Aquilae: Bestiary of the Realm Abridged (DCC/Dungeon Crawl Classics)

Aquilae: Bestiary of the Realm Abridged (DCC/Dungeon Crawl Classics) was written by J. Evans Payne. Art is by Jack Kaiser (including cover), Karen Martin, and J. Payne (iconography and cartography). The publisher is Infinium Game Studios.

What we have here is a massive - and I do mean massive - number of creatures converted from Pathfinder to the Dungeon Crawl Classics system. This thing has over 400 pages, with over 400 entries, each of which has four separate stat blocks depending upon the power level the judge needs. To say that this is a monumental undertaking is to utterly understate the case.

This is the Abridged version for DCC, so it only contains DCC stats and has fewer monsters than the full version. Apart from a few minor quibbles - DCC has Stamina, not Constitution! - the book is mechanically sound. My issues with the Content Conversion Guide apply here as well. Crom on His Mountain, I don't want Pathfinder Conditions and its Action economy in my DCC game, although I do see the value in understanding how it might apply.

In the end, this book is going to give you a good starting place for your own conversion work. If you take the entry for, say, Bear (Grizzly), you could rule that the average bear used the Moderate Quad, that a black bear used the Low Quad, a polar bear was Advanced, and something truly horrendous (and, effectively a named monster) was based off of the Elite Quad. In this way, you could use the Quad System while maintaining the type of milieu persistence that changing stats to reflect PC abilities destroys.

As with the Content Conversion Guide, I am breaking tradition by including an interior shot, so that the reader may compare the author's statistics for Sahuagin with my own.

One of the stated goals of the Auilae project was to create an authoritative source for conversion. While the tools supplied are valuable, I would strongly urge the prospective judge to reject this goal. For one thing, if there were an authoritative source for DCC statblocks, it would be the core rulebook, and in several cases monsters appear differently herein. More importantly, when he penned the immortal words "Make Monsters Mysterious", Joseph Goodman pushed away forever the idea that one judge's idea of a lamia must (or even should) match that of another. And that is a very good thing.

In effect, this is a very useful start for converting material, but it should not be the end. When you do use monsters from here, strongly consider altering them to reflect the tone of DCC. How would this being appear if presented in an Appendix N story? What about an adventure by Michael Curtis, Harley Stroh, Joseph Goodman, or Brendan LaSalle? I would also suggest that, rather than converting dragons or demons directly, you consider building them anew from the tables in the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rulebook. 

