Showing posts with label 4Players. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4Players. Show all posts

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Cultures From Below

A page to help familiarize you all with the "known" cultures, creatures, and travelers of the Veins. None of these should be considered complete information, but it will give you what most of the tribes know of each particular thing. Of course, it is assumed these are biased entries.

To be updated over time as you encounter more.



Ælf Adal: Hauntingly beautiful. Cruel. Utterly inhuman. They are born of the Nightmare mirror beneath the surface. They are urbane and fond of insane sorceries. It is said by some that every human cruelty was taught and made by an Ælf Adal. They hate us. They hate to an unfathomable degree; never forget this. They appear as beautiful humans devoid of any color. Skin of impenetrable pitch. Hair of glowing white. They seek to usurp the waking world and plunge the world into Nightmare; all are certain they will succeed.

Dvargir: All dwarves are to some extent, mindless. Focused on few things besides their endless toil. Though some of their thoughts are somewhat human, the range of expression is horrifically small. The Dvargir are even more so. They face only the future; one in which only they and their Work exists. A Dvargir will only make a deal with you if they are statistically-No, mathematically certain that it will forward the Work. It may not be in your lifetime, nor theirs, but it will happen. They are exclusively literal in meaning. There can be no bargain; only cause and effect. They are not cruel, only apathetic to others. None take more slaves than the Dvargir; it is Natural. The Ælf Adal hate them as well; the Dvargir find the Ælf Adal an inconvenience.

Knotsmen: Cursed. Cursed. Cursed. Do not associate with a Knotsman. Never accept any trade with a Knotsman. It would be better if they were all swallowed by Mother Mountain. They will always Lie. It is a waste of life to speak to them; no words of humanity shall ever reach their twisted hearts. They were Greedy, long ago. Made a tainted Sacrifice. Sacrificed their children, their children's children. They deny its cost though they know of it. They cannot bear to face their ignorance.

The Olm: Not human, and yet perhaps more human than anything else Below. They are blind. Skin slippery and soft like a frog. They make little noise and rarely are seen in any daylight. Swim down through caves long enough and they shall find you. The Tribes have often traded with them; well made wood is a precious tool for them. If you are beloved by them, then they shall eat your body upon your death; they understand Hunger and Sacrifice.

Milk-Skin-Traders: They live on the Nightmare Sea, in their pleasure barges. Entirely human. Somehow, the only people of the Nightmare Sea the tribes have ever seen are these repugnant, fat, traders. They do not truly understand Sacrifice. They merely understand how to calculate its "worth". You will know them by their pain scales. They use slaves, but it is no special thing; most prefer the use of white pack apes.

Calcinated Cancer Bear: Beautiful creatures of an age before the world Burned. They crept beneath the soil to escape and were permanently changed. They seek out flame to sooth their aching growths. All live in pain; all are still dangerous. The Frostbitten Bastard tribe is known to test their heroes by sending them into indefinite exile until they return with the pelt of such a creature. There is some nobility in ending its continuous suffering.

The Rapture: From the moment you stepped into the Underworld, it began to hunt you. It will find you at your most desperate. Alone. Starved. Lost. You have seen it before, even if you did not know. Lurking in the flickering shadows of a dying fire. In the cold abyss of the cave where you were forced to leave behind your family. In the nervous sweat of your brow when the cave wall slips out from beneath your groping foot. It cannot bleed. It has no flesh to slay. It invades the mind and takes your flesh as its own. You will be forced to kill and die by your own hand.

All who go Below must face it eventually. You make invoke its Name and call it to you, if you are certain you can ward it off. But you must face it.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Tribes of the Hungry Mountain

Xan'dun is what the urbane Nikali of the inner mountains call them. A cute nickname for their "rural" cousins on the edges of the Ryvanwall. The Highlanders of Galacriq call them the Spear (sword-staff) People. To all others they are merely barbarians.

The Xan'dun themselves refer to each other by their specific tribal names. An infinite number of microcultures populate the Ryvanwall. Each unique, within a certain degree of variation. 

The following notes on Xan'dun culture is meant to assist players in understanding what degree of cultural interpretation is up to their whims.

