I don’t know what it is about Societies that is so attractive to me. Perhaps it is their secret nature, or just the fact that it gives elite Player Characters something to strive for. Not every character should be allowed to join a society, or a group because if we allow that to happen, then they become meaningless.

Some sub-classes really lend themselves to the idea . . . nay, require a little bit extra work on the Dungeon Master’s part to create them. Paladins, Rangers, Specialty Priests, all three of these require some sort of organization in order to be effective, especially Paladins! They are required to pay tithes to someone, as well as take orders from superiors. Rangers, while normally chaotic by nature, and loners, still require some kind of system incase an area becomes too much for one ranger to handle. While it isn’t as tight of a network as the Lawful Paladin, it is still a network all the same.

Specialty Priests, the most widely documented being the Druid, demand a military like infrastructure. But what other classes can benefit from a guild? We know that Thieves use them, Clerics also must follow orders of their superiors, even if this superior is a god whom only he can hear. Fighters, typically always honed their trade in the military or a militia which by nature is also strict. Wizards too, while very loose and secretive about what they do, also, no doubt, have some way of policing their own, as well as forming intelligent societies to further their own alignment beliefs.

You can see where I am going with this now, can’t you. I think alignment is key here, again, we’ll use it as a tool. This is too much work to do at one time, so we’ll just do it on a need-to-know basis when the existence of these societies and groups come into question.

All professional trades rely on guilds, being a carpenter required a youth to spend much time under a master who taught them the trade in exchange for the youth to do pain in the butt tasks which the carpenter shouldn’t be wasting his time doing. It is kind of funny to look at old books on carpentry, today this profession is wide open, but back in the day the trade was very secretive! Looking over antique books dedicated to carpentry is enough to baffle and stupefy any reader as they were written to be as complex and drawn out as possible. Applying complex mathematical formulas to the simplest projects, this was not a profession to be taken on by the laymen! This is serious stuff, which requires years and years of tutelage in the proper institutions!

This wasn’t done out of meanness, but in protecting ones value and industry. Now we are learning a huge lesson which goes with demystifying trades, as our jobs are slowly being replaced by robots or cheaper workers, but I digress, I’m getting too carried away and straying away from my original point.

GUILDS!!!!

Lets invent some! But before we do, we have to have some sort of direction. Our guilds have to have some sort of reason for being, and some structure. They have to have benefits for the members, and a goal or purpose.

REASON FOR BEING

Our game worlds are regulated by an important tool, this tool is called Alignment. NOW QUIT ROLLING YOUR EYES! It’s rude! Alignments aren’t just for rules lawyers, or things to ruin our players lives with, but honest to god tools to make the process of creation easier.

Take a book as an example, and I mean a really good one. One that you love. It has a plot, but if you are like me then you probably love the really complex ones which can’t be described in just a sentence or two. This book has a plot, but it is buried deep inside and hidden within the mechanics of the book. We don’t notice it, of course we know that it is there, but when we are reading the book, it isn’t important to us. The plot is a skeleton, and if we use alignment as a tool, like we are suppose to, then we’ll cover up the alignment just as tightly and neatly as a well written book covers its plot.

You’ve got 9 different Alignments, these alignments show us the relationships among them. Opposing alignments hate each other, Tight groups get along, and mixed groups can tolerate the other and perhaps work together if the need arises (or go through periods of hostility too). Chaotic Evil and Lawful Good will always fight amongst each other, that is the way it works, if this doesn’t happen then our worlds aren’t in balance, and while the real world doesn’t need to make sense, fiction does. This is a mechanic, and mechanics are there for a reason.

Since our mechanics aren’t meant to be obvious, we’ll cover them up with purpose. A good guild should have many goals, however they should also have a purpose that is as fixed as the rising and the setting of the sun. . . or at least appear to be.

A Chaotic Good Wizard’s Guild opposes all Evil, they aren’t as organized and probably meet only once per year . . . if that. To make it really mysterious, we’ll have the meeting be held only 1 time per decade during the Eclipse, this is a meeting which requires all of their energies to keep the forces of evil at bay. Perhaps they meet at a Stonehenge, which is in fact a gate to hell, and if they don’t show up on this date, and if they don’t direct their energies towards this goal, then the gate will be flung open and unleash hell on earth. Well, at least that is what they believe that they are doing, the fact is that nobody really remembers a time when they didn’t do this and a few of the members think that this may just be a waste of time. Evil and Good are just illusions, we of course know that this is a tool of the beasts wishing to be released.

There is also a lawful evil Cleric society, it’s goal is to release these monsters from the Stonehenge. They believe that they can direct the creatures, most of the time they can worship there, except when the CG Wizards guild shows up, they just aren’t strong enough to oppose them face to face. They get along with a Chaotic Evil wizard society, as well as the local Chaotic Neutral Guild of thieves. The master thieves think that both parties are crazy, but might is right, and even though they turn on the LE Clerisy by extorting as much money as they can from the union, the Clerics in charge continue to enjoy the spies, and thorns which the CN thieves constantly place in the CG Wizards guild.

Well, I could go on, but you get the picture of how the alignment tool works. It practically writes itself! Not all guilds will have such an important task, many will simply be there to police their own and to provide a reputable house of knowledge to folks who may require or depend upon it.

Now, honestly, we don’t need to create an enter Lawful Evil Cleric society to appose the CG Mages, all it would take is one evil Cleric who is the main tool of the devil buried under the rocks of Stonehenge. A Lawful Evil Cleric society would have a bigger goal then simply opening a pit to hell, that is just too easy. One man can do that! The main goal of a Lawful Evil Cleric Society would be to infiltrate a Good religion and corrupt it.

On the outside, they would appear to be Lawful and Just, but they manufacture fear. They keep their flock suspicious of each other, they engineer witch hunts, taking out high profile individuals under the guise that they have been corrupted. They would use good clerics to be their foot soldiers, they would get off on the idea! The ruse is undetectable unless the most inner circle is exposed, which is protected by secrecy and fear. Everyone thinks that the inner-circle is a myth, the fact that the church is controlled by evil is insane! They feed the poor and protect the populous from the ever present evil. It wouldn’t take much of the stretch of the imagination to see how powerful this cult could be. Corrupting the church of an entire nation, turning it against their King unless he cooperated with the Inner Circles goals, becoming just a pawn in their quest for greater wealth and power. Anyone who apposes them, their property is seized, their family bloodline discredited, their execution and torture imminent. Since they are lawful, they probably have an entire order of Paladins unknowingly perpetuating their evil plans.

