FILLING IN THE GAPS FOR OLD SCHOOL GAMERS

51 63 68
Creature Feature Domiciles & Emporia One Page Dungeon
Mind Reaver H'bort's Scrap Kelpies
& Armaments

Classes and Guilds

Spring
2013
Issue 4
Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals
Organizations, secret or not?
Mercenary Companies
of the Lakelands
Good guys to have on your side!
Revisiting the
Assassin Class
A new take on the 3rd
BONUS ARTICLE oldest profession!

Five Gnomish Hammers

of Power Mini-Adventure:
New artifacts from Lenard Lakofka! Gnoll Tower
Low level bad guys!

Paquin Crii
Not who or what you think!
 Map 1
Map by M.W. Poort AKA Fingolwyn

2 &4
 Issue Number 4
V1I4p0 Spring 2012

The Staff Featured Artist

Publisher: This months' cover artist is Milo.
Nicole Massey
Milo is the nom-de-plume of a veteran role-player who started as a naive
Chief Editor/Layout: adolescent with Basic D&D in 1980. After a varied real and role-played
Bryan Fazekas life, he is now a secondary school teacher in the UK, married with 3 kids,
Editors: a motorbike and a mortgage. His preferred game is 1st Ed AD&D and,
Jeremy Dow controversially, he quite likes the UA rule additions.
Andrew Hamilton
Milo was the cartoonist for the Oxford Polytechnic Students Union
Dan Rasaiah
Magazine for two years. "Erm, that was the only other time my work has
Art Director been published so getting a cover is quite a big deal for me!"
Ralph Glatt
He also wrote a GURP-style game called the "Bastardised Role Playing
Cartographer:
Game" or BRPG, which was picked up by the publisher Autokratic Press,
Andreas Claren
but never got a distribution deal so was never published.
Logo Design:
Payton Gauldin
Cover Art:
Milo
Interior Art:
Milo
Maps:
M.W. Poort (Fingolwyn)
Contributing Authors:
Lenard Lakofka
Cyndi Premazon

& Magazine is published four times a year by the & Publishing Group. It is available for download at [Link]
[Link]/[Link].
The rights to all material published herein revert to the author(s) of said work upon release of this issue. Articles may
be submitted by email to submissions@[Link]. Please review the & submission guidelines.
Dungeons & DragonsTM, Advanced Dungeons and DragonsTM, D&DTM and AD&DTM are owned by Wizards of the Coast
and their use here is not intended as a challenge to their ownership of that copyright. All materials are used here
without permission.
All other material copyrighted to the listed author or artist, and used by permission.
Nothing in this publication constitutes official rules additions or changes to the AD&D game. Use is at the discretion of
the game master and the players of individual games.

&4 3
 The theme of this quarter's magazine is

Classes & Guilds

Contents
Magic Items This Issue's Features
Scattered throughout & are new Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals ................................................................................ 9
magic items! Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals: Case Study I........................................................ 17
Power Disc................................................ 26 Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals: Case Study II ...................................................... 22
Vial of Holding ......................................... 26 Revisiting the Assassin Class............................................................................. 27
Wire of Curse Destruction........................ 26 Melting Pot in the Dungeon .............................................................................. 31
String of Bonding ..................................... 26 Mercenary Companies of the Lakelands ............................................................. 37
Arrow of Fireballs ..................................... 44
Handaxe of Fireballs ................................. 44 Bonus Articles
Bolts of Lightning ..................................... 64 Back In The Day …............................................................................................ 45

Short Sword of Lightning ......................... 69 Five Gnomish Hammers of Power...................................................................... 47

Spells Featured Adventure

Scattered throughout & are new Mini-Adventure: Gnoll Tower........................................................................... 65
spells!
Thrown Punch .......................................... 53 Regular Columns
Map 1 ................................................................................................................... 2
Interior Art Featured Artist ..................................................................................................... 3
Each printed item has the author Tread Softly .......................................................................................................... 5
listed, but not so the artwork. Guest Editorial: Passing the Baton ...................................................................... 7
Milo Creature Feature I: Mind Reaver ....................................................................... 50
Corsair ...................................................... 38 Friend or Foe I: Paquin Crii ............................................................................... 51
Little Knight ............................................. 41 Friend or Foe II: Three Dwarven Weaponsmiths ............................................... 54
Odd Sword................................................ 57 The Toybox: New Weapons ................................................................................ 55
Odd Wand ................................................ 62 Spell Caster's Paradise I: Beefing Up Cure X Wounds Spells........................... 58
Bryan Fazekas Spell Caster's Paradise II: More Spells .............................................................. 61
Hammer .................................................... 47 Domiciles & Emporia: H'bort's Scrap & Armaments ....................................... 63
One Page Dungeon: Kelpies............................................................................... 68
For Further Reading........................................................................................... 70
Map 2 ................................................................................................................. 71

4 &4
 Tread Softly
by Nicole Massey

Thoughts from the publisher

Welcome back to all returning readers, and least semi-professional in presentation, and we do
welcome to our new readers. I hope you find some that because we want to make digesting what we
interesting things in this issue that will entertain, publish as easy as possible for our readers. Nothing
enlighten, and give you things to think about. yanks me out of an article or narrative faster than a
misspelled word. Part of this is a product of my
Our fourth issue. That equates to a year of
screen reader, as it sometimes doesn't know how to
production. I could fill an issue with the things I've
pronounce a particular misspelling, but when
learned in that time, and still have a lot more left
someone doesn't try to check their writing for
over. Y'all have been great, for the most part, letting
errors, a far more common occurrence in these
us know what you think of our work and what
modern days of self-publishing to the web and e-
you'd like to see, and I can't say enough about all of
readers, there's nothing my screen reader can do
our freelancers who are contributing things to the
about it, and as an editor I can't direct it to ignore
magazine for everyone else to enjoy. Hopefully
such things and say them correctly, as you can
you've also noticed that we spend time editing,
probably imagine.
laying out the magazine, and doing several
proofreading passes to make sure that everything Because this magazine isn't just a vanity project, it's
looks its best. Our goal has always been to be at there for y'all. And with that said, I can't say enough
about how wonderful our staff is in making this all
happen. Creativity and the ability to turn that
creativity into something real is rare, and we have
Fanzine and Magazine Publishers and several folks who do that on a regular basis, and in
Collectors! a timely fashion, which allows us to get things out
& is compiling an index of articles relating to when we say we're going to.
our hobby published in professional, semi-
professional, and fan created magazines, "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy."
and we would love to have your assistance in This is one of Murphy's Military Laws, and it fits
this process. this issue. Our original idea was to deal with multi-
Have you built an index of your favorite classed characters as the theme of the issue. I've
magazine, or are you considering it? been unable to locate a single article on the topic, so
Send us your indices of articles in a besides the information in the core rulebooks and
DragonDex oriented format and we will add other TSR publications, there hasn't been much said
them to our growing index for D&D articles about it. Unfortunately, reality then set in, and we
and other related material. realized that it'd be very difficult to fill an issue on
The & staff is working on White Dwarf and this topic. We also received some good articles on
Footprints – we welcome your help in things related to character classes but not
building a resource for fellow gamers. specifically multi-classed characters, so we decided
Make sure you include your name and email to expand the topic. It's a huge topic, so chances are
address so we can ensure you get credit for good that we'll do other issues on the same theme in
your work! See our Index page for more the future. It's not the first time this has happened,
details and formatting guidelines. though – look at last issue for an example of that,
Stay tuned for details of how we will publish where we started out with Islands as the theme and
our indices! then the articles were all about nautical
adventuring.

&4 5
Classes are one of the three fundamental aspects of columns to boot. Hopefully we'll provide some
AD&D. (The other two are combat and adventuring things you're looking for!
– the game isn't the same without these three
You may notice that the Toybox article is all
things.) I know some may say that magic is
weapons. I run a game that uses three different rule
fundamental too, but it's actually possible to play
systems, so I did weapon statistics for all three
the game without it, and some folks have done it;
systems. If you're trying to convert a Rolemaster
(and remember that in the early Dragonlance
game to 1st ed AD&D , these will be of great help ,
modules there were no clerics.) However, for most
and for those of you not running anything else it'll
people, if you remove character classes you have
give you some other options. These weapon
something besides a D&D product.
columns will continue in future issues..
All classes aren't created equally, especially when
It hasn't only been our first year, but an interesting
you start bringing in the other books that present
year for old school gamers too. The premium
them – Unearthed Arcana and Oriental Adventures.
versions of the "Core Three" books for AD&D came
The monk class got a major re-write and also was
out in July, indicating a possible thaw from WotC
moved to the Oriental Adventures setting, and the
regarding older material. Right after that they
Paladin was moved into another class category in
announced that they were going to give the 3.5
Unearthed Arcana. (A move that garners a lot of
D&D books the same treatment, so a lot of the non-
grumbling and derision.) The Bard class has also
old school crowd got surprised looks on their faces.
received many reworkings, including one of my
Though that release doesn't affect old school
own which will appear either in the future here or
gaming, it signals a change in corporate policy, as
in a netbook (more on that later). So we decided that
there was no charitable foundation to benefit from
basing an issue around character classes would be a
those releases. Then came the big news from
good bet.
GenCon, that they were going to start making PDF's
So, what do we have? Well, for starters there's my of the older stuff available again. As Ian Fleming
Melting Pot article looking at multi-classed said in Moonraker (the book, not that abomination
characters and how they work in relation to other of a movie), "once is happenstance, twice is a
single classed characters. I've also worked up a coincidence, and three times is enemy action."
revised assassin class more in keeping with the Though the details are quite different (WotC is not
Ninja class in Oriental Adventures, which opens the our enemy, by any stretch of the imagination) the
doors a lot wider on who can be an assassin. gist is there – three times now they've indicated that
they're going to make older product available again.
Andrew Hamilton brings us an article on different
It's been a very good year, as the song goes.
types of groups and organizations for Magic-users
and their sub-classes. He also gives us a fine article
on mercenary companies and their uses for driving
a campaign.
One of the things I've mentioned before is children We welcome your creatures, spells, items,
of gamers of my generation picking up the game. adventure seeds, and other submissions!
Freelancer Cyndi Premazon has a guest editorial for Send them to:
us on just this topic, which many parents in her submissions@[Link].
situation might find entertaining and possibly a bit We reserve the right to copy edit
wistful. I've known her personally for almost a submissions for length, grammar, and
decade, and when she saw our first issue she content.
immediately contacted me to discuss this article.
Bryan Fazekas also gives us cure spells from the
mind of Frank Mentzer, and we have our regular

6 &4
 Passing the Baton
by Cyndi Premazon

A guest editorial about teaching the next general of D&D players.

that, because I was excited about being able to pass

this baton.
Later that night, I took the hallowed box off the
shelf, opened it up, and looked at my precious dice
once more. I remembered the many gaming sessions
I had so many years ago—games that started on a
Friday night that went into the wee hours of
Saturday morning. We'd break for a bit, nap,
continue through Saturday, and on into the
evening—you get the picture. I'd cook a huge pot of
spaghetti for the crew, or we'd order pizza. There
The Hallowed Box of Dice was always Coke, Mountain Dew, and other soda of
choice. Our favorite was the candy. We'd use
This morning, I dropped the teen boy off at his M&M's on the board for monsters. Our DM would
friend's house for the weekend. He's looking lay out the "monsters" on the board in relation to
forward to the D&D game they've been planning for where our miniatures were in the room, and then
a few weeks now. I'm not sure what his character is the battle would commence! If you killed the
in the game—some Ranger type, I think. As I monster, you got to eat it. Of course, you gained
understand, there have been quite a few changes to experience and treasure. Unfortunately, using
the game since I last played, when they had just M&Ms as monsters meant you also gained weight if
released AD&D version 3.0. you were good enough with your "to hit" and
My kid had already expressed an interest in damage rolls
gaming. He shares my love for dice (just because
they're "shiny"). I got him his own set a while back,
and with them I passed down my worn, Crown
Royal bag. I mean, really, what gamer doesn't have
a Crown Royal bag for their dice? Well, last night I
got out the box. Yes, I still have my collection of dice,
and I have so many they're in a box about the size of
a large crafting/bead organizer. Before doing so, I
asked my son what extra dice he might need. He
really wasn't sure. I asked what dice he rolls when
he does damage. "D6," he said. He knows I regard
my dice as my "treasure," and some are "The The Precious
Precious."
I told him I would choose some to loan him for the I looked at my favorite set of dice, and the clear D20
weekend, but they're just on loan. I think he was the DM always hated. I can understand why: The
trying to hide it, but I thought I saw a look of awe, numbers were clear, too. But it was pretty.
surprise, and excitement. Maybe I was projecting

&4 7
 Author Bio
Cyndi Premazon is a copywriter and social
media content manager in the Houston area.
As “Social Media Maven” for The Magick
Cauldron, you’ll find her writing event
announcements for classes and upcoming
festivals. You’ll also see a creative persona story
she wrote for Madame Ruby Lynn’s Blended
Oils at [Link]. She has a
Basic Edition Set passion for writing, and took the plunge with
&Mag!
I looked at my old dice—the ones I don't think they Cyndi is a gamer from way back in the day,
even make anymore—my original ones from the remembering when AD&D first introduced
Basic Edition box set. You know, those light blue Spelljammer. She now has a teenage boy
ones? Yeah, I still have those. I also have some two- showing gaming interest, and her dice are
sided D10s that double as D20s. Those were from calling. You may see more from Cyndi as she
back in the days when they sold some kind of wax catches up on just how much AD&D has
crayon you could use on the die to color one half. changed since she last played, when they
These were used as D20s or percentile dice. They released version 3.0.
were quite versatile, but I never see them in the
gaming stores or at any of the game conventions

Two-Sided D10s
started rolling bad numbers on me. It's always a
anymore. good idea to have a spare. I might let him keep that
After saying hello again to my old friends and set. OK, who am I kidding? We all know I'm going
remembering the good times we had, I selected to let him keep it. But the 6-siders are still mine.
some of my favorite 6-siders. These were dice I used Tomorrow, he comes home, and he'll have his own
to use to roll for damage for fireballs and lightning "No s***, there we were" stories to tell. I can't wait to
bolts when I'd play a mage. I know he's not playing hear them.
a magic-user, but I'm certain they'll bring him just as
much luck as they brought me. I also chose a
backup set of dice for him to use this weekend. I
always had a full backup set in case my favored set

8 &4
 Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals
by Andrew Hamilton

describes example organizations. The chief purpose,

The Wizard's Guild however, is to fire the imaginations of dungeon
masters (DMs) and players, not provide a complex
Author's note: This framework was partially inspired by Lego set with which to assemble random
the various "Organization" systems in Palladium organizations. The latter would require more time
Games. While the point/trait buy component was dropped and space than can be given.
the framework was adopted.
When thinking of a wizard's guild it is not unusual
to think of a school of magic like Hogwart's from
Types of Magical Organizations
the Harry Potter mythology, or a respected gathering Magical organizations have been broken into three
of accomplished magic-users like Waterdeep or general types: formal, informal and secret. These are
Raven's Bluff as described in some of the official not mutually exclusive, however, and elements of
2nd Edition (2E) resources. These archetypes could each type can be found in any of the three
exist only in a magic-rich environment with strong organizations.
governments, large and wealthy cities, and a long
history of magical practice. 1) Formal Organizations
Another example of a guild or college is one run by Possibly known as guilds or colleges, a formal
a crusty hedge mage who has trained dozens of organization may protect trade and organizational
students over the decades (centuries?). Those secrets, but the organization itself is not secret. A
students, still loyal to the hedge mage, have trained formal organization is structured, with rules, a
students of their own and have organically leader and hierarchy, and process for screening and
developed a large and informal network of magic- accepting new members. The classic wizard's guild
users with a shared heritage and philosophy. These or magical college with a guild hall or campus, and
magic-users recognize each other and tend to be co- the obligatory libraries and laboratories, are both
operative and friendly amongst themselves. While examples of formal Organizations.
some students have surpassed the master, they still
The membership rules are normally well—but not
respect the old man. Seemingly weak and
necessarily clearly—documented, and there is a
unorganized, this network may prove to be far more
hierarchy and certain amount of prestige or infamy
powerful and dedicated than enemies ever realize,
that comes with membership.
as the power of friendship and loyalty should never
be underestimated. A guild or college is typically founded for a
purpose, having a central headquarters and
A third example is a dark cult that worships some
leadership. Membership in the guild or college may
demonic entity that shares magical lore with its
or may not be open to any magic-user, and it
members. Such a cult will have a common heritage
usually comes at a price.
and knowledge base, but the members are unlikely
to be overly loyal to each other as they jockey for
advancement and primacy. 2) Informal Organizations
Far more informal than the guild or college, the
This article examines various types of magical
organizations, the benefits and costs associated with informal "circle" or "network" is an informal group
that has likely grown organically from a friendship,
membership, and the adventuring opportunities
shared apprenticeship, or other friendly
that membership in or association with one may
relationship. Circles and networks rarely have a
provide. A loose guide to designing a magical
formal headquarters (although they may use the
organization is presented, and a companion article

&4 9
house or tower of one or more members as informal Benefits and Drawbacks
headquarters or gathering places), and they
A DM must be careful to ensure that membership in
certainly don't have formal membership rules. If
a magical organization does not provide something
there is a hierarchy, it is usually based on mutual
for nothing to a magic-user player character (PC).
respect and seniority.
This should not be taken to imply that there are no
A circle could be something as simple as a half- benefits in belonging to a magical organization;
dozen magic-users in neighboring towns who nothing could be further from the truth. It is just
correspond and occasionally drop in on one another that those benefits come at a price. That price might
to share a meal, gossip, and perhaps trade books be paid in membership dues and fees, or in service
and notes. It could also be a family of magic-users, a or the slaying of enemies. In an organization in
group of teachers and students, or old adventuring which benefits increase with rank or seniority,
companions. higher or additional costs may arise. At a certain
point a PC may be expected to put the interests of
3) Secret Organization the organization ahead of his or her own. Of course,
they may fail to pay the price and find themselves
Often referred to as cults or cabals, like formal
ostracized and possibly pursued.
organizations, a secret organization is founded for a
purpose, typically one best served by secrecy. Cults
have some type of religious connection, which in Benefits
the case of a fantasy game could be any one of Benefits can be minor but useful. Something like
countless deities, lower or upper planar entities, cheap room and board in the guild hall (for a
powerful entities, or even an extremely old or limited period of time) would be a useful, but not
powerful non-player character (NPC). The term cult game-breaking benefit. A positive reputation that
often has negative connotations, although that is not carries over to members would also be useful ("Oh,
necessarily the case with magical organizations. A you're a member of The Order of Flaming Flumphs?
cult may have been formed to worship a lawful We can certainly clear out a room at the inn for
good deity of magic in an evil society or in a society you!"). Or it could be dramatic (an additional spell
that outlaws the practice of magic. Of course, learned at no cost upon level advancement, access
adventurers are more likely to encounter cults based to cheap magical items, etc.).
on demon worship or cults that seek to return some
As adventurers know, it's nice to be part of a team
elder evil force to the world.
you can rely on. Belonging to a magical
Cabals are a secret organization that is focused on organization or guild expands the size of a magic-
political or economic concerns, typically seizing or user's team. This doesn't mean that the magic-user
exerting control on nations and economies. A cabal PC can use a half-dozen low-level magic-users as
does not necessarily have dark designs; they could monster meat while dungeoneering, but he could
as easily be a group of merchant-mages who are the hire one or two guild members for backup. They
secret guardians of a kingdom seeking to would need to be treated with respect, of course.
manipulate the ebb and flow of trade for their own
A magical organization can also provide access to
enrichment.
trustworthy sources to cast divinations, to store an
Secret organizations are likely to be set up with item for a bit, to trade spells with, or even to make
cells, and members will only know the identity of a arrangements to send a rescue party if the PC fails
handful of others. They are also quite likely to have to come back at a certain time. The value of
dispersed resources, secret hideouts, agents at large, someone keeping the home fires burning should
legitimate day jobs, and all kinds of methods of never be under-estimated.
detecting (and dealing with) traitors and
interlopers.

10 &4
If nothing else, being a member of a magical
organization will give the magic-user better access An excellent example of a magic-users’ guild can
to mentors, instructors, and materials. This may or be found in the AD&D 2nd Edition resource The
may not mean cheaper access, though. Even the City of Raven's Bluff. Another magical
ability to purchase all needed material components organization (for a high -magic society) is
in one place could be of great value in some described in City of Splendors (another 2E
campaigns. resource).
Finally, a benefit that only adventurers will truly The article "The Mystic College: Magical academies
appreciate: A magical organization is an excellent for AD&D game sorcerers" in Dragon #123 by James
starting point for adventure. This is discussed in A. Yates (page 16) provides rules for DMs
detail later. interested in running a magical school.

Drawbacks
While membership has its benefits, it will also have
Describing The Magical Organization
drawbacks. Some obvious drawbacks include
having to pay membership fees. There may be other Some might think that the first step in describing a
obligations as well, including mandatory training at magical organization is coming up with a name.
a college, service for a certain period each year, However, that isn't always easy, and some people
sharing any new spells with the guild (or a patron (like this author) find that they need to really work
within the guild), or taking oaths of service (geas, at it and leave a trail of rejected names behind
anyone?). Membership in a magical organization before coming up with something that works. A
may come complete with an enemy guild or cult better first step in describing a magical organization
that is intent on wiping out the PC's organization. is deciding on the role that it is going to play in the
campaign. An organization that is a shadowy villain
Organizations have rules and politics, and to remain
will be much different than a soulless, bureaucratic
a member in good standing the magic-user will
monolith that every magic-user is expected to
have to follow (or at least appear to follow) these
belong to, let alone a small secret organization of
rules and remain aware of politics. For most
magic-users that recruit a likely apprentice (the PC
adventurers, staying out of power politics is
magic-user of course!).
probably the best course of action, but adventurers
make good (if somewhat unpredictable) pawns and Regardless of the name or starting concept, when
dupes, so they may find themselves sucked into creating a magic-users' guild, a magical college or
various machinations regardless. similar organization, answering the following
questions will help the DM create a unique magical
DMs should ensure that the pros and cons of
organization.
membership in an organization make sense. Some
benefits should have a con tied directly to them. For
1) Type
example, guild members may receive level training
at a steep discount, but the PC is required to train What type of organization is the DM trying to
one junior member each time the PC receives create? Does he envision a formal, stuffy guild or
training. In essence, the guild is ensuring that the college: an informal circle of minor hedge mages
benefits are funded through member sweat equity, and magic-users that lives in the rural regions of a
not through the guild's coffers. When one adds in kingdom? Perhaps the DM needs opposition for the
the high fees of membership, the total cost is almost PCs, such as a cult of demon worshippers, intent on
(but not quite) the same as the amount of seizing control of a barony or destroying a certain
undiscounted level training. goodly church?

