DCCRPG Discworld

One of my (many) flaws is that I never read Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. I’m working on my defects (some of them at least…) and I finally read The Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic, the first 2 books of the series. Let me be more precise: I read The Colour of Magic more than 15 years ago, but I read a translation. You CANNOT read translated Pratchett! Why? All the spirit and the fun of it are gone. It is like, I don’t know, like reading the translated Qur'an, or the translated Lusíadas, or basically trying to understand 99,99% of Japanese anime puns without a basic notion of kanji… you lose something if you translate it! Anyhow, I’m now reading 100% English Pratchett (or whatever you folks call this language). And my first thought was (or course!): “this would be very fun at my DCCRPG table!” Why? Well, DCCRPG already has a cool gonzo aspect. Ironically, most products and people that I know try to tone it down… well, it's time to tone it UP!

Warning: Like previous heresies on this blog, I’m pretending to write about adapting a media to a particular tabletop RPG, having read just a small part of it (there are... what?... some 40 books in Discworld?). So, yessir, I’m probably presuming some things wrong. That is why this is a hobby and not (thankfully) a business.

So, if you are creating a DCCRPG Discworld game, use all the Core Rulebook rules, except for the following:

Talkers Go First!: I’m pretty sure this rule is from a Doctor Who RPG. I love it and it shows up from time to time in my blog hacks! Basically, if combats break out, any player character (and only PCs) who wants to talk can do it before the violence begins. They get only one shot at it and they must spend all their Action Die (if any) on social/charisma (i.e. Personality) skill checks (intimidation, diplomacy, lies….) or just pure roleplay (my favourite approach). If your table likes to roll Personality checks, consider that every PC in DCCRPG Discworld is trained in such checks (i.e., they roll a 1d20 instead of 1d10 when trying to avoid a fight). They only get ONE ROUND to do it (I know that rounds in DCCRPG last 10 seconds, but I like to give each player around 30 seconds of pure roleplaying if they are in for it). If more than one PC wants to give it a try, let them go from lowest to highest Personality (so that the most charismatic PC can see other errors and correct them). They can attempt nothing else! No moves, no free/limited actions, no preparing/drawing/aiming, and no activation/charge of any spell or power. Basically, if any PC wants to try to chat with the monsters, LET THEM GO FOR IT! Which brings me to the second rule…

Reaction Rolls: C’mon! This is one of D&D’s best (and often ignored) rules! NEVER start a Discworld encounter with the idea that the monsters/oppositions will simply try to attack the PCs. That is so boring. Use your favourite D&D edition, OSE, or even more complicated charts. My point here is that we (unfortunately) got used to the idea of entering into a room and fighting monsters (nothing wrong with that). Things are not so simple here, because this is DCCRPG Discworld. All those orcs in the 4 x 4 room? Yes, they are probably guarding a pie. Of course, it is a (man-flesh) pie that they want to share with you! (How you deal with that is not my problem!). Reaction tables break the game’s traditional expectations, surprise players (and the judge), encourage roleplaying, and may promote the kind of absurdity that is 100% Pratchettian! Use it!

Of course, the above rules are all targeted toward avoiding combat. Why should we avoid combat? Well…

Fighting is Dangerous! Fighting is a horrible idea most of the time because, well, you can die on it. It is chaotic, rarely “glorious”. Forget those cool pictures of Heroes standing over piles of vanquished enemies… if they are lucky, they are probably as battered and hurt as those enemies… if not, they are probably as “vanquished”.

Fighting is very unpredictable in DCCRPG Discworld. Every time someone rolls 1 Action Die to attempt any violent action (like attacking), their general Fumble Range increases by +1 (it goes from 1 to 1-2). This is for EVERY Action Die, so if you roll 2 attacks, the first attack has a Fumble Range of 1-2 and the second of 1-3.

A PC’s Fumble Range keeps going up until a Fumble is triggered. When that happens, the judge rolls a d10 (or a d6 if they are mean). The result is deducted from their current Fumble Range (minimum is still 1).

The idea is that the longer the fight goes on, the more dangerous it gets. That is why you should (1) avoid it, (2) end it as quickly if unavoidable, and (3) use sneaky tactics to do so.

Heroes, particularly most Warriors, are too stupid to realize this rule (although some of the Disc’s greatest Heroes, like Cohen the Barbarian, are aware of it and will fight dirty to end the conflict as quick as possible).

Because combat is dangerous, any character in DCCRPG Discworld can withdraw from combat by using 1 Action Die. This action DOES NOT trigger any free attacks (again: the idea is that running is good here!). This also implies that the judge is free to set all kinds of unfair encounters against the PCs. They either must fight dirty (or run!).

Variant: Fighting is Dangerous FOR EVERYONE! If keeping the Fumble Range of every PC and NPC is too much work (it sounds so), instead of it, the judge should track a universal Fumble Bonus to affects everyone. When the first attack is made in an encounter, the Fumble Bonus is +0 (i.e. follow the normal rules). Every other attack roll after that increases it by +1, no matter if it is made by a PC or NPC. When a Fumble happens, the Fumble Bonus is not reset by 1d6 (minimum +0). If this is too much metagame, the judge can use a middle ground - each PC tracks their own Fumble Range, and the judge uses a universal Fumble Bonus just for the NPCs.

Fighting is NOT worth it! Fighting is not only dangerous but also dumb. If all the party did in one encounter was fight, they wouldn’t gain XP. NEVER! They only get XP if they get the treasure (or if they get directions to the treasure). If this happens, then the judge should reward XP normally.

Why are you looking at me like that? It says on the cover: “You are no hero…”. That works double for Discworld!

Warriors & Thieves: In DCCRPG Discworld, all PCs are Humans (I’m still going through the books… I might come back later for a Dwarf/Gnome, Troll or Elf class). This means that they are all Warriors, Thieves, or Wizards. I will talk more about Wizards later. For now, let's focus on Warriors and Thieves.

Thieves: The normal DCCRPG Thief is already the perfect Discworld class. Play it by the normal rules.

Warriors: Warriors have just one extra rule. When creating your Warrior, the PC can choose to sacrifice Intelligence and Personality points to increase Strength and Stamina. 3 points of Personality or 3 points of Intelligence buy either 1 point of Strength or Stamina. You must do this exchange in “blocks” of 3. You can’t, for example, take 2 points from Intelligence and 1 from Personality to increase Strength by 1. The minimum Intelligence and Personality are 3 (and, indeed, most “Heroes” of the Disc are often incapable of thinking at all, or of building complex sentences… like those that require 3 or more words). If you are all in for some dramatic roleplay, you can allow Intelligence and Personality to go down to 2 and use these REALLY low Intelligence and Personality rules from my previous KILL BILBO! DCCRPG. Go ahead, I can assure you the Tolkien Estate won’t charge.

Magic on the Discworld: Unlike most DCCRPG settings, the Discworld is bursting with magic! The entire Disc is overcharged with octarine radiance. This means that spellcasting is theoretically easier here. By “easy”, I mean charging up magic energy is easier… controlling it is another matter.

The first consequence of the Disc’s ludicrous amount of mana is that Wizards ignore Corruption, Lost, and Failure results. Life is good, no?

Unless dealing with the Dungeon Dimensions (or trying to cheat Death), there are no Corruption effects, as the excess magic energy discharges itself around the Wizard instead of focusing on their body and soul. Mechanically, this works very much like increasing the Fumble Range in combats. Let's give it a fanciful name (Wizards love that): Octarine Overcharge!

