Review: Wormskin No. 1

Wormskin No. 1 (Autumn 2015)

Author: Norman & Gorgonmilk
System: Labyrinth Lord (or similar)
PDF/Print: $3.00 / $5.75

It has been a solid three months since I last posted anything. Nonetheless, I have been busy on a number of projects, both gaming related and otherwise. It is shaping up to be a good year.

Before Wormskin was released I remember +The Real-ish Greg Gorgonmilk posting some compelling WIP shots of the cover and interior maps. That, combined with the professed tone and inspiration of the work — folklore and the fairy tale — sustained my curiosity. Consequently, when it was released recently as a print-on-demand product I decided to purchase the first issue of the zine.

The back cover of Wormskin ostensibly claims to explore:

"...the mythic forest called Dolmenwood, a setting for use with B/X campaigns or similar tabletop systems. Each issue will look at various elements of this eldritch realm situated on the leafy verges of Faerie, where austere Drunes rub elbows with weird elf-lords and talking beasts, where witches wander skyclad and armed with sinister magicks to bind the spirits of hapless adventurers. Be wary."

While in a very abstract sense this is true, much of the 41 pages are dedicated to two new race-as-classes (Moss Dwarf and Grimalkin), detailing thirty variety of fungi within Dolmenwood, and presenting a new monster. There is a two-page map of the area, but it scarcely describes anything canonical of the actual setting — "Drunes", "weird elf-lords", or indeed anything much about the kingdoms or environs within the setting. Personally I would like to see more of the pages of future issues dedicated to exploring this very thing.

With that quibble confessed let me tell you about the things that Wormskin does well. While the text may not explicitly say a whole lot about the setting of Dolmenwood it does imply a lot through the articles within the zine. Overall I appreciated the mood; it fits well with the assumptions of my own campaign world, and there was enough within its 41 pages that I can borrow or transplant to the gaming table.

The zine is attractively presented; Gorgonmilk (I presume) has managed to curate the content in an attractive and legible manner. The (public domain?) illustrations fit the theme of Dolmenwood and +Matthew Adams provides a number of pieces, quintessential of his offbeat and slightly creepy style. Andrew Walter is credited with a coloured piece of the moss dwarf which I really enjoyed. The whole work is latticed with small decorative flourishes, like pictures of 'shrooms and the occult-inspired title page.

The contents provide a reasonable bang for buck. The moss dwarf is an interesting class; I am unsure whether they would be better suited as an NPC (indeed, the "Moss Dwarf NPCs" table is rather inspired), but I can also imagine them being fun to play in a wilderness campaign. The Grimalkin class is imaginative too. It seems to draw upon a similar mythological antecedence to my own Werecat class, but fits within the implied assumptions of the Dolmenwood campaign very tidily. 

The section on fungi is an entertaining and practical addition because detailing specific flora is something I frequently overlook in my own milieux. Providing a wide selection of edible, poisonous, and psychotropic mushrooms adds a compelling layer of realism and richness to any world, and I will probably use this section more or less verbatim at the table. Within these three articles the reader catches glimpses of Dolmenwood: witches, woodsmen, poisoners, "demi-fey", "dank woods", and a relationship with the ephemeral Otherworld. As noted previously, this is something I would like to have seen developed more explicitly, or most certainly in future issues.

In sum, Wormskin is worth the money. Whether you are picking up the PDF or a physical copy, there will probably be something of interest if you enjoy new rules and a zine whose setting is seeped primarily in folklore and fable. 

OD&D Cacozealot Class

A new class: the Cacozealot. This class was written for OD&D, however it is entirely useable with Labyrinth Lord, or Swords & Wizardry (Moldvay etc.). If you are using Swords & Wizardry's ascending armour class system, simply deduct 1 from the listen armour class values. For example, 11 would be 10. Simple.

