Bastionland (Non-)Conversion Guide

One of the most frequently asked questions I see from people that are picking up Electric Bastionland is "how do I convert monsters from Basic/5e/Maze Rats to Electric Bastionland?"

With regards to 5e, I wrote about this almost six years ago, but that was intended to be much less prescriptive than it came out.

Really I feel much the same about conversion guides as I do to monster design itself. I could try and give you a formula that lets you pull a monster straight from the 5e Monster Manual and use it with Bastionland, but it doesn't really get to the heart of how I see the place of monsters in the game.

There are things that are important in monster design when you're playing a game focused around tactical combat, where characters are most defined by their mechanical tools for interacting with this system of attack rolls, status effects, and grid-positioning. Bastionland isn't that sort of game, so if you want to transplant the 5e Chain Devil into your game, simply applying a recommended fraction to each of the numbers isn't going to result in an especially exciting creature.

We can make a method out of this. It's not something you can plug into a spreadsheet, but if you do it a few times it'll feel so much like second nature that you can just convert things on the fly.

It looks complex, but remember the goal is to reach a point where you don't need the list.

Bastionland Monster Conversion Guide

• Read over the information you have for the monster you'd like to convert. Get a real feel for the monster. Imagine what they're going to do in your game, where you might put them, what they might do to the players. Try to translate the numbers on the page into a living creature in your mind.
• Is it particularly strong or weak? 
• If not, leave STR at 10. You don't even need to write this down, as it's the default.
• If particularly strong give it a STR around 14. If it's top-tier in this area then give it the full 18. 
• If particularly weak, give it a STR around 6. If it's utterly deficient in this area then give it STR 3. 
• Repeat the above for DEX and CHA.
• How good is this thing at staying alive? This isn't so much raw physique as fighting spirit. 
• If it's not all that fighty then give it d6hp or pick a number in that range.
• If it's got some fight about it then give it 2d6hp or pick a number in that range.
• If this is a serious, boss-style creature, give it 3d6hp or any number up to 18 if you want it to be a seriously tough opponent to take down. Be careful here, as HP sponges can be a bit of a drag in practice.
• Does it have armour or other notable toughness?
• If so, start with Armour 1.
• Would you call it "heavily armoured?" If so, raise to Armour 2.
• Is it basically made out of armour? Like a robot or living statue? Armour 3. 
• Any special immunities? Just make them immune to that sort of damage. 
• If you don't want to go for full immunity, have certain types of damage be Impaired against them, but I'd urge you to go big when it comes to monster design. 
• What's its most obvious form of attack?
• Pick a damage die between a sword (d6) and a naval cannon (d12). 
• Can it reasonably target multiple targets? If so consider giving it two of these attacks.
• Can it reasonably target a whole bunch of targets? Give it Blast damage.
• Does it do something really nasty as a sort of "finishing move"? Have that effect occur when it causes Critical Damage.
• Does it have any weird offensive abilities that don't feel right as Damage? 
• Would it be terrible if it could make them happen without even using dice? Just put it in as one of the creature's three "moves". 
• Do you want it to be more unreliable? Give the target a Save to avoid. 
• Does it have another weird ability that isn't really an attack? Just let them do it. Put it in their "moves". 
• If this feels like too much (again I'd urge you to try it) then give it a certain restriction in its use.

Let's do that example

Chain Devil

Ability Scores: I'd say this guy is pretty strong (15) and dexterous (15). His CHA isn't really a factor.

Fighting Spirit: He's pretty serious, but not really a boss. I'd put him at the higher end of 2d6 (9hp)

Armour: He's covered in chains, so definitely counts as Armoured (1). I wouldn't call him heavily armoured. 

Immunities: I know devils traditionally get a bunch of immunities, but without looking at the stat block there isn't anything that leaps out for this guy, so let's keep him as he is.

