Eight shrines

1    Ashwold

South of Tinslay is a tall square building of uneven rocks, veiled by spider web that extends in long white tresses to the surrounding trees and over the ground. A withered statue of great age rise out of the web; its pedestal bears the arrow-like mark of the Consolers and a nigh-unintelligible inscription reading DICIO * SATOR. Inside lives a great spider, tending to six large egg sacs of dense web that slowly moves. Denser patches of spider web on the grond cover six pit traps; if a character walks on them, they fall into the pit and lose their remaining movement. When they emerge, 1d4 young spiders follow.
GREAT SPIDER: Large (1d8), HD 4+2, AR 2, MV 6, dmg 1d6 + poison.
+ Climb: Each 1d8 turns, the spider leaps up in the ceiling, tree, or web; there it remains until it suffers damage, spraying a noxious acid at its turn (dmg 1d6, ranged, 3" area, everyone hit must save or armour is dented).
+ Poison: if at least 1 point of damage goes through armour, the target must save or suffer 1d4 damage/round until successfully treated
+ Erratic movement: if attacked and missed, the spider immediately moves 1d6" in a random direction.

YOUNG SPIDER: Small (-1d8), HD 1, MV 9, dmg 1d6 + poison.
+ Poison: if at least 1 point of damage goes through armour, the target must save or suffer 1d4 damage/round until successfully treated
+ Spider sense: the spider can evade any number of attacks and makes evade rolls at +6.

Egg sacs

1:    Corpse of a man, wearing a deep red robe. When opened, 1d4 young spiders crawl out from the sac each round until it is completely destroyed. The dead man has almost no nose and appears to have been an itinerant merchant of some sort, for with him is a wide array of pouches and goods. Most is now useless, but two firebombs, 1d10 pieces of glimmering red gold, and a parchment scroll. The parchment is badly damaged, but if carefully restored it contains a clue.
2-5:     wild animal, barely alive and crawling with spiderlings - when opened, all adjacent characters must evade or suffer a -3 penalty to all actions for the next round as their skin crawls with countless spiderlings. The dying animal has 1 HP and will move 1d4" in a random direction each round until dead. As long as it is alive, all adjacent characters suffer the -3 penalty.
6:    ragged man, alive but severely disfigured by the spiderlings feeding from him - when opened, all characters within line of sight must roll INT or be SHAKEN. The man is disoriented from the spider's poison but if saved, he turns out to be a local farmer who briefly travelled with Raillarde the Paynim as a guide. After a bandit ambush - which he had nothing to do with, he swears - he fled and never saw the knight again. Last he know, the knight was headed north, towards Belmyre.

2    Loudreác

Nine nine miles east of King's road is a small stone shrine, adorned with imagery of queen Aelwydd and surrounded by a low wall that is dwarfed by thistles and shrubbery. The wall is partly destroyed by the encroaching forest, but curiously has no visible gate. A statue of a old woman lies toppled among the weeds, its head missing. The inscription reads: GENTRX * CELSUS * NOSTER.
Inside sits a knight, motionless and reclining against the wall. If approached, the knight comes to life.
GODRYDD THE ACCURSED: HD 5, AR 6, Shield (1d8), MV 6, dmg 1d8+1d6 (longsword)

3    Langonne

An old chapel, slowly keeling into a dark pond. The chapel is adorned by the the tear-shaped mark of the Consolers, but the scarred oak trees surrounding the pond speak of ceremonies still older. If there ever was a statue or idol, it is long since lost. Inside the dark chapel lies a mummified arm in a monstrance, black like tar and smelling of rancid apples.
HAUNT: HD 2, AR 0, MV 5, dmg 1d8 magic
+ Deathless: The haunt is immune to all physical damage, but is immediately vanquished if its relic is destroyed.

4    Orvault

On a small island in a reed-covered lake are the ruins of a shrine, dwarfed by a cairn that better withstood the test of time.  The island is home to a band of goblins, whose cooing calls can be heard across the lake. Using sleds and snow-shoes of twigs, the light goblins can move through the dense reeds without getting wet; for everyone else, the reeds counts as difficult terrain. A great lamprey lives in the lake, feeding of animals that get stuck in the mud, and the goblins are careful to move quickly across the reeds and stay away from any open water.
GOBLINS (3d6): small (-1d8), HD 1, AR 2, mv 6, dmg 1d6 (bows: ranged, poison arrows - save or DOWNED) or 1d6 (spears).
+ Pack tactics: Ignores size penalty if outnumbering target

GIANT LAMPREY: HD 4, AR 0, MV 8/4 in reeds, dmg 1d4 + grapple
+ Motion sense: The lamprey relies on motion to find its prey; each round not in melee, it prioritizes moving towards the largest splash or disturbance of the water surface, then the nearest, or else moves at random. It will only attack characters or creatures that are in the water.
+ Grapple: A target successfully grappled by the lamprey is pulled under water, where they suffer 1d4 fatigue per round from asphyxiation.
+ Submerged: The lamprey only rises from the water to attack, otherwise its position is only revealed by the parting reeds. When submerged, the lamprey is in full cover to all but adjacent characters.

5    Egwyn Fach

A sturdy shrine built from neatly-fitted and perfectly square stones sits untouched by time among elderflower trees and rows of salsnip. A pathway lead across the garden to the shrine, each of its of white stones carrying a brown mark looking like a cloven hoof. Inside the floor is covered by hay and fragrant branches. Here lives a peaceful hermit Eroästes and his sheep, collecting wild flowers to adorn a large statue of the God Mother. The hermit speaks only sparingly, but is otherwise happy to help. He knows medicine and has a few books; if studied, one of them provides a clue.

6    Soudan

A walled-up cave by a small stream forms an inconspicuous shrine, built at the foot of a long path leading up a steep hill. A nearby stone reads FARAN - AELWYDD THEODCWEN - BYLDED - CIRCE. Inside the shrine is a travelling merchant.

7    Derrill

By a swampy pond leaking into the Wallingwall channel is a wormstung timber shrine. Inside, the floor stones form the tear-shaped mark of the Consolers. The nun Odille is resting inside; fleeing from Whitesun she is terrified of man-masked demons, but is friendly if convinced that the PCs are mortals.

 8    Pyworth.

A turret-like shrine, walled by several low rows of standing stones. Outside the perimeter of the stones is an encampment, flying the flag of Tuillote of Haute-Occ. His retinue is currently tending to the badly wounded knight and several graves give testimony to recent casualties.

