Tuesday 28 July 2015

Strange Land/Plane Generator

There is Therefore a Strange Land continues, alongside New Troy (more on that in a future post). I keep describing TTSL as "Planescape meets The Magician's Nephew meets William Blake". The gist is as follows: at the start of play, one of the PCs inherits the home of a deceased uncle, which contains a study; inside the study is a portal to a liminal "vestibule" which in turn contains portals to other universes. Also inside the study is a series of clues and information about what the other universes are like and what they contain - and how to get into them. In addition to this, the game assumes an early-19th Century real world in which a vast network of secret societies of aristocrats, collectors, priests, devil-worshippers, thieves, royals, artists and poets know about the existence of other portals and universes and are busily engaged in trying to exploit them. So as well as adventuring in the "Strange Lands", the PCs also explore the (to me equally interesting) question of what happens in the real world when they bring things back...

Like Yoon-Suin it is mostly formed from random tables. I'm currently working on the "Strange Land" generator itself. This is what I'm fooling around with; there's a lot to be fleshed out (including all the subtables), but this will give an idea of the kind of thing I'm aiming for.

Strange Land Generator

Dice
Base Type (refer to subtables)
Psyche
Special Conditions*
Inhabitants**
1
Single element (subtable 1)
Neutral
Gunpowder/chemistry does not function
One species only
2
Mix of elements (blend) (subtable 1)
Pleasure
Unstable – has a 1% chance of collapse and regeneration as a new Strange Land after each visit
Appropriate inhabitants for base type
3
Mix of elements (distinct) (subtable 1)
Optimism
Very small – only a matter of miles or even metres
4
Maze/Construct (subtable 2)
Beginning
One human sense does not function
5
Tunnels (artificial) (subtable 3)
Light
Air is not breathable; special equipment, alchemy or magic required
6
Tunnels (natural) (subtable 3)
Pain
Many layers of different base types
7
Tunnels (mix) (subtable 4)
Barren
Gravity is very strong
Random distribution of intelligent races (2d6)
8
Single natural terrain type (subtable 5)
Ending
Gravity is very weak
9
Single climate type (subtable 6)
Dark
Gravity is sideways
Many gargantuan beasts
10
Mix of terrains (subtable 5)
Order
Gravity is reversed
Many demigods
11
Mix of climates (subtable 6)
Chaos
Bytopia type
Every individual is an amalgam of many species
12
Unusual***
Neutral
Many spheres separated by vaccuum
Every individual is a separate species
*Only roll if desired
**Think of your own, choose appropriately, or randomly determine from Monstrous Manual
***Inside the belly of a leviathan, an infinite lake’s surface covered in giant lilypads, a vast graveyard, a world of toadstools, etc.

Subtable 1 – Elements

Roll d3+3 times where the result indicates a blend or mix.

Dice
Element
Dice
Element
1
Earth
11
Mist
2
Air
12
Mineral
3
Fire
13
Radiance
4
Water
14
Storm
5
Void
15
Ice
6
Wood
16
Ooze
7
Metal
17
Magma
8
Salt
18
Smoke
9
Dust
19
Plasma
10
Ash
20
Nexus

  
Sutable 2 – Maze/Construct

Dice
Type
1
An infinite maze of traditional type – hedgerows and gardens
2
An infinitely large art gallery and/or museum
3
An infinitely large library
4
An infinite cabinet of outlandishly sized curiosities
5
A universe of gears, cogs, pistons, and/or clockwork
6
A vast metallic geometric solid, or a universe of them
7
An endless hall of mirrors
8
An infinite staircase with rooms leading off


Subtable 3 – Tunnels

Roll d3 times. For a mix, roll a d3 in each column.

Dice
Artificial
Natural
1
Wood-panelled corridors
The veins or digestive tract of a vast beast
2
Primitive stone
Volcanic caves
3
Advanced masonry
Solutional caves
4
Mines and construction works
Glacier caves
5
Giant worm, mole, ant tunnels
Infinitely deep sinkhole with caves leading off
6
Metallic corridors
Crystal caves


And so forth. 

5 comments:

  1. Especially like the artificial tunnels and maze/constructs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. All I can say is that I sincerely hope this doesn't take another six years to see print, like Yoon-Suin. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is this something we can expect you to come back to at some point (like, maybe after BGSJ)?

    ReplyDelete