On Gods and RPGs

A reader of this blog recently asked me to comment on their favorite TTRPG, Fading Suns, which they partly describe as follows:

…it's base premise is that the major religion is a mix of real world ones, predominantly Christianity, but with lots of Islam, Buddism and so forth. There are lots of theological disputes within the system, there's "magic" that "works", when you're praying to a game version of God (Pancreator, a semi-gnostic syncretic deity). Lots of saints and rituals resembling the Church's rituals and so forth.

The question here is whether or not it is okay, from a strictly Christian POV, to allow for magic to be awarded to followers of, for lack of a better word, “pagan” gods?

First, we must clear up something. Neither Orthodox Christianity or Scripture posit strict monotheism, as understood by most moderns, Jews, and Muslims. Take for example this prayer from the Presanctified Liturgy and the Vespers service:

Compassionate and merciful, longsuffering and very merciful Lord, hear our prayer and attend to the voice of our supplication. Give us a favorable sign. Guide us in Your path that we may walk in Your truth. Gladden our hearts that we may fear Your holy name, for You are great and work wonders. Only You are God, O Lord, and there is none like You among the gods. You are great in mercy and gracious in strength and in aiding, exhorting, and saving all those who place their hope in Your holy name. [My emphasis]

When I first encountered this prayer, I was a bit scandalized because it explicitly acknowledges the existence of other gods(!); however, this prayer merely reflects a viewpoint expressed by Scripture. Take Psalm 82:

God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I say, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like men, and fall like any prince.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for to thee belong all the nations! [My emphasis] 

In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT used by the ancient Church), the “divine council” from the first verse is συναγωγή θεών. That first word is a root word of Synagogue and the second is a declension of ο θέος — God. There is no escaping the idea of other gods or their existence.

The polemic presented here in Psalm 82 is that Yahweh — the Most High God — is the creator of all things, including these other gods. This is made clear by the line, “you shall die like men.” Within the context of the Fall, everything that has a beginning also has an end. These gods were originally created to watch over and protect the various nations, but turned against their cretor and accepted worship from those very same nations.

It is important to remember that within the context of a Fantasy or Science Fantasy world, whatever magic system exists is part of creation and something God made. Like all things given by God, this magic system can be used as God intended or used in a manner that does not. In Scripture, we see this happen with technology.

The Book of Genesis presents us with two Civilization builders: Cain and Noah. As the first city-builder, Cain uses technology to build a society of personal pleasure, power, and sin. This civilization is so evil that God deems it unsalvagable and calls forth the Flood in order to start over. Noah is the means by which this happens. He uses technology in obedience to God. Through this use of technology, humanity and through humanity all of creation, gets to participate in a salvation event.

Thus, if I were to play a TTRPG where various gods grant magic to their followers I would portray it as the gods of Scripture giving out technology to Cain’s civilization. While it might temporarily give a character influence and power, it ultimately will lead to destruction. In contrast, that same magic used in context of the Most High God and in obedience to Him and His Church can be salvific.

One of the reasons I like 0e and B/X is that the mechanic of arcane vs divine magic make this distinction very easy to emulate and communicate in game play. I myself have never read anything about the Fading Suns game world or mechanics, so I don’t have any explicit advice about how to implement these ideas mechanically or mythically within that setting or rules; however, Scripture can help here, too:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. — Matthew 16:18

No matter what situation a TTRPG places humanity or what alternate history it proposes, it is very easy to insert the Most High God as creator of all things. In a scifi or future fantasy setting, the Church survives somewhere, however big or small. As long as I present this knowledge and this reality in some way shape or form, the story that emerges from play is an exploration of the consequences of our relationship (or lack thereof) with the Most High God.

If you are interested, this is a subject I have written many times about. You can find several here.

Saintly Saturday: St. Cumine the White

Today is the Feast of St. Cumine the White, abbot of Iona. Not much is known of this monastic saint. He was the seventh abbot of Iona, the monastic community on one of the Hebrides — a series of islands off the west coast of Scotland. He was nephew to Segenius who was the fifth abbot of Iona.

During his tenure, he visited Ireland about A.D. 661, the Synod of Whitby took place, which declared that Northumbria would follow the practices of Rome when it came to tonsuring and the calculation of when to celebrate Easter, and the Book of Durrow was completed.

The Book of Durrow is the oldest extant insular illuminated gospel, over a century older than the Book of Kells. While there is much academic debate over where this text was created, one of the contenders is the Iona of St. Cumine.

He also wrote the Life of St. Colum Cille.

He died in A.D. 665 after being abbot for 8 years.

The opening verses of
the Gospel of St. Mark
from the Book of Durrow

Despite the fact the St. Cumine’s hagiography is so thin on details, I find it so inspiring that I am actually going to have to limit myself. I could wax poetic on how the moniker “the White” sounds very Tolkien or how awesome something similar to the Synod of Whitby would be as background noise for a campaign.

Rather, I want to focus on the Book of Durrow and the power of language. In Scripture, words have immense creative power. God creates by speaking: “Let there be light.” God also asked Adam to be a co-creator with him by allowing Adam to name all the animals. When Moses asked for God’s name at the burning bush, it was an audacious act, so God gave him a name that cannot be contained by language: I AM — a sentence that is both complete and yet incomplete (I am….righteous, merciful, love, etc.). Several people throughout the Old and New Testament are renamed by God:

• Abram becomes Abraham
• Jacob becomes Israel
• Saul becomes Paul
• Simon becomes Peter

In addition, different languages bring different aspects to revelation. For example, in Genesis 3:15 God tells the serpent:

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your seed and her seed;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.

This particular translation reflects the Greek version of this verse, because it differs from both the Hebrew and the Latin. The “he” and “his” in the second half of the verse appear as “it” and "its” in Hebrew and “her” and “her” in Latin. All three are correct:

• The Hebrew reflects the eternal enmity between humanity and the devil.
• The Latin is a prophecy of the Virgin Mary.
• The Greek is a prophecy of Christ.

This all inspires me to re-skin the Vancian magic of D&D with two additional ideas in mind:

The retro-clone Delving Deeper has clerics memorize spells the same way magic-users do and I have always wanted the spell Read Magic to be something far more important than merely a spell every magic-user has because it uselessly is a prerequisite for writing spells into a spell book.

In this re-skinning, the difference between “divine” magic and “arcane” magic is not the source of the magic, but rather the language. In the same way that the Hebrew, Latin and Greek bring out different aspects of Genesis 3:15, the language used to do magic brings out a different “type” of magic. Arcane magic uses a complex language that is both difficult to learn and results in powerful magics. Its practitioners spend so much time learning the language that they don’t have the time to train with armor or most weapons. Divine magic uses a far more intuitive language that, while easier to master, does not produce the powerful magics the arcane language can. As a consequence divine magic practitioners do have the time to train with armor and (some) weapons. One could even extend this out to other various spell-casters like druids and illusionists.

Since the mechanism of all magic is the same — language written in spell books — this gives us the opportunity to give Read Magic a really interesting twist. Rather than simply being a spell that every magic-user has and is the mechanism for writing spells down in a spell book, it is a spell that can allow a practitioner of one type of magic to memorize a spell from another language — another spell list.

Due to the fact that this spell is being memorized via a spell rather than by actually knowing the language, the spell takes a spell slot one level higher than normal. For example, if a magic-user wanted to memorize Cure Light Wounds it would count as a 2nd level spell.

This, in part, explains why certain spells that appear on more than one list are different levels depending on the caster. For example, Hold Person is a 2nd level cleric spell but a 3rd level magic-user spell. In other words, this spell was originally in the language of divine magic, but was well known enough by arcane users to be translated into the arcane language — as a 3rd level spell.

Thus, Read Magic becomes a really important spell that every one will want rather than the spell that simply takes up space and no one bothers to ever memorize.

This re-skinning also offers all kinds of interesting possibilities in terms of how magic interacts with a campaign world. Rather than having different schools of arcane magic-users, the different schools teach different languages and therefore result in different classes. Each type of magic might bring with it a different culture. One could go so far as to have entire nation-states based upon a different type of language and thus a different type of magic.

Thus, a wizard with the name and moniker Cumine the White might be a magic-user, a cleric, a druid or an illusionist depending on the language he uses to study magic.

Saint Saturday: The Ancestors of God Joachim and Anna

Today is the Feast of the Ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna. The title “Ancestors of God” is a title derived from the fact that they are the parents of the Virgin Mary. During the Christological controversies that arose during the 4th to 8th centuries, she received the title “Theotokos” which literally means “The Mother of God.” This all has more to do with Christ than Mary or her parents because both titles (Ancestors of God and Theotokos) speak to the fact that Christ is both God and Man from conception and thus speaks about the nature of Christ rather than anything about His mother or grandparents.

