Crypts and Cryts by Claytonian of killitwithfireRPG with nods to Crypts & Things & the  OSR

Barbarian        Sorceror        Mercenary        Tomb Raider        Comments

STR        d24                d20                d24                d20                STR die+BAB is rolled to make melee attacks.

DEX        d20                d20                d20                d24                           DEX die+BAB is rolled for ranged attacks.

CON        d30                d20                d20                d16                CON die sides/2=life’s blood (base health).

SAN        d20                d16                d20                d24                           SAN is used to sense, forage, and parlay.

INT        d16                d24                d20                d20                INT is also used to cast spells; don’t roll a 1!        

LUK        8pts                10pts                12pts                14pts                           LUK can be burned, but doesn't regen, unlike HP.

THRW        14-lvl                15-lvl                13-lvl                12-lvl                THRW is a number to roll at or over to do things.

HD        d12                       d6                        d10                       d8                             HP=Hit Protection. 1st lvl is max. Burnable.

ABIL        Rip and Tear        Spells                Maneuvers        Skullduggery        HP regenerates 1 per hour of rest.

Quote        Yawp!                Tekeli-li!        Shit. Run!        ♪Cha-ching!            AC can be raised from 10 by wearing armor.

BAB        +1                +0                +1                +0                BAB=Base Attack Bonus on to-hit rolls.

The sales pitch for this RPG

Combat checks need to be made vs your foe’s AC (crits always pass). If you have a BAB, you get to add that to the t0-hit roll too. Baddies’ # of HD is their BAB; their THRW # is always 10.

Normal Damage is done to a foe’s Hit Protection. Anyone who runs out of HP takes damage to their life’s blood (their base health) instead. Zero LB= dead.

Crit Damage is done when you roll a natural 20, 24, 30, 36 or backstab to hit, and goes directly to a foe’s Life's Blood.

Initiative is d6 vs d6 for each side, not character. Tied initiative means simultaneous actions.

Rip and Tear gives barbarians +1 to hit and damage for each damage instance they have dealt or received this battle.

Spells can be performed only by sorcerers, who have access to 4 random incantations at first level, by passing an INT throw. Each casting—successful or not—weighs the caster down with virtual weight slots till dawn. White spells give one slot-burden when cast, grays give two, and black give three (failures of any equal one slot of burden). Reversed/altered versions spells are cast with disadvantage until they are cast 5 times this way.

Maneuvers allow a mercenary to do stunts when they exceed their foe’s AC. There is a list of stunts later in this work, each stunt has a cost listed, and you can buy one stunt per successful hit. Stunts can also be improvised by negotiating costs with the Crit Master.

Skullduggery grants tomb raiders an advantage to rolls involving cunning things like skulking, dungeoneering, sensing danger, finding secret doors, legerdemain, &c.
Roll a background, make memory-bonds, and name your berserk button.

Backgrounds are below. Roll a d24 for the first person. They have that event and it becomes checked off, unavailable to anyone else. Then the next person rolls a d6 and checks off an event that many spaces down, and so on. If you exhaust the list, roll back to the start.

Memory-bond: When your character enters the party, choose another PC and say how you know them. This will set you both up to have another background, and you will both have advantage or bonus concerning it. For instance, “Hey, you are that dwarf I saw kill three men while naked. I was the cop that had to tackle you.” The CM might give advantage to unarmed combat to the dwarf player, and give you a BAB, or they might come with any number of ideas, using the backgrounds section as a touchstone. Note the player who you force a memory on can claim you are crazy, mistaken, or lying if you have broken their perfect snowflake of a backstory.

Idea examples (switch pronouns as needed):

Choose a berserk button: There is one thing you can’t stand to see. Maybe it’s puppy kicking, theft, or abandonment. If you see that thing happening, you should get angry and act with righteous fury. If you do a good job, maybe the CM will even give you a Luck point (players that try to game the system should be ignored for choosing something stupid like “I hate it when people breathe too loud.”).

God Has Gotta Be One of My Top Genders: Name a god or credo that your character buys into. The gods mostly don't listen to prayers, so don't feel like the CM is beholden to answer them..

Barbarian        Sorceror        Mercenary        Tomb Raider        Comments

STR        d24                d20                d24                d20                STR die+BAB is rolled to make melee attacks.

DEX        d20                d20                d20                d24                           DEX die+BAB is rolled for ranged attacks.

CON        d30                d20                d20                d16                CON die sides/2=life’s blood (base health).

SAN        d20                d16                d20                d24                           SAN is used to sense, forage, and parlay.

INT        d16                d24                d20                d20                INT is also used to cast spells; don’t roll a 1!        

LUK        8pts                10pts                12pts                14pts                           LUK can be burned, but doesn't regen, unlike HP.

THRW        14-lvl                15-lvl                13-lvl                12-lvl                THRW is a number to roll at or over to do things.

HD        d12                       d6                        d10                       d8                             HP=Hit Protection. 1st lvl is max. Burnable.

