d6 Paltry Monarchs of the Stoker Counties

The archetype of the Deep Country King has been romanticised from the loftiest opera houses to the filthiest dockyard drinking songs.

A heap of pampered bulge. Dripping mutton-leg in one hand, the other wrapped around a courtesan. At once a jovial host and petty persecutor. Slow to rise, fast to proclaim. A fat paragon and beloved laughing-stock to their subjects. 

Is there actually any truth to all this? Should the Modern Bastiard not be above such spitting-down on our country cousins? In search of the real monarchs of those simple lands, I ventured to the Stoker Counties. 

Here there was at least an effort to embrace industry, but instead of rising to the electrical heights of Bastion, they fell backward into their own shadow. There is a small trade with Bastion, mostly in low-grade coal and peat, hauled for weeks on bankburst canals by thick-set ponies. Barely enough to keep a refrigerator running for the night, but I suppose it's a tradition that holds a certain pride for these sorts. 

Queen Azblanche I of Payle, Blessed Watcher of the Roads and Protector of All Seas

I expected my travels would mostly land me in overfurnished courts and sweat-drenched halls, but upon my arrival to Payle I was hurried into a personal meeting with their Queen. She sat in a white stone pavilion, among broadleaf shade and trickling fountains. She smiled at me as you would a late night visitor to your doorstep, urging me to make myself at home but always asking of my next destination. Though we are nowhere near the ocean, she made constant references to my upcoming voyage, and the potential hazards if All Seas are not treated with respect. 

As conversation turned to silence I felt a certain calm, then a shortness of breath, followed by a dark pressure about my body. I'm ashamed to confess that I excused myself and made immediate plans for our ongoing journey. 

 

King Topet II of the Nethermier, Warlord of the Great Gathering

This is more what I was expecting. I arrived to a field of high-pointed tents, gaudy in clashing colours, each flanked with overflowing armsracks of bills, glaives, and pole-bows. As I was ushered between tents I was met with a parade of ostentatiously dressed officers, each more booming and theatric than the last. I was told of the King's strategic prowess, their martial ferocity, and the great legacy of their bloodline. It seems the current war is focused on just about every neighbouring people that does not already serve in this patchwork army. 

Finally, I was invited to watch the King dine at sunset, as did a crowd of brightly armoured knights. He entered, youthful and pale, with a bowl of red stew under one arm. As he moved about the room he greeted each soldier by name, recalled some past glory together, and fed them a handful of stew before moving on. As he came to me, he spoke my name clearly, and recalled a moment that I certainly remember sharing with him, although I had met him just today. As the stringy meat and cupreous gravy passed my lips I suddenly felt at home. I knew that I would die for him, and he for me. 

After some firm persuasion, my travelling companions urged me away from the camp under moonlight, but I still think of him and the war to come. 

 

 

Queen Yxby III of Leyerset, First, Third, and Last

At last, a palace of sorts! Though not one as I had expected on this journey. A casteline treehouse of knotted wood polished to a mahogany shine, and no clear method of access. 

This mining town had apparently given up their trade, letting their contract with Bastion expire, instead embracing lives of pure devotion to the Queen. This left the town itself rather desperate, with each of their crop of mastodian potatoes having to feed multiple households. The thick, barklike peels are most prized, I hear, called "flesh of the Queen". Despite this hunger, no local would accept a share of the tinned rations we brought in. It seems that their hunger is a price for the immortality of their Queen, who I was repeatedly told I could not meet. 

Of course, I would not be so easily defeated. In a quiet moment under the late afternoon sun, I followed a servant into the woods, hoping to glimpse a secret means of climbing to the palace, but instead they just went deeper, the lush forest turning to dead trees and dry air. Then all of a sudden I saw her, a humanoid torso projecting from a fallen tree. As she began to writhe, so too did the exposed roots and splintered branches of her tree. The servant donned the queen with fruit and flowers, describing the poverty that her subjects were living under, eliciting a contented sigh from the monarch. Then, her eyes slowly opened and her red gaze met mine, sending me fleeing to the nearest road and onto our next host. 

 

 

Queen Ormellion IV the Three-Crowned of Fayerelk, Hoggerly, and Evengarr 

This young Queen, I was told, holds the glory of three crowns, finally uniting three realms that share a bloody history of mutual animosity. 

Her grey palace sits alone, with no other settlement in sight. In truth, my route here could barely be described as a road, barely more than a beaten footpath across dry plains. 

Yet, her court was full. Musicians rejoice of this new peace, and representatives from all three realms drink and smoke together, full of self-congratulation. 

