OSR Class: Otterperson Swift Striker

My assortment of FLAILSNAILers who are inhabiting Vymrrys at the moment really took a liking to the otters and their orgiastic bacchanals and ongoing war with the elf gangs of the House of the Purple Sun. One of them wanted some otter hirelings, so here's the first of three disturbingly violent otter classes. 

Otterperson Swift Striker*

While it is not currently known from whence the Otterpeople originated, most of those living in Vymrrys currently occupy a hidden enclave South of the shipyards and docks on the west side of the city. Swift Strikers are the mercurial spies and assassins of the otter-world, conducting surveillance against the House of the Purple Sun throughout the city. They rarely engage in battle headlong, instead preferring to surprise their enemies unaware.

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Prime Attribute: Dexterity [13+]

HD: 1d6

AC (base): 9 [10]

Armor/Shield Permitted: Leather, no shield

Weapons Permitted: Any, but magical daggers and swords only

*For saving throws, hiding, moving silently, picking locks, and leveling use the standard Thief table from S&W Complete

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About The Class

Alignment: Any

Armor: Due to their supple skeletons and contortionist-like abilities, Otterfolk can only wear armor that can bend with them, limiting them to leather and cloth.  Armor purchased or requisitioned from a non-Otter leather-smith will cost double. 

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Class Abilities

Supple Skeleton: An Otterperson's supple bones and joints allow them to contort into a variety of shapes, allowing them to enter and crawl through any tunnel through which even a small humanoid could not fit. Their wriggly nature also makes them harder to hit with slow moving weapons, giving a +1 AC vs. two-handed weapons. 

Otter Lungs: All Otterpeople are able to hold their breath for up to five minutes, allowing them to swim underwater for great distances as well as give immunity against inhalation poison for that time. 

Rock Assassination: The Swift Striker is especially adept at using rock slings to kill its prey, never incurring a penalty when aiming at a specific body part with the sling. [1d4 dmg] 

Hide in Liquids (2nd): At 2nd Level, a Swift Striker learns to hide in any liquid as well as it can hide in shadows. 

Whisker Location (3rd): At 3rd Level, the Swift Striker has adapted its sensitive whiskers to note moving objects within 60 feet. And will only be surprised by unseen assailants 33% of the time. 

Leap from Water (5th): At 5th Level, a Swift Striker becomes capable making an especially deadly stealth attack from water, should it be hiding there. This quick and lethal attack gives an extra +2 bonus to attacks from hiding, and an extra 1d4 damage.  

Establish Shadow Enclave (9th): At 9th Level, a Swift Striker may establish their own Enclave along any available coastline. The new enclave start with 2d20 Otterperson civilians, 1d8 of which can be immediately trained in the ways of Swift Striking. Each level after 9th, roll 1d8 to see how many new clan members have been born. Of this new number, 1 in 3 will be a Swift Striker, rounded up. 

Every Other Level: Roll on the random advancement Thief table.

Reshaping Settings: Randomized Revolutionary Factions

Inspired by some events from one of my games (which I'll potentially detail later, but it involves a PC inspired laborer uprising an an Abhorrer) I decided to take a stab at making some random tables to determine some potential revolutionary factions to use in your game. Some of these might only work in certain settings, eras, or cultures, so feel free to pick and choose as you see fit for your own game! To determine the current size of the revolutionary faction, roll a d12, d8, or d4 and multiply by 100 for a large, medium, or small city or region respectively. Roll a d6: on a 1-2 the faction has been fomenting revolution only newly/recently, on a 3-4 the faction has been plotting revolution for several years, and on a 5-6 the revolutionary faction has been a constant presence in the area for most of recent history. 

