20 Magical Mishaps for OSR Games

 Here's a d20 table with twenty Magical Mishaps for your OSR game of choice, wether is Old-School Essentials, Labyrinth Lord, Sword & Wizardry, or any other clone of OE, B/X, or BECMI Dungeons and Dragons.

These are straight from the Mishap Table in my Wondrous Weavings Warped and Weird, an alternate arcane magic system for Old-School Essentials and similar rulesets.

The cover:

The full version of Wondrous Weavings Warped and Weird includes 100 results, but here's 20 that I want to share as a preview.

The full version of Wondrous Weavings Warped and Weird also includes rules for when to roll a Mishap, of course.

I've written these to have effects that are not "Spell range is reduced by 10%". Who needs these? I don't. I tried to stuff the table with actual consequences and, to the best of my possibilities, with fun, interesting, problematic situations that push the game and the story on.

Hope you'll like them. Let me know in the comment section!

Magical Mishaps

Roll a d20. If the listed effect affects the target, and the intended spell didn't target a creature, the effect is applied to the caster.

1. A complete banquet table with delicious food for 10 people appears in front of the target. Double chance of Wandering Monsters who may be attracted by the scent.
2. The target shifts forward in time: they disappear and reappear after 1d4+1 rounds.
3. Glowing nodules, the same as a Fire Beetle’s, grow on the caster’s palms.
4. Tentacles grow in place of the caster’s beard. The caster can make 1 attack with the tentacles. A hit by the tentacles causes paralysis for 2d4 turns (save versus paralysis).
5. The caster’s right hand now has the same effect of a Rust Monster’s feeler, and the caster can now eat rusted metal.
6. The caster’s left hand now has the same effect of a Wight’s Energy Drain ability, but a creature that is slain by this effect crumbles to dust instead of becoming a Wight.
7. The target suffers the same effects of a Tarantella’s bite (save versus poison to avoid).
8. The caster’s tongue becomes the same as a Giant Toad’s.
9. All of the gold carried by the caster becomes copper.
10. All of the copper carried by the caster becomes platinum.
11. All prepared spells disappear from the caster’s mind.
12. The spell appears to work, but it actually only creates a magic illusion mimicking the expected effects. If the intended spell actually was an illusion, it becomes real.
13. The target of the spell is miniaturized and trapped inside a corked glass bottle. While inside the bottle the target is immortal and impervious to all effects, but completely unable to act in any way. Opening or breaking the bottle releases the target, which returns to their normal size.
14. The spell activates normally, but its duration is altered by a time paradox. Temporary effects become permanent (and treated as a curse), while permanent effects and consequences are reverted after 1d6 rounds. This includes cancelling damage inflicted by magic missiles, fire balls, and similar spells, which “rewind”.
15. The caster’s shadow permanently becomes a Shadow (as per the creature) under their control.
16. The target is teleported to the last place where they slept.
17. The target’s left hand becomes a fully functional Spitting Cobra head.
18. The caster (with all their equipment) becomes a Living Statue for 2d6 rounds or until its Hit Points are depleted. While transformed, the caster is unable to cast spells, but acquires all the characteristics and abilities of the Living Statue that matches their alignment (Lawful: Crystal; Neutral: Iron; Chaotic: Rock). Lost Hit Points don’t carry over when the transformation is over.
19. The spell creates a duplicate of the caster’s body (without equipment). The caster’s mind is not duplicated, but it controls both bodies. If one body dies, the other must save versus death or die as well.
20. The spell sends a mental image of the caster into every existing mind. Every sentient being in the universe now knows the caster’s name (followed by “the Great”) and appearance and will recognize them immediately. Even the fiercest enemy will now consider at least one round of parley when meeting such a famous person.