&4 11
As always, there is the option of creating a layered however, a sponsored organization is also beholden
organization. Perhaps a cult or cabal has been to its sponsor and may be forced to act in a certain
established within the wizard's guild; an informal manner.
network of graduates and teachers (a circle) has
developed within a magical college; or both a cult 5) Organizational Structure
and a circle exist in the wizard's guild, and the
The structure will likely be derived from the type of
resulting intrigue will keep the PC guild members
organization. A formal organization will have
on their toes and looking over their shoulders.
leadership roles, various service and support roles
and branches, and will look much like a modern
2) Founder bureaucracy or enterprise. Informal organizations
Who founded the organization? An organization are likely to be far more fluid, some even lacking a
that was founded by a kindly arch-mage dedicated clear leader. Secret organizations may have a
to the protection of a kingdom or empire is going to structure and defined roles, although those roles
be much different from one founded by a demon- and that structure might be very dynamic if there is
prince. A founder that is still alive and active may a high level of ambition and backstabbing in the
still be running the organization, or perhaps has organization.
retired, was ousted, etc. Alternately the founder
When describing the leadership roles, decide how
may be dead or disappeared. Of course, the
one obtains a senior role or office. Are the
"Founder's Legend" might be so much hogwash,
leadership roles elected offices, appointed offices,
nothing more than a story fabricated to provide a
hereditary positions or won through contests? Some
little more gravitas to the organization.
of this will be influenced by whether or not the
organization is loyal to a founder or single leader, or
3) Purpose if the membership is loyal to the organization or a
Why does the guild exist? Is it meant to control the greater purpose (nation, kingdom, deity, etc.).
use of magic (a guild with mandatory membership The organizational structure includes the
sponsored by the government)? Was it created as a membership rules and ranks. Are there different
means of self-protection (a small guild created by a types of memberships, and how are they earned?
band of low-level practitioners) or to train junior
magic-users? Is it a secret organization that seeks to
6) Membership Size and Power
influence kings and emperors? Is the cult dedicated
to bringing the Great Devourer back into the world How big is the magical organization, both in terms
to consume all the light? of members and support staff? A huge magical
college will have many magic-using members, but it
4) Sponsorship may also have members or staff such as alchemists,
sages, and guards. In addition to the number of
The guild or college may be sponsored by a members, what are their levels? A college that is
government (e.g., a college that produces war dedicated to training apprentices is likely to have
wizards), a church (likely one faithful to a deity of mostly zero-level or low-level members, with a few
magic), a wealthy party (like a depraved noble mid- to high-level instructors. A large and
sponsoring a cult, or a merchant house that prestigious guild will have more high-level
encourages networking amongst its magic-using members than a guild in a rural region.
members). The entity may be independent (such as
a school founded by a powerful magic-user or a How does the organization flex its power? Do they
guild created by a group of like-minded magic- take a direct role in government, expecting the
users). A magical organization that is sponsored by guild-master to sit on a ruling council or act as one
some outside party is likely to have access to more of the King's advisors? Do they manipulate things
resources than an independent organization;

12 &4
from behind the scenes? Or are they strictly hands- Do the members of a network share their libraries
off, tending to their own affairs? openly with each other, or at least demonstrate
reciprocity? Or are members on their own when it
How about associates? Does the organization have a
comes to magical research, libraries and
permanent guard or military force? Cults are likely
laboratories?
to have some guardians, either human worshippers
lacking magical ability or monsters (summoned,
compelled, or created). Rich organizations may have 9) Outfits or Insignia (Distinctive Features)
golems, elementals, or similar guardian creatures. Do the members advertise their membership
Less savory or ethical organizations may use through a wardrobe selection, display of an
undead or charmed guardians. insignia, etc. or are they free to dress as they wish?
Certainly fantasy literature is full of magical
7) Exclusivity organizations that have distinctive dress or other
features. There are pros and cons to a distinctive
How exclusive is the organization? Does it allow
look. If your group is feared, it might help keep the
only magic-users, or can magic-users and
peasants in line, or it might bring the paladins
illusionists join? What about NPC classes that can
running. Sponsored organizations are likely to wear
cast spells (e.g., the sage as presented in the
some insignia or uniform as a display of loyalty
Dungeon Masters Guide, and the alchemist as
(such as a military uniform worn by war wizards).
presented in Best of Dragon Vol. III) as likely
candidates. What about clergy of the deity of magic?
10) Signature Spells or Weapons
Membership might be exclusive for other reasons.
Perhaps only good or neutrally aligned members Does the group have signature spells (The Fire
are allowed, or only a certain nationality or faith. Wizards who use fire spells, or the Wizards of Al-
Perhaps potential members are approached, as La-Ka-Blam who use various blasting spells), or a
membership can only be offered, not asked after. unique look to their spells (such as Magic Missiles
that look like glowing hornets)? Some spells may be
proscribed, e.g., the aforementioned Fire Wizards
8) Resources (Library and Laboratory)
may never use water spells, for example.
Each organization is likely to have some resources,
The group may also have a signature weapon, often
be they very limited or quite prolific. Large formal
associated with the founder or some patron. This
organizations likely have a guild hall or campus
could be something as simple as an oak staff, or
complete with a library, a laboratory, lecture halls,
something magical, like a wand of lightning (an
etc. Informal organizations might rely on the
item that each member will seek to find and
resources of their members, and unless a few
possess, perhaps leading members to undertake
members are wealthy and generous, these resources
dangerous quests to obtain one).
might be limited to a spare cot in a cottage and a
few notebooks. Secret organizations probably have
hideouts, caches of emergency supplies, and similar 11) Communications
dispersed resources. Magic-users have many means of communication
Once the DM has decided what resources the available to them, and magical organizations may
magical organization has, the next step is deciding develop or utilize very specific communications for
whether or not all members have access to those a variety of reasons, including secrecy, tradition, or
resources, and the cost of access. Can any member utility. For example, an old, well-established college
merely walk into the library and take any book off may require that all of its students learn and use an
the shelves, or are privileges awarded with rank or ancient language while on the campus grounds.
seniority? Is there a fee for service? This could be based on tradition (perhaps a quirk of
the founder several centuries ago), but over time

&4 13
developed into a means of helping students and will also have rules, many of which will involve
graduates recognize each other and protect their some act of loyalty or fealty to superiors within the
communications in the broader world. A secret hierarchy. Not all of the rules need to be detailed,
organization may have a series of hand signals or but certain key ones should be ("There shall be no
phrases that members use to identify each other and violence between members" or "Violent disputes
communicate. shall be conducted in a duel overseen by the
Council according to the Code of Ibraxis").
Of course, magic-users are likely to utilize, adapt or
However, the ability of a rival member of an
develop new spells to communicate with each other.
organization to pull a dusty, little used rule from the
Consider the possibilities of a first-level spell that
time of King Robert II, The Cowardly out of the air
makes the caster's speech sound like gibberish
to drive PCs and players insane, should not be
unless the counter-party in the conversation has cast
overlooked.
the same first-level spell on herself. While such a
spell would be of limited utility on a day-to-day When thinking of the alignment of the organization,
basis, it would also be extremely useful in certain the DM needs to separate the organization from that
situations. of the members, and think about how the
organization itself interacts with the greater world.
Illusionists have their own secret, semi-magical
A large guild that was created to police the practice
language; druids also have their own language.
of magic-users in a kingdom with a series of laws,
There is nothing to prevent a group of magic-users
oaths and some ability to self-police and very
from creating their own version of a magical
focused on that mission, will be something like a
language (perhaps rendering the standard Read
lawful neutral organization, even though members
Magic spell useless), introducing a code or cipher
will be of all alignments. A group of academic
into their written communications or creating a
magic-users interested in exchanging
unique spoken language.
correspondence and ideas, but strictly apolitical,
will be something like a neutral organization. An
12) Budget/Wealth
organization of magic-users interested in protecting
How wealthy is the organization? One must be the Borderlands from the orc hordes, and willing to
careful to separate the organization from its work with nobles, adventurers, and just about
members. While each member of a circle of anyone for the sake of the common good, but
merchant mages may have considerable personal fiercely independent and free to act as they see fit,
wealth, the organization itself may have nothing. A will be neutral good or chaotic good, although such
long-established and prestigious guild may have a group likely has neutral and lawful good
accumulated great wealth over the centuries. Much members.
of the wealth is likely to be tied up in the form of
If members must swear oaths of loyalty or service to
libraries, laboratories, spell books, scrolls, potions,
the organization, the oath may be backed up with a
and buildings and land.
geas (voluntarily accepted of course), or is perhaps
sworn on some artifact that will curse any oath-
13) Rules and Alignment breaker. Some organizations take the loyalty of their
Is the organization a lawful, formal one with members and the secrets of the organization
codified rules, or a loose organization with extremely seriously.
unwritten rules? Are there alignment restrictions, or
merely behavioral restrictions? Guilds and colleges 14) Internal Security
will have formal rules; some will have enough rules
An informal circle of friends and colleagues has
to make the most petty bureaucrat's heart beat fast
little need for formal security, as they have no guild
with excitement and jealousy. Others may have only
hall of library to defend, and know each other by
a few rules ("The Six Part Code of Thiosteles"). Cults
sight (and presumably well enough to detect an

14 &4
infiltrator or shape changer). However, larger studious magic-users probably has no membership
organizations, particularly secret organizations, fees (other than buying a round or two at the local
may have complex security, such as wards, magical tavern, hosting a fellow member, etc.), while a large
passes, guard animals or human sentries to protect wizard's guild with elaborate guild halls, libraries
their base of operations and their possessions. and laboratories probably has stiff membership fees
Looting a magic-users' guild hall is no small and a registration fee as well. In addition to fees
undertaking and would be an adventure to charged in hard currency, there may be an
remember. expectation of services rendered, tithes, sharing of
magical lore or discoveries, and a commitment to
Secret organizations, particularly evil cults with
teach junior members (or an expectation that the
dark designs, will be paranoid and have extremely
members will pay for future training at the guild).
high levels of security, both physical and magical.
Their headquarters and safe houses will be well Organizations prestigious enough that membership
hidden and well defended, and most assuredly will is sought after (or mandatory) may also have the
have a number of escape routes. ability to level fines or sanctions against members.
These fines are another type of fee, and vary in how
Infiltrating an organization should not be easy
often they are levied (and how the PCs behave).
(particularly by impersonating an existing member),
as the members of a magical organization will have Certainly, membership fees are one way to drain
access to spells like Detect Evil, Detect Magic, ESP, monetary resources from magic-user PCs (not that a
and others. lot of additional money drains are needed when one
considers the costs of expanding spell books,
15) Rivals and Enemies maintaining duplicate spell books, buying material
components, brewing potions and scribing scrolls).
An important consideration for a magical
However, the PC (and player) should feel like they
organization in long-term play is whether or not the
are getting value for their gold to prevent hard
organization has rivals or enemies. Another
feelings.
question to ask is: How fierce is the rivalry? Two
guilds in friendly competition for recognition, fame
and new recruits is a much different type of rivalry 18) What Else
(and leads to much different adventures) from one This list is far from exhaustive, and by this point in
in which two opposing colleges are locked in an describing the magical organization the DM
attempt to wipe each other out. probably has such a clear picture of it that all kinds
of other facts and details will be emerging from the
An openly hostile and violent rivalry has the
creative process as the organization takes on a life of
potential to overshadow a campaign, so careful
its own.
consideration should be given before including this.

16) Recognition and Acceptance Campaign Play

Is the organization secret, or is it famous? Are A campaign could be centered around a magical
members respected or feared, loved or hated? Of organization, whether the organization merely acts
course, today's heroes can be tomorrow's villains: as a back-drop for the campaign (as was the case in
The popularity of a magical organization can the popular Harry Potter series of novels), or it
change quickly. could be based on the political machinations of PCs
and rivals as they seek to gain prestige and seniority
17) Membership Fees within a guild or college.
What does it cost to be a member of this Including magical organizations in the campaign
organization? An informal circle of sages and and encouraging the PCs to join create wonderful

&4 15
opportunities to introduce adventures. Some (think of the fun sneaking around in a low-level
adventuring examples include the following. dungeon and saving an NPC party without getting
noticed!), or getting hired as "red shirts" by a senior
The adventurers are hired to collect material
member who wants to go adventuring "one more
components, which might be as simple as collecting
time," perhaps to deal with some unfinished
spiders or bat guano or as exciting as harvesting
business.
hair from a bear.
PCs being PCs, and players being players, if the DM
The adventurers may be hired to deliver or pick up
introduces the right mix of NPCs, there is bound to
an item. This could be as simple as taking a package
be some intra-organization competition with rival
across town or as complex as journeying to a magic-
members of the same organization.
users' guild in a neighboring kingdom, or visiting a
remote monastery on a lonely mountaintop. Of Remember that the organization can be used as a
course, if thieves, evil wizards or other scoundrels plot device. Players just can't figure out a clue? A
want the item for themselves, the job of delivery boy guild member helps out (for a price, or a future
will be much tougher. favor). If the party insists on going off the map or
into the wrong dungeon, the magic-user PC receives
Friendly rival organizations might want the
a magical summons from his organization or patron
adventurers to pull a prank (like painting a status in
that might help keep a campaign on the right
front of a rival guild hall) or spy on rivals to help
playing field.
one guild (or guild member) get a leg up on another
in some contest, or even just set up a rival for a bit If the PCs manage to develop a patron or two
of public humiliation. Murderously hostile rival within the organization, this will also create a
organizations are more likely to hire adventurers for gateway to adventure. Having a grizzled, old,
their skill at violence, breaking and entering, retired adventurer mage as a patron can point the
looting, and murdering. Similar opportunities— party towards all kinds of dungeons, cave
though less likely to be violent— exist with respect complexes, ruins, and other adventuring
to intra-guild or intra-organizational rivalries. opportunities ("Well, we cleaned out the first level,
but when trolls came up the stairs from the second
Guild members may need bodyguards, either for a
level and ate our cleric and dwarf, we hightailed it
long journey, at a speaking event, or while out
outta there. Might still be something worth finding
collecting material components, conducting
in that second level. Lemme see if I can dig up my
research, etc.
map of that first level. Now mind, it was 30 years
Adventurers may represent a neutral third party to ago we were poking around in there, so things will
investigate crimes within the organization (like an have changed").
internal affairs group), and such organizations will
want discretion.
Just hanging around a magical organization will
allow adventurers to pick up rumors of all kinds
(from members, libraries, etc.). These rumors may We Welcome Your Letters!
be about lost treasures, magical lore, or the activities Send your letters to:
of other wizards (good and evil). letters@[Link].
An experienced magic-user with adventuring Some letters received will be published in
companions may be asked to rescue other guild our letters column each issue. We regret
that we cannot print or answer all letters.
members who got in over their heads while
exploring or adventuring. Closely related We reserve the right to copyedit any
published letters for length or content. The
adventuring opportunities include being sent to
letters address is for editorial
watch out for trainees (maybe shadowing them correspondence only.

16 &4
 Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals: Case Study I
Iddrin the Hedge-Mage
by Andrew Hamilton

This companion to the article "Guilds, Colleges, and Iddrin's school is nothing more than the ground
Cabals" offers the first of two case studies of different floor of his modest tower, although weather
types of organizations. permitting he prefers to be in his gardens or
wandering about the community, engaging his
This kindly old magic-user loves to teach, always
students in long rambling conversations. Compared
has time for children and townsfolk, and spends
to other magic-users, Iddrin has a large personal
much of his time teaching children to read, write
library (it takes up an entire floor in his tower),
and do basic math, as well as helping farmers with
although it pales in comparison to the libraries
agricultural problems. Iddrin is even happy to
maintained by formal colleges and guilds. A small
answer questions for adventurers and other magic-
laboratory can also be found in the cellar of Iddrin's
users (although the old man is a shrewd judge of
tower; it is largely unused as Iddrin almost never
character and will have nothing to do with people
dabbles in spell research or the crafting of magical
of evil intentions), and he is a prodigious letter-
items.
writer, maintaining ongoing, weekly
correspondence with over a score of sages or Although he owns his tower and library (worth a
academically inclined magic-users. considerable amount), Iddrin has few magical items
and is by no means wealthy. Granted, he has the
Shockingly, Iddrin rarely charges those he takes on
gold coin to live comfortably and enjoys good stews
as apprentices (although he may ask a wealthy
and mulled wines at the local taverns, but he could
family for a stipend of some money if he takes on
not afford to live extravagantly.
one of their children as a student), and when his
students return for future training he charges a As expected with such a loose and diverse group of
pittance, often asking his senior students to help magic-users, there is no simple means of
with teaching less experienced students. recognizing one of Iddrin's students. Each dresses
based on his or her personal preference, wearing no
Iddrin has personally taught over two score
insignia or badge, and having no signature magical
apprentices, turning youngsters into magic-users
spells.
(he normally has one to two apprentices at any
given time), as well as another two score magic- This should not be interpreted to mean that Iddrin's
users who have petitioned him for training to students cannot recognize each other, as they can
advance in mastery ("level"). At least half of Iddrin's and do. Students recognize each other by the use of
students have taken on students of their own, the ancient Khorian language (a language that
following the example set by Iddrin. Thus, Iddrin's Iddrin learned and developed quite a love for as a
network and influence have expanded to over 100 student), as well as through the many letters of
magic-users, all of whom hold Iddrin in the highest introduction that Iddrin sends to his students.
regard.
Despite not being a formal organization and bound
Several of Iddrin's old students have far surpassed only by loose ties, Iddrin's students will often
the hedge mage in magical skill and power; at least support or aid each other (within reason), and some
two have become accomplished arch-mages! A few of the more successful one will often offer
of Iddrin's students also are experienced rangers employment to other members of Iddrin's circle of
who have learned to cast magic-user spells, and students. Given the diversity of the students and
these warriors consider it a badge of honor to have this loose sense of brotherhood, a surprising
been trained by Iddrin. amount of magical power and other resources may

&4 17
be brought to bear on a problem; or a low-level
Questions and Answers for Iddrin
magic-user might be on his own.
1) Type – Informal
A shrewd judge of character, Iddrin only accepts
good-aligned students. He has strong expectations 2) Founder – Iddrin the Hedge Mage (NG
for student behavior, believing that the power human MU L10)
magic-users wield comes with an obligation to use it 3) Purpose - teaching
wisely—for the protection of society and
communities and to battle tyranny and oppression. 4) Sponsorship – none, independent
He also believes, however, that magic-users must 5) Organizational structure – flat, teachers and
not interfere in the day-to-day life of a community, students, no hierarchy or formal roles
as people must be free to make their own choices
6) Membership size and power – about 100,
and live their own lives.
ranging from level 0 (apprentices) to over level
In practice, his students tend to be honest, honor 20; as a group Iddrin's students do not have any
their freely given word, and challenge tyranny and power.
evil. No shortage of heroes have been trained by
7) Exclusivity – only students of Iddrin or of his
Iddrin. That said, the old magic-user has no
students
expectation that his students act the hero, and he
constantly preaches the wisdom of teamwork, the 8) Resources – Iddrin’s personal library
strength of numbers, and the importance of 9) Outfits or insignia – none
planning. In Iddrin's eyes, sending for assistance or
helping someone run from danger is as heroic as 10) Signature spells or weapons - none
coming to the rescue in a flash of spell-fury. 11) Communications – Iddrin has a fondness for
As a result of his generally peaceful demeanor, as the long-dead Khorian tongue
well as his longevity, Iddrin has made few enemies, 12) Budget/Wealth – none
and he has outlived all of those. Certainly, many of
13) Rules and alignment – Iddrin accepts only
his students have made enemies and have rivals,
students of good alignment and character.
but to date none of those have turned their attention
to all of Iddrin's students. As some of the most 14) Internal security - none
current generation of Iddrin's students are heroes of 15) Rivals and enemies – no declared enemies
the meddling type, however, this may change in the
future. 16) Recognition and acceptance –well
recognized and respected in the region
Iddrin is well-known and respected in the region by
magic-user, priest, noble and commoner alike. 17) Membership fees - none
Those who are known to be his students are 18) What else – none
generally accorded a similar, if somewhat muted,
respect (although many students have developed
call upon (and in some ways would be expected to
reputations of their own). This recognition
call upon when visiting a town or village) to get a
diminishes quickly as one leaves the region, and
lay of the land, find out about reputable local
claiming to have been trained by Iddrin in one of
merchants, and possibly lend a hand (possibly as
the Free Cities, the Old Kingdoms, or the Imperial
simple as carrying some letters to the next village).
Reaches will gain nothing other than a blank stare
Simple information would be shared for free, or for
from all but the most knowledgeable of magic-
the cost of a meal and tankard of ale, while other
users.
services would be at a fair price. Membership in this
In game play, Iddrin's students represent a wide, group would also make further training easy to find
sprawling network of magic-users that a PC could (although the PC might get saddled with a student

18 &4
as well, from time to time). Adventure beckons as exploits and settle down. He built a comfortable
members go missing, run into various kinds of little tower, began accumulating a library, and took
trouble, need a younger magic-user to collect on a pair of apprentices. As he spent those first few
something important, etc. Most importantly, the years teaching, Iddrin realized that he had found his
organization does not provide game-breaking calling.
benefits and does not overly constrain a good-
Despite being an important member of the
aligned magic-user PC.
community and very well respected, Iddrin has
Iddrin; NG human MU L10; AC 8; Hp 22; S 8, I 17, steadfastly avoided getting involved in politics.
W 16, D 10, C 9, Ch 15. When the role of mayor was offered to him, he
stormed out of a meeting in a fury. Iddrin is not
Carried magical items: Wand of Frost (47 charges),
interested in being in charge, although he is happy
Ring of Protection +2, Eyeglasses of Lohrik,
to provide advice and counsel. He is conservative,
Amulet of Know Alignment, Potion of Extra-
measured, and honest in his counsel, while also
Healing.
willing to support the final decision of the masses.
Commonly memorized spells (4/4/3/2/2): are Sleep,
Visitors to Iddrin's village are likely to find the
Detect Magic, Erase, Magic Missile; Knock, Web,
insatiably curious old man inviting himself to their
ESP, Detect Evil; Dispel Magic, Lightning Bolt,
table and asking them all kinds of questions about
Invisibility 10' Radius; Remove Curse, Polymorph
where they have been and what they have seen.
Self; Cone of Cold, Passwall.
Magic-users petitioning for training will find
Spell books and other magical items – Iddrin has
themselves subjected to an intensive interview,
fairly complete spell books, and he normally has
which allows Iddrin to assess their knowledge and
1d3 scrolls with a total of five to eight utility spells
discern their alignment using his magical amulet.
and 1d4+1 random potions.
Library – Iddrin has a library that includes about 80
magical texts, worth more than 50,000 gp, in New Spells
addition to another 23 notebooks and workbooks With a large network of correspondents and
that he has authored himself (each of which would students wandering the world at large, Iddrin has
be worth 200 to 700 gp). This library would be had the opportunity to add a number of unique or
adequate to allow a magical user to research spells rare spells to his spell books. He is as likely, if not
of the 7th level or lower. more likely, to be intrigued by non-violent utility
An elderly man (appearing to be in his late 60s, but spells than he is to add a combat spell to his spell
actually a few decades older), Iddrin is not as spry books.
or strong as he used to be, but his mind and wit Examples of these spells include:
remain razor sharp, and he is as charming as any
young rake. Not one to let age slow him down, he is
often seen wandering about the village, stopping to Stretch
talk with anyone and everyone, taking tea on a Level: Magic-User 1
porch, or sitting under a shade tree telling children Type: Alteration
a story or explaining how something works. A Range: 0"
teacher by nature, and curious in the extreme, Duration: 1d6 rounds + 1 round/level
Iddrin is constantly sharing and collecting Area of effect: caster
information. He is as likely to have a student or Components: V, S, M
three in tow as he is to be wandering on his own. Casting Time: 1 segment
An adventurer in his younger days, as he matured Saving Throw: N/A
Iddrin was happy to take the spoils of his various

&4 19
The stretch spell allows the spell caster to elongate material component of the spell is a short piece of
their limbs, allowing them to stretch out their hand, cord (3" long) tied in a knot.
fingers & arms to touch or grab something. The
stretch spell allows the caster to reach through bars,
across thresholds, or over a weight activated trap Fire Bottle
trigger plate. The reach may be increased by 1' + Level: Magic-User 3
6"/level (up to a maximum of a 10' increase) without Type: Abjuration, Enchantment
a loss of strength. Range: 0"
If the stretch spell is used to stretch the entire body Duration: 1 hour/level
(such as reaching up to a ledge, or up out of a pit), Area of effect: see below
the effective height and reach may be increased by Components: V, S, M
2' + 1'/level (to a maximum of 22' increase). Casting Time: 3 segments
Saving Throw: see below
The effects of the stretch spell do not add any
rubbery characteristics, or add any durability or The fire bottle spell is a very useful and potentially
damage resistance (i.e. it does not allow the caster to dangerous spell, as its enchantment allow a bottle to
mimic Mr. Fantastic'sTM abilities), although they siphon off and "hold" fire. The fire can then be
become "double jointed" and have more range of released at a later time, when the bottle is opened or
motion in their joints allowing for contortion to broken. The fire bottle may hold 2 hp/level of fire.
reach out of the way spots. The material component The magic-user casting the fire bottle spell has two
of this spell is a ball of natural rubber, which must options for "filling" the bottle. The first option is to
be consumed by the caster. use a controlled fire, such as a torch, campfire or
bonfire and draw off that fire into the bottle. The
second is to soak up some of a larger fire, like a
Tangled Tongue fireball, wall of fire, or red dragon breath. The caster
must be adjacent to or in the fire to be siphoned. The
Level: Magic-User 2
bottle must be filled within 1 turn of the spell being
Type: Enchantment/Charm
cast, and the bottle will hold fire for 1 hour/level of
Range: 6"
the caster.
Duration: 1d4 rounds/level
Area of effect: one person When using a controlled fire to fill the fire bottle, the
Components: V, S, M magic-user typically selects a fire of a smaller size
Casting Time: 2 segments than the bottle capacity and draws the entire fire
Saving Throw: negates into the bottle, extinguishing the source fire.
(Consider a torch to be 6 hp, a fireplace or campfire
This spell is a form of charm that prevents a target
to be 12 hp, and a bonfire to be 18 hp of damage.)
from speaking properly, getting tongue-tied, and
As long as the amount of fire filling the bottle is less
essentially spouting gibberish. The tangled tongue
than the 2 hp/level capacity, there is no need for a
spell was initially intended as a combat spell,
saving throw, and the fire is drawn into the bottle. If
effectively prevent speech and spell casting. Since
the damage capacity of the fire exceeds the fire
that time it has also found popularity amongst
bottle's capacity, a saving throw (as per the caster,
magic-users who want to humiliate and embarrass
but without benefit from any fire resistance or
individuals.
protection from fire bonuses) is required. If the
Individuals under the effect of the spell are only saving throw is successful, then the bottle draws off
limited in their ability to speak. They are still able to some of the fire, leaving the remainder available to
hear normally, and they may read and write harm the magic-user (i.e. a 10th level magic-user
normally. A successful saving throw vs. spells will may draw of 20 hp of a 30 hp fireball, leaving the
negate the effects of the tangled tongue spell. The

20 &4
magic-user facing the remaining 10 hp of damage, binding the two spells together. The chain is
saving to reduce that damage by half. consumed in casting.
If the fire bottle fails it's save, then it explodes, and
the magic-user takes damage equal to the fire being New Magic Items
siphoned off, +1d6 hp (from the bottle fragments).
The fire in the fire bottle can be released by opening Eyeglasses of Lohrik
the bottle, breaking the bottle or allowing the spell These plain-looking eyeglasses are a pair of
duration to run out. Opening the bottle creates a
carefully polished lenses in a brass frame. While
burst of fire (5 + caster level) feet in radius, saving they work as regular eyeglasses—itself a wonderful
for half damage. Breaking the bottle has the same ability in the typical AD&D realm—they also have a
effect, +1d6 hp of damage from the bottle fragments.
permanent Comprehend Languages effect (as per
Finally, allowing the spell duration to run out the 1st level magic-user spell) on them, allowing
causes the bottle to explode, releasing the fire and any wearer to read any written, non-magical
shooting fragments (causing the same damage as language.
breaking the bottle).
The wizard that crafted these eyeglasses was
The fire bottle can be used as a defence or a weapon, fascinated with lenses and light. It is rumored that
left as a trap, or used as a time delay device by
magic-users intent on arson. The material
component of the spell is a fine crystal bottle worth
at least 100 gp, which is destroyed.

