The Other Side

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: Fata Norne, the Fates

I am now at my last set of gods (or whatever the Fates are), which brings me full circle. Today, I want to talk about the Fates.

Fata Norne

When I began this project I talked about this book of mythology I had that had stories of the Greek myths, the Norse myths, and ending in Beowulf. In my young mind, these looked like a continuum, one set of tales flowed into the next.  While age would teach me that these were separate myths, later age would also teach me they are still just one set of myths from an even older source (Proto-Indo-European, which I still want to tackle one day). But even way back then (I want to say 5th Grade) I saw the similarities between the Greek Fates and the Norse Norns. Three women, each representing the Past, Present, and Future, spinning, weaving, or otherwise looming the fate of humankind. Each person, from birth until death.

The image was powerful, and I was sure there was a connection between them. Even doing the briefest of surface research (ok, briefest of literature review. I am particular how people throw the word "research" around) one kind find similar beings all over the Earth and across time due to their PIE origins.

  • Albanian: Fatia
  • English: Wyrds
  • Greek: Moirai
  • Hinduism: Tridevi
  • Hittite: Gulses
  • Lithuanian: Deives Valdytojos
  • Norse: Norns

Those are only the most obvious. 

For my Pantheon here I want to include them. They were important to the Greeks and Romans in their guise of The Fates (Moirai) and very important in Norse myth. Indeed, in Norse mythology, every living creature had a corresponding set of Norns that measured out their fates. 

I will also admit (and a little begrudgingly now) that some of my ideas of the Fates have also been colored by the Piers Anthony book series, The Incarnations of Immortality, with Book 3 With a Tangled Skein chief among them. The first five books were fun. The next two ok to falling apart at the end (it's like he had painted himself into a corner among other issues) and the last one? Well I have not read it despite owning it, I heard it was terrible. 

Fata Norne

The Fates of the Black Forest Mythos are not gods in the traditional sense. They are immortal, or more accurately, unending. They often appear as three young, mature, and old women in similar aspects of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone, though that is not who they are. Instead, they are Future, Present, and Past respectively. They can also appear as three identical sisters of indeterminate age. It is their job to measure the fates of the Gods and Mortals alike. No one, not even the Gods, can escape their decrees. It has led to a saying, "Once Fate has spoken, it is so."

FATA NORNE

Eternals

ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: 24" 
HIT POINTS: 300 each
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Special Only
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Decree of Fate
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See Below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 100%

SIZE: M (5')
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: None
SYMBOL: The faces of three women or a loom
PLANE: Erde (Prime Material)

CLERIC/DRUID: 15th level Cleric
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 15th level Magic-user
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 10th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: 15th level Witch
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 23 I: 25 W: 25 D: 16 C: 24 CH: 10

Fata Norne, the Fates, are the goddesses in charge of all fates, from the lowest vermin to the mightiest gods. They do not interact with mortals save in the direst of circumstances. They avoid direct contact with the other gods; likewise, the gods avoid and possibly fear them.

If the Fates are encountered, they need a mortal agent of fate to complete some quest. They will give this mortal what they need but no more than that. It is assumed that since they know all creatures' fates, their choice is correct, but that is not the same thing as the mortal succeeding or even living through the quest.

If anyone is foolish enough to attack the Fata Norne, they can pass the Decree of Fate. Which removes the threat permanently. They decree that the attacker was never born and they cease to exist; no saving throw is permitted. In some cases, the offending mortal (or god) is instantly replaced with an alternate version who lived the same life but was not as foolish as to attack them. 

They can't be hit by normal weapons; even magic is ineffective. In addition to the radical removal of the offending attacker from all existence, they can, more simply, remove their attacker's knowledge of whatever magic they would use to attack. 

At their choice, they can cast spells as a 15th-level spell caster, either as a Cleric, Magic-user, or Witch.

No one worships the Fata Norne, and they do not grant spells to clerics.

--

There you have it! All the gods and monsters of this syncretized set of myths. Hope you can find some uses for them.

Now to produce a PDF of these.

Links


#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 29

 Encounter area 29 is a large goat demon. He has been waiting for you.

Room 29

This is the Demon Prince Akelarre.

