Monday 27 February 2017

d100 Horrible Prison Convicts

These horrible guys turn up in dungeons and all kinds of places. They are horrible freaks who make player stays in prison more memorable. Sometimes they are taken out in public or even trusted for a chore outside. An escaped band are desperate and often join bandits or become murder hobos. Convict names stick and usually a name starts as a insult and pretty soon the prison staff record as legal name. When I say governor of prison it could be a woman. In some cases wife of a governor might take up contract or have worked way up ranks in prison or government admin.

Also see this
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/d100-prison-carousing.html

d10 Prison Types (Half the max population is over crowded)
1 Sherrifs Lock Up in country village d3
2 Ruined tower d4 or sometimes a huge tree stump or hollow tree
3 Ruined old house with walls 2d4, some might be kept in basement or tower
4 Country Prison with wall and shed 3d4 used as labour
6 Castle ruins with intact dungeon 5d4 mostly shackled up in dark
7 Prison Hulk chained out at sea or small island prison d6 lots of ten inmates
8 City Prison with courtyard d10 lots of ten man cells
9 Sealed inside sprawling mine complex d4 lots of 100 inmates
10 Horrible over crowded old fortress near city  d10 lots of 100 inmates

d10 Prison Production and Industry
1 bribery for the managers, black mail, hostages and corruption
2 Vice selling sex slaves, booze, gambling and drugs and forbidden goods
3 Mining often dangerous
4 Road building or quarry work
5 Land clearing and logging
6 Building houses and walls
7 Farming some kind of crop
8 Gladiator battles run by staff
9 Manufacturing often dangerous like manure, dyeing, smelting
10 Sending them into explore new found dungeons

d10 Prison Feature

1 Amazing torture engine with own famous name
2 Famous horrible confinement cell with cruel torture
3 Prisoners killed frequently by staff
4 Abandoned sub level
5 Haunted by spirit or creature
6 Dangerous hidden creature lurks in prison
7 Famous gang with outside connections
8 Death place of famous criminal
9 Nobody has ever escaped alive
10 Staff are a cult who murdering inmates in secret rituals

d10 Governor
1 Injured war hero with strict discipline and punishment
2 Overweight corrupt glutton can no longer leave gatehouse
3 Kindly reformer ineptly creates problems
4 Religious reformer wants church and marriages for inmates
5 Medical doctor convinced drugs and surgery can help inmates
6 Strict bureaucrat obsesses with legal minutiae and slow to act
7 Brutal sadistic madman took job for the torture
8 Religious maniac believes is here to punish wicked and force religion
9 Doddering school master thinks torments are jolly good for the lads
10 A cruel governor is ruthless and oversexed, with delusions they are artistic

d10 Escape plans
1 A secret tunnel being dug
2 Planning a riot at vulnerable riot and
3 Take keys or use home made lock picks
4 Take weapons and kill way out by night
5 Obtain or make uniform or disguise
7 Blackmail staff by having family kidnapped
8 Corrupt staff with vice and debts and favours
9 Help from outside gets escape supplies in
10 Use corruption, bribes or favours to have staff release

d10 Common Punishments
1 Birching or whipped with bundles of sicks
2 Cat-o-nine-tails whipping
3 Beaten by guards with wooden truncheons
4 Locked in solitary
5 Locked in with violent offender
6 Locked in with violent sexual offender
7 Starved in solitary
8 Chained to wall or in gibbet and exposed
9 Torture session in dungeon
10 Conversation with governor

d10 Most popular Executions
1 Torture with implements and or exposure
2 Beaten and torn apart by angry mob
3 Torn apart by machines or animals
4 Bloody ritual organ removal with knife
5 Strangulation considered merciful by authorities
6 Burning at steak especialy for witches
7 Drowned but worthy might survive
8 Hung from a tree or gallows till dead
9 Decapitation on knees with sword
10 Decapitation on block with sword

d10 Quick locations for convict
01 Chained to rock exposed
02 Locked in cage
03 Shackled in a pit
04 Strapped in gibbet or chained to wall
05 In public stocks being humiliated by poor
06 Cage in wagon or boat
07 Working as hard labourer cracking rocks
08 Working in prison factory sweatshop 
09 Chained in castles dungeon
10 Locked in death row cell near chopping block


d10 Quick what is inmate doing
1 On the run
2 Plotting escape
3 Plan to shank fellow prisoner
4 Trying to score goods
5 Plan to shank a guard
6 Distracting guards
7 Having a fight
8 Intimidating someone
9 Gorging self on food (possibly cannibal)
10 Trying to be on best behavior with guards

d10 Quick favorite thing
1 Tattoos from gang and underworld
2 Shank d3 stabbing implement or good for digging
3 Knuckle Duster d3 blunt damage
4 Wire Garrote d4 can also be a saw
5 Lock picks set
6 Drugs, alcohol or pipe and weed
7 Ring in nose or ear or nipple
8 Cards, dice or d3 coins