For those who know their Scripture, Joachim and Anna are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Their story, and the story of the Nativity of the Theotokos (which was yesterday) appears in the Protoevangelium of James, a book known by most to be apocryphal. This, however, is a misnomer. There are many popular, early Christian writings that do not appear in the Bible because they either do not focus on the main point of the New Testament (Christ, HIs crucifixion and His resurrection) or are too far removed from the Apostles to be included. This can be seen in the fact that several of the Mariological feasts of the Orthodox Church refer to events in the Protoevangelium of James in the hymns surrounding these feasts.

Joachim and Anna were old when they had Mary. Anna was barren and beyond child-bearing years when she miraculously got pregnant. This is another reason that these stories have not been rejected by the Orthodox Church: it follows a pattern found all over Scripture. Women in both the OT and NT who are barren and beyond child bearing years find themselves pregnant through the workings of God.

This highlights something that is largely lost on the modern world: women’s real power derives from their ability to bear children. Take a look at this hymn:

Both Joachim and Anna from their sterility's stigma, and Adam and Eve from their mortality's ruin have been set free, O immaculate Maid, by your holy nativity. For this do your people hold celebration, redeemed from the guilt of transgression as they cry to you, "The barren one bears the Theotokos, the nourisher of our Life.”

While this hymn magnanimously lumps Joachim in with Anna’s failure to bear children, it was primarily her shame as revealed in the last line where she is called “the barren one.”

Also missed by the modern world is the power women derive from chastity — the ability to manipulate men who want to have children by them. This power is emphasized by the fact that Theotokos is called Virgin before, during and after childbirth. The birth of Christ does not bring with it corruption (the physical damage that happens to women who go through childbirth).

This offers some interesting fodder for world-building in a fantasy setting. There is a fantasy trope that ties spell-casting and prophecy with women and virginity. Those who have these powers lose them when they lose their virginity. This suggests a world where spontaneous arcane Vacian-like spell casting is only available to women who still have their virginity. Ritual magic can still be used by men and by all women and suggests the import of scrolls, wands, staves, potions and my interpretation of Magic Missile according to Holmes. Speaking of Holmes, his rules that 1st level magic-users can create scrolls becomes a model rather than an exception. This also explains why adventuring is incentivized: arcane spell casters need the various components necessary to create magic items.

This understanding of arcane magic gives us leeway to make a starker difference between it and divine magic. Whereas the arcane is about ritual, magic devices and the need to be a female virgin to spontaneously cast, divine magic can forgo all of these things and offer spontaneous casting to anyone who takes on the mantel of “cleric.” This works especially well in context of a Christian/pseudo-Christian Church.

Christ offers a radical equality to the world: His Body and Blood. With this brings a forgiveness of sin (that which separates us from God). Thus, corruption in context of wielding magic is healed and the mechanism for magic is the Holy Spirit rather than the innate power of the human body.

Thus, the contrast, conflict and choice of arcane vs. divine magic largely pivots upon magic items vs. spontaneous casting if you don’t want to play a female virgin.

Wizards of Averoigne: A Rainbow of Spell-Casters

Since yesterday, my brain has been chewing on some of the ideas that I came up with on the subject of anti-clerics, arcane cleric spells and cleric spell books. Since my ideas found fertile soul in a Holmsian-inspired vision of D&D, I figured the best place to implement them was in my standard Holmsian-esque campaign world: Averoigne. I also figured that since Holmes was influenced by Tolkien, so should I.

Although I have never read the Lord of the Rings more than once in my life, I do remember that there is a suggestion of an order of wizards whose status is determined by color. As I recall, three colors are explicitly mentioned: white, grey and brown. Thus, in a world where there is a strong guild-structure, it makes sense that Averoigne would pay homage to Tolkien by differentiating different types of arcane spell casters by color:

White Magic-Users: So-called because they practice white magic — arcane cleric spells. They must be Lawful* and they cannot cast any spells above 3rd level.

Black Magic-Users: So-called because they practice black magic — arcane magic-user spells. They are usually Chaotic and exist outside of the guild-structure and society itself. As a result, they are considered dangerous criminals to be hunted down and (usually) killed.

Grey Magic-Users: So-called because they practice black magic in context of the Church — a mixture of black and white. They can be Lawful or Neutral and must belong to the Wizard’s Guild.

Brown Magic-Users: So-called because they are seen as close to the earth — operating mostly in villages, towns or as hermits. They use arcane cleric spells and have no formal guild. Since they practice white magic, they are generally left alone (which opens the possibility that individual brown magic-users may have a spell or two from the druid spell list). They tend to be neutral and can gain a maximum of 6th level in experience.

Red Magic-Users: So-called because the casting of reverse cleric spells normally involves some kind of blood sacrifice. These are anti-clerics. They are Chaotic and exist outside of the guild-structure and society itself. As a result, they are considered dangerous criminals to be hunted down and (usually) killed.

*Assuming one is using the three-tier alignment system.

The Prime Requisite in all cases is Intelligence which also determines the chance of knowing a particular spell as well as the minimum and maximum number of spells known per spell level (as per Holmes). Practitioners of white magic use the cleric spell progression and XP table and may use armor, shields and blunt weapons but cannot Turn Undead. If they are Lawful and have a Wisdom of at least 9 they can choose to become full-fledged clerics at any time after 3rd level (they gain access to all spells through faith instead of study and can Turn undead).

There is also a third type of arcane magic — sword magic. It interferes with both white and black magic. The latter is the most susceptible and therefore practitioners cannot wear any armor and can only use simple weapons. White magic is less susceptible, but practitioners cannot use bladed or piercing weapons.

Technically, this means that clerics could use any type of weapon they choose (since they cast divine magic, not arcane magic); however, by tradition they limit themselves to blunt weapons to prevent any use of sword magic lest they misplace their faith in God with a faith in sword magic. Thus, any cleric that uses a magic sword cannot cast any spells, because they lack the faith to do so (or believe that they are called to use sword magic instead of divine magic). This opens up the possibility of a paladin-like cleric who can Turn undead, use magic swords (like a holy avenger) but can’t cast spells.

I don’t know how attractive any of these options are to players, but they open up a tremendous amount of opportunities for cool NPCs, cool villains and cool patrons for yours truly.

Ye Auld Skool Spell Creator

This is post number 500 for me here at Blood of Prokopius. Having noticed that I was quickly approaching this milestone, I came to the realization that there is a ton of gaming material that I have produced over the last several years that either isn't organized as well as it could be or left fallow. As a result, I have been sifting through all of this output and determining what can easily be developed, organized and finished and what of all this output I still have an interest in.

The first project to come out of this process is something I've called Ye Auld Skool Spell Creator. Quite awhile ago, I started excavating the spells of 0e. At the time, I was interested in pushing the rules as far as they could go to see if they were able to handle a variety of genres, specifically some of the pulp serials of the 20s and 30s. One of the big hurdles was the spell system — how to create new powers and spells that are mechanically similar to the 0e spell list, but aren't tied specifically to the fantasy genre?

I started down the road of breaking the spells down mechanically and seeing how to build new spells based upon those mechanics. The various posts can be found here. Unfortunately, I pushed too hard and in play testing what I had started wasn't really all that fun to play. In addition, the process of breaking down the 0e spell system mechanically proved to be a very difficult — especially when one started to look at enchantment-type spells and transform-type spells. Thus, the system that was developing was far from perfect, was a departure from the 0e rules as written, and in some cases a serious departure.

As a result, the project never got finished, despite my own stated intent to put all of it into a .pdf to share with those interested. That is, until now.

Ye Auld Skool Spell Creator is far from perfect, probably has a lot of errors and might very well prove to be a lot less useful that I had originally envisioned. It is, however, a fascinating exercise in gaming archeology that I hope those who are interested in such things will find worth their while.

The link to download the .pdf is here. Enjoy.

Meditating on Electrum

Beedo of Dreams in the Lich House is musing out loud today about how the various versions of D&D interact with each other within the nebulous confines of old school play. He starts with the observation that ACKS borrows many concepts from 3e+ and/or has a 3e+ design feel to it. I myself have on more than one occasion admitted that the idea of 3e+ D&D is quite a gorgeous thing. Putting into practice is the problem.

Personally, I find it very interesting what has bled into my own gaming play from the 3e+ era. They often surprise me, because rather than being big design ideas they are minutia that actually makes interacting with my world a little easier for my players. Languages were one of the first that I noticed.

Another is the non-use of electrum. Despite the fact that it is a naturally occurring metal (with a mixture of silver, gold and a variety of other ores) that was used in coinage in several parts of the ancient world, it messes up the wonderfully easy to understand decimal system of 3e+ coinage. So, despite the fact it exists in both older versions of D&D and its clones, and despite the fact that Gygax had it exactly correct that electrum is half-way between silver and gold, my players have rejected it out of hand as part of their game play.

My problem is that I have always had a soft spot for the metal. It is possibly more historically accurate as a type of coin than either gold or platinum. It conducts electricity. Its name sounds really cool. Yet, my players are absolutely correct that it is just a pain to include it in the game as half a gold piece.