He is the demonic patron of the Vampire Queen. They have an agreement and he is protecting her tomb, but he is under no obligation to stay and will retreat if the battle goes against him.

Unlike the others on this level, he can come and go as he pleases. Indeed he is the one that summons these creatures here. He is given all the spoils of this level.


Looking Ahead to 2024: It's Always Sunny in Baldur's Gate

Image by FreepikImage by FreepikI have yet to talk much about my plans for 2024; it is a big year for D&D. It is the 50th Anniversary, a new edition (well...5.x or 5R) is coming out, and there should be a lot of nostalgia and navel-gazing.

Incidentally, 2024 is also the Year of the Dragon.

Tentatively, I am looking at the following "theme months."

January will be part of TardisCaptain's New Year New Character challenge. Mine though will be delving into some of my favorite characters since I started playing D&D.

April is the A to Z Challenge, where I will write about D&D and its history.

May is Sci-Fi month and I'll do a deep dive into Gamma World, Star Frontiers, and the d20 Star Wars. I'll also looking into games with a solid D&D connection with me. 

June has typically been Basic-era month where I focus a lot on B/X, BECMI, and OSE/LL. I really want to be sure I do that this year.

August is Dave Chapman's RPGaDAY month. I pretty much do this one as is. But I might focus on D&D more than other games. 

October is "horror" month for me. I want to focus on Ravenloft. All my horror movies will also all be connected to D&D in some way. Either movies from Appendix N authors or horror movies that mention D&D or fantasy/horror. I'll start putting together my list soon.

Additionally, I have something else fun planned throughout the year that I am keeping close to my chest for now.

But the big thing for me next year is going to be my year-long exploration of the Forgotten Realms. 

New Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms and Me

I was never a Forgotten Realms fan. I dismissed it in the 1980s as an "upstart," ignored it in the early 90s, and actively disliked it in the late 90s. But it seems my ire was misplaced. Around the time the 3rd Edition Realms book came out I was beginning to soften my stance. By the 4th Ed era I was considering moving a campaign to the Realms. In the 5th Ed era I made it official, more or less.

Honestly, my coverage of Ed Greenwood's work in the pages of Dragon magazine changed my mind. 

These past few months, I have been playing the hell out of Baldur's Gate 3, and my desire to play in the Realms has only grown. 

To this end, I have amassed a small collection of Forgotten Realms books. Nothing special, just ones that I have come by easily either at game auctions, Half-Price Books, or as in the books pictured above, Print on Demand from DriveThruRPG. So I will go over them in detail throughout the editions.

I'd like to run a Realms-based game someday, but I am still figuring out what edition to use. Part of me thinks I need to do it in AD&D 2nd Edition since that was the edition that was the most "Realms" to me. 

The Forgotten Realms to me was always viewed through the eyes of a character, whether that was Elminster or Drizzt or whomever. Likewise, I am going to look into the Realms through the eyes of a new character. Presently I am leaning toward my half-elf sorceress Sinéad. I know I want use someone that has magic, and someone that I can tie to the rich lore of elves in this world. She is also one of two characters I had specifically created for the Realms in all my years of gaming. I think I owe it to myself to actually give her a spin someday.  However, my wife reminded me the other night that Keller the Silent Monk might also be fun.

In any case, 2024 is going to be a busy year of posting here and I am looking forward to it.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 28

 Encounter area 28 is another portal. Out hops (yes) is a white rabbit dressed as an adventurer.

Room 28

This is Sir Fluffles. He is a Neutral Good 7th-level Ranger. His favored enemies are dragons. He is about the size of a halfling. He will join the party if asked, he is actually quite brave. He has a short sword +1, +3 vs dragons. He knows nothing about Vampire Queen but thinks she sounds positively horrible. He asks if you know anything about the Dragon King. 

If the party encounters a dragon he will quite literally hop at the chance to fight it.

--

Sir Fluffles is not a bad character and would be fun with the right group. He comes from a world where all the main lifeforms are anthropomorphic animals. Think D&D meets Bunnies & Burrows. 

We were playing with the bunnies tonight.