ABIL        Rip and Tear        Spells                Maneuvers        Skullduggery        HP regenerates 1 per hour of rest.

Quote        Yawp!                Tekeli-li!        Shit. Run!        ♪Cha-ching!            AC can be raised from 10 by wearing armor.

BAB        +1                +0                +1                +0                BAB=Base Attack Bonus on to-hit rolls.

Stunts allowed by the Maneuvers ability

(*=can be bought more than once).

Cost        Effect

1*: Push, pull, or knock away a melee foe one hex. Anyone knocked off a ledge can throw DEX to grab it.

1*: Your side has +1d for the next init roll.

1: Double the AC bonus granted by your shield for one round.

2*: Deal an extra dmg on a non-critical hit.

2: Knock a foe supine; they grant attackers advantage to hit till they get back up.

2: Raise your AC by 2 until your next turn.

2: Disarm foe if they can’t pass a DEX throw.

2: If you have an off-hand weapon, roll it for either extra dmg or to raise your AC until your next turn by a roll of its dmg number.

2*: Disrupt a spellcaster; if they attempt to cast anything between now and the end of their next turn, they have to throw with -2 per times you purchased this to do so.

2: Activate your signature weapon[1]. You have +1 to hit and dmg with it this battle (you can buy further bonuses with this stunt on subsequent rounds).

3: Swashbuckle, getting +1 BAB and +1 AC as long as you have a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. This stance ends with the battle.

3*: Convert 1 dmg to foe’s LB instead of HP.

5*: Deal an extra d6 dmg.

5: Roll a STR throw, modified by foe’s HD, to deal a mighty punch that will KO creatures that have mundane physiology and no helm.

10:        Gain d4 LUK permanently (until you fritter it away).

Foe’s HD in SP: Get someone’s attention so an ally can attempt a backstab (backstab damage is critical).

All fun and games until someone fumbles an eye

If a monster rolls a 1 on an attack, one PC within range can roll a free attack attempt on it, and what’s more, if that free attack is a crit the PC will deal a wound to the monster as per the below sub-table.

If a PC rolls a 1 on an attack, the following table can be used:

  1. Your foe gets a free attack roll on you. If they roll a crit on that attack, you take the wound from the following table addition to any damage:
  1. Lose an eye or ear.
  2. Lose fingers, toes, or teeth.
  3. Lose a limb.
  4. Gut, lung, or heart wound, dooming you to death in LVL hours barring miracle.
  5. Disfigurement (nose lost, &c) or derangement (-1 to SAN rolls).
  6. KOed and gurgling your own vomit (roll CON or die, as head-trauma ain’t no joke).
  1. You damage your weapon, shield, armor, or helm. If you damage an already damaged item, it breaks.
  2. You drop your weapon d6 yards in a random direction.
  3. You trip, landing in a prone or supine position that gives advantage to attacks on you.
  4. You get hurt, taking d3 dmg.
  5. You grant the enemy a d12 init die for next round.

Misc rules you already forgot

Light sources all simultaneously go out after one hour of IRL game time. There is little point in having more than one light lit at a time unless you want the freedom to split the party.

If you fire at an enemy near your ally and miss, you will hit the ally instead, doing d4 dmg. If you try to fire at or melee an enemy latched onto or grappling an ally, you will hit your friend for d4 damage if you miss. If you rolled a 1 to hit, you damage your ally’s LB!

If you spend a turn aiming, you can roll to shoot with advantage to the to-hit roll. Disadvantage and advantage cancel each other out.

Stunts can only be done by Mercenaries? Well, yes, but no. If you want to do something flashy, you can try throwing the dice to do so, it just will be separate from an attack action. Mercenaries do stunts as part of an attack. Anybody, including mercenaries, can use their action in a round to attempt a mighty deed or clever feint.

Anyone can spend Luck/HP on their side's initiative die.

Starting spells

To cast a spell, roll your INT die vs [your THRW # minus your level]. A 1 should be a disaster. A failure gives one slot of encumbrance. Passing gives you encumbrance too. You can twist a spell to an unlisted use by throwing at disadvantage. If you have done this five non-frivolous times, you no longer need to throw with disadvantage; you've mastered the spell in that respect.

White spells that may be known at first level

White spells give you one encumbrance slot when successful cast, but failure also means one slot of encumbrance.

  1. Lay on Hands: Lvl+d6 HP healing to a touched target. This ends your turn and leaves you vulnerable (grant advantage to hit).
  2. Good Boy: Charm a mundane beast for LVL hrs. Once you have cast this on 20 beasts of significant power (big, wild creatures that can harm you), you become a non-target for all mundane beasts you leave alone.
  3. Detect Evil: Smell murders or black spells cast that happened within LVL days on hands of those present. If you cast this in the presence of 20 different people, you can tell all recent sins with a casting. 40 people later and you can cast this to force all present to only speak truth for LVL minutes.
  4. Detect Dweomer: If an item or creature is enchanted, it glows to you. LVL minutes duration. Once you have found 20 magic arms or talismans, you can cast to tell the properties of magic items you see.
  5. Light: You glow for one IRL hour. After casting this in 10 dungeons, you gain the ability to cast this spell once a day without a throw or encumbrance.
  6. Purify Victuals: Make LVL objects safe to consume, free of contagions or poison. Cast on 10 suspicious meals and this spell can cure poisoned people.
  7. Read: Make any text decipherable to your eyes. Once you have cast this spell 20 times and consumed 20 magic librams, you gain the ability to speak an ancient or supernatural language. I

Grey spells that may be known at first level

Gray spells give two slots of encumbrance when successfully cast.