9 Love letter or Death threat
10 Stolen key


d10 Marks of Experience
1 Tattoos all over with gang signs
2 Scars from stabbings
3 Scars from arm and leg irons
4 Scars from torture
5 Whip marks
6 Rope burn scars on neck
7 Self cutting on wrists and legs
8 Pox or flea scars all over
9 Mising body part d6 1=finger 2=hand 3=nose 4=scalp 5=ear 6=eye
10 Parasites like intestinal worms

d10 Skills Learned in Prison
1 Crafting (one type)
2 Labourer
3 Farmer
4 Miner
5 Streetwise
7 Theif skill or Escapology
8 Improvised weapons
9 Servant
10 Brawling

d10 What are you in nick for this time?
1 Drunken violence
2 Petty theft
3 Debts unpaid
4 Rude conduct
5 Fighting lawmen
6 Disrespect your social betters
7 Striking your social betters
8 Accused of petty witchcraft
9 Accused of robbery
10 Accused of murder


d100 Prison Convicts
01 Sticky Stab fingers a gang enforcer and violent hitman, has prosthetic hands
02 Clancy Wolfburn a skilled woodsman and suspected bandit, has tried cannibalism
03 Kaligra the Strangler a gypsy and circus strongman, prison owners enjoy his hard work
04 Mandy Scrubpox a prostitute and extortionist carries exotic diseases
05 Corny Hole Gouger a stab happy giggling thug likes candy and shanking
06 Slappy Hamfist a chubby greasy thug always eating and enjoys cooking new animals
07 Myra Clawhand a grizzled old woman prone to rage and psychotic strength bursts
08 Danny Hotspur a violent drunk who thinks he is a swashbuckling charmer
09 Barron Muck a huge smuggler covered in tattoos with dozens of huge bastard sons
10 Oxjaw a huge lumberjack, injured many in a violent frenzy, has killed bears with hands

11 Nostro Magnum a tattooed wizard who likes to live in prison and lift weights
12 Corman Muskrodent a mustached dandy pugilists who fights for money 

13 Ingrid Shankmadchen is a topless sword fighter and boxer in trouble for lewd behavior
14 Ivana Grumpfrut is a maid turned thief and prostitute who didnt bribe the lawmen
15 Laramie Allydog a former street urchin turned theif and criminal courier
16 Slippery Gordon a cat burglar and black mailer crossed the wrong people
17 Gregory Slapknuckle a seedy rat faced punk who likes to smoke and teaze
18 Mabel Hackvine injured her mean husband with a hatchet and has adapted to convict life
19 Ronson Blackbuck was a shepherd who worked with goat men to tear up a town
20 Billy Blackbeedle a corrupt court guard took bribes and beat confessions from innocents
21 Leftie Brickspittle a violent drunken labourer has been diagnosed as evil left handed
22 Tamzin Sprinkles notorious vice queen said to get anyone anything, is hated by dwarves
23 Donny Dumbmallet is a huge easily offended dumb brute some say is part hobgoblin
24 Eliza Neckscissors slashed her pimp in the street and is a brutal inmate boss
25 Donard Flumph a obese corrupt merchant imprisoned by king, dreams of old life
26 Izra Kameran a sad foreign merchant guard turned bandit who stabbed a sherrif
27 Coolah Borignan a huge jolly man who can brew rotgut grog even in prison
28 Jimmy Stabweasel a passionate knife man for hire slashed several prostitutes faces
29 Vamry Toolsnadger was a child kidnapper who sold poor kids to nobles but messed up
30 Ginny Lumpen was  a "skinner" who caught children with candy and stole their clothes
31 Blarny Winetaint is a beetroot like angry man who screams and beats weaker people
32 Blue Ptior a tattooed sailor has all his brutal crimes illustrated on his skin, likes knives
33 Short Oleg a short blonde shifty man a thief and conman who tried to kidnap a girl
34 Bloody Ivan enslaved victims for secret attic sweatshop, when too weak he killed them
35 Conrad Stabfang a famous stabber who works for the governor to silence troublemakers 
36 Lucy Crampsie a barmaid who killed a rich man in self defence, well liked by inmates
37 Meg Strumpetrazor a prostitute who murdered and robbed clients and kept their ears
38 Mrs Mulligan the pie poisoner and cannibal who sold human meat and ran extortion gang
39 Clarence Pikerington merchant who beat horses and workers to death, broke from fines 
40 Klaus Wonderbender happy well dressed maniac who lives for thrills and corrupted youth
41 Sammy Clubfingers beat her husband to death in the street in fit of rage, doesnt talk
42 Johan Baneblood a duelist from continent who picked fights for cash, killed wrong person
43 Barron Blackblood locked in iron mask claimed he was real Barron before tongue cut off
44 Horrace Wimploe published vice and political pamphlets and arrested for treason 
45 Lord Moneybags claims was a noble here for debt but nobody believes his wild stories
46 Billy Bloodfist claims he never done nothing wrong but is a brutal pugilist for hire
47 Father Stormhand was exposed for his troubles in orphanage for boys he built 
48 Lucy Lirrips was a vampires slave and spared death sentence most inmates fear her
49 Cannibal Bill lived in cave robbing and eating people near a road for decades with family
50 Harris Knockmount was a knight but lied about ancestry and now in prison for life
51 Granny Glinder accused of witch craft but given mercy for naming other local witches
52 Morgan Warmonger a weary former mercenary captain on wrong side during war
53 Flint Snapwrist is a crafty fighter some say was a monk, he could escape but doesn't 
54 Iron Andy is a huge dark skinned ex blacksmith who once skinned a cellmate alive
55 Stumpy Clubfoot is a deformed man the mob demanded be imprisoned as a witch
56 Kolden Caldoon a smooth frontiersman with delusions of nobility, killed a man 
57 Snippy Fingers a thief with a temper who murdered people who annoyed him
58 Glinda Grimghoul a pretty wench who killed several employers who fell in love with her
59 Flathead Randy has a deformed skull and likes to headbutt any who point it out
60 Dorian Skinner a merchant sold human skin leather goods he bought from orcs
61 Earnie Fartpants is a flatulent thug who gets angry if any mention his problem
62 Dame Plumpbottom amassed a fortune as prison prostitute, of indeterminate gender 
63 Judge Bent former officer of law corrupted by bribes in land disputes, old and crazy
64 Googly Pete is a voyeuristic creep who was ruined by taste in secrets of rich women
65 Fran Fliechcraft butchered twenty slaves following lords orders and taken the blame
66 Dame Muskrat is a old woman who served a vampire noble slain by adventurers
67 Borris Bloodyaxe is a bear of a lumberjack man who killed his wife and her lover
68 Zoran Teargleaner served a evil wizard for years and thrown here when master killed
69 Magda Halfmoon acused of witchcraft by her husband so she broke his arms
70 Hagad the Spook took fall for cult and never squealed about his coven
71 Lorian the Elfstruck abandoned whole family looking for elfmaids and they all died
72 Raddad the Short is actually a dwarf just governor orders him clean shaven
73 Gorion the Fool was a wizard who failed to make a pact and was taken by the mob
74 Lyra Daggereye killed a gang of wealthy youths attacking her with just a dagger
75 Emil Gordaz served a mad wizard whose monster got loose and Emil was blamed
76 Timmy Bookburn was a apprentice charged with breach of contract with master
77 Alice Savage killed all other women in island colony, men brought her to prison
78 Corrion the Pretty has a huge knife scar on face he got first day in prison
79 Zog is a ugly google eyed thug found eating a hobo, freak actually is part fishman
80 Lorna Strangecraft accused of witchcraft for bad hings happen to her enemies
81 Dockland Ripper a former serial killer but caught for evading rent payments
82 Hilderbrant Giest a charismatic cleric imprisoned and excommunicated for heresy
83 Digby Doublebutler was a servant who sawed his senior butler in half
84 Godvinia Golden paraded naked protesting against clothing too many times
85 Doc Sawbones was a quack medic whos goat testicle implants failed killing patients
86 Steven Weird lived as a recluse and mob insist he is a witch and part faerie
87 Pam Weldshrew is made to wear a iron mask to teach her not to be so foul mouthed
88 Barney Hackmeister killed neighbor fighting over farm tools and ran from the law
89 Elizabeth Scarlet murdered six suitors who harassed her for marriage 
90 Tabitha Salamander accused of witchcraft and arson, spared due to family connections
91 Godwin Knifeglisten successful murder hobo jumped a dungeon claim and killed a party
92 Rawin Hogsfetter was a barbarian farmer who killed three men in a bar fight
93 Elon Hawkfear tells beings from the stars told him to murder all those people
94 Brolga Crusheart was a prison cook who slept with inmates and ran black market
95 Don Marowhawk left travellers to die in wastelands selling inferior equipment and mules 
96 Ebron Cleanskin sold poison grog and fraudulent goods by changing goods 
97 Jimmy Ratman ran a secret sewer market and was tken for tax evasion
98 Demented Tom is a obese idiot who sometimes hears voices from his invisible brother
99 Scaly Jim a obese sailor with peeling scaly skin is of course a hybrid fish man cultist
100 Mamma  Brass Jugs elderly barmaid who married and killed a dozen men for money 

