Oracles are Fun

Hey, you know what is an excellent random generator for Things of Interest in an RPG?  The "Oracles" from In a Wicked Age.  Now, I can't make heads or tails of the actual game, but that's okay because you don't actually need the game. The Oracles are all automated, Interweb-style, right here.  Refresh to get...fresh ones.

Each line could be its own seed, or you can combine them to detail what's going on in any given location.

Here's some that I embellished:

The City of Haima – a cold northern city where four powerful women shape the fate of the populace

• Ruled by Red Drusila, a warrior-priestess served by a bloodthirsty cult called the Progenitors of Suffering
• Giselde Oakenhaus, a learned legate, is attempted to bring law and order to the city. Her associates are the Sisters of Zuum, an order of secretary-assassins
• The city is home to Ferinda Garside, a young oracle who whispers dire prophesies at the Temple of Jang
• Louisa Drellinor, of the famous Drellinor family of poisoners and sorceresses, has recently lost her husband and immediate family to assassination. She would pay dearly to have her revenge on the guilty party

The Principality of Polemos – a coastal land in the west about to experience the horrors of war

• A large warband of misshapen nevermen gathers to the south of the city
• A hundred warships flying the flag of Black Donnel approach from the western sea
• Gharkan-Vuul, an ancient demon-god of blood and vengeance, has recently been awakened by his cult; his tomb lies deep beneath the principality
• Marianne Rhemp, a bandit-queen, demands tribute from the principality in mead—else her thieves will raid the land without mercy

The Sultanate of Parelthon – a southern desert kingdom where the dead do not sleep in peace

• The golden Bracer of Langor-Mul, a magical item of the past age, is known to be in the possession of Filcher DeGorthan, a lich lord who walks disguised among the living
• The spectre of Weldon bin Qalar, a wizard-king of old, commands his cult to create the perfect form for his rebirth
• Tendor Volk, a treasure hunter with a most unsavory past, has a map leading to the Splendid Pyramids of Kolamar the Magnificent—haunted ruins said to hold miraculous wealth and arcane secrets
• The ghostly Janissary army of the Dread Khan drags their victims and their wounded dead throughout the nearby dunes of Golden Tamaril

The Satrap of Ophis – an eastern woodland realm of intrigue and madness

• Menton Pizzard, an infamous conjurer, is routinely possessed by the bawdy spirits of courtiers belonging to a bygone era. They sometimes impart occult secrets, though at other times they merely invent fantasies of the basest nature
• Holly Goldenswat owns a notorious pleasure-house known as the Voluptuous Purse. Few bring trouble to her door, as her brothel is guarded by Sir Ramston Littleman—former knight of a forgotten faith
• A hidden passage in the sewers of Ophis leads to the Labyrinth of Xarak-Zaran, a mystical underworld lit by the eerie blue-green light of phosphorescent fungi
• A plague has descended upon the children of Ophis, enervating some but killing many. The populace believe this disease to be the work of a witch who must be ferreted out and either appeased or destroyed

Deadlands: Ghost Towns Random Town Generator

I got a copy of Deadlands: Ghost Towns in the mail last week. In the back it has a random town generator that uses a deck of cards. Let's see how it goes:

Basic info: 8 of hearts = Medium town, a settlement created to make a profit.

Population's outlook: King of spades = Overly, creepily friendly populace at war internally with a powerful figure.

The Weird: Ace of hearts = Someone accidentally unleashed unspeakable evil; the town is accursed now.

Extra color: A mad scientist seeks funding for her research. A casino with a secret room that allows you to hear anything said in the gambling parlor.

Distinguishing mark: someone in the town is famous.

Plot hook: Investigation--players have to piece together what is going on in the town.

Okay, let's put this all together: Vulture's Chapel is a small frontier town that grew up around a trading post where Indians and settlers did commerce. All was well until Quick Thomas Cardew (a famous gunfighter) arrived, looking to buy land from the Indians. When they wouldn't agree to his terms, he decided that a show of arms might convince them; he was cursed by the tribe's shaman and has subsequently brought that curse back to the town of Vulture's Chapel.

Part of the curse is that everyone afflicted by it must benice in the extreme. (It's a reversal of Cardew's antagonistic attitude toward the native population.) The people suspect that the curse that afflicts them is Thomas's fault, but they can't do anything against him--or even speak out about their suspicions--because of the nature of the curse and the way it forcibly alters their demeanor.

Loretta McNeil, a mad scientist who has recently set up shop in town, is a red herring; while the weirdness in town might be attributed to her tampering with weird science, she's just an eccentric inventor. The players will have to use some shrewd investigation to figure out what's what since the townspeople can't speak their minds.

Yep, this has potential.

Planet Motherfucker: Living Dead Girl and Killer Clown

Living Dead Girl OR TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN

Some sicko—coulda been a mad scientist or a voodoo mama—brought you back from the dead. Now that you've got a second chance at life, you're gonna meet all the people you can. Live your (second) life to the fullest, you know? Bump-n-grind 'til you're ground meat.

Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills – Fighting d6, Investigation d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Shooting d6, Streetwise d8

Charisma 0; Pace 6; Parry 5; Toughness 5

Hindrances – Phobia (minor), Habit (minor), All Thumbs

Edges – Connections, Investigator

Gear – Machete (damage: d6+d8), Colt .45 (range: 12/24/48, damage: 2d6+1, RoF 1, AP 1), Backpack, Big black boots

***

Killer Clown

After the trauma, you realized that all the world is one big absurd joke. You also felt the need to paint your face like a harlequin and dress in jester's motley—hey, if the world makes fools of us all, why not double down on being a fool? Life is short and you want to show the goodly people of Planet Motherfucker how to laugh—even as they choke on their own blood.

Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills – Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Lockpicking d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8, Streetwise d6,

Taunt d6

Charisma 0; Pace 6; Parry 5 Toughness 5

Hindrances – Poverty, Curious, Wanted (minor)

Edges – Assassin, Thief

Gear – Fireman's axe (damage: d6+d8), Lockpicks, Squirting flower on lapel

By This Axe

Hey, do you like wargames?  Do you, maybe, have a boatload of miniatures coming your way from that Reaper kickstarter?  Do you ever look at Warhammer Fantasy Battles and think, "Man, I wish this was lighter on rules"?  Do you like your money to go to cool things like help for autistic children?

Well, Chris Kutalik of the Hill Cantons blog is here to help.  He has released a pretty sweet little medieval fantasy wargame called By This Axe.  It's a very nice set of rules and the proceeds go to a very worthy cause.  Despite the typos, you want this and you should get it.  Treat yoself.

Pdf and print can be found here.

The Tower of the Hand

No, not the tower that dirtbag Tywin lives in.  This one:

So You Want to Run a Gothic RPG?

It was suggested that I make a reading list for Gothic RPGs like I did for Victorian era RPGs, and who am I to say no? Besides, usually when gamers talk about "the Gothic," it's embarrassing. Yes, you read and half-understood Dracula. Congratulations! Consider bolstering the knowledge hard-won from that achievement by reading the following:

I'm still convinced that reading good literature is more invaluable as a source of inspiration than reading "good" gaming products. To this end, if you want to really nail the conventions and atmosphere of the Gothic I recommend seeking out The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, Matthew Lewis's The Monk, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Oxford Book of Late Victorian Gothic Tales, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Bram Stoker's Dracula as a broad overview of Gothic literature.

If you want to supplement the above with some approachable scholarship, the best introduction to the topic is Fred Botting's Gothic. Botting gestures toward the overarching concerns that a first-time reader might miss; this is the most useful thing a literary critic can do: he exposes the beauty of the texts while disappearing into the background. The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction will take you further, in a myriad of different perspectives should you need them.

Where the Gothic is concerned, history, pseudo-history, and folklore is your friend. The Dover Occult reprints, for example, are absolutely chock full of adventure hooks and bizarre ideas ripe for the taking that fit Gothic conventions perfectly. 

If you're running a Gothic game, you're probably going to be using and abusing the undead.  The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires has more than enough variations on that theme to see you through several campaigns.

Actual historical writing, as opposed to the whacked-out stuff mentioned above, is also brimming with ideas to steal.  Consider, as examples, reading up on the Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition, or the Templars as points of inspiration. After all, real-world history was the genesis point for many of the authors of Gothic fiction.

Monster Monday: Rakshasa

"No, for a Rakshas can take any form it wishes, male or female, infant or ancient of the human tribe, but otherwise any sort of bird, fish, reptile or animal. Which in turn leads one to believe, does it not, that in essence the Rakshas has no intrinsic shape of its own, that it is gaseous, perhaps invisible--perhaps even nonexistent, when not involved in impersonation. Also, the Rakshas is inimical to humanity by the laws of Dharma. Though both the Naga and the Rakshas play tricks, the Rakshas plays in a lower, less tuneful key. It is war, you understand."
- Tanith Lee, "The Ivory Merchants"

This is the rakshasa as it appears in the AD&D Monster Manual:

I've never quite understood how they got to be suave tiger-men in D&D. It certainly doesn't match-up with their appearance in Hindu or Buddhist mythology:

Yes, I think I prefer the mythology-based rakshasa better.

Of course, there aren't stats for rakshasa in B/X D&D.  Here's how I would do it: stats are per the doppelganger, but with the added ability to use Phantasmal Force at will.

The Spicelands of the World Between are particularly haunted by rakshasa who walk in the guises of men. Theirs is not an open war against humanity; rather, they are bound by fate to bring woe to humanity, but they relish the cruelty of being a man's undoing. As such, they help fulfill the craven impulses of man toward his fellow: they offer their services to aid those motivated by jealousy, envy, and pride who wish to harm their peers. It thrills a rakshasa to be the instrument by which mankind tears at its own unity.

(The preceeding paragraph was inspired, in part, by Tanith Lee's story "The Ivory Merchant" in Tamastara, her collection of fantastical Indian tales.)