Elde Spellcasting for Guild Dogs and Others

A school of sorcery nigh outlawed since the coming of the Curse of the Law. The uncontrolled and corrosive practice of Elde was infamously destructive during the apocalyptic height of the Guild Wars. Any bound by the Curse of the Law, the pact of the guilds, is forbidden from using this school (by pain of instant quenchment of existence). The Guild Dogs that corrupt the streets of The City are, alas, not bound by such accords. 

An elde wizard

Elde spell casting is a random potential skill of the Guild Dog character class. A pure "Elde Spellcaster" could be run in The Black Hack by simply changing "Acane Spells" of the conjurer to the spells below. Keep everything else the same as per the Conjurer class.

An elde wizard 

Notes: 

Getting these spells written has been eating away at me for a while, so I've pushed them out in a slight rush to at least semi nail them down. As such, they may be a little rough at times and are completely NOT in the neat, tidy and logical format of the original The Black Hack spellbooks. They may be tidied up over time, or alternately all Guild Dogs stuff may just keep getting wilder and unwieldy over time.

A few spells refer to "as determined by the gm", "random bless", "random summon", etc. These additionally tables are on their way. Use the "Aspect" table at the bottom of the post for now.


Elde Spellcasting:

Elde spellcasters receive 1 random mutation each level.

1	Minor Summon from the depths: Summon random monster from lower plane, 5% chance per caster level it is under caster’s control. If not under caster’s control, roll random reaction roll. Random creature’s HD =  d4. Monster lasts till killed, test 5% per caster level chance of caster control each day.    Evoke Minor substance from the depths: Summon caster level x sack fulls of random substance from lower planes (determined by GM). Alkalize metaphysics: Make a distinct and inert item more normal and lawful. Acidify metaphysics: Make a distinct and inert items more weird and chaotic.
2	Slow warp: Randomly acidify/alkalize metaphysics of an entire room over time. Transformation takes d20 days minus caster level days to complete. Minor compact: Caster only randomly determined bless. Lasts d6 hours. See “The Gods of the City” table. Otherworldly insight : Requires entrails as  reagent to cast, the specific entrails used determine the type of insight given.  Caster can consult the otherworld about a specific topic through the lense of the entrails provided. The caster will receive their level in number of points of detail in the insight. Cause dread: Put 4d8 HD worth of  beings on the cusp of terror for caster level hours. Test their  WIS every round they have to do something vaguely or conceivably scary. If failed they flee for d6 rounds.   Lesser sacrificing ritual: randomly determined bless on caster level x targets.  Must sacrifice 1 hd sentient being in a ceremony that takes 1 hour. Lasts 1 day. See “The Gods of the City” table.
3	Growth from the depths: Summon weird architecture or plant growth (determined randomly by GM). Covers d6 x level square meters/feet. Homunculus: Random, permanent and man like summoned servant, -1 caster HP permanently (from total) each time cast. Homunculus has 1d6 for each attribute and 1d6 HP. Levels up with caster, receiving d4 extra HP and +1 to attribute of caster’s choice.   Blast from the depths: Random elemental breath attack. Does caster level x caster damage die damage to all targets Close to area visually targeted by caster plus the following follow random effect: d12 1: Air, targets test DEX to avoid being blown to the ground. 2: Water, targets all drenched with elemental water, wet for d4 days (test for appropriate illnesses if appropriate). 3: Fire, targets set alight for d4 rounds, taking d6 damage a round. 4: Earth, targets encased in stone for d6 rounds. 5: Bile, CON test all equipment on targets to avoid rotting away. 6: Disease, CON test all targets to avoid getting a random disease. 7: Sludge, CON test all targets to avoid losing 1d6 CHA permanently. 8: Mineral, increase damage by 1 die. 9: Animal, d6 x targets 1HD biteling vermin accompany blast and set to devouring any nearby targets 10: Vegetation: Targets encased in vines for 1 day, all tests Rolled with Disadvantage)   Cause horror: Test 4d8 HD worth of beings WIS, if fail they are terrified of the caster and flee from their sight for caster level hours.   S uggestion worm: Caster summons a 1HD mind control worm. If able to penetrate the skin of a target they will follow all commons of the caster for caste level x hours.
4	Travel the lower depths: Travel through a random section of “The lower depths” to traverse an area in the physical world. Distance depends on level, random encounter check - Caster level number of sentient beings can accompany the caster. See “The Gods of the City” table. Sacrifice to the old ones: More powerful random bless. Day long random bless on level x targets.  Must sacrifice 4HD being, ceremony takes 1 hour. See “The Gods of the City” table. Bind entity from the depths: Summon random permanent monster, minus 1 from random attribute. HD = level of caster, see Random Summoned Monster for abilities and form. Curse: Random affliction on target, lasts caster level hours. See “The Gods of the City” table. Swarm from the depths: Caster level x  d6 horde of random 1hd creatures, lasts d4 x caster level rounds. Only has form as per Random Summoned Monster table, no abilities. Madness: Random temporary insanity on target, lasts caster level days.
5	Contact old one: Random elde god takes an interest in casters life for caster level days. HP, CON STR and DEX of caster halved during this time . See “The Gods of the City” table. Voodoo: requires materials and organic material from target, cause damage from afar. 5% cumulative chance of haunting by random lower depth beasts per day when cast. Scrying: Consciousness disconnects from the body for caster level hours. Caster may not be able to return to body, caster level x 10% is the possibility of returning to corporeal form. If returning to body fails caster must wait d6 hours to attempt to rejoin with body. Warp area: Randomly acidify/alkalize metaphysics of an entire city block over time. transformation takes d20 days minus level days to complete. Each time this is cast the caster losts 1 STR permanently.   Dissipate to lower depths: Take on random incorporeal visage in random section of the lower depths. Appears as unconsciousness in the physical realm. Caster gains the full ability to communicate with the denizens here. Lasts up to caster level hours.
6	Unholy breeding: Gain the homunculus offspring of two things within the caster’s sight. Caster becomes pregnant with the offspring and the gestation period = d20 days hours minus caster level which the caster rolls all tests at Disadvantage. Caster loses 1 from random attribute at birth. Birthed homunculus is an independent being that views the caster as a godlike figure, but can rebel if mistreated. Birthed homunculus can level up as a player character. Awaken old one: Sacrifice d10 hd4 beings to manifest a random elde god in the physical realm. Roll a reaction roll to see how they feel about that. See “The Gods of the City” table. Cause insanity: Random permanent insanity on target, caster loses 1 hp.   Tear reality:open a random portal to the lower depths (what pours forth determined by GM), lasts caster level hours. Winged swarm from the depths: Caster level x  d6 horde of random 1hd creatures with wings. Lasts d4 x caster level rounds. Only has form as per Random Summoned Monster table, no abilities. Reveal truth: Reveal the utter truth about something in caster level x points of detail.
7	Alkaline paradigm shift : Randomly alkalize metaphysics of an an entire suburb over time. transformation takes d20 days minus level days to complete. Caster permanently loses 1 point of charisma and gains mutation.   Acidifying paradigm shift: Randomly acidify metaphysics of an an entire suburb over time. transformation takes d20 days minus level days to complete. Caster permanently loses 1 point of wisdom Greater sacrificing ritual: Sacrifice d10 hd6 beings, gain permanent random bless. See “The Gods of the City” table.   Change truth: A truth is changed in a random way (GM determined). Caster targets truth. Lose 1 wisdom and gain a mutation.

