You're out of your box!

PROSPECTOR (#16/31, #16/365) [POT]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA : 7

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Pick-axe

ARMOUR: See below

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Wilderness, Hills, Mountains, Desert

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 2-12

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Neutral-Unfriendly (in town or wilds)

INTELLIGENCE: Average-High

Out in the wastelands there are places such as Sapphire City or Alasiyan; “anything goes” frontier-towns, full of rough miners and PROSPECTORS, who trade with Hill Barbarians, Desert Nomads, and various non-human races. Rogue gangs of miners and Prospectors sometimes strike out through the desert’s rockier wastes, looking for seams of gold and gemstone deposits. They have also been known to uncover ancient ruins from the earlier civilizations that once ruled these wastes. All Prospectors have a Pick-axe as a weapon, and may have some scraps of armour - roll on the table below to decide what:

Roll Armour Type

1-2 Leather Jack

3-4 None

5-6 Leather Cuirass

These Prospector gangs are small in number and not especially heavily armed, but they are fiercely protective of any finds they make and will attack immediately if they think they are about to be robbed. To determine the race and number of Prospectors roll on the table below. Scores for human Prospectors can be found above; for non-humans you can use these scores as well, or consult the relevant entry in Out of the Pit.

Roll Prospector Type (Number encountered) Other Notes

1 Goblin (4-24): Led by: Roll 1-3 Man-Orcs (1-3) 4-6 Ogres (1-2)

2 Black Elf  (3-18)

3-4 Human (2-12)

5 Dwarf (2-12)

6 Gold Rush! (10-60): Small fortified settlement of all races frantically stripping a newly discovered seam of gold.

To determine what the Prospectors have found (or not!), roll on the following table. Exact details as to whether the find is valuable, viable, or exhausted are left to the Director to determine as they see fit.

Roll Type of Find

1 Diamonds: Prospectors have found a small deposit of diamonds.

2 Ivory: Prospectors have found a monsters' graveyard full of ivory tusks, horns, teeth and claws.

3 None!: Prospectors are currently empy-handed and unhappy.

4 Gold: Prospectors have found a small seam of gold.

5 Sapphires: Prospectors have found a deposit of sapphires.

6 Ruins: Prospectors have found an ancient ruin or tomb they are looting.

PINCER FIST!

Crab-Pincher (#15/31, #15/365) [EA:V2] (Enchanted Item)

This is the mechanized claw of a crab, lobster, crayfish or other large crustacean, used for both immobilizing and crushing prey. It will do damage as per a Morning Star; and anyone hit must Test their Skill or be partially immobilized with ­-2 SKILL until they win an Attack Round and free themselves. It requires its own Crab-Pincher Special Skill to be learned in order to use this ability; anyone who does not have this skill must reduce their Attack Strength by one when using this weapon as an improvised club, but increase the Club damage they do by 1 STAMINA point. It also requires a fuel-source, which will power 2-12 uses, each use equivalent to one combat or an otherwise testing event. Some Gladiators are known to arm themselves with a left-handed Crab-Pincher if they have the Ambidextrous Talent, to reach out and immobilize their opponent before attacking it with whatever they wield in their chosen weapon hand.

Price 35 GP

Malady of the Moss Maiden

MOSS MAIDEN (#13/31, #13/365) [TTHA] 

Appearance: This is a woman covered from top to toe with the lumpy, shaggy greys and greens of moss and lichen. On seeing a stranger she will hold her hands out in greeting and offer a crooked smile, revealing pointed teeth.

Distribution: Forests and Jungles across Titan.

 

Effects: A locket of Moss Maiden's hair is imbued with her powerful intrinsic magical abilities. Anyone wearing the locket around their neck can activate a one-use healing power which will restore all their scores back to their Initial level.

 

Cost: City 100gp, Town 150gp, Village 200gp (per locket)

 

Availability: Very Rare

Further Notes: The Moss Maiden is believed to be related to the Dryad (see p. XX) and the Wodewose (see p. XX).

