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What are the best ways to store vast amounts of information? That question has occupied chroniclers and librarians for centuries.
Scrolls and Books were the finest information-storing methods for a long time, but the first Archivists imagined something greater:
Storing information in a real or an Artificial Mind. What library could match a mental archive capable of accessing information in seconds?
As they work towards this goal, Archivists have become masters of storing knowledge and creating Artificial Intelligences fueled by magic.
These techniques have yet to be perfected and institutionalized, and of all artificers, archivists are on the cutting edge of arcane science.
Tools of the Trade
By the time you adopt this specialty at 3rd level, youâre deeply familiar with employing its tools.
Proficiencies.
You gain proficiency with calligrapherâs supplies and the forgery kit, assuming you donât already have them. You also gain calligrapherâs supplies and a forgery kit for free, the result of tinkering youâve done as youâve prepared for this specialization.
Crafting.
If you craft a magic item in the scroll category, it takes you a quarter of the normal time, and it costs you half as much of the usual gold.
Archivist Spells
Artificer Level | Spell
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3rd | comprehend languages, dissonant whispers
5th | detect thoughts, locate object
9th | hypnotic pattern, tongues
13th | locate creature, phantasmal killer
17th | legend lore, modify memory
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Artificial Mind
At 3rd Level, you discover how to awaken a mind inside an object. Whenever you finish a long rest and your calligrapherâs supplies are with you, you can magically rouse a keen mind within a Tiny, Nonmagical Object on which you write mystical symbols. The object is a Magic Item while the Mind is inside it, and you can use it as a spellcasting focus.
If you already have an Artificial Mind from this feature, the 1st 1 immediately dissipates. The Magic Item has the following properties.
Telepathic Advisor.
The Artificial Mind telepathically supplies you with advice and information about certain topics:
While the item is on your person, you have proficiency in 2 skills of your choice;
The itemâs main material determines which skills you can choose from, as shown on the Artificial Mind Table in the Skill Proficiencies column, for the nature of the object affects the mindâs knowledge.
Manifest Mind.
As a Bonus Action while the item is on your person, you can cause the mind to manifest as a tiny spectral presence, hovering in an unoccupied space of your choice within 60 feet of you. This presence is intangible and invulnerable, and it sheds dim light in a 10-foot radius. You determine its appearance;
The Artificial Mind Table offers suggested appearances based on the objectâs main material.
While manifested, the Spectral Mind can hear and see, and it has darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
As an Action, you can hear and see using the mindâs senses, instead of your own, until your Concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell).
As a Bonus Action, you can cause the spectral mind to hover up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that you or it can see. It can pass through creatures but not objects.
The Spectral Mind stops manifesting if it is ever more than 300 feet away from its Magic Item or if you dismiss it as a Bonus Action.
When you cast an artificer spell on your turn, you can cast it as if you were in the Spectral Mindâs space, instead of your own, using its senses. You can do so a number of times per day equal to your Intelligence Modifier (at least once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.
Information Overload.
As an Action while the item is on your person, you can try to magically overload the thoughts of 1 Creature you or the mind can see that is within 5 feet of the manifested mind, channeling a jumble of information from the Artificial Mind. Unless the target succeeds on an Intelligence Saving Throw against your spell save DC, the target takes 1d8 Psychic Damage, and the next attack roll against it before the end of your next turn has advantage, since it is temporarily too distracted to defend itself well. The Damage increases by 1D8 when you reach
5th Level (2D8),
11th Level (3D8),
17th Level (4D8)
in this class. Whenever you deal damage with this feature, you can expend a spell slot to deal extra damage to the target. The extra damage is 2D8 for a 1st Level spell slot, plus 1D8 for each spell level higher than first.
Artificial Mind
Main Material | Skill Proficiencies | Suggested Appearance
____________________
Animal {parchment, leather, bone} |
Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Survival | A beast or a humanoid visage with antlers
Mineral {glass, stone, metal} |
Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion | A robotic or golem-like face
Plant {paper, wood} |
Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion | A bespectacled visage or a treant
____________________
Mind Network
At 6th Level, youâve learned how to use your artifices to access minds, both to communicate and to harm.
Magical Telephony.
While you have your Artificial Mind Item on your person, you can communicate telepathically with anyone carrying an item bearing 1 of your Artificer Infusions, as the mind transmits your thoughts to each other.
That person can also communicate telepathically with you as long as they have the item. This 2-way communication can even cross planar boundaries.
Psychic Damage.
When you make a Psychic Damage roll for an Artificer Spell or for Information Overload, you gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to your Intelligence Modifier (minimum bonus of +1).
Pure Information
At 14th Level, your Artificial Mind is able to receive and transmit more information than ever before.
Mind Overload.
When you expend a Spell Slot to increase the damage of Information Overload, the target must succeed on an Intelligence Saving Throw against your spell save DC or be stunned until the end of your next turn.
Infoportation.
As an Action while your Artificial Mind Magic Item is on your person, you cause the mind to turn you into pure information, teleporting you to the unoccupied space nearest to the Spectral Mind or to an item bearing 1 of your Artificer Infusions, where you physically reappear. You can Teleport in this way once for free and must finish a Long Rest before doing so again. You can also use this special ability by expending a spell slot of 2nd Level or higher.
_________________________
The First Warforged Minds
Warforged were originally created by House Cannith to fight as subservient beings, having limited selfawareness.
The development of the autonomous warforged consciousness has been presented as an accidental breakthrough.
However, rumors abound that it was the work of pioneering archivist Aaren dâCannith, who planted the seed of autonomy in the warforged mind.
This fact is now difficult to verify, for the development teamâs records were destroyed and Aaren dâCannith disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Many believe that Aaren is still determined to help the warforged evolve and that he might be working with the sinister Lord of Blades.
3-month-old Illithid are pretty independent and far more mobile than most other species' young at that age, but they still have a way to go before they reach their full size and are emotionally mature enough to be considered an adult.
This one is mentally equal to a 6-year-old human, and is just about ready to start learning how to use their psionics.
My husband and I are growing these DnD communities! If youâre interested in discussing your favorite campaign or a campaign of your own, feel free to join. There are several to choose from. đ
When adventurers find a piece of technology that isnât from their world or time period, the players might understand what the object is, but the characters rarely will. To simulate a characterâs ignorance about the technology, have the character make a series of Intelligence checks to figure it out.
To determine how the technology works, a character must succeed on a number of Intelligence checks based on the complexity of the item: two successes for a simple item (such as a cigarette lighter, calculator, or revolver) and four successes for a complex item (such as a computer, chainsaw, or hovercraft). Then consult the Figuring Out Alien Technology table. Consider making the item break if a character fails four or more times before taking a long rest.
A character who has seen an item used or has operated a similar item has advantage on Intelligence checks made to figure out its use.
Figuring Out Alien Technology
Int. Check Total | Result
9 or lower | 1 failure; 1 charge or use is wasted, if applicable; character has disadvantage on next check
10â14 | 1 Failure
15â19 | 1 Success
20 or higher | 1 success; character has advantage on next check
Plot Points
Plot points allow players to change the course of the campaign, introduce plot complications, alter the world, and even assume the role of the DM. If your first reaction to reading this optional rule is to worry that your players might abuse it, itâs probably not for you.
Using Plot Points
Each player starts with 1 plot point. During a session, a player can spend that point for one effect. The effect depends on your groupâs approach to this optional rule. Three options are presented below.
A player can spend no more than 1 plot point per session. You can increase this limit if you like, especially if you want the players to drive more of the story. Once every player at the table has spent a plot point, they each gain 1 plot point.
Option 1: What a Twist!
A player who spends a plot point gets to add some element to the setting or situation that the group (including you) must accept as true. For example, a player can spend a plot point and state that his or her character has found a secret door, an NPC appears, or a monster turns out to be a long-lost ally polymorphed into a horrid beast.
A player who wants to spend a plot point in this way should take a minute to discuss his or her idea with everyone else at the table and get feedback before settling on a plot development.
Option 2: The Plot Thickens
Whenever a player spends a plot point, the player to his or her right must add a complication to the scene. For example, if the player who spends the plot point decides that her character has found a secret door, the player to the right might state that opening the door triggers a magical trap that teleports the party to another part of the dungeon.
Option 3: The Gods Must Be Crazy
With this approach, there is no permanent DM. Everyone makes a character, and one person starts as the DM and runs the game as normal. That personâs character becomes an NPC who can tag along with the group or remain on the sidelines, as the group wishes.
At any time, a player can spend a plot point to become the DM. That playerâs character becomes an NPC, and play continues. Itâs probably not a good idea to swap roles in the middle of combat, but it can happen if your group allows time for the new DM to settle into his or her role and pick up where the previous DM left off.
Using plot points in this way can make for an exciting campaign as each new DM steers the game in unexpected directions. This approach is also a great way for would-be DMs to try running a game in small, controlled doses.
In a campaign that uses plot points this way, everyone should come to the table with a bit of material prepared or specific encounters in mind. A player who isnât prepared or who doesnât feel like DMing can choose to not spend a plot point that session.
For this approach to work, itâs a good idea to establish some shared assumptions about the campaign so that DMs arenât duplicating efforts or trampling on each otherâs plans.
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Firearms
In a campaign where a spaceship has crashed or elements of modern-day Earth are present, Futuristic or Modern Firearms might appear. The Firearms Table provides examples of Firearms , the modern and futuristic items are priceless.
Proficiency
Itâs up to you to decide whether a character has proficiency with a firearm. Characters in most D&D worlds wouldnât have such proficiency. During their downtime, characters can use the training rules in the Playerâs Handbook to acquire proficiency, assuming that they have enough ammunition to keep the weapons working while mastering their use.
Properties
Firearms use special ammunition, and some of them have the burst fire or reload property.
Ammunition. The Ammunition of a Firearm is destroyed upon use. Modern Firearms use bullets. Futuristic Firearms are powered by a special type of Ammunition called Energy Cells. An Energy Cell contains enough power for all the shots its firearm can make.
Burst Fire. A weapon that has the burst fire property can make a normal single-target attack, or it can spray a 10-foot-cube area within normal range with shots. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the weaponâs normal damage. This action uses 10 pieces of ammunition.
Reload. A limited number of shots can be made with a weapon that has the reload property. A character must then reload it using an action or a bonus action (the characterâs choice).
Needler Pistol
This strange pistol resembles a flask with a honeycomb of tubes sticking out its front. The weapon is powered by an energy cell stored at the base of the flask. Placing a full energy cell in the pistol gives the pistol 10 charges.
As an Action while holding this pistol, you can expend 1 of its charges to fire a burst of glowing, needlelike darts from the pistol in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d4 Piercing Damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the pistol has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the pistol has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Paralysis Pistol
This curious-looking pistol is shaped like a large, glass bulb with a handle on the bottom and brass prongs protruding from its front. The weapon is powered by an energy cell stored in its grip. Placing a full energy cell in the pistol gives the pistol 6 charges.
As an Action while holding this pistol, you can expend 1 of its charges to fire a ray of crackling energy at a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have the paralyzed condition for 1 minute. At the end of each of the targetâs turns, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the pistol has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the pistol has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Ray Glove (Oard)
This is a small gun incorporated into a glove. It can fire 3 laser blasts per round, each being the equivalent of a Magic Missile Spell(range - 150', damage - 1d6+1 etc.). Unlike Magic Missiles, the laser blasts don't hit automatically.
The Oard must roll to hit as is using a normal missile weapon (range 50/100/150) but all targets are treated as armor class 11 ( Subtract{-} any Dexterity Bonuses Add{+} magical armor). The pistol can be used in melee (treat as short-range missile fire)
Blaster Tube (Oard)
A tubular device which can fire 2 blasts of Force Damage per round.
Each blast covers an area 10 feet wide & 120 feet long.
Any creature within the area will receive a forceful blow equivalent to a 20 foot fall onto a hard surface (2-12 points of Force or Bludgeoning Damage).
The Force Damage is halved by a successful saving throw vs. Dragon Breath.
Needler Pistol | â | 8d4 piercing | â |
Ammunition (range 15ft. cone; energy cell), reload (10 charges), special
Paralysis Pistol | â | â | â |
Ammunition (range 60; energy cell), reload (6 charges), special
Ray Glove (Oard) | 600 gp | 1d6+1 radiant | 1 lb. |
Ammunition (range 50-100/150, energy cell), reload (50 shots), light, fires 3 attacks per Attack Action
Blaster Tube (Oard) | 500 gp | 2d6 force | 8 lb. |
Ammunition (range 60/120, energy cell), reload (10 shots), 2-handed. Fires a 10-foot-wide, 120-foot-long line; creatures in the area make a Dexterity save for half damage.
Ammunition
Energy Cell | â | â | 5 oz. | â
Fireball Gem (1-3) | 400 gp | 6d8 fire | â |
Consumable, range 240 ft., explodes in 40-ft diameter sphere
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Explosives
A campaign might include explosives from the Modern World, as presented in the Explosives Table.
Bomb
As an action, a character can light this bomb and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 Fire Damage.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder is chiefly used to propel a bullet out of the barrel of a Pistol or Rifle, or it is formed into a bomb. Gunpowder is sold in small wooden kegs and in water-resistant powder horns.
Setting fire to a container full of gunpowder can cause it to explode, dealing fire damage to creatures within 10 feet of it (3d6 for a powder horn, 7d6 for a keg). A successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw halves the damage. Setting fire to 1 ounce of gunpowder causes it to flare for 1 round, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.
Dynamite
As an action, a creature can light a stick of dynamite and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
A character can bind sticks of dynamite together so they explode at the same time. Each additional stick increases the damage by 1d6 (to a maximum of 10d6) and the burst radius by 5 feet (to a maximum of 20 feet).
Dynamite can be rigged with a longer fuse to explode after a set amount of time, usually 1 to 6 rounds. Roll Initiative for the dynamite. After the set number of rounds goes by, the dynamite explodes on that Initiative.
Grenades
As an Action, a character can throw a grenade at a point up to 60 feet away. With a grenade launcher, the character can propel the grenade up to 120 feet away.
Each creature within 20 feet of an exploding fragmentation grenade must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 Piercing Damage on a failed save, or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
1 round after a smoke grenade lands, it emits a cloud of smoke that creates a heavily obscured area in a 20-foot radius.
A moderate wind (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses the smoke in 4 rounds;
A strong wind (20 or more miles per hour) disperses it in 1 round.
Concussion Grenade. This grenade explodes in a concussive blast that fills a 20-foot-radius sphere. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d6 Force Damage on a failed save or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
Sleep Grenade. This grenade releases a cloud of soporific mist that fills a 20-foot-radius sphere, then dissipates. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have the unconscious condition for 1 hour. The condition ends on a creature early if the creature takes damage or if another creature uses an Action to shake it awake.
Fireball Gem (Oard). A tiny, self-propelled bomb which is the equivalent of a Fireball (range - 240' , area of effect - 40' diameter sphere ) , inflicting 6d8 points of damage.
EXPLOSIVES TABLE
Modern Item | Cost | Weight
Dynamite (Stick) | â | 1 lb.
Grenade, Fragmentation | â | 1 lb.
Grenade, Smoke | â | 2 lb.
Grenade Launcher | â | 7 lb.
Futuristic Item | Cost | Weight
Grenade, Concussion | â | 1 lb.
Grenade, Sleep | â | 1 lb.
Fireball Gem (Oard) | â | 1 lb.
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Powered Armor
This suit of technologically advanced plate armor includes an under-suit that can fully seal, a helmet with a full face mask and crystal lenses in the eyeholes, and a set of gauntlets. The armor is powered by an Energy Cell stored in a compartment on the thigh plate.
Placing a full Energy Cell in the armor gives the armor 24 charges. A suit of Powered Armor functions as a suit of normal plate armor, even when it has 0 charges remaining.
Activating the Armor. As an Action, you can expend any number of the armorâs charges to activate it; the armor remains active for 1 hour per charge expended. You can use a Bonus Action to deactivate the armor early, but doing so doesnât recover any expended charges.
While the armor is active, you gain the following benefits:
Augmented Physicality. You have Advantage on Strength checks, and your carrying capacity is doubled.
Environmental Adaptation. The armor seals airtight and provides its own atmosphere. You can breathe normally in any environment and withstand extreme temperatures, and youâre unaffected by harmful gases, as well as contact and inhaled poisons.
Force Field. When you would take damage, you can use your reaction to expend 1 of the armorâs charges to deploy a defensive force field. Roll 3d10 and reduce the damage taken by the total rolled.
Propulsion. As a Bonus Action, you can expend 1 of the armorâs charges to gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed for 1 minute. If youâre airborne when this duration ends, you fall.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the armor has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the armor has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Antigravity Belt
Metal tubes ring the lower edge of this wide belt. It is powered by an energy cell stored in a metal case near the buckle. Placing a full energy cell in the belt gives the belt 10 charges.
Activating the Belt. As a Bonus Action, you can expend any number of the beltâs charges to activate it; the belt remains active for 1 minute per charge expended. You can use a Bonus Action to deactivate the belt early, but doing so doesnât recover any expended charges.
When you activate the belt, and as a Bonus Action while it remains active, you can rise or descend vertically up to 20 feet. You remain floating in place while the property is active, and you can move yourself horizontally by being pushed or towed or by scooting yourself along a surface, such as a wall or ceiling, at ½ your walking speed. If you are still levitating when the belt deactivates, you fall.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the belt has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the belt has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Oard Technology
Some of the many Oard weapons & devices are described below. Although these pieces of equipment are technological, their properties can be described in terms of similar magical effects. The powers and effects of Oard technology should be treated in the same way as the corresponding spells, except as specified in individual cases.
Oard devices are controlled and powered by means of wires which plug into the Oards' bodies, and are tuned to their individual users. No magic, nor any other means will give characters full use of these devices, although a Wish Spell might (DM's discretion) allow 1-4 uses. Since they are not magical, Oard devices won't be shown up by Detect Magic Spells. Unlike the casting of a spell, an Oard's use of a technological power isn't ruined by being disturbed.
Image Amulet
This device creates a permanent, holographic image around the Oard which allows the Oard to make itself look like any humanoid up to 10 feet tall. The screen also changes appearance of the Oard's clothes (ex. to look like furs) & equipment. There is no saving throw for those seeing this technological illusion, but a Truesight Spell, for example, would enable the caster to see through it. The screen stops working at once if the Oard is killed, revealing the creature in its true form.
Protection Belt
This device surrounds the Oard with a permanent, protective force field. The field is similar to the barrier created by a shield spell except that the Oard gains an armor class of 20 against all attacks.
In addition, the barrier gives protection equivalent to permanent protection spells from
- normal missile
- resist cold
- resist fire
Finally, the field has a limited anti-gravity power which allows the Oard to levitate at will for a total of up to 6 turns per day.
Speech Bracelet
This is a 2-way communication device with a range of 50 miles.
Time Travel Mirror
This enables the Oards to travel from their Oard Empire in the far future back through time into the history of Aelos. The cost in energy is enormous, however, and so only a few Oard agents can be sent.
Furthermore, the devices allow only 1-way travel, which means that the Oards cannot return to their own time through the devices.
These devices have their own holographic screens which may be used to disguise them as something else. A time travel device's screen ceases to function if all the Oards who passed through it are dead.
Value & Appearance of Oard Devices
Oards do not have treasures as such, but their devices and equipment are exquisitely made from plastics, metals, and crystals.
In the adventurers' own world, these objects would be regarded as very fine, unusual jewelry or adornment, and so have corresponding values:
- An Image Amulet looks like a gem-encrusted, gold filigree amulet on a silver chain
( value - 800 GP )
- A Ray Glove looks like a gauntlet of incredibly fine chainmail, decorated with gold filigree and a large, elongated gem on the index finger
( value - 600 GP )
- A Blaster Tube is an ornately inlaid, transparent cylinder (about 3 inches wide and 18 inches long) open only at 1 end. If it could be used, for example, as a case for storing scrolls
( value - 500 GP )
- A Fireball Gem has the appearance of a short, hollow gold wand with large gem mounted at the end
( value - 400 GP )
- A Protection Belt looks like a beautifully decorated girdle
( value - 600 GP )
- A Speech Bracelet looks like a delicately wrought bracelet
( value - 400 GP )
- A Time Travel Mirror looks like a perfect, full-length mirror set in a gold frame
( value - 6000 GP )
- A set of Oard Clothes appear to be made of exceedingly fine but hard-wearing silk, embroidered with minutely detailed patterns in precious metals
( value - 200 GP per suit )
Illithids are crafty, no doubt about that! I don't suppose many give them credit for their inventions , especially in light of the way Illithids use these items. The Mindflayer philosophy is reminiscent of the human adage;
" Build a better mousetrap and you'll catch more mice. "
Now if you substitute the word "mouse" for the word "supper" , you'll catch the implication just fine.
~ A statement taken from Gazpar, current owner of Wakeman's Subterranean Exotics
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Given the Illithids' intelligence (some go so far as to label them geniuses) , it probably doesn't come as a surprise that they have produced a wide variety of technological marvels over the years. What is most interesting , however , is the Illithid penchant for building psionically empowered devices.
While certainly not the only interest of illithid engineers, psionically empowered devices are the Illithids' answer to the magically enchanted tools often utilized by thrall races/species. What Illithids lack in spell components, they more that make up for in their ability to produce vast quantities of psi-active mucous from glands within their own skin!
Many hours of Illithid research revealed a method by which the Mindflayers could incorporate excess psi-active mucous into newly forged inanimate objects, devices, and even weapons. This method included means of imprinting such devices with "psionic circuitry" of sorts , wherein a psychic impulse could be stored and later activated by specific stimuli of a sentient user. Once activated, a device fullfills its psychic potential according to the instructions stored in its inert psionic pathways - usually powering itself from the brainwave activity of the user itself.
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IMPRINT PSIONIC CIRCUITRY ( Psychokinetic Science* )
MAC: 5
PSP Cost: Varies
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: Individual or Object
This science allows the Illithid to imprint items or individuals with Psionic Circuitry. Psionic Circuitry exists as filaments of ethereal substance interwoven with solid material or flesh; it is formed from equal parts psionic-power and psi-active mucous. Usually, Psionic Circuitry is not visible unless it is within the vicinity of a creature with an Intelligence of 5 or higher, it is within the vicinity of a psionic mind, or it becomes active through the will of an Illithid. Active circuit pathways flare with ghostly incandescence.
When an Illithid constructs Psionic Circuitry, it fashions the circuits to hold a specific psionic impulse or effect. This impulse or effect can be as simple as granting a wearer 10 extra PSPs per 12-hour period, or as complex as opening a portal between dimensions on the face of a stone wall inscribed with circuitry.
Laying down Psionic Circuitry requires many months of laborious research, followed by the application of said research. At minimum, an Illithid must spend 3 months to embed even the simplest Psionic Circuitry, while an expenditure of years is not uncommon in the creation of truly complex circuit diagrams.
Generally, it takes 1 month of work plus and additional month per Psionic Strength Point required by the circuit's effect to imprint the psionic pathway. Thus, a Psionic Circuit that uses 'Cause Decay' (PSP cost 4) , takes an Illithid 4 months to build.
The Illithid laying the circuit must make a Power Check (MTHAC0 roll) at the beginning of the imprinting process. Failure indicates that the Illithid could not create the necessary amalgamation of ethereal filaments and material essence; the potential Psionic Circuitry collapses.
A successful MTHAC0 roll indicates that the Illithid has created the basics of the Psionic Circuit ; it can now link a particular Psionic Ability to the circuit. Linking a Psionic Ability to a circuit takes a number of months equal to the power's PSP cost. During this time, the Illithid must make a successful MTHAC0 roll against the power's MAC each month of work, and it must work at least 4 hours every day on the circuit. Failure at any stage destroys the Psionic Circuit beyond repair.
In order to link a Psionic Power requires a pool of PSPs (in case of powers activated across multiple rounds) , an Illithid must 1st construct a Psychic Reservoir and link this item to the Psionic Circuit.
Note that Illithids cannot link telepathic devotions and sciences to material objects ; these powers require an organic mind to function.
*Dungeon Masters using The Complete Psionics Handbook should change this power to Metapsionic Science
*Common Illithids have a 30% chance to roll once on the table, notable Illithids automatically roll twice on the table, and Ulitharids roll thrice on the table
Unique Psionic Item Menu **
D4 | Psionic Item
01 | Elder Brain Transceiver
02 | Ghost Anchor
03 | Hazard
04 | Series Spelljamming Helms/Natiloid
** These items are unlikely to appear randomly, but are listed on the table for completeness sake.
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Brainmate
When Illithids travel far from their community, they are out of touch with the elder brain. To creatures used to the constant susurration of the elder brain's thought, knowledge, and perception, the loss of contact with the elder brain can be quite unsettling. Companies that travel for long periods of time outside the reach of an elder brain can rely on a transceiver (see below). Illithids belonging to less-ambitious forays are often forced to stiffen their tentacles and bear the brunt of contact lossâunless they are one of the fortunate few to own a brainmate.
The brainmate appears as a 5-inch-diameter globe of translucent material, in which can be seen a miniature disembodied brain suspended in a languid, heavy fluid. Illithids often wear this globe on a chain around their neck while in use, or else they safely store it away within a well-cushioned chest.
The brainmate is a result of one of the very few Illithid forays into Biomancy; Illithids normally prefer to base their technology on distilled mucous essence and inanimate materials, but they made an exception in this case. A brainmate is simply a small bud from an elder brain, surrounded by excess illithid mucous.
