Bewitched Fetishes

Once, in the ancient times, in the most impervious and secret places in the frozen forests of the Western Lands, the ancestral men of Kragan dwelled.
Their warlocks, feared and respected, created fetishes imbued with magic to amaze their tribe and show its members their power. To the eyes of these ignorant natives these powers were astonishing and unbelievable. But even if we, scholars of the arcane arts, know well that those were nothing but trivial tricks in respect to our art, for those people that was the maximum expression of their rudimental power.
In fact, even with the use of their powers, they could nothing against the men from the south, arrived to ravage and pillage their land and kill their people. The fetishes, then, quickly became nothing but trophies and curiosities. Some were sold to collectors, other were used or studied. Alas, most of them were lost, or scattered through the world.
Every now and then one of these fetishes is found, usually in the strangest and most unexpected places. Between some noble’s collection of antiquities, in the hands of a bandit, in the darkest recesses of dungeons inhabited by goblins, in a sealed old crate found floating in the middle of a lake.

† † †

Sometimes all you want is to make your players’ characters find an interesting magic item that, however, is of no great power or of immediate and predictable use. We are sick of all those rings of protection!

Enter the Bewitched Fetishes!
With this table you can quickly create little magical items with unique effects, sometimes even negative, to be used with creativity and cleverness.

For example, changing your rival’s fantastic stew taste with that of a rotting fish. With some luck, he will vomit all over the rich merchant with whom he was going to sign that contract you wanted to sign yourself!

Effects are usually limited to the Fetish user or to a certain quantity of matter (an object or material) and, to activate a Fetish power, it is necessary to perform a ritual.

To create a Bewitched Fetish roll on the following random tables:

1. Fetish (d66*)
What kind of object the Fetish is?

11	Skull of a newborn
12	Feather
13	Leather strip
14	Small roll of desiccated skin
15	Scalp
16	Hollow bone full of leaves
21	Lizard's tail
22	Bag of dust
23	Glass eye
24	Vial of liquid
25	Vial of dust
26	Woman's rib
31	Desiccated cat's head
32	Toad's skeleton
33	Wooden stick
34	Wizard's ashes
35	Bone pendant
36	Glass pendant
41	Iron pendant
42	Lock of hair
43	Mummified hand
44	Small desiccated heart
45	Stuffed songbird
46	Bottle
51	Iron plate
52	Wooden symbol
53	Piece of polished glass
54	Clay cup
55	Statuette
56	Coin
61	Pottery fragment
62	Bat's wing
63	Candle
64	String coil
65	Ribbon
66	Bowl

2. Bewitched Appearance (d66*)
How do the magic imbued in the Fetish shows itself?

11	Painted or engraved arcane symbols
12	Slight iridescence
13	Sparkles in the hot
14	Sparkles in the cold
15	Hot when touched
16	Cold when touched
21	Light electricity shocks when touched
22	Strong electricity shocks when touched
23	Has a magnetic field
24	Has a gravitational field
25	Slightly vibrates
26	Buzzes
31	Produces noise when moved
32	Makes ears ring
33	Provokes light headaches
34	Radiates candle light
35	Does not makes sounds
36	Unusually light
41	Unusually heavy
42	Shines where touched
43	Leaves a luminous trail
44	Does not has a shadow
45	Exhales smoke or steam where touched
46	Emanates an unusual bad smell
51	Emanates an unusual good scent
52	Makes you feel observed
53	Burns the surfaces it touches
54	Freezes the surfaces it touches
55	Levitates of few millimeters
56	Makes you hear unintelligible whispers
61	Calls by name who looks at it
62	Geometric lines of pulsing light
63-66	No particular sign

3. Activation Ritual (d20)
What ritual you must perform to release the Fetish powers?

1	Break it or smash it
2	Set it on fire
3	Immerse it in water
4	Swallow it
5	Spill it with your own blood
6	Press it in your hand
7	Throw it in the air
8	Pronounce a word
9	Pronounce a formula
10	Drop it
11	Inhale it
12	Spill it with salted water
13	Wound yourself with it
14	Hit yourself with it
15	Chew it
16	Stare intensely at it
17	Have the intention
18	Spit over it
19	Touch it in certain points
20	Roll again and combine the result

Items from Nepal, New Guinea, Africa, Philippines, Timor, Persia, Iran, Ethiopia, Thailand, and Bohemia.
da Becky's Gallery

4. Number of Spells (d8)
How many spells are imbued in the Fetish?

1-5	One spell
6-7	Two spells
8	Three spells

Performing the ritual all the spells imbued in the Fetish will be always and immediately activated. All spell effects last 10 minutes.

