October Country: It's the Little Things

I'm still consolidating the Secret Antiquities material into the Society of Torch, Pole and Rope. This first appeared on October 23rd, 2010.

Standing on line last night for a haunted house attraction, a discussion arose regarding preferences for horror films. It quickly became obvious that, of our group anyway, the preference was on “less is more.” There were no gore aficionados amongst us. I’ve stated on a previous occasion that my favorite horror film is the original The Haunting because all the heavy scare work is done by your own imagination and not CGI or foam latex appliqués.

This morning, I watched The Grudge for the first time. In doing so, I found myself getting caught up in the minutia of the film: the little things that, when placing myself in the same situation, I found more disturbing than all the creepy dead-eyed children and stray follicles. I thought that things like the dropped phone outside the sister’s apartment or the tiny faces tacked to the closet door were much more disturbing because they merely hint that something is amiss.

I touched a little bit on this topic in The Dungeon Alphabet in my entry for “W is for Weird,” but that intended for fantasy genre. Although the October Country does veer into that terrain, it’s more horror & wonder than sword & sorcery. Time for some new entries of high weirdness and subtle terror. So, with that in mind, here are a dozen little things that would make me pause if my PC came across them during the course of an adventure:

1) A tiny spot of blood on a pristine white yet empty crib.
2) A house where all the phone handsets are missing.
3) A desk with a hundred blood-stained staples driven into its service in a seemingly random pattern.
4) A dark basement where the lights don’t work yet the dryer is running. The appliance is thumping as if off-balance and the sound of something heavy banging around inside it is heard.
5) The sound of a radio playing in the middle of an empty field. It seems to be coming from under the ground.
6) A baby book filled with nothing but small locks of delicate hair.
7) A wedding ring half-buried in the sand below the high tide mark on an empty beach.
8) A length of rope tied to a support and leading into a dark hole under a stretch of broken concrete.
9) A bare tree with a half-dozen old fashioned lanterns swinging from its branches.
10) A set of clothes lying discarded next to a still and seemingly empty swimming pool.
11) An open box of razor blades on an immaculate kitchen counter in a silent house.
12) A swarm of flies buzzing around the entrance to a dark doghouse.

“You awaken in a cold sweat…”

The dream your PC had last night was:

1-Your comrades were sitting around the campfire, gnawing on cooked human limbs. Their meal interrupted, they looked up at you with eyes that shone like a cat’s. Putting down their gruesome meal, they began crawling towards you as you struggled to free yourself from your bedroll. Wound as tight as a shroud, your arms were pinned as your friends stalked ever closer…

2-You were lost in the fetid halls of an ancient dungeon, one you’ve never encountered before. A thunderous rhythm, like a demonic heart, filled your ears as the shadows gathered about you. Turning a corner, you found yourself confronting the leering skull-face of the first companion you ever lost. With a rictus grin, he beckoned you to join him down into the dark…

3-You were enjoying a lavish banquet meal in the hall of a strange king. The provender was good, the wine excellent, and the companionship superb. A tickle in your throat interrupted your dining, stubbornly resisting all attempts to clear it. Then, the first of many small, hairy spiders began to climb from between your lips and onto your plate. This trickle quickly became a torrent, followed by your skin splitting as a horde of skittering arachnids broke free from their nest inside you…

4-You stood alone on a rocky strand, the waves breaking against the unnaturally sharp rocks that lined the water’s edge. A clump of pallid kelp rocked on the tide, coming closer with each breaking wave. As you watched, the kelp rolled over, revealing it to be the water-logged and crab-picked visage of your mother. Her dead eyes stared at you accusingly and her sodden lips worked silently, mouthing accusations of your past faults and failures. Soaking arms grappled you from behind, spinning you about to face the barnacle-spotted face of your father, his beard strung with dead anemones and jellyfish. He leaned in to kiss his favorite child…

5-You stood atop a craggy promontory, perched hundreds of feet in the air. Before you lay a wasteland of fire and ash; in the air above it, great black birds with yellow eyes and tattered feather rode sinister thermals and their hoarse cries croaked loudly in your ears. The sun glared hotly, revealing the picked bones of a thousand nations in the sand and soot below. You had the power to stop this, but your fear would not let you do what needed to be done. A shadow, like that of a titan rising from his restless slumber, blots out the landscape, shrouding you in night. SOMETHING approaches from behind. You feel its talons reaching for you, but you cannot—will not—turn to face what can only be the agent of your deserved punishment…

6-The ground gives way as you walk down a narrow forest path. A sound like ice breaking in the spring thaw hits you ears immediately before the pain explodes from your legs. With legs broken by the fall, your arms flail, struggling to keep yourself from sliding deeper into the earth as you grasped for plants that ripped free from the ground as gravity continued to claim you. Then, the first pair of fangs stabbed into your legs. You disturbed a nest of vipers in your fall. Your legs and waist became targets for their knife-like fangs as they struck again and again, pumping searing venom into your calves, thighs, and groin…

Pleasant dreams.

