Thursday, 10 July 2025

Advanced Train Trauma in Chagrinspire



Last stab at trains got some basic stuff down, and now is the time for more. Players found the working station in the gnome town under the plateau. The Train goes to Trancentral Terminal on the ground floor of Chagrinspire. The Underland loop also passes through.

The Underland Loop goes through the three great caverns (including a gnome city) and back to Trancentral.

The Upper and lower corkscrew spiral lines coil around the outside of Chagrin and spiral through all levels. It may have more military and automated cars. These lines the trains have an engine both ends.

The Wasteland Routes, more infrequent and radiate like a cobweb from the Chagrinspire, connecting the old outpost forts and the next two lines. Most go outward and return. Each side of no man's land has trench trains in the underground hill forts. that loop Chagrinspire. These are the Outer Black Sphere Line and the Allied Barrier Line.

There are rumours that automated systems are digging a new far outer circle line around the wasteland borders. Below Transcentral, there is a vast automated golem factory sending out golem trains and tunnel-expanding crews.

The Underland Loop - Visit the three great caverns
Upper Corkscrew Spiral Line - Visit Upper Chagrinspire 
Lower Corkscrew Spiral Line - Visit Lower Chagrinspire
Wasteland Routes - Your Local Wasteland Service connecting outposts
Outer Black Sphere Line - Trench to Trench Fort Fast
Allied Barrier Line - Contain & Destroy Operation Service

These routes appear on posters, magazines, newspapers, signs and other printed items.
The previous posts on tunnels apply, but are more about tunnels outside Chagrinspire.
Previous Train posts apply, but inside Chagrinspire is more likely to be militarised.

Chagrinspire is not as dead as people think. Many mid and upper levels and automated levels are all functional. There may be intact pre-apocalypse levels operating and using aircraft.

d12 Train Types in Wasteland or the Deep
1 Automated short commuter line with bare benches and standing cars
2 Passenger Trains with various classes of car types
3 Mixed passenger and freight cars
4 Cargo train with a variety of freight cars 
5 Automaton repair crew and engine, often with a crane and work machines
6 Engineers to work on something needing more precision than automatons
7 Handcar with d4 1=kobolds 2=adventurers 3=orcs 4=scavengers
8 Humanoid warlords out to raid or battle
Humanoid warlords transporting goods or people for money
10 Humanoid warlords are moving workers to a dig site for scrap 
11 Cultist temple train with supernatural servitors like Diablo Express
12 Supernatural haunted trains, often with ghosts or necromancers

d12 Train Types inside Chagrinspire
(most require 2 engines for the gradient slopes or braking) 
Automated short commuter line with bare benches and standing cars
Passenger Trains with various classes of car types
Cargo trains with a variety of freight cars for goods 
4 Prison transport d4 1=rebels 2=petty criminals 3=suspicious travellers 4=cloned slaves, sometimes prisoners are moved around constantly to drive people crazy
5 Automaton repair crew and engine, often with a crane and work machines
6 Engineers to work on something needing more precision than automatons
7 VIP Train with rich passengers of gnomish aristocracy with exotic guards
 Livestock Train carries cave cows, giant bugs, worms, frogs and grubs
9 Black Sphere Troop transport (often use commuter or cattle cars), carries armoury and 100 soldiers
10 Black Sphere Secret Police Train with gnome, human clones and automaton troops 
11 Black Sphere Wizard Train a special transport for large groups of spellcasters
12 Black Sphere Battle Train with artillery and machineguns and armour on both ends

The Underland Loop
Passes the three great caverns of the deep.

d12 Passengers
1 Gnome Scrappers to or from garbage caverns
2 Gnome Merchants to or from the city
3 Gnome students to or from school
4 Gnome Fungus Farmers to or from markets
5 Gnome Ticket Inspector looking for fare evasion
6 Gnome Rail Police Squad looking for criminals
7 Gnome engineers on their way to the worksite or station
8 Gnome criminal d4 1=pick pocket 2=con artist 3=gambler 4=prostitute
9 Goblinoids from a goblintown to a work site 
10 Orcs from underland civilisation migrating 
11 Kobolds, may pretend to be children for cheap fares
12 Dwarves on way from home to a mine

d12 Problems
1 Rail line needs repair (possible ambush)
2 Train breaks down (may attract trouble)
3 Boiler leak needs repair and water
4 Fire breaks out and is delayed without help
5 Lost a car and needs to go find it
6 Murder most horrid among passengers
7 Automaton or golem engine, out of control or off-course
8 Gunfight or duel among passengers
9 Holdup by a masked gang robbing passengers
10 Monsters loose on a train
11 Cultists on the train
12 Hostile train and crew attack

Upper Corkscrew Spiral Line
People going up tend to go to work or visit somewhere

d12 Passengers
1 Business and bureaucrat gnomes to or from work
2 Gnome family heading to the airport & airship levels
3 Scholar magicians to or from education and research facilities
4 Black sphere secret police gnomes with automatons
5 Automaton labourers on the way to work
6 Robed gnome wizards & sorcerers on the way to a think tank
7 Gnomes with Arctic survival clothes and air masks
8 Clerks and scribes off to work
9 Cloned human police and stewards patrol train
10 Cultist spies seeking secrets
11 Gnome detective and automaton sidekick
12 Gnome tourists from the Underland

d12 Problems
1 One of two engines was failing, so the train slowed
2 Train stops to allow the priority train through
3 Police search for illegal performance-enhancing potions
4 Poltergeists from long-dead youths harass passengers
5 Surly kobolds vandalising seats and drawing on walls
6 Air quality is poor due to the smoke of poor air
7 Track allocation error, heads back to start or wait
8 Delay for special passengers
9 Rogue train on the line, proceed with caution
10 Giant worms or centipedes on track require extermination
11 Giant spiders boarded the rain for food
12 Gnomish saboteur suicide raiders from the black sphere cult 

Lower Corkscrew Spiral Line
People going down tend to go home after work or be deployed somewhere. Sometimes goods or creatures from anywhere in the world could be taken from the airship port on the upper levels.

d12 Passengers
1 Workers returning to their homes
2 Clerks and scribes returning home
Black sphere secret police gnomes with automatons
4 Gnome troubleshooter on a mission outside the tower
5 Tourists on the way home
6 Gnomish celebrities swarmed by fans
7 Trained ape porters with baggage in little suits and caps
8 Mechanic crew on the way to the project
9 Black sphere secret police squad with gnomes, humans and automatons
10 Millitary cadets on an excursion
11 Gnomish Widows Association outing
12 Captives arrived by air, being taken to the underworld to be sold with guards

d12 Problem
1 Speed gets too high and breaks are squealing
2 Hobos board a train and roam for food and crime
3 Salesmen posters for nicknacks or scams
4 Prostitutes looking for lonely travellers
5 Striking workers singing songs loudly
6 Monsters from far, far away land escape a crate
7 Drunken tourists shouting and want to party
8 Schoolchildren returning from boarding school are very excited
9 Deranged automaton
10 Shapeshifter eats someone
11 Some feuding passengers want a duel with a gun or a sword 
12 Train searched for spies by Secret police

