I have been watching a lot of the TV series Supernatural and was wandering if there were any rules or guidelines for using mundane items to protect your self from evil or even to harm evil.
For those of you who have not seen the series, it is about two brothers who travel all across the united states hunting and killing ghosts demons and monsters from old legends. In the series the use a lot of salt to create barriers and to consecrate the remains of the dead, they also use pure silver and iron to harm evil spirits and monsters, they also use rock salt in shotguns to harm ghosts.
so to get back to the question how should i implement this into my game and are there any existing rules to help with this?
just to let you know i heard this will be the last season.
what i am really looking for is some options for non spell-casters to do some neat things with mundane materials that a character from 1st level could use.
just to let you know i heard this will be the last season.
what i am really looking for is some options for non spell-casters to do some neat things with mundane materials that a character from 1st level could use.
Well, cold iron works against fey and demons (usually). Silver against werewolves, vampires, and devils.
As for hitting incorporeal... hmm. I got nothing.
wow that makes me happy, another season.
thanks for the info.
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just to let you know i heard this will be the last season.
what i am really looking for is some options for non spell-casters to do some neat things with mundane materials that a character from 1st level could use.
In the 'supernaturalverse' it seems that every type of unnatural critter has a weakness of some sort.
Pick the various critters, and assign each of them one or more mundane weaknesses (the scent of garlic renders vampires sickened, even if they are normally immune to most effects that would make them sickened, for instance) and then require a Knowledge (X) check at a certain number to know this (religion, in the case of vampires, arcana for golems or dragons, nature for fey, etc.).
Non-supernatural critters, like orcs, might not have any specific weaknesses, or they may have something that a knowledge check will reveal, such as a superstitious dread of people with one eye or something, giving the characters a +X to a bluff or intimidate check to avoid a fight with them if the dude making the skill check disguises himself to appear to have only a single eye.
Various low-level 'weaknesses' could include;
Shaken in the presence of X (the ringing of iron bells, fresh-cut daisies, holy symbols, fire, singing, laughter / merriment, etc.)
Sickened by the stench / presence of X (garlic, blood, sunlight, the sight of its own reflection, wolfesbane, etc.)
Unwilling / unable to cross X (running water, a line of salt, a line of powdered silver, gujo dust, the ashes of a murderer, holy oil, the threshold of a home without an invitation, the shadow of a cross, etc.) requiring a Will save to pass that barrier
Takes extra damage from X (+1 damage, +1d3 damage all the way to +1d6 damage for the rarer items or tougher beasties, could be ash stake, hawthorn, silver, mistletoe, etc.)
Takes damage at all from X (takes 1d3 or 1d6 damage from fresh water or powdered salt or silver or iron flakes, as if the material was alchemical acid, or perhaps even alchemical fire (with a chance of 'catching on fire' from the effect). In the case of something super-common, like fresh water, there should be a reason why this critter survived the first touch of morning dew or the first rainstorm!)
Fascinated / distracted by X (shiny baubles, fire, unable to resist counting spilled beans / coins / etc., unable to bypass a knot without untying it as a full-round action, etc.)
Bound by its word (if critter X makes a promise or oath, it is bound as if by a geas spell, or suffers the effects of a bestow curse if it breaks it's oath, but, on the other side of the coin, if you make an oath with it, the curse afflicts you if *you* break the oath! Such critters tend to have decent Bluff and Sense Motive checks, making it no easy feat to trip them up in their own oaths!)
Able to be 'exorcised' or banished by mundane rituals (knowledge - religion to know them, might take a long 'casting,' might only repel the creature like a Turn Undead attempt, might require special materials, like a holy symbol or the words to be read in celestial from a holy text or holy water to be splashed on the creature during the banishing)
Able to be bound in a 'magic circle' (knowledge - arcana to make such a circle, only affects otherworldly critters (elementals, outsiders, possibly fey and aberrations, depending on their origins in this setting), requires different materials for each critter, acting similar to the 'cannot cross line of X' weakness)
Paralyzed / incapacitated by X (feeding wolfesbane to a werewolf, even if by just slathering oneself in it and allowing oneself to be bitten might cause it to be slowed and grow drowsy, pounding an iron nail into the shadow of a fey creature might cause it to be unable to move from it's current location, as it's shadow now 'chains' it to the section of nailed earth, etc.)
Sent back to the 5th dimension if it says it's name backwards (okay, just kidding)
Each such weakness, and not every creature would have one (and some creatures, like vampires, might have several), would require a different knowledge DC check to know, with the more awesome ones (banishment, paralysis, extra damage) requiring higher DCs than the weaker ones (shaken, sickened, distracted).
Pathfinder Goblins can be 'shaken' by presenting the written word, or perhaps even the act of writing itself, by the sight or sound of dogs or horses, etc.
Vampires are affected by the forceful presentation of holy symbols, by mirrors, by sunlight, by running water, etc., etc.
Some undead, such as Spectres, are powerless in sunlight, and cause animals to react adversely to their presence.
