Wednesday, April 27, 2016

RC to DCC spell conversion

I shamelessly steal adventures wholesale to use in my games.  I know a lot of people look down on that, and have never used anything but entirely home-brewed scenarios meticulously tailored for the players and their characters, but I'll use an adventure as-is in my game if it's good enough, and I'll modify it to fit if it's not.  Not that I don't come up with individualized adventures for my games...I just don't have any problems with using a good idea.  I won't apologize.

Now, these days, I've been pretty intrigued with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.  I've played a few solo thingies to test drive the rules, and I ran a couple of short adventures for my kids (in which we barely got past the 0-level funnel before they griped about being pulled away from their computer games).  If I were to get a regular game group together again, I'd push hard to play DCC. 

Many times in the past, when using a D&D adventure with AD&D or vice versa, if the spell listings for NPC magic-users and clerics didn't line up exactly with the rules system I was using at the time, I'd just use the rules for the spells in the other system.  DCC magic is so flavorful, though, that I'd hate to just use the relatively bland D&D style spells when I don't have to.  Of course, DCC says outright that unimportant NPCs don't even need the formality of named spells; they can get by with "3d6 magic blast, 3/day" if you want.  But for important NPCs, at least, I'd want to convert them as closely as possible.  Since DCC was pretty directly inspired by D&D/AD&D, many of the spells are directly analogous (Snake Charm -> Snake Charm), and converting from one system to the other is super simple.  Some of the DCC spells are combinations of the D&D type spells, and some of these combinations are not so obvious (Passwall, Wall of Stone, Stone to Flesh, et al are combined into Transmute Earth).  So, for my own reference, if for no one else's, I've compiled a list of D&D Rules Compendium spells and their DCC equivalents.

Clerical – Most abilities could be replicated with the Cleric class Divine Aid ability, if necessary.
1
Cure Light Wounds – (Clerical Lay on Hands ability)
Detect Evil – Detect Evil
Detect Magic – Detect Magic
Light – Darkness (This covers the reversed version at least.)
Protection from Evil – Protection from Evil
Purify Food and Water – Food of the Gods
Remove Fear – (possibly Word of Command, if “peace” or “courage” can be considered a valid command)
Resist Cold – Resist Cold or Heat

2
Bless – Blessing
Find Traps – Detect Evil
Hold Person – Paralysis and/or Cure Paralysis (for the reversed version)
Know Alignment – Second Sight (This doesn't allow direct knowledge of a person's alignment, but can possibly be used to figure it out.  Not a direct fit, but can be used in a pinch.)
Resist Fire – Resist Cold or Heat
Silence 15' Radius – Word of Command (SILENCE!)
Snake Charm – Snake Charm
Speak with Animal – Second Sight (Can't be used to give commands or whatnot, but in some cases the information gained by Second Sight might be communicated by animals from the area.  "Don't go that way!")

3
Continual Light – Darkness (Reversed version again)
Cure Blindness – Restore Vitality or Clerical Lay on Hands ability
Cure Disease – Neutralize Poison or Disease or Clerical Lay on Hands ability
Growth of Animal -
Locate Object – Second Sight (Again, depending on how it's used, Second Sight could be made to serve this spell's purpose)
Remove Curse – Remove Curse and/or Curse (for the reversed version)
Speak with the Dead – Speak with the Dead
Striking – Divine Symbol and/or Stinging Stone

4
Animate Dead – Animate Dead
Create Water – Food of the Gods
Cure Serious Wounds – (Clerical Lay on Hands ability)
Dispel Magic – Exorcise or Remove Curse
Neutralize Poison – Neutralize Poison or Disease
Protection from Evil 10' Radius – Protection from Evil
Speak with Plants – Second Sight (See Speak with Animal above)
Sticks to Snakes – Sticks to Snakes and/or Wood Wyrding

5
Commune – Second Sight
Create Food – Food of the Gods
Cure Critical Wounds – (Clerical Lay on Hands ability)
Dispel Evil – Banish, Exorcise, and/or Remove Curse
Insect Plague – Vermin Blight
Quest – Lotus Stare
Raise Dead – (not possible for the most part; however see DCC#74 Blades Against Death, or p 306 of the DCC rulebook)
Truesight – Detect Magic

6
Aerial Servant – Binding or Spiritual Weapon
Animate Objects – Spiritual Weapon
Barrier – Whirling Doom
Create Normal Animals -
Cureall – Neutralize Poison or Disease, Restore Vitality, or Clerical Lay on Hands ability
Find the Path – Second Sight
Speak with Monsters – Second Sight (See Speak with Animal above)
Word of Recall -