Sir Fluffles


Monstrous Mondays: D&DGII Ulmenfrau

Ok. Back it! We had some measurable snow here in Chicagoland, and I thought a snow monster might be nice for today. But while working on it, it morphed into something else.  So I might bring those original ideas back later, but for today let do the monster that came out of this process. The Ulmenfrau.

UlmenfrauUlmenfrau

The Ulmenfrau, or "Elm Wives" are what my Roman-Germanic/Norse Pagans call the tree spirits of the Black Forest Mythos. They are related to the Norse Askafroa of the Ash Trees.  They also fold in elements of the Nisse of the Scandinavian countries, the Greek Pteleai (Elm Dryads), and the nymph Chione.  There are some elements of the Norse myth of Ask and Embla here as well.

Ulmenfrau are tree nymphs, so they most like dryads but can move further away from their trees. It is believed that Ulmenfrau are actually tied to a grove of elm trees rather than a specific singular tree.  It is said they are the daughters of the North Wind and can be encountered most frequently after the first snowfall.

They are closely associated with the European White Elm ("Ulmus laevis").

ULMENFRAU
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1 (2-12)
ARMOR CLASS: 4 
MOVE: 90"
HIT DICE: 5+10 (32 hp)
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: None
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 club or spell
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Magic Use
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to charm, hold, sleep, and other mind-affecting spells. Immune to Cold attacks, vulnerable to fire and iron.
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Very
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (Good)
SIZE: M (under 5')
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

The Ulmenfrau, or Elm Woman or Elm Wife, is a type of woodland faerie creature similar to nymphs and dryads. Indeed, she may be a type of dryad and shows many similarities to the Askafroa found in ash tree groves. The Ulmenfrau as the name suggests, is the spirit of the Elm tree, though this fae is not tied to any specific tree, but rather the grove at large. A grove of 100 trees can support a dozen or so ulmenfraus. Larger groves can support more but often no more than a dozen will ever be spotted. When dealing with mortals they typically agree on a single ulmenfrau to interact.

Ulmenfraus are not combative as a rule. They can attack with a club when needed, but they mostly will attack and defend with magical spells, typically that of a 4th-level Druid or Witch. They will avoid using fire-based magic.  If their need is dire then a group or three or more ulmenfrau can cast Control Weather as if they were a druid circle or a coven of witches. They will use this to blanket their grove in deep snow and sub-freezing temperatures. 

All ulmenfraus are immune to mind-affecting and altering magics. They can not be charmed, held, or put to sleep. They are also immune to the effects of cold, either magical or mundane, and thus do not take damage from cold-based magic. Like many fae creatures, they take extra damage (+3 to damage per hit) weapons made of cold iron. Cold iron weapons are those that lack carbon to make them steel. They are hard and heavy weapons that break easily. Also, they take double the damage from any fire-based attacks.

Ulmenfrau are hard to find in summer months, where they are busy making sure their grove is growing, they can be spoted in their humanoid form most often in the winter. Here, they appear as slight (only 5' tall) elven women light grayish brown skin that gets lighter as they age with white hair. Like many dryads their hair changes with the seasons, but green-haired and red-haired ulmenfrau are harder to find. They are thought to venture out in winter to explore and potentially find mates. Though unlike other dryads the ulmenfrau have no magical ability to charm. 

It is believed that the ulmenfrau are the offspring of the North Wind and the Wood Maidens.

Links


#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 27

 Encounter area 27 is quite bright. For 100' feet in either direction (East-West) of 27 is filled with glowing mushrooms. There is a mushroom every 5'. 

Room 27

As the party moves through there is a 1 in 6 chance that they will set off one of the mushrooms. 

The mushrooms, if touched, will explode. If it explodes there is a 1 in 4 chance that the next one will explode as well. This will keep going for the 200 total feet.

Area 27

Each explosion deals 4d6 hp of damage, save for half. Drop a d6 for every 10' the mushroom is from the victim. 

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 26

 A portal in Area 26 is similar to the one found in Area 25. From this one, a horse-headed demon comes out.

Room 26

This is a Mezu Demon, a type of Yokai demon.

