Allegiance, an Aporuëna card game played often in the Free City (stolen from my friend Adam Rausch)

The Goal

In Allegiance, you secretly support one of five noble Houses (Hearts, Swords, Spells, Gems, or Stars). The goal is to ensure that your chosen House receives the most Victories.

Deck

There are 5 types of cards:

35 Faces – Face cards have:

a House: Hearts, Swords, Spells, Gems, or Stars

a Rank: 7 (Count), 6 (Countess), 5 (Knight), 4 (Assassin), 3 (Lady), 2 (Page), or 1 (Maiden).

6 Traits (Clever, Foolish…) – Traits increase or decrease the Rank of a Face card by 2.

12 Victories (Courage, Honor,…) – Victories are the prizes to be won, and count for one point each.

1 Moon: The Moon determines the start of the game.

Tiles

There are also 8 tiles. They are marked, “Lead,” and the numbers 1-7.

Setup

This game can be played with 3-9 players.

If playing with 3, 6, or 9 players, deal out all cards.

If playing with 4 players, deal 2 cards face up and place them off to the side – these will be excluded from the game. The Moon card should never be excluded. Then deal out all remaining cards.

If playing with 5 players, exclude 4 cards.

If playing with 7 players, exclude 5 cards.

If playing with 8 players, exclude 6 cards.

Next, each player chooses one of his/her Face cards, playing it face down in front of him/her. This is your Allegiance card. It designates the House you are supporting. You should keep this card secret until the end.

Play

The first round begins with the Moon card and proceeds clockwise, with each player playing a card face up. Once everyone has played a card, examine the cards. If at least one Face card AND one Victory card have been played, the Victories are awarded to the House of the highest-ranking Face card. If not, play continues for another full round. The game is over when all 12 Victories have been awarded.

The winning Face card is the card with the highest rank. The ranks are, from highest to lowest: Count, Countess, Knight, Assassin, Lady, Page, and Maiden. If two or more Face cards have the same effective rank, the Face card played first has Precedence. This means that card trumps all similarly ranked Face cards until Victories are awarded. To keep track of Precedence, place a tile on each Face card as it is played, beginning with the “1” tile.

The next hand is lead by the player who played the winning Face card.

A House may win multiple Victories in a given round. For instance, if the Countess of Hearts is the highest-ranking Face card in a round that contains the Victory cards Honor and Love, then the House of Hearts receives both Victories.

Traits can be played in two different ways. First, they can be played face-up on a Face card in play. When played as such, they modify the Rank of that Face card as specified on the Trait card. Second, Traits can be played face-down in front of a player (including yourself). The next time that player plays a Face card, flip over the Trait card and apply the specified change in Rank.

When Assassins are played, they count as standard Face cards, but also allow the player to remove (assassinate) a Face card already in play. An assassin may even assassinate a member of his own house.

Winning

As you collect the tricks, keep track of how many Victories were won by each House. Once all Victories have been awarded, determine which House(s) won the most Victories, and reveal the Allegiance cards. Players allied with the winning House(s) gain a point for each rank of their Allegiance card. This means you benefit more by winning after giving up a high-ranking card.

Example Rounds:

Round 1

Player 1 plays The Moon (beginning the game).

Player 2 plays the Knight of Hearts and places the 1 tile on it.

Player 3 plays the Count of Stars (trumping the Knight of Hearts) and places the 2 tile on it.

Player 4 plays Clever (a Trait) on the Knight of Hearts (elevating it from Rank 5 to Rank 7; since the Knight was played first, it has precedence and now trumps the Count of Stars).

The trick continues since no Victory cards have been played.

Round 2

Player 1 plays Honor (Victory card).

Player 2 plays the Count of Swords and places the 3 tile on it (this does not trump the elevated Knight of Hearts since that card has Precedence).

Player 3 plays Time (a second Victory card).

Player 4 plays Beloved (a Trait) on the Count of Swords (elevating it from Rank 7 to Rank 9, trumping the Knight of Hearts).

Since both a Face card and a Victory card are present, the Victories are awarded: two Victory cards to the House of Swords, and Player 2 will begin the next round.

Diseases and Infections of the Jungle (stolen from Heart of the Jungle)

