Darkvision + Orc Eye Lantern

I never really liked Infravision. If you're going to make a creature that exists in a purely dark place, why do they have some magical sense of sight? Why not just make them use their other senses and make sight something totally unnecessary for them like actual cave-dwelling animals? Beings that live in the dark places of the Earth don't need to see; they are born without eyes or the eyes they do have are barely useful, vestigial things that can sense a hateful torch in the distance and little else. I do however see a need or a useful element in having something to vision in the dark for beings that are close enough to humans in intelligence or role in the game to work.

So how do we do this? Glowing Eyes.

Orcs have dark vision. They see in the dark, because their eyes glow. Their eyes glow red in the dark, letting them see things that their eyes project light on. This does act as a target at range, letting you know where the Orcs are, but if the Orc wanted to be sneaky they would close their own eyes. Orc-Eyes produce a magical fantasy fluid when exposed to darkness, which gives it a red glow. Any kind of bright flash of light, especially sunlight, will blind them temporarily. Due to the sensitivity to bright lights in this state, it blinds them for longer. Some Orcs may where “lightpatches”, a little steel mono-goggle with a tiny match inside, giving off a dim light to keep the Orc's eye adapted to sudden influxes of light, the opposite of a human pirate.

All of the races that normally can see in the dark have this power. Drow have eyes that glow a pale silver or white, Goblins glow a yellow glow. The red glow that Orc-Eyes glow is the same color and hue as weapons that they have forged to sense nearby humans and glow a red light. Visualize the image of this; a pair of red eyes sees you in a pitch black wood, before it snorts and draws an all red blow. In fact, if you mutate a human to have darkvision, they actually glow blue, the same color that their swords glow if forged to senes nearby orcs. It could be that these are the “spirits” of these races in their natural colors. In many media, “souls” when removed from a body have a bright blue color. Maybe in the fantasy world, human souls have a bright blue color, but Orcs have bright red, glowing souls filled with anger and hunger as they always have.

I should mention here I don't really like Dwarves with darkvision. Or infravision, whatever you call it in your game. I never liked this idea and I think it sucks, honestly. The entire point of Dwarves is they are among the civilized races, the good guys who bring light into dark places. They don't live in darkness like some kind of cavern dwelling monster. That goes too for Elves, but that's more about balance between demihuman races and normal humans, depending on the game or theme you're going for. Of course, that creates some difficulty for the stout race. How do you keep your workspace or tunnels well lit and safe from the creatures who love darkness? Dwarves don't have the luxury of the sun to rely on for light like humans do, at least not most dwarves. That means Dwarves need something to light their mountain homes with. This becomes a significant part of Dwarf culture, moreso then most elements. As important as food and water, light. No wonder Dwarves worship lawful, light-bringing gods so much. Dwarves probably get into theological debates about light as much as their practical merits. But what do Dwarves use to light their mountain-homes?

Well, one of those things are eyeballs. Of Orcs.

Orc Eye Lantern – Magic Lantern

Stats- As Lantern, no fuel required

The Orc Eye Lantern is a magic item with a very weak ego. It's a glass jar or tube filled with Orc Eyes. These Eyes must be exposed to a dark place near the time of death, or the Orc had to have been killed when in darkness, for the Eyeballs to produce the thin red liquid that powers the lantern. When cut out of the Orc's heads and placed in this jar along with preservative fluids, these eyes float around freely and casually produce light whenever in a dark place. The light has a pale red glow making it difficult to see colors while using it as a sole light source. It takes about 20 dead orcs (or 40 eyeballs) to fully make a lantern. Lanterns do not run out of power until they are destroyed.

The Orc Eye Lantern has the same area of effect and usefulness of light as a Lantern, but does not require fuel. However, the lantern does have a minor drawback. If you hold the lantern and are attacked by and Orc, they will gain +2 to hit against you for holding this offensive, macabre contraption harvested from their own species. It is unknown if this effect is purely mental or has something to do with the magical aura of the lantern itself.

Announcment + ORC WEEK

I don't usually like to give meta announcements like this, but it is important. My real life has started to pick up, meaning working full time and thus having less time to work on this blog. I want to stress that I am not stopping posting, it's just that new posts will have to be slower and less reliable.

Also to celebrate(?) the occasion, this entire first week of November is dedicated to my pig men race- the PORCS! Welcome to ORC WEEK! The posts here will be linked together in advance, so if any links don't work, just wait a few days for all the Orc posts to be uploaded.

Thank you all again for your great support. Hope to continue producing content as best I can.

