Random World Variations: Different systems, different styles

Ah, the Random World: originally a short experiment for fun which ended up as a pseudo-setting I'm quite fond of. The reason it is branded a 'pseudo setting' is that, really, there's never going to be a 'true' or 'canonical' version.

A two-headed troll eating, Art by Albert Urmanov.

The notes, right now, primarily rely on Basic Fantasy (or Labyrinth Lord) and the choice of races and classes are very much influenced by it. By default, the presentation of the Random World is just generic enough that I can decide to use it by running Basic Fantasy or Labyrinth Lord right off the box with little to no homebrew. In its default form the setting may have some odd idiosyncrasies but its generally written to work with all the most basic and simple assumptions of a D&D game. However if I want to, this is a setting which can be modded or altered to work off different games and different D&D editions or OSR games. The setting can vary in presentation and style to be a bit more grim and gritty and morally gray or I could make it much more clear cut high fantasy with good and evil. I could also run it with D&D3e/Pathfinder and add more unusual magic forms such as Psionics or Akashic among others. For what its worth, I consider the modularity and re imagination potential to be a feature, not a bug. After all the entire point of the setting was a deliberate loose canon, core D&D elements and some gonzo whatever-the-hell-goes. It is a setting that is fleshed out enough to be gameable but its not a serious write up in the sense it harken back to those kind of mish mashed settings made from whatever I found cool when running D&D in high school.

Variations Upon A Theme

So what could possibly change depending on the game and/or mixture of supplements for said game or edition? Here is a non exhaustive list:

• Scarlet Heroes or Exemplars & Eidolon: Nothing is changed setting-wise, but the characters are more powerful and noteworthy individuals rather than starting as impoverished yet brave nobodies. Likely the most obvious pick after Basic Fantasy or Labyrinth Lord.
• Dungeon Crawl Classics: The opposite happen and the characters are even more pathetic and vulnerable than by default. The world is presented as more grim, chaotic and brutal.
• +Hubris: One of my favorite DCC settings. The setting remain as the above but even more bleak and horrifying. Classes taken from Hubris add new layer and setting elements, such as Mutants (briefly mentioned as possibly existing here and here) and Half-Demons add a bit more of a dark and/or weird fantasy vibe.
• Pathfinder: There is a crapload more of options and rules, maybe too much! The general power level of classes is vastly increased especially for spellcasters. It might be wiser to use E6 for sanity's sake. Overall, the fantasy level is vastly increased.
• +Psionics: By default I have not written in Psionics into the setting but that doesn't mean they can't exist and fit in. Adding psionics greatly add to the weird fantasy elements. One way to make psionic distinct would be to very much tie it to 'mortals' as the power of their mind rather than the primordial powers of the cosmos that arcane and divine magic both channel. Another option, which could be interesting, is to make it a relatively new and poorly understand phenomena which has slowly crept up over the past centuries, with mages and clerics fearing it might eclipse magic.
• +Akashic: It was called Incarnum in 3e, while the 3rd party Pathfinder remake is called Akashic. Being based off Vedic mythological concepts is great and it would add quite a bit of exotic and mystical elements too. Unlike Psionics this would definitely be an ancient and well-established power (but not necessarily a common one).
• Dungeons & Dragons 5e: Much like Pathfinder, it too is essentially boiled down to 'alot of options' and greatly increase the overall amount of fantastical elements. Unless...
• +Low Fantasy Classes: I've got no clue who wrote this PDF I found (it likely isn't a paid product as it lack any indication of a person or company having published it) but its certainly right up my alley when it come to playing the 'Random World' with D&D 5e as, since it was written with baseline OSR in mind the classes aren't as filled with weirdo powers as they are in 3e, 4e or 5e. In particular, it has an order of Knights (their low fantasy not!Paladins) tied to fey and elves which fits in perfectly with what has been established with Waywood's knights and druids.
• Black Hack: Not much change except the system is different, I guess?

Random World Extras: Quick Character Generation for Waywood and the Middle Lands

More backgrounds for use with the Random World: rolling these tables give a Race/Class combination for Basic Fantasy as well as some loose character background for the how or the why someone from that part of the world would be an adventurer or what their skills and talents could be.

The previous posts are link to on the table for ease of navigation. For context on some of these choices, click here.

