The City of Devil's Hook, Part I: The Place

The City of Devil's Hook

The City of Devil's Hook is the largest city of the Cinderlands, the vast volcanic plain created by Mount Avernus, the colossal volcano which overlooks the entire city. The city is named for the massive black basalt cliffs that lead down from the main part of the city, or Hightown, to the port facilities, or Lowtown, upon which are several large jutting rocks, some of which distinctly resemble hooks. These hooks have been the traditional resting place of traitors and other odious criminals, impaled on spikes upon these outcroppings. The hooks are also occasionally bathed in the blood of suicides who fall from Hightown, nearly eight hundred feet up, onto the flats of Lowtown. 

Being possessed of the finest harbour for hundreds of miles around, the city of Devil's Hook has grown enormously in the last few centuries, swollen by refugees from the fallen Septiman Empire and from the mysterious calamities overtaking the Northlands. While this has helped the city become one of the greatest in the world, it has also resulted in seething religious tension. The followers of the Exiled Father do not coexist easily with the Lords of the Nine, nor dwarves, elves and halfmen with the human majority. In a generation, the urban population of Devil's Hook has more than doubled, from about 80,000 to about 200,000. 

The King in Crimson, Lord of the Nine Hells. Most-worshipped deity in Devil's Hook. 

The All-Father. Odin the Exile. A close second. 

Devil's Hook is best thought of as a city in three parts- two primarily urban and one primarily rural. Hightown is where the wealthy elite of the city live, where most of the great temples are located and the most elite markets. Though Hightown is surpassingly luxurious, it is not spacious- only the Grand Prince and his family live in a sizeable villa, with the rest of the elite crowded in well-appointed but modest townhouses. The Palatine Fortress is indeed an impressive structure though. There is a massive cave system which can be accessed from Hightown, which is rumored to be a tunnel to the Burning Lands themselves.  

Hightown is connected by an ingenious series of lifts with the teeming, ever-growing urban mass of Lowtown, where more than four-fifths of the population live, cheek by jowl. Most people live in rickety tenements four or five floors high, with some of the newer buildings reaching heights of nine or ten stories. Criminality and vice is rampant throughout much of Lowtown. The Thieves' Guild of Devil's Hook is a major power in the city, controlling not only thieving rings, but smugglers and all manner of other vices. Most of the seedy inns and taverns where adventurers frequent are to be located in Lowtown, with the Dead Dog, the Saucy Wench and the Devil's Chain three of the most notorious taverns. Lowtown is also, however, the nexus of perhaps the most important port city in the West. 

One of the Shipyards of Lowtown

On the other side of the titanic cliff which separates Hightown from Lowtown is a sprawling series of small fortified villages around which are great fields of grain, wine and other agricultural goods. The volcanic ash which is regularly belched forth from Avernus is an inconvenience to the rich nobles in Hightown but a titanic boon to Devil's Hook overall, as it ensures a fertile land. These agricultural lands are protected by another series of high mountains, which are augmented by large castles astride the two primary passes. As on the other side of those mountains is a vast burning desert, this ensures both Devil's Hook's security and self-sufficiency in the case of siege.

The city is ruled by the House of Varrus, a powerful and ancient family line of Septiman descent which left the ailing Empire about a century ago and come to Devil's Hook at the head of a mercenary army, many of whom were absorbed into the Devil's Hook military proper. The current Grand Prince, Octavian Varrus, has accumulated virtually untold wealth through his ownership of mining concerns in the mountains around the city as well as a personal trading fleet larger than the navies of many other merchant cities. It is believed that he acquired much of his wealth and influence through a dynastic bargain of sorts with the King in Crimson. He is also notable for his ttwin daughters- Aurelia Varrus, known as the "Angel" but a brilliant political conniver, and Cornelia Varrus, the "Demon", known to be a powerful magic-user and unusually for a woman, a feared military tactician. He also has a son, Trajan, who is believed to be a bit of a fop and generally useless. 

They say that he managed to get a fair bargain out of Asmodeus himself. 

Don't be fooled, she's already been responsible for four assassinations. 

Any commentary on her reputed relationship with Proserpina, Lord of the First is scurrilous and should be immediately dismissed.



Well, he's handsome. You have to give him that.

The City of Devil's Hook is one that is full of potential adventure and danger. Adventure Seeds for the city, as well as some specific locations of relevance to an adventure, will be outlined in Part II. 