Mezu Demon (Yokai)

Armor Class -1 [20]
Hit Dice 8* (36 hp)
Attacks 2 claws (1d8+6, 1d8+6), 1 bite (1d10+6)
Special Magic resistance (45%), darkness, immune to poison.
THAC0 12 [+7]
Movement 120’ (40’)
Saving Throws D8 W9 P10 B11 S12 SS 8 (8)
Morale 12
Alignment Chaotic
XP 1,750
Number Appearing 1 (1)
Treasure Type C

Mezu demons are low-level, but powerful horse-headed demons that have two purposes, keep people out of hell nad keep those in from coming out. 

They are very strong (22 strength). They can use weapons but prefer to use their claws and bite. Their heads are horse-like, but filled with sharp teeth. 

They can gate in 1d4 Mezu Demons or 1d4 Jigoku Demons (similar stats, but with Ox heads). Gating them in comes with an obligation of future service, so the Mezu will not gate them in unless the Hóu Yaoguai is with the party.

If the party has the Hóu Yaoguai demon with them they will attack each other. The Yaoguai and the Yokai are ancient enemies. This is true is the Mezu is with the party when encountering the Hóu.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 25

 Area 25 is the home to a portal to another world. Like all the portals on this level is it one way. When the party gets within 15' of it a humanoid monkey-like creature steps through.

Room 25

The creature is a Hóu Yaoguai. It is evil, it is angry, but it is also intelligent.  If the party explains their are not the reason it is here it will not attack them, yet.  The Hóu Yaoguai will attempt to discover all it can about his world and attempt to recruit the PC to its side by claiming it will aid them in their quest to find the Vampire Queen. 

This is all true, but the demon still plans on betraying them the first chance it gets.

Doctor Who RPG: The Lost Children of Time

 A couple of weeks back, I took a bit of a break to talk about some SciFi ideas I had.  Well, it must have nestled into my brain and laid eggs that hatched because I now have a bunch more ideas. Or maybe because Doctor Who has been on my mind a lot lately since yesterday was the 60th Anniversary of the show and tomorrow is the premier of the 60th Anniversary special.  One of those ideas was something I was calling "The Lost Children of Time."  The idea was half-baked, at best, but that ended today.

Redjac

Doctor Who RPG: The Lost Children of Time

Now to be fair this doesn't have to be used with the Doctor Who RPG. But I think the feel of the 2nd Edition game might fit this the best. Plus I think I would run this as a one-shot.  So who are the characters? The eponymous Lost Children of Time?  Well, they are the reason I put this together to start with so let us see who they are.

  • Jonas Kahnwald (Dark) - Age 20, he ceases to exist when his world timeline is destroyed.
  • Martha Nielsen (Dark) - Age 20, from a parallel world/timeline. Her timeline is also destroyed when Jonas' is to make room for a third (or original) timeline where they do not exist.
  • Cal Stone (Manifest) - Age 22. The older version of the Cal Stone that was temporarily displaced on Flight 828. When the time was reset Cal was returned as age 11. This is 22-year-old Cal.
  • DC Iris Maplewood (Bodies) - Age ??. From an alternate future (2053) where England is under near fascist rule. She is sent back in time to 1890, 1941, and 2023.  For reasons unknown, her 2023 counterpart survives the collapse of her timeline.

The characters all bring something to the table. Jonas is our everyday guy. Martha is already used to fighting and dealing with strange things. Cal has a sixth sense and visions (Callings), and Iris is a cop. All have time-travel experience. 

But who is it they are after? Well, that came to me today.

They are fighting a time and space displaced Jack the Ripper.

How is that possible? Easy. Let's take another time travel movie, Time After Time from 1979. It features Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper. Both who have solid sci-fi credits to their name including parts in various Star Trek movies and series.   In this movie H.G. Wells builds a working time machine, but it is stolen by his friend Stevenson, aka Jack the Ripper. He travels to 1979 where he picks up his killings anew. Wells follows him when his time machine returns.  While in 1979 Jack attempts to escape but Wells removes the "vaporizing equalizer" from the machine. This causes the time machine to remain, but send Jack to "oblivion" according to Wells. We assume he is dead.

But if he wasn't?