D20	Origin
1-3	Caldbrygg, the Mystical City
4-6	Cryham, City of Spells
7-9	Middle Lands
10-12	Glanda
13	Waywood
14	Furnace Wastes
15	Orcfen River
16	Jungle of Spears
17	Yarford
18	Cafeld
19	Mavre Woods
20	Scarwood Forest

WAYWOOD
D8	Race	Class and Background
1-2	'Elf'	Warrior of Tradition (Fighter): You are (or at least try to be) more than some soldier. Your creed is one of ancient traditions of nobility and dedication to higher ideals. In spite of this you lack any kind of spiritual power: has you faith been found wanting?
3		Holy Warrior (Cleric or Paladin): As the above but with actual investment of power of spirits. This only mean you have even more responsibilities, however and they sometimes clash with Waywood’s obtuse and antiquated laws.
4		Spirit-Speaker (Cleric or Magi-User): Your task is to act as some form of link between ancient spirits and the mortal realm. More than a few magicians have grown tired, jaded or even corrupt from it which could explain why you’ve struck on your own.
5		Green Priest (Druid): Your sect is ancient and older than even Karnegras itself. The magic you’ve been taught is old and terrifying. You are no tree-hugger, but rather an initiate in bloody mysteries.Having travelled outside of Waywood many times you might have been roped into some adventures.
6-7	Human	Enforcer (Fighter):You could be a lesser noble or simply a commoner soldier. Either way, you’ve spent a sizeable amount of time working as an enforcer of the ancient laws.
8		Shanty-Town Scum (Thief): Whereas others coat themselves in a cloak of nobility and order, you know how things really are and you find no shame in it. Your existence is one of living in the shadows and in the grey areas of the law.

MIDDLE LANDS
D12	Race	Class and Background
1-2	Human	Knight of the Middle Lands (Fighter): You are a lesser noble of some kingdom in the Middle-Lands. Since you are not the first born son you’ve turned to being a knight-errant, with only your sword and armor to live by.
3-4		Bandit (Fighter or Thief): You are one of the many bandits of the Middle Lands. It's worth noting that many Middle-Land bandits are in fact knights and nobles themselves! You simply have a very ‘hands on’ approach to showing your might to neighbors...by pillaging and raiding them.
5-6		Explorer (Ranger or Scout): You are an explorer and traveller by nature and you know many paths around the Middle Lands, such as abandoned Karnegras roads overgrown with thorns or where the border of bandit territories are.
7		Wannabe Sorcerer (Magic-User): Magic is not the strong suit of the Middle Lands as it lack much of the infrastructure and organized magic users. There used to be relics and ancient sites of power of Karnegras in these lands but now they are lost. Maybe you can reclaim them?
8		Priest (Cleric): You are an ordained (and gifted!) priest of some local faith. However, the truth is whatever order or cult you belong to has seen better days and is on its last leg. You venture into the world hoping to make a difference.
9		Green Priest (Druid): Once, ancient traditions held immense power over the lands which were under the rule of Karnegras. You are the inheritor of some mostly-dead branch of the Green Priest’s religion. Waywood’s own Green Priests see you as a backward ‘bumpkin’.
10	Dwarf	Dwarf Exile (Thief or Fighter): You’ve been exiled from your clan and now wander the Middle Lands, fending for yourself.
11	Hobgoblin	Hobgoblin Servant (Fighter or Thief): As a hobgoblin you’ve been trained and/or empowered from the lesser ranks of goblins to work as a warrior, thug or assassin. You could be masterless and in need of sustaining your powers (and thus needing to complete at least one ‘quest’ or ‘adventure’ worth a level of XP) or you could be ‘loaned’ to a party of adventurers by your master.
12	Half-Ogre	Trollblood (Fighter or Barbarian): You have the blood of lesser trolls (known as Ogres) in your vein and it shows in both your stature and demeanor. You are an easily angered giant with a large appetite. You may or may not have a softer side.

Ten Monsters Setting

The 3 Toadstools Publishing blog posted a challenge and I'm happy to jump on the bandwagon. The idea/rules are fairly simple. You have to pick a book with monsters and you need to make a mini-setting using these ten monsters. There are some rough ideas and guidelines to pick a monster from specific categories. I'm adding my own rule that this doesn't rule out the category of monsters-that-aren't-quite monsters, namely giant bugs and 'dire' or giant animals. So these likely exist but they aren't counted as the ten monsters. Those are animals, not monsters. Skeleton and zombies are likewise too basic to count, as they are created with spells and abilities.

Generally when it come to 'generic' or 'basic' OSR systems, my two picks are Basic Fantasy and Labyrinth Lord. For this post, I've chose the Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign. It should have enough material in there to work with and is a nice halfway between a general-purpose monster manual and a weirder, optional Fiend Folio-like book.

Disclaimer: Setting does not actually feature dog people.

Semi Intelligent: They come from the northern land, where the nights can last more than days (which we know as Polar Nights). These hunched, pale and hairy creatures are barbaric hunters which have acquired a taste for human flesh. They are the Snow Orcs although people just call them 'orcs' as the regular breed does not exist. As the winter grows thicker, more and more of these monsters come to the civilized lands.

