Cypher System: MTG Slivers

 Slivers are a type of creature in Magic the Gathering. Their main gimmick is that each type of sliver can do something different, and every other Sliver gains that ability. So one sliver gives all other slivers trample, or haste, or extra attack power, etc. 

This post was inspired by a conversation on the Cypher Unlimited Discord, and I decided it would be fun to pick out some of the slivers I thought would convert into interesting ttrpg monsters the best. So here is my take on the classic mtg creature.

Hatchery Sliver (Level 4)

The Hatchery Sliver is the brood queen of a Sliver swarm. She sits surrounded by ready to hatch eggs that she can dispatch any time she senses that the swarm is under attack, or when there is a need for new bodies. She spends most of her time caring for her eggs, but she has a viscous acid spit she can deploy when threatened.

 

Health: 12

Damage Inflicted: 4

Movement: Immediate

Hatch Sliver: The Hatchery Sliver can spend an action selecting an egg to hatch. She can choose to hatch any level 2 Sliver depending on the needs of the situation.

 

Encounter: Slivers are rarely encountered alone. Most often they are found in groups of 5-7, all of varying types. The Hatchery Sliver is always in some sort of nest surrounded by dozens of amber colored eggs with fully formed Slivers inside.

 

Capricious Sliver (Level 3) 

The Capricious Sliver is both stealthy and dangerous. It is most often the scout of a swarm, and it defends itself with a deadly neurotoxin that attacks a creature's mind.

Health: 9

Damage Inflicted: 2 Might Damage and 2 Intellect Damage.

Movement: Short. 

Modifications: When stealthing, the Capricious Sliver acts as a level 6 creature.

Sliver Swarm (Neurotoxin): All other slivers within short range deal an extra point of Intellect damage.

Encounter: Capricious Slivers are often found in groups of 2-3 ranging ahead of a larger swarm. When faced with danger they either retreat back to the swarm for aid, or if the Sliver realizes that the danger is too great they try to lead the danger away from the swarm. This is the most likely type of Sliver to encounter alone.

 

 

Blade Sliver (Level 2)

This giant worm like creature is covered in jagged metal spikes. The spikes attack with alarming speed.

 

Health: 6

Damage Inflicted: 3

Movement: Short

Sliver Swarm (Increase Damage): All other Slivers within short range do an extra point of damage.

Encounter: Slivers are rarely encountered alone. Most often they are found in groups of 5-7, all of varying types. 

Armor Sliver (Level 2)

This giant worm like creature is covered in thick scales that deflect incoming attacks. They have two tales, and long defensive pincers.

 

Health: 8

Armor: 2

Damage Inflicted: 2

Movement: Short

 

Silver Swarm (Armor): All other Slivers within short range gain 2 points of armor. 

Encounter: Slivers are rarely encountered alone. Most often they are found in groups of 5-7, all of varying types. 

Galerider Sliver (Level 2)

This lithe two tailed worm like creature soars gracefully through the sky. It's wings make a loud insectoid hovering sound that can be heard from miles away when a full swarm takes to the air.  

 

Health: 6

Damage Inflicted: 2

Movement: Long while flying, Short while grounded

Sliver Swarm (Flight): All other slivers within short range gain the ability to fly and move a Long distance through the air.

Encounter: Slivers are rarely encountered alone. Most often they are found in groups of 5-7, all of varying types. Galeriders are almost always near the center of hunting swarms.

Blur Sliver (Level 2)

A blur sliver has a connection with a reality or plane separate from our own. It's in a constant state of flux between the two planes, making it a difficult creature to dispatch. 

 

Health: 6

Damage Inflicted: 2

Movement: Short

Blur: When a blur sliver would take damage roll a d20. If the result is a 7 or lower the Blur Sliver takes no damage.

Sliver Swarm (Blur): All other Slivers withing short range also have a blur effect. When they would take damage roll a d20, if the result is a 5 or lower they take no damage.

Encounter: Slivers are rarely encountered alone. Most often they are found in groups of 5-7, all of varying types. 

Lancer Sliver (Level 2)

These worm like creatures are equipped with incredibly long and dangerous pincers.