  1. Cast the Bones: Get an answer to a question, in the form of a cryptic clue. Once you have cast this spell 20 different days, you learn the spell Call Upon the Norns.
  2. Shadow-bind: One target is bound in place, with -2 AC. You must throw each round to keep the bindings in place. This spell does not work on creatures with no shadow, such as vampires.
  3. Hodor: A door is held fast. The barrier has LVL in HP, 10+LVL AC, and LVL dmg reduction.
  4. Manifest: Create an item without moving parts that weighs up to LVL2 pounds. It lasts until you cast this spell again.
  5. Fix: An item is restored to its former state. Once you have cast this spell 20 times, you gain the ability to use psychometry on any object by making a SAN throw.
  6. Sleep: Roll an INT throw vs each of up to LVL targets, HD. Each passed throw=that target passes out till roused.
  7. Voyance: Sense unknown things through up to LVL feet of material. Sense known things up to LVL leagues away. Choose one sense for the casting. If you sense something overwhelming, such as lava, you will need to make a SAN check vs fainting, but a 1=your death from shock!
  8. Word of Buoyancy: Cast to remove LVL×5 feet from a fall of yourself or a target, to float without effort in water even in armor, or to hover LVL feet in one direction. You can roll a throw each round to will more movement in one direction. You learn The Telekinetic Gesture if you cast this on ten people.

Black spells that may be known at first level

Black spells give three slots of encumbrance when successfully cast, unless you have a sapient ritual sacrifice handy.

  1. Wrack: Do LVL2 subdual dmg to one target in sight.
  2. Control Person: Make a sapient humanoid follow a non-sexual instruction for LVL hours or till done. When they finish, you may instruct them further if you can make a SAN throw.
  3. Hex: Roll d6+LVL and choose a foe. Apply the sum as penalty points to any rolls they make, doleing them as you see fit, until you have used them up.
  4. Screaming Skull: Choose up to LVL targets. You can assign d4 exploding damage dice against each one until you have rolled LVL in d4s.
  5. Tyrant’s Glare: Adv if you cast Wrack first. Force one target into surrendering. If your allies threaten it, it will try to escape. If you harm the target, the spell breaks.
  6. Brain Laser: Target takes LVL subdual dmg and has disadvantage to SAN throws.
  7. Come, My Child: Summon forth an abomination, birthed from a normal human corpse. It has your LVL in LB/HD, 0 HP, and AC 12. Once you have cast this spell 20 times, start adding your level in HP and AC to subsequently created childer.
  8. Hoarfrost Grasp: Touched target takes 1d6 cold damage and is covered in paralytic rime (STR throw to break free). For every 20 times you have cast this spell on different targets, you gain d6 damage resistance vs cold sources.

Leveling

When the party has blown a fortune (all their cash) on carousing, they may level. Each class rolls 2d8 to see what benefit they get in addition to increased HP.

Barbarian 2d8 level up roll:

2: +2 to CON and HD throws. +1d12 LUK points.

3: +1 to CON, HD, and mental/fear throws.

4-5: +1 die size to your side's initiative rolls.

6-7: +1 to sense danger and DEX throws.

8-10: +1 BAB. Yawp!

11-12: +2 to bushcraft and tracking throws.

13: +2 to willpower throws, +1dmg.

14-15: +1 to STR and CON throws, +1 dmg.

16: +1 to CON throws, +1 dmg, +1 BAB.

Sorcerer 2d8 level up roll:

2: +2 to spell-throws, and a mutation.

3-4: Advantage with and against one spell of your choice.

5-6: +1 to DEX  and spell throws, a mutation.

7-9: Realize a new spell formula at random, or learn one that you’ve plundered.

10-11: d6 arcane points, which can be spent on a spell’s throw or to soak spell damage.

12-13: +2 to INT throws, a mutation.

14-15: +1 to INT throws, ignore one slot of spell weight[2].

16: +1 BAB.

Mercenary 2d8 level up roll:

2: +1 STR throws, +1 BAB, one extra weapon specialization.

3-4: d4 points[3] rolled at the start of any battle to be used as stunt points or as LUK on attack and dmg rolls.

5-7: +2 BAB.

8-11: +1 BAB.

12: +1 AC, crit range grows by one.

13: 1 extra stunt point earned when any are.

14-15: +2 unarmed and improvised damage, +3 BAB when punching.

16: +2 STR throws, crit range grows by 1.

