More Pantheon Expansion - Druid Edition

The upcoming game (only a week away!) and I have all the character sheets. Actually printed them out, and I have them in notebook. And I printed out one of the potential adventures as I only have that in PDF form.

Anyway - the druid is following Hern the Horned God. I found a few interesting references:

From this reference:

Unlike the majority of deities in the Pagan world, Herne has his origins in a local folktale, and there is virtually no information available to us via primary sources. Although he is sometimes seen as an aspect of Cernunnos, the Horned God, the Berkshire region of England is the home to story behind the legend. According to folklore, Herne was a huntsman employed by King Richard II. In one version of the story, other men became jealous of his status and accused him of poaching on the King's land. Falsely charged with treason, Herne became an outcast among his former friends. Finally, in despair, he hanged himself from an oak tree which later became known as Herne's Oak.

In another variation of the legend, Herne was fatally wounded while saving King Richard from a charging stag. He was miraculously cured by a magician who tied the antlers of the dead stag to Herne's head. As payment for bringing him back to life, the magician claimed Herne's skill in forestry. Doomed to live without his beloved hunt, Herne fled to the forest, and hanged himself, again from the oak tree. However, every night he rides once more leading a spectral hunt, chasing the game of Windsor Forest.

Which is a pretty sad tale! But there are other references such as this one, which is the one I think we're going to go with:

In Celtic mythology, Cernunnos was the Horned God who ruled over wild beasts and places. He’s most commonly associated with forests, wild animals, fertility, and wealth. Cernunnos is often depicted with prominent stag antlers on his head and was known as the Lord of the Wild Places or God of the Wilds

Which works out well as I am really wanting to lean a bit more into the Fey as a darker, richer world. While the Fantasy Trip treats Orcs mostly like a different branch of mankind, most game systems have them a bit further apart. Same with Goblins: they are not just small green (or whatever color your goblins are!) people that act like humans: they are a mischievous and dangerous folk that think and act a lot differently than humans do. And should have minor glamours and things like that (which does not work well in the TFT game system though OSE supports it. But we can make it work!) Though getting the idea of the Fey across well is hard (at least for me). Though I am backing the Secret of the Fey and the Dolmenwood kickstarters which are heavily fey! And still want to plop the characters into Rackham Vale. The murder hobo approach in any of these settings would not go well! I will have to place gates in various places, including that mushroom ring in my mountain scene where Thiseas currently calls home.

The more gods the merrier. Nope - Hern the Horned God is not part of my little pantheon, but I run a very open world and like what other people bring to it. The universe (or at least my gaming universe) has lots of room for all sorts of deities. My Centaur Druid did not specify a god. Looking over my ancient pantheon, the druids are normally associated with Tonna, Goddess of the Lesser Creatures. However, Centaurs are generally affiliated with Aronius, Goddess of the Lands. Which explains why he had to leave and now lives in that forest glade several miles from Windemere.

And I decided to roll reaction rolls for how Tonna feels about Hern, and vice versa. Gods can be capricious! In our case, Tonna is open armed to Hern. He is not part of her family of deities. Hern, on the other hand, is not as open towards Tonna, but has no problems with her. No outright antagonism. How some druids or clerics feel may be different, but the gods themselves have no issues with each other.

Thiseas of the Gallantos Herds of the Western Fields worships Tonna. While raised to worship Aronius, he felt a calling from wide open plains of the Western Fields, and slowly roamed south and eventually ended up in the Vele Hory Range (which is actually close to Czech for large mountains - one way of coming up with names: get translator to translate to a different language!). Here is communes with the animals and helps protect this side of the mountain. While he is gaining affinity with Tonna, there may be some animosity from Aronius: she may not want to lose a single being to another deity. And centaurs need wide open fields to run as much as they like! Something to think about at any rate.

I asked whatever art engine Bing uses for a fantasy goddess of small animals and got back some interesting results. Not sure which one I like and they may all be aspects of her. Interestingly they are all very similar, though I did ask for standing in the woods surrounded by small animals. Images at the end.

And digging out my Lesser Keys for avatars, let's see what sort of avatar she will have. 