The Queen sits alone, her three crowns hung at her side, her head buried in a book. I was told by a wrinkled steward that I could ask her just three questions, yet our conversation stretched on for hours. Each question I asked about her lands was met with vagaries or monosyllables, but in turn she asked me everything I knew of other lands. Of course we spoke of Bastion, but she seemed especially interested in the other monarchs and their struggles. At first I thought her ambitious, considering future conquests, but instead I left pitying her apparent boredom reached at such a young age, and the feeling that she considers her triumphant position not rightly earned through adequate struggle. 

 

 

Grand Prince Krysopel V of Urwall 

At a braided junction of canals, Urwall is a rare beacon of order out in Deep Country. Its grand ramparts are dotted with tunnels for narrowboats and barges, and the people flourish from the extortionate tolls taken in return for passage. I saw more than one boatman hauled from their craft and thrown into a dungeon for refusing to pay. 

The town itself is packed with people of some modernity! Like an adorable country imitation of Bastion. I felt quite at home if not for the incomprehensible dialect and that specific country odour. 

The Prince held an open court once a week, and the queue for entry encircled his red-brick palace. Eventually I was granted an audience, and explained my exploration of country monarchs. The Prince uttered some vague poetry on the nature of jealousy, then took me on a personal tour of their palace. As each crudely-luxurious chamber was revealed to me, the Prince asked if I had seen such things in Bastion. Of course I indulged his pride, but I suspect he saw through me. Before I left he asked me which city was greater, Urwall or Bastion. Before I could answer he stopped me and had me escorted outside the city walls, returning to his fawning subjects. 

 

 

King Jezuli VI of the Vacant Realm

After I had met all five monarchs in our itinerary we set a course for Bastion. Yet, as is so often the way out here, the road home appeared quite different than that we took here. We found our little expedition wandering between great hills that we had not seen before, with the sun somehow always at our backs. With some reluctance, I stopped to ask a hermit for directions. 

Upon closer inspection he was not alone, but sat with a sleeping child, playing them a gentle lullaby on a weather-beaten harp. 

He explained that we were truly lost, and no journey back to Bastion was possible at this time. We had to wait for the Sun to be right, which may never happen. He claimed to be building a kingdom of his own, and we were welcome to stay if we swore our fealty. Of course we left the man, pressing onward as best we could, but each day of travel brought us back to his hill. 

If this correspondence reaches Bastion, I hope my writings prove informative for countryphiles, and I urge you not to seek us out. We have a place under our King now, and his realm will continue to grow until even Bastion bows to its rightful ruler. 

Mash-Up Character Method

People worry a lot about worldbuilding and creating an evocative setting for their games. Locations are great, but in my experience a setting is best delivered through its Characters.

Its a philosophy I've taken to the extreme in Electric Bastionland, where a large amount of setting is delivered through the Failed Careers section that makes up two-thirds of the book. Understanding these people is the way to understand the world that they live in, and it doesn't exist without them.

So I wanted to talk in a longer form about how I create characters for my own games, and how they generate the tone of my own games.

Start with what you know.

First, I create a short list (let's do three of each for this example) of concepts that I could use for characters. These aren't interesting on their own, but we're going to combine them to make something that's easy to conceptualise but has a little depth.

I'll start with the most obvious, which is that of played-out character archetypes like you've seen used a thousand times before.

1. Thief with a heart of gold
2. Wise woman of the village
3. Used-car salesman

These ideas are easy to run with, but they aren't interesting on their own, so let's do two more. Another easy one is animals. It's easy to project animal characteristics onto a person, imagining the equivalent human behaviour.

1. Snake
2. Terrier
3. Thoroughbred Horse

Your lists might look different, but you're looking for any concepts that can be projected onto a person. You might be able to imagine the personality of a certain type of car, genre of music, or a typeface if those are your areas of expertise. You can dive into straight-up character traits if you wish (cowardice, anxiety, envy) and I find the negative traits work well here. Better still if you dare to draw on your own negative traits. 

If you want a real challenge just grab completely random nouns, but that's very much hard-mode for this.

Mash them Up

Now we combine our lists to get:

1. Snakelike thief with a heart of gold
2. Terrier wise-woman
3. Thoroughbred used-car salesman

This, but backwards.

The ideal here is that you get two ideas that juxtapose each other. I'd argue that the snake-like thief is a bit too redundant, as we're probably already imagining the thief to have some of the same characteristics as the snake. Similarly I think the sort of preening behaviour I'd expert from a thoroughbred horse are redundant with the overly confident used-car salesman cliche. Let's mix them around a bit.