“Horses! Get yer Horses here!”

Want to make the horse-buying process something more than just subtracting gold pieces from a character sheet? Have a player who simply MUST know what kind of selection the horse trader has for sale? Has it ever occurred to you that the characters’ mounts are NPCs too? If so and you don’t know where to start, download this incredibly helpful PDF that I cobbled together from diverse sources such as Wikipedia and various game supplements. It’s one of the goodies I keep close at hand in my referee binder for just such occasions. Random tables are provided to make horse trading fun again!

Want to know more about horses? Consult your local library or listen to seminal Patti Smith album of the same name:

“Meanwhile, back in town…”

The last game session saw the PCs beginning to look around at the larger world picture and realizing that there may just be more to the Kinan-M’Nath than that old prison up in the hills. I’m hoping this is the start of a trend.

The adventurers have learned that Stonehell is not a static location that patiently waits for them in between their expeditions. Things are occurring down in its depths all the time, and some of those events have lasting effects on the dungeon as a whole (which reminds me that I need to make the latest batch of changes to the site). Obviously, the town of Blackpool is also a dynamic place that changes over time. I have a randomly determined a few big events that might occur in the future of the overall sandbox, but haven’t dabbled with the idea of local events. Until now, that is.

What follows is a rough draft of random notable events that could occur in and around the PC’s home base. I’m still tweaking, but this is closer to finished than not. I’ve riffed on the results to give them possible adventure seeds or unexpected twists, but I don’t plan on doing more with them until they come up in actual play.

I’ve experimented a bit with probability of these events occurring and decided to go with a 1 in 8 chance of an event occurring each day (rather than my original plan of 1 in 6). That seems to ensure that at least one interesting event occurs each month, but not so many as to turn town into a madhouse. I also considered staggering the results to make some more likely than others, but decided to make it a straight d20 progression just to keep me and the players on our toes. I plan to roll at least two weeks if not more in advance so that I can give the events a proper lead in, making them appear to happen naturally, rather than be spontaneous occurrences (except in cases where the very event is unexpected). Since I often get asked to do this anyway, you can find a PDF of the following table and its explanations here.

What’s Going On? Roll a d20 to find out!
1) Fire
2) Child goes missing
3) Accident
4) Bandit attack
5) Murder
6) Monster on the prowl
7) Theft
8) Destruction of property
9) Illness
10) Birth/death
11) Execution
12) Festival
13) Sign from the Gods
14) Mustering the troops
15) Windfall
16) Visitor
17) Magic!
18) Rumors
19) Quarrel
20) High weirdness

Accident: A worker is crushed by falling stonework at the keep or someone is grievously injured at one of the sawmills. If a PC cleric is nearby when this occurs, he or she may be able to save their life, earning them the undying friendship of the victim and her or her family.

Unexpected twist: If the victim dies, his or her survivors blame the overseers at the job site and want revenge. An unscrupulous PC might be approached to handle that task.

Bandit attack: A merchant caravan is attacked on its way to or from town. Many are slain. There is a 50% chance that the caravan was carrying needed supplies or that word of the attack spreads outside the immediate area, resulting in a slow-down of traffic on the roads. Prices of all important goods (read: anything the PCs are likely to buy) is increased by 10%-20%.

Unexpected twist: The caravan was carrying an important MacGuffin that someone of importance needs recovered immediately. He or she is offering a reward if the item is retrieved before the next sunset.

Birth/death: Someone comes into or goes out of the world. There is a 10% chance that this event occurs to someone the PCs know in town. Otherwise it is simply a popular topic of conversation for the next day or two.

Unexpected twist: The PCs find themselves involved in some manner. If they have recently done great deeds to assist the community, a newborn child might be named after one of them and one PC is named as the baby’s “sword-uncle (or aunt).” This will require attending a special ceremony and the purchase of a gift (the more lavish the better) for the child and/or his family. If it is a death that occurred, the departed might be of the same faith as one of the PC cleric and require him or her to conduct the funeral, or the deceased may have left one or more of the adventurers something on his deathbed. Why they did this remains to be determined.

