Sensual Culture Write-ups

Like most fucking RPG nerds, I've done my fair share of worldbuilding. Most of it never sees the light of day and that's okay. It's usually a fun thing to do for its own sake. But, I've recently been working on some forward-facing projects and thinking how to best present this information to an audience.

In my teenage years, when I new to role-playing, my write-ups resembled gazetteer entries. They were dry and thoroughly went through the histories, traditions, religions, familial norms, etc. etc. of all the little fantasy garbage people that I was thinking about. They were probably only very interesting to me.

For some games, I'd hand these out as "packets" to players. They could read through this lore and then bring it to bear at the table. Because players didn't know what the other players' packets held, cultural differences and discussions were supposed to happen organically. Whereas some players took this lore to heart, others certainly didn't. The amount of GM work to player engagement level was...disproportionate.

Recently, I've been exploring alternate ways to lay out this information. My goal is to find the sweet spot between "too much info to read easily" and "useful" and "evocative." To this end, I've been writing one cogent detail of a culture for each of the senses. This list serves as fundamental touchstones for a fantasy culture.

Four examples follow:

The Kingdoms of the Diadochi

The conquering king, Alexandros Telamonian, campaigned against heaven and stole fire from the sun. Now, in the shadow of the eternal eclipse, his successors war against each other to control his once-great empire. The four human kingdoms of the Diadochi are:

Embergaard

Russell Dongjun Lu

The city of the east is deeply orthodox in the faith of Sol Invictus. The knights of Embergaard have long warred against the dragons in a religious jihad. 

• The knights of Embergaard are iron juggernauts. They wear hulking armor fashioned in  mythological iconography. Wax seals affix vellum scrolls covered in prayers to their armor. Porcelain masks front the towering helms, so they each seem to wear a pearly, beatific and unmoving expression. In their hands are blunt weapons; the cataphracts disavow bladed weapons as too murderous. 
• Embergaard is called the "city of bells." It is easy to understand why. Tolling bells bring the faithful to vespers. Inside the cathedrals, hand-bell choirs lure the sun back for the following day with beautiful canticles. In the streets, choleric alchemists hammer unceasingly in the forges. 
• The scent of burned offerings mix with butter candles on hearth altars. Oiled cloths for scouring armor. Burning human hair from public burnings linger in the streets. Saltpeter. 
• Olives. Olive oil mixed with garlic and pepper. Warm flat bread with fish sauce. Marinated lamb kebabs. Pickled vegetables, especially cucumbers, cabbage, and carrots. Wine cut with water. "Lion's milk": an anise flavored liquor, milky in color, smelling strongly of licorice.

Mourn

Russell Dongjun Lu

The greatest of the tomb cities of the south, citizens of Mourn live among the dead. The soulfires brought by the conquering king raised the honored ancestors, and the living are bound to their service. A few escape this bondage.

• Wrapped in robes to protect against the desert's chill, faces thinly veiled for modesty. Underneath the robes, linen bandages nurse festering rot caught from their honored ancestors. Gold rings, bracelets, and armor tip the ends of noses, fingers, toes, eyebrows, and ears--gold is placating to the dead. 
• Professional keeners follow funerary processions. Recitations of lineage are chanted in an ancient tongue. When you are alone, there is whispering. 
• Sharp scents drive away unpleasant smells: incense smoke snakes upward to soot-blackened ceilings; simmering pots of herbs in oil; heavy perfumes of floral extracts. 
• Sharp tastes communally served remind you that you're among the living: peppers specially bred for their spice; powdered chili pepper; injera; eggs poached in a thick sauce of tomatoes; peanut soup; fava beans spiced with cumin; clarified butter. Rich, black coffee. Sorghum beer. 

Yll

Igor Krstic

In the west, the city of Yll wanders across the Bog of Yllily. The gynecocracy of Yll are noted practitioners of sorcery, which they use to govern the affairs of the city.

• Furs and roughspun are stitched with sorcerously significant sigils. Masks fashioned from deer skulls and helms crowned with curving rams horns are common. Blue eye charms dangle from chain-link belts.  
• Hide-bound drums beat a steady rhythm around a soulfire. The chant swells and a single soprano voice, lost in ecstasy, rises above the drone. Somewhere, a dog howls. 
• The brackish water of the Bog competes with all other scents. The smell of heather. Smoke of a smoldering peat fire. Drying herbs. The ammonia-like vapors of boiling leather. Caraway seeds. 
• Rye bread smeared with honey and butter. Rashers of bacon and fried mushrooms. Fish head and potato stew. Boiled grouse eggs. Pig's milk cheese. Bitter ale. Smoky whisky. 

Kreigheim

Artem Demura

In the north, Kreigheim crouches like a wolf over the carcass of civilization

• Elaborate systems of tattoos and scarification mark the faces of Kreigheim. They call this "honest face," and deplore the inherent duplicity in unmarked faces. Heavy furs shroud the rest of their bodies. Reavers wear long coats of silvery mail and open-faced helms. They favor huge weapons inherited from the giants that once ruled the north. Overhead, the shimmering tapestry of the aurora lights the city. 
• The lap of water against the bellies of longships. The bleat and baying of beasts: hound, horse, reindeer, cock, cat, goat, hawk. Wood being chopped. Raucous songs and laughter spill from the open door of a meadhouse. 
• Salt. The smell of roasting grains and fermenting honey from open kettles. Blood and fresh viscera from a butchered whale. Juniper berries. The cold smell of snow about to fall. 
• Smoked salmon and trout. Fermented shark. Fire-roasted whale. Reindeer milk yogurt sweetened with blueberries. Fried pastry stuffed with sweetened goat cheese and rhubarb. Strong mead. 