Vampire Weaknesses

Vampires seem to have a lot of weaknesses. This is because many cultures and histories have been combined and act as a pool to draw from. But in a fantasy world, how can one explain all these weaknesses for what is supposed to be a terrible creature of the night? You could go with the WoD concept and have many types or bloodlines of vampires, or do something simple. The Gods.

Vampires, as with all undead, are weak to holy symbols and Clerics are well tuned to fighting them. Vampires are also killed by sunlight, which is a common weakness they all share, potentially an ancient bane given to them from the God of the Sky. Holy symbols are usually made out of silver, gold, or some other precious resource. Holy water also works as a sort of direct weapon against evil. Vampires can also be destroyed by direct damage and martial might, but so can anything in a high fantasy world. However, even with these powers, the Gods knew that vampires were too dangerous and powerful for mortals to clash with. With dark magic, shapeshifting, mind control, as well as superhuman strength and toughness; Vampires are the natural predators to mortals. In response, the Gods began to grant their followers new weapons against these dark forces; the banes.

Side Note- In some worlds, such as Goblin Punch's Centerra, Gods are very regional. Knowing the Gods of the region is as paramount to traveling through as is knowing the language and having a map. Using this concept, the vampires are instead cursed by the God's bane in their land.

Graf Orlok  @MitchGrave

Clerics can curse vampires. Cleric-curses aren't the same thing as regular black magic curses, they are like divine punishments sent from the heavens, and as such nothing except for a Wish spell can cure these. Naturally, divine-level magic that can cure normal curses won't work on a curse sent by the Gods. Clerics can curse any vampire that has an HD equal to their level or less. To curse a vampire, the Cleric must simple say a specific prayer while holding aloft their holy symbol. The Vampire will often flee even if the Cleric isn't turning them, simply to avoid this curse.

Once a vampire is cursed, they suffer the Gods bane. The vampire will suffer the bane of that specific priest's God, or if unaffiliated, a random bane is rolled on the table below.

Bane of the Vampires Table – Roll 1d10

[1] God of Craftsmen – Silver. Silver weapons or items deal more damage, similar to a werewolf.

[2] God of the Hunt – Wolfsbane. Similar to a werewolf.

[3] God of Fire – Fire. Regular fire catches on the vampire, dealing 1d6 per round.

[4] God of the Dead – Vampire must sleep in their native soil. This only makes the vampire weaker instead of killing them, but degenerate their HD by -1. Symbolic of returning to the grave.

[5] God of the Ocean – Running water. Rivers that flow to the ocean are impassable.

[6] God of the Hearth – Cannot enter a house invited.

[7] God of Farming/Fertility – Garlic. The vampire is repelled by it, as though turned.

[8] God of the Moon – Mirrors. Vampires don't shed a reflection, but a vampire with this bane are additionally turned by the sight of a mirror.

[9] God of War – Stake through the heart causes instant death. Normal vampires are usually killed by a wooden stake simply due to the damage taken, but this bane guarantees it.

[10] God of Merchants – Counting. The Vampire is forced to count out beans or grains of rice spilled on the ground; giving enough time to avoid their attack.

Fantasy Prison Generator

What is the Prison itself like? - 1d8

[1] Squat brown-bricked building. Four lumpy corners, small courtyard for “outside” time.

[2] At the bottom of a huge quarry pit. Can only get in or out via pulley basket, no need for cells.

[3] Underground, built into a refurbished cavern. Cells are just dead-ends with bars over the front.

[4] Tall, gray structure. Everything in the prison is in this one square building.

[5] Large camp with communal wooden houses, several layers of walls and fences protect it.

[6] It's on an island, built into old ruins. Prisoners can roam around, but must return to cells in the night time for role call or else they don't get any food. Monsters eat some of them, naturally.

[7] Huge iron bird-cages built over the rooftops of a sprawling fantasy metropolis slum. Locked trapdoors allows guards to enter or leave. Even if you slip out you'll just fall to your death.

[8] Built into a huge black wall; patrolled by soldiers. Defends the border of the land. Prisoners will almost certainly be given some improvised weapons and act as meat shields during invasions.

Who are the Guards? - 1d10

[1] Hobgoblins. The prison is very well organized and has a strict schedule and uniform.

[2] Dark Elves. They rule mostly through fear; punishments are harsh and terrifying.

[3] Orcs. Prisoners are required to do quite a lot of physical labor, the guards are all getting fat.

[4] Minotaurs or other herbivore beastmen. If you ask for meat in your rations you get beat.

[5] Gnomes. They use illusions, mirrors, and magical spells to instill order despite their size.

[6] Rat-Men. They are the best at finding smugglers and escape-routes; notoriously corrupt.

[7] Dog-Men. Proud, good noses to sniff out contraband, but a little gullible.