Sunday 26 February 2017

d100 Terrible letter from home



Terrible letters from home are distractions from fighting wars and often demoralizing. Family could be friends or own house hold in your home. Designed to be good in dnd or ww1 cthulhu or other setting.

d10 Quick nice letters from home
1 A pet or farm animal had hilarious anecdote worthy tale
2 Some one is getting married hooray!
3 Someone has found true love
4 A cheer raising letter of love and praise
5 Someone back home tells of cute petty problems
6 Some one has recovered from a near death situation
7 Justice resolved some problem in a fair manner
8 Someone has had a baby
9 Weather is nice or business is good

d10 Quick Tragedies
1 Crime
2 Vice
3 Poverty
4 Legal
5 Love
6 Disaster
7 Drama
8 Health
9 Morals
10 Weird

d100
01 Older relative has committed murder and run away pursued by the law and leaving family
02 Younger relative committed a crime and has run away and joined a gang
03 Member of family murdered d4 1=child 2=youth 3=adult 4=old
04 Member of family cheated someone shaming you all
05 Member of family was conned and lost a fortune through dirty tricks
06 Family member in prison for accident or a mistake
07 Child or youth kidnapped and carried away
08 Blood feud has been ruining your kin and rival families power
09 Family member went to prison now out a labourer or servant
10 Something valuable stolen from clan

11 Family member become depraved evil drug addict alcoholic and abuser
12 Family member in debt to gambling and has now sold a child as a servant

