20 occupations (entertainers)

1. Fire Eater
2. Juggler
3. Fortune Teller
4. Acrobat
5. Ventriloquist
6. Dancer
7. Minstrel
8. Jester
9. Strongman
10. Storyteller
11. Singer
12. Musician
13. Tightrope Walker
14. Contortionist
15. Stilt Walker
16. Comedian
17. Escapologist
18. Poet
19. Wrestler
20. Confidence Artist

The Black Dust (Charon Prime)

Black Dust is a common name for a strange substance that sometimes may be found in the ruins, machines and even artifacts left by the Hollow Ones. In most cases it has brown to black color and strong, choking odor of rust and chemicals.

Humans can use Black Dust for several things, but probably all of them are wrong and Hollow Ones had much better methods of using it.

• It may be used as a spell component. Spell is much easier to prepare / cast if Black Dust was used. If large amounts of it were used, it may have much more powerful effect but also it's much harder to control.
• Black Dust may be used as fuel. It's about one hundred times more effective than coal or gasoline (I simplified this sentence it for a game's purposes - I don't want to make truly scientific RPG).
• Sometimes, using the Black Dust is the only known method to activate certain artifacts left by the Hollow Ones. It must be mixed with blood and applied on the certain points of the artifact / device.
• If consumed, it has several effects: for 10-30 minutes it reduces AC by one, adds +2 to-hit and +1 to each saving throw. After that time, for another 1-6 hours victim suffers severe headaches (-1 to each roll, -10% to each skill check) and seizures (additional -1 to-hit). These effects applies only to refined Black Dust (to refine it, laboratory worth 10000 gp is needed and Science skill of 60% or better). If "raw", unrefined form of black dust was used, duration of positive effects is halved and duration of drawbacks is doubled. In addition, it's highly addictive - save vs. poison must be performed even after the first dose. Each additional dose adds -1 modifier to the save. Effects of addition includes hallucinations, seizures, problems with concentration and rapid shifts of mood (from panic to rage). Of course, after several uses, organism developes tolerance for a substance - for each five times it was used, amount of doses that must be consumed to take an effect is increased by one.

Four Artifact Weapons (Charon Prime)

1. Ornate long rifle made of brass-like metal. It has wide, rectangular barrel. If fired, emits low, howling sonic wave, dealing 1d12 damage. Unfortunately, each shot damages weapon's operator as well, if his / her ears are unprotected (1d4 damage). It's possible that people / creatures near the target will receive some damage as well. Weapon don't use any ammo - can shoot 1d8 times and after that it must recharge for 20 minutes.
2. Strangely carved ash-gray sword made of warm metal. If wielded, it attaches itself with wielder's hand and connects with his / her neural network. It should be treated as +4 weapon, also sword's wielder gains additional 13 HP (which can be regenerated much faster than natural Hit Points, in example one per hour). Unfortunately, after seven weeks swords takes over its victim, transforming him into some untold, alien monster. Effects of this transformation are not instant but in the first phase (six weeks) only internal organs, muscles and bones are affected by changes. Sword can be removed only with whole arm and only during first week of it's "parasitic state". Later changes made by it are too big and victim dies within d6 hours if separated from the blade.
3. Seven-fingered gauntlet (with two thumbs and one really long middle finger) made of some kind of chitinous material. It can't be used without merging itself with operator's body, but will not connect with undamaged human flesh - arm must be seriously mutilated (in example flayed, with fingers broken etc.) before connection. After merging, arm is very quickly healed, but now its shape fits to the gauntlet. Gauntlet can be used in melee combat (it deals 1d8 damage), also it shoots bolts of raw, destructive energy (1d20 damage, range about 50 meters) but it draws it from user's body (5 HP per shot). Except horrible deformation (or maybe mutation) of victim's hand, gauntlet has no other unsettling abilities, however, if it's not worn on deformed hand for at least two hours per day, victim may have strange sensations, similar to alien hand syndrome.
4. Jet-black sphere covered with geometric carvings. It can be activated with electricity or heat (torch isn't enough, campfire or burning gas canister is better). Once activated, it automatically deactivates after 3d4 cycles and cannot be used for the next five days. Once per five rounds it sends circular wave of energy, draining life force from every living being in 50 meters radius (but probably there are some bigger spheres, with larger range). Each wave drains d4+2 HP. If any living being drops unconscious, after one round it raises from the ground and its body is controlled by the sphere, but remember that it's the alien artifact and something may just go wrong (victims may attack, perform, strange things or even try to eat themselves alive.