More Combat House Rules

This is a light follow up to my Battles in Wilderland post, but it doesn't have anything specifically about to do with The Hobbit. It's just house rules about fighting I'd use if I was running a game like this. 

Angus McBride

Alternate Rule: Don't Roll for Damage
When the attacker succeeds the Attack roll and the defender fails the Defense roll, instead of rolling damage dice, the attacker deals damage equal to the attacker's [Attack] - [number rolled] + 1. Assuming this calculation is easy for you to do, this saves time by reducing the number of die rolls. 

Alternate Rule: Bigger Moves First
Don't roll for Initiative. Instead, the largest creatures in the combat move first. When matched against foes of the same size, whoever has the most people on their team moves first. 

Alternate Rule: Positioning 
A combatant can only face against four attackers at once. An attacker being defended against head-on is resolved as normal. An attacker to the left or the right is "flanking": flanking attackers gain +2 to their Attack rating. If the defender already is fighting 3 other foes, the last foe is in backbiter position: backbiters gain +4 to their Attack rating. The defender decides which assailant is in which position.  

Alternate Rule: Resolve Duels Simultaneously 
Anybody engaged in combat resolves their turns at the same time. Instead of rolling Attack vs Defense twice, both combatants roll Attack and resolve using the vs. rules from Battles. Whoever gets the upper hand deals damage, or they just bash each other around a bit. If multiple people are engaged with each other, only the combatant with the highest Attack actually rolls. The other combatants just add bonuses (per Positioning). 

Battles in Wilderland

Battles in Wilderland

From Pinterest. Artist unknown.

“That would be no good,” said the wizard, “not without a mighty Warrior, even a Hero. I tried to find one; but warriors are busy fighting one another in distant lands, and in this neighbourhood heroes are scarce, or simply not to be found. Swords in these parts are mostly blunt, and axes are used for trees, and shields as cradles or dish-covers; and dragons are comfortably far-off (and therefore legendary). That is why I settled on burglary— especially when I remembered the existence of a Side-door. And here is our little Bilbo Baggins, the burglar, the chosen and selected burglar. So now let’s get on and make some plans.”

So, the game set in Wilderland is about burglars, not warriors or heroes. Even so, some special consideration should be given to how battles should be run in this sort of setting, because it does seem that armed conflict is part of this genre. From battles with trolls, to goblins, to spiders, to dragons, to the Battle of Five Armies, the titular burglar sees his fair share of combat. 

I imagine burglars in this setting are a bit like characters in Knave: a bit of jack of all trades. Characters gain special talents and feats through random rewards and magical items, but otherwise have no "class." Or, rather, all players are the same class (burglar). 

In these rules, burglar player characters gain an edge in combat by acting against a hated enemy or operating in their favored environment. 

Rankin-Bass

Bonus To Hit

“Fools!” laughed Bard, “to come thus beneath the Mountain’s arm! They do not understand war above ground, whatever they may know of battle in the mines. There are many of our archers and spearmen now hidden in the rocks upon their right flank. Dwarf-mail may be good, but they will soon be hard put to it. Let us set on them now from both sides, before they are fully rested!”

Each character has a situational attribute called their Attack score. The base Attack score is 10. That is, without other bonuses, an Attack roll has a 50% chance of succeeding. 

The Attack score can benefit from a series of bonuses. An Attack score can never be raised above 19 by any method. 

Favor

A character has a favored foe, situation, or environment for which they are particularly trained. This is dependent on the character's race (see below). If any one of the favored conditions is true, the character's Attack score is increased +4. This bonus doesn't stack, even if multiple favor conditions are relevant. 

Stance

At the beginning of a character's turn, they may change their stance. 

• By default, a character is in the Balanced stance. No change to Attack or Defense. 
• The Reckless combat stance increases the character's Attack by +2 and reduces Defense by -4 until the beginning of his next turn. 
• The Guarded combat stance decreases the character's Attack by -4 and increases Defense by +2 until the beginning of his next turn. 

The Rule of Two

Characters benefit from whatever is in their off hand. This is called the "rule of two" because whatever you're carrying in your second hand grants a +2 bonus somehow. 

• If you are carrying a weapon in both hand, increase your Attack score by +2. 
• If you are wielding a weapon two handed, increase rolled damage dealt by +2. 
• If you are carrying a shield, increase your Defense by +2.  

The Rule of Two only applies with melee weapons. 

From Pinterest. Artist unknown.

Favored Conditions

Each burglar, due to prejudice, cultural training, or physical particulars, is especially deadly in certain circumstances. When one of your favored conditions is true, you gain a +4 to your Attack rolls.

Men

• Gain favor when fighting to defend your homeland.
• Gain favor when fighting side by side with at least two others of your race. 
• Gain favor when fighting against other men, because few have harmed men worse than other men. 

Hobbits

• Gain favor when between the Hill and the Water (that is to say, when in your homeland).
• Gain favor when your foe is also fighting somebody bigger than you.

Dwarves

• Gain favor when underground. 
• Gain favor when fighting a thief of dwarf treasure.
• Gain favor when fighting against trolls, giants, and ogres, for they have stolen much from your people.

