Alchemy's Workbench #5: Hulk On Hold

Just a quick update on my little side-project of combining the Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Game System and, Space Hulk to create a truly solitaire experience in the grim darkness of a Tyranid infested hulk.

It's probably not the update that you were all looking for though.

As I have SO many projects on the go at the moment, I have decided to shelve both this and the Diablo II conversion project until a couple of others are completed and, I can give them the due attention that they both deserve.

In the short-term, I have decided that the best number of projects for me to be working on without the risk of getting hopelessly side-tracked is probably two to three. Picking the three with so many pots on the boil was a hard one though but, I have decided to run with the following:

• The Dungeon Masters Series: I'm halfway now and I have really enjoyed working on this one, so there was no way that this one was going to get put on-hold when it's running so well.

• Flashpoint: This is a project that I have had sitting around for a few months that is pretty much in it's final stages now. Unlike my other projects however, this will be a salable product that can be yours for all of a dollar.. What is it though? Oh, it's just the only set of miniatures rules you'll ever need. ;0).. And I'm looking for a distributor.

More on this one to come.

• Assorted Painting and Modeling Projects: I have a whole bunch of miniatures and terrain (some my own, some that I'm doing as favors to other folks) that I am painting up when I have some time to spare, as well as a number of models that I am building from scratch.

These represent some of the only time that I am spending away from my laptop of late, so I certainly wasn't going to can them!

That said though, I certainly intend to showcase some of my finished works here. I may even lend a helping paintbrush in the future to folks who need it (I don't charge by the way but a few miniatures thrown my way as a thank you never goes a miss. ;0))

So, that's where I stand at the moment. Lots of stuff going on to the back burner.. But only until I have time and space for them.

Where's The Doctor when you need him?

Bloggish Hall Of Fame #1: Tenkar's Tavern

There's no two ways about it. This month has been a quiet month of blogging on my part. Especially when you compare it to the somewhat staggering post count that I clocked up in the previous month.

This doesn't mean I've been resting on my laurels though. I still have plenty of projects on the go including the several I have already launched here (The Dungeon Masters Series, Converting Diablo II for fast play, The Seven Gates Elder Sign campaign, Fluxx Ups) and, a few more running in the background besides.

On top of all this prep and planning work however I have also found myself spending a lot more time reading. In particular, some of the wonderful blogs that I have come to find through my own endeavors here that I might otherwise not have known about.

Which is why I have decided to create the Bloggish Hall Of Fame feature. My chance to cast a light on some of the blogs in my feed and, give a little explanation as to why they're there. Sort of my way of saying thanks to all the guys who inspire me and, who's feed I really enjoy following.

First up on my roll of honor has to be Tenkar's Tavern.

If you are looking for a balanced and entertaining view point across a wide range of roleplaying products, I can think of few blogs that do a better job. Also, on top of the quality content there is a very personal touch that I feel pushes this blogger above and beyond many of the other folks out there writing in the same field and, personally I find great appeal in following the works of someone that is so down to earth.

This doesn't mean that the blog doesn't favor certain product groupings over others (Erik sure does love his OSR style games) but, the way I look at it is that if a blogger doesn't have a focus or a preference their writing often comes across as disingenuous.

For example, I like Tunnels and Trolls, i'm not shy about it, it's my focus but, I write about other stuff too. As it is with Erik. He really enjoys playing and writing about a whole range of OSR products but, it's not all he does and, it's not all he writes.

So if you have 5 minutes to spare and are looking for a good new read, why not go and check his blog out, you won't be disappointed.

On The Cards: Sunday 19th August

Another week of blogging nearly up and, what a week it's been.

Not only have we reached our 1,000 page view goal but, also set ourselves the new (and very ambitious goal) of 1,000,000 page views!

I know a lot of people who read that post probably sat there in disbelief for a moment or two before thinking to themselves, something along the lines of "it'll never happen".

I really believe that it can be done though. Not only can but, will be done.

Over the past couple of months we have grown substantially, going from attracting only a handful of readers everyday, to the point where we now pull in on average 40+ viewers nearly each and every day!

This figure is still growing too! So it may take a while but, 1,000,000 page views is going to happen.

I want to take this opportunity to again send out a big thank you to everyone who has popped by and made this possible, with special thanks to everyone who has shared our content with the web. There's nothing quite like Googling your work and seeing that it has spread like wildfire. :0).

So whatever next from our bag of tricks?

Well, I will be continuing with our regular features that have proved to be very popular on the world wide web including Alchemy Bytes, DMotivational and, our conversion of new material for the Diablo II Fast Play RPG. Also we'll be continuing with our new features The Aladdin's Cave and Fluxx Up's.

