diff --git a/_sidebar.md b/_sidebar.md index 4519a36..37fee30 100644 --- a/_sidebar.md +++ b/_sidebar.md @@ -1,12 +1,18 @@ - [Home](/) - [What is Vaarn?](what-is-vaarn.md) - [Creating Characters](creating-characters.md) -- [Ancestries](ancestries.md) -- [Equipment](equipment.md) + - [Ancestries](ancestries.md) + - [Equipment](equipment.md) + - [Exotica](exotica.md) + - [Mystic Gifts](mystic-gifts.md) + - [Cybernetics](cybernetics.md) - [Basic Rules](basic-rules.md) -- [Transport in Vaarn](vehicles.md) - [Referee Rules](referee-rules.md) -- Regions of Vaarn +- [Content Generators](content-generators.md) +- [Transport in Vaarn](vehicles.md) +- [Regions of Vaarn]() + - The Badlands + - [Gnomon](regions/the-badlands/gnomon.md) - [The Interior](regions/the-interior.md) - [Bestiary](bestiary.md) - [Titans Of A Faded Age](titans.md) diff --git a/ancestries.md b/ancestries.md index 7dad21f..756f162 100644 --- a/ancestries.md +++ b/ancestries.md @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ # Ancestries -Ancestries describe what kind of being you are. Choose one of the five and use the Spark Tables for inspiration. Feel free to ignore the results if they do not match your vision for the character; they are intended as creative fuel only. +_Ancestries describe what kind of being you are. Choose one of the five and use the Spark Tables for inspiration. Feel free to ignore the results if they do not match your vision for the character; they are intended as creative fuel only._ ## True-Kin _The true-kin sealed themselves inside hidden arcologies when the Great Collapse came, and in this fashion they preserved their bodies from the degradations that afflicted those left living upon the surface. The true-kin have fanatically kept their bloodlines free of mutation and parasitic nanomachinery, and closely guard their mastery of the ancients’ technology. The societies they built inside their secluded arcologies were hierarchical and caste-based; traditions the true-kin have carried with them into their re-colonisation of the surface world and establishment of the New Hegemony._ diff --git a/basic-rules.md b/basic-rules.md index 893f0d7..71f483b 100644 --- a/basic-rules.md +++ b/basic-rules.md @@ -70,131 +70,3 @@ As you adventure in Vaarn, your character will grow from a relative novice into When you level up, you receive 3 points which you may use to increase your Abilities. Abilities may never be raised higher than 20/+10. You may also roll a d8 and add the result to your maximum HP. Once a character has reached level 10, they are considered complete. Each subsequent level will grant one extra HP, and they cannot increase their Abilities further. It is recommended that they recruit an Apprentice to accompany them on Expeditions. Once they have gained a few Levels, this Apprentice can become your new main character. - -# Mystic Gifts -Faith, mastery of arcane nano-tech, abuse of psychoactive fungus, or mutation has given your mind uncanny influence over the material world. Gifts are not items you carry, but intrinsic abilities you possess. Using a Gift costs HP; a precise cost will be determined by the Referee once you describe what you want to accomplish. The baseline cost is d6 HP. Gifts always hit in combat without rolling against Armour; they deal damage of one dice size higher than the user paid in HP. Therefore paying d6 HP will result in a damage roll of d8, and so on. - -If you are not satisfied with the sample Gifts on offer, you may roll a completely random Gift. Simply roll once on the Quality table and once on the Form table opposite to generate the name of your Gift. You may decide, along with the GM and the other players, what exactly this Gift does. - -|d20|SOURCE OF POWER|YOUR GIFT| -|---|---------------|---------| -|1|Mystical Crystal|Telekinesis| -|2|Ritual Cannibalism|Pyrokinesis| -|3|Psychoactive Fungus|Telepathy| -|4|Nanomachine Infection|Memory Extraction| -|5|Irridiated at Birth|Mind Control| -|6|Meditation|Invisibility| -|7|Dream Quest|Astral Projection| -|8|Parasitic Spirit Entity|Healing Hands| -|9|Mutation|Paralysing Touch| -|10|Addictive Rare Drug|Eye Lasers| -|11|Cybernetic Implants|Augury| -|12|Devouring Memories|Inhuman Speed| -|13|Brain Surgery|Second Sight| -|14|Religion|Force Wall| -|15|Ancient Mask|Generate Lightning| -|16|Ancient Ring|Ultrasonic Scream| -|17|Born During Eclipse|Levitation| -|18|Found Weird Orb|Summon Orbs| -|19|beheld Azathoth, the Daemon Sultan|Cryokinesis| -|20|Studied in Lost Archives|Induce Sleep| - -# Quality and Form -|d20|1-5|6-10|11-15|16-20| -|---|---|----|-----|-----| -|1|Bashing|Absorbing|Adhering|Bewildering| -|2|Binding|Armouring|Addicting|Calming| -|3|Blinding|Banishing|Blackening|Charming -|4|Burning|Concealing|Blossoming|Commanding -|5|Choking|Countering|Cacophonous|Enticing -|6|Consuming|Curing|Dazzling|Horrifying -|7|Corroding|Cushioning|Dividing|Hysterical -|8|Crushing|Deflecting|Duplicating|Maddening -|9|Deafening|Disappearing|Evolving|Mesmerising -|10|Detonating|Disarming|Extinguishing|Mocking -|11|Disintegrating|Disguising|Fusing|Revealing -|12|Draining|Entangling|Ghostly|Whirling -|13|Electrifying|Warding|Grasping|Slithering -|14|Excruciating|Guarding|Inflating|Dreaming -|15|Freezing|Shielding|Inverting|Encoding -|16|Withering|Healing|Invulnerable|Enraging -|17|Impaling|Hindering|Prismatic|Pulsing -|18|Imprisoning|Invigorating|Transmuting|Saddening -|19|Infecting|Mending|Teleporting|Scrying -|20|Liquefying|Nullifying|Whispering|Subtle - -|d20|1-5|6-10|11-15|16-20| -|---|---|----|-----|-----| -|1|Claw|Salt|Hail|Chaos -|2|Clay|Sand|Haze|Cold -|3|Crystal|Silk|Wind|Darkness -|4|Flesh|Skin|Shard|Prism -|5|Mould|Soil|Miasma|Distortion -|6|Flower|Stone|Perfume|Dream -|7|Fungus|Sugar|Pollen|River -|8|Fruit|Ray|Plague|Fire -|9|Glass|Thorn|Rain|Frost -|10|Ice|Vine|Sandstorm|Ghost -|11|Iron|Rust|Orb|Gravity -|12|Ivory|Void|Bolt|Growth -|13|Leaf|Ash|Snow|Song -|14|Stone|Blizzard|Smoke|Voice -|15|Moss|Breath|Arc|Light -|16|Hand|Cloud|Sphere|Lightning -|17|Gaze|Dust|Shield|Thread -|18|Roots|Fog|Helix|Parasite -|19|Beam|Mist|Web|Paradox -|20|Cascade|Fragrance|Wound|Entropy - -# Exotica -Exotica are strange, rare objects that are highly sought after. Each PC may begin play with one item of Exotica. Roll once on the table below. If you roll the same Exotica as another player, take the next available option down. - -|d20|EXOTICA|DESCRIPTION| -|---|-------|-----------| -|1|Mirror Ring|Projects a hologram copy of the wearer that mimics their actions.| -|2|A Fool’s Head|The severed head of a synthetic jester. Not in great condition but can still remember some jokes.| -|3|Singing Crystal|When struck, sings loudly and beautifully for up to an hour.| -|4|Nightmare Box|Small cube of unbreakable, dark-tinted glass. One small peephole. Anyone looks inside will be paralysed by horror.| -|5|Sandworm Horn|Blow outdoors to summon a sandworm, if you are bold enough.| -|6|Midas Bomb|Transforms organic matter into gold.| -|7|Sky-seeking Salve|Reverses effect of gravity on object it coats. Take care when outdoors| -|8|Chameleon Cloak|Perfectly matches the colour of its surroundings| -|9|Desiccated Mycomorph|Tiny dried out fungus-man. A drop of blood will revive him.| -|10|Flesh of the Honeyed Lamb|Stolen from the Cult of the Honeyed Lamb; meat imbued with a powerful medicinal psychedelic.| -|11|Agoniser|A barbaric relic. Silver needle that causes unbearable pain to organic creatures without leaving a mark.| -|12|Exultant’s Hawk|Cybernetic hunting animal, bound to you telepathically. 3 HP, Armour 17, d4 claw damage.| -|13|Black Heart|Repulsive twitching cyborg organ. Will slowly and painfully revive a single dead body.| -|14|All-Purpose Idol|Imbued with powerful neuro-active programming. Observers always believe idol represents the deity they worship.| -|15|Ulfire Candle|Ulfire is the ninth colour; its light has the unusual quality of shining through solid objects. It is blocked by lead.| -|16|Vial of ICE-9|Alchemical substance that transforms all water it touches into un-meltable ice.| -|17|Pale Blade of Amun-Oh|Priests of Amun-Oh pledged never to take a life; their white knives will cut through anything except living flesh.| -|18|Blasphemies of the Binary Demon|A tablet engraved with a series of quantum-logical propositions. Poses little threat to organic life, but can be deadly to sentient machines.| -|19|Helpful Snake|It lives up your sleeve and tries, whenever it can, to help.| -|20|Dried Crypt Lotus|Grim flower that sprouts from the forehead of corpses. Sometimes kept as a keepsake of a lost companion.| - -# Cybernetics -PCs may begin with a cybernetic implant instead of a mystic Gift at the GM’s discretion. Cybernetic implants do not take up item slots; however, each cybernetic implant is associated with one of a PC’s six Abilities. Each Ability may have only one implant assigned to it. Cybernetics cannot boost a PC’s stats past the natural 20/+10 maximum. - -|d20|IMPLANT|ABILITY|EFFECT| -|---|-------|-------|------| -|1|Air Current Microsensor|PSY|You suffer no navigation or combat penalties from blindness or darkness.| -|2|Alluring Fakeface|ECO|You are extraordinarily beautiful. +2 to EGO.| -|3|Autoglot HeadBank|INT|+2 to INT. You understand all languages.| -|4|Backup Heart|CON|+2 to CON. +5 max HP.| -|5|Carbide Knucklebones|STR|Your bare fists deal d8+2 damage.| -|6|Cyberliver|CON|You gain immunity to all poisons. You cannot get drunk.| -|7|Dazzleskin Filaments|CON|You are immune to energy weapons. Disadvantage when trying to hide.| -|8|Dopamine Synthesizer|EGO|+2 to EGO. You are immune to fear, panic, and embarrassment.| -|9|Dorsal Jump-pack|DEX|You have hover-jets mounted on your back. You fly slowly and loudly.| -|10|Ferrosteel Exo-Skeleton|STR|Add +2 to Armour and STR. Subtract -2 from DEX. You cannot swim.| -|11|Finger Syringe|DEX|One finger is a hidden injector. You can load it with any tonic or poison.| -|12|Hydraulic Biceps|STR|+2 to STR. Add STR bonus to weapon damage.| -|13|Hyper-elastic Tendons|DEX|+2 to DEX. You can jump like a frog.| -|14|Merciless Cybereyes|DEX|+2 to DEX. Add DEX bonus to ranged weapon damage.| -|15|Mercurial Fakeface|EGO|Your face can alter its features and colour at will.| -|16|Sub-dermal Ceramic Plating|CON|+2 to Armour. Cannot be removed.| -|17|Sub-dermal Insulation|CON|Immunity to all damage from flames, cold, and electricity. Cannot be removed.| -|18|Tactical Bioscanner|PSY|You know the Armour, Hit Points, and Morale of any Biological creature.| -|19|Tactical Technoscanner|INT|You know the Armour, Hit Points, and Morale of any Synthetic creature.| -|20|Trauma-Response Rig|CON|Make a CON save to ignore the results of Wound rolls.| - diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md index dcdfe36..00a3e9b 100644 --- a/changelog.md +++ b/changelog.md @@ -39,3 +39,18 @@ v0.7 Content - Add Titans of a Faded Age. - Add Weather Hex Flower image - Update Acknowledgements to VoV #3 + +v0.8 Content +- Add content from VoV #2 +- Update menu + - Organization + - Change auto headers to display only h2 deep from h3. +- Change Character Sheet URL to use Leo's +- Add missing hyperlinks to 'The Interior'. +- Post conversion edits to content. + - Fix bolding + - Adding hyperlinks + - Adding 'note' sections +- Changes to Docsify + - Add Search + - Remove "Edit on Github" diff --git a/content-generators.md b/content-generators.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dcaff1a --- /dev/null +++ b/content-generators.md @@ -0,0 +1,455 @@ +# Content Generators +Use the generators on the following pages to help bring Vaarn to life. They will help you create characters, locations, and objects that the players may encounter during their journeys. You will also find 100 strange and powerful Exotica that players could uncover in Vaarn's ruins, a selection of sample monsters, and rules for vehicles. Vaarn is intended to be different for everyone who plays in it, so these content creation tools are hopefully sparks for creativity rather than instructions. + +## Quick NPC Generator + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20ANCESTRYGENDERDISPOSITIONGOAL
1True-kinMaleImplacably EvilCraves Drug
2Craves Drink
3Religious Mania
4HostileSeeks Revenge
5Pay off Debt
6CacogenPilgrimage
7Escaped Slave
8UnhelpfulFleeing the Law
9FemaleCollect Debt
10Craves Fame
11NewbeastObliviousCraves Wealth
12Craves Knowledge
13Missing Family
14FriendlyMissing Friend
15Hates a Rival
16SynthUnrequited Love
17AndrogynousForbidden Love
18Incredibly GenerousCraves Power
19MycomorphCreate Art
20Carnal Lust
+ +## Vaarnish Names + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
AchefootBitarGurrousMandalaPenta
AkamiBjartaHildeneMelisabePentecost
AlghanBluebackHoniaMerryPetum
AlzinaBountyJhullMirageRoswick
AmbrosiaBrazenJingleMizunoSalar
AndromedaCaelaKalskMoneflowerSalka
AnthurCalepikeKatheMorrowSeisuke
AranCastlareKinburrowMosefinaSimorph
ArareCionyKnotMothSmalltall
ArbClarityKoanMurthwaiteSorror
AriyeiCossmossLaomerMuthaelTytus
ArjunaCuspLeegreenNahlUlmon
AsajEastwoolLiltNectarVenna
AumatellFreyrLittle-SpitNehmetVitus
AverseeFrostpikeLochiNisiteVult
AwasadGologLonesomeOjasinWeston
BanaGoosebreadLongtoothOlaneleWhisley
BarghGorescheLotusOssopWorry
BasaiGorskLovelyOsteryXylene
BerruzoGrickLucky-And-TrueOthobaZofi
+ +## 100 Exotica + +|d100|ITEM|DESCRIPTION| +|----|----|-----------| +|1|Mirror Armour|Immunity from energy weapons. 3 slots, Armour 13.| +|2|Nano-edged Blade|2d8 sword. Instant decapitation kill on a 20.| +|3|Hypergeometric Blade|2d8 sword. Damages hypergeometric beings.| +|4|Fuligin Garb|Complete invisibility in darkness.| +|5|Philosopher’s Bridge|Create hypergeometric doorway between two points in space you can see.| +|6|Portable Hole|Creates six inch hole in solid matter.| +|7|Warding Module|Armour 18 vs kinetic attacks. Double damage from energy weapons.| +|8|Ulfire Paint|Visible through solid objects.| +|9|Active Camouflage Rig|Total invisibility on all spectrums.| +|10|Sheltering Urn|Hypergeometric urn with a small room inside.| +|11|Bluescreen Dagger|Synthetic creatures must EGO save or take d20 damage when stabbed.| +|12|TITAN Protocol: OBEY|Synthetic creatures EGO save or obey your orders for a round.| +|13|TITAN Protocol: SLEEP|Synthetic creatures EGO save or sleep.| +|14|TITAN Protocol: KILL|Synthetic creatures EGO save or attack everything in sight.| +|15|Sovereign Glue|Unbreakably stick two objects together.| +|16|Ultra-kinetic Gel|Green gel that amplifies kinetic energy.| +|17|Empathy Bomb|Biological creatures must EGO save or be overcome with compassion.| +|18|Sky-seeking Stone|A sphere of negative weight. Not buoyant enough to carry a man.| +|19|Stasis Bomb|Anything caught in explosion is briefly marooned outside the time stream.| +|20|Entropy Gun|Causes rapid decay of organic matter.| +|21|Visualiser Helm|Golden bubble-helmet that projects imagery of the wearer’s thoughts, whether they want it to or not.| +|22|Pacifying Glove|Biological creatures must EGO save or fall asleep when touched.| +|23|Sprayflesh|Canister that sprays synthetic flesh over wounds.| +|24|Singularity Sphere|Anti-entropy sphere containing a miniature gravity singularity.| +|25|Hover-Rug|Antique carpet embroidered with antigravity threads. Carries one passenger.| +|26|Ansible|Allows faster than light communication with a linked Ansible.| +|27|Desiccation Spike|Drains the water from creature or plant stabbed. D6 Damage.| +|28|Arthar’s Grail|Liquids placed into this goblet become pure water.| +|29|Mord-Red’s Grail|Liquids placed into this goblet become deadly poison.| +|30|Unbearable Wax|Black wax that increases in weight one hundred times as it dries.| +|31|Dopplegun|Biotech gun that births a rapidly ageing, totally insane clone of any creature its bullets hit.| +|32|Jolt Ring|Deals d4 damage to any being that hits wearer with a metal weapon.| +|33|Soporific Sachet|Small plastic bag. Any biological creature placed inside will fall soundly asleep.| +|34|Trapped Chromavore|Chromavore trapped inside hypergeometric containment crystal.| +|35|Trapped Planeyman|Planeyman trapped inside hypergeometric containment crystal.| +|36|Oneiric Bridge|Allows user to enter the dreams of a sleeping creature.| +|37|Immaculate Bird|White psychic songbird that coughs if it hears a deliberate falsehood.| +|38|Puppeteer’s Glove|Inserts nano-needles into the spinal cord of a human subject. Allows glove-wearer to control their movements.| +|39|Horror-Helm|Autarch’s War Helm. Inscribed with neuro-active markings that cause unbearable fear in human brains.| +|40|Frictionless Spray|A spray-can that spreads a clear, utterly frictionless gel.| +|41|Helping Hand|Cyborg severed hand. Will enter residences and return to sketch out a map. Keen to choke people.| +|42|Ardent Maggots|Strange silver grubs that can strip a corpse down to the bone in seconds. Will not eat live flesh.| +|43|Spirit Prison|Hypergeometric crystal which can constrain a hypergeometric entity.| +|44|Presence Drone|Small floating sphere that announces one’s presence in a loud, pompous voice.| +|45|Adamant Linen|Flowing linen that acts as heavy armour. 2 slots, Armour 16.| +|46|Osmosis Mask|Gel-like biotech mask. Can always breathe comfortably, even in vacuum.| +|47|Ghoul Scoop|Tool used by ghoul-cults to extract the memories from corpses.| +|48|Psy-Blade|As medium weapon, but uses PSY bonus to hit.| +|49|Ego Death-Ray|As medium ranged weapon, but uses EGO bonus to hit.| +|50|Watchful Ferret|A small golden synthetic ferret that sits on your shoulder. Nips you if it detects an unseen danger.| +|51|Ego-Engine|The mind of a Synth, lacking a body.| +|52|Quantum Umbilical|Strange device that links the life force of two creatures. While one lives, the other cannot truly die.| +|53|Hard Light Projector|Projects a flat wide bridge of hard light, with effective range of ten feet. Could be walked across.| +|54|Armiger’s Egg|Projects a geodesic warding field with room for six people inside. Protects from all kinetic attacks.| +|55|Fortuitous Polyhedron|20-sided polyhedral quantum anomaly. Allows user to enter a reality where they passed an ability save. Vanishes after use.| +|56|Magnetic Orb|Large silver orb which emits powerful magnetic field. Turn off and on at will.| +|57|Autarch’s Fork|Obsidian dining fork that glows green when it is stuck into poison.| +|58|Hushboots|Sable, supple footwear that utterly silence footsteps.| +|59|Cat Ring|Antigravity device. Arrests wearer’s fall just above the ground. Works nine times.| +|60|Gravity Manipulator|Lifts and fires small-to-medium sized objects.| +|61|Mind Shield|Golden cage worn around head. Protects from psychic intrusion.| +|62|Basilisk Blade|Strobing anti-synth weapon. Adv to hit synthetic creatures.| +|63|Mi-Go Carapace|Biomechanical armour from Yuggoth. 2 Burden slots, Armour 18. Once worn, cannot be removed.| +|64|Phase Grenade|Everything caught in the blast becomes briefly de-synched with reality; can pass through like mist.| +|65|Universal Ration|Thick white cake containing everything a human body needs. Full heal.| +|66|Fascinator Helm|When activated, all biological creatures must EGO save or be transfixed by the flickering patterns on this helmet.| +|67|Argent Halo|When worn, prevents creature from harming any living being. Cannot be removed by wearer.| +|68|Instant Table|A fancy and elegant dining table, compressed using hypergeometry to be the size of a matchbox. Unfurls when thrown to the ground.| +|69|Ulfire Lantern|Shines ulfire light. Can see through solid objects and be seen.| +|70|Spy Fly|Synthetic tracking fly. Give it a sample of target’s DNA and it will locate them unerringly.| +|71|Craven Mycomorph|Tiny dried fungus man. Coward. Rehydrate him and he will always be able to plan a quick escape.| +|72|Snoop Stalk|Vile telescopic eye-ball tendril. Replaces one of your own eyes. Lets you see around corners.| +|73|Hover Boots|Antigravity boots. Allow brief sojourns into thin air.| +|74|Apocalypse Glass|Dark glass which shows not your reflection, but an extra-solar culture consumed by unimaginable horror. Of interest to some collectors.| +|75|Brain Coral|Symbiotic pink skull-fungus. Grants a random Gift and lowers your EGO by d6. Bulky and ugly, hard to remove.| +|76|Synthetic Vassal|Follows PC around, dispensing stiff drinks and sage advice. Will not fight, but will insult your foes.| +|77|Synthetic Fool|Follows PCs around, making flatulence sounds and chuckling. No other use.| +|78|Synthetic Warrior|Follows PCs around, shouting dire threats at anyone who so much as breathes at them. Kind of a huge hassle.| +|79|Tech Wand|Miraculous silver wand. Three charges. Use to re-activate or deactivate a piece of arcane technology.| +|80|Mirror Shield|+1 Armour. DEX Save to reflect energy weapon shots back at their source.| +|81|Hard Light Glove|Project a fist-sized cube of hard light.| +|82|Grey Goo Grenade|Release a clump of ravenous nano-goo. D6 damage per turn. Gains 1HD for each creature it eats.| +|83|Omni-Key|Key that can fit itself to any lock.| +|84|Canned Nectar|Crimson-canned nectar of a long-lost era. Unhealthy but tasty.| +|85|Blue Rust|Alchemical compound that turns any metal into rust within moments.| +|86|Pale Flame|Bottle of pallid fire that burns with intense cold rather than heat.| +|87|Tyrant’s Helm|When worn, must EGO save or be flooded with the desire to command others.| +|88|Belligerent Paste|If applied to a dead body, it will turn that corpse into a weapon. The nature of the weapon will depend upon the corpse used.| +|89|Lying Mirror|Reflects whatever the holder wants to see.| +|90|Expansion Bomb|When it explodes, it increase all distances within the area of effect 100 times. This lasts d6 hours.| +|91|Philosopher’s Dirk|D6 dagger. Damages enemy’s INT rather than HP. At 0 INT they adopt your point of view.| +|92|Phase Cape|Hypergeometric cloth; allows wearer to slip out of reality. You cannot be touched by anyone, but neither can you touch them. You are still visible.| +|93|Singing Frog|Knows some popular songs. People will buy you drinks in a bar.| +|94|Seeker of Flaws|Hammer. When held, shows you the weak points in structures.| +|95|Autarch’s Sigil|Machines that served the Autarchy believe you are their master.| +|96|Feathered Parasol|Affixed with anti-gravity beads, to produce a parachute effect.| +|97|Psybernetic Helm|Installs one random Mystic’s Gift (p.23).| +|98|Cybernetic Cocoon|Installs one random cybernetic implant (p.25).| +|99|Book|Roll for random rare book (p.31).| +|00|Drug|Roll for random rare drug (p.34).| + +## Books of Vaarn +|d20|COVER|AUTHOR|STYLE|SUBJECT|NOTABLE FEATURE| +|---|-----|------|-----|-------|---------------| +|1|Waterlogged|Anonymous|Insane|Medicine|Extremely Heavy| +|2|Burned|Armiger|Wry|Bestiary|Every Word Is A Lie| +|3|Green|Autarch|Sardonic|Botany|Bloodstains| +|4|Golden|Bad Artist|Formal|Synthetic Life|Elaborate Illustrations| +|5|Snake Skin|Bad Poet|Moralising|Xenobiology|Poisoned Bookmark| +|6|Yellow|Cacogen|Pious|War|From An Autarch’s Library| +|7|Orange|Condemned Criminal|Purple|Geology|Coded Message Inside Cover| +|8|Mouldy|Courtesan|Archaic|Biography|Love Letter Inside Cover| +|9|Plastic|Deposed Autarch|Heroic|The Future|From Another Planet| +|10|Iridescent|Deposed Hegemon|Passionate|History|Luminous Ink| +|11|Rusted|Great Artist|Earnest|Dreams|Poisoned Page| +|12|Striped|Great Poet|Rhyming|Drugs|Tiny Weapon Hidden Inside| +|13|Silver|Hegemon|Comedic|Travel|Unknown Language| +|14|Ochre|Madman|Lyrical|Art|Fabulously Rare| +|15|White|Monk|Monotonous|Poetry|Illuminated With Gold Leaf| +|16|Blue|Priest|Lively|The Autarchs|Heretical Text| +|17|Black|Prophet|Dry|Religion|Worm-eaten| +|18|Sunbleached|Synth|Hysterical|Hypergeometry|Clever Forgery| +|19|Jewelled|Titan|Awkward|Physics|Drugs Hidden Inside| +|20|Indigo|Warrior|Pedantic|Sex|Utterly Illegible| + +## Oases in the Wastes + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20THE WATERWHAT'S HERE? (x2)WHO'S HERE? (x2)CUSTOMS OF THE OASIS
