Showing posts with label undead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label undead. Show all posts
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
Mummified Parrots and You!
These were companions of ancients who were interred in tombs as guardians. They are not common but magical. Spark up those tomb misery crawls with one of these cheeky horrors. His not dead. Any moment he will get up and bend those bars open.
Mummified Parrots CE UndeadAC as chain HD 4 Bite d4 Fly 18 Hop 3
Instead of bite may drop faeces from above over a 2m diameter circle
-all in the circle of faeces or bitten save or contract mommy rot
Mummified parrots repeat common phrases they heard in life
Mummified parrots know a d4 1st level wizard spells (usable only once)
Mummified Parrots lie dormant for Millenium and will arise to defend the tombs and graves of their owners. Created from beloved pets of ancient wizards they are very intelligent and often recognise attempts to cast spells or turn them and react. They are fast compared to human mummies but you cannot keep them with mummified cats. Mummified parrots yell curses, saucy lines, poems, sing songs and recite oaths to forgotten ancient gods. Sometimes they mimic sounds of intruders and might give away clues. Some tombs are designed with levers for birds to operate, speaking tubes and small passages they can use to get around and spy. They often attempt to alert other tomb inhabitants and awaken undead. They are chaotic evil towards tomb robbers but neutral to legitimate tomb inhabitants (or those in disguise). They will aid and support tomb inhabitants.
Some types still have a spectacular colour for each spell known that fades as they cast them or all colour if they are destroyed.
1in6 can drop a single stinking cloud egg bomb once
1in6 spray acid instead of faeces for 2d4 damage save for half
1in6 know priest spells instead (possible druid in some lands)
1in6 require +1 or pure copper weapons to harm
1in6 shun holy symbols and will not cross one unless in-home tomb
1in6 AC as plate armour
1in10 can cast curse once per round
1in10 regenerate if not in sunlight 1HP/round
1in10 not just able to parrot but intelligent and conversational in ancient
1in10 if killed explodes over 3m diameter circle cloud of diseased faeces
1in20 can cast charm person 3 times a day
1in20 if killed a 4d8 burning ray from the heavens strikes who dealt the death blow
1in20 esp which it uses to find embarrassing things from enemies it can yell out mimicking voices of past traumas or lost loved ones to disorientate enemies
I recommend giving them thematic spells like a necrococky or an elemental parrot because of stuff.
Monday, 24 February 2020
Tombherd
Tombherd (Cryptkeeper, Gravelord)
Undead Priests Neutral or Neutral Evil Morale 12
AC +5
HD 3+
Mov 9
Att d6 Clawx2
Non-silver or non-magic weapons inflict only half damage fire does full damage
Undead resistances to poison and magic and liabilities like holy water and turning
Has a howl of fear 1 radius save or flee a d4 rounds vs under 4 HD living beings
Each round can raise a skeleton or a zombie ally within the area under its protection
-each undead raised increases the tomb herds HD by one as long as undead still active
-can sense body or a living being in 12 range, if there is no threat undead return to rest
-can start animating even completely hidden as soon as a living being is detected
-limited by time and number of corpses but can only have 12 undead at a time max
The Tomb Herder is the remains of a funerary priest interred in a crypt or graveyard as a defence. Often it is positioned to watch the graveyard so it can raise an undead if it sees any defilement of its domain. Sometimes they are sealed with an eye slot so enemies cannot get at them. They will prefer to let the undead fight for them and remain unseen if possible or lay still unmoving. Tomb herds keep away unwelcome animals, robbers, vandals and adventurers away from usually a graveyard or a tomb or mausoleum. Some huge necropolises have several. Most only protect their area and are satisfied driving away robbers and repairing damage to seals and doors and fences. More evil ones from evil cults are vindictive and might lead a small army to kill and eat local village for failing to protect them. Or might hunt defilers over several nights. Tombherds are why many living fear the dead and grave defilement.
Usually, a special grave of a funeral priest gets chosen to become a tomb herd in a forbidden ritual but It has been known for a long-established graveyard to just develop them naturally from someone who served the graves for life or somehow one just turns up and adopts the place. Some have distinctive personalities, some are slow and sleepy, some cunning unseen than others. Tombherds normally keep ghouls from feeding and will conflict with undead harming or influencing their domain. They will often cooperate with undead defending the domain. Tombherds can repair dead bodies and can "heal" an undead a d3 HP with a hours work patching them up with matter from their own body. Tombherds might even be left offerings or prayers in some places to watch over all.
1in6 will speak and verbally abuses intruders
1in6 actually levitates several inches off the ground, floats over water or ice
1in6 get an extra d6 bite attack
1in8 have a 3 radius fear effect and victims flee 2d4 rounds
1in8 can assume gaseous form
1in8 can animate two dead per round
1in 8 can cast curse three times per day with a gaze
1in8 can exhale a stinking cloud spell once per hour 1in8 wears armour equal to plate and shield +8 AC
1in8 can shoot a bolt of darkness as a magic missile one per round
1in12 can control up to 20 undead
1in12 regenerate 1 HP per round if not harmed by holy magic or fire or acid or silver
1in12 require +1 magic weapon to hit
1in12 have clairvoyance so can work in hiding and follow defilers home
1in12 can blink once per round and often use it to distract or scare or hide
1in12 can move through soil and attack from underground Burrow 6
1in20 can see through the eyes of all undead under control
1in20 animates undead as ghouls, is chaotic evil allowing ghouls to graze
1in20 once undead created can be called on again, tombherd has maximum amount already sleeping awaiting a call instead of them returning to being normal corpses
d12 Tombherd Adventures1 A relic in a tomb is required, get in and recover object don't hurt the tomb herd or the bodies too much (possibly bring a extra cleric)
2 Several houses on edge of the village near graveyard have been abandoned recently and it seems people left suddenly leaving goods behind (in sight of graveyard, had stolen from graves)
3 An evil lord was buried with souls of murdered children stored in gems and a descendant wants them removed and set free and needs hired help to enter family tomb
4 Recently several medical students staying in area vanished and their well off families want an investigation and have sent a crown investigator to fine everybody in the area. Sooner mystery sold the better for all. Lads were robbing graves for larks and got eaten
5 Recently an area was damned and now every night ancient dead arise from under the lake and attack workers and villagers some say a big 'orrible one leads them
6 A priest wants to speak to dead at a grave but local tombherd won't have any of it. Will pay you to convince undead to let lad chat with ancestor to answer lineage question
5 A dungeon tomb complex has a secret crypt opened. The tomb herd blocks the exits trapping everyone adventurer and orc inside to kill everyone. Cooperate with humanoids and dungeon dwellers to all get out past furious insane tomb herd with extraordinary abilities
6 A priest recently came by and told locals to not leave offerings for their pagan ancestor's graves and within a weak angry dead began to arise and besieged the chappel
7 A statue in a village contains a tomb herd who watches area and doesn't mind houses on top. It does dislike some nationality or race that has been frequenting area and now moving in. Grudge based on some ancient tragedy long ago. Members of that group have been found murdered and half-eaten. possibly some reconciliation ceremony might appease the dead
8 A camp of goblins living by a creek got butchered by rednecks and robbed. The goblins house was on graves of ancestors and the great ancestor tomb herd mad about end olf bloodline. Undead goblins have been attacking local backwoods trouble makers who are similar to the goblin killers. Goblin tombherd can be appeased with the guilty sacrificed or executed and possibly some distant relatives invited to return. Local sentiment on goblins splits community as some are cheap labour and harmless but others hate them
9 Sewer workers came across a tomb and now undead swarm the sewers and keep out workers from removing storm damage and a giant fat glob blocking a tunnel. Council hire adventurers to stop undead which really requires tomb to be sealed and tombherd appeased
10 An ancient order of evil templars had their tomb disturbed. Each night undead warrior priests from the dark crusades roam streets to kill and murder before returning to their grandmaster tombherd to perform black rites by day in hopes of summoning a demon
11 Tombherd sealed inside stone pillbox with eye slits watches all in graveyard and more. Has noticed criminals using graveyard at night and is displeased. Local gang found in clubhouse torn to shreds. Close inspection reveals some older teeth and finger bones in the mess. Bored tombherd is pleased and looks for more injustice against village hungry zombies can solve. Possibly disapproves of all kinds of modern ways and customs
12 A cult have been performing secret rites in graveyards including sex and drugs. Several important locals have been found murdered in embarrassing positions. Now they are happening outside the graveyard and remaining important locals rally to hire adventurers to stop the killer
Tuesday, 28 January 2020
Dreamlands
Dreamlands are interesting to explore in many settings. In my fantasy game characters would occasionally enter dreamlands of a ruin they explored making it seem pristine or in the past. A world inside a painting or a strange manor place. Dreamlands can be chaotic places that spawn strange creatures or nightmare monsters. You can enter dreamlands that are echoes of a lost mythic past or prehuman times. You could enter the collective dream of a kingdom or place. Meditation, those born with talent or drugs are used most frequently. Magic may allow goods and creatures to pass through releasing magic and demons into the world. There is a bit of this style going at Through Ultan's Door and a few retroclone products.