  1. All tribes have heroes, warriors, and shamans.
  2. Most tribes do not have a god that they follow; their particular culture is based on the knowledge and rituals of their shamans.
  3. A tribe does not survive without its shamans.
  4. Exile is the most extreme form of punishment, beyond death. Only a shaman may Exile you, and you are Doomed.
  5. All are, to some extent, nomadic. The Mountain shifts and changes.
  6. Concepts such as institutions, formalized laws, and other concrete abstractions of the city are difficult to comprehend.
  7. All have felt starvation and thirst at least once.
  8. All have lost loved ones and tribemates.
  9. Perpetual growth and gain is considered unlucky. It is best to change; all gain requires sacrifice. If not given, something else will be taken eventually.
  10. They have no trouble understanding malice and desperation.
  11. Conservation of food, light, warmth, and stories is extremely important. All of these have been sacrificed for.
  12. Never share something you have sacrificed for with someone who does not understand the gravity of that sacrifice.
  13. Sacrifice is virtue. Ignorance of this is complete immorality.
  14. Truth, derived from Sacrifice, is sacred.
  15. All have taken a life. All have fed and drank from this sacrifice.
  16. Your tribe: born into or made, is the most important unit of social life.
  17. Bonding is done so by understanding the loss and sacrifice of another; anything sacrificed for, freely given, is a most precious and personal gift.
  18. Every tribe has its own unique art form. It is somewhat derived from the rituals of the shamans, but everyone in the tribe knows this art form.
Impact on gameplay:
  • All players of these tribes start with a skill level 5 for climbing, pole falling, and vaulting
  • They are of one of the few humans who can eat human flesh for sustenance. Proper sacrifice and ritual must be observed; if so they do not become ghouls. Exiles and those who eat without Empathy are subject to the sickness; forever cursed to hunger they are.

These are not the nomadic steppe tribes that inspired most barbarians, or the Germanic/Scandinavian cultures that have crept into modern barbarian imprints. These tribes have walked out of a dream of neolithic hunter-gatherers. 

Beyond the general themes listed above and the particular attributes of the tribe chosen by the players during character creation, other cultural aspects are entirely up to the players as they play their characters. For example, the art form may be of anything the player desires. 

Friday, June 10, 2022

It says "great warrior" in chinese

Language point system for the hexcrawl because I want to make everything more difficult. I hate my players, and I want them to suffer: 

  • Languages are learned like skills. Interactions and uses allow the PC to attempt to improve their language rolls up to 10, at which point they will be considered fluent in most languages.
  • A language roll may be attempted to understand another language with greater accuracy than what your skill already provides, but a failure can still provide information if your language level is high enough.
  • If the language is directly or semi related to a language you know well (basically 10), you will have the new language at a skill of int/2 to begin with.
  • Different language levels provide different levels of understanding:
    • 10: Fluency + understanding of related languages
    • 7: Understanding of spoken word, difficulty clarifying writing and reading
    • 4: 2 or more interpretations of spoken word, only understanding certain words of reading and writing
    • 1: Completely illiterate, you only understand a handful of words. Maybe.
  • If your native language has no writing system, your ability to understand reading and writing is "one tier down".

Saturday, May 28, 2022

1000 ways to be crippled by life

Exhaustion: -4 to all rolls until sleep. Every extra point of exhaustion cumulatively decreases con by 1. Every night of normal sleep restores 1 con.

Dehydration: -4 to all rolls until drinking. After 2 day of not drinking, roll con saves every day against death.

Starvation: After [con] days of not eating, -4 to all rolls until your first substantial meal. After [con]x2 days of not eating, 10 minute rests no longer provide healing. After [con]x3 days of not eating, physical stats drop to 1. After [con]x4 days of not eating, con save every day against death.

Blindness and partial blindness are usually caused by darkness, but can also be caused by excess light. Some examples of partial blindness conditions: 

  • You observe the region just beyond your 30 feet of torchlight 
  • Your only source of light is a candle 
  • Moonlit nights 
  • Large amounts of shadows 
  • Snowblinding 
  • Looking directly into water on a bright day 
  • Heavy weather

Partial Blindness: You can see general shapes but only very low levels of detail. Attacking things is hard (-2) and you can’t really make out what you’re even looking at. Time is less of an issue though, detail can still be mostly seen if up very close.

Blindness: Can’t see shit. You get basically no descriptions of a room you crawl through besides the dimensions, sounds, smells, and large objects. 10 minutes of searching gives you the same information you would have initially gotten with vision. Another 10 minutes would be required to learn anything more. Everything takes more time. (-4 to hit if you can sense the creature without sight, almost impossible to attack without information).

Paralysis: Every attack against you hits and crits. Voluntary movement impossible.


Drunk: Increases crit fumble range by 1 for every drink.

