Scuttlers for Petty Gods

Scuttlers are a servitor-species of minions who can be found in Expanded Petty Gods...which is rapidly nearing completion. We're looking forward to it!

Petty Gods: Another Illustration Done

The last few days have been pretty busy. I took a break from lay-out to wrap-up a few more illustrations for Petty Gods and to complete monster-sketch number 100 in my little green sketch pads. My hands feel better and even though I'm still dealing with some residual pain, I am getting things done and that feels great.

Kthoim: A Servitor for Petty Gods

It Is Said...
...The Ancient Witch Queens of Amatradigor took their elite palace-guard from the ranks of the Kthoim. Of course, they also knew the secrets of the Mauve Trapezoid and how to bind these entities to their service with various runes and unsavory pacts. Such knowledge has since been long lost or forgotten, but occasionally there are unsubstantiated reports of spell-bound Kthoim standing guard over strange tombs or certain unhallowed palaces within long-dead cities, but so far nothing has come of any such traveler's tales. So far...

From The Third Azure Scroll of Parlavak

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Kthoim

Keepers of the Wyrd

Minor Servitor Species Devoted to Various Unnameable Powers Probably Best Left Unnamed

No. Enc.: 1 (1d4)

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Movement: 90' (30')

Armor Class: -2

Hit Dice: 10

Attacks: 2 (weapon/special)

Damage: 3d6/special

Save: F10

Morale: 10

Hoard Class: IV,VI...

XP: 120

The Kthoim are void-warped humanoid molluscs who serve a host of ruthless alien masters with unpronounceable names. They wait deep within the interstitial voids between the Known Planes for the Call of those who would open the way for them. 

In combat a Kthoim wields a terrible +2 bastard sword that inflicts 3d6 damage and on any modified attack roll of 20 the target must Save or have one random limb severed (can include the head).

A Kthoim will sometimes forgo an attack with their dread sword in order to spew a viscous green phlegm upon any severed limbs within 15' of them. After 1d4 turns, Kthoim-phlegm will have reduced the severed limb so treated into a shapeless protoplasmic mass that takes on a life of its own as a 1HD Blobling (Al CE, Move 30' (10'), AC 8, HD 1, ATK 1, DMG 1d4, SV F1, MRLE 5, Hoard Class: nil, XP 6). This amorphous mass is mindless, ravenous and autonomous, and the limb so lost is non-recoverable, though it could possibly be replaced. Bloblings created in this manner are under the mental control of their Kthoim masters, but they are only capable of obeying very simple commands.

Unlike many otherplanar beings, Holy/Unholy Word does not send them back to their unnamed realm in-between the planes. Instead these types of spells inflict damage upon the Kthoim at a rate of 1 point of damage per level of the caster.

Summon Brethren: All Kthoim possess the ability to Summon one additional Kthoim after successfully inflicting 60 hit points of damage in battle. The Kthoim's attempt to summon reinforcement is automatically disrupted if they take damage before they can complete the elaborate summoning process (2d4 turns). They reduce that time by 1 turn for every Kthoim already successfully summoned...so things can get out of hand quickly if they are not stopped soon enough.

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The Eighth Contingent
Certain ancient scrolls warn that every eighth Kthoim summoned forth is a Fighter/Magic-User wielding both a sword and a staff that blasts minds or withers flesh. [Stats as above, except 12 HD (Fighter 6th/Magic User 6th), Save as 12 HD Cleric, Morale 11, and spell-casting capabilities as 6th level magic user with 18 INT, XP 1200. The Kthoim-Staff is a Chaotically-aligned +2 weapon, has 3d6 charges, and functions either as a Staff of Striking or a Staff of Withering, depending on the whims of the Kthoim wielding it. These staves are often very intelligent and will always attack any non-Kthoim that tries to wield them without first ascertaining the stave's name, usually through some form of divination or identification spell.]

They Make Wastelands of Worlds...
On those worlds where the Kthoim have successfully conquered large domains, as soon as the Kthoim consolidate their hold over their new territories, they enslave any survivors and set them to work erecting a suitably huge and powerfully fortified tomb-redoubt for the Lich-Lord whom their Unnameable Masters have selected to oversee these blasted and ruined places. Each Lich-Lord is progressively more insane than the others, but few non-Kthoim could ever hope to tell the difference.

To Call Forth These Beings...

The Kthoim are summoned by way of the Mauve Trapezoid or by use of the spell 'Calling Forth the Kthoim' (an uncommon variant of a VI^th level Summoning Monsters spell that opens the way for only one of these creatures...which is often more than enough). This spell has been banned and stricken from most reputable spell-books, but every now and then an archaic copy of it surfaces on some tattered old scroll some adventurer recovered from a dismal delve.

