December 17th, 2015
Cast Blast, The WEGS Fray
Greetings, Old Skoolers! Isn’t it time you learned some new spells?!? Well, that’s just what this new Cast & Blast series is going to do for you! Now, don’t go grumbling about having to learn new things. Spelljamming is way more fun than pulling rot grub out of your chainmail skirt, and this stuff is going to be twice as much fun as that!
If you are a true old skooler, you’ll see that these spells trod on some familiar ground that’s near and dear to your dungeon-delving heart. This series is our twist on classic Basic Dungeons & Dragons spells for Magic Users and Clerics. This week we serve up a couple of Level 1 bedazzlers; one for the Mage and one for the Sage.
Silver Tongue of Saroo (Magic)
The mage can use this spell on a single two-legged target that (a) is no larger than twice the mage’s size and (b) whose Ingenuity is half that of the mage’s. The target cannot be undead, animal, or vegetable. The target is completely under the mage’s charm, believes what the mage says as truthful, and will follow the mage’s suggestions and advice. The target must be able to comprehend the mage’s spoken instructions; the charm is not a form of mind control or telepathy. Each time the target suffers wounds due to the mage’s suggestions, the target is allowed to make an Ingenuity test to become aware of the deceit and question their current course of action. When the spell expires, the target may suffer slight confusion as to why they performed the actions they did, as if affected by temporary amnesia.
Target: Other
Type: Special Effect
Range: 12 squares + Special
Use: (SPS/4) times per day.
Upkeep: On a successful casting, the mage immediately expends 8 spoints (2 x Spell Level 4); no other upkeep is required. Mage’s Ingenuity sets the number of game minutes the spell lasts (e.g. a 64 Ingenuity score grants a 64 minute enchantment).
Lesser Orb of Healing (Mystic)
The sage is granted four healing orbs that can be immediately directed to the desired target(s). A target can only benefit from one orb per inning, however, all four orbs can be sent to four different targets that first inning. After the initial casting, the orbs can only be used at the Spante (non-action). Each orb heals 2d6 + SPS wounds.
Target: Other
Type: Renewal
Range: 12 squares
Use: (SPS/4) per day
Upkeep: Normal
SPELL NOTES
The Use category defines the number of times a spell may be cast per day. Basic spells typically have unlimited use. More powerful spells, however, will have restrictions. “(SPS/4) per day” is such a restriction; the number of times this spell can be used per day is set by the caster’s SPS score divided by four. For example, a mage with 8 SPS may cast such a spell twice per day.
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December 4th, 2015
Conventions, Gary Con, News, The WEGS Fray
The first WEGS Old Skool game for Gary Con VIII 2016 has been officially submitted: “How Many Heroes Does It Take To Slay A Dragon?” This one was a no-brainer for me: each year I finish the con with it. No matter how tired we all are at then end of a full weekend of gaming (binge fantasy rpg gaming IS hard work, folks), this scenario never disappoints. You never say no to the chance to go head-to-head with a dragon!
This will be the third time I am running HMHDITTSAD? at Gary Con. Each year players seek to definitively answer the question posed in the title, and each year, they have failed. In 2014, nine heroes tried to dispatch Jrragnaraffen, the magical glaive dragon. Nine was not the answer. In 2015, ten more heroes lined up for the honor, and, while they put up a valiant effort, they came up a little short. One wizard was clinging to her neck as she flapped her heavy wings and headed off into the sunset of that con. We called that wizard “Dinner”.
Needless to say, Jrragnaraffen is getting very tired of all this nonsense (which is not good news for those who show up for this year’s game). After the first failed foray, I outlined the rules allowing Jrragnaraffen to grow stronger with each passing year. In game terms, she possess an equal number of blood chips as there have been Gary Cons. So, this year she starts with eight blood chips, which is between 400 and 800 bonus wound points. For those wondering, each chip grants her ((d6+4) x 10) wounds.
