Monster Manual Sewn From Pants: misbegotten idea to do economics

Showing posts with label misbegotten idea to do economics. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Planescrap 3 : Tables and Appendix

This is the last bit of "the primer" , the overview document for the " Terminal Torus" / planescrap, it's even more tables , rules for generating vermin road settlements and some new weapons.

Generating Vermin Road Settlements:

Vermin Road settlements are most likely to be found in the following places in the Realms:

Paragon of Virtue: broadly anywhere ; but especially on the border with Serene Night and anywhere within a Fugues distance from other populated areas

Serene Night:

Scattered like a rivers tributaries in a line from Paragon to Blazing world

Blazing World :

Along its borders with Protean Ocean and Serene Night. On islands, pontoons and stilt mount settlements . Some just in the parameters of the forest

Protean Ocean:

Adrift on islands spreading out from detropolis.

Erebus:

The plains outside its great central peak, inside caves and side tunnels on the way to Bedlam

Flesh Rifts:

Outskirts of it only , only the most reckless or brazen any deeper.

Plains of Revelation:

On the dire road to Yearnings and Heart of It All

Heart of It All:

In disguised buildings on the fringes, and some in the very heart of it.

Grinder:

Very few, on cubes in the rare quiet and empty patches. Always out of the way

Babel:

Only a few , embedded in the Choral Coral at the base

Size:

1-6 Bivouac (size modifier 1)

7-14 Base Camp (size modifier 1)

15-17 Village (size modifier 3 )

18-19 Hamlet (size modifier 3)

20 Town (size modifier 4)

Purpose:

d8

1 Oasis/ Resting stop/ Choultry.

Some caretakers , shelter , water and simple food available for donation.

2 Trading post (semi permanent) , 2 rolls on Caravan Goods , always has Security.

Meeting hall , tent or patch of ground, storage buildings , caretakers , domestic workers and possibly families. Smallest could just be a distinctive landmark with people hanging around though

3 Trading Post (clandestine) roll once on caravan goods, once on rare items. Roll twice for security , most dangerous or powerful one is here.

As Trading Post but the traders or the traded is of a nature liable to punitive measures by larger forces in the realm . Maybe hidden or heavily disguised.

4 Tick Mine . Always has security

See tick mine for more details

5 Portal

Settlement around here is one that seeks to control , profit, protect, or research travel through the portal and the linked world.

6 Sekem Chemist . Always has security

Any buildings will be subtly indicating their purpose with some kind of irregular cubic icon or motif.

7 Roll twice (d6) 2nd result is disguised

8 Roll twice (d6) and combine

Security:

Multiply amount by size modifier of settlement

D20

1 Horse archers (2d6) ; capable of firing at speed from horse.

2 Bird Lancers. A 2 legged predator bird with plumed helmet Riders. Bird will fight with peak and claw as well.

3 Bombardier . At least 2 of every bomb , very accurate thrower, only have to roll to hit for trick shots like bouncing a bomb off something or getting it to within a couple of centimetres.

4 Fireman. Wielding a flamer or naphtha shooter, wearing asbestos wool hauberk

5 Hookmen : From Erebus. Wrapped up with scarves and rags. Dual wield hook-picks, additional will swing them at the end of ropes to trip and entangle. Skilled Jumpers, grapplers and close fighters

6 Heart Of IT All : “bugmen/bug knight” , Glaive or Stinger plus 2d6 wasp darts

7 Flesh Rift Meat Heads

8 1d10 infected fungal pigeons. Kamikaze, attack as 2 HD monsters, when hit explode for 3d6 poison / concussive damage

9 2d6 trained monkeys with hatchets or machetes

10. 1d6 poison dogs.

11. Pain Bell

12. Canned Skeletons

13 Poor equipped, partially trained , but enthusiastic mob , 0 level local populace,numbering 10 x size modifier.

14 1d4 Well Trained and Dangerous Promital

15 .Arbalest or cannon in fortified position

16 Large Undead Monster or Animal (at least elephant size) . Well preserved and decorated

17 .Entire population is violently inclined and capable

18. Repurposed and Bewildered Tomb Guardians (a Mummy or Similar)

19 Random named Mercenary. If size modifier >1 roll again.

20. Roll twice, combine.

Drama:

Include if needed, 1-2 in 6 chance if undecided , and ignore if there’s too much else going on to worry about this now.

Just been set up, notable percentage of the population has a bad feeling about the location ,and followingly are jumpy and quick to assume to the worst.
Leader or most powerful member has managed to annoy every other member to the point where their murder is being planned
All are members of a Cannibal /Thrill Kill/Plains Of Revelation Annihilism sect/secret society/gentlemen’s club
Majority or at least the highest authority here in the pay of a pantheon to trap particular talented khemists or dowsers.
Deep underlying tensions and distrust between half of the occupants and the other
In the process of rapid growth, steady stream of traffic, next time encountered move it the next size on the size table
Extremely low on food, salt , medicine, or water.
In the process of packing up to relocate
Recent conflicted has halved available security . Many injured
New use has just been discovered or arranged. Roll an additional Purpose which is in the process of being developed.
70% of defences is hidden in preparation for an ambush.
In talks with powerful Immortal, dire results if talk goes badly.

Other Vermin Road Rackets

Soul poaching:

There is a bell someone learned to craft the sound of which can be heard by Souls.

It is an invention formed by bastardize a dozen or so religious practises and paraphernalia.

A Soul drawn to it and then convinced to accept the Realm will not be accepted into the Realm, instead its Salt will pour from it. If it later finds or is found by a Caller, and accepted into the Realm it will a weaker bonded soul.

These bonded souls, if slain,will be not reform, instead being destroyed utterly. After a Century has passed on their world they will become a proper bonded soul.

Any Immortal will see its duty to utterly annihilate anyone caught Soul Poaching, and there’s a cumulative 1 in 20 chance of the Realm creating an Incarnate to deal with the Poachers if they poach in the same area.

Tick Mining :

There are areas in any Realm where its Salt is secreting in a more accessible form. A “Tick Mine” is an operation to harvest as much of it as they can before someone notices.

Some individuals have a rare talent to find such spots, they each have their own indoscratic methods of doing so and are known as dowsers.

