2016/01/31

Animals. PCs are Buying Animals.


  1. Standard Issue Mule (10 silvers), carries 20, AC: 10, HP: 11 (2d8+2), Speed: 40', sure-footed (Adv. Dex and Str saves), Melee: +2 kicky hooves 1d4+2,
  2. Heroic Mule (60 silvers), carries 30, AC: 11, HP: 14 (2d8+5), Speed: 40', sure-footed (Adv. Dex and Str saves), ornery (Adv. Wis saves), tough (Con save on 0 hp to still have 1 hp), Melee: +4 killer kicky hooves 1d6+2,
  3. Pony (30 silvers), carries 10, AC: 10, HP: 11 (2d8+2), Speed: 40', shkraet-lover (shkraets are blood-bound to ponies and have advantage on animal handling checkis with them, ponies have advantage on Charisma checks against shkraets), Melee: +2 sharp kicky hooves 2d4+2,
  4. Bill the Special Pony (10 silvers), carries 10, AC: 9, HP: 5 (2d8-4), Speed: 30', undying (Adv. on Con save to survive at 0 hp), no attacks.
  5. Horse (75 silvers), carries 20, AC: 10, HP: 13 (2d10+2), Speed: 50', tasty (potniks and kentauri regain 1 extra hit point when resting while eating horse),  Melee: +2 kicky hooves 2d4+3,
  6. Burdenbeast, David Model (600 silvers), carries 40, AC: 11, HP: 45 (6d10+12), Speed: 40', regenerating (regains 2 hp per night), mindless (immune to fear and mind-affecting abilities), toxic (flesh is inedible, 5% may cause mutations), no attacks.
  7. Mountain Dog (50 silvers), carries 5, AC: 12, HP: 5 (1d8+1), Speed: 40', tracker (gives Adv. to masters who can track), pull-down (creatures hit in melee must save on DC 11 Str or be knocked prone), Melee: +3 bitey teeths 1d6+1,
  8. Cute Doge (100 silvers), carries 1, AC: 12, HP: 5 (1d8+1), Speed: 40', cute (gives Adv. to master on Charisma checks), pull-down (DC 10 Str or knock prone), Melee: +3 bitey teeths 1d6+1,
  9. Wolf Hound (!Divyak) (100 silvers), carries 1, AC: 13, HP: 11 (2d8+2), Speed: 40', pull-down (DC 11 Str or knock prone), master's pack (Advantage on attack vs. master's melee target), Melee: +4 very bitey teeths 2d4+2,
  10. Fox (!Divyak) (50 silvers), carries 0, AC: 14, HP: 3 (1d6), Speed: 40', cute (gives Adv. to master on Charisma checks), alert (gives Adv. to master saves vs. surprise), bravely runs away (fights only if cornered), Melee: +4 sharp teeths 1d4,
  11. Hunting Bird, Orelski Eagle (200 silvers), carries 0, AC: 12, HP: 3 (1d6), Speed: 60', regal and impressive, hunter (gives Adv. on hunting survival checks), Melee: +4 slashy talons 1d4+2,
  12. Musk Ox (50 silvers), carries 40, AC: 11, HP: 19 (3d10+3), Speed: 40', sure-footed (Adv. Dex and Str saves), charge (extra 2d4 damage and DC 13 Str or knock down), Melee: +4 head butt 2d4+3,
  13. Cow (10 silvers), AC: 10, HP: 11 (2d8+2), Speed: 40', charge (extra 2d4 damage and DC 12 Str or knock down), Melee: +2 head butt 2d4+2,
  14. Sheep or Goat (1 silver), AC: 10, HP: 5 (1d8), Speed: 40', sheepish or goatish, Melee: +2 head butt 1d4,
  15. Chicken (2 coppers), AC: 11, HP: 1 (1d4-1), Speed: 40', chicken and egg, Melee: +1 peck 1,
  16. Pig (3 silvers), AC: 10, HP: 5 (1d8), Speed: 40', eats anything, pull down (on hit DC 11 Str or knock prone), Melee: +2 gore 1d4,
  17. Yummy Pig (10 silvers), AC: 8, HP: 6 (1d8+1), Speed: 30', fat, eats anything, yummy, Melee: +1 sit 1,
  18. Burdenbeast, Ozric Model (500 silvers), carries 10, AC: 12, HP: 24 (4d10), Speed: 50', single-rider model, mindless, toxic mutagenic flesh, Melee: +3 kick 1d8+1,
  19. Burdenbeast, Isabel Model (1000 silvers), carries 60, AC: 12, HP: 45 (6d10+12), Speed: 30', regenerating (regains 2 hp per night), mindless, toxic mutagenic flesh, sure-footed, no attacks,
  20. Eye of Observation, Floater, Floating Eye, Eye of Alert (!Viladrine) (200 silvers), carries 0, AC: 14, HP: 3 (1d6), Speed: 40', regenerating (2 hp per night), mindless, toxic mutagenic flesh, telepathic alarm signal, image projection, Ranged: +5 scorching heat ray of marking 1d4 50/150, Spell: silent image,
Burdenbeasts are created biomantically from beast egg masses. They can be healed with source cylinders or by plugging their umbilicals into organic nutrition source exchange creation kits (ONSECKs).

What do Folks Wield? Weapons and Such

What folks use shapes what the world is.

Melee weapons:

  1. Club, cosh, cudgel, stick—1d4 bludgeoning—simple, light (5 coppers, Enc: 1)
  2. Knife, dagger, stiletto—1d4 piercing—simple, finesse, light, thrown 20/60 (2 silvers, Enc: 1)
  3. Great club, war club (!Divyak)—1d8 bludgeoning—simple, two-handed (1 silver, Enc: 2)
  4. Axe, ice axe, wood axe, small axe—1d6 slashing—simple, light, 20/60 (5 silvers, Enc: 1)
  5. Stone mace, mace—1d6 bludgeoning—simple (10 silvers, Enc: 1)
  6. Spear, war spear—1d6/1d8 piercing—simple, thrown 20/60, versatile (5 silvers, Enc: 1)
  7. Staff, quarterstaff—1d6/1d8 bludgeoning—simple, versatile (1 silver, Enc: 1)
  8. Battle axe, war axe—1d8/1d10 slashing—versatile (20 silvers, Enc: 1)
  9. Flail—1d8 bludgeoning (10 silvers, Enc: 1)
  10. Polearm—1d10 bludgeoning, piercing or slashing—heavy, reach, two-handed (40 silvers, Enc: 2)
  11. Great axe (!Divyak)—1d12 slashing—heavy, two-handed (60 silvers, Enc: 2)
  12. Great sword—2d6 slashing—heavy, two-handed (100 silvers, Enc: 2)
  13. Broad sword, long sword, falchion—1d8/1d10 slashing—versatile (50 silvers, Enc: 1)
  14. Town sword, rapier, short sword—1d6 piercing—finesse, light (50 silvers, Enc: 1)
  15. Maul (!Divyak, !Kentaur)—2d6 bludgeoning—heavy, two-handed (20 silvers, Enc: 2)
  16. Lance (!Kentaur)—1d12 piercing—reach, special (20 silvers, Enc: 1)
  17. Flanged mace—1d8/1d10 bludgeoning—versatile (30 silvers, Enc: 1)
  18. Whip—1d4 slashing—finesse, reach (3 silvers, Enc: 1)
  19. Net, hooked net, hunting net—1 bludgeoning—special, thrown 5/15 (1 silver, Enc: 1)
Ranged weapons:
  1. Light crossbow—1d8 piercing—simple, loading, two-handed, range 80/320 (30 silver, Enc: 2)
  2. Heavy crosswbow—1d10 piercing—loading, two-handed, heavy, range 100/400 (100 silver, Enc: 2)
  3. Hunting bow—1d6 piercing—simple, two-handed, range 80/320 (10 silver, Enc: 2)
  4. Long bow (!Divyak)—1d8 piercing—two-handed, heavy, range 150/600 (50 silver, Enc: 2)
  5. Electric wand gun (!Viladrine)—2d6 electric—source, range 30/90 (1000 silver, Enc: 1)
Gunpowder weapons:
  1. Gunpowder keg—7d6 explosive—heavy, keg, radius 10/30 (500 silvers, Enc: 4)
  2. Dynamite stick—3d6 explosive—thrown 20/60, radius 5/20 (50 silvers, Enc: 1)
  3. Pistol, revolver—1d10 piercing—gunpowder, range 50/150, reload 6 (400 silvers, Enc: 1)
  4. Rifle—1d12 piercing—gunpowder, two-handed, range 80/240, reload 5 (600 silvers, Enc: 2)
  5. Shotgun—2d8 piercing—gunpowder, two-handed, range 30/90, reload 2 (500 silvers, Enc: 2)

