Fairy Seas & Islands for OSR Games

Going for a short weekend trip to beautiful Genoa, so here's a d10 table with ten fairy seas & islands encounters 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 Encounters section of Lands of Legends Fairy. Check it out for hundreds more!

Seas & Islands- Fairy Encounters

1. The Three Swordfish. Three swordfish approach the heroes’ vessel. Their bills are real steel weapons sprouting out of their muzzles: a rapier, a sabre and a broadsword, and they are fully capable fighters. They were bloodthirsty pirates, cursed by the sea fairies to protect a thousand ships from pirates attacks. When their task is fulfilled, they’ll return to their original shape and be free from the curse. They’ll escort the heroes’ ship, and will try to trick them towards some pirate ship, as they’ve already saved 999 vessels and can’t wait to be human again.
2. Geppetto! A terrible monster wanders these seas, a dogfish big enough to contain shipwrecked people and fish escaped from digestion. Meeting this monster probably means losing one’s ship and ending up shipwrecked and swallowed. Inside the monster a little group of people can survive and make long journeys. As described in the legends, in order to exit from the jaws of the monster, it has to regurgitate.
3. The Island under the Sea. This island looks like a towering obsidian pillar, visible from afar. Dozens of ships and boats dock between the rocks surrounding it. On its surface is the access to a system of caves going down below the water, where an entire population lives. There are hundreds of people and it is a thriving port. The caves are dry and waterproof, well ventilated and equipped with spring water, thermal water, animals and edible plants, and even underground sources of biological light.
4. Flying Rocks. These flying rocks were thrown by an angry titan against the wily sorcerer Brassalandro who had robbed him of the magical bag of zephyrs. The sorcerer summoned a djinn that stopped the rocks, leaving them suspended midair. Today the rocks wander slowly with the wind, and host several nests of harpies.
5. The Reef Village. Lost in the sea there is a crescent-shaped "island" made of pure coral. The reef has grown so much that some men have cut coral "bricks" and used them to build a village of several dozens of cabins. People living in this place go fishing, use seaweed for crafting and trade with sailors, selling pearls, shells and corals in exchange for wood, rope, leather and metal tools.
6. Pufferfish. The Gods of the Depths use the Pufferfish to lead people of the surface to their realm. These big fish can swallow a “passenger” whole, kept safe and dry inside a transparent bubble-stomach, which allows them to breathe and see the outside (air is provided by the gill system). Inside the fish, heroes can reach the luxurious mansions of the Tritons and the Sea Gods. But why are they trying to summon the heroes?
7. Old Crabman. This old fisherman lives in a hut by the shore. He admires crabs and considers them superior to human beings in every respect. He’s ready to deliver long speeches about how the different types of crabs move, hunt, rest, mate, fight. He knows because he has been taught the crab language by the mermaids, and is willing to teach it to anyone who proves to love crabs as much as he does, by managing to fish ten different types of crabs in one week and keeping them alive.
8. Primate Pirates! This corsair ship’s crew is made of nimble monkeys and mighty apes! Their captain is a human, a cruel old buccaneer who commands his horde thanks to a magical amulet that casts a never-ending “Charm Primates” spell and makes its bearer understood by all primates.
9. Singing Undines. Some water elementals follow the ship and constantly hum a simple tune. If someone on the ship sings back to them, or plays a musical instrument, they push the ship, making it travel faster. As soon as the music on the ship ceases, they lose interest and disappear.
10. Triton Hero. A triton knight in seashell armor, armed with a coral spear and riding a giant seahorse, is pursuing a sea dragon who has kidnapped the mermaid princess of this sea. He might need help and if victorious might share his triumph at the Sea King’s court.

Grim Forest Areas for OSR Games (+ ANNOUNCEMENT)

Halloween is almost here, and here's a d10 table with ten forest areas 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 Areas section of Lands of Legends Grim, which is part of the Halloween Sale on DrivethruRPG. Check it out for hundreds more!

...and there's also a big ANNOUNCEMENT! Wondrous Weavings Warped & Weird is up and available as Pay What You Want at DrivethruRPG! Check it out for an alternate arcane magic system for Old-School Essentials!

Forests - Grim Areas

1. The Dead Wood. The trees are grey and leathery, with black, swollen leaves, because they are undead. There is no undergrowth, just mold and fungi (including such monster types as random encounters). Zombi Dryads feast under the black leaves, and rumors say enormous undead Treants lurk in the most remote areas of the wood.

2. The Evil Forest. All vegetation is evil to non-animal beings. Roll 1d6 every hour: a random character stumbles for 1d4 damage, or is stung by some poisonous vine: Save vs Poison or suffer -2 to all d20 rolls for 24 hours.

3. The Forest of Suicide. Centuries ago, during a period of famine and war, the poorest of the villagers came to this woods one at a time and hanged themselves, to remove a mouth to feed from their families. The pain and horror of these acts haunts the place, and those who travel in the forest can meet specters, voices and new suicides hanging from tree branches. Heroes failing a Save vs Spells begin to feel the desire to commit the same act and should they fail three consecutive days will have to be physically restrained from doing it.

4. “Help me... Please, help me...” This wood is infested with forest hyenas, treacherous and cruel animals digging burrows in the ground and among the roots of trees. They know how to imitate the human voice and utter a few words that they have learned from their victims (screaming, "help" "mercy" and so on...) and use this skill to lure explorers and assault them in a pack. A WIS roll allows one to understand there is something wrong.

5. The Dance of the Alders. Spending the night in these woods is very dangerous. Around midnight, distant sounds of flutes and dancing lights might attract explorers to a glade where dark creatures, looking like bewitched elves, are dancing in the moonlight. The creatures invite everyone to dance with them. If a person refuses three times or fails the dance (a DEX roll), then one of the creatures will strike him, causing a terrible disease (mummy’s rot, for example). Dancing with the creatures is just exhausting: non-stop dancing until dawn, but it will not bring any other result.

6. Fields of Asphodel. Small white flowers grow in this forest, capable of stealing the lives of explorers through their breath. Everyday travelers must pass a Save vs Death or temporarily lose 1 point of Constitution. As they lose their points, the asphodels around them become more vivid and florid.

7. Groans from the Trees. This forest resounds with groans that seem to come from everywhere. There are no green plants, and no straight branches: all vegetation is dark, gnarled and twisted, with no fruit but only poisoned thorns. The groans come from the trees themselves. Snapping a branch or hitting the bark with a blade releases cries, blood and words: the trees are miserable men turned into plants by the ancient Witch of the Woods who lives inside the forest.

8. Ironwood. This dark forest’s trees have deep red foliage all through the year. All the beasts living here have a 10% chance of being mutated with a partially metallified hide or carapace that grants +4 to their Armor Class and may be employed to create special armors.

9. Crawlwood. The trees of this forest live in symbiosis with long lived giant snails: most trees grow on top of the snails’ partially flattened shells. During the night each tree crawls for about d6 feet and all the forest is slowly moving towards the same direction. The undergrowth is scarce, as it is consumed by the snails and the soil is often slippery with the slime left by the snails.

10. Forest of Madness. Evil spirits haunt this forest: for each night spent here, one random character will hear a voice in his head ordering him to kill one of his comrades. If the character refuses to obey, he has to Save vs Spell or is forced to harm himself, continuing until restrained, dead or unconscious, or until a cleric successfully turns away the evil spirit, or until the break of dawn. Lone travelers are unaffected.

 

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.