Inside the shrine, stone stairs leads down into a vast, dark chamber where the Foot of the Bleeder is kept. Here resides Lantern Knight Gwent, the formidable foe who has so ravaged the noble knight outside.
TUILLOTE (wounded): HD 2 (fights as HD 5), AR 6, Shield (1d10), MV 6, dmg 1d14 + 1d4 magic (spear called Segwryck) or 1d8 (sword).
RETINUE (2d4): HD 2, AR 4, Shield (1d6), MV 6, dmg 1d10 (axes)

1d6 graves of fallen knights

1.

A large rock, overgrown with ferns. Crushed underneath are the remains of a nameless Knight. The troll that hurled the rock still lairs nearby; ancient and wicked she carries the skull of the dead knight on her club, occasionally swearing at it or ridiculing it.
HAG-TROLL: Huge (2d8), HD 6, AR 3, dmg 1d12 (gt club: knockback, area) or 1d12 (boulder: ranged, 2x2 square area)

+ Mesmerizing song: Each 1d8 turns, save or be paralysed.
+ Regenerates 1HD per round. Immune to magic.

2.

The pine-forest here is quiet, and bones litter the ground. Among the lichen-covered trees lie a heap of toppled stones - all that remain of the once-splendid grave of Byrla the Shield. Each night the dead knight returns to cursed life, intent only on killing. If vanquished, the knight begins hauting again at the next full moon unless the body is placed in hallow soil.
CURSED KNIGHT: HD 5, AR 4, Shield 1d16 (3), dmg 1d8 + 1d6 magic (cursed sword).

+ Unhallowed charge: Each 1d4 rounds, the knight charges 2d4 squares forward and attacks with an impaling strike: target must save or suffer 1d12 magical damage and lose 1d4 Spirit.
+ Fay Shield: The Fay Shield of Byrla protects against all types of damage, and reflects the damage back at the attacker if the shield roll is higher than the damage roll. If taken from Byrla, it breaks and withers on a roll of 1.
+ Cursed: Cannot cross running water, must return to corpse at daybreak.

3.

A solemn stone of pink granite marks the grave of Brathos of Werelden. The inscriptions read "As in life, so in death." A large family of wild boars have partly exhumed the bones through extensive burrowing; curse-stricken, they now hunt for food. The boars secrete a dark oil that turn their manes into porcupine-like quills, and gradually kills the forest surrounding their lair. On the week of a full moon, there is a 1-in-4 chance that Gloso is among them.
QUILLED BOAR (3d4): HD 2, AR 2, MV 9, dmg 2d6
Charge, knock down, disengage

+ Bristles: when evading an attack, the boar deals 1d6 damage to the attacker
+ Death struggle: when reaching 0 hp, the boar immediately makes a melee attack before dropping dead.

GLOSO: Large (1d8), HD 6, AR 4, MV 9, dmg 2d8
Charge, knock down, disengage

+ Poisonous exhale: Each 1d4 rounds, Gloso exhales a cloud of black smoke covering 1d8x1d8 squares. The cloud obscures line-of-sight and dissipates at a rate of 1 square in each direction per round. Everyone in the cloud must save or suffer 1d6 poison damage (no armour).
+ Bristles: when evading an attack, Gloso deals 1d6 damage to the attacker
+ Death struggle: Each 2 HD lost, Gloso immediately makes a melee attack.

4.

A great heap of branches and fallen trees adorned with feathers mark the nest of a huge bear-like creature. Beaked and feathered like an owl, it hunts mainly at night and is at disadvantage in direct sunlight. Tangled in the roots in one of the storm-felled trees are broken human bones, barely held together by fragments of green fabric with gold-tread inlay. This is the remains of a nameless knight. If investigated, a sword can be retrieved from the light-brown soil (as longsword; crit on a 19-20).
OWLBEAST: Large (1d8) HD 4, AR 4, MV 6, dmg 1d8 + knockback (area) or 2d6 + grapple

+ Pounce: Each 1d8 turns, the Owlbeast leaps forward 2d4 squares. All PCs in its path must evade or be pushed forward and suffer 1d6 damage (half protection from armour) as they are crushed under the terrible weight of the landing beast. In addition, the Owlbeast may make a single melee attack with its beak upon landing, dealing 2d6 damage (rending: armour reduced by 1).

5.

In the flooded ruins of a small stone temple lives a tribe of leech-skinned goblins. Inside the temple is the remains of Sir Folming; mummified in the marsh, the goblins have exhumed the body and distorted it into an grim idol.
LEECH-GOBLINS (3d6): Small (-1d8), HD 1, AR 4, mv 6, dmg 1d6 (spear).

+ Pack tactics: Ignores size penalty if outnumbering target
+ Impossible to shake: The goblins gain a +3 bonus to grappling; when the grappling goblin is removed, the grappled character suffers 1d3 damage for each failed attempt to break free from it.

GOBLIN LEADER: Small (-1d8), HD 4, AR 4, Shield 1d4(2), mv 6
dmg 1d8 +1d4 magical (sword)

+ Command: Each 1d8 turns, the leader issues an order and the other goblins must immediately charge towards a target or hurl their spears at a specific target. All goblins must follow the same order, towards the same target.
+ Spear of Folming: the leader uses the head of the mummified knight's spear as a sword. If repaired into a spear, its damage increases to 1d10 + 1d6 magical but any failed attempt will dent the weapon.

6.

The wind carries the sweet fragrance from a glade where butterflies swarm over ever-flowering thorns. In the middle of the glade lies the remains of sir Heaved, peacefully as if resting. If the body is removed, the glade will slowly die but similar flowering thorn-bushes will sprout forth over the course of 1d6 days from all dead matter the body touches until it is placed in hallowed soil.

Rules for Alchemy

Apparently, there is an alchemy month going on. That's neat, since I've been thinking a lot about alchemy now that my campaign is on pause. Here are my rules. They are not at all playtested, but at least in theory I'm really happy with them.

The basic idea is that alchemy should be about formulas, trial and error. The system therefore makes a strong distinction between simple player-facing rules which are basically "say a prayer, and follow the formula" and more involved referee-facing rules which governs how formulas should be designed. For most players, alchemy is consequently about finding a formula and questing to retrieve the ingredients. For those who want, however, alchemy instead is about trying to understand what makes the potion effective, and/or trying to improve it.

