DIE TRYING - a GLOGalike Nightmare

Rulings not Rules, Reward Shenanigans, Nobody is Guaranteed Tomorrow

Credit Bogeyman, whether he likes it or not

Credit Wizzzargh, what a champ

Credit Kent, featuring Landry the Zombie

PLAYER ADVICE URN

Use a pencil

Running is an option

Push your limits, try new things

0 HP isn’t death, just dismemberment

The answer isn’t always on your sheet

Answer the question the way you want

Have you tried talking to it yet?

Ask questions, take notes

Good plans don’t roll

Help each other!

RULES BLOB

Stats

Characters have six primary stats, and a selection of secondary stats. The primary stats are rolled 3d6 in order, the modifier for each is equal to [primary stat]÷3-3.

Primary Stats

Strength (STR): Grappling, breaking, lifting, swimming, jumping, halving unavoidable damage like a crushing wall. Modifier added to Melee Attack, sometimes added to damage. If you are holding more items than your Strength score, then you have disadvantage on Dexterity checks, or all checks if more than four.

Dexterity (DEX): Hiding, chasing, fleeing, sleight-of-hand, precision work, resisting avoidable damage like a fireball. Modifier added to Defence

Constitution (CON): Overcoming diseases, resisting poisons, long-distance trekking, maintaining concentration. Modifier added to HP.

Intelligence (INT): General knowledge, spotting lies, controlling wands, researching spell, resisting illusions. Extra random skills are learnt equal to modifier

Wisdom (WIS): Staying sane. Modifier added to Ranged Attack.

Charisma (CHA): Meeting new people, intimidation and persuasion from force of will rather than evidence, leadership, luck. Modifier added to Save.

Secondary Stats

Melee Attack (ATT): Starts at 10+STR. Roll under to hit an enemy.

Ranged Attack (ATT): Starts at 10+WIS. Roll under to hit an enemy.

Defence (DEF): Starts to 10+DEX+Armour. Each point of worn armour occupies an inv. slot.

Initiative: Equal to Wisdom. Roll under to go before the enemy each round.

Hitpoints (HP): Starts at 6+CON. Damage taken at 0 HP results in Death and Dismemberment (page ZZ)

Save: Starts at 6+CHA. Roll to negate otherwise unavoidable fates

Other Saves: Starts at Save+Bonus.

Magic Dice (MD): Starts at 0. Magic Dice are d6s, rolled when casting spells.

Roll equal or under a stat to succeed. Rolling a critical hit or missing by 1 grants an X to the stat used. On a critical failure, after hearing the outcome, the player can elect to make the situation worse to gain another X. Gaining three Xs next to a stat improves it in some manner, see page ZZ.

Advantage, Disadvantage, Hard Rolls, “Easy Rolls”

If circumstances would result in a more challenging check or attack, roll 2d20 and use the higher result. If circumstances would make it easier, roll 2d20 and take the lower. If the trial being attempted would be hard no matter what, roll under half of the stat in question. If the trial being attempted is straightforward, has few consequences for failure, is under no time-pressure, or is being approached with a plan that is effective and insightful, then consider: should the character just succeed?

Inventory and Encumbrance

You’ve got a number of inventory slots equal to your Strength. Some of these are Fast Inventory (Dexterity/2), where the things in belts, bandoleers, accessible pockets, your hands etc. go. The rest is in your pack, you’ve got a 3-in-6 chance of finding it in a round (or 5-in-6 if you empty everything out). Each point of Defense from equipment also takes up an Inventory slot. Two-handed weapons and other large objects take up two slots. If you go over your inventory limit, you take disadvantage on all Dexterity checks. If you go over by four items or more, you have disadvantage on all checks. If you are at less than half your inventory limit, you may have advantage on some Dexterity checks e.g. crawling through small spaces.

Combat

Attack types are split into melee (+STR) and ranged (+WIS). Improving Attack improves both melee and ranged. Defence stat cannot gain Xs, apply instead to Dexterity or Attack. Initiative is split-side, each round is split into: [Successful players] -> [Enemies] -> [Failed players] -> [New round]. Initiative is rerolled each round.

Weapons

Unarmed: 1d4 damage if you have advantage, otherwise 0

Club-like: 1d4+STR damage, 1d6+STR with two hands.

Bows: 1d6 damage, longbows deal 1d6+STR, crossbow deal 1d12 (take a round to load).

Slings: 1d4 damage, 1d6 with purpose-made ammunition

Medium: 1d6+STR, 1d8+STR with two hands.

Large: 1d10+STR, always takes two hands.

Armour

Usually split into leather (+2), chain (+4) and plate (+6). Each point of additional Defence fills an inventory slot. In-game, armour is handled piecemeal, you can wear up to four pieces at a time (torso, leggings, helmet, misc). For instance, plate armour is composed of breastplate, platelegs, helmet and gauntlets or pauldrons.

Gambits

Covers grappling, tripping, disarming and other combat maneuvers, not called shots to the head etc. characters are assumed to be doing their best to kill the enemy unless otherwise stated. When a Gambit is declared, the player and DM should negotiate the Effect and potential Consequence. If the attack hits (made as part of a Gambit) then the Effect occurs (whether tripping the enemy, stealing an item or grappling them), if the attack misses then the Consequence (a free attack, a dropped weapon) occurs to the character. Given combatants of equal standing, the Effect and Consequence should be roughly equal in severity. If the power difference is more prominent, then the result of the Consequence should be adjusted in turn).

Healing

Each night, characters that sleep and eat will:

• Gain full HP
• Clear all Death Dice
• Remove a random Minor Injury
• Recover a point of stat damage that isn’t ongoing (see page ZZ)

Characters can heal 1d6 HP once per day over lunch by consuming a ration. INT checks to Patch injuries are made with advantage over lunch or at night. If characters eat rations/rest at full HP, they heal, recover or improve something different. Self-care is important.

If an ally makes an Intelligence check during lunch, a Minor Injury can be Patched. A Patched injury restores functionality, but if the same injury is suffered again then suffer the Major Injury as normal. If the Intelligence check is failed, then only time (overnight rest) can heal that Minor Injury. Magical healing can be used to automatically Patch an injury, or clear one Death Dice per 2 HP

Heal a point of Trauma every week of downtime (page ZZ). Characters can heal additional Trauma by enjoying high quality living while in a dungeon (as it’s unexpected). Have a bath you damn dirty murderhobo!

Starving

If characters are resting overnight but miss a requirement (i.e. don’t eat, shoddy sleep, no water), then they only heal 1d6 HP. Regularly missing these requirements regularly may result in WIS or CON checks to maintain sanity and health. Going without food for three days or water for one day is the point at which the body begins to break down. Every day beyond these limits, characters take a -1 penalty to all actions that don’t directly involve getting more food and water by the simplest means necessary. They also take 1d4 CON damage each time the same time period passes (3 days without food, 1 day without water).

Achievements and Goodness

See page ZZ. If you have accomplished one, add it to your character sheet. Only one person per party can take the achievement. When you die, for every achievement your previous character had, your new character gains one X anywhere. Your Goodness starts at 10, increases with good deeds and paying tithes, decreases with sins, crimes and intentional body manipulation.

Death

Taking damage sends you below 0 HP results in you suffering the effect on the Death and Dismemberment Table (page ZZ). Most results include add Death Dice (DD). Each DD is a d6, and is added to damage while at 0 HP. If you are already suffering from an effect, then you suffer from the next worse effect, or gain 1 DD if that doesn’t make sense. Minor Injuries become Major Injuries, Major Injuries become a Save vs. Death. If you die, you might have a psychopomp come along to collect your soul (page ZZ), if that happens, roll under your Goodness to go to heaven, otherwise it’s the Big Heat for you my friend. Your new character should join play at the next available opportunity, whether that is back in town, drifting down river, trapped in a monster nest, or lost in the wilderness.

Spellcasting

Magic is based on GLOG, which has seen a lot of interesting development, combined with Magic Words. Wizards are defined by the words they know, and the number of Magic Dice (MD) they possess. MD can be gained in a number of ways (pg XX), while magic words can be looted, stolen or researched (page XX). When a spell is cast, any number of MD can be added to it. Each MD is a d6. The power of a spell is measured in [dice] (the number of MD used to cast) and [sum] (the total of all MD rolled). If doubles or triples are rolled, the caster suffers a Mishap or Doom. MD are expended when cast, and can be recovered by sleeping, snorting wizard teeth, drinking souls etc.

Spells can be cast in one of three ways, Ad-hoc, Familiar, or Imbued.

Ad-hoc spells are composed of two or three magic words, strung together, charged with MD, and flung into the world. They usually deal [sum] damage and have an additional effect based on [dice].

Words can be permanently merged into a spell, creating a Familiar. Familiars can be "cast" for free at [sum] = 1, [dice] = 0 as an action, and likely have a bunch of bonus abilities. Familiars are hard to kill, having ethereal true forms and improvised physical forms. They can be “recycled” by the owner, and returned to their original Magic Words, but this is cruel and unusual

Spells can be permanently Imbued into a suitable item, whether a staff, hat, ring or skull, creating a spell focus. This spell focus can be charged with MD at the start of the day, these MD do not return until they have been used. Normal spells expend all MD used per casting, spell focuses only expend 1 MD per casting no matter how many are used. This is much more efficient when using multiple MD, however care should be taken. If the item is broken, then the spell inside is lost. If the item is stolen while charged with MD, they will not return to the owner until used.

Stat Damage

Firstly, you can’t recover stats if you are suffering ongoing damage, especially from diseases. If you have taken some damage, but haven’t gone below half your maximum, performing one of the following will cure it. If you are below half, then performing one will cure you up to half, then a different one to full. If you reach zero in STR or DEX, you are paralysed, and further damage will go into CON. If you reach zero in INT, WIS or CHA, you are rendered unconscious. If you reach zero CON, you die.