Tonna's Herald is roughly humanoid, about 6' tall and proportioned normally but looks to be made out of air. Its eyes have the appearance of stars. There are 6 mouths that when speaking, create a chorus that can be disconcerting. When appearing, there are also 1d6 rodents/skunks/weasels (roll 1d3 for each animal). The Herald rises up from the ground, and mortals witnessing this become sycophant bootlickers until it goes away. The Herald also fluctuates in size, from rabbit to giant-sized. And smells of fresh rain when it appears. The Herald does have a name: Iaharuyauh, though few know or use it,

Tonna's holy symbol sits on a trapezoid base and depicts a field of grain under the stars, usually carved in bone or ivory when near the sea. The grain is to feed the animals, and the stars represent Tonna herself. Most clerics or druids wear a modest robe during ceremonies, with ribbons adorning their hair (Thiseas even has ribbons in his tail). Reading from the sacred texts is accompanied by percussion and acapella singing. Mead is often poured out as a sacrifice. The ribbons are often knotted, which is also how messages and doctrines are passed along (part of the Druid's cant for Tonna is being able to read and write using the knotted ribbons). 

The planting of crops at the end of winter is when Tonna's adherents celebrate. Quiet prayers at the edge of the crops at dawn and pouring out mead from the previous year's harvest.

Priests of Tonna, if they become sainted, have their body interred in a moveable shrine. In a seated position with their hands at their sides, wrapped in linen. This shrine is guarded by 2 types 1d4 animals. 

The Lesser Key To The Celestial Legion also has a list of boons. I may use that as needed if we need a deux ex machina at some point.

and one of my game group got me a cat dice tray!

Traveller: ISS Emergency Water Flask

I know I've tried to outline this before, but as my game group has decided on an RPG Item A Day Challenge for ourselves (and for the OSE game coming up - starting in less than 2 weeks!) I decided I could at least do 1 Traveller item. Previously I tried to draw or find an image. This time AI to the rescue. 

The ISS Emergency Thermos is part of the standard emergency survival kit found on all ISS craft. This versatile thermos can carry just under 2 liters of water. It also has sensors and purifiers built in to be readily replenished from liquid water sources. If there are no water sources available, it can fill itself back from atmospheric humidity in 12 hours - the planet's hydrographic value. The purification system is good for up to 12 weeks before filters need to be replaced depending on usage and water conditions. 

It also has an inertial compass, flashlight and emergency beacon that may be used. Solor powered via a multi-spectral detachable solar screen, it may be used indefinitely requiring only a couple hours a day to recharge. 

Pretty sure I got the size/volume about right: volume of a cylinder being V=πr^2. I decided 25 cm seems like a good height and 10cm diameter gives just over 2 liters. A bit goes into the electronics and double-walled shell. See - RPGs make you do the maths!

ISS ST-01

Weight: 350 grams empty with charging panel stowed

Height x Diameter: 25cm x 10cm

Price: Cr350

Replacement filters: Cr25 for 5 pack

Device can purify up to 200 liters a day or extract 2 liters of water from the atmosphere in 12 - world hydrospheric value (i.e., a desert planet would be 12 - 0 or 12 hours, Earth at 70% water or so is 12 - 7 ore 5 hours to refill). An extendable multi-spectral solar array can recharge the system in 1d6 hours depending on available solar activity. Batteries will last for 2 weeks before recharging is necessary. Replaceable parts are the biofilters, which last for up to 12 weeks depending on usage and water quality. A double-walled polyplastic shell can handle a large amount of abuse.

Also includes an inertial compass, flashlight and emergency beacon. Usage may impact battery usage.

Civilian versions are available in a wider variety of colors and options.

edit: I actually added a new blog site today. For some reason I randomly clicked one of my latest followers (hey, I am curious about you too!) and liked his blog. So *poof* I added it.

The Skirmish That Wasn't, and Windemere Crossing Organic Towns Month 5

After several weeks of missing our Saturday Skirmish, the stars finally aligned and we all got together. However, we got side-tracked by a couple of things. We were going to do a larger set, with 900 points per side using the One Page Rules. Alas, my partner & I only remembered that half of that was 450 points and then we split that so we only had 225-point armies that were going to be fielded. And then that discussion segued into a broader range of subjects and suddenly it was dinner time. And I had even set up a skirmish board ahead of time!

 The goat and goblin are an in-joke to the current Delve game we are playing: one of Fugh's (my Goblin King character) retinue/guards has been stealing goats to eat a couple of times. And a goat image now shows up on Owlbear.rodeo whenever our hapless Gookin (the Orc Killer Goblin) shows up. We are easily amused.

Anyway, it was a pleasant afternoon talking about a wide range of things, even though we definitely have some different views about a few things, it is always good to listen to other people. 

And back to Windemere Crossing. I've got a work buddy who may end up playing. We generated his half-Orc barbarian last week, and I can introduce him as one of the guards in the caravan that the characters all talked to. I'll have to dig through my notes and see what sort of secret I can give him that may lead to an adventure. As I left the guards mostly unspecified that works well I think for bringing in a new character. And having a small trade town full of people I've not even talked about, there is always room for more. 