I mention all of this because I ran across this hymn today while chasing down something I was researching:

Beholding the orders of the Angels in manifold form, Ezekiel proclaimed them in his history long ago; among them stood the six-winged Seraphim, and the many-eyed Cherubim compassing round about; and with them he saw the Archangels shining like electrum and glorifying Christ unto all the ages. [my emphasis]

This got me thinking that I could re-introduce the metal into my game as a magical metal. Whereas adamantium and mithral are arcane metals, electrum could be a metal used to create/channel divine magic.

Unlike adamantium and mithral (which are ostensibly forged by a class that cannot use them in most applications), electrum could be fully taken advantage of by the spell casters who forge them — clerics.

Herein is another way that 3e+ design can sneak in to my game at a more fundamental level: rather than tying metamagic feats to players, I could tie them to various applications of electrum.

Ripping Apart Time and Space

One of the things that I have been doing to entertain myself this past month is watching the BBC series Primeval. Though there are several moments over the course of the series that make it very difficult to suspend my disbelief, I very much enjoy the show because it has such a fascinating set-up.

Particularly interesting is its implicit admission that Darwinism cannot explain why the world was what it was and became what it is. Despite an overwhelming attempt by the popular culture (and scientists dependent upon secular and government money), Darwin’s mechanism for explaining evolution doesn’t work. As the show points out, there are things in the world and in the fossil record that just cannot be explained by our standard, assumed understanding of evolution.

However, the show does not take any kind of religious tack (it is the BBC, after all). Rather, they come up with an ingenious way of explaining how evolution does funny things. In essence, there are several holes in time and space that flash in and out of existence. Called (in a very Star Trek-esque manner) anomalies, they allow for creatures from very different epochs to cross over into different time periods — thus having drastic affects upon the evolutionary order.

One of the things that challenges the suspension of disbelief is that all of these anomalies seem to be centered around Britain, and that the government is perfectly capable of keeping it quiet that there are incursions by prehistoric monsters into our time on a fairly regular basis.

This got me thinking: why Britain? Why not the U.S. or South Africa or India? Given that Britain is the location of Stone Henge (and all of the weirdness associated with it), what if the anomalies were a long-term consequence of using arcane magic? Obviously, I am now fully going into FRPG inspiration mode, (because this blog is primarily about RPGs). Here is also where I get to sneak in some Christian dogma.

God created the world from nothing. When humanity knew evil (the absence of God), we knew a world of disease, decay and death — these are all symptoms of creation returning to the nothing from which it came. In context of a fantasy world where arcane magic exists and is practiced, this decay could take on a very interesting form. The use of arcane magic (which is, in essence an embrace of Adam’s Fall because most magic users attempt to be God sans God) could tear tiny holes in space and time. Over the long term, this results in anomalies — a symptom of space and time collapsing in on themselves as they return to nothing.

One of the more interesting ideas from the series is that most, if not all, mythological beasts have their origin as creatures from a distant past or future making an incursion into a different time. Thus, dragons might be dinosaurs. A dire boar might be an entelodont. A Lycanthrope or a vampire might be a wolf or a bat from some far distant future where these creatures have evolved some kind of intelligence (in fact, one of the recurring creatures in Primeval is a super-evolved bat).

There are three fundamental reasons why I am so intrigued by this concept:

Firstly, having portals opening up intermittently to other times can justify just about any weird creature you can think of — just call it a creature from the distant past or future. It also explains why dinosaurs of all different epochs could be roaming around a fantasy world.

Secondly, it allows just enough weirdness into a campaign world without going gonzo — how cool would it be to have a party of PCs jump through a portal into the distant past or future? The possibilities are endless.

Finally, and to my mind most importantly, it plays into the post-apocalyptic reality that is D&D — especially in a Homlesian kind of way. The ancient civilization hinted at in the Holmes edition of Basic D&D and how it came crashing down now come into sharp focus — all that powerful arcane magic tore enough holes in time and space that some serious nastiness crawled through to bring the civilization crashing to a halt. In addition, it suggests the very interesting possibility that divine magic (which develops later in the suggested D&D landscape of Holmes) heals these tears in time and space.

For my own purposes, it  also helps explain why the concept of time is so non-linear within the confines of the Chateau des Faussesflammes...

Saintly Saturday: St. Martin of Tours

As Theodoric pointed out yesterday, most of the world commemorates St. Martin of Tours on November 11th; however, there are pockets where his feast is kept on the 12th — which is where he appears on the Greek calendar. Therefore, those of us who like him have an excuse for celebrating two days in a row.

St. Martin was a 4th century bishop born to pagan parents. He became a catechumen (someone studying to become a Christian) at a young age. Baptized at the age of 22, he went on to become a monastic in Gaul before taking on the mantel of a bishop.

One of the most famous stories of St. Martin comes from when he was still a catechumen. He was serving in the Roman army when he saw an ill-clad beggar asking for alms. With nothing but the clothes on his back to give, the saint tore his military cloak in two and gave half to the beggar. Later that night, Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Martin, clothed in the cloak he had given the beggar.

This cloak was then kept as a relic in a sanctuary. In latin, the word cloak is cappella which is what the sanctuary came to be called. Those who took care of the sanctuary came to be called cappellani. In English, these two words form the basis from which we get the words chapel and chaplain.

Besides my own personal love and interest in St. Martin, I was also very eager to delve into his life because he informs by own understanding of Averoigne. Though Tours is outside the traditional boundaries of where Averoigne is thought to be, St. Martin nonetheless casts a very large shadow over Gaul and even over all of Western Christendom. He was instrumental in sowing the seeds that would blossom into the Western monastic tradition. Therefore, St. Martin is a figure I very much want to bring into the tapestry that is my version of Averoigne.

One easy way to do this is to simply have his cappella as a clerical magical artifact in the campaign. Indeed, there are plenty of examples of relics of saints that are pieces of clothing. I personally have seen shoes and strips of cloth used as foci for prayer and indeed a source of healing. Therefore, there are a plethora of opportunities to place unique magic items within a campaign world.

The Cloak of St. Martinus

This disheveled and apparently misused cloak has been torn in two and sown back together again; however, it radiates of magic if a Detect Magic spell is cast upon it. It is wearable by anyone, and its affects depend upon wearer's Wisdom score.

• For those that have a penalty due to a low Wisdom, the cloak serves as a Cloak of Protection. The protection bonus is the inverse score of the Wisdom penalty. Thus, for someone with a Wisdom score of 3 (which has a penalty of -3), the cloak would have a bonus of +3.
• For those who have a Wisdom bonus, the cloak grants bonus cleric spells: one 1st level if the bonus is +1, one 2nd level if the bonus is +2 and one 3rd level if the bonus is +3. These spells are cumulative (a Wisdom score of 18 would grant 3 spells — one each: 1st, 2nd and 3rd) and are in addition to any other bonus spells a cleric may already receive for a high Wisdom. These bonus spells are granted to anyone regardless of class and are determined randomly. The spells stay until they are used in a creative/productive manner (no casting a utility spell like Water Breathing just to get rid of it).
• For those who have no Wisdom Bonus, the cloak allows an Augury spell to be cast once per day.

Holmes & Cook: Magic Research and Production

In his section on Magic Research and Production, Cook gives us this interesting little gem:

[Those things necessary to produce magical items] should be difficult to obtain, and the spell caster will often have to adventure to acquire the items, for there are no magic stores.

This begs the question, especially since there are rules in both Holmes and Cook for creating various magic items, what are the economics of magic?

There are four different systems given in the pages of Holmes and Cook.

• Holmes indicates that any magic-user (but makes no mention of clerics) of any level can create scrolls for 100 gp and 1 week for every spell level to be inscribed upon the scroll.
• Cook notes that Alchemists, if given a formula or sample, can produce potions at half the normal cost and time. They can also do magical research on potions at twice the time and cost of magic-users. All of this incurs the extra cost in the alchemist's monthly stipend of 1000 gp.
• In his section on Magic Research and Production, Cook specifies that only magic-users and clerics of name level (9th level or higher) are able to create magic items. The cost for duplicating normal spell effects requires 500 gp and 1 week per spell level duplicated. Given that he fixes the price of a Wand of Fire Balls at 30,000 gp and a time frame of 4 months, this means that this price is for every single charge placed in the wand. These endeavors always have (at least) a 15% chance of failure (and thus creating a cursed item).
• Cook continues to give the DM much more leeway in determining the price tag on items that do not duplicate spell effects. For example, he suggests plate mail +1 should cost 10,000 gp and take 6 months.