Attacks: He can throw his chains around. I wouldn't say he throws enough for a Blast, but definitely giving him two attacks. The chains feel like a step up from swords, so they can do d8 damage.

Finishing Move: Feels like there should be something here that we can tie into the traditional grapple effect of chains. On Critical Damage he starts to drain the target's soul, causing d12 CHA loss repeating each turn. When they reach CHA 0 their soul is utterly drained. 

Other Abilities: It can animate chains, attacking with them as if it were holding them. I'll limit this to two chains in addition to its own two chain attacks.

Weird Abilities: So apparently it can change its face to resemble a loved one or bitter enemy. Don't really need any mechanics here, this is just a nice bit of horrible flavour for the monster.

We're done! I'll just throw in one extra move to give it a bit of a weakness. 

Chain Devil

STR 15, DEX 15, 9hp, Armour 1. 

Two chains (d8 each. d12 CHA loss on Critical Damage and every round afterwards unless the victim is freed. Drains their soul at CHA 0)

• Animates up to two chains (in addition to its own) that can lash out (d8)
• Changes its face to resemble a departed loved one or bitter enemy
• Withers to a husk if separated from its chains

Monster Design from Classics - The Lich

The Cocktail Codex makes the bold claim that there are only six cocktails, with all recipes able to be linked at least tangentially to one of these root recipes. So a Martini is defined by the relationship between spirit (gin) and aromatised wine (vermouth), so a Manhattan is simply a relative that uses whiskey instead of gin, sweet vermouth in place of dry, and bitters added for seasoning the added sweetness. 

So what’s the point of all this beyond theory and list-making? It’s really an exercise to demonstrate how new recipes can be created around classic structures, and understanding how to make changes without screwing up what makes the classic work.

Can we do the same for Monsters? It’s not a perfect fit, but let’s try one.

The Lich

The Classic
While dark wizards might seem like the true root, Liches feel much more iconic to me.

Lich
STR 7, DEX 7, CHA 18, 15hp. Ceremonial Dagger (d6), Lots of Spells.

The Orthodoxy

• Great magical powers
• Physically weak
• Themes of greed and immortality

Experimenting with the Core

In this case the core of the Lich is its magical powers, which contrast its physical weakness.

We can move the focus to Psionics we get the Mind Flayer.

We can tighten down the magic powers to single extraordinary ability to give us the Medusa, Doppleganger, Dryad, and even the Rust Monster.

We can keep things closer to arcane magic and focus on a particular school to get classics like the evil Necromancer.

You can tip the balance slightly, giving them more modest magical powers in exchange for appearing in greater numbers and being a touch more hardy to get Drow and Gnomes that still rely on magic and trickery over their swords.

And of course the point of this is to help us create new monsters, so what if we focused on Summoning Magic?

The Elemental Conduit
STR 7, DEX 7, CHA 18. 12hp.

• An elemental cultist that has given up their sapience to become a channel for elemental beings to enter our plane. 
• They are humanoid but clearly made up of chunks of raw elements barely held together.
• They want everything to return to raw elemental chaos, and can summon elementals at will. 

Experimenting with the Balance

The Lich's power is balanced by its weak physical form, classically a skeleton but sometimes taken to the demilich extreme of just a skull.

Another extreme take is going for the Brain in a Jar.

Giving the Lich a ghost form keeps them unable to have much physical impact, but gives them the added power of being immaterial, so you should pull back on their magical powers if you go in this direction.

The balance doesn’t have to be physical weakness, but could be other forms of physical restriction. An Aboleth is physically large but bound to water, and limited on where it can move. Some types of Demon or Devil can fit into the Lich mould but they can be banished to their home or otherwise controlled by magic. Vampires have a similar combination of physical power with serious weaknesses to balance their magical abilities.

So let’s make a new creation where the physical weakness is replaced with stupidity and a vulnerability.

Tome Golem
STR 15, DEX 5, CHA 5. D8 Smash. Lots of Spells.

