Stationery Vermin

There are lots of monsters said to be the result of magical experiments, and so are the creatures known as stationery vermin. It seems plausible indeed that these pests were an invention of an office working mage, cleric, or clerk who was tired of misplacing his scissors or pencils. Whatever the truth, now stationery vermin are breeding, and have become a nuisance in any office environment.

Stationery vermin are small creatures, about the size of rats. Each has a piece of office supplies for a head: scissors, a stapler, a pencil, etc. They can be either bipedal and quadrupedal, and there are species that are bird-like and can fly. Apparently, these shapes are independent of the type of stationery – there are both running and flying scissorheads, for example.

Stationery vermin can be trained to follow orders.

Stationary Vermin (2d12): AL N; MV 150’ (50’), (birdlike vermin have 180’ (60’) flying); AC 7; HD 1-2 hp; #AT 1 (bite); Dmg 1; Save Human0; M 5; XP 6. In addition, every type of stationery has a special attack or ability, as given below.

Eraserhead. Erase: At will, the eraserhead can erase magical writing as the 1^st-level magic-user spell.

Glue-Tubehead. Glue: The glue-tubehead can cover any surface with a sticky substance. Creatures touching the glue cannot mow, unless a Str-check is made. If the check is unsuccessful other actions to free oneself can be taken (for example, taking of ones boots or gloves).

Pencilhead: Illusory script: Once per day, the pencilhead can disguise it’s writing as per the 3^rd-level illusionist spell illusory script.

Scissorhead: Cut: The attacks of the scissorhead do 1d6 damage.

Staplerhead: Staples: The attacks of a staplerhead do 1d4 damage.

Tape-Dispenserhead. Constriction: if the tape-dispenserhead’s attack hits, its target’s legs are constricted, making it impossible to walk without falling (1d4 dmg).

Variant: Hit Dice by Race

This variant is inspired by the way Hit Dice work in OD&D.

The kind of die a character rolls for hit points is determined by his race, not his class. The table below shows the Hit Dice for the most common races:

Race	Hit Die
Dwarf	d8
Elf	d6
Gnome	d6
Half-elf	d8
Halfling	d6
Half-ogre	d10
Half-orc	d8
Human	d8

For the races of the Weird Opera world they are:

Race	Hit Die
Botanoid	d6
Gnome	d6
Morlock	d8
Neanderthal	d10
Nine-Lives Cat	d8
Paragon	d6
Pig	d10
Porcine	d8
Human	d8

One die is rolled at first level, but further dice are not rolled at every level of experience. A character’s class determines at which level he gains another Hit Die. For example, a cleric gains his second Hit Die at 2^nd level, but doesn’t get his third Hit Die until level 4. A magic-user gets a Hit Die every other level.

At levels at which a class doesn’t get a full Hit Die, he gains a flat number of hit points, usually 1 or 2. The following table shows the Hit Die progression for the four main classes:

Level	Cleric	Fighter	Magic-user	Thief
1	1	1	1	1
2	2	2	(+1 hp)	(+2 hp)
3	(+2 hp)	3	2	2
4	3	4	(+2 hp)	3
5	4	5	3	(+4 hp)
6	(+4 hp)	6	(+3 hp)	4
7	5	7	4	5
8	6	8	(+4 hp)	(+6 hp)
9	(+6 hp)	9	5	6
10	7	(+3 hp)	(+5 hp)	7
11	8	(+6 hp)	6	(+8 hp)
12	(+8 hp)	(+9 hp)	(+6 hp)	8
13	9	(+12 hp)	7	9
14	(+10 hp)	(+15 hp)	(+7 hp)	(+10 hp)
15	(+12 hp)	(+18 hp)	8	10
16	(+14 hp)	(+21 hp)	(+8 hp)	(+12 hp)
17	(+16 hp)	(+24 hp)	9	(+14 hp)
18	(+18 hp)	(+27 hp)	(+9 hp)	(+16 hp)
19	(+20 hp)	(+30 hp)	10	(+18 hp)
20	(+22 hp)	(+33 hp)	(+10 hp)	(+20 hp)

Further Notes:

* Fighters gain one Hit Die type greater than normal for his race. For example, a human fighter would uses d10 for Hit Dice. 

* Paladins and rangers use the fighter progression, but don’t get the greater die type.

* Druids and monks use the cleric progression.

