Runeforest Incursion (Into the Wyrd and Wild + Stygian Library): OSR Blog Post NPCs! Part 1

There's alot of sweet blog posts out there in the OSR-Blogosphere. I turned some of them into characters.

The Trading Post

Many of the permanent dwellers of the Post are larger-than-life, eccentric characters. The services they offer though are as unique as their personalities. They have names, but do not share them and instead go by various titles.

The Surgeon (Mad scientist, Ksenia Galushkina)

The Surgeon

Inspired by: Lexi's Reconstructed

"You know, I'm a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I can help you with that hump."

The Surgeon can help you with the variety of unfortunate ailments that might befall you when traveling through the Runeforest. They will not bring back the dead, citing "an unfortunate prior experience", but can help even the most grievously injured as long as they are only mostly dead.

Player mechanics: You can pay the Surgeon to operate on someone to cure them of any ailment or curse that could be banished by replacing blood/skin/brains/vital organs. They suffer from the drawbacks but don't gain any of the benefits of the replacement parts until they advance the mutation with 3 X's .

GM Mechanics: The Surgeon will operate on the promise of payment, typically requesting some combination of jars full of rare bugs, lightning rods, barrels of ink, and raw flesh, with the amount varying based on the complications of the surgery. Roll for a random Reconstructed material, though Glass and Metal are replaced with Paper and Electricity. If a replacement Part makes sense (brains for brain injuries or memory curses, for example) use that, otherwise roll randomly.

The Fableist

The Fableist

Inspired by: Arnold K's Bardic Services

"I won these stories, fair and square..."

The Fableist can be found in their rocking chair, banjo in hand. They are pleasant to talk to and, if bribed with tobacco, alcohol, or a hot meal, will share their "Stories". 

Player mechanics: The Fableist is a fantastic source of information, but tends to share their knowledge through Parables, Tales and Song rather than straightforward speech. They will also spread Rumours in the form of Fables, for a price. They will not besmirch the names of individuals, but can shape the Posts opinion about other groups and Merchant companies. How believable the Fable is depends on how well they are paid. If you have a specific desire, showering The Fableist with gifts is a good place to start, as he can point you in the right direction.

Oddly, he can also teach you the language of Spiders.

GM mechanics: The Fableist offers the services almost exactly as the post describes. They offer discounts on information for similar information and secrets. 

The Speaker

The Speaker

"I drowned my books long ago. Best decision I ever made. Kept the staff, though."

Inspired by: Tiny Elementals and Skerples' Elementalist

The speaker is a young-looking but powerful mage, named for their ability to speak with the elements of creation. This most commonly allows them to serve as a smith of sorts (there are no Forges in the Post) as they shape metal into exotic and useful shapes by convincing the spirits inside to do so. Armor and weapons made by The Speaker are always of extremely high quality (at least +1). In addition, Adventurers seek him out for his ability to broker pacts with elemental spirits.

Player Mechanics: The Speaker is who you go to if you want to trade wheelbarrows full of money and goods for rare weapons and armor. You may also need to provide the raw materials as well, depending on the service (he doesn't have any adamantine laying around, for example). In addition to being a one-man magic arms and armor shop, the Speaker can also summon Elemental Motes for you to barter with. Different Elementals will request different favors for their services. It is well known that making a habit of aiding Elemental creatures can earn The Speaker's favor in the form of discounts, so it's quite popular to see Adventuring groups travel with at least one Elemental Mote.

GM Mechanics: The Speaker can make almost anything from raw materials, but their prices are exorbitantly high- at least 50% above market value for mundane items. They refuse to actually enchant things, but can still shape exotic magical items as long as the proper rune-logic is imbued into it first. 

When the characters approach The Speaker and ask him to broker an elemental contract, roll on the Tiny Elementals table to randomly generate an elemental mote. Use the attached Goal chart or one of these to come up with a goal for the creature. Ignore the Lifespan portion of the generation, as the creature will stay manifested until its goal is met. The Speaker will only offer a single contract per Runeforest cycle regardless if it is accepted or not. The Elemental motes will simply leave after a season if their goal has not been completed (a single month in Centras). Spiteful elemental motes will immediately offer to join and assist the parties' enemies and rivals when this occurs.

 

20 Questions for Runeforest Incursion

I've done the 20 Q's before for my version of Shell and Stone. I'll be running the upcoming game though with my old home-setting, Centras, though my intention with the Runeforest is that as an event, it's drop-able into most settings with an appropriate creepy forest.

Note: I'm still referring to the Urban location as "The City" for now, though that likely won't be the final name. Other names have changed as well.