Health: 6

Damage Inflicted: 2

Movement: Short

Modifications: Lancer Slivers make attacks as level 4 creatures so long as they attack with their pincers.

 

Sliver Swarm (Increase Attack): All other slivers in short range gain an asset to their attacks.

 

Encounter: Slivers are rarely encountered alone. Most often they are found in groups of 5-7, all of varying types. 

A Look Back

 My friend Skullboy recently wrote a post about finding a box of old Dungeons and Dragons stuff. He found his first ever character sheet, some really neat Dragonlance stuff he didn't even understand at the time, and more. And it made me really nostalgic because I have moved many times since I first started playing, and the binder that I used to keep absolutely everything in is long gone. There was a period in my life that I had to move like four times in three years, and during that time a lot of my physical things were given away or thrown out. I dove hard into the digital, because at least there it was easier to store.

So I don't have a picture of the first character I ever made (although it was a 3rd edition Elven Enchanter Wizard named Elendel that took me about five hours to build because I did it on my own and had no idea what I was doing), I don't have any of the hand drawn maps I made on graph paper, or the weird characters I made with my high school friend using completely home brewed classes.

But I wanted to go through all my files and find the oldest thing. What I found was two things. The first was a 28 page conversion of Final Fantasy into 4th edition D&D (which was a pain to design for and is only maybe an eighth of the way finished) and a campaign pitch of a world I called Toryll.

I thought about cutting out one of the Final Fantasy classes and dropping it in. But I don't actually think they are very interesting, and it's sort of like beating a dead horse. There are a lot of Final Fantasy conversions out there. But I am going to include the campaign pitch I made for a flat world where the sun was an evil goddess.

I also found a character sheet for someone named Traunt Jeryn who is clearly the inspiration for one of the NPCs in Toryll. Except the character sheet is for some sort of d100 system that I must have been working on. But also... I have no memory of working on it. Weird. Here's that:

Clearly I was really into Lore at the time, and the Silver Sword is one of the guilds I was working on in the campaign pitch below. But the pitch is for a 4th edition game I have clear memories of running. I sorta remember working on a system inspired by The Golden Compass books - but that doesn't look right to me? That one was built around having a spirit companion, and there is no spirit companion in site here. So I have no idea what I was doing. 

Anyways, here is the campaign pitch for Toryll.

Toryll Campaign Pitch

It is said that commoner's near the hub think the world is round. They say that light is holy and darkness is evil. They say that the Halls of Neverending Light are like heaven, a place for a soul to reach for after death.

It is also said that they are cannibals. I know that they are stupid.

I have peered over The Edge of the world into the Great Abyss. I have seen with my own eyes the agony of souls trapped in the Halls of Never Ending Light. I have seen how the light chars their souls to blackened husks. I have even been one of those blackened husks. My screams were raised with those of Radea, the Light Witch, the Shining Crone, Goddess of Sun and Power.

But I was saved. My soul was called back into blessed darkness. And now, now I am the Chosen of Melwyn.

I fight to save the world. I fight the living light.

~Jeryn Traunt

Torryl (the world): Torryl is an odd place. First of all, the world is square. Not cubed, but sqare. The top of the square is inhabitied with all sorts of people. However, possibly the most interesting fact about Torryl is not that it is square, but that it's people adapted not to day light but to darkness. The world is run during the hours when the Halls of Endless Light are far beneath the square, so that it's light might not scorch the eyes of Melwyn's faithful. The most rural parts of the world are near The Edge, the part of the world where the square ends and there is only the darkness of The Great Abyss. The Edge is also a dangerous place for people to live. Outsiders from The Abyss (and some say from Torryl's underside) roam the wilds and wreak havoc on those foolish enough to wander, or worse, live in such a dangerous place. The most civilized place of the world is at Torryl's geographical center. It is there that the guilds are located, endlessly fighting each other for control of the minds and resources of the world.

The Four Guilds:

The Alliance of Essentia: The Alliance of Essentia is made up of much smaller guilds that have all baned together for a common cause. They seek to rule the world by controlling all the uses of Essentia, and through Essentia Soul Tech. Their mandate is to acquire Essentia in any way possible. Their secondary mandate is to disrupt the Guild Actions of the other three guilds as much as possible.