Hopefully, you can find some ideas worth stealing. An example formula can be found here; and there is plenty of inspiration for more over at Slugs and Silver.

A system for Alchemy

PLAYER-FACING RULES

Alchemy is a craft based on a secret system of mystical correspondence. To create an alchemical potion, your character needs
- A formula
- The required ingredients
- Paraphernalia and tools

Any character possessing these things can be an alchemist. To become a master requires understanding the correspondences that govern all of creation - a task that may easily consume a lifetime.

Preparing a potion

Before preparing a potion, alchemists commonly fast, say a prayer or invocation that will compensate for their impending blasphemy. Failure to take proper precautions results in minor corruption (-1 Spirit).

After these precautions, just follow the formula.

Determining the Effect of a Potion

The potion's effect is determined by three things
- The formula
- The alchemist's INT
- How closely the formula was followed

When the potion is used, or otherwise tested, roll d20 and add INT of the character preparing the potion to determine its quality.
Formula was followed exactly
- the potion always has effect
- failed INT-roll means side effect: minor corruption (-1 Spirit)
- natural 1 means side effect: major corruption (-1d4 Spirit)
- natural 20 means potion not depleted; it was so effective it can be used again

Minor deviation from the formula- the potion only has effect on successful INT-roll

Major deviation means the potion never has effect.

Creating new formulas

If a process involving minor deviations is successful, it can be codified into a new formula. Once codified, it is no longer considered a minor deviation for rules purposes. To codify the process, the player simply writes it down.

Prepared potions

A prepared alchemical potion should be noted as
"Potion of healing (minor, +3)"
indicating the formula used, how closely the formula was followed, and the INT of the alchemist.


 REFEREE FACING RULES BELOW

REFEREE FACING RULES

For referees only, below image.

The Formulas

There are three basic types of alchemical formula:
- Pure
- Diluted
- True
When designing formulas, you start with the Pure.

The Alchemical Principles

To design the formula, you first decide what class of potion it will result in.

There are four alchemical Principles, or classes of potions, corresponding to a colour each. All potions use a base that is determined by their principle. They are
- White (purify, heal): White wine, distilled alcohol, fermented milk, or other white/clear liquid intoxicant
- Yellow (enhance): Ale, Mead, or other yellow/golden liquid intoxicant
- Red (alter): Red wine, or other red liquid intoxicant
- Black (?): Ichor

A healing potion will thus be white, a potion of giant strength yellow, and a potion of growth red. The black are there as a possibility; not currently part of my campaign.

The Pure formula

The Pure formula consists of 5 components
1 base- An intoxicating liquid of a colour determined by the Principle of the potion.

3 ingredients
- A natural ingredient (something from nature)
- An unnatural ingredient (something made)
- A preternatural ingredient (something with magical or mystical properties)

1 reagent- Salt or potash gives a normal potion
- Sulphur gives a weak potion (+3 to INT roll)
- Mercury gives a strong potion (-3 to INT roll)

Diluted formulas

Over time, many formulas become diluted when passed from Alchemist to Alchemist, or developed from flawed understanding of the pure process. A diluted formula has the same effect as a Pure formula, but contains more than the 5 required ingredients. These additional ingredients may give side effects, but are commonly just cosmetic. For example: an alchemist may decide to add honey to a potion where honey is not required, just because they prefer the taste or to see if a rival alchemist is stealing their formula (and thus also including the unnecessary honey).

Using a diluted formula means characters have to collect more ingredients, but otherwise carries no penalties.

True formulas

Through clever substitution (see below), it may theoretically be possible to create a formula with less than 5 components. The hypothetical formula using the least number of components to create an effect are known among alchemists as True formulas.

Substitution

Alchemy works through correspondence. Thus, all components can be substituted with another component of sufficent similarity. For example, red wine may be substituted as a base by blood and white wine, and a hippogrif egg might perhaps be substituted by the egg of an eagle raised among horses. Substitutions like these are considered a minor deviation.

If a substitution is successful (meaning: the character succeeds with the INT roll to determine the potion's effect), the character can codify the process as a new formula. In game, this is done by a player writing down the process. Through iterative attempts of substitution and codified processes, a clever alchemist might eventually arrive at a formula that is very different from the original.

A Potion to Restore Life

3 Lantern Knights

Here are three lantern knights, supposed to the mini-bosses in my campaign. Like dragon-hauted Cabour the format is inspired by wisdom from a lot of other sources - such as "paragon creatures" - in hope of making solo monsters that can pose a challenge to a group of players. They are not playtested, so whether it works or not I do not know.

Four basic ideas:
- Each lantern knight has a single theme for its special attacks. This should make it possible to anticipate actions, even when the knight is only encountered over a few rounds of combat.
- The special attacks are mainly tied to turn timers. This forewarns of their coming in an obvious way, but also interrupts the back-and-forth of sidewise initiative.
- Special attacks are also set up so that one timer (d8) is tied to ranged and the other (d12) to melee. This should make it possible to interrupt the attacks through positioning, thereby encouraging movement.
- Each lantern knight has more than one HD pool that must be depleted in order. When one is reduced to zero, the circumstances of the encounter changes substantially.

I hope they survive playtest, because the format seems manageable both to write and to run.

ALASTER
Proud and oblivious of his fall, his shielded lantern glows like a sun.

HD 7/7
- Exquisite armour (ar 8, magic 4, flame 4)
- Blackened crossbow (dmg 1d12/magic, range 12)
- Champion sword (dmg 1d12/magic, fast, deathblow)

Radiant: all characters starting their round within 2 squares of Alaster must suffers 1d4 damage (no armour).

Unnatural life: Alaster has two HD pools. When one pool is reduced to zero Alaster is downed. Any surplus damage is lost, and all ongoing effects targeting him ends.

Demonic actions: Alaster has 1 bonus round (move AND attack) per HD pool.

Unshielded radiance (downed): When a HD pool is reduced to 0, the metal cover than shields Alaster's light is is dislodged. When this happens, the damage of radiant and consuming light doubles (to 2d4 and 2d8, respectively).