[8] Elementals. They are silent, following preset routines. Lightning elementals shock rioters, water elementals push them back into their cells as well as fill the canteens, etc.

[9] Humans. It's pretty normal, but they have very little idea with how to punish other species besides humans. “Oh an Elf stole from the larder? Uhh- don't let him hug a tree for at least a week!”

[10] Meat-Grinder Men. They're “living” people who have gotten torn up so much and put back together that they have mismatched body parts and skin patches from other mixed up guards. They are animated by a magical force, and cannot leave the prison anymore without falling apart.

Why are people sent here? - 1d8

[1] Political prisoners and inconvenient noble heirs.

[2] Debtors' Prison. 10,000c or more. Prisoners brag about their high interest rates.

[3] For being a savage, naturalist, or nudist. Tribesmen are sent here to be 'civilized'.

[4] For their own protection, but it turns out being in 'custody' isn't what they thought.

[5] Just regular, run of the mill criminals. The guards segregate the prison based on gang allegiance.

[6] Those marked by a special blue tattoo, which is cast by a Wizard curse. The curse doesn't do anything except give you a tattoo, so normal law enforcement does the work to send you here.

[7] Captured soldiers, waiting to be ransomed. Unfortunately, their home countries have probably run out of money in this point in the campaign, or maybe they don't even exist anymore.

[8] Religious Offenders. Priests who were corrupt, or just people who sneezed into the altar-bowl. This prison treats lacking faith and criminality as equal causes of incarceration.

How cruel is the punishment/general atmosphere? - 1d6

[1] Relaxed, laid back. Prisoners sometimes get day leave passes.

[2] Constant aid from outside organizations, such as healers or educators.

[3] Guards are neutral, even empathetic, but no nonsense.

[4] Strict and high tension. Riots and murders happen too often for comfort.

[5] Everyone is very professional, except for one cruel, malicious guard who is too well connected to be removed from his post. Punishments range from public humiliation to mutilation.

[6] Hell on Earth. Daily beatings, prisoners are rarely fed, prisoners prey on each other as much as the guards. Prison is occasionally bricked-in to starve off all the prisoners to get in a fresh batch. Warden is an actual demon, feeding on the suffering and pain.

Who is your Cell-Mate? - 1d10

[1] Verto. He's an elf serving a long sentence more out of curiosity then anything. Plays violin.

[2] Half-elf with some magic, needs protection. Blonde, thin, and young. Likely prison bitch.

[3] Three gremlins. Were arrested while in a trenchcoat, imprisoned as one. Argue all the time.

[4] Human villager, son of a leatherworker. Claims he's innocent. He is.

[5] Priest of the God-In-The-Walls. He's of a savage race like a gnoll, tribal orc, ape-man, etc.

[6] Runaway Princess, hiding her identity. Can heal curses and diseases with her kisses.

[7] Half-Back. An awful hunchback mutant, technically a prisoner but works too. Gets free reign around many places in the prison and can get you into the kitchen, morgue, or guardhouse.

[8] Little goblin, can't tell if it's a boy or a girl. Has a coat full of contraband and always willing to make a deal. Has two of the biggest dudes in the prison as bodyguards if you try anything.

[9] Centaur. Claims to have been a pirate once. Being stuck in a small cell with a centaur sounds terrible, but he actually gets the biggest cell in the place with a nice window.

[10] Lady-Killer. Half orc with an anger problems. Real quiet, good with a knife. Supposedly killed a prostitute, but that's not what he is in jail for.

What's the hottest Contraband going around? - 1d12

[1] Tengu Firecrackers. You need them for the big, banned holiday. Only two weeks away.

[2] Blood-Dust Shivs. They melt when they touch blood, leaving little evidence.

[3] Guard “Passes”, paper slips that you give guards to avoid a beating. Sold by guards, obviously.

[4] Soap, socks, and blankets.

[5] Scrolls of Magic Mouth. The gangs are using these for fast, secret communication.

[6] Lotion. It's being used to treat a communicable skin rash going around the prison.

[7] Key Charms. If snapped, they give the user very vivid daydreams of escape and freedom.

[8] Lil' Green Snakes. They're harmless, people just want to keep them as pets.

[9] Salt & Spices to sprinkle onto bland prison food.

[10] Rustmold. It grows on the cell bars in the damp parts of the prison. Scrap them off, dry them out, and then smoke them for a feeling of euphoria. The occupants of these cells is hotly contested.

[11] Alcohol. Common contraband, and all of it here is being bought up or stolen to a single gang leader. It's not being drunk, actually powering a little dwarven digging automaton for escaping.

