Musical Magical (OSR Secret Jackalope 2020)

Spell rituals

An ancient spellbook has been uncovered, containing these secret rites. 

The Forest Witch by Stu Harrington

You Spin Me Round

Cover a spinning top with the ashes from a burned wheel, write the words PRITTU VANAM on your palm, and then spin the top upon it. So long as you keep it spun, all who can clearly see its spin are forced to pirouette.

Take Me to Church

Select a shrine or temple and take the branch from a tree near it (if there are none anywhere nearby, a handful of grass may still work). Then, obtain an eyelash from a true believer. When you need to return there, hold the branch aloft and entreat the god to return you to safety. The branch will burn in holy light, and you will be brought there in only a minute by a similar divine glow.

Kill V Maim

Weave grass from your hometown into a small pad, and mix together dirt from a robbed grave, spittle from a panicking goat, and the crushed body of an insect that has killed a human into ink. With this ink, write out your name and the letters E V N X T I N on the pad, and place it under your clothes. For the next week, if you are wounded by blows while bearing this pad, your foe will be struck down on the spot.

Megitsune

Craft a fine mask of clay or another brittle material (clay is simply the most easily reached choice I know of). The mask should depict your own face in a visage of deepest sorrow, and be inscribed along the rim with IV NATAS MIM RETO KALIN. Shattering this mask against your face summons the pure maiden Megitsune, a fox spirit in the form of a young girl who is kind and knows the deepest regret of everyone whose eyes she meets. She will use this knowledge to achieve her (and your) ends, but is not all knowing.

Crying Spirit by Leon Ropeter

Absolute Territory

This spell can be cast with a skirt or cloak. Create a patch woven with an eyelash that has not been wished upon, and dyed with wine that has been shared. Sew the patch to the inside of the garment while describing the most beautiful sights you have seen. When you flip up the inside to reveal the patch, it will start to shine brightly and everyone within five meters as well as anyone who approaches to that close will be enthralled for up to a minute by what they see.

Wonderland

Mix together rust shavings, a stranger's blood, the wings of a butterfly, and spoiled milk in a pot of oil. Say the magic words YARUNE TOLSS REWEK and anoint it upon yourself or another. Until the sun sets, this oil will permeate the outer clothing and badly sting the skin of any fairie who touches it. There are other recipes to ward against other spirits and supernatural monsters, but all I know of them is that the incantation is the same.

Untouched

Take the bone which has never touched human skin from a large beast (a dog or larger). The spell may only work if thick gloves are worn by the caster when handling this bone. The bone must be painted or dyed black and you must incant NATARES. As soon as this is said, the bone will appear to all as whatever object they most desire at that moment, until it melts away into ink at sunset. Some may react unusually to this sight.

Magic wand of peace by Victor Duarte

I Can't Fix You

Forge a bell from bronze that was once a sword. I believe the sword must have seen battle, but cannot be sure. Carve the words NORU SIVIM somewhere on it. If it is rung over a wounded foe while they sleep, the magic words will burn a hole in the bell and the wounds they bear will become cursed to never heal by any natural or medicinal means.

Wandering

Make a candle using the fat of a lost sheep for the tallow and cotton from a field you have never seen before as the wick. Burn it while chanting the words TUMUN SHAMA VIDEH until you have a handful of molten wax. Throw this wax upon someone and they will seem to disappear, while they are forced to wander through the halls of an empty palace full of stairs and balconies, trapped until they say the words "I'm free!"

Summoning by Olivier Hennart

Mr. Blue Sky

Make a circle with a three-pointed star holding at each point amethyst, quartz, and hematite respectively. Meditating in the center of this circle for an hour under uninterrupted sunlight shall summon Mr. Blue, a small fae man with skin fittingly the color of a clear summer sky, who will stay to aid you until the sun reaches the same spot in the sky the next day. His gaze can quell unbound power; raging fire, torrential flow, or frenzying elementals for example.

Created as part of the OSR Discord server Secret Jackalope 2020! The prompt for an ancient spellbook full of spells named after songs comes courtesy of Stefan "The Moth," who blogs at Verbum Ex Nihilo. This prompt caught me somewhat off guard, but I took it as an opportunity to start writing spell rituals which will be a component of my next RPG project. Ultimately, it all kind of worked out just right.

