OSR Content Challenge

After seeing this post, https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/o5o8o, I rolled a D8 and got cracking! I rolled a 4, which is wilderness set piece.

Here's my submission:

A Cloud Giant's floating castle that has been overrun by 5D12 goblins. Their leader is a 4 HD goblin named Skreek Von Fizzle that saves as a Magic-User and knows random spells. The goblins have no idea how to control the castle so it has been floating aimlessly for weeks. The goblins have subsisted on migratory birds but they are starting to get bored and 25% are plotting a mutiny. 1-4 chance that the first goblin(s) the party encounters are rebellious and may ask for help overthrowing Skreek. Loyalists will try to bring the party to their leader who may want to negotiate with the party to learn how to pilot the castle. Or imprison them as ransom. Or just eat them.

The original owner of the castle died and its remains make up Skreek's throne. 

Generate a random set of maps with donjon.bin.sh to represent the castle, which is 2d3 floors tall.

I want to try and do something like this regularly, so look forward to more! 

Miasma and Monsters 1.4 Released

 

Version 1.4

Added

• Coleman H added as Playtester
• Added PB (Passive Bonus) to the Abbreviations section
• Added a note to the Passive Brawn Bonus that affects HD regarding Magus
• Rules for Surprise and Surprised added to the list of Conditions
  

Changed 

• Updated many Traits to use Reactions instead of not being a part of the action economy
  
• Save Difficulties are gone (except for certain cases up to the Referee) and replaced with Opposed Saves
• This affects Traits, Spells, Potions/Poisons, 
• Updated grammar 
• Bound Weapon clarified to take a Turn to bind a weapon
• "Strike Fear into their Hearts!" now Frightens affected creatures rather than making them perform a Morale check
• Harvesting Difficulties lowered
• # of Actions per Round updated
• Energy Blast updated to Energy Dart to not confuse with the Magus's Blast ability and given a range of 60'
• Minimum AoEs added to the Magus's abilities
• Gate spell updated to specify settlement or hex the caster has been to before
• Raise Dead updated to target the ground at your feet and skeletons appear as close as possible to the caster

Dungeon Robbing: Morrowind

 

Arkngthand, an early dungeon in Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

"Now you die!" - basically any Morrowind NPC

I'll be bolding text occasionally, which is in reference to this blog post, Dungeon Checklist.

 

I'm back! After a hiatus, I return with more TTRPG content!

 

Many Morrowind players will remember this dungeon. Its entrance is guarded with a "casual-filter" encounter with the infamous Snowy Granius. He is outfitted with the ability to Absorb Fatigue and knows a wide range of pretty devastating spells that can easily wreck an unprepared player. After he is bested, the rotating door to the Dwemer ruin is opened via a steampunk-esque valve foreshadowing what's to come inside this dungeon.

The player is originally tasked by Caius Cosades, their contact in the nearby city of Balmora, to learn about two different cults in Vvardenfell. He mentions Hasphat Antabolis in the Balmora Fighter's Guild has information, but this contact requires us to find a Dwemer Puzzle Box for him in the ruins of Arkngthand which is atop a nearby mountain. After completing this, Hasphat gives us a key to the lower levels of Arkngthand to explore more. Why would he have this key on him? Not sure, but neat that there's something more to explore after completing the quest. So what do we have? A pretty basic fetch quest hook that requires a minor amount of legwork before we can enter the ruins. What really makes this quest unique are the ruins themselves.

 

Decisions, decisions...

 

Upon entering, the players will notice (after defeating some patrolling guards) that there are a few levels to the ruins so they already have to deal with Different Paths. This dungeon can be tough for many new players because they might not be used to dungeons with numerous Z-levels, some of which are gated through levitation or quest progress. This dungeon "filters" many players who just give up because they can't find the puzzle box! Taking the most natural path of the first door they can reach doesn't lead to quest completion; those who explore are rewarded!

 

The player is nearly assaulted with branch paths to take here, which is pretty great! This ain't no linear, modern-day dungeon! Let's look at some text from the excellent UESP wiki:

At the bottom of the rock stairs is a two-level structure: the bottom level contains three doors to Weepingbell Hall—the two on the left lead directly to a corridor with another door to Heaven's Gallery, the one on the right leads to the main corridor system—and the top has a door leading to the other area of the Cells of Hollow Hand. Also on the top level a Dwarven spear can be found leaning against a cabinet. Various Dwemer artifacts and other junk can be found in steel kegs and crates, along with a motley assortment of ingredients and gold.

Lots of choices to make here, when we get to constructing a dungeon based on this one we'll be sure to take that into consideration.

Since this is an ancient ruin, it's full to the brim with antediluvian artifacts from the Dwemer, the race of people that used to inhabit the world. The tools, treasures, and trinkets they left behind fit their architectural style of being very heavy, yet still valuable. If the player isn't too careful, they can easily find themselves over-encumbered after picking up a few cogs and cylinders.

 

Glorious, early 3D maps.

Let's talk about what's not so good for a TTRPG dungeon, and that's static NPCs that immediately run towards the player upon sight. It's a classic trope in video games, especially for older titles. We don't want to do that. Maybe our dungeon has an archaeologist escorted by some meat-shields that may be obliged to barter with the PCs if they find any valuables therein? Or keep the flavor of those within the ruins as bandits who, depending on their reaction to the players, may as well attack on sight or prefer to talk, trade, or even tag along. Be sure to not just fill your dungeons with things to kill, this is a game not bound by programming or technical limitations after all!

The traps in this dungeon are unfortunately pretty lackluster if we just lifted them, too. The trap system in Morrowind is such that if you look at a trapped object, you will be told so and must use a tool or magic to disarm it before being able to interact with it safely. Also the only trapped objects here are doors and a chest that can only be accessed through levitation (let's keep that one actually, a particularly resourceful magic-user may have stashed valuables up there they want no one else to use).

One last thing that's very neat and thematic are the rooms with open pits of lava. Environmental hazards that don't require much leg work from those running a game are always fun, and who doesn't like to try to kick a cultist down to their fiery doom? Let's be sure to keep that in our dungeon.

Let's Make a Dungeon from This

Checklist

Okay we've looked at Arkngthand long-enough, let's make our own dungeon inspired by it! First we should take stock of the elements we want to keep, and those we wish to omit:

To Bring With Us

• Branching paths
• A MacGuffin to exfiltrate
  
• Environmental Hazards by way of lava
• Very hidden treasure 
• Loot that's rich in value but bulky
  

To Leave Behind

• NPCs that attack on sight
• Traps that limit agency
• One faction inside the dungeon 
  

Hook

 

Let's have the party get a job to retrieve a relic from the ruins, but the requestor is secretly a homunculus created by a mad fire mage that lives in the ruins. He lures adventurers into the ruins with the promise of riches, and relies on the creatures of the ruins to deal with them and to test his experiments on. On top of this, they could also be hired by an archaeologist to escort them into the ruins so they can examine it for their research. This could be tied into a guild to earn favor from them. This gives the party multiple reasons to be here and the escort mission provides a tactical change to their normal routines.