Aspect table:

	1	2	3	4
1	Good, peaceful, kind	Holy, ordered, right	Light, illumination, enlightenment	Floating, peace, meditation
2	Air, empty, vacuum	Ethereal, wispy, ghostly	Wind, blowing, unseen mover	Storm,  rapid movement, speed
3	Tiny, shrinking, wasting away	Invisible, translucent, clear	Intangible, non corporeal, fading	Life, regrowth, rejuvenation
4	Value, gems, gold	Thought, philosophy, intellect	Internal organs, viscera, blood	Reflection, mirror, stillness
5	Water, cycles, karma	Equalization, law, justice	Cleansing, alkalizing, evaporation	Procrustean, rigidity, incarceration
6	Wildness, out of place, overgrown	Bestial, savageness, feeding	Nature, grove, peace	Chaos, disorder, mutation
7	Fire, explosions, heat	Destruction, rubble, ruin	Limbs, appendages, grasping locomotion	External action, destiny, prophecy
8	Monstrous, terrifying, abomination	Gargantuan, giant, enormous	Enveloping, enclosed, soft embrace	Straining, breaking, cracks
9	Deep, below, underground	Earth, soil, stone	Solid, mass, black holes	Time, dust, history
10	Evil, hate, pain	Profane, cruelty, desecration	Darkness, shadows, loss	Death, rot, decay

The Manse of Xu Zang of the Silver Waters

My last post detailed how I generated a wizardly estate suburb for my ongoing suburb crawl campaign. This post zooms in to one of the specific wizard manses on the estate to illustrate some of the random dungeon creation tools I shared in the following post: http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/random-dungeon-creation-kit.html.

