Werewolf by Night

We watched Marvel's new Halloween special, Werewolf by Night this evening. 

I'd never read the comics, and I'd only head about them fairly recently (two years ago, maybe?) when someone on Kevin Smith's Fatman Beyond podcast brought it up. 

Despite not knowing much of the source material, I found it to be a fun little show! 

It's only about an hour long. It's mostly in black-and-white to emulate the old Universal horror films, and the music, graphics, and a lot of the props also reflect this...but not all of them. There are definitely plenty of modern touches in it. 

The story is almost a Castlevania story! Monster hunters gather to compete for the inheritance of the most famed monster hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone. They have to hunt a fearsome monster, but are allowed to fight and even kill each other in the process. The winner gets Bloodstone's magical bloodstone which grants some magical powers. 

I won't spoil it, but I will say I really enjoyed the campy nature of it. It's got some fun action scenes, some campy scenery chewing by the actors, and plenty of Halloween mood. Not your typical Marvel superhero fare, by any means.

Demon Castle Design

 I've been crunched for time lately, with a journal paper just submitted, a conference presentation to prepare, student homework to grade, and midterms coming up soon. Oh, and then there's being a husband/father! But somehow, I manged to sneak in some time to consider how I'd design a Castlevania style megadungeon while watching the boys play on the playground over the weekend. And it's taken me until Wednesday night to finally blog about it!

Here's what I came up with:  

The castle itself will have 12 zones, ranging from around level 3 to level 8 or so. I figure, why bother starting at 1st level for something like this? Get right to the good stuff. But also level 10+ characters really don't have to worry too much about vampires, right? Double energy drain sucks, but with turn undead, fifth level spells, magic items, and lots of hit points, high level characters can manage Dracula easily. So keep it in the sweet spot. Still plenty of room for character progression.

Each zone will of course have a theme. The Great Halls. The Dungeon. The Clock Tower. The Armory. The Long Library. The Catacombs. The Chapel of Lost Souls. All stolen from Castlevania, of course! And each will be around 15 to 20 encounter areas. As mentioned previously, there will be easy access to every zone (relatively so anyway) to be more of a megadungeon and less of a side-scrolling railroad.

Around the castle will be five towns and five small dungeons. I'm still debating whether to use names from Castlevania 2 for the towns (Jova, Aljiba, etc.) or actual Transylvanian town names (Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara, etc.). Whichever way I go, each town will have certain goods and services available, including a small cast of potential hirelings. Each town will also have a random events table to roll on each time the PCs visit (maybe not the "home town" since they will likely go there all the time). 

The five small dungeons (or dangerous wilderness areas) will be around 10 encounter areas each, and probably have magical treasures that will be nice to have (but not necessary) in the castle. This will provide possible diversions if the players are getting bored by the castle, but also help get the treasure (XP) needed to level up, since the castle itself will probably not give enough XP for the higher levels, especially if there are a big group of players like my games tend to attract these days. 

Additionally, it would be easy to add more small dungeons around the castle if necessary to help boost the PCs up a level if they need it. Or maybe I'll periodically restock lower levels. That's what happens in Castlevania games anyway. Then I won't need to add more maps and keys, just re-key areas that were cleared. 

Seems manageable when I break it down like this, but again, no time! One of these days.

Demon Castle Dracula

 Castlevania games have long been among my favorites. I still regularly replay the old NES games via emulation. And I enjoyed the hell out of the Playstation/PS2 era games, especially (no surprise) Symphony of the Night.

When I was a teenager, and finally got around to mapping out the Haunted Keep in Karameikos (I had Mentzer, not Cook's Expert Set), of course it was pretty heavily inspired by the original Castlevania game. 

Back when I was still using 3E, I took a break from developing the campaign that would eventually provide the setting for Flying Swordsmen (and my Chanbara play tests), I tried to make a Castlevania inspired megadungeon. But like SotN, I had limited paths from zone to zone, and strict challenge levels, and whatnot, and it got to be too much of a burden. 

While I don't really have time to try and create a megadungeon at the moment, the approach of Halloween has got me thinking about it again. IF I were to create it now, with more years of experience and evolved ideas on what makes for a good game, the plan would be a lot more open. If low level PCs wanted to head straight to the Clock Tower and Dracula's Turret, they'd be able to do it. Not likely a good idea, but the option would be there. 

