New Weapon Ability: Spell catching

Most of the time a weapon with the spell-catching ability appears to be a normal weapon. Whenever a spell requiring an attack roll or a reflex save is cast on the wielder of the weapon, he or she can take an immediate action to try and "catch" the spell. To catch a spell, the wielder must succeed on an attack roll opposed by the wielder's attack roll or the spell's save DC, whichever is most applicable. Once a spell is caught, it has no effect on the wielder and its magical energy is absorbed by the weapon, enhancing it. The weapon gains an additional enhancement bonus to attack rolls equal to the spell's level, which lasts for one round per point of the weapons (new) attack bonus. The weapon also gains an additional special property based on the type of spell that was absorbed:

Divine spell
Good caster: Holy weapon
Evil caster: Unholy weapon
Arcane spell
Evocation: The spell deals 1d6 points of whatever type of damage normally dealt by the spell
Conjuration: Throwing
Divination: Keen
Enchantment: Merciful
Illusion: Blinding (like a blinding shield)
Necromancy: Vicious
Transmutation: Throwing
Abjuration: Defending

Price bonus: +2

Level 2

Another Parody, this one based on "What do you do with a B.A. in English?" and "It Sucks to be you" from Avenue Q.


Wizard: What do you do with a Specialty in Divination?
What is my life going to be?
Four years of college
And four ranks in knowledge
(arcana) have brought this to me!
Can’t fight devils yet,
‘Cause I have no spells yet,
The world is a big scary place,
But somehow I can’t shake
The feeling I might make,
A difference to the human race.

Fighter: C’mon! Hit it with a spell!

Wizard: I’m all out of spells!

Fighter: You’ve used what, 6?

Wizard: I’m an arcane caster,
I’ve learned how to cast
Some cool first level spells, like shocking grasp.
But at 4 hp I’m lucky if I can last
Two rounds
Without casting Mage Armor
It sucks to be me
It sucks to be me
It sucks to be level one, and running from a Giant Bee.
It sucks to be me.

Wizard: I’m out of here. Have Fun.
(Wizard runs away. Fighter continues holding off the Giant Bee.)

Fighter: Aaaarggghhh!
I chose a fighter,
I thought it’d be neat,
Just hack things up all day and get bonus feats!
But my whole party’s run away and let me take the heat
Of battle.
Cause I have 10 hit points.
But they’re mostly gone now.
It sucks to be me
It sucks to be me.
It sucks to be standing here when everyone else turns to flee.
It sucks to be me.

Fighter: Any chance I could get some healing over here?

Cleric: Awww. But I only have one level one spell slot left and I was gonna cast Divine Favor!

Fighter: Unless that’ll let you fight this thing off by yourself, I’d change that plan!

Cleric (while healing the fighter): *sigh* When I heard Cleric,
I thought I’d aspire
To smite the infidels with holy fire
But now all that anybody seems to require
Is healing
It sucks to be me
It sucks to be me
It sucks to have wasted all my spells restoring your hp,
It sucks to be me.

Bard: Hey guys, guess what? I can give +1 to your attack and damage rolls!

(Others glare at bard)

Bard: What?
(Singing) Inspire courage,
That’s all I can do.
Don’t you feel braver now? I know that I do!
Look at all the bonuses I’ve added to you.
It’s true!

Others: It sucks to be you!

Cleric: I feel better now!

Others: It sucks to be you.

Wizard: It sucks to know only zero level spells and cast just two.

All: It sucks to be you.

Sucks to be you!
Sucks to be me!
Sucks to be us, but not when we all level to level 2,
We’re trying to reach level 2,
You’re friends are too,
If we make it through,
We’ll all be at level 2.
We’ll all be at level 2.
We’ll all be at level 2!

I need to post this for Image hosting

This is Glooble Glistencrist. I didn't make it, an avatarist on the Giant in the Playground boards named potatocubed did.

Golden Flame of Pelor

Another new monster, for the February competition. Sorry it's not a story update and it's late. Under a lot of pressure right now.

