Classes of the Supernatural Earth: The Barbarian

I use all classes in the DnD 5e Player's Handbook in the Supernatural Earth game. Each class will be dealt with separately in their own post, beginning with this one.

Barbarians are folk who follow ancient codes and rules from times of yore, passed down through generations or discovered recently, originating from supposedly "primitive" or "vulgar" groups of people. In exchange for following these ancient codes, they are given power over anger and rage by the spirits of their predecessors, being able to calm their emotions quicker than most, and to go into an uncontrollable rage that heightens their senses and strengthens their limbs.

Barbarians of the Path of the Berserker follow the rulings of the Mongol Hordes of Asia or the Berserker Norsemen. Those barbarians that follow this path gain even more control over their emotions, and the rage that they enter is stronger than the rage of a normal barbarian. There are many different varieties of berserkers, with some being very vulgar and violent, and others using their control over their emotions to become enlightened and stronger emotionally as well as physically.

Barbarians of the Path of the Totem Warrior follow codes made by Celtic Pagans or stolen from Native North Americans. For following the codes, they gain powers from a spirit in nature, usually in the form of an animal. They carry totems or fetishes, and though their rages weaken, they gain new powers in exchange.

Though they and the cultures they descend from are called barbarians by many, not many of them are barbaric. Another important note is that barbarians typically follow the codes of cultures they are descended from, so those descended from Mongols will follow the rulings of Mongol culture to gain their powers, and Celts follow their codes to gain their powers.

Some More Thoughts on my Campaign Settings: Low Magic vs. High Magic

I don't really like Low Magic settings. It really requires a lot of work to get me to like something where things that are fantastical and set the setting apart from our world are really rare. Also, in low magic settings, they are very dreary, with lots of hate and prejudice throughout the world. For all of those reasons, all of my fantasy settings except for one are high magic.

In Vantek, magic is just a normal part of life. Magic runs all technology, and everybody owns some magic items. Everybody knows for certain that the Gods exist, and so there isn't much hate related to religion because of that. The world is a very large place, but you can easily bypass this with the right spell, or with one of those magic-powered trains. People respect other people more because of how common magic and other really weird stuff is. Why would you worry about whether your neighbor likes men or women when there are horrifying monsters hiding in the woods and even stranger creatures floating far overhead, calling themselves the Gods. It is essentially a utopia, not because there isn't struggle, but because people are much more accepting, and they are much better at stopping sexism or racism or whatever when it appears. Of course, everybody has prejudices or believes in certain stereotypes, but it is not to the extremely institutionalized extent like it is in our world. All of that is because they live in a world powered by miracles and magic.

In the Supernatural Earth, it is just as high magic, but not in the same way as Vantek. Magic is more folkloric, and not much technology is powered by it. Everyone knows that the gods exist, but they fight over which pantheon is the best, or which god is the best. The Catholic Church is very unaccepting, but it is a religious minority due to its hatred of magic and nonhuman people. Slavery is still a problem, but it has been abolished in almost all parts of the world, excluding the United States. Racism does exist, but it is mostly between humans and nonhumans, rather than between different ethnicities of humans. Even with slavery, many slaves in the United States are hobgoblins or dwarfs, but many are black humans. Generally, people are much more accepting of different people in the Supernatural Earth, but there are still plenty problems relating to just how accepting are people, such as how women cannot vote in the United States.

The Megadungeon is the closest setting of mine that you could say is low magic. In the Old World, it is definitely low magic: the Great Church has an immense hold on almost every nation in the Old World, and wizards are rare, as is non-divine magic. Nonhumans are quite rare, and many people (humans) do not like them. However, in the New World, it is a much different story. The Great Church does not have such a foothold on the continent, and so because of that wizards have flocked there in great swarms to escape prosecution. As stated in the Alignment in the Megadungeon post, the New World is a very chaotic continent, and so unnatural monsters, such as demons, faeries, and monstrous creatures from the stars are more common, as are servants of order. The elves, gnomes, and other faeries that would steal your kids and ruin your crops are much more common and powerful in the Megadungeon, and it is the Old Worlders that are the intruders this time, not the fae. This is their home, and so they are much more out in the open. Every town and city is built atop a seemingly infinite network of tunnels, filled with monsters and treasure. In the Megadungeon setting, the Old World is low magic, but the New World is closer to high magic.