Wasteland Lines
Radiate from Transcentral and connect each outpost. Most routes connect several to the outer edge of the wasteland. Many connect to the Trench Lines. Most are not active as the outposts are mostly controlled by enemies. The lines run weekly, and the tracks and lighting are of poorer quality. These lines also connect to drains and service tunnels and roaming pedestrians may be in these lines.

d12 Passengers
1 Mercenaries
2 Scavenger gangs 1in4 are mutants
3 Kobolds graffitiing
4 Orcs clan migrating
5 Adventurers
6 Slavers with prisoners
7 Undead, possibly a haunted car 
8 Ticket Inspector & automatons
9 Rail police flexing their control
10 Cultists in robes with a prisoner
11 Rail Police Automatons
12  Black Sphere Secret police

d12 Problem
1 Bandit train attack
2 Humanoid warlord borders 
3 Track sabotaged for an ambush
4 Cultists board to convert unbelievers
5 Swarm of vermin invade the train
6 Tunnel blocked or bridge down
7 Fungus overgrown
8 Partially flooded tunnel, so go slow
9 Monsters board for food
10 Rogue automaton or golem
11 Train redirected into a strange tunnel
12 Alternate route due to accident ahead

Outer Black Sphere Line - Trench to Trench Fort Fast
Allied Barrier Line - Contain & Destroy Operation Service

Outer Black Sphere Line - Trench to Trench Fort Fast
Goes in a loop through the hillforts inside the great trench lands. Has connections to outpost fortresses and the waste lines. 

d12 Passengers
1 Undead soldier (forts hill forts are full of undead) 
2 Scavengers 1in4 mutants
3 Frog or Fish folk marines hunting gnomes and humans
4 Adventurers
5 Orcs 1in6 clones troopers gone feral
6 Mutant chaos cultists
7 Beast folk abhuman war bands
8 Repair Crew of mechanics or engineers
9 Black Sphere Secret Police
10 Black Sphere troopers 
11 Black Sphere human cloned soldiers
12 Black Sphere Death Squads

d12 Problems
1 Magnetic mines on track need clearing
2 Aggressive undead soldiers attack
3 Spirits of dead soldiers screaming and moaning
4 Ambush on blocked tracks
5 Tracks fitted with explosives by Orc raiders for an ambush
6 Hostile train tries to chase and the crew aboard
7 Rogue flesh golems from the waste boards to kill and eat 
8 Wight trench fighters attack to slay the living
9 Raiders use gas or smoke bombs and board trains in masks
10 Predatory slime monsters boarded the train
11 Swarms of vermin board and move through carriages
12 Guard rang the emergency stop bell

d12 Allied Barrier Line - Contain & Destroy Operation Service
This is the outer hill fort line overlooking no-mans-land, built by allies against Chagrinspire. It does get maintained by undead but the Black Sphere seem to repair stuff unless shot at.

d12 Passengers
1 Allied soldier cult in ancient uniform from long lost bunker people
2 Crusaders of the remnants of the Empire, lost but survived by riding trains
3 Dwarven heroes off to destroy Chagrinspire
4 Barbarians on the way to kill wizards and works of literate people
5 Scavenger clan 1in6 mutants
6 Cultists seeking long-lost occult secrets and sacrifices
7 Wasteland farmers taking food to market by this secret route
8 Alchemist guild agents exploring the rail lines
9 Slavers guild transporting prisoners or slave assassins hunting adventurers
10 Surprised pilgrims crossing the wasteland for the church by this miraculous chariot
11 Tourists from the underworld gnome city
12 Subterranean humans d4 1=migrating 2=lost 3=escaped slaves 4=hunting meat

d12 Problems
1
 Rogue flesh golem just wants to kill and eat and rampage with other golems
Ghoul soldiers kill a team boarding the train, hunting the living
3 Food car shortage and many passengers are complaining and irritated
4 Rogue automaton soldiers board and attack
5 Black Sphere clone orc troops raid the train
6 Warlords train in pursuit
7 Supernatural train in pursuit
8 Cultists seek to take over the train for a new temple by anointing it in blood
9 Undead soldiers using a train to move forces, smelly and cramped
10 Lost gnomish school child up to pranks
11 Train attacked by giant insects
12 Beast folk abhuman horde attack and try to board train

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For when you need the party to do something

d12 Living Hazards of Underground Trains
1 Gigantic carnivorous grey worm (was once a corrupt wizard)
2 Gigantic carrion worm or tunnel worm
3 Gigantic centipede or millipede with occult demon tatoos
4 Gigantic fungus needs clearing off the tracks, attracting giant bugs and flies
5 Tunnel Wyrm, a wingless dragon adapted to tunnels or a giant snake
6 Gigantic tunnel slime or jelly blocks passage, and hungry
7 Gigantic tunnel rats with 10HD and know tunnels well
8 Train wreck on the track is really a house mimic
9 Many swarms of one vermin type flood the tunnel
10 Giant vermin all over the slimy tunnel service
11 Huge monster dead (possibly with wrecked train), blocking tracks
12 Possibly thousands of foot-tall gremlins swarming over the area with pet rats

d20 Lost Line Discoveries
1 Abandoned train, requires fuel and service to awaken the golem engine
2 Bunker door of an isolated faction in hiding since the Apocalypse War
3 Bunker door opens to a haunted ruin with undead
4 Bunker of degenerate cannibal bunker people 

5 Handcar (Kalamazoo) operated by zombies or kobolds
6 Station is now part of a hidden colony of humanoids
7 Station is now a cult temple
8 Depot for automated train servicing, automated workers turn hostile if their work is bothered 
9 Secret tunnel into an abandoned secret police station, often with automaton guards
10
 Underground stations connected to the surface 
11 Large stations with abandoned shops and d4+1 lines d4+1
12 Tribal cave folk live in a station and come here to paint monsters they fight
13 Workers complex for tunnel construction with tools, junk and canned food
14 Tracks were blocked with a concrete buffer recently,  the tunnel continues onwards
15 Wrecked armoured train torn into several parts, remains of gun turret in the mess
16 Flooded station occupied by frog or fish folk 
17 Station overgrown with fungi, giant bugs, goblins and faeries
18 Tunnel is filled with the meat of some vast subterranean horror or perhaps a manifestation of Xor, the meat god. Some hungry mouths and tentacles might awaken if bothered
19
 Sinkhole to the underground vault of reptilian civilisation with domestic dinosaurs
20 Mutant hero can no longer move and is protected by its cult