The Octarine Overcharge (a.k.a. the O.O. Coefficient, the Infinitum Dictum, or “the Rule of 8”) is represented by a Mana Level stat. Every character in Discworld has a Mana Level of 1 (and it is usually only dangerous for Wizards). If any character rolls equal to or less than their Mana Level while spellcasting (or reading from a scroll/spellbook, etc.), they trigger an Octarine Overcharge! If they don’t trigger it, then their Mana Level increases by 1 merely for the attempt.

Remember that mana permeates the Disc and that it has a natural tendency to build up in areas around spellcasting? Well, if a character is in an encounter where magic (i.e. a spell) happens, their Mana Level automatically increases by 1 merely by witnessing someone else spellcasting. The octarine radiance just taints everyone around and starts building up a charge! This means that an encounter with two or more spellcasting Wizards can quickly build up enough to trigger an Octarine Overcharge.

While Wizards in the Disc ignore the Lost/Failure result, every time they roll it they increase their Mana Levels (and of those of every other character in the encounter) not by 1 but by 1d6. If they are in a REALLY strong magic field (as set by the judge), then maybe a Failure/Lost result increases the local Mana Levels by 1d8 or even 1d10! For example, Wizards holding the Octavo would probably roll 1d10 for a Failure/Lost result.

The worst happens when an Octarine Overcharge itself is triggered! Spells run out of control as they feed on the surplus of octarine. This is represented by a series of Spell Misfires rolls that impact all characters in the encounter! The number of Misfires is found out by taking the highest Mana Level among the characters (PCs and NPCs), dividing it by 5 (rounding up), and adding +1 for every Wizard. So, if a fight between the PCs (3 Thieves, 1 Warrior, and 1 Wizard) and 3 students of the Unseen Academy (3 NPC Wizards), triggers an Octarine Overchange, then the judge must first check for Mana Levels. Probably all the Thieves and Warriors will have 1 (or a bit more, as they probably witnessed some spellcasting). Let's say the PC Wizard has a Mana Level of 8, and the 3 NPCs have Mana Levels of 5, 4, and 4. That means you pick the highest Manal Level of 8 and divide it by 5 (rounding up), which equals 2. Now you add +1 per Wizard (+4), for a total of 6. So the judge will randomly choose 6 spells to Misfire (it is always nice to let the players roll those Misfires). If there are not enough spells around, the judge is free to randomly roll a new spell and let it Misfire.

In rare cases, if the Octarine Overcharge happens in a place suffused with magic, such as the Octavo Chamber or the temple of Bel-Shamharoth, then a trigger also can cause a Phlogiston Disturbance (usually this disturbance will affect only Wizards, but some results will be bad news for everyone else). Judge’s call.

How do Mana Levels go down? There are at least 3 options. The first is by triggering Octarine Overcharge (not recommended). All the victims of the Overcharge set their Mana Level back to 1. Another option is to avoid being closer to spellcasting for at least 8 hours (one night of sleep). This reduces the Mana Level by 1d6 (minimum 1). Finally, if a Wizard roll a Failure/Lost result, instead of increasing the Mana Level by 1d6, the Wizard can decide to forget the spell, also suffering 1d6 points of Intelligence Ability Loss. The amount of Ability Loss suffered is also deducted from their Mana Level (minimum 1) and the spell is Lost until it can be memorized again.

One final rule: every time a caster Spellburns, they automatically increase their Mana Level by 2d6 or the amount of Spellburn damage, whichever is LOWER.

Wizards: Ah, Wizards. Those dudes (and dudettes) are special… I mean, “special” as a living radioactive battery is special in the sense that it should be avoided by all sane people. Here are new rules for creating Wizards.

First, they can burn 3 points of Strength, Stamina, or Personality to increase their Intelligence by 1 point (following similar rules as Warriors).

Second, I can’t say why but I feel that the Spell Stipulation rules from DCC Lankhmar have a more “Discwordly” feel than Mercurial Magic, so feel free to use them.

Third, Wizards in the Disc can see the magical part of the light spectrum: Octarine, the 8^th Colour. This is basically an innate form of detect magic. Wizards can ask for Ability Skill checks to see the local amount of magic, to assess the Mana Levels of other characters, and to see if an item or creature has “excessive Octarine” (i.e. if it is magical). They still can’t identify magic items. Obfuscate magic (DCCRPG Core Rulebook p. 152) can fool this sense.

Wizards & Death (with a capital “D”): Wizards have some metaphysical privileges in the Disc. The most (in)famous one is that Death itself will come to claim their souls when their time is due (other PCs will be taken by randomly assigned and invisible psychopomps of lower rank). This means that Wizards have special Luck rules, some advantages, and disadvantages.

First, every time a Wizard suffers damage, they can decide to have it taken either from their current Hit Points (like everyone else) or from the current Luck points. One or the other. They are sneaky coward bastards that seem particularly afraid of dying (I mean, more than the usual for people of the Disc…).

Second, the previous rule might sound fun, but it exists because Wizards are instantly visited by Death itself if their hit points or Luck points reach 0. They can’t use the Bleeding Out and Recovering the Body rules (DCCRPG Rulebook p. 93).

Third, they can TRY to avoid that grisly fate, but it is not easy. They have basically two options: either somehow convince Death that it is not their time yet or they can desperately draw power from the Dungeon Dimensions to escape.

Out-talking Death of “deathing” you: this is really hard. The PC has two options. The first one is a desperate Personality check with a DC of 20. If they pass, they pose some argument to Death regarding the current chain of events and how it was somehow and unfortunately premature. Death is not happy about that, but it can’t change the rules. The PC survives with 1 hit point if their friends can reach their body. HOWEVER, they are groggy for the next hour (-4 penalty to all rolls) and sustain a permanent injury of some kind, reflected as a permanent -1 penalty to Strength, Agility, or Stamina (determined randomly). After this episode, they are followed by a lesser death, which will constantly annoy and scare them at the worst moments, merely by “checking in” to see if it is the time “to call the Boss in”. This psychopomp presence means that the Judge can trigger 1 Fumble once per game session on the poor (but deserving) Wizard. The Fumble is not an automatic failure, but an extra effect of the Wizard’s otherwise normal check (so yes, it is possible to get 2 Fumbles if the Wizard also rolls a 1). The Wizard CANNOT out-talk Death a second time.

The roleplaying option: Instead of all the shenanigans above, the PC get 1 minute to talk astrally with Death and convince Him/It. This is represented by the PC telling the table a joke. If most people laugh, congratulations, you dirty bastard, you’re back. Better yet, no lesser psychopomp follows you (as Death kind of warms up to your PC). Otherwise, you are dead. (Only use this option if the table loves this type of roleplaying/metagame stuff).

Invoking Powers from the Dungeon Dimensions: instead of letting Death grab them, the PC in act of desperation pulls energy from those non-Euclidian, dreaded, and tentacled-obsessed planes. The PC must roll a Spellcasting check (accounting for Mana Level and all) against a DC of 25. They can try to Spellburn but all the Spellburn damage is PERMANENT. If they succeed, they manage to summon something or concoct a pact to escape their fate. Death is NOT HAPPY. The PC’s Luck is reduced permanently by half. They also gain a major corruption from their contact with those “Things”. This can only be attempted ONCE. For a second shot at this, they must find a Dungeon Dimension patron, bond their souls to it… and probably become an NPC, but that is for the table to decide.

…I think I’m forgetting something: Oh yeah, Clerics! I don’t think there are Clerics (such as in DCCRPG) in the Discworld. The gods of the Discworld are potent entities, but no true Cleric would have the courage to admit that they follow one of those divinities (c’mon, they are famous for throwing rocks and breaking atheists’ windows).