Following these guidelines, here are the prices & time requirements for various magic items involving the spell Invisibility:

• Scroll of Invisibility — 200 gp/2 weeks
• Potion of Invisibility — 1000 gp/2 weeks
• Potion of Invisibility — 750 gp/ 1 week (Alchemist with formula/sample)
• Ring of Invisibility — DM's descretion (at least 10,000 gp/6 months)

Given that a suit of plate mail only costs 50 gp (Holmes) to 60 gp (Cook) and that something as exclusive as a warhorse in barding costs 400 gp, this places even something as relatively inexpensive as a Scroll of Light well out of the price range of what any but the most wealthy could afford. Remember that at least 3 in 20 of these items are going to fail, which makes the endeavor to pay for magic item creation even more expensive.

All of this indicates that Cook is right in his assessment that there are no such things as magic shops — these items are just too expensive to expect there to be any kind of market; however, by including the alchemist in his list of Specialists and Mercenaries he indicates that there is a demand.

The only social stratus that can afford to demand magic item creation is the very rich. Given the inherent danger of this kind of endeavor (at least 15% of items will be cursed), implies either some kind of social pressure that holds enough sway so as to outweigh the possibility of a curse and/or a disquieting level of comfort with all things decadent and corrupt.

Given that the majority of magic items duplicate magic-user spells rather than cleric spells seems to indicate that magic item creation and its inherent risks are primarily an arcane magic-kind-of-thing, possibly even a pagan-kind-of-thing.

Since it is the rich and powerful who are the ones who would demand magic item creation, it would seem that there is an inherent conflict between church and state, where the state is more inclined towards paganism and the arcane power that comes with it and the church is more inclined to frown upon magic item creation of all kinds (possibly even including divine magic items).

The implied Guild structure of magic-user training and the reduced price of scroll creation, however, leave room for a middle way. The church could oversee and sanction certain magic item creation. There might be a mechanism where cooperation between magic-users and clerics reduces the potential harm of a cursed item. Indeed, I might wave the 15% chance in the case of scrolls if the magic-user inscribing them either pays a registration fee or otherwise works in concert with the church directly or through the Guild.

In summary:

• Magic research and production is both dangerous and expensive.
• Such research can only be accomplished through a patronage system, where there exists a demand among rich and the powerful.
• The church sees both the benefits and the corrupting nature of magical research. While overall discouraging such research, it does work in concert with the Guild in order to make sanctioned research as safe as possible.
• The Guild willingly works in concert with the church because, while greater magic might be possible outside the confines of sanctioned research, it is certainly safer.
• Any overly-regulated economy is going to have a black market. In this case, given the corrupting nature of arcane magic, the word black is more than appropriate.
• Given a black market, there is more than likely some kind of Inquisition-type of institution within the church (whether overt or covert) that tries to keep such activities to a minimum.

Holmes & Cook: Evil

While answering Roger's question this morning I realized that I had failed to utilize the various spells with Evil as part of their monicker in trying to figure out what Holmes & Cook might mean about evil as part of an alignment system. Between the two, there are four of these spells:

• Detect Evil
• Dispel Evil
• Protection from Evil
• Protection from Evil 10'r.

Let me begin with the latter two, since they are supposed to be the same spell with a different area of effect; however, since the basic spell is in Holmes and the radius spell is from Cook, we are given two different views on how the spell works:

Protection from Evil — This spell hedges the conjurer round with a magic circle to keep out attacks from enchanted monsters such as elementals, invisible stalkers, demons, etc. [Holmes]

Protection from Evil 10'r. — This spell circles the caster with a magical barrier that will protect all friendly creatures within 10' of the cleric, magic-user or elf. The spell serves as some protection from "evil" attacks (attacks by monsters of an alignment other than the caster's). [Cook]

These two appear to contradict each other. Cook is dealing with an alignment axis of Law-Neutrality-Chaos, so "evil" needs to be redefined — as an alignment other than the caster's. In reality this isn't that far off from Holmes' version, in that Protection from Evil is a reversible spell in Holmes. Thus, it ostensibly protects the caster from those of differing alignments.

What is missing in Cook, however, is the implication that the spell will be ineffective against Neutrals. Intriguingly, though, two of the three examples Holmes gives for "enchanted monsters" have, according to Cook, a neutral alignment.

If, however, neutral = animal then it is possible to say that the spell has no effect on animals and therefore maintain the implication of not affecting neutrals despite Cook's presentation of the invisible stalker and elementals.

Unfortunately, this doesn't say much about evil as an alignment. The examples of enchanted monsters given by Holmes have less to do with alignment than they do with summoning magics. This continues the theme that arcane magic is inherently dangerous and potentially corrupting, but doesn't really say anything to what an evil alignment looks like.

Dispel Evil — This spell will banish or destroy any enchanted or undead monster that comes in range if the creature fails its saving throw vs. Spells. [Cook]

Cook aligns the undead with Chaos, and, as noted above, there are several examples of enchanted monsters that are neutral. Once again, this says less about alignment than it does about the nature of arcane magic.

Detect Evil — A spell to detect evil thought or evil intent in any creature or evilly enchanted object. Poison, however, is neither good nor evil. [Holmes]

Given that the word evil isn't really explained, this, too, isn't much help for defining evil as an alignment; however, it does speak to the notion of meta-gaming. The way Holmes describes this spell, it is possible to detect evil from a Lawful Good creature and completely fail to do so from a Chaotic Evil creature, depending upon the circumstance. Holmes gives the Referee a lot of leeway as to how this spell can be implemented.

I suppose one might be tempted to take these spells and postulate that divine magic is good and arcane magic is evil. Personally, I do not want to go there. From a practical point of view, it appears to prevent magic-users and clerics from being in the same adventuring party. Having someone else's choice of class impose upon everyone else what they can and cannot be is not fun (I've been there with barbarians and paladins).

From a personal point of view, I do not believe that any part of creation is inherently evil. God called His creation very good. What makes something good or evil is in how we use it. This is why I prefer describing arcane magic as dangerous rather than evil.

Holmes & Cook: Saving Throws

There are some major discrepancies between Holmes and Cook when it comes to Saving Throws. For example, Cook has Thieves begin with worse saving throws than Holmes, but the opposite is true when it comes to Dwarves and Halflings. Cook does answer a pressing question in Holmes — what do Elves save as: Fighting Men or Magic-users? Cook has them somewhere in between (a logical conclusion given Holmes' justification for Elves having a d6 for HD — it falls in-between the d4 of Magic-users and the d8 of Fighting Men).

While all of this is interesting, these discrepancies don't really mean much. Whether or not one chooses Holmes or Cook to begin with, eventually one can only really go with Cook because he is the one who provides saves for higher level characters.

Nonetheless, Holmes does give us a fascinating take on what a Saving Throw is:

Even when a magical spell has been properly thrown, it does not always work. Anyone subjected to magical attack rolls a special die to see if the magic took effect (see below). This die roll is called a "saving throw" because if you roll the correct number (given in the chart below) or any higher number, you are unaffected or "saved."

Note those two very intriguing words: magical attack. Indeed, when he describes Dwarves, he states:

They are sturdy fighters and are especially resistant to magic as shown by their better saving throws against magical attack.

Given the fact that Dwarven saving throws are better across the board than any other class, this means that every time a character makes a save it is against a magical attack.

In other words, the bite of a giant spider and the breath weapon of a dragon are not natural — they are magical. This throws a gigantic wrench into the assumed naturalism used by Gygax, Arneson and their progeny (like myself). It also adds credence to the notion that the Dungeon is a magical, otherworldly place that has its own agenda.

This view, however, doesn't stop me from asking a few questions and making some assumptions from a naturalistic POV. Ignoring the demi-humans for a moment, Clerics have the best saving throws to begin with. The non-spell casters (Fighters and Thieves) have the worst. If one looks at the name-level of each of class, however, while Clerics still have the best saves, Magic-users have the worst.

This seems to indicate that being associated with divine magic consistently makes the Cleric more resistant to magical attacks than any other class. In contrast, while it initially gives them an advantage over non-spellcasters, being associated with arcane magic makes Magic-users more susceptible over time to magical attacks than any other class.

This reinforces the idea that the arcane magics of the ancients, while powerful, are dangerous. It also continues to suggest that civilization has made a move away from paganism towards some kind of Christianity — being strongly associated with the Church helps protect one from the nasty magical effects of the pagan (and ultimately evil) ancient civilization that still plague the world.

This pattern also holds true in context of the demi-humans, where the one race most closely associated with arcane magic (the Elf) is the most vulnerable to magical attacks. It begs the question, however, why demi-humans are overall more magic-resistant than humans.

One simple answer is to assume that the ancient civilization so closely related to powerful arcane magic (and the turning away from God to produce an evil slave economy) was a human civilization. The very close association humans had for so long with such powerful arcane magic made them all far more vulnerable to magic attacks than the demi-humans — especially those that never dabbled in magic like the Halflings and the Dwarves.