Mauve Trapezoid

Cold, oily mauve stone faceted into an irregular trapezoid and set to levitate above an ornate bronze bowl cast or carved with a spiraling pattern of overlapping waves or ridges that seem to move slowly of their own accord. The Mauve Trapezoid radiates Fear in a 30' radius and has an INT, Willpower, Ego equivalent to a +2 magic sword. It has 2d4 random magical powers in addition to its primary power which is to serve as the focus for opening a Gate into the Interstitial Void between universes. This gate function can be operated by anyone willing to sacrifice 3d6 hit points to the eldritch mechanisms within the bowl. Such a Gate will only remain open for 1d4 turns, after which there is a 30% chance of the item teleporting away. The ancient words of power for commanding and controlling this item have been lost, but if it is true that the Tombs of the Witch Queens have been found, then it may be possible to barter with one of the mummified rulers of ancient Amatradigor for the secret knowledge necessary to operate the Mauve Trapezoid...if one were foolish enough to trust such a being in the first place.

A Challenging Petty God: Hlinjassa

Since I created the image for Hlinjassa as part of a challenge, I thought it entirely appropriate to make this weird deity available to Gorgonmilk's revived and expanded Petty Gods project, as a challenge to see what someone else would write-up about this being. Gorgonmilk has accepted Hlinjassa's challenge and posted the image HERE, and now we're looking forward to seeing what Simon Forster from The Sky Full of Dust blog will will have to tell us about this entity.Thanks for accepting the challenge Simon!

The Thing That Watches (Petty God from Bujilli)

"There was a very large object in the center of this room. It was set upon a dais of corroded metal and a shimmering field of criss-crossing slow-motion lightning bolts arced all around the bloated figure of some larval-like mass of glutinous folds and many, many limbs surmounted by a greenish orb. It was extremely silent, but then such things usually were, when they had a pocket of absolute vacuum surrounding them...He had the disconcerting impression that the large green orb was some kind of ocular organ and that it was looking right at him..."

Bujilli, Episode 9


The Thing That Watches
A Petty God from Bujilli: Episodes 9 and 10

Name: Thing That Watches
Symbol: Iridescent Pearl
Alignment: Unknown
Movement: n/a
Armor Class: -5
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 122/89* (20 HD)
Attacks: n/a
Damage: n/a
Save: M20
Morale: n/a
Hoard Class: Random
XP: n/a

Bloated and inscrutable, it squats sullenly behind intense sorcerous wards, watching. Always watching. It has been a witness to many things, but never once has it spoken or shared any of what it has learned. It is a selfish, minor godling, this Thing That Watches. Whatever it sees, it keeps to itself. It hordes knowledge. Keeps secrets it never shares. Knows much that others can only ever guess.

Anyone attempting to use Telepathy, ESP, or other such forms of mental communication with this entity must Save or be afflicted with a Feeblemind spell for 1d4 hours. Attempting to use Contact Other Plane or Commune to reach this entity will result in the caster losing the ability to cast that spell for 1d4 weeks, no Save. The Thing That Watches does not speak, it lacks the ability and has no inclination to communicate if it even could. It watches. Apparently, that is enough.

According to the Xenosage Balgramire, there are only 346 of these beings left in existence. But of course everyone knows that the old fool was only half-right about this, as with most everything else. There are in fact 346 instances of this collective organism scattered across congruent space-time. There could be more of the thing's serial-bodies spread out into the past or future, but no one has ever bothered to look into the matter.

For some unexplained reason, the Thing that Watches is most often encountered in close proximity to various Transition Mechanisms, such as Synchronocitors and the like. They also tend to be reported by nearly every person who bonds with one of the Gems of Muktra.

It is alleged in certain ancient texts that it is possible to open a channel of communication with this deity once one has possession of an operational Synchronocitor, but the details are a bit vague, not the least of which would be why anyone would bother and/or just what good it would be to anyone with the means to attempt such a thing. Other sources indicate that the Thing will only ever communicate with one who bears the Gem of Muktra, but so far this has not been verified.

There is a great deal no one knows about these things.

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*The first value is for the force-field surrounding the Thing That Watches, the second value is for the serial-body. Destroying one or more of this Pettty God's serial-bodies will only mildly inconvenience it, and since it does not attack, there's no XP to gain from harming it.

