Archive
February’s Monster of the Month: The Abbey Lubber
A perfect nuisance to enliven a stay at a monastery – and if you prefer inns or private houses, the buttery spirit and the clurichaun are quite similar!
As usual, you get 3d6/d20 and d100 stats, stat guidelines for other systems, plus three adventure seeds (fantasy, historical, and modern). There are also case studies from medieval Germany and 17th-century England.
The members’ vote for February was tied between this little beauty and the lamia, so March’s Monster of the Month is decided! Look forward to her mythological origins and some intriguing differences from the versions you’ll find in many games.
Join the club at https://www.patreon.com/MonsteroftheMonthClub. Paid memberships start at just $1 per month!
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WFRP 1 Easter Eggs: Power Behind the Throne, Part 2
Last week’s post covered most of the silly names in Power Behind the Throne, and sharp-eyed readers called out a few more in the comments. This week, I’m moving on to the adventure itself.
The first thing I noticed, looking at the adventure content, is that there are an awful lot of minor NPCs with names that probably bear investigation. Like those in last week’s post, they are probably the result of Carl’s sense of humor and his German dictionary. But I don’t want to present another list of names and translations here, so please, feel free to call them out in the comments.
The section on the Major Attractions of Carnival Week includes quite a few jokes, starting with the fake postcard by Paul Bonner on page 23. If you went anywhere fun in the 1980s, you sent picture postcards – there were no selfies, and no socials to post them on – and many postcards were multi-image jobs showing off the main attractions of the seaside town or wherever else you were staying. I thought it would be fun to spoof one of those, as well as an opportunity to illustrate multiple events in a limited space. Luckily, Paul Bonner agreed.
The flying displays at the Great Park are obviously inspired by the RAF’s Red Arrows and other aerobatic display teams. Actually, I’m rather surprised that Carl didn’t give the flying wizards a pun name referencing them directly.
The Black Pool Illuminations are a reference to the English seaside town of Blackpool and its annual festival of lights, which has been running since 1897 and remains the high point of the town’s calendar.
Snotball is clearly a reference to football (soccer to American readers). In the first draft the sport used actual Snotlings, whose life among Orcs and Goblins had so inured them to all kinds of cartoonish abuse that being used as a ball didn’t seem that bad to them. Bryan Ansell did not like this at all, telling us that it was basically “tying up a small animal and kicking it to death.” In the final draft, this barbaric version of the game was placed in the distant past, and a ball was used instead. Carl’s writing often had to be toned down in this way.
Carl’s humor shows very clearly in the titles of the various plays and operas: The Barbarian of Seville, The Ring of the Nibble Unger Lied, and A Knight’s Midsummer Dream. I’m sure Rossini, Wagner, and Shakespeare would not have found Carl’s tribute as funny as we did.
The Dwarven Valley Choirs are a reference to Welsh male voice choirs, for which the nation is famed to this day. (In Love Actually, the policeman who makes Hugh Grant jump when he joins in the Christmas carol is Welsh.) According to English prejudices of the time, Wales was populated entirely by coal miners and shepherds, with the former providing an easy satirical jump to Dwarves.
Another instance of Carl sticking one toe over the line of good taste was Guiseppi Pastrami’s Luccinian Liturgical Castrates Choir. This is a clear reference to the 16th-century Italian practice of castrating choirboys to prevent their voices deepening with puberty, and frankly I’m surprised it made it into print.
Finally, there are the Ice Dance Championships. The favorite, an Elf named Torvyll Undean, is a reference to the record-breaking duo Jayne Torville and Christopher Dean, who were the pride of Britain throughout the 1980s. Little-remembered today, they were household names at the time and to make any reference to skating without mentioning them would have been unthinkable.
It’s well known that the Purple Hand storyline comes to a screeching halt after the defeat of Karl-Heinz Wasmeier, their supreme leader or Magister Magistri. At the time, we intended that the cult would retreat, regroup, let people think it had been destroyed, and return later under new leadership, but that never had a chance to happen. Something Rotten in Kislev took the campaign in a completely unexpected direction, and Empire in Flames was rushed out to bring the campaign to an end after GW management lost interest.
Heinrich Todbringer was nothing more than a name at the time Power Behind the Throne was written. The intention, as far as I remember it, was to have him come back and possibly become Emperor in the conclusion to the campaign, ushering in a new age in the history of the Empire. I’ll have more to say about that when I cover Empire in Flames.
In general, the major NPCs were set up in such a way as to offer the GM a series of “gotcha” moments to spring on their players. Most of them were so flawed, or so fundamentally unlikeable, that it would be easy for a party to dismiss or offend the very character who was their key to unlocking the next part of the social puzzle – leaving them with some serious groveling to do, or the need to find some other way around the difficulty. The whole adventure is an elaborately-constructed social minefield, as generations of players have discovered.
Much has been made of Golthog, the Ogre mercenary in the “Chaos Strikes by Night” section – especially the fleeting suggestion that he might be used as a replacement PC if needed. That was me. As I said in an earlier post, I had a bee in my bonnet at the time about making Ogres available as player characters, and this was my way of trying to force the issue by stealth. I wanted players to spot this and start demanding to play Ogre characters, so that GW would have to green-light my proposed supplement. It didn’t work.
…and that’s everything I can remember, at least for now. If anything comes up, I’ll drop it in a comment, and if you spotted anything I missed, or if you have any questions, let me have them and I’ll do my best to answer.
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And Also…
July’s Monster of the Month is posted on my Patreon page.
The brunnmigi is a fox-like trickster that fouls wells and other sources of fresh water with its urine. This 5-page, system-agnostic, PDF monster toolkit includes:
- Stat guidelines for d20-based, d100-based, and – through comparisons with common creatures from most settings – all other tabletop roleplaying systems.
- A full monster description with lists of basic and optional skills and traits.
- Three adventure seeds, covering fantasy, historical, and modern settings.
The Monster of the Month Club As a member, you can expect regular, in-depth treatments of creatures from worldwide myth and folklore—some familiar, some not—in a system-agnostic format that is easy for an experienced GM to use with the tabletop rpg system of their choice.
Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/MonsteroftheMonthClub, follow us @MotMClub, or email rpgmonsterclub@yahoo.com.
January’s Monster of the Month
Happy New Year to Monster of the Month Club members! January’s Monster of the Month just posted.
In Danish folklore, a helhest (‘hell horse’) is a churchyard revenant, active at night and attacking any living person it finds within its territory. When a helhest appears, disease is sure to follow.
This 5-page product includes:
- Stat guidelines for 3d6/d20-based, d100-based, and other tabletop roleplaying systems.