Holmes & Cook: Religion

One of the interesting implications of the Wand Spells, Ring Spells and Potion Spells found in the Scroll Magic Items table in Holmes is that divine magic is a recent phenomenon. Holmes states:

The spells written on scrolls can be read only by magic users, except the protection spells.

Thus, all of the various spell effects in Wand Spells, Ring Spells and Potion Spells that emulate Cleric spells fall under arcane magic, not divine magic. The implication is that divine magic did not yet exist. Given that Holy Symbols in Holmes are not generic pseudo-pagan symbols but crosses, divine magic finds its source in a pseudo-Christianity if not in Christianity itself. Thus, the transition from the implied ancient civilization of the powerful arcane knowledge found in Wand Spells, Ring Spells and Potion Spells to the current civilization where much of that arcane knowledge is lost and divine magic is present is a transition from paganism to Christianity.

I also find it interesting that so many of the arcane spells available to this ancient arcane civilization are Control spells (Control Dragons, Control Giants, Control Plants, etc.). This implies a kind of Tower of Babel, found in the eleventh chapter of Genesis:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech." So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

One of the keys to understanding this story is to understand the phrase "they had brick for stone." When understood metaphorically, the Tower of Babel is a story about a society that not only turns its back on God, but tries to replace God. Therefore, "they had bricks for stone" refers to the human condition. Stones are free individuals, none of whom are exactly alike — each has a unique place in the world. Bricks are uniform. Therefore, people become disposable as society forces all people to be exactly the same. Everyone must conform and be interchangeable. The Tower of Babel is a vision of slavery.

Given the amount of Control spells available to the implied ancient civilization in Holmes, it is very easy to imagine a culture built upon a slave-economy. Thus, while this ancient culture had access to immense arcane power, in trying to exercise that power sans God, it became oppressive and evil. In doing so, they doomed themselves.

It is very easy to imagine a slave revolt led by dragons and giants that brings this ancient civilization to a very abrupt and violent end.

The Quondam (or classical) civilization that existed between this ancient civilization and the current one implied in Holmes could take on several different forms:

• A Christian civilization who is rescued from the dark era of dragon and giant domination through the coming of Christ. This civilization, for a variety of reasons, is in decline. The current game takes place when the outward regions of empire have been abandoned.
• A pre-Christian civilization that tries to turn back to God but repeats the same mistakes as the ancients. The coming of Christ marks the end of this classical period — He comes as this civilization is in collapse.
• A pagan civilization that purposely seeks to regain the power and splendor of the ancients (possibly either lead by dragons or giants or lead by those that see these monsters as liberators). Christ comes to rescue humanity from this slavery. With this version, the current civilization would have pockets of Christians in a sea of pagans still trying to hold on what once was.

Despite the appearance of a negative outcome, the end of the Tower of Babel story is actually a happy ending. As human beings we are properly stones, not bricks. We are meant to have distinct and unrepeatable shapes, sizes and colors. Each of us is called to add something truly unique to the world.

Personally, I find this to be a beautiful image from which to understand and appreciate the OSR. Each of us has a unique way of doing this hobby that we all love. I find it interesting that Holmes — the edition that introduced me to this hobby — so powerfully implies this vision of the game.

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 12

A Call for Comments

I realize that this particular project has not garnered a lot of comments; however, I am asking for feedback on this particular entry. As will become clear, this category requires a lot of interpretation. I don't know that I am happy with what amounts to a rough draft on this category, so I hope that those of you out there who bother to read this will help by chiming in below with your own point of view. Thanks.

Enchant

This is the single most challenging spell category of any that I have found using the Oe rule set. Not only are the mechanics all over the place, but their descriptions are vague and deviate from what has come to be the norm in later editions. The spells:

Charm Person (1)
Affects humanoids. If successful, target is "completely under the influence" of caster until dispelled. Range = 12"

Sleep (1)Affects a variety of creatures depending upon HD. Max = 2d8 creatures of 1+1HD or less. Max HD affected = 4+1 HD (one creature). Range = 24"

Hold Person (3) [2]
Affects 1-4 persons (with a -2 to the save if targeting only 1 person) with a "greater effect" than Charm Person. Duration = 6 turns + spell caster. Range = 12" Cleric version has Duration = 9 turns & Range = 18"

Charm Monster (4)
Same as Charm Person, but affects monsters and charms 3d6 creatures of 3 or fewer HD.

Confusion (4)
Affects 2d6 +1 per caster level above 8th. Causes affected creatures to randomly determine their action during combat. Targets with 2 or fewer HD are automatically affected. Targets with more HD must save every turn for the duration of the spell or be confused. Duration = 12 turns. Range = 12"

Feeble Mind (5)
Affects only other Magic Users. Renders them "feeble-minded" until dispelled. -4 to the save. Range = 24"

Hold Monster (5)
Same as Hold Person, applicable to monsters.

Quest [5]
Similar to Geas, but the target will suffer a curse (determined by caster with Referee supervision) if the quest is ignored. Duration = until quest is complete. Range = ?

Geas (6)
Target must complete a given task. Ignoring the Geas ultimately causes weakness and death. Duration = until task is complete. Range = 3"

Mechanics

There are a few surprises here, which tend to add more confusion than clarify things. I find this descriptor of Hold Person absolutely fascinating, because as someone who came into the hobby via the Holmes edition and 1e, I have always understood it to be some variation of a paralyzing spell. Here, it seems to indicate a more effective version of Charm Person (though what is a "greater effect" than being "completely under the influence?"). This is a prospect that really excites me, because it opens up possibilities. This led to me to seeking out how other editions describe these spells, of which the 1e DMG notes on Charm Person are by far the most helpful:

Remember that a charmed creature’s or person’s priorities are changed as regards to the spell-caster, but the charmed one’s basic personality and alignment are not.

This allows for the possibility that though the victim may be "completely under the influence" it does not change the basic character of that victim. In turn, this allows for "greater effect" to mean changing aspects of that basic character (such as a survival instinct that would counteract freezing in the middle of a combat to allow an enemy to stick you in the gut with a sword).

As exciting as this revelation is, however, there is very little mechanically that is consistent within this spell category. Sleep, for example, is over all mechanically more powerful than Hold Person (greater number of targets, greater range and potentially a greater duration). In turn, Hold Person is mechanically potentially more powerful than Confusion ("greater than completely under the influence" is more powerful than causing random behavior). In addition — again mechanically — Quest and Geas are not that much more powerful than Charm Person. Although they grant some devastating consequences for not obeying, the enchantment comes to an end once one command is fulfilled. In addition, the targets are free to ignore the command (as long as they are willing to accept the consequence) and to go about the command in a disobedient manner. Charm Person is effective until it is dispelled.

In other words, no matter what progression I choose to use for a Champion-style version of this category, it will little resemble the original source material. With this in mind, I am simply going to proceed with mechanics stripped out of the source material to create a base spell and largely ignore trying to duplicate that source material because it is largely an impossible task.

• Duration = until task is complete, 6 + caster level turns (12 turns), until dispelled
• Range = 3", 12" (18"), 24"
• Area Effect = 1 person/creature ≤ 4+1 HD, 1 person/creature of any HD, 2d6 + 1/per caster level above 8 creatures
• Special = saving throw penalties/automatic success, curse or withering death if command not followed.
• Target = humanoid, monster

Base Spell: Target must make a save or be compelled to carry out one command by the caster. Target is free to carry out this command in a manner that reflects their basic personality and alignment. Duration = until the task is complete. Area Effect = 1 person of 4+1 HD or less. Range = 3". Target = humanoid.

The following add 1 level:

• Duration = 6 + caster turns (and thus possibly more than one command).
• Range = 12"
• Area effect = 1 person/creature of any HD
• Save at penalty -2
• No save for creatures with less than 1/3 of caster level (1/2HD at 2nd level, 1 HD at 4th level, 2 HD at 7th level, etc.)
• Target = monster
• Target's basic personality & alignment are subject to change at the will of the caster

The following add 2 levels:

• Duration = until dispelled
• Range = 24"
• Area Effect = 2d6 creatures + 1 per level above 8
• Save at penalty -4
• Some kind of withering disease or curse affects the target when they do not fulfill the command(s) of the caster.

Example spell Feeble Mind

6th level spell. Target must make a save at -4 (+2 levels) or be compelled to carry out a single command of the caster. If the target refuses, their Int will be reduced to 3 (+2 levels). Magic Users will lose all memorized spells. Duration = until task is complete. Area Effect = 1 person of any HD (+1 level). Range = 3". Target = humanoid.

Again, please take the time to critique. I appreciate it.