Cannibalism: Every time you partake in cannibalism, roll a con save. Once you fail, your body will begin the process of ghoulification. Normal food turns to ash in your mouth; only meat sates the hunger, and only human meat sates it for any significant length of time. 

  • Every day without human meat requires a cha save to prevent pursuing the consumption of human meat. Every day without consuming human meat adds a -1 penalty to the save.
  • Completing the process of ghoulification requires a steady diet of humans over about a month.
  • Exact conditions have not been decided but would be: increased strength, eventual undeath, paralytic claws, ravenous hunger, darkvision, ability to climb walls and ceilings

Awakening: Stay awake for 3-4 weeks and you will Awaken. The PC becomes an NPC unless the player (and the group) consents to acting out explicitly and completely psychotic behaviors.

Friday, March 11, 2022

Barbarian Home Depot

Before the PCs set out for their field trip, they will be allowed to stock up on any amount of the supplies listed below before they set out. Once they do set out, they will need to find more supplies and resources the traditional way.

Inventory: str+(bag you carry)

Refresher on weapons: 

  • 1d6 damage 
  • 1d8 if you two handed and str is 7+ 
  • Two handed weapons take up 2 inventory slots
  • Even if a weapon does not explicitly state a function in its description below, you can probably think of a unique use. For example while there are no inherent mechanics for crushing vs bleeding wounds, I am sure that the type of weapon you choose will make crippling or hemorrhaging easier. Modifying your weapons and options may also produce differences
  • Hirelings taken from your tribe will have 14 inventory slots if given a backpack

Weapons:

  • Stone spear: 25/35/40, versatile
  • Stone dagger: better for tight spaces
  • Boomerang: 40/55/65, returns if you miss, curved flightpath
  • Sharp rock or sharp rock tied to a handle: as handaxe
  • Bow and arrow: 150/210/240, two handed
  • War club/root club, wooden or bone (mammoth): may be one or two handed depending on size
  • Rock sling: 80/110/130, rocks are almost anywhere
  • Spear sling: 50/70/80, damage as two handed
  • Macuahuitl: two handed
  • Dart blower w/ darts: 25/35/40, no damage: depends on poison
  • Femur bone stabbers: easy to make, also can be used as stakes
  • Remorhaz jawbone kukris: can also be used as flesh hooks
  • Ivory harpoon: 30/40/50, barbed, can be tied to a rope
  • Net: 5/-/10, can be used to catch things

Tools and Resources:

  • Stone mallet
    • hammering things
    • 1 slot
  • Stone axe 
    • chopping and carving
    • 1 slot
  • Chisel 
    • useful with a mallet for carving
    • 1 slot
  • Flint rock
    • neolithic striker
    • 1 slot
  • Leather backpack/sacks
    • backpack +7
    • sacks +4
    • no slots
  • Rope/twine/string
    • 30 feet of rope = 1 slot
    • "infinite" ball of twine/string = 1 slot
  • Attachable bone hook
    • can be used with poles, rope, and for any number of applications
    • no slots
  • Poles 
    • of the 10 foot variety and more
    • 1 slot
  • Torches
    • 2 torches = 1 slot
  • Waterskins 
    • can carry three "drinks"/doses
    • 1 slot
  • Grease/lard/oil
  • Fermented or normal milk/Cheese or butter
  • Rations
    • 1 ration = 1 day of eating = 1 slot
    • Mostly dry aged meats
  • Blankets/furs/basic animal skins
    • 1 good blanket/skin = 1 slot
  • Absorbent rags
    • 1 slot
    • If wrapped around a stick and hung above boiling water, can be used to collect distilled drinking water
  • Bag of smoothed/jagged rocks 
    • pebble sized, time consuming to make but can function similar to ball bearings or caltrops
    • 1 slot 
  • Bag of spiders
    • 1 slot
  • Cave/ritual paint
    • 1 slot for a handheld jar
  • Wooden or bone stakes
    • 3 stakes = 1 slot
  • Pipes
    • 1 slot
  • Clay pots
    • Containers and mixing materials
    • slot depends on size
      • 6 inch diameter = 1 slot
      • 1 foot diameter = 3 slots
      • 2 foot diameter = 7 slots
      • can also be used to contain other slot filling items but cannot be carried in backpack this way; only in carts/vehicles
  • Boat
    • canoes
    • small rowboats: 5 people each
    • smaller sized longship: 20-30 people
  • Goats
    • fermented goat milk (alcohol), normal milk
    • pure souls for sacrifice
  • Pine resin/sap
    • Great for sticking things together, or fire starting material
    • 1 slot for a bundle
  • Black smoke leaves
    • When burned produces a thick black smoke that results in partial blindness up to 5 feet away and complete blindness any farther
    • 1 slot of leaves can fill a 30x30 room for 10 minutes
  • Woodland ghillie suit
    • Blending in forested environments
    • 2 slots in a bag
  • Basic animal pheromone glands, dung, or blood
  • Giant or normal sized feathers
    • Commonly found giant feathers go up to 10 feet in length
  • Shedded exo-plates of a Remorhaz
    • Not mirrors, but highly reflective and durable. Interlocking plates provide temperature insulation
    • 1 slot for a 1 foot x 1 foot plate, but they come in many sizes
  • Therapeutic Compounds:
    • 1 slot = 1 bag. For non animal compounds, 3 doses are in each bag. 1 dose for normal effect, 3 doses for extreme effect.
    • Mother's Milk: Found in the bulbs of the flowers brought up by the lowlanders. Induces an extraordinary dreamlike bliss that pulls the smoker into a sleep just precipitating the border of death. Can be diluted in the caverns of the mountain to produce Mother's Kiss, a liquor that sends the mind into the Waking Dream.
      • Opium. Painkiller, causes extremely deep sleep for 1~6 hours.
      • Higher doses slow down the nervous system. Con save to not stop breathing.
      • In diluted liquor form, your mind enters psychotropia for 1~6 hours while you are still awake. Actions and sights may layer over each other. Also acts as an alcohol.
    • Fever Fire: The berries of a nearly translucent plant that can only grow up in the glaciers, where the cold carves flesh like a knife. For a few minutes, the body seizes and burns. Frostbite and rot can be driven back, but it leaves the eater shaken and exhausted. 
      • Drives the body into a powerful fever. Can save you against frostbite and jump starts the immune system. Con save at the end against exhaustion. 2~12 minutes.
      • Higher doses overheat the body and over-activate the immune system. Con save against brain damage and con save against cytokine storming.
    • Shaman Barb: A thorny vine bush found across the Broken Coast. Pricking the skin with Barb calms the nerves and tends to improve amiability. High doses paralyze the body and have been seen to drive some into madness, particularly shamans and their kin.
      • Not a combat drug; would probably reduce initiative and combat rolls. Kind of acts like pot; can be used to reduce stress and improve morale, and is enjoyed during negotiations. 1~6 hours.
      • Higher doses can act as a neurotoxin. Con save against full body paralysis. At ridiculous doses, wis/cha save against schizophrenia. If predisposed, schizophrenia is possible at high dose levels and offers no save at ridiculous doses.
    • Salja: Made from the grounded hairy roots of tundra grass the grow near the Cloud Maker. The paste is grey and bitter. But, for a few minutes after eating, other things become addictive. The taste of other foods is easiest, then base sensations, and even behaviors.
      • If unwilling, make a wis/cha save against developing addictions. High doses have basically no effect, but chronic and coordinated doses can strengthen the addiction.
    • Tongue-Globber Toad in a Bag: Those who lick the toad will experience frightful swelling and great bouts of energy and strength. Unfortunately, they will also be rendered dumb and become completely unintelligible as their tongue swells up in the mouth.
      • Your body swells with extra blood and your sympathetic nervous system roars into motion. Your tongue swells up, and so does your brain. +4 to physical rolls, -4 to mental rolls. You become incredibly drawn to bright colors and amphibians. 30 min~1 hour.
      • Higher doses can be dangerous. Con save against hematoma. Con save against heart attack. Con save against shock. 
    • Blood Belly Viper in a Bag: A single bite is all it takes. The fangs are small and the teeth barely nick the skin, but it is enough. You will notice after a day or two; the wound does not heal. The blood trickles slowly over the days, then over weeks. Only the strongest survive the harrowing month, and are left crawling with skin tight hands at the maw of Mother Mountain.
      • Long lasting anticoagulant. Con save against effects. Wounds will not heal normally and blood will not stop flowing out. Your blood smells noxiously and obscenely sweet to everything within a mile. Lasts 1 month.
      • Higher doses will probably cause necrosis and breakdown of organs.
These are the poisons accessible to the Highlands which are setting specific, but are not necessarily the most obvious to use in general. If you are curious and think about other potential poisons to use (either to be fed to someone or covered on your blade), I'm sure you could come up with something.

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Post Apocalypse Occultic Stone Age Super Savages

Shamelessly STOLEN and PLAGIARIZED (Literally. I didn't bother the change the text that I kept) from Arnold's tables for barbarian tribes.