13 Family member is a sex maniac even disguising self as a prostitute and getting caught
14 Family member dies abusing drugs or having accident while high
15 Kin are involved in grip of petty organised crime and trapped
16 Kin member is a serial killer, a family secret scandal failing to happen
17 Kin member is sadist and abuser tormenting animals and or people
18 Family sexual pervert sexually assault a family member and has exiled them
19 Family member has turned sophisticated attending orgies, theaters, artist parties
20 Family member been seduced by amoral organisation secret lodges, club or cult
21 A relative died in their shack of exposure and hunger
22 A relative has been locked up in a mad house and is tormented by institution
23 A relative has gone to debtors prison where they are constantly ill
24 A relative has been sold under contract to pay off debt in a terrible high risk job
25 Several kin have joined the military life and abandoned their families
26 Mob killed someone collecting loans from gang
27 Bank came and took everything from a relative ruining them
28 Several kin have fled homes and departing to frontier or new territories
29 Someone killed on the job and families left paupers
30 Landlord abusing family with beatings and abuse
31 Family involved in border dispute in court
32 Family member has trial for murder seeking money to buy freedom if defense fails
33 Family having fight over messy divorce and return of dowry
34 Family being evicted by landlords battled in court
35 Family having dispute with church elders
36 Family fighting over claim of found treasure (possibly cursed with greed)
37 Family engaged in constant petty legal feuds with other family
38 Family has members killed and imprisoned fighting rival family
39 Family has mystery bastard arrive claiming family property
40 Family legally maneuvered into subordinate role to other clan
41 The fairest youth in clan ran away with trusted person and both missing
42 A widowed parent has found new younger and poorer love
43 Everyone gossiping about affairs and who is into who
44 Former lover from home tells you about their marriage to someone else
45 Former lover has gone crazy and disapeared
46 Former lover joins some far away military or merchant service
47 Former lover wants to see you and get married
48 Former lover now has a child from somewhere
49 Recent lover informing you about terrible disease they have
50 Letter from most recent serious lover saying your dead to them now, it is all off
51 Family killed due to war related disaster or attack
52 Family members killed in a bizarre massacre
53 Family killed in natural disaster like flood, mudslide, cold
54 Family disappeared nobody knows where
55 Family killed transport accident like train, plane or auto
56 Family home burned down killing and injuring several members
57 Family robbed and house looted and smashed
58 Family blamed for d4 1=starting fire 2=poisoning well 3=witchcraft 4= cowardice
59 Family wealth and leaders lost transporting precious goods bankrupting all
60 Feud has started with great vindictive family over law, money or love gone wrong
61 Someone having a terribly not secret affair that will cause clan trouble
62 Family members miserliness resulted in deaths of other family
63 Family members revealed to be actually married
64 Bizarre love triangle between several families
65 Someone married someone foreign or of a different class
66 Family members death causing succession feuds and legal battles
67 Terrible mismatched marriage with horrible stranger
68 Someone wants a divorce and is causing a scandal
69 Someone has started gossiping about family member and their live in friend
70 Someone in family is vain, rude and thoughtless and starting blood feuds with other clans
71 Plague killed many in your home area, all avoiding that place
72 Patriarch or matriarch of family dies of pox causing power struggle to be the next
73 Someone you love crippled by a injuries from an attack or accident
74 Your vd test results come in and you have big problems
75 Your dearest childhood friend in terrible fever no doctor can explain
76 Someone personally close wasting away in coma
77 Kin who survived plague driven away by jealous neighbours mob
78 Several children of clan died of the scarlet sickness
79 Friend with plague symptoms kills self
80 News from home naming the many deaths from a sickness
81 A relative has been caught performing public sexual perversion and now in prison
82 Kin has used law to ruin someone to make a profit and locals all unhappy
83 Family leader has been working as a fixer for a criminal gang
84 Family member been imprisoned for injuring married partner 
85 Family member performed a crime and blamed a homeless traveller
86 A kinsman stole something and made self rich while original owner had life ruined
87 A family member robbed a kinfolk and splitting the clan
88 Family wasting savings on frivolous status symbols of wealth
89 Family member gave fortune to church while close kin left ruined
90 Family member outlawed for sexual crime and is now seeking a boat far away
91 Family member convinced home is haunted
92 Kin tells of a seance by a witch and the amazing secrets they were told by spirits
93 Family member saw something on the moors one night now broken person in fear
94 A priest has been forming a strong influence on your loved ones
95 Someone in family joined some strange club or fraternity which worries the elderly
96 Long lost relative returned but was really a fraud after money
97 Kin has taken residence in strange old house full weird books 
98 Family member lost in war has been seen among the criminal classes of a city
99 Family member went mad took up strange practices, odd friends and collections
100 Family member had awesome religious vision on deathbead

Saturday 25 February 2017

d100 Dungeon section barriers

I decided on a simpler option for connections and hubs and crossroads that divide dungeon sections or levels apart. This is more elegant than my previous ones and helps justify diferences and isolation of levels. Such barriers often have means for locals to bypass or they are very experienced at crossing. Possibly could mark border between factions, a warzone no mans land or a neutral area used by all factions. It could justify stylistic and aesthetic variation in a dungeon complex.

Any such area not dangerous enough can have wandering monsters also.

d100 Quick Barriers
01 Dark Stairs - up or down connections
02 Cavernous Pit - cross obstacle
03 Sinister Bridge - choke point 
04 Great Door  - great barrier hidden or manned
05 Great Trap - serious trap that halts explorers
06 Guard Post - outpost of armed hostiles
07 Magician Lair - a arcane specialist
08 Horrible Monster - a monster lair 
09 Strange Shrine - sacred holy site
10 Weird Entity - planar being of power


d100
01 A winding corkscrew staircase twisting to lower level
02 A deep shaft with a long ladder or carved into stone or iron staples
03 Grand palatial stairs seen better days for grand proscessions 
04 Worn smooth old brick stairs some with creeks running through them
05 Natural flow stone or volcanic formations form stone stairs
06 Worn battered dripping tunnel sloping down
07 Stairs are actually connected by magic to dungeon far away
08 Stairs are a escalator d4 1=down 2=up 3=both 4=broken
09 Stairs with slide trap d6 drops into 1=water 2=pit 3=rocks 4=lava 5=spikes 6=lair
10 A elevator for 3d4 passengers possibly unsafe

