2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 29: Morzana Onyx, Necromancer (13th Age)

It's day twenty-nine! Having created Morzana Onyx in Old School Essentials and sent to her to Nekropol, let's reimagine her in 13th Age (1e). The 13th Age version of the necromancer class is presented in 13 True Ways.

One of the things that caught my attention about 13th Age was the inclusion of the necromancer as a not automatically evil aligned class. As a #ForeverGM, I never got a chance to explore the concept. In a way, Morzana Onyx is as much as character I never got to play as Sol Brightheart.

Morzana Onyx, Necromancer

I'm keeping the same numbers I rolled for Morzana's ability scores as an OSE character. However, I am rearranging those numbers in response to the different rules that 13th Age has for necromancers. The Wasting Away class feature, in particular, makes having a positive CON bonus a liability for necromancers. Humans in 13th Age get a +2 bonus to any ability score. Necromancers get a +2 bonus to either INT or CHA, as along as it's not the same score increased by the racial bonus. I picked INT and CHA for the bonuses.

One Unique Thing: Morzana Onxy's soul is cursed to wander from world to world, reborn in body after body, seeking necromantic lore for some lost purpose, but never able to retain that knowledge from one existence to the next.

Icon Relationships: Onyx has a conflicted (1 point) relationship with the Lich King. The One-Eyed King is the greatest source of necromantic knowledge walking this world, but is also a danger almost beyond comprehension. She also has a conflicted (1 point) relationship with the Archmage. His broad mastery of the arcane also includes secrets Onyx is seeking, but that well is not deep. Finally, Onyx has a positive (1 point) relationship with the Priestess. Some of the gods have necromancy in their portfolios, after all.

Backgrounds: Onyx began her studies as a student of the arcane, but left when it became clear that it wasn't her path. She served, for a time, as an acolyte in the One-Eyed King's city of the undead. She left after deciding that undeath was something that she wasn't quite ready to embrace. After that, Onyx learned the art of studying ancient civilizations from their buried remains. At some point, she developed a habit of smoking dreamweed. The visions were helpful for a time, but she has sworn off the stuff. Or so she says.

Talents: I picked three that seemed fun. Dead Wizard reflects Onyx's past as an arcane student. It gives her access to Wizard cantrips, which makes her a more flexible caster. Redeemer frees the spirits of any undead she summons once they complete their service. In other words, any undead summoned by Onyx release a burst of holy energy once they drop to 0 hp. It also doesn't make the Lich King entirely happy with her. Finally, Sorta Dead means that she's already one foot in the grave. She sometimes counts as undead, depending on player choice. Onyx is also better able to deal with dying than most necromancers, who could already deal with it pretty well.

Feats: Humans get two feats at first level in 13th Age. The first is the one under Wasting Away. It grants a +1 bonus to necromancer spell effects when Onyx's CON modifier is negative. The second is the one under Sorta Dead. Onyx gains a resist poison 16+ and resist negative energy 16+.

Equipment: Since Onyx is Sorta Dead, she doesn't need to eat or sleep. That means many of the things I would purchase for a starting adventurer are irrelevant. She'll pocket her gold for now.

Spells: Chant of Endings and Death's Gauntlet are both at-will attack spells. I picked Command Undead and Summon Undead because both fit the theme.

Resource: The character sheet I used is by Evenglare and is available as a free download on the Pelgrane Press site.

2025 Character Creation Challenge, Day 21: Sol Brightheart, Evangelical Priest of Pelor (13th Age)

Day twenty-one of the challenge. Here's another variant of someone once called "a featherless Foghorn Leghorn turned country preacher" by a multiversal traveler. (Okay, I'm the one who calls him that.) This time, I'm using 13th Age (1e) to recreate him.

13th Age is more complex than most of the systems I've used for this challenge so far. It's basically a D20 homebrew using elements from D&D 3e, D&D 4e, and a big pile of house rules. That puts it far closer to the modern end of things compared to Old School Essentials. 13th Age is also something that I haven't messed with for awhile, although I do have plans to run Eyes of the Stone Thief at some nebulous point in the future.