STR: Receive physical training, eat a balanced diet of fresh fruit and vegetables, conquer whatever took your strength

DEX: Get wasted, take some time off adventuring, do something just for fun

CON: Visit a doctor, eat a feast, troll-blood injection

INT: Read a good book, talk to an old friend, illithid brain tinctures

WIS: Return home, receive a blessing from a priest, quit while you’re ahead (retire)

CHA: Have a bath, buy new clothes, fall in love

New Abilities and Progression

Die Trying is all about incomplete, potentially damaged individuals doing their best with a bad hand dealt. With levelling up no longer possible, character development is usually horizontal rather than vertical. Mutations, allies, spells and fighting styles are all examples of horizontal development, as opposed to exponentially increasing amounts of HP and damage. Players are to be encouraged to invent new abilities out of combinations of other powers, or go looking for teachers. If the DM is in doubt, requiring new abilities to gain several Xs before they are up to their full potential is a good fix. For inspiration, see the Rewards For Wandering on page ZZ.

Adjudicating Strange X Placement - a Rough Guide

There are several sources of Xs in Die Trying that aren’t linked to any stat at all, and can be placed anywhere on the character sheet (this isn’t even a hard-and-fast rule, I have yet to interpret Xs placed on dice or other props, but am excited by the idea). Players are often excited by this prospect, and are prone to go wild. While it isn’t a requisite, I recommend to players that they put these Xs next to things they need or are interested in. Frequently, they’ll go next to stats and weapons, rules have been listed for all of these.

If Xs have been placed next to an ability with a limit on their usage, an obvious route is to raise this limit, or abolish it altogether. Players will often have excellent ideas on how they can use/misuse their abilities in ways that may initially seem overpowered. Giving these methods a healthy X cost can maintain the balance.

Xs are usually placed on negative traits (especially mutations) for one of two reasons: to remove the trait, or to turn it into something useful. The latter is to be preferred in nearly all circumstances. If in doubt, have the negative effect become a transmissible weapon in the characters arsenal!

If you are stumped by a player with three Xs somewhere you didn’t know about or expect, it is good practice to ask them what they expected to happen. After all that, if all else fails, I have presented a short spiel entitled:

“Help! They put three Xs next to...!”

“Their name!”

Remarkably common. Tell them to put a line under the blank space next to their first name. The next time they are chosen as MVP, come up with a moniker that reflects what the got voted in for.

“A crowbar!”

Make it indestructible. Tools have their limitations, making a tool more of itself opens up more ideas than it closes.

“Charcoal!”

Soot-sprites! If in doubt, make it whimsical, weird, and orthogonal. If they give you something that doesn’t have an obvious answer, choose something fun. Treat yo self!

“Food!”

Consumable are tricky. Xs are designed to make things more interesting, not less, and removing an ongoing cost like food, light, or water is not to be treated lightly. Make these specific consumables twice as good, and then prod them towards the Dungeon Cooking rules (see page ZZ)

“Something just to see what I’d do!”

Challenging, especially if they haven’t used it in-game already. A few idea:

• It starts talking
• It was actually a magic item
• It is something completely different to what you originally though

“A spell!”

Likewise challenging. If you want to give it a permanent +1 MD boost, I’d couple that with a condition required to access it. Otherwise:

• It is now your familiar, and can manifest in the real world
• It can now be cast in the inverted form (fire to ice, push to pull)
• If a utility spell, it can now be cast offensively, dealing [sum] damage
• If a damage dealing spell, give it alternative/subtler uses rather than direct boosts
• If they really want a damage boost, make it more dangerous to use. Nuclear Fireball, anyone?

Adding additional words to the name of a spell is a good way to record the changes that have been made to the spell.

“Something not listed here!”

Be sure to tell me how it goes! Remember though, the DM is also a player, and their enjoyment is still important. If you feel like players aren’t engaging in the spirit of the game, you have permission from me to call them out on it.

GESTATE A MURDERHOBO

1. Stats

Roll 3d6 in order for each of your stats, Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma. The MODifier (notated as STR, DEX etc.) is [stat]÷3-3. If none of your modifiers are above 0, reroll a random stat.

2. Race

Roll 2d8 for the list on page 3, or ask to see the list of Weird Races. Reroll the given stat, then add the listed Abilities.

2. Aasimar, 3. Goliath, 4. Kobold 5. Gnome, 6. Dragonborn, 7. Orc, 8. Dwarf, 9. Human, 10. Halfling, 11. Goblin, 12. Elf, 13. Lizardman, 14. Half-Giant, 15. Tiefling, 16. Fishman

3. Starting Gear

You get three torches, three rations, and three items from the list on page 4. You can

give up either the torches or the rations to roll on the Character Interestifier. You’ve got

inventory slots equal to your Strength. If you go over, disadvantage on DEX.

4. More stats

Melee Attack = 10+STR mod

Ranged Attack = 10+WIS mod

Defense = 10+DEX mod+armour

Hitpoints = 6+CON mod

Save = 6+CHA mod

Initiative = Wisdom

Random skills 2+INT mod

5. Before I was an adventurer…

Roll 2d20 three times on page XX, rerolling duplicates

6. “I can’t be bothered doing all that”

Random Character Generator

One single rule - once you’ve generated a new character, that’s it! No going back to

previous saved characters, only forwards to new miscreants and monstrosities!

7. “But it says I have a class!”

Calm yourself. Those are placeholder titles that do nothing. If you rolled your own and want one, here’s the list:

1. Grave Robber

2. Fortune Seeker

3. Dungeoneer

4. Murderhobo

5. Pioneer

6. Entrepreneur

7. Wayfarer

8. Dungeon Delver

9. Spelunker

10. Tomb Robber

11. Vagabond

12. Rapscallion

13. Reaver

14. Freebooter

15. Privateer

16. Outlaw

17. Treasure Hunter

18. Wanderer

19. Hero/ine

20. Champion

RACES AND STARTING GEAR

Everyone starts with three rations, three torches and three of the following items:

1. Rope
2. Dagger
3. Sling
4. Tinderbox
5. Club
6. Crowbar
7. Caltrops
8. Bandages
9. Bag of lard
10. Bottle of liquor
11. Copper wire
12. Fishing rod
13. Bladder of oil
14. Fake gold coins, 4
15. Grapple hook
16. Iron spikes, 3
17. Padlock
18. Key #1d100
19. Bucket of pitch
20. Wooden pole
21. Sack of flour
22. Hammer and nails
23. Rusty helmet
24. Two throwing knives
25. Chain, 10ft
26. Grimy gambeson
27. Leather chaps
28. Axe
29. Shield
30. Lantern and oil
31. Crossbow, 5 bolts
32. 9 rations
33. Bear trap
34. Bottle of poison
35. Magical healing herbs, three doses
36. Lockpicks
37. Vial of acid
38. Bow, five arrows
39. Bottle of salt tonic
40. Powerful lodestone
41. Random potion
42. Bottle of laudanum
43. Pliers, loop of wire
44. Jar of glue
45. Weighty iron tongs
46. Sword
47. Two metal flasks
48. Ewer of wine
49. Lute
50. Flint and steel
51. Small tent
52. Pitchfork
53. Small metal mirror
54. Bag of chalk
55. Holy symbol
56. Shiny locket
57. Jar of grease
58. Flute
59. Towel
60. Three iron ingots
61. Strange fungus
62. Whip
63. Spear
64. Staff
65. Knuckledusters
66. Excellent pair of boots
67. Three smoke bombs
68. Five sachets of potent spices
69. Sturdy shears
70. Silver needle and silken thread
71. Large wheel of expensive cheese
72. Three lengths of heavy iron pipe
73. Waterproof bag
74. Alchemists tape
75. Paper, quill and ink in a writing case
76. Ugly gauntlets
77. Ironbound holy tome
78. Satchel of charcoal
79. Warm cloak
80. Pickaxe
81. Cold chisel
82. Bag of salt
83. Small barrel, rolls easily
84. Pungent perfume
85. Hefty tarpaulin
86. Shovel
87. Mace
88. Jar of leeches
89. Spyglass
90. Fancy clothes
91. Bearskin
92. Drinking horn
93. Questionable mushrooms
94. Whittling knife
95. White powdered wig
96. Mortar and pestle
97. Tobacco and pipe
98. Knucklebones of a saint… probably
99. Spell in old journal
100. Antique wand

Spells - Sleep, Acid Arrow, Escape, Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Feather Fall, Grease, Knock/Lock, Illusion, Transmute X to Y (Stone, Mud, Fire, Blood, Metal, Wood, Slime, Light, Water, Pain), Levitate, Disguise

SHOPPING LIST

Food

Standard meal, 5cp, 1/inv
Travel rations, 10cp, 3/inv
Fancy Meal, 30cp, +1 HP

Liquor, 30cp, +1 fumble

Salt, 50cp, ten uses

Armour 
Helmet, 5g, +1AC
Leather jacket, 1g, +1AC
Breastplate, 45g, +2AC
Gauntlets (extra metal), 5g, +1AC
Leather pants, 1g, +1AC
Platelegs, 45g, +2AC
Magical robes, 5g, -1 Def
Shield, 5sp, +1AC

Weapons 
Simple weapon (dagger, axe), 3sp
Proper weapon (bow, sword), 1gp
War weapon (greatsword, crossbow*), 4gp
Arrows, 5cp each
Bolts, 15cp each

Lodging 
In a bin, free

In an inn, 1sp/night

Like a king, 1g/night

Light 
Candle, 5cp, 5/inv (2-in-6 burnout)

Torch, 5cp, 3/inv (2-in-6 burn half)
Lamp oil, 5cp jar (2-in-6 burn third)
Lantern, 20cp (1-in-6 burn third)

Flare, 20cp (2-in-6 burnout, never from wind, dropping etc.)