2 - Courier vessel

Second entry from my random space encounter table. Almost a reprint from the Terminal Space, with some minor additions.

Courier ships are designed for fast delivering of valuable goods. Usually they do not stop during their missions, choosing uncommon travel routes to avoid ambushes. In combat, they often rely on large speed and heavy armor to avoid losing a cargo, so the best way to successfully attack a courier is to do it in places where he can't reach his top speed, such as asteroid fields or dust clouds.

Hull Type: LF (8 structure points, Pilot skill -10%)

Armor: ceramite (25)

Drive Class: A

Maneuvering Thrusters: none additional

Jump Drive: yes

Sensors: military +5%

Jamming Systems: -10%

Armament: heavy laser in automated turret, light missile launcher

Ammo: 18 HE missiles

Shield Generator: Alpha

Cargo Space: 10t

Other: none

Table that may be helpful to determine what type of cargo courier is currently delivering. Roll 1d20:

1. Ship's cargo hold is empty!
2. Coffin with a corpse inside (probably some official, maybe celebrity)
3. Expensive spare parts (such as jump drive components)
4. Medical supplies
5. Illegal drugs
6. Pieces of ancient art
7. Alien artifact
8. Orders in sealed envelope (corporate or military)
9. Hi-tech electronic components
10. Gems and jewelry
11. Expensive consummables (such as old bottle of wine, Earth cigars, caviar and so on)
12. Expensive food
13. Personal weapons
14. Weapon prototype
15. Official / celebrity
16. Local prophet of great renown
17. Prisoner in a stasis cell / cage
18. Alien creature in a stasis cell / cage (13% that it's sapient)
19. Magical / mystical artifact (1% that it's fake)
20. Roll twice, pick both (mix the results if possible!)

Tomb Day

Another unsorted tombs, found on Wikipedia. Enjoy the Grave!

We hired the Replicant!

Ten reasons why replicant android decided to join the party (in general, there is 3% chance that a new hireling will be a replicant). Roll d10:

1. He betrayed his kind. There is 99% chance that a kill team is chasing him.
2. He needs organic parts to live / save someone else's life. Internal organs of one of the party members are just perfect.
3. Valuable data is encrypted in his brain. And someone need that data. Unfortunately, extraction of the information will kill a replicant, so he's running away.
4. Item being in posession of one party members is a key to activate powerful artifact from the past. He needs that key, but the artifact is well guarded. PCs may be a good solution to fix that problem.
5. Cyborg is very ancient and smart, but his power source is almost depleted. The only way to refill it for a next century is to sacrifice four persons for a cyber-demon living in a spaceship wreck in a middle of the wasteland.
6. Replicant does not know he is not a human. There is 80% chance that his "real, grim nature" will activate at the right moment.
7. Robot is an assassin. He has many built-in weapons, such as lasers in the eyes, micro-missile launchers, plasma gun hidden in the arm and so on. Maybe he was sent to exterminate PCs in some remote place or maybe he is chasing some other group that headed in the same direction as the party.
8. He has very rare and sophisticated power system and can be refuelled by eating organic substances. Human brains are the best.
9. He is just bored with hiding for centuries. He needs some activity. Cyborg has considerable knowledge of the past, but probably he is at least weird. Well, no one will remain sane after ages of living, not even an android.
10. He is a spy of the off-world sect of alien slave hunters. And he is searching for some slaves.

