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09 Jul 14:28

The peak-end rule.It turns out that, when considering how...



The peak-end rule.

It turns out that, when considering how enjoyable, or indeed how painful something was, we don’t mentally do an average enjoyment check to decide if it was good or bad. Our minds are swayed by the peak and end levels. So, an experience that may have been dull for most of it, if it had a cracking bit in the middle and ended on a high will generally be remembered as more enjoyable than something that was decent all the way through but never reached those highs.

Here’s a classic study of this — on the pain side — from Dan Kahneman:

Kahneman and his associates showed, in 1993 that participants exposed to 30 seconds of 14 degree ice water (very cold!) rated the experience as more painful than participants exposed to 90 seconds of exposure to 60 seconds of 14 degree ice water plus 30 additional seconds of 15 degree ice water. In other words, participants found the 90 seconds of ice water exposure less painful than those exposed to 60 seconds of nearly equally cold water because the 90 seconds ended with exposure to a “warmer” stimulus. We will rate an experience as less painful, then, if it ends on a slightly less painful way. The “peak end” in this case was a one degree difference in water temperature.

Susan Krauss-Whitbourne PhD, Happiness: it’s all about the ending, Psychology Today.

09 Jul 14:10

Mati-Syra-Zemlya: Moist Mother Earth   NAME: Mati Syra Zemlya...



Mati-Syra-Zemlya: Moist Mother Earth  

NAME: Mati Syra Zemlya which is not a name but a title that means `Mother Moist Earth.´ Other spellings, Matka, Mata Syra Zjemlja, Matushka Zemlia. Later possibly also Mokosh or Mokos a later human formed nature Goddesses & St. Paraskeva in a try to Church her up after she refused to go away.)

SYMBOLS: Unplowed moist dark earth, stalks of wheat, sheep.

USUAL IMAGE: Not viewed as human in form but as the Earth itself. She was thought of as not a spirit that represented Her sovereignty, but as the ground beneath one’s feet, alive and all knowing.

It was thought that at some times, such as Zemlya’s Night on the 24th of June she would take human form and appear as a dark skinned Slavic woman dressed in brightly colored ribbons and ornaments, she would then visit homes bestowing blessings.

HOLY BOOKS: N/A

HOLY DAYS: May 1st (A day on which no plowing could be done) June 24 & August 1st.

PLACE OF WORSHIP: In the home or on unplowed or freshly plowed earth.

MAJOR TABOOS: Plowing on her holy days.

RELATIVES: All the people, animals & plants of the earth, which she used as oracles when asked. There are some who say her husband Yarilo was the Slavic Dioceses as his name comes from a word that means passionate and uncontrolled.

He was depicted as a blonde young man wearing a white tunic and going barefoot, who carried a bunch of wheat in one hand and a skull in the other. His festival day was June 4th.

FORM OF WORSHIP: In holes dug in the earth place bread and pore wine or whisky. Respect Her by making sure you do not hit or cut her (plow) on her holy days, such as May 1st, when she is pregnant.

SYNODEITIES: Nerthus (German), Zemes Mate (Baltic), Zem (Zoroastrian), Semele (Greco - Phrygian), Gaia (Greek), Changing Woman (Native American.)  

DETAILS: Moist Mother Earth, which is what Mati Syra Zemlya means, was the oldest and most powerful of the Pre-Christian Slavic Goddesses.

So powerful in fact that she survived into the twentieth century despite efforts by both the Church and later the Communist Party to do away with her.

I wouldn’t doubt that in some form or other she is still honored in some way on the land that she was said to be.

Moist Mother Earth was prayed to by digging a hole in the earth and speaking into it, or in times of plague by cutting a furrow around the home or village in trouble so that Her power would be released and drive the demons of illness away.

She was also invoked to confirm oaths and marriages by eating some of her earth or placing some of Her on the head while the oath was being spoken.

She had all knowledge, and on being asked would release signs that could be interpreted.

She was said to take the form of a dark woman from time to time to aid those who observed the proper rites and traditions. Sometimes even taking the time to shear sheep her totem animal.

After the coming of Christianity, she was confessed to if no priest was available. The Church tried to equate her with Mary, but this was not entirely successful and during times of great illness there was a tendency for the people to revert back to worship of Her.

Often the village women would dig furrows around their homes or village at night while carrying scythes to release the power of Mati Syra Zemlya and to kill any men who happened on them while preforming this rite.

I have to wonder if this might not be a perfect example of a clash between two forces.

One of which is represented by priests who were contacted by a power that came from the driest of deserts and the other which came from a moist living earth.

It’s something to think about.

06 Jul 12:35

Sports Knowledge

I heard they might make the wild card game, which would be cool. Do you know when that is? I have a wedding next weekend, but if it's after that we could try to go!
06 Jul 12:35

unalienable: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

unalienable: not transferable to another or not capable of being taken away or denied; inalienable.
02 Jul 02:08

divagate: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

divagate: to wander; stray.
01 Jul 13:31

Tarot Rooms

by Zak Sabbath

-A tarot reading always implies the immediate proximity of rooms corresponding to the cards in the reading.

-The advice represented by the cards will offer the key to finding those rooms.

-With one exception (The Fool Room), these tarot rooms always appear inside a structure—-a castle, a tower, a tomb, a labyrinth, catacomb, etc. --in other words, in a dungeon. It will be a dungeon with other kinds of rooms and occupants in it, often an otherwise quite vanilla dungeon. They can exist parasitically within any dungeon of sufficient size and complexity.

-If one room appears inside the structure, all other tarot rooms will be in the same structure—and in a specific relation to that room.

-“Major Arcana” rooms (i.e. rooms matching cards without suits) will always be behind secret doors or otherwise hidden.

-Each room has many correspondences and sympathies, not all are known. What is known is that each kind of room corresponds to a kind of individual, and if one of these sympathetic entities is present, the effect of visiting a tarot room is altered.

-Rooms of the various suits are sympathetic to individuals of a level and class corresponding to the room's suit and number:

All rooms of the suit of Swords are sympathetic to fighters (or rangers, paladins, barbarians, etc) of the matching level.
Cups are sympathetic to clerics (or druids, etc) of the matching level.
Coins/Pentacles are sympathetic to thieves (or rogues, specialists, acrobats, etc) of the matching level.
Wands are sympathetic to wizards (or witches, warlocks, illusionists, etc) of the matching level.

-Relative to the center of the structure:
Coin rooms are always south,
Cup rooms always east,
Wand rooms always west,
and Sword rooms always north.

-Each room generally contains life-sized, jointed, painted, wooden mannequins, set out in a tableau with painted backdrops and stages matching the design of the card matching the room. In some circumstances, the figures will animate and act--they are called Tarot Golems. They usually cannot speak but can understand any humanoid language. Their stats are scalable to however hard the adventure is supposed to be unless otherwise noted.


-The order of the rooms corresponds to dungeon "levels" or fortress "levels" depending on the structure, so, for example, if the rooms were in a maze below ground, the 4 of cups would be 4 levels beneath the earth, but if the rooms were in a tower, the 4 of cups would be 4 levels above--that is, on the 4th floor of the structure.

The first few rooms are as follows:

OUTSIDE THE STRUCTURE
The Fool Room -- These secret rooms can normally only be found on a fumble roll (any fumbled task in the right area might uncover it, not just a fumbled search roll), though an idiot (Int 4 or less or Wis 4 or less) can find one on a proper search in the right area.

