DnD Spells: Massmorph

Messenger To Macbeth

As I did stand my watch upon the hill,
I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought,
The wood began to move.

MACBETH

Liar and slave!

Messenger

Let me endure your wrath, if't be not so:
Within this three mile may you see it coming;
I say, a moving grove.

MACBETH

If thou speak'st false,
Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive,
Till famine cling thee: if thy speech be sooth,
I care not if thou dost for me as much.
I pull in resolution, and begin
To doubt the equivocation of the fiend
That lies like truth: 'Fear not, till Birnam wood
Do come to Dunsinane:' and now a wood
Comes toward Dunsinane. Arm, arm, and out!
If this which he avouches does appear,
There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here.
I gin to be aweary of the sun,
And wish the estate o' the world were now undone.
Ring the alarum-bell! Blow, wind! come, wrack!
At least we'll die with harness on our back.

While Shakespeare's march of Birnam Wood was an effective, if mundane, ruse, Gygax and Company give us the magical alternative:  Massmorph. 

This is yet another of the many utlility and miscellaneous spells that provide early versions of Dungeons and Dragons with their richness and depth. 

While my preference leans towards the player-created or organically-introduced spells, the existence of Massmorph and other non-combat spells within the DnD lexicon is welcomed. 

And it doesn't hurt that the apparent inspiration for this spell is found within the works of one of the greatest playwrights of western civilization.

Slapstick Humor And DnD

I'm cheating just a bit here, putting the above image and the magic user spell, Fumble, together.  The preceding Sutherland illustration appears on page 11 of the ADnD Players Handbook, while the Fumble spell description appears on page 77.  Combining them in this post helps highlight an important feature of early versions of Dungeons and Dragons: humor.

I've already spent some time on this blog discussing the illustrations of Will McLean.  Will McLean's cartoons graced the pages of the 1979 Dungeon Masters Guide and early Dragon Magazines.  His style of humor was welcome tonic to the too-serious arguments over rules minutia that occurred during Dungeons and Dragon's early development.

What I like most about the preceding Sutherland illustration is the great contradiction inherent in the barbarian's fall: did he truly slip on a banana-peel, and if so, what is the point of the spell-casting wizard's inclusion in the cartoon?  Or did the spell-caster just recently summon the monkey which ate the banana and dropped the peel, which the barbarian then slipped on?

Otto's Irresistible Dance

I was mentioning a couple of days ago that several spells in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons are named after famous characters from the original DnD campaigns.  Otto's Irresistible Dance is one of those spells.

The accompanying illustration by Dave Sutherland, of a capering Umber Hulk, once again demonstrates the capacity for creators of the early versions of DnD to have fun, and make fun, of themselves and the game they were playing

New school DnD, by comparion, takes itself far too seriously.

Percentile Dice Abuse

A little pet peeve of mine:  the over-use and abuse of percentile dice for results generation.

Mirror image, a second level magic user spell in ADnD, contains a system for random determination of the number of mirror images that appear when the spell is cast.  From one to four mirror images appear, depending on the result of a percentile dice throw.  A roll of 1-25 results in one image; 26-50 creates two; 51-75 summons three; and 76-100 invokes four.

Clearly, a d4 is equally suitable, and more appropriate in this circumstance.  What am I missing here?  Why bother using percentile dice for this spell?  I can see using percentile dice if, for example, you added your character's level to the roll, thus having a higher chance of more mirror images as you increase in level.  Otherwise, the use of percentiles in this instance just seems like overkill.

DnD Right Out Of The Box

My interest in a resource card-based accessory for Dungeons and Dragons is also inspired by the thought that it would facilitate the introduction of new players into the role-playing hobby.

It would take very little time for each player to grab some dice, a character illustration card, a player attributes card, and a half-dozen item, skill and spell cards, slide them in the sleeved booklet, and be ready to play a game of DnD.  The illustrations on the card would be a quick visual cue to those new players, telling them what those item, skill and spell cards do.

For the DM, all they would need is dice and adventure map, and a couple of stacks of cards beside them:  a monster deck, treasure deck, and some clue or adventure hook cards.  That would facilitate improvisation, as the DM would be as surprised as the players as the characters explore and the DM draws cards to see what is discovered.