Tomb Raider 2d8 level up roll:

2: +1 to all skullduggery throws.

3-4: On a successful ambush-hit, get+1 dmg & deal KO dmg directly to foe's CON  (like a crit).

5-6: +1 to DEX throws.

7-8: THRW number lowered by 1.

9-11: +d6 LUK points.

12-13: +1 to a skill you have or make up.

14-15: +1 BAB, +1 dagger damage, and dagger dmg dice henceforth explode for you.

16: +d20 LUK points.

Swoll Dice from Big Levels

Levels that are a multiple of five are quite the achievement! If you survive that long, grow one of your dice one size (d16»d20» d24»d30»d36»d60»d120).

Did Someone Say Wizard Mutations?

When leveling, if a sorcerer did not roll a mutation result, they still may elect to roll one to get d6 LUK.  If there is some option in a mutation, think about how corrupt (given to casting black spells) the wizard is, and flavor it accordingly.

Level Two Mutations (d8): 1) Weird eye color, number, irises, &c; 2) antennae or feelers; 3) scales; 4) unable to handle cold iron without pain; 5) strange tongue; 6) can see ghosts (victims?) everywhere; 7) horns; 8) unnatural voice.

Level Three Mutations (d8): 1) Animals react dramatically to you; 2) certain holy symbols now drive you back; 3) pineal gland grows an extra-skullular tentacle; 4) extra face grows somewhere; 5) eye-stalks; 6) cold iron causes 1 dmg when touched; 7) mouth drips a substance, 8) something from level 2.

Level Four Mutations (d8): 1) Special diet necessary; 2) wings; 3) beast-feet; 4) hollow bones; 5) sigil of chaos branded into neck; 6) strange growths; 7) prehensile something grows; 8) something from level three.

Level Five Mutations (d8): 1) Your reflection is strange; 2) whenever you cast a spell, some aspect of it lingers on your person like a minor cantrip; 3) someone uttering your birth name paralyzes you for a round; 4) you need to touch a dead hand to cast spells now; 5) animal head, 6) slimy skin secretions; 7) beastial (dangerous to allies) transformation in the absence of light; 8) a level four mutation.

Level Six Mutations (d8): 1) You take double damage from cold, but half from heat; 2) Direct sunlight burns you; 3) when you cast spells, throw or cast a random spell instead; 4) you can mind meld (it takes a few minutes); 5) every time you roll a 13, you expectorate a frog; 6) you need exotic materials to heal naturally; 7) when you cast a spell, if you roll a 1; you morph into a rampant beast until you can make an INT throw; 8) some level five mutation.

Level Seven or higher mutations (d8): 1) You are straight up inhuman looking[4], 2) eyes where they should not be; 3) have to soften food by spewing acid on it first; 4) you cannot cross lines of salt or silver; 5) giants don’t attack you if you don’t attack them, but all beasts consider you a prime target; 6) you need to store your soul in an object; 7) librams no longer are enough for you and so you have to get new spells by consuming the brains of other wizards; 8) two lower level mutations.

Gear

Each character can carry STR die sides/2 slots of item weight without issue. Disadvantage starts to accumulate for every five slots used beyond that.

Collectively, your tools and such weigh one slot for every ten of them you have. Coins are big cartoony things that weigh one slot per 100 coins. Weapons and armor have listed weights.

Each PC starts with [[3d6*10] coin, and may purchase non-weapon adventuring items for one coin each, unless you want something fancy like steel or silver.

Weapons are listed as name, damage, Weight, cost in Gold, and signature stunt cost in stut points and effect (only Mercenaries can do stunts).

  1. Battle Ax (2-handed): d8, two slots, 5G, 3sp to sunder a shield.
  2. Bastard Sword: d8 or d8+1 if using a two-handed grip, one slot, 20G.
  3. Bow (2-handed): d6, one slot, 15G, ammo costs 2G per bundle of 20 arrows that collectively weigh one slot, 3sp to pin a target's clothes to the wall.
  4. Club: d4, one slot, 0G, 5sp to break a bone.
  5. Crossbow: d5, one slot, 15G, ammo costs 3G per bundle of 20 bolts that collectively weigh 1 slot.
  6. Dagger: d4 melee or ranged, can carry 5 per weight slot, 2G.
  7. Foot fist way: d3 dmg. Punching is free, yo.
  8. Improvised weapons: d3 damage.
  9. Kunai: d3, ranged, can carry 10 per weight slot, 1G, 2SP to pull out previously thrown kunai for 1LB loss.
  10. Longsword: d8, one slot, 15G.
  11. Mace: d6+1,  two slots, 10G, 2sp* to convert a point of HP dmg to Crit dmg.
  12. Spiked Club: d4 or d4+1 if using a two-handed grip, one slot, 5G, 2sp per point of dmg to deal it to LB.
  13. Short Spear: d6 melee or ranged, two slots, 4G
  14. Short Sword: d6, one slot, 8G, 1sp to make a secondary attack with a light, offhand weapon using a d16+BAB to hit.
  15. Staff, d4 or d6 if using a two-handed grip, can be in hand when casting a spell (leaving the other hand free for a lantern, sword &c), two slots, 1G.
  16. Tomahawk: d6 melee or ranged, one slot, 1G.
  17. Warhammer: d4+1, one slot, adv vs heavily armored foes 5G.
  18. Zweihander (2-handed sword): d10, three slots, 20GP, 1sp to cleave into a second foe if your blow killed the first–d0es d3 dmg per three levels.