While ignorant foreigners often imagine the wilderness and
comparative poverty of the Mwangi Expanse to be a naturally
dirty place, locals know that hygiene is particularly important
here—more so perhaps than in any other environment a
character might visit. This cultural value is often apparent in
the surprising level of cleanliness observed in the clothes and
homes of even the region’s poorest residents. It arises from an
extremely practical source.
Any character spending a significant amount of time in
the deep jungle eventually comes into contact with aggressive
parasites, diseases, and fungi. The conditions of the Mwangi
Expanse are the perfect incubator for a number of aff lictions—
the area is very warm and moist, and it’s filled to the brim
with creatures capable of playing host to uninvited guests.
All diseases found in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook are
considered present in the Expanse, as are the new aff lictions
presented below. Any character who takes damage in the jungles
of the Mwangi Expanse and does not receive magical healing
for it within 24 hours has a 5% chance of contracting one of
the following diseases. (Aff lictions listed without descriptions
can be found in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook.) In addition,
some GMs may want to roll percentage chances for fungal
infections like boot soup and red drip even if the characters
have done nothing to specifically contract the aff liction, as
such microscopic spores often f loat free in the jungle air.
Jungle Infections
d% Roll E xposed to d% Roll E xposed to
1–7 Dysentery 41–47 Filth Fever
8–10 Boot Soup 48–53 Sleeping Sickness
11–12 Pulsing Puffs 54–60 Malaria
13–14 Green Haze 61–65 Blinding Sickness
15–16 Red Drip 66–70 Shakes
17–18 Cackle Fever 71–75 Brainworms
19–23 Bonecrusher Fever 76–80 Leprosy
24–25 Fire Gut 81–85 Red Ache
26–30 Bubonic Plague 86–90 Mindfire
31–35 Slimy Doom 91–95 Devil Chills
36–40 Greenscale 96–100 Demon Fever
Bonecrusher (Dengue) Fever
The name of this mosquito-borne illness comes from the
terrifying sensation sufferers experience, as if their bones
were being squeezed to pulp from within. The illness then
leads to severe headaches, high fevers, and a distinctive rash of
bright red dots across the lower limbs and chest.
Bonecrusher (Dengue) Fever
Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 12
Onset 1 week; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d4 Dex damage; Cure 2 consecutive saves
Boot Soup
This infection is named for its ultimate result, should it go
untreated for long periods of time. A fuzzy reddish-brown
7
Life in Mwangi 1
fungus grows painlessly between the toes and spreads from
there to the top of the foot over the course of a day. If not
removed within 24 hours, the character’s movement speed is
reduced by 5 feet for every day the infection is left to spread. It
is only at this point that the character begins to feel pain as the
fungus starts consuming living tissue and nerves, eventually
leading to paralysis.
Boot Soup
Type disease (fungus), contact; Save Fortitude DC 16
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect speed reduced by 5 feet and 1d3 Dex damage, creatures
reduced to speed 0 feet are permanently paralyzed; Cure
2 consecutive saves, or completely skinning or burning the
affected area (inflicting 1d8 points of damage)
Brainworms
Individually, these tiny parasites are almost invisible to the
naked eye, yet en masse they’re capable of taking down even
the strongest animals. Entering the body through contact
with an infected host or corpse (especially through open
wounds), these thin worms quickly migrate to the brain and
begin reproducing. The infestation is typically evidenced
by a dulling of the senses and intellect and by erratic bouts
of irrational rage toward other creatures during which the
worms attempt to spread to other hosts through combat and
injury. Examining the brain of a late-stage victim reveals a
living carpet of thousands of tiny parasites.
Brainworms
Type disease (parasite), contact or injury; Save Fortitude DC 14
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d3 Wis damage and 1d3 Int damage, if damaged in
combat, target must make a second Fort save or gain the
confused condition for the duration of the encounter;
Cure 2 consecutive saves
Dysentery
A broad family of intestinal aff lictions caused by everything
from bacteria to viruses to parasitic worms, dysentery is
characterized by explosive and sometimes bloody diarrhea,
leading to dehydration and occasionally death.
Dysentery
Type disease (parasite), contact or injury; Save Fortitude DC 16
Onset 1d3 days; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d6 nonlethal damage and target is fatigued and
staggered; Cure 2 consecutive saves
Firegut
Though less extreme than true dysentery, this disease is
characterized by occasional vomiting of burning bile. It is
extremely tenacious.
Firegut
Type disease, injury or inhaled; Save Fortitude DC 17
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect target is staggered; Cure 3 consecutive saves
Green Haze
This mold tends to begin growing in the folds of the eyelids.
Over the course of a day, it spreads to cover the eyelids and
begins to cover the eyeball. If left untreated, this mold can
cause the character to go permanently blind.
Green Haze
Type disease (fungus), contact; Save Fortitude DC 13
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect –4 on Perception checks, target is permanently blinded
if fails 3 saves; Cure 2 consecutive saves
Greenscale
This disgusting disease causes patches of skin to harden
and crack, weeping greenish pus and covering the body with
putrid, scale-like patterns. The disease is most commonly
contracted through injury or other blood-to-blood contact
with an infected creature, though certain carrion eaters of the
jungle—particularly birds—have been known to play host to
the disease without themselves suffering from it.
Greensc ale
Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 15
Onset 1d6 days; Frequency 1/week
Effect 1d2 Cha damage and 1d2 Dex damage, target must
make a second Fort save or 1 point of the Cha damage is
drain instead; Cure 2 consecutive saves
Malaria (Jungle Fever)
A classic traveler’s nightmare, malaria is transmitted by the
bites of mosquitoes and leads to fever, vomiting, shivering,
and convulsions, and sometimes even severe brain damage,
particularly in children.
Malaria (Jungle Fever)
Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 18
Onset 1d3 days; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d3 Str damage and 1d3 Con damage and target is
fatigued; Cure 2 consecutive saves
Pulsing Puffs
A character who has taken a wound (or even a small scratch)
that remains unhealed for any length of time may soon find
small blue-white spores sprouting within it. These spores
quickly grow into phosphorescent, domed mounds that pulse
along with the bearer’s heartbeat. At first, the only effect of the
growths is to prevent natural healing of the wound. However,
if left untreated for more than a day, the spores take deeper
8
Pathfinder Chronicles: Heart of the Jungle
root and begin to damage the character’s Dexterity. Due to the
fungus’s beauty, some jungle tribes are known to cultivate it
on the bound bodies of their prisoners.
Pulsing Puffs
Type disease (fungus), injury; Save Fortitude DC 16
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d4 Dex damage; Cure 2 consecutive saves
Red Drip
The first sign that a character has the red drip is an
inf lammation of the cuticles and hands. If left untreated,
the cuticles begin to bleed and the hands swell until the nails
blacken and fall off entirely. From there, the hands become
a mess of oozing sores, festering and rotting. The infection
then spreads up the arms and into the chest, killing
the victim. Fortunately, this fungus generally
only attacks one hand at a time, making
amputation an effective cure.
Red Drip
Type disease (fungus), contact; Save Fortitude DC 18
Onset 1 day; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d4 Dex damage and 1d2 Cha damage; Cure 2 consecutive
saves or amputation of infected hand
Sleeping Sickness
Endemic throughout the Sodden Lands and the Mwangi
Expanse, this parasitic aff liction is spread by f lying insects
injecting tiny parasites into the victim’s bloodstream and
inducing fever, headache, joint pain, swelling of glands in the
back and neck, and most notably fatigue. The disease gradually
infects the brain, causing confusion, reduced coordination,
difficulty keeping track of time, and insomnia.
The best cure for this disease is dosing the patient with
the poison arsenic (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 558)—if the
patient survives, there’s a cumulative 30% chance that the
disease is immediately cured.
Sleeping Sickness
Type disease (parasite), injury; Save Fortitude DC 14
Onset 1d2 days; Frequency 1/day
Effect 1d4 Wis damage and target is fatigued; Cure 2 consecutive
saves or arsenic (see text)

