Prisoners of the Gelatinous Dome DCC Conversion

This is a DCC conversion for Jeff Call's excellent one-page dungeon Prisoners of the Gelatinous Dome! Get it here: gelatinousdome.tumblr.com (direct link to download page)

Illustration by joe made this www.instagram.com/joe_made_this/

You can download a one-page PDF with all the stats here:

DCC_GelatinousDome.pdf 

These stats are recommended for a party of 4 to 6 first level DCC characters or a mix of level ones and zeroes. 

For 5+ characters, consider adding an additional member to all group encounters (cooks, thieves, gelmen). Roll on the encounter table (2 in 6) for all rooms without enemies or when noisy (use every encounter only once, except gelmen; I didn't care for the vampires, so you have to stat them yourself if you wanna use them). Don't forget to roll for room dissolution if they stay in one place for too long.

Remember also that some of the encounters, like the gregarious ochre jelly or the out-of-luck thieves don't have to result in combat if the players act clever.

OVO, GELMEN OVERLORD
Artwork by joe made this

GREGARIOUS OCHRE JELLY: Init +2; Atk pseudopod +3 (2d6); AC 11; HD 4d10; MV 10’; Act 1d20; SP divides into 1d4+1 2HD jellies when cut or electrocuted (1d6 dmg); SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +1; AL N.

DESPERATE COOKS: Init +0; Atk knife +1 melee (1d4); AC 10; HD 1d6; MV 10’; Act 1d20; SP none; SV Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +1; AL N.

INSANE WEREWOLF: Init +5; Atk bite/claw/claw +4 melee (1d8/1d4/1d4); AC 14; HD 3d6; MV 40’; Act 1d20+2d16; SP lycanthropy (infectious if half max hp are lost and Fort vs DC16 fails); SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +3; AL L.

SENTIENT BLACK PUDDING: Init +0; Atk pseudopod +7 melee (3d8); AC 13; HD 10d10; MV 20’; Act 1d20; SP can only be harmed by fire, a 2HD (1d8dmg) part splits off when cut; SV Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3; AL N.

HEIST-GONE-BAD-THIEF: Init +2; Atk longsword +2 melee (1d8+1); AC 11; HD 1d8; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP thief skills as a lvl 1 neutral thief -1; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0; AL N.

ANGRY JADE BEAR: Init +3; Atk bite/claw/claw +2 melee (1d6+1); AC 14; HD 4d10; MV 30’; Act 1d20+2d16; SP reverts to jade statue worth 5d6x10 gp, if both claw attacks hit 1d6+1 extra crushing damage; SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1; AL N.

LESSER GELMEN GUARDS: Init +1; Atk touch +3 melee (1d4 plus Fort vs. DC14 or paralyzed); AC 12; HD 1d6; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP undead-like traits, paralyzation 2d4 rounds, infravision 100’, silent, immune to crits; SV Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +0; AL C.

GREATER GELMEN GUARDS: Init +1; Atk touch +3 melee (1d4 plus Fort vs. DC14 or paralyzed); AC 12; HD 2d6; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP undead-like traits, paralyzation 2d4 rounds, infravision 100’, silent, immune to crits; SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +0; AL C.

OVO, GELMEN OVERLORD: Init +3; Atk magic staff +3 melee (1d10 plus Fort vs. DC15 or permanently lose 1 point of a random physical attribute) or touch +3 melee (1d4 plus Fort vs. DC14 or paralyzed); AC 13; HD 3d10; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP undead-like traits, paralyzation 2d4 rounds, infravision 100’, silent, immune to crits; SV Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +3; AL C.

Trigonon’s Magic Staff:

Control Trigonon’s Ooze: able to control all ooze in the dome

Paralysis Cloud: 6’ radius cloud of ooze bubbles in a 10’ range, roll d10+10, everybody in the cloud makes Fort save vs. result or gets paralyzed for 2d4 rounds

Convert Matter to Energy: attacking as staff does 1d10 plus Fort vs. DC15 or permanently lose 1 point of a random physical attribute (curable by Restore Vitality)

Wand of Teleportation: 3 charges; for every try, roll INT check (or spellcheck if caster) vs:

Location in view: DC2, minor corruption on crit fail

Familiar location: DC5 or minor corruption, crit fail: major corruption

Known location: DC10 or major corruption, crit fail: greater corruption

Seen once: DC15 or major corruption, crit fail: greater corruption

Lasso of Charm Person:

AGI check to hit, then d20 spellcheck for Charm Person (lasts only as long as they're lassoed)

Barrowmoor Random Encounter Table

This is my Barrowmaze random encounter table for travelling the Barrowmoor. All page numbers refer to the Barrowmaze Complete edition by Greg Gillespie. I advise preparing one or more swamp crypts for encounter #7 by using the Barrow Mound Random Crypt Generator starting on page 245.