I've used the following tools to generate "The Manse of Xu Zang of the Silver Water":

• Dungeon map
• Dungeon danger
• Dungeon room stocking
• Dungeon trap
• Dungeon treasure
• Dungeon monster

Xu Zang, of the Silver Waters is a wizard who focuses on the creation and manipulation of quicksilver golems. Xu himself has begun to take on the dripping, formless and flowing aspect of his chosen work material. (Secret: Xu Zang's apparent form is in actual fact the only golem. Xu's consciousness was long ago dispersed into the great globular fountain that is his quick silver supply. Xu's golems are actually Xu himself, divided infinitely as needed. The man shaped thing that calls itself Xu Zang is nothing more than a decoy.) (This "twist"/secret was derived from Xu Zang having the Modus Operandi of "Work is the inverse or inside out of expertise" derived from the following "Guild Generator": http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com.au/2017/06/the-guild-dogs-guild-generator.html).

Dungeon Map Result: 

Dungeon Danger Result: "Location and inhabitants  are too beautiful, innocent, or otherwise lovely to harm or aggress." (Xu Zang's creations are so painfully scintillating and fascinating as to be difficult to attack).

Dungeon Room Stocking, Trap, Treasure and Monsters are as follows: 

(Bold text is the result from the above random tables).

Note: As Xu Zang's consciousness now inhabits all of the swirling mass of quicksilver in his manse he will be aware of the actions and words of all those that enter his abode. If he is interested by those that enter his domain he will whisper at them through any of his quicksilver creations. The whisper sounds like droplets of water splashing softly into a tin glass. 

1) A writhing, reflective garden of quicksilver plants and flowers. Silver veins grasp the domed stone manse. The eastern dome is squat and single storied, the eastern domes are narrow, tall and two storied. A sludgy waterfall of quicksilver topples into a pool in the SouthWest corner (7). d6 Silky cat like forms of quicksilver stalk from the SouthWest pool into the main dome (2). The forms melt slowly into the ground and dissipate completely before reforming moments later (melting in reverse).  The catlike forms endlessly dive into quicksilver basin in (9) to reform (7) pool.

Quicksilver cats: HD: d6, AC: 16, d6 damage (bite), test CON if bitten or suffer quicksilver poisoning (d6 damage per round until successful CON save). Quicksilver cats can dissipate and reform at will.

(Foe, using device to conduct relatively mundane activity.)
(Random visual beast result:

)

2) Interior of stone dome,  quicksilver vines coil from the ceiling. Circular stone stairs down.
(Empty, place of growing.)

3) Interior of stone dome. A miasma of quicksilver fog sucks all light, literally no light can emit in this room - it is "eaten" by quicksilver fog (this process can be witnessed briefly). There is thigh deep basins of quicksilver in the darkness that give quicksilver poisoning (d6 damage per round until successful CON save)
(Trap, natural hazard inherent in environment. Random trap result:Thighs by Darkness, shadows, loss)

4) Interior of stone dome, stairs up to higher stone domes. d6 psychedelic sworls twined into arches stand over stairs.  They allow the passage of quicksilver cats but will collapase onto any interlopers and attack.

Quicksilver archtrap: HD:2, AC: 14, 1d4 damage (sworl punch) or d6 choke. Swirling patterns of quicksilver twined into arches that collapse on those that walk through them (test DEX or take d4 damage per round until pass DEX test or kill quicksilver arch). Arch grapples about victims body and chokes. If not currently choking any victim will swirl into vauge man shape and attack with spikey twine of quicksilver.
(Foe, hidden and watching.)
(Random visual beast result:

)

5) Thin decorative pools  of quicksilver line this bridging corridor. They are inhabited by d8 quicksilver polyps who will launch themselves and explode at intruders.

Quicksilver Polyp: HD: 2 AC: 12, d12 + remaining hitpoints damage (self destruct exploding damage, attacks all nearby non quicksilver targets - do individual attack rolls). Quivering blobs of quicksilver that haunt quicksilver pools. Hop into life at the arrival of non quicksilver interlopers whom they promptly launch themselves at and explode).
(Foe, sleeping or resting.
(Random visual beast result:

)

6) A central bubbling quicksilver fountain made of ornate marble. Marble framed mirrors line the circular wall. The reflection in the mirrors is slodgy and warped as the mirror surface is quicksilver. Any non quicksilver being whose reflection is caught in the mirrors must make a CHA test. If failure quicksilver belches from the mirror to attempt to coat the targets head and shoulders. DEX test at disadvantage to dodge the initial torrent. Take d8 damage, then d4 damage per round until a successful DEX test to remove quicksilver. Any one who survives this ordeal will find d100 silver coins formed from the quicksilver at their feet. The coins has their face engraved upon it.
(Trap, hidden and deadly. Random trap result: Shoulders by Value, gems, gold)

7) Quicksilver tumbles from tower of wizard manse. Gushing into bubbling pool. Quicksilver laps and spills over the side of the pool. D12 dried rods of quicksilver have formed from this escaped quicksilver. They will be worth several hundred gold each to the right buyer.