Reinforce Magic
Level: Magic-User 3
Lohrik also crafted eyeglasses and hand lenses that
Type: Alteration
allowed the user to read magic, decipher codes, see
Range: 12"
illusions as well as manipulate light. Whether or not
Duration: permanent
there is truth to these rumors cannot be said, but
Area of effect: 3" cube
many have searched for Lohrik's missing notebooks
Components: V, S, M
in the belief that they contain details on other
Casting Time: 3 segments
research.
Saving Throw: see below
Value: 1,000 xpv/ 5,000 gpv
This spell augments another spell cast by the same
caster, making it more difficult to dispel. It adds ½
Amulet of Know Alignment
of the caster's level to the base level of the spell
being reinforced for purposes of resisting dispelling This magical amulet allows the wearer to discern
efforts only (not for spell effects). A common the alignment of an individual merely by speaking
application of this spell is to reinforce wizard lock with him or her. This process takes 1d4+1 rounds
spells, charm person or monster spells, or various and can only take place in a non-combat situation.
protective spells (walls, protection from evil, etc.). The amulet need only be worn, not held, to
The successful application of the reinforce magic function. As the conversation proceeds, the amulet
spell requires a saving throw verse spell on the part wearer will get a sense of the alignment. This
of the caster. Spells cast by another magic-user or happens through intuition rather than aura reading.
spell caster cannot be augmented by the Reinforce The amulet will function only two times per day. It
Magic spell. The material component is a silver may be foiled by misdirection or similar spells.
chain (worth no less than 50 gp) which symbolizes
Value: 2,000 xpv/ 12,000 gpv

&4 21
 Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals: Case Study II
The Jade Circle
by Andrew Hamilton

power must be accumulated, hoarded and deployed

This is the second companion article to the article
carefully in order to preserve it.
"Guilds, Colleges, and Cabals, a distinct contrast to the
first case study. Her fear led Jezhera to organize The Jade Circle in
cell groups of four, consisting of a senior member
This small and secretive cult was founded by an alu-
and three junior members. Each junior member is
demon magic-user who calls herself Jezhera but
expected to identify appropriate recruits, and
assumes the identity of "The Jade Lady." She
eventually form their own cells, expanding the
initially founded the cult after fleeing for her life
power of the Jade Circle.
from the Abyss after a failed assassination attempt
against a rival. Currently, the cult has 12 active members: eight
magic-users of levels three to eight), two witches
Seeking refuge and safety, Jezhera sought out a
(levels three and two) and two clerics (levels three
hiding place in the sewers under the city of Sofbay.
and two. There are four to a cell (called a Ring), and
There she chanced upon a hidden tomb, where she
each member may recruit his or her own cell of
came into possession of a powerful magical ring and
three subservient members.
the spell books of a sorcerer who had created some
unique magical spells, all with a jade theme. Jezhera The Ladies of the Jade Circle are quite adept at
took these treasures and the tomb as her own, and using their female wiles to manipulate men, and
walked the streets of Sofbay in disguise. After each has at least one illicit relationship on the go, a
manipulating a number of men (using her charm relationship used to gain power and advantage.
abilities), Jezhera learned of the Cult of the These dupes may range from a brawny thug to a
Devourer. Realizing the power that a cult could love-struck watchman to a merchant. A few
provide, she conceived of The Jade Circle. While the members also play the role of coy apprentice to
Jade Circle was crafted as a pseudo-religion manipulate magic-users of some skill.
promising its worshippers magical advancement
The Prime Ring consists of Jezhera, Loreena (NE
and security, it is really nothing more than a means
human female MU L8, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 15),
of providing Jezhera protection.
Vernya (CE human female MU L4, Int 16, Wis 14,
Secrecy is the watchword: The existence of The Jade Cha 14), and Systria (NE human female Witch L3,
Circle is to be known to the members only, and a Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 17).
new recruit is not to learn of The Jade Circle's
The Secundi Circle (led by Loreena) has three
existence until he or she is accepted as a member.
magic-users as members, none of whom have been
The Jade Circle exists to help its members—who
given permission to found a Circle of their own.
must be female—to gain power and influence,
particularly by using men. This is to be done The Tertite Circle (led by Vernya) has three magic-
indirectly, using the superior intelligence and the users as members, and like the Secundi Circle, none
wiles inherent in women to deceive and manipulate have been given permission to found their own
men. The Jade Lady teaches her disciples spells such Circles at this time.
as Charm Person, Friends, Enthrall and Suggestion The Quadi Circle (led by Systria) has a witch (level
as magical means of furthering this quest for power. two) and a cleric (level three) as members. The cleric
The Jade Circle further teaches that wealth and has been allowed to found her own Circle—an
experiment of sorts.

22 &4
The Ventii Circle (led by the third level cleric) has a
single member: the second level cleric (a homeless Questions and Answers for The Jade
girl recruited with promises of wealth and power). Circle
The clerics worship the Jade Lady, who is merely 1) Type - Secret
Jezhera in a shape changed form, and are able to 2) Founder – The Jade Lady (Jezhera)
gain divine prayers (clerical spells up to the third
3) Purpose – gain power for the founder
level). This situation has Jezhera intrigued but
concerned. Is their faith providing the power, and 4) Sponsorship - demonic
will it empower her, or has she and her cult become 5) Organizational structure – cells, hierarchy
some intermediary being used by an actual Power?
6) Membership size and power – a dozen active
Potential members must be vetted by Jezhera and members in the know, plus dupes
ultimately be brought before the Jade Lady.
7) Exclusivity – invited by founder, exclusive
Ceremonies are conducted in a shrine accessed from
the Sofbay sewers. The shrine is in a sunken 8) Resources (library and laboratory) – modest,
building that has been mostly cleaned of the swamp secret bases, some small magical libraries.
and saltmarsh muds that oozed into it. The shrine is 9) Outfits or insignia (distinctive features) – a
used only for group ceremonies and is left vacant at magical badge
other times.
10) Signature spells or weapons – Jade Claws
Jezhera also has a small hidden shrine where spell
ceremonies are held, and expects that all members
11) Communications - none
will maintain their own sanctum and safe-house.
She maintains two fall-back bolt-holes where she 12) Budget/wealth - tithes
keeps magical treasure. 13) Rules and alignment – evil pseudo-religion
Circle members are expected to raise wealth 14) Internal security - tight
through the use of their magical spells (through
compulsion, cajoling, blackmail, extortion, etc.) and 15) Rivals and enemies – many, Cult of the
wise business investments, as well as to tithe 20% of Devourer, demon lord
their take to the leader of their Circle. This pyramid 16) Recognition and acceptance – secret, would
structure ensures that some of each tithe ultimately be reviled
makes its way to Jezhera.
17) Membership fees – tithes and sacrifices
Jezhera remains alert, scared of authorities and of
18) What Else – n/a
the Cult of the Devourer, for she has correctly
guessed the identity of the being behind the Cult
and watches for her demonic nemesis. Image; Dispel Magic, Fly, Suggestion, Vampiric
Jezhera: CE alu-demon MU11; AC 0, MV 12"/12" Touch; Ice Storm, Minor Globe of Invulnerability,
(MC: C), HD 6+12, Hp 61, Atts 1, Dmg by weapon, Stoneskin; Cone of Cold, Passwall, Wall of Force.
SA energy drain (1d8hps, gain ½ ), spells, spell-like Spell-like abilities (3/day @ 12th level of effect):
abilities, SD +1 or better weapon to hit, ½ damage Charm Person, ESP, Shape Change, Suggestion
from cold, electricity, fire and gas, MR 30%, AL CE, (1/day @ 12th level of effect), dimension door.
Size M (6'), XPV (8+ HD base) + (SA x 6) + (EA x 4).
Carried Magical Items: Jade Ring*, Wand of Fire,
S 13, I 19, W14, D 19, C 15, Ch 15 Whip of Agony, Amulet of Proof vs. Detection &
Spells (4/4/4/3/3) Commonly memorized spells Location
include Charm Person, Friends, Magic Missile, Spell Books and Other Magical Items
Sleep; Invisibility, Melf's Acid Arrow, Web, Mirror

&4 23
Resources: considerable, small caches about the city better weapons. The creator of this spell (and
& sewers. similarly themed spells) lived in a monastery,
working with monks constantly. He researched a
Jezhera is a fugitive from the Abyss, having fled the
series of spells that could be used to aid his
wrath (and an assassination attempt) of a lesser
companions.
demon-lord whom she had the gall to manipulate
and reject. She is terrified that her nemesis will find The material component of this spell is a jade rod or
her, so she carefully conceals her identity, while at wand, about 1" in diameter and 12" long, which is
the same time seeking to increase her personal touched to the recipient. The rod can be reused.
power and assemble a band of minions and dupes
to protect her. She has adopted a dual persona, that
of Jezhera the Cult Leader and The Jade Lady, a Jade Mask
powerful magical entity. Level: Magic-User 3
Type: Conjuration, Divination, Abjuration
Range: self
New Spells Duration: 1d4 turns + 1 round/level
Area of effect: caster
Jade Claws Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 3 segments
Level: Magic-User 2 Saving Throw: N/A
Type: Alteration
Range: 0" The Jade Mask spell creates a featureless jade mask
Duration: 1 round/level that covers the caster's face. The mask has no holes
Area of effect: 1 person or slots for the eyes, mouth or nose, but vision,
Components: V, S, M smell and speech are unimpeded. Drinking or
Casting Time: 2 segments eating is impossible, however, and the mask must
Saving Throw: none be willed away (ending the spell) if the caster needs
to drink a potion, eat, etc.
This spell creates a set of long, gleaming, jade-like
claws that spring from the caster's or recipient's While the mask is in place, the caster is able to
fingertips while coating the hands, wrists and lower detect illusions (the illusionary image is seen with a
half of the forearm with a rough, green, stony greenish halo or aura, but the illusion is not seen
coating or shell. The claws may be used in melee, through) and is immune to gaze or breath-based
causing 1d4 hp of damage per strike (in addition to petrification attacks, but not against touch-based
any strength bonuses). The claws also act as a +1 petrification attacks.
weapon for determining what creatures they can The material component is a smooth jade disc with a
affect. The stony shell protects the spell recipient diameter of at least 2" but no more than 6". The disc
from any touch related effects of creatures that they is not consumed during the casting of the spell and
strike (such as shadows, slimes, etc.). may be reused.
Other benefits of the Jade Claws include enhanced
climbing ability (+15% or +3 on a d20 roll) as the
Jade Armor
claws can be used to dig into and grip walls, and the
ability to handle acids or other materials that would Level: Magic-User 5
corrode or harm flesh but not stone. Type: Conjuration, Abjuration
Range: touch
Monks will benefit greatly from Jade Claws as the
Duration: see below
spell will add 1d4 hp of damage to the monk's base
Area of effect: 1 creature
open hand damage and allow them to strike and
Components: V, S, M
harm creatures normally harmed only by +1 or

24 &4
Casting Time: 5 segments Any properly prepared jade figurine could be used,
Saving Throw: none such as a dog, lion, cat, lizard or monster, although
the most commonly used figurines are human
The Jade Armor spell is a powerful defensive spell
soldiers. Regardless of the shape of the figurine, the
that manifests as a tough "skin" of overlapping jade-
statistics of the Jade Soldier are the same:AC 2, MV
like scales on the recipient (although the visual
6", HD ½ caster level, Hp 10 + 2 hp/caster level, Atts
effect is mineral-looking, not reptilian). The Jade
1, Dmg 1d10, SA none, SD ½ damage from normal
Armor provides a +3 bonus to AC and soaks up
weapons; immune to sleep, charm, fear, hold, cold
damage in a manner similar to field plate armor (as
or petrification. The Jade Soldier is not overly strong
described in Unearthed Arcana), reducing damage by
(able to carry 150 lbs), and incapable of independent
one hit point per die of damage suffered by the
thought.
beneficiary of the spell. The spell is able to take 6 hp
+ 2 hp/caster level of damage before being dispelled. The figurine can attack targets indicated by the
If the Jade Armor is not dispelled by damage, it will caster, protect the caster, hold a door, carry an
expire after one hour/caster level. object, etc. If the Jade Soldier completes a task as
directed, it will then stand motionless, waiting for
In addition to the AC bonus and the damage
additional direction from the caster.
reduction, an individual in Jade Armor receives a +3
saving throw bonus against petrification. Should the A properly prepared jade figurine will be between
beneficiary of a Jade Armor spell use open hands to 2" and 4" in height, carved from high-quality jade,
strike at a foe, he or she will be able to harm and subjected to a purification ritual by the caster.
creatures normally only struck by +2 or better The ritual is about one hour in length, can be used
weapons (although there is no bonus to hit or on up to a dozen figurines at one time, and does not
damage). The Jade Armor is light and flexible occupy a spell slot. The details of the ritual are
enough that it does not incur any movement commonly included in a spell book as part of the
penalties. This spell was developed with monks in Jade Soldier spell. This requirement means that a
mind, and a monk may benefit from the Jade Armor magic-user cannot simply pick up a few figurines in
spell without any penalties to his or her movement, the market and start casting Jade Soldier spells. The
base AC, combat abilities or other special abilities. figurines are worth a minimum of 150 gp, and they
are shattered to worthless shards at the expiration of
The material component is a smooth jade disc with a
the spell.
diameter of at least 2" but no more than 6". The disc
is not consumed during the casting of the spell and It is rumored that the creator of the Jade spells,
may be reused. Takin of the Jade Garden, also created a high-level
version of this spell that allowed him to
simultaneously animate three or more Jade Soldiers,
Jade Soldier and that he used this spell to help his allies, the
Level: Magic-User 5 Order of Ji-Khahlan, a monastery of lawful neutral
Type: Alteration, Conjuration monks, defeat the ogre-magi of the White Rain
Range: 0" Mountain.
Duration: 1 turn/level
Area of effect: 1 figurine
Components: V, S, M
New Magical Items
Casting Time: 5 segments + preparation
Saving Throw: none Jade Ring

This spell is cast upon a jade figurine, which is then (4,000 XPV / 25,000 GPV)
thrown to the ground. The figurine will grow in size The Jade Ring is a self-charging ring of spell storing
and animate, becoming a magical automaton that that also has the powers of a +3 ring of protection.
follows the directions of the spell caster.

&4 25
The ring is able to create a Jade Claws and a Jade monks will seek to recover it (initially through
Armor (see new spells) 1/day at the 14th level of lawful means, but failing that, resorting to force).
effect.
Whip of Agony
(1,800 XPV / 20,000 GPV)
The Whip of Agony is a +2 weapon, made of a
material that is extremely hard to cut (AC -6, must
be dealt 27 hp in a single blow to be severed). While
it is an effective melee weapon, the Whip's most
This magical item was crafted by Takin of the Jade potent power is the ability to deliver a magical wave
Garden, and it is considered to be a very important of wracking, searing pain that immobilizes a victim.
relic by The Order of Ji-Khahlan. Should the On a natural 20, the target must save vs. spells of be
whereabouts of this ring come to their attention, the affected as if by a Symbol of Agony.

Power Disc Wire of Curse Destruction

by Bryan Fazekas by Bryan Fazekas

A power disc appears to be a flat iron disc 6 inches Appearing as just a fine gold wire, this item is often
in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. When thrown the overlooked as just a trinket. When it is wrapped
use becomes obvious. Five feet from the thrower's around a cursed magical item and a command word
hand blades extend from the edges and if a hit is is spoken it drains all power from the cursed item.
scored 6-36 points of damage are caused. This Each of these wires operates for 1-4 uses before
requires a successful hit. Upon retrieving it a button crumbling to dust.
is visible on top. Pressing it causes the blades to
retract. A power disc will be +1 to +3 to hit.
String of Bonding
This item may be used with no non-proficiency
penalty by any fighter or fighter subclass who has
by Bryan Fazekas
any sort of missile weapon proficiency, including
This magical string appears to be normal twine two
bow, crossbow, and sling. feet long, but radiates a dweomer if detected. When
tied around two magic item of similar nature, e.g.,
Vial of Holding two swords, and a command word is spoken the
magic of both items is combined and placed in one
by Bryan Fazekas at random, leaving the other non-magical. A string
has but one use and is then non-magical.
Vials of this type are usually made of crystal, 3
inches long and 2 inches in diameter. These vials Note that the results can be unpredictable and will
hold much more that size would presume, each not necessarily work exactly as expected.
holding a full quart of liquid. They are usually Combining magics may not be straight forward, and
found in quantities of 1 to 4 vials. 10% of the time the more powerful the magic items, the less likely
the vials found will hold a full gallon of liquid. the result will be what is expected.

26 &4
 Revisiting the Assassin Class
by Nicole Massey

do their part, because failure to do so meant death,

Scarramante Molarr smiled to himself as he
while taking care of business meant great reward. It
pocketed the vial. He picked up the tankard he'd
was good to be a member of the assassin's guild.
filled from the household cistern and said,
"Naratam, how do you keep your water supply so ***
fresh?"
The Assassin class has always bothered me, and not
The tall burly man in the other room said, for the usual reasons. I have no problem with evil
"Filtration. I run it through ever finer weaves of characters like the game's creator, E. Gary Gygax,
cloth to catch any of the particles. Then I keep did. But the thought of a class for assassins didn't
several rocks in the bottom that tend to attract seem quite right with my conception of the assassin.
poisons. With those vile assassins today you can't be To me an assassin could be anyone, which was part
too careful." of their mystery, and limiting them to a subclass of
thieves didn't really work for me.
This was enough mention of assassins to make
everyone in the room twitch. Naratam of Prenn was When Oriental Adventures came out the Ninja gave
rarely talking about anything else. And he had the me part of the answer. As a split class, an add-on for
political clout to make life hard for them, too, and other classes, this made sense. Now the ninja could
the guild was feeling the pressure. That was why be anyone ranging from the most obvious class, the
Scarramante was here, though the official reason Yakuza, to even the holy minded Shukenja.
was because the grumpy noble was asking a favor
What I will do here is present another approach to
of Scarramante's temple in dealing with a different
the Assassin that provides different options for the
matter, the surprise elopement of his daughter with
class in two directions. The first is just as a skill,
a young man he hated but who was well placed.
while the second is more akin to the ninja class.
This intervention of the temple of Inanna would
save face for Naratam in the whole affair.
Scarramante said, "So, about your daughter," to the Making a Choice
relief of everyone in the room. Naratam was Dungeon masters can make a choice at this point, as
diverted from his incessant rants, at least for now. this article gives them two possible approaches to
As Scarramante left the house he smiled. What he the assassin class.
dumped into the water wasn't a poison, it was a Option 1: Assassination is a skill, just like any other
parasite. Soon everyone in the household would be skill. It costs 2 proficiencies – for those using no
infected. Careful work by other members of the non-weapon proficiencies the would-be assassin
secret guild would get the antidote to each of them. must give up two weapon proficiencies, while those
But for Naratam, he would get the second part of using non-weapon proficiencies must spend two of
the cocktail in his wine at the feast in a tenday. The them on the assassination proficiency. Some referees
others who drank that wine would flush it out of may also decide that it costs one each of the weapon
their bodies within a day, but the parasites would and non-weapon proficiencies. But the fun doesn't
ingest it and mutate. Then soon after he'd get the stop there. This initial buy will purchase only a few
third part of the poison, a gas introduced into his levels on the assassination table, and an additional
coach by him sitting down on the cushion. And then proficiency is required to get any better at it.
soon after the parasites would migrate to his heart
Option 2 presents an Assassin split class like the
and eat it. Scarramante returned to his temple,
Ninja. This class provides skills for use in
relaxing in the knowledge that his part was finished
assassination like disguise, investigation, and of
and each new member of their organization would

&4 27
course assassination, along with skill in That organization can be any body that has a need
compounding poisons and using such substances. A for trained assassins, of course, ranging from a local
cleric, fighter, magic-user, or illusionist may choose necromancer or noble to the thieves' guild or the
this class option. king or queen. But few of such organizations will
hire a first level character for that role – they want
This is handled exactly like the ninja class, where
someone who has proven themselves.
assassin levels are not gained unless the assassin
does things to use assassination skills. Thieves are of course a natural choice, as they have
to be sneaky and stealthy to get very far in their
career, and those skills are helpful. But rogues are
Getting to the Heart of the Matter also a good bet as are fighters, because any criminal
The main thing that differentiates the assassin from organization needs muscle to enforce their rules and
the thief is the Assassination skill (spying and punish those who cross them. And those who have
learning alignment languages, which many referees political influence or can move in the high powered
don't even use, isn't a big deal, and disguise is easy circles like wizards and clerics also have their place.
to come by and has been better developed since the So assassination isn't just for thiefly types.
publication of the Player's Handbook). And a skill is That said, it's difficult for some of these classes to
a skill, right? Thanks to Oriental Adventures and gain any real competence as assassins. Magic-users
the two survival guides AD&D first edition has a and their subclasses are a shining example of this, as
skill system. This opens the door for anyone to be an they have so few proficiencies to work with that it
assassin, from a humble Cleric to a thief. might take a very long time to develop them to any
degree. It can be done, but it takes a lot of
Assassination dedication, especially if the referee doesn't use non-
Proficiency slots required: 2 weapon proficiencies.