Deities in the Discworld are still important as they are the PCs’ best source of recovering Luck. If a PC is chosen by a god and performs well (good luck), they might get 1-3 Luck points back for performing quests and specific tasks for their god.

So, yeah, for now, no Clerics. This means the following:

It was just a flesh wound: Like in DCC Lankhmar, during combat, the PC can spend 1 Luck to instantly roll recover 1 class hit dice (plus Stamina mod) of damage. They cannot attempt any other action that round (except running!). They can only do this once per combat.

Taking a breather: If the party can spend 1 turn (10 minutes) resting, drinking water, and maybe having a snack after a combat, they recover 1 hit dice of damage (plus Stamina, if positive). They can’t recover more than they suffered in the last encounter, of course. They can always take this breather after every combat, but the judge is encouraged to roll a random encounter if this is abused (or to reduce any Luck award, as the PC’s god will complain about their constant delays).

That is all Folks!

I hope you enjoyed this small hack (and I hope this is playable, as I haven’t tested it yet). If I keep reading Discworld, I’ll probably at some point create some new classes for it: I would love some kind of Troll class, but my goal right now is a Tourist class! 

On Magic, Corruption, and Risks…

A lot of RPGs sell their magic systems with catchphrases such as power, corruption, madness, and chaos. It all goes back to the fiction that informs those games. From mythologies, folklore, and classics to more recent fantasy literature, magic is often portrayed as something that taints the caster’s soul, it is beyond their control, and ultimately brings about their doom. Magic always demands a price.

You don’t need to go far to find RPGs that try to emulate that. There is one of my all-time favourites, Warhammer Fantasy, where usually you can decide to push for more mojo when spellcasting at the cost of triggering all sorts of unpredictable results (including the classic trope “demon shows up and drags the screaming wizard into Hell”). Most RPG systems that try to mimic this trope do so through rolls that trigger a host of unpleasant (and sometimes) lethal effects. Again, Warhammer Fantasy is (in)famous for its Chaos Tables, where spellcasters gain mutations and madness. GURPS has it backlash table. MERP used a system where spellcasting would bring the attention of the Enemy, triggering extra encounters (the same principle guides the “Eye of Sauron” rules of The Rong Ring today). Mage, the Ascension, a more narrative system, had all sorts of consequences available on its Paradox subsystems (mutations, madness, exile etc.). Call of Cthulhu, of course, drives its casters insane. 7th Sea (particularly the 1st Edition) has some VERY risky magic systems built upon narrative constraints (Porté, for example, will LITERALLY kill the caster if they merely open their eyes while teleporting). Riddle of Steel has magic that would age the caster. Star Wars has corruption rules (the Dark Side) for Force users. Ad infinitum.

It is ironic that the gorilla in the corner of the RPG market – D&D – rarely if ever bothered with the trope. Most D&D campaign settings do not even care to explain magic at all. The d20 boom that started with the 3rd Edition opened the chance for others to publish their own “not-D&D” games and we got A LOT of good systems for dangerous magic – such as draining magic in Midnight or the healing magic rules in Iron Kingdoms. Even the OSR took plenty of chances at it, with my favourite risk system being the one in the GLOG (where wizards are eternally under threat by the Three Dooms of their schools). One of my other favourite games – DCCRPG – has the entire menu thing built on it: spellcasting can cause mutations, destruction, insanity, kill the spellcaster, drag them to hell etc. Spellcasting duels can rip holes in reality and cause all kinds of mayhem. In fact, from the top of my head, DCCRPG spellcasters (particularly Wizards and Elves) are some of the most unpredictable characters on any RPG table (yes, that is a compliment).

Going back to D&D, it is fair to say that sometimes they tried to incorporate their (at first rather bland) magic mechanics into settings or even add some cost or risk. I have fond memories of Dragonlance setting and fiction really showing a world where D&D magic rules impacted society, particularly during the AD&D 1st and 2nd eras (the Orders of High Sorcery and their trials were a nice touch to the idea of “cost” to arcane magic in D&D). Eberron did the same for the 3rd edition with its “magic economy” – it built a setting where all those shenanigans made some sense. There are even some rare exceptions where D&D did try to run its own version of “magic as dangerous and corruptive”. They are also some of the best worlds for many fans – such as Dark Sun and Ravenloft (I am pretty sure the AD&D Player’s Option series and the Dragon Magazines can offer more examples).

I’m probably forgetting a lot of other games here and I apologize beforehand for that. However, I hope I gave you some context.

That said, I believe there is a certain confusion with all the approaches mentioned above. They mix two completely different themes – at least in my head – Risk and Corruption.

Risky magic is when it is totally or partially beyond the caster’s control. Often this is used through some sort of randomizer. The basic examples are magic systems where a bad roll (i.e. a fumble or critical failure) triggers (1) unwanted consequence or (2) some cost. The first option usually results in the spell changing some of its parameters (e.g., targeting different people, or maybe even doing something completely new… the latter usually by checking a table). The second aspect is often damage or some loss of resources (from the spell itself to other spellcasting capacities). Some RPGs impose permanent costs or limitations on its spellcasters – taboos, vulnerabilities, physical changes etc. Reign 1st offered some of the most interesting for their casters (I still have to check the 2nd Edition).

In my head, 99% of RPG magic systems that claim that magic is “dangerous and corruptive” are actually just talking about Risky Magic. Yes, Warhammer Fantasy is 100% here. Basically, these systems – to different degrees – insert random consequences and costs every time a PC tries to use their koolz powers. I loved those systems to death because in my head magic without any consequences (be it narrative or mechanic) is just superpowers with a different nametag. For me, magic requires a cost. It needs to have narrative or mechanic “teeth”. You can, of course, implement this approach to the degree that you (and your table) like. Some truly appreciate the danger with EVERY roll when magic is involved. Others prefer that a certain degree of agency be maintained for their spellcasters. Usually, the latter can be accomplished through options to cast safely or to channel more power, pushing the caster’s luck, or accepting some “Devil’s Bargain” mechanic. I’m fine with the spectrum, as long it helps the table to have fun and keeps magic, well, “magic” (that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that is essential for the flavour in some settings).

And before someone complains that they don’t see any problem with magic as superpowers… well, yes, you can have that, but – for everyone’s sake – just be CLEAR about it. There are VERY GOOD examples of magic as just cool extra powers, but you have to present them clearly, get everyone on board, and modulate your game’s fiction to support it (i.e., it must make sense). Otherwise, you will run into the “everyone must be a Jedi” problem (you can change it to “everyone must be an Elemental Bender”, “everyone must be a mage” etc.). Basically, if there are ZERO costs to magic, and if magic can accomplish a lot, then why isn’t EVERYONE in the party a mage? [There are some narrative and mechanical solutions for that question, but that is beyond this post. Some RPGs do it very well, such as 13th Age, FATE, and Avatar Legends for that matter. Some fiction remains fantastic even when using that trope and they are AWSOME, such as a good chunk of Sanderson’s Cosmere.]

Going back to magic. So, there is Risky Magic. What most RPGs call “magical corruption” is basically another way of saying that casting too much magic in those systems will fill your PC with weird physical and mental conditions, if it doesn’t kill you outright. Just that.

Do you truly want the trope of Magic as Corruption? Well, that one is harder. In my opinion, it is also a lot rare in RPGs. I normally identify two reasons for that.