Turn timers
1d8: Mothlight. If not in melee, Alaster lifts his lantern and lets it burn like a beacon. All characters within line of sight must save or make a full movement directly towards him. In addition, all actions are HARD for affected characters until next turn.
1d12: Consuming light. If in melee, Alaster covers his face with his arm and lets the lantern burn unshielded. All characters within 2 squares must save or suffer 1d8 damage (no armour) as their flesh boils under the horrible light.


BLAINE
A hulking mass of armour and weapons, carrying a faint candle like a captured bird.

HD 5/5/5, Large (+1)
- Layered armour (ar 8/4/2, magic 6), evade +0/+2/+4
- Jagged greataxe (dmg 1d14, reach 1, deathblow, rend: save vs total damage or armour is dented; dent it again and AR is irreparably reduced by one).
- Blunt greatsword (dmg 1d12-1, reach 1, deathblow, knockdown).
- Hand axes (dmg 1d10 each, rend: save vs total tamage or armour is dented).
- Rusted short sword (dmg 1d8-1, fast) and fractured shield (ar 1d8-1)
- Improvised weapon (dmg 1d6-1, close, knockdown).

Unnatural life: Blaine has three HD pools. When one pool is reduced to zero Blaine is downed. Any surplus damage is lost, and all ongoing effects targeting him ends.

Demonic actions: Blaine gains 1 bonus round (move AND attack) per HD pool lost.

Shed (when downed): When a HD pool is reduced to 0, Blaine crawls out of his armour like an insect breaking free from its cocoon. Each time this happens, AR is halved (to 4, then 2), evade increases by +2.

Turn timers
1d8: Hurl weapon. If not in melee, Blaine moves up to full movement and throws his weapon at the most exposed target (as weapon, range 12, knockdown).
1d8: Special attack. If in melee, Blaine performs a special attack (per weapon).

Special attacks
- Destruction (axe): all characters in melee must save or suffer half damage and have their armour dented.
- Stunned (sword): target character must save or become stunned for 1d3 rounds and have their helmet torn off and thrown 1d6+5 squares in random direction.
- Tear (unarmed/other): Blaine grabs the target character and starts tearing: save or armour is ripped/deformed (AR -1).

GWENT THE GAUNT
A skeletal knight long since fallen from honor, sustained by the cold light of his lantern.

HD 4/4/4, Large (+1)
- Chain +1 (ar 5, flame 4)
- Thin spear (dmg 2d6, piercing 3, reach 2, deathblow)

Impaling strike: If any damage dice shows max damage, the spear is stuck in its target. Impaled characters cannot move without suffering 1d6 damage (no armour). Removing the spear is an action, requires a STR check and results in 1d6 damage (no armour).

Fling: Instead of dealing damage, the attack sends the target 2d4 squares away. If target is impaled, no attack roll is needed.

Unnatural life: Gwent has three HD pools. When one pool is reduced to zero Gwent is downed. Any surplus damage is lost, and all ongoing effects targeting him ends.

Demonic actions: Gwent has 1 bonus action (move OR attack) per HD pool.

Lights out (when downed): When a HD pool is reduced to 0, the lantern's light fades. As long as there are no other light sources all character-actions requiring sight are HARD, and Gwent strikes from behind and with surprise each turn, if possible. During this time, no turn timers are rolled. Gwent re-lights his lantern once there is another light source.

Turn timers
1d8: Blow fire. If not in melee, Gwent moves up to 3", lifts his lantern and blows fire (fire dmg 1d10, area 6:2, save or catch fire for 1d4 fire damage per round until put out).
1d12: Burn. If in melee, Gwent uses his lantern to burn the most susceptible opponent (fire dmg 1d4, save or catch fire for 1d4 fire damage per round until put out).

Dragon-haunted Cabour

A ruined city, shrouded in mist from the dragon's nauseating breath. You have come here to find a relic, lost when its bearer fled from the terrible dragon. Years have passed since the ancient creature last was seen, but you know it remains here. Biding time. Waiting.
It knows about you, too.

NOTE: This is meant as a boss encounter, so there are a lot of things going on. Inspirations come from Arnold K's bosses and  dynamic encounter, stages from Whitehack and discussions on the Runehammer forum.

Click for large

Setup
A chasm across the board, a hill, several towers and trees. Scatter ruins.

Six hidden entrances to the dragon's lair.

Structures are close enough that you could make a desperate leap from one to another, far enough that it requires a roll, and high enough that falling results in substantial but not fatal damage (2d6, no armour, dex roll for half). All floors are in poor condition, breaks on a 1-in-4 unless the character moves with caution.

The relic
The relic is located by some of the scatter ruins (decide beforehand). It beckons quietly. 

Searching for the relic
A PC can search for the relic as a normal action by rolling WIS. On a hit, the referee says if it is close, near, or far. Searching at the exact correct location instead results in 1d4 effort (1d6 if some device is used) - at 10 effort the relic is found.

The dragon entrances
There are six entrances to the dragon's lair. They start hidden, but an entrance is immediately revealed if a character is adjacent to it. A PC can enter through an entrance as a normal action. If so, they are removed from the board. Next round the player rolls WIS: on a success, they can chose to enter at any known or a random unknown (not yet revealed) entrance. On a miss, they are ambushed by the dragon (Phase 1) or lost for another round (Phase 2+3).

The encounter

The encounter is played in three phases, defined by the dragon's activity: lurking, hunting, flying.

Phase 1: Lurking. Room TN 10
Timer. 1d6 TURNS, TN increases by 1

Dragon is not placed, hides in its lair. Roll 1d6 to decide in which entrance.

- TN increases by +1 per round.
- TN increases by an additional +1 for all PC actions that are not very quiet (roll DEX if in doubt), or +1d4 for all loud actions
 
When TN reaches 20 the dragon attacks from ambush (fire breath). After that, it retreats to a random non-revealed entrance phase 1 restarts.
If the dragon is found, phase 2 begins.

Finding the dragon
A PC can search for the dragon as a normal action by rolling WIS. On a hit, the referee says if the dragon is close, near or far based on approximate distance to the entrance the dragon is in. If a PC moves close to an entrance it is automatically revealed. If the PCs find the entrance where the dragon is, phase 2 begins.

Phase 2: Hunting. Room TN 15
Timer. 1d6 TURNS. Dragon gets another turn.
Dragon is placed and goes hunting for the PCs.
It targets, in order of preference: 1) as many as possible, 2) a mortal threat if present, 3) fleeing, cowering, hiding characters, 4) anyone else.