• Literally made out of spellbooks but doesn’t really understand them. Throws a random spell out in anger if provoked.
• Drawn to absorb more spell tomes into its form.
• Extremely flammable (any fire attacks get +d12). 

Experimenting with the Seasoning

The Seasoning is what binds the core and the balance together. A Lich that knows lots of spells but is physically weak isn’t interesting enough to throw into your game, but if they’re the last devotee of an ancient religion or the vain Prince of a ruined kingdom then you’ve got something to grip onto, a reason why they’re the way they are.

Most of the variants above change the seasoning from the classic, but let’s see if we can keep everything else the same.

Eternal Apprentice
STR 7, DEX 7, CHA 18. 16hp. Dagger (d6), Lots of Spells.

• Doomed to eternally wander the tomb of their truly dead master, tidying up, checking everything is in order, sweeping the floor.
• Can channel the power of their master if needed, but is woefully lacking in confidence and constantly scared of using the wrong spell.
• Their spirit is released if the master’s corpse is destroyed.

Three Step Dungeons

I recently ran a group through the start of the Tomb of the Serpent King, and thoroughly enjoyed it. My dungeons often end up as ultra-non-linear piles of weird toys with a notable lack of anything that's an outright hazard or reward, and definite lack of a climax.

Sometimes it's nice to pull yourself a little closer to sanity, so I'm going to write a small dungeon that teaches players about its more unusual concepts as they are introduced, with a focus on leading towards a challenge for a reward, and multiple opportunities for an end-of-session climax.

In doing that I created a sort of procedure, because of course I did.

The Three Step Process:

1. Introduce First Concept
2. Introduce Second Concept
3. Challenge involving both concepts and an additional twist, typically with a reward. 

Concepts

First think of a bunch of interesting concepts you want to include in your dungeon. They can be monsters, items, hazards, or anything between.

You don’t really need to include things that are dead simple like “skeleton warriors” or “pit traps” but if you plan on putting a twist on them then add them in too. You can also skip out anything that has no real element of danger, say a crystal ball that lets you see other areas of the dungeon.

For this example let’s steal some fun stuff from other dungeons. Forget making a coherent theme for this, we’re just looking at how we would introduce these concepts.

• The Green Devil Face
• Wraiths
• Portal Gun
• Crossbow Snipers
• Smoke Elementals
• Reserve-Gravity
• Quicksand

And we’ll be introducing them two at a time. This could be a small dungeon that only introduces two new concepts, or a sprawling dungeon comprised of smaller sections that each focus on two concepts.

The Introductions

Ideally this is an opportunity for the players to get information about the concept in a mostly safe way before it really challenges them. It needn't even be a direct encounter, the common example being a statuary that introduces the presence of a Medusa.

For the Reverse Gravity example you’d have a Reverse-Gravity room with one majorly obvious hazard so that they can get used to how it works, and the Sniper would be introduced as a lone sniper in an area with plenty of cover, and make them immediately visible (even if not immediately accessible). The Intro and the Challenge could even feature the same individual monster encountered in two separate environments, if the Intro leans towards a non-hostile introduction.

I lean pretty heavily into giving lots of information, so you may find that less works for your group.

The Challenge
Sometimes just combining the two concepts is enough, but usually it’s better to add something else in. Some ideas could be:

• A beefed up version of the regular concept. 
• Adding an “opposite” element to the monster, such as a hyper-intelligent variant of a previously dumb monster, or a pacifist version of a hostile monster. 
• Adding a load of basic monsters.
• An environment that makes things more difficult for the players. 
• A restriction on how the players can act.
• Removing a safety net that was previously in place.
• Remember to put a reward in there, Treasure being the most obvious but even just passage to a new area would work. 

