Phantom Stalker, Spectral Hound and Twinling

Phantom Stalker from the original AD&D Fiend Folio

Seven Voyages of Zylarthen Supplement 1: Book of Spells includes three spells that annoyingly refer to Supplement 2: Book of Fiends. I say "annoyingly" because Book of Fiends has not yet been published (It's written, but this time I'm pursuing a different option for the art):

Phantom Stalker: This spell summons a Phantom Stalker. See Supplement 2: Book of Fiends for characteristics and effects. Magic-Users. Level: 5.

Spectral Hound: This spell summons a Spectral Hound to track opponents. See Supplement 2: Book of Fiends. Magic-Users. Level: 4.

Twinling: See Supplement 2: Book of Fiends. Magic-Users. Level: 6.

Not a lot to go on there, obviously. So here are those creatures (two days ago I also added them as an addendum to the Electronic Edition PDF):

PHANTOM STALKERS: Hit Dice: 6. Attacks: 2-12. Armor Class: 3. Move: 12/24. Alignment: Neutrality. Languages: Type J plus Simple Common. Number Appearing: 1. Description: These are invoked in a manner similar to Invisible Stalkers but their purpose is to guard and avenge. Only one may be created at one time, and they will never leave the initial area—castle, tower, underground lair—they were initially called to, unless it is to avenge the death of their master. If their master is killed, the Stalker will be implacable in tracking his killer, wishing to fulfill the terms of the summoning and return to its abode as quickly as possible. It may Polymorph Self and Fly but will usually appear as an 8’ tall, reddish humanoid with fiery eyes. A Phantom Stalker is immune to fire-based attacks but saves against cold attacks at a -2 penalty and takes an extra hit of damage per die. If slain, the creature will explode in a six-die Fire Ball. Of course, since the Stalker values its own life as much as any creature, he will attempt to make use of this as a threat, revealing it to his attackers if cornered.

SPECTRAL HOUNDS: Hit Dice: 5. Attacks: 2-12 plus possible extra-powerful bite. Armor Class: 7. Move: 24. Number Appearing: 1. Description: Via a powerful spell, a supernatural canine is created that will inexorably track and close in on its target, as long as something with the victim’s scent is initially presented. The creature will take 3-18 days to reach its victim, and on the final 3-6 days the victim will hear a howling coming progressively nearer. If possible, the Hound will attack while the victim is alone, and it will usually surprise on a 1-4. If, during melee, the “to hit” roll succeeds by +4 or more, double damage will be inflicted due to the Hound sinking its teeth into the throat. In addition, after such a bite the victim will go comatose for 2-8 turns and then die at the end of that period unless surgery, a Cure Light Wounds spell or similar or more powerful magic is administered in the interim.

TWINLINGS: Description: A Twinling is created by the horrible spell of the same name, and thus the victim is allowed a saving throw to immediately dispel it. If this is failed, then a perfect double of the victim—with the same current hit points, spells, magic items, and so on—instantly attacks, though it will be invisible as well as invulnerable to all others, and it will look as if the victim is batting the air. The monster will continue to attack until either it or its victim is dead.

These three monster descriptions actually give a bit if insight into the methodology behind the forthcoming Book of Fiends. The idea was to track and reimagine (not duplicate!) the original Fiend Folio. Essentially that meant four things.

1. Any monsters not in the SRD (the Fiend Folio has many of those) or that weren't to some extent legally "freed" by Necromancer Games' 2011 Tome of Horrors would have to be reworked and renamed, at the least. In many cases this meant keeping some of the stats but inserting the creature into a different ontological space, so to speak. So for example, many planar or just plain bizarro creatures (the Fiend Folio had many) often became extraterrestrials from, say, one of Pluto's moons, or evil faerie creatures. I actually think this worked out perfectly for the Zylarthen/OD&D vibe I wanted to preserve, but I'm sure that a few Fiend Folio fans will miss some of their favorites.
2. Silly (in my opinion), broken or superfluous monsters would be reimagined. Now don't misunderstand. I love the Fiend Folio, and that includes loving some Fiend Folio monsters that most people seem to hate. (I also dislike a few that many people seem to love.) But there were a number, many of them also SRD or present in Tome, that I felt just didn't work, or at least wouldn't work for Zylarthen. One example is the Adherer. There's nothing inherently wrong (and a lot inherently right) about a monster that is, well, sticky. But the way it was initially presented in the Fiend Folio, including that (in my opinion) unfortunate illustration, as a sort of DM "gotcha" monster - you think it's a standard mummy, but think again! - was just (again, in my subjective opinion) annoying. So I reworked them as amphibians.
3. All monster descriptions would be reduced to stripped-down OD&D/Zylarthen style. One of the things I didn't like about the Folio (and to some extent the original AD&D Monster Manual) was how long some of the descriptions were. I always felt I had to reread them five times just to make sure I didn't miss some little extra spell or odd ability. In many cases, this meant replacing a page or half-page length description with a short paragraph. I like that sort of presentation much better. But, again, opinions obviously differ on this. The two conceptions are just different. One is OD&D, and one is AD&D, if you will.
4. But all Fiend Folio monsters would be represented, at least in some form. In many cases this "representation" is extremely tangential. CIFAL's became Wasp Zombies (actual zombies with venomous wasps crawling out of orifices in their bodies), Flinds (relatives of Gnolls) became non-described Gibbelins (relatives of Dunsany's non-described Gnoles), The Hound of Ill Omen became Prophecy Worms, Snyads became Termite Men, Mites became Water Gnomes, Norkers became Aquatic Hobgoblins and the Nonafel (Cat O'Nine Tails) became just a standard panther. And so on. Sorry Nonafels.