- A full monster description with lists of basic and optional skills and traits.
- Two case studies from Danish folklore.
- Three adventure seeds, covering fantasy, historical, and modern settings.
The Monster of the Month Club
As a member of the Monster of the Month Club, you can expect regular, in-depth treatments of creatures from worldwide myth and folklore—some familiar, some not—in a system-agnostic format that is easy for an experienced GM to use with the tabletop rpg system of their choice.
Back us on Patreon at patreon.com/MonsteroftheMonthClub, join us on Discord, follow us on socials @MotMClub, or email rpgmonsterclub@yahoo.com.
Advanced Heroquest: The Quest Machine, Part 3
The outtakes from Advanced Heroquest Undead Supplement (published as Terror in the Dark) continue this week with the first two neutral locations from the quest generation system: Cemetery and Place of Legend. Next weekend I’ll post two more: Underground Battlefield and Dwarfhold Tomb Complex.
Just like my mention of Heinrich Kemmler in a previous instalment, the quests for these two locations include multiple references to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Deedesveld Burial Ground comes from something I wrote for the Marienburg series in White Dwarf, which eventually saw print in Anthony Ragan’s Marienburg: Sold Down the River, while the Yetzin Valley is the setting for the four original Doomstones adventures (Fire in the Mountains, Blood in Darkness, Death Rock, and Dwarf Wars), which is also where the names of the Orcs Torgoch and Radzog come from.
CEMETERY
The great burial-ground of Deedesveld covers almost half of the island of Riddra in the great city-port of Marienburg. Centuries ago, the site was occupied by the living – a great thieves’ kitchen called Breedmoers, full of rogues of every kind. The authorities despaired of ever bringing law to the place, and razed it to the ground, using the land for a cemetery. But some say that smugglers’ caves and passages may still be found in the rock beneath the tombs, and that the dead of Deedesveld are as active as the living who may still be found there…
Quests
Roll once on the following table to discover why the Heroes are going into the Deedesveld graveyard:
D12 Quest
1-3 Find the Smugglers
4-6 Destroy the Wreckers’ Shrine
7 Morr’s Quest
8-10 Ghoul Hunt
11-12 The Captain’s Helm
Find the Smugglers
Players’ Information
Among the passages and catacombs of Deedesveld are the remains of basements and tunnels dating back to the time of Breedmoers. Many of them are still used by smugglers to land and store illicit cargoes under the very noses of the authorities. There is a standing reward for the capture of smugglers and their cargoes – just the sort of ‘odd job’ that Heroes do in between major Quests.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: see below
Wandering Monsters: see below
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: see below
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
Whenever you need to generate lair occupants or wandering monsters, roll a D12. On a roll of 1-8, use the Unoccupied Complex table; on a roll of 9-12, use the Undead Lairs table, re-rolling a result of 12. Generate the tomb complex in the normal way, except that Quest rooms will always be stairs down.
Each time the Heroes find a secret door, you should roll a D12 – a roll of 12 or more means that they have found the smugglers’ lair. Add 1 for each secret door they have already discovered, and 1 for each Fate Point they spend to increase their chances. Players must decide to spend Fate Points before the dice is rolled.
The smugglers count as 3 men-at-arms and 1 sergeant, but are armed with swords instead of halberds. The Heroes get 10GCs for each smuggler they kill – how they divide up the money is up to them. Any Hero who searches a sarcophagus on this Quest must spend a Fate Point or pay a 50GC fine at the end of the Quest.
Destroy the Wreckers’ Shrine
Players’ Information
The graveyard of Deedesveld stands atop steep cliffs, and wreckers sometimes light false beacons there to lure ships to their doom on the rocks below. Some wreckers are simple criminals, who steal the cargo from the ships they run aground; others are followers of the evil cult of Stromfels, who cause the deaths of innocent mariners to further their dark designs. The authorities of Marienburg have found evidence of a wrecker-cult operating from Deedesveld, and suspect that there is a shrine of the cult of Stromfels somewhere in the passages beneath it. Your Quest is to find and destroy the evil shrine.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: see below
Wandering Monsters: see below
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: see below
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
Whenever you need to generate lair occupants or wandering monsters, roll a D12. On a roll of 1-8, use the Unoccupied Complex table; on a roll of 9-12, use the Undead Lairs table, re-rolling a result of 12. Any tomb robbers encountered will in fact be wreckers. Generate the complex normally, except that the first two Quest rooms will be stairs down. The third will be the wreckers’ shrine.
To complete the Quest, the Heroes must spend a full exploration turn there, destroying the trappings of the evil cult. They will receive a reward of 50GCs for finding and destroying the shrine, plus a bounty of 10GCs for each wrecker they kill. Any Hero who searches a sarcophagus on this Quest must spend a Fate Point or pay a 50GC fine at the end of the Quest.
Morr’s Quest
Players’ Information
The Heroes have each received a vision from Morr, the guardian of the dead. A burial took place two days ago in Deedesveld, but the young man who was buried wasn’t dead – he was only in a coma. The Heroes must find and rescue him before he truly dies, otherwise he might become a terrible undead monster! According to the vision, the young man’s tomb was on the third level below ground, but other than that, the Heroes must find it for themselves.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: see below
Wandering Monsters: see below
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: see below
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
This Quest is failed if it is not completed in a single visit – the young man must be rescued quickly! Whenever you need to generate lair occupants or wandering monsters, roll a D12. On a roll of 1-8, use the Unoccupied Complex table; on a roll of 9-12, use the Undead Lairs table, re-rolling a result of 12. Generate the complex normally, except that the first two Quest rooms will be stairs down.
There are no Quest rooms on the third level – re-roll any rolls which generate a Quest room. On the third level, roll a D12 each time the Heroes find a sarcophagus, adding 1 for each sarcophagus they have discovered on the third level, and 1 for each Fate Point they spend to increase their chances. Players must decide to spend Fate Points before the dice is rolled. On a roll of 12 they have found the unfortunate young man who was buried alive. Use the Victim Character Sheet for him.
If the Heroes get the young man out of the graveyard alive, they each gain 1 Fate Point, as a blessing from Morr. Any Hero who searches a sarcophagus on this Quest – except on the third level – must spend a Fate Point or pay a 50GC fine at the end of the Quest. The same applies to any Hero who takes treasure from a sarcophagus on the third level.
