The Shadow of Sadness

 When a knight fails during a sworn quest their shadow is the last vestige of their soul to chained to the mundane plane in the form of a Woe Knight, the shadow is usually tethered to the spot the knight faced their greatest failure. The longer a Woe Knight lingers the further the influence of their anguish will spread, initially the effect will only cover a radius of 100 feet but if left unresolved over a century it could spread to encompass an entire kingdom.

 If a Woe Knight is defeated in combat it reappears the next dusk, only by identifying the knight's original quest and rectifying their failure as best as possible can the soul be given a final peace allowing the land to heal. Treasure and XP should only be awarded once the knight's soul has been given eternal rest.

Woe Knight

Armour Class    2 [17]

Hit Dice    5** (22hp)

Attacks    1 × weapon (1d6 + energy drain)

THAC0    16 [+3]

Movement 60’ (20’)

Saving Throws D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (5)

Morale 12

Alignment    Lawful

XP 425

Number Appearing    1

Treasure Type    B

Energy drain: As a Wight

Immunity: Cannot be harmed by mundane attacks.

Unaffected: Sleep and Charm spells do not affect this creature.

 Generate the location of the Woe Knight, the nature of their quest, the reason for their failure, how the effect of their sadness permeates the land and a near by item which could give a clue to the knight's identity using the table below.

D6	Location	Quest	Failure	Effect	Clue
1	Battlefield	Destroy	Bravery	Anxiety	Helm
2	Chapel	Protect	Faith	Cold	Letter
3	Road	Recover	Humility	Decay	Necklace
4	Ruin	Rescue	Judgement	Emptiness	Ring
5	Tomb	Slay	Knowledge	Hopelessness	Scabbard
6	Wilderness	Stop	Strength	Lethargy	Shield

Knock! Issue 5

 Big surprise, I'm included in issue 5 of Knock! magazine! Get in while the kickstarter is hot!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/896102915/knock-issue-5

If you have eagle eyes you might even spot my pieces in the preview video!!!

Spy (New class)

 A new class that might work best for NPCs, the spy! This is first draft material.

Spy

Requirements: Minimum CHA 9, DEX 9

Prime requisite: INT

Hit Dice: 1d4

Maximum level: 14

Armour: Leather only, no shields

Weapons: Dagger, club.

Languages: Alignment, Common, Code.

Code

All spies know one code which they made use to encode and decode messages. From 4th level they have an 80% chance to understand other codes given an appropriate amount of research time for the difficulty of the code.

Disguise

Spies have the same disguise ability as the Assassin class.

Extra languages

Spies gain an extra languages as they advance in the same manner as the Bard class.

Spy skills

Spies have the same Climb Surfaces, Hear Noise, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently and Pick Pockets skills as a thief of the same level.

After Reaching 9th Level

 A spy who has reached 9th level may establish a spy guild attracting 2d6 level one spies to work for them.

Spies use the thief progression table.

Monsters of the Shadow Realm Part 3

 Shadow Spider

Dark creatures that hide in black webs.

AC 6 [13] 

HD 6** (27hp) 

Att 1 × bite (1d6 + poison) 

THAC0 14 [+5]

MV 60’ (20’) / 150’ (50’) in webs 

SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (3)

ML 8

AL Neutral

XP 725 

NA 1d4 (2d6)

TT E

* Mundane damage immunity: Can only be harmed by magical attacks.

* Poison: Causes death in one turn (save with a -2 penalty), dead creatures rise as a shadow.

* Surprise: on a 1-5.

* Webs: Creatures caught in webs become entangled and unable to move. Breaking free depends on Strength: 2d4 turns for strength in the normal human range; 4 rounds for strength above 18; 2 rounds for creatures with giant strength. Webs can only be destroyed by bright light or magical weapons. 

Monsters of the Shadow realm part 2

 Dodwrynos the Nightbringer, true shadow dragon

Armour Class    -2 [21]

Hit Dice    9+1** (49hp)

Attacks    [2 × claw (1d4), 1 × bite (3d4)] or breath

THAC0    11 [+8]

Movement    90’ (30’) / 240’ (80’) flying

Saving Throws    D8 W9 P10 B10 S12 (9)

Morale    10

Alignment    Chaotic

XP    2300

Number Appearing    1

Treasure Type    H

Breath weapon: Cloud of darkness.

Language and spells: 90%; 4 × 1st level, 4 x 2nd level.

Sleeping: 50% in daylight, 10% otherwise.

Hiding: Shadow dragons have a 5-in-6 chance to hide in shadows.

Woe Knight

Remains of the soul of a knight who failed to complete their quest trapped on the mundane plane in shadow form until their quest is completed. Often tied to a specific location such as where the knight fell or was interned. If a Woe Knight is killed it reappears the next dusk, can only be freed by completing the knight's quest.

Armour Class    2 [17]

Hit Dice    5** (22hp)

Attacks    1 × weapon (1d6 + energy drain)

THAC0    16 [+3]

Movement 60’ (20’)

Saving Throws D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (5)

Morale 12

Alignment    Lawful

XP 425

Number Appearing    1

Treasure Type    E

Energy drain: A successfully hit target permanently loses one experience level (or Hit Die). This incurs a loss of one Hit Die of hit points, as well as all other benefits due to the drained level (e.g. spells, saving throws, etc.). A character’s XP is reduced to the lowest amount for the new level.

Mundane damage immunity: Only harmed by magic attacks.

Spell immunity: Unaffected by charm and sleep spells.

Monsters of the shadow realm (part 1?)

Shadow Dragon 

Armour Class    -2 [21]

Hit Dice    6+1** (31hp)

Attacks    [2 × claw (1d4), 1 × bite (3d4)] or breath

THAC0    14 [+5]

Movement    90’ (30’) / 240’ (80’) flying

Saving Throws    D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (6)

Morale    9

Alignment    Chaotic

XP    725

Number Appearing    1d2 (1d2)

Treasure Type    H

Breath weapon: Cloud of darkness.

Language and spells: 90%; 3 × 1st level.

Sleeping: 50% in daylight, 10% otherwise.

Hiding: Shadow dragons have a 5-in-6 chance to hide in shadows.

Gloom Steel

 The native metal of the shadow plane. Gloom steel is a dull grey in appearance and does not reflect light. If transported to another plane then gloom steel will shatter when exposed to sunlight. Counts as a magical weapon against creatures from the shadow plane or that are made of shadow.