Black Dogs zine - issue number 8

Gplus is going away today, and my last post on that platform was to advertise issue number 8 of my fanzine, the Black Dogs.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/269308/Black-Dogs-zine--issue-8

Issue 8 contains using dead monsters (instructions for a new alchemy subsystem), removing hit-points and using only HD, a mini-system for Blood Magic, how not to use goblins in your game, and the adventure of the Broken Hill.

What I like about this issue is how each chapter works - at least in my opinion - very well as a stand-alone set of rules. Everything is immediately playable.
The alchemy subsystem takes dead monsters and turns them into something your characters can use; I think it's original and funny (requires combining multiple parts, it's not overpowered, and it could lead to an insteresting journey of discoveries for your players).
The HD-for-HP is a simple enough house-rule to speed up calculations in combat.
The Blood Magic is a set of unique spells easy to insert in your campaign - give it to a magic user, or make it a class by itself, it's your call.
The goblins article contains a list of random tables to replace goblins in your game, and the last is a little, challenging adventure (with more "plot" than what I'm used to... let me know if you like it).

What I like NOT...
Well, for personal reasons my production rate has slowed to a halt.
I do not have plans at the moment for issue number 9 - although there might be a collaboration coming up, and so new content might be published in the near future (stay tuned but news will be slow to come).

Download (POD coming in a month or two) on Drivethrurpg:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/269308/Black-Dogs-zine--issue-8

Here is the link to the POD on Lulu:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/daimon-games/the-black-dogs-zine-issue-8/paperback/product-24019923.html

This product is an independent production by Daimon Games and is not affiliated with Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Lamentations of the Flame Princess is a registered trademark owned by James Edward Raggi IV.

Better spells at level one

First level spells are not always very powerful and often randomly determined. Having a lame spell or two forces the Magic User to be creative, but when this is paired with very low HP and just one or two spell slots to memorize them, it makes the Magic User not just quite vulnerable (which is fine) but sometimes nearly useless.
Many house-rules try to address this, by adding cantrips, additional effects, the possibility to cast more than the usual one or two spells before running out of prepared slots, or allowing to prepare more than one spell per slot, and so on.

In the first linked article, Parker adds additional effects or variants to every level one spell. These features sometimes allow delayed or special effects that make the Magic User a little more versatile in the first levels.

Spell Features
by ktrey parker
The intention is to provide a little more "Magic" to First Level Magic-Users, including up to six unusual choices for most of the standard starting spells. This should help insure that no two 1st Level Magic-Users are the same, even if they possess the same spells. It might also make the Class a little more flavorful and “exotic” for those that grouse at the limitations of low level Magic-Users or sour at the idea of Random Spell Selection when they receive perceived non-starters like the much maligned “Ventriloquism.” [...]
I imagine that it would work something like this: Once Spells are randomly determined (or selected, if you are feeling exceptionally generous) for a first level Magic-User the player may either choose or randomly roll on the Spell Features for their specific 1st level Spell (everyone receives Read Magic in most of my games).
Some Spell Features are obviously more useful than others, and no regard has been paid to imaginary beasts like game-balance, nor is there much in the way of mechanical consistency. This was intentional, as I find it keeps things weird and mystifying, just as magic should be. [...]
http://blog.d4caltrops.com/2015/01/wherein-i-start-spitting-out-spell.html

Courtney Campbell instead provides a short and useful list of cantrips (short is always useful, because it's fast to read and make choices with it!), like involuntary bodily reactions, small flames, chill, clean, etc... Cantrips are "level zero" but not necessarily weak: think of an involuntary bodily reaction when an adversary is a precarious position, or a small flame near a barrel of black powder.

On the Effects of Magic, Cantrips and Rules

by Courtney Campbell

[...] Cantrips - “Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

Wizards of any sort may do any of the following at any time:

- Touch someone to cause an involuntary bodily reaction at any time on a failed saving throw vs. paralyzation. (fart, bletch, blink, nod, yawn)

- Produce a small lighter sized flame

- Chill an object smaller than 1 cubic foot to 40 degrees. 

- Clean one man-sized creature or smaller, or one 10' x 10' x 10' cube or smaller. Cleaning the cube takes the magic one turn.

