Thursday, December 20, 2012

Gold for XP Option: Martial Training

This post is to update the old Martial Training rules. See more carousing rules here.
She obviously trained to be a rockin' assassin.
As with all carousing checks (carousing being a catch-all phrase for spending your gold to gain experience points), you can roll with a specific goal in mind or a generalized goal of getting better. Whichever you choose, you are going to make a Luck check. Fumbling means you have to roll on the bad results side of the results table. If you choose generalized training and pass the DC 15 Luck check, you get to roll on the good results side.

Whatever your goal, your game Judge is encouraged to think about how long the goal should take and, in the case of specific goals, let you know before you roll.

Possible specific goals:
1. Learn technique x (quivering palm!). 2. Gain a favored enemy 3. Learn a craft 4. Work on a save type along the classic lines (i.e. magic device) 5. Gain a skill 6. Get a reputation 7. Learn the seven arts of seduction 8. Learn a fighting style 9. Purify the soul 10. Prove worth to/gain trust of someone 11. Gaining knowledge of poisons 12. Building resistance to something 13. Impress the girl/guy 14. Learn a very specific deeds die attack with one weapon (no bonus to hit or damage) if not already a warrior

Results table (roll against a DC15 with Luck or whatever ability your Judge dictates:

Luck check fumble results:

Successful (DC 15) Luck check results:

1:You suffer an accident and lose an eye. If you get this result again, you are simply scared somewhere.

2: Trained too hard. You gain two strength points but lose a point of stamina.

3:Your martial might has caught the attention of the gods. A monster will show up to challenge you to single combat soon.

4: You lose a hand, but now have a wicked hook and intimidation rolls are easier for you.

5: You accidentally kill your master! Now all his other pupils are after you.

6:Your master is killed and his secret technique scroll is stolen by a fellow pupil. Master begs you to hunt the dude down with his dying breath.

7: You are seduced by the master, and become a target for their enemies.

8: Your master is less wise than they appear. Only half-XP for this training action!

9: Master has convinced you that you need to do a legendary task before you can gain anymore XP.

10: Your skill angers your fellow pupils. They gang up and attack you one night at the dojo. +1 Stamina if you survive.

11: You are struck with a strange sickness cause by a poison of a jealous rival (-1d8 stamina until you find the antidote). The rival has absconded into a dungeon...

12: You undergo an irreversible procedure that hardens up your skin (puncturing and slashing weapons are -1d to damage you), but you weigh a lot now, and your speed goes down by 10'/round and your armor penalty is now 4 higher.

13: You accidentally create an evil Tulpa through too much meditation. It looks like you and is giving you a bad rep somewhere.

14: You are conscripted and dragged down to hell to train with devil armies for a year. After that you escape the underworld with 2x as much XP as you have now. Normal fire cannot harm you and you save at +1d against all flames. You reek of sulfur and a devil is tracking you down for desertion.

15:You suffer a training accident and die. You come back as a ghost and are able to manipulate your old gear; manipulating other things takes a DC15 INT check. Possessing people is possible if they can't make their saves. You are invisible in daylight and glow at night. If anyone uses "turn undead", you disappear.
Goals will be fulfilled first, the below is generic good results for people without goals.

If you roll a natural 20, you come out of the experience in such good shape that you have 10 extra luck to burn on any combat or damage rolls during the next adventure (once you burn them, they are gone, even if you are thief or halfling). No getting more temp luck when you have temp luck. Also, 25% more experience. Then check below.

1:Expert advice: You can re-roll a number failed checks equal to your intelligence modifier during the next adventure.

2: You gain a rep around the training grounds. Social interactions among your kind are easier for a while.

3: Extra credit: You gain training in a background that you can narratively justify and it will help you with appropriate skill checks.

4: You got groupies. They want to have your baby. You can have a baby. Or 1d3 of them.

5:You win the regionals!
People in town think you are awesome and offer you the first round free etc.

6: The master is impressed by you, grasshopper. He teaches a technique so secret that it disappears from your mind after using it. The next time you wanna attempt a death-touch, let the DM know.

7: Fists of iron. Brawling damage from you goes up a step on the die chain.

8: Reinforcements: You make a good friend that will show up sometime when you call for it to lend a hand in combat or pass 1d3 checks for you.

9: A legend is born: You are the chosen one! You may perform Lay on of Hands once per day per level without possibility of angering the gods.

10: You are entrusted with a magical item of your master's.

11: You learn the ghost touch technique and can punch ghosts for 1d8 damage.

12: You get really skilled with a ranged weapon. Roll 1d24 when you attack with it.

13: Name a trick. You know it and can do it consistently.

14: You slay your father in a cave and his helmet has your head in it?! +1d to fear saves.

15: Secret of wuxia-flight: You can jump about 20 feet and balance on trees or even bounce off water.

16: Lock mastery: You get a free success on any one lock per session.

17: Trap sense: you will get +1d to find/disable trap checks that the Judge secretly rolls behind his screen like a proper Judge should.

18: Calvary to the rescue: Once, when you are in trouble in an applicable area, a cavalry of creatures you befriended during your training will ride up to join your side of the fray. This result can be checked for again after it is unlocked.

Shoutouts go to +Nathan Hill, +Jeremy Murphy+Brendan S and +Andy Hauge for giving me a couple ideas.

Carcosa-style Rituals for Female Necromancers

So I was given a Secret Santacore assignment: "A series of hideous Carcosa-style dark necromantic rituals designed for a female necromancer."

G+ is a pretty volatile environment for gender issues, so after getting my assignment, I cautiously asked g+: "Hey, uh, what are some things that girls can do that guys can't? Please don't hit me." Based on that, and a few fun hours reviewing Carcosa again, I came up with these rituals.

If you print them into a PDF off google docs they look real slick. And hey, I brought Rlim Shaikorth, the White Worm from Clark Ashton Smith's mythos into your game at no extra cost.


Here's a teaser to tantalize you into clicking through:
The serpent-men, originators of sorcery on Carcossa, learned many ways to use human females in their dark rituals. Eventually these rituals were somehow learned by and perverted to the use of human females themselves, who hold a unique appeal to many entities for their ever so slight symbolic relevance to fecundity.

The following rituals are, for the most part, only available to those of biologically female physiology and body functions. Like the vast majority of rituals, they are distasteful, dangerous, and powerful.
You have to go here to see my crappy illustrations for it though.