Judges out there might be wondering exactly what is converted herein. You will find a listing for (deep breath) Aboleth, Achaierai, Angel (Astral Deva), Angel (Planetar), Angel (Solar), Ankheg, Ant (Drone), Ant (Giant), Ant (Queen), Ant (Worker), Ape (Dire), Ape (Gorilla), Archon (Hound), Archon (Lantern), Archon (Trumpet), Assassin Vine, Athach, Azata (Bralani), Azata (Ghaele), Azata (Lillend), Azer, Badger, Barghest, Barghest (Greater), Basidrond, Basileus, Bat, Bat (Dire), Bat Swarm, Bear (Dire), Bear (Grizzly), Bebilith, Beetle (Fire), Beetle (Giant Stag), Behir, Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar, Boar (Dire), Boggard, Bugbear, Bulette, Cat, Cat (Cheetah), Cat (Leopard), Cave Fisher, Centaur, Centipede (Giant Whiptail), Centipede (Giant), Centipede (Great Forest), Centipede (Hisser), Centipede (House), Centipede (Sewer), Centipede (Titan), Centipede Swarm, Chaos Beast, Chimera (Black-Headed), Chimera (Blue-Headed), Chimera (Green-Headed), Chimera (Red-Headed), Chimera (White-Headed), Choker, Chuul, Cloaker, Cockatrice, Couatl, Crab (Giant Coconut), Crab (Giant King), Crab (Giant Reef), Crab (Giant Rock), Crab (Giant Shark-Eating), Crab (Giant Shipwrecker), Crab (Giant), Crab Swarm, Crawling Hand, Crocodile, Crocodile (Dire), Cyclops, Dark Creeper, Dark Stalker, Darkmantle, Demon (Babau), Demon (Balor), Demon (Dretch), Demon (Glabrezu), Demon (Hezrou), Demon (Marilith), Demon (Nabasu), Demon (Nalfeshnee), Demon (Quasit), Demon (Schir), Demon (Succubus), Demon (Vrock), Derro, Destrachan, Devil (Barbed/Hamatula), Devil (Bearded/Barbazu), Devil (Bone/Osyluth), Devil (Erinyes/The Furies), Devil (Horned/Cornugon), Devil (Ice/Gelugon), Devil (Imp), Devil (Lemure), Devil (Pit Fiend), Devourer, Dinosaur (Ankylosaurus), Dinosaur (Brachiosaurus), Dinosaur (Deinonychus), Dinosaur (Pteranodon), Dinosaur (Stegosaurus), Dinosaur (Triceratops), Dinosaur (Tyrannosaurus), Dog, Dog (Riding), Dolphin, Dolphin (Orca), Doppelganger, Dragon (Black, Adult), Dragon (Black, Young), Dragon (Blue, Adult), Dragon (Black, Ancient), Dragon (Brass, Ancient), Dragon (Brass, Adult), Dragon (Brass, Young), Dragon (Brine, Adult), Dragon (Bronze, Ancient), Dragon (Bronze, Adult), Dragon (Bronze, Young), Dragon (Copper, Ancient), Dragon (Copper, Adult), Dragon (Copper, Young), Dragon (Faerie), Dragon (Gold, Ancient), Dragon (Gold, Adult), Dragon (Gold, Young), Dragon (Green, Ancient), Dragon (Green, Adult), Dragon (Green, Young), Dragon (Red, Ancient), Dragon (Red, Adult), Dragon (Red, Young), Dragon (Silver, Ancient), Dragon (Silver, Adult), Dragon (Silver, Young), Dragon (White, Ancient), Dragon (White, Adult), Dragon (White, Young), Dragon Turtle, Drider, Drow, Drow Noble, Dryad, Duergar, Dullahan....

Well, that gets you through as far as the "D"s anyway. The discerning judge will notice that there is plenty of overlap with monsters already published for DCC. In other cases, DCC-specific resources (such as The Lesser Key to the Celestial Legion for angels and other divine servants) might bring more satisfying results. The judge is also warned that these are only statistic; if you do not know what a Dullahan is, you will need to look it up elsewhere.

The sales test on DriveThru says "Add to this a thoroughly innovative and massively expandable AI system to guide monster behavior, and you have what just might be the most impressive and valuable creature resource ever to hit Pathfinder, 5E, Pathfinder Second Edition, OSR, and DCC." but I do not see any system like that in this product.

Again, the judge may find this product quite useful when starting on the journey of converting materials to Dungeon Crawl Classics. I would caution that judge to consider it guidance at the start of that journey, however, rather than an end in and of itself. If you have enough time to consult this volume, you probably also have enough time to use it as a springboard rather than stopping with what you find.

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Tales of the Smoking Wyrm #1

Tales of the Smoking Wyrm #1

 was written by Trevor Stamper, Brian Gilkison, John Olszewski, and Steve Harmon. Art is by Joel Phillips, Carmin Vance, Alex Mayo, Bradley McDevitt, Brian Maikisch, Caitlin Stamper, and Trevor Stamper. The publisher is Blind Visionary Publications.

Disclosure: I backed the successful Kickstarter for this issue. I am also a backer of Issue #2.

The first thing you'll notice about this zine is that it is erudite. The creators discuss their sources as well as the history of the hobby. If that sort of thing excites you, then you will certainly enjoy this. I am in that target audience, so, while the writing is crisp, I can't be 100% sure how someone else will read this.

The Paladin: This is a good example of what I mean. The article starts:

"Paladins have a longstanding position in the Old School Revival (OSR). From their origins in Supplement I—Greyhawk (1975) as a subclass of Fighting Man to their firm position in every edition since Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition, the paladin is a mainstay of the genre. Historically, the term paladin originates from the French Chanson de geste (song of heroic deeds) cycle as names for the twelve foremost knights of Charlemagne’s court. Appendix N includes Poul Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions, which is itself inspired by the Chanson de geste."