Adding Extra Stuff

If you go straight from concept one to concept two to a combination of both it can end up feeling quite game-y, like you're playing a Megaman level that's built around new enemies rather than a real place you're exploring. This isn’t a bad thing if that’s what you want, but if you want things to feel more organic then consider that a Three Step Dungeon need not be a Three Room Dungeon:

• You can have simpler areas in between that don’t require introductions or just give some clues for the larger dungeon. 
• You can include basic elements that don’t require explanation or previously introduced concepts. 
• You can have nonlinear layout but keep the Introductions on the “main path” as best you can. 

Example- Wraiths in the Quickbog

We’ll assume this is a branch off a larger dungeon, linear except room 4 which branches off from room 3 as a dead end.

1. Wraith (Intro 1) patrolling a hedge maze. 
2. Precarious ladder. 
3. Ghouls (let’s say these are civilised Ghouls, so more NPC than monster) hanging around Quickbog Patch (Intro 2). It's quicksand but gross and boggy. 
4. Ghoul shrine (mostly just some fluff and to give the Ghouls a bit more territory to roam)
5. Flooded cavern
6. Treasure being guarded by three Wraiths, surrounded by Quickbog (Challenge)

This is all very vanilla so go back through and add another layer of detail on top. A nice trick is to add an unexpected or opposite element, rather than just adding another layer of the same coloured paint.

1. Wraith patrolling a hedge maze is a pathetic lonely outcast looking for friends, but can’t help inflicting its chill touch. 
2. Precarious ladder leads down a shaft, Ghoul Graffiti covers the walls and it’s mostly terrible poetry. 
3. Ghouls hanging around Quickbog patch. They’re having a banquet, half sunk in the bog themselves, and arguing over which of them is going to give themselves up as the main course. 
4. Ghoul shrine. The altar has a valuable crystal skull and the Ghouls say anybody that takes it is cursed. 
5. Flooded cavern. A ghoul is chained to the bottom, doomed to drown forever. If rescued they reveal themselves to be a life-worshipping Ghoul-Heretic. 
6. Treasure being guarded by three Wraiths, surrounded by Quickbog. The treasure is a helmet being worn by one of the Wraiths, the other two are jealous. 

Now what's happened is the Ghouls have almost ended up being too interesting to count as a basic element, but I figure they're fine if they're mostly interested in their own affairs, not hostile to the characters. 

Knock out a handful of these Three-Step Dungeons, have them branch off a hub area or lead into each other, and you've got yourself a decently sized dungeon ready for your next game.

It might look like this:

I messed up some of the labels in that diagram, but you get the point.

Each boxed-off section represents a Three Step Dungeon, with our example being D2. The hubs and "fluff" sections in between can still be fun, but they should either be safer areas or deal with simpler concepts that don't need introduction.

Oh and I should write up those monsters at least:

Wraith
10hp (immune to physical damage). Chilling Touch (d10, ignores Armour)

• Repelled by light or fire. 
• Mostly want their tombs to be left alone. 
• When a victim takes Critical Damage they will continue to drain them until they reach STR 0 and become a Wraith.

Civilised Ghoul

3hp, Claws (d6. Critical Damage: Bite to paralyse and drag away), Surprisingly Fancy Clothes. 

• Revel in the macabre.
• Fetishise death but have no appetite for killing. 
• Try to maintain their humanity in spite of their horrible lives. 

Encouraging Scheming

Planning and preparing can be fun parts of the game, but how do you encourage that with a loosey-goosey system like Into the Odd?

Necessity to Plan

If you can take on any problem head-on then there's little need to plan.

Brand new characters vs a thug with a club? It's probably just a fight.

Same characters vs a Giant? Planning is the only way to succeed.

The most straightforward way to do this to throw in one huge, seemingly impassible obstacle to the most obvious solution, and announce it in plenty of time to react.

Examples: 

• A dungeon where a force-field blocks all non-organic matter.
• A big metal monster, completely impervious to physical harm.  
• You need to get past a field but it's patrolled by jerky guards riding giant birds. They'll just hover and shoot at you if you try to get through. 

