The Sci-Fi Kitchen Sink Setting

Don't ask why. Ask why not.

There has never been a successful RPG that has done for science fiction what Dungeons & Dragons has done for fantasy.

Already, I'm sure there are hundreds of hands running to keyboards to tell me I'm wrong. Surely I can't believe that - there are all kinds of successful sci-fi RPGs out there. What about Traveler, which has a history almost as long as D&D's own? What about games like Spelljammer and Starfinder, which build off D&D's rules to facilitate space adventures? Star Frontiers was being published by TSR at the same time they were publishing D&D; surely that counts. There's all manner of RPGs based on existing sci-fi properties, like Star Wars or Warhammer 40,000. And if we step outside the space opera subgenre that's dominated this conversation so far, we'd be remiss to forget Cyberpunk and Shadowrun. Science fiction surely has as much support as fantasy does in the TRPG landscape!

And that statement is absolutely correct! However, that isn't the point I'm making. I don't mean to say that there has never been a successful sci-fi RPG. I'm saying there has never been a successful sci-fi D&D.

All the games I just listed, to some degree or another, have their own defined tone, look, and feel. They all have a setting they're either built around or heavily associated with. They're geared toward playing a specific kind of sci-fi. Most RPGs are like that - D&D, despite being the oldest and most popular of them all, is somewhat of an outlier in that it doesn't try to emulate a specific subgenre of fantasy.

Much has been made about the "kitchen sink" nature of a typical D&D campaign. If you asked what kind of fantasy D&D is, the answer would be "yes." It combines Tolkienian elves, dwarves, halflings, and orcs with the barbarians of the Hyborian Age, monsters from myth and legend, Hammer Horror vampires and werewolves, Lovecraftian elder gods, and even some original creations. That's been tempered somewhat in recent years, as Wizards of the Coast has tried to lock down a canon for the game, and while I understand why that is - they're part of Hasbro now, and a game about an entire multifaceted genre doesn't do well to attract investors or establish a brand identity - I can't help but feel it's lost something. To me, D&D is at its best when it's a game that can cater to and accomodate pretty much everything under the fantasy umbrella, allowing DMs to create their own fantasy worlds with whatever colors of the genre's broad spectrum they choose.

Science fiction has long been viewed as fantasy's sister genre, but it doesn't have anything like that. And I've always found that curious. Really, there's not much of a difference between expecting every high fantasy setting to include elves and expecting every space opera setting to include Wookiees. Both races were created as something specific and idiosyncratic to a seminal work in their respective genre, but one expectation is normalized, and the other sounds completely insane.

Part of it might be because of copyright laws. Tolkien, after all, was building off of a long tradition of mythology and folklore. He might have codified the ways we view elves and dwarves, but no one owns elves and dwarves, as a concept. Meanwhile, most of the classic sci-fi races were created out of whole cloth in living memory, and are protected by large and litigious corporations. Gygax faced legal trouble with hobbits and balrogs, after all. But, on the flip side, he was able to get away with basically using them as-is once he changed their names, and no one stopped him. No one in sci-fi has even tried that.

It could also simply be the fact that D&D was the first of its kind. When it came out there was no real precedent for what a roleplaying game was supposed to be, and TSR was allowed to make their genre as broad and as open-ended as "fantasy," with no further qualifiers, without anyone telling them not to. So too, it was a game made by and for fans of the fantasy genre, not by any large-scale corporation, so it's understandable that the people behind the game would want to make something to capture the magic of their favorite stories instead of trying to stand on its own within its genre as a product that could itself be marketed for its background lore, as later games would do.

I can't help but wonder, if D&D was made today, assuming the TRPG landscape was otherwise identical, would there still be elves, dwarves, and halflings, or would it just be dragonborn, tieflings, and kenku? Many have noted a greater trend toward players wanting to use D&D original races instead of those grounded in Tolkien, but I have to ask if that's truly just a player thing, or if it's what Wizards wants - after all, they can establish dragonborn as their thing. They can't do that for dwarves. And we were getting setting-specific RPGs as early on as Empire of the Petal Throne. Sci-fi RPGs, then, had to enter a world where merely being a sci-fi RPG wouldn't set them apart. They needed to create their universe from the ground up, and be RPGs about playing in that setting, not just in a sci-fi setting.

Now, you'll notice the qualifiers I used. I said that no successful RPG has pulled off a sci-fi kitchen sink setting like this. That was on purpose, because there have been attempts. Grognardia, which has a very good article on this very subject, reviewed 1980's Space Opera, an RPG by Fantasy Games Unlimited that probably came closest out of any published RPG to what I'm positing here. To pull a direct quote, "this is a game where Flash Gordon, Chewbacca, Ming the Merciless, Barbarella, and assorted aliens can meet in a cantina and go adventuring among the stars without the petty concerns of rhyme or reason." Alas, Space Opera was burdened with an incoherent ruleset and the shadow of Traveler, and never caught on.

But I also want to talk about something outside the scope of TRPGs. I want to talk about Star Schlock.

Star Schlock is a skirmish wargame by Wunkay Games that's seen steady releases for the last few years, with both rules and an official miniatures range. It's themed around science fiction cinema and TV from the late 60s to the early 80s. I don't have much interest in the game itself, but as someone who's been steadily getting back into miniatures, and as someone who's always been interested in retrofuturism - and in particular, the cassette futurism movement of that era - it scratches an itch for me, and I've picked up several of the minis for my collection.

But even if I might not ever play the game, I'm fascinated by Star Schlock's setting. The developers have made no attempt to hide its origins. Their ranges all draw heavy inspiration from assorted source material. The two armies included in the starter set are the Explorer Corps, an agency of scientists and explorers charting the final frontier led by "Captain Timothy J. Curt," and the Simian Star Kingdom, a brutal regime of ape despots and their oppressed human slaves led by "Dr. Zayce." Other factions include the Eternal Empire and its faceless, white-armored "Dronetroopers," the zombie plague of the Necronauts, and the Viper Legion, a ruthless terrorist organization led by a megalomaniacal masked commander. There are stat profiles for lawyer-friendly versions of Boba Fett, Buck Rogers, Robbie the Robot, and even Ro-Man from Robot Monster. To my delight, the cuts run so deep that there's an entire faction that seems to be based on the concept art from Alejandro Jodorowsky's aborted Dune adaptation, complete with a miniature of Salvador Dali as the Emperor of the Known Universe.