The brainmate retains some sentience (an Intelligence of around 9)âthough it was not created to analyze and evaluate problems. Rather, the brainmate carries large portions of important specialized memory for use by an illithid separated from the elder brain itself.
Thus, a brainmate cannot make correlations. It simply contains a portion of an elder brain's skills and knowledge, which are then at the beck and call of the brainmate's owner. Usually, a brainmate's areas of expertise fall into two or three subjects. A brainmate can also make a record of its environment through the perceptions of its owner. Thus, when an illithid returns its brainmate to the elder brain, the brainmate uploads this recorded information for the further edification of the central elder brain.
If a Brainmate were to fall into the hands of a nonillithid, it is entirely possible that it would telepathically answer questions put to itâjust as it did for its illithid creators. After all, a disembodied brain often leads a solitary existence. In game terms, the information contained within a brainmate is equal to that of a sage; each individual brainmate rolls 3 times on
Table 61: Fields of Study in the DUNGEON MASTER'S Guide. Questions put to the brainmate in these three areas are generally answerable, unless too specific. Also, a brainmate never forgets anything it senses through its owners, so it can make a great memory prod if necessary. However, a captured brainmate is still unable to conjecture independently, or correlate information in order to solve a puzzle or deduce an answer.
Cephalometer
The Cephalometer is a metallic, psionically empowered device that directly measures the head sizes of thralls via two inwardly curved projections connected at one end; an illithid can open and close this end to varying widths in order to encompass a head and find its size. In addition, this device measures the innate psionic potential of the head in question, as well as the chemical balance of a host of neurotransmitters and cranial hormones important to illithid nutrition. The readings appear on a small blank panel on one arm of the cephalometer, using the distinctive striated lines of Qualith while the head remains in the calipers. Once the calipers are removed from the head, the striations subside back into the panel, leaving it blank once more.
Dampsuits
Designed by the Ariser Creed for Illithid activity in dry, sunlit areas, the Dampsuit is a marvel of Mindflayer Ingenuity.
Composed of slick black leather, the suit fits perfectly over the Illithid form. It even includes a skullcap that pulls down over an Illithid's head, yet leaves room for its tentacles to protrude normally or furl comfortably within a tentacle pouch.
While seamless on its exterior, the Dampsuit contains several interior layers that work in conjunction with natural illithid skin mucus, storing and preserving life-giving moisture. As long as the suit's integrity is maintained, frozen tundras and sweltering deserts are equally traversable by the protected illithid.
Furthermore, an illithid does not need to drink while suited. Illithids wearing Dampsuits and Glaregoggles operate almost normally on the surface of a world, although the Dampsuit does require at least one pint of water per week to recharge its reservoir.
Additionally, an illithid (or other humanoid creature) receives a â1 penalty to AC while wearing a Dampsuit.
However, too many slashes and cuts in the armor eventually destroy its integrity, rendering the suit useless. Generally, Dampsuits must make item saving throws (as leather) against specific attack types each time their wearers suffer damage from an attack. For example, a Dampsuit saves vs. Crushing Blow when hit by weapons, Electricity when struck by a lightning bolt, and so on.
Once a Dampsuit fails its item saving throw five times, it becomes useless.
Exoskeleton
Based on the technology used in the creation of a Dampsuit, the exoskeleton is almost identical to that protective device. Unlike the Dampsuit, however, the exoskeleton does not offer any protection against drying.
Rather, reinforced metallic plates and braces interwoven between the suit's layers provide enhanced protection to the exoskeleton's wearer, giving the user a more structured, carapaced appearance as well as an Armor Class of 1.
In addition to providing enhanced protection, embedded psionic circuitry within the exoskeleton enhances the wearer's Strength and Dexterity when fueled by PSPs. The Strength and Dexterity enhancement equals one-half the number of PSPs channeled into the suit on a round-by-round basis, although neither the wearer's Strength nor Dexterity can increase above 20 at any time, regardless of the number of PSPs invested in the suit.
For example, Susk the tamer, while wearing an exoskeleton, has a Strength of 12 and a Dexterity of 10. At the beginning of a melee round, Susk channels 14 PSPs into the exoskeleton for Strength and 14 PSPs for Dexterity, adding 7 points to each attribute. This raises his Strength to 19 and his Dexterity to 17 for one round of combat.
If Susk wishes to continue operating with heightened statistics, he must continue channeling PSPs into the exoskeleton every round.
The exoskeleton can absorb up to 200 PSPs during a twenty-four-hour period. Once this threshold is exceeded, its psionic circuitry shuts down for twenty-four hours in order to recover. No ability enhancements are possible until this refractory period has elapsed.
Glaregoggles
Glaregoggles appear as a pair of tight-fitting black lenses complete with side shields; Illithids use leather straps to secure these items snugly around their heads. The lenses filter visible light (light emitted by candles, torches, lanterns, or the sun), translating frequency and wavelength down-ward such that only infrared light escapes from the lenses' opposite side. Glaregoggles allow any creature normally possessing infravision to see normally in direct sunlight. However, infra-visual ranges are not in any way extended by Glaregoggles.
Additionally, Glaregoggles don't allow infrared vision in regions where there is an absence of visible light; a creature with infravision would need to remove the goggles in such circumstances in order to see normally with its infravision.
Psionic Seals
Illithids with access to the Imprint Psionic Circuitry mental discipline (see Chapter 3 for more details) can inscribe psionic seals upon inanimate objects, portable objects, or upon living creatures (similar to tattoos). Although psi-sensitive individuals may see these psionic seals, they may not immediately understand their significance.
In essence, a psionic seal is a small bit of psionic circuitry incorporated into an object (or being) that was not originally designed to possess it. Thus, psionic seals are external to the objectâalthough the object acts as an anchor to the seal.
Possible Effects of Personal Psionic Seal
D10 | Effect
01 | Heals 2d10 hit points 1Ă/24 hours
02 | Immune to 1 physical attack every 24 hours
03 | Allow wearer to transfer up to ½ of its PSPs to another illithid with similar seal
04 | Reflect 1 spell (that's already breached magic resistance) back on caster 1Ă/week
05 | Wearer gains immunity to normal fires
06 | Hastens wearer to 2Ă normal actions for 3 rounds 1Ă/24-hour period
07 | Allows wearer to pierce one illusion every 24 hours
08 | Seal acts as a skeleton key to normal locks 1Ă/24 hours
09 | Wearer can resist 1 poisoning attempt per week
10 | Wearer can sense the presence of undead in a 360-foot radius 1Ă/24 hours
A variety of effects can be imprinted into a psionic seal, depending upon its complexity. A list of standard placements and effects for psionic seals appears on page 85. However, the list is by no means exhaustive.
Psionic seals can appear upon doors, passages, or other places, acting as guards against random intrusion. If a creature passing through a sealed area does not speak the proper deactivation code, the psionic seal subjects the interloper to 10d6 hit points of psionically generated pain (Âź damage on a successful saving throw vs. death magic). Generally speaking, immobile seals of this sort function five times per day. After a twenty-four-hour refractory period elapses, the psionic seal is once again fully recharged and able to repel intruders.
Psionic seals can be placed on mobile objectsâsuch as the page of a book or the outside of a trunk or satchel. Generally speaking, such seals psionically lock the item from naturally opening. Only the proper command word (or thought) temporarily disengages the seal so that a book or container can be successfully opened. Note that such seals can also appear on doors, acting much like the wizard lock spell.
Finally, an Illithid can imprint a psionic seal upon the flesh of a living being as a tattoo. Sometimes, mind flayers brand such seals into thralls, allowing the Illithids to know the location, health, and mental state of any imprinted slaves. Thralls branded in this way are also easily identifiable to other Illithids as being of special importance, as the use of a psionic seal on a thrall is a great investiture of time.
Alternately, Illithids might imprint a psionic seal upon another of their kind. In these cases, the psionic circuitry inherent to the seal generally possesses some stored beneficial power upon which the branded illithid can call once per day. These powers often resemble normal psionic abilities germane to Illithids. However, when activated from a psionic seal, such powers do not drain any PSPs from the Illithid using the seal. The table below gives a few additional examples of the benefits provided by a psionic seal branded to another creature. Note that an individual can wear only 2-3 tattoos at a single time before the subdermal extent of the psionic circuitry inherent in each seal threatens to cross and short circuit.
Psychic Reservoir
This item appears as a small, malleable gobbet of Illithid mucous bound in a clear membrane that hangs from a neck chain. Illithids can store up to a maximum of 50 PSPs within each reservoir, which they can then use at their discretion. Any time the reservoirâs PSP total drops below 50 PSPs, the item can be recharged. Recharging a psychic reservoir requires one hourâs worth of concentration and the application of personal psionic pointsâone third of which are actually stored within the pouch. For example, an illithid might channel 60 PSPs to the reservoir over an hourâs period, but only 20 of those PSPs remain in the item at the end of that hour.
Psychic Sword
Developed by the combat-obsessed Tamer Creed, the Illithid psychic sword is based to some extent on the silver sword of their Githyanki enemies. While a silver sword has magical components, an illithid psychic sword gains its power from embedded psionic circuitry that visibly glows throughout the blade when held by a sentient being; the blade remains dark and inert while unused.
Illithids generally construct psychic longswordsâthough they do fashion other types of psychic weapons. Like their magically enchanted counterparts, psionic weapons possess attack and damage bonuses; these bonuses function for all intents and purposes like magical bonuses. However, a weapon's psychic bonus depends upon the wielderâs Intelligence score, varying in accordance with the strength of the wielder's mind as shown on the Illithid Psychic Sword table below. Wielders of higher Intelligence can also catalyze cumulative effects embedded in the psionic circuitry of the blade. It is likely that different blades have different impulses coded into their psionic circuitry; however, the table below gives an example of a generic psychic sword.
*Wielder is undetectable by spells or items using magical divination and is equally protected against psionic detection (such as that used by an elder brain). Effect only catalyzed while blade is drawn.
**As the psionic devotion of the same name. Effect only catalyzed while blade is drawn.
***Against magically protected foes, each swing of the psychic sword has a 50% chance to ignore magical
âplusesâ of protection offered by such items as magical armor, bracers, or rings of protection.
Resonance Stones
Appearing as egg-sized chunks of polished crystal or gemstone, resonance stones are each psionically imprinted with an emotion. In most cases, the emotion imprinted is radiated to any sentient mind that enters within 20 feet of the stone. Often, an illithid will place a resonance stone as a bit of psychological decoration within a room; such a stone can radiate a broad range of feelings, including satisfaction, elation, anticipation, or satiation. Those within the emotive perimeter of the stone can only feel an emotion that they have previously felt themselves. Often, such emotions are associated with a particular Illithidâs dwelling in much the same way as a familiar, distinctive smell might be associated with the home of a surface dweller.
Defensive resonance stones are touch-activated items that radiate intense emotions like fear, disgust, exhaustion, or apathy to a 20-foot radius. Those affected by this emotional overload must make a saving throw vs. spell or be incapacitated within the area. Illithids often use touch-activated resonance stones defensively, setting them to radiate intense, negative emotions like fear, exhaustion, or apathy. Anyone within 20 feet of an activated stone must pass a saving throw vs. spell or be overwhelmed by the emotion, rendering them unable to take actions while in the area of effect; they are simply overwhelmed by the strength of the emotion exuded by the stone.
Striator
This device is a small implement that at first glance appears like a pen or quill. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the item possesses four small metallic extensions at one end. The Striator remains inert until grasped. In the hands of a sentient being, thoughts are translated directly to the pen tips, which in turn psionically raise a four-level striation upon stiff parchment or paper as the Striator is moved across the page from left to right. Even if the being using the Striator cannot read illithid touch script, the Striator still unerringly translates the thoughts of the wielder into four-level logic readable by most Illithids.
Tentacle Extensions
While unattached, tentacle extensions (grouped in arrangements of four or six) appear as damp cables 3 feet in length; these extensions often have razor-sharp blades attached to one end. When an Illithid physically places the blunt end of an extension to its tentacle tip and spends 5 PSPs, it psionically causes the device to energize and graft to the end of the Illithidâs tentacle. Once grafted, the tentacle extension acts in many ways like the wearerâs natural tentacles, albeit with an additional 3 feet of length. A small duct within the extension also conveys an Illithidâs natural flesh-dissolving enzyme to the bladed extension tip.
A tentacle extension grants its wielder a +2 attack bonus (for tentacle strikes only). In addition, an illithid utilizing such a device inflicts a total of 1d4+4 points of damage with each successful hit, and it can still withdraw a victimâs brain if four tentacles gain a foothold on the foeâs cranium. Tentacle extensions remain active as long as their wearers spend 5 PSPs every turn. However, Illithids cannot wear tentacle extensions for more than two hours at a time before debilitating fatigue sets in. Once a Mindflayer removes an extension, it cannot activate that particular device for another 12 hours.
Voice Box
This psionically empowered device translates its wearerâs telepathic speech into audible words of a preselected language. Each voice box appears as a small, flattened block of dull metal, usually hung upon a chain or pendant. The small box normally contains one line of Qualith identifying a single language (it could be Drowish, Common, Elvish, etc.); Illithids key the preselected language into the voice box during the fashioning of this item.
To operate, the wearer activates the device mentally, causing it to audibly vocalize thoughts in the preselected language at an average volume. Users can adjust the volume or temporarily deactivate the device with separate mental commands.
Unique Psionic Items
The following is a listing of rare psionic items used in some Illithid communities.
Elder Brain Transceiver
When a large group of Illithids know that they must operate autonomously (without contact with the elder brain of their community) for long periods of time, they often construct a Transceiver that boosts their telepathic range in order to maintain contact with the elder brain.
Elder Brain Transceivers are large and nonmobile, so they are built only when the base of operations is stable. The device features a large, 8-foot-tall, egg-shaped main component with a hollow interior accessible via a side or bottom portal. Eight tentacle-like cables extend from the main body to individual, surrounding small wading pools. While the structure appears to be crusted, organic, and almost alive, the transceiver is not a living creature.
To operate the device, a single Mindflayer occupies the hollow egg, while 8 other Illithids enter each wadding pool and concentrate their telepathic ability up through the appendages and into the egg. The Illithid inside the egg then channels the combined & amplified energies of the other Mindflayers and sets up rapport with its own elder brain.
Ghost Anchor (Unique Item)
Using portions of the technology necessary to fashion a psychic blade, a long-dead illithid constructed a psychic spear possessed of special powers that have yet to be duplicated successfully. In time, the psychic spear gained the appellation âGhost Anchorâ due to its particular capacities.
Ghost Anchor is a throwing spear and appears as a long shaft of transparent iron (called Nephelium by the Duergar) that slowly tapers to a razor-sharp spearhead. The blunt end of the spear trails a 75-foot length of strong, silvery cord, which is amazingly strong despite its thin diameter.
Against normal creatures, Ghost Anchor acts like an average spearâthough it does make item saving throws on the steel column with a +4 bonus. It is against ethereal creatures that Ghost Anchor is most efficacious. The wielder of Ghost Anchor is able to see all ethereal creatures within 60 feet while grasping the haft of the glasslike weapon. The wielder can attack visualized ethereal creatures with Ghost Anchor by casting the spear. Such attacks are made against the ethereal creature with a +3 bonus, and all appropriate missile attack bonuses due to the high Dexterity of the caster are also incorporated into the attack roll.
A successful attack inflicts 1d10+3 hit points of damage upon the ethereal creature. More importantly, though, Ghost Anchor pierces and hooks the target much like a harpoon. The creature so entangled has one chance to break away (with a successful bend bars/lift gates roll); otherwise, Ghost Anchor remains attached. While the psionic spear remains in place, it neutralizes all spell-like powers, spells, or psionic abilities of the pierced target.
The wielder now has 2 options:
- Tie off the silvery cord to an inanimate present location
- Grasp the cord fully and pull the ethereal objectâthereby anchoring the ethereal creature to the Prime Material Plane.
Once this occurs, Ghost Anchor loses its attachment upon the formerly ethereal creature. However, the hapless creature suffers severe disorientation, and it cannot use any mental or magical powers for a full 10 rounds. In addition, a disoriented creature cannot travel back to the Ethereal Plane during this time. Once an ethereal creature (such as a ghost) is brought into the solid world, it is often much easier to deal with using mundane methods.
Hazard (Unique Item)
Hazard is the name given to a one-of-a-kind psychic sword that possesses a few special characteristics. The weapon is a longsword and has all the abilities native to a standard psychic swordâincluding full empowerment to wielders with Very High or better Intelligenceâas well as the following abilities that function no matter the wielderâs Intelligence score.
Luck: Once every twenty-four-hour period of time, the user can call upon the psychic power of Hazard to manipulate chance and fate. The wielder can reroll a failed saving throw, attack roll, or ability check (including such skills as open doors, bend bars/lift gates, hide in shadows, etc.) and substitute the better of the two rolls. However, the wielder cannot sidestep the universal balance sheets so easily. Before the creature can again make use of this power (24 hours later), it must reroll an important saving throw, attack roll, or ability check (chosen by the DM) and use the poorest of the two rolls. Note that the luck conferred by Hazard need not be related to the use of the psychic sword itself.
Unerring Strike: Once during a creatureâs possession of Hazard, it can choose to succeed at a saving throw, attack roll, or ability check automatically without recourse to a roll. Once this power is used, Hazard remains in the wielderâs possession for a maximum of 3 additional rounds, after which it vanishes to seek a new owner in the multiverse. Usually, Hazard psychoports itself to prime worlds where creatures may easily find it. Sometimes, though, it psychoports within crypts or dragon hoards, where it languishes for ages before finally being recovered through âluck.â No power has yet proven sufficient to prevent Hazard from divorcing itself from a wielder once that wielder has called upon the Unerring Strike power.
Series Spelljamming Helms
Some communities of Illithids are not bound to subterranean depths; rather, these creatures inhabit the dark spaces between worlds. Such mind flayers generally view world-bound Illithid communities as rustic, but necessary to further illithid plans. Some world-bound Illithids, on the other hand, view their world-hopping relations as rash creatures, ungoverned by practical considerations.
Whatever the truth, the ability to travel between worlds is imparted by a Series Spelljamming Helm (the term Spelljamming is an archaic reference to magical versions of the illithid series helm). These devices appear as a series of linked seats with recesses for head, arms, legs, and feet. Series helms are solidly attached to a large vessel capable of carrying an illithid crew and cargo. When Illithids occupy every seat in a series helm, the creatures' combined psychic power is drawn out by the device, amplified, and precisely directed so as to provide enough motive power for the vessel to rise up in the air and exit the atmospheric envelope of a planet!
Nautiloids
Illithid Spelljamming Vessels, also called Nautiloids, carry a cargo of up to 35 tons. Such ships normally boast crews of at least 35 Illithids, 2â5 of which must occupy the series helm to provide motive force for the craft. A Nautiloid is approximately 180 feet long and has the appearance of a massive snailâs shell, from which protrudes a tapering bundle of tentacle-like spars that serves as a ram.
The coiled shell of the nautiloid (see diagram below) provides the comfort of enclosed spaces while at the same time providing protection against direct sunlight. However, the ship is not completely sealed against its outer environment. A film of pressurized, heated, and breathable atmosphere coats the ship. This atmospheric film allows illithid thralls (and illithids protected against possible sunglare) to move freely from interior to exterior as their duties dictate.
While docking facilities for Nautiloids are typically exclusive to space-based Illithids, some terrestrial communities may maintain hidden docks at mountain peaks. Communities engaged in trade with these space-faring Illithids are often characterized by unique, exotic items, as well as remnants from the piracy associated with the Nautiloidâs ram.
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Sometimes called the Lord of the Rings of science fiction, Frank Herbert's magnum opus, Dune, offers a number of unique and excellent ideas for even the most adamantly anti-sci-fi D&D player. The universe presented shows a depth of detail rarely seen in contemporary fiction. Everything and everyone has a history, giving the reality in which the novel's events occur the same weight of minutiae experienced when exploring a world as detailed as the FORGOTTEN REALMS.
Dune traces the path of young Paul Atreides from 15-year-old ducal heir on the water-rich planet of Caladan to his rise as a young man who becomes messiah-emperor on the desert planet ArrakisâDune itself. Along the way, the novel packs in political intrigue, betrayal, murder, and a little philosophy. Alongside his mother, the Lady Jessica, Paul escapes into the death-dealing desert wilderness, where they come under the protection of Stilgar of the Fremen. Under the tutelage of both Jessica and Stilgar, Paul embraces and reworks the Fremen way even as Fremen culture embraces and reworks him.
Like any great adventure fiction, Dune also packs in lots of cool and imaginative concepts. Many of these ideas easily translate to D&D, from Stillsuits to Defensive Shields. Of course, the most evocative aspect of Dune is the spice called Melange and its cycle of creation and use. The following presents a way for you to use a similar cycle in your D&D game.
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đ ORANGESPICE đ
Orangespice appears as a fine orange powder that smells heavily of cinnamon.
At low doses, orangespice becomes mildly addictive;
At high doses, orangespice becomes fatally so.
Consumed over a lifetime, orangespice adds years to your life and grants you insight into the future.
Orangespice acts much like a disease and in some ways like a drug from the Book of Vile Darkness. Some creatures actively seek exposure to orangespice for its beneficial qualities, oblivious to the dangers. Others, especially those who live near areas high in orangespice, cannot help but become exposed to it, for good or ill. As long as you ingest a steady amount of orangespice in your diet, you suffer no ill effects. The following table outlines the effects of orangespice.
Frequency: This lists how often you must either consume a dose of orangespice or else make a Fortitude save. You set this frequency by the length of time between your previous 2 doses of orangespice, although you can never move higher on the chart (you cannot wean yourself off orangespice over time).
Once you've established a frequency of use, you can only maintain that frequency, increase the frequency of use, or quit orangespice altogether. If your frequency of consumption falls between 2 of the levels on the chart, use the more frequent level. For example, if you consume 2 doses of orangespice 6 months apart, your frequency becomes 1 month, and you must thereafter either consume a dose of orangespice or make a Fortitude save every month.
Spell-Like Ability (CL): This indicates which spell-like ability you gain from the spice you consume, as well as the caster level of that ability. The spell-like abilities are cumulative, so you gain all of the spell-like abilities higher on the list. You may use a particular spell-like ability once per dose you consume, and you may not use any spell-like abilities if you don't consume spice (whether or not you make your Fortitude save).
Fort DC: This is the DC of the Fortitude save you must make if you miss consuming a dose at the appropriate frequency interval.
Number of Saves: This is how many Fortitude saves you must make in a row in order to break your reliance on orangespice. If you later take a dose of orangespice after making the appropriate number of saves in a row, your frequency reverts to its previous level and you must succeed at this number of consecutive Fortitude saves to quit again.
Damage: The amount of damage you take if you fail a Fortitude save. Certain spells (such as restoration) can cure this damage normally, but no spell short of wish or miracle can prevent it from occurring.
Lifespan Increase: Orangespice grants a longer life if you're exposed to it for your entire life. Your DM adds the indicated number of years onto your maximum age when he makes your maximum age roll.
ORANGESPICE EFFECTS
_________________________________________________
Frequency | Spell-Like Ability (CL) | Fort DC | Number of Saves | Damage | Lifespan Increase
_________________________________________________
Year | â | 8 | 2 | 1d2 Wis | â
Month | Guidance (1st) | 16 | 3 | 1d2 Wis + 1d4 Str | 10d2 years
Week | Augury (3rd) | 24 | 4 | 1d2 Wis* + 1d4 Str + 1d6 Con | 10d6 years
Day | Divination (7th) | 32 | 5 | 2d2 Wis* + 2d4 Str* + 2d6 Con | 10d10 years
__________________________________________________
*Permanent drain, not temporary damage.
A dose of orangespice costs 500 GP and has no appreciable weight.
____________________
đ ORANGESEER đ
Large Monstrous Humanoid
Hit Dice: 8d8+16 (52 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 20 ft (4 squares), fly 10 ft. (clumsy)
Armor Class: 20 (â1 size, â1 Dex, +4 natural, +8 dodge), touch 16, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+12
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d6)
Full Attack: 2 claws +5 melee (1d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Psionics
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/magic, future sight, immunities, orangespice dependence, spell resistance 19, tongues, uncanny dodge
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +8
Abilities:
STR 11 | DEX 8 | CON 15 | INT 26 | WIS 15 | CHA 14
Skills:
Concentration +13, Diplomacy +15, Gather Information +13, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana) +19, Knowledge (geography) +19, Knowledge (psionics) +19, Knowledge (the planes) +19, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +21
Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Spell Penetration
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary, band (1 Orangeseer + 4â6 1st-level warrior attendants), or guild ( 2â6 Orangeseers + 3â7 3rd-level warrior sergeants and 12â36 1st-level warrior attendants)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: â
This bloated creature appears somewhat humanoid, but its arms and legs seem vestigial compared to the immense bulk of its orange-skinned body. The strong scent of cinnamon assaults your nostrils.
Their minds open to the possibilities of the future and the vast existences of the present, Orangeseers make dangerous assassins and spies. Only the wealthiest organizations can hope to maintain even one Orangeseer for long periods of time. An Orangeseer was once a humanoid who has since surrendered himself/herself to Orangespice's effects, making him/her wholly dependent on Orangespice but giving him vast powers beyond those of even daily dosage users.
An Orangeseer looks like an impossibly bloated human whose atrophied legs can no longer support it but yet somehow do. An Orangeseer weighs about 1,000 pounds.