Other settings like modern or SF have their place also and Call of Cthulhu has HPL's Dreamlands but there are lots of opportunities in horror for other dreamlands. Visiting Mars and then contacting the ancient martian prehuman dreamlands and even their god. Flashbacks to past disasters or warp accidents might affect the waking world. Robert Holdstock Mythago woods is a good example of an sf mechanic of a dreamlike reality of ancient myths and modern humans who deal with it. WW1 nomans land as a dreamland with haunting effects for poor bastards caught inside. Wizards might travel to and through these worlds. A dreamland might operate like cyberspace or shaman trips to the spirit world.
I've used dreamlands encounter in sf Horror and superhero games. Several characters had dreamlands based abilities like a pocket nightmare kingdom populated by imps or another who conjured animals and fire and things but they came from another dimension. When he went there it was the start of him getting dreamlands powers and conjuring nightmare monsters from enemies dreams.
The overlap of the dreamland might vary triggering minor phenomena, supernatural events or encounters. Might be interesting. The hyper reality of both might disrupt mobile phones and signals or make people vanish temporarily. Ghost like haunting effects might increase also and possibly won't be recorded on cameras. Stranger Things upside down world might be a nightmare world. Robert Holdstock Mythago Woods series is great with a machine to simulate human interaction with the other world. Faerie stories might have similar properties. Even echoes of hell or other planes might be possible through dreamlands.
The intruding reality has a kind of super intelligence but not a human one. There are patterns within that behave like intelligent beings but actually are trapped in loops of limited behaviour. Death is not a problem in such a world as you might return again but will be part of the dream reality or just awaken. Some extraordinary intelligence wants to break through to the waking world and create or occupy a body. It might be possible to create things and bring them back for an experienced wizard.
Cyclopedia and later dnd had mention of nightmare land in several monster descriptions and in the illusionist school in Glantri lets mighty illusionists just move to dreamlands to create their own reality and create dream monsters. So in old basic dnd has hints of a nightmare land of monsters with reality warping weirdness that is much stranger than Ravenloft but it could overlap. You could do a weird dnd modern and mythic reality setting using this stuff.
There are many dreamlands many nightmare lands. Like All have the illusion of being complete universes fully populated mostly form as needed. Time doesn't flow the same here either but past civilisations or eras might still exist. It is a good alternative to time travel or gates. Sometimes the waking world and other worlds are overlapping allowing strange things to enter the world, unreal phenomena or cosmetic changes in the area. Some haunted houses might be especially affected. Certain places might let you interact with dream versions of gods (use deities and demigods stats right so you can kill that form). Temples might also overlap with dreamland or graveyards.
Will try to formalise a bunch of this into some mechanics
Dreamlands - borders with waking world, bright faerieland, giantland, positive material plane, arcadia. paradise, heavens. Worlds are fanciful, whimsical, mythic, heroic
Nightmare kingdom - borders with waking world, shadow plane, dark faerieland, negative plane, the void, underworld, hell, abyss. Worlds are desolate, dystopian, horrible, in decay
I have a bunch of dream spells in my setting but a few extra ones might be handy. I really like the ideas in Glantri sourcebook for basic dnd on dream magic too.
d12 Common Intruding Dream Realities
1 Faerieland bright or dark
2 Giant Land
3 Arcadia
4 Abyss
5 Hell
6 Outer void
7 Shadow world
8 Spiritworld
9 Cloud Land
10 Underworld
11 Mythic Epoch
12 Primordial Past
d12 Gateways Locations
1 Mirror
2 Wardrobe
3 Doorway
4 Crack in a rock you can squeeze through
5 Hole in a wall
6 Well
7 Haunted house or ruin
8 A crumbling old archway
9 Between trees or branches
10 Barrel or container
11 Between stone pillars
12 Under the surface of water from lake to puddle
d12 Signs
1 Locals saw strange creatures
2 Stories of a hero killing a monster
3 Stories of creature chasing someone
4 Stories of someone fleeing haunted place
5 Locals say beware strange voices
6 Lights seen from here once
7 Horrible massacre was here once
8 Burial ground or temple here once
9 Cult used to visit here till exposed
10 Great tragedy happened here
11 Some primordial being strode here once
12 Children in area know a creepy rhyme about strange sightings
d6 World Link
1 Worlds separate unless ritual performed
2 Worlds separate unless planar entity has been here recently
3 Sleeping, meditating or abusing drugs here opens the veil
4 Worlds subtly overlap, certain stars make links stronger
5 Worlds frequently cross over allowing passage to another world
6 Gate open freely but changes where it links to
Faerielands have thriving life, magic animals, faerie folk might be present, everything glistens, dark faerie favour fungus and darkness and ore creepy. Vegetation, magic animals and servitors are encounter first like sprites or goblins or birds. Elves are the most militant defenders and frequently enslave humans coming here
Giantlands is the mythic dreamworld of the giants with fuses into the infinite ruins of a sprawling giant city. Humanoids and orcs come to plunder these places for magic and secrets but some wizards and human giant worshippers might come too. Ruins and creeping vine begin to over take it too. Includes area of the great fallen troll civilisation before the mindless cancerous man eaters we know now
Arcadia is a mythical abundant wilderness with plenty of food and wine for all, vines and vegetation appear first like grapevines then nymphs, satyrs and centaurs and magic animals appear even revellers in praise of certain pleasure gods. Minor nature divinities and animal spirits live here in between incarnations. The ruins of the tower of heaven are remaining on some planes of arcadia
Abyssal planes vary but most are harsh, unpleasant and difficult to survive on. Toxic odours take over and scream and explosions and storms can be heard. Each fragment of the abyss is a leftover fragment from creation occupied by demons eager to have land and power and dominion here. Some evil wizards and chaos champions might hold one for a demon who holds many. Demons keen to torment and abuse dwell here but some are mindless. They enjoy contact with the world for real or through dreams. Mostly they are concerned with own power and cruelty but some do mercenary work for hell like getting escapees or those avoiding death.
Hell is a series of linked planes a great prison where gods decree sinners go to be tormented and possibly might rise to become devils. Demons are failed unlawful devils who cannot abide by rules. Devils have treaties with demons and angels and devas and archons. A hellish stench comes through first with imps and damned souls moaning to follow. Hell houses, in particular, have diabolic decor that becomes more extreme and animated.
Outer Void is a universe existing before and outside of reality, it is the emptiness reality occupies and is hostile to the nature of reality. Entities that live here are alien and mostly hostile to life. When you can see the beings of the great beyond the first ones are small, glassy fish like creatures. Serene at first they often become hostile and attack when they sense flesh or souls. The larger ones are tentacled or wormlike or like deep sea creatures or cave dwelling horrors with alien intellect and some are wizards.
Shadow Wold is a shadow of the reality, a black and white world, a noir land of smoke, mirrors and darkness. Shadow beings here hunger for life energy and are attracted to gates or living. Creatures here shun light and lurk in edges of darkness. Echoes of normal life and places but twisted into a twilight world of hunger and madness. Everything becomes increasingly abstract and nightmarish and you might meet your own shadow self seeking to replace you.
Spirit World is a domain of spirits living close to the waking world often affiliated with nature, gardens, temples, graveyards, hills, trees, forests, bodies of water, artworks and other sites. Spirits in cities are very different to ones on farms or wilderness. Some spirits are friendly some are not, many are witnesses and know local information. As spirit world overlaps mist often forms.
Cloudland is a series of other worlds in clouds reachable through tallest mountains or trees or other means. The lands vary quite a bit many are quite sweet and attractive worlds of child like simplicity, giants, goblins, faeiries, spirits, talking animals and golems living together. Walking into such a world can take you far away as the cloud moves from its location around the world. Some humans used this to explore the world. Children have had adventures here or some worlds might change humans into children.
Underworld a gloomy afterlife place where the souls of the dead eat dust and excrement forever unless their kin sacrifice to them. The better class souls and shades here dwell in cities in comfort but without sacrifices, they might be cast into the gutter if their line dies out. Spirits and shades from the underworld are often hungry and can be distracted with blood or wine poured for them on the ground. Deaths reapers and devils and undead roam here frequently. Some come to save loved ones or plunder treasure. Some caves operate as gateways.
Mythic Epochs are alive and well in dreamlands and can be visited such as when giants and gods waged war or the monster kings ruled or the fist city states of bronze. Some of these replay certain events and some are allegorical or seen as modern peoples saw past not as it was and other distortions. Often overlapping worlds makes things look more old fashioned as they were in that era.
Primordial Times when life first walked on the surface, when various alien beings walked the wastes of the earth in darkness. Gibbering alien titans of the void walked the world. When primordial dragons created first gods and giants and beast lords then tried to gobble them up, when creation began and the later generations of gods were just born. Certain beings in these times do not sense time normally and my hunt you and follow you home to eat your soul.
I did a game where most magic and weird stuff happened in a mist-shrouded dream world by night that overlapped in some places like ruins or graveyards. Faerieland was like this too in wilderness mostly. Caves had own dream underland. This let game be gritty and historical then do moments with magic more possible.