Child goes missing: One of the local children fails to return home after heading into the forest or down to the river. A search party is forming in the town square. PCs who willingly join in on the search will find that the residents hold them in slightly higher regard afterwards.

Unexpected twist: Rather than find the child, a crudely written ransom note is discovered. What the kidnapper wants in return is highly unusual.

Destruction of property: For some reason, something breaks. It could be a fishing pier swept away by a rain-swollen river, a stretch of road collapsing into a sink hole, a statue shattered, or the local cemetery defiled. Depending on the exact nature of the damage, the townsfolk might pitch in to repair the damage, demand the Lord Warden take action, or sit around grumbling that “things aren’t what they used to be.” PCs who pitch in or pay to help repair the destruction will earn the respect of the residents. Those who were nearby when the damage occurred will be watched carefully and whispered about.

Unexpected twist: The damage unearths a new mystery. A drowned body might be found chained to one of the remaining pier posts, a tunnel found under one of the overturned headstones in the cemetery, or an interesting find is discovered hidden inside the statue’s hollow form.

Execution: If a prisoner is being held in the keep on serious charges, his execution is schedule for today. If no one is being held, a local outlaw has been caught and is bound for the gallows. An aura of macabre anticipation hangs over the town and most residents plan on attending. Business will be closed for an hour before and after the execution. There is a 10% chance the something unusual occurs to the condemned’s corpse in the days following the sentence.

Unexpected twist: A new development occurs just prior to the execution. This could be the unearthing of new evidence that questions the guilt of the condemned or it could be a last minute rescue effort launched by the convict’s companions. The PCs may easily find themselves in the thick of things.

Festival: Today is either a minor holiday or the day that a celebration such as a wedding, coming-of-age, or funeral is to be held. As such, the town is adorned with decorations and business as usual is suspended. If it is a religious holiday, there is a 75% chance it is a day sacred to one of the faiths in town. If it is not that of one of the settlement’s religions, there is a 15% chance it is one sacred to one of the PCs’ religions (provided they follow a faith not represented in town).

Unexpected twist: There is a 20% chance that something eventful occurs during the festival. Roll or choose from the event table above, ignoring any result that seems unlikely.

Fire: One of the buildings in town catches fire. There is a 66% chance that the structure is destroyed by the blaze and a 40% chance that any adjoining buildings catch fire as well (with similar chances of being destroyed).

Unexpected twist: Someone was seen fleeing the area immediately before the fire. It appears to be arson. Who did this and why?

High weirdness: Something so strange or unexpected occurs that nobody could have seen it coming. A gargantuan helmet falls from the sky and lands in the town square. A purple worm erupts from the ground and swallows the butcher’s shop. One of the residents gets a nocturnal visit from the “dwarfs in black.” In any case, things are going to be most unusual in town for the near future.

Unexpected twist: This entire event is an unexpected twist.

Illness: A sickness is making its rounds through the town. On a roll of a 1-3, it is a minor aliment such as the flu or chicken pox. On a 4-5 is a more serious ailment such as cholera or dysentery. On a 6 it is the plague. Roll again on a result of 6. Should the die come up another 6, the disease is magical in nature and could even be a curse such as lycanthropy or vampirism.

Unexpected twist: Some mastermind is behind the illnesses. It could be goblins bathing in the water supply, a mummy sorcerer getting his long-delayed revenge, or even be caused by the innocuous looking doodad the PCs picked up on their last adventure and sold to the local curio shop.

Magic!: A magical event occurs to brighten up the dreary lives of the townsfolk. A wandering wizard comes to town with his pyrotechnics show, a local mage inadvertently transforms himself into a strange form or blows up his lab, or a magic artifact is discovered in the course of daily life. The Lord Warden’s sorcerer is bound to investigate such matters.

Unexpected twist: It is one of the PC magic-users that becomes the focus of this attention—deservedly or not.

Monster on the prowl: Some creature (determine randomly) was detected close to town. Depending on the threat level, the townsfolk might form a posse, called out the guard, or hire adventurers to hunt down and remove the threat.

Unexpected twist: The “monster” is of a neutral or good alignment and may be seeking assistance on some matter. Or it could just appear to have good intentions…

Murder: Someone in town dies by violence. This could be due to a brawl, a duel, or an assassin. There is a 50% chance the murderer is in custody at the keep. If not, the culprit is either on the lamb or unknown. This will be the topic of conversation for the next several days.

Unexpected twist: Someone swears they saw the victim alive and well after they were killed. This could be a case of simple misidentification, the result of disguise magics, or a doppelganger at work.