Without further ado, let's build that map!

 

Behold the Ruins of Ynzatchzan!

 

Dungeon Notes

• Each square is 10'
  
• All doors are made of thick brass and etched with Dwarven runes. 
• Walls and floor are carved from the rough, pock-marked volcanic rock of the mountain.
• Rooms without lava are pitch black, lava emits dim light for 50'.
• Being adjacent to lava forces a Save to not take d3 damage from the high heat. Combustible clothing/equipment/hair may ignite on a failure. Being on the lava requires another save to not take 2d8 on going damage per round and for d4 rounds afterwards or until extinguished.
  

Wandering Creatures

Roll every two Turns, 1-6 chance of an encounter occurring. Roll a 2D4 for encounter:

 

• 2: Mad Pyromancer, 6 HD, AC 9 (11), 1 attack (dagger) or 1 spell, mv 40', morale 9, XP 1050
• Spells: Invisibility, Lightning Bolt, Phantasmal Force, Hold Person
• Wand of Fireballs, Scroll of Summon Early Magma-Man Experiment (1d4 experiments summoned within 30'), Potion of Magma Form
  
• Unless a bad reaction roll is made, he will be friendly to the party and ask them to join him in trying to find the secret treasure hidden in the Lava Meditation Chamber
• Will try to push the weakest of the party into the lava and then drink a potion of Magma Form
  
• 3: Early Magma-Man Experiment (Lesser Fire Elemental), 4 HD, AC 4 (15), 1 attack (1d12, flame tongue, 10' reach), immune to fire damage, +1 weapon or better to hit, takes 2d6 damage from water, mv 40', morale 12, XP 650
• 4: 1d2 Rust Monsters, 5 HD, AC 2 (17), 2 attacks (rusts metal on a hit, magic items have a 10% chance to resist for each plus, rusted metal falls to pieces and falls apart, metal objects hitting the monster are affected the same as a +2 magic item), mv 45', morale 8, XP 270
  
• After devouring a metal item, a rust monster will run away to hide and digest, 30% chance to stop and digest in place
  
• 5: 2d4 Dwarven Skeletons. 2 HD, AC 7 (12), 1 attack (d6, one handed weapons), immune to fear, charm, sleep effects, half damage from edged and piercing weapons, blunt weapons deal an extra d4, mv 35', morale 8 XP 65
  
• 6: 1d4 Lesser Dwarven Automaton, 3+3 HD, AC 5 (14), 3 attacks (axe arm, 1d4 + 2 each), mv 30' on brass crab legs, morale fearless, XP 270
  
• 7: Greater Dwarven Automaton, 4+4 HD, AC 4 (15), 4 or 2 attacks (4 battle axe arms 1d4+3 or 2 great axe arms 1d5+5), attacks as if it has 8 HD, mv 60' on brass boar legs, morale fearless, XP 650
  
• 8: Recent Magma-Man Experiment (Greater Fire Elemental), 8+3 HD, AC 2 (17), 3 attacks (2 punches d8, fire breath in a 15' cone for 2d6 fire damage, save for half), +1 weapon or better to hit, immune to fire damage, takes 2d6 damage from water, mv 45', morale 12, XP 1,750
  

Room Key

• 1: Main Atrium. 3 Pillars hold up a platform above the ground floor and 3 doors are along the north wall behind the pillars. 
• 1a: Central door is trapped, is a pull door with a brass pull ring, and will fall atop anyone who pulls it open. Save or take d10 damage from the weight. 
• 2: 20' diameter, circular door of brass. Single key hole in the middle.
• Key is a Dwarven spear that's found in the eastern platform of ground in Room 8, just next to the lava tunnel that connects to 8a.
• 3:1 Deactivated Lesser Dwarven Automaton and shelves with exotic, but heavy, dwarven artifacts (jeweler's tools, pocket watches, clockwork toys, knicknacks). Will reactivate if the items on the shelves are disturbed or struck with electricity.
• 1 set of jeweler's tools (4 slots and worth 50 gp)
• 1d4 pocket watches (1 slot, 20 gp each)
• 2d6 Clockwork toys (3 slots each, 15 gp each)
• 3d6 Clockwork gears, sprockets, springs (5 slots each, 60 gold each)
  
• 4: Dwarven Treasure Room. Greater Dwarven Automaton and 2 Lesser Dwarven Automata guard the treasure.
• If tasked by the archaeologist, they will ask to have this armor for study, causing some tension between them and the party.
  
• Asbesteros, Ancient Half Plate (+1 half plate and once per day can speak the command word "Mesotheliomos" to become immune to fire damage for d4 Turns)
  
• 5: Gas Trap Room. Entering the room from the south and stepping on the floor will trigger a floor panel, causing the south door to slam shut tight. Gas will spill in from the ceiling and fill the room in 4 Rounds. Pushing on the east wall in the NE corner will reveal a hidden hallway connecting to the eastern hallway and it will shut off the gas.
• After exposure to the gas, creatures must make a save vs poison or take d6 damage per Round. Creatures brought to 0 from the gas must make a save vs Death or immediately combust and become an Early Magma-Man Experiment (see Wandering Creatures)
  
• 6: Talking Statue: Magical statue of a dwarf-headed seal. Will greet any creatures that enter the room and say one of the following statements when talked to further:
• "Much Pleasure to those who brave the tunnels of flame"
• "An intruder has defiled this ruin."
• "A treasure may lead to more"
• "Only a dwarf may enter the sacred lava meditation chamber"
  
• 7: 4 Lesser Dwarven Automata, one with 5 HD and a dwarven spear that can be used to open the locked door in 2. They are guarding the doors to the lava meditation chamber. They will warn to not open the door without authorization.
  
• 8: Lava Meditation Chamber:
  
• 8a:  If tasked by the archaeologist, they will ask to have this weapon for study, causing some tension between them and the party. Schamasch, Sentient Great Hammer (+2 two-handed hammer, +3 vs underground-dwelling creatures and has a 5 in 6 chance of breaking any door once per day).
• 9: Lava Pit: The Mad Pyromancer created this new section of the ruins and added a lava pit to deter and slow intruders. The pit is 50' deep and those who fall will be burned by the lava. The sides of the pit are greased and smooth. There is an invisible, magic rune on the NW tile in the room just south of the hallway leading to the stairs that will alert the pyromancer of intruders.  
• The SW corner of the room on the west wall is black from scorch marks.
  
• The SE door is trapped. It is made of stone and has an iron door knob. It can only be safely opened if the door knob is heated up until it is glowing red. Otherwise, the door's fire rune will blast a line of fire towards the west wall, dealing 3d6 damage to all in its path (half on save).
  
