Random encounter thing

Just something I just thought about: a format to make random encounter tables. Whenever you trigger one, roll 2d6, high number (x) decides encounter. low number (y) may trigger a special effect.

(These are placeholder monsters to show how this works, 1 being very strange encounters and 6 a very common encounter)

1 - The wild hunt, commanded by the most legendary king in your setting.
2 - The morrigan (on y=1 she'll be dancing naked, with a bottle of whiskey in her hand)
3 -bandit leader (on y=1 he'll reveal family ties with one of the PCs )
4 -kobolds (tough and stealthy; y=number of them)
5 -bandits (stealthy; y=number of them)
6 -skeletons(tough, y=number of them)

OUTPUT % highest of 2d6

1 2.78

2 8.33

3 13.89

4 19.44

5 25.00

6 30.56

The Great Silence and another half baked game.

I'm seriously trying to come up with some rules-lite sword and sorcery game to introduce my cousin into the hobby this saturday, but something inside me is gravitating constantly towards the mystical wild west themes. I think that's why this quick system is strangely "open".

To create your character, roll 2d6 and compare the result with this table. You get +1 on the corresponding traits.

1. Toughness (brawling, enduring physical harm, strenght feats)
2. Dexterity (shooting, reflexes, anything regarding precision)
3. Eerieness (force of will, raw charm, casting spells)
4. Wisdom (general knowledge, insight and intuition)
5. choose yourself
6. choose yourself

You start at level 1. Pick your starting knack: it can be Combat training, a Skill or a Spell. You can choose to do it randomly.

1-2: COMBAT TRAINING

When you take a level as a fighter, you get +2 HP to your total whenever you roll for it, and a +1 bonus to damage when using a favored kind of weapon. You can pick the same weapon multiple times as you level up for extra bonus.

3- 4: SKILLS

Whenever you do something that falls under your skill domain, you can re-roll the lowest die and keep the highest result.

1. Survival. You know how to hunt and track in the wilderness, how to identify herbs and dangers and how to be stealthy out there.You can make fire by spinning little sticks.
2. Thievery. You know how to pass unaverted either on a dark alley or in a crowded tavern; how to pick locks and pockets, and where to find contacts among your guild.
3. Medicine. You know how to sew wounds or diagnose illnesses; and also how to cook some poultices and poisons.
4. Acrobatics. You're as agile as a cat. You know how to walk through a rope or climb trees as easy as breathing. You can use this skill on combat if you perform a risky trick when fighting.
5. Awareness. At least one of your senses is extremely trained. You notice more details than the others when you analyze things and people, and is very hard to catch you by surprise.
6. Resilience. Use this skill when you resist damage, exhaustion or any kind of will challenge.

5-6: SPELLS

The default range for casting spells is anything you can touch or anyone at a conversation distance.

1. Charm. You can subtly manipulate the emotions of the target and implant suggestions that don't go against it's fundamental nature.
2. Shapeshift. Choose a second form you can adopt. It can be animal, like a raven or a bear, or something weirder, like mist or fire. In this form, you gain all it's natural abilities (like flying for birds). Natural weapons do d6 damage.You might learn additional shapes during the game.
3. Divination. You know a way to scry the future, present and the past. Choose one (tarot cards, casting runes, watching the wind blow away a handful of dust...)
4. Conjuration. You can invoke forces related to your [theme] and command them a single mission, after which they'll banish. If used to attack, they do d6 damage and fight until they're out of HP (1 hp by default). For each 1d6 HP you burn at the conjuration, you can give the summoned entity +1 armor, +1d6 HP or +1 damage. Describe the creature according to this characteristics.
5. Mystic Ward. You can place a ward over something or someone, designed to fend off a specific type of danger you name each time: unwanted attention, trespassers, bullets... etc. If used in combat, it gives +1 armor to a single combatant.
6. Resurgence. This spell is able to heal 1d6 HP to an ally and cure most ailments. As a side effect, it purifies and enhances the true nature of things.

THE THEME; THAT MAGIC FEELING

Whenever you learn your first spell, you must also pick a theme for your magic. This theme represents the inspiration where you get your magic from, and will affect its general feeling and the way it manifests when casting it.

The theme can also hint which kinds of dangers, complications and costs may your magic carry when you roll low.

1. Blue astral fire
2. The wilderness beyond the road
3. Bad weather
4. The frozen tundra
5. The night
6. The Draconica Grimoires

(I'm taking suggestions for themes, I feel that I could get some better ones)

Roll once in each table for equipment:

WEAPONS!

1. A sling or a brass knuckle (d6 damage, easy to conceal)
2. A knife or a small pistol (d6 damage, easy to conceal)
3. An axe or a javelin (d6+1 damage)
4. A six-gun (d6+1damage, fast draw) or a bow (d6+1 damage, silent)
5. A longbow (d6+2 damage, silent, long range) or a shotgun (d6+2 damage)
6. A rifle (d6+2 damage, long range) or twin six-guns (d6+2 damage, fast draw)

You get 3 uses of corresponding ammo with all ranged weapons.
They do not represent individual shots, but abstract quantities of them: on bad rolls GM might tell you to mark off 1 ammo. When you get to zero you're out of ammunition.

TRAIL GEAR!