It's a game that unabashedly started as an exercise to mash up forces from different sci-fi universes and find out who would win. But in order to justify that, the game has spun a setting with surprisingly deep and extensive lore that places these different factions in the same universe - and it works. The starter set includes a "Galaxy Guide" devoted entirely to background information, and the official Schlocklog magazine publishes enough articles on the setting that I've found them an engaging read even when I have no plans to play the actual game.

This, to me, is what a setting that does for science fiction what D&D has done for fantasy would really look like. And I'd argue that it's a setting that would work very well for roleplaying. There's enough background material out there for a prospective DM to get started on a campaign, with a number of distinct factions and power players; there's even been multiple planets that have gotten their own dedicated writeups in the pages of Schlocklog. So too, the mix-and-match nature of the setting makes it easy for newcomers to get in - chances are they'll be familiar with the series these factions were drawn from, and can come to the table with their understanding of what they can expect from them, no expodumps needed. It might have been written for a wargame, but the information would be just as applicable, and just as useful, for a TRPG.

Am I asking for an official Star Schlock RPG some day? Not necessarily - though it would be cool. But I do think what's there could prove just as useful to DMs as it could to wargamers. It would be a good fit for Retrostar, an RPG designed to emulate science fiction film and television of the same era, if one wanted to lean into the genre conventions (the system even puts a limit on how many actions can be made per session to ensure "episodes" fit into a 30-to-60-minute timeslot). But if one didn't want to go such a meta route, I'd argue that you could grab a sci-fi ruleset of your choice, use the Galaxy Guide and Schlocklog as your campaign setting, and be good to go.

Timekeeping in the Lunar Lands

Just a quick worldbuilding post today on the calendar system I use for my main campaign setting. The idea is to create something flavorful and fantastic, but still recognizable enough to the players. This allows them to utilize what they themselves know about time, scheduling, and how it works without needing to be pointed out that a week is actually ten days and for them to need to remember that. Much of this is just for reference and doesn't necessarily come up in-game - but I know it's there, and that's what matters.

Years

Years in the Lunar Lands are not numbered from a specific date; rather, they are charted relative to the reigning Vardessian Emperor at the time. Years in which a new Emperor takes the throne are considered both the nth Year of their reign and the First Year of their successor's reign, and the titles are used interchangably.

Thus, the "current" year in my campaign is the Twenty-Fourth Year of Harald IV's Reign (abbreviated 24HLD4). The year in which he took the throne can be regarded as the First Year of Harald IV's Reign (1HLD4) or the Forty-Ninth Year of Leopold III's Reign (49LPD3). Years prior to the founding of the Vardessian Empire are counted backward - thus, the First Year of Gustav I's Reign (1GST1) was proceeded by the First Pre-Imperial Year (PE1), which was proceeded by the Second Pre-Imperial Year (PE2), and so on.

Months

The Lunar Lands uses a lunar calendar - months are measured from the first night of a new moon to the first night of the subsequent new moon, using the largest of the three moons for reference. There are twelve months in a year, and Midwinter (the winter solstice) is regarded as the new year. If this does not fall on a new moon, the remaining days between Midwinter and the next new moon form an intercalary month at the beginning of the new year. Generally, months are thirty days, but may be longer or shorter depending on the lunar cycle. These months, and their corresponding real-world months, are:

Frostmoon: January

Snowmoon: February

Windmoon: March

Seedmoon: April (the time of planting)

Flowermoon: May

Fallowmoon: June

Haymoon: July (the time where hay is made)

Harvestmoon: August

Barleymoon: September

Winemoon: October

Bloodmoon: November (the time the livestock is slaughtered)

Oakmoon: December

Weeks
A week is seven days, and there are usually four weeks per month. Each day of the week is sacred to a different god, and their temples tend to hold rites on those days. These days, and their corresponding real-world days, are:

Sunday: Sunday. Sacred to Solenna.

Moonsday: Monday. Sacred to Mondi, god of the moon and husband to Solenna.

Huntsday: Tuesday. Sacred to Kerne.

Fieldsday: Wednesday. Sacred to Eostre.

Starday: Thursday. Sacred to Torvald.

Kingsday: Friday. Sacred to Voltan.

Queensday: Saturday. Sacred to Marseah.

Days
Days are measured from midnight to midnight. There are 24 hours per day, with 12 AM being midnight and 12 PM being noon.

Holiday 
Different kingdoms and cultures celebrate different civil and folk holidays, ranging from local festivals to grand official fetes. However, almost every culture observes the Wheel of the Year, a series of holidays plotted around the solstices and equinoxes (quarter days) and the midpoints between them (cross-quarter days). Because these dates are important for agriculture, they are celebrated in most regions, though the customs of celebration are variable and multifaceted, and they may be celebrated in different ways. These dates are:

Imbolc (First of Snowmoon): A cross-quarter day marking the start of spring. Festivals celebrate the end of winter and the rebirth of life, and oaths are traditionally made to be completed in the coming summer. Many also visit oracles in this time to learn of what the coming year will bring.

Eostrefest (Spring Equinox): A quarter day corresponding to the midpoint of spring. This day is associated with Eostre, the goddess of fertility, and the greatest celebrations of her cult are held then to ensure good crop yields in the fall.

Beltane (First of Flowermoon): A cross-quarter day marking the start of summer. Cattle are sent out to pasture on this day, often garlanded in flowers, and bonfires are often lit in celebration. This is one of the two dates at which the borders between this world and the realms beyond are at their weakest, making it easier for beings to cross between worlds. For this reason, it is often celebrated as Hexennacht - Witches' Night - as it is a popular date for rituals and summonings to be performed. In western Vardessy, it is celebrated as Saint Kriemhild's Day, largely in response to this.