5. Activation Distance (d6)
From what distance can you bewitch matter (an object or material)?

1-2	In view
3-6	Touch

5. Spells (1-3d100)
What effect is released when the ritual is performed?

1	A knot is untied, no matter how tight it is
2	A small object of your choice levitates
3	A small quantity of water boils
4	A small quantity of water evaporates
5	A small quantity of water freezes
6	A small quantity of water sublimates
7	A small sized object becomes incandescent
8	A small sized object is teleported within the user field of vision
9	A small sized object liquefies
10	All the user's hair fall
11	An incredibly tight knot is tied
12	A medium sized object levitates at few centimeters from the floor
13	An object changes colour
14	An object doesn't make any noise
15	An object of food changes its taste
16	An object of small or medium size becomes slimy and slippery as a soap bar
17	An object of small or medium size becomes sticky like glue
18	An object of small or medium size becomes very heavy
19	An object of small or medium size becomes very light
20	An object or food changes its smell
21	A small or medium sized object becomes invisible to whoever is beyond 1d4 meters from it
22	A small sized object becomes icy cold
23	One of the user's five senses is extremely sharpened
24	The user appears to the sight as a humanoid mist
25	The user call an object of his choice towards him
26	The user attracts objects made of a material of his choice
27	The user becomes blind
28	The user becomes mute
29	The user can calm a small or medium sized animal
30	The user can carry a single object of medium size as if it had no weight
31	The user can cause a creature to become sleepy
32	The user can change his body odour at his choice
33	The user can change his hair length, quantity and colour
34	The user can change his voice
35	The user can change the color of a part of his body (hair, eyes, skin etc.)
36	The user can create a rubbery fist-sized sphere of light
37	The user can find the exact location of the nearest secret passage
38	The user can hear noises at great distances
39	The user can jump up to 3 meters of height
40	The user can levitate for no more than 1d4 meters of height. If he lands, the effect is dispelled
41	The user can peacefully call to himself an animal of medium size
42	The user can peacefully call to himself an animal of small size
43	The user can perceive the vital signs of those around him
44	The user can see any recent trace or mark, even if invisible to the eye
45	The user can see in the dark
46	The user can see through clothes
47	The user can shoot webs from his wrists
48	The user can taste flavours at a distance
49	The user can understand when he's being lied
50	The user cannot taste any taste
51	The user casts a Spell (randomly determined at the Fetish creation)
52	The user causes light shocks when touching something
53	The user dies, but resuscitates after 10 minutes with no harm whatsoever
54	The user becomes as little as a cat
55	The user does not cast a shadow
56	The user does not feel any harm
57	The user does not feel tired
58	The user does not make noises of any kind
59	The user does not need to breath
60	The user does not need to sleep for 1d6 days
61	The user feels a sharp and constant general pain
62	The user generates a gravitational field
63	The user generates a magnetic field
64	The user generates a shockwave that hurls away any object or creature in 1d6 meters without causing any direct harm
65	The user generates noises when moving
66	The user gets drunk
67	The user gets thermal vision
68	The user is no longer drunk, or hangover symptoms are erased
69	The user is paralised
70	The user is sated and quenched for 1d6 days and does not need to eat or drink
71	The user knows the exact length of something
72	The user leaves a light trail when moving
73	The user materialises the image of an medium sized object of his choice in front of himself. The object has no weight or consistency, but it can be manipulated as if it was real
74	The user passes out
75	The user repels a creature of a species or race of his choice
76	The user repels any creature, be it human or not
77	The user repels any insect
78	The user repels objects made of a material of his choice
79	The user sees in black and white
80	The user starts convulsing
81	The user starts to sneeze without interruption
82	The user starts yawning without being able to stop
83	The user transforms to a random anthropomorphous creature of the same sex and size
84	The user transforms to an anthropomorphous creature of his choice of the same sex and size
85	The user's body becomes sticky as glue
86	The user's body becomes slimy as a toad
87	The user's body burns the surfaces it touches
88	The user's body can bend and squeeze itself freely
89	The user's body froze the surfaces it touches
90	The user's body gets covered by bark
91	The user's body gets covered by feathers
92	The user's body gets covered by hair
93	The user's body gets covered by scales as a snake or a fish
94	The user's body glows where touched
95	The user's body is surrounded by a light mist
96	The user's body starts to glow like a candle
97	The user's dominant hand gets swapped
98	The user's nails become indestructible claws
99	The user's voice has an echo
100	The user's hair grow down to his knees

* d66: roll two six-sided dice: the first die is the tens from 10 to 60, the second is the units from 1 to 6

† Download the tables in PDF format †

† 

† Try the Generator! †

† † †

The initial idea was give to me after the Numenera Cyphers. I found them very interesting given their particularity of having strange and not immediately useful powers. I thought it would be fun to do something similar for a fantasy setting.