d20 Wasteland Station Decor
1 Ornate staircase
2 Wooden escalators
3 Elevators, 1in4 functional, shaft reachers upper and lower levels
4 Murals of the ancient faction that lived here
5 Used as a military camp. Some ammo and rations can be found. 1in6 are still close
6 Rest Room with nice chairs, magazines and newspapers, and dust
7 Unisex bathrooms with d4 1=giant spider 2=goblin attendant 3=skeleton with bag of 3d6gp 4=automaton attendant also for coins cuts hair and shaves guests
8 Baggage Locker with barred gate and trolley for bags inside. Outside the gate door are several banks of smaller lockers
9 Vending machine golem or one-armed bandit golem 
10 Cafeteria, possibly occupied by monsters or some plucky local, with a dozen outside tables
11 Prison cell, possibly with bones or occupants if the station is still used
12 Merchant caravans stop and camp here
13 Guard Room now occupied by d6 1=guard automaton 2=ghouls & a ghast 3=orc family 4=trolls 5=ogres 6=minotaur
14 Kiosk stall operated by d6 1=mutant selling alchemist potions 2=scavenger selling scrap 3=goblin selling food 4=kobold selling tiny weapons 5=gnome selling guns 6=cult wizard selling petty magic items and scrolls
15 Humanoid warlords operate the station and charge trains to stop and for supplies
16 Faction or monsters booby-trapped the station with traps and spells
17 Haunted by spirits or corporeal undead, but there will be treasure on some
18 Graffiti over every surface and wheel marks from a kobold scooter gang. 1in6
19 Gnome station attendants care for and operate the station. They have a telegraph machine to call trains and for help. They keep giant bats to carry packages, ride around tunnels and milk. A squad guards station, d4 1=clone orcs 2=clone humans 3=automatons 4=goblinoids
20 Cultist shrine, possibly a crude assemblage or something more impressive for pilgrims, may have cultists in attendance and killing them will make the cult your enemies (they use divination)

d20 Other Train Types
1 Dwarf Train of miners or scavengers has adapted a dwarf steam train to Chagrinspire gauge with a fire salamander boiler. 
2 Gnome Postal Train from the Underland City deliver parcels and letters and some freight. Creatures even post their children and livestock. May also have passenger cars and take long meandering journeys over the wastes
3 Fungoid Train a living mushroom train with mushroom folk, sporelings, giant bugs, vermin swarms and goblins. Some have fungoid zombies
4 Hospital Train with nurses, stewards and soldiers off to some accident clean up
5 Mechanics train off to fix something with their automaton vassals
6 Engineers train with construction automatons, a crane car and loads of building materials
7 Gnome Anarchist Revolutionaries on a rampage for anarchy and destroying the machine! But they do like trains and zooming around the wasteland, murdering and robbing Black Sphere forces. They will ally with mutual enemies and preach lawlessness for freedom
8 Scavengers Train operated by a clan of scavengers 1in4 are also mutants with a car of toxic alchemical waste. They raid easy targets and plunder the garbage of the ancients, and are ruthless unless you save them
9 Alchemist Train with guild agents and musket men, led by a d4 alchemist, seeking magic secrets. They deal with slavers and mining guilds in the wasteland and move chemicals and slaves. They also release exploratory teams
10 Magician Train - with a lab, library and temple cars, all decorated in occult signs and severe angular streamlining. These serve the Black Sphere, providing mobile magical education and 
11 Slavers Train - used as part of a global slave trade, even when the surface is unsafe for them, their train knowledge is superior. As nations close borders for slavers, their rail network lets them reach local human traffickers
12 Meat Train - the alien spirit of flesh Xor, has overcome a Train Golem, and now this living fleshy train is occupied by slimes and worms and lice. Canibalistic savages wearing human leather clothes and covered in tattoos, often have filed teeth and piercings. They seem to raid for prisoners, whom they infect with Xorian mutations or send to their home dimension for absorption
13 Underland Circus train a bit lost with exotic dungeon monsters and clown abhumans and mutants
14 Feral Golem Train with automaton servants, rails for fuel and parts. Wants to liberate magical machines and recruit automatons 
15 Death Guard Flesh Golem War Train, some home flesh golems have gone psychotic and learned to operate the train, which soothes them somewhat. They love the bells and whistles and raid for fuel for their train, killing and eating any opposition; Horns on the train signal for golems to disembark and plunder or return. They have become conditioned by the train. Some control centre somewhere might actually direct them 
16 Water train is often used by frog and fish folk to invade the inner rail network. They started with water cars and then flooded other cars and brought pond weed and bugs and worms. They deliver water to outposts, some used to breed sleeper armies for future expansion
17 Bug Train inhabited by bug abhumans, and the train is a gargantuan caterpillar or centipede or worm. Some humans, scavengers and mutants have joined them and ride worms to battle. Frog and Fish folk have united to battle and enslave bugs and worms
18 Necrogolem Train made by necromancers from fused flesh of mostly humanoids and crewed by evil wizards and their mobile school. They want to uncover the secrets of annihilation from the Black Sphere. They question corpses before processing into train flesh and keep skulls of useful corpses to question later
19 Experimental Golem Train - metallic frame and shell surrounding cloned golem flesh. Operated by science gnomes. The train screams and sobs for death
20 Monster Train is mostly automated, with caged monsters taken to points for release. Some gnome alchemists supervise the unloading and keep monsters alive. Also have automaton guards and a car with a crane for unloading huge creatures. Sometimes they collect monsters for study in the deep

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I will probably merge these tables with some prior ones in the future. 
Im trying to make some maps like rail maps and logos.
HD & AC of golem trains?

Maybe do a slaver train and detail slaver units at same time

Monday, 7 July 2025

A funny thing happened on our Shrine Pilgrimage

































Pilgrimages are holy treks, for some a form of tourism to get out to see the world, others are more serious, dangerous and long. 

A minor Pilgrimage has a 2d4 days with an ordained stop each night.
A major Pilgrimage can take 2d4 months
(consider exploding dice on these rolls)

Generate a shrine as per the previous two blog posts on shrines for oaths. 
Each day and stop will also have a drama.

Some pilgrim bands are made of individuals who work together and are self-funded. Some groups may be taken care of by a leader and possibly an organisation or council. The more hierarchical ones centralise their money and spending. They buy in bulk and give chores to members and may even punish or fine members. Church groups might go on tour together or families.

Some are more of a mob and more likely to be clueless, lost and hungry. They might also rampage fan fan-attack foreigners they have never seen before, or some old people who might have food. A leader who provides food will have a devout and dangerous influence. Cultists may recruit from the most desperate pilgrims who just hope everything will turn around and be ok.

