Thursday, October 25, 2018

OSR: Prophets and Clairvoyant Monsters

This is a post about seeing the future, and some other monsters who can do it too, sort of.  So first, I would recommend reading this post, as its where I got the idea of Prophets for.  Secondly, the two monsters below are inspired by Fire on the Velvet Horizon, and as such, are mostly the work of Scrap Princess and the fabulous Patrick Stuart.  Also, you should read that book anyway, not just to get their takes on these creatures, but just to read the book, as it is well worth you time.  Additionally, for further reading, you may wish to consider the Angel of Fate.  Now the formalities out of the way, let's get started.


To see the future is a boon, yet is not granted without a heavy toll.  The few people who have this ability are called Prophets.  Prophets suffer from the ultimate curse, and the greatest blessing.  They lose the ability to do anything normal, but in exchange, you can gain almost anything you desire.  For one blessed with foreknowledge and foresight, talking to people is often an irritating formality, sporting events and political contests are tedious exercises in futility, and wars are massive tragedies, one the Prophet may have attempted to stop, only to reason that they could not, most likely too late.  But while Prophets cannot engage in such things, they gain much.  Prophets can see into the future, and knowing the outcomes to almost any event, they can manipulate the future to their advantage.

How it works


Prophets can, before taking an action, see all the possible outcomes of doing so.  For example, if they are about to roll a d6, they can see all the outcomes, from 1,2 and 3 to the one where the die goes  flying across the room and getting lost under the couch, etc.  This ability to foresee events and outcomes is limited from Prophet to Prophet.  Some can only see the most likely events, while others can see almost all of them.  Though even for the most astounding of Seers, no one can see all the outcomes.  There are simply too many, and Prophets rarely have the time to meditate and consider all of them.  There is always a chance that the person they are speaking to suddenly dies from a falling piece of debris, for instance.  Sure, this is the slimmest, most infinitesimal of chances, but it still exists.

But even for the more limited of Prophets, they are set above almost all other mortals, granted power over history and the future, a power of powers.  They usually use this power to obtain wealth, prestige and power.  Even in cynical times, Prophets amass great wealth and fame, their names known to all, or at least whispered in seedy wine-sinks and run-down brothels.  The greatest Oracles live on desolate moors, surrounded by slaves and servants, but even the lowliest of Seers can afford a few retainers and a roof over their heads.  For even for the largely untalented, there is no shortage of customers.  From Kings to beggars, all desire the Prophet's counsel.

To receive their wisdom, all you need do is seek them out, and ask your question.  After a suitable fee has been paid, of course.

                                                          by Aranthulas

Prophet
HD Varies  AC Varies  Atk Weapon
Mor 10   Saves 9 or less is a success

Future Sight: For purposes of Combat, Prophets can see X rounds into the future, based on the table below.  When entering combat, have everyone roll a number of d20s equal to the Prophet's abilities, and arrange them in a row.  Every time the player would take an action that would require a d20 roll, instead merely use the first number on the list.  After that, the number is expended, and the player must roll the d20 again, and add it to the bottom of the list.     

Curse: If a Prophet is near death, they can curse their opponents with any number of grisly fates.  Even the weakest Prophets can do this.

Tactics:
- Check everyone's numbers, eliminate the person with the highest overall numbers
- Ignore those who have low numbers, unless they might threaten you
- Run if you see two many foes with high numbers.

How powerful is this Prophet?
1d10

1: Weak.  This Prophet can see 1 round into the future.  They have 1 HD and an AC of 11. 
2-3: Mediocre.  This Prophet can see 2 rounds into the future.  They have 2 HD and an AC of 12.
4-6: Average.  This Prophet can see 3 round into the future.  They have 3 HD and an AC of 13.  They cannot be surprised.
7-8: Strong.  This Prophet can see 4 rounds into the future.  They have 4 HD and an AC of 14.  They cannot be surprised.  Additionally, the first attack against them always misses, no matter what. 
9: Mighty.  This Prophet can see 5 rounds into the future.  They have 5 HD and an AC of 15.  They cannot be surprised.  The first attack against them always misses, and they get a +4 bonus to their saves if foreknowledge of the situation could give them an advantage. 
10: Nigh-Omniscient.  This Prophet can see 6 rounds into the future.  They have 6 HD and an AC of 16.  They cannot be surprised.  The first attack against them always misses, and they get a +4 bonus to their saves if foreknowledge of the situation could give them an advantage.  Additionally, their first attack always hits, no matter what.   

Ideally, if you know your players are just going to visit a Prophet, you should write out unique prophecies to give them.  However, if you can't be asked or you don't want to do that or for any other reason, when a player asks a Prophet a question, roll on the table below.

What do they foresee in your future?
1d6

1- Catastrophe!  Something hideous is going to happen to this person soon.  It may be avoidable.  It may not be.  Either way, this person is bad juju to keep around.  Ex: They are going to be fatally wounded and die alone in a dark sewer, while all their friends run away or die as well. 
2- Mostly bad things.  This person is about to have a string of bad luck.  It might not be life-destroying, but it will be unpleasant.  Ex: This person is going to lose their job, their car/horse will break down/die, and their dog will run away. 
3- Misfortune.  This person is about to have something unpleasant happen to them.  It might not be the worst thing in the world, but it won't be fun.  Ex: This person is going to get drunk the day their mom gets out of prison, and she's going to be incredibly angry.
4- A trial.  This person is about to undergo a trial, but luckily, this is something they could turn to their advantage, and possibly gain a boon.  If they are clever, that is.  Ex: They are about to be framed for a crime, but they will be given a chance to prove their innocence. 
5- Good luck.  This person is about to have a sudden stroke of good luck.  Ex: They win a raffle, they suddenly meet their twin with whom they were separated at birth, or they encounter a celebrity while out grocery shopping.  
6- Triumph!  This person is about to be monumentally blessed.  Ex: They find a winning lottery ticket stuck to the sole of the shoe worn by their long-lost father.