Random Encounter Roll:

Roll 1d6 once per 4 hours of travelling (once between Helix and the Barrowmaze):
1-3: roll on Random Encounter table below
4-6: no encounter

Random Encounter Table (d8):

1. Signs: roll on the Barrowmoor Random Encounter Table (p.240), but only encounter signs (d6):
   1-2: that the monsters were there or
   3-4: are nearby (possible encounter depending on party decisions), or
   5-6: find dead monsters
2. Wandering monsters: roll on the Barrowmoor Random Encounter Table (p.240)*
3. Wandering monsters: roll on the Barrowmoor Random Encounter Table (p.240)*
4. Wandering monsters: roll on the Barrowmoor Random Encounter Table (p.240)*
5. Wandering monsters: roll on the Barrowmoor Random Encounter Table (p.240)*
6. Stray Barrowmaze monsters: roll on the Barrow Mounds random encounter table (p.28), with half the number appearing (round up)
7. On strange paths: stumble upon swamp crypt (if travelling with a competent guide, swamp conditions caused a short detour)
8. Lost (ignore if travelling with a competent guide**): add one hour of travel time and check again (random encounter roll d6, if 1-3, roll on this table again with a +1, this is cumulative; if 4-6: back on track)
9. Rolling 9 or higher: found the Barrowmaze, but enter at unusual location, 1d4: 1=N, 2=E, 3=S, 4=W; roll d40 for hex on N/S, or d22 for W/E)

*If part of the journey is happening during the night, roll 1d4 to see at which hour of travel the encounter occurs. If occuring at night, add +1 on the Barrowmoor Random Encounter Table for each hour after dark (or before dawn).

**If one of the characters or a henchman guides the party, let them roll INT DC15. If successful, ignore this encounter (back on track after a 20 minute detour).

Xorn for DCC

A Xorn conversion for the DCC RPG. Guest art by +Ray Otus! Check out his complete inktober art collection at https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/8RNTkB.

Artwork by Ray Otus

Xorn: Init +0; Atk slam +7 melee (1d3) or bite +7 (6d4); AC 21; HD 7d8+7; MV 30’ or burrow 30’; Act 4d20; SP camouflage, stone meld, immunity to fire and cold, resistance to electricity and edged weapons, all-around vision, smell precious metals 20’; SV Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +5; AL N.

A Xorn can use three slam and one bite attacks per round and fight up to three opponents at the same time. 

It can use camouflage to blend into stone backgrounds, gaining +5 to hide attempts. In combat, it is more likely to meld into any stone surface, then move and attack from somewhere else 1d3 rounds later, thereby gaining surprise (top of initiative order). 

While passing through stone, it can be damaged by a Shatter spell as if it was an inanimate object, and a Transmute Earth spell with a spellcheck result of 20+ on the stone area it passes through will destroy it; a successful lower result will expel it from the stone and turn its body into mud, which prevents it from merging with stone and lowers its AC to 12 for 1d6 rounds while it reforms its structure to stone.

Xorns are immune against any kind of fire and cold and get a Fort save against electrical attacks, negating all damage if successful and taking half damage if failing. They always take only half damage from edged weapons.

The Flayed King DCC Conversion

+Tim Shorts was so nice to send me a print version of his mini-adventure The Flayed King last year, and I recently ran it at a con using Dungeon Crawl Classics. Here are my monster stat conversions, used against a party of five level 1 characters.

You can get the adventure for free here: https://www.rpgnow.com/product/148003/The-Flayed-King?

Draugr

North men skeletons with chainmail, axes and a raging desire to kill the living, I suppose.

DRAUGR: Init +0; Atk axe +1 melee (1d6+3); AC 15; HD 2d12; MV 40’; Act 1d20; SP un-dead traits; SV Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3; AL C.

Goreth

Huge north man guardian skeleton with tattered chainmail and a shiny blue ring. And a raging desire to kill whoever wants what he’s guarding, I suppose. Wears the Ring of Kearar (see below).