MOSS MAIDEN (#14/31, #14/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 3

STAMINA: 5

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Small Claw

ARMOUR: Light

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Forests, Jungles

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Plant/Humanoid

REACTION: Friendly

INTELLIGENCE: High

The MOSS MAIDEN is a nature spirit that inhabits woodlands and other forested areas of Titan, and is thought to be related to similar entities such as the Dryads and the Wodewoses. She appears as a woman covered from top to toe with the lumpy, shaggy greys and greens of moss and lichen. On seeing a stranger she will hold her hands out in greeting and offer a crooked smile, revealing pointed teeth. However, despite this slightly sinister countenance, the Moss Maiden is actually a Goodly creature, happy to offer help and advice to those of a similarly heroic yet kind-hearted alignment. 

The Moss Maiden lives in a peculiar structure within the forest, resembling a huge spherical bird's nest, woven from twigs and moss, and found just off the beaten trail, among the trees. Here she will be working hard, and heroes that assist her have been known to receive gifts, including healing, wishes of teleportation and time-loops, or enchanted items such as crystal orbs and magical balls of yarn. However, such aid does not come cheap and the Moss Maiden will typically expect an equally valuable and useful gift in return.

While the Moss Maiden is not a physically powerful creature, woe betide the fool who slays her in combat. This sorry individual will suffer the Curse of Ageing; they will feel stiff and weak, ache in every joint, with limbs that don't seem to want to work. Their hands will become bony and twisted and their face will become ancient. The curse-sufferer must reduce their SKILL by -3, their STAMINA by -6, and have a -2 penalty to their Attack Strength in combat.

One of the famous Moss Maidens from myth and legend, was Lina of the Writhing Wood, in the ancient Flat Lands, who knew the Secret of a Secret. Legend has it, a mighty hero with the magical power of True Sight, whose name is sadly lost to time, met with Lina and reported quite a different spectacle. Apparently the inside of the Moss Maiden's nest is decorated with gold, jewels and fine tapestries; a palatial dwelling where the Moss Maiden, a beautiful green-skinned woman clad in silver robes, sits on a throne. The truth in this account has yet to be verified by any active adventurers however.

Bonus Post: SHAZZAN!

 

Character Creation Challenge 2025

 

Yes, it's happening again! Using Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2E to write up some fun characters from kids’ fantasy-adjacent cartoons of the 60s, 70s and 80s!

 

#1-#4/31

 

SHAZZAN! (1967-68, Hanna-Barbera, Alex Toth)

“Inside a cave off the coast of Maine, Chuck and Nancy find a mysterious chest containing the halves of a strange ring. When joined the ring forms the word Shazzan, and with this magical command, they are transported back to the fabled land of the Arabian Nights! Here they meet their genie, Shazzan. Shazzan presents them Kaboobie a magical flying camel and gives Chuck a magic belt and rope. Shazzan will serve them whenever they call, but he cannot return them home until they deliver the ring to its rightful owner. And thus begins their incredible journey!”

 

SHAZZAN (#1/31)

Genie, Age unknown, Male

 

SKILL: 12 STAMINA: 20 LUCK: 11 MAGIC: 12 Magic Points: 32

 

Shazzan is typical for a Genie in that he can only be wounded by magic weapons or spells. He usually appears as a giant in a black waistcoat, red pantaloons and much gold jewellery. Shazzan favours spell effects such as changing size, altering appearances and other transformation magic. He cannot grant wishes, and knows surprisingly little lore, relative to other Genies, but will faithfully serve the bearer(s) of the complete Ring of Shazzan. For Shazzan will appear only when both halves of the ring are pressed together and his named uttered. He will always help the ring-bearer(s) if they are in peril but will resist any attempt to use his powers for anything other than Good.

 

“You call this a storm, young masters?”

 

CHUCK (#2/31)

Human Student, 12 Years Old, Male (Novice)

 

SKILL: 5 STAMINA: 12 LUCK: 11 MAGIC: 0

Magic Points: 0 Social Class: 3

Talents: Evasive

Special Skills: Common Speech 4, Awareness 1, Animal Lore 1, Climb 1, Dodge 1, Jump 1, Navigation 1, Ride 1, Running 1, Sneaking 1, Swim 1, World Lore 1

Equipment: Half of the Ring of Shazzan ‘SHAZ’, Cloak of Invisibility (see Encyclopedia Arcana:Volume 1, p. 126), Rope of Climbing (2-12 uses; see Encyclopedia Arcana:Volume 1, p. 132)

Money: 2 GP Provisions: 2

 

“Yeah, looks like we need Shazzan!”