Hope you like them!

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La Vecchia Scuola

Cosa è per me lo stile di gioco della "Vecchia Scuola"?

È risaputo che quando si parla di giochi di ruolo ognuno ha il suo stile e nessuno gioca come il proprio vicino di banco. Allo stesso modo ognuno ha una definizione e visione differente di cosa sia la Vecchia Scuola ("Old School" in lingua d'Albione) e questo è valido anche per me.

Cominciamo a dire, a beneficio dei veterani delle più recenti edizioni di D&D e simili (dalla 3.x in poi, passando per Pathfinder), che lo stile di gioco della Vecchia Scuola è assai diverso dal quello a cui sono abituati e con cui sono forse cresciuti. Probabilmente se giocherai con me con lo stesso approccio di questi giochi rimarreste molto delusi.

Treasure for the survivors, by David A. Trampier

Quando si gioca con me in avventure Vecchia Scuola ci si può dimenticare di eroi che portano a compimento nobili gesta come soccorrere principesse rapite, salvare il regno o sconfiggere Il Male. Nemmeno saranno essi maligni cospiratori in cerca di conquistare il mondo o malvagi condottieri che tentano di diventare invincibili sovrani.
Potrebbero sicuramente fare anche tutte queste cose, certo, ma non è questo il focus di questo stile di gioco.

I personaggi della Vecchia Scuola sono avidi figuri, saccheggiatori che sfidano la sorte in oscuri e antichi sotterranei irti di trappole o furfanti che viaggiano nelle pericolose e inesplorate terre selvagge nel tentativo di portare a casa ricchi tesori e lauti bottini.

Sono viaggiatori che affrontano il cosmo, le sue creature e i suoi abitanti oppure pochi-di-buono che sfidano potenti corporazioni in cerca di ricompense, danaro, una vita migliore o, semplicemente, continuare a vivere la loro vita.

E che spesso muoiono nell'intento.

Traveller - Piracy, by SteamPoweredMikeJ

Caratteristiche dello stile di gioco della Vecchia Scuola sono:

• Decisioni, non regole.
  Il regolamento è semplice e conciso; ciò che non è coperto da questo si decide al momento.
• Il Master è un arbitro imparziale, non un narratore.
  Gioirà dei successi dei giocatori, ma al tavolo non li faciliterà a superare gli ostacoli né renderà questi più difficili per aumentare la sfida.
• Focus sull'esplorazione, la scoperta, la soluzione di problemi e sfide.
  Creare o raccontare una storia interessante non è l'obiettivo del gioco, l'obiettivo del gioco è giocare, e la sfida ai giocatori e ai personaggi.
• Abilità dei giocatori, non caratteristiche dei personaggi.
  La soluzione dei problemi si ottiene usando la testa. Sii creativo con le risorse a tua disposizione, non guardare i punteggi sulla scheda.
• Alta mortalità.
  I personaggi sono molto fragili, i tiri di dado punitivi, e parte del divertimento è cercare di evitare che muoiano. Ma prima o poi accadrà, quindi fattene una ragione, accettalo e divertiti.
• Creazione dei personaggi molto rapida, e spesso casuale.
  L'importante è iniziare a giocare o ritornare in gioco nel minor tempo possibile.
• Background dei personaggi non così importante.
  Chi eri e chi sei ora lo si stabilisce durante il gioco.
• Combattimento come guerra, non come sport.
  Le battaglie sono rapide, caotiche, violente e mortali. Sii furbo. Gioca sporco. La fuga è una soluzione.
• Incontri non bilanciati.
  I mostri e gli avversari possono essere deboli e stupidi, o intelligenti e poderosi, a seconda della situazione e della (s)fortuna del momento. Valuta attentamente ogni incontro e preparati per esso.
• Uccidere cose non ti porterà lontano.
  A seconda del regolamento i modi per far avanzare i personaggi possono essere diversi, ma il combattimento e la violenza sono spesso l'ultima risorsa dei disperati: ammazzare mostri e gente in giro di solito porta solo a una prematura dipartita.
• Importanza nella gestione delle risorse.
  Non vorresti mai finire le torce o il cibo mentre esplori le profondità del sottosuolo, vero? E quella statua di marmo così fine e preziosa, quanti di voi serviranno per riportarla in superficie?
• Interazione con il mondo e i suoi abitanti come se esistessero veramente.
  Il mondo di gioco e chi lo abita si comporta e reagirà in maniera verosimile e logica rispetto alle azioni dei personaggi, e non in maniera narrativamente interessante. Interagisci con il mondo come se ti trovassi al posto del tuo personaggio.

