Game Viet Nam

Dig this diagram.  I've switch from MS Paint to Google Docs for my inept chart needs. I like the results.

Anyway, in my experience maybe 90% of PC magic-users stay in the center blue area.  There's a couple possible reasons for this.  One is that most versions of the game require serious gold and/or XP requirements to get into the green region.  If you need to be an MU11 to make items, then most MU will never do it. Another is that some players are more casual than others.  Some dudes just want to throw fireballs, no big whoop.

Another reason many MUs never engage the spell research and magic item creation rules is that they don't realize that they have these powers.  The chargen handout for my World of Cinder campaign specifically noted spell research as a class ability for magic-users and elves, but I'm not sure anyone ever actually wrote it down on their character sheet.  "I can cast sleep right now" tends to overshadow "with a few weeks and a couple thousand gp (that I don't have), I can make up a new spell".

Then there's that outer area.  I think many players don't realize that this region even exists.  Maybe it doesn't in some campaigns.  Whether the DM acknowledges it or not, the "Anything goes" region is in play if there's ever some evil jerkwad trying to conquer the world with one of those big apocalyptic not-on-the-spell-list rituals. In the Caves of Myrddin, at least two players have gotten some work done in this area.  A certain elf knows how to create a magical safe room, where no evil creature can set foot. And one of the magic-users is on the verge of being able to contact a demon. I can't wait to see how that turns out.

 It's just a spell that does damage at a range, right?

Magic Missile Manifestation (d20)

1. Summon Ghost Arrow
2. Laser Beam Finger
3. Ebon Flame Gout from Palm
4. Icicle Spray from Fingertips
5. Sparkly Rainbow Gesture
6. Summon Nano Black Hole
7. Throw Fire Shurikens
8. Bees from Mouth
9. Lightning from Eyes
10. Fingers Briefly Become Long Snakes
11. Heat Wave From Forehead Cooks Foe's Innards
12. Spheres of Eerie Light Up From Ground
13. Slime Erupts from Target's Pores
14. Summon Biting Skulls
15. Eyes Open In Palms, Shoot Purple Beams
16. Spit Lava
17. Conjure Vortex of Green Fumes
18. Call the Hideous Cackling from Nowhere
19. Blow Kiss of Death
20. Projectile Vomit of Acid

DMs may opt to track specific formulations, or simply each caster has their own version, or maybe you have to roll every dang time you cast.

Philip the Black, Luxembourg's premier necromancer, starts the session off right by blowing a carousing roll.  It seems he got drunk and tried out a new blasphemous ritual 'involving' Ewella the Alewife's favorite goat. Philip is now #2 on her personal grudge list. How long does Ewella hold a grudge?  The #1 spot is held by her husband, who has been dead for over twenty years.

So the next morning five set out from the Abbey: a hung over Philip of Luxembourg, the dwarven duo Farley Sheehan and Tarlo Tunnelcutter, Blixa the Thief and his dog Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter.  Somehow eight returned, in two waves.  About two and a half hours after the party left three completely naked buxom lasses show up at the Abbey, one of which carries the key to Blixa's room.  This giggling, bouncing trio introduce themselves as Shuddatha the Eviscerator, Ha-Vhlacho the Time-Beast and Oggonith of the Severed Star. They report that Blixa freed them and three of their sisters from a magical painting, but the others were petrified by a medusa in the courtyard of the ruined castle.

When the party returns a few more hours later, Philip of Luxembourg is literally completely covered in blood from head to toe, dripping all over the place and reveling in it.  Like at the end of Carrie or when blading at a wrestling match gets totally out of hand. Farley Sheehan is bloody up to his knees and the rest of the party is fairly bloody as well.  They report two separate run-ins with vampires somewhere under the old gatehouse (a.k.a. the east tower).  First, they found vampiric Frida Kahlo asleep in her coffin.  She was clutching a magically trapped painting that drew the two dwarves to the center of the multiverse.  Farley is still a little goggly-eyed from doing the electric slide with Azathoth.  (Tarlo made it out of the painting, but later fell in a pit and died. That's D&D for you.)  Anyway, they staked the bejeesus out of Frida and disintegrate her corpse with sunlight and holy water.  Blixa took her magical paints and brushes and painted an escape hatch onto the canvas.

Later the group found a spot presumably close to the dragon's lair, as the floor was covered in a sufficient quantity of sloughed-off giant reptile scales that Farley now sports a shield like the one in the film Dragonslayer.  Not wanting to run into the dragon, the party elected to explore another part of the dungeon.  They soon ran into Billy's replacement character, a cleric.  I don't recall the dude's name.

They encountered the cleric just before examining a strange chamber.  The floor is stained with blood.  Blood-stained holes one to one-and-a-half inches in diameter pierce the ceiling.  In the center of the room is a squat basket/vat type thing, like you would crush grapes in to make wine, but nearly full of blood.  Just as they begin speculating about the purpose of the room they hear people talking as they descend a nearby spiral staircase.  "Why were three naked women in the courtyard anyway?" "I don't know man.  What a waste they're statues now."  "Yeah, stupid medusas."  It's wandering monster time and guess who the dice say show up?

Holy crap!  It's Lenny and Squiggy!

The two vampires responsible for killing Blixa's war poodle Gleichman stroll into the room and start slurping up blood.  Too bad the party heard them coming, as they spiked the stuff with holy water.  Smoke starts pouring out of their mouths and noses when suddenly Philip bursts out from under the surface of the blood, laughing like a goddamn psycho, silver dagger and holy water flask in hand!  The dwarf and the cleric appear from behind half-column supports along the wall, with Blixa and Abe attacking from the rear.  The party came loaded with garlic and holy water and stakes, so they eventually overwhelm the two dorkiest vampires under Dundagel and manage to avoid losing any levels in the process.  Billy'c cleric earns bonus style points by pushing his holy symbol right into Squiggy's stupid face, burning him so deeply a cross-shaped section of smoldering, blackened skull is revealed.  In the end one vampire is complete disintegrated and other is staked, then beheaded, then melted with holy water. Revenge is a dish best served bloody.