7
Earthquake – Cause Earthquake
Holy Word – Affliction of the Gods
Raise Dead Fully – (see Raise Dead above)
Restore – Restore Vitality
Survival – Weather Control or Resist Cold or Fire (These two spells don't cover as wide a variety of situations as Survival does, but gets you most of the way there.)
Travel -
Wish – (Clerical Divine Aid ability)
Wizardry -

DCC Cleric spells with no Rules Cyclopedia equivalent: Holy Sanctuary, Bolt from the Blue, True Name, Sanctify/Desecrate, Righteous Fire

Druid – Under RC rules, a druid can use any Cleric spell that does not affect alignments (such as Protection from Evil).  In addition, they have access to the following spells.
1
Detect Danger – Detect Evil
Faerie Fire -
Locate – Second Sight (See Locate Object above)
Predict Weather

2
Heat Metal
Obscure
Produce Fire
Warp Wood – Wood Wyrding

3
Call Lightning – Bolt from the Blue and/or Righteous Fire
Hold Animal – Paralysis
Protection from Poison
Water Breathing

4
Control Temperature 10' Radius – Weather Control
Plant Door
Protection from Lightning
Summon Animals

5
Anti-Plant Shell
Control Winds – Weather Control and/or Binding (for the control of air elementals aspect)
Dissolve
Pass Plant

6
Anti-Animal Shell
Summon Weather – Weather Control
Transport Through Plants
Turn Wood – Wood Wyrding

7
Creeping Doom – Vermin Blight
Metal to Wood
Summon Elemental – Binding (DCC doesn't seem to have a spell for elemental summoning, except maybe for the Wizard spell Demon Summoning.)
Weather Control – Weather Control


Magic-user
1
Analyze – Detect Magic
Charm Person – Charm Person
Detect Magic – Detect Magic
Floating Disc – Force Manipulation
Hold Portal – Ward Portal
Light – Cantrip or Wizard Staff
Magic Missile – Magic Missile
Protection from Evil -
Read Languages – Comprehend Languages
Read Magic – Read Magic
Shield – Force Manipulation and/or Magic Shield
Sleep – Sleep
Ventriloquism – Ventriloquism and/or Cantrip

2
Continual Light – Cantrip or Wizard Staff
Detect Evil – Detect Evil
Detect Invisible – Detect Invisible and/or Wizard Sense
Entangle – Ropework
ESP – ESP
Invisibility – Invisibility
Knock – Knock
Levitate – Levitate
Locate Object – Locate Object
Mirror Image – Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force – Phantasm
Web – Spider Web
Wizard Lock – Ward Portal

3
Clairvoyance – Wizard Sense
Create Air – Water Breathing (Create Air has some drawbacks and advantages that Water Breathing doesn't have, but this is the best fit.)
Dispel Magic – Dispel Magic
Fireball – Fireball
Fly – Fly
Haste – Haste and/or Slow
Hold Person – Paralysis
Infravision – Ekim's Mystical Mask
Invisibility 10' Radius – Invisibility
Lightning Bolt – Lightning Bolt
Protection from Evil 10' Radius – Protection from Evil
Protection from Normal Missiles – Force Manipulation 
Water Breathing – Water Breathing

4
Charm Monster – Charm Person
Clothform – Mending (Clothform has more uses than just repairing items, but this is the best fit.)
Confusion – Mind Purge
Dimension Door – Planar Step
Growth of Plants – Enlarge
Hallucinatory Terrain – Phantasm
Ice Storm/Wall of Ice – Chill Touch and/or Control Ice
Massmorph – Phantasm
Polymorph Other – Polymorph
Polymorph Self – Polymorph
Remove Curse -
Wall of Fire – Control Fire
Wizard Eye – Wizard Sense

5
Animate Dead – Binding (Assuming an undead spirit is not native to the material plane, as it belongs in some afterlife.  It doesn't really animate dead bodies, but can be used to take over undead spirits at the GM's discretion.)
Cloudkill – Choking Cloud
Conjure Elemental – Binding or Demon Summoning (Assuming elementals are a form of not-necessarily-evil demon.)
Contact Outer Plane – Consult Spirit
Dissolve – Transmute Earth
Feeblemind – Mind Purge
Hold Monster - Paralysis
Magic Jar – Transference
Passwall – Transmute Earth
Telekinesis – Ropework, Levitate, Gust of Wind, and/or Fly (A lot of spells have some sort of "distance manipulation" component, but no DCC spells have the versatility of Telekinesis.)
Teleport – Planar Step
Wall of Stone – Transmute Earth
Woodform – Mending (See Clothform above)