 

NANCY (#3/31)

Human Student, 12 Years Old, Female (Novice)

 

SKILL: 6 STAMINA: 10 LUCK: 11 MAGIC: 0

Magic Points: 0 Social Class: 3

Talents: Fleet-Footed

Special Skills: Common Speech 4, Acrobatics 1, Animal Lore 1, Awareness 1, Etiquette 1, Dodge 1, Healing 1, Ride 1, Running 1, Sneaking 1, Swim 1, World Lore 1

Equipment: Half of the Ring of Shazzan ‘ZAN’, Dust of Illusion (2-12 uses; effects as per Illusion spell)

Money: 8 GP Provisions: 2

 

“Gosh, Chuck. Kaboobie’s having an awful time with this wind!”

 

KABOOBIE (#4/31)

Winged CAMEL, SKILL 7 STAMINA 8, Hooves (as per Large Claw). Can fly. Has Average Intelligence and can understand all spoken instructions.

 

“Hraw! Hraw!”

Tricks and Trials of the Trapper

TRAPPER (#12/31, #12/365) [POT]

SKILL: 8

STAMINA : 7

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Sword and see below

ARMOUR: See below

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Towns, Forests, Hills, Wilderness

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 2-7

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Neutral (in town), Unfriendly-Hostile (in wild)

INTELLIGENCE: High

While it is true that the wilds of Allansia are full of powerful and deadly monsters, it is also true that many of these creatures possess ivory horns and claws, strange glands and organs, and beautiful pelts and skins, that are all intrinsically valuable to merchants, sorcerers and alchemists. Some monsters are even captured alive, for display in the private zoo of a southern noble or perhaps to be used as a fighting-beast in a gladiatorial arena. Hence a new profession has arisen, that of the dedicated TRAPPER. 

These are rough warrior types, usually ex-adventurers or soldiers, who have no patience with time-wasters. Instead, the Trapper is primarily interested in profit and getting their dangerous cargo (usually trussed up, manacled, or held in large box on a wagon) to the animal traders’ markets and then sold, as quickly as possible. All Trappers are armed with swords, and usually have extra equipment besides. Roll on the following tables to determine any extra gear they possess.

Roll Extra Weapons (roll 1-2 times, rerolling duplicates)

1 Net

2 Whip

3 Hand Axe

4 Lasso

5 Bola

6 Hand Crossbow

Roll Armour (roll once)

1-2 Small Shield

3-4 Leather Jack

5-6 Leather Cuirass

Roll Extra Gear (roll 1-3 times, rerolling duplicates)

1 a riding Horse

2 Sleeping Venom (can coat weapon; victim must Test their Luck or sleep for 10-60 Minutes)

3 Rope (10 metres)

4 1-3 Hunting Dogs

5 Grappling Iron (with Rope if have none)

6 Cart (with Oxen, if no Horse)

To determine what the Trappers may have caught, roll one die:

Roll	No. of Monsters
1	0
2	1
3	1
4	2
5	2
6	3

For every captured monster, roll two dice on the following table. You may accept or re-roll duplicate results as you like:

Roll Monster

2 Clawbeast

3 Doppelganger

4 Saltwater Crocodile

5 Giant Scorpion

6 Giant Toad

7 Giant Wasp

8 Giant Crab

9 Howl Cat

10 Lightning Serpent

11 Tunneller Beast

12 Hydra

There is a 1 in 6 chance that a monster may free themselves during the day. Freed monsters will attack Trappers first, and may or may not attack Heroes depending on their intelligence, reactions and whether the Heroes helped them escape. They may also attempt to free any other captured monsters as well, and once some Trappers are slain will usually flee back into the wilderness.

On the floating islands of Pangaria, Trappers are generally tasked with catching and relocating the larger creatures that may be making a nuisance of themselves. If combat is inevitable, the creature will be harvested for parts if slain. On Titan, one of the more reputable Trappers is Kragor the Ensnarer (see Heroes of Titan, p. 38).

EYE-SPY with my artificial eye...

