The Biocon: Parasite Race-as-Class

A purple humanoid from Warspace, covered nearly entirely in his Biocon.

Be sure to check out Oblidisideryptch, Micah, Type1Ninja, James Young, Coalfiber, Lexi, Isaak Hill, Ambnz, Chuffer, Martin O,and Wizards' interpretations of the idea of a "Parasite Race-as-class"!

In space, there are effectively infinite forms of life if you look long and far enough. Herbivores, Carnivores, Psychevores, and of course, Parasites.

The parasite form we will be discussing today is the Biocon, which is to say a Biological Conjoint Organism. Much debate has been had over whether they're more accurately referred to as a sleeve, suit, or other synonym for a piece of clothing OR as a disease, affliction, or condition that creatures suffer from. At the end of the day, everyone recognizes them as an organism.

Biocons are a species of parasite that was recently discovered in the core of a dead star on the outer reaches of the Colonized Systems. After a frightening first encounter, the crew of fuel miners credited with the discovery had become Joined, as it is called. Biocons are capable of sapient thought, and are very committed to the survival of themselves and their host. This doesn't extend to describing the host's new lifespan, however. They are capable shapeshifters, and can produce any biological or thaumaturgical effect their host can describe to them.

Very little formal research has been conducted on the effects of Joining, for a couple of reasons:

1. The superhuman feats capable when Joined make it unlikely for most folks to willingly lay down and be studied. If you could suddenly leap tall buildings in a single bound, would you want to get studied in invasive, possibly lethal ways, for the benefit of science?

2. At the end of its currently perceivable lifespan, Biocons kill their host. Resurrection of the original Joined soul is presently impossible. Research in this vector is underway.

There are no known cases of a Joined lifeform surviving longer than 2 years, and that person had an extremely sedentary lifestyle. The many cases of.. enterprising Joined lead much shorter lives. Adventurers certainly won't make it longer than a little while.

Biocon

Biocon 1. Joined, Manifestation, Fatal Maturation

Biocon 2. +1 Manifestation, + 1 HD

Biocon 3. +1 Manifestation, + 1 HD

Biocon 4. The Brightest Candle, +1 Manifestation, + 1 HD

Starting Equipment: Biocon Manifestation ([level]*2 slots), dagger
Skills (d3): 1. Mining, 2. Diplomacy, 3. Wanderer

Hit Die: d8

A blood elf woman, admiring her newly progressed Biocon.

Joined: You share your body with a parasitic lifeform known as a Biocon. It's something like dolphin flesh with a thin layer of chitin over the top, sans the hairs. It feeds on your biological processes, and on the very essence of your soul. In turn, it grants you many abilities.
It is a sapient, living creature, and you can communicate with it telepathically. Its personality, goals, and other details are at the GM's discretion. Roll mental stats for the Biocon, and record them separately from your own. Effects that would normally target you are allowed to choose between you and the Biocon. When you gain this level, you can reroll an ability score of your choice and take the higher, as the Biocon naturally shores up your weaknesses.

Manifestation: Your Biocon is malleable, and dedicated to assisting your combined survival. Choose one monster's ability, such as an attack, movement, special ability, size, or other feature. GM has final say. The Biocon can produce this effect at will. It may need to make morale checks, to avoid being stressed out and activating this Manifestation on its own.
Onlookers will certainly need to make morale checks if you do something horrible, like manifest an Illithid's brain eating or a Mind Flayer's eye beam. You suffer a [level] penalty to reaction rolls.

Fatal Maturation: The GM will roll 1d12 secretly. This is your maximum lifespan in months, and unless you find a way to separate the Biocon from you, you will die. You cannot be brought back from this death in any known ways. You may be able to convince your Biocon to divulge this info, but it makes a concentrated effort to encourage you to live your best life. They often see this as information that will be a problem for you.

The Brightest Candle: You are at the end of your rope. Your Biocon has reached maturity, and you are now considered one entity for the purposes of targeting and such. At your whim, you can set the other end of the candle alight. You turn over the last shreds of your control to your Biocon. Your ability scores become 20, and you reduce all damage taken by 5. Your HP also increases to 50. You lose 1 HP each minute, and cannot restore it. When it reaches 0, you die. Irrevocably.
Your body and soul have been burnt up by the Biocon, and it... disappears. Where to? Who knows.

A birdfolk, possessed by a Biocon that makes them much faster.

