The dammed who roam dead-holy-towns, part I: Encounters for OSE, Mörk Borg, and NPFTH
Game Design Log #25
Traversing the streets of this dead holy town, you come across with something on your way.
Roll for an encounter!
1d4
Feral rapture of the cannibal sin.Blind follower's choir.Chained slaves of pain.Flaming penitents.
Sometimes, these creatures make reference to something called “Grief”, 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).
…for something like MÖRK BORG you can use this:
Grief → Omens, or Silver dived by 100, or the sum of both.
…for both you could also add this:
Let the PCs spend “X” HP to increase their roll by “X”.
Spirits that roam dead wheeled holy towns
1. Feral rapture of the cannibal sin
These colonists have fallen to madness under the pressure of living in contact with the Chasm1. Their minds, failing to understand the meaning of the visions that the Cham imprints in their dreams, have gone awry.
In madness, they have fall to hunger and violence, and in an infinite shame, thinking of themselves as being trapped by their god-man-king on the land of eternal damnation, they have embraced the first sin, cannibalism.
They are:
d4
All children.
All extremely old people.
A mixture of ages, from afar they look as a common group of colonists.
Imposible to say, child look old, adults look childlish, all of them covered in animals feathers and skins, their faces stained with dried blood.
Always double their number when they are part of an encounter.
STATS
For OSE
Armour Class 10
Hit Dice → 2 (9 hp)
Attacks 1 → Bite (2d4)
Movement → 60’ (20’)
Saving Throws → D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
Morale → 12
XP → 10
▶ Initiative → They always lose.
▶ Sensitive smell → They can track the smell of fresh blood.
▶ Relentless hugh → If they catch someone before attacking them, their next atack makes 1d4 extra damage.For NPFTH (to use with Mörk Borg → Blood=HP + Imposing as stat for everything when used by the colonist’s spirit)
They do everything with Imposing +2.
Blood → 7 (all black)
Actions → Bite (2d4) or Relentless hugh
Movement → 30'(as common humans)
Armor → None
Morale → 12
▶ Initiative → They always attack last.
▶ Sensitive smell → They can track the smell of fresh blood.
▶ Relentless hugh → If they catch someone before attacking them, their next bite is done with an extra d4.
2. Blind follower's choir
These spirits sing the songs of their god-man-king, in an eternal prayer of pain, begging to be released from their pain and the chains that bound them to the warped magic of the Chasm.
Their skin is translucent, their bodies almost ethereal, and float slowly, as move as a ghostly wind.
STATS
For OSE
Armour Class 12
Hit Dice 3 (13hp)
Attacks → 1 × chilling touch (1d6) or 1 × Song of Pain or 1 × Possession
Movement → 240’ (80’), they fly
Saving Throws → D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (4)
Morale → 12
XP → 150
▶ Undead → Immune to effects that affect living creatures (e.g. poison). Immune to mind-affecting or mind-reading spells (e.g. charm, hold, sleep).
▶ Mundane damage immunity → Only harmed by silver weapon or magic.
▶ Song of Pain → Anyone at 30' from the source of the song has to make a Saving Throw (P), in a fail they get entranced by the song and they can only get closser to the source of the song.
▶ Possession → Anyone in close combat can be possesed by the blind follower. The creature being possessed has to make a Saving Throw (S) or becomes possessed by one hour. The blind follower will use its new body to try to scape from town. The creature whose body was possessed becomes a ghost, (at a 1 in 4 chance of being imperceptible to any living creature), it has the same stats as the blind follower. For NPFTH (to use with Mörk Borg → Blood=HP + Imposing as stat for everything when used by the colonist’s spirit)
They do everything with Imposing +(Max Grief between the PCs).
Blood → 12 (all black)
Actions → "Chilling touch" (1d6) or "Song of Pain" or "Possession"
Movement → 60'(they fly and they can pass through walls).
Armor → 1d6 / None when attacked with silver weapons (their inmaterial body does not receive the full damage of normal weapons).
Morale → 12
▶ Song of Pain → Anyone at 30' from the source of the song has to make a Resilient or Imposing roll DC 15, in a fail they get entranced by the song and in their turn they can only get closser to the source of the song.