And these blood chips supplement her 264 starting wounds! For those wondering on this total, she is treated as three Level 8 monsters. Each level earns the monster 11 wounds, so Level 8 monsters begin with 88 wounds. She can take a lot of damage!
If at first you don’t succeed, just blame it on the guys who couldn’t finish the job last year…
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November 26th, 2015
The WEGS Fray, Trove Roll
It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the USA, and we’re celebrating by rolling out some trove for the Feast of Turdragons! We’re starting with the best possible result on Table I: Trove Pile Generator (d%) , which, as some of you have heard, is found in the Trove chapter in the Old Skool Odds-n-Gods Vol I tome (see anticipated publishing date at end of article).
As noted in the Table I title, the game master rolls percentile dice to find out what treasure awaits the dungeon delvers. As any WEGS player would expect, Wicked Success results (01, 02, 03) trigger something very very good, while Wicked Failure results (97, 98, 99, 00) trigger something awful. We’re skipping that roll, and giving you the best Table I can offer:
“01 – Roll thrice more on this table (ignore Wicked Failures).”
Now, let’s start rolling…
D% Roll #1 = 32 – Table V: Weapons
D% Roll #2 = 17 – Table IV: Armour
D% Roll #3 = 0-00 – Cursed Item with Ego. Lucky for you, the original Wicked Success blocks this Wicked Failure result (there’s not much worse than a cursed sword with an attitude.) So, let’s re-roll:
D% Roll #3 = 94 – Table IX: Massive Trove. Now we’re talking trove with a capital T!
For each of the table results above, the GM rolls a d10 to find out what the trove item is.
Here’s how they rolled out:
Table V – Weapon: Blades.
+2 Scimitar
Table IV – Armour: Greaves.
Half Leg, +4 Armour
Table IX – Massive Trove – Special.
The first roll on Table IX was a 10, which instructs the GM to “Roll again on this table and then again on Table I”. This added these items to the turdragon hoard:
Table IV – Armour: Scale Armour.
Coat of Plates, +8 Armour. Special: Elfland Scale.
Table IX – Massive Trove: Ogma’s Majestic Hammer
The Hammer of the Gods in the Wegswyrld! It is so mighty, that it deserves its own dedicated blog entry. So, we’ll wait until all the turdragon feathers settle around here and do that post next week!
Odds-n-Gods, Vol I…
It will definitely be published before Odds-n-Gods, Vol II.
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July 8th, 2015
DexCon, Quick Updates, WEGS Old Skool
Dingbitt’s Dunge O Doom at DexCon 2015
It was the end of the fourth encounter and I was *CRUSHING* the party.
The TPK was right around the corner. My next roll was going to take out the party’s Sage and all his precious little spells would go bye-bye. For fun and flare, I let out a squeal of joy and rolled my dice into a little dungeon well dead center of the terrain…
0-00! Wicked Failure!
Their mockery fell upon me like a ton of dragon dung riddled with caltrops. It hurt.
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April 23rd, 2015
News, The WEGS Fray, WEGS Old Skool
A new page has been added just for our
WEGS Old Skool Character Sheets!
(Click here to go to the Char Sheet page)
Dungeons! Dragons! Wizards! Whatever!
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February 10th, 2015
Conventions, Gary Con, News, The WEGS Fray
Old Skool Fantasy at Gary Con 2015
Visit the Gary Con website
for full details on how to attend and sign up for an event.
Join us for full throttle sword-n-sorcery action at Gary Con 2015 (March 26 – 29). Here is a full list of the WEGS Old Skool Fantasy events we will be running at the convention. All rules taught! All you need is a sense of adventure to join in the fun!
B2 Keep on the Borderlands (WOSF)
When: Thurs @ 2pm and Sat @ 11 am
Duration: 2.5 hours
Get ready for classic dungeon crawling fun with a whole new system! We’re cracking open the Gary Gygax’s module Keep on the Borderlands and heading straight into the dread Caves of Chaos! Fantastic heroes will be created in minutes and, moments later, face-to-face with terrible foes. The cultists and minotaur and owlbear and oozes are waiting! Maybe even a wight if you pick the wrong cave.