D&D CLASSICO
Non devi essere il più coraggioso, il più forte o il più potente.
Devi solo essere quello che se ne esce con tutto l'oro.

Alcune risorse legate alla Vecchia Scuola (in italiano e inglese):

• Principia Apocrypha - il manuale definitivo sullo stile di gioco OSR, per giocatori e per Arbitri. Chiunque voglia approcciarsi seriamente a questo stile di gioco dovrebbe iniziare da qui.
  Tradotto da Ivan Lanìa sul blog divulgativo Storie di Ruolo e impaginati da Roberto Bisceglie per OSR Italia.
• Introduzione all’OSR: l’Old School Renaissance - una panoramica sull'OSR, la sua nascita ed evoluzione, lo stile di gioco, e un riassunto dei Principia Apocrypha. Ottimo per conoscere un po' di più il Movimento OSR nella sua interezza.
• L’Old School e il fattore casuale come motore del bilanciamento - Un ottimo articolo sulla contrapposizione tra bilanciamento "a breve termine", comune nelle edizioni più moderne di D&D e simili, e quello "a lungo termine" tipico dello stile Vecchia Scuola.
• Running a Game - una fantastica disamina punto per punto su come condurre una partita, sia Vecchia Scuola che non. Essenziale per Arbitri novelli, ottimo per Arbitri vissuti.
• Death is on the Table ("La Morte è Servita") - Più orientato verso Lamentations of the Flame Princess, anche se la maggior parte dei principi si applicano al mio stile. Soprattutto se si gioca a LotFP.
• The 10 Commandments ("I 10 Comandamenti") - un concentrato minimalista dei principi di questo stile di gioco (specialmente per quanto riguarda la scena "artpunk").
• A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming ("Un Rapido Prontuario per Giocate Vecchia Scuola") - Lettura un tempo indispensabile, ora superata largamente da Principia Apocrypha. Un po' pregiudizievole verso gli stili più moderni, e mostra in alcuni aspetti l'ingenuità degli inizi.

Jeff Easley

Potrei aggiornare questo post di tanto in tanto, qualora il mio stile cambiasse o decidessi di aggiungere dettagli.

Come nota finale, aggiungerò uno dei miei personali principi sul mio stile di gioco in generale:

† Mai (far) tirare i dadi se non sei pronto ad accettarne il risultato †

Una volta che i dadi hanno smesso di rotolare, il risultato è legge. Sei stato avvertito.

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Ye Olde Schoole

What is the "Old School" gaming style for me?

Since in RPGs no one plays the same way as the guy next door, everyone has a different definition and vision on what Old School gaming is supposed to be. I am no exception, hence this post.

For seasoned players of the late D&D editions (from 3.x onward, Pathfinder included, and the like) let's start by saying that the Old School gaming style is very different. If you play with me with a "new school" approach, you will probably be disappointed.

Treasure for the survivors, by David A. Trampier

When you play with me the in Old School gaming style, the characters are not noble heroes carrying out mighty deeds, like saving the world or rescuing princesses or defeating Evil. They neither are evil plotters trying to conquer the world or become invincible overlords.
I mean, they may also do all of these things, but this is not the focus of this gaming style.

Characters in Old School games are greedy figures, raiders who try their luck against ancient subterranean perils, and rogues facing dangers in the wild and unexplored lands just to take back home riches far greater than if they had mundane jobs like peasants and citizens.

And they often die trying.

Jeff Easley

Features of the Old School gaming style are:

• Rulings, not rules. Written rules are few and easy, and what is not covered by these is decided on the fly.
• The Game Master is a neutral referee, not a storyteller. He will cherish the characters' victories, but will not ease their path.
• Focus on exploration, discovery, search of treasure, and problems solving. It is not our aim to create or tell a story.
• Player's skills, not character's abilities. The solution of problems comes from using your own head. Be creative, do not look at the character's stats.
• High mortality. Characters are very fragile, and part of the fun is trying to keep them alive. Still, you will probably die sooner or later. Get over it, embrace this fact, and have fun.
• Quick character creation, often randomly. That's a good thing, given the previous point.
• Character background is not so important. Imagine why.
• Combat as war, not as sport. Fights are quick, violent and deadly. Be clever. Fleeing is a solution.
• No encounter balance. Monsters and foes may be lame and stupid, or powerful and clever, depending on your luck and the situation. You should carefully evaluate every encounter.
• Experience is obtained by taking treasure back home. Killing things will not get you very far.
• Resources management is important. You don't want to run out of torches or food while deep in the bowels of the earth, do you? And that sweet and precious marble statue, how many of you will carry it to the surface?
• Interaction with the world and its inhabitants as if they were real. Characters are the player's avatars, who should expect the game world to react in a realistic and logic way to their actions.