- Summon one diminutive vermin or insect

- Kill one tiny vermin or insect [...]

http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-effects-of-magic-cantrips-and-rules.html

R.J. Thompson, then, provides a similar approach to cantrips, but in a sort of "free-form" manner, with some freedom for the player (and negotiation with the GM), but some other limitations (i.e. a minor cantrip might be used many times but only if the "parent spell" was not used yet, or a slightly more powerful cantrip may be used only once).

Simple Cantrip Rules For Swords & Wizardry and OD&D
by R.J. Thompson
Cantrip is an archaic word originally meant to define a trick performed by witchery. Later it was used to mean a malicious trick or a sham. In recent years (at least since the publication of the AD&D version of "Unearthed Arcana") it has come into usage in fantasy role playing to mean a bit of minor magic. This is typically in the form of 0 level spells in D&D and it's simulacra. [...]
How are we going to make this work? Well, this takes bargaining between the referee and the player. A mage can attempt to cause a minor magical effect based upon the effect of any spell currently memorized (or known spells not expended in the case of my sorcerer class.) For example, a mage with fireball written may want to light a pipe from his finger. A witch being bothered by a would be suitor may want to make him drowsy, heading off to bed, without expending the full effect of the spell and making him not off there and then. Likewise a sorceress with telekinesis may want to cause a bell that she can see ring, or wind chimes sound, without using the full effect of her spell. Minor effects like this might be allowed without question (possibly allowing a saving throw for the chap that is getting drowsy.) [...]
http://gamersandgrognards.blogspot.com/2017/06/simple-cantrip-rules-for-swords.html


In another post I'd like also to review the inspiration of the Summon spell to grant level-one Magic Users (and maybe Clerics) access to higher powers, at a greater risk.
In a few words, I am considering to use something similar to the Summon spell, accessible at level one, to gain access to high-level spells but at a great risk. This might take the form of longer rituals, the use of sacrifices (both in terms of wealth, enchanted items, spell books and scrolls, etc.) and in general high risks, in exchange for casting once a powerful spell.

(This is just a very rough draft with no second thoughts about balance and in need of course of a more careful review)
For example, a Magic User could cast as if they were of a higher level, adding one level for each of the following:
- The sacrifice of an unwilling victim (at least an HD 1 humanoid creature)
- Taking hours for a ritual (random? chosen?)
- Sacrificing at least 1,000 sp or a loot of equivalent value
- Sacrificing an enchanted item (not cursed)

There should be some uncertainty, as in the Summon spell. Let's say the MU wants to cast Wall of Fire or Polymorph Self, which are 4th level spells, thus require the MU to be Level 7 or higher.
To do that, the MU should either have access to a spellbook with that spell (even if they cannot learn it), or perhaps they will try to cast it without the full necessary knowledge, at an additional risk.
For each "level of risk" (i.e. 1 for not knowing the spell, and 1 for each level of difference between the MU's level and necessary level), roll a d6.
Every result of 1 is a "bane".

For each aid (sacrifice, hours of ritual, 1,000 sp or enchanted item, etc.) roll a d6. Every result of 6 is a "boon". Spend boons to cancel banes, one to one. One boon, though, must be used to actually obtain the spell effect as intented.
Every bane not countered by a boon, will cause problems. Serious problems.
Maybe the Polymorph Self will last the maximum duration in turns, but the MU cannot end it before (thus losing the ability to cast other spells), or the duration might be in hours or even days (more "banes"), and again impossible to end before the time. Maybe the polymorph causes a serious weakness (Save vs Magic, success go down to half HP, failure go down to 1 HP), etc.
Wall of Fire with one or more "banes"? I can see that halway filling with fire, fast, out of control, and burning for hours, for days... Or maybe the MU hairs all burn out, and their hands become fiercely hot and damage every mundane item they get in touch with, for the next 1d6 hours or days...

This definitely requires more thoughts...

Summon spell

The Summon spell (LotFP) is simply great. It's a powerful, dangerous tool potentially available for any level-1 Magic User. It's bound to cause confusion and disaster, or save the day when everything seems to be lost. It might unleash a powerful entity that will serve the Magic User character (or at least, cause enough distraction or destruction to allow the Magic User and their companions to escape, or go unnoticed, or steal the treasure, or do whatever they were here to do...), or it might summon a pitiful creature. It might even end the world.
Yes, it is available to level-1 characters, and as Ramanan puts it: "Who thought letting first level characters cast this spell was a good idea?" James, of course, did.
The spell actually tells us also something about the world of LotFP: this is a world where a powerful entity might be evoked by a careless and clueless Magic User or cultist, and escape their control. So for any nightmarish creature that you encounter, the answer to the question:
"Where the fu** does this come from?"
is probably: "A Summon spell gone wrong."


