I am closing my blog for now.

I am sorry but I had a depression episode and I put my blog in private mode for a while to keep me from deleting it. I needed some time to re-think what I was doing. I was not trying to be a dick and I did not do this for copyright or money reasons. I did not realize that some people actually used some of the stuff of my blog for their games. I switched back my blog to public mode to keep it available for consultation.

I am more and more isolated in my life and recently I have a bigger feeling of self failure about my social life, my work and my art. Sometime I just want to vanish and to cut every contact with human beings. 

What happened is that Patrick S asked me to work with him on a project similar to the The Maze of the Blue Medusa, but I realized that I am still simply too anxious and depressive to work on any projects with anybody and that I had to turn him down. This was a big blow and I took it very hard so I crashed down and went down into a big depressive mood where I wanted to delete everything to just stop drawing because anyway I can't do or accomplish anything with my talent, so fuck my drawing. (The same thing happened last year with Kabuki Kaiser, Paul Czege and other friends on google +)
(My main feeling of failing come from the time before doing gaming stuff, I tried for years to finish multiple graphic novels, more than one editor was interested, I was active in the Montreal's comic book scene, etc... but I was not able to finish anything and I ended up isolating myself from a lot of comic book artists friends.)

Now I am feeling better, but I still have a hard time finding time to work on my projects. This is getting very frustrating even if I try to draw everyday. The thing is that while I draw nearly everyday, most of the time I am only drawing stand alone illustrations to make me feel good and to have the feeling of doing something. It's a good procrastination, but while I am doing this I dont work on my projects. This is the other reason why I wanted to close my blog: to force myself to work on my projects, to be able to finish some stuff and to stop feeling that I fail at everything. 

So for now I want to avoid posting here to force myself to work on my projects. I may start feeding the cauldron again if I manage to publish something.

-C

Crustacean shaman drummer (or maybe a bard)

Satellite Knight of the Orbital Crown

Red Golem of chess pieces transfiguration.

Imperial magpie auxiliaries with centurion.

"Magpie Sisters. Warrior women who hatch from eggs, sometimes born human, sometimes born as giant magpies, but kin either way. Their war painted mixed-force companies of skirmishing foot and aerial attackers and scouts makes them famous among Imperial Auxiliaries." - Benjamin B. 

Blade Seer

Sprites Machine

Explorer of the Unknown

Tar Spitter vomiting tar warriors

Will-o'-the-wisp battle suit

Hagborn character class

Hagborn are the offsprings of a ancient curse that infected many bloodlines in the past. 

They usually start neutral and become chaotic or evil if they start murdering people to steal their life force.  

Requirement: CON 9 

Prime Requisite: CON, INT and WIS 

Starting age: 13+1d6 

Hit Dice: 1d6

Saving throws: as mages

To hit: as mages 

Weapons: as mages 

Armors: as mages

Maximum level: 10

Experience: as mages 

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Spell casting
Hagborns grow old to cast spells.

• They age by a 1d6 years by levels of the spell.
• The number of years they grow older is reduced by their class level. 
• Taking a extra turn to cast their spell reduce the years by 1.
• Recasting the same spell during the day add the spell level in years (by extra usages). 
• They can cast spells that are over their own level but while doing so they multiply the number of d6 rolled by 2
• If the total number of years rolled is equal to zero or less, they don't grow older. 

Spell list
Hagborns are born with a innate spell list (inherited by their bloodline).
But they don't know their innate powers until they try them.
When they cast a spell they can cast a know spell or try to discover a new random power (spell).
When they try to discover a new innate spell, they have to take cast for a number of turns equal to the spell level. Then they can roll a random spell on the magic-user list of the desired level. If they roll a spell they already know, they simply cast it instead of discovering a new spell.
They can choose not to cast the newly discovered spell but the spell will still make them grow older.

Each time they gain a level they learn more about their own powers and roll a new spell (starting with the lowest levels spells) (Roll one level 1 spell at level 1)

Their innate spell list is limited to:

• Level 01: 5 spells 
• Level 02: 4 spells 
• Level 03: 3 spells 
• Level 04: 2 spells 
• Level 05: 1 spell

Hagborns can reroll a know spells by drinking a special potion made with the blood of a hagborn or a true hag. While doing so they roll on the other hag spell list. 

Aging
Use the aging tables and effects in the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion (p.23). Except that hagborns add 3d10 to their dying age.