COMBAT
In combat, an Orangeseer tries to stay out of melee, using his/her psionics to blast his/her foes. If the fight begins to go against him/her, the Orangeseer grabs what Orangespice it can and uses Dimension Door or Plane Shift to escape.
Psionics (Sp):
At will â Augury, Divination, Guidance;
3/day â Commune, Dimension Door, Touch of Idiocy;
1/day â Charm Person (DC 13), Daze Monster (DC 14), Greater Scrying (DC 19), Hold Person (DC 15), Plane Shift (DC 19), Suggestion (DC 15). Caster level 13th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Future Sight (Su):
An Orangeseer constantly sees several possible futures simultaneous with its view of the present. This Ability grants the Orangeseer a dodge bonus to Armor Class and an Insight bonus on Initiative rolls equal to its Intelligence Modifier (usually +8).
Immunities:
The Orangeseers are immune to mind-affecting effects, disease, and poison.
Orangespice Dependence (Ex):
An Orangeseer must use Orangespice hourly. Because of its extreme reliance on Orangespice, it automatically fails all Fortitude saves related to Orangespice.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex):
An Orangeseer retains its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) and any dodge bonuses to AC even if caught flat-footed or attacked by an invisible creature.
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đ SANDWORMS đ
You can easily introduce Sandworms into your campaign by changing a few of the abilities of a Purple Worm. Sandworms create orangespice as a natural part of their life cycle, making their preservation imperative to those who harvest or use orangespice.
Creating a Sandworm from a Purple Worm takes a few easy steps that mostly don't affect combat. First, take away the Purple Worm's poisonous sting attack. Give the worm the following Orangespice creation special quality, and increase its tremorsense range to 1 mile. Change its environment to warm desert. A Sandworm can run even when burrowing, but it can only burrow through sand and other loose material. Reduce its CR by 1. Finally, change the worm's advancement line to 16-32 HD (Gargantuan); 33+ (Colossal).
Don't fear making your Sandworm bigger. The statistics given on page 211 of the Monster Manual represent the average Purple Worm but only an immature Sandworm. Sandworms average about 300 feet long, 20 feet in diameter, and about 80 tons. Some deep desert dwellers claim to have spotted Sandworms of around 1,000 feet long, and their legends tell of Sandworms approaching a 3rd of a mile in length.
Orangespice Creation (Ex):
A Sandworm produces 1 pound per HD of Orangespice once per week. It leaves Orangespice in its wake wherever it travels. Patches of Orangespice occasionally work their way to the surface where they are easily harvested.
The typical adventuring party enters a dungeon as a group of individuals and leaves as a smaller group of individuals (if at all). How does this happen? The PCs are a well-equipped, well-trained dungeoneering unit, right?
Well-equipped and well-trained? Probably. Unit? Not if they go into their encounters the way most PCs do. Individuals fighting as individuals, however skilled and adaptable, never prove as deadly as a cohesive unit with a good plan.
Modern small-unit tactics emphasize surprise and suppressing firepowerâfactors that adventurers often use. With a few simple suggestions and a little practice with such tactics, even the most uncoordinated party might become a skilled dungeon-demolishing force!
SURPRISE
Your party should most often attack first. Better prepared and often more intelligent than your foes, no self-respecting band of adventurers should be regularly surprised by a dungeon's inhabitants. In fact, the party should normally be stealthy and clever enough to claim surprise rounds for yourselves.
Forgoing plate armor for masterwork leather and a few cross-class ranks in Hide and Move Silently (or, better yet, a level of rogue) might lower a character's Armor Class, but who needs AC when your opponents don't get the chance to fight back? Spells like invisibility and silence help your party win surprise at low-levels, while the combination of scrying and teleport might catch even the highest-level enemy off guard. PCs who overuse this technique, however, should expect to see their enemies counter with detect scrying, or even the same tactic.
One good surprise round might put your party ahead for good in any combatâif not win the battle outright. Between area-affecting spells and a pair of multiclass fighter/rogues using sneak attack and Great Cleaveâpreferably with reach weaponsâeven a powerful group of monsters might fall in the first round. Alternatively, you might use the surprise round to get in position to flank a powerful monster or cast a spell giving allies an edge against that monster, like aiding your allies with protection from elements when confronting a fire elemental.
SUPPRESSING FIREPOWER
Imagine your party dumping its cleric for a second fighter, rogue, or sorcerer. A fast-moving, hard-hitting party should be able to overcome many encounters without taking any damage at all. Integral feats and abilities like sneak attack, Manyshot, and area-affecting spells (see "War Magic" in this issue) form a near-unstoppable ranged assault, especially when used together.
Alternatively, you might suppress enemies without relying upon firepower. Casting spells like cause fear, charm monster, or confusion in a surprise round effectively subdue enemies in situations where you might want to take your foes alive. A cleric's turning ability might also suppress a significant portion of an undead force before they even get a chance to react.
GEARING UP
The best offense for a fast-moving, hard-hitting unit comes from reach weapons, which allow you to use feats like Great Cleave in a 10-foot radius, and wielding weapons with both hands allows you to deal extra Strength damage. Characters with low Strength scores might benefit more from using sneak attack, ranged weapons, or Weapon Finesse and a pairing of rapier and short sword. Weapons that allow you to make multiple ranged attacks in a round also prove themselves invaluable.
The best defense for your fast-moving, hard-hitting party is light armor, which neither inhibits movement nor imposes a prohibitive armor check penalty. Studded leather does the trick early in a PC's career until elven chain and magic armors become available.
Magic items should compliment your party's stealth, speed, and hitting power. Weapons with the keen or speed properties, rings of invisibility, or boots of elvenkind provide these benefits to great effect. Construct-bane and undead-bane weapons also help you deal with the two types of creatures most likely immune to some of your usual spells and attacks. Finally, remember to keep your party's arcane spellcasters or characters with Use Magic Device well stocked with scrolls.
Your Castle is a lonely place of stone and wood. You have a few advisors, a new bride or bride-to-be, and a town is springing up nearby. Now what?
Well, here's a brief list of some of the people you're going to need to make your Castle run. Without them, you'd be one busy Knight.
Squire
Each King/Queen or Knight has his own personal Squire. Most Squires are knights-in-training who take care of their lord's personal steed, see that his armor is repaired and polished, sharpen his/her sword & lance, and otherwise tend to the lord's miscellaneous knightly needs.
Many of the noblest PCs will have been squired to a great noble or King/Queen. Note that many of the wealthiest Lords have more than a few Squires, and that such positions are rare and prized within the Kingdom.
Marshal of the Stables
The Marshal of the Stables is in charge of all of the lord's horses, whether for war or show. He is always attended by many well-treated serfs and while he carries little or no power within the Manor, a personal friendship with a horse-loving King/Queen is not to be taken lightly.
Some Kings/Queens have hunting dogs for chasing foxes in the nearby forests, or falcons for hunting small birds, and these duties also fall under the marshal's supervision or those of his/her staff.
If the Lord has a special mount like a Dragon or a Pegasus, the personal attention such a unique beast requires calls for the hiring of another Marshal of the Royal Steed, who is likely to have an interesting background to say the least.
Chief Porter
The Chief Porter and his Watchmen guard the castle during all hours of the day and night. As a rule, they answer to the Lord High Marshall.
Sworn Executioner
If a Lord is the sworn Legal Officer in an area, most likely a newly conquered frontier, or he is the King/Queen of a Land, he/she will have on his/her staff a Chief Executioner to handle the messiest of trials.
Such a man earns a great deal of respect as it is an ugly job he does, and his loyalty to the King/Queen is never in question.
In his off-hours, the Sworn Executioner might be Captain of the Guards, but he is also likely to be the Master Torturer (if permitted within the Castle Walls) and/or the only practicing doctor for miles. His talents at breaking bones and severing limbs give him a lot of knowledge about fixing them as well.
Waiting Women
The Lady of the Castle is attended by a large number of serving girls, known as her waiting women. They tend to her every need, and help supervise the many household duties and chores under the Lady's command.
Chief Steward
The Steward oversees the Cooking Staff and is busy almost all of the time. Feeding an entire Castle is not a simple chore! The Chief Steward has a lot of personal discretion, but reports to the Castellan if any problems arise.
Castellan
The Castellan supervises the basic cleaning and household management of the Castle. His duties are many, and his knowledge of formal affairs and etiquette is second to none.
Chief Gardener
If the Lady has a Garden, it must be tended. Note that these Rich Gardens are often the Personal Groves of many Retired Druids, and are also the 1st training grounds for many young ones.
Men-at-Arms
These are the Soldiers that man the Castle, protect the lands, and patrol the countryside.
Assorted Craftsmen
Large Castles have their own dedicated Carpenters, Barbers, Surgeons, Tinkers, Potters, Stone Masons, Blacksmiths, and so on. Staff Craftsmen take the place of those in Town who often have other obligations to attend to.
Lords/Ladies tend to hire the best Craftsmen they can afford and many a feud has grown out of the refusal of a Lord/Lady's employment offer that shouldn't have been refused.
Serfs
Of course, even the mightiest Lord/Lady depends, in the long run, on the support of his/her subjects. These are the "little people" who tend the farms, work the mines, and serve as cannon fodder in military campaigns.
Although they are often part of the background in a feudal setting, they are as important as the unseen timbers which support the roof of your home. Without them, the entire structure collapses.
For more information on serfs in a feudal society, see "A Day in the Life of a Peasant" later on in this chapter.
Paying for Your Castle or Kingdom
Naturally, all of these Citizens must be paid. In this section we have presented a quick system for handling the financing of an Estate or Kingdom.
Assume that a typical Manor, Kingdom, or Town recovers in taxes and levies just enough to keep the Estate operating normally and within the bounds of typical inflation. However, any unusual expenditures (i.e. anything other than food, manorial upkeep, normal taxes, and wages) must be handled specially by the Lord in question.
If the Duke/Duchess wants to keep a Dragon as a mount, then all of the dragon's expenditures must be covered somehow, either by the personal finances of the lord (gained either through inheritance or adventuring) or through an increase in taxes on the local populace.
Naturally, the DM should refer to the American Revolution for some ideas about the effects of unfair taxation on the masses.
For PCs and NPCs alike, this system is the easiest to use on a large scale. It is assumed that the various exchequers, both Royal and Noble, are competent enough and suffer only from a minimum of corruption.
This system allows both the player and DM to concentrate on the important changes made to the estate and get on with the game itself.
Bribery is Your Friend
As one might expect, bribery is a useful tool in dealing with often corrupt bureaucracies, tax collectors, and other petty (and often not so petty) officials. Sometimes it is cloaked in semi-legal things like political donations or monopoly taxes, but usually bribery is in the form of expensive "birthday" gifts, wedding presents to the father of the bride (as well as the young couple), or outright purses of gems passed in a handshake from briber to bribed.
Bribery is a most useful skill for characters. While anyone can make an offer of cash in exchange for favors, there is often more to bribery than that. For those of you who wish to incorporate bribery as a non-weapon proficiency, the following description should be used.
Bribery
1 slot, Charisma, 0 modifier.
This skill is open to all rogue characters. If the DM agrees, it may be available to other classes on a case-by-case basis.
Attempts at bribery are not restricted to those familiar with its intricacies; anyone may attempt to bribe someone else. Those with this skill will be able to determine a "fair" price and avoid a potential double-cross.
Whenever a character without bribery skill attempts to use this skill, they must make a Charisma check at -4. Failure indicates that the bribe is refused and that the character may be turned over to the watch for his actions. Those with this skill will obviously suffer no such penalty.
It's important that the DM not allow the use of bribery skill to replace the role-playing aspects of such transactions. Players who role-play such attempts well should be given a positive modifier to their bribery check while those who do not should suffer for it.
As you can see, there is much more to bribery than just saying:
"I'll offer him 10 gold pieces to look the other way."
It's much more interesting to negotiate skillfully yourself, with phrases like:
"Hello, Sir Walter! I'm so happy you could attend. I didn't have time to get a gift for your lovely wife, so why don't you take this small gem and pick something up for her yourself?"
A Day in the Life of a Peasant
Okay, so enough about the rich, the powerful, and the important. What about the little people? What do the poor, downtrodden, oppressed masses think about all this feudalism?
Surprisingly, for the most part the peasant underclass is relatively well-off in most feudal societies. They are always assured of work, their life spans hover around 40 years or so, and they rarely go hungry. When things get dangerous in times of war, they usually have a place to hide and, despite the myths to the contrary, the nobility treats most of their servants extremely well.
But aren't they slaves, pressed into service by the Wealthy Aristocracy? Well, sure they are, in a way. But the key point here is that the serfs understand the fundamental principles of Feudalism, and so do their Masters/Mistress.
In truth, the majority of the serfs are not slaves, as open slavery of one's own countrymen is frowned upon in a feudal society. However, they are not completely free. In fact, most serfs are victims of economic slavery. While they don't wear chains or find themselves bought and sold on the auction block, they face no prospect of a better life. Like slaves, they work at seeking out an existence day by day. While they are able to pay their bills and such, they are unable to set aside money for savings. Still, that's the way the system works and most are willing, if not eager, to keep it that way.
For example, while the serf works the land under a grant from the Lord/Lady, all but a little of the produce from that Land goes back to the Lord/Lady as rent. Usually, a little bit of that food is left over to feed the serf and his family (who also work that same land). Some of that food can be sold for money at market, or back to the Lord/Lady for a fair price, but the lord has charges for everything on his/her estate that a Serf might need or want.
There are charges for using the ovens, for using the tools on loan from the Lord/Lady, for kegs of salt and spices, etc. In short, since the serfs can't afford to buy these things for themselves, they have to pay the lord for them, and because all of their money goes to the Lord/Lady, they can never afford these things for themselves. As you can see, we have a vicious cycle of interdependence.
The serf is free to pack up his/her family and leave at any time. But since he/she is usually fairly well treated, has no money of his/her own, and no place which looks better to go to, why should h/shee?
You see, the Lord/Lady needs his serfs as much as the serfs need their lord. Land is no good unless there's someone to work it, and no one is going to work dangerous land or land owned by a cruel taskmaster.
Serfs expect protection from enemies in times of war, a fair amount of freedom (i.e. trips to Market Day, some privacy, enough food, and the like), no uncalled-for beatings or harsh treatment, and not to be taxed to the point of distress and starvation.
The Lord/Lady, in turn, expects good workers that will insure the continuation or growth of his/her Estate. You see, without the money earned from the agricultural products of the serfs, the local Manor would collapse quickly from the lack of revenue. Many a Castle has fallen from a revolt of the serfs, as labor strikes are not an invention of the 20th century.
The serfs can also see that their labor goes into supporting the Lord/Lady's Army, which in turn protects them. As long as War is a common danger, and could come at any time, the better prepared the army, the safer the peasants. A fair old lord beats an unknown new 1 any day.
So, what's the downside? A serf's life is simple, dull, and unrewarding. The average peasant has no hope of an improved status in life. Likewise, his/her children will be born into the same lot that he/she was, and he/she can see no bright future for them. Those who do want something better, and are willing to risk everything for it, tend to become adventurers like the player characters. They either die, or they become heroes. Mostly, they die.
Because of the awesome power of churches in any feudal society, it is important to both the government and religious leaders that both recognize each other's power.
The government recognizes the importance of the churches by consulting with them on any important issues and seeking their guidance in most social matters. This trust is best seen in the appointment of a Lord High Chaplin to the king's staff of advisors. In addition, many societies grant the church certain privileges (like tax exemptions or free use of the lord's land) to further secure their friendship.
For their part, churches promote a belief in the divine right of kings. In short, this policy simply reflects a belief that any king (or emperor) is himself a vassal who holds his own lands (the kingdom) through the grace of whatever deity he worships. This is generally accepted by the royal family because it bestows upon the king and his actions an illusion of divine guidance. It is because of this belief that many nations have gone to war with the thought that "the gods are on our side." Of course, who would want to fight a war in which the gods supported the other side?
By holding a special coronation service whenever a new ruler ascends to the throne, the church recognizes him as the rightful leader of a nation. The major drawback to such an act is that the church must strip a king of this divine blessing if it should become important that they oppose him on a major policy issue. Usually, any king who is declared to have fallen out of favor with the most important faith in his kingdom will find himself quickly opposed by a powerful noble who has the backing of the church. Such conflicts can often lead to a civil war and are thus avoided by both sides whenever possible.
Politics Within The Churches
Just as there is a great deal of political intrigue and activity in the feudal government itself, so too is the typical church hierarchy a hotbed of power struggles. While this is not as true in the lower ranks of the church structure, it often becomes the case at higher levels. This is due mainly to the lack of true power which lesser officials have and the fact that many of them are not overly ambitious.
Once one reaches the level of curate, however, political savvy begins to become an important part of a religious leader's job. In addition to dealing with the local chivalrics and nobles, the curate must manage the affairs of his own staff, many of whom may have designs on his job. On the other hand, he may well have his own sights set on the job of the dean above him. If this sounds familiar, it's probably because the same sort of thing is a regular part of the affairs of the nobility. Beyond a certain point it becomes almost impossible to tell a church official apart from a politician.
Conflicting Faiths
In most kingdoms, the major faith will be determined by the beliefs of the king himself. If the King is a worshipper of the Egyptian pantheon, then that is likely to be the state religion. If the King is not religious (seldom the case), he will still find it wise to pay lip service to a popular faith and adopt it as the state religion. In most cases, a king who opposes religious practices in his realm or who actively confronts the various religious orders popular among the serfs is going to find himself with a revolution or a revolt on his hands.
In some cases, however, it is difficult to say where the line must be drawn. If the royal family has strong ties to two religions, then it may be difficult for a ruler to maintain a stable government. In some cases, a civil war or internal power struggle may erupt, with each side being supported by a powerful church. In such cases, it is almost certain that both sides will, in the end, turn out far worse for the whole affair.
In cases where the faiths are not incompatible, it may be possible for an agreement to be reached. As a rule, however, most religions are prone to dislike and distrust those with differing beliefs. Even in the rare case where supporters of similar, but different, faiths reach a consensus, there is usually too much suspicion and political maneuvering to make any lasting alliance possible.
Of course, no king or high priest (except for a fanatic or a fool) wants a Holy War or a religious dispute to erupt in their kingdom or church. In addition to being expensive, it makes them more vulnerable to their adversaries. Thus, even in cases where a dispute exists, it is sometimes possible for those on both sides to âagree to disagreeâ and let things go at that for a little while. Such compromises are, by and large, a good thing for both sides. The major problem with them, however, is that they do not tend to survive the test of time.
A good assumption to make is that any large kingdom which has been around for a long time will have a single powerful state religion. Other faiths, although they may be legal, are not usually popular. Although it is often almost impossible to utterly destroy a faith which has gotten a foothold in a given society, it is possible to discredit it and drive it underground. In such cases, the unified actions of the state and its official religion are generally effective.
The Church and Magic
An important question which must be answered when setting up a campaign world is this:
What is the church's view of the practice of magic?
In some cases, the church will sanction such efforts and may even fund spell research and similar projects on the part of wizards. This is the case with temples to such deities as the Egyptian goddess Isis or the Greek goddess Hecate, both of whom are the patrons of magicians.
On the other hand, some churches look upon the practice of magic as an evil thing. In their opinion, use of magic is often seen as an attempt by man to steal the powers of the gods and attain a divine status for himself. Obviously, they cannot allow such blasphemy to continue unchecked, so they will often harass or even declare a virtual Holy War against those who employ magic.
This can be an important consideration. A priest character who worships a deity that considers all magicians to be enemies of the faith may well find himself at odds with a fellow party member who is an illusionist. Further, a king or lesser lord in a nation with such a religion is not going to have a high wizard on his staff of advisors.
Crimes and Punishments
Feudal societies are often depicted as having harsh and unfair judicial systems in which the defendant has little or no chance of justice or mercy. In actuality, this is seldom the case. The same codes of honor, duty, and responsibility which pervade the rest of feudal culture also dominate the legal profession. Thus, establishing the truth in a case, either criminal or civil, is considered to be a matter of great importance. A justice takes pride in his work.
There are a few concepts which are important to understand about feudal justice. For one thing, the penalties for those convicted of serious crimes are quite severe. The death penalty is quite common, as is branding, whipping, or even dismemberment. While this is not a pleasant thought, it is the way things are. On the other hand, penalties are not generally overly cruel. Torture, for example, is almost never employed either to obtain confessions or punish the convicted.
The following is a list of various crimes and the generally administered punishments for those convicted of them. In some places, the penalties will be more severe, while in others they will be more merciful.
Violent Crimes
The crimes, all of which are considered to be the most vile of acts, are all subject to the death penalty. As a rule, any given society will have a standard means of execution which is used for all offenders. Typical measures include hanging, beheading, and burning at the stake.
Arson
This is defined as any setting of a fire which causes a loss of life or property. Exception is made for those fires which are accidental, but not those which are purposefully set and get out of hand.
Conspiracy
This includes any attempts to make plans against the king or local lord. It includes plotting an assassination, making ready to stage a coup, or (in very strict realms) even making casual remarks about deposing a monarch. As you can see, this class of crime is very open to the whims of the local lord and his justices.
Desecration
Most feudal societies hold a great respect for the dead and the places in which they rest. Thus, desecration of a tomb or burial area (a popular pastime with many adventurers!) is ranked among the violent crimes and violators are subject to the death penalty.
Drawing a Weapon
There are two ways in which this law is enforced. The first, and more serious of the two, is Drawing a Weapon on Gentility. This includes any threatening use of a weapon against any member of the chivalric, noble, royal, or imperial classes.
The second aspect of the law is intended to protect the common folk from rough treatment at the hands of trained warriors. Anyone who has been trained in fighting and threatens to use their skills against someone without such training is breaking a major tenet of the Chivalric Code. Because it is considered very improper to use superior weapons against a fairly defenseless serf, this is also a death offense.
In both cases, however, self defense is considered to be an exception to the law.
Espionage
Technically, this law applies to all persons who act in a covert manner to obtain the secrets of a realm. However, it is seldom used against the spies of one's lords, which are an accepted part of feudal life.
However, the laws against espionage are enforced when the criminal is a spy in the payment of a hostile government or other faction. Such persons, when they are captured, are sometimes tried, convicted, and then traded back to their masters for a ransom. In cases where the spy's master holds one of the lord's own men, an exchange is often made.
It is important to note the difference between espionage and treason. Both crimes involve the giving of information to the enemies of the realm, but they are very different. Espionage refers to citizens of another realm who are sent into a foreign nation as spies. Such individuals are considered to be simply "doing their job" when they act against a rival power.
Treason, on the other hand, refers to citizens of a realm who sell its secrets to a foreign power. Since they are betraying the nation of their birth, theirs is by far the more serious crime.
Major Assault
This group of laws is a sort of "catch-all" for law breakers who use force in their actions. In short, major assault refers to any use of violence in which the life of the victim may have been in jeopardy. Further, any attack with a weapon of any sort (either an actual or improvised one) falls into this category. In short, anything more dramatic than a fist fight is probably going to be major assault.
Of course, there are exceptions. As with many of the other laws, self-defense is not a crime.
Murder
This crime, often considered the ultimate violation of the law, includes any act which causes a loss of life. It can be applied in matters where criminal intent was involved, but is also used to prosecute persons who have caused a death through extreme carelessness. In realms where chivalry is the absolute rule and all citizens (or, at least, all warriors) are expected to act in defense of the weak, this crime can be charged against someone who has failed to act to save another person from death.
Perjury
As has been stated, the feudal courts will almost always try very hard to determine actual guilt or innocence before passing sentence. One of their most important tools in this quest for knowledge is personal testimony by witnesses. Anyone who provides false or misleading evidence is subject to execution as a perjuror. In addition, anyone who withholds evidence which is vital to the court can also be tried under these laws. Distortion of the facts is also considered to be perjury.
Rebellion
One of the most serious crimes in feudal society is that of taking arms against one's lord. In a culture which is built on mutual trust and intricate webs of political and social ties, such a violation of trust is very dangerous indeed. In order to make an example of those who take such drastic action, the means of execution employed on convicted rebels is usually very unpleasant.
Treason
The crime of treason is regarded as the lowest act which any criminal can undertake. In many cases, even hardened criminals are loyal to the crown and will turn in traitors to the local constabulary. As described previously, treason is the selling of one's own nation's secrets to a rival power. It is important not to confuse treason with espionage.
Crimes of Theft
These crimes are all considered to be of a non-violent nature. In cases where a criminal uses violence in his crimes, he is certain to be tried under one of the violent crimes and executed if convicted.
Unless otherwise noted, the following crimes have a graduated scale of punishment. The first offense results in 10 to 60 lashes for the criminal. A second conviction results in branding, the loss of a hand, or similar physical marking and 20 to 120 lashes. A third offense will result in the execution of the criminal.
Burglary
Despite its name, this crime does not imply the theft of any object. A person can be charged with burglary simply for breaking into a home, shop, or other building without permission. In modern terms, this might be taken as breaking and entering.
Theft
Any act which deprives another person of their rightful property is considered theft. It can include shoplifting or a clever swindle. In addition to the penalties indicated above, the criminal is expected to return the stolen objects or, if that is not possible, reimburse the owner for their value.
Minor Assault
Any act of violence is considered to be at least minor assault. A fist fight or beating is the most common offense, but physical restraint of an individual during a robbery is also considered to be minor assault.