The Eaters of Fate

Oranorns are also known as Prophet-Hunters, Prophecy Breakers, Seer-Killers, and Fatebreakers.  They are Thieves of Time, contaminated flows of pure Chaos that seeped out of some crevice in the cosmos, droplets of insanity in a world of normality.  They lurk in dark places, whispering prophecy to themselves and chuckling with their many mouths, laughing at the outcomes they foresee.  When this happens to us, it's going to be so funny.  They just cannot wait to see it.

Oranorns are aware of the future, and of possible outcomes, and seek to drive the future toward the most interesting or amusing one.  They would prefer the world where the King, upon making a big, dramatic gesture to rally his army, trips and falls off a cliff and dies.  They love anti-climax, sudden reversals, and twists of fate.  Nothing amuses them more than the seemingly chaotic and indifferent machinations of this cruel universe.  This is the reason why they hate the Stars and Prophets.  The Stars they despise because they are the cogwheels of Fate, and Prophets because they are constantly altering the timeline with their predictions, forcing the Oranorn to re-evaluate all their predictions, all their calculations suddenly rendered worthless.  This is why they hunt Prophets, and try to eat them, if they can.  They don't always succeed, but they never give it up.  Every experienced Prophet has at least heard of these creatures for that reason, as they are known to make snacks of Seers.

But Oranorns do serve other purposes, besides thinning the local soothsayer population.  For a desperate person or one not accepted in civilized lands, an Oranorn can be an Oracle of last resort, though Oranorns are unlikely to tell you anything accurate if it will benefit you.  Though if your future is likely to lead to death, tragedy or some other hideous fate, it will gleefully spill the beans on whatever horrors you are likely to endure.  They can do other things as well though, as their unique abilities make them useful for several unique services.  For example, some have found success in hiding rare treasures with Oranorns, as the creature's unique aura renders foresight and divination useless.  Of course, Oranorns are also insane and crafty, and just as likely to give the treasure to a bunch of interesting strangers as guard it, but this is simply an unfortunate reality when it comes to employing Oranorns.  Finally, for the Cursed, the leper of lepers, the Oranorn can be the physician they need.  Oranorns are experts on curses and other forms of future manipulation, and can easily identify any Curse, and what actions are required to break it.

In appearance, Oranorns are quite ugly, with low, squat bodies, hard basins out of which springs a thick trunk of flesh like a tree limb, topped with a dozen twitching eye-stalks.  It's flesh is like that of a crab but pale fleshed and without armor, instead dabbed with light oranges, soft blues and the palest of yellows.  It's eight limbs each end with a sticky, three-toed hand, allowing it to grip and climb with amazing strength.  Oranorns are rumored to be able to climb walls and hang from ceilings, and this is, unfortunately, not idle rumor on behalf of common folk.  But of their strange bodies, the central trunk is the oddest, covered in dozens of whispering mouths, along with one central one that resembles a thrashing food processor.  This larger mouth is primarily used to devour prey, while the smaller ones are used to converse, speak prophecy, or engage in endless, circular debates with each other about the nature of reality, divinity, and what is the best fluid to swim through.  The last one is currently a dead-lock, stuck between melted cheese and wine.

                                                      

Oranorn
HD 3  AC 14  Atk(+3) Grabbing Hands 1d6/1d6 or Bite(-2(unless target is restrained/grappled)) 1d10
Mor 10  Saves 10 or less is a success

Foresight Gap: Everything within 30' of the Oranorn cannot be detected through any form of divination, and the Oranorn itself cannot be seen in any possible future through a Prophet's vision, a spell, or any other mechanism.

Oracle: Oranorns can predict the future, though they are unlikely to tell you what your future is if it might benefit you.  However, if you are headed toward a "Bad End", they will eagerly inform you.

Sticky Fingers: Oranorns can stick to walls and climb any surface that is solid enough to support their weight.  Additionally, anyone it successfully hits with a "Grabbing Hands" attack is grappled, and must succeed a DC 15 STR check as a full action or take 1d6 damage and a full action to free themselves from its sticky, sticky grip.

Voices: Every round the Oranorn is in combat with the players, the Referee should read one random line from their notes to the players.  This should be phrased as "in-character" knowledge, so it's describing events within the fiction of the game, but otherwise, do not bother translating any of your shorthand.  If you do not use notes, on the other hand, instead state the outcome for something that is happening in the game world that affects the players.  If after learning this the players want to alter their actions or plans, let them.  Encourage meta-gaming as much as possible.  Let the players go wild with their own bizarre theories about what each line means.       
 
Tactics:
- Jump on people
- Grab onto someone and run up a wall
- Threaten to eat them
- Throw them if they refuse to sit still
- Use Verticality, climb out of reach of people who might be dangerous

                                                            by StDamos

The Ferry-women of Fate

The Medictor is a strange creature, even by the standards of magical beast.  They are large, grey-scaled beasts with humanoid torsos and delicate hands more suited to knitting than hunting.  Their faces are sanguine and maternal, soft-lipped and heart shaped.  If they covered their strange hair, you mistake it for a human face, if not for the scales and slit-pupil eyes.  But the hair is difficult to ignore, as her flowing trestles are made of long, coiling, multi-colored serpents.  These snakes dart around her head, snapping but rarely biting, and even when the snakes do, they never use their venom unless she feels her life in danger.  She can usually soothe the snakes and keep them calm, but they reflect her emotions, and if she is not tranquil, they lash about her, hissing at anything too shiny, too fast, or too unfamiliar.  The snakes reflect part of her nature as a cold-blooded creature, though this fact is easily grasped if you look below her waist.  For there her humanoid torso ends and you see her lower body is a powerfully muscled snake tail, thick around as a column and strong enough to crush a cord of firewood into sawdust.  Still, despite the fearsome power that Medictors possess, they are well known for being civilized, cultured creatures with well developed understanding of language, law and order, and courtesy.  In almost all regions, they are considered Urban Angels (or Civic Devils, depending on who you ask) and welcomed by those who value Law. They are one of the few magical beasts allowed to enter cities and behave as an ordinary traveler would, because of their consummate manners and impeccable respect for law and order.  But this is not the only reason why the City Elders are so eager to welcome the Medictor.           