[12] Brickback Chiggers. Little mites that burrow into the skin and itch the hell out of people. Used as a practical joke, but the prisoners don't know that 1 in every 10 people are deathly allergic.

What Weapon does the Warden carry to instill Fear into the Inmates? - 1d6

[1] Sexy fetish whip.

[2] Long curved razor, facial scars are given to the worst prisoners or those about to be executed.

[3] Magic Crossbow with shock bolts. Doesn't kill, but painfully paralyzes you for an hour.

[4] Mancatcher. The long pole has a button to switch neck-sizes it can wrap around.

[5] Syringe-slingshot tranquilizers. Inmates hit too often with it start to drool and become stupid.

[6] Croquet mallet. Just beats people over the head with it, despite its refined appearance.

A Riot has broken out! Why was it started? - 1d8

[1] Started by a Gang Leader. Wants to use riot as distraction to kill the warden.

[2] Started by a Gang Leader. Wants to use riot as distraction to kill another prisoner.

[3] Prisoners just found out that a vampire has been feeding on them at night.

[4] Minor Earthquake opened a crack in a wall or fence. Chance to escape if you get to it.

[5] The silent ogre prisoner in solitary had his little stuffed toy taken away. He's on the warpath.

[6] Rebellious prisoners are partying; they just want to break into the pantry and liquor cabinet.

[7] The same meal for the past two weeks has been served in the cafeteria.

[8] The guards actually started it. They're bored and want to bust some skulls.

How do People actually get released from the Prison? - 1d6

[1] On good behavior.

[2] Due to an outreach program.

[3] By a pardon from a powerful official.

[4] The prison will close down due to complaints. All inmates are released for suffering enough.

[5] By serving every single day of your sentence. Not a minute earlier.

[6] Not a chance in hell.

Abstract & Experimental "Storygame" Combat System

I once saw a blogpost about this concept. I think it had something to do with “cinematic combat” and used a picture of the Lurtz fight in The Fellowship of the Ring film with pictures as an example of the combat system. I still can't find this blogpost again after like a year, so I think I'll just write out my thoughts and outline the concept.

Basically I had this concept for highly abstracted, “cinematic” combat for a while now, but never found a good way to implement it in a game. This is very experimental, and is more for a “storygame” as opposed to a regular tabletop roleplaying game's combat system.
Edit: I actually found an old blogpost where I described this combat system already. This post still helps explain it better, so I don't think it's redundant.

Abstract Combat

Unlike normal games, characters don't deal damage. The “Fighter” class still exists and probably just gets a +1 to hit each level, which is very powerful in this system. Players still have Hit Points of their own, as well as AC and so on, they just don't carry weapons that deal damage. Instead, all weapons deal as much damage as they are fictionally capable. Monsters deal regular damage and players get normal defenses against it, to keep it from feeling unfair or that the DM is “sniping” players.

When you attack another human or an orc, for example, a spear will kill on a successful hit if you aim at their heart or throat. All combat attacks are “called shots” in other words. Monsters use an AC equal to their normal AC of that body part. If the attack is intended to be lethal or a “killing blow”, they add their HD to their AC. Because of this, armor only applies an AC value to the parts it covers; logically, monsters and people will try to cover their vital spots; poorer bandits will only cover their chest and head with armor, for example. This also applies to weapon hardness and material toughness; no normal blade can penetrate a dragon's scaly hide, and as such a normal blade cannot harm a dragon. You will need a magic sword- weapons only deal as much damage as they normally could do. Magic weapons bypass armor or deal extreme damage through their physical mechanics, not simple +1 modifiers.

Of course you can perform less deadly attacks to more vulnerable body parts to weaken creatures. Chopping off limbs with an axe, or performing drag cuts to cause bleeding, which can still be lethal if a living creature loses enough blood. Certain monsters, such as golems, zombies, or oozes, will become nearly unkillable due to this system- only a full destruction will fully stop them. As such, fights with these creatures more become about driving them off or disabling them in order to move past them.

This system means that Fighters will more or less keep up with creatures and need to spend turns rocketing for lethal attacks; since monsters don't deal any more damage then normal, you could instead use this system against players as well, making every character much more vulnerable. Having special features like a mutation to grant a second heart or an iron-hard skull suddenly become much more valuable then just having a +X to AC or maximum Hit-Points.

Garden- Psychic Rules

Some people have a special extrasensory awareness, towards the lies others tell or to events that happened far in the past. Others have claimed to see the future, or to move objects with their minds. Psychics are the name for these people. Something about a nocturnal lifestyle brings out the psychic potential in people. In Garden, you'd find about one person in a crowded diner with psionic abilities. While the number isn't huge, it's still miles away more common then on their original worlds, where psychic abilities are either extremely rare scientific curiosities or a shadowy fiction not thought of to be real. Garden has psychics in every level of society, from highly paid, telepathic bodyguards to homeless beggars leeching power off the grid to boil some snow to drink.