1Very BlueDate PalmsTrading CaravanPay Toll
2Leaks from MachineryFlamingosNo Bloodshed
3Incredibly ClearTowering RockMoonlit Sacrifices
4Umber and SiltyRusted War MachineNo Bathing
5Still and GlassyAutarch StatueFaa NomadsRitual Combat
6Black and MuddyFlowering BushesVow of Silence
7Almost GoneIbisRuled by Chance
8Full of FishLurking CrocodilesHegemony ScoutsSacred to Men
9Tastes SourBlack ObelisksBounty HuntersSacred to Women
10Algae-chokedDecaying BuildingTitan CultistsConsult Computer
11FetidAddax HerdWandering MysticsConsult Oracle
12Full of plasticSolar PanelsTraveling CircusMust be Naked
13Rusty RedArcology DomeMedicant WarriorMust be Veiled
14Warm and BubblingCrystalline GrowthsEscaped SlaveAn Animal is Holy
15Champagne ColouredFungal GrowthsSunburnt ExileAn Animal is Profane
16Deep and SilentBroken PillarPilgrim MonksLaughter is Prohibited
17Inside a CaveNomad GraveyardSynthsSacred to Petty God
18Healing PropertiesWrecked SynthsCacklemawsDrug Ritual
19Sugary SweetMud HolesNoble in DisguiseWater Ritual
20Mildly PsychedelicSacred CavesFamous MusicianFasting
+ +## FAA Nomads + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NUMBERSTransportLivestockMood
1Outriders
(d4)		On footGoatsAngry
2Scared
3Mourning
4A family group
(2d6)		Pack CamelsCattleTalkative
5Sullen
6Warlike
7Contemplative
8Extended family group
(3d6)		Iron MulesLizardsPious
9Crazed
10FeastbeastsSuspicious
11Cheerful
12Small Clan
Wary
13War CamelsYurlingsOverconfident
14Argumentative
15Proud
16Large Clan
(6d20)		Giant SnailsSilent
17Praying
18Juvenile SandwormsCelebrating
19Meeting of Clans
(3d100)		Sandworm SledDrunken
20Boastful
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20LeaderThey HaveThey WantThey Survive By
1Stern PatriarchMeatMeatScavenging and Selling Scrap
2Stern MatriarcrhDatesWine
3Council of EldersOlivesBeerAnimal Herding
4Charismatic VisionaryCheesesalt
5Wounded Old WarriorWeaponsWeaponsTrading Between Static Settlements
6Husband and Wife, arguingHidesInformation
7Husband and Wife, happyPrecious MetalShelterRaiding Other Nomads
8Young HotheadMachine PartsSlaves
9Drug-addled OracleMedicineEscaped PrisonerControlling a Pass or Road
10Sinister SlayerSpicesCeptured Bride
11Lecherous PatriarchDrugsRunaway GroomControlling a Watercourse
12Lucherous MatriarchSpare LivestockRevenge: Other Faa
13Twin Brothers/SistersFabricsRevenge: MonsterMove between Oases
14Blind Brothers/SistersFungusRevenge: Hegemony
15Accomplished Animal TamerSugarRevenge: BanditsHunting Sandworms
16Frail GrandmotherCyberneticsMissing Child
17Skilled SharpshooterTonicsMedical HelpRaiding Static Settlements
18Cruel PsychicBooksHumiliate Other Faa
19Power StruggleExoticaTo PartySlave Traders
20AnarchyWaterWater
+ +## Drugs of Vaarn +|d20|Colour|Form|Ingested By|Effect (x2)| +|---|------|----|-----------|-----------| +|1|Red|Sugar|Snorting|Euphoria| +|2|Blue|Leaf|Injected|Paranoia| +|3|Yellow|Crystal|Stewed|Auditory Hallucinations| +|4|White|Cactus|Boiled in Tea|Visual Hallucinations| +|5|Black|Fungus|Swallow Whole|No Pain| +|6|Pink|Brain|Lick It|Fearless| +|7|Orange|Pearl|Brain Interface|Ego Death| +|8|Viridian|Slime|Hold on Tongue|Levitation| +|9|Olive|Meat|Smoke It|Anxious sweats| +|10|Silver|Honey|Touch to Eyes|Itchy Eyeballs| +|11|Gold|Insect|Absorbed in Skin|Nasal Drip| +|12|Bronze|Liquid|Stare at It|Split Personality| +|13|Umber|Stone|Burn and Watch the Flames|Nausea| +|14|Steel|Glyph|Infused into Honey|Behold Azathoth| +|15|Smoke|Biotech|Drunk in Urine|Supernatural Hearing| +|16|Indigo|Sand|Burn and Eat the Ash|Paralyzed| +|17|Azure|Root|Bake in Bread|Murderous Rage| +|18|Violet|Blood|Place in Ear|Can't Stop Dancing| +|19|Octarine|Clay|Only Affects Synths|Very Mellow| +|20|Ulfire|Tooth|Smell It|Hightened Empathy| + +## Ruins of Vaarn + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20What Was It?And Then?But AlsoNow
1Bath HouseHermitageHaunted by PlaneyfolkAbandoned
2Cryogenic ChambersBandit HideoutHas Hidden Water
3Orbital Defence TurretCultist CompoundHas Abundant Food Source
4Cyborg ConstructionBarracksHas Abundant Drugs
5TheatreMonasteryWild Animal Nest
6ObservatoryCreature's LairPart of Creature TerritoryCreature's Lair
7BarracksBrothelContains Exotica
8Autarch StatueInnHas Petty-God Shrine
9Power GeneratorTheatreHas Titan Shrine
10Noble's ResidenceGladiator PitHas Weapons Cache
11Autarch's TombMadhouseUpsetting ArtworkBandit Hideout
12Chemical ProcessingCloning FacilityUsed for Sacrifices
13TempleMystic's AbodeFire Damaged
14ShrineShrineCrystal Encrusted
15Transit HubFungus GardenSwallowed by Sands
16Farm ArrayBattlefieldOvergrown with FungusHegemony Outpost
17Bioengineering FacilityDemon ShrineServitor Synths Still Function
18Medical FacilityTrading PostStrange Monolith
19Communications ArrayOasisCrashed VehicleNomad Encampment
20Space PortPrisonDefence System Active
+ +## Petty Gods of Vaarn +Vaarn is the graveyard of faiths, some older than the very stars that shine overhead. Gods are carried here in the hearts of those who seek to make a life amongst the unending azure sands, and deities proliferate like ragweed across the desolation. A Vaarnish traveller would find it noteworthy to walk a day without encountering the remains of an enigmatic shrine to a member of a long-forgotten pantheon, a standing stone where blood was once spilt to appease a quantum daemon, or the abode of a hermit who still observed the rituals of an oblique and private devotion. + +|d20|Divine Aspect|Secondary Iconography|Holy Domain|Sacred Colour|Honoured Through| +|---|-------------|---------------------|-----------|-------------|----------------| +|1|Father|Crystal|Birth|Crimson|Dancing| +|2|Mother|Fungus|Death|Indigo|Flagellation| +|3|Maiden|Scroll|War|Orange|Meditation| +|4|Crone|Cornucopia|Harvests|Magenta|Giving Alms| +|5|Hawk|Sword|Decay|Purple|Feasting| +|6|Dog|Moon|Travel|Azure|Fasting| +|7|Warrior|Sun|Dreams|Gold|Sacrifice| +|8|King|Helix|Marriage|Silver|Masquerade| +|9|Locust|Scorpion|Commerce|Bronze|Martial Arts| +|10|Ibis|Goat|Memory|Umber|Mutilation| +|11|Baby|Toad|Water|Octarine|Chastity| +|12|Lamb|Honey|Sun|White|Psychedelics| +|13|Lion|Panther|Moon|Black|Singing| +|14|Mantis|Coins|Fire|Grey|Inhaling Smoke| +|15|Lizard|Dove|Synths|Lemon|Ritual Combat| +|16|Ape|Machinery|Mutants|Viridian|Poetry| +|17|Scholar|Serpent|Justice|Ulfire|Intoxication| +|18|Spider|Goblet|Art|Salmon|Water Ritual| +|19|Sandworm|Owl|Wind|Olive|A Secret Name| +|20|Jester|Horned|Silence|Rust|Marathon Race| + +## Bandits + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NumberTypeLeaderWeapons
1Small GroupFaa NomadsSilent BruteMartial Arts
2Cacklemaw RaidersSmall but IntenseBite and Scream
3Hegemony DesertersOne-Eyed WomanCrossbows
4Escaped SlavesRogue SynthBlowdarts
5Luckless DriftersSelf-styled KingThrowing Axes
6Modest BandDoomsday CultExiled NoblemanSwords
7LepersTells JokesSlings
8SlaversInfamous OutlawSpears and Nets
9Cruel ChildrenEx-GladiatorFlails
10Ghoul ClanScrawny GeniusRocket Launcher
11False MonksEx-CourtesanPoison Gas
12Large BandFungus-riddled ManiacsSmiling PsychopathRevolvers
13Businesslike ThugsDelusional DrunkardRifles
14Gibbering CacogenSadistic GluttonCrude Jezails
15Maskless NewbeastsCalm and PoliteAncient Cannon
16Gang of FoolsApologetic but FirmCombat Lasers
17Scantily Clad WomenLustful and CrudeSonic Weapons
18MobElderly ThievesCartoonishly EvilTrained Beast
19Hegemony SoldiersLeaves a Calling CardPlasma Rifles
20Gentleman RobbersRobin Hood-esquePsychic Powers
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20TransportTacticsThey Want
1On FootRoving RaidersWater
2Food
3Gold
4Weapons
5Camel RidersAmbush From HidingSacrifices
6New Recruits
7Medicine
8Forbidden Books
9Dune SkuggiesPretend to Need HelpFungus
10Synths
11Children
12Slaves
13Wind-WagonEntertainment
14Night AttacksWine
15Beer
16Antigravity BikesForgiveness
17To Eat You
18Control a RoadSingle Combat
19Auto-chariotsYour Eyes
20Your Teeth
+ +## Trade Caravans + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20TransportCargo ACargo BMerchant
1Camel TrainTimberSilkGarrulous Imbecile
2PotteryCottonPious Miser
3CarpetsBeerNaive Dreamer
4ZeppelinCheeseMemory DiscsGrim and Silent
5LivestockWeaponsClever Drunkard
6Wind WagonShoesArmourDedicated and Ascetic
7MasksCoffeeEducated and Venal
8ParchmentTeaScholarly and Talkative
9Giant TortoiseBooksSaltHonest and Desperate
10Synth PartsWinePrecise and Callous
11Dune BuggyMedicineChocolateWhimsical and Entitled
12DrugsDyesUnsentimental and Fickle
13BellsSaffronPure and Brutal
14Auto-ChariotCrystalsCinnamonPrejudiced Coward
15ClayOlivesCurious and Pugnacious
16Armoured CrawlerSlavesDatesResponsible and Prim
17SilverCured MeatSad Drunk
18GoldOlive OilDaring and Argumentative
19Sandworm SledJewelsSeafoodIncorruptible
20WaterSugarAbrasive but Sensitive
+ +|d20|Passenger|Guards|Complication| +|---|---------|------|------------| +|1|Actor|All Dead|Out of Water| +|2|Musician|Wounded|Totally Lost| +|3|Forger|Secretly Bandits|Pursued buy Bandits| +|4|Artist|Ran Away|Pursued by Creature| +|5|Priest|Badly Armed|Disease| +|6|Mystic|Mutinous|Spoiled Cargo| +|7|Bounty Hunter|Lazy|Transport Damaged| +|8|Escaped Slave|Ageing|Merchant Crazed| +|9|Clerk|White Apes|Passenger Crazed| +|10|Dentist|Actually Holograms|Guards Crazed| +|11|Conman|Ex-Gladiators|Merchant Possessed| +|12|Poet|Slave Soldiers|Passenger Possessed| +|13|Gambler|Untested|Guard Possessed| +|14|Clown|Incompetent Mercenaries|Carrying Body for Burial| +|15|Boxer|Warrior Synth|Notorious Passenger| +|16|Alchemist|Bloodthirsty Thugs|Smuggling Contraband| +|17|Spy|Ancient Gun-drone|Hides a Fugitive| +|18|Courtesan|Cloaking Device|Everyone's Drunk| +|19|Barber|Hegemony Deserters|Fungal Infection| +|20|Snake Charmer|Loyal and Competent|Everyone's Arguing| + +## Arcology Domes +Arcologies are self-sufficient, hermetically sealed artificial ecosystems, which protected the true-kin through the fevered centuries of the Great Collapse. They have long since been unsealed and released their inhabitants into the blue lands of Vaarn, but these domes are still a common sight in the wastes and are often occupied, as their subterranean gardens offer a stable source of water and food. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20DomeInhabitantsAbundanceLack
1BrokenAbandonedMeatOlives
2MoltenFresh WaterFish
3Sand-swallowedHermitSaltBeer
4DingyMysticGuzzlelineMen
5BlackenedEscaped SlavesCoffeeWomen
6Self-RepairingGhoulsWineChildren
7Barely IntactHegemony DesertersBreadMusic
8Booby-trappedNewbeastsJewellerySilence
9ReinforcedSemi-Feral OrphansBooksLivestock
10FunctionalAmnesiac ClonesFruitBooks
11WarlikeElderly MutesInformationCoffee
12DelicateConceptual ArtistsBellsBread
13OrnateOrchestraDrugsSpices
14WelcomingFungus CultistsLivestockDrugs
15Garden-likePolygamous ChurchSkilled LabourSanity
16ElegantLepersMusical InstrumentsMedicine
17DevotionalWarrior MonksSlavesInformation
18FloodedPsychic ChoirCheeseNew Blood
19GeodesicAndroids Pretending to be HumanWeaponsMachine Parts
20PerfectExoticaClothing
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/creating-characters.md b/creating-characters.md index 4af5fb4..705fd25 100644 --- a/creating-characters.md +++ b/creating-characters.md @@ -1,10 +1,13 @@ # Creating Characters -1. Player Characters (__PCs__) have [six abilities](basic-rules.md?id=abilities): Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intellect, Psyche, and Ego. Each ability has two related values: a __defence__ and a __bonus__. When creating a PC, roll 3d6 for each of their abilities, in order. The lowest of the three dice on each roll is the ability's bonus. Add 10 to find its defence. After you've finished rolling, you may swap the scores of two abilities. Example: You roll a 2, 2, and 6 for Strength. The lowest die is a 2, so your PC's Strength has a bonus of +2 and a defence of 12. Repeat this process for the rest of the abilities. +1. Player Characters (__PCs__) have [six abilities](basic-rules.md?id=abilities): Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intellect, Psyche, and Ego. Each ability has two related values: a __defence__ and a __bonus__. When creating a PC, roll 3d6 for each of their abilities, in order. The lowest of the three dice on each roll is the ability's bonus. Add 10 to find its defence. After you've finished rolling, you may swap the scores of two abilities. + + ?> _**Example:** You roll a 2, 2, and 6 for Strength. The lowest die is a 2, so your PC's Strength has a bonus of +2 and a defence of 12. Repeat this process for the rest of the abilities._ + 2. Choose your [Ancestry](ancestries.md). This determines what type of life-form you are. Each Ancestry has a number of spark tables to give you inspiration for the PC's name, appearance, and personality. 3. Roll 1d8 to determine your PC's starting and maximum hit points (__HP__). A PC's healing rate is 1d8 + Constitution bonus. -4. PCs have a number of [item slots](basic-rules.md?id=item-slots) equal to their Constitution defence, and items they carry must fit into available slots, or the PC will be Encumbered. Most items take up one slot, but some take up more. Small items can be bundled together into a single slot. +4. PCs have a number of [item slots](basic-rules.md?id=item-slots) equal to their Constitution defence, and items they carry must fit into available slots, or the PC will be [Encumbered](basic-rules.md?id=item-slots). Most items take up one slot, but some take up more. Small items can be bundled together into a single slot. 5. PCs start with 3 days of rations and one [weapon](equipment.md?id=weaponry) of their player's choice. Roll once on both the Vault Raiding [Gear Tables](equipment.md?id=gear-table) on the [Equipment page](equipment.md) to determine starting armor and equipment. - Armor comes with an armor defence value. Note that value on your character sheet with its corresponding Armour bonus (always 10 less than the defence). If the PC is not wearing armour, their armour defence is 10 and their armour bonus is +0. -6. Generate your character's starting Exotica and Gift. Exotica are unusual, rare items. Gifts are supernatural powers. +Armor comes with an armor defence value. Note that value on your character sheet with its corresponding Armour bonus (always 10 less than the defence). If the PC is not wearing armour, their armour defence is 10 and their armour bonus is +0. +6. Generate your character's starting [Exotica](exotica.md) and [Gift](mystic-gifts.md). Exotica are unusual, rare items. Gifts are supernatural powers. You are now ready to play! \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/cybernetics.md b/cybernetics.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..190546f --- /dev/null +++ b/cybernetics.md @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +# Cybernetics +PCs may begin with a cybernetic implant instead of a mystic Gift at the GM’s discretion. Cybernetic implants do not take up item slots; however, each cybernetic implant is associated with one of a PC’s six Abilities. Each Ability may have only one implant assigned to it. Cybernetics cannot boost a PC’s stats past the natural 20/+10 maximum. + +|d20|IMPLANT|ABILITY|EFFECT| +|---|-------|-------|------| +|1|Air Current Microsensor|PSY|You suffer no navigation or combat penalties from blindness or darkness.| +|2|Alluring Fakeface|ECO|You are extraordinarily beautiful. +2 to EGO.| +|3|Autoglot HeadBank|INT|+2 to INT. You understand all languages.| +|4|Backup Heart|CON|+2 to CON. +5 max HP.| +|5|Carbide Knucklebones|STR|Your bare fists deal d8+2 damage.| +|6|Cyberliver|CON|You gain immunity to all poisons. You cannot get drunk.| +|7|Dazzleskin Filaments|CON|You are immune to energy weapons. Disadvantage when trying to hide.| +|8|Dopamine Synthesizer|EGO|+2 to EGO. You are immune to fear, panic, and embarrassment.| +|9|Dorsal Jump-pack|DEX|You have hover-jets mounted on your back. You fly slowly and loudly.| +|10|Ferrosteel Exo-Skeleton|STR|Add +2 to Armour and STR. Subtract -2 from DEX. You cannot swim.| +|11|Finger Syringe|DEX|One finger is a hidden injector. You can load it with any tonic or poison.| +|12|Hydraulic Biceps|STR|+2 to STR. Add STR bonus to weapon damage.| +|13|Hyper-elastic Tendons|DEX|+2 to DEX. You can jump like a frog.| +|14|Merciless Cybereyes|DEX|+2 to DEX. Add DEX bonus to ranged weapon damage.| +|15|Mercurial Fakeface|EGO|Your face can alter its features and colour at will.| +|16|Sub-dermal Ceramic Plating|CON|+2 to Armour. Cannot be removed.| +|17|Sub-dermal Insulation|CON|Immunity to all damage from flames, cold, and electricity. Cannot be removed.| +|18|Tactical Bioscanner|PSY|You know the Armour, Hit Points, and Morale of any Biological creature.| +|19|Tactical Technoscanner|INT|You know the Armour, Hit Points, and Morale of any Synthetic creature.| +|20|Trauma-Response Rig|CON|Make a CON save to ignore the results of Wound rolls.| \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/equipment.md b/equipment.md index 90eb00c..5c9b45b 100644 --- a/equipment.md +++ b/equipment.md @@ -1,102 +1,104 @@ # Equipment ## Weaponry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d19ASPECTFORMDAMAGE & WEIGHT
0GoldenKnifeLight
(1 Slot, d6 damage)
1QuicksilverFlail
2UltravioletWhip
3CrystalAxe
4NomadClub
5BlackSling
6AncientRapier
7BonePistol
8ParasiticSpear
9FungalShortbow
10RitualHalberdMedium
(2 slots, d8 damage)
11BiomechanicalRifle
12SacredMusket
13BlasphemousShotgun
14VenomousCrossbow
15ObsidianSword
16BronzeRevolver
17JewelledLaser
18PlasmaSpore ThrowerHeavy
(3 slots, d10 damage)
19TranslucentRailgun
d20ASPECTFORMDAMAGE & WEIGHT
1GoldenKnifeLight
(1 Slot, d6 damage)
2QuicksilverFlail
3UltravioletWhip
4CrystalAxe
5NomadClub
6BlackSling
7AncientRapier
8BonePistol
9ParasiticSpear
10FungalShortbow
11RitualHalberdMedium
(2 slots, d8 damage)
12BiomechanicalRifle
13SacredMusket
14BlasphemousShotgun
15VenomousCrossbow
16ObsidianSword
17BronzeRevolver
18JewelledLaser
19PlasmaSpore ThrowerHeavy
(3 slots, d10 damage)
20TranslucentRailgun
## Armour - - - + + - - + + - - + + - - + + - - + + +
d19ARMOURHELM & SHIELD
0None (Armour 10)None
1
d20ARMOURHELM & SHIELD
1None (Armour 10)None
2
3
4Light Armour
(2 slots, Armour 12)
5
4
5Light Armour
(2 slots, Armour 12)
6
7
8
9
10Medium Armour
(4 slots, Armour 14)		Helm
(1 slot, +1 Armour)
11
10
11Medium Armour
(4 slots, Armour 14)		Helm
(1 slot, +1 Armour)
12
13
14Shield
(1 slot, +1 Armour)
15
14
15Shield
(1 slot, +1 Armour)
16
17Heavy Armour
(6 slots, Armour 16)		Helm and Shield
(2 slots, +2 Armour)
18
17
18Heavy Armour
(6 slots, Armour 16)		Helm and Shield
(2 slots, +2 Armour)
19
20
## Gear Table _Roll Once_ -|d19|Item| -|---|----| -|0|Flashbang (5)| -|1|Magnetic Boots| -|2|Grappling Hook & Rope| -|3|Flare (5)| -|4|Smoke Bomb (5)| -|5|Flask of Oil| -|6|Portable Stove| -|7|Caltrops| -|8|Vial of Acid| -|9|Animal Trap (3)| -|10|Handheld Drill| -|11|Chain & Manacles| -|12|Hand Mirror| -|13|Motion Sensor| -|14|Crowbar| -|15|EMP Grenade (3)| -|16|Skin of Wine| -|17|Tube of Omni-Glue| -|18|Ball Bearings (LOTS)| -|19|Glowstone| + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Item
1Flashbang (5)
2Magnetic Boots
3Grappling Hook & Rope
4Flare (5)
5Smoke Bomb (5)
6Flask of Oil
7Portable Stove
8Caltrops
9Vial of Acid
10Animal Trap (3)
11Handheld Drill
12Chain & Manacles
13Hand Mirror
14Motion Sensor
15Crowbar
16EMP Grenade (3)
17Skin of Wine
18Tube of Omni-Glue
19Ball Bearings (LOTS)
20Glowstone
## Gear Table II _Roll Once_ -|d19|Item| -|---|----| -|0|Sleeping Gas (3)| -|1|Oxygen Mask| -|2|Cast Iron Skillet| -|3|Black Clay| -|4|Loaded Dice| -|5|Raucous Whistle| -|6|Luminous Paint| -|7|Drug (consult p. 34)| -|8|Poison Pill| -|9|Autoglot Translator| -|10|Lock Picks| -|11|Mortar & Pestle| -|12|Strong Liquor| -|13|Hourglass| -|14|Chisel| -|15|Anti-venom (3)| -|16|Welding Torch| -|17|Thermal Goggles| -|18|Fungicide Bomb| -|19|Canary in Cage| \ No newline at end of file + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Item
1Sleeping Gas (3)
2Oxygen Mask
3Cast Iron Skillet
4Black Clay
5Loaded Dice
6Raucous Whistle
7Luminous Paint
8Drug
9Poison Pill
10Autoglot Translator
11Lock Picks
12Mortar & Pestle
13Strong Liquor
14Hourglass
15Chisel
16Anti-venom (3)
17Welding Torch
18Thermal Goggles
19Fungicide Bomb
20Canary in Cage
diff --git a/exotica.md b/exotica.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..94a4b9a --- /dev/null +++ b/exotica.md @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +# Exotica +Exotica are strange, rare objects that are highly sought after. Each PC may begin play with one item of Exotica. Roll once on the table below. If you roll the same Exotica as another player, take the next available option down. + +|d20|EXOTICA|DESCRIPTION| +|---|-------|-----------| +|1|Mirror Ring|Projects a hologram copy of the wearer that mimics their actions.| +|2|A Fool’s Head|The severed head of a synthetic jester. Not in great condition but can still remember some jokes.| +|3|Singing Crystal|When struck, sings loudly and beautifully for up to an hour.| +|4|Nightmare Box|Small cube of unbreakable, dark-tinted glass. One small peephole. Anyone looks inside will be paralysed by horror.| +|5|Sandworm Horn|Blow outdoors to summon a sandworm, if you are bold enough.| +|6|Midas Bomb|Transforms organic matter into gold.| +|7|Sky-seeking Salve|Reverses effect of gravity on object it coats. Take care when outdoors| +|8|Chameleon Cloak|Perfectly matches the colour of its surroundings| +|9|Desiccated Mycomorph|Tiny dried out fungus-man. A drop of blood will revive him.| +|10|Flesh of the Honeyed Lamb|Stolen from the Cult of the Honeyed Lamb; meat imbued with a powerful medicinal psychedelic.| +|11|Agoniser|A barbaric relic. Silver needle that causes unbearable pain to organic creatures without leaving a mark.| +|12|Exultant’s Hawk|Cybernetic hunting animal, bound to you telepathically. 3 HP, Armour 17, d4 claw damage.| +|13|Black Heart|Repulsive twitching cyborg organ. Will slowly and painfully revive a single dead body.| +|14|All-Purpose Idol|Imbued with powerful neuro-active programming. Observers always believe idol represents the deity they worship.| +|15|Ulfire Candle|Ulfire is the ninth colour; its light has the unusual quality of shining through solid objects. It is blocked by lead.| +|16|Vial of ICE-9|Alchemical substance that transforms all water it touches into un-meltable ice.| +|17|Pale Blade of Amun-Oh|Priests of Amun-Oh pledged never to take a life; their white knives will cut through anything except living flesh.| +|18|Blasphemies of the Binary Demon|A tablet engraved with a series of quantum-logical propositions. Poses little threat to organic life, but can be deadly to sentient machines.| +|19|Helpful Snake|It lives up your sleeve and tries, whenever it can, to help.| +|20|Dried Crypt Lotus|Grim flower that sprouts from the forehead of corpses. Sometimes kept as a keepsake of a lost companion.| \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/index.html b/index.html index 3fa2ab4..ba8505d 100644 --- a/index.html +++ b/index.html @@ -12,27 +12,20 @@
