Thursday 31 October 2013

Psychon Gamelog: Jungles of Karthang

Halloween on way home and I was tempted to go out but went to doctors who said i was doing good and could give blood again. Came home and tidied up club for late session. Gamers arrived.

Last time the god Colossus had sent party to Karthang, a dark, cold yellow jungle being over taken by macrobes. The green men of the citadel were aloof but accepted the party green skin druid as close to their kin. He was also a spell user which are the only ones who voted.

Asked about the land and heard of evil indigo cat- men, the blue wizard and the warrior school. Also realized the men of Karthang were only skirmishers who believed insults and a near miss missile attack was a battle. Apparently cat men ruins and several ancient ship graveyards were in the hex also. Lotsa stuff to check out so the gang set off to ask local experts. Met a cat man and the druid with his rainbow robes persuaded the cat man to talk. The morlock offered him delicious goblin fingers. His people revered the druids of Psychon and he and his people would welcome him and his followers (being the other party members). He told them of the ruin and the great river and gave his tips to cross it. Look out for man eating fish. While the river carries macrobe spores elsewhere, the fish eat most of the big ones.

So onto the brotherhood of Xall, a school of warriors and monks. They welcomed the party and Xall spoke to the druid while the morlock and hawkman talked to the warriors. The Morlock paid to have 3 goblins battle him in a pit fight (1gp each) and spectacularly killed them and earned warriors respect. Discovered local goblins had delicious fruity pudding flavour. Whole party now like to taste everything they kill and now discuss what creatures should be best combo meals. Damn my random flavour tables turning party into cannibals. Druid damned those ancients and gods for making people yummy.  Hawkman and Morlock discovered the great warrior secret was to charge enemy, get into melee and kill them. A strange tactic the citadel men were unaware of. Learned of the drug addled sorcerer and of the ruins and ship graveyards. Also more about yellow goblins and blue ogres with single horns . Even though green men hated cat men they believed killing them was murder and goblins and ogres were fare game though.

Moved onto the wizard tower, a tall blue spire on a bluff that gave a good view of adjacent areas. Apprentices let druid in but insisted the others stay outside. An apprentice tried to talk the warriors into learning wizardry but snubbed the hawk-man who was illiterate. Inside the druid met a fabulous illusion of the blue wizard and requested they meet in flesh. As druid suspected the wizard shared the theory that the people here must unite against the invading macrobe ecology. Studied books overnight warning of local dangers.

Set off in morning to borderlands of macrobes and 3 blue ogres attacked. Naked bloated gibbering insane creatures with giant ivory horns. Managed to badly injure them all and they tried to flee and party chased them down. Morlock discovered they had delicious sweet honey like fat and he collected lots of fingers and blubber. Goblins with javelins attacked later on edge of macrobe jungle, All killed and hawkman was growing fonder of scarlet goblin pet who dished out lots of damage.  Macrobes grew in spheres stacked on top swaying as if in breeze. Most only fist sized but bigger ones size of beach balls visible. mounds of bubbling slimy growths and patches of irory flagellum squirmed under the stars. Saw some sailor zombies from ship wrecks and ran away.

Into depths of macrobe zone they saw huge scaled balls. Druid noted they were following plant colour of hex but a bit darker. Cast some divination spells to read land to find it was screaming from alien macrobes. Later a number of spheres detached from chains of spheres and attacked. Druid got one clinging to him with ivory roots. Morlock, hawkman, the druids wolf and hawkmans scarlet goblin killed. All injured and spore covered. Druid killed his and scraped off the roots growing into him. Druid spied a growing eye on a slimy growth that was attacking party unsuccessfully with hold person attacks by mental force and directing macrobes in the battle. Morlock splattered it when druid pointed it out. On death they burst sporing all nearby.

Druid cured morlock who had swallowed some spores. Remove disease spells made morlock vomit up poison. Came across sailor zombies and killed them all. Mildly glowing green, radioactive and curse magic radiated from corpses. In ship graveyard ignored civilian boats went for military.
Hawkman climbed on deck and battled 4 zombies. Druid adopted his 30ft giant form and morlock used druid as a ladder and jumped off to help the hawkman. Hawk had killed all four by time rest arrived. Decided to check out bridge and found zombies and a wight captain. Zombies went down before realized the captain was wight. He killed and turned crimson goblin to into a lesser wight. Morlock and Hawkman lost a level (one asked do i get a save? LOL). Of course weapons didnt work on beast. Hawkman had spear blessed by druid and morlock used his magic dagger. Druid threw burning pine cones. Unimpressed at being 5th level and goblin death.  Spoke to a demon cursed wight over radio on another ship. At war with living and life and was gonna skullfuck party and make them his eternal slaves.

Went below to find loot. Killed undead seagull swarm and met wight bard with a magic bone guitar. Talked briefly then killed him. Party fled back to green citadel. Guitar stops lich cold and fear powers working in 2 radius or if played by lich spread his power to area effect from touch powers.

After session I was cleaning up and heard doorbell (now 2am) while cooking a sausage. One of my female flatmates had been chased around suburb by arseholes in a pickup ruck and was in hysterics. Ive had this happen to me over a dozen times in my old city. Occasionally i get followed when i have a walking stick. Aparently someone helped her but after guys found her later and chased her again. Lets make Halloween suck for everyone jerks. I bet they thought halloween was a great night to be such scumbags. Hope nobody has to suffer this shit. My sausage was half burned too.

Wednesday 30 October 2013

D100 rich corpse table

Mentioned to players while playing Cthulhu Britannia i would just do modules, 1920s is vanilla to me and i put in more effort if doing genre i really want to play with. I had been waiting to do 1490 darklands for 7 years and plenty of online sandbox stuff and player created troubles. Arkham county sandbox was fun and will do some day again but I killed most of last party. Will do vikings and will research it and plan it with RQ vikings and monographs as base. Will buy BRP Iceland book. My players said they like my sandbox stuff best which I found flattering. Arkham county is very contained setting and i should buy extra maps and the licensed adventure book to expand. UK is bigger and harder to get my head around.

I like old 4 page adventures in 80s cthulhu - not too complex, not too many different monsters, simple plots you can juggle in your head. I think a book of 20 4 page adventures would be great.

Anyway back to gothtober table frenzy - as a follow up to rich mans pockets here is rich mans corpses found in burial sites. These a bit more gender nuetral or interchangeable than last one.

Roll for who is in crypt, sarcophogi or coffin in classy burial or im sure you will find other uses.