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 11

Movement

Apologies for not getting on with this project for a number of weeks. As I noted in my last post, things have been busy around here lately and the last few spell categories are not as easily dealt with as previous categories. To the spells:

Levitate(2)
Vertical movement (horizontal only possible by other means). Duration = 6 turns + caster level. Range = 2"/caster level. Move = 6"/turn
Fly(3)
Both vertical and horizontal movement. Duration = 1d6 + caster level turns. Range = self Move = 12"/turn
Dimension Door (4)
Limited teleport. Duration = instant. Range = 1". Move = up to 36" with no chance of misjudging.
Teleport(5)
Instant transportation from place to place. Duration = instant. Move = any distance as long as the destination is known. Any uncertainty might result in death (teleport into a solid object). Range = self
Pass-Wall (5)
Opens a hole in solid rock. Duration = 3 turns. Range = 3"

Mechanics

There are two "types" of movement: axial (horizontal, vertical) which travels through various mediums (air, solid) and teleportation which instantly transports to a specific spot. This begs the question as to whether or not these should be two entirely different categories or the same category with two different base spells that share similar mechanics. Given that the latter allows for more mechanical variety (and thus more spell possibilities) I am going proceed with two different base spells.

Duration = 3 turns/6(1d6) turns + caster level or instantaneous
Speed = 6" per turn/12" per turn/36"/unlimited
Range = self/1"/3"/2" per caster level
Medium = Air/Liquid/Solid (not relevant for teleportation spells)
Axis = Vertical or Horizontal/ both Horizontal and Verticle (not relevant for teleportation spells)

Using these mechanical progressions works very well with teleportation spells, but runs into problems with axial spells. Given these progressions Fly is a 4th level spell and Levitate ends up being a 5th level spell. The primary culprits are range and the necessity to differentiate the vertical only movement of Levitate. If the base spell is 0 level and requires at least one level-up purchase, this gets Fly to 3rd level. In order to get Levitate back to a 2nd level spell, the ranges of 1" and 3" must be eliminated. This, however, puts Pass-Wall at a 4th level spell. Frankly, I don't mind so much, because it is essentially duplicating Dimension Door with a different special effect.

Base spell (teleportation): 1st level. Duration = instantaneous. Range = self. Teleport 6" with no chance of misjudging.

The following add one spell level:
Teleport 12" with no chance of misjudging
Range = 1"

The following add two spell levels:
Teleport 36" with no chance of misjudging
Range = 3"

The following add three spell levels:
Range = 2" per caster level

The following add four spell levels:
Teleport anywhere as long as destination is known. Any uncertainty might result in death.

Example spell Blink
2nd level spell. Duration = instantaneous. Range = 1" (+1 level). Teleport 6" with no chance of misjudging.

Base spell (axial): 0 level (must purchase at least one addition) Duration = 3 turns. Speed = 6". Range =self. Medium = Air. Axis = Vertical or Horizontal

The following add one spell level:
Duration = 1d6 + caster level turns
Speed = 12"
Range = 2" per caster level
Medium = Liquid
Axis = Both Horizontal and Vertical

The following add two spell levels:
Speed = 36"
Medium = Solid

Example spell Dolphin Steed
3rd level spell. Duration = 1d6 + caster level turns (+1 level). Speed = 12" (+1 level). Range = self. Medium = Liquid (+1 level). Axis = Horizontal

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 10

Sustenance

These are the spells I removed from the Change Environment category:

Purify Food & Water [1]
Make poisoned and/or spoiled food & water safe to consume. Affects enough to feed up to 12 men.

Create Water [4]
Creates enough water for 12 men and their mounts. The quantity doubles for every caster level above 8.

Create Food [5]
Creates enough water for 12 men. The quantity doubles for every caster level above 8.

Mechanics

The only anomaly is the fact that Create Water specifically mentions mounts whereas Create Food does not. Interestingly, this is corrected in B/X. I will follow suit and assume Create Food also creates enough for mounts as well. Additionally, since some of the potential spells will be less than forth level, I am going to change the "doubles for every caster level above 8" to "+ caster level x2." This will approximate the same effect while allowing it to span across a wider range of caster levels.

Base spell: 1st level. Purify poisoned/spoiled food and water enough for 12 men.

The following add one spell level:

• Quantity adds (caster level x2) men.
• Quantity adds mounts.
• Substitute "create water" for "purify poisoned/spoiled food and water."

The following add two spell levels:

• Substitute "create food" for "purify poisoned/spoiled food and water."

Example spell Banquet
4th level spell. Create food (+2 levels) enough for 12 + (caster level x2) men (+1 level).

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 9

I haven't been posting much this week for two main reasons. I've been trying to tackle a tough spell category and I've been watching the World Cup. I've been watching this sporting spectacle since 1982, my wife grew up in Europe (thus likes football, not American football) and my father-in-law is in town. Thus, the World Cup is on, whether any one wants it or not. I can't really explain why I love this event so much. I don't watch soccer at any other time. I rankles my innate sense of justice every time the referee messes up a call (which is often — just see the disallowed goals for the U.S. this year). More so than any other sport, it is dominated by a few teams (only two finals in history haven't included Brazil, Germany or Italy and both included Argentina). Despite this, I find it a beautiful spectacle that is tremendously exciting to watch — especially in the Group Stage. Plus, it is only once every four years...

Change Environment

I have been dreading doing this particular category since I conceived of this project, because it is a tangle of mechanics that forced me to make several choices. The first was to remove Purify Food & Water, Create Water and Create Food from this list. All three spells had consistent mechanics between themselves, but did not translate well to the rest of this category. The remaining spells:

Light (1)[1]
Creates a circle of light with a 3" diameter. Not equal to full daylight. Duration = 6 + caster level turns.

Continual Light (2)[3]
Creates a light where ever the caster wishes in a 24" diameter circle. Duration = until dispelled. Range = 12" Cleric version is equal to full daylight, Magic user version is not.

Water Breathing (3)
Makes water breathable. Duration = 12 turns. Range = 3"

Telekinesis (5)
Objects up to a weight of (200gp x caster level) may be moved by mental force. Duration = 6 turns. Range = 12"

Transmute Rock to Mud (5)
Transmutes any kind of rick into mud up to 30 square inches. Movement through mud is reduced by 90%. Reversible. Duration = permanent until dry (3d6 days). Range = 12" Takes 1 turn to take effect

Cloud Kill (5)
Creates a poisonous vapor in a 3" diameter cloud that is deadly to all with less than 5HD. Duration = 6 turns (may be dispelled by strong winds). The cloud may be moved 6"/turn with the wind. SInks to the lowest possible level.

Lower Water (6)
Lowers the water level of a river or similar body of water by 50%. Duration = 10 turns. Range = 24"

Part Water (6)
Parts 10' deep water. Duration = 6 turns. Range = 12"

Move Earth (6)
Moves hills and/or ridges. Takes 1 turn to take effect. Duration = 6 turns. Range = 24" Terrain is moved at a rate of 6" per turn.

Control Weather (6)
Can change current weather into any of the following: Rain, Stop Rain, Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Tornado, Stop Tornado, Deep Clouds, Clear Sky.

Mechanics:
Here are some of the mechanics suggested by these spells:

• Duration: 6+ caster level turns / Permanent until dispelled (or natural forces deteriorate the spell effects).
• Area Effect: 3" diameter / 24" diameter / 30 sq in. (Mtn/lake/river.)
• Range: none. 3" / 12" / 24"
• Effect: Minor Change (light) / Major Change (has mechanical affect — daylight — that affects a certain category of creature).

The problems begin with Continual Light. It has a greater area effect (+1 level), greater duration (+1 level), greater range (+1 level) and for clerics, it has a mechanical effect with full daylight (+1 level). All told, continual light ought to be at least a 4th level spell for Magic Users and a 5th level spell for Clerics! Since the main difference between Light and Continual Light is the duration, I must either bump up Light to meet the other mechanical differences or bump down Continual Light. Since bumping up Light makes it far more powerful than I think anyone would care for, I will choose to do the latter. This eliminates one step in the Area Effect mechanics. This brings us to the Cleric version, which is the equivalent to full daylight. This affects game play mechanically in that creatures who take penalties for being in daylight are affected as well as being deadly to creatures like vampires. In order to maintain the Cleric version of Continual Light, there have to be two levels of effects. Light as a minor environmental change that can affect gameplay (characters can see in darkness) but doesn't have a mechanical effect (-1 to hit) or is deadly to a certain type of creature. A major environmental change would have one or both. If both, the said categories are small. If one or the other, they categories of creatures can be larger.

Water Breathing is the next challenge. Since the base of this spell category is Light, all spells must have an area effect, Water Breathing does not. Its 3" range nicely corresponds to the 3" diameter of the base area effect; however, this renders it a 2nd level spell — it has a base duration (12 turns approximates 6 + caster turns) and a Major Effect (water breathing, which has a mechanical effect for a large group of creatures) (+1 level). This opens up the possibility of creating a 3rd level water breathing spell with a permanent duration. Which leads me to Cloud Kill. It has a base area effect, a base duration and a Major Change (+1 level). Even if I add a spell level in order to independently move the spell effect around, that still renders it a 3rd level spell. Now you know why I have been dreading this spell category.