Other 

Book, 1gp
Caltrops, 4sp
Chisel, 1sp
Crowbar, 2sp
Dog, 1gp
Fishing gear, 5sp
Grappling hook, 3sp

Salt tonic, 25sp
Hammer, 1sp
Horse, 10gp
Nails (12), 3cp
Pickaxe, 4sp

Potion, 1-3gp
Rope (50’), 3sp

Scroll, 5-10gp
Shovel, 3sp
Specialty tools, 2gp
Spike, 3cp
Tent, 5sp
Tinderbox, 10cp
Vial, 2sp
Waterskin, 1/inv, 1sp

*Illegal in civilised places

BEFORE YOU BECAME AN ADVENTURER YOU…

Roll 3x2d20:

2. Learnt something truly weird:

1. A fragment of the True Language (10 truenaming runes)

Truenaming requires spelling something using a select of random letter tiles. Draw up to your capacity each morning. Once spelled, an effect will always occur, but unless you are both specific and polite to the universe, it is very unlikely to be that specific effect. If you have to specify how your command means a certain thing, it is unlikely to work out well for you. Longer phrases are more efficient, short phrases are blunt and crude.

2. Training in the ways of exorcism:

+Religion skill, +1 Save vs. Fear, either Bell, Book or Sword

Bell - Gain the Seven Bells and 4 BD. Dominion over skeletons, zombies, spellbooks. You lose BD as you improve your portfolio of undead bound and banished.

Book - Holy symbol, holy book, +Law skill, Literacy and Rite of Exorcism. Dominion over demons, powerful ghosts, some diseases, persistent spells in a living target, curses.

Literacy: You have an innate grasp of theme, motif and intention in written texts. Your books and letters allow you to make Charisma checks at a distance

Rite of Exorcism: Dispel a disease, demon or ghost that is infesting a living person. Make an opposed Charisma check with a penalty based on how long it has inhabited the target

Sword - +1 Save vs. Fear. The Sword of Exorcism. Deals 1d4+STR damage while sheathed. You can only draw it against a single incorporeal target that you once you know its Form (What does it look like? How does it manifest?) Truth. (How did it come to be? What were the circumstances of its death? Who was involved?) and Reason (Why does it remain here, among the living? What does it desire?). Once you know all three, and draw the sword, you deal 4d10 damage on a hit.

3. Unlocked the full potential of your mind. Third Eye (restricting or removing one of your senses bolsters one other, boosting a sense twice allows for magical effectiveness)

4. Gained control over one of the four elements of nature (Fire/Water/Earth/Air Bending, -1 armour)

Elemental Bending: You can cast the Control [Element] spell at-will with 1 MD. Casting it more than twice in two round deals you 1d4 non-lethal damage. You can add +1 MD by taking another 1d4 non-lethal damage. Each element has three ranks of proficiency, Initiate, Master and Forgotten. You start at Initiate with one random element, and can gain that rank in another element by dropping to 0 HP from an elementally-aligned attack and making a Save. Master rank grants +1 MD for free, Forgotten techniques include manipulating Lightning, Blood, Vacuum, Acid, Metal etc. Master and Forgotten ranks can only be learnt from another master, or an extreme display of that element. Visiting another plane would be a good start.

3. Became priest of a minor godling. Your ritual portfolio can be determined here. You can make a CHA check to influence anything that is within your portfolio.

4. Speak with [something that isn’t an element] at will

1. Locks, 2. Shoes, 3. Arrows, 4. Blood, 5. Roads, 6. Statue, 7. Teeth, 8. Self, 9. Spell, 10. God, 11. Stars, 12. Universe, 13. Light, 14. Darkness, 15. Memories, 16. Dreams, 17. Lust, 18. Lies, 19. Dave, 20. Mother

5. Became a druid. Shapeshift (transform into an animal form you know at-will, but make a WIS check or spend the first round acting like that animal. None of your equipment is transformed), one animal form, no boots

1. Bird - Peck (1d4), Twitter (1/day, recruit nearby birds or be roughly understood by target humanoid)
2. Wolf - Bite (1d6+STR), +2 Attack to self and adjacent allies, Pounce (1/day, make a leap, attack and grapple as a single action)
3. Cat - Claw (1d4+DEX), advantage to Dex checks while poised, Slink (1/day, disappear from sight and reappear somewhere plausible when you choose)
4. Goat - Horns (1d6+STR), can climb almost anything given time, Charge (1/day, struck target is knocked prone)
5. Donkey - Kick (1d4+STR), +50% inventory, Mulish (1/day, succeed on any save or check that involves stubbornness)
6. Monkey - as weapon, +2 Move, tail counts as a third hand, Sly (1/day, open your paw to reveal something you could have stolen in the last minute. Target can save to realise)
7. Crab - Pinch (1d4), half damage from piercing/slashing, Scuttle (1/day, make a move action whether it is your turn or not, can only move sideways)
8. Snake - Fangs (1d6), can attack from grapples, Venom (up to 3d6 bonus damage per day, CON check for half)

6. “Acquired” a powerful magical artefact:

1. Bag of Holding (+10 inventory slots, currently full of garbage)

2. Medallion of the Guardian (when dropped to 0 HP, summons a 1d6 HD golem to protect you at all costs)

3. Wand of Force (1d4 damage, always hits, if it deals 4 damage twice per day, it breaks)

4. Boots of Flying (DEX check to take-off, maneuver or land, expended on a crit fail)

5. Helm of Telepathy (WIS check to project thoughts with force or subtlety)

6. Ten Dragon Teeth (sow to grow a 3 HD Dragon Warrior)

7. Gauntlets of Ogre Strength (17 Strength score, doubled food requirements)

8. Decanter of Endless Water (brackish)

It is also (1d4): continually pursued by previous owners, a tempting target for thieves, marked by irritating prophecy, subtly cursed

7. Were infested by a fragment of magic. It didn’t go well. +1 MD, 1d6 Trauma and suffer a curse, disease or insanity. Gain a random Magic Word. As an action, you can turn anything you see into a second, single-use Word, only for use with your innate fragment. Exposure to dangerous levels of magical pollution etc. can allow you to re-roll your innate fragment.

Alternative: Roll a three word spell, using the formula [Shared]+[Full]+[Orthodox]. You can cast this spell at 3 MD at will, never more or less. If you ever roll a Doom, you immediately explode.

8. Became proficient with a particular type of spell-casting, and gain 1 MD

        1. Safety Casting (while wearing a pointy hat, freely remove 1 MD from a spell)

2. Vancian Casting (+1 MD, but the spell cannot be used for the day)

3. Formal Casting (reroll all MD, 1/day)

4. Power Casting (set an MD to 6, take 1d6 damage)

5. Brutal Casting (dropping to zero HP grants +2 MD to your next spell)

6. Natural Casting (pick one spell, cast it at 1 MD for free)

7. Momentum Casting (charging grants +1 MD to close-range target)

8. Flux Casting (mishaps grant +1 MD, voluntarily mishap at-will)

9. Volatile Casting (spend a round yelling for +1 MD)

10. Soul Casting (the first enemy/day you kill with a spell recovers 1 MD)

9. Discovered a strange power

10. Learned a Weather Witch working

11. Unlocked innate magical power with great effort. +2 MD, a gnarly mutation, and a halved stat

12. Made a deal with a malignant power. Learn four magic words, one pact, one shared, one random, and one completely of your own choice. +1 MD, a terrible cost, 1d6 Trauma

1. Devils (immune to fire, just as painful though, if you break a solemn oath, save or die)

2. Demons (1-in-6 chance of having the same master as any demon, detect as Evil no matter what you do)

3. Faeries (you can survive on natural beauty alone, you must abide by the laws of hospitality)

4. Eldritch Abominations (telepathy with anyone you are staring at, fail all saves against madness and insanity)

5. Star Whispers (commune with the stars instead of sleeping, magical healing is redirected away from you to those nearby)

6. The Ancient King (break a finger of anyone who serves you at a glance, you cannot help but obey orders from your superiors)

7. Forbidden Knowledge A.K.A. The Riddle of Steel (start with a clockwork gun, take 1d4 to tear yourself away from a project part-way)

8. Hexblade (start with a +1 weapon, can’t cast spells without it in your hand)

Terrible costs: your soul, family or friends, a home to return to, mental stability, the ability to love, a certain future

        Devil, Demon, and Hexblade pacts all use the “Vassal of Hell” magic word list

13. Roll on the Character Interestifier

14. Found, bought or inherited three of the following:

case of three potions, familiar, magical herbs, talking skull/weapon/eyeball/hat, wizard vision, magic wand, wizard robes, three runestones, spell-scroll, schematics and key parts for a wyrd cannon, bottled ghost

15. Joined a cult. Cultist skill, gear and abilities vary.

1. Disciple of the Desecrator. Foul censer (feed in flowers, herbs and butterflies, spews toxic gas), bag of dried flowers, Infest Corpse (1/day, summon a 1dX HD spirit into the body of an X HD creature)

2. Flame Cultist. Three jars of blessed napalm, +1 armour, Sacrifice (recieve adequate compensation for any creature or magical item you condemn to the flames)

3. Blood Shaman. Drugs (rage, regeneration and cleansing drugs, one dose each but you know the recipe), Voodoo (requires blood and a mommet, target saves to negate, you must save vs. side-effects either way)

4. Stormcaller. Steel whip (1d4, metal-wearing target must save vs. stun), Channel (with the assistance of others, you can conjure small lightning bolts). You also know the name of a local wind.