D100 rich corpse table

1 A guilds man with fancy clothes, ledger and 3d100gp jewelery
2 A guilds man with ritual apron and symbolic tools 3d100gp jewelery and secret guild books
3 City councilman with robe, wig and gold badge of office 4d10pg
4 Town clerk with robes, spectacle and ledger
5 Town selectman with robes and 4d10 gold chains
6 Student with night robe and favorite book and stylus
7 Judge with robes, wig, mace or hammer, a scales
8 Banker with abacus, ledger, robes, purse of 1d100 silver for tips in next life
9 Merchant with fancy clothes, ledger, scales and 1d100gp jewelery
10 Shopkeeper with common suit, and some samples goods of trade
11 Crime or ganglord, fancy suit, pipe, bottle, dagger, 3d10 gold chains
12 Bailiff with leather armour, truncheon, manacles
13 Sherrif with chain shirt, sword, helmet, and gold star 1d10gp
14 Ship captain with uniform, sea chest of trade and survival goods
15 Officer of military, chain, sword, shield
16 Cavalryman with, chain, sword, mace, shield, dead horse and saddle
17 Knight, plate, lance, sword, flail, mace, helm, dead horse and saddle
18 Wizard with robes, 1d3 potions, 1d100 gold, spell book
19 Sorcerer with robes, drugs and 1d3 dead lovers,1d10o jewelery
20 Monk or nun with robes, staff, bowl, holy symbol and book
21 Common priest with robes and holy symbol and staff
22 Temple priest with fancy robes, holy symbol, staff
23 Warrior priest in chain, helm, mace, holy symbol
24 Holy Knight, plate, lance, sword, helm, holy symbol, holy water, dead horse and saddle
25 Innkeeper with apron, truncheon, knife, small keg of grog and tankard
26 Druidic priest with staff, sickle, robe, missletoe, dead pet, and large stone
27 Rakes coffin with suit, dagger, rapier, grog bottle, sheep gut condoms, pipe and drugs
28 Harlot with fancy clothes, fans, 1d100 jewelry, diary
29 Scholar with robes, 1d4 books, unfinished manuscript, stylus, ink, paper, spectacles
30 Scribe with robe, staff, 1d6 non magic scrolls, writing set, paper
31 Witch with robe, staff, 1d3 potions, cursed fetish, dead familiar
32 Child in rich clothing with expensive chest of toys
33 Lady in wedding dress with dowry goods in chest
34 Noblewoman with dress, d100 jewelry and instrument or craft tool and handicrafts
35 Wealthy doctor with doctors bag, a potion, fine suit, dead leeches in jar
36 Alchemist with 1d3 potions and fragment of philosophers stone, suit, note book
37 Land owner with nice suit, hamper with food and cow hide
38 Mortician in funeral robes with bag of makeup and tools
39 Cultist with robes, 3d10 gold mask, 2d10 gold ring, dagger
40 Monster hunter with chain, axe, spear and 2d10 severed humanoid heads
41 Duelist with flashy suit, two swords or pistols, nice hat
42 Elderly matriach with tapestry, nightshirt, 1d100 silver coin and dead pet
43 Elderly patriarch with nightshirt, bottle of grog and walking stick
44 Flash bard with fancy suit, instrument, scrolls of poem, diary, 1d100 locks of lovers hair
45 Butler or maid for high class servant with suit, trey, hat, list of chores
46 Spy, suit, face down, head cut off, star chamber death notice
47 Occultist with suit, star charts, book, useless talisman, crystal ball
48 Plague Doctor with beakmask, black robes, spectacles, bunch of flowers
49 Possible vampire, head cut off, stuffed with garlic, chained
50 Philanthropist, nightshirt, certificates of thanks from charities
51 Adventuress with suit, coat, hat, rapier, tiny flintlock pistol
52 Popular Mistress with nightshirt, d100 love letters, 1d100gp jewelery, diary
53 Dandy with suit, d100 terrible poems, large sunflower, cane, bottle of absinthe
54 Glutton with dirty fat suit, box of candy, jar of pickles, a ham, knife, fork, plate
55 Pig dressed up in rich suit
56 Bound in bandages with bottle of medicine
57 Sewn into suit, concealing body mutations, holy symbol
58 Alcoholic in soiled suit with, wine bottles, small brandy keg, tankard
59 Black lotus addict sewn into sack with singed resin coated pipe
60 Moralist with sensible suit, 1d10 pamphlets from causes, holy symbol
61 Assassin with black suit and cape, dagger, garrote and pot of poison
62 Gambler with cards, dice, good suit and 1d100 silver coins
63 Mine owner with suit, pick and ore samples
64 Coach owner with whip, model wagon and 1d10 lost parcels
65 Restauranteur with good suit, sliver cutlery, spice set in 2d6 jars
66 Abattoir owner with cheap suit, bloody apron, cleaver, knife and pig head
67 Greenhouse herbalist with cheap suit, apron, watering can, pipe and hash
68 Navigator with suit, sextant, compass and 1d10 charts
69 Necromancer with black robes, scythe or sickle, often undead
70 Slave trader with cheap suit, manacles and 1d4 dead slaves (possibly just ashes)
71 Interior decorator in fancy suit and great shoes, brush, paint tin, 1d10gp gilt plaque 
72 Artist with suit, tools of art form like paint set or chisels, one small artwork
73 Writer with cheap suit and 1d6 books and a pile of manuscripts
74 Socialite with fancy suit, 4d10gp in jewelery, collection of old invitations
75 Slum lord with shabby suit, purse with 1d100 copper coins, club or whip
76 Executioner or torturer with uniform, hood, whip, manacles, thumbscrews
77 Corrupt merchant with multiple stab wounds, good suit, ledger of dodgy deals

78 Lawyer with good suit, wig, book of laws
79 Actor or actress in flashy but cheap suit, 1d10 theatre programs, tiny dead dog
80 Hunt master with traveling suit, cloak, bow, horn, 1d6 dead rabbits
81 Sportsman with riding suit, riding crop, fancy hat, favorite dead dog
82 Whaler/sealer product dealer, dirty suit, apron, axe, club, jar of oil, hunk of blubber 
83 Horrible miser, cheap suit, monocle, ear horn, 1d100 silver in trapped purse
84 Explorer with wilderness suit, cloak, bow, dagger, hatchet, 1d10 maps
85 Wood merchant with worksuit, wood axe, samples of different wood
86 Builder with work suit, hammer, chisel, small stone gargoyle, set square
87 Con artist with cheap flashy suit, 1d10 fake deeds, forged ID papers
88 Fashion victim with fabulous suit, makeup kit, brush, mirror 1d100 gold jewelry
89 Sweatshop owner with cheap suit, trunk of inferior goods and child size manacles
90 Circus owner with fancy suit, whip, bag of nuts, mummified monkey, jack in a box
91 Witch-hunter with plain suit, whip, manacles, lantern, holy water
92 Prospector made good with tacky suit, gilded pick, gilded hammer, nugget worth 1d100
93 Jeweler with fancy suit, monocle, tool set, 1d100 gems, jewels, silver and gold wire
94 Military leader with fancy suit, 2d10 medals, autobiography detailing campaigns
95 Confectioner with colourful suit, cane, funny shoes, piles of chocolate and candy
96 Falconer in hunting suit, gauntlet, mummified falcon, 1d6 dead rabbits
97 Armourer with good suit, hammer, trunk of armour odments and spare parts
98 Weapon smith with good suit, and trunk of 3d6 swords and blades and other weapons
99 Pet lover with fur covered suit, pet food, 2d10 dead puppies, kitties, bunnies or birds
100 Secret police with studded leather armour, whip, dagger, manacles, garrotte

Monday 28 October 2013

Tonights theatres of Exile Island Guide

The media on the island is represented by the arts and crafts and music and written word. Artists often employ in name of lords, church or cities and increasingly saying what they think on other issues. Shadel Port celebrates free speech more than any land and is crawling with anarchists, pirates, freemen, escaped slaves, ex convicts and worst of all yeomen.

Yeomen own their land, produce the bulk and best of the cities food and the Barron protects them with death sentence to any who harm or rob or wrong them. They also ignore the church mostly following nature, farming and war. They specialise in longbow and greatsword and are mostly fighters. They are private and keep their own council.

Bards are common and different schools employ various agencies on the island. Some bards follow the highland tribe way, skalds from the vikings are common, elf friends (good and evil elves), empire, shadelport and many minor schools. Acting as spies, informants, messengers and entertainers they are the fastest means of information flow without magic. Everyone knows what bards are up to but everybody wants them in their towns and courts.

Shadel Port secret police have links to many holy oracles, druid prophets and diviners from the wizard university to survey with magic. The emperor has this too but is thousands of miles away. Of course they teleport secret police and heroes when needed. The emperor has reinstituted gladiatorial games and Shadelport has the Dungeon of Death for similar reasons. The Dungeon and Colosseum shows are broadcast to elites by illusion and "official" scrying devices. The poor see street theatre and puppet reenactments.