Groups should have goals which are appropriate to their size and power. If one individual can do it on his own, then why have an entire society working to do it? Lawful orders will have more members then Chaotic ones, and will have bigger goals as well as the ability to realize much grander schemes. However, if a Chaotic Order is spread out far enough, this is when they can become dangerous! Chaotic Orders survive on the powers of truly awesome individuals. Great minds are normally associated with your Lawful alignments, however this isn’t always so, Chaotic philosophies embrace the power of independent thought and reward ambition.

Chaotic Evil Bandits are very popular enemies in D&D, most of these guys aren’t even thieves, just big buff bullies who simply take what they want and murder anyone who tries to stop them. Management is usually horrid, if not completely inconsistent. This is their weakness. Even when they do find some kind of direction, say from our LE Inner Circle, these people are simply used as fodder, they serve a purpose only as long as they are useful. The LE Clerics would use them to fake evil miracles and frame the innocent, however if they begin to feel that the CE Bandits are a liability because they know too much, then they will just as easily turn on them, murdering them all quietly in their sleep.

Chaotic Evil Orders require much more thought and planning then Lawful Evil ones do. Thankfully there is a recipe, CE respect only one thing, and that is violence and fear. In CE Orders, you will find highly specialized leaders, or generals. Each of them bring something unique to the table. They will have their own underlings, but they will keep them weaker then themselves. If they believe that anyone within their ranks has more potential then they do, they will seek to destroy that person before he turns on them and takes their position. Members of an order will be highly skilled at this.

Each general will probably be of a different class, so an order will have a further reach then the single classed lawful societies do. The generals will be given orders from a really mean and bad, bad dude! Someone who even a 20th level mage would be terrified of! He will be even better at making himself irreplaceable then they are, a seemingly impossible goal. A demigod in his own right, a mystery man whose name has to be a myth, but it is still whispered just in case.

CE Societies always begin as an infection. Perhaps a LE society invites them into their inner circle, a major mistake, because as soon as the time is right, the CE society will murder and kill the LE masterminds and take over the entire order, and once they have a foot solidly in the door, it will take a full scale war to remove them and most nations don’t have that kind of resources or the skill required to get the job done quickly. Just because a group is Chaotic, it doesn’t mean that they are stupid. Once they become organized in their own way, they are worse then LE. Nobody is happy under them.

An example is a state policed by Murder. The King is never seen, and folks like it that way, he’s been in power for centuries perhaps it is a family name, but there are rumors. Life in the area is harsh, and secretive. Superstitions are high, garlic hangs in every window, small shrines decorate the streets. Pay your taxes, or disappear! This is a military state, however it is worse then that. A secret militia composed of monsters! Few people are aware of this, and those that figure it out are never heard from again. The highest ranks are filled by were-creatures, through mysticism, suspicion, and spies, they secretly deal with individuals in the night. Humanoids are allowed in the city and treated as equals, the human population is kept in check as serfs, each having a job to do, extra money being paid to those who have information about their neighbors. Most religion is outlawed, only evil deities can be openly worshiped, and worship is required by law.

Apposing them is an even more secretive society, a Neutral Good order whose ranks even include humanoids who believe in the old ways, that their kind should return to the wilderness. Their goal is to find out the identities of the individuals who form the secret police force, and assassinate them. They are aware that the King is a monster, but as of yet, no way has been discovered to eliminate him directly. There numbers are much smaller then the Kings, and casualties on both sides are a daily occurrence. The Neutral Good order has had to become more flexible then normal, because of the stakes. They use underhanded tactics believing correctly that the only way to fight fire is with fire.

Man, I just realized that that sounds exactly like the Karagat in Ravenloft, which is cool as it is a magnificent idea! In the art of DMing, one has to know how to take old ideas and make them your own.

Neutral Evil groups are typically associated with thieves, but frankly, that is just too easy. Bram Stoker had struck gold with his classic “Dracula”, in it, the Chaotic Evil Count operated unopposed in his homeland, only being thwarted when he tried to expand his power to the West. His minions were many, but most memorable were the gypsies. Gypsies are a mixture of bard and thieves, but also contain fighters, clerics, and mages in their ranks. Gypsies are more of an alternative human race with mystical and mysterious qualities. Dracula had formed an alliance with them, in return for protecting his interests during the day, and doing his evil bidding, they were allowed to live the life they wanted to live unopposed. This relationship is common with NE groups. They will align themselves with a powerful individual and thrive! Dracula would never turn on them as a whole, he wouldn’t feed off of their people, they were protected and they knew it. A gypsy caravan travels from town to town, they don’t care if the people know they are evil or not, it doesn’t matter, if they do know it is all the easier to operate. They don’t settle down because they have an undying love for travel, they provide entertainment, rumors, potions, and trade, but at a cost, they steal, and swindle the population. They spread fear and do the bidding of their evil master. Harm one of them, and the entire tribe will take their pound of flesh not just from you, but from your loved ones as well, even your children’s children are fair game to them! Never cross a gypsy, this lesson has been learned long ago, they are quick to anger and a powerful enemy that will never forget the slightest misdeed.

The Break Downs

There you have some examples of different factions. Rarely should a PC be able to join one of these things, and then, only after 9th level, and it should always be treated as a big deal.

Some factions are open, while others are highly secretive, have fun with the alignments, treat them as the tools they are and not inflexible borders which always lead people to trouble and abandoning them entirely.

Religion in D&D is different then in the real world, and I feel that some is ripe for further explanation. While I play core rules as much as I possibly can, the Cleric Class has some, um, rather large holes in it that need to be filled before play is possible.

THE CLASS

There are only two core classes within the Cleric class. An incomplete Cleric, and a specialty priest called Druid which shows the player and the DM how to write up your own specialty priests.

In order to get more ideas on how to make specialty priests, one probably needs to pick up another book called The Complete Priests Handbook by Aaron Allston. That book is very helpful, however many of the priests found within are kind of useless, but as far as providing guidelines for religious matters, it is always helpful to have at least 2 examples to compare.