Leathery skin 
As hagborns grow older their skin become hard like leather or bark and they gain +1 to their AC for each 10 years above 50 (up to +5).

Life force collecting
Hagborns can collect the life force of living beings to brew rejuvenating potions. Brewing a potion take a number of turn equal to it number of life forces being brewed.

A hagborn can extract life-forces by capturing the breath of a living being. They can drink the life-force on the spot or bottle it to brew a potion later.

• Children: 5 life forces
• Adolescent: 4 life forces
• Adult: 3 life forces
• Middle age: 2 life forces
• Elderly: 1 life force
• Animal: 1 life force by HD (but add +2 to the mutation roll) 
• Rare magical plants: 1 life force (add -1 to the mutation roll) 

Living beings must freely accept to give their life forces, while doing so they grow older by a number of d6 equal to the taken life forces and will die if all their life forces are taken away. 

Children can't willingly give their life forces. 

It take one year or one level to regenerate a lost life force. 

Life forces can also be collected without consent by collecting the dying breath of a living being. 

When life forces are consumed on the spot, the hagborn grow younger by a number of years equal to the collected life forces.

A brewed life forces potion rejuvenate a d6 years by brewed life forces.

Life forces can also be collected from fresh meat if the meat is brewed into the potion. But this only add half the life force of the meat being cooked.

Brewing spell transfer potion
To gain the spell of a other hag, a hagborn can brew a special potion that require a number of brewing turns equal to the spell level and require the spell level in d4 point of damage from the donating hag.
Drinking this potion let the hagborn reroll one of her innate spells by rolling on the donating hag spell list of the brewed level.

Life force mutations
Life forces potions can create weird mutations. When a hagborn drink a life force potion, she must make a saving throw vs transformation (WIS bonus help).

On a failed save, they must roll on the hag mutation table:
Roll a d8 + life forces of the potion (lawful hags add -1, chaotic hags add +1)

1. Weird smell 
2. Warts or weird skin marks  
3. Reptilian or weird eyes 
4. Webbed fingers and ears 
5. Clawed fingers (d4 dmg) 
6. Elongated arms or feet 
7. Needle teeth 
8. Barbed tongue
9. Snake hairs
10. Beast wings  
11. Beast tail 
12. Beast skin
13. Beastly arms or legs 
14. Half beast body (like a centaur) (often a snake body) 
15. Full beast body (except for the head)
16. Beast mind and intelligence (1d4) 

Male hagborns

Male hagborns badly react to the life forces potions and have a penalty of 2 when making their saving throw and add 2 to the hag mutations table. But they can directly consume life forces from fresh meat (without the need to brew a potion). They often turn into ogres and manticores.

Adventurers encounter the great beast Two Horns

Great North adventurers preparing for a expedition

(A remix of some of my drawings) 
Narwhal priestess, puffin paladin and two skinned moon daughters (from The Undercroft)

The Undercroft #9

I made the cover of The Undercroft #9 and I also illustrated the Skinned Moon Daughter, a new character class written by Benjamin B, inspired from my Great North illustrations!

You can get the zine on the Undercroft shop or on RPGNOW.

Giant Goose Rider

Visitors downloading at the Doodle Temple

Elephant-stone-woman siddhi for Arrows of Indra

Moon Fish Mage

Moon Fish Mage learn their spells from their moon fish familiar.

There spheres of influences are water and moonlight.

They can learn other spells from other sources but it take them the double of the time to learn them.

They have good relationship with mermaids and moon related creatures. 

Piercer Pixies

Piercer Pixies are bad spirits that travel with great beasts. They are very nasty with they gather in swarms. Killing them is often a good way to get the attention of those great beasts.

Moose Ogre

Moose Ogres happen when you bury the remains of a moose with those of a ogre. They are angry spirits, they hate mooses and ogres and eat human flesh. Don't do this. Mooses don't like this and even ogres will tell you to be careful with this. Only a vengeful and desperate ogre will deliberately create a Moose Ogre. The only way to appease the cursed moose spirit that animate the Moose Ogre is to kill it to separate the mooses bones from the ogres ones and to bury them separately. Ogres are even willing to team up with humans to hunt down Moose Ogres (but they wont care about appeasing the moose spirit). 

