Armour of the Red Knight (magic item), and speculations on the notion of 'Gatekeepers' as game-fodder

The Armour of the Red Knight (also known as the Armour of the Gatekeeper) is a magical suit of plate-mail. Whether there is a single suit like this or several, is not known for sure. It was made by Dwarven artificers in the distant past and has had many owners. It seems to expand, contract and change to fit whoever is the current owner, providing protection for an Ogre or Centaur as comprehensively as for a Halfling. Down through the Ages, the wearers of the Armour of the Red Knight have tended to be solitary warriors guarding some mystical site - sacred springs, ancient tombs or similar, though they may be encountered at more prosaic locations such as fords and outside town gates.

Image from http://www.wallpapermay.com/Games/Video_Games/video_games_alucard
fantasy_art_armor_castlevania_artwork_white_hair_swords_1920x1080_wallpaper_38304used without permission but I thought it looked cool. The address is so long I had to break it; you need to put an underscore back between 'alucard' and 'fantasy' to visit the page

The armour conveys the following abilities:

1 - allows the wearer to Save as a 10th-Level Cleric (this is the case whatever the PC/NPC's actual Level, even if this would provide better saving throws);

From http://mezebracrazypanda.deviantart.com/art/Flame-Knight-266515067 also used without permission but again, it looks cool

2 - in the event of an attack on the wearer by any magical means, magical flames (as Fireballs, DAM: d6+1 x the wearer's Level) will shoot out at any being, friend or foe, within 30' and will continue to do so every Round until the targets move more than 30' away or are killed;

3 - every successful hit on the wearer that does not reduce her/him to 0hp allows her/him to increase the following statistics:
Level/HD +1, including hp adjustments, up to 10th Level/10HD;
STR +1, up to racial maximum;
DEX +1, up to racial maximum;
CON +1, up to racial maximum.



This hasn't been playtested as both my gaming groups are having sabbaticals; but I liked the idea of an antagonist that increased in power the longer the fight went on (EDIT: and it's similar to an idea I was kicking around for statting The Hulk, that I was kicking around some time ago). It has a mythic and Arthurian ring to it, like the mystical powers of Sir Gawain (link), whose strength increases and diminishes during the day. Thinking about Gawain, Arthuriana and challenges also suggested the idea of a knight as a guardian. This I think is a little-explored part of the 'source material' for D&D - we're used to the 'questing knight' theme where the hero(ine) goes to kill a dragon or find a holy/magical object or even rescue her/his lost love, but there is a large amount of Arthurian and other 'heroic' literature that mentions warriors who are fated or otherwise compelled to stand guard over something and issue challenges to those trying to pass or access it - to act as literal or figurative 'gatekeepers'. In the 1981 retelling of Morte d'Arthur, John Boorman's film Excalibur (link), Launcelot du Lac guards a ford and challenges those who want to cross to single combat. He duels with Arthur, is defeated, and swears allegiance to Arthur. The Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail is (justly in my opinion, it's a great scene) one of the most celebrated examples of the type. The Old Man at the Bridge could also be counted in this category. Gandalf at the Bridge of Khazad Dum, maybe not.

All hail the Black Knight

Gatekeepers make most sense as NPCs - an obstacle that the PCs have to overcome to continue on their journey (whether that is to, or already in, the dungeon). There is little 'gameable' adventure in this for a PC I think, which is why D&D is more geared to the 'questing knight' approach - wander about and have adventures, instead of staying put and seeing what the world throws at us - but it is something to consider perhaps.

What if... instead of 'hexcrawling' (for example) the PCs were forced through magical or legal means, such as working off a Curse, or punishment for a misdemeanour (my sell-check doesn't like that, I don't know why), to spend a period as Gatekeeper at a sacred or other important spot? In the legend of Diana Nemorensis (link), the successful challenger of the priest/king/guardian of Nemi took his place. This perhaps could be a danger to PCs whose general approach to NPCs is to murderhoboerise them, if the result of defeating that Gatekeeper and taking his magic weapons/armour, or generally doing the thing the Gatekeeper was trying to prevent, is to find yourself under a Curse or Geas, or just ordered by the Temple hierarchy/Town Council, to stand guard at the same place and challenge the next comers - maybe, even members of your own party.

Of course, like Lancelot in Excalibur, it could be a way of acquiring a follower - defeating the Knight of the Glade in some non-fatal way means s/he decides that the PC is a hero worth following and offers to serve as a hench-person, in perpetuity or until some specific time has elapsed or some event has been completed ('why, if you journey on to the Shrine of Artemis, I will accompany you there and offer thanks to the Divine Lady, and ask of Her where next my quest should take me').

