Powers & Prestige

Powers are factions. In addition to their resources, their size and influence are reflected in the amount of favor they can bestow upon Characters. Earning Favor Characters complete Deeds to earn Favor with Powers. This adds to their renown (ie. level). Earning Favor may also unlock rights and privileges with that Power. Some Powers may […]

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Chasse with Christ in Majesty and the Lamb of God

The Great Reward

Experience helps you level up but it isn’t and shouldn’t be the only reward for the doing of great things that characters do in a campaign. Looking beyond gear— devices that make numbers go up and render characters more puissant practically— there are other achievements for characters to chase and receive for their deeds. What’s […]

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Bonds & Experience

A short follow-up to my earlier potpourri of 1d6 tables because I yet again need to meet some blogging obligations and finish the month strong! In this installment, we'll roll up some bonds and some alternate methods of gaining experience. Let's get some bonding time Ages ago, particularly in internet time, I put out this […]

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The Execution of King Charles I (Title page: Engelandts Memoriael)

Sentenced to Death

I should have posted this yesterday. The inspirational prompt is "suspense" but I just could not come up with anything from it. "Suspense" comes to English via French from the Latin suspensus which refers to hanging up, making uncertain, and killing by hanging. This last definition is what I'm going to utilize to pivot to... […]

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Reclining Lion, from "Various animals" (Diversi animali) by Stefano della Bella

Tactical Affinity

Using a shorthand to describe how creatures do things, specifically hunting or fighting, helps you run those creatures consistently which, in turn, allows players to learn behaviors and react to them. Here some rough categories that you can apply. Ambush attackers Brute force attackers Pack attackers Scavengers Swarm attackers Trapsmiths Venomous attackers Choose suitable behaviors […]

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A man on horseback stabbing a monster with a lance, illustration from 'The King and His Three Sons', José Guadalupe Posada

The Heart of Darkness

The ultimate nemesis in the setting I’m building around Troupe is The Gloom. The Gloom is, in essence, anti-creation. It is the End and seeks the end of all things. Because of the vigilance of the Greater Gods, it cannot act directly in the world. Instead, It constantly presses the boundaries imposed upon it, worming tendrils […]

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Ludi equestres. Das Thurnieren (The Tournament) by Martin Engelbrecht

Miss Opportunities

The seed word for this post is "challenge" but, rather than come at it literally, I'm going to look at a figurative challenge that I am facing: should attacks in combat always do something? If so, what? I'm going to look at this through the lens of my game, Troupe, but you can probably apply […]

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The Book of Revelations

A magic item for Troupe or your tabletop role-playing game of choice, found in well-stocked but abandoned libraries. Appearance: a thick tome filled with many browned, empty pages, and worn leather covers. Use: the questioner writes a question on one of the pages then places the book under their head when they sleep; upon waking, […]

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Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

When the party is off on an adventure, roll to see what’s happened at their local base of operations while they’re away. What happened? 1d6 Event 1 Nothing 2 Military event 3 Religious event 4 Life event 5 Nature event 6 Political event Military Event 1d6 Military Event 1 Muster of the levee for service […]

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Making Friends and Influencing People

Allies are hard to come by in the harsh worlds represented by most tabletop-roleplaying games and systems don't always provide mechanisms for tracking the friends player-characters make during their adventures. Here's a relatively painless way to use a persistent reaction rating to monitor their relationships with notable non-player-characters. Start with the standard reaction roll Make […]

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