OSR Familiars

I posted a while back about putting together an OSR Familiar book. The very rough beta I posted for free has been getting a surprising amount of downloads, which has led me to fix up the text and formatting and add a wide variety of new familiars.

Th e current list of Familiars that can now be summoned by Magic-Users totals 168 creatures. Please note that these are not yrt included in the publicly available Beta doc. I need to do a lot of conversion and editing over the weekend, so I will hopefully have most of them in decent working beta by then,, along with a new pdf.

There area few other OSR Familiar topics I would like to mention and some specific questions that I could use some help with, but I'll save those for a later post. Instead, I'll leave you with the list of the 168 familiars I apln on including in thid upcoming book of mine, Enjoy, and please let me know if I missed anything good or if you have any suggestions, 

1. Abyssal  Larva
2. Air Gust
3. Al-mi'raj
4. Ant, Giant
5. Archon, Lantern
6. Arrowhawk, Small
7. Asrai
8. Atomie
9. Baboon
10. Bat
11. Bee, Giant
12. Beetle, Carnivorous
13. Beetle, Celestial Fire
14. Beetle, Fire
15. Beetle, Flash
16. Beetle, Gelid
17. Beetle, Mining
18. Beetle, Spitting
19. Blink Dog
20. Botfly, Giant
21. Bronze Cobra
22. Brownie
23. Cantrip Spirit
24. Carrion Fly
25. Carrion Moth
26. Cat
27. Cave Cricket
28. Centipede, Giant
29. Chimpanzee
30. Crab, Giant
31. Crawling Hand
32. Demon, Dretch
33. Demon, Quasit
34. Devil, Imp
35. Devil, Lemure
36. Dog
37. Dog, Celestial
38. Eagle
39. Ferret, Giant
40. Flea, Giant
41. Floating Eye
42. Fly, Giant
43. Fly, Giant Carnivorous
44. Forgotten One
45. Forlarren
46. Fox
47. Frog, Giant
48. Frog, Giant Abyssal Dire
49. Frog,Poison
50. Fyr
51. Glastig
52. Glass Butterfly
53. Glimmer
54. Gloomwing
55. Goat
56. Goat, Dire
57. Gorbel
58. Graymalkins
59. Green Brain
60. Gremlin
61. Grig
62. Gutslug
63. Hamster, Giant
64. Harpy
65. Hawk
66. Hawktoad
67. Hedgehog
68. Hell Hound
69. Homunculus
70. Hornet, Giant
71. Hound of Chronos
72. Hyena
73. Ifrit
74. Inaed
75. Inner Child
76. Invisible Stalker
77. Iron Cobra
78. Jackal
79. Keeper of the Well
80. Killmoulis
81. Ko'haii
82. Lamprey, Land
83. Lamprey, Lightning
84. Leech, Giant
85. Leech, Sorcery
86. Leprechaun
87. Lizard
88. Lizard, Shocker
89. Locust, Subterranean'
90. Lynx
91. Maggot, Giant
92. Memory Child
93. Mephit, Brimstone
94. Mephit,  Fire
95. Mephit,  Lightning
96. Mimi
97. Mist Man
98. Monkey
99. Monkey, Spire
100. Mosquito, Giant
101. Mothdog
102. Niln
103. Nixie
104. Nymph
105. Old Crawler
106. Otter
107. Owl
108. Parrot
109. Phantom Fungus
110. Pixie
111. Porcupine
112. Porcupine. Dire
113. Praying Mantis, Giant
114. Pseudo Dragon
115. Raccoon
116. Raccoon, Dire
117. Ram
118. Rat, Giant
119. Rat, Ordinary
120. Rat, Vapor
121. Rat, Wizard's Lab
122. Ratling
123. Raven
124. Shadow
125. Shadow Mastiff
126. Shield Guardian
127. Shrew, Giant
128. Skull, Screaming
129. Skull, Spider
130. Skunk
131. Slime, Walking
132. Slitherat
133. Slithering Tracker
134. Snake, Constrictor
135. Snake, Marble
136. Snake,  Rattler
137. Snake,  Spitting Cobra
138. Snake, Viper
139. Soulspinner
140. Spider. Giant
141. Spiderweed
142. Squirrel, Flying
143. Stirge
144. Thrush
145. Thylacine
146. Tick, Giant
147. Toad
148. Toad, Giant
149. Tsalakian
150. Tunnel Prawn
151. Turtle
152. Turtle, Snapping
153. Vargouille
154. Vulture
155. Wasp, Giant
156. Weasel
157. Weasel, Celestial
158. Weasel, Dire
159. Weasel, Fiendish
160. Were-Mist
161. Will-o,-Wisp
162. Wisp, Electric
163. Wisp, Fire
164. Wolf
165. Wolverine
166. Yaruga
167. Yienhool
168. Yith Hound

Oil of Undead Repellent and Holy Rations

Are you facing the prospect of a length expedition into the depths of some forgotten tomb crawling with the undead? This Oil of Undead Repellent and Holy Rations may be just what you need to make it back alive.

Oil, Undead Repellent

Undead repellent is a mixture of consecrated oils, incenses and herbs that good religions consider holy. A single phial of undead repellent is enough to cover a person for 2d4 hours. For as long
as the substance remains in effect, they gain a +2 bonus to AC against undead creatures, plus a +2 bonus on all turning checks and turning damage rolls made when attempting to turn undead. An
undead spellcaster within 60' of a character coated in undead repellent must succeed on a saving throw versus paralysis to cast any spell.. 