• 10: Magician's Study. The magic-user that moved here was seeking refuge from those who wished to stop his mad experiments of turning into a Magma-Man. The room contains d3+1 Potions of Magma Form.
• Potion of Magma Form: drinker's body and belongings magically turn to magma for d6 Turns. They can still act as normal but are completely immune to damage from burning, fire, heat, etc. and take double damage from cold, water, ice, etc. If in Lava, they can move at half their normal rate. If they are submerged in water, they become petrified in d4 Rounds unless they escape. Deal d6 fire damage on successful touch attack, save or ongoing d6 fire damage to target for d4 Rounds or extinguished.
  
• 11: Bedroom. Has a secret door that leads to an open, vertical shaft connecting a tunnel back to the entrance.
• NW corner of the room, the north wall has burn marks on it
  
• Secret door is opened by holding an open flame next to the north wall in the NW corner, it is an illusory wall and will disappear when triggered
• The other end of the secret tunnel has a magical lever than is in the neutral position. It can be pulled or pushed. If pushed, some rocks fall from the ceiling to crush whoever is beneath, dealing 2d8 damage, half on save. If the lever is pulled, the rocks at the dead-end disappear and lead back to the entrance.
  

Hooks/Rumors

• An archaeologist hires the party to escort them to the ruins and retrieve dwarven relics for study. Will pay them by letting them keep any items they don't want + 300 gold. 

• Strange, mechanical creatures have been found around a cave at the nearby mountain. A curious village was chased by one of them that had crab legs and 4 axes for arms and barely made it out alive. They're the one drinking their sorrows away at the bar missing a hand. 

• A wizard abandoned his tower a year ago and it recently burned down. Approaching the tower will cause 2 Early Magma-Man Experiments to jump from the rubble and attack. A journal can be found in the remains of the tower with the last several entries talking about a ruins found in the nearby mountain that could further the wizard's research.

• Players find a treasure map pointing to the location of the ruins, saying that a magical two-handed hammer is hidden there.
  

Wrap Up

Based on our lessons learned from the unpronounceable ruins of Vvardenfell, this dungeon of ours should be a fun romp for your players to explore, find loot, and meet the mad magician. I left some details lacking in the lore of the ruins and the magician himself so game masters can change them as they see fit. This way it can easily be incorporated into your games without too much legwork.

Warhammer Time: Rise of Da Deffwotch

 

Kaptin of the 1st Krumpany joined by a Duhreddioh Dreddnought

  

Welcome back!

 

I haven't posted in a while! Started skateboarding and some life things occurred. Things are stable again and I have been returning to 3D printing and painting my pet army project, Da Deffwotch!

 

The What Now?

I am a patron of the ever-prolific Gearguts (geargutsmekshop.com) and sometime last year he started releasing some models of Orks wearing looted power armor. I really fell in love with the idea of some Deffskullz looting power armor for that sweet 3+ save and ordered a few of the models to start painting. When the Deathwatch Codex Supplement dropped in the fall, I got the idea to create a very unique Deathwatch army. With my 3D printers, I could easily customize the models to my liking and make them fully one-of-a-kind. I started digitally bashing together models from Gear Guts' line along with some free models I found online and Da Deffwotch were born!

 

Da Lore

Da Deffwotch are a large force of Orks led by Wotch Kommanda Gravekrumppah (not pictured).
Around M37, Gravekrumppah was a particularly kunningly brutal Deffskullz warboss known for loving to mimic human plans and sneak his boys into bases while riding in their transports. His meks were able to mock human communications and trick Imperial forces into landing. In his last exploit as Warboss Gravekrumppah of Da Unduh Takuhs, he fully wiped out the Atomic Spears chapter of Adeptus Astartes and managed to detonate a virus bomb over their only recruitment world, Tallonis XII, destroying any chance of the chapter’s return.

The Inquisition called upon the Ordos Xenos to send the Deathwatch after the genocidal Ork to earn some morsel of revenge for the doom of the chapter and the death of an entire planet. A small Kill Team led by an Astartes in Centurion armor teleported aboard his kroozer, exploiting the chaos caused by a massive brawl that broke out amongst the aliens over which planet to raid next. In the confusion, a marine of the Salamanders chapter struck Gravekrumppah in the skull with a heavy thunder hammer and sent him flying through a few structurally unsound walls.

The Orks proved to be too numerous and vicious and managed to slay the invaders down to the last. Not a single Ork stood to take on the grievously wounded Warboss's place and instead rushed his mangled body to their chief surgeon, Da Mad Dok ‘Eadhacka, who in his own words, "fixed up Gravekrumppah’s body real good like", by chopping off his head and (crudely) attaching it to the beheaded Centurion armor.

When the procedure ended, Gravekrumppah was changed not just in body but in mind. He got it in him that he was not only a powerful Warboss, but a Wotch Kommanda of Da Deffwotch. He started saying "dat da cursed ‘zeenos’ were up to no good and we gotta get da zog outta here and give em a good stompan." His boys didn’t care too much about the change of plans, and went along with their boss, who now demanded he be called Wotch Kommanda Gravekrumppah, Leader of da 412th Wotch of da Ordoz Zeenos of da Inkwizishun. Due to his love of meeting the enemy ‘head’ on in melee combat, Wotch Kommanda Gravekrumppah has died numerous times and his head has been reattached to his trusty suit of armor just as many.

 

What's Next?

I have been printing lots of new models in the last week and I will be sure to post more photos of them as they are painted. Recent prints include: 5 Intercessors, 5 Veterans with Storm Shields and "Deffwotch" Boltguns, 5 Eliminators, Corvus Blackstar, a Razorback, 2 Rhinos, Land Raider, 5 Primaris Outriders, and a Primaris Chaplain on Bike. A whole lot of models with even more character.

Until I get them ready, I'll post my other armies that detail the lore both in real life and in-game about them, kit bashes for said armies, and some terrain I've made.

Warhammer Time: Hive Fleet Stheno's Swarmlord

Kit-bashed Swarmlord

I started my journey through the hobby of Warhammer 40k by buying a Start Collecting Orks kit back in 2018 and have always enjoyed making fun and wacky kit bashes. Each army I have has at least one kit bash that sets it apart from other's and allows me to flex my creativity. With Tyranids, I wanted something that used a non-standard color scheme + make them different than others. It wasn't until I saw a tentacle/cable roller tool for modeling putty that I thought I could make mine have vestigial appendages bursting from their fleshy bits, similar to the Las Plagas from Resident Evil 4. Tyranids are already horrifying, but they can look creepier!