GORETH: Init +2; Atk two-handed sword +3 melee (1d10+3); AC 15; HD 6d12; MV 40’; Act 1d20; SP un-dead traits; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +5; AL C.

Ring of Kearar

Since the original Ring of Raraek that Goreth was wearing was more suited for campaign play, I changed it to something easier to hand out at a convention game:

The Ring of Kearar is sentient, but not aligned. It shimmers with a cold blue light. The wearer can make any melee weapon appear in their hand. It will form in one round; changing it to another weapon is also possible in one round. It appears as if made out of blue light. It gives no bonus to attack or damage, but the damage counts as magical.

Twisted and Bloated Ghosts

I created these ghosts for an adventure I ran recently, and if you need some quick ghost stats for your DCC game, they can haunt your players, too. 

The phenomenal guest art is by +Luka Rejec - check out his blog Wizard Thief Fighter!

Twisted Ghost - artwork by Luka Rejec

Twisted Ghosts

Twisted Ghosts: Init +1; Atk lifedrain +2 melee (1d6); AC 15; HD 2d12; MV 30’ fly; Act 1d20; SP un-dead traits, life drain, create spawn, immune to non-magical/non-silver weapons; SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4; AL C.

They are translucent, with their faces, bodies and limbs strangely twisted and bent. They are usually bound to the place where they died.

Un-dead traits: immune to sleep, charm, and paralysis spells, as well as other mental effects and cold damage.

Life drain: all damage done gets added to their hit points (characters can regain lost hp normally).

Create spawn: any living humanoid killed by their life drain rises as a twisted ghost after the next sunset or after 1d4 rounds after “bleeding out” if it is currently night. “Recovering the body” is only possible before sunset and only if the respective ghost has been destroyed.

Bloated Ghosts

Bloated Ghosts: Init +1; Atk lifedrain +3 melee (1d4 + DC14 Fort or 1d4 STA); AC 15; HD 3d12; MV 40’ fly; Act 1d20; SP un-dead traits, life drain, create spawn, immune to non-magical/non-silver weapons, half damage from silver weapons; SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4; AL C.

They are translucent, with their faces, bodies and limbs strangely tumid and bloated. They are usually bound to the place where they died.

Life drain: all damage done (both hp and STA loss) gets added to their hit points (characters can regain lost points normally).

Create spawn and un-dead traits: as above.

Adjusting for character level:

Both of these variants should be a good challenge for a party of 1st level adventurers if the number appearing is about half the number of characters. It will be a very difficult encounter if they don’t have magical or silver weapons (or clerics), so you might drop some hints or rumors so the players have a chance to prepare if they’re clever.

Adjusting for higher level parties: For 2nd level characters, simply add +1 to init, attack, damage, stamina loss, HD and all saves. For 3rd level characters, add an additional +1 on everything.

Silver weapons:

These are not readily available, but if there in a reasonably big city or market, a character may find a weapon suitable for them if they succeed on a luck check. The price should be about 30 times as much as the normal cost of the weapon.

A blacksmith might be willing to coat any weapon with silver for 20 times the normal price of the weapon; this is but temporary: after using such a weapon in a fight against a corporeal enemy, a luck check decides if the silver coating is still functional or wore out. Fighting incorporeal enemies does not tarnish the silver coating!

Magic weapons: These are never for sale. (Well, maybe if they are cursed.)

Absorber Imp

The Absorber Imp with DCC stats and familiar rules. The guest art is by +Noah Stevens - check out his blog The Hapless Henchman!

Artwork by Noah Stevens

An Absorber Imp is a very small demon, typically about one foot tall, with a pitch black hide, a set of leathery wings, often strangely colored eyes and a head like a miniature dragon. They possess child-like intelligence but cannot speak. Their reflexes are quick, they can sense magic and they are able to fly for short periods of time.

Absorber Imps are often used by more powerful demons as retainers, and fulfill simple tasks and services for them. Still, it is possible to encounter an Absorber Imp on its own, if it was lost, trapped, abandoned, or on a mission for or even fleeing from its master. It is very rare to face two or more Absorber Imps in the same place. They don't work well with each other.

Like a lot of imps, they are not truly evil but mischievous in nature and love to play pranks or otherwise annoy their chosen victims. These pranks are never intended to be life-threatening but can sometimes be dangerous. The favorite victims of Absorber Imps are those gifted with magic powers, because they feed on magical energies.

