In this video, Neal Litherland discusses how our own reality is worse than the one depicted in the universe of the World of Darkness.
Hexploratores Volume 1-7: Dreiparte Village (Openquest/D20Quest) Now Available
Hexploratores Volume 1-7: Dreiparte Village (Openquest/D20Quest) is now available to buy on DriveThruRPG.
Published by Prudence Publishing, this supplement we have contributed to is in a series that details hexes from a setting in finer detail. The supplement can be used to build the setting, or dropped into others.
100 Encounters for Fantasy Rivers (Barbaric!) Now Available
100 Encounters for Fantasy Rivers (Barbaric!) is now available to buy on itch.io.
River journeys can have encounters and 100 Encounters for Fantasy Rivers (Barbaric!) has 100 such. They can be used to make a journey more interesting or as potential adventure hooks. This is a conversion of the original supplement to Barbaric!
Making Variant Open Barrels with Crooked Staff Terrain Textures and Wooden Dowel
This video looks at taking the Barrels & Sacks texture from Crooked Staff Terrain and some liquid textures and using them in combination with some wooden dowel to make some open barrels containing liquid, as a variant on those that contained grain.
D10: Numenera Rumours – Creatures III
Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has ten rumours for that setting. The rumours, which are similar to the Use that can be found with creature descriptions in the official books, can be used as adventure hooks or as simple misinformation.
- A sarrak has been seen outside a number of villages recently, acting in what can only be called a strange way. Sarraks are normally only seen when they want to be seen, and are known to be highly intelligent, So, presumably, the sarrak in question, if it is just one, wants others to see what it’s doing.
- Oorgolian soldiers are mechanical beings that patrol isolated parts of the Ninth World, and as far as can be told, they act on orders given many years ago that may no longer make sense. Though Oorgolians are usually found in groups of three or more, they are rarely seen in large numbers. Though it’s rumoured that somewhere there is a vast army of Oorgolian soldiers still following their ancient orders.
- Philethis are strange creatures of unknown, or perhaps simply incomprehensible, motivation. They seem to be biomechanical in nature, though little of their true form is seen, but there are other claims. They are not automatically hostile unless provoked, but their conversations make little sense. Some claim they are ancient creatures whose sole intent is to simply spread confusion in their wake.
- Rasters are large biomechanical airborne creatures that have an impressive appetite, though when caught it’s possible to train them into becoming airborne mounts. Sometimes the local population of rasters can apparently grow hungrier than usual, and will wreak devastation on nearby livestock and wide animals as they attempt to satisfy an appetite that appears to have grown temporarily insatiable.
- Ravage bears are dangerous predators that at their most dangerous when hungry or protecting their young, or both. Most encounters with ravage bears are like any other encounter with a dangerous animal, but it’s rumoured that some abhumans have managed to train the bears and use them as watch animals, as well as a way of preying on travellers.
- Seskii are loyal companions that can be trained in different ways, especially as they possess a degree of intelligence. There’s a rumour that someone in the wastes has trained an enormous pack of seskii to obey them, and are using this pack to spread terror through the region.
- Snow lopers are fast-moving omnivores that are often trained to act as mounts. There are rumours of different types of snow loper, adapted to thrive in different climates, and even that there’s a purely carnivorous predatory type that hunts in packs.
- Steel spiders are creatures of living metal that can be found in many places. They attempt to catch prey in their webs which are razor sharp and are dangerous to encounter. There’s a Nano who believes that it should be possible to train steel spiders into being effective guardians, and is looking for people to catch a number so that they have some to experiment on.
- Stratharian war moths are dangerous flying creatures that swarm around the Ninth World, normally in the wilderness. There are rumours that some larger swarms of the moths act with an unusual intelligence, suggesting that in larger numbers the creatures have some form of hive mind.
- The abhumans known as sathosh can join their minds together to act in union when attacking a foe. Normally, only two sathosh can do this, but there are rumours of larger numbers having the same power, and six to twelve sathosh acting together are a fearsome foe to face. Should even larger numbers band together, they might be extremely difficult to stop.
Want some items that could be used as oddities? Check out 100 Xenoarchaeological Finds.
100 Items and Oddities to Find for Sale, 100 Random Magic Effects to Encounter in a Dungeon (5E), 100 Marks of Darkness for Aysle and Map – Cellar Tavern Now Available
100 Items and Oddities to Find for Sale, 100 Random Magic Effects to Encounter in a Dungeon (5E), 100 Marks of Darkness for Aysle and Map – Cellar Tavern are now available to buy on DriveThruRPG.
Chacarters may find odd and sometimes valuable items for sale and 100 Items and Oddities to Find for Sale has some for them to find. They may have little worth, or have something valuable hidden in them.
Sometimes magic can have an unexpected effect and 100 Random Magic Effects to Encounter in a Dungeon (5E) has residual effects that could be found in a dungeon or other area. They can be minor or puzzling and may cause problems. This is the original supplement converted to 5th Edition.
Using Darkness Perks in Torg stains the soul and 100 Marks of Darkness for Aysle has 100 new Dark Marks.
Map – Cellar Tavern is a hand-drawn black and white map of a cellar tavern with a 300dpi resolution in eight versions that can be used for personal and commercial use.
Tabletop Mercenary Episode 4: The Pros, Cons, and Challenges of Selling Your Own RPG System
In this episode, Neal Litherland talks about publishing your own TTRPG system.
Archives of Nabu: School of Water Now Available
Archives of Nabu: School of Water is now available to buy on DriveThruRPG.