Weird Treasures I of the Long, Long Ago


  1. Source cylinders are small, heavy metal magic batteries of ancient origin. They occasionally burst into flames, dealing 1d6 damage. (20 silvers, small)
  2. Wishing orbs are milky paradisoid spheres the size of an average-sized apple or an exceptionally large chicken egg. Fools use them as pleasure stimulants, shrinks use them as therapy aids, psychopomps deploy them as spirit journey assistive devices. (400 silvers, Enc 1)
  3. Aural ivory is scraped from the pseudo-organic deposits left by evaporating aural ectoplasm. Witches use it to balance auras, priests carve amulets from it and retirement operatives ingest it to detect synths. (20 silvers, small)
  4. Silver veins are chromatic, builder-grown synth-corals used to infiltrate organics. They've been successfully used as preservation materials, mutagens, deep sleep activators and astral voyaging launchers. (1000 silvers, Enc 1)
  5. Plaz cards are ancient synthetic artifacts of the long, long ago. Tsarists and Shkraets use them as writing materials for the traditional Kontakti Poetry and exchange them on Name Days and every Silver Ship Day. Some technomancers can read the magic waves in plaz cards. 5% function as keys in builder dungeons or work as machine instructionals. (1 silver for basic plaz cards, 100 silvers and more for keys or instructionals, small)
  6. Pearl card boxes are shiny and inscrutable magic devices of the long forgotten times with mouths for eating plaz cards. Sometimes they play back archaic Kontakti Poetry, other times they project astral ghosts and sometimes they eat plaz cards and stop working. Intact pearl card boxes are also highly valuable as abacus replacements and RAM input units. (500 silvers, Enc 1)
  7. Blue scrolls are slippery, semi-translucent scrolls with white diagrams in the Builder Script. Hardly readable, fragile but cherished by archivists. (100–2000 silvers, Enc 1)
  8. Burden-beast modulators are pearl and silver arks used to modify bio-engineered meat and read red cards. (5000 silvers, Enc 5)
  9. Plaz-man statues simulate life, with hard plaz eyes rolling under their carapaces. Rustumani levellers say they were builder child-rearing units and instructors, and should thus be entirely obliterated. (2000 silvers, Enc 10)
  10. Field-forcing modulators are semi-mythical magic golems that allow permanent, shaped fields of force and even projected sky-bridges. (10,000 silvers, Enc 12)
  11. Bronze spirdles are oddly-shaped bits of builder-matter that tend to accumulate near some sites. Wizards like to use them to bend rules and reality. According to Numi of the Many Facets of Metropolis, each spirdle is unique and assembling the correct order of spirdles will restore the builders to the broken world. (20 silvers, Enc 1)
  12. Trumpet-shaped artifacts are like spirdles, but preferred by Thieves. (20 silvers, Enc 1)
  13. Lunar scales are round and look like the moon, but function like spirdles preferred by Fighters. (20 silvers, Enc 1)
  14. Unvisibium tiles are small, flat, ceramic and invisible. Eyes slide off them and attention dissipates around them. There's quite a few of them, but nobody's really sure what to do with them. (20 silvers, Enc 1)
  15. Plaz sheaves are unmarked and unmarkable parchments made of plaz, but they are obviously valuable, because they come from long ago and carry traces of the mysterious old times. (10 silvers, small)
  16. Pliomass bricks are self-setting clay that biomancers can manipulate into new shapes with their thoughts, before becoming stiff again. (100 silvers, Enc 1)
  17. Beast-egg masses are programmable cellular clusters that can be encouraged to form new beasts, though biomancers struggle to replicate the successes of the ancients. (1500 silvers, Enc 3)
  18. House seeds are living-stone program/converter units. (600 silvers, Enc 2)
  19. OMM Boxes convert organics to source cylinder charges, as such they are rather valuable. (900 silvers, Enc 4)
  20. Crystal skull-spheres are little spheres with crystal skulls floating in them. Speculations abound about their use, but 10% of them do hold spells. (50–500 silvers, small)
Note: several small objects take a slot.

What Do Folks Wear? Armours and Such.

  1. On running the first two sessions of WTF Longwinter, I discovered that a detailed equipment and shopping list is useful. Thus, armors and such:

    Light Stuff:

    1. Padded or Crappy Armor (5 silvers), AC: 11 + Dex mod., D Stealth, Cold: 1, Enc: 1, 
    2. Fur Armor (!Divyak) (80 silvers), AC: 11 + Dex mod., Cold: 2, Enc: 1,
    3. Leather Armor (10 silvers), AC: 11 + Dex mod., Cold: 1, Enc: 1,
    4. Long, Cool, Padded Leather Coat (40 silvers), AC: 11 + Dex mod.,  A Looking Like A Cool Customer, Cold: 1, Enc: 1,
    5. Studded Leather Armor (50 silvers), AC: 12 + Dex mod., Cold: 1, Enc: 1,
    6. Tactleneck Full Spider Mesh (!Viladrine) (2000 silvers), AC: 13 + Dex mod., Cold: 1, Enc: 1,
    Medium Stuff:
    1. Hide and Hair Armor (!Divyak) (10 silvers), AC: 12 + Dex mod (max 2), Cold: 2, Enc: 2,
    2. Chain Shirt (100 silvers), AC: 13 + Dex mod (max 2), Cold: 0, Enc: 2,
    3. Breast Plate (600 silvers), AC: 14 + Dex mod (max 2), Cold: 0, Enc: 2,
    4. Half Plate (1000 silvers), AC: 15 + Dex mod (max 2), Str: 13D Stealth, Cold: -1, Enc: 2,
    5. Cermalite Cuirass* (!Viladrine) (4000 silvers), AC: 15 + Dex mod (max 3), Cold: 1, Enc: 1,
    Heavy Stuff:
    1. Chain Mail (300 silvers), AC: 16, Str 13D Stealth, Cold: -1, Enc: 3,
    2. Ironpine Splint Armor (!Divyak) (500 silvers), AC: 17, Str 15D Stealth, Cold: 0, Enc: 3,
    3. Regal Tsarist Plate (1500 silvers), AC: 18, Str 15D Stealth, Cold: -1, Enc: 3,
    4. Walker Shkraet Piston Suit (3000 silvers), AC: 18, Con 13D Stealth, Cold: -1, Enc: 3,
    5. Skyfaller / Deathdealer Suit MkII** (!Viladrine) (10000 silvers), AC: 18, D Stealth, Cold: 1, Enc: 2,
    Shields:
    1. Light Shield (5 silvers), +1 AC, Enc: 1,
    2. Regular Shield (10 silvers), +2 AC, Enc: 2,
    3. Cermalite Shield* (!Viladrine) (500 silvers), +2 AC, Enc: 1,
    Note: all armors impose D to swimming except the Tactleneck Full Spider Mesh.
    *Cermalite gives advantage on saves vs. bullets and energy projectiles.
    **The Suit MkII comes with advanced inbuilt healing magics that heal the user with the life force of other creatures. As an action the user can drain a helpless creature of 1d6 hit points and regain 1 hit point. Every time a 1 is rolled while draining, the suit soul-knitting engine is discharged for the day.