And like in Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest, there would be some towns and other smaller dungeons around besides just the castle proper. They would allow the players chances to learn about the zones of the castle (and the threats likely to be encountered there), and also places to buy/sell/trade loot and magic items, and "side quests" to find weapons and artifacts useful against the denizens of Castlevania. 

And of course, I'd need to decide if this would be done in Classic D&D, or with RetroPhaze (which I apparently have an older edition of, John keeps working on this great little game!).

Review: Castlevania Netflix Series

I just finished watching the four episode Season 1 of the Netflix Castlevania series. Seeing that it was written by Warren Ellis, who I've heard does good work in comics...I'm way out of the loop in American comics these days...and being a big fan of the video games (as you can tell from the title of the blog)...um, can I add any more parentheticals or asides to this introductory paragraph? OK, I'll get down to it. I was hoping this would be a lot cooler than it turned out to be.

Don't get me wrong, there's some good stuff here. But I wasn't expecting it to be what it was, which is basically all setup. The entire four episode "season" is basically just all Act 1 of the drama. And because of that, it's a bit unfulfilling. I'll break it down episode by episode, but avoid spoilers as much as I can while doing so.

Episode 1 tells us of Dracula's motivation for unleashing his army of monsters on Wallachia.

Episode 2 introduces Trevor Belmont and explains his family's background.

Episode 3 introduces Sypha Belnades and explains why her people, the Seekers, want to help.

Episode 4 introduces Alucard and why he wants to defeat Dracula.

And that's it. There are some cliches from horror movies, some of which seem to contradict things in the video games a bit, but mostly it keeps the gothic horror vibe of the games. And Trevor teaming up with Sypha and Alucard (but no Grant Danasty) to defeat Dracula is what Castlevania III is all about.

The problems are that it's all set-up and no payoff (yet). I was expecting this to basically go from Dracula's army invades to Trevor defeats Dracula in four episodes. And I was expecting each episode to be an hour (or 45 minutes) long. They're about 20 minutes each. So it doesn't get very far in the tale.

I read on Wikipedia that originally it was set to be a feature length movie. The switch to a series was probably a good idea, but I guess it would have been nice if Netflix had had enough faith in this project to fund the whole thing in one 10 or

12 episode series, rather than split it up. Still, I hope it gets enough viewers that Netflix doesn't kill it. I think my opinion of it will go up if they can ramp up the action in the next season.

Basically, watch this so that they keep making it. But it will likely be more satisfying once the show is complete and you can binge-watch it from start to finish.

Oh, and before I sign off here, if you're a parent wondering if there's "cursing" in the show? Yes, quite a bit. And plenty of animated gore and dismemberment. It's a horror themed show based on a horror themed video game, after all. I won't be letting my older boy watch it for several years yet.

Too many ideas!

I think many of you suffer from this problem. Most gamers are creative types, so we're always coming up with new ideas. Maybe it's a character concept you really want to play. Maybe it's a campaign you'd love to run. Maybe it's an adventure you'd like to develop. It could be your next awesome rule-set. But before you get to it, or just after getting started, you've already got another idea or three knocking around your brain.

I'm at that point big time right now. And since I'm actually starting to prep for my dissertation study, I really have NO TIME for any of it. But just got give you a glimpse of things you may, possibly, some day see from me in a possible future where I suddenly have oodles of time to write gaming stuff, here are some of the ideas I currently have:

Chanbara (of course, that's #1): My OSR with heavy character customization fantasy feudal Japan game. The third (or is if fourth?) draft incarnation of the rules are ready to be tested. I think they'll work better than before. I just need some time to run a few games. Well, that and flesh out the "starting area" for the campaign section of the book.

Presidents of the Apocalypse: Paul's and my take on super silly, super simple super presidential post-apoc gaming. One of these days, Paul and I will agree on a final version of the rules (or agree to make two versions). Then you, too, can be a mutated Founding Father beating the crap out of Ronald McDonald, Mikhael Gorbachev, King George III, Kim Jeong-Il, Justin Bieber, and any other foes of America you can think of, set in a ruined world of the future.

Under the Hillfort Ruins: The adventure module I wrote originally for 3E and have recently revamped for Labyrinth Lord (or whatever classic or OSR game floats your boat). A fairly standard dungeon tomb complex with lots of puzzles and traps, and plenty of loot as well. I just need to make a few edits, add some random encounters for the actual hillfort ruins above the dungeon, write up some hooks and rumors, and then this one will be ready to sell.