In any case where a weapon is used, however, the crime is elevated to major assault and may well result in the death of the offender. Only self defense is considered to allow one to use force against another person.
Poaching
The crime of poaching is defined as hunting on another's land without permission. As a rule, the severity of the punishment is determined by the success of the poacher. A criminal who sets a few small snares might be treated fairly lightly, while one who brings down a deer might expect to see a severe sentence.
In cases where the land has been set aside for use by the local nobility or is deemed to be the King's Woods, the penalty for poaching is death.
Business Law
Crimes of this sort are generally applied to dishonest merchants or traders. As a rule, even dishonest businessmen will not cheat those who live in their town. In a small community, only outsiders will be victimized because the merchant knows he must deal with his neighbors on a regular basis. In larger towns and cities, the merchant may see so many customers in a single day that he can cheat many of them without concern for such matters.
Breach of Contract
Contracts in a feudal society are far less exacting than they are in our own world. As a rule, a contract is assumed to include any agreement by two parties, whether verbal or written, which can be verified by a third party. In cases where a third party presents a false accounting of the transaction before a justice, he or she may well be tried as a perjuror.
Once a court rules on a breach of contract, the losing party is expected to live up to their part in the bargain and pay a penalty to the opposing side in the case. This penalty will be determined by the value of the contract and the magnitude of the offender's violation of it.
Excessive Debt
Anyone who is unable to pay their debts to a merchant or tax collector may find themselves tried for the crime of indebtedness. A conviction in such cases will result in the violator being required to sell off any personal belongings with which they have to pay their debts. If they are unable to raise the money they need, they may be ordered into service for a period of time. The length of such service will be determined by the amount of the debt.
Fraud & Forgery
These two crimes cover a broad range of violations which include any attempt to obtain money, favors, or the like by false representations or trickery. Possible examples include the use of incorrect scales in weighing goods, use of low-grade materials in construction, inept labor, or the outright falsification of a legal document (including coinage).
The greater the money involved, the greater the penalty. Persons who are convicted more than once face the possibility of execution. In all cases, a criminal must repay the money lost by his victims (if possible) in addition to the rest of his sentence.
Death by Taxes
The Royal Exchequer's Office oversees the collection of all of the king's revenues and answers directly to the Lord High Chamberlain. As a rule, the exchequer's office assigns Agents of the Exchequer to each significant portion of the realm, either a county or shire. They are responsible for seeing to it that the king's goal of "a copper for every gold" is collected and passed on to the royal coffers. Because it is possible for any given gold piece to be taxed more than once, however, the treasury often fares far better than this.
In some regions, it is not uncommon for a tax collector to take a little bit extra from the local populace for himself. So long as he does not push the people to the verge of revolt, the king often allows such "minor abuses" to continue. However, revolutions like those detailed in the classic tales of Robin Hood are born from just such "minor abuses."
The following is a fairly complete list of the common fees and taxes for a feudal fantasy campaign.
Everyday Taxes
This section details the taxes which are collected whenever they are applicable. Unlike some taxes, which are charged once a month or once a year, these might be collected every day.
Consumption Tax
This is a typical sales tax. It is charged on all goods and is common to most economic systems. It is paid to a merchant in addition to the normal transaction cost. Merchants are then charged this percentage of their profits separately. The standard rate for this tax is 5%, or ½ copper piece for every silver piece spent.
Luxury Tax
Certain items, like rare furs, jewelry, or ornamental crests, are considered to be luxuries. Their purchase is taxed a further ½ copper piece per silver piece of price. Thus, someone buying a fine fur coat would be required to pay the normal Consumption Tax and then the Luxury Tax on top of it.
Inheritance Tax
All wealth and property inherited by a person is subject to a tax of 1 silver piece for every gold piece of value, or roughly 10% of the estate. This is a one-time tax only. However, if the same property is further passed on to a new beneficiary, the estate can be taxed yet again.
Tolls
The toll paid at most bridges, roads, and toll booths is 1 copper piece per person or horse and 2 coppers per vehicle (if any).
Monthly Taxes
These types of taxes are due about once a month, as described below.
Market Tax
Every town and city has a monthly Market Day, when all the local citizens come from far and near to see the latest wares for sale by the oddest assortment of merchants. Every person or beast entering the town or city on Market Day must pay 1 copper piece for entrance. Since Market Day in towns is the common equivalent to the tournaments of the nobility, this small charge is usually worth the wide variety of entertainments.
Seasonal Taxes
These taxes are only collected once a year, during a given season. The final payment to the king is due on that season's day of high festival. Often, the tax collectors are busy many weeks, if not months, in advance.
Spring â Hearth Tax
Every dwelling, whether a serf's hovel or duke's castle, is assessed a Hearth Tax. Naturally, the amount paid varies according to means.
Type of Structure | Tax
Simple dwelling | 1/2 / 6 cp
Large dwelling | 1 / 2 / 6 sp
Inn | 5 sp per room
Manor | 1 gp
Castle | 10 gp
In those entries which have multiple listings, the first is for a typical dwelling, the second is for a dwelling in an unwalled town, and the third is for any dwelling within a walled town.
Summer â Land Tax
This is a big money-maker for the king, and he can always count on at least a certain amount of income from his estates. It shows quite clearly why land is such a valuable commodity in the feudal society.
Every acre is assessed a function and the legal owner of that acreage is assessed a rated tax. In general, the more useful or developed the land is, the more it is worth, and therefore, the more it is taxed.
Land Type | Tax/acre
Barren | 1/2 cp
Pond or Lake | 1 cp
Uncultivated | 1 cp
Woodland | 1 cp
Cultivated | 2 cp
Town | 6 cp
Fortified | 1 sp
On the above chart, land which is owned within a non-walled city is deemed to be in a "town" for tax purposes. Land within the confines of a protective wall is deemed to be "fortified".
Summer â Nobility Tax
Each family that wishes to display a crest or coat-of-arms within the kingdom must pay 5 gold pieces per year for the king's graciousness. This is part of the reason the king likes creating new nobles whenever he can, whether or not they can afford their own castle, or even own their own home!
Fall â The Tithe
All produce, rents, and profits from the lands themselves are taxed at a rate of about 1 silver piece per gold piece earned, or about 10%. This mostly affects rich landowners and, therefore, the nobility.
Income Tax
At the same time that the Tithe is being collected from the rich, just about everyone else is paying an Income Tax much like our own system today. Each person's income is assessed by the local exchequer's office and taxed at a modest rate of about 1 cp per gold piece earned, or only 1%.
While this may seem extremely fair to our eyes today, the combination of all of the fees and taxes collected over the year, and other manorial charges tend to eat up almost half of a serf's income!
Winter â Poll Tax
Every head in the kingdom is taxed according to the following scale. Importantly, while serfs are considered slaves by many societies, they are usually considered free men in the feudal society. So, usually the serf himself is taxed. However, in richer lands the lord is taxed instead.
Some less reputable tax collectors tax both the lord and his servants (who never know any better and are ordered never to complain about anything).
In realms where magic is relatively common, magical items are considered signs of wealth and power, and therefore get taxed very heavily. The owner of any magic item can expect to be taxed about 1 gold piece per 100 experience points of value in the AD&DÂŽ 2nd Edition Dungeon Masters Guide. Thus, the owner of a ring of invisibility would owe 15 gp while the holder of a vorpal sword would be taxed 100 gp.
Note that all magic, from scrolls to potions and even artifacts (if known), is taxable. This is one very good reason why player characters new to an area should keep their magical powers quiet, as even travelers and nonresidents just "passing through" can be taxed if collectors catch up with them.
It is therefore possible for characters versed in world-spanning adventures to get taxed many times in the course of a year. However, they can only legally be taxed once in any kingdom, and are given a receipt to prove the payment.
Sword Tax
Every weapon in the kingdom is taxed, both as a means of making money and as a means of keeping an eye on the relative power of arms around the kingdom. People in troubled spots buy up weapons at an alarming rate and a good tax collector knows how to see the warning signs of revolution.
Normal weapons longer than daggers and knives are taxed at a rate of 1 silver piece per weapon. Magic weapons are taxed as their mundane counterparts, but are also subject to the previously mentioned Magic Tax.
Royal Licenses
It is necessary for the king to keep a tab on the growth of industry, especially if he is to keep his personal monopolies in power. Even if he can't slow growth down, he can at least make some money from the expansion.
Beggar's License
Believe it or not, begging has always been a fine way to make a living, and it requires a fair amount of skill and work. The fact that many beggars are actually spies, or are accomplished thieves, has not escaped the attention of the king's tax collectors.
All beggars must have a license to beg, otherwise they get thrown in jail. The license costs 1 copper piece and must be renewed every season.
Manufacturer's License
Any manufacturer of goods (i.e. carpenters, potters, etc.) must have a license. It costs 2 gold pieces per year, but does not insure you of fair competition (see "Monopoly Licenses" below).
School License
Anyone who wants to open a school of any kind, or keep it open, must pay 1 gold piece to the state. This money is due only once a year and can be paid at any time. For a one-time fee of 100 gold pieces, any school can be granted a King's License which lasts indefinitely.
Trade License
Much like the Manufacturer's Licenses above, tradesmen who create perishable goods like beer, wine, bread, etc., must also have a license to do so. Coincidentally, the fee is the same 2 gold pieces per annum.
Monopoly Licenses
In countries where many guilds have been formed, the guild will claim the right to regulate trade in its own area. As a rule, the crown will recognize this right and allow the guild to set prices, determine who is permitted to sell their goods or services, and establish minimum quality standards. Of course, the king expects to be compensated for allowing the guilds such power.
This fee varies from place to place and depends on the goods and services provided, but 5% of the profits is customary. While seemingly high, the guild always boosts prices much higher than normal and guild members end up making more money than they would have without such assistance.
In countries where such monopolies are allowed, the king usually must personally grant such a monopoly, and does so only to a favored friend or someone who has helped the kingdom in one way or another.
The guild leadership is only required to contribute 10 gold pieces annually to maintain their monopoly in a given area, but often the personal gifts and free services accorded the king by the guild (privately, of course) usually account for a great deal more. However, the aforementioned price gouging and control over the local market still compensates for the lost revenue.
Legal Fees and Duties
To bring a suit to the royal court costs 10 silver pieces for the privilege. Also, the loser of a suit must pay the king 10% of the amount sued for, in addition to paying off the claim.
However, no one gets off that easily, as the claim money is considered taxable income, which the winner of the suit has to pay off the top.
Also, any legal documents prepared by the royal court cost 5 silver pieces each for the respective plaintiffs.
Non-Resident Fees
Anyone not a native citizen of the realm is likely to pay some kind of tax. Sometimes these are known as "good behavior" fees, because they allow the local authorities to monitor newcomers to an area. In most places, this tax is 5 gold pieces per level per year. Spell casters are noted troublemakers, and are charged twice the normal tax.
All non-humans are assessed a tax of 8 gold pieces per year per level. This is one of the reasons why most non-humans don't like living in human lands if they can avoid it. If non-humans do decide to stay, they can become naturalized citizens after 2 years of residency and no history of criminal activity. The charge for naturalization is 2 gold pieces per level.
Monsters are the most nonhuman of them all, and anyone possessing a monster or even a large animal must pay a fee of 1 gp per hit point of the beast every year! This is the primary reason why travelling carnivals travel so much, as they are always one step ahead of the tax man. Also, it makes owning any sort of rare beast another significant sign of wealth.
Commerce Duties
These taxes relate directly to doing business in a feudal society.
Import Tax
All goods imported into a kingdom are assessed an average tax of 1 copper piece per 100 pounds of cargo. While this may seem to be a minuscule amount, it adds up when shiploads of cargo are in question.
Port Harborage
Every ship is charged 1 silver piece per day for a berth in the public harbor. Private marinas often charge much, much more.
Import License
Every shipment of goods brought into a country must have a license. Normal goods cost about 1 gold piece per shipment to register, while valuable commodities like spices and wines often cost twice that amount, or 2 gold pieces per shipment.
" Coming and Going " Tax
Naturally, any ship or caravan leaving the country is also charged 10 silver pieces per vehicle.
Moneylenders' Surtax
Bankers and other financial institutions are taxed about 5% of their profits per year. This is one circumstance where the Royal Exchequer often takes a personal hand in verifying the accounting books of an institution, especially a rich one.
Of course, our own medieval period was not marked by the practice of magic, although superstition was widespread. In the typical feudal court, magic (either clerical or wizardly) is looked upon with skepticism. To the average warrior or bureaucrat, magic is both unimportant and unreliable. The noted cryptic nature of advice acquired from such spells as augury lends credence to their doubts.
In kingdoms where magic is more common, these crafts may be looked upon with awe by those who cannot control them. While knights might recognize the value of a magical or holy weapon, they will consider the use of spells like fireball to be less than honorable tactics. After all, they reason, a dispute should be settled by fair combat, with warriors testing their mettle and their skills.
Duels between wizards are considered fair, since both sides are using the same weapons. Combating a knight with spells (or cutting down an unarmored wizard) is considered a violation of the Chivalric Code.
The Role of the Church
Although we have touched on the importance of religion in feudal society, we have not taken the time to examine it in any detail. In this section, we will do that, although we will only delve into the matter briefly. For those who wish to have greater detail on the various churches represented in the typical AD&D game, we suggest that you consult the Complete Priest Handbook and take the time to research the various holy orders in place during the Middle Ages.
It is important to note that holy orders in a feudal society tend to mirror the political systems in place around them. For example, an acolyte who works in a small temple located in the poor part of a town swears his oath of loyalty to the priest who is in charge of the religious order throughout the town. The priest swears his loyalty to the curate or canon above him, and so forth.
In this way, it is easy for us to draw a connection between members of a church and their counterparts in the nobility. Of course, in any society which has a dominant religion, all members of the church, be they acolytes or the high priest himself, will be due some respect from any member of the nobility.
Lay Brethren
The Lay Brethren are not actually members of the religious power structure, but they do deserve mention here. This group includes all those persons who are of an unusually pious nature and spend some (or much) of their time working with or for the church. Examples might include those who sweep the temple after services or even the cook who makes meals for the priests at their homes.
Lay brethren do not expect great monetary rewards for their efforts; they work for the honor of serving their church in the only way they can. While it is true that many of them are paid some token salary for their efforts, most do not depend upon the church for their living.
As is often the case, of course, there are exceptions to this. A secluded temple might require a full-time groundskeeper or a permanent cook. In both cases, the individual would be paid a living wage and, probably, be provided with room and board in the church's facilities.
Because of their great love for their church, many members of this group tend to adopt a "holier-than-thou" attitude. While this is certainly not always the case, it is easy for a person who has no other claim to fame in a feudal society to focus on the one thing they do which makes them feel valuable. This is understandable, but the PCs may not always find such aggressive followers of a faith to be pleasant company.
Acolytes
Acolytes are students of the faith who hope, through great study and devotion, to become active members of the church in time. As a rule, they are young (generally in their mid-teens) and very eager to show their devotion to their superiors in the church.
Acolytes tend to draw the least interesting assignments in a given temple. They are in charge of copying holy documents and assisting in religious services, but they have no true power in the church.
Acolytes are assumed to have the powers of a first-level priest, though they are usually not as fit for combat or adventuring as a player character of first level would be. In other words, where most player-character clerics represent members of holy fighting orders, the NPC acolyte is assumed to be a non-fighting individual.
Still, they have begun to acquire certain holy powers and are often called upon to employ their healing powers on the faithful of the church.
Postulant
The Postulant is an acolyte who has proven himself to be true to the church and devoted in his vows. He is generally older (in his late teens or early twenties) and has attained the third level of experience. Upon reaching this new level, the former acolyte is expected to take on more responsibilities.
In addition to overseeing the training of the acolytes he has left behind, the postulant is now expected to play a greater role in the worship of the deity. In fact, lesser holy services may actually be wholly under the supervision of the postulant.
In terms of social standing, postulants are generally accepted as the equals of yeomen. They are awarded some respect but have no real decision-making power in the church. Still, their devotion to the faith is noteworthy, and they are accorded their share of social privileges.
A postulant will usually have 1â6 acolytes assigned to him as students. Of course, while they are under the charge of the postulant, they are expected to follow his instructions in all matters and often end up acting as private servants. This is usually acceptable, as it teaches the acolyte to be humble and show respect to their betters in the church.
If this power is abused, however, it may result in the postulant losing his status or being assigned to a highly undesirable assignment as a disciplinary action.
Curate
The curate is recognized as the head of all church activities in a given town or city. Depending upon the size of the town, they will usually have 1â6 churches in their jurisdiction.
Because the curate is one of the most powerful members of the local religious community, he is assumed to have roughly the same rights and privileges as an important guildsman. As you might expect, a request for favors from such an individual is always taken very seriously by the local nobility. In many cases, a town which might otherwise be in unrest can be kept in check by the actions of the local curate.
In addition to their sway with the local populace, curates are respected for the powerful magic which they can employ. In times of crisis, a local noble who could not afford to maintain a powerful Lord High Chaplain or a Lord High Wizard will petition the curate to act on his behalf.
If the request is reasonable, serves the interests of the church, and is accompanied by an indication of the lord's devotion (that is, gold), then the request is likely to be granted. Of course, this also places the noble in debt to the church, a situation which is highly desirable.
Dean
The next rung in the ladder of church affairs is occupied by the dean. This powerful individual is accorded all the respect and influence due to a knight or similar member of the chivalric class. In his hands is placed the supervision of all church holdings in 1â6 towns.
The dean is an important link in the church structure, for he often acts as an interface between the church's highest officials and the local representatives of the faith (in the persons of the local curates and priests).
Deans tend to be in their mid-thirties, having devoted most of their lives to the service of their deity. As a result, they have acquired the spellcasting abilities of a ninth- or tenth-level cleric. With such power and influence, the dean is clearly a force to be reckoned with in any feudal nation.
The dean is, obviously, entrusted with a great deal of authority. In the absence of clear direction from his superiors in the church, the dean is permittedâindeed, expectedâto make very important decisions regarding the practice of the faith.
As such, they tend to be very conservative people who seek to avoid making any decisions that might be viewed as radical by their leaders. In times of crisis, such resistance to change and the desire to avoid âgoing out on a limbâ can often cause serious problems.
Primate
The primates of a church are second in power only to the high priest. They are able to command such mighty power and have so much influence in matters of the church that they are assumed to be fully as important as any member of the noble class.
Obviously, the years of devotion and study required to attain this position mean that a primate will tend to be quite old. As a rule, the youngest of primates will be in their forties. While in modern society this is not considered "old" by any stretch of the imagination, it represents a good portion of a man's life in a medieval setting. Of course, the healing powers of the faithful tend to result in very long-lived members of religious groups.
Each primate is entrusted with the supervision of all church affairs in a given region. As a rule, any kingdom will be split into 1â6 regions, each of which will be under the guidance of a single primate.
Primates, having the powers and abilities of an 11th- or 12th-level cleric, are recognized by their noble peers as being very useful friends. Conversely, they are also acknowledged as very dangerous foes. Just as the primate's favor can be important to the operation of any noble's holding, his wrath can be swift and enduring. Few nobles will willingly risk a clash with this level of the church.
High Priest
At the top of every religious order is the high priest. This person is the absolute ruler of the faith in a given kingdom. Because, in many cases, a faith is popular only in a single kingdom, the high priest is usually the absolute ruler of the church.
In cases where the same deity is worshipped by more than one culture, a schism tends to develop along culture lines which causes the faith to splinter into two or more groups, each with its own high priest. If this is not the case, then the high priests will answer to a patriarch who oversees the church as a whole (see below).
Each high priest will command the powers of a cleric of no less than 13th level. Because of this, they are generally treated as if they were members of the royal family itself. Only a king who is insane or absolute in his power will directly challenge the authority of the high priest.
The average high priest is well into his fifties by the time he assumes office. The rigors of his life have been such that he is respected as the final authority on all matters of faith. In many churches, the word of the high priest is assumed to be divine and must be taken as the word of the deity himself. No member of the church may refuse to obey the instructions of his high priest without risking the wrath of the deity himself. To be sure, this is not something that any member of the church should take lightly.
Patriarch
In the case of an empire, where several kingdoms have been forged into one governmental unit, a single church leader must emerge to manage the affairs of the religion as a whole. This person, selected from among the high priests of the various states, is known as a Patriarch.
A Patriarch will also be found in those rare cases where churches of the same deity exist within several non-united nations and no schism has resulted. In both cases, the patriarch has clerical powers of at least 15th level and will assume the role of church leader from any of the high priests. The existence of a patriarch does not reduce the power of the high priests by very much, as the church is so large that they must all manage the affairs of an entire nation.
A patriarch, who will almost always be at least 70 years old, is accorded the respect due a member of the imperial family. As one might imagine, a call for revolution or patience by a person in this position is so great, that many emperors will openly court the favor of a patriarch with gifts and oaths of loyalty to the doctrines of the church.
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Any good noble will surround him/herself with advisors. Each of these men (or women) will be an expert in areas which the king may not be knowledgeable about. By consulting them when he is forced to make a decision in some area, the lord can render a fair and competent ruling.
Because of the modular nature of feudal governments, each of these offices is likely to be repeated at different levels of the government. For example, the local baron is certain to have his own seneschal, as does the count he reports to and the king above them both. Some position, such as the Lord High Wizard, will not be found in most estates due to the expense of maintaining such an advisor.
Lord High Chamberlain
Of all the positions in a lord's court, none is more trusted or important to the daily activity of the estate than that of the Lord High Chamberlain. In modern terms, the chamberlain is the lord's right-hand man. He controls all access to the Lord and can act on his behalf in any instance. Orders which are issued by the Lord High Chamberlain are assumed to come directly from the lord and must be obeyed without question.
A number of individuals will report to the Lord High Chamberlain. It is his job to coordinate reports from numerous lesser officials and present his lord with the information needed to make wise decisions. The Chamberlain enjoys the absolute trust of his monarch and can act in his behalf on any matter. In many cases where an audience has been requested with the lord, the chamberlain will be able to resolve matters without having to "trouble his royal highness."
Lord High Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor is entrusted with the day-to-day operations of the government. He is the absolute head of the civil service, answerable only to the lord himself. The only exception to this would be in cases where his actions might have to be cleared with the Lord High Chamberlain. The relationship between these 2 officials is close, if not always cordial.
Nearly every member of the lesser bureaucracy is under the direction of the Lord High Chancellor. His people organize tax collections, internal political relationships, and the posting and distribution of all royal decrees and proclamations.
Lord High Justice
The Lord High Justice is in charge of all aspects of the legal system. It is his responsibility to see to it that laws are enforced and that criminals are hunted down and detained. He oversees the actions of the local judges, all of whom answer to him, and the town militia.
Among the people who report directly to the Lord High Justice are the High Sheriff (who heads the town watch), the High Prosecutor (who handles the prosecution of criminals), and the High Forester (who oversees the lord's woodlands and prevents poaching).
Lord High Marshal
The Lord High Marshal is responsible for the military affairs of the kingdom. He commands the lord's armies in the field and oversees the training, organization, and deployment of troops. In times of war, he is often given broad authority to act in the lord's name.
Reporting directly to the Lord High Marshal are the various military commanders of the realm. These include the leaders of the standing army, officers responsible for recruitment and training, and those charged with maintaining fortifications and military supplies.
In addition to directing military operations, the Lord High Marshal advises the lord on matters of defense, strategy, and foreign threats. He is expected to remain constantly informed about the strength and disposition of neighboring forces.
Lord High Inquisitor
The Lord High Inquisitor is responsible for protecting the realm from internal threats. While the Lord High Justice concerns himself with common criminals, the Inquisitor seeks out traitors, spies, conspirators, and enemies of the crown.
A network of agents, informers, and investigators reports to the Lord High Inquisitor. Through these channels, he gathers information regarding plots against the government and activities which might endanger the stability of the realm.
The powers granted to the Lord High Inquisitor are often extensive and controversial. In many kingdoms, he may authorize investigations, arrests, and interrogations in cases involving treason or threats to national security.
Because his duties frequently require secrecy, many citizens fear the office of the Lord High Inquisitor. Even loyal subjects may become uneasy when his agents begin asking questions.
Lord High Wizard
The Lord High Wizard serves as the ruler's chief advisor in matters arcane. In realms where magic is common, this position may be among the most powerful in the court. In lands where magic is rare, however, the office may not exist at all.
The Lord High Wizard is responsible for monitoring magical activities within the realm and advising the ruler on supernatural threats. He oversees court magicians, royal alchemists, sages, astrologers, and other practitioners of the mystical arts.
In addition to his advisory duties, the Lord High Wizard often conducts magical research on behalf of the crown. He may be called upon to identify magical items, counter enemy spells, communicate with distant allies, or investigate strange phenomena.
Because knowledge is power, the Lord High Wizard is frequently 1 of the most influential members of the court. Wise rulers value such counsel highly, while foolish rulers may find themselves manipulated by those who possess secrets beyond ordinary understanding.
Lord High Chaplain
The Lord High Chaplain is the highest religious authority in the ruler's court. He acts as advisor on spiritual matters and serves as a bridge between the government and the established church.
The Lord High Chaplain oversees the activities of the realm's clergy and ensures that religious observances are properly maintained. He may preside over important ceremonies such as coronations, royal weddings, funerals, and public celebrations.
In many kingdoms, the Lord High Chaplain also serves as a moral advisor to the ruler. His duty is to remind the monarch of religious obligations and ethical responsibilities. A wise ruler will listen carefully to such counsel, though not all do.