Armor is added to the base AC score of 10 that most everything has, and DEX does not play a role in the final AC sum.

Weight and movement

If you carry up to 10 weight slots, you can move at a rate or 12 hexes per round. From 11 to 15 slots, your speed goes down to 8. 16-20 slots=6. 21-25 slots (the max)=3. You will likely get hit with disadvantage for certain actions when weighed down heavily.

The Better Part of Valor

Disengaging from combat is usually risk free, without chance of an “opportunity attack” or “withdrawal rules,” because players should run away whenever possible to preserve their PC’s fragile lives. However, foes may chase you. If so, roll a d20+a dx, where x is the number of hexes you could move in a round as described above, and they will roll the same. If they roll equal to or higher than you, they catch up that round and may add in an attack. If you evade a chasing foe twice in a row, you have probably gotten away, depending on the environment.

d40 spells that may be found in plundered tomes

It should be obvious if these are white, gray, or black… Each spell requires a quest to find some sort of reagent that is to be done as a drug by the wizard in order to grok, tho leveling up or even mastering certain spells may give you a spell occasionally.

        Cast spells frivolously at your own peril! If you roll a 1, the CM has the blessings of Gygax’s Geist and Arneson’s Spector to bring down great misfortune on your foolish sorcerer. This class is playing in hard mode.