2016/01/29

The Wizard, part 2 - more WTF wizards.


  1. Necromancer Lawyer: speaks with the dead, rational and analytic mind, legal schooling, calligrapher, occasionally has a hint of divination and charm about her.
  2. Renegade Necromancer: raises the dead, walks around with the dead, wears black eye-liner, plays with corpses, likes cemeteries.
  3. Snake Charmer: charms snakes, plays pipes, stays in the outback a lot, talks to snakes, carries sticks, throws sticks, talks to snakes some more, eats odd cacti in the desert.
  4. Undead Hunter: tests to see if people are dead, undertakes quests to make sure they stay dead, speaks in a gruff, creepy voice, likes puppies, carries a crossbow or something.
  5. Bloody Wizard: talks about blood parasites, washes hands compulsively, talks about blood, bleeds people, cackles, washes hands some more, eyes bulge.
  6. Shadowy Wizard: wears a stained trench coat, whispers of secrets beneath his coat, likes staying in shadows, whispers that he can show you his precious.
  7. Petromancer: likes rocks, talks to rocks, has a pet rocks, likes geology, turns things to stone, finds the joke are you "living or stone" funny.
  8. Shrub Wizard: talks to shrubs, turns into shrubs, plays with shrubs, eats shrubs, sings to shrubs, smokes shrubs, dances naked in the shrubs, sleeps in shrubs, looks like a dirty shrub.
  9. Daemon Summoner: talks of "the fools, the fools", cackles, talks to the empty air, likes books, overpays old books, likes chalk and dribbly candles, dies horribly, reappears, has no friends.
  10. Trickster: talks about magic, conjures bunnies and flowers, likes penguins, can tumble and juggle, cuts girls in half, bakes big cakes, has a very small car.
  11. The Alchemist: talks about the wonder of creation, states vague statements very pronouncedly, claims the gold is inside you, invites you to be the stone of philosophy, talks more, writes an advice column.
  12. Telekinaesthete: shapes himself into funny shapes, stays in funny shapes, starves himself, sits a lot like a lotus, says reality is an illusion, sometimes floats, adventures on the inside.
  13. Witch: has a cat, talks about women's rights, burns chastity belts, curses at men, stands up for herself, is scary, floats, doesn't visit the Beautymancer enough.
  14. Electric Wizard: plays with electricity, surrounded by a fuzz, speaks with a droning bass, likes to talk about the Electric City of long long ago, keeps talking about doom.
  15. Battle Wizard: talks about tactics, carries little model armies, carries dice, has advice for generals, disdains swords, war is a game of chess between great men.
  16. Herbalist: talks about peace, talks about flowers, eats flowers, smokes herbs, suggests poultices, likes wine, wears tie-dye robes, has a hat of many herbs.
  17. Technomancer: talks about clocks, tinkers with toys, builds golems, runs golems, runs from golems, has replaceable tools.
  18. I, Technomancer: believes he is a golem, wants to be human, builds golems, runs golems, has irreplaceable tools, has poor complexion.
  19. Mind Bender: has bulging cranium, has bulging veins, has bulging eyes, screams, gibbers incoherently, points and screams, gesticulates wildly, bends things.
  20. Heavy Metal Bard: is deaf, has long hair, has leather pants, has bad bass and ace axe, screams, growls, screams some more, jumps up and down, bangs his head (sometimes into lintels).
  21. Forgetmaster: forgot something, loses keys, has odd number of socks, keeps forgetting secrets, dribbles rumors in odd places, bad with libraries, loses libraries.
  22. Iron Wizard: iron wizard is heavy, iron wizard does not move, iron wizard is carried by slaves, iron wizard is ancient, iron wizard shares truth on iron wizard's punch scrolls.
  23. Astrololomancer: foretells many things, looks at stars, draws stars, has stars on robes, speaks of star stuff, sniffs star stuff for inspiration.
  24. Pictomancer: speaks to picts, draws pictures, makes life-like pictures, drains lives with pictures, summons pictures to life, draws exits, talks to pictures.


2016/01/20

The Fighter

_last of the classes I'll be needing ... hammering this out_

Class Features:
  • Hit Dice: 3d10
  • Hit Points: 20 + 3 * Con modifier
  • Spells: cost 3 hit points or ability points per spell level, cantrips count as level one, rituals vary.
  • Armor proficiency (roll d6): 1: light and shields, 2: light, shields and medium, 3–6: all armors and shields
  • Weapon proficiency: all weapons,
  • Tools (roll d6): 1: none, 2: iron chess set, 3: instrument (guitar, banjo, flute or fiddle), 4: smith's tools, 5: fletcher's tools, 6: leatherworker's tools,
  • Saving Throws (roll d6): 1–3: Str and Con, 4: Str and Dex, 5: Con and Dex, 6: Str and Cha
  • Skills: 2 skills, as per PHB (p. 72)
Starting abilities:
  1. Pick a fighting style (archery (+2 ranged), defense (+1 AC w armor), dueling (+2 dmg with 1h weapon and no shield), great-weapon fighting (reroll 1 and 2 with 2h weapon), protection, two-weapon fighting (add ability mod to second attack damage), 
  2. Second Wind (as PHB 72) - self heal for 1d10 + 3 hp per short rest,
  3. Action Surge (as PHB 72) - additional action, 2 times per short rest,
  4. Per subtype ...
Champion
  1. Improved Critical (19-20),
  2. Get up again, attack that reduces you to 0 hp reduces you to 1 hp instead, once per long rest,
Battle Master
  1. Combat Superiority (as PHB 73-74), 4d8 combat dice, 3 maneuvers, save DC 10 + modifier,
  2. Proficiency with one more tool set,
Weirding Knight
  1. blood-bound weapon, counts as magical, +2 damage for every 1 point of hit points or ability score burned,
  2. advantage on saves vs. fear and mind-affecting effects,
Wild Warrior
  1. Danger Sense (as barbarian, PHB 48), advantage on Dex saves vs. effects you can see,
  2. Reckless Attack (as barbarian, PHB 48), advantage on attacks, attacks against you also have advantage for rest of turn,
Martial Artist
  1. Unarmed Attacks deal 1d4 damage,
  2. Unarmored Defense (add Con or Wis modifier to AC when not wearing armour),
  3. Fast (+10' speed) when not wearing armour,
Slow-motion Sniper
  1. Sniper, no penalty on ranged attacks at long range,
  2. Bullet Time, can use reaction to dodge an incoming ranged attack (can declare before or after attack dice are rolled, but before damage is rolled),
Shield Maiden
  1. Shield Bash, can use reaction to shield bash attack an adjacent enemy, or an enemy that melee attacks the shield maiden (whether the attack hits or not),
  2. Turtle Up, the opposite of reckless attack: disadvantage on attacks, attacks on the shield maiden also have disadvantage for rest of turn,

... and then eventually you level up (sort of):
  1. +1 proficiency,
  2. gain 3 hp,
  3. gain 3 hp,
  4. gain 3 hp,
  5. gain 3 hp,
  6. increase movement speed by 5',
  7. improve 1 ability score by 1,
  8. improve 1 ability score by 1,
  9. extra attack,
  10. gain uncanny dodge (if already have uncanny dodge, can now also use bonus action for uncanny dodge),
  11. become expert in existing skill,
  12. learn new skill,
  13. learn new weapon,
  14. gain +2 to hit with existing weapon,
  15. increase damage die with existing weapon,
  16. gain +1 AC with armor type (light, medium or heavy)
  17. gain one feat (see PHB),
  18. improve 1 ability score by 2
  19. indomitable, twice per short rest you can reroll a saving throw that you fail,
  20. guided strike (as war cleric, PHB 63), once per rest add +10 to attack roll after seeing the result.