Nowhere to hide. Destroy at least one piece of terrain per turn, as a side effect of the dragon's attacks (example: it crashes through a wall to catch someone hiding on the other side).

When the dragon is reduced to 0 HP, phase 3 begins.

Phase 3: Flying. Room TN 15
Timer. 1d6 TURNS. Dragon gets another turn.
Dragon is returned to full HP.
It leaps up in the air and starts flying. PCs standing under it must roll STR or be knocked down from the force of its wings.

When the dragon is reduced to 0HP again, it crashes down (dead?).

The Dragon of Cabour

HD 7, Giant: 3d8, MV 4 (increasing by one per round flying, max double)
Fire breath. Use a template. Automatically hits everyone within for 4d6 fire damage & -1 to a random stat unless they evade. Full cover reduces damage by half. On doubles/triples/quadruples, the fire keeps burning on the area covered by the template for 2/3/4 rounds.
Can only be used when attacking from ambush or if foreshadowed one round in advance (free action).

Bite (1d10) + Claws (1d8) + Tail (1d6, knockdown). All have reach 3. 

Special. If flying, a successful claw attack means the dragon carries the target off to throw it or drop it in a following round.

Relaying setting

Note: This is an old draft, slightly reworked. I think it makes some valid points, but I'm doubting the distillation argument a bit. Concretely, it now seems to me that what is actually reducing overhead is presenting lore through things that the referee can relay verbatim to the players, or that the players can read themselves in the book. If this is true, it also includes less-spectacular things like boxed text and actual lore sections. Because of this, I've added a note on how distilling lore into fragments could be useful anyway. 

-

I've been thinking about a sort of distillation process for presenting lore through in-game objects and locations. This has to do with my fascination with patterns and hidden meaning in rpg products. What I call "patterns" here is essentially what happens when presenting setting through a wandering monster table. Consider this small encounter table

25% giant scorpion
50% gnolls
25% nomads

From this table, you can infer that the region is sparsely populated by humans, dominated by gnolls, and that it is arid - a steppe or even a desert. From the monsters, you can also conclude that the region is rather dangerous. Giant scorpions are 7HD, and gnolls are about 5HD. So as a consequence, the nomads would either be capable fighters themselves, or have some reliable way of hiding. All of these things can be learned from the encounter table. All referee-facing descriptions of the region could therefore focus on other things. But the encounter table will also convey things to the players, by just existing. For example, if the players spend time in this region, they should soon learn that the most common encounter is gnolls, that scorpions and nomads are equally frequent, and what the general threat level of the region is.

This is the idea about a "pattern": to take advantage of aspects of the game that is communicated directly from the designer to the player, to say something about the world. Say for example that in this game, Druids are worse than Clerics: they get worse bonuses and less powerful options, etc. Even if the rules never state this, players will eventually figure it out. Or the online community will. And once people realize this, they won't play Druids unless they are highly committed. And so, via selection you have created a setting where Clerics are common and Druids are very invested, or where an new faith is replacing an old through numbers and resisted through zeal, without writing a single word about it in your game book.

My point here is that there is information about the setting that is hard-coded into the rules and procedures, and therefore external to the referee's rulings, and that can be exploited to create consistency and predictability without increased overhead.

But other aspects of the game can serve this function too. Building on Kyana's analysis of layered lore in Dark Souls, I'd like to contend that a) lore can be presented in fragments instead of info-dumps; b) this can lead to more, rather than less, engagement in the lore; and c) the resultant head-canon can be highly aligned with the "intended" canon, if supported by codified things that convey setting directly to the players.

I imagine a distillation process that goes something like this:
You begin with a raw lore statement, say: giants used to live here. From the implications of that statement - giants lived, have now died - you extract a specific, representative event (1). Say: Queen Yssa, last of the Giants, trading her kingdom for the corpses of her warrior-children.

From this event, you extract the material and mythical remnants (2). The hall where she surrendered her kingdom, the Giant crown she handed over, the great cart that carried the bodies, the broken armor of her daughters, the all-consuming sorrow, the Giants' tomb.

Then, you transform these remnants to game-objects, with uses, names, descriptions and locations (3). So the hall becomes a location on the map, the crown remains a crown, the cart might become a cart-wheel shield, armor is armor, sorrow becomes a spell or magical object, tomb becomes a location.

Finally (4), the game objects are given names and descriptions that alludes to the original event through association rather than explicitly. So the once hall-now location might become "Yssa's Surrender. A ruined palace of giant proportions, ravaged by war. It is considered sacred by those who grieve".

Like the encounter table, this information is transmitted directly from the game to the players, without increasing referee overhead: the players look at the map, note the location Yssa's surrender, and are free to draw their own conclusions how this relates to the giant crown they found last session, aided by their observations that there are no giants here anymore (but they fought skeleton giants), and that there is a spell in the spell list that induces a sadness that is too large for any human heart.

Addendum: Success is probably limited to rather basic setting ideas. However, as a rule of thumb, most good settings can be reduced to a limited set of basic ideas. (A Fascist space-faring empire in decline, venerating a dead feudal lord, locked in eternal war. Settler-colonists fleeing a necromantic war, hunting for treasures in a cursed forest. Etc). So if nothing else, the distillation process might help reinforce a theme and weed out everything unnecessary, making the lore more engaging even if you decide to go with the lore dump anyway.

Five merchants of sorts

1d6 
1. Peric, a hunter seeking shelter. Has pelts and herbs from the forest to offer and many tales from the woods, but must otherwise be provided for. If befriended, he offers to bring the PCs safely to their next destination.
Has1- Fur coat. AR 1, +1 fatigue, +2 shock save.
2- Leather knee-boots. +1 MV
3- Elk-skin armour. AR 2, encumbering as AR 3. Wearer may reroll initiative for wilderness encounters, the new roll applies only to her.
4- Healing herb (1d6). Chew on it to reroll death save for the following 1d6 rounds.

2. Orla, a wise-woman of the woods.Has
1- Salve of speed. +1d6 MV for 1d6 round.
2- Potion of luck. All tests are done with 1d30 for 1d6 rounds; after that, all tests are made with 1d12 for 1d6 rounds.
3- Talisman of protection. AR +1d6, no encumbrance. On a 1, the talisman breaks. The talisman is imbued with witchery; When donned, the bearer must roll under SPIRIT or have all saves reset to +2 (unless already lower). On a critical failure, they can no longer receive blessings from the saints.
4- Owl harness. A harness made of owl-feathers. AR 2, encumbering as AR 4, +2 Stealth.