Goblins

• Gain favor when underground.
• Gain favor when fighting against someone who has drawn your Blood. 
• Gain favor when fighting against elves and elf-friends, for you hate them more than you hate everything else.

Wood Elves

• Gain favor when in the woods. 
• Gain favor when fighting against beasts, for you are a skilled hunter. 

High Elves

• Gain favor when you can see the stars. 
• Gain favor when fighting against monsters bigger than you, like dragons. 
• Gain favor when fighting against necromancers and black sorcerers, for you are a champion of white magic. 

Elf-Friend

• Gain favor when fighting one-on-one in a duel.
• Gain favor when fighting against goblins, for you are descended from the heroes of the North. 

Great Beast

• Choose an environment that you like to make your den and raise your young, e.g., swamps, woods, rivers, mountains, etc. Gain favor there. 
• Make a list of other beasts you like to eat. Gain favor against those creatures. 

Rankin-Bass

Battle House Rules 

Swiftly he returned and his wrath was redoubled, so that nothing could withstand him, and no weapon seemed to bite upon him. He scattered the bodyguard, and pulled down Bolg himself and crushed him.

And here are some house rules to spice up your combat. Salt to taste. Note: All tests are roll under. 

Initiative

At the beginning of a combat round, all the players make a Dexterity check. Everyone who succeeds moves before the GM. Everyone who loses moves after the GM. 

If there is a surprise attack, the ambushers get to move first every round no matter what. All damage done by the ambushers during the first round of combat bypasses Sweat and goes directly to Blood.

Defense Rating 

If you are wearing no armor, you have Defense 10. 

Light armor grants +1 Defense. Light armor takes 2 pack slots. 
Heavy armor grants +2 Defense. Heavy armor takes 4 pack slots. 
Wearing a helm grants +2 Defense. Helms take 1 pack slot. 
Carrying a shield grants +2 Defense. Shields take 2 pack slots. 

Archers are at a great disadvantage if attacked. Roll your Defense check with disadvantage if you don't have a melee weapon in your hand. 

Missiles
To make a missile attack, the attacker makes an Attack check. This roll is made with a -2 if their target is wearing armor and -2 if their target is carrying a shield (these penalties can stack). If the attacker succeeds, he deals 1d6 damage to the target.

If the target is currently engaged in melee, the attacker has an equal chance of hitting their target or anybody engaged with them. Handle this like LotFP. 

You do keep track of arrows. Every arrow that successfully hits an enemy is lost, as they break off the shaft as they keep fighting. Every arrow that misses can be recovered after combat. There are twenty-four arrows to a quiver!


Melee
To make a melee attack, the attacker tests their Attack and the defender tests their Defense. 

• If the attacker succeeds at his test and the defender fails at his test, the attacker deals 1d6 damage or may elect to perform a maneuver. 

• If the attacker fails and the defender succeeds, the defender may choose to perform a maneuver against the attacker.

• If both the attacker and defender succeed, the attacker may choose to perform a maneuver against the defender. 
• If both the attacker and defender fail, neither gains the upper hand. 

Critical Misses and Hits
If a melee attacker rolls a natural 20 on an attack action, his weapon is notched. The damage dice is dropped by one step until it can be repaired.

If a missile attacker rolls a natural 20 on an attack action, his bowstring breaks. He must have a replacement and spend a turn restringing it.

If a defender rolls a natural 20 on a defensive roll, his armor is notched. His Defense drops by one point until it can be repaired (to a minimum of 10). 

If an attacker rolls a natural 1 on an attack action, he scores a critical hit. The attack wounds Blood directly, bypassing Sweat (if he hits).  

Weapons

They wondered if they were still lying there unharmed in the hall below: the spears that were made for the armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thrice-forged head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were never delivered or paid for...

All weapons except bows deal 1d6 damage by default.

• Swords: Swords use d6 for Feint and Evade maneuvers.  

• Daggers: By using the Grab maneuver, a dagger can be used to attack Blood directly.

• Axes: If you roll max damage with an axe, you can opt to destroy an opponent's shield.

• Hammers: If you roll max damage with a hammer, your opponent's heavy armor receives a notch. 

• Flails: Your opponent does not add the bonus from their shields when rolling Defense against your attacks. 

• Polearms: You make your attack roll with advantage if you are fighting against someone wielding a shorter weapon than your polearm. 

• Bows: Bows do 2d4 damage. Each dice can "explode." If you roll a 4, roll again and add the total. If you roll another 4, roll again, and et cetera. 

Rankin-Bass. I love the goblins' double throats in this movie.

Maneuvers

Gollum threw himself backwards, and grabbed as the hobbit flew over him, but too late: his hands snapped on thin air, and Bilbo, falling fair on his sturdy feet, sped off down the new tunnel.

Beat and Bash - Deal 1 damage to your opponent. 
Disarm - Your target drops one thing that they're holding (their choice). 
Evade - You gain a +d4 to your Defense roll. 
Feint  - You gain a +d4 to your next Attack roll. 
Grab - You hold on to your opponent to try and get them good. Your next attack with a small weapon against a grabbed opponent bypasses Sweat and goes straight to Blood, unless they Shake You Off or damage you first. 
Knockback - Your target is kicked back into a direction of your choice. If this would put them in mortal danger (like falling off a cliff), they get to make a Saving Throw. 
Shake Off - You can cancel somebody's Grab maneuver with this maneuver. 
Trip - Your target can't move away from you next turn. 