1. Thoroughbred thief with a heart of gold
2. Snakelike wise-woman
3. Terrier used-car salesman

I'm happier with these combinations as they move the initial archetype away from its cliche. You've got a thief that might have a heart of gold, but perhaps their vanity and showmanship creates some conflict. The wise-woman isn't going to be the helpful, maternal figure I was expecting, and instead can be cold and downright threatening with her snakelike elements. Finally the used-car salesman can be sleazy like we'd expect, but also persistent, excitable, and even a bit adorable.

Describing the Look

I don't like descriptions like this.

They're around 5"9 with hazel eyes and medium-brown hair worn in a rough bun. Their overalls are typical of an engineer, and they carry a selection of tools on their belt. They have a confident gait with...

Yeah you've lost me. Just give me two things.

Give me the overview of their appearance in two or three words. I do the same with locations. If I describe an "abandoned warehouse" then your imagination can fill the gaps as well as any description I give of dusty crates and faded paint. Not everybody will imagine the exact same picture, but it gives you a foundation.

Obviously at the table you've got room to expand on this description, but I'd save that for if you need it. Certainly for your notes you should be able to summarise it to two or three words.

Most importantly, draw on the two elements you used for this character for this description.

1. Slender, handsome man. (thoroughbred/thief)
2. Oily old woman. (snake/wise-woman)
3. Scruffy little man (terrier/salesman)

But wait! I don't even know what colour this scruffy little man's hair is?

Wait and see if anybody asks. You've already pictured somebody in your head, and your players are quite capable of doing the same.

Now just as I liked having a juxtaposition in the elements, point out one element of their appearance that stands out against the broad strokes you just painted.

1. Slender, handsome man wearing scruffy patched-up clothes. (thoroughbred/thief)
2. Oily, elderly woman with a mechanical arm. (snake/wise-woman)
3. Scruffy little man wearing gold-rimmed glasses (terrier/salesman)

What would cause you to notice them in a crowd?

The Voice

Voices become difficult if you overthink them. Maybe you have a range of flawless dialects and voice-actor-worthy performances, but I tend to stick to more earthy limits and go into any character's voice with the goals that it be:

• Easy for me to maintain and repeat
• Easy for the players to recognise as a particular character

So with that in mind I stick pretty close to the original elements, but make sure they're both being represented. Even if you don't nail what you were going for the key is that you can easily repeat it. 

1. Slender, handsome man. (thoroughbred/thief) - Here I'd mash up the high-society aspirations from the thoroughbred with the fact that this man is clearly just a lowly thief. Think of the most down-to-earth person you know and imagine how they'd sound trying to fit in at a fancy day-at-the-races.
2. Oily elderly woman. (snake/wise-woman) - Sssslow with a predatory precision, but keep that old-lady warmth and overly familiar side. Lean hard into the "oh I could just eat you up" side of the grandmother stereotype for something veering between creepy and comforting.
3. Scruffy little man (terrier/salesman) - Fast and excitable of course! Yappy even! They're so glad you're here and maybe their attention span isn't great so hey, come and look at this. But throw in all the lingo you'd expect from somebody trying to bombard you with car specifications.

Remember to include physical behaviours as part of their voice. Our thoroughbred is always trying to stand taller and prouder. Our snake is licking her lips and almost gliding across the room. Our terrier is bounding from one thing to the next and snarling at bigger rivals like he's trying to prove something.

Their Place in the World

This is how we tie them into the world. You might be creating these characters for specific gaps in the game you're planning. Maybe you need somebody to serve the characters at the shop they just wandered into.

This is where things get really interesting! You might think that our thief is obviously a professional burglar in Bastion. Our wise-woman clearly occupies some hut out in Deep Country dishing out potions. Our used-car salesman is trying to convince a tram company to upgrade to a new model on behalf of his bosses.

Yeah, this works, but why not put them into the gaps you already have? Gaps you wouldn't expect to see them in?

Our thoroughbred-thief might be working in the dive-bar the characters just went into.
Our snake-woman might be a professor at the university.
Our salesman might actually be the mayor of a borough, surrounded by people he can boss around.

Think about how they can bring their existing personality to a role you wouldn't expect to see them in. You'll be surprised how readily the players accept characters that might initially seem like a bad fit for their role in the world. It even makes both the person and place more memorable.

Their Goal

Now you know the character, and you know their current situation, think about how they would want it to change. Nobody is ever completely happy, after all. Consider all the ways that they are an ill-fit for the role you put them in, or ways in which their initial potential appears to be unfulfilled. Lean into those and give them each one really clear goal that they want to achieve. This doesn't have to be some grand scheme, in fact the basest desires often work best of all.