 

I was generously gifted a Treant model and a Hive Tyrand/Swarmlord kit as a Christmas present and inspiration struck! With the right bits and some elbow grease, I could mold the Treant into a Swarmlord to get a second HQ! Using the leftover bits from the Hive Tyrant kit, modeling putty, paperclips to pin pieces, and lots of patience, the monstrosity was born!

Enough talk, let's see some photos!

Progress Shots

 

Complete!

Pardon my messy desk, it's been through a lot of painting and I regularly forget to put a cutting mat down before I paint. I am overall very happy with the end result. I was very skeptical during the entire build process that it was going to look good but to paraphrase one of my muses, Wyloch, "Adding more detail can excuse a bad paint job or decent crafting skills."

 

I'll post more photos of Hive Fleet Stheno soon! I've got Warriors, Hormagaunts, Termagants, a Tyrannofex, a Hive Tyrant, a Lictor, and a whole lot of 3d printed Ripper Swarms in various states of completion.

Miasma and Monsters 1.3 Released

Version 1.3

Changed

• Charm Passive Bonus to Death Saves now changed to a +5% XP bonus
• Slot maximums for land and water vehicles reduced

Miasma and Monsters 1.2.3 Released

 Version 1.2.3

Added

• Clarified that you can use both of your weapons when you have the Dual Wielder Trait when you Charge. You can also perform a Stunt when you charge instead of attacking.
• Clarified that you can carelessly drop what you're holding for free instead of consuming an Action
• Clarified that Called Shots on Arms/Wings lasts d4 Rounds
• Added a Source of XP for spending money
• Added section for how long it takes to transcribe a spell into a book
  

Changed

• Fixed typos
• Ability scores max out at 25/+9
• Skill Recommended Starting Weapons/Armor now updated so you can start with 2 extra light weapons
• Clarified coin requirements for some sources of xp
• Gate spell updated to create a portal to a place the caster has been before
  

Find Your Path: Skill

 

 

H'aanit from Octopath Traveler, strongest party member, change my mind

"What is locked... can be opened... What is hidden... can be found... What is yours... ...can be mine." - Garrett, Thief: Deadly Shadows

Note: all of the rules discussed are based on the current version of the game, 1.2.2.

 

In this post, I'll be going over the Path of Skill for my in-development game, Miasma and Monsters. If you are unfamiliar with the game, please read my post introducing it here.

Not the type looking to solve all their problems with blunt force trauma? Do you prefer to use finesse instead of raw power? Then read on about the Path of Skill. Within it, you will find Bonuses and Traits that will help your character fit archetypes such as the Assassin, Ranger, and Thief.

Passive Skill Bonuses! What are our options?

1. +5' Movement
   
2. +20% to ranges with ranged attacks
   
3. +1 to Skill Saves
   

Nothing game-breaking, but a nice-to-have Bonus that, if taken the maximum six times, allows a player to move up to 70' per Round! Helpful for many Skill archetypes, providing plenty of maneuverability options and working hand-in-hand with many of the Traits contained in this Path. Combine with Shifty to easily get far away from your opponents after Backstabbing them, or pull off charges from super long distances.

Wanna stay far in the back lines and pick off your opponents? Don't like the smell of your foes after they've been stuck with your arrows? Take this Bonus and never fear being too close to combat again! Just don't stray too far from the party, lest you get ambushed. Pair with Rapid Shooter for many shots at far range.

Improving your Skill saves allows one to be much more consistent when performing Stunts, which is a great way to get the tactical advantage necessary for overcoming long odds. Also handy when dodging a dragon's breath or a projectile is the difference between a minor wound and rolling a new character.

Traits

• Accurate 
• "You may reroll any of your ranged attack roll L times per day. You must use the new result and it cannot be rerolled."
• You like it when you successfully hit things, so why not increase those chances? Very handy to keep in your back pocket when you roll a 1 on your nearly broken longbow. Can also be used to help when you have disadvantage. Combine with Lucky for even more insurance!
  
• Backstab
• "When you successfully attack a foe who is already engaged by an ally, you inflict an additional HLd6 damage. You must use an extra light or light melee weapon. You can only do this with one attack per round."
• The bread-and-butter of many Rogues in TTRPGs, this allows you to make up for the lower damage dice of light and extra light weapons.
  
• Block Missile
• "As a Reaction, the character can attempt to grab a missile out of the air that is fired at them or an adjacent creature. The character must make a Skill saving throw to succeed. Saves to grab a missile away from an adjacent creature have disadvantage."
• "How did you just do that!? That was flying right for your face!" - your allies the first time you use this Trait. Yes, you could use this to grab hand-axes and the like too, just make sure to grab them by the handle. I guess you can protect your allies with this too, but we know you took this to protect numero uno.
  
• Dual Wielder
• "You can add your SB to your offhand attacks. Instead of only gaining one additional attack per round with the offhand weapon, you can attack with it for free whenever you use an Action to attack or perform a Stunt."
• Improve your offhand attacks AND get the ability to attack whenever you use a Stunt? Oh yeah, that's a keeper for any dual-wielding ruffian.
  
• Hunter
• "You have Advantage to track, navigate, hunt, and forage in the wilderness. You deal an extra L damage to beasts, mutants, and plants."
• When you and your party are trying to clear hexes, scavenge resources, and hunt monsters, this can prove to be invaluable. Need to track a rampaging weresquid clan back to their lair? Or how about locating the lost colonists sent from Cromar? Hunter will get you there.
  
• Lucky
• "HL times per day, you may reroll a natural 1 on a D20 or force a foe to reroll a natural 20 on a D20."
• You must have cooked your dice in the oven, because you never seem to roll a damn 1. Critical (heh) when you need to protect an ally from being merked by a rampaging baloth or just really don't want to lose a Quality from your nice brigandine coat.
  
• Pack Tactics
• "If you and at least one conscious ally are adjacent to the same creature, then you have Advantage on attacks against that creature. This can only be applied to one attack roll per Round."
• Got a thick-skulled companion that loves to jump into the fray? Join them and revel in your greatly increased accuracy. Needless to say, you should take Backstab with this and go "crit fishing".
  
• Rapid Shooter
• "If you do not move beforehand, then when you use an Action to attack with a ranged weapon, you can attack again with the same weapon as part of that Action. You can only do this once per round and it does not apply to weapons that take 1 or more Rounds to reload."
• Your elementary school dreams of being Legolas have come true! While your foolish allies will have to wait until they're 4th level to make multiple attacks per Round, you can stand back in safety with your arrows spiked into the ground and fell your enemies without fear. Combine with Accurate and/or Lucky if you really want to emulate the Fellowship's Elf.
  
• Shifty
• "After making a successful melee attack against a creature, they can’t opportunity attack you until the beginning of the next round."
• Like dealing melee damage but hate being a target yourself? Take this to perpetually annoy your Referee who keeps rolling melee-only creatures for encounters.
  