What this tells me is two things: I need to add a level step for the Effect of the spell and I need to allow for a relatively easy way to dispel permanent durations (the spell affects the water not the character, so that once the character leaves that body of water, the spell is dispelled, for example). Thus, for a Major Change there would be two level steps. The first would be a mechanical effect that affects a specific group (i.e. creatures affected by full daylight). The next step would affect a general group of creatures (i.e. non-water breathers or creatures with less than 5HD). This gets Water Breathing up to a 3rd level spell and eliminates the possibility of permanently being able to breath water. This only gets Cloud Kill to 4th level, even with a level added for independent movement. Frankly, I think I am okay with that.

Here are the rest of the spells in this category according to these mechanics:

• Telekinesis: base duration, base area effect, range 12" (+1 level), Major Effect [general group] (+2 levels), moves independently of caster (+1 level) = 5th level spell.
• Transmute Rock to Mud: duration = permanent (+1 level), area effect = 30" sq. (+1 level), range = 12" (+1 level) Major Effect [general group] (+2 levels) = 6th level spell.
• Lower Water: base duration, area effect = river (+1 level), range = 24" (+2 levels), Major Effect [general group] (+2 levels) = 6th level spell.
• Part Water: base duration, area effect = body of water 10' deep (+1 level), range = 12" (+1 level), Major Effect [general group] (+2 levels) = 5th level spell.
• Move Earth: base duration, area effect = hill or ridge (+1 level), range = 24" (+2 levels), Major Effect [general group] (+2 levels), moves independently of caster (+1 level) = 7th level spell.
• Control Weather: duration = permanent (+1 level), area effect = 30" sq. (+1 level), range = 24" (+2 levels), Minor Effect = 5th level spell.

I am actually fairly pleased. There are differences between these levels and their originals, but this is mostly due the the lack of balance in those originals (Lower Water vs. Part Water, for example). In most cases, one simply has to change one mechanic (usually range) to bump the spell up or down to match its original spell level. In the case of Change Weather, I would allow it to affect a specific group mechanically, thus making it a 6th level spell.

Base Spell: Make a minor change in the surrounding environment (light, temperature, etc.). Duration = 6 + caster level turns. Area Effect 3" diameter. Range none.

The following add 1 spell level:

• Duration = permanent (but can be easily be dispelled)
• Area Effect = 30" sq./a single small geographic feature
• Range = 12"
• Effect = affects a specific group mechanically
• Spell effect may be moved independently of the spell caster

The following add 2 spell levels:

• Range = 24"
• Effect = affects a general group mechanically

Example Spell Air Water
4th level spell. Duration = permanent [dispelled when caster leaves the water] (+1 level), Area Effect = 3" diameter, Range = none, Effect = makes water in the diameter breathable (+2 levels)

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 8

Communication

This category was actually quite straight forward:

Read Magic (1)Read magical incantations. Duration = short (one or two readings)
Read Languages (1)Same as Read Magic but for "directions" especially treasure maps.
Speak with Animals [2]Communicate with any form of animals. Duration = 6 turns Range = 3"
Speak with Plants [4]Communicate with any kind of plant. These will follow simple commands of the spell caster. Duration = 6 turns. Range = 3"
Commune [5]Allows three questions to be asked of a divine power. Veracity & knowledge near total. Usable only once a week.
Contact Higher Plane (5)Seek & gain knowledge from creatures of other planes. Only "yes" or "no" questions. The number of questions asked and their veracity increases chance of insanity.

Mechanics

The only real mechanical question here has to do with the 3" Range of Speak with Animals and Speak with Plants. If Range becomes a mechanical factor in determining level, than they each should be one spell level higher. But since none of the other spells (especially the higher level ones) seem to have any range mechanics at all, it seems reasonable to assume the 3" range of Speak with Animals and Speak with Plants simply indicates the range one would normally be able to have a conversation.

Base Spell: Read or speak a language otherwise unknown to character (fauna only). Duration = 3 rounds/caster level

The following add one level:

• Duration = 6 turns
• May communicate with creatures that do not have obvious means of communicating (flora, for example).
• Targets are predisposed to do what the caster asks of them (bonus to the reation roll)
• The following add two levels:
• Target is from a higher plane of existance (requires communication with non-fauna creatures and a Duration = 6 turns). This comes in two forms, depending on the spell caster. Clerics get 3 questions that will be answered honestly. Magic Users get up to 12 questions, but these must be "yes" "no." In addition the caster runs the risk of not only being lied to, but of going insane. The fewer the questions, the more likely they answers are false. The more questions asked, the higher chance of insanity. Maybe used no more than once/week.

Example Spell Speak in Tongues

3rd level spell. Speak any humanoid language with a bonus to the reaction roll to every one who hears (+1 level). Duration = 6 turns (+1 level)

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 7

Dispel

This is the first time that I have been compelled to look at later editions. Although there have been some surprising mechanics (such as CLW taking one full turn to take effect) nothing so far has been either confusing or ambiguous. Until now, that is. Both Dispel Magic and Dispel Evil have a duration of 1 turn. I find this difficult to interpret. Is this a spell that lasts for 1 turn until one object/spell/creature is dispelled? Or can the caster dispel everything with in range for 1 whole turn? Or is the one thing that is dispelled merely dispelled for a duration of 1 turn? Both B/X and 1ed give Dispel Magic an area effect (20' or 30' cube) which acts instantly and has a permanent duration, but does not affect magic items. In other words, the intention of the spell is to instantly cancel-out a spell or spell-like effect. It is in this spirit that I will proceed. Here are the spells as written:

Knock (2)
Dispel a magically locked door. Range = 6"
Dispel Magic (3)
Dispel all magic spells and/or spell-like effects. Range = 12"
Dispel Evil (5)
Dispel evil magic and evil creatures. Area Effect = 3"r.
Antimagic Shell (6)
Shield that blocks magic in and out. Range = self Duration = 12 turns

Mechanics

There are several mechanics that suggest themselves:

• Dispel Type: Knock is a very specific dispel — it cancels out one magic spell effect. Dispel Magic is general. Dispel Evil also affects summoned/extra planar creatures.
• Area Effect: Base is none. 3"r. would be the next step.
• Range: Self/touch would be the base. Problems arise with the different ranges of Knock and Dispel Magic. If 6" and 12" are kept as different steps, Dispel Magic should be a 4th level spell. Since the area effect of 3"r. would always include the caster, I am going to use 12" for a range step.
• Shield: This allows for a shield that cancels out spells going both in and out.
• Duration: Although there is only one duration given (12 turns for Antimagic Shield), if there is only one step for duration, it would leave Antimagic Shield a 5th level spell. Thus, I am going to add another step — 6 turns.

Base Dispel Spell: 1st level. Cancels out a specific spell or spell-like effect instantly and permanently. Range = touch

The following add 1 level:

• Affects all magic.
• Range = 12"
• Area Affect = 3" r.
• Duration = 6 turns

The following adds 2 levels:

• Affects summoned creatures (a missed saving throw = banishment; save = morale check failure)
• Duration = 12 turns
• Creates a shield that blocks spells in and out

Example Spell Obfuscate
4th level spell. Creates a shield (+2 levels) that cancels out Detection Spells both going in and out of the shield. Range = touch. Duration = 6 turns (+1 level).

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 6

Conjuration/Summon

This project has been fascinating. It has made me reexamine some of my own assumptions and prejudices. For example, I was sure Insect Plague was a summoning spell. Upon examining the mechanics, however, I come to find that it really is a Charm spell with a summoning special effect. Ultimately, this is why I want to do this project — so that we all can have spells that reflect whatever special effect we want and still have a solid, consistent mechanical system behind those special effects. Without Insect Plague, I am left with three spells:

Animate Dead (5)
Duration = permanent until dispelled. Area Effect = 1d6 corpses Creature HD = approx. 1-6
Conjure Elemental (5)
Duration = concentration. Range = 24" Creature HD = 16
Invisible Stalker (6)
Duration = permanent until task is complete. Range = ? Creature HD = 8

Mechanics:

This category has five discernible mechanics:

• Duration. All are permanent, but there are two qualifiers — concentration and a given task. Thus, their are three possible durations.
• Range. Conjure Elemental has an explicit Range of 24". The others have no range.
• Area Effect: Animate Dead affects 1-6 corpses. There is no explicit area given here. I am going to choose to understand this a "general area" (sewer, swamp, lake, etc.)
• Creature Type: Conjure Elemental and Invisible Stalker both conjure extra-planar creatures whereas Animate Dead is dependent upon "creatures" that are already there.
• Creature HD. There are three categories. Animate Dead initially can summon a max of 6HD (Zombies being 1HD creatures), Invisible Stalkers are 8HD and Conjure Elemental specifies a 16HD creature. This suggests three ranges: 1-6HD, 7-12HD and 13-19HD.