1. A bottle of firewine (drink to take a short rest anytime, 2 uses) or a winter cloak (you always get a full rest when in cold climates)
2. A first aid kit (2 uses), an oil lantern or a shovel (d6 damage)
3. An old pot of coffee (if you cook with it when making camp, everybody gets a full rest) or 3 ammo for any weapon.
4. A vial of poison (one use) or a mule (8hp, d6 hooves, stubborn)
5. Antitoxins (2 uses) or a set of lockpicks.
6. A horse (8 HP, d6 hooves, fast) or a book on a specific subject (+1 in related rolls)

PERSONAL ITEMS

1. A marked french deck or an old scar (+1 to all rolls against whoever caused it to you)
2. A friendly dog (6HP, good nose) or raven (4HP, flies and speaks nonsense). Both seem to understand you reasonably.
3. Your grandfather's diaries (re-roll a Wisdom roll once a day) or a rattlesnake amulet (re-roll an Eeriness roll once a day)
4. A blues harp (can be used to play spells at hearing range) or a compass (you decide what does it point to!)
5. An mundane object you have (you can buy one right now if you want) is now magical. Roll to see which spell it has on it and which theme can be sensed on it (your GM has the last word on it's effects).
6. The weapon you have is your elder's legacy: once a day you can re-roll any roll involving it.

You also start with 1d6 dollars and some spare change (which is not much). Very cheap things are affordable with just your change (do not keep track of it!)

$1 is the prize of a meal or a room for the night, horse foraging included.

$5 is the prize of a knife, a handful of ammo (1 unit), a bundle of rope or a bottle of whiskey.

$10 is the prize of an axe, common medicines or complex tools.

$30 is the prize of a handgun, a mule or an elegant suit.

$60 is the prize of a rifle, a horse or a prison bail.

$100 is the reward for a common bandit; $500 for a bandit leader, $1000 for a local hero.

The frontier is a place of scarcity and you can't always get what you want at shops. If you ask for something outside the norm when visiting a merchant, roll 1d6: on a 5 or 6 they have it for sale; on lower numbers they have a low quality version of the thing, costs more than it should, comes with strings attached or they don't have nothing at all.

----------------------------------------------------------------

RESOLUTION (is the common World of Dungeons/Pbta one, I just like it!)

Whenever you do anything risky, roll 2d6 and add the appropiate trait.

On a 12+ you succeed beyond expectation or gain an extra advantage. In combat, you can also deal double damage or choose a second target.

On a 10+ you succeed without much effort. In combat, deal damage.

On a 7-9, you also suffer a cost or complication.

On a 6 or less the threat comes true; GM will describe how. If you survive, you get 1 XP

Some examples of costs, complications and threats:

-suffer an adequate debility

-GM introduces a new danger

-expose yourself or others to danger

-face a difficult choice

-lose some equipment

-you suffer damage (1d6 for common hazards, 2d6 if the threat was overtly dangerous)

-a pending threat comes true

You start the game with 2d6 Hit Points.

Whenever you rest, you can re-roll your HP: roll 1d6 if you camp in harsh conditions or 2d6 if you find a confortable place, like an inn. If your result is lower than your current HP, discard it.

Should damage take your HP to 0 or below, you can still roll to endure

(When you must endure, roll +STR if it's physical or +EERIE if its mystical harm. On a 10+, you can ignore your wounds, at least for now. On a 7-9, you suffer a debility or other complication. On a miss, you're as fucked as the situation demands)

LEVELING UP

Whenever you roll a miss, you get 1 XP. Every 10 XP you go up a level.
On even levels you get a +1 on a random trait.
On odd levels you can pick a new knack.

PD: If you like westerns, you should really see The Great Silence. I didn't knew about it until yesterday and it's awesome. True grit, on the other hand, was not bad, but nothing of the other tuesday.

The Pernicious Albion Coloring Book

As an aspiring tattoo artist, I draw lots of things everyday; starting with the lines, then shadows and colors. So when I received in the mail A Most Thoroughly Pernicious Pamphlet, (by Mateo Diaz, go here to know more about it, his Pernicious Albion setting is awesome) and I saw it's art, I couldn't take the idea of painting it out of my head.

cowboy bebop style

I was thinking again on cowboy bebop and how it's premise could be extrapolated to tabletop campaigns. Here is what I've got by now:

The setting is a weird west kind. No space component. Modern anachronisms such as radios, early electricity or early telephones are allowed. Magic is allowed too in low doses (sympathy, soothsaying, alchemy, mysterious relics, certain rituals).

The wilds are inhabited by elusive fey people, that take the role of magical native americans. The Big cities to the east are corrupted in the high spheres and ruled by gangs at the street levels. In the middle ground, there is a vast space called "the frontier"; where the action takes place.

All players start as bounty hunters. Maybe they're associates, maybe they've just met each other in a tavern.This kind of world supports bounty-hunterism in a semi-legal way as a part of the law system; and there are search and seizure orders set in the local taverns and emitted on a special radio station that all bounty hunters can listen to in the middle of the plains (If they bought a receptor at character creation!)

The cost of life is a constant: equipment gets used and many abilities rely on the characters resting properly at inns to refresh. My gaming group also loves money management in our games, but I don't take advantage of this as I feel that I should: I want to make them to have choices between buying a new horse or spending some whiskey at the tavern, and make that choices have relevance on the outcomes.

