Odd Goblin 0.7 Update

An updated version of Odd Goblin is live! 0.7 brings a fairly major rewrite of the rules for additional clarity, many tweaks to classes, and 43 sample monsters. Some of the classes and monsters had abilities that were either stronger, weaker, or nonsensical in the face of previous rules tweaks, so all of those have been ironed out and rebalanced.

The most significant rules change is stealing the concept of Mortal Wounds from Mythic Bastionland--needing to roll a save to keep standing after taking damage beyond your hp in most Oddlikes was always one step too fussy for me, so removing the roll from that does a great job to keep the dynamic but reduce the complexity--and also bring Odd Goblin slightly closer in mechanical compatibility to other Oddlikes. It effectively gives everyone a +50% hp boost, which has felt needed--it makes it much easier for player characters to die, while giving monsters a bit more staying power (which they were proving to need--my level 1-4 players recently ran off an Ancient Dragon with only one loss, something I thought was completely impossible). 

Monsters are especially fun to write for Odd Goblin--I try to make sure almost all of them have some sort of special twist or unusual situation they can put the players into. They should all be fairly easy to convert to any Oddlike system. 

There are also a few character classes that I loved conceptually but just weren't clicking, mechanically. Each of those have been reworked to grant a few more concretely helpful abilities while still keeping their original charm.

The full changelog can be found here.

Edit: Blogger was completely breaking the formatting of the changelog so I'm just linking to itch.

Puppeteer (GLOG Class)

A mage class for GLOG-compatible games. Initially made for Odd Goblin (which I'll be posting once the current draft is done), but adapted to be slightly more mainline-GLOG compatible. Posted to join in on today's puppet bandwagon. 

Class: Puppeteer

A mage who grants the semblance of life to magical dolls.

Equipment: Whittling-knife, oversized suitcase, 100' thread, portable painting kit.

Class Features

A: Spell Dice (1d6), +1 Spell, Lesser Puppetry

B: Spell Dice (2d6), +2 Spells

C: Spell Dice (3d6), +2 Spells

D: Spell Dice (4d6), +1 Spells, True Puppetry

Spell Dice: At each level, you gain one additional Spell Die with which to cast spells.

Spells: Roll on the list of spells below when you gain a spell, rerolling results already learned. Cantrips are spells that may be cast without the use of Spell Dice.

Lesser Puppetry (Cantrip)

R: 30’; T: 1 object; D: concentration

Thin silvery threads emerge from the caster’s fingertips, attaching to the target object. The caster may move and operate the object with the force and dexterity of a puppeteer operating a puppet via strings.

Spell List (1d6)

1. Trumpeter Doll

R: [sum] miles; T: a creature whose face you know; D: indefinite

The caster produces a doll with the appearance of a trumpet-wielding messenger. The doll animates and runs in the direction of the target, moving 80’/round. Upon reaching its destination, it blows the trumpet and announces a message of the caster’s choice. Optionally, it can wait for a response before returning and repeating it to the caster.

2. Clown Doll

R: n/a; T: 1 creature or group of creatures ; D:[sum] minutes

 The caster produces a doll with the appearance of a harlequin clown. The doll animates and runs off in search of their target. Upon finding them, the doll antagonizes them with mocking gestures and acts of small mischief. Pursuers must succeed at a Move check (-4 penalty) to catch the doll.

3. Angel Doll

R: n/a; T: n/a; D:[10 minutes/1 hour/8 hours/1 day]

The caster produces a doll with the appearance of a winged angel. The doll animates and flies [20’/40’/120’/400’] per minute in the direction of safety--the closest exit to a dungeon or the closest friendly settlement in the wilderness. Unlocked and secret doors fly open in its path.

4. Devil Doll

R: n/a; T: n/a; D: concentration

The caster produces a doll with the appearance of a pitchfork-wielding goateed red devil. The doll animates and runs into the closest and greatest source of danger, attempting to trigger it and destroy itself in the process.

5. Murder Doll

R: n/a; T: n/a; D: 10 minutes

The caster produces a doll with the appearance of a dead-eyed porcelain child holding a butcher’s knife. The doll animates and attacks any character ordered to by the caster. The doll has [dice x 4] hp, 10+[dice x 2] defense, and deals 1d8+[dice] damage with its attacks.

6. Curse Doll

R: sight; T: 1 creature; D: 1 day

The caster produces a doll in the likeness of the target. The target feels the sensations of any action taken upon the doll--stabbing pain from needles, drowning from immersion in water, etc. This inflicts no damage, but the distraction allows all attacks against the target to have their damage upscaled. The doll breaks after [dice] rounds of abuse. Range becomes infinite if the caster holds a personal effect of the target.

True Puppetry

R: 60’; T: 1 object or incapacitated creature; D: concentration

The target, no larger than a [goblin/human/bear/giant], animates and moves under the caster’s control. The caster can see from both themselves and their target, but can take no action other than control the target without ending the spell. The target acts with the caster’s full skill and agility, and otherwise immobile objects can move 40’/round up to 1 mile from the caster. The combat abilities of the target depend on its form and materials, but generally should not go above [dice x 4] hp, 10+[dice x 2] defense, and 1d8+[dice] damage.