Que the Second Season Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold."  In this episode (note: it really doesn't hold up well despite being a good horror episode written by Robert Bloch) we meet Redjac, a non-corporeal entity that murders women to feed on their fear. Spock's reasoning aside I am going to go back on to my tried true explanation of psychic ability is a sex-linked trait on the X chromosome. People with XX chromosomes are more likely to have psychic abilities than people with XY. This is what Redjac feeds on. Everyone feels fear, but people with greater psychic potential are a better meal to it.

Redjac in the episode is believed to have been the cause of Jack the Ripper. But what if it was the other way around? What if H.G. Wells sending Stevenson/Jack to "oblivion" only freed it from its corporeal form and sent out into Time and Space to hunt anew?

I would need to figure out how this group comes together. How they find the clues and then how they solve the mystery of the Ripper-like murders of women in 2023.

Easiest of course would be to have Jonas and Martha in London where they get into Iris' cab/Uber. Cal is easy, he has a vision and goes there.  There is my plot twist too. Redjac normally only murders women because of their greater psychic potential, but Cal with his callings is a much tastier target. 

How do they defeat the Ripper/Redjac? 

No idea yet. But it will involve some time travel to be sure. 

The key here was David Warner. He was amazing as Stevenson/Jack the Ripper in "Time After Time." He has played no less than three separate characters in Star Trek and a character in Doctor Who. He was also in an Outer Limits episode about Jack the Ripper that uses a similar idea. 

Also is Redjac/Jack content to travel in time or does he have a greater purpose? 

It sounds like a lot of fun and I can't wait to try it out.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 24

 Entering Encounter Area 24 the characters hear growling and the squawking of birds.

Room 24

Here are two Type I demons, Vrocks, fighting over a dead elf.

Vrock Demon: HD 8; AC 0 [19]; Atk 1 beak (1d6), 2 foreclaws (1d8), 2 rear claws (1d6); Move 12 (Fly 18); Save 8; AL C; CL/XP 11/1700; Special: Magic resistance (50%), darkness, immune to fire.

Type I Demon (Vrock)

Armor Class 0 [19]
Hit Dice 8* (36 hp)
Attacks 2 foreclaws (1d8), 2 rear claws (1d6), 1 beak (1d6)
Special Magic resistance (50%), darkness, immune to fire.
THAC0 12 [+7]
Movement 120’ (40’)
  Fly 180' (60')
Saving Throws D8 W9 P10 B11 S12 SS 8 (8)
Morale 10
Alignment Chaotic
XP 1,750
Number Appearing 1 (1)
Treasure Type A

These demons are vulture-headed, with feathered but humanoid bodies, and huge dark-feathered wings. All can create darkness in a radius of 5-ft. and are immune to fire. They use their wings to allow both their arms and legs to be brought into combat, along with their beaked bite. Vrock demons are quite stupid, though like most demons they consider themselves to be tremendously intelligent. A Vrock has a 10% chance to gate another first-category demon to its assistance. (S&W SRD).

--

Here are a couple of Turkey Demons, Happy Thanksgiving from The Other Side!

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 23

 Encounter area 23 is the strangest one yet.

When the characters enter the area they hear a loud metallic grating sound. A blue box, about 8 ft tall and 4ft by 4ft on base appears out of nowhere. A light shines on the top of the box.


A man in strange garb pokes his head out and looks around. He says "Oh. Hello. Sorry, but stupid question, is this Earth? I am supposed to meet someone, about a thing. Well. Two things." 

He looks around for a moment, then says "Right. Have to be off." 

He goes back into the box and it makes the same grating and groaning noise and disappears.

--

Happy 60th Anniversary Doctor Who!

Please feel free to use any version of the Doctor you like.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 21

 Encounter area 21 is a cul-de-sac with a flight of stairs down to a collection of books in a small library.

Room 21

There are scores of books. Most are mundane but there are 30 books detailing monsters enough to grant readers an additional 500 xp.

There are also five spell books with random spells.

First level: 1d10+3
Second level: 1d8+4
Third level: 1d6+2
Fourth level: 1d6+1
Fifth level: 1d4+1

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: References

O. Von Corven "The Great Library of Alexandria" Artistic Rendering of the Library of Alexandria, based on some archaeological evidence.The end is nigh! I have one more set of gods I want to do for this project, and then I'll see if I can put together a PDF for everyone.  