The influence of the Lord High Chaplain varies greatly from realm to realm. In some lands, the church and crown exist as equal powers. In others, the religious establishment may dominate political affairs or be entirely subordinate to the ruler's authority.
Since religion often plays a major role in the lives of common people, the Lord High Chaplain can become one of the most politically important figures in the kingdom. His support may strengthen a ruler's legitimacy, while his opposition can undermine public confidence in the throne.
Many of us got into role-playing games when we met some friends who simply asked us to "come by and watch". Little did we know that we had already watched plenty of role-playing games in our all too short lives. In fact , the films and novels we've read over the years hold that same spark of imagination that drew us into these crazy games in the 1st place.
When setting up a new campaign world, there are 2 basic schools of thought :
- those who feel the game should be very historically accurate
- those who do not
Of course, the introduction of magic into the historical world is a mainstay of the AD&D game and cannot help but distort an otherwise historical setting.
Which do you choose in your campaign?
Is your world going to be classically accurate, as it was seen in Great Roman and Biblical Epics we've all watched on TV?
Or will the world have an element of magic and superstition lurking just out of sight { or even in full view } , like the great epic stories of Excalibur and Conan the Barbarian?
If you choose the latter, you must decide how far to take the magic. Very popular in recent fantasy literature are the "no holds barred" magical worlds where everyone and their brother/sister lives and breathes magic. In many ways, this is similar to the way in which the average person sees technology today. After all, most people have no idea how a television set works, but they accept it as a common part of their daily lives.
The average AD&D campaign remains somewhat in the middle along the lines of Tolkein's works and the stories of King Arthur. Of course, because the AD&D game is your game, no single style of play is considered to be correct. If you and your players are having fun, then you're playing the game properly.
As with all the things in the AD&D game, your interpretation is what matters, so feel free to pick and choose, discard and exploit. The more excited you get about your choices, the more your campaign will thrive and grow. Hopefully, this information will give you a wealth of adventure ideas and add life to all your future gaming.
ENJOY!
Notes on Campaign Politics
In many campaigns, the problems of national politics fall into the background for lower level characters. After all, the majority of 1st Level adventurers are not able to cope with problems like major wars, thwarting the ultimate evil, or slaying that most horrible of horrors, The Dragon.
At this point in their careers, the characters are not going to be overly concerned with the ramifications of the king/queen's political alliances for the same reason that most of us are not experts in the details of our country's own foreign relations:
it simply doesn't enter into our daily lives.
As they progress in levels, however, things will begin to change. At first, this will be only a passing thing. Perhaps 1 adventure brings their actions to the attention of a local baron/baroness who, for better or worse, makes a mental note to keep an eye on the characters. By the time they have reached 9th level, the character characters are usually fairly well known and have acquired the status of folk heroes. As he begins to attract followers, the character cannot help but come to the attention of the local government.
It is almost certain that, given time, they will become as well known in their homelands (or the region in which they adventure)
as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, or the Wright Brothers are in the modern United States.
Of course, this may also mean that they are expected to undertake tasks which seem impossible and confront unstoppable armies as a matter of routine duty to their king. Oh well, that's what they get for giving up a simple life of a blacksmith.
In any case, it is important to note that relationships with the local nobility ( even for those who are a part of it ) are not always cordial. Just as the king can be a very valuable friend, so too can he be a deadly adversary.
Feudal Society
The basic element of feudalism is simple enough to understand. All in all, it is nothing more than an arrangement between 2 men, a lord and a vassal, to work together for their mutual betterment.
The Lord, who is the recognized owner of a piece of land - gives it to the vassal, who will manage and live on it. In exchange for such a favor. The lord is entitled to certain duties and favors from the vassal, which include the payment of taxes and the requirement that he support the military forces maintained by the lord.
In most cases, the owner of the land is the king/queen and the vassals are his/her nobility. Of course, 1 can't expect the nobility to work the land themselves, so we come to the serfs and common folk.
The Vassal, in an agreement similar to that which he/she has with his/her king/queen, turns the land over to the peasants and serfs to farm and live on. Like the vassal, they agree to work the land and provide their lord with income and food from it. Of course, the serfs expect to earn enough money to live on and to be protected by the lord in times of unrest or military conflict. The lord knows this, just as he knows that he can expect the same from the king/queen, and is only too happy to provide it.
While this does not mean that life for the serfs is wonderful, it does allow them to live without fear of extreme repression or exploitation.
The feudal system works well so long as everyone in it recognizes their own responsibilities and the rights of others. Since they are in a position where it is in their own best interest to do so, they almost always do. Those who ignore their duties or seek to take advantage of their own position are quickly pegged as troublemakers and may well be strongly disciplined by the leadership of the society.
The reasons for this are simple enough to understand. While the king may not care too much about the life of a single serf, he must concern himself with their overall happiness. Without the serfs, his vassals have no power or income. Without the power and income of the vassals, he himself is impotent. Each block in the pyramid of power rests very solidly on those below it in the feudal system. Without the support of the base, the entire structure will collapse.
Of course, the key to the whole thing is land. Whoever owns the land has the power. While there are certain regions which might not belong to the king/queen (a yeoman's farm, for example), these are insignificant when compared to the vast stretches of land owned by the king/queen him/herself. Even such small patches of independent land will be forced to recognize the power of the king/queen, of course, if they are to expect any protection or assistance from the crown during times of war or calamity.
Social Classes
One important aspect of the feudal system is its clear and almost absolute recognition of social classes. Anyone born as a serf can expect to die as a serf. There is no provision in such a society for the advancement of individuals from a lower class into the higher classes. This is not to say that it is impossible, only that it is very difficult.
How might someone in a lower class make the jump to a higher place in society? Usually by doing a great service to one's lord or church. In some societies, in fact, any knight has the right to bestow the rank and title of knighthood on any individual who proves himself worth on the field of combat. Of course, the problem with such an approach is that it often ends up in the would-be knight's death at the hands of a better trained and better equipped warrior. As we said, it is not easy to improve your place in such a system.
In the following section, we will examine the many levels of society which characters in an AD&D game will encounter.
Serfs
By the time of the Middle Ages, slavery had gradually fallen out of favor in feudal Europe.
While there are certain to be isolated pockets of slave trading in most worlds, the vast majority of a chivalric campaign world should not be a party to it.
While the distinction between a serf and a slave may be obscure to many, the most important thing to understand is this; the serf had certain rights.
While he did not own the land which he worked and did not have a say in the local government, he was acknowledged to own himself. Unlike more primitive societies, where members of the lower class were thought of as animals or property, the poor in a feudal society are recognized as having a right to fair and just treatment by the nobility and society in general.
Most feudal estates have laws to protect the local serf population from abuse or mistreatmentâeven by members of the nobility. While these laws may be more or less enforced, depending on the disposition of the local lord, the fact that they exist at all is a major turning point in cultural evolution.
Yeomen
Unlike the serf, who spent his days laboring on land owned by his lord, a yeoman was recognized as the owner of his own farm. As a rule, it was not a large estate, but it was enough to provide for his needs (and those of his family). If times were good, it might even provide a surplus which could be sold or bartered for a few choice items or luxuries.
In many cases, of course, a yeoman will swear loyalty to a nearby lord and pay him or her some tribute each year. This serves two purposes. Primarily, it allows the yeoman to keep on good terms with the lord and provides assurance that his land will not be taken from him. Secondly, it obligates the lord to help protect the yeoman's land in the event of a disaster or attack. In short, the gesture simply assures that the two will be "good neighbors."
Tradesmen
Tradesmen make up the lower classes of a feudal town. They include the common laborers, lesser craftsmen, and small businessmen. As individuals, they hold little power. Because of their overall importance in society, however, they are treated fairly well by the lord of the manor.
As a rule, tradesmen make enough money to support themselves fairly well and to provide a comfortable home for their families. In a modern sense, they might be described as the middle class.
Guildsmen
In order to counter the power which a lord maintains over his holdings and make certain that he does not abuse his status, the members of many professions form guilds. In essence, they function like the thieves' guild which is so much a part of many AD&D game campaigns. Guildsmen, the leaders of such groups, have much power in a town, for they can call on workers to stop key activities or delay important projects. Likewise, they can urge increased quality or quantity in times of strife.
In addition to the important members of the various guilds, this class of citizens includes unusually gifted artisans or those who work with precious materials (like a gem merchant). This class may be the most diverse of any because it serves as a buffer between the nobility and the common folk. In modern terms, the guildsmen might be considered to be the upper middle class.
As a side note, some guildsmen might have more actual power in a region than the nobles they serve. Such power is probably not openly manifested, but used in subtle ways to help the friends and family of the guildsman. The most important members of this class might be considered nobles who just haven't been given a title yet.
Chivalrics
The lowest rank of the nobility, the chivalric class is made up of knights and barons who have been given a grant of land to administer. In some cases, they have earned the land themselves through wealth, power, or service. In others, the land may have been awarded to one of their ancestors and they have inherited the title and responsibilities which come with such an estate.
Members of this class are endowed by their own lord (usually a duke, count, or earl) with land of their own and a manor house or keep in which to dwell. In return, of course, they swear loyalty to their benefactor and vow to serve his interests in their daily lives. As such, they pay a portion of their own incomes to him as a measure of their respect and gratitude. In a time of crisis, they are expected to come promptly to the aid of their superiors.
Nobility
The nobility are second in status only to the royal family. In practice, they are perhaps the most powerful of the classes. Members of the nobility, most of whom bear the title of Count, Duke, Earl, or Marquis, are each entrusted with a large section of the king's land. They swear loyalty to the crown, just as the members of the chivalric class swear loyalty to them. It is their responsibility to see to it that affairs in their lands are orderly and that all taxes and revenues due to the King are collected in a timely manner.
Members of the nobility have a very close relationship with the royal family, but they can claim no direct blood ties to the throne. In the event that a great disaster were to decimate the ruling house, the successor to the throne would certainly come from this class. The means by which such an individual came to power might be very controversial and a political power struggle is sure to erupt whenever the throne is left unclaimed.
Royal Family
At the top of it all is the royal family. Members of this group can trace a direct family relationship to the ruling monarch. When the current king dies, one of them will be next on the throne. In any feudal culture, members of this class are the absolute upper crust. Everyone, even the most powerful members of the nobility, swears fealty to the royal family and to the king in particular.
In the event of a dispute between the king and a member of the nobility, either in the form of a political challenge or an outright rebellion, members of lower classes are expected to side with the king and royal family. For example, if a powerful count decides to make a grab for the throne, many of the knights and barons who serve him may well be forced to turn against him. Failure to support the king in an internal struggle can be disastrous if the king should prove to be triumphant in the dispute.
As a rule, the king will be replaced by his first-born male child when he dies or steps down. If there is no such heir, then a pre-established pecking order exists to decide who has claim to the throne. In the event that no clear successor exists, the nobility will step in to select which member of the royal family will become the new King. In such cases, a great deal of political manipulation and deal-making can be counted upon.
The Imperial Family
In some cases, there exists an element of society above the traditional royal family; The Imperial Family. Where a king/queen is the recognized ruler of an individual country, an emperor/empress has united several nations under his/her own banner.
Empires are very rare indeed. The power required to hold one together is almost impossible for one man to attain. In most cases, an empire is formed by conquest. When one nation becomes so powerful that it can overrun a number of neighboring states, its king is elevated to the status of an emperor/empress.
There are other ways in which an empire might be formed, but these are rare in the extreme. Several nations with the same religion might be united in a holy war which causes them to select a single individual as their leader. If things go well and the new leader has acquired the power to hold this alliance together after the war, an empire may be forged.
There will always be men who claim to rule empires which exist only in their own minds, of course. It is not uncommon for a king to refer to himself as emperor/empress and his/her lands as an empire. For our purposes, however, these people are no more than kings with delusions of grandeur.
The Flying Pyramid, also known as a pyramid ship, is a spelljamming ship built by humans and used by the undead.
Description
A favorite spacebar tale is the ship-raiding of the Dark Pharaoh, an undead mummy of great powers who preys upon the living to gain more undead servitors. The Pharaoh is said to plan a kingdom of undeath in the stars, and seeks to bring more ships under his sway, as well as priests of Set to serve him as agents amongst the living. So much is believable, but most scoff when they hear that the Pharaoh's ship is said to be a stone pyramid. Wiser spacefarers know that the tale is no myth, and that the flying pyramid was once a common ship in space.
All flying pyramids are ancient ships, constructed by a now-vanished human culture which followed the Egyptian pantheon. Some of these ships were built as temples, but most were intended as grand funerary barges which would take a pharaoh or a high priest to the afterlife, waited on by a host of servants who volunteered to follow their master into death. The living servants would ritualistically kill themselves by manning the ship's helm one by one while travelling deep into the phlogiston. By the time all of the servants were dead, the flying pyramid would be drifting far from known spacelanes, where the pharaoh or high priest could enjoy eternity without having to worry about graverobbers. At least, that was the idea. Many of those buried in these grand tombs became undead (typically mummies of some variety, but wights and priestly liches have also been encountered), usually animating their dead servants so that they could continue to serve. Without any living creatures to serve as fuel, these ships drifted until found by unlucky spacefarers, at which point the undead would attack the living, capturing enough of the living to take the ship back to spacelanes where the pyramid could continue to capture more fuel. It should be noted that not all of these funerary barges became host to the undead, as a few have been encountered drifting with none aboard but the truly dead. These few ships have been veritable treasure troves.
Crew
The crew sizes given are based on M-sized air-breathing creatures. Undead crews usually began as crews of approximately 90, but such a crew tends to grow after each successful raid. A practical maximum for an undead crew is about 360, but some flying pyramids can be found with even more lesser undead than this, often with many hanging on to the outside of the pyramid, waiting for a ship to get close enough for them to leap onto its deck. The common crewmen of an undead ship are usually skeletons, but other possibilities include heucuva, crypt servants, or low-powered mummies.
Ship Uses
Undead Raider:
Most flying pyramids rove through space as raiders, seeking both to increase the wealth of their masters, and to increase the size of their undead crews. The unusual appearance of these very rare ships, combined with the fact that when crewed by undead they tend to appear as derelicts, often entices curious spacers to investigate, allowing the concealed weapons of the pyramid to attack with surprise. Most undead raiders will lurk amongst asteroids and space debris, motionless as if derelict. Some undead intentionally allow mosses to grow on the exterior of the ship (which incidentally helps to keep the ancient stonework from falling apart), and allow debris to accumulate on the ship to enhance the appearance of abandonment. Undead crews will often cannibalize the insides of their vessels to load jettisons, sometimes even to the point of causing the ship to collapse into a field of debris.
Defense Bases:
Salvaged pyramids are typically used as defensive ships, orbiting space bases or protecting worlds. These ships are often armed with a combination of ballistas, catapults, and greek fire projectors. Pyramids used in this capacity are little more than semi-mobile weapon platforms.
Command Ship:
Not all salvaged pyramids are used as defense bases. Some have been purchased by navies for use as heavily protected, but clumsy, command ships. These ships will typically travel with a small fleet of lesser craft, and the flat surface of the underside will usually serve as a landing pad for small craft such as blades, flitters, or wreckboats.
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EYE TYRANT SHIP
Description
Tyrant Ships are the most diverse class of ships in fantasy space. They can look like walnut shells, huge eyeballs, shells carried by squid-like tentacles - even huge beholders. The above stats apply to a "typical" Tyrant Ship, but larger or smaller ships are not uncommon. The individuality of the Tyrant Ship reflects the individual nature of the beholder races. While all beholders share the same basic form and abilities, their genetic lines are plastic, such that small regional differences lead to radical differences in appearance. Since each beholder considers its own type to be the racial ideal, and all others to be nothing more than mutants to be eliminated from the gene pool, a similar view is taken in their ship designs. Tyrant Ships are designed to different specifications by the Arcane for each different beholder racial type, although they all share the same basic structure - a concave "shell" indented with small pockets to serve as resting places for individual beholders with their tentacles down. At the centre of the bowl rests the ship's Hive Mother, surrounded by a number of orbi.
Tyrant Ships usually lack conventional weapons, but make up for it with one of the most terrifying weapons in space: the combined force of a large number of beholders in a single place. A "beholder circuit" of common beholders and a queen can provide a beam of magical energy about 400 yards (1 hex) long and up to 100 yards across at the base. This beam can have a number of different effects, based on a beholder's natural magical ability:
Charm Person - One target per common beholder in the circuit. Targets do not need to be grouped together, although all must be within the beam's area of effect. Any one target need only save once per round this effect is used.
Charm Monster - As Charm Person.
Sleep - For each common beholder in the circuit, a target may be affected. The intensity of the magical sleep is not increased, nor may one target be affected by multiple sleep attacks in one round.
Telekinesis - Add 250 lbs. to the normal capacity for every additional common beholder in the circuit.
Flesh to Stone - One target for each common beholder in the circuit. All targets must be within a 10' radius.
Disintegrate - Each common beholder in the circuit after the first increases the area of effect as if an additional Disintegrate was cast.
Fear - One target can be affected for each common beholder in the circuit. These targets can be anywhere within the beam's area of effect, and can be chosen by the individual beholders, although a target cannot be required to make more than one save per round.
Slow - One target can be affected for every common beholder in the circuit. If the spelljammer is exposed to the beam and affected, the SR of the ship will be reduced.
Cause Serious Wounds - One target can be affected for each common beholder in the circuit. Multiple attacks can be made on the same target in the same round.
Death Ray - One target can be affected for every common beholder in the circuit, but all such targets must be within a 10' radius.
Anti-Magic Ray - The most deadly of the beholders' arsenal of attacks in space, this ray affects everything within the target area. Should the ship's helm be exposed (upper decks will provide sufficient cover to prevent this, but the Disintegrate power may be used first to remove this cover) and affected it will shut down, rendering the ship immobile.
The key to dealing with aggressive Tyrant Ships is to stay out of range of their magical attacks. Long-range attacks against the ships work best, but even causing a Tyrant Ship to break up has its own problems, since the individual beholders, even without the magic in the hull of the ship which allows them to use a circuit, are highly dangerous, and will swarm an attacking ship if possible, either to destroy it or capture it as a temporary home until they can get a more appropriate ship.
Crew
The uncontested ruler of a Tyrant Ship is the single hive mother which will be on board, focusing the common beholders in a circuit, and commanding the orbi who power the ship. All of the ship's energies pass through the massive central eye of the queen. The bulk of the crew of a Tyrant Ship is made up of common beholders, but 1-6 orbi will also be carried to provide motive force. The orbi actually provide this force by channelling the power of the common beholders. As long as at least one common beholder is in the circuit, each orbus provides 1 SR to the ship. In some cases various varieties of beholder abominations will also be carried aboard a Tyrant Ship, however this is usually only done when the ship is a part of an invasion force, in which case the abominations will serve as ground troops once the ship arrives at its destination. Since abominations cannot become a part of a beholder circuit, they are considered a liability in space combat, since they displace more useful common beholders and orbi.
Ship Uses
Purification:
 The beholder nations exist for only one reason: the purification of their race of the scum (i.e. all beholders who differ from themselves in any respect). All other activities - including trading, raiding, piracy and the like - are secondary to this basic goal, and are only pursued if they will somehow advance the goal of purification. The fact that beholders would rather fight amongst themselves than fight the rest of the universe is something that other races are grateful for, although it does give some sages cause to worry.
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NAUTILOID
The Nautiloid is a spelljamming ship built and used by Illithids ( Mindflayers ).
Description
The Nautiloid is the standard ship of the line of the various Illithid nations, and reflects the nature of the race. Its coiled shell provides the comfort of enclosed spaces while protecting the mind flayers from the irritating rays of the sun.
Crew
A standard mind flayer crew numbers 10 Illithids, plus 2-5 additional Mindflayers, depending on the number of series helms in use. The number of helms determines the SR of the ship. A mind flayer ship has a single captain and first officer, with the remainder of the Illithids on board being crew. A Nautiloid will also typically carry between 12 & 20 slaves (thralls), which will usually be humans, dwarves, elves, or other demihumans. The illithids prefer to use expendable slaves to man the weapons, while the Mindflayers remain safely within the ship's armoured shell. The slaves are also used as boarders in combat (backed up by Illithid mind blasts), and as rations on long voyages, so the rate of attrition amongst them is high.
The captain oversees the ship from the command station, while the first officer is usually stationed near the catapult on the battle deck. Since the battle deck is the most likely place for any enemy boarders to attack the ship, it is a dangerous location, so the first officer's position is not envied. As a result, the first officer is usually conspiring to take the place of the captain. No position is completely safe on a mind flayer ship, however, since assassination is a relatively common form of illithid advancement.
Ship Uses
Piracy:
 Nautiloid pirates are relatively common, and use the configuration and crewing given above. Nautiloid pirates are always looking to replenish their stock of slaves, as well as take anything that isn't nailed down from other ships. Typical tactics involve firing off a salvo from the weapons before ramming and boarding, using mind blasts and other mental powers to incapacitate as many enemy crew as possible, while the slaves fight those enemies who are still able to fight back. Since it is not obvious at first glance if a given Nautiloid is a pirate or a trader, most other races attempt to avoid Nautiloids wherever possible, although in some areas of space they are attacked on sight (most organizations put up with them, however, since Illithid traders often form a significant part of the economy).
Trader:
 As the workhorse of the Illithid fleets, many Nautiloids are used as trade ships. Nautiloid traders appear identical to Nautiloid pirates or military ships, but will typically carry a skeleton crew of 2-5 mindflyers to man the helms, the captain and first officer, along with 6-10 slaves (thralls) to help with handling the ship. Nautiloid traders will attempt to avoid a fight where possible.
Military:
 Nautiloids also form the backbone of Illithid navies, and, for their size, are one of the best combat vessels in space. Nautiloids serve equally well as pure combat ships, patrol vessels, and as light troop transports. Light combat duty is usually handled by the smaller Illithid Lance. Since the introduction of the pool helm, the larger Dreadnought has begun to replace the Nautiloid as a heavy warship, but the Nautiloid is sure to remain the most common illithid military ship for years.
Other configurations
Added Armour:
 Some Illithid captains, obsessed with staying well-protected within their Nautiloid shells, further armour their craft. This will typically take the form of armour plating (often bone or ivory, although metal is not uncommon), as well as thickening the hull and adding extra internal bracing. The result is a ship with AR 2, but with MC E and only 13 tons of cargo space. These ships are often used primarily for combat rather than as traders, and it is not uncommon for them to carry extra weaponry, usually a 4th ballista and a 2nd catapult, further reducing cargo space to 9 tons. These ships are clumsy, but deadly, and should be avoided where possible.
Added Speed:
 A common option for Nauiloid traders, this stripped-down version sacrifices armour for extra maneuverability. The MC of the ship is C, but the AR is reduced to 6. These ships will always either have a series helm with 5 Mindflayers, or, where possible, will have a pool helm. In either case, the SR is an impressive 5 which, combined with the relatively good maneuverability, usually allows the ship to evade any enemies. Since these ships will typically operate with a skeleton crew, leaving no spare crew to serve as weaponeers, the weapons are often stripped, with the exception of the jettison, giving the trader extra cargo capacity.
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CUTTLE COMMAND
The Cuttle Command is a spelljamming ship built and used by humans.
Description
Designed by the same Humans who allied with the Illithids to create the Octopus, the Cuttle Command was built using several of the features of the Octopus, but without the direct input of Illithid designers. As the name suggests, the Cuttle Command was intended as a command vessel to coordinate human vessels during the 1st Unhuman War. The Cuttle Command is a ten-story-tall tower in space. It is even taller than it is wide along its hull. The gravity plane is maintained by the 8 large tentacles, 4 of which mount heavy weapons. These tentacles extend far enough horizontally to change the orientation of the gravity plane, however this results in a ship which is less maneuverable than it could be otherwise. These tentacles can be pulled in close to the ship in an emergency, granting the Cuttle Command a maneuverability class of C, however this is rarely done, since the sudden shift in the gravity plane is disastrous for anything and anyone not strapped down.
The Cuttle Command was to be the answer to the Elven Armada, proof that an organized human community could create great command ships to destroy the humanoid menace. Unfortunately, the human organization proved to be far less cohesive than that of the elves. In the one large battle of the Unhuman War in which Cuttles participated, they appeared on both sides. Turncoat Mercenaries seized 1 ship and turned it against its builders.
Crew
The Cuttle Command was set up as a command vessel and information center, with the "brains" hidden within the protective shell. The Cuttle Command could support a full fleet command staff, and included about half its number in heavily-armed raiders and defenders. Historically, Cuttle Commands were well-armed with magic as well, typically carrying about a dozen battle mages. The captain of such a ship was usually also a powerful mage rather than a warrior.
Ship Uses
Command Ship:
 Only about a score of Cuttle Commands were originally built, and all of these were intended to serve as command ships for human fleets opposing the Goblinkin. These mobile command bases were never really intended to serve directly in combat, but were sufficiently armed to defend themselves if the other ships in the fleet were unable to prevent an enemy from reaching them. While some impetuous captains and admirals piloted their Cuttles directly into enemy formations, the ship was actually designed to coordinate the attacks of other ships from a distance. To this end, a Cuttle Command was typically equipped with magical devices to allow long-range communication with the ships under its command. Some Cuttle Commands are still used in this function today.