1. Slender, handsome dive-bar waiter (thoroughbred/thief). Wants to work at a much finer establishment.
2. Oily, elderly biology professor (snake/wise-woman). Wants to taste all sorts of taboo meats.
3. Scruffy little mayor (terrier/salesman). Wants to embarrass the mayor of a neighbouring district that he feels talks down to him. 

Finally, I give them a silly memorable name (just one name) that nods to their original concepts. It might feel on-the-nose but remember the goal here is to make something memorable. 

1. Derby the dive-bar waiter
2. Professor Piver
3. Mayor Ratter

As with other methods I use, it might take you a little while the first time, but it's easy enough to do on the fly if you just think of a few core elements ahead of time. 

d100 Oddities for New Characters

Sick of the Starter Arcana in the Into the Odd book? Do this instead.

1. Roll your Into the Odd character as normal.

2. You also roll d100 for an Oddity. You know how it works unless stated otherwise.

3. If your character would have an Arcanum, they roll two Oddities and keep the one they like best.

d100 Starter Oddities

1. Essence Extractor - Extract the consciousness of a pacified or willing being to be stored within. The consciousness can be injected into the still warm body of a dead being, giving them a new body to inhabit. 
2. Time Bomb - Time slows down sixty times in a 10m sphere around the blast. Lasts for a minute outside the sphere, or one second inside. One use. 
3. Helpful Bug - A metal replica of a beetle that can perform simple tasks. 
4. Plasmic Convertor - Turns a being's blood into a drop of liquid that grants single use of one special property the being has. 2-in-6 chance of converting an undesirable effect instead.   
5. Homunculus Gum - Whoever chews this gum bonds with the substance, which will begin to shape into a small gummy version of the chewer. It follows orders but has a bad attitude. Adding further gum will increase its size but decrease its loyalty. If somebody new chews up the homunculus, the bond transfers to them. 
6. Pheromone Pack - One dose each of Attraction, Rage, and Fear pheromones that work on any creature of animal intelligence. 
7. Beastmode Formula - A liquid tonic that grant the drinker the properties of a specific animal for one minute. Examples are Eyes of a Hawk, Nose of a Dog, Strength of a Bear etc. Three doses. 
8. Gamma Ray - Fires a green beam (d12). If the target would lose STR, they gain that much STR instead, grow 50% in size, and their physical attacks are Enhanced. If their STR would exceed 21 they explode in green smoke. Any effects wear off when combat dies down. Has 3 charges.  
9. Amnesia Font - Stored at your house. Any head dunked into the water loses a specific memory as defined by the dunker. Anyone drinking the water absorbs all of the memories lost to the font. 
10. Wish Spirit - Three measures of liquor that each grant a wish. The wish only lasts as long as the bracing kick of the liquor (d6 turns). 
11. Duplicator - A coffin-sized box. Put one thing in, get two copies. Both copies are hugely inferior to the original. 
12. Mammoth Mask - Highly ornate with a prehensile trunk and tusks that can be used as a weapon (d6) at a push. 
13. Smart Arm - The fanciest weapon you own is also intelligent, communicating psychically to whoever is holding it. It functions as a normal weapon and gives smart advice. Once per day it can Enhance an attack that particularly pleases it, but it can Impair attacks attacks that displease it any time it likes. Roll 1d6 to find its personality: 1: Honourable, 2: Ambitious, 3: Bloodthirsty, 4: Curious, 5: Pacifist, 6: Bored. 
14. Devourer - A football-sized bug that curls up in your backpack, but can be woken once per day to eat its own size in organic matter, no matter how inedible. 
15. Truth Leaf - Smoking this hallucinogenic herb reveals a ridiculous truth and a ridiculous lie. Three doses. 
16. Dehydrated Beasts - Three rubbery things resembling toy animals. If thrown into water, roll d6 to see what the thing expands into. 1: Mishydration (just a mass of twitching flesh), 2: Crush Beast (STR 18, 7hp, d12 Crush), 3: Brain Beast (WIL 18, 9hp, d8 Brain-Ray), 4: Wing Beast (12hp, d8 Beak), 5: Slime Beast (8hp, Armour 2, d6 Slime Spew), 6: Jaw Beast (STR 14, 10hp, d10 Jaws). When there's nothing left to kill, the creature collapses into inert powder. 
17. Hover Plate - Platter-sized tray that freezes in space if you whistle a specific tune. There's a second tune to release it. It supports up to one person's weight and can be forcibly released with a STR Save. 
18. Spare Head - A completely different head that you can switch with your own. Both heads can survive just fine off your body, and generally dislike not being the main head. Roll a new WIL score for each head. WIL damage and psychological effects only affect one head at a time. 
