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| Smile of Hiroshima, Santiago Caruso |
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| Throne of Chaos, Santiago Caruso |
crumbling ashes of a mummified planet, forgotten about itself. drifting mounds of hills which curl and crash as waves on rocky strewn shoulders of dead titans, maws open teeth stench gurgling up from dank pits of their stomachs, from which infernal parasites creep. smoldering campfires left behind mimicking in tiny form the blackened ruins of villages, and if the weary gaze too long tiny memories of faded souls whimper from within.
nothing grows but black brambles and stunted weeds. place to place each drifts lazily into the sky, rubbish of tables and stone and broken bodies floating freely in paths sucked into the near white orb. no true humanity beneath the searching eyes of stars, only withered half-mutant camps clustered in dung hiding in shadows, half shelters, just roofs really, slapped together of tarps and rotten wood and scraps of rust-pocked metal, lonely among the constant dust storms, there is no day, no night, only the faint drab light which trickles through inky dark.
strange technology and relics are sometimes dug up in the ashes, offering some faint senile help or hateful curse to those hopeless enough to tinker with it. hoarders with rotten teeth offer scraps of silk, dried meat, and embers nurtured to life in clay pots in return for cold obsidian necklaces etched with queer runes and knives which turn blood to fertile soil.
the last clutches of humanity fear to leave their tiny sanctuaries of tenuous life, for just beyond sight of home creep whispered rumors of child faces in the sand, worm puking skin blisters, hands in the night which stroke and soothe, insectile skittering, cannibal tendencies spreading like disease..
but some do, a few who can't stay and watch the pitiful last remains of human ilk fester. they wander, suicidally throwing themselves against the forces which dance. hunters who hope without to recapture some idea of what has happened, or to lash out in frustration against the wall of infinite unknowing.
ATTRIBUTES:
3d6 each, record score and mod
3: -2
4-6: -1
7-14: 0
15-17: +1
18: +2
STR- violence, overpowering, hatred
CON- enduring, body, health
DEX- cleverness, agility, flexibility
WIS- awareness, connection, hope, pity
HP: hit dice add CON modifier, first level only.
FILTH: measure of incorporeal cosmic sin & degradation. constantly in flux. gained for a variety of things which stain the mind/body/soul. removed by purification. high amounts of filth cause mutations and strange effects. diabolists use filth as currency for their spells, others gain it as a result of dabbling in esoterica.
filth is mostly bad, but some good things can result from it. filth modifiers work according to this chart:
0-2: +/-0
3-5: +/-1
6-8: +/-2
9-11: +/-3
12-14: +/-4
15-17: +/-5
18: +/-6
when characters are told to gain filth roll 2d6: 6- +3 filth, 7-9 +2 filth, 10-11 +1 filth, 12 no filth
filth starts at zero unless otherwise stated.
ARMOR CLASS: 9+DEX modifier+armor bonus
LEVEL UP:
buy a level by spending 12*lvl XP. (2nd costs 24XP, 3rd costs 36XP, 4th costs 48XP etc). Levels may not be skipped and only one level may be gained per session.
XP is gained by repaying favors, learning secrets, or extracting true names of things, which often come in the shape of strange trinkets buried deep in the catacombs which fill the soil, though sometimes they may be locked within the heads of people, or encoded in lost tales. The players search for these scraps of meaning which increases their connection to the dying world and feeds a growing hunger for more secrets.
Every hidden object, learned secret, repaid favor, or discovered true name has a die value (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, or d20) which is rolled with the thing is shared.
when leveling up:
-roll hit die and add value. CON mod is only added at the first level.
-roll d20 for each attribute, if it goes over score get +1 to that score.
-Choose: reduce filth to max of next lowest value, raise filth to lowest of next highest value.
CLASSES
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| Labyrinth Maker, Santiago Caruso |
They are waiters, whisperers, and watchers. The moon and sun have abandoned the earth but they name the dimly winking stars as the growing list of dead. Nobles have no shared culture or language, but stride from this land to that in search of a shadow which follows them. Nobles hide secret names and emblems to identify themselves. They know what comes next.
Gain: four minor knowledges of far away places, a crest symbolizing your purity.
If this symbol is lost corruption begins to spread through the blood and. Gain filth each day. Do not reduce. The day 18 filth is reached transform into horror absolute. The Noble is lost.
damage dice: d6
hit dice: d6
roll 3 dice on starting equipment. Select that item or an item to either side for each roll.
abilities:
-PURITY: So long as they have their crest any time a noble rolls gains filth, reduce filth by 1. when a noble sleeps subtract 1 filth from total.