Opportunity to Plan

If you can't observe the bank or get hold of floorplans then it's difficult to have an exciting heist. Keep the difficulty high but give them as much information as they can take. Most importantly, for things that are really difficult, consider how much time pressure you're applying. If the only chance to rob the bank is right now then planning won't be an option. If the ideal window is in a week's time then you can really dig into the scheme.

Examples:

• This terrible monster attacks every other night. 
• Your assassination target recently sacked a huge number of staff. They have information and grudges. 
• You have the travel diary of the last explorer to visit a distant island full of Treasure. 

Ingredients for the Plan

I'm obviously biased towards interesting equipment over interesting character abilities, but both work here. If your wizard spell list is "Fireball, Magic Missile, Lightning Bolt, Sleep" then you could have an okay heist, but it's probably going to be more of a head-on assault.
If it's "Charm Person, Floating Disc, Summon Toads, Change Weather" then you're going to have to get clever, but the result will be more fun.

Likewise, if you're running Into the Odd then make sure the players have access to weird, non-obvious tools. Oddities are great here, but make sure you've got shops selling all sorts of specialist items.

Examples: 

• The players get a voucher worth £100, but it can only be used at an elaborate pet shop.
• A wealthy benefactor offers the complete service of his staff on your expedition, but they're mostly just house servants. 
• A gifted inventor can create any electrical device you can imagine, but the more useful it is the more bulky and unreliable. 

Dragons for You, Not Me

Bastionland is essentially built on a single infinite dungeon, but Dragons have never been a part of it.

In Electric Bastionland there's the implication that some alien beings have settled in Deep Country as petty gods or monsters of legend, but I don't think I'd ever put a straight up Dragon into that slot.

Which is a shame, because Dragons embody a lot of what makes for a great fight.

• Mobility: Usually flight.
• Ability to take on groups: Multiple melee attacks and an area-effect breath weapon.
• Environmental links: Even the standard D&D colours mostly have something that takes them beyond being a big dumb monster disconnected from its surroundings.

Roll d6 three times to get a Dragon that might not make much sense in Bastionland. Assign it an Environment based on where you need it to be. Mountaintop, dungeon, jungle, ocean, they all work. 

Basic Dragon Template

STR 18, 15hp, Armour 2. 

Claws and Tail (d10, targets all surrounding opponents) or Bite (d12). 

Mobility

1. Glide on giant bat wings, but can only crawl clumsily on land.
2. Burrow through ground like a landshark.
3. Slither into shadows, popping out from any other shadow large enough.
4. Charge around like a juggernaut, smashing through anything.
5. Float gracefully through the air with perfect control.
6. Climb and leap great distances.

Breath Weapon

1. FIRE but roll again because that's not enough.
1. Green fire that can be manipulated into shapes and illusions.
2. Black fire that only harms living matter.
3. Blue fire that holds you in place while it burns you (STR Save to escape)
4. Pink fire that sticks to you and cannot be extinguished unless the dragon wills it. 
5. White fire that only burns non-living matter.
6. Golden fire that causes all the pain of burning, but no physical damage.
2. Choking smoke that makes the air unbreathable. Lost d6 STR each turn you stay in.
3. Clouds that stick around and flash with lightning (d10, ignore Armour)
4. Dirt, mountains of it. No damage but you're buried.
5. Sonic blasts that throw things away (d8 damage) and shatter hard objects. 
6. Lava that pools around (d12 damage)

Environmental Link

1. Animates the bulk matter of its environment into animated servitors. 
2. Devours its environment, always seeking its next home. 
3. Literally made out of its environment, born out of nature as its avatar.  
4. Trapped in it. Everything about its environment will fight to keep the dragon there. 
5. Worships it, despite its indifference, and fiercely fights any perceived threat. 
6. It was all created by the dragon. In addition to its normal breath it can conjure up whatever matter is needed to make more of its environment.

