1d20 Country/Territory Origins

1d20 Country/Territory Origins 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_in_1700

More resources for my alt-earth D&D game

1. Qing Empire
2. Mughai Empire
3. Tokugawa Shogunate
4. Ottoman Empire
5. Spanish Empire
6. French Empire
7. Holy Roman Empire
8. Tsardom of Russia
9. Joseon
10. Habsburg Monarchy
11. British Empire
12. Polish-Lithuanian Common Wealth
13. Vietnam
14. Safavid Empire
15. Nepal
16. Ayutthaya Kingdom
17. Sweedish Empire
18. Morroco
19. Cambodia
20. Dutch Republic or Portuguese Empire

Babai Xifu: Backgrounds

Background: Roll 1d20.  

1. Sailor, 
2. Merchant
3. Mariner
4. Missionary
5. Monk
6. Cultist 
7. Artisan,  
8. Mercenary, 
9. Peasant 
10. Refugee 
11. Smuggler
12. Physician 
13. Urchin
14. Burglar
15. Gambler
16. Magician
17. Outlaw
18. Pickpocket
19. Performer
20. Hunter

Siam 1650

An anachronistic alternate Thailand in the 1650s in the setting for my next game.

Some interesting background about 17th century Siam:

• Europeans travelled there in great numbers as sailors, merchants, missionaries, ambassadors, company employees, artisans, and just plain old adventurers. 
• The capital city, Ayutthaya, had over 1 million in habitants and was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world. 
• Threats surround the kingdom with Burma threatening to invade from the west, Lanna raids from the north, and internal city state rebellions from within. 
• Great wars are fought with Elephants. 
• Magic Tattoos 

Table: Roll 1d20 to choose your nationality. 

1. Greek, 2.French, 3.Portuguese, 4.English, 5.Chinese, 6.Indian, 7.Burmese, 8.Thai, 9.Shan, 10.Malay, 11. Vietnamese, 12.Japanese, 13. Dutch, 14. Indonesian, 15. Russian 16. Italian, 17. Ottoman, 18. Spanish, 19. Somali, 20.Ghanaian,  

The Cat's Meow (RFYD)

The theme of this month's SROYT over at RPG geek is Animals.  The following resulted.

Title: The Cat's Meow
System: RFYD

 I. Parameters: World Building 

• Genre: Gonzo fantasy, anthropomorphism, Gritty
• Setting: The city of Ngot, Tropical Urban Sprawl, Overlay Vornheim and Yoon-Suin Yellow City  elements. 
• Technology Level: 17th Century Steampunk + Occult Magic
•  Premise: The characters are gangsters vying for territory, money, and power. 
• World Assumptions
• 100 years ago the Mad Scientist Azaaz Hidlu developed the first anthropomorphous animals.  They bred like rabbits
• Most of the so called "anthropoms" live in the ghettoized slums of Ngot. 

II. Concepts: Character Building

• Concept: Puca is a street hustling dilettante who dreams of gold. 
• Tags: Catfolk, Smooth talker 
• Aspects: Natural born leader, Friends in low places
• Items: Thieves tools, boot knife 
• Wealth: 1d4
• Stats: STR (7) , Dex (12), Con (10), INT (14), WIS (11), CHA (15)

III. Gameplay : Scene 1

• Location: Seedy bar in the slums, The Cat's Meow. 
• Purpose: I want to start my own gang, My goals are to: Establish turf, a racket, find a hide-out, and grow my gang. 
• Pieces: Bar patrons, Ursula the Barkeep,

Summary of Scene 1: 

So I was sitting at the bar and spent my last pennies on a beer. I needed to make some dough fast or i'd be sleeping on the streets. I run into some guys try to persuade me to rob some herbalist on his way home from work. Their leader, Savage Freedom, promises to pay well, but I get a bad feeling about these guys so tell them I'll think about it.

I end up talking to some other patrons and meet Esgreth Orn; an alluring carpenter who claims to be the son of god and wants to develop harmony. Clearly crazy as a bat. But he tells me his "temple" has been invaded and defiled by dark nights (thugs took over his house). We make an arrangement, I rid his house of the thugs, he gives me lodging in a small room upstairs. Sounds good. I ask him to show me where his house is. 

and the story continues from there. 

Unexpected Problems - Urban

Sometimes characters need a kick in the ass to get motivated. Here is a start to a  draft list of unexpected problems to spur characters to action in an urban setting.

Unexpected Problems: Roll 1d20

1. Mugged
2. Arrested
3. Missing Person
4. Witness a beating 
5. Flash Flooding
6. Riot
7. Paranormal Activity 
8. Extortion 
9. Kidnapped 
10. A Spell is Cast on You
11. A plea for help
12. An offer you can't refuse
13. Military Coup
14. Pickpocketed 
15. Mistaken Identity 
16. Pest Infestation 
17. Challenge to a Dual 
18. Poisoned
19. Zoo Animal is Rampaging the City 
20. Giant Monster/Demon is Rampaging the City 

I asked for further ideas on the G+ OSR group and got some great responses as well, check it out. 

Genre's I Like to Play In

I'm having fun generating/defining a list of genre's I like to combine for my rpg settings.

Pulp fiction, horror, occult, the PUNKS (steam, diesel, cyber etc. ), grimdark, low fantasy, sword and sorcery, gangster, adventure, weird, alt-history, science fantasy. 

Rocks Fall You Die (RFYD) 1.0

Purpose: A flexible OSR-esq system for solo/co-op pulp adventure.