Coming into month 5, we have two projects finishing up: we have a new pasture south of town towards the mountains, and our western gate is now complete! There will be some sort of minor celebration for the new gate. While I don't think they'll break a bottle of champaign over the bulwarks, at least some sort of day off for those hard-working laborers. The market expansion and cleanup is going well and should be completed next month. This will be outside the actual walls of the town: as originally designed as a garrison and outpost, it is not large enough. As the gates open east and west, it would be nice to have it on the route. Rolling one of my rune dice so that 1-2 is west, and 3-4 is east, they decided to add the market outside the western gate. Part of the construction for the gate included some extra walls for the new marketplace. While still open for the most part, there are some walls and buildings added that the regular merchants can use to lock up their goods. But because it is open, we may need to add more guards. Fortunately, the pasture adds food for 500 people, and as we have a bit less than that still, we can add more guards and expand out our city troops and guards. 

We already have a town guard of 4 (our two new guards from a couple months ago along with Sheriff Sprigbasher and deputy Newtonson, but we are going to add a swordsman group to the town military. Our barracks are filling up with the two squads. Not sure how many spearmen or swordsmen (and obviously may not all be men, or even humans). Which is also why the main market is moving out of the central area of Windemere Crossing: training is taking up more space. Though there will always be a few small merchants and things there. Some that may cater to our military. 

This month, when rolling on the tables, the following results:

• the economy is booming! We get an additional 3 SP (1/100 citizens). Think we'll actually hold a celebration for the western gate (before starting on the new eastern gate).
• while everyone enjoyed the festival, there was no change to morale. Though as it was already pretty good already, all is well. 
• oh no! a merchant was trying to smuggle in some low-level monsters! They have escaped and are somehow hiding in Windermere Crossing or nearby! A small flock of alicanto (from the Monster Overhaul) are eating precious metals in town! Rewards for getting rid of them! The merchant is currently in the jail. There will still be some left when the players show up.
• and oh no again! The well got tainted - one of the alicantos fell in, which is how they found out about this attempt. Water is being boiled for the next few weeks until all the contaminated water is cleared. This does reduce our wood availability.

  

  alicanto from Wikipedia

And we're starting on the eastern gate, which, after the well incident, will take 3 months instead of two due to the lumber shortage. And between that, the new swordsmen and the festival, our settlement points are about filled up. We also add 14 people this month, of which most are the swordsmen. I am going with there are 10 per group, so we also have a new baby, and some of the gate workmen, from the Dwarven capital no less, have decided to stay. Being Dwarves and there are some mines nearby, they have decided to stick around a bit more.

So interesting things are still going on, and now I have a potential quest in town for our adventurers. There is a nice d10 table for the alicanto beast, and as they just scratch, are unlikely to kill our adventurers! 

Next month the market will be completed which brings in 40 AP per month. Part of that is getting eaten up by our strengthening military, but we'll find other usages for it. 

And now thinking about the Dwarves - would they like or dislike the alicanto? As that beast eats gold and other precious metals, I would think they would hate it. Yet it can also lead them to precious metal veins in the earth. Makes you wonder if they think that is cheating from a Dwarven perspective. I'm going to go with most Dwarves hate the beasts and will kill them on sight. Yet Monda Barkwright (human male owner of the salt mine) was importing them to take to Crevice Creak (the salt mine and described in the Oracle Special issue #1 (Grinning Frog). Tada - linking things together. Though the characters won't know the why, it may come up in play somehow. Which really means I may have to get a merchant NPC and oddly, I was looking at the Merchant OSE character yesterday for some reason. And apparently merchants belong to a merchant guild so I can use my guild book and either use an existing guild or create one. Next post ideas! Or at least a post soon coming to you: I need to do a Traveller post. And run a Traveller game (and that did come up in our Saturday talk-fest so it may happen yet).

And finally - think I'll see about running an OSE game on the terrain I set up. Unless the cats destroy it first. So now I have 2 potential posts to write. And never enough time (this weekend flew by, but as I mowed a lot of grass, at least I did accomplish something outside of my head. And I cleaned the basement as well as that is where we game. Or in this case, talk)

Rune Dice - A Druid's Friend

My rune dice showed up, and having a Druid in the next OSE game, figure I could try & come up with a random Druid table. As there are d4s and d6s, figure a d64 table works pretty well!

Going with low rolls are better for whatever reason. So, a 1-1 is great, and a 6-4 is doom! Ask for help from the gods at your own risk! 