The Prophet studies the intricate flowing rivulets of time, the drops of possibility falling from the heavens, each moment laden with possibility.  The greater the Prophet, the more droplets they can see, and the more efficiently they can see how light bends through each one, the chain of casuality that flows from moment to moment, stretching all the way back to the Prime Mover, the Unmoved One.  This allows them to look ahead, and see where the next link of the chain is to come from. 

But the Medictor takes a different approach.  Rather then focus on the details of each raindrop, they instead take a step back, looking not at the drops, or even at the storm, but at the river that these drops are falling into, and how this transforms a mere creek into a raging torrent that sweeps away whole towns.  These creatures can see not each individual moment, but the grand arc of history, the cycle of the ages is laid bare before their enchanted eyes.  According to Prophets, Oranorns and Medictors, an individual has many possible futures.  But the crowd, the city, the nation, it can only have one. As you zoom out more and more, you see how forces far greater than any current individual's action have already determined the path of history, regardless of if their descendants know it or not. 

The Medictor can see this grand passageway of time, and as such, see far more clearly than any prognosticator.  Unlike the Prophet, which can usually only see the immediate future or near certainties, a Medictor can predict the next golden age, the fate of a tribe, or the destiny of a whole clan.  This makes them prized by Kings and Priests and well-to-do people, who do everything they can to lure the Medictor to their domain.  Once they bring her there, they lead her up onto a hill or atop a great ziggurat and she as looks out across the city, she begins to speak.  She closes her eyes and the snakes composing her hair begin to move, rising up to survey the city from all angles.  Then, with a hissing chorus backing her, the Medictor speaks her prophecy, detailing the fate of the city, the nation, and occasionally, the people.

She is never wrong.

                                                       by yingakirah

Medictor
HD 5  AC 12  Tail Lash(+0) -special- or Venomous Bite(+3) 1d6/1d6 venom damage + see below
Mor 7  Saves 11 or less is a success

Venom: If one of the Medictor's snakes bites you, you must save.  On a failure, you take an additional 1d6 venom damage.  On a failure, you take 1d6 venom damage each round until the venom has done 3d6 damage, and then it goes away.  You can only suffer from the effects of one failed save at a time.  The Medictor's venom isn't potent, so she pumps you full of them stuff.  As such, if you failed a save but get bitten again, you take the base 1d6 damage and nothing else.

Tail Squeeze: If a Medictor makes a Tail Lash attack against someone, the attack does no damage and instead restrains the person hit.  Then the Medictor can, as a free action on her turn, do 1d6 HP damage and 1d6 CON damage to the person.  If the Amount of CON damage taken by this equals or exceeds the person's total CON score, they pass out.  If the Medictor is allowed to continue dealing damage past that point, they die, no save.  If not, they can be revived. 

God's Eye View: All opponents fighting a Medictor, if greater than 1, when rolling a d20, must roll Xd20s, where X is equal to the number of total combatants, counting the Medictor.  Once they have done so, the Medictor can choose from the outcomes she would most prefer, and the combatants must use that result. 

Tactics:
- Flee if possible
- Avoid duels or single combat
- Grab the weakest looking person and squeeze, then bite those who try to come rescue them

                                                                  by spawnofblacksheep

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

To all those who worry


Don't. 

We have 10 months to find a solution to the demise of Google+.

The Adam's law of slowing moving catastrophes states that even if a problem is big and potentially dangerous, the further off it is, the more likely someone will have solved it by the time it arrives.  And ten months is a pretty long time.

Consider me as an example.  Ten months ago I had 37 posts and wasn't within the same neighborhood of having a clue of what I was doing. 

Now, I have over 139 and dozens of people read my posts where before I was excited if  I get 11 views.

And I am by far one of the least original and clever people in this little community/sphere or whatever we are.

So just sit back, relax, and really consider your options.  Don't worry about the collapse of Google+, or how people are going to find your blog.

Everything will work out.         

Monday, October 8, 2018

OSR: Random Adventurer Generator


How many of them are there?

1d6
1- 1d6
2- 1d4+1
3- 1d4+2
4- 1d3+3
5- 1d2+4
6- 4

What is their Class?

1d20
1- Agent.  You have special magic power that slowly evolves over time.  A stand user, if you know what that is.  They need not work for the Company or any organization, so if you want to port them to some other setting, just rip out the fluff and port it to the retro-clone of your choice.
2- Alice.  The iron wall, the one stronghold that can never be taken.  A defensive class, that has abilities that allow you to easily protect your comrades.
3- The Allure.  Alternative name: Flunky.  A face class.  Useful for role-playing as a femme fatale or a Black Widow type.  Completely useless in combat.
4- Boxer.  A light martial class that hits hard but can't take a punch as well as the Fighting Man or Alice.  A Monk without the kung fu or magic.
5- Carnivore.  A Berserker, Barbarian, Screaming cyclone of rage.  Flip out and chew people's faces off, carry a big axe, take what you want, kick butt and never apologize!
6- Deep One Hybrid.  A race-as-class for playing as the unwitting spawn of a Deep One.  Can swim well, breathe underwater, and later form your own cult.
7- Fighting Man.  An OSR fighter.  Basic, with its focus on dealing as much damage as possible.
8- Gambler.  A combatant who plays dice with the devil and wins.  A half combat, half support class.  Only because they cheated, though. 
9- Investigator.  Alternative Name: Scholar.  The one who knows stuff.  Mostly for translating ancient runes, identifying mysterious liquids, and challenging the Sphinx to a riddle contest while the Prophet desperately prays and the Fighting Man gets into position.
10- John Doe.  Alternative Name: Jane Doe, Noncombatant.  A class for people who don't want to fight, and want to play a runaway princess, kid sidekick, or normal person suddenly thrust into a dangerous situation.
11- Magic-User.  They cast spells.  You can find all my sub-types of Wizard here, or check out Mr. Kangaroo's excellent, curated list here.
12- Paladin.  You were chosen by Heaven to do battle against the infidel, the unfaithful and the damned.  Your powers come from your own mighty soul, but also from the will of your Master, who dwells far above (or below).  Comes with all the standard abilities- healing, smiting, blasting divine power at people, plus a whole bunch more fun stuff depending on what specific Master you serve.  Best of luck on your jihad, friend! 
13- Problem.  Like the Magic-User, except with fewer spells, more HP, and you're slowly turning into a horrible monster.  If you really want to play up the fact that meddling with the power of magic makes you into a freak.  Transform into the monster of your choice, whether that be a Ghoul, cyborg or golden child of the Stars.
14- Prophet.  An OSR Cleric.  You know one of the Secret Names of God and can speak it to tear apart and alter reality at will.  This process is incredibly dangerous and likely to harm you, but that is the price of being called by the divine.  The costs can also be alleviated by sacrificing things to the Gods, so there's that as well.  If that one doesn't suit your tastes, you can try my first draft of this class, here.  Deus Vult!
15- Ranger.  A class focused on knowing what's out there/on the random encounter table, tracking those same things and then sneaking away from them.
16- Sage.  A Wizard without magic spells.  If you want magical powers, you're going to have to work for it.  Basically an Investigator for a Fantasy Setting, but cooler.  Also starts with a free Wizard Weapon.
17- Scoundrel.  An OSR Thief.  The face for dealing with criminals, the guy who has friends in every town, and the one who fights dirty.
18- Vampire.  Another race-as-class, but you're slowly turning into an Undead freak.  Slowly become unable to go out in sunlight, eat food or enjoy peep shows, but gain the ability to suck blood, regenerate and shoot high pressure jets of vampiric essence out of your eyes.  Just be warned, it's not worth it.
19- Werewolf.  You're a normal human in the light, but when the sun goes down, or when you go into a Dungeon, you can let your hair out and transform into a wolf-man!  And what else do you need to know?  Being a werewolf is awesome!
20- Reroll, if you please. 

