Spark Tables for Bandit Companies

Roll a D4, D6, D8, D20, and consult the tables.

Louis Rhead

How many are there? (1D4)

1. Three
2. Half a dozen
3. A Dozen
4. A Horde (10 + Add up all dice rolled)

Where is their hideout? (1D6)

1. A cave
2. A ruined fortress
3. A small wooden keep
4. A rocky overpass above a trail
5. A cliffside grotto
6. A river island

Background (1D8)

1. Dispossessed nobles
2. Runaway children
3. Deserters
4. Born outlaws
5. Escapees
6. Political dissidents
7. Angry peasants
8. Religious folk

Descriptor (1D20) 

1. Mangy
2. Cruel
3. Kindly
4. Merry
5. Musical
6. Just
7. Destitute
8. Wise
9. Dangerous
10. Well-Regarded
11. Foolish
12. Notorious
13. Nocturnal
14. Cowardly
15. Lazy
16. Dolorous
17. Silent
18. Putrid
19. Unknown
20. Reckless

Idiosyncratic Knight NPCs

This is inspired by Zelda-Style NPC Personalities.  I am a big fan of using a variety of NPC generation tools in a single campaign to keep things fresh for myself and players.  I am not using this generator for every knight in my setting, but sprinkling them in as seasoning.  

Knight Behaviours (Flip a coin and roll a D6 and D8)

Heads: This knight will always... 
(1. bow 2. fall in love 3. speak in the third person 4. offer aid 5. pray 6. drink from a wooden flask)
when... 
(1. meeting a stranger 2. challenged to a duel 3. threatened 4. asked for help 5. insulted 6. entering a settlement 7. slaying an enemy 8. the sun rises)

Tails: This knight never... 
(1. removes their helmet 2. reveals their true name 3. speaks outside of riddles 4. kills 5. accepts coin 6. puts down their sword)
...
(1. until the enemy is slain 2. unless it is past dusk 3. other than on full moons 4. until the quest is completed 5. except when asked politely to 6. except during rain or snow 7. while watched by any flying creature 8. except on holy days)

Traits (Roll 1D10, write another based on prior prompts)

1. Haughty
2. Beautiful
3. Woeful
4. Fearless
5. Vengeful
6. Peaceful
7. Ominous
8. Aged
9. Violent
10. Naive 

The Knight Always Challenges (Roll a D12)

1. Foreign warriors
2. Anyone with a larger sword
3. Mages
4. Druids
5. Those perceived as disrespectful
6. Knights wearing a crest with a predatory animal
7. Warriors with a more beautiful horse
8. Warriors who do not bow first
9. Oath Breakers
10. Boastful knights
11. Thieves
12. Nobility

Garb and Armor (Roll a D20)

1. Crimson
2. Blue
3. Green
4. Black
5. Yellow
6. Wintry
7. Tarnished armor
8. Ancient 
9. Ragged
10. Cape is too long
11. Cape is too short
12. Woolen boots
13. Roman
14. Celtic patterns
15. Holy
16. Enchanted with minor magic
17. Unarmored
18. Fractured Armor
19. Jeweled
20. Shining

Lockpicking Minigame

Here is a random lockpicking minigame idea I had:

Lockpicking is guessing.  Each lock has a number from 1 to 10.  Without any skill you have a 1-in-10 chance of picking the lock.  For every point in dexterity you may roll D10 and determine if the lock's number is greater than, less than, or equal to the roll.  Those trained in lock-picking may manipulate their rolls by up to 3 in either direction.  After making all rolls the guess must be made.  If the guess is incorrect the lockpick is broken.  If the guess is off by 4 or more the lock is jammed.   

Lesser locks have more than 1 consecutive number. 

The Slumbering Castle Devlog 5: Paths

Mapping the Kingdom

My work to map out the Slumbering Castle continues.  I will be running my first test of this dungeon at Total Con 40 in about 10 days with a simple map and bullet point keys.  