• 75 gp, 1 lb

Rations, Holy

Holy rations have been blessed by the will of the divine. Though it is food, the magical nature of holy rations food preserves them, so that it can last decades without spoiling.and immediately destroys any poisons, toxins, and anything else. which may taint the food. Additionally, consuming at least one meal of Holy Rations during the course of the day will increase your daily HP recovery by 1 point,  

• Per day: 15 gp, 1 lb

"Find Familiar" for OSR Games

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Pay What You Want at RPGNow

It all started simply enough. I was having a rough bout of insomnia, so I decided to see what was new on Google Plus. I was reading the Delving Deeper Google Plus page when I came across what I assumed at the time to be quick projects: Mike Hill wanted to know if anyone had a good Find Familiar spell from an old version of D&D.

I quickly grabbed my OSR books, mostly retro clones with the appropriate licenses allowing me to legally share and publish this little book you‘re now holding in your hands, and flipped through what I assumed would be pages upon pages of usable information that would undoubtedly give birth to a whirlwind of amazing ideas! I have discovered that, with a few rare exceptions such as OSRIC, most of the retro clones and OSR game out there don‘t have any rules or even guidelines for using familiars. I certainly have had an interesting time tracking down and compiling all the rules you will need for using familiars in your game. This book contains my take on familiars, made with the original source material from the 1970s in mind, updated and expanded for use with OSR and Classic Fantasy games.

This project went from “I can whip something up in a few minutes “to "Holy smokes! There are so many more ideas and possibilities I could include" These kind of books always end turning out to be the most fun, satisfying and useful supplements. 

Download the BetaVersion for Free HERE

With that in mind, I felt the need to put out a Beta version. This way, you can get the basic Familiar system and help me fine tune and expand upon this supplement through advice, critiques, and suggestions. 

This is Beta version 3.0.0... The final version will include additional types of familiars, magic items that aid in the summoning and retaining of familiars and new spells to strengthen the bond between you and your animal companion. 

If you have any ideas, suggestions, comments, constructive criticism, or anything else, please drop me a line on my blog.

Magical Oils of Armoring and Damaging for OSR Fantasy Games

These rare magical oils are applied to armor and weapons, can be made by a skilled alchemist. When found in a treasure trove, dungeon chest, or forgotten crypt, they are typically stored in stoppered ceramic or glass vials. Each vial will contain enough oil for 1d4 applications before running dry. (For use with Labyrinth Lord, Swords and Wizardry, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and other OSR fantasy roleplaing games).

Oil of Armoring

The contents of this bottle bestow a magical aura of protection upon any suit of armor or shield to which they are applied . The AC value of the armor or shield will be reduced by 3 points for the next 2d6 rounds

Oil of Damaging

When applied to a weapon, this oily substance grants a +3 bonus to damage. The effects of an application will wear off in 2d6 rounds.  

Staff of the Mind Breaker

Here's a twisted little magical artifact I found buried in my old hard drive. It should be compatible with just about any OSR style rules, although you may have to do a bit of tweaking depending on your system of choice.

This ancient staff is rumored to have once belonged to an insane magic-user - a demigod in his own right, if the legends are true - bent on dominating all mankind. He toiled for decades to create a staff that would further his goals, and once his task was complete his mind finally snapped. Nobody knows for certain what became of him after that, but his staff still exists today. It may be that it has changed hands countless times throughout the centuries, or perhaps it has just been hidden away, buried in some dark tomb awaiting its first owner.

The staff itself is fashioned from an unnaturally textured and indestructible wood-like material. The shaft is a dark blue color, banded with thick sections of copper and silver. Gems adorn the metal, but they are small and dully colored. The headpiece of the staff  is composed of an unbreakable silver-like sphere which sounds hollow when struck. When used as a melee weapon, the staff functions as a +3 weapon. While holding this staff the wielder is immune to any form of illusion or mental control, and their AC is improved by 3 points.

The staff's spellcasting powers are activated by striking the sphere, either with a fist or object or upon a hard surface, which produces a distinct and unnatural ringing sound.  By doing this and expending a 1 charge, the user of this staff may create one of several different spell effects. The spells available are Antipathy/Sympathy, Charm Monster, Charm Person, Feeblemind, Geas, Hallucinatory Terrain, Irresistible Dance, Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force,  or Project Image. These spells will be cast at the level of the user. The staff has 15 charges and will recuperate 2d4 charges per day.

This staff is a sentient object, functioning in much the same manner as a sentient sword, with an INT of 18. It has no set alignment and may be used by anyone. It seeks only to control and influence the minds of as many sentient beings as possible, and if deprived of this it will attempt to assert its will on the user, calling for influence checks. If the will of the staff prevails it will not just randomly use its powers. It will seek the most advantageous path to controlling as many people as possible, often through scheming and long term plans. 

There is no known method of destroying this artifact The safest recourse is to bury it deep beneath the surface of the earth, seal it within a man-made structure, or to send it to the bottom of a large body of water. Otherwise, it will eventually seek out and call to its next owner through supernatural means such as visions, dreams, and omens.