It is not known whether their name originally stemmed from their skin's property of absorbing all light or from their more fantastic ability to absorb pure magic power. These imps can absorb any magical spell or effect in their vicinity, regardless of the intended target, area of effect or power. The original magic effect is cancelled completely and is instead stored inside the imp. The imp can store the magic of up to three spells or other magic effects at the same time for as long as it wishes, potentially forever, but it can also unleash its powers whenever it wants to. Absorber Imps can also decide to devour a magic power that they previously stored. This destroys the magic completely.

When the Absorber Imp releases stored magic, it can choose all variable aspects of its effects, like targets, as if it were the original caster of the spell, or the original user of a magic scroll or wand. If the imp has already currently stored three magical powers, it can choose to absorb a new magic effect and release one of its stored ones as one action.

Absorber Imps are immune to magic weapons and can absorb magical effects of magic weapons hitting them, including all damage, like they can absorb other magic. They can release the stored effects from magic weapons by hitting the intended target with their otherwise not overly dangerous claws.

Due to their abilities to store spells and sense magic, Absorber Imps are rare but highly priced familiars for witches, warlocks and dark mages. Although not easy, they can be befriended, especially if they are well fed with magical energy. An Absorber Imp familiar is a double-edged sword, though, because no matter how well trained, they will never stop playing pranks.

Absorber Imps can be bound into shards of obsidian, if one knows the required ritual. They will stay bound until the word of release is spoken or the obsidian is shattered. Furthermore, magic effects or damage originating from magical obsidian objects or obsidian weapons cannot be absorbed and fully affects the imps. Any damage received from obsidian weapons is a perilous and grave incident for an Absorber Imp and one of the only sure ways to permanently destroy them instead of just sending them back to their shadow realm. For these reasons, most of them are afraid or even repelled by obsidian objects of any kind.

The Absorber Imp's eyes change with the kind of magic powers it has currently stored. An absorbed fireball might turn its eyes into a fiery inferno, a friendship enchantment can make them seem trustworthy and a portal spell might transform their eyes into actual windows into time and space. Often, but not necessarily always, the eyes adjust to the most powerful magic that is currently stored. Pitch black eyes can be a tell for an Absorber Imp with no stored magic whatsoever, or an alarming signal for devastating black magic.

Absorber Imp: Init +3; Atk Claws +1 melee (1d4 + potentially stored magic attack ability); AC 14; HD 2d8; MV 20’, fly 20’; Act 1d20; SP absorb magic, release magic, vulnerable to obsidian (double damage), immune to magic, invulnerable to magic weapons; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +2; AL C.

Absorber Imps as familiars

Optionally, a Judge may allow a player character with the Find Familiar spell to bond with an Absorber Imp if the rolled familiar type is demonic or if an the imp is encountered by a neutral or chaotic spellcaster without a familiar (but the spell must be known). The Absorber Imp will have the abilities and stats described above instead of the usual demonic familiar traits. As a familiar, it can freely absorb spells from its wizard, but can only absorb spells from other casters up to it’s wizard’s caster level per hour (e.g. the familiar of a 5th level wizard could absorb one 3rd level and one 2nd level spell in the same hour). In the case of absorbed magical creature abilities, substitute the creature’s hit dice for spell level. The imp’s immunity to magic and magic weapons remains intact. Absorber Imps’ familiar personality trait is always prankful.

Bazaelahr

Dead Cyclops proudly presents a guest post by +David Turner

FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 2-5
ARMOR CLASS: 0/2
MOVE: 9”/9”
HIT DICE: 5 + 5
% IN LIAR: 15%
TREASURE TYPE: I
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 or 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 / 2-12 or 3-18
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Constriction, hurled boulders – see below
SPECIAL DEFENCES: +1 or better weapons to hit and see below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%
INTELLIGENCE:
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (10’ tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

Bazaelahr are the most feared soldiers in the army of Ragadash, The Devouring Jungle, Demon Lord of the Hell of Black-Iron Trees. Part shock-troops and part siege engines, the Bazaelahr batter Ragadash’s foes with fist, tail, and stone. Outside of combat, their scales and skin are off-white. They climb as quickly as they slither across open ground.