* Illusionists and spelldancers use the magic-user progression.

* Assassins use the thief progression.

New Race: Nine-Lives Cat

Nine-Lives Cats

Requirements: INT 9

Ability Modifiers: DEX +1, WIS -1

Nine-lives cats are a race of intelligent shape-changing felines. They are not lycanthropes, and can transform at will. They can assume two shapes: that of a cat and that of a single unique human. Unlike lycanthropes, they do not have a bipedal cat form.

The human form is that of an attractive young woman or, less frequently, a young man. Like normal humans they are very diverse in appearance. They are virtually undetectable from a normal human, except for the pointy, fur-covered cat’s ears that are also visible in this shape. The cat’s ears are easily hidden beneath a hat or cap.

Nine-lives cats have infravision of 120 feet. In addition to their alignment language, common, elvish, and halfling they can speak to normal cats and felines, including big cats like tigers and lions.

Changing from one form to the other costs one round. Armor and equipment do not transform with the character, and his or her cat shape cannot use any weapons, armor or other equipment. A spellcaster in cat form may cast spells, but cannot handle any material components or use magic items.

The cat form is 1’-2’ tall. It has AC 6, Move 120’, and 3 attacks: 2 claws and 1 bite, each doing 1d2 damage. It has a number of d4 hp equal to the character’s level, but may not have more hit points than the human form. Wounds taken in one form carry over in the other. The nine-lives cat dies when the hp of her current form reach 0. However, the cat has nine lives, and if she has any lives left, she’s raised in 1d6 x 10 minutes as per the raise dead spell. If her nine lives are used, she’s dead for good. A dead nine-lives cat cannot be raised, except with a wish, that can give the character a new cycle of nine lives.

Nine-lives cats may select from the following classes, with the indicated level limits.

NINE-LIVES CAT CLASSES AVAILABLE
Class	Level Limit
Assassin	9
Fighter	12
Magic-User	U
Spelldancer	U
Thief	10

Nine-lives cat thieves receive the following bonuses and penalties to thief abilities:

NINE-LIVES CAT THIEF SKILL ADJUSTMENTS
Skill	Adjustment
Pick Locks	-5%
Pick Pockets	+5%
Move Silently	+7%
Hide in Shadows	+10%
Hear Noise	+1*
*Nine-lives cats receive a better dice range for hearing noises. For example, 1st level nine-lives cat thieves hear noises on a 1-3, and at 9th level it is 1-5. Hear noise may never be better than 1-5.

Three Sad Wizards is Released!

My adventure module  Three Sad Wizards is now available as a free download. The module describes the village of Tealief and environs, three mini-dungeons, and the dangerous forest surrounding them.

You can download it HERE.

New Magic Items from ‘Three Sad Wizards’

Since I'm busy finishing my adventure Three Sad Wizards, a bit of a lazy post. Here's the new magic items that can be found in the module:

Badger Cloak: When worn, this cloak changes the wearer into a badger. A human-sized person turns into a giant badger, while smaller creatures like dwarves and halflings become normal badgers. Except for the duration, this transformation works the same as the polymorph self  spell.

Ioun Crown: When this ornate golden crown is put on, it floats about a foot above the head of the wearer. It immediately changes the alignment of the being that it’s placed on to Chaotic. The crown cannot be removed except by the spell remove curse.

The wearer of the crown gains a +1 to Int, Wis and Cha abilities. However, he will feel a terrible hunger. As long as he wears the crown, he should eat at least three times the amount of food as normal, or else he will lose 1d4 Con until he eats enough. However, eating this much has its effect, and after a month the wearer starts losing Str and Dex, at a rate of 1 point every two weeks.

Slumbering Candles: When lit, this candle smokes excessively. Anyone standing within 30 feet of the candle inhaling the smoke must save vs. spell or fall into a deep sleep. Victims stay asleep until the candle is extinguished.

New Monster: The Xaoclost

The past and present are separate places. The timestream is constantly turning Now into Then, but they have no influence on each other after that’s done. It might be possible to travel from the present to the past, but it is impossible to change the Now with your actions in the past. You can travel to the past to kill the mother of your greatest enemy, but as the murder happens in the past, it doesn’t have any impact on the present. If you return he’ll still be alive, and so will she.

That is, if you return.

