Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Voidjammer: Galleon

GALLEON

Galleon setting sail from one of Torremor's floating islands. 
SPEED: 150 feet per TS of helm
DEX: Helmsman's Dex modifier -1
WEAPONS:  3 Large weapons
HULL AC: 13
RIGGING AC: 12
CREW: 9/18
AIR CAPACITY: 2,016 man-days
POWER TYPE: Major Helm
CARGO: 7 Tons
KEEL/BEAM LENGTH: 130ft/30ft
COST:  24,300gp

The galleon is the best ocean going craft that groundling nations can bring into space. It is nothing more than a sailing ship with the voidjammer helm-purchased or salvaged from some wreck-attached. Other nations dabble, though, and the most thoughtful of them use the galleon as their vessel of choice. Bulky and slow, it still gets the job done, and its large cargo hold carries a great deal of spoils from other lands.
In my home campaign, the vast majority of voidjamming ships in operation in the sphere are Galleons or smaller, converted sea vessels. Their use in space has encouraged shipwrights to modify these vessels to better ply the spacelanes, giving rise to an ever-evolving standard of ships. This is a basic Galleon, with many having modifications such as glassteel domed decks, coldfire thrusters, and advanced weapons.










These rules are derived from the Blood and Treasure game. Voidjammer ships use the modified space combat rules found here.


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Voidjammer: Trollans


Trollan
Small Outsider, Neutral (CN), Average Intelligence; Company (1d4)
HD 2
AC 13
ATK Spells
MV 10, Fly 30
SV F 13, R 15, W 15
XP 200 (CL 3)

Trollans are a race of magical beings who are the dominant life form on Trolla, a world in another dimension. Trollans wear red robes, red hats, and hide their faces behind scarves. In Trollan society, showing your face to each other is considered an intimate act, similar to humans sharing a kiss. Karandian trollans do not sharre this taboo openly showing their faces (and are seen as perverse by other Trollans). Trollans are grey or blue-skinned humanoids with pointy ears. However, their feet remain hidden under their robes. Trollans have long arms and short legs, but have a natural ability to fly, allowing them to float without using their legs for walking.
Magic is central to trollan civilization, as the world of Trolla is fairly brimming with mystical energies. Trollan civilization is ruled by the Academy of Magic, a council of the most accomplished trollan spellcasters. Most Trollans are sorcerers, but a rare few follow other paths.
Other species have a difficult time taking the Trollans seriously, as their elfin appearance, and voluminous clothing seems comical. Those who have dealt with them for any length of time will see that the Trollans are neither weak nor foolish. In fact the sorcerers of Trolla are amongst the most potent spellcasters in the multiverse, rivaling the greatest elven sages.

Spells: Continuous— prestidigitation; 1/day— detect magic, mage hand, open/close.

Sorcerer Spells (6/4): 0 lvl- audible glamour, dancng lights, ray of frost, read magic, smoke image, wizard mark. 1st lvl-  animate rope, color spray, energy missile, shield.

PLAYER CHARACTERS
Trollans modify their starting ability scores as follows: Str -2, Int +1. They are small creatures but have a land speed of 10 ft. However when carrying no more than a light load, a Trollan can fly at a speed of 30 feet. All trollan with a charisma score of 10 or higher can cast prestidigitation at will and detect magic, mage hand, and open/close once a day. 
Trollans can multi-class as fighter/sorcerer, cleric/sorcerer or sorcerer/ thieves. They speak Trollan and may also speak Celestial, Draconic, Elven, Sylvan, Gnome or Goblin.


TROLLA (Celestial Body)
Trolla is a small planet that is home to the strange Trollans. The location of this world is unknown, but is believed to be in a Crystal Sphere located far from any known river in the Phlogiston.
Trolla is a colorful and charming fairy tale world with rolling hills and brightly colored flowers abounding. Strange three-eyed reptilian monsters called "Garks" are numerous here. And though these creatures are fearsome looking and very powerful, they are quite peaceful.
Trolla is strongly aligned with Chaos (not evil). All Lawful creatures suffer a -2 penalty to saving throws on Trolla. In addition, Trolla has the wild magic trait, making the use of spells quite dangerous (though natives such as Trollans enjoy a +5 bonus to their saving throws against wild magic when they cast spells).