Some resources related to Old School:

• Principia Apocrypha - The definitive primer for the Old School gaming style, for players and Game Masters alike. If you want to approach and understand this game style, there's no better place to start.
• Death is on the Table - Geared towards Lamentations of the Flame Princess, but most of the principles apply to my style. And the grammar is probably better than mine.
• The 10 Commandments - a minimalist summary of what the OS game style is (especially in the "artpunk" sub-scene).
• A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming - This was a must-read before Principia Apocrypha came out (which is immensely better). There's a bit of bias against the "New School" gaming style, which is not nice but can be ignored.

I may update the post from time to time, as my gaming style may change, or I decide to add some detail.

As a final note, I'll add one of my personal principles of RPG gaming in general:

† If you are not ready to accept the result, do not roll the die †

Once the dice stopped rolling, their result is law. You have been warned.

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The First Gift of a Crimson Sorceress

The First Gift of a newly initiated Crimson Sorceress is a pet.
But let's forget those mundane animals like cats or frogs or bats. Those are just stories and fables.
No, the First Gift comes always from the fires and the maelstroms of The Beyond.

The Crimson Mothers, together with the Initiate, join in a ritual where The Reality is shredded and a creature from The Beyond is summoned to serve and obey the child.
Once the summon is completed and the First Gift is bound to The Reality, the Initiate will abandon her former title to be called, from now on, Prentice.

A child Prentice with her new pet.
The Favorite, by Omar Rayyan

But the First Gift is naught but a temporary companion, for the Sorceress must now learn to summon creatures from The Beyond herself and to control them and bind them to her will.
After few years, when the Blood Moon is high in the sky and the time has come, the Initiate will perform the summoning ritual completely by herself.
This time, however, she will make a sacrifice. A sacrifice of blood, a sacrifice of will, a sacrifice of love. For the First Gift, companion of the Prentice for many a year will be destroyed and his blood spilled to finally receive the Second Gift.

But the Second Gift is not a creature from The Beyond.
The Second Gift, sometimes called the Gift of Summon, is the power to summon these creatures at will. The Second Gift is what makes a Crimson Sorceress what she is.
And if the summon is completed, and the power to shred The Reality is in the Prentice hands, she will be Prentice no more.
For finally, after long years of study of the arcane arts and a rigorous discipline, the Prentice will be a Crimson Sorceress.

A Prentice with her First Gift, before sacrificing it during the Second Gift ritual.
The Socialite, Omar Rayyan

The Crimson Path

Sorceresses of The Crimson Curtain sisterhood do not have real families. They do not have a mother, or a father, or brothers nor sisters. They always come from orphanages, from the streets, or from the corpses of those who died by hunger or cold or plague.
Because having no real family means not missing it. It means the other Sorceresses will be their family. It means loyalty to the sisterhood.

The child will be no older than 3, and will always be a girl. She will be brought to The Crimson Curtain halls and called Initiated, and will start the Crimson Path.
At the age of 5 the ritual of the First Gift will be performed. The Prentice will start to study how to control the creature and the basics of summoning. Other subjects, both arcane and mundane, will be studied during her life as Prentice, but no other spells will be taught because learning other spells other than Summon is a prerogative of Crimson Sorceresses.

The Second Gift ritual will be performed when the Prentice is between 16 to 18 years old, when and if the Crimson Mothers agree to it by recognising her advancement in the studies of the arcane arts and the Summon spell.
And if the Second Gift ritual is successful, and the Prentice finally becomes a full Crimson Sorceress, she will have access to all The Crimson Curtain knowledge. She will be free to use the library and the laboratories at no cost. In fact, the new Sorceress will know no other spells but Read Magic and Summon and will need these privileges to advance in her arcane studies.

sunbather, by Gabriele Negri

After acquiring The Second Gift the Crimson Sorceress is free to go.
She is not bound to The Crimson Curtain halls. The only rule is to be loyal to the sisterhood. She is still part of The Crimson Curtain and always will be.
She is even free to found her own covens, congregations, groups, but they must answer to The Crimson Curtain all the same.
If her loyalty falters, she will be brought back to the Crimson Path.
However, if her loyalty fails, her punishment will be death.

There have been cases of treason of course. None of the involved Sorceresses had much time to live after that.

Crimson Sorceress Characters

Those who want to play a Crimson Sorceress creates the character as a normal Magic-User, but instead of three random spells she only knows Read Magic and Summon.