11 A sinkhole has opened a great shaft into the darkness into cavern
12 A flowing river of lava in bottom of a canyon can almost be jumped over 

13 A great pit with jagged stones and broken skeletons
14 A pit over a cavernous monster lair, possibly for sacrifice
15 A great pit but with safe island path you hop onto path through 
16 A gaping canyon with a single line across where some cross 
17 A huge pit crawling with giant bugs and worms and slime and webs at bottom
18 A chasm with fast flowing waterfall cutting through path dangerous to cross
19 A fragile ice or crystal bridge spans a great gulf
20 Span crossed with something d4 1=old pillar 2=megalith 3=spider web 4=huge log
21 Old bridge with a d4 1=trolls 2=ogres 3=giants 4=horrible ape creatures
22 Natural stone archway with long worn passage
23 Two or three cables over gulf used as crossing
24 Flimsy rope and plank bridge over chasm
25 Wooden bridge only a bit wobbly with mounts and waggon loads
26 Stone bridge allows carts and mounts to cross easily
27 Covered stone bridge with shops, apartments, sweatshops and pubs
28 Bridge over pit heavily fortified chokepoint
29 Bone and sinew bridge with strange totems and signs
30 Bridge has bound being from other plane guarding it begrudgingly 
31 A wooden gatehouse with great log door
32 A stone wall with a great iron reinforced wooden door 
33 A highly decorated metal clad wooden door
34 A gate house with portcullis gate
35 Entrenched area with crude palisade wall defence structure
36 A huge creature blocks passage but occasionally moves or you may crawl through it
37 A huge crude stone secret doorway made with magic or camouflage
38 A door is really a gate transporting users to door in far away land
39 Door opens into a pocket dimension with doors elsewhere
40 A impregnable magic crystal wall or force feild with a secret doorway
41 Roof set to cave in or deadfall of rubble prepared
42 A log or beam sweeps area then returns to position
43 Swinging razor pendulum or several
44 Swarm of missiles d4 1=arrows 2=darts 3=magic 4=poison needles
45 Explosive trap with gunpowder, incendiary or magic blast
46 Kobold trap team camping to deploy fresh traps and repair old ones
47 Capture based trap d4 1=nets 2=snare 3=animal trap 4=pit
48 Trap releases enraged horror from confinement
49 Magic device if triggered summons supernatural defender
50 Chemical or attack d4 1=poison gas 2=acid 3=troglodyte musk 4=disease
51 A pile of filthy bed rolls, empty bottles and several indolent guards of a faction
52 Scaffolding up walls and on roof provide fire platforms for archers
53 Shack and checkpoint where faction guards check your papers
54 Tax collectors camp awaiting violates so they can press gang adventurers
55 A camp of filthy dirty murder hobos keen to kill anyone more wounded than them
56 Several guards with a tame monster camped here overlooking passage
57 Hidden guard watches and sends messengers through gremlins or tiny animals
58 A squad led by a charismatic leader are here to stop rumoured intruders
59 A camp of evil knights and templar clerics who demand single combat or payment
60 A boss monster and entourage is here for great battle priest said comming
61 A tower overlooks open area and a wizard runs a magic shop
62 A crumbling ruined base of tower is home to a witch who demands service to pass
63 A wizard threatens travellers from inside a huge statue giving them safe view to cast
64 A wizard appears as a phantom to threaten travellers, will alert local bosses
65 A sorcerer has built a pleasure dome of drugs and other vice for sale
66 A psionic squid wizard or chaos doppelganger uses spells to delude and infiltrate party
67 A cult of sorcerers have remained hidden here and are paranoid about strangers
68 A mighty elf lord with guards is camped here but are willing to share 
69 A bard here challenges visitors to tests of ability, knowledge and might
70 A wizard on other side of bridge demands a riddle to pass or payment
71 Horrible umberhulks lair in cave with scattered corpses
72 Aggressive Ankhed are giant carnivorous burrowing bugs 
73 Purple worm breeding tunnel with huge chamber and huge sleeping horrors
74 Spider lair covered in webs with various types and a evil magical queen
75 Dragon lair or lair of a draconic creature with hoard feared by all factions
76 A filthy wet it with froghemoth or several giant frogs all hungry 
77 A pool with aquatic horror blocks the passage with possible fish men hybrid followers
78  Undead have congregated here to block passage
79 A mixed gang with ogres, trolls and giants live here mostly sleeping
80 A ancient automaton juggernaut has kept this area free of people
81 A demonic cult attend their shrine and a demon will come to aid them
82 Underworld cultists with undead slaves bar this place demanding money and blood
83 Hunting party of humanoids here hiding and camping and ready for a fight
84 A shrine attended by old prriest and a d4 assistants
85 A wizened monk hermit will not let any pass
86 A small temple here has several priests, some guards and several loyal cultists
87 A group of pilgrims to see the holy place on the holy night and outraged by intruders
88  A graveyard defended by a d6+6 priests and some servants 
89 A ruined monument guarded by a senior priest and a dozen followers
90 A religious monument like a ziggurut staffed by a small town of clergy 
91 A bound demon manifests here to bar any forbidden mortals
92 A land spirit appropriate to location manifests and lives here as a human
93 A area where elementals or related beings pour through and attack
94 Attractive shape shifters here lure travellers to their doom
95 Judgmental Archon slays any impure or false persons or a flaming balrog demon
96 Ruined temple of old ones with hungry tentacled outer god guardian
97 Pool of protoplam spawns creatures and monsters to defend itself from mortals
98 Underworld non corporeal spirits, ghosts or spectres lurk here
99 A serpent folk shrine where ancient priests sleep guarded by dinosaurs
100 A petty god is currently lurking here and they can be un predictable at best