Back at the Abbey, Blixa publicly counts out 1,000gp to each of his fellows.  He then disappears into his lady-laden room. Farley and the cleric go get themselves cleaned up, then Farley starts buying drinks for everyone.  Philip the Bloody cackles something about the truenames of demons and resumes his horrid experiments.

All in all, a pretty kickass day in the history of the Wessex campaign.

So the Wednesday night group made out pretty well last night. Based upon the drunken ramblings of the elf Vithujin(a.k.a. Elfy Don't, a.k.a. the guy on the Abbott's pooplist for prancing about the sanctuary stark naked) and Brother Cadfael's hopeless loser nephew (unlike Fred the Dwarf's henchmen, he's not loyal or smart enough to keep his lips shut), here's what the rumor mill says:

• Most of the adventure was spent in the magical land of the goblins, where it was winter outside the goblin forest.
• Monsters fought included a giant silver spider, some sort of land-catfish with a purple worm style maw, a giant pterodactyl that tried to carry off their guide Turg, helpful giant ants and a wizard made of cancer that tried to forcefeed himself to Gomma the Fighter.
• Loot carried off included a bunch of unrefined gold nuggets, some gold 'coins' shaped like tiny foetuses, some Satanic dinnerware (sold to the local coven), some wavy-bladed swords, a dozen scrolls of black papyrus and some breast plates and helms of unusually light metal and wicked design.

Since nine sets of breastplate and shield were sold to Merwik the Merchant, these items are now available for sale.  A breastplate and helmet combo will set you back 100gp.  Here's how they work: They protect you the same as ordinary chain and helm HOWEVER they're slightly lighter, so you can outrun someone in chain.  It's not enough to up your movement rate but if you're both, say, fleeing a monster the other guy gets eaten and you get away.  Also, while wearing this gear you look just like a kickass fighter from an Erol Otus illo.  Thes items go to the first nine FLAILSNAILS players to comment in this thread indicating that they are spending the 100gp.  They are sized for humans and elves.

Additionally an incident occured in the main hall of the Abbey guesthouse, where PCs stay between adventures, so you all get the real deal scoop.  Gomma the Ugly made it known that he wanted to try and sell the Zircon Ring of Olorin, a minor artifact he's owned for several sessions and not used much.  James of Dillington, an NPC wizard, showed up to offer 2,500gp for the ring.  Before they could close the deal Lankii the Elf, a fellow member of Gomma's party, objected vehemently, arguing that the item was much more useful than any amount of gold the wizard could offer.  When Gomma ignored the elf and tried to close the deal Lankii threw a charm person on Gomma to prevent the sale.  Once the spells started to fly James the Wizard backed out the room and hasn't been seen near the Abbey since.

Later, Gomma got turned into a toad for talking trash to Dremelza the Witch, but Lankii saved him by trading away one of the Black Scrolls to placate the witch.  Gomma's player was on fire last night, I tell you.  He also needed to be rescued from the cancer wizard's cultist goons.  Good times.

So I'm working on this mythic/faux-historical Japanese campaign.  Today I wanted to talk about classes.

Bujin (fighter) - Well-heeled samurai, wandering ronin, or desperate peasant-turned-bandit, all these fall under the bujin class.

Sohei (cleric) - You're a monk so into Buddha you can drop miracles. PC sohei are probably troublemakers kicked out of respectable monasteries.  The cops and/or monks from a rival temple may be looking for you.

Onmyoji (magic-user) - Ancient Japan actually had a government bureau of magic-users.  Most onmyoji stay in the capital and draw decent paychecks for little work.  PC onmyoji tend to be unlicensed renegades and/or power-hungry maniacs. Female onmyoji operate as a sisterhood outside the legal sanction of the bureaucracy, but since their order was founded by an imperial princess they have a certain romantic cache that makes them less spooky to the common people.

Ninja (specialist/thief) - I got nothing more to say about this class other than "Yes, you can play a ninja."

Wo (dwarf) - Not as beardy as their Occidental cousins, most Wo go for neatly trimmed facial hair, maybe just a moustache or even -gasp- clean shaven. Many have facial tattoos, looking a bit like an actor in a kabuki play. The Wo try to participate in mainstream Japanese culture, but because of their long lifespan and tendency to sleep for Rumple Stiltskin lengths of time, they can't keep up.  Like if in a modern setting game you had a short dude in your party that dressed and talked like William Shakespeare. The Wo aren't quite over the fact that suddenly (in their terms) some emperor living on another island is in charge around here and tend to be skeptical of imperial officials.

Korrobukura (halfling) - These hairy little people live in holes in the ground and generally try to stay out of everyone's way.  Their numbers are dwindling in the south (where the campaign is set).

Spirit Folk (elf) - Mostly human in appearance, every spirit folk has some sort of 'tell' that distinguishes them: odd colored hair, a tail, animal ears, impossibly long elf ears, a third eye that opens when casting spells, a long lizard tongue, etc.  The clans of the spirit folk claim descent from old imperial lineages on one hand and various kami (spirits) on the other, making most of them hella arrogant.  Since I envision spirits in this campaign as tending to be inhuman and weird, the Spirit Folk are kind of like what if happy shiny half-elves really had the Innsmouth Taint.