Mustering the troops: The local military is assembled. This may be a simple case of the twice-yearly mustering of the militia to ensure their readiness and inspect their weaponry or it could be an actual military conflict. In the later case, a portion of the keep’s soldiers are needed to combat a threat. This might be a matter of assisting another nearby settlement to deal with a problem, or it may be that a great threat to the security of the settlement has been detected and must be dealt with immediately. In either case, the PCs could become drawn into the conflict, be hired as mercenaries, or find they need to lie low to avoid being pressed into service.

Unexpected twist: This assembly reveals that the local soldiery is woefully unprepared in some manner. The troops’ arms or armor have become unserviceable or perhaps even stolen, leaving the troops under-equipped. Clever PCs might take it upon themselves to go into business as arms-merchants, collecting the cast-off arms and armor of their foes and selling it to the local quartermaster at an inflated price.

Quarrel: Two parties in town find themselves in conflict. The reason for this could be mundane but scandalous (somebody was caught stepping out on their spouse) or serious and potentially fatal (two merchants are locked in a feud that comes to blows or a pair of soldiers prepare to duel over the affections of a woman). Depending on the conflict, the PCs could become involved if an ally (or enemy) is part of the quarrel or if their personalities make them the mediating-type.

Unexpected twist: This quarrel is the result of a much deeper scheme. The two parties might have been lured into conflict so that a third person can benefit from their feud in some manner. This plot could have severe repercussions on the security and future of the settlement should it come to fruition.

Rumors: One piece of information seems to be on everybody’s lips but nobody can identify where this information came from. To make matters worse, everyone seems to have heard a different variation on the tale. This piece of news could be joyous (“The Grand Price is coming to look for a bride!”) or grim (“The Armies of R’kee are marching east!”). In either case, not only will this be the talk of the town, making it difficult to learn more concrete and useful rumors, but it could affect day-to-day business (there is a run on arrows and bolts as townsfolk stock up for the imminent conflict they believe is coming, for example).

Unexpected twist: The rumors are true.

Sign from the Gods: One of the deities makes his/her/its presence known within the town limits. This could be a simple prophetic dream visited upon a devout worshipper, a minor miracle occurring around the temple, priest, or a layperson, or even an actual manifestation of the god(dess). The more impressive the demonstration of the deity’s presence, the more likely that word will spread and the town will become a destination for pilgrims. This influx of the faithful results in the swelling the town’s population for some time, causing increased difficulty in finding lodgings, fervent street-side sermons, and other mundane but annoying hassles for the residents.

Unexpected twist: The deity who manifests its power is not a good deity, but one of the darker powers. Who knows what sort of riff-raff this would attract and what this manifestation means to the future of the town?

Theft: A crime involving the stealing of wealth or property is committed within the town limits. This could be as simple as a fisherman’s skiff being stolen to the purloining of a merchant’s strongbox to a robbery at the Lord Warden’s keep. Even the PCs’ residence may be subject to robbery if it is not secure. There is a random 10%-60% chance the culprit has been caught. If not, he or she is either wanted or unidentified.

Unexpected Twist: This is just one of a string of strange thefts. The items being stolen are not particularly valuable, but are odd enough to make people wonder what’s going on. Clues could lead outside of town, resulting in the PCs being hired to track down the crime ring, find out their intentions, and bring them to justice.

Visitor: Someone or something interesting comes to town. This might be a nobleman come to visit the Lord Warden at the keep, the arrival of a Zutanni compania, or even a friendly monster taking up residence nearby. Half the town will be delighted; the other half will be suspicious.

Unexpected twist: The arrival is a band of renowned adventurers come to try their fortune in the local dungeon. The PCs now have some serious competition. How far will they go to protect “their dungeon”?

Windfall: Someone (or everyone) in town is getting rich, rich, rich! This could be the result of the sudden popularity and demand for a local product, the discovery of a rich cache of natural wealth, or the unearthing of a lost treasure. Costs could rise as much as 25% in the case of settlement-wide wealth, and such a windfall is bound to attract unsavory types if word gets out. In the case where only certain individuals become wealthy, the PCs might find themselves being sought as bodyguards, arm candy, or even gladiators to appease the money-crazed nouveau riche .

Unexpected twist: The wealth is the property (rightly-so or not) of another party who will come looking for revenge. This could lead to a simple beat-down in the street or escalate into a siege on the town itself.

“This is where Forrestal cashed in.”