Ghoul Hunt
Players’ Information
Deedesveld has become infested by a nest of Ghouls! You must go into the tombs, kill every Ghoul you find, and discover their lair. You can claim a bounty of 10 GCs for each Ghoul you slay while on this Quest.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: see below
Wandering Monsters: Undead Wandering Monsters table
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: Ghoul table
If referred to a Followers table: Ghoul table
The first and second Quest rooms encountered will both be stairs down to a deeper level; the third will be their lair, containing a Ghoul Chieftain and a number of Ghouls indicated by one roll on the Ghoul table. To complete the Quest, the Heroes must find and slay the Ghoul Chieftain.
The Captain’s Helm
Players’ Information
Captain Karl Avermans was a great Hero who fought to save Marienburg from the forces of Chaos two hundred years ago. He was buried in a great tomb in Deedesveld, and has lain there ever since. Now, on the 200th anniversary of his death, a new monument is to be built, in the middle of the city. The authorities want to recover the Captain’s helmet from his tomb, so that it can be displayed on top of the new monument.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: see below
Wandering Monsters: see below
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: see below
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
Whenever you need to generate lair occupants or wandering monsters, roll a D12. On a roll of 1-8, use the Unoccupied Complex table; on a roll of 9-12, use the Undead Lairs table, re-rolling a result of 12. Generate the complex normally, except that the first two Quest rooms will be stairs down. The third Quest room is the tomb of Captain Avermans.
Although he fought heroically against Chaos, it has had its effect on him – he is now a Ghoul Chieftain, and will fight intruders until destroyed. Once he has been dealt with, the Heroes can recover his helmet and take it back to the authorities to claim a 50GC reward. Any Hero who searches a sarcophagus on this Quest must spend a Fate Point or pay a 50GC fine at the end of the Quest.
PLACE OF LEGEND
Deep in the forests of the Yetzin Valley, on the fringes of the Border Princes, stands a monument known to the locals as The Watchers on the Hill. A wide circle of standing stones, it was raised thousands of years ago by the followers of the Old Faith. A complex of tunnels and chambers was made beneath the stones and for centuries it served as a sanctuary for all those who followed this cult of nature, until a hundred years ago the Yetzin Valley was overrun by an army of Orcs. The complex was all but destroyed, and all in it perished. Now, some explorers have returned from these wild lands claiming to have found the Watchers on the Hill, just as the Orcs left the place.
Quests
Roll once on the following table to discover why the Heroes are going into the underground complex beneath the stone circle:
D12 Quest
1-3 Monster Hunt
4-6 The Crystal of Fire
7-9 Cleanse the Shrine
10-12 Torgoch’s Kin
Monster Hunt
Players’ Information
The first stage in restoring this holy place is to clear out the monsters that have infested it since the Orcs came. The Orcs are all dead now – they left the valley after only a few years – but other creatures have entered the desecrated complex in the Orcs’ wake.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: Disturbed Complex table
Wandering Monsters: Disturbed Complex table
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: Disturbed Complex table
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
There are no stairs out (other than those the Heroes came in by), so replace this result on the Passage End table with Dead End. The Quest ends when the Heroes have completely cleared the complex of monsters – when every passage has been followed to a dead end and no more doors remain to be opened. This may take some time! There is no Quest room on the third level – re-roll this result if it is generated by the Room Type table.
The Crystal of Fire
Players’ Information
The Orc chieftain, Torgoch, is said to lie somewhere in the complex, along with his magical Crystal of Fire. This powerful magical treasure enabled him to conquer most of the Yetzin valley, but his troops began fighting among themselves and deserted him. The Crystal of Fire is the kind of treasure which few Heroes can resist!
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: Disturbed Complex table
Wandering Monsters: Disturbed Complex table
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: Disturbed table
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
There are no stairs out (other than those the Heroes came in by), so replace this result on the Passage End table with Dead End. The third Quest room is the chamber where Torgoch lies with his magical treasure. Torgoch is a Liche, and will fight until destroyed, using the Crystal of Fire. The Crystal can be used by any wizard, and can cast each spell of the Bright Wizards once per day, without any need for components – it can even cast spells its user doesn’t know!
Cleanse the Shrine
Players’ Information
At the heart of the complex lies a powerful shrine of the Old Faith, said to have been carved out of an immense Dawnstone the size of a house. The Heroes must find this shrine and re-dedicate it, by leaving a smaller Dawnstone there to reactivate the shrine’s powers.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: Disturbed Complex table
Wandering Monsters: Disturbed Complex table
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: Disturbed Complex table
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
There are no stairs out (other than those the Heroes came in by), so replace this result on the Passage End table with Dead End. The third Quest room is the shrine at the heart of the complex.
The Heroes have a Dawnstone (with 12 Fate Points) at the start of the quest, which they must leave in the shrine. This is a normal Dawnstone as described in the Advanced Heroquest rulebook, and the Heroes may use it if they need to during the Quest. However, each time they use the Dawnstone they place their Quest in jeopardy.
When the Heroes reach the shrine, roll a D12. If the result is equal to or less than the number of Fate Points left in the Dawnstone, the shrine is successfully re-activated and the Quest has been successful if not, the Dawnstone does not have enough power left and the Quest has failed! Heroes who complete the Quest successfully gain 1 Fate Point each.
Torgoch’s Kin
Players’ Information
The Orc chieftain, Torgoch, is said to lie somewhere in the complex, along with his magical Crystal of Fire. Now, a descendant of his named Radzog has come to claim the treasure, at the head of another Orc army! Unless the Heroes can get to the Crystal first, the consequences could be terrible.
GM’s Information
Lair Occupants: Disturbed Complex table
Wandering Monsters: Disturbed Complex table, but re-roll all Skaven, Tomb Robbers and Chaos Thugs results
Wandering Monster Dungeon Counters: Disturbed Complex table, but re-roll all Skaven, Tomb Robbers and Chaos Thugs results
If referred to a Followers table: re-roll
Take a Chaos Sorcerer Character Monster Counter to represent Radzog. He has the statistics and weapons of an Orc Warchief, but uses the same spells as a Chaos Sorcerer – you will find both in the Advanced Heroquest rulebook.
The first two Quest rooms will be stairs down. There are no stairs out (other than those the Heroes came in by), so replace this result on the Passage End table with Dead End.
Each time the Heroes encounter a Quest room on the third level of the complex, roll a D12. On a roll of 1-9 it is actually a Hazard room, and the GM may take one Dungeon Counter – the Orcs are well ahead of the Heroes, and consolidating their position in the complex! On a roll of 10-12, the Quest room is the chamber where Torgoch lies with his magical treasure.
