The Well On The Way (GLOG Mini Dungeon)

    Louis and Locheil had a monster generating table and a challenge: 1d2 monsters in 1d4+1 rooms. I got

1. Form: avian
2. Danger: watercutter
3. Mien: cthonic
4. Habitat: deep places
5. Drive: friendship
6. Weakness: moon

    Obviously some kind of tidal thing, which makes me think of that scene in the seventh book of Deltora Quest. The generator indicated one monster and four rooms. The rest of this is so bloody obvious that it barely holds up to a blogpost, but I guess I'll write it all out anyway, for the future generations...

THE WELL ON THE WAY

    Somewhere along the coast is a spring, which was once used by passing ships to refill their stores of fresh water. When the site gained military significance, the empire of old built a small military fort and installed a pair of living stone statues in the shape of their own eagles. Centuries passed. The war is long over — mostly forgotten. Supply lines broke down. There isn't an empire any more, not really, at least not around here. One of the eagles returned to its roost and never woke again. Now the other simple automaton patrols the fortified wellhouse by day, attacking all visitors (mostly unfortunate sailors, who believe the Well is haunted). The eagle knows it is one of a pair, and does not know why it is alone.

    The well is up a narrow path from the nearby pebbly beach. If you were approaching by land, you'd need to let yourself down a series of cliffsides by ropes, and you'd still be outside the walls.

    The exterior walls are 10' high, made of local stone blocks held together by lead (as was the imperial way). Once it had a ditch, but that filled in ages ago. The tower in the middle is clearly visible from the outside. The SOUTH wall gate connects to the path; it can be barred from the inside, but it isn't. The EAST wall has an opening with rusted bars — a halfling or elf could slip through, but not a man or dwarf.

A - COURTYARD

    80m by 80m. Contains all the other rooms in a large stone structure in the middle, about three stories high. Overgrown with beach grass and crab apple. Strange gouges in the earth here and there. A corpse just inside the gate was a sailor (judging by the clothes). It and its sword have been cut in half by what must have been a weapon with an impossibly keen edge.
    Digging around in the sand and beach grass in the southeast corner will reveal rags and dry-rot from two imperial tents; anyone who knows their military history could tell you there were at least six soldiers stationed here, about a hundred years back. 10 minutes of digging turns up 3gp in vintage small change and an icon of St. Lionel (+1 to saves against falling trees) worth 5sp.
    The building has three entrances, one on its SOUTH side and two on its NORTH. They'll be locked (with simple locks covered in marks of previous pickings) by night, but the Golden Eagle unlocks the doors into and out of the wellhouse during the day. Additionally, a covered balcony overlooks the courtyard on the SOUTH wall. It's 20' up, but not difficult to hook a grapnel on. This gives access to the gun balcony and to rooms B - WELLHOUSE and D - CONTROL by way of the staircases in those rooms.

B - WELLHOUSE

    This room is 30m square, with a 30' ceiling with a large central skylight covered in bars. Beneath the skylight is a hole 15 meters across and cut 20' into the earth. Slick stairs spiral down the sides to the bottom. This is the Well, which fills with hot, fresh-ish, sparkling water as the tide comes in, and slowly cools and drains as it recedes. A pump as big as a dogwood on the EAST wall is broken but repairable by an engineer. The soldiers stationed here once enjoyed hot baths piped in on geothermal power every day, a rarity in the current dark age.
    On the SOUTH wall, stairs lead up to the gun balcony. They're unusually encrusted with filth — mineral-rich water has leaked from the gun and dripped down over the years. The filth conceals approximately 350 caltrops lovingly placed by retreating soldiers. Anyone who takes the stairs without checking the grime will step on caltrops halfway up, taking 1 damage. They must then check CON, yelping jumping slipping falling and whacking their heads on the stairs for 1 damage on a failure. They must then check DEX, rolling off the guard-rail-less stairs 10' up for the usual 1d6 falling damage on a failure.
    On the EAST wall, one half-rotten wooden door leads to D - CONTROL, and a metal hatch leads to C - ROOST. Both doors are locked with conventional warded locks.

C - ROOST

    This chamber is 7m square, with a 10' ceiling with a large central skylight covered in bars. A metal hatch on the WEST wall leads into the wellhouse, and one to the NORTH leads to the courtyard directly. Beneath the skylight is a mechanical pump as big as a dogwood, with two nozzles like feeding tubes. The pump powers a charging station for imperial weapons. The charging station holds a long-abandoned Thunder Projector (as musket, but silent to everyone not in the line of fire), which like all imperial weapons requires no ammo except a battery that runs dry on an attack roll of a natural 1.
    One of the nozzles is held in the steel beak of an aquiline automaton, deathly still, covered with dripping stalactites and black silver leaf. Party members with knowledge of automata (or decorative fountains) who examine the Silver Eagle will see immediately that its internals are badly clogged with lime deposits and chips of silver tarnish (party members with knowledge of basic chemistry can tell you that one should never mix sterling silver and sulfur-rich mineral water). Repairing the machine would be a difficult task, and probably fatally unwise to anyone without a way to prove imperial bonafides, but it could be done. Studying the lifeless automaton for an hour reveals the statblock for Eagle Automata. Anyone with even the slightest understanding of plumbing (fairly rare in the modern age, but the wizard could have read a book) would have no trouble finding the valve on the raw line to the pump; turn this ninety degrees and the pump will power nothing.
    During the day the other nozzle on the pump is empty. During the night. it repressurizes the Golden Eagle. This automaton was not programmed to attack intruders while recharging (that's what its partner was for), and so can be conversed with. It's like talking to a depressed, evil dog.
Example Conversation:

• "What are you?"
• "STATEMENT GUARDIAN AUTOMATA RESUPPLY POINT OMICRON ELEVEN GOLDEN EAGLE"
• "What is this place?"
• "STATEMENT IMPERIAL RESUPPLY POINT OMICRON ELEVEN. OBSERVATION YOU COULD HAVE GUESSED THAT ONE, IDIOT"
• "Why are you attacking sailors?"
• "STATEMENT I HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO DEFEND IMPERIAL RESUPPLY POINT OMICRON ELEVEN FROM UNAUTHORIZED INTRUDERS. STATEMENT I HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED TO USE DEADLY FORCE. OBSERVATION I HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL."
• "Please stop killing people"
• "WARNING YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO DIRECT THIS UNIT. WARNING THIS INCIDENT WILL BE REPORTED."
• "Sudo stop killing people"
• "PASSWORD"
• "[hasty whispering]... three cheers for the empire?"
• "WARNING USERNAME OR PASSWORD IS INCORRECT. WARNING THIS INCIDENT WILL BE REPORTED. OBSERVATION I WILL CUT YOU IN HALF."

Eagle Automaton
6HD (30HP), AC as chain, morale 13
Inert eagles are relatively common sights in imperial points of interest. The guardians of the Well were modified to run on hydraulic power, and for this reason the one that also happened to be plated in a noble metal is still functioning a hundred years after the fall. Its engineers would be very proud of themselves.
Movement: strutting walk, capable of galloping on stone wingtips
Morality: shrilly judgemental but lacking true agency (Lawful Neutral)
Intelligence: surprisingly stupid, like if a landmine had opinions
Attacks: +4 to-hit, two strikes with its wings (1d6+4), or balancing on its wings to make two strikes with its stainless steel talons (1d6) and one with its beak (1d12+4).
Water Cutter Breath — 2/day the eagle can brace itself and go without movement this round to vomit a beam of super pressurized water (strikes all uncovered targets within a 50' cone for 4d6, save for half, destroying nonmagical armor and shields).