Life out here is tough. It is fucked up. Almost everyone and everything is trying to kill you. (To be fair, you are also trying to kill almost anything you come across on top of the Break).

The Xan'dun savages upon the Break aren't just barbarians, they are neolithic killing machines. Metal isn't a luxury they have, but killing other things using stone and bone can still be quite effective.

Each PC is considered a hero in their respective tribe. Each was respected even before they descended into the dungeon of the last King to retrieve his crown.

  • PCs start the game as lvl 3 barbarians
  • When rolling for stats, roll Str, Con, and Cha as ((4d6)+1)/2. (if charisma is rolled lower than 7, increase it to 7)
  • Roll other stats as normal
  • HP calculation:
    • lvl 1 = con 
    • lvl 2 = con+2
    • lvl 3 = con+4
    • lvl 4 = con+6
    • Each level of barbarian also gives +2 HP. lvl 3 = con+10
  • Inventory: str+(whatever bag you carry), backpacks are +7, sacks are +4
    • Also, if you can describe how you attach something to your body without putting it into your sack or backpack, you may carry it without adding it to the bag
  • Each PC has 1d6 stories of loss. You may keep these in reserve and spend them to gain information. For example, when you encounter a creature in the Veins of the Earth and do not know what it is, you may use a story of loss to recall tales of how your ancestors and family members died that relate to the current scenario
  • Each PC has 1d4 reports of peril. For each report of peril, roll a 1d6 to determine the theme of what almost killed you. DM will determine specific details. Each report of peril can either give your PC +1 max hp and lethal damage cap OR +4 to saves of a relatively specific nature. Example: You lost your grip while climbing, fell, almost died, but recovered. You could take the hp and lethal damage bonus or get a +4 save to either losing grip or falling.
  1. Geography
  2. Flaura
  3. Fauna
  4. Other Tribes
  5. Roll Again
  6. The Veins
  • Each PC starts with 1 scar and 1 scar slot. To get more scar slots, take 100 damage. (Note: you should be recording the damage you take in your "history of violence"). The first scar is for Xan'dun tribesmen. All PCs have this scar and any Xan tribesman worth their salt will also have one of these. For reference on scar functions, read the prime ability for barbarians.
  • The PCs will likely have several skills that will not be clarified until they are relevant but, notably, the climbing, pole falling, and pole vaulting skills start at 5 for all PCs.
  • Xan'dun tribesmen may partake in cannibalisms without becoming ghouls so long as the proper rituals and acknowledgements of sacrifice are given.
As mentioned before, PCs may choose to bring two of their tribesmen with them on their journey. This is optional and is a choice that must be reasoned and decided upon before the PCs set out from Titanium Avalanche.

Each PC will choose to belong to one of the tribes below. Currently choices are not exclusive but that may change depending on if it is necessary. Tribe traits and hero perks can both apply to the PC.

Neolithic Murderhobos

Ivory Thunder (tribal naming conventions are considered ridiculous to outsiders)

Boring Tribe Shit: Have 1d6 tame mammoths. The largest mammoth will have an enchantment braided into its hair. This enchantment give them either (a) the gaze of the vor-mammut 1/day, save or suffer broken limb, or (b) weaponized birth, a half-demon baby mammoth with HD 4, tusks for 1d8 + save pain 1 rnd, damage cannot be healed except by magic. Shamans walk around on stilts, wear deer skulls adorned with women's scalps. They vomit smoke that induces fear.

Hero perk: Wears a backwards mammoth skull on their head like a helmet. Gives +4 defense and very good head protection (fucks up your movement, vision, and coordination for anyone else, would also take up 2 inventory slots). Understands the body language of beasts and is very adept at animal handling.


Deathblow


Boring Tribe Shit: Half of the warriors are elderly. Half HP, but unless you coup-de-grace them, or drop them to -5, they will spend their dying turn cursing the player. (Curse of Ill Omen: next critical hit turns into a critical miss.) Shamans are instructed by a troll, who spends most of its time slumbering in the center of the village, covered in flags, rags, and offerings. They sing to make the earth eat their enemies.

Hero perk: Wields a giant 12 foot sword covered in prayer flags. Increase damage by one die size. Weapon also counts as a magical +2 nimbus iron greatsword with reach. The sword will always find its way back to the Heir. Takes up 2 inv slot in the hands of the Heir but takes up 6 for anyone else. Speaks fluent giantish. (PC does not have to be a half HP old dude unless the player desires, but they will be able to curse someone with their dying breath).