Golden Flame of Pelor
Medium Construct (Extraplanar, Good)
Hit Dice: 15d10+20 (103 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20ft.
Armor Class: 27 (+1 Dex, +11 Full Plate, +5 Heavy steel shield)
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+4
Attack: +5 Holy longsword +21 melee (1d8 +12 [+2d6 against evil creatures])
Full attack: +5 Holy longsword +21 melee (1d8 +12 [+2d6 against evil creatures])
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks: Turn Undead 8/day, Greater turning 1/day, Spell-like abilities, Spells, Righteous Blaze of Glory
Special Qualities: Aura of Divine Health, Construct Traits, Damage Reduction 10/evil, Immunity to electricity, Celestial Mount
Saves: Fort - , Will +12, Ref. +7
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 14, Con - , Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 18
Skills: Concentration +8, Handle Animal +5, Heal +5, Jump +4, Intimidate +8, Listen +4, Ride +12, Spellcraft+4, Spot +4.
Feats: Empower Spell, Augment Healing, Power Attack, Cleave, Iron Will, Mounted Combat, Mounted Archery
Environment: Blessed Fields of Elysium
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 18
Treasure: +3 Full Plate, +3 Heavy steel shield
Alignment: Neutral Good
Advancement: None.
Level Adjustment:--

The armor of a fallen paladin lies on the battlefield. Suddenly, searing light seeps through the cracks in the armor, and it begins to stand up. As it raises its shield, the image of a golden sun appears on its surface. Its sword gleams with holy power.

Pelor often sends aid to the cause of good, providing spells to numerous Paladins and Clerics. But sometimes swaying the tide of battle takes a more direct intervention. When an enemy has proved so overwhelming that a paladin, a defender of all that is good and righteous, lies dead on the battlefield, the gods take action. The fallen Paladin’s body is whisked off to Elysium, and in its place appears a Golden Flame of Pelor, who rises to turn the tide of battle to the side of good.
If the Paladin’s mount survives its master’s fall, the Golden Flame will ride it about the battlefield. If the mount also falls, the Golden Flame will summon a Celestial mount instead.
As soon as the battle is won, the Golden Flame of Pelor vanishes, leaving the body of the Paladin back in its place.

Holy Weapon: Any weapon wielded by a Golden Flame of Pelor becomes a +5 holy weapon.

Turn Undead: A Golden Flame of Pelor can turn undead as a 15th level Cleric.

Greater Turning: Once per day, a Golden Flame of Pelor can perform a normal turning attempt, except that all undead effected are destroyed.

Spell-like Abilities: Detect Evil at will, Holy Smite 2/day (DC 18), Righteous Wrath of the Faithful 2/day, Holy Aura 1/day (DC 22) (Caster Level 15th) The save DC’s are Wisdom based.

Spells: A Golden Flame of Pelor can cast spells as a 15th level Cleric, except that it can only cast healing spells. Any cure spell with a range of touch cast by the Golden flame is automatically modified as by the Reach Spell feat, but with no spell level adjustment.

Aura of Divine Health: All good creatures within a 20ft. radius of the Golden Flame of Pelor gain fast healing 2. Those who claim Pelor as their Patron Diety gain fast healing 4 instead. The Golden Flame itself is not affected by this Aura.

Righteous Blaze of Glory: If a Golden Flame of Pelor is killed, it immediately explodes, dealing 15d6 holy damage (Reflex DC half) to all evil creatures in a 20ft. radius. Good creatures in the area instead heal 15d6 damage. Neutral creatures are unaffected. If the Golden Flame leaves the battle in this manner, the Paladin’s body remains in Elysium.

Celestial Mount: A Paladins mount interacts with the Golden Flame as if it were its accustomed rider. In addition, when the Golden Flame is riding the mount, it temporarily gains the Celestial template.
If the mount is killed with the Paladin, the Golden Flame can summon a Celestial Warhorse to use as a mount. This horse appears to be made of pure light, but otherwise is treated as a normal celestial warhorse. It arrives 1d4 rounds after the Golden Flame.