All players (and this is where I feel that cowboy bebop has the most influence on this) must roll on this table before the game starts. They may do it secretely between them and the GM, to find their real inner drive behind their badass bounty hunter mask. Eventually, the pursuits they follow will lead to clues to resolve their unfinished pasts (GM, do your homework!). It's up to them to reveal this secrets to the other party members.

1 To escape from...

2 To get revenge on...

3 To quest in behalf of...

4 To atone for your deeds against...

5 To ask something from...

6 To find a relic (roll one!) concerning...

1 ...your old job partners (tell us which kind of job it was!)

2 ...an old friend or lover

3 ...a fae / something at the astral plane (roll!)

4 ...an outlaw (roll!)

5 ...the law (what did you do?)

6 ...the Raven King

1d40 famous goblins.

Roll in this table for a goblin name. 

Personality: They will always act like they've taken a whole lot of the drug of the same name, or otherwise like they would really benefit from it (whatever it feels more Goblin!)

1. Acetaminophen

2. Adderall

3. Alprazolam

4. Amitriptyline

5. Amlodipine

6. Amoxicillin

7. Ativan

8. Atorvastatin

9. Azithromycin

10. Ciprofloxacin

11. Citalopram

12. Clindamycin

13. Clonazepam

14. Codeine

15. Cyclobenzaprine

16. Cymbalta

17. Doxycycline

18. Gabapentin

19. Hydrochlorothiazide

20. Ibuprofen

21. Lexapro

22. Lisinopril

23. Loratadine

24. Lorazepam

25. Losartan

26. Lyrica

27. Meloxicam

28. Metformin

29. Metoprolol

30. Naproxen

31. Omeprazole

32. Oxycodone

33. Pantoprazole

34. Prednisone

35. Tramadol

36. Trazodone

37. Viagra

38. Wellbutrin

39. Xanax

40. Zoloft

HP bad romance part II

In the last post I sketched an HP-less version. Now, I'll try to come up with a system using Hit Points but in which the PCs are not HP tanks and can charge into battle knowing that they can take a determinated amount of shots before considering getting behind cover.

Assume World of Dungeons resolution system (2d6+ attribute ranging from -1 to 3. 6- is a fail, 7-9 a success at a cost, 10-11 is a success, 12+ is a critical hit where damage is doubled)

All PCs get 1d6 HP+half their level (round up) bringing the natural HP range of the PCs from 2 to 11. This die is re-rolled everytime they rest.
Whenever they have a confortable rest at a safe place or prepare a magical kettle pot of coffee (see previous entry), they can automatically set the result to 6.

Fists, slings and such do 1d6 non lethal damage (if an enemy is left at 0 hp is considered knocked out)
Proper weapons such as revolvers, bows and knives do 2d6 damage
Big weapons such as rifles or dynamite do 3d6 damage

Shooting behind cover grants you +1 armor

Once your HP are 0 or less, you can always make a CON roll to see if you're still breathing. If you pass it, you are left at 1 HP instead. On a 7-9, you are unconscious or something.

At creation, players can pick traits to make them deadlier:
Trollskin: +1 armor.
Berserkr: you can engage on a trance that gives you +2 armor, but you risk acting driven by this rage
Warrior: when using your favored kind of weapon (fists/blunt/guns/daggers/magical) you add half your level to the damage
Tough: you get 1d6+your level instead of half your level
Survivor: You can always roll to resists all kinds of poison or sicknesses
Hobo: no matter where you rest, it always counts as a confortable rest to you
Lots of other non-combat skills also available.

Monsters get HP and damage based on their assumed toughness:
Common person: 1d6 hp
Mook: 2d6 hp
Tough bastard: 3d6 hp,
Legendary shooter: +1d6 damage.

Hit points bad romance

I'm sketching a thing this days; a game set on a permanent Twin Peakesque mystery; which will also draw a lot of themes and technology from the Western genre. I'll probably use the AW approach, I just like it too much to try anything new (2d6+mods, 6- is trouble, 7-9 a partial success and 10+ is a hit). But, on the combat matters, I've been drawn to an old dilemma I get whenever I make anything: HP or not HP?

On one side, I love the simplicity of Health Points: There is a fight: you roll high, you roll damage; you roll too bad, you're the damaged. They're fair and clear and admit no discussion: everyone knows the stakes.
Also, being that I love taking characters camping in dark woods, is very easy to reward good roleplaying by using HP and World of Dungeons rules: You didn't bother to buy a tent, or trying to make a refuge from the storm? no re-rolling HP for you.You want to risk making a fire, just to warm a kettle pot? Ok, roll to see if you attract unwanted attention. But you all get +1d6 HP because of the magical taste of coffee so far from home.