Draft map 1 - I already want to change things but I'll probably use this version for the playtest

More Brainstorming Locations 

• Whipping post where two sleepers are tied (a proclamation reads that they spoke treasonously of the Princeling)
• Rotting wheelbarrow
• Large rock with a adventuring sleeper on top
• Field of standing stones
• Cats (kitten dreams)
• Bridge over a narrow valley
• Ritual fire pit

After brainstorming some more locations, I made a cleaned up version of the earlier rough draft map of the kingdom.  There's already things I'd like to change about this map, including the specifics of the castle itself but I'm going to focus on keying locations for now.  

Another goal for designing the kingdom map was to create somewhat natural paths through the space with very minimal use of actual "roads."  Paths will be hugely important to the success of this as a viable adventuring location.  With the incredibly thick fog, constant threat of endless sleep, and waist high thorns growing nearly everywhere, there can be no intelligent exploration inside the kingdom without constantly accounting for where you are and how you got to that location.  

Material Paths

• The Castle Road (From exterior through areas 8,7,6, to 5)
• The Yarn Path (From exterior through areas 1, to 5)
• The Bread Crumbs (From exterior to 3)
• The Brook (From exterior to 2)
• Standing Stone Avenue (From the Law Stone in area 1 to the temple and barrow in area 4)
• Catacombs/Ancient caverns beneath the castle (connect to the castle well, undercroft, dungeons in area 5, alcove in area 1, and cave entrance in area 2)
• Line of trees planted from seeds by a wizard to have an easy path (Not sure about this one but it seems like a fun idea and would give PCs plenty of ideas to utilize the latent plant growth spell effect)

Informational Paths 

• Horse's dreams (Stables in area 6, through areas 7,5 to the orchard in area 1)
• Farmer's note (Farm in area 3 to fox hole in area 6 south of the rock pile)
• Fox's dreams (Fox hole in area 3 to chicken coop in area 6 and alcove in area 1)
• Adventurer graffiti and markings (Various places)
• Sacred Texts (Reveals entrances to the ancient caverns of the Goddess, relative locations of the Lawstone and Temple)

Keying Tables

I have begun the work of keying locations in the castle.  I created some tables for inspiration for keying what may be dozens to hundreds of tiny little nooks inside the cursed kingdom.  I won't consider myself bound by results rolled, (and may add to or change the tables entirely later) but plan to use them as a guide for now for distributing things when I have no other ideas.  I am intentionally leaving out certain things which I am adding in a more bespoke manner.  Large adventuring parties and their paths through the kingdom are something I want to write very deliberately so that I have a chance to include fun moments of continuity.  

Table for Keying Minor Points of Interest

1. Extremely Hazardous Rot
2. Rot, Decay, or Collapse
3. Small Place of Dreaming (glimpses of a dream)
4. Sleeper
5. Sleeper in a place they aren't supposed to be
6. Wildly grown plant
7. Roll 1x on Stash Table (I have a d100 table I normally use for "non-treasure treasure")
8. Note or clue referencing another location and hinting how to arrive there

Table 1 for Keying Huts

1. Tool of profession
2. Tool for cooking
3. Cache of coin (1D4 silver, 1D20 copper)
4. Instrument
5. Clothing item
6. Keepsake or charm
7. Roll on Stash Table 
8. Roll on Stash Table

Table 2 for Keying Huts

1. 1D4 Candles
2. Woolen blanket or animal fur
3. Rotting firewood
4. Simple weapon (dagger, club, staff, etc)
5. Rotting foodstuff or mead
6. Historical clue (letter, idol, drawing, simple tapestry etc)

The Slumbering Castle Devlogs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The Slumbering Castle Devlog 4: The Dragon and Secrets

The Dragon

Since the "clock" of stamina is tracked by players, there is hopefully a bit of mental bandwidth budget to determine where the dragon is and track it's movement when characters are delving through the castle's cursed lands.  Event rolls happen roughly every 20 minutes in real time or whenever characters move between areas.  Roll a 1D4 and 1D6 at the same time.  