Metal Adventure Seeds VIII: Seasons In The Abyss

Seasons In The Abyss:
Setting: Horror/Survival Fantasy

When you found means of destroying the phlyactery of the great lich Menkare, you thought, perhaps, that you would find some peace for yourself. But as it turns out, all you have done is awaken the rage and hatred of Menkare's master, the Demon Lord Nergal, the Worm-King, Prince of the Undead. And now you awaken in his abyssal Necropolis, where every day is three years for the living. If the endless hordes of demons and undead do not kill you, simple mortality will. 

Assistance, however, comes from a very strange corner indeed- Yaldabaoth the Unmaker contests the mastery of undeath with Nergal and promises his assistance in getting you out of Nergal's vast Necropolis if you do him a simple favor and slay Nergal's consort, the Ghoul-Queen. Otherwise, though, you and your friends are on your own in an almost unimaginably hostile realm. 

GM Notes: This adventure depends on the GM being absolutely relentless in plotting time and willing to enforce the aging rules that stick to the campaign. For elves and other longer-lived demihumans, increase the three years to an appropriate number. The Ghoul-Queen should be treated as a ghoul with 21 hit dice and the abilities of a lich (wizard/MU). The DM should also secretly roll appropriate saving throws every day to see if the players contract a disease from the festering Necropolis. Also, roll a d100 twice per day at appropriate times. If 100 comes up, then Nergal himself, with all 28 hit dice and the biggest array of horrifying necromantic magics you can make for him shows up to finish the job he started.

Metal Adventure Seeds VII: Princess of the Dawn

Princess of the Dawn:
Setting: High Fantasy

Athiel, the Highlady of the West Wood, has been seized from her Emerald Spire  by a notorious red dragon, Khurzon the Crimson. Unknown to Khurzon, though, the Highlady has acquired the ability to fall into a magical sleep in which she remains inviolate- though no one else knows this. Any attempt to kill or harm the Highlady simply has no discernable effect. The Elves of the West Wood, however, lack the ability to take Khurzon's Keep and in a move inspired by foolish desperation, have hired the Iron Horse, a band of cruel mercenaries which have only managed to despoil the lands around Khurzon's Keep, angering the dragon further. 

In sheer desperation, the Elves have sought the only adventurers in the area. Though they have but little gold, the Elves are wise and knowledgeable in the ways of magic and will be happy to furnish spells for any magic-users in the group, as well as a powerful magical item for each member of the party should the Highlady be returned to them. 

GM Notes: The party will almost certainly have to deal with the ruthless Iron Horse, who have recently sworn fealty to Khurzon in an attempt to avoid incineration for the inconvenience they have posed the dragon. The leader of the Iron Horse is a 8-HD blackguard (as paladin, but powers inverted for evil) who rides a giant, infernal steed (maximum hit points, breath weapon does 3d6 fire damage in a 20-foot cone). Khurzon himself is a being of terrifying power, a mature red dragon, who will almost certainly slaughter any heroes in a straight contest. 

Metal Adventure Seeds VI: Forty Six & 2

Forty Six & 2
Setting: Steampunk/Science Fantasy

Doktor Liebmord is a man who has for most of his career been persuing the blasphemous theory of "progressive speciation" which among other things, claims that humanity is not the peak of the nature world and that the human form is not fixed eternally by the gods but is beginning to change again as we speak. Towards that end, he has kidnapped several homeless people and engaged in a variety of magical and alchemical experiments, hoping to bring apart a state of perfection that he refers to as "Forty Eight" after the number of tiny elements of information that supposedly exist in human beings. 

Several of these experimental subjects have escaped and the Doktor would see them returned to his care. He warns that the "Forty Eighters" he has created are extremely dangerous and must be either returned to his facility or killed. He has offered a considerable monetary sum as well as his services to anyone who can catch the "Forty Eighters". But should the Doktor be trusted?

GM Notes: The Forty Eighters should be treated as monks with a hit dice between 6-8, with the abilities of a magic-user of half that level and psionic powers. They possess an Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma of 18. There are six of them, three males and three females. They are bitter towards the humanity that tormented them into being and believe themselves to be the progenitor of a new and greater species. One of the females is pregnant and they will go to any lengths at all to prevent the young from falling into the hands of Liebmord.

Metal Adventure Seeds V: A Touch Of Evil

A Touch Of Evil: 
Setting: Urban/Noir Fantasy

The city of Devil's Hook is an infamous, wretched hive of scum and villainy. So in the beginning, a series of murders of prostitutes and petty criminals do not attract much attention. But then the attacks become more and more troubling as the murders seem to climb the social ladder, killing wealthier courtesans and petty nobles who frequented them. A group of courtesans and licensed brothels have raised a significant bounty for anyone who can bring the killers to justice. 