Demon Castle Dracula: This one's been on my mind recently, what with Halloween a week away and all. Not that it feels very Halloween-y here in Busan, where most people don't celebrate it. Anyway, this may end up being for LL or for Retro Phaze (the 8-bit OSR RPG) since it's basically the Castlevania games translated to table top. Could I get this Gothic horror-action sandbox ready for sale before next Halloween? Guess it depends on how the dissertation study goes.

Mysterious Seas: The maritime campaign I tried to run about 4 years ago or so. The idea was to mix up Jason and the Argonauts, the Odyssey, Sindbad the Sailor, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the like into a big nautical sandbox. If I get around to finishing this (I really only had the first map half-way keyed, and there are nine maps), it may have to get broken into separate modules for each sector.

Ghost Castle Hasegawa: The test adventure I created for the previous version of Chanbara. I'm planning to update it to the new version when I get around to play-testing it, so eventually I'll also probably publish it. A castle cursed by its lord when it fell to his enemies, the Hasegawa family would like the curse removed so they can move back in and restore their standing at court.

Oni no Ran: The old 1E/2E Oriental Adventures campaign I ran back in Evansville in the late 90's before going to Japan was building up to a conflict between the Oni King and the PCs' daimyo. It wouldn't be too hard to convert stats to Chanbara (once I decide this draft is final or not) and release this as either a series of linked adventures, or a mega-adventure (again, if somehow time ceases to be an issue).

Of course, if I ever get any of these finished, they'll be for sale from my DrivethruRPG storefront, Hidden Treasure Books. And if I have time to write up modules and game systems, hopefully I'll have time to create more of my paper minis series.

A horrible night to have a curse, indeed!

So, after last month's non-D&D whoop-dee-do, I've been messing around with the free 8-bit/16-bit crpg inspired Retro Phaze.

I started out, as I blogged a while back, with the intention of making some small adventures and pre-made PCs for pick-up games.  And I'm working on that, maybe going a bit overboard even with a Wizardry inspired dungeon.  Retro Phaze makes it dirt simple, since like in a video game, most encounters are random and pretty much exist only as a means to level up your characters and give you gold to spend on better weapons/equipment.

One of the things I dislike about 3E and 4E style gaming is just that, but in Retro Phaze it's so darn simple that I think it will work.  Character stats are simple.  Monster stats are simpler.  Dungeons and wilderness can be as simple or complex as you like.  Pretty much all you need are some maps, random tables for monster encounters, and a few "boss" monsters and special treasures or quest items that serve as goals of play.

Well, it didn't take me long to turn from converting Wizardry, Faxanadu, Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior for the Americans) monsters into RePh stats before I started thinking of Castlevania.

I once upon a time foolishly started working on a CV setting for 3E.  But 3E stat bloat killed it quick.  With Retro Phaze, though, I may just be able to pull it off.  Spell-casters get either White or Black magic, and there are only 4 spells per level of each type, mostly combat oriented.  The game is designed for throwing bad guys at the players and letting them beat them to a pulp (or run screaming from the big ones), and they level quickly.

All I really need is a map of Transylvania with a few towns, crypts, haunted mansions and such, plus Castlevania itself mapped out (and I could probably just use some maps from the actual games for that) with appropriate random encounter lists for each, and a few key quest items and quest givers.

I'll probably try out my Wizardry inspired dungeon first just to get a taste of how the game actually plays before diving full steam into a game which I don't have the time to really run anyway.  But if I start working on it now, little by little, I will have it ready to run when I finally have time to run games again.

Beast of the Week: Grasping Hand

This is a bit of a weird one, as it straddles the line between monster and trap.  But then green slime, rot grubs, piercers, trappers, cloakers, lurkers above, and plenty of other "monsters" also straddle the line, so here it is.  Finishing up this month's Beasts with one from both Castlevania AND Ghostbusters.

Grasping Hand
AC: 8 (12)
HD: 1/2* to 3*
Move: 0 (0)
Attacks: 1 claw
Damage: 1d6
No. Appearing: 1d10 (1d10)
Save As: NM to F3
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: nil
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 6, 13, 25, 50

Grasping hands appear as skeletal, rotting, or demonic arms that suddenly spring out of solid objects or the ground and attack.  They surprise on a roll of 1-4 on d6.  Any hand that hits grabs onto the victim and will not let go until slain (the victim may Save vs. Paralysis to escape).  Anyone grabbed may attack the grasping hand, but at -4 to hit.  Others may make normal attacks, but there is a 50% chance any hit will deal half damage to the victim and half damage to the hand.