The first one is about tone, limits, and common sense. When we are saying that magic corrupts your PC’s soul, we are basically stating that using magic is going to make you do a lot of awful or very dark shit. This can be off-limits for most tables (and I agree with that). Of course, if your table REALLY likes this trope, you are all adults and you know each other well enough to craft a good story (usually a tragic, dark, and very horror-based one) then by all means: give it a shot. But it is a balancing act. It is like enjoying (good) horror media: you have to be aware of boundaries, agency, and the self-awareness that you are creating/consuming this creative media for all to enjoy. Some RPGs did take that road. Most often, they present Magic as Corruption through narrative elements. A good example is magic rituals where the requirements of the spell are themselves horrific or the kind of thing that would give most people pause. Kult is a RPG that is famous for suggesting that kind of thing (although not to the degree that you would imagine… it is more of a reputation than a fact I would say). The OSR sourcebook Carcosa went in that direction by being very direct with its (otherwise d20-like) magic: all its summoning and spells require (a lot of) human sacrifice. There is no way around it. The games don’t glorify this element (thankfully) and it is quite clear on stating that sorcery is really bad and fucked-up.

The second reason why Magic as Corruption is so rare is that is a lot more challenging to provide mechanics for it. Yes, you can simply remove PC agency and make them do horrible stuff, but that is VERY boring. You have to preserve agency to the degree that, once shit hits the fan, the PC is aware that “Oh fuck! I did it”, instead of blaming this on the Dice Gods. Thus, the best corruption systems that try to tackle this used temptation as a hook to catch the player. Some really cool subsystems that can work as a template for Magic as Corruption can be found, for example, in Vampire: the Requiem and Werewolf: the Forsaken, particularly their Storyteller Handbooks and 2nd Editions. For example, pay attention to subsystems that require your PCs to keep human contacts to retain their sanity.

Now, you don’t have to go down such a dark road for Magic as Corruption. There are very simple ideas used in some RPGs that also work very well. Do you want one such example? Dark Sun, particularly the original AD&D 2nd edition. Wizards in Dark Sun can practice Preserving or Defiling magic. In this setting, magic drains life. If you channel it, life around you starts dying, usually starting with plants and small animals. There are ways to avoid the worst of it – Preserving – but the best mojo (i.e. the quicker and more powerful spells) are all based on Defiling – on sucking as much energy as often as possible. There you have it: a simple but awesome Magic as Corruption system principle. Yes, you can cast all the fireballs you want, but that will kill all the forest and fields around you… and also maybe deal some damage to your friends. So, what do you do? Again, the key in my opinion is to tempt the player with interesting mechanical options. THIS is Magic as Corruption at its core. You give the PC a choice, and you see they start to try to justify the lesser of two evils. The rest is for the table to enjoy. (Magic as Corruption in this case is also one of the “safest” to try at the table because it avoids the darker themes that we mentioned above).

On the top of my head, another awesome example was blood magic (maho) in Legend of the Five Rings 1st Edition: ANY character could plead with dark spirits to learn it, and once learned – oh boy – those spells were useful. But then, L5R triggered a set of corruption rules that were interestingly connected with the setting lore. It was almost like a death spiral. Too much corruption would eventually turn your PC into a monster (but not immediately). Meanwhile, everything in the setting would see you as a monster and try to kill you (even if you acted as a moral paladin). So, to defend yourself, you would probably use more dark magic. Brilliant!

One final example is Star Wars d6 (you know, the best one 😉), where any Force-sensitive character can immediately gain a Dark Side Point if they use their powers in anger. The death spiral here was a LOT faster… but that 1^st Dark Side Point was “safe” to acquire. The consequence? Most Force users in my campaigns were “tainted”. They took a bite of the Dark and created wonderful narrative consequences to explore (besides the temptation of getting that 2nd Dark Side point… after all, the chances of falling to the Dark Side were “just” 16.66%).

Adding Magic as Corruption to your table (some very simple ideas):

So, my young padawan, do you want a feel of the Dark Side? Well, here are some very basic ideas. I hope they can spice your games (but talk with your players about this before starting on this road).

Side Commentary: This entire post was inspired by the idea of introducing what I like to call “creepypasta” lore or macabre secrets to an otherwise “normal” d20 game. The kind of stuff that would tempt people (and perhaps PCs) to do horrible stuff and then deal with that. That post is still coming, my loves. Wait for it!

DCCRPG: You already have all the tools you need here. Just introduce one simple enemy NPC who uses living defenceless victims to use Spellburn instead of damaging his own Ability Scores. LET THE PC SPELLCASTERS see the villain doing that. Let them know it is possible. This is the oldest evil magic trope: using sacrifices to power magic. However, when they decide to do that, instead of dealing ability damage (NPCs don’t have Ability Scores), explain that they are dealing damage and gaining 1 point of Spellburn per hit point (the victim must be either willingly or defenceless). If you want, go ahead and also add an element of risk: the PC can’t fine-tune the Spellburn (personally, I hate the fact that PCs can choose precisely how many points of Ability they lose for Spellburn). So, for this evil version, they must choose a weapon and roll damage (such as 1d4 for a dagger). The Judge is free to decide on a die for unusual circumstances (such as 1d3 per minute when bleeding a victim). The PCs don’t know how many hit points an NPC has (most 0-level people have 1d4 hit points). Better yet, the Judge should let the damage die explode. So, if you used a dagger (1d4) and rolled a 4, reroll and keep adding until reducing the NPC to 0 hit points (i.e. killing them). Keep tabs on who the PC kill. Potential consequences: shift their alignment to Chaos, consider them un-holy for most of the setting’s religions (at least those from Law and the Balance), and, finally, revenge! Did they sacrifice a poor gongfarmer? The dude has a big family, full of cousins, all hellbent on revenge! Or maybe they killed a thief with a pious sister who convinced a knight to create a band of inquisitors to go after the “devil magician” (i.e. the PC). Did they sacrifice a monster? Same principle: that beastmen was a member of a tribe! Don’t forget to make evil demon Patrons appear and offer to recruit the PC (asking them to do worse stuff and getting MORE enemies). Finally, remember that sacrifices in some cases CAN and SHOULD return as vengeful un-deads (or at least curse their killers). Watch how long the PC can go and have fun.

D&D B/X and its retroclones: use the Preserving/Defile idea of Dark Sun. Magic drains life. If the PC is using the Preserving, follow the normal spellcaster rules. If they decide to use Defiling magic, let the PC make a saving throw after casting. If they succeed, they don’t lose the spell. What are the consequences of Defiling? The original rules were complex, so here is my take: Defiling magic destroys all normal plant life in a 10’ ft radius per spell level. All plant life decays into ashes, and NOTHING grows there for one year (trees might die but still stand as dead husks). If more Defiling is cast within the span of 1 turn (10 minutes), add all the spell levels cast and DOUBLE the range of the damage. If there is no plant life in range, then all creatures (and plant creatures) within the 10 ft. radius suffer intense pain. More importantly, creatures with the same amount of HD as the spellcaster or less (or 0-level ones) suffer 1 point of damage per spell level (no save). Yes, this includes allies. Elves and druids consider Defiling a capital crime. Most religions concerned with life and nature won’t help, heal, or assist Defilers. Paladins will hunt them down, killing them ON SIGHT. The GM is encouraged to leave some mark on Defilers. Ideas: they smell of ashes or leave ashes in any place they stay too long, or maybe their hands start getting darker (as if burned) the more they use Defiling.

Knockback rules from TOR 1st to d20 games

Quick post!

I’ve been running the One Ring 1^st Edition for almost 2 years now. The campaign so far is a mix of Gareth Hanrahan’s amazing Darkening of the Mirkwood campaign with (also his) Tales from the Wilderland’s six scenarios. The combination (of course) is natural and the campaign already captivated my players.

Anyway, this post is just to share the one rule from The One Ring 1st that both I and my players keep forgetting but which I believe would be a cool addition to any d20 Fantasy game -  D&D, 13^th Age, Pathfinder, OSE, B/X whatever – the Knockback rule.