Underworld Kingdom - my greatest inspiration...

...for the surface world. Of course, along with Dark Tower series.

20 occupations (sci-fi)

For my classless RPG rules.

1. Space Pirate
2. Merchant
3. Explorer
4. Asteroid Miner
5. Star Prophet
6. Space Nomad
7. Pilot
8. Xenologist
9. Bounty Hunter
10. Technician
11. Engineer
12. Emissary
13. Space Gladiator
14. Military Scientist
15. Civilian Scientist
16. Astro-tourist
17. Smuggler
18. Gambler
19. Military man
20. Space Tinker

1 - Nomads

First entry from my random space encounters list!

Space nomads travel the interstellar void on large, bulky ships, often being conglomerate of smaller vessels merged into one. Their communities are almost self-sufficient, with hydroponic plantations and livestock wandering onboard. Spare parts and resources are often excavated from forgotten or abandoned stations and mines or salvaged from wrecks. Nomad communities can vary - some are loose, almost democratic communes while other are family-based clans with very complicated laws and traditions.

Nomad ship stats for Terminal Space and Bandits & Battlecruisers:

Hull: special (30 structure points, -30% for Pilot tests)

Armor: titanium (20)

Reactor: standard

Drive Class: C

Maneuvering Thrusters: none additional

Jump Drive: yes

Sensors: civilian, +10%

Jamming Systems: none

Armament: 3x heavy laser, 2x light laser, 2x light missile launcher (5 launch pipes each)

Ammo: 25 HE missiles, 10 laser missiles, 5 plasma missiles per launcher

Shield Generator: none

Cargo Space: 300t

Other: hydroponic gardens, onboard farm, refuelling pod, 3 docking points

Charon Prime - Crustacean Plague

Strange and apparently biological growths that plagued northern areas of the Unnamed World. It resembles twisted and concrescent crustacean limbs and bodies, although they show only faint signs of life and are absolutely immobile. What is even stranger - although plague seems to cover larger and larger areas of the north, no one ever seen it moving or growing. 

Although the effects of the plague are almost marginal, crustacean cover has one very dangerous feature - from time to time it breeds huge, nightmarish monsters called the Shrieking Reapers.

Random space encounters!

I suppose that lots of you have already seen this list in Terminal Space. Reason why I'm reposting it here is very simple - I plan to write something about each of these entries. One encounter - one post. Once I tried to do it in Polish but I failed - I hope that this time I'll be more focused on it :D