Thursday, May 15, 2014

Voidjammer: Races of Wildspace Pt 1



Dwarves
Dr Bromine. Dwarf Scientist
The dwarven communities of space are much more separate than the monolithic elven nations, but no less powerful or widespread. While the elves regard themselves (regardless of the truth of the matter) as a
single nation, each dwarven citadel is a nation of its own, with its own king, princes, and nobles. The master of a dwarven community, whether it can move or not, is called "the king within the mountain," and his court "the shining council."
The larger nations are unmoving asteroids that tumble around the suns and planets. The dwarves hunt out earth-type planetoids as bases and set up colonies. Dwarven citadels whose populations have grown
too large may move into an asteroid as opposed to creating another citadel immediately, Part of the asteroid is carved away to form a new citadel, and the forges placed within, so that some of the population may move on, should they so desire.
Dwarven life within the asteroids is similar to that of dwarven life on most planets: an underground existence with much mining, crafting, and other activities, broken by feasts and celebrations. Technologically, Dwarven citadels and asteroids are quite advanced, making use of excellent plumbing, aether lanterns and all manner of clever gadgets. Firearms, cannon, and more advanced weapons suitable for use in the Void are all specialities of Dwarf engineers. These dreadful weapons make the larger dwarf citadel-ships and asteroids nearly unassailable for the majority of enemies.
Gardens of plants normally only found in the Underdark are cultivated in large numbers on and in dwarf settlements. Glowmoss, mushrooms and alien plants are all grown and used for a variety of uses by the dwarves.
GAME INFORMATION
Wildspace Dwarves can multi-class as cleric/fighters, cleric/scientists, fighter/scientists, fighter/leeches and fighter/ thieves.


Elves and Half-Elves
Lt. Alichino. Elf Fighter/Magic User.
Elven life in space is much more mobile and organized than human settlements. The elves of space consider themselves to be the link between the scattered elven groundling settlements across the spheres. They take an active attitude toward large elven nations, and a paternal attitude toward those smaller tribes that are
scattered in densely populated human continents. The Elven Imperial Navy regularly makes contact at large Elven capitals. The ideas and techniques shared by the space elves may have helped both those nations in their defenses and protection from encroaching human and nonhuman invaders.
The elven fleets are highly organized, with the full rulership of the fleet controlled by the Council of Admirals, headed by a Grand Admiral. These august leaders, elders even in elven years, rule from a hidden base called Lionheart, whose location is secret and is changed every few years to avoid surprise attacks.
Local fleets within spheres are under the control of admirals, though if the number of elven ships is low (there are no elves naturally in the system), a single ship with a captain will suffice to maintain the "elven presence" in a system.
The space elves maintain their ships well, and according to the regulations handed down by the Council of Admirals. In general, the Council will punish lightly those who flaunt their rules and succeed, but woe to the individual who disobeys their strict commandments about weapons, crews, and inspections and then fails in a mission.
Half-Elves: Half-Elves are far more numerous in space than they are in groundling settings, as Elven sailors coming in to port are even more lascivious (but far better smelling) than human sailors. Within the Elven Fleet, Half-Elves can find great chances at a solid career, but will rarely achieve Commissioned officer rank.
GAME INFORMATION
Wildspace Elves receive a +1 bonus to hit with pistols, rifles, longswords and short swords. Wildspace Elves have no special bonus with longbows and shortbows.


Halflings
Tobias. Halfling Fighter/Thief
Spaceborn Halflings are typically found in human settlements and on human ships. They are highly valuable as crewmembers and are especially prized as ships cooks. Halflings have the industry and intelligence of most humans and have the additional advantage of not taking up that much space or requiring that much air. A halfling can do much of the light work of a man, and requires half the air (though the same amount of food—a halfling's gullet is legendary). As a result, they
are quite popular for work in tight quarters.
Though no large Halfling nation is known, a number of trade consortiums, and independant vessels owned and operated entirely by Halflings do exist. Halfling ships are usually workaday types such as the Tradesman or converted groungling ships, but the awe-inspiring Swan Ship has been growing in popularity.
Unfortunately, Halflings are also highly prized as slaves by evil Humans and monstrous races such as the Neogi, Evil Eye (Beholders), and Mind Eaters (Illithids). This is due to the reasons mentioned above, and that they are considered relatively weak in comparison to other species.