Combat
A Golden Flame of Pelor has one goal: win the battle for the side of good. It rides around the battlefield, shooting healing rays at fallen soldiers. If many fallen allies are in one place (especially if undead are around) it will use mass cure spells, possibly empowered or maximized. If there are undead present, it shoots healing rays at them too, or attempts to turn or destroy large groups of them. If the Golden Flame finds itself amongst a large group of enemies, it will use its Holy Smite ability. If it finds itself in a large group of still-fighting allies, it will use Righteous Wrath of the Faithful or Holy Aura.
If one particular foe is dealing massive damage on the battlefield, the Golden Flame will eventually stop this process and engage it. It will keep fighting until one of them is killed. Otherwise the Holy sword is mostly used for attacks of opportunity.

This is my entry for the Giant In the Playground monthly monster creation competition. This month's theme is "The Darker Side of Winter"

Icicle beast

Huge Magical Beast (Cold)

Hit Dice: 8d10+19 (59)

Initiative: +3

Speed: 6 squares, climb 4 squares

Armor Class: 22 (+3 Dex, -2 size, +11 natural), Touch 11, Flat-footed 21

Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+23

Attack: Gore +15 melee (2d6 +7 +1d6 cold)

Full attack: 2 claws +15 melee (1d8+7) and Gore +10 melee (2d6+7 +1d6 cold)

Space/Reach: 10 ft.

Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Drain warmth, Icicle swarm

Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Tremorsense 60 ft., Cold subtype, Icy shell, Water walk

Saves: Fort +14, Ref +15, Will +8

Abilities: Str 24, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 4

Skills: Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Climb +8

Feats: Toughness, Ability Focus (Warmth Drain), Skill Focus (Climb)

Environment: Cold caves

Organization: Solitary or cluster (2 -5)

Challenge Rating: 8

Treasure: none

Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: 12 – 20HD (Gargantuan)

Level Adjustment: --

Five large icicles hang from the ceiling, each about a meter long. Suddenly, they drop to the ground, and it turns out they are the legs and proboscis of an insectoid-looking creature which seems to be almost entirely covered in a thick layer of ice, like armor. Icicle-like spikes protrude from all sides of the creature’s torso.

Icicle beasts are creatures the live in icy caverns beneath the frozen ground and feed on the warm feelings of others. They mold the ice around themselves to form their thick shell, and hide in the ceilings of caves waiting for animals to pass by so they can feed on them. Dictators in cold areas sometimes keep domesticated icicle beast to use for torture, as being fed on by one is extremely painful.

Icicle Swarm: As a standard action, an icicle beast can shake itself, dislodging small shards of ice from its carapace and sending them flying in all directions. All creatures within 20 ft of the beast must make a reflex save (DC 20) or take 2d4 points of cold damage. The beast takes a cumulative -1 penalty to AC each time it uses this attack, because the ice it shoots is no longer protecting it. The ice regenerates in 1d4 minutes, provided the temperature is below freezing.

Improved Grab: To use this ability, the Icicle must hit an opponent with its gore attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can try to drain warmth the following round.

Drain Warmth: If the icicle beast starts a round with a hold on a creature, it may drain warmth as a full round action. For every round that its warmth is being drained from its body, the creature takes 2d10 points of cold damage, half of which the icicle beast gains as temporary hit points, and 1d3 points of dexterity damage, as the warmth is drained from their fingers making them numb. A successful Fortitude save (DC 22) halves the cold damage and negates the dexterity damage.

Icy Shell: The icicle beast is not only immune to cold, but it uses any cold attacks that hit it to improve its carapace. For cold attack that deals at least ten points of damage, its Armor Class increases by one. It can gain up to four points of AC for this to a maximum of 26 (+15 natural armor). Likewise, every fire attack that deals at least ten points of damage decreases its AC by one, to a minimum of 11 (No natural armor.)

Water walk: The Icicle beast can walk on water by freezing patches of ice under each of its feet. The patches melt 1d4 rounds later.
CombatAn icicle beast will usually began a combat by dropping on an unsuspecting target. If it hits with it’s spike, it immediately begins to feed. If interrupted in this process by other creatures, its first response is to hit thme with an icicle swarm to try and deter them. If that doesn’t work, the creature will stop feeding and try to kill the other opponents with its claw and gore attacks.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Adventure hooks:

Adventurers must infiltrate an Ogre stronghold deep in the mountains by sneaking in through the caverns below. Unfortunately, a colony of icicle beasts makes their home there.