I said I was not going to treat this as an academic work. Especially since I blatantly ignored things like real archeology, anthropology, and ethnographic studies. But I thought others might be interested in some of the legwork I did to get where I am on this today.

This is not a comprehensive bibliography, not even a targeted one. It is a catch-as-catch-can one based on the books I was reading when I started having these ideas.

References

Daileader, P. (2013). The Early Middle Ages. The Teaching Company.

Drake, J. (2020). Viking Mythology: 2 Books In 1 – The Complete Guide to Norse Mythology and Celtic Mythology Including Legends, Beliefs, Norse Folklore, Norse Gods, and Celtic Myths. Josh Drake.

D’Aulaire, I., & D’Aulaire, E. P. (1962, 1992). Book of greek myths. Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

Gaiman, N. (2018). Norse mythology. Bloomsbury.

Gosden, C. (2021). Magic: A history: From alchemy to witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the present. Picador.

Hale, J. R. (2013). Exploring the Roots of Religion. The Teaching Company.

Harl , K. W. (2011). The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity. The Teaching Company.

Harl, K. W. (2005). The Vikings. The Teaching Company.

Higginbotham, J., & Higginbotham, R. (2018). Paganism: An introduction to earth-centered religions. Llewellyn Publications.

Lecouteux, C. (2016). Encyclopedia of norse and germanic folklore, mythology, and magic. Inner Traditions.

Lewis, S. (2018). Mythology mega collection: Classic stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythology. Scott Lewis.

Line, P. (2015). The Vikings and their enemies: Warfare in Northern Europe, 750-1100. Skyhorse Publishing.

O’Donnell, J. J. (2016). Pagans: The end of traditional religion and the rise of Christianity. ECCO an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

River, C. (Ed.). (2018). The Ancient World’s Most Mysterious Religious Cults: The History of the Cult of the Apis Bull, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the Mysteries of Mithras. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Voth, G. L. (2013). Myth in Human History. The Teaching Company.

Waggoner, B. (2009). The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok. The Troth.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 20

 The creature in Encounter Area 20 looks like some sort of glowing ball floating in mid-air. In truth it is the glowing heart of an Infernal Gelatinous Cube.

Room 20

An Infernal Gelatinous Cube is a larger cousin to the common Gelatinous Cube. 

In addition to greater HD (10) and enhanced hp, this monstrosity has an infernal intelligence. 

It has an aura of heat that causes 1d8 hp of damage to all within 5' of it. It is also immune to fire and flame attacks. 

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 19

 Characters can hear a loud droning sound coming from encounter area 19 long before they see it.

Room 19

The monster is a Mezzalorn (a Wasp Demon).

Mezzalorn Demon (Wasp Demon)

Armor Class -3 [22]
Hit Dice 12* (54 hp)
Attacks 2 claws (1d6), 1 sting (2d6 + poison)
Special Magic resistance (10%), immune to poison
THAC0 11 [+8]
Movement 120’ (40’)
  Fly 120' (40')
Saving Throws D6 W7 P8 B9 S10 (12)
Morale 10
Alignment Chaotic
XP 3,400
Number Appearing 1 (1)
Treasure Type A

A mezzalorn looks like a hellish giant wasp with the head and torso of a man. When reduced to half its hit points it releases a pheromone that gives it and all other mezzalorns a +1 to-hit bonus. The poison injected by a mezzalorn’s stinger is lethal if the victim fails a saving throw.


#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 17

 Encounter area 17 is the normal haunt of a favorite creature of the Vampire Queen. A creature she had brought in from beyond reality.

Room 17

She called the creature the Labyrinthine Lurker. 

The Labyrinthine Lurker is a creature of stealth and shadow, resembling a sleek, upright, serpentine being with iridescent scales that blend seamlessly with the darkness of the maze. Its eyes glow with an eerie, hypnotic light, and it moves with a sinuous grace that allows it to navigate the labyrinthine corridors with ease.

It has something akin to arms and hands, but these are manifestations of shadows it can use to manipulate items. 