The form the Salt is secreted in and therefore the nature of the operation depends on the Realm:

Pinnacle : grinding up the contents of warriors tombs

Serene Night : digging up a fallen star or distilling the contents of certain pools

Blazing World : Tree Sap

Protean Ocean: Chaos Baiting ;shocking a unstable patch of material, causing it to transform. Leftover bits from the transformation then are potential Salt sources

Erebus: Mining Salt ore

Flesh Rifts Bleeding/Digging up Wound, Lancing Boils, Pulling and grinding up teeth

Plains Of Revelation Tree bleeding, Digging up bog mummies out of mud

Heart Of All :Mining crystallized honey, and coal

Babel :Grinding up certain coral, Modron impersonation and then accessing of strange chemicals

These areas can look unremarkable for the Realm, and often “Soul dowsers”; people with a knack for finding these areas, are necessary.

Richness of Mine:

(Table can be used across the row with a single roll, or each column rolled separately for more erratic mines)

	Sekem per Fugue (reroll and add 10s)*	How many Fugues before drying up	Chance of Intervention
1	1d10	100	1 in 100
2	1d10 x 10	50	1 in 50
3	1d10 x 50	20	1 in 20
4	1d10 x 100	10	1 in 12
5	1d10 x 200	5	1 in 10
6	1d10 x 500	3	1 in 8

*so if you roll a 10, roll again adding the new result to ten, repeating as many times as you roll tens

Interventions:

Roll D4, but on a 4, reroll and intensify the result.

1: Realm environment becomes hostile. If its one with dangerous weather, have that happen. Otherwise environment appropriate effect like a minor cave in, a tree falling over, sudden patch of quicksand. One that can cause injury if action is not taken. If rolled after a 4, this event is life threatening to anyone in the area. If rolled after two 4s the environment changes permanent, becoming inaccessible and/or ongoingly dangerous

2: A concerned local wanders nearby, like a minor Immortal or bonded soul. If they notice and lack the ability to interfere themselves, they will go and get someone else, returning in a derive.

They return with results as If rolled after 4 1d4 immortals of 6 hit dice has located the mine

If rolled after two 4s 2d6 immortals of 6 hit dice and lead by one of 8 hit dice show up

3:The realm manifests an Incarnate with 6 hit dice

If rolled after a 4, It manifests an Incarnate with 8 hit dice

If rolled after a two 4s It manifests an Incarnate with 12 hit dice

If you roll 4 or more 4s in a roll, the Realm manifests a Titan

APPENDIX 1:

Generating an Incarnate
Roll d3 for how many times you roll on the form table, and if the results seem mutually exclusive, roll on sub table. Then roll once on the Power and "What does it do?!?!?!" table.

Table: Form (d20)

1. A glowing child with an echoing, choral voice
2. A cat-headed snake tracing a figure eight with pretty rainbow eyes
3. A giant horse head, silver-flamed
4. A muscular human with golden skin and stars for hair and eyes
5. A burning wheel
6. Dizzying points of light rotating and forming complicated mandala patterns
7. A wise fox
8. Some kind of farming implement formed from ice
9. A huge hand, its voice coming from its palm
10. A save with skin as black as the night sky and flaming hair
11. A hovering flame
12. An inverted tree floating above the ground
13. A naked lady, but with no nipples or sauce grooves
14. Rainbow-colored ribbons
15. A rotating flower head, alarmingly flat and symmetrical
16. A cloud of tiny silver seahorses
17. It Has Wings. If you roll only this result, it's just a pair of wings flapping in space. Other than that, stick the wings wherever. If you roll this result again, why that's just another pair of wings.
18. A pair of flaming eyes. If you are combining this with another result, you may give that result flaming eyes, or have flaming eyes looming behind it. Or whatever
19. A great turtle gently swimming through the air, with a tiny city on its back20. A bronze bell of vast age

Table: Combining Forms (1d6)

1. Have one sitting atop the other, or carrying/riding the other
2. Like a playing card, one is upside down and joined to the other
3. The Incarnate changes back and forth in a gentle manner

4. As above but rapidly, in an unnerving strobe effect

5. Forms exist side-by-side, speaking with one voice

6. One form grows out of the other, in a way somehow not completely hideous

Table: Powers (1d20, roll 1d3 times)

1. Its yell can cause an earthquake and its sing has a disintegrating effect

2. It can glow so bright, everything looking at it has their eyes burst into flames

3. It has a weapon twice its body length that it uses with skill and fury

4. Its laugh heals those it chooses and causes weakness and despair to others it chooses

5. Casts magic spells as a wizard

6. Casts magic spells as a cleric

7. Long, near-invisible razor-sharp threads

8. Mighty gusts of wind and lightning

9. Can liquify stone, entombing people

10. Turns people into living animals / plants / baked goods / salt with a glaze

11. Redirects spells at targets of its choosing

12. At-will Command spell effect

13. Freezing breath

14. Absurdly fast, natural blur effect

15. Re-arrange gravity as it sees fit

16. Laser eyes

17. Blinks as blink dog, and can teleport opponents short distances

18. Can turn into a flaming pillar

19. Can sing a song that makes antithetical creatures vomit up their organs

20. At-will silence effect. Hold Person with a touch

APPENDIX 2
RANDOM WORLDS
(this is a repurposed old blog post that I'm including again here)

Foundation Of Economy Is:
1.Shark Teeth (cutting, jewelry/art objects, trade object)
2.Sewage Methane (fuel , balloons)
3.Coca leaves (stimulant (mild and completely not mild), medicine , memorial(?), rituals)
4.Lobotomized Gnomes (labour, food, books, batteries)
5.Condescend Darkness (sun protection, hiding from gods, sleep aid)
6.Rice (food, ethanol , paper)
7.Tea (mild stimulant , status object, ancestor appeasement)
8.Opium (medicine, drug, astral ablative armour)
9.Uranium (ghost spirit magic protection, heat, armour + supernatural defense penetrating weapons)
10.Gelatine (glues, sealant , protection against environmental diseases)
11.Guano (for fertilizer + gunpower)
12.Silks, various (clothing , rope, sails, dreamcatchers)