Also, the most important thing about rolling for HP damage is that, when you roll your weapon's damage, you can actually feel the joy of swinging a sword at something hoping to do as much harm as you can. You don't feel that when rolling to hit: that's like a bureaucracy step. But rolling for damage is when magic happens; and thats one of the things that I liked when I read Into the Odd (check it out if you haven't. In that game, you're assumed to hit always, and you roll directly for damage. Where is the trick? well, maybe is that monsters do that too)

On the other side, on a more down-to-earth setting, the whole HP concept loses meaning. On a common wild west setting, there are two main combat forms: by the gun and by raw fists. The first one will almost always end with one man dead in the blink of an eye. Translated to numbers, if a gun does 1d6+1 damage, it takes all the thrill of the showdown if a PC walks into the duel with 8 HP. Yes, it has sense on the sword and sorcery genre, where you can explain that as exhaustion and fighting mojo and the heroes can stand fighting after taking arrows to the chest. Also, there are lots of big monsters and it makes sense for them to be able to take lots of hits before they fall dead. But here, on my setting, you'll fight mainly people, maybe an occassional trollkin. And spirits, there are many of them too, but you can't really shoot them anyways. You won't go hunting things and take their XP.

Maybe I'll go with something like this:

When you shoot or kick someone, roll +DEX or +STR, and substract your enemy's armor (if there is any). On a 12+, that thing is defeated, killed or knocked out, you say how.
On a 10+ your GM will either give you the kill or be a dick and just give you an advantage over the guy.
On a 7-9 do it just like on a 10+, but there is a compromise or cost that makes sense about the situation (too much ammo, suffer an attack too, exposing to other dangers, etc).
On a 6 or less, you suffer an attack // the monster makes a move.

When you must stand up despite damage, poison and other shit, roll +STR.
On a 10+, you feel fine, at least for now. On a 7-9 you stand on the fight but suffer a debility (-1 to a stat) or must face a disadvantage. On a 6 or less, your enemy's attack has full effect on you (you're dead or out of combat if shot, Knocked out or ridiculized if beaten, maybe a debility if you're rolling against exhaustion or mild poison).
Here it is the main downside of not using HP: the GM is meant to decide the lethality of an attack instead of the rules. For most cases we can consider that guns, drinking acid and dynamite are lethal. The songs of the swamp nixes, drinking whiskey or getting beaten are not lethal, but will get you out of scene if you can't pass that save. Common sense is presumed, but there are those kind of players that will argue about anything.
PD: note that even on a 10+, all wounds or effects are still there, even if they aren't hindering you at the moment they may reappear and make you roll again when making big efforts or not setting a campfire properly.

Whenever you rest you get nothing, but if you don't do it you might roll for standing up despite damage even if you're not wounded (and get a debility).
Whenever you have a specially confortable rest at a safe place, or make a fire under the storm just to boil a coffee pot brought from your home far away, you can scratch away a debility.

Mechanically, enemies would be a name, a weapon, a drawing and a list of moves. Very tough enemies may have a numeric armor that is substracted from the roll. That armor has also a descriptive tag that justifies how and when that armor works.

Example (no drawing, I'm at the library right now):

Sheriff Payne, revolver, +2 armor (keen reflexes)
-give a last warning
-put a price on your head
-do what duty demands

Chun-li, kicks, +2 armor (when streetfighting)
-get very angry
-jump a lot
-tell you a chinese proverb strangely relevant to the situation.

Something awesome happened to me today

I'm living in a new city since last thursday, and I happened to go to the local library, just because I'm that kind of guy who likes to go reading in public places and to get some Internet when I stumbled with the Encyclopedia of Early Earth, by Isabel Greenberg. I've just read it whole in a single shot, and it totally changed my day.
The book is about so many things that I cannot properly describe it in a hurry, but I'm just gonna say that is the most inspiring thing I've seen in ages; and that is totally rpg campaign fuel. The plot is an absurdly well written mash up of micro-stories. The book it's like a hundred pages long or so and the whole thing is filled to the brim with that mythical, mystical feeling that you don't see very often and that I'd like to capture someday in a setting; maybe in Wanderlust II.

Is just me or is that art awesome? Hell, go to your local library and pick it up right now!

Taking monster requests for World of Pilgrims!

So ask in the comments for any monster you'd like to see drawn in MSpaint and stated with numbers and moves, and you'll probably have it. I accept everything, from extra-planar beings to road bandits; I even accept non-threatening things as long as they can provide some sort of challenge. And don't hold back: the harder it's for me to draw, the more I like them once they're done. Some examples here:

HARPY WATCH

3 HP, +1 armor (when flying), prehensile paws, hoarder

Damage: 1d6+1 (crossbow)

Instinct: to protect their nest

Moves:

-Steal something shiny

-Call the others

WENDIGO

12 HP, +1 armor (bone), big, stealthy, undead

Damage: d6+2 (bite)

Instinct: To feed a neverending hunger

Moves:

-Bewild people with his howl

-corrupt all nature on the area

-Transmit his curse

SHY KOBOLD, as asked by Andrea Parducci

2 HP, +1 armor (furniture), stealthy, extremely skillful

Damage: d6 (furniture)

Instinct: to haunt mines and homes

Moves:

-Lay a trap 

-Do something unnoticed

-Repay a deed

THE MORRIGAN

15 HP, +2 armor (shield), can assume raven form.

Damage: 2d6+1 (Spear)

Instinct: to bring war

Moves:

-Help a warrior

-Cast magic of nature and healing

-Bring something from the land of the dead

SNAKE WITCH, to Sarah Sheraga

6 HP, +2 armor (scales and trident), big

Damage: d6+2 (magic, constriction, trident)

Instinct: to reign

Moves:

-Lay a hex over someone or something

-Send her vassals to fight

-Command you to kneel

how does she looks better, with or without wings?