d12 Why is this guy on a pilgrimage?
1 Raising money for charity
2 See beyond home to experience the world
3 Pennance for some sin or crime
4 In return for healing from the church
5 Considering entering the clergy
6 To aid the soul of a departed person
7 Feels bad after traumatic warfare
8 Punishment for slight against the faith
9 Transporting a body
10 Transporting relics or scriptures
11 Earning good credit with the cosmic powers
12 Evil cultist (possibly just travelling or intending sabotage or crime)

d12 Pilgrim merch
1 Official pilgrim robes with hoods 4sp (second-hand pilgrim robes d3sp)
2 Official pilgrim skull cap 1sp doubles as a begging bowl
3 Silver holy symbol dedicated to a trail shrine 20gp
4 Wooden holy symbols carved by a  local folk artist 1sp
5 Prayer beads including wood 12cp clay 4sp ivory 10gp
6 Holy pamphlet 5gp or holy prayer book 30gp or illuminated book 300gp
7 Portable Idols, including wooden 10cp, clay 4sp, ivory 12gp, silver 30gp, gold 300gp
8 Church passport where you get stamps to show you went on the trail 4sp
9 Walking Stick (d4) 4sp club (d6) 10sp, pilgrim staff (d6) 1gp
10 Pilgrim Ration baskets, common 1cp/day, posh nosh 1sp/day 
11 Water 1cp per 6L or Beer 4cp per 1L bottle (2cp deposit) or wine 2sp per 1L bottle (2cp bottle return) Holy water 
12 Candles 1cp and clay lanterns 4sp tin lantern 20gp, Lamp Oil 1sp 

d12 Pilgrim Groups
1 Scrawny youths and children singing devoutly but hungry
2 Wretched poor with begging bowls
Flagellants on tour like a rock band, often drinking and recruiting local youths
4 Diseased or mutants ringing a bell, so people are warned to avoid them
5 Desperate villagers seek a blessing for a local problem
6 Poorer townsfolk, but some are former veterans
7 Clerical students seeking a life in the church
8 Crusaders  d4 1=need healing 2=traumatised vets 3= 4=make mischief all the way
9 Guards with merchant-class family pilgrims
10 Guards with a church official in a palanquin or a coach
11 Guards with an entourage of servants with a noble in a palanquin or a coach
12 Specialist order d4 1=Inquisitors 2=templars 3=hospitalars 4=excorcists

d12 Common pilgrim band feature
1 Musicians or a choir, some play bells or chant
2 Bring farm animals to bless them
3 Wagon of supplies and donations
4 Accompanied by a 5th Lv priest and four acolytes
5 Accompanied by a knight
6 Carry a local petty relic in a reliquary to be blessed
7 Raising money for a holy crusade or inquisition
8 Elderly holy hermits of great wisdom teaching pilgrims
9 Drunks up for rampaging against anything they don't like on the way
10 Sworn conduct for pilgrimage d4 1=silent 2=flagellation 3=fasting 4=drunk
11 Criminal guild agents among pilgrims carrying secret messages or smuggling 
12 Evil cultists among them seek to corrupt and sabotage pilgrims

d12 Stops of minor pilgrimage
1 Urban cathedral
2 Urban temple
3 Urban shrine 
4 Rural village church
5 Rural monastery  
6 Rural village shrine
7 Wilderness Pilgrims' shelter
8 Wilderness pilgrims' shelter
9 Wilderness Pilgrims' Campsite
10 Wilderness ruined church
11 Wilderness cave
12 Wilderness shrine

d12 Indoor dramas by night
1 Someone stealing
2 Fire breaks out
3 Meet a potential follower or patron 
4 Locals need help with repairs
5 Hear a story or a rumour about a possible adventure
6 Meet a friendly priest 
Romantic encounter d4 1=scandalous 2=pleasant 3=demands marriage 4=supernatural
8 Leaders of the pilgrimage quarrel and possibly split
9 Someone offends local custom, starting an angry mob
10 Rival pilgrims boast about how holy and modest they are
12 Murder! d4 1=Shapeshifter 2=local beef 3=criminals 4=mad killer 5=cults 6=undead
12 Corrupt and heretical cultists 

d12 Wilderness camp dramas
1 Wolves or jackals howling
2 Animal or creature tries to steal something
3 Wild animal encounters
4 Other pilgrims or hermits hogging best camp
5 Food for d3 days has spoiled or been ruined by vermin
6 Forest monster d4 1=unatural hybrid 2=mutant 3=giant 4=elemental
Humanoids or wild folk drawn to the camp are considered kidnapped
8 Seductive nature spirit, or wild person, lures victims
9 Forest spirits, faerie, talking animals or wild folk curious about travellers
10 Were beasts sniffing around camp, looking for sleeping victims
11 Undead or spirits menace the camp by night
12 Weather turns horrible

d12 Rural pilgrimage encounter
1 Bandits with a prepared ambush
2 Sick people abandoned by the roadside
3 Another party of pilgrims d6 1=snooty 2=heretic cultists 3=sick 4=hungry 5=poor 6=war vets
4 Wolf packs or wild dogs stalk pilgrims
5 Slavers looking for easy targets
6 Tax collectors or other officials and guards sniffing for paperwork evaders
7 Cackling old person laughs or taunts or yells wild stuff
8 Commoner needs help on the roadside
9 Wild folk at the forest edge
10 Wild animals or farm herd 
11 Wild fruit to nuts or berries worth two meals
12 Dark Heretic Templar on horseback to bully pilgrims

Long pilgrimages will have greater significance.
The travels on the journey can help the various problems wherever they go.
Possibly, hero pilgrims can help change the places they visit. By helping kingdoms, the travellers are improving international travel and trade.

The pilgrimage will have dangers for months in the 
journey.
Often at the end there is a task to complete the quest.
Heroic pilgrims might become official saints. 

d12 Major Pilgrimage
1 See a wonderous sight from mythological events in the scriptures
2 See a wonderous vast temple complex, a wonder of the world
3 Go to a distant holy place now occupied by hostile peoples 
Go to famous heretic regions and provoke fights with the heretical doctrines and cults
5 Visit a kingdom imperilled by plague and cults that needs help
6 Visit a faraway kingdom where our faith has not yet reached, and establish a church
7 Protect commoner or noble pilgrims through a hostile land
8 Build a mission to help heal and convert people in a new land or for crusaders
9 Build a cathedral or other stone wonder to encourage the faithful in the region
10 Visit a faraway land to help a devout ruler battle their cultist enemies
11 Destroy a fearsome monster and take its hoard for the faith, then build a church
12 Visit the Crusader lands and build a fortification for the next holy slaughter

d12 Major pilgrimage perils
1 An evil wizard seeks cosmic evil to recognise them by killing pilgrims
2 Local cult wants to impress the supernatural master by killing pilgrims
3 Local evil cult or rival church sees pilgrims as a threat
4 Supernatural beings seek to tempt heroes with love and vice
5 Enemies cause trouble for relatives or friends while pilgrims are away
6 Rival pilgrims are highly competitive and possibly of a rival sect (or secret heretics)
7 Intelligent, paranoid monster or spirit sure pilgrims must fail and are a threat
8 Enemy cult sends out an agent to cause trouble for the party with fraudulent documents
9 Petty godling feels pilgrims have it too easy, so meddles in their journey
10
 A heretical antihero and their band of maniacs have sworn to stop pilgrims
11 Local demon or devil assumes the guise of a noble mortal and stirs up trouble for pilgrims 
12
 Cosmic beings wage bets over pilgrims and then meddle to win 