Threat that shapes everyone's lives
1. Hungry Soils
2. Evil stars
3.Social Structure Dominated by Scattered Feuding Warlords
4.Player Races not native , difficult to get enough protein and nutrition from flora and fauna
5.Barely Contained "cold-war" between 2 massive empires
6.ongoing Colonisation by distinctly advantaged Others
7.Fundamental Forces Essential To Life are weakened e.g the sun , fertility, water
8.Fauna getting steadily more monstrous and hostile
9.Munitions and weapons from ancient war keep going off or being found and causing upheavals
10. Climate change (either Warming or Cooling)
11.Kaiju Eggs From Space
12.Dangerous Discoveries In Magic or Technology or Brain Powers

Significant Historical Event Which Shaped Quite A Bit I Can Tell You
1.Super Big War
2. Mountains All Started Floating
3. Seas drained to vast underground caves
4.contact with underworld people
5.Gods all killed each other
6.Alien race started using this world as their transitionary afterlife
7.A better version of fire discovered
8.Mutations
9.Universal language discovered, extends to mineral and vegetable kingdom as well as all animals
10.Previous Ancient and Establish Ruling Wizard Class overthrown
11.Doomsday happened but it was mild
12.Seas Rose but super buoyant gas discovered

Immediately Noticeable
1. Warrior Caste Very Important .Tattoos as armour. Class war
2. All domestic animals some form of worm
3. 7 colours of rain with different properties
4. Puppet based technologies
5. Sky Rivers and Lakes
6. All plants quite animated and semi-motile
7. Intensive Vertical Architecture
8. No violence in cities, even warring armies will eat with each other
9.Extremely large anthropods
10.Big chucks of dead things lying around

11. Bridges To Moons

12. Everyone smokes and lights incense to keep imps, batmites,midges and ghosts away

Underlying Thing:

1.Despair

2.Crazed Optimism

3. Mystery , Deception

4.Age of Exploration/Exploitation

5. Corruption of Ideal

6. Total War

7. Heroic War Improving Opportunity

8. Nude Survival

9.Weird Shit All The Time

10.Sacrifice To Maintain Stuff that isn't that great but no-one has better idea

11.What Cost Is Power

12.Moral Relativism

Apex Predator:

1.Giant Severed Hands

2.Cog Squid

3.Poison Lion

4. Corpse Python

5. Sin Dragon

6. Angels

7. Walking Cruelty Tower

8. Starhound

9. Tyrannosaurus Rex

10. Skinbear

11. Broiling Wheel

12. Trains

Main Adventure Locale:

1. Rotting Palaces and Pleasure domes

2. Crashed WarShips

3. The Frontier

4. Glistening Skycaves

5. The Past
6. Ice/bone/wart/timebergs

7.the underworld that's actually underground

8.the underworld that's only accessible from weird places and doesn't really geographically make sense

9.scavenging prisons

10.Trash mounds

11. Islands

12. Dense biomes like jungles or grave forests

NEW WEAPONS

Meat Axe (flesh rifts)

A meat axe is a long handed cleaver like axe, with an additional edge so it can serve as a cutting hook. It has a eye on the handle so a rope can be attached. As well as a melee weapon it is used to cut open meat landscapes, the hook edge and the rope attachment allow the axe to be dragged along the skin of meatscape with multiple people.

Blazing World Shelagh

A particular hard and dense wood from Blazing World. A rainbow irrescadent is seen in the grain when it catches the light. Capable of puncturing steel.

Single Tooth Sword (flesh rifts)

A single tooth, serrated like a sharks tooth, but longer and more tapered than most sharks teeth are. A handle is attached or carved and then its crudely wrapped.

Molar Mace (flesh rifts)

A fist size molar driven through bone or wood, or sometimes still attached to the jawbone.

Jaw Blade (flesh rifts)

Like the aztec Macuahuitl, this a big flat blade of wood or bone, with teeth of obsidian, metal or literal teeth. Favoured for the ease that the teeth can a variety of materials and its crushing weight.

Heart Stinger (Heart of It all)

A oversize wasp abdomen and stinger, the stinger now the length of foil. The abdomen is hollowed out and grip inserted. The stinger is hollow and often comes with half dozen wasp darts that can be fired from the blade or a poison gland.

Claw Pick(Erebus)

A short handled hooked pick, with back of the head being a hammer. Capable of penetrating armour or eviscerating a softer target. Effective as climbing and mining aid, as well providing a handhold against sudden tunnel winds.

Chakram and Hat

A refugee culture has brought this to 3 Hares and it has proved to be popular. A conical hat that serves to store spare chakrams, which are sharpen metal throwing discs

Francisea (Bouncing Axe)

Another immigrant weapon that has spread further than its initial users. The strange shape of the axe means it bounces unpredictable when thrown, and becomes even more effective with weird gravity's of Protean Ocean or the close tunnels of Erebus. Bouncestone from Blazing World is often incorporated in the forging.

Gravity Hammer (Protean Ocean)

Resembling a ball and chain or meteor hammer, the incorporation of a weird material in the head means that is mass disproportionately increases with velocity. This results in a weapon that when spun and flung, it will launch its spinner with it, an effective means of travelling through the subjective gravity of Grinder or Protean Ocean.

Loom-bow

Visually distinct with its metal rectangle frame instead of the flattened crescent of crossbow arms. Instead of using the elastic energy transferred to the bent bow, either side of the frame houses some from of spring coil . This can be simply a bundle of rope or sinew which is twisted to load it with energy , or the more familiar to a modern eye spiraling metal spring. These are loaded by cranking the attached throwing arms back towards the user. When released , they fling a bolt through the middle of the frame . While ä fit being can manage to carry it , it needs to braced or held by an absolute brute to be held steady and fired with accuracy.

A variant exists that sits on a braced socket on the saddlehorn, allowing it to be fired from the back of a mounted beast.

The Loom-bow was engineered from the Hapax , and in doing so now closely resembles the Harpax ancestors ; a in-swinging ballista or cheiroballistra.

Strength 16+ , large size, a decent tripod or bracing to fire with any form of positive attack modifier.

Harpax

A “Cherioballistra” modified to be used in ship to ship combat as a grapple . The tip of the bolt is replaced with a hinged grappling anchor, to which rope and tackle is attached. So if it was shot into a ship , it can pull both its ship and the struck ship closer.

Found its way to 3 hares along with the rest of the ship. The inspired duplicates of it are used to solve unique transport problems rather than board ships, being made lighter with folding swivel mount stand and attached rope reel.