How strong is each member*?

1d6

1- Dungeon Fodder.  Level 1.  Chance of dying in the immediate future: 90%.
2- Seasoned.  Level 1d3.  Chance of dying in the immediate future: 75%.
3- Veteran.  Level 1d4+1.  Chance of dying in the immediate future: 50%.
4- Dungeon Hobo.  Level 1d4+1.  Chance of dying in the immediate future: 20%.
5- Retired.  Level 1d6.  Chance of dying in the immediate future: 10%.
6- Living Legend.  Level 1d6+2.  Chance of dying in the immediate future: 5%.


*In NPC Adventurer Groups, each Adventurer has 1 HD per level, and they are led by the strongest one of them.

Why are they an Adventurer?

1d10

1- They love freedom too much to do anything else.
2- They were exiled from their homeland for a crime.
3- They are in love with someone who would never look at them unless they accumulated massive amounts of wealth, power, or prestige.  And since they were near the bottom of the heap, this was the only way to get that.
4- They are terrible at everything else.
5- They can't string together a sentence without collapsing into a pile of self-pity and nervousness.  They can do whatever their class is very well, but they can't order chicken nuggets at McDonald's.
6- They are insane in some very obvious way.
7- They are an outlaw, living outside the fabric of the law and society, and this is the only type of job they could get.
8- They are too narcissistic to cooperate with other, more sensible people.
9- They were/feel rejected by their original society for some reason outside their control.
10- They have some grand destiny or dream that they want to fulfill.


How free are they?  How were/are adventurers treated in their homeland?

1d6
1- Bonded.  They are actually the slave of someone else.  They may love their master, they may hate him, but they are not free. 
2- Dogs of the State.  They work for the King.
3- Guild Adventurer.  They work for a large organization that controls almost all of their life, and takes most of their money.
4- Privately financed.  They have wealthy backers, but the yoke on them is light.
5- Self-Funded.  Their only obligation is to make a profit.
6- Murder-Hobo.  They go wherever they please and do whatever they want.

Is there anything special about them?

1d20
1- They have a minor mutation.  Examples include but are not limited to, six fingers, webbed toes, or single finger that's twice as long as the others.  They will likely try to hide this, or at least not draw attention to it.
2- Their eyes are bright blue or white and ultra-sensitive to sunlight and bright lights.  They wear thick lenses to protect their eyes for this reason.
3- They belong to a race the players have never encountered before.
4- They have a magic weapon.
5- They have an exotic pet.  Examples include but are not limited to a Hyena, Monkey, or a miniature horse.
6- They dress in a certain way that most would find inappropriate (overly sexual, overly modest, out of station, dressed like a villain (all black, leather, skulls, etc)).
7- They collect trophies from those people they killed.  They proudly display these trophies.  Depending on the area, this may be thought of as quaint, barbaric, or applauded.
8- They have a talking animal with them.
9- They have some kind of large deformity/major mutation.  They look like Quasimodo or something of that nature.
10- They have horns, fangs and a forked tail.  They may not be evil.
11- They have a halo, white wings that they usually keep folded up, and when they speak, they can make their voice boom and scream like a blowtorch.
12- They are shockingly beautiful, to an inhuman degree.  The type of person who can't walk down the street without getting a marriage proposal.
13- They are quite young.  They may try to make themselves look older, or play up their innocent appearance.
14- They are quite old.  They have grey hair at the least, and look like they should be preparing their legacy, rather then strapping on their armor to go down into another dungeon.
15- They're a strange color.  A Human with golden skin, or a Gnoll with neon blue and violet fur.
16- They constantly cause small magical disturbances around them. 
17- Those who speak ill of them usually find themselves encountering sudden misfortune.
18- They're immortal.  Though you won't notice this until they get stabbed and shrug it off.  But they never seem to age.  
19- They are never seen during the day.
20- They have a terrifying appearance.
   
Do they have any secrets?