Major Pilgrimage Adventure
1 Pass through a strange kingdom with weird customs and possibly non-human
2 A shortcut is blocked by a dungeon or a dangerous monster
3 Come across a kingdom in civil war where the pilgrim's intervention will last
4 Kingdom of cruel cultists, but many are willing to listen to true faith
5 Region plagued by evil cults who act like bandits
6 A local religion has suddenly become hostile to your pilgrims and church growth
7 An influential merchant or noble has been stirring up trouble for the pilgrims' faith
8 A rival religion has sent inquisitors to hunt your pilgrims and accuse them of witchcraft
Discover that the monster coming for you all comes from a planar portal or a hell gate
10 Undead evil heroes raised from death to hunt pilgrims, sent by an evil god 
11 An evil outer planar being sends a lesser servitor to make trouble
12 A monster or planar being living in area was here to stop a certain pilgrimage and some have spent centuries preparing

d12 Rare pilgrim band feature
1 Includes a 5th Lv monk and 2d4 students
2 Includes a holy saint and retinue
3 Guarded by a squad of crusaders or templars
4 Includes a true relic in a reliquary with 5th Lv priest and four acolytes
5 Famous knight and servants are guardians
6 Carry the body of a saint to be buried at a shrine
7 Carry holy scriptures to the distant lands
8 Carry a holy idol found in ruins and being relocated
9 Some wear strange costumes, and possibly several share a monster costume
10 Mysterious non-human converts 
11 Secret divine changeling spirits or creatures among them
12 Famous witch or heretics in disguise to cause trouble

d10 Quick Funny Thing Types
1 Mission drama
2 Host drama
3 Strange customs
4 Obstacles
5 Hostile Cult
6 Famous Monsters
7 Sidequest
8 Lost Paths
9 Strange Paths
10 Miracle

d100 Funny things happened on the pilgrimage
01 Members of the mission quarrel
02 Mission splits into feeding factions
03 Several pilgrims were a bit slow and struggling
04 Pilgrim lost money or valuables
05 Vermin ruin travel rations 
06 Pilgrims fleeced with fake trinkets or gambling
07 bad food made everyone flatulent and sick
08 Drama-loving pilgrim looking for a mate 
09 Lazy bully pilgrim makes others do chores
10 Creepy cultist hides vice and depravities
11 Host household has diabolical cultist 
12 Host household has a murderous maniac
13 Householder tries to frame guests for murder or theft
14 Householder is a murderous shapeshifter 
15 Householder slanders the pilgrims with lies
16 Householder informs the inquisitors of the pilgrims
17 Householder questions visitors' credentials
18 Householder pest finds a pilgrim attractive
19 household up in arms about a missing person
20 Household up in arms about recent crime
21 Local festival with drinking and creepy costumes
22 Whicker idol of the old faith burnt during a party
23 Commoners exalt sacred carrots from Shankeye hill
24 Violent sporting event in progress with drink and gambling
25 Maypole dancing with a drinking mob and music
26 Locals perform a strange dance of the old ways
27 Locals make vegetal harvest figures and leave them watching the fields
28 Locals play pranks on strangers
29 Locals sacrifice an animal for a feast, wearing range costumes and chanting
30 Locals in a monster costume, escorted by clowns with sticks, demand coins
31 Road or bridge damaged and risky
32 Bandits lurk at a road crossing
33 Haunted road crossing
34 Highway gang menaces travellers
35 Local combat in the area between factions
36 Terrible weather
37 Road blocked by disaster
38 Vermin-infested area
39 Wolves or wild dogs infest the area 
40 Sinister fog
41 Witch sends her sons to menace pilgrims
42 High-status cult hires assassins for pilgrims
43 Evil templars hunting pilgrims in area
44 Witch hunter or inquisitor searching pilgrims
45 Berserker bullies turn up for drinks
46 Cannibals think a pilgrim looks exotic & delicious
47 Cultists try and menace pilgrims with spells without being caught
48 Cultists try and frame pilgrims
49 Someone swore to an evil power and in return must sabotage pilgrims
50 Witch seduces pilgrims and humiliates them
51 Famous horned demon changeling loves to eat pilgrims
52 Famous werewolf swore to devour pilgrims' hearts
53 Local vampire preys on passing pilgrims and hates the church
54 Chaos champion bandit leads a violent gang of mutants
55 Evil templar cult leader has a secret base in the area 
56 Demonic changeling likes to seduce and eat pilgrims
57 Notorious snake folk wizard is paranoid about increasing pilgrims
58 Slaver captain who preys on pilgrims and might try and infiltrate them
59 Robber knight leads a band from a secret cave and robs pilgrims
60 Orc raider boss thinks pilgrims are easy pickings 
61 Sunken church has an intact bell or idol
62 Ruined temple occupied by evil cult
63 Locals ask the holy to exorcise a haunted house
64 Other pilgrims need help, as several were kidnapped for ransom
65 See a haunted ruin shunned by locals
66 Dungeon monsters attack, and a dead raider leaves a dungeon map
67 Evil dragon, wizard or other threat bothering the local region
68 Local tells a tale of a lost treasure in a local dungeon
69 Bandits have a valuable item, and a rich reward from local nobles is on offer for it
70 Monsters took an innocent or a pilgrim 
71 Find the trail to a monster lair
72 Lost off course d3 days
73 Find the trail to an ancient ruined complex
74 Trail to an abandoned, creepy village
75 Secret village of chaos cultist farmer clan
76 Trail to a secret camp or homes of non-humans
77 Find the robbers' cave headquarters of the local bandits
78 Find an aquatic cave grotto with treasure guarded by a spirit
79 Find a trail to an ancient graveyard
80 Find a grove to a satyr and/or dryad dancing place
81 Find a secret faerie trail with otherworldly sylvan beings are encountered
82 Find a haunted road where ancient battles left scores of dead
83 Find a strange carnival camp
84 
Find a path in the fog to a mysterious haunted manor house
85 Find a path where the spirits of murdered pilgrims warn travellers to go back; if bodies or spirits are put to rest, the haunting stops 
86 Find a primal path trail with prehistoric plants and vegetation, and ancient spirits, some ancient humanoids hide here from time
87 Find a strange cave in a temporal labyrinth
88 Find a path back in time centuries where the old religion was dominant, and fewer people
89 Find a secret path to a changeling village
90 Find a path to Black Stump Village, a trap to send people to hell

91 
Find a path where evil spirits test pilgrims
92
 Find a path to possibly recover a lost relic, might get visions or dreams or see some sign, enhanced hypereal and strange omens invite pilgrims to try
93 Vision of a saint or servitor of a deity 
94 See a favourable star or constellation - blessed for 24 hours
95 Given a vision of an alternative path from the map
96 Several large animals fall to their deaths against rocks and are worth days of food and valuable hides, perhaps find a fresh dead beast like a whale on the beach or a pig stuck in a hole
97 Find wonderous berry bushes or fruit trees worth a d3 meals
98 The kindly merchant gives pilgrims some wine and food, to commemorate a family member killed on a pilgrim trail
99 A Famous priest or even a saint meets you on the road and will offer some divination 
100 Angel comes and heals everyone with holy breast milk and lights, all exhaustion gone, no need to eat for a day

Sunday, 6 July 2025

Ethyria & Chagrinspire Logs Jun/Jul 25 + Clan updates
































Updated Ethyria/Theros map with red marking where player characters have visited.
Updating family info here too.