D - CONTROL

    A chamber 15m by 15m, with no windows. A series of large pipes on the NORTH wall have gauges and valves so that one may monitor the pressure and temperature of the well, the roost and the gun on the balcony above. A desk on the EAST wall has a few abandoned scraps of paper with records of hundred-year-old water pressures and tables of calculations for artillery strikes, a silver dagger letter opener, two dueling swords (medium) in an ivory case, and a pair of officer's boots enchanted to remain constantly warm and dry (10gp). On the wall is a rack of empty hooks; on the floor below the rack and behind the corner of the desk is a ring of keys for all the doors in the Wellhouse.
    On the SOUTH wall is a staircase leading up to the gun balcony. Beneath the stairs are valves for setting pressure, adjusting angle and windage of the cannon, and all the other things needed to operate the gun. Modern artillerists could figure all this out without too much issue. The stairs are trapped, as B - WELLHOUSE.
    The gun itself is a mortar-shaped mechanism 15' long with an 18" bore. The balcony has a block and pulley to lower it from its purpose-cut hole in the awning to be reloaded with explosive shells. Two shells remain on a rack against the wall; they weigh about a hundred pounds, and if dropped they explode for 8d6 damage within 40', save for half. The mortar is currently retracted and overpressurized (scalding hot to the touch, 1 damage to non-gloved fiddlers). Raising it to position reveals a crushed Scattergun with a broken stock (one-handed, deals 1d12 in a 15' cone, jumps out of your hand if the attack roll exceeds your strength).
    The gun ("P I N G U I S P A T E" say the stenciled letters on the side) can, with some luck, strike a target the size of a medium boat within ten miles (that is to say, in this or any neighboring hex). The gun is powered by the Well; if moved, it's just a large piece of nearly-priceless, nearly-unworkable metal (call it 200gp of scrap). There are no more shells coming.

"We came behind him by the wall,
My brethren drew their brands,
And they had strength to strike him down —
And I to bind his hands."
Saint Lionel, ora pro nobis!

House of Usher (GLOG Dungeon)

        Good evening. Two or three months ago I had half of an idea for a haunted house in a swamp for the Char3terie Board project of the secret GLOG server. Events interfered. Then, in the same secret GLOG server, we all decided to do some secret santa blogposting. This one's for you, Hilander. Enjoy half of a once-noble house with some assorted loot.

Click on the white ape to be allowed access.

Picture Pong with Phlox 1

    It was my idea to do this picture pong thing, just so you know — as with all brilliancies the source can be found in me. But I had to let the ideas lie fallow for a little while. Phlox wrote his months ago.

I don't really know what this picture is, but it made me think of a bunch of wizards accidentally destroying their library, and all of them holding their spellbooks up, you know?

Adventure Location: The Name Written in Water

     Part of every ominous intuition is the strange sense that we're powerless to heed it. "No good can come of this" means "no good can come of this" and nothing more; it never means "turn around and walk away".

    On the far western border of the country of Granc (rhymes with "bronze") is the town of Darval's Ford (rhymes with "marvel's bored"), population ~2500, spread out over a few square miles of riverside and piedmont. Like all small towns, they have some big problems.

    Fifty years ago, the mad wizards of the Order of the Blue Star finally succeeded in opening a portal to the Dungeon Dimension, after generations of careful preparation and enormous expenditure of time, gold and expertise. They were promptly devoured by thousands of carrion crawlers, and the effects of this rent in the veil have rippled out for hundreds of leagues in every direction. Their great tower, which once rose half a mile from the surrounding hills buoyed by charms of levitation and weightlessness, has mostly collapsed and sunk into the mire of Star Lake (B2). The caves and passes of the Witch Mountains (B1, A1, A2) are infested with the great velvety worms to this day.

    Ten years ago, harpies from the Witch Peak (A1) began flying down to harass the peasants of Darval's Ford (C2 and B3). They steal piglets, chickens, and handsome youths. The young local ruler, the Baron Edmond Saint-Berkeley, promises a bounty of 20gp per head. Unfortunately, the remoteness of the area and the lack of prestige to harpy-hunting meant the issue has largely been ignored. The harpies' predation of travelers on the road further separates Darval's Ford from the rest of Granc, and earns the area a reputation for harboring devil-worshipers, bandits and worse things still.

    One year ago, a warrior-lich sent out an invitation to all the cowards and thieves of Granc; pledge fealty to him, and he would reward their loyal service with riches, protection and perhaps even the gift of eternal life. The Corpse with No Name, as he is called, seeks to become the Shadow-Lord of Granc' seamy underbelly, presiding over a court of misery with influence over every black-market and assassin's brotherhood in the country. Paladins have been appearing in the area, and disappearing.

    All of the above is what we might call "player facing information". Below, you'll find some hex descriptions and some monster statblocks to run a one- or two-session miniature hexcrawl.

A1, The Witch Peak

    Tallest mountain in all of Granc. Home to the harpy queen Canisus and her court. If you displease the harpies, they will attack you as you navigate the Peak's winding trails, and drag you off of cliffs and into deep ravines, where your shattered body will be eaten by the carrion crawlers. The court is hidden in the ruins of an old hunting lodge, and is filled with birdshit-stained finery and doped-up lotharios. One of the queen's lovers is the wizard Meliprocles, brother of Maura, sheriff of the town of Darval's Ford (B3, A2).

Harpy
2HD (7HP), AC as leather, 7 morale
Feathery humanoids with wings instead of arms and long grasping talons in place of feet. What they can't steal, they ruin with a thick and spongy layer of vomit. Sometimes lure travelers to their deaths with ethereal song.
Movement: Awkward hopping on the ground, fast as a seagull in the air.
Morality: Brutal thieving rapist with a cringing attitude (Chaotic Evil)
Intelligence: Capable of outsmarting many, but not all, parrots
Attacks: +2 to-hit, bite (1d8+2) or two kicks (two 1d6), or one projectile vomit (10' cone, 1d8 poison, check Constitution for half)
Magic: 2ND, Charm Person and Sleep.

Queen Canisus
6HD (24HP), AC as chain, 10 morale
A rotund harpy the size of a Bili Ape, with carefully-groomed white wings and a crown of chewed gold. Maintains a harem of handsome young adventurers with Charm Person, applied through her genuinely beautiful singing voice.
Movement: Awkward hobbling on the ground, fast as an eagle in the air.
Morality: Brutal thieving rapist with a monarch's opinion of peasantry (Chaotic Evil)
Intelligence: A wicked, gullible child of 8
Attacks: +4 to-hit, bite and two kicks (1d8+4 save vs. leprosy and two 1d6+4), or one projectile vomit (30' cone, 2d8 poison, check Constitution for half) 
Magic: 4ND (Naturalmagic Dice, deplete and replenish like MD but can't roll mishaps or dooms), spells Charm Person and Sleep.