Beast of the Week: Headless Horseman

Good old Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  Why the Headless Horseman isn't a standard D&D monster I don't know.  Anyway, I'm mixing Washington Irving's version with the Celtic Dullahan (also a Castlevania monster - bonus!) for this week's Beast.

Headless Horseman
AC: 5 (15)
HD: 6**
Move: 120 (40) (or as mount)
Attacks: 1 weapon
Damage: by weapon
No. Appearing: 1 (1-4)
Save As: F6
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: A (U)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 725

Headless Horsemen, also known as Dullahans, are undead decapitation victims who return to haunt the area of their death.  They ride large, fierce black horses, which may be war horses or riding horses.  Some rare versions may ride an undead horse or Nightmare.  Some Headless Horsemen are searching for the head the lost, others carry it with them in their hands or on their saddle pommel, and search for evildoers to slay and add their souls to the ranks of Hell.  They attack with weapons, but can also use the following spells: Knock, Cause Fear (at will), Cause Blindness (once per turn), Finger of Death (once per day).  As Undead creatures, Headless Horsemen are immune to sleep, charm and hold magic.  They can be Turned as Vampires.

Oh crap, it's Halloween!

In fact, here in Busan as I write this, Halloween's almost over -- 2 hours to midnight.  And I've only gotten what, three Castlevania monsters statted up this month?  That sucks. 

Oh well, I've been busy with grad school, reading the Wheel of Time books, and general father/husband stuff.

The kindergarten where I teach had its Halloween party last Friday.  I was a werewolf in the morning.  Let my beard grow, put on some face paint and rubber fangs, and wore a ripped up collared shirt over my t-shirt and jeans.  Simple yet effective.  In the afternoon, I was in the haunted house, where it was too dark to see the face paint, so I switched to a skull mask.  Much haunting was had by all.  My son was Superman for the second year in a row.  He loves that Superman outfit.  He'll likely wear it again next year.

Saturday, I spent the majority of the day, and all Sunday morning as well, finishing up The Tower of Midnight, Wheel of Time book 13.  Got it from the local English library, and had to return it Sunday, so I wanted to finish it rather than check it out for another two weeks.  I'm really liking the way Sanderson is writing these last books.  He's just less focused on the insignificant details, and he's doing a good job in wrapping up all these little sub-plots that Jordan should have wrapped up two to five volumes earlier in the series.  It's also cool to see a fantasy world going into Armageddon in a way that really feels like it's the end of the world.  I'm glad now that I finally got around to reading these, and I'm actually looking forward to the final book next spring, now!  What a difference a month makes.

And today I was working and had grad school class.  Got a bit of work done on Flying Swordsmen during my breaks at work.  Probably should have posted something here though, instead of just reading about the demise of YDIS and Vincent Baker vs. Jim Raggi.

Anyway, here's one last Castlevania monster for Halloween!

Skeleton Ape
AC: 7 (13)
HD: 4*
Move: 60 (20)
Attacks: 1 bash
Damage: 2d6
No. Appearing: 1-4 (2-8)
Save As: Fighter 4
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: E
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 125

Skeleton Apes are animated simians created to cause chaos and destruction.  They are rarely used to guard crypts, instead being used by necromancers, liches, or other evil sorts as shock troops.  Skeleton Apes typically carry a barrel of flammable materials that they toss as an initial attack.  The barrel can be thrown to a range of up to 60', and explodes in a 15' radius, dealing 3d6 damage to all in the blast.  A save vs. breath weapons reduces the damage by half.  After tossing its barrel, the skeleton ape lumbers forward into melee and clubs any opponents that come near it mercilessly until it is destroyed.  Skeleton apes are Turned as ghouls.

Hunchbacks/Igors!

I gotta say, I seem to find these Castlevania monsters with erratic movement patterns or just simple annoying ways to avoid Belmont whips to be good fodder for conversion to D&D.  Well, the skeleton/zombie type monsters that just walk forward trying to kill the good vampire hunters aren't that interesting, and plain skeletons and zombies are already in D&D.  So here's another of those monsters that tends to give me (and I'm sure many of you as well) fits, the Hunchback/Igor/Fleaman!