5. Hammer of the Gods. Portable anvil, hammer (1d4+STR), Shape Metal (1/day, mould metal like clay).

6. Psychic. Crystal ball, magnficent robes, ornate dagger, Psychometry (touch an item to ask one yes/no question about it. 1/day, you can ask any question)

16. Joined a school of magic. Gain three magic words, one school, one shared, and one random. +1 MD from magic robes (-1 def), and an unfortunate circumstance based on your status as a wizard:

Chartered School - crippling student debts or irritating feudal obligations

Outsider School - bizarre demands, strange superstitions or marked appearance

Banished School - you’ll be burnt at the stake when caught or bounty on your head

17. Discovered religion. Join an Order of the Authority, Religion skill, gear and abilities vary.

1. Monastic Order - Lantern-Mace (burns eternally while you stand and fight), holy book, Augury (meditate to restore, up to 3 charges, receive a vague warning/omen)

2. Martial Order - Hammer of Judgement (sinful target must save or be knocked prone on hit), chainmail, Heal 1/day, 1d6 HP, sinful targets waste the usage

3. Mendicant Order - Unassuming Staff (counts as a maul, shield and rapier) and begging bowl

4. Orthodox Order - Sanctified Scepter (reduces damage by up to 3d6, each d6 expended per day), three bottles of salt tonic, two ranks in Religion

5. Scholastic Order - Stern Glare (1d4 non-lethal, only against sentients) writing case, two books on natural sciences (zoology, botany, astronomy, linguistics, genealogy, alchemy, law, occult), gain an X for adding to them if they don’t have the answer to your question

6. Pacifist Order - Stalwart Shield (grants +2 save to anyone of your faith that stands with you), holy symbol, Bless 1/day (all crit failures count as crit successes for an hour)

7. Flagellant Order - Flail of Purity (take 1d6 damage to drive out spells/demons), +4 save vs. pain, blessed salt

8. Inquisitorial Order - Blade of Truth (target takes 1 damage from attack if they tell the truth), +1 armour, truth serum

9. Confessional Order - Binding Rings (five on one hand, each can absorb sins/1MD with a Wisdom roll), confiscated drugs and alcohol

10. Penitent Order - Chains of the Faith (as a club, automatically grapples), vow of poverty grants +2 Save and Def, -4 if you have any valuables

11. Conduit Order - Voice of God (Single word COMMAND, then mute for day), sword, +2 armour

12. Heretical Order - edited holy book, holy symbol, silver dust, one of: Command Undead (3HD/day), Surgery skill at rank 2, Demand Truth 1/day, Reverse Fate 1/day

18. Wound up weird. Gain a mutation and +2 HP

19. Survived by the skin of your teeth. +4 Save vs. Fire/Mutation/Fear/Environment/ Death/Insanity

20. Learned a trick of the trade. +1 random item and:

1. Cat Feet (reduce fall distance by 10ft, can move after attacking)

2. Pack Rat (+3 inventory slots)

3. At All Costs (if an encounter or effect kills the entire party, you can survive it, losing all items in the process, only works once)

4. Scrounge (1/session, gain a random item when you dig through a pile of junk)

21. Had a job. Gain a Failed Career

22. Trained how to fight like a (d4): honourably, brutishly, with poise, like a bastard. +2 Attack, +1 HP, a weapon.

23. Engaged in skullduggery. Learned how to pick locks and:

1. Forge documents (paper, quill and ink in a writing case)

2. Fence stolen goods (stolen medicine, clothes, metal or food)

3. Con sick people (satchel of "medicine")

4. Discreetly gather information (codes and passphrases, slightly out of date)

5. Case a joint (climbing gear)

6. Cheat at cards (marked cards and loaded dice)

24. Learned how to:

1. Fight dirty. Gain Tricky (Gambits have no penalty when you have a tactical advantage), and a weapon

2. Kill a man in an eyeblink. Gain Assassinate (replace two conditional bonuses on an attack roll with x2 damage)

3. Deceive the senses and use foul poisons. +Disguise skill, +Poison skill, bottle of poison and a cunning disguise of a peasant, merchant, servant or priest

4. Take a blow. Gain Parry (1/day block 1d12 damage, block 12 damage if you sunder a shield as well), a shield and +1 HP

25. Discovered a thing or two:

1. Lucky (reroll a d20 1/day), +1 armour

2. Lightweight (advantage on Dexterity while unencumbered), dagger

3. Nimble (if unarmoured, dodge one attack per round as an action by moving in a random direction), quarterstaff

4. Seventh Sense (if an undead enemy has an additional power or deadly attack, you'll know its there, but no details), holy symbol

26. Killed a monster. +1 Attack, a weapon and:

1. Tracking (+1-in-6 chance of finding traces)

2. Grudge (+2 attack against enemies you have met before)

3. Guardian (take damage instead of ally, 4-in-6 chance of working)

4. Danger Sense (50% to go on a surprise round anyway, INT check to sense danger from unfamiliar sources)

27. Fought in a unique way.

1. Rage (+1 Attack, +1 Damage, 2-in-6 chance of being able to feel pain, show mercy, or retreat), alcohol and +1 HP

2. Martial Arts (optionally use STR or DEX for all weapons, gain new unarmed attack forms), fists (1d4+MOD, +1 Att), body (1d8+MOD, -1 Def)

3. Tactic (command an ally to attack as an action, 1/day if you have a plan, then all allies in earshot can make a free attack when you use this ability)

4. Improvise (advantage to attack with anything you weren't carrying last round), +1 Att

28. Spent some time in the army, as a mercenary or on the hard roads. Picked up a few things along the way:

+1 armour

Random weapon

Skill in Soldier, Bandit, or Roads

An engraved/bejewelled/embossed/famous weapon (what’s its story?)

Camp follower, known safe location or lingering sense of comradery

Something to take the edge off: ewer of wine, jar of moonshine, bottle of rum, bottle of vodka, cask of cider, flagon of mead, tipple of whiskey, barrel of beer, flask of something strange, box of snuff, tobacco pouch or absinthe

29. Were knighted for one reason or another. +1 HP, it costs 12g of monthly expenses to maintain your status if you want to keep it. Either way, you get:

        +2 armour

Shield

Sword, lance or flail

A horse OR something useful - grapple hook, 3d6 silver pieces, magical healing herbs, three doses, three throwing knives, silver ring set with your family crest, lantern

30. Worked out a neat trick.

1. Artiste (sketches and paintings of rare monsters and events count as treasure), brushes and paints, easel

        2. Juryrigger (spend a day replicating or overclocking a magic item, one use), toolbox

3. Dungeon Architect (discover two things about a dungeon feature to learn a third, features you disassemble will never be broken in the process), crowbar, toolbox

4. Mystery Package (buy or make unmarked parcel for any amount, decide what you brought when you open it), package worth 2d6 sp        

31. Discovered your heritage. Unlock a new racial ability or improve your current one. Some examples below:

Aasimar

Seraphim (target heals +1 HP using your blood)

Feather Fall (sprout wings, only useful for gliding and falling with style)

Kobold

Cunning (In a lair you control, you can see in the dark)

Reptile (your claws, scales and teeth count as leather armour and a dagger)

Gnome

Brawler (unarmed damage improves to 1d4+STR, gain +2 to grappling and shoving)

Powerful Hat (1/day use your red pointed hat to absorb a projectile. Record all absorbed, when you die it'll come shooting back out)

Dragonborn

Legacy: improve two of the following - Wings, Horns, Teeth, Scales, Tail, Breath, Heart

• Wings, useful for gliding, can be improved up to twice more
• Horns, 1d6+STR
• Teeth, 1d6+grapple, mouth is highly resistant to damage
• Scales, as leather, +2 Def each time
• Tail, 1d4+STR against all adjacent/behind
• Breath, +1 use per day
• Heart, +2 Save vs. Magic, second improvement grants 1 MD

Orc

Birthright: manifest damning traits for stat increases, will be hunted and killed if discovered

• Serrated horns, d4+STR, increases with age, easily visible from above
• Jutting brow, +1 Defence, struggle with helmets
• Clawed toes, kick for 1d6, can’t wear shoes
• Bulging spine, +1 Strength, increases your height significantly, anyone who has met you a month ago or more will notice
• Second heart, +1 Constitution, anyone that lies with you will run screaming at the doubled beat
• Grey sclera, +1 Dexterity, anyone having a conversation with you might spot them
• Black blood, +1 Save, immediately marks you as Noble

Covenant: Start with 0 Covenant. Gain a point every time you land a critical hit that kills something. Can choose to automatically hit an Attack by gaining a point. Every sunrise after gaining at least one point, roll 1d100. If under your Covenant, you are selected to be destroyed by the gods.

Dwarf

Tunnel Sense (+1 use of Speak with Stone per day)

Priorities (+50% inventory slots for loot and alcohol only)

Fey Mood (know how to create a masterwork item, go mad if you can't complete it)

Human

Endure (double days taken before penalties from hunger/thirst)

Scrounge (1/session search through garbage and gain a random item)

Halfling

Second Breakfast (have lunch twice per day)

Better Shared (Advantage to CHA checks with someone you are sharing a luxury or meal with)

Elf

Culture (+1 Attack using rapiers, bows and one dignified weapon of choice

Home Advantage (Move through trees as easily as running)

Lizardman

Adaptable (Immune to any ingested poison or disease you have previously suffered from)

Half-Giant

The Old Ways (Grow 1d12 inches per strong heart eaten)

Nose for Trouble (You can always tell which direction has the most danger)

Tiefling

Hellborn (gain powerful mutations from eating heroes, wizards or clerics, tempting them to sin, or sacrificing your own mortality)

Spiderling

Third Arm (not really, you’ve got eight, but all of them together have enough strength for an equivalent extra arm now)

Goblin

Cartilaginous (any “broken” bones you have will heal overnight, you can squeeze through any space smaller than your head)

Undead

Inexorable (while at 0 HP you can only move as an action, you cannot die from taking damage)

32. Learned to see the truth of the matter:

1. Threat Assessment (hit an enemy or watch them for a round to learn their current HP, discover the approximate number of kills someone has after a few minutes of conversation)

2. Combat Awareness (spend an action to determine the next action an enemy will take)

3. Spot Opportunity (1/round, a random ally gains +2 against random enemy)

33. Acquired a new fighting style. You gain +1 Attack and +1 Damage… (1d12)

        ...for every spell you have seen a target cast (1)

...for every insult that has been directed at you (2)

...for every ally the target has damaged (3)

...for every two enemies you are adjacent to (4)

...for every Death Dice you have (5)

...for every crime you know the target has committed (6)

...for every non-trivial, non-obvious fact you know about the target (7)

...if your target is being flanked (8)

...if you hit the target with one of their possessions (9)

...if your target is bigger than you (10)

...if your rival, another character, lands a killing blow (11)

...if you've bitten someone this fight (12)