Event Rolls:

1. Characters lose 1 Stamina
2. Characters lose 1D6 Stamina
3. The Dragon flies in a random direction (1-6 Directions)
4. The Dragon flies to a random area (1-6 Areas)

A sketch of the kingdom divided into areas

Behavioral Absolutes: The Dragon never leaves the kingdom.  The Dragon does not retreat from battle.  The Dragon attacks all non-sleeping outsiders, and will attempt to tire them out or kill them.  The Dragon does not kill any Sleepers.  The Dragon avoids destroying any part of the Castle.  The Dragon finds human flesh distasteful and avoids biting or eating unless he is extremely desperate.  

Rough flowchart of Dragon actions

Dragon Behaviors
Tracking - The Dragon begins tracking the character's movements. I'm still tinkering with different ways to have this background function run once it starts.  
Trapping - The Dragon flies around the perimeter of the kingdom looking for signs of entry or any sort of path left by characters.  If he finds this he lies in wait for their return, if not he flies to the Castle and lies in wait there.
Fighting - The Dragon immediately flies into the air where he cannot be hit with melee attacks and most projectiles will be deflected by his beating wings.  The Dragon spams fire if there is no wooden structures nearby.  If characters are out in the open (a field of thorns) he will spend 2 rounds drawing a large ring of flames around them to trap them in.  If a character deals more than 15 damage to the Dragon in a single round, the Dragon will single them out, attempting to grab them and hold them to his mouth while he spits flame.  This does enough damage to instantly kill any mortals.  When fighting a group he knows to be dangerous he may begin the battle by dropping a tree or boulder upon them as a surprise attack.  The Dragon learns the patterns of how groups navigate through the castle the more times they have been and will always adapt to these patterns.  The Dragon can be tricked by refusing to abide by past patterns (leaving a yarn path behind you but leaving through a different way, etc.)

Secrets of the Slumbering Castle

Skip this part if you care at all about spoilers.

The Law Stone - The Law Stone describes the laws of the nameless kingdom including the succession of monarchs.  The heir to a monarch is their eldest child by default but can become anyone who defeats them in combat initiated or agreed to by the heir.  
The Goddess - She is a goddess of sleep, protection, witchery and the home and the former patron of this kingdom.  The locals of nearby villages still worship her, though with great fear of her wrath.  Her name is rarely spoken in these villages.
The Witch-Priest - The King's eldest child was the high priest of the Goddess.  They were challenged to a duel by their younger brother who defeated them, taking the title of heir.  The Princeling then manipulated their aging father to lock them up in the dungeons beneath the Castle.  During the night of a great feast the Witch-Priest escaped the dungeon, quietly killing two guards and under cloak of invisibility made their way to the treasury, taking enough gold to make a large sacrifice to the Goddess.  The enchantments were then made.
The Princeling - The Witch-priest's final curse was placed upon the Princeling and new heir to the kingdom.  The Princeling is the Dragon, cursed by an invocation which targets whoever the current heir is.  Killing the Princeling causes the title of Heir to pass to the slayer.  

The Slumbering Castle Devlogs: 1, 2, 3, 4 

The Slumbering Castle Devlog 3: Brainstorming

Brainstorming Places

The Slumbering Castle will need plenty of hazardous places, and places with treasure to be looted.  In an adventure with basically no NPCs, I also want to have quite a bit of environmental storytelling.  To this end, I went about brainstorming things I want to be included somewhere in the castle and its surrounding kingdom:

In the Castle:

1. Dry moat surrounding the castle with a rotting drawbridge leading across (the drawbridge has iron reinforcement bars beneath the rotting wood which can be walked over somewhat safely) a rope leads down into the moat which is filled now with thorns.
2. Collapsed section of wall with claw marks and scorch marks on the stones.  (Plenty of crushed bones) A large felled tree has been used as a makeshift bridge over the moat here.
3. Magical talking object (Maybe a mirror) hidden in a deep, dangerous location.  
4. Well with a ledge and secret passage leading to the alcove where the offering was made.
5. Castle kitchen where uncooked lobsters sleep alongside the cooks.
6. Undercroft leading to an ancient cave around which the castle was built (A holy site of the Goddess)
7. Castle stables.  A collapsing hayloft hangs just past the entrance.
8. Great Hall (Fallen into sleep during a feast.  Hot spot for dream illusions, one of the most dangerous locations in the Castle)
9. Cellar room with barrels of foul mead.  A guard sleeps here with a keyring and a wooden cup.
10. Dungeon with crumbling tunnels.  The deepest cell is empty with an open door.  Two skeletal guards lay slain before it with blood staining the ground.
11. Treasury (Ceiling is close to falling in)
12. Armory (All sorts of weapons and gear, much of which is rusting)
13. Chancellor's chambers filled with great wealth.  Letters discussing the king's mental decline can be found here as well as letters with the Princeling plotting his rise to power.  
14. Princeling's chambers (love letters from admirers, cool magic sword?)
15. Heir's chambers. (Unicorn's horn, books of magical lore, the sacred text of the Goddess, relics)  The floor is buckling and crumbling.
16. King's chambers filled with tapestries and fine things. 
17. Barracks.
18. Invocation channeling focus for the Dragon's curse.  (I don't know what this is yet.) 

George Henry Boughton

Somewhere in the Kingdom: 

1. Campsite outside the kingdom where a company left much of their supplies before venturing in. 
2. Ditch surrounding the ancient boundaries of the kingdom which marks the edge of the enchantments
3. Guard post and rotting gatehouse at the entrance to the kingdom
4. Yarn path leading out, left by a sleeping party (leads through multiple zones)
5. The Law Stone (A stone whereupon all the laws of the kingdom are recorded, including the specifics of succession to the throne)  The Law Stone was used as an Invocation Focus for the invocation which forever erased the names of the kingdom, its monarch and heir.  All references to the kingdom's name appear scratched out.
6. Numerous sleeping parties and the supplies they brought with them and notes they took
7. Ancient circle of rough stone obelisks.  
8. Runic spell circle.  A wizard sleeps within.  
9. Barrow of ancient kings where the dragon rests and hoards the bones of intruders it has killed.
10. Pond.  (Fisher's cabin)
11. Inn.  (Cellar with a lockbox.  Rotting second story with numerous holes where heavy things have fallen through.)
12. Cobbler.
13. Stables. (Dreams of wide pastures, bright sunlight, apple trees, information can be found about the orchard)
14. Crumbling watchtower.
15. Temple to the local Goddess.
16. Apple orchard.  The trees have grown wildly due to the plant growth spell and produce large apples.
17. Alcove where the offering was made to the Goddess and the enchantments were laid.
18. Burnt corpses with claw marks of the dragon nearby.
19. Shepherd's hut.  A small stone wall pens in sleeping sheep.
20. Barn (Rotting away and at risk of collapsing)
21. Gardens. (Overgrown with flowers and root vegetables)
22. Location of a fight between two adventuring parties.  The winning group fell asleep shortly after.
23. Small Ancient Quarry.
24. Hidden Grotto.
25. Rock Pile. (A good place for hiding)
26. Foxes asleep in a foxhole whose dreams leak outwards.
27. Path of moldy breadcrumbs leading out of the kingdom and to a small hiding place.
28. Map to a location filled with heavy treasure left behind by an adventuring party. 

What I'm Currently Working On

• Building an overloaded event table for time spent in the Castle which models the Dragon's random movement through areas as well as steady stamina loss.  
• Creating a set of universal behaviors for the Dragon as well as a flow chart determining how it acts, how effectively it can find adventurers once it has smelled them or their torches, traps it may set for them, how its behavior changes upon sequential visits, etc.