Skulltopus, to David Perry

1HP, +2 armor (skull), small, lives in colonies

1d6-2 damage (paralyzing touch)

Instinct: to hatch on skulls

Moves:

-get hold of their prey at all costs

-infest anywhere where there are corpses

BOOKWYRM, for James Etheridge.

21 HP, +3 armor, Giant, winged

Damage: 2d6 (bite, tail, fire)

Instinct: to hoard books

Moves: 

-Create an aura of silence over an area

-Ask someone to read aloud (because turning the pages is really hard for dragons)

-Bash everything around

And this tavern is an illustration for the introduction of the book. Play this on the background for extra effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTVZILBSa_E

Eight monsters

River Troll

14 HP, +1 armor (thick hide), big

Damage: d6+4 (wooden branch)

Instinct: To tax a bridge.

Moves:

-fix an absurdly high or suspiciously low price

-smell something you'd like to keep hidden

-punish the tricksters 

Magic Bum

4 HP

Damage: d6-2 (street boxing)

Instinct: To serve the voices in his head

Moves:

-make a prophecy

-have the weirdest luck

-offer advice at a price 

Dark elf tinker

5 HP +1 armor (umbrella), darkvision

Damage: d6 (umbrella)

Instinct: to forge dangerous things

Moves:

-offer an oddity

-give in to greed

-grow a new obsession

DRAGON

20 HP, +3 armor; giant, winged, breathes fire

2d6 damage (tail); 2d6 ignores armor (fire)

Instinct: To rule

Moves:

-Burn everything before him

-Demand tribute

-Act with disdain

DIRE SPIDER

8 HP; +1 armor, stealthy, big

Damage: d6+2 (paralyzing poison)

Instinct: to catch prey

Moves:

-reveal that you've already stepped into her sticky threads

-attack the helpless

FOREST TROLL

20 HP, +2 armor; giant, three headed

2d6+2 damage (giant axe)

Instinct: To become the alpha

Moves:

-Hurl something

-Charge

-Exchange information among the heads

 WRAITH

8 HP, ethereal, floating, can see and speak through his ghostfire drones.

1d6 damage (life-draining touch)

Instinct: to hate the living

Moves:

-send ghostfires around

-cover the world in cold and darkness

-show the madness beyond existence

WATER NYMPH

4 HP, amphibious, hoarder, glamour.

Damage: d6 (rusty banjo)

Instinct: To over-dramatize

Moves:

-play a song to mesmerize people

-grow a disproportionate love or hatred

-ask the lake's inhabitants for help

Seven monsters; with stats for World of Dungeons

CENTAUR:

12 HP, big

Damage: 1d6+4 (longbow)

Instinct: To rage

Moves:

-Blow an alarm

-Charge recklessly

-Make an oath

 BANSHEE

3 HP, undead

Damage d6 (Shattering Scream)

Instinct: To hold grudges

Moves:

-Bring a bewildering message from beyond

-Lay a very specific curse or blessing

-Blend into the mist

BLACK KNIGHT

14 HP, +2 armor, big

Damage d6+4 (halberd)

Instinct: to oppose

Moves:

-challenge to a fight

-reveal a shocking identity

-reveal his signature trick  

 COCKATRICE

1 HP, flying

damage: 2d6 (petrifying stare, breath and touch)

Instinct: to guard a place

-jump towards you

-crow in alarm

-fly off  

 MOUNTAIN TROLL

24 HP, +4 armor (stoneskin), MASSIVE, slow

3d6 damage (slam)

Instinct: To change the landscape drastically

Moves:

-destroy everything on his way

-become suddently interested in something

-go back to sleep on the weirdest place

 VAMPIRE FLOATING HEAD

7 HP, small, sneaky, floating

Damage: 1d6 (bite)

Instinct: To feed on blood

Moves:

-follow you at a distance

-to scream in alarm

-retreat where it's dark

DRAUGR

14 HP, +2 armor (chainmail and shield) undead, hoarder

d6+3 damage (greatsword)

Instinct: to hate the living

Moves:

-use his mighty strenght

-negate the last wound (unless caused by a weakness, your call)

-grow bigger (+1 armor)

Six Monsters

Wild Mustang

10 HP, big

Damage: d6+2 (hooves)

Instinct: To incite fools to catch him

Moves:

-run free despise all obstacles

-lead a single hunter to a dangerous or fey place

Treefolk Assassin

8 HP, +1 armor (barkskin), stealthy; acrobat, half-plant

Damage: 2d6+1 (short bow)

Instincts: To guard their sacred grove.

Moves:

-Scare away offenders

-Aim for a sure shot

-Blend into the forest

Treefolk Monk

9 HP, +2 armor (barkskin), half-plant, walks slow

Damage: d6+2 (wooden arms)

Instincts: To find a place for spreading roots and rest in tree form.

