Showing posts with label glog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glog. Show all posts

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Creature Commandos

 

by some megacorp, idk


AG! WHO ARE YOU?
    Creature Commandos is such a GLOG. In that, I mean it is about a modular, highly-lethal team of down-on-their-luck (imprisoned) weirdos. Sure, you’ve got the fairly standard honorable military leader character, Rick Flag, but you also have a murderhobo robot (but he only murders Nazis 😌), a fire elemental, a Gothic gunslinger, etc. You should watch it. Only seven episodes! I urge you to just try out the first two episodes.

WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
    It’s also watchable with basically no backstory needed. Sure, The Suicide Squad (2021) is a really good movie. And sure, Peacemaker, its sequel show, is a good, irreverent take on the cycle of trauma and toxic masculinity, but you don’t need to watch those to make sense of Creature Commandos. Suicide Squad but monsters. That’s it, that's the elevator pitch.

PLEASE LEAVE
    I have more spoiler-y thoughts, so I might write an analysis of the themes, both of the show overall and character-centric arcs. I’m not sure I’m going to post it for Internet People to look at, but if you watch/have watched it, let me know your thoughts about the show.
    It's not perfect, but I liked it.

ARE YOU GOING TO AT LEAST LEAVE SOMETHING GAMEABLE??
    No, fuck you, voice in my head.

Friday, January 3, 2025

Four More Strangers

    Four NPCs to encounter and interact with in deus ex parabola's setting the Unfinished World. It is highly recommended you read this post of his to understand what is happening.

    All artwork in this post was made by niosis. Go check out her blog.

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1. Guthild

    A Shee veteran of several mercenary campaigns all across the world. She generally fights for whoever will pay her the most, but will never fight for an Umbern interest, ‘cause fuck those guys. Now, Guthild is pursuing a mission in the local area. Her current mission can be whatever adventure the PCs are on. She is generally quiet, prone to violence, and serious.

    Stats. Guthild is a HD 2 Fighter B. Amongst other standard fighter equipment, she has a magic sword that she recovered from a dead green heretic during one of her mercenary missions. Named G_D GIVEN BEAUTY, it is a +1 greatsword of pure bronte steel. As an action, G_D GIVEN BEAUTY’s bronte color will bleed into Guthild’s skin, making the sword normal steel and giving Guthild the various properties of bronte (namely, natural AC 14 and powerful unarmed attacks). If she dies while in this state, the bronte returns to the sword. If the sword is broken while it is normal steel, Guthild will remain in her bronte state indefinitely.


2. Telesphorus

    Telesphorus is a short King at only 5' 6", a fact which causes him no small amount of violent rage. Luckily (?), he managed to channel this anger into graduating from the Academy as an Armature. He still ostensibly serves the Academy, but is trying to not-so-subtly find a bunch of treasure and get rich quickly. Telesphorus is generally boisterous, frustrating, and fond of drink.

    Stats. Telesphorus is a HD 2 Armature B, with none of the special Kingly bonuses. His Armature is of notably mediocre make, except for the Shoulder-Mounted Pepperbox that he calls his "King Blaster."

3. Isabel Barnier

    She carries the hunting bow for show—her real talent lies in the realm of black powder and gunmetal. Isabel is from Etroit, in Arel (see Go Team Evil! from what happened there), which is basically a cowboy town. She left home after the rise of a new dictator, traveling north to Aeshe, or perhaps Icorn. She's looking for enough power to enact revenge against those who wronged her people.

    Stats. Isabel is a HD 1 Gunwoman A. That's it. She's the most unremarkable one of this bunch, and she's quickly heading towards an unremarkable death.

4. Goodmanners Barbecue

    Goodmanners is a kindhearted adherent of the Yellow mask faith, which is described here. Notably, Goodmanners is not a Cleric or Paladin, he's just a altruistic Spider, but that's normal around here. He's trying to make a pilgrimage to all important holy sites, and appears most of the time as a well-intentioned tourist who relentlessly tries to convert you to his faith.

    Stats. As giant spider.

Monday, December 23, 2024

They Eat the Eyes

 


This post is inspired by Against the Wicked City's Unkindness class. This is just my attempt to ""convert"" it to the GLOG (or at least my version of the system). Go read the original class and the rest of the blog as well, then come back and read this.