Expose your Prep

You've probably heard the phrase "attack every part of the character sheet" from Arnold K. Let's flip that and see how the players can capitalise on every bit of your prep.

I find that the crime of giving too much information is minor in comparison to the heinous crime of giving too little information. I lead with a good chunk of info, give good answers to good questions, and I want to give even more if the players are crafty.

So what should you do to reward these exceptional player actions?

Expose the Map
I like giving the group a blank map anyway. For the most part I don't consider mapping a strong part of the challenge of my games, so I'd rather the players be tested other ways. It cuts down on a lot of time spent describing the spatial relationship between doors or sketching out rough drawings on paper.

But if the players find somebody that knows their stuff, let them have a partial or full map! If your environments are so lame that having the map negates all challenge then it's time to crank up your adventure location design.

Expose the NPCs
If they go to the effort of finding out about an NPC before engaging them, let them see their info. Show them the HP, their moves, their relationships with other NPCs.

Expose the Future
Somebody has probably worked out what's most likely to happen if the players do nothing. If they do their research then show them that timeline you've planned out. Of course, it takes a lot of time to get to that point...

Expose the Tables
Switched-on locals know the encounter table of their area. Of course there's a 50% chance of a rabid cat attack here, that's just how we live. The blister beast? Oh that thing doesn't come around all that often.

Expose the Mechanics
You're going to be making rulings when you run Into the Odd. Be transparent about it, and reward information gathering with full access to the sub-system you've thrown together for conker games or debate contests.

Odd Remedies

Pills, Oils, and Vapo-Rubs are big business in Bastion.

While there's a lot of sugar and brick-dust being sold, some of those chemists are actually onto something.

These are all experimental, so you can get them for free if you're happy to have someone in goggles observe your response to the dosage, and sign a standard waver of course.

Roll d12
1: Buff Spray - Applied rectally, feels ice cold.
- Restores STR
- 50% chance to lose all of your teeth with each use.

2: Cadaver Wax - Applied to skin, smells like corpses.
- Restores DEX
- 50% chance that the smell never fades.

3: Gudgeon-Snuff - Taken nasally, leaves a yellow patch around your nose.
- Restores CHA
- 50% chance that the nose stain is permanent.

4: Amoeba Essence - Taken intravenously.
- Restores all Abilities.
- 50% chance that you become dependent with each use. While dependent you are Deprived on any given day when you haven't had a hit.

5: Jazz Butter - Must be dissolved into a hot bath and soaked in for an hour. Smells sweaty.
- You can sprint as quickly as the fastest humans for the rest of today.
- 50% chance that your feet are incredibly slippery for the rest of the day, making barefoot walking impossible.

6: Brittle Green - Spread onto the stump as a goo which hardens. Smells like bad limes.
- One lost limb will grow back slowly over a week.
- 50% chance that the limb is a gross lizard limb.

7: Reality Drops - Tiny black capsule taken orally.
- Restore a lost sense.
- 50% chance to lose another sense.

8: Blood Buddies - Small red blob of flesh, rubbed into chest.
- Gain d6 temporary HP. Use them before your own hp and once they're gone they're lost forever.
- 50% chance that your body rejects the buddy and it forms into a small angry fleshling (3hp, d6 bite).

9: Goodnight Kiss - White powder applied to forehead.
- Restore the recently dead to life for a few moments.
- 50% chance that they explode messily on their second death.

10: Satchdragon Root - Spicy piece of bark to be brewed with hot water.
- Create a cool, collected demeanor for the next hour.
- 50% chance that the hour ends with uncontrollable outbursts of swearing and truth-bombs.

11: Digger's Spritz - Fizzy drink, actually delicious.
- Instantly cure any sort of stomach illness.
- 50% chance to immediately vomit explosively.