Entering the room creates a new soul which then appears in the Fool Golem. As soon as the threshold is crossed, the jester or idiot mannequin in the tableau will animate, completely naive about the world. It will be fascinated by everything, and immediately seek to learn (wordlessly) about the world, experimenting with every object it sees. Its Intelligence and Wisdom are 3, its other stats are generated as a standard peasant. It will in all likelihood leave the room as soon as it has learned all it can and start to explore outside.

Note that a new soul and golem is still generated when the door is opened even if one has already left the room, so repeated visits (including by the Fool Golem itself) can result in any number of moronic, inquisitive golems wandering the countryside (they may be dressed differently, just as various tarot decks are done in different styles). Once outside, the golem will trade almost any service for more information (much of which it will promptly forget), and intimations of this fact will appear in the heads of any ambitious person it encounters. 

If any idiots (anyone of Int 4 or less or Wis 4 or less) are present when the Fool Room is opened, the fool mannequin will not animate. Instead, the mannequin of the Fool's cat will animate and wave to the stupid character(s) and take their hand(s) in its paw. It will silently offer to trade any pieces of adventuring gear the idiot(s) has/have for any brand new item extant in the setting of equal value. The items will be of high quality, fit for the coming adventure and will be brought out by the cat from behind the wooden curtains of the tableau. Only the cat can bring things from behind the curtain and only if the space behind the curtain is unobserved. Looking behind it reveals nothing. 


ON LEVEL ONE



Ace of Wands Room--The Tarot Golem in this room is a crawling hand of ordinary size like Thing in the Addams family or one of those wooden articulated artist's model hands and it is infused with energy and creativity. It can cast any 1st level spell that the GM invents on the spot once per round, and will do so in order to protect its spellbook, which contains 20 unheard-of first level spells.


If any first level wizards (or witches, or warlocks, etc) are present, they will immediately receive a wordless instruction that they must invent a 1st level spell on the spot. They have 14 seconds to do so. If the GM does not approve the spell, they may try twice more. If they successfully invent a spell, the golem will give the PC (s) its spellbook.
Ace of Cups Room--A vast iron cup fills the room, seething with the energies of generosity. It will fill with 1-10 doses of healing nectar (d4 hp per dose) precisely proportional to the amount of love that enters the room when the door opens (0 being the door opening on a combat of all against all, 10 being an ecstatic polyamorous orgy).


The first time any first-level clerics (druids, etc) are present when the door is opened, the cup will be of perfectly ordinary size and empty, but will immediately seem special to the cleric. It cannot be moved unless holy liquid is poured into it by the cleric or clerics. If it is, the cup will then be movable by the clergyindividual(s) in question and will possess magic properties: neither it nor whatever is poured into it can ever be taken from the cleric(s) or from any member of their faith it is gifted to.


Ace of Coins Room-- The handlike Tarot Golem here sits inside a large pentagram of gold-dust that nearly fills the room. Upon being discovered it will immediately crawl toward the nearest source of wealth and drag it back inside the pentagram. "Wealth" is here defined as any hoard of coins larger than the one currently inside the pentagram (which begins with nothing inside). If they do not stand in the pentagram, it's possible the nearest "hoard" will be the PCs' purses. The golem has one hit die and if the PCs do not handle the situation carefully they may not realize the vast potential of the treasure-finding device they've stumbled upon--though the golem will regenerate inside the pentagram if the room is empty and it is unobserved.

If any first-level thieves (or rogues or specialists, etc) are present when the door is opened then the hand will crawl over to them and open, palm up. If a coin is placed in the palm by such a thief, the hand will then draw for the thief a map indicating the largest source of other coins of that metal within one mile. It will do nothing else.


Ace of Swords Room -- The Tarot Golem in this room, consisting of a sword held in a slithering and snakelike armature, will immediately attack making use of radical insight. It knows each of its enemies' greatest weaknesses due to unfailing revelation. Any successful hit will be a critical.

The first time any first level fighters (or rangers, or barbarians, etc) are present when the room is opened, the golem will only attack them and will have hit points equal to the combined hp of all 1st level fighters present (at the start of the fight). If the golem is defeated by the first level fighter(s) without aid from anyone else, it will offer them its sword. The sword will (only under these conditions) allow the bearer to sense a single enemy within line-of-sight's greatest weakness once per week.
The Magician's Room-- The invisible door to this secret room can only be detected using magic. The Tarot Golem inside has stats as a wizard of a level equal to the combined hd of the creatures in the room+1, though it will only use spells of the transmutation type. When the door is opened, it will nod politely and then begin to follow the party. It is delighted by transformations--if the party should transform anything in its presence, the excited golem will use magic or guile to transform something else, more or less at random.  It will otherwise be quite neutral.

Transformations for this purpose generally exclude mere destruction--the alteration must be something which changes a thing to a way it never was before while not appreciably decreasing its level of complexity and organization. Living to dead doesn't count as a transformation, but cleric-to-lich or enemy-to-ally would.

If any wizards (etc) are present when the room is opened, the Magician will go to work demonstrating its abilities, lifting the objects off its mountebank table (cups, coins, knives, wands) and changing them one into the next. It will then enthusiastically gesture to the wizard. If the wizard then transforms something, the golem will bow and hold out its hand. If the wizard places any object into the golem's hand, the golem will change it into an object which will come in handy to the wizard in the future, though the wizard will not realize it at the time. It will not follow the party as described above.


ON LEVEL TWO


The Two of Wands Room--As soon as the door to this room is opened, the golem will push forward through the door, intent on moving directly toward the most powerful magic-using creature in the entire structure and striking up a mutually beneficial relationship with them. It has abilities as a second-level wizard and will use them to banish any impediments in the most direct way possible.

If any wizards of 2nd level are present when the door is opened the golem will take them by the hand and, using signs, describe the location of some nearby, as yet undiscovered, place of interest (a treasure hoard, a magic library, etc) and gesture that they go seek it. It will attempt to bar any non-2nd-level-wizards from following. If the wizard(s) go alone and return successful (and the golem is still alive), the golem will allow the wizard to copy the golem's spellbook. The spellbook will contain at least one useful spell the wizard would not otherwise be able to access.



Two of Cups Room--The two figures will briefly acknowledge anyone entering and then go back to drinking. As soon as they are, the GM should add another entry to the random encounter table: an NPC party precisely like the PC party aside from two things:

-They will be associated with the opposite god
-They will be erotic counterparts of the PCs and find them immediately attractive

If second level clerics are present when the room is found then one of the golems will offer the cleric a drink. If they take the cup and drink from it without suspicion, one of the golems will be revealed to be a 2nd level cleric of the same god and will, in its golem way, go about attempting to found a church of that god within the structure in an attempt to curry favor with the cleric. The NPC party will still be added to the random encounter table.
Two of Coins Room--This juggling golem juggles under any circumstances. It begins by juggling two coins. The coins are clearly worth 200gp each (go ahead and add zeroes to that figure if 200gp isn't enough to entice your party). If either of the coins are taken (it's easy) it will immediately begin looking for other things to juggle, seizing on the first cup/container, bladed weapon or wand/staff/rod/stick it can find to replace the lost coin and begin juggling again. It cannot be damaged in any way but otherwise has stats as a 2nd level thief.