1. Space nomad ship
2. Courier vessel
3. Small private vessel overtaken by a madman
4. Abandoned cargo container (empty)
5. Small fighter on collision course
6. Military transport with small escort
7. Smugglers hiding something on a nearby asteroid
8. Dead body in a space suit
9. Ship of swindlers selling fake alien artifacts
10. Bounty hunter
11. Small private vessel (spies of an enemy faction)
12. Freighter (absolutely ordinary one)
13. System militia patrol
14. Space treasure hunters
15. Miner base ship
16. Lifepod (living survivors inside it)
17. Ramshackle mothership of a space barbarians
18. Blazing battleship suddenly jumped out from hyperspace
19. Cloud of spore parasites that can damage ship’s hull
20. Temple ship of the sect of mystics
21. Cloud of ordnance still running with momentum
22. Small ice asteroid with an alien artifact sunken inside it
23. Lone naval mine
24. Space tug
25. Pirate ambush in the small asteroid field
26. Space scrap gatherers
27. Freighter full of refugees
28. Lone asteroid with an abandoned mine
29. Abandoned cargo container (booby trapped)
30. Space pilgrims
31. Private yacht stolen by thieves
32. Navigational buoy
33. Giant ancient battlefield
34. Space trader ship
35. Remains of destroyed convoy
36. Colossal space ray
37. Space storm of unknown type, disturbing instrument reading
38. Battleship transmitting SOS signal (plague on board)
39. Deserters posing as system militia
40. Mercenary base ship
41. Giant city ship
42. Lifepod (all aboard are dead)
43. Wreck of a courier vessel
44. Freighter transmitting SOS signal (decoy of pirate ambush)
45. Frozen body of alien creature
46. Freighter under attack of pirates
47. Asteroid hollowed out by space ants
48. Research vessel
49. Prison ship
50. Freighter being a grave of a space barbarian king
51. Freighter transmitting SOS (main drive malfunction)
52. Small private vessels (ordinary travelers)
53. Slaver ship
54. Special purpose freighter, carrying dangerous cargo
55. System patrol frigate attacking pirate ship
56. Colonist ship hundreds of years old (crew still sleeping in cryo!)
57. Antique satellite controlled by an insane AI
58. Giant superfreighter
59. Sealed military cargo container (weapons inside)
60. Enemy fighter pilot calling for help
61. Ship of sect of assassins disguised as pilgrims
62. Wreck crashed on a surface of a lone asteroid
63. Huge mine field
64. Enemy patrol ship willing to switch sides
65. Alien vessel of unknown origin (no crew aboard)
66. Lifepod (lone, insane survivor)
67. Carrier ship
68. Abandoned cargo container (full of illegal drugs)
69. Luxury private yacht
70. Bounty hunter vessel pursuing his prey
71. Burned out wreck hauled by a tug
72. Diplomatic vessel of another faction / from another system
73. About dozen of asteroids and giant bugs feeding on them
74. Smuggler’s freighter
75. Prison ship taken over by inmates
76. Freighter convoy protected by military vessels
77. Navigational buoy leading to pirate ambush
78. Luxury liner
79. Ancient unexploded missile fitted with nuclear warhead
80. Battleship transmitting SOS signal (mutiny on board)
81. Wreck robbers at work
82. Wreck of a freighter with space ants / bugs inside
83. Cloud of space debris several kilometers wide (remains of a battleship)
84. Two civilian vessels fighting each other (old enemies)
85. Sealed military cargo container (deadly viruses)
86. Space tanker
87. Small cluster of asteroids and miners working there
88. Giant space monster waiting for prey (such as small vessels)
89. Pirate mothership
90. Lone fighter lost in space
91. Wreck of a freighter adapted by a hermit
92. Enemy frigate on a corsair run
93. Huge cloud of space dust
94. Heavily radiated wreck of a small military vessel
95. Luxury private yacht converted into a pirate ship
96. Sealed military cargo container (empty - a provocation)
97. Alien ship speeding in its own direction
98. Hundreds years old exploration ship
99. Enemy battlecruiser
100. Roll two times an pick both

Screen was taken from the awesome Transcendence game. Check it out - it's free!

Blog of the Month - Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets

Who doesn't know this blog? HUGE list of awesome spells, monsters, deities and items, updated daily. My favorite source of magic. Bat is doing really good job, probably even the best job in a whole fucking OSR community. We all should learn from him.

Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets-An oldschool gaming blog….

PS. I will repeat one sentence that I've used in my Bandits & Basilisks mini-game: I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DROP ALL "CLASSIC" MAGICAL SPELLS AND SWITCH TO HIS SET OF MAGIC.

Tomb Day...

I'm back, took over 800 photos. Some of them will appear in the future Underworld and Wilderness Days. I'll start regular posting tomorrow. Meanwhile, another set of tombs. I saw the last one by myself. Enjoy the Grave!

Tomb Day

Today some stunning medieval cadaver tombs. Pics stolen from various websites so I'm sorry for lack of links. However, mail me or drom me a message if you want your picture to be removed.

Enjoy The Graves!

Wilderness again!

This Is The Place!