Spells of the Rainforest (stolen from wizards.com)

Breath of the Jungle
Transmutation
Level: Clr 2, Drd 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Mist spreads in a 20-ft. radius, 20 ft. high
Duration: 1 minute/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: No

With this spell, you enhance and bolster any toxins (poisons or diseases) in the area of effect. The DC for any poison or disease increases by +2 for as long as the poison or disease remains in the mist. This applies equally to natural toxins, such as a snake's poison or the disease spread by a dire rat, and to magical toxins, such as those created by spells like poison or contagion.

If this spell takes effect in a region dominated by rainforests, its effects are much greater. The spell actually draws forth miniscule amounts of venom and disease from the countless vermin and poisonous plants that infest these regions and then manifests these toxins as a thin green mist. This mist does not provide any level of concealment, but any creature that breathes in these noxious vapors must make a Fortitude saving throw or take 2 points of temporary Intelligence damage since the toxins cause dizziness and hallucinations. A new Fortitude saving throw must be made once per minute spent within the spell's mist to avoid further Intelligence damage. Animals, plants, and vermin, as well as creatures that are immune to disease or poison, are immune to this toxin.

Green Oath
Transmutation
Level: Drd 7
Components: V, S, F/DF
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Casting the green oath requires a 10-minute ritual while you chant invocations to the surrounding plant life, beseeching the vegetation to accept you as a sibling and friend. When the casting is complete, your flesh turns a lush shade of green and your hair grows tangled and sprouts leaves or even flowers. You exude an earthy scent for the duration of the green oath. This gives you a +10 circumstance bonus on your Disguise check if you are masquerading as a plant or plant creature and the observer is using only the Scent ability to observe you. It also raises the DC to successfully track you through natural environments by +10. You can now move through natural, magic, or enchanted thorns, briars, and overgrown areas and similar terrain at your normal speed and without taking damage or other impairment. Plant creatures take a -4 circumstance penalty on attack rolls against you; this penalty increases to -8 for grapple checks.

You also gain one of the following benefits of the plant type when you cast the spell. The benefit granted does not change for the duration of the casting, and you can choose a new benefit the next time you cast the green oath. If you wish, you can cast this spell on yourself multiple times; the majority of the benefits provided by the spell do not stack with themselves, but you can select a different benefit from the following list each time you cast the spell.

• Immunity to all poisons
• Immunity to sleep and paralysis
• Immunity to stunning and polymorphing
• Immunity to critical hits
• Immunity to one of the following mind-affecting effects: charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, or morale effects
• Low-light vision

The effects of this spell are temporarily suppressed if you enter a region with little or no natural plant life (such as a barren desert or city). The spell's duration continues to run down while in an area of little vegetation, and if you re-enter a verdant region before it expires, the effects instantly return.

Focus: A natural region with abundant plant life. Traditionally, this spell is cast in a region dominated by rainforest, but it functions in any wilderness region except for underground, barren deserts, glaciers, deep underwater, or in any civilized region such as a town or city.

Junglerazer
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Short (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area: 5-ft.-wide path starting at you and extending to maximum spell range
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

A path of destructive energy springs forth from you, instantly destroying all natural plant life in the area and leaving in its wake a neat path sprinkled with a fine layer of ash on the ground. Druids, fey, vermin, plants creatures, and animals caught in the path are horribly blackened and burnt as if by invisible fire and take 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 15d6). Although the effects of this damage look like burns, the damage is caused by invisible and silent waves of negative energy.

Material Component: A pinch of ash from a burnt plant.

Jungle's Rapture
Transmutation
Level: Drd 5
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Short (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One living nonplant creature
Duration: Permanent (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

This terrible curse causes the targeted creature (excluding plant creatures) to slowly transform into a normal healthy plant. The creature targeted by this spell immediately takes 1d6 points of permanent Dexterity drain and loses the ability to digest food. This drain manifests as a hardening of the limbs and skin as the victim's flesh slowly turns to wood. Each day that passes, the victim takes an additional 1d6 points of permanent Dexterity drain. Any Dexterity points drained by this spell cannot be restored by anything less than a greater restoration spell, and even this potent spell cannot prevent further drain that may occur in following days. If the victim survives long enough, it eventually begins to starve to death. Rules for starvation appear in Chapter 3 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Once a victim of jungle's rapture is drained to 0 Dexterity, it immediately transforms into a normal plant of the same size as its original body. Aside from radiating an aura of Transmutation magic, the plant is a normal plant (with no Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score) until it dies a natural plant death.

Jungle's rapture is a curse, and as such it cannot be dispelled. It can be removed with a break enchantment, limited wish, miracle, or wish spell. Remove curse works only if the caster is of an equal or higher caster level than your caster level at the time you cast jungle's rapture. The spell can be dismissed by the caster as a free action.

Rankletaste
Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Drd 1, Rgr 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature or object touched
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: Will negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: No

This spell generates a false and powerfully wretched taste on the target. The target gives off no noticeable odor, but anyone who tastes the target must make a Will save or be nauseated for 1 round. This includes any creature that makes a successful bite attack against the target; the bite attack does not need to damage the target to force the attacker to make a Will save. A creature that swallows something affected by rankletaste must make the Will save each round for the spell's duration or become nauseated for 1d4 rounds. Once the creature becomes nauseated, it vomits the swallowed creature or object up and need not make further Will saves unless it again tastes the target.

Material Component: A tiny chunk of rotten meat that has been marinated in skunk's musk.