Other settings like modern or SF have their place also and Call of Cthulhu has HPL's Dreamlands but there are lots of opportunities in horror for other dreamlands. Visiting Mars and then contacting the ancient martian prehuman dreamlands and even their god. Flashbacks to past disasters or warp accidents might affect the waking world. Robert Holdstock Mythago woods is a good example of an sf mechanic of a dreamlike reality of ancient myths and modern humans who deal with it. WW1 nomans land as a dreamland with haunting effects for poor bastards caught inside. Wizards might travel to and through these worlds. A dreamland might operate like cyberspace or shaman trips to the spirit world.
I've used dreamlands encounter in sf Horror and superhero games. Several characters had dreamlands based abilities like a pocket nightmare kingdom populated by imps or another who conjured animals and fire and things but they came from another dimension. When he went there it was the start of him getting dreamlands powers and conjuring nightmare monsters from enemies dreams.
The overlap of the dreamland might vary triggering minor phenomena, supernatural events or encounters. Might be interesting. The hyper reality of both might disrupt mobile phones and signals or make people vanish temporarily. Ghost like haunting effects might increase also and possibly won't be recorded on cameras. Stranger Things upside down world might be a nightmare world. Robert Holdstock Mythago Woods series is great with a machine to simulate human interaction with the other world. Faerie stories might have similar properties. Even echoes of hell or other planes might be possible through dreamlands.
The intruding reality has a kind of super intelligence but not a human one. There are patterns within that behave like intelligent beings but actually are trapped in loops of limited behaviour. Death is not a problem in such a world as you might return again but will be part of the dream reality or just awaken. Some extraordinary intelligence wants to break through to the waking world and create or occupy a body. It might be possible to create things and bring them back for an experienced wizard.
Cyclopedia and later dnd had mention of nightmare land in several monster descriptions and in the illusionist school in Glantri lets mighty illusionists just move to dreamlands to create their own reality and create dream monsters. So in old basic dnd has hints of a nightmare land of monsters with reality warping weirdness that is much stranger than Ravenloft but it could overlap. You could do a weird dnd modern and mythic reality setting using this stuff.
There are many dreamlands many nightmare lands. Like All have the illusion of being complete universes fully populated mostly form as needed. Time doesn't flow the same here either but past civilisations or eras might still exist. It is a good alternative to time travel or gates. Sometimes the waking world and other worlds are overlapping allowing strange things to enter the world, unreal phenomena or cosmetic changes in the area. Some haunted houses might be especially affected. Certain places might let you interact with dream versions of gods (use deities and demigods stats right so you can kill that form). Temples might also overlap with dreamland or graveyards.
Will try to formalise a bunch of this into some mechanics
Dreamlands - borders with waking world, bright faerieland, giantland, positive material plane, arcadia. paradise, heavens. Worlds are fanciful, whimsical, mythic, heroic
Nightmare kingdom - borders with waking world, shadow plane, dark faerieland, negative plane, the void, underworld, hell, abyss. Worlds are desolate, dystopian, horrible, in decay
I have a bunch of dream spells in my setting but a few extra ones might be handy. I really like the ideas in Glantri sourcebook for basic dnd on dream magic too.
d12 Common Intruding Dream Realities
1 Faerieland bright or dark
2 Giant Land
3 Arcadia
4 Abyss
5 Hell
6 Outer void
7 Shadow world
8 Spiritworld
9 Cloud Land
10 Underworld
11 Mythic Epoch
12 Primordial Past
d12 Gateways Locations
1 Mirror
2 Wardrobe
3 Doorway
4 Crack in a rock you can squeeze through
5 Hole in a wall
6 Well
7 Haunted house or ruin
8 A crumbling old archway
9 Between trees or branches
10 Barrel or container
11 Between stone pillars
12 Under the surface of water from lake to puddle
d12 Signs
1 Locals saw strange creatures
2 Stories of a hero killing a monster
3 Stories of creature chasing someone
4 Stories of someone fleeing haunted place
5 Locals say beware strange voices
6 Lights seen from here once
7 Horrible massacre was here once
8 Burial ground or temple here once
9 Cult used to visit here till exposed
10 Great tragedy happened here
11 Some primordial being strode here once
12 Children in area know a creepy rhyme about strange sightings
d6 World Link
1 Worlds separate unless ritual performed
2 Worlds separate unless planar entity has been here recently
3 Sleeping, meditating or abusing drugs here opens the veil
4 Worlds subtly overlap, certain stars make links stronger
5 Worlds frequently cross over allowing passage to another world
6 Gate open freely but changes where it links to
Faerielands have thriving life, magic animals, faerie folk might be present, everything glistens, dark faerie favour fungus and darkness and ore creepy. Vegetation, magic animals and servitors are encounter first like sprites or goblins or birds. Elves are the most militant defenders and frequently enslave humans coming here
Giantlands is the mythic dreamworld of the giants with fuses into the infinite ruins of a sprawling giant city. Humanoids and orcs come to plunder these places for magic and secrets but some wizards and human giant worshippers might come too. Ruins and creeping vine begin to over take it too. Includes area of the great fallen troll civilisation before the mindless cancerous man eaters we know now
Arcadia is a mythical abundant wilderness with plenty of food and wine for all, vines and vegetation appear first like grapevines then nymphs, satyrs and centaurs and magic animals appear even revellers in praise of certain pleasure gods. Minor nature divinities and animal spirits live here in between incarnations. The ruins of the tower of heaven are remaining on some planes of arcadia
Abyssal planes vary but most are harsh, unpleasant and difficult to survive on. Toxic odours take over and scream and explosions and storms can be heard. Each fragment of the abyss is a leftover fragment from creation occupied by demons eager to have land and power and dominion here. Some evil wizards and chaos champions might hold one for a demon who holds many. Demons keen to torment and abuse dwell here but some are mindless. They enjoy contact with the world for real or through dreams. Mostly they are concerned with own power and cruelty but some do mercenary work for hell like getting escapees or those avoiding death.
Hell is a series of linked planes a great prison where gods decree sinners go to be tormented and possibly might rise to become devils. Demons are failed unlawful devils who cannot abide by rules. Devils have treaties with demons and angels and devas and archons. A hellish stench comes through first with imps and damned souls moaning to follow. Hell houses, in particular, have diabolic decor that becomes more extreme and animated.
Outer Void is a universe existing before and outside of reality, it is the emptiness reality occupies and is hostile to the nature of reality. Entities that live here are alien and mostly hostile to life. When you can see the beings of the great beyond the first ones are small, glassy fish like creatures. Serene at first they often become hostile and attack when they sense flesh or souls. The larger ones are tentacled or wormlike or like deep sea creatures or cave dwelling horrors with alien intellect and some are wizards.
Shadow Wold is a shadow of the reality, a black and white world, a noir land of smoke, mirrors and darkness. Shadow beings here hunger for life energy and are attracted to gates or living. Creatures here shun light and lurk in edges of darkness. Echoes of normal life and places but twisted into a twilight world of hunger and madness. Everything becomes increasingly abstract and nightmarish and you might meet your own shadow self seeking to replace you.
Spirit World is a domain of spirits living close to the waking world often affiliated with nature, gardens, temples, graveyards, hills, trees, forests, bodies of water, artworks and other sites. Spirits in cities are very different to ones on farms or wilderness. Some spirits are friendly some are not, many are witnesses and know local information. As spirit world overlaps mist often forms.
Cloudland is a series of other worlds in clouds reachable through tallest mountains or trees or other means. The lands vary quite a bit many are quite sweet and attractive worlds of child like simplicity, giants, goblins, faeiries, spirits, talking animals and golems living together. Walking into such a world can take you far away as the cloud moves from its location around the world. Some humans used this to explore the world. Children have had adventures here or some worlds might change humans into children.
Underworld a gloomy afterlife place where the souls of the dead eat dust and excrement forever unless their kin sacrifice to them. The better class souls and shades here dwell in cities in comfort but without sacrifices, they might be cast into the gutter if their line dies out. Spirits and shades from the underworld are often hungry and can be distracted with blood or wine poured for them on the ground. Deaths reapers and devils and undead roam here frequently. Some come to save loved ones or plunder treasure. Some caves operate as gateways.
Mythic Epochs are alive and well in dreamlands and can be visited such as when giants and gods waged war or the monster kings ruled or the fist city states of bronze. Some of these replay certain events and some are allegorical or seen as modern peoples saw past not as it was and other distortions. Often overlapping worlds makes things look more old fashioned as they were in that era.
Primordial Times when life first walked on the surface, when various alien beings walked the wastes of the earth in darkness. Gibbering alien titans of the void walked the world. When primordial dragons created first gods and giants and beast lords then tried to gobble them up, when creation began and the later generations of gods were just born. Certain beings in these times do not sense time normally and my hunt you and follow you home to eat your soul.
I did a game where most magic and weird stuff happened in a mist-shrouded dream world by night that overlapped in some places like ruins or graveyards. Faerieland was like this too in wilderness mostly. Caves had own dream underland. This let game be gritty and historical then do moments with magic more possible.