The Slumbering Castle Devlogs: 1, 2, 3 

Current Inspirations
Cahir Castle - This is a cool place I visited around 2 years ago.  I like having reference images for any environment I'm working on.  I found some reference pictures of it here, here and here.  I want to use fairly realistic proportions for the Slumbering Castle and avoid having grand gothic architecture that veers from the fairy tale-ish vibe. 
Pagans Hill Roman Temple
How Level Design Can Tell a Story by GMTK

The Slumbering Castle Devlog 2: Challenges and Enchantments

Challenges in the Slumbering Castle

There is only 1 enemy to fight in the Slumbering Castle¹.  The place is empty.  Initially I pondered including all kinds of enemies² but these all seemed to dilute the vision I had.  This is a quiet and empty place, a largely peaceful place.  There are no factions or hordes of enemies to overcome.  Despite this, I want the Slumbering Castle to be scary.  I want it to be dangerous and terrifying.  So the somewhat unique challenge is finding ways to create challenge without combat.  This is a problem I'm still working on but here are ideas I have so far:

1. The Death-Sleep (Sleep-Death?): This is a working title for the sleep which overwhelms in this place.  Basically the longer you stay, the closer you come to a sleep that cannot be woken from.
2. The Thorns: Thorns must be actively cut or burned to clear paths and regrow within a few minutes.  Carefully moving through the thorns cuts movement speed by 3/4, and moving at normal speed deals minor damage.
3. The Fog: You can only see clearly within 20ft.  Torches can be seen from 40ft.  Large flames can be seen from 60ft.  The fog also prevents divination magic targeting anything within.
4. Navigational Hazards: Getting lost is the end.  So is getting stuck in a dry moat.  So is a rampart or tunnel entrance collapsing if you are in the wrong place.
5. Dream Illusions: I'm on the fence about this but haven't ruled out the idea that places with large concentrations of sleepers may have distortions where the dreams begin to infect the real world through powerful illusions.  
6. The Dragon: Unlike the Disney version of this fairy tale, the dragon is not an enemy to be slain but one to be avoided and hidden from.  Killing it will not help you.

Wilhelm Jordan

Enchantments in the Slumbering Castle

The Slumbering Castle will be written primarily to be used with Fire Tales RPG, so a secondary goal for this project is to utilize Fire Tales' magic systems³ for the enchantments.  The main enchantments, their current stats, and mechanical effects are as follows:

• Thorns and Fog (Spell - Nature: Shifting; Configuration: Land; Target: All; Duration: Century; Incantations: Mystify (Targets become surrounded by a layer of thick magical mist,
  and cannot be seen or sensed by scrying or detection magic for the duration.), Plant Growth (Plants targeted grow rapidly and regrow constantly for the duration.))
• These effects are part of the same spell and can potentially be dispelled or suppressed with spellcasting.
• Goddess' Curse (Appeal - Offering Magnitude: 10; Appeal Magnitude: 5)
• Mechanically stamina cannot be recovered and is lost over time.  When a character reaches 0 stamina they fall into immediate Death-sleep.
• The Dragon's Curse (Invocation - I want all heavy spoilers and details regarding the Dragon to be in the same post so I'm saving this for now.)

More Inspirations for the Slumbering Castle
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro - This is a very melancholic book with wonderful atmosphere that I was thinking about in relation to the castle recently.  It also has lots of magic fog.
The Eternal Ruins - This is a youtube channel and worldbuilding project with an upcoming RPG I am super excited for.  The artwork for this is excellent and seems to draw from similar sources as The Slumbering Castle but goes in a different direction tonally.

Next Steps
My plan is to start working on the map both for the castle and it's surroundings and brainstorm a large list of locations and points of interest.  I am currently planning to run an early playtest of the castle at a convention next month so I need to have something solid soon.

The Slumbering Castle Devlogs: 1, 2 

¹    The Dragon which I will explore my ideas for in a later devlog
²    thorn monsters, skeletal guardians, animated objects, feral rats, dream spirits
³     Spellcasting in Fire Tales uses targeting similar to Ars Magica with spell effects similar to Cairn and Knave 2E's brief spell descriptions.  Invocations are described in a prior post.  Divine appeals require ritual offerings and have their mechanical effects determined by the Firekeeper (Gamemaster).