• Slippery Target
• "You can use a Reaction to reduce damage taken by half your SB (rounded down), if you can see its source."
• You've got a sixth sense for danger and always seem to come out of scraps looking better than your allies. You can still commiserate with their agony, but on a much reduced scale. Oh yeah, did I mention this can be used every Round?
  
• Sneaky
• "You gain Advantage on Skill Saves to hide in shadows, move silently, and pick locks assuming you have the proper tools."
• Tell your shouty barbarian pal to take a backseat for just a smidge, you need to do some skullduggery. For when you don't want to alarm your foes, because who needs a full stronghold running after you when you can just slip in through a window and make off with their most prized MacGuffins?
  
• Zippy
• "Before or after making an attack roll, you can use your Reaction to move half your movement speed. In addition, you have Advantage on Skill Saves to dodge harmful effects."
• Fly across the battlefield and duck below dragon breath with ease! Great for speeding after a fleeing enemy or when you really need that extra couple dozen feet to introduce that Miasma Man with your short steel. Take with Shifty so you can safely escape melee combat.
  

Capstone Traits

When a character reaches 9th level, they get to choose a Capstone Trait. To choose one of these, one must have at least three Traits from the same Path, demonstrating their devotion to it. 

• Bravo 
• "When an enemy misses you with a melee attack, you can spend your Reaction to make a melee attack against that enemy. You have Advantage for this attack, and if you hit, the attack deals an extra HL damage."
• Remember how the knight on your team has a chance to riposte enemies when they miss? That's cute. Show them how comeuppance is really done with this flamboyant Capstone Trait.
  
• Deadly Assassin 
• "Whenever you hit with Advantage, you score a critical hit. If your attack roll would have crit normally, double your SB when calculating damage."
• Have your Shield Master ally knock enemies prone then you give them the business. Works with ranged attacks too, so take out your targets at range in spectacular fashion.
  
• Sniper 
• "You deal an additional HL damage to targets when using a ranged weapon, ignore the penalties when shooting past combatants, and can use ranged weapons at their ineffective range with no penalties."
• Shoot enemies from long distances, thread crossbow bolts through keyholes, and deal an extra 4 damage per attack when you take this at 9th level. What's not to love? No longer worry about your allies being in the way of your shots, you have mastered the technique of timing their swings to get in a few extra shots.
  

Guild

"Ah, yes. Another scoundrel who served time in an imperial prison. The Gray Fox is offering you a chance to join the Thieves Guild."

 

You've stabbed, sneaked, and arrowed your way to the top of the food chain and now every back-alley thug wants to be on your payroll. You deserve to start a Guild and retire with all your fantastic treasures. You customize each aspect of your guild, from uniform, tenets, and taboos. Will yours focus on the honest pursuit of thievery? Perhaps the more noble profession of assassinations? I guess if you're less bold, you could go for the more socially-acceptable foci such as hunting, crafting, or ranging too. Regardless, once established in a settlement, applicants will flock to your front desk demanding to be interviewed for membership. Remember that they must all pay their dues!

Sample Character Progress 

Below is a sample character progressing from 1st to 12th level. Brawn and Skill were improved upon each level increase until Skill was maxed out at 25. Then Brawn and Mind were increased until 12th level. This is a melee-focused character, taking one Brawn Trait, Riposte, that is eventually traded for Weapon Master when the Bravo Capstone Trait is attained.

• Level 1 
• HP 8, Brawn 12, Skill 16, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +5' Movement Trait: Shifty
  
• Level 2
• HP 12, Brawn 13, Skill 17, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +1 to Skill Saves Trait: Pack Tactics
• Level 3
• HP 3d8 + 6, Brawn 14, Skill 18, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +1 to Skill Saves Trait: Backstab
• Level 4
• HP 4d8 + 8, Brawn 15, Skill 19, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +5' Movement Trait: Zippy
• Level 5
• HP 5d8 + , Brawn 16, Skill 20, Mind 7, Charm 7 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Riposte
• Level 6
• HP 6d8 + , Brawn 17, Skill 21, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +1 to Skill Saves
• Level 7
• HP 7d8 + , Brawn 18, Skill 22, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +1 to Skill Saves
• Level 8
  
• HP 8d8 + , Brawn 19, Skill 23, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +1 to Skill Saves
• Level 9
• HP 9d8 + , Brawn 20, Skill 24, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB: +1 to Skill Saves Capstone Trait: Bravo Exchange Riposte for Weapon Master
• Level 10
• HP 9d8 + , Brawn 21, Skill 25, Mind 7, Charm 7 PSB:  +5' Movement
• Level 11
• HP 9d8 + , Brawn 22, Skill 25, Mind 8, Charm 7 PSB: +5' Movement
• Level 12
  
• HP 9d8 + , Brawn 23, Skill 25, Mind 9, Charm 7 PSB: +5' Movement

May your enemy's purses be heavy and your actions undetected when you travel down the Path of Skill!

Dungeon Robbing: Pokemon

Sabrina's Gym, courtesy of StrategyWiki

"It hurt itself in its confusion!"

No don't leave! Just because it's Pokemon doesn't mean there's something we can't learn from it. I have lots of memories of overwriting my many hour-long saves in elementary school to start my journey through Kanto anew with different strategies and I imagine many other millennial-aged role-players do too. Ever realize that these games are littered with "dungeons"? Almost every non-town location in the original games meet the "Dungeon Checklist". Mind you, don't literally take the points from that article literally. In Pokemon, you're not killing your opponent's Pokemon, you're knocking them out!

• Something to Steal
• Something to be Killed
• Something to Kill You
• Different Paths
• Someone to Talk To
• Something to Experiment With
• Something the Players Probably Won't Find

Take a look at Sabrina's Gym. We've got a majority of the checklist covered:

• A new gym leader badge to acquire (Something to Steal)
• Plenty of Trainer battles (Something to Be Killed/Something to Kill You)
• Psychic is the strongest type by far in Gen 1, so expect to 'white out' and return to the Pokecenter a few times here
  
• Multiple paths to Sabrina (3 different teleporters lead to 'M', which takes you to the Gym Leader)
• Trainers offer some dialogue (this one is a stretch, these games don't have very meaningful dialogue systems)
• You gotta experiment with all the teleporters to find Sabrina!
• You likely won't fight all Trainers on your first pass here, incentivizing you to find them all to get enough experience to defeat Sabrina

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Of course, not everything in Kanto translates well to an enjoyable TTRPG dungeon.

Vermillion Gym, courtesy of StrategyWiki

In the third gym, players have to find a hidden switch underneath the garbage cans spread across the floor. Two switches must be found in order to open the doors to reach the gym leader, and if you don't know how the puzzle works (or that there's a bug in the first games), it just involves trial and error. Also to add frustration, if you press the incorrect switch, the puzzle resets! Annoying and just wastes time, adding only tedium to your games. They act as filler to a video game's run-time and are only memorable for the amount of frustration they generated. Don't put in puzzles like this unless they are very simple and don't gate progress.