Commentary

I was going for something like Baoh, Infamous, and other kinds of dangerously powerful parasites. I liked the idea of being able to do cool transformations (and visually, I drew on my favorite pokemon Deoxys' transformations) but didn't want the implementation to be clunky. So, I tossed around the idea of "schools" like wizards, with Manifestation Dice. But, ultimately, I think just stealing stuff from monsters is a lot simpler. But if someone does something like manifestation dice, please tell me. I think that'd be awesome.

The Hills have Ants

Hook:
Just beyond the forest surrounding your brand new village, some horrible hive of Giant Ants must exist! Travelers are regularly disappeared, and the crops have been slowing dwindling after nighttime harvests by the creatures. Solve this problem, save the future of your home.

Background:
Thousands of years ago, scientists or wizards or someone experimented with size enhancement, genetic augmentation as a bioweapon, and stealth infiltration. Imagine a few ants scuttling under a door, growing to huge size, and making any soldiers in the room into more ants. Somewhere near here, this experiment must've busted out. They've since integrated themselves into the ecosystem. More recently, in the order of a week ago, some merchant carts have disappeared along with large supplies of the nearby village's food.

Combat:
Queen's Chamber. Filled with 10 drones (giant ants) and the Queen (some combo of an ogre and a giant ant). She is covered in welts and bulbous sacks of fluid. If the queen is threatened, any surviving drones will swarm into the chamber to defend their queen. Also, 1d6 drones will return from the outside to assist.

Food Chamber. Inside of this room, many crates of wheat, fruits, and scattered animal carcasses. 4 drones eat here, and could likely be walked past. Inside an overturned crate is a wounded and weak merchant named Frederick. He is incapable of walking, and huddled inside this crate to avoid the ants. He hid in here when the ants attacked his merchant caravan.

Antechamber. Inside of the first room are two Ant-Men, people mid transformation into giant ants. (Stats as any weird humanoid creeps). They will shriek and click at anyone who approaches, dripping with mutagenic saliva.

Empty:
Grub Chamber. Filled with squirming, torso sized Ant grubs. They could potentially be raised and treated with magic or pheromones to be your very own!

Trash Room. Piles of silver jewelry, sacks of spices, and other trade goods lay abandoned here near the entrance. The temptation is to grab the wealth and leave the village to get bled dry by these ants.. but you wouldn't. Would you?

Under Construction. This room is only half as large as the others. It is under construction, but some drones are out scavenging for more wall structures.

Traps:
Weak Wall Hallway. This leads from the antechamber into the rest of the dungeon. The wall is very loosely packed dirt, and if walked past will collapse part of the ceiling on top of the party. If walking slowly past, it can be avoided. If the party collapses it, it will be rebuilt the following day by the drones.

Poison Hallway. Some of the more humanoid drones have reinforced this tunnel with branches and leaves of local plant. Their ANT transformation has made them immune to the horrible disease this plant harbors, and anyone brushing past the large leaves will need to save vs disease.

Weird:
Ant Hybridization. The "saliva" of any of these monsters can be used to transform living creatures into horrible ant-hybrids. They will be drawn towards this queen, and if she is dead, they will be aimless animal creatures. Anyone who dies to these monsters will swiftly become a hybrid, progressing further each day. A cure may exist.

The Pugilist: Champion/Punchfighter Adaptation

Kinnikuman!

I just saw Bernie the Flumph's Champion in my blogroll, and have adapted it to the Glog! Hooray!

Pugilist

Starting Equipment: Revealing outfit, 3 days of training supplies (if you require any), 5 days hearty rations

Skills (d4): 1. Showmanship, 2. Survival, 3. Chivalry 4. Scoundrelry

Hit Die: d10

1. Punches as Strong as Kicks, Rigorous Training, 1 Random Stance, 1 Chosen Stance

2. Skin Conditioning, +HD, +1 Chosen Stance

3. Now its Serious!, +1 Random Stance

4. Peak Performance, Mentor of Muscle, +2 Chosen Stances

Stances: At the start of combat, announce which stance you start in. You need not have a stance, if you wish. It takes your movement to switch between stances on your turn. Maintaining a fighting stance outside of combat is useful, but is tantamount to having a drawn sword in public. Be careful! Each stance takes up a memory slot. You must have unimpeded movement to maintain a Stance.

Punches as Strong as Kicks: You may use STR or DEX for your unarmed attack rolls. Your unarmed attacks deal 1d6+CON damage.

Rigorous Training: Each day, you have some ritual you must complete to be in tip-top shape. Whether that's an hour of calisthenics in the morning, or a gallon of milk with breakfast, or a line of Wizard Tooth Powder. For each day you don't do this, you gain Exhaustion (which takes up an inventory slot). This could also be something you never do, as opposed to a ritual. Maybe you're a strict vegan, or you abstain from alcohol or sex.