Tomorrow at 4:20 AM we (my girlfriend and I) will head to some not-so-big mountains here in Poland. Except usual Underworld Day (another Tomb Day to be more precise :D), scheduled for tomorrow, there will be no new posts this week.

I hope that we'll survive this trip and that I will find some inspiration for new gaming stuff and music. I also plan to make shitloads of photos but I'll post them in the future, when I'll end my Underworld Day series and start something new.

Thanks to all buyers of Towers of Krshal, because you funded this trip!

20 occupations (criminals)

 

1. Mugger
2. Body Snatcher
3. Pickpocket
4. Burgler
5. Assassin
6. Charlatan
7. Forger
8. Cutthroat
9. Grave Robber
10. Smuggler
11. Fence
12. Embezzler
13. Impersonator
14. Racketeer
15. Shoplifter
16. Instigator
17. Pimp
18. Highwayman
19. Moneylender
20. Beguiler

More fantasy names!

These names are taken from the awesome Dungeon Raid game for Android. Check it out!

1. Welved Keaar
2. Rinmon
3. Zarved Vamyet
4. Zilbea
5. Gamgren
6. Rozkenn Peykenn
7. Sojat
8. Gamten Fanjel
9. Rozhet 
10. Oartkaf
11. Peymud
12. Xinlyt Xinhob
13. Jenlyt Arten
14. Rinjel Angrog
15. Qoufet
16. Roz Gamzin
17. Mercor Zarure
18. Zilgap
19. Vinpent
20. Xer

Seven Noble Houses of the Citadel of Rust (Charon Prime)

Alcanter -known because of eccentric behavior and baroque aesthetics. They have some dark secrets, probably about mutations and madness.

Croyle - they conduct twisted, forbidden experiments with humans and artifacts of the Hollow Ones. Rulers of the Tower of Mirrors.

Cedia - masters of the Excavation Station. They have long tradition of assassination and betrayal within the family ranks.

Wynter - many members of the family are the clones. Some people say that their blood is tainted in some way (by the blood of the Hollow Ones? who knows...)

Strakarson - they have ritualized almost every aspect of their lives. Current maintainers of the Alchemist's Outpost.

Taro - they say that they possessed arcane powers of Necromancy. Probably they are using the Black Dust as a drug, thus their bodies are twisted and damaged.

Drayton - masters of cybernetics, their founding members are still alive (mostly because extensive using of bionics and synthetic implants).

Charon Prime - the Hollow Ones

As almost nothing is certain about the Hollow Ones, I present you a rumor table with some basic information about them. It's up to you which of these rumors are true and which are not.

Roll 1d12:

1. They don't have souls. That's why we call them the Hollow Ones.
2. Their science was far more advanced than ours.
3. Their name came from a fact that we never found their bodies - only empty husks or exoskeletons made from strange, semi-organic stuff.
4. Their science remains totally incomprehensible for us.
5. Some kind of bio-engineered plague killed them all.
6. Hollow Ones created us to use humans in their experiments.
7. They ruled the Unnamed World for more than one hundred thousand years.
8. Everything seems that they just left the planet.
9. Hollow Ones created us to use humans as bank of spare parts for their imperfect bodies.
10. Typical Hollow One was about 3 metres tall.
11. Empty husks and remains that we name the Hollow Ones have nothing to do with them. They was only servants of the real rulers of the Charon Prime.
12. First humans worshipped the Hollow Ones as gods.

Charon Prime - Rumors about the Citadel of Rust

Click on the image to visit its author's DA page

1. City is built around the wreck of a spaceship.
2. There are some pre-human crypts beneath the city.
3. Some say that city’s power sources are located in the ancient complex located miles beneath the surface.
4. In the past Tower of Mirrors was used to communicate with other outposts and cities.
5. Somewhere in the city there is a large hidden mortuary, controlled by a sect of mystics.
6. City is being infiltrated by the androids.
7. Members of the Excavators Sect has found strange underground chambers with sarcophagi-like containers connected with the city’s superstructure. No one was able to open the containers.
8. There is eighth Noble House of the Citadel of Rust, the hidden rulers of the city.
9. At least one AI is located in the city. They say that they was used by the Noble Houses but went insane or rebelled against them.
10. Last king of the Citadel disappeared without a trace about 300 years ago.