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1d6 Potential Origins for the Unkind
  1. A nearly-forgotten and marginalized ethnic faith experiencing a revival.
  2. The raven-spirits took you in when the human world abandoned you.
  3. You suffered a near-death experience and mysteriously and suddenly became an Unkind.
  4. Your obsessive, life-destroying research on ravens finally paid off.
CLASS: UNKIND
Gain +1 HP for every Unkind template you possess.
A: Outcast, The Unkindness, +1 HRTS
B: Corpse-Chandler, +1 SNEK
C: Tough, +1 HRTS
D: Death Perception, +1 SNEK

Skills: 1) Hermit's Child 2) Ostracized Theologist 3) Physician 4) Orator 5) Street Urchin 6) Vengeful Outcast
Starting Equipment: as your system's ranger or cleric.

Outcast
You're a weirdo maybe-cannibal who consorts with suspicious birds. Every normal person will hate you and fear you if it comes out that you are among the Unkindness. This is at minimum a -1 penalty to reaction rolls involving you. If it comes out that you are Unkind, this becomes a -[level] penalty. Reaction rolls from most wizards, spirits, adventurers, and monsters do not suffer this penalty.

The Unkindness
You can speak fluently with ravens and other corvids in Kaw, their native language, albeit with a distinctly human accent.

You are also friends with a group of ravens which grows in number as you gain experience. At template A, you have 1d6 ravens who will scout for you. They will not risk their lives, and don't consider most other humans to be that important. They never learn human names except for yours (but you're special). If all these ravens die, next month 1d6 more will arrive.

At template B, you instead roll 2d6+1 for your monthly raven amount.

At template C, you roll 3d6+2 for your monthly raven amount, and your raven-friends will now risk their lives to fight and die for you. You might also occasionally receive a side mission from the ravens for bonus XP. This mission is always beneficial to them and detrimental to humans in some way.

At template D, you roll 4d6+3 for your monthly raven amount. You learn the secret of the ravens' death perception (see below).

Corpse-Chandler
Through a day of ritualistic work, you may transform a dead human body into three corpse-candles, which all together take up a slot. You may light them with an actual flame or with just a glance, but once lit they cannot be unlit without being destroyed. A corpse-candle will burn for half as long as a normal candle, but casts an eerie half-light that reveals shiny treasures within 10' of it regardless of obscuring features such as walls or containers.

Tough
If you use G24, you only take lethal damage after reaching the negative equivalent of your maximum HP.

If you use some other GLOG, I don't know, ask your GM to make it so you're harder to kill. Tell them I sent you.

Death Perception
The gift of death perception was given to the first ravens and now it is given to you. If you consume the eye of any dead creature, you can see their final moments (~12 seconds) from their perspective. This is a purely visual experience, so no sounds or thoughts. If you eat two eyes, you gain double the amount of time in relived moments, &c.

This gift only works with corpses. Don't eat the eyes of someone living, that's very rude.

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Rather the Exception (More Ogres)

    An ogre expansion pack for Spiceomancy’s excellent Ten Ogres post. Always remember, the world is too vast and too terrible for one law to rule over all.


Necromancer
An ogre who is not giant.
    It is said that Necromancer cheated his way into the underworld and stole the Necronomicon from Hades, and from its pages gleaned how to control the dead. Because of his size, he can blend in with the crowds of humans that now rule the earth and influence them. Going by names such as Vecna, Nyarlathotep, and Bony Bob, Necromancer spreads lesser, incomplete copies of the Necronomicon throughout the world so that his patented craft can be practiced by mortals.
    Only he among the ogres on this list actually wants to return to the age of the giants. Necromancer seeks the ruin of the human species so that the gigantocene era may once again grace Earth. He thinks he’s a lot smarter than he actually is, however, and every one of his dozens of intricate plots have been stopped so far by the Church’s super-secret arcane fire teams.
    A few of those fire teams have even managed to kill Necromancer, but he always returns a few years later sporting a new stitched-up scar. Necromancer can currently be found in Chicago, where he is attempting to start another necromancy pyramid scheme.