When the coin or coins are replaced, the rest of the dungeon/structure will change: for each coin missing, half the coins in the place will be replaced with their weight in cups, (useless) wands or swords, as appropriate. So if, for example, one of the coins is replaced with a blade, half the coins in the entire dungeon (including any on the party) will be replaced with their weight in swords, if the other coin is replaced with a stick, the other half of the coins in the dungeon will be replaced with wands. If both coins are replaced with swords, all the coins in the dungeon turn to swords. In any event, putting a coin back returns that half of the dungeon's collective hoard to normal.

If a second-level thief steals one of the coins then the golem can replace the coin with the nearest convenient noncoin object, and the coins in the dungeon will be replaced with an equivalent weight's worth of second-level thieves of various races. These thieves will immediately scatter throughout the dungeon.

Two of Swords Room--There will always be another room on the far side of this one, accessible only this way--and that room will always clearly contain something of value. The Two of Swords Golem will defend that room with her life, but if no-one attempts to pass she will simply meditate quietly. She will also defend anyone who peacefully occupies her room.

Her stats are as a second-level fighter with two exceptions: her starting hit points equal the combined hit points of whoever she faces (at the moment the fight begins) and she has two actions per round--the first unfailing parries the first attack against her (even magic) and the second unfailingly strikes a target.

If a second-level fighter joins her in meditation for eight hours (while, for example, the rest of the party sleeps) they will learn the secrets of either blind-fighting or dual-wielding. Mechanics depend on the system, but generally both are still done at some kind of penalty, just not at the usual, big, one.
The High Priestess Room--This room cannot be found by looking for it--the entrance to this secret room can only be found via passive perception checks. The priestess herself is exquisitely carved and articulated, a perfect golem cleric of the structure's original architect culture and faith with stats equivalent to a cleric two levels higher than the combined hit dice of everyone in the room.

The Priestess Golem will answer questions with oblique gestures. If a PC can manage to do absolutely nothing in her presence for 2 minutes, she will hand them a small box carved from a mysterious blue stone. In the box will be a tool which will allow the creature to overcome their greatest weakness one time. A spindly wizard might receive a potion of strength, an illiterate barbarian might be given an earring which whispers a text, etc The boon only works on the character in question.

Once the door is opened for the first time, it will remain open, the High Priestess will begin collecting recruits for her faith, drawing recruits from whoever wanders in. She will give them each a boon, slowly turning wandering monsters into more dangerous and zealous wandering monsters--each time the GM rolls a random encounter, mark a tick next to the next creature down on the table--that creature (or one of them) has been converted and now has a boon.

If female clerics of any faith are present when the door is open, the High Priestess will gesture to the ground before her, offering them the opportunity to kneel at her feet and be converted. If they refuse, she will draw for them a map directly to the nearest exit. If the clerics leave, she will station several of her new recruits at that exit so they can never come back.

To be continued...
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01 Jul 13:21

monsters-tarot: Here it is!  A full posting of the major arcana...

















monsters-tarot:

Here it is!  A full posting of the major arcana for “Here There be Monsters”

It’s so pretty all together.

Now just for the minors.  =,D

30 Jun 14:11

Succubi Image of the Week 493

by TeraS

The artist DanteWontDie is an amazing artist, and I’ve shared a number of their artworks here on the Tale over the years. For this week’s succubi, I’m going to share a delightful work of Morrigan Aensland art they created. There’s just something about how this artist draws Morrigan, especially in her expression, that amazes me every time.

Come on Sugar by DanteWontDie

Come on Sugar by DanteWontDie

 

You can find the original page on DeviantArt where I found this artwork here, and this artist’s DeviantArt page can be found here as well.

While Morrigan’s pose seems a little odd, it’s really her expression that I really like here. The detail in this art is amazing, the textures in her costume, hair and horn are wonderful, which really is a mark of how talented this artist is. But it’s amazing how piercing Morrigan’s eyes are as they peek out from under her bangs.

Once again, a work of Morrigan art that expresses her personality, power and more.

 

Tera

30 Jun 14:10

06/29/2017

by aaron

06/29/2017

30 Jun 14:01

interdigitate: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

interdigitate: to interlock, as or like the fingers of both hands.
29 Jun 12:37

It’s a trap!

by Jessica Hagy

Share and Enjoy:DiggStumbleUpondel.icio.usFacebookTwitterGoogle Bookmarks

The post It’s a trap! appeared first on Indexed.

28 Jun 12:41

Investigation-As-Dungeon

by Zak Sabbath
A lot of game masters have experience with dungeons but have trouble writing investigation or horror adventures--especially ones that aren't railroady--and very few pre-written commercial modules help with that.

Here's a way to write investigations and visualize how they work for yourself--it combines the idea of a Hunter/Hunted investigation set-up with the idea of the criminal conspiracy organizational charts cops use--(which Ken Hite calls a "conspiramid" in Night's Black Agents).

It visualizes the possibilities in an investigation as a dungeon:
So, first, you have The Horror--this is the final boss, the supernatural or at least bizarre thing that is revealed after all the investigating is done. You probably already have in mind what that is. Imagine it as occupying a room in the center of a dungeon.


Around that you have the "Gatekeeper"--this is the NPC or the building or whatever that you encounter right before the final horror. This could be the crime boss who keeps the werewolf in his basement or the cultist wizard that summons Cthulhu or, yes, like Dana in Ghostbusters who brings forth Gozer.

The point of the Gatekeeper is they are a mundane front that, once encountered, triggers the appearance of the horror.

Picture the Gatekeeper as occupying a set of halls around the Horror. You can move through those walls when investigation reveals new information. Think of information as literally the key. You unlock the adjacent "room" with information.

Don't worry about those little rooms in the corners yet, they'll be explained in a second.

So outside the Gatekeeper's room we have other connecting rooms that the PCs have to get through before they have enough information to get to the boss. 

I put some examples: a pawn of the boss, their lawyer, etc. You can also move laterally, like investigating the boss' lawyer might lead the PCs to the sub-boss, etc. This is fine. The point is whatever they're doing be fun, not that it be efficient.

You can wrap the center in as many layers of these adjacent "buffers" as you want.

The outer layer of "buffers" are the first things the players can do when investigating the situation. Imagine the PCs beginning outside and moving inward. In this example, the players can interview the victim directly, search the crime scene, do research on the place where the crime took place (like in the library or on the web), or ask their contacts about it.

Different "entrances" lead to different parts of the conspiracy.

The outermost ring is the "room" where players start--discovering there is a crime to solve.

The orange spot in the lower right is some pizza cheese stuck on my scanner. It's not that important.

I haven't yet talked about those little boxes in the corners. These are kind of "secret rooms".

These are where the dangerous people and things associated with the crime lurk. They do two things:

A) They attack the investigators if they get stalled in their investigation. This keeps the game moving.

B) Their attack brings the investigators closer to the center of the investigation.

For more detail on how and why this works, check out Hunter/Hunted. 



Here's an example:



Our investigators start out having heard of the suspicious decapitation of Bunny Monrovia, cherished uncle.
 They begin to comb through the internet, looking for information about Bunny's work and possible enemies he might've made in the experimental entomology business.
They figure they'll interview Bunny's wife, Capybara Monrovia (victim), she tells them Bunny's best friend was Sweetwater Baize, a kindly fellow who helped Bunny out and always brought Jelly Bellies for the twins.




Sweetwater Baize warmly welcomes the PCs into his abode.