- + diff --git a/mystic-gifts.md b/mystic-gifts.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cea26eb --- /dev/null +++ b/mystic-gifts.md @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@ +# Mystic Gifts +Faith, mastery of arcane nano-tech, abuse of psychoactive fungus, or mutation has given your mind uncanny influence over the material world. Gifts are not items you carry, but intrinsic abilities you possess. Using a Gift costs HP; a precise cost will be determined by the Referee once you describe what you want to accomplish. The baseline cost is d6 HP. Gifts always hit in combat without rolling against Armour; they deal damage of one dice size higher than the user paid in HP. Therefore paying d6 HP will result in a damage roll of d8, and so on. + +If you are not satisfied with the sample Gifts on offer, you may roll a completely random Gift. Simply roll once on the [Quality table](mystic-gifts.md#quality) and once on the [Form table](mystic-gifts.md#form) below to generate the name of your Gift. You may decide, along with the GM and the other players, what exactly this Gift does. + +|d20|SOURCE OF POWER|YOUR GIFT| +|---|---------------|---------| +|1|Mystical Crystal|Telekinesis| +|2|Ritual Cannibalism|Pyrokinesis| +|3|Psychoactive Fungus|Telepathy| +|4|Nanomachine Infection|Memory Extraction| +|5|Irridiated at Birth|Mind Control| +|6|Meditation|Invisibility| +|7|Dream Quest|Astral Projection| +|8|Parasitic Spirit Entity|Healing Hands| +|9|Mutation|Paralysing Touch| +|10|Addictive Rare Drug|Eye Lasers| +|11|Cybernetic Implants|Augury| +|12|Devouring Memories|Inhuman Speed| +|13|Brain Surgery|Second Sight| +|14|Religion|Force Wall| +|15|Ancient Mask|Generate Lightning| +|16|Ancient Ring|Ultrasonic Scream| +|17|Born During Eclipse|Levitation| +|18|Found Weird Orb|Summon Orbs| +|19|beheld Azathoth, the Daemon Sultan|Cryokinesis| +|20|Studied in Lost Archives|Induce Sleep + + +## Quality +|d20|1-5|6-10|11-15|16-20| +|---|---|----|-----|-----| +|1|Bashing|Absorbing|Adhering|Bewildering| +|2|Binding|Armouring|Addicting|Calming| +|3|Blinding|Banishing|Blackening|Charming +|4|Burning|Concealing|Blossoming|Commanding +|5|Choking|Countering|Cacophonous|Enticing +|6|Consuming|Curing|Dazzling|Horrifying +|7|Corroding|Cushioning|Dividing|Hysterical +|8|Crushing|Deflecting|Duplicating|Maddening +|9|Deafening|Disappearing|Evolving|Mesmerising +|10|Detonating|Disarming|Extinguishing|Mocking +|11|Disintegrating|Disguising|Fusing|Revealing +|12|Draining|Entangling|Ghostly|Whirling +|13|Electrifying|Warding|Grasping|Slithering +|14|Excruciating|Guarding|Inflating|Dreaming +|15|Freezing|Shielding|Inverting|Encoding +|16|Withering|Healing|Invulnerable|Enraging +|17|Impaling|Hindering|Prismatic|Pulsing +|18|Imprisoning|Invigorating|Transmuting|Saddening +|19|Infecting|Mending|Teleporting|Scrying +|20|Liquefying|Nullifying|Whispering|Subtle + + +## Form +|d20|1-5|6-10|11-15|16-20| +|---|---|----|-----|-----| +|1|Claw|Salt|Hail|Chaos +|2|Clay|Sand|Haze|Cold +|3|Crystal|Silk|Wind|Darkness +|4|Flesh|Skin|Shard|Prism +|5|Mould|Soil|Miasma|Distortion +|6|Flower|Stone|Perfume|Dream +|7|Fungus|Sugar|Pollen|River +|8|Fruit|Ray|Plague|Fire +|9|Glass|Thorn|Rain|Frost +|10|Ice|Vine|Sandstorm|Ghost +|11|Iron|Rust|Orb|Gravity +|12|Ivory|Void|Bolt|Growth +|13|Leaf|Ash|Snow|Song +|14|Stone|Blizzard|Smoke|Voice +|15|Moss|Breath|Arc|Light +|16|Hand|Cloud|Sphere|Lightning +|17|Gaze|Dust|Shield|Thread +|18|Roots|Fog|Helix|Parasite +|19|Beam|Mist|Web|Paradox +|20|Cascade|Fragrance|Wound|Entropy \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/referee-rules.md b/referee-rules.md index 76b7543..cf4ee41 100644 --- a/referee-rules.md +++ b/referee-rules.md @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -# Referee Rules and Content Generators +# Referee Rules ## Reactions When the PCs encounter an NPC or creature whose reaction to the party is not obvious, the referee may roll d20 and consult the following table. Modify the roll with the PC's Ego bonus if they can communicate with the creature. @@ -12,548 +12,17 @@ When the PCs encounter an NPC or creature whose reaction to the party is not obv |18-20|Actively Helpful| ## Monsters -__Hit Dice / Hit Points:__ All monster hit dice (__HD__) are d8s unless otherwise specified. To get the monster's hit points, just multiply the number of hit dice they have by 4 (or 5 if you're feeling mean.) +**Hit Dice / Hit Points:** All monster hit dice (**HD**) are d8s unless otherwise specified. To get the monster's hit points, just multiply the number of hit dice they have by 4 (or 5 if you're feeling mean.) -__ARMOUR:__ A monster's Armour score gives the number a PC's attack role must equal or exceed to damage them. +**ARMOUR:** A monster's Armour score gives the number a PC's attack role must equal or exceed to damage them. -__Example:__ A typical 4 HD monster would have an attack bonus of +4 and a defence of 14 in all of its abilities by default, unless modified by the referee. +**Attack Bonus / Saves:** Assume that monsters have ability bonuses equal to their HD, with the corresponding ability defences. -__Damage:__ This indicates the number of attacks a monster can make per round, and the damage dice rolled for each. +?> **Example:** A typical 4 HD monster would have an attack bonus of +4 and a defence of 14 in all of its abilities by default, unless modified by the referee. -__Morale:__ Monsters and NPCs all have a morale bonus, usually between 1 and 10. When they face more danger than they were expecting, the referee will make a __morale roll__ by rolling d20 and adding the NPC's morale bonus. If the result __does not exceed 15__, the NPC will attempt the flee, hide, or parley. Morale rolls can be triggered by defeating half of an enemy group, defeating a group's leader, or reducing a lone enemy to half HP. Other effects may trigger a morale roll at the referee's discretion. +**Damage:** This indicates the number of attacks a monster can make per round, and the damage dice rolled for each. -## Travel Rules -Travel is an integral element of running game sessions in Vaarn’s Interior. Although many readers will have travel procedures that they are accustomed to using, I felt it might benefit those who feel less confident about running overland travel to learn how I do it in my own Vaarn games. - -I don’t make use of detailed breakdowns of every six-mile hex between one destination or another. I use an abstracted system which boils down travel into two resources: __travel days__ and __rations__. Characters need to spend both in order to make progress. - -### Travel Days -Vaarn is not well-mapped, and it is not recorded exactly how far one must travel between locations. Distances given by NPCs are approximations, expressed in days: _‘From here it will take five days of travel to reach the circular ruins’_, for example. These estimates apply to speed on foot. If players are using a vehicle, divide the number of travel days in half. - -Under normal conditions, the PCs can travel a half day’s worth of distance in the morning, and a half day’s worth of distance in the afternoon. At night they must eat a meal and rest. - -### Rations -Rations are an abstraction of food and water carried. Five days’ worth of rations can be carried in a single inventory slot. Unless their Ancestry exempts them, PCs must consume a ration each day. If they do not, they become __Deprived__, and cannot recover lost HP. Characters who are Deprived due to hunger and thirst will die after three days. - -Rations can be obtained from the bodies of dead\* opponents or allies, so long as the referee rules that the creature is made from an edible material. Convert the dead creature’s Hit Dice into rations at a ratio of 1:1. - -_If you find numbers on a character sheet a bit abstract, you could use a bowl of poker chips to represent the players’ total rations. Have each player remove a poker chip from the bowl when they camp for the night, and add chips back in when they find fresh sources of nourishment._ - -### Exhaustion -At any point during the travel day, the players may declare that they are exerting themselves in order to walk faster than usual, or are piloting their vehicle at greater speeds than normal. If the party exerts themselves in this manner, they can travel two days’ worth of distance in one day. However, they must fill an inventory slot with __Exhaustion__. - -Exhaustion cannot be removed from a PC’s inventory until they rest in one place for an __entire__ day and night, with no distance being covered. If a PC has no more spare slots to fill with Exhaustion, they must discard an item to make room. A PC who fills ten inventory slots with Exhaustion will die. - -### Getting Lost -Losing one’s way has never seemed particularly fun to me, and I assume the PCs are competent desert navigators, who will never get lost as long as they can see the sun and stars. However, some circumstances - players attempting to travel during a sandstorm, for example - demand it. In such cases roll a d6, and add the resulting number of days to their travel schedule. - -### Encounters -The referee should check for an encounter once during the morning of a travel day, once during the afternoon, and once per night. This is done by rolling a d6, and consulting the results below: - -__1 - Active Encounter.__ The PCs encounter a creature or situation that definitely notices them, and will actively attempt to involve them in their business. -__2 - Passing Encounter.__ The PCs encounter a creature or situation in passing - it may be happening far away, or be a creature that is not interested in the PCs. -__3 - Hint__. The PCs find a hint of an encounter. This may be an object or footprint left in the sand, a flying creature glimpsed on the horizon, or similar. The entity the Hint concerned will always appear as the next Active or Passing Encounter. -__4-6 - Nothing.__ -_If the PCs are traveling in an extremely slow, noisy, or obvious manner, the referee may choose to roll 2d6 or even 3d6 for encounter checks, and use the lowest result._ - -### Vigilance -At the start of each day, as you roll for encounters, the players may collectively roll a Vigilance Dice. This is a single d6, without modifiers. If the players roll a six, they have a guarantee of spotting their next Active or Passing Encounter before the opposing entity or group spots them. If they roll a one, the next Active or Passing Encounter will spot them before they spot it. This vigilance effect resets at the end of each day, whether the players made use of it or not. - -### Pursuits -Since the Interior is a large, open desert, there is a good chance that hostile parties will spot one another some time before they are able to engage in combat. In such situations, one party may choose to flee rather than fight. I resolve pursuits as a series of three opposed CON saves. If the pursuers win two of the three saves, they catch up with their quarry and immediately win the initiative in a combat round. If the fleeing party wins two of the three saves, they escape and cannot be caught. - -Sometimes CON may not be the appropriate attribute to test; pursuits over particularly unsteady ground might require DEX saves, for example. The pursuit rules should only be used if there is a reasonable doubt as to the result of the chase. - -### Night Watches -When camping in the desert, the PCs may elect a party member to take watch. Whoever is on watch cannot benefit from a Long Rest; instead they will regain only d8 + CON bonus HP. If the party is approached by a hostile creature at night, the referee should ask the character on watch to make a PSY save opposed to the creature’s DEX. Failure grants the monsters a surprise round in combat; the aggressors strike with advantage, and the players cannot respond. After the surprise round is resolved, roll for initiative as normal. - -## Weather -The climate of Vaarn’s Interior may be simulated using the following method: first, place a marker in the centre of the hex-chart on the opposite page. Then roll a d6 once at the start of each day the party spends in the desert, moving the marker across the hexes in the direction shown and recording the weather indicated by each. If the marker moves off the edge of the chart, it should wrap around onto the opposite side. The exception to this rule is the edges marked with an X; the marker cannot cross these edges and instead it should stay put for that day. - -### Weather Effects - -#### Still -The desert landscape is still, untroubled by the susurration of the heavens. Visibility is good. - -#### Hazy -The air is still, but mists of a lurid hue hang over the desert. Visibility is impaired and landmarks cannot be seen from a distance. Vigilance checks are made with disadvantage. - -#### Dust Storm -The wind blows sheets of blue dust across the desert. Visibility is badly impaired. Traveling under such conditions is possible, but the pace is slowed to half normal speed. A three day journey will take six days, and so on. Vigilance checks are made with disadvantage. - -#### Sand Storm -A howling wind blows a ferocious cloud of azure sand across the desert. Nobody travels in Vaarn’s sandstorms; the PCs must hunker down and wait out the storm. Tents or other makeshift shelters will provide adequate protection. Any encounters rolled during these days are assumed to be seeking shelter from the storm in the same place as the party. - -#### Heatwave -Urth’s dying sun musters all the warmth it can. PCs must consume twice their normal ration of water per day if they wish to travel during a heatwave. - -#### Worm-pollen -The sandworms of the Interior reproduce through a baroque, decade-long process of parthenogenesis, culminating in the explosive release of thousands of melon-sized spores into the atmosphere. This worm-pollen drifts back to Urth in ponderous sticky deluges that can last for weeks. Progress through shifting mounds of the stuff is slowed to half normal speed; the upside is that worm-pollen is edible, and many a starving man has been saved by the timely arrival of spores from the heavens. Treat worm-pollen days as providing d4 rations per player. - -#### Rain -A rare bounty. The parched blue earth is blessed with water. The party may collect 2d6 days of rations per member. In the aftermath of a rainshower, the desert is conquered by a short-lived imperium of majestic flora. - -#### Prismatic Tempest -The sky bruises with clouds of midnight blue. Howling winds carry scouring sheets of sand across the landscape. Thunder rends the air and polychromatic lightning caresses the desert like the tendrils of a jellyfish deity. No travel of any kind is possible, and the PCs will take 3d6 electrical damage every hour they spend above-ground. - -![Weather Hex Flower](images/weather_hex_flower.jpg ':size=70%') - - -## Content Generators -Use the generators on the following pages to help bring Vaarn to life. They will help you create characters, locations, and objects that the players may encounter during their journeys. You will also find 100 strange and powerful Exotica that players could uncover in Vaarn's ruins, a selection of sample monsters, and rules for vehicles. Vaarn is intended to be different for everyone who plays in it, so these content creation tools are hopefully sparks for creativity rather than instructions. - -### Quick NPC Generator - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20ANCESTRYGENDERDISPOSITIONGOAL
1True-kinMaleImplacably EvilCraves Drug
2Craves Drink
3Religious Mania
4HostileSeeks Revenge
5Pay off Debt
6CacogenPilgrimage
7Escaped Slave
8UnhelpfulFleeing the Law
9FemaleCollect Debt
10Craves Fame
11NewbeastObliviousCraves Wealth
12Craves Knowledge
13Missing Family
14FriendlyMissing Friend
15Hates a Rival
16SynthUnrequited Love
17AndrogynousForbidden Love
18Incredibly GenerousCraves Power
19MycomorphCreate Art
20Carnal Lust
- -### Vaarnish Names - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
AchefootBitarGurrousMandalaPenta
AkamiBjartaHildeneMelisabePentecost
AlghanBluebackHoniaMerryPetum
AlzinaBountyJhullMirageRoswick
AmbrosiaBrazenJingleMizunoSalar
AndromedaCaelaKalskMoneflowerSalka
AnthurCalepikeKatheMorrowSeisuke
AranCastlareKinburrowMosefinaSimorph
ArareCionyKnotMothSmalltall
ArbClarityKoanMurthwaiteSorror
AriyeiCossmossLaomerMuthaelTytus
ArjunaCuspLeegreenNahlUlmon
AsajEastwoolLiltNectarVenna
AumatellFreyrLittle-SpitNehmetVitus
AverseeFrostpikeLochiNisiteVult
AwasadGologLonesomeOjasinWeston
BanaGoosebreadLongtoothOlaneleWhisley
BarghGorescheLotusOssopWorry
BasaiGorskLovelyOsteryXylene
BerruzoGrickLucky-And-TrueOthobaZofi
- -### 100 Exotica - -|d100|ITEM|DESCRIPTION| -|----|----|-----------| -|1|Mirror Armour|Immunity from energy weapons. 3 slots, Armour 13.| -|2|Nano-edged Blade|2d8 sword. Instant decapitation kill on a 20.| -|3|Hypergeometric Blade|2d8 sword. Damages hypergeometric beings.| -|4|Fuligin Garb|Complete invisibility in darkness.| -|5|Philosopher’s Bridge|Create hypergeometric doorway between two points in space you can see.| -|6|Portable Hole|Creates six inch hole in solid matter.| -|7|Warding Module|Armour 18 vs kinetic attacks. Double damage from energy weapons.| -|8|Ulfire Paint|Visible through solid objects.| -|9|Active Camouflage Rig|Total invisibility on all spectrums.| -|10|Sheltering Urn|Hypergeometric urn with a small room inside.| -|11|Bluescreen Dagger|Synthetic creatures must EGO save or take d20 damage when stabbed.| -|12|TITAN Protocol: OBEY|Synthetic creatures EGO save or obey your orders for a round.| -|13|TITAN Protocol: SLEEP|Synthetic creatures EGO save or sleep.| -|14|TITAN Protocol: KILL|Synthetic creatures EGO save or attack everything in sight.| -|15|Sovereign Glue|Unbreakably stick two objects together.| -|16|Ultra-kinetic Gel|Green gel that amplifies kinetic energy.| -|17|Empathy Bomb|Biological creatures must EGO save or be overcome with compassion.| -|18|Sky-seeking Stone|A sphere of negative weight. Not buoyant enough to carry a man.| -|19|Stasis Bomb|Anything caught in explosion is briefly marooned outside the time stream.| -|20|Entropy Gun|Causes rapid decay of organic matter.| -|21|Visualiser Helm|Golden bubble-helmet that projects imagery of the wearer’s thoughts, whether they want it to or not.| -|22|Pacifying Glove|Biological creatures must EGO save or fall asleep when touched.| -|23|Sprayflesh|Canister that sprays synthetic flesh over wounds.| -|24|Singularity Sphere|Anti-entropy sphere containing a miniature gravity singularity.| -|25|Hover-Rug|Antique carpet embroidered with antigravity threads. Carries one passenger.| -|26|Ansible|Allows faster than light communication with a linked Ansible.| -|27|Desiccation Spike|Drains the water from creature or plant stabbed. D6 Damage.| -|28|Arthar’s Grail|Liquids placed into this goblet become pure water.| -|29|Mord-Red’s Grail|Liquids placed into this goblet become deadly poison.| -|30|Unbearable Wax|Black wax that increases in weight one hundred times as it dries.| -|31|Dopplegun|Biotech gun that births a rapidly ageing, totally insane clone of any creature its bullets hit.| -|32|Jolt Ring|Deals d4 damage to any being that hits wearer with a metal weapon.| -|33|Soporific Sachet|Small plastic bag. Any biological creature placed inside will fall soundly asleep.| -|34|Trapped Chromavore|Chromavore trapped inside hypergeometric containment crystal.| -|35|Trapped Planeyman|Planeyman trapped inside hypergeometric containment crystal.| -|36|Oneiric Bridge|Allows user to enter the dreams of a sleeping creature.| -|37|Immaculate Bird|White psychic songbird that coughs if it hears a deliberate falsehood.| -|38|Puppeteer’s Glove|Inserts nano-needles into the spinal cord of a human subject. Allows glove-wearer to control their movements.| -|39|Horror-Helm|Autarch’s War Helm. Inscribed with neuro-active markings that cause unbearable fear in human brains.| -|40|Frictionless Spray|A spray-can that spreads a clear, utterly frictionless gel.| -|41|Helping Hand|Cyborg severed hand. Will enter residences and return to sketch out a map. Keen to choke people.| -|42|Ardent Maggots|Strange silver grubs that can strip a corpse down to the bone in seconds. Will not eat live flesh.| -|43|Spirit Prison|Hypergeometric crystal which can constrain a hypergeometric entity.| -|44|Presence Drone|Small floating sphere that announces one’s presence in a loud, pompous voice.| -|45|Adamant Linen|Flowing linen that acts as heavy armour. 2 slots, Armour 16.| -|46|Osmosis Mask|Gel-like biotech mask. Can always breathe comfortably, even in vacuum.| -|47|Ghoul Scoop|Tool used by ghoul-cults to extract the memories from corpses.| -|48|Psy-Blade|As medium weapon, but uses PSY bonus to hit.| -|49|Ego Death-Ray|As medium ranged weapon, but uses EGO bonus to hit.| -|50|Watchful Ferret|A small golden synthetic ferret that sits on your shoulder. Nips you if it detects an unseen danger.| -|51|Ego-Engine|The mind of a Synth, lacking a body.| -|52|Quantum Umbilical|Strange device that links the life force of two creatures. While one lives, the other cannot truly die.| -|53|Hard Light Projector|Projects a flat wide bridge of hard light, with effective range of ten feet. Could be walked across.| -|54|Armiger’s Egg|Projects a geodesic warding field with room for six people inside. Protects from all kinetic attacks.| -|55|Fortuitous Polyhedron|20-sided polyhedral quantum anomaly. Allows user to enter a reality where they passed an ability save. Vanishes after use.| -|56|Magnetic Orb|Large silver orb which emits powerful magnetic field. Turn off and on at will.| -|57|Autarch’s Fork|Obsidian dining fork that glows green when it is stuck into poison.| -|58|Hushboots|Sable, supple footwear that utterly silence footsteps.| -|59|Cat Ring|Antigravity device. Arrests wearer’s fall just above the ground. Works nine times.| -|60|Gravity Manipulator|Lifts and fires small-to-medium sized objects.| -|61|Mind Shield|Golden cage worn around head. Protects from psychic intrusion.| -|62|Basilisk Blade|Strobing anti-synth weapon. Adv to hit synthetic creatures.| -|63|Mi-Go Carapace|Biomechanical armour from Yuggoth. 2 Burden slots, Armour 18. Once worn, cannot be removed.| -|64|Phase Grenade|Everything caught in the blast becomes briefly de-synched with reality; can pass through like mist.| -|65|Universal Ration|Thick white cake containing everything a human body needs. Full heal.| -|66|Fascinator Helm|When activated, all biological creatures must EGO save or be transfixed by the flickering patterns on this helmet.| -|67|Argent Halo|When worn, prevents creature from harming any living being. Cannot be removed by wearer.| -|68|Instant Table|A fancy and elegant dining table, compressed using hypergeometry to be the size of a matchbox. Unfurls when thrown to the ground.| -|69|Ulfire Lantern|Shines ulfire light. Can see through solid objects and be seen.| -|70|Spy Fly|Synthetic tracking fly. Give it a sample of target’s DNA and it will locate them unerringly.| -|71|Craven Mycomorph|Tiny dried fungus man. Coward. Rehydrate him and he will always be able to plan a quick escape.| -|72|Snoop Stalk|Vile telescopic eye-ball tendril. Replaces one of your own eyes. Lets you see around corners.| -|73|Hover Boots|Antigravity boots. Allow brief sojourns into thin air.