I love the idea of not just a single ancient tomb, but an entire necropolis of dangerous adventures. I also would like to have quite a few of them in my new campaign setting. So I came up with some quick random generation tables. These are easily customized for other settings and are good for hex crawl type adventures.
The Imperial homeland has many resting places for the dead. Most common is the official Imperial Necropolis but the New Faiths have their pyramids as well. Each necropolis is a sprawling complex of tombs, statuary, archives, temples, funerary vaults, workshops, shrines, and pilgrimage hosting. Each one has a famous dominant spirit who gives the place its character. Some spirits are hostile, insane, or malicious, others are more mellow and even helpful on occasion.
A necropolis is a big place and will have quite a few important features. The mix of features varies from place to place and so here is a method to help do a quick build:
Step 1: Presence (two 1d6 rolls)
Notoriety (roll 1d6)
1 = Lost & Forgotten (-4 to find)
2-3 = Obscure (-2 to find)
4 = Minor (no find modifier)
5 = Well Known (+1 to find)
6 = Famous (+2 to find)
Size (roll 1d6)
1 = Small (-1 to all Feature die rolls below)
2-4 = Medium (no modifier)
5-6 = Big (+1 to all Feature die rolls below)
Step 2: Features (1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, and 1d12)
Character (1d4)
1 Deeply Spiritual
2 Creepily Spooky
3 Relentlessly Insidious
4 Viciously Malicious
Temples (1d6; once for how many, again for what type is each)
1-4 Imperial Ancestor Cult
5-6 New Faiths deity, typically Anubis but sometimes Bastet, Mayet, or Thoth
Gardens/Plazas (1d8; once for how many, again for each one to determine the prominent feature around which it is centered)
1 - statue of a deceased emperor
2 - statue of a New Faith god
3 - cenote/moon pool
4 - fountain
5 - ancient obelisk or primitive menhir
6 - Yin-Yang tablet array
7 - eternal "flame"/illusionary display
8 - mysterious divine or arcane gate thing
Archives & Workshops (1d10)
1 - Mummification
2 - Incense refining
3 - Alchemy lab
4 - Scriptorium
5 - Library
6 - Archive
7 - Woodworking (coffins)
8 - Weaving (shrouds, banners, curtains, biographical tapestries)
9 - Metalworking (iron and bronze fixtures and furnishings)
10 - Distillery (ceremonial wines and alcoholic spirits)
Graveyards, Catacombs & Crypts (1d12 for how many; d6 for type of each)
1-2 Catacombs (underground passages)
3-4 Graveyard (surface graves)
5-6 Crypts (aboveground structures; 1-in-6 chance of New Gods pyramid)
Monday, March 20, 2017
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Simple Unpredictable Magic for OSR Gaming
Okay, so I sort of lied there in the title. You could use this with almost any game with fantasy magic in it. I made up these tables to go with Old School Hack/Neo School Hack but then realized you could apply them to plenty of other rules sets.
One complaint I have always had with D&D, and D&D based games, is the predictability of magic casting. Sure, there are a few spells where a random roll is involved, but usually the spell is cast and the effect occurs without needing a roll. This never felt right to me. Also, certain magic items should become less of a sure thing over time. Those potions are magical but after centuries or even millennia sitting in a chest in some tomb they might well go bad.
So here are some simple d12 based tables for potions, scrolls, and spellcasting to keep everyone on their toes.
Potions (roll 1d12)
1: Toxic! No magical effect, but drinker suffers one wound
2: Flat! No magical effect happens
3 - 11: Shazam! It worked!
12: Mana Rush! Magical effect works and drinker gains 1 Awesome Point
Magic Scrolls (roll 1d12)
Anyone can read a magic scroll if they know the language it's written in. In the case of a holy or unholy scroll, the reader must also at least partially share the same alignment as the deity to whom the scroll is dedicated.
1: Rebuke!/Backlash! No magical effect, scroll crumbles into dust, and reader suffers one wound
2: Mis-read! No magical effect happens but you can try reading the scroll again later
3 - 11: Praise and Glory!/Shazam! It worked!
12: Mana Rush! Magical effect works and reader gains 1 Awesome Point
Magic Casting (roll 1d12)
1: Rebuke!/Backlash! Casting fails, the spell is expended, and caster suffers one wound
2: Botched! Casting fails, but the spell is not expended and you may cast it again later
3 - 11: Praise and Glory!/Shazam! It worked!
12: Mana Rush! Magical effect works and caster gains 1 Awesome Point
Conversion to typical D&D values:
One complaint I have always had with D&D, and D&D based games, is the predictability of magic casting. Sure, there are a few spells where a random roll is involved, but usually the spell is cast and the effect occurs without needing a roll. This never felt right to me. Also, certain magic items should become less of a sure thing over time. Those potions are magical but after centuries or even millennia sitting in a chest in some tomb they might well go bad.
So here are some simple d12 based tables for potions, scrolls, and spellcasting to keep everyone on their toes.
Potions (roll 1d12)
1: Toxic! No magical effect, but drinker suffers one wound
2: Flat! No magical effect happens
3 - 11: Shazam! It worked!
12: Mana Rush! Magical effect works and drinker gains 1 Awesome Point
Magic Scrolls (roll 1d12)
Anyone can read a magic scroll if they know the language it's written in. In the case of a holy or unholy scroll, the reader must also at least partially share the same alignment as the deity to whom the scroll is dedicated.
1: Rebuke!/Backlash! No magical effect, scroll crumbles into dust, and reader suffers one wound
2: Mis-read! No magical effect happens but you can try reading the scroll again later
3 - 11: Praise and Glory!/Shazam! It worked!
12: Mana Rush! Magical effect works and reader gains 1 Awesome Point
Magic Casting (roll 1d12)
1: Rebuke!/Backlash! Casting fails, the spell is expended, and caster suffers one wound
2: Botched! Casting fails, but the spell is not expended and you may cast it again later
3 - 11: Praise and Glory!/Shazam! It worked!
12: Mana Rush! Magical effect works and caster gains 1 Awesome Point
Conversion to typical D&D values:
- for the damage, use 1d4 points of damage per level of the spell
- for the Mana Rush either: add Awesome Points (or Hero Points, etc.) to your game, have the person gain 1d6 temporary hit points, or allow the scroll or spell to be cast normally.
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