They can tell he's hiding something but don't manage to question Sweetwater's suspicious butler, much less sneak upstairs and find the hideous mantis creature that once was Sweetwater's sister or figure out anything much about Sweetwater.

Dinner seems to drag on, the GM is getting restless.

So out of the "attack" box the GM conjures the Mantis Cultists, who Sweetwater calls in to deal with these meddling kids. They strike hard...


...but not hard enough. The players defeat them, learning in the process that the mysterious butler was actually the head of the mantis cult.

The players can now confront him (the Gatekeeper) and he can unleash the hideous beast (The Horror).


To walk you through the analogy with a dungeon a little clearer, I made the actual investigation more complicated than it needed to be.

This "dungeon" is the same structure but a little simpler for a GM to write--it has 3 initial methods of investigation and only 3 kinds of buffers between the crime and the Gatekeeper.

To create a whole campaign, imagine this is the top view of a stepped pyramid seen from a helicopter--all you have to do is add more "steps" to the pyramid.

This investigation advice will be cleaned up and expanded for the Demon City project. To donate to it, go to the Demon City Patreon here.
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25 Jun 14:29

Holidays & Days of Note for June 24th, 2017*   St....



Holidays & Days of Note for June 24th, 2017

*   St. John’s Day (Christianity) which use to be a big deal of a holiday, as big or even bigger than Christmas in some places, day for lighting bonfires for St. John.

*   Bartender and Mixologist Day

*   Feast of the Sun (Aztec)

*   Bannockburn Day (Scotland) Date of a significant Scottish victory in the First War of Scottish Independence, also celebrated on September 10th.

*   Celebration of the Senses Day (international) go out and smell something.

*   International Fairy Day

*   Day of the Caboclo (Amazonas, Brazil) celebration of the contributions and identity of the original caboclos and their descendants.

*   Great American Picnic Day (U.S.) last Saturday of June

*   World UFO Day

* Also It was on the 24th in 1717 that the Masons  went public in London.

in 1374 Sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion

It’s the day on which Shakespeare’s Mid-Summer’s Night Dream took place, it is also the date that people thought Fairies were most likely to be active.

It was the Festival of Mati-Syra-Zemlya (Dark Earth Goddess) & Zemlya’s Night (Slavic Lands).

The 24th is the Day King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter in 1348, which some believe was secretly tied to the pre-Christian Pagan beliefs of Europe.

By tradition this is the day the Pied Piper lead 130 children out of the town of Hamlin and into a mountain.

In 1664 New Jersey is founded

It was on the 24th of June in 1694 that the Utopian community known as Woman of the Wilderness (which was all male) made up of Primitive Christians, alchemists, & mystics landed in what would come to be known as Germantown, Pennsylvania. And the day in 1701 that the above community said they were visited by a glowing white sphere while burning their St. J Day fires.

It’s is also the day in 1947 that Kenneth Arnold claimed he saw a number of crescent shaped objects “flying with a motion like saucers skipping over a lake.

Other June 24th Fortean phenomena can be found at:

http://forteanhistoricalarchive.blogspot.com/2007/06/june-24th-st-johns-day.html

25 Jun 14:27

maffick: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

maffick: to celebrate with extravagant public demonstrations.
25 Jun 14:27

06/22/2017

by aaron

06/22/2017

24 Jun 01:59

cacoepy: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

cacoepy: incorrect pronunciation or an instance of this; mispronunciation.
22 Jun 21:29

estival: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

estival: pertaining or appropriate to summer.
22 Jun 12:10

sundog: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

sundog: a bright circular spot on a solar halo; parhelion.
18 Jun 00:56

My Favorite Opinion In The History Of Games

by Zak Sabbath
Ok, so you know what an X-Card is?

It's like for games where people might get freaked out. (For some people: all games.)

It's a card you hold up when the game is genuinely traumatically freaking you out and then everybody dials back whatever the offensive thing is.

The theory is: sometimes if you're freaked out, you're too freaked out to explain to your fellow gamers that you're freaked out, so you use this card to say it. X! And they all then know that means stop.

Ok.

------------

So recently this person (a storygame fan, naturally) suggested that the X-card should be mandatory for all games.

And I was like "Well then why not for all activities ever? I mean, you can be doing anything and then be triggered and then not be able to explain why?"

And they were like Yeah, the X-card should be mandatory for all activities.

So this is the cutest opinion in the history of games.

But then I was like--y'know what, I know lots of people who have triggers. Maybe it would actually be a good idea if there was just a trigger ap that actually called up a message saying "Hey this is difficult content for me" with translation options.

Mandatory though. Online RPG people, jesus.

That would make murder trials hella fun, right?
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17 Jun 22:51

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Safety

by tech@thehiveworks.com


Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
One day, we'll have personal robot servants who realize human bodies are the major source of dust in the house.

New comic!
Today's News:

You can still win an early copy of Soonish by predicting the awful future here!

17 Jun 22:49

sui generis: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

sui generis: of his, her, its, or their own kind; unique.
17 Jun 00:55

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Spandrels

by tech@thehiveworks.com


Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
The moment you stop trying to do anything to make the other person like you? That's true love.

New comic!
Today's News:
16 Jun 21:21

The customer value chain.I’ve found this model useful in my...



The customer value chain.

I’ve found this model useful in my thinking so many times. Also known as the Buying Hierarchy, it’s a model that illustrates a common evolution — though not perfect nor universal — in products and markets where an original innovation provides a performance or functionality benefit over what others can provide. As a result they can charge more as no one else does it.

When others come to deliver that too, then the focus for the customer can move to which delivers the most reliable quality. When the reliability is the same from different providers then we’ll choose the one that is more convenient.

Only once all else is equal does the lowest price option become the winning one. At this stage you’re selling a commodity where people could choose to get the same thing, just as easily, for the same quality in several places.

There’s a business to be made at each stage, but it’s sensible to know where you’re competing.

The original model is from Windermere Associates and widely shared by Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemma.

04 Jun 01:32

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - A Frankenstein

by tech@thehiveworks.com


Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
I'm starting to realize I really like settling arguments in favor of people who are wrong.

New comic!
Today's News:

Hey geeks! We didn't get enough submissions for BAHFest Sydney. Please consider submitting a proposal, as we're holding it open for one extra week!

02 Jun 12:47

One Year Hence

by TeraS

At noon today it is one year hence that Goddess called my Eternal’s mother home.

 

One Year Hence
By TeraS

 

One year arrived

The time approached
The moment came
The tears fell
The sadness arrived

One year passed

The pain settled in
The loss deepened
The tears never stopped
The ache was constant

One year darkened

The light dimmed
The faith was shaken
The joy wasn’t to be
The trails began

One year hence

The tears never seem to stop
The hurt never seems to lessen
The agony never seems to go away
The loss never seems to leave

One year …

A Son remembers his mother
A Daughter remembers both mothers she’s lost
A Father remembers his love
A Family remembers

Every day of every year.

31 May 06:50

keysmash: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

keysmash: a random string of letters and symbols typed out on a keyboard or touchscreen, used to signal intense emotion in written communication.
29 May 12:23

Afterwards By TeraS

by TeraS

This story should have been shared on the Tale last week, or at least that was sort of the plan. But things conspired against me, and so it’s appearing one week late. Or rather, it will be shared one week late, but still appear to be on the right day and time otherwise. Time is, after all, an illusion—some would say lunchtime is doubly so *winks* —but, perhaps, sometimes there are good things to be found …

 

Afterwards
By TeraS

 

The day had arrived.