Some psychic powers generate stress. Psychic stress has no effect until it reaches 7 points or more. Whenever you gain stress when you have 7 points or more, roll 2d6. If you roll under your stress, your are knocked unconscious. Rolling over lets you resist this time. You are knocked out for a number of turns equal to your stress, reducing your stress by -1 each turn until back to zero.

The following powers are available to all Psychics-

Psychic Attack- Concentrate on someone you can see within throwing distance. You send negative emotions and thoughts at them, dealing 1d6 stress minus their psychic resistance. If two Psychics lock eyes and perform this attack on each other at the same time, the lower of the two rolls takes the stress from both rolls combined; the energy is redirected back at them.

Psychic Defense- Creating a “shield” of psychic energy around a person, place, or thing. This power gives its user 3 stress. Roll 3d6 die and mark the result. Whenever another Psychic wants to use a power on this thing, they must roll a d20 equal to or over this number in order to access it. If they fail, they must wait a turn to try again. Some psychic phenomena, such as psychic beings, could be blocked out of entering a location in this way. Once this barrier is broken by a successful roll, the shield disappears permanently. Additionally, when the shield is created, extra psychics can take 1 stress and add another +1d6 to the shield roll, where as the best 3 dice of all in the pool are used.

Mind-Reading- Psychics can focus their power on the minds of another being to sense one layer deeper then what is physically apparent. Using this power gives its user 1 stress. Using this on a neutral looking person will tell you what emotion or major desire is right under the surface. Using this on a clearly angry person will give you a hint at what or who their anger is directed towards and so on. This power can also work on special objects or a rare psionic nexus, but things this powerful and infused with psychic energy can be felt by any especially “sensitive” person.

These powers are what the most basic, common psychic has access to- but there are more powerful Psychics. In Garden, characters don't get experience points, so most advancement is based on wealth and political power. Psychics can advance by spending $2000 on cultivating their Psychic abilities. This includes things like money lost (trying) to use your powers to cheat at cards, buying focusing crystals or psycho-reactive drugs, purchasing strange items found in the lockers beneath the city, and so on. Psychics who spend this money learn a trick.

Psychic Tricks- Each Psychic trick can be used at the cost of 1 stress. These are “hints” of the Psychics blossoming power; whatever trick they have will determine what psychic power they can eventually develop. Tricks lack most practical benefits, but are the most overt and obvious signs of psychic power. Roll once on the trick table to determine your trick, you don't get any more.

Psychic Trick Table - 1d10

[1] You can create an electric shock strong enough to jumpstart a car or deal 1 damage to someone you're touching. It's stopped by rubber soles. (Electrokinesis)

[2] You can now light a candle in a second, just grabbing the wick with two fingers. You gain the ability to make heat in your cupped hands, similar to oven temperatures. (Pyrokinesis)

[3] You can now “touch” things up to two inches deep within a surface, physically sensing things buried within walls or in shallow pools of water. (Dowsing)

[4] You can now tell the last card that was drawn from a deck when you're blindfolded. You can only know things that happened within the past 5-10 seconds, and information is limited to a single short phrase or three digit number, not a sequence of words or events. (Retrocognition)

[5] Guess heads or tails from a coin flip. You have a 4 in 6 chance to be right. (Precognition)

[6] You can spin small objects, flip pages in a book, or gently pull or push things along a flat, smooth surface that weigh less then one pound. (Telekinesis)

[7] You can make a small object disappear from your hand and reappear in your pocket, or vice versa. The object must be a single bullet or smaller in size. (Apportion)

[8] You can heal a 1 hit point wound by touching the area and concentrating energy on it. This only works on wounds exactly 1 hit point or less, has no effect on larger damage. (Biokinesis)

[9] You can touch someone's hand to send them a blurry mental image or voice. You cannot have a conversation, just send a blurb. (Telepathy)

[10] You passively have a constant Psychic Defense around your mind equal to 3 points, or 15% chance to stop an enemy psychic attack. Your mind is like cloudy 'pea soup' to casual psychics. (Blanking)

After developing this trick, the Psychic may be spurred on by their newfound power. By investing another $5000 in their psychic development, they can finally gain a fully fledged Psychic Power. The Psychic Power they get is the advanced form of the trick- costing at least one psychic stress to perform their power but being able perform their old trick without it costing them any stress from now on. At this stage, the Psychic also now uses a 1d8 die for Psychic attacks and gain an extra point of Psychic resistance as their mental power has increased considerably.