A pet icicle beast/Torture implement has escaped its prison and is hiding in the cellars ambushing loyal subjects of the king. Adventurers must hunt it down to secure an ally’s freedom.

The Everlasting Game of Uberspielen

This is for my campaign. Yes, you may all read it -there's nothing here I particularly care if you know before hand.

It is the ultimate entertainment.
It is the most exciting challenge.
It is the game that will never end.
Uberspielen is a country-sized Arena for the largest game of capture the flag ever played. All of the planes inhabitants are either players or spectators. There are two teams, the red team and the blue team. Although they have no real ideological differences, they have been taught to hate each other with a passion.
The landscape of Uberspielen is wrapped around an enormous cylinder. The sides of this cylinder are mini arenas, where players go to challenge other players or face “penalties” for breaking the rules – often in the form of dangerous creatures summoned from other dimensions. Out of the seams rise the stands, where spectators abide. Two rings around the cylinder divide it into three sections – red territory, blue territory, and no man’s land, where the play is hottest. A small moon orbits Uberspielen, serving as front row seating reserved for deities, who often stay for as long as a century.
The rules of the game are very complicated, but the basics are fairly simple – each team is trying to acquire all the balls (there are 5,000). Anyone hit by a ball while in the opposing teams territory Is immediately teleported to a prison. They can be broken out by their teammates. In no man’s land, anyone hit by a ball is teleported back to their own home base. The game has been going on for thousands of years, and the most balls ever acquired by one team was 3, 904 – and that was over two hundred years ago. The Game is presided over by a lesser deity known only as the Referee.
Killing someone is technically a foul, and the punishment for fouling is far worse than just sitting out for a game. But still, the game can get ugly, and swordplay breaking out on the field is not uncommon. Violence is also fairly common in the stands – especially if the referee makes what some spectators consider a bad call. Travelers to Uberspielen are encouraged to join in the play if they wish, though many are content to watch from the stands.
Uberspielen Traits:
Uberspielen has the following traits:
Objective directional Gravity/ Partial Light Gravity – Gravity aligns itself to whichever object you stand on. No man’s land has the light gravity trait.
Normal Time
Finite Size – Leave the cylinder and you fall into the abyss, eventually ending up on the astral plane.
Limited Divinely Morphic – The Referee alone is capable of modifying the landscape of Uberspielen.
No Elemental Traits
No Energy Traits
Mildly Law Aligned – Because the rules are so strictly enforced, Chaotic creatures are frowned upon and receive a –2 penalty on Charisma based checks. Red/Blue Aligned – Any character who decides to play the game is randomly assigned a new alignment trait – either red or blue. This effectively replaces the good-evil axis for the duration of the characters play time. For all spells that effect alignment, act as if they now say the new alignment instead of the old. Clerics, for instance, would gain the ability to “smite red” if assigned to the blue team. Treat each team’s side as strongly aligned to that team’s color.
Varying Magic – For a spellcaster on his own turf – a red player on the red side or a blue player on the blue side – all spells are Enhanced (they act as they would under the maximize spell feat). For a spellcaster on the opposing teams side, magic is impeded. In No Man’s Land, Wild Magic applies. Certain spells, however, are against the rules – greater invisibility, for instance, is considered cheating, and can result in a penalty. Spells that allow travel to other planes are impeded on the field, but work in the stands. Normal magic applies in the stands.
Uberspielen Links: Four portals surrounding the stands are the main method of entrance to Uberspielen. Each one has end points on all adjacent planes and the Astral plane. It is impossible to plane shift directly to or from the field – you must enter and exit through the stands.
Uberspielen Inhabitants: There are no natives to Uberspielen – members of all sentient races are found on both teams and among the spectators, and creatures from many other planes roam the wilderness areas as “terrain hazards”. A number of high level Divine Agents known as Attendants are servants of the Referee, and have a way of showing up when most (or least) needed.
Uberspielen Petitioners – Uberspielen has almost no petitioners, mostly former players or enthusiasts who haunt the stands. They are virtually indistinguishable from other spectators, but are prohibited from joing a team.