The day arrived when, as always, she’d asked for nothing special, for that was her way; a day in which she didn’t see the point of everyone making a fuss, going out of their way. Gifts weren’t needed—they weren’t what was important, after all. She understood what did matter, this year more than ever, it seemed, all things considered.

The birthday wishes came; really, they were what she cherished most of all: to know—but she always did—that she was remembered and loved, for she loved them all so very much.

Except, this year, other things changed. Those changes happened … afterwards.

The day after Tera’s birthday was a day she spent alone. It was a tradition of hers, one that had started a long time ago. It’s hard to lose one’s mother when you are but a child. One tends to grow up very quickly afterwards. There’s an emptiness that begins to form, one that simmers and bides its time. There’s little that can be done to hold it back, or lessen what comes from that emptiness.

Except where there was a mother that knew of that emptiness, of what it brought.

The day after Tera’s birthday always, but always, arrived with a single sealed envelope. Addressed very simply in a hand that was unmistakable, but then the hand of one’s mother is unmistakable.

Except, afterwards, on this birthday … there were two.

If the hand that wrote upon the first envelope was unmistakeable, then the writing upon the second was even more so. The hand was that of her Eternal’s mother, the addressing upon that letter quite clear.

Having a second mother—one that guided you through the trials of being an adult, was there to share in the love, laughter and joys of becoming part of a family—was a gift. Being loved by a mother, called daughter, cherished as much as her memories remember she’d been when she was young, was a gift for always. It was a gift through the good and the not so much so. Now, in the afterwards, a gift from a mother was joined by a gift from … a mother.

She’d always opened the single letter alone, not sharing what it said with anyone else. The words were, after all, meant for her. But now, afterwards, that wasn’t the thing to do. Her Eternal needed to be there.

He’d always respected her time alone, and this year he expected the day after Tera’s birthday to be the same. But in the afterwards of Tera calling to him, asking him to sit with her, he found himself looking at a card, addressed in a familiar hand …

… addressed to him.

They opened their letters, read them in silence. Afterwards Tera placed hers on the table, and he followed. Then she picked up his, and Keith did the same.

The words from the past met with the words of the here and now. One spoke of the hopes held for her daughter, the other the prayers for her son. Both spoke of their love for them both, one not ever having met him, the other grateful for having been there for both of them. Both mothers told of them being there, not leaving. They both understood that the words would be read in the afterwards of their being called by Goddess.

Neither of them worried about themselves.

They wrote of the afterwards, the days of longing, the emptiness within. But also was told of the joy of family, of the hope they had that in the afterwards there was something better to be found. Something they hoped would, in time, help with the afterwards.

In the afterwards, the two Eternals talked about what came … afterwards.

At the end of the day that followed Tera’s birthday, she’d always taken the letter from her mother for that year and carried it to the place where she’d placed every letter from every year since her mother’s passing. A bundle of cards, bound by an old red ribbon, one that had once held a ponytail in place a long time ago.

In the afterwards, that ribbon never was used to bind a mane of ebon hair again. It found its place in binding together the words of a mother to a daughter. Now, in the new afterwards, the ribbon held that multitude of cards … and one more: a card from a mother to her son; a card that spoke of hope in what would come next, a promise made to a son and, through that promise, one for a daughter as well.

Afterwards, things did get better.

And, in every afterwards to come, it would be a little more so.

29 May 12:13

To Be Utilized In The Occult Urban Crime Environment

by Zak Sabbath
This is the list of weapons and other gear for Demon City. Vehicles will be in another entry. While there are lots of other things not here, it's because I assume say, the cost and game function of--say--a modern backpack is self-explanatory, lemme know if you see anything that isn't...



WEAPONS

Note many “Nonlethal” weapons can actually kill a target if used repeatedly or if the target’s maximum Toughness is 0 to start.


Axe, Wood

Cash Check: 1


Axe-Hatchet/Throwing Axe:

Cash Check: 1
Notes: Can be thrown up to Toughness x 10 feet. Add a Situation Die to hit against any weapon except a knife at extreme close range, otherwise an opponent with a longer weapon has the a Situation Die vs the hatchet-wielder.


Baton/Hammer/Heavy Stick/Crowbar/Iron bar/Baseball bat/Sap/Sack of Pennies, other blunt weapon

Cash Check: 0-2 (expensive telescoping batons are concealable)


Blow torch/Welding torch

Cash Check: 1
Notes: Requires a fuel tank and some require an external spark to get started. 


Bows

Cash Check: 2
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1500 ft.
Notes: Including modern hunting bows, crossbows, etc. Quieter than guns but in a stand-up fight a gun gets a Situation Die vs someone using a bow.



Cattle Prod, Stun Baton or Stun Gun

Cash Check: 1
Range: Touch

Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Make a Toughness check vs a 5 to take any action. No effect on anything above Toughness 5.



Chain Weapons (heavy chain, nunchaku, morningstar, etc)

Cash Check: 1
Notes: Situation Die vs any attempt to block or parry. Lose a die if used without Hand to Hand skill.


Chainsaw/Circular Saw

Cash Check: 1
Notes: Cannot be blocked or parried by most melee weapons. Toughness check vs a 2 to use effectively in melee. Does Massive Damage to an unarmed target, and to the user on a fumble. Seeing an enemy inflict a wound with a power saw triggers a Calm Check of at least 4 in any witness.


Explosives in General (Dynamite, TNT, Pipe bombs, C4, Mines etc)

Cash Check: 2
Notes: Do Massive Damage in a radius determined by the amount used and the Explosives skill of the person setting them up (precision requires a higher check, as does a particularly large or quickly-activated explosion). If the victims know its coming they’re allowed an Agility Check (usually vs the opponent’s Agility if it’s thrown).



Garotte/Piano Wire etc

Cash Check: 0
Notes: Any stout strangling wire. Successfully grapples any target it hits. Lost Die to hit a target who sees it coming.




Grenades 

Cash Check: 2 (damage-causing ones are illegal)
Range: 25 feet per point of thrower’s Toughness

Notes: If the targets are aware of the grenade and mobile, they all get a Agility check vs the thrower’s Agility score to avoid being in the blast radius.
 There are several styles…

Concussion: Massive Damage within a 6 foot radius.

Flashbang/Stun: Targets disoriented and deaf for the first round and until a Toughness check vs a 5 is made. 10’ radius.

Fragmentation: Does Massive Damage to anyone within 50’ radius. 

Gas: Can be anything but a typical gas grenade requires a Toughness check vs a 5 each round to avoid disabling nausea. 20’ radius.

Smoke: Obscures vision within 20’ radius.

Stingball: Full of hard rubber balls, Standard Damage within 10’ radius, nonlethal.



Guns

Guns, like all missile weapons, have an extra die over other distance weapons as well as over melee weapons and the unarmed at most distances greater than arms length. They do Massive Damage to unresisting targets within 5 feet. Regular guns have an effective range of about 10 feet underwater before the short cartridge length gets pulled off course by the water.

Ammunition capacities for specific models of gun are easy to find online. Just type in the name and “capacity”. 