▶ Possession → Anyone in close combat can be possesed by the blind follower. The creature being possessed has to make a Resilient or Imposing roll DC 15 or becomes possessed by one hour. The blind follower will use its new body to try to scape from town. The creature whose body was possessed becomes a ghost, (at a 1 in 4 chance of being imperceptible to any living creature), it has the same stats as the blind follower. 
3. Chained slaves of pain
Slaves in chains walk through the streets of the dead-wheeled-holy-town. They walk in a pilgrimage of guilt and betrayal, crying out for the god to whom they pledged their lives, the slaver god of colonists, the god-man-king, still believing that in his forgiveness is their salvation.
They wear thick chastity belts and their heads are covered by heavy metal helmets in the shape of bells, with small slits for their eyes and mouths. The chain that binds them together is long; between each of them there is 30’ of chain.
They speak Pious (the language of the colonists) and have forgotten the languages of the island, or have decided never to speak them again. In penance, they seek to bring contentment to their new god.
STATS
For OSE
Armour Class → 16
Hit Dice → 1 (4hp)
Attacks → 1 × Rusted chain (1d8) or Hammering head (1d6)
Movement → 60’
Saving Throws → D11 W12 P14 B16 S15
Morale → 7
XP → 15
▶ Rusted Chain: The chain binds the slaves together and they have learned to use it in sync. A slave can use the chain to attack anyone within 10' of any slave (themselves as well) or within a 20' diameter sphere centered between two slaves.For NPFTH (to use with Mörk Borg → Blood=HP + Imposing as stat for everything when used by the colonist’s spirit)
They do everything with Imposing +1.
Blood → 4 (all white)
Attacks → 1 × Rusted chain (1d8, tag infected) or Hammering head (1d6, tag stunner)
Movement → 60’
Armor → 1d8
Morale → 7
▶ Rusted Chain: The chain binds the slaves together and they have learned to use it in sync. A slave can use the chain to attack anyone within 10' of any slave (themselves as well) or within a 20' diameter sphere centered between two slaves.
▶ Stunner: When hitting with a NAT 20 the Hammering Head can stun the target (stun condition -d4).
▶ Infected: When hitting with a NAT 20 the Rusted Chain can infect the wounds of their victims (infected condition -d4).
4. Flaming penitents
With no escape from the madness that the Chasm had brought into their lives, these colonists decided to end their days under the purifying flame of their god-man-king. It is impossible to know where they come from, as they die soon after appearing from hidden places in the city. The most terrifying thing about them, is that they run in silence, and that among the flames you can glimpse the outlines of their smiles, as they embrace the pain of the flames as a gift from their god.
Always triple their number when they are part of an encounter.
STATS
For OSE
Armour Class → 9
Hit Dice → 2 (9hp)
Attacks → 1 × Blazing embrace (1d6)
Movement → 60’
Saving Throws → D11 W12 P14 B16 S15
Morale → 12
XP → 10
▶ Blazing embrace: A Flaming penitent will grab and hugs tight to the first person they encounter on their path. Someone who is embraced by a flaming penitent can only be free from the embrace when the penitent dies. A flaming penitent embracing a creature will lose 2 HP per turn. For NPFTH (to use with Mörk Borg → Blood=HP + Imposing as stat for everything when used by the colonist’s spirit)
They do everything with Imposing +1.
Blood → 10 (all black)
Attacks → 1 × Blazing embrace (1d6)
Movement → 60’ Armor → 1d8 against wooden weapons. These are the flames consuming the wood of the weapons, and therefore this armor can't be broken.
Morale → 12
▶ Blazing embrace: A Flaming penitent will grab and hugs tight to the first person they encounter on their path. Someone who is embraced by a flaming penitent can only be free from the embrace when the penitent dies. A flaming penitent embracing a creature will lose 2 points of Blood per turn.
Gap that lies between the world as seen by invaders of the north and the people of Isla Grande. From it something emerges, a kind of energy that mutates living beings, transforms the world around it, and empowers objects with strange magic.