Stat Check: special

Time Required: special Getting There is Half the Battle
Category: Professional But there is another problem with this approach –
no matter how good someone is at assassination,
Description: This skill is the same as the there's the problem of pulling it off. Assassination is
Assassination skill performed by the Assassin class, the skill of doing the deed, but other things, like
and will allow the character to advance three levels moving silently, hiding in shadows, hearing subtle
in ability. Additional points into this skill will noises, getting through locked doors and windows,
increase the advancement by two levels, to a and using poison without poisoning yourself are
maximum of 15. Druids, Witches, Rangers, Scouts, important to the pursuit of the craft. Not all
Cavaliers, Paladins, Samurai, Kensai, Sohei, and assassins need these skills – sleight of hand can
Healers cannot take up this skill. Duelists are loathe cover a lot of the other things when poison is in
to do so as well, as it is contrary to their way of play, but the rest are nice to have. Fortunately the
doing business -- they kill out in the open, not in the Ninja has the answer.
dark and quiet. Berserkers also can't take this skill,
as they lack the restraint to perform it. Much like how ninjas are not a class unto
themselves, but instead an add-on to four other
The fun comes in role-playing the assassination skill classes, (Shukenja, Bushi, Wu Jen, and Yakuza) the
hunt. This is not a skill where you can just walk assassin is ripe for this kind of treatment.
down to the local shop and ask for an
apprenticeship, it's one that is either taught to A character looking for a career as an assassin must
family members or is trained to people who the have a strength of 12 or higher, intelligence of at
leadership of an organization feels can handle it. least 11, and a dexterity of 12 or more. No
experience point bonus is derived from high ability

28 &4
Revised Assassin Table 1: Experience, Titles, Hit Die, etc.
Weapon of Attacks/
Experience Level Title Hit Die Proficiency Round
0 - 4,000 1 Bravo (Apprentice) 1 2 1
4,001 - 8,000 2 Thug 2 2 1
8,001 - 15,000 3 Rutterkin 3 2 1
15,001 – 30,000 4 Waghalter 4 3 1
30,001 – 60,000 5 Murderer 5 3 1
60,001 - 120,000 6 Killer 6 3 1
120,001 – 240,000 7 Cutthroat 7 4 3/2
240,001 - 500,000 8 Executioner 8 4 3/2
500,001 - 1,000,000 9 Assassin 9 4 3/2
1,000,001 – 1,300,000 10 Expert Assassin 10 5 3/2
1,300,001 – 1,600,000 11 Senior Assassin 11 5 3/2
1,600,001 – 1,900,000 12 Chief Assassin 12 5 3/2
1,900,001 – 2,200,000 13 Prime Assassin 13 6 3/2
2,200,001 – 2,500,000 14 Guildmaster Assassin 14 6 3/2
2,500,001+ 15 Grandfather of Assassins 15 6 2

Revised Assassin Table 2: Class Abilities

Hide in Move Climb Open Poison
Level Shadows Silently Walls Locks Disguise Fall Investigate Use * Escape Back Stab

1 10% 15% 85% 25% 20% 0' 25% 15% 10% ×2

2 15% 21% 86% 29% 24% 0' 30% 21% 14% ×2
3 20% 27% 87% 33% 28% 10' 35% 27% 18% ×2
4 25% 33% 88% 37% 32% 15' 40% 33% 22% ×2
5 31% 40% 89% 42% 36% 20' 45% 39% 26% ×3
6 37% 47% 90% 47% 40% 25' 50% 45% 30% ×3
7 43% 55% 91% 52% 44% 30' 55% 51% 34% ×3
8 49% 62% 92% 57% 48% 35' 60% 57% 38% ×3
9 56% 70% 93% 62% 52% 40' 65% 63% 42% ×3
10 63% 78% 94% 67% 56% 45' 70% 69% 46% ×4
11 70% 86% 95% 72% 60% 50' 75% 75% 50% ×4
12 77% 94% 96% 77% 64% 55' 80% 81% 54% ×4
13 85% 95% 97% 82% 68% 60' 85% 87% 58% ×4
14 93% 96% 98% 87% 72% 65' 90% 93% 62% ×4
15 94% 97% 99% 92% 76% 70' 95% 99% 66% ×4

* Add the Assassin's intelligence to this number. Other factors, like poison level and specific modifiers will
alter this total.

&4 29
Class Ability Notes
Hide in Shadows, Move Silently, Climb Walls, and Open Locks are as the skills for the thief class. The
assassin also backstabs like a thief.
Disguise, Fall, and Escape are exactly like the skills for the ninja class, while Investigation derives from the
yakuza class. Poison use is the assassin's ability to use a poison of normal level of strength and difficulty of
use. Modifications up or down will derive from the strength of the poison and the difficulty of application.

referee choice) can be a member of the Assassin's

scores. Assassins use poison as a matter of course,
Guild. However the overwhelming majority of the
have no restrictions using oil, and use a D6 for hit
membership consists of thieves. Fighters tend to be
die for the assassin side of their character
leg breakers and brute force assassins. Clerics tend
advancement. Assassins have a -4 non-proficiency
to be behind the scenes advocates who secretly
penalty, and may use any weapon, though Asian
worship the darker side of their god or goddess or
weapons, both mainstream and derived from ninja
have allegiances to darker deities. Magic-user types
techniques, require contact with the orient.
tend to use magic to assassinate their targets.
Assassins can wear any armor applicable to his or
her primary class, but assassination skills derived The Assassin's guild still has only thieves for most
from the thief class require chain or less, as outlined of the members, but this widens the variety possible
in Unearthed Arcana, with the requisite penalties for characters and the activities of the guild. And
for armor types other than leather. If the referee is now any one of these groups can reach the head of
using non-weapon proficiencies the assassin gains the guild, not just the thieves.
three initial proficiencies and an additional one for
Of course each referee has to decide what he or she
every four levels, just like his or her weapon
will allow – some will be fine with all options, while
proficiencies. Assassins have a -4 proficiency
others will choose only one or two of the
penalty, which applies to both weapon and non-
approaches. The important thing is to be consistent
weapon skills. Assassins save as their primary class.
and think through how you're going to run it.
Maybe the single classed assassins are the ones who
Kicking It Old School rise higher and faster in the guild, while those with
adventuring classes aren't around enough to really
What if someone just wants to be an assassin? Well, gain the influence needed to rise in power in the
the split class, like the ninja, has that as an option guild, and as a result they don't get the plum
too – almost everything you need for a character is commissions. And below them are the ones who
in the class already. The big exception is saving only have one skill, and their skills (or lack thereof)
throws, so single class assassins save as thieves. This make them more like cannon fodder. All of this
isn't a by the book reading of the Ninja, but I ran provides great opportunities for roll-play as a
into it in an issue of one of the fanzines, and it character tries to grow in power in the guild.
makes sense. Of course the Assassin or Ninja will
have a much harder time hiding their profession Remember also that experience points do not
this way, but this is where choosing a profession determine level – they determine when a character
that is not a standard adventuring one is a good call can go to the guild to get training to increase in level
– use the Secondary Skill table in the Dungeon in the guild. Guilds don't have to grant that training,
Masters Guide if you don't have any ideas. so being involved in the guild becomes more
important.
There is one other aspect to going with this system –
The Assassin's Guild now anyone can be an assassin. That icy breeze that
In this new environment any eligible class or just passed is the chill your players just felt at that
character with the chosen skill (depending on little detail…

30 &4
 Melting Pot in the Dungeon
The Trials and Tribulations of Multi-Classed Characters
by Nicole Massey

Bannor Krynn scowled. With so much to do in Unearthed Arcana dealt with a few things, like
establishing the greatest source of information ever characters with high ability scores, (though that
known on Onobor, he didn't have time for this. But actually started in the Player's Handbook,
his secretary didn't miss a thing, and he droned on. something many players and referees forget) and
Gary's New Jobs for Demi-humans article in the
"Tomorrow is a busy day, sir. You have a guild
Dragon ("The Sorcerer's Scroll: New Jobs for Demi-
meeting in the morning." Bannor scowled and
humans", by E. Gary Gygax Dragon 96, p8) increased
snapped in frustration, "Which guild?"
the number of options available. But the reason for
"Wizard, sir. In the afternoon you have a meeting these things was never explained. What was the in
with the high priest at the temple, and then the next game reasoning for level limits? Why did someone
day you're scheduled to appear at the Warrior's earning the experience points for two classes have
Guildhall all day to train new recruits. And then the such odd hit dice? And what to do about the things
next day…" not explained?
Bannor tuned his secretary out. He could only
handle a couple of days at a time. He looked down
Why Things Were The Way They Were:
at his desk, scowled at the list of legendary tomes he
The Early Days
was compiling so they'd know what the Library was
missing, and sighed. Two days ruined with guild I've heard it said that Gary never wanted demi-
nonsense. Of course Kara had it no better, as she humans in the game. His idea was clearly stated in
was off in Phaten with some vast crisis involving many early issues of the magazine – he believed
four of the six mages on their high council, and that D&D and later AD&D were about lawful good
Gwen was often away dealing with Craftsman's parties bringing civilization and a sense of moral
Guild issues. With all this guild and church order to the wild world. His view of the game was
bureaucratic time wasting they'd never get the very humanocentric, and he only put elves,
Library finished. But three guilds… No, two guilds dwarves, and halflings (originally called hobbits) in
and the church. Who had the time? the game because all of his Tolkien loving friends
wanted them so they could play them. (Gary stated
It's amazing that there was never an issue of the
in one of his Sorcerer's Scroll columns that he wasn't
Dragon devoted to multi-classed characters. The
a fan of Tolkien's epic, and that he felt Gandalf was
elven Fighter/Magic-user is a cliché so engrained in
a substandard wizard.) So for his own personal
the game it started out as its own class, the Elf class.
sense of game balance he limited how high they
But aside from the information in the core rulebooks
could go in terms of level to keep these creatures
not much has been said about them. They were
from taking the world from humanity.
apparently an area of concern for Gary Gygax, so
much that he assigned them level limits and gave There's also something else important here – Gary
them some fairly major handicaps. But the Gygax was widely read. He clearly took cues from
information was incomplete. How many weapon writers like Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack
proficiencies did one have? How exactly do you Vance, and even the Greek myths. His view of
handle hit points when a multi-class hits name level, characters providing a civilizing influence on the
and what type of hit dice does the resulting world, gaining enough experience so they could
character have? establish strongholds and retire as landed gentry, is
not a far cry from the opinion that all of Heracles'

&4 31
labors were about getting rid of chaotic elements someone doesn't role-play well they're not going to
and taming the world for an ordered and enjoy it. So that may be exactly why I've never had
complacent Hellenic populace. If you question this, any problems with this.
look at the reading list in the Dungeon Masters
It's your choice as a DM if you're going to have level
Guide (DMG), with his comments.
limits. If you are, role-play it to the hilt. Have the
Look at the DMG – training for level is done by training handled by humans only past a certain
established members of a character's own point. Have higher level characters of the character's
profession. Fees are set per level, the training time is race packing up and leaving when they hit their
defined, and each one comes with a specific title. maximum. Include some grumbling about this at
Since we're dealing with a medieval based societal bars that cater to specific demi-human races. And of
structure, all information comes from one of two course make the guild a force in your game world.
areas – the guild or the church, and in a pantheistic (And if you don't use the limits, you can still role-
society the church's power was not as pervasive as play the importance of guilds)
one's guild. So it was the humanocentric guilds that
I'd like to take a moment to address the level limit
set the tone and prevented these uppity demi-
issue. The contention is that it is there to keep demi-
humans from becoming too powerful. And this is a
humans from becoming too powerful. Let's look at
cultural thing. For evidence of this we need look no
the reality of that situation. Most characters can do
further than the Oriental Adventures book, where
only one thing in a particular melee round. The
no class has level titles except the Monk, who was
exception to this is fighter types. So that limits how
pulled from the main game and placed properly in
much one character can do to affect a fight.
context.
Furthermore, a multi-classed character will always
Level limits are controversial. The general reason be at least a level behind most single classed
folks use them is because the rules tell them that not characters. So, with the exception of some thieving
using them will allow the demi-humans to take over skills where racial bonuses come into play, the
everything. I've played this game now for almost 34 multi-classed character will be behind the single
years, we've never used level limits, and we've classed ones in ability. And this is for the duration
never had a problem getting folks to play humans – of the campaign, unless the referee lets folks play
they tend to choose it of their own volition, in fact. their characters in other campaigns or does side
Some classes can only have humans in their ranks, adventures with a subset of the full party.
(monks, mostly after UA, though for a long time the
Since experience points are shared instead of
paladin and druid were in that category too – EGG's
individual, the multi-classed character isn't going to
article, "New Jobs for Demi-Humans" changed that
get a bigger share of the "prize", either, so they're
for druids) and it's so much easier to play a race you
not really taking anything from the single classed
know from personal experience. Still the opinion
characters in the party. So I fail to see "the demi-
persists that removing level limits will allow demi-
humans threat" in anything save a one on one
humans to take over your game world.
combat between two individuals. And since this is
I want to digress here for a second. This is not a mostly a cooperative game with parties instead of
game mechanics problem, it's a player problem. If single players I don't think it's as big an issue as
you have the type of players who would choose a Gary made it out to be. (And in a one-on-one
character class just because of the advantage they combat, the character is going to need every trick he
get from it, then that's the problem, not that elves or or she can muster to get out alive, as no one else is
other races have some advantages. I suspect the backing him or her up if a bad roll of his or her dice
reason we haven't had anyone power game demi- or lucky shot from the opponent happens.)
humans is because I screen for power gamers.
They're not going to like my campaign, because I
can go for an entire session with no combat and if

32 &4
When 1+1 Doesn't Equal 2: Hit Points Both of them also resolve the hit die problem. If a
fourth level character is built in system 1, then he or
The hit point thing baffles a lot of folks. You're
she is an 8 hit die foe, just like in D&D 3x. If the
gaining the experience for two classes, paying
character was built in system 2, he or she is 4 hit
training for two classes, and yet you get only an
dice in strength. So either approach works for that.
average of hit points? Why?
And the name level issue is resolved too – the
It's simple – as we determined before, the creator of character with a class that hits name level earlier
the game didn't want these characters taking over than his or her other class will handle it either by
his game. The Humans were the focus. There's all gaining extra hit dice while only points in the other
kinds of rationalization going on about this – less class for system 1, and will not have it to deal with
focus on things means less body development or at all in system 2 as he or she is gaining only one
ability to dodge blows. That one gets bandied about class allotment of hit points, the better of the two.
all the time, and it's hogwash – if the character is So, on to skills…
gaining the experience for two classes, he or she is
spending the same amount of time in each class's
pursuits as a regular character. Another common I'm Just A Skill, Yes I'm Only A Skill…
excuse is that one creature's frame can't support that Now comes the big question – how many weapon
many hit points. Again this is nonsense. AD&D proficiencies does the multi-classed character have?
doesn't have a max hit points dynamic like
Again, this is a sticky situation, with two answers –
Rolemaster does, so that point is moot.
all of them, or the better total. And when do they
Several ways have been suggested to resolve this kick in? This becomes more complicated when you
little problem. The two most common are 1) grant take non-weapon proficiencies into account, too, as
hit points for both classes when levels are gained, some classes get more than one when they get them.
and 2) grant the hit die for the better of the two
There's a case to be made for the "all of them"
classes. Each has their rationale.
approach, especially if the character is only getting
For option 1, you can't deny that the character is HP from one class. Yeah, the character is going to
doing the work. And if a human did it as a dual gain a lot of weapons, but how many will he or she
classed character they'd gain both sets. So it makes actually be able to use? Any smart character will
sense to grant the fighter/magic-user D10 and D4 take the club when they get a chance if they can,
when the levels are reached. because it is something you can find in the woods.
But the proponents of system 2 argue that the Slings are almost as easy to make, too. And who
character is in one physically oriented class (fighter) knows when you're going to have a chance to use
and one non-physically oriented class (Magic-user) that spetum proficiency. If this approach is taken it's
so the one with the better physical development suggested that you require the character to spend
should take priority. The fighter isn't providing up proficiencies on weapons the class can use – don't
to fourteen points a level, only ten, and that should use that magic-user proficiency to buy an aklys, it
be the maximum. It works better for game balance, has to be a dagger, stave, dart, etc. that magic-users
and it's the way the Elf class worked in the early can actually use.
days, so it should work that way now too. And If you're going to pick the better of the two, which
there is a precedent – saving throws use the better of again has better game balance, this becomes sort of
the two classes for the number. a moot point, though reconciling when proficiencies
As the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Either are gotten can get a bit interesting. (I suggest some
of these two options should apply depending on fancy averaging in an Excel spreadsheet with
your campaign. everything represented up to some impossible level
to set a comfortable progression)

&4 33
Non-weapon proficiencies are a different matter. of them and armor of decent quality too, and still
The systems presented in Oriental Adventures, the get basic equipment. I understand that characters
Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, and Wilderness have to be hungry to have motivation to go out and
Survival guide aren't well designed, and some seek out potential death, but they also need to have
strange things came out of those three tomes on that a reasonable chance of surviving, and that takes
point. [I have developed a unified list that has rules money.
to resolve this and get everything on the same page,
But back to the topic, maximum between the two (or
and I hope to have it published in the not too distant
three) classes has its problems. Fighter money is not
future] But there are proficiencies that will help one
bad, but then add in a holy symbol, some holy
class over another, and just picking the better of the
water, prayer beads, spell components, and a few
two causes some interesting problems. Again,
other things needed and then the money is getting a
keeping them separate seems to be the best choice in
bit tight. And there's the other thing to think about –
this particular situation. Increasing the number of
how did that fighter/cleric earn that money over
available proficiencies might also help some of this
what a cleric makes?
– I have 134 in my current list, and some of them
require multiple proficiencies to gain them and a To make this work well there needs to be an
subset require multiple proficiencies later on to keep overhaul of the money system for the game.
gaining more facility with them. This kind of This is where they take a bit of a hit to my thinking.
approach makes more proficiencies useful without Take the starting money maximums and average
resulting in everything failing on a 1 (or 20 in some them. So our hypothetical fighter/cleric above
cases, with how the rules are inconsistent) and would get 160gp to start with. Calculate this how
everything else being a success. you like, but 4d4x10 probably provides enough
So, after dealing with hit points and skills, both randomness for most uses if the DM doesn't award
weapon and non-weapon, that brings us to starting starting money at maximum. You can work out
money. schemes for other combinations as well.
I tend to award the basics to characters and then
give them a set stipend to buy what they need to
Just Give Me Money…
start adventuring based on their social status
The rationale for varying amounts of starting instead of their class. Fighters start with reasonable
money is that pre-characters have different expenses armor of their choice, their weapons, clothes for
and ways to earn money, and they wind up with normal daily wear, a helm, a shield, and serving
different stuff in their pre-character days. That's ware – a cup, bowl, and cutlery of ceramic and iron
why fighters, who have to have armor and for the knife and spoon. (Only the gentry and higher
weaponry to get good enough to be a character, get use forks at this time). Thieves have their tools,
a lot of money while magic-users who spend their weapons, leather armor, clothes, and the same
time in apprenticeship and have expensive tools serving ware. Magic-users have their clothes, spell
and books to buy have so little. There's a rationale books, weapon, and components for one casting of
for each class's starting money. each of their spells, along with the ubiquitous
The rules for multi-classed characters state that the serving ware. Clerics have clothes for daily and for
character gets the best starting money between the ceremonial wear, their weapons and armor, holy
two classes. This is one of the places where the symbol and other religious paraphernalia, and of
character gets an advantage under the current rules. course their bowl and cup and knife and spoon.
Then they get their stipend and they get to go
Starting money is a problematic thing in the first shopping for their backpack, iron rations, lantern,
place. For instance, let's take a fighter. We'll assume and ten foot pole that every adventurer must have
maximum starting money. Unless the fighter takes or no one will think they're serious enough to get
only cheap weapons he or she can't afford to own all hired out of the tavern to do their special job.

34 &4
It's Only a Job
So, with all these changes in mind, are there any Character Class Options
multi-class options that the designers missed that Following is a list of allowed race/multi-class
are logical ones? And do the current ones make combinations gleaned from the AD&D Players
sense? Handbook, Unearthed Arcana, and articles
published in Dragon Magazine.
EGG's article, "New Jobs for Demi-Humans," from
his Sorcerer's Scroll column in Dragon #96, starting Dwarves
on page 8, does an excellent job of covering the
Hill and Mountain: fighter/cleric 1, fighter/thief,
bases missed before. His response to Roger Moore's
fighter/druid 1.
excellent gods of the demi-humans articles was to
allow clerical types for the demi-human races. This Grey: fighter/cleric, fighter/thief, fighter/druid 1,
gave us the class with the single highest experience cleric/assassin.
point costs – the ranger/druid/magic-user. But Elves
without adding classes there aren't many ones I feel
were missed. You could probably replace thief with High: cavalier/paladin, cleric/magic-user 1,
assassin for any class capable of being both if you so cleric/thief 1, fighter/magic-user, fighter/thief,
choose. But for the most part these are all okay as ranger/druid 1, fighter/magic-user/thief,
they are. ranger/druid/magic-user 1

What are the best class combinations to play? Well, Grey and Valley: cavalier/paladin, fighter/magic-
as you might gather from my prior comments, I'm user, fighter/cleric, ranger/druid, cleric/thief,
not going to tell you the most advantageous class to fighter/thief, thief/magic-user, fighter/magic-
play, as that's a style of gaming I don't care for. user/cleric, fighter/magic-user/thief,
Choose the class combination you can live with, as ranger/druid/magic-user 1.
you're going to be about a level behind single Drow: cavalier/paladin, cleric/fighters, cleric/thief,
classed characters, and more than that for the triple cleric/magic-user, cleric/illusionist,
classed multi-classes. You'll also be a lot more fighter/cleric/thief.
versatile, but since you can only do one thing at a
Wood: cavalier/paladin, cleric/fighter 1,
time you're not as versatile as two characters. And
cleric/magic-user 1, cleric/thief 1, fighter/magic-
don't forget that you'll face prejudice from some
user, fighter/thief, ranger/druid 1, magic-
races, which will cause difficulties in some quarters.
user/thief, fighter/magic-user/thief,
ranger/druid/magic-user 1.
Climbing the Guild Ladder Wild: druid/ranger 1, thief/magic-user,
Now comes advancement up the rungs of guild fighter/thief, fighter/magic-user,
status to your destination point. If the DM is using ranger/druid/magic-user 1.
level limits then this ends a lot earlier, of course, Gnomes
because you're going to run up against the level
Surface: fighter/illusionist, illusionist/thief,
limit before long, but you'll still keep spending
cleric/illusionist 1.
experience points on a class you can't advance in.
This is often the single biggest place for complaint Deep: fighter/illusionist, illusionist/thief,
in the game for those playing multi-classed cleric/illusionist.
characters. They ask, Why?
Halflings
Experience doesn't grant levels, training does. The
All: fighter/thief, fighter/cleric 1, cleric/thief 1,
experience is what gives you the real world
ranger/druid 1.
understanding to gain from the training. This is one
of the key reasons why level advancement doesn't

&4 35
happen until training does. It's an often forgotten
aspect of the game, but one that needs Character Class Options (continued)
consideration, as it makes clear where this level Half-Elves
limitation comes from.
All: cavalier/paladin, fighter/magic-user,
Demi-humans don't advance past a certain level fighter/thief, fighter/cleric, cleric/magic-user,
because they can't get the training. The Unearthed ranger/druid, fighter/magic-user/thief,
Arcana information about higher advancement fighter/magic-user/cleric, ranger/druid/magic-user
because of high ability scores provides a game 1.

mechanic for someone at the guildhall saying,

"Well, we normally don't do this for folks of your Half-Orcs
race, but since you're so exceptional we'll do it for All: cleric/thief, cleric/fighter, cleric/assassin,
you." So those "lost experience points are there for fighter/assassin.
the level advancement if the character can just find
Half-Ogres 2
someone willing to buck guild policy and train the
character. This is a huge opportunity for role-play, All: fighter/cleric.
as the character identifies his or her potential target
patron and then either worms into the patron's good
graces or sets up the patron for blackmail. It's a Notes:
bluebooker's dream. (1) "The Sorcerer's Scroll: New Jobs for Demi-
I take a slightly different approach. Fighter/Magic- Humans", by E. Gary Gygax Dragon 96, p 8
user, to pick a popular one from the list, is a single (2) "The Sorcerer's Scroll: The Half-Ogre: Smiting
class like it used to be for elves. A character pays Him Hip and Thigh", by Gary Gygax, Dragon 29, p
one training fee, though I specify higher training 12
times, and they are trained at one of the two guilds
for their main training with an agreement between
guilds for the rest of the training in the other class or
classes. This minimizes down time, makes
calculating things much easier, and doesn't wind up
with one class higher than the other. (which is a
major boon for doing this all in Excel with index
and vlookup functions) Attention!
If you purchased a self-heating firebox in the
past three months from Cadenvale Cookery
Conclusions please visit the store!
With a little work, some slight reinterpretation of A problem with one of the wizards making
the rules, and some common sense all of this fits them resulted in some of them being unsafe,
together in a more harmonious way. The as they have a connection to the plane of fire
bookkeeping is simpler, the classes feel more that is large enough for some of the
organic even when in combinations, and the player residents of that plane to come through the
firebox when it is not being used.
of a multi-classed character isn't quite so confused
all the time. I hope I've solved some of the conundra Please notify Cadenvale Cookery as soon as
involved in this until now only minimally dealt possible so your firebox can be tested, free
of charge, and replaced if it is defective.
with facet of the game. And if you have any Please act soon for your safety, the safety of
questions feel free to write me and I'll deal with your home, and the good of your entire
them in the advice column. neighborhood!