I also have a few other things in the works that I hope I can start rolling out over the coming week, including a new Tunnels and Trolls type with a rather original approach to combat and, many more things to boot.

On The Cards: Sunday 12th August

Well my new approach to things seems to be working from a planning point of view.

True, I haven't managed to get everything done that I wanted to but, by and large if I set out to do it, it has been done and, I still have the rest of today to boot.

Just in case though, anything that I currently have outstanding has also been penciled in for early next week so one way or another, it's certainly getting done. ;0).

Amongst my other works in progress, the Diablo II Fast Play creature conversion is also coming along nicely and, we are quite close to reaching the half-way point. I will be carrying this one on for as long as it takes and, also potentially opening up a couple of other on-going projects over the next week.

This week will should also see a tech update to the blog. Now that I am beginning to get to grips with Blogger I hope to clean up the interface a little and, add a few more user friendly features that I have seen on other blogs and, thought were nice touches.

Content wise, I will be adding a new feature, The Aladdin's Cave, posting up a few more thrift store finds that I have made over the past week and, continuing to post up more great Alchemy Bytes and DMotivationals.

As ever I will also be posting up anything that catches my gaming eye, so stay tuned and, stay frosty. :0)

Diablo II: More Monsters - Fallen One Shaman

FALLEN ONE SHAMAN

Enraged Fallen One
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (1D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

XP Value: 35.

Demented Carver
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (2D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

XP Value: 65.

Deranged Devilkin
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (3D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

If a Deranged Devilkin is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 120.

Depraved Dark One
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Staff (2D6-2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (4D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

If a Depraved Dark One is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up). 

XP Value: 270.

Warped Warped One
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 16
Primary Attack: Staff (2D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

If a Warped Warped One is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 the spell fails.

If a Warped Warped One is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 975.

Diablo II: More Monsters - Fallen One

FALLEN ONE

Fallen One
To Hit: 13
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 7.

Carver
To Hit: 13
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 5
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 7.

Devilkin
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 7
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 15.

Dark One
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 35.

Warped One
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 120. 

Diablo II: More Monsters - Counselor

COUNSELOR

Counselor
To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 18
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (7D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round a Counselor may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If a Counselor is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

If a Counselor is damaged by a lightning or fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 3,000.

Magistrate
To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 20
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (8D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round a Magistrate may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If the Magistrate is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

If a Magistrate is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Immune to fire.

XP Value: 4,000.

Cabalist
To Hit: 4
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 24
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (10D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round a Cabalist may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If the Cabalist is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

If a Cabalist is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Immune to lightning.

XP Value: 6,000.

Advocate
To Hit: 4
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 28
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (10D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round an Advocate may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If an Advocate is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Immune to lightning and mind control.

XP Value: 8,000.

On The Cards: Monday 6th August

Blogging is certainly a learning curve and, the lesson that the last week has taught me is that I and writing schedules really don't get along.

I suspect that this is in a large part due to my general disdain for deadlines. At best they are a pain and, at worst they pressure me into doing some fairly shoddy work as I rush through elements like editing and proof reading.

It's also not what this blog is about at all.

This blog is all about creativity and having an outlet for that creativity. This doesn't mean that I can't have a semblance of structure to my works however, just that declaring that I was going to convert an entire supplement in a day was probably a little bit ambitious. ;0).

My plan is still to keep all you guys in the loop though as to what you can expect to see, so going forward On The Cards is going to be more of an informal guide to what I have planned rather than the structured blow-by-blow plan of action.

So, going forward, the "plan" looks a little something like this...

I am still continuing with the conversion of the beasties for Diablo and, slowly but surely we are getting there. All being well, we should be roughly at the half-way point with them by the end of the week.

The trollish content will be thick and fast this week as I take a look at the latest products hitting the market, share my view on a more flexible means of character creation, review the next copy of Elder Tunnels in my collection and, compare Tunnels and Trolls to it's sister game Monsters! Monsters!

On the board game front I hope to be taking a look Relic, opening (finally) my copy of Fortress America and, sharing a couple of interesting reviews from around the web with my take on matters.

I have also downloaded my prizes from the contest over at Tenkar's Tavern this morning so hopefully I will have time to read through and possibly review those this week.

On top of all of this, I still have tons and TONS of content in the pipeline, so be sure to check on by on a regular basis and, most of all, enjoy your gaming. :0).

Diablo II: More Monsters - Corrupt Rogue

CORRUPT ROGUE

Dark Hunter
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6 Damage)

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 35.

Vile Hunter

To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6 Damage)

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 65.

Dark Stalker

To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10
Primary Attack: Spear (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6+1 Damage)

Special Rules: If a Dark Stalker is damaged by a poison attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 175.

Black Rogue

To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Spear (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6+1 Damage)

Special Rules: If a Black Rogue is damaged by a poison attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 650.