The Thief

... _again, basically third level_

Class Features:
  • Hit Dice: 3d8
  • Hit Points: 16 + 3 * Con modifier
  • Spells: cost 2 hit points or ability points per spell level, cantrips count as level 1, rituals vary.

  • Armor proficiency (roll d6): 1: none, 2: leather, 3–5: all light armors, 6: light and medium armors
  • Weapon proficiency: simple weapons and (roll d6) 1: 1-handed swords and crossbows, 2: whips and pistols, 3: halberds and rifles, 4: short swords, wands and warhammers, 5: great swords, 6: all gunpowder weapons,
  • Tools: thief's tools and (roll d6) 1: barber's kit, 2: artist's kit, 3: gunsmith's kit, 4: navigator's kit, 5: prospector's kit, 6: mechanic's kit,
  • Saving Throws (roll d6): 1–3: Dex and Int, 4: Dex and Cha, 5: Dex and Str, 6: Dex and Wis
  • Skills: as per PHB (p. 95)

Starting abilities:
  1. Expertise (as PHB 96)
  2. Sneak Attach, +2d6 damage with advantage or flanking (PHB p. 96)
  3. Cunning Action (dash, disengage hide).
  4. Per subtype ...
Thief
  1. Fast Hands (as PHB 97),
  2. Climb fast, jump far (Second-Story Work, PHB 97),
Killer
  1. Proficient with poisoning kit,
  2. Advantage on first-strike (if win initiative),
  3. Auto-crit surprised enemies,
Bounty Hunter
  1. +2 to hit with gunpowder weapons,
  2. Favored enemy: humans (as ranger PHB 91),
  3. Natural explorer (forest and mountains),
Dandy Duelist
  1. +2 bonus to damage with single-handed weapon and no shield (can drop damage bonus and +1 AC from off-hand dagger),
  2. uncanny dodge (reaction to halve attack's damage, as PHB 96),
  3. jack of all trades (as PHB 54), +1 proficiency bonus to all untrained skill checks,
... and then eventually you level up (sort of):
  1. +1 proficiency,
  2. gain 2 hp,
  3. gain 3 hp,
  4. gain 3 hp,
  5. increase movement speed by 5',
  6. improve 1 ability score by 1,
  7. improve 1 ability score by 1,
  8. increase sneak attack by 1d6,
  9. gain uncanny dodge (if already have uncanny dodge, can now also use bonus action for uncanny dodge),
  10. become expert in existing skill,
  11. become expert in existing skill,
  12. learn new skill,
  13. jack of all trades +1 (if already has jack of all trades, increase to +2),
  14. learn new weapon,
  15. gain +2 to hit with existing weapon,
  16. learn new armor,
  17. gain one feat,
  18. gain a 6th level ability,
  19. gain evasion (PHB 96), Dex save for half damage results in no damage instead,
  20. unarmored defense (as monk, PHB 78), gain Wisdom modifier to AC when unarmored.

What Are These PCs? Species and Monsters

They are humans, and by humans ...

  1. Tsarists (imperialists, ducksmen, truefolk, landsmen, the many-shaded), bonuses to Str and Wis, Talents: lucky critical hits (x3 damage like half-orcs), advantage on saves vs. one type of attack (1: poison, 2: disease, 3: charm, 4: curses, 5: paralysis, petrification and polymorph, 6: death magic),
  2. Shkraets (wholemen, engineers, ratmen, lead-sniffers), bonuses to Con and Int, Talents: advantage to one skill, night vision,
  3. Potniks (travellers, thieves, gypsies, merchants, crafters), bonuses to Dex and Cha, Talents: lucky (re-roll 1s like halflings), expertise on one skill or kit,
There are also some inhuman monsters ...
  1. Weird Viles (skinchangers, soulbearers), bonuses to Int, Dex and Cha, penalties to Wis, Con, Talents: immortal, shapeshift, soul shift,
  2. Divyaks (wildlings, wolfmen, totemist monsters, natural slaves), bonuses to Str and Con, penalties to Int and Cha, Talents: totem, skin change, survival (like orcs, may recover from killing blow),
  3. Kentauri (bio-engineered warmachines, monsters of the steppes, related to harpies, satyrs, merfolk, trolls and giants), bonuses to Str and Con, penalties to Charisma and Wisdom, Talents: warmachines, fearless, rage, may be large, fast

The Wizard ...

... _and like all the dashing heroes, is basically third level_

Class Features:

  • Hit Dice: 3d6
  • Hit Points: 12 + 3 * Con modifier
  • Spells: as third level wizard (see PHB). Casting additional spells beyond the spell slot limit costs 1 hit point or ability point per spell level. Cantrips count as level 1. Rituals vary.


  • Armor proficiency (roll d6): 1–4: none, 5: leather, 6: all light armors,
  • Weapon proficiency: dagger, staff and (roll d6) 1: slings, darts, light crossbows, 2: pistols, 3: rifles, 4: short swords, 5: maces, 6: axes and pole arms,
  • Tools: calligrapher's kit and (roll d6) 1: alchemist's kit, 2: dentist's kit, 3: gunsmith's kit, 4: archaeologist's kit, 5: doctor's kit, 6: herbalist's kit,
  • Saving Throws (roll d6): 1–3: Int and Wis, 4: Int and Cha, 5: Wis and Cha, 6: Int and Con
  • Skills: as per PHB


Starting abilities:

  1. Opening the Valves of the Soul (arcane recovery) - every short rest cast 3 hit points worth of spells for free,
  2. Spell Slots (restored per long rest): Cantrips: 4, 1st Level: 4, 2nd Level: 2
  3. Choose an arcane school: 1: soul magic, 2: forced magic, 3: biomancy, 4: skin changing, 5: arcane polytech, 6: black magic
Soul Magic (similar to enchantment)
  1. Hypnotic Gaze (as PHB 117),
  2. Starting spells: Minor Illusion, Charm Person, Disguise Self, Illusory Script, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Hold Person
Forced Magic (similar to abjuration)
  1. Arcane Ward (slightly modified from PHB 115) - lasts for a day, has 6 + Int modifier hit points, regains 1 hit point for every ability point you spend to cast a spell,
  2. Starting spells: Blade Ward, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Jump, Tenser's Floating Disk, Knock, Shatter
Biomancy (similar to cleric's healing magic)
  1. Disciple of the Biologician (as Disciple of Life, PHB 60) - every healing spell restores an additional 3 hit points, every healing spell not cast as a careful ritual has a 5% chance of causing a mutation,
  2. Channel Life Force (similar to Channel Divinity: Preserve Life, PHB 60) - once per long rest you can channel life force (15 hit points) from one subject within 30 feet to another three subjects. You can restore any subject to no more than half of its hit point maximum. Unwilling subjects get a save.
  3. Starting spells: Cure Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Enlarge/Reduce, Aid, Spider Climb, Spike Growth, Poison Spray
Skin Changing (polymorphymancy, similar to a druid's shapechange abilities)