Hunchback
AC: 6 (14)
HD: 1*
Move: 120 (60)
Attacks: 1 weapon
Damage: by weapon
No. Appearing: 2-16 (3-18)
Save As: Thief 1
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: A
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:13


Hunchbacks, also known to some adventurers as Fleamen, are Halfling-sized humanoids with twisted deformities in their backs and powerful limbs.  Despite their small size and deformities, Hunchbacks can leap great distances, and do so with great acrobatic skill.  On any Round in which the Hunchbacks win initiative, they may leap in, strike, and leap away before their opponents can counterattack.

A Subtle Threat

Here's another Castlevania monster for Halloween.  Sorry this one's a bit late in coming. 

For this monster, I want another threat that is not just a hit point bash then collect the XP.  This monster is a nuisance that will hopefully make for interesting encounters, once the players finally figure out what it's doing to them.

Bitterfly
AC: 3 (17)
HD: 1**
Move: 30 (10), Fly 180 (60)
Attacks: 1 touch
Damage: poison
No. Appearing: 3-12 (3-12)
Save As: Fighter 1
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: nil
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:16

Bitterflies are creatures with skull-shaped bodies with large moth wings sprouting from the side.   They can change their coloration for short times to match their background, surprising on a roll of 1-4 on d6.  Once detected, they may disappear again on a roll of 1 on d6 even while being observed.  They do not usually attack directly, but when they do, their touch is toxic.  Opponents hit must Save vs. Poison or die in 1d4 Turns.  The biggest threat that these creatures pose is an aura of doom that they project.  Creatures within 20' of a bitterfly must Save vs. Spells or be affected as with a blight spell for one hour.  Undead, constructs, elementals, and slimes/oozes are unaffected by this.  The auras of multiple bitterflies are not cumulative in effect, but the area of effect can be increased.

Last Year's Castlevania fun

In case some of you are too lazy to use the search or tags, here are last year's Castlevania monster related posts.

Restless Spirit (Castlevania/Gauntlet style ghost)
Phantom Bat
Robber Bat (not Castlevania, but could work for it)
Medusa Head
Grim Reaper (Classic and 3E stats)

And a map of the CV version of Transylvania for a campaign I never got off the ground.

Another Castlevania Monster for Halloween

One problem of converting CV monsters into D&D is that in a video game, a different sprite and attack pattern makes it a new monster.  Not so in D&D.  There are a ton of skeleton-type monsters in Castlevania, and most of them don't really need new stats for D&D.  Just arm them appropriately, and you've got them.

This one, however, is a fun little variant undead spellcaster.  No where near as powerful as a lich, it's a niche that's been filled before, but I'm doing it in a Castlevania way.

Dhuron
AC: 5 (15)
HD: 4**
Move: 90 (30)
Attacks: 1 weapon or spell
Damage: by weapon, or spell
No. Appearing: 1-8 (2-6)
Save As: Fighter 8
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: B (U)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:175

Dhurons are criminals executed by decapitation who have risen as skeletal undead.  They carry their skulls in one hand, and wield weapons in the other.  Dhurons are not mindless, and can be quite crafty.  They will often hide amidst normal skeletons to surprise opponents with their spellcasting ability.  Dhurons cast spells as a 4th level Magic-User in addition to being adept with weapon attacks.  Due to their magical nature, they save as 8th level Fighters.  They are immune to sleep, charm, and hold spells.  Clerics turn Dhurons as Mummies.

A New Blog and a Halloween Monster

So there's a new blog that's just come to my attention, BladeSharp.  Fabian is working on a conversion of Oriental Adventures (1E, 2E and 3E stuff mashed together) for Labyrinth Lord.  I'd actually considered doing something like that but decided instead to focus on Dragon Fist.  Since most stuff for the various clones/simulacrums is easily interchangeable, and fits easily with most TSR versions of D&D, I'm looking forward to what he comes up with.

And since it's October, it's time for WaHNtHaC's annual (well, since last year anyway) Castlevania monsters converted to Classic D&D!

And we're starting off with a true classic creature of the CV games.  You really can't call a game Castlevania unless it includes a few of them--the Red Skeleton!