Legality: When you decide where your campaign is set, you can check online for laws regarding high-capacity (over 10 shots for handguns) magazines (always changing, especially in cities) and concealed carry for that place, but practically speaking the main thing is getting noticed brandishing a gun in public for any reason will probably attract police attention and they’ll probably think up a charge if they want to (threatening, reckless endangerment, disturbing the peace, discharging a weapon in city limits, etc). Assault rifles and submachine guns are quasi-legal (it depends when they were made and whether the full-auto setting is enabled, its complicated) and machine guns are illegal for civilians to own (long story).

Characters who would have a concealed carry license (bounty hunters, cops, detectives, gun nuts) can go ahead and have one, other characters who want to already have one have a 10% chance of having one already if they have Firearms skill.

These are the most common kinds:

Handgun/Pistol

Cash Check: 2
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 300 ft.
Ammunition:  Most revolvers hold 6 rounds, a policeman’s Glock will hold 13-17 rounds and is typical for modern automatics, the highly concealable and very cute Russian PB-4 Osa holds 4 rounds. Unless it's known the gun is fully-loaded, after the first shot a revolver will have d10 divided by 2 rounds left and a typical automatic will have 2d10 rounds left.

Notes:  Handguns have a Situation Die over long guns at ranges up to 15 feet. More concealable, too. 


Shotgun

Cash Check: 2
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 300 ft.
Ammunition: Shotguns typically hold 2 (old hunting rifles) to 10 (combat shotgun) rounds and are often subjected to magazine-size restrictions.

Notes: Shotguns can be fitted with nonlethal shot rounds (bean bags, rock salt)—these function like normal damage except you can’t die from it. They have a Situation Die over other non-automatic long guns when in their preferred range of less than 75 ft. 


Hunting Rifle

Cash Check: 2
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1500 ft.
Ammunition: Typically 3-10 rounds.

Notes: Hunting rifles have a Situation Die over shotguns, machine guns and handguns at long ranges—75 feet or more. 


Sniper Rifle

Cash Check: 3
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 2200 ft.
Ammunition: Typically holds 3-10 rounds.

Notes: Essentially a really nice hunting rifle. They have a Situation Die over any other gun at long ranges—75 feet or more. 


Assault Rifle (M-16, AK-47 etc--standard army guns)
Cash Check: 2 (quasi legal)
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1000 ft.
Ammunition: Typically 30 rounds

Notes: Have a Situation Die over any other handheld gun at ranges of 15-75 feet. Shooters with Firearms skill can fire at a number of targets per round equal to their skill or can do Massive Damage to one target. They will end up using d10 bullets per round (unless they make a point to use a specific number: 1 or 3, in which case they lose a die against other guns) with a minimum of 1 per target. 


Submachine Gun (Uzi, Mac 10, Thompson “Tommy gun”, etc)
Cash Check: 2 (quasi legal)
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 300 ft.
Ammunition: Typically 30 rounds

Notes: Submachine guns are like assault rifles but less powerful. Have a Situation Die over any other handheld gun except an assault rifle at ranges of 15-75 feet. Shooters with Firearms skill can fire at a number of targets per round equal to their skill or can do Massive Damage to one target. They will end up using d10 bullets per round (unless they make a point to use a specific number: 1 or 3, in which case they lose a die against other guns) with a minimum of 1 per target. 


Machine Gun

Cash Check: 3 (quasi legal)
Range: Lose a die to hit beyond 1000 ft.
Ammunition: 30-100 rounds in a portable magazine—though they’re often belt-fed.

Notes: These are heavy fully-automatic military weapons, illegal to buy, often belt-fed and used with a tripod or mounted on a vehicle. Lighter machine guns can be fired without a tripod but they require a Toughness check vs a 2 or else the shooter loses a die. These do Massive Damage to all targets, and can hit a number of targets per round equal to the shooter’s Firearms score (No firearms skill? You’re at -2 dice). They use d10 bullets per round (minimum of 1 bullet per target hit). 


Air Rifle/BB Gun:
Cash Check: 1-2
Range: 450 ft
Ammunition: 30
Notes: Non-lethal to anything over 0 Toughness, useless against armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 0 to avoid taking any damage.


Flare Gun
Cash Check: 1
Range: 30 ft
Ammunition: 1 shot
Notes: Lost Die to hit, the flare itself will likely bounce off and start a fire in a random place within 20 feet of the target. Non-lethal, a result causing damage indicates a face hit, the cartridge penetrating a soft area, or the flare lighting up and scalding the target. Non-lethal to anything over 0 Toughness, useless against armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 0 to avoid taking any damage. Also can, like, be used the way it’s supposed to be to light up an area with a signal flare.


Tranquilizer Gun
Cash Check: 2
Range: Lose a die beyond 100 ft (for pistol version), beyond 300 (for rifle version)
Ammunition: 1 shot
Notes: One thing few people know about tranquilizer guns is they kind of suck. It’s very difficult to know how much and what kind of drug to give a human to knock them out without killing them or inflicting permanent damage. In-game, this essentially means that—when used on a person—a tranq gun might as well just be a gun. A hit that does damage but doesn’t kill inflicts its damage in the form of nausea and disorientation rather than putting holes in you.


Harpoon Gun
Cash Check: 1
Range: Underwater—Lose a die beyond 20 ft, On land—up to 50 feet but lose a die immediately
Ammunition: 1 shot
Notes: Regular guns are useless beyond 10 feet underwater because of the short cartridge length. Pneumatic or rubber-band-driven, harpoon guns are hard to control on land because the lack of resistance gives them wicked recoil—a fumble above water indicates the recoil hit you in the face, which loses you a turn.


Paintball Gun
Cash Check: 2
Range: 100 ft
Ammunition: 200+
Notes: Paintballs do 1 point of non-lethal damage but someone with Firearms skill can hit an opponent in the face to blind them if they fire with a Lost Die for a called shot to the head. They can also be loaded with marbles which have an effective range of 50 ft—they are non-lethal to anything over 1 Toughness, useless against armor and anyone hit can make a Toughness Check against a 0 to avoid taking any damage.



Zip Gun
Cash Check: 0-3
Range: 100 + (100xCash Check) ft
Ammunition: Usually 1 shot

Notes: ‘Zip guns’ encompass a variety homemade firearms usually made from salvaged parts and/or other gunlike objects (like cap guns, paintball guns and air rifles). Essentially the more work and skill that’s put into a zip gun the more it behaves like the real thing. They are rare in the US because real firearms are so easy to acquire, but they are more common among criminals and insurgents in other countries and they look cool.


Heavy Things (refrigerators, walls, giant crates, etc)

Things heavier than a person that must be tipped over onto-, dropped on-, or shoved into enemies with machines attack at -2 dice but do Massive Damage.



Improvised Weapon (awkward)

Notes: Lamps, chairs, umbrellas, thrown rocks, etc—things used as weapons in a pinch but neither designed to be nor well-suited to it. Like most weapons, these grant a Situation Die vs unarmed opponents but opponents armed with real weapons or more easily weaponizable objects will give a Situation Die vs the improvised-weapon wielder. 


Knife/Dagger/Letter Opener

Cash Check: 0-1
Range: 5 feet per point of agility/hand-to-hand skill (untrained throwers get are at 2 Lost Dice), Lose a die for knives not designed for it
Notes: A Situation Die vs nearly any weapon at extreme close range. Otherwise an opponent with a distance weapon or longer melee weapon has a Situation Die. Survival knives (Swiss Army, etc) often have compasses, screwdrivers, etc built in.