  1. Wild Shape (as Druid, PHB p. 66), transform into a 1/4 CR beast twice per short or long rest (e.g. wolf)
  2. Regenerating Beast (partly as Druid Combat Wild Shape, PHB p. 69), while a beast, use bonus action to expend one spell slot and regain 1d8 hp per level of the spell slot expended. An expended cantrip restores 1d4 hp.
  3. Starting spells: Thorn Whip, Goodberry, Animal Friendship, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, Enlarge/Reduce, Enhance Ability,


Arcane Polytech (similar to ... well, not sure, conjuration and transmutation I guess)
  1. Minor Conjuration (as PHB 116) - summons up a small object within a few meters,
  2. Arcane Snake (as Poisonous Snake, PHB 308) - you possess an organized-matter snake-like projection, which you can give basic commands. AC 13, hp 2, Speed 30, +5 bite 1 damage, Poison DC 10 Con (2d4/half).
  3. Spells: Mage Hand, Find Familiar*, Alarm, Grease, Blur, Cloud of Daggers, Heat Metal
... and then eventually you level up (sort of):
  1. +1 proficiency,
  2. gain 1 hp,
  3. gain 1 hp,
  4. gain 1 hp,
  5. gain 1 hp,
  6. gain 2 hp,
  7. improve 1 ability score by 1,
  8. improve 1 ability score by 1,
  9. +1 cantrip spell slot,
  10. +1 1st level spell slot,
  11. +1 2nd level spell slot,
  12. +1 3rd level spell slot,
  13. +1 3rd level spell slot,
  14. reduce cost of one spell by 1,
  15. gain new skill,
  16. become expert in existing skill, 
  17. learn new weapon,
  18. learn new armor,
  19. gain one feat,
  20. gain a 6th level ability.
What is your spell book?
  1. a pliomastic memory implant (overclock once per long rest to +2 to Int for a day, then -4 to Int until end of next long rest),
  2. a weird-silk quippu (can read and use for rituals in complete darkness),
  3. an intelligent weapon or implement (it whispers the spells back to you when you sleep),
  4. a regular manskin-bound tome as used by the divyak shamans (divyaks will like you better),
  5. a proper tsarist tome from before the breaking of the Golden Reign (tsarists will nod and like you),
  6. a crystal ball that plays back your spells (you can throw it as a grenade for touch effects, it won't break, don't worry).

    Resting and Basic Commodities v.1

    Note: on testing, it turned out this system was too complex for our group (and me as DM).

    Longwinter runs with a slightly modified "gritty realism" rest variant (DMG p. 267). By default a short rest lasts 7 hours, and a long rest 7 days. But if you decide to splurge on ...

    1. fine shelter in the lavish fur suite (10 silvers per day), then a rest lasts 5 hours/days and you recuperate from an ill effect in 1 day.
    2. good shelter in the sturdy boar's rest (40 coppers per day), then a rest lasts 6 hours/days and you recuperate from an ill effect in 2 days.
    3. average shelter at the groveling pilgrim's rest (10 coppers per day), then a rest lasts 7 hours/days and you recuperate from an ill effect in 3 days.
    4. poor shelter in the cow pen (1 copper per day), then a rest lasts 10 hours/days and you recuperate from an ill effect in 4 days.
    5. miserable shelter in the gutters behind the offalatorium (free!), then a rest lasts 14 hours/days and you recuperate from an ill effect in 6 days.
    ... so what monies are used in the Blood-bound Baron's lands?

    1 golden goat = 20 silvers = 400 coppers

    ... I should probably also bring up encumbrance rules. Items occupy slots (or boxes, or lines, or checks, or pockets, or whatever, but I'll call them slots) and each character can carry as many slots as that character's strength score.

    500 coins = 1 slot

    ... so what were those basic commodities that get hard to get once folks start getting Desperate?
    1. fine shelter (10 silvers per day)
    2. good shelter (40 coppers per day)
    3. average shelter (10 coppers per day)
      poor shelter (1 copper per day) {cannot run out due to Desperation}
    4. fine liquor (20 coppers) +1d4 hp [1/2 slot]
    5. poor liquor (1 copper) +1 hp [1/2 slot]
    6. heating fuel (1 copper) +5 to exhaustion saves with stove [1 slot]
    7. fine wool cloak (20 silvers) +5 to exhaustion saves [1 slot]
    8. warm cloak (5 silvers) +2 to exhaustion saves [1 slot]
    9. poncy fur-lined tent (160 silvers) +10 to exhaustion saves for a few people [6 slots]
    10. sturdy hide tent (40 silvers) +5 to exhaustion saves for a few people [4 slots]
    11. economical tent (10 silvers) no penalty to exhaustion saves [2 slots]
    12. good camping rations from Godshkraeling & Godshkraeling (2 silvers per day) +5 to exhaustion saves for a few people [1 slot]
    13. military-grade camping rations from the Alpaca Co. (10 coppers per day) +2 to exhaustion saves for a few people, 5% chance of spoilage [1 slot]
    14. premium economical camping rations (3 coppers per day) no penalty to exhaustion saves for a few people, 20% chance of spoilage [1 slot]
    15. good bedroll (200 coppers) +5 to exhaustion saves [1 slot]
    16. poor bedroll (50 coppers) no penalty to exhaustion saves [1 slot]
    17. fine hat, gloves and boots (40 silvers each, 100 silvers the set) +2 to exhaustion saves each, +10 all together [1/3 slot each]
    18. average hat, gloves and boots (10 silvers each, 25 silvers the set) +1 to exhaustion saves each, +5 all together [1/3 slot each]
      poor hat, gloves and boots (120 coppers the set) no penalty to exhaustion saves [1 slot] {cannot run out due to Desperation}
    19. fine fur coat instead of armor (100 silvers) +10 to exhaustion saves [1 slot]
    20. good warm coat instead of armor (20 silvers) +5 to exhaustion saves [1 slot]
    Each missing piece of vital cold-weather survival equipment (tent, camping kit, bedroll, accessories) imposes a disadvantage on exhaustion saves.


    Stopping for a Breather at this Scenic Spot ...

    you gaze in wonder at the ...

    1. frozen waterfall promising an ice climb to an encrusted ruby giant lichen,
    2. natural marble arched and flittering moon phantoms,
    3. cantilevered shell house over an iridescent tar pit,
    4. petrified agate tree house platform,
    5. geyser of azure water and the rainbow panoply of extremophiles,
    6. three great converted mass ejectors,
    7. bridge of crystalline needles,
    8. grand yellow glass staircase sidling sensuously up the mountainside,
    9. red bubble hull of a long-punctured pleasure dome,
    10. dragon waterfall jangling in the sculpted wraith-kept garden,
    11. pristine pink ice cave above a glimmering green-snowfield,
    12. fallen titanic turquoise hand wedged between two redwoods,
    13. giant rib cage gate with enigmatic quadrilateral glyphs,
    14. bone dolmen rising above the little shingle hut,
    15. way-shelter wedged in the metal skull of a great iron giant,
    16. four pillars of quartz forty feet high,
    17. flash-frozen school of fish in midair,
    18. vertical reality dislocation gate shearing the hillside,
    19. toppled obsidian monolith used as a foot bridge,
    20. pit of toxic liquid amber refuse from the WTF,
    21. three plaza-stone benches perched incongruously on a broken bridge support,
    22. bloodbush garden nestled in the vermillion marble canyon,
    23. crackling lightning spewing from the blue-glowing gash in the glassy earth,
    24. long line of petrified crucified penitents stretching up the mountain side,
    25. mountain that turns out to be the cyclopean terraces of attendant structure 4,
    26. fungus webbed violet crystal wreckage of WTF 6,
    27. wondrous livingstone double tunnels piercing right through the flank of the mountain,
    28. smoothly sliding mythic round door beneath a jaspis overhang,
    29. regenerating bulk of a bound and decapitated great war beast pinned beneath a great yellow rock,
    30. fruitful chestnut tree surrounded by soft downy grass and little yellow flowers.