If you love this sort of stuff the way I do, then you will enjoy the zine. They even go so far as to remind you of the paladin in Crawl! fanzine #6 and the Paladin of Gambrinus in The Gong farmers Almanac 2017 volume 6. Because I like to include these sort of links in the Trove write-ups, it is wonderful to have that part already done for me!

This is a bit different, and is actually fully in line with the "Quest For It" ethos of Dungeon Crawl Classics. Instead of creating a new class, the author writes, "any class can devote themselves to the tenants of their faith, under the guidance of a cleric of that god. This begins with the new third level cleric spell investiture, wherein the would-be paladins carry out a quest for their god, overseen by the cleric." That is gold, to me - the idea of prestige classes from 3rd Edition carried to their logical conclusion and done right.

Cthulhu: A complete patron write-up for H.P. Lovecraft's most famous creation, including invoke patron results, Spellburn and Patron Taint tables, and three unique patron spells: Summons of the Deep, Breath of the Deep, and Form of the Deep. There are also suggestions for adding three books to your Appendix N reading list because they contain some details about Cthulhu which H.P. Lovecraft left out.

For more on Cthulhu, see the Goodman Games Gen Con 2017 Program Book, Crawl-thulhu, In the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer, Shadow Under Devil's Reef, Sanctum Secorum Episode #09 Companion: Two From H.P. Lovecraft, The Perplexing Disappearances in Brambury, The Portsmouth Mermaid, and Three Nights in Portsmouth.

Culpepper's Herbal: A fantasy version of Nicholas Culpeper's famous work (which I have on one of my bookshelves!). This installment describes adder's false tongue and aconite (or yellow wolf's bane). Included is a general description, where to find it, when it flowers, how it relates to astrology, and the potential bodily virtues of the plant (with full rules to use the plant in your game).

The Silver Ball: "Many an adventurer has run afoul of the mysterious Silver Ball, often when they least expect it. Appearing out of darkened shadows, or even mid-air, the Silver Ball does not speak, or make any sound at all. Rather it glides in silently, absorbing the adventurer into its inner volume, and then just as rapidly disappearing."

Tables are included to determine what happens when (if) the Silver Ball ejects you.

Telepathic Rat: Lots of Mutant Crawl Classics characters end up with one, but what exactly can it do? As part of the Kickstarter, Blind Visionary Publications also sent me a Telepathic Rat bookmark, which can act as a character sheet for your pet. For another take on the telepathic rat, see Check This Artifact.

Rites & Rituals Part I: “The DCC rules present spells in resplendent detail. Just prior to the spell section, there is a small passage on Ritualized magic. Here, The Dark Master clearly states that while spells presented therein can be extended in various ways (see DCC, pp.124-126), that the august tome the spells reside in do not include the “great rites and rituals of the era.” This article sketches out how rites and rituals differ from normal spells, and outlines how to present them.”

Included are the Rites of Schlag-Ruthe, which creates the means to dowse for magical power sources, and Dark Phylactery, which allows the caster to set aside parts of their soul “to ward against the death of their body”.

Onward Retainer: A cartoon by Joel Phillips, with a party named (fittingly) Fingers, Dormuth, Whizzler, and Scum.

What is the Smoking Wyrm?: In short, it is a zine that tries to follow in the footsteps of Alarums and Excursions, The Dungeoneer, Troll Crusher, Underworld Oracle, and their ilk.

Greetings morsels! Welcome to the Smoking Wyrm! Inside you will find your greatest delights and most excellent treasures! We cater to the most rarified of tastes! Most compelling of all are the stories people share while they drink deeply of our fine ales and wines. Who is here now, you ask? To the left, a rather muculent entourage yearning to share with you all extant (and some extinct!) knowledge of their fine patron who dwells deep in the sea’s abyssal depths!

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Shadow Under Devil's Reef

Shadow Under Devil's Reef is a 1st level adventure by Jon Hook. Art is by Peter Mullen (cover), Chris Arneson, Tom Galambos, Cliff Kurowski, Jesse Mohn, and Chad Sergesketter. Cartography is by Stefan Poag. The publisher is Goodman Games.