Revolutionary Motivation
D10 Roll	Motivation
1	Poor laboring conditions
2	Fed up with vast wealth inequality
3	Smash patriarchal aristocrats
4	Smash matriarchal aristocrats
5	Wants repression of magic/mages
6	Wants to freely practice magic
7	Seeks abolition of town/city guard
8	Wants institution of official religion
9	Race/species nationalist group
10	Wants abolition of royal dynasty/court

Structure of Revolutionary Group
D10	Structure
1	Disorganized band of commoners
2	Coalition of street gangs
3	Well organized egalitarian cooperative
4	Triumvirate of aristocrat leaders with followers/family
5	Religious leader, clergy, and believers
6	Sleeper-cell cult leader instructing his loyal cultists
7	Dual city guard commanders and their soldiers
8	Temporary alliance between hired mercenary bands
9	Merchant union and laborers
10	Outsider culture/species inspiring a band of citizen followers

But the Twist Is...
D10	Twist
1	Group is being mind-controlled into revolution.
2	Group is being fed information by a mole in an opposing faction.
3	Group is backed by a deity of chaos.
4	Revolution being manufactured by elites in order to have populace consolidate their power.
5	Faction is host to a sleeper cell planted by an opposing group.
6	Group is terribly weak-willed and will disband without their figurehead/leader
7	Events in PCs' past sessions has inspired this revolution (and it's traced back to them).
8	Faction has secretly been spreading a deadly virus to achieve their goal.
9	Revolutionaries have turned to dark, evil magic to achieve their aims.
10	Heel turn! Re-roll on motivation table. This was secretly the group's motivation all along.

FLAILSNAILS Madness

Lately I've been FLAILSNAILing quite a bit, due to the sometimes sporadic nature of several of my "weekly" games and the time-consuming process of applying to PhD programs. Since I haven't had as much time or opportunity to play in or run my normal campaigns, I've been joining up in one-shots like today's Stonehell Dungeon game (run by Aleksandr Revzin), or the ongoing Vaults of Vyzor campaign, jumping from universe to universe as Lobat Greel, 4th level Fighter/Martial Master. 

Honestly, having never played like this before (before delving into the OSR, I was much more focused on 5e high-fantasy shenanigans, as that's where I began) it's been such a blast. I've really been digging the various styles of DMing, the weirdo mish-mash of characters from across editions and settings, and the overall strange fantasy vibes. 

But really I think the best part of joining in or making FLAILSNAILS games via the G+ ecosystem has just been meeting and engaging with new people. I feel like I've learned a lot about how to be a better and more creative PC as well as a more efficient and entertaining DM. It's not only made me more aware of the amazing communities we have, but also how lucky I've been to consistently play with awesome people both online and off. I have yet to encounter any of the shitty personalities we all hear about, and for that I'm grateful. 

Going forward, I'd love to run more one-offs or ongoing FLAILSNAILS games or campaigns. If you're interested, drop me a line on G+ whenever I put a game up! 

Ecology: Benevolent Monoclonal Humanoids a.k.a. Soup Ladies

What follows is a bit of a collaborative effort between one group of my players and I. During our osr-ish 5e Vymrrys campaign I've been running for a bit over 3 months now, I began introducing an NPC character(s) the group took to calling "Soup Ladies". In their starting neighborhood of the city, they stumbled upon an mute old woman who runs a soup and bread storefront in a quiet little alleyway. Throughout their first few in-game weeks in the city, they would frequently stop by the Soup Lady's store to purchase a few containers of soup (stored in small wooden flasks corked at the top) for both rations and healing (1d4-1) purposes. 

As it turns out, they've discovered two more Soup Ladies, who look identical. At first they were convinced that it was actually the same old woman who runs multiple stores. I originally had no plans for this throwaway NPC, but the group really latched onto this idea of the Soup Ladies being twins, clones, or something more weird and nefarious. So below I present our combined efforts: the Benevolent Monoclonal Humanoids (aka Soup Ladies). 


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Benevolent Monoclonal Humanoids (aka Soup Ladies)

Hidden somewhere among the Myrtacean Graves along the coastline North of the Pearlescent City sits a small but dense grove of trees not found elsewhere in the known (or unknown) world. These particular trees exhibit a high degree of canopy shyness, and are easily identifiable by their multi-braided trunks and gracefully drooping branch systems. Despite their seeming litheness and fragility, the trees are immensely strong, and should an adventurer climb one, they will find that even the thinnest branch can more than support their weight. 

The other key identifying feature of this grove of trees are the ovular golden pods that hang from many of the branches. Each pod is roughly 4 feet long and 3 feet wide, with a surface that shimmers brilliantly in the sunlight that filters down through the tree canopy. Like the leaves, the pod's otherwise smooth surface is interrupted by a network of slightly-darker veins that extend down from the pod's connection point with the branch. While each tree would seem to be a distinct organism, the few scholars that have visited the area have shown that they are all connected via a shared root system, making the grove a single, massive monoclonal being. 

