5e Grognard

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I got the early round of making the feast today.  Got the turkey in the roaster, stuffing in the slow cooker, a (frozen) pumpkin pie baked and the sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole put together, and gravy made.  My wife got second shift, which pretty much involves getting everything out and making the mashed potatoes and dinner rolls.  So that leaves me to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and knock out a quick blog post before it's time to eat. Jumping into Dragon Magazine #91, which looking at it now I must never have gotten in my youth.  This is a completely new issue to me.  I will say, I dig the cover. Nice collection of magic items in this issue, the first of which is the Oil of Phosphorescence, by Michael Persinger. Oil of Phosphorescence Potion, uncommon A slight application of this oil will cause the user to believe that it is some other form of magical oil, generally oil of ethe...

I've decided I like to chop up the articles in Dragon into little pieces and string it out over several posts.  Here's another sorcerer spell from Ed Greenwood's Incantatrix from Dragon Magazine #90. Ray of Oblivion is now available on the DM's Guild in  Grognard's Grimoire: Sorcerers !

Today we are checking back in with the Ed Greenwood Incantatrix article from Dragon Magazine #90 and updating a spell, Maladweomer.  In keeping with my making the incantatrix a sorcerous bloodline, I'm adding this spell to the sorcerer spell list. Maladweomer is now available on the DM's Guild in Grognard's Grimoire: Sorcerers !

I've moved on to Dragon Magazine #90, and the spell stealing incantatrix, by Ed Greenwood. This was an NPC class I fell in love with when I first read it, but never had the chance to use.  In this conversion, I've taken bits from this original write up, but have based it more on the 3e prestige class, from the Player's Guide to Faerun.  Seeing as how the 3e version was a master of metamagic, it fits into 5e best as a sorcerous origin. Some of my thoughts with the build: since sorcerers don't get metamagic until 3rd level, I pushed back the cooperative metamagic ability to then, and it scales with level, unlike a lot of sorcerous origin powers.  They needed something at 1st level, so I gave it the ectoplasmic spells ability.  That may be of limited usefulness, but I feel it helps offset the power of later abilities. At first I wasn't sure what mechanic to use for the stealspell  and the seize concentration abilities.  I finally settled on making a sp...

This will be my last installment from the Creature Catalog installment from Dragon Magazine #89, the utukku.  This demon later appeared in the 2nd Edition Red Steel appendix of the Monstrous Compendium.  I based it off of those stats, since they were a bit easier to convert. Monsters that I didn't convert from Dragon #89 are: killer beetle, bichir (a land walking fish), corkie (a groundhog with horns), duleep (electrified spider webs), explodestool (exploding mushrooms), flailtail (marsh dwelling manta ray), giant horseshoe crab, ihagnim (astral oozes), millikan (a flame throwing tree stump), peltast (a leathery parasite that can heal its host), giant pitcher plant, seastar, scallion (a big fish), giant shrike (a big songbird), sind (marsh dwelling humanoid), star leviathan (astral whale), giant venus fly trap (I'd just use awakened tree stats), vurgen (another giant fish), and the killer whale (already have 5e stats).  For the most part, these monsters just didn't inte...

The dark naga was a creature that I was waiting on the Monster Manual before converting from Dragon Magazine #89 Dark Naga Large monstrosity, lawful evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 75 (10d10+20) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 17 (+3) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) Saving Throws Dex +6, Con +5, Wis +5, Cha +6 Damage Immunities poison Condition Immunities charmed, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 Languages Abyssal, common Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) Rejuvenation.  If it dies, the naga returns to life in 1d6 days and regains all its hit points.  Only a wish spell can prevent this trait from functioning. Detect Thoughts.   At will, 60 ft. Spellcasting.  The naga is a 10th level spellcaster.  Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks), and it needs only verbal components to cast its spel...

The final installment of this Ed Greenwood article from Dragon Magazine #89!  Another with no magical bonus to armor class, but with a completely random effect! I'd rule that if a wild mage sorcerer had gained proficiency with shields and wielded this one, that they could add or subtract their spell attack modifier from the roll.  I'd probably do this with any magic items that had a random roll. Grimjaw Unique magical shield (requires attunement) Named for the small common tongue inscription found deeply engraved on the inside top rim of the shield, this plain iron shield is dented and blackened, and of normal and unassuming appearance. It bears no rust, and rusting will not affect it regardless of the handling it receives, due to protective magics cast upon it.  Grimjaw was first identified by the sage Ragefast of Baldur’s Gate, as borne by the adventurer Krystus and having a certain awesome power described hereafter. Krystus the Proud soon met his death at th...

Back with another shield from Dragon Magazine #89, today we get Shoon's Buckler. Shoon’s Buckler Unique magical shield, requires attunement The adventurer Shoon briefly possessed this magical shield. Its true origin is unknown, but he seized it from the body of a slain male drow during a battle deep beneath the Hill of Lost Souls. Amongst the drow, as speak with dead has revealed, the buckler was known as a “blink shield”; it was unique, and its making a mystery.  Shoon later gave the shield to the fighter Gorlaung “Blackhelm” in exchange for training; Gorlaung fell in battle with orcs in the Stonelands, and his body was stripped of weapons and valuables by his slayers.  The present location of the Buckler is not known. The Buckler is a 1’ diameter disk of black metal with a fist grip, all fashioned of one piece, and bearing no inscriptions.  Despite its small size, the Buckler functions as a +2 shield. Its other easily discernible power is the ability to glo...

Long time, no post! I think I may have burned myself out with the post-a-day pace a was setting. Well, I'm back, but I'm not making any promises for the remainder of the year. You see, I work for UPS and the next couple months pretty much suck. After skipping ahead to fit in with the Halloween theme, I jump back into Dragon Magazine #89, and to be honest, I'm ready to finish this issue off. A few more shields to go, and a couple monsters that I was waiting for the Monster Manual before I posted. Today we get one of the shields, Dzance's Guardian. Dzance’s Guardian Unique magical shield The ranger Dzance found this shield in a chest in the depths of Gauntulgrym, the Lost City; its origin is unknown, but it is thought to be of dwarven manufacture.  Dzance's Journals tell us of the properties of this item. When he retired from adventuring to live in the Lady’s Court at Silverymoon, Dzance gave the Guardian to Belpir, a young knight of that city. The...