1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?
   - In the "civilized" parts, most folk tend to venerate the God-claw, the pantheon of five gods who recovered the lands from it's ever-burning state by defeating the Evil Prince of Wildfires
2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
   -Actually a more complicated question than you'd think. Normal supplies can be bought in the "civilized parts", but most things come at a premium if you're buying things for yourself at the Post. There's enough Merchants around though that most stuff is pretty easy to find, and if you sign an exclusive charter for a coalition or even just run repeated jobs for the same Merchant they may give you a hefty discount.
3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
   - At the Trading Post, there's a Speaker who crafts such things by convincing the metal to take and hold a shape. Expensive as hell though. If the monster is at least somewhat standard* in shape you might be able to get a custom job done from one of the Guildsman in the City, though they tend to want favors done for custom jobs on top of any payment for materials and labor. Custom jobs take time after all.
   
   *Note, Centras has Glow-Crabs instead of horses so "standard shape" for creatures is a bit different. A centipede or arachnid wouldn't need much modifying, whereas a wolf or deemight.
4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?
   - Rumor and fables go that the Leader of the Librarians, those wild-folk druids who "keep" the dark parts of the Runeforest, is an ancient Lich who's spellcraft and insanity are unparalleled. Otherwise, whoever's been appointed the Court Wizard of the Monarch. It changes often, there tend to be many challengers for the position and Wizard Duels are fairly explosive (it's not uncommon for draws to end with both parties dead)
5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
   - Like, warrior as in "that one's covered in armor and can single handed mow down a peasant rebellion" or "That one throat-punched an Iron Bear and is wearing it's pelt"? Knight-Commander's the first, War-Chief is the second.
6. Who is the richest person in the land?
   - The Monarch. Duh. Also maybe one of the Midas representatives, if I think about it.
7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?
   - There are some pretty nifty Herbs around that will be your best bet. The Trading Post has a rather curious fellow called the Surgeon who will volunteer to heal you but his patients wind up a bit....off.
8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?
   - See the Herbs above, also the Surgeon if you're close to the Trading Post. The, ah, "price" he charges gets greater with the more exotic ailments.
9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
   - Well, the Runeforest isn't called that for nothing- there sure are lots of spells kept by trees and animals in there if you know where to look for them. As for magic guilds not so much. There are several unique magical mercenary companies you may be interested in though. These will rarely reward spells or magic items as part of a job completion.
10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
    - The Trading Post will certainly have someone with the services you seek, though their costs may be high or strange. You can try the City as well, though most experienced Travelers will tell you that the Trading Posts information and methods are more reliable.
11. Where can I hire mercenaries?
    - Depends on the job precisely, Sellswords and regular guards aren't cheap but can be found in the City. You might want to hire a scout or guide for various journey's, these tend to hang around the Gates of both the City and the Trading Post.
12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
    -You'll need a permit for anything bigger than a knife in the City. Most Bastard Spells are outlawed there as well. The Trading Post has no such laws for either.
13. Which way to the nearest tavern?
    - The City has plenty, the Trading Post has only one.
14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
    - Every single Runeforest cycle has some sort of Mark that's worthwhile and a Threat that's dangerous. Killing either would be a great boost to your reputation and pocket money.
15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
    - Just the Trade kind at the moment. Sign up with the Verderer's if you want to be fighting on behalf of the Crown though.
16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
    - There's a fighting pit in the post where you can fight against mystery opponents, including wyld beasts. I wouldn't recommend it if you value your life, though the Surgeon will stitch up anyone only mostly dead.
17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
    - There are several competing Merchant Consortiums and Companies, and some of their cutthroat practices could certainly be classified as "Sinister".
18. What is there to eat around here?
    - Whatever you can catch. Jerky is the iron-ration of choice, just don't ask what part it came from.
19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
    - Each Runeforest Cycle will reveal new locations with the potential for treasure, but for specific legendary targets you may want to ask the Fableist at the Trading post for any rumours he may have heard.
20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?
    - Probably just off the trail in the Runeforest, just be aware you may not find it again.

Runeforest Incursion (Into the Wyrd & Wild + Stygian Library): GM Procedures First Draft

So I'm looking to codify the actual generation procedures for Runeforest content. I've already got most of the books I'll be using but this is a draft on how I intend to generate the actual cycles.

1. Time-Tracking

I have a calendar I'll be using to keep strict time records. The in-game calendar I'm using has 5 months with 4, 7-week days each. I like the logic used in Songbirds where having shorter in game time between seasons adds a sense of time passing faster than when a traditional longer calendar is used. Songbirds has 4 months, one per season, but for in game Lore reasons I have 5 months, one for each god-claw member and each corresponding to a different season with one "Flux" month with totally random weather between the Spring and Summer months.