Friday, 26 October 2018
Simple Treasure Types
You can use multiples if you need more
Small Change (peasants pocket change)
d10cp
Coin Purse (common townsman)
d6 sp 3d6cp
Coin Box (church donations or commoners savings)
d4gp 3d6sp d100cp
1in10 chance of lesser treasure
1in6 chance of a lesser defence
Small Horde (payroll)
d100gp d10x1000sp, d10x1000cp,
d4 lesser treasure, 1 major treasure
d3 lesser defences
Medeum Horde (fortune)
d10x1000gp d100x1000sp and cp
2d4 lesser treasure, d4 major treasure, legendary treasure
d4 lesser defences and a major one
Large Horde (kings ransom)
1d10x10000 gp and sp and cp,
4d4 lesser treasure, 2d4 major treasure, d3 legendary treasure
2d4 lesser defences and d4 major defences and one legendary defence
d10 lesser Treasure (up to 100 gp)
1 Semi Precious stone
2 Jewellery d4 1=Ring 2=broach 3=arm band 4=neck ring
3 Fancy quality clothing
4 Figurine
5 Holy symbol
6 Healing herbs or medicine d4 doses d4HP
7 Common Scroll
8 Common Magic Potion
9 Broken part off greater treasure
10 Tools or adventurers pack
d10 Lesser Defence
1 Mouse trap
2 Baby potted shrieker
3 Poisonous guardian d4 1=snake 2=spider 3=scorpion 4=centipede
4 Poison needle or dart d3+poison save
5 Threatening letter declaring ownership of goods
6 Lock 1in6 have d3 extra locks
7 Monster d4 1=giant rat 2=stirge 3=undead hand 4=feret
8 Blade Trap 2d4 damage if fail save
9 Smoke bomb
10 Stink bomb
d10 Major Treasure (up to 10000gp)
1 Rare Potions d4 doses
2 Rare Scroll 2d4 Lv worth of spells
3 Gem d6 gems worth 1000gp each
4 Jewellery d6 items worth d6x100gp each
5 Metal Bars d10x1000gp worth of d4 1=gold 2=silver 3=electrum 4=platinum
6 Artwork of great value 1in6 lost from a collection
7 Book d4 1=spellbook 2=prayerbook 3=rare magic recipe 4=rare magical lore
8 Rare magical or holy materials possibly used to make magic
9 Relic belonging to a noble clan lost long ago
10 Magic item d4 1=weapon 2=missile 3=wand 4=miscellaneous
d10 Major Defence
1 Small humanoid locked inside will scream if opened and attack
2 Undead locked inside screams and attacks d4 1=skeleton 2=zombie 3=shadow 4=spectral minion
3 Trap 1=deadfall 3d6 save for half 2=poison gas cloud 3=diseased 4=releases monster
4 Monster d4 1=clockwork cobra 2=yellow mould 3=green slime 4=imp
5 Acid spray 2d4 save or take d4 damage for d4 rounds
6 Magic d4 1=cursed 2=alarm 3=4d4 explosive runes save halves 4=wizard locked
7 Dart Trap shoots d6 2d4 damage darts, save vs each 1in6 are poison tpp
8 Releases spell like effect d4 1=hold person 2=sleep 3=d4 magic missiles 4=web
9 Black powder bomb 2d4 to all in 1", d4 for surrounding inch
10 Incendiary bomb 2d4 to all in 1" area save or burn d4 damage for d4 rounds
d10 Legendary Treasure (up to 100 000gp)
1 Great treasure affiliated with kingdom or people like a crown d4x10000gp
2 Huge Gem worth d6x10000gp associated with long history of tragedy
3 Artifact or part of one part of a legendary prophecy
4 Relic often in bejewelled box d4 1=saint casket 2=statue 3=saint body parts 4=holy scriptures
5 Slumbering person in magical sleep, petrified or in a magic casket
6 Collection of true names and talismans for commanding d6 outer planar beings
7 Weapon or armour of a great hero famous for past deeds
8 Magic item of great power and fame that belonged to a great spell user
9 Means to locate great machine that once threatened the world power balance
10 Planar gate
d10 Legendary Defence
1 Requires a code or puzzle to unlock or access, protected from magic
2 Summons demon or elemental or ghost guards the treasure
3 Dreadful great curse that can infect descendants and any who touch treasure
4 Magical trap d4 1=10d6 fireball 2=Ice storm spell 3=10d6 lightening bolt 4=disintegrate ray
7 A demigod or dragon or great beast vows to torment lives of thieves
8 Monster generator creates monster protectors until destroyed
9 Chamber trap 1=sealed with stone 2=seal then flood 3=seal then flood with sand 4=seal then flood with lava
10 Planar trap d4 1=sends intruders to another plane 2=loot really hidden on other plane 3=opens gate releasing entities 4=surrounded by hostile other plane conditions
Sunday, 10 June 2018
Dark Island Reskin 2: Goblin Fungus Garden
Expanding this post...
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2018/06/dungeon-zine-3-dark-island.html
Will eventually put my one sheet zines into one book with reskins and will try and do one new one a month.
Dark Island has gone through various phases in the past from when it was capitol of a pocket empire to a mostly empty haunted place. Some phases the dragon cult was strongest and the Dragon Queen lived as a human mostly, other times dragonmen were supreme. It has been abandoned and goblins turned it into a fungus farm amid the dragon skeletons. Even undead have infested it. Occasionally the queen has left for a few decades then returned and rebuilt.
Lots of my mushroom tables would help here.
Ruins of Dark Island
d12 Lake Encounters
1 School of albino cave fish
2 Giant cave octopus or crab or snapping turtle
3 Albino giant pike or piranas
4 Cave lobster or albino crocodile
5 Hide canoe, raft or coracle with fishing gnomes
6 Underland traders in boat7 Albino chaos mermaid hungry for flesh
8 Pliesiosaur or sea serpant
9 Albino fish men out hunting
10 Marine ghouls or zombies
11 Marine ogres or troll
12 Hideous cave Naiad or marine hag
d12 Island Ruins Encounters
1 2d4 Goblins fishing or fungi farming
2 d6 Hobgoblin guards on patrol
3 Bugbear overseer with whip
4 d4 Fungus covered zombies
5 Dark elf visitor come to trade
6 Were rat adventurer
7 d6 Cultists looking for dragon relics
8 Goblin shaman and d6 servants
9 d4 Mushroom men
10 3d4 Tiny toadstool folk
11 d4 Shrieking fungus
12 d4 Giant cave crickets
d12 Fungus Garden Encounters
1 Gas spore on string led by goblin child like a balloon
2 Yellow mould patch (or other mould)
3 Green slime patch
4 Violet fungus
5 Ascomoid
6 Grey ooze
7 Ochre jelly
8 Gelatinous cube
9 2d4 Goblin farmers
10 Goblin shaman and d6 servants
11 d4 Fungus zombies
12 2d4 giant centipedes
Lagoon Beach
Often 4d4 goblins on beach tending nets and boats. Monthly goblin markets here attract visitors from all over the cave system and goblins most welcoming
Cave Houses
Typical caves where gobins live, cook and sleep
d6 1-2=2d4 goblins home 3=overgrown with fungus 4=d4 hobgoblins 5=bugbear 6=old bones and garbage
Smithy
A forge here where 4 goblin smiths work while two hobgoblins work bellows making weapons and trade goods, willing to sell or repair
Great Council Hall
The goblins use this as a common area and court where the chief holds court with concubines and wives who live in the small side chambers. Chief with 2 thoul guards, 8 hobgoblin bailiffs and a bugbear executioner. 3d6 goblin coutiers, servants and harem members will be here too. 1in6 chance of visiting shaman or priest and 1in6 chance of a visiting ambassador
Temple Cave
Shamanic temple to the goblin mushroom god and the maggot god lord of the underworld and worms. One large statue with several smaller ones with a dozen small shrines to various spirits and ancestors. A shaman and a d6 servants, d4 fungus zombies and giant lizard pet are usually here
Priest Cave
Shaman quarters with a d6 servants cooking and sleeping, 1in4 chance a shaman is here. A stone bowl of magic preserved fungus is here
Priest Library
Mould covered crumbling books and scrolls are here in heaps. With a hour searching can find one d3 level spell scroll or interesting fragment in gnome or dragon script every 15 minutes
Queen Roost
Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Queens Court
Rotting remains of furniture, musical instruments, and a throne where the queen in human form once met visitors. Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. A hours search will find scraps of ivory, gold leaf or semi precious stone worth d4x10gp. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Study
Rotting remains of the queens study is here. A solid stone wall created with magic hides a cavity with a thousand years of draconic journals, a magic inkwell and 2000gp in coins laying about kept for when the Queen returns. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Dining Room
Huge dining hall with pewter dinner set and a crystal candelabra all covered in dust and cobwebs all fungus free. A giant intelligent she spider lives here and the goblins avoid it. Bundles of goblin and adventurer bones in web sacs hang around with armour and weapons intact
Bedroom
This room is sealed behind a magically created stone barrier. Inside is immaculate, magically lit with a huge four poster bed with green spider silk bedcloathes where the Queen in human form slept with her humanoid lovers. Possibly she might be here in a deep sleep
Egg Room
A nest woven of bones and humanoid hair with broken dragon egg shells which could be worth 3d6x10gp. Possibly dormant dragon eggs might be sealed behind a magic stone wall
Consort Dragon Nest
A rotting fungus garden growing on the huge skeleton of a ancient dragon. Goblins leave offerings here for the dragon and 3600cp is in a pile. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Servants Cave
Skeletons of gnomes lie among fungus and a d4 fungus zombie gnomes arise
South Dragon Nest
A fungus garden grows here. Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
North Dragon Nest
A fungus garden grows here. Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Slave Pits
A clan of 3d6 friendly meditating mushroom men live here and will use spores to communicate with visitors and are willing to trade magic mushrooms. Many huge shrooms grow here as the goblins never harvest here. Skeletal remains of chained slaves are seen among the putrefying fungus heaps and huge snails and slugs abound
Marine Cave
A fungus cave with several flailsnails grazing who will happily seek meat for a change
Bathing Cave
Once a dragon bathing room now it is a fungus filled chamber with mould rafts floating on the pool. A giant slug lives here so most avoid it. A d4 obvious magic mushrooms are visible from the doorways. The slug is able to hide for a ambush and will spit on escapees
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2018/06/dungeon-zine-3-dark-island.html
Will eventually put my one sheet zines into one book with reskins and will try and do one new one a month.
