Sunday, September 26, 2021

B/X Class: Voidwarped

  My solo campaign set on The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence has taken a hell of a lot of twists and turns. It definitely isn't going in directions I would have expected, and that has made it far more enjoyable than I had expected. 

Recent events in my campaign have led to the fall, death, and surprising resurrection of one of the Clerics in my party. He has been exposed to a dimension of pure antimatter, and been in contact with entities that lurk there. 

After what happened to him and how, I don't feel like he and his Goddess are likely to be on great terms. I think he has come back drastically changed. To create something that not just would make sense, but fit the gonzo aesthetic of The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence, I decided to take the idea of a Cthulhu cultists and crank it up to 11.

So here is a custom class made for B/X Dungeons & Dragons that is ideal for a gonzo character who was warped by the Elder gods, magical radiation, or the Far Plane. 

Voidwarped

Prime Requisite: Wisdom
Experience Bonus: 5% for Wis 13-15, 10% for Wisdom 16-18
Hit Dice: 1d6 per level up to 9th level
Armor: Any, Shields Allowed
Weapons: Any
Attacks as: Cleric

Transformed by exposure to the void between worlds, the Voidwarped are a conduit for alien powers that bend reality itself. They come at a cost, however, as these powers corrupt from within causing Hideous mutations. 

No two Voidwarped are the same; they sport unique combinations of powers, mutations, and abilities. They can be found with any alignment as some revel in what they have seen while others want to shield Humanity from what they have suffered. What is true is that the longer they weild these eldritch powers, the more horrible toll it takes. 

Lvl

XP

Special

Death/Poison

Wands

Paralysis

Breath

Spell 

1

0

Void Powers

11

13

14

16

13

2

2,200

Mutations 

3

4,400


4

8,800


9

11

12

14

11

5

17,000


6

35,000


7

70,000


7

9

10

12

9

8

140,000


9

270,000


10

400,000


5

7

8

10

7

11

530,000


12

660,000


13

800,000


4

6

7

9

6

14

1,000,000

Apotheosis 

Void Powers

At first level, roll randomly for 2 Void Powers. At every odd-numbered level thereafter, roll a Save vs. Breath. If the saving throw fails, gain another randomly rolled power.

Void Powers

d20



1

Grasp of the Void

You may Conjure a tentacle from a point in space within 40' to attack a single target. It has AC 4 and hit points equal to your level. It attacks as directed as if you were making a Ranged attack against the target. It deals 1d6 damage and coils around a hit target. That target takes an automatic d6 damage each round unless it succeeds a Strength test to break free. If a target is reduced to 0hp, the tentacle pulls the being through a portal to another dimensions. 

2

Mind Blast

You may focus on an enemy, trying to warp their brain chemistry. Roll 1d4 every round. Once you roll three 4s without having spent around doing any other action, the target's head explodes. 

3

Warp Step

You are capable of short-range teleport action to any location you can see within 40' of you. This costs 1d6 hp to use. 

4

Alien Hive

You have a hive of insectoid alien beings living in your flesh. You may spend 1d6 hp to exude them in an area around you. You are not hurt by their attacks. They will return to you after 2d4 rounds. 

5

Coccoon

You may cause a spherical shell of resinous creep to spread from where your feet touch the ground into a 15' hemisphere. It is warm inside, and you may create an orifice that can allow man-sized creatures to enter. The shell has AC 4 and 20hp per level. It collapses into a pink sludge if you move outside of the shell. The shell takes 1 turn to grow. 

6

ESP

You may cast ESP by expending 1d6 hp. 

7

Telepathy

You gain the ability to communicate telepathic Lally. 

8

Portal Reach

You may open tiny portals and reach through to manipulate anything you can see within 39 feet. 

9

Infect

You may grant one random void power and inflict 2 random mutations on a creature permanently. This ability takes 6 hours to use and the target must be willing or helpless.

10

Call the Hounds

You summon 1d6 Ooze-like monsters - the Hounds of Tinda'alos to attack a target. They will hunt the target relentlessly for one hour per level. This power inflicts 3d6 damage to you. Use the statistics of a blink dog for the Hounds. 

12

Warp Feeder

You may distend you jaw and attempt to consume an object no more than 4'×4'×4'. Living creatures get a save vs. Death. If you succeed they are transported to another dimension. You may vomit them out again at any time and find them unchanged, but after 2d6 days the devoured object is gone. You may only have one object consumed at a timr. 

12

Star-Speaker

You may cast Contact Outer Plane once per werk

13

Spore Breath

You may exhale spores in a 20' cone. All creatures in the area of effect must Save vs. Poison or fall asleep. They become diseased and may not regain lost hit points until cured by an Alchemist or affected by Cure Disease. Using this ability costs 1d4 hit points. 

14

Entropic Field

You create a field of times pace distortion around you, giving you an AC 2 against Ranged Attacks and a +4 to saves vs. Breath for 1 turn per level. It costs 1d4 hit points to activate. 

15

Corrosive

You may cause one touched object to rot, rust, and crumble. It costs 1d6 hp to so, and may be no larger than a door. 

16

Eyes of Stars

Your haunted gaze can act like a hold person spell once per day. 