Variant: Stinger : A fine chain is used instead of rope and is connected to a large pain-box, which delivers a stored charge and then can keep continuous current as long as the pain box is wound.

Pain Box (Grinder) (can be magnetic)

First seen in grinder made from scavenged materials but now replicated in Heart Of It All, Dead Flags, and 3 Hares. It is a metal box with a wind up handle. From the box is metal cable and a short harpoon. An electric charge is built up in the box by winding of the handle and the harpoon launched by use of non-conductive atlatl. Once the harpoon has penetrated further charge can be delivered by winding up the box. Often comes with a magnetic variant attachment, instead of the harpoon, allowing it to clamp onto metal surfaces like armour or fortifications.

Titans Bow

The combiation of extremely strong individuals and overly inventive mechanical minds has lead to this horror show of cantilevers, pulleys, bracing and cabling. It allows for a very high draw strength but with the risk of turning into a disintegrating mass of wood, metal, and cables whipping through the air at blinding speeds.

Fire Puker

Something like a bagpipe but even more stomach like, being an actual stomach. It has 2 pipes coming from it. One is for the mulched vegetable material and the second is for the ignited methane byproduct of said mulch. As an emergency it can be tightly squeeze causing it to eject an acid spray, but this prevents it from digesting more mulch for a derive. A knot at the base must be periodically untied and the leavings of the stomach emptied out.

Wasp Darts

A large wasp dismantled and carefully glued and sewn into a dart like shape. The sting retains the poison and the wings and malign rutimary intelligence guide it inflight

Bombs :

Fire bomb

A glass ball filled with naphtha mixed with white spirit and a fuse, lit by pulling a strip. The explosion caused by letting the fuse run down is fairly minor, the main use of the fuse is light the contents when the thrown glass shatters against something.

Lacerator

A tightly wound ball of razor sharp spring steel. When the pin is pulled, a thrown impact will cause it to unwind in a blur of lashing metal, entangling anything that hasn’t already been cut into two.

Stink head

A severed head with skull partially fractured and the openings sealed. Throw it will likely shatter it, releasing utterly foul liquids and gas. The gas nauseates and sickens, and anyone struck with the liquid itself becomes ongoing localised generator of the gas.

Smoker

A mass of half dried leaves, glued together with tar and plant resin. Lighting it results in a dense, opaque smoke, that causes additionally causes hallucinations and enhanced emotions.

Living Leather

As the name suggests, it's still alive, often with recognisable features incorporated into the visual design. When damaged it will bleed, but clotting near instantly, the scabs enhancing the protective abilities of the armour

Giant Hair Vest

Wiry black hair from hairy planes. Plaited and crochet into a ugly mass, that nevertheless is resistant to cutting and capable of ensnaring weapons

Chitin Plate

Armour made from giant insects. Often ornate, with striking metallic gleams

Chitin Full Plate

As above but including leg, arm and head protection. The use of a the head as the helmet is often avoided, instead artful deconstructions of it, so a full spider form as a helmet, but the components being repurposed fly mouthparts.

Tuesday, 17 November 2020

EDIT: FORMAT FIXED PLANESCRAP part 2 VERMIN ROAD

PDF

I'm doing a terrible job of spacing these out and I think my attempt to make an economy have actual numbers to it was an act of hubris

Vermin Road and The Salt Trade

Vermin Road is the name for the heavily tangled connection of trade routes, shanty towns, scams, and hustles that exist around unsanctioned Salt acquiring. It is no more one place or thing than a black market, the Silk Road, the world of martial arts, or The Underground is.

It is also used to refer collectively to the areas populated by Mortals, as Mortals also need Salt.As without the addition of Salt, the food grown in the Outer Realms will cause mutations, ailments, transformations, disorders, and potentially death.

The Salt of the Vermin Road Salt is obtained through furtive mining operations, robbery, graft, ghost hunting, adoption of wayward souls, and misplaced or intercepted pantheon transactions. These can be reliable, safe and easy. Pick one.

Unsurprisingly, Salt tastes salty. However, it’s a saltiness distinctive from regular salt that is quickly learned with a weeks worth of meals here. If food tastes like someone cried in it or like you licked it off someone’s body, it’s real Salt. Most get used to it, but still, Unsalted food from a Mortal World is worth a lot here. The chance to eat a risk-free orange that doesn’t hint of armpit is an understandable desire.

Some gourmets claim to be able to recognize the Realm of origin of the Salt, talking up how “this one tastes like a lovers tears and this like the blood rising in the throat of one betrayed.”

The descriptions just get more purple from there, outdoing even professional wine-tasters, who whose audiences are far less likely to condemn them into eternal torture.

A soul has 1 kilo of Salt on it for every hitpoint the person had while alive and at full health. If they had less than 20 hit points but were between the ages of 16 and 26, or had a particular passionate or far reaching life they have a minimum of 20 instead.

Salt can be dissolved in blood,salvia, or any other body fluid.

Urine usually being available in quantity and surplus.

Once dissolved it can alchemically processed to crystalize.

When crystallized it forms the currency of Vermin Road, “Sekhem”, (sometimes more formally spelt sḫm)

The process is not especially complicated nor requiring that specialized equipment, comparative to distilling alcohol.

An entire cottage industry exists to process the Salt, with every chemist having their own recipes, tools, techniques, and obstafications.

(The term chemist existing here as a disparaging contraction of alchemist)

The political difficulties involved in being in a fixed location and responsible for vast quantities of Salt and the questions it can provoke from more formal parties have thus far prevented any standardisation of this process.

The standard Sekem is a cubic or bi-cubic crystal of dark red tones.

It’s about a centimeter across and weighs about 10 grams

More skilled chemists can layer and “compact” the crystallization, forming a larger crystal (2 cm across) with intricate smaller cubic patterns form on it.

It weighs 50 grams, and is worth 20 Sekems.

Next domination is g, 3 centimetre across and appearing as a “hopper” type crystal, with tight rectilinear spirals. It weighs a 250 grams and is worth 500 Sekem.

Sekem can be broken down into Salt again, a process easier than making, but still requiring a care, a fair amount of boiling, and a lot of force.

It’s best left in the hands of Chemist, but its like repairing a car, there’s always someone around who reckons they can do it themselves.