It has been mentioned previously that I consider the Moldvay Method of Dungeon Stocking to be the epitome of arbitrary dungeon contents generation. I’ve used it for so long that I no longer need to consult the actual chart in order to utilize that method. Recently, however, I rediscovered a table that gives Moldvay a run for its money. It doesn’t surpass Moldvay, but it is interesting in its own right.

The method is found in the booklet that accompanied the Adventures of Indiana Jones: Judge’s Survival Pack of all things. This supplement, published for use with TSR’s The Adventures of Indiana Jones role-playing game, was released in 1985 and the booklet has been the “Flying Dutchman” of my role-playing game collection: always turning up when least expected and disappearing just as quickly.

The booklet itself is a buffet of ideas, some useful, some not, but nestled amongst the various chapters is a section on random ruin generation for use in a game of Indiana Jones. Not surprisingly, there’s much in that section that can be lifted for use in a D&D campaign, including ruin geomorphs and inspirational charts to help determine the ruin’s history. The most useful of all is the “Noteworthy Room Table.” This d% chart gives you an entire array of possible room contents that is further broken down into sub-tables for each result.

I’ve only reproduced the main table below, but just looking it over will demonstrate why I consider it another great candidate for random dungeon stocking: it simply has everything you could ever wish for in a dungeon all on one table. The entries for the sub-tables are given below the chart and a resourceful referee could easily construct his or her own version of these charts. The one major difference is you’re going to be less likely to encounter monstrous creatures to fight, but some rearranging of the probabilities could easily get around that. Or you could simply use the table as is to create a “less fighting, more thinking” dungeon location. I'd simply roll a d6 and on any result of 3-6, I'd consider the room noteworthy to go along with Moldvay's 4 in 6 chance of any given room having something of interest in it. Treasure, traps, and monsters would be resolved by the usual tables; everything else would be determined from the examples given below or similar possibilities.

Noteworthy Room Table

01-10: Treasure
11-16: Find
17-31: Trap
32-36: Secret Way
37-43: Creature
44-53: Obstacle
54-59: Predecessor
60-63: Spectacle
64-66: Incredible
67-72: Dilemma
73: Treasure & Trap
74: Treasure & Secret Way
75: Treasure & Obstacle
76: Treasure & Predecessor
77: Treasure & Dilemma
78: Find & Trap
79: Find & Creature
80: Find & Incredible
81: Trap & Secret Way
82: Trap & Creature
83: Trap & Obstacle
84: Trap & Predecessor
85: Trap & Spectacle
86: Trap & Dilemma
87: Secret Way & Dilemma
88: Creature & Obstacle
89: Obstacle & Predecessor
90: Obstacle & Spectacle
91: Treasure-Trap-Secret Way
92: Treasure-Trap-Obstacle
93: Treasure-Creature-Predecessor
94: Treasure-Obstacle-Dilemma
95: Find-Trap-Spectacle
96: Find-Creature-Incredible
97: Trap-Obstacle-Predecessor
98: Secret Way-Predecessor-Dilemma
99: Treasure-Trap-Predecessor-Incredible
100: Find-Trap-Creature-Dilemma

Examples of Finds: Calendar Stone, Stone Tablet, Scroll, Codex, Monument, Plaque, Map, Clay Tablet, Tapestry, Figurine, Grave, Skeleton, Skull, Burial Cloth, Ashes, Mummy, Hand, Raiment, Bust, Death Mask, Idol, Signet Ring, Seal, Scepter, Crown, Helm, Robe, Medallion, Horn, Banner/Flag, Gem, Platter, Necklace, Bracelet/Bracer, Ring, Coins, Goblet, Sculpture, Belt/Girdle, Masks, Throne, Chariot, Ark/Shrine, Boat, Wheel, Vase, Totem, Pottery, Chest, Table, Spear, Sword, Axe, Breastplate, Shield, Staff, Flail, Throwing Stick, Net, War Club, Rare Plant, Rare Animal, Dinosaur, Giant, Sea Serpent, Fabled Creature, Vanished Race, Evolved Race, Intelligent Animal, Prehistoric Man, or Secret of (Mysterious Ruins, Lost Civilization, Fabled Lands, Relic, Catastrophe Site, Wheel of Time, Fountain of Youth, Philosopher’s Stone, Unicorn Horn, or Shape shifters).