What is not known by any scholar is what those shimmering, beautiful golden pods contain: despite several efforts, they can not be disconnected from their trees by force or magic, and all pods that have been found on the ground were split in two and empty when discovered. 

In fact, each pod contains a single clone of what would appear to be an old woman, silent and stoic, awakened when her pod detaches from the tree and falls gently to the forest floor. When the pod splits and the clone emerges, she quickly proceeds into the surrounding myrtle forest and using thousands of years of clonally-transferred knowledge, gathers materials with which she can craft a large urn. Once the urn is complete, the clone taps her tree of origin and fills the urn with its sap. The old woman, stronger than she appears, hoists the urn onto her back and chooses a direction in which to walk. 

When the clone finds an area of civilization she will attempt to set up shop and use the tree sap to make a delicate and delicious soup, each batch of which is identical to the last. It is not known why they do this, or what they do with the money they collect in the process. The soup itself is a gentle golden broth, always the perfect temperature for drinking slowly. When the stock of sap is finally depleted, the clone will make her way back to the grove, where she will burrow into the ground, her body joining with the root system and eventually sprouting a new tree. 

That Which Welcomes Dreams and Is Born From Sand

That Which Welcomes Dreams and Is Born From Sand (or Kurz'iin) is worshipped as the prime deity of the drugged mystics common to Vymrrysian alleyways and psychedelic desert witches of the Stone Crushed Sea. Representations of this deity are hard to come by, though if one looks carefully, occasionally crystal pendants bought from mystics will contain its runic markings. Kurz'iin is a figure that is said to control the state of our dream-lives, for better or worse, which then guides our waking actions. A part of them exists in each small crystalline mote of sand, and when summoned by a particularly fervent coven, their form becomes as an iridescent androgynous figure rising from the desert dunes, draped in a cloth of depthless moonlight. Kurz'iin does not speak, but instead refracts the images of answers to questions you did not ask upon the sand.   

Favor: Prayers and a blood sacrifice offered to Kurz'iin before sleep or as part of a witches' coven, provides at 10% chance of a prophesying dream the following night or a 30% chance of the answer to an important question, respectively. This prophecy may relate to a current quest, relationship, or some wider struggle, the answer may be in regards to any question. 

Disfavor: Earn the disfavor of Kurz'iin by killing one who is in their favor or by using magic to alter the dreams of another. Their disfavor confers 2d4 weeks of unceasing nightmares resulting in a 2-point penalty to WIS saves and WIS checks, and a 10% chance of a 1-point CON reduction. 

Examining a city mystic's crystal with several runes inscribed in psychedelic colors.

She Who Guards the Places We Walk

The places we walk. 
     The well-trod paths.
The deepest parts. 
     Shielded from cold hearts. 

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She Who Guards the Places We Walk (or Ya'rryn) is worshipped as the patron saint of merchant-traders, the homeless, and sometimes mercenaries and adventurers. Representations of her can be found carved into some of the many gates of the city, among the brick-work of old alleyways, and occasionally on standing stones throughout the wider world. She is an ephemeral protector of lonesome wanderers and those who venture to places unknown. Quiet and soft, her presence is known by fresh ivy growths along one's path, or in rare circumstances, a graceful hand protruding from the earth offering guidance in the form of a token symbol. 

Favor: Prayers offered to Ya'rryn before a long journey or when hopelessly lost, provide a 10% chance of the appearance of guidance in the forms listed above.

Disfavor: Misleading, killing, or needlessly harming travelers and lost souls will earn the disfavor of Ya'rryn. Disfavor results in a -2 penalty to CHA checks when talking to those in her favor, and a 5% chance of getting lost when making a turn on any trail, path, or road.  

She Who Guards the Places We Walk presenting a guiding token warning of hostile bowmen ahead.

How to Get More People Into Our Hobby: Look to Behavior Theory

In my field of academia, we rely a lot on a wide variety of behavior theories in both the construction and examination of programs and studies meant to help people (and communities) change their health for the better.** When we want to get people to quit smoking, use condoms, utilize syringe exchange programs, or change cycles of violence, many times we structure interventions around specific models of how we think human behavior works. These theories and models are all different, and approach behavior change dynamics from an array of viewpoints. Common to many of these theories are several pieces: 

• What are some barriers to changing a behavior? What are some benefits?
• How much control do we have over the behavior? What is our intent?
• What are some internalized and social norms surrounding the behavior?