Ice Sliding and Rock Pushing Puzzles

Another memorable puzzle design from the first two generations of Pokemon are the Ice Sliding and Rock Pushing puzzles. These involve either slip-sliding across ice, unable to make movement changes after the initial input, or using a Pokemon to physically push heavy obstacles out of the player's path to the next zone. There's some considerations to be made before putting them into your dungeons. Forcing players to not be able to move on ice until they hit a wall or rock is unrealistic, annoying, and breaks their agency. 

 

Instead of railroading their movement options, instead try converting that into a platform or a ball that's locked onto a track that must be navigated around in order to solve the puzzle. Throw in some traps or monsters that add some danger to the puzzle to ramp up the tension. Imagine a few players having to fend off a wave of weak monsters (maybe even flavored to look similar to Pokemon) while the thief is moving a large ball through a track to fall into a hole, hitting a button that opens the exit door, all while everyone is dodging arrows shooting out of the walls. Maybe instead of a ball to move, there's instead a floating, square platform with four arrows along each edge pointing N/S/E/W. Standing atop an arrow or placing a heavy object on it causes the platform to move in that direction at a rate of 20' per Round. Now place some stone pillars, rotating blades, and some stirges within the room and you've got a memorable room! Remind you of anything?

Dungeon Time

Using these tenets and inspiration from this Gym, let's craft a quick dungeon!

Tomb of the Ooze Lich

Muculous was a wizard who fashioned himself as the world's foremost researcher of oozes. He became so fascinated with the creatures that he transformed himself into possibly the first Ooze Lich. He has a hideout hidden inside a hill and uses his mastery of teleportation magic to send clues/maps to nearby towns to draw in adventurers to use as test subjects. 

GM Note: Highlight the blacked-out text to see the spoiler! His phylactery is the northern most, hexagonal pillar in Room B. It must be destroyed in order to permanently kill Muculous. Note that doing so will make the lair unstable and cause it to collapse in 1 Turn. If Muculous is killed but his phylactery remains, he will respawn in this room in d4 days. If the pillar is struck, it makes a different noise than the others and it smells like rotten eggs.

Wandering Creatures

Roll every Turn, 2-6 chance of an encounter occurring. Roll a D4 for encounter:

1. D4 Ooze Humans. As zombie, without the ability to bite/turn victims to a zombie. Can fall upon prone creatures to envelop them in ooze, causing them d6 damage per Round until escaped. Half from piercing/slashing and double from fire.They are pretending to be puddles of harmless water, will attack when approached.
   
2. Gelatinous Cube, halfway done dissolving a lost adventurer
   
3. 1D8 Orcs/Caratorks/Hobgoblins/Cultists/Brigands, exploring the tombs, weapons in hands, looking to find Muculous's spell research
4. Ooze drips from the ceiling, extinguishing any torches the party is carrying.
   

• A
• 2 clear oozes rest motionlessly above the East and West doors, respectively. Whoever goes to either of the doors first will need to make a save to avoid the ooze landing on their head.
• Clear ooze, 1 HD, AC 11, 1 slam (d6), mv 30', morale 8, if it lands on a creature's head, they immediately take d4 damage from the ooze's acid and another d4 at the beginning of their round until removed. Any damage from fire immediately kills the ooze, piercing and slashing damage deals half.
  
• Clear Oozes shimmer like a soap bubble in light and they give off a "rotten eggs" smell
• Something to Kill You
• Different Paths 
  
• B
• Door immediately opens a room with a 50' drop to a floor covered in bones and a floating platform roughly 10' square a few feet beyond the door. Each of the 4 edges of the platform have a pressure plate with an arrow pointing in that direction (N, S, E, W). If an object weighing more than 10 pounds is placed on the plate, it will depress and the platform will move in that direction at a rate of 20' per Round.
• There are solid rock platforms (gray hexagons) that go from floor to ceiling.
• There is a 20' long, 5' wide blade that rotates on one of the pillars a few feet above the platform. Every Round it moves clockwise 180 degrees above the pillar. If the blades hit something, it will deal 1d10 damage unless a Save is made. It is enchanted to phase through any of the pillars.
  
• 2d6 Stirges have a nest built-upon one of the western pillars
  
• Bottom of the room has two Gelatinous Cubes roaming around
• Something to Experiment With
  
• C
• Teleporter maze
• Muculous created this maze to confuse intruders and to account for the slow speed of his oozes
• If two creatures/objects stand on paired teleporters at the same time, they will end up in one of the rooms combined with one another, generally to horrifying, deadly effects
• Something to Experiment With
• Ensure to hide the teleporter key from the players!
• Center Western Room has an adventurer with a broken leg, currently asleep
• Starving, feverish, and will ask for assistance
• His party left him 2 days to get medical supplies from their wagon and never returned 
• They were killed by the rotating blade in B
• Someone to Talk To
  
• Center room has 5,000 gold coins and 1d6 Potions of Ooze Form
• Drinker's body becomes soft and gelatinous, like an ooze's for 2d6 Turns. They take half damage from piercing/slashing, no damage from falling, and double damage from fire for the duration. Their speed is reduced by 10' per Round to a minimum of 20' per Round.
• Something to Experiment With and Something to Steal
  
• SW room has a Gelatinous Cube in it, with 3 Orcs/Caratorks/Hobgoblins/Cultists/Brigands dissolving inside of it. If the cube is killed within 3 Rounds, 1 of the creatures will have survived and assist the party until they can leave the dungeon. (May try to backstab the party, or run! Make morale checks)
  
• NW room has a hole in the ceiling that leads to a well shaft that runs parallel to the dungeon. The well shaft can be climbed up to exit out into the town square of Dropstone, a small village.
  
• NE room has a Slimosaur in it, laying in wait inside a 6' tall, polished, silver urn. If the urn is touched, the creature will emerge from it as a puddle of ooze and morph into its sauropod form. It will chase them through the teleport rooms
  
• Large, bipedal sauropod ooze (dinosaur) that has sharp claws and strong telekinetic powers. When struck by piercing or slashing weapons, it splits into two. Likes to pick up prey with their telekinesis and throw them up, likely killing them when they fall.
• HD 8 (2 Actions per Round), AC 15, claw (d10), telekinesis (40’ range, like the spell, 18 Brawn save or be picked up and thrown), mv 40’, morale 9, initiative 10
• When split, create two creatures from the one split where they have half the HD of the original creature
• HD 4 = AC 14, 2 x claw (1d8), HD 2 = AC 16, 2 x claw (1d6), HD 1 = AC 17, 2 x claw (1d4)
• Telekinesis scales down in distance as the creature gets smaller
• HD 8: d8x5’. HD 4: d6x5’, HD 2: d4x5’, HD 1: d2x5’ 
•  Muculous's prized creation, result of his last few years of work.
  
