Black Books

   
    "Black Books", in the style of Mr. Halton. For more titles to add to your library, see here and here.

Source: Real Fantasy: Teenage Witch, by milkmindart

Dawn of Civilization, Egypt, and Chaldea

     An early 20th-century worth of psychohistory and ethnography by notorious North American White Raven Society member Sefton Milburn on the topic of the origin of the three sophont species native to Earth; Human, Kemetic and the now-orbital Bit-Yakin. Interaction between the first two species created the Black and White races of Milburn's taxonomy. He has no explanation for Asia and the Americas, besides suggesting the Bit-Yakin may have constructed and peopled them.

Pences de meon Pedre

    The autobiography of Brame Cagot, an 11th-century Norman sorcerer and serial killer. The 20th-century scholar who translated this English edition chose, unlike his Victorian predecessors, to include the stream-of-consciousness narratives of incest, patricide, autocoprophilia, and the murder and ritual crassifaction (filling with molten gold) of young women in Rouen, mostly prostitutes. Cagot claims the reason his rituals failed was that the young women he murdered were not virgins. Famously, Brame was executed by Norman authorities on Christmas morning in 1035 by forced consumption of molten gold. His last words were a promise to return in a state of immortality; this he failed to do.

De Attarum Mysteriis

    An etiquette book by an unknown author, printed in France shortly before the Revolution for the education of young scions of occulted noble families. The text consists of long descriptions of various classes of Hellish, Outside and Inverted entities, their manner of greeting, their manner of dining, their preferred offerings, and their (sometimes very complicated) systems of names, reputations and droit de seigneur.

Gods of Dead Ivy

    A novel by American author Melissa Boudreaux published in 1994. The opening sentence reads, "the sun-silvered white door sat in a sun-silvered white wall, which time and weather and unforgiving day had worn and split and slowly covered with crackling leaves and vines like a creeping brown pelt". Every subsequent word not present in the title, publishing boilerplate or first sentence is either a non-English phantomnation or completely unrecognizable (e.g. "bzlkkro", "paaniymet", "ahharrattattaddadd". Though several Melissa Boudreauxes exist in the United States, according to their own testimony none have ever published a book.

Die Welt der Spinne

    A late 19th-century genealogy of the influential but largely unrecognized Spinne family of Boston. The book details their expulsion from the NRW region of Germany, their arrival in the New World, and the murderous rituals they performed to propitiate many-legged mechanical gods who blessed them with success in the oil and rail industries. The author, Ariel Badge, appears to have been a member of a cadet branch of the Spinne family, one which was expected to offer sacrifices on a generation-to-generation timescale.

El Mitos

    A 16th-century bestiary and travelog written by the Spaniard "Erodotos de Peres Mentirosa" the pen name of an unknown author, possibly Cervantes or (as the book claims) one of his associates. It contains reports and eyewitness accounts of cryptozoological beings from Mediterranean Europe, the Near East and Jerusalem. Erodotos explains how a hidalgo with limited equipment and resources might hunt or banish vampires, ghuls, genii, ogres, "spirits of air" and "mandrake-mouthed tigers", among many others.

Dlinyy Yubi

    A Meiji-restoration era gospel on the teachings of "The Man With Your Face", a Hokkaido stylite mystic, and the practices of the "Long Finger Society", his worshipers and successors. The surreal dogma of the Man With Your Face is usually considered to only appeal to the most dedicated of scholars; to own a copy of the book is itself the prize, as agents of the Long Fingers use the most extreme acts of violence to recover copies of the book and destroy those who have read it outside the context of their Society.

The Search For Meaning, Volume IX

    One volume of the magnum opus of English art restorer and famous art forger Tom Keating. Over the course of his art career, Keating (a socialist) wrote the estimated 2,000,000 words of The Search for Meaning by hand in one-hundred-eighteen large composition books. He never contacted publishers, so this work (which is said to adequately explain Man's purpose in the universe) exists only as scattered manuscripts and a few handmade copies.

Hard Travel to Desecrated Places

    The personal diary of an 18th-century Swedish nobleman named Magnus de la Gardie. It recounts his "black pilgrimage" — a journey taken by members of some occult brotherhoods to the accursed Galilean city of Chorazin. Hand-drawn maps in the margins indicate that Count Magnus ultimately reached a subterranean portion of the city, where he presumably remained for the six years before his return home.

Mai Doon Izahn

    A portfolio traceable to early renaissance Florence at the most recent. Every second sheet of this unusual and anonymous work unfolds to double-size, and thus the book contains twenty-four hand-painted triptychs in a fantastical style reminiscent of Bosch. While some themes — war and devastation, poverty, religious awakening — and some locations — Rome, Istanbul and Kristiania — are recognizable, the majority are incomprehensible, and many panels depict something other than typical three-dimensional space. The twenty-first triptych depicts, in sparse shades of dark grey, a broad river, with a lone boatmen looking over his shoulder at the viewer. The remaining three triptychs are entirely black.

Quarter Hour of Writing Challenge: Dimensions

    Dimensions. Alternate dimensions? Multiple timelines? Many worlds?