Humans
William DuPree. Human Duelist
As on many of the worlds of the VOIDJAMMER universe, the human population is the most numerous
in space. Ninety percent of the humans in space are free agents, operating for no master or for a temporary master on a particular job. In a change from the feudal attitudes of many groundling nations, the chain of command is much looser and the caste system of peasant to gentleman to noble less prevalent. There are still princes and peasantry, but the interaction between the two is more relaxed.
In space, humans settle in communities ranging from lone hermitages to huge asteroid cities. These cities are usually the remains of a dwarven citadel or space dragon lair, but the humans tend to build up along the surface, in the manner of their groundling ancestors. The accessibility of the human civilizations to other races make these communal cities a center of activity for many races.
On a smaller scale than the asteroid cities, there are the human ships. These crews vary from place to place, but form the same sort of family and organization. Some crews are put together for a single voyage, while others operate over long periods of time, their crew members forming their own community.
Of the spaceborne humans who do have a particular allegiance, their lords are often more ideas and ideals than individuals such as political philosophies (Capitalism for instance) or religious orders. Even given the quickness of space travel, the idea of loyalty to some distant emperor or general quickly breaks down.


Orcs and Half Orcs
Skinrug. Orc Fighter.
Orc-Kin have a long history in space, punctuated in a number of long and bloody conflicts with the Elves and other races. Spaceborn Orcs are more Lawful in alignment (Lawful Evil) than groundling orcs, and have learned the importance of an organized ship and taking care of their equipment. The orcs that cannot grasp these details do not survive long.
Orcs usually use ships made by other races such as humans, but do have a number of their own vessels. These orc-made ships are very mechanical in design, and are all quite potent warships. Some notable orc-ship designs are the Mantis and Scorpion.
Orcs organize themselves into clan ships and asteroid enclaves that are pure pirate, but organized in a strict code of conduct known as the Black Code. This code is a set of laws and taboos that the orcs adhere to with religious zeal. And though violent and cruel, can be appealed to by non-orcs in negotiations.
Orc and Half-Orc Clerics can become disciples of the Black Code (picking from the Fire, Strength and War domains), and are walking encyclopedias of sailor superstition, taboos and variations on Black Codes. Such priests wear black coats and are called Provosts.
Half-Orcs: Spaceborn orcs are not quite as prone to rape as groundling orcs, but still manage to produce a great many half-breed children. Orc sailors are likely to have "wives" and favored prostitutes in many ports of call.
ORC PLAYER CHARACTERS
Orcs modify their starting ability scores as follows: Str +2, Int -1, Wis -1 and Cha -1. Orcs have darkvision to a range of 60 feet. Orcs are blinded in bright sunlight (see page 50 in the B&T PHB). They speak Orc, and might also learn Dwarf, Gnoll, Goblin and Ogre. Orcs can multi-class as cleric/fighters, fighter/ magic-users, fighter/leeches and fighter/thieves.


Friday, May 9, 2014

Music To Game By

No time for a more in-depth post this week. So here are a few music selections that I feel are excellent for a proper Voidjammer or Spelljammer campaign.


KRULL Soundtrack
It may not seem like it at first, but Krull is very much attached to Fantasy Space. The main baddie (The Beast) travels through Wildspace in a ginormous mountain/spaceship. That and his minions, The Slayers and others, are very space-ish looking and use LASERS.


The Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream
The Moody Blues in general are great to play during RPG sessions. However this album is particularly nice for games taking place in fantasy space.



HAWKWIND - Master Of The Universe
GREAT for setting the mood for Wildspace Adventures! Especially when embarking on a quest through the cosmos. Traveling music you might say.


HP Lovecraft - The White Ship
Psychedelic rock band from Chicago. Named after the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Unconventional sounding harmonies on a bolero beat. Personally, I love the spooky mood set by this album. and I think it is excellent for gaming in general.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Voidjammer: Ships and Ship Combat

Modeling battles in Wildspace or the Phlogiston can be difficult, and is thus is kept abstract. Before we get to the rules, we should examine several different ship types in the game and their combat statistics. Note that these are abbreviations of these ships stats. I will post more in-depth ship stats very soon.