Published by Sad Fishe Games, this is a supplement to which we have contributed and it has 36 water spells for OSR systems.
One Week Bundle: Zombie
For one week eight zombie supplements have been bundled together with 50% off. They are as follows:
- 100 Descriptions for Modern Zombies
- 100 Descriptions for Modern Zombies II
- 100 Improvised Weapons to Find During a Zombie Apocalypse
- 100 Pieces of Debris to Find During the Zombie Apocalypse
- 100 Sights to See During the Zombie Apocalypse
- 100 Transmissions to Hear During the Zombie Apocalypse
- 100 Zombie Encounters for the Zombie Apocalypse
- What’s The Best Weapon for Fighting Zombies?
Click here to get the bundle for $5.12, reduced from $10.23.
Born in The Boneyard
Born in The Boneyard is a piece of fiction from 100 Effects of a Primquake, one of the supplements for Cities of Sundara.
Elisa’s pregnancy had been exceptionally difficult. She’d lost three children before they could be born already, and Iosef had told her that as long as she wished him to, he would keep trying. He had died of a flux during the winter, though, and the last remnant of him was quickening even now in her belly.
She would not lose this child.
She had done all the things the mid wife had recommended. She’d eaten black root, drunk half moon tea and been careful with her movements, but she was taking no risks. Which was why she had taken her old staff, and begun walking toward the place called the Giant’s Hand when she felt her time drawing near.
It had been more than a week of hard traveling to reach the standing stones, surrounded by the cairns of heroes and commoners alike. Wind blew through that place, so hard that it was impossible to keep any kind of fire alight. She arrived to that place late, so Elisa had to navigate by the light of the moon, and its reflections off the pale rocks all around her. Wolves had bayed in the distance, and vultures watched her with their beady eyes from atop bare-branched trees, but nothing had stood in her way. Nothing except time, of course.
The Giant’s Hand was in sight, at the top of a long, spiraling staircase that led round the hill it crested, when Elisa felt her water break. She made herself move slowly, mounting the steps one at a time, rather than running for the top of the hill in a blind panic. It was hard, and it got even harder when the constant aches she’d felt for weeks grew teeth and blossomed into real pain. By the time she reached the crest of the stairs, every breath she took was a dull agony, and she was teetering on her feet. So she crawled into the center of the ring of stones, shrugging off her pack, her muscles straining as she pushed herself into the birthing position. She took a deep, ragged breath, and started to push.
Time lost all meaning as her breaths bled into one another, and waves of pain crashed over her, each one closer than the last. Elisa’s fingers dug into the hard, rocky soil; the tufts of rough grass coarse against her palms as she balled her hands into fists. The sky above roiled, and black clouds gathered like bad dreams, blotting out the stars, and casting the hill in darkness. Heat lightning shot between the clouds, sparking the heavens and giving brief glimpses of the world before once more leaving Elisa swathed in gloom. The pressure inside her hurt so badly, but she couldn’t stop. She’d come too far, and lost too much, merely to give up now. Even though she could taste blood in her mouth from how hard she was gritting her teeth, she pushed harder, her eyes screwed up tightly.
Elisa didn’t see the cracks opening up in the earth around the hill. She didn’t see the green light bleeding between the clouds. She couldn’t even hear the roiling voices that filled the air over how loudly her heart thundered in her ears. The stones around her groaned, as if they could feel her pain as her back arched, and the cords stood out in her neck. She felt her baby coming, pushing out from her, and into the world. She gave one last push, and felt the life she carried for so long leave her.
The world spun, and blackness encroached on the edges of Elisa’s vision, but she fought it back. She panted, struggling for her pack, pulling it open with shaking fingers. She withdrew the soft cloths she’d packed, and forced herself to sit up. She lifted her child, wiping away the blood and afterbirth that had splattered them. She smiled as she cleaned him… she had a son. Just like she and Iosef had said they would. Her smile broke, and crumbled when she realized he wasn’t crying. Not a single noise had passed his lips. She cupped her hand over his mouth, and felt no stirring of air.
Elisa screamed, and held her baby tight. She cried out to the gods whose name she didn’t know not to take him away from her… not now. Not after everything. A cold wind buffeted her, and she held her son tightly against her, instinctively shielding him with her body. The earth settled, the lights in the sky faded and the wind died down. When it did, she heard her son cry in her ear.
Yelping in surprise, Elisa held her baby up, and stared at him. He was fussing, kicking his small legs and voicing his displeasure. His cries faded, first to burbles, and then to silence. He regarded his mother curiously, his wide, blue eyes staring up at her. Then he smiled, and reached for her with his small, pudgy hands.
Even as she cut his cord and finished cleaning him, Elisa knew there was something different about her son. Beneath her exhaustion and relief, beneath her mingled joy and longing to share this moment with her departed husband, she suddenly felt a premonition. She knew that chill in her son’s skin would never truly leave him, and that whatever quirk of fate had allowed her to keep him would spread challenges in the road before him. The Wyrd had seen fit to let her keep him, though, and for that she would be eternally grateful, no matter what burden she would have to help him carry.
The two of them spent the night, sitting high above the gathered ranks of the dead, sitting quietly beneath their stone blankets. Her son called out to the wind, as if speaking to the ghosts of those passed in his babbling, nonsense words. He laughed in delight, as if unseen spirits had responded to him. Elisa did not sleep until the moon began to fade, her finger clutched in both of her son’s hands. When the sun was high in the sky, and both of them had fed, she took up her staff, and made the descent back down the hill. It was even harder coming down again, but this time, at least, she didn’t have to make the trip alone.