This could all equally be in a dungeon context. If Room 3.16 has a fountain that dispenses water equivalent to a Healing potion, but the PCs need to defeat a Gatekeeper to access it, then they may find that one of their number (the highest-hp warrior, the PC that delivered the death-blow, the first to drink from the fountain, the one who fails most spectacularly to make a Save against spells) is Cursed or Geased to become the new Gatekeeper, either until defeated in turn or for a set period (a year-and-a-day, a month, a night) - or maybe the Keeper of the Fountain is released from the Curse that binds them, and is free to accompany the party for a time. This could all be tied to rumours known about the dungeon - legends that there is a healing fountain guarded by a succession of knights, or a single knight that never dies, or that a specific knight was cursed to serve as the Gatekeeper of the fountain.

I feel there is a certain amount to explore here, especially as it relates to the Fortunate Isles (a place rife with such things in my gameworld-in-my-head) and in general to Arthurian and Greek legend (which is basically the mythic background to most of the southern part of my game setting anyway).

The Obsidian Knife (magic item)

This knife has a blade made of obsidian and has a bone handle (what bone is not immediately clear), bound with copper wire. It is vastly older than most of the items in the campaign world, pre-dating the rise of civilised humanity by many millennia.

Adapted from here: http://www.greatbasinart.com/custom-obsidian-knives.html

The Obsidian Knife has been used over thousands of years to kill sacrificial victims and is Cursed. A PC who possesses the Obsidian Knife will not want to part with it, and must contend with its baleful influence. It is usable as a normal dagger, which has no bonus to hit but does d4+1 damage; a PC who has the Obsidian Knife will want to use it in hand-to-hand combat (make a roll against WIS to use a different melée weapon).

It is not in combat that the Obsidian Knife shows its most insidious power however. If a PC is in a position of having a helpless human, demi-human or humanoid victim in her/his power (a bound prisoner, an unconscious enemy or even a sleeping friend), then the PC must Save v Spells or be compelled to slay the powerless individual with the Obsidian Knife. If the victim is a friend (another PC or NPC member of the party) they can Save at +2.

Should the Save be failed (or, if the PC just wants to kill the helpless individual), the PC automatically succeeds in killing the victim. The PC temporarily gains 1hp for every HD that the victim possessed, even if this takes the PC above their current maximum. Round to the nearest HD (ie, 1/2HD, 1-1HD, 1+1HD all equal 1HD; 5+5HD and 6-4HD both equal 6HD). These hp are the first to be lost in combat or through other injury and cannot be Healed. At the next dark of the moon, the PC will fall unconscious (and unable to be revived) at sunset, and lose d4hp (no Save is possible). When they awake at sunrise they will have a cut on their body as if from the Obsidian Knife. If by any remote chance they are naked and being observed during their catatonic state, a gash without any visible cause will appear on their skin during the night. The next night, the same thing will happen, and every night following until the full moon, or until they have lost twice the number of hp that they gained from the magic of the Obsidian Knife, whichever is sooner, even if the extra hp have already been lost. Because the 'attacks' happen every night, there is no respite allowing regular healing to take place. In order to heal properly, some healing magic must be used over the days after the dark of the moon - unless the PC can tough it out and let the Obsidian Knife's magic run its course.

Example: Jord the 2nd-Level Fighter (11hp) has used the Obsidian Knife to kill a captured Minotaur which has 6HD; he gains 6hp, taking his total temporarily to 17hp. He looses 5hp in a fight before the next dark of the moon three nights later, and is then on 12hp. Having gained 6hp in total, he 'owes' the Obsidian Knife 12hp. That night, he loses 2hp. The next night, he loses 3hp. The following night, he loses 1hp. The night after, he loses 4hp. He is now down to 2hp, and could die the following night. 

A System from Bits, part II

The early versions of D&D are deadly for low-level characters, and characters stay at low levels for longer than in later iterations of the rules. By and large, the OSR clones have kept this deadly aspect of gaming, with some attempts to mitigate things slightly. In D&D (not AD&D) PCs died at 0hp, and at low levels Resurrection and suchlike spells are almost unknown. When a Thief or MU can likely be killed by a stray arrow, a single spear-thrust from a Goblin, or an undetected blade-trap; Elves, Halflings and Clerics only have a 50:50 chance of surviving the same; and Fighters and Dwarves only slightly better than average chance, there is perhaps a case for making some provision for character survival to be slightly less difficult.