Other artists offer more illustrative information and tend to be more interested in glorification of the mighty and rich and holy.The decorative arts reach commoners the most and include painters sculptors, architect, decorative craftsmen. decorators, graffiti artists. Players and dancers are tailored to all tastes and are censored the most. Secret and private and criminal shows are common. Comedy especially puppet shows are for the commoners but may be subject to death if rulers are offended. Writers deal with the elite and often have small edition to select clients who may be tolerant or depraved in tastes. Most commoners are illiterate, rich are very literate with the merchant classes in between falling in between. Pamphlets often with illustrations are being printed and having an impact as the illiterate can understand them and are even taking an interest in reading.

d100 What kind of show in the street or village pub or green
1 Street gambling, cup and ball
2 Street gambling, cock fighting
3 Street gambling, cat and/or dog fighting
4 Street gambling, card tricks
5 Street gambling, games of chance
6 Busking musicians playing sea shanties
7 Busking musicians playing imperial favourites
8 Busking musicians playing highland odes
9 Busking musicians playing demihuman classics
10 Busking musicians playing backwoods hillbilly music
11 Busking musicians playing yeoman work songs
12 Busking musicians playing outre music of primordial races
13 Busking musicians playing the new sound only aged under 30 likes
14 Busking musicians playing love songs
15 Busking musicians playing sport and team songs
16 Busking musicians playing gang dance music
17 Busking musicians playing slave songs
18 Crazy old person on a box complains about working life
19 Crazy old person on a box complains about other races
20 Crazy old person on a box complains about Empire or Shadel port
21 Crazy old person on a box complains about rulers
22 Crazy old person on a box complains about women's rights and dignity
23 Naked man holding end of world is nigh sign
24 Slave speaking about freedom and equality for all
25 Wizard speaking about material nature of reality
26 Sorcerer invites followers to learn amazing powers for serving him
27 Scary old witch telling ghost stories
29 Hoary druid warns respect nature or be destroyed
30 Racy young druid preaches be fruitful and have lots of great sex with strangers
31 Monk preaching alignment philosophy
32 Bard lampooning someone in power
33 Bard telling of news from other places
34 Bard singing love songs and seducing strangers
35 Bard sings of low low prices at some emporium

36 Bard gives public announcements and messages
37 Bard reviews local eateries and drinking places
38 Bard singing bawdy rude songs about vice
39 Bard sings of dungeons and adventurers

40 Holy person telling stories of creation
41 Holy person scaring everyone with gloom, doom and sin
42 Holy person explaining alignment system
43 Holy person warning of sin and vice
44 Holy person warning of the next world
45 Holy person warning of worlds end

46 Poet reviews latest books
47 Poet tells of doomed love life
48 Poet tells of soaring natural wonder
49 Poet tells of depression and failure
50 Poet recites lineage of self or rulers
51 Child tells adorable animal stories
52 Old Sid talks of gangland turf wars of three generations back
53 Billy talks about the biggest fish stories
54 Mad Mary tells pirate treasure stories for beer
55 Nanny Bogwarts cursed tales of doomed heroes
56 Puppet show of dungeon heroes
57 Shadow puppet play about adventurers dark delves
58 Puppet show about funny incompetent adventurers
59 Puppet show about monsters killing bad people
60 Puppet show about domestic violence where abuser horribly punished
61 Sport stories with old uncle bill
62 Midwife adventure stories with crazy meg from mutant district
63 Student preaching mutant rights
64 Student preaching end to enforced celibacy for university students
65 Student preaching end of book tax
66 Student preaching about lack of gremlin and rat free cheap housing
67 Student preaching about death sentence for agitator
68 Artist complaining about poor commission process
69 Artist complaining about lack of creative freedom and censorship
70 Man preaching this is greatest place in the world how lucky we all are
71 Man warning cats are agents of hell and must be destroyed or eaten
72 Man preaching rats are our friends
73 Beggar complains about beggars guild, getting boos from other beggars

74 Doctor trying to teach hygiene
75 Warrior seeks companions to rescue friends
76 Warrior seeks companions to destroy a gang
77 Warrior seeks companions to explore ruins
78 Warrior seeks companions to rescue maiden
79 Warrior seeks companions to destroy evil wizard
78 Warrior seeks companions to kill cultists
80 Warrior seeks companions to enter a dungeon
81 Trained rats perform wonders
82 See my imp tent only 1cp a look
83 Peep at my erotic imp show only 5sp a look
84 Freak in a tent with bard barking about horror inside
85 Dancing troop with swords or snakes
86 Erotic dancer or dancers
87 Cross dressing clown
88 Boxers or sword fighters for cash, men and women matches
89 Apprentices doing tricks for cash
90 Exotic street stall cook
91 Orc will kill a kobold with a mallet in front of you for 1gp
92 Fire breather
93 Dwarf jester
94 Juggler
95 Escape artist with manacles and cage
96 Ribald stories from gigolos and prostitutes
97 Prison love stories from Stumpy McShank
98 Public flogging or fresh victims for stocks
99 Drinking and flogging songs from round the world with Mistress Candy
100 Preview or cheap parody of theatre show for commoners

d100 What show on in the theatre
1
Twilight of the Swan-Maidens, Ms Prissy's dancers dressed as swans 6 hours
2 Dungeon scout guilds review show with skits, songs and cross dressing capers
3 War what is it good for? great literary epic brought to stage in only 8 hours
4 Ms Molly's old time Empire singalong
5 Donavan carnival of freaks review
6 Colonel Custards magic circus
7 New light opera for common folk by Handleshmidt and Steko: Die Monster Die!
8 Deadly Danger Dancers from around the world review featuring Miss Kraven
9 Amazing Monks of Cymbal Mountain perform martial feats
10 There's a Vampire in my catacomb, the new stage comedy hit running for 5 years
11 Zarby and Gaggy, the hit comedy team of opposing alignment
12 So you Married an Orc, the latest intersperses marriage comedy
13 Ogle and Eat Out, erotic dinner theater night with the Scumtown Harlots
14 Ladies only night with the Wild Stallions
15 Gladiator dinner theatre night, watch men die while you dine!
16 Scarlet Houri Dance Show, body painted dancers live sexual performance
17 Carry on Empire! Saucy stage play of double entendre and hiding naked in cupboards
18 Hero of the Empire! 12 hour opera about triumph of first god emperor
19 So I married a Valkyrie, yet another inovative commedey in this posibly overdone genre
20 Prince of the Empire, boring opera about founding of the second empire
21 What a funny old bugbear! comedey review of trained goblioids who dont get the jokes
22 Werecats the burlesque review featuring Miss Panthera
23 Rats! the other musical production commissioned by beggars guild and less sexy
24 Were-penguins on ice spectacular, great show for whole family but dress warm
25 I'm A Pirate! the musical comedy satirizing empires impotency vs Shadel Port
26 Grandma Goose and all duck review, hilarious trained ducks march in unison in suits
27 A sailors Life!, the less political knock off of another popular maritime musical comedy
28 Just a Henchman!, all singing all dancing henchmen review show with meal included
29 In the Dragons Belly, Ballet about life inside a great sea dragon behemoth
30 Truncheon Capers, a comedy about mobsters and baliffs of shadelport
31 Dungeon! the opera opening night with elite only and tickets a fortune
32 Bright Elven Choir, singing holy music of the sylvan court
33 Dark Elven Choir, singing insane synchronized screaming
34 Aeeei You've married a dragon third year of this comedy show, a triumph of the genre
35 A Wizards Wand Is Ever Ready! Ribald comedy of wizards sexual misadventures
36 Too Many Gods! A sacrilegious parody all churches tried to ban
37 To Slay A Dragon, a melodramatic opera where a mighty hero slays dragon only 4 hours
38 War With The Giants, a new tragic comic classic concerning recent giant killers
39 Temple of the Star Men, a play about angel abductions from a true believers experiences
40 Dance of the Faerie Court, elven ballet only six hours long version for humans
41 Orc Smash!, to prove they can haz kultur, orcs put on dreadful show orcs love
42 Honey Our Kids are Kobolds, comedy for family about cursed slum clan
43 Harlots of The Dark Wood, dark elven prostitute review show, risk your eternal soul!
44 Gumbo the Purple Dragon, comedy for kids where child heroes slay stupid evil dragon
45 Liberation of Shadel Port, how a human barbarian freed humanity from primordials
46 The Necromancer King, history drama of ruler for a thousand years after primordials
47 A vampire took my Baby, comedy drama of unwed mother versus undead
48 The Blood Book Epic, melodrama opera of evil vampire kings quest for living victims left
49 Torturers Guild Theatre Restaurant, new show every night
50 Alignment Debates Live!, exponents of outer planar philosophy fight live with words
51 Stinkbeard's Treasure, true story of hopelessly unlucky treasure hunters
52 Hells Harmony, one act per layer of hell, claimed to be most hellish 9 hour opera ever
53 Fullmoon Follies a troupe of lycanthrope performers who never perform under a full moon
54 Wizards of Wickedness, fanciful drama of apprentices fighting over editions of spellbooks
55 Colosseum of Chaos, reenactments of great gladiator battles with gallons of fake blood
56 Kalrek of Matzigbion, opera of dawn age vampire wizard king who released demon gods
57 Swords against the Pit!, comedy adventures of thieves robbing a dungeon
58 Dungeon of the Doomed, comedy with human midgets playing dwarfs
59 Into The Underworld, Oprah of hero seeking beloved in underworld only 4 hours
60 Magic Lantern Show with painted glass slides projected in dark theatre
61 Zontag the Illusionist, show of incredible illusions and story telling
62 Live Animal Fights Night!, bears, lions, horses with betting facilities
63 Kobold Choir, wizard Upton with mallets plays his kobold singers for entertainment
64 We are the Goblins! Actors playing parts of goblins in face paint and prosthesis
65 Live criminal executions, daily show, bookings essential
66 Criminal Vivisectionists dissect executed criminals for informative education viewing
67 Madhouse and Mutants!, a show of freaks and crazies from the asylum for your pleasure
68 Fall of the Mad Emperor, a popular opera highly offencive to Empire, only 12 hours
69 Swamp Hags Revenge, Drama, A prince lies to a hag to save his life, his kingdom burns
70 The Necromancers Wedding, light hearted opera even commoners enjoys only 3 hours
71 A Zombie Chorus Line, put on by necromancer students as part of exam from university
72 The Secret Policeman's Ball, imprisoned comedians and bards allowed out for show
73 Haunting of Crimson Castle, a stage drama by promising young playwright
74 To catch a Witch, Dramatic play about finding and burning village witches
75 In the Court of the Octopus Queen, musical folly with amazing costumes and stagecraft
76 Castle Gaxyg, riotous comedy of life in a dungeon full of costumed characters
77 Trip To The Moon is a fanciful alchemist tale where men are shot to the moon in cannons

