d20 Arcane Runes Press Visions Ancient Engines.pdf

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons ® Player’s Handbook

by Patrick Younts

Visions 4

Ancient Engines

Introduction

It is said that in olden days the mortal

races made ceaseless war with one another,

and that their fury could be quenched by

neither tears nor blood. It is said that their

armies were without number, that the sound

of their marching feet was thunder enough

to disturb the gods in their slumber, that

their war songs sent the angelic hosts and

the demon legions to trembling in their

halls of gold and shadow, and that the terri-

ble heat and blood-red light of their war-

fires banished night from the face of the

world.

And, it is said, that they conceived of

terrible engines of war, beasts of wood,

steel and magic, with power enough to slay

the gods themselves, and to tumble down

the gates of heaven. These dreaded

weapons, these ancient engines, have long

since passed into legend. But they have not

passed from world. They slumber in their

master’s halls, in deep caverns and at the

bottom of still pools, and their dreams are

dreams of war, of destruction, of sorrow

and lament.

They are the widow makers, and the kin

slayers. They are the destroyers of hope,

and the throne breakers. They are the

ancient engines, and their dreams are

dreams of death.

T HE P URPOSE OF

THIS S OURCEBOOK

Ancient Engines is the newest Visions

sourcebook, inspired by the lack of mighty

war machines in d20 fantasy. The new war

machines in this sourcebook are to cata-

pults and ballistae what a vorpal sword is to

a dagger, and by introducing them into your

campaign, you will bring color and a sense

of fantastical wonder to your mass battles.

Introduce one of these massive engines into

a siege, and watch your players squirm.

W HAT I S A N

A NCIENT E NGINE ?

An ancient engine is a war machine

from the legendary past, a weapon created

by the elder races for the sole purposes of

unleashing destruction on a massive scale.

An ancient engine is no mere catapult;

instead, it is a weapon that holds fury on a

biblical scale, a monstrosity that can

unleash bolts of pure light or unleash light-

ning siphoned from the motion of the plan-

ets and stars.

An ancient engine is equivalent in

power to a major artifact, meaning it cannot

be destroyed by cannon, by sword or even

by the use of spells, no matter how power-

V ISIONS

Visions is Arcane Runes Press’

new line of sourcebooks dealing with

folklore, legend and myth. Each

sourcebook in the series will present

fresh new rules, spells, magic items,

monsters or prestige classes dealing

with the most compelling elements of

real world mythology.

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Visions 4

Ancient Engines

ful. Each ancient engine has a single, spe-

cific means of destruction, one that is tied

to both its history, and to its nature.

Discovering the key to an ancient engine’s

destruction is a worthy quest for heroes,

and should be played as such.

The following are common properties

possessed by all ancient engines:

Immunity: Ancient engines are

immune to spells of all levels, to magical

and non-magical weapons, and to extraordi-

nary, spell-like, and supernatural abilities.

They are also immune to environmental

damage, though their progress can be

stymied by impassible cliffs, or by deep

mud and the like. Ancient engines also can-

not be destroyed by the power of another

ancient engine: each has become a vessel of

death, and death protects its own.

In olden days, the engines were not

immune to mortal weapons, and could be

destroyed with considerable effort. But they

have grown fat and powerful on the spirits

of those they destroyed, and cannot be so

easily dealt with now.

Uniqueness: Every ancient engine is

unique: there is only one Hammer of War,

and only one Kin Slayer.

Non-Good: The ancient engines are,

one and all, soaked with the blood of both

the innocent and the damned, and radiate a

powerful, sinister aura of sorrow and quiet

malevolence. An ancient engine may or

may not detect as evil, but it cannot ever be

considered “good”.

Cunning, but Not Intelligent: Ancient

engines are not intelligent, per se, but each

of them thirsts for the opportunity to spill

blood. This is not something that can truly

be quantified with firm mechanics; instead,

the GM should make every effort to demon-

strate the obscene love for killing an

ancient engine possesses through subtle

clues. Perhaps the engine shudders when its

weapons slay, or it leaks molten energy like

a drooling lion, or it turns slightly under its

own devices, pulling at it handlers in an

effort to come to grips with living flesh. Or,

perhaps, the sound of its gears moving is

reminiscent of growling wolves, or the

laughter of maddened children. In any case,

the players and their characters should

always suspect that an ancient engine has a

malevolent life of its own, and that it is ever

hungry.

R EADING THE E NTRIES

The ancient engines are described in the

following format:

Brief History: A suggested history for

the ancient engine, designed so that it can

be dropped into most campaigns with a

minimum of fuss, or discarded in favor of

one that better fits the world’s history.

Description: A general description of

the ancient engine’s appearance, and its

various powers.

Mechanics: A listing of the ancient

engine’s specific abilities, written down in

standard d20 mechanics.

Legacy of Terror: In addition to any

unique powers it may possess, all ancient

engines possess an ability called legacy of

terror, a mechanical rendering of its dread

aura and reputation; each legacy of terror is

unique, and designed to bring the flavor of

the ancient engine to the fore.

Destruction: The suggested means for

destroying the ancient engine. As with the

history, this is written in a general fashion,

and offers guidelines, not firm mechanics.