Midsummer (Summer Solstice): A quarter day celebrating the longest day of the year. It is the most sacred day in the cult of Solenna, goddess of the sun. Devotees spend much of this day outside observing the sun's path.

Lammas (First of Harvestmoon): A cross-quarter day marking the official start of the harvest season. Typically celebrated with great feasts, often held outside on hilltops, in which the first fruits of the harvests are offered as a sacrifice to the gods. In many towns, elaborate festival days have grown around this feast, with public markets, contests, and performances held.

Mabon (Fall Equinox): A quarter day marking the midpoint of autumn, and the end of the harvest season. Also a time of feasting and thanking the gods for the harvest, though usually a more solemn affair than Lammas, as the days begin to get shorter thereafter and all must start to prepare for winter.

Samhain (First of Bloodmoon): A cross-quarter day marking the start of winter. Most notably, it is one of the two days at which the borders between this world and the realms beyond are at their weakest, allowing beings from other planes to most easily be contacted or summoned. This includes the shades of the Land of the Dead, and it is known that Morthanos, god of the dead, and his agents roam the roads on this day in search of souls that have escaped his domain. For many revelers, this is commemorated by walking the roads in costume. In Valossa, it is also the holy day of the Lady of Death, a local funerary goddess, in which people make offerings to their ancestors.

Midwinter (Winter Solstice): A quarter day celebrating the longest night of the year. In the dead of winter, it is often spent inside with much feasting and merriment to keep the morale during the cold, dead season, and to inspire hope for the spring to come. This date marks the end of the current year and the start of the next.

Magic Items of Erdland

To round out my posts statting up magic items from the first two Dragon Quest games for The Saga of the Ortegids, here's a few magic items from Dragon Quest III.

Lifestone

Wondrous Item, Rare, Requires Attunement

1 lb.

These stones are inscribed with powerful magic governing the forces of life and death. It is believed that the means of creating such items was first devised by the ancient Isisians, but this civilization left behind records of the process, and lifestones have been produced over the milennia by many subsequent magicians. Isisian legend tells that if the holder of a lifestone was to die through unnatural means, the stone will take the place of their soul in the afterlife, allowing them to go on living. This has made them prized as protective talismans, and more than one warrior has credited their lifestone with allowing them to survive a close brush with fate on the battlefield.

If a creature attuned to a lifestone drops to 0 HP, they do not roll death saves and are considered automatically stabilized (but are still at 0 HP). The stone then shatters and cannot be reused.

Vase of Drought

Wondrous Item, Very Rare

2 lb.

Though it appears from the outside to be an unremarkable vase, this vase possesses two notable qualities - it can draw in water and store great quantities far in excess of its apparent dimensions. Each Vase of Drought can store up to 3d100 gallons. When it is submerged in water (or another liquid), it begins to rapidly suck in fluid at a rate of 1 gallon per 8 seconds until it is either full or removed from the body it is submerged in. This fluid is stored as though in a bag of holding and can be decanted at will, up to the amount stored. Stored fluid does not affect the weight of the vase.

Sword of Rubiss

Artifact

A sacred treasure of the goddess Rubiss, this sword is imbued with divine magic. Though Rubiss is the goddess of life and creation and normally detests senseless violence, she nevertheless blessed this sword for one of her champions in the God-War before it was lost into the bowels of the earth. Rumor holds it is buried beneath Leiamland, guarded by a ferocious golden dragon.

The Sword of Rubiss behaves as a +3 longsword, and deals an additional 1d10 radiant damage against fiends and undead. Additionally, the blade is inscribed with the word "THORDAIN." A DC 10 Religion check will determine that this is an incantation in the tongue of the gods relating to thunder and lightning; characters with proficiency in the Celestial language will know this automatically. As an action, a creature who points the sword at a target and speaks this inscription to cast lightning bolt at a spell save DC of 15. The sword has three charges; using it in this fashion consumes one charge. It regains one charge at dawn each day.

Staff of Reflection

Staff, Very Rare, Requires Attunement

This staff has a mirror set into its head, and is sculpted with clouds. It can be used as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. Additionally, as an action, the staff can be used to generate a barrier that reflects magic around any creature in touch range. To maintain the barrier requires concentration. Any spells of 7th level or lower that are made against a single target instead target the caster, using the slot level, spell save DC, attack bonus, and spellcasting ability of the caster, if made against the shielded creature.

Staff of Change

Staff, Legendary, Requires Attunement

This staff can be used to alter the user's form. It can be used as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. When the butt of the staff is stamped against the ground, the user can adopt the shape of any creature. This functions as the polymorph spell, but is not limited to beasts. The user can use this to appear as a generic specimen of the chosen form (eg. an elf), or as a specific one (eg. the King of Manoza). If they adopt the form of a humanoid, they can alter any items they are wearing or carrying as well. Each time the staff is used, there is a 1% chance that it backfires, instead transforming the user into something else - roll 1d20 on the table below.

1. Rabbit

2. Sheep

3. Pig

4. Bird

5. Toad

6. Dog 

7. Cat

8. Horse

9. Wolf

10. Slime (stats of a grey ooze)

11. A different specimen of the user's race, of the same age and sex.

12. A different specimen of the user's race, but 1d20 years younger.

13. A different specimen of the user's race, but 1d20 years older.

14. A different specimen of the user's race, of the opposite sex.

15. Elf (as 10 if the user is an elf)

16. Dwarf (as 10 if the user is a dwarf)

17. Hobbit (as 10 if the user is a hobbit)

18. Beastman (stats of an orc. If the user is a beastman, roll 1d6: 1-4, as 10; 5-6; they become a beastman with the features of a different animal)

19. Dragovian (if the user is a Dragovian, roll 1d6: 1-4, as 10; 5-6; they become a Dragovian of a different color)

20. Young Red Dragon 

Friday Encounter: Interrupted Summoning

This encounter could be used in a dungeon, at a site in the wilderness, or maybe even in a town - preferably in some run-down house tucked away in a dark alley out of sight. You may want to plant rumors in the surrounding areas of strange robed figures gathering and chanting heard in the vicinity if you wish to lead your players to investigate.