SPACE COMBAT PROCEDURE
By the incomparable Jim Holloway
Combat begins with each ship captain rolling to gain advantage. Each captain rolls 1d6 and add’s the Helmsman's dexterity bonus (see below). The captain that has the advantage can choose to either close or increase the distance between the two vessels by a number of feet equal to its speed. The captain with the advantage also makes the first attack in the action phase.
After the captain with advantage has moved, each captain can make one attack per weapon, beginning with the captain with the advantage, and each captain then taking turns until all their weapons have been fired.
For each weapon, the captain gives an order and rolls 1d20, adding the weapon’s strength. If the roll is equal to or higher than the target’s Armor Class, the effects of the order are carried out.

The possible orders are as follows:

  • Clear the Deck (Crew): The weapon targets the crew on the main deck. Success reduces the target to a skeleton crew (25% of normal), reducing the target ship’s dexterity modifier by four. A ship’s crew can only be attacked at a range of 60 feet or less.
  • Clip Her Wings (Rigging): The weapon targets the vessel’s wings and/or steering veins. If successful, the ship’s dexterity modifier is reduced by 2 and speed is reduced by 50%. Crew must make a successful Reflex save or be sickened for 1d4 rounds due to the disrupted gravity plane.
  • Let Some Air In (Hull): This attack punches a hole in the ship where there was none before.  The DM chooses which part of the ship is holed, either randomly, or according to the positions of the ships, or wherever would make things most interesting at that point.  Any characters within 10' of the impact point must make a Reflex save (DC 10) or be sucked out into space. NPCs are killed instantly, while PC's can can hold their breath for one round per two points of constitution if they are not moving, or for one round per three points of constitution if they are active (swimming, fighting, etc). Once they run out of breath, they begin suffering 1d6 points of constitution damage per round until dead.
  • Silence Those Guns (Weapon): The weapon targets one weapon of the opposing vessel. The weapon’s Armor Class is used to resolve the attack. Success destroys that weapon or squadron.
  • Target Helm (Engines): The helmsman must make a Will save (DC 10) or fall unconscious for 1d4 hours.  If failed, he must then make a Fortitude save (DC 10) or it turns into a coma that lasts 1d4 days!  In the case of Series Helms, each creature in the series must save.
  • Rake the Sails (Rigging): The weapon targets the sails. Success reduces the target’s dexterity modifier by 2 and its traveling speed by 50%. Galleys and galleasses, which are powered by both sail and oar, cut these penalties in half.
  • Grapple and Secure (AC 10): You attempt to grapple the enemy ship and begin a boarding action. Normal sailors can make a grapple attack at +0, while archers make the attack at their normal attack bonus. Success brings the boats together and the boarding action begins. Boarding actions can be handled with normal combat rules or mass combat rules, depending on the crew sizes.

A failed weapon attack on a hull, oars or sail that fails can still have an impact. If the attack does not fail by more than 5 points, roll on the following table.

D% Effect
1‐30 No effect
30‐39 Flying splinters; all PC’s suffer 1d10 points of damage (Reflex save for half damage)
40‐49 10‐40% of cargo destroyed
50‐59 Anchor hit and lost to the depths
60‐69 50% of foodstuffs (and rum) is lost; the rest is lost next round if somebody doesn’t douse that fire!
70‐79 Fire on deck! All PCs on the main deck suffer 1d6 points of fire damage this round (Reflex saving throw for half damage)
80‐84 Confusion for one weapon crew; weapon cannot fire next round
85‐89 A random PC is thrown overboard with 1d4 crewmen
90‐94 Important documents are destroyed by shot or fire
95‐99 The ammunition supply / powder magazine floods, leaving the vessel with only enough for 5 more rounds of combat
100 A random officer or PC is struck, taking 3d6 damage (Fortitude saving throw for half damage)

Combat continues until one ship is destroyed or captured, or the distance between the two ships has been increased to 3,000 feet or more.
Spellcasters can make weapon attacks as above with spells that deal damage, the strength of the spell being equal to the spell level. Treasure Keepers must adjudicate other spells as needed.

DISNEY & DRAGONS: D&D in Fantasyland

Many times, in recent years I have encountered would-be players of Dungeons and Dragons whose sole experience with the fantasy genre h...