Are your dungeons boring? Are you ready to take the next step in your journey to becoming an advanced Game Master? Our 5-Star Dungeon video series continues with an in-depth look at Adversary Rosters!
See how I actually use these rosters at my table, including video from behind my GM screen!
The Red Company of Magi is a wizard’s guild directly under the control of Aliaster Vladaam. Although relatively small by some standards, in the shadow of the Inverted Pyramid, the Red Company of Magi is one of the largest groups of organized spellcrafting in Ptolus.
The group is ostensibly dedicated to research, but the junior members of the company are deeply enmeshed into the illegal activities of the Vladaam family (providing arcane might where and when it’s necessary). The company’s dedication to research is not entirely a sham, however: The senior members of the company – referred to as “Archmages” – are often pursuing arcane research.
IMPERIUMS
Any Archmage (including Aliaster) can issue an “imperium” to a junior guild member which they must obey.
This concept, however, is also a broader invocation of the lines of authority that exist within the guild: One who has “imperium” over another in either a specific field of study; their mastery of the arcane arts; or within the guild hierarchy itself. It’s a core philosophical underpinning of the Red Magi which dates back to Flambara.
GUILD MEMBERSHIP
GUILDMASTER ARZAN
ARCHMAGES (7)
VLADAAM MAGES (15)
VLADAAM RESEARCHERS (8)
DENIZENS – RED COMPANY OF MAGI
GUILD GATHERING: 10% chance that the entire guild (+5 Vladaam Mages, +2 Vladaam Researchers) are present in Area 6 for a guild meeting.
| DENIZENS - ARCHMAGES | Location |
|---|---|
| Guildmaster Arzan1 | Area 8 (75%) or Area 20 |
| Archmage Cretai1,2 | Area 13 (75%) or Area 9 |
| Archmage Ustallo1 | Area 7 (75%) or Area 20 |
| Archmage Tiant1 | Area 11 (90%) or Area 3 |
| Archmage Imogen1 | Area 18 (50%) or Area 16 |
| Archmage Aldwyck1 | Area 18 (50%) or Area 3 |
| Archmage Araawa3 | Area 8 (25%) or Area 3 |
| DENIZENS | Location |
| Vladaam Mage | Area 2 (50%) or Area 7 |
| Vladaam Mage | Area 3 (50%) or Area 7 |
| 2 Vladaam Mages | Area 9 (50%) or Area 7 |
| 2 Vladaam Researchers | Area 3 (50%) or Area 7 |
| 2 Vladaam Researchers | Area 19 (50%) or Area 7 |
| WON'T COME UNLESS CALLED | Location |
| Pearl Golems (x2) | Front Entrance |
| Fiendish Snakes (x4) | Area 2 |
| Animated Armor (x2) | Area 12 |
1 Any given archmage has a 75% chance of being present.
2 50% chance that Archmage Cretai is intoxicated on abyss dust.
3 25% chance that Archmage Arawa is present.
Vladaam Mage: Use mage stats, MM 2014, p. 347.
Vladaam Researcher: Use acolyte stats, MM 2014, p. 342.
Archmages: See Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
GUILDMASTER ARZAN
Guildmaster Arzan: Use archmage stats, MM 2014, p. 342.
Combat Equipment
Other Possessions: bracers of defense, ring of protection, cane, hand crossbow (20 bolts), scroll case, diamond dust (250 gp), 100 gp pearl (x2), 100 gp, Vladaam deot ring, Red Magi tattoo
Oldtown
End Street – C8
EXTERIOR
The view from the guildhouse is beautiful, directly off the edge of Dalen’s Cliffs and out across the vast expanse of southern grasslands.
MANSE: The manse itself is built of pale blue stone.
YARD: The yard is planted with ghost grass – a pale, translucent grass of remarkable strength. (A shirt woven from properly treated ghost grass is as protective as a chain shirt.)
JADE ROSES: The path leading from the street to the front of the manse is lined with jade rose bushes. (Jade roses are a dark green in color and the petals of the bloom are as hard as the stone from which they take their name.)
FIRETHORN TREE: A single tree stands a few dozen paces from End Street (as shown on the street map). At night, the small, dark red fruits of the tree had the appearance of being on fire (due to the magical evolution of the tree itself).