HD 5* (supernatural); armor as unarmored; 4 MD necromancer

Cityback
An ogre who is not human.
    There is a rumor that in the elder days, when the Kinslayer was hunting her brothers, one of the more cunning Giants ripped his soul out of his body and stuck it in the heart of a town. This town — the first town, really — later grew to become a city, and then a metropolis. In this way, Cityback was reborn as an ogre.
    Cityback invented all the bad things about cities: pollution, crime, getting stuck in traffic, etc. He gleefully inflicts these woes upon the cities he is a part of, which is to say, all of them. The body of Cityback is not an ogre’s body, but the totality of all urban settlements across time and space. It is Cityback’s metaphysical connection with cities that allows wizards and other nasty creatures to travel between metropolises across spacetime in just a few hours.
    Of course, passage through the Cityback requires tribute…

HD ??? (how the hell are you going to fight a city?); armor as fuck you

Erelim
An ogre who is not a monster.
    Erelim is an ogre who, after going through a midlife crisis for a couple centuries, decided to repent for his and his kin’s evil. After completing the seven trials given to him by the Superpope, Erelim was ceremonially locked into a suit of deformed golden armor and designated a high-ranking paladin.
    Now, he fights for the Good. He kills with a prayer for the victim’s soul on his lips. He fights demons, undead, and unspeakable horrors all in the name of protecting the weak. He is feared and respected by his fellows in equal measure, but never loved. He does not ask them for their love. He does not need it. He will continue his killing-work in the name of his brother-ogres, to redeem them all.

HD 5*; armor as warded plate; holy gigasword 1d12+1/1d12+1

Warforged
An ogre who is not a man.
    The first autonomous warforged, properly named Warforged Unit 0001, was a humanoid robotic killing machine animated by a trapped ogre soul. Released onto numerous radiation-stained battlefields in WWIII, Warforged proved to be equivalent to a whole contingent worth of soldiers. That was until the ogre soul took real control over the automaton and started murdering friendlies.
    It was with a heavy heart that 0001’s creators activated its failsafe protocol and teleported it to Mars. After a little bit (216 years) of service to the local Martians, they decided to grant its request and teleported Warforged back to Earth so that it could take its revenge.
    Now, Warforged wanders the planet, the last knight of a long-forgotten war.

HD 5*; armor as plate; chainsaw sword 2d6, fist 1d12/1d12

Sahuagin
An ogre who lives in the seawater.
    Not a true dragon, despite what he’ll try and tell you. Shark-like in body and temperament, Sahuagin can only infrequently go upon land to eat people. When he’s not Jaws-ing beachgoers, he’s vacationing in the arctic regions of the world, resting, and admiring the northern lights.
    The lights! Sahuagin has always been fascinated by those shimmering celestial ribbons and, when not hunting, has dedicated his life to finding out their secrets. So far he has discovered that they are a form of communication, although with what he does not yet know. Sometimes, he hires low-level mercenaries to acquire things for him in the human world. Then, of course, he eats them, but he likes to think of it as their final contribution to his science.
    All in all, he’s just your average obsessive ogre-shark scientist.

HD 5*; armor as chain; stats otherwise as giant shark


Saturday, June 8, 2024

Grimoire of Fog

Thanks to PRIMEUMATON for a spell idea and the phrase "damsel of distress."


When you first study the Grimoire of Fog, learn the Fog spell below. Studying the Grimoire should take a certain unit of time, but that unit's length depends on your campaign's structure and scope.

Fog — summon a cloud of thick magical fog that lasts for [sum] rounds and obscures about a 30’ diameter. At 2 [dice], the fog lasts [sum] minutes, reduces enemy movement by 10’ while inside it, and covers about a 40’ diameter. At 3 [dice], the fog lasts [sum] hours, reduces enemy movement as above, and covers about a 80’ radius. At 4 [dice], the fog lasts for [sum] days, blinds enemies and reduces their movement by 20’, and covers about a 160’ radius.

For every subsequent time you study this Grimoire, roll 1d10 on the list below and learn that spell.

1. Sticks and Stones — requires a stick and a stone, which the spell transforms into a light, long dagger of sylvan gold that lasts [sum] minutes before shriveling up into rose-colored dust. At 2 [dice] or more, the dagger is instead a medium sylvan gold longsword. (Note: sylvan gold has +2 to-hit and damage against ugly things and uncharismatic people, but has -2 to-hit and damage against beautiful things and charismatic people. Any tool of sylvan gold always breaks on a natural 1 or 2.)

2. Glamor — requires a mask. Invest a specified amount of MD in the mask, which then gives you +[dice] Charisma when worn. The mask is invisible when worn but can be dislodged with a solid sucker punch. You detect as a fairy while wearing the mask.

