February 27, 2013

Prismatic Wings

I desperately want a better word for butterfly than butterfly to use in this post. Butterfly is like the limpest name for a critter that, at least in my campaign, is big and scary and cast spells willy-nilly. Lepidopterans sounds too formal, and using foreign words just seems cheap. However, the Russian babochka is far and away the coolest sounding word for them I could find.


The wizards of Ig don't wear pointy hats. Wizards wear robes and capes and turbans and queer haberdashery of iridescent moth-wing  This is because butterflies and moths are natural spell casters not out of any knowledge of their own, but due to the markings on their wings. The pattern of colorful scales on their wings form mandalas, sigils, and the true names of all things. A solitary normal butterfly or moth is harmless, but a sufficiently large swarm (rabble) resonates magically, so many wings brushing together builds up an esoteric charge that can be released at any shock to the group. The spells released scale in proportion to the amount of number of individuals in the rabble. A wizard wearing specially fashioned robes, cloaks, or masks will find his mystical abilities heightened by the wings.

Moth-wing Gear
Any gear crafted from butterflies or moths is lumped together in the catch-all of "moth-wing." This type of clothing can only be crafted by a wizard, and at no small cost. However, a wizard wearing a full suit gains a +3 to resist offensive spells and +3 to all spell checks as well as providing several mystical abilities. Moth-wing provides no bonus to AC.
Moth-wing Hat: Often taking the form of a turban bedecked in scintillating wings or simply the decapitated head of a giant moth hollowed out and made into a cap. A moth-wing hat provides a +1 bonus to all spell checks and saves. The wearer can also be used to cast Speak with Insects 2/day Cost: 400gp and 5 HD in butterflies/moths
Moth-wing Cloak: Usually made from giant wings sewn in a fashionably gaudy cape. A moth-wing hat provides a +1 bonus to all spell checks and saves. The wearer can also cast Color spray 1/day. Cost: 600 gp and 10 HD in butterflies/moths
Moth-wing Robes: A moth-wing hat provides a +1 bonus to all spell checks and saves. The wearer can also cast Featherfall 2/day. Cost: 900 gp and 15 HD in butterflies/moths




Butterfly Rabble: Init +4; Atk none (but see SP); AC 9; HD 1d8+; MV fly 40'; Act special; SP random spells, half damage from non-area attacks; SV Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +0; AL C.

For DCC the rabble can cast a random spell of a level up to the number of HD they have. It casts this spell with a spell check bonus equal to half its current HP. For mores standardized systems, consider it to have spell slots equal to a magic user of equal HD, with the spell taking up as many slots as possible.

February 07, 2013

Carapace Crafting

Spurred to action by Anarchycore and challenged by the inestimable Ian Johnson for what you see below. I present two systems for crafting weapons and armor from giant insects!

The Boring Way
Kill a number of HD of bugs of the appropriate armor class, spend some gold on other necessary materials like straps and hooks, and spend days equal to the AC bonus crafting and BOOM armor. This is boring. Don’t use it.



Armor TypeType of InsectCost (gp)HD required
LeatherAC10+103
Studded LeatherAC11+234
HideAC12+155
Scale MailAC13+406
ChainmailAC14+757
Banded MailAC15+1258
Half-PlateAC16+2259
Full-PlateAC17+60010
ShieldAC12+52


The Epic Risky Way
Each slain giant insect can be carved down to its raw material (chitin) for crafting. Each carcass breaks down into chitin plates equal to its HD-1d6 (the Beat to Death by Ruffians Tax). A certain amount of chitin is required for each type of item, but extra plates may be included in the attempt. Each extra plate increases the chance of success by 5%. All materials are consumed whether the attempt is successful or not.

Armor Type% to CraftMaterials required
Leather404
Studded Leather355
Hide306
Scale Mail257
Chainmail208
Banded Mail159
Half-Plate1012
Full-Plate515
Shield502


Weapon Type% to CraftMaterials required
Battleaxe205
Blackjack852
Blowgun852
Club803
Dagger702
Flail603
Handaxe602
Javelin503
Lance404
Longbow405
Longsword505
Mace753
Polearm204
Shortbow505
Short sword703
Spear453
Staff702
Two-handed sword205
Warhammer455
Dart801 (per 6)
Arrow751 (per 4)


Edge-cases of Supreme Insight
If the crafter rolls 99~100 some quirk of the crafting process or the material has created an item of incredible quality. Weapons counts as +1 to hit and damage. Armor counts as one rank better.

February 05, 2013

Magical Sandwiches

  1. Ham and Save or Die, save or die
  2. Aboleth Tartine, counts as potion of ESP
  3. Witch Hoagie, cursed!
  4. Dragon Dagwood, causes dragon breath!
  5. Vampire Sub, lose 1d4 hp from bloodloss
  6. Goblin Dip, catch a disease
  7. Beholder Club, eyes project antimagic field for one hour
  8. Elfaletta, succulent but lacking in substance
  9. Sloppy Jackalwere, Polymorph Self
  10. Grilled Ooze, you just ate a grey ooze
  11. Ethereal BLT, counts as oil of etherealness
  12. Flumpher-nutter, Stinking Cloud
  13. Gorgon BBQ, 10’ cloud, save vs. spell or turn to stone
  14. Myconid Burger, it’s vegan! Trip balls for 1d6 hours
  15. Devil Torta, save versus spell or change to CE alignment
  16. Unicorn Wrap, regain all HP, if you call that living
  17. Kobold slider, disagrees with you terribly
  18. Doppleganger Dip, it looks delicious, but it’s not! Take the form of a random being within 100’
  19. Blue Chicken club, your head takes on the appearance of a large blue chicken
  20. Reuben sandwich, perfect in every way
  21. Crow gyro, you feel nauseous for the next 1d6 hours
  22. T-rex steak and entire loaf of bread, save versus poison, on a fail you throw it all up, on a success you gain 1d3 points of Strength
  23. Fried Brain, any mindflayers within 5 miles can inerrantly track the smell of your breath
  24. Monty Cristo, gain 1d10x250 gp and xp

  • For +Ian Johnson's ANARCHYCORE full-frontal Santicore rip-off plus insult comedy plus random RPG content wunderthread. I drew the lidless eye of +Claytonian JP who requested this mess.