On the nature of things: what they are and why

Stone is the basic form of existence. It is hardy, colorless, and heavy, generally unmoving when left to its own devices. Color is what turns stone into other things, granting it growth, motion, reaction and other things, often at the cost of its immutability. The four colors infused purely into stone cause it to become either natural fire (orange), ice which melts into water (green), lightning (indigo), or oil (yellow). The art of sorcery is generally the manipulation of these colors, not necessarily the elements themselves, and often the more purely distilled the color is the harder it becomes to truly control. Lightning is an exception here, as its indigo power is rarely ever diluted and so there is much knowledge on manipulating it in that purest form.

Material studies by Torsten Gunst

Dread illusionists, the arcane deceivers, manipulate the image without touching the material at its core, controlling the color without the 'stone' as it were. This power is profane and can only lead to ruin.

Where color determines the properties of a substance, spirit is the form of it. Most materials have no spirit, and can thus be reshaped freely without losing their properties (it has been discovered that almost everything does in fact have a spirit, though it is usually quite rudimentary. The spirit of crystal, for instance, may be that it persists only in hexagonal patterns, an extremely simple spiritual form). Plants have slightly more defined spirits, and animals even moreso. Most animal species share a spirit with their kin, including humans, though the soul has a strong tendency to impact the spiritual form.

A soul is simply a more advanced, particular extension of the spirit, which is so developed only in humans and other thinking beings. Because of the unique and advanced ways it can develope, generally no two souls are alike, and this can have an impact upon the prospective spirits, often turning a human spirit into that person's spirit, a subtle but important distinction for those who practice shifting arts. It may be noted that animals cannot be cursed, and this is a simple product of their having no soul; a curse is a wound upon the soul, as much as any cut or bruise upon the flesh. Minor curses can be healed with mild bed rest, as they are shallow cuts and scrapes on the soul. Deeper, more powerful curses require careful, lengthy processes of healing. The holy powers of saints utilize this process, pulling spiritual energy into their soul and tearing away bits of it in order to grant that energy to their allies, and more experienced saints can even learn to utilize these rends in their soul offensively, attacking the souls or even the flesh of enemies.

The summoning sisters by Antoine Collignon

Much study has been done with regards to silver and the functions of undeath. It is clear that the undead are similar to the living afflicted with a curse, as can be seen with vampires, who were long considered undead despite often suffering no death between humanity and monstrousness. It is now consensus that undead are given malformed souls that eat away their spirit, granting something that is almost life but often far more finite. On the other hand, many cases of immortality are reached through undeath, perhaps with souls that are reinforced using parts of the spirit, malforming the body but keeping the mind alive indefinitely? Regardless this is perverse and unnatural, and no further writing should be done upon the subject.

Similar to undead, artificial souls are created when a golem is animated. Imprinting the holy word upon a tool forms a unique embossing of the creator's soul upon the spirit of the tool, which must have originally been crafted with intent. Naturally occurring objects can be used as tools physically, but they have no spirit for it and reject the artificial soul. Because of this, some claim that golemology is a darker, more unnatural art than necromancy, and will one day destroy us all! This is preposterous, golems are quite useful and docile, and have never destroyed anyone when used properly. It is possible that a fusion of necromantic and golemary arts could yield a living golem, capable of creating more of its kind... but this strays too far from the known and established.

Household Golems by Ben Wanat

Of course these findings are irrefutably true and thoroughly proven through rigorous testing. Any wishing to dispute or disprove this work may find their way best to a tavern, where they shall engage in discourse with any drink of their choosing.

Fae creatures

The fae are strange peoples who live in woods and wilderness. They are innately magical, tricky and wild, and almost always dangerous, though they fear iron and cannot pass by the threshold of a home without invitation.

Pixie

HD: 0 (1 vigor)
Found: 1d6 deep woods

Appearance: a dainty person, shrunken down that they could fit comfortably in a tall glass. Fabulous wings like a jeweled butterfly sprout from their back, leaving twinkling particles drifting in the air. They often hold a ribbon or bit of jewelry.
Voice: a small bell
Wants: to make mischief, take pretty things, and help their friends
Tactics: chaotic and tricky

Attack: -1
Defense: +4
Speed: +3

Abilities

1. Wink: with a burst of twinkling lights, they can force one to teleport a short jaunt away (usually around 20 meters). Because of this, they use this power against dangers but not on friends.

It is said that the pixies can change the fates of the cursed, though these stories are always quick to note that they cannot cure one. Oftentimes they will steal things they see as pretty, but do not keep such things, leaving a trail of finery as they move.

Floral Fairies by Sandra Duchiewicz

Dryad

HD: 2
Found: sole in deep woods, 1d6 in an enchanted grove

Appearance: a curvaceous figure of wooden complexion and hair like leaves, short of stature with sinuous, careful movements.
Voice: rustling leaves, soft but inescapable
Wants: to protect their tree, expel metal
Tactics: cautious, but not well considered

Attack: +1
Defense: +3
Speed: +2

Abilities

1. Woodswalk: passes through trees or any other wood without effort, as a human could pass through water.
2. Implant: can grapple a foe and pull them into a tree, dealing 1d6 damage per round until someone hacks them out of the wood.