3. Spook — anyone that can see you turns pale with nameless terror. Enemies who can see you immediately make a morale check with a -[dice] penalty. Named enemies must make a save with a -[dice] penalty. At 3 [dice] or higher, everything must make a morale check, including plants, buildings, objects, etc.

4. Liar, Liar — you can see lies as blue mist for [sum] minutes/hours/days/years. This includes not only spoken lies, but also false forms and invisibility.

5. A Gardener’s Dream — requires a few drops of gardener’s blood, a gold crown, and a tree sapling. The crown and blood are absorbed by the tree. After the spell is cast the tree grows to maturity in 2d6 - [dice] days. If the result of this roll is 0 or a negative number, the tree grows to maturity in a few seconds. When mature, the Gardener’s Dream provides access to some sort of other plane. I don’t know, ask your GM. Some suggestions are the Gardens of Ynn, the Feywild, and the realm of dreams. This spell only supports one Gardener’s Dream at a time.

6. Grudge Spear — summons an ancient spear with an iron spearhead that does +[dice] damage to one specific person. The grudge spear lasts [sum] minutes and cannot fumble.

7. Traveler in the Mists — calls the Jack of Roads, a 9 HD fairy who appears to be a short man in rags, with a floating clump of luminescent blue fog instead of a head. He is wheedling, cunning, and open to haggling. He may instantly teleport the caster and whoever they are touching to any place covered in fog within [sum] miles. He takes one of your MD when you summon him. You may get it back through a hefty bribe of good alcohol or food.

8. Hungry, Hungry Moths — magical moths appear on a target of your choice and eat through [sum] random inventory slots in a few moments, destroying nonmagical items, currency, armor, etc.

9. Damsel of Distress — summon a beautiful memory-stained Damsel of Distress, who has stats as a vampire who drinks your dreams and fears instead of your blood. This feeding is apparently a terrible sensation, deals [dice]d4 damage and there’s a [dice]-in-6 chance of madness being put in your head. Notably, this spell does not guarantee the Damsel’s allegiance at all.

10. Teeth and Nails — requires a loose door, two teeth, and a book. All of these are taken by the cruel Jack of Wolves, who sends you [sum] - [dice] fairywolves (stats as intelligent wolves with the ability to teleport to somewhere within sight once per day). Roll reaction with a +[dice] bonus. The lower the result, the more likely the fairywolves are to run free and cause chaos. The higher the result, the more likely the fairywolves are to do the summoner’s bidding. They dissolve into piles of old leaves in [dice] hours, or when killed. Getting 0 or a negative result when rolling for the number of fairywolves means you instead receive a hyperactive fairywolf cub.

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Best GLOG Posts of 2023

     What the hell, another year has passed? I guess it's time to do another roundup of the best GLOG posts of the last year. All images are from their respective blogposts, and all opinions are objective.

Past Years:

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BEST ADVENTURE: Ghosts So Quiet by Phlox


    I've always appreciated what Phlox calls a "Gygaxian version" of history, so it's natural Ghosts So Quiet makes it on my list. This hexcrawl of the British Isles is tightly-packed with enough materials for a campaign or two, full of Victoriana, vampires, and the English. I ran a fun oneshot in Ghosts So Quiet, where the disposable characters ran around London and assassinated the rival to an English vampire.
    I highly recommend you check this hexcrawl out for its wealth of material and well-executed concept.

BEST DELTA: Inadvisable Decisions by Locheil


    All is not right with the night sky. The darkness between the stars, it crawls and shifts. Inadvisable Decisions is a collection of related delta templates themed around corruptive alienism. Form a theory on the nature of grues. Summon the Headless Oracle. Get lost in the hidden corners of reality forever. Find oblivion.
    Although technically for Aclas, Loch's industrial fantasy setting, it is adaptable for any setting and a source of creepy inspiration.

BEST SYSTEM: Copper GLOG by Arnold K


   Ever wanted to play a simple game of GLOG in a short amount of time? Arnold K (hi goblinpope) has you covered. Created in one day, Copper GLOG requires only a single coin. I actually played several "sessions" of Copper GLOG and found it satisfactory. It's easily hackable and good at passing time while you're traveling between realities.