Basically, when you’re hit you can choose to lose your next action and fall prone to reduce all damage just taken by half (rounding up).

Would this work smoothly on B/X, DCC RPG, OSE, and older versions of the game (even D&D 3^rd)?

Definitely yes!

What that also works on 13^th Age, Pathfinder 2E, D&D 5E? Well, despite loving those systems, I haven’t narrated them much so…

13^th Age – OK, as far as I’m aware there is no prone condition here. So, my first reaction would be that if any PC invoked the Knockback rule, the Escalation Die doesn’t go up that round (unless if stolen by the enemies).

Pathfinder 2E – Invoking the Knockback rule requires spending 1 Hero Point.

D&D 5E – Besides all the usual disadvantages (no pun intended) that you have for being Prone, AFTER you get up, you will have Disadvantage until the end of your next turn.

Gaining XP by defeating monsters, finding treasure... and making friends!

Hello everyone!

I recently had the opportunity to run the beginning of Dragons of Stormwreck Isle to old friends and my daughter. It was her first chance with a group of older players in a "real" RPG table. Since she was 5 years old I've been running games to her, solo or later with her younger brother. Well, she is now 12 - time indeed flies - and she loves to play different games, build her own characters, and learn the rules. She is excited to play in "real" game tables (in her mind) and I'm encouraging her to do it (and even to run her games). Anyway, long story short: her style of playing RPGs is very freeform, a result of all the crazy hacks and experiments we played through the years. She actually just started showing interest in commercial RPGs in the last year as, usually, I would create or own homebrew hacks and games. Therefore, when she sat at the table with members of my older campaigns, they loved it to see her trying to befriend EVERY single NPC in the adventure... and also quite a few monsters! When I noticed, she is creating - through roleplay and persistence - an entire retinue of friends!

That is totally my daughter playing!
Source: couldbeworse-comic.com

That got me thinking about ways to make our D&Ds and OSRs games more engaging and rewarding for players with different playstyles (especially my daughter). So I came up with the following "XP Tracking Sheets". Basically, the idea is that every time you defeat enemies in an encounter, find a cool treasure, or make a friend, you mark an XP slot. When you fill all slots you level up. I find this more fun than merely granting XP for the same goals. It also lets the players see and track their advancement, encouraging (I hope) their particular playstyles.

Finally, I am a great fun of ancestries and cultures letting you engage the narrative/adventure through unique iconic abilities (I mentioned this before that, of late, I find it more fun that each ancestry has just a few cool/iconic traits instead of a lot of modifiers, for d20 fantasy RPGs at least). So, I also gave each one of the traditional ancestries - Humans, Halflings, Elves, and Dwarves - a unique trait that can be activated once per adventure to solve a particular check, challenge, or even maybe an entire encounter. I still have to playtest it (...as usual).

I hope you like it and that it can give you ideas!

The Wanderer, a (very) weird class for D&D B/X or OSE

Yes, sir. I am still alive (sort of…) and yes, I should update this blog more frequently. Unfortunately, besides being still incapable of keeping an organized schedule or goals, I have been over my head with a thousand other things. My life is indeed a mess and I wish I could hide in this tower’s fastness for an incarnation or two but, alas, there is no rest for the wicked. On the bright side, I have been running weekly games for two different tables, besides participating as a player in a third. So, (nerdy) life is good (while it lasts).

This (poorly and probably unplayable) attempt at a class is something that I have been cooking for some years. Basically, I wanted to a "Gandalf class". No, not a magic-user or a wizard. That is not how I see the Grey Wanderer. Mithrandir for me is someone who travels a lot, knows a lot of stuff (and people) and uses that knowledge to help his allies (and his plans). This is my “adventuring sage” class if you will. So, I wanted a class that attempted mechanically to do that… in an OSR game. Of course, such a class would have rules that are inherently too much “metagamic” for OSR, which I respectfully disagree with. But I am the kind of person who loves the narrative features of D&D 5E Backgrounds (which, of course, were removed from “5.5” or whatever the soulless mercenaries at WotC are launching this year), FATE’s Aspects, cooperative emergent world-building, and mechanics in general that let you get some table input into the narrative. After all, the plaque above this tower’s entrance says “Where Old and New School Meet”, no?

All references below are to the amazing OSE SRD, which can be found HERE.  

Fair Warning: Besides been heretical, unorthodoxy, and probably capable of corrupting traditional family values, this class also requires constantly moderation by the Referee. For me, that is part of “my job” as a referee and game narrator. If you don’t agree with that, then probably you won’t like this class and shouldn’t allow it at your games. In fact, if you prefer games where the Referee is more a impartial umpire who never interferes, then this class is probably not your game style (I love both impartial and narrative games, and I know when I’m running one or the other).

The fiction is King! (Or Queen!): the Wanderer is part of a game tradition that gives importance to the fiction, narrative sense, or verisimilitude of the game. Most tables actually follow this principle without noticing. It basically means – use your common sense (not the rules!). Therefore, no Wanderer ability can be used if breaks the table’s disbelief regarding their game. Each table, of course, will also have their own levels of acceptable verisimilitude and suspension of disbelief. In the end: have fun!

 

The Wanderer

Requirements None

Prime requisite  CHAR

Hit Dice 1d6

Maximum level 10

Armour None

Weapons Any

Languages Alignment, Common

 

The Wanderer attacks and saves as a Thief of the same level.

Lores: Some Wanderers know pieces of hard-earned knowledge and secrets. Others are gifted individuals who can easily inspire and unite others. Some have a touch of the Otherworld and do what other people would call “magic”. Each Wanderer is unique but all are marked by wanderlust and a desire to see the world (and thus to adventure)

A particular Wanderer’s baggage of special skills and tricks are represented by Lores. Each Wanderer starts with 2 Lores selected from the 1^st level list. When levelling up, they gain 1 new Lore.

Between adventures, if the Wanderer had the time to rest, they could decide to change one Lore from their repertoire.

Limits: unless otherwise written, activating a Lore doesn’t cost an action and you can only activate one Lore per round. You can only learn Lores of the same level or lower than your Wanderer level.

Complications: many of the Lores, once activated, invite the Referee (and/or the table) to add some complications. The idea of a complication is something to make the Wanderer’s life “interesting”. For example, if a Wanderer used a Lore to gain a monster’s friendship, then maybe they own that creature a favour. If they use to gain some new knowledge, they might be in debt to a sage. The Referee, as usual, has the last word. When in doubt, the Referee can “store” complications, using them later on to create an NPC, curse, of challenge suited to the Wanderer.

Hard Mode (Optional): some Referees don’t appreciate the idea of classes that have access to an open pool of powers and can change those powers freely. If you are one of those Referees, change the rule above in that a Wanderer can change their list of Lores only when they level up.

Knacks: a Wanderer starts with 2 Knacks, plus 1 additional per level. Knacks activate a particular Lore (and some Lores require more than 1 Knack to be activated). Knacks are just a fancy name for “spell slots” if you prefer (no, Lores and Knacks are not technically magical, although some might be… it is complicated). A Wanderer recovers all their Knacks after a full night of rest.

Limits: unless otherwise written each Lore costs 1 Knack to activate and you cannot spend more Knacks in one activation than your total Wanderer level.

Referee’s call and vetoes: the Referee can always veto a Lore’s activation. When that happens, it is usually good to explain why the Lore was vetoed. In those cases, the Knack is not spent (but the Wanderer player should also play nice and don’t try the same trick). Again, if this generates discussions and makes your game experience worse, DO NOT USE THIS CLASS. At my tables, these adjudications happen all the time and everyone is fine with that but YMMV.