1d20
1- They're badly addicted to some kind of drug.  The more illegal, the better.
2- They're actually a serial killer.  Every place they go, they secretly kill someone and dispose of the body.
3- They sold their soul.  They have to constantly sneak away to go meet with a shady character and do favors for this disapproving master.  They refuse to talk about it, and only the most severe censure will make them crack.
4- They are a cannibal.  They eat people.  They are also slowly turning into a Wendigo.
5- They are actually an Undead.  They refuse to go out during the day, never eat, and do not feel pain.
6- They're actually a Vampire.  At this point, they haven't made much progress, so the only noticeable signs are their pale complexion, their strange fixation with blood, and the fact that they try to stay out of direct sunlight.
7- They're actually a Doppelganger.  They killed this person and ate their brains, and are now wandering around, pretending to be this person.
8- They owe a lot of money to some really powerful people.  They will do anything for treasure.
9- They love abusing and demeaning people, and if they see any weakness from you, they will try to bully you into doing what they want.
10- They are being stalked by some kind of monster.  25% chance they know this, otherwise they are completely unaware.
11- They are cursed.  Consult your favorite curse table, or check out these options.
12- They are actually someone else the players might know, but in disguise, acting under a false identity. 
13- They are subtly, but irrevocably, insane.
14- They are a Minion of the Dark Powers.
15- They are evil.  They also have some kind of evil plan that they are trying to implement, and will work at this, and will likely succeed, unless someone stops you. 
16- They are currently wanted dead or alive for a crime.  25% they were framed. 
17- They stole from a Dragon's hoard, and unbeknownst to them, assassins are closing in on them.
18- They are related to royalty, though distantly.
19- They are famous where you are from for something relatively minor they did.  Note that famous may not mean much if you're from a dirt farm in a hick town in the middle of nowhere, so they could only be a local story.  Or if they are higher than level one, they could be famous throughout your whole nation, but somehow they are unaware of this fact.
20- They are on a quest to kill someone very powerful.  This could be an Outsider, someone politically powerful, a strong NPC or another Adventurer.  

Sunday, October 7, 2018

OSR: The Allure

Edit: K Yani suggested a name change, and I agreed with his reasoning.  This is the class formerly known as the Harlot.  He came up with the new name as well.  Check out his stuff here, or in my sidebar below.

You are one of the beautiful people.  Through genetics, good breeding, or raw personality (usually a combination of all three) you are irresistible.  People can't get enough of you.  You're a hit at parties, at social functions, and even just when introducing yourself to people.  You are the type of person people dream about breaking down their door and changing their life.  Sometimes you even do.  But most likely, you don't bother with the peons.  After all, even Kings will tolerate a lowly mortal, if she is pretty.  And you're more than just pretty.  You're ravishing.  You can't walk down the street without someone undressing you with their eyes.  And while you might not mean much to worldly or magical folk, in most places, just by showing up, you are the toast of the town.

You use this to get things from people.  Invitations to parties, access to private clubs, the general benefit of the doubt are all things you could get easily, if you batted your eyelashes and said some appealing things.  You're likely quite jaded by this, and have no idea what it's like not to have such control over people.  The struggles of someone poor, underprivileged or ugly are utterly foreign to you.  Because while you may not come from a high social caste and may be little more than a commoner, barely above a slave, your physical attractiveness is so great even the Sons of God step off their daises and down into the muck to stand beside you.

                                                                          by NikkiNightBloom
This is the Allure class, for players who want to play a seducer, a femme fatale, or something that would be useless in a combat situation but doesn't want to be a Jane Doe.  Being a woman isn't required for this class, but it is recommended.  However, if someone who is playing this does not want to play a woman, there are a couple of options.  Firstly, you could re-skin seduction and name it, "Radical Intimacy" or something like that and make it more of an impromptu feelings-jam than a romantic rendezvous or a conjugal visit, or you could simply play a soft, effete man who can convincingly look like a woman with the right attire.  Or heck, if your setting is one where homosexuality and bi-curiosity are common, then there is no need for such retro-fitting.

Regardless, the Allure is very powerful, but only in situations where violence is not currently occurring.  They possess an incredible ability to manipulate and a blank check from most new people, at least until they do something that makes them suitably unpalatable.  This could be committing a crime, or it could be talking excessively about their previous sexual experiences.  But until then, assume that most people are willing to let the Harlot get away with minor stuff or do small favors for them, and a large majority of compatible NPCs are willing to do large favors for the Allure, if the Allure promises them a kiss or to consider their marriage proposal.


Allure
Starting HP: 1/3 Con
Starting Equipment: Fashionable clothing, hairpins, jewelry (worth 100 silver), sword you don't know how to use, snuff box or cigarette holder

1:

Beautiful: You are easily the prettiest person most people have ever met.  You get +1 to reaction rolls, and most people give you the benefit of the doubt, especially if they are attracted to you.  And make no mistake, quite a few people are attracted to you. 

Seduction: If no violence has occurred between you and someone else, you can invite them to come join you in a moment of radical intimacy.  This need not involve sex, though it might.  If you use your Seduction ability on an NPC, they must make a saving throw.  On a failure, they give in to their temptation.

The Target may receive penalties to their Save if:
- You have bathed recently
- You are wearing something pretty and clinging
- There is a soft surface nearby (such as a bed, cushion, loveseat, etc)
- They come from a sexually repressive culture and do not agree with its moral positions
- They come from a sexually liberated culture and do agree with its moral positions
- They have no reason to suspect you are up to something malicious
- They do not dislike you for any reason
- They like you for any reason
- They previously had a romantic rendezvous with you and it went reasonably well

The Target may receive bonuses to their save if:
- You smell bad
- You are dressed shabbily
- You don't fit their usual preferences (sex, race, body-type, nationality, etc)
- They are a creature that does not breed or reproduce sexually
- They come from a sexually repressed culture and believe in its moral positions
- They come from a sexually liberated culture and do not believe its moral positions
- They suspect you have malicious intent
- They dislike you for any reason
- They previously had a romantic rendezvous with you and it went terribly

Exes and Ohs: If any of your former lovers are still alive, they remember you, and will insist on inserting themselves into their business if they are at all nearby.  This can be an asset, but is usually just a hassle.  These Exes can be former targets of Seduction, but there are also others who happen "off-screen".

It is assumed that the Harlot is off philandering with the locals every chance they get, so assume so unless the Harlot says otherwise, or the Paladin is following them around to make sure things stay "PG".  So whenever the Harlot enters an area they have lived or conceivably could have been to, their is a 1d10% percent chance equal to their level that they have a former romantic conquest here, who would be summon who the Harlot would be attracted to.  To see how their Ex feels about them, roll on the Exes table below.