The Races of The Megadungeon Part 2

I forgot to say this in the last one, but those first three are the only playable races at the very start of the game, and all following races either have to be discovered or are not playable.

From Brian Froud and Jim Henson's movie Labyrinth
Goblins
Goblins are an incredibly populous and varied race commonly treated as a necessary evil by some, and as vermin by others. They are common enough in the nations and empires of humanity, but people, specifically humans, generally mistreat them. Nobody truthfully knows how they came to be, but there are many theories. Some say that they were mortal creatures spawned by a fae creature called the Goblin King from root vegetables such as turnips and carrots, while others, mostly clergy members, just say that they are unnatural abominations, probably descended from demons or something. They spoke of the race of orcs before humanity was introduced to them, and they claim that they were the creators of them. They are related to the race of hobgoblins.

Hobgoblins

Similarly varied, the stronger, taller, and rarer hobgoblins are generally treated as horrible brutes, and when people accept for jobs at all, they are almost always that of the more violent types, such as mercenary, soldier, or bodyguard. The first hobgoblins came into human-controlled lands from outside, and it is unknown where or why they appeared within humanity's land. They also spoke of the orcs before humanity was introduced to them, but they spoke of them more as equals rather than the way of the goblins, which was more like servants or slaves. When questioned about the creation of the orcs, they attempt to avoid the question, but always agree with the goblins about their origins. Nobody knows the origin of the hobgoblins, just like the race of goblins, and most theories stem from the theories for the goblins: they were grown from pumpkins or trees by the Goblin King, or they are stronger demons.

Orcs

Orcs were not known to the empires and nations of humanity until after they arrived in the New World to explore the Megadungeon. They are just as varied as both the races of goblins and hobgoblins. Although it is universally agreed that the goblins created the orcs, what is not agreed upon is exactly how they were created. Even the goblins never want to talk about it, simply continuing to brag about their creation of them rather than actually speaking of how they were made. People theorize about this too: the Great Church states that orcs were made from humans, possessed by demons in some foul ritual, distorted and mangled from their previously normal form. Some people say they were mutated from farm animals and wildlife with magick, citing some orc's bestial features. Some say that they crafted in cauldrons or pools by goblin witches, servants of the Goblin King, but what they are crafted from varies (some say humans, others say they are made from corpses and the beasts consuming them). The orcs themselves hate to be reminded of their creation, and always try to change the subject.

The Races of The Megadungeon Part 1

Humans

Humans have many nations and empires in the Old World, and their countries were the first to discover the New World and the Megadungeon. They founded the Great Church, and they "discovered" the race of the halflings. According to them, they are the most natural race, and so are the race that all other races are compared to.

Dwarfs

Dwarfs used to control vast swathes of land, both above and below the ground, with their immense empires. In the superstitions of many past human settlements, dwarfs controlled all that was below the ground. However, for some unknown reason, all of the empires of the dwarfs fell, leaving behind great ruins of keeps and castles. Of the dwarfs that existed, most are either dead or insane and delusional. The very few dwarfs that aren't one or the other are adventurers, not because of any grand reason, but because dwarfs really like money, and it is said that there are great treasures in the Megadungeon. Dwarfs are inherently non-magical, being unable to learn the arcane secrets of wizardly magic, but they have innate capabilities that are unknown even to them.

Halflings

The halfling people were "discovered" by humans living deep within dark and dank jungles, worshiping things labeled as demons by the Great Church and living in huts on stilts. The human nations took in the "primitives" and "uplifted" them, removing them from their tropical homes and forcibly making them join the "modern" nations. According to many, halflings will steal anything not nailed down, and it is a well known fact that they have unnatural agility and reflexes, due to the strange nature of the halflings' muscles and bones. Many halflings speak of more halflings in distant jungles and forests.

Alignment in The Megadungeon

In the world of the Megadungeon, there are three alignments: Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic. They are based upon how the cosmos feels about you, and so your alignment does not affect your behavior, or vice versa. Remember that law does not mean good, and chaos does not mean evil.