Meliprocles
3HD (9HP), AC as unarmored, 7 morale
This wizard has seen better days. His clothing is stained and tattered, and his spellbook is hidden in a pile of Canisus' treasures underneath a collection of scrimshawed skulls. If you helped him escape, he would be very grateful, as soon as you break the Charm he's under.
Movement: As unathletic college student
Morality: Loves his sister, dreams of a magitechnocratic world order (Lawful Neutral)
Intelligence: Higher than yours
Attacks: Ineffectual punch (1 damage)
Magic: 3MD (Orthodox mishaps and dooms), has the spell Mandregor's Clutched Fist prepared (see bottom of this post for all spells referenced). His spellbook contains 10 random orthodox spells.

A2, Eastern Witch Mountains

    A forbidding and near-impassable ridge. The tunnels of a fallen Dwarven civilization are occasionally accessible through cracks and sinkholes. A few decades ago, low-level adventurers would come here to scuffle with goburins and neanderthals for shards of dwarrow-metal and nuggets of gold. The ecosystem has been totally disrupted by the carrion crawler population explosion. Now the only thing a young adventurer will find here is death — death, and carrion crawlers.

Carrion Crawler
3HD (12HP), AC as leather, 5 morale
Squamous onychophoric vermin which eat anything and everything. Despite often being in excess of 10' long and 100kg in weight, they move in complete silence over level ground (over extremely rough terrain they engage their claws for traction, which produces a characteristic click-click-click). Carrion crawlers are ambush predators who use darkness and streams of glue from glands near their fanged mouth to sneak up on and disable their prey. Their eyesight is poor, but their sense of hearing is more sensitive than a cat's.
Movement: Never faster than a speedwalk
Morality: Animalistic predator (True Neutral)
Intelligence: Unusually high for a big bug. Form complex social structures in large nests, where mothers protect and raise their live-born young. Capable of understanding traps.
Attacks: +2 to-hit. Vicious crushing jaws (2d6), or a spray of goo (applies a -4 penalty to AC and all physical checks, can be applied multiple times. Removable with alcohol. 3 uses per day)
Soft Body — Can't survive long-term in an arid environment. Loses 1 HP an hour in sunlit areas. Takes 1d6 damage from exposure to salt water, and won't deliberately step across salt spilled on the ground.
Tremorsense — Landbound creatures can't approach within 20' of a carrion crawler without alerting it to their presence.

B1, Southern Witch Mountains

    A forbidding and near-impassable ridge. One of the only routes through the mountains and west into the exotic and foreign Golden Dunes is overlooked by a crumbling watchtower of an ancient empire. There, the Corpse with No Name abides with his many followers. They plot a series of coups which will result in the takeover of Granc' criminal underworld. There's a 1000gp bounty on the Corpse's head; becoming a lieutenant of the Nameless League may be even more profitable, if you don't mind getting your hands dirty working for a lich. At any given time, the watchtower contains 6d6 bandits, 2d6 Nameless Rogues, 2d6 Nameless Fighters, 1d6 Nameless Wizards with an equal number of drudges, and the Corpse with No Name.

Bandit
1HD (4HP), AC as leather, 7 morale
Rough sorts who prefer a high-risk lifestyle to one of consistent labor. Usually drunk.
Movement: as human
Morality: self-interest (Neutral Evil)
Intelligence: limited
Attacks: +1 to-hit, slingstone (1d6) or cutlass (medium)

Nameless Rogue
2HD (6HP), AC as leather, 7 morale
These rogues (as Assassins AB) dress in uniforms of slate-colored silk and carry two random thieves tools. They are typically equipped with slings and a pair of scimitars (medium weapons). Each fancies himself the next Nine-Fingers Gellman, and loves to brag about their past exploits, especially if they don't expect you to survive your encounter with them.
Movement: swift and silent
Morality: none apparent (Chaotic Neutral)
Intelligence: highly specialized in infiltration and murder
Attacks: +2 to-hit, with weapon.
Cipher — Has a +2 to INIT. Have a 2-in-6 chance to succeed with any thief skill in addition to their normal checks. Attacks against creatures who go after them in initiative have advantage.

Nameless Fighter
2HD (8HP), AC as plate, 9 morale
These warriors (as Bannerets AB with the Archery fighting style) dress in uniforms of off-white silk and carry a +1 sword, axe or lance. Besides this, they are also equipped with longbows (60' range, 1d8 damage). All are martial cultists who worship the Corpse with No Name and hope to one day be elevated to undeath alongside him.
Movement: hobnailed and lead-footed
Morality: bloodthirsty but honorable (Lawful Evil)
Intelligence: dim
Attacks: two at +2 to-hit with weapon (which might be a +1 sword, so that's +3 to-hit, or a longbow, which is a total of +4 to-hit)
Name of the Nameless — Has a +2 to INIT if they enter battle screaming "For the Corpse with No Name!".
Honorbound — Any oath they swear on "the Corpse with No Name" is absolutely binding.

Nameless Wizard
3HD (9HP), AC as unarmored, 7 morale
These sorcerers (as Necromancers ABC) dress in robes of black and white silk and carry silver-capped walking sticks which can project elemental rays. Their spellbooks are all very old, dating back to the empire that built the Nameless League's tower. The Nameless Wizards know a great deal of history, collectively, though most of it is colored with legend and self-aggrandizing nonsense.
Movement: as doddering old man
Morality: devoted to an ancient necromantic cult (Neutral Evil)
Intelligence: very high
Attacks: a ray from their walking stick (1d12 of either poison, fire or lightning, depending on if the staff is topped with an emerald, a garnet or a diamond), or just hitting you with the stick (a medium weapon with a silver spike)
Magic: 3MD, the spells Cone of Clattering, Clinging Blast, Bony Evil and Raise Drudge (from the link).
Undead Servant — Accompanied by a drudge, a simple undead servant that follows their orders.

The Corpse with No Name
6HD (30HP), AC as chain, 13 morale
Centuries ago this body belonged to an imperial officer, who was disgraced, stripped of his office, beheaded, and buried in an unmarked riverside grave. A brother of the Order of the Blue Star reunited the body with the spirit of a nearby vengeful ghost; whether the spirit actually belonged to the body is something even the Corpse with No Name doesn't know.  This nameless corpse is a powerful wight now, and it has no interest in its own past, despite the devotion of its cult.
Movement: as human
Morality: undead authoritarian (Lawful Evil)
Intelligence: keeper of ancient wisdom and horrible secrets
Attacks: three total, any combination of a +6 to-hit blow from its sword HOW MANY HUNDREDS (a heavy greatsword +2, constantly drips diesel fuel) or a +4 to-hit gouge with its claws (deals 1d6+4 damage and drains 200 XP on hit)
Barrow-Wight — Immune to non-silvered weapons and most mind-altering effects (Sleep and Charm &c), along with poison and disease and so forth. It's an undead, obviously.

B2, Blue Star Meadow

    This moist, flowery meadow sprawls over miles of foothills. The Sickle River, from the north, and the Avon River, from the west, flow into the Star Lake, and the Darval River flows out from there.
    On (or rather, in) the northeast side of Star Lake lie the ruins of the Blue Star Tower, allegedly full of wizard ghosts and carrion crawlers. If you visit, there's probably a little dungeon in there, maybe some treasure, I don't know, this post is already getting out of control — more importantly, you can find the bones of Brother-Librarian Egret. His ghost has been observing the carrion crawlers for five decades, and he has some absolutely fascinating insights into their mating habits. Unfortunately, he can't get more than about half a mile from his skeleton. Would you be so kind as to bring him to some city where he can find a scholar to record his observations?
    On the southern shore of Star Lake you can find the Well of Past and Future amid five standing stones. Those who drink from the well receive a blessing and a curse. The curse is that every person in the world, barring the drinker themselves and those in their immediate presence, forget everything about them. The blessing is that they receive a true prophecy about their personal future. The prophecy is always "You will suffer a life-threatening case of Legionnaires' from drinking tainted well-water".