How do I feel about the Harlot?
1d6
1- I despise them, and would do literally anything to make them suffer.  I also might be a little psychotic
2- I hate them a bit, and if I never saw them again, it'd be too soon
3- I still dislike them, and would make their life difficult for them if they came along
4- I don't really feel anything for them anymore.  I'm just glad it happened, but I don't love you anymore.
5- I still have some fondness for them, though I have mostly moved on.
6- I'm heartbroken and desperately in love with them still.  I may be a little obsessive.  I would get back together with the Harlot in an instant. 

2:

Everyone loves a doll: Certain types of people like having you around.  You're fun at parties, your bawdy jokes always make people laugh, and a lot of people probably like the idea of being in a relationship with you, because it would make their parents quite mad, or so they assume.  These people will give you the benefit of the doubt and do small favors for you, for free.  They'll hold the door open for you, warn you if the cops are coming to bust up a place, buy you drinks and always find room for you.  However, even for those who are attracted to you, they don't want you to stick around forever.  They are patient, but they have their limits.  

3:

Prized Booty: If you surrender to an enemy, if they are creatures who are intelligent and reproduce sexually, they will take you captive unless they have very good reason not to.  Additionally, if you are ever in a situation where you are about to be killed or the rest of the party is currently mid-TPK, if you surrender, odds are you will be spared, unless the creature killing them or trying to kill you has no need for reproduction or can see no other use for you.

4:

Memento: Starting at level 4, after you have used your Seduction ability, you can gain one item from your previous Target.  These items cannot be super-powerful, cursed or priceless, and have to be something that the Target could easily access.  For example, a previous Target may give you one of his rings that is merely jewelry to him, but not the gold ring his father gave him years ago that he has treasured ever since.

5:

Kiss of Death: Starting at level 5, if you have successfully used your Seduction ability on someone, you can automatically kill them.  This always works, unless the Target knew that you were likely to do this and took precautions before-hand, or the Target has some kind of passive defense that you cannot penetrate.

6:

Charmer: Starting at level 6, your charm and beauty is so great that even if you are not to someone's personal preferences, that can no longer give them a bonus against your saving throw.  If you are of the opposite sex, you can now seduce someone attracted to the same sex, or if you are of a strange race, you can now seduce someone who would not be attracted to that race. 

7:

Lose his Head: Starting at level 7, people who would be normally attracted to you find it difficult to focus around you,  as you are so pretty it boggles the mind.  People who are attracted to you count as being Charmed as per Charmed Person, and are inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt, do minor favors for you, and are generally inclined to listen to what you have to say.  When negotiating with someone like this, you get +4 to all checks made to persuade, intimidate, or otherwise convince.


8:

Bargain: Starting at level 8, your value is so great that people perceive it to be worth more than jewels or gold.  As such, if you surrender yourself into the power of an enemy, you can make great demands before hand and expect them to be honored.  For example, if you wished for the evil King to spare your brother, you could turn yourself over into his power on the condition that he would do so, and he would, even if your brother was one of the commanders of the rebellion trying to overthrow the kingdom.

9:

Forgive me, Father: Starting at level 9, once and only once, you can reveal the secret paternity/maternity of one younger NPC who could conceivably be your child.  You reveal that you are actually their father/mother.  Expect this NPC to have at minimum, a minor existential crisis, and at worse, a psychotic break.  They may not like you after this, or they may like you much more.

Friday, October 5, 2018

OSR: Matter Baby


Matter Babies are spirits of hunger and growth.  If they found a crevice in a soul to infiltrate and co-habitate with, they might have become Ghouls.  Instead they landed in lumps of metal, or in roaring infernos, or in pools of inconceivable liquid.  This spirit, mere immortality with barely anything left besides that one indefatigable spark at the core of each soul, then began to grow, molding and shaping the lump of raw materials it had been left with.  Soon, the original material was transformed, and a Matter Baby was born.

Matter Babies look like infants, capable of crawling or walking on shaky legs if they have something to grab onto.  Their features are crude, like someone with only the vaguest understanding of what a face was drew them on.  Their hands and lips tend to be more pronounced, and the rest of their body is lacking in detail, with few exceptions.  They also have sculpted bums, for instance, but the rest of their body is smooth, lacking blemish or feature.  And the Matter Babies, while named after newborns, can actually be quite large.  Some are only as large as normal babies, while others are enormous, growing to the size of a cottage.  These large ones are especially known for their brutish rampages, wandering around and breaking things unintentionally, then reacting with hostility when you try to stop them.

But just like their strange, featureless bodies, their minds also reflect this lack of attention to detail.  Matter Babies are very dumb, driven by pure emotion and base desire.  They do not plan or think.  If hurt, they lash out violently at the person they believe responsible, then once that person has stopped resisting, they immediately forget about that person and return to what they were doing before.  They also like to touch and eat things that might be tasty, shoving them into their mouths or hugging them against their bodies.  Sometimes, this is merely uncomfortable to those hugged, while other times it is painful or worse.

Matter Babies don't mean any harm though.  Or at least, in some cases they do.  But they don't really think of anyone else as having any sort of existence.  They regard other living beings as mere distractions, colorful, moving toys, or nuisances to be swatted.  They can be given over to violent rage if one of these beings dares to defy them, or worse, keep them from eating.  Woe onto this person, if the Matter Baby catches him, as it will likely do something hideous to the person.

                                                         by Marc Quinn

Base Matter Baby Statblock
HD Varies AC Varies Atk varies
Mor 12  Saves 8 or less is a success

Hug: When you see a Matter Baby of any form, you must save.  Every round you spend looking at it, you must save again unless you have already failed your save.  Averting your gaze means you do not have to save.  If you have failed a save, every round you spend looking at the Matter Baby, you take 1d6 WIS damage.  If this WIS damage ever equals or exceeds your WIS score, you immediately walk over and hug the Matter Baby, no matter what.  This charm effect lasts for 1d10 minutes, but after that, characters will no longer be compelled to hug the Baby and be free to do as they please, as long as they still cannot see the Matter Baby.  However, if they see the same Matter Baby or another one that day, they will immediately begin taking WIS damage as if they had failed their initial save.       