Dark Island has gone through various phases in the past from when it was capitol of a pocket empire to a mostly empty haunted place. Some phases the dragon cult was strongest and the Dragon Queen lived as a human mostly, other times dragonmen were supreme. It has been abandoned and goblins turned it into a fungus farm amid the dragon skeletons. Even undead have infested it. Occasionally the queen has left for a few decades then returned and rebuilt.
Lots of my mushroom tables would help here.
Ruins of Dark Island
d12 Lake Encounters
1 School of albino cave fish
2 Giant cave octopus or crab or snapping turtle
3 Albino giant pike or piranas
4 Cave lobster or albino crocodile
5 Hide canoe, raft or coracle with fishing gnomes
6 Underland traders in boat7 Albino chaos mermaid hungry for flesh
8 Pliesiosaur or sea serpant
9 Albino fish men out hunting
10 Marine ghouls or zombies
11 Marine ogres or troll
12 Hideous cave Naiad or marine hag
d12 Island Ruins Encounters
1 2d4 Goblins fishing or fungi farming
2 d6 Hobgoblin guards on patrol
3 Bugbear overseer with whip
4 d4 Fungus covered zombies
5 Dark elf visitor come to trade
6 Were rat adventurer
7 d6 Cultists looking for dragon relics
8 Goblin shaman and d6 servants
9 d4 Mushroom men
10 3d4 Tiny toadstool folk
11 d4 Shrieking fungus
12 d4 Giant cave crickets
d12 Fungus Garden Encounters
1 Gas spore on string led by goblin child like a balloon
2 Yellow mould patch (or other mould)
3 Green slime patch
4 Violet fungus
5 Ascomoid
6 Grey ooze
7 Ochre jelly
8 Gelatinous cube
9 2d4 Goblin farmers
10 Goblin shaman and d6 servants
11 d4 Fungus zombies
12 2d4 giant centipedes
Lagoon Beach
Often 4d4 goblins on beach tending nets and boats. Monthly goblin markets here attract visitors from all over the cave system and goblins most welcoming
Cave Houses
Typical caves where gobins live, cook and sleep
d6 1-2=2d4 goblins home 3=overgrown with fungus 4=d4 hobgoblins 5=bugbear 6=old bones and garbage
Smithy
A forge here where 4 goblin smiths work while two hobgoblins work bellows making weapons and trade goods, willing to sell or repair
Great Council Hall
The goblins use this as a common area and court where the chief holds court with concubines and wives who live in the small side chambers. Chief with 2 thoul guards, 8 hobgoblin bailiffs and a bugbear executioner. 3d6 goblin coutiers, servants and harem members will be here too. 1in6 chance of visiting shaman or priest and 1in6 chance of a visiting ambassador
Temple Cave
Shamanic temple to the goblin mushroom god and the maggot god lord of the underworld and worms. One large statue with several smaller ones with a dozen small shrines to various spirits and ancestors. A shaman and a d6 servants, d4 fungus zombies and giant lizard pet are usually here
Priest Cave
Shaman quarters with a d6 servants cooking and sleeping, 1in4 chance a shaman is here. A stone bowl of magic preserved fungus is here
Priest Library
Mould covered crumbling books and scrolls are here in heaps. With a hour searching can find one d3 level spell scroll or interesting fragment in gnome or dragon script every 15 minutes
Queen Roost
Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Queens Court
Rotting remains of furniture, musical instruments, and a throne where the queen in human form once met visitors. Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. A hours search will find scraps of ivory, gold leaf or semi precious stone worth d4x10gp. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Study
Rotting remains of the queens study is here. A solid stone wall created with magic hides a cavity with a thousand years of draconic journals, a magic inkwell and 2000gp in coins laying about kept for when the Queen returns. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Dining Room
Huge dining hall with pewter dinner set and a crystal candelabra all covered in dust and cobwebs all fungus free. A giant intelligent she spider lives here and the goblins avoid it. Bundles of goblin and adventurer bones in web sacs hang around with armour and weapons intact
Bedroom
This room is sealed behind a magically created stone barrier. Inside is immaculate, magically lit with a huge four poster bed with green spider silk bedcloathes where the Queen in human form slept with her humanoid lovers. Possibly she might be here in a deep sleep
Egg Room
A nest woven of bones and humanoid hair with broken dragon egg shells which could be worth 3d6x10gp. Possibly dormant dragon eggs might be sealed behind a magic stone wall
Consort Dragon Nest
A rotting fungus garden growing on the huge skeleton of a ancient dragon. Goblins leave offerings here for the dragon and 3600cp is in a pile. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Servants Cave
Skeletons of gnomes lie among fungus and a d4 fungus zombie gnomes arise
South Dragon Nest
A fungus garden grows here. Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
North Dragon Nest
A fungus garden grows here. Now a overgrown fungus garden with many edible shrooms and a 10 minute turn search has a chance of finding a magical mushroom. Roll for a fungus garden encounter
Slave Pits
A clan of 3d6 friendly meditating mushroom men live here and will use spores to communicate with visitors and are willing to trade magic mushrooms. Many huge shrooms grow here as the goblins never harvest here. Skeletal remains of chained slaves are seen among the putrefying fungus heaps and huge snails and slugs abound
Marine Cave
A fungus cave with several flailsnails grazing who will happily seek meat for a change
Bathing Cave
Once a dragon bathing room now it is a fungus filled chamber with mould rafts floating on the pool. A giant slug lives here so most avoid it. A d4 obvious magic mushrooms are visible from the doorways. The slug is able to hide for a ambush and will spit on escapees
Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Greyhalls Reskin 3: Humanoids Haven
Another Version of this dungeon
https://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/one-sheet-dungeon-zine-1-grey-halls.html
Greyhalls Reskin 3: Humanoids HavenThe humanoids long regarded this as their own lair. The death cults and necromancers don't worry them, they have their own versions. Bandits and frogmen and undead cause some problems and carrion crawlers come up from the well and latrines, especially when they get big enough to prey on humanoids. While orcs and goblinoids don't always get along a strong leader can hold them together. Lura Spleen Eater is the great grand daughter of the great chief Goran. Her name has been attracting new humanoids but there are problems. Any corpses left in the dungeon arise each full moon. They have sealed up the old crypts and a orc priest has been helping control them. Bandits and frogmen still come looking for trouble, cultists and necromancy apprentices too. Mostly the humanoids eat them or put them in the harem if male.