Caveat Emptor: These rules are 2.0 revisions from my old OSR house rules. I have not playtested this version. I have only updated my previous version based on feedback from playtests. 

Reagents in Wilderland

This post is a follow up to my post about magic in my Wilderlands setting. 

Reagents in Wilderland, or, Herb Lore and Why It Matters

Jimmy Cauty hung on my wall all of my high school years.

And that is not surprising: such incantations might indeed be said to be only another view of adjectives, a part of speech in a mythical grammar. The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceived of magic that would make heavy things light and able to fly, turn grey lead into yellow gold, and the still rock into a swift water. If it could do the one, it could do the other; it inevitably did both. 
- J.R.R. Tolkien, "On Fairy Stories"*

So. As I've said, magic in the Wilderlands is both rare and pervasive. What a paradox. 

In my earlier post, I called deliberate magic "spells," which were separated into least magic (called cantrips), discrete expressions (enchantments), and greatest workings (runes). 

((If I had my dithers about me, I'd probably render "cantrip" into something a bit more Germanic (spae? dwimmer?), but ah well.))

This post is concerned with enchantments. That is, the type of spells one might work if one is a magical professional, i.e., a wizard. These are intentional workings of magic, separate from the natural magic a supernatural creature may intuitively possess or ritual expressions of magical craft.  

It does not seem that Gandalf casts his spells one after the other. There seems some limiting factor as to when he unleashes his potency. Vancian spell casting (for all its charms) seems inappropriate for the Wilderlands setting. Therefore, what is the limiting factor? 

Magic is complicated in the collected legendarium, with only breadcrumbs given to readers to lead them towards an implied system of the "physics" of the supernatural. The better part is given in Letter 155 (which comprised the main source for my thesis). If you take The Hobbit by itself, in true Formalist fashion, these breadcrumbs become so sparse as to be meaningless. So let's widen our view by one degree. 

It's clear that Tolkien was writing The Hobbit as a professor of Old English. The names of the dwarves, the selection of monsters and fantastic elements from northern Europe, the presence of manifest Scandinavian mythology, all point to a scholarly exercise of (children's) literature in the vein of the Eddas or Beowulf. If we ignore the rest of the trilogy, we must at least accept the direct influences of Old English literature on The Hobbit. 

When constructing a gameable magical "system" from The Hobbit, we can therefore look towards the text as a primary source and Old English literature as a secondary source. If the primary source is silent, we defer to the secondary source. 

Northern European Fairytale Magic

Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf; / Witches' mummy; maw and gulf  / Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark; / Root of hemlock digg'd in the dark; 

Orson Welles's adaptation of Macbeth

What do we know about magic in the Old English mode? Well, I'll quote Neil Price from The Viking Way: Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scandinavia: 
> "There were seiðr rituals for divination and clairvoyance; for seeking out the hidden, both in the secrets of the mind and in physical locations; for healing the sick; for bringing good luck; for controlling the weather; for calling game animals and fish. Importantly, it could also be used for the opposite of these things – to curse an individual or an enterprise; to blight the land and make it barren; to induce illness; to tell false futures and thus to set their recipients on a road to disaster; to injure, maim and kill, in domestic disputes and especially in battle."

I'd argue that magic in this genre is inseparable from the *tools* of sorcery: the magic staff, the magic cloak, the magic potion. Therefore, we limit enchantment to the tools that the wizard has at his disposal. It's the old D&D inventory management sub-system: a pack can only haul so much, and wizards have additional inventory management concerns. 

From the (now sadly defunct) webcomic House of Orr

Reagents

"Now these nine herbs have strength | against nine who had fled from glory"

In my previous post, I posited a few rules for finding magical reagents. Those were, hm, fine. In this post, I'd like to expand on those rules and create additional structures for enchantments. 

For these rules, I assume that inventory management is important. I'm using rules similar to Lamentations of the Flame Princess. If you hand wave inventory, wizards will be particularly more powerful. 

The magic of the Wilderland is hidden in its wild spaces. Wizards collect the strange, the uncanny, the weird, and the unpleasant to weave enchantments.

Reagents are items that, at their basic level, have small magic. When combined together, however, their alchemical potential become unlocked. 

The known reagents are nine herbs, and are:

1. Mucgwyrt; a root that grows in marshes and is good in beer
2. Attorlade; a tall grass that grows in cultivated lands
3. Stune; is an bitter herb that grows in soggy turf
4. Wegbrade; is sometimes called "waybread" since it's tuberous root is edible
5. Maegthe; a fair-smelling flower that blooms in spring
6. Stithe; is a nettle-like plant covered in fine, irritating thorns
7. Wergulu; is a wild tree that yields all-but-inedible crab apples 
8. Fille; a bushy, very aromatic herb with silver leaves
9. Finule; has yellow flowers and feathery leaves, and grows especially near the sea

Finding Reagents

Searching for reagents is a hex action. It takes about as much time and effort as hunting or camping. A gather components hex action allows a number of rolls equal to the wizard's Intelligence modifier, with a minimum of one.  A relevant skill such as Herbalism yields an additional +2 rolls. 

A reagent takes up one slot in a pack. 