Background

The Brotherhood of the Scarlet Palm is a cult of demon worshipers, seeking to contact Hell in order to negotiate with demons for earthly power. It was not long ago that they first began meeting in secret under the leadership of a disgruntled merchant named Vladislav Mikhailov, who, upon facing numerous failed business ventures, decided to summon a demon in order to guarantee him financial success. However, Vladislav's resources were limited, and he did not have access to arcane knowledge, having to cobble together his notes from a few scattered texts. This resulted in his cult performing a few botched and ineffective rituals, but they remained desperate enough to keep trying.

Through some miracle, Vladislav finally managed to contact a demon - a pit fiend by the name of Ag'draluun the Tormentor - a few days ago, and set to summon him into the mortal plane to discuss a deal. He set a protective circle over the ground, burned some candles, and read some incantations. Through this, Vladislav was able to open a portal to Ag'draluun's domain - but the ritual did not work according to plan. The cultists were able to form a portal, but not one big enough to accomodate such a hulking creature. Now, Ag'draluun is trapped partway in and partway out of the portal - and the cultists are in the middle of trying to get it to open the rest of the way.

The Encounter

The party should come upon Vladislav's circle to find three cultists standing at the points of a triangle inscribed on the ground, surrounded by a rim of candles that burn with violet flames. They have their heads bowed low and are chanting. At the center of the circle, suspended in the air, is what appears to be a rift in reality. It appears like a hole in a tapestry opening into an orange glow, but floats in midair above the ground. The portal gives off an intense heat, and flames can be seen flickering around it. Every so often, a huge clawed arm, covered in black scales like cracked magma, emerges from the portal, flailing around, and muffled cursing in Infernal can be heard.

One square equals five feet.

There are five other cultists gathered before the circle, watching; Vladislav stands behind them, flipping through a book at a hurried pace. It should be obvious that he is the leader; for instance, he may wear differently colored robes than his underlings.

Additionally, there is a circle of pillars gathered around the circle. These have the Concealing, Full Cover, and Impassible terrain tags - they provide full cover, cannot be passed through, and creatures hiding behind them have Advantage on Stealth checks.

Enter Action Time. The cultists will be too busy with trying to correct the ritual to monitor their surroundings, giving the PCs the opportunity to sneak up on them; they will thus not attack if they are not alerted to the presence of intruders. However, if the PCs do draw the cult's attention, Vladislav will order the cultists to attack.

Vladislav has the stats of a cult fanatic; his underlings have the stats of cultists. He will start by sending the five cultists staying back by him to ward off the PCs while he tries to lead the ritual. The three cultists gathered around the circle will remain where they are, continuing to chant. If two or more cultists are killed or incapacitated, or if Vladislav is directly accosted, he will enter the fight.

As long as the portal remains stuck in its partially open state, the three cultists at the circle will spend each of their turns chanting. When this happens, roll a d20 - on a roll of 11 or higher, the cultist successfully performs a chant. At the end of a round, if any cultist succeeded on the chant that round, the portal flickers and begins to widen. If no cultists succeeded, the portal remains in its current state.

Ag'draluun is trapped on the other side of the portal, unable to pass through. He cannot move across it (it's too small), and his Fear Aura will not affect creatures on the other side of the portal; however, he will reach through and make an attack with his claws at any PCs within five feet of the portal. If the portal is widened three times, it opens fully, summoning Ag'draluun into the world. He is quite angry that the summoning was performed so poorly, and is just as wont to attack the cultists as he is the PCs - but he won't hesitate to attack them either, if they're in range!

If all three cultists around the circle are killed or incapacitated, the portal winks out of existence. Ag'draluun's arm will be caught outside of it if this happens, causing it to be cut off; it falls to the ground before burning away into cinders. Alternatively, you could make it persist so that the PCs could retrieve it - the arm of a demon would surely have interesting alchemical properties.

Further Developments

If Vladislav is alive when the portal closes, he will flee the scene. He may become a recurring antagonist to the party - but perhaps a less than effectual one, unless he discovers more useful arcane knowledge. Either way, he will leave behind his books, which contain notes on a few rituals cobbled together from different sources. Some of this information could prove useful if the PCs need to research a ritual. Also left near the portal are his bags, containing 150 GP in gold and jewels and a scroll of Tasha's Hideous Laughter.

Ag'draluun might make for a recurring antagonist as well. Even if the portal was closed on him, he now knows the party, and will blame them for the loss of his arm, seeking a portal or a more competent summoner to re-enter reality so that he can enact his vengeance.

And if the portal was opened and the party somehow survived...well, they now have released an incredibly powerful demon upon the world, and can expect to deal with the consequences!

Magic Items of Torland

Continuing off my last post, here's a few more magic items for The Saga of the Ortegids, each based off items that debuted in Dragon Quest II. Stay tuned for the conclusion to the trilogy next week.

Mirror of Larus

Wondrous Item, Artifact

5 lb.

This magical mirror originated in the Kingdom of Manoza, where it was created in centuries past by the archmage Larus for purposes unknown. Long after his dwelling fell to ruin, the mirror was retrieved by Erdrick the Aliahanian, who carried it with him when he traveled to Torland; it subsequently became a family hierloom, and ended up in the possession of the royal family of Moonbrooke. The mirror is renowned for its ability to see through all illusions.

Due to a counterspell charm woven into its construction, the reflection in the Mirror of Larus does not reflect magical effects. Any effects directly caused by spells do not appear, objects disguised by illusions appear in their base state, and polymorphed or shapeshifted creatures appear as their true form. The mirror does not break spells in physical reality.

Flute of Echoes

Wondrous Item, Instrument, Uncommon

1 lb.

This flute is enchanted with the ability to detect treasure, no matter where or how it is hidden. When the flute is blown, any objects of 5 GP or more in value within a radius of 250 feet produce an echo, reflected off their surface and traveling back toward the flute from the direction the item is located in. The sound and its echo can travel through walls. This sound can be used to detect if valuable items are present, and in which direction they are from the user. Additionally, items that are closer echo more loudly than items that are further away. However, these sounds may alert creatures to the user's presence.

Art by Yanavaseva

Cloak of Winds

Wondrous Item, Rare

2 lb.