    This NPC Will Reward You Handsomely If You ...


    1. secure a (1: silver, 2: happy tea, 3: panacea, 4: blood bush) contract from the (1: Ulver the hydraulic priest of Vrelets, 2: the blood-bond baron, 3: lady Snowhands herself, 4: the Rudvik monopoly),
    2. recover seven (1: source cylinders, 2: para-temporal partridges, 3: wishing orbs, 4: burdenbeast modulators, 5: ) from this totally legit drop on the (1: upper Rokolom ridge, 2: lower pits of Rudvik, 3: unholy birth-death pits of the two-chiefs, 4: red glacier of Married Mother mountain),
    3. bring back safely an unwieldy cargo of (1: aural ivory, 2: divyak children, 3: silver-vein mummies, 4: plaza hole-cards) from a trading fort just beyond (1: Vrelets, 2: Rudvik, 3: Last Devil bridge, 4: Oak-that-bleeds-and-sings),
    4. track down and bring in (1: outlaw Jane, 2: the rustumi preacher-pundit Nur Gottlieb, 3: ni-khan Balô the bold, 4: a brain-parasite last seen riding Sydney Pink), preferably alive,
    5. convert three (1: noble fighters, 2: sultry wizards, 3: brainy thieves) to the (1: rustumi equivalency, 2: shkraeti masonry, 3: tsarist orthodoxy, 4: skin-shifter shamanism),
    6. recover and reactivate an intact (1: plazman speaker statue, 2: field-forcing modulator, 3: radio-thermal barrel, 4: silver dragon),
    7. hunt down a trophy of an (1: ice dragon, 2: mountain giant, 3: abominable snowman, 4: death machine, 5: true druid, 6: white owlbear),
    8. kill the (1: underbaron of Gomilsk, 2: good-doctor of Vrelets, 3: death dealer of Rudvik, 4: oligarch toll-master of Mostova) for (1: a trustworthy fellow, 2: an honest lady, 3: a reputable demon summoner, 4: a fine fop, 5: a dashing dandy, 6: a gay ganglemalion),
    9. tour and paint the (1: three snow queens, 2: the five steams, 3: the two landed moons, 4: the four towers, 5: the six iron giants, 6: the seven-hundred crystal pillars of singing sylaphim) for the great _Collectorium of Murjansk_.
    10. ... there was no NPC. You're seeking your (1: wife, 2: horse, 3: golden gun, 4: black blade, 5: son's killer, 6: ice-wraith lord).

    What Is The Weather Doing (and How Desperate are Things?) v.1

    Note: on testing, it turned out this system was too complex for and me as DM. For the icebox I plan to just make a preset weather chart, with preset conditions.

    Today the temperature is ...

    1. much warmer (-3 T track) [!! fog, avalanches]
    2. warmer (-1 T track) [! fog]
    3. warmer (-1 T track) [! fog]
    4. was that a warm breeze ... no ... staying the same
    5. no change
    6. there's a chill smell in the air
    7. rapid fluctuations [! fog, ice]
    8. it's colder (+1 T track)
    9. definitely colder (+1 T track)
    10. yup, pretty cold (+1 T track)
    11. wow, it's much colder than yesterday (+2 T track) [! ice]
    12. Jeebo just froze to death in the outhouse! (+4 T track) [! ice]
    But at least the sky is ...
    1. clear [! glare]
    2. sparkling [! glare]
    3. lightly hazy with occasional rainbows
    4. same as yesterday
    5. still the same
    6. yup, same
    7. changeable
    8. snowing very lightly [cloudy]
    9. snowing lightly [very cloudy]
    10. snowing moderately (+1 Snow track) [! obscured]
    11. snowing heavily (+2 Snow track) [! obscured]
    12. snowing abominable snow men! (+4 Snow track) [! dark, avalanches]
    and the wind is ...
    1. still as a dolmen
    2. light air [smoke trails sideways]
    3. light breeze [feel this]
    4. same as yesterday
    5. same
    6. same
    7. variable gusts
    8. good to moderate breeze [! -2 ranged]
    9. strong breeze, branches sway [! disadvantage ranged]
    10. gales are blowing, trees moving, movement impeded [! disadvantage ranged]
    11. strong gales, branches breaking (-1 Snow track) [! disadvantage ranged, spells]
    12. storming, stuff is flying (-2 Snow track) [!! disadvantage ranged, melee, spells]
    Note: _the above three tables form the variables for a one-page weather chart_

    T (temperature) Track (note: _base DCs are always 10_)
    1. 20ºC balmy (+3 next temperature roll, -3 Snow track) [! rain, mud] {exhaustion DC -10, track DC -5}
    2. 10ºC nifty (+1 next temperature roll, -1 Snow track) [! rain, mud, sleet] {exhaustion DC -5, track DC -5}
    3. 0ºC cold [! sleet, snow, mud]
    4. -10ºC freezing [! snow, ice] {exhaustion DC +5, track DC +5}
    5. -20ºC terribly cold (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) [! powder, lakes freeze] {exhaustion DC +10, track DC +5}
    6. -25ºC terribly cold (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) [! powder, lakes freeze] {exhaustion DC +10, track DC +5}
    7. -30ºC hideously cold (-1 next temperature roll, disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) [! rivers freeze] {exhaustion DC +15, track DC +5}
    8. -35ºC heinously cold (-1 next temperature roll, disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) [! rivers freeze] {exhaustion DC +15, track DC +5}
    9. -40ºC monstrously cold (-2 next temperature roll, disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) [! rivers freeze, trees crack] {exhaustion DC +20, track DC +10}
    10. -45ºC fiendishly cold (-2 next temperature roll, disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) [! rivers freeze, trees crack] {exhaustion DC +20, track DC +10}
    11. -50ºC cold hell (-4 next temperature roll, disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet, roll on White Hell) [! trees explode] {exhaustion DC +25, track DC +10}
    Snow (S) Track
    1. 0 cm, dry, dusting or frost, mud
    2. 5 cm, slush, blanket, mud {track DC -5}
    3. 10 cm, blanket, cheery {track DC -10}
    4. 20 cm, thick blanket {exhaustion DC +5, track DC -10, travel DC +5}
    5. 40 cm, heavy blanket, drifts (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) {exhaustion DC +10, track DC -10, travel DC +10, navigate/search DC +5}
    6. 70 cm, heavier blankets, driftier drifts (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) {exhaustion DC +10, track DC -10, travel DC +10, navigate/search DC +5}
    7. 1 fat meter (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet, the Panoptical pass is snowed in and impassable) {exhaustion DC +15, track DC -5, travel DC +15, navigate/search DC +10}
    8. 1.5 meters of entombing white stuff (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) {exhaustion DC +15, track DC -5, travel DC +15, navigate/search DC +10}
    9. 2 meters of white crap (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) {exhaustion DC +20, travel DC +20, navigate/search DC +15}
    10. 3 meters of tunneling fun (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet) {exhaustion DC +20, travel DC +20, navigate/search DC +15}
    11. 4 meters or more of this white horror (disadvantage on Desperation Ratchet, roll on White Hell) {exhaustion DC +25, travel DC +25, navigate/search DC +20}
    Desperation Ratchet

    Roll every in-game Monday or at the start of every session. The desperation ratchet will not improve this winter without extraordinary measures. If circumstances impose a disadvantage on the Desperation Ratchet, roll two desperate dice and pick the worse result.