FRONT ENTRANCE
The front doors, located beneath an upper balcony (Area 15), are flanked to either side by a pearl golem. Each golem has the appearance of Guildmaster Arzan, except that the face is a flat, blank, polished plane.
GUILDMASTER’S EYES: These golems are synced with the current guildmaster. By uttering a command word, they can look through either or both of the golems’ eyes. When he does so, his features replace their blank faces.
Pearl golems are one of the legendary jewel golems of Shandrala.
Although many think of pearl golems only in hues of cream and white, their birthing gems can be fashioned from a wide range of pearlescent colors — pink, blue, grey, aubergine, chocolate, and lavender, among others.
And in Greater Numbers. Among those who know the secrets of their creation, pearl golems are particularly popular constructs, in part because they are cheaper to create than most other golems. While they lack the magical enhancements of other jewel golems, they are more likely to appear in groups and will use their quick wits to coordinate their actions.
Iridescence. Pearl golems have some magical influence over the pearly iridescence of their “skin.” They appear to use this ability to silently communicate with each other in a mysterious visual language.
CONSTRUCTING PEARL GOLEMS
The birthing gem of a pearl golem must be a pearl worth at least 750 gp. This pearl must be polished and enchanted, but does not need to be cut. Preparing the pearl, therefore, requires a DC 10 Intelligence (Arcana). The golem costs 20,000 gp to create, which includes the cost of the birthing gem.
PEARL GOLEM
Small construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 17 Initiative +3 (13)
Hit Points 60 (20d6)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 20 (+5), DEX 16 (+3), CON 18 (+4), INT 10 (+0), WIS 10 (+0), CHA 10 (+0)
Skills Athletics +7
Immunities Necrotic, Poison; Blinded, Exhaustion, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 12
Challenge 3 (700 XP; PB +2)
TRAITS
Magic Resistance. The golem has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Spell Immunity. Pearl golems are immune to all spells except those which affect the quality of the air, such as cloudkill. Such spells deal either double damage or 2d6 damage to the pearl golem, whichever is higher.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The pearl golem makes two Slam attacks.
Slam. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 5 ft. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) Bludgeoning damage.
Pearl golems appear in The Vladaam Affair.
The legendary jewel golems of Shandrala were originally created through the mystic arts of the Jade Magi. Crafted from wondrous stones in great variety, they generally have the appearance of slender humanoids and are possessed of preternatural speed and grace, due to the spirits of air which animate them.
Those destroying these precious creations in the hopes of looting their gemstone bodies will be left disappointed, however: When the spirit of air which animates them escapes their broken bodies, the crystalline structure collapses, leaving behind a fractured form that quickly crumbles to worthless powder.
CONSTRUCTING JEWEL GOLEMS
The first step in the creation of a jewel golem is the selection and enchantment of the birthing gem, from which the golem’s physical body will eventually be crafted. The initial preparation of the birthing gem requires two weeks of work, during which the creator must spend at least 8 hours each day in a specially prepared laboratory or workroom, in which (among other things) a circle of carefully aligned mirrors is used to focus solar and lunar energy into the birthing gem. This chamber is similar to an alchemist’s lab and costs 500 gp to establish. In addition, this preparation consumes 1/10th of the total cost of the golem in question.
Complication: Only the most exceptional of gems are capable of focusing the intense mystic energies that form the heart of a jewel golem. Lesser stones, or flawed stones, will shatter during the preparation process, but only after consuming the preparation cost.
Once the birthing gem has been prepared, the true work of creating the golem can begin. An extensive process of magical rituals, requiring two additional months to complete, must be performed. During this time, the gem is used as a crystalline matrix from which the body of the jewel golem is spontaneously created. In addition, the elemental spirit that powers the golem is gathered and bound to the evolving structure of the golem’s body.
During this period, when not working on the rituals, the creator must rest and can perform no other activities except eating, sleeping, or talking. Interruption of this work for any reason will cause the creator to lose control of the arcane energies they are attempting to harness, destroying the birthing gem and forcing them to start over from scratch if they wish to continue. Note, however, that once the birthing gem is prepared, the creator can wait as long as he likes before using the gem to actually construct the jewel golem. A gem prepared by one person can even be used by another person.
The cost listed for each jewel golem includes all materials and spell components that are consumed or become a part of it.