The Silver Swords: The Silver Swords is a vast guild of mercenaries. The guild leaders believe that if they can get enough mercenaries in enough places then eventually all the kindoms, states, and cities of the world would be helpless without them.

The Pact of Melwyn: Simply put, the church of Melwyn. It believes in controlling the minds of the world, and thus rulling over them. It deals swiftly with those they think defy the Church and its Order.

The Shadow Faction: A guild of covert doings. It's members are mostly assassins and warlocks and others that thrive in the art of deception. It would rule the world with fear. If a person lives always in fear they are likely to make a pact with the Faction for protection.


Siddion (starting villiage):

In North West corner of Torryl, closer to The Edge than any sane person would live, is a small village of outcasts. The streets are full of disparate people, hopeless people, lost people. It is a place were a person goes only when there is no where else. Soul Tech is a rarity hear. The Guilds of Toryll are a mere rumor.

At Siddion's center is a large spire. It is here that the Great Sorcerer Siddion, the town's namesake, retired after he built the Towers of Perdition to protect his place in the world. It is rumored that the Sorcerer has found the secret of eternal youth, and that he emerges from his tower once every two centuries or so to see how his people have progressed. It is also said that during these brief wandering periods he renews the spells on the Towers of Perdition to protect his province.

The village is ruled by democratic vote; however, it is required by Siddion law that the leader of the Village have an arcane power source. He becomes Magistrate and a representative from each race that currently lives in the village borders with a family, or a race in which there is more than ten people, is elected to be on his council. The Magistrate is bound by powerful Geas to take into consideration anything the council has to say. However, if after taking those things into consideration seriously, he disagrees the Magistrate may make the final decision. The Magistrate rules for ten years and then, if there is another magic user in the village, a new election is held. There is no limit to the number of years a ruler may rule if elected more than once.

The current Magistrate is Laurenthala. She is a Drow Princess, in exile from her homelands in the Scorched Plains, and a follower of the Goddess Radea. However, despite her choice of worship she has proven to be both a wise and intelligent ruler. The people of Siddion have reelected her three times. She has been Magistrate for thirty six years.

The villiage has one inn/tavern, Siddion's Reach. The innkeeper is a Dwarven male who claims to be the long lost heir of forgotten city, Calgas. Not many people in the villiage believe him though.

The rest of the villiage is undeveloped. If you feel you want to create an NPC or anything like that to fit yourself into villiage life feel free.



The Towers of Perdition:

Siddion created the Towers of Perdition centuries ago. The Towers are specifically designed to keep outsiders from intruding on the village of Siddion or the surrounding lands. Any outsider trying to pass through them must obtain Siddion's permission to go through the Barrens, the land the Tower's are built on, or be endlessly trapped in illusions. The Towers do not guard against natives of the material plane, and the enchantments on the towers protect normal wanderers from coming into contact with any outsiders who are currently trapped in the towers illusions. When contact is unavoidable the illusions the outsiders are trapped with do not reveal the travelers.



Diety Choices:

Melwyn, Maiden of the Night:

Melwyn is the Good aligned diety in the world. She is the goddess of darkness and of the grey moon.



Radea, the Light Crone

Melwyn's sister. It is said that Radea created the world, but that soon after she went mad. Her light burned across the world, scarring all the inhabitants. If Melwyn hadn't stepped in and imprisoned the Light Goddess in the Halls of Endless Light then Toryll would be in ruins. Even still, despite her agony, Radea does all she can to bring the world down.



Races and Classes:

Any and all. Let me know what races you are going to play and I will come up with the mythology of them. I think I will try to stray from using the Fey and other plains. This does not mean that Eladrin and Genasi are unplayable, it just means I am going to rework their stories. However, I believe mostly in developing on a need to develop basis. If you are looking for options, yell at me, and I will do some more detail.
 

