I don't know if there was a full-on RPG, but I think Dragon might have devoted an issue to this in the late 90s or early 00s.
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This example is interesting because it could be beneficial in certain circumstances - immune to sonic attacks etc.
Some of these suggestions make me wonder if some of these people, if they are indeed aboleths-in-disguise, don't know that they are and are behaving according to some more subliminal preparation. Brainwash themselves, remove any obvious knowledge of their mission, but have their actions guided by an underlying hypnotic suggestion or something like that. Tyler Durden is a veiled master.
Curious that the day after I buy this, a late-March snowstorm comes to town...I kept an eye out for houses on chicken legs today. Coincidence, or clever and atmospheric marketing tie-in?
Um...what Auxmaulous and King of Vrock said. The intended sense:
Hence my example of the DM reference threads. The author of an adventure is likely to read this thread. Or the product discussion thread. So a relevant question in these has a greater chance of being seen, and therefore of being answered. noretoc - I would expect someone asking a question of a staffer in the French Toast thread to keep the question to the topic of breakfast pastry. ;)
I would add that those hoping for a response might post in a thread the staffer is more likely to read in the first place. For example, the DM Reference threads in the AP forums have been graced by the presence of many of the adventure authors. My inference is that if I'm, say, Neil Spicer*, I'm more likely to check a DM reference thread about the adventure I wrote than threads that are less likely to concern me. Especially if the questions/concerns are raised respectfully, as they usually are in those threads. *Disclaimer: I am not Neil Spicer.
A few off the top of my head... Wild Seed, and others by Octavia Butler. This one is tricky, in that there are aspects of rape/abuse, but it is overcome. Also given the context in Wild Seed (era of slavery, protagonist is an African woman) it would be unrealistic not to have some degree of abuse. Anyanwu ultimately is a very strong, complex character who turns the tables on her abuser. The Tombs of Atuan, by Ursula LeGuin. Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, all by Garth Nix. Very strong and compelling female leads here. A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray (two others in series) The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Though, come to think of it, there is a rape scene. But among the strongest women characters you'll ever see. War for the Oaks, Emma Bull.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, to the point of poring through the books to compile a spell list, and creating spells designed to counter certain necromancy spells. Then in Heroes of Horror I found a prestige class called the Death Delver. Now the flavor of this class is nothing like an Abhorsen, but the spell list and class abilities fit almost perfectly. It's an interesting mix of bardic and wizard skills; the bells would seem to take the place of material components for many spells (like speak for dead for example). And I just like the idea of an arcane caster who can oppose undead... I'd probably make it a prestige class with prerequisites of some amount of spellcasting levels, spellcraft ranks, perform music ranks... Its abilities to banish or bind undead would increase with level, though the most powerful would always be immune to a point. I'd say a high-level lich, even if faced with Astarael, would be only temporarily inconvenienced - perhaps its body would discorporate, and its spirit banished to the negative plane for a day or two. But this would give the Abhorsen's companions time to locate and destroy its phylactery. Such a class would work really well in a campaign with heavy undead usage - Age of Worms, Carrion Crown or some such.
A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter Miller
I used to have a long list of these, though some have already been mentioned here...I'll try to dig it up. EDIT: Also The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
144: Death Wish. You are reluctant to flee combat, and tend to dive into dangerous situations, often attacking without forethought (Leeroy Jenkins!) 145: Seeing Through the Veil. Your vision becomes poor in daylight, but improves in darkness 146: Attuned to Death. You can sense a life passing in your vicinity, and automatically detect undead 147: Cold as Any Stone. Your skin is icy to the touch, resulting in -2 modifier to any physical interaction 148: Scent of Your Reward. Depending on your soul's destination (i.e. where you spent your brief time in the afterlife) you carry a faint odor with you. This could be sulfur (evil planes), sea air (if you worshipped a sea god), etc. 149: Echoes of Beyond. You have a permanent +2 to any knowledge check, as random information from the other side floats around your mind. You also, however, suffer a permanent -2 to reaction checks, because people are so creeped out by your tendency to start spouting random information.
I second all of this! Nice to see another Tolkien aficionado, Saern. I read these stories when I was ten, and they've really informed my views of fantasy in the three decades since. All four are available in a recent collection called Tales from the Perilous Realm, though you also get the (lesser, IMO) short story for children called "Roverandom" and the collected poems known as "Adventures of Tom Bombadil." Illustrated by Alan Lee, one of Tolkien's better illustrators, who with John Howe inspired most of the movie's visuals. BUT I prefer the older edition with just Farmer Giles and Smith of Wootton Major, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, especially for its illustrations of the dragon Chrysophylax. And now this is no longer a threadjack. While I'm here, my favorite D&D dragons, in no particular order:
Okay I thought I knew Tolkien well Crysophalax Dives? Please tell me more. Chrysophylax appears in JRRT's long short story "Farmer Giles of Ham," available in lots of anthologies through the years and occasionally on its own. The Annotated Farmer Giles of Ham explains some of his inspirations and the linguistic jokes that pop up throughout the story. If the 1st edition dragon-subduing rules ever confused you, here's a chance to see some dragon-subduing in action. It's a good illustration of dragons' greed and ultimate cowardice, if that's how you like your dragons. My favorite Tolkien dragon is Glaurung. He's not as powerful as many dragons, mostly because he was the first [in-world, that is]; flying and fire-breathing were upgrades for later models. But he's probably the most purely evil.
I'm with Corrosive Rabbit on grell, as well as their cousins the grick and mooncalf. Sons of Kyuss are pretty bad, too, with that propagation-by-worm technique -- outdoes the rot grub. But the monster whose illustration I least like to look at is the avolakia.
I would add in Henry V (the 1989 version directed by Kenneth Branagh). Besides a brilliant score, it has the original kick-ass inspirational speech (St. Crispin's Day, magnificent in this film) and great battle scenes - lots of blood, mud, confusion. As usual with Shakespeare, it alternates between the high (court scenes, communications between the French and English - Brian Blessed looks awesome in his full armor) and low (good impression of the less well-armored foot soldiers, their sometimes ambivalent positions on the war, the way some of them make some extra cash by looting, despite the risk). Alexander would be an easy cut to leave room for this movie. Also won an Oscar for costumes, I believe.
DMs wanting examples of The Mother's speech (kindly grandmother who would happily eat your entrails while you watch) should look at Orddu and Orwen from Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, especially The Black Cauldron and Taran Wanderer. Nice mix of friendly and creepy-scary, which the Mother of Flies largely is in this encounter.
Apologies if this has already been posted. I didn't see it anywhere that looked likely. http://www.theonion.com/content/news/lovecraftian_school_board_member?utm_s ource=a-section More apologies if that's not actually a link. First time poster, long time lurker. |