Use the following table for your rolls:

Reagent	Fields	Fens	Forest, Haunted	Forest, Verdant	Graveyards, Battlefields, Barrows	Steadings	Seashores	Mountains, Foothills	Mountains, Peaks
Mucgwyrt	-	1	1	-	-	1	-	-	-
Attorlade	1	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	-
Stune	2	2	2	-	1	-	1	2	-
Wegbrade	3	3	3	2	-	-	-	3	-
Maegthe	4	-	-	3	-	3	-	4	1
Stithe	-	4	4	4	-	-	-	5	2
Wergulu	5	-	-	5	-	4	-	6	-
Fille	6	-	5	6	2	5	-	-	3
Finule	-	-	6	-	-	6	2	-	4

Reagents may also be traded in a steading as a haven action, assuming the steading has a magic worker. Witches at the edge of town, elven loremasters, visiting wizards, and advising alchemists may all part with some of their reagent store for treasure or favors performed. 

Weaving Enchantments

"As soon as Gandalf had heard Bilbo's yell he realized what had happened. In the flash which killed the goblins that were grabbing him he had nipped inside the crack, just as it snapped to. He followed after the drivers and prisoners right to the edge of the great hall, and there worked up the best magic he could in the shadows." 

A wizard can weave an enchantment if they have two reagents to mix together. 

A combination of two reagents creates the components for a single spell. This component must be held in the hand when cast. Weaving an enchantment takes one exploration turn and combines the two reagents into a component, which takes up one pack slot. Weaving multiple enchantments in this way may be done as part of a camping hex action. 

Each reagent combines with another with a unique alchemical effect, per the following table:

Reagent	Mucgwyrt	Attorlade	Stune	Wegbrade	Maegthe	Stithe	Wergulu	Fille	Finule
Mucgwyrt	X	Abjure Undead	Second Sight	Pass Through Grave	Restoration	Lifespring	Part the Veil	Circle of Protection	Levitation
Attorlade	Abjure Undead	X	Magic Missile	Command	Giant Size	Far Hand	Animate Object	Seal Pact	Word of Truth
Stune	Second Sight	Magic Missile	X	Charm of Fire	Charm of Air	Charm of Earth	Charm of Water	Elemental Aegis	Turning of Seasons
Wegbrade	Pass Through Grave	Command	Charm of Fire	X	Love	Hate	Vision of the Past	Vision of the Present	Vision of the Future
Maegthe	Restoration	Giant Size	Charm of Air	Love	X	Glamour	Guise	Sleep	Flare
Stithe	Lifespring	Far Hand	Charm of Earth	Hate	Glamour	X	Darklight	Malediction	Give Voice
Wergulu	Part the Veil	Animate Object	Charm of Water	Vision of the Past	Guise	Darklight	X	Lightning Bolt	Werelight
Fille	Circle of Protection	Seal Pact	Elemental Aegis	Vision of the Present	Sleep	Malediction	Lightning Bolt	X	Entangle
Finule	Levitation	Word of Truth	Turning of Seasons	Vision of the Future	Flare	Give Voice	Werelight	Entangle	X

Reagents cannot be combined with themselves, e.g., two portions of mucgwyrt are not reactive with each other. 

Optional Rule: Unknown Effects
If your PCs are merely wizards' adopted pig boys or witches' apprentices, you can randomize and keep the combinations hidden. When the players mix stune and finule, they'll have no idea what enchantment will happen until they cast it. This can add some Rogue-like experimentation fun (and danger) to the mix. 

Casting Enchantments

Then Gandalf climbed to the top of his tree. The sudden splendour flashed from his wand
like lightning, as he got ready to spring down from on high right among the spears of the
goblins. That would have been the end of him, though he would probably have killed many of them as he came hurtling down like a thunderbolt.

An enchantment is cast when a wizard holds the component and commands the spell with an incantation. Casting an enchantment is super obvious. 

A spell can effect anything a wizard can see. A spell cannot effect things the wizard cannot see. 

Components are consumed when the enchantment is cast. 

Some enchantments may be maintained with concentration. You may only maintain one enchantment with concentration at a time. If you suffer any damage, you must succeed in an Wisdom saving throw to maintain concentration. 

New Rule: Incantations 
When a wizard casts a spell, the wizard's player may elect to cast using an incantation. If this is the case, the wizard does not use table talk to describe how they cast the spell or what the target is. Instead, the wizard's player must speak an incantation. 

An incantation is:

• A poem
• At least four lines long
• Rhyming 

The GM knows what spell is being cast because of the component the wizard is holding, but must interpret the target or effects of the spell based on the incantation spoken. 

Furthermore, if an incantation is used, the spell is considered empowered. An empowered spell does a little more damage, affects a few more people, or lasts a little longer. Many enchantments listed below have pre-built empowered versions. Some don't. If there is a gap, the GM and the wizard's player can work together to set something reasonable. Empowered enchantments may be given caveats, IFTTT conditions, or lingering durations based on the GM's interpretation of the incantation spoken. 

The Enchantment List

Small wonder that spell means both a story told, and a formula of power over living men.

A list of spells of enchantment here follows. Steal or tweak for your game set in Wilderland and the Wide World. 

Abjure Undead

The wizard sings a song of rest and reminds the undead of his true nature. The target undead spirit—be it wraith, or grave wight, or vampire—must flee to their resting place as if they had failed a Morale check. When they reach their resting place, or if they are already dwelling there, this spell ceases to affect them.

Animate Object

The wizard commands an object to fulfill its intended purpose. A dagger stabs. A key unlocks. A pick digs. The wizard gives a single word command to an object. The item then obeys the command as if wielded by an invisible hand.

The GM interprets what the object does based on the instruction given.