34. Got your hands on some serious weapons of war. +1 armour, +1 Att, a crossbow and twenty bolts, greataxe, greatsword or maul

35. Practiced an obscure method of fighting. You gain +2 Defence against an attack… (1d10)

...if you have a Skill that applies (1)

...if you have seen the target fight before (2)

...if you've killed a close ally of the target (3)

...if you are using the same weapon as them (4)

...if you are grappling with the target (5)

...if you are unarmed (6)

...if you are unarmoured (7)

...if you are leading the charge (8)

...if you planned for this battle to happen (9)

...if you are drunk (10)

36. Found a magical sword, weapon, shield, helmet, +1 HP

Weapon list:

1. Club (1d4+STR)

2. Dagger (1d6)

3. Bow (1d6)

4. Spear (1d6+STR op.)

5. Sabre (1d6+STR)

6. Scimitar (1d6+STR)

7. Falchion (1d6+STR)

8. Cutlass (1d6+STR)

9. Axe (1d6+STR)

10. Whip (1d4)

11. Warhammer (1d6+STR)

12. Mace (1d6+STR)

13. Flail (1d6+STR)

14. Halberd (1d10+STR)

15. Maul (1d10+STR)

16. Longbow (1d6+STR)

17. Greatsword (1d10+STR)

18. Greataxe (1d10+STR)

19. Rapier (1d8)

20. Crossbow (1d12)

Magical effects:

1. Talking

2. Flaming

3. Glowing

4. Icy

5. Possessed

6. Clockwork

7. Animated

8. Living

9. Rune-inscribed

10. Crystal

11. Invisible

12. Weightless

13. Imaginary

14. Indestructible

15. Spellproof

16. Vampiric

17. Guardian

18. Berserker's

19. Paladin's

20. Assassin's

37. Were famous.

1. Inspiring: the first time an ally assists you each session they - heal 1d4HP, take +2 to the next Attack, or gain +1XP.

2. Noble Sacrifice: use a hireling to block all damage from an attack. Comes with an unreliable follower (mostly obedient, here to make a quick buck, here to live out one of the stories, utterly besotted with you, looking for the truth, hoping to see you in action)

38. Were a monster on the battlefield.

1. Devastator (1/day, you can add your Attack roll to damage)

2. Merciless (If you deal over half the health of an enemy in a single attack, they must save vs. stun. 1HD enemies don’t get a save)

3. Sentinel (if an enemy leaves your reach, gain a free attack on them)

4. Cleave (if you kill an enemy in a single blow, make an extra attack)

39. Went on a quest.

1. Smite (1/day deal +1d8 damage and bypass all undead resistances)

2. Lay on Hands (heal 1d8 HP with a touch and a prayer, cannot be used on the same target until they have listened to a proper sermon in a church)

3. Martyr (anything that kills you must save or die)

40. You are something truly weird:

1. One of your parents was a god. +3 to a stat of your choice

2. One of your parents was a powerful spirit. Limited Wish, one use

3. You were bitten by a vampire. No magical powers (yet)

4. You somehow wound up with a metal body and a clockwork heart. No CON score, immune to biological threats, you require burnable fuel for rations, +1 armour

5. A Smug Cat, Good Dog or Angry Goose (take the first template)

If you got +/- armour from any backgrounds, add them up and check below:

1. Leather armour
2. Chainmail
3. Chainmail and helmet
4. Plate armour

Alternatives Generation Modes

FIGHTING MEN - roll 3d20 takes the two highest, reroll anything that involves spells or magic (but you shouldn’t see these as often). You also start with 3 Xs to a weapon of your choice.

CHEAP TRICKS - roll 1d20+1 for your first roll, or just directly pick #16

QUESTIONS, FREQUENTLY ASKED

What do I roll?
Roll a d20, roll equal or under the number on your sheet. If I say a penalty, then you can reduce the number on your sheet, or add it to the d20, whichever you like. If you roll a 1, a 20, or miss by one, let me know.

Skills?

Most things don’t require skills. Sometimes, roll 1d6+[rank] and hit 6+ to achieve stuff. Other times, just succeed at something without rolling if you have a related skill.

MD? Spells?

Each Magic Die is a d6. Roll them when you cast a spell. Spells are phrased with [sum] and [dice] as a measure of power, being the total shown on the d6s and number rolled respectively. Rolling doubles is a Mishap, rolling triples is a Doom. Make spells by putting two magic words together.

When do we get more abilities?
Never. Go find them. Alright, alright, usually once you complete a quest you’ll get one. Maybe. If you want something, ask and you’ll get a clue, at least. Just ask.

How do I get my health back?

Lunch heals 1d6 HP, you’ll need to eat something. You can only do it once per day. Sleeping and eating for a time heals all your HP and recovers most other things.

Trauma?

Start tracking it once you get it. Put it next to the money you don’t have. Once you get more than half your Wisdom, tell me. It’ll be bad, but not really bad. If you go over your full Wisdom, it’ll be really bad.

Gambits?

Tripping, disarming, grappling, swinging on chandeliers, not killing people faster. I’ll assume you are doing your best to kill people the best you can. Gambits adds something to your attack - if you hit, something good happens in addition to damage, if you miss, something bad happens to you. They are equal, unless you are much weaker/stronger than the enemy. We’ll discuss it, it should seem fair.

Can I try [failed activity] as well?

Usually, no. But if you somehow improve your odds of success, you might be able to have a second crack at it.

That’s it, I’m out of hitpoints, I’m dead

Nope! Not getting out that easy buddy. Check the table against how much damage that hit was under 0. It’ll get progressively worse if you get hit again, so best stay sharp.

Ahh! I’m gonna die!

Only if you panic. You can spend your action dodging to gain a bonus to defence. If you get hit while holding a shield, you can break it to reduce damage by 1d12. Ask your friends for help. Ask god for help. Ask the silence between your thoughts. It might help.

But what if you combined X and Y?

Exactly what you think, man

By the way - it’s not my job to make combat fair, it’s your job to make it unfair… in your favour!

GIMME MO’ NUMBERS

GIT GUD

DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT

IN CASE OF GRUESOME DEATH

Firstly, you are judged by a Court of Death (i.e. all the other players):

• For every notable sin, -1. Sins you have confessed and been absolved of don’t count.
• For every intentional mutation, -1
• If you weren’t buried, -1
• If your soul is damaged in any way, -2
• If your soul is missing or seriously damaged, another -2
• If you soul belongs to someone else, -5
• For every notable good deed, +1
• If you had a proper funeral, +1
• If you’ve paid your tithe recently, +2
• If you’re in really good standing with the church, another +2
• If you died for a truly noble cause, +5

If you want, you can delay the accounting of your death by up to a day. This might help if your body is in the process of being recovered, or a funeral is being organised. A "burial" can be any appropriate rite, whether internment underground or having your ashes scattered (just not eaten, melted or left to rot somewhere). A funeral requires all present to say a few words, at the very least. If you didn't get a proper burial, then a funeral also requires either a memorial built or a priest paid to officiate.

Then, roll 1d20+[total] to find out your fate:

1. or less: Even Hell Doesn’t Want You. Fall for eternity in the endless void beyond space and time.
2. Devil Prince Gestalt. You make up part of his left pinky toenail.
3. Naked, Burning and Stabbed. Go to Hell, and you’re in the Seven Circles.
4. Poisonous Soul. Go to Hell. If you didn’t get a funeral, wherever your body ended up becomes steadily more evil and corrupted.
5. Bog-Standard Sinner. Go to Hell, mostly ignored.
6. Eaten by a Demon. Delicious!
7. Summoned Back. End up in some necromancer’s wacky scheme.
8. Rest In Peace. If you aren’t buried and are mostly intact, rise as a zombie.
9. Bureaucratic Mixup. Spend a hundred years in purgatory before getting it “sorted out”.
10. Not Quite Gone. Forced to haunt either the place you died, or the party.
11. Edge of Heaven. Spend a hundred years as a penitent angel, bound wings and leaden sandals for you!
12. Scraped In. Go to Heaven… eventually, you’ll be waiting in line for a hundred years at least.
13. Eternal Rest. If you got a funeral, go to Heaven.
14. Needed Again. Your tattered soul is used to fuel a ‘Cure Wounds’ spell (if you want, roll a hit-location table to find out where)
15. One With Everything. Become part of the trees and flowers and sky and bears.
16. Revenant. Do you have any unfinished business? If so, you can return at full HP. You can no longer gain Xs or heal, and gradually flake away into gold sparkles. Else or afterwards, go to Heaven.
17. Part of the Choir. Go to Heaven. All bodily features smoothed out, you'll be standing behind a golden throne for eternity.
18. Eternal Life of Luxury. Go to Heaven. It’s pretty boring, to be honest.
19. First in Line for Reincarnation. Whether you like it or not.
20. or more: Handpicked Angel. You’ll be on the front lines when the next holy war breaks out. Until then, the party can call upon you once, ever. You’re too busy beyond that.

Curses

1. Hollow Guts, tripled food requirements
2. Screaming Teeth, halve Charisma while speaking
3. Unlucky, -2 Save
4. Dog Hatred, all dogs will attack you
5. Spirit Home, a small eldritch creature lives in your skull/teeth
6. Dreamless, need +1 X needed to improve non-attributes
7. Purse Moths, lose 1d100% of your money when you enter a settlement
8. Fragile, minimum 2d6 Death Dice
9. Mute
10. Delicate Sensibilities, halve Constitution for an hour if you hear, say, or think a swear-word
11. Desolation, double damage while alone and away from allies
12. Cursed to Die in a Fire, double damage from fire
13. The Clawing Stone, double all falling damage
14. Weak Blood, automatically fail the first save against poison
15. Into the Depths, unable to swim
16. Blinded
17. The Betrayed, triple damage from any ally
18. Latent Vampirism, halve Strength in direct sunlight or other bright light
19. Crippled, half movement
20. Rabbit Instincts, halve Wisdom whenever your life is in danger
21. Magnetic Soul, all spells that travel within 20ft of you change their target
22. Endless Thirst, water, ale, beer and wine all do nothing for you
23. Slip of the Tongue. Anything you think of saying is written on your skin
24. Nervous Wreck, double Trauma gained from any source
25. Performance Anxiety, halve Dexterity while being watched
26. Evil Twin, manifests far away, knows where you are
27. The Horseman Cometh, immediately contract 3 diseases
28. Professor’s Bane, halve Intelligence if someone asks you for advice
29. Unique Diet. Can only eat turnips, violently ill otherwise
30. The Chosen. If something would randomly apply to someone in a group, it happens to you.