BEST MODULAR PIECE OF LORE: VVIZARDRY by PRIMEUMATON


    Arum, the primordial caveman wizard, bringer of fire, is a great idea by PRIMEUMATON. Helped along by the author's wit and willingness to go along with this absurd concept, Arum barely managed to beat these other GLOG wizard-kings (who are also cool). You can easily insert Arum and his Stone Blade Men into your campaign setting or a random dungeon to add flavor.
    I think this post is good because of its unique concept.

BEST NON-CASTER CLASS: Armature by deus ex parabola


    Have you ever felt the urge to play a walking tank with a chainsaw sword and 24 strength? Well, now you can! The Armature is an Unfinished World class but is... well, not "easily adaptable"... if your GM is cool they'll let you play it.
    I think this post is good because of... y'know what, I don't need to justify myself to you of all people. Go read it.

BEST CASTER CLASS: Ring-Bearer by Kachow


    I like stealing ideas from fiction to put into my RPGs, and Kachow is apparently of the same mind. His Ring-Bearer class maintains the balance between being easily customizable (why not necklaces or swords instead of rings?) and staying true to the archetypal character. His slight tweaking of Magic Dice to Corruption Dice has a small but notably positive effect on the class's succinct characterization.

BEST CLASS WITH UNIQUE MECHANICS: Counselor by Vivanter


    I find this concept really interesting. You are rewarded for not killing people (something Locheil's Angelologist class also rewards) and your main ability is not related to combat or magic. At template B, you gain "Discerning Eye", which further adds to your repertoire of atypical abilities. The Counselor represents a unique fantasy combined with differing abilities.

BEST CLASS WITH UNIQUE FLAVOR: Braid by TheFirstGokun


    TheFirstGokun was hard at work in 2023 creating the setting of Cath Celdaenn, a massive weird fantasy city ruled by a divine tree. He released a series of classes (including the Urbanist) and while they were all great, the best is the Braid, the Captiol Tree's chosen agent. He manages to weave together a coherent and beautiful class from several different aesthetic and design choices.
    In other words, I want to play a magic tree mathematician princess.

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Live By Them, Die By Them

MyCKs


    The tengu is a wild spirit of violence and death, preferring isolation and hermitage in hidden mountaintop monasteries and secluded, mist-covered valleys. Their appearance varies: most of the time they are flightless bird-like humanoids, but they also come in dog-like and flighted bird-like variants. They are universally master swordsmen, able to perform supernatural feats of blade work, and are thus regarded as some of the best teachers of the fighting disciplines.
    Those who would seek one out should be wary, however. It is known that if you fail a tengu’s test of strength (usually made up on the spot), you shall be forever turned away, or, more likely, sliced into teeny, tiny pieces.

TENGU
HD: 4 (22 HP)
AC: 14 (warrior reflex)
Attacks: two +3 sword attacks OR 2x +1 unarmed attack 1d4
Move: 40' normal, 35% chance of having a flying speed of 20'

Inventory: 1d4 swords of varying make (see below), fearsome battle mask.
Mien: vain, viciously cunning, wise.
Goal: to kill the weak and train the strong, to be alone.

Parry: A tengu may parry an incoming melee attack as a reaction once per round, reducing incoming damage by 3.

Killer of CowardsTengus disdain the use of magic and refuse to use it. They have a +2 on Saves versus Magic, and have an additional +1 to hit full casters.

Kensei: Once per day, a tengu may turn swords. Treat the HD of the wielder as the HD of the sword for purposes of the turning attempt. Magic swords may have bonus HD. Swords with HD fewer than 3 are turned, while swords with HD fewer than 1 are destroyed.

cobaltplasma

On a Tengu's Tools
    Tengus love swords. They like to meticulously explain every single detail of a particular blade right before killing someone with it. They are collectors and connoisseurs, snatching them from the corpses of prospective students.  Folklore also mentions that a few tengu (maybe a 10% chance) will trade a free apprenticeship for a particularly rare sword, though mentioning this upfront to a tengu is likely to get you screeched at and stabbed.
    A tengu starts with 1d4 swords. For each sword, roll type and material.