A cleric is not a priest, he is a defender of the faith, as in all faiths. What this means is that he does not serve just one god exclusively, but an entire stable of them. A cleric’s true religion is defined by Good, Neutral, or Evil. He defends all of the gods who have these traits, and is an enemy of those opposed to him.

A Priest is more specialized, he worships and chooses to defend one specific god. His alignment is much harder to maintain as it must be the same as his chosen deity. He may or may not get along with clerics or other priests, but the key is uniqueness.

If it helps, think of Clerics as compared to Mages, and Priests in the family of specialty wizards. Clerics are restricted to blunt weapons, but have access to a good variety of spheres as dictated to the player by the DM, specialty priests may have access to different weapons, but at a cost of access to spheres.

GODS

Gods in AD&D are dependent upon the DM. Some settings, the gods walk among us, while in others they bicker and fight up in the heavens. In order to do this article, I have to chose a side, and try and figure out what is the most core of the gods. To do this, we have to assume that there are Major Gods who honestly don’t care about the world anymore, and Minor Gods which are more interactive. Of course there are demi-gods and others but we won’t deal with them today.

It is always helpful to have a war, good vs. evil. This gives everybody something to do. Major Gods are more out-there, they exist but don’t deal with human matters. Space, Time, Dimensions, etc. Minor Gods look over very human elements, and it is these gods that have the most clerics and specialty priests. They are the gods of man, and either help or hinder him in his quests.

Monsters typically have their own myths, as do demi-humans. All of the classes probably worship their own deities within the common mythology, however different kingdoms may have different beliefs, when this happens a religious war can break out. A religion can never be permanently stifled unless total genocide is used, and even then there is usually some record of this religion some place.

In the D&D world it is usually helpful to have 2 or 3 human religions, and a third which is forgotten and lost. Each Demi-human race has their own unique religions which are less defined and more broad. Usually blatant ancestor worship, else hero worship with the same hero but different names depending on the clan or village.

Humanoids typically have 1 god, because it is just easier that way. Humanoid clerics are usually rare, so the name stays consistent for long periods of time until this god is replaced by a more powerful being.

SPELLS

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition, has, in my opinion, the greatest Cleric Magic system of all time. It involves Spheres, no god has access to all spheres, and it is up to the DM to determine how these spheres are divided. This involves a human brain and planning on the part of the DM. It also involves some common sense, figuring out how different sphere combinations make up the gods influence.

The more specialty powers that a priest has, the less spheres he has access too. The two greatest powers are Turning Undead, and Using Edged Weapons. The typical Cleric has the ability to Turn Undead, that is his bonus power. If the priest can use edged weapons, typically, he can’t turn undead.

Evil Clerics can control undead, and turn paladins. Neutral Clerics can do one or the other, either dictated by the player, but preferably by the DM. Specialty priests usually have additional powers which are bestowed upon them in a limited way. A priest who worships a goddess of healing will probably be able to lay hands, one of Justice would be able to use a sword and perhaps have the ability to Detect Lie once per day without using a spell.

The further up the ladder the priest gets, the more powerful he becomes and the more gifts he is allowed. 1st edition had an excellent philosophy in regards to Cleric Spells, which stated that Magic Levels 1-4 were granted through pure meditation and faith, while the spell levels of 5 and above are divine in nature, granted specifically by the god itself.

What this meant was that if a cleric or priest breaks alignment or offends his god, he is denied high level spells until he atones for his behavior, or proves himself worthy to his god, or to a new god which is more compatible with his new alignment.

That to me is an excellent idea and I have no clue as to why this was taken out of the 2nd edition. Me personally, put it right back in. I think that it was done in the attempt to slowly remove alignment from the game, which is bogus. Alignment serves a function within the game, it always has and the systems that don’t use it are weaker for it.

A CLERICS PATH

Each clerics path is a unique one. Jobs during this time are crappy, and if one has money, then one can buy one’s way into the church. A purchased cleric will typically also achieve rank higher then others.

Another method of becoming a cleric is becoming an orphan. The church uses orphans to fill their ranks. Clerics assist Priests in their duties, many have no real homes outside of the churches and monasteries. Paganism was different, and much less formal. Much of D&D is dependent upon Christian principals and ideals. Pagan clerics were Shamans, they were crazy people who spoke to the spirits, some were also comparable fighters, but most were simply doctors or witches, which honestly don’t fit into the AD&D magical system. D&D witches are typically wizards, but duel class Wizard/Clerics aren’t impossible. It is even possible for a wizard to be a cleric, (at least in theory), his spells are all wizard spells, but instead of researching them, he is allowed to pray for them, as a cleric would. He would also have the same 1d4 hp per level as a mage, but share the weapon restrictions of both classes, (i.e. only staffs, and slings).

A Witch-doctor would probably be considered a specialty priest, and the rules for them are slightly different.

A priest is typically chosen by his god itself. The god sees the potential of the priest at a very young age and begins engineering his future. The god either physically becomes involved, or just spiritually depending on the strength of the god.

It is possible for a cleric to become a priest, and it is also possible for a priest who has been dishonored to become a cleric.

RELIGIOUS ENDGAMES

Clerics usually don’t get followers. They aren’t powerful enough, they are more like paladins as an order. A chief cleric does divide up the forces, but it is more like a thieves guild then a church. The Cleric will always have to answer to high level priests.

Priests on the other hand will gather followers, and be able to construct a sanctioned church. In order to arrive at 20th level, he will have to take over the entire religion. Each god is only allowed to have 1 20th level priest at one time, as dictated by the Druid specialty priest description, which I find to be good and sound.

DRUIDISM AS A TEMPLET

Published settings such as Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk have a good and thorough base which still needs to be fleshed out, by looking at the Druid class, we can figure out how to divide things up. It describes bonus powers, as well as the political demographic within the order. How one advances within the order. While a fighter or a thief can just advance with no limitations, a high level priest is not given this option, his title actually changes, and he is responsible for more and more people within the order. Once a priest fulfills the XP obligation, he then must be voted per the council, or have to fight to actually achieve his new level. Once the cleric has maxed out his XP, he won’t get anymore until his church has cleared him to advance the level.

Neutral and Evil religions typically do have a fight to the death, but Good religions have none-violent ways of handling this situation. How you chose to handle this situation, if indeed it ever does become a problem, is up to the DM and the DM alone. The player can express his thoughts and ideas, but as far as how the game is moved forward, the DM has the final say as to if this character should be allowed to advance, or if it should be retired.