SANITY IS FOR CHUMPS

You can gain Trauma from a number of sources: spell-casting mishaps, horrifying visions, being the last survivor, sleeping in the rough, going without food, and bards. Once you have accrued [Wisdom/2] Trauma, you suffer a breakdown for 1d20 rounds, and must make a save vs. Madness. You recover from this Madness when your Trauma drops below Wis/2. If your Trauma goes over [Wisdom], gain a permanent Madness, and must Save vs. Heart Attack.

Breakdowns (1d6):

1. Run away.
2. Hide.
3. Paralysed, stuttering.

4. Faint.
5. Rage.
6. Screaming, roll for encounter.

Madness (1d20):

1. Depression - Disadvantage on all checks until you succeed one, resets each day.
2. Addiction - Whenever it is available, you must seek out 1d4: sex, drugs, gambling, or church attendance. A successful WIS check resists.
3. Alien Hand Syndrome - One arm becomes an NPC. It's staring morale is 10, and it follows all the same rules as hirelings. (It must be convinced to do anything dangerous; it may turn against you if pushed too far.) Roll a random personality for it.
4. Paranoia - They are all out to get you! Disadvantage on CHA checks, alleviated for a day if you actually find evidence of a conspiracy against you and have proof.
5. Hallucinations - Unreliable senses; the DM will give you false descriptions of things if you are ever alone (without your allies to guide you). Since you are always doubting your senses, you are always surprised on the first round of combat unless a WIS check is made.
6. The Voices - You can hear everything the other players say at the table.
7. Nightmares - 3-in-6 chance of restful sleep each night, 4-in-6 with alcohol. Missing out on sleep at night reduces healing to 1d6 HP, and doesn’t refresh anything else.
8. Phobia (Proximal) - Permanently afraid of whatever thing or class of things caused the Trauma. When confronted with trigger, make a WIS check or take double damage until you spend a round while safe from the cause.
9. Phobia (Dungeon) - As #6, except against 1d4: being alone, claustrophobia, darkness, or heights.
10. Psychosis - Cannot leave combat until all enemies are dead. A WIS check can be attempted once per combat the first time you attempt to resist.
11. Split Personality - Reroll all your background elements and mental stats as a second character. Switch between them each session or when concussed. Noticing discrepancies causes Trauma
12. Twitchy - The first time you take damage in each encounter, you must make a WIS check or spend the next round flipping out.
13. Pacifism - Whenever you see or hear an enemy die, take 1d6 psychic damage.
14. Afflicted - Abusive, paranoid, irrational, hopeless or something else. Whatever the case, anyone that spends a day with you must make a WIS check or gain 1 Trauma.
15. Ego Sprite - Manifest one of these
16. Sudden Delusion - Save to resist acting upon it, +1 X if you act upon it strongly and violently (1d6):

1. Your allies are insane and must be restrained

2. This is a dream and you have to wake up

3. The floor is covered with gold and jewels

4. You are on fire

5. You are a literal god

6. You are a rusty sword that needs polishing

Lasts for 1d6 minutes, but if you have a breakdown you’ll suffer the same effect again.

17. Haunted - You see dead people, and they can speak to you. Gain Trauma if you don’t obey their orders. The ghosts of those you kill will usually command you to kill your allies, then yourself.
18. Shut Down - Can't take actions unless expressly ordered to by an ally (requires an action and a lot of prodding). Lasts for 1d6 hours, but if you have a breakdown you’ll suffer the same effect again.
19. Amnesia - Lose all of your trained abilities and memories. Make an INT check to recover them when you need them, or when prompted. If you failed, you’ll need therapy to get them back, or a life-or-death situation that requires them. You won’t lose any spells but you’ll forget you have them.
20. Coma - Make WIS checks to recover after 1d6 hours, 1d6 days and 1d6 weeks

FOUL PESTILENCE

The night after being exposed to a disease, make a Constitution check. If you fail, take the listed ability damage and suffer the side-effects. Every morning after, repeat the Constitution check. If you succeed, take +1 to all future Constitution checks against this disease. If you succeed twice in a row, you are cured. If you spend an entire day resting, take +2. If you are receiving decent medical care, take another +2. Salt tonic grants +4 to save vs disease.

Diseases are caused by spiritual imbalances and infestations. They can possibly be appeased through offerings of blood, flattery, food, intoxicants, money, or by spreading it to other people. You won’t know which ones might work until you try them!

1. Grave Lung, 1d4 Strength, Constitution check or cough when sneaking
2. Spasms of the Liver, 1d2 Constitution, halve all healing
3. Stoneskin, 1d6 Dexterity, +1 Defence if you’ve taken 5+ total
4. Leprosy, 1d3 Dexterity, painless, lose a random extremity if you take 3 damage
5. Corpus Beetles, 1d4 Intelligence, lose a rank in a skill on a 1
6. The Dithers, 1d4 Wisdom, regularly save vs short-term memory loss
7. Black Death, 1d4 Constitution, -4 to saves vs. disease
8. Gob Rot, 1d4 Charisma, lose a tooth on 1, part of your face on a 4,
9. Mangling Flesh, 1d4 Random, save or mutate
10. Dungeon Slough, 1d4 Dexterity, take +1 damage from all sources
11. Worm of Entropy, 1d8 Intelligence, speaks your language, desires ruin
12. Shadow Pox, 1d6 Charisma, immune to positive spells as your shadow sickens
13. Dysentery, 1d6 Strength, 1-in-6 chance to lose action each round as you soil yourself
14. Crystal Bones, 1d4 Strength, double bludgeoning and fall damage
15. Rude Passenger, 1d2 Wisdom, save vs. messy sporulation when near people
16. The Dwindling, 1d6 Strength, if you’ve taken 7 damage you shrink to small size
17. Ogre Guts, 1d3 Dexterity, lose 1 Inventory slot each time
18. Gangrene, 1d3 Constitution, take 1d8 damage each morning
19. Rabies, 1d6 Charisma, -1 Attack, +1 Damage, cannot drink water
20. Plague, 1d2 Constitution, if you die you will rise as a zombie
21. Purple Fronds, 1d3 Strength, gorgeous to look at, delicate, -1 Def
22. Brain Worms, 1d4 Wisdom, experience a full hallucination 1/day
23. Tetanus, 1d4 Dexterity, 3+ damage disables your jaw then a random limb
24. Dauntledregs, 1d6 Intelligence, fail all saves vs. fear and confusion
25. Wandering Heart, 1d3 Constitution, +1d6 damage when critically hit
26. Dimensia, 1d3 Wisdom, regular geometric shapes horrify you
27. Volcanic Blisters, pops messily dealing 1 damage 1d6 times per day
28. The Hops, 1d4 Wisdom, that many frog eggs sprout from your back
29. Doom Warts, 1d3 Charisma, they pop into tiny faces and pronounce doom
30. Cordyceps, 1d6 Wisdom, bright glowing lump, get excited near predators

    ---

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE NO MAGIC DICE AND ARE SAD

Genuine wizard robes (-2 Def if they don’t fit you)

Bathe in dragon/unicorn blood

Lightning strike

Visit the Land of the Dead

Consume godflesh, given willingly or not

Snort ground wizard teeth for a week

Surgically remove one from a living wizard brain

Make a deal with something weird

Tap a leyline or other elemental force

Marriage to a fae

Demonflesh grafts

Replace all your blood with a more potent fluid

Magic knucklebones

Atomic bee honey

Liquid occultum injections

Follow a dozen superstitions at the same time

Tattoo your bones

Implant a wand

Hang upon the tree of knowledge for… a while

Make a Remnant

Learn to cast it as a cantrip

Licking toads, eye of newt, salamander milk, weird mushrooms

Drugs. So much drugs

Bask in the light of a full moon (temporary)

Use a proper rune circle

Sacrifice a goat. Any large mammal will do, really

Create a joke, pun or poem to go with the spell

REWARDS FOR WANDERING

These aren’t the only way to get these abilities, and aren’t guaranteed either!

New Abilities will have to be discovered in-game! However, you can probably earn things by:

Winning noble duels

Schemes

Recruiting a flock

Finding a teacher

Defeating opponents cleverly / honourably

Making a name for yourself

Earning a noble title

Slaying monsters

Discovering forgotten secrets

Conquering the wilderness

Spending a pile of gold

Rare achievements

Getting beaten up and learning that move

Links

https://gloomtrain.blogspot.com/2015/08/put-spell-on-you.html - Simple spells

http://throneofsalt.blogspot.com/2017/12/return-to-old-school.html - More simple spells

https://github.com/valzi/villagefolk/wiki/5Class_Specialist_Random - Mundane abilities

Thiefyness (also has Rake abilities)

More Thief

https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/04/osr-100-entities-you-can-summon.html - Names

https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2018/11/osr-rewards-of-monarch.html 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sJo4ev56Hc91sdMBq48Vewu3gYtLBZzis2wZ3yjmF2k/edit - d100 Class Progressions

https://attnam.blogspot.com/2018/11/class-lahzar.html - Organs!

http://hmmmarquis.blogspot.com/2019/01/creating-we-mortal-legends-starting-kit.html

WALL OF TEXT - OPTIONAL RULES

Dueling

For one-on-one combat, only if both accept. Paper-scissors-rock, if you win or draw, get the bonus:
Paper (parry) = automatically defend, roll attack to deal damage

Scissors (feint) = offer the target an outcome like “disarmed”, “prone”, “lose an eye”, if they don’t accept you deal x2 damage

Rock (thrust) = automatically hit, roll defense to block attack

Weapon Breakage

When you miss an attack by 1 while using an actual weapon, you can choose to risk your weapon to hit (against weak enemies) or reroll (against strong enemies). Crappy weapons snap automatically, normal weapons have a 3-in-6 chance of breakage, masterwork 1-in-6, magic 1-in-12. Optionally, armour can be used the same way.