Fruggar: A Minor Servitor Fungi for Petty Gods

Fruggar

Minor Servitor Fungi

No. Enc.: 2d4* (1d100+100)

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Movement: 60' (20')

Armor Class: 3

Hit Dice: 1+2

Attacks: 1 (weapon)

Damage: As weapon

Save: F1

Morale: 8

Hoard Class: Random Low-End Loot

XP: 12

2-3' tall bipedal mockeries of humanoids, Fruggar are mindless fungal foot-soldiers in service to any number of Petty Gods of Fungi and related things. Blind, bulbous and boneless, they are immune to Charm, Fear, Illusions, Sleep and most life-draining attacks. They Move Silently and Hide in Shadows as if they were 4^th level Thieves, an ability that they use frequently and often to ambush likely looking victims in the deep dark places.

One or two Fruggar are of little consequence and can usually be ignored, especially while still close to the surface (1-4 levels below the ground). When Fruggar are first encountered only one or two are likely to be seen, but there almost always are more near-by. Unless these scouts are destroyed or run off, the Fruggar will follow any adventuring party that appears to be lost, weak or vulnerable.

Fruggar are entirely incapable of speech and go into battle quietly and calmly. They wield whatever random, often broken weapons and armor they have been able to recover from their past victims.

Upon being slain a Fruggar collapse into a 3' diameter pool of frothy ooze that remains pungently active for 1d4 hours, during which time anyone coming into contact with the wet frothy ooze must Save or have their skin become horribly mottled and break out with 1d4 colonies of tiny fungal masses that can only be removed by use of a Cure Disease or Remove Curse spell, but otherwise are mostly harmless. The dried powder made from these secondary growth can be consumed in order to experience a Commune With Fungal Gods effect (treat as Cleric Spell Commune, but with triple chances of insanity).

It is believed that every purplish patch left behind by a slain Fruggar somehow extends the vile reach of their masters into the world.

Goblinoid shamans are known to gather-up or otherwise extract the purplish froth (often called 'bruise broth') from captive Fruggars and use it to remove the flesh from carcasses in order to get at the bones they then shape into various magical implements. Some suspect that they also use this horrid froth in the brewing of their most noxious potions and distillations, but that is a tightly-kept secret few will share outside of their immediate kin.

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* Every subsequent check for wandering monsters, there is a 30% chance of an additional 1D4 reinforcements have been successfully called-in by the Fruggar tracking the party. They tend to wait until the odds are more than 6-to-1 in their favor. They also are more likely to let a well-equipped party to pass and lie in wait for them as the party attempt to return to the surface.

Petty Gods and Our Imminent PDF

I've been caught-up in getting the Space-Age Sorcery PDF done, so I've fallen behind on making posts here at the blog. Ever since I saw that Gorgonmilk had taken up the reins and was hard at work getting Petty Gods revived, revised and released, I have intended to contribute something to the effort. I missed the boat the first time around and I certainly don't want to miss out this time around. Jody has completed her proofreading and editing chores, so now I'm in the final stages of making all the corrections and revisions and all that fun stuff. We limited this free pdf to 26 pages of content, with a front and back cover (you don't have to print those if you don't want to), featuring a weird miscellany of spells with a few handy random tables that can be adapted or plugged into any number of games, campaigns or settings. Think Lovecraftian Space Opera, or Skeletor facing-off against Darklon in a post apocalyptic Amber-shadow of Arduin or Skaith, or something like that. But with shoggoths. Everything is better with shoggoths; Irving is pretty adamant about that. Ahem. In any case we're formatting the Space-Age Sorcery pdf using Swords & Wizardry, mostly because it's pretty easy to convert and/or adapt stuff from that over to any other OSR-style RPG like say Humanspace Empires,  Mutant Future or some unholy mash-up of Metamorphosis Alpha,  Hulks & Horrors Realms of Crawling Chaos and X-Plorers or Bandits and Battlecruisers, or whatever old school Sci-Fantasy/Space Opera game(s) you prefer. Heck, it wouldn't take much effort to port these spells over to Rogue Space or Stars Without Number. You could also use these spells for special NPCs or monsters, or build a whole post apocalyptic campaign where Thundarr-like wizards have used these spells to devastate dozens of worlds...

So, once we have Space-Age Sorcery out there as a free pdf, I'm hoping to have some time to write-up a Petty God or two. Then it's on to the Worldboats pdf and the expanded and even weirder Space-Age Sorcery sourcebook/supplement that we're hoping to make available in print because Brutorz Bill asked for it. Irving was pretty insistent that we do this as well.

EDIT: Serious OMG! Moment--Over the course of the last week or so, Grogonmilk has managed to elevate the Petty Gods project from a simple revival of a stalled-out community effort to a truly amazing (and effective!) rallying cry for old school gamers everywhere. And he has somehow managed to get Michael Moorcock to join in the fun! Wow! Way to go Gorgonmilk! This is the most mind-blowingly exciting OSR project ever...which just goes to show how much can really happen in a week. Incredible, simple incredible.

Go Check It Out!