•  Something to Kill
  

• D
• False tomb of Muculous. If the coffin is opened, poison gas will escape. All in the room must save or suffer 2d8 damage. Any creatures killed by the gas dissolve into a fleshy puddle and animate as an Ooze Human within d4 Rounds.
• HD equal to what they had when they died, as zombie, without the ability to bite/turn victims to a zombie. Can fall upon prone creatures to envelop them in ooze, causing them d6 damage per Round until escaped.
• All their carried/worn items dissolve if they died, unless magical
• Half from piercing/slashing and double from fire.
  
• Coffin has the remains of glass vials which held the gas and 4d8*100 gold coins.
  
• Something to Kill You, Something to Steal
  
• E
• Long room with 3, 20' deep, spiked pit traps and a large fan on the north wall that blows continuous, strong winds
• Clever usage of tools, high strength characters, magic, or anything else is needed to traverse the room safely.
  
• Falling into the spikes causes 2d6 damage
• Something to Kill You, Something to Experiment With
  
• F
• Muculous's actual lair. He creates oozes and slimes from the corpses of adventurers that die in here.
• He will be within the pipes below the room that connect the four grates together. He can move between grates within 1 Round.
• Each grate can be removed with some sort of Save, check, etc.
• NE grate hides a 4' wide crawl space that leads to a cave with his treasure hoard and research laboratory
•  Muculous, the Ooze Lich. HD 8 (D4s), AC 15, acid touch (2d6), mv 40', morale 10, initiative 10
• Magus, Spell Thief, Steel Trap Mind, Signature Spell (choose one of his spells)
  
• Carries 6 spell books
• Ooze Type
  
• Something to Kill You, Something to Kill
  
• G
• Treasure hoard and laboratory of Muculous
• Roll for the appropriate treasure hoard in your system. Should be fit for an 8 HD spell caster
• Also among the hoard is a spell book of Ooze Form, and a Wand with a random spell in it.
• Something the Players Probably Won't Find
  

Hooks/Rumors 

• The ground by the hill outside of town is really squishy and it smells like an old, uncleaned chicken coop.
• True, the oozes have changed the landscape and many of them smell like rotten eggs.
• One of the players found a note in their bag mentioning that there is a mage's hideout nearby holding riches and arcane knowledge.
• Partially true. The players will certainly be suspicious of this but could be a neat way to steer them towards it.
• The village of Dropstone sits atop Muculous's lair, completely unknown to them. Their grave-keeper started to prepare a new plot when he unearthed a squishy patch of land. Digging further, he found slimy, pitted stone stairs leading underground to a stone door.
• True, but if the players visit the grave-keeper they will find that he has been turned into an Ooze Human! He ventured into the dungeon (door is ajar) and was turned by Muculous.
• The water from the well started to smell like rotten eggs and took on an acidic taste a week ago. Yesterday, a Gelatinous Cube emerged from Dropstone's well and destroyed the town's market stands before it was burned away.
• The well leads to a hole in the ceiling of the NW teleporter room in C.

Wrap Up

Inspiration can strike us from anywhere, even 20+ year-old Gameboy RPGs. Next time, I will be Dungeon Robbing on a memorable locale from the fantastic game, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, but I may also revisit the Gameboy catalog for more treasure. I'm looking at you, Dragon Warrior series!

 

Find Your Path: Brawn

"More fools. I am done speaking, witch. Witness" - Karsa Orlong

In this post, I'll be going over the Path of Brawn for my in-development game, Miasma and Monsters. If you are unfamiliar with the game, please read my post introducing it here.

So you wanna be a bruiser? A formidable wall able to shrug off hits and deliver them right back? Be a blood-thirsty berserker that counts their kills by the score? Then Brawn is the Path for you. Home to Traits and Passive Bonuses that focus on dealing damage in melee, weathering physical damage, and adding tactical choices to any combat encounter, Brawn is meant for players who wish to emulate the classic archetypes of the Fighter, Battlemaster, Barbarian, and anything in between.

Let's start off with the Passive Brawn Bonuses. Your three choices in the Path of Brawn are:

1. +1 to Brawn Saves
2. +1 to melee damage rolls
3. Add a D10 to your Hit Dice pool instead of a D8 for this level

Starting off, we can choose a bonus to Brawn saves. For characters wishing to reliably pull of Stunts, Called Shots, or withstand being subject to the effects of those same Actions from their foes, this is a great PBB. If you combine it with the Shield Master Trait, then at level 1 you can perform Stunts using a shield with advantage AND get a +1 bonus. You'll be knocking your opponents prone left and right, setting up an ally with the Backstab Trait to fish for a juicy critical hit or even reliably pushing enemies off cliffs and bridges frequently.

Next we've got old faithful: +1 to melee damage rolls. It may seem boring at first, but it can really make the difference between an encounter dragging out and maiming party members to wiping the floor with the Flyguys you're fighting at the start of your journey in the first Round of Actions. It really works well with any of the Traits, but stand outs would include Brutal, Frenzy, Furious Retaliation, and Weapon Master. Even with an average Brawn score you could more than likely "one shot" most 1 HD creatures.

Now here's a real recipe for a bruiser of a character. Increasing your average HP gained per level from 4.5 to 5.5 is pretty great. Remember that you get to reroll your entire HD pool at each level up, so not only does this help you out when you first take it, but it definitely increases your max HP potential in the future. Consider pairing it with Bloodlust, Guardian, and Too Dumb to Die if you want to increase your chances of surviving every time you enter the fray.

Traits

Onto the real meat and potatoes of every Path: the Traits! Brawn really has some fun ones.