Whale childs

Cleric of the Vibrating Cup turning a golem assassin

Hollow Hermit

A man who was once able to walk between worlds have lost everything. After a long voyage, back in his homeland, he tried to meditate to feel again the touch of the other worlds. But he only felt emptiness... Lost in his meditation he became a portal to the hollow world. Now he generate hollow matter and hollow goblins who play with hollow yoyos and who cause a lot of problems by absorbing stuff.  

Adventurers must stop the hermit meditation before he generate too much hollow matter and create more hollow creatures. 

If someone gently touch his skin with their bare skin: roll a reaction test. 
On a very bad result he implode and everyone in a radius of 2d6x5 units must save vs breath weapon to avoid being suck into the hollow world.
On a very good result he cry and close all the holes created by the hollow matter. The hollow creatures become normal creatures eager to learn and to have new experiences. 
On a bad or good reaction the hollow creatures hesitate for d6 rounds (they only defend themselves). Other results have no effects.

Killing the hollow man stop the flow hollow matter and the hollow creatures will loose 1hp by hour until they die, leaving empty husks.

Hollow man: as a cleric two level above the group level. 
He can't cast any spells but he can empty himself to summon more hollow matter.
While connected to the hollow world he regenerate 1d3 hp by round by slowly draining matter and emotions around him. 
Magic resistance: 2% by hit points (the spell is suck in a hole)

Hollow matter creation: by taking 1d6 dmg he can create a 1HD hollow creature.
For each additional d6 dmg he take, he can summon creature with a additional HD up to his own level. 
Or he can take 1 point of dmg to make a hollow matter attack (he can do up to 3 hollow attacks by round). Hollow matter creatures have a magic resistance of 2% by current hit points.

Hollow matter: being hit by hollow matter cause d6 dmg and destroy one point of AC. 
Plus the target must save VS death to avoid feeling the emptiness of the hollow world. 
On a failed save the target feel empty and is infected by a hole connected to the hollow world that drain 1 of his hit point each day (natural healing still occur).
This hole work like a bag of holding. But you have 1 chance on 6 of pulling back a 1/2 HD hollow creature instead of the wanted object. (make a reaction test to see the hollow creature behavior). 
Someone who die by hollow matter drain vanish and only leave a hole behind.

Hollow goblins:
Number encountered: start with 1d4+1 but augment the die after each goblin encounter or after each day.
HD: 1
Armor: none
To hit: -2 to hit during the first round since their senses suck outside of the hollow world.
Attacks:

• Hollow yoyo: d4 hollow matter dmg. Range: as a throwing axe.
• Hollow touch: d6 hollow matter dmg.

Magic resistance: 2% by hit points (the spell is suck in a hole)

Treasures: you can risk putting your hand in their holes to find stuff that was absorbed in the hollow world...

If doing so Roll a d12:

1. Something suck you in: save VS death to avoid being suck into the hollow world. 
2. Something alive: you pullout a 1/2 HD hollow creature, for 1d6 rounds 1d4 of it siblings follow it out. (test reaction)
3. Someone or something is touching you: roll a reaction test to see how it is touching you... 
4. d6 useless objects 
5. Something big that you can't pull out
6. Something useful like a tool or a weapon 
7. Coins worth 3d6 GP   
8. Something precious: a crafted item worth d20x10 GP 
9. Gem: a single gem worth d100 x 10 GP, on a 01 or 00 results something want it back... 
10. Minor magic item stuck in something gooey (open door or other tricks to pull it out) 
11. Sculpted hollow sphere that can contain something abstract 
12. Something totally alien that is not harmful right now, but can be dangerous later.

Teapot golems

Benjamin B contribution on G+:

Nanna Earwart's kitchen guardian.  It has many powers, depending on the blend of tea she places in its head.  Camomile lets it expel a sleep-induing steam. Smoked tea with ginger and juniper allows it to blast foes with a blinding mist that leaves them unable to see.  

"Be a dear, and sit with old Nanna.  We'll have a nice cup, and chat.  I've a lovely white tea brewing, light and clear.  A little slice of lemon is all it needs.  Clean taste, clear conscience.  So easy to talk, so easy to share.   Lovely isn't it?  Now, tell Nanna all about what brought you here." 

The Optical God

A representation of the Optical God (from Deep Carbon Observatory) for my Arrows of Indra campaign:

Knight of the Hare King

Random cultural influences for dungeon building

While I visited the Pompeii exhibition in Montréal I noted that many of the Pompeii artefacts bear the mark of other culture influences (especially by Egypt). I thought that this was rarely depicted in dungeons, like for a exemple the ruins of a dwarf fortress often only feature pure dwarven stuff. But it could be interesting to inject some cultural influences from other fantasy cultures and races. Like including a dwarven room containing furniture influenced by elven or kuo-toa art.