Wizard Ship:
 The tower-like configuration of the Cuttle Command tends to appeal to human wizards, and the design quickly spread to powerful mages on many worlds through a network of magical contacts. This has resulted in new Cuttle Commands periodically appearing in space as wizards decide to build the craft as experiments. Such ships are usually piloted and captained by the wizard who built them. Since such powerful wizards are often fairly solitary in nature, the rest of the crew is often made up primarily (or even entirely) of magical servants and constructs. These Cuttles are typically used by their masters for research, solitude, and exploration. Because the nature of the crew is so variable, experienced spacers tend to avoid lone Cuttle Commands, since it is impossible to guess what they may be facing if hostilities erupt, and since it is equally impossible to guess what actions may cause hostilities to erupt!
Other Configurations
Alternate Weapons:
 The Cuttle Command's precarious gravity plane simultaneously cries out for modification at the same time that it makes such modification extremely difficult. Extensive modifications to the hull or rigging tend to unbalance the ship, with tragic results, unless performed by a master shipwright with an exceptionally skilled team of workers. As a result, the only common modification seen in Cuttle Commands is a change in weaponry. The most common variants are those which carry all ballistas, or all catapults. There was a Cuttle Command armed with multiple greek fire projectors, the Ultimate Victory; however it was destroyed in a mutiny when the mutineers captured a weapons platform and turned it against the ship. Some Cuttle Commands mount additional heavy weapons on the observation platforms on decks one and ten, while one notable Cuttle, the Battle Cry, was also equipped with extra weapons platforms on the 4 lower tentacles, carrying a total of 6 heavy ballistas, 6 heavy catapults, and 2 heavy jettisons. The Battle Cry survived the 1st Unhuman War, and has been successfully used as a mobile defense platform ever since.
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OCTOPUS (ILLITHID/MINDFLAYER)
The Octopus is a spelljamming ship built and used by Humans and Illithids (Mindflayers).
Description
A large ship reminiscent of the earthly cephalopod of the same name, the Octopus moves through the void in a manner similar to those creatures, its bulbous end first, trailing its armed tentacles. Originally designed as a convoy protector during the 1st Unhuman War, its weapon layout earned it the nickname "tailgunner" (although its turreted weapons actually have an excellent all-around field of fire).
The Octopus was the result of an unlikely alliance between a group of neutral Humans and Illithids. The resulting hybrid has many Illithid design features, but was intended to be piloted by human mages, and crewed by a combination of Humans and a few Mindflayers.
Crew
During the 1st Unhuman War, the typical crew of an Octopus included 2-3 human spelljamming mages, a single captain (who might be Human or Illithid depending on the individual vessel), and 4-10 officers, about half of whom would usually be mindflayers. The remainder of the crew would be made up of normal humans. The total number of crew aboard such a ship was usually 40-45, which provided enough hands to operate the ship at full capacity, and man all of the weapons, while still providing a squad of marines for protection in the unlikely event that the Octopus was boarded. More frequently, these marines would be used as extra hands to replace any combat losses aboard either the Octopus or the ship(s) it was protecting. In modern times, the crew of an Octopus is typically made up of human pirates, and will usually number around 45-60 reavers. The organization of pirate crews varies greatly, while those vessels in the hands of adventurers have crews which vary even more greatly.
Ship Uses
Convoy Escort:
 The Octopus was intended to guard convoys, and some of the ships are still used as escorts to this day in dangerous areas of wildspace. During the 1st Unhuman Wars these ships proved their worth, since they were powerful and versatile. After the defeat of the Goblinkin, the need for large groups of ships travelling in convoys for protection diminished, and the Human/Illithid alliance which created these ships quickly broke up. Most of these ships were retired at that time, and their equipment salvaged for use on smaller, more maneuverable vessels. Recently, however, an enterprising Illithid discovered a forgotten depot with a number of Octopus ships. These ships have been refitted, and sold off to anyone who could afford them, and the ship has begun to ply the spacelanes again. In the current political climate in the crystal spheres, the Octopus is once again useful, and new versions of the ship are being built at several shipyards.
Piracy:
 The majority of Octopus ships in modern times seem to have found their way into the hands of pirates. Such vessels tend to pound their targets into submission before boarding, rather than simply grappling at the earliest opportunity, but this may vary based upon the temperament of the pirates. The appeal of this vessel to pirates can be linked to her good cargo capacity, her good maneuverability for a ship her size, and her ability to operate with a low crew, thus allowing most pirates on board to either man the weapons, or serve as marines. Because so many of these rare ships are used by pirates & privateers, a strange Octopus is best approached cautiously.
Other Configurations
Illithid Octopus:
 A small number of these craft have been sold to mind flayer houses, and refitted with pool helms. These ships are usually plated with additional armour, increasing AR to 6, but dropping MC to E. Since only the most powerful Illithid Houses can afford the pool helms which these ships use, an Octopus is seen as a status symbol. Unlike the even more expensive Dreadnought, an Illithid Octopus is usually used as a private yacht by very powerful Mindflayers, and as such is usually richly appointed.
Heavy Frigate:
 Several of these ships have been modified to serve as heavy frigates. These ships have their bowsprits replaced with piercing rams, and have their hulls thickened and reinforced to withstand the stresses of ramming. The bridge is relocated to the crow's deck, while the former bridge becomes a muster area for boarding troops. In addition, the forward half of the steerage deck is transformed into a gunnery deck, mounting 2-4 medium ballistas behind hatches replacing the fore portals. The Heavy Frigate is AR 6, and has 20-24 tons of cargo, depending on the number of medium ballistas carried.
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DREADNAUGHT (ILLITHID/MINDFLAYER)
The Dreadnought is a spelljamming ship built and used by Illithids (Mindflayers).
Description
The newest and largest ship in the Illithid fleets, the Dreadnought represents the full exploitation of the pool helm's ability to move ships larger than 50 tons. The Dreadnought looks like a great snail shell laid on its side, resting on 2 hulls. The hulls are similar to the forward section of a standard Nautiloid. One of the hulls is known as the Command Hull, and contains the officers' quarters, while the other is the Battle Hull, and is used for ramming (although the command hull could also be used for ramming if needed). Both hulls mount catapults for assaults.
The interior of the shell is a single great vault, similar to the interior of a Nautiloid. Walkways around the perimeter provide access to the ballista stations and the various officers' posts. The vault is lit with red hues and dominated by the glowing pool that provides the motive force for spelljamming. The captain's post is on a catwalk over the pool.
Crew
1 Mindflayer is deadly. 25 of them, the typical number found on a Dreadnought, are a disaster waiting to happen. Fewer Illithids are not uncommon, but more are virtually unheard of. The leaders aboard ship consist of the captain and 4 staff officers. The duties of these staff officers are interchangeable. Each staff officer maintains his own group of supporters amongst the other Mindflayers on the ship. Wise captains play one side off another to retain control of the ship in the face of ambitious staff officers. Despite this political intrigue aboard the Dreadnought, no officer would put the ship at risk merely to advance his own career (at least, not if he could get caught doing it). The remainder of the crew consists of slaves. The bulk of the slaves are Humans, Dwarves, Elves, and other races captured from enemy ships and impressed into service. In addition, each officer and the captain maintains a personal thrall who is treated much as a loyal pet. These personal servants, whose loyalty is ensured psionically, are counted on to pass on any information they get from the other thralls pertaining to the ship's political climate.
Ship Uses
Diplomacy:
 Dreadnoughts have only appeared very recently, and have so far been primarily used in large-scale Mindflayer activity, in particular in cases where the Illithids want to drive a particular point home. Usually in such "diplomatic" missions, the Dreadnought will be escorted by 2-4 Nautiloids.
Exploration:
 Lone Dreadnoughts are beginning to be used as exploration craft, particularly in areas known to have active spelljamming races/species. A large, powerful ship, manned by Mindflayers, tends to make a strong impression on newcomers to the spelljamming community. Illithids have used these impressive ships to open up very favourable trade agreements with several organizations already.
Other Configurations
Pirate Dreadnought:
 The 1st Dreadnoughts encountered in many crystal spheres have not been actual representatives of the Illithids, but various rogues, outlaws, and pirates who can use a great ship in their raids. It seems that these ships were not actually captured from the Mindflayers, but rather the various shipyards building Dreadnoughts had no problem "losing" a ship or 2, which then found its way into other hands. Pirate Dreadnoughts are powered by major helms, and are typically stripped to make them more maneuverable (MC raises to D, while AR drops to 6). They also tend to have additional breaches in the main shell, behind which are mounted up to 6 light ballistas.
Heavy Dreadnought:
 This experimental version has its hull both thickened and plated, giving the ship an impressive AR 2, but reducing MC to F. The clumsy ship also boasts significantly upgraded weaponry, carrying 4 heavy catapults and 8 heavy ballistas. The cargo capacity of this dangerous vessel is reduced to a mere 12 tons, making it a short-range combat vessel. The Heavy Dreadnought is intended as a defensive craft for the most important Illithid bases. In such a role, the Heavy Dreadnought would be badly out-maneuvered by most attackers, and would have to be supported by several Nautiloids in order to make it effective, with the smaller craft herding attackers towards the Heavy Dreadnought. The practicality of this ship has yet to be tested in combat.
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SQUID-SHIP
The Squid-Ship is a spelljamming ship built by humans and used by humans and lizardfolk.
Description
The Squid-Ship (officially the Cephalopod-class Brig, although even most scholars refer to it by its more common name) is widely considered to be one of the best human ship designs in space. Many scholars believe that the original design for the Squid Ship was created by revolting prisoners of an Illithid slave-world, who fused together elements of sea ships and Illithid designs. The truth behind this tale is unknown, but it is widely believed. The simplicity of handling which the Squid Ship provides, combined with good armour and weaponry, make it one of the most popular vessels in its size class.
Crew
The Squid-Ship's simple design allows a relatively small crew to handle the rigging and maneuvering. The captain is usually found on the aft deck, where he gets a good view of the rest of the ship. The helm is located below the captain's station, and communication is often achieved with the use of a simple speaking tube.
Typical positions aboard a human Squid Ship include a captain, first officer, helmsman, and navigator. A weaponmaster is often included as well, to command the weapon crews. Lizard man crews tend to include a captain and a shaman for a spelljammer, while other positions will be filled as needed by whomever is available.
Ship Uses
Trader:
 The bulk of Squid-Ships are free traders, privately owned vessels that travel from planet to planet, speculating on goods in an attempt to gain the greatest profit possible. A trader usually has a core crew of 12-20, although captains often hire extra hands when travelling through areas of space where combat is likely.
Piracy:
 Squid-Ships are a favorite choice for reavers, pirates who roam far from any base, looking for easy plunder. The crew of such a ship will usually number 25-35 men, allowing the Squid Ship to lie in wait for prey ships for a long time. Pirate Squid Ships usually carry at least one spell-caster in addition to the helmsman. This extra spell-user is usually of lower level than the helmsman, and will support the crew in battle (often being placed in dangerous situations).
Military:
 The simple design and size of the Squid Ship makes it a common choice for human space navies. The Squid Ship is a good, versatile military ship, able to handle patrol, attack, and defensive duties equally well. Military Squid-Ships will often upgrade their ballistas to the heavy variety, and will sometimes carry additional weaponry in the forecastle. When operating close to a base, it is not uncommon for a military Squid-Ship to carry extra marines for use in boarding actions.
Free Adventuring:
 The size of the Squid-Ship, along with its ability to land on water, makes it ideal for adventurers exploring newly-discovered worlds (and bringing back the more profitable parts of them). These versions are often modified for better armour, or for more maneuverability, depending on the temperaments of the users.
Other Configurations
Alternate Ram:
 Pirates and others preferring boarding actions to ship-to-ship combat often replace the distinctive piercing ram of the Squid-Ship with a grappling ram. These vessels usually carry a full complement of marines.
Lizard Man Incubators:
 Prior to the introduction of the Bloatfly, lizard men tribes preferred the Squid-Ship for use as an incubator for their eggs. Many of these Incubators have yet to be replaced by Bloatflies, and can still be found in close orbit around fire bodies to ensure that the carried eggs are properly warmed, producing stronger, more intelligent offspring.
These ships have a flooded cargo deck, in which various plants and algae grow, both to replenish the air envelope and to provide the proper environment for the eggs.
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DOLPHIN
The Dolphin, also known as the Battle Dolphin, is a spelljamming ship built by Humans and used by Humans & Astral Elves.
Description
The graceful Battle Dolphin is the latest human spelljamming ship to appear in any quantity in the void. It combines a number of design features that make it a highly versatile ship. The bulk of the Battle Dolphin is enclosed to protect the crew. While this limits the number of weapons emplacements aboard the Dolphin, most crews consider the protection to be worth it. The Battle Dolphin maintains an upper surveillance level which places it above the decks of opposing ships. Most importantly, the galleon-like portion of the upper deck can separate from the main ship and make planetary landings. This Dolphin Shuttle is designed for handling in wildspace; however it appears to be a small groundling ship. This makes it easy to trade with groundlings without attracting undue attention. While the Dolphin Shuttle is very small, it carries far more cargo than most ships its size, making it very useful for short trading trips.
Crew
The crew configuration of a Battle Dolphin depends largely on whether the ship's owner can afford a second helm for the Dolphin Shuttle. If not, then a single major helm is used for both ships, and is mounted on the Shuttle. The Dolphin Shuttle becomes the bridge for the entire ship, and holds the command officers. If two helms are used, the Battle Dolphin bridge and officers are found on the officers' deck, necessitating a second crew for the Dolphin Shuttle. Typically in this configuration the first mate will serve as the commanding officer for the Dolphin Shuttle. The Battle Dolphin can operate with a surprisingly small crew for a ship its size, leaving room for a significant number of passengers or boarding troops, depending on the ship's use. While most Battle Dolphins are operated by human crews, the Imperial Elven Navy has deemed the ship suitable for elven use. Elven crews are arranged along strict military lines, and will always include a 2nd helm for the Dolphin Shuttle.
Ship Uses
Trader:
 The Battle Dolphin, despite the name, was actually designed to serve as a trade vessel. The main ship can carry large cargos between space ports, while the Dolphin Shuttle allows for easy trade with groundlings. The Battle Dolphin is an unpopular target for pirate attacks, since the ship is capable of defending itself adequately in ship-to-ship combat, and since it frequently carries large numbers of mariners. The enclosed nature of the ship makes it impossible for even a sharp-eyed, experienced lookout to guess at how many warriors may be on board.
Warship:
 The versatility of the Battle Dolphin has made it a popular addition to many navies. While it is not as hard-hitting as the more common Hammership, it can still be highly effective in battle. Most importantly, a Battle Dolphin serves as an excellent support vessel while still being capable of defending itself, making an escort unnecessary. In a fleet, Battle Dolphins will most frequently serve either as supply ships, or as troop transports. Some Military Battle Dolphins use Dolphin Shuttles that have been armed, typically with either a single medium catapult or ballista, in order to provide more versatility in combat. Elven Battle Dolphins usually carry several Flitters in addition to the Dolphin Shuttle, using the rear balcony as a docking area.
Adventurer's Ship:
 The versatility of the Battle Dolphin, along with the low crew requirements, makes the vessel popular with adventurers and other small parties. The ability of the Dolphin Shuttle to land on worlds without attracting attention is the primary attraction of this craft, however, since adventurers often have missions which require subtlety. At the same time, the powerful Battle Dolphin in orbit provides the firepower that is needed if subtlety fails. Most adventurers operate Battle Dolphins with fairly small crews, typically made up of the adventuring party itself, along with a few trusted retainers.
Other Configurations
Narwhal:
 Since the Battle Dolphin is still a new ship, few other configurations have become common (although owners often change the weaponry to suit their needs). The exception to this is the Narwhal. The Narwhal adds a piercing ram attached to the forward bridge, removing the windows in the process. These ships tend to be used solely as warships, and often include extra weaponry. Narwhals can be truly deadly ships, and have quickly gained a dangerous reputation.
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ARMADA (ELVEN/ELVISH)
The Armada is a spelljamming ship built and used by Astral Elves.
Description
The largest of the elven ships (aside from the unconfirmed rumours of dreadnoughts made from starfly plant mother-trees), the Armada is reserved exclusively for the use of the Elven Imperial Navy, and individual elven nations. Possession of an Armada by other races or factions is punishable by death at the hands of the Imperial Elven Navy, both for the user and the individuals who provided the craft. The Elven Armada is built along a butterfly-like body created from the magically-modified fruit of the starfly plant, but the wings are straightened and strengthened such that the upper surfaces form a landing surface for Flitters. A typical Armada will carry a total of 40 Flitters, 5 of which have magical helms, and the rest of which are de-powered. This is possible because Elves only use major helms of the most powerful sort (those capable of moving up to 140 tons) on their Armadas.
Crew
The Armada, moreso even than any other elven ship, has a rigid, military crew and a strong chain of command. Since an Armada is often the heart of naval operations, commanding a number of lesser vessels, it is likely to carry more high-ranking officers than a Man-o-War. An Armada typically carries a full crew of 200 elves, which is enough to man the ship, operate all of the weapons, and provide pilots and archers for the Flitters the Armada carries. This overloading of crew is possible because an Armada carries extensive gardens that both freshen the air envelope, and provide fresh fruits and vegetables on long voyages. In addition, Armadas always carry large numbers of mages and priests who are able to magically refresh the air envelope through various spells.
Ship Uses
Military:
 The chief use of the Armada is as a base for large military actions against other factions, races, or planets. Their heavy firepower and their use of large numbers of Flitters makes them a dangerous weapon. The Flitters carried by an Armada are used as messengers, landing craft, and fighters, carrying archers and mages to target enemy weapon emplacements and crew. The heart of an Armada's operation is in the forward bridge, located in the "head" of the butterfly. This is the location of the helm and the captain's station. An auxiliary bridge is located in the tail of the craft, just forward of the jettisons. This auxiliary bridge is equipped with a full set of charts and a second major helm (this second helm is often not as powerful as the primary, and an Armada forced to use it may need to abandon some or all of its Flitters). The Armada is the backbone of the elven fleet and often serves as the heart of military operations. A standard fleet may contain a single Armada, or 10 or more acting in unison, supported by a fleet of Men-o-War and hundreds of Flitters.
Other Configurations
Command Post:
 The flagship of a particular elven fleet will be an Armada that has been modified to serve as a command post. These ships have command fortresses built on their backs, which house the fleet admiral and his command staff. These citadels are used both as military centres and as quarters for entertaining important allies, or for negotiating with surrendering fleets. These command posts add 20 tons to the size of the Armada (increasing hull points accordingly, and adding 10 tons of cargo space, but otherwise leaving the vessel's statistics unchanged), which reduces the number of Flitters that the ship can carry.
Wild Armadas:
 Armadas are normally not abandoned, given the length of time it takes to grow one, and their long lifespans. The elven nations would rather destroy this type of ship than let it fall into another race's hands. Should an abandoned, overgrown Armada be found despite this, its AR would be 9 and its MC would be E. This can be corrected with proper pruning and repairs equal to half the hull points of the ship.
Gypsy Moth:
 Drow operating in wildspace are rare, and in recent decades have begun to operate their own custom-made spacecraft; however, long before their presence in space was confirmed, there were rumours of one or more so-called Gypsy Moth Armadas. The Gypsy Moth is a purplish Armada with a huge dome where the command post would be, in order to filter out light that would be painful for the Drow, giving the ship the appearance of a bloated hunchback. These rumours have recently been confirmed, although it is unknown if the Gypsy Moth is unique. It is unknown how the drow obtained the Gypsy Moth (or possibly Gypsy Moths) from the Imperial Elven Navy; however, it seems unlikely that any new Armadas modified in this fashion will appear in space, since the Drow now have their own Jade Spider Commandships that suit their needs better. The Imperial Elven Navy has organized several expeditions to hunt down and destroy the Gypsy Moth, but the wily Drow crew has so far evaded their more numerous cousins.
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FLITTER (ELVEN/ELVISH)
The Flitter is a spelljamming ship built and used by Astral Elves.
Description
One of the smallest standard ships in space, the Flitter is also 1 of the most common. The small butterfly-like craft is grown, like many other elven ships, from the fruit of the starfly plant. The process for growing living ships from this plant remains 1 of the most closely-guarded secrets of the elves. Like many other elven craft, Flitters continue to grow and must be maintained. This maintenance consists of periodic pruning to keep the craft from becoming overgrown and unwieldy (see the Wild Flitter listed below). While any serious damage to the fragile Flitter will destroy it (killing the ship in the process), minor damage will heal in time. This healing can be accelerated by grafting in pieces of wood.
The "wings" of the Flitter are as flexible as the petals of a flower, unlike most other elven-grown ships, which typically have wings whose flexibility is more similar to that of a young sapling. This allows the wings to be furled up, so that other ships can carry Flitters in relatively compact spaces. This also provides the motive force for Flitters which lack spelljamming helms. A Flitter without a helm can travel at SR 2 by flapping its wings in a distinctive rippling motion (it is this motion which gives the Flitter its name). The movement of the wings is organic, and is impossible in a craft which has died, or which is overgrown (the wings of an overgrown craft become too brittle to withstand such motion). The living ship has been magically modified by the elves during growth to respond to pressure in certain areas within the body of the craft, such that a pilot need only apply pressure in the appropriate places to encourage the Flitter to fly. Of course, achieving spelljammer speeds without a helm is not possible, making a depowered Flitter useful only for short distance travel. The same mechanism is used to maneuver the ship even when it is powered by a spelljamming helm.
Flitters that were grown before the 1st Unhuman War did not have the innovation of these organically-controlled wings, and instead had the somewhat more rigid wings common to other elven craft. See below for details of these archaic Flitters.
The Flitter is designed to be handled by a single passenger/captain/helmsman who sits just ahead of the wings in the "head" of the ship. Given its small size and delicate construction, the Flitter is not recommended for long trips. Traveling in a Flitter has been compared to riding a tireless horse for several days - you get where you're going, but not very comfortably. The Flitter has insufficient interior space for any significant cargo, and will typically only carry the personal gear of the pilot, along with food and water. The ship is not designed to carry any large weapons, and cannot be easily modified for that purpose.
Crew
As discussed above, a Flitter typically carries only a single individual. For short-range purposes, however, a Flitter will often carry 1 or more passengers in addition to the pilot. This is usually only done for trips that are expected to last for a few hours at most.
Flitters used as fighters will usually carry a pilot and a single passenger who will either be an expert with a Longbow, or a Mage. The passenger serves as the Flitter's weaponry.
Ship Uses
Messenger:
 When equipped with a spelljamming helm, a Flitter is best at carrying very light goods over short-to-mid-range interstellar distances. Since the lightest good to carry is information, Flitters with spelljamming helms most often serve as messengers between elven ships and bases. These missions can be dangerous for the messengers, called "lone riders" in the elven tongue.
Scout:
 The scout is the next most common usage of Flitters equipped with spelljamming helms. The Flitter's small size makes it an excellent reconnaissance and espionage ship, capable of slipping into small areas and making planetfall.
Landing Craft:
 Many Flitters are carried by larger elven ships and used as landing craft. These Flitters are depowered, as described above. In this configuration, the Flitter is useless for long voyages, but suitable for short hops into and out of an atmosphere, or between ships. This is in keeping with the standard policy of the Imperial Elven Navy which does not allow ships equipped with spelljamming helms to make planetfall.
Small Fighters:
 A large number of Flitters, perhaps the majority, are used as small fighter-craft. These ships are depowered, and are carried by larger elven vessels, especially Armadas and Men-o-War. In this use, the Flitters are intended to soften up the enemy before the main attack, by peppering the target with arrows and spells.
Other Configurations
Archaic Flitters:
 As mentioned above, Archaic Flitters grown before the 1st Unhuman War used more rigid wings than those of modern Flitters. These Flitters could not have their wings furled in the manner of modern Flitters, with the result that far fewer Flitters could be carried by a mother ship, since a single Archaic Flitter takes up a great deal of storage space. Prior to the invention of the Modern Flitter, each Elven ship would typically carry only between 1 & 5 Flitters. The lack of flexible, organically-controlled wings also meant that Archaic Flitters could not fly under their own power. Most Archaic Flitters were powered by full-blown spelljamming helms, or by an engine powered by a combustible variety of sap. Such engines provided the Ancient Flitters with SR 1, and could only power the ship for a maximum of 2 hours before the ship would run out of sap for fuel (assuming that all of the ship's meager cargo space is filled with the sap). Archaic Flitters equipped with these engines were vulnerable to fire in the same manner as a ship carrying a greek fire projector. For obvious reasons, the engines of these Archaic Flitters were less than ideal, and the improvements in the design of the Modern Flitter are seen as 1 of the reasons why the elves won the 1st Unhuman War. Since the natural lifespan of a Flitter can easily exceed a millennium, a few Archaic Flitters can still be found in space, although most have been destroyed over the centuries. The few Archaic Flitters still used by the Imperial Elven Navy are equipped with spelljamming helms and used as messengers or scouts, tasks which they perform as well as any Modern Flitter.
Wild Flitters:
 It is not uncommon to encounter an Abandoned Flitter drifting in virtually any area of wildspace or The Flow. These ships are usually the result of failed missions, undelivered messages, and old battles. Without regular maintenance, these ships are seriously overgrown, their wings curled in on themselves like seashells. Such ships may have workable engines within, and are MC E and AR 9 until properly trimmed back (repair costs equivalent to refitting half the hull). A wild, Overgrown Flitter must be trimmed back before it can be flown without a helm.