Oddly enough, the killer seems to use two different methods in their killings. Sometimes, they seem to favor some form of magic in draining their victims of life, other times, they favor brutal strangulation after a long period of torture.

GM Notes: There are actually two killers at work here, who have completely opposite motivations in beginning the killing spree. One is an incubus who is working on behalf of his lover, the Duke's son, who desires to cover up his involvement in the "rough trade". Crimson Lust possesses a bonus of +1 hit point per hit dice and uses twin poisoned daggers if pressed to combat. The other is a chain devil who has instigated an even more violent series of murders to draw attention to the "sin" of the Duke's son. The Duke will pay a hefty fee for the adventurer's continued silence if pressed, while Anghazan the chain devil will pledge an act of personal service to the adventurers if they assist him in revealing the Duke's "perversion". The diabolic motivation is to push Devil's Hook towards a coup, in which more directly infernal-aligned forces can take control of the city.

Metal Adventure Seeds IV: The Trooper

The Trooper: 
Setting: Traditional/Victorian/Steampunk Fantasy

Count Janos the Grey was, by all accounts, the bravest of the brave, and it was hoped that under his leadership, the Bannermen of the Ostmark would prevail in battle against the brutal hobgoblin warlord Krum. However, though the Men of the East put up a valiant struggle against the hobgoblin hordes, they were ultimately conquered by the cunning strategy of the warlord Krum, who has subsequently put much of the East to the torch. By an unknown agency, Janos has arisen as a revenant, bent on avenging the deaths of his men and the despoiling of his homelands, but thanks to Krum's shamans, he cannot approach Krum personally. He offers his remaining estates in the rest of the Empire (which are considerable) as well as full rights over any loot to any adventurers who will infiltrate Krum's citadel and slay the shamans protecting him from Janos' vengeance. 

GM Notes: If the heroes manage to slay all four of Krum's shamans, Janos the Grey will be able to appear in person to slay the warlord. Krum's shamans are 9 hit dice druids, but can turn undead as clerics and four of them in concert cast an aura which protects Krum's entire fortress from intrusions by any undead. Janos is singleminded in his determination to slay Krum personally and will attack any PCs that attempt to interfere with the task. He has the abilities of an 11 hit dice fighter and can only be slain with holy magic or weaponry (ironic as he is otherwise good-aligned). 

Metal Adventure Seeds III: The Mob Rules

The Mob Rules:
Setting: Traditional Fantasy, Horror Fantasy

The Lord Mayor of Shemhaz has put out a huge bounty, including a choice of a wide variety of powerful magical weapons (+2 enchantment plus 1-2 special properties) for any heroic adventurers who can eliminate the city of the vile threat of Aasith, the Demonic Queen of the Hunt. Her followers have been engaging in the Culling, a horrific event in which innocent citizens (all young men and women) are hunted and slain through the streets. Along with the usual depredations of the cultists (which strike once every sixteen years, to slay the children baptized in the blood of the last harvest's catch), it is believed that this year, they have summoned babau demons to join them. 

GM Notes: The Culling is a very real event, but the truth is that the real prey, the piece de resistance, is the adventurers themselves. The entire city are eager worshippers of Aasith and willingly participate in the slaughter of their numbers. Even children cannot be trusted, as while they lack the strength to openly slay armed adventurers, they are often used to lure adventurers into traps. The Culling goes on for five days. If the adventurers survive five days and four nights, on the fifth night, Aasith herself will come to hunt them. As a 22 hit-dice creature, the heroes will not be able to win a direct battle against her. If they manage to survive the final night, Aasith herself will grant each surviving party member a wish and a token that allows them to summon a babau to their service three times, as well as the enchanted weapons they were promised earlier. Accepting these boons is a chaotic evil act and will cause clerics and paladins to fall in the sight of non-evil deities, but refusal means the entire city will advance as a mob to try and tear them apart. 

Metal Adventure Seeds II: Powerslave

Powerslave: 
Setting: Traditional Fantasy

The modern Sultanate of Misri is one of the wealthiest and most sophisticated countries in the world, but it is built on the ruins of an even greater civilization, Imperial Karnak, where the Immortal God-Kings ruled from their palaces in the Thysian Delta. The last pharaoh of Karnak, Menkare, is notable largely for the sheer length of his reign, over three hundred years, accomplished by transforming himself into a lich. His terrible image covers Karnak, most notoriously at the Glowering Pyramid, which was once intended as a tomb but stood during his reign as a symbol of his ultimate conquest over death. 

The city has been littered with a strange rash of graffiti proclaiming the return of Old Karnak and the immortal triumph of Menkare. Strangely, this graffiti cannot be removed through normal means- and the terrified population refuses to divulge any information about a supposed cult of Menkare. The Sultan of Misri has posted a colossal sum to anyone who can discover the truth and put an end to these disquieting happenings. 