Omiros Firehair, the satyr, priest of Heliod, descendant of a heroic sidekick Silenas, died in battle defending the polis and has a statue of them in markets near a wine shop. There is a tragic play about it performed yearly.

Kiren an elemental Monk, monk of Heliod, the family were mercenaries killed defending the polis and adopted by city.  

Aias the rogue sailor, initiate of the sea goddess. With a villainous family with many kindred in the temple of the Sea goddess. He is a well-known musician too.
 
Xi the satyr warlock, initiate of Kruphix, family of scribes and scholar weirdoes of Kruphix 

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Aella Clan
Omros & Kiren are adopted by a farming family devoted to Heliod
They are hungry for status and influence and all grandparents and parents generations lost in daring ventures and missing. The Lads have poured money into the farm and siblings, all treating them better. Farmhouse has fences, a new barn, hogs, sheep and cattle
💢 Aella a 3rd lv Fighter who is the family head and she serves in the militia, she is patronising but treats the boys ok
💢 Klieio a 2nd lv fighter and second in line, dislikes the adoptees
💢 Erebos a farmer 1st Lv Fighter, loves the adoptees, and he longs to get away from farm life
💢 Magara who partly works on the farm but is indifferent and a bit mysterious

Kekyra clan
Aias family are big in the local temple to Thassa, God of the sea, and the Limáni village port of.
Own a harbour house, a bireme ship named the Wave Eater, own a tomb in the necropolis of Kástro. Family numbers reduced by infighting and petty rivalry.

💢 Erebos, grandfather - family patriarch Lv3 warrior - sits on the assembly of Limáni, mean to Aias but expects him to be the future
💢 Iole, grandmother - family matriarch Lv2 priest - retired priestess, competitive to Aias, just ran off with 1500gp of family money
💢 Ianthe Grand aunt - has 3 children Lv3 priest, works in temple, competitive to Aias
-Dione daughter Lv2 Priest, works in temple, hateful to Aias
-Kadmos son Lv1 Warrior, ship crew on family ship), mean to Aias
-Pallas son Lv1 Warrior, ship crew on a family ship), loving to Aias, has a child
💢 Parents (Kreios Father & Ariadne mother) vanished on a sea voyage with uncles Pyros and Xanthos
💢 Older brother, 5th Lv Warrior who captains family ship, hates Aias, died and buried in necropolis

Dymanes clan
Dedicated to Kruphix, God of horizons. Own a house in Kástro and a book stall in the market. Famous for being kind & wise. A famous family ancestor, the hero Dymas, had a satyr sidekick, killed by the Chimaera in the mountains. Xi was adopted by the clan and taught by a famous family scholar in the Polis Plaza. Famous family of scholars and patrons of knowledge. Many secretly warlocks dedicated to Kruphix. Widley travelled around the island and other islands.  

💢Koios, grandfather - family patriarch merchant Warrior Lv1 - patron of the school, Respects Xi
💢Magera, grandmother - family matriarch & poet warlock Lv3 - revered poet & writer, Indifferent to Xi
💢Laios Grand uncle has 3 children, Scribe, Warrior Lv3, worships Xi
-Eundros son, Warrior Lv1, Loyal to Xi
-Krios son, scribe has 2 children, Admires Xi
-Leto daughter, merchant and Warlock Lv3, Patronising but admires Xi
💢 Okeanos, Father, teacher Warlock Lv2, Patronising but admires Xi
💢 Semele, Mother, teacher Warlock Lv2, Patronising but admires Xi
-Older brother, Klorax 6th Lv Warrior and officer of city army, Deeply loves Xi, has 3 young children married to arena family
-Older Sister, Semele a teacher and 2nd Lv Warlock, Respects Xi, has a young child married into a theatre family 

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Current adventure locations found/heard of/visited
1 Apollon's Bridge (pass to the east now open with two shrines and traders using)
2 Sphynx Canyon (pass to west)
3 Chimaera Pit (pass to north where various ancestors died)
4 Maidens Rock - strange temple cave cult of blind maidens
5 White Skull - moving frozen island of frost giants and wizards
6 Geryon Fields - a primordial giant keeps herds of cattle and has two-headed underworld dogs. Has various servants who serve him.
7 Cursed Labyrinth - full of minotaurs and monsters
8 Cave to the underworld - guarded by a rotating roster of beings sent by the gods
9 Hydra Rock - dangerous shipping hazard
10 Harpy Peak - the mountain top where harpies breed
11 Haunted Barrows - graves of ancients cursed by gods
12 Mysterious Towers - ruined towers of an ancient period, have a door to underworld

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So we had Aias and Kiren this session (hoping we get at least 4 next game and a bit more stable here in. Im using Dungeon Magazine 32, Hermes Bridge (I changed statue and made another identical complex in the second bridge structure).

Both met from locals at the port who had heard of both men's heroic and similar deeds, capturing the monster underworld dogs of Geryon. Aias had just had his brothers funeral with lots of wailing. They chatted in tavern and discussed various adventure hot spots and agreed the bridge of Apollon to open trade to the east might be worth a look. People had tried before but were distracted.

They met in the morning on the polis and asked at the temple of Heliod but didn't want to pay for scholar or blessings, so they just headed off to the east down the beach road. In mid-afternoon when uphill, they saw the ancient bridge shunned as haunted.

Walked to the first pylon structure shrine, and a troll stepped out, demanding cash. Wow, trolls are like triple as scary in 5th ed. They attacked it of course, with arrows and a hail of elemental punches. The troll was about a third burned, so it jumped the 50 foot drop into water (falling into water rules seem pretty harsh in 5th ed so I fudged it). Aias threw some cold spell zaps and made some ice but the troll duck dived and was gone. The first bridge shrine was for Apollon, the other for Phenax.

Up top, they came to the shrine and saw the troll's purse of coins. And a stone pot of coins in front of the statue. They saw the archaic statue of the light god and a panel in the floor. 
Kiren tried prayer with a holy symbol,l and the panel opened. The statue moved, a 16-foot-tall stone golem in a gods likeness. Aias threw some coins into the pot and the statue stopped. There was a drop, and the centaur climbed down into a shrine. They found a priests shrine with an ancient cult rod 1000gp and 300gp helmet (fragile relics) and a shiny magic heroic shield +1 +2 for Heliod worshipers. Kiren thought his brother would like it. They opened an old vault door where the money in the stone urn above would fall into and grabbed some drinking money.

The next level down they found a wet slimey landing and stairs into a flooded room. the troll attacked. As the party had taken quite a bit of time to get down here and were recovered they gave the troll a good beating and burned it with fiery punches. They did keep a burned arm in a sack to sell to the arena. Found more troll money and pearls.

the next pylon they knocked over some broken shrine structure to make it safer and found a urn if fine stone with pure water. Aias identified with a ritual it was healing waters, but if anyone defiled it or stole coins, not a priest, then a waterweird would form. Well, the guys made an offering and looked for an entryway. They had no knowledge of the right prayer, but the shrine was damaged and the magic was broken. They spent 30 minutes with partially improvised tools to open. Inside, they found a golden disguise magic mask (1 cast of disguise a day, but needs attunement. In the vault, they found a glass orb with purple swirling fog inside that is a lesser demon imprisoned by the god Phenax (wtf?). The bridge was cleansed and a magnificent red sunset covered the sky, a good omen.

