Wednesday 30 December 2015

Create a Cult - Random Table


I don't know about you, but I love having cults in my game. Sure, they're a pretty easy go-to villain, but I love them anyway.

Here's a simple table for creating your own cults.

First Part of the Name (1d6)

1. The Brotherhood of the...
2. The Cult of the...
3. The Shining...
4. The Maddening...
5. The Darkened...
6. The Burning...

Second Part of the Name (1d6)

1. Hand
2. Tempest
3. Serpent
4. Eye
5. Fleshgod
6. Gorger

Leader Title (1d6)

1. The Almighty One
2. The Chosen One
3. The Blessed One
4. The Majestic One
5. The Anointed One
6. The Enlightened One

What Do They Worship? (1d6)

1. Trexxlor, The Banisher - master of pain and domination
2. The Gaping Void - god of infinite
3. Verenshia - Undergoddess of the Black Pit
4. Loom - the mute angel of ancient dimensions
5. G'tol - enlightened being of entropy
6. The Walker of Stars - unknowable and eternal

Where Do they Meet? (1d6)

1. Cavern beneath a guildhouse
2. In a secret palace room
3. In the caves by the ocean
4. In the back room of a tavern
5. In a burned-out citadel
6. In the hollowed out carcass of a dragon

What is their Goal? (1d6)

1. To let their god loose upon the world
2. To ascend to the heavens
3. To bring a plague upon the world
4. For their leader to become an avatar of their god
5. To take control of the throne
6. To rid the world of a certain species of humanoid


Pay what you want for my new space opera setting, Somnium Void today!



Tuesday 29 December 2015

Goblin Tribe Name Generator


I think out of all the fantasy races, I love goblins the most. As a creature, they're pretty malleable - they can be dumb little chittering critter, great tinkerers or a terrifying force to be reckoned with.

If you're ever stuck for a name for your goblin tribe, then just roll 1d6 three times on the table below.


D6
First Word
Second Word
Third Word
1
Black
Moon
Gang
2
Green
Tongue
Mob
3
Raging
Eye
Tribe
4
Filthy
Rotter
Rabble
5
Noxious
Snot
Pack
6
Dread
Fury
Crew


FEAR THE RAGING SNOT CREW!!!

Image: Wizards of the Coast

Random Howl Encounter Table for Somnium Void


Howl is the homeworld of the Wulfen race - a species of humanoid wolves who have a culture similar to that of ancient Japan. On Howl you will find lush fields, trickling streams, mighty mountains, beautiful cherry blossom trees and large forests.

It is vital that visitors know what dangers lurk on Howl before they get there. The Wulfen are not fond of outsiders and will be reluctant to help - in fact they may be the ones starting the fight in the first place.

Here is a random encounter table for Howl. Further information can be found in the Somnium Void setting book.

Roll 1d10

1. 1d6 Wild Dogs
2. 1d4 Wulfen Brutes
3. 1d6 Gang Foot soldiers
4. 1d6 Engine Eaters
5. 1d6 Great Bats
6.  1d6 Gang Foot soldiers & Gang Leader
7. 1d6 Byzyks
8. 1d3 Kataran Spiders
9. 1d6 Terror Birds
10. Coosk



Saturday 26 December 2015

2015 Round-Up and What's in Store for 2016?

Well 2015 has certainly been a year. Since I'm literally trapped inside my flat at the moment because the canal near me has burst its banks, I have very little to do , so I've decided to write my round-up post a little earlier this year. I'll talk about what projects I got off the ground, what projects I started and others that I meant to start but never got round to them for reasons.

So what the hell happened this year?

I kicked off 2015 with the launch of Shadow and Blade: A Guide to Assassins in Tunnels & Trolls. I'm really proud of this one. It's the first non-adventure supplement I've written for the system and I'll be sure to release at least one more next year.

The spring was pretty quiet in terms of output and I wish I'd had the chance to get more stuff out. Next year, I'd certainly like to get at least a product out per season if I can.

But in the summer came Canary Overdrive, an original RPG to celebrate kick-ass women all over the world. It's a small, simple game, but people seem to enjoy it.

Soon after I released Canary Overdrive Missions: Mindmush, the first adventure for the game. I also uploaded an example character, Cutter.

As Summer began to fade I was on my way with the first of 2015's USR supplements. In September the Lovecraftian nightmare that is Beyond Fear was released on the unsuspecting public. Weirdly, unlike almost all my other products this one still hasn't been reviewed, so if you want to do that I'd be very grateful.

Sometime in Autumn I started putting together The Kremmsellion - a new adventure for Deluxe T&T. Should be a fun one.

Finally, today I released Somnium Void, which has been a long time coming. I've been knocking this one around for a couple of years, but as with a lot of things I do I've been chopping and changing it ever since. I've managed to get it out this year by the skin of my teeth.

What the hell is happening next year?

Good question. Hopefully early 2016 will see the release of Apocalypse in Your Hometown, so I'll be pimping that soon. Really excited about this one, as I haven't seen any of the other adventures in this omnibus.

I've also got a world exclusive for you right here. I'll be launching a line of systemless supplements called 'Imaginatum: Infinite Systemless Roleplaying'. If you've been reading the blog over the past few months you will have seen that I've been creating a lot of system free stuff and it turns out that I really love doing it. Imaginatum will have everything from larger settings to smaller books focusing on a specific aspect of RPGs, like equipment or places.