Wednesday 22 February 2017

Draconic Second Chances





































Inspired by this
http://draconicmagazine.com/articles/second-chances
to simply write the ones my EMO house dnd rules

I give each player a toy gold coin token per WIS bonus point +1 (Makes -1 wisdom bonus suck cos you get none this stops WIS being a dump stat). Low wisdom peoples are fools

you can spend the coins each session and can use to:

re roll any any one hit, save, skill or damage roll immediately after a roll you don't like - you could even use to be less effective like not critical hit the king with a second roll

or

say you did bring that one handy thing you had choice to earlier after all or maybe you just found one common thing - Players could even use to find a gp as one common thing if strapped for cash in a market or pub.

or

you did memorise that handy one spell you wish you had - Replace one spell with any on list due to foresight)

or

stabilise your own blood loss and recover from fatal wound - Go from negative HP to 1 HP after one hour later unconscious

or

your victorious foe captures you and saves you instead of finishing you off - Awake a day later probably a unarmed prisoner in their lair. Beats foes outright killing you

or

take back that last dumb remark immediately after having made one - this is tricky, you might even let a player change a action like "ok I will not stick my head in the sphere of annihilation", this one most optional 

Possibly I have had other FX like TORG cards or Dr Who stories. Mistaken ID, catch up and fight fleeing villain (nemesis), foil a trap or door or puzzle, find a clue and more - i did a standard card deck which players cound pick and form team pools and stuff - Is under my RQ BRP page on sidebar links. Such abilities as these coins and was good in a deadly game like BRP which it worked well for.

Halflings might get +1 point Theives +1 per Level as special class ability
The special benefit of a lots of choice skill based theif is to get a extra point per level to mae up for my lack of xp differences and made my thieves more popular after 20 years no thieves. Many players would buy a thief from prison then charm them. Now players take extreme physical feats and lethal ambushes. DM could be mean and allocates coins to boss monsters or the all knowing dungeon spirit.

All this stops extreme deadly stuff and is fun used imaginatively. Also gives players narrative option and might make being kidnapped useful like in the moves and unlike most games. I guess you can have deadly horrible threats in a game that wiser characters can avoid better. It seems to be satisfying to have escaped peril with such a scarce resource. It makes clerics and wise adventurers better.

Ive had players use to not critical hit possessed ally, not die in first doorway or trap, inflict more damage on a boss or to finish fight faster, have that one thing they decided they left home to save ENC, confront a boss or stop them escaping, enhance spell damage, and more. Stops foolish or new players saying fatal stuff. Certainly the use of prop based luck system is good. My next character sheet might include a place to stack coins. Could use real coins or poker chips too.

Plus using cheap toy pirate coins is entertaining - they are a fun resource.


Tuesday 21 February 2017

Terrible Campaign Ideas: Bankslund

Terrible Campaign Ideas: Bankslund
The characters belong to a tribe of stone tech hunters and gatherers where wizards use cliff faces and cave art and bark for spell books. There are some inter tribal battles and trouble with giant lizards and carniverous flightless birds to fight or domesticate (also diprotodon giant wombats). Tribes worship giant magical snake spirits and other totem animal spirits.

Magical beast men and animal changelings roam in the taboo places.

A strange sailing ship of advance orcs arrive who try to trade steel and communicate then leave.

Years later orc fleet returns with convict prisoners of war intent on settling. The tribes might unite or try to make a deal but more orcs and their strange beasts like wolves and riding boars arrive and it becomes obvious they are not leaving.  Players might try to make peace but a Orc scientist declares humans not sentient and a plague breaks out. Tribes wage guerrilla war and struggle to unite. Even if a treaty is made and the orc governor declares killing and robbing humans is wrong many orcs keep trying to do bad things. A few orcs are hung for murder and orcs become sneakier and many racist official orcs help organised massacres. Orcs introduce their devils and demons to the land. Half orcs are bred to help track and hunt humans, they worship demons and break sacred taboos. The best humans can do is to learn to fight guns, possibly steal guns and perhaps flee beyond the frontier. Later a gold rush starts and orcs and goblinoids and trolls flood the land with steel and guns.

I haven't thought of a happy or heroic ending.

Perhaps elves and dwarves wage war on orcs or players can muster supernatural aid to drive orcs back to orcland. Whatever happens humans will have changed and characters will have shaped the destiny slightly of their people.

Maybe i could write the terrible fantasy novel Australia has been looking for.

Sadly this is pretty realistic and Australian history mostly covered up and willfully forgotten. "I didn't do it so not my problem" is pretty common reaction here. "I just live on the land and enjoy the benefits of the people who did" would be better response. And it is still happening daily. Land rights for natives have just been robbed and given to mining multinationals. Mortality and prison rates still high. Children still taken away at increasingly high rates. Etc

This is good stuff
http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/04/21/8-war-heroes-you-didnt-learn-about-school
http://www.sbs.com.au/firstaustralians/ - whole tv series
Look up "dreamtime stories" on youtube for lots of myths mostly about people being punished and mutilated for breaking taboos

Monday 20 February 2017

d100 Flawed Utopias



I used to be very into utopian and it's converse dystopian literature. Utopias are basically boring. Most books run like a tour guide and point out moral ideal. As utopias by definition don't have problems they are boring. The interloper from outside might be the problem by questioning and clashing cultures and introducing new ideas. Another problem might be the utopia is under threat from non utopias outside and need help which you might read about in Huxley's Island or pretty frequent of old school Dr Who (often enough the utopia might not survive). Otherwise the more popular option is the utopia is a lie and behind the scenes there is cannibalism, murder, monsters or something horrible (common on old Dr Who and many SF programs). Basically this is in fact a dystopia. Many dystopias are obviously hellish and horrible. The dystopia could be a failed utopia, or has some kind of questionable philosophy or literally be operated as cruel and unfair living hell. Some utopias might be hidden or exclude the unworthy.