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Ancient Engines

The Word of God

When the people heard the sound of the horns, they shouted as loud as they

could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed…

Joshua 6:20-21

The angels were the first, and the great-

est of the civilized races. They were the

children of the divine, given unto creation

that they might serve its will until the end of

time. Their homes were glass and light,

cloud and holy fire, and the Divine’s will

was their only desire.

The elves were the second of the civi-

lized mortal races, and the most beautiful.

They were the Divine’s gift to creation, that

it might know grace and joy until age’s end.

Their homes were wood and leaf, sky and

valley, and the Divine’s will was their only

desire.

The dwarves were the third race, indus-

trious and strong. They too were the

Divine’s gift to creation, that it might know

the joy of honest labor. Their homes were

stone and rock, diamond and gold, and the

Divine’s will was their only desire.

The gnomes were the bridge between elf

and dwarf, whose purpose it was to merge

beauty and craft, and they were the fourth

race. They were the Divine’s gift to cre-

ation, that it might aspire to wonder. Their

homes were earth and mud, grass and

flower, and the Divine’s will was their only

desire.

The halflings were the fifth race, the

wanderers and vagabonds, whose purpose

was to carry word of beauty, and of craft, to

the four corners of the world. They were the

Divine’s gift to creation, that the lesser

beasts might come to aspire to something

greater than mere existence. Their homes

were open road and boundless sky, wagon

and wheel, and the Divine’s will was their

only desire.

And men? Men were the last race, and

the only one without purpose. But in this

way, they were the Divine’s greatest gift to

creation, sent to teach of freedom. Their

houses were wood and stone, grass and

boundless sky, and what they willed was

their desire.

And thus was the world as the Divine

intended, and creation knew joy. But the

hearts of angels did not. Within the spirits

of some a fierce jealousy was kindled, for

they knew that their greatness was as noth-

ing compared to freedom of will. And so

these angels made war upon men, and in so

doing claimed the right of choice, and thus

thwarted the will of the Divine.

For an age angel made war upon man,

hurling spears of fire and ice, and all of cre-

ation shook with the thunder of their rage.

And in those days elf and dwarf and gnome

and halfling forgot the will of the Divine,

and came to know the joy and the burden of

choice. And in time, creation forgot grace,

forgot the joy of honest labor, forgot won-

der and aspiration, and remembered only

war.

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Description

The Word of God is an immense horn

mounted upon a scaffolding of solid gold,

which is in turn anchored to an immense, six

wheeled ivory wagon with solid platinum

wheels. The wagon is a flat platform 10 ft.

wide and 30 ft. long, and its underside stands

a full 10 ft. above the ground, for the ivory

was made from the fingernail of the creator

god, and the Divine must never suffer the

touch of mean earth. The platinum wheels are

10 ft. tall, and 1 ft. thick, and are the coa-

lesced tears of the Divine’s sorrow at the

betrayal of his first children.

The Word of God itself is formed from an

unknown metal that resembles star-flecked

obsidian and is always cool to the touch. The

horn curls over and over upon itself, twisting

and turning like a drunken philosopher’s

logic. It narrows to an almost imperceptible

point at its lowest end, and then flares up and

up into a wide mouth like an orchid in full

bloom.

When the Word of God’s powers are

awakened, it glows with brilliant, golden

light. It does not generate this brilliance from

within; rather, the world for a mile around the

Word grows dull and lusterless, as though

shamed by its flaws in the presence of the

Divine.

And the Divine, looking down from the

heavenly seat, was sore wroth. In anger, the

Divine trod the dreams of men, and gave

unto them the gift of two words, spoken in

the Divine’s own voice, with which to still

the fire and ice of the angels, so that the

world might be again as was intended. And

men did take the words, and despaired, for

none who lived dared speak the words that

touched the true nature of the Divine. Man

chose his desire, and his desire was to fear

the Divine.

And so it was that those angels who did

not make war upon man, who had not yet

claimed the right of choice, chose at last to

aid the last race, and in so doing thwarted

the will of the Divine. They gave unto men

the Horn of Heaven, whose trumpet calls

heralded the morning and the night, and

bound within it the voice of the Divine,

which still echoed in the spirits of men.

And so, at last emboldened, did man

step forth and speak the Word of God. And

the first word was Wroth. And the second

word was Disfavor.

And in Wroth the Word did tear down

the proud towers of heaven, and in Wroth

bring cease to the fury of fire and ice. And

in Disfavor were the angels who claimed

choice brought low, the first and the second,

and made humble before the Divine. And in

Disfavor were the first made as unto beasts,

that they might rage eternally – and these

were named as demons. And in Disfavor

were the second made as unto ants, that

they might scheme and build eternally –

and these were named as devils.

And so, in Wroth and in Disfavor, was

creation made as it is.

Mechanics

The Word of God is considered to be

Huge size (25 ft. tall x 10 ft. wide x 30 ft.

long, 2 squares x 6 squares, 14 tons).

To activate the Word of God, a human or

half elf must position himself or herself at the

narrow end of the horn, and place his lips

against the horn. Then he whisper the true

name associated with the effect he wishes to

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