I originally came across this rule on one of the many, and wonderful, OSR blogs; however, having lost a load of links due to a fried hard-drive a few years ago I've been unable to find the original source. If this is your rule, I’d like to thank you for making the PCs in my groups (both my 'New Old Campaign' group and my 'Naked Gaming' group) a little less fragile, and I'm sure my players would be similarly (perhaps even more) grateful. Also, please link to it if you recognise where I found this - I make no pretence that this is mine, and would happily give credit where it's due.

The point of this rule is to make combat just a little more survivable - but not infinitely so, and  at a cost. One of my players, who was careless enough to die twice in three sessions, saw his CON drop from 11 to 9 and suddenly realised that the next time he reached 0hp (he only had 3hp as I recall) he was more likely to die than survive. So even with this rule, players should still be cautious.

Elementary Staunching, or surviving at 0hp

This rule is designed to provide a mechanism that gives a PC a chance of survival when they reach 0hp. It is based on the following principles:

1.                   CON is a direct measure of physical resilience and used for all calculations using this rule;

2.                   surviving comrades can administer emergency first aid to a 0hp character;

3.                   surviving a traumatic injury will have a permanent effect on a PC’s future health.

Can't remember where the image is from, but it's Beowulf.

When a character sustains an injury that causes them to reach 0hp, to give them a chance of survival, the party may attempt ‘Elementary Staunching’. The application of the rule follows three steps. First, CONx10 is the number of seconds before the PC actually dies of blood-loss (easiest if using 10-second rounds but not exactly hard in any case). If combat goes on too long or the rest of the party cannot quickly reach the stricken character – or are themselves killed or incapacitated – then there is no-one to administer first-aid and the PC dies in CONx10 seconds.

If other characters are available to perform battlefield first-aid in time, then the player of the injured PC must roll a d20. If this number is greater than the PC’s CON stat, the PC has died of system shock or blood loss in any case; if it is equal or less than CON, then PC has survived this major injury. One point of CON is permanently removed, and converted to 1hp. Healing may then take place as normal.

Additional suggestions:

Negative hp: The amount of damage the PC took in excess of the amount to take them to 0hp (so, if a character with 4hp takes 7 points of damage they are conceptually on ‘-3hp’) is the number of hours before the character comes round and begins healing (ie in the above case for 3 hours the PC would be still on the point of death). If this number is greater than the PC’s CON, another CON roll must be successfully passed, or the PC still dies.

Permanent Injury: the PC or DM determines a body-part to be permanently injured. This may involve a penalty on any ability score (due to injured limb, hideous disfigurement, brain injury etc) or a permanent penalty on ‘to hit’ rolls for either melée or missile fire.

Building a system from bits

Eric Diaz over at the Methods & Madness blog has opened a new and interesting challenge - designing a game-system in modular fashion, one page at a time, and letting the user chose which rules to incorporate, so each person's 'rulebook' is a personal collection of hacks, mods and house-rules (in this post here).

I rather like it. I will be submitting some things I think including the rules for 'Elementary Staunching' that I use with both my gaming groups. Which means, I will have to write them up in a logically-organised and coherent fashion. Watch this space...

Imagination training 2

This followed the first by a couple of days: I certainly didn't stick to any timetable, and nor have I done any more. I'm not sure they're any better than the first lot - but of course, I was supposed to do this every day six days a week and that was just the first exercise in the training regime.

Results - finding out I'm not very disciplined, which is no surprise really.

Melarian

Cleric

Str 11

Int 6

Wis 13

Dex 9

Con 6

Cha 9

This tall cleric is earnest but not very clever. He always wears white robes and sings hymns to his god almost constantly.

Jerasor

Magic User

Str 11

Int 16

Wis 11

Dex 11

Con 8

Cha 9

This MU is always seen carrying a large tan-coloured sack, from which an improbable collection of things emerge.

Elorius

Fighter

Str 14

Int 12

Wis 12

Dex 13

Con 10

Cha 15

Dark-haired and always smiling, Elorius carries a distinctive curved sword that he claims he won from a Southland champion.

Ornferill

Cleric

Str 7

Int 16

Wis 17

Dex 15

Con 7

Cha 12

Young and beardless, Ornferill wears takes his devotion to his deity very seriously. He carries a long staff with blue feathers tied to the head.

Jaren

Magic User

Str 7

Int 13

Wis 8

Dex 9

Con 12

Cha 13

Jaren delights in fire-magic; her red robes are decorated with flames worked in gold thread.