    I can see them in my head. Think of the "Bulk", the totality of timelines, the arc of the multiverse, as a city full of skyscrapers. Some people think of it like a tree. That's wrong. A tree fills in the empty space. It grows denser as it grows. The Bulk is defined by its empty space. Instead of a tree branching off forever, imagine rising up from the street-level of a city, and how the buildings would look as you went. You'd ascend past the tops of some of them; those that survived might stay the same, or their facades might narrow like the Empire State Building, but they certainly wouldn't get larger as you went up. The Bulk grows less dense, infinitely less dense, as it goes on. Most of the world is missing.

Map of the universe - read from the bottom up, not top to bottom

    Similar timelines tend to converge — this is what people famously perceive as the Roediger Effect, when their memories clash with "recorded" """history""". Some presents, many pasts, one future. Scholars of the Bulk believe that each timeline (there's more than one, and travel between them is almost convenient) is miming one ur-timeline and one series of events (this is the Blue Stoplight Effect), and one day that Universal Goal will be achieved and the world will end (?).

    To reiterate: the multiverse does not diverge into infinite timelines. The universe splits in two whenever a coin is flipped, sure, that's Quantum, but it doesn't matter. The two timelines will run together again shortly, like water flowing around an obstruction. The multiverse converges into one timeline, or none. When you go back in time you need to be careful not to step on a butterfly, or there will be swastikas flying over the White House when you get back to the present. But you're still impotent, and ineffective, and you can't change your own future, because universe used to care about butterflies, but it doesn't any more.

    How many timelines are there? Not that many, really. High triple digits. The ones that have diverged from your own might seem strange, but even weirder are the timelines that were never (yet) connected to yours. Universes where planets are empty spaces in infinities of rock. Universes where up is down. How does that make sense, you ask? I don't know. I don't come from such a place. I came from a timeline where — oop 15 minutes is up.

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.
  

They Do Not Know How To Do Right (GLOG Classes: Rogue 5e Conversions)

    Among 5e classes, the Rogue is probably my favorite. His design is most in line with my own preferences; mostly he can just do things, you know? He can just climb things. He doesn't have a pool of class resource points, his abilities aren't all 1/day for no obvious diegetic reason, there aren't too many long and complicated bits of bookkeeping to his tricks ("Deals XdY of Z damage A times per B-rest, to creatures of C type, half on a successful W save, unless they're resistant to Z damage in which case 3/4ths are dealt as G damage"). They convert into GLOG beautifully, much more easily than the monk or the barbarian. Thanks be to Liches of the members-only GLOG club for his help.

Source: Rogue Moodboard - Celtic Heroes by Dave Allsop

Rogue

    Rogues do not draw power from a semi-mystic source. All the power they need can be found in a sharp knife and a fat purse of gold. And yet it seems like they must be something supernatural about them. Why can a thief scale a wall which, seen in daylight, would be too sheer for a spider? How can an assassin approach her target unchallenged, strike him down, and then fade back into the crowd? Does gold appear in the treasure chest where there was no gold? Was it hidden by a veil only the rogue could pierce? Was it simply Lady Luck who left it there, for years, undiscovered by generations of greedy searchers? And when a commander unrolls his map to discuss his battle-plans just as the rogue bends down to eavesdrop, when an unlabeled package opens to reveal just the tool you needed, when a lock opens soundlessly with barely a touch — what do you call that?

    Monks speak of the flow of chi, the scales of karma, or the turning of the tao, or fickle earthly fortune. Wizards shrug and chalk it up to entropy. Rogues who benefited from a proper thieving education call these circumstances cipher; the tendency-of-things. "Tendency of things towards what?" you ask. Some rogues sneer and say "There is no 'towards', no universal goal, only the tendencies". Some rogues tap their nose and wink and say nothing. Some rogues go perfectly still for a long moment, and then change the subject in a quavering voice.

    All rogues have a cipher score equal to their [templates] in their rogue class. Given some unusual tools (1 slot for a case) and a few moments of fiddling, they have a cipher-in-6 chance of succeeding a cipher check in addition to normal resolution rules. The cipher skills are, according to tradition, to Climb Sheer Surfaces, Find Or Remove Traps, Hear Noises, Hide In Shadows, Move Silently, Pick Pockets and Pick Locks.

     Rogues also have a sneak attack while wielding a light weapon in one hand and attacking a distracted target. Targets who don't know the rogue is there or are engaging with another enemy are assumed to be distracted, though particularly experienced combatants might force a sneak check to avoid their perception. Sneak attacks roll 1d8 for damage, with to-hit and damage bonus modified by the rogue's cipher and their highest ability bonus (dexterous rogues stab with grace, smart rogues identify stab-vulnerable points, wise rogues stab at the right moment &c).

    Unless otherwise mentioned you may wear light armor only, may not use shields, and are proficient with hatchets, knives, clubs, slings and any weapon you start with.

Arcane Trickster

    There is a tendency for the unnatural to burn.

    It isn't uncommon for a failed student of magic to turn to theft. Whether expelled for incompetence, exiled for the darkness in their souls, or left to pick up the pieces after the destruction of their school, these students (sometimes called "tricksters", "mousers" or "scunners") can be simply too spell-mazed to return to normal life. If sufficiently askew from the rest of mankind, they may even become aware of cipher.