THE CLERIC AS ADVENTURER

Specialty Priests are typically ordered out for specific reasons, while the Clerics represent the common man. A Cleric is more approachable then a priest is, especially at higher levels.

Clerics are charged with defending the faith, and the faithful. They defend the priests, as well as the followers of them. If a church comes under fire, clerics are sent out to protect her. If a priest falls under suspicion of corruption, it is a cleric who is sent to investigate him quietly.

Clerics are more prone to being adventurers then are Priests. A cleric will spend his off-time telling stories and myths, providing spiritual guidance for rural folks who may not have access to a church. Clerics seek to prove themselves to their gods, attempting to follow in their footsteps. They collect stolen items, or items which have been lost and return them to the church. They also collect history, if an ancient temple is to be explored, a curious priest would definitely enjoy a cleric to be present to report back what he has seen and learned.

Not all priestshoods are as formal as the common. A minor, and unknown god can take interest in someone and they can act as a priest for the god without ever setting foot inside of a church, or answering to anybody but his own heart. The worst thing that you can do to a cleric is treat him as some walking hospital. That isn’t any fun, and there should be lots of fun to be had from any class, especially a class as open to pure elements of Role-playing as the cleric is.

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Unofficial Games: There is candy at the bottom of this post

There is an anomaly in the game which have to do with fighters. They start out more powerful and useful at lower levels, but gradually lose their meaning as they get tougher. Sure they are almost always guaranteed to hit, but compared to the powers of the other classes, this just doesn’t hold up well. The rules have been modified to aid this, by the introduction of specialization to the core rules, but this still isn’t enough. A little known rule that is barely mentioned and easily over-looked has fixed this problem. This core rule states that: 25% of all enchanted blades (namely swords) are intelligent.

This is a big deal, but it isn’t the game breaker that you think that it is. A higher level warrior honestly doesn’t really need any bonuses to hit, the odds of him missing, even with a standard weapon, are slim at best. What an intelligent weapon does is give him an additional ability which he wouldn’t normally have, but it is of limited use. Some intelligent weapons are capable of casting as spell, but even then they regulate themselves by limiting the ability. This gives the fighter more options then just hitting every thing.

The deal is, that the DM, when he rolls up, or decides to place an enchanted weapon, makes an additional roll. Like I said above, any plus sword has a 25% chance of being intelligent, and we also roll for any other edged weapons like axes, daggers, polearms, etc. but they only have a 5% chance of being intelligent.

But this really isn’t what I want to talk about, the specifics of generating intelligent weapons is properly detailed in the DMG, what isn’t in there is how to run these items.

APPEARANCE

The intelligent weapon, when first found, doesn’t look any different then any other sword unless it was hidden away by the former owner, then it will be found in a decorative box or other case which is probably locked. We do have to figure out where this thing come from, and how the player got their hands on it. Most weapons of this nature are found at the site of their owners death. Maybe a monster tried to loot it but it gave them bad luck? Maybe it goes crazy and just starts attacking everything, but more often then not, it is more or less sleeping at the time that it is first discovered.

Many swords have runes or names etched into their blades, or hidden in their decorative handles, a wizard is required to Read Magic in order to get the name. Once the owner knows this name, he can summon the magic of the blade and bring it back to life.

Once an intelligent sword has been activated, it puts off a dim light at all times. Everyone who sees this sword while it is drawn will be aware that this is a magical item. Of course each activation should be unique and different, but the end result will always be the same. The blade itself glows with some colored light.

Prior to activation, its history should be told in the form of its appearance. Maybe the monster who killed its owner didn’t take the blade, but did strip it of all of its gems and jewels, leaving ugly and twisted mountings all over the hilt? Perhaps a thick crust of rust coats the thing, requiring it to be cleaned before the name can be identified? Maybe the sword is broken and half of it can be found in one part of the dungeon, and the other half elsewhere? The sky is the limit, but we should keep things different and unique for each sword.

PERSONALITIES

Not all intelligent weapons can talk, some just pulse, make the owners arm tingle, or cast a bit more light when its special power can be used, or to signal something which it is capable of sensing, but when a sword can talk, either actually or just in the fighters head, it has more personality. Swords always have two kinds of personalities, they have the standard personality which dictates what its goals are, and a secondary personality which is unique to it.

STANDARD PERSONALITY TRAITS

These really aren’t personalities, but goals that are common to all magical weapons. This is their true aim, and what they see as needs.

• Eliminate all associates, henchmen, hirelings, or creatures which the sword finds to be distasteful.
• Purge the owner of all other magical weapons.
• Compliance from the owner so that the weapon can once again focus upon its own aims.
• Hunting and exterminating the swords racial enemies
• Decoration of itself and property with jewels, gems, and precious metals.
• A decorative case to keep it safe in, which is protected by magic for its safe-keeping
• Handsome payment for services that it provides.
• To be carried by the owner at all times.
• That the character relinquishes the weapon in favor of a more suitable person due to alignment differences or conduct.
  

UNIQUE PERSONALITIES

The weapon has all of the goals above, but the DM should also randomly determine a personality for the weapon in the same way that he would for any other NPC. We’ll mix this with their alignment, which is a hard alignment. Swords are more in tune to such things then biological creatures are. They can sense a beings true alignment, and while they aren’t always verbal about it they are aware and seek to either kill or eliminate the person unless they feel that they have a use for it.

DOMINATION

A sword which possesses a larger ego then the wielder dominates that person. Now naturally we don’t want to railroad a player, therefore we must really judge what the swords demands upon the user are. We’ll keep our interactions short and sweet, and only force the domination issue in specific circumstances, but the dominated fighter should be aware that he is dominated and should role-play this fact. Good players won’t be a problem, however those that refuse to properly role-play or don’t know how to will require some drastic measures. The more a player role-plays, the freer he is to dictate his own actions, but this list should help give the DM an idea of the types of actions which the sword is capable of forcing its user to perform:

1. Compel the user into combat
2. Refuse to strike an opponent which it doesn’t see as an enemy
3. Assault the user or members of his party
4. Compel the user to surrender to an enemy
5. Cause itself to tumble from the users grasp
   

We’ll only do this kind of stuff if the player refuses to role-play, hopefully there is some sort of harmony between the two, however sometimes a sword will engineer its way into another persons hand for its own reasons, perhaps it wants to dominate a lesser fighter, or maybe it sees that another person is stronger which will allow it better chances of improving its odds of success.