78 Dr Z's Erotic Castle of Carnal Knowledge, a live sex theatre show with real succubi
79 Mrs Mog's Mad Murder Spree, a melodrama play detailing a cannibal family
80 Death of a Bard Who Tried Too Hard, musical rumoured commission of secret police
81 Brazen Strumpet of Cutthroat lane, musical life of harlots life from mansion to madhouse
82 Master Zedikar Sells his Soul, opera about selling soul to devils and trip to hell
83 Beggars Delight, musical about beggars guild and orphanage showing happy lives
84 Downtown Mutant , sad play about a mutant who dreams of better life, killed by mob
85 Mysteries of Alchemy, theatrical exhibit of alchemy, create hermaphrodite in finale
86 The Rat Kings Daughter, parody opera satirizing class system
87 Feats of the Body, live dissection of regenerating monsters like mutants and trolls
88 Wonders of Phrenology, scientific display by expert in this new exiting field
89 Caverns of the Lich King, Opera of adventurers lost in caves beneath city sewers
90 The Bleak Tower, romantic drama play about wizards household servants
91 Mysteries of the Ancients, dramatic reenactments of moments in history
92 Dance of the Golems, romantic ballet about golems in love in palace of wizard
93 King of the Frog Folk, sacrilegious comedy making priests look foolish
94 Scarlet Tom's greatest Show, best songs of cities favorite bard tribute show
95 Miss Nancy's Treat, popular music hall with dinner, nobles come to slum with commoners
96 Rituals of the Mysterious East, live sex, necrophilia and bestiality show, adults only
97 Tragedy of Princess Aurora, play about loving outside your station and brutal results 
98 The King in Yellow, Forbidden in the empire, depraved play said to drive viewers mad
99 Laugh With The Humanoids, comedy skits with actors as goblinoids and demihumans
100 Tears of the Troglodyte, romantic comedy about cave dwelling subhumans

Sunday 27 October 2013

In The Pockets of a Rich Man

This begs the question: What about the guys in the middle? Of course the answer is use this and the common mans table. I'd usually give 1d3 things per corpse/person or one thing per pick pocket success. If I rolled three for a shopkeeper or scholar they would probably have the third item as a conspicuous status symbol from here and would flash it about more. Some tables changed more than others. Some items upgraded to posh versions. Spotted typos on original common man table but it is here


D100 In The Pockets of a Rich Man table
1-20 Loose small change 1d10 silver, 1d10 gold
21-50 Purse 1d50 silver, 1d20 gold d3 platinum or better
61-70 Trinket
71-75 Tool
76-80 Snack
81-95 Document
96-100 Something weird

D100 Trinkets

01-05 Lucky charm 30gp
06-08 Flowers
09-13 Hair of a loved one, possibly missing or deceased
14-20 Silver holy symbol 30gp
21-25 Medal depicting saint or holy person 30gp
26-28 Love charm 30gp
29-31 Idol of kin 30gp
31-33 Idol of ancestor 30gp
34-40 Idol of god 30gp
41 Blessed bracelet of ribbon
42 Tin of fertility medicine
43 Tiny (under palm size) erotic artwork
44-45 Holy water
56-50 Potion, possibly healing
51-53 Fertility charm
54 Medicine bottle
55-57 Bracelet 30gp
58 Cult Medallion 30gp
59-60 Fancy Ribbon
61 Tin of pills with apothecary stamp
62 Ointment
63-65 Silk cord
66-67 Ornate tiny bottle
68-70 Ornate painted wooden empty box
71 Ornate gold empty box d100 gold
72-73 Ornate carved ivory empty box 30gp 
74-75 Sheepgut condoms in tin
76-80 Ivory Dice
81 Hand painted playing or divination cards
82-85 Half a locket (someone has piece that connects)
86 Game piece like a chess set carved from ivory or stone
87 Gem worth d100
88-90 Plush monster toy such as a manticore
91-92 Ornate keys for house or strongbox often worn as status symbol
93 Jewelled cloak pin or buckle d100
95 Ring worth d100 gold
96 Carved ivory pendant 30gp
97 Tiny wooden box with secret trick to open
98 Miniature painting of loved one
99 Miniature painting of holy place
00 Miniature painting of holy person or god

D100 Tools
01-10 Silver knife 1d10 gold 
11-20 silver spoon 1d10 gold
21 Gold needle
22 Silk thread
23 Tin of fake eyelashes
34 Gold Hair or hat pin
35 Gold stylus
36 Stamp and ink
37 Gold letter opener 10gp
38 Makeup tin of rouge for lips or cheeks
39 Makeup tin of face powder
40 Makeup tin of kohl or eye blacker
41 Pipe with common smokeless herbs
42 Pipe with uncommon smoking mushrooms or resin
43 Pipe with illegal addictive resin
44 Ivory comb
45 Snuffbox
46 Tobacco tin
47 Hoof cleaning tool
48 Flea powder
49 Tiny bottle of expensive scent
50 Tiny bottle of body oil
51 Tiny bottle of
52 Harp string
53 Finest silk handkerchief
54 Embroidered face cloth
55 Small leather bag
56 Tiny key for secret stash
57 Small flask of quality booze
58 Tiny bottle of medicinal herbal wine
59 Gloves or mittens
60 Magnifying glass
61 Monocle on thread
62 Spectacles
63 Feathered fan
64 Lace fan
65 Tiny parasol
66 Sealing Wax
67 First aid bundle with silk bandages and alcohol bottle
68 Laxatives
69 Fancy privy keepers kit
70 Silver spinning top
71 Signet ring
72 Sealing wax
73 Quill and ink bottle
74 Hand mirror of polished metal
75 Hand mirror of glass
76 Bottle of rubbing lineament
77 Pocket gold lamp with oil
78 Mouse trap
79 Bar of quality soap
80 Tiny flintlock pistol
81 Length of silver chain 30gp
82 Length of gold chain 100gp
83 Silver and sable brush 30gp
84 Small hour glass
85 Ornate cared ivory Cup
86 Knuckleduster
87 Fake holy book with grog bottle inside
88 Small silver bowl
89 Pair of fine stockings
90 Gold thimble
91 Flute
92 Razor or Penknife
93 Tiny silver grooming scissors
94 Ornate small tinderbox
95 Pair of silk underwear
96 Fake beauty spot in a tin
97 Wig
98 Riding crop or small whip
99 Compass or wrist/pocket sundial
100 Box of watercolours and paintbrush

