d100 - Rumored Remedies for Curses/Energy Drain

Frustratingly for some participants, within the standard rules for B/X and in other early presentations, there simply isn’t really a way to ameliorate those tragic Levels Lost due to Energy Drain outside of further Adventuring. Interestingly, Experience lost to something like a Cursed Scroll is easily addressed through the application of the Remove Curse Spell, but there isn’t a counterpart for undoing the impact of having one’s neck wrung by a wrathful Wraith or being slapped by a screaming Spectre. This makes for a particular type of attack that ends up being very frightening to Players. It’s one of the few things that creates a bit of ludic bleed when a Monster ends up attacking the very act of Play itself (Rust Monsters and their insatiable hunger for Wonderous Weapons tend to do this too: they’re not necessarily formidable foes but it’s what they do to the Character Sheet that creates more lasting impacts!)

Later versions of the game tend to solve this problem by adding another Spell to Cleric’s Repertoires (Restoration), but this tends to make the loss a little more perfunctory, just a temporary set-back at most, until the Players are able to obtain the services or pray for this Miracle by themselves. This salves some of the sting considerably, but it does almost become a bit more like a Curse in this way.

Sentimental softie that I am, I’ve nearly always provided provisions for regaining this Loss in another way, usually following the rubric of “Rumored Cures.” As I was compiling a list of these, I realized that many of could do a bit of double duty for particularly pernicious Curses as well (the kinds in Fairy Tales, that often require strangely specific Deeds to undo). Some might be more akin to tales of Old Wives or Local Superstitions but I do try to ensure that if my Players end up chasing Wild Geese, there’s at least something in it for them. In these cases, the hope is that there is always Treasure, Fame, and Information to be gained on Adventure after all!

Here are a Hundred potential avenues for alleviation. Maybe they work automatically or perhaps they simply give the afflicted a new Saving Throw chance to remove the condition in question. I tend to leave that more mechanical stuff up to the individual Table and Referee.

Spoor & Sign or Tracks & Traces by Type

Proponents of Overloaded Encounter/Hazard Die might sometimes find themselves in a bit of a bind or at a loss for some of those Telegraphing Traces, Perilous Percepts, and Obvious Omens when these results deign to show their face on the die. It seems frightfully easy for some of these to become rather “samey” over time after all, and while an adjunct roll on the Encounter Table might provide some additional raw ingredients, wouldn’t it be lovely to have some convenient and more specific things to pull from as well?

One of the hidden drawbacks and sneaky pitfalls of these Overloaded Encounter/Hazard Dice is how they do require this sort of spontaneous improvisation or increase in cognitive load on occasion. I find they tend to Rob Prep Peter to Pay Play Paul in a way: You’ve reduced some of the scutwork associated with preparing interesting situations or granularly tracking resources and deferred this to the dice, but one needs to be fast on their feet interpreting what may sometimes be repetitive or slightly incoherent results. Scribbling an adjunct column to your Encounter Tables ahead of time for these Tracks/Traces is another option of course.

These were some of the things on my mind when I started plinking away at a d100 table for these types of Creature Clues. Very quickly however, I realized that genericizing them in this way left a lot to be desired. Different Denizens leave distinctive tells in their wake, so I decided to take the approach I used in my Monster Miens tables: Discrete d12s for broader Encounters by “Type Classification” to hammer the results into something a little more contextual.

These are semi-weighted: Lower results (or using a single, smaller-faced die) are intended to produce the more ephemeral and temporary types of spoor, whilst higher ones (perhaps with a modifier, such as d6+6) will tend toward the more durable sign. One could just as well give that lonely d12 a little love though, it seems to be relegated for so few tasks and is quite pleasing to set in motion.

Another option that I’ve availed myself of before is using my Encounter Activity Tables in a slightly different way. Instead of rolling on the table to find out what a particular Monster is “up to” right now, I’ve used them more like a window into the past: This is what the Monster was doing here a relatively short time ago. I’m often able to glean a few interesting details this way to set a better scene and I’m always happy when I can re-use tables a bit outside their intended purpose!

Hope these provide a little inspiration or at the very least cut down on some of the repeat results that might be occurring!

d100 - Some Cities & Settlements

When painstakingly placing a happy Haven or convenient Village somewhere in a World, I often find myself needing a few things. Names are nearly always necessary, but I also like to think a little bit about what sorts of Resources might have informed the establishment of the place. Especially as a Campaign might shift more toward the Domain Tier, it becomes pretty handy to have some ready ideas for the useful Imports/Exports or other features that might be present and play a larger role. Some entries are obvious Natural Resources, but I like to sprinkle in some less tangible Cultural Resources as well from time to time to keep things interesting. These can inform Rumors, serve as a source of Adventure, and answer those pesky Player questions that crop up from time to time: Where can we find the best quality Falcons? Where is a Sage that has made this obscure topic their life’s work? Where can we sell all these ingots of Tin for a tidy profit?

I’ve also included a handy-dandy generator that I spun up to test out the Naming Stems as well below!