Firewinds:
 This type of Depowered Flitter has not been used since the 1st Unhuman War, although with the advent of the 2nd Unhuman War the Admiralty is considering using it once more. The Firewind is a suicide craft, loaded with flammables and piloted to crash on enemy decks. Each Firewind used in this manner has the effect of 2 hits from a greek fire projector, in addition to normal crash damage. The pilots are trained to bail out before impact, and are given a method to escape if possible (a potion of flying, a dimension door spell, a gadabout, etc). Near the end of the 1st Unhuman War, the elves used charmed Goblinkin as pilots. Most Firewinds were Flitters of the archaic variety, which were already obsolete at the time, and were usually packed to the gills with combustible sap already. In fact, the practice arose after several accidents with the obsolete Flitters, which caused impressive amounts of damage.
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MAN-O-WAR (ELVEN/ELVISH)
The Man-O-War is a spelljamming ship built and used by astral elves.
Description
Built on the largest grown hull commonly available in space, the Elvish Man-O-War is an extremely versatile craft. Its basic design is derived from the much smaller Elvish Cutter, but the Man-O-War is a much sturdier and heavily armed warship. The ship follows the same basic forms of all elvish ships; a titanic butterfly in space.
In its basic form, the Man-O-War is a far-ranging warship. Its weapons are distributed throughout the craft for advantageous firing positions and to prevent a single mass damage spell from disabling them all. The "head" of the craft serves, like on the Cutter, as a weapons pit for 2 medium ballista. Unlike the cutter, the head is much bigger and there is room for a medium catapult on top. This catapult does not take up the entire space, as elvish archers like to use the forward deck as the prime position for them to rain down their deadly arrows on enemy ships. Behind the catapult is the bridge, where the captain commands the ship. He communicates with the rest of the ship via voice tubes (sometimes magical). The spelljamming helm is located here as well, reducing risks of miscommunication between the captain and the helmsman. Above the bridge is another catapult, protected in a turret.
Behind the bridge is a massive open space, capped by a hemispherical glass ceiling. This space was purposely added by elvish designers to make the craft one of the most versatile in wildspace. It is easily modifiable, and can be changed to suit the needs of the ship's owner or the mission. At times, it serves as a garden, a barracks, a cargo bay, or a hanger. Ships that have fallen into other races' hands have a variety of other uses for this space as well.
Beyond this space is the quarters of the captain and their officers. Their quarters are the most spacious and of the best quality on the ship. Above the officer quarters is the flight deck, which serves as landing platform for Flitters of the Navy. The rear section of the flight deck is another weapons platform for 2 more medium ballistae.
The main deck, below the Command Deck, is the largest section of the craft. The quarters of the sailors, marines, and the weapon teams are all located on this deck. Guest quarters and even a brig are also located on this deck.
The lowest deck, with an opposite gravity plane than the upper decks, is the observation deck. The galley, mess hall, and special rooms for mages are all part of this deck. Some ships have libraries and magical labs for onboard mages, while others convert the space into quarters for priests.
Crew
An Elvish Man-O-War needs surprisingly few men to fly or fight. A mere dozen sailors are needed to keep the vast wings of the craft under control. Another 20 elves are needed to man all the weapons, leaving almost 30 elvish marines & archers to conduct boarding operations and man archery nests. The captain, the helmsman, the ship's primary mage, and at least 4 guards will always be located on the bride. Archers will be located on the forecastle and the flight deck. Marines pretty much roam the rest of the ship, filling in for those who fall in battle and stand ready for boarding actions.
Ship's Uses
Patrol:
 One of the primary purposes of the Man-O-War is as a deep range patrol ship. The elves have special configuration for this type of mission. The multi-purpose space behind the bridge is converted into a massive garden. This garden, lit by magical lights and watered by magical spells, is large enough to freshen the entire air envelope. In this fashion the craft can remain in deep space for as long as the food & water holds out. Some craft equipped with magical items can remain in space for years at a time. This is the type of craft most often encountered by ships of other races/species in wildspace. It is also the most common warship of the fleet.
Light Carrier:
 This type of ship is not commonly seen these days. The Armada has replaced most of these craft, but they are still seen in some crystal spheres. To fill this role, the multi-purpose space is converted into a hanger for 2 Flitters, with another 2 Flitters able to attach on the roof of the hanger. To launch, there is a large set of doors set in the side of the ship. A Flitter is attached on top of each wing, and another Flitter is hung underneath each wing. One last Flitter is docked on the flight deck. In total, this ship is capable of launching a squad of 9 Flitters. This type of ship is most commonly used to support command ships and is most often found in larger fleets. Typically, 1-4 of these ships will be found in the larger fleets.
Troop Carrier:
 Sometimes the Fleet will have need to transport a large number of troops over a long distance. The Patrol-configured Man-O-War is especially good for this, as the interior garden provides enough air for almost 200 people. Typically, a troop carrier will have a full crew in addition to 50-to-150 additional troops. Parts of the ship may be converted into barracks to house so many men. However, with the need for air eliminated, the elves can transport the troops farther and faster than fleets using more conventional ships. These ships are either converted to make landings or have a number of flitters onboard (attached to the wings) to deploy troops.
Trader/Cargo Hauler:
 The most common non-military craft the elves use, a Trader Man-O-War most often converts the garden into a 2nd cargo hold. This gives them an additional 12 tons of cargo space. This modification is most commonly seen on in-system traders; most flow-running traders forgo the additional cargo space for the advantages of the large garden. The Fleet sometimes uses this configuration of Man-O-War to support their larger fleets.
Command Craft:
 In the days before the Elvish Armada, this craft was a common sight. They served as flagships for virtually every fleet the elves had. However, recently, they were replaced by the Armada. Most were converted into deep patrol craft, while others were mothballed. They are now found in spheres without a large elvish presence (such as spheres without any resident elves). These ships will serve as flag for a small fleet of 2-5 elvish cutters.
For this duty, the Man-O-War's hull is strengthened to hold a pair of towers (located over the gardens). The 1st tower is 2 stories tall, and serves as a Turret for an additional medium ballista. The 2 levels below the ballista serve as barracks and an armory. The 2nd tower, over 3 1/2 stories tall, is the office & private chambers for the admiral assigned to the craft. The tower also holds a room for their personal aide and secretary.
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VODONI DIAMOND
The Imperial War Galley (also known as the Vodoni Diamond) is a unique spelljamming ship built by the Zalani and used by the Vodoni.
Description
This enormous vessel's opaque, gem-like structure is comprised of huge hollowed out crystals. The bridge is located in the uppermost crystal, while the crystals located at the cardinal points serve other functions. The large base crystal is used as a storeroom for Emperor Vulkaranâs treasury.
Crew
The Imperial War Galley is commanded by the Emperor Vulkaran, who uses an artifact known as the Eye of the Gods to power the vessel which is embedded in a helm carved from the finest marble, known as the Throne of the Gods. Vulkaran is usually accompanied by his Court Sorceress, Mongrelle, and his bodyguard of 30 Imperial Conquerors.
Ship Uses
This unique vessel, designated the Imperial War Galley of the Vodoni fleet, was never intended for combat, but is rather a huge luxury transport; very fast, well-armored, but with little or no weaponry. It does possess an upper crystal that serves as a very dangerous ram in emergency situations.
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HAMMERSHIP
The Hammership is a spelljamming ship built by humans and lizardfolk and used by various spacefaring races.
Description
Another standard human ship of space, the Hammership is large and powerful, capable of withstanding large amounts of punishment, and dealing out a significant amount with its blunt ram and heavy weapons. If the Squid Ship is the medium warship of space, this is the heavy galleon. Hammerships are found, with minor modifications to their design, throughout known space. The Hammership's design has been relatively unchanged, such that hulks hundreds of years old resemble those under construction in modern dry docks. Even the Illithids and the Elves, with their own distinctive ships, use the Hammership design for workhorse and supply situations.
Crew
The "brains" of the Hammership are in the heavily protected forward section. Both the helm and the bridge are located in this section, behind the massive bulwarks and the blunt ram. Often this area is plated with heavy metals, ivory, or bone to provide extra strength. The lenses of the Hammership's "eyes" are often made of paneless glass, but in some (more expensive) versions are constructed of glassteel. The captain usually operates from a base behind these windows, commanding both the ship and the forward weapons placements, while the first officer is usually stationed at the rear catapult.
Ship Uses
Trading:
 A Hammership requires a larger crew than the more common Squid Ships or Tradesmen, but it can carry more cargo, and is a daunting vessel for a pirate to attack. This makes it ideal for carrying large bulk cargos. Such ships frequently run on a minimum crew, unless they are passing through a contested area of space, in which case the captain will usually take on a full crew, including whatever battle wizards and priests he can hire. Some mind flayers use Hammerships as free traders, unaligned to any Illithid faction or house. This is particularly common in those areas of space where Nautiloids are frequently fired-upon on sight. The eyes of Hammerships controlled by mind flayers are usually covered over with steel plates.
Piracy:
 Though not commonly used as a pirate vessel, the Hammership is the favorite craft of some of the most stylish and brazen pirates and privateers in known space, including the legendary Bloodjack of Realmspace. His Hammership is dyed in shades of red, supposedly representing the blood he and his ship, the Lucky Victory, have spilled over a career spanning a decade. The size of a Hammership makes it ideal for prolonged battles - just the sort of conflict Bloodjack seems to revel in. Most pirates and privateers, however, prefer smaller swifter ships which will allow them to board an enemy as quickly as possible, thus avoiding a long space battle.
Military:
 The Hammership is a common armada craft, capable of hauling many men across space, and returning with supplies to support an invasion. For intra-sphere uses, such craft frequently carry up to 200 soldiers (including the crew), although this is obviously not possible for longer voyages unless magic is used to keep the air envelope fresh and the crew provisioned. Hammerships can be considered to be the standard heavy warship of most human nations.
Elven Support Ship:
 Hammerships are sometimes used by the Imperial Elven Navy, primarily as supply and troop ships. The Hammership's bulk and heavy handling (compared to most elven craft) make it unsuitable for the elven style of space combat, relegating it to the role of support ship. Hammerships which the elves believe may see combat may be stripped, reducing AR to 8 but increasing MC to C. Topping out is not a popular option, since the elves prefer to operate their Hammerships with as few trained sailors as possible, instead sending such trained elves to the more important Men-o-War and Armadas which make up the main elven battle line. Troop ships, however, may be topped out.
Other Configurations
Multiple Turrets:
 Some versions of the Hammership mount extra turrets for large weapons (ballistas or catapults depending on the tastes of the owner). A typical configuration will include 2 extra turrets on the main deck. Some versions will remove the overhead hatch of the cargo hold in order to place a 3rd turret, instead using newly-built side hatches for access to the cargo bay. This makes the ship leaky and dangerous to land on water. Such ships may even place 1 or more turrets on the underside of the ship, making a landing of any sort impossible. These heavily-armed vessels are typically only used by military forces for relatively short-range work, since they are extremely deadly, but cargo space drops dramatically (as well as operational flexibility for those no longer able to land safely).
Lizard Man Vessels:
 Hammerships operated by lizardfolk will typically have the ship's central deck flooded to provide a relaxation area for the crew. This also serves as a fire-control mechanism for the ship, which will frequently see bombards used in place of the catapults, and a fire projector in place of the ballista. Unfortunately for the lizardfolk, this fire control mechanism is frequently unsuccessful, since any powder stores must be kept dry to remain useful, and if a spark ignites nearby, there is often not enough time to fetch water from the central deck before the stores explode.
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TRIOP
The Triop is a spelljamming ship built by the Arcane/Mercane and used by various spacefaring races.
Description
The Triop is a relatively new ship to the crystal spheres, but it has proven to be an opponent even the elven captains do not wish to engage. Its hard, chitinous shell is extremely difficult to penetrate. The ship has a few small open decks, but the weapons that protrude from these openings limit the amount of walking space.
The maneuvering fins of the Triop, often known as 'flip-fins', are capable of extremely rapid movements, which give the Triops some unique maneuvering characteristics. First, these fins can be rapidly jerked in order to increase or decrease the Triop's SR (even above the normal maximum allowed based on the helmsman) by 2 points for a single round. This ability can be used once every 4 rounds, and can only be safely used on a round in which the Triop travels in a straight line. If any attempt is made to turn in the same round that the SR is increased or decreased in this manner, the stresses will cause the Triop to spin wildly out of control, causing the vessel to face a random direction, and suffer both a Ship Shaken and Maneuverability Loss critical hit, as the Triop's fins are damaged. A Triop can also manipulate its fins to spin and face any direction, but only at the expense of 2 SR points. Only 1 of these 2 special maneuvers can be performed in any single 4-round period. If an attempt is made to make a second maneuver before the fins have properly recovered from a previous maneuver, then the fins will be damaged with an automatic Maneuverability Loss critical hit. It should be noted that a Maneuverability Loss critical hit from any source will damage the fins, preventing the Triop from performing any special maneuvers until the vessel is repaired.
The Triop's blunt ram is not a separate structure like most rams, but is instead made up of the entire frontal carapace of the vessel. This not only gives the ship a 45' wide ram, but it also braces the ship so well, and makes the ram so sturdy that it effectively acts as a bumper. This effectively reduces by 50% any damage that the Triop might otherwise suffer while inflicting a ram attack on an enemy ship.
Crew
Since the Arcane/Mercane sell Triops to many different races, the crew of the ship naturally varies greatly. Gnolls, Goblins, and their kin tend to operate Triops with large crews which approach the maximum that can be safely supported by the air envelope. These crews are organized along standard tribal lines, with the females and children performing maintenance and housekeeping duties, the shamans performing as spelljammers (on those ships equipped with major or minor helms), and with the male warriors operating the ship and weapons, and fighting in any boarding actions. An Illithid crew will be organized along the same lines as the crew of a Nautiloid; however such a ship will typically be equipped with a lifejammer helm rather than a series helm, and as a result more slaves will be carried to power the helm. Human crews tend to be heavy on warriors, but otherwise are very variable in organization.
Ship Uses
Military:
 Most Triops operated by humans can be found serving in militaries. These vessels are used in the role of medium or heavy warships. While their ranged weaponry is relatively light, their maneuverability and powerful rams make up for this in the eyes of many commanders.
Reaver:
 Triops operated by Goblins, Gnolls, or related species serve as reavers, attacking any ships that they think they can take on, and plundering wherever possible. These ships are usually clanships, carrying females and children as well as warriors. Typical tactics include using the Triop's unique maneuverability to make sudden, devastating ram attacks, smashing a target to pieces. Once the target has broken up, the reavers salvage whatever they can from the debris, including slaves. Some human pirates operate Triops in a similar fashion, but this is uncommon, since human pirates tend to prefer to use vessels that allow them to take prizes intact.
Slaver:
 Illithid crews use Triops because the enclosed nature of the craft appeals greatly to their natures. When using a Triop, Illithids are not usually actively hunting for more slaves, but are rather securely transporting slaves (thralls) from one location to another; often taking slaves to be sold, or returning to an illithid base after purchasing new slaves.
Other Configurations
Heavy Weapons:
 The only common modification of the Triop that has yet appeared is a Heavy Weapons Triop. This ship simply replaces the light ballistas and catapults with heavy versions. This ship loses 12 tons of cargo capacity, but its heavy attack capability takes many by surprise.
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WHALE SHIP
The Whaleship is a spelljamming ship built and used by humans.
Description
As long as the Hammership, but much taller, with a large number of enclosed decks and a heavy, armoured, blunt ram in the front, the whale looks like the sea mammal it is named after, a huge sperm whale. It is not known for being graceful, only big. It is a perfect hauler of large bulk freight and passengers. Its lack of maneuverability and weaponry generally makes it ineffective as a combat craft, but Whales have been used in that capacity in the past. Their greatest advantage is that all of their considerable tonnage is enclosed.
Crew
In addition to the helmsman & captain, the crew of a Whale consists of oarsmen who man the ship's flippers. Those Whales used as passenger ships usually have these crewmen serving double duty as pursers, cooks, and servants to those on board. It is rare for the crew of a Whale-Ship to number more than 20-25, since this allows a large number of passengers to be carried. Even Whales being used as pure cargo haulers will not usually carry more than this minimal crew. Standard liners will usually be equipped to carry 60-80 passengers, while Whales used as troop transports will be outfitted to carry 100-400 troops.
Ship Uses
Passenger Liner:
 The Whale-Ship was designed as a large hauler, and it performs extremely well when the cargo that it is hauling is passengers. The quality of these liners is usually fairly high, since it is an expensive ship to begin with, so most owners tend not to scrimp too much on amenities. Most Whale-Ships used as liners are roughly equivalent in comfort to an above-average inn, but some have become famous for their shear opulence. The most luxurious of these liners tend to carry only 20-40 passengers, but charge 10-20 times what most luxury services would charge. Those few Whale liners which do not pay much attention to comfort tend to be cut-rate vessels which cram as many passengers aboard as possible. There are a number of different firms using Whales as liners throughout the known crystal spheres, ranging from one-ship operations to massive lines. 1 of the most successful is the Pandros Line out of Theiaspace, which is run by a female halfling named Calia Thornbow. Others include Brilliant Night Tours, Fraldathiagn Haulers, and Meer, Dostrol, Hampstad, and Klatchkapper, Ltd.
Bulk Hauler:
 Almost as frequently as they are used as passenger liners, Whale-Ships can be found serving as bulk cargo haulers. These large ships are 1 of the few economical ways of transporting quantities of low-value goods, such as grain, cloth, or timber, and those with powerful enough helms will frequently tow 1 or more cargo barges for further economy. Most Whale-Ships used as bulk haulers will have regular shipping runs, often supplying asteroid bases & cities with needed goods on a contract. A Whale Ship being used as a speculative free trader is virtually unheard of. A Whale Bulk Hauler will frequently carry passengers for a minimal fee, but unlike their liner brethren, they tend to offer no amenities for the passengers beyond a berth. Often such passengers will be expected to supply their own food & drink.
Military Support:
 A significant number of military organizations use Whale-Ships as heavy support craft, typically hauling large numbers of troops & supplies simultaneously. These ships are spartan & utilitarian, and are most commonly seen in invasion fleets. Since a Whale-Ship used in this role will typically be carrying 2-4 times as many men as its air envelope can safely support, magical means of refreshing the air envelope are highly recommended for all but the shortest of voyages (Fog Cloud spells are the most commonly-used method). Even when used as a military vessel, a Whale-Ship usually stays out of combat, since it carries little weaponry. Sometimes, however, a Whale-Ship will be used to break up enemy formations by simply ramming the largest enemy craft, allowing allied combat ships to mop up the other enemy ships. Since a Whale-Ship is able to simply plow through most small & medium ships, as well as cause massive damage to larger ships, this can be an effective tactic.
Illithid Crew:
 In areas in which standard Mindflayer ships tend to be attacked on sight, the Whale-Ship has become a popular ship for the Illithids. The enclosed vessel appeals to Illithid sensibilities, although its lack of weaponry tends to limit it to peaceful applications. Such ships will be powered by a pool helm, and will typically operate in such a manner that passers-by will never realize that the Whale-Ship is not manned by humans.
Other Configurations
Killer Whale:
 In this version of the Whale-Ship, large portions of the observation deck are cut away to transform it into a weapons deck. While this section of the ship then becomes vulnerable to attack (reduce AR to 6), this allows as many as a dozen large weapons to be mounted, typically a mix of medium and heavy ballistas and catapults. The cargo space of a Killer Whale is reduced depending on what weapons are carried. As yet the Killer Whale is an uncommon, but deadly warship. There are rumours that a pirate Killer Whale exists, operated by a mixed crew of humans & illusionist gnomes. This ship uses illusions of solid walls to make it appear as a standard Whale-Ship until it attacks its unsuspecting victims. The crew of this ship seems to have a great hatred for tinker gnomes, and attacks them in preference to other targets.
Glass Whale:
 This variant of the Whale-Ship is simply an opulent liner in which the heavily armoured bow has been made clear using Glassteel spells to provide a "window on wildspace" for the passengers. The Arnazdo Operation (Milo Arnazdo, proprietor) uses Glass Whales as the symbol of their passenger service, and backs up the fragile-looking (but actually very sturdy) ships by stationing powerful wizards on board.
When adventurers find a piece of technology that isnât from their world or time period, the players might understand what the object is, but the characters rarely will. To simulate a characterâs ignorance about the technology, have the character make a series of Intelligence checks to figure it out.
To determine how the technology works, a character must succeed on a number of Intelligence checks based on the complexity of the item: two successes for a simple item (such as a cigarette lighter, calculator, or revolver) and four successes for a complex item (such as a computer, chainsaw, or hovercraft). Then consult the Figuring Out Alien Technology table. Consider making the item break if a character fails four or more times before taking a long rest.
A character who has seen an item used or has operated a similar item has advantage on Intelligence checks made to figure out its use.
Figuring Out Alien Technology
Int. Check Total | Result
9 or lower | 1 failure; 1 charge or use is wasted, if applicable; character has disadvantage on next check
10â14 | 1 Failure
15â19 | 1 Success
20 or higher | 1 success; character has advantage on next check
Plot Points
Plot points allow players to change the course of the campaign, introduce plot complications, alter the world, and even assume the role of the DM. If your first reaction to reading this optional rule is to worry that your players might abuse it, itâs probably not for you.
Using Plot Points
Each player starts with 1 plot point. During a session, a player can spend that point for one effect. The effect depends on your groupâs approach to this optional rule. Three options are presented below.
A player can spend no more than 1 plot point per session. You can increase this limit if you like, especially if you want the players to drive more of the story. Once every player at the table has spent a plot point, they each gain 1 plot point.
Option 1: What a Twist!
A player who spends a plot point gets to add some element to the setting or situation that the group (including you) must accept as true. For example, a player can spend a plot point and state that his or her character has found a secret door, an NPC appears, or a monster turns out to be a long-lost ally polymorphed into a horrid beast.
A player who wants to spend a plot point in this way should take a minute to discuss his or her idea with everyone else at the table and get feedback before settling on a plot development.
Option 2: The Plot Thickens
Whenever a player spends a plot point, the player to his or her right must add a complication to the scene. For example, if the player who spends the plot point decides that her character has found a secret door, the player to the right might state that opening the door triggers a magical trap that teleports the party to another part of the dungeon.
Option 3: The Gods Must Be Crazy
With this approach, there is no permanent DM. Everyone makes a character, and one person starts as the DM and runs the game as normal. That personâs character becomes an NPC who can tag along with the group or remain on the sidelines, as the group wishes.
At any time, a player can spend a plot point to become the DM. That playerâs character becomes an NPC, and play continues. Itâs probably not a good idea to swap roles in the middle of combat, but it can happen if your group allows time for the new DM to settle into his or her role and pick up where the previous DM left off.
Using plot points in this way can make for an exciting campaign as each new DM steers the game in unexpected directions. This approach is also a great way for would-be DMs to try running a game in small, controlled doses.
In a campaign that uses plot points this way, everyone should come to the table with a bit of material prepared or specific encounters in mind. A player who isnât prepared or who doesnât feel like DMing can choose to not spend a plot point that session.
For this approach to work, itâs a good idea to establish some shared assumptions about the campaign so that DMs arenât duplicating efforts or trampling on each otherâs plans.
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Firearms
In a campaign where a spaceship has crashed or elements of modern-day Earth are present, Futuristic or Modern Firearms might appear. The Firearms Table provides examples of Firearms , the modern and futuristic items are priceless.
Proficiency
Itâs up to you to decide whether a character has proficiency with a firearm. Characters in most D&D worlds wouldnât have such proficiency. During their downtime, characters can use the training rules in the Playerâs Handbook to acquire proficiency, assuming that they have enough ammunition to keep the weapons working while mastering their use.
Properties
Firearms use special ammunition, and some of them have the burst fire or reload property.
Ammunition. The Ammunition of a Firearm is destroyed upon use. Modern Firearms use bullets. Futuristic Firearms are powered by a special type of Ammunition called Energy Cells. An Energy Cell contains enough power for all the shots its firearm can make.
Burst Fire. A weapon that has the burst fire property can make a normal single-target attack, or it can spray a 10-foot-cube area within normal range with shots. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the weaponâs normal damage. This action uses 10 pieces of ammunition.
Reload. A limited number of shots can be made with a weapon that has the reload property. A character must then reload it using an action or a bonus action (the characterâs choice).
Needler Pistol
This strange pistol resembles a flask with a honeycomb of tubes sticking out its front. The weapon is powered by an energy cell stored at the base of the flask. Placing a full energy cell in the pistol gives the pistol 10 charges.
As an Action while holding this pistol, you can expend 1 of its charges to fire a burst of glowing, needlelike darts from the pistol in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d4 Piercing Damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the pistol has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the pistol has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Paralysis Pistol
This curious-looking pistol is shaped like a large, glass bulb with a handle on the bottom and brass prongs protruding from its front. The weapon is powered by an energy cell stored in its grip. Placing a full energy cell in the pistol gives the pistol 6 charges.
As an Action while holding this pistol, you can expend 1 of its charges to fire a ray of crackling energy at a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have the paralyzed condition for 1 minute. At the end of each of the targetâs turns, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the pistol has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the pistol has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Ray Glove (Oard)
This is a small gun incorporated into a glove. It can fire 3 laser blasts per round, each being the equivalent of a Magic Missile Spell(range - 150', damage - 1d6+1 etc.). Unlike Magic Missiles, the laser blasts don't hit automatically.