Flesh Hunter

To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Spear (1D6+9 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6+9 Damage)

Special Rules: If a Flesh Hunter is damaged by a poison attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Damage from physical attacks dealt to a Flesh Hunter is reduced by 2.

XP Value: 3,000.

Diablo II: More Monsters - Blood Hawk

BLOOD HAWK

Foul Crow
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Foul Crow hits on a 11+ and deals +2 damage.

XP Value: 35.

Blood Hawk
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Blood Hawk hits on a 11+ and deals +2 damage.

XP Value: 65.

Black Raptor
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 13
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Black Raptor hits on a 9+ and deals +2 damage.

XP Value: 175.

Cloud Stalker
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 14
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Cloud Stalker hits on a 7+ and deals +2 damage.

If a Cloud Stalker is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

If a Cloud Stalker is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 270.

Diablo II: More Monsters - Bat Demon

BAT DEMON

Desert Wing
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 65.

Fiend
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6-2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: If the Fiend is attacks, "to hit" rolls against it next round gain a +2 bonus.

XP Value: 175.

Blink Bat
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Blink. If hit, roll 1D6 before rolling for damage. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals no damage.

XP Value: 270.

Gloom
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 14
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack from a Gloom hits on a 7+.

If a Gloom is attacked with a missile weapon, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -2 penalty.

XP Value: 650.

Blood Diver
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 16
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Drain (2D6+2 Damage)

Special Rules: Drain. The drain attack reduces the targets Strength by 1 for 2D6-2 rounds if successful.

If a Blood Diver is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or a 2, that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 1,400.

Dark Familiar
To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 20
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Shocking Grasp (1D6+2 Lightning Damage)

Special Rules: If a Dark Familiar is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

If a Dark Familiar is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 the spell fails.

XP Value: 2,000.

Diablo Day: A Day Just Wasn't Enough

That has to be the understatement of the day!

When I set out typing all of this up, I figured that I would have it all covered long before the day was out. Boy was I ever wrong. Diablo by name, Diablo by nature.

This has turned into a beast of a project. There's still a load of monsters to convert, weapons, spells, skill trees... The list goes on. But it can be done and, I am far from beat.

It's just a battle for another day. So, it looks like Talisman Thursday is being put on-hold for a week or two. Fluxx Friday too. Instead I will be focusing on the Diablo Fast Play game this week and seeing just how much we can milk it for.

Diablo Day: More Monsters - Balrog

BALROG

Slayer
To Hit: 4
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 24
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (2D6+2 Damage / 2D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Slayer is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Slayer is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 8,000.

Guardian
To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1.
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 26
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (2D6+4 Damage / 2D6+4 Damage)

Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Guardian is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Guardian is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 10,000.

Vortex Lord
To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1.
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 28
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (2D6+6 Damage / 2D6+6 Damage)

Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Vortex Lord is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Vortex Lord is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 11,000.

Balrog

To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1.
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 34
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (3D6+6 Damage / 3D6+6 Damage)

Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Balrog is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Balrog is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 14,000.

Diablo Day: More Monsters - Acid Beast

Throughout the day I will be posting up more and more monsters for your Diablo II Fast Play game, as I convert them. Unfortunately the Internet is being pretty stingy when it comes to pictures of these critters, offering little of any use.

So if you're reading this and you have a great piece of Diablo fan art that you'd like to share, now would be a great time to pitch in.

ACID BEAST

Acid Beast
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10 
Primary Attack: Acid (2D6-1 Acid Damage) 
Secondary Attack: Spit Acid (2D6-2 Acid Damage)

Special Rules: If the Acid beast successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Acid Beast's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

Immune to Acid.  

XP Value: 270.

Poison Spitter

To Hit: 10 

# of Attacks: 1 

HP: 12 

Primary Attack: Poison (3D6-2 Poison Damage) 

Secondary Attack: Spit Poison (2D6 Poison Damage) 

Special Rules: If the Poison Spitter successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Poison Spitter's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

Immune to Poison. 

XP Value: 420.

Pit Beast 
To Hit: 8 
# of Attacks: 1  
HP: 14 
Primary Attack: Acid (3D6+1 Acid Damage) 
Secondary Attack: Spit Acid (2D6+2 Acid Damage)

Special Rules: If the Pit beast successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Pit Beast's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

If the Pit Beast is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 the spell fails.

Immune to Acid.

XP Value: 1,400.

Lava Maw 
To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1. 
# of Attacks: 1  
HP: 24 
Primary Attack: Lava (3D6+4 Lava Damage) 
Secondary Attack: Spit Lava (2D6+4 Lava Damage)

Special Rules: If the Lava Maw successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Lava Maw's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

If the Lava Maw is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 7,000.