WHEN SHOULD WE ENFORCE THE RULE?

While we don’t want the magical weapon to become the focus of our games, we don’t want it’s personality to go ignored either. Even if the sword is properly dominated by the warrior, it will still express its goals, and in essence, become a henchmen however the sword won’t deplete the total of henchmen a player can have.

When a sword does dominate the user, we can use this as a tool to introduce tention into the game, or force the player into some really uncomfortable circumstances, but we should limit ourselves to once or twice per gaming session.

We also don’t want to be the cause for the players death. If a player dies at his own hands and his own risk taking, then that is one thing, but to force him into a situation where he can’t survive is abusive and should be avoided at all costs. We can annoy the player, and pester him, but we shouldn’t allow the sword to actually kill him (unless the user is of an incompatible alignment), after all, the sword respects the user or even if it doesn’t, it sees him as a necessary tool to further its aims.

It is fine for the sword to get the party into adventures from time to time, but like all things, we’ll use this method sparingly.

INTELLIGENCE & SPECIAL WEAPONS

Some weapons, such as Holy Avengers have alignment restrictions. It would make no sense to have them be anything except for their proper alignment. We must also make sure that our personalities don’t conflict with the alignment, random generation isn’t perfect and if something just doesn’t make sense and you don’t know how to spin it, then just reroll the thing.

GRANTING THE TREASURE

There are no hard rules about WHEN to grant a warrior an intelligent sword, but since much of this is random, we may have to engineer it at some time, which is fine. This sword is meant to supplement a fighters powers and keep him relevant. The only thing that we should really engineer, however, is the swords alignment. We’ll keep the powers and chances of finding the sword up to the dice, but not much is lost if we simply decide that the sword is of the players alignment. With to much left up to random generation, the odds of actually stumbling upon the sword by chance alone are not in your favor.

BACKSTORY

Even a +1 intelligent weapon should have a back story. Naturally we don’t need one for everything in a treasure horde, but this is definitely an item which requires it. We need to figure out the answers to the following questions.

• Who created the sword? Is the sword aware of this?
• Why was the sword created?
• What was its greatest triumph?
• What was its greatest tragedy?
• Who owned the weapon last?
• What did they do with it, or treat it?
• How did it get where the players find it?
• What languages does it know and where and why did it choose to learn them?
• Is the weapon afraid of something? What & Why?
• Does it have a specific enemy? Who, and Why?
  

Of course this list is incomplete, but it is a good base. We don’t need to write all of this stuff down, but it is good to have it in the back of our mind when writing up our background story.

EXAMPLES OF SWORDS

Burier, Long Sword +3; AL LG; INT 15; EGO 21

Powers: (minor) Detect Invisible objects, elevators, shifting rooms, & walls 10-foot radius, Detect precious metals (kind and amount) in 20-foot radius. (major) Heal 1d8 hp Once per day

Personality: Burier is highly opinionated, and always giving input about things that really doesn’t concern it whether it is wanted or not. It is also miserable, tired of an ancient hunt, and above all, tortured. It is lawful good, but its long confinement has left a black stain upon its soul, it isn’t as sure of itself as it once was but sees this as a weakness which it will never expose.

Languages known: Read/Speak Common, Ancient Religious Lawful Good, Chaotic Evil Magical Language, & Lawful Evil Demonic

HISTORY: Burier was created by a Lawful Good Priest whose name has been lost to history for the express purpose of hunting and destroying undead. The Priest issued this sword to the brave paladin Sir Guisius 400 years ago, and Burier served the brave knight well. Armed with Burier, Sir Guisius slew the arch-lich King Amozaz, permanently ending the undead Kings rain, but unwittingly setting up a Vampire by the name of Romlin to secretly attain the power which was lost by the death of Amozaz. It was Romlin and his minions which set a trap for the Paladin, allied with an unknown demon the two murdered the Paladin, and to mock the accomplishments done by the brave knight, it is believed that Sir Guisius now roams the earth, a shadow of himself, his body under the command of an undead which forces him to perform acts of Chaotic Evil while he can do nothing but watch in horror.

As for Burier itself, the Demon which captured it, has contained its power in a sheath constructed of human skin. Burier has forgotten what it is, its name obscured by thick leather straps covered in demonic runes which effectively reprogram it to act as a cursed sword (long sword –1). It no longer speaks, it simply has given up until the spell upon it can be broken.

100 years ago, the Demon was destroyed and its treasures scattered. The killer of the demon, unaware of the swords true power was slain in battle because of the curse laid upon it, the unknown warrior’s party returned the blade to its sheath and discarded it, believing it to just be a cursed item. For the last 3 centuries, the church has been never given up hope of locating Burier, believing that it alone can permanently put the monstrosity which was once Sir Guisius to rest.

APPEARANCE The sword will be found as described above, however once activated, and it’s personality restored, the blade will glow with an intense white radiance. The blade and hilt is almost silver in color, but is cast from a strange formula which could never be reproduced, that grants it with properties similar to steel, but of a lighter weight. The handle and hilt are made of golden steel which has been tainted from the exposure to the demonic magic that has contained it for so long, this will slowly become brighter and shinier with each slaying of undead but never truly achieve its former luster until the sword’s friend Sir Guisius has been slain.

ACTIVATION OF THE BLADE

The cursed leather must be removed from the handle, and the cursed scabbard replaced as well. This action will remove the curse and transform the blade to function as a standard non-magical long sword. A cleric must cast remove curse upon the sword, and its name, which can be identified by a unique holy symbol on the hilt (either sage with expertise in ancient religion or a high level cleric, or a wizard casting Identify upon the object. Once the name is known, the sword will activate as soon as it slays any undead, at that point its memory will be somewhat restored, as well as it’s prime quest which is slaying Sir Guisius.

Star-Slicer, Scimitar +1 AL: LN INT 12; EGO 2

POWERS: (minor) Detect Magic 10-foot radius. (major) Dispel Magic 3x per day, requires 1 turn of concentration.