If the Heroes haven’t met and killed Radzog elsewhere, he will be in this room, with the Crystal of Fire and minions represented by any unused Dungeon counters. He will use the Crystal of Fire against the Heroes, and will fight to the death rather than surrender it. The Quest ends when Radzog is killed and the Heroes have captured the Crystal and taken it out of the complex. The Crystal can be used by any wizard, and can cast each spell of the Bright Wizards once per day, without any need for components – it can even cast spells its user doesn’t know!
All Posts in this Series
The Quest Machine, Part 1: Royal Tombs and Monument
The Quest Machine, Part 2: Monastery Catacombs and Sanctuary of Morr
The Quest Machine, Part 3: Cemetery and Place of Legend
The Quest Machine, Part 4: Underground Battlefield and Dwarfhold Tomb Complex
The Quest Machine, Part 5: Necromancer’s Lair and Evil City
The Quest Machine, Part 6: Overrun Necropolis and Vampire’s Stronghold
Advanced Heroquest: Dark Wizards
Carrying on from the previous posts (Fiction, New Hazards, and Undead Monsters), here are some more outtakes from my manuscript for Advanced Heroquest Undead Supplement, parts of which became Terror in the Dark. This time, as promised, it’s Dark Wizards.
Terror in the Dark includes rules and spells for Light Wizards, and my original plan was to add Dark Wizards as well, to support spellcasting enemies such as Liches and some Vampires. Carl gave Liches two new spells, which weren’t included in my manuscript: here are some more.
The Dark Wizards
The Wizards of the Dark College are regarded with fear and distrust by all decent folk. Although not all evil Wizards belong to the Dark College, it is certainly true that all Dark Wizards are evil. They are searchers in forbidden places, desecrators of tombs, and they violate the most sacred laws of life and death. The Advanced Heroquest rulebook features a few Dark Wizards in its section of reference tables; the following pages give full drtails of the Dark College and its magic, since most of the spellcasters listed in Undead are Dark Wizards. Dark Wizard spells cannot be learned by Heroes.
The colour of the Dark Wizards is black, although some may also use dark greys and browns. Their symbol is an eight-spoked wheel, or an eight-pointed star, or a spider in its web; the eight spokes, or points, or strands of the web symbolise the main tenet of the Dark College – that someone who has the power can move in any direction he pleases, and do anything he pleases. Another symbol favoured by the Dark Wizards is a black triangle, point-down. According to magical theory, above all colours is light and beneath all colours is darkness – the triangle symbolises the ‘Cone of Darkness’ upon which stand all colours of magic.
Among some evil races, such as Skaven, Dark Wizards hold a respected position. Among Humans and other good races, they are feared and outcast. Dark Wizards are usually contemptuous of all others, and keep themselves to themselves, although they may have servants and followers of their own. They are unlikely to have many friends, however. Necromancers, Liches, Vampires and many other kinds of evil Wizards belong to the Dark College.
Like Wizards of other Colleges, Dark Wizards each have a spell book, and may only use those spells which they have learned and inscribed in their spell books. The following page gives the Dark Wizard’s spell book in full.
Random Spells
Evil spellcasters in the Advanced Heroquest rulebook are given specific spells, but it can be a lot more interesting if spells are chosen randomly, so that the Heroes – and their players – never know what an encountered evil spellcaster might throw at them!
The spellcasting creatures listed of this book each have a number of spells – for example, a Liche can cast 5 Dark Wizard spells. When a spellcasting creature is encountered, use the following table to find out what spells he – or it – can cast. Roll once for each spell the creature can cast.
Don’t worry if you roll a particular spell more than once – that just means that the creature can cast it more than once.
You can allot random spells to the spellcasting creatures listed in the Advanced Heroquest rulebook, if you like – simply ignore the spells given on their reference sheets and roll on the table above, as follows:
Dark Wizard’s Spell Book
Note: There’s a note in my manuscript which specifically says that none of the spells listed should be marked as starting spells. I don’t remember why, exactly, but it was probably to support random generation of spells.
CHOKE
Component: Vial of Swamp Gas
The victim suddenly clutches his throat and has great trouble breathing. Dark wisps of smoke begin to seep from his mouth and nostrils as his lungs fill with noxious fumes.
Select a single target within the caster’s line of sight. The target may only stagger one square per turn for the next 3 turns (the model’s player makes this move). Unless the caster has been killed in the meantime, the victim dies from asphyxiation at the end of the third turn.
FIREBALL
Component: Pinch of Warpstone
A ball of black fire with blue and yellow flames licking at the edges hurtles from the caster’s hand towards the chosen target. Place a fireball template anywhere within 12 squares of the caster along his line of sight. Any models (friend or foe) which fall wholly or partly under the fireball template are automatically hit. Roll 5 damage dice to see what effect each hit has.
FLAMING SKULL OF TERROR
Component: Silver Daemon Statue
As he finishes the incantation, the caster seems to grow horns and fangs, his fingers lengthen into great talons, huge scale fall over his eyes and he utters a bestial roar. He is treated as a Fearsome monster until play next returns to exploration turns.
CREATE UNDEAD SERVANTS
Component: Enchanted Bone
As the caster finishes his incantation, the ground begins to heave slightly, then buckles upwards as four Skeletons pull themselves out of the earth, ready to obey his commands. Place a fireball template anywhere withing 12 squares of the caster, along his line of sight. The template may not be placed wholly or partly in the death zone of any living creature. The Skeletons appear in the area covered by the template, one to a square.
SPECTRAL HAND
Component: Dried hand of hanged criminal
The caster gestures with the hand, and a spectral blow strikes one living creature within 12 squares of the caster along his line of sight. The blow automatically connects, and the caster rolls 2 damage dice. Armour does not add to the target’s Toughness unless it is magical. The Spectral Hand is capable of wounding Invulnerable creatures as if they weren’t Invulnerable.
BECOME ETHEREAL
Component: Vial of grave dust
As the caster chants the incantation for this spell, his body becomes less solid, until it is possible to see right through it. When the incantation is complete, the caster is ethereal – just like an Ethereal monster (see previous post). He can walk through walls, locked doors and other obstructions. It can also fly over hazards like pits and chasms. Because he isn’t solid, he can’t attack other creatures with non-magical hand-to-hand or ranged weapons, and normal weapons simply pass right through him, causing no damage at all. Magical weapons and spells cause damage as normal. The spell lasts until the beginning of the nest exploration turn.
STEAL LIFE
Component: Coffin splinter
The caster points at a single living creature within 12 squares along his line of sight, and tendrils of black mist begin to rise from the ground around this chosen victim. They wrap around the victim’s legs, draining the life-energy from him. The victim loses as many Wounds as are shown by the roll of one dice; do not roll conventional damage dice for this spell. The spell automatically dies down at the end of the next turn.