Alchemy Bytes #7: One Mans Trash Is Another Mans Plans For World Domination

Another awesome video from Dorkly. This one is a little more bloody though so if you're at all squeamish, you may want to give it a miss.

Alchemy Bytes #6: Location, Location, Location

 
If you like this video why not check out more excellent gaming humor over at Dorkly.

Diablo Day: A Ground Breaking D&D Release... That You've Probably Never Heard Of

Fast-Play Goodness

Diablo II is arguably one of the greatest PC titles ever to be coded and, Dungeons and Dragons the best know roleplaying game ever to be written. So what do you get when you cross these two leviathans of their respective fields and give it away for free?

Yet another gem doomed to relative obscurity it would seem.

This is probably in no small part due to the sheer volume of roleplaying products now available freely on the Internet. It's very easy for such a small release, even of such a major brand, to get lost in the crowd and, Wizards did very little to prevent this.

It's a shame really as this is not only a nice little standalone product but, also a bit of a Pandora's Box...

Despite being clearly advertised as a "Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Game" product on the front cover, there's not a funny shaped dice in sight. Now a Dungeons and Dragons product running purely on D6 is nothing short of an oddity in itself (especially in this D20 day and age) but, a little further investigation uncovers something that can only be described as epic!

When compared to the other Diablo / Dungeons and Dragons crossover products available, it becomes clear quite quickly that the fast play rules have been cut from the same pattern as the small Diablo II boxed set, which in turn was based upon AD&D 2nd edition.

So what you have here is more than just a freebie. It's a completely new take on the D&D system from Wizards themselves! In my opinion this is nothing short of ground breaking and, certainly deserving of more attention than it has received, Diablo or no Diablo.

What makes this discovery so important however has to be the timing.

This whole system uses AD&D 2nd edition as a foundation and, AD&D has just been re-released! In real terms this means that there is likely to be a massive nostalgic surge in the number of AD&D players out there. One that Wizards is unlikely to miss cashing in on.

So we should certainly expect more products in the range and, probable re-releases of many of the classics. All of which can be easily converted for play with the "Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Game"... Which really needs re-branding, renaming  and, knocking into production.

Stay tuned into Diablo Day as we continue our exploration of this forgotten system and I answer what seems to be the most popular forum request surrounding it.

More monsters!

Links

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On The Cards: Sunday 29th July

Well, the week of the troll was a resounding success and, I feel that this blog is going from strength to strength.

Not only are we getting more views but, I'm also getting more organized. Work may still interfere (doesn't it always) with what I have planned for posting next week but, here's what I have in store for you all so far...

Tuesday: Diablo Day

A first look at the pencil and paper Diablo II roleplaying game freely available from Wizards of the Coast, comparing it to the other "pay to play" versions out there and, some of my own observations that will allow you to take it further without spending a dime.

I have seen a great deal of call for this in various forums, so I will be sharing my conversion notes in brief.

As a teaser however, I will say that given that the Diablo II fast play game was based upon the AD&D 2nd Edition release of the rules, the conversion notes make it perfectly possible to play the latter with only D6. Yup, that's right, D&D with nothing more than D6!

Also throughout the day I will be throwing in a few Diablo related Alchemy Bytes.

Thursday: Talisman Thursday

I've been finding myself more and more drawn towards Talisman of late, so Talisman Thursday will be more about my exploration of the game, than the game itself.

I'll be taking a look at the revised 4th Edition characters in the base game to see just how well they fare, exploring sources for new potential characters and, taking a gander at the rumors surrounding Relic.

Friday: Fluxx Friday

Amazingly the other night I actually met not one but, two people that were unable to wrap their heads around the concept of Fluxx, arguably one of the easiest games to learn (well beyond Tic-Tac-Toe) in the world!

As a result I will be posting up a short quickstart guide, along with a short post about customizing your game. I might even post up the "Plain English is Ambiguous" variant that the folks I ran into seemed to like to play with.

On The Cards: Monday 16th July

On the cards is going to be my weekly news bulletin that that I hope to be posting up every Monday, showcasing the posts and topics I want to be covering in the coming week.

It's by no means a "to do" list (well until I get more organized at any rate) but, if you see something in the post that you like drop me a comment and i'll try and get it out a little quicker.

On the cards this week:

Quickstart: Mijnlieff
Play Report: Mjinlieff
First Look: Claustrophobia
Review: Fluxx

There are also a couple of other items that may get posted up that I have in the works if time permits (First Look: Project Pandora, First Look: Diablo II Fast Play Edition, Homebrew: Expanding Diablo II Fast Play) but, as this week is already set to be commitment heavy (lots of odd hours at work) these may have to go on the back burner for a week or two.