36 &4
 Mercenary Companies of the Lakelands
by Andrew Hamilton

good to have around; but, they are a group that can

Note: The Lakelands are the author's current
cause as much trouble as they can solve, so it is best
campaign setting. It is a primarily rural, balkanized
to have as few of them around as possible.
setting with a number of independent communities,
petty nobles, and a strong, fiercely independent, Mercenary companies tend to get the contracts that
freeman class. The region is wealthy, but that require the protection of people or places. The few
wealth exists in the form of land, farms, livestock, contracts that require an assault on a place either go
buildings and tools, not in gold and silver coin. Not to adventuring companies, or are shared by mercs
surprisingly, the Lakelands are characterized by and adventurers.
being located adjacent to a large lake (like the Great
Most of the mercenary companies prefer to take
lakes of North America), with plentiful rivers,
contracts that require the protection of merchant
creeks, ponds and smaller lakes across the region.
caravans, temporary protection of a community or
Note: The creation of the standing mercenary place (including providing protection to wilderness
companies of the Lakelands, and ultimately this work camps), and similar escort service. A few of
article, was inspired by the article "Fighters for a the mercenary companies will hire out to support
price; Why to use mercenaries and how to find 'em" adventurers, but they prefer to take contracts that
in Dragon #109 by James A. Yates. That article, and limit their activities to protecting pack animals and
the DMG description of mercenaries should be camps. Only a very rare few will take contracts that
considered required reading by any DM or player require them to enter ruins and dungeons.
who intends to utilize mercenaries in their
campaign.
Hiring Mercenaries and Conditions of
While the Lakelands are a stable region, with no Employment
open warfare between the communities (in living
memory), there is still the threat of banditry, Hiring a mercenary company is more complex than
humanoid raiders, and the occasional spirited trade just negotiating a price, shaking hands, and handing
or property rights dispute between wealthy over a bag of gold. There are a number of common
families. These threats are real enough that there is a practices that must be considered, and a number of
demand for both adventurers and mercenaries. conditions of employment that mercenaries will
With only a few exceptions, the mercenary demand.
companies of the Lakelands are small, perhaps a Signing Fees: most of the mercenary companies lead
score of soldiers. There isn't enough work, or the frugal existences; being constantly low on cash often
type of work, to support large mercenary places them in a position where they must demand
companies. The various rulers of the Lakelands also a signing fee just to make back payrolls, replace
prefer that the mercenary companies remain small worn equipment, etc.
enough that they cannot threaten a major
Expenses: in addition to the standard rate, there is
community.
the matter of expenses, which at the very least will
The Lakelands are a small enough area that almost include food and animal fodder in the field, and
any long term resident knows where the major shelter in urban environments. Most mercenary
mercenaries can normally be found. Hiring is also commanders will also present a bill for damaged
pretty straightforward, although hard to do in equipment, lost weapons, slain pack animals, and
secrecy. The average Lakelands resident has a whatever else they think they can get away with.
neutral opinion when it comes to mercenaries. It is a
Equipment: mercenaries are willing to take
necessary profession, and honest mercenaries are
equipment in lieu of some of their pay, depending

&4 37
upon the equipment. Arms and armor will be knowledgeable in herbalism as well, or more than
accepted at ½ of the value of the equipment, and one skilled healer.
goods such as tents, camp roll, boots, clothing, will
Weaponsmith, Bowyer/Fletcher & Armorer: the
be accepted at ¼ the value of the equipment. In no
soldiers are expected to maintain their own
case will a mercenary commander agree to accept
weapons and gear, and often one or more of the
more than 2/3 of the contract value in goods.
soldiers will have some skill as a smith (as per the
Contracts: it is standard practice for a formal, Smith class in Best of Dragon #4).
written contract to be drawn up. This contract
Quartermaster: a duty normally assigned to a senior
includes details about the duration of the
and trusted sergeant, this is a very important
engagement, the signing fee, the daily or monthly
position, and one which can expect a great deal of
fees, division of any captured booty, and
micro-management from the commanding officer.
reimbursements for damaged or consumed
materials. The contracts also tend to very
specifically detail what type of actions the
mercenaries will engage in, and what type of actions
will lead them to leave the field.
Healing: mercenary commanders will always ask
for healing, particularly when defending a town or
village with a church or druidic circle.
Weregild: a final consideration is the matter of
weregild in the event of a mercenary's death. While
soldiering is a dangerous profession, and
mercenaries do not expect to die of old age, they do
have an expectation that should they die in the field
that some fee will reach their family. Typical
weregild in the Lakelands is a sum of 50 to 75 gp
per soldier, 100 gp for a sergeant, twice the base
amount for a lieutenant, and 100 gp/level for a Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers
Captain. Weregild is normally written into a As described in the DMG, a sergeant is required for
contract, and it is a reasonable mechanism to help every 10 soldiers, or a lieutenant can command 10
ensure employers (i.e. PCs) do not use mercenaries soldiers per level. Most of the mercenary companies
as disposable resources. in the Lakelands have an excess of officers and non-
commissioned officers; this is a characteristic likely
to be shared by any successful mercenary company.
Support Services
There are many advantages to having excess officers
The mercenary companies in the Lakelands are and non-commissioned officers in a company:
small companies, and rarely rolling in excess cash.
 It allows smaller, independent units to be
As such they are forced to be more self-reliant and
broken off of the main body and sent on
innovative than larger mercenary companies that
specialized missions. This would include
might operate in the Old Kingdoms or the Imperial
scouting units, units descending into a
Regions. Some of the services that they must
dungeon, or smaller bodyguard units.
provide for themselves include:
 The non-coms or junior officers are often loyal
Healing: typically at least one member of the
and trusted members of the company that can
mercenary company will have a passing knowledge
be trusted to carry out important, non-violent
of healing (equivalent to the healing NWP described
tasks on behalf of the commander (like
in the WSG); the most fortunate have a healer

38 &4
 bargaining for provisions, overseeing prisoner as a pack animal and to allow them to switch
exchanges, recruiting, etc.). mounts when fast travel is required.
 Seasoned non-commissioned officers may be Description
assigned smaller units of recent recruits in
order to train the recruits and integrate them The largest mercenary unit in the Lakelands, the
Lancers have a reputation for reliability and
into a larger company.
professionalism. They specialize in providing
 Having more officers increases the likelihood protection to caravans and travelers, but do not take
that the chain of command will remain intact contracts requiring sieges, entering dungeons, or
during combat. similar endeavors. They are sponsored by the
Ultimately, the more officers and non- Church of Merchants, and they are the first choice
commissioned officers that a mercenary unit has, when faithful merchants are hiring escorts. The
the greater the number of deployment options Church of Tengas has seen to it that the Lakeland
available to that company. Options have value, and Lancers have high quality equipment, are well paid,
may be the difference between life and death when have access to clerical healing and support, good
things get ugly. food and quarters, and training. In return, loyalty
and faithfulness to the tenets of Tengas and any
lawful contract is expected and received.
Established Mercenary Companies
The Lancers are under strict instructions to treat
clients and host communities with respect, honor
The Lakeland Lancers local laws and citizens, and never act in a manner
Type: Medium Horse that will bring dishonor to the Church of Tengas.
Base of Operations: Willow Flats, the Lakelands Being consummate professionals, the Lakeland
Lancers are polite, but no nonsense. As they avoid
Sponsors: The Church of Tengas, the Merchant brawling, pay their bills, and generally behave like
Prince civilized people, the Lakeland Lancers are welcome
Commanding Officer: Captain Bodrim Jengels (LN in any community of establishment in the
human male F6) Lakelands.

Command Staff: 2 Lieutenants (LN human male F3) Contract Rates

(LN half-elf male F3); 4 Sergeants (LN human male
1,742 gp/month (15% discount for the faithful of
F1)
Tengas)
Troop Count: 24 horsemen, 3 squads of 8
60 gp/day (minimum 10 day engagement)
Notes: it is not unusual for 1 or more low level
For contracts of 1 month or longer, a 44 gp signing
clerics of Tengas (1d4-1 clerics of levels 1d4) to
fee and ½ month's deposit is required. For contracts
accompany the Lakeland Lancers when they are in
of less than one month, an 88 gp signing fee and
the field on a contract
50% deposit is required.
Morale: base 70%, +5 % serving worshippers of
The Lakeland Lancers expect a share of any treasure
Tengas
captured from raiders (4 shares, one for the captain,
Armor & Weapons: The standard battle dress of the one shared by the Lieutenants, one shared by the
Lakeland Lancers is chainmail, full helmet and a sergeants, and one shared by the men).
large shield (AC 4). They are armed with a medium
lance, a long sword, a horseman's mace, and a Thuril's Tunnel Rats
dagger. Officers wear plate mail armor and carry a
Type: Sappers
shield (AC 2). The Lakeland Lancers are mounted
on medium warhorses, and each has a riding horse Base of Operations: Raven’s Hollow

&4 39
Sponsors: Flydar's Delve (mountain dwarf clan Vaughn's Irregulars
hold) Type: Light Hobilars
Commanding Officer: Captain Thuril (LG dwarf Base of Operations: mobile, the Lakelands
male F3)
Sponsors: independent
Command Staff: Sergeants Duryl (LG dwarf male
F2) Commanding Officer: Captain Vaughn Cuthelm
(NE human male F5)
Troop Count: 6 (dwarf males)
Command Staff: Lieutenant Jenna Redcut (CN
Morale: base 70% human female F2), Sergeants (x 2) (human male F1)
Armor & Weapons: The Tunnel Rats are able to arm Troop Count: 14
and armor themselves as heavy infantry (splint
mail, full helm, shield, (AC 3) & spear, short sword, Morale: base 60%
hand axe, dagger and heavy crossbow) or as tunnel Armor & Weapons: The Irregulars wear studded
crawlers (leather armor (AC 8) with short spears, leather armor and carry a shield (AC 6), and are
daggers and mining/digging gear. armed with javelins (3 each), hand axes and a short
sword. Both the sergeants and half of the troops also
Description
have short bows (for hunting as well as for combat).
This small unit of sappers takes contracts to clean
out old mines, sewers ruins and giant rat Description
infestations as well as helping to breach Vaughn's Irregulars are a band of light infantry &
fortifications, collapse towers & walls, etc. While skirmishers; while they have mounts (riding horses)
they claim to be an independent group, led by and the ability to move quickly from place to place,
Captain Thuril, they do have ties to the mountain they fight on foot. This rough and tumble outfit is
dwarf clan hold in Flydar's Delve. known as the toughest of the Lakeland bands. They
The Tunnel Rats have a good reputation, as they are also have a reputation as being a little shady, and
hard-working and deliver on the contracts that they willing to take on the type of work that other
take. The Tunnel Rats are known to take contracts mercenary companies turn down. Vaughn is tough
supporting dungeon exploration, raids on as nails, and ruthless in combat, preferring to lead
humanoid cave complexes, and similar high risk his troops in hit & run actions, using fire, ambushes,
undertakings. and similar tactics to weaken enemies, and draw
them into positions where they can be
Contract Rates overwhelmed. His treatment of captives is harsh,
560 gp/month and frowned upon by most of the other
mercenaries. However, they are effective, and have
20 gp/day (minimum 10 day engagement), 30 never betrayed an employer, so Vaughn's Irregulars
gp/day for dungeoneering contracts still find employment.
For contracts of 1 month or longer, a 110 gp signing In addition, Vaughn's Irregulars is the only
fee and 1 month's deposit is required. For contracts company willing to hire out a unit of mercenaries to
of less than one month, a 55 gp signing fee and 50% accompany adventurers into a dungeon. As a result
deposit is required. they find a fair bit of work in the Northride region,
The Tunnel Rats are one of the few mercenary units supporting bands of adventurers exploring the
willing to support dungeon exploration. In addition caves and fighting humanoid raiders. There are
to their base contract rates, when dungeon crawling, rumors that the Irregulars have also practiced
Thuril's Tunnel Rats expect a share of any treasure banditry, but there is no evidence of this.
captured from raiders (2 shares, one shared by the
Captain and Sargeant, and one shared by the men).

40 &4
Contract Rates Description
836 gp/month The Criskford Guard are known as arrogant,
bullying, and quarrelsome mercenaries. They are
30 gp/day (minimum 5 day engagement)
generally disliked across the Lakelands, and
50 gp/day dungeoneering contract (for 5 soldiers, 1 considered by many merchants to be bandits. This
sergeant, and 1 lieutenant, plus 1 share of treasure company has several "letters of mark" giving them
equal to an adventurers share) certain powers within the lands claimed by
For contracts of 1 month or longer, a 118 gp signing Criskford, and within this area they have been
fee and ½ month's deposit is required. For contracts known to stop travelers and "collect" road fees and
of less than one month, a 25 gp signing fee and 50% other taxes.
deposit is required. The Criskford Guard often get short contracts to
escort merchant caravans from Criskford to the next
community (contracts which the merchants enter
into to ensure that they don't have a "tax
assessment"), but the company has been known to
range farther afield, has been involved in defending
the Lakelands from humanoid raiders, and despite
the dislike most have of the Criskford Guard they
are grudgingly accepted as being a skilled and
disciplined force.

Contract Rates
588 gp monthly
22 gp daily (minimum 3 days contract, paid up
front)
The Criskford Guard
For contracts of 1 month or longer, a 200 gp signing
Type: Heavy Horse
fee and 1/2 month's deposit is required. For
Base of Operations: Criskford contracts of less than one month, a 10 gp signing fee
and payment in full is required.
Sponsors: The Relhard family (nominally
independent, but essentially an arm of the Criskford The Criskford Guard expects 4 full shares of any
Mounted Watch) loot recovered, 1 for the commanding officer, 1
shared by the sargeants, one shared by the troops,
Commanding Officer: Commander Ferris Relhard
and the 4th share goes to their sponsor.
(LE human male Cav3)
Command Staff: Sergeants (x 2) (LE human male F1) The Longhill Warders
Troop Count: 16 Type: Longbowmen
Morale: base 70% Base of Operations: Longhill
Armor & Weapons: The Criskford Guard are Sponsors: Independent
mounted on heavy horse, and armored in plate
mail, full helm and shield (AC 2), armed with a Commanding Officer: Captain Arik Kinkaid (CG
heavy lance, long sword, horseman's mace and human male Archer3)
dagger. In the field, the Criskford Guard have a Command Staff: Sergeant Connik Fayl (NG half elf
supply train (a dozen pack horses and a few riding male R2)
horses)

&4 41
Troop Count: 7 longbowmen (4 are NM, 2 are F1s 26 gp daily (minimum 6 days contract)
specialized in the longbow, and 1 is an Archer 1)
For contracts of 1 month or longer, a 40 gp signing
Morale: base 70% fee and full month's deposit is required. For
contracts of less than one month, a 15 gp signing fee
Armor & Weapons: The Longhill Warders are all
and payment in full is required.
armed with longbows and sheaf arrows, each
carrying at least 2 score arrows, with additional The Longhill Warders expects 2 full shares of any
arrows in their baggage train. They also carry hand loot recovered, 1 split between the captain and
axes, long swords, and daggers, but are capable of sergeant, and one shared by the troops.
fighting with spears and staves as well. They are
armored in chainmail with helmets, and they sling The Grey Banner Company
small shields which they use to bolster their defence
Type: Medium Infantry
in the event that they are forced into melee.
Base of Operations: mobile, The Lakelands
Description
Sponsors: claim to be independent
The Longhill Warders are a small group, but
extremely well trained as they have a long history. Commanding Officer: Captain Harken Grey (LE
Many of the members are 2nd or 3rd generation, human male F4)
and the community of Longhill is known for its Command Staff: 3 sergeants (2 x LE human male F1,
archery enthusiasts and the skill of its militia. The the 3rd is a LE human male Assassin 4 pretending
Longhill Wardens was founded by some seasoned to be a fighter)
landowners as a means of letting their more
Troop Count: 21 medium infantrymen (2 of these
adventurous sons see some of the world, get a taste
men are actually assassins, both level 2, pretending
of danger, make some money, and have the support
to be fighters)
of seasoned veterans doing it.
Morale: base 60%
The Longhill Wardens prefer contracts that have
them provide support or defence to caravans or Armor & Weapons: The Grey Bannermen are armed
fortifications. They have often worked alongside the with javelins (3 each), spears, hand axes, long
Lakeland Lancers, and have had a number of swords and daggers. They are armored in ring mail,
unpleasant experiences with the Criskford Guard. with open faced helmets and small shields (AC 5).
The Longhill Wardens will work for adventurers,
Description
but do not take contracts that have them descending
into caves or dungeons (and will direct such The Grey Banner Company, or the Grey Bannermen
inquiries to Thuril's Tunnel rats). They are salt of the as they informally refer to themselves, are one of the
earth, farmers and herdsmen, and well respected by larger mercenary companies active in the
the average citizen of the Lakelands. Lakelands. They are truly mercenary, not caring
whom they contract with, and having no loyalty to
In extremis, the Longhill Warders could call upon
any client beyond the terms of the contract
retired members or younger sons & brothers still in
(although they dutifully and faithfully honor their
training. Such a muster would easily increase their
contracts). The Grey Bannermen claim to be
numbers to the point where the Warders could field
independent, but rumour abound that they actually
2 score long bowmen, with a extremely experienced
work for some for some foreign or shadowy power.
and deadly office corp (of leveled fighters, rangers
and archers), The Grey Bannermen are tough, hard fighting and
hard brawling mercenaries, not particularly
Contract Rates welcome in any community for long (they are hard
704 gp monthly on the furniture). However, they have proven their
worth in a number of skirmishes against orcs and

42 &4
goblins in the Northpoint region, and defended by the PCs to support some undertaking; they may
Raven's Hollow from gnoll marauders a few years be hired by the enemies of PCs or otherwise oppose
back. While they are infantry, the Grey Bannermen the PCs; or they may employ the PCs.
prefer to fight as skirmishers, using speed and
There are many reasons that adventurers would
terrain to hit and fade away, gaining any advantage
hire mercenaries; from descending into the
that they can.
dungeon, to protecting the personal property of the
On occasion (i.e. when times are tough) the Grey well to do PC. When hiring a mercenary company, a
Bannermen have hired out a few of their number to PC will want to be very careful in their selection,
accompany adventurers into caves and dungeons. and be certain to treat them well (hopefully
Captain Grey makes a great show of preferring not ensuring loyalty). Being cheap when hiring
to hire his men out for such undertakings, but if the mercenaries tends to backfire. A PC should be
coin is right, he'll take any job. prepared to pay to properly equip their
mercenaries, as well as pay enough (and promise
DM's Note: The Grey Banner Company is
bonuses) to ensure loyalty. Mercenary companies
sponsored by a shadowy organization, one with
could be hired for the following:
future designs upon the Lakelands. In addition to
maintaining a military presence in the Lakelands, a  The fill the classic "red shirt" role, helping to
few members of the company take occasional set off traps and to stand between the magic-
assassination contracts, and are constantly spying user and the orc hordes while exploring
on the region, sending reports back to their patron. dungeons.
The assassins have ties to one of the assassin's
 To assist in the assault on, and plundering of,
guilds in the Old Kingdoms, and may be part of an
enemy strongholds. While it isn't necessarily
intelligence gathering operation intended to allow
heroic, having 80 (or even 20) well armed men
one of the Old Kingdoms (or a major noble house in
at arms helping you out makes invading the
the Old Kingdoms) to annex part or all of the
goblin stronghold much easier.
Lakelands.
 To protect the PCs belongings. This could
Contract Rates include working as a household guard to keep
604 gp/month kids off the lawn and orcs out of the stables
while the PC is off slaying dragons. It could
25 gp/day (minimum 4 days contract) also include traveling with the PCs during a
60 gp/day dungeoneering (4 gp & 40gp/day per wilderness adventure, and guarding the camp
soldier & sergeant respectively) The Captain will and pack train.
not dungeon crawl, and when hiring out for a  To provide support during large
dungeon expedition, the only "unit" available for
undertakings. For example, a company of 20
hire will be 5 soldiers and 1 sergeant (one of the mercenaries helping to guard the wagon train
soldiers and the sergeant will be an assassin) necessary to bring every copper piece of the
The Grey Banner Company will expect 3 shares of dragon's hoard back to town will discourage
loot in the field (1 for the captain, 1 shared by the many bandits and thieves.
sergeants, and one shared by the troops). When Of course, the PCs enemies and rivals have the same
dungeoneering, they expect one full share (shared
reasons, or opposite reasons to hire mercenaries.
amongst the men in the dungeon, less a 10% fee to
This is particularly true in those cases where the
the captain). PCs have a long running dispute with some villain.
Using Mercenary Companies In Play That villain will seek means of protecting
themselves or harming the PCs (or both). Hiring a
There are three ways in which mercenary mercenary company might just do the trick.
companies can be used in play. They may be hired

&4 43
One should also ponder the differences between an (if one uses UA) are also problematic. Loose
unemployed mercenary company and bandits. It's cannons, glory hounds, and heroes have no place in
not unlikely that the bandits one has the misfortune a mercenary company.
to encounter are actually mercenaries between
That said, mercenary companies are happy to hire
contracts. Such a band would likely have better
1st level characters, and a mercenary company
equipment and tactical skill than a rag tag band of
makes a good place to start a campaign (or at least
brigands.
to explain how the PCs all know each other).
The third use, as an employer of PCs, is a whole Defending caravans, assaulting enemy strongholds,
new topic, and one that opens up all kinds of guarding a wealthy merchant, these are all
opportunities. interesting (and possibly rewarding adventures).
Unless there are command opportunities, such a job
Working For A Mercenary Company is likely to become quite unrewarding for a mid-
As described in the DMG, the average man-at-arms level adventurer.
is a 0 level human, and the officers, while equivalent Of course, when a mercenary company has a
to fighters, have no ability to advance in level. It is
problem it can't solve (like a dragon, lycanthropes,
quite likely that, at least by the book, that a PC or evil arch-mage), they may contract with the big
adventurer will outmatch a mercenary on a one to guns. In these cases, an adventuring party might
one basis. In fact, a mid-level band of adventurers
find themselves filling the role of "red shirt".
can probably defeat a mercenary band 5 to 10 times
their number. Given this disparity in relative power,
one would expect mercenaries to be eager to hire
Arrow of Fireballs
adventuring PCs and NPCs. In some cases this will
be true. by Bryan Fazekas
However, a mercenary company that contains These arrows are +2 to hit, and explode into a
Fireball causing 6d6 points of damage when
standard mercenaries and advancement capable PC
striking a target. The Fireball consumes the
will have some issues to manage. Firstly, the arrow, and if the arrow misses its target it will be
existing officer class will likely resent the fighters broken. The creature struck by the arrow is not
that have the capability of overshadowing them. allowed a saving throw, although others in the
This may lead to bad blood, arguments, and refusal area save for half damage
to obey commands. Such internal dissension is bad
for the mercenary company's morale and Handaxe of Fireballs
effectiveness. by Bryan Fazekas
Second, PC and NPCs with levels often demand These magical hand axes identify as +2 to-hit
wages that a mercenary company simply cannot and damage. A user will find out differently only
pay. As appealing as it would be to have a 9th level if he is subjected to a fire attack. If the axe is in
hand at that time the bearer is protected by fire
fighter and 9th level magic-user backing up your
resistance as if wearing a Ring of Fire
mercenaries, the cost is likely prohibitive. Resistance.
Third, high level characters (particularly PCs) The real power of the axe is in throwing it. Any
attract the kind of trouble that normal men cannot hit of a natural 20 detonates a Fireball upon the
finish. Unless you are of an equal level, hanging target creature, causing 6d6 points of damage.
around with a group of 12th level adventurers is The creature struck receives no saving throw
but others in the area of effect are allowed one.
probably not good for your continued well-being.
The axe can be thrown up to 6" with no
Finally, some PC classes are just a bad fit in a penalties to hit.
mercenary company. Druids, paladins, monks, and Note that if the throwing range is 2" or less the
illusionists come to mind. Barbarians and cavaliers thrower will be in the area of effect.