| -|74|Apocalypse Glass|Dark glass which shows not your reflection, but an extra-solar culture consumed by unimaginable horror. Of interest to some collectors.| -|75|Brain Coral|Symbiotic pink skull-fungus. Grants a random Gift and lowers your EGO by d6. Bulky and ugly, hard to remove.| -|76|Synthetic Vassal|Follows PC around, dispensing stiff drinks and sage advice. Will not fight, but will insult your foes.| -|77|Synthetic Fool|Follows PCs around, making flatulence sounds and chuckling. No other use.| -|78|Synthetic Warrior|Follows PCs around, shouting dire threats at anyone who so much as breathes at them. Kind of a huge hassle.| -|79|Tech Wand|Miraculous silver wand. Three charges. Use to re-activate or deactivate a piece of arcane technology.| -|80|Mirror Shield|+1 Armour. DEX Save to reflect energy weapon shots back at their source.| -|81|Hard Light Glove|Project a fist-sized cube of hard light.| -|82|Grey Goo Grenade|Release a clump of ravenous nano-goo. D6 damage per turn. Gains 1HD for each creature it eats.| -|83|Omni-Key|Key that can fit itself to any lock.| -|84|Canned Nectar|Crimson-canned nectar of a long-lost era. Unhealthy but tasty.| -|85|Blue Rust|Alchemical compound that turns any metal into rust within moments.| -|86|Pale Flame|Bottle of pallid fire that burns with intense cold rather than heat.| -|87|Tyrant’s Helm|When worn, must EGO save or be flooded with the desire to command others.| -|88|Belligerent Paste|If applied to a dead body, it will turn that corpse into a weapon. The nature of the weapon will depend upon the corpse used.| -|89|Lying Mirror|Reflects whatever the holder wants to see.| -|90|Expansion Bomb|When it explodes, it increase all distances within the area of effect 100 times. This lasts d6 hours.| -|91|Philosopher’s Dirk|D6 dagger. Damages enemy’s INT rather than HP. At 0 INT they adopt your point of view.| -|92|Phase Cape|Hypergeometric cloth; allows wearer to slip out of reality. You cannot be touched by anyone, but neither can you touch them. You are still visible.| -|93|Singing Frog|Knows some popular songs. People will buy you drinks in a bar.| -|94|Seeker of Flaws|Hammer. When held, shows you the weak points in structures.| -|95|Autarch’s Sigil|Machines that served the Autarchy believe you are their master.| -|96|Feathered Parasol|Affixed with anti-gravity beads, to produce a parachute effect.| -|97|Psybernetic Helm|Installs one random Mystic’s Gift (p.23).| -|98|Cybernetic Cocoon|Installs one random cybernetic implant (p.25).| -|99|Book|Roll for random rare book (p.31).| -|00|Drug|Roll for random rare drug (p.34).| - -### Books of Vaarn -|d20|COVER|AUTHOR|STYLE|SUBJECT|NOTABLE FEATURE| -|---|-----|------|-----|-------|---------------| -|1|Waterlogged|Anonymous|Insane|Medicine|Extremely Heavy| -|2|Burned|Armiger|Wry|Bestiary|Every Word Is A Lie| -|3|Green|Autarch|Sardonic|Botany|Bloodstains| -|4|Golden|Bad Artist|Formal|Synthetic Life|Elaborate Illustrations| -|5|Snake Skin|Bad Poet|Moralising|Xenobiology|Poisoned Bookmark| -|6|Yellow|Cacogen|Pious|War|From An Autarch’s Library| -|7|Orange|Condemned Criminal|Purple|Geology|Coded Message Inside Cover| -|8|Mouldy|Courtesan|Archaic|Biography|Love Letter Inside Cover| -|9|Plastic|Deposed Autarch|Heroic|The Future|From Another Planet| -|10|Iridescent|Deposed Hegemon|Passionate|History|Luminous Ink| -|11|Rusted|Great Artist|Earnest|Dreams|Poisoned Page| -|12|Striped|Great Poet|Rhyming|Drugs|Tiny Weapon Hidden Inside| -|13|Silver|Hegemon|Comedic|Travel|Unknown Language| -|14|Ochre|Madman|Lyrical|Art|Fabulously Rare| -|15|White|Monk|Monotonous|Poetry|Illuminated With Gold Leaf| -|16|Blue|Priest|Lively|The Autarchs|Heretical Text| -|17|Black|Prophet|Dry|Religion|Worm-eaten| -|18|Sunbleached|Synth|Hysterical|Hypergeometry|Clever Forgery| -|19|Jewelled|Titan|Awkward|Physics|Drugs Hidden Inside| -|20|Indigo|Warrior|Pedantic|Sex|Utterly Illegible| - -### Oases in the Wastes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20THE WATERWHAT'S HERE? (x2)WHO'S HERE? (x2)CUSTOMS OF THE OASIS
1Very BlueDate PalmsTrading CaravanPay Toll
2Leaks from MachineryFlamingosNo Bloodshed
3Incredibly ClearTowering RockMoonlit Sacrifices
4Umber and SiltyRusted War MachineNo Bathing
5Still and GlassyAutarch StatueFaa NomadsRitual Combat
6Black and MuddyFlowering BushesVow of Silence
7Almost GoneIbisRuled by Chance
8Full of FishLurking CrocodilesHegemony ScoutsSacred to Men
9Tastes SourBlack ObelisksBounty HuntersSacred to Women
10Algae-chokedDecaying BuildingTitan CultistsConsult Computer
11FetidAddax HerdWandering MysticsConsult Oracle
12Full of plasticSolar PanelsTraveling CircusMust be Naked
13Rusty RedArcology DomeMedicant WarriorMust be Veiled
14Warm and BubblingCrystalline GrowthsEscaped SlaveAn Animal is Holy
15Champagne ColouredFungal GrowthsSunburnt ExileAn Animal is Profane
16Deep and SilentBroken PillarPilgrim MonksLaughter is Prohibited
17Inside a CaveNomad GraveyardSynthsSacred to Petty God
18Healing PropertiesWrecked SynthsCacklemawsDrug Ritual
19Sugary SweetMud HolesNoble in DisguiseWater Ritual
20Mildly PsychedelicSacred CavesFamous MusicianFasting
- -### FAA Nomads - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20NUMBERSTransportLivestockMood
1Outriders
(d4)		On footGoatsAngry
2Scared
3Mourning
4A family group
(2d6)		Pack CamelsCattleTalkative
5Sullen
6Warlike
7Contemplative
8Extended family group
(3d6)		Iron MulesLizardsPious
9Crazed
10FeastbeastsSuspicious
11Cheerful
12Small Clan
Wary
13War CamelsYurlingsOverconfident
14Argumentative
15Proud
16Large Clan
(6d20)		Giant SnailsSilent
17Praying
18Juvenile SandwormsCelebrating
19Meeting of Clans
(3d100)		Sandworm SledDrunken
20Boastful
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20LeaderThey HaveThey WantThey Survive By
1Stern PatriarchMeatMeatScavenging and Selling Scrap
2Stern MatriarcrhDatesWine
3Council of EldersOlivesBeerAnimal Herding
4Charismatic VisionaryCheesesalt
5Wounded Old WarriorWeaponsWeaponsTrading Between Static Settlements
6Husband and Wife, arguingHidesInformation
7Husband and Wife, happyPrecious MetalShelterRaiding Other Nomads
8Young HotheadMachine PartsSlaves
9Drug-addled OracleMedicineEscaped PrisonerControlling a Pass or Road
10Sinister SlayerSpicesCeptured Bride
11Lecherous PatriarchDrugsRunaway GroomControlling a Watercourse
12Lucherous MatriarchSpare LivestockRevenge: Other Faa
13Twin Brothers/SistersFabricsRevenge: MonsterMove between Oases
14Blind Brothers/SistersFungusRevenge: Hegemony
15Accomplished Animal TamerSugarRevenge: BanditsHunting Sandworms
16Frail GrandmotherCyberneticsMissing Child
17Skilled SharpshooterTonicsMedical HelpRaiding Static Settlements
18Cruel PsychicBooksHumiliate Other Faa
19Power StruggleExoticaTo PartySlave Traders
20AnarchyWaterWater
- -### Drugs of Vaarn -|d20|Colour|Form|Ingested By|Effect (x2)| -|---|------|----|-----------|-----------| -|1|Red|Sugar|Snorting|Euphoria| -|2|Blue|Leaf|Injected|Paranoia| -|3|Yellow|Crystal|Stewed|Auditory Hallucinations| -|4|White|Cactus|Boiled in Tea|Visual Hallucinations| -|5|Black|Fungus|Swallow Whole|No Pain| -|6|Pink|Brain|Lick It|Fearless| -|7|Orange|Pearl|Brain Interface|Ego Death| -|8|Viridian|Slime|Hold on Tongue|Levitation| -|9|Olive|Meat|Smoke It|Anxious sweats| -|10|Silver|Honey|Touch to Eyes|Itchy Eyeballs| -|11|Gold|Insect|Absorbed in Skin|Nasal Drip| -|12|Bronze|Liquid|Stare at It|Split Personality| -|13|Umber|Stone|Burn and Watch the Flames|Nausea| -|14|Steel|Glyph|Infused into Honey|Behold Azathoth| -|15|Smoke|Biotech|Drunk in Urine|Supernatural Hearing| -|16|Indigo|Sand|Burn and Eat the Ash|Paralyzed| -|17|Azure|Root|Bake in Bread|Murderous Rage| -|18|Violet|Blood|Place in Ear|Can't Stop Dancing| -|19|Octarine|Clay|Only Affects Synths|Very Mellow| -|20|Ulfire|Tooth|Smell It|Hightened Empathy| - -### Ruins of Vaarn - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20What Was It?And Then?But AlsoNow
1Bath HouseHermitageHaunted by PlaneyfolkAbandoned
2Cryogenic ChambersBandit HideoutHas Hidden Water
3Orbital Defence TurretCultist CompoundHas Abundant Food Source
4Cyborg ConstructionBarracksHas Abundant Drugs
5TheatreMonasteryWild Animal Nest
6ObservatoryCreature's LairPart of Creature TerritoryCreature's Lair
7BarracksBrothelContains Exotica
8Autarch StatueInnHas Petty-God Shrine
9Power GeneratorTheatreHas Titan Shrine
10Noble's ResidenceGladiator PitHas Weapons Cache
11Autarch's TombMadhouseUpsetting ArtworkBandit Hideout
12Chemical ProcessingCloning FacilityUsed for Sacrifices
13TempleMystic's AbodeFire Damaged
14ShrineShrineCrystal Encrusted
15Transit HubFungus GardenSwallowed by Sands
16Farm ArrayBattlefieldOvergrown with FungusHegemony Outpost
17Bioengineering FacilityDemon ShrineServitor Synths Still Function
18Medical FacilityTrading PostStrange Monolith
19Communications ArrayOasisCrashed VehicleNomad Encampment
20Space PortPrisonDefence System Active
- -### Petty Gods of Vaarn -Vaarn is the graveyard of faiths, some older than the very stars that shine overhead. Gods are carried here in the hearts of those who seek to make a life amongst the unending azure sands, and deities proliferate like ragweed across the desolation. A Vaarnish traveller would find it noteworthy to walk a day without encountering the remains of an enigmatic shrine to a member of a long-forgotten pantheon, a standing stone where blood was once spilt to appease a quantum daemon, or the abode of a hermit who still observed the rituals of an oblique and private devotion. - -|d20|Divine Aspect|Secondary Iconography|Holy Domain|Sacred Colour|Honoured Through| -|---|-------------|---------------------|-----------|-------------|----------------| -|1|Father|Crystal|Birth|Crimson|Dancing| -|2|Mother|Fungus|Death|Indigo|Flagellation| -|3|Maiden|Scroll|War|Orange|Meditation| -|4|Crone|Cornucopia|Harvests|Magenta|Giving Alms| -|5|Hawk|Sword|Decay|Purple|Feasting| -|6|Dog|Moon|Travel|Azure|Fasting| -|7|Warrior|Sun|Dreams|Gold|Sacrifice| -|8|King|Helix|Marriage|Silver|Masquerade| -|9|Locust|Scorpion|Commerce|Bronze|Martial Arts| -|10|Ibis|Goat|Memory|Umber|Mutilation| -|11|Baby|Toad|Water|Octarine|Chastity| -|12|Lamb|Honey|Sun|White|Psychedelics| -|13|Lion|Panther|Moon|Black|Singing| -|14|Mantis|Coins|Fire|Grey|Inhaling Smoke| -|15|Lizard|Dove|Synths|Lemon|Ritual Combat| -|16|Ape|Machinery|Mutants|Viridian|Poetry| -|17|Scholar|Serpent|Justice|Ulfire|Intoxication| -|18|Spider|Goblet|Art|Salmon|Water Ritual| -|19|Sandworm|Owl|Wind|Olive|A Secret Name| -|20|Jester|Horned|Silence|Rust|Marathon Race| - -### Bandits - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20NumberTypeLeaderWeapons
1Small GroupFaa NomadsSilent BruteMartial Arts
2Cacklemaw RaidersSmall but IntenseBite and Scream
3Hegemony DesertersOne-Eyed WomanCrossbows
4Escaped SlavesRogue SynthBlowdarts
5Luckless DriftersSelf-styled KingThrowing Axes
6Modest BandDoomsday CultExiled NoblemanSwords
7LepersTells JokesSlings
8SlaversInfamous OutlawSpears and Nets
9Cruel ChildrenEx-GladiatorFlails
10Ghoul ClanScrawny GeniusRocket Launcher
11False MonksEx-CourtesanPoison Gas
12Large BandFungus-riddled ManiacsSmiling PsychopathRevolvers
13Businesslike ThugsDelusional DrunkardRifles
14Gibbering CacogenSadistic GluttonCrude Jezails
15Maskless NewbeastsCalm and PoliteAncient Cannon
16Gang of FoolsApologetic but FirmCombat Lasers
17Scantily Clad WomenLustful and CrudeSonic Weapons
18MobElderly ThievesCartoonishly EvilTrained Beast
19Hegemony SoldiersLeaves a Calling CardPlasma Rifles
20Gentleman RobbersRobin Hood-esquePsychic Powers
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20TransportTacticsThey Want
1On FootRoving RaidersWater
2Food
3Gold
4Weapons
5Camel RidersAmbush From HidingSacrifices
6New Recruits
7Medicine
8Forbidden Books
9Dune SkuggiesPretend to Need HelpFungus
10Synths
11Children
12Slaves
13Wind-WagonEntertainment
14Night AttacksWine
15Beer
16Antigravity BikesForgiveness
17To Eat You
18Control a RoadSingle Combat
19Auto-chariotsYour Eyes
20Your Teeth
- -### Trade Caravans - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20TransportCargo ACargo BMerchant
1Camel TrainTimberSilkGarrulous Imbecile
2PotteryCottonPious Miser
3CarpetsBeerNaive Dreamer
4ZeppelinCheeseMemory DiscsGrim and Silent
5LivestockWeaponsClever Drunkard
6Wind WagonShoesArmourDedicated and Ascetic
7MasksCoffeeEducated and Venal
8ParchmentTeaScholarly and Talkative
9Giant TortoiseBooksSaltHonest and Desperate
10Synth PartsWinePrecise and Callous
11Dune BuggyMedicineChocolateWhimsical and Entitled
12DrugsDyesUnsentimental and Fickle
13BellsSaffronPure and Brutal
14Auto-ChariotCrystalsCinnamonPrejudiced Coward
15ClayOlivesCurious and Pugnacious
16Armoured CrawlerSlavesDatesResponsible and Prim
17SilverCured MeatSad Drunk
18GoldOlive OilDaring and Argumentative
19Sandworm SledJewelsSeafoodIncorruptible
20WaterSugarAbrasive but Sensitive
- -|d20|Passenger|Guards|Complication| -|---|---------|------|------------| -|1|Actor|All Dead|Out of Water| -|2|Musician|Wounded|Totally Lost| -|3|Forger|Secretly Bandits|Pursued buy Bandits| -|4|Artist|Ran Away|Pursued by Creature| -|5|Priest|Badly Armed|Disease| -|6|Mystic|Mutinous|Spoiled Cargo| -|7|Bounty Hunter|Lazy|Transport Damaged| -|8|Escaped Slave|Ageing|Merchant Crazed| -|9|Clerk|White Apes|Passenger Crazed| -|10|Dentist|Actually Holograms|Guards Crazed| -|11|Conman|Ex-Gladiators|Merchant Possessed| -|12|Poet|Slave Soldiers|Passenger Possessed| -|13|Gambler|Untested|Guard Possessed| -|14|Clown|Incompetent Mercenaries|Carrying Body for Burial| -|15|Boxer|Warrior Synth|Notorious Passenger| -|16|Alchemist|Bloodthirsty Thugs|Smuggling Contraband| -|17|Spy|Ancient Gun-drone|Hides a Fugitive| -|18|Courtesan|Cloaking Device|Everyone's Drunk| -|19|Barber|Hegemony Deserters|Fungal Infection| -|20|Snake Charmer|Loyal and Competent|Everyone's Arguing| - -### Arcology Domes -Arcologies are self-sufficient, hermetically sealed artificial ecosystems, which protected the true-kin through the fevered centuries of the Great Collapse. They have long since been unsealed and released their inhabitants into the blue lands of Vaarn, but these domes are still a common sight in the wastes and are often occupied, as their subterranean gardens offer a stable source of water and food. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d20DomeInhabitantsAbundanceLack
1BrokenAbandonedMeatOlives
2MoltenFresh WaterFish
3Sand-swallowedHermitSaltBeer
4DingyMysticGuzzlelineMen
5BlackenedEscaped SlavesCoffeeWomen
6Self-RepairingGhoulsWineChildren
7Barely IntactHegemony DesertersBreadMusic
8Booby-trappedNewbeastsJewellerySilence
9ReinforcedSemi-Feral OrphansBooksLivestock
10FunctionalAmnesiac ClonesFruitBooks
11WarlikeElderly MutesInformationCoffee
12DelicateConceptual ArtistsBellsBread
13OrnateOrchestraDrugsSpices
14WelcomingFungus CultistsLivestockDrugs
15Garden-likePolygamous ChurchSkilled LabourSanity
16ElegantLepersMusical InstrumentsMedicine
17DevotionalWarrior MonksSlavesInformation
18FloodedPsychic ChoirCheeseNew Blood
19GeodesicAndroids Pretending to be HumanWeaponsMachine Parts
20PerfectExoticaClothing
+**Morale:** Monsters and NPCs all have a morale bonus, usually between 1 and 10. When they face more danger than they were expecting, the referee will make a **morale roll** by rolling d20 and adding the NPC's morale bonus. If the result **does not exceed 15**, the NPC will attempt the flee, hide, or parley. Morale rolls can be triggered by defeating half of an enemy group, defeating a group's leader, or reducing a lone enemy to half HP. Other effects may trigger a morale roll at the referee's discretion. # Desert Encounters diff --git a/regions/the-badlands/gnomon.md b/regions/the-badlands/gnomon.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a6cbbc3 --- /dev/null +++ b/regions/the-badlands/gnomon.md @@ -0,0 +1,1504 @@ +# Gnomon +---- + +Gaudy jewel of Vaarn’s southern badlands, the city of a thousand shaded bazaars, a thirsty, bustling morass of dusty courtyards and guild halls and artisans’ workshops. If there is something to be sold in Vaarn, then Gnomon is the place to buy it. Everything within the crumbling blue walls of the city has a price: water, food, song, love, and death. + +The city’s signature landmark is the Apex of Gnomon, a towering blade of dark metal that stands in the midst of the city, casting a long shadow over the buildings that crowd around it. The Apex is a relic of the lost civilisation that preceded the Age of the Titans, and none now recall its original purpose. The wealthy make their homes upon the arcing back of the Apex; those less fortunate live in the blue dirt. The districts around the Apex are built in traditional Vaarnish style, townhouses moulded from bruise-blue clay and aged wooden beams. The city is defended by a low wall, although the wind-blown sand of a thousand generations has eroded the battlements until their defensive value is largely symbolic. + +## Why Visit Gnomon? +Vaarnish travellers are drawn to the city for a multitude of reasons. + +• Some wish to purchase the fine goods that can be found in Gnomon’s markets. Walking through the souks, one can observe stalls selling Vaarnish carpets, trained falcons, smoked meats, lizard-skin boots, psychedelic mushrooms, finely carved violins, elegant glassware, synthetic limbs, spider-silk robes, hardy zoxen, ornate firearms, bottles of dusky champagne, fecund wheels of cheese, and luminous panes of glass, which have been scavenged from the archaic satellites that fall to Urth on summer nights. + +• Some visit Gnomon because they seek an audience with officials of the New Hegemony. This august confederation claims to rule over Vaarn, although such edicts ring hollow in the deep desert, where the only law is that the strong survive. Nevertheless, the New Hegemony have conquered the southern badlands of Vaarn, and a garrison of legionaries keeps taxes flowing from Gnomon’s merchants to the distant Hegemon, May Their Name Be Sung Forever. + +• Some travellers seek entertainment. The city is famed for its open-air theatres, where actors in rigid masks perform the rote and ritualised dramas of the fallen Autarchy. Gnomon is known also for chariot races, for gambling dens and opium sinks, for pillow-lined passionhouses, and for luxurious tea rooms, where those who fancy themselves wits can debate one of Gnomon’s many pontificating sophists. + +• Others still approach Gnomon seeking wisdom, for the city is not only home to a thousand shaded markets, but also to a thousand philosopher’s guilds and esoteric colleges. The study of the lost wisdom of the ancients is feverishly pursued. Tech-priests, petty gurus, science mystics, and alchemists compete for patrons, prestige, and precious glimpses of the knowledge that was lost during the Great Collapse. + +• Some may come to Gnomon seeking justice, for this trader’s city is also the site of the Crimson Court, an ancient fount of bloody judgement. In this roaring crucible steel-swathed and sweat-slick Advocates deliberate in the sight of Gods and beggars alike the merits of legal cases civil and criminal, and in the spray of heartsblood upon the blue sands can a contract be enforced or unmade. + +## What Could the Players Do Here? + +This issue of Vaults of Vaarn is intended to complement and deepen the content found in the first instalment, which sketched out the world of Vaarn and described the misfits who might adventure there. Issue two provides a closer look at an urban location, which could be used by the referee in a few ways. + +Firstly, the city of Gnomon could act as a home base for a party of vault-raiders. They can rest, relax, spend their ill-gotten loot, and acquire new tools or resources as their adventures demand. If the referee intends to use Gnomon in this way, it is suggested that they tone down the internal conflicts festering within the city, and make Gnomon safer than the wastelands outside its walls. + +Alternatively, the city can act as a focal campaign setting in itself. In this case, the referee is advised to avail themselves of the major factions detailed in this supplement, and utilise at least one or two of them as recurring antagonists for the players. The referee should also use the generators provided to create minor factions and organisations that could help or hinder the players in their goals. + +A solid foundation for a campaign could involve pitting the players against the agents of Ancamulla the Water Baron, adding the Hegemony Consul Larke xan Lonrot and the gangster Prieval Prise into the mix as potential enemies or allies. However, other permutations of hostile and helpful factions are possible. Such techniques are detailed further in the following faction pages. + +Enticing a party into travelling to Gnomon should be reasonably simple. If they have uncovered a mysterious item of exotica in one of the vaults beneath Vaarn, then Gnomon is the place to have it appraised. If they are seeking an elusive NPC, then the bustling squares of Gnomon are surely home to someone who knows their whereabouts. If they wish to hire mercenaries, Gnomon is riddled with such desperate, violent wretches. If a character has had their eye put out by the claws of a ravenous lizard-lion, then Gnomon is the ideal place to locate a replacement. And so on. + +## Gnomon is Yours + +Gnomon is a kaleidoscope of places, incidents, people, and organisations. The city wears many faces, and no two versions of Gnomon should be the same at different gaming tables. My vision of the city is in the end only a spark; you are invited to kindle it. + +# Water Debt +---- + +Vaarn is a dry and rain-starved country. In the trackless blue deserts, clans of Faa nomads battle over oases and ancient reservoirs. In Gnomon, the largest city in Vaarn, the need for water is even more desperate and the city’s economy is founded on water debt. + +## Where Does the Water Come From? + +By ancient law, distribution of water in Gnomon is controlled by the Water Baron, Ancamulla. The Baron’s Aquifer machine stands at the base of the Apex, and it draws vast quantities of cool, fresh water from deep within the flesh of the Urth. Through a web of pipes and fountains, the city drinks at the Baron’s pleasure. + +Access to water is administered by the Water Baron’s clerks and mercenaries. The poor drink from public fountains, while wealthier residents of Gnomon have private pipelines installed in their townhouses. All must pay the water tax, however, exchanging goods at the Baron’s banks for **water-debt** tokens that are redeemable at public fountains. Each token is worth a day’s drinking water for one person, if they take small sips. The militiamen who man the water fountains may also exchange water for food, weapons, or other luxuries, depending on their mood. All water in Gnomon belongs to the Baron, and bringing water from outside the city walls is forbidden. + +## Ancamulla and the New Hegemony + +The New Hegemony claims dominion over Gnomon and taxes all commerce there; this claim is relatively recent, and conflicts with the Water Baron’s ancient rights over the city. + +One might ask why the Hegemony does not bring its military might to bear on the Baron, and seize control of his Aquifer. The answer is simple: Ancamulla has a sabotage device implanted within the mechanism. If he is imprisoned or killed, this device will trigger, and the water supply for Gnomon will cease forever. The city will collapse into anarchy and destroy itself within days. The Hegemony could certainly depose the Water Baron; however, his sabotage device gives them pause. Ruling a living city that pays taxes is preferable to ruling a lifeless husk. Therefore an uneasy peace exists between the two factions. Ancamulla provides a water ration to the Hegemony’s troops and administrators free of charge, and in return is left to tyrannise the common folk of Gnomon as he sees fit. + +The precise nature of the Baron’s sabotage device is left to the referee to decide. If it could be uncovered and disabled by the players, the balance of power in Gnomon would change forever. + + +## Water Debt and the Players + +The players must drink every day (unless they are synthetic). Make them aware of this, and punish them when they aren’t drinking. Inflicting the **Deprived** tag on them, which prevents them from healing lost HP, is a good start. If they go multiple days without drinking, you may impose stiffer penalties. Make it clear that the Water Baron has a monopoly on potable water in Gnomon, and that they’ll need to pay his militia with water-debt tokens every day. + +You decide how much a token is worth, but I suggest allowing them to trade an item slot’s worth of equipment for a single token at the Baron’s banks. + +If your players are anything like mine, they will immediately start trying to find ways around this extortion. They will steal tokens, steal water from NPCs or from the Baron’s mercenaries, tap into private water pipes, or try to overthrow the Baron entirely and make water free for everyone. This is all good, as it drives conflict. Embrace it + +# Bartering +---- + +Gnomon is a trading hub for all of Vaarn, and therefore it is likely that the PCs will find themselves interacting with merchants during their visit. Almost anything imaginable will be for sale somewhere in Gnomon’s **Great Souk**, located in the Morningshade district. + +Vaarn has no universally accepted currency, so interactions with shopkeepers and merchants will require the players to intuit what the seller is willing to accept in exchange for their goods. + +I allow my players to make trades that seem reasonable at a glance, assuming that an item slots’ worth of goods can be exchanged for similar. The referee can use the table of approximate prices on the right to aid their judgement. If they are still uncertain whether a trade would be acceptable, they may roll d20 and refer to the table below, modifying with the PC’s EGO bonus. + +