Knuckledusters/Brass Knuckles

Cash Check: 1 (quasi-legal)
Notes: Like other weapons, a Situation Die vs an unarmed opponent. Also a lot easier to break glass, etc without hurting yourself.



Molotov Cocktail

Cash Check: 1 (to get ingredients)
Range: 20 feet per point of thrower’s Toughness

Notes: If the targets are aware of the grenade and mobile, they all get a Agility check vs the thrower’s Agility score to avoid being in the blast radius. Does standard damage to anyone within 15’.


Pepper Spray/Mace

Cash check: 1
Range: 2’

Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Make a Toughness check each round vs a 4 to take any action.  No effect on anything above Toughness 5.



Sword/Machete

Cash Check: 2
Notes: If user is trained in hand to hand: a Situation Die if used to block or parry a melee attack and a Situation Die vs other melee weapons that can be blocked or parried when at a distance of 2-5 feet (not cumulative).



Taser

Cash Check: 2
Range: 35’ (legal civilian version: 15’) —they don’t work at less than 5 ft.
Ammunition: 1 shot

Notes: Nonlethal, no damage. Useless against armored targets and people in heavy coats. Make a Toughness check vs a 5 each round to take any action. One failed shot requires two rounds of reloading.  No effect on anything above Toughness 5.







OTHER NOTABLE ITEMS

Airline TIckets
Cash Check: 2-3
Notes: Most flights are Cash Check 2. Last-minute ones or ones to far-flung or unusual locations are 3.

Auto Theft Kit
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Includes a Slim Jim (thin piece of sheet metal that trips a door lock), a long arm to reach in and flip lock switches, auto wedges (force open a gap between door and car using compressed air, just enough to let in a long arm).

Bicycle
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Allows movement at a Speed of 6 a Situation Die if racing vs a skateboard.


Binoculars
Cash Check: 1

“Bug”/Listening Device
Cash Check: 1-3
Notes: Bugs trying to catch anything subtle require a Perception check or an Electronics check (whichever is higher). Bugs that cost 2 add 1 die to the check, bugs that cost 3 add 2 dice to the check. The cost also modifies how hard they are to find, Cost 2 devices are -1 Lost Die to find, Cost 3 are -2 Lost Dice to find.

Bullet Proof Vest
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Increases functional Toughness by 2 and decreases Agility by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

Bullet Proof Outfit (including mask)
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Increases functional Toughness by 3, decreases Perception by 1 and decreases Agility by 2 (to a minimum of 0).

Bump Key
Cash Check: 1
Notes: A specially-prepared house key with a filed-down profile which taps tumblers and pins into place. Long ago replaced lock-picks as the home-intrusion device of choice. Allows quick, quiet entry to a standard home door lock on a Burglary/Theft Check vs a 1. The automotive version is a set of jiggler keys.

Caltrops
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Bits of metal shrapnel that stick up off the ground. They can be purchased or made from nails and scrap. Creates an obstacles for cars, police horses, bicycles, foot pursuers, etc. Agility or driving check vs thrower’s Agility to avoid, if hit they puncture tires and shoes and slow down anyone pursuing.

Camping Gear
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Everything you need for low-grade outdoor survival: tent, sleeping bag, propane stove, etc.

Climbing Gear
Cash Check: 3
Notes: The advantage of professional climbing gear is it makes it much harder to fall very far.

Cold Weather Clothes 
Cash Check: 1

Disguise Kit
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Latex prosthetics, fake mustache, etc. Adds two dice to deception attempts if applied correctly. How do you know if you applied it correctly? Roll Deception (or, if you don't have it, Appeal with a Lost Die) vs a 2 to find out the first time you use it. If you fail, you automatically blow your cover. 

Diversion Safe
Cash Check: 1
Notes: A steel-walled safe disguised as an ordinary household object such as a can of motor oil or a clock.

Fake Identification
Cash Check: 1-3
Notes: Cost 1 items will pass a standard once-over from a bartender, more expensive ones add dice (one per point) to checks to bluff more serious investigation.

Formal Item of Clothing
Cash Check: 2

Formal Outfit
Cash Check: 3

Flashlight
Cash Check: 0-1
Notes: Expensive flashlights can double as weapons— a Situation Die vs an unarmed opponent.

Handcuff Key
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Small metal shim allows escape from handcuffs on a successful Burglary/Theft roll against a 2. Many models are manufactured to hide in coins, pens, etc.

Hotels
Cash Check: 1-5
Notes: Price corresponds to the social class of fellow guests and the quality of the security for Burglary/Theft checks.

Lockpick Gun 
Cash Check: 2 
Notes: Allows quick, quiet entry to a standard home door lock on a Burglary/Theft Check vs a 1. Good chance of damaging the lock. Makes some noise.

Motion Sensor Alarms
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Burglary/Theft roll of 3 or better to bypass.

Roller Skates/Blades
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Allows movement at Speed 6.

Shin-Kickers
Cash Check: 0-1
Notes: Essentially brass knuckles for your shoes—a series of raised metal spikes that anchor between laces. a Situation Die vs an unarmed opponent if you’re trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Skateboard
Cash Check: 2
Notes: Allows movement at Speed 6.

Toolkit
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Standard hardware—screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.

Trains (cross country)
Cash Check: 2

Trains (communter)
Cash Check: 0

UV Powder
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Smeared on any surface, this slightly sticky powder is normally invisible but reveals fingerprints in UV light.

Ride Service, Taxi or Car Rental
Cash Check: 1
Notes: Follow-that-car situations rely on a taxi being there exactly when you want it, which is common in New York and many European capitals, but rare in many American cities. Roll randomly if unsure.

Rope, Nylon, 50’
Cash Check: 1

Silencer
Cash Check: 3
Notes: Silencers don’t really silence things, they just make them quieter than gunshots, so a 1 die difference in terms of being heard. They don’t work on revolvers.

If you're eager to see this finished so you can use any of this stuff on a three-shadowed Qlipoth, donate to the Demon City Patreon.

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29 May 12:05

All Disturbing Animals

by Zak Sabbath

This is the list of horror-game-appropriate animals for Demon City. If you see anything missing, inconsistent, or that you think should be fleshed out more, let me know. No, I didn't include hippose, the most dangerous animal in Africa. Yes, what was on purpose.

Note that "Calm Check" is how much seeing the animal in the wild freaks people out.

And remember: in real life animals are our friends and we are far more dangerous to them than they are to us--except for ones from Australian who can fuck right off.

ANIMALS

Animals can become menacing in many ways—as familiars to witches (see pg XXX), as drone slaves (see pg XXX) to necromancers or demons (see pg xxx), as revenants (see pg xxx) come back from the dead—and its also possible that they could simply decide on their own they’ve had enough and begin to kill us all.

Statistics for some horror-friendly animals are listed here: All animals have Cash and Knowledge at 0—Appeal scores indicate how likely the average naive observer is to approach the animal. Insects, rats and other vermin attacking in groups together are covered under “Swarms” (see pg XXX). Supernaturally intelligent or controlled animals which are not normally dangerous like birds or housecats will generally attack a target’s eyes first.

Alligator/Crocodile
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 6
Perception: 2
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Amphibious, bite grapples & inflicts damage simultaneously, can’t open their mouths if held closed.