Red Skeleton
Armor Class: 7 (13)
Hit Dice: 1/8* (1 hit point, but see below)
Move: 60 (20)
Attacks: 1 claw
Damage: 1d6
No. Appearing: 1-2 (1-4)
Save As: Fighter 1
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: nil
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: special (see below)

Red Skeletons look like normal animated skeletons, except that they are a deep blood red color.  They are slow, plodding creatures, and appear very weak.  Any hit with a weapon or spell, or a Turn Undead attempt, will seem to destroy them.  But 1d4 Rounds later the red skeleton will reform in the spot where it was 'destroyed.'  Scattered bones will fly back to the spot if nearby.  More distant bones will teleport back to the spot.

While it is possible to knock them down and then flee, adventurers gain no experience points for doing so.  However, if a means can be found to permanently destroy them (at the DM's discretion), the adventurers will gain a special XP award of 1000 XP the first time they discover the process.  Only by discovering a new method to destroy one will grant this special XP award again in the future.

As Undead creatures, red skeletons are immune to sleep, charm and hold effects.

Bit of Gaming, Bit of Prep, Bit of Procrastination

Woke up this morning wondering what I should do today.

The Board Game Group is finally starting to meet again, but we failed to get critical mass for this afternoon, so no board games.

On Wednesday, I started drawing up maps for level 3 of my 'new and improved' megadungeon.  Still need to do lots of stocking on level 1 as well.  If my son takes a nap at the right time, maybe I'll work on that.

Reading the final volume of Lankhmar stories, so I may just finish "The Mouser Goes Below" instead.

"Flying Swordsmen RPG" will eventually make it out, but I'm feeling a bit uninspired by it at the moment.  Maybe it's time to rewatch a few wuxia movies.

Got an idea, based on the popularity of my pre-Halloween Castlevania monster write-ups.  A free supplement for D&D/S&W/LL that will compile lots of video game monsters from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.  Eggplant Wizards, chicken dragons, octorocks, lobbers and more!

The November sumo tournament starts today, and with my current work schedule Sundays are the only day I can watch, so I will be sure to catch it, no matter what else.

Will be writing up the last of the planned "Tackling the Megadungeon" posts tonight, and thanks to zanazaz, I'll be posting a 'bonus mission' tomorrow.

Castlevania Monster: Grim Reaper

There's only a couple more days before Halloween, and with my light blogging of late, I'd hoped to get a few more Castlevania baddies converted to D&D, but this might be the last one.

So I figured I'd better make it the one monster that's been in EVERY CV game (at least that I've played, not having played any of the Game Boy releases and a few others here and there). Heck, not even Dracula makes an appearance in every game, but the good old Grim Reaper does (again, at least as far as every one of the games I've played).

So here's a shot at converting Death to a bad guy for D&D. Back when I was working on a version of a CV campaign for 3E, I did write up the Grim Reaper. He was pretty badass, too. But I never got to use him. I'll throw in those stats for comparison below. I spent quite a bit of time working it up to capture the feel of Death as he appears in most CV games within the d20 rules framework, and I think I got it. Just wish I had a chance to break him out before I'd quit running games under those rules.

Anyway, here's the Grim Reaper for Classic D&D (likely will work for AD&D as well with some minor tweaks):

Grim Reaper*
Armor Class: 0 (20)
Hit Dice: 12***
Move: 120 (40)
Fly 150 (50)
Attacks: 1 weapon or spell
Damage: 1d8 + special
No. Appearing: 1 (1) Unique
Save As: Fighter 12
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 3500
The Grim Reaper appears as a floating skeleton wearing voluminous black robes and holding a scythe. It is believed that it is the angel of death itself. The Grim Reaper is cunning, but is an implacable foe if it has decided it is time for its opponent(s) to die.
The Grim Reaper has the following special abilities: invisibility at will (as the spell), finger of death once per day (as the spell), and sickle swarm once every 3 rounds. Sickle swarm creates three whirling sickles that move and attack on their own. The sickles attack as 4HD monsters, do 1d6 damage each, and may be destroyed by weapon attacks (AC 7/13, HP 1). The Grim Reaper carries his famous scythe, The Reaper, detailed below.