-PSIONICS: all nobles develop some kind of psionic ability, for which they are feared and given consideration. all psionic abilities can be used once per day, per level, minus FILTH modifier (so a level 4 noble with 11 filth can only use their ability once, instead of 4 times)
roll 2d8
2. time well- (instant) psychically generates up to a man-sized depression in time-space anywhere within sight, increasing or decreasing the relative speed of things within it. Spend more casts to affect more/bigger things. The time well can be made to stick to a target or stay in one spot. Lasts d4*10+wis minutes-hasted targets gains an extra attack, +1 ac, and +1 to dex rolls, and x2 movement speed.
-slowed targets can only move OR attack each turn, but not both, have -1 ac, -1 on dex rolls, and move at half their normal rates.
Can also be used to slow or speed up falling or moving things/peoples. A falling person can be made to float safely to the ground, a flying arrow's speed can be supercharged by passing through the time well, increasing its damage die size by one.
3-4. psychokinesis- (instant, range: 25') user can manipulate up to 10ibs*level of material with their mind, slowly pushing/pulling it, carrying it around, or hurling it with force. A platter carrying objects could be made to follow user. A hurled sling or arrow could be caught in midair and launched back. A knife could be flung from a table across the room. Fine-tuned movements require considerable concentration and time. It's much easier to drag something heavy or fling something light than say fit a key into a lock. If concentration is disrupted the power ends.
5. restore- (round) by meditating deeply the user can send tendrils of their life energy into the target via touch and sew wounds closed. Incredibly chilling and sickening feeling on part of recipient. remove 1 wound, lower a mangle 1 in severity. Poison or disease can be encapsulated in a polyp which is passed through the recipient's digestive tract.
Each 10 minutes of contact heals 1 point of damage up to user's level.
Removing poison or disease depends on extent of malignancy, from 30 minutes for a weak poison to several days for a life-threatening cancer.
6-7. quickstep- (instant) the geometries of space bend, all attacks have 50% chance to miss, 1 use point per turn this ability is maintained. user can also spend a point to instantly step up to half their movement speed in any direction (can go over any gaps between, even up onto ledges, but not through solid walls).
8-9. command- (action) in a booming voice with a character and pride unfamiliar to this world the user makes a single command of one capable of language. The hearer makes a saving throw (the type is dependent on their disposition to the user) or is forced to complete the action to the best of their ability, even against their own will.
10-11. psychic invasion- (round, range 30') user inserts a section of their consciousness into a target's mind, from this position they can shut down their target's senses and attempt to take over their body. target. (the target gets a saving throw to resist). during this time neither user nor target may take no other actions. roll d6 to determine effect. add +1 to roll for each consecutive turn spent inside target's mind.
if target dies some way other than by the effect of the user's psychic invasion user must make saving throw vs death or have their own mind split in two, rendering them in a coma until their mind is restored.
1-3. bind. both target and user may take no other actions as their minds wrestle for control.
4-5. shut down sense. target loses one random sense for d6 turns.
6-8. psychic torture. inflict d6 psychic damage to WIS
9. coma. target drops unconscious for d6 turns.
12. erase memory; (instant) the noble's eyes pierce the target's veil, scorching away all memories from the current day. Target falls unconscious for ten minutes as their mind attempts to restart.
13. sever motor function, (instant) target's motor function is severely inhibited and must make a saving throw at -2 to perform any action including walking and talking. A failed throw means the target collapses in a heap of flailing limbs and gibberish.
14. seed of the wretch, after a lengthy spiraling convoluted conversation which hints at secrets shared between user and target, a noble may leave a fragment inside target's mind. target gains 1 filth each day until death occurs or seed is removed.
15. take control, user gains control of target's mind for d6+target HD hours and can control their body, mind, and memories the way they control their own. the user's consciousness is effectively duplicated in the target's body. each hour the target is allowed to make another attempt to regain control of their body. after the allotted time, if the target has not regained control, their mind is erased and permanently replaced with a copy of user's.
this clone of the user is able to form their own memories from this point on, and their personality, filth score, and experiences may diverge as necessary. during the first year of life the player may control the copy exactly as they control their original character.
after the first year the copy rolls a loyalty score like a normal henchman.
after that the copy makes loyalty checks like a normal henchman, and may eventually desert or betray the original.
both minds do not share thoughts, but are capable of detecting the presence and direction of their 'other' if they are within ten miles of each other.
16. sever life, target saves vs. death or dies.
HERMIT-
maintaining a deep connection with the gibbering of their god(s) is of utmost importance to a hermit. they are compelled to enact all demands whether real or false which they glean from the understanding of this gibbering. for this reason many consider hermits to be both sources of all knowledge and truth, and deluded, dangerous heretics.
damage dice: d4
hit dice: d6
roll 2 dice on starting equipment
abilities:
-FLAGELLANT: once/day, hermits may spend a number of health through lashing, burning, cutting, strangling, or other self-destructive methods, to remove that many filth from anybody (including themselves). hermits may spend 5hp to remove curses, afflictions (poison, blindness..), 1 point of attribute loss, or other effects as curse diseases.