A spell for harnessing and controling the power of the wind is woven into the fabric of this cloak, allowing the wearer to become as light as the wind, and to glide on the breeze. When the wearer grasps the hem of the cloak in both hands, they are capable of gliding on a gust of wind. When falling, they travel their move speed in the direction of the wind at the beginning of each of their turns, but descend by 5 feet downward at the same time, until they touch down. If a creature were to touch down on a flat surface while gliding, they take no fall damage and land on their feet as if under the effects of a feather fall spell.

Robe of Watercloth

Robe, Very Rare

3 lb.

This robe was woven from water as if it were a fabric - a process requiring magic to spin water into a thread, and then that thread into a robe, requiring the art of a master craftsman in order to do so. Though this is a long and tedious process, if one has the means to produce such a garment, it can prove quite useful indeed.

Due to enchantment, the robe is opaque and maintains its shape and volume, but its surface continually waves and ripples, and it feels wet to the touch. Otherwise, the robe has all the physical properties of water, and as such, no air can pass through it; it can thus be used to douse fires and smother creatures. The wearer receives Resistance to fire damage and cannot catch fire. Additionally, the wearer is unable to sink in water, as the robe becomes part of its surface; thus, they can walk on top of bodies of water. However, they become Vulnerable to lightning damage.

Armor of Hades

Armor, Very Rare, Cursed, Requires Attunement

Produced through foul sorceries and occult rituals, this suit of armor was made from the hide of a demon, inlaid with its horns and bones. It boasts the supernatural toughness of demon hide, but wielding such power comes at a cost. The lingering spirit of the demon persists in its hide, and it cannot so easily be contained.

When unattuned, a suit of the Armor of Hades functions as leather armor. When attuned, it instead has the stats of a suit of +2 plate armor, but does not impose Disadvantage on Stealth checks, as it is as flexible as leather. Additionally, the wearer recieves Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks and has Advantage on any spell saving throws. The wearer registers as a fiend to Divine Sense, Smite, and similar effects while attuned to the armor.

However, at the beginning of each turn, there is a 33% chance the the spirit of the demon the armor was made from becomes active. The wearer must then succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw to resist the demon's influence. On a failed save, the armor becomes stiff and rigid, preventing them from moving, as the armor actively resists any attempt they make to move. They become Paralyzed until the beginning of their next turn.

Magic Items of Alefgard

The original Dragon Quest doesn't have a lot of notable magic items, but there's definitely enough for us to work with - and what's there is iconic enough to frequently show up in later games. Here's a few magic items for The Saga of the Ortegids - they may also work in other campaigns.

Sphere of Light

Wondrous Item, Artifact

12 lb.

Undoubtedly the most prized of the Kingdom of Alefgard's crown jewels, the Sphere of Light has a long and storied history. Originally forged by the hand of Gaius himself and presented to the royal family of the Kingdom of Dragons as a sign of his favor, it was given to Erdrick the Aliahanian by their Queen on her deathbed, and subsequently brought to Alefgard when he descended the Pit of Giaga. Its legendary power and its sacred significance to all dragonkind have made it the subject of multiple wars, though under most circumstances it is kept under close guard in the castle of Tantegel, for its presence there blesses Alefgard with fair weather, fine harvests, and continual sunlight - an asset of no small significance in the otherwise sunless Torland.

The Sphere of Light is a ball of solid light about the size of a bowling ball. It continually glows with a bright light (but not heat), and casts bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. However, because of its glow, creatures carrying the Sphere have Disadvantage on all Stealth checks if the Sphere is uncovered. Additionaly, the Sphere's light automatically dispells any Darkness spell it enters.

As an action, the Sphere can be used to project a spark into the air, which erupts into a self-contained miniature sun. The sun projects bright light over a area roughly the size of a large country, and dim light over the rest of the world. Any area within the bright light becomes especially fertile and fecund. The sun does not emit heat or alter meteorological patterns. This effect requires unrestricted access to the sky, and ends if the Sphere is moved.

Flute of the Fairies

Wondrous Item, Instrument, Rare

1 lb.

The fair folk are rare and elusive beings, known to the people of Alefgard mainly through legend and rumor. Few can say to have beheld any of them in person, but they are blamed for many strange occurences and misfortunes - and the magic they work has made its mark upon the world.

In particular, fairy flutes are known to have the power to weave and work magic. A creature can use an action to play from a fairy flute to cast the Dispel Magic, Heroism, Remove Curse, or Sleep spells, casting them with Charisma as their spellcasting ability, and the spell save DC of a bard of their current level. Additionally, a creature can attempt a DC 12 Performance check, adding any proficiency bonus for playing the flute if applicable, to cast Antimagic Field using the flute; they have Disadvantage on this check if they have taken more than 10 points of damage since their last turn. Each spell can only be used once per long rest.

Silver Harp of Galen

Wondrous Item, Instrument, Artifact

5 lb.

This harp belonged to Galen, a legendary bard who would later go on to become a thane in the service of King Lars I the Despondent and found the port of Galenholm. Galen is a figure of legend in his own right, and there are many sagas that tell of his exploits, some more truthful than others. One point that is known, however, is that he was in the possession of a silver harp, said to be given to him by the goddess Astrella herself. Galen's already skillful fingers were guided by this harp to work songs capable of commanding the attention of all who heard it.

A creature who uses an action to play the Silver Harp of Galen must roll a Performance check, adding any proficiency bonus for playing the harp if applicable. Any creature that hears this music must then make a Charisma saving throw, using the result of the Performance check as the DC. If the save is failed, the creature falls into a trance-like state, guided by the music; it must spend its next turn moving its full move speed toward the musician and cannot do anything else on its turn. This effect can only be used three times per long rest. Additionally, any spell that causes its target to be charmed on a failed save that has a somatic or verbal component may be played on the harp; if so, the target has Disadvantage on their save.