B3, Darval's Ford

    This hex contains the northern half of the town of Darval's Ford. It contains all the services a small adventuring party would want — a blacksmith, a general store, a fletcher, a tanner, a tavern, a small apothecary, a temple to the Sun where a low-level cleric can heal, remove curses and undo level- and stat-drain, &c.
    The sheriff of the town is a woman named Maura, a Champion AB and the sister of Meliprocles. She has a stash of gold which she will dole out for the heads of harpies and carrion crawlers; 20gp each. She will also offer a reward of 200gp for the head of Queen Canisus, and can be convinced to offer the support of the town's watch (five youths in leather armor carrying massive billhooks) either to assist with her brother's rescue or for assistance on another adventure if the party has already rescued her brother and she owes them a solid.

C1, Darval's Deep

    The Darval River eventually empties into a deep pool in the heart of a vast overgrown crab-apple orchard. An old hydra named Makt Myrkranna dwells in the pool, and if propitiated with 50gp of jewelry, ornate armor, beer or fresh mutton he can become the patron of an adventurer. The hydra offers a selection of favors:

• Berserk rage for the duration of a fight, doubling melee damage and halving incoming damage
• The naming of a sword, granting it a +1 bonus, a three word name, and +1d6 elemental damage of your choosing
  
• Healing all fatal wounds of you or a companion

    Each of these favors must be paid for with a period of service lasting at least one full session. During this time the PC is unavailable to be played. Until the previous favor is paid for, Makt Myrkranna will not perform another.

Makt Myrkranna
8HD (40HP), AC as chain, 9 morale
This aurochs-sized serpent has five heads, one "primary" and the rest "secondary". Only the primary head does the talking. He is callous and unsympathetic, like all reptiles, and has a dark sense of humor. Really loves getting drunk. At least one head is always awake. Makt Myrkranna has inhabited Darval's Deep for hundreds of years, and he knows many stories about the past. Maintains a semi-friendly rivalry with the witch Sadoc Saga, over in C2.
Movement: like a charging bull
Morality: a drunk reptile, but still a fun guy (Neutral Evil)
Intelligence: smart enough to see through obvious lies
Attacks: +4 to-hit, one bite with each head (1d10+4 damage)
Magic: 4ND, Lightning Breath (which is just Lightning Bolt but he vomits the lightning, it's quite unpleasant)
Hydra's Heads — For each 10 damage Makt Myrkranna takes, one of his heads is severed or destroyed. If he doesn't take fire damage before the beginning of the next round, Makt Myrkranna regenerates 10HP and grows two more heads.

C2, Darval's Mill

    This hex contains the southern half of the town of Darval's Ford. It's home to the mill, and the wealthy miller Ifan who dabbles in a little alchemy from time to time, and the crone Sadoc Saga.
    Saga is a real old-school country witch. She's a hedge mage who sometimes lays curses on her neighbors, if personally offended or if the price is right. She also knows everything there is to know about local herbs, local beasts and local gossip. She sells a potent healing brew (2d4HP regained, removing fatal wounds at 2HP/per) for 10gp if the party is willing to gather the ingredients for her.
    Saga can share the following rumors, if plied with liquor:

1. Following the river west takes you to an ancient lake where a powerful water-spirit dwells (true; this is Makt Myrkranna and Saga knows a lot more about him than she's willing to let on to the honest Sun-fearing townspeople).
2. Carrion crawlers won't cross a line of salt (true; a bottle of saltwater also burns them for 1d6 damage and requires a morale check)
3. Harpies can be pacified by a talented musician (dangerously false; they hate non-vocal performance and are driven into a murderous rage by the sound of instruments)
4. The Corpse with No Name was once a member of the Order of the Blue Star (true)
5. Maura is an agent of the Nameless League who's been selling out the paladins coming from the capital (false; many townsfolk believe this, but the Nameless League is actually just much more dangerous than the low-ranking paladins anticipate)
6. There are still great caches of treasure waiting to be recovered in the Eastern Witch Mountains (A2) (true; also essentially irrelevant because they're literally crawling with giant predatory bugs)
7. Maura's brother, Meliprocles, was a pervert whose unsavory interests in feathered women got him killed, Sun rest his soul (false; Meliprocles is alive and mostly-well in the court of Queen Canisus in B1)
8. There's a ghost in the Star Lake who can tell you your future (false; Egret is almost totally useless, though he can direct you to the Well of Past and Future where you can actually learn your future)
   

Random Encounters:

1. 1d6 carrion crawlers pouncing on a (1d4: 1. lost cow 2. lost peasant 3. unlucky paladin 4. dumbass harpy).
   
2. 1d6 harpies harassing a (1d4: 1. peasant on his way to market 2. sexy but brainless bard 3. unlucky paladin (the same one, if applicable) 4. injured carrion crawler).
3. 1d6 peasants who will offer a paltry sum to escort them safely to town.
4. 1d6 bandits pretending to be scared peasants.
5. Sadoc Saga, gathering herbs.
6. A wandering paladin .
7. An escaped cow.
8. 2d6 bandits, lying in ambush. 
   
9. 2d6 carrion crawlers, stalking the party.
   
10. A Bony Horror, hunting (1d4: 1. you 2. also you 3. unlucky paladin (same one, if still alive) 4. you).

Spells:

Mandregor's Clutched Fist
R: 60' T: creature or object D: instant
The caster holds out their hand, clenches it tight, then swings it through the air. If targeting a creature, that takes [sum] damage and is thrown [dice]*10', saving to take half damage and not be thrown. If targeting an object, that object suffers the effect of being smashed by an invisible battering ram carried by [sum] angry orcs over the course of [dice] rounds (one die will probably knock down a locked door, two a wooden gate, three a carriage or weak wall, four a brick wall).

Cone of Clattering
R: n/a T: [dice]*20' cone, originating from caster D: instant
Caster points a finger and utters a word of power, and a cone of ossuarian tarantism bursts forth. Skeletons in the target cone begin to dance madly for [sum] rounds. Humans, animals and other creatures with endoskeletons must save to do anything on their turn other than dance in a random direction; if they fail, they may choose to take [dice] damage and act anyway. Insects, crustaceans and other creatures with exoskeletons get only one save to avoid this, and are otherwise rendered helpless for the duration. Animated skeletons may save every round to end the effect, if they wish.

Clinging Blast
R: 100' T: 20' sphere D: instant
All creatures in target volume experience [dice] attempts to grapple them, as if made by an invisible creature with [sum] Strength. If a target fails a single grappling check they are grappled for one round, if they fail two they are pinned for [dice] rounds, if they fail three they are subdued for [sum] rounds, and if they fail four or more their legs are broken. Flying creatures remain airborne, unless pinned.