  1. Aegis of Good: Those within LVL hexes of you enjoy a +1 bonus to AC and throws vs evil/chaotic foes. This bonus does not enhance past already in place enchantments. After casting this in 20 battles, the bonus to AC and throws increases to 3.
  2. The Disembodied Sound: This spell is cast psionically and thus silently, though its intoning gestures still need to be done—usually behind one’s back. A sound, sounds, or voice is generated somewhere within earshot of the caster. It can be almost anything the caster desires, but it will be no louder than 10×LVL decibels and must be within a range or heartz the caster theirself could hear. After casting this spell in 10 adventuring sites (dungeons &c), you gain the ability to program sounds on objects and name triggers—id est, “when someone enters this room, a voice says, ‘You are doomed!’” This effect is permanent.
  3. Veil of Obfuscation: The caster or a touched subject becomes unnoticed, effectively invisible for LVL 10 minute turns or until they draw blood or otherwise draw attention through blunders or on purpose. Hest! Once you have snuck past 20 different treasure guardians, you become invisible all the time, given away only when your blood is drawn (any HP damage).
  4. The Knock That Must Be Answered: Unlock or clear any one locked (even magically barred) doorway, portcullis, &c, or force a person to answer a question to the best of their knowledge. Once you have cast this spell on 20 locked adventure site doors, you can cast this spell to command a wall to open for 1 minute.
  5. Telekinetic Guesture: Raise a target into the air, up to LVL yards within a matter of seconds. When you either will it or stop concentrating, the target drops. With a DEX throw first, you can use this power to deflect a projectile or slow a falling object of no more than LVL slots worth of encumbrance (a person weights about 5 slots). If you cast this spell on 20 different targets, you learn The Leap That Misses the Ground.
  6. Revelation of the Named: Name an object you have sensed before (the five senses and Sense the Remote count). You know the direction that object lies in. You can ask up to LVL yes/no questions about it’s distance, status, surroundings, etc. Once you have cast this spell conderning 15 objects, you can cast it on objects you have never personally sensed.
  7. That Was My Double, You Boob: Create up to LVL perfect illusions of yourself. Foes that could conceivably attack either you or a double must attack a random one of you. A clever wizard can use the environment to take their self out of the running. Every fifth time you cast this in combat, you create an accidental clone that goes their own way. They may come back as an ally or foe, or a replacement PC if you die.
  8. Don’t Fear the Reaper: You summon forth an illusion that seems deadly, having a chance of killing a target outright equal to your [level minus target’s hit dice]×10% or at least 10%. Every 20th target you kill allows you to add one to the amount of illusions you create with one casting.
  9. The Secretion: You can apply or throw (DEX roll needed after casting check) a plasm that either locks a door or chest, creates an anchor and rope-faximile, or binds the limbs of a target. Locks or binds can be undone by brute-force (STR throw) or spells like The Knock That Must Be Answered. Once you have secreted 20 foes, the plasm can be used to knock incorporeal creatures into our reality where they are solid and more easy to kill.
  10. Undo The Words: Can be uttered to attempt to counter a spell (higher throw wins), or undo an ongoing enchantment, or to encipher or uncypher up one text (only magic can read such an enchanted text; normal code-breaking fails).
  11. Firey Touch: Your touch can alight  things this round. If you touch a foe, they take ½ LVL dmg. Once you have cast this spell on five foes, the damage is now LVL and you can start to throw small fireballs that do d4 dmg with a DEX throw. Five more foes and your fireballs do d6 dmg. Five foes more and it becomes d10 dmg. Five beyond that and it becomes d12 dmg for the target and all beings (friendly fire) adjacent to it. 20 beyond that and you do LVL2 to everyone in a 45% cone going 30 yards.
  12. The Leap That Misses the Ground: You and up to LVL-4 additional people holding hands gain the ability to fly. You control the direction of the group. The spell ends when you will it to end, when anyone lets go, or when any of you touch stone. Once you have cast this spell on 10 different adventures, you personally gain the ability to fly as well as sparrow.
  13. The Quickening: Touched target gains 1 extra action each round for LVL rounds. Alternatively, this spell may be used to restore 1 lost Life's Blood to a touched target, even reviving someone who died within the last LVL rounds. If you save 20 lives this way, you can double a numerics of this spell.
  14. Arrest: Stops the motion of a target you name. If the target has agency or is affected by a force such as gravity, they break free unless you commit to sacrifice all actions short of talking to concentrate on their suspension with a spell throw on each of your turns.
  15. Hearts in the Dark: Hearts of vertebrates glow to you for LVL exploration turns. The glow illuminates ghosts and dimension shifted things lurking near the hearts. Once you have cast this spell 20 times, you can see ghosts and other undead glowing in the dark.
  16. The Invisible Alliance: You and anyone touching you fade from notice. An attack, shout, or other loud sound will break the spell, as will breaking the touch. If you cast this spell 20 times, you forget it forever.
  17. The Storm's Winch: Creates a bolt of lightning that either does LVL2 dmg or magnetically closes the gap between the caster and a ferrous substance (foes in metal armor experience both).
  18. The Arrow Eater: You start to glow lightly. Any slings and arrows directed your way disappear mid-journey until LVL missiles have been eaten. After absorbing 30 slings and arrows, you can cast this spell to make a designated ranged weapon disappear (its holder gets to make a SAN save on the weapon’s behalf tho).
  19. Gills of Blood: Carefully, you cut gashes onto the neck of the target (roll a 1 on the spell throw and you do an exploding d6 life's blood dmg!). While the wounds yet bleed (1HP per minute), you need not breathe. If you cast this spell on a target 20 times, it gains the gills (not the bleeding) permanently.
  20. Enthrall the Monster: Any target must follow your instructions for LVL2 rounds. If the target has a moral code of some kind, they get a SAN throw to attempt to resist compulsions to do things that violate their principals. All commands to do sexual things fail. If you cast this spell on 20 different targets, the duration increases to minutes instead of rounds. 20 further targets increases the duration to days instead of minutes.
  21. Confusing Meme: For your level in rounds, a target must make a SAN throw before each of its planned actions, and if it fails it either (d4) 1) Attacks a random target, 2) Moves in a random direction, 3) grants a free hit to a foe as if it had rolled a one to hit, 4) gibbers in a way that forces all within earshot, save for the caster, to throw SAN vs contracting the same condition (for a number of rounds equal to your level. If anyone rolls a 1 on their SAN check, they are permanently mad! Each time you have cast this spell on 5 different individuals (memetic infection doesn’t count), you may designate one person to either make immune to this spell or to restore their sanity.