These tables are useful for my Planet Psychon or gamma world, but also could be used for isolated space habs or colonies or bunkers in other SF games. Check out this old table too Gamma Tourism Bureau. A military or scientific base left alone for a long time might adopt utopian style culture too. You could place several of these in a area and watch sparks fly. Adventurers often precipitate a fall or might be used as scapegoats.

Such complexes regard themselves as superior to others and suspicious of strangers. Some might trade, others might hide.

d12 Location (or roll d10 for earth bound)

01 Underground Bunker
02 Undersea habitat
03 Hidden under ruined city
04 Hidden in forest
05 Hidden in desert
06 Under huge monument
07 Ruined military base
08 Toxic wasteland
09 Ruined civic buildings
10 Ruined grave yard

11 Orbital habitat
12 Lunar or asteroid habitat


d10 Secret Door Location
1 In old cave
2 Mine tunnel boarded up
3 Elevator rises from pool
4 Huge sealed vault door
5 Concealed door in ruins
6 Holographic disguise
7 In huge dead tree
8 In battered phone booth
9 Sewer entrance
10 Monument

d10 Defences
1 Automated weapons
2 Contaminated
3 Robots or Androids
4 Bunker militia
5 Mutant scum
6 Mutant beasts
7 Force Field
8 Mines or booby traps
9 Advanced locks
10 Holographic illusions

d10 Utopia Size
01 d10+5 
02 2d10+10 
03 d100+20
04 d100+50
05 d100+100
06 d100+200
07 d100+500
08 d100+750
09 d10 x 1000
10 d10 x 10 000


d10 Government
01 A charismatic leader
02 A despotic leader
03 A council of elders
04 A council of scientists
05 Corporate committee
06 Benevolent anarchy
07 Communist committee
08 Participatory Democracy
09 Automated system
10
 AI computer

d10 Cmon who really rules?
01 Mad scientist
02 Cult leader
03 Secret despot
04 Criminal gang or foriegn agent
05 Alien race
06 Monster
07 Mutant freak
08 Replicant or android
09 Defective AI or Robots
10
 Dimensional horror

d10 Featured Technology
01 Reproductive - use of clones, bioprinting or eugenics
02 Drug Therapy - population sedated or kept euphoric
03 Surveillance - population monitored constantly 
04 Security - locked vault doors, retinal scanners, dna scans
05 Mind Control - unusual social control tech like psionics or implants
06 Servants - slavery, androids, uplifted animals, robots
07 Nutrition - recycled protein vats, food printers, canibalism
08 Defence - holograms, force fields, shield drones
09 Offence - stunners, energy weapons, weapon drones
10
 Execution - bizarre means of terminating citizens

d10 Sinister Secrets
01 Secret societies plotting in secret
02 Sinister secret purpose society created
03 Lie about outside world to keep population inside
04 Troublemakers vanish or reprogrammed
05 Utopia in decline do to habitat decline
06 Agents have been in contact with outside
07 Infiltrators subverting society and hab systems from elswhere
08 Insanity spreading in society
09 Something or someone is killing people buy covered up
10 Some life form or something living in crawl spaces of hab


d100 
Flawed Utopias
01 Drug addled hedonists have monsters living in secret under the floors who eat people
02 Kindly patronizing old people secretly harvest organs and blood from the young 
03 Enlightened civilization hide degenerate mutants roaming in ruins under city
04 AI dictates everyone daily actions, work and love life over immortal simpletons
05 Subjects of crystalline citadel obey psychic emanations of great crystal
06 Happy people eat ooze that bubbles up in secret chamber and makes the people one
07 People live in harmony but savage ape men attack often, really they are exiled citizens
08 Citadel rich in water features welcome newcomers to join secret amphibian hybrids rites
09 Appear happy and welcome visitors but actually they carry insectoid parasites
10 Mostly hapless morons sleep in seed pods connected to a great tree 

11 Happy drug addicts learned to convert another species into dangerous narcotic
12 Population long ago replaced by androids waging war with ugly humanoid brutes