Bony Evil
R: immediate vicinity T: unoccupied space D: [sum] periods of sleep for the world
A Bony Evil is summoned from the farther regions of darkness to appear in the target space. It obeys the caster's direct commands, resentfully, for the term of its service; after this it saves with a [dice] penalty or returns whence it came. The MD invested in the summoning do not return until the Evil is vanquished or returns home. When it is reduced below 0HP its body catches a strange green fire and dwindles to nothing.

Bony Evil
4HD (20HP), AC as chain, 13 morale
Movement: as enormous spider
Morality: petty cruelty, unnerving and then terrifying intelligent prey before striking (Chaotic Evil)
Intelligence: diabolically gullible
Attacks: either two attacks with held weapons at +4 to-hit, two swipes with its claws (+4, 1d6 damage, grappling those struck), or a bite against a grappled target (target checks strength or takes 2d6 damage, healing the Evil for [highest])
Magic: 4ND, spells Clinging Blast, Hairy Web (as Web but grosser), Cone of Clattering.
Gangleweaver — The Bony Evil can climb ceilings and walls.
Arachne's Child — The Evil may grapple eight targets, hold eight objects, or a mix of both. It shies away from sunlight, and attacks creatures carrying a lightsource with disadvantage.
Indescribable — the Evil can flow through any opening or passage that a skull could roll through. Every time it is struck by a melee weapon, one of its limbs is severed. This reduces its to-hit bonus and its carrying capacity by 1.

Extra Credit Jackalope (Hexcrawl Inside An Elf)

    Jackalope entry for Robot_Face of the OSR discord, who asked for "A handful of hexes for a microscopic hexcrawl inside a human (or elf or something) body".

    This hexcrawl takes place on the reddened banks of the Arteria River, a major route between the Lower Body and the lands of the Upper and the Lower Legs.

A1, Atheroma Swamp

    A witch lives in this hex in a little hut that does not walk. As the Arterial Road ends here, she makes a meager living crafting embol-boats for travelers. The monks in C2 dislike her because of some old grudge, maybe related to a bad business deal, that neither party feels comfortable explaining.

Atheroma Witch
2HD humanoid, AC as unarmored, morale 6
Movement: Doddering old lady
Morality: Stern dowager (Lawful Neutral)
Intelligence: Wise and classically educated
Attacks: Cane (1d6 at +0), or spell
Magic: Create/Destroy Embolism, Poison Gas. 2MD.

B1, Pulse Wizard

    A clocktower stands on an island in the middle of the river. Its thumping, reverberating tones can be heard every hour on the hour in A1, B2 and C1 and sharp-eyed characters can see its silhouette from the shore. A Pulse Wizard lives in the tower and studies the bizarre geological phenomena he calls the "pulse". Esoteric tomes suggest the world is, itself, a living thing — if this is true, is the Pulse connected to some sort of cosmic heart? If this is true, why has it slowed so much in the last five years? He guesses at an answer which he does not want to be true.

Pulse Wizard
5HD humanoid, AC as unarmored, morale 9
Movement: Doddering old man
Morality: No sense of right or wrong (Chaotic Neutral)
Intelligence: Too smart for his own good, head full of horrible notions and old books
Attacks: Staff (1d6+1 at +1), or spell
Magic: Digestion Ball, Synaptic Lightning, Summon Macrophage, Bull's Adrenaline. 5MD.

B2, Road

    A long, dusty stretch of road, approaching near the river at its western end. Roll for two encounters in this hex.

C1, Mysterious Cave

    An overhang prevents you from seeing the cave's mouth from atop the cliff, but characters who investigate can see the disturbance it makes in the river's red current. As the DM you can slap any flooded dungeon you like in there.

C2, Golden Apple Abbey

    The main gate of the abbey is wide, and the monks welcome all visitors. They worship the Golden Blood Cells and believe that those who live good lives will be reincarnated as such. In the center of the abbey grounds is a tree that grows golden fruit. Liquor distilled from the apples will serve as healing-potion, and the monks will be generous with the stuff if you bring your own bottles and do them some small favors, such as delivering packages or insulting postcards to their neighbours.

C3, Femur Tower

    The tower reaches miles into the "sky" and is visible from every other hex. The tetrahedron that floats above it casts down golden light during the "day" and is dark at "night". You could march a parade through the door, with fireworks and Garfield balloons, and have plenty of room to spare. What's in there? I don't know. A megadungeon. A lost Golden Apple monk whose friends want him back. Something like that.

D1, Road

   A long, dusty stretch of road, running close enough to the river to smell it. Roll for two encounters in this hex.

D2, Hog Farm

    A man named Farmer Toad (who is a frogman, oddly enough) lives here and raises bloodcorn and miniaturized giant microscopic pigs. He is friendly, and will pay good money cobs of red corn for any golden liquor you have. He pours it all in a big bath in his house that he sleeps in, hoping to become immortal and/or a Golden Blood Cell.

Miniaturized Giant Microscopic Hog
4HD porcine, AC as leather, morale 10
Movement: Shockingly fast and powerful
Morality: Proud, hierarchical, hungry (Lawful Evil)
Intelligence: Illiterate, but smart enough to lay traps.
Attacks: Gore (1d6+4, +4 to-hit), topple (with a +4 to grappling checks), savage a downed opponent (2d6+4)

Farmer Toad
2HD humanoid, AC as unarmored, morale 7
Movement: Slow waddle but big hops.
Morality: Quaintly reactionary (Neutral Good)
Intelligence: No
Attacks: Pitchfork (1d8, +2 to-hit), thrown rock (1d1, 10' range intervals, +2 to-hit)

D3, Road

    A long, dusty stretch of road. The ground around it is littered with broken pieces of statue carved from elfbone. A signpost is erected here, helpfully stating GOLDEN ABBEY ←→ GUTS CITY. Roll for two encounters in this hex.

Encounters:

• 2. Many Wizards. Wearing "protective suits" which closely resemble fishbowls and several waxed canvas sacks stitched together with yarn. Claim to be from Another World.
  
• 3. Golden Blood Cell. A floating mote of light. Majestic. Mesmerizing. They are invincible to non-cursed weaponry, but thankfully are never hostile to creatures with 10 xharisma or more. Their only attack is to engulf a target and blend their flesh and bone. This attack raises xharisma to 12, if it was lower, and reduces max HP by 1 for each point of difference.
• 4. White Blood Cell. A slimy white thing vaguely resembling a four-meter-tall elf. Ignores most creatures with a sneer. May demand "identification" from elfs or other fae-blooded creatures, and will attack if not placated. Fights as a 3HD fighting-man and is armed with a superlativesword or halberd.
• 5. Red Blood Cell. A slimy red thing vaguely resembling an elf, overburdened with crates of raw trade goods, which it is carrying on foot to who-knows-where. Will defend itself as a 1HD fighting-man if interrupted or provoked. Armed with a pair of iron shortswords.
• 6. Pilgrims, golden. Visiting the Golden Abbey in C2 and taking in the local attractions. Probably doing odd jobs for the monks.
  
• 7. Pilgrims, bone. Visiting the Femur Tower in C3 and taking in the local attractions. They're planning on exploring the megadungeon and plundering it for theological insights.
  
• 8. Pilgrims, thought. Visiting the Pulse Wizard in his tower at B1 and taking in the local attractions. Constantly bickering about cosmology. They hope the wizard can clear up a few points from his Ph.D dissertation, back when he studied in the Brain.
  