Dungeon Module D2: Shrine of the Kuo-Toa

It's easy to find examples of "bad" Dungeons and Dragons artwork.  One has only to look at the D-series of modules to find it.  Of course, when I say bad, with quotations, I don't really mean bad.  Primitive, yes.  Amateurish?  Fine.  But it is also entirely appropriate, in keeping with the requirements for Dungeons and Dragons art, as separate from Fantasy Art.

Incidentally, some people, big fans of Elmore, Easley and Parkinson, uncritically consider fantasy art (particularly by those three artists) and DnD art to be the same thing.  I will return to why they are not in a separate post.

Having reached the end of module D1, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, and avoided or defeated the troglodytes, bugbears, trolls, dark elves, and assorted other adversaries that dwell in a large subterranean cavern, the party pushes on towards the fabled city of the Drow.  The party continues to encounter Drow patrols and merchant caravans, along with quintessential DnD monsters like the Rust Monster pictured above.

Several other new (for 1977) monsters appeared in Shrine of the Kuo-Toa.  The above Umber Hulk makes his first appearance here in this DnD module.

Above we discover a trio of Ropers, one being put to the torch while another Roper pulls a hapless party-member to his doom.  It's interesting to view these illustrations, and in so doing compare them to the artwork that will come in the mid-80's and beyond.  It's typical of these early illustrations that the party's survival is often in doubt.

Other than some standard subterranean corridors, we are provided with very few encounter areas in D2.  One such encounter area is a river crossing, populated by a single insane Kuo-Toa ferryman.  It is possible that this will be the first of several encounters with this Lovecraftian adversary, prior to reaching the Shrine.

It should be obvious that the above artwork is by Trampier, even without his signature appearing upside down at the top of the illustration.  It features Tramp's not-atypical conceit of framing the illustration from the persective of the monster, rather than that of the adventuring party.  It catches the action at the precise moment of decision and danger, for the madness of the insane Kuo-Toa will be revealed in the manner in which the party reacts to his hail.

Another secondary encounter area features deep gnome miners, foes of the Kuo-Toa, whose reaction and sympathetic gestures towards the party may affect the success of their visit to the Shrine.  The deep gnomes have been scouting the Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, and have had several military encounters with these fish-men.  The deep gnomes are potentially powerful allies, if the party reacts to them in a fashion appropriate to their motivations.

Finally, we reach the Shrine of the Kuo-Toa.  Like the central subterranean cavern adventure location in D1, there is no requirement that the Shrine be cleared of foes.  In fact, you could, potentially, bypass this encounter location without participating in a single combat.  That is because there is significant underworld traffic through this area, including the traffic of drow patrols and merchant caravans.  Although the Drow and the Kuo-Toa hate each other, they have come to an uneasy accommodation, with rare breaches of that truce.  Other underworld denizens travel to and past the Shrine, so it is not unusual to find over-worlders in the vicinity.

However, there are clues to be gathered at the Shrine, regarding the intentions of the dark elves, and opportunities for other intelligence-gathering and preparation for what lies beyond, not to mention ample treasure and combat for those who wish to partake in those activities.  A smart party will take advantage of their friendship with the deep gnomes, or use subterfuge and cleverness to gain information and treasure here.

Dungeon Module D1: Descent Into the Depths of the Earth

This post really needs to be subtitled "A Megadungeon Template."  I say that because the Drow module series is the best example I can find of a TSR-published adventure that provides the sort of megadungeon I would want to run.  

The D-series of modules are comprised of D1, D2 (Shrine of the Kuo-toa) and D3 (Vault of the Drow). That series of modules provides a variety of location-based adventures, while simultaneously giving the Dungeon Master a wealth of un-developed locations for future use.

Each hex of the above map represents one mile, and only the dark grey sliver, extending from the top-left to the bottom-right of the map, is developed in the D-series.  The rest of the map, including the sunless sea in the top-right corner, is left for the Dungeon Master to develop.

The D-series starts where the G-series (Against the Giants) left off.  Having defeated the Hill, Frost and Fire Giants, the players discover that all three giant races are being manipulated by the Drow, a race of evil subterranean elves. 

