Saturday 22 August 2015

Instantiations From Other Worlds

As is widely known, it is possible through an act of will or some arcane process for beings from other worlds to appear - briefly - in our own. These instantiations are of varying degrees of corporeality and power, and some have speculated that their ever-varying physical appearances are as a result of refractions in the space between worlds, which cause their manifestation in our reality to warp and shift away from their true nature.

When an instantiation or instantiations appear, perform the following steps:

1. Determine Corporeality

Roll a d4:

1. Entirely incorporeal. Can neither physically affect the world, nor be affected by it, except through magic spells. Appears like a gossamer-thin approximation of its form.
2. Mostly incorporeal. Can pass through walls and is unharmed by non-magical weapons. Appearance is noticeably faded and transparent.
3. Semi-corporeal. Can pass through walls and takes half damage from non-magical weapons. Appearance is translucent.
4. Fully corporeal. Acts as though it is fully present in our reality.

2. Determine Time Span

Roll a d6 to determine the number of turns for which the instantiation appears.

3. Determine Power.

Roll a d6+1 to determine Hit Dice. For every Hit Dice, the instantiation has a spell-like ability which it can cast once.

4. Determine Spell-Like Abilities.


Dice
Ability
Dice
Ability
Dice
Ability
1
Blink
11
Feeblemind
21
Fire Shield
2
Hold Person
12
Telekinesis
22
Call Lightning
3
Slow
13
Polymorph Other
23
Dispel Magic
4
Scare
14
Confusion
24
Stinking Cloud
5
Dimension Door
15
Knock
25
Shatter
6
Web
16
Enlarge
26
Wall of Fog
7
Wizard Lock
17
Darkness 15’ Radius
27
Ice Storm
8
Magic Missile
18
Shadow Monsters
28
Hallucinatory Terrain
9
Shield
19
Paralysation
29
Phantasmal Force
10
Fireball
20
Hold Portal
30
Disintegrate


5. Determine Basic Torso

Roll to discover the basic body shape of the instantiation. 

Dice
Basic Form
1
Horizontal disc
2
Vertical disc
3
Sphere
4
Oblong
5
Cylinder
6
Cube
7
Blubbery mass
8
Stick
9
Ring or circle
10
Humanoid torso

6. Determine Arms/Hands

Dice
Arms/Hands
1
Human arms
2
Grasping claws on the end of long worm-like arms
3
Hooks on the end of whip-like arms
4
Pincers
5
Weak, pawing hands
6
Tentacles
7
Gulping mouths on the end of sinewy arms
8
Curious, searching feelers
9
Sharp spikes for arms
10
Hands with long, alien, suckered fingers

7. Determine Locomotion

Dice
Locomotion Method
1
Hovering
2
Too many legs
3
Insectoid, chitinous legs
4
Membranous wings
5
Sliding along the ground
6
Thick, lumbering legs
7
Thin, gracile legs
8
Absurdly long striding limbs
9
Pair of humanoid legs
10
Immobile

8. Determine Substance

Dice
Substance
1
Fleshy
2
Reptilian
3
Insectoid
4
Hairy
5
Metallic
6
Crystalline
7
Stone-like
8
Perfectly smooth
9
Plant-like
10
Liquid contained in an invisible membrane

9. Determine Attack Method

Roll a d4 to determine. 

1. Psychic blast. Attack ignores AC.
2. Physical attack. Uses arms/hands.
3. Beam. A line of force or burning light.

An instantiation has one attack doing d6+1 DMG for every 2 HD it has.

2 comments:

  1. For psychic blasts, you could use Wisdom as AC, provided you use ascending AC and treat Wisdom as willpower.

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    Replies
    1. I wish I had my psionics handbook to hand.

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