Variable Size: Matter Babies, when hurt, have bits of them torn off and shrink.  Then, if they are below their max health and they come into contact with their element, they can absorb it and grow regenerate 1 HD per time this occurs.  This also causes them to grow a corresponding amount.  However, they cannot heal past their initial HD or grow larger then they originally were.

Elemental Immunity: Matter Babies cannot be hurt by things made of their element.

Tactics:
- Seek out your element and consume it
- Only attack those who hurt you
- Want to hug things

Types of Matter Babies:
1d20
1- Lava/Fire.  HD 3, AC 10.  Atk: Burning Touch.  1d6 + You take 1d6 fire damage per round this Matter Baby touches you or until you get away and put out the fire.  Immune to fire damage. 
2- Stone.  HD 4, AC 8.  Atk: Smash 1d8.  Cannot be hurt by non-magic weapons or things that could not hurt a giant boulder.  Doesn't absorb Stone unless hurt, but can also phase through it.  Cannot travel through worked stone, but can absorb it, or hust smash through the wall.
3- Water.  HD 3, AC 5.  Atk: Drowning 1d6 + Drown.  Drown: You must save.  On a failure, the Matter Baby grapples you and shoves you inside it.  Every round inside it you take 1d6 CON damage.  If this CON damage ever equals or exceeds your CON score, you die.  If someone pulls you out before then and you get some air, the CON damage instantly heals.  This Matter Baby cannot be hurt by non-magic weapons or things that could hurt a lake. 
4- Acid.  HD 3, AC 10. Atk: Acid Touch 1d6 acid damage + 1d6 acid damage till you wash the acid off.  This Matter Baby is damaged by water.  Immune to acid damage.     
5- Steel.  HD 2, AC 8.  Atk: Smash 1d8.  This Baby cannot be hurt by whatever the most common type of melee weapon is, whether it be steel or bronze. 
6- Gold.  HD 3, AC 13.  Atk: Smash 1d8.  This Baby smells gold and looks for it, to eat it and get bigger.  It loves adventurers for that reason.  If you kill it, it's corpse is worth 1d8*100 gold pieces. 
7- Wood.  HD 4, AC 10.  Atk: Smash 1d8.  This Baby is flammable. 
8- Flesh.  HD 5, AC 8.  Atk: Claw 1d6 + Absorb.  Anyone hit by this baby is attached to it by a cord of flesh which buries itself in the person's flesh.  This cord steals the person's flesh, mummifying them alive.  This does 1d6 damage a round.  The Cord can be cut, but doing so hurts both the person and the Matter Baby.  The Baby can also give flesh back, though it is loathe to do so.   
9- Bone.  HD 3, AC 13.  Atk: Claw 1d6 + Calcium Theft.  This Baby's attacks cause you to take 1d6 STR damage and makes your bones weaker.  If this damage ever equals or exceeds your STR score your bones turn to cartilage and you cannot walk, though you will be an amazing swimmer.   
10- Textiles.  HD 2, AC 11.  Atk: Towel Whip 1d6 + Strip.  This Baby's attack cause you to lose one piece of clothing.  Armor is also destroyed, as the baby eats all the little bits that keep the defensive parts in place.  This Baby is very annoying, and super flammable.  Immune to blunt damage.  
11- Occultum/Magic.  HD 2, AC 14.  Atk: Death Ray 1d10 magic.  This Baby eats not just Occultum, but magic spells, magic weapons, and anything enchanted.  It can teleport when no one is watching it and turn invisible when not in sunlight.  It cannot be hurt by non-magic weapons.  Its corpse is worth 1d20*1000 gold pieces.  There is no way you will be able to keep all of it, this is more money than some nations make in a year.  The Thieves are already on their way. 
12- Lightning.  HD 1, AC 18.  Atk: Electrical Touch 2d6 lightning.  This Baby is super-fast, glows purple, and cannot be hurt by anything that is not magic.  The Baby can also travel through metal like it wasn't there, but cannot do this to non-conductive things, such as dirt, wood, and plastic.  Immune to lightning damage.
13- Ice.  HD 3, AC 13.  Atk: Claw 1d6 + 1d6 cold damage.  This Baby can also create snowmen as a full action.  These Snowmen have 1 HD, AC 10, and attack with Fist 1d4.  It starts with 1d6 Snowmen body-guards.  This Baby and the Snowmen are immune to cold damage.       
14- Law.  HD 1d6, AC 1d6+10.  Atk: Cast Spell.  This Baby is a spellcaster, and knows 1d6+1 spells it can cast at will as level X spells, where X is equal to the number of HD it has.  This Baby cannot be hurt by a Servant of Chaos or any item given to someone by a Chaotic Deity, organization or religion.   
15- Chaos.   HD 2, AC 12.  Atk: Judgement.  Anyone who has broken a Law and not suffered legal punishment for it instantly suffers that punishment if they attack the Law Baby.  This Baby cannot be hurt by an Agent of the Law or any item given to someone by a Lawful deity, religion or organization. 
16- Fear.  HD 1, AC 10.  Atk: Courageous Aura.  Anyone within 100' of this Baby feels no fear, and automatically pass all saves to resist fear.  This Baby is immune to fear effects, and nullifies them. 
17- Death.  HD 1, AC 10.  Atk: Anti-Thanatos Field.  Anyone within 100' of this Matter Baby cannot die.  No matter how badly they are hurt, they will continue living as long as they remain close to it.  This aura does not dull pain, cause regeneration or prevent madness.
18- Life.  HD 5, AC 10.  Atk: Smash 1d6 + Life Thief: Target takes 1d6 damage or can choose to fail a save against the Life Leach Field.  The Baby is also surrounded by a field of energy for 100' called Life Leach.  Whenever you enter this aura for the first time, save.  On a failure, you take 1 damage per round/minute/day you are in the Life Leach field, depending on how close you are to the Life Matter Baby.  This Baby also receives double HP from healing spells or regenerative effects applied to it.
19- Memories.  HD 3, AC 11.  Atk: Smash 1d8.  This Baby makes you forget it was there.  Every time you stop looking at it, you forget it exists.  Every time this Baby is forgotten about, it forgets the damage it took, so is back at full health.   
20- Time.  HD 3, AC 15.  Atk: Smash 1d8 + CHA save.  On a failure, age 1d20 years.  This Baby is immune to Time Magic, and can move in Stopped Time. 