1d6 Sword Types
  1. Katana. A medium blade that lets you add your initiative bonus to your first attack's to-hit and damage.
  2. Wakizashi. A small blade typically used by a samurai as a secondary weapon or status symbol.
  3. Nodachi. A heavy blade.
  4. Naginata. A medium blade that has the properties of a spear, if that matters in your system.
  5. Longsword. A medium blade from a faraway land.
  6. THREE WORD SWORD. A sentient blade with varying properties.
1d10 Sword Materials
  1. Steel. Functions as normal.
  2. Bronze. Easy to repair when broken.
  3. Silver. Can hurt ethereal creatures and reverts shapeshifters to their true forms.
  4. Obsidian. Breaks on a roll of minimum or maximum damage.
  5. Chardun. Described here.
  6. Meteoric Iron. If broken, randomly teleports the user 60'.
  7. Ossgold. Described here.
  8. Titanium. A purified version of iron. Destroys the souls of its victims.
  9. Adamant. Described here.
  10. Roll twice and combine the two.
Anato Finnstark

On a Tengu's Students
    If you can get past all its trials and challenges, a tengu is a valuable teacher. If you train with a tengu for a season, you may choose one of the following: gain +1 to-hit with swords, or, if you have enough XP, gain a template in your local Fighter class. Regardless of what you pick, you also gain a cool scar (describe its location and the story behind it) and now know 1d4-1 fellow students of the tengu. Use this generator to ascertain their details.

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

My Sky My Hour My Night

    In this post I steal from my betters, namely RowanAMon of The Bottomless Sarcophagus. I highly recommend you check out his two posts on the White and Red forms of elves to read about his unique take on a classic fantasy species.
    All art in this post is by hoooook.

A White Elf.

White Elves
    As a White Elf, you get a +1 bonus to your Intelligence score (or +2 SKLL if you're playing G20) at character creation. Additionally, you may speak and write Elvish, a highly complex language with several layers of symbolic meaning hidden in every word. Most mortals will have no idea what you are saying, but other elves and spirits might.
    Your outdated immune system means that you suffer a -4 penalty to saves versus disease, infection, and mutation.

An elf in their terrible Red form.

Red Elves
    You get a +1 bonus to your Charisma score (or +2 SAVE) if you are a Red Elf. As a tough and sexy bastard, you start with an additional +2 HP (or the equivalent in a different system).
    Red Elves are flighty and violent creatures, however. Whenever you are disrespected or slighted by someone new, save versus animalistic rage. The GM may also call for you to save versus rage if you are grievously insulted, even if it's by someone you already know.

The Red Queen, the goddess who both saved
and cursed the elven species.


Friday, November 3, 2023

The Sea Hag

    A patron for your necromancer character, a local source of dead or lost knowledge, a creepy encounter, etc.

---

SunderedWorldDM

    She lives on a small rocky islet off the eastern coast. There, in a half-ruined tower of shattered glass and rusted steel, she practices some of the last remaining magic in the world. The journey is difficult, but you manage to finally reach her wretched abode.

Who are you?
  1. A Zouave with a haunted, bloody past. You seek the shade of your murdered loved one, to learn who killed them so that you may enact vengeance.
  2. A Hedge-Knight desperate for wealth and glory. You seek a legendary magic sword said to be hidden in the witch's lair.
  3. An ambitious, arrogant Sword King. You seek a dead king's crown to cement your rule.
  4. A Divided who seeks to learn the dread art of raising the dead. Army of zombies, anyone?
    You trudge through the murky, knee-high water within the witch’s tower. Various corpses, all without arms, are strewn about the muck. You had heard from the townspeople of the neighboring village that she wears masks to commune with the shades of the dead, and to let them communicate through her.
    It isn’t until you see her, shrieking to herself on her throne of dead, waterlogged hands, that you truly believe them.

What mask is the witch wearing when you meet her?
  1. The white mask of the child. While wearing this mask, she is eager and curious about the outside world and will not initiate violence.
  2. The black mask of the skull. While wearing this mask, she speaks in an aggressive, guttural voice. She really wants to kill you.
  3. The purple mask of the elder. While wearing this mask, she speaks in an old woman’s voice, and is far more willing to talk and negotiate.
  4. The yellow mask of the serpent. While wearing this mask, she hisses wordlessly like a snake. She is hungry, so hungry.
Wizards of the Coast, idk

    You ask the masked witch to give you what you seek. The hag is not known for giving out things for free, however.

What does she want?
  1. The skull of another witch. You don't want to know.
  2. Your voice in a jar. Lose your ability to vocalize and 1 point of CHA.
  3. A hulking creature of bone and muscle is lurking in the wilderness on the island. Destroy it.
  4. A rare book or text in a dead language.