12: Mystiquerol - Syrup taken into ear.
- Instantly cure any sort of nervous condition.
- 50% chance that you develop a foreign accent.

Bastion's Triple Rule

In Bastion, Everything is Complicated.

Things are specialist, but there's always more to them. 

There are no general stores, but every focused shop has something else that you wouldn't expect.

There's a rule that sums this all up nicely.

THE TRIPLE RULE

Everything has Three Purposes:

• The Original: What was it originally to be?
• The Current: What is it doing now?
• The Tangent: What is its secondary use?

PLACES

The easiest way to do this is to give each building a commercial, residential, and civic use, and pick one of them to be its original purpose.

1. Defunct broadcast tower, now a scrap electric market spread across scaffolds. A cabal of engineers live and worship at the very top of the tower.
2. Huge municipal swimming pool, now dried up and re-purposed as a landfill. The old changing rooms have been converted into a boozy hostel for youths.
3. Long row of terraces houses, roofs all blown off in a storm. Now used as stables for luxury-breed pork pigs. A retirement home holds the last remaining covered house, and the old folks get free sausages to make up for the smell.

PEOPLE

Here, consider the standing/body/education they were born into, or a youthful ambition, then the life that they really grew into, plus something unexpected on the side.

1. Wealthy piano protegee turned greed-filled banker. Does charity work to soothe her conscience.
2. Ogre of a man, sells tiny metal sculptures. Deeply believes humanity is awful, and we should let aliens rule us.
3. Lovely old former teacher turned soldier for the Human Union. A font of pub-quiz knowledge.

OBJECTS

Objects can be simpler than people and places, with the added layers coming from previous owners or uses, rather than changes to the object itself.

1. Giant bird egg, now gilded with gold and jewels. Now property of a cult that worship it, hoping it will hatch.
2. Portable-Cannon used to kill a legendary outlaw in Deep Country. Has been deactivated and mounted above a bar for some time. Now used to hide illicit substances. 
3. A crank-operated radio. Now broken, only picks up static and occasional incomprehensible voice. Being sold at a curiosity shop as an "Ear to the Stars".

Mockeries Revisited

These guys are due another look, condensing the previous posts into one usable set of guidelines.

MOCKERIES

• Creatures of wood, felt, and steel given the spark of life.
• They love acting human, but their needs are only imitated.
• Children love them, real animals hate them.

MOCK TALENTS

• Every Mockery has an innate super-human talent for a particular task.
• The talent is often trivial, and rarely put to serious use.
• They are excellent but unconventional teachers of their talent.

EXCEPTIONS

• Mock People are known, but largely despised.
• Mock Objects tend to live in the Underground.
• Some have merged with organic tissue, calling themselves Fallacies: such as the False Angels and False Leviathan.

TEMPLATES

Apply your flavour of choice to these bones.

Mock Critter

STR 5, DEX 15, CHA 10, 4hp. d4 Damage.

• Be clingy.
• Be difficult.
• Want to do everything other than their talent.

Mock Beast

STR 15, DEX 5, CHA 10, 7hp, d8 Damage.

• Switch between human and animal behaviour
• Switch between terrifying and pathetic.
• Play dumb.

Mock Colossus

STR 18, DEX 5, CHA 10, 15hp, Armour 2, d10 Blast.

• Show a gentle side.
• Try to stay out of the way.
• Long for some non-violent attention.

SPARKS (Roll 2d20 and Combine)

d20	Type	Talent
1	Otter	Cooking
2	Lobster	Sprinting
3	Heron	Eating
4	Toad	Seduction
5	Rhino	Puzzles
6	Mole	Burglary
7	Goat	Performance
8	Spider	Bureaucracy
9	Crow	Vision
10	Mallard	Memory
11	Dolphin	Law
12	Crocodile	Academia
13	Hog	Strategy
14	Bear	Spying
15	Rooster	Interrogation
16	Whale	Trivia
17	Mammoth	Engineering
18	Bunny	Sculpture
19	Oyster	Grooming
20	Anaconda	Forensics

From Foreign Stars

One theory is that Bastion's growing number of radio towers and neon lights combined to act as a beacon to all beings, from Foreign Stars. They came for the signal, stayed for the music and culture.