19. Genesis Molasses - A tin of deep green syrup that causes lush vegetation to grow within minutes, no matter where it is spread. If eaten, the victim loses d6 STR and begins coughing up moss. 
20. Demon Collar - Any being wearing this collar begins to take on a demonic appearance and loses d6 WIL each day. At WIL 0 they lose their identity, claim a new identity in your service, but will only follow instructions that cause harm to others. 
21. Beserker Gland - When you take Ability Score Loss or suffer serious pain you fly into a rage. If your next attack is a melee attack, it is Enhanced. If it is ranged, it is Impaired. Once the attack is out of your system you return to normal. 
22. Imprint Capsule - Any being that enters this booth is bombarded with smoke and emerges spluttering. They imprint upon the next being they see and dedicate their life to them until they next sleep. 
23. Terrormite - A big termite, pinned down in its box. Once released it burrows into the nearest living creature it can find, causing intense pain. Within a minute the victim develops a tough outer skin (Armour 1) and find they can spit acid (d6 ongoing). This lasts for an hour until the victim coughs out d6 Terrormite larva and returns to normal. If two terrormites enter the same host they fight inside them, causing d8 STR loss. 
24. Chameleomole - A tiny mammal that can phase into any material without disturbing it. It can talk, but is extremely shy and will only answer a question with one word before phasing into hiding in their master's body. 
25. Earth-Angel - A tiny clay figurine that can be smashed to cause an earthquake. Those nearby are thrown to the ground and all structures take d12 damage. 
26. Wild Tongue - You can talk with any living thing, but what they tell you might not make sense. 
27. Spite Wisp - A glowing orb that materialises near to you whenever anybody gets badly hurt (STR Damage). If you will it, it will begin to attack the victim with sparks (d6), disappearing when they are subdued or killed. 
28. Threatening Probe - Has no function, but glows and vibrates in a way that suggests it could be used for distributing extreme pain. 
29. Caged Biter - A monkey-like creature (STR 5, 5hp, d6 bite) in a cage. Once released it attacks its designated target and fights to the death, ignoring any further commands. If it wins, it eats some of its opponent before slinking back to its cage. It won't follow any other commands. 
30. Saucer Scar - You don't remember getting it. In the presence of artificial light it tingles, and you can will yourself to levitate slowly towards the light.  
31. Maiming Claw - A grappling hook that latches onto living tissue with an unbreakable grip. You know the trick for getting it to release. 
32. Trick Coin - Looks like a Silver Shilling but has three secret functions that you know how to use. First is a weak light. Second is a powerful magnet. Third is a d10 bomb (destroying the coin). 
33. Universal Pin - A hair-pin that sticks into any surface, no matter the material. Causes no pain if stuck into flesh. 
34. Curse Doll - Anything significant that happens to the doll happens to you, beneficial or harmful. 
35. Snake-Cat - A cloth toy with a snake body and cat head. Once per day you can throw it on the ground and have it transform into a real snake (STR 3, 4hp, d6 Bite, d6 STR loss on Critical Damage) or cat (STR 3, DEX 16, 4hp, d4 Claws) that loosely follows your commands. It returns to its cloth form after a few minutes.  
36. Second-Chance Skull - If you die, your body disintegrates to ash and immediately regenerates from this skull in perfect health.  
37. Jerk Sprite - A statuette of dried meat. Whatever eats this will act like an utter jerk for the next hour, even to their most loved ones. 
38. Powder Sack - Any powder stored in this small pouch becomes essentially unlimited. Turning the pouch inside out empties the current contents, with no unusual effect. Currently contains salt. 
39. Star-Beacon - A heavy tyre-sized metal beacon (requires two people to carry) with a matching pin-badge. Pushing the badge teleports the wearer back to the beacon. 
40. Dire Barnacle - Three vicious little mollusks (1hp, Armour 1) that explode in a 2m blast (d8) when killed. 
41. Ambrosia Seed - A bag of golden seed that any animal can't resist eating if thrown. If they're smart they'll realise you have the bag when the thrown seed runs out. 
42. Haunted Egg - A stone egg that can be used as a crude weapon (d6). The last thing killed by the egg will inhabit it as a ghostly voice, and will answer questions to the best of its knowledge. It doesn't have any more knowledge than it did in life, but anyone can understand its words. 
43. Tiny Shield Generator - A rat-sized collar that will creates a force-field (Armour 3) around the wearer. Only works on subjects of chicken-size or smaller. 