Skills: 1. Arcana 2. Ancient languages 3. Duels and knife-fights
Starting Equipment: Stylish street-fight stiletto (light weapon), student's robes in white or black (as unarmored), esoteric tome, pack of scented candles (3 doses), case of unusual tools.

• A Good Trick, +2 skill
• B Sneak Enchantment
• C Invisible Assistance, +2 sneak
• D Thief of Fire

Good Trick
    Your training lets you cast from scrolls as a wizard of equivalent level, and you know one random spell from any wizard school of your choice which you cast with an MD that is always lost. Additionally, you may project an invisible mage-hand 30' away, which is strong enough to slowly move tiny objects (coins, gems, cards, keys), though it does not have enough motive force to deal damage.

Sneak Enchantment
    When you bespell someone from hiding, they have disadvantage on any saves.

Invisible Assistance
    Your mage-hand has been strengthened by practice and can now lift up to five pounds. Once per enemy per combat, you can tap someone on the shoulder to distract them for a round.

Thief of Fire
    With a bottle and the use of your mage-hand, you may pickmind a spell and an MD from an unsuspecting caster and store it for your own use. You can try to do this when someone casts a spell on you in combat if you pass a save.

Assassin

    There is a tendency for the living to die.

    Few use cipher for wholesome purposes, but none turn it to such violent ends as the assassins. Assassins may join religious orders (and call themselves "sicarim"), or form professional guilds (and call themselves "hitmen"), or work for high society on word-of-mouth (and call themselves "Mr. So-and-so") — regardless, they kill.

Skills: 1. Courtly etiquette 2. Advanced esoteric theology 3. Intimidation
Starting Equipment: Manhunter Tomahawk (light weapon), spooky mask (your choice of skull, animal or animal skull), badass black leather and silk suit (as unarmored), makeup kit, collection of wigs, case of unusual tools.

• A Quick Win, +2 initiative
• B Mr. Thus-And-Such, +1 to-hit
• C Let Me In, +2 initiative
• D Invisible Stalker, +1 to-hit

Quick Win
    In open combat, you have advantage on attacks against enemies whose turns are after yours.

Mr. Thus-And-Such
    With a week and a few 10s of gp to the right friends, you can create a foolproof false identity. For example, you might acquire appropriate clothing, letters of introduction, and official-looking certification to establish yourself as a member of a trading house from a remote city so you can insinuate yourself into the company of other wealthy merchants. The effect is perfect; NPCs will genuinely believe your false identity is a real independent person unless they see you don or doff the disguise.

Let Me In
    Spend three hours studying someone, their voice, their mannerisms, their stride, their handwriting &c. Thereafter you can unerringly mimic those things.

Invisible Stalker
    In a crowded scene , when your exact position hasn't been established yet, you can declare that any generic NPC was really you in a disguise. If you've copied a named NPC in the scene with Let Me In, you can declare that they are really you in a disguise.

Inquisitive

    There is a tendency for the secret to disclose.

    One of the few who use cipher for wholesome purposes. Inquisitives (who often style themselves as "investigators", or even "detectives") root out lies and conspiracies habitually. They are often unassuming, perhaps even faintly ridiculous, but murderers, cheats and fellow cipher-aware who underestimate an inquisitive are sure to find their carefully-laid plans unraveling.

Skills: 1. Quaint village life 2. Being foreign 3. Street magic
Starting Equipment: Ridiculous hat, unfashionable clothes (as unarmored), little notebook and stubby pencil, case of unusual tools.

• A Nosy Parker, +2 save
• B Many Friends,+1 HP
• C Obvious Ruse, +2 skill
• D Capacity To Spit At Back Of Head: Neutralized

Nosy Parker
    Years of irritating fiddling and inquiry have made you a master of investigation, and of hounding down liars. If you consider two clues for a full minute, you have a revelation about how they are (or aren't) connected. Every time you do this you have a cumulative 1-in-6 chance of coming down with a splitting migraine, preventing you from doing anything useful until you get a full night's rest. If an NPC states something you know is a conscious lie, you may mark them as a liar. You may sneak attack people who are marked even if you otherwise couldn't.

Many Friends
    In every city's underbelly there are a few burglars who owe you their freedom from gaol, and in every high-class salon there's an aunt with a remittance-man nephew who gives her grief. When you need something unsavory, like identifying a gang tag or purchasing explosives, you always know who to ask and there's a cipher-in-6 chance they owe you a favor already.

Obvious Ruse
    Elementary deceptions might fool your quaint, comic-relief friends, but you notice them at once. You can literally smell illusions and mechanical booby traps at 30'.

Capacity To Spit At Back Of Head: Neutralized
    There is a time for everything; a time to work and a time to rest, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to engage in psychological cat-and-mouse games and a time to pounce. Your sneak attacks against marked enemies deal an extra 3d6 damage.

Mastermind

    There is a tendency for the proud to fall.

    Cipher is often turned to practical ends; stealth, skulduggery, murder, rapine. But it is easily applied to the more abstracted fields of diplomacy and politics. Masterminds (who strive to one day be called "viziers") excel at these more subtle applications, and so rise high.

Skills: 1. Forging paperwork 2. Alchemy 3. Mystery religions
Starting Equipment: elaborate turban, silk formalwear (as unarmored, +1 to reactions), wickedly-curved kukri (light), oil lamp with faded lettering, case of unusual tools.

