Basic Fantasy Field Guide Volume 1

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PapersAndPaychecks
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide

Post by PapersAndPaychecks »

OSRIC text for "Aboleth" reads as follows:-

Aboleth (singular and plural) inhabit subterranean fresh waters, particularly those that connect to the deepest caverns. Although they cannot speak, they can communicate telepathically with virtually any intelligent creature. They are ancient and evil. Their bodies are like a giant porpoise or small whale's, but coated in blue-black slime that constantly flows from gill-like slits in the aboleth's sides. Their heads have three horizontal, slit-like eyes one above the other. Four writhing tentacles sprout from the top and side of the head.

If one of these tentacles strikes a creature in melee, the target must save vs spells or, over the next few minutes, its skin will become a translucent membrane. This membrane must be kept moist or the creature will suffer excruciating pain. If the membrane remains dry for over a turn, the creature will die. A cure disease or cure serious wounds spell will return the skin to normal.

An aboleth has two psionic (i.e. non-magical) powers. First, it can create an illusion equivalent to an improved phantasmal force. The illusion lasts as long as the aboleth concentrates. Second, it can try to mentally dominate a creature (one creature at a time, up to three attempts per day, range 30 ft, save vs spells to avoid). A dominated creature will not fight for the aboleth, but it will otherwise obey the aboleth's telepathic commands. Domination is permanent so long as the dominated creature is within a mile of its controlling aboleth. Once taken more than a mile away, the creature gains a fresh saving throw at once and then another saving throw each day in order to escape it. Killing the aboleth will also free its slaves.

If underwater, the aboleth's slime forms a cloud around its body (1 ft radius). Any creature within the slime must save vs spells or it will be able to breathe water--but not air. This effect lasts for up to three hours.

A randomly-encountered aboleth will normally (75%) have 1d3 slaves.

There may be huge colonies of aboleth in the deepest subterranean waters. If so, sages suspect that there will be stronger aboleth, with unknown strange powers, as leaders and masters.
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Solomoriah
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide

Post by Solomoriah »

The OSRIC aboleth text is pretty good. However, I don't want to import any more copyright statements if I can avoid it, and more importantly, the OSRIC version does not include Skum.

I think I need to polish the revised version a bit more...
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chiisu81
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide

Post by chiisu81 »

Did you update the name listings in the back? There are many duplicates, in the form of:
Generic, Specific
Specific (Generic)

The Infernals and Nazgorians are two examples.
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Solomoriah
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide

Post by Solomoriah »

chiisu81 wrote:Did you update the name listings in the back? There are many duplicates, in the form of:
Generic, Specific
Specific (Generic)

The Infernals and Nazgorians are two examples.
I think this is meant as a sort of index, though without page numbers. Listing them both ways allows them to be found regardless of exactly how someone searches.
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Dmasterdad
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 3

Post by Dmasterdad »

Not sure if this is the proper place to post this so if not I apologize.
What I would really love to see is the one thing I thought the first Field Guide was missing and that is an updated Random Encounter table including monsters from the bfrpg book

AD&D did this with the MM II (added monsters from MM I and FF) and it would be great for people like myself who use a lot of random encounters as to not have to use multiple tables.
Of course many monsters would have to be left out but you can use all the most popular ones from each book in one chart.

Sorry if a chart like this does exist and I just don't know where to find it, even if there is it would be nice to have in a book.

Thanks.
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Solomoriah
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 3

Post by Solomoriah »

If you'd like to see something like that in the original Field Guide, why not start working on it now? I'm doing a slow, painstaking review of that book, with plans to get a new revision in print next year, and I'd be happy to add encounter tables to it.
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Dmasterdad
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 3

Post by Dmasterdad »

Sounds Awesome!. Let's have fun and pretend I am a guy that has no idea where to start. What would you suggest a guy like that do? Where do I begin?
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chiisu81
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide 3

Post by chiisu81 »

Start with the HD listings at the back of the Field Guide. Then go through and see what monsters you'd group together, as at least "semi-logical encounter groups". Then from there create the encounter tables. Don't worry about formatting, just make a plain list and post on the FG1 thread.

Moved these posts to the FG1 thread.
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Dmasterdad
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide

Post by Dmasterdad »

Is there any way to view the monsters in FG2 or3? Or is that not available yet?
This would be key as this will be a random encounter table taking all monsters throughout all books into account.
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Re: Basic Fantasy Field Guide

Post by Solomoriah »

FG2 is some ways away from print; I'd guess next summer, honestly, though a concerted effort by Chi might accelerate that. And FG3 is only just starting. Were I doing it, I'd come up with some consistent methodology and do it for just FG1 plus the Core Rules; whatever approach you come up with could then be extended for FG2 and eventually FG3.
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