Personality: Star-Slicer is semi-empathic, when magic is in the area it causes the owners arm to feel like it is vibrating, depending on the strength of the source the vibration can be just a simple tingling in the owners hand, all the way up to feeling the vibrations pulse all the way up the owners arm.

HISTORY: Star-Slicer was created by a grey elf who shares his name. This sword was made for the express purpose of requiring elven artifacts and bestowed upon the elven thief known as, Dark Larion. Since many of the artifacts which Larion was charged with recovering were protected by magic, Star-Slicer was created to allow the thief to by-pass them. Much success was attained and many of the clans most precious relics had been recovered until 40 years ago when the elven thief was slain. It is unknown where his body now lies, a party was sent to the location where he was last sent to, however he, nor the artifact which he was charged with recovering were never found again.

APPEARANCE: Star-Slicer is currently sheathed and still attached to the belt of Dark Larion, long since dead but whose soul has returned in the form of an evil Ghast. Dark Larion still commands the sword to do his bidding, however he has given up the hunt for artifacts and instead plots his revenge upon his clan who failed to recover his corpse. Star-Slicer as a sword has a hilt wrapped in purple cloth, it is decorated with small round marbles carved from blue gemstones of high value, and possesses a hilt that was carved of some very hard and cured wood. The blade itself is perfectly balanced and glows a dull blue when it is drawn.

ACTIVATION OF THE BLADE: This blade is already activated by the ghast of Dark Larion, though he is utterly lost and trapped in an unknown place he must be defeated. The blade will aid anyone of any lawful or neutral alignment, and seek to slay or harm any user who is chaotic in any way. It also dislikes wizards, and will seek to slay them as well. In regards to Dark Larion, he is utterly insane and the sword seeks to slay him as he is now Chaotic Evil, however the sword has no idea that Dark Larion is undead, its attempts to harm the ghast only serve to heal it instead, thus Larion will actually restore 2hp per round while it has the sword drawn.

DOOMPICKER, Bastard Sword +5; AL CE; INT 17; EGO 25

POWERS (minor) Detect Good, Large Traps, & Magic 10-foot radius. (Major) Flying, 120 feet per turn for 1 hour per day.

SPECIAL PURPOSE: Slay Good Aligned Creatures, to aid it in its war against good, good creatures struck by the blade, if they survive, must make a saving throw vs. spell or succumb to the effects of fear, as the spell for 1d4 rounds.

PERSONALITY: The personality of Doompicker can best be described as careless. While its power is beyond compare, it is reckless with resources, cares about nothing besides it’s own goals, and is prone to underestimate its enemies, unfortunately, its inflated sense of power is all too real and few, if any, truly pose any real threat to its designs. While the sword is aggressively careless, it is also level-headed and is capable of brilliant strategy and risk taking, the greatest failure however, comes from its uncaring ability to play until all of its pieces are gone. It doesn’t care! It thinks on a level which is unique to it, one which it knows that it has time on its side. It doesn’t like to wait, but when its last servant is finally slaughtered, it has no problem waiting for some other fool to pick it up centuries later so that it can try again.

HISTORY: Long ago, a great hero had a blade constructed, a great blade which he had hoped that one day would become the symbol of the new Kingdom, however this was just not to be, for his son betrayed him for reasons known only to himself. The power of the blade became corrupt, the blood shed upon the blade seemed to waken something up from deep inside of it. From that moment forth, it sought more and more blood, seeming to feed on the lives and souls of goodness. It became a simple tool of murder until it somehow developed a cult of human worshipers, and instead of a symbol for a kingdom of good, it became a symbol for a great and all encompassing evil.

Doompicker took a blood-thirsty fighter by the name of Horcus and transformed him into a Demi-god. Horcus ruled with terror and might for hundreds of years before being slain at the hands of adventurers, freeing the people of Horcus’s, and the swords dark powers. This sword remained lost, until an angry band of orcs, chased from their former home and bent on revenge, broke the seal which protected the world from its evil influence. Now the sword is again found, the orc quickly and gloriously slew the former King which had failed him, and has since gathered a large army who are pinning to retake what was theirs, but more!

This orc stood no chance compared to Doompicker, the sword quickly and totally dominated him. This orc now claims to be Doompicker, its aims and its goals are no longer its own, but the aims and goals of Doompicker. What its plans for the orcs are is anybodies guess, but rest assured that no good can be had from this terrible union. Already the orcs have forsaken their gods to worship Doompicker, collecting sacrifices for it to feast upon. Terror is rising in the mountains, and soon this horror shall be unleashed upon man-kind.

APPEARANCE Doompicker’s metal is stained black, and filthy. It reflects no light, its blood channels encrusted, the blade casts an anti-light, a mystical black, pulsing glow which seems to swallow and pervert all of the light around out, forcing bizarre and twisted shadows over everything around it. This blade prefers to talk from the orc who holds it, and it is highly intelligent. It’s control over the orc is total, but he is a willing participant to the power of Doompicker. Already the magical blade has found ways to pamper itself, it is cared for by 2 Chaotic Evil Clerics of extremely high level, these men serve the Orc who calls himself Doompicker, but the sword itself finds them unworthy as both of them could dominate the sword and this cannot be allowed. When engaged in combat, witnesses have reported hearing a maniacal laugh which chilled them to the bone, they have reported that no one, not even the Orc Doompicker was laughing at the time, in fact, they say that the orc had a look of utter terror on his face but considering the state of mind which these witnesses were discovered in, nobody can be positive of the value of their statements.

ACTIVATION: Only Chaotic Evil beings can activate this sword without consequences. Any other alignment will instantly suffer 25 hp of damage per minute/round that they try to use the sword. If, somehow the spirit of Doompicker can again be put to sleep, and the sword is reactivated by a player character, the sword will seek to slay them and may remain quiet until a more suitable owner can be found, at this time the owner is in grave danger. Doompicker sees owners more as a host, then anything else. If it is forced to deal with another alignment, it prefers Chaotic Neutral, it can manipulate them to discover a more suitable host and then do away with them. This blade is not to be trusted, and it is rumored that perhaps a band of Elves once formed an alliance to deal with this being, however that was so long ago that the information regarding it has long since been forgotten.