44 &4
 Back In The Day …
by Bryan Fazekas

the pack. Certainly it hurts to lose any of them, but

Tim Kask, one of the people who helped create
the pack endures.
OD&DTM and AD&DTM, posts frequently to a Q&A
forum on Dragonsfoot. Tim is kind enough to Part of the reason we had multiple PC's had to do
answer a lot of questions, and has graciously with injury, healing and timelines; if my currently-
permitted & Magazine to reprint select portions favorite Fighting Man was laid up recuperating (I
from his forum. hated those original healing rules and argued with
Gary about them several times.) but word had just
come at the tavern that a new menace was in the
offing with a promise of loot, I "played" my next-
BF: Tim -- got another one for the Wayback
best-for-the-situation character. We were gathered
Machine. Do you recall the rationale for placing a together to play, after all.
cap on the levels for the druid, assassin, and monk?
They stand out oddly (IMO) and I've been Having tried to explain the prevailing mindset, the
wondering about this. following answers may make a little more sense.

TK: To answer that question we must, indeed, The Druid class actually had a bit of historical
utilize the Wayback Machine (with a nod to Rocky research behind it so setting a level limit that
& Bullwinkle), and set it on Original Mid-Set. So corresponded to historical thought about druids (we
grab your hot chocolate and settle back for a strange really know very little outside of the Roman
tale, a tale of times when RPG's actually had end- propaganda) seemed a logical thing to do. After all,
game goals. years and years of study working their way through
the druidic and bardic ranks meant that most high
End-game goals? What a novel idea, at least for level druids would be fairly old men. Gary had
what seems to be a majority of contemporary done a prodigious amount of research and had
players. Just what were those novel ideas? Same as planned on a druid of his own, well before Dennis
you and me in real life: make a stack of cash, buy or sent his excellent take on it to us. The mists of time
build the home/castle of our dreams on our own make it a big foggy, but I do not recall making much
substantial property where nobody is likely to mess alteration to the druid to meet Gary's OK to publish.
with us and retire to enjoy the fruits of our labors. (One of the very few cases of running anything past
Yes, Virginia, we really did play like that. All of us him first was anything that might become construed
had PC's that were "retired" or "semi-retired"; we as canon, and that only in the beginning.)
did not use them except for special circumstances. The assassin was, in my opinion, an experiment that
Learning at Gary's knee, so to speak, as I did, I had a went wrong. In those early days of negative
whole stable of PC's because he did, as well as the publicity and much of the public misunderstanding
rest of the original players. It seems today that too exactly what we were doing, we were careful to
many players get way too involved in just one PC; downplay the fact that yes, you could do some
to say that some seem to obsess over their PC's is pretty evil or wicked things in the game if you were
fair, I think. When you had a stable of PC's, as we of a mind to. We seldom published maleficent
did, you could view the PC's as you might a pack of spells. The spells were what
fine hunting dogs. Each they were; how they were
dog in the pack had its Tim Kask is one of the proprietors of Eldritch used and against whom and
strong and weak points, Enterprises ([Link] a what was more important.
but you seldom develop a new company formed by some of the great We did state that a good
deep attachment with minds that produced D&D.
number of spells could be
more than one or two of

&4 45
reversed, with pretty nasty consequences. But did. We should have seen that greed would prevail;
honestly, we never saw the hired killer as much it always does.
more than an exotic NPC to be hired to do "wet
Hope that answers your question. It was a different
work". (Gary never understood how Thieves could
gaming climate then. That was over 35 years ago,
be tolerated on a daily campaign basis, or how "real
man. A lot of you were not even born then. You had
thieves" would refrain from stealing from party
to be there…
members if the chance arose. He saw them as the
true N/N alignment: "me first".)
Being a subset of thieves, assassins become
BF: Why did magic users have 9 levels of spells
Hollywood killing machines at high levels; all those
while the other classes only have 7?
adds and boni ("from behind" or "backstab", etc.)
meant that they had the capability to take out rather TK: Over a period of time the conceptualization of
high-level PC's and NPC's willy-nilly. We saw that clerical "spells" morphed into prayers, rites and
as too much of a campaign "un-balancer" and did rituals. We reasoned that there was a relatively
not wish to inflict it on the already long-suffering finite number of ways to pray or otherwise invoke
DM's. We actually made a lot of decisions in the divine favor.
early days from a perspective of not burdening the
Magic, on the other hand, was infinitely mutable
DM's with more than they needed or could
and malleable, limitless in what it might achieve.
assimilate. Yes, we felt very paternalistic.
When those mega-spells came out in GH, we had a
TSR was more or less forced to come out with a couple of different motives. First, we were ramping
monk class. We fended off everyone with a mimeo up the lethality of the potential foe. Second, we
machine that thought we had screwed it up and that were introducing mega-magic in the form of scrolls
they could do it better. David Carradine's Kung Fu that might be possibly used by lower levels, though
resonated with a lot of gamers and particularly sometimes with unfortunate or unforeseen results.
RPG'ers who all saw themselves as Caine, kicking
As a DM I have always entertained and encouraged
butt across the Western US. Sadly, one of the
original spell research. I once had a player that had
principals (not Gary) was so in love with the whole
researched fire so thoroughly that he had six
fighting monk crapola that it was inevitable that we
legitimate variations on the common fireball spell,
would do one. I have made no bones about the fact
for which he paid dearly in research costs and times.
that I hate the class. As written, these guys cling to
walls and ceilings like Peter Parker and kick butt That is another argument in favor of multiple PC's;
like Bruce Lee taking on the local toughs and you can burn months of game time researching
bullies. The D&D monk is a joke in a historical while out adventuring as someone else.
sense. Yes, there were monasteries full of warrior
monks in several periods of Japanese history; they
were spear-carriers like infantry, not squads of
BF: Do you recall where the term "module" came
death- and gravity-defying hyper-efficient killers.
from, in reference to packaged dungeons/
So, having elucidated on our mind-set of retirement adventures?
as the ultimate and totally honorable goal of the
TK: "Scenario" was linked to boards, with a little
game, it comes to this admission: we could not see
reference to minis. "Modular" was a hot buzzword;
any good reason why players would not retire old
modular this, modular that, modular design,
PC's and then foster other PC's to greatness and
spacecraft modules etc. As to which of us, Gary,
retirement. This was pre-MM; there just was not
Brian [Blume] or me, came up with it? Probably
that much stuff to kill and it should have gotten
consensus.
boring. We naively thought that most players
enjoyed the struggle to survive and thrive as we

46 &4
 Five Gnomish Hammers of Power
by Lenard Lakofka

Each hammer appears to be a normal small 1. The weapon is +1 to hit and +2 to damage
throwing hammer usable by gnomes and possibly (1d4+2) versus the vast majority of opponents.
by dwarves (though dwarfish hammers tend to be a Versus kobolds, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins,
bit heavier and longer). Typical dimensions are gnolls, flinds, and evil giants the weapon is +3
between one and a half and two and half feet in to hit and +6 to damage (1d4+6). Strength
length with a weight of between fifteen and twenty bonuses do apply.
five pounds. The hammers have forged steel heads,
2. The hammer can be thrown for distances of up
shafts and grips. They are various shades of grey
to 240 feet with no range penalty. The hammer
and dark blue. The saving throw of the hammer is
will auto return only if it hits an opponent for
two versus all attack forms.
damage.
3. The hammer can Detect Magic or Evil within
thirty feet. This detection is automatic and
continuous. The gnome can touch an ally of
his/her choice to exclude any magic that they
are carrying and even to stop detecting them if
they are evil.
4. The hammer can cast Faerie Fire over a ten by
ten foot area, once per round and up to twelve
times in a day. Two covered areas may exist
simultaneous but if a third is ordered the first
to be created will dissipate. The Faerie Fire
will cover and object or creature in blue light
and be sufficiently bright to read a scroll, sign
The hammers can be hefted by any non-evil gnome or book if that item is within five feet of the
or dwarf but their full potential is only realized in Faerie Fire. The Faerie Fire does no damage to
the hands of a gnome. Any Evil figure who picks up whatever it touches. The range of the casting is
one of the hammers must save versus electricity or thirty feet. The Fire will remain in force for
take and immediate 4d12 of damage, half if a saving two full hours.
throw is made vs. Spells.
5. While holding the hammer a gnome can see
The gnome who wields the hammer can be a through any illusion (including invisibility) at
fighter, cleric or thief (or a combination of those a range of four hundred feet. The illusion will
professions). An illusionist can hold the hammer not vanish but the gnome knows it to be false
but can only fight with it for seven rounds and only and will not be tricked by it. An invisible
in a life threatening encounter. Otherwise the object or figure will be seen in highlight
illusionist will feel a growing sense of fatigue though that thing or person can only be
bordering on illness. This does not happen if the identified by shape: therefore a specific
illusionist is only transporting the hammer in a invisible being could not be identified.
backpack or on a weapon belt.
Any dwarf can fight with the weapon with the
The common powers of the hammers are as follows given bonuses. However the hammer will not auto
if wielded by a gnome: return, cast Faerie Fire or Detect Magic, but will
Detect Evil only at a range of ten feet.

&4 47
Additional powers specific to individual hammers: hammer) will receive two points of curing (if they
are wounded).

Hammer #1:
Major Power: Teleport Without Error to any
Hammer #4:
location that is visible to the gnome up to a distance Major Power: Can create a small troop of gnomes
of six miles. It must be visible and in line of site. In (illusion) that will move as the hammer holder is
addition the gnome can establish a home location moving. The troop can contain 7 to 12 gnomes
that the hammer will take him or her to upon (1d6+6) and they will appear to have different dress
command. The home location can be changed by and an assortment of weapons. The holder does not
command but the gnome must be standing in that have to concentrate upon their actions since they are
location. The gnome can take one other non-evil a programmed illusion. There will be differences in
human or demi-human along. size, hair color, facial expression etcetera. If they are
"hit" the illusion of that one gnome will vanish.
Minor Powers: Bless a non-evil intelligent being for
Dispel Magic can also wipe out the troop if it is
twenty rounds by touch. The blessed being does not
successful versus 14th level magic. The troop will
have to remain near the hammer wielder.
not be able to throw or fire weapons in any case
Cast three Mirror Images of the gnome per the text since they are not real. But the fact that they do not
of that spell. move in unison and do not look the same will pass
muster with most viewers. There is a "mumble" and
"march" audio component to the troop of gnomes
Hammer #2:
but they cannot speak. They do however all move in
Major Power: Gives the holder Protection from the same direction, at the same pace although the
Normal Missiles while the hammer is held. If the troop cannot be split. It can come to halt. All of this
hammer is thrown the protection goes away until is directed by the hammer holding gnome if he
the hammer is retrieved. chooses or he can allow the programmed illusion to
Minor Power: The ability to detect gold and silver operate.
(unprocessed or processed – jewelry, coins etc.) at a Minor Power: Walk on water, mud or quicksand
range of fifty feet. The Hammer can he held or it can and not be sucked into the mire. The holder can
be in a carrying belt (as long as the dwarf has one walk at a pace of 120 feet per round on these types
hand on the hammer). The gold and silver of the of surfaces. He or she is limited to walking a total of
wearer is not detected and he or she can eliminate 1000 feet in a single 24 hour period.
the detection from detected companions by
touching each piece of gold or silver to the
hammer's head. Hammer #5:
Major Power: Fly at the rate of 240 feet per round at
an altitude not to exceed 200 feet. (Thus the gnome
Hammer #3:
cannot go up tall sheer cliffs.) He may carry up to
Major Power: The ability to strike a held portal, lock 200 pounds of materials (including a living being)
or barred door as if a Knock spell were cast at the over and above his/her own armor and weapons
closed/locked item. The hammer can do this seven (backpacks and other gear are not included in the
times in a 24 hour period. weight total). If he/she is flying alone then he/she
Minor Power: The ability to Create Food and Water may become invisible while flying. The duration of
(1 gallon of water and a pound of nutritious way flying in a 24 hour period is four hours. Flying does
bread) per the text of that spell. Those who eat at not have to be continuous. While flying his armor
least 1/8 of the bread (including the holder of the class is improved by three positions versus missiles
and spell attacks.

48 &4
Minor Power: The ability to understand the 2. The holders can concentrate on another holder
conversation of any sentient being within sixty feet and Teleport Without Error to the other
of the hammer holder. He cannot, however, speak holder's location. Then if less than an hour
that language to communicate with the being(s). goes by, the gnome can Teleport Without
Error back to the place he teleported from.

Additional proximity powers 3. The holders can telepathically communicate

with one another.
If multiple hammers are within 30 miles of one
another additional powers come into play. The hammers are valued at 45,000GP and to a
gnome may be worth even more. They are not
1. Each holder will be encased in a Minor Globe aligned to good since a neutral gnome or dwarf can
of Invulnerability. If the holder is a spell carry or hold one of the hammers.
caster his/her spells can leave the sphere. Also
he or she can administer a touch spell, like
cure light wounds or fear by touch.

Excerpted from Tasha’s Air Elemental Mimosa

Gastronomicon: Ingredients:
Orcs are tough creatures, so preparation of
orc roasts and steaks requires some 1 quart fresh air elemental ichor
preparation. The meat should be cut into
steaks or roasts or ground, then aged for no 1 quart orange juice
less than three days and no more than five Instructions:
days in a cool environment.
Organ meats have no food value and may Gently stir the ichor into the orange juice, being
contain toxins, so they should be discarded, careful to not stir too vigorously The beverage
preferably in a fire. Do not stand down wind of will foam up and should be drunk quickly.
the fire.
Marinade in strong wine, vinegar, or other Substitutions: You may use grapefruit,
acidic marinades. Beating with a mallet is also tangerine, lemon, and lime juice in place of the
recommended, as many warriors can attest, in orange juice. Note that lemon or lime juice will
softening up the meat. Submersing in liquid for
soups, stews, and other boiled recipes is also produce a much tarter beverage, and grapefruit
a good strategy. is particularly Tasty.
Orc meat has a taste similar to wild game, Fresh air elemental ichor has a tart, musty
(though stronger) so spice like you’re
preparing wild boar or venison or bear meat. It flavor. As the ichor ages the nuances drop away
tends to be lean, so when using it in sausage and eventually it tastes like water. Good, clean,
pair it with a fatty meat like domesticated pork fresh water – but water none-the-less.
or seal. The unseasoned taste is an acquired
taste, so those unfamiliar with it should get Warning! Do not substitute earth elemental ichor
smaller portions to start.
in this recipe. The result is very unpalatable.
Orc meat doesn’t respond well to magic, so
avoid using it in recipes that have magical
preparation elements.

&4 49
 Creature Feature I: Mind Reaver
by Jeremy Dow

Worker Guard Queen the rest of that round, unable to do anything but
Frequency: Rare reel in shock.
No. App: 1d6+4 foraging workers above ground; Any victim whose Intelligence score is brought to 0
2d4*10 + 20 in hive
by the Reavers' mental attacks will die, requiring
Armor Class 5 4 2
Resurrection, Raise Dead, or Wish spell to bring the
Move 15" 12" 9"
victim back. If not killed the lost points are regained
Hit Dice 2 4 6 at the rate of one point per day of full rest.
% in Lair 80% 95% 95%
Usually the queen and her guards stay in her lair,
Treasure Type Nil
which is always hidden at the heart of the
No. Attacks 2 or 1
underground hive. The queen's chamber is quite
Damage 1d4/1d4 or 2d4/2d4 or 2d6/2d6 or large due to the amount of eggs she lays. Although
special special special
the queen and her guards are rarely seen on the
Special Attacks Mental Attack
surface, the workers emerge above ground to forage
Special Defenses None for food (grass, trees, and vegetation). Being
Magic Resistance Standard nocturnal they emerge only at night, and they never
Intelligence Animal wander more than a short distance from the hive
Alignment Neutral and never travel alone. A group of foraging workers
Size S (2'-3') M (6') L (9') will be from 1d6+4 in number.
Level/XP Value 28 + 2/hp 85 + 5/hp 225 + 6/hp These creatures are likely to be unseen in an area.
Climate Temperate The chief evidence of their presence will lie in the
Organization Hunting Group/Hive effects of their mental assaults. It is typical for a
Activity Nocturnal victim to awake in the middle of the night, reeling
Diet Herbivore / Mental Energy from a sudden searing headache, and afterwards
Morale Elite
experience ongoing effects such as nightmares,
hallucinations and the like. Often friends and family
Modifiers None
members believe the victim is suffering from
THAC0 16 15 13
insanity or some sickness, oblivious to the true
These formidable, parasitic insects range in size cause of the symptoms. Another evidence of a
from small to large, depending on type. Although nearby hive will be the sudden disappearance of
they can live on vegetation, they greatly prefer wildlife in the area (due to the insects' mental
mental energy. They can sense the mental energy of attacks causing these animals to wander off).
any living creature within 30', and once per round
If they cannot find a cave, dungeon or similar
they can unleash a mental attack that absorbs
underground area to infest, Mind Reavers will
energy from the minds of their victims and transfers
create their own home by burrowing with their two
it to their own. They will use this attack in melee front legs. If their population outgrows this, they
combat and whenever possible. On a successful
will burrow to expand its size.
melee strike, the workers drain 1d2 points of
Intelligence. The exceptions to this are the guards Eggs are about six inches long and take about ten
and the hive queen, which can siphon 1d4+1 and days to hatch, after which the newborn nymphs
2d4 points of Intelligence, respectively. When take roughly four weeks to grow to adulthood. The
attacked, anyone who fails their saving throw vs. eggs are rumored to be worth much to wizards and
Magic not only suffers the Intelligence drain but sages, who are eager to learn more about these
also has a 50% chance of being mentally stunned for creatures and their strange ability.

50 &4
 Friend or Foe I: Paquin Crii
by Bryan Fazekas

Author's Note: This NPC is from my campaign world. This was not the Paquin Crii of old. He looked more
While the names are specific to my campaign, the NPC worn than typically does a man of thirty, and his
can be used in most campaign settings. left hand was replaced by a poniard. Hearing of his
friend's plight he staged a lone assault on the castle
and succeeded in releasing and escaping with Deley
History and other important prisoners.
Paquin Crii was born in the year 7866 ASNK in the Miltoat believed the Assassins Guild was
city/state of Refuge, into a family of great prestige responsible and began a vicious war upon that
and honor, but little wealth remaining. Being of organization. Three months later the war ended
high nobility he spent much of his youth in the abruptly with the death of the King and his
Grand Palace of Refuge. He grew up close friends immediate family. Gone also were the entire
with Deley Porsupah, nephew of the king Keken hierarchy of the Guild, a blow it never recovered
Miltoat. from.
Training together in the arts of combat, they went to His uncle dead, Deley assumed the throne. He
war against Refuge's rival trading port Nequat. In released all surviving political prisoners and
vicious fighting both young men showed great skill established a fair law system, repealing the harsh
and courage, and each received battle field honors measures implemented by his unlamented uncle.
for their many victories. He has ruled since that time with Crii at his right
Upon completion of the war Crii returned home to hand.
find his father dead and the little that remained of
the estate gone to pay creditors. With no family or
support he left Refuge for a life of adventure at the
Paquin Crii
tender age of 22. His life away from Refuge is Human Fighter 7 / Assassin 15; Align LE; hp 127;
almost entirely unknown. Str 18/41, Int 14, Wis 12, Dex 18, Con 16, Cha 14.
Miltoat employed strict measures during the four Thief Abilities:
years that the war with Nequat lasted. Becoming Pick Pockets:................................ 105%
paranoid with age, Miltoat chose not to repeal the Open Locks:................................... 82%
measures imposed by war. In the following years Find/Remove Traps:..................... 80%
further measures were added to the already strict Move Silently: ............................... 99%
ones. Taxes crushed the already weakened Hide in Shadows:.......................... 85%
economy. Hear Noise:.................................... 40%
Climb Walls:............................... 99.3%
A number of important and influential people spoke
Read Languages:........................... 65%
to the king, and when no results were gained, spoke
Backstab: ............................ 5x damage
openly against the measures. The most outspoken
Read Scrolls: .................................. 75%
were imprisoned on trumped up charges, and later
on no charges at all. When that did not quiet the Originally trained as a soldier, Crii is is reputed to
noisy voices more arrests were made and the most be a deadly swordsman, although he has not had to
vocal were executed regardless of station. publicly demonstrate his skill in years. He regularly
practices at the Royal School for Guardsmen, so
Among the arrested were the King's nephew Deley.
none doubt his ability is as deadly now as it ever
The young man had been imprisoned for several
was. It is rumored that his poniard is enchanted
years imprisoned when Crii returned to Refuge.
stronger than his sword, but that rumor has never

&4 51
been verified. In fact, he is double-specialized in
short sword, attacking twice per round at +3 to-hit
and damage. His lost left hand was replaced by a Sadistic DM Alert
short poniard many years ago, and by the time he The NPC history was provided as background
returned to Refuge he was accomplished in two to the characters of my second campaign during
weapon fighting, striking a third time each round the mid-80's. This party included a paladin who
with the poniard (treat it as a dagger). was (obviously) good aligned. The party worked
Crii's training as an assassin has given him periodically for Crii (originally named for a
exceptional ability with thrown daggers. All his memorable Terry Brooks character in The Sword
daggers, including the magical ones, are specially of Shannara) and became favorites of the assassin.
weighted so he gets his full strength bonus to-hit He supplied them with a lot of assignments
and damage, in addition to +3 to-hit for dexterity. which fit their good alignment and general
His range with these daggers is twice normal range abilities.
and he can assassinate with thrown daggers at As explained, after the destruction of the
medium range. original Assassins’ Guild, Crii rebuilt it and
His items include: Short Sword +4, Dagger +3, became the Guild Master. Since Crii is a great
Dagger +1, 4x non-magical daggers, Bracers of actor and the paladin never thought to Detect
Defense AC2, Ring of Protection +3, Cloak of Evil on his great friend and patron, things went
Protection +3, Banded Mail +3, 100' Rope of on for years of game time with a paladin happily
Climbing, Ring of Shadows. He normally wears working for the Grandfather of Assassins! [IMC
his Bracers, Ring of Protection, and Cloak of a paladin has to concentrate on Detect Evil to
Protection, giving him AC -8. In field situations he make it function. It's not automatic radar.]
wears his magic banded bail with an effective AC of When the campaign ended I told the players
-3. who Crii was. There is still a dent in my parent's
Crii is currently in his mid-50's. His beard is solid dining room table where the paladin's player's
grey although his hair remains dark excepting grey chin hit the table. That is my finest moment as a
in the temples. His public persona is "playboy", he DM!
always has a woman on his arm during public DMs are the most sadistic and cruel people
events although rarely the same one twice. He never imaginable, aren't we?
married and apparently has produced no bastards.
His private life is just that – private. Even Deley
knows little of Crii's personal affairs. organization that is far stronger that it had been
under the previous leadership.