So when you build a dungeon linked to a race or a culture, you can roll a d6 for each rooms to see if the room contain some elements influenced from other cultures (could be a 1 chance on a d6)

The room contain (d6):

1. Architectural elements or furniture (can define the room function) 
2. Common everyday items or tools (include food, weapons and armors)
3. Artwork, music or luxury goods (treasures)   
4. Science or craft work, item or books (can include a trap or trick)
5. Religious, philosophy or magical work, item or books (can include a trap or trick)
6. Individuals (npc) or a npc self representations (portraits, sculptures, etc...)  

Influenced by (d6):

1. A lost civilization (near ruins) 
2. A allied race or nation
3. A distant trading race or nation 
4. A sworn enemy, traitor or competitor race or nation (forbidden stuff)
5. Former (or current) lord or vassal race or nation (also forbidden if slaves) 
6. Foreign & exotic race or nation of a opposed or very different nature

Bio-cyborg adventurer with pet drones and pseudo-human torchbearer

Dungeon Hacker (initial sketch)

Dungeon Hacker dealing with a ghost

Check out Arnold K's new character class: the dungeon hacker!

Geo-necromancer leading his horde of un-galeb-durs to build his lair.

A other moon pet

Moon elf of YNGARR with her/his oculus buzzer pet:

Trimorphic nomadic lizard tribe

Females: walk upright, craft tools, use weapons and armors. They are warriors & nurses. They like to smoke marshes herbs in pipes. Some of them leave the tribe to become lonely ronins.

Males: hound like, wear cloth, talk a lot, can smell the ancestral trails to guide the tribe during their migrations. They are good at tracking & charging. Some of them become lonely rangers if they loose their favorite mate.

Great Mothers: when females or males grow old they keep growing up and become bi-gendered great or grand mothers that remember the tribe's ancestors. They mate together and lay rare eggs that are reincarnations of their ancestors.

Re-hatched Ancestors: males or females born from the grand mothers, they remember their past lives and become shamans. They like to wear feathers.

Empty ones: when re-hatched ancestors grow old they forget everything and become mindless giant monster that the tribe must appease or kill. Re-hatched ancestors often leave the tribe or commit ritual suicide when they grow old and start to forget everything.

• Female breed with males to lay eggs.
• Grand Mothers breed with other tribes's grand mothers to lay ancestors eggs. 
• All of them are cannibals, they eat their fallen to eat and preserve their memories. 
• The tribe don't craft their swords, they value trading for them a lot. They have a lot of respect for swords holders and crafters. 

Labradorite werewolf

Labradorite wolf are created by forcing a ordinary wolf to eat a labradorite stone sculpted by a sorcerer or by dark or very sad emotions. Eating the stone yourself will get you infected by the lycanthropic labradorescence.

• Shimmering bite: infect you with iridescent lycanthropic labradorescence.  
• Totemic homonculi: can spend 1d8 hp to spawn a 1HD+1 animal homonculi that look like small totem sculptures (hare, fox, bear cubs, raven, etc). 
• Dazzle: dazzle effect when exposed to sunlight or a bright light. (save or get -2 to hit)
• Tectosilicate body: the wolf and it homunculi can only be hurt by magic or magical weapons. But non magical maces, picks and hammer still do minimal damages. Regen 1d6 hit point by turn when exposed to aurora borealis light. 
• Vibration howl: if it HP are reduced under 10, the wolf can emit a metal shattering howl. All weapon and humonculi must save vs paralysis or they will shatter. Living creature are shaken for d6 rounds and attack at -2. 

Iridescent lycanthropic labradorescence: your wound start to shimmer (save vs paralysis)  

Other symptoms: 

• Iridescent aura at night
• Aurora borealis obsession (heal 1 hp by hour when exposed to auroras) 
• Infravision replace your normal vision.
• Spontanenous labradorite homonculi spawning (you take 1d8 dmg) 
• Labradorite lycanthropy triggered by powerful aurora borealis
• Or body fragmenting into 1d4+1 labradorite homunculi (after 3 failed saves during transformation) 

Totemic homonculi: each animal homonculi represent a negative emotions locked inside the cursed labradorite stone. The homonculi try to follow and to satisfy the desires of the labradorite wolf, but they are very curious and emotive. They only become agressive after a bad reaction test. Showing positive emotions toward the homonculi grant 1 or 2 point bonus to the reaction tests (making them laugh or caring about them, etc...) On a very good reaction test result, the homonculi shatter and inflict d8+ it own HP in damages to the labradorite wolf. Homonculi spawned by infected wolfs are more primal and wild thant the ones spawned by infected humans. 

