Magic Weapons that Summon Things

Quinn Conklin came up with this delightful idea:

Arrow of Summoning I

Aura faint conjuration; CL 5th Slot none; Price 132 gp; Weight 1/10 lb

[Description] This +1 arrow is painted with an oscillating pattern of colours and has black fletching. If it strikes a foe so that it would normally deal damage, it instead conjures a creature from the summon nature’s ally l list next to the opponent. The summoned creature attacks all nearest foes until it is killed or 5 rounds elapse and it is dispelled.

[Construction] Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, summon nature’s ally I; Cost 70 gp.

The summoned creature can immediately attack, the arrow transforming into the creature, attacking and then falling away to an adjacent space to continue fighting.

I thought this was a great idea, so I wanted to do some variants of it:

April begins, Marching behind

April begins tomorrow with a day of fools, pranks not being my specialty do not expect anything clever from me.

The origin of the name of the Roman month Aprilis is unclear, it may refer to the opening (aperire) of buds and flowers as Spring arrives or to the goddess Venus, to whom it is a sacred month.   I am again doing the the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for April, theme undecided.

March, 2012, saw the following posts here:

Otherplaces – The Hall of Forgotten Heroes

The Hall of Forgotten Heroes

The massive double doors at the entrance are made of carved bronze, so heavy with verdigris that the carving are unrecognizable.  The walls and floors are dark grey stone veined with red crystal that glints like fresh blood when the light hits it.  A worn carpet, once bearing a geometric pattern, now so threadbare it is barely visible, runs down the center of the hall.  Huge columns reach up into the darkness, supporting a high roof that cannot been seen.

Along the walls are statues, hundreds of them, made of a variety of materials: stone, bronze, copper, iron, ivory, clay.  A few are composites of materials, some even wore armor or clothing.  They are of all types of people, all races, all sexes.  Nobles in full armor stand beside a common in rags with no obvious rhyme or reason.  Engraved on each of the pedestals, often hard to read in scripts and alphabets no longer common, many faded by time into near illegibility.

Short Reviews of short Mutants and Masterminds PDFs

Today, we look at some of the Threat Reports produced by Green Ronin for their Mutants & Masterminds game, each one spotlighting a single villain.  These villains are all part of the Cybertribe, a group of high tech supervilllains engaged in a shadow war with a less than nice Corporation:

Review – Emerald City Knights, Chapter 1: The Aftermath

For new heroes, and new game masters, this is a good starting point for a superheroic campaign.  This adventure is nice as it touches on all of the primary types of scenes that can be used and provides a straightforward scenario to begin a team’s career.

Emerald City Knights, Chapter 1: The Aftermath is a 17-page PDF (15-pages if you remove the cover letter and OGL page) for the Mutants & Masterminds (3rd Edition) RPG written by Christopher McGlothlin and published by Green Ronin Publishing.  This is the second part of Green Ronin’s Emerald City Knights adventure line for M&M (the first installment Chapter 0 can be acquired free).

Tuesday Magic Item – Duckling Seeds

“With these wonders, you need never fear being hungry,” the traveling magician-merchant said, displaying a handful of white seeds.  With a flourish, he tossed them into a muddy patch by the village’s pond.

Ducklings

With a popping noise, soon followed by high pitched cries, half a dozen duckling appeared in the mud patch chirping away.  The magician-merchant tossed them a handful of grain which they devoured and began casting around for their own food.  “Within a week, they will be large enough to eat.  The seed that created them will last forever as long as they are properly stored.  These six, I give to your village as a gift, the seeds will be on sale until I leave in the morning.”

Duckling Seeds

These white and brown seeds look like tiny eggs.  They are triggered by casting them onto any patch of damp ground.  They are usually kept in wax sealed jars or oilcloth bags, tied tightly shut.

The Problem of Immunity (Rules Musings)

Burn it!

It won’t burn?

What, not even magical fire?  But it is such a little monster.

In Pathfinder (like 3.x before it), there are a number of monsters, and some classes, that gain flat and total immunity to a variety of things.  This was brought back to my attention by the comments on my review of the Genius Guide to: Fire Magic and has been discussed as a problem by Sean K Reynolds (and possibly others).

Immunities are just no fun, not for the player, not for the GM, not do they make a lot sense.  Sure, the King of the Fire Elementals cannot be harmed by fire, that makes sense.  But should not a 2HD small fire element be washed away by a powerful enough gout of flame?  Cannot a creature of electricity be ionized if overwhelmed by a massive stroke of lightning?

Review – Monk Archetypes

Monk Archetypes is an excellent expansion to the options available for the monk, allowing many of the classic wushu and martial arts characters to be modeled in interesting and dynamic ways.  It does come with a slight increase in complexity and resource management for the monk, but many players will find that a small price to pay for the wushu abilities made available.

Monk Archetypes is a 29-page PDF (26-pages if you remove the cover, ad and OGL page) for Pathfinder written by Frank Carr and published by Rite Publishing.  This is part of Rite Publishing’s Jade Oath support.

Review – Genius Guide to: Fire Magic

Not enough fire magic in your campaign?  This genius guide aims to help you with that problem.  A variety of new fire-based spells and class options for all of your magical fire needs are provided within.

The Genius Guide to: Fire Magic is a 12-page PDF (11 pages if you remove the credits/OGL page) for the Pathfinder RPG written by Owen K. C. Stephens and published by Super Genius Games.  This is part of Super Genius Games’ Genius Guide line.

Review – Hope Preparatory School Student Handbook

The Hope Preparatory School Freshman Handbook is a lovely in-game artefact and a useful reference to the workings of the school.  If playing a game in this setting, the Freshman handbook will add verisimilitude to the setting or if you need a super high school to visit, take a look.

Hope Preparatory School (HPS) Freshman Handbook is a 64-page PDF (61-pages if you remove the cover, OGL pages and ad) for the Mutants & Masterminds (3rd Edition) RPG written by John Dunn and published by Melior Via, LLC.  This is part of the Melior Via’s Hope Preparatory School line.