3. Cliona, the merchant. A robust woman pulling a small cart with frenzied speed. On the cart is the corpse of her husband Flammen and their child Elan, shaking with fever despite the pelts that cover him. The merchants were attacked by wolves a few nights ago and barely managed to escape, but despite Cliona running their horse until its heart stopped, Flammen has already passed and Elan is dying from infected wounds. Is happy to trade what little they still have for any help.
Has1- Compass. On a WIS roll, characters can travel through the wilderness in any direction without getting lost.
2- A book, containing a clue.
3- Wine (1d6).
4- Merchants' cord. When used to seal a sack, jar or similar, anything in it is kept fresh for twice the time it would normally be. (stolen from the excellent blog the manse)

4. Oglon, a relic hunter. Travelling between battlefields and holy places, he traces the steps of martyrs and heroes seeking things rendered sacred by their presence. Currently on his way to Courant, he is happy to trade for gold, horses and provisions.
Has
1- The Finger of Eghan the Accuser, fourth of the Recreant Knights. Points towards guilt like the needle of a compass when a crime is spoken, but very frail.
2- The Other Finger of Eghan. As above, but points away from guilt.
3- A key. Supposedly to the library in Mersault.
4- Weak Theriac (3 doses). Drinker is cured from poisons.
(all purchases has a 50% chance of being counterfeit, one-use-only items)

5. Brenn and Bredd, deserters from the Witch King's army. Having hid for years and only braving the outside when the sun was at its highest, starvation finally drove them from their burrow. They dread the night for the Witch King is known to walk in dreams, and prefer to sleep underground unless drunk. They speak reluctantly and in whispers, of terrible creatures of bone and bronze from the bogs, of atrocities, and how fellow soldiers would wither and die as if their ghosts had left to never return.
Has
1- Generals' helmet. AR 6. Faint whispers echo inside. When seeing the helm worn, sentient creatures must save or else cannot move into contact with its wearer. Lose 1 SPI on a critical miss.
2- Black lodestone. When thrown to the ground it makes a metallic noise, like the clamour of armour. If allowed to rotate freely, it always points towards Ys.
3- Short bogman sword. 1d10, fast. Ordinary armour is useless against it. Lose 1 SPI on a critical miss.
4- A map, showing the location where the deserters hid a chest of war-gold.

6. Gwawl.

Map + clues

Here's my campaign map, or the SE quadrant of it.  New things are added as I prep them.

My campaign consists of three layers of adventure, superimposed.

At the bottom layer, there is a square crawl. Given the vast number of possible location, any content existing on this level is very likely to be missed. Because of this, the square crawl basically relies on tables for content. This means that I can have a dozen towers on the map and only have content for six of them, or hundreds of wilderness-squares and only content for twenty. So far, my players have engaged with the square crawl exactly once so this seemingly limited content is actually plenty. If I were to run out, I'd write more. Until then, it's just a waste of prep time - especially since d4 Caltrops got everyone's back.

At the second layer, there is a point crawl of locations connected by roads or trails. This is what my players mostly engage with so this is where I focus most of my prep. At the points of the crawl are adventure locations, set piece encounters, small scenarios or key NPCs. Here I also slot in adventures made by others when I find some that fit my aesthetics and tone well enough. So we've played Curse of the Shrine Goddess in this way, and I've placed a couple more.

The final layer consists of an investigation-mystery that provides the default point of engagement. This is basically a poor-man's CoC, with handouts containing clues for the central investigation into the relics of St Severend/Severinus as well as other mysteries more related to the history of the campaign setting (Why did Severend's holy mission fail? What happened to the Witch King? These kinds of things).

The third layer is the reason for my interest in different clue structures. Previously, I've outlined the elimination or guess-who structure where each clue cuts the remaining possibilities in half. This allows you to eliminate options until you eventually only have one left, which is the correct answer. The method have survived the first contact with playtesting: in Sourn, my players DID figure out the who the murderer was in about two hours without any pointers from me, DID NOT perceive the underlying structure, and were consequently super impressed with their detective skills and their luck. A great success (and a secret they must never know)!

So with the guess-who structure seemingly doing its job, it's time to introduce a second structure: the triangulation. The idea of triangulation is this: if you don't know where you are but can observe some landmarks whose position you are familiar with, you can use their bearings to determine your own position. So if your first clue is "east of X" and your second clue is "south of Y", you basically have the row-column coordinate of the thing you are looking for. You could also use it for social relations: "relative to Mr X" and "co-worker of Ms Y".

Here's a version, using distances instead of directions, which creates two circles with the target at their intersection. (Note that unless you're super skilled at measuring you'll probably end up with circles that intersect twice, so you'll need three distances or some constraining factor). Travel speed is 18 mi per day. 

The Saint's Hand 
No sooner had Severinus died, than many accounts began to come of miracles because those who touched his severed hand regained sight if sightless or speech if speechless, and those who had terrible coughs could again draw breath like young people. After five days at a stake in Mersault, the hand was taken down in secrecy and smuggled to a tomb seven days’ travel by road from there, and Ygdrain was powerless to find it. 

 “A swollen tongue” – Excerpt from traveler’s log 
At one time my tongue became uncomfortably swelled up, so that when I wished to speak it usually made me stutter, which was somewhat unseemly. I went to the tomb of the Saint’s Hand, eighteen miles from Croix-an-Tour as the bird flies, and drew my awkward tongue along the wooden lattice. The swelling went down at once and I became well. It was a serious swelling and filled the cavity where the palate is. Then three days later my lip began to have a painful beating in it. I went again to the tomb to get help and when I had touched my lip to the hanging curtain the pulsation stopped at once.

1d10 magic items

1. Soul stone. An amulet containing a fragment of a Giant heart, turned obsidian with time. Legends say that when the Giants died, their powers were not lost but reduced to base elements. (+1d6 HP).

2. Giant-bane Ring. Thin like a leaf and corroded by age, this metal ring is only held together by some inherent magic. Given to the finest knights of the Barrowmen, it is increadibly heavy for its delicate size. (+3 STR for STR requirements only).