• A Voice of Reason, +2 save
• B Game Instinct, +2 HP
• C Discretion, +2 save
• D Smooth Brain, +2 HP

Voice of Reason
    Your soothing voice can fake any accent or verbal mannerism, and always sounds local and trustworthy. With shouted advice, you can give advantage on a d20 check to a friend within 30' when they are attacking an enemy you can see or attempting to use a skill you are also proficient in.

Game Instinct
    With a full minute of study, you can intuit if another person has a better intelligence, wisdom or xharisma score than you, and can guess their HD and cipher score (if any).

Discretion
    When an attack would hit you, you can choose to cower behind an adjacent person (friend or foe) and let them be hit instead. If the original to-hit roll doesn't beat their AC, the attack misses entirely.

Smooth Brain
    Your brain runs on several virtual levels; schemes within schemes, wheels within wheels. Your thoughts cannot be read, and if you know someone is trying you can put up fake thoughts for the mindreader to think he's reading. Magical truth detection always pings you as truthful.

Phantom

    There is a tendency for the dead to not rest.

    When balanced on the knife's edge between the world of shadow-casting men and the screaming infinity of Death, most fall to the other side. This is true of the living but also of the dead. Every phantom (sometimes called "revenants", though this is incorrect) was once a normal person, before a close brush with their own mortality revealed cipher behind every action and reaction that occurs.

Starting Equipment: grave cerements (as unarmored, -1 to reaction and enemy morale checks), stonebow (1d6 at 20', -1 to-hit every 20' thereafter), spade (medium), fistful of tallow candles (3 doses), case of unusual tools.

• A Bleak Memories
• B Grim Reminders
• C Dark Presence
• D Unpleasant Toll

Bleak Memories
    Lost spirits follow you, and your dreams are filled with last moments. Every time you wake, choose a skill, such rope-tying or navigation or brewing. You may use that skill until the next time you sleep. Additionally, your sneak attacks are mimicked by invisible hands. The damage of a successful sneak attack is applied to a different person within 30'. This exhausts the spirits, and you must sleep before using this feature again.

Grim Reminders
    When someone dies in your presence, you can pocket a little smidgen of their soul for later use. This bit of soul takes the form of a trinket, such as a coin or artificial flower or playing card. You may carry up to your cipher score of trinkets at one time. When you would fail a save, you can destroy a trinket to reroll it. You can destroy a trinket to revitalize (heh) the spirits around you, granting another use of their sneak attack duplication. Finally, you can destroy a trinket to summon the ghost of the person you took it from. They will answer one question concisely (for they are eager to return to Death), but are not bound to tell the truth, and might hold a grudge if you're the one who killed them.

Dark Presence
    With a sigh, you can partially fade from the world of the living. While in this form you float slowly, invisibly, and intangibly. You can pass through mundane barriers less than 10' thick; for the purposes of detection and warding you are a ghost. The effect lasts for ten minutes or until you end it yourself. You may only do this once per waking period, unless you fuel it by destroying a trinket.

Unpleasant Toll
    The ghosts who imitate your sneak attack do so for two targets within 30', possibly including your original target. Every time you wake you are holding an additional trinket. The ghosts associated with these trinkets have more interest in the world of the living, and may be stranger or more powerful than the usual sort.

Scout

    There is a tendency for the tamed to turn.

    Rangers come in many forms, but most operate on an instinctual level and never understand why they are so comfortable far from their fellow man. The rare handful with both talent and comprehension ("spies" in military nomenclature) are at risk of becoming more than mere footmen.

Skills: 1. Equipment maintenance 2. Horses 3. Military hierarchy.
Starting Equipment: Boring but practical armor (as chain, which you may wear), tomahawk (light), flint and steel, combination breathing reed and dodgy blowgun, newspaper with eyeholes cut out, case of unusual tools.

• A Skirmisher, +1 to-hit
  
• B Wide Ranging, +1 HP
  
• C The Thrill, +1 AC
  
• D Sell Dear, +1 HP
  

Skirmisher
    Once per combat round, on anyone's turn, you may scuttle 10'. That's the trick to not getting hit, see?

Wide Ranging
    Choose two of the following adjectives: barren, populated, abandoned, forested, frigid, windswept, arid, damp, craggy, dark, coastal, spooky. While in an area described by that adjective, you can light a fire (given tools, fuel, 60 minutes and cooperative weather), find enough food for one person, follow tracks a day old, and may protect one person from poor conditions.
    Every time you level up, select another adjective. Effects stack. Adjectives may be selected multiple times.

The Thrill
    Foxes might have beautiful tails, but dogs live longer. You gain +1 to-hit and damage against an unintelligent target for each of the following things you know: its age, sex, proper scientific name, and where it slept last night.

Sell Dear
    Dogs might have friends, but that's no reason for the fox to bare his neck to their teeth. You have an extra attack on your turn against a second target.

Swashbuckler

    There is a tendency for the confident to succeed.