I have heard really good Dungeon Masters make some pretty weird statements. Chief among them being that they never run monsters with good alignments . . . why not? I suppose that this hearkens back to our media influence of if it bleeds, it leads, it is also kind of small minded, the lazy route is always to use underhanded bad guys for everything. Heroes fight evil, this is true! But sometimes it is beneficial to the game if you pit hero vs. hero.

There are quite a few reasons why we would want to pit good aligned characters up against other good aligned NPCs. When we do this, we get an opportunity to really explore honorable combat scenarios. Also, fighting doesn’t become as strong of a priority as it is when dealing with odious malcontents. While we don’t feel bad about killing brutal hobgoblins, slaying a centaur should be a last resort. Good characters are also more inclined to allow a withdraw, a surrender, or actually obey terms of defeat which can come in handy when you are using low level characters that are limited in hp. The good NPC won’t be out simply for blood, they are held back by a moral code which may be different then that of the players, but it will be a moral code regardless.

I like using the forces of good to challenge and entertain the players, simply put, the forces of good operates on a completely different level then evil, one that forces everybody at the table to just sit down and think, and to ponder their own motivations. So, to celebrate good vs. good, I’ve put forth a few ideas that you can use to try this strategy out at your own tables. Of course it may be helpful to see how the forces of good operate before we get to involved in scenarios, right?

GOOD vs. GOOD

In the past I’ve talked about Law vs. Neutral vs. Chaos, and what each means, but for this article, I think that it would be wise to quickly state my feelings on the subject very briefly. Lawful simply signifies that a character can follow orders and fight as a unit with other lawful alignments, while Chaos identifies that person as a lone wolf who is unable to fight as a unit. Neutral forms the purest nature of the alignment that it is coupled with. A Neutral good character would be a clearer picture of good then even the paladin who is Lawful, if a Paladin is ordered to do something terrible, as long as it is an act of good and thwarts the powers of either evil or chaos, then the paladin will do it . . . he may never sleep again, but he’ll do it all the same, but the NG character would refuse, stating that it would not be right to commit the act.

The point is, that there is strife within all of the alignments. Granted, the wars between Good and Evil or Law and Chaos are more pronounced, but wars also are fought between each faction. A good example of this is the ongoing hostility between Elves and Dwarves. Elves are Chaotic Good by nature, while the dwarves are Lawful Good. These two races simply do not understand each other, and though peace has typically been established, it is a very uneasy peace that can strike up again at the drop of a hat, granted it wouldn’t cause an all out war which would rage for centuries, chances are they both already did that and their families still wear the scars to prove it, but their fundamentals are so completely different that it makes any long term commitments possible. The Dwarves make pacts and those pacts are set in stone, while the Elves will also make pacts but they will only be enforced for as long as it suits them. This introduces strife to the relationships between them. Once in a while a greater cause forces them to cooperate with each other, but as soon as the threat has been squelched, it is back to normal.

GOOD & CONFLICT

While two characters can both have the same alignment, they may have completely different ideas about what that alignment means. What is good to one man is different then what is good to another. Two Lawful Good countries that sit next to each other can still have troubles with their neighbor simply because of policy issues. Perhaps one country is run by a Government, and the other by Religion. Religious intolerance is not an evil act! If the Government of country A did not agree with the Theocracy of country B about whose god was tougher, this will eventually lead to war. Both sides would fight righteously, and both for the side of Lawful Good.

D&D is also about the mixing of different cultures, even on our own planet there are bizarre social taboos which are different for each racial group and country. Some taboos are placed right into the core rules themselves: Grey Elves don’t typically use any economy system what so ever. They have never heard of having to pay for food, this is a basic right to them. If you are hungry, then eat! Say a Grey Elf takes a loaf of bread from a human vender, he unwittingly became a thief. Adding more to this, perhaps Aarakocra folk consider it hostile to look each other in the eye? Centaurs are typically the least restricted, parading around the village with their junk hanging out making children giggle and good citizens faint in horror! The true limit to these social fouls are honestly endless, they can be amusing or serious as you wish them to be.

GOOD & VIOLENCE

We often take our own social baggage with us when we sit down to play. In our world it is acceptable to bad-mouth your government, women have freedoms and rights which other places refuse to grant them, but take a pocket knife into an airport and become an instant terrorist. We have our own bizarre culture which makes sense to us, but look absolutely crazy on the outside. We want to distance ourselves as far away from our own cultures as possible, of course I’m preaching to the choir, yes? This kind of stuff is what separates gamers from Role-Players, because we Role-Players find this stuff FUN!

Of course one of the biggest bags of luggage we lug around with us during our games, is our attitude towards violence. The gaming world is a kill or be killed world. Naturally some cities and villages may be exempt from this kind of lifestyle, however this is typically not the norm! Folks who live out in the country will typically shoot first and ask questions later. In particularly scary places, small little hamlets deep in the woods, the chances of getting someone to open their door after dark is practically nil. While the people can be good alignment, they know not to trust anybody, even if they are being eaten by monsters.

GOOD & XP

A character that slays a being that shares the characters alignment is not a good thing, and a Dungeon Master is perfectly within his rights to either refuse to give XP for the fight, or even deduct experience points. A paladin has to be careful when locked in combat with other good creatures, because if he slays them, he has violated his ethos even if his Government or whoever he pays his tithing to orders him to, this is a challenge which the paladin must face from time to time and he must also do it with grace. Rangers would loose their status as well, and a Priest’s deity may not be pleased with the cleric’s actions and refuse him spells until he has made amends for his error.

Good vs. Good is not as easy as Good vs. Evil, it forces players to really think about their actions before they commit to them. This would also apply to Evil or Neutral characters, a Chaotic Evil character may face consequences for going on a monster hunt, granted there are always exceptions to the rules, by their very nature, Chaotically evil beings are more prone to viciousness without remorse then their Chaotic Good counterparts. The lack or docking of XP is forced role-playing and symbolizes a characters guilt getting the best of them. Players who role-play properly should be allowed more freedom, if they impose a penalty on themselves, such as taking a –1 to all attacks for the next week, or embarking on a quest to make amends, they may avoid being docked XP. It is harder to play good characters then it is evil ones, tis the nature of the beast.

SCENERIOS

Of course these are just a few suggestions, things to kick start your mind so that you can come up with your own adventure hooks. Something to prove that it IS possible.