Thoughts From Now

This was a really fun game to run. I remember that instead of gold value was derived from stories. So there was a mostly bartering economy where a simple ring stolen from the finger of a woman who died for her love was more valuable than a ring with a big diamond that was mined from a collection of other big diamonds. It slowed the game down - we were constantly trying to decide what story was more valuable than other stories, and it's not a system I would publish because I think it really depends on a good group. But I had a good group and we never ran into an issue where someone thought their goods should be more valuable than what we came up with.

And this was my first long term campaign in 4th edition. I started with some friends that had played in my 3.5 games and that had to leave because they didn't like the new system. Not liking 4th edition was a very popular stance back in the day, and these friends didn't just not like the system, but they liked not liking the new system. 

Sometimes people you used to enjoy going on road trips become people you would rather not road trip with. 

I wish I had more visual stuff to post because visuals are interesting. But I do almost all of my design in text, so that's where we are. If you are reading this... it's the first post I've made here in like four years! So welcome back?

Homebrew: The Masquerade

I’m working on this homebrew world, and the idea of masks has been floating around in my head for awhile. I really love the idea of masks representing different classes, and the idea that a character could change masks simply by taking one off and putting another on.

Art by: https://lovestruck2.deviantart.com/

Then today I fell down a youtube hole and spend three hours watching Kingdom Hearts videos. All I wanted to do was dump every other thing I’m working on, and jump into a Kingdom Hearts system... especially since there don’t appear to be any really great ones out there (if you know of one, point me in its direction!)

But I resisted. I’m already running three different games. I don’t need to pick up a forth. 

But then the idea of the masks came back to me, and a bunch of things fell together for me.

I really like it when settings have a way to control power. Not everyone should be a level 20 wizard like in Faerun.

So this is what I came up with. In my homebrew world there are three ways to access power (aka, class levels).

• Training
• Spellbinding
• Inheriting or calling a mask.

Training is available for all classes but Sorcerer, and maybe Warlock (depending on what I decide to do with patrons). However, without supernatural means, mortals can only access a certain amount of power. A character can train to a total of five class levels.

Spellbinding. In my world, spells are literal people. They are beings of chaos thrust from the elemental planes to land on the material realm. Sorcerers bind spells, and the different types of spells that they bind act as their origins. Binding one spell let's a Sorcerer train through 5 levels. But then it maxes out, and a sorcerer must bind a new spell. The first spell a Sorcerer binds is the only one that grants an origin, and binding a spell is an inherently evil act.

Inheriting a mask (or performing a masquerade) is the path to ultimate power. A mask allows you to train in any class, up to level 20. Once received, a mask is bound with your soul, and you can never have another. The mask grows along with you, so it starts at level one, and can level from there. Masks can also gain visages which grant them unique appearances and abilities (extra spells, feats, etc). Masks are not inherently good or evil, although many specific masks are associated with good or evil since they are generally handed down from master to apprentice.

In the end, masks ended up looking almost nothing like keyblades. But... that's pretty much where I started from. So, go figure!

Creating the Werewolf

Werewolves. They are an iconic part of the gothic horror mythos. They have been both feared and loved. They have been depicted as savage monsters with no claim to humanity, and normal people dealing with a terrible curse.

And yet, despite how iconic they are, there are no official statistics to create a playable character in Dungeons and Dragons. There have been many attempts online to create a homebrew version of them, but I'm not happy with any of them.

I have a player that really wants to play a werewolf character, and I am a big advocate for letting people play what they want. So this is going to be my stab at a homebrew Werewolf race.

May the gods of luck and fortune have pity on my soul for even trying.

But before I even begin jumping into statistics, we should look at the source material we do have. In the Monster Manual, there are some official rules for what happens when you get cursed with Lycanthropy.

The Curse of Lycanthropy

The Curse of Lycanthropy is contracted by being wounded by a lycanthrope. It can also be contracted if one (or both) of your parents are lycanthropes.

The actual statistics of the curse change depending on the type of lycanthropy a person contracts. For our purposes we'll be discussing werewolves, which gain the following:

• ·         A Strength score of 15 if their score isn't already higher.
• ·         The ability to use an action to polymorph into a wolf, or wolf-human hybrid.
• ·         A +1 bonus to AC while in wolf or hybrid form.
• ·         40 ft movement speed in wolf form
• ·         Damage Immunity to: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered.
• ·         Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
• ·         A 1d8 Bite Attack in wolf or hybrid form.
• ·         A 2d4 Claw Attack in wolf or hybrid form.