Essuran

Magic User

Str 4

Int 11

Wis 9

Dex 8

Con 5

Cha 12

Essuran is a dour, pale-looking fellow with surprisingly piercing eyes. Many have wondered what terrible sorceries he has performed for he seems weakened by unnatural forces.

Threshold Calendar and Calendar of Issek redux

Just been over at Tower Of the Archmage for the Sunday Inspirational Image which, as it's a temple, reminded me that I need to do some work on my Church of Issek Calendar.

The Church of Issek is a development of a cult found in Deities and Demigods, from the Nehwon Mythos of Fritz Leiber. Issek's is a martyr-cult; all his avatars are people who have died while being tortured. In the original work, this is limited men on the rack; in my iteration, it can be men or women and any kind of torture. The illustration over at Tower of the Archmage is perfect as a giant cult statue of a female Saint of the Church of Issek, as far as I'm concerned.

The reason it needs work is that I've downloaded some more of the lovely Labrynth Lord stuff and gotten a lot more info about the Church of Law and Order that I'm patterning my Church of Issek on. Specifically, because I've now got the guide to the City of Dolmvey, I have a calendar for the city that conflicts in major ways with my putative calendar that I published when I only had a list of names of Saints derived from Brave the Labyrinth 5.

I will produce a hybrid. Where the difference between the two calendars is small, I will probably stick with what I have; where it is large, I will generally go with the 'official' calendar. This is because I suspect I'll be using other LL products in the future, and therefore sticking to what is already established seems more useful. But I can get away with minor variations I think. It's a long way from Threshold to Dolmvay (probably though not definitely the model I'll use for Specularum, which in my version of the Known World, is the seat of the Church of Issek in the same way Dolmvey is the seat of the Church of Law and Order), and Saints being celebrated a week adrift is not significant I think.

So; the Saints that have conflicts (not all the Saints I've used are listed for major festivals in Dolmvey, in fact only 12 out of my 48) are as follows (in the format Name: Official Date; My Date)

St Klaus: 20-27 Dec; 25 Dec - keep
St Johanna: 1-3 Feb; 15 Oct
St Valen: 1-31 Mar; 6 Apr - keep; in Dolmvey, festival lasts for month leading up to St Valen's Day
St Mari: 1 May; 26 Apr - keep
St Leandra: 21 Jun; 14 May
St Meschil: 28-30 Jun; 17 Aug
St Poul: 1 Jul; 26 Aug
St Aleena: 14-20 Aug; 14 March
St Ronand: 5 Sep; 1 Feb
St Garan: 26 Sep-3 Oct: 18 Aug
St Harald: 1 Nov; 27 Sep
St Lucilla: 10-17 Nov; 21 Jun

All the others will have to move I think. Some can possibly swap with others, and there are of course the 36 lesser Saints still on the calendar.

St Aleena can replace Sts Meschil and Garan on the 15 & 18 Aug (24 & 27 Lion by Threshold calendar) as her week-long feast last approximately from 14-20, and St Garan can move to replace St Harald at the end of Sep; St Johanna can replace St Ronand at the beginning of Feb. St Aleena can replace St Meschil in the middle of Aug. St Leandra can replace St Lucilla.

Having done the necessary replacements, I'm now left with 5 Saints (Aleena displaced 3 with her 5-day festival) and 3 days, so I'll generate another two days of religious holiday. These will be 3 Cow and 2 Twins (days 123 and 152) and will be sacred to St Luwagen of Castell and St Jon of Naponek respectively.

So the new calendar looks like this, for the religious calendar of the Church of Issek.

(Goat-month)
1 – Winter Solstice & New Year: Offerings to Issek
3 – Feast of St Klaus
17 – Feast of St Gregor of Carech
20 – Feast of St James

(Water-month)
1 – Feast of St Josep
11 – Feast of St Johanna
20 – Feast of St Wallis of the Hood
27 – Feast of St Margaret of Calesto
29 – Feast of St Bando

(Fish-month)
21 – Feast of St Sha-Un of Corrland
24 – Feast of St Callor

30 – Feast of St Pater of Willemsburg

(Sheep-month)
13 – Feast of St Valen of Vay
23 – Feast of St Beatrix

(Cow-month)

3 – Feast of St Luwagen of Castel

5 – Feast of  St Mari of Galask
23 – Feast of St Seth

24 – Feast of St Clarissa the Wild

(Month of the Twins)

2 – Feast of St Jon of Naponek

23 – Feast of St Kristoff

(Midsummer – 5 days)
3 – Feast of St Leandra the Lady of Blossoms (Summer Solstice)