-REPENTANT: through an act of deep prayer and meditation a hermit may beseech their god(s) to bestow healing life-force upon any wounded. spend 1-for-1 filth to increase anybody's hp. spend 4 filth to reduce a mangling by 1 severity level, or to erase 1 wound.
-COMMUNION: once/day a hermit can enter a state of deep meditation for d6 hours, in which they become completely numb to all outside stimuli and have a natural ac of 13. during this time the hermit may listen to the gibbering voice of their god(s) for any helpful information. ask what you want to know.
(GMs should ask questions as the god to understand the meaning and context of the query but give only one answer of vague images, shapes, and sensual impressions)
-PIETY: whilst a hermit maintains a STARVING condition they gain a number of tokens equal to the days they have been STARVING. these tokens can be spent to heal d6hp on any target (including themselves). casting this healing takes only minutes. upon eating any nourishment a hermit loses all unspent tokens. Tokens may also be spent to prevent incoming damage on self or ally within sight.
EMBITTERED
Guilt-ridden brooding cyclopses and maneaters torn between a thirst for flesh and a need for solitude and peace. The Embittered seek low dark lonely places to gaze deeply at the question of suffering, but their dwellings are often foiled by the intrusions of others. The Embittered use their bulk to lash out violently against perceived threats. They feel no pain of the flesh. They explore the tunnels in the earth searching for reprise and thus know some of its shallower secrets.In their search for respite and freedom the Embittered sometimes happen upon a band of wanderers and follow them for weeks, observing them from afar to learn the ways of other folk. In time the Embittered may join the group as a bodyguard or watcher. They never seem to sleep, only gaze.
damage die: d8
hit dice: d12
roll 1 die on Starting Equipment.
abilities:
-STRANGLING GRIP: If wounded either physically or emotionally by a smaller creature the Embittered may enter a rage once per day. During this rage the Embittered may scoop up their victim and begin strangling the life from it. The victim must pass a CON save each round or have their windpipe crushed. During this rage the victim is at the helpless mercy of the Embittered. the Embittered may not move or react to any other stimuli, only crush, but has +2 armor. The rage may end prematurely if the Embittered suffers damage equal to half its max HP. After such an episode the Embittered falls into a dark depression in which they may not speak. This depression may be ended with a Deep Gaze.
-WILD BLOWS: In combat, upon successfully killing a smaller foe in a single hit the Embittered must immediately make an additional attack upon another target at d12 damage. If that target is killed the Embittered must make another attack until a target is not instantly killed. If another target, either friend or foe, cannot be found the Embittered falls into a dark depression in which they may not speak. This depression may be ended with a Deep Gaze.
-DEEP GAZE: the Embittered may deeply gaze for an hour at anything thing, or upon any subject, inner or outer. At the end of this gaze the Embittered receives a single word which contains the meaning, purpose, nature, value, or property of the thing gazed upon. After this the Embittered is considered to know the subject and in the future the subject may whisper further sympathies.
If the subject of the Deep Gaze is a small harmless animal that animal may become a companion to the Embittered. This companion is psychically linked to the Embittered and they share each other's pain. The companion may act on the Embittered's behalf, transmit thoughts to them, and nurture each other. If the companion is killed the Embittered loses one HD max HP and falls into a dark depression in which they may not speak. This depression may be ended with a Deep Gaze but the HP is lost forever.
-SILENT EMPATHY: If the Embittered sits and calmly strokes a dying creature as they pass from this realm they gain one empathy token. This empathy token may later be spent to lower a Mangling by one severity level, to prematurely halt a Wild Blows, or to calm an enraged person or creature. The Embittered may only have one empathy token at a time.
HARMONY
STARTING EQUIPMENT
The world is blasted and pock-marked by endless falling meteors. The vast oceans are lank and black and lifeless. All industry and creation has been abandoned. Nothing new is being made, except scrap halfheartedly mashed together to meet an immediate need. There is no concept such as money or bartering. Everyone has a thing they crave or yearn for and valuable objects are traded for favors and secrets.accessory:
1. softly glowing shard, necklace
2. vial, weak acid
3. condensed, metal
4. vegetable/dessicated
5. frayed shirt
6. skullcap of dried fungus
7. tasteless sprout grit
8. two flint arrows
9. obsidian knife
10. tallow candle
11. small pouch, 3 pewter coins, different currencies
12. a chipped cup
13. a clay doll
14. tumor growth
15. one ruined eye
16. rotting teeth
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