    First, roll the Desperate Die (it's a d10 unless circumstances reduce it) ...
    1. ratchet up,
    2. one basic commodity (B) runs out,
    3. one type of equipment (E) runs out,
    4. one type of treasure (T) crashes in value as it won't feed anybody,
    5. no change
    6. no change
    7. no change
    8. no change
    9. no change
    10. no change
    Then check out the fun Desperation Ratchet ...
    1. All is well (Morale +5) {basics 100%, equipment 200%, treasures 200%}
    2. Stocks depleting (Morale +4) {basics 150%, equipment 150%, treasures 200%}
    3. On reserves (Morale +2) {basics 200%, equipment 150%, treasures 200%}
    4. Running low (Morale +0) [no more fine shelters] {basics 300%, equipment 100%, treasures 200%}
    5. Last crumbs (Morale -2) [no more good shelters] {basics 400%, equipment 80%, treasures 150%}
    6. Starvation looms (Morale -4) [no more average shelters] {basics 600%, equipment 60%, treasures 100%}
    7. Desperation stalks the streets (Morale -5) [20% chance hosts try to eat PCs] {basics 1000%, equipment 20%, treasures 10%}
    Note: _morale rolls as Wisdom saves vs. DC 10 by default, reactions roll as Wisdom saves vs. Charisma_

    This was the map of Longwinter the last time I ran it.

    2016/01/19

    Locations of Power and Wonder

    Suddenly the curtains of densely falling (1: snow, 2: sleet, 3: powder, 4: slush, 5: dust, 6: hail) part and you see ...

    1. a tsarist nobles mound tomb. The entombed tsarist noble is (1: dead, 2: deceased, 3: an ex noble, 4: sleeping the weird sleep),
    2. a sky shrine with floating stones bringing visions of the mindless cosmic cacophony,
    3. a potnik fountain of fresh blood marble filled with sluggish life water,
    4. a resting cave, currently occupied by (1: the ghost of meals long eaten, 2: dust and bones, 3: a few fat merchants, 4: a hungry divyak family, 5: a mad shkraet trying to provoke the cave, 6: hatching cavelings),
    5. a half-buried shkraet knowledge box ticking gentle warm dreams,
    6. a kentauri blood sacrificial altar,
    7. a kentauri meadow of fear, thick with panic poppies,
    8. an overgrown genesis vat crypt and the bones of a long dead great burden beast,
    9. a skin shrine suspended in the branches of an ancient pine with hanging mummies of (1: wolves, 2: bears, 3: owls, 4: eagles, 5: foxes, 6: humans),
    10. a totem tower of sinew and bone and eyes and leaves dreaming organ dreams,
    11. a spirit den and spirit bear,
    12. a biomantic tree rife with carnal vegetation and body moddy soul droppings,
    13. a steel dragon cave with the rotting carcass of a steel dragon inside,
    14. a belt ascendance pillar (two more required) embedded in glassy sludge,
    15. a glass information bridge with burnt out mind ports,
    16. a sarcophagus of crystal remembrance obscured by fallen leaves. It contains (1: nothing, 2: bones, 3: a zombie memory priest, 4: a meatsack and a soul-eating vile sword, 5: an artificial princess, 6: a human with no memory of the present),
    17. a crater of celestial deliverance scattered with iron lunar sarcophagi glowing with the blue glow of rot,
    18. the mouth of a cancerous deep earth extraction vein oozing (1: mercury, 2: copper, 3: glass, 4: oil),
    19. a warped gravity field emplacement that bends gravity (1: amusingly, 2: perpendicularly, 4: slightly, 4: dangerously),
    20. a toxic heavy metal cleansing flower dying in geological time,
    21. a fluttering expanse of atmospheric exchange filaments,
    22. a broken travel field gate and half a whale skeleton,
    23. a temporal dilation barrow studded with little yellow flowers,
    24. a flickering, garbage-choked nutrition fulfillment unit,
    25. a mental hyperstim dome full of human skeletons,
    26. a vine-choked silvervein clinic full of amnesiac undying spirits,
    27. an escaped drugtree palm,
    28. a salivating meat-fungus cavern tunneling into the hillside,
    29. a black metal flesh to spirit converter,
    30. a hulking, concrete prism with a heart of steel and veins of rubber, the beast meat manipulation core.

    The Body in the Snow is ...


    1. a tsarist (1: imperialist, 2: warlordsman, 3: truefellow, 4: landsman),
    2. a shkraet (1: dwarf, 2: wholeman, 3: engineer, 4: ratman),
    3. a potnik (1: thief, 2: gypsy, 3: tinkerer, 4: crafter),
    4. a divyak (1: wildling, 2: skinbouncer, 3: biomancer, 4: totempuller),
    5. a kentauri (1: warmachine, 2: cavalryman, 3: nomad, 4: supervisor),
    6. a weird (1: boneshifter, 2: mossman, 3: soulthrall, 4: folksagent).
    ... so the PCs loot the human (tsarist, shkraet or potnik) and find a ... :
    1. fine (1: boots, 2: gloves, 3: cap, 4: scarf),
    2. warm coat of (1: wool, 2: fur, 3: down-lined silk, 4: padded leather),
    3. richly worked (1: belt, 2: bracers, 3: torc, 4: codpiece or gun garter),
    4. jangling (1: purse, 2: pouch, 3: sack, 4: handbag) with 1d100 copper and 1d20 silver,
    5. silver (1: necklace, 2: ring, 3: bracelet, 4: pocket watch),
    6. embroidered (1: eye-mask, 2: waistcoat, 3: cape, 4: bustier),
    7. tasteful (1: knife, 2: walking stick, 3: pipe, 4: pen case),
    8. fancy flask of (1: ale, 2: bloodbush, 3: medicinal tonic, 4: snake oil),
    9. packet of (1: lardcake, 2: meatbread, 3: cheese, 4: dried squid),
    10. masterful weapon (1: sword, 2: polearm, 3: axe, 4: pistol, 5: rifle, 6: crossbow),
    11. polished armor (1: angled shield, 2: stiffened leather, 3: banded armor, 4: cuirass),
    12. hidden bundle of (1: silversilk, 2: abominable snow-fur, 3: divyaki red gold, 4: ice pearls, 5: bloodbush tea cakes, 6: blue snow wood carvings).
    ... so the PCs retrieve the monster's (divyak, kentauri) stolen ... :
    1. fur (1: shoes, 2: hat, 3: mittens, 4: muffler),
    2. fur (1: cloak, 2: kilt, 3: cloth, 4: headband),
    3. leather (1: big belt, 2: bracer, 3: mouth-mask, 4: chest-girdle),
    4. hide (1: haversack, 2: fanny pack, 3: quilt, 4: saddlebag),
    5. red gold (1: nose ring, 2: circlet, 3: dog tag, 4: plug),
    6. ivory (1: wand, 2: mask, 3: fetish, 4: comb),
    7. rugged but reliable (1: knife, 2: spear, 3: bow, 4: rope),
    8. gourd of (1: mead, 2: treejuice, 3: bloodwine, 4: speed seeds),
    9. wrapper of (1: jerky, 2: nuts, 3: liver paste, 4: dried manflesh),
    10. ancient-seeming weapon (1: cold iron greatsword, 2: obsidian javelin, 3: ivory spear, 4: composite bow, 5: fine sling, 6: amber rifle),
    11. well-worn armor (1: hide, 2: abominable fur, 3: ivory-studded leather, 4: obviously looted from a righteous owner),
    12. carefully wrapped bundle of (1: therma-skin, 2: cerma shell, 3: skull spheres, 4: pliomass, 5: bronze spirdles, 6: ice-larva fungus).
    ... so the PCs carefully rifle weird (really, weird) and vile corpse that reeks of eucalyptus and myrrh to find a ... :
    1. spantexTM (1: slippers, 2: gloves, 3: headcap, 4: neckerchief),
    2. body suit of (1: red, 2: green, 3: silver, 4: many colors),
    3. utility (1: belt, 2: backpack, 3: legstrap, 4: tense floating disk control unit),
    4. pack of (1: cards, 2: plaz-sheaves, 3: smoker papers, 4: psychic granular paper wedges),
    5. ivory and plaz (1: accessory, 2: ring, 3: wristwatch, 4: belt),
    6. stainless (1: eyeball, 2: ear, 3: hand, 4: extra-sensory implant),
    7. vibranTX (1: knife, 2: screwdriver, 3: wand, 4: filament lance),
    8. steel flask of (1: AmbrosiaTM, 2: PepTM, 3: Naga ColaTM, 4: SmoothTM),
    9. tube of (1: chicken, 2: fish, 3: burdenbeast, 4: meat regrowth matrix),
    10. bizarre and possibly dangerous (1: rapier, 2: mace, 3: ray gun, 4: babble unit),
    11. armor or over-dress (1: black coat, 2: white suit, 3: cerma cuirass, 4: mirrored source-drive exo-skeleton),
    12. valuable black plaza box of probably worthless (1: lunar scales, 2: trumpet-shaped artifacts, 3: bronze spirdles, 4: source cylinders, 5: pliomass, 6: plaza-hole cards).
    The wizard wore the extra-sensory implant in his belly-button, necessitating some unusual sartorial adjustments.