The Sorceress has, however, a greater chance to control the summoning and to dominate the creature from The Beyond every time the Summon spell is casted (she is granted a +5 bonus to the save versus Magic roll and to the Domination roll) thanks to her many years of studies in the subject.

The Sorceress also has complete access to The Crimson Curtain libraries and laboratories at no cost, and she also has access to her sister Sorceresses' covens libraries and laboratories at d100% cost.

Morgan Le Fay by John R. Spencer Stanhope (1880)

Prentice Characters

Prentice characters may be of two kinds: a follower of the Crimson Path, or a fugitive.
If following the Crimson Path, she will be most surely travelling under the supervision of a Crimson Sorceress. There would be a very good and specific reason for her to travel with the adventuring party, for this is possible only under very special permissions or orders from the Crimson Mothers.

If the Prentice is a fugitive, she will be certainly hunted by The Crimson Curtain to be sentenced to death. Again, since the bonds to The Crimson Curtain sisterhood would have been formed and cultivated very early on her life, the reason for the Prentice escape will require a very good explanation.

The Prentice will be less than 18 years old and would not have yet performed the Second Gift ritual.
She will know no other spell than Read Magic, but she will still have her First Gift as a pet, and it will be under her total control.

A Prentice following The Crimson Curtain that loses her First Gift can receive a new pet only by the Crimson Mothers, because she is not allowed to learn the Summon spell (or other spells) until she had completed the Second Gift ritual. Of course, when the time for the Second Ritual comes, she is required to sacrifice her pet.
A fugitive, instead, is supposed to be attached to her First Gift and will not want to sacrifice or replace it. Therefore she will not want to learn the Summon spell unless she loses her pet.

Once the Sorceress learns the Summon spell, either if Prentice or fugitive, she will have the +5 bonus both to the save versus Magic roll and the Domination roll.

The Crimson Curtain halls

The First Gift

The First Gift will be a 0-2 HD creature from The Beyond, summoned with the Summon spell (HD rolled randomly).
To determine the creature's features, follow the steps from Three to Five, considering the save vs Magic roll as successful.

Mutating
Thanks to the special bound existing between the Prentice and the First Gift, this will "mutate" every time the Prentice levels up, following these rules:

• The creature will gain one Hit Die.
• All the Hit Dice will be rerolled. If the total is higher than the creature's actual Hit Points, it will keep the result as its new Hit Points.
• The creature will gain new powers as per the Summon spell rules in the Step Five section. The new Hit Dice will be used to determine the Die Type to be rolled.

Not every pet that comes from The Beyond is cute and squishy
With her Demon, by Yoonji Lee

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TV Series for Lamentations of the Flame Princess

Some time ago I asked advice on the various LotFP communities about TV series that incarnate best the spirit, atmosphere and themes of our favourite game.

This was the original question:

Are there any tv series (no movies) that are good inspirations for Lamentations of the Flame Princess?

That catch the tone, horror, weirdness and possibly set in the early modern era?

Useless to say I received a lot (I mean, A LOT) of suggestions!
Some of these seem to especially fit LotFP, some others seem completely out, but I'll toss every suggestion in the list because I trust that people.

If they tell me that Pinky the Magic Unicorn Friend is a good fit for LotFP, it's because probably it has some dark twisted side that only we, the people corrupted by Raggi's black magic, can catch and put at some use in our campaigns!
Also, some of these are animated.

The Devil's Whore, set during the English Civil War

This is a list of all the answers along with the opinions or descriptions, where they have been given:

• Borgia: Faith and Fear
• I would recommend Borgia: Faith and Fear versus The Borgias which aired on Showtime.
• The Devil's Whore
• Straddling the line between film and series is the Devil's Whore which is set during the English Civil War with some nice costuming.
• Sharpe
• As an outlier there is Sharpe. I know it's Napoleonic, and there's not the atmosphere of LotFP'; but I think it's fun and presents some interesting small troop scenarios which a group of adventurers could get into. Along with inspiration for some NPCs.
• Frontier
• "Frontier" with Jason Momoa has a lot of the political flavor I like. Momoa's character is metis, and there's heavy emphasis on the interaction between alien cultures. Lots of the horror of the wilderness and man's brutality to man. It'd be really damned easy to wedge a bit of mysticism in, especially since the Cree in the show are already halfway there.
• Castlevania
• Hey, the new Castlevania series might be a good addition to this list. The second chapter depicts a city where some weird shit has happened, and also it portraits a "hero" making some "gathering information" rolls, and more, it shows how some rolls are failed or get you only useless information, and others get you great information.
• I can confirm that the Castlevania pilot is a straight up LotFP setup.
• I also vouch for Castlevania! Toss in some matchlocks or flintlocks and it's the perfect atmosphere for some rollicking LotFP action.
• Berserk
• especially the 1997 series
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Twin Peaks
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica
• (just trust me on this one)
• The Twilight Zone
• The Outer Limits
• Gantz
• Stranger Things
• The X-Files
• Attack on Titan
• Samurai Jack
• Adventure Time
• Masters of Horror
• this is kind of cheating because it's a series of TV films, but whatever
• Beasts
• Korgoth of Barbaria
• a pilot that wasn't picked up, unfortunately
• Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
• humorous, but I think you might enjoy it
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
• "A Red and Pleasant Stand" needs to be a thing
• Game of Thrones
• Salem
• haven't really watched it myself but I think my wife would recommend it
• Baccano!
• Over the Garden Wall
• I haven't seen every episode, but I think Over the Garden Wall really fits.
• Preacher
• Fargo
• Black Mirror
• Conan the Adventurer
• Xena: Warrior Princess
• True Detective
• Penny Dreadful
• is a tasty treat
• Copper
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
• Carnivàle
• on HBO is a weird, southern gothic show about carnies and demons. It's set during the dust bowl though so the setting isn't perfect, but it's got the vibe.
• Hannibal
• The Tudors
• Rome
• Ash vs Evil Dead
• Vikings
• Taboo
• Gunpowder, Treason & Plot
• The Last Kingdom
• Harlots
• The Suspicions of Mr Whitcher
• Robin Of Sherwood
• Knights Of God

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
A pinkier A Red and Pleasant Land?

Bonus list: Movies!

We all know that no plan or plot can resist an encounter with player characters, and we can probably say the same applies with questions on social networks!

Therefore I also received some suggestions regarding good LotFP movies.

Should I throw these suggestions away? Of course not!

So here you have:

• The Last Valley
• The VVitch
• Ravenous
• The Blood in Satan's Claw
• A Field in England
• Valhalla Rising
• Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter
• Witchfinder General
• As Above, So Below
• Excalibur
• Sauna
• Bone Tomahawk
• Hammer Horror movies
• Roger Corman's Poe movies
• Lucio Fulci's zombie movies
• Dario Argento's entire catalogue
• Mario Bava's movies
• By Shakespeare:
• Macbeth
• Coriolanus
• Richard III
• The Tempest

A Field in England is basically LotFP: The Movie

Finally, this are the original threads where I made the question:

• Lamentations of the Flame Princess Google+ community
• LotFP Fan Group Google+ community
• Deliberations of the Punk Duchess Facebook group

I hope you'll find a good inspiring TV Series for your Lamentations of the Flame Princess campaigns, while we wait for an official one from +James Raggi. We want to see the Flame Princess in action!

And if you have other suggestions write them in the comments below!

Borgia: Faith and Fear
From the picture it seems as bloody as LotFP

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Dual Wielding rules for Lamentations of the Flame Princess

Yes, the infamous Duel Wielding!

I know, I know, it's a fantasy trope coming especially from videogames and usually is discarded as, well, fantasy.

But dual wielding was actually a thing. In fact, many historical fencing treatises and manuals taught dual wielding techniques, be it sword and dagger, sword and buckler or rotella, cloak and sword or -rarely- dual swords.
Dual dagger on the contrary is, at least in regard to western martial arts, fantasy.

Usually the most common rule for dual wielding in old school rpgs is the following:

Make one attack roll, then roll the damage for both weapons and take the best result.

Sometimes with the addition that if both damage dice results are the same you sum both.

But since I'm studying historical fencing and I'm a picky fellow, this sounded wrong to me because the basic idea behind fighting with an off-hand thingy is to use it to parry and generally not to attack. In fact attacking with both weapons at once is fantasy.
And this is the main reason to create my own rules following (more or less) the techniques of the renaissance fencing masters.

I will not treat buckler and rotella because I consider them as shields and therefore they follow shield rules (except Shields Shall be Splintered which makes them a lot useful).

†††

Sword and Dagger

The dagger is a relatively small and short weapon, therefore not very good at attacking your opponent especially if he's armed with a sword. That's why you will usually your Dagger to parry your opponent's attacks, and (after or at the same time) to try to hit him your sword.

When wielding a sword and a dagger, every round the character can choose to get +1 melee AC bonus -or- a +1 Attack Bonus.

As per Combat Options, Armor Class adjustments remain in effect until the character’s action in the following Round, that ends when the character attacks.

Duel with Swords and Daggers
by Jacques Callot (17th century)

Dual Swords

The use of dual swords is fairly uncommon due to the higher difficulty of wielding them at the same time. On the other hand (no pun intended), having two sword of similar length allows the fencer to be able to attack or parry with either of them at the same time.