  1. Draw the Duo-passage: You start this spell by drawing doors with chalk on two surfaces, and finish it by making your INT throw to cast it. Once active, anyone may pass between the two doors provided they fit and that they do so before LVL IRL hours have passed. After that, the chalk sublimates.
  2. Overgrowth: You command extant plants or fungi to rapidly grow and build a barrier to passage (takes 10 minutes to cut through. It is LVL×10 yards long. Every fifth time you cast this spell, you grow green, continuously regenerating moss from about 10% of your pores. Eventually, you will be covered.
  3. All the World’s a Stage: You designate an area up to LVL3 yards in size to appear as whatever static scene you want. After your works are believed by 10 individuals or groups, you gain the ability to add animation to the scene. 10 times further and you can add sound. 10 times after that everyone that enters it has to make a SAN check vs playing along with what’s happening.
  4. The Great Canvas: You designate an area of LVL2 yards to be a kind of terrain (forest, &c). All beings who enter it are rendered by illusion to be non-animal objects that fit in with the terrain as long as they stay in its bounds.
  5. Protean Change: This spell always has CON saves rolled against it even if the target is willing. You change either yourself or a target of your level (HD) or lower into any physical thing that you have both touched and that one could name in a forest, a room, or a sea. If an animal the target will retain its mental faculties. The duration is LVL rounds. After you have cast this on 30 HD worth of different creatures, the duration increases to turns. 30 more increases the duration to days. 30 more increases the duration to months. 100 beyond that makes the effect permanent. If the target dies or is broken, they are simply restored to their pre-change, living form.
  6. Remove Affliction: You take an affliction, sickness, doom, derangement, or curse from a target. If you are casting this white, the affliction goes to you. If gray, you transfer it to a random party item or treasure, cursing it. A black casting of this spell transfers to a random target you know.
  7. Rise From Your Grave: You command a dead soul to rise. It manifests as a [your LVL] HD shambling corpse that follows simple commands you give it. If you make another undead, this one will go about life-hating undead shenanigans. Once you have raised 20 such ghouls, you gain the ability to control LVL undead at a time. After that, once you have raised zombies at 10 unique locations, your dead creations rise with [your LVL]2 HD, and you can control LVL2 of them at a time (if you make new ones beyond the limit, the earliest ones go AWOL). Once you have 100 undead under your sway, you gain the ability to restore entombed corpses to the very semblance of life, though they have free will and will turn to dust if they die again.
  8. The Servile Cloud: You summon forth a being from the plane of farts. When you acquire this spell, the cloud can do one of the following, chosen at random. After completing the task, it will leave your service. If you cast it in 5 different dungeons, you gain another option at random from the following:
  1. Carry up to LVL slots of things for you for up to LVL hours, following you like a dog.
  2. Spirit you to one place that you name. If it is on another plane, you have to traverse the plane of farts necessitating a CON throw vs death.
  3. Center on a spot within your sight and make a stink that does 1 dmg to anyone that enters or starts a round in it and giving them disadvantage to all throws.
  4. Attempt to assassinate a target you both name and have a bit of gas from (a burp, &c in a jar), in which case the cloud becomes a [your LVL] HD entity that is mobile and can transverse the planes quickly. It does damage as per the c entry above and can only be damaged by magical weapons or something like a leaf blower.
  1. Open the Elemental Gate: This spell opens a gateway to one of the elemental plane of fire, water, wind, rock, or wood which you can either enter with any willing companions or that you can coax an elemental out of. The trick is that you need something significant already in the area to open the sphincter between worlds. For instance, to coax the plane of fire, you need perhaps a conflagration or an active lava-flow within several yards. Besides having handy immunity to many kinds of attacks, elemental creatures will have 1 HD. Once you have summoned a particular kind of elemental 5 times, you start to draw 2 HD ones. Then 5 times after that, 3HD and so on until eventually you start to get 10 HD elementals and gain the ability to cast this spell with the additional option of gaining LVL resistance to the elemental damage types associated with your 10 HD affinities. Whenever you summon 10 HD elementals, there is a 10% chance you come to the attention of the Evil Elemental Eidolons, who are jealous of the world of men.
  2. Call Upon the Norns: The northern kindly ones know all and see all, for they measure out the skeins of men’s fates. You can ask them a question with this spell, but the CM rolls secretly and lies if your throw fails. In any case, there is never more than a 90% chance the answer is correct. You can also cast this spell to petition the Norns level times per level to grant a carefully worded wish.
  3. Soul Transfer: You either transfer a soul from one body to another (this works on recently dead bodies), forcing any extant souls into the aether, or you transfer a soul to a precious gem or weapon. In the later case, the weapon will gain the ability to think and communicate telepathically, even being able to cast spells by convincing its wielder to intone the right words.        If an item is broken, the soul is lost to the chaos planes.
  4. Pass Barriers: Touch a surface and appear on the other side of it. Once you have passed through 10 kinds of materials, you can start using this spell to visit other planes of existence. At first your journey’s will be random, but you may visit any plane you have previously visited, including your home world of course. After visiting 10 planes, you gain the ability to take LVL allies holding your coattails through surfaces or to the other planes. You also gain the ability to travel to antipodes of wherever you are standing.
  5. Thither: You name a place you have been and are there with any possessions you were carrying. After you have teleported over 100 miles total, you gain the ability to take LVL people and their possessions with you. 300 miles beyond that and you can start to teleport to places on the same plane other people in your group describe. 500 miles beyond that and you gain the ability to program a condition that will automatically teleport you to a place you programmed.        Teleport 1000 more miles to unlock the ability to travel between planes and galaxies.
  6. Clay and Stone: You can convert LVL3 yards of natural rock to mud or vice versa, lasting ten minutes. After you have cast this spell in ten dungeons, you can affect worked stone. 10 times beyond that and you can start to make LVL in number 1 HD mud elementals. 20 beyond that and you unlock the secret of stone golem-craft, and can up to LVL×2 HD of golems serving you. You also gain the ability to cast this spell to create out of thin air rock walls of up to LVL yards square (height times width). 5 times beyond that and you can use this spell to turn targets into statues and statues into flesh and blood creatures.
  7. Runes of antithesis: You may draw runes on yourself or a target, using ash and sap from the doloc tree, as many times as you can pass a Dex throw without failing. Whenever a spell would target a rune-bearer, it fails unless a crit is rolled and one of the runes burns away, dealing 1 dmg to the runebearer. The runes also prove somewhat effective for being invisible to ghosts, but unpainted body parts will be visible. Runes smudged or washed away will lose their power. Changing outfits or sleeping will smudge them.