Labyrinthine Lurker
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 11+22 (72 hp)
Move: 15" (Can phase through solid objects for 1 round)
Attacks: 1 bite or special
Damage: 2d6 or special
THAC0: 11 [+8]
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: D6 W7 P8 B9 S10 (11)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 1300
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: Nil

The Lurker takes advantage of the strange magical energies of this maze.

It's attack is a bite. It drains a little bit of blood each time. It tries reducing a victim to 0 hp so it can feed on the dying energies of the victims.

It has the following Special Abilities.

Shadow Cloak: The Labyrinthine Lurker can blend into the shadows, becoming nearly invisible to the naked eye. It uses this ability to lie in wait for unsuspecting adventurers, striking with precision when they least expect it.

Echo Step: The creature can move without making a sound, allowing it to stalk its prey silently. It leaves behind illusory echoes, confusing adventurers about its actual location within the maze.

Dimensional Phasing: The Labyrinthine Lurker has the power to phase through solid objects within the maze temporarily. This ability enables it to ambush adventurers by emerging from walls or the floor, making it a formidable opponent.

Labyrinth's Embrace: When the Labyrinthine Lurker closes in on its target, it can envelop them in a temporary pocket dimension. Inside this dimension, time seems to slow down for the trapped adventurer, giving the Lurker an advantage (+2 to hit) in combat.

Killing the Lurker will cause it to dissolve into a caustic pool of black goo. Anyone within 5' of it, when it reaches 0 hp, will be splashed with the black acidic blood and take 1d6 hp of damage per round until the goo is removed. Water is good, any form of alcohol is better. 

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I am sitting in a parking lot waiting for my wife to wrap up a work thing. Hopefully, the formating is fine.

D&DGII The Black Forest Mythos: Schmied, the Craftsman, Smtihs, and God of Fire

 One of the last major gods of this Pantheon is Schmied, the god of craftsmen, ironworking, fire, and dwarves. He is often depicted as a dwarf.


Schmied

Schmied is a syncretic god who combines aspects of the Greek Hephaestus, the Roman Vulcan, the Norse Sons of Ivaldi and the myth of Weyland the Smith and thus Goibhnie of the Celts. All of these figures are related and likely all trace their origin back to a Proto-Indo European Smith God. Given the book I am reading now on PIE language reconstruction this could have been the God credited with giving humanity the wheel.

Schied here has a bit of all these gods as seen through the idea of the grumpy dwarf. I opted to take this somewhat stereotypical route because I figure he is the source of this archetype. I wanted him dour, grumpy, and largely unlikable. This comes, I admit, more from my readings of Goidhnie (Gowan) of the Celts. Though Vulcan and the Sons of Ivaldi were not going to win any popularity contests. Which interestingly enough, gets me to the first myth of the god.

Both Hephaestus and Vulcan are married off to their myths respective Goddess of Love. Here is where I wanted to differ. I honestly can't see Liebhaberin getting married at all. She is too busy cultivating young (and thus pre-married) love. But I did want to have a myth where Schmied got married to a beautiful woman, largely by trickery. Like I said he is an unpleasant god.

Schmied and Skalda

Skalda (note: not exactly Skaldi) was the beautiful goddess of Song and Poetry, in particular epic poetry. She decided one day she needed a husband. So she sought out the Gods to find a suitable candidate. Skalda wanted to find a husband among the greatest of Gods so she announced her attention. Her eye was set on Jäger and she began to openly court the God. His sister Jägerin, would not have it seeing Skalda as trying to improve her own standing among the gods. So she convinced Schmied, who she knew desperately desired Skalda, to begin to send her gifts.  Schmied fashioned a lute of pure gold that would play itself if commanded to Skalda. He sent her a breastplate of gold. A spear fashioned out of the rays of the sun. And automaton handmaidens carved out of pure ivory and inlaid with gold that were indistinguishable from living nymphs. 

Skalda, who believed that it was Jäger who sent her all these gifts swore before the Gods that she would only marry the God who had sent her such wonderful treasures. Expecting Jäger to step forward she was shocked and disgusted to see it was not the Bright God of the Sun, but the twisted God of Smiths.  But an oath before the Gods is an oath unbreakable. 

They did produce a son, Künstler, the God of fine art. But she has refused his bed ever since. 