CONTROLLING JEWEL GOLEMS
There are two types of jewel golems: controlled and free.
A jewel golem’s creator can command a controlled golem if it is within 60 feet and can see and hear its creator. If uncommanded, a controlled golem usually follows its last instruction to the best of its ability, though if attacked it will respond appropriately. The creator can give the golem a simple program to govern its actions in their absence, such as “Remain in this area and attack all creatures that enter” (or only a specific type of creature), “Ring a gong and attack”, or the like. However, jewel golems are generally more intelligent than traditional golems, allowing them to carry out more complex tasks.
A jewel golem can become free in one of two ways.
First, if a jewel golem without an active command is separated from their master for a year and a day, it will automatically become free and capable of pursuing its own goals.
Second, a jewel golem following an active command can, once per year, attempt an Intelligence check against a DC equal to 5 + their creator’s level. On a success, they become free.
There are exceptions to these general guidelines:
JEWEL GOLEMS
Pearl Golems
This material covered under the Open Game License.
Big Eyes, Small Mouth is possibly the best roleplaying system on the market today, and the new Fast Play Rules provide the perfect introduction for you and your players.
Review Originally Published May 21st, 2001
Big Eyes, Small Mouth is possibly the best roleplaying game on the market today. It succeeds at being a clean, simple system which leads to fast-paced, fun gaming sessions without sacrificing the level of detail necessary to accomplish everything you need it to. At the same time, Big Eyes, Small Mouth is the easiest generic game I’ve encountered. By that I mean that the task of adapting it to a new genre or campaign world is a quick and easy process – unlike other generic systems (such as GURPS or FUZION) which need to be thoroughly tweaked and customized to fit each iteration of your gaming needs.
And, on top of that, Guardians of Order has supported BESM with a remarkable line of high quality support products, including a plethora of licensed anime games: Big Robots, Cool Starships; Hot Rods & Gun Bunnies, Sailor Moon, Dominion Tank Police, Demon City Shinjuku, Tenchi Muyo, and many others.
In other words, this is a game you should be playing.
In fact, the only difficulty I’ve had with BESM is – as with many high quality systems – convincing people to give it a try. Guardians of Order is not the first company to attempt to rectify this with some sort of introductory package, but I have to admit that I am particularly impressed with their Fast Play Rules: Between the low price (only $1.95) and the high production values (glossy full-color), it will not only impress my gaming buddies – I can cheaply pick up multiple copies to hand out.
So, what has Guardians of Order crammed into this slim little pamphlet?
First, you have some standard introductory material (“What is a roleplaying game?”, “What is anime?”, “What is Big Eyes, Small Mouth?”, etc.). This, coincidentally, also makes this an attractive package to pick up if you’re looking to “convert” someone to RPGs – cheap, yet highly alluring (particularly to existing anime fans).
Next, an abbreviated version of the BESM rules are provided – including character creation (with the exception of the optional skill rules from second edition), action resolution, and combat.
The package is then rounded out with four brief samples of potential game ideas and themes (Journey to the East, Magical Bug Hunter Keko!, Legend of the Galactic Empire, and Voyagers of the New Dawn).
CONCLUSION
Big Eyes, Small Mouth is an excellent game. The Fast Play Rules are an excellent introduction to an excellent game.
Style: 5
Substance: 5
Authors: Mark C. MacKinnon and David L. Pulver
Company: Guardians of Order
Line: Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Price: $1.95
ISBN: 1-894525-28-0
Production Code: 02-100
Pages: 22
Surprisingly, however, I never wrote a full review of the second edition of Big Eyes, Small Mouth. I actually have a half-finished draft of one which I apparently started in September 2000, but it became one of those reviews that sat for too long after I read the book until it reached a point where, to do a meaningful review, I would have needed to go back and do a fresh cover-to-cover read of the book. And it just never happened.
I had written a review of the 1st Edition of Big Eyes, Small Mouth back in 1999. As I noted back then, it quickly became one of my go-to RPG systems. It’s been a long time since I played it, but I still have fond memories of its 2nd Edition and wouldn’t hesitate to grab it again if the need arose.
I’ve never picked up the 3rd Edition or the 4th Edition of the game. I actually know very little about them, having remained quite content with my copies of 2nd Edition.
For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.