The Oard must roll to hit as is using a normal missile weapon (range 50/100/150) but all targets are treated as armor class 11 ( Subtract{-} any Dexterity Bonuses Add{+} magical armor). The pistol can be used in melee (treat as short-range missile fire)
Blaster Tube (Oard)
A tubular device which can fire 2 blasts of Force Damage per round.
Each blast covers an area 10 feet wide & 120 feet long.
Any creature within the area will receive a forceful blow equivalent to a 20 foot fall onto a hard surface (2-12 points of Force or Bludgeoning Damage).
The Force Damage is halved by a successful saving throw vs. Dragon Breath.
Needler Pistol | â | 8d4 piercing | â |
Ammunition (range 15ft. cone; energy cell), reload (10 charges), special
Paralysis Pistol | â | â | â |
Ammunition (range 60; energy cell), reload (6 charges), special
Ray Glove (Oard) | 600 gp | 1d6+1 radiant | 1 lb. |
Ammunition (range 50-100/150, energy cell), reload (50 shots), light, fires 3 attacks per Attack Action
Blaster Tube (Oard) | 500 gp | 2d6 force | 8 lb. |
Ammunition (range 60/120, energy cell), reload (10 shots), 2-handed. Fires a 10-foot-wide, 120-foot-long line; creatures in the area make a Dexterity save for half damage.
Ammunition
Energy Cell | â | â | 5 oz. | â
Fireball Gem (1-3) | 400 gp | 6d8 fire | â |
Consumable, range 240 ft., explodes in 40-ft diameter sphere
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Explosives
A campaign might include explosives from the Modern World, as presented in the Explosives Table.
Bomb
As an action, a character can light this bomb and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 Fire Damage.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder is chiefly used to propel a bullet out of the barrel of a Pistol or Rifle, or it is formed into a bomb. Gunpowder is sold in small wooden kegs and in water-resistant powder horns.
Setting fire to a container full of gunpowder can cause it to explode, dealing fire damage to creatures within 10 feet of it (3d6 for a powder horn, 7d6 for a keg). A successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw halves the damage. Setting fire to 1 ounce of gunpowder causes it to flare for 1 round, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.
Dynamite
As an action, a creature can light a stick of dynamite and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
A character can bind sticks of dynamite together so they explode at the same time. Each additional stick increases the damage by 1d6 (to a maximum of 10d6) and the burst radius by 5 feet (to a maximum of 20 feet).
Dynamite can be rigged with a longer fuse to explode after a set amount of time, usually 1 to 6 rounds. Roll Initiative for the dynamite. After the set number of rounds goes by, the dynamite explodes on that Initiative.
Grenades
As an Action, a character can throw a grenade at a point up to 60 feet away. With a grenade launcher, the character can propel the grenade up to 120 feet away.
Each creature within 20 feet of an exploding fragmentation grenade must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 Piercing Damage on a failed save, or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
1 round after a smoke grenade lands, it emits a cloud of smoke that creates a heavily obscured area in a 20-foot radius.
A moderate wind (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses the smoke in 4 rounds;
A strong wind (20 or more miles per hour) disperses it in 1 round.
Concussion Grenade. This grenade explodes in a concussive blast that fills a 20-foot-radius sphere. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d6 Force Damage on a failed save or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
Sleep Grenade. This grenade releases a cloud of soporific mist that fills a 20-foot-radius sphere, then dissipates. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have the unconscious condition for 1 hour. The condition ends on a creature early if the creature takes damage or if another creature uses an Action to shake it awake.
Fireball Gem (Oard). A tiny, self-propelled bomb which is the equivalent of a Fireball (range - 240' , area of effect - 40' diameter sphere ) , inflicting 6d8 points of damage.
EXPLOSIVES TABLE
Modern Item | Cost | Weight
Dynamite (Stick) | â | 1 lb.
Grenade, Fragmentation | â | 1 lb.
Grenade, Smoke | â | 2 lb.
Grenade Launcher | â | 7 lb.
Futuristic Item | Cost | Weight
Grenade, Concussion | â | 1 lb.
Grenade, Sleep | â | 1 lb.
Fireball Gem (Oard) | â | 1 lb.
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Powered Armor
This suit of technologically advanced plate armor includes an under-suit that can fully seal, a helmet with a full face mask and crystal lenses in the eyeholes, and a set of gauntlets. The armor is powered by an Energy Cell stored in a compartment on the thigh plate.
Placing a full Energy Cell in the armor gives the armor 24 charges. A suit of Powered Armor functions as a suit of normal plate armor, even when it has 0 charges remaining.
Activating the Armor. As an Action, you can expend any number of the armorâs charges to activate it; the armor remains active for 1 hour per charge expended. You can use a Bonus Action to deactivate the armor early, but doing so doesnât recover any expended charges.
While the armor is active, you gain the following benefits:
Augmented Physicality. You have Advantage on Strength checks, and your carrying capacity is doubled.
Environmental Adaptation. The armor seals airtight and provides its own atmosphere. You can breathe normally in any environment and withstand extreme temperatures, and youâre unaffected by harmful gases, as well as contact and inhaled poisons.
Force Field. When you would take damage, you can use your reaction to expend 1 of the armorâs charges to deploy a defensive force field. Roll 3d10 and reduce the damage taken by the total rolled.
Propulsion. As a Bonus Action, you can expend 1 of the armorâs charges to gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed for 1 minute. If youâre airborne when this duration ends, you fall.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the armor has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the armor has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Antigravity Belt
Metal tubes ring the lower edge of this wide belt. It is powered by an energy cell stored in a metal case near the buckle. Placing a full energy cell in the belt gives the belt 10 charges.
Activating the Belt. As a Bonus Action, you can expend any number of the beltâs charges to activate it; the belt remains active for 1 minute per charge expended. You can use a Bonus Action to deactivate the belt early, but doing so doesnât recover any expended charges.
When you activate the belt, and as a Bonus Action while it remains active, you can rise or descend vertically up to 20 feet. You remain floating in place while the property is active, and you can move yourself horizontally by being pushed or towed or by scooting yourself along a surface, such as a wall or ceiling, at ½ your walking speed. If you are still levitating when the belt deactivates, you fall.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the belt has charges remaining, its energy cell canât be removed. Once the belt has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Oard Technology
Some of the many Oard weapons & devices are described below. Although these pieces of equipment are technological, their properties can be described in terms of similar magical effects. The powers and effects of Oard technology should be treated in the same way as the corresponding spells, except as specified in individual cases.
Oard devices are controlled and powered by means of wires which plug into the Oards' bodies, and are tuned to their individual users. No magic, nor any other means will give characters full use of these devices, although a Wish Spell might (DM's discretion) allow 1-4 uses. Since they are not magical, Oard devices won't be shown up by Detect Magic Spells. Unlike the casting of a spell, an Oard's use of a technological power isn't ruined by being disturbed.
Image Amulet
This device creates a permanent, holographic image around the Oard which allows the Oard to make itself look like any humanoid up to 10 feet tall. The screen also changes appearance of the Oard's clothes (ex. to look like furs) & equipment. There is no saving throw for those seeing this technological illusion, but a Truesight Spell, for example, would enable the caster to see through it. The screen stops working at once if the Oard is killed, revealing the creature in its true form.
Protection Belt
This device surrounds the Oard with a permanent, protective force field. The field is similar to the barrier created by a shield spell except that the Oard gains an armor class of 20 against all attacks.
In addition, the barrier gives protection equivalent to permanent protection spells from
- normal missile
- resist cold
- resist fire
Finally, the field has a limited anti-gravity power which allows the Oard to levitate at will for a total of up to 6 turns per day.
Speech Bracelet
This is a 2-way communication device with a range of 50 miles.
Time Travel Mirror
This enables the Oards to travel from their Oard Empire in the far future back through time into the history of Aelos. The cost in energy is enormous, however, and so only a few Oard agents can be sent.
Furthermore, the devices allow only 1-way travel, which means that the Oards cannot return to their own time through the devices.
These devices have their own holographic screens which may be used to disguise them as something else. A time travel device's screen ceases to function if all the Oards who passed through it are dead.
Value & Appearance of Oard Devices
Oards do not have treasures as such, but their devices and equipment are exquisitely made from plastics, metals, and crystals.
In the adventurers' own world, these objects would be regarded as very fine, unusual jewelry or adornment, and so have corresponding values:
- An Image Amulet looks like a gem-encrusted, gold filigree amulet on a silver chain
( value - 800 GP )
- A Ray Glove looks like a gauntlet of incredibly fine chainmail, decorated with gold filigree and a large, elongated gem on the index finger
( value - 600 GP )
- A Blaster Tube is an ornately inlaid, transparent cylinder (about 3 inches wide and 18 inches long) open only at 1 end. If it could be used, for example, as a case for storing scrolls
( value - 500 GP )
- A Fireball Gem has the appearance of a short, hollow gold wand with large gem mounted at the end
( value - 400 GP )
- A Protection Belt looks like a beautifully decorated girdle
( value - 600 GP )
- A Speech Bracelet looks like a delicately wrought bracelet
( value - 400 GP )
- A Time Travel Mirror looks like a perfect, full-length mirror set in a gold frame
( value - 6000 GP )
- A set of Oard Clothes appear to be made of exceedingly fine but hard-wearing silk, embroidered with minutely detailed patterns in precious metals
( value - 200 GP per suit )
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Are you ready to join the horrifying ranks of Ravenloft creatures? Whether youâre a servant of a Darklord looking for a way to break the deal or a mad scientist with a passion for piecing broken things together,
Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
is ready to shape you into a most macabre adventurer.
Below, weâll review these new subclasses and show you how you can use them to frighten your fellow players and DM alike!
đ§ Reanimator (Artificer)
đ College of Spirits (Bard)
𪌠Grave Domain (Cleric)
â ď¸ Hollow Warden (Ranger)
đť Phantom (Rogue)
đ¤ Shadow Sorcery (Sorcerer)
đ§ Undead Patron (Warlock)
Reanimator (Artificer)
Reanimators are Artificers who blend the biological with the mechanical, the necromantic with the scientific. A Reanimator weaves flesh and bloodâin addition to magical trinketsâinto something so much more. By combining their intellect with the dark forces of the weave, Reanimators create terrifying flesh golems that dominate the battlefield.
From the Lab to the Adventuring Party
Reanimators cobble together pieces of corpses and assemble them into something much more terrifying:
an undead monster imbued with magical power.
This Reanimated Companion can prevent opponents from taking Opportunity Attacks, absorbs Lightning Damage, and erupts in a Death Burst that harms nearby creatures when it dies.
With their Reanimator Spells, they are well-equipped to hinder enemies, restore their Reanimated Companion to health, and keep themselves alive
(because necromancy is only fun if youâre the one holding the tools).
They use their Jolt to Life feature to cast a boosted Spare the Dying that heals the ally and harms nearby enemies.
As the Reanimatorâs skills develop, they are able to add Strange Modifications to their companion to increase its ferocity or allow it to act as an arcane conduit. As they continue to experiment, they will gain Improved Reanimation
(increasing the power of that Death Burst)
and Macabre Modifications, further expanding the potential upgrades for their Reanimated Companion âincrease its size and damage, give it a climbing speed and the ability to Frighten opponents, or modify it so that it can swim, squeeze through small spaces, and deal blowback damage to nearby enemies.
When they get to the top of their game, the Reanimator will be able to use Facilitated Revival to raise the dead, add 3 modifications to the companion, and use Life Transfer to absorb any of the companionâs remaining Hit Points when under fire.
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College of Spirits (Bard)
College of Spirits Bards embrace their connection to the afterlife, drawing power from the spirits they channel as easily as a Wizard reads a spellbook. Controlling the spirits is, of course, quite another matter entirely.
Say Their Name Three Times
The Channeler feature provides the opportunity to cast Guidance with a range of 60 feet, which means that when a Spirits Bard shouts at a friend that theyâve really got to get their act together, they actually might. When a College of Spirits Bard gives a creature Bardic Inspiration, their Spirits from Beyond feature will allow them to invoke a random spirit for additional power by rolling on the Spirits from Beyond table.
They may call upon spirits like the Sharpshooter or Brute to deal damage,
demand aid in healing allies from the Beloved or the Priest,
ask the Fortune Teller to buff a friend by granting them Advantage on D20 Tests,
or invoke the Coward and Trickster to Frighten and Charm opponents.
If they want to channel a specific spirit, they can also expend a Bardic Inspiration for that purpose.
As their connection to the beyond deepens, they can use Empowered Channeling to call upon the spirits for additional help. Theyâll add an extra 1d6 to spells that deal damage or restore Hit Points, and tap into the knowledge of the dead to cast a supercharged Spirit Guardians. Once they master the art of communing with the afterlife, these Bards gain the Mystical Connection feature to sharpen their spirit-channeling skills. Now when they give Bardic Inspiration to an ally, they will roll on the Spirits from Beyond table twice and pick their preferred option.
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Grave Domain (Cleric)
A Grave Domain Cleric understands that death is a natural part of the worldâs cycle, a pivotal step on the path to somewhere else. But in a world with liches, vampires, ghosts, and others who resist the pull of death, shepherds of divine power work to ensure everybody is following the rules of the cosmos â no exceptions.
Death as a Neutral Arbiter
Early in their spiritual journey, a Grave Domain Cleric will gain access to additional spells, ensuring that the power of life & death always remains at their fingertips. Their Pull of Death benefit will allow them to deal extra damage to creatures that are missing any Hit Points, while the Return to Life feature will allow them to heal the maximum amount possible when helping a downed ally. Throwing out a Spare the Dying as a Bonus Action and then casting Cure Wounds on a downed ally as an Action makes Grave Clerics a steadfast ally on the battlefield.
With Path to the Grave, these clerics can curse an enemy, imposing dire debuffs and dealing extra damage.
As they creep closer and closer to death, Grave Domain Clerics can use Sentinel at Deathâs Door to take a Reaction that halves incoming damage and cancels Critical Hits. Once they embrace their full power and stand in the barrier between life and death, the Divine Reaper feature will make them an expert in Necromancy and will grant them the ability to regain Hit Points when an enemy dies.
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Hollow Warden (Ranger)
Hollow Warden Rangers derive power from the ancient, menacing terrors that skulk in the dark and forgotten places of the world. Guardians of the darkest and most dangerous corners of the wilds, they transform into ghastly forms to overcome their foes.
Use Fear as a Weapon
Hollow Warden Rangers step straight out of a nightmare and onto the field of battle. Unlike other Rangers, Hollow Wardens can morph their body with Alter Self and manifest their connection to natureâs darker elements with Phantom Steed. They take on the Wrath of the Wild to transform into a ghastly form that gains bonuses to AC, uses an Unnerving Aura to Frighten foes, and strikes enemies with a retributive Reaction.
As they embrace primordial spirits and forgotten forces, Hollow Warden Rangers will use their Hungering Might feature to gain a bonus to Constitution saving throws and the ability to regain Hit Points on a hit when Bloodied.
Later, the Rot & Violence feature will amplify their Wrath of the Wild form, preventing enemies who fail their save against Unnerving Aura from regaining Hit Points or using their Reaction and allowing the Ranger to activate the Sap or Slow property with any weapon.
When they reach the height of their power, the Ancient Might feature deals extra damage to Frightened creatures, grants Immunity to Exhaustion, and allows a downed Hollow Warden Ranger to suddenly surge with Hit Points.
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Phantom (Rogue)
Rogues with a penchant for death might find themselves suffused with its energy, straddling the border between the here and the hereafter. These masters of murder use eldritch power to consult the dead for information and channel the power of departed souls â and they arenât asking.
Carry Souls like Keys on a Ring
A Phantom Rogue uses ghostly powers to succeed on and off the battlefield. With Whispers of the Dead, a Phantom Rogue can draw on the knowledge of the departed, choosing a skill or tool proficiency whenever they finish a Short or Long Rest. Wails from the Grave will extend the power of Sneak Attack to a nearby opponent, damaging them with screams from beyond.
As the Phantom Rogue becomes a true expert in delivering death, they act as a magnet for the spirits of the dead. These Rogues gain the ability to steal slivers of souls as they depart for the afterlife, storing them in a trinket that they can consult later or expend to deal additional damage. They will also gain Advantage on Death Saving Throws and Constitution saving throws as long as they have at least one trinket, and they gain additional maximum soul trinkets as they increase in power.
As the Rogue inches towards the afterlife, they can take a spectral form that flies, is incorporeal, and is very tough to hit. At their peak, their Wails from the Grave damage becomes Necrotic for both targets, and the Phantom Rogue will gain 1 soul trinket when they enter battle if they had none remaining, effectively ensuring they always have Advantage on Death and Constitution saving throws in combat.
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Shadow Sorcery (Sorcerer)
Shadow Sorcerers often get their powers from the Shadowfell or some equivalent dark dimension, but they may also come from exposure to a macabre magical beast or an evil object of power.
Power from the Dark
Shadow Sorcerers manipulate darkness to veil their allies, deliver deadly poisons, and hinder enemies with impressive spells that other Sorcerers cannot access. Their Eyes of the Dark feature grants them a touch of Blindsight, extended Darkvision, and ensures they can always see through their own magicâs Darkness.
With Strength of the Grave, Shadow Sorcerers can cheat death â once per day, anyway.
At higher levels, these Sorcerers can summon a beast made of shadow that hinders nearby enemiesâ ability to resist their magic. As they grow, they will use their Shadow Walk feature to teleport from one dark corner to another.
At the pinnacle of their power, Shadow Sorcerers can adopt an Umbral Form that gains Resistance to most damage types and passes easily through walls and other physical objects.
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Undead Patron (Warlock)
For some, death is merely a suggestion, an inconvenience to be overcome with an act of sheer willâor perhaps with a curse, or simply by doing an awful lot of reading. But whether they performed the right rituals or angered the wrong god, theyâthat lich, mummy, ghost, or vampireâare here now. Indeed, they may have been here all along, doling out power to the most ambitious and conniving among us.
From Beyond the Grave
However they came by it, the Undead Patron Warlock is a mage wrapped in eerie power, ready to send opponents to their graves (for good, one presumes). Very early on in their pact, their Form of Dread allows them to take on their patronâs power and transform into a frightening figure. Theyâll also use Undead Spells to ensure they are a master of debilitating and lethal magic.
As their connection to their patron grows, the Undead Patron Warlock uses the Grave Touched feature to ignore Resistance to Necrotic damage and imbue their spells with deathly energies. They no longer gain Exhaustion from most effects, and they lose the need to sleep.
At higher levels, they gain the Necrotic Husk feature, granting them greater protection against necrotic power. These warlocks also use the Unholy Resuscitation feature to rise from the brink of death, blasting nearby enemies with necrotic magic in the process.
At their peak, these Warlockâs Superior Dread feature massively heightens their Form of Dread. When taking on their nightmarish aspect, they can now Fly, Hover, move through solid objects, cast certain spells with but a thought, and resist most physical damage.
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Into the Darkness: Dive into Ravenloft Today
For heroes that are at once terrifying and bewildering, for adventurers who blend the dark with the strange: Ravenloft: The Horrors Within awaits. Travel the realms with deathly powers at your fingertips, striking fear and revulsion into the hearts of your enemies.
Get ready to meet the spooky residents of Ravenloft: The Horrors Withinâtheyâre ready to meet you!
A haunted village, a cursed castle, or an undead army are spooky encountersâbut for Dungeon Masters who want to strike fear into the hearts of their players, they donât do the job quite as well as one of Ravenloftâs Domain of Dread. These terror-filled demiplanes are supernaturally crafted to test, torment, and torture the lost souls who find themselves trapped in the shifting Mists of Ravenloft.
If you want to tell a chilling tale your table wonât soon forget,
Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
paves the path by offering 17 ready-made domains that are prepped to explore.
But, what if you want to create a personal nightmare for your players, the book also covers how to create one of your ownâand thatâs what weâre going to dive into in this article!
Tips for Building a Domain of Dread
The easiest way to begin to manifest your Domain of Dread from the Mists of Ravenloft is to focus on your Darklord.
Your world should be a reflection of the villain; they should be the reason why the world looks, sounds, and feels the way it does currently.
Ravenloft: The Horrors Within breaks down the steps to flesh out your Darklord:
1. Pick the horror genre that fits your Darklord
2. Determine the backstory, who were they before they became a Darklord?
3. What flaw or obsession drove them into madness?
4. What are they actively doing, and what will the characters experience?
TIP:
The greatest Darklords have a great desire for something specific, theyâve wrought destruction trying to get it, they are so close but something always stops them, creating a boiling frustration.
For example, Count Strahd of Barvoia does not merely want love; he wants one particular soul that he has come infatuated with, and he damned himself pursuing her. Yet whenever she seems within reach, fate takes her away, proving that all his power cannot give him what he believes he deserves.
Build the Domain Around the Darklord
We now have our Darklord; the next step is to shape our Domain and figure out our Domain Elements.
More specifically, what does it smell like in the air, the colors, recurring symbols that we see, the sounds, the weather and the sky, what the culture fears and celebrates, what is scarce around town, what do the buildings look like, and what excuse do the locals have to pretend everything is normal?
The Darklord should be casting a shadow that ties the Domain Elements back to the villain. Evidence of the horrific things they have done, someone they have killed, a taboo broken, a love they lost, a betrayal, temptation, or fear.
These details are the pieces of the puzzle that will create your Domain of Dreadâand the coming mystery or conflict the characters will have to unravel.
TIP:
Ravenloft is where you get to be strange and weird. You donât have to get bogged down in how agriculture would logically function.
In Dementlieuâthe Domain of Dread ruled by the spectre duchess Saidra dâHonaireâpeople explain away Port-a-Lucineâs needs by speaking of Chateaufaux as the countryside that supplies the city, even though no goods arrive from beyond the walls and Chateaufaux doesnât actually exist.
Putting Together the Pieces:
Captain Dreadbeard and The Drowned Reach
For example, letâs take an evil villain named Captain Dreadbeardâan undead pirate who has terrorized those on the high seas for years. Obsessed with gold, he betrayed his crew so he wouldnât have to split the share of the bounty.
Now trapped in the Domain of Dread known as The Drowned Reach, he will forever take down a ship on sight in hopes it will quench his thirst for the treasure he seeks.
To make the world feel like an extension of the character, this campaign would belong on a continent of islands. The air is always damp and smells of dead fish, thereâs always a fog, and the broken ships the captain has toppled are marked with a gold skull.
The towns and people of this continent are poor in wealth and, because of that, poor in health. Towns fear ships and donât like strangers. Nearly everyone is ready to stab you in the back to not be betrayed first.
Monsters would be a mix of terrors on land and sea: Undead, raiding pirates, and especially, underwater terrors.
Land or sea, youâre never safe on these islands. Youâre a short walk from the ocean, and when the tide rolls in... so does Captain Dreadbeard.
Running Adventures in Your Domain
Make Your Darklord Feel Present Before the Final Confrontation
Reserving the reveal of a Darklord for the final confrontation is a good way to make sure your characters donât have a personal attachment to the climax of your campaign.
A great Darklord should have a nigh omnipotent presence in their domain. They should always be top of mind, not only when in the faces of our heroes.
Here are some thoughts you should have in mind throughout the adventures in your Domain of Dread:
1. Why should the characters or the other inhabitants fear the Darklord?
2. How do they manifest their will across the realm, without causing unbeatable conflicts for the characters?
3. How do their minions herald the Darklordâs presence?
These questions will help you make the Darklord active even when they arenât in plain sight or about to have a showdown with the party.
Let Rumors, Lies, and Puzzle Pieces Do the Work
There are ways to keep the Darklord ever present, and not just as something looming in the background. Your NPCs might whisper rumors and legends, crazed combatants might spew terrifying tales of the power of their Darklord master, you might find scripture that preserves perverse truths of the Darklordâs past, and cruelty can play out in front of the characters that show the cost of the Darklordâs actions without requiring them to appear.
The true test of a Domain of Dread is to make the Darklord feel bigger than a single encounter. The types of stories these pocket planes help you tell work extremely well when our heroes can put the puzzle pieces together through their investigationsâ contradictory stories, recurring symbols, and evidence of their wickednessâbefore they reach the final confrontation.
Through the process of uncovering artifacts or learning about the Darklordâs past, the characters may not even have to fight the Darklord to overcome them.
Populating Your Domain for Adventure
Use Genre Hooks and Settings
You have the Darklord, their curse, and how these factors influence the domainâs environment. The next step is to figure out what the heroes actually do here!
Ravenloft: The Horrors Within contains breakdowns of horror genre principles, including random tables for villain motivations, adventure hooks, and seeding suggestions to help inspire you to build your own.
Choose Monsters That Support the Story
(Or Reskin Your Favorites)
Each genre breakdown also points towards specific monsters, but remember to reskin and alter them if they donât quite fit the story youâre telling.
An example from
Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
is turning a Beholder Zombie into a flesh-stitched magical construct tied to an arrogant mageâs failed experiment.
Leave Room for Discovery
Last piece of advice:
Donât lock in everything too early. Review your notes, connect recurring themes, foreshadow what matters most, and leave some room to define those details later. Your players will gravitate towards certain things during play, so it's important to identify these themes early and flesh out a story to help them pursue what interests them.
Enter the Horror of Ravenloft
Whether you're crafting your first Darklord, shaping a Domain from scratch, or diving into one of the 17 pre-built realms of terror,
Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
gives you everything you need to bring your nightmare to life.
Inside, you'll find dozens of denizens to populate your domains, genre breakdowns and random tables to spark your imagination, and all the tools to build a horror story your players won't soon forgetâsurrounded by the swirling Mists of Ravenloft.
