THE UNBLEMISHED
An unofficial arm of the Church of Law.
The Unblemished are soldiers and unsanctioned guardsmen in towns or
cities where Law holds sway. Because of the church's receipt of the
believers' tithes, these troops tend to be very well armed and trained.
The Unblemished will typically be armed with mace or club, fighting
spear, and dagger; they are almost always clad in plate and carry
shields.
Sometimes these men and women, almost always humans,
operate with the Blessings of the Nine and the leading members of the
local clergy. Other times they operate independent of the local clergy
under the command of a Cleric, who may or may not answer (or at least
confer) with the local clergy.
The Unblemished cover their faces
when in uniform, communicating only with the Lawful alignment tongue.
In stressful situations, any being unable to communicate in same will
often be detained. The Unblemished are very often fanatical in their
devotion to The Nine and will often err on the side of dogma in
pursuit of their duties. These fanatics are often rigid and unyielding
in their faith, even to the point of great personal cost.
Unblemished
soldiers are always found preferably in groups of nine or multiples of
nine. In such a case there will be one soldier bearing the sigil on his
tabard for each of the The Nine deities. In smaller communities where
numbers are lacking they will resort to groups of three.
25 March 2019
Adding Some Variety To Men-At-Arms
When your players are hiring men-at-arms, roll d20 for each one. On a
roll of 20 (a 5% chance), the MAA has a special item. Roll on the table
below.
1. +1 Magic Weapon
2. Magic Item
3. 2-5 (d4+1) Potions
4. Chain Armor (1-4 on d6), Plate Armor (5-6)
5. Map To Buried Treasure
6. Map To Magic Item
Men-at-Arms in my campaign come with a fighting spear, dagger, shield, and leather armor. Armor or weapons rolled will replace the appropriate item from the NPC's standard gear. Any magic item (result #2) rolled should usable by a fighter.
1. +1 Magic Weapon
2. Magic Item
3. 2-5 (d4+1) Potions
4. Chain Armor (1-4 on d6), Plate Armor (5-6)
5. Map To Buried Treasure
6. Map To Magic Item
Men-at-Arms in my campaign come with a fighting spear, dagger, shield, and leather armor. Armor or weapons rolled will replace the appropriate item from the NPC's standard gear. Any magic item (result #2) rolled should usable by a fighter.
Sword Breakers
Proposed rule for sword breakers.
Sword Breaker: this weapon might more accurately be described as a sword catcher since the chance of actually breaking a well-made blade is remote. The sword breaker is typically used as an off-hand weapon by individuals with DEX 15 or greater. In lieu of a +1 "to hit" the player may use the sword breaker as a shield (effective only against 1 melee opponent, ineffective versus missile fire). During melee, if the player is engaged with a blade-armed opponent and rolls the exact number "to hit" his opponent's DAC [AAC]? That opponent loses his next attack.
Edit to add: +Scott Anderson has a proposal you may like better. On a precise hit your opponent is disarmed rather than losing an attack.
Sword Breaker: this weapon might more accurately be described as a sword catcher since the chance of actually breaking a well-made blade is remote. The sword breaker is typically used as an off-hand weapon by individuals with DEX 15 or greater. In lieu of a +1 "to hit" the player may use the sword breaker as a shield (effective only against 1 melee opponent, ineffective versus missile fire). During melee, if the player is engaged with a blade-armed opponent and rolls the exact number "to hit" his opponent's DAC [AAC]? That opponent loses his next attack.
Edit to add: +Scott Anderson has a proposal you may like better. On a precise hit your opponent is disarmed rather than losing an attack.
Divine Favor for 18 Ability Scores
I've been playing around with the idea of allowing players with an 18 (I
use straight 3d6 rolls IMC) in an attribute score to roll on a divine
favor table. Here's my early ideas for the S&W brain trust to
evaluate.
d10
1 Tough Skin
2 Quick Healer
3 Ambidextrous
4 Preternatural Awareness
5 Eagle Eyed
6 Discernment
7 Outdoorsman
8 City Slicker
9 Blind Fighter
10 In Fighter
Tough Skin: takes -1 per die for all physical damage rolls against his person.
Quick Healer: heals at double normal rate.
Ambidextrous: can fight with 2 weapons without penalty, or gain +2 to AC with shield.
Preternatural Awareness: immune to surprise and back stab.
Eagle Eyed: notes hidden and concealed doors on 1-2 merely by walking by, and on 1-4 if actively searching.
Discernment: character can detect lies if he is looking the speaker in the face.