goblins have a d6cp each hobgoblins and orcs a d6gp each
Rooms L-R
Store Room 1
Boxes of skunk cabbage and clay pots of fermenting sauerkraut and bottles of vinegar
Front
Fresh orc and goblin graffitti are around the entry and human skull piles
Guards
4 orc guards, two in each niche, front two with spears, others have shortbows
Gate Keeper
Hobgoblin sergeant with a axe and javelins with his pet warg guard here
Armoury
Humanoids have repaired the weapon racks and have d12 swords, d12 spears, d12 axes, d6 shields, d6 shortbows and 150 arrows. The door is locked with a barred window and a hobgoblin quartermaster with a sword and crossbow guards it
Latrines
Goblin servant here is cleaning the latrine and has caught a baby carrion crawler in a pickle jar
Store Room 2
Locked store room with salted meat and fish, dried beans and pickle jars
Shaman
Goblin shaman (W3) with two wolves and a goblin assistant is here anointing the new statue of the goblin underworld lord
Kitchen
4 goblins with knives scurry around under the direction of a hobgoblin cook with a clever. They are spit roasting a human for dinner
Well
A goblin guards this to make sure nobody does anything fowl. He also tries to catch baby carrion crawlers that come up from the depths for the kitchen
Messhall
d4 each of goblins, hobgoblins and orcs are here eating turnips and pig feet
Shrine
Orc priest C1 here watching the crypts for undead trouble
Crypt 1
Sealed with a d6 skeletons and 3d6sp
Crypt 2
Sealed with a d4 zombies 2d6gp
Crypt 3
Hungry ghoul has been scratching at door for weeks 3d6gp
Crypt 4
Sealed with wight inside with 150gp and a silver sword on a plinth
Books
Piles of rotting old necromancy books mostly used for fires and toilet paper
Lab
3 goblins playing with old alchemy lab mixing colored liquids for fun
Guarded Entry Hall
3 Hobgoblin guards with two wolves
Public Throne RoomLura Spleen Eater a 4HD orc chief with four guards is here most of the time
Barracks 1
2d4 goblins, half are asleep the rest are playing knucklebones
Barracks 2
d6 hobgoblins, half are asleep the rest are drinking
Barracks 3
d6 orcs, half are asleep the rest are torturing a cultist who wandered in yesterday
Drill Hall
A 2HD orc sergeant and 5 orcs are marching up and down as punishment
Store House
Loot stolen from humans including sacks of wheat, d4 sheep, bushel of apples, 3 bolts of cloth, small cart, ten bales of hay and a small pony
Prison Cells
In the cage is a frogman and a bandit fighting to entertain 4 goblins and a bugbear warden with a flail with 3d6gp
Women & Childrens Room
d3 each female goblins and hobgoblins each with a child will defend children and scream but will leave quietly if given the option
Sly Grog Shop
hobgoblin serving rotgut goblin grog to a d3 each goblins, hobgoblins and orcs. 24 gallon clay bottles of horrible booze and a open jar of pickled baby carrion crawlers you might mistake for pickled gherkins
Family Court
Nanny bugbear with 2d4 older goblin, hobgoblin and orc children. She will defend them while they flee screaming
Nursery
Elderly goblin woman looking after a dozen crying babies in broken old cribs and wooden fruit boxes
Guards
two orc guards with spear and shield
Temple
Shrine has been decorated befitting the shrine of the orc underworld god. 4d6sp silver is on the altar
Priest Room
Orc cleric C3 is here torturing a necromancer apprentice and looking at his book with 4 spells. He has a chest with a d4x100sp worth of offerings for the god he is just minding
Shrine
4 sleeping wolves here with goblinoid, orc and wolf idols around the room. A torch lighting the room is enchanted and never goes out with 3" radius light
Ceremonial Room
An orc maiden is helping to redecorate the room in orc style with human skulls and flailed human skins with her pet wolf
Funeral Temple
A goblin is chopping up a d6 orc corpses and feeding them to a warg so they don't become undead
Store
Open door with straw and bones where wards and wolves sleep, d4 wolves and a 25% chance of a warg is here at anytime
Vault
This is the treasure room with a locked door and a huge white warg inside with one eye. Three chests each with a cobra inside. One has a d4x1000cp, one d4x100sp, one with d4x10gp and a potion of heroism and a potion of invisibility
Master Bedroom
The chief lives here and is here 1/3 of the time with several concubines from the harem. There is a 65gp pearl necklace in a box with some worthless trinkets under the bed
Death Shrine
A goblin shaman and 4 hobgoblins are in here preying to the goblin death god shrine. The crude clay statue has 30gp gem eyes
Guards
Two orc guards with swords and shields
Courtyard
Furniture here and the orc chiefs mother with her 4 goblin guards making some human men dance in skimpy outfits. Includes a farmer, a bandit and a cultist
Harem
A large female bugbear with a whip is training several human men in harem costumes including a thief T1, two bandits, a necromancer apprentice W1 and a overweight merchant
Sacred Baths
Two orc grandmothers are being sponge bathed by captured human cultists while smoking hookah and eating peeled grapes and sheep liver
Hidden Cave
The rear entrance is mostly forgotten and in the large chamber are four frogmen who are waiting allies to come so they can kidnap some humanoids
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
Grey Halls Reskin 2: Contested ruins
Follow on from this
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/one-sheet-dungeon-zine-1-grey-halls.html
Grey Halls has basics to be reskinned several times. the undead arise every 100 years but bandits, humanoids and cultists. There are periods where no one faction is in control. A few months after clearing the place out you might find it like this.
This is a reskin during such a period
I could do a goblinoid era one or a bandit one
Grey Halls Version Two: Contested Ruins
So after being mostly empty with just vermin since the undead were purged, several factions have begun scouting the ruin. Alarmed the villagers have spread wild stories of treasure to attract some adventurers. Frogs, humanoids, cultists and apprentice necromancers are all looking to establish a base or get loot.
Rooms L-R
Store Room 1
Bandit camp, d6+4 bandits HDd6. The base they use while searching dungeon, 6d6sp 3d6gp, food, water, grog and torches in crates
Front
Roll encounter table for who is trying to hold the door now
Guards
Roll the encounter table for corpses here
Gate Keeper
Barricade on left doorway facing room, blood and broken weapons everywhere
Armoury
4 orcs on guard and picking through rust heaps of armoury with a goblin slave who flees for help, each has a d6cp
Latrines
Terrible stench, plank with holes over a cistern where a carrion crawler lurks, has a orc body already
Store Room 2
6 goblins and a hobgoblin overseer with a whip, preparing food for the orc/goblinoid group, each has a d6cp
Shaman
Goblin shaman with 2 assistants treating a wounded orc, has several d4 healing potions
Kitchen
2 goblins hunting a giant rat for dinner, each has a d6cp
Well
Carrion crawler lives down here and drags anyone using well onto a ledge above the water. Several goblin corpses here
Messhall
2 orc archers, one eyed hobgoblin with a morningstar and a goblin with a sling guard here, also looking for rats and what has been eating their missing friends, each has a d6cp
Shrine
2 zombies guard here, badly smashed idols on the floor
Crypt 1
Open, 4 skeletons laying in wall niches, a good suit or repairable chain and sword in here. They await their master to regenerate as he does every hundred years, 3d6sp
Crypt 2
Open 3 Zombies guarding 2d6 corpses they have brought back here which will be reanimated on the full moon, 3d6sp
Crypt 3
Closed but signs has been opened often, a married ghoul couple live here eating a corpse, 6d6gp 800sp
Crypt 4
Sealed with a sleeping wight with a silver +1 sword on a plinth, 4d6gp
Books
d6 cultists with skull masks searching through ruined books for documents. HDd6 with daggers
Lab
Necromancer apprentice W3 with 2x W1 assistants looking through formula notes in smashed alchemy lab, d6gp/Lv and a dagger, leader has a invisibility to undead potion lasts 10 minutes
Guarded Entry Hall
Dire wolf eating a goblin, growls at anyone coming close or entering
Public Throne Room
Shattered decorations and d6 cultist corpses
Barracks 1
Bandit and a orc rolling on floor fighting with daggers yelling, footlockers of personal belongings from long ago, each has a d6cp
Barracks 1
Goblins searching foot lockers among the rubble ignoring sounds of fighting next door, d6sp each
Barracks 1
Doorway blocked with ruined furniture, inside bloody remains of goblins and a angry doombat. 6d6cp on corpses in room
Drill Hall
Hundreds of bats live in here, floor wet with feces, bats might panic as a swarm , a 1pgp gem is hidden in the filth
Store House
2 goblins cooking bat on a stick over a fire, d4cp each
Prison Cells
ghoul eating a dead bandit, if quiet will let you pass
Women & Childrens Room
2 cultists on guard facing the grog shop, one has a crossbow, both with knives HDd6
Sly Grog Shop
3 goblins passed out from drinking, one throwing up and another selling drinks for a cp each, cash box of 6d6cp 3d6sp
Family Court
4 bandits picking through broken furniture, d4sp each
Nursery
4 cribs with angry zombie babies that start crying if anyone enters HDd4 Bite d4 Jump1"
Guards
Roll the encounter table for corpses here
Temple
6 cultists and a priest C3, trying to clean up the wrecked death god shrine, priest has a +1 panther headed club and 4d6gp
Priest Room
assistant priest cleaning for the master C1, will pretend he is innocent, d6gp
Shrines
dozens of creepy underworld shrines with two acolytes C1 repairing them, each has 3d6sp
Ceremonial Room
4 cultists cleaning the room in preparation of a sanctify ritual, box of 3d6gp of evil decor items
Funeral Temple
Acolyte C1 with 2 cultists assistants preparing four cultist corpses for future rebirth as undead, cleric has a d6gp
Store
Locked door, mostly rotting foodstuff with 2d4 giant rats, box with 3d6sp, 2d6gp
Vault
Locked door with crossbow trap inside. d6 suits of leather armour, d6 melee weapons, d6 weeks of food in dried biscuits, 4d6sp, 2d6gp
Badly damaged burned bed with burned zombie remains. Melted 30gp necklace in ashes
Death Shrine
Ghoul preying to the ghoul god
Guards
Roll the encounter table for corpses here
Courtyard
Loud croaking from here and barking, four frogmen fighting a dire wolf, each frog has d6sp
Harem
Three frogwomen trying on tattered old harem costumes, 6d6sp of beads and trinkets from rubble here
Sacred Baths
Frogman leader and his mate are spawning in this foul pool, takes a round to grab their weapons and his croak calls any remaining frogmen (not the frog wizard). Has a potion of water breathing to carry slaves to underwater home and 6d6sp and d6gp
Hidden Cave
Main chamber has a frogman wizard W3 and his two guard carnivorous giant frogs. Has a sleep scroll and a spellbook plus 3d6gp
Saturday, 20 January 2018
d100 Strange roadside locations for murder highway
Across the wasteland weird things happen all the time. Some make a living out of it. Cryptofauna is big money and even remains of monsters are worth money to corporate military biolabs. Other phenomena might sell a story to the right people. City people just dont believe how mutated and unnatural the outback has become. This could be a basis for a meddling kids adventures in the murder-highwayverse. All they need is a heavily armed van.
