A new beginning. The Road of the Thousand Gods

  

I created a new blog.

I like this place, but it's almost impossible to use it as a design journal for one particular project. There are simply too many of them. This blog has become more of a cesspool of ideas - and an arena where I release my random tables to the public.

For the last few months I've been working on something new. And I still don't know the final direction this project will head to. However, after about one hundred pages of notes I think I'm ready to start posting about it. Both for myself, to be able to clarify some things (and ask questions) and for your entertainment. 

We shall see how my adventure on the Road of the Thousand Gods will develop. Wish me luck!

The Winding Road 

December Doom! Cursed Cutlery!

 

1. Turns every food it touches into goblin feces.
2. Poisons every food it touches (save or blindness for 1d6 minutes). Maybe could be used as poisoned weapon, who knows?
3. This shit is animated and hostile! 1HP, AC3, 1d2 damage, levitates.
4. Once put in mouth, it sticks to one's lips / gums / tongue with a very powerful, magical adhesive it produces. Sucks to be you.
5. Once put in mouth, it becomes searing hot (1d6 damage). 
6. Cannot be used for eating. Knives are unable to cut anything other than user'a fingers, spoons seem to be leaky, forks automatically miss every bit of food. Ladles breathe stinking, corrosive gas. Hope you don't have a ladle.
7. Once the cutlery's user starts to eat, they must save vs magic or become so ravenous that nothing can stop them from devouring anything that is even remotely edible. Bones, wood, shoes, vermin, pets, infants, halflings. Failed saving throws can be re-attempted once per hour.
8. The cutlery is possessed by an entire family of lesser demons. They are able to communicate telepathically with others. They promise amazing treasure in exchange for "stabbing someone with the cutlery right in the heart". Of course, they're full of shit. Such stabbing would just swap the souls of the victims with the demonic essences trapped in the items.

I honestly don't know how I figure this shit out. It just appears in my mind.  

SSS: Stupid Space Structures

1. A Generation Ship race. It has started approximately 12000 years ago. No one remembers where the end line is.
2. A fake planet made of styrofoam. Entire ecosystem of polystyrene-dependent creatures inhabit its surface.
3. The Yellow Embassy. Occupied by the alien species that communicate by urinating on themselves and their interlocutors. Free beer for everyone.
4. A terraformed "paradise planet" with a functional space ladder as the only safe way to reach its surface.
5. A Great War-era German U-Boat, crewed by Kaiservampires.
6. One trillion-Watt lightbulb, as big as an orbital shipyard. Probably nothing can power it. Cult of Energy Preservation and the Church of the Unborn Light are at war for its control.

Yup this one is really useless. 

Ashen Void will be unavailable from Jan 2026 onwards

As I mentioned here, I will nuke Ashen Void in January 1st. It won't be available anymore. If you want to grab yourself a copy, do it now.

December Doom! Cursed Amulets!

Aaaand for the second year in the row I managed to put out at least one post per month. I will not lie - I'm kinda proud of myself!

PS. Yes. Rusty Beads of the Itching Ecstasy sound particularly wicked.

Octagram Amulet

 

Magical pendant made of tarnished copper. Unusually heavy. Indestructible.

• Once worn, the Amulet cannot be removed with any means other than magic.
• Each morning, it heals its wearer by 8 HP. Obviously, if their HP are already at max, nothing happens. 
• After he 8th healing provided this way, the Amulet drains one of its wearer's stat by 1.
• If wearer's level or any of their stats is reduced to zero while the Octagram Amulet is worn, the wearer dies. After 8 hours, they are transformed into a Green Wight (HD +1, 2 attacks per turn, level drain, undead).
• Any attack that would cause the Amulet's wearer to lose exactly 8HP, deals only 1 point of damage instead. 
• The amulet hums and vibrates in the vicinity of Fish Men, Cockroach Men, Bird Men and Mole Men.

 

Weird behavior of the NPCs

 

1. Jumping on one leg
2. Talking to themselves in falsetto
3. Faking seizures
4. Scratching their body fervently
5. Fist fighting invisible opponent(s)
6. Laying on the ground and attempting to swim in the air
7. Walking on hands 
8. Faking casting spell
9. Laying face down
10. Playing dead 

Why?

1. Demonic possession
2. Intoxication
3. Mental illness
4. Magical curse / spell
5. Parasites!
6. Lost bet
7. Acting
8. Just because 

November Nastiness! Random NPCs!

Is it November already?

Please, enjoy this little random table that may help you create some lovely NPCs for your game.

Ashen Void and cannibalizing of published works

I like Ashen Void. Alot. I think I outdid myself when designing this one. The ideas are interesting and unusual. But it suffers from the AI illustrations... obviously? But let me explain myself.