(Treasure, subsumed in location. Random treasure result: d12 x small trade good)

8) Wall of circular tower is covered in quicksilver vines and enormous flowers. Faint outlines of corpses can be made vaguely in the mass of silver vegetation. d6 clouds of silver spores hover near the flowers, docile and inactive unless disturbed by interlopers.

Cloud of putrefying flower spores: HD: 2 AC: 20 with conventional weapons(12 if attacking with breath/flame/etc weapon), any being who comes in contact with a spore cloud must test CON or start growing quicksilver flowers across body - the roots of these flowers slowly fill the body with quicksilver causing d8 damage per round, test CON each round to see if infestation passes. Shimmering clouds of semi sentient quicksilver mist. Seek to propagate the creation of quicksilver by infecting flesh with quicksilver flowers. Any being killed by flower infection will rot and melt way into a puddle of quicksilver that will flow away to the nearest body of the stuff.

(Foe, sleeping or resting.)
(Random visual beast result:

)

9) Quicksilver flows down wall, magically pumped from the seething quicksilver vegetation of the main garden and adjacent room. Quicksilver flows into a great basin, swirling like a maelstrom. The quicksilver thunders down towards the waterfall/pond at (7) . STR test required to stand against the flow, those pulled under the current will take d6 damage a round untill they can pass a STR test or are saved. A grill catches all non liquid material. d12 potions of quicksilver repellent are caught in the grill (negate all negative effects of quicksilver for 24 hours) Potions were provided to some unwary client of Xu Zang who ultimately putrefied, the effect of the potion itself the only reason the receptacle itself hasn't melted away to nothingness. 

(Treasure, hidden. Random treasure result: d12 x useful thing)
10) Quicksilver flows from a myriad of fountains and wall fonts, splashing from pursed lips of melted cherubs and gargoyles. d6 Quicksilver polyps hide under the surface of a dark quicksilver pond in the north. Will explode when an interlopers steps foot near the pond.

Quicksilver Polyp: HD: 2 AC: 12, d12 + remaining hitpoints damage (self destruct exploding damage, attacks all nearby non quicksilver targets - do individual attack rolls). Quivering blobs of quicksilver that haunt quicksilver pools. Hop into life at the arrival of non quicksilver interlopers whom they promptly launch themselves at and explode).
(Foe, using traps to their advantage against interlopers. Random trap result: Feet by Ethereal, wispy, ghostly.)
(Random visual beast result:

)

11) Old chemical work benches and metal casting molds. Abandoned and ruined. Clues of a time when Xu Zang had a more conventional practice before his consciousness was lost into the liquid mass of quicksilver. Diaries, diagrams and the like.

(Device external and unusual to environment, out of place sourced from elsewhere.)

12) Hardened quicksilver molds of the various creatures in the manse line the walls. There is a number of molds of a oddly liquid wizard like figure (Xu Zang molds).

(Empty, place of ritual and worship.)

13) The form of Xu Zang sits crossed legged in the middle of a completely empty room, lightness room. He is turbaned, robed, and has a beard of bubbling quicksilver. His form shimmers and shines liquidity. He sips a never ending pool of water cupped in his hands.  If watched for long enough he will melt into a puddle then reform.

Xu Zang will not acknowledge any one's presence unless directly addressed at a very close distance. Then he will talk in a robotic and stilted manner, exhibiting a vast lack of understanding and knowledge of the world about him. His voice sounds like a bubbling brook and is relatively hypnotic save for the vapidness of his words. 

If attacked Xu Zang is a HD1 creature that will not raise a hand against his attackers. If Xu Zang is killed his form will shortly reform elsewhere in his manse. Once an interloper has attacked any of Xu Zang's forms they will be haunted by clouds of putrefying flower spores until they perish or leave the manse. 

Cloud of putrefying flower spores: HD: 2 AC: 20 with conventional weapons(12 if attacking with breath/flame/etc weapon), any being who comes in contact with a spore cloud must test CON or start growing quicksilver flowers across body - the roots of these flowers slowly fill the body with quicksilver causing d8 damage per round, test CON each round to see if infestation passes. Shimmering clouds of semi sentient quicksilver mist. Seek to propagate the creation of quicksilver by infecting flesh with quicksilver flowers. Any being killed by flower infection will rot and melt way into a puddle of quicksilver that will flow away to the nearest body of the stuff.

(Foe, eating or drinking.)