A Plump Half-Dead Merchant and His Wife
When: Thurs and Saturday @8 pm
Duration: 3.5 hours
One line of descriptive text in Gary Gygax’s Keep on the Borderlands module provides the inspiration for the title of this adventure and its plot. The party starts as prisoners chained to the wall in the dread Hobgoblin lair (Cave F, Room 24). When the game begins, each player selects one of the six prisoners to play: the plump, half-dead merchant (scheduled to be eaten tonight in a special banquet); the merchant’s wife (also slated for the big feast); one of the two men-at-arms who serve as a guard for the merchant; the orc who will fight goblins and hobgoblins gladly; or, perhaps, a crazy gnoll. Can this group band together and find a way out? Or are they just doomed to hang around for dinner?
Escape From The Dwarf Lord’s Tomb (WOSF)
When: Thurs and Fri @ 11 am
Duration: 2.5 hours
A fellowship of Dwarves, Elves, Gnobbits and Humnz are trapped in a Dwarven mine with only one way out – FIGHT! As wave after wave of hobgoblins, orcs, and ogres appear, the party must pull together and make a heroic last stand. This scenario is designed to guide players through their first Old Skool Fantasy character creation and show off the explosive combat encounters of WEGS, the Wickedly Errant Game System. If you’re lucky and things go really bad, you will learn about LAP and NDE (Lost Action Phases and Near Death Experience rolls)!
The cultists and minotaur and owlbear and oozes are waiting! Maybe even a wight if you pick the wrong cave.
Dingbitts Dunge O’ Doom (WOSF)
When: Fri and Sat @ 2 pm
Duration: 3 hours
You ain’t done dungeon til you done Dingbitts! A rag-tag party of sword-n-sorcery heroes are plunged into the randomly generated dungeon run by Dingbitt, a devilish halfling rogue. His magic dungeon is chock full of treasure, traps and monsters. The deeper the party delves, the bigger the booty (and the greater the peril, of course). It is up to the heroes to decide what it shall be: fabulous trove, worthy opponents or, perhaps, just to find a way out? Priorities change fast after you leave Level 1!
Elf Walks Into A Bar (BYOT)
When: Friday 8 pm
Duration: 3 hours
A rag-tag assortment of adventurers are having a real slow night at the Tongue of Dung, a seedy tavern in the bad part of a town called Ikkspatt. Never a dull moment in this joint. In one dark corner, an Elf Mage sleepily stares over her spellbook while her pet gargoyle looks hungrily about for scraps. Another table has a quartet of furry-footed Gnobbits getting way too loud with their “Shire this…” and “Shire that…” nonsense. And why does the village body snatcher keep going out to his cart to “count the bodies”? It is only a matter of time before someone says or does something that causes all hell to break loose. A rip-roaring intro to WEGS, the Wickedly Errant Game System. Bring Your Own Tankard.
How Many Heroes Does It Take To Slay A Dragon? (II)
When: Sunday 11am – 1:30pm
Duration: 2 hours
Come join the dragon-slaying party and let’s find out! New players are welcome to join us in this free-for-all dragon brawl. We will wrap up character creation in minutes, declare marching order, and then bring out the fire-breathing beasty. Feel free to bring characters played at our other Gary Con events (even last year’s if they survived). All heroes will be roasted in due course. Players are herewith warned: Nine players tried to dispatch the dragon last year and failed. She has had a year to recoil and grow larger. You will need to plan accordingly. Remember: screaming and running off the edge of the battle mat is always an option.
(Read lots more about our Gary Con dragon here.)
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Greetings, Old Skoolers! Isn’t it time you learned some new spells?!? Well, that’s just what this new Cast & Blast series is going to do for you! Now, don’t go grumbling about having to learn new things. Spelljamming is way more fun than pulling rot grub out of your chainmail skirt, and this stuff is going to be twice as much fun as that!