As my upcoming OSE game does have a druid player (and an NPC they may get to meet!), and I feel these dice are very druidic, I've made up this table should he decide to roll. And really need to decide how often. Think I'll add some notes above the table about that. 

While TFT does not have a druid class (or any class) a player could pick a lot of the nature-based spells and choose a druidic type of god to follow and call it a day. One of the many reasons I do like TFT - you can create any sort of "class" you want. Though I also like games where there are classes and specific traits, abilities and skills for that class. What can I say - it all depends on how I want to play.

This is a fairly generic table other than the sentient sword abilities and the major and minor healings, but those should be simple enough to map. For example, in The Fantasy Trip I'd do 2 points for a major healing, and 1 point for a minor healing (hey, TFT is brutal though I do house rule the "big boy" healing potion which is a d4 I have in what looks like a potion bottle. We like to roll it & see what comes out! There used to be a cork, but my cats have absconded with it.)

the "Big Boy" healing potion

And just how often can you roll? Depends on when you last rolled. The first roll counts as never having rolled before.

If it has been a month or more, subtract one from each of the dice.

If it has been 2 weeks or more, subtract one from the d6.

If it has been 1 week or more, subtract one from the d4.

If it has been less than a week, add one to the d4.

If it has been less than a day, add one to both the d6 and d4.

If it is in the same day, add two to each die.

So best used sparingly! The gods do not like to be bothered all the time it would seem!

1 1 Ask the GM any 2 questions

1 2 Ask the GM any 1 question

1 3 Ask the GM any 2 yes/no questions

1 4 Ask the GM any 1 yes/no question

2 1 Bear companion for 1d6 hours

2 2 Owl companion for 1d6 hours

2 3 Bear companion for 1d4 hours

2 4 Owl companion for 1d4 hours

3 1 A nearby plant suddenly glows and will cure serious wounds. It will last for 1d6 hours before the magic fades

3 2 A nearby plant suddenly glows and will cure serious wounds. It will last for 1d4 hours before the magic fades

3 3 A nearby plant suddenly glows and will cure light wounds. It will last for 1d4 hours before the magic fades

3 4 A nearby plant suddenly glows and will cure light wounds. It will last for 1d4 hours before the magic fades

4 1 You find a four-leaf clover. Use up to twice to re-roll your last roll

4 2 You find a four-leaf clover. Use once to reroll your last roll

4 3 a piece of nearby nature gains a random "sentient sword sensory power" for 1d6 hours. Roll on that table for the ability

4 4 A piece of nearby nature gains a random "sentient sword sensory power" for 1d4 hours. Roll on that table for the ability

5 1 You hear a wandering monster appropriate to your environment

5 2 Wandering monster appropriate to your environment surprises you

5 3 A light rain (or if cold, sleet) starts

5 4 A heavy rain (or if cold, sleet) starts

6 1 Your shoes soles have worn out; if barefoot, you have a painful bunion

6 2 Your water bottles have all sprung leaks, leaving them empty and your clothing wet

6 3 Your rations have all spoiled

6 4 A sudden change in your surroundings blocks you in. A cave may have a ceiling collapse, the woods may surround you with thorn plants

OSE Game Prep Again - Getting Closer!

The current Delve game we're playing will be at a good stopping spot shortly (and we've been playing it for several months now - quite a bit of leveling up!) We either takeback the city of Calion from the Hobgoblins or die trying. I may have mentioned my character: a grumpy Goblin who is now king of the Goblins (no, not THAT Goblin King, just king of the local group in this section of the world). The Hobgoblins (Grendle in this world, and the goblins are the Gren. I'll admit to getting the two names confused at times).  It has been a tad uncomfortable for me as I play to get away from responsibilities, not take on more! 

Which keeps bringing to my mind how different people play and how they want to play. There is a discussion over on COTI on Space Opera vs hard SF in Traveller. And as my readers know, I prefer the every man being thrust into an extraordinary situation mostly. Low level games that, while still a fantasy or SF world, I can wrap my head around and the consequences are there. Of course, I also like playing superhero games though I tend to the underpowered in that genre as well! And as for responsibility, in the real world I've been thrust into that as well: being a parent (well, he did just graduate college) was a choice but also the biggest responsibility I've ever had. And work, well, somehow, I am in charge of more than I want to be. I told my last job I just wanted to write code, no management. Sadly, now I am sort of managing. But I digress from the topic of this post: game prep!

