SquiddWizzard

The difference between Witches, Wizards, and Warlocks is often stated to be a matter of gender. That's not interesting. Here's an alternative split. The Witch and the Wizard will be a separate post. WARLOCKS Warlocks are mortals who gain supernatural power as a result of a Pact with a Patron. (Yes, I'm using D&D 3.5/4E/5E terminology to simplify things. Deal with it.) The Patron is a powerful supernatural entity. A high-ranking demon, one of the fairy queens, an ancient vampire or lich. A typical prospective Warlock has to do the following things: Summon/Call the Patron Make a Pact with the Patron Follow-through on it SUMMON The Pact typically starts with a ritual to summon the Patron. For some Patrons, the Patron is not summoned but the ritual instead gathers their attention. These entities are too powerful to be summoned, too vast to enter our world without breaking it. Instead, the ritual may summon a proxy, or perhaps an avatar of the Patron, or...

My post on the Hypnophage was recently covered on the excellent Blogs on Tape podcast. I have not posted in some time. Grad school, insomnia, depression--not to mention other hobbies, etc. I won't make excuses, but I do know the blog is inconsistent. It's a difficult habit to get into, especially when you generally are more of a critical/analytical person as opposed to a creative type. Turning off the editing brain and turning on the write brain is very difficult for me apparently. But, hopefully I'll be posting more regularly.

First blog post in ages. Life happens. Anyway, I decided to make it a fun/weird one. SPORELING Sporelings are mushroom people. Hit Dice, Saving Throws, THACO: As Fighter Armor Proficiency: None Weapon Proficiency: None, but see Unarmed damage below. Levels 1-3 1d6 Levels 4-6: 1d8 Levels 7-10: 1d10 Maximum Level: 10 Fungal regeneration: When a Sporeling's hit points are reduced to 0 their body instantly disintegrates into a jelly like mass. If you use Death & Dismemberment Tables or other houserules for death, it is recommended that they do not apply to Sporelings. When Sporelings disintegrate, their bodies release spores, which turn into new Sporelings. Fire and acid (including magical fire and acid) applied to the mass prevent the regeneration. The new Sporelings are all level 1 Sporelings. To determine how many Sporeling sare generated, roll 1d10. The first column indicates the Sporeling's level. The top row indicates the die result. If a l...

School's done, and I've been putting a lot of energy into another hobby--gardening. I decided I'm going to try doing longer posts, less frequently. I was thinking the other day about the fact that wizards (or witches, and warlocks) are generally portrayed as being educated at schools. Whether it's a high/middle school like Hogwarts, Pratchett's Unseen University, Sabrina's Academy of Unseen Arts, etc. This does bring up a few interesting concepts: Perhaps 'School of Magic' is a literal thing. You could have an Arcanist's Academy, with a College of Conjuration, College of Illusion, College of Enchantment, etc.; all with their own respective Deans and administrative staff. Greek life allegories--wizards are often thought of as frail, old men; but that really only makes sense for professors/faculty. Adding in wizard fraternities and sororities adds in some complex dynamics.  fraternities with rivalries and ensuing pranks Pledges Hazing scandals...

This post brought to you by two weeks of insomnia. Hypnophage (base): Feeding form: an indistinct, human-shaped figure with waxy, opalescent skin. Resting form: a hard,opalescent plaque-like film with a waxy finish AC (base +/- HD)  HD (varies, starts at 1)  Att  pseudopod THACO & saves: as fighter The Hypnophage does not want your gold, your flesh, your blood, or your soul. It feeds on your sleep. Or rather, it feeds on your capacity to sleep in the future. It attacks and feeds using pseudopods which emerge from it's chest and stomach. Combat: On a successful attack roll the Hypnophage grapples and immobilizes the target.  The target can attempt to escape on it's turn on successful save vs paralysis. If the target is still immobilized on the Hypnophage's next turn, it feeds. Feeding: The Hypnophage deals 1d8 sleep damage to the target and gains the same amount in temporary hit points.  Once the Hypnophage's temporary hit points equal it's...

When I was a little kid, like real little, I somehow heard of marine biologists and wanted to be one. Then it was paleontology, then at some point actuary. Probably others in there too. Anyway, I love how the ocean is kind of a different planet entirely. I've heard great things about subterranean adventuring in Veins of the Earth , though I haven't purchased it (yet), but making something similar for aquatic encounters sounds interesting. Cephalopods are a potential option for player race/classes: They're smart They have arms, so it's reasonable that they could use weapons and shields and investigate dungeons Many cephalopods can change color. This adds a potential new source of magic component (you have to wave your tentacles like this, and be just the right color mauve to get this one right!) You can fart inky sneezes! I think a roughly human sized squid such as the Humboldt Squid ( Dosidicus gigas)  works best for this idea Most species of octopus and squ...