Movement and Combat:
Movement on Uberspielen is much like movement on the material plane – accept in a few places. To cross from the stands onto the field or from the stand to the stands of the challenge arena, you must contact an one of the Attendants (there’s usually one around when you need one), who will transport you there (and assign you a team). Getting back to the stands from the field can be accomplished only from your team’s home base.
Uberspielen Combat – Combat on uberspielen is similar to combat on the material plane, but again, you must be careful not to commit fouls. Killing an opponent and using certain spells will cause you to be summoned immediately to the challenge Arena, where you will have to face a penalty – a creature decided on by the Referee based on your power level and the seriousness of your transgression. The Ref may also choose to give you a handicap, such as making you fight blind or removing your weapons. Terrain in the Arena is alterable however the Referee wants.
Features of Uberspielen: Uberspielen is mostly divided into three areas we’ll treat as layers – The stands, The Field, and the Challenge Arena.
The Stands – The Stands are made up of steps, each nearly a mile long and a long way down, though staircases and latters hewn out of stone make coming down and up fairly simple. The landscape on the steps looks like plains. Many people have houses here, but dotting the landscape are dome-shaped viewing stations. Though the field is visible from anywhere in the stands, the view is usually to far away to see any of the action. From the viewing stations, observers can get a closer view of whatever they want, and also buy food and interact with fellow observers. Viewing stations look like cities, with most of the houses being made of metal. Each viewing station is run by an Attendant.
The Field – The field appears basically like a normal country. In the sides controlled by one team or another, there are various towns and cities. Right by the stands is a mountainous region. Closer to the border you find woods and two large lakes – the terrain features are almost entirely symmetrical. A number of important sites are located on the field:
Home Base: The home bases are enormous Castles where team members go to plan, coordinate, and prepare for battle. New Players always start from her. The Team captains preside here – they are mortal humans born into a Monarchy, but they are only figure-heads. The MVP – determined by various running game statistics and rechosen every two years, plans team strategy, although he or she has no power to enforce it.
Prison: Captured players are immediately transported to this underground facility. All weapons are confiscated from them, and the prison is surrounded by an anti-magic field. There is only one entrance, and it is not an exit – a prisoner can only leave through it if accompanied by a free teammate who entered through the gate. A prisoner can also escape by challenging a guard for his freedom. The prison is dark and cavernous, but has no cells – all prisoners can roam freely in it. It is incredibly well-guarded, and the chances of a single person successfully mounting a rescue are minimal.
No Man’s Land: This is a dangerous wilderness country. Both sides are evenly matched here, and wild beasts from every plane roam as “hazards”. The terrain is mostly woods, but there are also some desert areas.
The Challenge Arena: This is where the Referee takes those who commit a foul, or where a challenge can take place. The terrain changes based on what it’s being used for, as does the size of the playing field. In the case of a penalty, bizarre and extremely ridiculous handicaps are often put in place – challenges are usually fought on even footing.
Uberspielen Encounters: Coming soon. Encounter Tables take forever to make.

I'm making this for my D & D campaign -I call it the Augmented Great Wheel. I haven't added most of the outer planes yet, but I liked the look of it so far, so I decided to post it, cause, hey, I can do that now.

D & D !

I've been reading my new DM's guide, and I'm putting together my first campaign. It's gonna be awesome. It's about transdimensional pirates. Well, actually, it's about regular pirates who will end up trapped on another plane - one entirely of my own design. They adventure with go through several planes - some modified from existing D & D cosmology, and some entirely new. WIth new planes you literally get to change all the rules - time, the laws of physics, it's all mutable. Plus a little thing called Wild Magic...
It's sort of like D & D meets Sliders - probably a lot like that, since both change casts several times throughout their run. Anyway, I've got lots of ideas. All I need is a good group - either my current one when we finish Paul's campaign or a new group of people.