---

    Wait, you want to fight her? Well, in that case, she has 4 HD, natural armor as leather, claw attacks twice, each as a dagger. She also has 2 points of damage reduction against spells, 3 MD, and access to any necromancy spell you deem necessary. The goal of killing her is made harder by the fact that she has hundreds of undead hands in her tower that she can animate with a thought.
    Perhaps you'd like to hire some strangers to help you with the task?

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Four Strangers

     Four strangers to interact with in the city and/or hire as expendable bodies.

1. Aega
Roman Kupriianov

    A young blond woman with a lot of physical energy and verbal tics. Aega is anxious, inexperienced, and secretive about her past. She pursues a goal determined by the Aega’s Secret table.
    Stats. Using The Monster Overhaul, Aega has the stats of a Mercenary (pg. 24) and can perform two Feats of Strength (pg. 17) per day.

Aega's Secret (1d4)
  1. She's a Fleshgod Inheritor. Her unnatural strength comes from her body adapting to the fleshgod skin she ate. Her goal is to seek out more godflesh and secure her Cosmic Cyst.
  2. She's a runaway witch desperate to escape coven life. Her goal is to avoid the coven's agents and make enough money adventuring to be set for life.
  3. She's a mutant who was banished from her rural-living, superstitious family. Her goal is to fix herself so that her family will love her.
  4. She's a cultist who worships an entity of changing flesh and primal violence. She was sent out into the wide world to serve as a secret agent. Her goal is to recover one of the cult's sacred items from a guarded location.

2. Baron
FabianMonk

    An old man whose body is lean with well-earned scar and muscle. Baron is serious and quietly cruel. He has formed a habit of taking psychedelics after adventures. His goal is to become strong enough to get revenge against a person in power who killed his family.
    Stats. Baron is a 3 HD Rotless B with Feats of Agility and the Hammer Fists technique. He has leather armor, a sword, a greatsword, and ALL TOWERS FALL, a +1 magic longsword of meteoric iron decorated in bloody hieroglyphics. It is intelligent, tending towards violent nihilism.

Baron's Target (1d4)
  1. Lord Sebastian Thorngale, an insane aristocrat who killed Baron's family in a fit of uncaring madness. He lives in a haunted woodland manor a few days travel away from the city.
  2. Lord Tarrigan-on-Burl, an all but confirmed practitioner of dread necromancy. He uses his massive wealth and influence to cover up his crimes.
  3. Dame Roalda, a knight with a dark reputation for slaughter and pillaging.
  4. A mysterious Rotless swordswoman. She is trying to cultivate Baron into a worthy opponent, and started his journey by killing his family.

3. Wickedness Upon The Earth
The Nothic's Eye

    A tall, imposing woman who rarely speaks. Wickedness is violent, fond of baking, and very spiritual. She grew up as one of the only children in a remote monastery and isn't very good at picking up common social cues. Her goal is to find a sacred artifact (determined by the Sacred Artifact table) and take it to her monastery.
    Stats. Wickedness is a 1 HD Wizened Paladin A with good physical stats and absolutely terrible WIS.

Sacred Artifact (1d4)
  1. The Dream Nail. Lost in the currents of history.
  2. The Crow Idol. A foot-tall idol of onyx stone with two citrine eyes. Blood appears to be dripping from its eyes. It’s shaped like a crow. Legend states that a spirit is trapped in the Crow Idol. Currently in the hands of Caligula, a nasty ogre.
  3. EMPTY THRONE MILLENIUM. Currently in the hands of a heretical mage at the bottom of a very, very deep well.
  4. GNAW ON STONES. Currently volunteering at a museum.

4. Moneybag Emoji
needlesslycryptic

    A handsome man of indeterminate age dressed in a fashionable black suit. His eyes glow faintly red, blazing crimson in times of high stress. Moneybag is charming, manipulative, and always willing to make a deal. His goal is simple: make a profit. Anything or anyone who stands in the way of that is an obstacle to be eliminated.
    Stats. Moneybag Emoji is a 2 HD "human" skilled in law, rhetoric, astrology, and music.

What is Moneybag Emoji? (1d4)
  1. Moneybag is just a really bad person, obviously. He provides crooked counsel to help himself first, you fourth or fifth.
  2. Moneybag is a devil, obviously. He is weakened, having been chased out of Hell for a minor contractual breach. Even though he is an expatriate, Moneybag still hungers for souls...
  3. Moneybag is a wizard, obviously. Wizards are always doing weird shit, no explanation needed.
  4. Moneybag is a puppet body being controlled by a magical cat, obviously. The felines of the Chamber need an agent in place to make local events go their way.