When I decided to use AI "art" for the book, it was still more or less a curiosity. Models weren't as sophisticated as they are now - and I saw it as strength. It was relatively hard to produce something coherent and good looking - and really easy to spit out nightmarish abominations. And I like nightmarish abominations. And they fit the book nicely.

I don't think it was a mistake. I still enjoy the final result, weird text, even weirder creatures and random tables, combined with "what the fuck I'm looking at" graphics. But it's time to move on.

At first, I thought about making a second edition of the book, with expanded tables, new monsters, some artifacts, NPCs, and - most importantly - my own, handmade artwork. Sadly (or not!), it won't happen. 

I will cannibalize the Ashen Void. The project was rushed and it has much more potential than it's already presented in the book. I want to expand on some ideas and while I'll probably ditch more than I'll preserve for another project, I'll most likely post the "rejected" content here, on this blog. 

Thus, Ashen Void will disappear from both Lulu and DriveThruRPG in the near future. If you want to grab yourself a copy - it's the right time to do so, either now or until the end of year. In 2026, the book won't be available anymore.

Also, I think the new project will have a new blog. It's already getting quite huge and I want to have it organized and easily available. I haven't decided whether it will be here, on Blogger, or on substack. Time will tell but I'm leaning towards Blogspot, mainly because I'm so used to it, I don't plan to monetize the blog and I like the ability to change layouts, colors etc.

That's all for today folks, see you next time!

Mandatory random table. Roll 1d8.

1. Duck Duke. Mutated beyond recognition, except for the feet and the beak.
2. Bear Baron. Skinless, all muscles exposed. Huge fangs dripping with acid.
3. Viper Vicar. Protected by the Serpent God. Casts perversely altered Cleric spells.
4. Parrot Prince. As big as a house. Knows all languages and all secrets. An idiot.
5. Leech Lord. Stores blood of various beings, even gods. Can trade samples for riddles and crosswords.
6. Koala Knight. A really old man. Wears bright-yellow armor. Undefeated in duels. Eats only koalas.
7. Emu Emperor. Governs a vast empire, stretching throughout the Guntranrar Plains. Extremely frustrated by stupidity of his subjects.
8. Crab Cardinal. Really tiny. Glows in the dark. Knew all Clerical spells of the world but forgot them all. An alcoholic.

Poisonous Brochures

Do you need a new poison for your game? I've got you covered!

Just open your meds cabinet / drawer / vault / tabernacle and pick up a random brochure. Read the side effects and combine them all. Voila, your new exotic poison is now ready! 

Septagram Amulet

A simple magic item. An amulet made of cobalt, depicting a seven pointed star.

• It provides a 7+ saving throw against all clerical spells targeting the Amulet's wearer, even if they are healing spells.
• Each successful saving throw must be noted by the GM, because each third successful saving throw causes the Amulet to drain 7 HP from its wearer. The effect is immediate, no saving throw can save from this Hit Points drain.
• If the amulet is soaked in its wearer's blood for seven straight days (at least 1 HP worth of blood per day), it grants its wearer one-time boon of 7777 XP - and one Hellish Mutation (figure it out yourself). Probably it also does something nasty to the wearer's soul.
• The amulet has no effect on any creatures that aren't alive (eg. undead, automata, golems, spirits) or doesn't possess soul.

Enjoy! 

Egua, God of Eyeballs

 

• Minor deity, worshiped in many small fisherman settlements;
• Accepts various eyeballs as offering, especially fond of those belonging to large fish and squid;
• Depicted as large, three-legged bream with 13 eyes;
• His priests are always male and must be overweight and quite hairy;
• Each Shrine of Egua has a (supposedly) magical item - an eyeball made of pure gold (powers unknown but it's said that one per year can be used to resurrect a drowned creature); 
• Egua's fervent followers, as well as his priests, never wash their bodies. Sometimes they even "enhance their odor" by smearing their flesh with fish.

Powers granted by Egua to his followers and priests:

• Ability to see in murky and/or dark water;
• Summon the Infernal Carp 3rd level clerical spell (figure it out by yourself);
• Water breathing;
• Ability to speak to fish (not much chance to hear something back from 'em); 
• Ability to cast Blindness once per fullmoon, no saving throw allowed;
• Restoration of sight or even regrowing lost eyes (5% for growing additional 1d3 eyes);

Curses caused by Egua:

• Magical whirlpools;
• Fish-related nightmares;
• Permanently losing ability to swim;
• Making all seafood poisonous for the cursed one;
• Blindness;
• Brown Eye Maggot infestation;
• Horrible stench of rotting fish;
• One or both eyes transformed into rectums.

Enjoy!