    Tired deck-hands and hirelings sit in taverns and spin strange yarns of dashing adventurers, brave hedge knights and avaricious captains of the sea. How did the illustrious Rathbone scale the Starry Tower unseen just to fight her way down to the bottom with a princess over each shoulder? How did ol' Calico Kite jump the deck of the Maiden Voyage before the hook-lines were set? When the whole town was burned by a vengeful red dragon, why was Nine-Fingers Gellman (who'd stolen the beast's egg in the first place) left unharmed? Well, they say, it's just that some are born who can smell the cipher.

Skills: 1. Entertaining crowds 2. Mixology 3. Monsterology
Starting Equipment: colossal feathery hat, sabre (light), officer's uniform (as unarmored, your choice of nationality), grapnel and 50' of rope, impressive medals, shiny black boots, case of unusual tools.

• A Macaroni, +2 initiative
• B Rakehell, +1 HP
• C Nogoodnik, +1 AC
• D Broken on the Wheel, +1 HP

Macaroni
    They lied; good looks are never a curse. Those who can see your face are distracted if you wish.

Rakehell
    You're dashed interesting and that's that. You may challenge intelligent targets in combat, forcing them to spend their next turn attacking you instead of anyone else, or charm them out of combat, making them consider you at least an acquaintance. They check morale to avoid either case.

Nogoodnik
    Leaping Gaps, Outrunning Guards and Swinging On Chandeliers are cipher skills for you. In fact, any feat of acrobatics is a cipher skill for you, if the DM lets you get away with it.

Broken on the Wheel
    Attacking With A Light Weapon is a cipher skill for you, and so is Not Taking Damage From Something That Obviously Should Have Hit You.

Thief

    There is a tendency for the money to turn up safe in my pockets, somehow. Not my fault. Be more careful next time.

    The thief needs no introduction, and has no other common names. There was no first thief outside of legend. Few enough show up in legends at all, let alone history books. Sure, maybe a common thief isn't as glamorous as a swashbuckler or an assassin. But every thief knows, in their heart of hearts, what really matters is a full heart, reliable friends, and... and... an amusing third entry to a list three entries long. Damn, where'd it go?

Skills: 1. Architecture 2. Art history 3. Numismatics
Starting Equipment: Dark clothing (as unarmored), lead cosh (light), grapnel and 100' of elf-hair rope, diamond-tipped hand drill.

• A Fast Hands, Second-Story Work, +2 sneak
• B Supreme Sneak, +2 sneak
• C Use Magic, +2 sneak
• D Catlike Reflex, +2 sneak

Fast Hands
    Faster than the eye, even. You may use cipher skills in combat, and a single hairpin counts as a full case of unusual tools.
Second-Story Work
    Like a spider. You can climb as fast as you can walk.

Supreme Sneak
    You may invert any of your cipher skills to lay traps, render walls unscalable to your brother-thieves, see in the dark, or do whatever else needs to be done to keep lesser sneaks firmly in their place.

Use Magic
    You deceive like you breathe. If it comes up, you count as any class, race, sex, age or demographic that would most benefit you. Magic items recognize you as their rightful wielder, magical identity-checks ping you as "okay I guess", and somewhere out there a very confused angel has confused your records with that of a 90 year old grandmother who is also a 20th level paladin and a pro-bono defense lawyer for cancerous orphaned bunny rabbits.

Catlike Reflexes
    The first round of combat, take two full turns.

The Best Case Scenario (Micro-Wargame Rules, Character Creation, Advancement)

     Check the sidebar under "Houserules" for the most up-to-date ruleset!.



    This game is set roughly now, in an area that you're familiar with, even if just from the movies. It is intended (more than designed) for two to four players. One of them will serve as the referee. The referee, being a divine figure, requires no more advice than they have already gathered (though they might want to check out the updated rule set); the rest of this document is directed at the playing types.

    In the field you control both the Commanding Officer and their subordinates. You are responsible for choosing their roles and their equipment, tracking their resources, and making their decisions in combat. Most of the actual rules are related to combat because it provides tension and finality, but as the CO you should seek opportunities to employ stealth, diplomacy, high-explosives, booby-traps, falsified documents, intimidation, and graft.

    Combat is a sequence of Rounds, assumed to take only a second or two. In each Round each character acts simultaneously. Each character may move 3m over level ground and take one Action. If it is important who acts first — such as when fighting for a dropped gun, or slamming a door in a face — roll two d6s. Highest goes first.

     Actions in a Round:

• Attack. Roll a d6, add relevant bonuses, subtract relevant penalties. On a 4 the target is hit and lightly wounded, on a 5 the target is seriously wounded, on a 6 or higher they are dead. This is assuming mortal human enemies, of course. If you were using a gun, subtract the result of the Attacks from your ammunition.
• Reload. Swap out one magazine for another, replace a belt, or load a grenade or two shells into a grenade launcher or shotgun.
• Take Aim. Choose a target. Next round, roll 2d6 when Attacking and take the higher value.
• Provide Suppressing Fire. Requires an automatic weapon. For the duration of the Round, anyone in or passing through a targeted area is Attacked unless behind cover. Those behind cover test Morale. Expends a full magazine, penalties may be applied to Attacks if the magazine didn't start out full
• Hide. Enter nearby cover or concealment. Targets in cover may not be directly Attacked, targets in concealment cannot be Attacked except by Suppressing Fire.
• Sprint. Move an additional 3m. This movement may take you up a ladder or over a gap of less than 3m.
• Rally. Roll a d6 to calm a Panicked ally, succeeding on a 4 or higher.