GM Notes: The entire area around the capital of Misri (also named Misri) is covered in magical ley lines that lead to the Glowering Pyramid, which was in the centre of the capital of Old Karnak. Menkare can use this ley lines in the city to cast spells remotely, though any saves required by the players will be at a +2 bonus if he cannot see them with his own eyes. Menkare himself is a lich with the abilities of an 18 hit dice illusionist and a 12 hit dice cleric. He can summon sandstorms at will (treat as insect plague spell, but 4x radius). His phylactery is located inside the body of a ten-year old girl in the city. His cultists have been faithfully implanting his phylactery inside ordinary people for centuries. 

Metal Adventure Seeds: Cowboys From Hell

Cowboys From Hell: 
Setting: Weird West

Bloodstone Mesa was once the most wild, lawless city on the entire frontier. The King's men do not dare enter the city. However, in recent days, a harrowing, brutal order has fallen the city as a mysterious trio of massive black-suited gunmen (led by a woman) have taken up residence. They ask no gold for their services, save for basic lodgings and they mete out no punishment but death. What the inhabitants of the town do not know is that their new "enforcers" are not humans at all, but devils from Hell who have been summoned to ensure that the valuable ores of the region are secured for a nearby diabolic empire. 

Bloodstone Mesa may have been chaotic, wild and unsafe, but it was also free. Thrasher, Reaper, Scorcher and the Red Angel place no value on free will and any who defy their iron law will meet death. The locals are willing to pay a handsome bounty to anyone who will rid their town of the infernal interlopers, but are too terrified of the devils to offer open assistance. 

GM Notes: Thrasher, Reaper and Scorcher are bearded devils who possess 8+8 instead of the ordinary 6+6 hit dice and who use firearms instead of the traditional glaives. Thrasher and Reaper use twin six-shooter guns and Scorcher uses a shotgun which inflicts half physical damage (from pellets) and half unholy damage (from hellfire). The Red Angel uses a bolt-action rifle. Thrasher, Reaper and Scorcher cannot summon bearded devils as ordinary members of their kind, but instead can call on a hellhound with the same chance of success. The Red Angel automatically kills any opponent with a critical hit from her rifle, regardless of hit points. They are all disguised as humans, but will shed their disguises in any climactic battle. 

Kobolds

Kobold:  (NE Draconic)
HD: 6-1
Armour: 14
Move: 30''
Attack: Weapon (-1 dmg for melee attacks)
Saving Throw: (fort/reflex/will) 16/12/16
Special Abilities: Fire Resistance 10
Intelligence: Average
Treasure: Basic

The lowly kobold is often neglected in comparison to more powerful and dangerous opponents, but this is a serious error, as kobolds are surprisingly clever foes who rarely face an opponent in direct combat, but use ambushes, ranged weapons and traps to wear down much stronger foes. Interestingly, as distant cousins of dragons, kobolds have an extremely high resistance to fire and can move through fire without any danger to themselves and as a consequence, they are extremely, some say, unnaturally fond of the most dangerous of the elements. 

Kobolds are commonly found in abandoned dragon dens, and worship any relics of dragons as religious fetishes. Kobolds are also commonly found in occupied dragon dens as well, serving as menial labour and devoted cultists to dragons. 

Imagine ravenous little dragon creeps crawling through the flames, steel stoked red hot, ready to tear you to pieces. That is pretty metal. 

The Fighter

The Fighter:
The name "Fighter" is really godsdamned unspecific. The iron truth is that few fighters would simply call themselves such, they are sellswords, knights, killers, heroes and brutes. A Fighter is one who trusts in cold steel over faith, over primal instinct, over stealth, over anything else. Fighters have no magical or mystical abilities and they don't need them. They may wield magical weapons, but the real metal is in their hearts and it is their skill that marks them as deadly. Even a fighter beginning their heroic journey is already probably a veteran of at least one brutal, bloody campaign, who has killed at least one other in combat. 

Whether they embrace their destiny as killers or resist it, whether they restrict their deadly skill to the wicked or slaughter as their twisted hearts desire, Fighters are killers. Killing is their business, and business is booming. 

Hit Dice: d10
Attack Bonus: As Fighter (+1 per round)
Experience: As Fighter
Skills: Fighters possess a diverse set of skills depending on their individual backgrounds, but should always be assumed to be able to swim, maintain any armaments or gear they use, basic riding skills. 
Armour: Fighters can use any armour they damn well like. They trust in iron, not magic. 
Weapons: Fighters can use any weapons they please. The whole thing about a Fighter is their ability to fight and arbitrary weapons restrictions are stupid. If a bow is what they need to kill yon barbarian, they'll shoot an arrow in that motherfucker's eye. 