Tomb Day!

Still the Underworld Day, but themed one. First one from the longer (I don't know exactly how long) series of posts. I think that they are pretty inspiring. What do you think about them?

Charon Prime - Dying World

Third (and last) post about some basic features of the Charon Prime. This one will be even more general - these ideas aren't mandatory and each Referee may freely pick the ones that best fit into his vision of the campaign.

• Charon, planet's sun, is dying. It may be a reason why the Hollow Ones disappeared from the Unnamed World. Or maybe some ancient machinery hidden inside the Charon Prime is slowly killing the sun, draining its energy?
• Planet is dying. Its internal machines are slowly running out of energy or otherwise stop working. It may lead to some really nasty effects. Or maybe Charon Prime was built like a prison (or laboratory)? Maybe something really evil is trapped inside the stasis cells deep inside planet's guts and if it awakes universe will be doomed?
• Hollow Ones will return and clean their creation from the pest called mankind. Or maybe they never left and just let humans flourish to use them in their experiments?
• There are some really strange and nasty plagues ravaging the outer surface. Maybe things like monster-breeding crustacean plague (soon I will describe it) will spit out something bigger, big enough to destroy mankind?
• Or finally, maybe mankind will destroy themselves? There are many strange and powerful artifacts left by the Hollow Ones but even if humans can use them in some way, their real purposes remains unknown. Of course, it may lead to disaster.

20 occupations (science / mystical)

For use with my classless D&D or any other classless stuff (i.e. Brendan's thingie). Of course you can use it with more "traditional" class system if you want (and can divide it in some way).

1. Sage 
2. Hypnotist 
3. Scribe 
4. Demonologist 
5. Apothecary 
6. Astronomer 
7. Astrologer 
8. Student 
9. Herbalist 
10. Alchemist 
11. Charlatan 
12. Poison Maker
13. Necromancer 
14. Dowser 
15. Engineer 
16. Enchanter 
17. Seer 
18. Lecturer 
19. Elementalist 
20. Sorcerer

Charon Prime - Artificial World

Inner Surface.

Yesterday I told you about reasons why Unnamed World is unnamed. Today I want to reveal something more. As I'm writing this post in the middle of the night, it will have rather loose, modular form.

• As I mentioned before, humans are rather young race on Charon Prime. Its original rulers, now called the Hollow Ones, disappeared without a trace long before the first humans landed on the planet (about eight thousand years before it) and ruled for maybe 100000 years.
• Hollow Ones weren't the first visitors of Charon Prime. In fact, there was no Charon Prime before their arrival. Hollow Ones created the Charon Prime.
• Charon Prime fits into the Hollow Earth model, but there is no sun inside it - there is only darkness. Inner layer of the world seems to be dead and abandoned but who knows what nightmares lurk there...
• Almost no one knows about the "inner world".
• Some of the ancient machinery of the Hollow Ones are still active, buried deep inside the planet. At least one of them is used by humans (power core of the City of Rust) but it's almost certain that no one knows a shit about the origin and nature of this machinery.
• Several megadungeons (or even something like gigadungeon) may be placed between the outer and inner surfaces of the planet. It's highly possible that they are really dangerous places.
• Even the outer surface of the Charon Prime is not very similar to our Earth. It's barren and dead, landscapes have surreal shapes and it's dotted by immense ruins of strange buildings of unknown purpose. Inner surface is even more alien and hard to describe. Generally, some regions of the "regular surface" were inspired by landscapes by Zdzisław Beksiński (especially from 80s), while the inner one was greatly inspired by bio-mechanical landscapes of H.R. Giger. Kinda obvious, eh?