Moves:

-Teach a key to enlightment

-Ask nearby nature for help

-Maintain the meditation

Valravn

10 HP +1 armor (unsettling aura), glamour, can switch raven and human forms.

Damage: 2d6 (fire and sparks)

Instinct: To bring chaos and rule over it

Moves

-work forgotten magic

-give you something you really need and feign friendship

-reveal that it was his plan all along

Chocobo

3 HP

d6 damage (beak and claws)

Instinct: to run in frenzy

Moves:

-give an advantage to it's rider

-go mad when cornered

-bark and run

 Timber wolf

7 HP, darkvision, stealthy

Damage: d6 (teeth)

Instinct: to prey on the lost

Moves:

-howl to call the pack (1d6 members, counting the first wolf)

-drag you to the ground

and even more; now with color palettes

I've discovered this days that people doing pixel art uses to make fixed palettes. Picking 10-20 colors and drawing using only these; and thats how they achieve to create personal atmospheres and ambients in their drawings.

I thought in making one for the book myself: I think that a homogeneization of the color on the whole art will make it have a more consistent look. These are some tests that I actually liked

Randall flagg; the walking dude, from Stephen King's The Stand

 A newer, more "serious" version for the huldra

A barman; which reminds me of someone but I can't grasp who right now.

The fourth (and I think it's the final) portrait of Captain Ferard

And the color fixed Laura Bow; cuter than ever

Some more drawings

Three more classes for Jackie's Dungeons:

The Journeyman (I leaned towards the alchemist here)

The Beast (And I brought a real huldra for this, approach under your own risk)

 and The Investigator, which is no other than Laura Bow; the sexy detective from The Dagger of Amon-Ra

Once I'm finished with the classes, I want to do a big illustration for the Equipment section, of a shop where you could see everything described on it pictured right there, on the shelves.

I don't know yet how I'm making this whole thing, I don't know shit about layouts or page formats. Which are, in your opinion, nicely illustrated and formatted rpgs that I could get inspiration from?

Drawing Tests

As I hinted on the previous entry, I want to make a bestiary. Pridefully stated for World of Dungeons only (I'm falling more and more in love with that system every day). In fact, I've already started writing it: I'm beginning with some trolls and fair folk, some weird encounters for cities, and who knows where will it end. 

But I want to do something more: I want to draw it. My idea came to me as a burst of what Spaniards call "Envidia Sana"; (which would roughly translate by Well-meaning envy, which is nice and totally a good feeling) when I saw Sam Bosma's Inventory v.1. I mean, just look at a random page from it, is cool as fuck: 

I've never drawn anything serious in my life; I used to make the posters for my band's gigs on MS paint; and all the art for my games I've posted here is also made with it. But this time, I want to make something professional. I plan on selling it if all goes well, or at least, make a crowfunding in order to cover the publication costs and making a heap of books for the friends and any other internet nerds.

I've started toying with Paint Tool Sai, and feels like other planet. But I'm proud to say that in just one afternoon I've achieved something that I considered to be reserved for adept wizards: To make images with blank (transparent) backgrounds. Please have this kobold gangster as a proof.

How to generate monsters for World of Dungeons: a short guide

Instinct: What does this creature wants that makes it dangerous? Write it down.

How big is the monster? (pick one).

- Like a human: 1d6HP, unmodified damage (fists:d6-2, small, improvised or natural weapons:d6; hand weapons: d6+1, big guns or two handed weapons: d6+2. Magic does or heals d6 damage.
- Big (bigger than a common man): 2d6 HP, +2 damage
- Giant (bigger than a small house): 2d6x2 HP, +1d6 damage, +1 armor.
- MASSIVE (just too much): 2d6x3  HP, +2d6 damage, +2 armor. You'll have to find a weak point on it to actually hurt it.
- Small (like a cat or smaller):  1HP, -2 damage.

Why is the monster known? He/she/it... (pick all that apply and add it to the numbers):

Is a battle-scarred fighter/seasoned hunter: +6 HP
Is moved by an unnatural force beyond common biology (psychical, mechanical, divine, mystical): +6 HP.

Is specially well-trained on its kind of fight: +1d6 damage.

Is skilled dodging or blocking blows: +1 armor.

Has natural or worn armor: +1 to +2 armor.

Has supernatural protection: +1 armor
Is specially eldritch or unique: stat it as being Giant or Massive despite its actual size.
Has other special qualities: Choose from this list or make up your own; and play the monster accordingly: Winged, invulnerable to X, insanity aura (it's mere vision may cause madness), undead (cannot be killed in the proper sense of the word), amphibious, glamour (can cast illusions over itself and its belongings) ethereal (common weapons pass harmlessly through it), ranged (is able to attack from the distance), etc 

Moves: 

Choose 1-3 main moves; which are the most common things this monster will do if the characters let him to, or fail their rolls.

WORLD OF PILGRIMS: World of Dungeons hack, unabridged and with comments by a guy

Here is something I've been working on lately: a hack of WoDu, changing some things that I felt that could be improved.

In my humble opinion, some special abilities seemed filling and had no base on the fiction whatsoever (Lucky), were useful only in very specific situations (Bless, Turn), we're just little interesting or overlapped slighty with skills or fiction first (scout, reflexes, etc).

I've replaced them with others that I thought to be more interesting and with a very high charge of character shaping. Also there are five new classes (Investigator, Princess, Journeyman, Faerie and Trollblooded) and one class less (because fuck clerics); some absurdly changed depurated combat rules, HP rules and some other things.