Every spell assumes that the caster has control over the summoned/conjured creature. Given these mechanics, Invisible Stalker ends up as a 5th level spell and Conjure Elemental is 6th level — exactly the opposite as they appear in the LBBs; however, I am not going to quibble.

Base Conjure/Summon Spell: 2nd level spell. Summons 1 extant creature of a specific type with 1-6 (d6) HD. Duration = concentration. Range = none. Area Effect = none. Caster has control of the summoned creature.

The following add one level:

• Duration = fulfillment of a single task (no concentration necessary).
• Range = 24" (the creature can appear/be anywhere within 24")
• Number of Creatures = any number totaling the HD summoned (If 3HD are summoned, the base spell summons one 3HD creature. This allows those 3HD to be divided among a number of smaller HD creatures — three 1HD creatures or six 1/2HD creatures, for example). This is a general area effect (sewer, swamp, lake, etc.).
• Creature Type = extra planar (creature does not need to already be available)
• Creature HD = 7-12 (d6+6) HD

The following add two levels:

• Duration = permanent
• Creature HD = 12-18 (d6+12) HD

Example Spell Summon Rat Swarm:
3rd Level Spell. Duration = concentration. Creature Type = Rat (1/2HD). Creature HD = d6. Creature Number = 2 per HD Summoned (+1 level). This spell requires that rats already exists in the general area.

OD&D Magic Champions Style Part 5

Transform

For Memorial Day weekend, I decided to try to and tackle one of the more daunting spell categories. Truth be told, "daunting" is an understatement. The more I fiddle with this, the more problems I either create or find. Levels are in () for Magic Users and [] for Clerics. The mechanics follow:

Infravision (3)Allows recipient to see in total darkness 40-60 feet. Duration = 1 day
Polymorph Self (4)Change into anything. Gain movement abilities, but not combat abilities. Duration = 6 + caster level turns
Polymorph Other (4)Change into anything. Gain all abilities, including combat; however, "not necessarily" the mentality and HP (a troll polymorphed into a snail would resist being stepped on). Duration = until dispelled.
Plant Growth (4)Cause normal bushes or woods to become impassable. Range = 12" Area Effect = 30" sq. (!) Duration = permanent unless dispelled by Dispel Magic
Turn Sticks to Snakes [4]Changes 2-16 sticks into snakes with a 50% chance that they will be poisonous. The snakes perform according to the caster's orders. Duration = 6 turns. Range = 12"
Animal Growth (5)Causes 1-6 normal sized animals to become giant-sized with appropriate attack abilities. Duration = 12 turns. Range = 12"
Reincarnation (6)Transforms dead character into a randomly determined living creature based on original alignment. Duration = permanent.
Stone to Flesh (6)Turns stone into living flesh. Used primarily to revive "stoned" characters. Reversible. Duration = permanent. Range = 12"
Death Spell (6)Instantly kills from 2-16 creatures with less than 7HD in a 6"x6" area. Range = 24"
Disintegrate (6)Causes any kind of material (except for magical) to disintegrate. Duration = permanent. Range = 6"

Please note: I moved Infravision, Death Spell and Reincarnation into this category.

Mechanics

For the sake of discussing this category, I am assuming that the base Transform spell has the following stats:

Gain one non-combat trait (i.e. infravision). Duration = 6 + caster level turns. Range = touch.
Looking at all the spells in this group, there seems to be suggested a progression on Duration — 6 turns, 1 day, permanent. Having three possible durations, however, means that it is impossible to have Plant Growth a 4th level spell — it is ranged (+1 level), has an area effect (+1 level) and a permanent duration (+2 levels) for a total of +4 levels or 5th level. Following this logic, Infravision ends up as a 2nd level spell (its only modifier from the base is Duration = 1 day for +1 level). If we get rid of the 1 day duration (returning Plant Growth to 4th level), Infravision becomes a 2nd level spell with a permanent duration. In addition, even though there seems to be a nice discernible group of effects (one non-combat characteristic; all non-combat characteristics; combat characteristics; inanimate to animate; animate to inanimate), without a Duration = 1 day option, spells like Flesh to Stone would only be 5th level — duration = permanent (+1 level), affects all non-combat & combat characteristics (+2 levels) and animate to inanimate (+1) level for a total of +4 levels or level 5. Either way, Infravision is still a 2nd level spell. If we reduce the base Transform spell to only affect inanimate objects (thus adding another level to Infravision and restoring to 3rd level) it makes higher level spells higher than 6th level. Thus, I will move forward with three possible durations and Infravision as a 2nd level spell.

On a positive note, with the exception of Death Spell and Disintegrate, Range is consistently Touch or 12"; however, problems again arise with Area Effect and number affected. These are all over the place, with the most extreme being 30" sq. (Plant Growth, which is primarily used to make a terrain impassable). Otherwise, they affect a specific number of targets — 1-6 or 2-16. I will opt for the happy medium of 2-12 and use the 6"x6" area suggested by Death Spell.

More problems arise with the three examples of the "animate to inanimate" spells. All are 6th level spells, but have different ranges, area effects and even durations:

• Flesh to Stone: Range = 12"; affects one target; permanent until dispelled
• Death Spell: Range = 24"; affects 2-16 targets; permanent (reversible via raise dead)
• Disintegrate: Range = 6"; affects one target; permanent

Death Spell is significantly more powerful, even though it only affects creatures less than 7HD. But, even if it is ignored for purposes of figuring out range and area effect and the base range for the others is assumed to be the same (12"), there is no apparent way to reverse or dispel Disintegrate (Flesh to Stone can be dispelled via Stone to Flesh). Given that this spell category is ripe for abuse and in order to smooth out this discrepancy, I am going to say all Transform spells can be reversed or dispelled.

Reincarnation offers up the next hurdle. It is, in essence, the reverse of the three spells above, but does not have the range. According to the developing model, it should be a 5th level spell — duration = permanent (+2 levels), Gain all non-combat traits + combat traits (+2 levels). I would see this as a problem, save for the fact that a mere Dispel Magic can now kill the reincarnated character.

One of the largest problems with this group is with the two Polymorph spells (shocking, I know). Polymorph Other is significantly more powerful than Polymorph Self despite the fact that both are 4th level spells. If two characters were polymorphed into dragons, one by each spell, one would have a breath weapon and attack as a dragon, while the other would have no breath weapon and attack with their normal attack dice. The first would be a dragon until the polymorph was dispelled and the latter would revert to their original form 6 + caster level turns later. This discrepancy is reflected by my working model for this group. Polymorph Self should be a 3rd level spell: the caster gains all non-combat traits (+1 level) and is able to transform into inanimate objects (+1 level) for a total of +2 levels, or 3rd level. Whereas Polymorph Other stats out as 5th level: Duration = permanent (+2 level), target gains all non-combat and combat traits (+2 levels), for a total of +4 levels, or 5th level.

In other words, when trying to make sense out of this category, I have a tough choice: allow the high level spells to exist and thus lowering the spell level of some of the lower level Transform spells (and open up the game to abuse) or keep the lower level spells at their original level, but eliminate the higher level spells as written. For now, I am willing to try the former in order to keep the flavor of the higher level spells, but this category must come with a huge caveat and close scrutiny by the Referee.

Base Transform Spell: Gain one non-combat trait (i.e. infravision). Duration = 6 + caster level turns. Range = touch. EDIT: as can be seen in the comments, Roger the GS of Roles, Rules, and Rolls has pointed out that having the base Transform spell only affect living creatures solves a good deal of the potential abuse problems.

The following add one spell level:

• Duration = 1 day
• Range = 12"
• Gain all non-combat traits — you look like a dragon and can fly like a dragon, but you don't have a breath weapon and you use the same combat dice you always do.
• Affects 2-12 targets in a 6x6" area.
• Traits affect combat (requires Gain all non-combat traits) — you look like a dragon and fight like one too.
• Ability to transform non-living inanimate objects into living objects or vice-versa. (requires Gain all non-combat traits) — when a caster turns himself into a non-living object this is not an instant kill; however, when cast upon another target, it is.

The following add two levels:

• Duration = permanent.

Note: all effects of Transform spells can be reversed and dispelled.
EDIT: What follows is a warning to those who (like I once did) think that Transform ought to be able to affect non-living objects.

As an example of the abuse this might very well produce, I give you Turn Lead into Gold:

1st level spell. Transform lead into Gold (one non-combat trait). Duration = 6 + caster level turns. Range = touch.

So, the Referee has to be creative or authoritarian about this. I prefer the former — in a world where Turning Lead into Gold exists (and where a mere Dispel Magic spell can destroy an entire fortune), merchants would have developed means to detect the authenticity of the currency they trade in. Any gold that radiates of magic would be deemed worthless and transactions would require a wait time of at least one day in order to wait out the Durations of lower level spells. In fact, now that I am thinking about it, this opens the door to a whole subculture in a fantasy setting based around the movement of currency . . .