Skin Conditioning: You can add your CON to your AC.

Now its Serious!: You're not messing around anymore! When you deal unarmed damage, you may destroy an item you are wearing to gain advantage on the damage roll.

Peak Performance: You have ascended to the top of human ability! Add your CON to all saves, and reduce all incoming damage by your CON.

Mentor of Muscle: You may start a school of unarmed combat! [level]d4 students will come to you each time you are at your school to learn under you. 1d4 of them will be serious enough to come with you! They each know 1 Stance, and gain their first Pugilist level when their learn their second Stance.

Muscle Woman! (Name not found?)

Commentary

I really immediately connected with the class for LotFP, and wanted to have it in my future games. Its so easily expanded, so evocative of those cartoonish wrestlers and strongmen we can all picture. I needed one more ability for the third template, so I looked at the Glog Class List and yoinked Imma take my shirt off from To Distant Land's Brawler. It seemed appropriate (also, I was sooo stumped. That slot took up the most time, bar none.)! Otherwise, the abilities and stances are direct ports to the Glog, with some minor simplification to my tastes. Also, I gave it the Dojo ability from Lexi's Adept, because its awesome!

Stances

1. Bat Stance - You focus your attention on the motion and sound around you. You are able to sense the motion of things (enemies mainly) that you cannot see if they are within your movement range. This is kind of like echolocation, but not quite.

2. Break Stance - You put more energy into single points of contact in your strikes. You can harm constructs, even if they would be immune to you normally. You also deal double damage to inanimate objects, and are capable of breaking stone with effort and time.

3. Buddy Stance - You are able to anticipate the motions of your allies. You have advantage on attacks against someone in melee with an ally. This ally also gains +2 AC from your spotting.

4. Flash Stance - You take to breakneck pace, moving twice as fast as the average person. You can add +2 to your Move.

5. Flurry Stance - You trade your focused strikes for more flexibility and speed. You may make two attacks per turn, but do not add STR or DEX to either roll.

6. Ghost Stance - You meditate and pull your awareness just outside of your body. Your unarmed damage becomes 1d4, but you are able to affect the incorporeal.

7. Hornet Stance - You sharpen your sight, to strike with precision! You can use small projectiles at 1d4+CON damage, and may make two attacks per turn with them. They use DEX for their attack rolls.

8. Hot Stance - You focus your energy on being as attractive and appealing as possible. You add your CHA to your AC.

9. Lion Stance - Your regality, brutality, and power intimidate those around you. Enemies must make Morale checks anytime you crit or deal maximum damage. They suffer a penalty to this check equal to your CON.

10. Rowdy Stance - You abandon any composed attacks and fight with survival on your mind. You may use any mundane items not meant to be weapons as 1d8+CON weapons, breaking on damage rolls of 1 or 8.

11. Turtle Stance - You hunker down, shrinking closer to your center of gravity. You AC is as full plate, but you move about as fast as a turtle. Subtract -4 from your Move. This slowness doesn't impede your Stance.

12. Wonder Stance - You heighten your reflexes, and are capable of knocking projectiles out of the air with a successful DEX check.

Fighters in the Voids of Space

A daring and eccentric space captain

Fighters are, at their core, idealists. This ideal is different from what others may consider an ideal; Fighters believe that everything can be solved violently.
They might tell you otherwise, and in fact many will. "Oh, I only train so that I can defend others. Its not the solution to everything." "Look, I grew up in a harsh place! You don't get out of a scrape without throwing a punch or two when you're young."
Liars, all of them. They even lie to themselves. They tell you that fighting isn't all they live for, show you where violence is wrong and harmful. That doesn't change the look in their eyes, though, does it? The way their expression unravels, their facade erodes. They love this. And they aren't too bad at it either. In the back of their minds, they want nothing more than to tear into whoever opposes them.

They know that violence can solve anything.


Many thanks to Lexi, Skerples and Type1Ninja for the pieces I stapled together to form this class and system!

The Mind of a Sad and Wiry Man

I've been in a weird place lately. Sadly, this weird place didn't leave much space for dungeons. Let's just make that place a dungeon, yeah? Yeah. Much inspiration from here.


Hook:
Everyone knows that a person's mind is a personal, deeply important thing. Most people don't know that everyone's mind is also a place you can travel to with the proper means. A young man has put out ads, requesting adventurers to enter his mind through a key he found to purge him of his deepest problems and regrets. He'll pay them every penny he has, and they can keep whatever seems useful! He's desperate.