01 Small crossroad settlement with caravan park are satanists with a hidden corpse stash
02 Small crossroad with nobody over 16, anyone older flees or gets eaten
03 Farmstead with cornfields ruled by feral children cultists some with strange powers
04 Small crossroads locals all live in fear of pyrokinetic witch child
05 Locals report UFOs seen in area frequently, deadly modified animals in area
06 Outback pub where locals talk of a local monster they claim is a giant mutant thylacine
07 Collapsed military fence with concrete bunkers containing waste and mutant cannibals
08 Village of fundamentalists who are suspicious of outsiders are witches in league with the devil
09 Locals warn you away from pleasant looking billabong because it is home to a bunyip with strange powers
10 A shanty town of mutants by roadside suspicious of strangers, someone has been kidnapping them every few nights
11 Local shop warns of ghosts in the hills, actually a prospector with a hologram projector growing drugs crop triffid hybrids under lighting in cave
12 Tiny bait store by river bend warns you not to go into swamp because of the gillman
13 Abandoned roadhouse and cars with decapitated bodies of various ages, a flying batman tears off peoples heads to eat brains
14 Abandoned house with skeletons, nest of mutant roaches under house will awaken if people breathe too much on site
15 Shack of UFO spotter sure aliens have a secret base in the area, one of them is a alien hybrid MIB in disguise who encourages crazier theories of the group to make them unbelievable
16 Van of mystery solving teens empty by old three story creepy wooden house. Demonically possessed some of the teens are trapped inside. Inside is bigger than the outside
17 Warning signs about mine shafts in area, some of them new. A clan of hillbillies have decided to become subterraneans to outlast the apocalypse and have just started cannibalism
18 A grassless football field with outback kids playing football. The elders are in fact a druid kidnapper cult that play sport to pick best sacrifices. the children are mostly too scared to ask for help and elders say that one off kid has mental health problems
19 Stretch of road with wrecked cars and bloodstains. A driverless necrobion car has been roaming area eating people since it's undead master was killed
20 Rednecks in a huge 4wd utility truck have been terrorising communities and travellers in area. They worship demons and practice sacrifice and animal mutilation. Cattle an human remains litter the roadside
21 A emu army has been assembling and bothering miners. The miners are a front by a corporate cult to awaken one of the old ones in a cave. The miners are bewildered by the emus and hide behind a electric fence
22 Small town seems to have one fortified building. Last survivors of a fast zombie outbreak are hiding here and try to signal for help
23 Local crossroad folk live in fear of some creature Complain that the secretive corporate lab bunker nearby wont do nothing to help
24 Truck and black SUV's burned out on roadside but look good for looting. Truck has a cage and dead humans wearing ABC hazzard suits. A horrible lab created monster is in hiding nearby and hungry
25 House off road tries signalling with flares and shiny mirrors. A giant mutant goanna has trapped residence inside
26 Hamlet in swampy river area looking for missing children and dogs ask strangers to help, a giant Murry cod has been snacking on locals and no it is not a mutant
27 Water hole by empty camping shack has several abandoned cars and towels and eskis by water. Piranhas or mutant freshwater crayfish have eaten the holiday makers
28 Strange icy wind are felt which are totally unnatural. Even the road is covered in ice. A fenced off corporate lab seems to be at the centre covered in snow. Inside staff have become cannibals and some wendigos from experiment to commune with Iquatha the windwalker to alter the climate
29 Area is burned to a crisp and covered in ash. By night strange lights are seen. Otherworldy fire creatures were summoned here by a cult who were burned to death with their house and cars
30 Strange blasted crater with foul liquid and remains of a ruined house and cars. Scraps of notes and a occult book on calling Azathoth for wisdom are found. Anyone taking the books will be hunted by the cult
31 Crocodile farm by roadside offer free tours when they cannot get food. Part of the walkway around the pens drops into the crock pond when a lever is pulled. Paying customers are left alone
32 Wrecked house by waters edge has several lootable cars. A giant yabby (freshwater cray) called old bill lives here and by night will look for victims to eat
33 Old house with pale corpse impaled on spiked iron fence who seems to have jumped from upper floor. Inside is decorated with occult items. The ghost of a wizard is here and will protect the house from thieves. If desperate his corpse will shamble from the basement and call down a terrible thing from the stars. Mostly he scares people away with creepy signs of haunting
34 Old house with a covered well. Signs of murder in house and locked freezer full of rotten chickens. If opened the horror in the well, a tentacled mutant thing will come out for food
35 A military zombie hunting drone has become damaged and now decapitates travellers with his light anti tank rifle from his foxhole
36 The road has a huge open pit blocking travel. A giant mutant carnivorous mole lies in wait and several empty cars are nearby
37 A battered old milktruck on road swerves to block travellers. The milkman is a zombie and all his load is stinking and rancid. It has enough awareness to drive as a means of hunting
38 A fenced and ruined corporate lab complex only recently looks destroyed. Several bitter psionic feral kids live in the ruins and hate adults
39 Dozens of robed cultists are having a ceremony, when they see witnesses they jump in their mostly family cars and station waggons and give chase
40 Strange burned circles are on the ground and several unconscious people are found who think it is still the 1980s. If their story gets out MIB will persue them
41 A burning crash site nearby has several black SUVs and MIB watching. They will bully curious people away and they are cyborgs and their cars are armed with asers
42 AI sanctioned op car with dead driver at the wheel has gone mad. Most of it's ammo is depleted and it is now suicidal
43 Sole survivor of a burned out settlement begs for help, says a burning spirit attacked the town
44 Fortified cult compound selling sex and drugs and food advertised on billboards, they are a cannibal sex cult desperate for fresh victims
45 Large tent with smaller tents where a mobile church has set up camp. The have a buss and trailer and are looking for the promised land. Elder Palmer will try to use his hypnotic powers on visitors to make them join up
46 Three attractive women and their black billy goat live in a shack. A sign offer assorted fruit pies $10. They are witches and the goat is a demon. They want sex then sacrifices after revealing their hideous true forms
47 A ghost town truckstop has several intact vehicles and working fuel pumps. Everyone was eaten by carnivorous mutant moles who wait for strangers to get out of their cars then attack anyone trying to flee. They might even collapse a tunnel under a car to make it immobile
48 Shimmering coloured salt pans from dried out lakes and coloured salvation jane and sth african daisies makes the landscape seem surreal. The heat shimmer on the road gets worse. Psionic otherworldly parasites cause hallucinations to wreck cars and feed off the dying. There are several stones with signs on them they require to exist in this world
49 A abandoned motel seems to still have power and fridges of food and beer. Notes found indicate a stranger with a metal cylinder came to stay. By night severed body parts hop and flop around the area attacking people, some of the parts eventually form into a monstrosity that can even attack cars.
50 Strange misty imaterial hands reach from the fog and try to stroke your skulls. The alien beings make psionic attacks and want host bodies to spread their kind. A meteor nearby houses them at the moment
51 A cistern water pump complex seems to have lots of empty gang vehicles parked around it. The former gang base is now a charnel house as several deep one hybrids in the gang evolved into monsters when they took their first swim inside
52 A BBQ rib diner offers delicious smoked hog ribs and pulled pork. Unfortunately the management are a cannibal cult that poking around is not too hard to uncover
53 Church offering free lemonade. The congregation inside sing cheerily but are all mutants but don't realise it due to medication and hypnosis from the pastor. He gives drugged lemonade and invites victims to join the congregation
54 Abandoned creepy house in basement has strange organic sacks and webbing. The upper floor has many interesting artworks and books. By night horrible creatures swarm the house seeking food
55 A fenced corporate lab complex has corpses laying in the grass in lab coats. The lab is full of fine loot and notes about their zombie virus research. Eventually the zombies rise and swarm looters. After the zombies come the corporate clean up crew who is worse
56 An abandoned sheering shed has a generator and several beer coolers sitting under the veranda. Crazed mutant sheep live here use the loot as bait for delicious humans
57 Row of faded pastel holiday shacks on shores of a mostly evaporated polluted lake. Remains of humans and canned food is in the shacks. Horrible giant mutant worm creatures live under the mud and are awakened by sounds of humans
58 Ghost town of abandoned quality buildings are here with vintage loot to pilfer. A zombie cyborg gunfighter lives here and eventually awakes to challenge visitors
59 A quiet ruined town seems to look unlooted. A ned kelly fan gang wearing metal helmets and chest plates live here and eat visitors tempted by easy loot they place enticingly around town. Once killed they arise as zombies shortly after
60 A large old house in the middle of nowhere, suddenly a storm breaks out and the road is washed out. Someone in the house signals travellers to come in. It is the elderly servant of a vampire who invites guests in for the night so master can eat them. Lots of fancy art objects and loot
61 Strange lights are visible in the distance. When closer find a strange grunting attractive naked person (or several) who wants food and sex. They don't want to leave area so their saucer can collect them. They are an alien android
62 Wrecked house and cars scattered by road. A giant mutant razorback boar is on the rampage
63 Farmers barricaded in shearing shed wrapped in wire. They signal for help. Carnivorous zombie rabbits are swarming the area. They have a nearby warren complex and their numbers grow daily
64 Roadside house with free beer sign. Inside a serial killer has made his own murder museum. Shortly after travellers seeing the horrible interior a gang turn up wanting revenge. In the basement the serial killer has set traps and a ambush if more than two people investigate
