That is, things that I can’t find in the Basic set or Expert set rulebooks. I assume I made them up. This was the hardest part about going through this adventure. Why did I keep the adventure, but throw away all of my “generic”* notes? I mean, let’s face it, this adventure sucks. But some of the things I’m finding references to are potentially cool.
New things: Magic
Amulet of protection from turning
This amulet provides some protection against being turned by clerics. I can’t remember if it was an absolute protection or a penalty on the cleric’s roll, but since the description doesn’t provide a plus number, I’m guessing it was absolute.
Astral Armor
As I recall, this armor let you go astrally, leaving your body behind, for some distance. Every time a character goes out of body, however, there was a chance of some evil spirit taking their body over. While they could still return, the evil spirit would from then on influence them to be evil.
The player who found the armor used it whenever possible, and did in fact eventually turn evil. The other PCs decided to go along with it—one was either already evil or switched his alignment after a dream test from the alignment gods; I ended up creating a couple of adventures for evil characters, but the game broke up when we went to different colleges.
Bag of meals
Mmmm… donuts.
No, I have no idea. It sounds to me like a stock item, but I can’t find it. So I’m going with, it gives you a different gourmet meal every day. One day it might be frogs’ legs in hollandaise sauce, another day oysters on the half shell, perhaps some raw fish the next.
No wonder that ogre in map CA is ambushing adventurers.
Chaotic sword
There’s a lizard-man hermit with a Chaotic Sword +- 3. As I recall, this weapon required a secret roll by the Dungeon Master before every combat to determine if the sword was acting as a +3 sword or a -3 sword. The bonus or penalty applied to both ‘to hit’ rolls and damage rolls as normal. It did a minimum of 1 point of damage.
Crystal ball of time vision, Crystal ball with clairaudience
Is this one of mine? I vaguely recall enjoying having different kinds of crystal balls that could do the different things you were supposed to be able to do with crystal balls. So some could see the future, some could see the present, some could see and hear the present, and so-on.
Madrigal, the living lantern
Basically, a talking lantern with special knowledge. Possibly ESP and monster detection. If I remember right, it was evil and manipulative.
Pandora’s box
A box of curses. Assuming I wasn’t being completely evil, opening it (or perhaps looking inside it) will let out one curse. If I was completely evil, opening it lets out all curses, like the original.
Powder of light/powder of darkness
These were powders you could throw into the air, and it would light the area up (or darken if it was powder of darkness). Pretty much a light spell or a darkness spell.
Ring of questions
The first question is, what does a ring of questions do?
Ring of true invisibility
This ring, if I recall, let people attack while invisible. It gave a bonus to AC and ‘to hit’ while in use, besides the normal surprise bonus to invisibility. Probably around 4.
Shadow weapon
As far as I can tell, there is no shadow weapon anywhere in this adventure. But the college still has textbooks on how to make them. My notes are somewhat incomplete: “+2, 1 point constitution. Exists in slight space warp. Must save vs. spells or feel compelled to use it (as cursed weapon). A normal person will lose one point (strength, wisdom, or constitution) every round it is used. If any hits zero, war will be”
Fortunately, I have never gamed with a normal person.
Sword of invisibility
Jogs something in my memory. I think this sword let the wielder choose to make themselves invisible, or make the blade invisible. The hilt is never invisible. If the wielder is invisible, they get a bonus to defense; if the blade is invisible, they get a bonus to attack.
Zombie battleaxe
A zombie battleaxe is a battleaxe that, when used by a zombie, can be thrown and will return to the zombie. I think it also gave the zombie bonuses to hit. What the guard on map DC in Rikladna is doing with one I have no idea. It’s only useful for zombies. That’s why, even though he has a magic weapon, it isn’t marked as having any bonuses to hit or damage: he’s not a zombie.
New things: Creatures
Creatures: Atavi
This creature appears on the notes for the college, but I don’t think they appear anywhere in the adventure—certainly not under that name, now that I have search. Oddly, these are also in pencil, whereas everything else on this sheet is in pen.
AC -1, HD 3+2, At sword+1, D 2-9, save F5, NG.
The Atavi has two forms: an out of phase form and a solid form. When out of phase, they cannot be hit, nor can they hit anyone. Nothing can affect them while they are out of phase. The stats here are for when they are solid.
Their swords are not magical, but gains their bonus by their special nature, and can only be used by Atavi.
They have the spells cure light wounds and cure serious wounds. They cannot be solid and cast spells at the same time.
Hell Jellies
I have no idea, but damn, it sounds cool. Demonic animated napalm?
Creatures: Hydramen
When you kill a hydraman, two more hydramen take its place. However, those two attack and save as one hit die less, and have half the hit points of the original (round down). A hydraman that only has one hit point will not spawn more hydramen.
This is kind of cool. In the example in room 14 of map GC, the two hydramen will each become 32 single hit-point hydramen before they are killed permanently. That last generation pretty much pops like a balloon, but there are 32 of them all attacking as an HD 5 creature.
How about “angular soldiers from a crystalline reality” who “shatter, like holographs, into more fragile duplicates of themselves until the final generation fades out completely”?
Jonah Whales
I’m guessing they eat you, but you stay alive. They also barf you up in map AC’s underwater cavern.
Living darkness, living light
I may still have this one lying around somewhere. Literally, light or darkness that could move and attack. Light was Law, darkness was Chaos, and they could only be hit by magic weapons, which only did half damage.
Rock Dryads
Normal dryads live in trees. Rock dryads live in giant geodes. Their treasure is inside their rocks. I’m guessing from the notes here that it takes 5 dryads to charm someone. Much later, I named these petraiads, and they’re still in Gods & Monsters.
Shadowbird (Darkwing)
This creature appears on the notes for the college, but I don’t think they appear anywhere in the adventure—certainly not under that name, now that I have search.
AC 4, HD 5, At 2 claws/bite, D 1-6/1-6/2-8, save F3, NE. Treasure is nil.
Anyone seeing it must save vs. paralysis or run with fear.
Shadow slave
This creature appears on the notes for the college, but I don’t think they appear anywhere in the adventure—certainly not under that name, now that I have search.
AC 2, HD 12, At shadow weapon at +2, D 2-8 and 1 point constitution, save F12, CE. Number appearing is 1-4 (0), and treasure type is W.
Silver does half damage. Any losing all constitution become slaves of the shadow slave.
Creatures: Sleestak
These are not my creation, of course, but they’re also not from the books. They’re from Sid & Marty Kroft’s Land of the Lost. In my interpretation, there are different colors of Sleestak: Green and Blue. Green Sleestak are HD 6+1, and Blue Sleestak are HD 6 to 8. The Blue Sleestak are probably the ones from Enoch’s time, and the Green Sleestak would then be their degenerate descendants. Blue Sleestak can use magic, and for some reason save as Dwarves of one level higher. Green Sleestak save as Dwarves of 8th level.
Soul Stealer
I don’t see it in the basic or expert set, so this must be one of mine. The soul stealer can only be hit by magic weapons. Judging from the description in the map CC monster list, the souls it steals can somehow either be used or be freed. While this sounds like something from Elric, I had not read Michael Moorcock at this point (and still, to my shame, haven’t read any of the Elric books).
Vampire sharks!
Vampire sharks! must always include the exclamation point. Exclamations weren’t in the original, but I’ve decided to add them here. Lasers! optional.
What do you need to know about them? They’re sharks… and they’re vampires. Oh, they’re also “bull” sharks, which in the expert set are 8 feet long; they like to ram their prey, stunning it, and then attack the stunned prey the next round.*