Examples of Obstacles: Lava, Stairs, Ramp, Slide, Shifting Ground, Brambles/Thorns, Balcony, Rushing River, Geyser, Narrow Space, Chocking Vapors, Cliff Face, Windy Ledge, Stinging/Clinging vines, Chasm/Broken Bridge, Hot Springs/Lime Terraces, Blockade/Dead End, or Marsh

Examples of Predecessors: Opened Doors/Chests, Bloodstains/Campfires, Footprints, Scratched/Scrawled Messages on Walls, Dropped Gear/Map, Broken Down Wall/Door, Dead Creature, Defaced Furnishings/Stolen Treasure, Triggered Trap (with or without corpses), or Corpse Shot/Stabbed in Back.

Examples of Spectacles: Balancing Rock, Moaning/Howling Wind, Area Glows With Eerie Light, Eerie Feeling/Dread, Lifelike Sculpture/Painting, Clinking and Chiming, Feeling of Peace, Network of Lightbeams, Mirage/Reflection, Swirling Lave, Beating/Pulsing Sound, Statically Charged Air, Clanking Sound, Feeling of Nausea/Dizziness, Bottomless Pit/Darkness, Gonging, Gilded Walls/Dancing Light, Panoramic View, Looming Monument/Idol/Tower, or High Vaulted Ceiling (60’).

Examples of Incredible: Mammoth Solar Calendar, Huge Natural Magnet, Natural Laser, Wind Tunnel, Natural Magnifying Glass, Huge Windmill/Turbine, Glowing Crystal, Echo Room, Giant Lightning Rod, 60’ Tall Gong, Giant’s Room, Midget’s Room, Non-Human Room, Giant Insect Colony/Rat Den, Crystalline Chamber, Immense Waterwheel, Dancing Swarm in Hive, Amplification Room, Heavenly Voices/Natural Radio, or Crude Electrostatic Generator.

Examples of Dilemmas: Nerve to Pass, Climb, Balance, Jump Across, Jump/Dive Down, Swim, Swing, Dodge, Care, or Endure.

Fencing the Loot

In my youth, I always had issues with the way we handled gems and jewelry. Not with the fact that you could pay for a room at the Ol’ Pig Sty Inn with a 5,000 gp diamond and the innkeep would have change— that was fine since we had little idea about market economies or business overhead and the like. Instead, it was the manner in which we would cash in gems, jewelry, and objects d’art that troubled me.

Back then, if Hugo the Fighter found a 100 gp gem in his adventures, he knew he could always visit the jeweler or moneychanger back in town and get exactly 100 gold pieces for it. Even at a young age, I knew something was amiss with this system. How did this benefit the jeweler or moneychanger? There was no profit to be made so was he simply providing a community service? Once I learned about things like luxury taxes and the like, this method of equal exchange made even less sense.

If you’ve been following this blog long enough, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that I’m not a simulationist by any extent. Although I do make friendly nods to reality most of the time, I’ll readily jettison reality if it gets in the way of a good time or a great game. Nevertheless, perhaps since I’ve had this peeve for so long, I wanted to come up with a quick and easy system of dealing with gems, jewels, and art objects once the PCs hauled it back into town. And, since I hail from the school of thought that “Charisma is not a dump stat,” I settled on the following:

Whenever the PCs visit a merchant to sell or exchange non-coin treasure, I have the PC doing the negotiations roll 2d6 modified by their CHA reaction adjustment and other nebulous modifiers. I then compare the adjusted roll to the list below. The final result determines what percentage of the item’s actual value the merchant is will to buy it for.

2 – 100% of actual value
3-5 – 90% of actual value
6-8 – 80% of actual value
9-11 – 70% of actual value
12 – 60% of actual value.

Think about it: A grizzled, muscle-bound guy who hasn’t bathed in a week and looks like he slept in his armor comes into Gerry the Gem Merchant’s shop and wants to sell this sapphire he claims to have found in those caves just outside of town. You know, the ones that nobody ever seems to come back from? He’s got nothing to prove the jewel’s provenance other than his word—maybe that of a couple of other gnarly looking characters if he’s lucky—and he’s looking for some fast cash so he can buy a horse to ride off to his next “adventure”… or so he claims. If you were Gerry, would you really give this guy the full value of the rock?

For all you know, this guy swiped this rock from some powerful warlord or wizard and is looking to ditch the loot ASAP. You’ll probably have to sit on it for a few weeks just to be safe or work it into a new piece to disguise its original appearance. That’s time and effort, both of which cost money. Unless he’s really, really persuasive or you’ve dealt with him in the past, you’re going to offer a fraction of its real value.