First Kill: All Fighters have killed at least one foe in a combat situation. This is an official rules requirement. The player should come up with a relatively specific story of how it happened, and if a situation should ever closely match that first kill, a Fighter's instincts grant them a +1 bonus to attack, damage and saving throws in that specific situation, ie, a drunken brawl with a chair leg. GMs should make this happen occasionally. 

Weapon Specialization: At 1st level, Fighters choose a particular weapon type (ie, bows, heavy blades, polearms) with which they are especially skilled with, gaining a +1 bonus to attack and damage with these weapons. At 6th, 11th and 16th levels, this bonus increases by +1. 

Combat Dominance: At 2nd level, Fighters gain a second melee attack against opponents of 1 HD or less. At 5th level, this increases to foes of 2 HD, 3 HD at 8th level, 4 HD at 11th level and so on. This ability stacks with the Fighter's extra attack they gain at 8th level. 

Extra Attack: At 8th level, Fighters can make a second attack (either melee or ranged) against any opponent, because sometimes there's just a pesky bastard that need to die. 

Stronghold: At 9th level, a Fighter will automatically attract warriors as followers, including 1d6 1st level fighter underlings and d6 non-combat underlings (sexy lover, helpful servants) as they or their GM determine. 

The Barbarian

Who is the Barbarian, other than the most awesome motherfucker you can possibly be? Let's begin, perhaps, with what the Barbarian is not. The Barbarian is not a mindless machine of war- while they're rarely educated per se, the greatest barbarians are cunning warlords, not mere brutes. Conan relied almost as much on his guile as his strength and neither Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan would have gone very far without their primal charisma. A barbarian is a product of a brutal and harsh environment, someone who has learned to rely on themselves first and foremost, who has a healthy disdain for civilization, even if they may enjoy certain of its benefits (steady work, liquor, brothels). 

The Barbarian:
Hit Dice: d12
Attack Bonus: As Fighter
Experience: As Fighter
Skills: All Barbarians are skilled at foraging for themselves and orienting themselves in natural environments. The skills of individual Barbarians may depend by tribe. 
Armour: Barbarians can generally only wear light armours such as leather, studded leather or hide. 
Weapons: Any melee or thrown weapons. True barbarians generally eschew missile weapons, save for those tribes that specialize in mounted archery. 

Cleave: Any time a Barbarian fells an opponent in combat, they can immediately make a melee attack against another adjacent enemy. 

Primal Might: Barbarians know how to conserve their strength and can release it in shocking bursts of energy and might that shock enemies. Once per day per level, a Barbarian can take a+4 bonus on a Str, Dex or Constitution related check or saving throw. 

Primal Endurance: At 5th level, a Barbarian has enough mastery of themselves that they can call upon their final reserves of might and instead of falling unconscious at 0 hit points, remain standing and fighting until reduced to -10, at which point they die like anyone else. 

Stronghold: At 9th level, a Barbarian will automatically attract barbarian followers, who will serve the Barbarian as long as they prove a successful and capable combat leader. The barbarian can rely on d6 1st level barbarian underlings and d6 non-combat underlings (slaves, concubines) as they or the GM determine. 

Call to War: At 12th level, a Barbarian can call together followers for a specific purpose, either bondsmen or close allies and grant upon them the benefits of an additional hit dice (+1 to attack, saves, bonus to HP, but not other benefits of gaining a level) for a period of one week or until a specific task is completed. The Barbarian can give this benefit to up to one individual per level. 

Some Rules For Being Drunk Off Your Ass (Because Being Drunk Is Metal)

Adventurers are expected to be a hard-drinking, hard-partying lot, because how else would a bunch of glorious bastards get their R&R on after a long adventure killing awesome monsters and stealing treasure? With lusty wenches and alluring whores (of either gender, let's not discriminate amongst brothers and sisters in steel here) of course, but also with copious quantities of booze. Beer and ale are the most natural beverages, but sometimes you want to be classy and have some wine, or try one of those new and really powerful distilled beverages. 

The number of drinks you can have before it has mechanical effects are 2 + your Constitution modifier. If you're kind of a weakling and have a negative modifier, well, guess what, you can't hold shit. If you're a dwarf, half-orc or barbarian of any race, that two drinks is now four. You can make a Constitution save against poison to stop the effects of alcohol, but each drink after you start making saves makes for an additional -2 to the save. 

