Dreamblade Boogie: Lady of the Manor

Courtesy of Ridureyu1

Before the coming of Nightmare, Lady Cassandra Dreweul kept a wicked house. Aspiring to luxury, the Lady Dreweul poisoned her husband when she was the tender age of 15. Keeping the man in a stroke-like stupor, Dreweul used his wealth to feed her more sinister tastes. Sadistic orgies and drugged debauchery were the order of the day,  feeding the nightmarish beast that lurked behind the pretty face.

With the coming of Nightmare, truth was given form, now, amidst an ever-shifting nightmare playground in the ruins of her once-fine manor, the monster that was Cassandra Dreweul tries to lure unwary interlopers to their demise. From the front, Dreweul appears as a flesh-toned spectre. In truth, this is merely a facade for the real Cassandra, a bulbous, fleshy beast that feeds on pain and torment. The Lady of the Manor prefers deception and poison to outright conflict, but if pressed, the beast will slam into its prey, attempting to secure a grip with its large, crushing fangs.


((expect a couple of these to pop up each week as I work on fleshing out Nightmare.))

Gaming with Class: The Psalmist

So, years ago, I picked up a copy of Green Ronin's "Mythic Vistas: Testament", a d20 setting for the Old Testament of the Bible.  I had a lot of fun with it at the time. With my preference for simpler rule sets, however, I thought I'd make use of the book's Open Game Content to convert my favorite class over to Swords and Wizardry, white box edition. This is the first time I've built a class for it, so suggestions are welcome.

Download available here

One Page Dungeon

Just something I cobbled together, using a combination of Chgowiz's One Page Dungeon template and Photoshop. For Swords and Wizardry, an encounter with the promise to be more, if the GM wants. I'll probably revise this later into a full adventure, but for now, it works.

Download the pdf here.

The Blue Sun

Thrice round the room the blue sun slipped

With a dip and a spin and a flash

And Into Shadow nimbly skipped

With the ring of a saber's clash  

-- From the Bladesong of Forgemaster Kelail

A sturdy +1 shortsword, the Blue Sun bears its namesake, a gibbous moon depicted on the flat of the blade in a single sapphire the length of a man's middle finger. Much like the moon from which it takes its name, the Blue Sun sheds false light, obscuring the wielder in shadow. The wielder is always treated as one step higher (or lower, depending on system used) AC than armor and other bonuses normally allow.

Elahn's Tears

Busy week! Life and church have kept me away from the internet, so in apologies, have a magic item for your preferred retroclone.

Through the dusk shadowed wood the youth staggered, trembling fingers clutching at his stomach. As he stumbled on, ink-dark blood spattered the trail, one that lead back to a ruined village, ravaged by the Forgehounds of Khor. Barely more than a boy, he had stood with the men of his village, and now, the poisoned shards of a Warsmith's dagger burning in his gut, he would die.


Against a sturdy oak he sank, breath ragged, brow beaded with fevered sweat. Just a child, a simple boy with dreams of his own good earth to tend, he had not dreamed of war, and yet, when war came he fought as courageously as any knight. Just a child, and already his life ended.


"Mama." A sole word, a plea to one who had soothed his fears and mended each wound. It came unbidden, the farmboy's arms curling around his stomach. Head bowed, he closed his eyes, a spasm of pain ripping a cry from his throat. The world dimmed, and he knew no more.


When awareness returned to the boy, it came as a sense of comfort,  its form a simple wooden cup pressed to his lips.


He drank, the cool liquid suffusing him with a sense of calm, the burning talons of poison loosening their hold on his body.  He drank, and as unconsciousness overtook him once more, a gentle hand stroked his hair, a soft, earthy voice humming a lullaby once had calmed him when storms raged about his home. At peace, he slept,  the chalice clutched between his hands...


Elahn's Tears

A plain chalice of wood, unadorned by mark or script to signify its true purpose. A gift of Elahn the Allmother, the chalice now passes from owner to owner, bringing comfort when most needed.


Elahn's Tears' true purpose becomes manifest when its bearer is in dire need. Should a bearer of Elahn's tears be mortally wounded, the chalice fills with a sparkling liquid. This liquid restores 2d8 hit points, and neutralizes any poison or disease the bearer suffers from.

Once the chalice has been used, it vanishes from its bearer's possessions, reappearing elsewhere in the world to ward a new owner, for a mother's love is never bestowed solely upon one child alone.