We all knew that, sooner or later, Goodman Games was going to release a module closely inspired by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, and Halloween of 2017 was the time to do it. Jon Hook, who supplied statistics for 22 Lovercraftian Monsters for Dungeon Crawl Classics in the Goodman Games Gen Con 2017 Program Book was clearly the person to do it. His adventure in that same guide, The Thing That Should Not Be, is also solidly Lovecraftian, and would be a good follow up adventure to this one when the PCs reach 3rd level.

As the cover painting makes clear, Deep Ones are involved...but they are not all that is involved. Structurally, because both adventures pay homage to The Shadow over Innsmouth, there are similarities to The Portsmouth Mermaid. These do not, in any way, hurt either adventure, and it would be perfectly feasible to run both in the same campaign. Likewise, although this was released as a Halloween module, there is no reason to wait until then to play it. It is a good adventure with solid Cthulhu mythos elements.

The perfect October release! A raging storm has made the waters around Devil’s Reef impossible to navigate safely. The noble galleon, The Royal Dawn, has run aground and Princess Kaeko from faraway Fu-Lamia is now missing! Untold riches and glory await those who successfully find the princess and safely deliver her to Black Sand Port. As the greedy and ambitious adventurers set out to find the princess, their thoughts linger on the few Royal Dawn survivors that washed up on the beach with bodies that were corrupted by strange frog-like mutations. What kind of evil awaits the adventurers on that forbidden island?

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Sanctum Secorum Episode #09 Companion: Two From H.P. Lovecraft

The Sanctum Secorum Episode #09 Companion: Two From Lovecraft was written by David Baity, Bob Brinkman, and Daniel J. Bishop. Art is by Bjarne Henning Kvaale, Joel Harlow, Mihail Bila, and Troy Tucker. The publisher is Sanctum Media. This product is produced in association with the Sanctum Secorum podcast.

This Episode Companion is based on Sanctum Secorum Episode 9: H. P. Lovecraft, which discussed Dagon and The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft. The featured adventure was The Portsmouth Mermaid by Daniel J. Bishop.

Disclosure: I wrote material for this product, and wrote the featured adventure in the podcast episode. Another adventure I wrote, Silent Nightfall, was discussed in the episode, as was material I wrote for Crawl! fanzine #11.

Within you will find:

Character Backgrounds

Born of the Old Ones: It isn't unusual in an H.P. Lovecraft story to discover that the protagonist is actually related to the monsters he encounters. This article, by Daniel J. Bishop, describes how such a relationship to the Deep Ones may play out, in particular with respect to the featured adventure for this episode. Similar tables can be devised for other creatures of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Character Classes

Deep One Hybrid: A rather neat take on a half-human, half-Deep One being, by Bob Brinkman. See also the Hybrid Character Class in Crawling Under a Broken Moon #18 for another take on this theme.

Featured Adventure

Escape from Innsmouth: A funnel adventure written by David Baity and Bob Brinkman, with cartography by David Baity, this one sees you as a Dagon-worshiping resident of Innsmouth when the neighboring villages decide to get rid of the cult. The only way to escape is to the sea.

It is suggested as a one-shot adventure, or a convention game, but I could see this being used in conjunction with the other materials in this Episode Companion to create extra characters after running The Portsmouth Mermaid or Shadow Under Devil's Reef. It could also be modified for Crawl-thulhu.

Magic Items

Crown of Dagon: Worn by the high priests of Dagon, this item is described by Bob Brinkman. It comes from the story, The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

The Monolith: An ancient, prehuman monolith described by Bob Brinkman. It comes from the story, Dagon.

Weapons

Barbed Mace: Statistics provided by Bob Brinkman.

Hooked Net: Statistics provided by Bob Brinkman.

Shell-headed Club: Statistics provided by Bob Brinkman.

As with previous Companions, this volume can help the discerning Dungeon Crawl Classics judge determine how to stat up creatures from whatever movie or literature he likes.

It's free!

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