• Barbarian
• "While not wearing armor, your AC is equal to your Brawn score." 
• Wanna play as a Conan-esque character, charging into battle wielding nothing but your steel and some animal fur? Hell yeah! Note that as your Brawn score increases, so does your AC! Make sure to keep buffing that ability up and not be caught without some Restore Brawn potions in your pocket. Never worry about your armor breaking or weighing you down, but be wary of the undead and their ability draining powers!
• Bloodlust 
• "When you kill a creature, you gain temporary HP equal to your BB. This does not stack and replaces any temporary hit points you may have. Temporary hit points last 6 Turns (1 hour) or until you rest." 
• Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! Milk for the Khorne Flakes! Make sure to take the biggest weapon you can wield and go wild, focusing on those puny creatures first so you can soak up the blows from their bigger comrades. Works well with many of the other Brawn Traits 
• Brutal
• "Reroll 1s and 2s on damage dice, but you must take the second result." 
• One of my play testers got a lot of mileage out of an ability like this during a Curse of Strahd 5E campaign a few years ago, and it became an "in-joke" among our group. It really ups the reliability of doing good damage and players love rolling dice. 
• Cleave
• "When you kill a foe in melee combat you can use your Reaction to immediately make an attack on an adjacent foe." 
• The classic! Cut down an enemy and get some Action economy advantage in the process, what's not to love? 
• Feats of Strength
• "You have Advantage on Brawn Saves to perform feats of strength such as breaking down doors, bending bars, lifting gates, and picking up and throwing objects. Unless encumbered, double your Brawn when calculating jump distances. " 
• Something that's not focused on just combat, the player can use this to help mitigate environmental hazards or brute force themselves through a dungeon or a craven baron's defenses. Plus who couldn't love the idea of a player being able to leap chasms that no average person dare attempt? 
• Frenzy
• "HL times per day, you may enter a rage. When in a rage you can survive down to -L HP instead of 0 before needing to make a death Save and you deal an additional L damage on each successful melee attack. A rage ends when combat does."  
• Turn on Jomsviking by Amon Amarth and charge into battle!
• Furious Retaliation
• "Every time an opponent damages you, you gain a +1 to hit and a +1 on damage rolls until the end of the combat. This caps at +10."
• High risk, high reward play-style coming through. If you can manage to stay alive while taking a beating (hint: combine with Bloodlust!) you can eventually hit like a truck.
• Guardian
• "When an adjacent ally is hit with an attack, you may use a Reaction to take the damage for them. You may make a Brawn Save to reduce the damage you take by your BB, to a minimum of 1. The difficulty is 10 + HD of the attacker."
• Be a big damn hero and block attacks for your allies! Plus the good karma lets you attempt to reduce the damage by your Brawn Bonus. Helps keep the Skill-focused melee characters alive, or protects a squishy Magus from a killing blow. 
• Riposte
• "When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your Reaction to roll a D8. On a 5+, deal that much damage to them."
• If you choose to focus more on withstanding large amounts of damage then dishing it out yourself, then this will allow you to give your foes a taste of their own medicine. Giving yourself a 50% chance to deal 5-8 damage every time a melee attack misses you is pretty powerful, and if you are missed by more than 2 attacks per Round, you'll get a lot of value out of this Trait.
• Shield Master
• "When wielding a shield, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC and have Advantage on any attempt to perform a Stunt that involves your shield."
• Great to take if you have allies who fight alongside you in melee and pairs well with Guardian. Use it to knock enemies prone, push them off high places, or bash them into environmental hazards. 
• Too Dumb to Die
• "When you would roll on the death table, you may instead lose d4 points from an ability score of your choosing and regain d4 HP."
• Really embrace the stereotype of the Fighter being a brick wall. You regain 1 lost point in each ability score that is below its max value every time you get a night's rest, so don't worry too much about the permanent effects of this. Have your other allies brew Restore Ability potions to keep yourself in the fight for even longer!
• Weapon Master 
• "Pick a weapon type (light, medium, etc.) to become a master in. Increase the damage die size for that weapon type (d6 > d8, d10 > d12, d12 > d14, etc.) and you gain a +1 to hit it."
• "By this axe I rule!" Devote yourself to a weapon type and become even more powerful with it. Also yeah, you read that right. Get a d14 for damage dice with a heavy weapon! Worth considering for Skill-focused characters too, as they can master their trusty bow.

Capstone Traits

When a character reaches 9th level, they get to choose a Capstone Trait. To choose one of these, one must have at least three Traits from the same Path, demonstrating their devotion to it. 

• Combat Veteran
• "When you consume rations, you gain 1d6+BB HP. When you roll the maximum amount on your damage dice (two 6s on 2d6, 12 on d12, etc.), you can roll your damage dice again and add it to the result. Repeat this process until you stop rolling the maximum amount. When using an Action to attack, you can perform a Stunt for free."
• Exploding damage dice, more HP regained when resting, and a free Stunt every time you Attack! You'll feel comfortable fighting multiple enemies at once and you'll be performing Stunts and Called Shots left and right! As a Combat Veteran, your experience fighting has helped you identify weak points, causing you to dish out even more damage than before.
  

• Dreadnought
• "All your hit dice become D12. Reroll your entire HP pool. If you upgraded any of your hit dice to D10s, they now become D16s. When wearing armor, you take less damage from melee and ranged attacks equal to half its Quality, rounded down, to a minimum of 1."
• Become a veritable lump of iron. You'll likely forget how to roll a Death save, due to your HP shooting up upon taking this Capstone Trait. Make sure to keep your armor well upgraded with Quality improvements and that you Field Repair it often to make good use of the Damage Reduction!

•  Meat Dabbler

• "Your melee attacks deal an additional HL damage. HL times per day, when you miss with a melee attack, you can make a melee basic attack against the same target as a free action. If you miss with this bonus attack, you may use this trait again, provided you have uses of it remaining."
• Hit like a freight train, and if you miss, try to hit again for free! With the right combination of PBBs and Traits, you can easily get your damage bonus over 10 when you qualify for this Capstone Trait.

Stronghold 

So, you've made it to level 12? You actually survived the front lines? You deserve to make a permanent mark upon the world. You now have the ability to retire your character and convert all their wealth and resources into constructing a Stronghold. You'll have to first clear out an area on the map or use an existing safe area to do so. You hold will attract followers and you'll be able to muster up your own army. Maybe your next character will be a pupil of your former one, or perhaps someone who aims to usurp the newfound throne and take the stronghold for themselves? Regardless, your character will bear the burden of leadership upon a troubled brow. 

Sample Character Progress

Below is a sample character progressing from 1st to 12th level. Each ability score increase was put into Brawn and Skill and they were able to reach the cap of 25 in Brawn by level 12. 

 

• Level 1 
• HP 3, Brawn 14, Skill 10, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Bloodlust
• Level 2
• HP 11, Brawn 15, Skill 11, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Weapon Master
  
• Level 3
• HP 18, Brawn 16, Skill 12, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Cleave
• Level 4
• HP 25, Brawn 17, Skill 13, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Too Dumb to Die
  
• Level 5
• HP 40, Brawn 18, Skill 14, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage rolls Trait: Furious Retaliation
  
• Level 6
• HP 55, Brawn 19, Skill 15, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to melee damage roll
• Level 7
• HP 56, Brawn 20, Skill 16, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
  
• Level 8
  
• HP 76, Brawn 21, Skill 17, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
• Level 9
• HP 99, Brawn 22, Skill 18, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves Capstone Trait: Meat Dabbler
  
• Level 10
• HP 132, Brawn 23, Skill 19, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
• Level 11
• HP 133, Brawn 24, Skill 20, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves
• Level 12
  
• HP 134, Brawn 25, Skill 21, Mind 7, Charm 8 PBB: +1 to Brawn Saves

You've read up on how the Path of Brawn works, so now go forth and conquer!