An item will only ever fulfill one task per casting of this spell, no matter how many words are spoken in explanation. A key will unlock either the door to the cell, or your manacles, or your friend’s manacles, but never all three in the same casting. By this token, an unattended weapon will only strike once per casting. The item will strike with the wizard’s Attack value, in this instance.  

This spell may be maintained by concentration.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard gives a command to an object that consists of as many words equal to his Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).

Charm of Air

The wizard controls the flow of wind in simple but significant ways. The wizard may:

·        Blow out a candle or torch

·        Disperse or isolate a dangerous gas

·        Cause minor adjustments to the local weather i.e., diverting an afternoon rain

Empowered: An empowered charm of air creates even more meaningful effects, per the GM’s discretion: it might be enough to power a sailing vessel or blow a door off of its hinges.

Charm of Earth

The wizard controls a substantive amount of earth in simple but significant ways. The wizard may:

·        Lift, push, or pull about 10 lbs. of stone or wood

·        Shape a piece of unworked stone or wood as if you had craftsman’s tools

·        Shatter a fist-sized hunk of stone or wood

·        Quickly bury an object about the size of a chest

·        Raise a small hill

·        Dig a trench

Empowered: An empowered charm of earth creates even more meaningful effects, per the GM’s discretion: it might be to create a navigable tunnel through solid stone or to raise a meaningful length of stone wall.

Charm of Fire

The wizard controls a substantive amount of fire in simple but significant ways. By channeling a fire mana, the wizard may:

·        Start a fire as if he had flint and tinder

·        Cause a fire to produce a huge amount of smoke

·        Extinguish a torch or bonfire

Fire, even when woven with magic, still must obey its basic nature: a wizard cannot start a fire on “nothing,” it must have a fuel source to burn.

Empowered: An empowered charm of fire creates even more meaningful effects, per the GM’s discretion: it might be possible to extinguish a house fire or change the direction of a forest fire.

Charm of Water

The wizard controls a substantive amount of water in simple but significant ways. The wizard may:

·        Raise something that’s sunken but visible

·        Move about a bucket’s worth of water

·        Dry something that’s wet

·        Grant advantage or disadvantage to tests related to swimming or sailing

·        Cause the nearby water level to raise or lower by about a foot

Empowered: An empowered charm of water creates even more meaningful effects, per the GM’s discretion: it might be possible to part a lake Noah style or to capsize a ship.

Circle of Protection

The wizard etches a mandala of protection around himself. As preparation for casting, the wizard spends a turn sketching out a circle of protective runes with the component. This circle encompasses a radius of no more than 10 feet.

When the wizard incants this spell, he names a type of creature. All creatures who share this category—be it specific name (e.g., John), gender (men), race (goblins), or feature (born of woman)—may not pass the circle. 

Empowered: If the wizard traces the circle but does not yet “cast” the spell, may trap a creature within through a word of power.

Command

The wizard speaks a single word of command. The target must try and obey the command, as long as it’s not outright suicidal, until they complete it. Each turn, the target may attempt a Saving Throw. If successful, the target shakes off the command.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard may speak two words of command.

Darklight

The wizard’s light is invisible to others. A targeted light source will not go out while this spell is active. Additionally, this light provides illumination only for the one holding it. The light is not seen by any others nearby. This allows the wizard to move stealthily even with perfect visibility.

This spell must be maintained with concentration.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard may specify up to (Intelligence modifier) targets to also see in the light of the targeted object.

Elemental Aegis

The wizard makes a sign of protection against the world’s bite. The target of the spell becomes almost immune to damage from one of the chosen elements.

If the target is protected against fire, they and their gear take no damage from heat or flames up to and including a forge’s fire.

If the target is protected against water, they and their gear take no damage from cold or icy blasts.

If the target is protected against air, they do not need to breathe.

If the target is protected against earth, they do not suffer damage from falling.

This spell is maintained by concentration. 

Empowered: If cast empowered, the wizard protects the target from two elements.

Entangle

The wizard calls forth thorns, stones, or unseen hands to hold their foe. Until the target can pass a Saving Throw, they cannot move from their current space.

Empowered: If empowered, this spell targets a 10 x 10’ area.

Far Hand

The wizard moves objects without touching them. This spell can lift an object within line of sight and move it as if the wizard had his hand on it. This spell can only lift objects about as heavy and as large as the wizard could lift one handed.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard may maintain this spell with concentration.

Flare

The wizard causes a torch to suddenly blaze with light. Whoever’s holding the torch is blind until they can pass a Saving Throw.

Blinded creatures treat every attack like a surprise attack.

Empowered: If empowered, this spell can target lights as large as a bonfire. If cast on a bonfire, everybody in the immediate area has a 50% chance of becoming blind until they can pass a Saving Throw.

Giant Size

The wizard becomes the size of a mountain giant. The target triples in size. Their fists deal d6 damage. When making Strength checks, treat their Strength as 20.

This spell may be maintained by concentration.

Empowered: If cast empowered, the target of the spell takes half damage from the weapons of puny humans.

Give Voice

The wizard awakens silent things and talks with them. This spell allows one thing the power of speech, even if it can’t normally talk. This lets the wizard converse with a dead body, with trees, with the stones of a castle, with a sword, etc.

The thing will converse with the wizard, but is under no compunction to tell the truth or be helpful (check Reaction as normal). The thing has a basic knowledge of events that happened near it, or of actions that it took, translated through their unique perspectives. For example, a sword might know if it killed someone, but doesn’t remember what the victim looked like; however, it has a clear memory of the weapon its victim wielded.