17

Flesh Weaver

You can stitch and sculpt the tissue of others. You may heal 2d4 hit points to any creature but yourself. You take 1d4 hit points doing this. If you have a full day you may perform surgery on a target, raising their Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution by 1 each at the cost of a permanentoss of 1d4+1 Wisdom. You may only perform surgery for a given creature once. 

18

Tentacles

You may sprout whip-like tentacles from your arms and shoulders. These are treated like reach weapons and deal 1d6 damage. On an attack roll  natural 20, enemies must Save vs. Death or have their head torn off. 

19

Breathless

The character does not need to breathe and takes no damage from cold. 

20

Dragon Tongue

You may speak to alien monsters, a be rations, and elementals as if affected by tongues. You gain a +3 bonus on NPC reaction tests when dealing with such creatures. 

Mutations

At second level, roll randomly for a mutation. At every even-numbered level thereafter, roll a Save vs. Breath. If the saving throw succeed, gain another randomly rolled mutation.

d20

Mutation 

1

You become grotesquely tall and slender, you may no longer wear armor, unless it is specifically built for you. 

2

Your fingers are replaced with tentacles. Tasks involving fine, delicate motions are difficult for you. 

3

You have a strange, otherworldly scent. Animals are distressed or hostile in your presence. 

4

Your bones are replaced by rubbery muscle and cartilagenous structures.-1d4 Strength. 

5

You grow new organs that slowly displace your existing ones. -1d4 Con

6

A lumpy, bony hunch appears on your back. -1d4 Dex

7

The alien knowledge you have learned vastly changes the way you process information, developing horns full of extra neurons. -1d4 Int

8

Your skin becomes infested by Grey and purple creep. -1d4 Cha

9

You develop extreme light sensitivity and are at =1 to attacks and saving throws in bright light. 

10

You develop gelatinous tissue. You need to double your water consumption or be immersed in water or slime 1/day or act as if dehydrated. 

11

You develop porous chitin patches on your limbs that becomes home to alien fungus and insectoid. You lose - 1 Con but gain +1 AC. 

12

You develop spines along your limbs and back. Creatures that grapple, coil, engulf, or swallow you take 1d6 damage each round. You lose - 1 dex

13

Your limbs gain a coating of thick slime. You take only have damage from heat snd fire. You lose - 1 Cha

14

Your limbs gain strange, Alien joint structures. You lose - 1 Str but can slip any bond or escape goiks or grappling automatically. 

15

Color - shifting skin grants you a 30% chance of hiding if you are unarmored. 

16

You start reverting to a more ape-like state. You may make two claw Attacks that deal 1d3 damage if you are not armed with a weapon. 

17

You emit light on phosphorus patches on you skin, you emit light as a candle at all times. 

18

You gain the ability to sense things at theimens of time and space. You can sense ethereal and invisible creatures, but lose -1 Int

19

You gain flowering plant-like growths across your body. Wearing clothes is painful and distracting. 

20

Your digestive system changes, doubling the amount of food you must eat. 


Higher Experience Levels
A 9th level Voidwarped is called a Voidseeker. They may choose to establish a hidden temple, at which point otherworldly forces will draw others to the Voideseeker's Service. 
 
Land-Owning Voidsekers: Void-Speakers 

At 9th level, the Voidwarped character may choose to establish a stronghold in a remote location or dungeon. If they do so they will attract a cult of 1d6 1st Level Voidwarped and 2d4 Normal men with one random mutation and power. These followers have a Morale of 10. 

Local abberant and otherworldly monsters will consult with the Void-Speaker on their own inscrutable matters, and will react favorably to them. However, the local lord may send adveurers to attempt to purge the Voidseeker and his cult. 

Wandering  Voidseekers: Voidwalkers

Voidseekers that choose to wander will often receive visions of  lost treasures, strange, monsters, or alien vists, and gain the ability to find the path to the subject of their latest vision at will.

Apotheosis

When a Voidwarped reaches 14th level, or if a mutation causes an ability score to reach 0, they mutate into an alien monster and are no longer payable characters. The GM may choose their form, but here is an example:

Voidspawn

Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 14***(L)
Move: Flying: 120' (40')
Attacks: 4 Tentacles
Damage: 2d8
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: C 14
Morale : 11
Treasure Type: A
Alignment: Chaotic
Intelligence : 14
XP Value: 4,500

Monster Type: Monster (Very Rare) 

Voudspawn are the remains of humans who have given into total madness after gazing into strange alien vista's. They appear as chitinous human forms embedded in a swarm of floating purple tentacles. 

These beings are Madness to behold: any being beholding them must Save vs. Spells or be affected as if by a confusion spell. The psychedelic slime that clings to its flesh requires any creature that hits it with a Melee Attacks must save vs. Poison or become catatonic for 1d3 turns. The Voudspawn may cast the following spells as if they were a 14th level Magic-User: Sleep, Detect Magic, ESP, Mirror Image, Create Air, Dispel Magic, Confusion, Contact Outer Plane, Cloud kill, Feeblemind, 

Voudspawn tend to command cults of insane and mutated humanoids that worship as a God and offer it both sacrifice and magical treasures in tribute. 

1 comment:

  1. A friend of mine used to play a similar void character during the 3.5 era. Seemed cool, but I only played with them once.

    ReplyDelete