Hey all, I’m looking for 2 or 3 players for a new chapter in an ongoing campaign every other Friday at 7EST.
Hey all, I’m looking for 2 or 3 players for a new chapter in an ongoing campaign every other Friday at 7EST. This chapter will open in the small Alpine holdfast of Haven, a remote retreat for those who fought against their masters in the homunculus uprisings. Players will all portray sentient golems, homunculi, and spirits in ritually constructed bodies (or similarly artificial beings). If you’re interested, hit me up and we’ll chat to see if it’d be a good fit!
Madness!
Madness! A player attacked the party today in session and we were a bit flummoxed for running PVP. We mixed PC action and monster reaction in a way that I’m not totally satisfied with (we even nabbed trading conditions from Monster Hearts!). So we were all sort of surprised, and decided to run him off rather than kill him, but the player assured us that he’ll be coming back. Now we’re all big kids and can let the narrative lead the action, but I would like to know if anyone has any really good PVP rules that they tack on to DW.
Because inevitably, the party will end up at a bar.
Because inevitably, the party will end up at a bar. Ran these up for an unrelated project a few years back and just came across it again. May be helpful in a pinch. Cheers!
Short Random Fantasy Bar Name Table: Roll D10
1. Pig & Pie
2. The Old Dead Nag
3. Man’s Ruin
4. The Witch’s Teat
5. Blood & Bones
6. The Old Stump
7. The Felled Oak
8. Hemlock & Brandy
9. Crown & Thistle
10. Iron Nails & Red String
Lovecraft by way of Dungeon World?
Lovecraft by way of Dungeon World? I was listening to an actual play podcast of Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu system and was struck by the Gygaxian adversarial dynamic struck by the GM toward the PCs. In retrospect it’s something that may be baked in to the Chaosium system that goes about the business of horror by making life cheap and characters disposable and replaceable. For me it always did the opposite, preventing identification with the character and shunting me out of what I think Lovecraft did best- explore the interior landscapes of his wonderfully eccentric and damaged protagonists. It’s not so much that I need to see PCs in a Cthulhu game ‘win’, as to make space for them to descend into madness in the most satisfying way (one in which the players are complicit in the horror). So I thought about running Call of Cthulhu with some of the skills I’ve gathered from Dungeon World and new games like it, but then I got to wondering if Lovecraft could just be brought into DW. Defying Danger with WIS could be a simple sanity check, and there are lots of satisfying random neuroses tables out there. And building really horrible monsters and artifacts is facilitated by the system. Has anyone tried this? Any suggestions or cautions? Cheers.
Item feedback please!
Item feedback please! A few sessions ago my players convinced an NPC who was a part of a militant order of exorcists to join them on their travels. She carries the bound skull of a lich as her reluctant travelling companion. I have treated the skull as a bag of books 3x/session, that is not always cooperative, and sometimes asks for the sacrifice of small animals in return for information. That said, I’ve been feeling like I should maybe up the anti with something like:
When you consult the Lich’s Skull roll +CHA. On a 10+ take +1 forward on Spout Lore, as the Lich’s Skull shares it’s arcane secrets. On a 7-9 take +1 forward on Spout Lore, but the Lich’s Skull takes 1 hold on you. On a 6- the Lich’s Skull takes 2 hold, and tells you an awful truth. When the Lich’s Skull has 10+ hold on you, and every time the number of hold reaches 10+ roll Last Breath. If your character succumbs to death, the Lich’s Skull can now use your body as it’s own.
I’m considering adding Burning Wheel style ‘wises’ to persistent hirelings- broad based competencies like…
I’m considering adding Burning Wheel style ‘wises’ to persistent hirelings- broad based competencies like ‘sailing-wise’ or ‘hunting-wise’ which could present players with a topical +1 to Spout Lore when consulting the hireling in question. Any thoughts? Cautions? The idea is to encourage players to interact with party followers and help flesh out persistent NPC companions.
Hello!
Hello! What are folk’s favorite editable character sheets? We’re trying to do a better job arranging our documents and notes online. Cheers
A memorable guardian creature I used several sessions ago.
A memorable guardian creature I used several sessions ago.
NECROTIC BEHEMOTH Solitary, Huge, Construct, Undead, Terrifying
Bite and Rend (1D10+2 damage) 18HP 1Armor
A bulbous, balloon-like beast approximately 40 feet in diameter and 40 feet high, covered with the stitched-together skins of human corpses whose arms and legs flail like cilia enabling it to walk and strike out at its prey. It leaks black ichor from the orifices of the skins stitched together to make it’s surface.
Instinct: To crush them.
Heal by absorbing a corpse.
Grapple w/ multiple arms and then bite & rend
Smash them flat
Vomit tar to slow them down
Drench with tar to instill fear (Q: What is your greatest fear?)
It stood guard over a lost ruins, vine covered and deep in the jungle containing: 1. gold coins stamped with a skull 2. vials of ectoplasm 3. hungry mirrors which confront the party with your their murderous dopplegangers 4. a ruby ring that returns 1 point of health for every pint of blood the wearer drinks 5. some pre- triggered traps 6. a closed gate to the shadow plane 7. an empty altar
8. chittering shadows 9. an empty phylactery, a tome, and supplies necessary to become a lich 10. foul magics in a forgotten tongue
Enjoy!
Been listening to some great noir books lately, and was thinking that the paladin might play out well as an…
Been listening to some great noir books lately, and was thinking that the paladin might play out well as an empowered detective working for inscrutable spirits. Of course you’d need buy in from the group, but it might be a good way to veer the class away from the sanctimonious school marm role that it often defaults to. Any thoughts? The playbook moves seem to line up pretty well for a Felix Castor/ City and the City style magical noir.
Hey all, I’m running a campaign where the dead tend not to stay in the ground, and there’s an order of Sin Eaters to…
Hey all, I’m running a campaign where the dead tend not to stay in the ground, and there’s an order of Sin Eaters to make sure that they do. Recently a PC was initiated, so I’m piecing together my first Compendium class. I’d love some input on creating advance moves (or straight stealing advanced moves from other classes that seem appropriate). Cheers!
Compendium class Sin Eater,
When you are initiated by a member of the order, and make a deal with death to devote yourself to helping restless spirits pass beyond the world, you can take this move when you level: Basic moves 1. Minister to the Sick- Immune to disease 2. Last Rites- When you spend time administering to a corpse that corpse can not be raised 3. Member of the Order- other sin eaters will treat you as an ally until proven otherwise, and when you enter a settlement roll 2d6+cha, 10+ you will be provided a place to stay, meals and basic supplies. 7-9 you will be provided a dry place to sleep and a warm meal. 6- you will be called upon to take up arms for the order.
Advanced moves could go anywhere, from adding forceful and messy tags to attacks against undead, to dream sending (already established as a power of some other Sin Eaters). The compendium class will also require submission to all requests for aid by other Sin Eaters, or direct requests by anyone to give last rites.