No peace for the heathen — Sentient Relics #3
Game Design Log #22
I finished the last four sentient relics!
As usual, I've rewritten almost everything that is written in the images below them to make it more legible. In the images I wrote everything in my handwriting, which is far from being legible and even farther from being pretty (and when I handwrite, my dysgraphia goes through the roof). For the game, my idea is to put all this text without my handwriting so that it can be easily read.
Also, I wrote a note about Grief (maybe I should have made it as a post), as I forgot to talk about it in here before posting about sentient relics. The short explanation that I gave in that note about Grief was:
“Grief is the same as XP, but some enemies can use it as a weapon against you.”
However, there is more to it that you may be interested to read.
But well, I hope these sentient relics serve as inspiration for creatures or relics for your home games, or at least make you curious about how “No Peace For The Heathen” will turn out.
Thoughts are always welcome!
All of these creatures make reference to something call “Grief” and sometimes to a tactic/attribute/stat of the PCs, so if you want to use them in your OSR game…
…for something like OSE you can use this:
Grief → XP or Treassure carried by PCs or sum of both (divided by 1000).
Strong → STR
Agile → DEX
Imposing → CHA
Resilient → CON
Sneaky → DEX
Observant → WIS
…for something like MÖRK BORG you can use this:
Grief → Omens, or Silver dived by 100, or the sum of both.
Strong → Strenght
Agile → Agility
Imposing → Presence
Resilient → Toughness
Sneaky → Agility
Observant → Presence
…for both you could also add this:
Let the PCs spend “X” HP to increase their roll by “X”.
Mirror of the First Vision
When looking at it, you get mesmerized by your reflection:
If you want to step out of it, you must do a Resilient check vs 10 + Your Grief :
In a success, you can walk away.
In a fail, each foot you take of distance makes you bleed 1d6.
The mirror uses your reflection to talk back.
It knows everything about you.
It desires to be you:
It tries to convince you to touch hands with your reflection, and to look into your eyes.
If you do this, you get trapped on the other side and the mirror takes over your body. A new carving with your face adorns it frame.
If anyone breaks it, a Mirror Wraith emerges from it: Its front wearing the aspect of who was being reflected by the mirror, and its back reflective as a mirror.
If you see yourself reflected on its back, a new Mirror Wraith wearing your aspect emerges from it.
Mirror Wraith:
Chasm = Imposing = Grief of who its aspects belongs to.
Mirror Claws → 1d6, two attacks.
Mirror Shards → 1d6, range 60’
Brothers of the Sin and the Pain incarnated
Marble statue. Real iron and gold swords.
Feeling of sorrow in the room.
What it does?
All weapons weight twice as much when in the same room.
Two dissonant whispers can be heard in the room.
If your Grief > Blood → Resilient vs 10 + Your Grief
In a fail, you need the Iron Sword.
If your Grief < Blood → Resilient vs 10 + Sum of the number of compulsion of those in the room.
In a fail, you need the Golden Sword.
The one with the Iron Sword
You don’t need any other weapon but this.
The sword talks in your mind; constantly reminds you of your pains.
It is a d4 sword that feeds from your Grief
For each Grief that you feed to the sword it gets an extra d4.
If there is any pair of equal results on the d4s, you suffer the condition Sorrow ( -{number of equal pairs})
The one with the Golden Sword
You desire to carry as many weapons as you can.
The sword talks with your own voice; constantly reminds you of your sins.
It is a d6 sword that feeds from your compulsions.
For every compulsion you have, roll an extra d6.
Any odd number on the sword’s d6s allows you to roll an extra d6.
Any even number on the sword’s d6s makes you bleed for the same amount.
You can decide to ignore this bleeding by, instead, making the being you slash with the sword to be flooded by images of your regrets.
The stag head of the blind queen
Once just a stag head, with the eyes of the blind queen, the chasm has given the head a body and a temper.
He grieves the loss of the love of his queen, now long dead.
He is a remnant of the spirits of the land of the region where his queen reigned.
Chasm 10 + d10 (Blood/HP).
Imposing 2 + 1d4 (stat for everything).
What it does?
Can see in darkness.
Can smell a wound from miles away.
Attacks:
One with each hand → d6 or d10 for the hand with the weapon.
Or Hooves and Gore
Hooves at the start of movement → d8
Gore at the end of movement → 3d6
Any blood, red or green, that touches its body is absorbed into Chasm.
Sphere of the illusions of the sinners’ life
Chasm d6 x {Sum of the number of the compulsion of those under its candlelight} (Blood/HP).
Imposing d8 + {Max grief of those within its candlelight} (stat for everything).
What it does?
It tries to suffocate you into its smoke, to make you the new mind on the smoke.
For each compulsion of those within its light, it can create 1 smoke slasher per turn.
Smoke Slasher (Chasm = Imposing = 4)
Claws → d6
Move 30’
Suffocate
Beings at 10’ Resilience vs 10 + Smoke remaining Chasm
In a fail:
If conscious → fall unconscious.
If already unconscious → its mind gets trapped on the relic.
In a fail or a success → the smoke slasher dissipates.