A fourth form of Sekem exists, often due to the results of these forementioned optimists or a bad effort by a chemist. It’s called a Chip, which it appears to be and actually is.

There is little consensus about how much a chip has to weigh, and ranges from half a gram to 3 grams, depending on its shape and perceived sturdiness (If a chip has formed due to a substandard sekem creation, it could potential crumble further into uselessness)

Chips are used for petty transactions, (where more convenient than barter or trade) and 10 are equivalent to a Sekem.

About 10 Sekem (explained below) of Salt is needed each week to render ones diet safe. For each Sekem under this amount, multiple by 10 and that’s the chance something goes wrong. Or if you want to check per meal, each single meal has a 1-in-20 chance. For multiple meals in a single day, use the number eaten as the in-20 chance, rather than rolling the 1-in-20 each meal.

Any problems will start to happen in the next hour.

Effects based on plane (or roll as one table if origin of food is unclear. Not all Realms produce food, specifically The Grind, and Babel)

Getting the same result cumulatively 5 times also causes the maximum result for result 1 for that plane. GM is free to explain how effect becomes worse on ones that don’t explicitly mention how the effect intensifies upon repeat results or just take the easy way and keep it the same until the 5th repeat result (as above).

(1-30) Blazing World (fruits, vegetables, wild game)

Aspect of body becomes more like animal. this effect can stack multiple times, with a complete transformation at the 4th occurrence.
Hair, eyes, teeth and nails , or a tint to the skin changes to a bright colour
Claustrophobia, worsen with each result, with a 3rd result being unable to be any building without absolute panic
If this food was cooked, the nutrition from it vanishes by the next day, leaving the consumer twice as hungry. If it was eaten raw, roll again but double the effect
Mild ADHD, difficulty with concentration and impulse control, worsening with each repeat result. A 3rd result means an inability to concentrate in any circumstance and any action the player even mentions hypothetically the character attempts.
It causes discomfort (as a painful nausea) when the character follows instructions, commands or orders. This effect worses each time it is rerolled, with 3rd result meaning they are unable to do little more than retch and crawl.

( 31-50)Flesh Rifts (meat, milk, blood, and harder to define fluids of biological origin)

1.Monstrous form. Skin becomes rougher, teeth sharper, features distort. After 4 repeats personality and abilities identical to lowest level demon or other underworld dweller.

2. Anger, hunger, or lust is felt twice as strong as compared to a normal reaction for this character.

3. Feels pain but has difficulty conceptualizing it as bad. At end of day always 10% below max hitpoints. After 3 repeat result of this, the GM now keeps track of (and conceals from the player) the characters hitpoint total.

4. Smell delicious to predators. After 3 repeat results will attract predators from large distances

5. Random body part starts having its own agency, a 3rd result meaning it leaves

6. Can only get nutrition from meat or blood, and only if the source hasn’t died more than a minute ago.

(51-60)Pinnacle (grains, fruit, wild meats)

1. Any conscience trouble becomes more pressingly felt. No game effects until this result happens a 4th time; In that case immediate suicide or complete devotion to penance. Those unable to feel guilt throw up food and are nauseated for 1d4 days. 4th result will kill in this case.

2. Breaking laws causes migraines

3. Lose flight reflex, if fleeing combat will always lose initiative that round

4. Food not shared doesn’t give nutrition

5. If attack unprovoked, a compulsion to self inflict wounds on self

6. Can be Commanded (as the spell) by lawful authority

(61-70) Protean Ocean (potentially anything, often weird fruit or edible inanimate objects)

1. Random mutation, 4th result causes dissolution (as distingrate)

2. Random other realm effect

3. One random food group stops become nutritious or digestible and replaced with random material

4. Unable to recognise self in mirrors or descriptions. Tends to forget own name

5. Sleeplessness, mania. Can go to sleep without chemical or magic intervention only a 1-2 on a d6. On a 6 mania for the next day, getting an extra action at the start of any combat

6. At the end of any game session replace one item of that character's possession that did not see use with a new random item. Cumulative.

(71-75) Serene Night (oddly translucent fruit, like artisan candy jellyfish)

1. Whenever character is alone and it's quiet, they can hear faint music. Music is pleasant but causes disquietude. 4th repeat of this the character will dissolve, disappearing completely, when next alone.

2. Attacks of hyper empathy. Any fumble result also causes exact emotion state of opponent or random other person.

3. Food turns to sand in stomach

4. Sadness and Joy double in effect

5. Anyone or thing attempt to talk to character forces them to save or do so

6. Compulsion to give away anything someone expresses interest in or asks for. Save or do so.

(76-80) Plains of Revelation (tubers, twisted miserly berries)

1. Random disease or poison effects. 4th result just kills you

2. People tend to take things the consumer says in wrong ways, anything ambiguous or subtle gets interpedly badly

3. Lingering weird chemical or anaerobic smell to body, prolonged contact with them causes rashes.

4. Lethargy, always last in initiative, cumulative -1 to save vs sleep, slow or fatigue effects

5. Crippling self doubt (-1 penalty to saving throws against mind or will type effects, cumulative each time this effect rolled)

6. Can only lie to friends, can only tell truth to enemies

(81-90)Erebus(fungus)

1. Nothing apparent until 4th repeat, where their head is replaced with a random tool. Otherwise fine

2. Fumble also result in deafness for 1d4 rounds

3. Blinded by bright lights or daylight

4. Suffer (psychosomatic) random poison result if eat food prepared by other people. Don’t tell player cause.

5. Paranoia, GM must tell player when they are making random encounter checks, if it results in a encounter, and what the encounter is. GM is under no compulsion to tell the truth with any of this thought.

6. Agoraphobia. A 2nd result makes the character unable to function in open spaces. A 3rd result also gives Vertigo at heights.

(91-100)Heart Of It All (candy, honeys, meats, fungus, cheeses, fruits)

1. If character is attractive they become more attractive, if character is ugly they become more ugly. Personality comes across as the opposite of how they look, effects on charisma therefore neutral. Random choose which if they don’t seem particular either way. At 4th repeat of this everyone who meets character will take any rejection or slight or even disinterest incredibly badly.