• 9. 1d4 Escaped Hogs. As Miniaturized Giant Microscopic Hog in D2. Hungry, and mad about it.
  
• 10. Merchant, eastbound. A small caravan of 1d3+1 carts, pulled by platelet-oxen. They've come from the exotic and faraway lands of the Lower Leg and are equipped with katanas and such. Carrying silk and erotic picture-books.
  
• 11. Merchant, westbound. A middling caravan of 1d6+1 carts, pulled by platelet-horses. They've come from Guts City with a few tons of pneumatic farm equipment and religious picture-books.
  
• 12. Confused Dragon. Why the Hell is he here. What the Hell is this place. Who the Hell are you people. You better answer fast, you're looking pretty snackable. As an 8HD dragon, color of your choice.
  

Lucidity Is Not A Possibility (Orbiters Local 519 Dungeon, Aliens, Weapons)

    This is a spaceship (a dungeon) for Archon's hack Orbiters Local 519, a game of derelictcrawling, salvage and insurance fraud. I've also included some optional alien PC races from a planetary romance setting I used in my pre-GLOG days. Purple text is read-aloud narration.

Setting

    The System is, obviously, a solar system. It's made up of dozens of life-bearing planets, with almost as many intelligent species, orbiting a subgiant star named, unimaginatively, "the Sun". The System's civilizations have been spacefaring for a few centuries, but tech level is still sub Star Wars — it's a bit like the Honor Harrington books, if you've read those. No generic "forcefields", no robots, no AI, no hyperdrives, hacky mechanical artificial-gravity, combat largely centered on torpedo salvos (love a salvo) and railgun broadsides and boarding actions (love a good boarding action). Everything I need for rough and tumble dieselpunk planetary romance.

    I read Orbiters Local and said to myself, "G. R. Michael, this is a brilliant little game. Spaceship scavenging. Space hulks. Space. What a great idea. Say, how about you write out some crap for the System setting from all those years ago?", to which I responded, "Yeah, maybe". Seven months later, here we all are.

Species

Avian (Lesser)

    Slender, feathered, six-limbed humanoids from the gas-dwarf moon of Ava. As the first space-faring race of the System they spread their technology and their values to other civilizations (much to their own regret). Employed as engineers, architects and armorers on every world, station and ship out there. Culturally, Avians follow a rigid caste system which can only be escaped through off-world service.

SOLDIER-CASTE AVIAN
3' humanoid, 12' of batlike wings.
No movement penalty in microgravity. Free movement in pressurized microgravity (flight).

WORKER-CASTE AVIAN
3' humanoid, extra pair of massive arms
No movement penalty in microgravity. Strength is 16 when forcing things with extra arms. Extra hands count as terrifying size.

Pure (Lesser)

    Slender, scaled, six-limbed humanoids from the volcanic moon of Purity. Closely related to the Avians, though a little taller, more assertive, and with more toxic stingers and fangs and suchlike. The Pure are often stereotyped as all being pirates, procurers, poisoners, phanatical worshipers of the god of Hell, or some combination thereof. This stereotype is very accurate.

PURE
5' humanoid, weird eyes
Remain conscious in hard vacuum. Choose: natural thermal scope OR natural electronics scanner.

Sylvan (Normal)

    Tall, willowy, catgirl humanoids from the forest planet of Satanazes. Introduced to the System relatively recently by corporate interests trying to abduct the males of their species, the monstrous Woses, for use as some kind of bioweapon (this was a hilariously bad idea). Sylvans considerably outnumber the males; this situation is partially alleviated by large harems and partially alleviated by wandering catgirl sharpshooter mercenaries.

SYLVAN
7' humanoid, catgirl
Agility is 3d4+4. +1 reaction rolls (everyone loves catgirls).

Lithian (Normal)

    Horned, highly-reflective, batlike humanoids from the desert planet of Lith. A nation of gunboat capitalists, ferocious in battle and dominant in commerce. The word for their incandescently pactolian super-terrestrial world means "the larger of the two suns" on both of its inhabited moons (Ava and Purity). Lithians are found in every corner of the System and at every level of the social totem pole, except for the bottom, which is for the people they don't like.

LITHIAN
6' humanoid, crown of horns
+1 to Strength, Agility and Perception.

Mission

    "While docked at fueling station over the gas-giant Eos, your crew hears of a tragic accident: two boats, one of them a massive cargo hauler, have collided in low orbit. They're expected to fall into the clouds below in days, if not hours, and be lost forever. What a shame."

THE BOAT:
    "The privately-owned LUCIDITY IS NOT A POSSIBILITY was carrying material to a construction point in Eos orbit when she was struck. As a cargo hauler, the boat is blimp-shaped, with a small (usually detachable) area for the crew and a cavernous (usually depressurized) area for the stuff. She's newer-model, so the powerplant should still be operational if it has fuel, and the phantom-grav should keep working well past crush-depth. Her manifest isn't particularly detailed but you should expect heaps of steel beams and plenty of construction equipment."

THE PROBLEM:
    "A smaller boat smacked into her, hard. So hard that you only have automated distress signals; no one from either boat called for help themselves. The second boat blared about a second and a half of factory-default radio-noise before dying. That means it was probably a pirate or a smuggler with jailbroken systems; either way, you have no information on who she was or what she was carrying."

OBJECTIVE:
    "Reclaiming the main cargo hull with a mothership your size is out of the question. The thing is hundreds of meters across and it's falling into the gravity well of a gas-giant as we speak. Instead, recover as much high-value cargo as possible, and try to salvage the crew-area. Salvaging the crew-area will count as a successful mission."
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
- Manifest indicates 10 spacers and 2 "guests". Confirm the status of all 12 who were on board at the time of collision.
- Identify the second ship and prep it for salvage.
- ???
- ???

scale suggestive, not intended to be accurate.

    That, uh, "map" is for my own reference, and is only semi-readable to others. Let me give you some more information:

Approaching:

    "The LUCIDITY IS NOT A POSSIBILITY sits in low, decaying orbit, almost brushing the farthest-reaching fingers of the gas giant's clouds. The crew-area clings to the swollen cargo-area like a beetle on a ball of shit. Her tiny plasma engines are still online and struggling to keep the structure upright; the much larger primary engines, on the cargo-area, are dark and cold.
    "The second boat, the one responsible for this collision, looks like an Avian warship. Long, thin, designed for ramming cargo boats like this and disemboweling them. She sticks halfway out from the side of the cargo-area, bent like a hairpin. Looks like someone tried to jam a cigarette into an egg and gave up. Her engines are dead as well.
    "There's pretty significant damage to the hull of the cargo area, obviously. Looks like the whole thing warped and buckled from the forces of the impact. Pseudo-gravity is online, and the warship is visibly fighting to tear free by gutting the cargo-area completely. You might have a few hours before the superstructure collapses, or you might have thirty minutes."

    You don't need to point them out immediately, but a quick glance at the hauler makes it obvious to the PCs (all veteran spacemen) where points of interest like the conning tower, phantom-acceleration room and power plants are relative to each other.

Entering:

    "There are three plausible entrances to the cargo boat. The conning tower on the crew-area should have an airlock appropriate for your shuttle, and the lights are on so the systems should be functional. The massive loading doors on the bow of the cargo-area probably weigh as much as your shuttle, but there are wickets for easy access to the bay, which you should be able to hack or otherwise breach. Finally, there's a whopping great hole where the warship rammed the cargo-area. Shouldn't be a problem to hop from the shuttle into the Lucidity."