Vortex of TeethEvocation [Force]
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Area: Hollow cylinder (40 ft. radius, 20 ft. high with a 5-ft.-radius safe zone at the center)
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

A vortex of teeth manifests as a swirling, spiraling storm of magically created incorporeal piranha that swim through the surrounding region. Unfortunately for creatures in the area of effect, the ravenous teeth of the magic piranha solidify upon contact with flesh. All creatures in the area of effect of a vortex of teeth take 2d6 points of damage per round. A successful Reflex save halves this damage. The damage caused is a force effect, and thus bypasses damage reduction and can harm incorporeal creatures. Objects cannot be damaged by a vortex of teeth.

Material Component: A piranha's tooth.

Conditions

Conditions add an additional layer of consequence and reward to certain actions. They’re not traits a player can buy or choose for her character. They’re conditional; the context and the gameplay apply them and they remain only until certain resolution criteria are met.

These resolutions are determined by the effect that causes the Condition or the terms of the Condition itself. Whenever your character resolves a Condition, take 50 xp.

A character cannot have multiple instances of a Condition unless they apply to two different and specific things. For example, you may have Connected (Mob) and Connected (Police.)

Sources of Conditions
Various things within the course of a game can cause Conditions. The most common is critical successes.  Any time a player rolls a critical success, the player may choose to bring a Condition into play. This Condition must be relevant to the situation. Some supernatural abilities can also offer Conditions.  A DM may add a Condition to a character during any situation where she feels it would heighten the drama of the game.
Lastly, complex behaviors may cause Conditions. For example, a well-planned heist may impose the Overwhelmed Condition on the chief of police, or a detailed bout of research and investigation may offer the Informed Condition.

Resolutions
While I’ve listed resolutions for each Condition, other things may end its effects. Use your better judgment when determining Condition resolution. The rule of thumb is that anything that would cause the Condition’s effects to end can be counted as resolution.

Persistent Conditions
Some Conditions are marked as Persistent. These Conditions are tied inexorably to the character. Persistent Conditions may offer experience once per game session when they complicate the character’s life. With DM permission, players may take Persistent Conditions for their characters at character creation. Persistent Conditions may be resolved permanently only with a specific and impressive effort, along with DM discretion.

Conditions on NPCs
NPCs don’t usually track experience the way the PCs do. Any time an NPC would be offered experience by a Condition, they simply gain a floating +1 bonus that can be applied to any one roll in the same scene.

Condition List
The list below includes common Conditions that can be applied to characters. For skill-based rolls, a critical success allows the noted Condition (unless otherwise stated).  It may go to your character or the subject of the roll, as noted.  While we’ve listed a handful of recommended skills that afford a given Condition, this list is hardly exhaustive.

Give whatever Conditions make sense within the scope of the story. If a Condition has no listed skills, it’s because another circumstance within the rules can cause it and it’s not something easily brought upon by regular skill usage.

Addicted (Persistent)
Your character is addicted to something, whether drugs, gambling or other destructive behaviors. Some addictions are more dangerous than others, but the nature of addiction is that it slowly takes over your life, impeding functionality. If you are addicted, you need to indulge your addiction regularly
to keep it under control. A specific addiction should be chosen upon taking this Condition; characters can take this Condition multiple times for different addictions. Being unable to feed your addiction can result in the Deprived Condition.
Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.
Beat: Your character chooses to get a fix rather than fulfill an obligation.

Amnesia (Persistent)
Your character is missing a portion of her memory. An entire period of her life is just gone. This causes massive difficulties with friends and loved ones.
Resolution: You regain your memory and learn the truth. Depending on the circumstances, this may constitute a breaking point.
Beat: Something problematic arises, such as a forgotten arrest warrant or old enemy.

Blind (Persistent)
Your character cannot see. Any rolls requiring sight take a -10 penalty. If another sense can be reasonably substituted, make the roll at –5 instead.
Resolution: Your character regains her sight.
Beat: Your character encounters a limitation or difficulty that inconveniences her.

Broken (Persistent)
Whatever you did or saw, something inside you snapped.  You can barely muster up the will to do your job anymore, and anything more emotionally intense than a raised voice makes you flinch and back down. Apply a –3 to all social rolls and a –8 to all use of the Intimidation Skill.
Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point. <---needs to be reworked for Pathfinder
Beat: You back down from a confrontation or fail a roll due to this Condition.

Bonded
Your character has established an extensive bond with a specific animal. She gains +4 on any rolls to influence or persuade her bonded animal. It may add your Will save to any rolls to resist coercion or fear when in your character’s presence. The animal may add your character’s Handle Animal to any one die roll per game session.
Resolution: The bonded animal dies or is otherwise parted from the character.
Beat: n/a

Connected (Persistent)
Your character has made inroads with a specified group.  While she has this Condition, she gets a +4 to all rolls relating to that group. Alternately, she can shed this Condition to gain a one-time automatic critical success on the next roll to influence or otherwise take advantage of the group.  Once Connected is resolved, the character is considered to have burned her bridges and is no longer an accepted member.  The character may be able to regain Connected with the specified group per DM approval.
Example Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy
Resolution: The character loses her membership or otherwise loses her standing with the group.
Beat: The character is asked to perform a favor for the group that inconveniences her.

Disabled (Persistent)
Your character has limited or no ability to walk. Her speed is effectively reduced to 5 ft. She must rely on a wheelchair or other device to travel. A wheelchair’s speed is equal to your character’s Strength times two (round to the nearest multiple of 5) and requires use of her hands.
An injury can cause this Condition temporarily, in which case it is resolved when the injury heals and the character regains mobility.
Resolution: The character’s disability is cured by mundane or supernatural means.
Beat: Your character’s limited mobility inconveniences your character and makes her slow to respond.