So, the Phantom Stalkers is quite similar to its originals, or, rather, to the OGL version presented in Tome of Horrors. But the description is stripped down, and the possible planar origins of the creature are left unmentioned.

The Spectral Hound was originally a Devil Dog. Not much similarity there except for the dog and the throat biting thing, I suppose. But I felt there were too many standard canine variations in Folio (and there already were Hell Hounds and Blink Dogs, etc. in OD&D and AD&D). So I thought a sort of less powerful version of the Invisible Stalker spell would be fun.

I had actually forgotten that the Twinling was a reworking of the Aleax. I kept the evil twin idea (which was a damn good one) but made it into an evil spell, as opposed to a sending of the gods, or whatever it was in Folio. And I thought all the extra detail about regeneration and so on was superfluous. It's bad enough to find yourself up against your evil twin in a duel to the death where no one else can help you!

By the way, just so no one misunderstands. I don't think Zylarthen's Book of Fiends is better than its semi-parent (such a thought would be insane). Rather, it's simply my imperfect effort to re-imagine it (or re-imagine some of it) in a legally viable and (hopefully) fun way for the Zylarthen/OD&D universe.

Good hunting and happy casting!

Phantom Stalker from Necromancer Games' Tome of Horrors

Book of Fiends Preview: Additional Gods

Skadi Hunting in the Mountains by Mary H. Foster (1901)

ONCE UPON A TIME there was a catalog of monsters that some people hated and some people loved.

So begins the Introduction to the soon to be released Book of Fiends, the first supplement for Seven Voyages of Zylarthen.

Two other supplements are currently close to completion - one is a complement to both Zylarthen and Book of Fiends, featuring new (sort of) spells and various miscellaneous additional rules, from tables on age and aging to how to use teleportation in outer space. It will be available as both a stand-alone booklet or as additional material for an expanded E-version of Seven Voyages of Zylarthen.

The other is the long-awaited (for me) Sleeping Beauty's Dungeon.

Book of Fiends is an OGL and SRD compatible version of, you know, that book, yes that one with the blue cover and the scary/silly monster holding that big sword - the book you either hate or love.

A few months ago, unsolicited by me, my young son discovered this catalog, adopting it as his favorite “adult” book in a way that I assume a child of the 19th century might have taken to Grimm’s Fairytales. Through him I rediscovered it and very quickly decided that it would be fun to re-imagine the work for the world of SEVEN VOYAGES of ZYLARTHEN.

Every monster in the original book is represented here—at least in some form.

But partly for legal reasons (though not entirely because of them), many of the creatures, including their names, are quite different from their previous descriptions, if not in some cases unrecognizable.

Why another book of monsters?

Well, why not another book of monsters?

The original fantasy adventure game was not a “closed system,” but rather a magic box that promised unlimited possibilities for mystery and delight. Or so it seemed to each one of us at the time. The game should always be fresh. Book of Fiends may be viewed in that spirit.

As far as I know, no one has riffed off of the book before, at least in any methodical manner, which is one of the reasons why I decided to try it. But I also found the tone of the original book conducive to the vibe I was trying to create with Zylarthen, recreating what I saw as the vibe of OD&D - not Chainmail set in Middle-Earth but Narnia plus Dinosaurs and Robots, as I wrote once. Or now I suppose I should add, Narnia, plus Dinosaurs, Robots, Strange Gods, inhabitants of Pluto and the other outer planets, Coffer Corpses and Maggot Men.

Book of Fiends increases the store of Zylarthen monsters by over 50%, adding close to 200 to the canon. In terms of pages, it's actually slightly longer than Zylarthen's Book of Monsters.

The first preview highlights seven new gods and goddesses, rounding out the total number of those entities to 27. Were these in the original 1981 book with the blue cover? One was, though she has a different name. The others are substitutes for a set of related creatures that I decided not to map for legal and other reasons. But you might still say they are versions of a set of entities in that original book. As with the first 20 gods of Zylarthen, most of the new gods are taken from myth or fantasy fiction. Enjoy!

ANU LORD OF THE SKY: Anu is said to be the patron of all good kings and the guarantor of their authority. He is also the guardian of justice and enforcer for the punishment of criminals. He appears on earth as a champion wearing a horned crown, and any encounter may include some form of moral test. His daughter, Lamashtu, is a hideous beast-demon with the head of a lion and the feat and talons of a bird. Recently, a respected sage claimed that the major temples of Anu had been thoroughly infiltrated by secret adherents of Lamashtu. Unfortunately, the sage was killed before elaborating further.