Dreamblade Boogie: Temple Lion

What's this? Dreamblade Boogie on schedule?! Pretty much!




Temple Lion
Armor Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: Bite
Special:  Unform Nightmare
Move: 12
HDE/XP: 4/240

"Temple Lions, sometimes known as Shishas, have protected Dreamers for thousands of years..."


Not all that treads Nightmare is evil. Beloved servants of the spider goddess Namerasae, the Temple Lions patrol the borders of Nightmare, cutting back the ever-spreading threat. Further blessed by Namerasae, the Temple Lion can focus its attention on any one creature of Nightmare. That creature must pass a saving throw -2, or be Unformed, destroyed instantly. Because of this,  Temple Lion pelts draw a king's ransom from the Lichking of Nightmare.

Dreamblade Boogie Bonus: Book of Nothing

Courtesy of Ridurey1

In one of the lost cities cloaked in the dreamstuff of Nightmare, a dark tome nestles among more innocent grimoires. Within its pages, some say, the Book of Nothing holds the secret to banish Nightmare forever. At what cost, however, does the wisdom come?

When opened, the reader and 1d6-2 other individuals within 15' of the Book of Nothing must make a save -5. Success incurs 1d6+2 HP damage, and a permanent loss of 1 Constitution point.


Any who fail the save  have their soul trapped within the Book of Nothing. Their Wisdom and Intelligence scores drop to 3, and their eyes become shadowy orbs.  Destruction of the book is not enough to reclaim the victims' souls, only intervention from a higher power (either through direct intervention or a Crusader's Miracle) can restore those claimed by Nothing.

Dreamblade Boogie: Dreamreef Marauder

Dreamreef Marauder

Courtesy of Ridureyu1

Armor Class: 6 [13] 
Hit Dice: 15 
Attacks: Bite (2d6)
Special: Swallow Whole
Move: 9 
HDE/XP: 17/3,500


"No one cares for a shark's company, not even another shark."


The dreamstuff of Nightmare covers the land, clinging like a thick fog
to hide dangerous pitfalls. More dangerous, however, are the things
which swim its depths.

Thankfully rare, the Dreamreef Marauder is a titanic shark whose fin
cuts the dreamstuff as it hunts, towering taller than a man. A horror
in battle, the Marauder's preferred tactic is to lunge from below, catching
unsuspecting prey in its many teeth. In addition, when the Marauder rolls
ten or more higher than the target's Armor Class, the target is swallowed
whole.

Dreamblade Boogie: The Tower of Faces

At the center of Nightmare, brooding over the corrupted realm, the Tower of Faces serves as home to the Lich-Kings. From the Tower they rule with an iron first, working their machinations deep within infernal workshops, sending out their dream-stuff minions to ensure Nightmare remains firmly under their sway. A towering spire some 120 feet tall, and its sullen gray walls, inside and out, are worked with the mad frescoes of tormented dreamers.the Tower is wrapped with the souls bound by the Lich-Kings. From the forlorn visages of these souls the Tower takes its name.

Presented below is the entry level to the Tower of Faces for those brave few willing to assault the sanctum and overthrow the Lich-Kings. But be warned, the stuff of Nightmare is nebulous, and no two journeys within the Tower will be the same...

The Tower of Faces: Level One

 (to be populated at the GM's discretion*)

*Because, y'know, the tower changes... not because the Puzzled Viking is lazy... Honest!

Dreamblade Boogie: The Lungthief Beetle

Lungthief Beetle

Beetle, Lungthief
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 1+4
Attacks: Bite
Special: Shatter
Move: 12
HDE/XP: 1/15



"The secret of immortality is carved in its carapace, 
in runes only the dead can decipher."

Serving as a living phylactery for the Lich-Kings of the
Dreamland, Lungthief Beetles are rat-sized insects that
search the battlefields for corpses. Relatively weak, they
defend themselves with a painful bite that deals 1d2 damage.

Upon finding a suitable corpse, the Lungthief Beetle burrows
into the chest and animates the corpse, allowing the Lich to
claim a new body (hence the name). Due to the malevolent force
of the soul held within their carapace, any time the Lungthief
Beetle fumbles, scores a critical hit, or a critical hit is scored against
it, the beetle explodes, shards of its shell doing 1d4 damage to 1d3
creatures in a 10' area, determined randomly.


((Image courtesy of Ridureyu1))