Riffing into historical lore, a Golem might have written glyphs on it's body, and hacking away certain characters from those glyphs might cause it to be weakened in some way. (Egyptian 'Emet' for truth, with the 'e' hacked off, becomes 'Met' or death. Hebrew 'Shamash' with a bit of pick-work becomes 'Mash' to the same effect. Depends on the lore you read, and you can make up your own version, just avoid making it as easy as 'one special attack = dead golem,' as it should be more like 'special action taken = *now* we can beat this sucker!')
this helps a lot thank you so much these are some great ideas and will help me flesh out some house rules for my game.
It's called Magic Circle Against Evil. You spread silver dust on the ground in a 10' diameter circle. Of course, that's a spell.
It's called Magic Circle Against Evil. You spread silver dust on the ground in a 10' diameter circle. Of course, that's a spell.
Actually, I think the Winchesters have dabbled in magic every now and then. Maybe they have levels in a special hunter prestige class which allows them to cast a few spells dealing with fighting supernatural critters.
It's called Magic Circle Against Evil. You spread silver dust on the ground in a 10' diameter circle. Of course, that's a spell.Actually, I think the Winchesters have dabbled in magic every now and then. Maybe they have levels in a special hunter prestige class which allows them to cast a few spells dealing with fighting supernatural critters.
Well in most fictional worlds, magic is a general thing accessible to anyone that knows how to conjure it. Magic Circle Against Evil is the same thing they use to trap or block demons.
actually i just finished watching supernatural seasons 1 and 2 on DVD and if i was going to give either of them class levels i might actually lean toward Inquisitor just because they dabble in divine magic but its not like they are clerics.
In the d20 Modern sourcebook there is a table you can either pick from or roll on that gives monsters certain weaknesses to help players without access to magic weapons (who wouldn't want a +5 Flaming Sawed off Shotgun!) overcome monsters.
http://dmreference.com/MRD/Creatures/Source_Effects.htm#B_TableSourcesOfWea kness
there's the table.
oh, and i don't think they are going to Kill Lucifer, i think they are only going to trap him back in hell for a few more millenia.
Salt has always formed a barrier to spirits. It's classic European superstition. Hence, use of salt, cold iron (i.e. Steel), and silver are all part of standard mythology. IN the Dresdenverse, those tricks work too...but depleted uranium is even BETTER then salt on ghosts! :)
==Aelryinth
In the d20 Modern sourcebook there is a table you can either pick from or roll on that gives monsters certain weaknesses to help players without access to magic weapons (who wouldn't want a +5 Flaming Sawed off Shotgun!) overcome monsters.
http://dmreference.com/MRD/Creatures/Source_Effects.htm#B_TableSourcesOfWea kness
there's the table.
oh, and i don't think they are going to Kill Lucifer, i think they are only going to trap him back in hell for a few more millenia.
yeah i dont think they will kill him either.
Salt has always formed a barrier to spirits. It's classic European superstition. Hence, use of salt, cold iron (i.e. Steel), and silver are all part of standard mythology. IN the Dresdenverse, those tricks work too...but depleted uranium is even BETTER then salt on ghosts! :)
==Aelryinth
I am pretty sure "cold iron" = "iron" not steel. Like, you should beat up faeries with cast iron cooking pots.
did you guys see the 100th episode?
Pretty cool stuff!
Salt has always formed a barrier to spirits. It's classic European superstition. Hence, use of salt, cold iron (i.e. Steel), and silver are all part of standard mythology. IN the Dresdenverse, those tricks work too...but depleted uranium is even BETTER then salt on ghosts! :)
==Aelryinth
I like how normal iron/steel works on the fey in the Dresdenverse. I'm also excited about the rpg for the Dresdenverse.
I am pretty sure "cold iron" = "iron" not steel. Like, you should beat up faeries with cast iron cooking pots.Salt has always formed a barrier to spirits. It's classic European superstition. Hence, use of salt, cold iron (i.e. Steel), and silver are all part of standard mythology. IN the Dresdenverse, those tricks work too...but depleted uranium is even BETTER then salt on ghosts! :)
==Aelryinth
well in one of the Dresden Files books the holy knights wife burned a faerie with a nail from a nail gun.
yeah, great episode.
i just finished watching season 3, there were a lot of episodes i missed from the first few seasons so i had to re-watch them all just so i know i didn't miss anything.
yeah, great episode.
i just finished watching season 3, there were a lot of episodes i missed from the first few seasons so i had to re-watch them all just so i know i didn't miss anything.
you know, if they hadn't shown adam at the beginning, i would have thought that to, but now i am beginning to think that if and when we see god, its gonna be ol john.
and i was thinking, if they do gank lucy, wouldn't that leave an opening for say, zak to take over?
well in one of the Dresden Files books the holy knights wife burned a faerie with a nail from a nail gun.
They are stretching the meaning of cold iron to include steel when it shouldn't.
They are stretching the meaning of cold iron to include steel when it shouldn't.
well in one of the Dresden Files books the holy knights wife burned a faerie with a nail from a nail gun.
Well his tools might have been blessed, the holy knight is a construction worker.