  1. Weather Wizardry: For the next 12 hours, you don’t get wet in the rain nor does the wind tug at you. If you cast this during five different downpours, you can start to cast this spell to either cause or cease rain, to call the north wind, or to make the sky overcast or clear. If you change the weather on 20 different days, you can cast this to summon floods, frost snaps, tornados, and hurricanes. 20 more times  and you can cause eclipses, angry up the blood of a volcano, or call down meteor storms that can devastate castles. Who’s laughing at the weather wizard now?
  2. Death Cube: Up to LVL×d8 HD worth of creatures within a 20 yard cube, the base square of which you dictate by looking through your index fingers and thumbs pressed together and peered through, must make a CON check vs exploding heads. Headless creatures are, of course, immune, as are undead and unliving ones, such as golems and robots. You choose where to apply the allotment of HD targeting to among viable creatures in the cube.
  3. One With Nothing: You designate the origin point of a 3 yard radius sphere where things cease to exist. Creatures in the area may make a CON throw to ignore the spell and will shift out of it.  After casting this spell on 20 different creatures successfully, if you are more of a Dark or Gray magic user than a Light one, you change into a null-sphere under the control of the CM! Null-spheres are movement-hating 3 HD monsters of nothingness that are immune to non-spell damage. If you were more Light, you gain the ability to cast this spell to command any Null-spheres you may encounter on your travels.
  4. It’s Pronounced Geesh: You make a covenant with a willing target. They must do something they agree to, as must you; reneging will force an HP cap of -1 HP per day, and then an LB cap after that (till you die or the gease is dispelled somehow). After you have seen 5 compacts resolved successfully, you no longer need to provide something in return and thus you yourself don’t lose HP or LB. After 10 more successful covenants, your casting of this can be on unwilling targets (that can’t make a SAN throw).

For Crypt Masters only

Adjudicating

Rather than use the die chain or modifiers, use advantage/disadvantage to adjust rolls for difficulty.

Monsters

If using another elf game with HD and HP, the HD is how much LB they have and the Hit Points become Hit Protection, but I personally like to just give them 5HP per HD, as that is some easy math. Maybe give the boss monsters 3d6 or more extra LB.

To hit or roll throws, a monster rolls its action die, and gets vantage if the situation warrants.The size of the action die—and maybe the damage die too—that a monster uses is determined by the number of HD (or level, if you prefer) of the monster, as follows:

HD     Act-Die        Dmg-Die (variable tho)

1-4        d20        d6        

5-10        d24        d8

11-14        d30        d10

15-16        d36        d12

17        d48        d14

18        d50        d16

19        d60        d20

20+        d120        d30

Action dice are used for both attacks and throws (monster entries usually don’t specify ability die sizes). The difficulty for a monster to do a thing that is not an attack is always ten. Ten is their throw number and it is not modified by HD. However, add the level of a PC to the throw number (making it more difficult to roll at or over) if a monster is attempting to overcome the PC’s spell or maneuver.

Monsters get as many actions as deemed appropriate by the CM. Solo monsters should have 1 to 3 extra attacks, maybe even more.

Even more crit numbers

So monsters can roll some big dice. If the die rolls its max number, or any max number of any die from the list above, the monster rolls critical damage to their target’s LB.

Example level one (one HD) monster

Finger-worm

The Finger-worm is a gigantic (big as a donkey) finger with little fingers growing like villi here and there on it. It has the texture and elasticity of an earthworm, and slime to lubricate its passage. It has an amphisbaenic anatomy with fingernail “heads” at each end of its length. Even larger (more HD) versions of this monster are rumored to be deeper in the underweird.

AC 12 (14 vs bludgeoning), 1 LB, 5HP, d20 action die

Attack 1: Flick, d6 dmg and throws the target d12 yards.

Attack 2: Pin, d6 dmg and CON throw vs slime that forces foe to grow exploding d6 fingers (this could be good if the target is missing fingers for some reason); any target that grows 18 fingers from one attack turns into a Finger-worm their self.

Special Powers: Tho blind, finger-worms can sense vibrations and if anyone is flipping them off.

Another one

Breyark

Breyarks are diminutive digitigrade humanoids that have saurian and avian features, including eyes on the sides of their heads. Tho cowardly, if they outnumber PCs, they may try to swarm and eat them. 1d20 breyarks is a common number to encounter.

AC10–if a foe targets a breyark while its friends are adjacent to the breyark, they all do one automatic bite damage to the foe, 1LB, 5HP, d20 act die.

Attack: Bite: d6 dmg. Crit: (in addition to LB dmg) another breyark that is adjacent to the target may make a free attack.

Alternate backgrounds

More sword and sandals ancient earth list:

[1] Once you’ve chosen a signature weapon type, you are stuck with it forever. Choose something from the weapons list.

[2] This is cumulative if you roll it multiple times.

[3] Yes, if you roll this result again you get 2d4, and so on.

[4] You remember how even the good wizards would turn into diaphanous alien-bug things in Dark Sun?