First drink: -1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Dexterity. +1 to Strength, Constitution and Charisma. Arguably positive. 

Second drink: -2 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Dexterity. +2 to Strength, Constitution and +1 to Charisma. Worthwhile tradeoff for some. 

Third Drink: -3 to Int, Wis, Dex. +2 to Str, Con. 20% chance of confusion as spell effect. 

Fourth Drink: -4 to Int, Wis, Dex. +2 to Str, Con. 40% chance of confusion as spell effect. 

Fifth Drink: -5 to Int, Wis, Dex. +2 to Str, Con. 40% chance of confusion as spell effect. Con save to avoid passing out. 

Sixth Drink: -5 to Int, Wis, Dex. +1 to Str, Con. 40% chance of confusion as spell effect. Con save at -2 to avoid passing out. 

Subsequent Drinks: Str and Con go to +0. Penalty to saves to avoid passing out increase by -2. After the ninth drink, people who pass out must make a Con save against death. Every subsequent drink inflicts a -2 penalty to that save. 

Dying in your own puke might not be very heroic, but it is pretty metal. Ask Bon Scott. 

A Sample Monster (That Is Totally Fucking Metal)

Erinyes: (LE Evil Outsider)
HD: 9+9
Armour: 19
Move: 30', fly 90'
Attack: 2x Weapon +4 (poison, paralysis for 1d4 hours)
Saving Throw:  (Fort/Reflex/Will) 10/6/8
Special Abilities: Covenant of Destruction, Hair Rope, Immunity (charm, fear, fire, poison), Shape Weapon
Spells: (at will) Fear, Hold Monster, Teleport Without Error, (once a day) Summon (50%, 1 erinyes)
Intelligence: Superior
Treasure: +1 magical weapon

The Erinyes are the enforcers of Hell's will, fallen angels sent screaming back into the world to track down those who attempt to renege on oaths sworn in the name of their fell masters, of those who pledge their souls but attempt to win them back. They are strong, possessing the equivalent of 18 Strength. They take the form of beautiful but terrible men and women and usually forgo all clothing , save for elaborate scars marking their previous victims as well as the inevitable gore that accompanies their dark deeds.

They have the ability to mark one soul as their chosen quarry, invoking a Covenent of Destruction, being able to track that soul across planes if need be, gaining the ability to plane shift as needed to reach their target. They wield ropes made out of their own hair which entangle foes, either to simply bind them or lift them aloft to their deaths. An erinyes can transform any enchanted weapon into any other variety of enchanted weapon, but generally favor bows and longswords. Their paralytic poison stops movement, but does not prevent sensation, allowing them to draw out the deaths of their charges as they please.
 
An Erinyes is vicious but cunning as well and can occasionally be bargained with, particularly if there is the promise of more slaughter to be had.

Some Totally Random Rad Rules To Make Things More Metal

Some Totally Random Rad Rules To Make Things More Metal: 

Cry Havoc and Let Loose the Dogs of War: 

Come up with a decent battle cry spontaneously and you get a +1 bonus to attack rolls and saves against fear and morale loss for 1d4 rounds after that. Only one person in a party may get this bonus in a given combat, with the GM deciding who has the most awesome battle cry. 

Describe Your Own Kill/Death:

If your character kills an enemy with a critical hit, or are killed by a monster's critical hit, they get to describe their awesome murder/death, not the God of Metal (GM). Make your ancestors proud, son or daughter of Thor. 

Last Breath:

If you are reduced to between 0 and -10 hit points and you have a Constitution higher than 10, you can elect to make a final attack or offensive-based spell before you pass into unconsciousness, but get a -2 penalty to Constitution saves to stabilize if you do. 

Loincloth Rule:

A barbarian, ranger, berserker or other totally awesome badass who decides to forgo all protective armour in favor of some tribal tattoos, loincloth or some other totally non-functional clothing, gains a +3 bonus to their armour class due to their intimidating awesomeness. They do, however, sustain 1 extra damage for every five HP of damage that would have been inflicted on them, rounding down. Because while they are totally metal, that is pretty dangerous, dude. Note that even with women, this cannot be assumed to be primarily a function of sexiness. It's a combination of relying on your awesome-as-shit reflexes really heavily and the natural fear effect upon enemies of your clearly not giving a fuck. 

Shield Rules:

If a character who is using a shield chooses it, they can allow their shield to take the brunt of a blow, shattering instantly. The maximum amount of damage a shield can absorb is equal to 10x its armour class bonus. (Adapted from trollsmyth.ca. Trollsmyth could totally be a metal band.)