+ + + + + + + +
1d20Merchant's Reaction
1-3They are enraged to the point of physical violence
4-8Time-waster, get out of their sight
9-12They shrug and look at the sky
13-15They want a different item instead
16-19They’re willing to make the trade
20+They like you enough to throw something extra in
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Typical Price In Water-Debt Tokens
A Day’s Water1 Token
Sturdy Boots1 Token
Flash-bangs (5)1 Token
Mortar & Pestle1 Token
Hourglass1 Token
Tube of Omni-Glue1 Token
Flare (5)1 Token
Light Weapon (d6)2 Tokens
Motion Sensor2 Tokens
Autoglot Translator2 Tokens
Magnetic Boots2 Tokens
Hologram Projector2 Tokens
Medium Weapon (d8)3 Tokens
Light Armour (12/+2)3 Tokens
Rare Book4 Tokens
Luxury Clothes4 Tokens
Replacement Limb5 Tokens
Heavy Weapon (d10)5 Tokens
Heavy Armour (16/+6)6 Tokens
Hypergeometric Object15 Tokens
Pack Camel20 Tokens
Auto-Chariot50 Tokens
Small Wind-Barge150 Tokens
Modest Townhouse200 Tokens
+ +# Factions +---- + +## Ancamulla, The Water Baron + +- Synthetic. The Baron is a golden box, the size of a heavy dictionary. +- His original brain was human; Ancamulla copied himself into a mechanical body centuries ago. +- Has attachments that allow him to see, hear, speak, and manipulate objects. He can walk, but is usually carried around on a pillow by one of his wives. +- Bored, petty, rude. Enjoys being begged for things. +- Hoards wealth inside his opulent palace, but gets little joy from it. +- **The Baron Wants**: to expel the Hegemony from Gnomon. + +**ALLY**: Ancamulla is envisioned as an antagonist for the players. However, if the referee desires to make him more sympathetic, Ancamulla could be a benevolent figure, giving the water away for free. In this scenario it is Consul Lonrot who wishes to seize control of the Aquifer, thereby securing his hold over the city and perhaps winning the Hegemon’s favour. Alternatively, the Baron could be rarely seen outside the Aquifer; it turns out his own militia captains have held him hostage for years, and it is their corruption and greed that rules Gnomon. Perhaps Ancamulla is devoted to his work within the Aquifer machine, and has little idea of what is being done in his name. + +**VILLAIN**: Hopefully a story that writes itself. Ancamulla is a wealthy, cruel monopolist who has a stranglehold on the most valuable resource in the city. As a machine, he can never experience the thirst that terrifies those under him. Show the players the Baron’s militia denying begging families a drink, smashing open barrels of illegal water, and imprisoning people for water debt. They will probably want to do something about this. + + + + + + +
Ancamulla, The Water Baron of GnomonSynthetic
HD: 3Armour: 24 (Ancient Warding Field)
Morale: 1Attacks: Feeble Swipe (d4)
Notes: Ancamulla does not expect to fight; he has mercenaries for that. If in mortal danger he will likely flee or try to bargain using his wealth. His chassis is fitted with an ancient Warding Field, which renders most kinetic attacks against his person harmless. A well-timed EMP would disrupt the warding field, reducing him to his natural Armour of 11.
+ +## The Baron's Militia + +- Rabble of thugs, cutthroats, and layabouts. Used by the Water Baron to collect debt and guard the public fountains. +- Wear the Baron’s livery: green and yellow. No standard-issue weapons or armour. +- Known for violence, extortion, and dishonesty. +- Maintain a master ‘dry list’ of water debtors; helping any of these people drink is a crime. +- **Faction Base**: the Baron’s Aquifer machine. + +**HOW TO JOIN**: Present yourself at the gates of the Aquifer and demand an audition. You must fight bare-handed against a captain. Those who make a good show of the brawl will be offered a job. + +**WHAT’S EXPECTED OF MEMBERS**: You will enforce the Baron’s whims, collect on outstanding debts, and guard the public fountains. You will arrest water thieves, stay alert for water smuggling rings, and guard water convoys that are sent out into the wastes to supply Hegemony estates and outposts. You will do all of this unquestioningly, and with enthusiastic brutality. + +**BENEFITS**: You are given a yellow and green jacket to wear. You are guaranteed two meals a day and as much water as you can drink. People on the street will treat you with fearful respect. You can throw people into the Baron’s jails or petition for them to be added to the ‘dry list’. Militiamen who please the Baron may be moved to guard duty within the Aquifer itself, giving them access to the machinery. + +### Militiaman +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 1Armour: 13
Morale: 3Appearing: d8
Attacks: Cheap Blade (d6)
Notes: Swaggering bullies who will only attack if they outnumber their opponents.
+ +### Militia Captain +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 3Armour: 13
Morale: 5Appearing: 1
Attacks: Assault Laser (d8 beam)
Notes: Commands a group of militiamen; will always be found guarding a public fountain.
+ +## Hegemony Consul, Larke Xan Lonrot + +- True-kin. Assigned to rule Gnomon by the distant Hegemon, Praise Their Name One Thousand Times. +- Regards the position as a punishment; hates Vaarn, hates Gnomon, wishes he were back in the Hegemony. Has been here for decades. +- Sophisticated, morose, heavy drinker. Black rages. Often hungover. +- Tall, handsome, and commanding. Dark hair, dark clothing, never sweats. +- Sarcastic, shrewd, and deeply depressed. +- **Larke Wants**: to be relieved of his Consulship in a manner that will allow him to retain his pride. Has no idea how this could be achieved. + +**ALLY**: Larke can be of help to the party, if they have something to offer him. The Consul hates Ancamulla, and will be happy to provide tacit support for a group that plans to topple the Water Baron - so long as they understand that if they are caught, his name is never spoken. Completely securing Hegemony control of the Aquifer machine would be his ticket back to the Hegemon’s good graces. + +**VILLAIN**: If the referee desires, Larke can fill the role of a primary campaign villain. Accentuate his black rages, his hatred of Gnomon and its inhabitants, and the ruthless lengths he will go to ensuring a steady flow of taxes to the Hegemon. Show his men taking a well-liked NPC prisoner over a minor violation of Hegemony law. It is recommended that you pair this portrayal of Consul Lonrot with an equally villainous Commander Loonflower, and cast the Water Baron as a sympathetic figure, who is attempting to keep control of the water supply to prevent the Hegemony from gaining an unbreakable grip over the city. + + + + + + +
Hegemony Consul, Larke Xan LonrotBiological
HD: 4Armour: 16 (Adamant Linen Robes)
Morale: 2Attacks: Monofilament Sword (2d8)
Notes: Always accompanied by Lictors. Lonrot is a competent enough duelist, but will not have any interest in risking his life in battle. If cornered he will use the active camouflage rig inside his robes to become invisible and attempt to escape.
+ +## House Lonrot + +- The dominant Noble House in Gnomon. Transplants from the New Hegemony. Big fish in a small pond. +- Wear livery of black and purple. +- Equipped with the latest Hegemony tech. +- Will support the Fifth Legion in operations within the city. Do not police the streets, except on the Apex. +- **Faction Base**: the Consul’s Manse, at the peak of the Apex. + +**HOW TO JOIN**: The Consul has many informants and supplicants. It would not be difficult for the party to join their ranks, if they have useful information. Being sworn into the service of House Lonrot is more difficult. Such an honour might be extended to individuals who greatly aided the Consul, and were willing to swear a blood oath. + +**WHAT’S EXPECTED OF MEMBERS**: Your life belongs to House Lonrot. You will obey without question, and will defend the Lonrot family to the death. You will be asked to arrest criminals, spy on the Consul’s enemies, and oversee the collection of Hegemony taxes from Gnomon’s merchant class. + +**BENEFITS**: You are given black and purple livery. You will eat and drink three times a day, and sleep inside the Consul’s Manse, one of the safest places in Gnomon. You are afforded all the prestige that befits an agent of the city’s governor. Household Guards, Lictors, and Hegemony soldiers will come to your aid if you are in danger. + +### Household Guard +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 3Armour: 14
Morale: 4Appearing: d6
Attacks: Pulse Rifle (d8)
Notes: Well-equipped and trained, but not as numerous as the Legionaries or the Baron’s militiamen.
+ +### Consul's Lictor +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 5Armour: 18
Morale: 7Appearing: d6
Attacks: Anbaric Pike (d10 electrical)
Notes: When Consul Larke would take lethal damage, a Lictor can choose to die instead.
+ +## Commander Loonflower + +- True-kin. Ranking commander of the New Hegemony’s Legion in Gnomon. +- Big, forceful, jolly, energetic. +- Moustache, thinning hair, flushed face. Sunburns easily. +- Cheerfully bigoted towards all non true-kin characters. Knows lots of jokes about cacogen. +- Loves poetry. Writes bad poetry. +- Believes he’s engaged in a civilising mission. Vaarn can be tamed. +- **Loonflower Wants**: to keep order and ensure the Hegemony’s borders are safe. + +**ALLY**: Commander Loonflower can be played as a jocular, reassuring presence. He is a good foil for Ancamulla, as he dislikes the Hegemony’s power being compromised by what he sees as a relic of an older Vaarn. He is very aware of the risks involved in deposing Ancamulla, but will be interested in any suggestion the PCs make that could allow this to happen. If they come up with a plausible plan to disable Ancamulla’s sabotage device inside the Aquifer, Loonflower will be eager to assist them - on the condition that control over the water supply is turned over to the New Hegemony. + +**VILLAIN**: To make Loonflower an antagonist, heighten his bigotry against non-human characters and NPCs. He is still bluff, jovial and playful, but there is real hatred behind his jokes. His soldiers share his prejudice, and the cacogen, newbeasts, mycomorphs and synths of Gnomon are terrorised by the Hegemony’s true-kin soldiers. Loonflower could also be carrying out a campaign of extermination against the tribes of Faa nomads who live in the badlands around Gnomon. Play up the imperialist aspects of the New Hegemony, and make Loonflower the avatar of these tendencies. + + + + + + +
Hegemony Commander, Eldwall LoonflowerBiological
HD: 6Armour: 16 (Hegemony Ferro-Plate)
Morale: 10Attacks: Hegemony Sidearm (d6)
Notes: Unlikely to fight alone; he will be accompanied by four Hegemony Centurions. Hegemony troops will never fail Morale checks while Loonflower is alive and fighting with them.
+ +## The Fifth Hegemony Legion + +- The Hegemony’s occupying military force in the city. +- Only true-kin can become legionaries, although cacogen, newbeasts, and synths serve as auxiliary soldiers. +- Easily recognised by their scarlet uniforms and Hegemony accents. +- Patrol the city streets and walls, watching for unrest. +- Rivalry between the Legion and Ancamulla’s militia, which can become violent. +- **Faction Base**: the Legion barracks at the Noonfort. + +**How To Join**: You must be true-kin, and swear an oath to serve the Hegemon all your days. PCs with other ancestries may be employed as auxiliary troops, who wear dull green. + +**What's Expected of Members**: You must obey the orders of your Centurion unquestioningly. Failure to do so will result in court martial, and likely your execution. You are expected to police Gnomon, arrest troublemakers, assist tax collectors, and defend the city from outside threats. You may be dispatched to eliminate dangerous monsters that have strayed too near to Gnomon, or to reinforce Hegemony garrisons in other parts of Vaarn. + +**Benefits**: You are given a red uniform, standard-issue autorifle, fragmentation grenades, and a Hegemony water pass, which entitles you to a respectable ration of water every day. You will be able to count on your fellow soldiers for backup, and have free reign to bully and extort small traders. + +### Hegemony Legionary +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 2Armour: 14
Morale: 6Appearing: d8
Attacks: Autorifle (d8) / Grenade (d10 blast, DEX save to throw back)
Notes: When fought in streets of Gnomon, will call for backup every second turn, summoning another d8 Legionaries.
+ +### Hegemony Centurion +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 5Armour: 16
Morale: 8Appearing: 1
Attacks: Autorifle (d8) + Rapier (d8)
Notes: Legionaries in presence of Centurion use the Centurion’s morale score.
+ +## Abbess Faunia + +- New-Sheep. Spiritual leader of the Church of the Promised Sun. +- Grandmotherly, soft-spoken, frail. +- Believes her faith will one day lead to the rejuvenation of Urth’s dying sun. Leads long and arduous rituals to this effect. +- Dresses in the colours of the Sun That Was And Will Be: argent white and gleaming gold. +- Ambiently psychic; can always tell if someone means her harm. +- **Faunia Wants**: to grow her flock and live to see the coming of the Promised Sun. She would do almost anything to hasten its arrival. + +**ALLY**: Abbess Faunia can be played as a calming, more gentle presence in Gnomon. She’s the opposite of Ancamulla and the Hegemony. They take; Faunia gives. The Church of the Promised Sun delivers charity to orphans, beggars, and the oppressed, for it is only through grace and mercy that the Sun That Is Promised will ever again light the Urth with its golden rays. Faunia has no great military power or strength of arms, but if the PCs are in her favour, they will be in the favour of anyone else in the city who worships the Promised Sun. This is no small matter, and the support of the great mass of worshippers could be a decisive factor in toppling one of the other factions. + +**VILLAIN**: Faunia as an antagonist is still grandmotherly, soft-spoken and physically gentle. However, she is the recipient of prophetic dreams, glorious images of the Promised Sun rising bright and terrible to burn away the wickedness of the world and bring the righteous few to a gleaming salvation. Faunia must hasten the arrival of this celestial saviour, by rooting out unbelievers and burning them alive in great rapturous bonfires. This version of Faunia runs Gnomon as a theocratic police-state, probably with the support of the Water Baron or Consul Lonrot, who have been converted to her faith by the fervour of her visions. + + + + + + +
Abbess Faunia, Apostle Of The Promised SunBiological
HD: 1Armour: 11 (Golden Robes)
Morale: 3Attacks: Fists (d4)
Notes: Faunia is no warrior, but her ambient psychic powers mean that she is impossible to surprise. If attacked, she will activate her most precious artefact: a hard-light projector that creates seven solid-state holograms of her, which will scatter in all directions. In the confusion she will attempt to escape. Note these holograms are physical objects, and can be restrained by the PCs.
+ +## Church Of The Promised Sun + +- Religious faith. Their scripture and religious practices are focused on the renewal of Urth’s red sun. +- Dominant religion in Gnomon. Many shrines, churches, and wall frescoes dedicated to this faith. +- Recognise one another through sunburst medallions and the greeting ‘May you live to see the Promised Sun’. +- Priests wear golden robes and smiling sunburst masks. +- Prayers held at sunrise and sunset, the dead are burned on pyres. +- **Faction Base**: the Temple of the Promised Sun, on Gnomon’s Apex. + +**How To Join**: Renounce all prior faiths and accept the Baptism Of Dawn. + +**What's Expected of Members**: Regular tithes to the Church of the Promised Sun. Observance of prayers, rituals, and attendance at the Great Temple to hear Abbess Faunia speak. You may also be asked to go above and beyond for your Church when called upon. This could include protecting a Priest who is heading out into the wastes of Vaarn to spread the message of the Promised Sun, retrieving the remains of Solar Saints that have been stolen by relic thieves, or collecting the body of a church member who died in the wilderness so that their relatives may burn the corpse with proper ceremony. + +**Benefits**: You are a respectable part of Gnomonian society. Noble Houses will allow you to enter through the front door. Church members are expected to aid fellow worshippers who are in danger or have a material need; this tenet will only stretch so far, but shopkeepers or landlords who share your faith will be likely to extend you credit or give discounts on rent. + +### Priest Of The Promised Sun +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 1Armour: 10
Morale: 1Appearing: d6
Attacks: Staff (d6)
Notes: Carry doses of Summerbalm (heals for d8 HP).
+ +### Temple Guard +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 3Armour: 15
Morale: 7Appearing: d10
Attacks: Heavy Club (d8)
Notes: Will do everything they can to avoid spilling red blood inside the Temple.
+ +## Prieval Prise + +- New-Jackal. Smuggler and a crook; runs the underworld of Gnomon. +- Laughs a lot, unpredictable, very violent. Widely feared. Can switch from jovial to murderous and back in a heartbeat. +- Addicted to opiates and amphetamines. +- Incredibly gaudy and tasteless dress sense. +- Owns the Black Lotus Club, a seedy dancehall. Often found in the back room. +- **Prieval Wants**: to take drugs, kill anyone who insults him, and for people to laugh at his jokes. + +**ALLY**: Prieval is a violent maniac, but he could prove to be the lesser of two evils when contrasted with another, more powerful threat. If the party are engaged in conflict with the Water Baron, Prieval’s smugglers could be moving black-market drinking water into the city for the poor neighbourhoods. If the Hegemony are crushing the merchants with taxes, Prieval is generous with his ill-gotten wealth. Play up his roguish charm. He’ll never be a good guy, but if you squint hard enough, he could be your bad guy. + +**VILLAIN**: Prieval is a natural fit for a villain, and can play the role easily. He’s vain, proud, extremely violent, and easily offended. Bring the players into conflict with his operation by having some smugglers show up to collect debt from an NPC halfway through an important conversation. Alternatively, if they visit a chariot race or underground gambling den, Prieval is there holding court at the VIP table with his cronies. Have him throw a drink at them and they’ll hate him forever. + + + + + + +
Prieval PriseBiological
HD: 5Armour: 13 (Gaudy Robes)
Morale: See BelowAttacks: Pistol (d8) + Bite (d6)
Notes: If combat breaks out, the referee should roll to determine which drug Prieval is high on. Even numbers designate amphetamines; Prieval is twitchy and fast, and will always act twice before the PCs do. However, he will bug out and run as soon as the fight goes against him. Odd numbers designate opiates; Prieval is disassociating and will always attack last. However, he has no concept of the danger he is in, cannot feel pain, and will never run away.
+ +## Prieval's Crew + +- Criminals, scum. Motley crew of newbeasts. +- Favour loud, colourful clothing, gaudy weapons, and flamboyant jewellery. +- Live the fast life: chariot races, gladiator fights, card games, opium dens. +- Move goods and collect debts for Prieval. +- Top dogs in Gnomon’s underworld. If you’re trying to do something illegal, you’ll have to deal with them sooner or later. +- **Faction Base**: the Black Lotus nightclub, near the southern wall of Gnomon. + +**How To Join**: Hang around the Black Lotus +Club, make yourself useful to Prieval, +laugh at his jokes. + +**What's Expected of Members**: You will run menial errands, deliver threats, commit arson, collect debts, and move cargo in and out of the city. Prieval does have dealings outside the city walls, so a party who have experience adventuring in the desert might be asked to find someone who is hiding out in a remote corner of Vaarn. + +**Benefits**: Easy access to stolen goods, safe-houses, and high-grade narcotics. Will be aided by anyone who’s in debt to the smugglers or is afraid of them. Prieval’s gang will help you kill other people, within reason (they would be reluctant to target Hegemony leaders or the Water Baron). Most importantly, the smugglers know many ways in and out of the city of Gnomon that are undetectable by the city’s guards. + +### Smuggler +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 1Armour: 12
Morale: 2Appearing: d12
Attacks: Club (d6)
Notes: The gang’s runners are lightly-armed layabouts, more used to vandalism and intimidation than pitched battle with competent adversaries.
+ +### Hired Killer +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 3Armour: 14
Morale: 4Appearing: d6
Attacks: Knife (d6) + Plasma Grenede (d8 blast)
Notes: Assassination technique involves bombing targets’ homes with ancient plasma grenades.