The Reaper (Scythe +1, Slicing)
This long scythe (a two-handed weapon, dealing 1d8 damage) has a handle of blackened wood said to be taken from the heart of the World Tree itself. The blade is of white steel.
Slicing: The Reaper has a chance to kill opponents instantly. If a natural 19 or 20 is rolled on the attack roll, the opponent must Save vs. Death Ray or die. Even if the opponent makes the save, The Reaper deals triple normal damage. This ability does not affect Constructs or Undead. [from my Unique Magic Weapons document]


OK, that can be pretty scary for a party of typical Classic D&D characters. Here's the way I wrote him up for d20 (yes, very long stat block to follow):

The Grim Reaper (Death)
Level 15 Cleric Half-Fiend/Lich (Undead Outsider) Lawful Evil CR 19
S 18 (+4) D 18 (+4) C – I 17 (+3) W 23 (+6) Ch 14 (+2)
AC 24 HP 89 BAB +11/+6/+1 Saves F +9 R +9 W +15 Init +4 Speed 30’

Skills: Bluff +11, Concentration +18, Hide +12, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (arcana) +18, Knowledge (religion) +18, Listen +14, Move Silently +12, Scry +9, Search +11, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +21, Spot +14

Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical: Scythe, Martial Weapon Proficiency: Scythe, Quicken Spell, Silent Spell, Spell Penetration, Weapon Focus: Scythe

Resistances/Immunities: DR 15/+1, Turn Resistance +4, Acid and Fire Resistance 20, Immune to Cold, Electricity, Polymorph, Poison, Sleep, Paralysis, Stunning, Disease, Death effects, Necromantic effects, Mind-Influencing effects, Critical Hits, death from massive damage, and Subdual damage.

Attacks: Choose 1 or mix and match during a full attack action
Keen Dancing Scythe +5, hit +21/+16/+11 dmg 2d4+9, Crit 18-20/x4
Claw, hit +15/+10/+5 dmg 1d4+4 and paralysis (Fort. DC 19)
Bite, hit +15/+10/+5 dmg 1d6+4 and paralysis (Fort. DC 19)
Touch, hit +15/+10/+5 dmg 1d8+5 (Will DC 19 for ½ dmg) and paralysis (Fort. DC 19)

Special Abilities:
Rebuke Undead 5/day, Spontaneously cast Inflict spells
Death Domain: Death Touch 1/day (melee touch attack, roll 15d6, equal to or greater than target’s HP results in death)
Destruction Domain: Smite 1/day (melee attack, +4 to hit, +15 damage)
Darkvision 60’, Fear Aura (60’ radius, up to 5 HD must make a Will save DC 19 or suffer the effects of a fear spell), Paralyzing Touch (Fort. DC 19, permanent until dispelled)
Spell Like Abilities: (all cast at 15th level)
3/day: Darkness, Poison, Unholy Aura
1/day: Desecrate, Unholy Blight, Contagion, Blasphemy, Unhallow, Horrid Wilting, Summon Monster IX (fiends only), Destruction
Spells: 6/7+1/7+1/6+1/5+1/5+1/4+1/2+1/1+1 (typical prepared spells below)
Level 0: Detect Magic x3, Guidance, Inflict Minor Wounds, Read Magic
Level 1: Bane, Cause Fear (d), Command, Deathwatch, Divine Favor (+5), Doom, Protection from Good, Sanctuary
Level 2: Bull’s Strength, Darkness, Death Knell x2 (d), Silence, Spiritual Weapon x3 (Scythe)
Level 3: Animate Dead (d), Bestow Curse, Deeper Darkness, Dispel Magic, Helping Hand, Invisibility Purge, Spiritual Weapon (s)
Level 4: Air Walk, Discern Lies, Dispel Magic (s), Inflict Critical Wounds (d), Sending, Spell Immunity
Level 5: Break Enchantment, Circle of Doom (d), Flame Strike, Sanctuary (q), Slay Living, Spell Resistance (SR 27)
Level 6: Antilife Shell, Blade Barrier, Harm (d), Spiritual Weapon (q), Word of Recall
Level 7: Blasphemy, Destruction x2 (d)
Level 8: Create Greater Undead (d), Unholy Aura
(d) Domain Spell, (s) Silent Spell, (q) Quicken Spell

Magic Items: Keen Dancing Scythe +5, Ring of Blinking, Ring of Protection +5

The Haunted Keep! (Non-BX version)

Somewhere back when I was in high school, I finally got around to drawing up an adventure in The Haunted Keep on the Karamiekos map.  Since I'd started with Mentzer and had only ever had the slightest perusal of the Moldvay/Cook BX edition, I had never seen the sample dungeon in Moldvay's Basic book.