If you are using a shield, you can choose to use it to bash an opponent instead of using your main weapon. A light shield inflicts 1d2 damage and has a chance to knock an enemy back 5 feet. A heavy shield inflicts 1d4 damage and can knock an enemy down entirely. 

Sundering: 

If you have a giant-ass (two-handed) weapon of any sort, you may attempt to sunder an opponents weapon or armour. This attack does not inflict any damage, but if it is successful, any non-magical weapon will be shattered. If directed against armour, armour degrades by 1d4+1 if there is hard armour or a carapace to crack. Armour can only be sundered once. 

Two-Weapon Fighting: 

If you are a total badass and want to fight with two weapons, they need to be light weapons, doing no more than d6 damage, because bigger weapons are clunky. You make one attack roll with these weapons, but you get to roll twice for damage, and take the better result. 

Player Races in Metal & Monsters

The list of playable races will be the same as is standard in D&D, except that all of the races will get a slight makeover to make them more metal. 

Humans are whatever you make of them and admittedly, most humans are not all that impressive, being dirty, diseased peasants or underpaid city folk. But some humans manage to rise above the herd and mark themselves out by their epic, bloody conquests and heroic accomplishments. Driven by an unusually short lifespan, they accomplish as much in a few mere decades as many other races would in the same number of centuries. Humans are marked by a primal urge to expand and conquer. 

Humans can be any player class. Once per day a human character can reroll any fucking roll they want, because they are just that driven. Human characters also receive a free boon decided between the Metal Lord and the players, roughly equivalent to one of those feats in 3/3.5 D&D or the Pathfinder RPG. They get a +2 bonus to any one attribute they goddamn want. 

Half-Elves happen when a human fucks an elf, or vice versa. One could write a lot about their intercultural angst, but instead we will talk about how they are all somehow, oddly, more attractive than either humans or elves on their own and how they can either choose to follow the path of jaded, cynical lords of magic or driven, ambitious motherfuckers on the make. Either way, they will be pretty goddamn metal. 

The thing about Half-Elves is that they are not just pretty, but tend to be natural leaders, having their foot in both cultures, they tend to have a pretty sharp grasp of psychology. They can be any class they please. Half-Elves get a +2 bonus to any efforts to negotiate with or lie to anyone. Like an elf, they can see in twilight conditions, though they cannot detect magical objects with their eyeballs. They get a +2 to any attribute they please. They can choose one of the other racial abilities of an elf. 

Half-Orcs need little explanation but what you need to know is that it is difficult to imagine any creature being more metal than a fucking half-orc. Combining the brutal power of a motherfucking orc with the intelligence and ambition of a human? You might as well tattoo "FUTURE WARLORD" on the forehead of every half-orc, because you know if that fucker survives to adulthood, that is exactly what he or she is going to be. Well not exactly, but they're pretty damn good at it. 

Half-Orcs can be any class, though it's rare to see them be Mages, Monks or Paladins, due ot the uncompromising moral and disciplinary demands of those positions. Half-Orcs get a +2 bonus to Strength and Constitution, but take a -2 penalty to Charisma. They can see in the dark like an orc can, and they gain a +3 bonus against fear and poison, and also the same bonus to try and scare the living shit out of someone. They are straight-up immune to all non-magical diseases and inflict +1 damage when fighting unarmed.

Dwarves need no fucking help but be made metal, because seriously, what is more metal than a fucking Dwarf? Nothing. That's what. The Dwarves have been forced to become so fucking metal, because if they weren't, they'd be extinct, because their mountain homes are perilously close to all sorts of horrible monsters. If you are an adult Dwarf, you are fighting or you are provisioning the troops. Most Dwarves do both. 

Dwarves cannot be Mages or Witches, because they believe arcane magic is fucked and evil, a tool of the demons to warp and destroy mortals. They're so goddamn certain of this that they get a +3 bonus against magic. They're also tough as shit and basically fucking fearless, so they get that same bonus against fear and poison. Dwarves all learn how to use axes and hammers and are universally proficient in them. They can straight-up see in absolute darkness and know exactly how far they are underground and in which direction they are going. They can sense all sorts of shit dealing with stonework and being underground, like unstable architecture, traps, secret doors, etc. They hate all goblinoid and giant-type monsters so fucking much they get a +1 bonus to attack against them. They get a +2 bonus to Constitution and Wisdom, but a -2 to Dexterity. 

Elves are usually thought of as being sort of willowy hippies. Not here. What the Elves are is an immeasurably ancient and arrogant race which once ruled the world and firmly believe they should continue doing so, for everyone else's good. They are skilled in the arts of war and arcane magic and while they can be courtly and refined, they're also dangerous as fuck. Did I mention that they're actually the long-lost vanguard of an alien invasion force from beyond the stars? Yes, elves are aliens, blurring technology and magic together. They do not actually give a flying fuck about nature. They get a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Charisma, but a -2 to Dexterity.