Psychic powers beyond these in both power and scope begin to fall into the range of the infamous reality warpers. Psychics in Garden with a fully developed power are considered at the height of their “safe” power, and very few go beyond this. Rarely, a psychic may develop a second trick. This trick and second power only increases their strength, as Psychic powers add together to become stronger. The telekinetic with the powers of telepathy could move objects they can't even see, assaulting people in their homes without even having to step inside. The dowser with precognition could see a real 3 dimensional outline of where someone or something will be in the near future, letting them set up the ultimate heist or an unfortunate accident. Needless to say, Psychics who become this powerful are very feared and are on the path to full Psionic madness.

Psychic Powers-

[1] Electrokinesis- The power to create and control electricity. You can launch a bolt of electricity that deals 1d4 damage in short range, but prefers to hit metal targets. Treat rubber shoes, gloves, and so on as -1 damage to your electricity. You can also shock people by touching them that deals 1d6 damage OR stun someone with a melee hit. With your powers of electricity you can also influence machines; hotwire a car by touch, turn off or on a machine within the same room, or power a machine with your own mental energy- each turn of power requires 1 mental stress- Flying cars require 3 stress per turn to power due to their intense energy requirements.

[2] Pyrokinesis- You can control and conjure fire. You can launch of jet of flame at very short range or light something very flammable and dry on fire for 1d6 damage- water and normal skin is too flame retardant for you to be a killing machine. You can however detonate explosive ordnance within your sight- anyone carrying or immediately next to the explosive gets a save to toss it away or duck for cover before it fully explodes. Finally, you can turn up the heat around your body to intense levels, causing 1 psychic stress to you per round but dealing 1 damage to enemies in melee range.

[3] Dowsing- Allows to feel things remotely. Sensing objects by hovering your hand over them, and feeling things like psychic energy, heat, radiation, electricity, and even abstracted 'life force'. It is the advanced form of psychic intuition and extrasensory power. You can sense minor things buried up to 6 feet deep, and large objects like pipes or underground aquifers buried far beneath you. You can feel hidden compartments in walls, depending on the size of the space. You can also feel parasites or cancers growing in a person, as long as they have reached a significant stage in the disease.

[4] Retrocognition- The ability to see into the past. By touching an object, you can feel the psychic energies of what the object's owner imbued it with. You can tell if a knife was used to kill someone for example, but any more details will be too hard to tell. Retrocog can also give you psychic feedback on extremely tumultuous items or strange items from the lockers in the service tunnels. This feedback deals 1d6 stress damage, but most items that have this will be spooky enough in appearance and location as to give you warning- this is a risk you have inherently by opening yourself up to the past.

Additionally, you can investigate locations. By giving yourself 1d3 Stress, You can focus on a location to see up to the same number of days in the past. During this time, you can see rough forms moving and muffled talking, but very sudden or loud bursts of energy and noise (heightened emotions leave a stronger psychic stain) will be more clear. This period of focus is like a security camera, stuck at one location and every mundane moment must also be watched over. It takes an exploration turn of focus per day you want to search, in which case you will get only a few clues on the true happenings of what happened. Individuals are hard to identify, small items are blurry, and certain events are abstracted.

[5] Precognition- The ability to see into the future. The most sought after Psychic power. Almost all psychics with precog develop a “totem” or mental handicap that requires use to actually use this ability. The totem tends to be something they had or idolized as a child, or something they had on hand the first time their psychic powers awoke. This totem is not a single object but rather an action performed with an object. Examples include throwing “lucky” dice on the ground, drawing tarot cards, illustrating pictures with crayons, or hearing voices in a radio static. The few lucky precognates with the power to see into the future without a handicap make up about 1 in 4 telepaths; which is the chance you have to develop the purest form of precognition.

If you're intentionally peering into the future, it takes 1 exploration turn to divine your totem or to close your eyes and focus on the future. Otherwise, psychic visions come at you directly and immediately. Getting a vision or peering into the future always deals 1d4 Psychic stress to you, and you can only do it once per adventure/night.

Precognition allows the user to either retroactively avoid doing something that causes them harm immediately after it happened, (since you can't actually tell the future while playing a roleplaying game) in the form of a vision OR get a clue to the location or intent of a character. You can also use this power to know where a character will be in up to a day's time (and therefore, always meet them), but due to the chaos of the universe and unsure nature of psychic fortune telling, extreme circumstances might throw off your estimate.