Giantish: Scrawled and graffitied across the Mountain. Spoken by Trolls, who sing to the earth in this tongue. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Hum with your stomach, the soft resonant language of the Mountain's firstborn, who once heard these tones deep inside the womb of the earth. Put your ear against a boulder, hug it gently. You will hear it in your bones, the whisper in the rock.


Golden Psychic Evisceration


Boring Tribe Shit: The greatest warriors are castrated, and their remaining genitalia stuffed into elaborate cod-pieces: scrimshaw mammoth tusks or narwhal horns. Their severed gonads are used in a fertility ritual by a chosen girl to conceive a hero-child. Tribe has +1d3-1 heroes. Shamans only wear things produced by the human body. They can be damaged, but not killed, by manufactured weapons. They scream to heat metal.

Hero perk: Naked and wielding a sharp rock (as a handaxe). Blessed by the spirits of wild places and immune to damage from all crafted weapons. Loses this power if they ever wear clothing or any crafted thing. Covered in lice, but possesses a statuesque physique and kingly demeanor.


Nocturnal Brutalism


Boring Tribe Shit: Women have each amputated a well-tattooed breast and turned it into jerky. If eaten, they cannot be reduced below 1 HP by non-magical weapons. Lasts 2 hours. Over ½ of fighters will be female, and 1/3 of female fighters will still have their jerkied breast in their inventory. Shamans are all little girls, wearing hair shirts and lizard scale bangles. They are all identical twins, and share a pseudo-hivemind (empathy, local telepathy only), and are products of an intergenerational witch. The first one to get pregnant will give birth to the next generation of the witch sister hivemind. They are found to be universally charming/friendly, and if at least four of them surround someone, they ensorcle someone as “dominate person” (maintained by one of the girls).

Hero perk: Capable of absolutely insane jumps. Like 50' horizontal. Always jumps into combat with a +4 spear attack, dealing double damage. Covered in red body paint with dozens of bird skulls woven into their hair.


Frostbitten Bastard


Boring Tribe Shit: Blinded at birth with a sharp rock and a burning stick. Navigate the world through fine tuned tongue clicks and the taste of the air on their burnt sockets. +2 to attack and defense rolls against them if you can see them, but -4 to both rolls in the dark. Shamans are permanently invisible. They have invisible gems in their eye sockets. If extracted, these gems can be used to make lenses for an invisible lantern (the lantern is invisible, not the indirect light it produces). 

Hero perk: Wears the fur of a calcinated cancer bear. Nightmare Skull belt buckle. Possesses strength equivalent to a hill giant (double str score), as well as a hill giant's ability to throw big rocks: -4 to hit, 2d8 damage, up to 30 feet range. (For the PC this translates to -2 to attack and defense or +4)


Note on bastard strength: You can imagine this as having "the strength of ten men". Mostly applies to brute strength and less so to generation of power (which influences acceleration of movement and ultimately force of impact). Your hands probably do count for 1d6 damage though.


She-wolf's Malevolent Entrails


Boring Tribe Shit: Half of the warriors are children. Children have half HP, but if they drug themselves before combat, they get two attacks. The drug is the insufflated, pulverized liver of a raven that has been fed increasing amounts of poisonous lichen its whole life. Shamans are constantly snorting hallucinogenic lichens from turtle shell snuff boxes. They are wrapped in their own hallucinations, and appear to be male, female, young, old, cheerful, depressed. . . sometimes all at the same time. Their ancestors sometimes stand behind them, whispering in their ears. They make the air swim with illusions.

Hero perk: Carries an enormous wineskin full of fermented goat's milk. Wears a stupid hat (ironically) taken from some milklander they killed. Will drink booze while they fight, getting drunker and drunker. Drunkenness: in addition to +1 crit fumble range, attacks deal +2 damage. Drunkenness stacks everytime you drink/use firewater. (PCs do not have to be half HP children unless they would like to be)


Raven liver powder: Can be taken at the same time PC rages. After rage ends, PC gains 1 level of exhaustion (-4 to all rolls until sleep). If drunk, roll a 1d6 after rage ends. Drunkenness points are equal to the "snooze range". Rolling in the snooze range causes the pc to pass out for a number of hours equal to what you rolled. 3 points of drunkenness: 1-3 snooze range. After 6 points of drunkenness, the PC will automatically pass out until tomorrow in 1d6+3 rounds or until rage ends.