    2016/01/18

    WTF 1

    Wizards wear domes to concentrate their vision magic spices.

    What Treasure Did the Owners of this House Own ...


    1. a blood-bound heirloom (1: spear, 2: shield, 3: mask, 4: fur coat, 5: mail glove, 6: optic soul valve) priceless to the bearers of the blood but imbued with a soul-eating mind-core (1d6 x 500 silver),
    2. a masked bear fur (1d6 x 10 silver),
    3. a polished lake whale ivory and blood ebony game table (1d6 x 50 silver),
    4. a mended ceramic bowl depicting the _Fishing Trip of the Golden Son_ (1d6 silver),
    5. a threadbare tapestry of the _Apotheosis of Adam in Zlatoust_ (1d6 silver),
    6. four cloaks of the clan of the (1: fox, 2: bear, 3: stag), patched and cleaned (4d6 silver),
    7. a brass and cedar chair with carvings of the _Hand of God's Deliverance Against the Wrath of the Khan_ (2d6 silver),
    8. a copper coffee set with a tin of _Il Moro Robusto, Finest Delivery, Morjanska Grade III_ (5d6 silver),
    9. a leather medicine bag with herbs, needles, bone saw, pestle and _Optical Wand of Insightful Blood Sampling_ (1d6 x 10 silver),
    10. spider-silk bed-drapes embroidered with scenes from the _Glorious Barricades of Green County_ (1d6 x 5 silver),
    11. a pair of silken slippers imbued with the spirit of silence that awakens to the essence of tangerine (2d6 x 10 silver),
    12. a wooden jewelry box decorated with gold leaf and mother-of-pearl, holding a gridded lambskin leather coverlet and 181 malachite and 180 jaspis stones in two cedar bowls (1d6 x 100 silver),
    13. a holy (1: rustuman balance, 2: tsarist hand, 3: khanate axehead, 4: monkey-god skull, 5: sandal, 6: book of madness) bound in plaza-scales (2d6 x 50 silver),
    14. a pair of warm gloves embroidered with (1: doves, 2: loaves, 3: stones, 4: swords, 5: peaches, 6: seals) (1d6 x 50 silver),
    15. the necklace of fire garnets and ambers _Silver Tongue Heart_ that boils the blood and inspires song and rhetoric (1d6 x 100 silver),
    16. the clockwork owlbear automaton _Johanssen the Owlbear_, capable of amusing dance and wonderful serving (1d6 x 50 silver),
    17. the many-chambered glass-and-gold pot of wine and woe engraved with the _Judgment of the Sybarite_ (1d6 x 100 silver),
    18. the blood-gold cache for hard times hidden in a burnt-clay pig of fortune (1d6 x 1000 silver),
    19. the blue-paper plaz scroll annotated by _Rabotev the Uncensorious_ depicting the first two steps of the creation of the skeletal servants according to the _Ordinances of Turalia, Fourth Analysis of Leo_ (1d6 x 500 silver),
    20. the trapped lead chest holding the (1: burden beast modulator, 2: field-forcing modulator, 3: plazman-chest child-rearing unit, 4: beast-egg mass kit, 5: program / converter living-stone house seed, 6: omm box organic source generation box), a wondrous rarity from an older time (2d6 x 1000 silver).
    But How Well Is it Hidden?
    1. very well (DC 20),
    2. quite well (DC 15),
    3. it's out of sight (DC 10),
    4. it's right there, in plain sight,
    5. the owner is carrying it,
    6. it's not really here, whoever suggested it was, was a bumbling liar.

    2016/01/17

    This Person at the Last Trading House is the ...


    1. third licensed silver merchant of the House of the Fourth Leg,
    2. chicken-eating silversmith,
    3. beady-eyed jeweler of the Velvet Sisterhood,
    4. khan supervisor with the big belt buckle and the mirrored eye,
    5. smaller burdenbeast merchant in speckled fur,
    6. glittering tinker artificer and karaoke star,
    7. swaggering artifact merchant with the poncho and the feathered clock,
    8. leather-clad scholar from among the (1: rustuman, 2: petrograd, 3: morjanska, 4: turalia, 5: wolf-folk of the black wood, 6: white canyon),
    9. spy, tailor, sailor and international trader of mystery,
    10. smooth-talking flour-chucking food merchant with a cart of (1: boiled leeches, 2: broiled leeks, 3: grilled lima beans, 4: sautéed lemon-fish, 5: flambéed lobster, 6: fresh linear accelerated-growth lion-strip),
    11. militiaman with the clockwork heart,
    12. churchman of the (1: rustuman leveller, 2: tsarist hierarchist, 3: petrogradist poly-sacralism, 4: kentauri shamanism, 5: shkraeti pragmatism, 6: potnik sweat-lodge vision fatherhood) persuasion with a gilded monocle,
    13. fanatical lay rustuman leveller (1: carpenter, 2: shoemaker, 3: levite, 4: soldier, 5: roundhead, 6: turncoat),
    14. ruin explorer mumbling incoherently and tapping with a metal leg,
    15. scavenger with a wooden pistol and pet (1: cat, 2: rat, 3: clockwork hat, 4: dire rat, 5: animated mat, 6: bat),
    16. moustache-twirling restauranteur and cheese maker,
    17. pleasure mercer with red shoes and a (1: boudoir, 2: synth-sensorium, 3: opium bowl, 4: rolling papers, 5: fine wines, 6: smoked shifter meat),
    18. kentauri fighter swaggering without a care in the world,
    19. friendly and almost discrete agent of the (1: viles, 2: viladrines, 3: moss-fuckers, 4: tree-huggers, 5: vile bastards, 6: deathless doppelgangers),
    20. mysterious stranger known as (1: traveler, 2: walker, 3: jack, 4: jane, 5: loper, 6: stinker).
    The Last Trading House is a joint enterprise of the Baron's Bullion Company and the Khanal Silver Company built in the shell of an ancient builder DFG palace (spheroid subtype B) in the Most Canyon.