Looking at these questions, and drawing on my academic background, I've formulated a model that we can go to in order to figure out ways to get more people into our hobby. We could also use a similar theory to help players and GMs with negative tendencies (i.e. trying to control players, severe railroading issues, sexism/racism at the table) change their behaviors as well, though I'll leave that for another time. 

Theory of Nerd Engagement (TNG)

My proposed model for the engagement of New Nerds draws on a few of the heavyweights in the real of behavior theory, namely the Theory of Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action, and the Health Belief Model. I won't go into detail on those two, but below I'll walk you through my thought process for the TNG. 

1. Any person who we want to engage with our hobby will ultimately be informed by their personal history with other nerd-ish hobbies, their own personality traits, and their socio-demographic characteristics. 
2. Those background characteristics may influence a few things: their Cues to Action, their Social Norms, and their Barriers and Benefits.
1. Cues to Action represent the various forces urging them to take part in our hobby. This could be a friend, family member, some YouTube videos, blogs, Reddit, etc.
2. Social Norms represent the broader views of society towards tabletop gaming and other nerd-ish things in general, as well as the person's internalized norms.
3. Barriers and Benefits represent those things that a person might feel would prevent them from engaging with the hobby. Barriers might include things like the potential for sexism and racism, or lack of access to supplies or a group. Benefits could include feelings of belonging, fun, and escapism. 
3. Cues to Action and Social Norms may influence a person's Social Motivation for engaging with the hobby. Here, I termed social motivation to mean a motivation (or lack thereof) that is derived from external forces. 
4. Barriers and Benefits may influence a person's Perceived Control, or how much power they feel they might have over whether or not to take part. 
5. Finally, the combined forces of Social Motivation and Perceived Control might directly affect a newcomer's Willingness to Engage. 

Due to the structure of my proposed framework, there are now a few clear ways that we, as a community and individuals can engage new people.

What We Can Do

Obviously the next step is to formulate "interventions" in order to draw in new people and keep them engaged. Below I'll provide some general thoughts, many of which are already being done by prominent members of the community:

• Address potential barriers
• Provide free or more affordable gaming materials across a wider array of platforms to reach people with low access.
• Weed out players and DMs who foster bigoted attitudes which will keep people away or force newcomers out. 
• Following the point above, broaden our range of cues to action at cons, across the web, or find ways to increase visibility in more mainstream ways. 
• The above may influence broader norms about tabletop roleplaying, and shift attitudes away from the negative. 

What else do you think we can do that would address various points within the framework?

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**NOTE: I'm not a behavioral psychologist and am most probably not employing these theories in this specific context in the way they were meant to be applied. 

Greed, Gods, and Gang Wars: A Review of Gathox Vertical Slum

Book: Gathox Vertical Slum

Author: David Lewis Johnson

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TLDR

Gathox Vertical Slum is a must-own for any tabletop RPG enthusiast who enjoys gonzo science fantasy settings or has a leaning towards the "sword and planet" genre. It features excellent writing, vivid illustrations, and is organized in a manner that makes it easy to both read through for pleasure and use at the table. It is - like many of the other great setting books in or associated with the OSR - great to use on its own, or taken apart and used piecemeal in your own game setting. While designed for use with the Swords and Wizardry Whitebook rules, it shouldn't take long to adapt it for use with other rulesets. 

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Review

Concept and Setting

The concept for Gathox Vertical Slum is both original and captivating: a mixed technology city, centuries old and densely packed, built atop the back of a planet-hopping Godling. Over the millennia, a variety of races have made Gathox their home, slowly expanding the city in unique and dangerous ways. Teetering buildings smashed close together create a city full of improbably small alleyways and arcades, winding markets, putrid trash heaps, and very vertical environments. 

The layout of the city - split into three distinctly flavored districts - lends itself well to a hex- or point-crawl style game, and the variety of original and alien cultures gives the GM all the necessary details to create plenty of random encounters for their players. 