+ +## Nyxia, The Wall-Shadow + +- Planeywoman. She is a hypergeometric being that resembles a fractured, moving shadow. +- Immortal or close to it. Has no memory of the accident that created her. +- Lives on the walls of the Crimson Court. Watches the fights and passes judgement on the merits of cases brought. +- Her voice is cold and clear; her movements are like the flickering, jerky frames of silent films. +- Believes violence is the ultimate expression of justice. +- **Nyxia Wants**: to reward the righteous and punish the guilty. + +**ALLY**: Nyxia has a harsh sense of justice, but one that the party could bend to their advantage. If the Water Baron’s men have committed some outrage, the party could challenge them in the Crimson Court. The Baron keeps fearsome Advocates on retainer, but Nyxia might persuade them to recuse themselves from the case if the player’s cause is worthy. As she does not drink, she is one of the few living in Gnomon who has no fear of Ancamulla. Defeat in the Court would not spell the end for the Baron, but it would show his militia they cannot act with impunity. + +**VILLAIN**: Nyxia’s ‘justice’ is alien to contemporary conceptions of a legal system, and wrongly accused people end up forced to fight in her arena all the time. Have an NPC known to the players be served with a Crimson Mark, someone who is unable to afford an Advocate’s help. Nyxia will show no mercy in such situations, considering those who die in the Court to have proven themselves guilty of something. + + + + + + +
Nyxia, The Wall-ShadowHypergeometric
HD: 8Armour: 11
Morale: 10Attacks: d8 CON drain
Notes: Nyxia cannot be injured by regular weapons or by psychic Gifts. Only hypergeometric weapons have any hope of harming her. She attacks by latching onto an opponent and draining the energy from their body. When their CON defence is reduced to 0, they are dead.
+ +## The Crimson Court + +- Lawyer-gladiators who decide the outcome of trials in the ring. +- Gnomon’s criminal cases are decided through these trials. Defendants may fight in person or they may hire an Advocate to fight for them. +- Merchant’s contracts are sealed with the Crimson Mark, exposing contract-breakers to a challenge in the ring. +- The Advocates are skilled fighters, and will not take a case they feel is unworthy. +- Bailiffs of the Court issue summonses and enforce Nyxia’s judgements. +- **Faction Base**: the Crimson Court. + +**How To Join**: Anyone can represent a claimant or defendant in the Crimson Court. A strong showing during the fight will result in others offering payment for your services. Keep winning and you’ll become known as an Advocate. + +**What's Expected of Members**: You must abide by Nyxia’s judgements, and fight to the death when you are in the ring. If you have taken payment, you cannot then refuse to fight, and will be hunted down and killed if you do. + +**Benefits**: A proven Advocate is a friend much sought-after in Gnomon. Merchants will be keen to make your acquaintance and curry favour, for having a powerful Advocate on their side makes cheating their customers easy. Noble Houses and Philosopher’s Guilds will also be eager to approach you, for such proud and fractious institutions are ceaselessly issuing summons emblazoned with Crimson Marks to those who have crossed them. Successful Advocates live luxurious lives. + +### Bailiff +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 2Armour: 14
Morale: 4Appearing: d10
Attacks: Shock Baton (d6, electrical)
Notes: Dressed in dark red armour and featureless shadow-helms.
+ +### Advocate +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 7Armour: 15
Morale: 10Appearing: 1
Attacks: Spear (d8) + Net (DEX save or your Armor drops to 9)
Notes: Each Advocate uses unique fighting styles and weaponry. This stat-block should be considered a starting point.
+ +## Longtooth Jak + +- Elderly Alzabo: a fearsome extra-solar predator, which retains the memories of the human beings it devours. +- Resembles a bear with purple fur. +- Consumed so many brains that she has achieved sentience, a rare occurrence. +- Erudite, patient, hungry. +- Speaks with many different voices. +- Religious figure for a coven of worshippers. +- **Jak Wants**: safe, reliable supply of human corpses with interesting memories. + +**ALLY**: Jak has little time for the Hegemony or the Church of the Promised Sun, considering both factions to be intrusions into the old order of Gnomon, something she remembers well. Any players wishing harm to those factions will find an ally in Jak and her cult of ghouls. Her extremely long memory could also prove useful; some of the personalities contained in her ancient body date back before the Great Collapse. Who knows what secret locations Jak could guide enterprising vault-raiders towards? + +**VILLAIN**: Jak is still a monster, even if she is a very intelligent one. To make her an antagonist, play up the creepy cannibal aspect of her coven. Have the players hear sinister stories about corpses going missing before funerals, and family crypts in the Tomblands being ransacked. Maybe the Friends of Jak prefer live flesh for their feasts? A hidden society that practiced such wicked rituals would, of course, be a topic of fear and revulsion amongst the common people of Gnomon. Someone who rooted out this cabal would enjoy a favorable reputation in the city. + + + + + + +
Longtooth JakBiological
HD: 6Armour: 15 (Thick hide)
Morale: 10Attacks: Claw (d8) + Claw (d8)
Notes: If both of Jak’s claws hit the same target, she will follow up with a bite attack that deals 2d6 damage, with no to-hit roll required. She will deal another automatic 2d6 damage to the target she has grabbed each turn, unless they pass a STR save to wrestle her off.
+ +## Friends of Jak + +- Secretive cult. They have members embedded within all other factions. +- Few members, but they are fanatically dedicated to Jak. +- Robed and hooded during their rites. +- Recognise one another through certain gestures and phrases. +- Take part in cannibalistic rituals, which give them access to the memories of the dead. +- Experiencing these memories is addictive; slowly turns you into a ghoul. +- Faction Base: the tunnels beneath the Hushed Archives, an empty library in the Lantern District. + +**How To Join**: Getting an invitation is difficult but not impossible, if you ask the right questions of the right people. Showing a sincere interest in Vaarn’s history might be the ticket. + +**What's Expected of Members**: You will attend the gatherings called by Jak each full moon. You must follow her guidance without question, and ensure she is protected and kept secret. You will be asked to help provide cadavers for the ritual feasts. + +**Benefits**: Taking part in Jak’s rituals will allow you to access the memories of the corpses you devour, potentially granting all kinds of useful information to the party. There is no need to interrogate a living foe when their flesh can speak just as clearly. + +### Cultist +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 1Armour: 12
Morale: 2Appearing: d10
Attacks: Dagger (d6)
Notes: Robed and hooded when it is time to gather. They use Jak’s morale score if she is present.
+ +### Exalted Ghoul +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 4Armour: 14
Morale: 5Appearing: d6
Attacks: Claw (d8) + Claw (d8)
Notes: The advanced stages of the transformation brought about by Jak’s rituals elongate the limbs and teeth.
+ +## Faction Conflicts + +The crux of a campaign that focuses on Gnomon will be conflict between the major factions. In general, the factions are designed to have certain natural allies and natural enemies within the city. + +The Water Baron’s stranglehold on the water supply allows him to intervene in all aspects of Gnomonian politics. This will naturally put him in conflict with House Lonrot and the Hegemony Legion, who represent a foreign conquering power that does not recognise his authority. + +House Lonrot and the Hegemony Legion are natural allies, but canny players may find a way to set them at odds. The Consul’s desire to return to the Hegemony might set him against Loonflower. + +The Church of the Promised Sun will not intervene in minor conflicts, but the Abbess would begin preaching against the Water Baron if he deprived large numbers of citizens of water, or against Lonrot if the Hegemony committed some massacre. + +Prieval Prise, the Friends of Jak, and the Crimson Court are underworld or fringe factions, which exist without the consent or knowledge of the larger factions. These three groups operate in tandem with one another; Prieval supplies bodies to the Friends of Jak, the Crimson Courtiers help Prieval enforce business contracts, and so on. This is not to say there will never be violent conflict between the underworld factions; in fact it is likely there will be. However, they all share a disreputable reputation. + +If the referee wishes to seed some interactions between members of the factions during a campaign in Gnomon, they may use the table below. Mirrored results may either be discarded, or treated as conflict within the faction in question. Members of the same organization need not have identical goals, after all. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1d20Member OfDesires ToMember Of
1Water Baron’s MilitiaAbductGang of Criminals
2Philosopher's Guild
3House LonrotProfessionally DiscreditPit Fighters
4Urban Shrine
5Fifth Hegemony LegionMarryTrade Cartel
6Noble House
7Church of the Promised SunSteal From Crimson Court
8
9Prieval's CrewImpressFriends of Jak
10
11Friends of JakArrange the Death OfPrieval's Crew
12
13Crimson CourtCollect Debt FromChurch of the Promised Sun
14
15Noble HouseRenege on a Deal WithFifth Hegemony Legion
16Trade Cartel
17Urban ShrineLocateHouse Lonrot
18Pit Fighters
19Philosopher's GuildCure the Sickness OfWater Baron's Militia
20Gang of Criminals
+ +## Other Factions + +There more than seven factions at work in a city as diverse as Gnomon. In later sections of this publication you will find generator tables that will let you create your own trade cartels, urban shrines, minor noble houses, and philosopher’s guilds, all of which can act as smaller, less powerful factions. However, if the reader desires a brief overview of some of the less mundane factions who are at work in Vaarn, and would almost certainly have an agent or two posted in Gnomon, such information can be found here. + +### Seekers of Eyeless Wisdom + +Self-knowledge and spiritual purity are achieved not through enlightenment, but through a slow and patient process of endarkenment. There are other powers in this grand and mysterious cosmos that require no sun to thrive; should the residents of Urth not therefore seek to follow their example? There are other sources of illumination than the red and ailing star that squats, bloated and weak like a sated tick, in the high-vaulted sable vastness of the heavens: we speak of course of the interior illumination that comes when one has renounced all prosaic and urthly sights. We seek those who do not fear the coming death of the sun and the blackness it will herald; those rare, strong minds that can be opened to celestial messages that emanate from the most distant and lightless of spheres. + +Not all the blind beggars who sit at the corners of streets in Gnomon are sightless, as the compassionate might suppose, due to misfortune. Some chose the dark. + +### The College of Indigo Tigers + +Artificers, hell-raisers, masters of necrotech. The Lectors of the College search Vaarn’s vaults for anything to deepen their research into the preservation and re-animation of human corpses. The College itself lies far to the south, but regular expeditions are mounted into Vaarn’s interior to seek out new leads on the location of Titan-era cloning facilities and biotech labs. Indigo Lectors are hardly an unknown sight in Gnomon, attended to by their mute, perfumed Indigo Servitors. + +A party of vault-raiders who found an item of exotica that could repair human cells, or had knowledge of a location where such technology might exist, would quickly attract the attention of the Indigo College. The Lectors pay well, demand much, and have little tolerance of failure. + +### Titan Cults + +The great machine suzerains of Urth are long-dead, their ego-engines scrubbed clean by weaponised logicphages. The quiet and colossal ruin of their final thoughts is sealed beneath Vaarn in decaying lattices of memory-crystal; their memories entombed within miles of neural network-shunts that lie, cold and shattered, in bunkers beneath the mountains. + +True devotion, however, can never die, and the machine gods still have worshippers. Synths and humans alike wish that the Age of Titans might come again. They wish that the citizens of Urth might once more travel the stars, guided by HYPERION’s golden lantern; wish that justice might again be done by THEMIS; wish that GAEA would once again administer to the sick and that patient METIS would map the roiling paths of the future. + +The Titans are dead, they say, but what mankind’s arts once birthed, mankind’s arts could restore again. Titan cults, devoted to untangling these sacred mysteries, are found throughout Vaarn. It would be strange if none within Gnomon’s walls wished to see the Titans rise once more. + +# Districts of Gnomon +---- + +## Morningshade + +The north-western district of Gnomon, shaded by the Apex when the sun rises in the morning. The Morningshade district is industrious and prosperous, home to striving merchants. The primary landmark in this district is the **Great Souk of Gnomon**, the vast open-air market that operates from sunrise to sunset. + +_Sights in the Morningshade_: +- Gangs of labourers carrying cargo from the wind-barge docks to the west. +- A cafe, with caged birds singing outside. +- A merchant’s auto-cart, overflowing with ripe produce. +- A Priest of the Promised Sun, leading an outdoor sermon for prosperous devotees. + +## Eveningshade + +The north-eastern district of Gnomon, shaded by the Apex when the sun descends towards the western horizon. The Eveningshade district is home to the **Night Souk**, authorised to trade between the hours of sunset and sunrise. Due to the peace and quiet by day, the Eveningshade District is preferred by Gnomon’s artisans and craftsmen. By night the streets come alive, with music played from balconies and basement bars thronged with celebrants. + +_Sights in the Eveningshade_: +- A traditional Vaarnish street band, practising in a courtyard. +- A synth-surgeon, fixing an android’s arm. +- A funeral procession for a deceased artisan. +- Elderly newbeasts play dominoes beneath a leafless tree. + +## Lantern District + +The south-western district of Gnomon, unshaded by the Apex. The Lantern District is the oldest in the city, the most crooked and decrepit and distended with secrets. The primary landmark is the **Hushed Archives**, a ruin that was once a library and is now a cobwebbed shell, left with each door open by ancient custom. This district is the home of Philosopher’s Guilds and theatrical companies, a district of fulminating prophets and sophist clowns. Poets wander the indigo streets at twilight, looking up to the heavens at the hard glints of ancient orbital habitats that trace esoteric geometries in the windy dusk. + +_Sights in the Lantern District_: +- An open air debate between two schools of Neo-Neo-Relativists. +- A dealer of rare books, smoking hookah on their porch. +- A sacrificial procession, heading to one of the neighbourhood shrines. +- A rehearsal for a play; they are miming out the famous death of an Autarch. + +## Red Quarter + +The south-eastern district of Gnomon, unshaded by the Apex. The Red Quarter is pugnacious and seedy, home to strutting mercenaries and pompous prizefighters. Here the visitor can find gladiator pits, boxing arenas, chariot racing, and passion-houses by the score. The distinctive landmark of the Red Quarter is the **Crimson Court**, the home of Nyxia and her Advocates. + +_Sights in the Red Quarter_: +- Graffiti praising one gladiator and cursing another. +- A beggar without legs, trundling on a cart. +- A curb-side game of chance, where knives may be drawn at any moment. +- A patrol of Hegemony soldiers, jeered at by gutter-dwellers. + +## The Apex + +The great curve of dark metal that looms hundreds of feet over Gnomon, perhaps the wreck of some forgotten engine that has been swallowed by the blue sands and by time. The home of Gnomon’s rich and powerful. Notable buildings upon the Apex include the **Consul’s Manse**, and the **Temple of the Promised Sun**. + +_Sights upon the Apex_: +- A patrol of the Consul’s Lictors, anbaric pikes crackling with purple energy. +- A messenger in golden robes, carrying a decree from Abbess Faunia. +- A line of supplicants outside the gates of the Water Baron’s mansion. +- Condemned criminals; gaolers lead them to the Plunge to be thrown to their deaths. +- A carriage of highborn ladies of Gnomon, on their way to view a hanging garden. + +## Tomblands + +To the south of Gnomon lie the Tomblands. Ancient customs forbade the burial of the dead within the walls of the city, and thus the southern road leading from Gnomon is lined with windowless abodes to accomodate those silent ancestors. This charnel-district extends for some distance beyond sight of Gnomon’s walls; Vaarn is old and the dead outnumber the living. + +Criminals and others who find themselves unwelcome in the city proper make squalid homes amongst the bones. Groups of bandits haunt the ruins, and there are rumours of more dangerous creatures still that have crept in from the blue wastelands and make their lair amidst monoliths and unsealed crypts. + +_Common Sights in the Tomblands_: +- Robbers lounge amidst devil-grass, cooking on an open fire. +- Pthalo-jackals, cautiously hunting. +- A Harlequin Serpent, sunning itself upon a fallen monument. +- A pair of Jak’s ghouls, posing as mourners. + +## Other Landmarks + +- **The Noonfort** - a bastion of solid stone that protects the northern gates of Gnomon. Currently occupied by the Fifth Hegemony Legion. If the Hegemony arrest the party, they will take them here. +- **The Docks** - a rumpus of ropes and timber, where teams of dockhands unload the wind-barges that berth amongst the towers ringing Gnomon’s western wall. +- **Nomad Camp** - the Faa nomads do not sleep in houses with four walls and in any case they are banned from the city after dark by Hegemony decree. Clans that are visiting Gnomon to trade will be camped at the Eastern Gate of the city. +- **The Water Baron’s Aquifer** - Ancamulla’s mysterious water-pumping machine can be found at the base of the Apex, protected by high walls and watchful guards. The Aquifer complex is easily recognisable by its fluted yellow and green towers. + +# Street Hassle + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1d20GroupLocationSource of Conflict
1PickpocketsSunbaked StreetDuel Within Group
2Street SweepersShaded StreetDuel With Other Group
3BeggarsDingy AlleywayBrawl Within Group
4Water Baron’s MilitiaShabby CourtyardBrawl With Other Group
5Hegemony PatrolOpulent CourtyardLust
6Hegemony Tax CollectorsGambling HouseBetrayal
7Street Magician and CrowdTavernGambling Debts
8BuskersOutdoor MarketDrunkenness
9Curbside GamblersPublic FountainDrug Psychosis
10Faa NomadsSeedy Passion HouseTheft
11Priest of the Promised SunUpmarket Passion HouseParasitic Crystals
12Junk PeddlerCrowded StreetDangerous Pet
13Rowdy ApprenticesDeserted StreetMisfired Weapon
14Off-Duty ActorsDerelict HouseRogue Goats
15Off-Duty GladiatorsNear Fighting PitsReligious Dispute
16Off-Duty SoldiersNear Chariot TracksStreet Gambling
17CourtesansArtisan StreetUrban Baboons
18Bounty HuntersWealthy StreetBigotry
19Water Debt CollectorsSmall ShrineStampeding Packbeast
20Titan CultistsLarge ShrineUpturned Wagon
+ +# Buildings + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1d20OriginallyAnd ThenNow
1Cybernetics SurgeryDestroyed by FireAbandoned Shell
2House of HealingScribe’s HouseHegemony Barracks
3Jeweller’s ShopOrphanageGambling Den
4CourthouseBeggar’s FlophousePassion-House
5SlaughterhouseExpensive TownhouseTea Rooms
6Spicer's StorehouseRowdy TavernMartial-Arts School
7Occultist's AbodeSlave BarracksPhilosopher’s Guildhall
8Church of the Promised SunFarrier’s WorkshopQuiet Tavern
9Cobbler's WorkshopHydroponic GardenGladiator’s Barracks
10Bath HouseNunneryCheap Boardinghouse
11Leatherworker's AbodeDistilleryExpensive Boardinghouse
12SchoolhouseAlchemist’s AbodePrison
13PrisonWeapon Dealer’s AbodeMusic Hall
14Architects’ GuildhallShrine to the TitansPuppet Theatre
15SawmillDry-Goods StoreFighting Pit
16Mask-Maker's WorkshopGrocer’s ShopBakery
17Matchmaker's AbodeButcher’s ShopPet Shop
18Shrine to Amun-OhOwned by a MadmanGlassmaker’s Workshop
19LibraryArmourer’s ForgeFlorist’s Shop
20FortificationAstrologer’s TowerCoffee House
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1d20StructureNotable OrnamentationReputation
1OpulentHeavy Brass LanternCursed or Haunted
2CrowdedMonkeys in Cages OutsideUnfashionable
3ShabbyBirds in Cages OutsideFashionable
4Vine-CoatedPainted Sigil of an EyeTrustworthy
5Graffiti-CoatedPainted Sigil of a SunburstDisreputable
6FilthyPainted Sigil of a MoonDisliked
7Lantern-HungPurple ShuttersDangerous
8Bat-InfestedOrange ShuttersSafe
9SunbleachedYellow ShuttersDull
10Half-CollapsedLarge Golden Door-handleRowdy
11ThreateningLemon-tree OutsideCheap
12CrookedOrange-tree OutsideExpensive
13ToweringLarge Cactus OutsideShunned
14SmallAutomatic DoorsWell-Liked
15CrampedFlags Hang from Each WindowUnpopular
16DecrepitSign Shaped Like AstrolabeStolen Goods Available
17Sand-scouredSign Shaped Like SwordOwner a Cheat
18Ill-OmenedSign Shaped Like FishOwner in Debt
19BeautifulSign Shaped Like CatAlways Hear Gossip
20Freshly PaintedSign Shaped Like StarBest of the Best
+ +# Merchants + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1d20NameMannerFlavour
1AakarmaUnkemptRabid Fan of Odd Sport
2UmatriSuaveLaughs at Own Jokes
3SummineTiredGoods Comically Low Quality
4RatianDisfiguredCarried Around by Their Sons
5StrinchFierceCurses the Hegemony
6MeadsharkMildCurses the Water Baron
7KhatriSleazyCurses Consul Lonrot
8DungbirdGaudyLooking for Investors
9AttleSullenWeird Feud with Other Merchant
10IzberelOver-friendlyGleeful Gossip
11OlovoSuspiciousIn Debt to Prieval Prise
12GoodsonTalkativeObvious Scam Artist
13FordonnMuteReligious Maniac
14LevesSicklyExtremely Bigoted
15AnciaAgitatedObsessive Haggler
16GriddlesDirtyTrying to Marry off Their Aunt
17LuxieLecherousAssisted by Sullen Child
18JacquenDrunkenStingy and Cheap
19ObrittHelpfulKnows all the Best Night-Spots
20ZavitsyKindlySells the Best Goods in Gnomon
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1d20Store AppearanceStore LocationThey Sell
1CrookedCrossroadsArmour
2Lantern-StrewnBasementFungus
3ElegantBy Public ParkJewellery
4AiryNear Water Baron’s FountainOlives
5Literally a BarrelUnder Lemon TreeRoast Chickens
6CrowdedBy Cactus GardenRoast Monkeys
7InvitingPleasant AvenueSwords
8Half-BurnedNear SlaughterhouseCoffee Beans
9FilthyNear TavernBeer
10NeatAbove Another StoreSilk Robes
11SprawlingNear Fighting PitsCarpets
12CompactAbove a RestaurantPottery
13SmokyInside Apartment BlockTrained Lizards
14OverladenThrough Secret DoorLeather
15OrnateBack of a CartBiotech
16NondescriptBase of Astronomy TowerBooks
17UnmissableBeside Chariot TracksMemory Crystals
18GreasyInside AtticFurniture
19SomberA Roof GardenSandworm Skins
20ColourfulUnder FootbridgePoetry
+ +# Mercenaries + +_Should the party wish to engage the services of hired swords, Gnomon’s taverns and courtyards have no end of scoundrels and layabouts who seek a day’s dishonest work. Roll d20 to discern who is available. Sample stats are given below; feel free to modify them as needed._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
1d20NameDescriptionFlavour
1Bellino FesterBloated True-kinNo Indoor Voice
2Vigenoa CallantScaly CacogenGluttonous and Stupid
3Demeter BlueMuscular New-PeacockHates Alermo White
4Alermo WhiteBurly New-SwanLoves Demeter Blue
5MarsalessaOne-Armed CacogenHard of Hearing
6MooncalfSynth, Luminous HeadSuicidally Brave
7CatanzaEnergetic New-HoundTuneless Singing
8Pescand JuntaSharp-toothed CacogenAlways Spitting
9‘Shoulder’Towering True-kinLots of Boils
10Anders BlackfruitTalkative New-GibbonHidden Infection
11‘Clever’ ClaureRound Green SynthAnnoying Pedant
12MarielSquat Purple MycomorphLecherous Maniac
13FreideRed-haired True-kinSpy for the Consul
14Pretty SopheDead-eyed New-SharkIncredibly Vain
15Lydier OnetoothAncient CacogenTerrible Shot
16AlmondseedTwo-headed CacogenVery Gullible
17Arles MorrowBombastic MycomorphOpium Addict
18‘Lucky’ PatrineNervous New-LocustHuge Gambling Debt
19Reina LurkBeautiful ‘True-kin’Amnesiac Android
20Parvash RedhandClever, Reliable New-FoxSecretly Worships Azathoth
+ +### Inferior Mercenary +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 1Armour: 12
Morale: 2Appearing: 1
Attacks: Crude Weapon (d6)
Notes: Will work for meals and water.
+ +### Skilled Mercenary +_Biological_ + + + + + +
HD: 3Armour: 14
Morale: 5Appearing: 1
Attacks: Well-Kept Weapon (d8)
Notes: Will demand a retainer of two water tokens per day, plus a share of any valuables or Exotica the party finds.