Staff of Rain

Staff, Rare, Requires Attunement

This staff is carved in the shape of a billowing raincloud. It can be used as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. In addition, the staff has 5 charges; as an action, a creature attuned to the staff can expend 1 charge to summon a miniature raincloud five feet across in all directions. The raincloud continually pours rain for 1d10 minutes. Any creatures beneath the raincloud must make a DC 10 Concentration check every turn they are under it if they are casting a Concentration spell. The rainwater functions identically to mundane water, and the cloud can be conjured even indoors. The staff regains 1d3 charges at dawn.

The Arms of Erdrick

Now that I've finished documenting every major location in the original Dragon Quest trilogy for The Saga of the Ortegids, my next priority is going to be statting up a few magic items from the games. I've used them plenty of times in my campaigns, but it's high time I got something written down somewhere. I'm going to make a series of posts detailing some key items from each of the first three games, but I think it warrants a separate post for the Arms of Erdrick - the equipment used by the legendary warrior Erdrick the Aliahanian, a member of the Ortegid Dynasty and subsequently passed down through several generations of his successors. The equipment appears in each of the first three games, typically as the strongest equipment available - in the first game it's mainly just that it has the best stats, but later entries would establish additional perks and abilities of each item, which have been fairly consistently applied in later appearances, and it's these that I'm primarily basing my renditions on.

Optional Rule: I should note that in Dragon Quest I, carrying an amulet belonging to Erdrick is considered acceptable proof that you are descended from his line. Based on this, and the fact that in DQ3 the equipment is only accessible to the main character, you may wish to allow only PCs with the Ortegid Scion background to attune to these items. In a tabletop RPG with multiple players, this would limit their utility and may be unfair to players playing non-Ortegid characters, especially if they would mechanically benefit from the items. If the only Ortegid in the party is a wizard, it's not very fair if the fighter can't equip items designed for more martial characters, for instance. Thus, I've made this an optional rule for if you care about authenticity.

Cynebrand, the Sword of Kings

Artifact

The sword Cynebrand was forged by Erdrick the Aliahanian himself from orichalcum - a rare and nigh-unbreakable metal, so hard that it can only be shaped and formed using advanced techniques known only to a select few. This in and of itself makes it a weapon of considerable power.

When wielded by a character that has not attuned to it, Cynebrand behaves as a +2 longsword; additionally, due to its unique construction, it cannot be broken or bent by any nonmagical means. The latter property is a physical property of orichalcum and not an enchantment; thus, it will behave as such even if subject to anti-magical effects.

However, in the hands of a trusted wielder who understands and masters the blade, Cynebrand posseses additional magical powers. If used by a character that has attuned to it, Cynebrand instead behaves as a +3 longsword. If the wielder is also attuned to the Shield of Heroes and the Mail of Erdrick, as an action, its wielder can hold the sword in front of them to call forth a thunderclap that shakes the earth with the effects of a thunderwave spell at a spell save DC of 10. This can be used three times per long rest.

Haelescyld, the Shield of Heroes

Artifact

Originally carried by a legendary hero of ancient times, this shield was swallowed by the earth after his death in battle. Centuries later, Erdrick retrieved it from the depths of the Nailmark, the vast cavern formed when Zoma, Forbidden God of Death, dug his way into reality in the God-War. Now dubbed Haelescyld, the Shield of Heroes, it protects the user against magic.

When wielded by a character that has not attuned to it, Haelescyld behaves as a +1 shield. When attuned, it instead behaves as a +2 shield, and grants the user Resistance to fire and cold damage. If the wielder is also attuned to the Sword of Kings and the Mail of Erdrick, it also gives the user Advantage on all saving throws against magical effects.

The Mail of Erdrick

Artifact

This suit of armor was forged by Gaius, god of fire and the forge, as a favor for Rubiss, the goddess of life and creation, who in turn gave it to Erdrick as a token of thanks after he freed her from a curse of imprisonment put on her by Zoma, her twin brother and equal and opposite in power. In addition to its legendary resistance, it is wound with potent healing magics.

When worn by a character that has not attuned to it, the Mail of Erdrick behaves as a suit of +1 plate armor. It is forged from adamantine, which causes critical hits against the wearer to be treated as regular hits instead. When attuned, it instead behaves as a suit of +2 plate armor. If the wearer is also attuned to the Sword of Kings and the Shield of Heroes, it also allows the wearer to heal one additional hit die of damage, plus their Constitution modifier, when healing during a healing surge or short rest.

Modules As DM Screens

As ridiculous as this will sound, this idea came to me in a dream. It was really just a minor detail of a dream I had the other night, but it was one that stuck with me, because I woke up thinking that it would actually be a pretty brilliant idea. Why not publish modules in the form of DM screens?

There's plenty of discussions out there in the RPG community about the ideal form for published adventures and modules. How much text is too much? What's the best layout and organization? How do you efficiently describe a room with all the details you want to impart to the players without getting bogged down in flavor text? I don't really have a good answer to this myself. As long as it's something I can use effectively at the table, I'm not picky. But I realized that you could pretty easily pack all the important information for a small module into a DM screen.

There are definitely some advantages I can see. A DM should be able to reference any information on their screen at a glance, so by printing the module on the inside of their screen, you minimize flipping back and forth through a book to find what you need. Furthermore, since a DM screen is already used to hide information from players, you could just as easily put all the room keys and important plot events you don't want your players to know about there, and they wouldn't be able to see it. It would also make for an easily produced, inexpensive adventure, since it'd just be a single piece of printed cardboard rather than a full book. If you did it as inserts for a modular screen, it'd be even less production costs.

Due to the amount of information you'd need to include in a limited amount of space, this is probably something best suited for one-page dungeons and other small adventures, of the sort that could be completed in one or two sessions. The DM's side would include maps, room keys, stats for monsters and traps, and maybe a random encounter and/or rumor table. Me being me, I'd also put a space for notes that the DM could write in to customize the adventure, if they wanted to add their own features or change things to fit their setting or preferred style of play.

You could even use this to provide the players with easily accessible reference material too - on their side of the screen, you could have a map of the general area with sites of interest, expository material, lists of important NPCs and what the PCs would know about them, and such. That way, they could look at the screen to consult what options are available to them and what information they should know, saving time that would otherwise be spent asking the DM for reminders. You could also put inspirational art on there to help set the scene for the players.