So the first thing to do before each session will just be "advance time". Depending on player decisions each session should have actions+downtime that last about a week, give or take. 

On top of this, I've arbitrarily decided to decide that each Runeforest Cycle lasts 2 weeks.

So in short, when prepping~ 

Step 1: Advance Time

Step 2: Check Calendar for Season and Weather

Step 3: Check Calendar for Cycle shift.

Copyright WoTC

2: Generate Runeforest Content for New Cycles

Into the Wyrd and Wild has a great system for die-drop locations and trails between them that I'll use. The locations themselves will be drawn from a pretty big list combining Stygian Libraries' and Wyrd and Wilds location/details as well as a few custom ones. 

To keep things manageable, I'll always assume "difficult" trails take twice as long as "normal" or "hidden" trails. 

Important Runeforest Note: The fastest way through (so all normal/hidden trails) will take 3 full days to move from the starting point to the destination. So heading out on the equivalent of a Monday morning will get you there by Wednesday Night, assuming no disruptions (yeah, right).

Once the locations and trails are determined and filled, I can generate Encounter Table content.

I'll save the full encounter table for another time, but for now the important part is that two results have the potential to change each cycle.

The first is that each cycle has a Known Threat. The other result I'll change per cycle is a Valuable Mark. I'll save a longer spiel about both of those for a later post. But for now just note that these are a bit more curated per cycle than the other results, which will draw from a pretty big list consisting of Stygian Library, Wyrd & Wild, and my own encounters.


So
 Step 3a: If New Cycle-

• Generate Locations and Trails
• Determine Trail Difficulty, Note shortest route(s)
• Fill locations
• Record current Known Threat and Valuable Mark on Encounter Table

So to recap~

Always:

1. Advance Time
2. Note Season and Weather
3. Note Current Cycle

On New Cycles:

1. Generate Locations and Trails
2. Determine Trail Difficulty, Note shortest route(s)
3. Fill locations
4. Record current Known Threat and Valuable Mark on Encounter Table

Sneak Peek: Player Procedures

Upon beginning a session, the players are given the following info:

- The Date and Weather
- The current Known Threat
- The results of any previous Downtime Actions

Players are then given the following options:

- Hunt?
- Map?
- Guard?
- Or do Something else?



Next- the Runeforest Calendar, Encounter Table, and Play Procedures!

Runeforest Incursion (Into the Wyrd & Wild + Stygian Library): Character Backgrounds

When creating a new character, roll 3d6 in addition to your normal character generation process. This is your relation to the Runeforest, potentially marking you as stinking of the City or the Forest.

Because of their ongoing war, natives of either place will treat you differently based on what Stench you have, possibly without even knowing why. Nobles will go out of their way to deal with intermediaries of Rune-Folk instead of dealing with them directly, and animals and other RuneFolk will be guarded and potentially hostile to those who stink of the fineries of high-society.

The numbers below represent a reaction modifier for members of the City. Reverse these numbers for reactions of those of the Forest. Street-folk tend not to have strong feelings either way.

A child of the Wyld (source)

Runeforest Backgrounds

3: -3 A true child of the Wyld. Possibly raised by animals or other RuneFolk. Regular people may mistake you for a Librarian. Take 3 Wyld Skills.

4-5: -2 Likely from the Trading Post or a Log-Cabin somewhere in the Runeforest. Either way, you probably don't know much about society or social norms. Take 2 Wyld Skills.

6-8: -1 Most townsfolk and peasants who live and farm within sight of the Runeforest. Take 1 Wyld Skill.

9-12: +0 Average cityfolk or suburban dweller. You might also be a Majordomo or Verderer. You don't have the stink of the City or the Forest.  Choose between 1 Street Skill, "Majordomo", or "Ranger".

13-15: +1 Knights, lesser nobles, successful bankers, merchants, and wealthy city-folk. Take 1 Court Skill.

16-17: +2 Barons, counts, dukes, and other high-ranking nobles. Take 2 Court Skills.

18: +3 Royalty and greater nobility. Regardless, you are somewhere in the line of succession. Take 3 Court Skills.


Skill Examples:

Wyld Skills: Scouting, Hunting, Navigation, Herbalism, Taxonomy, Fishing, Farming, Fae Customs

Court Skills: Dueling, Debate, Negotiation, Riding, Falconry, Painting, Scribing, Embezzlement, Espionage, Court Etiquette

Street Skills: Haggling, Butchery, Cooking, Shopping, Pickpocketing

A Greater Noble (source)

Majordomo

Once upon a time, a Noble man had a problem, for he could not find a butler who was not traitorous and deceitful. The Noble looked far and wide and each prospective butler turned out to be a spy, or traitorous, or easily blackmailed. And so the Noble looked to the one place where his enemies could not have touched. The Noble sought a child of the Wyld.