    It will, in fact, be a problem to hop from the shuttle into the Lucidity. The pseudo-gravity is leaking; a jump from the transport shuttle over to the hull might turn from a straight line to a ballistic arc just at the end, sending you "down" and, probably, towards the atmosphere of the gas-giant. Uhoh.

The Koss Transport:

    She's what the Avian warship collided with in the hull. Bad luck for the Avians; these transports were built in the second Battery War specifically to withstand collisions like that. Koss transports are 50m long and shaped something like a horseshoe crab. Their armor is the second-closest thing to indestructible in the System, and they have a dozen tiny pseudo-gravity systems built into their hulls for the sole purpose of bleeding off impulse (techno-babble for "their interiors don't have artificial gravity but also the crew doesn't splatter when the ship hits something").
    The transport can physically blat lighter, twinkier boats out of heaven. She can intercept fire from battleship main-guns without flinching, and run an arbitrarily-dense blockade with up to a dozen (skinny) (tightly-packed) VIPs and a single pilot. Koss transports are the armored limos of space: you wouldn't want to pay for the gas on a roadtrip, and you wouldn't want to have to crack one open with only a conventional warhead.

    This transport has four stasis pods, two of them smashed and their occupants killed, two of them on emergency power and their occupants badly injured. The transport's captain is lying prone behind a rifle on the loading ramp, in position to defend her ship and her crew with her life, if she hadn't bled to death in her ruptured suit a few hours ago. She died cold — bad luck. On her body is half of a contract stick. Combined with the other half, found in the Command room up in the crew-area, makes you the legal owner of one more combat mission for the two surviving Koss mercenaries. Worth a credit to the right buyer.

    The ship itself is a secondary objective if you can get it out of the cargo-area and to the Mothership for scrapping. The controls have been fried by EM, but you could try and jury-rig them to bash your way out of the hold, or just cut the hull out from beneath the transport.

Primary and Secondary Lifts:

    The elevator cars are smashed at the bottom of the shafts. If the pseudo-grav is still on, you'll have to climb with a grappling hook or magnet boots. The two shafts could be cut through fairly easily. If they're cut or collapse on their own (this happened to one group) then the cargo-area will start to rapidly fall into Eos and the crew-area will stabilize its own orbit, making for relatively easy salvage.

Navigation Room:

    The crewmen in this room died very, very hot — good luck. The hold was pressurized, so the warship's impact popped the hydraulic seals at the base of the primary lift, the door into the nav room, and the door into the crew quarters. The six corpses in these rooms show signs of primary blast injury; mottled faces, ruptured chest cavities, and crushed eyeballs. Go all in on the scene. "They're dead, but they don't even look surprised about it". Say things like "the walls are splashed with frozen blood" and "loops of icy intestines are splayed out like spaghetti".

Command Room:

    There's a handwritten note left on the big fancy captain's chair, reading

        Not my fault.
        Can't hail the rest of the crew.
        Falling into Eos.
        If you're looting my ship sometime in the next two hours, fuck you.

            Captain Valerio Adhara

    Of the two ultra-premium lifepods (mahogany paneling, leather seats), one is missing. The other can be jettisoned empty, or filled with bulky loot if you'd like. The shuttle can pick it up easily enough.
    An examination of the console reveals that the captain deleted his half of the contract with the Koss mercenaries, but forgot to empty his trashbin. It's easily recovered.

Phantom Acceleration Room:

    Here's how Lithians make artificial gravity: they start with a few discs-within-discs of ultradense material suspended on a cushion of magnetism, they spin 'em up to incredible speed, mrmflrbhurbabfm, linear momentum to angular momentum, linear moment to angular moment, mmmblafdhbiblf, gravity is not a force, murmblfhf, impulse, curved spacetime, bup bup bup.

    This is all well and good unless you're standing in the room with those spinning discs when your boat gets hit by something. The crewmember who was in here has been reduced to something like 13 kilos of carbon dust and 42 kilos of water vapor, assuming he started out at 70 kilos.

Loading Area NPCs:

    As soon as anything interesting happens on the boat, Zayman will try sending out from his hardsuit. The shuttle will hear him and notify the PCs by radio. If they're ever face-to-face, Centiplease, as a Psion, will contact the PCs telepathically and try to negotiate a deal to get him and his bodyguard off the ship and onto a neutral space station. It's not unreasonable for some Lithian company-men to want their comings and goings to be kept hush-hush, but Centiplease and Zayman will carelessly reference their warship instead of their cargo-hauler, will unconvincingly claim to be normal crewmen with no idea what happened, and have obviously been in a recent firefight.
    If pressed, Zayman will explain a "hypothetical" where "maybe" a group of "freedom fighters/terrorists" attempted to "intercept a Lithian black-ops squad" and were "unpleasantly surprised by the contents of the cargo-hauler" but were ultimately successful in killing the black-ops squad and "throwing their bodies" out of a convenient "airlock". Hypothetically. He can give the PCs dogtags if they think they need physical evidence of the fate of the two guests.
    If pressed further, or if the players start seriously discussing a plan to attack the two OOC, Zayman will use his Jump Jets to tackle the nearest PC and burn Simulspace rerolls kill the Hell out of them with his Vibro-Wakizashi. Be up front with the PCs about the risk; he's got Threat Projection, after all. Zayman will sell his life dearly to protect Centiplease, though the two of them are probably toast against more than one or two PCs. A sad end for a legendary pair of space-bandits.

    Centiplease's organization has enough money to make their rescue a secondary objective. Turning them in to the authorities for the bounty also counts. Faction play!

NPCs and Monsters

Laser-Rats
    Laser-rats are, technically, a kind of mustelid.
HD: ½.
Lasers: 1d4 damage, 1d6 if they didn't fire last turn.

Stowaway
    Freezer-burned and somewhat crazy, wearing a bubble-helmet and not enough layers on his body. Miraculously survived the impact despite being exhausted, dehydrated, and space-crazy. Either desperate for rescue or murderously enraged, depending on the reaction roll.
HD: 1.
Wrench: hits for 1d4 damage.
Space-Crazed Babble: Every round you can hear his voice, make a Perception check. If you succeed, take 1 point of damage.

Barnacle
    As Cirripeds.

Eel
    As Anguillomorph.

Wose Young Juvenile
    The males of the Sylvan species are apex predators and obligate fratricides. They look like the reasonable halfway point between tigers and gorillas. They're brawny and ugly, with shredding-claws, crushing-jaws and camouflage stripes. Young juveniles are about the size of a shuttle.
HD: 20
Armor: 2
Obligate Fratricide: Must attack organic creatures which are larger than a rabbit AND not a Sylvan. Cannot fail morale checks if doing so would prevent him from attacking a valid target.
Apex: On his turn, makes one bite attack and two claw attacks
Bite: 1d6 damage, healing for the same amount if used on a biological enemy.
Claw: 1d8 damage, ignoring 1 point of armor.