VORTEX OF CHAOS
Component: Pinch of Warpstone dust
The caster flings the Warpstone dust into the air, and it gathers into a terrifying whirlwind of primal Chaos, one square wide, and moves directly away from him for 12 squares before dissipating. As it moves, it destroys everything it touches, sucking it into the heart of Chaos where it is lost forever.
The Vortex makes a hole in any wall it encounters, just like the Bright Wizards’ spell The Bright Key. When it encounters a hazard or other feature, it destroys it. When the Vortex passes through the death zone of a Hero or monster, roll a dice and compare it to the model’s Speed; if the dice roll is equal to or less than the model’s Speed, it has avoided the vortex, otherwise it is sucked into Chaos and destroyed. Heroes may expend a Fate Point to avoid this.
BEAM OF CHAOS
Component: Polished Warpstone lens
By uttering the incantation, the caster causes light to be focussed through the Warpstone lens, picking up some of the essence of Chaos in the process. The result is a beam of roiling green light projecting 12 squares long along the caster’s line of sight. The beam has no effect on stone walls and other obstructions, but every living thing in the line of the beam must expend a Fate Point or lose Wounds equal to the score rolled on two dice; do not roll conventional damage dice for this spell.
WALL OF DARKNESS
Component: Scrap of a Ghost’s winding-sheet
As he finishes the incantation, the caster holds the scrap of cloth in the air, and it appears to expand and darken, making a wall of darkness up to 12 squares wide, 2 squares deep and as high as the passage or room. The wall of darkness block line of sight, and ranged weapons cannot be thrown or fired through it; neither can spells. Living creatures – including Heroes – must make a successful test against Bravery to enter the darkness. The spell lasts until the beginning of the nest exploration turn.
ZONE AGAINST LIFE
Component: Small bag of grave earth
The caster draws a circle on the floor with the earth as he chants the incantation. Living creatures – including Heroes – cannot cross the line until the beginning of the next exploration turn, although ranged weapons may be thrown or fired into the circle. Undead creatures inside the circle add 3 to their Toughness; this bonus is lost if they move out of the circle, or when the spell ends.
SUMMON UNDEAD CHAMPION
Component: Dragon tooth
Completing the incantation, the caster throws the Dragon tooth onto the ground – on any square in his death zone which is not already occupied – and an Undead Champion appears on the spot, ready to follow the caster’s orders. Once summoned, an Undead Champion remains until destroyed. If the caster of the summoning spell is killed, the Undead Champion attacks the nearest living creature, and continues to do so until no more living creatures are in sight. Then it becomes dormant until a living creature enters its line of sight again.
So there you have it. Just one note on the spell components – I was clearly just making things up. As far as I know, none of these items actually exists in Heroquest or Advanced Heroquest, so if you enforce spell components strictly in your game, I’m afraid you’re on your own.
All Posts in this Series
The Quest Machine, Part 1: Royal Tombs and Monument
The Quest Machine, Part 2: Monastery Catacombs and Sanctuary of Morr
The Quest Machine, Part 3: Cemetery and Place of Legend
The Quest Machine, Part 4: Underground Battlefield and Dwarfhold Tomb Complex
The Quest Machine, Part 5: Necromancer’s Lair and Evil City
The Quest Machine, Part 6: Overrun Necropolis and Vampire’s Stronghold
Advanced Heroquest: Undead Monsters
Carrying on from two previous posts (Fiction and New Hazards), here are some more outtakes from my manuscript for Advanced Heroquest Undead Supplement, parts of which became Terror in the Dark. This time, it’s the undead monsters.
Only four undead creatures made their way into Terror in the Dark: the Wight, Liche, Ghoul, and Vampire. You’ll find them here, too – with many others – because in a few cases, Carl Sargent made some changes while developing my manuscript. You can decide which versions you prefer.
Next week, I’ll post the section on Dark Wizards and their spells that is mentioned in the notes for some of the more powerful creatures. Until then, enjoy these horrors – and let me know what you think of them!
Before we get started, though, a note on the look of this post. WordPress isn’t the easiest when it comes to formatting tables, so I did the best I could – largely by creating the tables in Word and then pasting them in from screenshots. It’s not ideal, I know, and someone with greater skill could probably have made it look a lot better, but I’m hoping you’ll agree with me that it’s the information that really matters.
Anyway, enjoy!
UNDEAD
The undead were once human, but something terrible happened to them when they died. Instead of finding rest, they are cursed to walk the earth, often in the service of evil Wizards. Next to the vile forces of Chaos, the undead are the most frightening monsters in the world.
Ghoul
Like most undead, Ghouls were once human, but something went wrong when they were buried. Now, they haunt graveyards and other charnel places, feeding on the corpses of the dead – and if the living disturb them, they are not averse to live prey as well. A single Ghoul is not a very dangerous opponent, but a pack of them can be terrible indeed. Their filthy claws are poisonous, and their teeth are sharp and jagged.
Ghoul Chieftain
Ghost
A Ghost is the disembodied spirit of a dead person, which cannot find rest for some reason. The spirits of murder victims, and those who have not had a proper burial for any reason, often become Ghosts. A Ghost may follow and evil Wizard, doing his bidding in exchange for the promise of rest later on. Needless to say, these promises are seldom kept. Ghosts cannot attack physically, but their touch can rob even the greatest Hero of his courage, and send him screaming away.
Liche
A Liche is an evil Wizard who has managed to cheat death. Although his body is dead and continues to decay around him, the Liche’s mind is preserved by his foul sorcery, and he lives on – if this can be called living – to do greater and greater evil. Liches generally shun the world of the living, and surround themselves with undead servants created by their evil magic.
Mummy
Created by the mysterious enchantments of far-off Araby, a Mummy is a dead body wrapped in bandages and preserved for thousands of years. The chemical treatments that went into its making have hardened the Mummy’s skin and made it almost as tough as leather armour, while magic has been used to endow the Mummy with enough life to protect its tomb from tomb-robbers. Some evil Wizards make a practice of taking Mummies from their tombs and using them as magically-controlled servants and bodyguards.
Necromancer
A Necromancer is not undead, but has many dealings with them. He is an evil Wizard who specialises in the undead, and in time – if he discovers the right enchantments – he may become a Liche. Necromancers seldom have any living friends or servants, but this doesn’t bother them – the undead are more loyal and obedient.
Skeleton
The Skeleton is one of the weakest of the undead, and is simply a human skeleton animated by evil magic. Skeletons form the rank-and-file of most undead armies, and are the most common servants of Necromancers and other evil Wizards.
