The Book of Treasure Maps, Cassandra's Sphere of Time Alteration

This is going to be another one of those items that in today's world may not be as useful as it once with. With the advent of the Internet and the ease that small publishers have can make their products available items like The Book of Treasure Maps are now easy to get and in many cases products are free.

When this was published back in 1979 though the DM did not have access to the wealth of products that are available today. This is the same situation that I have written about before with the other Judges Guild products. This product provides the DM with mini-adventures that they can throw into their ongoing campaign on the fly.

The adventures are set in the Judges Guild Wilderness setting but they cna easily be adapted to any setting. There are a total of five adventures included in the book which comes in at 48 pages. Each of the adventures comes with a separate map for both the players and the DM. Each also includes backgrounds and rumors for each of the adventures. The included adventures are listed below:

The Lost Temple
The Tomb of Aethering the Damned
The Lone Tower
Willchidar's Lair
The Crypts of Arcadia

The module has another thing in its favor. This is the fact that in addition to being written by Paul Jaquays he did all of the interior art. This may not be the draw for some that it is for me but in my mind his art helped make early Judges Guild products what they are. The mummy image on page 15 and the demon on page 36 are images that still stick with me to this day as some of the most evocative art from early products. It is also said that Mr. Jaquays is the taller person in the metal helmet from the cover. This may also be the first known published LARP picture.


Spell:

Cassandra's Sphere of Time Alteration

Level: Ninth
Range: Special
Duration: Special
Ares of Effect: Special
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Segment
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user causes time flow in the affected area to slow. The rate at which the time will slow and the area of effect are based on the caster level and the amount of energy channeled for the effect.

The spell will have a based effect of causing time in the area of effect to slow to an extent that one day in the area will allow two years to pass outside the area. The caster can amplify this but at great cost.

The spell will cause the caster to age 10 years for the base casting. The cast can further slow time but doing so will cost the caster one full level of experience per level of effect. For each level the time alteration will be doubled. The caster will also age an additional 10 years for each factor of alteration. The caster must make a saving throw versus death magic or lose 2-5 points of intelligence due to strain of the magics involved.

The levels lost in this fashion are not easily restored. Not even a Wish will restore the levels. The caster will be required to begin accumulating experience as if they were first level again. Once they reach the experience points to start gaining levels again they will.

The area affected will not be noticeable. The spell effect will actually mask the appearance of the area. To those on the outside it will appear to be a normal area regardless of what the actual inside may look like. The same will hold true for the appearance from the inside. Nothing will serve notice that there is anything different passing in or out of the area except for a chill and the immediate change in scenery.

The area that can be affected is a 25" radius sphere per level of the caster. The size can be any size up to that effect or as small as a 1" sphere. The radius extends into all directions so this will need to be taken into account when cast. The caster can cast the spell up to a distance of the area of effect plus 1".

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Village Book One - Judges Guild, Cassandra's Waiting Light

In an earlier post I had written about the Island Book which was released by Judges Guild and how it was probably still the most useful of the premade mapping products. I had said it beat out the Village book but perhaps not by much. I still hold with that but the margin may be even closer than I recalled.

The Village book was released in 1978 and then again in 1979 with this same exact cover. The only difference between the two are the Booty List that is in the back of the book. Other than the other products listed in the end they are identical. There is a third printing that has a different cover and marketed as a Universal Fantasy Supplement.

The Village book consists of forty-eight different maps of villages. The villages range in size from a few building to ones that are on the upper end of what might be called a village. In addition to the maps there are nine pages of tables that will help the DM randomly determine the contents of the villages and their makeup. The tables are what I had forgotten about and help inch this closer to being the equal of the Island Book.

In the end this is still a product that is worth having. I was recently made aware that most of the earlier Judges Guild products are available online as PDF files. I prefer a hard copy to an electronic copy so I would look on the secondary market first but that is a matter of taste. Regardless of how you get it I think this is something worth having.

Spell:

Cassandra's Waiting Light

Level: Second
Range: 12"
Duration: 1 Month/Level
Ares Effect: 3" Radius
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 Round
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast it creates a specialized Light Spell. The light affect created by this spell will have a trigger effect and phrase.

The use of this phrase will cause the light effect to either come on or go off as is appropriate. The trigger effect is more specific and will only cause the light to either come on or go off.