The liver powder does not work on anyone outside the tribe. The tribe members have been fed drug cocktails since they were born to tolerate it. Anyone else gets a pounding headache, pulsing veins, and sometimes dies of a heart attack.


(Unintelligible growling) best translated as "Skintakers"


Boring Tribe Shit: Fight alongside a pack of 3d6 wolves. The chieftain is actually a worg, and the wolves are higher ranked than the human barbarians. Shamans are all wolves, or perhaps the spirits of ancestors reincarnated into wolves. They are shaved and tattooed with colorful screed. They walk around on two legs, but drop to all four legs when they need to run at full speed. Speak in mewling growls that almost sound like words. They run like the wind.

Hero perk: Raised by wolves. Wears wolf head over their own head. Fights with a pair of jawbone kukris. Is accompanied by their pack sibling, another wolf. If both attack the same target in unison (as they usually do), they both get +2 to hit.


Decapitation


Boring Tribe Shit: Made a deal with a demon in a hole. Half the tribesmen are missing an arm or a leg. Unless dismembered or turned to paste, tribe members return to life in 1d6 turns. Shamans are small quadruple amputees. Rolling eyes, echolalia. They are carried on the backs of their (full-sized) siblings inside wicker cages. They can rip the water from living things.

Hero perk: Stone-eyed exemplar of barbarian fighting techniques. Perfused with feathered piercings and has a face covered with tattoos. Eagle feathers braided into hair and eagle claws hanging from belt. Fights with a pair of obsidian daggers. Whenever someone attacks in melee and misses, the barbarian gets a free attack against them. If the PC dies, they may start every turn rolling Xd4-lethal damage (X=barbarian lvl). They recover that many HP that round and get up. If lethal damage is too high, PC will need to recover lethal damage over time (while dead) before returning to life is possible. This works as long as the "full" body is in "one piece". (PC does not have to be missing an arm unless it is desired).


Organ Apocalypse


Boring Tribe Shit: Know how to revive those who have frozen to death. They will have 1d3-1 additional heroes frozen in a secret basement in their village, and if needed, they will thaw them in a 12 hour ritual to defend their village. 2-in-6 chance to also have a foreign scholar, linguist, or wizard on cold storage as well. Shamans crawl on all four and have long hair. They wear masks of knotted wood-whorls, painted purple, white, and blue. They speak backwards and can command others.

Hero perk: Tremendously fat. Has +10 HP. Carries an infinite bandolier of 1 HD, 1 HP, DEF plate, bite 1d4 rabid weasels, which they will throw at people before closing into melee. If they trip or fall over, 2d6 rabid weasels will escape, half of which will run away, and the other half will join combat. (Practically, after making the weasel attack roll, roll a 1d6. This is the number of rounds the target will be scrambling with the weasel, which will do 1 damage every turn).


Reminiscence of Slaughter


Boring Tribe Shit: Brained a druid in his sleep, stole his secrets from his shattered head, threw their children into small holes with polar bear cubs and starved them. Tribesmen grow big, mean, and are covered in white hairs. 2 HD. Always ambush their enemies and surprise them in the wilderness but are rather stupid and fight like animals. Easily manipulated with food and goodies. Shamans are enveloped in long, thick white fur and can gangstalk intelligent beings in their dreams.

Hero perk: Is an intelligent polar bear. Counts as large and has double HP
(HP from all sources is doubled). Has low light vision and an excellent sense of smell. Can make two 1d6 claw attacks per turn. Bite deals 1d10 damage. Can pin smaller creatures if both claw attacks strike the same target; +4 attack against pinned targets.


If you truly do not care about your character's demographics and want to randomly generate them, use these:
  • Age: 18+2d6
  • Sex: 
    • Nocturnal Brutalism: 25% male, 75% female
    • Golden Psychic Evisceration: 25% female, 75% male
    • All Others: half and half male and female
  • If you want to add some extra variation, intersex options can be used for a 1 or 20 on a die roll.
  • If you can't decide on a personality and appearance, use the pic below from Lair of the Lamb.

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Metagame Structure and the Lethality Buffer

Metagame:

The overall structure of this game can be divided into four basic blocks:

  1. Revaydra -> The Break

  2. The Break -> The City of Chaîneaux

  3. The Bathhouse

  4. Deep Carbon Observatory

While, hypothetically, you could just ignore everything I mention in the game I think you will all realize that every plot hook I explicitly nudge towards you is something I would like you to explore.



The two major stories that you will definitely encounter are Boswitch Bathhouse (from Goblinpunch) and the follow-up: Deep Carbon Observatory (by Patrick from Falsemachine). (other modules are littered throughout the first two sections, but are technically optional).