Background:
To modern players, its pretty clear this guy has crippling anxiety. He's made some decisions in life he can't really understand. He doesn't know if they were right or smart, or just fueled by his condition. So, he's paying to delete his flaws and his worst memories! He'll do his best to outline to the players what all he wants gone and what he wants to keep. Every room besides the entrance is kind of cracked, dusty, stained white stone. There are hallways connecting these rooms in random ways, and these hallways move and change. There are also intermittent scrolls with notes on this man's memories in vellum scattered in piles, nailed to walls, etc. This man is kind of scatterbrained, with poor memory and mental discipline.

Entrance [Empty]:
The keyhole they enter in from opens out to a pristine and shiny room of white stone. Kind of like a museum, but the display pedestals are empty. The next room is veiled by a dark curtain. This man is open to most people to a certain degree, but has been closed off and keeping to himself lately. Placing things in here from the dungeon will make him talk about them much more openly.

Guard Dogs [Combat]:
Past the curtain, there are 6 guard dogs (as hell hounds) that resemble huge rottweilers with heron beaks and beady glass eyes. They are grey, but their eyes are deep yellow. They'll latch on as stirges and maul as hell hounds. They breathe sleep gas, as well. No joke. Each will scatter to another room if seriously wounded, attempting an ambush later. This guy is completely incapacitated by anxiety. It drains his energy, his will, his life. It won't even let other people in. Killing all these hounds will ease his anxiety.

Intersection [Trap]:

Next is a Y intersection, but the point where the split occurs is an illusory floor, beneath which leads to the Water Pit. To the left is the Nice Man and to the right is the Abandoned Mansion. Decisions terrify this man. Patching over this pit will ease his decision making process.

Water Pit [Combat]:

At the bottom of this pit is an infinitely tentacled monster with goat eyes and snapping beaks (as any really big aquatic monster). It shouts insults and tries to drown and eat anyone who falls in. The water extends infinitely into the dark. This man is prone to self defeating spirals and depression. Killing this monster will make him less self-depreciating.

Nice Man [NPC]:
Bound in chains and gagged is a brightly colored, cartoonish version of the man. He gives nothing but genuine and kind complements to people who talk to him. He knows his way around the place. This guy tries his best to be good to people, but he seems prone to be overruled. If Nice Man is killed or removed, he will become less kind. If freed and let roam, he will get much kinder.

Happy Hallway [Empty]:
This hallway and small room past the nice man is lined with what look like really pleasant memories and kind notes, but they have been shredded and torn away. Chairs are toppled and broken, and a tea set is smashed on the ground beside a table. The set would be valuable if repaired. Something has been damaging this man's best memories and coping mechanism. Restoring this hallway will make him indescribably grateful to the party, if they can think of some way to repair it at all.

Abandoned Mansion [Trap]:
This room is like the grand entrance to an old style mansion-home, made from white stone and covered in cobwebs. It is fairly large, with a balcony and staircases, doors to nowhere, portraits of people in the man's life. Staying in this place gradually erodes any desire to continue on. After a few failed saves, the victims will need dragged away. Covering your eyes prevents this. This man is often sucked into nostalgia and idealizing the past. Destroying this room will help him focus on the present and the future.

Old Mistakes [Combat]:
The room beyond the Mansion is occupied by only a tar-black, liquid humanoid. It can shift between a giant form (as an ogre) and a swarm of smaller creatures (swarm of goblins). Its touch reminds of past errors and failings, and people touching it via exposed skin must save vs stun. This man is often hung up on past mistakes and the ways he wishes he could change his history. Killing this monster will help him accept the past for what it is.

Glittering Tunnel [Empty]:
This tunnel upwards allows anyone in it to float at will. Hovering in places throughout the tunnel are golden orbs, which contain all the best ideas and memories this guy has had. On the top of some are notes that dismiss them as silly. This guy doubts his worth and competency. Removing the notes will make him just a little more confident. Removing the orbs will make him forget whatever they represent. The orbs are extremely valuable to Magic Users and as ideas. Go crazy with what these orbs actually represent. They are a good opportunity for more hooks!

Imagination Drive [Weird]:
At the top of this tunnel is a glowing prismatic disc, which will create anything that a person touching it imagines. There are two catches; they are illusory, and will pop like bubbles if told this or if touched too stiffly, and they will tangent into different things based on what happens around them. A child will grow, a tree will wilt or grow in silly shapes or stand up and attack. They are very impressionable and strange. Treat them like a thought in this way. This man spends a lot of time creating, or trying to. Removing the disc will make him much less creative.

At the end of the dungeon, the man will give the party the key they used to enter. They can enter other people's minds with it, but unwilling people get a save. They will have dungeons similar to this one.