Undead: There are a few dark powers in this world which can animate the flesh of the dead (such as spells) but none are as dreadful as the death-curse of the Kings of Old. In ancient times there were many dreaded kings and thanes and it was not uncommon for the most wicked of them to utter terrifying death curses. These kings exist now as undead known as Draugr and haunt their vast tombs, ruling a court of lesser undead warriors.

Ancient Fey: The ancient realm of the Fey has long faded away from this world but its power is not completely gone: the horrid Bog Crones are descendant of wicked, exiled Fae. Stripped of their beauty and power they live on in our world, haunting fetid swamps. Rumor old of one last Crone Queen who retained her beauty and power.

Mythology: The realm of the Fey is gone but its hungry predators have migrated to our world. to feast upon mortal flesh and souls The Barghest were once the vicious attack hounds of the dark fey. Now they hunt alone or in packs. Elder Barghest have the cunning and magical abilities one would expect of a true fey.

Giant/Ogre/Troll: Some say this ancient race predate men while others say they were once human but were twisted and cursed by dark powers. Others still believe they are the bastard offspring of men and spirits. The Girallon could be mere beasts, some twisted atavism that should not be or there is a darker truth to the their history. They dwell in ancient ruins, ruling over other ape-like beasts.

Underground Dweller: The scourge of summer time, creating large tunnel networks to attack farmlands are the Ankheg. They do make a decent, if somewhat sour meal if killed. Rumors of larger nest of Ankheg existing in underground realms are unproven...for now.

Aerial: Alongside the Snow Orcs a new terror has arrived from the northernmost lands. Giant, pale and silent spectres haunt the night, snatching away grown men in their talons. In truth, these are Giant Snow Owls.

Water-Based: When travelling near bodies of water, one should beware the dreaded Bunyip!

Extraplanar: Hunters from beyond the veil of the material plane, Phase Spiders are rare but dangerous creatures.

Lizard/Wyrm: There are no dragons anymore. No living dragons, anyway. The ancient kings who would become the Draugr (see above) derived their great size, charisma and wickedness from their ancestors devouring the hearts of dragons. The most wicked of these Draugr have summoned to their aid the Death Dragons but a few of them have broke free from their slavery.

So there you go, an implied setting with ten monsters. Some speak of a more complex history while others are simply abominations which are a threat to civilized folks.

Basic Fantasy: Alien Dragon

In some random internet browsing I came across pictures of a small plastic figure called the 'Alien Dragon': a draconic beast from out of this (or any fantasy) world, a pale blue six-limbed wingless creature. Overall a cool dragon design which reminded of a mixture of a dragon and an Ankheg.

*Alien noises*

The so-called 'Alien Dragon' is not a true dragon, as one might guess from its odd appearance as long wingless creature with four clawed limbs for movements and an extra pair of hands at the front with what appears to be dexterous, almost eerily human-like hands. The body of the creature is covered not in scales but rather pale blue chitinous plates. In spite of the exoskeleton it also has an endoskeleton as vertebrates do. In many ways it behave in a fairly mundane, draconic fashion however: with lairs and hoards and sometime eggs (albeit disgusting, rubbery ones) inside.

• Alien Dragon hatchlings are similar in stats to Giant Centipedes with an Armor Class of 14 but they are only encountered inside the lair of an adult. Their appearance is less draconic and more like giant luminescent alien grub-things.
• Adult Alien Dragons are similar in stats to Behir. It lacks the ability to use the electric breath but rather can jump once every three rounds to move at double speed. In addition the creature has a bizarre ability to flash its eyes and body with eldritch otherworldly colors which function as being able to cast Feeblemind once per day.

Both the Giant Centipede and Behir have stats in Basic Fantasy.

Random World Extra: Quick Character Generation for Caldbrygg, Cryham and the Orcfen River

Just some quick tables to generate a character for the still unnamed Random World. These tables are designed with Random Fantasy in mind.

Generating A Character

Rolling on these tables generate a character for the Random World using the Basic Fantasy rule set. These tables are a mixture of crunch and fluff and should allow for a fairly simple yet efficient foundation to who is the character, what they are and where they come from as well as possibly shed some light on their background or at least plant some basic seeds if a player wish to expand on them.

D20	Origin
1-3	Caldbrygg, the Mystical City
4-6	Cryham, City of Spells
7-9	Middle Lands
10-12	Glanda
13	Waywood
14	Furnace Wastes
15	Orcfen
16	Jungle of Spears
17	Yarford
18	Cafeld
19	Mavre Woods
20	Scarwood Forest

The other results will be for later posts but, suffice to say, it is generally accepted that these three locales are the most well-suited for an initial party and part of the area which, in general, is good for fairly 'basic' or 'default' tabletop fantasy matters as it has your fighter, thieves, mages, clerics and some fantasy races.