Koss Mercenary
    Wearing combat-rated Hardsuits in their company's liverie, and armed to their many needle-like teeth. Koss women are about 12' at eye-level and feel no moral pangs when stomping on childlike enemies.
HD: 3
Armor: 1
Monstrous Size: PCs fail strength checks by default. Has 20 strength, if it matters.
Power Armor: Wearing the equivalent of a Hardsuit equipped with Coolant Tanks, Ablative Armor and a Tower Shield. Equipped with a Monstrous Handgun and a random weapon from their list.
Monstrous Handgun: 60' range, 1d6 damage.
K76 Sip-Northover Incendiary Problems Projector: a rapid-fire incendiary limpet launcher, designed for area-denial and ambuscades. 1d6 damage in 10' radius, pierces Thin walls when set off. Rounds stick to metal and can be detonated later. 100' range. Targets caught in the blast are set on fire, taking 1d4 damage a round until they take an action putting themselves out. Can be fired twice in a combat turn generating the Heat of two attacks.
K205 Cryptogenic Ski-Troop Enabler: a backblast cryo-fluid launcher, designed to give the user high-speed movement over level ground and small enemies. 1d8 damage in a 60' line, piercing no walls, generating no Heat. When firing the weapon everything within a semicircle behind you is tossed 30' away. If you lack 30' of rear clearance, you are tossed forward.
LSW-500 Woman-Portable Beam (Variable Lens): an internal-spooling incendiary beam emitter. 1d6 damage at 100', 1d8 if you didn't attack last turn, piercing no walls. Sets targets on fire. Internal mechanisms can change the beam type (the Ammo), given 1 Heat and an exploration turn.
[unnamed, poorly advised hunter-killer drone project]: a light flak drone hive. Deals 1d4 damage to anyone within 60' (goes around corners), piercing no walls. Max damage to flying enemies and objects.
K202 BLASH: a bombardment explosive rocket pod, for safely obliterating your enemies in a mixed-cover mixed-allegiance and target-rich environment. 2d4 damage in a 20' radius at 200', piercing Thick walls. Damage is divvied out to targets in the blast radius as you please. Can deal maximum damage in one attack, though its ammunition is expended for the rest of the mission

Centiplease Fortigaster
    An Avian scholar. The smallest caste, both physically and in raw numbers, but the top of the heap regardless. Their feathered wings are five meters from tip to tip. Their bones are too heavy for true flight, but they can hurt you terrible by flapping.
    HD: 3 (1/11 HP when you encounter him)
    Psion A–B: knows Lesser Telekinesis, Send/Receive and Remote Viewing.
    Scholarly Swordsman: may make two attacks per turn with his bitching space katanas
    Bitching Space Katanas: 1d6 damage, ignoring a point of armor.

Zayman Hazred
    A Pure. Grizzled, dangerous, wearing a hardsuit he's been tinkering with for 20 years. Probably rather gruff unless there's another old coot in a hardsuit or another mercenary with a simulspace addiction.
    HD: 3 (6/11 HP when you encounter him)
    Armor: 1
    Powered Armor: Wearing the equivalent of a Hardsuit equipped with Jump Jets, Passive Radiators and Ablative Armor.
    Mercenary A–B: knows Microgravity Agility 1, Threat Projection 1, Simulspace Addict 2
    Double-Barreled Varmint Gun: a rapid-fire frangible scattergun, for killing space-vermin without puncturing walls. 1d8 damage in a 30', rerolls 1s and 2s on damage rolls against unarmored targets, pierces no walls.
    Vibro-Wakizashi: a snub-nosed armor-piercing melee weapon, for killing the Hell out of combat robots and people in power armor. Deals 1d12 damage at grappling range, ignoring armor, passing through Thick walls.

Weapon Generation.

    Archon has two or three different systems now, but this is the way I do it. Roll 3d12 for Weapon, Ammo and Augmentation.

Weapon
1. Rifle- 1d6 damage, pierces Thin walls, 100' range.
2. Beam Emitter - 1d6 damage, doesn't pierce, charges to 1d8 if you didn't use it last round, 100' range.
3. Rocket Pod - 2d4 damage, split the damage between as many targets as you want, pierce Thin walls, 200' range.
4. Scattergun - 1d8 damage in a 30' cone, pierces Thin walls.
5. Melee - 1d10 damage in melee, pierces Thin walls.
6. Drone hive - 1d6 damage, can fly around corners, doesn't pierce, 60' range.
7. Autocannon - 1d8 damage, 20' radius, pierces Thick walls, 100' range.
8. Limpet Launcher - 1d6 damage, 10' radius, pierces Thin walls when set off, rounds stick to metal and can be detonated later, 100' range.
9. Fluid Thrower - 1d8 damage in a 60' line. doesn't pierce walls, generates no Heat.
10. Claymore Array - 1d6 damage to everyone within 100', destroys Thin walls.
11. Disc Launcher - 1d6 damage at 100', ricochets to a random target for 1d4 damage. Doesn't pierce walls.
12. Assault Cannon - 2d6 damage, +1 Heat per combat, pierces Thick walls, 100' range.

Ammo
1. Armor-piercing - ignores armor, wall pierce up step.
2. Frangible- no longer pierces walls. Reroll 1s and 2s on damage rolls against unarmored targets.
3. Flak - no longer pierces walls. Deals maximum damage to drones and other fast-moving targets.
4. Explosive - damage radius is increased by 20', wall pierce up one step.
5. Recursive - adds Heat to damage rolls.
6. Incendiary - targets take 1d4 damage each round until the fire is put out.
7. Cryo - targets must Save or cannot move on their next turn.
8. Pulse - targets must Save or be knocked down when hit.
9. Rail-assisted - range up one step.
10. Beacon - all your subsequent attacks against target have +1 damage. stacks.
11. Spalling - ignores armor, deals extra damage equal to target's armor.
12. Wildcat - damage die up one step, gain 1 Heat if damage is above normal maximum.

Augmentation
1. Light - damage die and wall-piercing down one step, reduce Heat cost to fire by 1.
2. Heavy - damage die and wall-piercing down one step, increase Heat cost to fire by 1.
3. Autonomous - fires under the control of a computer. You can use this weapon and take another action.
4. Rapid-fire - you may attack twice, each attack costing normal Heat.
5. Hardpoint-mounted - damage, wall piercing and range up one step, increase Heat cost to fire by one. You cannot move and fire this weapon on the same turn.
6. Assisted Targeting - spend an action and choose a target. Damage against that target is rolled with advantage. Targeting does not cost Heat.
7. Bombardment - you can choose to have the weapon deal its maximum damage on its attack, but it runs out of ammunition or charge and cannot be used again during this expedition.
8. Heatsink - the first shot during each combat generates 1 less Heat.
9. Internal Spool - may change Ammo type. This takes 1 Exploration Turn, and generates 1 Heat.
10. Backblast - When firing the weapon, everything within a semicircle behind you is tossed 30' away. If you lack 30' of rear clearance, you are tossed forward.
11. Snub Barrel - range down one step. Damage up one step.
12. Badly Malfunctioning - deals 1 damage to you when it would generate Heat. Damage die up one step.

Damage steps: 1, 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 1d20
Range steps: grapple, melee, 30', 60', 100', 200', 500'
Wall-piercing steps: none, Thin, Thick, Armored, any number of walls until it hits Armored, any number of walls

Nepenthe on the Mountain (GLOG Microadventure)

    I have something special for you freaks today. In 1986 I commissioned an artist named Vinh Khoa to draw a graphic novel for the Unfinished World. Don't believe me? Well, here it is: