Carousing XP Bonus for Worn Items

Synthesizing this idea into a more “traditional” elfgame with XP and carousing, which I’ll probably end up using for Dolmenwood and similar campaigns I’m running. I like the idea of tying this to carousing, because then your players can wear their normal adventuring gear in the dungeon then get all dressed up to party.

This assumes using one of the many carousing rules out there, where money spent gives you bonus XP.

The basic idea is this:
When carousing, add the value of any worn clothes, jewelry, or other items of significant cost to carousing XP gained.

• The items should be visible and shown off. The point is you are flaunting your wealth.
  
• I’m inclined not to include magic item value to this, as magic items often don’t count when bring back treasure for XP. If magic items count, they may be at risk (see next point).
  
• If a carousing event or consequence ends up being rolled worn items are at risk. This should follow logically from the event: If you wake up in a muddy ditch, your nice silk shirt will be ruined. If you blacked out among a cadre of thieves, say goodbye to your jeweled rings. Had a rendezvous with a special someone? Maybe they expect a token of your affection to keep–failure to do so could mean they badmouth you around town.

Addendum for wearing fancy stuff around town

If you wear items of at least 1000 gp x Your Level of value, gain +1 to reaction rolls in settlements, generally. Some factions (disgruntled peasants, revolutionaries, or clerical orders of poverty) might incur an equivalent penalty instead.

December 3, 2025 osr rules carousing

Mothership Slush Pile

Ideas from my notes that are unlikely to make it into anything published so I’ll put them here.

Items

ShareMind: Cyberware, 1 slot. 10kcr. Must be installed in two or more people to function. This cyberware uses quantum entanglement to provide instantaneous communication and shared experience across installed users on the same “network”, no matter the distance. Unfortunately one drawback is a shared experience of pain and trauma. If one user in the network takes damage, the others gain an equivalent amount of Stress.

Dead Man’s Suit: Prototype battle suit, so called because it can continue to be operated remotely when the operator is killed. As Advanced Battle Dress, but when the user is killed gains 1 Wound and 10 HP, and can be controlled by remote control. Optional autonomous AI controller will automatically continue to engage last hostile targets (25% chance safeties fail and attacks anyone nearby instead).

Pale Voice: A pharmacological breakthrough, as a injectable “truth serum” that functions with 99% confidence. The subject becomes pliant, talkative, and honest following administration. Unfortunately, the drug is fatal, the subject invariably dying in 1d10 minutes.

Secret Android

A class modifier. You act and appear human in every respect (unless examined with specialist equipment, suffer damage that would expose your internal mechanics, etc.). Any Company issued limiters on behavior are loosened so you can act more naturally, and you even have a shallow layer of human blood circulating to keep up appearances in case of minor injuries.

Take stats as an Android with the following:

Trauma Response: You have the trauma response from another class of your choice until you are discovered, then this reverts to the Android trauma response.

Luck save

This save can be used in the place of any other save or skill check. The Luck Save starts at 100 (rolls fail automatically on 90-99 as usual). When this save is used, deduct the result from the save score—succeed or fail. Apply critical rolls as usual. When it’s gone, it’s gone… your luck has run out.

Company Man

The Company Man is one who has devoted themselves utterly to the Company. Their bodies are laced with cyberware dedicated only to enforce the loyalty of the bearer, their veins thrum with chemical cocktails that reinforce their commitment to shareholder value. A Company Man cannot betray the Company’s secrets, sabotage its efforts, or betray its members. To do so is an impossibility sewn into their flesh. Any who would try to pry such things free would only leave behind a molten, radioactive crater; a threat of deterrence for anyone who would think of the attempt.

One wonders why the Company would not just use an android, but no matter the prevailing thought of artificial personhood it is clear the Company thinks of androids as only objects to be used. They are unworthy of bearing the mission of Company Loyalty.

A Company Man is often proudly marked, a subsidiary logo or brand prominently displayed on their face to show the world what lengths they have gone through to prove themselves, and show what they are capable of.

Anyone can be a Company Man, just sign the relevant paperwork to get started.

C: 45 as Weapon I: 60 W: 3(20) AP: 5
MAD Protocol: If the Company Man’s internal datastores are tampered with or when manually triggered they explode, dealing 5d10 dmg to all in Close range and 2d10 DMG to all in Far range. All in Far range suffer the effects of level 2 Radiation while in the area.

Echny Alien Pet

Echnies are an alien species resembling a cat-sized, jellified tardigrade. Echnies have the bizarre property of having a linked memory and personality with every other specimen across any distance. In effect, all Echnies are one organism. Though by all accounts non-sapient, with the measured intelligence of a particularly smart dog, Echnies carry all the training and experience of each other leading to the unexpected expression of new skills and behaviors at random times. Additionally, someone well liked by a Echny is liked by all of them, and vice versa.

Echnies are capable of simple tasks, such as fetching items or simple object manipulation. They “vocalize” by vibrating their jelly-like bodies, but are incapable of speech.

Echnies are favored as pets, especially because in the unfortunate case of a fatality, another procured will still remember its owner just the same. Forgo the Stress gain or Panic check if an Echny pet is lost.

C:10 I:25 W:3
Adhere: An Echny may stick to and move along any surface.
Bouncy: Echnies roll up in a ball as a defensive measure (when taking a Wound), becoming extremely elastic. They will careen off any surfaces at high speed while in this state.

Ship Mind Class (Auxiliary)

Inspired by Culture ship minds and Ancillary Justice

You are a ship’s mind created to pilot with cutting edge sophistication and control artificial auxiliary units onboard. Use the ship stats of a ship you are installed in, but you may add your skills to ship rolls.

Stats & saves: +60 Int, +30 Fear save

Skills: Robotics, Planetology, Hyperspace

Auxiliary Body: Embody a humanoid sleeve that is controlled by your ship mind. Your physical stats (Strength, Speed, Body save) only apply to this body. Re-roll them each time you embody a new copy.

Trauma Response: if the auxiliary loses signal to the ship, the body acts autonomously: it gains +1 minimum Stress and loses stats and save bonuses from this class.

Cult of the Gloom

The Cult of the Gloom worships darkness and void, antithetical to the Solarian church. In a secretive occult ceremony, they may become Gloombrides, marrying the void by binding their left hand to an aspect of darkness. As a result is this limb withers away.

The cult has no hierarchical structure or official presence. Some of the more devoted also blind themselves, to better commune with the dark, and these are looked to by other Gloombrides as sages and teachers.

Alien Player Class (Morgi)

Morgi (pronounced more-guy, singular Morgus, though many call them “more-gee”). This alien race was discovered aboard wandering ships, but don’t seem to have a world to call their own. They have a septapodal configuration (a head and 6 limbs each ending in hand-like appendeges). Their limbs are powerful and versatile, allowing movement in various configurations, but when interacting with humans they mimic a roughly humanoid appearance. The Morgi are friendly enough, and fairly credulous.

Details about Morgi history can be difficult to come by, but it seems they were used as an underclass of laborers for another alien species—though no sign of such overlords has been found. The Company, of course, is happy to exploit them for labor. Morgi are not aggressive, and when attacked emit a calming pheromone as a physiological defense mechanism.

Stats: +30 Strength, +10 speed, -20 Combat

Saves: +20 Body save. +20 Sanity save, -10 Fear save

Trauma response: When you Panic, all other nearby non-androids lose 2 stress and spend their next turn in a stupor.

Skills: Industrial equipment, jury-rigging, zero-g. Bonus: 3 trained skills. 

December 2, 2025 Mothership

Rat With a Gun

You’re a rat with a gun. How does that work? Tiny gun? Big rat? Who knows.

• -15 STR, +30 SPD
  
• -20 FEAR, +15 BODY, +15 SAN
  
• Jury-rigging, Rimwise, Athletics. Bonus: 1 Trained skill.
  Trauma response: You may choose to make a Panic check to gain [+] on a Speed check or Body save.
  Loadout: Revolver (6 Shots)

November 9, 2025 Mothership

Class Specialties

A class option for mothership classes. Class specialties are used to give a little flavor and specificity to the existing classes, particularly for something that might relate to a particular module. They have one mechanical ability and unique items. They are meant to be used with any class and granted when you interact enough with a specific aspect or faction. You can only have one specialty at a time, but they can be changed depending on circumstances.

Specialties for Prospero’s Dream

Specialties for the Dream with an Over/Under twist.

Local Teamster

Specialty: Jobs on the Dream pay you 10% more.
Item: Jumpsuit with Teamsters Local 32819L patch (AP 2), Union membership card.

Bratva Droog

Specialty: Waive the Dream’s O² tax. You can call in one moderate favor from the Family.
Item: Bratva tattoos.

Solarian Faithful

Specialty: Free access to the Aarnivalkea. Recovery checks in its presence have [+].
Item: Solarian holy symbol.

Syndicate Suit

Specialty: Roll d100 each day under your high score. If it succeeds, gain 10x the result in credits.
Item: Kevlar business suit (AP 3).

Tempest Mercenary

Specialty: Once per day on the Dream you may call for backup. 2 Tempest Probies (APOF p.29) arrive in 2d10 minutes.
Item: Tempest badge.

canyonheavy Cowboy

Specialty: You may spend an hour each day to generate 1d10 tokens. Tokens can be spent on the Dream to give a bonus to computing or hacking checks equal to +1 per token.
Item: Encrypted personal computing terminal, cigarettes.

Baker

Specialty: You can improve a ration or meal. Eating it grants +5 on Rest checks once per day per person.
Item: Box of baked goods.

Mop Squaddie

Specialty: While on the Dream you have access to most areas that are normally restricted.
Item: Bucket and mop.

Gradient Descent Specialties

Veteran Diver

Specialty: Once per day you may lower Stress and increase Bends by up to 5 points, or vice versa.
Item: Multi-pocket vest.

November 9, 2025 Mothership osr

Silent Takedowns with Surprise

I’ve been thinking on simultaneous combat resolution lately, and came across this great blog post by Underground Adventures discussing it, as well as surprise rules from Traveller which I like quite a lot (if you didn’t click through, the jist is you roll a d6 for both sides and if the difference is 3+ that side gains surprise. More importantly they keep surprise until something happens that would end it). This immediately evokes the trope of a squad sneaking through a camp, silently eliminating the enemy.

To that end I thought of some rules or guidelines for those silent takedowns for eliminating unaware enemies without relying on standard combat rolls (obviously, a lot of this is down to ref adjudication but here are some rules anyway):

Surprised enemies are generally found in one of two states—unconscious (sleeping, drugged, knocked out, bespelled, etc.) or aware (on guard duty, eating a meal, otherwise performing normal tasks).

Unconscious encounters:

• Coup-de-grace: If you encounter an unconscious enemy while you have surprise, you can silently and instantly kill them or knock them out. This assumes you have some sort of weapon to facilitate this, like a dagger or blackjack (movie rules apply where acute head trauma is no big deal). It also assumes human-equivalent enemies, or medium to small beasts. You cannot instantly kill a dragon, for example. For more powerful enemies, you can strike at them, automatically hitting and dealing the maximum damage for your weapon (or treat as a crit in your system).
• Sleeping neighbors: In the case there are many unconscious enemies near each other (like soldiers bunking in the same tent), there is a 1-in-6 chance they are roused for each enemy silently killed or bound. This obviously doesn’t apply if they have been drugged or are under magically induced sleep.

Aware encounters:

• Takedown: It is harder to silently eliminate someone who is awake. Doing so requires a check (against a DC, a contest vs. the NPC, or they get a save, depending on your system). On a success you kill or incapacitate them silently and immediately. On a failure they call out, raising the alarm and ending surprise. This applies to any human-like creature, even if they are a leader-type with better armor and stats than regular mooks. Against more powerful targets (like the aforementioned dragon), you can instead auto-hit and deal your weapon’s damage, rolling twice and using the better result.

Common sense applies: an unarmored thief stalking guards and taking them out one-by-one is doable, a party of 4 laden with gear sneaking behind each person not so much. But there is good opportunity for combo actions (gagging and tying up someone you want to carry off, distracting a guard looking at another so the second can be eliminated).

If surprise ends, start combat normally, which leads to the second part of the blog post, positing phased actions which are resolved simultaneously in each phase. I like this as it allow some tactical action while still being snappy and deadly, especially if paired with an auto-hit system like Into the Odd and it’s many derivatives.

As with my Mothership simultaneous initiative post, I really like the idea of giving the players opportunity to take priority, resolving their actions before enemies, but with a risk. To add this here, I’d say in each phase a player may make a check (probably dexterity, or a speed save, or similar) to take priority, but if they fail their action will resolve after the enemy’s.

Anyway, simultaneous resolution is really appealing to me, and I hope to try it out in various forms soon. Also the blog post above ends with a nifty little adventure, always a plus.

August 23, 2025 initiative osr

Mothership Mini - Boiling Point

I want to do more little freebie scenarios here on my blog. Here is one that can plug in anywhere.
PDF version

Setup

Set this scenario at a security checkpoint, customs inspection, or similar scenario of authorities inspecting passenger items.

Ahead of the players, officials inspect a nervous-looking man’s briefcase against his protests. He insists that he has an exemption for inspections, that he isn’t even supposed to be here if it weren’t for a mix-up from his employers, and that it is imperative he be allowed through quickly. He waves documents in front of the inspectors that are steadfastly ignored.

As this is going on, one of the inspectors forces open the case and holds up a glass vial, causing the nervous man to become extremely agitated and grab for the vial. In the tussle it drops, shattering, and a cloud of gas drifts over them and the player crew. The scientist, in shock, exclaims they are all doomed.

The Compound

The experimental compound in the vial is an attempt at weaponizing biological organisms by producing a highly explosive compound generated by stress hormones in their bodies. When the subject’s stress gets too high, they explode. It was developed by the nervous man, Thorsten Spellmeyer, now himself exposed.

As an exposed person’s Stress rises, consult the following effects:

• Stage 1 (Stress 5+): Become sweaty and feverish. Minimum Stress becomes 5 if not already higher.
• Stage 2 (Stress 10+): Large purple blemishes spread over skin. Gain double Stress.
• Stage 3 (Stress 15+): Body becomes searing hot, vision swims. [-] on Body saves and Panic checks.
• Stage 4 (Stress 20+): Detonate in a violent explosion. Anyone adjacent is killed. Those in Close range take 4d10 DMG. They may attempt a Body save to take half damage. Any other exposed individuals with Stress 10+ that die from this explosion also explode.

Anyone exposed who learns this gains +1 minimum Stress until they believe they are cured. Killing an exposed person before they reach the critical threshold neutralizes the effect, a fact the scientist shakily admits to everyone nearby.

NPCs under Stress: When an NPC would be stressed make an Instinct roll. On a failure increase symptoms one stage as above. On a critical failure they explode.

What’s next

Thorsten can develop an antidote, in theory anyway. Actually producing it was not a priority of R&D, so he would need to gather the reagents and create it. If there is a proper lab at this location, he can create the cure after 1d5 hours. If there is no lab, he can jury-rig a treatment from chemicals found across various locations (cleaning supplies, cooking ingredients, workshop chemicals, etc). The jury-rigged cure only has a 50% chance of working, and always deals 1d10 DMG.

The incident has been reported to local authorities, who do not want human bombs loose in the area. Security teams are deployed to take out the scientist and crew and they gain a Bounty Level of 3 (1d10x10kcr, kill on sight). If someone explodes the bounty is increased to BL4 (1d5x100kcr) and a squad of Special Security forces are deployed. If any of the inspectors or other bystanders were exposed, the players may witness them being executed by station security or exploding (triggering Fear saves).

Security Agent
C: 40 SMG 2d10 I:30 W:3 AP:4
Traveling in squads of 1d5+1. They don’t stop until everyone exposed is dead or can prove they are no longer a danger.

Special Security
C:65 Pulse Rifle 3d10 DMG I:40 AP:7
Work in squads of 5. Ruthless killers.

August 1, 2025 Mothership Mothership-Minis Adventures Scenarios mothership-mini