Visitors are welcome, of course. There can be no greater crime than depriving another being of the opportunity to live in Bastion. The fact that they've come all this way shows they've got good taste. 

The trade opportunities alone are worth putting up with the occasional cosmic monstrosity for. 

ALIENS

• They are more advanced than us, but in a very specific way.
• They bring something with them, and seek to take something home.
• It’s unclear where their bodies end and their technology begins.

LIVING IN BASTION

• There are always barriers to integration.
• They always have a means of communication, however ineffective.
• Their desires are relatable, but through an alien lens.

LOST IN DEEP COUNTRY

• Some rule as Gods.
• Some have established isolated communities.
• Some have become monsters of legend.

EXAMPLE ALIENS

Soft One - Slimy Pink Person

STR 5, DEX 10, CHA 13, 5hp. Organic Plate Armour 1, Goo-Pistol (d6, melt on Critical Damage).

• Devour as many different foods as possible.
• Touch as many things as possible.
• Excrete pearls (£1 per pile excreted) and flee as a defence technique.

Stone Lion - Intelligent Quadruped

STR 15, DEX 10, CHA 15, 10hp, Powered Armoured Body 2. Trample (d10). 

• Speak calmly about the beauties of his 
• Beckon humans to travel to his homeland as willing slaves, but won't force them.
• Translate between people and animals.

Chain-Servant - Metallic Giants

STR 18, DEX 15, CHA 15, 13hp. Metal Body 3, Smash (d10) or Chain Explosion (d8 Blast)

• Tend to worshipers maternaly.
• Ensure that worshipers are getting fair treatment.
• Become a living weapon.

CREATE YOUR OWN

SPARKS (Roll 2d20 and Combine)

d20	Prefix	Suffix
1	Word	Saints
2	Void	Pilgrims
3	Pleasure	Workers
4	Blood	Locusts
5	Mercy	Beasts
6	Golden	Imps
7	Flesh	Vessels
8	War	Ghosts
9	Light	Hounds
10	Rage	Beacons
11	Smoke	Serpents
12	Horned	Titans
13	Royal	Forgers
14	Knife	Guardians
15	Divine	Engineers
16	Perfect	Breakers
17	Ice	Spiders
18	Immortal	Thieves
19	Diamond	Tyrants
20	Imitation	Eyes

LANDS BENEATH FOREIGN STARS

• They follow different rules.
• There is always something to be exploited.
• There is always danger.

VISITING THE FOREIGN STARS

• The Underground must be traveled deeper than you would like. 
• Ships must pass through mists that break reality. 
• Somebody is always trying a new way to travel there.

WHAT COULD BE

• They often resemble a paradise, a hell, or a combination thereof.
• All beings show signs of humanity.
• The rules that make this place different are rigorously enforced.

ALIENS AT HOME

• They are bound by the rules of their home.
• You are expected to follow the rules.
• For every glimmer of humanity, they display their foreignness too.

CREATE YOUR OWN

RANDOM SPARKS (Roll 2d20 and Combine)

d20	Spark One	Spark Two
1	Truth	Remembrance
2	Courage	Preservation
3	Hardship	Destruction
4	Justice	Consolidation
5	Beauty	Cycle
6	Order	Rewarded
7	Honour	Valuation
8	Charity	Experimentation
9	Reason	Invention
10	Death	Debate
11	War	Archive
12	Entropy	Challenge
13	Servitude	Prison
14	Holy	Community
15	Obedience	Denial
16	Toil	Cathedral
17	Peace	Purification
18	Pleasure	Crusade
19	Serenity	Procedure
20	Architecture	Sacrifice