Weird Shields

By default, shields have a hand-grip for additional mobility.

Strapped shields allow for an item to be held in addition to the shield, but take an entire action to equip or doff.

Bucklers grant +2 Defence against a single target that is using a melee weapon.

Tower shields are an encumbering item (Disadvantage on Dexterity checks) but grant the same bonus to adjacent allies.

Remember - You can shatter a shield to reduce damage by 1d12.

Rust

Whenever you end up in the water, are completely covered in blood, or spend a day trekking through the muck of a dungeon, your armour makes a save (using your stats). If you don’t spend time maintaining your gear, roll at -4. If you fail, you gain a point of Rust that fills up an inventory slot. Each inventory slot of metal items can only accrue Rust once.

Rhyming Spells

If you can compose, off-the-cuff, a poem or equivalent relating to the situation and spell, your target has disadvantage to the save. Puns for combat spells, limericks for curses, haikus for environmental effects. Elves and Dragons require at least a sonnet to achieve this effect.

HATS

Hats add +1 to a stat for the purpose of rolling under. You can “sunder” a hat for +1d6 Save.

http://wampuscountry.blogspot.com/2012/03/entire-post-about-hats.html  

Puzzles

Governs small toys, puzzle-boxes and some types of treasure. Roll 1d6+INT, try and get equal or over the difficulty. If you roll 6+ but do not complete the puzzle, your next roll is at +1. This stacks, losing it if you fail to gain progress. You’ll need to roll 6+ without the bonus to gain any more progress with a puzzle.

https://themansegaming.blogspot.com/2018/10/rules-for-puzzles.html

Ammo

Either expend an entire quiver of arrows the first critical fail rolled and enhanced, or lose half a quiver for every 2 or 19 rolled

Psychopomp Roulette

When you die, you rise as an invisible ghost with full HP, MD etc. and all the equipment you were holding when you died. Someone will be along soon to collect your soul. If you can fight them off, and stay as a ghost near your body for at least a day, you can come back as an Undead (-1d4 to all stats). If you allow an Angel or Death to lead you away, roll your Goodness. On a success, you end up in the Hesayan heaven. By default, everyone might get:

- Very Specific Death (4 HD)

- Weary Penitent (3 HD)

- Demon (1d6+2 HD)

If you’ve paid your tithe recently, remove the Demon. See here for more information

Karma

When you die, for real, you gain starting Karma equal to your half current level. You get +1 Karma: if you got a decent burial, if you dodged Hell, if you ended up in Heaven, for every notable act (the other players act as a judge of this), and if your new character is somehow related to the dearly departed. You lose a Karma for every time you have skipped out on Death, and if your death was entirely your own fault for absolutely no gain. You can spend 1 Karma to reroll your new character, 2 Karma to haunt the party as a ghost briefly, 5 for an heirloom item, and 1:1 for the XP of the new character.

Retirement

If you retire and have their child/protege for your new character, you start with one of their abilities, and a free X for each major achievement they have accomplished (This would be a good time to recap their adventuring life)

Keys

Some keys are gold and gilt and covered in gems. They are specific keys and match a specific lock. Most keys are brass and iron, rusty and plain. These are general keys and could theoretically match any lock. As such, you’ve got a [keys]-in-20 chance of having a general key match a general lock. Once that key fits, remove it from your total list.

Drugs

Each dose will give you +1 to something, potentially with some other upsides/downsides. At the end of any day when you took drugs, make a CON-[dose]+[tolerance] check. If you fail, gain a point of Tolerance. Each point of Tolerance gives a negative effect, usually the opposite of what the drug did. Going a week without a dose requires a CON-[tolerance] check. If you succeed, you lose a point of Tolerance. If you fail, you go into Withdrawals: double the effect of your Tolerance until you take a hit. Drugs are bad, kids!

Alternative Hitpoints

• Start with [Con score]-4
• Start with [Con score]/3 +2, gain another third if your Con score for 3 Xs

Seize the Initiative

Rather than rolling Wisdom every round, only roll it once. If you are ambushing/ambushed, roll with advantage/disadvantage. Afterwards, maintain turn order. Killing the leader of your enemies, making a tactically advantageous move or other similar feats allows you to either automatically gain the initiative, or reroll your Wisdom. Likewise, taking critical damage, being knocked prone or flanked will require you to roll Wisdom or lose initiative going forwards.

Wounds

Everyone has HP/3 Maximum Wounds. Each dice of damage instead inflicts one Wound. If you go over your maximum Wounds, roll over them on a d20 or die, but under your Constitution or suffer a Minor Injury. If you roll your Wounds exactly, gain a Major Injury and +1 maximum Wounds

https://www.lastgaspgrimoire.com/does-this-look-infected/

Scars

If you get critically hit while at full HP and drop to exactly 0 HP, gain a Scar. http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2017/12/scars.html

Dungeon Cuisine

Cooking with unusual ingredients is not without risk. Access to fire (+2), water, spices, utensils, and a spit/pot can each reduce the chance of catastrophic culinary chaos, granting +1 to the INT check made when cooking (fire grants +2, spices +1-3). Cooking a magical creature you have never successfully worked with before requires an INT/2 roll

http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-secrets-of-mundane-animals.html

Alternative Advancement

Rather than gaining Xs for being voted MVP or having the fewest Xs, all characters are randomly allocated one of following at char gen. If they achieved it at least once by the end of a session, gain an X anywhere. If they also completed the goal in (brackets) they gain a second X.

• Kill a mighty foe (and brag about it to someone who cares)
• Steal a coveted treasure (and blow it trivial pleasures)
• Rescued someone from peril (at great cost to yourself)
• Made an enemy of someone evil (and powerful)
• Uncover and mystery (and solve it satisfactorily)
• Explore somewhere new (that has been lost to modern knowledge)
• Start a fight between two different groups (that ends up becoming a war)
• Give up powers or riches for the greater good (when nobody would’ve known otherwise)
• Destroy something beautiful (and unique)
• Bring someone to justice (with a reputable civilisation)

Everything Hurts

While in a dungeon or wilderness, take d6 damage if you don’t eat all day, can’t find rest, stay warm, or stay hydrated.

Wizard School Alumni

(Status: DEFUNCT, way too strong)

Open getting three Xs on their wizard school, a character rolls 1d6 on the following table. If they have already gained that result, go down until one hasn’t been unlocked:

1. Nothing
2. Gain 1 max MD
3. Learn a basic spell (1-6)
4. Unlock a Casting Style (usually Safety Casting)
5. Your debt is due, or at least the interest
6. Gain an honorary degree or equivalent, possibly an apprentice
7. Learn an advanced spell (4-10)
8. Gain 1 max MD or learn a spell of your choice

Wizard School Alumni

(Status: not playtested)

Open getting three Xs on their wizard school etc, a character rolls 1d6 on the following table.

1. Dreadful occurrence (debt due etc.)
2. Mishap
3. New use found for spell/spell mutation
4. Learn a school-related Magic Word
5. Gain an apprentice/honorary degree
6. Learn Safety Casting or other

Unified Mishaps

1. +1 Trauma
2. 1d6 damage
3. Thematic mutation for 1d6 rounds
4. Spell redirection
5. Ironic backlash
6. Echoes of Doom

Heroic Recovery

If you roll a critical success on a save against Insanity or Fear, roll 1d6 on the table below:

1. Courageous - All allies gain a free d20 reroll to use before combat ends
2. Focused - Double all bonuses received
3. Powerful - Damage die increases to 1d12
4. Stalwart - Block the first Death Die taken
5. Vigorous - Gain an extra attack, one use any time during combat
6. Destined - Take 1d6 damage to succeed on any check instead of rolling

To balance it out, if you roll a critical fail then you are rendered catatonic for the rest of the adventure. Better roll up a new character till you recover, if ever.

Other Goals

Depending on your game, the following might reward Xs to the achiever/entire party:

• Making maps of uncharted territory, rediscovering lost locations
• Being the first to climb a mountain/cross an ocean/survive a desert
• Bringing monster samples back to civilisation, preferably alive
• Investigating lost cultures and living with them for a time
• Starting and/or stopping a war
• Opening a trade route
• Producing fascinating artwork of dungeon features
• Pushing onwards when you should go back

ACHIEVEMENTS

Mystic Snake-Eyes - Roll a 3 for a stat

Don't let it go to your head - Roll an 18 for a stat

Go for the Hat Trick - Seriously injure yourself twice in one session

Default, the two Greatest Words - Play a human melee combatant

Priorities - Choose food over treasure

Same Hat! - Entire party is in the same organisation or category

The 1% - Own a building

Reverse Funnel Scheme - Run a business

Family First - Start a cult

Be The Change - Lead a revolution

C O M F O R T - Wear platemail

Naked and Alone - Flee a fight without armour, a shield or any allies

Gormandiser - Eat three monsters of 3HD or greater

The Other White Meat - Eat a friend

Never Leave Home Without It - Discover three uses for alcohol

(Un)Friendly Faces - Become (in)famous in a village / city / country

Chiselled Jawline - Have a statue raised in your image

Humming Along - Have a song dedicated to you

Yes Man - Ally with two opposing factions

Genuine Article - Sell a map you drew yourself

Performance Issues - Roll a minimum damage critical hit

Law of the Land - Make / abandon a house rule

'Tis but a scratch - Lose a limb and survive

Half the Battle - Clear a dungeon

The Other Half - Slay a dragon

X Marks the Spot - Uncover treasure marked on a map

Fine Print - Make a deal with a devil

Unfinished Business - Be resurrected (or similarly return from being dead)