If cast on an inanimate object, the thing speaks in the language of its owner or creator.

If cast on a corpse, it speaks in the language it knew in life.

Plants have their own secret languages. Test Intelligence to see if you speak the tongue of root and leaf.

Empowered: If cast empowered, the Reaction check is made with advantage; the GM will choose the most advantageous reaction.

Glamour

The wizard weaves glamours. The wizard creates an illusion of any object or creature you wish. The illusion is merely an image—a hologram—and has no weight or substance, creates no sound, no smells, etc.  Interacting with the illusion reveals that it’s fake.

This spell is maintained with concentration.

Guise

The wizard befuddles the mind. This spell places an illusion on a target that makes it seem as if it is a different, but similar, thing. For example, the wizard may pass another person of their same race. A silver coin might seem like a gold coin. A letter from your elderly aunt may seem like an official writ. Assuming the object is the same basic shape, this illusion is not broken by interacting with the object.

This spell is maintained with concentration.

Hate

The wizard plants seeds of hatred. The target of this spell feels an intense feeling of hate toward a secondary visible target that the wizard specifies, until the target can pass a Saving Throw. While active, the primary target attempts to attack the secondary target.

When this spell is over, all parties become particularly aware of the spell’s influence on them.

This spell is maintained by concentration.

Levitation

The wizard floats upwards, unshackled by the earth. If cast on a creature, the creature may move upwards or downwards through the air as if climbing a ladder. If cast on an object, it becomes all but weightless. This spell may be maintained by concentration.

Empowered: The wizard may instantly cast this spell, as long as he has the component on his person, via a word of power. This may stop an unwanted fall, as the target gently floats earthward.

Lifespring

The wizard shelters the spirit of a dying creature. This spell applies one of the following effects; apply the first relevant effect in this list:  

·        If cast on a creature with 0 Blood who is not yet dead, the target restores 1 Blood and is considered stable.

·        If cast on a creature who is stable but unconscious, the target becomes conscious.

·        If cast on a poisoned creature, the target is cured of the poison.

·        If cast on a diseased creature, the target is cured of the disease.

·        If cast on a creature with at least 1 Blood, the target regains 1d6 Blood.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard can choose which of these effects to imbue—not just the first applicable one.

Lightning Bolt

The wizard conjures up a blast of thunder and lightning. The target takes 1d6 damage.

Empowered: If empowered, this spell deals 2d4+Wis damage.

Love

The wizard charms the eyes of the unwary. The target of this spell feels an intense feeling of love (ala charm) towards a secondary visible target that the wizard specifies, until the target can pass a Saving Throw. While active, the primary target wishes to express their love as ardently as possible.

This spell may be maintained by concentration.

When this spell is over, all parties become particularly aware of the spell’s influence on them.

Magic Missile

The wizard asks if there is something in his environment that’s flammable—some pinecone or acorn. If the GM says no, the wizard has the option of pulling something from his pack to set ablaze and throw.

The magic missile explodes on impact and spreads fire in a 5’ radius. All creatures in this area may make a Dexterity roll. If successful, they may move 5’ and avoid the blast. If unsuccessful, the target catches on fire. Creatures on fire take 1d6 blood damage at the end of their turn. They can spend their turn putting themselves out.

Malediction

If cast on a creature, they will suffer a random curse effect—use the table below to find out which one. Wizards will use this spell to bully others into completing quests or working their will.  This spell is maintained with concentration.

1. Dogs hate you. Any dog you meet automatically is going to try and attack you and prioritize you over all other targets. Going into a city is a nightmare.   
2. You’re afflicted with bad dreams. You have a 50% chance to regain no blood or sweat from sleep due to your nightmares. 
3. Food has a 50% chance of becoming ash when you eat it. If this happens, you waste that ration. 
4. You are doomed. All Saving Throw actions are made with disadvantage. 
5. You gain the desiccated look of an undead corpse. Most NPCs will default as hostile towards you. Nobody wants to sleep with you. On the plus side, most undead will ignore you. 
6. You’re cursed to speak in rhymes. Everything you say in-character must rhyme.
7. Your weapons rust and break easily. On an Attack roll or 1-3, your weapon gains a Notch. Wooden weapons can suffer one Notch, iron weapons can suffer two, and steel weapons can suffer three before breaking. 
8. You transform into a member of the opposite sex. It’s weird (but maybe exciting?). 
9. Rats and other vermin begin to love you. They follow you around everywhere. They want to sleep in your mouth. Every night, there is a 50% chance they’ll relieve you of something in your pack that they know you don’t want and replace it with garbage. Nice garbage. 
10. Every footstep you take rings an ethereal, unseen bell that accompanies a voice that says, SHAME. Stealth is impossible. 
11. You grow sick and infirm. You are (regrettably) immune to effects that would magically heal you. 
12. You grow old for the duration of the curse—like a withered crone. You are ugly and unattractive. You cannot see more than 30’ in front of you through your cataracts. You don’t go anywhere fast.   

Empowered: If empowered, the curse will stay with the target until the wizard dismisses it (which he can do at any time) or it is counter-spelled. It is not maintained with concentration.

Part the Veil

The wizard pulls down the veil between the seen and the unseen. Everything within ten paces of the wizard are in the same world. Spirits from the Unseen World are visible and tangible. Living beings may likewise be interacted with by spirits.

