Barking Alien Challenge day27: Anecdotes?

Doh, I possibly did campaign anecdotes in the last post. 
2nd to last day in the challenge, and I lasted longer than some others.
Also Ive blogged about many sessions over 14 years here.

I'm definitely getting a bit dumber with age and finding that reading gets a bit worse. I mostly read gaming stuff, non-fiction and comics. Ive had the same few unfinished novels by bed for a few years. I think short story comps do a bit better with me. It's a shame as I have thousands of books. I might need to sit through them and enjoy my records and cds at the same time, rather than just hoard stuff unused.

I should probably re-read some of those game posts. 

So here's to future anecdotes for a while yet.

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So I don't completely waste this space, and your eyes here are some background tables for some stuff I'm doing. Also, some notes on the Domain generated by D&D5 Ravenloft setting book (not the adventure - no Straad here). Im giving the official tables a go. I thought i was gonna ditch the 2014 dmg but it has loads of useful stuff.

These are meant to be suggestions or quick ideas. Im feeling more and more mechanics as part of character gen that enforce a narrow idea of roleplaying with mechanics is a bit much. Also as older games are more EXTREME! People start weak, and your arc happens through play and success. So tables of fluff are just that. But If you want to make a game out of making random elements work do that its fun. Before I could read, I used to look through my parents' reference books on history and tell myself stories because they were there.

I often let players make me d100 rolls and tell players sometimes what table I'm rolling and let them make the roll. Planet Psychon was a game of making random stuff work.

Bleak Island is a working title of my D&D5 game. 
Possibly it's a mini domain of Ravenloft.
There will be elements like Grim Hollow, which I've enjoyed.

Players encouraged to declare what crime made fate bring them here or what near-death experience they were thay saved from if innocent.

D12 Players Arrive by Sea...
1 Floating on the wreckage of a ship, unconscious and saved by fisherfolk
2 Came through the misty sea by raft
3 Came through the misty sea on a boat, surviving the ship sinking
4 Awoke wet on the beach, feeling fuzzy and confused, surprised your alive
5 Found on a ship at sea by fishermen with most of the crew dead, they considered leaving you
6 Pirates threw you into the sea where you were clutching a barrel and after days you came ashore

7 You dont remember mush but some fishy humanoid carried you ashore

8 Cultist threw you into the sea as a sacrifice to the mists

9 Jumped off a boat with cannibal mariners who started to fight to over who eat first

10 Swallowed by a great sea beast, you somehow survived inside it before escaping

11 Aquatic faerie folk took you, and years later, you came ashore, having escaped the underwater faerie realm of changeling fish folk, sea grass spirits, sea elves and sea dragons

12 A sea hag found you and brought you ashore. She may send you messages

d12 Why was I at sea?

1 Important trade mission for a merchant house (what was so desperate a reason?)

2 On a mission for your guild (mercenary, craft or crime guild?)

3 Fleeeing a terrible war to a sanctuary, possibly to meet your clan

4 Travelled on a short ship trip to sea to get some work across a dangerous strait

5 Caught by a pressgang to work on a ship against your will

6 Captured by pirates to sell to slavery

7 Stranded on an island and had to build a raft, have not seen anyone a while

8 Disguised yourself as a religious pilgrim vessel to escape corrupt nobles

9 Accused of a crime and escaped prison (did you?)

10 Hunted by a dangerous cult and had to flee

11 Hunted by a supernatural being who hates water 

12 Dragged on a boat as a prisoner and was being taken to a famous island prison

I started with a map of a village with catacombs and a mysterious wasteland with orcs who basically allow only a few traders a year to pass. Villagers know there is a town and some other hard-to-reach villagers.

Four other villages on the island all isolated but the central town and the domain lords palace. One worship Lampgulp the angler fish goddess. One snake people tainted community (i might add some ruins like around Gunderholfen). Another has a werewolf problem. The central town is obsessed with The Hunt. The damned lord or the domain of the Baroness Chrysopasia Draco who is obsessed with hunting and trophy taking. Dangerous monsters are bred under the town and released so people can hunt creatures whenever they want. Hunts are called for trials to see who is innocent (hunt the accused or make them hunt a creature). In weddings, the newlyweds are hunted by their families to see who they will live with. There is a weekly hunt all the locals talk about and special monthly hunting events.

Everyone here carries hunting knives and can skin a beast. Criticising the hunt gets you hunted by a mob, like a hue and cry in a market might do in other lands. Anything I can think of for a hunting-obsessed town, I will use. Kids playing Snape Hunter, gingerbread huntsman cookies, hunters' pies, hunters' wine, hunters' cheese, anything really its their one brand on everything here. Locals all discuss recent hunts and gossip about hunters.

The locals say the Baroness is the no1 hunter, but if you criticise her, you get hunted next. They will cheer her, then worry if they did it right and smile nervously. As long as some other person or beast is hunted, everything is fine. If you dont like hunting, villagers or your family will chase you with sticks to beat the cowardliness out of you.

The Baroness is a beauty, but when she is angered, poison vapours come from her alabaster skin. She can't be close to anyone for long, and her lovers and companions die. If she sees you and desires to hunt hou she can observe you with her crystal ball and spy on targets a while. She likes to know the pasts and habits of her prey so she can taunt them better. She might keep this up for months and use adventurers for sport. She might try to seduce her targets for extra thrill. If she is "killed" improperly, she transforms into a death dragon. Knowing her secrets gets you hunted too, but there may be were ravens or a hag who knows. She has for years hunted a white heart and snake hybrid she calls her questing beast. It always evades her and is tied to her curse.

There will be a troll bridge where an old troll wants background stories, and if boring, will eat you. A were-raven will help them a bit with notes or appear as an old, robed human offering wheezing advice. A swamp with giant frogs and a hag. The sea can link to Ravenloft's sea of sorrow, or maybe Anglerslund (from my zine series a few years ago). Locals fear a wild hunter who roams the woods and mountains and who helps beasts and leads hunters to mischief. Wild druids also interfere in hunts and claim there is a proper way to hunt for nececity not for pleasure.

d12 Hunting Mishaps
Local customs, lucky charms and rituals help avoid these mishaps
1 Thorns and brambles block the route

2 Dangerous slope or ravine or gulley with loose rubble

3 An old hunting trap turns up

4 Colide with another hunt, which is often tense or dangerous

5 Encounter another unexpected beast 

6 See the Baroness, please, please just pass us without contact

7 Encounter orcs who are utterly hostile and hunt and eat humans for sport

8 A werewolf hunts the hunters

9 Undead hunter who died on a hunt resents living hunters

10 The questing beast

11 Some druids sabotage hunts, remove traps and may aid the hunted with healing and spells

12 The wild huntsman injures a hunter to help a beast escape

I'm considering if you die in Ravenloft and are evil or tainted, you get reborn in Ravenloft, but innocent souls can escape. Wicked and innocent are drawn into Ravenloft to replace them. Sometimes people think they have been saved from some tragedy by being brought into Ravenloft.