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Lightning Deep in My Bones (Class: Deku)

I dunno, just wanted to feel productive. I also liked the idea of character-as-class, so here's one about Deku from My Hero Academia.

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cherrybombs4567
Starts like this.

Character-as-Class: Izuku Midoriya
Inventory: Hero costume (as leather). Reinforced gloves (as daggers, but can't really manipulate anything). Burning, self-destructive desire to be a hero (+3 bonus on mental saves).
Skill: 1) Persuasion 2) Pain Tolerance 3) Power Analysis.

+1 to-hit every odd template, +10' of movement every even template.
A: One For All, There Is Another
B: Steel Gaze
C: Channeling
D: Full Power Smash

    A Quirk of unimaginable power flows through your veins, letting you vastly increase your bodily toughness and might. You have [templates + 1] OFA points. You can spend a point to critically succeed on a STR or CON check, or enter Full Cowl mode for the duration of a combat encounter. When in Full Cowl, you take half damage from all attacks and must attack someone each round. If the closest target is an ally, you may Save to end Full Cowl early.
    You can regain an OFA point by having a major celebration with friends or by staying up all night training/brooding on your many enemies.

    You have many enemies, but this one stands above the rest. A Nemesis, great in both power and potential, opposes you and your disgusting Heroism. You will meet, eventually. Fate demands it. The tracker for your meeting begins at 1-in-100.
    Add +1 each in-game day after the initial session, +1 every time you spend a OFA point, and +5 when you defeat a significant villain. Every session, roll 1d100. If under the current number, the Nemesis knows of your location and will be upon you in 1d10 in-game days.
    No matter when you meet them, your Nemesis is always the same level as you and specifically out to end you.

    You can project an aura of intimidating determination at will. While active, nameless mooks and dumb animals will avoid initiating conflict with you, and any Villain who cares to look at you will instantly know you are a Hero to be reckoned with.

Channeling
    You body has managed to acclimate itself fully to One For All, letting you use some of its power without entering Full Cowl. You unarmed attacks deal 1d6 damage instead of 1 damage.

Full Power Smash
    If a great deed of Heroism is needed, you will rise to the occasion. You may wreck one of your non-necessary limbs (one of your arms or one of your legs) to gain a +10 bonus to an attack. On a hit, the attack deals an additional 10 damage.
    Without healing magic or modern medical technology, your limbs are wrecked and unusable. If you have access to either of the above, healing takes about two weeks. With access to powerful healing magic or advanced medical technology, the healing still takes at least 2d6 hours.

HEXAMENDLE
Ends like this.

Monday, April 17, 2023

The First Hero

    Long ago, when the earth was young and vibrant and the sun was not dimmed by the imperfections of age, there was a man. He was a farmer, average in all matters except one: ambition.
    He was gripped with the ravenous desire for money, sex, fame, and power. Against the wishes of his family, he dropped his tools and picked up a sword.
    And so the first adventurer was born.

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Dominik Mayer
Shining as bright as the morning stars

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    The cultists of the Red God have a mantra:

What is power but burning fire
Destroying, illuminating, all-consuming
And if fire is power
What greater king than the sun?

    You know better.

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    Eternal Uruk's walls are all but dust, and its king reduced to presiding over a phantom court. However, great power is still held in the king's timeless grasp. You could do well to serve him.
    If a character has the proper means and intent, they can make a pact with The First Hero. The character disappears into the ethereal planes for a season, swapping their highest template for template A in a new gold-based caster class. Personally, I would alter the already-made Plutocrat class.

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Alexandre Chaudret
A servant of the king of kings

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    His personal name is Gilgamesh and he appears as a specter of handsome golden light. He is arrogant, seductive, and confident. As a Binder's spirit, he functions as a Great Beauty and a Millionaire. He has the unique ability to conjure a +1 sword into existence as a major favor. At template C, this changes to a +2 sword.

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A. Shipwright
You are brighter than the sun

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Inspirations for this post:
  • Gilgamesh from the Fate franchise, who happens to be one of my favorite characters in fiction.
  • The deadly sin of pride.
  • Dragons are murderhobos by TheFirstGokun.
  • My players, who are constantly thirsty for blood and grasping for gold.