The only thing about the spell is that it's quite long (several pages) and it involves a complex procedure to generate the summoned entity and verify if it's under control, etc.
So, if you are online, use the Summon online tool by Ramanan.

Summon
by Ramanan Sivaranjan
For use in the summoning of demon and hell spawn in the role playing game Lamentations of the Flame Princess. You can use this page to go through the motions of casting the first level Magic-User's spell Summon, as outlined on page 142 of the Rules and Magic book of the role-playing game Lamentations of the Flame Princess. [...]
http://summon.totalpartykill.ca/

There is also an excel version of the tool mentioned, but I didn't find it.
If anyone has a link to share, for the excel, please do (convenient if you have no connectivity).


In my attempt to work on a new magic system, which has all spells potentially available at level one, I did a rewriting of the Summon spell, as in the image below.
It loses a lot of the most weird combinations but makes the process much faster. The spell should be usable even without the rest of the draft of the magic system; just consider that a caster has a number of "levels" to spend on the spell which are equal to their actual level. And in the spell itself, everything is done by "spending" levels.
In other words, a level 2 Magic User could spend 2 levels, in this spell, for example to select the following effects:
- 1 level for an HD 3 demon,
- 1 level to get a +1 to the domination roll.
A level 3 Magic user could spend all 3 levels to evoke up to an HD 5 demon.
(in the draft, not presented here, here are an additional 2 pages to summon more powerful demons)

While as I said the spell loses some of its charm (and its potential to destroy the planet), it provides a nice, two pages and fast procedure to replace the more complex original Summon.
(and it gives a simple and nice overview of the "spend-levels" magic system)


In a similar way (but way before I did, in 2012), Mike Evans also wrote a shorter, faster version of the Summon spell. Go to the linked page and you will also find a version of this spell in PDF to download.

The Summoning Spell From Lamentations of the Flame Princess Vornheim Style
By Mike Evans
[...] One of my favorite parts LotFP is (and I’ve seen much praise for this) the Summon spell.  It is an interesting, dark, and unique take on what has normally been a “poof here is a griffon, eagle, blink dog, etc fighting for you” kind of spell.
The one criticism of it is that it weighs in at 6 pages (or 10 pages if you count the special summoned beings).  That is a hefty thing to sift through when you’re trying to keep the action on the game table.
I’ve seen people ask for or about a more simplified version of it out there.  Zak threw out a comment about doing in in the same vein as Vornheim.  I pondered this for a bit and was thinking of doing a die drop chart (since I love those things so fucking much), but in the end I thought, for this particular situation, it would become too convoluted…  However I did decide to still use one aspect of the die drop chart.  Roll a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and a d20 and consult the table and you now have you Summons.
I tried to keep this extremely simple, but still offer a wide variety of “what the fuck is that?!” type creatures and abilities.  Obviously the spell itself is inspired and hacked from LotFP.  Many of the powers are listed in the book itself, some are just my own grab from any old D&D style OSR book or my own idea. [...]
https://wrathofzombie.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/the-summoning-spell-from-lamentations-of-the-flame-princess-vornheim-style/


Curious about yet another take on the Summon spell? What if a caster at 9th level, with enough sacrifice and money and power could control in part of the spell, to determine the sort of creature to evoke?

Advanced Summon Spell for LotFP
by Justin Stewart
Arguably, one of the most popular and beloved aspects of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Rules & Magic book is the Summon spell. I mean, come on, you've got to love a first-level spell that lets you summon a randomized monster, often vastly overpowered, that can either eat you, serve you, or straight up end the world if you screw up badly enough.
However, sometimes you want to summon something a little more specific. Sometimes, you don't just want any demon, but specifically Headsosoth the Headsucking Monstrosity from Mars. Sometimes you want to summon a demon that can possess a pet bird and use its body to spy on the local mayor, as was the case in our game last Saturday.
Here's my house rule for handling that situation.
"Advanced Summon" is not technically a separate spell. When a Magic-User reaches a high enough experience level to cast ninth-level spells, the Magic-User can choose to memorize Summon as a ninth-level spell instead of a first-level spell. This version of the spell is considered Advanced Summon. [...]
http://dragonsgonnadrag.blogspot.com/2016/04/advanced-summon-spell-for-lotfp.html