CALDBRYGG
D8	Race	Class and Background
1-2	Human	Black Market Scum (Fighter or Thief): You are a thug or thief of some kind, member of some lesser brotherhood of ill repute. Your kind are often paid in secret and behind closed doors by the Mystics to ensure the city guards never see whatever cursed trinkets enter the walls of Caldbrygg. Be it by force or guile you ensure the flow of money.
3		Man-At-Arms (Fighter): You are part of a commoner militia whose main purpose is to bolster the ranks in times of need. You are now using your training to live as an adventurer in search of gold and glory.
4		Lesser Noble (Fighter): While of noble blood you are of a lesser standing, with very little resources beyond a home and some ancestral weapons and armors, some possible in poor shape. You also lack the funds to support an aerial mount.
5		Lesser Mystic (Cleric or Magic-User): You are a priest of the lesser orders. In spite of your clear talent and connection to the divine (as you can cast spells) you are by a mixture of bloodline and politics mostly a second-rate priest in the eyes of nobility. Perhaps a suitably great deed or miracle will earn you a place among the greatest Mystics?
6		Guild Mage (Magic-User): As a member of the lesser orders of mages you’ve spent one or two decades bent over parchments or reciting gibberish and nonsense until the day you’d be (perhaps) ready to be initiated into the true mystic arts. The guilds are notoriously cheap and cutthroat, leaving you mostly a spell casting hobo.
7	Dwarf	Dwarven Peddler (Thief, Magic-User or Illusionist): As a travelling dwarf you bring with you knowledge of the arcane, cunning and a flair for opportunities. You are distrusted by the people of Caldbrygg but your skills make you useful to those with no scrupules.
8	Hobgoblin	Hobgoblin Servant (Fighter or Thief): As a hobgoblin you’ve been trained and/or empowered from the lesser ranks of goblins to work as a warrior, thug or assassin. You could be masterless and in need of sustaining your powers (and thus needing to complete at least one ‘quest’ or ‘adventure’ worth a level of XP) or you could be ‘loaned’ to a party of adventurers by your master.

CRYHAM
D8	Race	Class and Background
1-2	Human	Burnout (Fighter, Thief or Magic-User): You used to be someone with a better life but you’ve spent more than you’ve made and abused substances. Burned out, you have to make a living somehow even if it mean going down in some dirty tomb to find forgotten treasures.
3-4		Mercenary (Fighter, Thief or Magic-User): You offer your services to the highest bidder, plain and simple. Your actual skill set may very well vary but it doesn’t change the fact you work purely to recover objects for rich wizards or to do certain tasks for them.
5		Aspiring Magician (Magic-User): You are truly dedicated to your craft, which you hope will elevate your from your humble beginnings. However, arcane research are extremely costly and you need to make a living somehow so...
6	Dwarf	Dwarven Peddler (Thief, Magic-User or Illusionist): As a travelling dwarf you bring with you knowledge of the arcane, cunning and a flair for opportunities. In Cryham your kind is somewhat more common than in Caldbrygg.
7		Clan Warrior (Fighter or Fighter/Illusionist): With more Dwarves established in Cryham than elsewhere in the region, there exist some small enclaves and pocket of dwarven society. As a warrior of your clan you’ve been trained to protect your kin and now use this skill set for personal gain.
8	Hobgoblin	Hobgoblin Servant (Fighter or Thief): As a hobgoblin you’ve been trained and/or empowered from the lesser ranks of goblins to work as a warrior, thug or assassin. You could be masterless and in need of sustaining your powers (and thus needing to complete at least one ‘quest’ or ‘adventure’ worth a level of XP) or you could be ‘loaned’ to a party of adventurers by your master.

ORCFEN
D4	Race	Class and Background
1	Human	Orc Hunter (Fighter or Ranger): You live to kill orcs. Some people who have never been around orcs may find this violent or obsessive but you know better. You know the wilderness well and you know how to fight.
2		Swampfolk Villager (Fighter or Thief): You are one of the isolated ‘swampfolks’ living around the Orcfen river and your ancestors have lived there for as long as you can remember. It is possible you’ve left to find adventure.
3		Swampfolk Witch (Magic-User): The swampfolks know of magic...and fear it. You are among those few who are willing to tackle supernatural forces and use them to protect the swampfolks. The Witch-Trees hate you.
4		Bandit (Fighter, Thief or Ranger): You are (or was) one of the many scumbags and low-life who dwell around the Orcfen river, living off pillaging settlements around the area or emerging from the swamp to attack roads before diving bad into wilderness you know nobody else would follow.