+ +# Noble House + +_The Noble Houses of Gnomon trace their ancestries to the reign of the Autarchs, with land-holdings that have been maintained for millennia. These families are decadent, lethargic, insular, greedy, suspicious of outsiders, contemptuous of those who work for a living, and seethingly jealous of the growing power of the merchant class. Many nobles have never set foot outside the decaying complex of mansions that encrusts the Apex. Within the cloistered walls of their homes, they set themselves to infighting, treachery, and the pursuit of frivolous obsessions_. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ASource of ConflictNPC B
1PatriarchEnvy (Property)Patriarch of a Rival House
2Envy (Success)
3MatriarchLove (Forbidden)Matriarch of a Rival House
4Love (Unrequited)
5Eldest Child, Heir ApparentLove (Triangle)Heir of a Rival House
6Debt (Gambling)
7Second Child, Rival of the HeirDebt (Water)Artist, Hired to Paint the Family’s Portrait
8Debt (Hegemony Taxes)
9Estranged Child, DisinheritedTheftClone of the Patriarch
10Idle Gossip
11Reckless Child, Injured in a DuelAdulteryDisgraced Uncle
12Conspiracy
13Softhearted, Naive ChildGluttonyHead of the Servants
14Mistaken Identity
15Cruel and Capricious ChildWild, Baseless AccusationsThe Cook
16Obscure Matters of Etiquette
17Dull Child, Promised to the ClergyAn ImpostorCaptain of the Guards
18Dispute Over Inheritance
19Youngest Child, Coddled FavouriteBlackmailMaster of Hounds
20Murder
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20House SigilAncestral HeirloomThe Family Shame
1IbisStuffed Racing BirdAncestor Once Rebuked By the Autarch
2OryxHypergeometric Sword
3Falling StarAlzabo PeltSold off Lands To Pay Gambling Debt
4Crescent MoonHologram Projector
5Full MoonExtra-Solar Poetry ScrollEstranged Child Married to Someone Unsuitable
6Sorrowful SunBiomechanical Armour
7Wrathful SunBroken LanceWidely Known That Patriarch’s Children Are Not His
8BellAncient Hover-Bike
9Twin SwordsElaborate HelmetAncestor Once Showed Cowardice in Battle
10Huntsman’s AxeDefunct Spacecraft
11Desert LionArcane Virus BombAncestor Rumoured To Have a Hidden Mutation
12ZebraMasterwork Combat Laser
13ScorpionSynthetic War HorseSwindled Out of Some Great Prize Long Ago
14Wise ApeFancy Antigravity Boots
15FalconCloaking DeviceAncestor Was a Traitor To the Autarch
16Autarch’s HeadBrooding Portrait
17Crowned SkullBeautiful UrnAncestor Cursed By an Oracle
18Baying HoundPriceless Rug
19SandwormGlowering StatueCame off Second-Best in Elaborate Blood Feud With Rival Nobles
20HourglassAndroid Butler
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Family ReputationFrivolous Pass-TimeDevoted Patrons Of
1VengefulGardeningConsul Lonrot’s Garden Parties
2UntrustworthyBird Racing
3GreedyLizard RacingAn Avant-Garde Artist
4SleazyBreeding Bats
5VainRitualised TheatreSeedy Gambling Den
6LoucheRitualised Dance
7WrathfulRitualised CombatThe Crimson Court
8SourOrigami
9JealousObscure Board GameThe Black Lotus Club
10GossipsTarget Shooting
11DangerousPoetryTemple of the Promised Sun
12MelancholyStudy of Extinct Language
13RudeDrug AbuseA Philosopher’s Guild
14DecadentHeavy Drinking
15ObsessivePrivate Gladiator FightsPublic Executions
16ProudBeekeeping
17SwindlersPortraitureAn Urban Shrine
18GlumAstronomy
19OddSeancesLongtooth Jak’s Dinners
20SecretiveMusic
+ +# Trade Cartel + +_There is lucrative business to be done in Gnomon, and great wealth arouses great passions in those who envy it. Successful merchants have deemed it prudent and profitable to band together into professional fraternities that safeguard each member and provide an insurance policy in case of losses or disputes. Outsiders may complain about shady dealings, price fixing, tax fraud, and violent extortion, but these cartels have a firm hold over much of the market, and it would take more than the sour gossip of the unsuccessful to dislodge their grasp_. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ASource of ConflictNPC B
1The Head of the CartelEnvy (Property)Head of a Rival Cartel
2Envy (Success)
3The Head’s Trusted AdvisorLove (Forbidden)Scion of a Rival Cartel
4Love (Unrequited)
5Sour, Cautious MerchantLove (Triangle)The Cartel’s Major Debt-holder
6Debt (Gambling)
7Reckless, Dashing MerchantDebt (Water)The Cartel’s Major Creditor
8Debt (Hegemony Taxes)
9Foolish MerchantRobberyDelinquent Debtor
10Gossip
11The TreasurerAdulteryCrooked Customs Agent
12Conspiracy
13Elderly, Respected MerchantGluttonyHegemony Tax Collector
14Mistaken Identity
15Young, Hungry MerchantWild, Baseless AccusationsMajor Supplier
16Anonymous Letters
17Clever, Sly ClerkPoisoningMajor Buyer
18Embezzlement
19Greedy, Corrupt ClerkBlackmailDifficult but Necessary Customer
20Murder
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Name (A)Name (B)Name (C)
1BenevolentAssociation Ofthe Five Wheels
2AuspiciousPious Tradesmen
3FelicitousBrotherhood Ofthe White Lotus
4PropitiousSober Merchants
5BountifulConsortium Ofthe Ebon Shepherd
6GenerousThrifty Companions
7AmiableSyndicate OfHonest Friends
8Congenialthe Fatted Calf
9CordialConfederation OfCharitable Mercers
10GraciousEnterprising Fellows
11CautiousUnion OfResourceful Traders
12AmicableGenerous Vendors
13ConcordantOrder Ofthe Lucky Heron
14Harmoniousthe Golden Bough
15CourteousLeague OfProsperous Dealers
16UnanimousRespectable Neighbours
17ConsolidatedSociety OfEquitable Brokers
18AffiliatedCandid Vendors
19CommonCompany OfEven-Handed Gentlemen
20Reciprocalthe Bountiful Urn
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Monopoly OnShady DealingsThey Want
1WineBriberyOutstanding Debts Collected From a Noble House
2Chocolate
3CarpetsArsonOutstanding Debts Collected From an Urban Shrine
4Honey
5OlivesSmugglingOutstanding Debts Collected From a Philosopher’s Guild
6Cheese
7BreadWater TheftA Business Rival to Disappear
8Paper
9SaltInsurance FraudA Hegemony Tax Collector to Disappear
10Camels
11Sacred PuppetsPrice FixingTo Hire Guards For a Lucrative Trade Caravan
12Hats
13BootsShoddy GoodsTo Find Out Who Burned One of Their Warehouses Down
14Knives
15Synth PartsIntimidationA Rival Cartel’s Warehouse Burned Down
16Beer
17SpicesTax EvasionA Rival Cartel’s Treasurer Kidnapped
18Tea
19CoffeeMurderTo Have a Rival Cartel’s Trade Caravan Robbed
20Tobacco
+ +# Urban Shrine + +_The Church of the Promised Sun is not the only faith followed in Gnomon. Traders have brought more than the sand in their boots and the cargo in their saddle-bags to the city of shaded markets; their creeds have been carried with them, and there are a plethora of gods, demigods, quantum daemons, fungal sages, and void-saints worshipped at shrines throughout the city. Some of these sanctums are tended by hundreds of priests and acolytes, but most are smaller affairs, that boast only a handful of curates and worshippers. They are sacred all the same_. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ASource of ConflictNPC B
1The Shrine KeeperEnvy (Property)Widower, Who Often Visits to Worship
2Envy (Success)
3The Shrine Keeper’s Adopted ChildLove (Forbidden)Dull, Devout Worshipper
4Love (Unrequited)
5The Shrine Keeper’s Wayward ChildLove (Triangle)Ex-Priest, Whose Faith Deserted Them
6Debt (Gambling)
7Young Oracle, Who Has VisionsDebt (Water)Scion of a Noble House
8Debt (Hegemony Taxes)
9Drunken, Lazy PriestRobberyMystic, Who Performs Intense Physical Feats to Prove Devotion
10Gossip
11The Master of SacrificesAdulteryOne Time Worshipper, Who Now Professes Another Faith
12Conspiracy
13Elderly, Blind MysticGluttonyAn Exorcist
14Mistaken Identity
15Devout and Fanatical PriestWild, Baseless AccusationsCandlemaker, Who Supplies the Sacred Candles
16Anonymous Letters
17The Keeper of a Sacred AnimalDemonic PossessionAncient Oracle, Who No Longer Sees the Path
18Heresey
19Slave, Who Sweeps the GroundsBlackmailBeggar, Who Visits Once A Day For A Meal
20Murder
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20God Aspect (A)God Aspect (B)Holy Relic
1TigerOld ManSaint’s Finger
2HippoHoney BadgerPreserved Head
3WarriorHorseGolden Cup
4ChildSandwormAncient Coins
5BeeSynthEternal Flame
6LocustFungusMysterious Box
7SharkCrystalSacred Flower
8CockerelCrownGolden Scythe
9HawkIbisMusical Instrument
10OwlWolfManifold Crystal
11MotherSerpentArcane Machinery
12BlacksmithEggUnexploded Bomb
13ScorpionFirePreserved Heart
14SpiderWindImmortal Animal
15CroneStormSacred Beehive
16AntelopeSwordBeautiful Robes
17JackalHammerIlluminated Texts
18SunSpacefarerCarved Figurine
19MoonLanternBlack Throne
20StarGoatIntricate Head-crest
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Domain (A)Domain (B)Accepts Sacrifice Of
1TravelMysterySongbirds
2MarriageMemoriesWhite Goats
3DestructionWarBulls
4ChildbirthSunCows
5MutationMoonSheep
6BusinessForeknowledgeBlack Goats
7OrderFungusSandworms
8DisorderVisual ArtDogs
9MusicPoetryCockerels
10DanceJusticeAntelope
11WineCrimeCamels
12SilenceAssassinsJackals
13WindLivestockTortoises
14RainWeaponryCats
15DestructionSerpentsBeetles
16DeathOasisMemories
17WisdomWild BeastsScorpions
18MenJealousySpecific Body Parts
19WomenGenerositySynths
20SynthsGood FortuneHumans
+ + +# Pit Fighters + +_There is nothing that clears the mind after a day of work like the sight of a stranger’s blood on freshly-raked sand, and the city is alive at night with the roars of the spectators and the cries of the fallen_. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ASource of ConflictNPC B
1Owner of the PitEnvy (Property)Narcotics Seller, Who Supplies the Gladiators
2Envy (Success)
3Owner’s SpouseLove (Forbidden)Ticket Tout, Who Works the Street Outside
4Love (Unrequited)
5Owner's Son or DaughterLove (Triangle)Servant, Who Rakes the Sand Between Fights
6Debt (Gambling)
7Champion GladiatorDebt (Water)Masseuse, Who Treats the Fighters
8Debt (Hegemony Taxes)
9Retired Champion, Now a TrainerRobberyWealthy Patron, Who Pays To Spend the Night With Champions
10Gossip
11Rival to the ChampionAdulteryObsessive Fan of One Fighter
12Conspiracy
13Green Gladiator, As Yet UnbloodedGluttonyBloodthirsty Spectator
14Mistaken Identity
15Ageing Gladiator, Past Their PrimeWild, Baseless AccusationsGambler, Who Bets on the Fights
16Addiction (Drink)
17Unpopular Gladiator, Known For Extreme SadismAddiction (Narcotics)Healer, Who Treats Wounded Fighters
18Match Fixing
19Retired Gladiator, Kept Employed Out Of SentimentBlackmailOwner of a Rival Pit
20Murder
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Gladiator Name (A)Gladiator Name (B)Appearance
1MorgoThe ButcherGaunt
2AgrippaThe RedJovial
3GugriThe SweetheartBurn Scars
4RaicheBonecrusherFace Tattoos
5ZakarpinoThe HammerGlum
6KharyeThe SlyBrawny
7FennikThe PoetCorpulent
8CalmarThe UnbloodedDirty
9BorondorinThe MuteMissing Limb
10PavgoryThe StranglerMissing Eye
11HallpoxIronskullBlack Teeth
12BerethThe GentleGolden Teeth
13LennaThe PreacherOutrageous Haircut
14RainadderThe FoolTotally Hairless
15YelaspeziaThe LuckyFrighteningly Happy
16DiamoThe MercifulGlowering
17LismusThe CheatIntense
18VerekholmEarthshakerScholarly
19PalatarBlacktoothElderly
20HelmoniaThe GoldenBeautiful
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Signature WeaponOutlandish ArmourThey Want
1Bare FistsFights NakedInformation on the Training Methods of a Rival
2Esoteric Martial ArtMystical Tattoos
3Razor WhipDried Snake SkinProphecies Relating to the Manner of their Death
4Net and SpearRusted Iron
5Vibro-AxeIridescent ChainmailA Rival Gladiator Sabotaged
6Flex-Glass KnifeHardened Tree-Bark
7Bladed ShieldSymbiotic PsuedofleshA Rival Gladiator Discredited
8Searing GauntletsPlates of Crimson Enamel
9Gelatinous ParasiteEncrusted with TeethSomeone to Bet Big On Them
10Carnivorous PlantEncrusted with Vines
11Oar From Ancient BoatHardened FungusSomeone to Bet Big Against Them
12Sandworm ToothPlates of Bone
13Gilded SpearCovered in SpikesLegendary Weapon, Believed Lost in Vaarn’s Vaults
14Crystal Great-swordEngraved with Void-Psalms
15Shock TridentBlack GlassA Rare, Potent Drug
16Venomous MaceBeautiful Extra-Solar Silk
17Heavy ChainNanoweave ShirtAn Introduction to Nyxia, the Wall Shadow
18Lethal PoemCrystalline Lattice
19Plasma ScimitarAncient SpacesuitTo Win Their Freedom
20Sacred FlambergeSolid Gold
+ +# Philosopher's Guild + +_The Great Collapse scoured the wisdom of the ancients from the surface of the Urth. Only shards of their discoveries remain, but the merest glimpses of what once was are enough to compel some to dedicate their lives to a desperate search for those squandered truths_. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ASource of ConflictNPC B
1Haughty, Proud PhilosopherEnvy (Property)Former Student, Who Has Renounced the Guild
2Envy (Success)
3Kind and Naive PhilosopherLove (Forbidden)Ageing Philosopher, Respected But Now Bereft of Their Wits
4Love (Unrequited)
5Accomplished, Respected PhilosopherLove (Triangle)The Head of a Rival Guild
6Debt (Gambling)
7Loathed, Rude PhilosopherDebt (Water)The Wealthy Parent of a Student
8Debt (Hegemony Taxes)
9Philosopher, Driven Mad By Their ResearchRobberySpouse of A Philosopher
10Gossip
11Talented, Arrogant StudentAdulteryFormer Student, Who Broke the Guild’s Code
12Conspiracy
13Stupid, Wealthy StudentGluttonyFormer Student, Who Founded Rival Guild
14Mistaken Identity
15Dull, but Cheerful StudentTheft of Rare ManuscriptsRough Adventurer, Who Provides the Guild With Scavenged Technology
16Addiction (Drink)
17Visiting Translator or Other ExpertAddiction (Narcotics)Rich, Idle Noble, Who Fancies Themselves A Thinker
18Violation of the Guild’s Code
19Synth, Who Assists With ExperimentsBlackmailPsychic, Who Channels Unearthly Powers for the Philosophers
20Murder
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Guild Name (A)Guild Name (B)Guild Name (C)
1BenevolentOrder OfThe Golden Twins
2HermeticBrotherhood OfThe Alabaster Hound
3EsotericSisterhood OfLearned Masters
4PhilanthropicCollege OfQuiet Brethren
5LearnedAssociation OfThe Auspicious Owl
6ArcaneLyceum OfSomber Scholars
7ReconditeInstitute OfTheoretical Harmony
8SagaciousOrganisation OfStar-Blessed Unity
9OrphicSchool OfRevealed Wisdom
10WiseGuild OfThe Purple Tower
11RationalLeague OfThe Red Lectern
12GnosticFederation OfThe Black Stork
13AptSociety OfQuerulous Investigation
14AstuteUnion OfTheoretical Surveyors
15SophicPartnership OfHarmonious Students
16BrilliantGathering OfHumble Philosophers
17WatchfulFamily OfSolipsist Lectors
18JudiciousFraternity OfCeaseless Scrutiny
19CordialFellowship OfBeneficent Inquiry
20AuspiciousSyndicate OfRemorseless Discovery
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20They StudyGuild CustomThey Want To
1BiologyOnly Wear WhiteUpend the Governing Powers of Gnomon
2GeologyOnly Wear Crimson
3PoetryOnly Men Allowed to JoinDiscredit a Rival Guild
4HypergeometryOnly Women Allowed to Join
5TelepathyOnly Synths Allowed to JoinObtain Item of Exotica; Currently Possessed By Rival Guild
6CloningOnly Mycomorphs Allowed to Join
7Gene-sculptingMust Remove Body-part to JoinObtain Item of Exotica; Believed Lost Somewhere in Vaarn
8History of VaarnAll Members Are ‘Married’
9Quantum PhysicsFast Between Dawn and DuskObtain Item of Exotica; Currently Possessed By a Noble House
10FungusTake Vow of Silence
11XenolinguisticsRenounce All Worldly GoodsSend a Message to a Guildmember Elsewhere in Vaarn
12RhetoricRevere an Unintelligible Text
13AstronomyMembers Wear MasksObtain Live Specimen of a Rare Monster
14DivinationMembers Renounce Their Birth Name
15MathematicsMembers Ritually ScarredFind a Way of Paying Off the Guild’s Ruinous Debts
16AlchemyMembers Ritually Tattooed
17Synthetic PsychologyMembers Never Speak to OutsidersFinance an Expedition to Some Remote and Dangerous Location in Vaarn
18TelekinesisTake Vow of Chastity
19MusicTake Vow of PromiscuityDiscover Who Is Leaking Guild Secrets to Rivals
20Mind ControlRitualised Feud With Rival Guild
+ +# Gang of Criminals + +_Those who cannot buy and sell must either steal or starve. Little wonder that there are many in the city of shaded markets who choose the mantle of the thief._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ASource of ConflictNPC B
1Gang LeaderEnvy (Property)Retired Master Thief
2Envy (Success)
3Brutal EnforcerLove (Forbidden)Art Forger
4Love (Unrequited)
5Young, Naïve OrphanLove (Triangle)Crooked Customs Agent
6Debt (Gambling)
7Quick-fingered PickpocketDebt (Water)Owner of a Safe House
8Debt (To Prieval Prise)
9Fence of Stolen GoodsRobberyHead of Rival Gang
10Gossip
11Charming Con-artistAdulteryKiller for Hire
12Conspiracy
13Aged, Cynical BurglarGluttonyOwner of a Passion-House
14Mistaken Identity
15Cunning ForgerA Risky PlanGambling House Owner
16Addiction (Drink)
17Petty SmugglerAddiction (Narcotics)Street Musician
18Snitching
19Sharp-eyed LookoutBlackmailOwner of an Orphanage
20Murder
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Gang Name (A)Gang Name (B)Their Leader
1Golden StreetMobSoft-Spoken Psycho
2Mossy BootCrew
3Graveyard ShiftRascalsCheerful and Cunning
4Flaming HorseGang
5Big SkullCrewHulking Brute
6Jade ScorpionCompany
7KnuckleboneOutlawsSynthetic Brain Inside Unlikely Object
8Wild RoosterRaiders
9ShriekingMadmenActual Child
10Ghost PantherRing
11Pink FlamingoSquadWears a Weird Mask
12Red ToothOutfit
13Howling CrabTroupeParasite Inside Other Gang Member
14DaggerheadPosse
15MilkshakeCabalBlind Psychic
16RattlesnakeBandits
17Smiling DemonClownsCreepy Old Woman
18Left HandedRustlers
19Lucky DominoSneaksScion of Minor Noble House
20HarlequinWretches
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Their MethodsWho Have They Wronged?Hideout Location
1Confidence TrickstersMerchantDingy Tavern
2Livestock RustlersWidowThe Sewers
3Silent BurglarsCamel JockeyBurnt-out House
4Violent BurglarsCard SharpEmpty Tomb
5Protection RacketDrunken Highborn BoyNondescript Tent
6Child PickpocketsButcherInside a Dead Tree
7MuggersAlchemistDerelict Auto-chariot
8Rigged Card GamePoetUnder a Bridge
9Rigged Boxing MatchBlind MiserDisreputable Barbershop
10SmugglersMonkey BreederA Florist
11Forged ArtworkJewellerEmpty Warehouse
12False Debt CollectorsPuppet MakerRamshackle Apartment
13KidnappersMerchant’s ClerkBackroom of a Casino
14Sell Dud TechnologyClownsMusic Hall
15Street ProstitutionPet ShopPuppet Theatre
16Loan SharkingNomad Trading PartyAbandoned Shrine
17Professional ArsonistsWater Baron’s MilitiaChess Cafe
18Grave RobbersHegemony SoldiersGladiator Pit
19AssassinsCourtesanOpulent Dining Club
20Psychic BlackmailersAnother Criminal GangHousehold of a Noble Family
+ +# Tavern + +_The Water Baron may have a monopoly on fresh water, but he does not have one on booze. Gnomon is awash with alcohol and drugs, brought from the four corners of Vaarn and beyond. In the tavern, Gnomonians from all walks of life gather to forget the day’s troubles, meet friends old and new, and get drawn into petty conflicts with heavily-armed, drunken strangers._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ASource of ConflictNPC B
1The OwnerEnvy (Property)Well-Liked but Foolish Regular
2Envy (Success)
3Owner’s SpouseLove (Forbidden)Widely Loathed Regular
4Love (Unrequited)
5Owner's Reckless ChildLove (Triangle)Regular, Who Spends Too Much
6Debt (Gambling)
7Owner’s Favoured ChildDebt (Water)Brewer, Who Supplies the Tavern
8Debt (Hegemony Taxes)
9BartenderRobberyLocal Thug
10Gossip
11BouncerAdulteryWealthy but Miserly Regular
12Conspiracy
13Pot ScrubberGluttonyCourtesan, Who Does Business In the Tavern
14Mistaken Identity
15CookWild, Baseless AccusationsBeggar, Who Sits Outside
16Addiction (Drink)
17Hired MusicianAddiction (Narcotics)Priest, Who Likes to Drink
18Rude Drunken Behaviour
19DancerBlackmailOwner of a Rival Tavern
20Murder
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Tavern Name (A)Tavern Name (B)Tavern Name (C)
1The JollySandwormHotel
2The MiserableAlzabo
3The Cat andJackalInn
4The FightingZebra
5The DancingBullBar
6The GoldenBoar
7The RedCockerelClub
8The BlackScorpion
9The DeadCactusTavern
10The Peach andDog
11The ThirstyEggLounge
12The LonelyGoat
13The FuriousCamelSaloon
14The NobleAutarch
15The DrunkenFoolTaproom
16The Bell andCrone
17The Lily andChildRetreat
18The PaleSoldier
19The SacredNomadCantina
20The LuckyPriest
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Serves (x2)Entertainment (x2)Other Feature
1Cheap BeerBad MusiciansAll Windows Shot Out
2Cheap WineBad DancersHole in Ceiling
3OpiumChessInfested with Baboons
4Psychedelic MushroomsGambling (Dice)Infested with Rats
5TeaGambling (Cards)Elaborate Chandelier
6CoffeeGambling (Scorpion Fights)Pre-Collapse Jukebox
7HookahPoetry PerformancesToilets Overflowing
8CigarsKaraokeBartender Has Odd Pet
9AmphetaminesLarge FishtankFree-Flying Birds
10Olives and CheesePassable MusiciansRough Clientele
11TapasPassable DancersArtsy Clientele
12Smoked MeatsDominoesRooms for Rent Upstairs
13ShellfishBackroom Russian RouletteRumoured Secret Passage
14Flavoured IceBackroom Boxing RingHegemony Soldiers Drink Here
15Salted GrubsDancing BearWater Baron’s Men Drink Here
16Sweet BunsDartboardPrieval’s Gang Drink Here
17Hearty StewsPool TablesNobility Drink Here
18Expensive WineExcellent DancersWeird Signature Drink
19Expensive BeerExcellent MusiciansEntirely Underground
20Hegemony WhiskeySeating Opposite GallowsHologram Bartender
+ +# NPC Creation +--- + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20AncestryGenderBodyDrive
1True-kinMaleTallCraves Drug
2ShortCraves Drink
3FrailReligious Mania
4MuscularSeeks Revenge
5FatPay Off Debt
6CacogenThinPilgrimage
7SkeletalEscaped Slave
8HunchedFleeing the Law
9FemaleLopsidedCollect Debt
10LitheCraves Fame
11NewbeastGnarledCraves Wealth
12SquatCraves Knowledge
13BloatedMissing Family
14GanglyMissing Friend
15Child-likeHates a Rival
16SynthGiganticForbidden Love
17AndrogynousGiganticForbidden Love
18WiryCraves Power
19MycomorphNonbinaryStoutCreate Art
20InjuredCarnal Lust
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20VoiceAttireDemeanourFaction Allegiance
1BreathyRagsAbrasiveNoble House
2ShrillAnimal SkinsArrogantTrade Cartel
3DeepRough TunicAssertivePhilosopher’s Guild
4SonorousNomad’s AttireCharismaticGang of Criminals
5MumblesWorker’s AttireDaringThe Water Baron
6SpitsHerdsman’s AttireDecadent
7Sing-songSlave ClothingEloquentHouse Lonrot
8DrawlsMerchant’s LiveryExtravagant
9RaspyShabby AttireHedonisticFifth Hegemony Legion
10WhispersColourful AttireImpulsive
11HastyPriest’s RobesIrritableFriends of Jak
12Weird LaughClerk’s UniformMelancholy
13MonotoneHegemony GarbParanoidPrieval’s Crew
14JovialSoldier’s ClothingQuiet
15SinisterFlamboyant AttireReligiousChurch of the Promised Sun
16HuskyMusician’s AttireRomantic
17SmokyVeiled AttireScholarlyCrimson Court
18SmoothSinister AttireStern
19GravellyPhilosopher’s RobeVainSplit Loyalties (Roll x2 Factions)
20Never SpeaksExpensive ClothingVolatile
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Common Names
AdriaEschiliaKavinderObertSourhow
AjishirFlammerKiddawOromielSuffe
AlaithFokinKimovOstamirTouronisi
AnchatFundilKouriOthonousTrimona
AshaliGaladLeechpiePantperchTurlan
BellasGandilLemmaithPastanTwitchpike
BlakeGartsnakeLevesPhanielUlfgan
BlueladyGiouriLimnosPietaUllsnake
BrantGorlasLiquiemPranbirUnukat
BreezeGrappleListheapPulchibVardotas
ButterGreyknottLongueRainwrigVirinum
CalmirHadrielMaiamRattlemellVoussa
CassiHallencragMarakiRiverhowWhipman
CatscreeHarptreeMathosRomseedWindir
CelegHezenMegalSafosXiambia
CherrenHistleMeisaSalaiosXidao
CrowinderHomiteMendarSallowfellYemell
DabiaHyssosMichessSangerYondersoul
DollynIdrielMuskmallosSaskatZevenon
DylandIllheadNarthSertdeatZwiede
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Highborn Family Names
ul-Adramenxan Abeontinxan Cupietaxan Gallifaxxan Selabolares
ul-Alephxan Aequnxan Danianxan Geffjunoxan Sheth
ul-Behennatxan Aeterxan Decimanielxan Gorianxan Spestus
ul-Bortheminxan Africharxan Deventuruxan Gusalemusxan Tacitiestus
