Mr. 'Tis the season

In case you are too young to remember this surreal incident in U.S. history, please note it is First Lady Nancy Reagan sitting on Mr. SanTa's lap there. The oddness of the eighties knows no bounds.

and now, a screencap of some D&D dorks

from Bender's Game

Semiprecious Stones, base 50gp value

Bloodstone, a.k.a. Heliotrope

According to wikipedia when the inclusions are primarily yellow instead of red the stone is sometimes called a Plasma.  But if I told my players they found a Plasma Stone they would assume it could shoot beams of ionic energy or something.

Cairngorm

Cairngorm is a specifically Scottish variety of Smoky Quartz and is normally listed under that category in the charts.  It's a cool name with a specific look, so I gave them their own category here.

Carnelian

Darker, harder carnelians are often called Sard (see below).

Chalcedony

Chrysoprase

Citrine

Jasper

Moonstone

The bluer varieties tend to be the most valuable.

Morion

Morion is a particular dark or even opaque variant of Smoky Quartz (see below).

Onyx

Onyx comes in a variety of colors but black is common.

Rock Crystal

I could see a scenario where folks not well versed in gemstones could be tricked into thinking a cut rock crystal was actually a diamond.

Sard


A darker, harder variant of carnelian.



Sardonyx

Sardonyx is literally layers of sard and onyx.

Smoky Quartz

 

Star Rose Quartz


This is just plain cool.



quadra-updates

• The artifact book all y'all contributed out is coming along slow because I am a lazy butt.  Sorry for the delay.  My plan is to have a PDF version out before Christmas and the whole project done before class starts (yay!) in the second week of January.
• I started work on a section by section read-through of the original Arduin Grimoire.  That dropped off the map not for lack of interest, but because I misplaced my copy for several weeks.  Embarrassing, but true.  Now that I have that booklet back in my grubby little hands expect the next installment later this week.
• Hey, it looks like some people found yesterday's post about ornamental stones useful.  Commenter steelcaress of Roll 'Em even made an nifty expanded PDF version you can download here.  Since that post went over so well, I think I'll eventually do similar work for the rest of the gem spectrum.  However I've got plenty on my plate already (see above), so if someone else wants to tackle one or more gemstone categories please feel free.  Just let me know (with linky please!) so as to avoid duplication of effort.
• In case you haven't heard, a new edition of Mutant Future is going into distribution by the end of the year.  Pester your local game store owner to get you a copy!  Check out the rad new cover:

Ornamental Stones, base 10gp value

Azurite, a.k.a. Chessylite, ancient Greek Kuanos, Latin Caeruleum

"Heating destroys azurite easily" - Wikipedia

Banded Agate

Blue Quartz

Eye Agate

Hematite

Those shiny black rocks in gift shops that are magnetic and stick together?  I'm pretty sure that's hematite.

Lapis Lazuli

Used by the ancient Egyptians for scarabs.

Malachite

Moss Agate

Obsidian

"when cut in one direction it is jet black; in another it is glistening gray" - Wikipedia again

Rhodochrosite

Tiger Eye

A blue variant is called Hawk Eye.

Turquoise

Whence scrolls?

by Charles Keegan

Is there a literary precedent for the scroll as a single charge spell device?  I always assumed it was a Gygaxian extension of the basic logic of Vancian magic, but it occurred to me earlier today that maybe somewhere lurking in the seedy underbelly of Appendix N one could find a tale of derring-do that actually uses enruned paper that self-erases upon activation.

Any ideas?

Classes of Wessex

Fighter - The class of knights, members of the lower class whose efficiency in acts of brutality are sufficient to allow for some upward mobility in these trying times and foreign mercenaries (principally Welsh archers and Flemish crossbowmen). These folks will work exactly like you'd expect, allowing for some extra flash along the lines of yesterday's post or maybe the Empire of the Petal Throne multiple attacks rules.

Magic-Users - Start with the standard MU in all its Vancian glory, revamp the spells available (including the addition of many effects previously reserved for clerics) and add in an overcasting system whereby you can cast more spells than memorized and/or spells you can't otherwise cast. I'll probably do a separate post on the latter.

Scoundrels - I'm not a big fan of the Thief as implemented, but I like the idea of a class for the have-nots of society, whereby wits and trickery replaces swordplay or spellslinging. Still thinking about how to approach this mechanically.

Changelings - The class for fairy folk raised by human parents, humans raised by fairies, cambions, half-elves, half-orcs, descendants of the Nephilim and etc. Meant as a single class catch-all to replace the standard halfling, dwarves and elves. This class will probably end up with some spells, but they won't use spellbooks or Vancian magic.

Clerics as a class will not be allowed. Priests may or may not have a mechanical function, depending if I implement something like the Sin Point system previously proposed. But conjuring up miracles on command is not the province of the clergy, especially during a period so miserable that one chronicler note that Christ and his saints seemed to be asleep. For miracles you need someone like a Miracle Max or perhaps a Hildegard Von Bingen.

I'm also thinking of abolishing/modifying the normal weapons and armor restrictions. If I stick with d6 damage for everything, who really cares if the local Gandalf has a sword or not? I'd even allow armor to be worn, with the following penalties:

• helmet & coif (which, owing to the lack of platemail in the period, will be worth +1 AC) - Can't listen at doors, 1 in 6 more likely to be surprised.
• shield - Forget about spellcasting with that thing on your arm, buddy.
• chain hauberk - Must rest twice as often.  Also, the fighters will be able to outrun you. If the whole party is being pursued by the Legendary Black Beast of Argh guess who gets eaten?