Skeleton Warrior
Skeleton Archer
Spectre
Like the Ghost, the Spectre is the disembodied spirit of a dead person. A Spectre is trapped between worlds because of a curse, or as a result of breaking an oath in its lifetime. Many Spectres have existed for so long that they no longer remember their lives, and some develop an obsessive hatred for the living. Although they cannot attack physically, a Spectre’s touch sends a deathly chill through its victim, which can kill as surely as a blade.
Undead Champion
The mortal remains of a Hero – or of a notorious evildoer – may be used by an evil Wizard to make a Skeleton warrior of better-than-average strength and skill. Undead Champions are sometimes placed in charge of undead troops by their masters.
Undead Warlord
When a very great Hero dies – or a very great villain, for that matter – his remains may still carry some of the greatness he possessed in life, and a Necromancer or other evil Wizard may be able to create an Undead Warlord. These powerful warriors are the greatest of all Skeletons, and a deadly foe indeed – some are so powerful that they can become undead leaders in their own right, commanding armies of Skeletons and other undead creatures.
Vampire
Vampires exist as the result of a curse or a tainted bloodline. Although dead, they look very much like living humans, until they open their mouths – then it is possible to see the fangs which they use to take blood from the living. An ancient and powerful Vampire Lord is a terrible foe, using magic in addition to his vampiric powers and followers. A lesser Vampire is more easily defeated, but still a deadly opponent.
Vampire Lord
Lesser Vampire
Wight
A Wight is another trapped spirit, like the Ghost and Spectre. It is held in the world of the living by an obsessive greed, jealously guarding the treasure with which it was buried. Misers who try to take their wealth with them will often become Wights, and they may also be found in ancient burial-mounds, which legends say may often hold great riches. Wights are more material than Ghosts, Wraiths and Spectres, and normally use weapons to defend their treasure.
Wraith
Wraiths are among the most feared of the ethereal undead. Some are trapped in the world of the living by a life of great evil, and others by curses and evil magic. All Wraiths hate the living, and will attack them on sight. Like the Ghost and Spectre, a Wraith cannot attack physically, but its touch saps the life-energy from a victim, leaving him weak and sometimes draining life completely away.
Zombie
A Zombie is very similar to a Skeleton, except that the flesh is still on the bones. Zombies are slower and a little less reliable than Skeletons, but some evil Wizards use them as guards and for other menial tasks.
Monster Abilities
As you’ll have seen from the monster reference sheets, all undead creatures are fearsome monsters. Some of them have other special rules, which you’ll find explained in the Advanced Heroquest rulebook. There are also some brand new special rules, which you won’t have seen before. These are explained below.
Ethereal
The Ghost, Spectre, Wight and Wraith are all ethereal, and some other monsters can become ethereal.
An ethereal creature isn’t solid, and can walk through walls, locked doors and other obstructions. It can also fly over hazards like pits and chasms. And because it isn’t solid, normal weapons simply pass right through it, causing no damage at all. Magical weapons and spells cause damage as normal.
Ethereal creatures can attack material beings (ie, anyone who isn’t ethereal!) in hand-to-hand combat as normal, but their attacks are always special – they can’t do normal damage because their blows pass right through a material target! These special attacks are explained elsewhere in this section.
A creature with the ability to become ethereal must spend a whole turn without moving or attacking anyone in order to do so. At the start of the next turn, it is ethereal. While it is ethereal, it cannot attack anyone in hand-to-hand combat – its blows pass right through them – but it may cast any spells it has in the usual way. Once the creature has become ethereal, it can become material again any time it wants, just by staying in the same spot for a full turn. At the start of the next turn, it is fully material.
Attack Causes Fear
The Ghost cannot attack physically, since its blows would simply pass through a solid target. However, it has developed a special attack of its own, which in some ways is worse than any sword. Instead of drawing blood, its cold, misty claws suck out a man’s courage.
When a Ghost attacks, make hit and wound rolls as normal, but compare the damage dice to the target’s Bravery instead of his Toughness. The target loses one Bravery point for each dice that scores equal to or higher than his current Bravery. Lost Bravery points are recovered in time for the next adventure.
Attack Causes Chill
The Spectre is one of the most terrible of the ethereal undead, even though in its misty, non-material state it cannot land a blow on a living victim. But its hands can reach through a man’s armour and clothing, and stop his beating heart with their deathly coldness.
When a Spectre attacks, make hit and wound rolls normally, but do not take the target’s armour into account unless it is magical armour. For each dice that scores equal to or higher than the target’s Toughness, the target loses 1 WS, 1 BS and 1 Sp – but no Wounds. If any of these scores reaches zero, the Hero dies. Lost points are recovered in time for the next adventure.
Attack Causes Weakness
Just as the Ghost drains a man’s courage and the Spectre steals his vitality, so the Wraith’s attack can rob even the mightiest Hero of his strength. Its spectral hands reach inside its victim’s body, and blight his muscles with the slackness of death.
When a Wraith attacks, make hit and wound rolls normally, but do not take the target’s armour into account unless it is magical armour. For each dice that scores equal to or higher than the target’s Toughness, the target loses 1 S, but no Wounds. If a Hero’s Strength score reaches zero, he dies. Lost points are recovered in time for the next adventure.
All Posts in this Series
The Quest Machine, Part 1: Royal Tombs and Monument
The Quest Machine, Part 2: Monastery Catacombs and Sanctuary of Morr
The Quest Machine, Part 3: Cemetery and Place of Legend
The Quest Machine, Part 4: Underground Battlefield and Dwarfhold Tomb Complex
The Quest Machine, Part 5: Necromancer’s Lair and Evil City
The Quest Machine, Part 6: Overrun Necropolis and Vampire’s Stronghold
Solasta: Worldbuilding an Award-Winning D&D 5e Setting
It all started in 2018, when I was contacted by Mathieu Girard, a game developer based in Paris. I had worked with him briefly some years before, when he was a producer at Ubisoft and he recruited me as a contractor for a third-party game. Since then, he had left Ubisoft, founded Amplitude Studios and sold it to SEGA, and now he was preparing to realize a long-held dream: to create a Dungeons & Dragons video game that would be completely faithful to the game rules and would bring the tabletop experience to the screen without compromises. And he was going to do it using the 5e OGL.
Over the course of a rainy week in December of that year, I met with creative lead Antoine Guillaud and lead game designer Xavier Penin at the offices of the newly-founded Tactical Adventures and we hammered out the basics of the world of Solasta. It was to be a high fantasy world with comparatively low magic, which was slowly returning after a great cataclysm.