Bigger Fish - Kill a bonafide god / major demon / other

One step for a man... - Travel to another plane of existence

You shall not pass - Sacrifice yourself

Diplomancy - Short-circuit an adventure by making friends with an enemy

Blitz - Kill a 5+ HD creature in a single round

Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey - Jump backwards or forwards in time

Die a Hero - Become an NPC villain

The Flesh - Gain 10 mutations

Canary - Cause the death of three henchmen

False Dawn - Cause a colossal explosion

Trapfinder General - "Discover" three traps by triggering them

Gobbed On - Die to a swarm of 1 HD enemies

Gaze Into The Abyss - Gain an insanity through your actions

Sticky Fingers - Pull off any plan or scheme that involves glue

When All You Have is a Torch - Solve a problem using arson

Ignominious - Die from rats, starvation, exposure, falling or disease

David - Kill a giant using a sling

Taste of your Own Medicine - Turn a basilisk, a cockatrice or a medusa into stone

What could go Wrong? - Equip/use an unidentified magic item

"Are we the baddies?" - Commit a war crime

The Cleaner - Exterminate a population of monsters

Born under a Lucky Star - Survive an adventure with an incompetent character

"Sit upon the mountaintop and let the tigers fight" - Instigate faction warfare in a dungeon

Going Native - Have more monstrous friends than ordinary

More than the Sum of your Parts - Replace a part of your body

Go for the Hat! - Kill a wizard

Ballin’ - Wear clothes worth more than your house

Who needs it anyway? - Lose your soul

What a Twist - Betray the party for your own benefit

Nuke it from Orbit - Deal 20 overkill damage to a single target

The Black Wind Howls - Correctly predict another PC’s death

Blue! No, Yello-AUUUUUUUUGH - Die from a puzzle

She Turned Me Into A Newt - Experience a transmutation

We Spared No Expense - Go broke

Armaments 2:9-21 - Kill a monster with a holy weapon

Long Live The King - Become the leader of a pre-existing faction

You were good, son, very good, maybe even the best - Eat your pet

Fatality - Kill someone using the environment

Whoops! - Destroy an item necessary for a quest

Whose Life Is It Anyway? - Kill an enemy with an improvised weapon

Confess - Critically fail an Intimidation roll

We’re On A Mission From God - Receive divine direction

Lost your Medical License - Attempt an untested medical procedure

That Still Only Counts As One - Solo a large monster

A Farewell To Arms - Willingly remove a limb

Objection! - Win a legal case

Ra-Ra-Rasputin - Suffer three different sources of ongoing damage simultaneously and survive

Something Something Sparta - Kick someone off a ledge to their death

Ain’t Got TIme To Bleed - Win a fight while bleeding out

Nothing Personal, Just Business - Let an allied player die for your personal gain

Don’t You Forget About Me - Meet with a recurring villain

Stop Hitting Yourself - Drop to 0 HP due to your failed Attack roll

Die A Hero - Become that which you swore to destroy

This Is Bat Country - Take drugs

Mithridates - Knowingly consume poison and survive

Feeling Lucky, Punk? - Critically succeed a Charisma roll while brandishing a firearm

Not in Kansas - Teleport somewhere

I See Dead People - Talk to the deceased

Sticky Mess - Fail a save vs. instant death

Seven Stones of Yadda-Yadda - Construct a MacGuffin out of five or more component parts

Never Let Go - Have an ally die of hypothermia or drowning despite your best efforts

In a Handbasket - Get to Hell the hard way (by walking there)

Reach Heaven Through Violence - Receive tutelage from an immortal being

The One - Realise you are part of a game and survive

Progenitor - Create, or be the first member of a brand new species

JENKINS - Lead the party directly into a TPK

HAVEN TURN

If the party finishes a session in a safe place, they gain a Haven Turn to spend before the next session. Spend 1d6 silver on board and lodging, heal all HP, 1 Trauma, minor injuries and non-diseased ability scores. If you do not wish to spend the silver, be a Wage Slave for the week (no Trauma recovery). If you are suffering a disease, roll three times unless Convalescing.

SPELL RESEARCH

Considering that finding spells is tricky business, you might be tempted to design them yourself. This can work. Sometimes.

Step 1: Phat Stacks

Spend a bunch of money on weird artefacts, mystical drugs and alchemical powders. Every silver piece sacrificed this way gives you a cumulative 1% chance of learning a random Magic Word. For example, blowing up a gold amulet worth 30sp would give you a 30% chance of learning a new Word. This is the rate for field research. Laboratories can make the process 2-5x more efficient.

Step 1a: Cheat a Little

If you’ve got the technology, you can break spells down into their component Words, buy them in scrolls, or hire someone else to do it. Just make sure if you are murdering your own spells for their organs that your other prisoners spells aren’t friends with it.

Step 2: Skew the Odds

If you are a wizard from a reputable school, then you can roll on a d20 table of related words (next page) instead of the full list. You also have access to the “Shared” list of generic spell components. Otherwise, roll 1d1078!

Step 3: Put it Together

Once you’ve got two or three Magic Words, string them together however you like! It’ll probably work, and probably deal [sum] damage or last for [sum] rounds. Casting a single Magic Word is risky and inefficient. It’ll probably only deal 1d6+[dice] damage at most, and might require a Save vs. Mishap. Having three Magic Words in a spell is a bit unstable, but focused. There are spells like Sleep that have only one Word, they are actually shorthand for “Power Word: Sleep” or “Conjure Grease”.

EVEN CHEAPER TRICKS - DEALING WITH MAGIC

Die Trying does lay a lot of work on the DM when it comes to adjudicating the effects of magic. Spells might be invented as they are being cast for the first time, and it’s up to DM to produce something, from scratch, that is fun, balanced, interesting and useful. There are a few key tips:

1. Go with your first impression
2. Go with what the players think should happen
3. Base everything numerical on [sum] and/or [dice]
4. Mock cheapskates and rules-lawyers mercilessly, if they have to argue why a spell would have an effect that is clearly ridiculous or game-breaking, then it fizzles into a pun-based mockery

If, and it’s likely, a spell is invented that is either too powerful, or too weak, there are options. Some spells are only tolerated by the universe once, after that they settle into a lower, more stable power-level. Others have weird quirks and idiosyncrasies that can only be learned with practice, and will become more powerful over time.

You don’t need the word “Power” if you’ve got “Word”. You don’t need “of”, “from”, “to”, “ed”, “ion”, or any junk like that. Why do you think you had to go to wizard school?

EXTRA RACES

MINDSETS

Alongside helmets, magic rings, gauntlets etc. adventurers are able to find and equip Mindsets over the course of their travels. You can have as many as makes sense, but can only change them 1/day. Backstories, boss fights, out-of-character behaviour, and in-jokes are all viable sources of a Mindset:

Angry – reroll failed initiative check if you immediately charge

Bizarre – On critical successes/failures, very odd things happen

Confidence – +2 to do the first thing you suggest, instead of dallying/planning

Cowardly – +2 Defense while fleeing

Cruel – When you down an enemy, you can force a Morale check. Results may vary.

Curious – 1/session, you find something hidden

Desperate – +1 to everything while at 0 HP

Determined – take +1 against anything opposing your oath

Dramatic – Below HP/2, counts as a helmet

Fated – Once, ever, roll 1d10 instead of 1d20

Flamboyant – 6+CHA retainer slots (up from 3+CHA)

Gallant – people you protect reroll failed saves

Greedy – Know the exact value of anything you hold

Grumpy – Ignore most positive and negative morale effects

Happy – NPCs don't automatically treat you as an "adventurer"

Helpful – Your friends can reroll a d20, once per person

Hungry – +4 to save against anything you ate

Innocent – Anything will hesitate to kill you, at least for a moment

Innovative – +2 to any checks that earned you an XP

Joker – An in-character quip that makes the DM laugh heals 1HP, up to 3/session

Knowledgeable – Learn a new rumor each session

Monstrous – Convert 1d4 Trauma into a mutation over a long rest

Mysterious – Trade this for a different Mindset when you reveal your backstory.

Observant – INT check to ask detailed questions after you've left a scene (flashback style)

Paranoia – receive a warning before you do anything extremely dangerous. No details.

Pompous – Enemies that fail a morale check and would flee/rout (not retreat) instead grovel

Proud – +1 damage at full HP

Righteous – Counts as a shield against anyone philosophically opposed to you

Stalwart – Immune to the Winded condition

Zealous – Your voice counts as a holy symbol

WHAT FINDS YOU IN THE DARK

Dungeon

Exploration

1. Encounter
2. Glint
3. Nothing
4. Nothing
5. Torch decays by half
6. Torch and lantern decay

Encounter

1. Recurring Character
2. Local
3. Threat
4. Wanderer
5. Weird/Solo
6. Boss

Glint

1. Ambush
2. Encounter
3. Trap
4. Nothing
5. Nothing
6. Treasure

Treasure

1. Tool / Resource
2. Coinage / Gem
3. Art object / Luxury
4. Weapon / Armour
5. Potion / Scroll
6. Magic Item

Wilderness

Exploration

1. Encounter
2. Traces
3. Weather
4. Resource Drain
5. Hazard
6. Feature

Traces

1. Encounter surprised
2. Ambush
3. Hazard
4. Hazard + Feature
5. Encounter + Treasure
6. Treasure

Weather

Roll 1d20 if it is currently sunny, 1d12 if it is raining: Seven or more = Sunny

Six or less = Rain

1 = Weird Weather

Resource Drain

Leader, INT/2 negates, or…

Loser, no save, or…

Everyone, CON negates

1. Fatigue, return to town
2. 1d4/2 Fatigue
3. 1d4 Mud, water + warmth
4. 1d4 Hunger or 1d4 Thirst
5. Baggage (1d4): Craving, Bickering, Exposure, Homesickness
6. Lose (1d4): Random item, 1d6 HP, -1 Morale, your bearings
7. Gain (1d4): 1 Trauma, minor leg injury, +1 Death Dice, random disease threatens
8. Fail next save, ill omen, minor curse threatens, lose all weapons/rations