Light and Dark
During the day, law has more power on our neutral world. The Great God of Order can affect creatures and places, and clerical magic functions more. Entities from the stars of order can descend down onto the Earth easier, and most people treat this as though this time is when things are good.

During the night, chaos has more power on our neutral world. Demons and faeries are more prevalent, and wizardly magic functions more. Entities from the stars of chaos can descend down onto the Earth easier, and most people treat this as though this time is when things are bad.

In the cosmos, the most lawful place is the sun, and the most chaotic place is the moon.

That is why vampires burn in sunlight, demon worshipers live underground and in the dark and dank jungles, and the studies of wizards are lit only by flickering candles. That is why every mob of peasants is armed with torches when hunting after unnatural creatures, and children are afraid of the dark.

That is how it works in the Old World. In the New World and the Megadungeon, chaos has more power than law all the time, but the power of law does increase during the day. However, the power of chaos increases during the night too.

The Great Church
The Great Church states that only things related to The Great God of Order are lawful, and also that anything that any clergy member says is automatically lawful. According to them, anything not sanctioned by The Great Church itself is either insignificant or completely and utterly chaotic and thus, horrible and unnatural. Occasionally, they even say that creatures or occurrences of law are actually the forces of chaos, such as some of the alien horrors hailing from the stars of order or the sun.

The Petty Gods
There are innumerable petty gods found in both the Old and New Worlds. According to The Great Church, they are horrible chaotic monsters, and it is heresy to worship them even in the slightest capacity. In actuality, most of the petty gods are completely unaffiliated with either chaos or law, and are simply neutral spirits that are just a fact of life.

The Stars
The stars fall into one of two categories: the stars of order and the stars of chaos. The stars of order produce such strange creatures as angels and modrons. The stars of chaos make such creatures as star vampires and demons. Some sages and scientists say that there are stars of neutrality, but if there are, none have been identified yet.

None of the alignments are 'good' or 'evil'. Neutrality is simply the alignment of the natural world, and all living creatures in it. Law is the alignment of a more ordered reality, one with perfect geometry and tiers of existence. Chaos is the alignment of change, not the kind of change that changes society or science, but the kind of change that changes how life and death function or how people are supposed to look. Chaos is all about mutation and constantly changing geometry. Essentially, both law and chaos are bad.

The Core Four Classes for The Megadungeon Campaign

The Cleric

Clerics are priests of The Great Church, with powers purportedly granted by The Great God of Order themselves. They all belong to The Great Church, but because of the great verity of splinter factions and denominations, they can vary a lot beliefs-wise. They must be Lawful.

Divine Domain Clerics can choose to have either the Light domain or the Life domain.

Additional Experience Clerics gain additional experience for showing reverence to The Great God of Order, such as tithes or by doing the wishes of a clergy member.

The Thief

Thieves are burglars, cutpurses, and thugs. They must begin as Neutral.

Roguish Archetype Thieves are rogues with the thief roguish archetype.

Additional Experience Thieves gain an additional 50% experience for every gp's worth of treasure that they steal. Taking unguarded treasure doesn't count as theft, and neither does killing the guard and then taking the treasure.

The Warrior

Warriors are soldiers, guards, or simply people who have trained themselves physically very much. They must begin as Neutral.

Martial Archetype Warriors are fighters with the champion martial archetype.

Additional Experience Warriors gain an additional 50% experience for being the combatant to deal the killing blow to an enemy.

The Wizard

Wizards are learners of the arcane arts, black magicks, vile rituals, or horrid spells. The Great Church states that they are heretics, evil, demon-worshipers, or monstrous. Their alignment changes with the more powerful spells they cast, becoming more and more Chaotic with each more powerful spell cast.

Additional Experience Wizards gain experience for doing magical research, such as copying spells into their spell book or examining magical or ancient artifacts. They gain experience equal to spell level x 10 when copying spells into their spell book, and experience equal to the value of the magic item in gold pieces for examining artifacts.

The Nuckelavee

Image from FrankieMileShow
The Nuckelavee
The nuckelavee is a faerie hailing from the folk tales of Scotland. It has the appearance of a man riding a horse, but the man is fused to horse at the hip, and it has no skin, only layers of veiny muscle and flesh. Some stories say that either the man or the horse only have one eye, or that instead of hooves, it has fins like a fish. The nuckelavee lives in the ocean, coming out only to spread a horrible disease called Mortasheen, which decays crops and kills farm animals, specifically horses, and chase men and women through the land. The nuckelavee cannot cross fresh water, such as lakes or rivers.