Scenario #1: Ghosts have been reported haunting the holy mountain, in fact, the ghosts are simply a fleeing tribe of Aarakocra who have taken refuge in this sacred place, and feeding on fruit trees intended for the gods and forbidden to eat. The church plans to send an army to destroy them, the players are allowed to climb the mountain themselves and try and persuade the Aarakocra to move on before the army arrives to kill anybody who is violating the holy law . . . including the PCs.

Scenario #2: An elven artifact has been stolen, a small, crack-team of elves under a blood oath are charged with recovering the object at any cost. Someone has told them that the artifact is in the PCs home village, the elves will burn and kill until the artifact is returned, believing that it is there when in fact, the village was set up by the real thief. The PCs must some how convince the elven party that the artifact is not there and aid them in acquiring it. If at any time the elves discover the artifact in the hands of the PC’s, they will destroy the village as punishment for theft and for lying.

Scenario #3: An evil race has kidnapped the princess of Centaurs, forcing them to do their will else they will slay the girl. The King is terrified enough to believe that the evil race will hold to their end of the deal. It starts out small, centaur bandits robbing all merchants, but soon the evil monsters are demanding the Centaurs crush an entire village. They say that if the Centaurs take the village and give it to them, then they will turn over the girl, this probably isn’t true, however the Centaur King believes it, the kings generals are simply following orders but are unhappy at this prospect, yet will comply all the same unless given a better option.

Scenario #4: Two good (Red & Blue for simplicity) armies are at war, the Blue side has, completely unknown to them, killed the Red king and captured the Prince. The prince is quiet, his men protecting his identity, he is unaware that his father was killed in a completely different battle. This small war is grinding to a halt, the Blue King looking to admit defeat however the Red countries acting ruler is Lawful Evil and wants all of the land for himself, unfortunately he can’t produce the king, nor is he willing to pay for the release of the prisoners because this would free the Prince at worse, and also give the Blue King the information that technically he has just won the war. The Red Leader instead is forcing everyone to join the army, and demanding that all money be put into furthering the war machine. How you wish to involve the PCs is completely up to you. Perhaps they are under the Red Country and forced to stop whatever it is that they are doing to fight, also all of their money will become the property of “the King”. Or perhaps the party belongs to the Blue country? Hired as spies to see why the King is refusing to accept the blue’s offer of Defeat. Managing the prison camp, escorting the herald to Reds castle with a formal letter of defeat. The possibilities are suitable for any level of play depending on what you think that your players would like to do.

I THINK THAT EVERY body has a “pet-peeve” or something that bugs them about a game system itself. For me, that pet-peeve was largely spells used for detecting alignment. Now, this stems from playing the game incorrectly when our group was still learning, and not detecting our error, thus never fixing it. But this spell still bugs me to this day. It just seems like one of those things which was put into the game to make the Dungeon Masters life miserable.

How this started, was that I fell for a trick. A player took advantage of my total incompetence, simply asking what so-n-so’s alignment was, and me thinking that he was casting a spell and just telling him, like a total twit. While it took a while to catch onto this little farce, after all, I was still learning the ropes of DMing, it did get me interested in what exactly goes on when somebody is checking an alignment, and how others react to this.

ALIGNMENTS AND NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

NPCs all have alignments, but the only way to really tell what they are is for a character to observe them for an extended period of time. Only then will their alignment be displayed. I’ve said it over and over again, that Alignments aren’t crutches, and nobody is a slave to their alignments. Good people still do bad things, and Bad people can be quite charming and charitable. Simply having a conversation with somebody isn’t going to reveal their alignment if they don’t want it too. Most people aren’t even aware what the heck an alignment is! Nevertheless ponder the fact that they even got one or not. Truly bad people never once think of themselves as evil, a being who is Lawful Evil can happily live with the belief that he is Lawful Good for his entire life. But lets look at some ways of how characters try to take the easy way out by trying to use alignment against you, and how a character can gain knowledge of what another’s alignment is, as well as how to role-play the characters response to such an invasion.

ASKING

This is a rude question, if they even have any idea of what the player is talking about. This is such a stupid thing to do, who would say, “Oh! I’m Chaotic Evil, what is your alignment?”

Not even the Player really knows what his alignment is once he’s been created. The only person who does is the DM, as alignments change frequently. Most of the time, this isn’t a problem, and never comes up unless a drastic change has happened, at that time, the player stops gaining xp, and may loss special abilities and not even know why.

Since the PCs themselves have no real idea of what alignment they are, how do they expect a NPC to? Alignments are learned through playing the game, not through asking yes/no questions.

CASTING A SPELL

This is one of the rudest spells which one can cast. A hireling won’t put up with it, nor with followers or henchmen, this is considered a huge breach of trust, and anybody that suspecting is simply too dangerous to hang around. Trust is a big thing!

Strangers who have this spell cast upon them are likely to take this as a prelude to an attack and lash out before the PC can, else perhaps demand to be allowed to cast the spell him/herself.

The spell itself is completely obvious to everyone around the caster, it isn’t a spell that can be done discretely, or privately. Much of the time, it is a total waste of a spell. Especially powerful beings can foil any attempt to be probed with this spell, and make the caster get whatever impression that they want them to. A lich in disguise can easily foil it and appear to be of any good alignment that he chooses, all the while laughing at the players ignorance and stupidity.

CLASS ABILITY

The Paladin presents an easy to manage problem. They can detect evil, but this evil must be true evil, it isn’t precise enough to detect actual alignments. A lich would definitely not be able to hide from a paladin with such easy trickery as he could with a cleric or wizard; but a pirate or barbarian easily could! A being from the negative plane, or who contains so much evil magic and/or intent that they radiate it permanently, this is the enemy of the paladin and they cannot hide from him.

Of course, this works both ways. Paladins reek of pure goodness, alerting truly evil and powerful beings to their presence well in advance of their actual arrival.

END NOTES

I try to give nothing away. Naturally this can’t always be done, but we have to make this spell make sense, or give them an edge once in a while. Using it to detect the alignment of powerful magical items makes sense. Or casting it on a mysterious religious object found deep in the ruins of some long forgotten temple. But as far as trying to catch a killer, perhaps it could point out who is capable of such an act, but it certainly isn’t hard evidence of any wrong-doing. Even a wizard-king would laugh if presented with such evidence.



ART BY: Tim Hildebrandt