Outdoorsman: character can choose the most secure campsites, ties superior knots, build fires under nearly impossible conditions, and forage for food with a +1 bonus to his die roll.
City Slicker: character can instinctively find businesses and factions within a city, cannot get lost in the back alleys and byways. Character can easily discern the nature of encountered NPCs.
Blind Fighter: halves the penalty for blind fighting.
In Fighter: adds +1 to grapple and unarmed/brawling attacks.
d10
1 Tough Skin
2 Quick Healer
3 Ambidextrous
4 Preternatural Awareness
5 Eagle Eyed
6 Discernment
7 Outdoorsman
8 City Slicker
9 Blind Fighter
10 In Fighter
Tough Skin: takes -1 per die for all physical damage rolls against his person.
Quick Healer: heals at double normal rate.
Ambidextrous: can fight with 2 weapons without penalty, or gain +2 to AC with shield.
Preternatural Awareness: immune to surprise and back stab.
Eagle Eyed: notes hidden and concealed doors on 1-2 merely by walking by, and on 1-4 if actively searching.
Discernment: character can detect lies if he is looking the speaker in the face.
Outdoorsman: character can choose the most secure campsites, ties superior knots, build fires under nearly impossible conditions, and forage for food with a +1 bonus to his die roll.
City Slicker: character can instinctively find businesses and factions within a city, cannot get lost in the back alleys and byways. Character can easily discern the nature of encountered NPCs.
Blind Fighter: halves the penalty for blind fighting.
In Fighter: adds +1 to grapple and unarmed/brawling attacks.
Notable NPCs: The Penumbra
THE PENUMBRA
Some say he's a fallen paladin, others that he is a paladin with a special dispensation, still others he's an avenging spirit of some sort. Nobody knows. Clad all in black clothes with a black floppy hat and black cape, he comes and goes like the night. The only splash of color about him is his blood red scarf, usually worn as a mask and obscuring his lower face.
The Penumbra can move silently through shadows with a 99% chance of success. He is armed with cutlass +5. As long as the scarf is obscuring his face he is 75% magic resistant. He is also armed with a rather odd pair of hand crossbows. Though these weapons fire standard quarrels there is no cross-arm or bowstring on the weapon and it readies another quarrel automatically after each shot. These are carried in paired leather holsters hanging from The Penumbra's belt. Each of these weapons can fire up to six times before needing to "rest" for 1 turn to "reload." He fires these weapons akimbo, meaning one in each hand, and they are treated as +2 "to hit" in his hands.
The Penumbra has a hideous, deep, taunting laugh that he can project both vocally and mentally, this causes all creatures hearing it a -1 penalty to all morale checks. The Penumbra can detect evil and detect alignment at will on any being with 6" he can see. Treat him as having WIS 18 and INT 15. If your campaign uses psionics/psychic abilities The Penumbra should be gifted in these arts.
It is said that no matter what black thoughts dwell within the deepest recesses of your mind ... The Penumbra perceives!
Some say he's a fallen paladin, others that he is a paladin with a special dispensation, still others he's an avenging spirit of some sort. Nobody knows. Clad all in black clothes with a black floppy hat and black cape, he comes and goes like the night. The only splash of color about him is his blood red scarf, usually worn as a mask and obscuring his lower face.
The Penumbra can move silently through shadows with a 99% chance of success. He is armed with cutlass +5. As long as the scarf is obscuring his face he is 75% magic resistant. He is also armed with a rather odd pair of hand crossbows. Though these weapons fire standard quarrels there is no cross-arm or bowstring on the weapon and it readies another quarrel automatically after each shot. These are carried in paired leather holsters hanging from The Penumbra's belt. Each of these weapons can fire up to six times before needing to "rest" for 1 turn to "reload." He fires these weapons akimbo, meaning one in each hand, and they are treated as +2 "to hit" in his hands.
The Penumbra has a hideous, deep, taunting laugh that he can project both vocally and mentally, this causes all creatures hearing it a -1 penalty to all morale checks. The Penumbra can detect evil and detect alignment at will on any being with 6" he can see. Treat him as having WIS 18 and INT 15. If your campaign uses psionics/psychic abilities The Penumbra should be gifted in these arts.
It is said that no matter what black thoughts dwell within the deepest recesses of your mind ... The Penumbra perceives!
Not D&D Related
We used to sing this song in German class. I'd heard a joke version of
it in Disney's "The Three Little Pigs" and was rather surprised it's an
actual song. This little ditty has been satirized in many other places
...