44. Echojector - Hears up to ten seconds of sound and repeats it at vastly increased volume on command.
45. Doom Siren - A tiny clockwork box lets out a booming drone when a being within 10ft dies. 
46. Stick Eye - A glass eye on a stick that the holder can see through. 
47. Champion's Mark - When you defeat a willing opponent unarmed (even as part of a group) you glow with health and gain the immediate effects of a Short Rest. If anyone defeats you unarmed the Mark transfers to them. 
48. Hell Spice - Extremely concentrated powdered hot spice. Enough to sabotage three meals. 
49. Bear Jelly - A pot of jelly that reeks of animal musk. Will scare off small creatures, but attract any large mammals. 
50. Sub-Flare - A one shot pistol that launches a burning flare immediately skywards, burning through any substance in the way and leading a fist-width hole. 
51. Orphan's Ruin - 6oz of Milky drink. 1oz pacifies any unease, 2oz causes a deep sleep, 3oz eternal sleep. 
52. Steel Goggles - When switched on, objects that have a current owner glow faintly green, objects that have been taken from their rightful owner glow red. Objects that have no current claimant look normal. 
53. Parallel Shifter - A metal tin big enough to fit a pistol inside. If an object is placed inside and shaken, the object is replaced with a parallel version of itself from another reality. Roll d6. 1: Only ash remains. 2-5: The change is cosmetic but significant. 6: The new version is better than the old. 
54. Brain Jar - A jar of brine and wires that can sustain the brain of a freshly killed creature, allowing it to psychically project its thoughts. The brain must be fed blood or else it dies. 
55. Stinkincense - A pot of wax with a wick. When burned, sewage slowly drips over from the top of the jar. If left for an hour it will burn out, but produce enough sewage to fill a large room.  
56. Cosmic Ranker - A grey wand that, when waved between two objects, pulls to the object that it deems best by the standards requested. In case of a tie it flies from the wearer's hand. 
57. Rail-Lens - Any missile fired through this lens (breaking it) accelerates to impossible speeds, causing d20 damage and tearing through structures.  
58. Anti-matter Key - When placed in a keyhole, utterly annihilates the door. 1-in-6 chance of annihilating itself too. 
59. Nightmare Flower - Anyone sleeping in the same room as this flower suffers horrible nightmares. When they wake, they bring back the worst thing from their nightmare with them. 
60. Sanctuary Idol - Burning a candle in front of the idol causes smoke to billow out and reinforce all doors, open passageways, and windows into the room. Nothing can enter through these as long as the candle burns. Has no effect outdoors. 
61. Banker Pig - A clay pig with a coin slot. A penny causes an oinking sound. A silver shilling causes it to transform into a normal pig for an hour. A gold gilder causes it to transform into a vicious boar (7hp, d6 gore) for an hour. If it dies in pig form, it never transforms back. 
62. Evacuation Syrup - Removes any ill effects the drinker is suffering from, including anything short of death, but flushes the body clean in every sense. One dose. 
63. Alien Bone - Looks like a wishbone, but if broken sends out a psychic wave of pain to all in 10m (d20 WIL loss).
64. Savage Vine Berries - If eaten, rapidly growing vines erupt from the mouth (d6 STR loss) and grow into a sprawling vine filling a large room and clinging to whatever surface it can. 2 berries.
65. Ghost Story - If you tell this story to somebody as they fall asleep, their ghostly skeleton leaves their body for the night, returning when they wake. The skeleton acts as the owner wishes and is completely immaterial. 
66. Companion Ball - A hollow ball that rolls behind you and never stops trying to follow you. Can pop open to store a head-sized object or smaller.
67. Green Soil - Small pot of soil. Any plant that is planted into it will grow a whole season's worth of growth in one minute, but otherwise grows normally. 
68. Pyrophone - A klaxon-like horn that repels fire away from it. 
69. Stem-Stone - Pebble that transforms into whatever inorganic substance it last touched. Currently the leather of your pouch. 
70. Maggot Prince - A tiny maggot with a gold band marking. Flies and maggots will vacate the area to make room for it, and anything that eats bugs will be strongly drawn to try and eat it. 
71. Ovality Bomb - Explodes in a cloud of beige dust, forming a 2m high egg around the blast area. Nothing inside can break out, but the outside is easily broken. The egg keeps its contents alive in a happy stasis until released. 
72. Worldly Tortoise - A small tortoise (STR 2, DEX 1, WIL 6, 1hp, Armour 1) that knows the way to anywhere you ask, but gets there very slowly. 