[6] Telekinesis- Your powers of telekinesis have increased. You are now capable of “wrestling” with people at a distance, requiring their full strength to shove off. This is a “human” level of strength regardless of you or the enemy's alien racial origin, which could be much stronger. You can also levitate your body at a slow walking pace, allowing you to float or slow your fall. You can move objects equal to what a human could pick up or carry of an average level with a similar level of speed; heavy creates will slowly float up where as lightweight objects can be flung or levitated quickly. Finally, you can throw objects with enough force to deal up to 1d6 damage- this happens if you throw something like a knife or a pile of glass shards at a foe or a rock at someone's head. Softer or lighter objects will deal naturally less damage.

[7] Apportion- The power to instantly move or teleport matter. You can now disappear small objects even when they are observed, such as warping a gun out of your hand and into a nearby trash can to conceal it. You can't teleport objects that you couldn't physically grab or move, and any object that you couldn't conceal under your coat is too large to teleport. You can also apporate objects into your possession from through a single wall or barrier (such as inside a chest with you in the same room, or through a wall while you are outside) if you know of its exact location, but this costs 2 points of stress instead of one. Finally, you can teleport yourself up to a distance you can clearly see, or through a simple barrier if you've been on the other side before and know it well. Teleporting yourself costs 3 stress and if you fail a stress roll while doing it you disappear forever.

[8] Biokinesis- Your powers let you control the flow of blood and life. You can manipulate people's bodies, letting you cause temporary paralysis or unconsciousness on a successful melee hit. Aliens with a biology too strange for you may be able to ignore this effect. You can also heal people for 1d4 hit points at an equal cost of psychic stress. You can control a dead corpse as long as it isn't too degraded and you continue touching it, causing muscles to fire or the mouth to move and speak, requiring a point of stress every turn you control a body this way. People with Biokinetic powers can also manipulate their own bodies slowly over time. You can change your hormones, appearance, height, weight, and other factors- taking months to make significant changes similar to an endless puberty. You cannot change species or gain significant advantages, but regrowth of severed body parts or healing over permanent scars or other afflictions are possible.

[9] Telepathy- You can now send mental messages to someone you can see. These messages can include words, images, sounds, smells, or any other abstract “thoughts” that one could think. You can send knowledge this way, though anything too complex will be forgotten after an exploration turn. Beyond sending messages, you can also subtly manipulate the minds of others by sending them thoughts in secret, and if they do not know that a telepath is messing with them they may be thinking these thoughts at their own. This can include hallucinations for more skilled telepaths. If you grant a person an object of great personal importance you can send them messages at a longer distances; this costs 2 points of stress for long range thoughts.

[10] Blanking- The Anti-Psychic Psychic. The powers of a blanker disrupt the psychic fields and energies of other psyhic users or psychic manifestations. Blanks keep their basic Psychic abilities but their mind is simply too strange to develop a more traditional psychic power. The Blank becomes immune to any kind of mind reading or psychic attack, and become invisible to psychic sensing and scrying. They do not gain any special immunity or resistance against the powers of psychic that deal real, physical harm such as the fiery blast of a Pyromancer or a levitated object thrown at them.

Dirt-Simple Item Sockets

Items can have sockets. Whenever you find a hoard of weapons or armor, they have a 1 in 6 chance to have one socketed item among them. Socketed items are usually of the highest level of craftsmanship; masterwork items that were intended to be treasured. Due to how good dwarves are at crafting, assume that every dwarf treasure trove or tomb is filled with masterworks; increase socket chance to 2 in 6.

If an item has sockets, treat the 1 in 6 chance rolls as exploding. So if they have sockets, they have one socket. If you roll another 1 in 6, then they have two sockets. If you roll a third 1 in 6 in a row; then they have three sockets. At this point, stop rolling, as only legendary or special items have more then three sockets. Items also have a maximum number of sockets based on their size. For weapons, it's the damage die; 1d4 = 1 max socket like a dagger with a jeweled hilt. For 1d6 weapons like swords and axes its 2 sockets, and finally greatswords and polearms can have up to 3 sockets; embedded along the hilt, or inside the meaty head of the great war mallet.

Finally, sockets are always found empty unless the item was already owned; most socketed weapons found in ancient tombs had their gems pulled out and the item left to collect dust.. You can insert a socket with a gem whenever you wish as long as you're in town. Dwarves in the party have the innate crafting skill so they can socket a gem with a single turn of downtime and a small repair hammer. You can attempt to remove a gem from a socket, but it will have a 1 in 4 chance to chip the gem and lower its quality by one degree (Dwarves only have a 1 in 6 chance instead). High quality gems become standard, and standard gems become dust and are destroyed. Some gems are inherently more powerful then others; Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires, Topaz and Emeralds are considered the most valuable and grant the most powerful bonuses.