BLACK WIDOW GODDESS: This thoroughly malign entity used to be of human appearance until an attempt to take her own life out of hatred and self-absorption caused her to be transformed into a giant spider. She is worshipped by the Black Elves, and thus the higher gods occasionally allow her to take the form of a Black Elf maiden. Whether this is out of mercy or caprice is unknown, but it inflames her hatred of the other gods as well as of most creatures and things not associated with the Under-Earth. She is usually encountered under her more hideous guise, accompanied, of course, by spiders.

HANUMAN THE ACCURSED: The Temple of Hanuman features a statue of a hideous giant ape, made out of black marble with glowing rubies for eyes. Though the statue is inanimate, the stone will be felt to slither if touched. During the day, many will make gifts of various kinds to placate this deity. But after nightfall, all with give the Temple and its priests a wide berth.

PTAH LORD OF THE SPACE BETWEEN WORLDS: Whether Ptah is a true God, or merely a powerful and ancient extra-solar astronaut is perhaps unimportant. It is said that High Priests of this entity are granted the ability to safely travel to other planets and even stars. It is also claimed that strange  “visitors” often frequent their temples. It was a devotee of Ptah who first invented the perspective tube, a device that allows the user to observe far objects in space or see features on the surface of other bodies—such as the spiraling towers of the Selenites or the artificial waterways of Mars.

RAN: Ran the ocean goddess is said to delight in shipwrecks and deaths upon the sea. She appears as a woman swimming between the waves, holding a net that she uses to lure mariners to their doom. Sailors often darkly joke about being favored by her: “Now on Ran’s bed must I soon be a-lying.” But Ran is also said to love gold, and thus it is the practice of some to toss treasure into the ocean to placate her, perhaps before a storm. Cults of Ran usually erect their temples near dangerous reefs.

SKADI: Skadi is the goddess of winter, snow, the mountains and hunting. She usually appears as a beautiful maiden wearing skis. (In the world of SEVEN VOYAGES of ZYLARTHEN, skis are utilized by many of the Northern peoples.) It is said that if a mortal man succeeds in making Skadi laugh, he will be greatly rewarded. Failure may have other consequences.

Notes on Wilderness Movement

The wilderness is problematic 

I'm currently putting the finishing touches on Book of Fiends, a Seven Voyages of Zylarthen/OD&D reimagining of the Fiend Folio. Among other things, it's going to have some great art.

In the process of working on it, I've been diverted into also exploring some other paths. Book of Fiends will include a number of "additional" spells - OD&D spells not included in the original Zylarthen.

Many of these spells were originally "Druid" spells from Eldritch Wizardry. Since some of these concerned weather, I've been rethinking weather rules and designing an Excel spreadsheet to calculate the weather.

In turn, since weather can sometimes affect movement, this got me to think (or rethink) wilderness movement rules.

Here are some propositions/proposals:

1. In virtually all of the old school iterations of D&D as well as the clones, the value of horses for long-distance wilderness movement has been overestimated. In all of these systems (including Zylarthen) horses move at up to double or even triple the speed of men. This is unrealistic. Over long distances, men move about as fast as horses. You can impel a horse to move faster for a day or two but then you'll have to rest it. So, if you're doing, say a week or a month long trek through the wilderness (where you can't switch horses at the next Pony Express stop), a horse isn't going to help you that much.

2. Extra encumbrance doesn't detract from long-distance movement as much as it does from short-distance movement. Soldiers have been marching with heavy packs since long before the middle ages. If they weren't wearing heavy packs they would be faster, but not that much faster. Marching with heavy packs is what soldiers do. And if they can do it, adventurers should also be able to do it. So, systems that base wilderness movement on short distance movement (based on encumbrance) are underestimating wilderness movement.

3. For the above two reasons, all wilderness movement through clear terrain should have the same base value - perhaps 15 to 20 miles a day. Various things could give bonuses or penalties. For example  if you have a certain type of horse, then you can double movement for one to three days as long as you rest it for one to three days. If you're unencumbered or lightly encumbered, you get a +1 or +2 on movement. Mules get a bonus over harsh terrain. And so on. But the base move stays the same, subject to terrain.

4. Having just one base move (with possible bonuses/penalties) is also preferable for reasons of simplicity.

5. If you're going to have weather events affect movement, keep in mind that weather might be already implicitly "baked in" to some terrain modifiers. So, for example, you move slower in mountains partially because of storms and the wind. You move slower in deserts because of the heat. Jungles are daunting, partially because of the frequent torrential rains, etc. If you want to have weather affect movement, then you might need to scale back on some movement penalties due to terrain itself.

6. You can make an interesting game out of fractional movement speeds. If you have a map with 30 mile hexes and the base move of the party is, say, 20, then instead of decreeing that the party moves 2/3 of a hex each day (and making little dots on your map), have them roll a 13 or better (2/3 of 20) each day on a twenty-sided die. Success means they leave the hex. Failure means they stay. This inserts a bit of chance and die-rolling drama into wilderness movement. And of course, for every day that they stay in the wilderness, they make one or two more wandering monster checks. Let the players roll them... They will want to get out of the wilderness as quickly as possible!

Criticism, comments or advice would be appreciated. Cheers!