D100 Snacks
01-10 Slice of cake
11-13 Fancy pastry
14-15 Posh Biscuit
16-20 Piece of expensive white bread
21 Sweet bun or cake
22 Expensive gourmet smoked fish
23 Expensive smelly cheese
24 Expensive gourmet smoked sausage
25 Expensive smelly cheese
26-30 Ball of cheese in wax
31-33 Posh sandwiches wrapped in linen
34-35 Bottle of spicy sauce
36-37 Bottle or posh sauce
38 Pot of honey
39-40 Apple
41 Garlic
42-44 Herbs
45-46 Pepper
47 Pear
48-50 Salt
51-55 Chunk of fancy meat wrapped in fine linen serviette
56-59 Tiny candied birds
60-63 Tin of nuts
64-65 Dried fruit and berries in bag
66 Drinkable possibly medicinal herbs
67-70 Cooked fish
71 Orange
72 Lemon
73-75 Small bottle of wine
76 Potted Doormouse
77 Jar of posh jam
78-80 Boiled lollies
81-85 Liquorish
86-87 Tin of refreshing spices to freshen breath
89 Jellied lamprey in jar
90 Small bottle of spirits
91 Figs
92 Plums
93-94 Boiled eggs
95-98 Bag of sherbet
100 Jam tart

1d10 Food condition
1-2 best fresh possible, still warm
3-5 edible, 50% possibly partly consumed
6-9 past prime still edible, 50% possibly partly consumed
10 questionable quality CON save or feel ill, possible wormy or rat eaten

1d10 Documents 
1 Pamphlet advocating menace of the poor
2 Pamphlet advocating moral change
3 Pamphlet advocating banning something
4 Pamphlet advocating eating the poor
5 Pamphlet advocating abolition of slavery
6 Print of local ruler in patriotic pose
7 Erotic prints
8 A speech for guild, church or court
9 Love letter
10 Letter detailing scandalous affair or lineage
11 Deed of ownership for one dozen serfs
12 Letter reporting criminal activity of person and demands for death penalty
13 Print depicting torture
14 Tickets to music hall
15 Tickets for stage coach
16 Recipe for food
17 Recipe for potion (false) love potion most common
18 Recipe for potion (real)
19 Recipe for poison
20 List of payments for humanoid heads or scalps
21 Shopping list
22 Prayer for a god to aid some common problem
23 Note with part of conspirators plot
24 Note from enemy spies
25 Note with blackmail note
26 Ransom note for goods or person
27 Instructions from a superior noble
28 Price list of goods
29 Blueprints for some kind of mechanical device
30 Plan for a house
31 Note with location of secret door
32 Cache map of noble
32 Fake fanciful treasure map
32 Treasure map leads to killer dungeon issued by monsters
33 Treasure map
34 Old dungeon map
35 Letter from distant colony praising or warning of place
36 Tiny tablet with religious devotions
37 Clay seal
38 Receipt for goods or services
39 Invoice for goods or services
40 Tax paid notice
41 Bank note for 1d6x10 gold
42 Land lease deed for farm and house, currant tenants never heard of it
43 Warrant to search estate or manour
44 Warrant for arrest of some person
45 Magical stone turns into animal if dropped, horse common
46 Mine deed
47 Rental agreement for townhouse
48 Wedding contract
49 Ownership for a waggon load of bales of cloth
50 Deed of horse ownership in stable
51 Deed for 1d6 horses but owe for stable fee
52 Title for space in a bank deposit box
53 Deed for a burial plot in crypt or mausoleum with key
54 Love poem
54 Funeral poem
55 Fragment of heroic poem
56 Student practice exercises
57 Original and translation of ancient poem
58 Lists of animals, minerals or plants
59 Drawing or dissected monster
60 Blank sheet
61 Blank sheet but actually written in invisible ink
62 Strange unreadable code
63 Mathematical calculations
64 Record of religious tithes
65 Soul contract with demon signatures
66 Written in ancient archaic script
67 Lineage and family tree
68 Map of local town village or city block
69 Map of rural area with 
70 Map of estate
71 Order for recruiting hired labourers
72 Purchase order for jewellery
73 Letter of thanks for charitable donation
74 Letter praise to or from a noble
75 Slave owner bill of purchase
76 Offencive caricature of important person
77 Nagging note from wife to husband
78 Letter informing that a relative has died
79 Death or birth certificate
80 Note of secret meeting place and time
81 Astrology charts
82 Description of magic item
83 Drawing portrait of person
84 Drawing or print of landscape
85 Artistic nude drawing or print
86 Small painting or study by famous artist
87 Drawing or print of fine horse or livestock or hunting beast
88 Adoption papers
89 Old assassin contract in code
90 Slave deeds of ownership
91 Bank statement of persons holdings for credit application
92 Letter identifying person as city watch informant
93 Secret police identity papers
94 Blueprints for architectural construction
95 Drawing or print of a monster
96 Drawing or print of awesome hero killing monster
97 Pension guaranteeing person as recipient of 50gp a year
98 Print of tormented soul in hell
99 Letter from priest talking of fate of long ago adopted child
100 Letter from priest requesting money for ancestors in afterlife

D100 Weird things table

1 1d10 does of makeup +1 CHA for a day in gol box
2 Zombie mouse or bug
3 Ring with poison injector for handshaking
4 Suicide pill hidden in ring
5 Aggressive zombie hand
6 Frog or toad
7 Carrier Pigeon with note
8 Jade or glass or silver phallus
9 Bottle of fresh blood
10 Teabags for exotic hallucinogenic drink
11 Stimulating bean powder with instructions to make drink
12 Chocolate beans
13 Shrunk person in pocket cage
14 Lycanthropy control medicine in syringe
15 Magic lantern hand painted scene glass cell
16 False gold teeth
17 Pocket golem puppet
18 Tickets or charter for a sea voyage 
19 Dancing imp in jar 
20 Parrot, colorful and talks about treasure
21 Kitten
24 Puppy
25 Kobold baby
25 Gremlin
26 Holy symbol with knife or flintlock concealed within
27 Piece of ice
28 Jewel carved with strange symbol worth 100 gold
29 Fragment of a golem (3d100 total parts)
30 Wolves bane
31 Pixie or brownie in animal form
32 Wooden stake and hammer
33 Silver knuckle duster
34 Key for secret back entry to elite brothel
35 Tiny baby monster that looks adorable at this phase in life cycle
36 Wand with cantrip spell and d100 charges
37 Carrion crawler grub
38 Dragon bone
39 Chaos goat jerky
40 Disguise kit face prosthesis
41 Puppet or marionette 
42  Pocket ivory and ebony chess set
43 Poisoned needle, knife or dart
44 Strange "power cell" that fell from stars
45 Magic scroll
46 Cult ritual mask
47 Imp in form of small animal
48 Ring with magic light gem with shutters as good as lamp
48 A magic candle or oil lamp that lights on off at command
49 Demonic parasite
49 Pocket hookah with tobacco
50 Carries a bottle with a trapped spirit inside
51 Pipe with 1d10 doses of magical vision resin (1in6 nightmares)
52 Pipe with one dose of magic resin, smoke to learn one use 1st level spell in memory or with 1d10 doses of see invisible resin or with 1d50 doses of herb that you can control colour and shape of smoke lasts 10 minutes
53 Dwarf hash in wax block and tiny gold bong
54 Elf opium in jar with long clay pipe
55 Cured candied yummy human flesh
55 Block of black lotus resin, illegal and addictive dream drug
56 Mutation inducing dried mushroom
57 Spirit travel dried mushroom
58 See magic dried mushroom
59 Tiny pocket toadstool man
60 Roll of embroidered silk toilet paper
61 Fake eye ball carved from crystal
62 Sleep powder in packet, eat or blow in face
63 Dead faerie
64 Dragon or monster scale
65 Alchemy test kit 
66 Witch testing manual
67 Sword cane
68 Gold pendulum
69 Crystal sphere lights on command
70 Teeny monkey
71 Powdered tarrasque or demon horn
72 Charm gives +2 CON save vs poison
73 Unicorn horn cup, explodes if poison put in 
74 Toy metal soldiers
75 Royal jelly
76 Dried monster genitals
77 Note with magic mouth that tells bad joke
78 Pretty monster egg
79 Exotic bottle of royal grog
80 Elven fine wine (non alcoholic)
81 Dwarf extra heavy brandy bottle
82 Fancy crystal glass
83 Awarded medal for heroism
84 Jar with dead pickled monster baby
85 Human organ in a jar or bag
86 Golden syringe, empty bottle
87 Unicorn dung heals 1d4 to touch
88 Doll copy of owner
89 Sealed orders from spy's, a gang, a cult or other trouble makers 
90 Cursed magic item
91 Red stone that makes all who see it fight for it if fail WIS save
92 Tablet used to summon monster
93 Cult sacrificial knife
94 Pod people or triffid plant seed
95 Invitation to elite ball or dinner
96 Fancy Key and map
97 VD medicinal ointment and note with instructions
98 Enema kit in box
99 Hot water bottles
100 Healing herbs add +1 to first aid or healing 1d10 doses

thanks to Mike West for spotting lotsa mistakes

Saturday 26 October 2013

Gamelog: New Exiles and Zac's questions

Secret santicore away! Hope to print here when all over as what i did will end up in planet psychon probably.