Image from Jonathan Wojcik of Bogleech.com
The Nuckelavee for Labyrinth Lord
Note: I use the ascending AC system made by The Lizard Man Diaries for Labyrinth Lord. The number in parenthesis after AC is the number you have to hit to attack the creature. I also separate attack bonus from hit dice.

No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 200' (66')
Armor Class: -1 (21)
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 3 (hoof/bite/claw, +5 hoof/claw, +3 bite)
Damage: hoof: 2d6, bite: 1d8, claw: 2d6+1
Save: MU19 (see below)
Morale: 12

The nuckelavee will either attack using a combination of the three attacks above, or they will release a cloud of the Mortasheen pestilence. Every creature around the nuckelavee must make a save vs. breath attacks or be caught in the diseased cloud. Every creature caught in the cloud takes an amount of damage equal to the current hit point total of the nuckelavee. A successful save vs. poison or death makes the attack deal half damage, rounded up. They also take 1d10 damage each round while still in the cloud, and 1d6 each round they are out of the cloud. Making a save vs poison or death halves the damage from the 1d10 while in the cloud, and makes you not take any more Mortasheen damage when outside of the cloud. A nuckelavee takes double damage when hit by an iron or iron-based weapon, and they take 1d6 damage when hit by salt. A nuckelavee can make a save vs. poison or death to halve the damage, rounded down. They save equal to a level 19 Magic-User, with the following exceptions: They have a breath attack save of 4, and a poison or death save of 14. The nuckelavee will run disappear or run away if hit many times by iron or salt, or if the characters cross a body of fresh water. It can be turned by clerics.

Image from savagepassion666
The Nuckelavee for DnD 5e
The stat block for the nuckelavee for end 5e is forthcoming.

First Post and My Campaigns

Hello!

I really like some of these rig blogs, and I thought that some people might care about the dumb ideas that I make for my games. That's not really the point of this post though. The focus of this post is to talk about some of the games that I currently am running, or the campaigns that I am working on.

Campaign 1: Vantek

Vantek is the only campaign that I am currently running. It uses the dungeons and dragons 5th edition system, and really it doesn't have that many house rules. The way that I would describe it would be as a combination of high fantasy, science fantasy, and horror, but played by a group of selfish thieves and murderhobos. If you want to learn about the setting, I have an obsidian portal page about it here. I'm still working on the setting, even as my group is playing it, so the obsidian portal might seem very unfinished.

Campaign 2: Supernatural Earth

Supernatural Earth is my upcoming campaign that happens in an alternate history Earth in the years between 1840 and 1860. It also uses the dungeons and dragons 5th edition ruleset, but it will have many more house rules and augmentations. Everything in the setting is based on real-world mythology and folklore, with confusingly mischievous faeries and elves, more ritualistic magic, and the gods of ancient mythology, with a good smattering of Lovecraft and other late 1800s and early 1900s writers.

Campaign 3: The Megadungeon

The Megadungeon is another upcoming campaign that has changed its ruleset several times. When I first started working on it, I used an augmented version of the original version of dungeons and dragons, with pieces of labyrinth lord and lamentations of the flame princess, then I transitioned to using the dungeon crawl classics system, and now it is going to use a heavily modified version of dungeons and dragons 5th edition, changed to make it feel more like an old-school game. I really need to rename it, as "The Megdungeon" really isn't a good name. Its setting is one with plenty of horror elements, in a world where humanity and other races have just discovered a vast wilderness continent. Under the surface there lies a sprawling structure known only as The Megadungeon, and people come from all over the empires and nations of humanity, as well as members of other races and nations, to delve into the underground space for treasure and adventure.

I also have the concept for a campaign that I will use with my forthcoming Fantasmagoria ruleset, but since that system isn't finished yet, I won't discuss it. Most work that I will put here will be for one or all of these campaigns, and everything that I post here I will try to make several versions for many different rulesets, such as Labyrinth Lord, Dungeons and Dragons 5e, and Fantasmagoria.

Have a great day!