Thursday, October 4, 2018

OSR: Deep One Hybrid

This is mostly stolen from the fabulous Joseph Manola, who first wrote this class here.  Go check out his stuff, he's brilliant.

                                                               How to go from this...
                                                                 by SarmaiBalazs

You probably come from an ancient, reclusive clan who lives along the sea, out on the frontier, far from more civilized, land-locked folks.  You likely come from a closed community, where fraternization with outsiders was prohibited.  You were likely not very wealthy, though not poor either.  Your family have been impoverished, surrounded by relics of its past glories while they prayed to catch enough fish to be able to make it through the winter storms, or you may have been a rural merchants who seemed to have an embarrassing amount of riches, especially for the lowly fisherfolk that you were.  In either case, your clan was strange.  You likely suffered from some form of hereditary disease, mutations that were carefully concealed, and many rumors.

But while the rumors were scandalous, there was no truth to them.  No one is your family ever made sacrifices to some terrible aquatic deity or invited dolphins into the bay to couple with them, as far as you knew.  The only strange things about your family was the webbed toes about half your relatives seemed to possess, the fact that your marriage was arranged, and the fact that an inordinate amount of your immediate and extended family seemed to drown or be swept out to sea, never to be seen again.  And of course, there was the locked door in the basement, which all who did not have the permission of the Matriarch of the clan were forbidden to enter.  It was unsafe, Grandma Tolly always said, and that had seemed reasonable enough to you.  At least, at first.

But one day, you realized something odd was going on.  So you set out, in search of the truth.  Unfortunately for you, the truth is about to find you.

                                                                      ...to this...
                                                                  from Pathfinder

This is a class for playing a Deep One Hybrid.  It has a wide range of situational abilities, and would be very useful in a pirate game.  However, if your players want to play a Deep One Hybrid, make sure there is something for them to do.  For while they are not helpless out of water, they would be infinitely more useful near or in it.  So use with caution.

Additionally, a word on the status of Deep One Hybrids in Nukaria.  They are monsters.  If any group of peasants or educated folk saw a Deep One Hybrid past level 5, they would regard it as a monster to be drive away with pitchforks or torches, or an interesting specimen to be captured and studied or shot and dissected once it perished.  Deep One Hybrids before that would just be regarded as strange folk with weird faces and mutations.  To be pitied, but ignored.  However, if anyone saw how well they swam or breathed underwater, any educated folk would begin asking some very pointed questions.  Most smallfolk would just declare it an abomination against God and the Law, and try to fish the Hybrid out to skewer them.  Even Neutral people who understand that you can't always follow your principles in a rough neighborhood, metaphorically speaking, still have to draw a line somewhere, and when they see a person capable of breathing underwater with a deformed face and a jaw that can crush a coconut is usually that line. 

Deep One Hybrid
Starting HP: 1/3 HP
Fighting Spirit: You get +5 FS at Level 1, +5 at level 3, +5 at level 5, and +5 at level 9.
Starting Equipment: Dagger, memento from your reclusive, mostly deceased family, strange jewelry, beach wear, sturdy boots

1:

Natural Swimmer: You have webbed feet.  This gives you a swimming speed equal to your running speed, and you can even swim in armor, though you'll still sink like a stone in plate.

2:

Water Breather: Gills open on the side of your neck.  You can breath underwater.

3:

Innsmouth Look: Your eyes become huge and bulging.  You can see in all but perfectly in low light, though not in perfect darkness.  Assume that if there is light, you can see.

4:

What Big Teeth: Your Teeth become long and sharp, and your fingernails burst their beds transforming into claws.  You do 1d4 damage unarmed, and you can bite through anything one could cut with an axe.

5:

Ocean's Consort: Your skin becomes rough and scaly, and you expand with the masses of muscle and blubber needed to sustain oneself in the depths of the Sea.  You deal +1 damage due to the increase bulk, and get +1 to AC unarmored.  It is now clear that you aren't anything remotely close to human, and you will be treated as such.  Expect angry mobs, priests rambling about prophecy, and Witch-Hunters and Paladins sniffing after you.  Of course, there will be those who are attracted to your transformed body, but whether or not this attention is a blessing or a curse is up to you.

6:

Call the Cult: You intuitively reach out through your dreams to nearby unstable individuals, calling them together to form a cult of which you are the leader. Over the next few weeks, 3d6 crazy people (a mixture of 1st-level Fighting Men, Scoundrels, and Magic-Users) will arrive, and serve you with fanatical loyalty. Whenever one dies, an equally crazy replacement will turn up 1d3 weeks later. Each time you go up another level you gain another 1d6 cultists.

7:

Lord of the Seas: You can communicate with aquatic and amphibious creatures and as a full action, charm up to X HD of them to do your bidding, where X is equal to your level.  You may do this until you have charmed up to X HD of creatures, after which they do not need to accept further orders.  Creatures that are charmed by you must obey any order you give them until you abuse them, or they are given an order they believe to endanger their own lives.  If you do either of these things, the creatures get a save to break free of your control.  However, if you do neither of those things, then your charm merely wears off as soon as you go to sleep. 

8:   

Command the Formless: As Lord of the Seas, but you can now also charm Water Elementals, Slimes and Oozes.  However, charming these creatures also counts against the X HD, so you can only charm up to X HD of such creatures per day.

9:

The Song of the Sea: You hear a song in your dreams that calls you to a holy place in a sunken city at the bottom of the sea. If you follow it, and complete the hazardous journey successfully, you undergo a final metamorphosis in which you shed the last remnants of your humanity. You cease to age, become immune to disease, and will live forever unless killed by violence.

                                          ...to this in just 7 to 20 game sessions (results may vary)
                                                        by BorjaPindado