65 Farmers wave white flag. Complain of a black night monster menacing them. A giant mutant tasmanian devil in the area.
66 Empty cars under a nice patch of trees by water. Dropbears, mutant killer koalas live in the trees ready to eat lesser beings
67 Aboriginal old man tries to signal traffic. Says there are bad spirits loose in area and tribe needs help. In forbidden rocks he cannot enter ancient sandmen demons have awoken from a cave and seek blood sacrifices to call space demons to take them somewhere better. The creatures are very sneaky and have magical abilities
68 Gathering of locals by road looking for lost family in the scrub. Wild triffids living in area have eaten the family and they have a gnarled and twisted appearance that blends in the scrub well
69 Locals begging for help. A night monster has been attacking families through the roof and chimneys in area and swearing and whispering terrible suggestions. A black devil possum was raised by cultists after being liberated from a black lab. The insane creature leaves occult signs in blood
70 Reward sign posted on corp mining building. Foreman cant get workers to stay because mutant frawgs came from the swamp and ate some miners and now they wont come back. Forman can spare a few thousand for anyone who will shoot them. Poison just made them bigger
71 Crucified upside down churchfolk have been terrorised by a satanic biker cult for days. The gangcult have several innocent prisoners with them and the church will offer a reward to anyone saving them and a bonus for killing the cult
72 Attractive young people are splashing by a waterhole and gesturing travellers to join in. They are attached by tentacles to a horrible mutant that enthralls some victims and eats others
73 A fenced off mental hospital looks abandoned except for lights in the upper floor and gang bikes out back. A corporate sponsored gang have been testing experimental mutagens on mental patients. Gang members will pretend to be medical staff and broadcast free medical treatments on radio
74 Chocolate factory in old stone building, once a tourist attraction with a faded sculpture of a gnome eating chocolate. Inside a deranged cannibal cult use machinery to murder and chocolate coat victims. Sign sez welcome free tours and samples. Cult offer chocolate samples with human blood and drugs in them but they don't look too convincing. They have children they are fattening up with chocolate in the basement
75 Miniature World a former tourist attraction with a miniature town, mini golf and wonders of the world. Mutant rabbit tribes have moved in and stolen the dolls clothing. If giants approach they scream and flee in terror calling upon their protector a giant diseased mutant rabbit. They learned to speak from cable tv and might recognise anyone famous as a god. Myxomatosis might wipe them out in future years if they dont get meds
76 Miracle Cavern tourist attraction cabin advertises fun for the whole family. Park rangers long gone but a serpent man in human form plays the part now. He welcomes guests, offers them soda then shows them the entry to the caves under the shack. Inside the cave are albino dinosaurs and serpent men and one of their recovery shelters where they slept for millions of years. They need humans they can replace to work their schemes of global conquest
77 Large fenced off area with a sign "Pleistocene Park". Inside robots manage the former tourist attraction of giant prehistoric megafauna including wombats, kangaroos, emus, tasmanian devils, marsupial lions, platypus, goannas and more. The animals are worth a fortune and the park should have been decommissioned but owners were bankrupt. Robots welcome tourists but warn some animals are fiesty
78 Frontier Village a tourist trap now run by androids. There are several family sedans in the parking lot and a school bus. They welcome tourists and sell them food and will admit them to the park. Inside the addroids inside are insane and hate historically inaccurate guests who annoy them
79 Toytown a tourist park taken over by a cannibal clown gangcult. Robot toys pathetically wander about outside welcoming people. Inside the clowns pretend to be automatons until they are ready to ambush visitors
80 Public Swimming Pool, with some locals enjoying it. They will mention the swimming hole that is cheaper but nobody goes there now because of the beast. A carnivorous giant mutant platypus is to blame
81 Natureland a private zoo looks still functional with gang member guards. Here a ex corp scientist works on mutating creatures and releasing them. Visitors are not welcome as specimens are worth millions
82 Ghost town seemingly full of early 20th century antiques. The town is haunted by spirits who possess strangers and reenact the sad mass murder outbreak that depopulated the place years ago
83 Colonial ghost town seemingly intact and with possible antique loot. On stepping into area all are time shifted into the goldrush past of 1870 and their equipment is changed also (but cyberlimbs probably hooks and wooden legs). Locals report strange lights in hills and if searched for will find crashed aliens trying to fix their warp drive which has effected local reality
84 Robot Ripple Icecream Company. Large shed with storefront. Robot with caged counter offers all natural ingredients ice creams. Inside the factory a cannibal gang have been finding new sources for natural ingredients and have a stockade full of prisoners
85 Ghost town where people have vanished leaving food on the table. A child in hiding says a monster took them all to a cave in the hills. Inside a giant mutant spider have locals bound in silk awaiting to be eaten. The spider has hungry babies on her back which jump off to help her and their venom is only patalytic while hers is necrotic
86 Small truckstop finishing off a few zombies. Some critter in town is biting people and turning them into zombies. Sheriff won't let anybody leave until the critter is gone and he already shot a scientist feller from the black lab down the road
87 A gathering of UFO spotters has met to witness a once in a lifetime landing and contact here soon. A government lab has faked a flying saucer and modified a poor mook into looking like a alien. They want to test the crowd for future black ops where they can blame aliens. At least one UFO nut is really a MIB hybrid spy
88 A silver egg flies by shutting down all electrical items then lands. A silver suited humanoid steps out and requests help for materials to repair his craft offering gold bars with alien writing as payment
89 A abandoned car by a roadside has a horrible burst corpse with blue slime on it. The car has a idol, some books and a frenzied journal. The idol if handled plunges the wielders mind into the past when alien beings occupied the world. Then further back till they see a spectral hound creature that starts to follow them to the present. Daily the hound comes closer. A aboriginal elder who comes from seemingly nowhere warns the victims they need supernatural help or they are doomed
90 A ghost town looks like a safe place for picking but ghostly tentacles appear to drive travellers away. A miner has set up a hologram projector and has a cage of meddling kids he thinks want his gold
91 Teens in hot rods and dune buggies signal for help. Some blob from a meteor has grown and is eating people in town. Townsfolk are hiding in terror. They are warning people away and looking for help
92 Local farmers are meeting about the monster stealing and spooking their cattle. A escaped t-rex pet has been living n a quarry and has got fat eating cows
93 Abandoned lakeside holiday shacks in pastel colours line a polluted lakeshore. A scrap prospector says nobody goes near the shore because of the lake monster. A wily plesiosaur lives herer and his head can reach inside the shacks
94 Small hamlet has a house of goblinoids locals assume are mutants. Their spacecraft from Tau Ceti crashed years ago and the survivors live here afraid of being locked up in a government black lab like others have before
95 A mutant cult have dug up some prehuman ruins. They don't like snoopers and expect to become rich from their discoveries. One vault contains a terrible ethereal tentacled horror polyp. One of the mutants possessed by a primordial spirit wants to cover the ruins and seal the place before there is trouble. Travellers with weapons and explosives are just what he needs
96 A magic child is wandering in the wasteland alone and too small to be left out. He has inscruitible wisdom and announces he need them to rescue a aboriginal clan kept in a shed by a mining company illegally exploiting their land. The miners use holograms of spirits to scare intruders away. The child possibly vanishes after or leads travellers to more strange occurrences and mysteries
97 A lone woman in a medical smock with grey hair and no shoes wanders by a roadside. She escaped a black psionics lab and her owners are after her using a surgical implanted locator. She is not very conversational but warns when enemies near and can help with her strange powers and preternatural senses
98 A small lap sized dinosaur is jumping by the road trying to get attention. He is a expensive uplifted pet micro raptor with a voicebox collar translator. His owner a courier has been trapped by a gangcult living in a old mine
99 A van of medling teen investigators signal for help. They have bitten off more than they can chew when exploring a abandoned black lab and the monster thing ruined their van stranding them here
100 A corporation have built a fenced pristine town to test their cyborg combat mutants in. The gates are wide open with lounge music playing to entice visitors inside. When in the gates shut and the monsters are released
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