d8 Polymorph Spells

1. Fionn’s Amphibious Charm. When cast, a fish-shaped mark is branded in a visible location on the target’s body. For the duration of the spell, whenever the affected character gets wet, they transform into a salmon. The character will change back when completely dry. (Whether “getting wet” includes things like drinking water is up for the GM to decide...)

2. Circe’s Porcine Curse. This spell transforms its target into a pig. The type of pig depends on the size of the target (halfling: piglet, human: standard pig, ogre: giant warthog, etc.). 

3. Incantation of Transfiguration. The spellcaster begins chanting a magical song, and all characters that can hear the spellcaster must save or be transformed into a harmless critter. The transformation lasts as long as the spellcaster keeps chanting.

4. Animorph. The target of this spell can transform into an exact copy of a creature they are physically touching, keeping their own mental stats and personality. The transformed character can change back whenever they choose, but if they remain in animal form for more than two hours they must succeed a save vs. spells or be stuck as an animal permanently.

5. Zzildra’s Battle of Wits. The spellcaster makes a check against the target's INT. If they pass, the target is transformed into a sheep. If they fail, they are transformed into a sheep. The transformation lasts 1d6+6 turns.

6. Lecto’s Dark Mirror. This spell transforms a target into its “opposite”. What a character’s opposite may be is up to GM discretion. Predator/prey animals are easy enough, but this becomes more subjective with humanoids and other inanimate objects. Go with your gut on these. The opposite of a goblin could be a dwarf or a gnome, the opposite of a fork could be a spoon, and so on. 

7. Etymos’s Rhymic Remaking. This spell can transform an object into another object with a rhyming name. Change a sword into a board, a cat into a bat, and so on. For humanoid or other sentient characters, the “name” to be rhymed could be their actual name, character class, occupation, or rank.

8. Arakhir’s Hallucination. The magician conjures a dazzling display of prismatic lights and magical smoke with a 30’ radius. Any creatures caught inside the spell must save vs. spells or believe that they have been transformed into a snail. No physical transformation actually occurs, but the target will only be able to act like a snail, wriggling sluggishly on the ground. In this state salt deals damage to them as fire oil, but if brought to 0 hp the character simply falls unconscious. Someone affected by this spell can be slapped back to their senses as with a sleep spell.

DRAGONS: Sea & Dream Dragons

This is the second of my series of my personal dragon bestiary (draconiary? draconomicon?). Click here for Part 1. 

Sea Dragon

Massive (80’) serpent-like dragons with silvery scales and feathery red fins. They dwell in the vast oceans, inhabiting vast coral reefs and sunken ruins. 

AC 3 [16], HD: 14* (63 hp), Att: 1 x bite (3d6) or 1 x squeeze (2d10 hull damage) or breath, THAC0 9 [+10], MV: swim 240’ (80’), SV D8 W9 P10 B10 S12 (7), ML 9, AL Neutral, XP 1,350, NA 1, TT H + pearl

• Breath Weapon: 100’ line of pressurized water (save vs. breath or be pushed). The sea dragon must spend one combat turn swallowing water to use this attack again.

• Lunge: Up to 40’ out of water to use bite attack.

• Squeeze: Coil around and crush a vessel (of equal size or smaller).

Sea Serpents, Fish Drakes, Water Dragons. These piscine behemoths claim vast swathes of ocean as their territory. While they tend to be non-aggressive, the sea dragons hold a strict code of etiquette one must follow to pass through their waters; throw offerings of treasures and fresh meat overboard and you may proceed safely.

These dragons were originally known as “sea kings” because of how other aquatic animals behave around them in nature. The other creatures do not avoid the sea dragon, instead they live alongside it, treating it almost like an alpha of their pack. The other creatures give the dragon a wide berth and allow it first pick of the food. In exchange, they are protected from larger predators; like peasants paying tribute to their lord.  

Some more intelligent animals like octopi and dolphins have been seen to offer tribute to the dragon in the form of shiny trinkets and shells.

Every sea dragon naturally forms a pearl beneath its tongue that grows larger as the dragon ages. These pearls are believed to contain the dragon’s spirit, and there are many rumors surrounding their magical powers. 

Sailors believe that the pearls can be used to control the dragons, or to harness their power over the seas. The dynasties of the west peddle the belief that they can use dragon pearls in a secret ritual to transform themselves into sea dragons to defend their coastlines from invaders, and the imperial family keeps a dragon pearl as an heirloom.

If you are suicidal enough to want to steal a sea dragon’s treasure, their lairs are found in great shipwrecks, ancient Atlantean ruins, or inside towering pillars of coral, all teeming with beautiful and dangerous sea life.

When a sea dragon discovers some of its hoard has been stolen, miles of ocean are made impassable. The angry dragon sets the sea to boil, stirring up tall dark waves and attacking vessels indiscriminately. The only way to stop it is to return the stolen treasure or slay the beast.

Dream Dragon

Fleshy, wingless dragons with greenish scales and crystalline growths that spend most of their lives asleep. They dwell in crystal-laden caverns.

