"By the Iron Boots of Gorslaug!"

Whilst the possession of a class, or classes, by the traditional "monster" races is no longer any great shock, I feel that the use of this device should be a distinct rarity. A classed monster is, should be, at least, a shock. Something that not only surprises the players (and player characters), but also something that forces a rethinking of the encounter.

Whether this rethinking causes long-term issues, philosophical quandaries, or a mere tactical reevaluation depends solely on the choice of the DM. Encountering an ogre fighter is a far different dilemma than encountering an ogre paladin...

Given my own idiosyncrasies, I lean towards the more startling and unusual. I prefer the classed monster to be a character unique in its own right, and since it is a special case, I desire it to be a special challenge. An ogre fighter is merely more powerful, an ogre fighter who is questing for a lost artifact in order to save his clan/smash the fortress of a heroic/villainous crusading order/bring about ruin to the orcish hordes/dwarven realms is a very different beast. As a result, I tend towards crafting quasi-opponents. These being characters that might combat the player characters, but are not necessarily destined to do so.

In accordance with this idea, I present a quick sketch of Morvidus ap Rivallo, a quickling necromancer.

More amoral than evil, Morvidus is brilliant, devious, and sly. He lacks the basic understanding, common to humans and demi-humans, of moral behaviour and, as such, can fit in well as a scheming villain who's ultimate goal will bring ruin to civilisation. Doubly so, since his class provides him the ability to manufacture unquestioning minions. However, he can also fill the role of the dubiously accepted ally. He'll find any paladin or cleric to be more baffling than obnoxious and can provide information or assistance in dealing with a truly evil foe.

He stands a mighty 2 feet, 3 inches tall and possesses the characteristic lean build of his kind. His skin is pale from hiding in haunted woodlands and libraries of dubious ethics which, combined with his black hair and lambent green eyes, gives him the appearance of a short and sinister apparition. His attire is as close to "villainous musketeer" as one is comfortable with, and, yes, that does include the waxed mustache and beard.

As his statistics will vary depending on his chosen role, I choose not to include them save to make note of two items he normally carries. These being a ring of water-walking and the dagger of ill-fortune (a long sword in his small, yet capable, hands). This latter item is of but a +1 enchantment, but also forces those struck to make a saving throw versus spells or be afflicted by a curse that causes them to suffer a -1 penalty on all saving throws for a full week.

The title of the post is his most common oath (which he may use profanely or not, as the mood strikes him) and possibly one of his goals (they being the footwear of the first and mightiest redcap).       
 

Bleakholme and Other Things...

I'll be trying to scan and post some of my written notes for Bleakholme in the next few weeks, as well as posting a few things about a Space/Psuedo-horror game.

And, well, various other things as long as I can transfer them from scattered notes to blog posts...

It's a great pity I think well in a completely disorganised fashion.

No One Killed Your Dog

I would love to comment on this, but the level of maturity shown on the part of JB makes it pointless.

That said, sometimes good, decent people who have lots in common fail to mesh well.

Let it be.

If I Weren't Busy Writing College Papers...

I'd probably be able to update this more than once a year...

On the positive side, college is going well and I should be transitioning from community college to an actual four-year college this fall (or autumn, for those of you with an addiction to multiple syllables...).

On the gaming front, I've mainly been playing Shadowrun fourth edition (the fourth edition I like...), a bit of Pathfinder, and a once a month-ish 3.5 Dragonlance game.

I have found that I can only play 3.5 if I create something ludicrous, which is why I'm playing a kender swashbuckler/dread necromancer.

I'm sorry, you did read that right.

I've also finally obtained GURPS Vorkosigan, which has proven to be thoroughly delightful, and I've been bouncing around several ideas for games (I know, I need to post them here rather than letting them rot in my notes... O' time, thou art a fickle friend...) which include a Shadowrun game set during World War One, a Space:1889 and Unhallowed Metropolis blend, and an AD&D game set in a mediaeval-esque Europe with strong borrowings from Clark Aston Smith's works.

So, despite appearances, I have not yet passed from the mortal coil, nor given up mine ancient hobby.

And so to bed.

Kort, the World's Weakest Kobold

Ah, Kort, my old friend... it has been several years since Kort's first appearance, cowering bravely in the ruined kitchen that the other members of his gens had told him to clean up and use to get dinner ready...

This was first edition AD&D and Kort had a hit point, a cleaver, and a grubby chef's hat.

Kort was also the only monster that the party talked to in that entire game.

He was, quite simply, described as "too pathetic to kill".

And he was. Weak, feeble, kind of stupid, barely any common sense... Kort was the only character in that game who was guaranteed to kill himself in one hit (which gave rise to a description of Synnibarr as "The game where everyone is Kort", years later).

The weird thing is, he was really fun to play.

He sniveled, he closed his eyes and waved his cleaver at the PCs in a desperate attempt to defend his "turf", and then the PCs were nice to him and gave him a measure of respect.

Kort now owns and operates a grand restaurant in the kingdom's capital city.

I once thought about re-making Kort in Third Edition D&D, but realised that he would be far more powerful than he should be and abandoned the idea.

Further Classes and Other Blather.

Though late, I will continue to update with the various custom classes and house rules that I am using in my home campaign. Today's particular gem will be the mountebank, a class I badly wanted to see back when it was first mentioned by Mr. Gygax in a Dragon magazine no small amount of time ago.

For the iteration presented, I am indebted to the version by David Prata that appeared in Footprints No. 12.

My interpretation of the class can be found here.

At some point I plan on finishing the versions of cavalier and barbarian that I wish to use, but that depends on my being able to start them... The mad scientist will be up next, followed by the necromancer (though that worthy's spell list may take a tad longer). I am also planning to post the rake in the near future... the assassin will appear at some point after that.

In other news, I am delighted by random rolls, as they caused Demogorgon to make an appearance in my home campaign recently. This gave much pause to the paladin, especially when he realised that two of the party's henchmen (known as "the twins") conversed in much the same manner as the dual heads of the demonic overlord. No, there is no connection, but the paranoia builds...

Also, I have started the slow process of creating what I believe would be called a "mega-dungeon", though I dislike the term myself. Called Bleakholme, I will be trying to post various bits and pieces here for others to use or not, as they wish.

Musings

I have been remiss in updates, mainly due to starting college after a twenty year gap in any sort of formal education. So far, so good, further updates on my education as warranted (i.e.: probably none).

I love this post.