Elves have no love for the natural world and thus cannot be Druids or Rangers. Their minds are conditioned to resist the nasty psionic shit they pull on other races all the goddamn time, and thus they're immune to sleep and charm spells. They are awfully fond of using fancy swords and bows and all Elves are proficient with them. They have a chance of detecting magic by using their ordinary senses, due to their lifelong immersion in it. 

Gnomes are usually the least metal race ever, but let's look at them another way. They're basically fae, which traditionally have nothing to do with metal, but when you think of the fae as capricious bitches who do not give a fuck about mortals, their metal quotient rises dramatically. Gnomes are the most human-like of all fae races. They're even mortal. But for the most part? They do not give a fuck. You see, they don't give a fuck because they have no soul to give a fuck about. They are literally soulless, like all fae. And that is why they are so goddamn scary, even if they're your friend. 

Gnomes cannot be Clerics or Paladins, because they have no fucking souls and the gods abhor that shit. This also makes them totally immune to things like demonic possession, which is a pretty rad upside to being soulless. Gnomes can communicate with all burrowing animals, which seems lame but a lot of burrowing animals are actually scary as fuck. They have the ability to cast minor illusions like all fae beings. They have some ridiculous hate-on for goblins and kobolds and will just up and kill those motherfuckers if they see them. They get a +1 bonus to attack them. Gnomes can straight-up see in the dark and gain a +2 to saving throws against any kind of illusion because they use them all the goddamn time. They get a +2 bonus to Constitution and Intelligence but a -2 to Strength.

Halflings are not fat, content rural folk but have actually spent most of their history as slaves in the countryside and an urban underclass. In the cities, they run awesomely badass mafia organizations. In the countryside, they are guerillas and revolutionaries as often as not. Those hobbit holes? They're tunnels and they can pop up from fucking anywhere to put an arrow in your goddamn eyeball. So yeah. Go ahead and pick on the little dude. Maybe he won't kill you in your sleep. 

Halflings can be any class, but are usually Thieves or Assassins if urban, Rangers or Druids if rural. They are ridiculously good at sneaking around and being silent, so they can kill you without you even knowing they're there. They have incredibly sensitive ears and can see in twilight like it was daylight. Halflings are not only proficient with missile weapons, but all get a +1 bonus to use them. They also have this weird luck thing going on, which gives them a +1 bonus to all saving throws, ever. They get a +2 bonus to Dexterity and Wisdom, but a -2 to Strength.

Metal & Monsters: The Most Totally Awesome RPG Blog Ever

Metal & Monsters: 

What is Metal & Monsters? It is an effort to make a pretty fucking awesome fantasy RPG blog and resource, in a mold which I wouldn't call definitively either old-school or new-school or whatever, but one that can basically be picked up and played without a lot of fuss. It is intended to be something you can basically plug into your game as needed. 


It is also intended to be, as the name implies, totally fucking metal. 

What does it mean to be metal? It means that there is going to be way more emphasis on awesome adventures than stuff like character angst or setting fluff. Your job is to be an awesome adventurer who slays monsters, steals treasure and has kickass adventures in strange and dangerous places- and then goes and blows all their money in epic afterparties back in town. One could have urban adventures in a metal world as well, but they have to be totally metal cities, filled with bizarre architecture, improbable monsters and evil death cults. 

This isn't intended to be taken "seriously". It's intended to be awesome, and for you to have fun being awesome. 

No game system can guarantee that you will be totally fucking awesome, but Metal & Monsters will do its best to help you do just that, whatever system you might use. Note that this does not mean you will be invulnerable or that you won't be challenged- characters in 4th ed belong to shiny comic books, not gritty pulp novels or metal album covers. You are not a superhero. You may very well die, but you will die awesomely. That orc won't just hit you with an axe and inflict 8 damage, it will fucking split your skull in two and then eat your brains because it believes that it will gain your metal-ness by doing so. Note that you may very well decide to do the same goddamn thing to that orc. 

A metal game is a game where you can totally eat a demon's heart and still be one of the good guys. This is not the sort of game where you angst over killing a goblin because they're humanoid too. You can pretty much assume that most everything out there is out to fucking kill you, eat you and offer up your immortal soul to its demon-god. Good thing you're going to kill them first.  

In all seriousness though, most of the rules in the game will be useable in a more generic and less totally metal game as well. That's okay, too.