Deprived
Your character suffers from an addiction. She is unable to get her fix, however, leaving her irritable, anxious, and unable to focus. She takes a -2 penalty to all Constitution- and Wisdom-based rolls.
Resolution: Your character indulges her addiction.
Beat: n/a

Embarrassing Secret
Your character has a secret from his past that could come back to haunt him. If this secret gets out, he could be ostracized or maybe even arrested. If it becomes known, this Condition is exchanged for Notoriety (p. 183).
Resolution: The character’s secret is made public, or the character does whatever is necessary to make sure it never comes to light.
Beat: n/a

Fugue (Persistent)
Something terrible happened. Rather than deal with it or let it break you, your mind shuts it out. You are prone to blackouts and lost time. Whenever circumstances become too similar to the situation that led to your gaining this Condition, the player rolls a Will save (DC 15). If you fail the roll, the Storyteller controls your character for the next scene; your character, left to his own devices, will seek to avoid the conflict and get away from the area.
Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point. <----needs to be rejiggered for Pathfinder
Beat: You enter a fugue state as described above.

Guilty
Your character is experiencing deep-seated feelings of guilt and remorse. This Condition is commonly applied after a successful breaking point roll (p. 185). While the character is under the effects of this Condition, he receives a –4 to any roll or DC to defend against attempts to manipulate her emotions, such as Diplomacy, Bluff, or Intimidate rolls.
Resolution: The character confesses his crimes and makes restitution for whatever he did.
Beat: n/a

Informed
Your character has a breadth of research information based on the topic she investigated. When you make a roll relating to the topic, you may choose to resolve this Condition.  If you resolve it and the roll failed, it is instead considered to have succeeded. If it succeeded, the roll is considered a critical success.  The roll that benefits from the Informed Condition can be any relevant skill roll. For example, a character with Informed (Werewolves) might gain its benefits when using researched information to build a silver bear trap with the Crafts Skill.  Combat rolls cannot benefit from this Condition.
Example Skills: Knowledge, Profession (detective, researcher, et cetera)
Resolution: Your character uses her research to gain information; the Condition is resolved as described above.
Beat: n/a

Inspired
Your character is deeply inspired. When your character takes an action pertaining to that inspiration, you may resolve this Condition. Any success by 5 or more on that roll is considered a critical success (no confirmation needed) and you gain a floating +1 bonus that can be applied to any one roll this session.
Example Skills: Craft, Perform
Resolution: You spend inspiration to spur yourself to greater success, resolving the Condition as described above.
Beat: n/a

Leveraged
Your character has been blackmailed, tricked, convinced, or otherwise leveraged into doing what another character wishes. You may have the Leveraged Condition multiple times for different characters. Any time the specified character requests something of you, you may resolve this Condition if your character does as requested without rolling to resist.
Example Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy
Resolution: Your character may either resolve the Condition by complying with a request as above, or if you apply the Leveraged condition to the specified character.
Beat: n/a

Madness (Persistent)
Your character saw or did something that jarred her loose from reality. This isn’t a mental illness born of brain chemistry — that, at least, might be treatable. This madness is the product of supernatural tampering or witnessing something that humanity was never meant to comprehend. The DM has a pool equal to 10 – (character’s Charisma modifier). Once per session, the DM can apply those points as a negative modifier to any mental or social roll made for the character.
Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.<----needs to be rejiggered for Pathfinder.
Beat: The character fails a roll because of this Condition.

Mute (Persistent)
Your character cannot speak. Any communication must be done through writing, gestures, or hand signs. Illness, injury, or supernatural powers can inflict this Condition on a temporary basis.
Resolution: The character regains her voice through mundane or supernatural means.
Beat: Your character suffers a limitation or communication difficulty that heightens immediate danger.

Notoriety
Whether or not your character actually did something heinous in the past, the wrong people think he did and now he’s ostracized by the general public. Your character suffers a –4 on any social rolls against those who know of his notoriety.
Example Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy
Resolution: The story is debunked or the character’s name is cleared.
Beat: n/a

Obsession (Persistent)
Something’s on your character’s mind and she just can’t shake it. She threatens a critical on all rolls related to pursuing her obsession on a 15-20 rather than a 20 (if the roll, somehow, is an attack roll, double the critical range instead). On rolls that are unrelated to her obsession, she only rolls a critical success if she rolls a 20 on the confirmation roll.  Obsession can be a temporary quality per Storyteller approval.
Resolution: The character sheds or purges her fixation.
Beat: Character fails to fulfill an obligation due to pursuing her obligation.

Shaken
Something has severely frightened your character.  Any time your character is taking an action where that fear might hinder her, you may opt to fail the roll and resolve this Condition.
Example Skills: attack rolls, Intimidate
Resolution: The character gives into her fear and fails a roll as described above.
Beat: n/a

Spooked
Your character has seen something supernatural — not overt enough to terrify her, but unmistakably otherworldly. How your character responds to this is up
to you, but it captivates her and dominates her focus.
Resolution: This Condition is resolved when your character’s fear and fascination causes her to do something that hinders the group or complicates things (she goes off alone to investigate a strange noise, stays up all night researching, runs away instead of holding her ground, etc.).
Beat: n/a

Steadfast
Your character is confident and resolved. When you’ve failed a roll, you may choose resolve this Condition to instead treat the action as if you’d rolled a success.
Resolution: Your character’s confidence carries him through and the worst is avoided; the Condition is resolved as described above.
Beat: n/a

Swooning
Your character is attracted to someone and is vulnerable where they are concerned. He may have the proverbial “butterflies in his stomach” or just be constantly aware of the object of his affection. A character may have multiple instances of this Condition, reflecting affection for multiple characters.  He suffers a –4 to any rolls that would adversely affect the specified character, who also gains +4 on any Social rolls against him.
Example Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy
Resolution: Your character does something for his love interest that puts him in danger, or he opts to fail a roll to resist a social action by the specified character.
Beat: n/a

Creating New Conditions
This list of Conditions is by no means intended to be exhaustive.  The players and the DM can and should create new Conditions to apply to whatever situations arise in play.

When creating a Condition, consider the following two points:
• What game mechanics does the Condition require?
• How can the Condition be resolved?
All Conditions should have some kind of game effect.  They can add or subtract dice, restrict certain kinds of rolls, and interact with sub-systems.

For example, Agent Lundy is investigating a crime scene while a local policeman, Officer Mallory, looks on. Lundy’s player rolls a critical success on his Perception roll and finds an amazing amount of detail and information.  The Storyteller asks the player if he would like to place a Condition on Mallory, if Mallory’s player is amenable. Lundy suggests Awed, since Mallory is feeling pretty intimidated by Lundy’s investigatory prowess.  Mallory’s player agrees and grabs an index card. She writes “Awed — Lundy” on it. The players could model this on the Swooning or Leveraged Conditions, but Mallory’s player decides she’d rather have this manifest as Mallory becoming flustered around Lundy. She asks if she can shed this Condition to fail an Perception or Diplomacy roll while in Lundy’s presence (thus resolving the Condition). The Storyteller agrees and Mallory’s player holds the card until she wants to use it. When she does, she’ll gain experience.

A note about included elements from Deadlands D20

The mad scientist class (and assorted mad science sub-system) and the equipment chapter from Deadlands D20 are accepted and available for characters from the Free City (Pesh as a whole, really, including the Burnt-Out Coast).

Expanded Experience Awards -- it'd be good to print these out and have them available in session!

Remember, it is your responsibility to find ways to bring this homework into actual play. I will help and will try to incorporate what I can, but the rest is up to you. Meta-discussion of how you would like to bring it into play (e.g., "I think it would be awesome if my demon-worshiping brother was our guild contact") is highly welcome! Also, you only gain the experience points when the homework is posted to this blog; excepting the extra xp for coolness and other such value judgments, you can just log the new experience when you post.


EXPERIENCE WHICH CAN BE EARNED BEFORE MARCH 5TH, 2013

Character Background - Up to 350 xp

Create a convincing character background. For every two words of story that are written, your character gets one experience point, to a maximum of 200 xp. There are an additional 150 xp floating around for interesting ideas, amusing incidents and the number of useable adventure hooks.

Character Appearance - Up to 100 xp

A written description of your character is worth 50 xp. A picture, either hand-drawn or photocopied from another source, is worth an additional 50 xp.

Create an NPC - 150 xp.

Create a description of somebody your character has very strong feelings about. Perhaps an enemy, a long lost love, a family member, etc. Your character gets 1xp for every two words written, to a maximum of 100. Providing a picture or written description of the NPC is worth an additional 50 xp.

Questionnaire - up to 250 xp

Complete a questionnaire on behalf of your character. Give as short or long an answer as you wish. The base experience point award will be 150 points (5 per question answered), but there will be a bonus of 100 xp for imaginative, amusing or particularly insightful answers.

1. Who is the most important person in your life?
2. Where do you want to be in 20 years time?
3. What are you most scared of?
4. What makes you happy?
5. What is your idea of a good evenings entertainment?
6. If you were not an adventurer, what would you be?
7. What item would you not live without?
8. When was the last time you cried?
9. When do you want to have children?
10. If you were an animal, what would you be?
11. What is your favorite bard song?
12. Do you prefer the town or the country? Why?
13. What was the last thing that made you laugh?
14. If made to decide, would you rather be deaf or blind? Why?
15. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
16. If you had to describe yourself in five adjectives, what would they be?
17. How do you want to die?
18. What is the worst thing someone has done to you?
19. Who do you admire?
20. How much is a pint of mead?
21. How old are you?
22. What was your family life like?
23. Where are you from?
24. How did you become the character class you are?
25. When did you meet your companions?
26. How has power changed you?
27. What do you think of mortals?
28. What motivates you to be a hero?
29. Who or what do you worship?
30. What would drive you to commit murder?

Recent History - 200 xp

There is only one limitation on your recent history - it ends with you  being hired by Garavel to join the caravan attempting to reclaim kel-Maraneh. Write about your character's thoughts of the two months leading up to this event. You should describe their feelings of the current situation and what positive and negative things have happened to them. Maybe they would like to comment on how your character feels about being sent to a new and strange area. You get 1xp for every two words written, up to a maximum of 200 xp

Home Region - up to 300 xp.

Detail your characters homeland/village/suburb/tribe. The campaign world is still pretty open to player invntion at the moment. Go crazy and do whatever you want. Up to 100 xp will be awarded for a map of the region, while up to 200 xp will be awarded for a description of the area, its local history and government, as well as a general idea of important NPC’s of the region. There is no real favoritism displayed on the type of region you choose. Writing about a small town is worth just as much as a general country/ society overview.

TOTAL EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE:  13450 xp (!)


EXPERIENCE WHICH CAN BE GAINED BETWEEN SESSIONS AFTER MARCH 5, 2013

Party Relationship - up to 100 xp.

This task can only be completed after the first session. Write a paragraph or two on how your character feels about each of the other individuals in the group. You get awarded 1 xp for every two words written, to a maximum of 100 xp.

Journalling - up to 400 xp

Write something describing the events of the previous session or any other session previous, provided you haven't journalLed it already.  Include character reactions and such.  1 xp per 2 words, maximum 400 xp.

Repeated Assignments - Varies

Between sessions, you can repeat ONE and only ONE of the assignments in the first section of this document for the same number of xp.  You can repeat any of the assignments at any time (i.e., if after the first session, you create a second NPC, you can still describe your home region after third session), and you can only gain the xp if the assignment is significantly different than any of the previous versions of the assignment (meaning that the questionnaire is unlikely to be often repeated).

TOTAL EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE:  500+ xp per inter-session period


EXPERIENCE TO BE GAINED IN PLAY

Cookies - up to 200 xp

Every player is given ONE and only ONE cookie at the beginning of every session.  They may not eat this cookie.  It is to give to someone who did something they thought was cool.  They may NOT give it to themselves.  Each cookie is worth 50 xp at first level.