Each encountered labradorite wolf already spawned d4-1 homonculi.

Some nuns have been infected by the lycanthropic labradorescence in the Glass Dungeon. 

Totem summoning

I am trying to draw more background images behind my characters. 

Cult of the Vrocks

 A corrupted monk learn how to summon the Wattle Mouth, the eater of sacred bones. 

Faux-isometric geomorph hexes

I am working on faux-isometric geomorph hexes. I am still searching for a biome to start with, but once I got it I will try to post hexes regularly. 

Displacer Beast Garden

Troll Knights

The worst kind of knights and gentilhomme: troll knights!
If only the king did not gave them those noble titles... 

"Trolls take their titles very seriously, and who knew how much gold they'd accumulated in their pits and mires over the centuries? When the King addressed the generational problem of the Trollmarsh by legitimizing the trollish chieftains and making them thanes, even he did not forsee how lavishly the Trolls would spend to achieve every signifier of noblility.   

From the mire, their storybook turrets and towers rise"

-Benjamin B.

Forest Lord

Moon Elf of Niru

The new zine YNGARR is available in PDF as pay what you want on DriveThruRPG.
Source: http://spacewizards.blogspot.ca/2016/01/yngarr-pdf.html
Here is one of my illustrations for the zine: a strange moon elf.

Windshield Maiden

Windshield Maiden - Traditional windmill protectors
Requirements: STR 9, DEX 9 (the class is also open for boys who want to wear the traditional costume)
HP: as fighter
Combat bonus: as cleric
Saving Throws: as fighter, +2 to save vs any wind effects.
Weapon training: spears, staffs & pole arms.

Abilities (don't work if wearing metal armor or shield): 

Windshield: up to your level by day, you can summon a windshield that give +1 AC vs Melee and +2 AC vs Ranged. When inside a building, the windshield can only protect yourself. When outside, the shield can protect your entire group (and a building). The shield last for d6+level rounds. 

Weather affect the windshield: (windy day or defending a windmill: +d6 rounds, +1 AC vs Ranged) (strong wind: +2d6 rounds, +1AC vs Melee, +1 AC vs Ranged) (storm: +3d6 rounds, +2 AC vs Melee, +2 AC vs Ranged, but you get -2 to hit anything). (not cumulative). 

Whirlwind: up to your level by day, you can use your weapon to create a whirlwind to push back your ennemies. Range: level x 10 feet. Push back one ennemie by level for 2d10+level feet (halved on a saving throw). Ennemies take 1 point of damage for each 10 feet of push back. The whirlwind can be maintained to keep the ennemies at distance: the ennemies must make a saving throw to advance at half their movement rate, on a failed save they can only move for 1d6 feet. Shooting at the ennemies suffer a -1 penalty or worst with stronger wind. 

Weather affect the whirlwind: (windy day or defending a windmill: +2d10 push back) (strong wind: +4d10 push back ) (storm: +6d10 push back). (not cumulative). 

Windward: once by day, a windmaiden can ward a building or a shelter again the wind and give +half their level to save again the wind. This apply to the building and to anyone touching it. The building or the maiden must be touching the ground (so this don't work at sea). Multiple maidens can add their level together to calculate the saving throw bonus) 

Tulip blessing: get + 1 to saving throw when wearing a fresh tulip (last for d6 days). Get +2 saving throw when standing in a tulip field. Give +1 saving throw for 1 day when giving a fresh tulip to a companion (only once by game session). 

Bird friendship: can understand and be understood by normal or magical birds (while speaking normally). Get +1 reaction with non predatory birds. Predatory birds snob them a little bit (but they still respect them) and crows don't like them. 

Traditional gear:
Peasant pole arms (include spears) and traditional padded armor (AC 15) (crafted by your grand-mother).

A windshield maiden suffer a penalty of one on her reaction tests if she is not wearing her traditional costume. They also usually get a bonus point to their reaction tests with millers, peasants and villagers.