When wielding dual swords, the character gets a +1 melee AC bonus -and- a +1 Attack Bonus.

The inconvenience of taking dual swords around to fight instead of a dagger is, of course, a matter of encumbrance (and the high cost of swords).
Anyway since in LotFP sword and dagger encumbering is the same, I will not care about this aspect.

From "A New Art-Filled Fencing Manual on Rapier", Figure 81
by Michael Hundt (16th-17th century)

Sword and Cloak

The idea behind sword and cloak techniques is the same: to defend yourself with the cloak, usually wrapped in some fashion around your arm. Cloaks were used mostly by civilians, as it was a normal everyday garment and, therefore, a lot cheaper than a second weapon.

The cool thing about the cloak, however, is that if thrown at your opponent it can be easily used to distract him or to entrap his weapon. This can help the fencer a lot both when attacking or when trying to wrestle his opponent.

When fighting with a cloak the character gets a +1 melee AC bonus against non-bludgeoning weapons.
Furthermore, when thrown against an opponent, this must Save vs. Paralysis to avoid being distracted or his weapon entrapped under the cloak.
If he fails the roll, the character has two options:
To attack with +2 AB and reducing his opponent's AC by 2 points
-or-
To move to wrestle his opponent without expecting his free attack and getting a +2 melee AB for the first round only.

After this action the cloak falls to the ground (or gets wrapped around the opponent's weapon) making it impossible to use it again during that combat.

The character of course can try to snatch it from the floor, exposing himself to the dangers of the combat and the disadvantages that this action implies (a -2 penalty to hit and to Armor Class during the Round that this happens).

And by the way, the Wrestling rules requires the character to have both hands free. I'd allow to wrestle with a weapon in one hand (I've done it quite some times in my fencing lessons!)

This makes the cloak a useful weapon and adds some tactics to its use, but balances its usefulness with some drawbacks.

From "The Fencing of Francesco Fernando Alfieri", Figure 37
by Ferdinando Alfieri (duh!) - 17th century

†††

About Swords, Daggers and other kind of weapons

I used the words "sword" and "dagger" to follow the classic fencing techniques names, but this rules are intended to be used with any kind of suitable weapon.

Following the LotFP weapons classification, the Sword and Dagger rules are used when a medium or small weapon is used in combination with a smaller one, while the Dual Sword rules are used when wielding two weapons of the same size (you decide if this applies also with minor weapons).

With the Sword and Cloak rules you can use medium, small or minor weapons alike.

Rapiers are considered medium weapons for the purpose of these rules.

Therefore, if you'd like to fight with a maul and handaxe using the Sword and Dagger rules, you are welcome! This is fantasy, after all!

Armor Class Modifiers

When dealing with surprise or weapons with special unadjusted AC rules, the AC bonuses by the off-hand weapon or cloak do not count as Armor nor as Dexterity modifiers.

e.g. Lukeshmuck the Fencer has AC 16 (14 of leather armor +1 from his Dex modifier and +1 from the use of the cloak).

He has an unadjusted AC of 14 and when surprised he has an AC of 12.

Never in the battlefield

Finally, I'd like to point out that these fencing styles were appropriate for duels and were never used on the battlefield, where you would prefer to use a shields that offers more protection also against projectiles.

But this is your game of course!

An halfling using the Sword and Dagger fencing tecnique
Duelist with Sword and Dagger
by Jacques Callot (17th century)

I like these rules. I tried to balance their usefulness and to model them according to their real world counterpart, of course trying to keep everything as simple as LotFP rules are.

I hope you'll like them!

And to finish, here you have a couple of good videos depicting the use of these techniques. Enjoy!

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Dismaster FraNe's LotFP Character Sheet

I'll keep this simple: I made a a new character sheet on Google Docs using its spreadsheets.

My favourite sheet is made by +Søren Nøhr Ryborg (you can find it here, and in fillable form here) but I needed one for my Roll20 campaign and it does not support pdf files. Besides, I needed my players to be able to fill them in real time and I found no way to do it online.

And even if the embedded Roll20 LotFP character sheet is well done I wanted something more complete.

Searching around I found a terrific one made in Google Docs by Zachary Zahringer. Bingo!

And now you would ask me: why didn't you used that one?

Well, because I'm picky and I wanted a more compact one. So I made one myself.

I took inspiration from various character sheets scattered around the underdark internet but Zachary's sheet was the main inspiration of course.

The goal was to keep it simple, to keep it compact, to make it stylish, and I think I succeeded enough.
Well, the style's actually by Zachary!

I hope you like it!
And as always, if you have comments or suggestions, please make me know!

† Dismaster FraNe's LotFP Character Sheet †

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