The biggest obstacle I see here is that you'd need to make sure the player-facing information would be readable from across the table, which would likely require a larger font than on the DM's side, limiting the space that could be used for this material. But on the whole, I could see this model being used to produce an entire line of short adventures suited to pick up and play with minimal preparation, on the cheap.

Has anyone actually done something like this? If not, am I on to something? I've got a short dungeon percolating in my head, so maybe I'll try seeing how well this format works for it. But if it does, I think this has potential to be revolutionary.

Friday Encounter: Elvish Negotiations

Art by Zara Alfonso

This encounter is, admittedly, a bit specific to the Lunar Lands. It was in part created as a way to introduce players to how I run elves, and to introduce some exposition on what they're like in the setting. But it could also work in a setting where elves are of a similar quality (I make no claims that my take isn't heavily influenced by things like The Elder Scrolls, Dwarf Fortress, and Magic: the Gathering's Llanowar Elves). And it presents an interesting opportunity to use elves as antagonists - something I feel is all too underused.

Plenty of ink has been spilled on the trope of inherently evil races - if it's worth what it brings to the table, if it's too limiting, if it's necessary. But I don't see anyone talking about inherently good races. Let me ask you: when was the last time you've had random encounters where you had to fight elves, dwarves, or halflings? Humans show up as bandits plenty of times, but it seems like many DMs struggle to think of the traditional PC races in roles beyond those of helpful allies. To me, that's a missed opportunity. I think there's room for evil elves just as much as there's room for good orcs. If anything, elves should be antagonistic to the party more often - not only are they traditionally aloof and disdainful of other races, there's plenty of literary precedent in tales of the fair folk, with whims and customs utterly alien to those of humans, to say nothing of the Mirkwood elves in The Hobbit, who are just as dangerous as the goblins of the Misty Mountains. So let's forget about Legolas for a moment, and explore an encounter with elves that might not go so comfortably for the party.

Elvish Negotiations

This encounter is best used in a wilderness setting, preferably in a forest. If you wish to use it in other environments, you may wish to make adjustments to fit the terrain.

The party should come across a clearing where a band of elves is harrassing some human woodcutters. There are three men tied to the tree with animal sinews, surrounded by six elves holding spears to their throats. Another elf, Misleikkuri, stands overseeing them, his arms folded and an imperious glare fixed on the woodsmen.

If questioned, the elves will explain that the woodcutters were caught tresspassing near an elven glade and felled a few trees. The woodcutters insist that they did not know the lands belonged to the elves, but the elves refuse them any mercy. In fact, they are prepared to subject them to a slow and torturous death by sawing them in half with a dull blade, one by one, citing that it is what they did to the trees. After they are dead, they will tan their hides, devour their flesh, and sharpen their bones into knives. The elves show no emotion about this, viewing it as perfectly natural and relating it in as casual and nonchalant a matter as an elf's way of relating anything can be so called.

A DC 10 History or Religion check will reveal that elves commonly view the trees as their gods and ancestors, so killing one is viewed as a grave transgression. A character who grew up around elves (usually if they themselves are an elf, but not always; eg. an elf raised among humans would not necessarily know this) will know this automatically.

If the PCs attempt to bargain for the lives of the woodsmen, Misleikkuri will accept a deal. He will accept their ransom at a rate of 500 GP's value per man - he sees such foolish and short-lived things as humans as little more than commodities, and will barter them as such. However, he will not accept the payment in coinage, as the elves have little use for the shiny metals of humans. Mundane items will be accepted at their value in GP, uncommon magic items at a rate of 100 GP each, rare magic items at 200 GP each, very rare magic items at 300 GP each, legendary magic items at 500 GP each, and artifacts at 1000 GP each.

Additionally, the PCs can attempt to haggle with Misleikkuri to lower the ransom on a given man. A successful DC 15 Persuasion check will cause him to lower that man's ransom by 100 GP; elves have Advantage on this check, as Misleikkuri is more trustful of them than humans. However, if this check is failed, Misleikkuri will grow frustrated with the negotiations, and his attitude will grow more hostile. If any items he is offered are made of wood, or another plant product, he will also be insulted, as their existence is proof that a tree was felled to make them.

If Misleikkuri is insulted three times (either through a failed check, an offer of wood, or if the DM feels such a response is warranted to the PC's conduct - keep in mind, this should be warranted from the perspective of a being who thinks of himself as higher and above human morality, and who sees humans the way we see cattle), he will call off negotiations. Any woodsmen the PCs managed to free before this will be allowed to go, but any that remain will be condemned to death. For folkloric resonance and to give the PCs information to strategize with, Misleikkuri should make it explicitly clear, if the PCs enter negotiations, that he will only let himself be insulted three times. Each time he is insulted, he will remind the party how many attempts they have left.

If the PCs attempt to free the woodcutters by force, or if they continue to try and get Misleikkuri to release them even after he has ended negotiations, he will order the elves to attack. They have the stats of a scout; additionally, Misleikkuri himself has the stats of an archer (see Volo's Guide to Monsters). In addition to the six elves in the open, there are three additional scouts hidden in the trees; they are behind three-quarters cover, and any ranged attacks made at them from the clearing are made at Disadvantage.

Background: Fated Hero

 

If you've been following my blog, I don't think it should be any surprise to you that I love backgrounds. They're one of the best ideas 5e ever had, offering customization options for characters that add flavor, and most of the features are narrative-focused, opening up new avenues for characters to explore and interact with the world rather than just giving them mathematical bonuses. That being said, I do think that there's room for background features to introduce mechanics of their own. There's some fun things that can be done there. As a bonus, they provide an avenue to mechanically represent new character concepts without having to write a completely new class - let's face it, D&D has more classes than it has archetypes for those classes to fit as it is. Here's one such example.