Content

I. Parameters: World Building 

1. Genre 
2. Setting
3. Technology Level
4. Premise 
5. World Assumptions

II. Concepts: Character Building 

1. Ability Scores
2. Concept
3. Tags
4. Aspects
5. Items
6. Purchase Power and HP

III. Tools 

1. Core Mechanic
2. Modifiers, Bonuses and Penalties
3. Fighting Stuff
4. Usage Die
5. Level Up

IV. Gameplay 

1. Scene
2. Oracle 
3. Random Tables and Other Tools
4. Tests and Interesting Failure
5. Sequel 

_________________________________

I. Parameters: World Building 

• Step 1. Genre: List a few words that describe your game's genre, e.g. gonzo fantasy, grimdark, space opera, mythos.
• Step 2. Setting: List a few words that describe your game's setting, e.g. alternate 1920s Korea, The 7 Kingdoms, apocalyptic urban wasteland. 
• Step 3. Technology Level: List a few words that describe the level of technology and presence of magic in your game, e.g. medieval fantasy, dieselpunk + occult magic. 
• Step 4. Premise: The characters are X who do Y. e.g. The characters are up and coming gangsters vying for power. 
• Step 5. World Assumptions: List a few things your character thinks they know about the world. e.g. Catfolk are treated as second class citizens.  

__________________________________

II. Concepts: Character Building

• Step 1. Ability Scores: Roll 3d6 for abilities in the following order Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (Wis), Charisma (CHA).  Two stats may be swapped.
  
  Ability Score / Modifier
             3         /    -3
            4-5      /    -2
            6-8      /    -3
           9-12     /    0
          13-15    /    +1
          15-17    /    +2
             18      /    +3
• Step 2. Concept: Describe your character in a sentence = A (adjective + noun phrase) + desire, e.g. A street hustler who dreams of gold. 
• Step 3. Tags: List three tags describing what you're good at, e.g. parkour, brawler, sharpshooter, heavy metal guitarist. 
• Step 4. Aspects: List two things that makes you who you are, e.g. former Lonestar agent, Fallen night of the Black Rose, Noble of the Crabtree House.
• Step 5. Items: List two pieces of iconic equipment that define you, e.g. twin blaster guns, motorcycle, alchemy tools. 
  Note: Tags, Aspects, and Items can be developed in-game. 
• Step 6. Purchase Power and HP:  HP = Constitution. Roll 1d6 to determine Purchase Power, represented by a Usage Dice.

1. High Roller                   /      1d20
2. Well Off                        /      1d12
3. Middle Class                /       1d10
4. Working Class             /       1d8
5. Poor                             /       1d6
6.  Dirt Poor                     /       1d4

____________________________________________

III. Tools

• Core Mechanic: Anything you attempt that could result in interesting failure is resolved by testing attribute stats. To successfully test a stat - you must roll above the Difficulty Class (DC) on a d20.  A rolled 1 is always an Epic Failure, a rolled 20 is always a Critical Success. Apply modifiers, bonuses and penalties to DC rolls.
  
  Task Difficulty   /    DC
  Normal                /  10
  Hard                    /  15
  Heroic                 /  20
  Godlike               /  25
  Apply Advantage and Disadvantage as needed.  
• Modifiers, Bonuses and Penalties: Once you decide the appropriate stat to test, +/- any applicable attribute modifiers. You can also gain a +1 bonus by inserting a Character Category: Concept, Tag, Aspect, Item into the fiction.  You can stack a maximum insert of three categories for one test and only one thing from each category (maximum bonus +3). Use advantage, disadvantage, and penalties to scale test difficulty as required.
• Fighting Stuff: Lethal combat is fast, risky deadly, and should usually be avoided.  If one of your Items is armor related you can add Armor Points (AP) to your HP. 
  Light Armor = 2AP
  Medium Armor = 4AP
  Heavy Armor = 6AP
  Your Damage: Hand to hand 1d4, Weapon 1d8
  Monster refers to any enemy NPC. Use stats from a source book, make them up, or use the table below. 
  Monster  Level /      HP                    / Monster Damage 
  Standard:          /       1d10               /       1d4,1d6
  Hard:                /        1d20              /       2d4, 1d10
  Big Bad:          /         2d20              /       1d12, 2d8
• Usage Die: In addition to Cash, any consumable item can be tracked with a Usage Die. When you use an item, a Usage Die is rolled.  If you roll a 1-2, the usage die is downgraded: d20 > d12 > d10 > d8 > d6 > d4.  When you roll a 1-2 on a d4, the item is depleted.  
• Level Up: When you complete 9 Scenes.
  -Roll 3d6 for each ability.  If you roll higher, increase the ability score by 1.
  -Add 1 Tag, Aspect, OR Item
  -At level 5 the character has earned renown and retires. You win. 

_______________________________________

IV. Gameplay 

• Set the Scene.  A Scene should have a Location, Purpose, and Pieces to interact with. 
• Ask Questions to the Oracle as needed. You need two Fate/Fudge Dice for this one. Or use another oracle like Mythic. 
• (Optional) Have a healthy stack of Random Tables, word charts, and other brain shocking tools as needed for inspiration. 
• Tests and Interesting Failure: Once you have your Scene, play it out. If you try something that could result in interesting failure or death, test the appropriate attribute stat. If failure is very unlikely or uninteresting, you auto-succeed and move on. 
• Once a Scene's purpose is addressed, the Scene is completed. Wrap up any loose ends and use a brief narrative Sequel to transition to the next Scene.  Roll on the Interrupt/Scene Change Table and incorporate this into the Sequel or the next Scene.  Rinse and Repeat.
  
  Interrupt/Scene Change Table (1d12)
  Roll /    Event
  1-3   /    NPC Action
  4      /    Remote Event
  5      /    New NPC
  6-7   /    PC Negative
  8       /   PC Positive
  9-10  /   Ambiguous
  11     /    NPC Negative
  12     /    NPC Positive