Sol Brightheart, Evangelical Priest of Pelor (13th Age)

Just to be different from most of the characters I've made for this challenge, I'm using the point buy option for Brightheart's ability scores. Peeking at the appendix, I picked out this array: 16, 16, 14, 10, 8, 8. Being a dragonborn gives a bonus to either STR or CHA. Being a cleric gives a bonus to either WIS or STA. However, the bonuses can't stack, so no double dipping for STR. I boosted Brightheart's WIS and CHA while putting the other numbers where they seemed to make sense. Let's face it, this loudmouthed priest isn't among the smartest or most graceful folks around.

More modern iterations of F20 are so much more generous with bonuses and hit points than stuff like OSE.

The One Unique Thing is a wonderful way to make player characters stand out in 13th Age. Unfortunately, it can also bring character creation to a grinding halt unless a player already has a concept in mind. I decided to get a little meta with this one. "Sol Brightheart's soul is fated to go from world to world bringing the word of his god with him."

I have mixed views on 13th Age's Icons. Working them into an adventure is often a pain, but they do add to the game experience. They displace gods both mechanically and in setting while also having a more concrete presence. Brightheart has positive (1 point) relationships with the Great Gold Wyrm and the Priestess. He also has a conflicted (1 point) relationship with the Three.

Backgrounds take the place of skills in 13th Age. They do double duty in filling out a character's history and offering a flexible skill system. Brightheart was born and raised in a quaint village on the border of the Empire. He spent much of his youth as a choir singer while supposedly getting an education at a nearby cathedral. Heeding the call of his soul, he began wandering the land and spreading the word of Pelor to anybody who stood still long enough to listen.

Looking up Pelor indicates that the domains of healing, life, and the sun would be good fits. The spell selection reflects my original concept of Brightheart as a D&D 4e laser cleric. The feat that allows turn undead to be used as an additional heal instead offers a little extra flexibility. Equipment selection was straightforward given Brightheart's background.

The character sheet used in this post is by Evenglare and is available as a free download on the Pelgrane Press site.

A Game I'll Never Run - Working for a Dragon

A deep dive into my own notes is a key step as I prepare a new RPG campaign. I frequently rediscover little gems that I jotted down months or years ago and promptly forgot. Something else I find are fantastic concepts for campaigns that I have absolutely no time to run. After all, I'll hopefully be busy with my current campaign for awhile.

Rather than let them lie unused, I'll be presenting them here as they turn up. Feel free to borrow anything that looks handy. Just let me know how it turned out.


The Quest Giver is a Dragon

Our adventuring party works for a great wyrm of considerable age and wide experience. The beast isn't interested in acquiring more wealth. This particular dragon's hoard is already big enough to be comfortable to lounge upon. This dragon has moved on to other things. But what are the dragon's motivations and how can the adventurers help to achieve them?

Meet the new boss?

Collecting Scholarly Knowledge

Knowledge was a means to an end in the dragon's youth. Genuine curiosity eventually overcame ambition as the dragon grew old and strong. However, a dragon showing up to ask questions is usually counterproductive. Many interactions between dragons and others involve raided livestock, looted gold, and things on fire. Employing adventurers as agents tends to work better. At least, until those adventurers start getting ideas.

Before that, our adventurers can find employment by:

• Tracking down and acquiring the last copy of an ancient tome before anybody else gets it.
• Convincing an elderly sage to part with their particular brand of wisdom. The sage is done with life and can't be bribed or threatened, even by a dragon or band of cutthroats. What would convince such a sage?
• Trading books with various libraries. The dragon has extra copies to spare, but wants to avoid the complications of letting others know who they are dealing with. It's best to send the adventurers as representatives.
• Swapping knowledge over networks of scholars who may not be keen on giving their secrets to a dragon.
• Establishing relations with key scholars. The dragon foresees the need to consult with them repeatedly.
• Prying a scroll of lost lore out of the cold, undead hands holding it.

Collecting Arcane Knowledge

Knowledge can be power, but magical knowledge gets to the point quicker. There is some overlap between this and acquiring scholarly knowledge. Some of the ideas presented above can be used with this motivation. In both cases, the dragon is using the adventuring party as agents to gain access to sources that would be denied otherwise.