All the head's of noble households in modern times are children of the Wyld. It doesn't matter how connected they are to the Runeforest. Prospective Majordomos are found either as orphans or bought for a generous sum from their peasant families. They are then brought up as a member of the Noble's household and trained to run it. Majordomos are skilled in the arts of delegation, paper-trails, counter-espionage, and blackmail.

After years spent within the City, Majordomo lose the scent of the Runeforest.

(source)

Verderer

A member of the official military group responsible for administering the Laws of the Monarch within the Runeforest. Anyone without the stench of the Forest can join, though in doing so the Verderer renounces all family ties and noble claims or positions they might hold. Many mistake the Verderers for Rangers, though the latter title is reserved for the clergy and devouts of Xan, god of beasts. Verderers are skilled in the arts of tracking, survival, and law. 

Like the Majordomo who lose the stench of the Forest, Verderers eventually lose the stench of the City, perhaps as a defense mechanism.

(source)

Design Notes:

I really like the way that Nightmares Underneath does Social class with an additional 3d6 roll and modifier for "noble" reactions dependent on status. My intent was to use a similar system but mirror it for the two major factions and throw in some skills as well. I might also do some equipment tables for the different backgrounds specifically much like Nightmares Underneath did as an option. 

Majordomo's just something I came up that's probably based off alot of things I can't remember. Verderers are essentially just this settings equivalent of the Night's Watch if it wasn't obvious.

If I had a group or players that didn't want to roll, I'd probably just let them pick any of the -1, 0, or +1 options, with the other results reserved for chance.

Runeforest Incursion: (Into the Wyrd & Wild + Stygian Library) Campaign Setup

I've had this idea stewing in my head for awhile and finally have a group to run it for.

The central idea is a combination of these two unlikely RPG books I both greatly enjoy- one for running weird forests, the other a sort of Eternal Haunted Library.

THE INCURSION

The forests, usually savage but predictable, have become strange. Text scrawls itself onto the trunks of trees. Legendary animals appear and replace their more mundane counterparts. Piles and piles of books appear from nothingness. Trappers and Hunters find abandoned desks and studies in forest clearings.

The trees move when nobodies looking.

There are Traders here, in this hostile place. They have things you want- pelts, spices, ancient scrolls. They want the things you have- metal, food, water, alcohol, supplies.

You know, you could make alot of money with a few carts and the means to protect it...

The Bears are Hangry and Magical (Source)

Goals:

Focus on the Locations: I want to spend the extra time to make two central static locations become more "alive" - A Baroque coastal city with lots of garish nobles and scheming merchants, and the Trading Post, the esoteric and strange place of safety deep within the Forest.

Offer a Dynamic Challenge: I don't know the specifics yet but the idea so far is as follows; every set interval (perhaps every 2 weeks in game) all maps of the Runeforest become unusable. New paths and places of interest appear. Both Wyrd & Wild and Stygian Library have excellent "map" generation that I intend to take full advantage of. On top of the map changing, I hope to offer the players alot of choice in how they spend each session- Tracking down exotic beasts? Attempting the race to find the safest path through and sell the maps? Guarding one of the many Caravans to or from the Trading Post? Scouring the RuneForest for ancient knowledge or new and strange spells? Take on a Wytch-Guard Contract and try not to let the bumbling apprentice get eaten by something?

Express the Aesthetic: Deep and mythical dark forests, dusty tomes, strange rituals.
Whimsical and horrible things. Places of ruin, knowledge, life, and hostility. Circles of stones and humanoid shapes with antlers.

Threats both Mundane and Supernatural: There are rivals everywhere. Whenever you make money, it means that someone else didn't. The players aren't the only ones trying to map the way through, or hunt that beast, or get that caravan charter. They'll make enemies in the civilized places and will need to balance the politics of business with the threats of the wylds. Assassins, bandits, starvation and exposure are just as lethal as Forest Drakes and Runeclaw Beasts and Werewolves. Lots of things are trying to kill you.

Art by Vityar83

To-Do's

- Finish the Encounter Tables
- Formalize the Rules: Some things, like Hunting and Camping, will run just as they are in Into the Wyrd & Wild. I'll need to make my own rules for mapping rules and finalize the timelines. I want maps to be worth more the "safer" they are and the faster they are delivered since the last reset. I still want to work out gold expectations as well
- Finish the details of the City and the Trading Post