6
Anti-Magic Shell – Magic Bulwark
Death Spell – Emirikol's Entropic Maelstrom
Disintegrate – Emirikol's Entropic Maelstrom
Geas -
Invisible Stalker – Invisible Companion, Eldritch Hound, or Lokerimon's Unerring Hunter
Lower Water -
Move Earth – Transmute Earth
Projected Image – Replication
Reincarnation – Replication
Stone to Flesh – Turn to Stone and/or Transmute Earth
Stoneform – Transmute Earth and/or Mending
Wall of Iron – Transmute Earth
Weather Control –

7
Charm Plant – Charm Person
Create Normal Monsters – Animal Summoning or Monster Summoning
Delayed Blast Fireball – Fireball (No delayed aspect, but this is the best fit.)
Ironform – Mending (See Clothform above)
Lore – Detect Magic and/or Locate Object
Magic Door – Planar Step and/or Ward Portal
Mass Invisibility – Invisibility
Power Word: Stun – Slow (This is the closest fit.)
Reverse Gravity -
Statue – Transmute Earth
Summon Object – Planar Step (best fit)
Sword -
Teleport Any Object – Planar Step

8
Clone – Replication
Create Magical Monsters – Animal Summoning or Monster Summoning
Dance -
Explosive Cloud – Choking Cloud
Force Field – Force Manipulation
Mass Charm – Charm Person
Mind Barrier – Magic Bulwark (best fit)
Permanence – (Most applicable spells have a permanence aspect at higher levels of effect.)
Polymorph Any Object – Polymorph
Power Word: Blind -
Steelform – Mending (See Steelform above)
Symbol – Runic Alphabet, Mortal and/or Runic Alphabet, Fey
Travel – Planar Step

9
Contingency -
Create Any Monster – Animal Summoning, Monster Summoning, or Demon Summoning
Gate – Planar Step (best fit)
Heal -
Immunity – Magic Bulwark
Maze – Planar Step (best fit)
Meteor Swarm – Fireball and/or Magic Missile
Power Word: Kill -
Prismatic Wall – Force Manipulation (best fit)
Shapechange – Polymorph
Survival -
Timestop -
Wish -

Patron spells not considered. DCC spells with no RC equivalent: Feather Fall, Find Familiar, Flaming Hands, Invoke Patron, Patron Bond, Arcane Affinity, Fire Resistance, Forget, Nythuul's Porcupine Coat, Ray of Enfeeblement, Scare, Scorching Ray, Shatter, Strength, Breathe Life, Eternal Champion, Make Potion, Sword Magic, Write Magic, Lokerimon's Orderly Assistance, Hepsoj's Fecund Fungi

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Love that Dyson Logos map style

One Page Dungeon is done, I think.  I used the Dyson Logos map style, and the map looks pretty good, except for some parts I did in colored pencil instead of ink.  Ah well, it still looks way better than what I do when I make maps for my own use.  It's easy to make it look good with that method, so thanks, Mr Logos.

Waves are very hard things to model with a sense of realness.  What I've done so far isn't exactly as user friendly as I'd hoped, and the next step has only been worse.  As the natural endpoint of a wave's lifespan, breaking on a shoreline should be covered with some amount of realistic detail, but I've decided there is no way to make it game-able, even as pre-game preparation.  Not impossible, just not worth the effort.  I mean, there are three basic types of breakers hitting the shores of the world, and you could pretty much just figure out what the shore slope is in a given area and assign a type appropriately, but unless I'm misinterpreting the information I've found, to get a full picture, you need to also take into account wave period and height (which I already do) and do a multistep calculation to work out how high the wave gets as it approaches the shore, slows down when it starts hitting bottom, and the wave energy goes into piling up water higher than the original wave, eventually ending in a breaking wave of a certain height taking place in a certain depth of water.  The calculations aren't too hard, but one step does involve reading information off a pretty esoteric chart, which kind of complicates it.  Also, since I've pointed out how waves can decay in height while leaving their period pretty much the same, there are too many possible inputs to just turn it all into an easy-peasy table, no matter how much number crunching I'm willing to do.  So, for characters struggling in the surf, whether against sahuagin raiders or simply to reach shore, I'll probably figure out some generic, close-enough workaround and leave it at that.

But, God help me, I'll probably end up procrastinating with the equations for months before I finally step away once and for all.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Long time between posts

I've been doing a little research on a few more wave related topics (I have a reason for this obsession, I really do, which I will reveal in the fullness of time), and doing a lot of procrastinating with old Dragon magazines.  I've also been working on a one page dungeon for this year's contest, and have decided that one page is a real challenge.  It's real easy to just throw together a forgettable handful of rooms, and it's real easy to spin an interesting concept into several pages.  Getting something interesting down to one page with enough detail to still be interesting takes some work.