3. Fickle Axe. A heavy metal axe of tremendous age; fragile looking, its edge is surprisingly unaffected by time. Easily dented, as long as the axe is not broken, it returns to perfect condition each new day. (damage 1d14, STR 15, Deathblow. Fragile: dents on a 1-2; self-repairing: the dented condition is automatically removed each morning. If broken, it explodes in a large blast of spirit flame dealing 3d6 magic damage, -1 per square distance from the explosion. If anyone within this radius is wielding an axe, the spirits possess their axe instead giving it the same qualities as the original fickle axe).

4. Ghost Monstrance. A filigree box decorated with stylized suns, used to hold spirits of the deceased. Little is known of the superstition of the Barrowmen and its present use is unclear, but a single bead rests inside. (Shake to emit a sharp light: radius as lamp. Break or remove bead and the trapped ghost escapes with a blast: 2d8 magic damage, -1 per square distance from the explosion).

5. Summoning Bell. A bent golden chime, used by the Bogmen to call demons from the endless night. Now the stars are different and its sorcery faded, but its shrill sound still holds power over the unseen. (When rung, immaterial beings materialize for 1d6 rounds. Its sound also draws monsters: roll a wandering monster check).

6. Servitude Chalice. A brass cup, used by the Bogmen to forge unnatural oaths of servitude. Its inside is discoloured from blood and soot. (Blood in the chalice burns like oil in a lamp; as long as this flame burns, the wielder has complete power over the creature from which the blood comes - magic save to resist.)

7. Brittle Bone. A gilded human femur, engraved with glyphs of the Bogmen. The bone is sharpened like a misericorde, but a long fracture suggests is might be prone to break. (As misericorde, but magic damage. If broken, the closest person must save vs magic or become possessed by a warrior spirit: reroll STR with 2d6+6, other stats with 2d6+3, +1 to melee and ranged attack, -1d4+2 SPI, +1D6 HP.)

8. Bog Head. An ancient head wound with golden wire, naturally mummified by the peat bog. Its mouth is slightly open as if whispering, but its tongue is gone. (Allows communication with a dead person for an hour, by placing their tongue in its mouth; if a tongue of another creature is placed there instead, it will translate to and from their language instead. If broken, the closest person must save vs magic or become possessed by a spirit sage: reroll INT with 2d6+6, other stats with 2d6+3, -1d4 SPI, +1D4 HP.)
(for a good bog mummy, check out in places deep)

9. Sacrificial Veil. A rawhide mask, black with age and smelling of stale water. Worn as a ward by a drowned priestess of old, only a fragment of its power remains. (+1 to magic saves. Invisibility to demons when immovable)

10. Thunder Stroke. A tall sword of meteorite iron, forged by dwarves at Ygdrain's command. Used to behead Saint Severend, it gives off a thunderous wail when swung for its complicity in this foul act and tears always run down its edge. (damage 3d6, STR 17. Thundering wail: 1d6 damage/round to all in hearing range, save halves. On a crit, lightning strikes as the blade hits, immediately killing the target and any adjacent enemies. On a fumble, a thunder clap causes milk to sour, women to miscarry and men to die of sadness - save negates).

Sourn Campaign Region

Overview

 

1. Sourn monastery.
2. Sinking village, road continues west. See Remnants of the Witch King # 8.
3. Small tower, where the Merchant Gwawl has made camp.
4. Bog-men, ancient mummies and bronze just below the surface.
5. Abbereigh Blight Keep.
6. Goblin Ambush.
7. Vanished Host. See Remnants of the Witch King # 2.
8. A Tower.
9. Luthria Convent.
10. Glander. Site of one of the Apostate Shrines, built using material of a cyclopean temple.

MERCHANT GWAWL

Traveling merchant Gwawl, clad in bear furs. Sells things scavenged from the battlefields. Tells north road is goblin land, south road leads by the Blight Keep of Abbereigh. Offers a reward for the two rings of yearning from the Castle. If the PCs accept to retrieve them, he provides them with a flask of Four Thieves' Vinegar to protect them from the Blight.

Currently for sale

Black grease (1 gc, 3 doses): A black grease used by monster hunters to prevent small lacerations and some infections. Increase def by +1, if worn on the skin it also increases poison save by +2. Effective for 1 hour.

Buckler (1 gc): A small, circular shield designed to parry and deflect blows.

Terror shield (6 gc): A vast, circular metal shield. Under its fresh coat of bright blue paint, the embossed emblem of the Witch King is still visible. When the shield is used, everyone in front of it must Save vs Magic or attack at a -1 disadvantage (both friend and foe).

Misericorde (5 sp): A narrow dagger, designed to pierce through openings in even the thickest armour.

Short Sword (2 gc): A short blade with a keen edge, ideal for less powerful fighters or those favouring accuracy over force.

Longsword (5 gc): An elegant sword with an engraved pummel, signalling the wealth and status of its previous owner.

Impaling sword (10 gc): A sword of unusual design, inscribed with a heathen prayer. Made for piercing, its thick blade tapers rapidly to a fine point. As short sword, but 1d6 damage. If the weapon deals more than two points of damage, it impales the target. The attacker must immediately roll STR: on a hit, deal another 1d6 damage (no armour) when you pull it out.

Black iron axe (10 gc): A sinister axe of wrought iron from the forges of the Witch King. Immensely heavy, its swing is nigh unstoppable. Dmg 1d14, concussion, TR2, can attack two adjacent targets.

ABBEREIGH BLIGHT KEEP

x = Blight Lord Egfreid, 4HD, Maille+Helm (6), 2 atks, Gt Maul (1d12 + Knockdown), Misericorde (1d6+Pierce).

o = Hound (3), 1HD, MV 8, Bite (1d8 + Close & Disease: EASY Save or 1d4 dmg), Thick fur (2)

A = Slumbering Knight, 2HD, Rusty Maille and Half Helm (3), Gt Shield (1d8), Spear (1d8 + Long). Wakes if PC moves within 3 sq.
Tactics: Use the spear's superior reach to strike first. When engaged, use shield to Overpower/Push back, follow up with spear and retreat to once again use superior reach to strike first.

Q = Black pietà. Dead lady, holding her grown son, likewise dead. Their bodies are discoloured as if washed with ink, and their eyes pitch black. On the fingers of their hands, locked together, are two plain rings. 2D4 Gold, Books.

Rings of Yearning: Two simple rings, drawn to each other across any distance. It is said that those who love can never truly be separated - perhaps this is proof?

