Troll Lord Games

Good stuff! But... I don't read ebooks and I rarely have time to pour over folks personal websites but I do sit and read books like no ones business! You could/should be getting paid to write print books if one were so inclined. I'd love to get paid to write game materials. Unfortunately, economic ...

The class was originally meant to be a PC class, as mentioned in the intro. The idea was to create a system where "ordinary folks" could hold their own in a party of "extraordinary folks". Thus, the extremely small XP required for advancement. Another, Campaign-specific purpose w...

I use d20 + Dex Modifier to determine which side in a conflict has the initiative. The PCs can designate any party member to roll initiative for the group, so usually they pick the one with the highest Dex. I do likewise for the opposing side. After party initiative is determined, individuals act in...

The names in the book could be the members of secret society. The members might refer to each other only by a three-digit number in correspondences and during meetings, to maintain anonymity. The book could have belonged to an assassin eliminating members of the society. Perhaps the society possesse...

The Everyman class is both a method for creating NPCs, and a class for those you want to play ordinary folks facing extraordinary circumstances. Writing it down was prompted by one player stating that she wanted to create a Vampyre who was an ordinary schoolteacher, and realizing that there was no ...

There will be another netbook release soon, probably a compilation of my folklore-based undead entitle "Tome of the Restless Dead".

I've been focusing mostly on the Gothic materials lately. When the Casses and Races are all finished, I'll be releasing them as a compilation.

Presenting the Body Archons, also known as the infamous Men in Black. As with the Archons in general, I've combined some older lore with modern UFO mythology. An encounter with the Men In Black should be strange and mysterious, creating more questions than it answers. Observant CKs will note that t...

I like it. I could see some swamp-dwelling halflings hiring the PCs to get rid of the local "ogre", and failing to mention that the monster is really a half-gator mutant.

Everything clavis said This is a much more awesome take on Alignment than all the takes before or since. Thank you! One thing I like about Alignment as "side" in the "War in Heaven" is that it makes the idea of True Neutral make perfect sense. Neutrals are those who refuse to ta...

An important motif in my presentation of Elves is that they do not have souls, and are incapable of feeling guilt, shame, or even remorse. Consequentially, they are innately unable to comprehend why anyone would worship a god, and can never become Clerics or Paladins. Elves cannot distinguish betwee...

The conception of "Alignment" in the original game seems to have been influenced by Poul Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions", and the "Elric" books of Michael Moorcock. The idea was that certain beings served the cosmic forces of Law, others served the cosmic forc...

Bandits were another staple of Gothic fiction, imperiling the heroine, and titillating the reader. Obviously, a Bandit class is useful for more than just Gothic campaigns. Although intended to emulate Bandits as they appear in the Gothic genre, the Bandit class would also work for swashbuckling and...

In pre-industrial times, people lived in perpetual fear that their graves would be disturbed by thieves. Such fears reached a fever pitch in late 18th century England, when gangs of “Resurrectionists” provided the only reliable source of cadavers for doctors who wished to practice their surgical te...

cool, Clavis. You've got a unique setting in the making. Very impressive. Thanks. The "Gothic" classes and races are intended for the latest iteration of my Campaign world, set 300 years in the future of the previous iteration. The previous religious, magical, and social order has fallen;...

Virtuous women persecuted by evil men are fundamental to the Gothic genre. Isabella of the original Gothic novel “The Castle of Orantro”, De Sade's Justine, and Wilhelmina Harker of “Dracula”, are just three of many examples. Of course, the “Damsel In Distress” was a staple of the medieval romance ...

Gypsies were a fixture of historic Gothic literature, and it would be impossible to have a proper Gothic campaign without them. Unfortunately, the portrayal of Gypsies in Gothic literature was usually insensitive at best. The term “Gypsy” itself is somewhat uncertain, since it has been used to desi...

Clavis NICE, I'm not sure I'd make it a common player race, but like Zara said, it'll make a good unique NPC, or for a special player, a good PC to surprise the rest of the party (have to assume the PC is the rear "good" vamp, trying to redeem himself here) Thanks for sharing! The race pr...

These guys just replaced generic "Vampires" IMC, now I have a template for making each one more unique and more of a surprising challenge to my players. Bravo. Thanks. I think one of the advantages to this approach is the ability to have PCs fighting vampires across the full range of Leve...

I would add just a small and relatively minor tweak and that would be involving vermin, especially as it relates to summoning. For my world, if I allowed these, I would have to include summon swarm and insect plague as possible powers. Sure. In fact, the Vampyre PC race I've presented is a reworkin...

The following take on a vampire player character race is inspired by the classic treatments in Gothic literature, such as Lord Ruthven, Francis Varney, Carmilla Karnstein, and of course, the literary Count Dracula. There are some differences between the vampire of Gothic literature and the later ex...

Came in expecting to hate it- simply because I prefer much earlier historical periods for gaming and low magic, gritty campaigns. But I like it. Thanks for the post as usual. Thanks! While the class is obviously based primarily on late 18th century stories and people, it could also represent many e...

Inspired by numerous characters from late 18th century literature, as well as historical figures such as Casanova, Lord Byron, John Wilmot, and the Marquis De Sade, the Libertine class represents a recurrent figure in the Gothic genre. Although at first glance they may seem suited only for games fo...

Thanks everyone. The various traditions of the African Diaspora (Vodun, Ifa, Hoodoo, Gullah folktales, etc.) are such rich veins of lore, that I'm surprised so little of it has made its way into fantasy rpgs. Swashbuckling campaigns (featuring pirates and tropical islands) especially cry out for som...

The Zombie is perhaps the best known monster from the mythology of the African Diaspora, yet the popular conception of the creature in the U.S. is very different from its original form. Below is a version more closely inspired by Haitian lore. Enjoy! ZOMBI SERVANT A reanimated corpse employed as a ...

When the PCs pick up new treasure or items I just do a reality check, and ask the players how much their characters are carrying, and how many big items they are trying to carry. I assume someone can carry half their their body weight before they are significantly slowed down. Otherwise, I just keep...

An interesting take on the archetype of the "Infernal Judge". In my own work on the Devils I went more with the corrupt, duplicitous lawyer concept, so I like seeing this other take. Good work, as usual.

Relaxo wrote:Xvart, Meezel, Meenlocks?
(I have no idea the original source book for these)

They appeared in the 1st Edition Fiend Folio. According to the credits in the back of the book, the Xvart was created by Cricky Hitchcock, the Meazel by Dermot Jackson, and the Meenlock by by Peter Korabik.

I really like the imagery of the sword embedded in the Devil's stomach, which he must mutilate himself to use. It adds a nice touch of grotesque body horror, reminding the players that they are facing Evil, not just another humanoid race that happens to have horns and wings.

Baphomet is depicted as having the head of a goat as is azazal to whom goat sacrifices were made by the ancient jews for thousands of years, that being the source of the scape goat. One of these is much more likely the source of the horned image of satan and that is not taking into account pan. The...

I think the bigger question is . . how many heads does a dragon have? :) Sometimes, more than one (if its an Eastern European dragon): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_dragon I' haven't done any real personal research on Eastern European dragon lore, so I'll simply direct you to the article. It'...