2. Character suffers 10% exp penalty in any session where they are not the leader of the party. Increase by 5% each time rolled (to a maximum of 30%)

3. Unable to get nutrition from food given freely, must buy (at market prices) or extort

4. Nauseated if they concede or lose an argument

5. 10% exp penalty in a session that they earn less than the previous session. Increase by 5% each time rolled (to a maximum of 30%)

6. Nauseated if freely give or loan their possessions. Must charge market prices or equivalent service.

It is routine in Vermin Road to ask or advertise if food is Unsalted or Salted. It should be immediately obvious to any newcomer that there is some significance about this, and most people will explain it to a newcomer, possibly as part of selling them counterfeit Salt. Salted food is at least 5 times the price and it’s not always certain that it will have been adequately Salted.

The less appealing foods can be sold falsely as coming from another realm or even disguised. Berries and Fruit from the Plains of Revelation are often sold in preseverses to disguise their bitterness and general wretched appearance.

All negative effects (that don’t result in death) from eating Unsalted Food can be cured with Remove Curse or relevant curative magic. However it doesn’t reset the amount a result has been rolled before, so if you’ve got 4 results of one result previously, it still counts as 5 on a 5th result even if the effects of the last 4 have been removed.

Beasts and the need for Salt

There are numerous beasts naturalized in Realms that do not seem to need Salt. Yet the majority of useful domestic animals and 99% of new imports under-go unwanted changes with a diet lacking Salt.

Beasts need less Salt than Mortals though, and need about a single Sekems worth of Salt each Fugue . Unfortunately if they don’t have Salt , the changes are far quicker and surer.

The first time a Beast under goes a change , use the results from the Realm in which most of foods was recently from. If unclear , roll randomly using the above table for Mortals.

The second time it undergoes a change ,just advance it to the second result , and ignore the origin of the food. It’s at that point it becomes nigh unmanageable

Erebus:

1st stage adaptations : , weird vocalisations, sleepiness, narcolepsy, agoraphobic.

2nd stage adaptations If kept captive makes uncanny vocalizations that drive people insane. Loses all pignment , loses sight, another sense becomes prenaturally adept to compensate.

Blazing World:

1st stage adaptations colour changes, starts becoming a different evolutionary path, increasingly wild

2nd stage adaptations develops intelligence, extreme wanderlust and eerie ability to escape confinement

Serene Night:

1st stage adaptations :Starts acting distant, weird diluted pupils, odd tints of colour appear in fur/hide/scales or skin.

2nd stage adaptations then one day just disappears , but shows up a couple of times in dreams

Pinnacle Of Virtue:

1st stage adaptations Starts acting up in response to immorality ,

2nd stage adaptations attacks anyone stealing, bullying, deceiving others, acting selfish . Becomes more physically formidable

Protean Ocean:

1st stage adaptations Starts changing to random other kingdom or domain , mutates widely

2nd stage adaptations develops multiple cancers that turn into new animals

Flesh Rifts:

1st stage adaptations: Becomes predator, enhanced natural weapons ,aggressive.

2nd stage adaptations , uncontrollable, attacks self when nothing else around to destroy or eat

Plains Of Revelation :

1st stage adaptations Fatigued , despondent

2nd stage adaptations stops eating , pines away and dies

Heart of it all:

1st stage adaptations Starts looking more like owner ,

2nd stage adaptations eventually turning into twisted double of owner. If no owner , fixates on another animal or being around it , mimics them and starts trying to become them

Common Domestic Animals to The Realms

Riding Flea:

A Flea the size of a Vespa scooter. Regular fleas can jump 200 their body length. Despite this shouldn’t scale up with the flea , it has and does. This jumping ability means the Riding Flea is a good choice for navigating voids with floating islands or difficult terrain. Though being thrown from the saddle mid jump is likely to be fatal.

Moon-calf:

Moon-calfs are a little bit goat a little bit cow a little bit llama , a little of everything . A reverse Chimera in a way , instead of being distinct parts of large impressive animals, they are a generally indistinct mess of countless domesticated quadrupeds. Though sometimes one or two features stick out , like a llama neck or a goat's spiral horns.

They are the results of people bringing domestic animals into the Realms , the Realms influence , then the subsequent breeding on them.

Moon-calf, Heffalump :

The Heffalumps are a type of Moon-calf , but one that has various herbivore megafauna in its ancestry , mainly shaggy mammoth and mastodons. Their great size makes them attractive as a physical deterrence to banditry , however their temperaments tend towards placid . To give them an offensive capacity, spiked and bladed barding is attached , the Heffalumps vision is impaired and its encouraged to walk steadily forward.

Moon-calf, Blunder:

The Blunder is the goat sized Moon-calf, and has a lot of personality from the same animal plus a willful streak like a donkey.

Dream Horse:

The theory of the cultural archetypes of animals shaping their forms on the Realms seems both proven and disproven by the DreamHorse. While they seem to be an animal demonstrative of independence , freedom, the joy of movement, their appearance however seems to have greatly strayed from the iconic horse shape.

They are dark colours with flowing manes, long necks, and multiple star like eyes.

Slog:

The Slog or Toad-dog, is all the brutish violent natures of a dog rolled up in a ugly squat little ball. This has the additional benefit of making them more fit to send off in your own defense, as you don’t feel bad if they are destroyed in your defense.

Grimalkin

A cat of monochromatic colouration, appearing black , white or grey as best would hide in the environment. They have multiple sets of eyes which they open seemingly to indicate mood. They can also have no eyes showing and move around freely.

They are known as guiding cats because they will cross people's paths and then guide them . Except half of Grimalkin seem to be malign and will guide people to their doom and the other half benign and guiding them to a positive end.

Riding Dog:
Less dramatic than the slog or the Grimalkin , a Riding dog is simply a very large dog, that the Dog Knights have as their life long partner and companion.

Other Currencies

As openly trading in Sekem means openly trading in the erosion of any Realm given Authority, population centres that prefer the quiet life prefer to use their own currencies. However Sekem is widely accepted there anyway, as it, theoretically, be returned to a Realm for amnesty.
3 Hares

Has “Ror” (Receipt of Rent) which is based off a weeks rent of a square metre. These are officially signed and notified documents, but due to their difficulty keeping track of official signatures and the comparative perishability of the document they are not popular anywhere else.