• Meeting with a jinn or devil on their own plane and figuring out what it would take to persuade them to part with what they know. The first challenge is the logistics of arranging and traveling to the meeting.
• The dragon has learned of a tome called the Necronomicon. The knowledge it contain is both valuable and dangerous. One doesn't survive to become a great wyrm by taking unnecessary risks - best to have someone else read the book and transcribe its contents in a form safer to peruse. There is a troublesome mage who has beat the dragon's prior agents to various prizes over the decades. Perhaps the adventuring party can convince the mage to take on this task? Of course, a copy of the Necronomicon must be obtained in the first place.
• Raiding the library of a demi-lich. It is located a trapped-infested crypt, but the demi-lich should be distracted with whatever such undead do down there.
• Rumors suggest that another adventuring party has looted a rare magical item from some dungeon. How to get it without showing the dragon's hand?
• Trading magical secrets with an organization of wizards with a dodgy reputation. Both sides know that betrayal is coming, just not exactly when. The assassination attempts against the dragon's prior agents don't really count. That's just common practice.

Supporting the Imperial Dynasty

Centuries ago, the dragon took another form and founded a ruling family. Affairs of state grew boring, so the dragon left the polity in the hands of later generations. But the dragon takes family obligations seriously enough to intervene from time to time.

The dragon doesn't want to operate openly and uses agents when possible. The dynasty has to appear to be strong enough to stand on its own. Besides, the dragon isn't a pet that comes when called just because there's a handsome representation on the imperial crest. This is a situation where each side gets things it wants because both parties compliment each other nicely. The player characters could be adventurers acting as the dragon's agents, part of the imperial court, or members of the imperial government with a mysterious boss.

• The dragon and the dynasty are family, but that doesn't rule out backstabbing. There's always upstarts who think that they have what it takes to further their ambitions by getting rid their mysterious "great uncle" from out of town. Keeping an eye out for trouble is one option. Finding a place to hide the charred corpse and cooking up a cover story is another.
• The dragon is the center of a spy network. The dragon makes for a pretty good spy with superior senses, the ability to fly, and maybe even shape changing. The dynasty has used its connections and wealth to build a wider net for gathering information. Of course, such networks have vulnerable nodes that enemies can attack or co-opt. That's what the internal security and assassination branches are for. The adventurers are handy as deniable assets with no obvious connections to either the dragon or the royal family.
• A lack of money isn't a problem for either the dragon or the dynasty, but there are some problems wealth can't solve. Some folks just can't be bribed. The player characters need to find a way to persuade the source of the issue or otherwise make it go away.
• The dragon can solve some issues indirectly. Sometimes that ambitious lord making moves in the imperial court can't just be killed off. On the other hand, that lord might get called back home to deal with a crisis at precisely the right time. A dragon attack on the lord's holding might be the source of that boon. But somebody has to make sure that word get through to the lord at precisely the right time.
• The dragon and dynasty view their relationship from an interpersonal perspective rather than a political one. The dragon's long life and unusual viewpoint make it a valuable source of advice. The dragon prefers to quietly guide the dynasty along and providing indirect support while juggling more draconic interests at the same time. Besides, the player characters are around to handle any dirty work.
• There was those times when everything was going smoothly until the current ruler and most of the heirs were assassinated. The dragon was busy guiding someone never expected to take on the role of ruler while investigating the assassinations. One such incident is the source of the imperial decree forbidding multiple members of the dynasty from riding in the same airship.

The Rule and Fate of Wizard-Kings

"Wizard-Kings always fall" goes the ancient saying. A wizard who seizes secular power must give up some measure of his magical progress. His hours and days become consumed with the demands of rulership. Meanwhile, his rivals and challengers are free to redouble their research, often spending every waking hour on their studies. Eventually, one such rival will unlock enough mystical secrets, gather enough arcane knowledge, and unleash enough eldritch power to eclipse the Wizard-King in magical strength and topple him in a clash of magics, seize the crown, and fall into the same trap.

Some mystics who would walk the path of rulership seek to avoid such a fate by dividing their time, only to lose ground in both the political and magical arenas. Only so much of the work of ruling can be delegated, even if enough trustworthy and talented people could be found to take on the burden. Only so much time can be pried from other responsibilities for the research that is a wizard's passion, especially compared with those free of such burdens. Political rivals will take advantage of the Wizard-King's divided attention to gain influence. Rival wizards will focus on their researches and inevitably close the gap in magical power.

It is commonly accepted that the best place for those who follow the mystic arts is to advise and assist those who already rule. This role is relatively undemanding and the time it requires can be spared more easily. While direct rule offers more political power, the influence of a trusted advisor is considerable.

But there are always those who try to use their mystic might as a stepping stone to political power. They think themselves too cunning to fall into the same traps that ensnared previous Wizard-Kings. A few have actually succeeded.