EDIT July 30th, 2015:
Added Constitution as an attribute; Sneaky, Hypnotism and Professor as special abilities replacing some crappy ones; and fixed the HP-resting system (so 7-10 HP will be the norm on average PCs and 30 HP is the max any PC will ever have unless unexpected conditions apply). Also rewrote Giant, Paws, Berserker, Endurance and Deadly Verdict (I know it feels like a fighter thing, but in my mind is something very appropiate for a royal blooded)
Last but not least, characters start with a single Skill now, and can learn two more.

WORLD OF PILGRIMS

Roll 4d6 at the start: you get a +1 to each attribute below that matches a result. If a roll increased an attribute beyond +3 (which is the max value allowed), pick your own:

1. Strenght (STR)
2. Dexterity (DEX)
3. Insight (INS)
4. Charm (CHA)
5. Knowledge (KNO)
6. Constitution (CON)


Choose a class for your character: each one will give you a default skill. You can change it if you want, or make your own class by picking a starting skill and any two special abilities.


Warriors get ATHLETICS; and two special abilities:
Brawler: +2 damage on melee attacks.
Weapon Mastery: Choose a kind of weapon and an attribute. When fighting with said weapon you can always use that attribute in the rolls (explain why!)
Berserker: You can unleash a frenzied fury that gives you +2 armor; but you risk losing control of yourself on failed rolls during the trance, and act foolish, temerary or plain mad. Once the trance is over, you feel weakened, and lose 1d6 HP.
Sneaky: Whenever you're aware and free of restraints you get +1 armor.

Journeymen get HEAL; and two special abilities:

Engineer: You can make, understand and repair machinery, firearms and complex devices.
Alchemist: You can diagnose illnesses, and prepare mysterious potions and items. You start with two known formulae.
Bard: You can attempt to impress people in a singular way: choose one (playing songs, speaking philosophical aforisms, reciting ancient poetry, etc)
Sympathist: While you use your force of belief to link two similar things together, all you do to one of them will happen to the other to a degree. The amount of effect is proportional to the quality of the link (similar materials, shapes, or a part taken from the target make good links). The losses of energy affect the caster's health.

Princesses get LEADERSHIP; and two special abilities:

Domain: You have natural power over one (a kingdom, ice, a forest, the underworld), and can attempt to command it.
Butler: You have a loyal servant with skills related to your domain
Eerie Charm: When you show yourself to somebody, you can attempt to say how does he/she feels.
Deadly Verdict: When you roll 10-11 in combat, you can choose to do double damage by exposing yourself to a complication or cost of GMs choosing.

Half-beasts get AWARENESS; and two special abilities:

Trollskin: +1 natural armor
Giant: You're bigger than normal people (how much is up to your GM). When you roll for HP, add 6 to the total.
Trollnose: Your nose is so sharp that you can attempt to smell feelings and thoughts
Paws: When unarmed, you do +2 damage, and you're considered to have a weapon in your off-hand (before attacking, you can choose add +1 to damage or +1 to armor).

Thieves get STEALTH; and two special abilities:

Tinker: You know how to pick locks, pick pockets and conceal things on your person.
Trickster: Once per day, you can retroactivelly claim you've done things offscreen -like setting a trap or stealing a thing-. It must make sense, and you must still roll to see how well you did it.
Acrobat: Your movements seem to defy gravity; you can attempt impossible jumping and balance feats.
Contacts: On a succesful CHA roll, you know someone around who can help you in any affair.

Faeries get DECEPTION; and two special abilities

Geas: You have two moral or physical taboos (speaking lies, breaking oaths, entering houses uninvited, sunlight, touching cold iron, walking outside water for more than a day). The details on what happens if you break them is up to your GM. In exchange, you get any two special abilities.
Glamour: You can attempt to cast illusions over yourself or your propierties.
True namer: You can attempt to bargain with animals, trees and things.
Supernatural forge: You can spend time to craft uncanny things. Depending on their effects they may have proportional requirements.

Investigators get DECIPHER;
Professor: Choose two narrow fields of study (trolls, poisons, crime history, ancient gods, noble birthlines). When investigating or manipulating things related to them you always achieve something useful.
Hunch: Once a day, when you're looking for any kind of information, state what you'd like to know and choose anybody to ask or anything to examine. When you do it, it will give you just the clue you were looking for even on a miss (there may still be costs or complications).
Damn fine cup of coffee: When you take a time to your ritual relax, you can attempt to put the pieces together to get a straight fact that had been hidden from your sight.
Hypnotism: By using a focus you can attempt to mesmerize people to make them search for lost memories or give them subtle orders.

Mystics get LORE; and two special abilities:

Soothsayer: You can use your preferred method (tarot, fire, praying to your deity, the dregs of tea...) to ask any question about the future, present or past.
Spellweaver: You start with two known incantations; each one with a rough effect and with a specific ritual, requirements or drawback (Bargain with your GM to set the right tone for them!).
Summoner: You can conjure spirits to act in your behalf. You start with two known spirits: each one has a Name, an Appearance and two domains (fire, secrets, evil, illusions, love, medicine, hypnotism...). Tipically this domains manifest a little into each other. Spirits have their own personality and agenda, and dealing with one is always dangerous.
Shapeshift: You can assume a second form at will; which may be animal, elemental or other (or human, if you are not one). You gain all the natural abilities of this shape, but when transformed you risk acting by pure instinct or letting yourself into the beast. You can learn other forms through the game.