AC: 3 [16], HD: 6** (20hp), Att: [2 x claw (1d4), 1 x bite (2d8)] or breath, THAC0: 14 [+5] MV: 90’ (30’)/240’ (80’) flying, SV: D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (6), ML 8, AL Neutral, XP 725, NA: 1 TT: F + crystal growths

• Breath Weapon: Cloud of sleep gas (50’ long, 40’ wide, 20’ high, save vs. breath or fall asleep for 4d4 turns). Can be used up to 3 times per day.

• Sleeping: 60%. If asleep, may be attacked for one round with a +2 bonus to hit.

• Manifest Dreams: While asleep, the dragon’s dreams manifest in the physical world as illusions that disappear when touched.

• Telepathy: Can communicate telepathically within 60'.

Credit where it's due, I ran my players through Gavin Norman’s new adventure The Incandescent Grottoes which featured the crystal-eating dream dragon. I liked the idea so much that I decided to expand on it here and draw my own interpretation, seen above.

Dream Dragons are some of the most naturally skilled dreamers in the world. When they dream, their psychic manifestations are so strong that they become visible in our world as phantasms. Sometimes their dreaming can be so strong as to pull creatures from the Dreamlands from their reality into our own.

Usually, dream dragons will settle to feed on crystals. They might not be tasty, but the crystals provide the dragon with much needed mental clarity. In addition, they cannot properly digest the crystals, so what results is a strange sort of symbiosis. The crystals grow within the dream dragon’s body, growing outwards and appearing first as wart-like bumps on the dragon’s skin before piercing through as fully-formed crystals.

The prismatic fumes that the dream dragon exhales induces a deep sleep of vivid, often prophetic dreams. People subjected to the fumes have described the transition as almost seamless: “One instant you’re standing in front of the beast, and the next you’re at the helm of a silver ship, sailing on the clouds among floating islands.”

Despite their fleshy bodies and lack of wings, dream dragons can actually fly. To do so, they take in a huge gulp of air, letting it fill their body as they stretch to their full length and twist through the air like a windsock. Close the dragon’s mouth, and it will crash in a heap.

Dream dragons are intelligent, and their mastery over their own minds allows them to speak telepathically. They have been known to ally themselves with adventurers, getting favors from them in exchange for cryptic prophesies of the near future, knowledge of their surroundings, and rare spells captured from the dream realm.

It would be wise to not make an enemy of a dream dragon, for if left alive, it will make sure you never have a good night's sleep again. They will corrupt your dreams with rogue nightmares and in extreme cases, abduct your psyche and maroon it in the dreamlands that you might never wake...or that something else wakes in your place.

[B/X Class] Traditional Dwarf

The Dwarf race-class as it stands I think does well enough at letting you play as the modern idea of the dwarf. You know the one; the elf-hating, axe-or-hammer-swingin’, beer-swillin’, grudge-bearin’, gold-lovin’, scottish accented dwarf that everyone thinks Gimli is but is really more like a Warhammer thing? Yeah, that one.

I wanted to cobble together some class features that would make my dwarves better represent the “miner fairy craftsman” sort of dwarf. The ones that whistle while they work and make wondrous things from the metals and jewels they mine from the earth. Something that combines parts of all the little demi-human races with some fairytale flair. Hopefully, this does the trick.

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NOT PLAYTESTED THIS.

Traditional Dwarf

Demi-humans that resemble short old men with long noses and beards, possessing strength much greater than their size. They dwell in tunnels within the earth, where they mine for gems and ore.

Hit Dice, To-Hit, Saves, Experience: as Dwarf

Armor: Any, including shields.

Weapons: Any.

Languages - Along with the common tongue, dwarves can speak the secret language of burrowing creatures, and can converse with animals like badgers, moles, rabbits, and ferrets. While these animals can talk back, they can't communicate complex ideas.

Low Light Vision - You’re used to working in dim light. You can see perfectly well in moonlight, and see twice as far in torchlight.

Hiding - When in an environment of natural or carven stone, you can take one round to vanish, hiding so well you can only be found with an extensive search (4-in-6 chance to remain hidden). You can also hide in other environments with sufficient cover (2-in-6 chance of success). Hiding requires the dwarf to remain silent and motionless.

Dwarf-Sense

• When looking at a piece of craftsmanship, you have a good idea of who made it and what its function is.

• You can spot geological and construction features with a 3-in-6 chance of success. These include secret passages, concealed traps, unsafe construction, thin walls, and metal ore veins or gems.

• With one round of close examination (touching, sniffing), you can tell if an item is magical or not. 10 minutes of close examination allows you to make an Intelligence check to learn more about it. (shamelessly stolen from the GLOG Wizard)

Stone Friend - Stones are always listening, but are usually too lazy to bother speaking. For dwarves, they will make an exception. Speak to a stone and it has a 1-in-6 chance of participating in a conversation

(Note: The success chance is per stone, so the player can't "spam" the roll to make it talk. How much time would have to pass for a stone to be ready to talk may vary, but this shouldn't be immediately repeatable. The success could also be modified by the dwarf's CHA.

See Skerples’s take on stone elementals for what I’m going for here.)

Metalworking - Given the proper raw materials and equipment, you can craft any metal weapon, armor, jewelry, or tool with masterful quality. Once in your life, you may craft your Masterwork, a powerful magic item of your own creation.