Chaotic Descriptor Table
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Castle Oldskull Supplement CDT1: Chaotic Descriptor Table These ideas would require a few hours’ the players back to the temple of the more development to become truly useful, serpent people, I decide that she has some but I like the direction that things are going backstory. She’s an old jester-bard so I’d probably run with it. Maybe I’d even treasure hunter who got to the island by redesign dungeon level 4 to feature some magical means. This is simply because old gnome vaults and some deep gnome she’s so far from land and trade routes that lore too. I might even tie the whole it’s hard to justify any other reason for her situation to the gnome caves of C. S. Lewis, to be marooned here. She was captured by or the Nome King from L. Frank Baum’s the serpent people, who treated her as Ozma of Oz. Who knows? chattel, but she barely escaped. She’s delirious, trying to keep herself fed while she struggles to remember the command Example #13: word for her magical carpet. Malamhin of the Smooth Brow has some NPC in the Wilderness magical treasures, including a carpet of flying, a sword, some protection from serpents thingies (scrolls, amulets?) and a The PCs land on a deadly magical island of few other cool things. Talking to the PCs the serpent people, which they were meant and seeing their map will slowly bring her to explore years ago and the GM promptly back to her senses … and she wants forgot about it. Now they’ve made landfall revenge. She will be quite powerful, and a at last and the GM’s island dungeon is fully very useful guide. And although her voice prepared and ready to explore. Being what is getting creaky, she’s both tragic and they are, the players immediately ignore the hilarious and she can certainly carry a temple dungeon and go exploring a tune. Good knife thrower, too. nameless islet off the northern reef. I put a random marooned old guy there to try to get them back on track. Example #14: Who is he? No idea. I was hoping you could tell me … Trap (Rolls D10000) The results are 3150, 7021, and 0993. The descriptors are Jongleur’s, Surprise! The PCs have bumbled into an Malamhin and Chattel. obvious trap. It’s not like the last one a few First off, he’s a she, not a he. Her name is minutes ago, it’s not even like the one Malamhin. This is a Scottish Gaelic name, before that from an hour ago. It’s weird. “smooth brow.” She’s a Jongleur, which is We roll D10000. The results are 9724, a type of bard that specializes in “juggling, 4320, and 1040. The descriptors are acrobatics, music, and recitation.” In my Scrupulous, Pale, and Cinnabar. I have no book, that’s a jester. idea where this is going but I’m going to be “Chattel”Sample is a bit more challenging; it means stubborn and not reroll.file that she’s little more than property and treated as a slave. Since my goal is to get Page 20 | 126 Wonderland Imprints ~ Kent David Kelly First we have Scrupulous, which means any flesh they come into contact with, diligent and detail-minded. Then we have turning it into cinnabar. If anyone fails Pale, which is obvious. Cinnabar is a their saving throw, they will learn the scarlet gemstone created by volcanism. terrible truth: the Pale, alien flames cause paralysis and dimensional shrinking, and That’s a really bizarre and vague set of victims are crushed until they become details. But I’m going to work with it to crystalline deposits that get latched onto show you how my brain goes with these the cinnabar mass. The stone is the end things (poor you!). I first latch onto result of a hundred and one victims who Cinnabar, because it gives me two things have been turned into cinnabar over the that are easy to associate with a trap: a years. If someone makes their saving treasure (not always valuable but I throw, they get to keep the mass of crystal suddenly decide that in my world it is), and … but will they want to? Is it haunted, is it something dangerous. I decide that the cursed? And perhaps most importantly, “bait” is a huge chunk if cinnabar that’s in can the victims be returned to life? If they the room. Going for the cinnabar activates can, what happens when everyone that was the trap. The volcano theme tells me that a victim bursts back into being at the same the trap is magical and fiery. time? And Scrupulous? Well, I decide that the The wizard’s old laboratories and lair lie on trap maker was a very detail-minded the next dungeon level, and there are Pale person who was something of an artist. He guardians and terrible answers there. regarded this trap as his masterpiece, and in life he enjoyed using his crystal ball to watch potential thieves falling prey to it. Pale … hmm. I have nothing for this yet. Example #15: I’ve already decided that the trap is fiery, Treasure involves red crystal, was invented by a cruel wizard, and is somehow beautiful and intricate. After sleeping on this and waking Wow, you guys finally got the chunk of up the next morning, this is what I decide: cinnabar! That’s great. I can’t believe four The cinnabar chunk is worth 10,000 gold people touched it, the bravest of you stood pieces, and it is hovering in the center of back and watched your henchmen die, and the room. The room is hot and smelly (like you finally got it. Neat. fused chemical masses of some kind), and Yes, it’s certainly unique and magical. I there are strange wisp-like crimson lights realize you probably want to use it as a which course along the walls. Two doors powerful magic item to decimate evil hordes allow exit for non-greedy PCs (do those before you even think about restoring the exist?) who don’t want to mess with this lives of your companions. No worries there! obviously dangerous place. Touching the cinnabar results in a burst of magical Now what does this thing do, and what are flame,Sample which causes minor damage. the drawbacks of overusefile … However the flames are from the Quasi- Elemental Plane of Magma; they crystallize Page 21 | 126 Castle Oldskull Supplement CDT1: Chaotic Descriptor Table We roll D10000. The results are 6051, one possible last hope; a worshipper of 3027, and 0027. The descriptors are Aceso was one of the last people trapped, Vidarr’s, Indomitable, and Aceso’s. and if she is somehow freed she might be the key to restoring life to everyone else First of all, this a good example of the stuck in the Cinnabar of Vengeful Magma. Chaotic Descriptor Table failing to provide needed information, and offering random It’s a weird item, potentially overpowered variables instead. As we’ve established and certainly game-disrupting. But I like that this thing is powered by crystallized the idea enough to keep refining it. life forces, and that it’s from the Plane of Magma, I need to give it some minor fiery powers which are obvious (to me) but there’s no point in me sitting here rolling Example #16: dice until I come up with a relevant result. Treasure’s Origin, Plot That’s an abuse of the tool and a waste of time. So outside of the Chaotic system, I Hook, or Personality give the chunk of cinnabar a fire attack. If the party is low level, it might be Burning Hands; if they’re mid-level, a weak Flame And let’s go back to something else for a Bolt (similar to a Lightning Bolt); if they’re change of pace. How about the elderly high level, it might be Fireball. jester Malamhin of the Smooth Brow and And then back to the Chaotic tool to her magical sword? determine possibilities for the things I don’t We’ve already established that she’s a know. Vidarr is the Norse god of highly flawed and potentially crucial ally in vengeance; Indomitable means it cannot be the party’s quest to ransack the temple of defeated; and Aceso is the Greek goddess of the serpent people. But maybe her sword healing. is intelligent, and it has some strengths and To use these bits, I decide that Vidarr is weaknesses that will give the adventure somehow associated with this cursed item. some unusual twists. Maybe his worshipful dwarves who dwell in (I like magical swords, by the way. Through a volcano (I’m making things up here) put their voices they can serve as potential a curse on the item because they were mouthpieces, where I as the Game Master enslaved. Whenever the cinnabar is used can convey opinions or information in a vengeful manner, perhaps meaning through an untrustworthy item that against a non-evil opponent, there’s a 1% players perhaps won’t associate with my cumulative chance per use that the souls own agenda.) inside it will overload, causing deadly damage to the wielder and the release of all We think about rolling D10000 to give the the trapped souls (and death for all that sword some personality, and I could keep were trapped, outside of a Wish). rerolling until I get rolls in the personality range.