Learning from their Mistakes (Optional): a Wanderer reduced to 1 hit point that survives the encounter recovers 1 Knack from their ordeal. This can happen only once per day.

 

List of Lores

 

1st LEVEL

A Particular Set of Skills: before attempting any dice rolling requested by the Referee for a mundane task, declare how you learned/mastered such task before. It must be something not unique to a particular OSR Class. No spellcasting, combat, thieving skills, trap detection etc. It can be stuff like setting a fire (even in the rain!), swimming, hunting for food for the party, navigating by the stars etc. If the Referee and the table accept it, you succeed automatically at it (if they don’t approve it, regain the Knack… and don’t push this topic again!). Once you use this Lore, that particular skill becomes a part of your character’s abilities. Because of that, you can’t activate this Lore again in the same game session, in-game week/month, or in the same adventure (as determined by the Referee).

Setting Limit (Optional): Referees that fear this Lore might be abused are free to set as a limit to one skill per Wanderer level. Another option is that this Lore must be activated (i.e., the Wanderer must pay 1 Knack each time). Wanderers are indeed versatile, but they are never trained enough to “permanently” learn a skill.

 

Helpful Advice: you can activate this Lore before another player rolls any dice. You must be at their character’s side and your advice must make a difference. If that applies and your friend fails his check, spend a Knack so that they can reroll it (you can only do this once for each check).

 

Know Thy Enemy: activate this Lore to have complete access to one type of monster's stats during this encounter (including total and current hit points). You must explain how you know that much about those creatures and probably incur some trouble or complication (as decided by the Referee). If your table has an “open monster stat policy” and the Referee doesn’t hide this information, ignore this Lore. This Lore works on common sense. While you might know stats and hit points (and perhaps even the spell list), the Referee doesn’t need to tell you exactly everything the enemies are carrying. However, if you must declare your actions before rolling initiative, the Referee is free to declare the monster’s actions to your Wanderer.

 

Loremaster: activate this Lore if you can inspect an item without interruption for one turn or 10 minutes. For each Knack spent you can identify one magic item, scroll, spell or you can list all the spells within one spellbook (but in this last case they are not identified and still need to be fully deciphered). You can use this Lore instead to translate one scroll, map, inscription or something similar. If merely reading something would trigger a trap or curse, you must immediately pay a second Knack. If you fail to that you trigger the trap or curse (including symbols and runes).

 

Masters of Tongues: activate this Lore to know one extra language during the game. Explain how you learned (and incur any complications as set by the Referee, particularly for exotic and strange idioms). You can activate this Lore only twice per Wanderer level. If you have chosen a language (either during character creation or with this Lore) but never used it in the game, you can change it using this Lore.

 

Well-Traveled: you always keep your ears open to rumours and travellers’ tricks. This Lore has two options.

In the first version, activate this Lore to instantly remember one rumour regarding the adventure or the place where you are. It must be something at least a bit useful. For example: if exploring the Caves of Chaos, you might have heard about different humanoids and in which direction they roughly lie (nothing certain, this is a rumour).

The second version comes in if the Referee has no rumour to share or if the Wanderer intends to help the party recover. Activating this second version of the Lore requires a safe spot and it takes one hour during which your Wanderer shares what they know about the adventure with the party. If those conditions are met, the Wanderer spends 1 Knack and each party member (except the Wanderer) can regain 1 Hit Dice in hit points (this represents mechanically that they are better prepared for the dangers ahead).

This Lore can only be activated once per day, week, or adventure (Referee’s call).

 

Sings & Omens: you know how to read signs and auguries left by the gods, the Fates, or maybe Balance itself. When you awake in the morning, spend 1 Knack and roll 1d20, noting the number rolled. During that day, before rolling any d20, you can instead substitute the result with the d20 rolled in the morning. If you spend 2 Knacks, you can instead substitute the d20 rolled by an ally. If you spend 3 Knacks, you can substitute the result rolled by an enemy (but they can roll a saving throw against spells to negate this). You can only use this Lore once per day.

 

To Arms!: after the initiative is rolled but before the first round starts, activate this Lore to go first (or for one ally to go first). If the Referee uses group initiative, this Lore can only be used once per day.

 

Travel Bag: at any point, activate this Lore to explain how you were carrying one common mundane item all along. This must make sense within the adventure. It could anything normally found in the region that you are travelling to or from someone you had contact with. It must also be something that you can afford (the Referee can ask you to pay it “retroactively”). You cannot have stolen the item. Examples are a sword, a rope, a handcuff etc. Instead of one common item, you can change it to one consumable item for each Wanderer level. Examples could be rations, water, or maybe oil. So, a 2^nd level Wanderer who activates his Lore, could have bought 2 extra rations or torches.

 

Treasure-Hunter: you are a professional burglar (thieves are, after all, lower-class individuals). After combat, you can activate this Lore and declare that you are searching for any extra treasure hidden close to the encounter area. The Referee will roll a new Treasure Roll to see if anything comes up. This Lore can only be activated once per encounter (and, as usual, the Referee can decide to veto the result or to roll and don’t use the result if will make the game worse).

 

Useful Superstition: as your action during any combat encounter, you can propose a source of superstition that you heard about the creature(s) your party is currently facing. If approved, activate this Lore to instantly trigger a Morale Check in the creatures. If the Morale Check works, now your proposed superstition is part of the campaign (and the Referee is encouraged to modulate it, and create complications or consequences around it). Usually, the safest way to modulate this is to restrict it to the local region (i.e., the orcs of the Crooked Mountains are afraid of gooses). You can only activate this Lore once per encounter, day, week, or adventure (Referee’s call).

If the Referees allow it, you can spend 3 Knacks to trigger a Morale check in creatures theoretically immune to it. For example, you can explain that you carry a particular holy symbol of St. Cudgel that can trigger Morale checks in the undead. Of course, the complications here are higher. St. Cudgel might appear in a vision and demand you donate all treasure to the closest temple to keep his favour (and avoid a curse maybe).

 

Words of Peace: you acquired enough knowledge of pidgins and weird customs to know how to get another intelligent creature’s attention quickly, even if just for a moment. You can activate this Lore before the first round of combat (even if you lost initiative) to cry a word or do something before your party and an intelligent monster (or group of hostile creatures) come to blows against each other. This instantly sets the monsters’ reaction to Uncertain and might give your party a chance to parley. This is not magic and does not work if you are ambushed. Also, monsters will not act stupidly.

 

2nd LEVEL

 

A Curse or Two…: activate this Lore when a monster succeeds at a save. Explain some small curse that you know and how you cast it against the poor critter. The monster must reroll their save. You can only activate this Lore once per save.

 

A Love of Maps: you always carry a bundle of old and weird maps (and you love collecting more). This bundle weighs and fills as much space as a spellbook. If you lose it, you can accumulate a new bundle between adventures (paying whatever costs the Referee proposes). If you have access to your maps, consult your minutes for approximately one minute and activate this Lore to ask the Referee if the party is lost. If they are indeed lost, you can pay a second Knack to safely guide them back from where they came from (no chances of getting lost on the way back). For each day you are guiding your party back you must pay 1 Knack when you start marching.

 

Folklore: activate this Lore to create one curious piece of information about a group that your party is currently meeting or is about to meet. You must have some idea of who you are dealing with (goblins, humans, barbarians etc.). If your piece of information is helpful, there is a 4-in-6 chance it is true (“These goblins love beer! If we offer them ours, we might get a chance to parley.”) If it is risky then it is automatically (“These goblins love beer, but it can drive them into a berserker rage when they drink too much.”). If it is too good to be true (“Goblins believe only gods drink beer and they will serve us”) then don’t bother rolling (and that is a terrible use of this Lore). You can only use this Lore once per encounter and never more than once per day, week, or adventure (Referee’s call).