Editing a 50pg pdf of all my long stair and dungeon zone posts will put out here shortly as I kept referring to other day with some new 1st level players. Had too many player for a game i was gonna play in on saturday so I was DM for two women, one a first timer.

One played a chaotic evil elf, chased from dark elf forests when faction all killed in clan wars who met a pirate octopus wizard. The elf leaned towards necromantic sorcery and theif skills and had two goblin youth slaves. The octopus of course maxed out in multi weapon use and tridents but also has spells tatooed on body and a skilled tatoo mistress. So I was pleased to have a octopi and an elfmaid in play. As evil bastards with no homes they were attracted to the village the previous party had purged of evil. The empire relocated convicts to the empty village who were struggling to grow food on a 45 degree gravel slope and from fishing when most were slum scum with useless skills. Town drunks kept rolling down street and off the 100 foot drop cliff. They welcomed the exotic strangers as Empire anounced elves are to be treate as human by law as they hope to get elf allies. So the charismatic elfmaid convinced them she was good and luckily none could really tell.

Went to shop to buy arrows, food and caving supplies as elf had book of cave maps her evil elfland had scouted. Heard about the sealed cult tunnels and the octopus realised she could swim in the under sea entrance and help others inside. Convinced some labourer brothers to join them in a treasure hunt into caves despite being illegal. Bard student playing sea shanties talked to them and they recruited him also. He asked lots of questions about the pairs homelands and they managed to play on his ignorance and deceive him. So the octopi helped all those who could not swim into caves. Two youths with clubs, bard with shortsword and dagger and two goblins with javelin. Skulked about temple previous adventurers had destroyed. Found a flooded tunnel which at low tide the octopus could help other reach and was untouched by adventurers. So party in virgin tunnel at last. Elfmaid sneaked ahead and found family of sleeping fishman hybrid cultists. She took octopus and they woke them. Cultists bowed before the tentacled goddess and offered their collection of 17 pounds of corroded copper coin. Learned of crayfish cave the fish folk had not been able to pas. So the wicked pair went to flunkies waiting them and sid they killed two cultists before learning of the mighty lobster.

Went to next chamber with sinkhole and sure enough a twenty foot lobster attacked. Youths battled its nippers up front while goblins threw a javelin each before charging with their scond javelins. Bard turned to song while men and goblins swung at the crey. Elf shot lobster butt with arrows ad octopus attacked bard in back crying out he was a traitor. Some confusion as caey died and goblin and men battled the youths. Lads and bard fell and elf had a good laugh. Looted bodies and went to another chamber with a shrine and dirty font in front.

Took cultist husband wife and son to help. As octopus stirred the altar a water weird formed in well and grabbed him and uselessly tried to drown her. All attacked but only the goblins clubs did anything much and beat it still. Opened altar saw gold box and water weird reformed and drowned the small goblin and party beat it down again. saved the lil goblin they have grown to love with first aid. Lucky the fish folk undrownable too. Kept beating the pond with clubs while grabbed the loot and backed off from the unkillable elemental water beast. Found some gold, a folding inflatable raft and a wax tablet that could summon a fish warrior. Gave most cash from all this and the murdered comrades  to fishmen family and took ashore. Fishfolk wary but Elf used her friends spell and and charismatically convinced villagers to accept fish folk and not be prejudiced against them. Bought villagers booze and giant lobster for a feast. Villagers pleased but  someone mentioned was a shame bard left town. Established the fish woman as cult head and let them enter village life.

Stole the youth squat as a bae and dug secret tunnel to caves up. Recruited three ex cons. Then went to check out caves in elf book. Inside was a huge chamber of toadstools the lil goblin said were exploadstools. Cleared a path through with rocks and went through to find 5 sarcophogi. First had skeleton which managed to leap and and hurt someone before they took it down and found a pile of silver. Second had a zombie and some gold with a major wound on the octopus. Next one was a ghoul injured many and paralyzed all but two adventurers before they defeated it. Found more loo a holy water bottle and silver knife and more gold. All party hurt and called it a night. Party impressed new human flunkies suitably evil and dodgy, never minding the grave robbing and looking greedily at coins. May well continue this but no plan.

I missed low level play and am finding my 11th lv game increasingly bogged down. Playing G@ against the giants. Feels very war gamer resource based adventure.

Last we left them they were in frost giant lair and were resting when the giants paid dragons to attack them. Dragons did lots of damage but two caster in party had used abilities to speed relearning spells so were fully charged. Chased giant spies down and killed them then caped in passage to trap giants. A band of giants and many females tried to stop them and were destroyed by party who pressed on. The Jarl, his wife, 4 polar bears, two body guard, three fire giant women and a cloud giant came next. Fire and clod giants tried to convince party to spare them but party unimpressed and said giant offer no enough.

Proceeded to be biggest battle yet when ogre magi appeared from mist and frost blated the party injuring most of them and knocking out Clarissa the sorceress and one party bear. PArty focused on ogre magi and killed most of them while giants rushed thorough the bone wall and up the earth ramp the druid bloodmilk made. Battle went most of the session and many almost died. was pretty satisfying and lotsa loot. Didn't find the ring of 3 wishes, some rival heroes will get that. Milknog the druid got a pearl of wisdom, split open his skull, stuck pearl in bone then healed over it so he couldn't lose the relic. Linden the bard slept with Storm giantess then found out she is technically a minor of storm giants at 130 years buy he got over it. He refused her offer to live in her dolls house but accepted her advice not to mention anything to her daddy. She did offer to praise their names to storm giant king.

Saw route to fire giant volcano and memorized for later.

Im going to simplify G3 as I am sick of just running a few huge fights per session. Was considering D1-3 etc but Im over the Gygaxian romance. Instead I will send them to monster Iland to fight dinoaurs, prehuman wizard primordial inhumans and go to Tiamats volcano. Have party cause some trouble in hell and kill a god before I retire them all and start again. As I have had fun of high level play will low advancement next games. Pretty much one adventure per current level eg 3rd to 4th needs 3 adventures. AN adventure must be a completed deed of legendary note. Not just wandering about killing and looting stuff.

Cthulu back to 20s and had new player die in 2 hours. Other player so busy roleplaying being jerks half solved problem and earned no sanity. Will do cthulhu vikings some time in future. Will buy Iceland book and see if i can get those saga monographs from chaosium if still around.

I'm currently running (at home):
Cthulhu Britania - did 1490 germany game - vikings next
Classic DnD - 12th level 80s UK style
Planet Psychon - weierd science fantasy DnD
Tabletop RPGs I'm currently playing (at home) include:
I am a horrible player but a bit of dnd and warhammer rpg

I'm currently running (online):
Tabletop RPGs I'm currently playing (online) include:
Would like to try something one day like flailsnails but im a tech feeb
A dummies guide would help or even a good video

I would especially like to play/run:
SF and TSR Marvel Super Heroes

...but would also try:
Eclips Phaze

I live in:
Sydney Australia 

2 or 3 well-known RPG products other people made that I like:
Gammaworld 2nd Ed
Gurps 3rd Ed historical and other setting books
Stormbringer and RQ I, II and III

2 or 3 novels I like:
Old - HP Lovecraft/Clark Ashton Smith/Robert E Howard/Robert Bloch
Not so old - Micheal Moorcock/Norman Spinrad/Bryan Aldiss
More modern - Kim Numan/Robert Holdstock/Charles Stross/Ian Banks

2 or 3 movies I like:
Marvel Stuff, any SF or Kaiju films
2 or 3 comics I like:
Alan Moore, grant Morrison, 80s Xmen, Lague of extraordinary gentlemen

2 or 3 TV shows I like:Most superhero cartoons, anything Gerry Anderson, Buffy/Angel

Best place to find me on-line:
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.au/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/konsumterra/

I will read almost anything on tabletop RPGs if it's:
BRP and probably gurps

I really do not want to hear about:

Wizard of the Coast anything

I think dead orc babies are ....well, ok, it's complicated because....