(Crab-month)
7 – Feast of St Meschil the Prophet
9 – Feast of St Poul of the Shield
23 – Feast of St Carmichael (St Mikael the Victor)

(Lion-month)
8 – Feast of St Timhart of Paratime
24-30 – Festival of St Aleena the Beautiful

(Maiden-month)
4 – Feast of Sts Mincival and Tara the Sailor
13 – Feast of St Ronnad of the Flagon
30 – Feast of St Emiliana the Red

(Balance-month)
6 – Feast of St Garan
13 – Feast of St Raymont
21 – Feast of St Walden

(Scorpion-month)
5 – Feast of St Lucilla the Kind

10 – Feast of St Harald of Plenty 

18 – Feast of St Brandon the Navigator
26 – Feast of St Cuthbert (St Keth)

(Archer-month)
7 – Feast of St Alfar
14 – Feast of St Giles

In addition, there are various festivals which have some quantity of church approval, without necessarily being theologically or liturgically sanctioned. Some are connected with particular Saints, others with historical events or folk superstitions.

The whole month leading up to the Feast of St Valen of Vay (14 Fish to 12 Sheep) is a festival in Dolmvay, as well as a period especially important to the judiciary when courts are held across the Grand Duchy.

King's Tournament (21-27 Sheep) ending on King's Day is a week-long tournament in honour of the old Kings from before the dark times of the Slave Lords, who invaded the Grand Duchy from Southern Ylaruam around 200 years ago.

The Spring Festival is celebrated as part of the Feast of St Mari on 5 Cow, with betrothals, the gathering of flowers and decorating the home.

The Festival of Planting takes place at the Summer Solstice, and is regarded as part of the general Midsummer celebrations connected with St Leandra of the Flowers.

Liberation Day takes place on 20 Twins, celebrating the defeat of the Army of Slave Lords.

Harvest Festival takes place - hopefully! - on 13 Maiden, to coincide with the Feast of St Ronnad of the Flagon. It is regarded as bad luck if the harvest is not gathered by this date.

Ancestor Night on 9 Scorpion is a celebration of deceased family members, who it is believed can influence events in the family for good and ill.

The Night of Blood on 10 Scorpion, coinciding with the Feast of St Harald, is the traditional time for slaughtering the stock before winter. It is also a time when executions are especially likely.

Midwinter (27 Archer- 3 Goat), culminating in the Feast of St Klaus, is a week-long festival of gift-giving and jollity.

So now I need to go back and do the Threshold Calendar... but not tonight.

Imagination training

Over at Monsters and Manuals, Noisms has proposed an exercise regime for imaginations to aid DMs in flexing their creative muscles (post here).

Some of it, I think is a little impractical (though, also, it isn't I think intended to be entirely serious). For imagineers without much time, the recommendations (if I understand them correctly) are to spend ((5+10)x6)+(5x5) minutes making up characters, 6 days a week. That's basically two hours a day just rolling up characters.

I know there's absolutely no way I have that kind of time. But I did about 15 minutes on Sunday, and may manage some more tonight.

These will all become NPCs, though when I'm going to be able to have another game I really don't know.

Karron

Fighter

Str 10

Int 9

Wis 9

Dex 6

Con 15

Cha 10

Worked in the docks as a porter. Clumsy but tough, he has a shaved head and tattooed face.

Shurastan

Magic User

Str 6

Int 14

Wis 9

Dex 7

Con 11

Cha 8

Bookish rather than imposing, she always caries a lamp to symbolise the enlightenment she brings.

Talis

Dwarf

Str 14

Int 7

Wis 7

Dex 13

Con 15

Cha 15

Otherwise gregarious and affable, this dwarf has taken a vow to speak as little as possible. Her quiet generosity however wins hearts and minds.

Noran

Fighter

Str 15

Int 9

Wis 11

Dex 6

Con 11

Cha 8

This bearded fellow looks very striking in a long yellow tunic and purple cloak.

Jevar

Thief

Str 10

Int 9

Wis 14

Dex 17

Con 15

Cha 17

This charming rogue wears a many-coloured scarf at all times. At times, it serves as a mask when he is engaged in his audacious robberies.

Pod Larvorn

Halfling

Str 17

Int 10

Wis 12

Dex 14

Con 15

Cha 10

This Hobbit’s nose is rather long, and he has taken to decorating it with small gold hooped nose-rings.

Dreilar

Magic User

Str 9

Int 12

Wis 10

Dex 11

Con 10

Cha 8

Stick-thin, this MU always appears in public surrounded by clouds of incense, which he insists help with his rituals.