That's a crazy amount of power. It's no wonder that the Monster Manual says that, "The DM is free to decide that a change in alignment places the character under DM control until the curse of lycanthropy is removed. (207)"

But in addition to providing insane amounts of power, the Werewolf (and other lycanthropy) stat blocks from the Monster Manual also miss out on one of the most iconic abilities that werewolves have in almost every piece of fiction I've ever seen. The ability to heal quickly from wounds. The concept of a werewolf that doesn't have regeneration is ridiculous to me.

However, regeneration is another of those powers that are insanely over powered.

What is a werewolf?

Let's take a step back from statistics for a moment. Instead, let's take a second and think about what a werewolf actually is.

I was going to quote something from dictionary.com here. But their description of a werewolf is woefully unhelpful. So instead, let's make a list of things that I think are iconic to the werewolf mythos:

·         The change. Changing into a werewolf isn't an easy prospect. And there are two types of stories told about the change.

•           A person who doesn't care about the implications of the change, and what it means. They are monsters, willing to go out and spread the curse.
•            A person who sees the change as a curse, and does everything they can to prevent the wolf from wreaking havoc in the world. These stories often end in tragedy, with people they love getting infected with the curse.

Either way, the change always happens. It's an inevitable monthly change that can't be fought, only endured or embraced.

• ·         The Moon. The full moon is the cause of the change. Sometimes just a single night, or sometimes each night for a full three day period.
• ·         Spreading the curse. Werewolves might tear people to shreds and go on bloody rampages. But the true horror of the werewolf story is that anyone can become one. All that's required is to survive a werewolf attack.
• ·         Weakness to silver. Enough said.
• ·         Fast Healing. Werewolves almost always heal from wounds with the efficiency of Wolverine unless they are attacked by a silver bullet.

Those are a lot of abilities, and just like the ones from the monster manual, they are going to be both very powerful abilities, and very punishing abilities. Balanced werewolves are not.

So, where does that leave us? In previous editions of Dungeons and Dragons, I would have either created a monster class or slapped on a level adjustment. I actually think that a monster class is still the way to go.

But my player is interested in playing a Werewolf Blood Hunter. So slapping on a monster class doesn't allow my player to play what they want. And as I said, I'm a big advocate for letting people play what they want if it can be made to work.

So that leaves us with the last (and hardest) option. Creating a homebrew werewolf race that both reflects the concept of the creature, but maintains balance with the other race options available.

Let's take a deep breath, cross our fingers, and jump right in.

The Process

The first thing we need to do is make a decision about the change. Is it voluntary? Can a character hold off the change with a Constitution check? Can the character change while it isn't a full moon?

My first instinct is to say that a character must change during a full moon, and that during the full moon they hand their sheet over to the Dungeon Master. Being a werewolf is a curse above all else, and no Constitution or Wisdom save can hold it off when the moon calls.

But playing a werewolf is only fun if you do get to change while it isn't a full moon, and to have a modicum of control over that change. Still, in almost all werewolf stories, even changing when it isn't a full moon can end in disaster. Werewolves are fueled by rage more than anything else.

My first instinct here is to require a wisdom save while attempting to change into wolf or hybrid form outside the full moon. On a failed save, the character would hand their character over to the Dungeon Master. But having an ally that is constantly losing control and turning on the party is fun exactly one time. After that it gets punishing.

That idea isn't going to work. So, for now let's put the rage concept on the back burner. We'll simply add the following to the race:

• ·         A werewolf looses itself to the curse once a month during the full moon. During this period they have no control over their character, and hand it to the Dungeon Master.
• ·         A werewolf can spend an action to polymorph into either a wolf or wolf hybrid form.