Too late to go home, they visited the village of Psaras, where fishers and farmers lived. poorer than home, and the temple was smaller. In the tavern that evening, they got a room and heard eerie sea shanties in a strange language. The language of the undersea folk. The songs were about calling the sea friends to trade. They heard of a missing fishing boat and a sea monster, but rushed home in the morning. Sold a bunch of loot like the troll arm and relics of the light god. The priests of Heliod bought the evil orb to destroy, and so no other temples would buy them (maybe they would have to pay more).

A good outing. Im glad we tend to get home each session easily.

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Chagrinspire Session
Mostly concluding the Crystal crazed tomb robbing fun in "Tomb robbers of the crystal frontier".The main gist of this is an orc baggage handler of dead enemies followed party home. Also they Man-with-no-name brought home an ancient sky people sorceress princess bitch named Thuvia.

She saw Chagrinspire and seen how going home will be hard so she and her brother are living with the party and learning humility. Thuvia does want the party to move into the ground-floor of Chagrinspire into the palace of the ancient Master of The World from the apocalypse era. She is very supportive of the party conquering an empire for her to benefit from while in this dump of a sphere.

The party now very rich and into "name-level" adventurers, power will follow glory. The party priest is declared to be a Bishop and has dominion over the wasteland. His followers operate shrines all over the lands and even deal with dwarves. The-man-with-no-name is one of the top 3 guildmasters in the region and already wants to finish off all slaver linked guilds. Arsh the dog-man druid has been pushing for more fortifications. Players all considering mercenaries or freeing the region's slaves and absorbing into a new territory. The party have lots of non-human allies to call including Kobolds, Orcs and Frog folk. They have met plenty of gnomes who are not Black Spherists.

The turnip cult have a small force of protective turnip-kobolds and have called their god to live in their giant turnip temple. The cult thrived and killed a few yeti over the winter with their scarecrows and turnip-based plant creatures. The area around the party fortress is now called Turnipton.

The party have used the rail lines into the gnome city in the deep and back, but still needs to try the internal Chagrinspire the two corcscrew lines up and down, and the wasteland lines, which have continued to expand like a spider web since the apocalypse. There may be sealed and secret lines lost centuries ago or even before the war. 

Local factions and several border kingdoms know of the party and their civilising influence in the wastes. Rival scavenger guilds and the slavers guild hate the party and have bounties on the party for 50.000gp. The slavers have an army they might bring into the region. The alchemist guild could turn hostile which would lead to outright war.

Wednesday, 2 July 2025

More Shrine Fluff





































This is because I had a nice, thoughtful comment.
Money is nice, but comments are rare as hens tits around here and apreciated.
Please do comment occasionally, it often produces more posts.
(Please ignore this if you are an AI bot).

The evil tables also includes evil shrine as a type and includes a location table like the last post

d12 Wild Shrine Decor
1 Horn-shaped basket of fruit and vegetables
2 Wreaths of various leaves and flowers
3 Skull of a beast with spectacular horns
4 Wooden carved poles or maypole
5 Skulls in piles, in niches or hanging in bundles
6 Cauldron or stone basin or bowl (maybe with water or blood)
7 Whicker figures or humans or animals or scarecrows
8 Standing stone and/or stone altar
9 Spectacular tree or giant fungi
10 Niches in a rock or tree with small offerings (or skulls)
11 Rock art from simple patterns to script or relief rock art
12 Animals just hanging out

d12 Wild Shrine Trinkets
1 Branch of misstletoe, holly or oak
2 Bronze dagger or sickle
3 Bowls of herbs & mushrooms
4 Decorated bucket or c
opper cup
5 Snakes
6 Decorative stones
7 Copper ornate buckles
8 Bronze torc
9 Bones of a prehistoric beast
10 Bagpipes, horns, drums or other instruments
11 Morsels of tasty nuts or berries, or fruit in a bowl
12 Corn dollies or vegetal figurines

d12 Wild Shrine Grounds
Faerie rings of flowers or mushrooms
2 Stick figurines
3 Carved druid mark on tree or stone
4 Bugs, butterflies, snakes, rodents
5 Stone steps
6 Pool surrounded by plants and/or fungi
7 Spring grotto pool
8 Ancient trees or giant mushrooms
9 Campside with fire pit
10 Burial mounds
11 Dolmen
12 Stranding stones

d12 Village Shrine Decor
1 Crude, mass-produced, tiny painting of a saint or a god
2 Crude folk paintings on the  wall 
3 Decorated bucket or basin
4 Jars or vases of water, brass or ceramic
5 Ornate candlesticks of brass
6 Copper or tin decorated plate 
7 Crude statue or folk idol
8 Woven rug or banner on the wall
9 Many candlesticks
10 Decorated floor, carved or painted symbols
11 Small chest with offerings or ritual paraphernalia
12 Religious graffiti from pilgrims

d12 Village Shrine Trinkets
1 Some eggs
2 Tub or buckets of manure
3 Garden tools
4 Barrels of root vegetables
6 Plate of a ploughman's lunch
7 Kegs of beer
8 Butterchurn
9 Body awaiting burial in a shroud
10 Leg of lamb, sausages, pies or a dead rabbit
11 Wreaths of holly leaves
12 Chicken 

d12 Village Shrine Grounds
1 Several graves, possibly a small graveyard with fence
2 Stick folk figurines hanging somewhere
3 Graffiti marking of the faithful
4 Folk painting of the church story
5 Common animals on the threshold in a pen or chained
6 Holy symbol, possibly on a wooden sign
7 Barrels of fermenting beer or cider
8 Plants growing in neat beds
9 Herbs or other food bundled and drying, tied out of reach
10 Pile of beer bottles awaiting refills
11 posts for tying horses, possibly with a trough
12 Small sheds for storing local festival costumes

d12 Urban Shrine Decor
1 Gold candleabra or 
2 Stained glass windows
3 Stone font or basin
4 Paintings of nobles
5 Artistic carving in stone  
6 Text carving in stone
7 Decorated arch or niche
8 Ornate benches
9 Decorated pulpit
10 Organ, horn or other instrument
11 Statue of a divine being or beast
12 Reliquary or ossuary, or under the floor crypts

d12 Urban Shrine Trinkets
1 Bottle of wine 
2 Holy symbol
3 Sacred silver or gold chalices
4 Holy sceptre, rod, or staff
5 Priests' ornate ceremonial hat
6 Priests' robes on a peg
7 Plate or bowl of coins
8 Shield on the wall with coats of arms
9 Incense burner
10 Orate lantern
11 Silver statuette of a saint
12 Holy book