Food - 50 xp

If a player brings food for the group (and I mean both enough and of the right nature to be consumed by the entire group), they gain 50 xp.

Resolve a Condition - 50+ xp

See the upcoming Conditions post.

Fulfill an Aspiration – up to 150 xp

At character creation, choose three Aspirations for your character.  Aspirations are goals for your character. They’re also statements to your DM that show the types of stories you want to play through.
Aspirations are simple statements of intent; things that can be accomplished within the scope of the game you’re playing. If you’re playing a single session, be sure to choose realistic and short-term goals or goals that are already very close to fruition. If you’re playing a single story arc that should span a few weeks of game time, choose similar short-term goals, with one expressing longer-term interests. Even if you’re set to play a game you intend on running a year or more, don’t choose more than one very long-term goal. Ideally you should be able to accomplish at least one of these Aspirations per game session.
It’s important to phrase Aspirations as active achievements or accomplishments. Do not phrase them as avoidances. “Do not betray my friends” isn’t really an appropriate Aspiration.  Instead, consider “Prove my loyalty to my friends.” Phrasing as an action as opposed to a lack of action helps to determine when the Aspiration is met and when it should be rewarded.
When choosing Aspirations, use them to help to customize your character and give her identity and purpose outside of whatever plots the DM cooks up. Find a balance between being general enough that the statements can be fulfilled realistically, and being specific enough to inform on your character’s identity. Use the listed examples as a jumping off point.
If you’re interested in seeing certain things happen to your character, note them as Aspirations.  Or if you expect something to occur, it would be worth noting it. If you know tonight’s story will deal with an angry ghost with a penchant for eating human flesh and you never seem to roll well when your character’s using her Medium Merit, it’s worth using as an Aspiration. In that example, you might phrase it, “Fail in communicating with the dead.” That way, while your character might fail in her efforts against the ghost, you’ll be rewarded for achieving the Aspiration.
Sample Aspirations: Achieve a promotion at work; Make something that’ll outlast me; Prove my loyalty to the team; Show myself I’m not cursed; Give something important to someone in need; Put myself in mortal danger; Forget responsibility and enjoy myself; Get a new car; Show restraint when tempted; Indulge my addiction; Say my last goodbyes; Volunteer at the cancer center; Meet a ghost; Interview my idol; Plant a garden; Show respect to my enemies; Establish a new identity; Learn what hurts shapeshifters; Have a one-night stand; Escape jail; Replace my broken guitar; Tell a long-kept secret; Say no without regrets
Sample Long-Term Aspirations: Put my daughter’s ghost to rest; Take control of the company; Become a parent; Take down the mayor; Outlive my boss; Pass on my most important skill; Become fully independent; Bring an end to the Chosen of Mammon; Find the witch that cursed my family; Become independently wealthy; Master my chosen art; Become a vampire; Find my soul mate; Prove my father was wrong about me; Buy back our ancestral home; Show the world that fairies are real; Open a branch in three nations; Become psychic; Uncover my mother’s killer’s identity; Find an unknown biblical gospel; Prove my uncle wasn’t insane; Discover the cure for mortality
For the first session of play, you might not have a good enough sense of your character to choose Aspirations. I recommend you give it a try anyway, and if during the first session the Aspirations you’ve chosen just don’t fit with the way you’re playing the character, change them. No harm, no foul.
After you’ve started playing the character, you might still find that an Aspiration becomes inappropriate or that it becomes impossible to fulfill. For example, a character might have a long-term Aspiration of “buy back our ancestral home.” During the third chapter of the story, the home burns down. Buying it back is now impossible. Or, for a less dramatic twist on that premise, what if the character discovers that his family has been using that land to conduct unholy overtures and sacrifices to the God-Machine for decades. Maybe the character doesn’t want the place anymore. What does that mean for the Aspiration?
If circumstances warrant it, a player can change Aspirations between chapters with the DM’s approval. This shouldn’t become a way to ditch goals that aren’t coming together quickly enough. Rather, it’s an option to keep the character’s goals in line with the natural flow of the story.

If your character fulfills an Aspiration, you gain 50 xp. At the end of the game session, replace the Aspiration.  Choosing a new Aspiration is an excellent activity between games or to handle before the next game session.
Critical Failure – 10+ xp

Whenever a player rolls a critical failure, they gain 10 xp, plus 1 xp for each subsequent “level” of critical failure (i.e., for each “1” rolled after the first)
You may choose to turn any normal failure into a critical failure once per session.  Should you do so, you gain 20 xp instead of 10.

Critical Success – 5+ xp

Whenever a player rolls a critical success, they gain 5 xp, plus 1 xp for each subsequent “level” of critical success (i.e., for each “20” rolled after the first)

Getting Nearly Killed – 100 xp

Gain 100 xp for every combat in which your character is reduced to 25% or less of their hit points.

Showing Up – 25 xp

You receive 25 xp simply for showing up to the session.

Carousing – ?? xp

If you end a session in an appropriate place, you can purchase xp with gold by rolling on the carousing table.

TOTAL EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE:  ??? xp


INCREASED EXPERIENCE AWARD BY LEVEL

To reflect the fact that the number of experience points necessary to advance in level increases each level, certain of these awards (player relationship, journalling, cookies, food, resolving conditions, aspirations, critical failure, critical success, getting nearly killed, and showing up) will increase in size by 25% each level.