You'll find a lot of bad translations out there on Google so you'll just have to take my word this is better than many you'll see. Of course, Americanized dialects of German may have some differences, this is German how I learned it in school. Last of all, you'll also find some disagreement about the translation of schnitzelbank. All I can say to that is, again, beware Google and online translation services.
oh, du schone Schnitzelbank!
a Sauflied (song for drunkards)
Ist das nicht eine Schnitzelbank?
Ja, das ist eine Schnitzelbank.
kurz und lang
hin und her
kreuz und quer
Schiessgewehr
Wagenrad
krumm und grad
grosses Glass
Ochsenblas
Haufen Mist (pronounced "misht")
Schnickelfritz
dicke Frau
fette Sau
langer Mann
Tannenbaum
Hochzeitsring
gefaehrliches Ding
O - Die Schoenheit an der Wand - Ja das ist eine Schnitzelbank.
Is that not a wood carver's bench?
Yes, that is a wood carver's bench!
Short and long
Back and forth
Criss-cross (often paraphrased as all over the place)
Rifle (or gun, shotgun, shooting rifle, etc.)
Wagon wheel (rad does not mean red!)
Crooked and straight (or curved and ...)
Large glass
Ox bladder (not ox horn or pale ox)
Manure heap (lit. pile/heap of sh**)
Mischievous boy (like Dennis the Menace)
Fat wife
Fat pig
Tall man
Christmas tree (or fir tree)
Wedding ring
Dangerous thing (a dragon is usually pictured)
Oh the beauty on the wall
Yes that is a wood carver's bench!
You'll find a lot of bad translations out there on Google so you'll just have to take my word this is better than many you'll see. Of course, Americanized dialects of German may have some differences, this is German how I learned it in school. Last of all, you'll also find some disagreement about the translation of schnitzelbank. All I can say to that is, again, beware Google and online translation services.
oh, du schone Schnitzelbank!
a Sauflied (song for drunkards)
Ist das nicht eine Schnitzelbank?
Ja, das ist eine Schnitzelbank.
kurz und lang
hin und her
kreuz und quer
Schiessgewehr
Wagenrad
krumm und grad
grosses Glass
Ochsenblas
Haufen Mist (pronounced "misht")
Schnickelfritz
dicke Frau
fette Sau
langer Mann
Tannenbaum
Hochzeitsring
gefaehrliches Ding
O - Die Schoenheit an der Wand - Ja das ist eine Schnitzelbank.
Is that not a wood carver's bench?
Yes, that is a wood carver's bench!
Short and long
Back and forth
Criss-cross (often paraphrased as all over the place)
Rifle (or gun, shotgun, shooting rifle, etc.)
Wagon wheel (rad does not mean red!)
Crooked and straight (or curved and ...)
Large glass
Ox bladder (not ox horn or pale ox)
Manure heap (lit. pile/heap of sh**)
Mischievous boy (like Dennis the Menace)
Fat wife
Fat pig
Tall man
Christmas tree (or fir tree)
Wedding ring
Dangerous thing (a dragon is usually pictured)
Oh the beauty on the wall
Yes that is a wood carver's bench!
Adventure Hook, The Grey King
THE GRAY KING
A young king, untested in battle and new to the throne, threw off a seaborne invasion in the walled port city. Shortly thereafter he died of wounds received in that battle. Now, when danger threatens from the ocean the apparition of the king appears. The gray-tinged image of the king is seated on a plain and battered throne situated upon the wall overlooking the ocean, vigilant gaze turned seaward. He is clad in armor and his gleaming bastard swords rests upon his lap. The throne is flanked by two ever-lit torches, also insubstantial.
Since that time generations ago the city has never been successfully invaded from the sea. Now word reaches the Lord-Mayer a powerful pirate faction plans to invade the city and claim it as a base. Though their armada lurks just over the horizon, the Gray King has not appeared.
Has the city's time come? Or have the pirates done something to prevent his appearance?
A young king, untested in battle and new to the throne, threw off a seaborne invasion in the walled port city. Shortly thereafter he died of wounds received in that battle. Now, when danger threatens from the ocean the apparition of the king appears. The gray-tinged image of the king is seated on a plain and battered throne situated upon the wall overlooking the ocean, vigilant gaze turned seaward. He is clad in armor and his gleaming bastard swords rests upon his lap. The throne is flanked by two ever-lit torches, also insubstantial.
Since that time generations ago the city has never been successfully invaded from the sea. Now word reaches the Lord-Mayer a powerful pirate faction plans to invade the city and claim it as a base. Though their armada lurks just over the horizon, the Gray King has not appeared.
Has the city's time come? Or have the pirates done something to prevent his appearance?
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