However, outside of this small radius, those covered by the enchantment seem as spirits. They are partially transparent, which gives advantage to hiding tests. They are intangible, and cannot be harmed by arrows or missiles.

This spell may be maintained with concentration. The wizard cannot move from this area while the spell is maintained.

Empowered: Spirits who enter the area of the spell cannot leave until they pass a Saving Throw.

Pass Through Grave

The target of this spell is invisible and unnoticed by the undead. This spell may be maintained by concentration.

Restoration

The wizard’s touch restores strength. If the target has at least 1 Blood, the target regains 1d4 Sweat.

Empowered: If empowered, this spell restores the target 1d6+Wis Sweat.

Seal Pact

The wizard creates a magical contract. When cast, the wizard magically seals a contract or oath made by two willing parties.

If a party to the oath ever violates the terms of the pact, two things happen: 1) all other parties of the oath are immediately aware of the violation, and 2) the violator becomes doomed. This means, at the absolutely most crucial moment in the future, the violator will automatically suffer a critical failure when making a test.

Empowered: If empowered, this spell may create a pact that includes more than two participants.

Second Sight

The wizard sees into the Unseen. Any magical effect is immediately apparent as magical. Invisible creatures or incorporeal things become visible. Any illusion seems as unreal as a painting or fresco.

This spell may be maintained by concentration.

Sleep

The wizard puts another into a magical sleep. If not in a tense or dangerous situation, the target falls asleep and can only be awoken with a sharp slap. If in a tense or dangerous situation (like combat), the subject goes last in initiative and has disadvantage to their Armor checks until they suffer a sharp slap (or worse damage).

Empowered: If empowered, a sleeping target does not age, nor do they need to eat or drinks while asleep.

Turning of the Seasons

The wizard chooses a different season to visit on his immediate area.

·        If spring is chosen, the air becomes cool and a light rain begins to fall. Plants immediately bud and flower.

·        If summer is chosen, the air becomes very hot and the skies become clear. Plants immediately leaf and produce fruit.

·        If autumn is chosen, the air becomes cool, the skies become misty, and an obscuring fog raises in the area. Plants darken to their autumnal hues.

·        If winter is chosen, the air becomes bitter cold and a heavy snow begins to fall. Plants immediately become dormant.

The GM may adjudicate certain effects on plant-based creatures based on the season chosen, e.g., sleep effects during winter.

This spell is maintained by concentration. Plant life returns to their normal state as soon as the spell ends.

Empowered: This spell is not maintained by concentration. Instead, the effects last until the sun crosses the horizon.

Visions of the Future

The wizard glimpses the weavings of fate. The player may ask the GM, "If X happens, will Y happen?" The GM will answer him honestly.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard may ask a follow up question.

Visions of the Past

The wizard glimpses the weavings of fate. The GM answers one yes or no question about a past event.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard may ask a follow up question.

Visions of the Present

The wizard glimpses the weavings of fate. The GM answers one yes or no question about a single extant person, place, or thing.

Empowered: If empowered, the wizard may ask a follow up question.

Werelight

The wizard binds a will o’ the wisp to his service. A small light, providing a candle’s worth of illumination, is conjured. The wisp will obey the wizard’s verbal requests, but is insubstantial and easily dispelled. This spell is maintained by concentration.

Word of Truth

The wizard discerns truth from lies. While this spell is active, the wizard knows if the target tells a knowing lie.

While under the effect of the spell, the target knows that they are essentially hooked up to a magical polygraph.

This spell is maintained with concentration.

Sidebar: Magical Efficacy I like it when spells are successful. I think it's more interesting and more in keeping with the source material. In The Hobbit (and related fairy tales) you rarely see a spell just "not working" because of a monster's strength, will, or chutzpah. I find it more interesting when a spell works, but the target has the opportunity to overcome it. This makes spells a valuable resources that, in essence, create a stopwatch of effects during combat. 

White Magic vs. Black Magic?

Did you know Christopher Lee provided voicing for a concept album based on a Lord Dunsany book?

It was in this way that he learned where Gandalf had been to; for he overheard the words of the wizard to Elrond. It appeared that Gandalf had been to a great council of the white wizards, masters of lore and good magic; and that they had at last driven the Necromancer from his dark hold in the south of Mirkwood.

We know one more thing about magic that I haven't yet covered. Gandalf's off screen battle with the Necromancer in The Hobbit exposes Tolkien's early thinking about the "two types" of magic in the legendarium. As quoted, an apparent distinction is made between good magic and bad magic. My assumption is that enchantment is "good magic," i.e., white magic. The other type of magic, that employed by the Necromancer, is black magic. 

What's the difference? The difference is in the reagents used to create the enchantment. White magic uses herbs and the natural gifts of the world. Black magic's reagents are animal viscera. Hence Shakespeare's: 

"Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab"

I assume the spell lists for both black magic and white magic would be more or less the same, with some thematics changed, e.g., Entangle calls grasping ghostly hands instead of thick roots and vines. 

I'm not taking the effort in this post to write up a corresponding reagent combination table featuring eye of newt and tongue of dog. If your players are playing necromancers, golly, by all means. Go for it. Share your results with me. 

Authorial Note: Hey, sorry about the big gaps between posts. I started this blog when I had a very boring job. Now I have a very exciting one that I like a lot more, but it keeps me way busier. Thanks for still hanging around. 

* "On Fairy Stories" is going a little afield of using the Hobbit as a pure primary text, but it predates the trilogy and is so essentially in "theme," I can't resist.