This class was developed when one of my players wanted to play a winged demonic fey. He linked me to the 3.5 fey'ri (mixture of elven and demon). He liked the idea of a monkish character also. With these as a guideline I developed the Cacozealot. This class has many Arnesonian (is that right?) features, taken from the Blackmoor supplement. In addition, they have the dark twist of growing leathery wings, claws, or a barbed tail, as their devotion to the fiends of the underworld grows to fruition.

Hope you enjoy.

Note: this has not been playtested yet, so any feedback you have would be valuable. I have considered bumping up the hit dice, but have not made up my mind. 

Download PDF from DropBox

Cacozealot

The putrid blood of the underworld courses through the veins of the Cacozealot. They are offspring, devotees, and dervishes of demons, imps, and other unwholesome beings. Initially, the Cacozealot is weak, but over time their minds and bodies become warped through their chaotic dabbling. Some grow claws, fangs, barbed tails, and even wings. Whether this is genetically endowed, or whether the disciple gains these powers through meticulous dark devotion, depends on the zealot. It is not uncommon for the Cacozealot to be a “half-blood”, born of a malignant spirit’s interference with humanity.

Prime Requisite: Wisdom.

Alignment: Chaotic.

Fighting, Hit Dice, & Saves: The Cacozealot fights and saves as a Cleric of the same level. They progress in hit dice as a Magic-user.

Bonus Experience Points: A Cacozealot with 13+ wisdom receives a 5% bonus to any experience points earned, while those with 15 or above receive a 10% bonus to any experience points earned.

Equipment & Armour: Cacozealots cannot use armour and shields. They may use any weapon. Many choose to fight unarmed however, as they possess an unnatural strength and speed as they gain levels.

During character creation Cacozealots may subtract 2 points of charisma or 1 point of intelligence in exchange for adding 1 extra point to their raw wisdom score. This may be repeated as many times as desired but these lowered scores must not drop below 9.

Experience: The following table illustrates the experience point progression for each level.

Level	Title	Experience Points*	Unarmed Damage**	Damage Reduction	Armour Class	Speed
1	Deviant	0	1d4	1	9 (11)	12” (40’)
2	Scourge	2,500	1d6		8 (12)
3	Fiend	5,000	1d8	2	7 (13)
4	Demonkin	10,000	2d4		6 (14)	15” (50’)
5	Demonologist	25,000	1d10	3	5 (15)
6	Infernalist	50,000	1d12		4 (16)
7	Demonmancer	100,000	2d6	4	3 (17)	18” (60’)
8	Low Cacozealot	200,000	3d4		2 (18)
9	Cacozealot	300,000	2d8	5
10	High Cacozealot	450,000	2d10			21” (80’)

* Each additional level above 10 requires an additional 150,000 xp.

** If playing 3lbbs, use the extra damage rule under “Demonhide” as a replacement for unarmed damage.

Abilities:

Unarmed Damage: The Cacozealot is a weakling, yet over time they may grow very powerful as their soul becomes increasingly corrupted and warped. The table above indicates the damage a Cacozealot will deal if they are using no weapons. “Unarmed” can mean hands, knees, elbows, headbutts, etc. Additionally, if the Cacozealot rolls 18-20 on an unarmed attack roll (unmodified) they have a 50% chance of stunning their victim for 1d4 rounds. If a 20 is rolled on an attack dice (unmodified), there is a 25% chance of killing the victim outright.

Demonhide (Damage Reduction & Armour Class): The Cacozealot’s skin appears sickly and deformed. It may thicken like the hide of a reptile or beast, and they have a preternatural ability to avoid blows. When damage is dealt to the Cacozealot some is absorbed by their grotesque skin, and by the unwholesome fortune of their bloodline. Optionally, if a weapon is being employed (rather than going unarmed), the Cacozealot receives their Damage Reduction in the form of bonus damage (on a successful hit). For example, a 3^rd level Cacozealot (Fiend) would receive a +2 damage bonus on a successful hit.

Skills Chart:

Cacozealots have a preternatural ability to move silently and avoid detection. These abilities are resolved by rolling 1d6. Success is indicated when the number on the dice equals, or is less than, the number listed on the chart below.