The wolf and wolf hybrid forms are going to need some natural attacks. Elves get weapon training in Longswords, Shortswords, Shortbows, and Longbows. Let's use those weapons as damage guides and say that:

• ·         While in hybrid or wolf form, a werewolf gains a melee claw attack that deals 1d6 damage. Claw attacks count as light weapons.
• ·         While in hybrid of wolf form, a werewolf gains a melee bite attack that deals 1d8 damage. Bite attacks take a full attack action. If you have more than one attack per action, you can replace one (but not all) attack with a bite.

Having a claw attack does imply having light weapons in both hands, which leads to two weapon fighting. That might be fine, or it might be too powerful. We'll just keep that in mind for now.

The natural weapons do need to spread lycanthropy though. That's part of the mythos. So let's also add:

• ·         When a creature is hit by a werewolf's claw or bite attack, it must make a DC 12 constitution check, or be infected by the Curse of Lycanthropy.

That about covers the details of the change and the natural attacks. At least for now. Next we need to tackle how to deal with silver weapons, and how to deal with fast healing.

The obvious way to deal with silver weapons would to just add silver vulnerability to the statistics. But that is a very punishing mechanic. Instead, let's take another existing mechanic, and rework it a little bit.

Concentration checks are required when a spell caster takes damage while concentrating on a spell. The DC equals the higher of either 10, or half the damage the character takes. If we modify that just a bit we get:

• ·         Silver Weakness. If a werewolf is hit by a silvered weapon, they must make a constitution save equal to 10, or half the damage dealt by the weapon, whichever number is higher. If the werewolf fails this save, they have the poisoned condition until the end of their next turn.

So now we get to quick healing. Again, the solution seems logical. Let's just slap on some quick healing. Maybe the ability to heal 1 hit point at the beginning of each turn. After all, 1 hp isn't going to make or break a combat.

And that's somewhat true. But it does mean that a character jumps to full health between combats. And that's a major advantage. It means that they never have to spend hit dice to heal up during short rests. And hit dice should be a resource that gets worn down after time.

So instead let's play with the hit dice mechanic a bit. We could allow a werewolf to reroll ones when they use hit dice to regain hit points. That feels just a bit too weak though.

My other idea is to adopt the second level fighter ability, second wind. It allows a fighter to spend a bonus action to regain 1d10 + fighter level hit points each short rest.

We can't just throw a second level ability into racial stats though. So instead, what if we allow a werewolf to use a bonus action to restore 1d4 + their constitution modifier hit points as a bonus action once per short rest?

That feels like it might be okay. At least for now. So, let's put together all of these statistics, add a strength increase, and see where we are at.

The Werewolf

The werewolf has a variety of natural abilities.

Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2.

Speed: Your base speed is 30 ft. It increases to 40 ft. if you assume a full wolf form.

The Transformation: A werewolf is a humanoid cursed with lycanthropy. Once a month, when the full moon rises, they are forced into their wolf form. During this period they have no control over their characters, and hand them over to the Dungeon Master.

Controlling the Change: Some werewolves spend time learning to control the change when there is no full moon in the sky. Your character can take an action to polymorph into either a wolf, or wolf hybrid form.

Darkvision: A werewolf's eyes have been enhanced by their monstrous curse. While in wolf or wolf hybrid form you can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in Darkness, only shades of red.

Enhanced Smell: You have advantage on Perception checks that rely on scent.

Natural Attacks: When a werewolf is in its wolf, or wolf hybrid form it gains both claw attacks, and a bite attack. The claw attacks deal 1d6 damage and count as light weapons. The bite attack deals 1d8 damage. Bite attacks require a full attack action. If you have more than one attack per action, you can replace one (but not all) attack with a bite.

Lycanthrope's Curse: When a creature is hit by a werewolf's claw or bite attack, it must make a DC 12 constitution check, or be infected by the Curse of Lycanthropy.

Accelerated Healing: On a werewolf's turn, you can spend a bonus action and regain hit points equal to 1d4 + your constitution modifier. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Silver Weakness: A werewolf is especially susceptible to damage from silvered weapons. If a werewolf is hit by a silvered weapon, they must make a constitution save equal to 10, or half the damage dealt by the weapon, whichever number is higher. If they fail, they have the poisoned condition until the end of their next turn.