13 Every citizen has a automaton companion who monitors them and advises them
14 Citizens have become moronic cretins and secret cannibals from inbreeding
15 Strange bestial behaving citizens are uplifted from animals by hidden scientist 
16 Colony infiltrated by androids and highly paranoid about strangers
17 Citadel has a serial killer disrupting local order, actually is a alien being
18 Civilization served by unruly ape men ready for revolutions, masters are ignorant
19 Highly bureaucratic society imprisons petty violations and harvest organs 
20 Science bunker society have discovered alien wreck from millions of years ago
21 Isolated settlement has been secretly dominated by vampires who use people as cattle
22 Settlement has just begun sighs of undead plague which they blame on newcomers
23 A shape shifting monster plague has stricken someone in contact with outside world
24 A despot plans to kill current rulers and blame visitors so they can take over
25 Colony is a former military unit mellowing out but conservatives want old ways back
26 Learned colony of scientists but black lab unit seek to take over using new creation
27 Decadent shrinking colony unaware of lower levels crawling with horrors awaiting release
28 Bunker live in good conditions but military secretly oppress local outsiders
29 Slowly deteriorating bunker conditions have created factions about to explode
30 Contamination has killed several levels of the complex and truth kept from survivors 
31 Complex leader is actually a alien hybrid experimenting on bunker dwellers
32 Black lab converting excess population to cyborg troops and kept in stasis
33 Athletics obsessed community bullies and kills the weak, deluded belief in superiority
34 Community of alt energy vegetarians preach free love but enemies gather
35 Bunker contains doomsday device with regressive personnel worshiping the weapon
36 Bunker contains doomsday device controlled by cult who will set off if attacked
37 Bunker contains doomsday device but population are mostly ignorant of it's powers
38 Bunker contains missile silo but personnel dispute if weapons should be used
39 Bunker of frozen personnel recently awakened and clueless as to how to help the world
40 Colony over run by barbarians who exploit original people as slaves
41 Harmonious sterile colony vulnerable to disease and contamination
42 Large colony has developed a mutant strain of dominating telepaths taking over
43 Entrance is sealed and population goes batshit mental 
44 Carnivorous swarm animals get in bunker d4 1=roaches 2=bats 3=rats 4=frogs
45 Devolutionary compound contaminates bunker turning people into prehistoric horrors
46 Complex mostly unaware of cult monster breeding pits in elder ruins in sub levels
47 Aquatic areas in complex allowed fish men hybrids to infiltrate and take over 
48 Tentacled horrors living in air vents responsible for disappearances blamed on outsiders
49 Android applicants infiltrating colony to prepare for android take over
50 Colony worship demon god in basement actually a war borg programmed to kill all life
51 Colony in peace but of late some strange disappearances since a star fell nearby
52 Colony needs equipment lost in abandoned sub levels now flooded and full of critters
53 Colony ruled by brain in a vat growing insane, seeks to replace people with something
54 AI rules people who live like ignorant children, strangers must conform or be lobotomized
55 AI rules colony as if a mental hospital with android orderlies, AI disbelieves in outsiders
56 AI rules as a penal colony and kidnaps new prisoners to repopulate depleted inmates
57 Colonists long ago replaced by hideous shape shifters who farm ignorant humans
58 Colonists all became undead plague victims long ago but AI has no idea
59 Colonists under certain conditions turn into mutant horrors then back with no memory
60 Bunker at war with rival complex, AIs have modified humans to look different 
61 Complex has teleporter to other world where chosen are sent by AI each year
62 AI is paranoid runs clone complex and constantly rooting out traitors and infiltrators
63 Colonists have mutated into goblin like beings due to AI altering conditions of complex
64 Colony is occupied by alien hybrids training for invasion plan, secrets in sub level 
65 Colony controls a kaiju for defence keeping area a forbidden wasteland
66 Colony is a biological habitat where population and food born from walls
67 Colony is cloned from same individual few families desperate for outsider mates
68 Colony is a military prison camp run by robots and AIs who arrest any strangers
69 Colony live by medieval feudal romantic code and AI hides technology from them
70 Colony over run by mutants led by dominators planing to attack local humans
71 Mutant colony force human slaves to make stockpile of mutation bombs
72 Bunker residents are all psionic but pacifistic and afraid of outside world
73 Bunker residents are all psionic but hope to conquer inferiors outside
74 Colony residents ruled by psionic mutant minority hivemind using illusions and telepathy
75 Colony belong to single gender and find opposite gender alluring and threatening
76 Complex believe they are on a star ship travelling to a new world they will never reach
77 Complex believe they are on a star ship really leaders building terraforming weapon
78 Complex believe they are on a star ship, lab growing prehistoric life to fake new world
79 Colony devolving into ape people by AI to restart human civilization
80 Colony occupied by obvious service robots with personalities of long dead humans
81 Uplifted animal labourers took over colony long ago, AI reared a advanced civilization 
82 Colony is a corporation surviving since the big one, plan to dominate local economics
83 Colony are fanatics of ancient religion who plan to spread fanaticism over area
84 Colony being over run by mutants, AI cult take chosen pure ones for parts in brain borg
85 Colony sends secret agent to help outside world but evil leader plans to turn to conquest 
86 Colony operate a museum and send out explorers for relics, barbarians want to plunder
87 Colony of scientists plan to use bio weapons on non pure humans including mutants
88 Bunker are a secret society planing to replace regional leaders with disguised agents
89 Bunker believe they are superior gods and only interested in outsiders for organs
90 Bunker desperate for biological raw material, pretend to be tribal gods for sacrifices
91 Colony controlled by telepathic giant spiders hiding in sub levels, feed on law breakers 
92 Elites of utopia are possessed by over space horrors who need fresh bodies often
93 Huge biohab with dinosaurs and cave men monitored by deluded AI 
94 Black lab complex creates new species of monster and release them for study
95 Colony scientists turning personnel into mini shoggoths in robot bodies for conquest
96 Disease control lab complex of dedicated scientists, a plague leak causes lockdown
97 Huge ark complex of bio habitats has gone feral with mutants and primitive survivors
98 AI mind hacks kidnap victims to believe they always lived in flawed habitat
99 Mould growths and fungus have taken over with only a small trapped population left
100 Sprawling ruined underground city where mutant races battle, humans hide in secret