The mobile nature of Gathox is also versatile in that it allows the GM to plunk it down in whatever setting they're currently using. Want to place the city in the middle of a steamy mega-jungle? Go for it! Want to have the city on the back of a Godling slowly work its way through an arctic tundra or mountain range? That works too! How about an ocean? Sure! The variety is limitless in this regard. 

As a big fan of urban settings for my old-school RPGs Gathox differentiates itself in one other notable way: gang wars. One of the key parts of the setting are the factions vying for control of tight spaces. As a city limited very strictly in its horizontal boundaries and resources, these gangs (or as the book calls them, Neighborhood Friendship Societies) fight ruthlessly over control of vertical space and influence. These groups inform much of the flavor of the setting and its atmosphere, and also allow for the unique mechanics of PC gang creation. This enables a nice loop of moment-to-moment and meta-game thinking, as players consider what actions to take in order to improve their reputation, acquire a new property, or take out another faction's leadership. 

Overall, the concept and setting are top-notch.  

Quality and Quantity

The quality of both the writing and illustrations are excellent. Descriptions of the city and its people are vibrant, with just enough detail left out for the reader or GM to insert their own imaginings. The interconnected vignettes that begin each chapter of the book (done by Josh Wagner) are also very well done, breathing more life into the city from the viewpoints of its various inhabitants and cultures. Illustrations vary in style and content, but all are great and break up the text nicely. 

I also found that the new mechanics introduced throughout the book - new PC classes, Wheelhouses, the gangland meta-game, healing/dying/resurrection - are all well thought out and work well at my table. 

New PC classes include:

1. Militant, broken into three sub-classes: Street Tough, Soldier, and Martial Master
2. Mentalist, broken into three sub-classes: Spiritualist, Faith Healer, and Cosmic Doctor
3. Mutants, with both beneficial and harmful mutations as well as psychic powers

While I love all the small but useful options each new class brings to the table (with the exception of the Mutants, which are the most detailed), I found myself wanting more! This isn't really a knock against the book, but more that I liked it enough that I found myself wishing there had been more original class options or race-as-class selections for the new original races in Gathox. Wheelhouses are Gathox's take on skills, split into broad and malleable categories that can cover pretty much anything. A player with an appropriate Wheelhouse (i.e. Subsurface Environments, or Methods of Assassination) could improve a given check by 1d6. It's a useful system that I've gone and incorporated into my other games as well.  

I also found myself wanting more in the way of random tables: for people, places, encounters, and the like. Again, this isn't really a criticism. What's there is excellent and useful, but the unique flavor of the book lends itself so well to random zaniness that I found myself thinking of the many things that could be added and randomized. 

There's also a long and fun bestiary that adds a whole host of unique monsters with especially fun-to-read details. 

Layout and Ease-of-Use

Overall, the book is well laid-out and easy to use, with an appropriate font size, an overall organization that worked for me, and all of the random tables reiterated at the end of the book for ease of reference. Illustrations are well placed and break up the text nicely. My only minor complaint is that occasionally there seemed to be big bits of unused blank space when the text and illustration didn't fill up a page completely. This was most apparent in Chapter 3. Otherwise, again, the PDF was well laid out and organized, and easy to use at the table. 

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I purchased the book via dtRPG and am excitedly awaiting the physical copy when it's printed. 

Location: Charnel Valley of Reverse Life

Occasionally a strong wind will crawl down the Southern faces of the Weeping Children towards the Flowering Expanse, and bring with it the stench and mind-scrambling sound of newly birthed beasts living life in reverse. 

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The few Vymrrysian scholars versed in such matters disagree as to the true nature of the Charnel Valley; some argue that beasts born from the Valley are simply the result of a powerful and unsettling necromantic spell, while others pursue the line of thought that such a place could only exist at the behest of a great and sick deity. Regardless of their reasoning, those who have witnessed its horrors firsthand rarely wish to speak of such things again. Currently missing scholar Izrid Yildirim spoke of it thusly:  

"I sat perched on the edge of a great rib bone which was growing slowly out of the rock face and looked down on the Valley. Below there was a furious and seething churn of activity. Freshly birthed beasts screamed as their bones were formed, their old and wrinkled flesh growing slowly over them, blood coalescing out of the putrid air to fill their newly old veins. Finally made, the beasts crawled, slithered, and slugged along on old and rickety limbs, growing younger by the day, each meal renewing their bodies. Within days, they became as wildling children, fresh and vivacious, slaughtering each other with abandon. The metalic stink of viscera fills the valley. Finally, they shrank, becoming infants amongst the carnage. Those lucky enough to go undisturbed in this kismet simply progressed back to fetal nothingness, the soil absorbing their remaining essence. By the time I was done watching, a week had passed, and the large bone I had been occupying had grown another several feet. I believe there is little to be gained by visiting such a place." 