The characters come into possession of a map, and using a rope-bridge and crane, the party crosses a river of lava in search of the lost city of the dark elves.  As they make their descent towards the dark elf stronghold they encounter giant slugs and other enormous subterranean creatures.

There are three major encounter areas in D1, Descent Into the Depths of the Earth.  The first is a Drow checkpoint, staffed by two separate Drow patrols.

The second encounter is a Mind Flayer outpost, representing an incursion into the realm of the Drow.

Finally, the party reaches a massive underground cavern, populated by Bugbears, Troglodytes, and Trolls, along with Drow, Purple Worms, a Lich, Gargoyles, and sundry other potential adversaries and allies.

Other than the first Drow outpost, there is no absolute requirement that the characters must participate in any of the encounters in this module.  Nor must they defeat the Drow or any of the other denizens.  In fact, there is an opportunity to win the trust of the dark elves by eliminating the Mind Flayer outpost.  The players will likely encounter at least one drow caravan while plumbing the depths, and those encounters also provide opportunities for role-playing and negotiation.

Even the Lich, who occupies a side cavern within the major encounter site of this module, can be easily avoided:  don't enter his lair to begin with.

I really like the form of adventure that the D-series represents.  While it provides a destination-based adventure path, there is no particular requirement that the players pursue a specific goal as they seek that destination, nor does the module presume that every denizen encountered must be defeated.  In addition, the module offers side passages that the DM can flesh out, to create a completely novel adventure.  And then there is that tantalizing sunless sea, lurking up in the top-right corner of the map.

I like that there is a boundedness to the D-series of modules, while offering significant agency to the DM and the players.  That, to me, is the hallmark of a good adventure product.

Jim Roslof And The DSG

I was recently pointed to the blog of Bruce Heard, which got me to thinking about the 1986 ADnD Dungeoneer's Survival Guide and the art of Jim Roslof.

Jim Roslof illustrated about a quarter of the 33-odd illustrations in the DSG.  In my mind, his art offerings provided the real snap to this late 1st Edition ADnD guidebook.

It's not surprising that the Drow should make an appearance in the illustrations of the DSG, considering that they are most famous of the underdark menaces.

The risk of becoming lost while dungeon-delving was an important feature of old-school DnD.  Mapping is one of those activities that is eschewed by players of recent versions of DnD, as it is not "fun."

I'm ambivalent towards the inclusion of skills in DnD.  I understand the benefits, as it regularizes and legitimizes certain in-game activites.  My issue with climbing, blacksmithing and other skills is that it resulted in dice taking the place of description.  Once skills had associated proficiency levels, players picked up the dice rather than engaging in dialogue with the DM.

There are a lot of later DnD players that grew up with the art of Elmore, Easley and Parkinson.  Those three artists introduced a more posed and heroic style to the art of DnD.  The early DnD artists, like Roslof, seemed to understand the sensibilities and gaming styles of the first generation of gamers.  In particular, that the game was about the mundane activities, like lowering the party into the dungeon.  Roslof and others were still able to include a feeling of risk and danger in those illustrations.

Roslof was not the only artist involved in the DSG.  Jeff Easley, Doug Chaffee, Greg Harper and David Sutherland also provided illustrations. 

While I really like Easley's black and white art, when did DnD become about hot, scantily clad wenches? 

Doug Chafee's artwork in the DSG, like the mushroom infested cavern, above, focussed equally on the adventurer's and the underworld environments.

Greg Harper displays a much heavier hand when it comes to his illustrations.  I do like this piece, above, of a party fleeing from some demon-spawn.  Still, the adventurers are more heroic than the ones we see in the artwork of old-school artists like Trampier, Otus or Holloway.

This uncredited David Sutherland piece is reminiscent of the aventuring tableaus found in the ADnD Dungeon Masters Guide appendices.  It seems by 1986, DCS had been relegated to cartography and diagrams, and was no longer the go-to guy for depicting adventurers in historical armor.

A Paladin In Hell From The Players Handbook

Most of us are already familiar with this old-school classic, but here it is again: A Paladin In Hell, by David C. Sutherland, a black and white illustration appearing on page 23 of the 1978 Advanced Dungeons And Dragons Players Handbook (thank you, Akrasia, for the correction). This illustration ranks up there, with Emirikol The Chaotic and a few others, as my all-time favorite D&D artwork.