SCHMIED (God of Smithing, Crafting, Fire and Dwarves)

Intermediate God

ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 9" 
HIT POINTS: 275
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK:  1d10+5, 1d10+5
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Summon fire
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%

SIZE: M (4' 1")
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, smiths, craftsmen, dwarves
SYMBOL: A large hammer
PLANE: Erde (Prime Material)

CLERIC/DRUID: 10th level Cleric
FIGHTER: 5th level Fighter
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 10th level Magic-user
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 23 I: 12 W: 20 D: 16 C: 24 CH: 8

Schmied is the god of craftsmen, smiths, fire (in its creation aspect), as well as dwarves and kobolds. He appears as a heavily muscled dwarf covered in soot and grime from working in the forge. 

Schmied has very little to say to others. He prefers to spend his time in the forge working with his brothers (who have demigod status) creating items of great art. It is said that his forge can create anything and the magic items the gods wield were all created here.

In combat, he swings a giant hammer for 1d10+5 points of damage twice per round. He has the spell-casting ability of a 10th-level magic-user and a 10th-level cleric. He is quick to anger and will use his hammer attack first and his six brothers will join in (1d8+4 for their attacks).

He is also the god of the dwarves and kobolds, or knockers. 

Animal: Ox
Rainment: (Head) bare (Body) none
Color(s): Red, Black
Holy Days: The three days prior to the Summer Soltice and the three days after. 
Sacrifices: An ox or bull, sacrificed and cooked in a large fire. 
Place of Worship: Forges and Cave mouths. 

He is married to Skalda, the beautiful goddess of epic poetry and song, but she wants nothing to do with him.

He maintains a large home for them both in Himmel, but he stays on Erde in a cave where he toils over the forges with his brothers and their kobold assistants.

Skalda

Skalda is the beautiful but haughty and arrogant goddess of epic poetry and music. While her skill unmatched, she is jealous of the other goddess and always wants more. Though when she is sitting with her lute and creating new poems, few can match her charm and eloquence. 

Skalda, the Goddess of Epic Poetry and Music

SKALDA (Demi-Goddess of Epic Poetry and Music)
Demigoddess

ARMOR CLASS: -3
MOVE: 12"
HIT POINTS: 75
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8/1d8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charming voice
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Inspiring aura
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%

SIZE: M (6' 2")
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: All, Bards
SYMBOL: Lute
PLANE: Erde (Prime Material)

CLERIC/DRUID: 9th Level Cleric
FIGHTER: Nil
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 5th level Illusionist
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: 15th level Bard
WITCH/WARLOCK: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: II
S: 13 I:12 W: 16 D: 18 C: 14 CH: 21

Skalda is the demigoddess of epic poetry and music. She is beautiful, eloquent, and utterly vain. She knows that her gift is required by the gods to remain in mortals' minds. The apples of Ôstara may keep the gods young and immortal, but it is Skalda's songs keep them in their hearts.

This goddess appears as a very tall (6' 2") warrior goddess. She wears a golden breastplate that only fits her, granting her very low armor class. She wields a spear that when thrown, will return to her hand and her golden lute. Once she sets the lute to play it will play independently of her. 

Her voice has a constant Charm Person effect that is effective against all save for dwarves. Failing to save vs. spells means the victim is charmed and will do no harm to the goddess. She can also use her voice to inspire, granting all that hear it an additional 1d8 roll to use as needed: to attack, damage, saves or any other roll. This can be granted three times per day. 

She does not have many worshipers of her own, but all Bards pay her homage. 

Links

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 11, Room 16

 When the characters enter Encounter Area 16 they are met with a Night Hag.

Room 16

The Night Hag is angry, but not at the characters (yet). She was trapped here by the same magic that draws others into this Labyrinth. Talking to the Hag will let them know more about the magic that grabbed her. She was not in the lower planes, but rather on the Prime Material in a different part of the PC's world.

The Hag will claim she only needs the power from one soul to be able to Gate them all out, the PCs just need to choose.  

If they don't then she will try to kill one PC and then just gate herself out once she has the soul. 

In addition to her normal treasure she has five (5) soul coins. These coins contain the souls of one person. They can be used as currency in the Lower Planes or be given to a cleric of 18th level who can use them to raise the person whose soul was taken.

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