Looking back at my notes as this has been a long-simmering process as we're having a lot of fun in the current game, our group will have met on the caravan coming into Windemere Crossing. To remind myself, as well as my readers and my players assuming they read my notes, we have the following characters:

Enokli Matsutake (mushroom warrior)

Danny: Human Druid

Halfling Thief: Quinby Glimmertouch

They each have a secret I've passed on to them via emails so that they have their secrets that they may or may not want to share. Though I may redo one secret as it can link to a low-level adventure from one of the Delve magazines (which I've stopped backing, but I am on his Patreon so he is effectively getting more money from me. Heck, just backed the Oracle for a 6-month physical and PDF subscription - expensive but I think worth it as those are a good source as well. In fact, the salt miles of Crevice Creek a few miles up the mountains from Windemere is from their mining issue).

I'll have a precursor to their entrance to Windemere Crossing, so below is my rough draft for that:

The Western Ocean Trade route is a well-travelled trading route, bordered on the north by the Kalor Desert, and the mountains of various kingdoms to the south. Caravans travel 20-30 miles a day and stay at various small trade towns, established camps, or small trade villages such as Windemere Crossing. The small caravan you are in is heading east, coming from the Kingdom of Ismekia and currently in the Respeth Kingdom ruled from the Thuluhun Dwarven fortress by King Khermumi Axechest. During this trip you have gotten to know each other as well as others in the caravan: 5 other people using the caravan to get further east more safely in a group rather than by alone, the dozen guards and the caravan master. Talking with the guards, there are a couple from the Feathered Guild based out of Windemere Crossing. There are also about ten large bison, but fortunately your horses are in front of those lumbering beasts and what they leave behind. There was one small Orc raid about two days before getting to Windemere Crossing (one of the reasons you are level 2 instead of 1) and you may have helped out with that incursion. The winds from the north are dry and very prevalent in the late summer you are travelling. Though in the mornings, before the sun rises, there are cool mountain breezes from the south. The caravan route is a well-worn path, wide enough for two large groups to pass each other, with trees widely scattered to the south and nothing but soft rolling hills to the north. Glimpses of the bright desert are common as the road borders the burning sands. There was talk of the Silent Ones, large, rough humans that occasionally strike at caravans, but are not usually this far south. There is some political talk: Axechest is greedy for the gold that lies in the mountains bordering the Respeth and Ismekia kingdoms, and there may be heavier taxes. Windemere is slowly building up forces, working on replacing the western gate and a small cadre of spearmen have recently been added to the new barracks. Though Tara Serk, one of the caravan guards, snorts at the new barracks: "Windemere is almost 500 years old, part of the old Tuvano reach. Used to be an outpost but with the king going crazy for his dead wife, things fell apart. The caravans started using Windemere Crossing maybe 50, 60 years ago and just used what is there. Though the new Burgermiester seems to have plans for making it a better place. We'll see."

When asking about the caravan, you are told it is carrying magic crystals, herbs, hardwoods, magical contraptions, crystals, Dwarven tools, armor plating. "And cigars for Zesp. Loves those stinking things." There are 12 wagons behind horses, though one is pulled by a larger beast pulling one of the larger wagons (from De Architecture). 

Anyway, I need to refresh my memory on the rules and the various rumors I want to have about. I've a single sheet with most of this information in place. I also need to go back over my Organic Town posts for Windemere Crossing so I can have those rumors and notes ready. And I need some fun random caravan passengers and names if they ask, as well as the other guards. In fact, I'll use the book that just showed up as it has a lot of interesting tables and things. Got it primarily as another monster book for OSE, but it is really so much more than that. The author wanted something that could be a good resource at the table, and I think he succeeded in that. I may have to do something of a review for the Monster Overhaul. Not that I've really done any reviews here - not sure there is any real interest. And this is a Traveller blog mostly so reviewing an OSE book, well, you could use parts of it for Traveller as there is a SF section to it.

I don't want to overwhelm the players too much: there was a lot of information in our current game, and most of it has been organically gathered. But it is a lot and sadly, while I take notes, I'm not going back over those so forget some of the people we meet. Though the other players are really good about it. And I was good for a while - I had Fughs's journey and notes on the people but sadly have neglected keeping that up to date. I blame laziness on my side, and the stress of getting laid off and a new job (and I've noted that I do NOT do well with stress!). It is about 3 months out of date! Maybe I could add what we've done the last couple of sessions later...

I even color-coded it for easier reference!

And I'll just end this blog post with noting that I do try & link the things I talk about. Not to sell them or anything like that, but figured you may want to get a look at some of things I talk about. I am not sponsored or anything like that, just figure I can share where to find the things I talk about. And I may turn off the advertising: I am not going to make any money off of it, and it is pretty annoying I think.