Deep Carbon Observatory is a decently (or maybe highly) challenging adventure, and has a very good chance of being incredibly lethal in a number of different ways.


Because of this, I want you all to know how the first two parts of this hexcrawl are meant to facilitate the second two. 



Collecting resources (weapons, items, tools, money) is all very useful, but another resource you will be able to collect during your first two adventures is people. Recruits, those who are grateful, and really anyone you think might be plucky enough for adventure. Not only do these hirelings/NPCs likely have small skills or uses that might be useful for the bathhouse (translation skills, lockpicking), they are also a lethality buffer.


Yes. I expect some people do die; with hirelings, you may have more meat to grind before you get down to the PCs that you actually are piloting, or more replacements for your PCs if your originals end up biting the bullet.


In any case, even if they are a lethality buffer, I am sure you will become frustrated and desperate when the useful and/or NPCs you like begin to die off, so the lethality should still have some teeth.



Rules used for followers will be from the "hirelings" section of GLOG (found in Lair of the Lamb PDF). They will also be listed here for expedience:
  • Cost: followers will (usually) expect some form of compensation, though this will depend on the nature of the follower. Normal henchmen cost 5s/day (or 1/2 share of loot), mercenaries cost 50s/day (or 1 share of loot). For these, cost is whichever is higher. 
  • Henchmen will not take risks or fight for you but they do have 10 inventory slots and will gladly hold stuff. Mercenaries are the same but they will take fair risks and engage in combat. 
  • Hirelings that fight will instead give their adjacent PC "master" a flat bonus to attack and damage. lvl 1 fighter: +2/+2, non fighter lvl 1 or 0: +1/+1. May increase with level. Hirelings may also have special skills to use.
  • Further hirelings attacking beyond the first only increase attack by +1 (always use most powerful hireling to calculate bonus).
  • If you would take lethal damage, base 50% chance that a hireling will die in your place. (changes based on loyalty, high leveled hirelings may have more "lives")
  • Default loyalty (or morale) is 5. Good things can kick it up by 1 or 2 points. Bad things can kick it down by 1, 1d4, or 1d6 points. Certain followers may be easier to keep loyal (think someone who idolizes you as a hero). 
  • Loyalty checks are required whenever you ask a hireling to do something dangerous outside their job description and may also be required to save you from death. Whether or not they do it, asking a hireling to do something of this nature automatically drops their loyalty by 1.
  • At 0 loyalty, they will attempt to flee at the earliest opportunity


In any case, while you will all have more opportunities to collect followers. Every PC starts off with (probably) 2 lvl 1 barbarians from your tribe. +1/+1, extra sturdy and can take two lethal hits potentially. Basically no cost. You'll need to take care of them, but they didn't come along with you because of a paycheck. Probably extra loyal; they are family, after all.


Large enough groups will use pieces of "settlement" rules (mono barbarian campaign) and rules from large groups of peasants (all peasant campaign).


Most hirelings will be basic carriers or mercenaries (or unique NPCs), but other types of hirelings can be gained such as blacksmiths, tanners, priests, carpenters, etc... The AD&D DMG for example has a list of hireling categories but the point is that hiring people of different functions besides combat and carrying treasure is an option.


The Ticking Clock:


The time pressure built into the game (~30 days) is interesting and fun in concept but I have no earthly clue how long it would take for you guys to actually navigate the hexcrawl once you start. 


I don’t particularly want you guys to just skip past everything on the way to the bath house; the more the PCs explore and engage with adventures along the way, the happier I am (and the more interesting this will all be).


The “advantage” of a time limit would be that the PCs are forced to really consider how much time they spend on each adventure, interacting with NPCs, and gathering resources. No time pressure would encourage boring behaviors. 



Additionally, while I would appreciate consideration of how character’s think and would act, the most important variable is what the players wish to do. If you go into a dungeon because you think it will be fun, then we can easily integrate that into character psychology or motive. 


Interactivity already will be variable based on luck, clues, and whether the players even have an interest in that particular adventure; no need to put in a (ambiguously fun) time pressure or hamstring players with character specific motivations.


So, while ~30 days is the tentative time limit I have written in, the honest answer is that as long as the PCs act “as if” they have to keep a schedule, then things will probably work out. I might keep both a “rigorous” and “loose” track of time based on actual in game time spent as well as the types of decisions you make: more time saving ideas, more time saved regardless of how long it actually might take. Risk is correlated with reward; easy enough to remember.