The Kremmsellion will also be released sometime in the first quarter of 2016, so watch out for that.

In terms of USR, I have plans for a line of sandbox adventures, the first of which will be released in 2016. I will also be working on a new setting.

That's as far as I've got with 2016 planning, but I'm absolutely certain that there will be other stuff.

As ever, thanks for your support this year. I think that Trollish Delver Games is now getting into a comfortable stride and that's down to everyone who has downloaded, played and reviewed my games.

Here's to 2016!




Hail the Black Ship - Get Your Hands on Somnium Void Today


One hundred billion citizens of the galaxy all saw it. The vision flashed before them for mere seconds, but what they saw stuck with them ever since. A black ship over a white moon. This seemingly innocuous image became burnt onto the brain of every man, woman and child across the galaxy. The event became known as the Somnium. Life would never be the same again.

Trollish Delver Games is pleased to announce the release of Somnium Void, a space opera setting and rulebook for Unbelievably Simple Roleplaying. 

This one's been a long time coming and I'm excited to finally get it out there. If you love simple rules and space opera, this should be straight up your street. Plus, it's pay what you want, so you don't have to break the bank to enjoy it. 

You can download Somnium Void here. Hail the Black Ship.


Thursday 24 December 2015

Harvestable Monster Body Parts Table



Damn, that title would make a great album name. There's almost no doubt that at some point in your game the players have wanted to roll up their sleeves, dissect a monster and remove whatever gland is worth 300 platinum.

Below is a random table of monster parts that can be harvested and used, along with their effects and how to prepare them.

Monster Part - roll 1d8

1. Eye
2. Tongue
3. Sweat gland
4. Gallbladder
5. Tooth
6. Heart
7. Lung
8. Brain

Effect - roll 1d8

1. For a day you can see music - you can clearly observe the notes floating through the air in a swirling, colourful vortex before your eyes. You are able to pick out and copy notes straight onto paper.
2. You lapse into a coma for five hours. While you are in the coma your spirit is able to step outside your body and move around as normal, except that nobody aside from the psychically-inclined can see you. You are not able to touch anything and you cannot smell anything either.
3. You are able to speak any language for a day, but you also go blind for the day.
4. You can read someone's thoughts. You can only focus on one person's thoughts at one time. There is a 20% chance that you will be overwhelmed by thoughts and fall unconscious for 2 minutes.
5. You gain the gift of speech eloquence. You are able to easily sway minds for a day.
6. For a week, you gain the ability to see within a body - the muscles, the skeleton and the organs. With this, you can identify any ailments that would be difficult to discern on the surface.
7. You are able to speak telepathically with someone anywhere in the world as long as you focus on their face in your mind's eye. This lasts a day.
8. You gain the ability to affect the weather for a week. This does not include extreme forms of weather like hurricanes and tornadoes.

How to use it - roll 1d6

1. Eat it raw
2. Cooked over an open flame and eaten
3. Dried, crushed into a powder and inhaled
4. Dried, crushed and smoked
5. Broken open to consume the juices on the inside
6. Lick the outside






Sunday 20 December 2015

Solo RPG Thoughts: Diversionary Play


I've recently started a solo campaign using USR and I'm posting the actual plays over at the Lone Wolf Roleplaying community on G Plus. Typically I like to use a mixture of sources to create a fun game - right now I'm using the following:

I've started thinking about the nature of solo roleplaying and how much the structure differs from group gaming. The following is a post I originally wrote on the Lone Wolf community page.


Solo play isn't the same as with a group, and I don't mean for the obvious reason. There's been a lot written about how solo should be focused more on detail and character, which is absolutely spot on. But I believe solo also offers you the chance to engage in what I call 'diversionary play'. 

In a solo, you're player and GM. You build the world that you play in. Usually a group game is linear in nature - the GM says something, the players react and so on. That structure doesn't exist in solo play and I think we need to take advantage of that. This is where diversionary play comes in. 

Diversionary play builds your game in a non-linear fashion. It fleshes out your character and world, giving you more inspiration for your 'core' game. So what constitutes a diversion?

- The Gazetteer: creating news in your world is a great way to make it feel like a living place. Aim for a front page story and two or three smaller stories. Hell, put some classified ads in there if you like. If your character has done anything noteworthy, they may appear in the gazetteer. For other stories, roll a few story cubes or use a generator of your choice to come up with a handful of headlines. You don't need to go further than headlines unless you want to.

- Flashbacks:  have your character evolve through crafting their past. Write about their childhood, their best friend, their favourite foods etc. Use a generator to flesh out the most minute detail. Just focus in one aspect per diversionary session, buy go to town on it. It can help the way your character is shaped in the present.

- Character thoughts: take some downtime to figure out, in detail, what's going through your character's head at this point in the campaign. Note their thoughts on the NPCs they have come across and the situation they are in. This can help you decide how they react to certain situations in future.

- Political/ Military manoeuvres: play out what might be happening in the seat of government. What Wars are happening. Do they directly or indirectly affect your character? Play a your favourite wargame to determine the outcome (this one comes from +John Fiore​)

The point of diversionary play is to supplement your core game. You can use the above play styles when you have a spare moment on the train or on your lunch break. It takes advantage of the fact that you are the player and GM, so the game doesn't begin and end at the table - it can be constantly in motion.