Source.

     In addition to the CO you control the lives of four soldiers, which you must spend wisely. Soldiers start with 2/2 Morale and a Role. They advance through experience, earning medals, or having Budget invested in their gear and training. They may spend Morale to grant them an additional die on any check, but they may not do this if it would leave them with less than 0 Morale.

     Example Roles:

• Marksman: +1 to Attacks per Round spent taking Aim, up to +3. If Invested, +2 bonus for the first Round, and can reach +4.
• Grenadier: As their primary weapon, carries a special grenade launcher loaded with six grenades of varying types. If Invested, has access to more interesting grenades.
• Automatic Rifleman: May provide Suppressing Fire when Panicked. If Invested, +1 bonus to Attacks when providing Suppressing Fire.
• Medic: May use a first-aid kit to remove a light wound or serious wound. If Invested, their first-aid kits have two charges.
• Sapper: Carries your choice of an AP mine, two bear traps, a 1kilo charge of C4 and detonator, or a bundle of spike strips in addition to their gear. If Invested, carries two.
• Rifleman: Nothing special, but is considered Invested (with +1 to Attacks) after two successful missions at no cost.
• Chaplain: Reduces Morale costs when a soldier is killed. If Invested, automatically succeeds at Rally checks once per soldier per mission.

     When a character checks Morale, they roll a d6, losing a point of Morale on a 3 or lower. If they drop to 0 Morale or below, they are Panicked. Panicked characters can only move and Sprint away from danger or Hide. When a Panicked character is Rallied, they do not regain Morale. Characters at 0 Morale automatically fail Morale checks.

     When a character is lightly wounded, they may not assist the CO in any checks. When seriously wounded, they cannot act in combat. Two light wounds make a serious wound, and two serious wounds are lethal. When a soldier dies, surviving soldiers in their fireteam check Morale.

     Each soldier, including your CO, carries a primary weapon and three pieces of gear. If they don't carry a primary weapon, they may carry five pieces of gear. Short range is 0m ↔ 20m, medium is 20m ↔ 40m, long range is 40m ↔ 200m. Attacks normally suffer a -1 penalty at medium range and a -2 penalty at long range.

     Example Primary Weapons:

• Assault Rifle: as normal. 31/30 ammo.
• Machine Pistol: Priority when deciding who acts first, no long range. 41/40 ammo.
• Shotgun: +1 to Attacks at short range, no long range. 6/5 ammo. Not automatic. Uses one shell per Attack.
• Sharpshooter Rifle: -1 to Attacks at short range, no penalties at medium or long range. 21/20 ammo. Not automatic.
• LMG: +1 to Attacks when providing Suppressing Fire, takes up 1 additional gear slot. 200/200 ammo. Suppressing Fire only uses 100.
• Grenade Launcher: Launches grenades. 1/1 ammo. Not automatic, obviously.

     Example Gear:

• 3 grenades. Flash, smoke, flare or frag. Limited to short range only.
• Underbarrel Grenade Launcher. Fires a grenade at medium range. Cannot be reloaded in combat.
• Underbarrel Shotgun. Attacks as a shotgun. Cannot be reloaded in combat.
• Magazine, clip of shells, or boxed belt.
• NVG.
• Gas Mask.
  
• Heavy Armor. -1 penalty to Attacks against you until you're wounded, then it's broken.
• Semiauto. +1 to Attacks at close range, -2 penalty at medium range, no long range. 16/15 ammo. Not automatic.
• Revolver. +1 to Attacks at close range. 6/6 ammo. Not automatic.
• Melee Weapon. +2 to Attacks at point-blank range. Obviously, ineffective at other ranges and not automatic.
• First-Aid Kit. Can be expended to remove a light injury.
• Line Thrower. Dedicated tool for launching a grapnel and sturdy line 100m, to aid in scaling buildings or crossing large gaps. Usable as a weapon, once, with no long range fire.
• Silencer. Silences a firearm.
• Truth Serum. One-dose vial.
• Steel-Bodied Flashlight. Provides light, and +1 to Attacks at point-blank range.
  

 

    Example Grenades:

• All grenades have a fuse of 4 Rounds when thrown by hand, while launched grenades may be set to explode on impact or after a shorter time.
  
• Flash. Perforated cardboard body filled with metal salts. Produces a flash of disorienting light and sound within 5m. Flashed targets typically miss the first Round of combat. They may also need to check Morale.
  
• Smoke. Thin cardboard body. Produces a thick, obscuring screen of smoke in a 10m radius for about a minute. May be colored for signalling purposes.
  
• Flare. Sturdy plastic body. Produces brilliant light for about an hour.
  
• Frag. Sturdy metallic body. Instantly kills unprotected targets with 5m. Unprotected targets within 15m are Attacked.
  
• Tear Gas. Thin metallic body. Produces a thick, obscuring screen of smoke in a 10m radius for about a minute. Unprotected targets within the cloud are blinded.
  
• Poison Gas. Thin metallic body. Produces a thick, obscuring screen of smoke in a 10m radius for about a minute. Unprotected targets within the cloud are Attacked every round.
  