Solasta had been a very magical world, dominated by a tyrannical elven empire but populated by many other peoples. It had no humans, no gods, and no clerics – until it collided with Tirmar. That world was Solasta’s opposite in many ways: humans were the only sentient species, and there was no magic except for that provided by gods and their clerics. A rebel god had opened a rift between dimensions, causing the two worlds to smash together; by the time Solasta’s greatest magicians had managed to close the rift, Solasta was studded with parts of Tirmar that had been pressed into it like two colors of clay kneaded together. There were humans, there were gods, and there was divine magic.
The elven empire fell. Whole lands and peoples were re-arranged, and after a century of chaos, a kind of stability was achieved. The area around the rift is still a monster-haunted wasteland, where adventurers search for lost magical treasures among the ruins of the fallen empire. As the new nations jockey for power, such relics are vital. Even as the nations plot against one another, they must face an external threat: the Sorr-Akkath, reptilian shapeshifters dedicated to serving the rebel god, who is trapped on this plane as a result of the cataclysm and plots to return to Tirmar – or whatever is left of it. Widely believed to have been wiped out during the cataclysm, they are becoming active once more, though few people believe they are anything more than a legend.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister was released for PC on Steam in 2021, and as part of the build-up to the game’s launch, a Kickstarter campaign offered a 5e tabletop sourcebook as one of the rewards. It made sense: we had designed everything using that ruleset, so the information was there; the world had been designed in enough detail that the book’s text was 90% ready; and there was a plentiful archive of concept art that we could use as illustration. The only thing TA didn’t have was expertise in laying out and producing a tabletop rpg sourcebook, but I knew someone who did.
At the same time as working on Solasta, I was working with Rookery Publications, an indie tabletop rpg publisher founded by Andy Law, who had been running the WFRP 4th edition line for Cubicle 7, former Games Workshop and Blizzard artist Mark Gibbons, and writers Lindsay Law and Andy Leask. With the Rookery’s help the sourcebook was released, looking every inch a “proper” 5e supplement.
The project had already caught the eye of Wizards of the Coast, who were not expecting anyone to produce a video game using the OGL, let alone a whole setting that straddled electronic and tabletop games. After a brief correspondence through lawyers, it was agreed that the sourcebook could go ahead, so long as it was only distributed to Kickstarter backers.
Crown of the Magister carried on, winning a Pegasus award from the French Academy of Video Game Arts and Technologies in 2022 alongside rave reviews across the board. An XBox version was released, and regular downloadable updates expanded the game and the story.
Relations with Wizards improved, and it was agreed that the sourcebook could be re-issued for public sale. Again thanks to the Rookery, it was revised and updated with new classes, creatures, and other information from the downloadable expansions, and it is now available to all from Modiphius Entertainment. And I couldn’t be happier.
I don’t know whether I’ll ever have the opportunity to return to Solasta, but I’m incredibly proud of what it’s become. Building fantasy worlds is one of my favorite things to do, especially with a great team like the ones at Tactical Adventures and the Rookery.
Links
The Solasta 5e sourcebook PDF on DriveThru (affiliate link)
The Solasta 5e hardback from Modiphius: US | UK
Crown of the Magister on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096530/Solasta_Crown_of_the_Magister/
So there you have it. On Saturday, I’ll return to Advanced Heroquest with the monsters from my 1991 “Advanced Heroquest Undead Supplement” manuscript that didn’t make it into “Terror in the Dark.”
The Moons of Arksyra: The d20/3.5 Setting You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of
In 2004, I was working in Boulder, Colorado for a pair of startup game developers. They shared the same ownership, management, and staff, but Hypernova Games focused on tabletop products and Evil Genius Games* developed video games. The Moons of Arksyra was the product of both.
When I arrived, the Arksyra IP was in the early stages of development. The lead writer had created the bones of a very interesting fantasy setting, in which several moons of a gas giant were linked by an ancient system of teleporters called the Giharan Towers. There were playable species, some familiar (like the elflike N’Miri) and some more novel (like the catlike Ky-Bril). My job was to help organize and strengthen the work already done, in preparation for pitching an adventure game to Sony for the soon-to-be released PS2. Then I had an idea.
The proposed video game would take several years and a lot of money to develop, even with backing from Sony – supposing we got it. Within six months, I estimated, we could put together a d20 System sourcebook which could bring in a little cash, establish the IP and the company in the minds of gamers, and if all went well, anchor a line of tabletop game products for Hypernova.
The book came out, and was uploaded in PDF form to DriveThruRPG, which was new then. The Playstation game was never finished, but Hypernova and Evil Genius did complete a couple of downloadable games before relations between the two principals – one creative, the other financial – deteriorated to the point where all communication was conducted through their lawyers. The twin companies lasted just about a year, although I have just discovered that the Hypernova Games brand has carried on under one of the original owners, and has achieved some success in developing casual games. Their website is at https://www.hypernovateam.com/.
The Moons of Arksyra setting went no further, but the PDF can still be downloaded from DriveThru. If you’re interested in my second major world-building project after Warhammer’s Old World for WFRP, check it out (affiliate link). It’s a fairly modest thing, which I had hoped would have the chance to develop further, but though it’s far from perfect, I still look back on it with some fondness.
That’s all I have for now, but I hope you found it interesting. For more on my work for d20 System, D&D, and associated games, see My Complete and Utter D&D/AD&D/d20 Bibliography.
*Not the same Evil Genius Games as the company that was in the news earlier this year.
Wights in D&D 3.5
In Dragon #348 (October 2006), I wrote “Ecology of the Wight”. A lot of my original material was cut from the published version, so here it is. I hope you find it useful, or at least interesting.
I was hoping to include a link so you could buy the magazine online, but it doesn’t seem to be available on DriveThru or the DMs’ Guild. If anyone knows of a place where non-pirated copies can be obtained, please drop a link in the comments below. Thanks!
Advanced Wights: Non-Core Sources
This article [the one in Dragon] assumes that the DM is only using the three core rulebooks, but DMs who have access to additional rulebooks and supplements will find more options for producing advanced wight characters.
Libris Mortis
Buy from DriveThru (affiliate link)
In addition to general notes on undead characters and NPCs, this sourcebook contains much that will be useful to a DM planning a wight-centered adventure or campaign. The evolved undead template allows the creation of ancient and powerful individuals with spell-like abilities. Feats like Improved Energy Drain, Spell Drain, and Life Drain increase the power of the energy drain ability that wights share with many other undead creatures. Monstrous prestige classes include the lurking terror with its enhanced stealth abilities, and the tomb warden (only available to a wight who has already advanced by other means) which confers many useful abilities within the confines of a particular tomb complex. New undead creatures include the slaughter wight, which could make a good leader or champion, and several other monsters that might be found alongside wights in a barrow-field or necropolis.