ul-Demonetasxan Anakiosxan Devertumusxan Heriusxan Theodorax
ul-Eisheexan Andronosxan Dimaxxan Herminaxan Usolyn
ul-Rahasilxan Asurasxan Dominusxan Herusxan Valerita
ul-Summanesxan Austmanelaxan Fabulianxan Isaacrinaxan Vanitas
ul-Ukobaxan Baphaelxan Favonikosxan Jikinianxan Veparcas
ul-Ulthmanxan Baracliusxan Ferrinusxan Joanninxan Zimine
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Careers
AlchemistButcherExorcistMask MakerRope-maker
ApothecaryCard CheatFalconerMasonScullion
ArchitectCarpenterFarrierMercenarySculptor
ArmourerCartwrightFelt-makerMidwifeSlave (Domestic)
AstrologerChandlerGamblerMinerSlave (Military)
Bag-makerCharcoal BurnerGladiatorMinstrelShepherd
BakerCharioteerGlassblowerMiracle HealerSin Eater
BanditCheese-makerGoatherdMonk (Temple)Stonecutter
BankerChirurgeonGoldsmithMonk (Beggar)Storyteller
BarberClerkGravediggerNeedle-makerSwineherd
Basket-makerClock-makerHangmanPack HandlerTailor
Bastard FarmerClone CatcherHerbalistPainterTanner
Belt-makerCobblerHunterParchment-makerTax Collector
BlacksmithCookIllustratorPreacherThatcher
BookbinderCon ArtistInquisitorPlastererThug
Brass-workerCutpurseJailerPoetTrumpeter
BrewerDrunkardJewellerPorterWatermonger
Bridle-makerDyerLeadworkerPotterWet Nurse
Broom-makerEmbroidererLeatherworkerProstituteWoodcarver
BureaucratEngineerLocksmithRag GathererWool-winder
+ +# Random Drama + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20NPC ADesires ToNPC B
1Silk MerchantAbductPriest of the Promised Sun
2Water-Debt ClerkWater Baron’s Guard
3MusicianProfessionally DiscreditCorrupt Scribe
4Mosaic ArtistAstronomer
5Hired PoetMarrySilversmith
6Barber SurgeonJeweller
7Synth ExpertSteal FromCarpet Merchant
8GladiatorLuckless Charioteer
9Natural PhilosopherImpressRare Book Dealer
10AlchemistOpium Farmer
11Fungus-mongerArrange the Death OfFortune Teller
12DancerTravelling Singer
13Street SweeperCollect Debt FromHired Killer
14Cartel EnforcerFraudulent Psychic
15Goat HerderRenege on a Deal WithNomad Leader
16Olive-oil SellerHegemony Soldier
17Highborn LayaboutLocateHegemony Tax Collector
18Famous DuelistBounty Hunter
19Caravan GuardCure the Sickness OfRetired Boxer
20Wind-Barge DockworkerWealthy Widow
+ +# Changes in Gnomon + +_No city stands still, and certainly no city as chaotic and vibrant as Gnomon. If the players leave town for a while and come back, here are some things that might have changed while they were gone._ + +- **An Inspector Calls**. The distant Hegemon, May Their Reign Last One Thousand Years, is displeased with the tax-flow from Gnomon, and feels a firmer hand is needed. A cabal of Hegemony Inquisitors have arrived, and they have established a new branch of the House of Questions atop the Apex of Gnomon. Even Consul Lonrot and Commander Loonflower are not immune to the attention of the Hegemon’s Inquisition. The white-robed Brides of Truth walk through the city like ghosts, followed by groups of mute, black-robed Grooms, their dangling proboscises itching to suck the lies out of someone’s skull. People are vanishing from their homes at night. Nobody knows who may be an informant. And what exactly is the Grand Inquisitor doing, up there in his windowless tower? +- **Rain Will Come**. How much longer must the good people of Gnomon suffer under the Water Baron’s yoke? How many more outrages must they endure? A new voice promises liberation from the Baron’s rule. This preacher stirs the populace with their tales: myths of free water for all, falling from the Vaarnish sky as it did long ago. They call this preacher the Rainmaker. Mobs of their followers gather in the public squares, wailing and lamenting and imploring the sky to bless them. The great and good of Gnomon are, understandably, less than keen on this preacher riling up the masses. Someone really ought to do something about that fanatic. +- **The Legions Return**. The Hegemon, May Their Blade Cut Down the Unforgiven, has urgent need of all their Legions in the heartlands of the Hegemony. Nobody’s quite sure when the soldiers will come back. House Lonrot are left in charge of the city, with only their modest household guard to enforce the Consul’s will. If anyone was ever going to make a play for Gnomonian independence, this is their chance. +- **Language Plague**. A reckless vault-raider brought some awful relic of the Age of Titans into the city, and a rapidly-spreading language virus is threatening the populace. The disease compels sufferers to endlessly repeat a strange mantra, and all those who hear the words of the chant run risk of infection themselves. Citizens have stuffed their ears with wax and are ringing every bell they can find to drown out the chants of the infected. The Hegemony Legion struggles to keep order as the Philosopher’s Guilds compete to find a cure. +- **Great Fire**. Nobody is sure how it started, but a fire is either currently raging or has devastated a great swathe of the city’s crowded townhouses. Choose one of the NPCs the party has grown closest to during the course of the campaign: they have either lost their home or are in imminent danger of doing so. How did the fire start? Was it deliberate? The streets are surely full of gossip. +- **Gathering of the Nomads**. The disparate clans of the Faa nomads have gathered outside the walls of Gnomon for their once in a decade Great Moot. A tent-metropolis has appeared overnight, dwarfing the aged, rigid construct of stone that calls itself Gnomon. The streets throng with the roaming people of Vaarn’s endless deserts. Toasts are drunk, marriages between clans are arranged, ritual duels end with both participants dead in the ring, and the souks are filled with the bounty of the deepest azure sands. + +# Fine Dining + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Ingredients (2x)Main DishSide Dishes (x2)Beverage
1Baboon BrainsTagineBell PeppersTurquoise Wine
2Ghost PepperCurryFlatbreadUmber Wine
3Sandworm EggStewHumousPeach Wine
4Pthalo-Jackal HaunchTangiaOlivesXanthine Wine
5Brain SlugSoupDatesAurum Wine
6Peach FungusKebabRasinsAzure Wine
7Skull PepperOmeletteYoghurtAshen Wine
8Honeyed LambPieFalafelPale Wine
9Salt PorkStir-FrySweet CucumberSable Wine
10AuberginePancakeHoneyed LocustsVaarnish Small Beer
11Spiced GoatSausageBaba GhanoushOrange Juice
12Leopard WormMeatballsAlmondsLemon Juice
13Land ParrotRechtaFried PotatoesAlabaster Beer
14Crayfish EggCouscousVinegar EggEmerald Beer
15Fennec FoxPastillaRiceLazulite Beer
16Cliff GharBrikCrayfishDusken Champagne
17Land SharkShakshoukaBlue CheeseBlack Coffee
18YurlingStuffed PeppersPersimmonHoneyed Milk
19Blood OrangeSandwichJellied EelsLambent Whiskey
20Deacon PepperWontonSand OystersLotus Tea
diff --git a/regions/the-interior.md b/regions/the-interior.md index eb0e767..b629d7c 100644 --- a/regions/the-interior.md +++ b/regions/the-interior.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Simply put, the Interior connects all regions of Vaarn to one another; the quick There are also reasons to make the Interior a destination in its own right. Most of Vaarn’s noteworthy ruins and vaults are located in the desert - the vastness and shifting nature of the place allows creative referees to place whatever kind of structure they can imagine in the Interior, without having to further justify its obscurity and isolation. There are also unique cultures that exist predominantly in the desert. Players who wish to locate a certain Faa nomad clan or Lithling scholar will find that they must brave the sandstorms and heatwaves in order to speak with them. -Campaigns that focus on the Interior should revolve around movement, exploration, and discovery. If your players find the trading city Gnomon too claustrophobic, then give them an opportunity to enlist as guards for a merchant’s caravan, or let them come into possession of a small wind-barge and enjoy sailing wherever fate takes them. Other adventure starters in the Interior could include rescuing an important prisoner from a Cacklemaw warband, hunting down a notorious caravan robber in order to collect a bounty, or searching for the ruins of a biotech laboratory in order to discover the cure for a virulent disease. +Campaigns that focus on the Interior should revolve around movement, exploration, and discovery. If your players find the trading city [Gnomon](regions/the-badlands.md?id=gnomon) too claustrophobic, then give them an opportunity to enlist as guards for a merchant’s caravan, or let them come into possession of a small wind-barge and enjoy sailing wherever fate takes them. Other adventure starters in the Interior could include rescuing an important prisoner from a Cacklemaw warband, hunting down a notorious caravan robber in order to collect a bounty, or searching for the ruins of a biotech laboratory in order to discover the cure for a virulent disease. ## Desert Cultures @@ -41,6 +41,83 @@ The lithling life-cycle is as alien to humanity as their bloodless bodies. Lithl Lithling have a scholarly, enquiring cast of mind, and are endlessly fascinated by the alien world of biological organisms they find themselves marooned on. The Lyceum is devoted to cataloging the minutiae of the natural world, and contains the life’s work of millions of long-dead lithling in its underground archives. Unfortunately, the records of the lithling are often of dubious usefulness to outsiders – their dissertations and essays tend to focus on the minutiae of data and experience while lacking the wider context that a human mind might find meaningful. One celebrated lithling study describes the movements made by generations of land-snails over a hundred year period, with the relative positions of each snail recorded by the second. +## Travel Rules +Travel is an integral element of running game sessions in Vaarn’s Interior. Although many readers will have travel procedures that they are accustomed to using, I felt it might benefit those who feel less confident about running overland travel to learn how I do it in my own Vaarn games. + +I don’t make use of detailed breakdowns of every six-mile hex between one destination or another. I use an abstracted system which boils down travel into two resources: **travel days** and **rations**. Characters need to spend both in order to make progress. + +### Travel Days +Vaarn is not well-mapped, and it is not recorded exactly how far one must travel between locations. Distances given by NPCs are approximations, expressed in days: _‘From here it will take five days of travel to reach the circular ruins’_, for example. These estimates apply to speed on foot. If players are using a vehicle, divide the number of travel days in half. + +Under normal conditions, the PCs can travel a half day’s worth of distance in the morning, and a half day’s worth of distance in the afternoon. At night they must eat a meal and rest. + +### Rations +Rations are an abstraction of food and water carried. Five days’ worth of rations can be carried in a single inventory slot. Unless their Ancestry exempts them, PCs must consume a ration each day. If they do not, they become **Deprived**, and cannot recover lost HP. Characters who are Deprived due to hunger and thirst will die after three days. + +Rations can be obtained from the bodies of dead\* opponents or allies, so long as the referee rules that the creature is made from an edible material. Convert the dead creature’s Hit Dice into rations at a ratio of 1:1. + +_If you find numbers on a character sheet a bit abstract, you could use a bowl of poker chips to represent the players’ total rations. Have each player remove a poker chip from the bowl when they camp for the night, and add chips back in when they find fresh sources of nourishment._ + +### Exhaustion +At any point during the travel day, the players may declare that they are exerting themselves in order to walk faster than usual, or are piloting their vehicle at greater speeds than normal. If the party exerts themselves in this manner, they can travel two days’ worth of distance in one day. However, they must fill an inventory slot with **Exhaustion**. + +Exhaustion cannot be removed from a PC’s inventory until they rest in one place for an **entire** day and night, with no distance being covered. If a PC has no more spare slots to fill with Exhaustion, they must discard an item to make room. A PC who fills ten inventory slots with Exhaustion will die. + +### Getting Lost +Losing one’s way has never seemed particularly fun to me, and I assume the PCs are competent desert navigators, who will never get lost as long as they can see the sun and stars. However, some circumstances - players attempting to travel during a sandstorm, for example - demand it. In such cases roll a d6, and add the resulting number of days to their travel schedule. + +### Encounters +The referee should check for an encounter once during the morning of a travel day, once during the afternoon, and once per night. This is done by rolling a d6, and consulting the results below: + +**1 - Active Encounter.** The PCs encounter a creature or situation that definitely notices them, and will actively attempt to involve them in their business. +**2 - Passing Encounter.** The PCs encounter a creature or situation in passing - it may be happening far away, or be a creature that is not interested in the PCs. +**3 - Hint**. The PCs find a hint of an encounter. This may be an object or footprint left in the sand, a flying creature glimpsed on the horizon, or similar. The entity the Hint concerned will always appear as the next Active or Passing Encounter. +**4-6 - Nothing.** +_If the PCs are traveling in an extremely slow, noisy, or obvious manner, the referee may choose to roll 2d6 or even 3d6 for encounter checks, and use the lowest result._ + +### Vigilance +At the start of each day, as you roll for encounters, the players may collectively roll a Vigilance Dice. This is a single d6, without modifiers. If the players roll a six, they have a guarantee of spotting their next Active or Passing Encounter before the opposing entity or group spots them. If they roll a one, the next Active or Passing Encounter will spot them before they spot it. This vigilance effect resets at the end of each day, whether the players made use of it or not. + +### Pursuits +Since the Interior is a large, open desert, there is a good chance that hostile parties will spot one another some time before they are able to engage in combat. In such situations, one party may choose to flee rather than fight. I resolve pursuits as a series of three opposed CON saves. If the pursuers win two of the three saves, they catch up with their quarry and immediately win the initiative in a combat round. If the fleeing party wins two of the three saves, they escape and cannot be caught. + +Sometimes CON may not be the appropriate attribute to test; pursuits over particularly unsteady ground might require DEX saves, for example. The pursuit rules should only be used if there is a reasonable doubt as to the result of the chase. + +### Night Watches +When camping in the desert, the PCs may elect a party member to take watch. Whoever is on watch cannot benefit from a Long Rest; instead they will regain only d8 + CON bonus HP. If the party is approached by a hostile creature at night, the referee should ask the character on watch to make a PSY save opposed to the creature’s DEX. Failure grants the monsters a surprise round in combat; the aggressors strike with advantage, and the players cannot respond. After the surprise round is resolved, roll for initiative as normal. + + +## Weather +The climate of Vaarn’s Interior may be simulated using the following method: first, place a marker in the centre of the hex-chart on the opposite page. Then roll a d6 once at the start of each day the party spends in the desert, moving the marker across the hexes in the direction shown and recording the weather indicated by each. If the marker moves off the edge of the chart, it should wrap around onto the opposite side. The exception to this rule is the edges marked with an X; the marker cannot cross these edges and instead it should stay put for that day. + +### Weather Effects + +#### Still +The desert landscape is still, untroubled by the susurration of the heavens. Visibility is good. + +#### Hazy +The air is still, but mists of a lurid hue hang over the desert. Visibility is impaired and landmarks cannot be seen from a distance. Vigilance checks are made with disadvantage. + +#### Dust Storm +The wind blows sheets of blue dust across the desert. Visibility is badly impaired. Traveling under such conditions is possible, but the pace is slowed to half normal speed. A three day journey will take six days, and so on. Vigilance checks are made with disadvantage. + +#### Sand Storm +A howling wind blows a ferocious cloud of azure sand across the desert. Nobody travels in Vaarn’s sandstorms; the PCs must hunker down and wait out the storm. Tents or other makeshift shelters will provide adequate protection. Any encounters rolled during these days are assumed to be seeking shelter from the storm in the same place as the party. + +#### Heatwave +Urth’s dying sun musters all the warmth it can. PCs must consume twice their normal ration of water per day if they wish to travel during a heatwave. + +#### Worm-pollen +The sandworms of the Interior reproduce through a baroque, decade-long process of parthenogenesis, culminating in the explosive release of thousands of melon-sized spores into the atmosphere. This worm-pollen drifts back to Urth in ponderous sticky deluges that can last for weeks. Progress through shifting mounds of the stuff is slowed to half normal speed; the upside is that worm-pollen is edible, and many a starving man has been saved by the timely arrival of spores from the heavens. Treat worm-pollen days as providing d4 rations per player. + +#### Rain +A rare bounty. The parched blue earth is blessed with water. The party may collect 2d6 days of rations per member. In the aftermath of a rainshower, the desert is conquered by a short-lived imperium of majestic flora. + +#### Prismatic Tempest +The sky bruises with clouds of midnight blue. Howling winds carry scouring sheets of sand across the landscape. Thunder rends the air and polychromatic lightning caresses the desert like the tendrils of a jellyfish deity. No travel of any kind is possible, and the PCs will take 3d6 electrical damage every hour they spend above-ground. + +![Weather Hex Flower](../images/weather_hex_flower.jpg ':size=70%') + ## What You Find In The Sand _For use when the party searches a corpse, a wrecked vehicle, a deserted house, etc._ @@ -152,29 +229,29 @@ The Referee can generate regions of Vaarn using the following method. This techn 6. Now that the broad shape of the region has been created, return to each location and use the tables provided in this zine to generate more specific details about each one. Write down your ideas for each location inside the circles. You are not obliged to abide by the results of the tables if they don’t fit your concept for the region. 7. If you need more details about the region as a whole, roll on the Landscape Type table below to get an idea of the general terrain. You can also roll to find out the origin of the region’s name. 8. Build a region-specific encounter table using the bestiary in these zines. There are more Vaarnish monsters in VOV #1, as well as a sample encounter table. The character of the region you have generated should inform the encounters you seed it with. A region that contains the ruins of a synth factory will likely have malfunctioning synths lurking around, whereas a region with lots of settlements may have an abundance of trading caravans. -9. Last but by no means least, think of a few NPCs who might be found in the region, and what they might want from the party. Use the Story Seeds table on p.20 if you are stuck. +9. Last but by no means least, think of a few NPCs who might be found in the region, and what they might want from the party. Use the [Story Seeds](regions/the-interior.md?id=story-seeds) table if you are stuck. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Location TypeTravel HazardLandscape TypeRegion Named For
1RuinBandits Control the RoadFeatureless SandsFamous Resident
2SettlementSalt Pan
3OasisHunting Ground of ChromavoreHard Rocky PlainLocal Wildlife
4Holy PlaceDried-up Lake
5WreckProwled by Argent ShepherdDried-up RiverNatural Wonder
6VaultTowering Monoliths
7LandmarkSandworm Spawning GroundsMesasNatural Hazard
8Bandit CampLow Hills
9Bounty Hunter's CampVery Windy; Guaranteed SandstormsSingle MountainFamous Monster
10LairToxic Lake
11ArchiveRoving Cult Searching for ConvertsToxic RiverLong-Dead Settlement
12ArcologyFungal Forest
13GraveMalfunctioning Synths Demand a TollCrystal GrowthsForgotten Religion
14Science-Mystic's AbodeWindswept Plateau
15Trade PostRoad Watched by Cacklemaw ClanMountainousLocal Weather
16Hegemony CampWinding Canyons
17Faa Nomad CampWarring Faa NomadsAbandoned CityNatural Resource
18Cacklemaw DenCactus Fields
19AnomalyUnexploded LandminesRiddled with CavesName No Longer Understood
1RuinBandits Control the RoadFeatureless SandsFamous Resident
2SettlementSalt Pan
3OasisHunting Ground of ChromavoreHard Rocky PlainLocal Wildlife
4Holy PlaceDried-up Lake
5WreckProwled by Argent ShepherdDried-up RiverNatural Wonder
6VaultTowering Monoliths
7LandmarkSandworm Spawning GroundsMesasNatural Hazard
8Bandit CampLow Hills
9Bounty Hunter's CampVery Windy; Guaranteed SandstormsSingle MountainFamous Monster
10LairToxic Lake
11ArchiveRoving Cult Searching for ConvertsToxic RiverLong-Dead Settlement
12ArcologyFungal Forest
13GraveMalfunctioning Synths Demand a TollCrystal GrowthsForgotten Religion
14Science-Mystic's AbodeWindswept Plateau
15Trade PostRoad Watched by Cacklemaw ClanMountainousLocal Weather
16Hegemony CampWinding Canyons
17Faa Nomad CampWarring Faa NomadsAbandoned CityNatural Resource
18Cacklemaw DenCactus Fields
19AnomalyUnexploded LandminesRiddled with CavesName No Longer Understood
20(Roll d20 twice and combine results)Garbage-strewn Wastes
@@ -214,11 +291,11 @@ _Vaarn is studded with the fractured remnants of the works of the ancients; the 2Cryogenic ChambersCriminal's HideoutFragmentedArchChoked with Synthetic Vines 3Orbital Defence TurretBath HouseIntact But EmptyLoomingTowerHas Hidden Water Source 4Cyborg ConstructionOssuaryCrumblingOrbHas Abundant Food Source -5Munitions FactoryMonasteryFaa Nomad CampsiteGraffiti-CoatedShellHas Abundant Food Source +5Munitions FactoryMonasteryFaa Nomad CampsiteGraffiti-CoatedShellHas Abundant Food Source 6Cloning FacilityBarracksGiganticKnifeContains Exotica -7UniversityBrothelHideout for BanditsTranslucentBottleSecret Weapons Cache +7UniversityBrothelHideout for BanditsTranslucentBottleSecret Weapons Cache 8Nanotech ForgeInnBat-InfestedFlowerContain Wild Animal Nest -9Power GeneratorTheatreCacklemaw DenSunbleachedHandUsed for Sacrifices +9Power GeneratorTheatreCacklemaw DenSunbleachedHandUsed for Sacrifices 10Noble's ResidenceGladiator PitHalf-CollapsedEyeAncient Defense Systems Active 11Autarch's TombMadhouseHegemony OutpostThreateningHeadUpsetting Decorations 12Chemical PlantObservatoryCrookedPyramidSwallowed by the Sands diff --git a/resources.md b/resources.md index 0f74e3c..270e972 100644 --- a/resources.md +++ b/resources.md @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ # Resources -[Character Sheets](https://polyhedralnonsense.com/2021/04/01/vaults-of-vaarn-fillable-character-sheet-pregens/) +[Character Sheets](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Exq2dq0bUgPiwBy4PDvj1sSRHO7SIQB1) [Travel in Vaarn](https://perchance.org/travelinvaarn) -[Vaarn Character Generator](https://perchance.org/vaarnpcgen) +[Vaarn Character Generator](https://perchance.org/vaarnpcgen) \ No newline at end of file