• Incendiary. Heavy glass body. Covers a 5m area with burning material, quickly destroying wooden buildings and unarmored vehicles. Produces foul, blinding smoke.
  
• Concussion. Thick cardboard body, and quite heavy. Instantly kills practically anything within 3m with overpressure. Acts as a flash grenade throughout an entire floor of a building, even against targets outside visual range.
  

    Outside of combat, you can do anything it's obviously possible you can do. If there's time pressure, or if trying something not obviously possible, roll a d6. You succeed on a 4 or above by default. If you have a soldier with a relevant skillset — a sapper for demoliition, a medic for biology, a chaplain for translating a cult's holy book — you may add 1 to the check. Additionally, your CO has a background which makes more things obviously possible

    Example Backgrounds:

• MP. Bullshitting, paperwork, forensic research. Relatively free reign as a special agent of the military police led you into many strange places and situations. When you were snapped up by the Organization it was hardly a surprise.
• PMC. Maintenance, hotwiring, first-aid. You worked for the Organization for years unknowingly, before they let you see the man behind the curtain.
• SWAT. Intimidation, demolition, chemistry. A raid against a hive mistaken for a drug lab left you the sole survivor. You were inducted right out of the hospital bed.
• CSI. Biology, computers, paperwork. You were a friendly for years, offering your services to the Organization under the table, until they gave you a job offer and a free trip to boot camp.
• Research. Chemistry, biology, physics. When the fireteams brought back cursed tomes, inhuman POWs and photos of lights in the sky, you were part of the Organization who studied them. After a disaster in the lab you picked up a gun from the corpse of a security officer, and you never put it down again.
  

    After surviving a mission, it is the CO's responsibility to write up an after-action report (for good examples of these, check out some articles on the SCP wiki) and nominate a soldier for a medal. By default, roll a d6 and the soldier receives the medal on a 4 or above.

    Example Medals:

• the Eight-Pointed Star for Conspicuous Bravery in the Line of Fire. Grants one free Morale check per mission when suppressed or near a grenade.
  
• the Gold Triskelion for Enviable Success snatched from the Jaws of Failure. Grants one extra light wound per mission.
  
• the Platinum Infinity for Notable Composure while looking upon the Face of Horror. Grants one free Morale check per mission when encountering something terrible.
  
• the Jacaranda Vein for Surprising Resilience in the case of Horrible Bodily Mutilation.
  
• the Viridian Eye for Remarkable Ability in landing Confirmed Kills.
  
• the Ivory Hamsa for Admirable Restraint in collecting Undamaged Anomalies.
  
• the Cerulean Heart for Exemplary Gladhanding while evacuating Neutral Parties & Civilians.
  
• the Black Mark for Unanticipated Survival even when Everyone Else Died.
  

    Between missions, your CO allocates their Budget to soldiers and special gear. You start with three points, which may be reassigned as you please. Successful missions will result in more trust from the Organization, more Budget to spend, and more things to spend that Budget on.

Example Things to Spend Budget On:

• 1: Investing in a soldier.
  
• 1: Requisitioning a van from the motor pool.
  
• 1: Requisitioning a special piece of equipment, such as a flamethrower or a drone.
  
• 2: Requisitioning an armored vehicle from the motor pool.
• 2: Requisitioning a helicopter from the motor pool.
• 3: Requisitioning a tank from the motor pool.

Sample Fireteams:

• Chi-2, the Bear Hunters. Room-by-room clearing of buildings and spookum hives.
  CO Steven Mills. Shotgun, clip, frag/frag/frag, heavy armor.
  Rifleman +1 Matthew Weber. Shotgun, clip, flash/flash/flash, heavy armor.
  Rifleman +1 Claude Butcher. Assault Rifle, magazine, magazine, heavy armor.
  Medic Elmer Gibson. Machine Pistol, ballistic shield (provides cover until wounded), medkit, medkit
  Chaplain John Marsden. Shotgun, underbarrel grenade launcher, flare/flare/flare, heavy armor
• Gamma-7, the Phone Phreaks. Recovery of computers and sensitive information.
  CO David Flynn. Semiauto, silencer, clip, flash/flash/flash, heavy armor.
  Rifleman +1 Nathan Spitz. Semiauto, silencer, magazine, magazine, heavy armor.
  Marksman +1 Simone Oakley. Sharpshooter Rifle, silencer, magazine, smoke/smoke/flare
  Sapper Walter Hibl. Semiauto, silencer, kilo of C-4 and detonator, tactical matte black hacking laptop.
  Medic Spencer Heath. Machine Pistol, silencer, medkit, medkit.
• Delta-13, the Unfortunate Sons. They've got a helicopter and a stick up their ass.
  CO Raymond Michaud. Assault Rifle, magazine, magazine, revolver
  Automatic Rifleman +1 Susan Combs. LMG, boxed belt, boxed belt.
  Automatic Rifleman +1 Ludwig Saylor. LMG, boxed belt, boxed belt.
  Marksman +1 Nelson Vipond. Sharpshooter Rifle, NVG, medkit, medkit
  Marksman +1 Sandhip Kaur. Sharpshooter Rifle, underbarrel grenade launcher, NVG, flare/flare/flare
• Omega-7, the Camera Outage Kids. Sometimes you're less worried about this week's spookum than the collateral damage from handling it. Dropping five black-clothed gunmen in the middle of the local Starbucks can cause a bit of a ruckus, you know? Four people in long coats (and a fifth on a nearby hill) are a lot less... notable.
  CO Seth Masters, Machine Pistol, smoke/smoke/flash, revolver, magazine.
  Chaplain Nathan Gibson, Machine Pistol, first aid kit, underbarrel shotgun, melee weapon
  Rifleman Claude Eaden, Machine Pistol, smoke/smoke/flash, heavy armor, magazine
  Rifleman Sam Dillinger, Machine Pistol, underbarrel shotgun, magazine, heavy armor
  Marksman Jim Twoda, Sharpshooter Rifle, NVG, line thrower, magazine. 
• Theta-4, the Tour Guides. Scouting and low-level suppression of a wide area, identifying epicenters, leading evacuations, etc.
  CO Claudia Sells, Assault Rifle, NVG, flare/flare/frag, megaphone
  Marksman Todd Morel, Sharpshooter Rifle, magazine, line thrower, NVG
  Medic Sam Opal, Assault Rifle, first-aid kit, first-aid kit, megaphone
  Medic Lydia Thiel, Sharpshooter Rifle, first-aid kit, first-aid kit, NVG
  Sapper Thomas O'Brien, Machine Pistol, first-aid kit, heavy armor, revolver
  