 

Follow my lead: if you succeed at a save or ability check, and you can set an example or encourage your allies, activate this Lore. If approved, choose another character to succeed at the same attempt. You can pay more Knacks to help other allies.

 

Friends in Weird Places: you can activate this Lore when facing an intelligent enemy but before the first round of combat starts. Explain how that one of the enemies is actually an acquaintance of your Wanderer. If approved, the Referee will add a complication. At the bare least, you owe some money to said enemy (or a particular item in the adventure that is hard to find). You can only use this Lore once per encounter and never more than once per day, week, or adventure (Referee’s call).

 

Hedge Magic: this lore has two versions.

In the first version, activate it when you fail a save against some supernatural effect. Explain how your Wanderer uses some secret, talisman, or folk magic to protect you from a spell. If approved, reroll your save. If you succeed, you don’t suffer any partial effect (no half damage in a fireball for example). Keep a list of each secret, talisman, or folk magic which worked. Each hedge magic should be a complex gesture, word, or unique talisman or item. It should be effective against one specific spell or monster (the level of detail is set by the Referee, some are happy with “any fire spell”, others will prefer “only against fireballs”).

In the second version, you can activate this Lore when an ally fails a save. You must select one of your hedge magics that previously worked. Explain how, during the party’s last rest, you shared or “cast” one hedge magic from your list in that one ally. This must make sense. So, if one hedge magic was a talisman, that ally would have that talisman in their person when they rolled the save. If it is a secret magic word, then you must be close enough to say such a word and protect them. The result is the same, the chosen ally can reroll the save. If they succeed, they don’t suffer any ill effects.

The number of hedge magic “spells” you can keep is set by the Referee to avoid abuses. A good benchmark is one hedge magic “spell” by Wanderer level. Another option is to charge a price for each hedge magic, using scroll prices as a reference. Discuss this with the Wanderer player before they decide to acquire this Lore.

 

Inspiring Fellowship: if you can rest with an ally for at least one hour, maybe cooking something for them, singing, or just saying something about your travels, you can activate this Lore. The chosen ally recovers one spell or daily limited ability. For characters without limited abilities, such as Fighters and Thieves, you grant them 2 Advantages (they can roll any die twice and pick the best result, they must declare the use of the Advantage before rolling). Each ally can only benefit from this Lore once per day.

 

Sidekick: explain to the table how, between adventures (or after the last visit to town) you attracted a loyal retainer. This must be possible within the narrative. If approved, activate this Lore to immediately gain the service of one loyal retainer. Mechanically, this retainer’s power is equivalent to a normal human (level 0), but you can raise its level by paying one extra Knack (the limit is one level lower than your Wanderer or 0). As long as keep the spent Knacks “locked” on the retainer, they don’t need to make Loyalty checks. However, if you abuse your retainer, the Referee can increase the cost of this Lore by one Knack or more until your “reputation” improves. You can have as many level 0 retainers as you want but only one retainer level 1+. Retainers acquired through this Lore (i.e. sidekicks) don’t count against your maximum number of “normal” retainers.

 

Wanderer’s Luck: activate this Lore to turn one attack against you into a failure or to reroll an ability or skill check. You can also activate this Lore to reroll one saving throw against a non-supernatural threat (such as a trap).

 

Watchful Guide: this Lore has two different versions.

In the first version, you can activate this Lore to avoid the effects of one ambush (you are not surprised). You can pay extra Knack to affect additional allies.

In the second version, you can activate this Lore after the Referee rolls a random encounter. This last version costs 2 Knacks. If approved, the Referee will tell the party what creature was rolled on the random encounter (before that creature even shows up). With that information, the Wanderer (and the table) can decide to ask the Referee to reroll the random table. They won’t know the second result. This must be explained in the narrative. For example, the Referee rolls a random encounter. The Wanderer player activates this version and asks what creature was rolled. The Referee answers only the type of creatures (“troll” for instance). After some discussions, the table decides that they have enough oil to face trolls. Narratively, the Wanderer player could describe how their character found marks of troll claws in the stone marking this area is troll territory. If the table decided that they want the Referee to reroll, then they could use the same idea. However, in the second scenario, the Wanderer finds the troll marks and informs their allies, there trolls in those trails, follow them through these woods instead.

Each version of this Lore can only be activated once per day.

 

3rd LEVEL

 

Bane: this Lore has two versions.

In the first version, you use your next action to provide tactical advice that helps all allies that can hear you against one type of foe they are currently facing them. This is typically something like “their armour is weak at the back of their legs!”. For the rest of the encounter, all armed and unarmed attacks that can exploit that advice have Advantage on damage rolls (roll damage twice and pick the better). This costs 2 Knacks.

The second version affects just the next spell cast by an ally. The damage caused by that particular casting of the spell is rolled with Advantage. This costs 1 Knack.

 

Fly you fools!: activate this Lore and use your next action to rally your friends and help them escape danger. By spending 1 Knack, all your allies can use their next action (and only their next action) to withdraw from melee. If they do so, they don’t trigger free attacks from adversaries that they were engaged with. By spending 2 Knacks, you also gain the same benefit.

 

Magician: you acquired a bit of true spellcraft during your adventure by watching and learning from your friends. Activate this Lore to cast any 1^st level spell that another ally has cast on that same day (you must follow all the other normal rules for spellcasting). Instead of that, you can activate this Lore to cast one identified scroll (for example, one you identified with the Loremaster Lore).

 

Riddles and Secrets: you collect mysteries and secrets. Choose one item, place, or person and use one action to activate this Lore. You can ask one “yes” or “no” question to the Referee regarding the target. If you want to be completely sure about the Referee’s answer, you must spend 3 Knacks. Otherwise, spend just 1 Knack but there is a 2-in-6 that the answer is not completely true (the Referee should roll the d6 in secret). You can use this Lore once per target.

 

What Doesn’t Kill Me…: keep a list of all special attacks, poison, diseases and similar things that your Wanderer survived during the game. The next time you are affected by that specific thing, explain how you built some sort of immunity, resistance, or the capacity to shrug off most of the hazard. If approved, lose 1 permanent Knack. You are now immune to that attack. If that is not realistic, you suffer just your Wanderer level in damage from it (or just 1 point of damage, as decided by the Referee). You can build this sort of resistance to a number of effects equal to your Wanderer level.

Survival and Flexible (Optional): If this makes sense, between level-ups, you can lose immunity to one effect in other to “open” a slot to a new one during the game (you regain the lost Knack in this case).

 

4th LEVEL

 

Never Lose Hope...: if another character is killed (i.e. brought to 0 hit points) but his body is still somewhat intact and you can be safely reached and checked after the encounter, then there is a chance they might still be alive. If the Wanderer is the one to reach and check the body, activate this Lore. The chosen ally then rolls a saving throw against death. If they succeed, they have miraculously survived but are deeply wounded. They have just 1 hit point, move at half the normal rate, cannot carry heavy items, and cannot attack, cast spells, or use other class abilities for the next 24 hours. The Referee is welcome to give them some permanent scar and to reduce one Ability Score, such as Constitution, by 1. Lucky is fickle… no character can benefit from this Lore more than once.