Game I'm in are like (link to something)cant really do this chinease portrait poetic illusion thing but art I commisioned for EMO DnD best

Free RPG Content I made for Planet Spsychon is available here (link).

You can buy RPG stuff I made about _____ here (link)Maybe after xmas but have mostly ready
Redbrick Book
Gothic Book
Psychon 3rd version with EMO DnD rules
Exiles Island with EMO DnD rules (80s UK Style Fantasy)

If you know anything about open license content DnD, it'd help me with a project I'm working on

I talk about RPGs on elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.au
also Exile Gaming Group and Oldschool Gamer on FB

Friday 25 October 2013

System Failure: Where I Chew The Fat on Game Stuff

I have been accumulating RPG stuff again. Xmas a friend gave me 2nd ed monster folios but folder wounded me and i chucked them for a new folder less cheap with plastic sleeves. Urchin books gave me 2nd ed players (handy for me for spells) and dm book (mostly useless book) and Andz got me the 2.5 version players book and BX 81 edition books. I jut got AD&D 1st and second ed core books, awaiting a MM2 and looking for a fiend folio. Oddly enough i wouldn't mind the greyhawk adventure books and which other game world hard covers as good. I have kept dungeoneers book since i got it - the only vol I kept as I found most inspirational for years. Wouldn't mind a original Oriental adventures book. I can still find everything in thee early books easily and cant be bothered learning new ones.

Thoughts on Deities And Demigods
I would only get the first version of this book really. What is it good for. Not just Mythology and for high level monsters it contained the core of what I took as staple of DnD - Lieber's scoundrel heroes, Moorcock's epic cosmic scale and the Weird Tales crew mythos - some were mentioned in Ed's campaign pantheon creation article in dragon as being forgotten realms but dropped when a commercial product and not just Ed's home game mentioned in articles of dragon. My ideal version
of a deities book would include original version plus all the outer plains native species like demons and slaadi and para elemental lords of evil and Djinn and stuff with encounter table for planes. This would be must have for high level play.


Fighting Fantasy
Has renewed interest in our club ans we are thinking of running in some upcomming conventions. Great game for newbs. Pretty fun and was a big influence on my classic 80s style DnD game.

 
BRP and Astounding Adventures
I will be delving more int BRP and some other genre stuff for more modern settings.

Looked at new fantasy setting book and found typos and basicly old Stormbringer type mechanics and not too thrilling magic rules. Saw the oldschool basic fantasy book and prefered its RQ simulating DnD feel, shame promised extra books never came out. Looks good and I would play. Threads promising an alt publisher seem to have died. Amber coast i looked at but as i said earlier i cant enjoy a product celebrating start of 700 year oppression of my dads homeland any more than a game about black slavery or samurai or being nazi deathcamp or russian gulag guards.

Got two core RPG books (hardcopies) Shadows over Scotland and Astounding Adventures. Scotland hardcover is among best Cthulhu sources ever and im gonna get all the cubicle 7 stuff including the laundry hardcover. Some reason the layouts of laundry books upset me.

I  have always liked pulp and awaited the promised cthulhu pulp with rule for playing tainted mythos supermen. I even gave up writing my own rules on this. I still like TSR agent 13 and GURPS pulp and even some stuff like ruin table in TSR Indiana Jones game. Champions book good too. The BRP version is no highlight for genre but adventures despite film references are good. TSR Gangbusters is a great Cthulhu and Pulp sourcebook with really good rules for crime, corruption and illegal income.

Astounding Adventures is a great BRP book for pulp stuff. A bit short. Fonts a bit big and some damage to art. I wonder if this is stuff left from abandoned cthulhu pulp book. The fiction intos feel like padding too. The price was cheap enough to grab it just. I havent decided my final aproach to powers in BRP but I had issues with superworld and the stormbringer demon rules that made up BRP power rules. They need a revision and I wont use as given.

I dont agree with the "resources" mechanic that just sound like exotic skills to me that have been in other systems earlier. The BRP option for magic points would have been better than the new action point system so guilty of creating system where none needed. Attempts to simplify into more of a non lethal story telling game version of BRP dont quite work for me.

Mook rules getting a defense roll or go down interesting and I will consider. Stats section one of the stronger points. Very light on data at times and keeps referring to BRP book alot. History and weapons seems light compared to cthulhu.

Random pulp adventure tables good and fun but could be bigger. I may try my own. Adventures good, better than most intro ones in this genre but refer to other pop culture like popular films (raiders and ghostbusters) and the mythos (without being mythos). The art is good (but pixelated occasionally) and more pulp covers and art would have helped.

I think the book is good and inspiring but adventure generation and stats sections mot usable. A PDF might have been more useful as i could jut print the best bits for my own folder out. Does feel light and not so serious compared to cthulhu.

BRP and me
I will do some stuff here for BRP like for supers, sf and mythos tainted agents and scenarios here. Im tempted to develop a magic system too but that sounds harder. As high level DnD is proving to be increasingly flawed and my interest in it is being sated I will do more BRP.

Funny hearing kids who rag on DnD and BRP. Hard to believe talking about same games that I actually play and they never have. I find investigative gumshoe to be more linear than CoC. I dont fear dying in story telling games as i will just reappear next scene. I dont ike maths in games and find late DnD and Champions a but crunchy but old DnD and BRP uses grade 5 maths at best and not much of it. LARP big in my club but i dont want to play a cripple which is why I like standard RPGs where my body and health doesn't fail me.I would play a monster or NPC and would shoot player with camera. Boffle Larp with cool weapons and mountain of nerf guns in club looks a bit more fun. I have also seen party role play in character to point they waste time and fail and infight which seems a bit lame.

Running at Moment

Cthulhu Britannia (using awesome green and pleasant land book to start) Sundays
Planet Psychon a fill in when we have time and play late but no set times
Exile Island DnD using my version of BX with NWP

Was playing some dnd 3.5 and 4 but i find painfully slow, tedious and worlds to be boring to point I dont care, Other players main attraction not game.

My urchin books monthly game might go to fighting fantasy as simpler
Am going to run Cthulhu Vikings soon after 1920 game goes meltdown (TPK)

will rant on why i dont like european romantic psuedo medieval mythology mish mash mush but i do like pendragon

Thursday 24 October 2013

Psychon Gamelog: Late Night Sessions

So the Druid, the Hawkman and the Morlock spoke to witches in the goblin market who recommended they speak to Colossus the god of Law. Hawkman sold his comatose goblin side kick to depraved merchant and bought a new one. Druid bought baby goblins for his wolf. Morlock boaght some Eloi drugs to keep his pet from awakening and casting spells.

They planned a trip though the woods a the druid would make this easy. While travelling a safe furrow through the woods the Druid saw a land feature was looking at them and licking its lips. A giant lizard like one of those 70s Irwin Allen movies covered in trees and bushes was looking at them. They bolted through the tightest woods they could and the lizard chased them. Woods slowed the purple lizard but Morlock could barley keep up (at least he didn't have to run bent over). So the Druid cast speak to beast and tried to parley by creating a mountain of food. The big fella chilled out and while eating told them of horned man who shoots fire at thee lizard and bad men making mutants in the woods. So they rode the lizard into a clearing where a minotaur with a flamer and gas mask lay down a wall of flame with his WW2 style flamer.

Druid cast resist flame on lizard and it charged through fire with party who all opened fire on minotaur. Morlock flintlock pistol, Hawkman and druid spears and lizard bites finished the brute before he got a second chance. found a hazmat fire station under a bunker where contaminated corpses of fire men and soldiers animated as zombies attacked. Looted the place, sealed pollutants and cured the goblin hit by zombie spores. Found a disposable laser, crowbars, a advanced +1 dagger and a advanced hazmat suit.