Gems Powers

Every gem has a specific effect based on what it is socketed in and the type of gem. Consult the tables below for each gem type and what they do. Many socketed gems will add a small amount of damage to weapons on a successful hit, or increase resistances when placed in armor, and so on. These gems are elemental in focus, but other types of gemstones may not be; special rune stones, magic crystals, or jewels may have totally unique effects. Regular gems have a basic effect, with high quality gems which are larger or more brilliant have a more powerful, advanced effect.

Ruby gems have power over fire and are associated with strength.

Weapons- Deals 1 Fire Damage on a hit. Quality Rubies deal 1d4 Fire Damage on a hit.

Armors- Reduce Incoming Fire Damage by -1, Quality Rubies make the user immune to desert heat, and reduce all incoming Fire Damage by -2

Accessories- Wearer gains +1 to their Strength stat. Quality Rubies grant +2 to their Strength stat.

Sapphires have power over cold and are associated with intelligence.

Weapons- Deals 1 Cold Damage on a hit. Quality Gems deal 1d4 Cold Damage on a hit.

Armors- Reduce Incoming Cold Damage by -1, Quality Sapphires make the user immune to tundra cold, and reduce all incoming Cold Damage by -2

Accessories- Wearer gains +1 to their Intelligence stat. Quality Gems grant +2 to their Int stat.

Topaz have power over lightning and are associated with dexterity.

Weapons- Deals 1 Shock Damage on a hit. Quality Gems deal 1d4 Shock Damage on a hit.

Armors- Reduce Incoming Shock Damage by -1, Quality Topazes make the user immune to high altitude sickness (or grants Slowfall), and reduce all incoming Shock Damage by -2

Accessories- Wearer gains +1 to their Dexterity stat. Quality Gems grant +2 to their Dexterity stat.

Emeralds are poisonous and are associated with nature and poison.

Weapons- Save vs poison on hit, take 1d6 damage on a failed save. This save triggers again every turn, with a successful save ending the poison. Quality gems have -2 for enemy saves against this.

Armors- While equipped, you +1 to poison saves. Quality increases this to +2

Accessories- Wearer restores +1 hit points if you sleep or camp in a natural place each night. Quality grants the regular bonus, plus you can go one more day without food or water.

Diamonds are powerful and are associated with purity.

Weapons- Makes the weapon +1. Quality makes it +2. Does not stack with other diamonds.

Armors- Makes the armor +1. Quality makes it +2. Does not stack with other diamonds.

Accessories- Wearer gets +1 to all saves. Quality grants +2 to all saves.

Amethyst are magical and associated with the arcane.

Weapons- Makes the weapon count as a wand or staff for the purposes of needing a spell focus. Quality gems make the weapon's attack ignore magic shields, blocks, or other spells such as Windwall as long as the bow is embedded with an Amethyst.

Armors- Grants +1 to spell saves and grants +1 AC vs summoned creatures. Quality increases the normal bonus to +2 each and makes all defensive spells last a turn longer if they last at least a turn.

Accessories- Grants an additional 1^st level spell slot, once per day. Quality increases this to a 2^nd OR two 1^st level spell slots, decided each morning when you prepare spells.

Citrine is associated with wealth and health.

Weapons- Grant nothing.

Armors- While wearing this armor, you gain +2 Maximum Hit-Points. Quality gems increase this to +4 Maximum Hit-Points.

Accessories- Grant protection over enterprises or households. 1 in 6 chance to avoid any disasters or economic failures that would harm your holdings. This only works if you're wearing the accessory for the entire time you are out questing, it's like a homeward charm of protection. Quality gems make this protection grow to 2 in 6, and grain a +5% bonus to income from your holding.

Amber is associated with toughness and rural life.

Weapons- Deals +1 damage to wild animals. Quality deals +1d4 damage to wild animals.

Armors- Grants +1 AC vs wild animals. Quality grants +2 AC vs wild animals.

Accessories- Wearer gains +1 to their Constitution stat. Quality grants +2.

Aquamarine is associated with the scholars and healers.

Weapons- Grant nothing.

Armors- Grant nothing.

Accessories- Wearer gains +1 to their Wisdom stat. Quality grants +2.

Jet is associated with luxury and the old world.

Weapons- Deals +1 damage. Quality deals +2 damage. Attacks with this weapon harmlessly pass through 'pure' beings. Such as virgin maidens, unicorns, monks, all-white lambs, etc.

Armors- Grant nothing.

Accessories- Wearer gains +1 to their Charisma stat. Quality grants +2. This charm works on most lower class people, but nobles see the wearer's charm as superficial.