Monster Manual II
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Of most interest is the spellstitched template (page 215), which confers spellcasting ability on an undead creature. With their high Wisdom, wights gain access to first through third level spells by spellstitching – and gain some useful save bonuses – while only increasing their CR by one.
Savage Species
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The emancipated spawn prestige class (page 75) is available to creatures and characters who became the spawn of an undead creature such as a wight, and who regain their independence after their creator has been destroyed. As they advance in this prestige class, emancipated spawn gradually remember the skills and class features that they had while living. The wight template (page 136) can be used to create variant wights based upon any humanoid creature.
Wight Lairs
Unless they are under the command of a necromancer or some other master, wights normally lair in tombs. As their full name of barrow-wights suggests, they are often found in earthen burial mounds, but they can make their lairs in any kind of tomb complex or necropolis. A wight lair will usually be the original burial-place of the oldest wight in the pack (sometimes called the master wight); younger wights are usually the spawn of that first individual.
Wight lairs are usually cramped, dark places. Narrow passages and low ceilings hamper weapon-using intruders and favor unarmed wights. They use their knowledge of their lair’s layout, along with secret doors and passages, to spring close-quarters attacks without having to advance under fire from spellcasters and ranged weapons. Labyrinths of short passages allow a pack of wights to surround intruders and attack from all sides; their Hide and Move Silently skills give them a good chance of gaining surprise. Shifting walls and other devices are sometimes used to confuse and disorient outsiders.
Wights’ acute senses and stealth skills make them skilled and dangerous ambushers. When faced with a strong party, their usual tactic is to try to pick off enemies one by one, draining their life energy at leisure and turning them against their former comrades as wight spawn.
A Sample Wight Lair
The map shows a typical barrow where wights might be found. Built millennia ago to house the honored dead of a long-forgotten people, it is built of stone, filled in with dirt and rubble between the walls. Its front is dominated by a curved façade of monumental stones.
Inside, a narrow passage leads past a number of empty tombs (which might hold minor encounters such as rat or spider swarms) to an apparent dead end. The rubble is a decoy, though, intended to distract intruders while 4-5 wights use the secret passages to get behind them. They will not attack right away, but will follow stealthily until the adventurers are busy fighting the rest of the wights in the narrow confines of the two pillar rooms. Then they will mount a surprise attack, surrounding the trespassers and using their energy drain and create spawn abilities.
The four rooms at the far end of the barrow belong to the king and queen, who may be more powerful than the others (see Advanced Wights above). The treasury contains a little treasure (note that wights normally have none). The king’s tomb is hidden by a secret door in the back of his stone throne, and may contain some magical treasures or other special items.
Finding Wights
Wights are not only found in dark barrows on lonely, mist-wrapped moors. Here are a few ideas for placing them in other locations.
The Dead Below
From their headquarters in an abandoned catacomb beneath a city’s oldest cemetery, a powerful band of wights can use sewers, thieves’ tunnels, and other underground passages to reach almost anywhere. Moving mainly by night, they remain unseen and unheard as much as possible, ambushing unwary victims returning home from the city’s hostelries and other unfortunates who are outside after dark. Their ultimate goal may simply be to survive undetected, or they may have come to the city in search of an ancient treasure that was stolen from their leader by grave-robbers, and which now rests in the vaults of the thieves’ guild, or the academy of magic.
Fortress of Nightmares
The wights’ stronghold is heavily defended, both above and below ground, with multiple entry and exit points through small tombs and mausolea nearby. In addition, the wights may have control of swarms of vermin, rats, and the like, as well as alliances with other undead creatures – especially lawful evil undead – that make their home in the cemetery. These undead allies may not fight alongside the wights, but they might inform them of adventurers headed their way, or mount surprise hit-and-run attacks on living trespassers who are already engaged in fighting the wights.
The Forbidden Island
A remote island also makes a suitable home for a pack of wights, especially if it is dotted with the remnants of a lost civilization. If no living souls have set foot on the island for a long time, the wights’ hunger for life energy will make them particularly aggressive. Their first act will probably be to disable any watercraft or other means of escape from the island, and then pick off stragglers or scouts to reduce the visitors’ numbers before mounting an all-out attack by night. They may set traps in the thick jungle of the islands, or among the rubble-choked ruins.
Not Just Mummies
Desert tomb complexes – with or without pyramids – also make good homes for wights. Adventurers will probably expect to find mummies in such locations, and wights will take them by surprise, at least initially. If the wights are dressed in scraps of bandage, the confusion over their true nature may last beyond the first encounter – and nothing worries adventurers more than not knowing what they are up against. True mummies can act as leaders or elite fighters, and spellcasting mummy lords can make up for their comrades’ lack of magic.
My Complete and Utter D&D Bibliography
Everything I have published for various editions, starting in 1982. Includes links to some free downloads.
Click Here.
Return of the Bling
Here are a few more images that Pinterest threw my way. Apart from Jewish bridal rings, I did not know that rings in the shape of buildings were a thing, but here is an interesting selection.
I’ve thrown in a few thoughts about what these shapes might mean for magical rings in a fantasy game.
Note: All images are copyright their original owners, at the urls indicated.
The Castle
The castle is a symbol of safety and protection, so this ring might give its wearer a significant boost to armor protection, or protect in some more subtle way.
The Palace
The palace is a place of power and authority, so a ring in that form might give its wearer a boost to their social status and accompanying skills, making others treat them as powerful nobles even if they are not.
The Temple
Like the portable shrine ring from an earlier post, this ring might give the wearer the same protection as being on consecrated ground, or it might give their prayers greater efficacy, perhaps even granting limited clerical powers to a non-cleric.
The Tower
Towers are usually associated with wizards, so this ring might enhance a wearer’s magical abilities, possibly allowing them to cast spells at a higher level than normal or making their spells harder for targets to resist.
So there are a few ideas to play around with. For more buildings, search for ‘architectural rings’.
It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Bling
If you like this kind of post, you’ll also want to see these:
Armillary Rings: Handy for astronomers, astrologers, and navigators.
Compartment Rings: Hide your true allegiance, or carry a secret message.
Poison Rings: An old classic.
Gun Rings: Add more punch to your punch.
Eye Rings: Protection, divination, gaze weapons, and more.
Miscellany: No theme, but lots of possibilities.
Let us Bling: A Ring for Clerics that unfolds into a portable shrine.
Graeme Davis 