d12 Urban Shrine Grounds
1 Fountain or well
2 Stable sheds
3 Pilgrims' shacks or worker cottages
4 Hermits hole
5 Statues or gargoyles
6 Bench
7 Ornate garden, flowers or vegetables
8 Nice, trimmed lawn
9 Beehives and an orchard
10 Graveyard
11 Wall, some with castellation and tower
12 Porch with columns

d12 Evil Shrine Decor
1 Pit or well, or sinkhole
2 Altar and sacrificial weapon
3 Candles or a chandelier
4 Banner or tapestry
5 Niche of evil books and ritual paraphernalia
6 Chest of money and jewels, cursed and trapped
7 Torture niche or oubliette
8 Guardian beast niche and possibly chains
9 Idol of a planar being or monster
10 Cursed mirror or artwork
11 Cult graffiti, sigils and circles
12 Magical guardians like a living statue or invisible imp

d12 Evil Shrine Trinkets
1 Evil book or cult pamphlet
2 Decorated goat or bull skull
3 Hand size pet spider
4 Skull candle holder
5 Pipe and bowl of drugs
6 Erotic cult figurine
7 Whip or spiked mace
8 Exotic cult dagger
9 Bottle of poison or narcotics
10 Purse of 3d6sp
11 Silver chalices decorated with creatures
12 Evil holy symbol on a chain in silver

d12 Evil Shrines Locations
1 Graveyard crypt
2 Commoners basement
3 Sewer
4 Haunted house
5 Cave
6 Ruined building
7 Forest
8 Swamp
9 Field
10 Dungeon
11 Noble manour
12 Magic doorway to a magical place

d12 Evil Shrine Grounds
1 Secret door entrance
2 Cobwebs and dead shrubs
3 Thorn bushes or toadstools
4 Hooting owl or squeaky bats
 Concealed entrance
6 Enraged animals possessed by an evil spirit
7 Single, heavily fortified door
8 Murderholes in the ceiling or above the doorway
9 Concealed boobytraps
10 Rodents or other vermin, sometimes a swarm
11 Cult sign graffiti
12 Faeces and garbage

Sunday, 29 June 2025

Where do I get my alignment oaths?



I'm rewriting my homebrew rules on alignment again. At each level, a character can take an alignment oath, which gets them a gift and makes them more fanatic. One of my players (Dallas) in his own campaign modified this to having specific gifts and oaths being available as "Mysteries" from specific temples. This makes alignment a bigger game world feature and makes it more meaningful. I did have a campaign end 20 minutes into a session with a neat TPK. Actually, two were unconscious (and then wound up in prison), others were dead, and one grabbed all the loot from the party bodies and a donkey and ran away to live happily ever. after. It was super fun and very enjoyable, but it has never happened since. As always, encourage people to not be jerks to each other, but ethical debates between characters in an adventure are fine.

Gods and the powers impose alignment on humans, but don't necessarily use it themselves, and different sects of the same god might have different alignments. Ishtar shrines can be a nice fertility love goddess cult or a bloody war goddess cult or a shitty brothel. If alignment seems natural and inhuman, it is. And players can ignore it and be beholden to no cosmic jerks. They just don't get free superpowers.

You need a priest to help with making oaths, but they don't have to be from your religion. You just need someone to authorise a contract with your personal cosmic power. The priest often accepts a sacrifice but might demand a fetch quest with difficulty dependent on how much they like you. The higher power might also want a specific sacrifice.

Here are some tables to help generate a quick shrine. The bigger the population, the more choices you get. Popular gods are more popular, but there may be secret folk shrines in a basement or workshop.

These might also be reasons to adventure or travel.

In a city, you can ask anyone for a d4 shrine location.
In a village, people are more shy and might suggest one to strangers.
In the wilderness, you might need a map to find or directions.
Wilderness and village shrines might exist in the outer areas of a city or in poor areas.

Big modern buildings are for popular (or once popular) big religions.

Ancient monuments are shunned by modern churches but used by druids who adopted previous monuments of the ancestors.

Humble small shrines for commoners, often for petty or lesser gods used by commoners in everyday life and might not be acknowledged by the main church or elites. Some might be secretive.

You could use this for generating religious sites in any location.

Common shrines have humble fetch quests like find a pig or help the harvest or provide a feast on a holy day.

Rich Temples take cash and jewellery and can give change. They love rich clients. They might accept bribes to bump you in their busy schedule.

Village shrine keepers might be reluctant to deal with the rich.

Wilderness shrines are often run by hermits who would rather be left alone.

d12 City Locations (most with dedicated busy staff, but welcome pilgrims)
1 Park - might be an official memorial or shrine, or perhaps a homeless assemblage
2 Alley Shrine - often in alleyways or small squares with a small sculpture 
3 Shop Shrine - in backrooms of typical crafter's stores, usually for the industry
4 Sewer Shrine - out of the way and hidden 
5 Street Shrine - for locals with a part-time clergy visiting often with a small shelter and idol
Small Shrine - a small ornate shrine with a dedicated acolyte and a decorated structure
7 Large Shrine - with several dedicated priests on a pilgrim trail and a possible saint relic
8 Small Temple - with a 5th Lv priest with a few assistants and some ornate artwork
9 Large Temple - with a high-ranking priest and various staff serving hundreds or thousands
10 Cathedral - ornate, famous, huge church serving nobility and thousands of people, often one of the leading temples in a city 
11 Hermatige - where an order of monks or nuns live in seclusion, often ornate walled complex 
12 Seminary - a religious school or educational facility where clergy study 

d12 Village Locations (Many part-time and mostly for locals)
1 Field Shrine - used by locals among crops with a simple idol tended by a local
2 House Shrine - local commoner has a shrine in the house and looks after local needs
3 Cellar Shrine - under another building, under another building
4 Well Shrine - an idol built in a well or an underground chamber
5 Garden Shrine - an idol in someone's backyard garden
6 Tavern Shrine - for travellers, often in an outbuilding 
7 Animal Pen - idol in an animal yard 
8 Barn Shrine - a simple idol in a quiet corner
9 Shed Shrine - crude shrine in a small shed
10 Graveyard Shrine - sanctified ground with a simple idol
11 Village Shrine - official, deliberately built, small, humble shrine
12 Village Abbey - a small country church, some fortified with a tower

d12 Wilderness Locations (you might need to wait a while or choose holy days)
1 Sacred Tree - with carvings or a hollow, possibly decorated or huge ancient specimen
2 Cave Shrine - with relief rock art carved into walls and possibly a tomb or grotto
3 Cairn - a pile of rocks built as a landmark 
4 Monolith - a large standing stone, possibly with rock carving, perhaps created in a mythic event
5 Dolmen - a stack of stones, used to commemorate the ancestors
6 barrow Mound - an ancient barrow with an idol or shrine for commemorating the dead
7 Stone Circle - vary in size from small to titanic, from prehistory
8 Island Shrine - in a lake, river, or at sea, with a humble idol
9 Hermit Shrine - a crude shelter where hermits may live with a simple idol
10 Pilgrim Shrine - often a pilgrim shelter on a road with an idol
11 Mountain Top Shrine - with a difficult, exhausting trail
12 Crossing Shrine - where roads meet or people cross a river or stream