10 Ror = 1 Sekem.

Bedlam and Dead Flags (Erebus and Blazing World)

both use the Sekem, as this far is from the most antagonistic either get towards external authorities

Bedlam :

has the Chemist guild, the largest and most stable concentration of Chemists anywhere. It would be more politically significant if it wasn’t in Bedlam. Because of being in Bedlam means that “stable” only refers to that its a continuing population of Chemists , and it’s a population that’s unpredictable, haphazard, paranoid, and prone to delusions, so not stable in any other use of the word.

Detropolis (Protean Ocean):

Natives most use barter but there’s sizeable population of others that the use of the Sekem is ubiquitous

.
Yearnings (Plains of Revelation):

Surprisingly considering the abject nihilism of this place, spending or offering Sekem is a crime. Yearnings has its own currency, the Dolor. Money changers are easily found at the gates. Helpfully the conversion rate is 1 for 1 and they don’t charge for this service. The Sekem they give back isn’t the same Sekem obviously and Salt made from that Sekem is always...odd.

It’s widely considered that something very bad will happen as eventual result of this exchange but no-one feels they should inconvenience themselves to not make use of the service anyway.

The Dolor can be used anywhere else in Plains of Revelation, if you find anyone inclined to be mercantile. It can be accepted elsewhere, but never happily.

It’s like giving someone a note that’s been ripped up and taped back together and you just got it out of your shoe in front of them.

Heart Of It All

If any place was going to have its own currency its this place. The currency is based off a unit of raw suffering (The Scruble) and has an exchange rate that usually sits at 5 Scrubles to one Sekem.

Specific trade routes and likely trading vessel:

Pinnacle to Blazing World

Dreamhorse (single rider, small cargo)

Defense : Speed of Dream Horse and its ability to run across dangerous stretches of terrain

Most Likely Carrying :

P to Bw: Potent Medicine

Bw to P Rare Plants (still potted in soil)

(or any type A)

WindWagon ( 1 to 4 people , medium cargo)

A small boat on sleds or wheels

Defense : a tame wind to whip up a small sandstorm, swivel mounted arbalest , if additional passengers they will throw bola

Most Likely Carrying:

P To Bw : Metal Tool heads or weapons

Bw To P: Fish

(or any B or C)

Land Schooner (6 to 11 people ,large cargo)

Like the Wind Wagon but with 2 masts and a crew of 5

Defense :2 Swivel mounted LoomBows, tame wind

Most Likely Carrying:

Pto Bw:Ceramics, Tools, Kitchen items

Bw to P : woods ,general purpose + specialized

( D or C)

Cloud-Leviathan

(very large)

(a flying whale thing)

Defense : Rockets, loom-bow with net-bolts, archers

Most Likely Carrying

P To Bw: Cloth

Bw To P: Wondergoo

Or type D

Protean Ocean to Erebus

Riding Flea (single rider)

Defenses: Maddening Horn (horn with the winds from Erebus trapped in it, 1d12 uses, causes confusion on a failed save as spell to any being smarter than animal 20 metres when used (

Most Likely Carrying

Se to Sol: Crystalized luck

Sol to Se : Captured Wind

(type A)

Giant Bat

Defenses: Night Air (darkness in a sack basically) , crossbow with starchild bolt/ axiom tipped

Se To So: paradoxical materials

So to Se: Gemstones

BricaBrac manned flying contraption

Defenses:Throwing machine (throws miscellaneous entangling debris)

Se To So:

Animals fused with tools

So to Se:

Fungus, tamed winds

Blimp

Defenses:Fungal Pidgeons, Loom-bow , various bolts

Most Likely Carrying

Se to So:

Fruit

So to Se:

Coal

(type b , type D)

Pinnacle to Heart of it All

( Rise and Fall of steel and wax. Taking the train is taxed, going up or down more profits but modrons hostile!)

On the rail

Small

Cart pulled by Blunders

Most likely carrying C

Main defense : slogs

Medium

Wagon pulled by Moon Calf

Main Defense:2d4 mercenaries

Most likely got C

Howdah on Heffalump

Main Defense: loom-bow, archers

Most likely got

Avoiding the Tax:

Giant Bat

Small

Main Defense:

crossbow , Poison axiom tipped bolts

Most likely got A

Grand SkinBird (aka Quezalcoatulus)

Main Defense:

Big ass beak ,loom-bow posion axiom tipped boltsMost likely got

B plus A

6 wing Dhow

(a small ship with 3 pairs of wings animated either with necromancy or the weird energies of the Protean Ocean)

Loom bow on bottom, 4 rocket lances

C plus A

Flesh Rifts to Heart of it All

(Misery Mile, the desperate and the weird and the highly armed)

Riding Flea

(small)

Main Defense:1d10 fungal pigeons

Most likely got: FR to HoA : Brain juices

HoA to FR: drugs

(or A)

Lobotomized Brutes

(medium)

Main Defense:Small ballista, 2d6 trained monkeys with hatchets

Most likely go

FR to HoA :Weapons made from bone and ivory , armour made from hair, brains

HoA to FR: Weapons with mechanical components and/or made from bug parts, armour made from chitin, art work

Or C

Hefflalump howdah

(large)

Main Defense: loom-bow, archers

Most likely got: FR to HoA : Cured meats , sausage , salami. (meat possibly from anything)

HoA To FR : Honey, candied fruit, chocolates

Or B

Arm wagon/train:

(very large)

Series of wagons with necromantical animated arms underneath instead of wheels

Loom-bow on top, halberdiers stationed in wagons

Most likely got: from Flesh Rifts : Weapons of bone, ivory , tooth

From Heart of it all: Weapons of steel, chitin

(or D and C)

Glossary:

Bricabrac: a sentient creatures of fused previously inanimate objects. See Shaun Tan's " The Lost Thing". From the Protean Ocean

Loom Bow : an “inswinging” ballista.

Poison Axiom: a rotten piece of maths, especially toxic to creatures of law or chaos.

Starchild: similar to magnesium in metal form, a metal that burns bright and hot.