The Wizard-King Ballantyne outlawed magic throughout the realms he conquered to prevent the raise of rival wizards. One such rival escaped his notice. She sought out allies among those without political ties in Ballantyne's realms. Outland barbarians raided those who worked to bring forth the bounty of the land and wealth of its markets. Bards labeled nobles close to the Wizard-King as despots, justifying their later assassinations. A few bold adventuring parties assaulted Ballantyne directly – they failed to kill him, but injury and paranoia hampered his activities. Meanwhile, the rival wizard used her own magics to cloud the Wizard-King's scrying and counter his spells. In the end, the Wizard-King and his base of support were so worn down that his realms welcomed a challenger – a callow youth armored against Ballantyne's magics and wielding the sword fated to pierce the Wizard-King's heart. That youth was elevated to the throne by those who thought him easy to manipulate, but they were thwarted by the appearance of his chief advisor – a woman of great beauty and insight.

There are the tales of the Lich-King Koschei, who began his rule as a mortal man, but used the rituals of Lichdom to strip the flesh from his form and gain an unholy form of immortality. Without the need for sustenance or sleep, he could rule by day and study by night, making every moment of his undead existence count. As the years wore on his studies unlocked knowledge of the outer planes. His interest in the material world declined. He was removed from power by an alliance of his treacherous apprentices and rebellious courtiers, but tales hint at his survival and eventual return.

Related in principle to the Lich-King was the Necromancer Lord. His source of power was not reality-bending spells, but his endless army of undead. His rivals, both political and magical, were simply overwhelmed by the cold, unliving hands of his followers. Shortly afterwards, those unfortunates found their minds imprisoned within their own animate corpses. Enslaved by necromancy, his former rivals knelt at his feet and offered their undying support. Only his own death ended his rule – as he found himself dying of age, he attempted the rituals of Lichdom, but his ailing body caused his spells to falter. His corpse was consumed by his own army of undead.


(This was some background for a D&D campaign that never got off the ground. I found it, dusted it off, and gave it a quick edit before posting it here.)

Dungeon Origins - From Howard to Gygax to 13th Age

Dungeons. Ever wonder why? Where did they come from? Who dug out all those corridors, neatly lined them all with stone blocks, built them to be all twisty and looking the same? Underground construction ain’t cheap, even if the builders happen to be dwarves who love that sort of thing.

Origin #1: Ruins from Ancient Times

This one dates back to Robert Howard and J.R.R. Tolkien. Dungeons are a remnant of older times - when things were grander than whenever "now" happens to be in the setting. Times of vast and wealthy empires. Empires that could afford to build vast underground areas for, y'know, reasons. Maybe those empires were run by dwarves or some other folks who enjoy subsurface living. Or maybe those empires needed a place to hide from something on the surface. Flocks of dragons would be a valid reason for hiding underground, even for ancient empires. On the other hand, underground structures tend to attract the types who find it like home - goblins, demons, etc. Maybe that explains what happen to all those vast and ancient empires?

Origin #2: A Wizard Did It

Gary Gygax wrote about how the wielders of powerful, unearthly magics had nothing better to do with their spare time than screw with people. When they weren’t creating Owlbears or conducting other experiments, they built dungeons under their towers. Look at the spell list for Magic-Users in 1st edition AD&D. There are certain mid- to high-level spells intended to secure a fixed location. Name-level player character Magic-Users getting tired of the murder hobo lifestyle, settling down, and building towers with dungeon expansions was A Thing in those early Lake Geneva campaigns. I suppose it could be entertaining to watch a party of up-and-coming murder hobos try to navigate your Dungeon of Doom after a hard day of exploring the secrets of the universe. Come to think of it, I'm kinda surprised that this isn't a standard dungeon set up.

Origin #3: Dungeons as Living Entities

13th Age presents the idea that some dungeons are living things that bubble up from the darkness under the earth and slowly rise towards the surface. I kinda like it. It reminds me of the video game Dungeon Keeper where the player runs an underground structure with a living heart that can be destroyed by do-gooders and rivals. However, there is nothing in else in Dungeon Keeper that suggests that the dungeons are alive. Making dungeons malevolent beings does justify why they seem to go out of their way to kill intruding parties of adventurers.


(I wrote an earlier version of this and posted on Tumblr awhile back.)