D8 OSR/D&Dable things inspired by Maldita Castilla

Maldita Castilla is an outstanding 80s arcade style tribute to Ghosts 'n Goblins. It incorporates Spanish mythology excellently and the level of polish and 80s arcade authenticity is superb. I would highly recommend the game and it can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this post.

"So you guys rolled up a fighter, paladin, ranger AND barbarian?"

This game also strikes me as an awesome source of inspiration for monsters and other things for your D&D/OSR game of choice. Here are just some examples:

1. A grieving witch's tears can be crystallized and used in a ritual for opening a portal to Hell. You could definitely work this into a "race against the cult conspiracy for the MacGuffins" scenario akin to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay's The Enemy Within. I could also definitely see this being applicable to Carcosa...

2. A grumpy and capricious wizard of storms and winds terrorizes people and claims several windmills as his towers and domain. [1]

3. A powerful, fully mechanoid [2] champion of Chaos is raiding a keep and attempting to burn its great library to the ground.

4. Dancing skeletons. Killing them will cause them to explode and send bone projectiles flying everywhere. Example stats: HD 2, AC 6 (13), Damage 1d6, Movement 60', Special: explodes when killed, everyone nearby must save or suffer 1d6 damage.

5. A small, winged creature with very limited pyromancy and a torch (can only muster enough pyromancy to light said torch) meekly asks if they can light the party's way in return for protection from other monsters in the dungeon. Will betray and desert the party during a particularly shitty fight/trap/situation and leave them without a light. I highly recommend portraying it in a Hensonesque manner.

6. Pyromancer [3] skeletons that, when killed, turn into flaming skull bats.

7. The party is asked to investigate a swamp because wicked sirens are luring people to their deaths. When the party confronts the sirens, they discover that the sirens have a guardian Tarasca. Example stats: HD 8, AC 2 (17) for shell, Damage 2d6 with bite, Movement 30' (90' in water), Special: thrice per day it can summon 1d6 Water Men (HD 2, AC 7 (12), Damage 1d6, Movement 90').

8. Ojáncanu/Ojáncanos: A very hairy giant of great strength with a single eye. It embodies evil, cruelty, and brutality. Even looking at its horrid face is akin to having to endure a Fear spell. I would recommend giving it the stats of a cyclops, with the Fear spell effect.

Also check out the manual because it's great and has a bestiary: https://www.locomalito.com/images/covers/Maldita_Castilla_users_manual_burned.pdf

[1] You could simply reskin the normal D&D spell list to be wind themed, such as having Sleep be a spell where victims are pinned down by strong winds, Magic Missile as a small lightning bolt, Fireball as a "ball" of wind that bursts and cuts its victims with vicious gales, etc. Alternatively, you could use the maleficence rules for lightning bolts and the elementalist wind spells from Wonder & Wickedness: (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/145647/Wonder--Wickedness).

[2] Check out Warhammer: Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness for where the mechanoid mutation idea comes from. Here is a quick set of tables converting them to D&D:

D10 Mechanoid part table:

1. Head: +1 AC, extra 1d4 damage bite attack.

2. Body: Gives a base AC of 1d4+1 (this ruling is inspired by the "roll 1d6 for AC" method for Dave Arneson's robots in Blackmoor).

3-5. Arms: +1 to weapon damage, +2 to strength related rolls.

6-7. Hands: +1 to weapon damage and to hit, 1d6 unarmed damage, +2 to dexterity related rolls.

8-10. Legs (1d6): 1-3. Normal but +30' movement rate. 4. Wheels (can build up speed to 150' for a charge, good luck with stairs). 5. Hoverer (60' speed, no movement penalties for difficult terrain). 6. Tracks (60', can use stairs, gain a +4 saving throw bonus versus being knocked down).

Give all the parts for a fully mechanoid being such as our champion of Chaos and just one of these mutations for a follower or newly initiated Chaos warrior.

[3] For pyromancy, I would recommend this excellent class from Gloomtrain: http://gloomtrain.blogspot.com/2016/03/pyromancer-class.html

You can get the game here: https://www.locomalito.com/maldita_castilla.php

If you enjoy the game and wish to play an updated and expanded version, you can purchase Maldita Castilla EX for Steam, PS4 and other systems. Here is the Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/534290/Cursed_Castilla_Maldita_Castilla_EX/ 

FIGHT ON!