Although the PC’s CHA adjustment plays the largest role in modifying the dice throw, I do allow adjustments for roleplaying (usually -1 to the roll) and for repeated dealings with the merchant (again, usually -1 but I will go higher if the party maintains good relations with the same dealer over a long period of time). These relationship adjustments are fickle, however, and can easily change if the party isn’t careful. Just recently, the PCs visited their usual merchant and weren’t satisfied with the deal he was offering. There was some debate about marketing the gems around town to try for a better deal, but they decided to take the offer in the end. Had they started trying to move the stones through another dealer and their usual guy found out about it, he would have been less likely to give them a good deal in the future and the die roll would be adjusted accordingly.

In addition, most jewelers have a personal quirk regarding gemstones and, if the PCs can figure these personal likes and dislikes out, they can use them to their benefit. For example, the party has recently learned that their regular go-to jeweler, Seno, has a particular love for pearls and is always willing to pay top dollar for them.

I should mention that, regardless of what the party gets for this type of loot, I always award them experience points equal to the items real value. My intent is to mimic the fluctuations of the market and to try and keep the PCs money-poor for as long as possible, not retard their level advancement.

The above chart is just for legitimate dealers and plundered loot. I have a second one which is reserved for fencing stolen goods, but it also does double duty when the characters want to sell their used armor and other goods after they’ve upgraded. It works the same as the above table, but the percentages are much reduced.

2- 50% of actual value
3-5 – 40% of actual value
6-8 – 30% of actual value
9-11 – 20% of actual value
12 – 10% of actual value

The Devil's in the Details: Orcs

Although the campaign it was created for is no longer going forward, I did put together another Devil's In the Details table for my homebrewed orc class. It was sitting in amongst my drafts waiting for a time when I found myself in need of a post but not have the time to write one.

However, since James has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet and vambraces by challenging the blognards to produce more Kesher-eqsue tables, I'll present mine now. Although intended for campaigns were playing a full-blooded orc is a viable option, you may also use it for half-orcs, psychopathic barbarians, mutant bikers, etc.

d20 (Roll 3 times or pick 3)	Many Orcs…
1	Wear masks, veils, or broad-brimmed hats when forced to go out into the sun.
2	Believe possession is 100% of ownership.
3	Measure personal wealth and status by their collection of hunting and battle trophies.
4	Believe that thunder is the voice of their gods and take it to be an omen.
5	Need to be beaten in a fight before they’ll take orders.
6	Enjoy blood-based beverages.
7	Are tense and jittery unless they kill something once a day (even small animals helps take the edge off).
8	Decorate their bodies with long-lasting dyes and the blood of their enemies.
9	Hate all music that doesn’t involve drums and screaming.
10	Don’t recognize their own get, leaving their offspring’s rearing to the tribe.
11	Are hosts to fleas, ticks, leeches, and other nasty parasites.
12	Won’t leave their lairs under any circumstance while the sun is in the sky.
13	Pierce their bodies with barbed objects as a fashion statement.
14	Will live in ruined buildings over any other available lodgings.
15	Are polygamists.
16	Are suspicious of holy men not of the orcish persuasion.
17	Are wary of dwarves but covet their arms and armor.
18	Will bully gnomes and halflings any chance they get until the runts prove themselves in a fight.
19	Think humans and elves are too prissy and need to toughen up.
20	Grudgingly respect hurgs for the strength and size.

Roll d16 (1d8 + high/low die) once	Some Orcs…
1	Are highly superstitious and won’t start the day without consulting the bones or other form of divination.
2	Raise wild beasts such as wolves, jackals, and coyotes to be lapdogs.
3	Regularly use psychedelic substances.
4	Can run cross-country all day without tiring.
5	Will never use a missile weapon, preferring to kill their opponents at close range.
6	Can track a blood trail for miles by scent alone.
7	Dedicate themselves to becoming the ultimate hunter, always searching for bigger and more dangerous prey.
8	Find setting things on fire to be high comedy.
9	Will practice cannibalism if the chance arises.
10	Fear bears.
11	Only eat uncooked food.
12	Will fly into a rage at the smallest slight or insult.
13	Refuse to wear clothing unless they took it from a slain enemy.
14	Are fascinated be civilization and wish to be part of it.
15	Will be attacked by a horse if they try to ride it.
16	Are captivated by magic and magical items, coveting any that they find.

d16 (1d8 + high/low die) 1d3 times	Common Traveling Gear
1	A bottle of orcish blood wine.
2	A small pouch of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
3	Steel- and spike-toed boots.
4	A dwarven-made axe or sword.
5	A skull belt buckle.
6	A helmet with an animal’s head attached to it.
7	A set of bloodstained clothing.
8	A shield bearing the tanned face of a slain opponent on the outside surface of it.
9	A necklace of ears.
10	A set of files for sharpening teeth and tusks.
11	A pair of bone sun goggles.
12	A bag of divination bones.
13	A bearskin cloak.
14	A animal hide drum.
15	1d4 jars of body dye in various hues.
16	A coil of rope made from the scalps of slain opponents.