Behind the Scenes Crii's friendship and devotion to the king are not
feigned. There is literally nothing he will not do to
During the civil war Crii negotiated with the protect his childhood friend. Under his tenure the
Assassins Guild to gain its cooperation in the fight, direction of the Guild changed so that it is more
utilizing them to remove Miltoat's supporters. At aptly termed the secret police of the kingdom than a
the conclusion of the final battle Crii orchestrated criminal organization. However, even the top
the total destruction of the Guild leadership and leaders don't fully realize the guild's position as
quietly assumed control during rebuilding. protector of the kingdom.
His control over the Guild is absolute. Only the top Assassination in the kingdom is kept low key. Paid
three leaders in the guild know who the jobs always look like accidents or the work of
Guildmaster is, and they received a Geas to never foreign thieves or brigands. No evidence that there
indicate his identity to anyone. They control an is an Assassins Guild in Refuge ever surfaces –

52 &4
everyone knows it was aligned with Miltoat and all
members killed or fled at the end of the civil war. Beard
Traitors to the throne are publicly exposed or by Billi Griffon, Dusty Underhill,
framed, and then publicly executed. Guild members and Frank Nobeard
are expected to learn the soft arts of assassination as
(with apologies to ZZ Top)
well as the more direct means. The Guild pulls the
strings in several nearby kingdoms where the local She's got a beard, she knows how to use it.
Guild Master, a servant of the Refuge guild, does One to be feared, she's no one to fool with.
not put the same pretty face on the guild.
She's holding beard, wondering how to feel it.
Non-member assassins are required to join the
Would you touch and stroke it, she's not going
Guild (if they prove acceptable) and abide by its
to cloak it.
rules, to find alternate means of employment, or to
leave the kingdoms. The Guild typically places She's my lady, she's my baby,
blame on non-members when the assassination of
And it's alright.
person of high station occurs, so a few are "allowed"
to operate independently until needed as the patsy. She's got a beard, down to her shin bones,

The guild leadership is required to carefully I'm kinda skeered, she doesn't want to leave
consider what jobs they accept, and to consider who home.
customer and the victim are. Crii is known to The other guys, ask me where I found her.
override decisions and occasionally customers will
I never say, the secret's all mine.
die at the hands of foreign thieves during a home
invasion, or similar unsuspicious circumstances. She's so fine, she's all mine,
Crii's deciding factor is the long term good of Deley
When I come home at night.
and the kingdom.
She's got a beard, she knows how to use it.
Crii's friends are wide ranging, including many
notables in the kingdom. His most noted friend is One to be feared, she's no one to fool with
the paladin Avatar, who is known widely for his She makes me happy, all of the day.
many exploits in the destruction of evil. Regardless
of what happened to Crii during his "lost years", he She is so crazy, in her own way.
is a member of the high nobility, the product of And I love her, Yeah I love her,
many generations of breeding. The only thing he
My lady's alright.
places above his own honor is the safety of his
closest friends.

Thrown Punch This spell allows a magic-user to "throw" a punch a distance of 20' +
Level: Magic-User 2 1'/level. The punch always strikes, causing 1d3 hps of damage.
Type: Necromancy The caster selects his one target (the target of the spell may not be
Range: 20' + 1'level switched), and can deliver a total number of punches equal to 1/2 his
Duration: see below level (rounded down, minimum of one punch), at a rate of 2 punches
Area of effect: 1 target per round.
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 2 segments The material component of this spell is a strip of leather wrapped
Saving Throw: none around the caster's fist.
Source: Andrew Hamilton

&4 53
 Friend or Foe II: Three Dwarven Weaponsmiths
by Nicole Massey

other two miss that really enhance the result. Frank

These three smiths work together at all times. They
plays drums when the three make music.
maintain a large shop in the city near the
intersection of the dwarven quarter and the All three are first rate enchanters, with skill that
warehouse district. . These three smiths are known parallels all but the most famous historical forgers.
for three things – fine weapons, beautiful coaches, Their shop can turn out weapons, armor, or even
and loud music. They always travel in an ornate red firearms to dwarves. After the shop closes at night,
coach made of metal. they play, and their magically enhanced
instruments are very loud.
The leader of the trio is Billi Gryphon:
All three of them
Mountain dwarf fighter level 11; hp 100; AC 1; MV
are allegedly
9"; #AT 2j; D 1d8+7; AL NG; wears banded mail and
married to
carries a battle axe.
extremely beautiful
Str 18/79; Int 17; Wis 12; Dex 14; Con 17; Cha 6; elven women who
Com 5. have been known
He’s a dark haired dwarf with shining black eyes. to use the hard to
His beard is so long, it garners envy from all miss red coach to
dwarves who see it. Billi is the conceptual leader of travel around the city and help worthy folks with
the group, and most of the new designs are his. Billi their problems, often in a forceful and exotic way.
also plays the lute. These three women tend to act instead of speaking,
and their method is to empower those they help
Dusty Underhill is the second of the trio.
instead of solving their problems for them.
Hill dwarf fighter level 12; hp 111; AC -1; MV 9";
Billi's Wife, high elf magic user level 10, druid level
#AT 2; D 1d4+8; AL NG; wears plate mail and
10; hp 46; AC 3; MV 12"; #AT 1; D 1d8+3; AL CG;
carries war hammer.
wears leather armor and carries scimitar.
Str 18/62; Int 16; Wis 14; Dex 15; Con 16; Cha 5;
Str; 12 Int 18; Wis 15; Dex 16; Con 13; Cha 18;
Com 7.
Com 24.
He is a darker dwarf, and he is often the one to
Dusty's Wife, wood elf fighter level 10, magic user
solve practical problems. Dusty plays a big bass viol
level 10; hp 50; AC -3; MV 12"; #AT 2; D 1d8+3; AL
that most people would think is too tall for him to
CG; wears plate mail and carries long sword.
play.
Str 17; Int 19; Wis 8; Dex 17; Con 16; Cha 16;
The third member of the trio is Frank Nobeard.
Com 23.
Mountain dwarf fighter level 10, cleric level 10; hp
Frank's Wife, grey elf cleric level 10, thief level 10;
92; AC -1; MV 9"; #AT 2; D 1d6+9; AL NG; wears
hp 70; AC 1; MV 12"; #AT 1; D 1d8+2; AL CG; wears
chain mail and carries mace.
leather armor and carries long sword.
Str 18/93; Int 15; Wis 18; Dex 16; Con 15; Cha 7;
Str 12; Int 11; Wis 18; Dex 19; Con 8; Cha 17;
Com 6.
Com 22.
Frank is clean shaven, either by choice or genetics,
* Note that levels for all above may exceed level
no one is sure which, and he doesn’t talk about it.
limits because the above weren't trained using
Frank is the execution man, leading the crews to
human guilds.
construct the designs the other two create. He also is
great with the details, offering modifications the

54 &4
 The Toybox: New Weapons I
by Nicole Massey

I've garnered a reputation among friends and AC/AC Modifier either provides the armor class the
acquaintances as someone who is good at providing item provides (mostly in the case of armor), or if it's
statistics for weapons in role-playing games. This a negative number it is the modifier to armor class
has also been something of a passion of mine, as I when used as a defensive item.
run my primary game world in three different
The same goes for THAC0/To Hit Mod – this either
systems – First Edition AD&D, Rolemaster 2, and
covers the value to hit armor class 0, or a
Artistry. (Artistry is currently unpublished, and is a
modification to that value. THAC0 mostly applies to
game of my own design, with a lot of help from
siege engines and other things that have their own
others.) To this end I've had to convert all weapons
to hit value.
across all three systems, meaning I've had to fill in
the gaps between AD&D and Rolemaster, which has Storage capacity is how much in gold pieces one can
been interesting. For example, Rolemaster starts store in the item. This may seem a bit odd but any
with a single generic pole arm. I've also encountered container that has an end that is sealed or can be
other weapons that I felt needed inclusion in the sealed can hold things.
game. To that end, the next few Toy Box columns All other values are self-explanatory. A double dash
will include these weapons. means the particular statistic is not applicable for
Some folks may have noticed the slightly different that particular item.
fields in the formats I use for items. These all stem So, now, on to the weapons. Note: if you have any
from the Commonly Purchased Items and Services weapons you can't find, shoot me an email and I'll
spreadsheet, which I hope to get into netbook see what I can dig up. Also check the Dragondex for
format when time permits and we can figure out the any weapons you haven't been able to find.
exact layout we're going to use. Some explanation
might be helpful.
Category: Arms – Blades
Each item has a wide range of statistics, including
combat values. Yes, you saw that right, there are
combat values for any item that is small enough and Estock
maneuverable enough to use for offense or defense. Unit size: Each
This allows a lot more flexibility, and gives the Price: 16gp
referee the option of letting characters take a Encumbrance: 0
weapon proficiency in chair or frying pan if he or Length: 3'-6'
she is so inclined. Width: 6"
HP/DP: n/a
Unit Size: how many of the item is purchased for
Damage (S/M): 1d6
the price indicated.
Damage (L): 1d6
Encumbrance: how much encumbrance (in gold Speed: 4
piece value, of course) the item consumes. Rate of Fire: -
Length and Width: Size of the weapon in feet or Range (S): 7'
inches, the actual measurement. Range (M): 8'
Range (L): 9'
HP/DP: number of hit points or damage points (for AC/AC Mod: 0
structures) the item can take before becoming THAC0: 0
unusable. Storage Cap: 0
Where Found: Weaponsmith

&4 55
When Found: Medieval Damage (S/M): 1-8
Zone: Any Damage (L): 1d6
Speed: 7
This weapon is ostensibly a sword, as it has a
Rate of Fire: 1
double-edged blade at part of its length. However
Range (S): 1
the lower part of the blade is unedged, while the
Range (M): 1
point is sharp. This is a weapon specifically
Range (L): 1.5
designed to pierce armor, especially plate, to deliver
AC/AC Mod: --
killing blows against downed opponents by
THAC0: 0
penetrating the metal plates of the armor. The user
Storage Cap: 0
places one hand on the grip and the other on the
Where Found: Armorer
non-edged part and stabs his or her target.
When Found: Primitive
(Converted from Rolemaster)
Zone: Any

Main-Gauche A buckler shield with two gazelle or other similar

animal horns mounted to it. It provides excellent
Unit size: Each
defensive capabilities and some minor offensive
Price: 3gp
uses. This weapon is similar to the sang khaw from
Encumbrance: 20
the Oriental Adventures setting, but originates in
Length: 0.5' to 1.5'
Africa.
Width: 6"
HP/DP: n/a
Damage(S/M): 1d4 Poniard
Damage (L): 1d3 Unit size: Each
Speed: 2 Price: 2gp
Rate of Fire: - Encumbrance: 10
Range (S): - Length: 2'
Range (M): - Width: 0.5"
Range (L): - HP/DP: n/a
AC/AC Mod: -1 Damage (S/M): 1d6
THAC0: 0 Damage (L): 1d6
Storage Cap: 0 Speed: 3
Where Found: Weapon smith Rate of Fire: -
When Found: Renaissance Range (S): 6'
Zone: Any Range (M): 7'
Range (L): 8'
A dagger with a protective sheet of metal attached
AC/AC Mod: 0
at the quillions base and the pommel, providing
THAC0: 0
knuckle and hand protection and designed for the
Storage Cap: 0
offhand as a parrying and attack weapon
Where Found: Weapon smith
When Found: Medieval
Matu
Zone: Any
Unit size: Each
A slim metal shaft, similar to a shortened foil blade,
Price: 3gp
with a chisel point on the end, specifically designed
Encumbrance: 75
to penetrate the cracks in metal armor.
Length: 5.5' to 6'
Width: 10" to 18"
HP/DP: n/a

56 &4
Sword, Foil Speed: 4
Unit size: Each Rate of Fire: -
Price: 3gp Range (S): -
Encumbrance: 0 Range (M): -
Length: 2.5' to 3.5' Range (L): -
Width: 5" AC/AC Mod: --
HP/DP: n/a THAC0: 0
Damage (S/M): 1d4 Storage Cap: 0
Damage (L): 1d3 Where Found: Weapon smith
Speed: 2 When Found: Renaissance
Rate of Fire: - Zone: Any
Range (S): 7' A very slim sword with a very sharp double edge
Range (M): 8' and point designed to pierce and slash. This
Range (L): 9' weapon cannot parry heavier blades like
AC/AC Mod: 0 broadswords or mass weapons, so dexterity is a
THAC0: 0 factor in keeping from being hit in such situations.
Storage Cap: 0
***
Where Found: Weapon smith
When Found: Renaissance Of course fighters can use all of these weapons,
Zone: Any while none of them are available to clerics, druids,
or monks, though any class that can use a shield can
An unsharpened parrying and practice rapier, much
use a matu. Magic-users and illusionists can use
slimmer than a standard rapier blade. Usually
poniards and main gauche, but none of the rest.
blunted, but sometimes pointed.
Thieves can also use the poniard, estock, or main
gauche, while assassins can use all of them like
Sword, Rapier fighters. Cavaliers eschew the matu, but can use the
Unit size: Each rest, while paladins also avoid the foil and rapier.
Price: 15gp Rangers can use any weapon, but will tend to not
Encumbrance: 35 use foils, rapiers, or poniards and estocks. There
Length: 3'-5' you have it. Next time more weapons.
Width: 1"
HP/DP: n/a
Damage (S/M): 1d6+1
Damage (L): 1d8+1

Weapon vs. Armor Adjustments table

AC 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Estock -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 -1 0
Main-Gauche -4 -4 -3 -3 -2 -2 0 0 1 1 3
Matu -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 0 0 1
Poniard -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 -1 0
Sword, Foil -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 -1 0
Sword, Rapier -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 1 2 3 4

&4 57
 Spell Caster's Paradise I: Beefing Up Cure X Wounds Spells
This monthly column features new spells.
by Bryan Fazekas

raises the minimum healed. I have included this as

A couple of years ago I initiated an online
an optional rule in the following five spells.
discussion regarding beefing up AD&D clerical
Cure X Wounds spells. Magic user spells grow
significantly with level, yet a 20th level cleric can Cure Light Wounds
still produce a 1 hp Cure Light Wounds (CLW). It
didn't seem right but I was lost in my search for a Level: Cleric 1
way to beef things up without over doing it. Type: Necromancy
Reversible
People responded with a number of interesting Range: touch
ideas, some of which were far more complicated Duration: Instantaneous (Permanent)
than I had any interest in figuring out during a Area of effect: Creature Touched
game. Others produced ideas like adding the cleric's Components: V, S
level to the cured hit points value, e.g., a CLW cast Casting Time: 5 segments
by a 5th level cleric would heal 1d8+5 hp of damage. Saving Throw: None
Or adding half the cleric' level to the amount healed.
This sounded close but wasn't quite what I wanted. Cure Light Wounds allows the cleric to lay hands
upon a wounded creature, healing up to 1d8 hit
Another problem was the way the Cure Light, points of damage to the spell's beneficiary. This
Serious, and Critical Wounds spells were not an spell does not heal disease, reattach limbs, or bring
even progression. I have yet to understand the back the dead, nor can it add hit points beyond a
progression, other than maybe evening out the character's normal maximum number. Non-
cleric spell lists? corporeal creatures are not affected by this spell, nor
The solution to my quandary came from Frank are undead, or creatures harmed only by iron,
Mentzer, author of the D&D Basic/Expert/Companion/ silver, or magical weapons.
Masters/Immortals (BECMI) sets. He posted what he The reverse of the spell operates in the same manner
would have done had he written AD&D 2E, which (although requiring a to hit roll), inflicting 1d8 hit
was to make five Cure X Wounds spells for spell points of damage. If the cleric fails to hit while
levels 1 to 5. Each level heals 1d8 hp times the level casting Cause Light Wounds the spell is lost.
of the spell, e.g., the Level 3 spell cures 3d8 hp of
damage. This evens out the progression and better Optional:
addresses the needs of higher level adventuring.
Level Points Healed
In my campaign I replaced the original Cure Light,
Serious, and Critical Wounds spells with the 1 1d8
following spells. I use the same system for druids as 3 1d6 + 2
well. 5 1d4 + 4
Disclaimer: Frank Mentzer is the real author of 7 1d2 + 6
these spells. I was simply the scribe, recording his 9+ 8
ideas.
The level of the cleric casting the spell may affect the
Frank further postulated a system for improving
minimum hit points healed by this spell. The roll
results as the cleric's level increases. Instead of
used to determine the number of points of damage
boosting the maximum hp healed, Frank's system
healed changes every 2 levels, increasing the

58 &4
minimum value while not altering the maximum
value. Regardless of caster level this spell heals a
maximum of 8 points of damage. What Does That Spell Cost?
Note: This optional rule applies only to curing of Pages 103 and 104 of the Dungeon Masters
wounds. Caused wounds are rolled normally, e.g., Guide contains a section on hiring NPC clerics
1d8. to cast spells. There is a table listing suggested
costs. The following table extends the figures
Cure Moderate Wounds for Cure spells to cover all spells listed in this
article.
Level: Cleric 2
Type: Necromancy Note that the cost of NPCs casting spells may
Reversible vary by locale, NPC alignment, difference
Range: touch between the PC and NPC alignment, and/or
Duration: Instantaneous (Permanent) DM fiat.
Area of effect: Creature Touched
Components: V, S Spell Cost (GP)
Casting Time: 6 segments Cure Light Wounds 100
Saving Throw: None Cure Moderate Wounds 225
A benison similar to Cure Light Wounds, this spell Cure Serious Wounds 350
permits the cleric to lay on hands for 2d8+1 hit Cure Grievous Wounds 475
points of healing. The spell's limits are otherwise
Cure Critical Wounds 600
similar to those of Cure Light Wounds. The reverse
of the spell (Cause Moderate Wounds) inflicts
damage rather than healing, requiring that the cleric
successfully touch the target. Area of effect: Creature Touched
Components: V, S
Optionally, the level of the cleric casting the spell
Casting Time: 7 segments
may affect the minimum hit points healed by this
Saving Throw: None
spell while not changing the maximum healed.
A benison similar to Cure Light Wounds, this spell
Level Points Healed permits the cleric to lay on hands for 3d8+2 hit
points of healing. The spell's limits are otherwise
3 2d6 + 5
similar to those of Cure Light Wounds. The reverse
5 2d4 + 9
of the spell (Cause Serious Wounds) inflicts
7 2d2 + 13 damage rather than healing, requiring that the cleric
9+ 17 successfully touch the target.

Note: Caused wounds are rolled normally, e.g., Optionally, the level of the cleric casting the spell
2d8+1. may affect the minimum hit points healed by this
spell while not changing the maximum healed.

Cure Serious Wounds Level Points Healed

Level: Cleric 3 5 3d4 + 14
Type: Necromancy 7 3d2 + 20
Reversible
9+ 26
Range: touch
Duration: Instantaneous (Permanent)

&4 59
Note: Caused wounds are rolled normally, e.g., similar to those of Cure Light Wounds. The reverse
3d8+2. of the spell (Cause Critical Wounds) inflicts
damage rather than healing, requiring that the cleric
successfully touch the target.
Cure Grievous Wounds
Optionally, the level of the cleric casting the spell
Level: Cleric 4 may affect the minimum hit points healed by this
Type: Necromancy spell while not changing the maximum healed.
Reversible
Range: touch
Level Points Healed
Duration: Instantaneous (Permanent)
9+ 44
Area of effect: Creature Touched
Components: V, S Note: Caused wounds are rolled normally, e.g.,
Casting Time: 8 segments 5d8+4.
Saving Throw: None
A benison similar to Cure Light Wounds, this spell
permits the cleric to lay on hands for 4d8+3 hit
This bonus cleric spell is the antithesis of the Cure
points of healing. The spell's limits are otherwise
Wounds spells!
similar to those of Cure Light Wounds. The reverse
of the spell (Cause Grievous Wounds) inflicts
damage rather than healing, requiring that the cleric Righteous Rage
successfully touch the target.
Level: Cleric 5
Optionally, the level of the cleric casting the spell Type: Enchantment/Charm
may affect the minimum hit points healed by this Range: touch
spell while not changing the maximum healed. Duration: 1 round/level
Area of effect: one person
Level Points Healed Components: V, S, M
7 4d2 + 27 Casting Time: 1 round
9+ 35 Saving Throw: None
A spell often used by clerics who worship gods
Note: Caused wounds are rolled normally, e.g.,
of war, the Righteous Rage spell is similar in
4d8+3.
effect to the spell Aid, although with a far
greater benefit. The cleric (or other person)
Cure Critical Wounds under the effects of the spell gains +2 to hit and
damage, +2 to all saving throws, and receives a
Level: Cleric 5
temporary boost of hit points equal to 1d8 + the
Type: Necromancy
caster's level, e.g. a 9th level caster receives
Reversible
1d8+9 temporary hit points.
Range: touch
Duration: Instantaneous (Permanent) While under the effects of the Righteous Rage,
Area of effect: Creature Touched the cleric is immune to all fear and charm
Components: V, S effects, and radiates such am powerful aura
Casting Time: 9 segments that all turning attempts are treated as if the
Saving Throw: None cleric is 1 level higher. The material component
is the cleric's holy symbol.
A benison similar to Cure Light Wounds, this spell
permits the cleric to lay on hands for 5d8+4 hit Source: Andrew Hamilton
points of healing. The spell's limits are otherwise

60 &4
 Spell Caster's Paradise II: More Spells
by Nicole Massey

Finefingers Piercing
Level: Magic User 1 Level: Magic User 3
Type: Alteration Type: Evocation
Reversible Range: Touch
Range: touch Duration: Special
Duration: special Area of effect: 1 pointed or sharpened missile
Area of effect: special Components: V, S, M
Components: S Casting Time: 3 Segments
Casting Time: 1 segment Saving Throw: None
Saving Throw: special
When cast on an arrow or other pointed missile and
When cast this spell grants a +1 or +5% bonus per fired the missile will penetrate the target and lodge
level of caster for fine motor skill movements. This in targets behind the target, up to the number of
relates to thieving skills like open locks or targets equal to the caster's level. So for example, a
find/remove traps as a direct bonus to the rank of warriors in formation marching two abreast
percentage, +1 for every 5% of bonus on dexterity hit by such a missile enchanted by a 10th level caster
based activities, and commensurate bonuses for would suffer the effects of the arrow going through
skills requiring dexterity as a primary component, the first ten combatants. The missile has to hit each
like rope use, weapon smithing, etc. target to do damage, and also for one level to be
used up, so if the missile missed the third person in
The reverse, Fumblefingers, does exactly the
the line then it would potentially harm the eleventh
opposite to the target touched. Fumblefingers can be
in the above example. The material component for
cast on a weapon or item, so a magic-user can cast it
this spell is a bit of grease rubbed on the point or
on a cloak or shirt, and a thief trying to backstab
edge of the weapon. Note that larger weapons like
will suffer the effects of the spell. The duration for
throwing axes and daggers will "skip" off targets
Finefingers is 1 turn, while that for Fumblefingers is
and bounce into the later ones.
1 continuous combat.

