2013. We are playing Old School-style, so advancement is slow and diegetic. 5^th level is an achievement and as of this post only 2 characters have reached those heights (in a pool of more than 20 created so far!). I don’t see anyone reaching 6^th level without some really cool quest. Right now the main characters are stuck in the Purple Planet.

The party’s spellcaster is named Arcádio, a human turnip farmer turned Warlock (that is my human variant on the Elf Class, you can check it here). Arcádio was a peasant that after surviving his funnel (I believe it was Sailors on the Starless Sea) turned to the Dark Arts to get revenge on his liege (a hook for the 13^th Skull module that was interrupted when the party was banished to the Purple Planet). Arcádio became a Warlock through his mule, which was actually a disguised demon and is now his familiar (the player elected to play with a type of a familiar that I call Faustian and which uses Arnold K.’s awesome rules, found here).

Arcádio is bound not only to his familiar, but also managed to pledge service to the Horned King (another hook that I hope will eventually take him to Beyond the Black Gate). However, things are not easy for the spellcasters in my games. Arcádio gained a lot of corruption rather quickly (frosty skin, antlers, a pack mentality, a cybernetic virus and a regrown leg of different size are just some of those). Arcádio also suffers from a cool set of mercurial magic and is constantly changing genders (the player even changes names and personality). Arcádio tried to appease different Patrons for some time (including entities from the Court of Chaos) which did not end well. By sheer luck, he and the party’s berserker found an old machine that cleansed them of physical corruptions (the machine was from a Warhammer 40K’s Imperial Battleship, and during that crazy crossover the Warlock almost became a servant of Horus, which showed up as a Patron and used rules from Mutant Crawl Classics).

To make matter more interesting, Arcádio was blinded and brainwashed to Law during Intrigue at the Court of Chaos by none other than the celestial spy Lexaliah (using again more material from Arnold K. from Goblin Punch... I can't find the link, but angels here also deal damage directly to the PC's soul, converting them to Law. In DCC RPG, I do that as Personality damage). Arcádio got rid of all that “Law taint” by making new pacts with his Faustian familiar. Due to the nature of a particular pact, once every seven days, Arcádio must exchanges bodies with his familiar (basically, once every week he is stuck in the form of a goblin-demon). To cure his blindness, Arcádio managed to appease the Horned King, so he is seeing again (but has wolf eyes). And to make things really complicated, when we started the 13^th Skull module, Arcádio got a chance of revenge against his nemesis – that is the Duke Magnussem XIII. The Warlock was so bent on it that he sold his soul to Obitu-Que in order to employ a powerful domination magic scroll. That backfired beautifully and now Arcádio is desperately trying to get his soul back. He also had enough with his Faustian Familiar and all his debts so, after meeting with the Three Fates, Arcádio ditched the Faustian familiar and is (right now) seeking redemption. However, the Faustian familiar had the last laugh, because he still can steal Arcádio’s body once a week. The Warlock tried to “fix” this by contacting another creature from the same plane of existence as his diabolical (ex-)familiar. That creature was a rival and taught him a ritual to be performed while Arcárdio had the familiar’s body. The ritual worked quite well (in a crazy way) – Arcádio didn’t got his true body back, but actually “trapped” the familiar in his mortal body. To make matters more (yes!) interesting, Arcádio is now trapped in the form a magical mask with the face as his old familiar. The Warlock became a living magic item and can only interact with the world if placed over someone’s face.

And that is the “typical” life of a spellcaster (of 4^th level) in my DCC RPG campaign. The fact that the Warlock’s player is feeling trapped, a bit confused, and desperate (but still enjoying the entire madness of the thing) tells me that I am being true to the spirit of that DCC RPG’s phrase.

Oh, and now our party now has a 2^nd level Lawful Wizard that serves the Three Fates. I can’t wait to see how things are going to develop with him.

BONUS CONTENT

Sorry about the lengthy post. I hope you enjoy it. Here are a few more magic items that the players found during my campaign.

A Lance Forged By The Balance is a weapon forged from one piece of some unknown metal that looks like mercury but is (1) solid, and (2) a lot lighter. This magical spear does not give you any bonus to hit or damage rolls but works as a magical weapon. When you pierce a supernatural or incorporeal creature with the spear and pin it down, you can bound the target to that place. For as long as the spear is pinned to a surface, the target can’t move, teleport, remove the spear or die (other creatures can try to remove the spear normally). As far as it is known, the Lance Forged By The Balance can only be destroyed by dragon’s breath or an Eternal Champion’s hands.

The Unendingly Cantankerous and Most Tedious Tales of Agilulf. This old and battered book changes its idiom to that of the reader. If even briefly read, the reader must roll a Will DC 15 or fall at sleep for 1d8 hours. It is that boring.

The Screaming Box. An small ornated jewellery box made from some kind of white wood. If opened it is always (ALWAYS!) empty and it will start to unleash an unending and almost deafening human scream. There is no mechanical effect involved, but most people are freaked out by the noise and would be distracted or even stunned for one or two moments.