 

Polymath: this Lore works a bit differently and was created with the idea of customizing (not optimizing) your Wanderer to make it more unique. When you first acquire it, you permanently lose one Knack, and select one class feature (from another class) or special ability. If the Referee allows it, that is now a permanent feature of your Wanderer. The use of this Lore should vary to better fit the style of each table (and campaign) but here are some general guidelines. Class features that could be selected are the cleric’s Turn Undead, the Fighter’s training with armour and shields, and the Thief’s Back-stab. If taken from another class (or maybe a monster) it must follow the same limitations, unless the Referee has another idea. If you want more versatile features (like Thief skills) or powerful abilities (such as spellcasting), then the Referee is welcome to create their approach or use any of the following:

Thief skills – the Wanderer can either choose to have two skills as a Thief of the same level or all Thief skills, but they are fixed at 1^st level

Arcane spellcasting – you have the same caster level as a Magic-User but can memorize only one spell per day from your grimoire, or you could work as a Magic-User with half your Wanderer when you select this but levelling up won’t change that

Divine spellcasting – the Referee could let the Wanderer have the same spellcasting powers as a cleric of half their Wanderer levels, except that the Wanderer can’t change their selection of memorized spells (maybe they can, but only when levelling up or by fulfilling a quest for a temple)

The above options try to give the Wanderer access to other features without “stealing the spotlight” from other classes. Instead of a class feature, Wanderers can also propose new special abilities (maybe from other OSR games), including new ones. Maybe the ability to talk with animals, smell treasure, shape change into one type of animal etc. (a good source of special abilities are the pregenerated characters from the OSR zine KNOCK!).

Every time you level up, you can decide to sacrifice another Knack to gain a second benefit from this Lore. For example, you can get the Elf class feature of using armour and casting arcane spells.

 

Sagely Knowledge: activate this Lore to add ONE detail or declaration to a local element of the campaign. The target can be one creature, location, local creature variant, or even local magic variant. It cannot retcon or contradict any previous fact of the game. If approved, the Referee will secretly roll a d6. There is a 4-in-6 chance that there is an added complication that you haven’t considered. If explicitly powerful, there is an unavoidable cost. This Lore should be used to enrich the game and generate new opportunities for the party to solve problems. If the Wanderer proposes a new detail with cool and interesting complications, the Referee can just use them.
Here are some examples:

“Music can soothe the rage of a lycanthrope” – suggested so a bard could play the flute and thus allow the party to befriend a werewolf. It is a cool detail, so the Referee rolls a normal 4-in-6 complication chance. If rolled, the complication is that the detail works but only if the music is played under a New Moon.

“This lake is sacred and can be used to cure energy drain once per year but you will own a favour to the lake’s nymph” – a powerful declaration but with a reasonable limitation and cost, so the Referee just approved the cost and decided that the character so healed must bring seven different magic items to the nymph as a cost.

“Red Forest sandalwood feeds on magic and my shield is made of that wood so I have a bonus on my saving throws against magic” – too powerful and without cost. The Referee does not even border to roll for complication and automatically inflicts a cost. They decide that the character can decide to destroy the shield to succeed in a saving throw versus spells but that the sandalwood taint the character’s aura for 7 days after using the shield, so they must also roll a saving throw even versus beneficial magic (such as healing). Obs.: the Referee could just have vetoed the Lore activation, but they decided to give a chance.

When this Lore is activated, the Wanderer must spend and “lock” one Knack. The Knack remains locked until one of these situations occurs (as defined by the Referee BEFORE the Wanderer spends the Knack): the Wanderer’s level up, the current adventure is concluded, or the current “campaign arc” is concluded.

 

Spare an Enemy: you must activate this Lore during the first round of combat and target one specific monster. If approved, you and your party are now fighting to subdue the target. This activation is cancelled if any party member uses a lethal attack – such as a disintegrate or a deadly poison (Referee’s call). If the party defeat the target, the Referee must then roll a new Monster Reaction check. Any result of 6+ places the monster under the Wanderer’s retinue as a special monster retainer. Loyalty rules apply as normal. The spent Knack remains “locked” while the monster is a retainer. The Wanderer can only keep one monster retainer.

 

5th LEVEL

 

Esoterica (Optional): the Wanderer has travelled far and wide and accumulated enough forbidden and unearthed arcana to metaphysically cheat reality. They can activate this Lore to break or change ONE rule of the game during one round or turn (whichever makes more sense). This change can incorporate a rule or power from ANOTHER RPG. The Wanderer must provide some weird explanation and cost for this astonishing event. Here the best premise is to follow the Rule of Cool. Each table will have its parameters for that. For example: a Wanderer tells the table that during their battle with a dragon, he found a scroll with a forbidden Word of Power from a long-dead god of magic. As soon as they read that scroll, that Word was burned into their mind (and the scroll vanished). He proposes that he chants the Word, freeing it from their mind. For the turn, no spellcaster needs to memorize spells. The cost is that the Wanderer will lose their voice, becoming mute. The Referee approves. Another example: the Wanderer found in the last loot three holy golden apples that were planted in the Seven Heavens ages ago. Whoever eats them gains supernal vitality. The idea is that the chosen targets can spend their Hit Dices in short rests between, as in D&D 5E. The Referee approves with the cost that the Wanderer is now considered to have committed a divine sin. No beneficial divine magic will affect them until they atone.

When this Lore is activated, the Wanderer must spend and “lock” 2 Knacks. The Knacks remains locked until one of these situations occurs (as defined by the Referee BEFORE the Wanderer spends the Knacks): the Wanderer’s level up, the current adventure is concluded, or the current “campaign arc” is

Too Weird For My Table: this Lore REALLY pushes it and should be embraced only by tables that love its metagame aspects (and FLAILSNAILS games in general).

Not FLAILSNAILS Enough: if this makes narrative sense, the Knacks are spent permanently and the new rule is now a permanent part of the game. If the new rule would benefit both PCs and NPCs, the Referee can reduce its cost to 1 permanent Knack.

 

Foresight: if the Wanderer can use their action and pay 3 Knacks to activate this Lore as a reaction to any consequence suffered by another party member. First, explain to the Referee how your Wanderer foresaw that particular chain of events and thus interrupted the chosen’s ally action (usually by screaming or somehow getting their attention). For example, the party’s fighter charges the beholder and is disintegrated. The Wanderer PC explains that they read about beholders during the party’s stop at the last city’s library. The Referee approves. As a result, the chosen action never happened and all its effects and spent resources are returned (lost hit points are returned, spells that were cast are still memorized… and dead characters are still alive). In the above example, the fighter’s charge against the beholder is interrupted and the fighter PC must choose a different action. If it makes sense, the other chain of events should still occur. For example, the beholder should still try to disintegrate the fighter PC. However, now that the fighter PC knows this, maybe they run for cover, resulting in the beholder giving up his attempt or disintegrating the cover itself. This Lore can be activated once per encounter.

 

Words of Awakening: the Wanderer collected enough arcane lore to awaken temporary magic properties in otherwise mundane objects. The Wanderer activates this Lore using their action and proposes some cost for it: it could drain part of their vitality, the use of exotic magical components (the Wanderer retroactively paid for them), some favour to a god/demon/wizard, etc. If approved, the Referee rolls on a magic item table of their choice (such as the ones from the OSE OSR). For example: a Wanderer picks up the fighter’s sword and sprinkles diamond dust that he bought in the last city, invoking words of power that he learned from a dwarf blacksmith they saved in the last adventure. They propose a cost of 500 gp. The Referee approves and rolls in the OSE’s Magic Weapons table, getting a 54 (“Mace +1”). The Referee decides that the sword is magically transformed into a dwarven Warhammer +1, an echo of the legendary Dwarven Forge-Hammer of Duzlin (the Referee just made that up). This remains in effect for one encounter, although the Wanderer can pay another Knack to extend the effect. If the chosen magic item is a one-use effect, there is no option to extend the effect.