73. Fantastic Machine - Huge machine stored in an old factory. Has a slot where paper instructions can be inserted, with a coin slot for a 10s payment. After an hour of clinking it produces a rough approximation of the requested item, but anything fancy is poorly made. 
74. Unstoppable Rod - When thrown, nothing stops the movement of this rod, including gravity. Eventually flies off into space regardless of its trajectory. 
75. Slam Bomb - Causes all doors and windows in a large-room sized blast to slam open or shut, even if secured. 
76. Air-Sac - A membranous sac on your chest that you can inflate to 2m in diameter. Your lungs can draw on the air within, but remember the inflated sac floats. 
77. Gore Candle - Any injuries that happen in the presence of this candle's light are extra painful, messy, and harmful, doubling any STR loss caused. 
78. Skeletal Dove - Carefully assembled. Can be crushed to unleash a cloud of confused doves. 
79. Slaughter Brand - A three-pointed mark on your hand. When you kill a worthy opponent, one point turns darker. When all three points turn dark, your arm grows into an unnaturally strong, chitinous claw (d10 damage) for the next hour. When your arm returns, the brand resets. 
80. Noble Tumor - This visible growth absorbs the next harmful effect to enter your body, whether poison, parasite, curse, or otherwise, before dropping off. 
81. Blank Contract - A contract with blank parts. Can be modified into any sort of deal you wish. The first party to break the contract is blasted with a beam from above (d12, ignore armour) and the contract dissolves into shredded parchment. 
82. Utility Orb - Any tool that could plausibly exist in a mundane pocket-knife has a 50% chance of existing in this orb. Keep a track of what tools it does and doesn't have. 
83. Cocoon Wax - Anything covered in this wax is sealed off in a cocoon. After 24 hours it bursts free as a winged, hostile version of its previous self. One use. 
84. Plague Wart - A carefully extracted wart sealed in a jar. Anyone that touches it contracts a disgusting plague, losing d6 STR each hour. Any touch immediately spreads the plague. There is no cure that you know of. 
85. Ego-Mirror - A pocket mirror that functions as normal, but doesn't reflect anyone looking in. 
86. Fetch-Pearl - A silvery pearl that can attach to any item submerged in water. On a mental command from you, it floats to the surface, carrying whatever it is attached to. If attached to the ground, it just rips up a large chunk of it to fetch. 
87. Tiny Phantasm - A floating mass of swirling colours the size of a penny. It follows your every command and leaves a multicolour trail across any surface it touches. Cannot physically interact in any other way.
88. Prosthetic Tail - A metal tail that straps to your body and functions as a third arm. 
89. Devil Salts - Awakens any creature from sleep or unconsciousness, but they flail and scream in terror for a few seconds first. They have no memory of this afterwards. 
90. Phase Tonic - A dose sends you out of sync with reality for around ten seconds. You can act as normal, but when the tonic wears off, time snaps back to the point before you drank and all actions are undone. The dose is still consumed. 2 doses. 
91. Reconstruction Silk - A handkerchief that repairs any object it is draped over for an hour. The object must be small enough to be covered. 
92. Sabotage Disc - A disc of metal that can be slipped into even the most tightly cased machine, causing it to immediately malfunction in the most serious way possible. 
93. Preserved Soul - A tiny shriveled humanoid that can be thrown into a fire to release a flailing alien apparition (d8 eye-beams, immaterial, lashes out for 1d6 turns before vanishing in a flash of light).   
94. Animation Oil - When rubbed onto an object, it springs to life for the next hour as your loyal servant. One dose.
95. Pain Wire - Causes instant agony when touched by bare skin (you have gloves). 20m in length when uncoiled. 
96. Hunger Clamp - A small clamp that can be clipped onto loose skin, causing the victim to have a ceaseless hunger, which they'll do anything to sate. They suffer no ill effect from over-eating, but will not starve any faster than normal. 
97. Proxy Chain - When two or more beings are in contact with the chain, any harmful effects that affect one of them affect all instead. 
98. Tin Buddy - A can that springs out to a 2ft tall automaton (2hp, Armour 1). He is loud, annoying, and doesn't do a good job of whatever you request. Has no real means of fighting.
99. Broken Basilisk Symbol - Two pieces of an astral symbol set in lead. Anyone that pushes the pieces together while looking at it loses d20 WIL. 
100. Gallon-Syringe - A tiny syringe that can draw up to a bath-sized amount of liquid. 