The Devil’s in the Details: Gnomes

Those of you who’ve had the opportunity to peruse the early issues of Fight On! are no doubt aware of the excellent three-part series written by Kesher of Sandbox Empire called “The Devil’s in the Details.” For the uninitiated amongst you, the series featured a set of random tables intended for use when a player rolls up a demihuman PC (or when the referee wants to flesh out an NPC). Although some entries on the table were unique to the author’s home campaign world, most were broad enough to be used with any D&D game.

I’m intending on using these tables (with a few substitutions) during character generation this Sunday. Unfortunately, the original series only covered dwarves, elves, and halflings, which wouldn’t be a problem if I was running a by-the-book game. But my campaign world also offers three additional races as player character classes: the gnome, the orc, and the hurg (a “hairy man of the forest” which owes equal debts of gratitude to old episodes of “In Search Of…” and the article “The Wuuky!” by Moritz Mehelm and Frank Ditsche from Fight On! #5). Therefore, I’ve had to come up with three more sets of tables done in the style of the originals.

Below are the tables for gnomes. Like Kesher’s originals, a few entries are unique to my world but they’re mostly suitable for any traditional D&D campaign. I’ve purposely tried to return the gnome to his roots as a woodlands and forested hills resident and not the technological wiz kid he’s since become. Although I have no problem mixing technology with fantasy, I just don’t think the gnome is the way to do it.

d20 Roll (Roll 3 times or pick 3)	Many Gnomes…
1	Have skin the color of walnuts or rich loam.
2	Know all the animals that live near their homes by name.
3	Believe that the mastery of puzzles and riddles is a noble goal in life.
4	Have trouble growing facial hair.
5	Do wear red caps, but of the stocking variety not the pointed kind.
6	Find practical jokes to be the highest form of humor.
7	Know hundreds of different knots.
8	Are fascinated by gemstones.
9	Keep family journals dating back generations.
10	Build their burrows near rivers and lakes, enjoying boating in the warm months.
11	Can create woodworking wonders.
12	Enjoy spirited debates and will only end an argument after it has been sufficiently discussed.
13	Tend to secret gardens in the forests and hills.
14	Share a burrow with their extended family.
15	Despise trolls and trollkin for their enslavement and mistreatment of gnomes.
16	Enjoy bowls as a sport and take matches between villages very seriously.
17	Treat elves as if they were kin, only taller.
18	Look at dwarves as respected father figures and big brothers.
19	Like humans but wish that more of them respected the natural world.
20	Enjoy playing practical jokes on hurgs.

d16 Once	Some Gnomes…
1	Wear wooden shoes as daily footwear.
2	Never speak while above ground, preferring to revel in the sounds of nature.
3	Can detect hidden springs by scent alone.
4	Have a small mammal as a companion.
5	Are envious of dwarven beards and grow wispy chin hairs to compensate.
6	Husband glowworms to light their burrows.
7	Can speak the language of badgers and hedgehogs.
8	Have a fear of heights.
9	Succumb to the lure of Chaos and dwell in the deep places of hill and hollow.
10	Have a fondness for halfling pipeweed.
11	Pan for gold and gems as a hobby.
12	Attract butterflies when walking about the woods.
13	Take up portraiture and painting landscapes.
14	Have metallic-colored hair, with silver and copper being the most common of these hues.
15	Dedicate their lives to find a single, perfect gemstone.
16	Are constantly dirty, as they find earth, leaves, and flowers to be the finest smells in the world.

d16 (1d3 times)	Common Traveling Gear
1	A red stocking cap.
2	A hedgehog companion.
3	A saw-back dagger.
4	A knife-handled walking stick.
5	A brass lantern inscribed with intricate designs and holding numerous glowworms.
6	A parasol.
7	A waterproof poncho of many interior pockets.
8	A coil of rope they can knot in seconds.
9	A jeweler’s loupe.
10	A long-stemmed, clay pipe.
11	A set of paints and brushes.
12	A chapbook on beard fashions throughout the ages.
13	A wooden puzzle box.
14	A case containing carpentry and woodworking tools.
15	A gold prospecting pan.
16	A pair of wooden clogs.