For the past is the domain of the Xaoclost, a species of nightmarish reality-defying creatures. These 50-feet-tall monstrosities roam the past, ever looking for ways to break into the present. With difficulty, they can come within milliseconds of Now, but they can never fully reach it. The Xaoclost are always just behind you.

Unfortunately, people go into the past all the time: Chronomancers have their spells, Time portals are known (like the one below the city of Vulture), and ancient dungeons like the Library of the Death Speakers are often so old the Now no longer has a grip on them. The Xaoclost cannot come here, but they lie in waiting for adventurers to come to them.

No. Enc.:	1 (1)
Alignment:	Chaotic
Movement:	90’ (30’)
Armor Class:	3 (base)
Hit Dice:	10 (base)
Attacks:	1 claw or weapon/1 whip/1 bite, or breath weapon
Damage:	1d8 or by weapon/1d8+poison/3d8, or 2d8 (base)
Save:	F10
Morale:	10
Hoard Class:	XV
XP:	2100 (base)

The stats above are the weakest possible Xaoclost, one more than 1,500 years in the past. When they move closer to the present, they grow stronger and more powerful. However, it costs them a lot of effort and it does hurt them terribly. When a Xaoclost moves close to the present, use the table beneath to determine changes to his stats.

Years in the Past	Hit Dice	AC	Breath Weapon	XP	Special Abilities
0 – 5	20	-7	22d8	8250	Suggestion once per day
6 – 15	19	-6	20d8	7250
16 – 25	18	-5	18d8	7250	Hallucinatory terrain once per day
26– 50	17	-4	16d8	6250
51 – 100	16	-3	14d8	5100
101 – 250	15	-2	12d8	5100	Half damage from normal weapons
251 – 500	14	-1	10d8	4200
501 – 750	13	0	8d8	4200
751 – 1000	12	1	6d8	3600
1,001 – 1,500	11	2	4d8	3600
1,500 or more	10	3	2d8	2100	Breath weapon, fear aura, poisonous whip

Breath Weapon: Xaoclost have powerful breath weapons. Every individual Xaoclost has a different kind of breath. Usually, the breath weapon of a Xaoclost other effects besides the damage it does. All breath weapons are usable every 3 rounds. All victims of a breath attack may attempt a saving throw versus breath attack for half damage, and maybe an additional saving throw for the secondary attacks.

Breath Weapon Examples:

1 - Cloud of Hate: 50’ long, 40’ wide cloud of black smoke. In addition to taking damage, all chaotically aligned characters must make a save vs. spells or instantly attack lawful and neutral characters. Lawful and neutral characters must make a save vs. death or suffer an additional 2d8 damage.

2 - Mud Stream: 80’ long, 30’ wide cone of mud. In addition to doing damage, the mud stream contains 1d4 small earth elementals. These have 6 hD, AC 4, and do 1d8 damage.

3 - Napalm: 70’ long, 20’ wide cone of napalm. The napalm does normal damage on the round of the attack, and half that again the next round (save for half).

4 - Negative Fog: 50’ long, 40’ wide cloud of grey mist. The Xaoclost’s breath weapon is a living creature from the negative plane that feeds of the warmth of its victims: Move 90’(30’); AC 2; hp 25, #attacks 1 per creature; attacks as a ten HD monster; Dmg 1d6; M n/a.

5 - Phantasmal Killers: 100’ long, 5’ wide line of terrifying illusions. In addition to suffering damage, the victim must try to disbelieve the illusion once by succeeding in an INT attribute check, or die from fear.

6 - Rat Swarm: 80’ long, 30’ wide cone of living rats. There’s 4d10 rats in the pack. In addition to normal damage from the breath weapon, the rats get to attack. They get 1 attack per 10 individuals, inflicting 1d6 hit points of damage per hit. If a character is swarmed by a whole pack, he must make a save versus death or fall to the ground under the horde. The victim can make no attacks until he gets back on his feet.

Fear Aura: Xaoclost have a fear aura of 250 feet. Creatures of fewer than 1 Hit Die within the aura flee automatically. Others may save vs. petrification or are stricken with fear (-2 penalty to attack and damage).

Whip: These creatures also attack with a stinger-tipped whip for 1d8 damage. Victims must additionally save versus poison or fall in a coma for 2d10 days. Unless the victim is very lucky, the Xaoclost will probably eat the victim before he gets out of his coma.