Levels	Move Silently	Hide in Shadows
1-3	1	1
4-6	2	2
7-9	4	3
10+	6	5

Bodily Corruption: At 5^th level the Cacozealot’s body becomes even more depraved and mutilated. Roll 1d6 on the table below:

1d6 Result	Corruption	Effect
1-2	Claws	+1 bonus to unarmed damage.
3-4	Barbed Tail	Tail whip deals 1d6 damage.
5-6	Leathery Wings	Cacozealot can fly.

This corruption can be disguised at the whim of the Cacozealot. Only a 10% chance exists for being detected, although magical spells can bypass this deception entirely.

Speed: The Cacozealot is supernaturally fast. Their speed increases as they become more powerful. Winged Cacozealots can fly at their listed movement speed.

Sandboxing (A Work In Progress)

I've decided to compile a growing collection of tables into one booklet. The purpose: to assist with an upcoming hexcrawl/megadungeon/sandbox campaign I'm working on. Maybe other people will enjoy them too. I've already published three of these to my blog, but I've attempted to tidy them up somewhat in a slightly more professional manner. 

The booklet is aptly entitled "Sandboxing". I will continue to add new tables to the booklet, as I create them. It will be available exclusively (for the moment) from my downloads page. If it grows to a publishable size, I may look at making a print-on-demand version available. If you like it, keep checking back. This is a long-term project, and I have two other projects of much higher priority, but I do hope to keep plugging away at it over the next year or two. 

Get it directly from HERE or check out my downloads page. 

Hoard of Zĕmian Goodness - Hydra Cooperative

Not very long ago I wrote two reviews, appraising the work of +Chris Kutalik. The first was of the sprawling and chaotic Slumbering Ursine Dunes. The second review was of the excellent Fever-Dreaming Marlinko; a city supplement.

Since reviewing both works I have had the utmost pleasure of playing in one of Chris' "Misty Isles" playtests, as well as receiving an at-cost physical copy of both FDM and SUD.

Firstly, Chris' games are awesome. In the last year or so I have become quite bored of being a player. I get far more pleasure from creating and running games. The short game I had with Chris gave me faith in the simple pleasures of creating a character, and exploring crazy spheres. It was zany, it was imaginative, it was all the things I aspire to in my own games. Moreover, the experience gave me additional insights and contexts to Chris' works. On their own I initially found them to be disorientating at times — primarily due to a lack of geographic map within the work, and some in-jokes within the work itself. Since playing in one of this games, however, I understand the world and the references a lot more.

Likewise, I enjoyed the PDF copies of FDM and SUD, but having the physical products is another level. Both are around A5 size, with FDM being slightly bigger (as you can see in the photo above). They are attractively presented, and a joy to flick through. I have just started a city adventure with my current players, so I imagine FDM will be a constant at-the-table guide. In my opinion, the merits of this work are in its toolkit applicability rather than being a highly detailed and self-contained setting. It is the latter of course, but I find the work to be a great source of inspiration, rather a biblical dictum.

Do yourself a huge favour and pick up a copy of both. If I had to recommend only one, I would still go with Fever-Dreaming Marlinko. It is psychedelic and odd, but very versatile. And did I mention it was fun to flick through? 

NPC Toolkit Tables

Over the next few months I'll be working on a booklet (that may turn into a book) of NPC-related tables. Of course, this may even expand into something bigger. I already have some ideas of where this whole project could progress, but I am fundamentally interested in creating a set of useful tools that can be used in-game to quickly generate ideas.

My tables follow a d100 design thus far - because the more ideas the merrier right? Other tables may not follow this progression, but for now they will. I released my "Dispositions" table earlier this week, but I have added another two to the complement:

1. NPC Appearance Table

2. NPC Professions Table

Both can be found under the "Downloads" tab on my blog. I will hopefully make time to update and add to these tables over the coming weeks and months, eventually providing a whole package of tables. 

Happy gaming!