FarBow Giant Strength

Level: Magic User 4
Level: Magic User 3
Type: Alteration
Type: Alteration
Range: Touch
Range: touch
Duration: 6 turns/level
Duration: 1 round/level
Area of effect: Person touched
Area of effect: bow or missile weapon touched
Components: V, S, M
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 turn
Casting Time: 3 segments
Saving Throw: None
Saving Throw: none
When cast on a fighter or fighter sub-type or any
When this spell is cast on a bow or other missile
martial artist this spell raises the target's strength to
weapon all ranges greater than point blank are
a strength of 19-25. For each four levels the spell
doubled. This spell does not affect point blank or
caster has above 6th the strength is raised 1 point
inside ranges.
from a starting total of 18, so a 7th level caster

&4 61
would grant a strength of 19, a 11th level caster lock of hair from any type of giant, though the type
would provide a 20, etc. For non-fighter types the of giant limits the spell to the strength of that
target's strength is raised to 19 for the duration of particular giant type.
the spell. The material component of this spell is a

More bonus spells from the mind of Andrew Hamilton

Mighty Blow Mighty Throw

Level: Magic User 1 Level: Magic User 1
Type: Conjuration/Summoning Type: Evocation
Range: touch Range: 0"
Duration: one punch Duration: 1 round
Area of effect: one target Area of effect: caster and one item
Components: V, S, M Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 segment Casting Time: 1 segment
Saving Throw: see below Saving Throw: N/A
Researched by a magic-user who was involved in a This spell allows a magic-user to throw an object a
few too many bar room brawls, the mighty blow great distance. The caster is able to throw an item
spell allows a magic-user to deliver a single punch with a maximum weight equal to (2 x Strength
of incredible force. The mighty blow provides a score) + (5 x his level), and throw that weight a
damage bonus of +1 hp/caster level (to a maximum distance equal to (2 x Strength) + (5'/level).
+12 damage) to a punch or kick. In addition (if using
If the object being thrown has a weight of 1/2 to 3/4
Appendix Q, System II in Unearthed Arcana), the
the maximum allowable weight, the distance
blow is treated as "large, hard" object, and the
thrown is increased by 50%. If the object being
caster's level is added to their strength to determine
thrown has a weight of less than 1/2 the maximum
stunning likelihood. In all cases, the target must
allowable weight, the distance that the object can be
save verse death magic or be knocked prone.
thrown is doubled.
The spell is only good for a single blow, but the
For example, a 1st level magic-user with a Strength
spell remains active for 1 round/3 levels of the
of 10 can throw a 23 lb weight a distance of 25'. A
caster. For example, a 1st level caster must land the
10th level magic-user with a Strength of 10 would
mighty blow during the 1st round, or the spell
be able to throw a 50 lb object a distance of 70'.
dissipates. A 4th level caster could swing and miss
in the 1st melee round, but would still have a
chance to deliver the blow in the 2nd melee round.
There is no saving throw against the damage or the
increased knock-out percentage, but there is a save
against the knock-down. The material component of
the spell is a few hairs from a mule's tail.
Note: this spell would be suitable as a 2nd level
spell (5 segment casting time) for clerics who
worship gods of battle or strength.

62 &4
 Domiciles & Emporia: H'bort's Scrap & Armaments
Used Armor & Weaponry
by Nicole Massey

Owner: H'bort Fenster is a gnarled and twisted Exterior Description: This broken down warehouse
dwarf of a man, possibly the most time worn has seen better days. Windows are high up and full
human in the city. He doesn't like anyone, and the of roundel glass, so it's rough to see past the swirls
feeling is mutual for most folks. He prefers to be left to find anything inside. The building is of
alone when he's not either buying or selling weathered stone in regular blocks, and the roof is a
something. He's five foot even, with stringy grey mixture of old wooden shingle and thatch, which
hair and brown eyes that are almost black. His time leaks in the rain and lets the temperature in. The
in his scrap yard has given him a deep rich tan, and large exterior doors are most often locked, so
he seems to be impervious to temperature changes, anyone doing business uses the set of normal sized
always wearing a loincloth and sandals under a thin double doors, which can be a pain when selling
robe cut at the knees and with no sleeves. ("They large amounts of armor or weaponry.
just get in my way.")
Interior Description: The inside of the warehouse is
H'bort Fenster; human; AC6; MV 12"; C/A 3/3; HP full of rows of armor pieces, worn or broken
22; #AT 1; D 1d6+3; unarmored and mace weaponry, and other metal items in piles and rows.
The condition ranges between fair and rusty. Inside
Spells: Detect Magic (x2), Cause Light Wounds
the double doors there's a large vardo (gypsy
(x2), Hold Person (x2).
wagon) with a yoke for four horses – this is where
Hours of Operation: Sunrise to sunset, and he's H'bort lives and conducts his business. Further back
always here. See below for info on nighttime is another smaller vardo, and this is where his
activities. "assayer" lives, the hedge mage Noreth the Helpful.
Noreth the Helpful; human; AC10; MV 12"; MU2;
HP 6; #AT 1; D 1d4; unarmored and dagger
Spells: Identify, Detect Magic.
Price Range: Cheap to Fair
Quality Range: Shoddy to Fair
Outstanding Items: None, any magical items are
quickly identified by Noreth and disappear soon
afterward.
Cash Box: H'bort keeps a safe in his vardo, and he
keeps current transactions on his person. The safe is
a very hard one to pick. (-40% to picking rolls)

Occupants:
Staff: H'bort has eight guards he pays to protect the
building. None of them like him in the least, but he
pays well.
Guard 1; Human; AC 5; MV 9"; F4; hp 44; #AT 1; D
2d4+1; AL LN; broadsword

&4 63
Guard 2; Human; AC 5; MV 9"; F1; hp 9; #AT 1; D H'bort carries a Mace +2 at all times. Noreth doesn't
2d4; AL LN; broadsword know about any of this, as he's a rather clueless man
who spends all his time identifying magic items.
Guard 3; Human; AC 5; MV 9"; F2; hp 14; #AT 1; D
(It's his only spell, as he's a hedge mage, not a real
1d8; AL LN; long sword
magic-user)
Guard 4; Half Orc; AC 4; MV 9"; F1; hp 12; #AT 1; D
Additional Information: H'bort will buy weapons
1d6+3; AL LN; club
and armor from player characters at one fourth the
Guard 5; Human; AC 5; MV 9"; F1; hp 8; #AT 1; D listed prices for low quality items and one third the
1d4+1; AL LN; hammer price (rounded down, of course) for things of better
Guard 6; Human; AC 5; MV 9"; F3; hp 34; #AT 1; D quality. He sells everything at half the listed price,
2d4+1; AL LN; broadsword but remember anything of decent quality is already
in an orcish hand somewhere. There is a 2% chance
Guard 7; Half Elf; AC 3; MV 9"; F2; hp 16; #AT 1; D
that any second encounter with an orcish band in
2d4; AL LN; broadsword
the area will produce a weapon or piece of armor
Guard 8; dwarf; AC 5; MV 9"; F1; hp 13; #AT 1; D that the party sold to H'bort before, which may clue
1d8+4; AL LN; battle axe them in to the fact that something odd is going on
here. If H'bort is attacked he'll rely on his mace,
Customers: 1d4 customers will wander around the
saving his hold person spell to the very last minute.
space, pulling items out from piles of stuff. They're
He'll cry out, "Help, Guards! Thieves!" He hopes his
always escorted by a guard.
guards will keep the attackers from harming him so
Loiterers: 1d4 loiterers will look at things and try to he can keep doing business. He knows that casting a
get an idea of what is what and what it might be spell means he's out of business. He will try to get
worth. There's a 5% chance a thief will be there the guards to distract the attackers so he can
casing the joint, as H'bort is rumored to have a lot of backstab them when they're not looking.
money. Guards accompany these as well, and no
one is allowed to wander without an escort, so some
may be by the doors waiting for a guard to free up.
NPC Encounters: Just about anyone looking for
cheap weapons and metal armor will be here. A
Bolts of Lightning
large portion of the militia got their first weapon
and armor here, and many of them still wear and by Bryan Fazekas
use their purchases years later. These bolts are normally light crossbow bolts,
although heavy crossbow bolts may be found.
Special Options: H'bort isn't what he seems to be.
When striking a target a Lightning Bolt is
He's an orc polymorphed into a human shape. He unleashed, consuming the bolt.
runs this business strictly to get decent weapons to
The lightning bolt inflicts 6d6 points of damage,
support his orc band, and this is why magic items
and the creature struck by the crossbow bolt
and weapons of quality are never found here. He receives no saving throw, but any creatures in the
closes at sundown because he does his real business path of the lightning stroke do. Whether striking a
at night, sending the items of quality to his brethren. target or not, the bolt will break.
The eight guards will reveal, if questioned, that Note that the lightning stroke is 5' wide and 30'
H'bort does business at night too, but that he orders long. If a solid object is within the stroke, say a
them away when it's going on, as he doesn't need stone wall, the stroke will rebound to its full
them for these transactions. He also claims that at length, e.g., if a wall is 10' behind the victim the
night they're needed to guard, not meddle in his stroke will rebound 20', enveloping the shooter if
she is within 20' of the target.
affairs.

64 &4
 Mini-Adventure: Gnoll Tower
by Dan Rasaiah

A gnoll war-band has overrun a local

watchtower and slain the garrison.
From this base they are raiding the
surrounding area and caravan routes. A
gnoll shaman (Hroggnysh), has taken
residence in the tower, as the
psychotropic mushrooms growing in
the cellar are ideal for the concoction of
'Urrngu' which is ritually smoked
during ceremonies worshipping
Yeenoghu.
The storyline? The DM may choose
1)The PC's have been sought by the
authorities to investigate the tower;
2) The PCs happen along the road by
the tower; or
3) The PCs are searching for a local's
missing daughter (Emelie).

The Garrison
Unless noted, all gnolls are: 2 HD; MV
12"; #At 1; Dam 1d8; Align CE; armed
with long swords and wear chainmail
(AC5) and may have a shield (AC4).
collapsed. The tower surrounded by ten makeshift
2 gnoll leaders: AC4, hp 16, 16; XP 83, 83. purse: 6ep,
lean-to shelters. Half the gnoll garrison is located
7gp each.
here at any time, with the other half off
32 gnoll infantry troops: AC4; hp 10 each; XP 40 patrolling/raiding.
each; purse: 6ep, 5gp each.
16 gnoll archers: AC5, hp 10 each; XP 46 each; great Tower Level 1
bow (# Att 2; D 1d6); purse 7ep, 4gp each. The gnoll chieftain is normally here, accompanied
4 gnoll hyena handlers: AC5, hp 12 each; XP 52 by a pair of visiting flinds.
each; whip; purse: 7ep, 10gp each. Gnoll chieftain: AC 4; HD 3; hp 22; XP 148; two-
8 hyenas (Hp 12, XP 74) handed sword (Dam 1d10); purse 61sp, 46 ep, 74 gp,
3 gems 50gp.
Flind couple: AC 5; HD 2+33; hp 17, 12; XP 108, 88;
The Tower
flindbar (Dam 1d8), long sword; purse: 22sp, 34 ep,
The power is a simple 50' square two story structure 12gp, necklace 60gp.
atop a 200' hill overlooking a trade road. The south-
east corner wall of second story is partially

&4 65
Tower Level 2 Shroom Room
Hroggnysh: 5th level shaman; hp 32; XP 467; triple Guarded by 2 hyenas (hp 14, 13, XP 78, 76), there is
flail; purse: 23ep, 31gp, chalice 24gp, ring 80gp putrefying food with purplish mushrooms growing
("Emelie" engraved on band); Rope hemp 100', here (Poison type A if ingested). Secret door in SE
Potion of Climbing. corner

Spells: Cure Light Wounds, Darkness,

Protection From Good, Augury, Speak With Cave Passage
Animals, Resist Fire, Prayer. 5 piercers (AC 3; HD 2; hp 12 each; XP 54 each; Mv
1"; #At 1; Dam 1d6; Align N) hunt giant rats here.
2 gnoll attendants: 1st level shaman; hp 17, 14; XP
141, 132; triple flail; purse 9ep, 8gp each. There is a rat hole half way down passage, (halfling
or smaller can fit through), leads to small warren
Spells: Darkness, Protection From Good.
with 4d6 giant rats here at any one time. Giant rats:
2 gnoll leader bodyguards: hp 16, 16; XP 83, 83; long AC 7; HD 1/2; hp 3 each; 10 XP each; Mv 12"; #At 1;
sword; purse: 6ep, 7gp each. Dam 1d3; Align N(E). Another passage from the
Huge hyena: AC 7; HD 3; hp 22; XP 141; MV 12"; warren links to cellar.
#At 1; Dam 2d8; Align N. Fights to the death.
Pool
Room doubles as a shrine, all gnolls present will be
high on Urrngu: bonuses to Yeenoghu followers: +1 Pool is 10' deep, fed by small (1' thick) cracks.
to saving throws,+1 damage, +1d6 temporary hp, no Skeletal remains of human in banded mail, shield,
morale checks, 3/2 attacks, -1 to hit penalty. The short sword on pools edge. 14gp 21ep
effects last for 2d4 turns and the recipient must rest Grey ooze (AC 8; HD 3+3; hp 25; XP 325; Mv 1"; #At
for 1d4+6 hours after inhaling. 1; Dam 2d8; Align N) covers 30 sq ft of ceiling.
There are two sets corroded chain mail, a shield,
and short sword on ground as well as assorted gems
Cellar/Redoubt
worth 43gpv.
Stolen goods (worth 500 gpv) are stored here. The
gnolls will fall back to this room and make their last
Cave Passage
stand. Supply stacks act as 50% cover (-4 AC). There
is a giant rat hole SE corner Upward sloping, 12 stirges roosting (hp 6, XPV 47 ).

66 &4
Cave Exit
With daylight shining through, partially
obstructed by heavy vine creepers
growing down, this exit is 20' up a dry
creek bed wall. Make a Dex check when
exiting via creeper vines. A fall results in
3d6 damage, save for half.

Bridge Crossing
There is a 30% chance a Gnoll patrol
waiting for passing caravans. The patrol
will be: 8 gnoll infantry, 4 gnoll archers, 1
hyena handler, 2 hyenas, and 1 gnoll
leader (see area 2 for stats).

Continuing the Adventure

Now that the Urrngu supply chain has
been interrupted, local gnoll
tribes/shamans will be investigating …
there is a potential adventure for the
party to 'defend the tower'.
Since there is no evidence of Emelie's
death, other than her bracelet, it may be
that she is alive. The party may be hired
to find her or evidence of her death.
Emelie's bereaved family offers a bounty
for gnoll scalps, leading to gnoll hunts.
Sketches and symbols in the shrine room
portray construction of a Yeenoghu
ziggurat in the deep forest … a
dangerous portent?

&4 67
 One Page Dungeon: Kelpies
by Andrew Hamilton

This column features an adventure which covers the front and back of 1 sheet.
Texts Required: PHB, DMG, Fiend Folio
Monster: Stirges, Alligators, Kelpie
Terrain: Hills,
Party levels: 3rd to 5th level, combined
party levels of 22 to 26
Experience:
Total: 4,166 xp
Monsters: 1,764 xp
Treasure: 2,402 xp

The Set Up
There is a lot going on at the old mill, and
the party could conceivably get there
investigating the tales of a haunting and
missing explorers, or they could get there
following a flock of stirges.
The party hears a number of stories about
a "haunted" mill-house, including tales
that some local youths who went there on
a "dare" a few weeks back went missing. 6+d6' deep) is home to 3 large alligators that eat the
The local farmers are complaining that their fish in the pond, animals that come to the pond to
livestock is becoming sickly and ill, like it is being drink, and the remains of the kelpie's victims. The
preyed upon. A few days back, a local shepherd alligators will begin to slowly drift toward the
was found dead at his campsite. All signs point to party, hoping to attack with surprise. They have
stirges, and the locals would like someone to find learned to be patient however, and will wait until
their nest and deal with them. the kelpie charms a victim. If the charm is
successful, the alligators will not attack the charmed
individual, instead waiting to attack any rescuers.
The Old Mill Fighting in the water, and the muddy bottom, is
As noted in the "Set Up", the haunted mill house is a difficult for adventurers (but does not hamper the
busy place, and both the building and the mill pond alligators).
are home to monsters. If the party takes some time Those fighting on the muddy bank or water up to
to scout the area, they will notice that part of the the knee suffer a -1 to AC, initiative, and to hit.
building's roof and wall has collapsed, and a large
Those in water deeper than the knee but up to the
gaping hole provides easy access to the interior.
waist suffer a loss of all Dexterity bonuses, -1 to AC,
There is a pile of camping supplies down by the
and a -2 to hit rolls.
mill-pond shore, and a canteen lying on the bank. It
looks like there may have been a struggle there. Those in water deeper than the waist and up to the
shoulders suffer a loss of all Dexterity bonuses, -1 to
The mill pond (which is 1 to 2' shallow for only the
first d6 feet from the bank, and then dropping to

68 &4
AC, and a -3 to hit & damage rolls, and may not use several rusty weapons; a ruined longbow; a great
a shield. helm; a suit of Plate Mail +1 (which is scattered
about and will be found in pieces); a belt pouch
Those swimming (i.e. are in water deeper than the
containing 53 sp and two 100 gp gems; a dagger
shoulders) cannot use weapons which must be
with a 500 gp emerald in the pommel; a rusty long
swung (i.e. no two handed swords, maces or axes),
sword in a jeweled scabbard (the scabbard is
may not use shields, lose all Dexterity bonuses, and
magical, worth 300 xp, and 1/day any weapon
strike at -4 to hit. They will also be susceptible to
drawn from the scabbard can create a faerie fire
drowning if wearing heavy armor.
effect on a struck or touched target at the 7th level
A loud melee or commotion during the day will of effect); a water-logged and ruined book (which
wake the stirges in the ruined building, and they appears to have been a spell book!) and the covers
will attack anyone on shore (the stirges will avoid are made of gold sheets (each worth 125 gp); and a
the water as they cannot swim). gold armband (worth 350 gp). Several hundred
Alligators (x 3): AC 5, HD 3, HP 19 each, M 6"//12", silver pieces have sunk into the mud, which will
ATK 2, Dmg 2d4 bite/d12 tail, SA surprise 3 in 6, SD make magic such as potions of treasure finding
n/a, AL N, Size L, XP 136 each (DM's note - as per effectively useless as treasure will appear to be
crocodile in the Monster Manual) "everywhere".

Kelpie (x 1): AC 3, HD 5, HP 27, M 9"//12", ATK nil,

Dmg nil, SA charm (save at -2), SD ½ damage from Loose Ends
fire, AL Neutral evil, Size M, XP 300
The ruined spell book may have remnants of a map
Inside the ruined building the party will find a large in it, or be marked with the wizard mark of a well-
nest of stirges (present during daylight hours, but known local magic-user (perhaps the book belonged
absent during the night as they are out hunting). to an apprentice of his). Returning it to the magic-
The stirges nest amongst the rafters, and the floor is user would help him "solve the mystery" of his
covered with guano. The stirges will wake up if missing apprentice, and might provide new
adventurers enter during the day, and drop from adventuring opportunities for the adventurers.
the rafters to attack (possibly gaining surprise).
Similarly, the plate mail might be emblazoned with
Stirges (x 22): AC 8, HD 1+1, HP 6 each, Mv 3"/18", the arms of a local noble family, and anyone
ATK 1, Dmg d3, SA attack as 4HD creature, blood wearing it will come to the attention of agents of
drain after 1st hit, d4 damage per melee round up to that family, and have some explaining to do.
12 hit points maximum, SD n/a, MR Standard, AL
N, Size S, XP 48 each

The Treasure Short Sword of Lightning

The stirges have no treasure, they prey on livestock by Bryan Fazekas
and leave their victims where they attack them.
One of these rare blades is noticeable because
A substantial amount of treasure has collected in the the blade is made of glassteel and the grip of
pond, as a result of the kelpie and alligators' ebony. It identifies as a +2 weapon with no
activities, but the treasure lies in the mud at the unusual qualities. However, on a natural 20 the
sword generates a lightning bolt 30' long and 5'
bottom of the mill-pond, and will require a great
wide, which inflicts 6d6 points of damage. The
deal of effort to sift through the muddy bottom creature struck gains no saving throw although
collecting coins, gear and other goods. others in the area do. When in hand the bearer
receives the benefit of lightning resistance.
On the bottom can be found a backpack containing
2 steel vials of holy water and a Potion of Healing;

&4 69
 For Further Reading

This month's reading list includes some of the major AD&D related sites which feature interactive forums.
Note that most, if not all of these forums will allow non-registered people to browse the forums, but posting
requires registration. Please note that our final entry in this list is NOT a forum!

Canonfire
Web Site:
Forum: [Link]

The Delver's Dungeon

Web Site: [Link]
Forum: [Link]

Dragonsfoot
Web Site: [Link] News Flash:
Forum: [Link] An & Magazine staff member will be
interviewed on the
24 February 2013 issue of
The Piazza Roll for Initiative!
Forum: [Link]

Roll for Initiative Podcast

Web Site: [Link]
Their forum has a different URL and name, OSR Gaming: [Link]

Gygax Magazine
Web Site: [Link]
The TSR company name was abandoned by Wizards of the Coast nine years ago but has been re-invigorated
by a group including Jayson Elliot, Ernie Gygax, Luke Gygax, Tim Kask, James Carpio, and Jim Wampler.
Following is a quote from Tim Kask:
Gygax is a gaming magazine for new and old players alike. We are looking forward to the games of
tomorrow and today, while preserving the traditions and history that got us where we are now.
Our articles and features cover current independent and major publisher games such as Pathfinder, Savage
Worlds, The One Ring, Shadowrun, Godlike, Labyrinth Lord, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Warhammer 40k
Roleplay, Traveller, and others, as well as classic out-of-print games with a modern following, like AD&D,
Top Secret, and Gamma World.
Our features include comics by Phil Foglio (What’s New With Phil and Dixie), Jim Wampler (Marvin the
Mage), and Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick). Contributors include Jim Ward, Cory Doctorow, James Carpio,
Ethan Gilsdorf, Dennis Sustare, and many more.

70 &4
 Map 1
Map by M.W. Poort AKA Fingolwyn

&4 71
 Each issue of & has a theme,
Stay tuned for & Issue #5:
and our goal is to ensure that at
least 60% of the articles match
Magic Items!
Coming in May 2013!
that theme.
Why?
To give our readers as much of This issue may include:
a good thing as we can!
Catching the Magic
Themes for upcoming issues
include: Magic-User Apprentices and Assistants
 Inner Planes
Weapon of Change
 Urban Adventures
 ??? When is a Weapon not a Weapon
What do YOU want to read? Non-Violent Magic Items
Our readers should help decide
what they read. Send your
ideas for themes to:
letters@[Link] Coming in May 2013, Issue #6:
But … ideas are only half the Wilderness Adventures
picture! We need to fill in the
other half, the articles! Do your This issue may include:
part to keep & full of interesting
things. Send your articles, Elven Horses
monsters, spells, items, and
anything else you can think of Magical Trees
to: submissions@[Link]
New Wilderness Spells
Magical Grasses

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