TARGET: 13/10 after a successful Poison save.
TIMER: Each 1d4 rounds, a Slumbering Knight wakes.
BLIGHT: Within the keep, all characters suffer 1d4 damage at the beginning of their turn. A successful poison save reduces this to 1 - one save attempt allowed each round until successful (or dead).

A character drinking Four Thieves' Vinegar suffers only 1 damage on a failed save and 0 on a success.

GOBLIN AMBUSH

The path narrows, wedged between a water-logged forest of leafless trees and a moss-covered cliff cowned with tall spruces that block out the sun. PCs arrive in SW corner, their goal to escape through NE corner.

x = Goblin, 1HD, Fights as 4HD, Spears (1d8+Long), Knives (1d6 + Close), Bows (1d8) and Stones (1d12+knockdown, only against targets below). Small (-1d8, does not affect grappling).
On succesful evade, drops Man-Trap (1d6 + Prone, STR to pry open).
Tactics: gang up, grapple and tear, escape with valuables.

o = Man-Trap (1d6 + Prone, STR to pry open), hidden under branches and patches of moss. Mark on map!

T = Fallen tree, can be used as ladder (no penalty) to climb cliff.

A = 1d4 Reinforcements. Arriving each 1d4 rounds.

/// = reeds, waterlogged aspen forest. Half cover, movement is halved.

TTT = moss-covered cliff, HARD to climb

Camp: Almost-extinguished fire, 4 Gold, Gt Helm (3), Spyglass, 2 Man-Traps, Rancid goblin food

TARGET: 10, HARD or EASY as per relative elevation.
TIMER: Each 1d4 rounds, 1d4 additional goblins arrive.

Types of patterns

The other day, I proposed that the solution to making a setting mysterious is to develop in on and around some form of pattern.

From this, I offer that there are at least three levels of patterns: recurring, predictive, and systemic.

A recurring pattern means that similar things happens several times. This is the lowest level of a pattern, since if offers very little information to the player-characters except the realization that they have had similar experiences before. Basically, a recurring pattern is what happens if you never say "orc" and the player-characters figure out that it is in fact an orc they are encountering. This allows them to rely on proven tactics, thus making them more expert at survival. To have this type of pattern, all you need to do is to make sure that not everything in the setting is unique.

The recurring pattern only involves the PCs through reaction: they encounter the orc, they realize that it is an orc, and then they can apply their knowledge to overcome the obstacle. What I call a predictive pattern instead allows proactivity. It means that the player-characters can use their understanding of the setting to extrapolate results. They might figure out that the encounter table is weighted so that their next encounter will probably be an orc, or that the attack pattern of the dragon means it will use its its breath weapon in two rounds. Or, as in Isle, they might figure out where the next magic-user lives and who they are.

Note that this is not the specialized knowledge of rumors or similar information, but has much more to do with the general accumulation of information through experience. To include this type of pattern, you need to make sure that not everything in the setting is unique, and that there's some - any - logic to where and when things happen.

The third level of patterns are systemic. By this I mean that they enable the player-characters to form predictions not only about what will happen, but why. In other words, they sense the underlying logic of how and were systems are applied. It occurs to me that this is a large part of the appeal of the appeal with builds and combat-as-sport: you might become so intimately familiar with the system that you know with confidence that the party can push through an additional four encounters - any encounters - without any real risk. So the kick comes not from threat to the character or exploring the unknown,  but from seeing whether your estimates were correct. Like a mars landing: did the feet-to-meter conversion check out? If not, were the backup systems robust enough to still ensure victory? Point is: in these types of games, you can and is rewarded for cracking the system. In an OSR context, this is generally not something desirable. So if we want this kind of pattern, it has to be part of the setting. But if I'm correct, the consequence is that one cannot start the campaign with a city, two dungeons and a random encounter chart. Instead, the pattern must come first.

I don't really have a solution to how to do this. But my gut feeling is that you do it by revealing the setting through random encounter tables, connected items, landmarks and other things that are experienced in play and not in a "the story so far"-chapter. Or more generally: by presenting the consequences of your ideas, rather than the ideas themselves. At least, that's how I'll try to approach it for my next campaign.

Mysteries: Spellcasting

Whitehack casting (free-from effects, payed for by HP loss), with the following modifications
1. Magic draws the attention of demons, and worse. When casting a spell, roll 1d20 and notify the referee of the result.

2. A character can combine any two spells to temporarily create a new. The new spell name must contain one word from each spell it draws upon. An "of", a genitive-s, or similar minute alterations might be added to better connect the words. Casting a hybrid spell requires you to roll 1d20 twice and notify the referee of the results.

(Some names might be too weak or too powerful, I might have to adjust that)

WILDERNESS
Swarm Skin
Weed Mask
Lash of Thorns
Beast Sense
Locust Storm
Moss Gate

DISEASE
Bestial Blight
Serpent's Dementia
Fever Crown
Worm Mouth
Putrid Gust
Catatonic Stupor

DEATH
False Life
Blood Altar
Corpse Dust
Eldritch Effigy
Repelling Voice
Feigned Death

SPIRITS
Ghost Flare
Grave Tongue
Spectral Stride
Luminous Stalker
Phantasmal Dispersion
Spirit Warden

DEMONIC
Shadow Throne
Threefold Path
Sign of Many
Plasmic Key
Unspeakable Oath
Dismal Presence

ENCHANTMENTS
Twisted Valor
Consuming Lust
Heart of Wax
Rending Clamor
Fool's Eye
Strange Recollection

COLD
Frost Grasp
Glacial Crust
Treacherous Mist
Hall of Water
Suspended Flow
Ice Cloud

NIGHT
Mercurial Dread
Creeping Tide
Moon Song
Tranquil Light
Spiral of Moths
Vale of Obscurity

HEXES
Oracular Incense
Spider Jar
Soul Eye
Fay Leap
Shroud of Thralldom
Dissonant Whisper

FIRE
Sustained Flame
Fire Blade
Static Spark
Ash of Lament
Sulfur Gale
Guiding Glow

DIVINE
Blessed Bane
Timeless Echo
Resonating Wings
Unseen Hand
Hallowed Flesh
Zealous Plight

SIGNS
Illusory Script
Silent Image
Glyph of Warding
True Sight
Delusive Mark
Lure of Oblivion