    Some of the rules, roles and teams are by Xenophon of https://xenophonsramblings.blogspot.com/ and Archon of https://archons-court.blogspot.com/. My friends and I on the double-deluxe secret GLOG server have prepared a few short adventures already, and some of mine will be posted soon. Look up "Delta Green Shotgun Scenarios" to tide you over in the meantime.

Until Human Voices Wake Us (GLOG Class: Hollow Man)

I am known to be a humorous patrician, and one that
loves a cup of hot wine with not a drop of allaying Tiber in it;
hasty and tinder-like upon too trivial motion;
one that converses more with the buttock of the night
than with the forehead of the morning;
what I think I utter, and spend my malice in my breath...

    I've been developing this microclass for a full year now. This is really a labor of love, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without the support of the entire OSR community, who all adore me and believe me to be literally divine. They believe this because I have told them so, and I have told them so because it is true.
    I hope you enjoy.

22 New(ish) Major Arcana

    It's Secret Jackalope season again! And boy is this a doozy: evil scientist 42 asked for Major Arcana names for an alternative science fantasy or cosmic horror or sword&planet vibe Tarot deck. Just the names/titles for the 22 cards. Of course, if you are a true jackalopist, you do a full art series with pages and pages of divination instructions!

     Easy. I've got that in a day, prob'ly.

00 The Blind Ones
Those who refuse to see will outlive the others.
Reversed: Hope for death. You won't make it any farther.

01 The Idiot
Proud, foolish, and playing with forces you cannot understand.
Reversed: You have been misunderstood. Now is the time to strike.

02 The Beautiful Woman
Pale, dark-haired. In one hand the cup, life, and in the other the flensing knife, suffering.
Reversed: Death and freedom. Your schemes have, thank G_d, come to an end.

03 The Conqueror Worm
Red and squirming. Inevitable, and in its own way futile.
Reversed: The end of death has come. Beware.

04 The Hungry Spider
Wise, self-sacrificing, the protector of man's work.
Reversed: You are the enemy. Fear order and justice.

05 The Hungry Moth
Cunning, devious, enemy of man's work.
Reversed: What you've done is no help.

06 The Cult
Source of knowledge, favors owed.
Reversed: You've been found out. Think quickly.

07 The Black Lake
A hiding place. More dangerous than it seems.
Reversed: Safety! Safety in the dark.

08 The Sacrifice
Joyful in his death. It's better than the alternative.
Reversed: It is imperative that you survive.

09 The Prophet & Priest
Do you know what needs to be done?
Reversed: Bare your neck to the knife.

10 Mandala
Downturn and upturn.
Reversed: Upturn and downturn.

11 Hope
Flickering candle-flame, a delicious lure for the bleak forces.
Reversed: An opportunity to exploit the naive.

12 The Dream
Lurid and strange, but neither inhospitable nor unfriendly.
Reversed: Your life is a lie. Escape is possible, but will not make you happy.

13 Death
As natural as life. Cycles, circles, rhythms.
Reversed: That is not dead which can eternal lie.

14 The Imposter
Death is preferable to meeting Him on the road.
Reversed: Reexamine your face in the mirror.

15 The Old One
More real than man's schemes.
Reversed: Someone is coming to help. Throw yourself to their mercy.

16 The Gap
There is nothing between the two extremes.
Reversed: There is nothing between the two extremes.

17 The False Star
You are being watched.
Reversed: I am going to drink your sweet, warm life straight from the source. I've been so long in the dark.

18 The Betrayed Moon
Their decisions have already been made.
Reversed: If you move fast, you can kill your friends before they kill you.

19 The Punishing Sun
It's only fair.
Reversed: You're as dead as I am.

20 The Tide
It comes in, it goes out. Do not be too attached to your "self", or to the "truth".
Reversed: Degeneration.

21 The Scar
You will not recover. You have seen too much.
Reversed: Struggle for life. Better to enter the kingdom of Heaven with one eye...