Many can extol the magical properties and virtues of dryads, but most would never consider hunting them, as they are elusive and wondrous beings, as well as quite dangerous if truly forced into confrontation. 

Dryad by Leroy van Vliet

Nymph

HD: 2
Found: sole in waterfall ponds

Appearance: a flowing lithe form of water, unearthly beautiful and somewhat coy.
Voice: like a babbling brook, with an annoying laugh
Wants: to be loved
Tactics: passive and cautious

Attack: +1
Defense: +3
Speed: +2

Abilities

1. Stunning: any mortal who sees the nymph must make a Will save or be enthralled by their countenance, falling into infatuation for 1d6 months.
2. Breathless: they can live indefinitely under water, and can drag foes down to a watery grave.

These fairy beings are often surrounded by mortals playing and cavorting in the water. Their homes are often known as they live there for years at a time, entrapping passersby and enjoying the company of their mates.

Fairie by Mack Sztaba

Elf

HD: 3
Found: 1d6 in deep woods

Appearance: a tall, glowing figure with a deeply impassive face.
Voice: silent
Wants: to avoid mortals, protect their secrets
Tactics: carefully considered, unforgiving

Attack: +2
Defense: +2
Speed: +4

Abilities

1. Silver weapons, faintly luminous

The elves were once playful beings that taunted humans, stealing children and cursing nobles with eternal sleep. During the ages of heroes they crafted weapons and artifacts of unstoppable might to aid against the necromancers lords, but in the modern era they have become reclusive as a people.

Spirit of the Forest by Torben Weit

Gnome

HD: 1
Found: 1d6 near small villages

Appearance: like a child with white hair and brightly colored clothing
Voice: high pitched, taunting
Wants: pain
Tactics: aggressive

Attack: +3
Defense: +1
Speed: +2

Abilities

1. Tiny daggers: light damage
2. Hiding dance: as long as they dance in place, they can remain invisible.

Gnomes try to pose as lost or hurt children, and ruse humans in to approach before stabbing them to death and bathing themselves in blood. The blood soaks into their clothing and revitalizes its color.

DARK FAIRIES by Piotr Foksowicz

Special undead

Special Halloween post (a day early)! Certain beings beyond death are more dangerous or strange than others, or simply more rare.

Ghost

HD: 2
Found: solitary in abandoned homes, places of strange death, treachery, obsession, or terror

Appearance: withered ghostly light in the warped shape of the person who died, twisted by all-consuming emotion.
Voice: echoing and distant, as if from deep down an unseen hallway
Wants: to fulfill its obsession
Morality: wild, emotional, irrational
Tactics: careful, tricky, but aggressive

Attack: +2
Defense: +1
Speed: +2

Abilities

1. Incorporeal: can remain invisible and intangible at will, unless its emotions are flared.
2. Possession: able to possess the bodies of mortals who are emotionally inflamed.

Created when a mortal dies while engulfed in the extremes of emotion, be it terror, hatred, desire, or others. This emotion drives them far beyond human behavior, to wild acts that may seem impossible to their friends and loved ones in life. They become tied to an area or object, and cannot leave it beyond a certain range unless they possess the body of a mortal. 

Evocation - Stail Woman by Andrea Chiampo

Poltergeist

HD: 1
Found:

Appearance: completely invisible, shaped like a frail, crouching humanoid. Faint but distinct light glows from within when the command word is spoken.
Voice: echoing sounds, like a clattering or ringing with no apparent source
Wants: to serve its purpose, usually as a thief or personal guard for dark wizards, or to secure safety once abandoned.
Morality: flatly logical, cautious but not fearful
Tactics: evasive, avoids combatants while flinging heavy objects at them

Attack: -1
Defense: +1
Speed: +0

Abilities

1. Unseen: cannot be seen naturally, though a small, candle-like blue light glows at its heart and it becomes immobile for 1d6 rounds when its command word is spoken.
2. Telekinesis: with a clumsy force, the poltergeist can levitate a set of somewhat lightweight objects in a certain area, such as a chair and small items on a nearby table. Makes a launcher check with 2 stars.

Created by cutting out part of the soul and binding it to a word in a lengthy and horrific process that cripples the mind of its subject. Usually dark wizards will extract 1d6 poltergeists from a soul, inventing a new command word for each and using them as thieves or disparate guards.

Wraith

HD: 3
Found: 1d6 in the stillest of places

Appearance: somewhat like a dark, tattered robe floating in the air, shedding dust, ash, or whatever gave it form.
Voice: silence
Wants: stillness, silence, and deadness
Morality: inscrutable
Tactics: cautious, well considered, almost passive

Attack: +3
Defense: +1
Speed: +2

Abilities

1. Withering touch: medium damage, deals a wound on 6.
2. Discorporate: fades into particles briefly, becoming intangible for a round.
3. Screams of Quietude: goes still for a round, damping all sounds within a long earshot.

Formed of particulate matter in places of deepest stillness, these strange elemental beings of deadness are formed seemingly on their own, almost always underground. Perhaps these taught the ancient necromancer lords their dark art, in a nearly successful bid to end life in our world. Perhaps the night sky is black with void wraiths, impatiently waiting for the moon and stars to die or abandon us so that they may finally put still this wretched land of flowing blue, swirling white, and creeping green.

They float through the air, and are absorbed by stone. While this weakens the spirit, it also corrupts the material. The result is a brittle rock called Wraithstone, which crumbles into needle-like shapes and is prized by alchemists.

Mummy

HD: 3
Found: solitary in rich tombs, the tops of mountains, buried under ancient temples, or lost in salt mines

Appearance: desiccated corpse from bygone eras, preserved by forces of man or nature and bearing a distinct strength in will and body.
Voice: soft and dry, but commanding and impossible to ignore
Wants: peace in the afterlife, to dispel invaders
Morality: similar to life
Tactics: careful, well considered but not aggressive

Attack: +3
Defense: +2
Speed: -1

Abilities

1. Command: all undead who can hear it will obey its words without hesitation.
2. Slam: heavy damage. Deals 1 damage to the mummy on successful hit.
3. Mummy's Curse: whoever kills a mummy is stricken with a major curse.

Emperor of the Sands: interred deep within stone crypts lined with gold and history, draped in what were once fine silver wrappings and golden regalia. Guarded by twin stone guardians and possessed of divine favor.

Saltmen: lost workers in an ancient salt mine, their industry that ended their lives has now ironically preserved them beyond death.

Eternal Monk: preserved in a ritual of meditation, fasting, and special diet in order to achieve an eternal peace as they were lowered into sealed pits underneath holy places. Those who desecrate their place of burial may face the full might of long-lost martial arts, but the righteous seekers of their wisdom may find secrets which are unattainable by any other means.

Mummylands: tropical lands where the oldest of preserved dead can be found, hundreds if not thousands across the realm. Many of them are decorated with fine clothes, tattoos, and jewelry.

Major curses

Omens

When the curse is cast, this is how the cursed can know. The signs are cryptic, but the feeling of wrongness cannot be ignored.

Shadowed Whispers by Maik Beiersdorf

1. Suddenly there are giant moths perched all around. Now that you notice them, you realize they were always there, blending into your surroundings somehow and waiting.
2. The stranger's teeth are wrong. Almost like a human's, pale and square. But not quite the color of something living, and too square, more like chisel blades.
3. Just as your companion rounds the corner and leaves your sight, you realize they stand before you. You watched them leave.
4. At the edge of your light, you see a severed head with a malicious grin. As you look closer, it morphs into a discarded cloak.
5. Everyone's eyes, noses, mouths are shifting about their faces, sliding around one another in a horrible flow.
6. As you eat, something tiny feels too hard between your teeth, tastes metallic and glassy. You try to spit it out, but it slides down your throat with the next bite.
7. Nearby clatter followed by a loud, low humming that nobody else seems to notice.
8. When nobody is speaking, your ears pick up a voice speaking just too softly to understand. Listening for a moment, you recognize it as your voice just before it goes quiet.
9. Cutting pain slides up through your gut and deep in your chest, stopping at your throat. It stings there for a moment before fading into a persistent tingling, then disappears.
10. Something drips down your forehead and face. It feels thick and warm, and looks dark. When you touch it your hand comes away dry.
11. Only you feel the ground lurch slightly beneath your feet, breaking apart to reveal a glimpse of a yawning abyss below.
12. Suddenly you remember that you dreamed all this, the entire day exactly as it has happened so far. The dream ended with hands pulling you into darkness and cutting you open.
13. A faint clicking noise, nearby and almost regular. Craning your ears you hear it coming from inside your chest, every time you move.
14. A massive shadow passed through the night sky, covering a swatch of stars. It didn't make a sound, but somehow you know it was close by.
15. When you reach into your pack, another hand grazes yours. Looking through your bag you find nothing out of place, and no holes.
16. Something crawls along your teeth as you speak.
17. Passing through town, you realize that everyone is staring directly at you. You feel something watching from above, and when you look back down all appears normal.
18. Your shadow shows a reflection like a mirror. In it you can see a stranger, moving carefully.
19. A shrieking, wailing cry from very close, so frenzied and wild that it cannot be discerned from insane laughter. Nobody else heard it.
20. The sky is pitch black, not a cloud nor the sun visible for a moment.

Rotten Horse by Julian Bauer

Curse

The effect is not apparent at first, but will show itself in time

1. Occasionally, the cursed wakes up alone in the middle of the night, to see an unnaturally tall and pale woman standing over them with a white lily in her hands. If they touch the flower, she will attack and devour them.
2. Those who hate the cursed will see them in dreams, and always know where they are.
3. The skin and flesh of the cursed tightens across their body, creaking with every movement and ready to tear open at the slightest puncture.
4. Sunlight stings the skin of the cursed, which feels dry and ready to burst into flame with any spark.
5. Waxen worms spill from the mouth of the cursed whenever they try to speak.
6. Burdens feel unbearable, as the limbs of the cursed feel weakened and heavy.
7. Sickly crows gather and follow, looking tense and ready to frenzy at a moment's notice.
8. Food and drink taste like thick blood. Soft silks and velvets feel like barbed thorns. The gentle caress of another is only grit and scraping bristles.
9. Hounds will not look away from the cursed, and often follow, growling and ready to pounce.
10. An itching builds up deep beneath the skin of the cursed, driving them to scratch deep into their body. Any injury only feels like a brief alleviation.
11. The bones of the cursed clatter and crackle with an abhorrent noise regardless of how carefully they move.
12. The stomach of the cursed is encompassed by crushing hunger, and will never feel full.
13. Strangers will always think they recognize the cursed as a troublemaker or wanted criminal.
14. No animal will carry the cursed, and they will sink like a stone in water.
15. Trapped in a monstrous form that polite society will refuse to accept.
16. Any foe struck down by the cursed will rise again to seek vengeance.
17. The stars watch intently at night, making it impossible to rest normally.
18. All tools and arms that are taken up by the cursed will eagerly crumble and shatter in their hands.
19. Trapped in a beastly form which is unable speak or write.
20. Whenever the cursed draws near, unliving flesh will crawl away from them.

Army of my sins by Paweł Latkowski

Release

There may be only one way to become free of this affliction.

1. Beseech the one who swore the curse, to lift it from you. If they die, this becomes impossible.
2. Swallow a handful of silver dust. Can be mixed into a drink, but may poison you either way.
3. Entreat the aid of a priest or god. If faith is unsure, the curse will remain and its swearer will know of the effort.
4. Allow a ghost to possess your body. This will release a curse, but the spirit will have its way.
5. Cleanse the curse with suffering, by self-flagellating and fasting until the curse is lifted.
6. Give away half of your wealth to the poor, or your most valued possession if you are yourself poor.

Woodland Ghost by David Romero

Saint

Inspired by a wonderful suggestion by ArkosDawn, which lead to the first cleric I would actually encourage people to play as!

Lepro-sees by John Sullivan

Perform miracles by accepting temporary curses. Magic user.

• Stat bonus: +1 speed per level, -1 maximum vigor every two levels
• Starting items: incense, steel cudgel
• Skill: politician, writer, or thug

Level 1: miraculous

Level 2: burden, smite

Level 3: forbiddance

Level 4: divine retribution, relic

• Miraculous: perform miracles by accepting minor curses upon yourself. When you choose a miracle, roll 1d6 for a curse, adding +1 to your roll for each miracle you have used in the same day. Curses last the rest of the day unless otherwise noted or if that wouldn't make sense.
• Burden: once per day, select an enemy when you use a miracle, inflicting them with the curse instead of yourself.
• Smite: strike your foe with divine power once per day, dealing +1 damage for each curse you are afflicted with. This includes major curses, curses from techniques, and cursed items.
• Forbiddance: place an icon that will repel one enemy type whenever they look upon it, for the next 8 hours. Can be used once per day, and enemy types include magical beasts, gods & demons, elementals, cursed & undead, fae, natural beasts, and humans.
• Divine retribution: once per day, spread one curse that afflicts you onto an enemy. They will be alleviated when you are, or can release their curse separately.
• Relic: give a piece of your body (such as a tooth, a small vial of blood, or a lock of hair) and a blessing to one person at a time. As long as they hold your relic, it will protect them from any kind of curse, but they will also be unable to use magic.

Miracles

• Heal an ally within sight by 2d6 vigor.
• Increase the recovery of a wound by one day.
• Call upon a lost item to return to its owner, through anything but solid barriers.
• Grant an ally +2 strength and agility for an hour.
• Endow a flame to keep burning for 1d6 +2 days.
• Steal a magic power for one hour.
• Split a single stone with a touch.
• Dispel temporary ailments such as blindness.
• Conjure 1d6 rations worth of food.
• Split a body of water to cross safely and dry.

suffering by ivan stan

Curses

1. Lashed by spectral whips for 1d6 damage.
2. Stricken with hunger, eat 1d6 rations or become strained.
3. Legs become limp and useless.
4. Skin disappears, taking +1 damage from all sources.
5. Arms chained behind your back.
6. Stricken with silence. Cannot use another miracle for 1 minute, or speak for the rest of the day.
7. Flesh becomes salt. Take 1d6 damage from notable contact with water.
8. Invisible imps perch upon you and strike anyone who approaches to help you.
9. Lose control of your actions. After 1d6 rounds, GM controls the saint for one minute.
10. Become stiff and immobile for 1d6 rounds.
11. Shrouded in a nightmarish illusion. People won't talk to you, guards may attack.
12. Stricken with poverty. Armor, shield, or weapon burns away in holy flame (only one, in that order).

The church is powerful, the people have their faith. Why then, would a lowly peasant ever shy away from the powers of the gods? When there is a holy light of healing, a conjured meal before them, or a demon slain with a touch, how could any deny the privilege of such a position. They hesitate at the sight of a stricken saint, bearing the heavy spiritual weight of their curses after a trying day. That power is great, truly, and holds a position of some guaranteed safety under the church, but such suffering is well more than enough to push away thoughts of joining the orders, until true evil makes itself known and someone with faith enough to become a saint also finds suffering enough that those curses seem worth enduring.

Saints can be adapted for specific gods or religious orders, simply by creating a themed set of miracles and curses. I left off the curses at 12 because I figure by the time someone is carrying around six curses they're not likely to keep pushing that envelope.

Undead stats and attributes

The most common undead are skeletons, as well as wights, zombies, ghouls, and liches. Undead need no food, rest, water, or even air, but cannot heal wounds or regain vigor, and gain no experience points or levels as they feel neither passion nor joy. Much like the cursed, undead are vulnerable to silver items and weapons.

Skeleton

HD: 1

Found: 1d6-1 with a necromancer or in long-neglected crypts and ruins

Appearance: human bones, marked as a product of necromancy by the ghostly blue flames burning from within the eye sockets.

Voice: clattering and crackling of bones against one another, muffled only by long-decayed garments

Wants: to obey the most recent command or protect the dead from desecration

Morality: pure obedience

Tactics: decently varied

Attack: +2

Defense: +2

Speed: +1

Attacks

1. Old, rusted weapon from life.
2. Unarmed attack at +1 damage.

Collapses when it takes a wound.

Elven skeleton

HD: 4

Found: solitary with powerful, well-travelled necromancers

Appearance: unnaturally slender bones, glowing with a darkness that consumes nearby light. The fires in its eyes are the only light that exists around it.

Voice: echoing, empty, and faint

Wants: to obey last command or destroy beauty

Tactics: complex and considered

Attack: +4

Defense: +1

Speed: +5

Attacks

1. Umbral claw: heavy damage
2. Gravelight: flare of darkness, dealing 2d6 damage to living enemies nearby. Paralyzes nearby undead for one round, including elven skeletons.
3. Elven blade: roll for magic weapon

Giant skeleton

HD: 7

Found: solitary, at the tops of the oldest mountains and hiding within the most powerful clouds

Appearance: massive stone skeleton, broad and heavy of frame

Voice: clashing of stone, roaring of storms, oddly contemplative

Wants: to obey the last command or crush the works of humans, and learn

Morality: obedience and curiosity

Tactics: carefully considered

Attack: +6

Defense: +6

Speed: -4

Attacks

1. Crush: heavy damage
2. Giant weaponry: 2d6 damage

Insanely heavy, will crush anything it stands on other than solid stone or similarly sturdy ground.

Wight

Known to anyone who recognizes necromancy as the servants of its practitioners, by the shriveled skin, burning blue eyes, and dry rasping voice. They have no personality of their own and barely remember their previous life, now fully devoted to the necromancer who raised them. Physical attributes and skills are identical to the person in life, including speech, languages, and class techniques, but has no magical abilities of any kind without a soul. Becomes incapable of meaningful action after three wounds.

Zombie

HD: 2

Found: at the site of a horrible curse

Appearance: decayed and cursed, but not usually extremely old. Sometimes still wearing their clothes from life, and may carry tools or weapons that they no longer remember how to use.

Voice: dull groaning without intent

Wants: to bite or infect the living, dig up corpses

Morality: hunger

Tactics: dull

Attack: +1

Defense: 0

Speed: -2

Attacks

1. Bite: light damage, +1 for each additional zombie in melee

Anyone bitten by a zombie will turn into one, either quickly, gradually, or after natural death, depending on the curse.

Ghoul

HD: 2

Found: in old graveyards and on recent battlefields

Appearance: deformed as if starved, but beyond all natural capacity. Sunken eyes and distended teeth, cracked and sharpened against the bones of the dead.

Voice: shrill and cackling, frequent coughing

Wants: to eat the recently dead

Morality: selfish

Tactics: tricky

Attack: +2

Defense: +1

Speed: +2

Attacks

1. Claw: light damage + save vs stun
2. Bite: light damage, targets vulnerable foes

Lich

When a master necromancer obtains a Soul Talisman, they can use their dark magics in a ritual suicide to trap their own soul within. They can also do this to another, but this is rare as the lich to be must be killed, and can later kill the necromancer to secure their own immortality. As long as the Soul Talisman remains intact, the lich cannot die, their slain body simply regenerating or being remade. If the Talisman is kept far from the lich, their body will become lifeless and immobile until reunited. While the lich is trapped within their Talisman in this way, they can reform a new body, causing the old to be engulfed in cursed green flames and creating a new form over the course of a week.

Curses as classes

These cannot be unlocked for new characters, and gain no proficiencies, skills, or starting items. Curses can deepen similar to gaining class levels, and replace class levels if they would otherwise exceed the limit of four. They can also be cured by fighting and evading the curse. There's no fourth level so that players can still have classes, but if you want to allow players to become outright monsters, feel free to add that.

Vampire

• Stat bonus: +1 will, -1 strength per level
• Deepen: drinking the blood of a living person you haven't already fed on counts as 10 exp.
• Cure: go 10 intervals without feeding.
• Signs: fangs, pallid skin, unnatural eyes.

Level 1: burning, bloodthirst

Level 2: drowning, regeneration

Level 3: ageless, hypnotism

• Burning: sunlight will burn your flesh. In direct sunlight, you take 2d6 damage per round. In open air during daylight, you take 1 damage per round even in shade.
• Bloodthirst: you must drink blood instead of eating food, regaining 1d6 vigor each time. Whenever you see a suitable victim and have not fed within one day (at level 1)/month (at level 2)/year (at level 3), you must make a will save to avoid attacking them immediately to feed on them. This save is made at a cumulative -1 penalty each interval since you last fed, as well as a -4 if they are bleeding.
• Drowning: if you enter or knowingly pass over running water, you must make a vigor save each round or lose consciousness.
• Regeneration: whenever you take a wound, you can turn into mist and return to your coffin or other place of rest, as long as the way is not blocked by airtight barriers. Each hour of rest restores one wound. Only sunlight or a stake through the heart can truly kill you, any other death will simply turn you into mist and return to your coffin, where your body will lie inert for one day before recovering.
• Ageless: you can live forever, with no need to sleep, breathe, or even feed, though you must still make saves to keep yourself from attacking mortals.
• Hypnotism: by staring into the eyes of any mortal creature for ten seconds, you can force them to obey a single word command, along with pointing to direct them. You are completely vulnerable to attacks while doing this.

Leprocist

• Stat bonus: +1 strength, -1 will per level
• Deepen: attaching the limb of a creature you killed grants 10 exp.
• Cure: let one body part per leprocist level fall off, and be taken care of for one month. This will not regrow the limbs lost.
• Signs: decayed skin, mismatched body parts, seams between parts.

Level 1: falling apart, metabolize

Level 2: preservative

Level 3: beyond natural, chaotic anatomy

• Falling apart: your face, arms, and legs will slowly decay and fall off over the course of a month, but you can replace them. Losing an arm decreases your strength by one, and losing a leg decreases your agility by one. Each limb you take from a creature increases or decreases your strength and agility if the creature was stronger than you or more agile, respectively. Once all of your limbs fall off, your head and torso will begin to take 2d6 damage per day unless fed and cleaned carefully.
• Metabolize: expend a body part, pushing it past its limits and ripping it apart to add 1d6 to any roll.
• Preservative: choose one of your body parts to remain intact as long as you have other limbs, similar to your head and torso.
• Beyond natural: attach additional body parts, including extra heads, up to a total of half your maximum vigor (or 6, whichever is higher).
• Chaotic anatomy: if each of your body parts is from a different type of creature, they will decay after a year rather than a month.

Midas' Flesh

• Stat bonus: +1 strength, -1 agility per level
• Deepen: hoard ten times the normal amount of gold instead of spending it. Stolen or lost money is not deducted, but spent or used money is.
• Cure: go one month per level without holding any money, except to give away for nothing in return.
• Signs: golden eyes, golden flesh.

Level 1: personal value, fool's touch

Level 2: weight of riches, gold to anything

Level 3: liquid assets, pure profit

• Personal value: stop rolling for vigor. Insted, each level of curse roll 1d20 for gold vigor as your body transforms. Each point of gold vigor is worth 10gp if ripped off of you, and if gold is taken from your body it takes a week to recover. You must consume a gold coin for each point of wear you wish to recover, instead of eating and resting normally.
• Fool's touch: touch an enemy to encase them in pyrite, immobilizing them for 1d6 rounds. Doing this causes you to take 1d6 damage if you've used it before on that day.
• Weight of riches: your golden body is immensely heavy. Anything weaker than stone will collapse underneath you, you will sink like a rock in any liquid, and it takes at least three people to carry you.
• Gold to anything: you can change your gold into any mundane metal or stone, though its shape remains the same. It takes about 20gp for each inventory slot of materials.
• Liquid assets: shoot molten gold from your hand at anyone within ten meters. Deals damage based on how much gold you expend; 1 damage for less than 10gp, 1d6 for 10gp, 2d6 for 100gp, 3d6 for 1000gp, and so on.
• Pure profit: your body is entirely gold, remove all non-gold vigor, and if you run out you will die and your body will crumble into 2d20 gold coins.

Lycanthrope

• Stat bonus: +1 agility, -1 will per level
• Deepen: each person your beast form kills grants 10 exp.
• Cure: spending a full moon completely restrained and imprisoned counters10 exp.
• Signs: wild hair and nail growth, hunger for raw meat.

Level 1: full moon, unnatural

Level 2: wilderness within, man or beast

• Full moon: on any night when the moon is full, you will transform into a powerful beast that goes on a violent rampage, targeting the things you care most about.
• Unnatural: mundane weapons and attacks cannot kill you, except silver.
• Wilderness within: you can make a will save to transform regardless of the time. During this time, whenever your beast form kills and eats a creature, you can choose to revert. Gain a cumulative +1 to this save for each night since you last transformed.
• Man or beast: when you are in beast form, you can make a will save to take control for 1d6 minutes. If people you care about are trying to help, gain +4 to this save.

Wendigo

• Stat bonus: +1 strength, -1 will per level
• Deepen: eating a frozen corpse of the same species grants 20 exp.
• Cure: each night spent without food and out of the cold counters 20 exp
• Signs: white skin, antlers, claws, unnatural eyes.

Level 1: flesh hunger, frigid phantom

Level 2: starvation, hunt

• Flesh hunger: whenever you eat a frozen corpse of your species, you regain all vigor and recover one wound.
• Frozen phantom: gain +4 to stealth when moving through snowy or frozen environments, gain immunity to cold weather and resistance to cold damage. Take double damage from fire, and you must make a will save to approach any fire larger than a candle.
• Starvation: eat a frozen corpse at least once a week or die.
• Hunt: you can see in the dark and perfectly mimic any voice you've heard.

Everyone else participating in this project. If you found your way here you should definitely check them out: Oblidisideryptch: https://oblidisideryptch.blogspot.com/ Archon’s Court: https://archons-court.blogspot.com/2019/08/glog-class-nanoweapon-poisoned.html Walfalcon: https://sameissharkinjapanese.blogspot.com/2019/08/glog-class-so-im-participating-in.html Ancalagon: https://slugsandsilver.blogspot.com/2019/07/curse-as-class-contest-ogre.html Lexi: https://crateredland.blogspot.com/2019/08/holding-out-for-hero.html Belac93: http://anxiousmimic.blogspot.com/2019/08/glog-class-oath-cursed-and-oath-rot.html Iemcd: https://benignbrownbeast.blogspot.com/2019/08/restless-dreamer.html Zoeology: https://princesses-and-pioneers.tumblr.com/post/186756775968/mirror-struck

Valker: https://parasitesandparadoxes.blogspot.com/2019/08/glog-class-doppelganger.html B44l: https://bugbearslug.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-abattoir-god.html