This started out as a post for The Saga of the Ortegids as a background to represent a PC being a member of the Ortegid Dynasty - that is, the legendary family that includes (but is not limited to) the main characters of the first three Dragon Quest games. The idea of a legendary hero is a common feature in contemporary Japanese fantasy that tends to be a direct reference to the player characters of the Dragon Quest games in the same way that the "demon king" archetype is the result of porting the video game conceit of a final boss into narrative media. Usually, the two are linked, with the hero often being prophecized to defeat the demon king. In some stories, they're the only one physically capable of doing so, and in some, the hero and the demon king are both metaphysical roles passed down cyclically every generation, with their struggle serving to keep the balance of good and evil. These aren't mutually exclusive.

Notably, however, the heroes of the Erdrick Trilogy are not prophecized chosen ones - that trope comes mainly from later games. In the first three games, they're all people who volunteered or were volunteered to deal with a pressing threat, but from what little exposition we get, it appears that this is because they feel it's the right thing to do and/or because they're following the example of their ancestors, not because of a mandate from higher powers. With this in mind, in addition to the fact this project is deliberately eschewing any artifacts of the medium of video games, you might be wondering why I'd try to represent it.

Well, heroes being elevated in some way among common people is something we see in fantasy and mythology in pretty much every culture and era, so I think it can still work. Drawing more than a little inspiration from The Saga of the Volsungs, the lore for my version of the setting is this: when Baramos, the Sorcerer-King of the Southlands, was told by an oracle that he was doomed to be slain by the line of the Aliahanian warrior Ortega, he had a curse placed upon Ortega's kin, such that all would be blessed with incredible strength, wit, and bravery, but simultaneously doomed to misfortune and tragedy, attracting powerful enemies and more often than not dying by the sword. This is why they're so often capable of great heroic deeds and faced with a need to perform them, not because the world works like it's a video game.

However, while plotting out this background, I realized that it'd also work very well for a variety of names in fantasy and folklore - the Volsungs, but also the heroes of ancient Greece, subject as they are to the whims of the gods, Samson, and even more modern examples like Elric of Melnibone. To that end, I've submitted it as a setting-agnostic background. Feel free to tweak it for your own purposes.

Fated Hero

For whatever reason - be it a curse, a prophecy, or merely attracting the eye of the gods, you are capable of great deeds, but your fate is a plaything of higher beings. You have the potential to become a figure of renown through heroism, but the same fate that guides you toward greatness could just as easily bring about your end.

Skill Proficiencies: History, Religion

Languages: Celestial

Starting Equipment: A token of your divine favor, a set of common clothes, an explorer's pack or a dungeoneer's pack, and a pouch containing 15 GP.

Feature: Gigantic Melancholies and Gigantic Mirth. Once per long rest, you can beseech the gods to grant you their favor in performing a great task. If the DM agrees that the roll at hand is a suitably heroic deed, you make the roll with Advantage. However, your fate is bound in both directions. Each time you use this feature, the DM will make a note of it, and can inflict Disadvantage on any one roll they choose in the future. Additionally, if you roll a natural one on your reroll, even if the original roll was higher, you must take it, as the gods are punishing you for your hubris in calling upon them so wantonly.

Variant: Ortegid Scion. This variant can only be used in a Saga of the Ortegids campaign, or one where the setting also features a family of heroes cursed to tragic fates. You are a member of some branch of the Ortegid Dynasty - possibly a prince of one of the three Ortegid kingdoms, a distant cousin, or the product of a one-night stand in foreign lands. In addition to the Gigantic Melancholies and Gigantic Mirth feature, you also have the Inheritor feature from Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (if you bring up your heritage, you will get an idea of the local reception of your ancestors and how you can be expected to be treated in turn). You must be a human or a half-race of human parentage, and of at least partial Aliahanian ancestry, to use this background (though the Ortegids have traveled throughout Erdland and Torland and their descendants can be found in surprising places).

Friday Encounter: Star Metal

This encounter can be used anywhere outdoors, but probably has the most potential in a wilderness environment relatively close to civilization.

One way or another, the PCs should catch sight of a falling star, shortly before they hear the sound of a loud crash in the distance. If they investigate this site, they will find a large, smoking rock lying in the middle of a crater amidst flattened grass and toppled trees. A meteor has fallen here!

A DC 10 Nature check will determine that meteors often contain iron. A DC 10 Religion check will reveal that meteoric iron is considered a gift from the heavens in many cultures - and a DC 10 Arcana check will reveal that this iron, known as star metal or thunderbolt iron, is prized for having magical properties beyond that of earthly iron.

If the iron is mined from the meteor, there is about 60 pounds' worth of metal that can be obtained. Objects such as weapons and armor can be smithed from this metal, at a rate of one pound iron to one pound of the final product (for example, it could be used to make a single set of splint armor, 10 shields, 20 longswords, 60 daggers, etc.). Any weapons and armor made from the iron are treated as +1 items of that type; additionally, creatures wearing armor made of star metal have Advantage on all spell save DCs, as the iron is resistant to magical effects.

However, this equipment cannot be made without the use of a forge and a trained blacksmith. The party may need to transport the meteor to a forge if they wish to make use of its bounty. The meteor weighs 150 pounds in total and is cumbersome to carry; a bipedal creature carrying it may not use their hands for any other action while hauling the meteor. It can be carried on a cart or sled, but this may slow travel if it weighs the vehicle down. Getting the meteor to a blacksmith willing to work it may well be a quest in and of itself.

A character with proficiency in smith's tools can forge an item from the iron at a rate of one day of work per item, but they must have access to the proper tools as well as a forge and anvil in order to do so.

Keep in mind that things might not be easy even after taking the meteor to someone who knows how to work it. The blacksmith will likely demand compensation for such a task, and may even want to keep some of the iron for themselves, especially if they aren't familiar with the party and no reason to trust them. Furthermore, if word spreads about the star metal (such as if the PCs return to town to look for someone who can work it or help transport it, or if they show up in a settlement with the meteor in tow), they might attract the attention of thieves, or the feudal lord might lay claim to the iron if the meteor fell in his domain.

For that matter, the fair folk are repelled by iron, and they would have good reason to keep a source of it hidden so that it cannot be used against them. If the meteor is not collected in 1d4 days, a fey lord in the area will place a spell over it to make it invisible to mortal eyes, while fairies will try to waylay anyone who goes near the site - or accost them, if they must.