Bat
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 2/4 if attacking

Notes: Echolocation, Flying


Bear
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 8
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Bite or “hug” inflicts damage and grapples simultaneously

Boar/Wild Pig
Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 5
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 1/4 if attacking

Bobcat/Lynx
Calm: 1
Agility: 5
Toughness: 2
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 3 only if attacking

Cat
Calm: 1
Agility: 5
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Chameleon
Calm: 2
Agility: 5
Toughness: 0
Perception: 3
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 1 only if attacking

Notes: When hidden, requires a Perception Check against a 6 to find

Cheetah
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Can run 40 mph over sprint distances

Coyote/Jackal
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 2
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1/3 if attacking

Crane
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 0
Perception: 2
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Flying

Crow/Raven/other small birds
Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Flying

Dog
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 0-2
Perception: 6
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking


Eagle/Falcon/Hawk
Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 1
Perception: 7
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Flying

Electric Eel
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0
Perception: 3
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 2/3 if attacking

Notes: Aquatic, tts only attack is a painful shock—failing a Toughness check vs a 0 causes damage as an ordinary attack.

Elephant
Calm: 3
Agility: 2
Toughness: 9
Perception: 4
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 0/5 only if attacking

Notes: Trample attack is made at Agility 1 but causes Massive Damage


Fox
Calm: 1
Agility: 5
Toughness: 1
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Frog/Toad
Calm: 2
Agility: 5
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1 only if attacking

Notes: Some are amphibious, the only ones that can effectively attack humans are poison arrow frogs, which range from mildly to immensely toxic (like the tiny Golden Poison Frog)—Intensity 1-10. 

Goat
Calm: 3
Agility: 2
Toughness: 1
Perception: 3
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Gorilla
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 7
Perception: 5
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 0/4 only if attacking

Notes: Climbing, opposable thumb

Hare/Rabbit
Calm: 0
Agility: 3
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 1 only if attacking

Notes: Lagomorphs ordinarily have no effective attack against humans. Hares can run up to 30mph for short distances.

Horse
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 7
Perception: 5
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 4 only if attacking

Notes: Can run up to 25-30 mph


Hyena
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking


Insects/Spiders
Calm: 0
Agility: 1 (land) 7 (flying)
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0-3

Calm Check: 0-1

Notes: Some amphibious or aquatic or amphibious, some fly. Most have no effective attack alone, except venomous ones (including bees, wasps, harvester ants, caterpillars and spiders) which can vary wildly, from Intensity 1-10. The most dangerous ones are spiders, including Brazilian Wandering Spiders and Australia’s Northern Funnel Web.


Jaguar/Leopard/Panther
Calm: 3
Agility: 5
Toughness: 6
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: Can climb trees


Jellyfish
Calm: 2
Agility: 1
Toughness: 0
Perception: 1
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 0/3 if attacking

Notes: Aquatic. Jellyfish stings range from harmless in some species to intensity 10 toxicity. They have no other effective attack alone. Australia’s Box Jellyfish is toxicity 10 as are tiny Irukandji Jellyfish—no bigger than a thumbnail. The massive (8 ft diameter) and eerie Lion’s Mane Jellyfish has an Intensity 1 toxin.

Komodo dragon
Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 4
Perception: 1
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Komodo dragon’s mildly toxic bites cause the victim to make a Toughness check vs intensity 1 or lose a point of Toughness, however this toxin alone can never bring an adult below 0.


Leech/Slug/Snail/Worm/Maggot
Calm: 5
Agility: 0
Toughness: 0
Perception: 1
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 0/3 if on the character

Notes: Some are amphibious, normally have no way of attacking humans, though leeches can spread infections.


Lemur
Calm: 1
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Climbing, semi-opposable thumb allows some ability to manipulate objects


Lion
Calm: 4
Agility: 5
Toughness: 7
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking


Monkey/Chimp
Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 1
Perception: 4
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 4 if attacking

Notes: Climbing, opposable thumb


Octopus/Squid
Calm: 4
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0-4
Perception: 3
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 3 for giant squid only, 4 if attacking

Notes: Aquatic, eject obscuring ink clouds (Perception vs 2 to find your way through), chameleonlike coloration (5 to find a hidden octopus), the only ones with an effective attack against humans are the blue ringed octopus (Poison intensity 7 or suffer total paralysis for 1-10 hours and die within 1-10 minutes if not given cpr) and, possibly, the giant squid.

Owl
Calm: 1
Agility: 7
Toughness: 1
Perception: 7
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 0, 2 if attacking

Notes: Flying, night vision

Peacock
Calm: 1
Agility: 1
Toughness: 0
Perception: 2
Appeal: 5

Calm Check: 0 only if attacking

Notes: No effective attack against humans unless their face is already very close to beak or claws

Piranha
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 3
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 4 if recognized

Notes: Aquatic. Piranha are only dangerous in Swarms.


Raccoon
Calm: 3
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1/4 if attacking

Notes: Climbing

Rat
Calm: 0
Agility: 4
Toughness: 0
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 2/4 if attacking

Notes: Climbing, sometimes disease-carrying

Reindeer/Stag
Calm: 1
Agility: 4
Toughness: 7
Perception: 5
Appeal: 3

Calm Check: 4 if attacking


Rhinoceros
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 8
Perception: 2
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 1/4 if attacking


Shark
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 7
Perception: 3
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Notes: aquatic


Snake—constrictor
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 1-3
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Note: amphibious, the largest pythons are technically capable of killing an adult human but in practice it’s incredibly rare, in most cases the constrictor is frightening and perhaps an impediment but not a real danger.

Snake—venomous
Calm: 2
Agility: 6
Toughness: 0-1
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Notes: Amphibious, snake venoms vary wildly in toxicity by species as well as amount of venom delivered per bite—Intensity 1-10. Intensity 10 snakes mostly come from Australia including the Inland Taipan, the Dubois Sea Snake (widely distributed there and in Southeast Asia), and the excitingly-named Eastern Brown Snake.


Stingray
Calm: 3
Agility: 3
Toughness: 1
Perception: 3
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 0/3 if attacked

Notes: Aquatic. Most stings are merely painful, but if the victim fails a Toughness check vs 0, the embedded spine can cause a standard damage.

Swan

Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 0
Perception: 2
Appeal: 4

Calm Check: 1 only if attacked

Notes: Flying, floating, swans usually have no way of hurt adult humans.


Tiger
Calm: 2
Agility: 5
Toughness: 7
Perception: 6
Appeal: 2

Calm Check: 4/5 if attacking

Tortoise/Turtle
Calm: 4
Agility: 0
Toughness: 1
Perception: 1
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 2 only if attacking

Notes: Amphibious, shell can provides protection equal to Toughness 1-4 against incidental damage, they’re normally harmless, other than snapping turtles, which can bite off a finger—treat as an Agility 3 standard attack that’s never fatal.

Vulture
Calm: 2
Agility: 2
Toughness: 1
Perception: 4
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 3 only if attacking

Notes: Flying, harmless normally

Wolf
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 4
Perception: 6
Appeal: 1

Calm Check: 3/4 if attacking

Wolverine
Calm: 2
Agility: 4
Toughness: 3
Perception: 6
Appeal: 0

Calm Check: 2/4 if attacking


Notes: Climbing

27 May 04:29

The browse line.A distinctive line below which you don’t tend to...



The browse line.

A distinctive line below which you don’t tend to see leaves or branches in places with animals that like eating leaves or branches. Basically, caused by animals eating as high as they can reach — except for where there are giraffes where trees don’t stand much of a chance, even spiky ones.