Eye-Spy (#11/31, #11/365) [EA:V2] (Enchanted Item) 

This is a metal eye the size of a grapefruit, and instead of an iris, the metal contraption has a large glass lens. The Eye-Spy can fly, thanks to small flapping wings, and has short metal legs allow them to sit on perches like birds. When thrown into the air, it will animate into an EYE-SPY (SKILL 3 STAMINA 2, 1 Attack, Fire Bolt, Light Armour, can fly). They defend themselves by shooting Fire Bolts (as per the spell) from their eye at assailants, though this does drain their power. The Eye-Spy will follow all spoken commands faithfully for 10-60 minutes before deactivating (with each Fire Bolt it shoots reducing the duration by 10 minutes). It will have 2-12 uses left when found, and will deactivate permanently when these are all used up. Technomancers have been known to craft Eye-Spies that are permanently animated (or at least able to recharge from time to time) to act as Familiars, as per Return to the Pit (p. 10, pp. 68-78).

150gp 

-------------------

Device Technique: Eye-Spy

Device Type: Familiar

Device Size: Small

Device Complexity: 6

Magic-Technomancy Required: 2

Cost of Technique: 50gp

 

Power Source: 1 Small

 

Components: 2 Gadgets (1 Doobry and 1 Wotsit), Firestone Lens, Filigree Wings,

 

Cost of Components: 100gp

 

Description:

The Eye-Spy is a small magical construct, fashioned by the technomancers of Pangaria as a highly mobile covert observation scouting device. It resembles a metal eye the size of a grapefruit, and instead of an iris, the metal contraption has a large glass lens. The Eye-Spy can fly, thanks to small flapping wings, and has short metal legs allow them to sit on perches like birds. They defend themselves by shooting Fire Bolts (as per the spell) from their eye at assailants, though this does drain their power.

A fully-charged power source allows for two hours flight time, reduced by 10 minutes for every Fire Bolt fired by the Eye-Spy. Whatever the eye sees is magically transmitted to a separate Crystal Orb Speculum operated by the Eye Spy's master. Such an individual will likely also have a Recharging Cage, which can charge three Eye-Spies at a time, else the cost in replacing power sources will be highly expensive.

 

Attuned Bonus: Can be imbued with the powers of a magical Familiar.

A short bestiary of random denizens from Pangaria and elsewhere... (part three)

EYE-SPY (#9/31, #9/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 3

STAMINA: 2

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Fire Bolt

ARMOUR: Light

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Towns, Ruins, Dungeons

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Magical

REACTION: Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: Low

The EYE-SPY is a small magical construct, fashioned by the technomancers of Pangaria as a highly mobile covert observation scouting device. It resembles a metal eye the size of a grapefruit, and instead of an iris, the metal contraption has a large glass lens. The Eye-Spy can fly, thanks to small flapping wings, and has short metal legs allow them to sit on perches like birds. They defend themselves by shooting Fire Bolts (as per the spell) from their eye at assailants, though this does drain their power.

A fully-charged power source allows for two hours flight time, reduced by 10 minutes for every Fire Bolt fired by the Eye-Spy. Whatever the eye sees is magically transmitted to a separate Crystal Orb Speculum operated by the Eye Spy's master. Such an individual will likely also have a recharging cage, which can charge three Eye-Spies at a time, else the cost in replacing power sources will be highly expensive.

HOG-MULE (#10/31, #10/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA: 5

ATTACKS: 2

WEAPON: Small Bite, Hooves (as per Small Claw)

ARMOUR: None

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Forests, Plains, Hills, Wilderness

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-3

TYPE: Animal

REACTION: Neutral

INTELLIGENCE: Low

Possibly due to the long-term exposure from the warping powers of Chaos, the continent of Khul is home to some rather strange breeds of domesticated beasts of labour. Some, such as the Galomper, are infamous for their irascibility, others, such as the HOG-MULE, are noted instead for their versatility, particularly with regards to subsisting on a far greater variety of omnivorous food. Resembling a short-legged mule with the tusked head of a boar, Hog-Mules are used primarily as packbeasts, carrying loads sure-footedly across difficult terrain. They are too small to be ridden properly but may be used as a steed by smaller folk such as Dwarfs, Gnomes and Halflings.