Odder Characters for Into the Odd

To make up for the delay getting Into the Odd released, have three pages of stuff that didn't fit into the game.

Tired of playing regular explorers? Give these three new character types a try.

http://goo.gl/dJk6Co

(layout by me, not the awesome layout work of Jeff Russell that the main game has been blessed with)

Odd Changes - Starting Packages

For the next few posts I'm going to be talking about the most recent changes made to Into the Odd. The most recent version is now up, so check it out on the sidebar to the right.

I've used starting packages in some form for a while now. The goal was to remove that shopping phase of character generation, where you pour over equipment lists looking for the best gear to spend your starting gold on.

Shopping for gear can be fun, but I didn't want it to be the preface to everyone's first delve into the game.

Here, every expedition gets basic climbing and camping gear, rations, and lanterns. On top of this, there have been limited personal equipment choices (take one weapon and one tool), and multiple versions of tables to roll on, but none as elaborate as the current instance.

There's no additional rolling. You just take your highest score, your HP, and look at the chart to see what equipment you got. So if you have a high score of 15 and 3hp, you get a club, some ether, a crowbar, and a flute.

Which leads onto the most recent change to starting packages.

I looked over the starting packages and saw that the general theme was a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, a tool or disposable item, and maybe a quirky extra thing like having no nose.

What luxury! Having a sword and a gun suggests a lot about how to deal with the problems you'll face. You play a lot differently if all you have the starting equipment given in our example.

So now you generally get a single weapon, perhaps two if you've got terrible ability scores and I feel bad for you. Replacing these excess muskets and maces is an assortment of baggage from ferrets and fireworks to animal repellent and accordions.

You previously started the game with an Arcanum if WIL was your highest score, but things have changed since then. Arcana are less reliant on your WIL score, and I wanted to pull back a little on giving them out at the very start. These are rare things, after all, and you're supposed to be searching hungrily for them. Now they're included in the starting packages, mostly at the lower end, another consolation prize for rolling low Ability Scores.

To put it into context, I'll roll up a group of four characters right now, under a stopwatch.

Dot Hudson
STR 12, DEX 13, WIL 11, 6hp

Longaxe (d8), Rum, Bomb

Reggie Clack
STR 9, DEX 8, WIL 6, 1hp, Armour 1.
Sword (d6), Pistol (d6), Fire Oil, Modern Armour
Sense nearby unearthly beings

Flora Beacham
STR 9, DEX 15, WIL 10, 1hp
Pistol Brace (d8), Canary, Ether

Humpy Quinn
STR 12, DEX 8, WIL 9, 4hp
Pistol (d6), Brandy, Rocket
Toxin-Immune

Clock stopped at 2 minutes, 12 seconds. Not too bad for a full party. 

They have a good selection of gear, but most of them will be hungry for money to get a backup weapon, or maybe some armour. Reggie is the exception here, looking pretty well equipped, but then with those scores and 1hp, I think he deserves a treat. I like to give characters like this an innate ability, to prevent the character from feeling expendable. If you let Reggie die, his sixth-sense dies with him. 

Character Sheet Blinkers

In some games, a character sheet can feel like a horse's blinkers.

This week I've read reports from a number of players talking about their character sheet like a list of restrictions on what they can and cannot do. It's their main consideration when deciding on an action, their tool for interacting with the game, and their window into the setting. 

The reason I use minimal characters in Into the Odd is to prevent this effect.

I don't want you to have to think about Base Attack Bonuses, Caster Levels, Aspects, Armour Class, Reflex Defence, Motivations, Skills, Feats, or Weapon Expertise. 

All you get is this.

STR 14, DEX 9, WIL 8, 4hp.

Pistol, Pipe, Animal Trap, Spyglass

You're a pretty strong guy with a pistol, trap and spyglass. Plus you get to smoke a pipe. Now tell me what you want to do about this horrible situation you've gotten yourself into. 

Into the Odd Pregen Cast

Rolling three stats and HP too tough for you? Roll 1d6 and take a gender-neutral pregen.

1: Bryce, Novice Revolutionary.
STR 14, DEX 8, WIL 9, 2hp.
Sword (1d6), Musket (1d6+1), Lackey (STR 4, DEX 6, WIL 6, 1hp, Pistol)

2: Hawkes, Novice Student.
STR 6, DEX 14, WIL 11, 1hp.
Pistol Brace (1d6+2), Crowbar, Falcon.

3: Sattler, Novice Ship's Mate. 
STR 10, DEX 11, WIL 10, 4hp.
Hatchet (1d6), Pistol (1d6), Crowbar, Metal Skull Arcanum (Burden Soul).

4: Baldridge, Novice Burglar.
STR 14, DEX 8, WIL 9, 5hp.
Pistol (1d6), Sword (1d6), Lackey (STR 8, DEX 7, WIL 5, 1hp, Hatchet)

5: Parks, Novice Cultist.
STR 10, DEX 6, WIL 16, 3hp.
Halberd (1d6+1), Shovel (1d6), Crow, Rod Arcanum (Heat Ray).

6: Dale, Novice Soldier. 
STR 11, DEX 12, WIL 7, 4hp.
Musket (1d6+1), Sabre (1d6), Mutt.