Rocket Lance : a lance with a rocket attached to it. Can used to fire firework type rockets, shoot forth a cone of sparks (by pointing the rocket the other way and removing the blasting cap), or propel oneself through low gravity environments

WHAT THOSE LETTERS MEAN

A=

High Value Low Bulk Cat

(drugs, high quality difficult to make goods)

B =

Time Sensitive ( Food, certain magical components , herbs)

C=

Crafted goods,

medium weight to value ratio raw materials

D =

Bulky raw materials (i.e high weight to value ratio)

Cargo A

Jewellery
Drugs ,recreational
Drugs , Medicinal
Clockwork Folly (Heart of It All)
Quality Ceramics
Precision machine parts
Artwork (small)
Aged wine, artisan spirits
Bonsai animal (Flesh Rifts)
Grail (either given or taken) (Serene Night)
Concentrated Liquid Nature ( Blazing World)
Library Book (Pinnacle)
Thought of Dying God ( Plains Of Relevation)
A Secret , kept in Egg(Erebus)
PoisonAxiom (The Grind)
Perfume
Rare Plant of potent properties (alive)
Panacea (Pinnacle)
Chitin Organ (Heart of It All)
Tame Scent (Blzaing World)

Cargo B( fresh is best)

Food By Area

Blazing World

1-5 Large,sweet, tropical fruit like Mangos and PawPaws, but each unique in flavour and shape

6-10 Protimal meat weird colours, and doughy consistency

11-15 Rainbow Coloured smoked fish

16-20 Tree nuts, (pine nuts, walnuts, bunya bunya & monkey puzzle cones)

21-30 Dried Fruit (luminous and translucent, different flavour every bite

Flesh Rifts

31-35 Fatty milk in dried organ sacks

36-40 Cube of meat, still alive and connected to a heart with tubing

41-45 Oil /Fat of unknown origin, smokey

46-50 Big white glistening grubs, squirming in barrel

Pinnacle

51-55 : Grains (Barley,Rye, Wheat, Amaranth, Quinoa)

56-60: Sausages (goat, mutton & venison)

Protean Ocean

61-65 Looks broken furniture and tools, actually made from candy

66-70 Motile Fruits like banana caterpillars or cucumber snails

Serene Night

71-75 Delicate beautiful fruit, like a lacey lantern, dissolves on the tongue like sherbet

Plains of Revelation

76-77: Wrinkled, shrivelled, mean tubers

78-79 Juniper, Sloe, Medlar and Hawthorn berries. Somehow look resentful.

80 Metre long earthworm, tastes like blue cheese and liver

Erebus

81-85 Dried fungus, like ears made from seaweed

86-90 Mushroom, fresh, peaked caps with the texture of brain

Heart Of It All

91-93 Honey, with a red bloom to it

94-96 Waxed cheeses, subtle spikey flavours

97-98 Truffles

99-100 Preserved and spiced meats ( salami,prosciutto, pancetta)

C crafted goods , middle ratio of value vs bulk

Weapons, simple
Weapons, high quality
Weapons, complicated
Cheap Jewellery and decorative items
Tool, kitchen utensils, simple machine parts
Ceramics
Leatherware ,shoes, saddles,gloves etc
Textiles (common)
Textiles (exquisite )
Wonder/Novelty/Art object
Fused Animals (Protean Ocean)
Captured Winds (Erebus)
Modron weapons (stolen, Babel)
Unique Living Weapons(fleshrifts)
Books (academic, technical
Books (stories, poetry , erotica)
Books (mythology)
Ropes
Animated Furniture (Protean Ocean)
Ammunition

Category D raw materials , High bulk to price

Coal (Erebus)
Naphtha (Flesh Rifts)
Metals (steel, copper , brass, lead)
Metals (gold, silver)
Wood (all purpose) (blazing world)
Wood (specialised property i.e great strength, density , scented , rot resistant etc) (blazing world)
Cereals (Pinnacle)
Fungus (dried, Erebus)
Mooncalves
Flowers (blazing world)
Refined Chemicals (babel, Heart of it all)
Beeswax (heart of it all)
Bone (Flesh Rifts)
Ore, unworked precious stones (Erebus)
Chitin (Heart of it all)
Oils ,fats , acids( Flesh Rifts)
Weeping Obsidian (Flesh Rifts)
Redrum (The grind)
Hair (flesh rifts , Plain of revelation)
Wondergoo( Blazing World)

TRADE HUBS:

Anything listed as an Export can be got there 75% Cheap

Anything listed as an Import will cost 125% more

3 Hares (Pinnacle)

Main Exports :

Metals, Crafted Objects, Weapons & armour, Textiles, Medicine, Glass, Animals

Main Imports:

Wood, Coal, Naphtha, Tar

Dead Flags (Blazing World)

Main Exports :Woods, Herbs, Healing Waters, Impossible Materials, Flowers, Fish

Main Imports:ClockWork, Precision Tool Parts , Glass, Metals

Detropolis (Protean Ocean)

Main Export:

Art, Cultural Artefacts, Fused Animals,

Main Imports:

Dumping ground for anything that’s not selling well plus actual trash. What every it is someone will find a use for it here.

Erebus(Bedlam)

Main Exports:
Coal, Metals, Fungus, Captured Winds, Jewels

Main Imports:

Drugs, Fresh Fruit & Vegetables, Precision Tools and Tool Parts, Textiles, Animals

The Markets (Flesh Rifts)

Main Exports

Naphtha, Acids, Tar, Drugs, Leather, Bone, Bone and hair based weapons & armour, Fats, Meat,

Main Imports:

Metals, Animals, Drugs, Wood and Metal weapons & armour, Alcohol

Yearnings (Erebus)

Main Exports:

Leather, Hair, Bog Wood, Alcoholic Spirits

Main Imports:

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, Fish, Drugs, Alcohol

Heart Of It All

(2 sectors of its 6 are available for mercantile activity. The Last sector will buy as needed to keep up its production for the other 2 sectors. The sector “ Sun Fall” will have weird arbitrary limitations about what it can buy and sell

Main Exports :

Insect-Craft, Drugs, Art, Honey, Jewellery, Perfume, Misc Luxury Goods, gold , silver ,coal

Main Imports:

Drugs, Metals Especially Iron ,Clock Work, Precision Tool Parts, Naphtha, Medicine, Wood, Chemicals, Fats, Flowers, Novelties,Jewels, Textiles

Babel

(has no private markets, only trades with trade consortium with existing trade agreements

Main Exports:

Precision Machine Parts, Clock Work, Refined Chemicals

Main Imports:

Coal, Naphtha , Acids, Metals

Pages