This spell will remain until such time as it is dispelled or the duration expires. The caster of the spell may also cancel the effect at will.

The material component of this spell is a living firefly or similar such creature. The creature is released when the spell is cast and will vanish until the spell duration expires.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

JG - Player's Guide to the Wilderlands, Solidification

The Player's Guide to the Wilderlands from the reformed Judges Guild is exactly what it says it is. If you want a full blown campaign setting like the original Wilderlands components were you will need to buy a copy of the box set. This though could work as as an excellent starting point if you wanted to build a modified original copy. This book gives the players enough detail to be well informed on the campaign world but that would also be enough for a DM to build off of. The system is stated for the 3.5 version but since not everything is detailed the conversion would not be herculean. The setting is a very much a mash up of Tolkien's Middle Earth, Howard's Hyboria and Leiber's Lankhmar much as the original seemed to be. This is not said as a bad thing as I think most campaign settings are mash ups of previous great ones be they from literature or previously published edition. I recall one of my early one having a conclave of Mentats because I loved Dune so much...but I digress. The map for this is an excellent full color representation of the Wilderlands but not in enough detail to ruin it for the players. The book covers vital topics such as the history of the Wilderlands, The various pantheons of the people, write ups for the various races, highlights of the geography and also offers a number of new classes. I recall only the witch which has always been a personal favorite of mine. In the end for the OSR this is not immediately apparent as something to buy but I think with some work to convert it or for the ideas that can be mined from it this makes a worth addition to a collection.

Spell:

Solidification

Level: Third
Range: 6"
Duration: 1 Round/Level
Ares Effect: One Creature
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 3 Segments
Saving Throw: Special

When this spell id cast the magic user causes the molecular bonds of the affected creature to slow as if they had been subjected to an extreme cold similar to that of outer space though there is no actual change in the temperature of the creature or the surrounding area. The actual effect of this spell will vary greatly based on the type of creature/individual it is cast upon and if their save is made or not. This spell will be ineffective against creatures who would be unaffected by the effects of outer space.

Should this spell be cast on a being made entirely of energy then it will have its most adverse effect. Beings of this nature who have this spell cast on them and fail their saving throw will break apart at the molecular level. If native to the plane the spell is cast on will also break apart and will be unable to reform for the duration of the spell. If from another plane be forced back to it.  In both cases when the creatures reintegrate they will be in a greatly weakened state having only one half their normal hit points and gaining them back at one quarter the normal rate. Creatures who make their save will suffer damage equal to three times the casters level in hit points with no further save allowed.

Material beings who have this spell cast on them will also be required to make a saving throw to see if they are fully or partially affected by the spell. Those who fail their save will suffer the effects of a slow spell with the additional disadvantage of having their To Hit rolls reduced by two and losing all advantages from dexterity if any. It will have the effect of raising their AC by four due to their increased solidity though. Those who make their save are not affected by the slowing aspect nor do they gain the armor class benefit. They will suffer the To Hit modification and lose any dexterity benefit.

Lastly when cast on a creature in a non corporeal state this spell will cause them to become corporeal for the duration of the spell if they fail their saving throw. Those that make their save will be unaffected bu the spell. Those who fail their save will lose all benefits of being non corporeal and can be affected as normal creatures would be including being able to be attacked on this plane. This will most adversely affect non corporeal undead who in addition to the other affects will have their armor class worsened by four and suffer 2d10 in damage from the solidification effect.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Treasury of Archaic Names - Judges Guild

This is one of those accessories that I would call both essential as well as fun. There is always a need to name people, places and things and this fills that role nicely. It is also fun to just read through and use it to spark ideas. Sometimes the name defines the person, place or thing. Baby name books and even books of mythological or supernatural beings can be used as well but this was created specifically for the stated purpose. There is a newer version that I have as well if memory serves me but this will be the one I pick up and use. 

Tegel Manor - Judges Guild

Tegel Manor was the second module I was ever run in. This is one hard act to follow module wise. I am not sure it was ever matched. This matched the magical pools with its own level of randomness. I ended up running it many time on my own over the years and I still don't think that I have ever fully used all of it there is to use.

Dark Tower - Judges Guild

Judges Guild has many great items. Their campaign setting may have been the best retail product they offered but this is by far their best best module. Had so much fun being run through it first and then using it multiple times with different groups. For old school modules I am not sure it gets better than this.