Rangers get SURVIVAL; and two special abilities:

Endurance: You can always roll to resist poisons or illnesses, and whenever you rest it always counts as confortable rest to you, no matter the harsh conditions.
Sharpshooter: +2 damage on ranged attacks.
Hunter: You get the Stealth and Awareness skills while in your chosen domain (forests, underwater, darkness, snow).
Animal companion: Choose any you'd like. You can speak and understand each other in your own way.


More rituals, alchemical formulas, spirits, second forms, etc; can be found through the game. If you can't decide which ones to pick at the start, you can instead “reveal” them as the story unfolds, once you've seen the tone of the campaign. Once you do it, though, they're written down and set in stone.
In combat, magic attacks do 1d6 damage, magic armors are +1 and healing spells restore 1d6 damage. Make it 2d6, +2 and 2d6 respectivelly if the spell is specially appropiate for the situation.

Roll 1d6 + a number of d6 equal to your CON + STR to determine your Hit Points.

Whenever you have a proper rest you can re-roll your HP. If you rest in a confortable and safe place you can automatically set your lowest dice to a 6. What Should the new Hit Points be lower than the previous, it might mean that the character has catched a cold, or eaten something in bad conditions.

If you suffer a major wound or illness, you may need to pass a CON check or receive medical assistance before being able to to recover any HP.


RESOLUTION SYSTEM:

When you attempt something risky, roll 2d6 + the appropiate attribute.

On a 12 or more; you achieve a critical hit: you gain an extra advantage, you deal double damage or succeed beyond expectation.
On a 10 or more, you succeed with little to no effort (in combat: your attack deals damage and/or has effect in the fiction)
On a 7-9 you succeed, but there is a complication or a cost for your action. The GM will ask "what do you do?"
On a 6 or less, something turns out badly and you suffer consequences.


SKILLS: 

If you have an applicable skill, you can never truly fail: treat every roll of 6 or less just as if it was a 7-9, but with a harder cost or complication. The available skills are: Athletics, Awareness, Deception, Stealth, Lore, Heal, Survival, Leadership and Decipher


EQUIPMENT:

All characters start with (1d6 x 10) silvercoins in items; using the prices from old Jackie's shop of adventuring gear:

Pocket weapons (10s): Brass knuckles, pitchforks, daggers, slings, small swords and pistols. 1d6 damage, easy to conceal.
Hand weapons (30s): Swords, rapiers, pistols, small bows and crossbows, maces and javelins. 1d6+1 damage.
Big weapons (50s): Muskets, Long bows and heavy crossbows, polearms, greatswords. d6+2 damage.
Light armor (20s): +1 armor
Full armor (50s): +2 armor, hinders movement.
Shield (10s): +1 armor.

Interesting combat facts you might not know:

Unarmed fighting does 1d6-2 damage.
When buying arrows and guns you get 1d6 arrows/shots.
When attacking with a shield or a weapon in the off-hand, you can specify if you use it offensively (+1 damage) or, should the weapon able to parry, defensively (+1 armor)
When attacking a helpless or unaware target, you double your damage or straight neutralize it.
When many enemies damage a single one, the highest of their damages is rolled as many times as there are attackers. Keep the highest value.


Traveling Gear (2s each): Week of rations - Coil of Rope - Tobacco Pipe - Waterskin - Whiskey Bottle - Bandages - Tinderbox - Chalk - French Deck - 6 arrows/ammo rounds - Winter Cloak (can be wrapped and used as a shield)
Tools (5s each): Shovel/Hatchet (d6 damage) - Chain and lock - Fishing rod - Lockpicks - Quill & Ink - Engineer toolbox - Alcohol burner & matrass - hammer & pliers - Oil lantern - Grappling hook - Weighted net
Odd thingummies (20s each): Telescope - Pocket Watch - Banjo - Compass - Tarot Deck - Whip (d6-2 damage) - A book on a random subject - A flask of poison - A vial of acid (d6 damage) - Fire Oil (d6+1 damage until extinguished) - Glass cutter
Some beasts: Hunting dog (20s, 10hp, d6 bite; keen scent) - Domestic Goat (20s, 10HP, d6 kick, distrustful) - Mule (30s. 10 hp, d6 kick, stubborn) - Horse (100s, 10hp, d6 kick, fast) - Raven (10s, 2HP, beak 1 damage, somehow clever) - Hawk (50s, 5HP, d6 claws)
Transport and propierties: Rowboat (50s) - Wagon (100s) - Coach (250s) - Fishing Boat (500s) - Small house (1000s) - Small Inn (5000s)
Taverns: 1s to Sleep, 1s to Eat, 1s to Get Drunk.
A week of hard labor: 6d6s


CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT:

You start at level 1. Everytime you finish a mission, you get a new level. Cross out a boon below:

[_] [_] you get a new skill
[_] [_] [_] you get a new special ability
[_] [_] [_] [_] +1 to any attribute (Max=3)


Please be aware that its a work in progress, and I'd love to hear opinions about it. In the future I'd like to make some illustrations for each class, and maybe add a monster book too.