OSR Class: Beetlefolk Defender (WIP)

Beetlefolk Defender*

Native to the Flowering Expanse, Beetlefolk tend to confine themselves to the territory of the Proletariat, rarely leaving its borders. Defenders can be found guarding larvae at the gigacacti root systems, patrolling the borders, or occasionally out on scouting missions. In the rarest of occurrences, a Beetle may leave and venture out into the world.

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Prime Attribute: Strength [13+]

HD: 1d8

AC (base): as Ringmail [13]

Armor/Shield Permitted: Any

Weapons Permitted: Any

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About The Class

Alignment: The vast majority of Beetlefolk are Lawful Good due to their eusocial nature as a species/race. However, occasionally some leave their clans for unknown reasons and venture out into the wider world seeking fortune, fame, or the like. These Beetles may be of any alignment. 

Magic Items: May use any magical items that fit their bodies. Use common sense. 

Charity: Beetles that retain contact with the Proletariat must send half of all earned treasure back to their clan as part of the public good. This restriction is never lifted. 

Armor: Due to their unique bodily proportions, Beetlefolk wishing to purchase armor from human or demi-human smiths will have to pay double or otherwise negotiate a fee. 

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Class Abilities

Natural Armor: A hard exoskeleton and fused wings lend Beetlefolk a natural armor that is 2 points better as starting AC than any other race.

Circularly Polarized Vision: Due to their unique ocular structure, Beetlefolk are highly resistant to illusions and blinding effects, granting them a 4 in 6 chance of either ignoring blinding magic or seeing through an illusion of any kind.

Insectoid Psyche: All Beetlefolk, and hence any Defender, have near-immunity to any attempts by another race to charm, mind control, or otherwise tamper with their minds. A Defender has a 5 in 6 chance of ignoring this completely at level 1, increasing by 5% per level. By 4th Level, a Defender is completely immune. 

Natural Shielding: On any turn, a Defender can take their action to turn their back to an opponent, granting  +1 AC vs. Missile Attacks. When in this position, a Beetlefolk Defender can not take a reaction. 

Beetle Horns (2nd): At 2nd Level, a Defender learns to use its horns more effectively in combat. On a successful horn attack, roll 1d6 damage. At base, 2 in 6 chance of goring an enemy, allowing a Defender to grapple and move with the opponent in any direction at 3/4 speed. This chance increases by 5% per level, capped at 90%. 

Many Arms, Many Weapons (5th): At 5th Level, a Defender becomes capable of holding two weapons of different types on one side of its body (i.e. a short bow and a sword), plus a shield on the other, negating the need to take a turn to switch weapons. 

Establish Brood-Clan (9th): At 9th Level, a Defender may return to the Proletariat and convene the political council and request to begin its own clan within a new Gigacactus. The new brood will start small with 1d12 new larvae and 1d6 Defenders. Each level after 9th, roll 1d20 to see how many new clan members have been born. Of this new number, 1 in 4 will be a Defender, rounded up. 

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Class Advancement Table

Level	Experience Points Required for Level	Hit Dice (d8)*	Saving Throw
1	0	1	13
2	2,000	2	12
3	4,000	3	11
4	8,000	4	10
5	16,000	5	9
6	32,000	6	8
7	64,000	7	7
8	128,000	8	6
9	256,000	9	5
10	350,000	9+2 hp	4
11	450,000	9+4 hp	3
12	550,000	9+6 hp	3
13	650,000	9+8 hp	3
14	750,000	9+10 hp	3
15	850,000	9+12 hp	2
16	950,000	9+14 hp	2
17	1,050,000	9+16 hp	2
18	1,150,000	9+18 hp	2
19	1,250,000	9+20 hp	2
20	1,350,000	9+22 hp	2
21+	+100,000 per level	+2 hp/level	2

*Advancement table uses the S&W Complete Paladin table