Bazaelahr smash foes with their fists and finish them off with their powerful tails shaped like morning stars. If both attacks hit the same target, the Bazaelahr wrap their snake bodies around their foe and squeeze for an additional 2-12 damage. If a large stone is available, a Bazaelahr can make one ranged attack for 3-18 damage instead of its usual melee attacks.

The skin of the Bazaelahr is demonically tough and requires +1 weapons to penetrate. Bazaelahr draw strength from the blood of their enemies. If they have inflicted damage on a foe in a combat round, their torsos, arms and heads turn blood-red and their tails become a mottled red-white. For the rest of that combat round and the next, the Bazaelahr’s Armor Class improves from 2 to 0. If a Bazaelahr fails to damage a foe, they lose the Armor Class bonus in subsequent rounds until they harm someone again.

Inspired by this artwork by Erol Otus, from Dragon Magazine #8, July 1977

Thanks to Keith Senkowski for digging up the picture and other interesting things from the early Dragon magazines.

Dead Cyclops

The first entry in this blog encourages you to put a dead cyclops in your game. (Of course, you can use most of the tables even for non-dead or non-cyclopean inspiration.)

Gender of Dead Cyclops (d2)

1. Female
2. Male

Special Features of Dead Cyclops (d12)

1. The eye is where the mouth would usually be. It has two mouths above its nose.
2. Four arms.
3. Second eye! (d4: 1. in back of head, 2. palm, 3. chest, 4. above normal eye, but closed)
4. Chitin skin, mandibles, insect eye.
5. It is slowly shrinking down to human size.
6. Its hand is pointing in a certain direction.
7. Only skeleton left.
8. Its eye has been cut out.
9. Its eye is glowing and can be harvested for magical energy.
10. Unbearable stench (a check is necessary to approach, plus save vs. poison or take damage)
11. Two-headed cyclops (bi-cyclops!)
12. The head is not attached to its body anymore or completely missing (might not obviously be a cyclops at first glance).

Reason for Dead Cyclops' Demise (d8)

1. It is eaten alive from within, by (d4: 1. alien thing, 2. worm parasite, 3. giant wasp larvae, 4. planar rift)
2. Adventurers (d4: 1. gone, 2. nearby, 3. in ambush position, 4. also dead, nearby)
3. Another cyclops (d4: 1. gone, 2. nearby, 3. in ambush position, 4. also dead, nearby)
4. Goblin horde (d4: 1. gone, 2. nearby, 3. in ambush position, 4. also dead, nearby)
5. Dragon (d4: 1. gone, 2. nearby, 3. circling above, 4. also dead, nearby)
6. Plunged to death
7. Plague (visible, infectious)
8. Old age

Dead Cyclops Surprises (d8)

1. It is not dead, merely unconscious (please come up with something strange if you rolled a 12 on the special features table).
2. It is dead, but will rise as an undead cyclops in d12 rounds.
3. Something in its stomach is still alive! (d4: 1. human, 2. livestock, 3. monster, 4. zombie)
4. Strange mushrooms are growing all over its body. They contain cocoons that hatch 3d4 baby cyclopses.
5. A demon is currently trying to possess its body. Might be stopped by a cleric.
6. Dire vultures have spotted the corpse and will fight for their food.
7. The eye is still alive and looking at the characters. (If you rolled 7 on the special features table, the eye is in the skull, on an 8 or 12, the eye lies next to the cyclops.)
8. This cyclops is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. (No surprises.)

Dead Cyclops Belongings (d12)

1. Human hostage
2. Hood of shrinking (shrinks cyclops to human size, or other wearer proportionately), normal sized thieves tools
3. Large rock (contains valuable ore, dwarves might notice)
4. Herd of goats
5. Herd of demon goats (roll initiative)
6. Club, +2 vs cyclops, ogres and giants, can be used by a humanoid with STR 16+ as a two-handed weapon, damage like a two-handed sword
7. Ring of polymorph into cyclops (ring and cyclops shrink to human size if pulled from its finger)
8. Grimoire with cyclopean spells
9. Breastplate made from dragon scales, could be used as a shield, grants resistance vs fire (half damage)
10. Map to the lost cyclopean city
11. Bag full of rations (feeds a whole adventuring party for a week, then goes moldy) and waterskin full of wine (enough for a lot of drinking binges)
12. Cyclopean-sized mount, domesticated

Dave Younce has put these tables into Abulafia, so you can generate a list of random results just by clicking here: http://www.random-generator.com/index.php?title=Dead_Cyclops