Which means, to my Castlevania inspired mind, my version of the Haunted Keep became the lair of a vampire.  And it was broken up into several sub-sections, each with a sort of 'boss' encounter, and a place to magically rest and recharge (just like how Castlevania levels end with that orb dropping to recharge your health after you beat the boss).  OK, maybe kinda lame, but the dungeon did have some pretty cool stuff in it, though.

Particularly, I'm fond of the castle's courtyard, which was a maze of semi-sentient thorn hedges.  You could chop your way through or try to fly over them, but you'd take damage doing so.

Maybe I'll get ambitious and type up the notes to go with these maps and make it into a downloadable PDF.  Don't think I'll have it done in time for Halloween this year, but oh well.

First, you had to make your way through the secret tunnels.

Then you had to go through the courtyard thorn maze.

Then you had to work your way through the crypts to get into the Keep.

Finally, you had the five levels of the Keep to deal with.

I remember that Killingmachine and I ran through this one night at his house. He played several of his PCs, and I ran several of mine to fill out the party. We had a blast, and I know we finally beat the vampire, and I don't think anyone got level drained too badly. :D

One of the most annoying monsters

...in Castlevania, at least. 

Sorry to disappoint Jeff, no duck/dragon thingies, back to the Castlevania monsters for me!  And I present the dreaded Medusa Heads!

Medusa Head
Armor Class: 1 (19)
Hit Dice: 1*
Move: Fly 90 (30)
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 2d4 + petrification
No. Appearing: 3-24 (3-24)
Save As: Fighter 1
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: L
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:13
Medusa Heads are floating humanoid heads with writhing snakes for hair.  They fly in erratic patterns, making them hard to hit, but also limiting them to only attacking every other Round.  A victim bitten by a Medusa Head must Save vs. Turn to Stone or be petrified, with all equipment carried, for 1d4 Turns.  After that time, the victim returns to normal.  Medusa Heads sometimes carry gems in their mouths.  It is unknown why they do this.

[Some DMs may wish to count Medusa Heads among the Beholder-kin.]

Castlevania Monster: Phantom Bat

Here's another Castlevania inspired D&D monster for your Halloween gaming pleasure.  It's the first boss in the original game, and it's appeared in quite a few other CV titles over the years.  It's the Phantom Bat.

Based on the Mobat from the AD&D Monster Manual 2/AD&D 2E Monstrous Compendium, but with a twist.


Phantom Bat  
Armor Class: 2 (18)
Hit Dice: 6
Move: Fly 150 (50)
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 2d4
No. Appearing: 1-8 (1-8)
Save As: Fighter 6
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: C
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 275
Phantom Bats are giant semi-intelligent bats with a 15' wing span.  Despite their size, they are agile fliers, using their natural sonar and speed to fly fast and avoid obstacles and attacks.  If caught in cramped conditions where they may not fly, a Phantom Bat is considered AC 7 (13).  Phantom Bats often swoop to attack.  Instead of biting, they ram opponents on a swoop, inflicting 4d4 damage and requiring the target to Save vs. Paralysis or be stunned for one round.  Because of their silent flight and ability to navigate in pitch darkness by sonar, they surprise on a 1-3 on d6.
Phantom Bats have one more special ability.  Once per Turn, they may Screech.  All those within 20' of the Phantom Bat must Save vs. Paralysis or cover their ears in pain, being unable to attack for 1d4 Rounds.

Some Ghosts for Halloween

Having grown up playing Gauntlet in the arcades and Castlevania at home, I've always liked the idea of weak but plentiful ghosts that the heroes can strike down with a couple of blows, and without the need for magical weapons.  Basically, immaterial skeleton/zombie level undead baddies.

But of course the ghosts that appear in the AD&D DMG and Companion Set/RC are not what I'm looking for.

So here's a monster write-up for some weaker cannon-fodder ghosts.

Restless Spirit
Armor Class: 5 (15)
Hit Dice: 1* to 3*
Move: Fly 90 (30)
Attacks: 1 touch
Damage: 1d6
No. Appearing: 3-12 (3-18)
Save As: Fighter 1-3
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: U
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 13, 25, or 50

Restless Spirits are animated remnants of souls that are constrained to the mortal realm. They have only the faintest of intelligence, and seek out living beings to feed upon. They are immaterial, and may pass through solid matter such as walls, floors or ceilings to attack. As undead creatures, they are immune to sleep, charm and hold magics. Restless Dead are turned as follows: 1HD as skeletons, 2HD as zombies, 3HD as ghouls.