Saw cultist carry mutant in cage to hillside bunker which was serviced by the hazmat fire station and moved on to temple. Handed over weapons and talked to priests about Typhon cult. Priests healed them and ave them printouts of Colossus's suggested dayplan including exercise, diet and toilet breaks. All agreed to stop Typhon cult and hoped to investigate the possible contamination risk if Colossus lasered it from orbit. Gave party a flintlock, stun gun and shrinking pills.

Party came back with three acolytes and pounced on guards. Got inside and ambushed sleeping guards. Threatened one and Morlock discovered these scarlet men tasted like caramel candy. Down elevator found huge military warehouse contaminated as fuck. Tried to sneak around walkway and were noisy on metal steps. Musket wielding cultists released a mutant and fired a volley. Druid leaped of and transformed into orange-green-purple furred giant quadraped ape and smushed one. Hawk slid down punk kong while morlock got the mutant. Party headed to office who prepared to defend.

Threw molitovs forcing cultists away from windows but Hawkman dropped one on his feet and swore off using foerver. Morlock burst in and got hold person cast on him. Hawkman blocked by burning oil and paralyzed morlock and threw javelins through window. Priest healed himself and cast fear on hawk who fled. Punk Kong threw giant rat inside who got bayoneted. Morlock took some hits while frozen. Kong moved morlock to safety and mushed some guards and priest trying to escape. Hawk saw more men fleeing to only elevator exit. Party chased them down till all dead. Went upstairs, ruined elevator mechanism and threw molotovs down shaft starting a grease fire.

Left complex and guarded doors while acolytes went home to call gods fire from heaven.  Saw Colossus sweep terrain with orbital laser turning into heap of molten rock. Druid planted adult trees in wasteland. Back at temple Colossus teleported to new hex of adventure. A strange yellow jungle land with moody green people.

Wednesday 23 October 2013

d100 Strange Trees

d100 Strange Trees
1 Gallows tree with or without corpses in nooses
2 Gibbet tree with one type of victim living or dead in skintight cages
3 Gallows tree is alive, snares victims with nooses
4 Raven tree with bodies strewn in branches may swarm and attack
5 Ghost tree houses spirit of deceased, appears in human form to seduce visitors
6 Ghost tree houses spirit of deceased, possesses victim and commits suicide
7 Ghost tree houses spirit of deceased, tries to contact visitors to avenge them
8 Ghost tree houses spirit of deceased, animates and kills victims
9 Demon tree from other plane, kills or impregnates people or creatures with seed by force
10 Demon tree filled with imps that hatch from fruit and wreak havoc over area
11
Vampire tree filled with blood, drains living creatures 
12 Kindly old tree man unless he sees you cut a tree or start a fire or wield an axe
13 Kindly old tree man enjoying company of his animal friends, singing and swaying
14 Kindly old tree woman offers women personal or medical advice and other wisdom
15 Kindly old tree woman raising feral child to be less harmful to nature as experiment
16 Mean old tree man wizard with spells under bark hates humans and dwarves
17 Tree man/woman druid priest preaching to human worshipers
18 Undead tree folk necromancer adorned with human dead protects woods from humans
19 Dryad tree with several warrior lovers
20 Dryad tree partying with satyrs and talking animals
21 Darkspawn tree beast pretending to be normal, plants self near path to ambush prey 
22 Darkspawn tree beast with cultists trying to find sacrifices for tree master
23 Magical tree with split base is an entry to fairy land if passed through
24 Huge open base of tree has been turned into a small holding cell by local bailiffs
25 Huge open base of tree is home to wizard of the woods
26 Huge open base of tree is a druidic shrine, mistletoe growing in bough
27 Huge open base of tree is home to red bearded forest dwarf
28 Huge open base of tree is home to talking animals
29 Huge open base of tree is entrance to misty cave grotto of magic fungus
30
Huge open base of tree with evil mouth like entrance is gate to place of evil
31 Huge open base of tree is home to several witches
32 Huge open base of tree is home to a dire beast family of some kind
33 Huge open base of tree is home to gnomes or other harmless forest spirit
34 Huge open base of tree is lair of wood trolls
35 Treehouse of a feral man who guards the forest from hunters and woodsmen
36 Treehouse of an old hermit wise in the ways of the local forest
37 Treehouse of a sorceress living with her pets and lovers
38 Treehouse of a band of feral children who reject adults and rules
39 Treehouse of wise woman herbalist who aids local women in secret
40 Treehouse of elf family living in seclusion
41
Treehouse of inbred cannibal clan who hide here and eat travelers 
42 Treehouse of robber or rebel gang in hiding from the law
43 Treehouse of orcs in hiding watching area for a distant horde
44 Tree is an elven watch tower filled with passages, servant beast and elves
45 Tree is a dark elven watch tower filled with passages, servant beast and dark elves
46 Tree contains giant bee or wasp hive
47 Tree has large pods that hatch into hostile clones if anyone sleeps here
48 Tree glows with sickly weird light, sways gently, causes disease if touched
49 Tree has clan of naked men attached to tree by umbilical cords, useless without tree
50 Tree can shoot thorns like arrows at intruders
51 Tree can shoot explosive fruit or nuts  
52 Tree shoots fruit that has nauseating stench that lasts for days on victims
53 Tree grows healing berries, only keep a few days without herbalist
54 Tree grows berries with a random potion effect, only keep a few days without herbalist
55 Tree grows berries that cause mutations, only keep a few days without herbalist
56 Tree grows berries that cause strange visions valued by druids
57 Tree grows berries that are poison
58 Tree grows berries that start growing inside body painfully
59 Tree grows berries that are highly addictive and pleasure inducing
60 Tree grows berries that are sleep inducing, only keep a few days without herbalist
61 Grows fruit made from copper
62 Grows fruit made from silver
63 Grows fruit made from gold or electrum or platinum
64 Grows fruit made from semiprecious gems
65 Grows fruit made from glass
66 Covered in giant thorns goblins, elves and other use for short swords and spear tips
67 Covered in bark used by some to make fine books and paper
68 Covered in bark used by goblins, elves and others to make leather like armour
69 Covered in aggressive carnivorous vines
70 Filled with snakes of all kinds
71 Filled with huge webs and huge spiders and possibly giant spiders
72 Horrible monkeys fling feces and rocks at passers by
73 Carnivorous squirrels or tree rats swarm in tree
74 A horrible ogre lives under a gnarled and leafless tree
75 A tree filled with skeletons which animate and kill travelers
76 Gallows tree but hanging corpses are zombies who attack travelers
77 Gibbet tree where cages open and horrible undead jump out and attack

78 Tree induces magical sleep, collection of sleeping victims slowly dying underneath
79 Witch tree curses passers by or any who harm it
80 Tree with nesting colony of griffons or hippogryphs or manticores or sphynxes
81 Tree with colony of talking owls
82 Tree with giant eagle nest
83 Tree with giant owl nest
84 Cave under tree is home to a reptilian or serpentine or draconic beast
85 Cave under tree is home to a magical dogs or wolf that menaces travellers
86 Cave under tree is home to a colony of frog men croaking evil prayers to frog gods
87 Cave under tree is home to a herd of goatmen who cavort around it at night
88 Cave under tree is home to a colony of goblins
89 Tree has a tiny door where good or evil gnomes may live
90 Tree has large door where hobgoblins or bugbears live
91 Tree has tiny door which gates to other world
92 Tree has door to dungeon under the tree
93 Enormous tree fort with dungeon inside and guarded castle like door
94 Door leading to cave with sleeping heroes in sarcophagi awaiting some future calamity
95 Black tree has imprisoned banshee who may still kill with her screams
96 Inside hollow tree in bark sarcophagi is ancient druid mummy who keeps away intruders
97 Black tree worship place of black druids who guard woods with undead
98 Tree covered in sigils, charms tied to branches, worship place of witches
99 Tree overgrows a stone structure, with tight entry to underground caves and ruins
100 Tree is sacred leader of the tree folk, all local trees will animate if holy tree harmed