For example, the maximum xp award for a party relationship is as follows (this just so happens to also be the percentage by which the other awards can be multiplied):
1st level:  100 xp
2nd level: 125 xp
3rd level: 156 xp
4th level:  195 xp
5th level:  244 xp
6th level:  305 xp
7th level:  381 xp
8th level:  476 xp
9th level:  596 xp
10th level:  745 xp
11th level:  931 xp
12th level:  1164 xp
13th level:  1455 xp
14th level:  1818 xp
15th level:  2276 xp
16th level:  2842 xp
17th level:  3552 xp
18th level:  4440 xp
19th level:  5551 xp
20th level:  6938 xp

Results of the 15 Axes and some thoughts/questions about this coming session

Aesthetic Era:  Almost everyone voted for blended/invented, with Victorian as a somewhat distant 2nd

• So, um, what did ya'll mean by blended/invented?  I can think of at least two options: 1) an aesthetic clash between ya'll foreigners and the natives and 2) D&D's usual wild and woolly mix of inspirations.

State of the Tools:  New Tech + Magic, with a slight preference toward magic being the norm

• What are ya'll imagining in terms of new tech?  I'm thinking, especially because ya'll wanted to be from the Free City, that this refers to steamtech/steampunk, but IU could also do things like resurrect some of my magical low-metal technology ideas, like the combination aqueduct/telegraph idea I had a while back . . .

Gritty v. Clean:  Mix/Middle Ground
Setting Clarity to Players:  Some Surprises

• So, what do ya'll think we need to establish to ensure that it's some surprises and not unpredictable?

Setting Equality:  Strong and Skilled
Style:  Primarily solving mysteries and exploring, with a decent amount of puzzles and skill-based challenges
Combat:  Light
Player Choice:  Choose Your Own Adventure

• Here's the one part where I assert a preference of mine and see what the group says.  Although I will create a branching plot structure with readily visible decision points if ya'll like, I was really hoping for more of a sandbox kind of structure, wherein I create the world and ya'll find your way through it, exploring and making connections.  What do ya'll think?

Player Thought:  3

• If we plan to do more of a sandbox structure, would a good and useful map (at the beginning, rather than vague directions and rumors that become a useful map through trial and error, which is my preference) help achieve this balance of player thought?

On Task:  Slightly Important
Success, as Seen by the Players:  Healthy Mix, with a slight preference toiwards Things Don't Go Smooth
Success, as Seen by the Characters:  Middle Ground
Stakes:  Primarily personal/party, with saving the Free City a distant 2nd

• Does this mean just keeping yourselves alive, building fame and fortune, or resolving some deep personality issue?  Or some combination?  Or something else altogether?

Humor:  Comedic Touches
Rating:  Fuck if I know, most of ya'll didn't fill that part out

All of this leads into this Tuesday's session:

First of all, we need to finish the last lingering bits of character creation.  Those are:

• character traits
• passions
• character conflict/personal stakes
• equipment

Second of all, I have been thinking of starting the game with ya'll's ship approaching the island when it gets attacked by pirates.  This is at least partly because Madagascar (the requested inspiration) is famous for its pirates.  I am curious if ya'll have an opinion on WHICH pirates, exactly, will be attacking your ship:

• Criminal-type pirates who don't give a damn and are just out for booty (that is, they're the most likely to just kill you, though that's not a certainty -- you don't have to kill them just to survive)
• Proto-anarcho-democratic pirates (look up Libertatia) who admire the Free City and therefore might be better-disposed to its citizenry
• Native pirates who often engage in slaving
• None at all, the first session consists of nasty weather which wrecks the ship, stranding you on the island
• None at all, the first adventure consists of your arrival at the leper colony

Which sounds best to ya'll?

The Set-Up

The sharrug gatorfolk are rising up against the Free City. Slithering their way through the tangled network of sewers and basements and first floors and second floors that have been built and sunk into what were once these lizardkin's bayou dens, they have struck into deep and unprotected parts of the city. Repeatedly.

Only 40 years into their newfound and hardfought independence, the Free City finds itself faced with a seemingly unconquerable foe, one driven both politically and spiritually to greater and greater acts of savagery. The citizenry cannot turn to either the Haeno clans nor the nations of Aporuë for help. The Two Kingdoms and Aprasaham care little for their fate, and the tribes of both Ndata-mbanye and Pesh find what help they can send weakened by the rightful anger they feel at their oppression by the colonizers. Only the Burnt-Out Coast seems willing to help, but they seem ineffective against these attackers.

The famed Free City University, refuge for all manner of strange studies, has stepped up with one of their wild theories. At this point, the citizenry of the Free City cares little for the oddball directions into which their desperation pitches them. They have sent you as their last, best hope.

The University keeps records of old texts written by the first Haeno and Aporuëna to have settled Pesh, some few even predating the outbreak of the First Free City War.  These books include Peshwa descriptions of shurrag origins, which tell us that they came many thousands of years ago from an island far to the south.  Subsequent investigations sought answers from the shurrag.  Given the gatorfolk's propensity for savagery and the colonizers' blinding curiosity, these investigations looked more like tortures, but answers were achieved in those days before walls and paving stones pushed the gatorfolk to the edges of the bayou.

The shurrag claimed that they were descended from a race they called the arallav, who walked invisible through the jungles and swamps of the island.  They spoke also of items and places of great power to which they still feel a spiritual connection, if a distant one.  Haeno researchers, in marginalia scribbled amongst these notes, questioned if the island meant was the obscure island of Salgam south of Aprasaham.  Further researchers, building on an ever-dwindling stream of information, have determined that sharrug magical bodies maintain a link to these faraway places and objects of power.

Your mission?  Travel to Salgam, an island still largely unexplored by foreign peoples, find those sacred places and/or objects, and pull on them to ensure the Free City's victory.  The University suggests that there are two possible solutions:

1. If you can find the three Sampy Houses, and if you can find the one with the appropriate sampy (magical artifacts whose powers extend over the entire community and ensure the ruler's sovereignty and the integrity of the state) and install the small god you carry with you in that House, the Free City will gain the protection of those sampy when battling the sharrug for as long as Mboloké's child lives there.  The appropriate sampy are kelimalaza, which turns rotten eggs into weapons with power beyond imagining, ramahavaly which controls all forms of reptile and repels their attacks, manjakatsiroa which protects the sovereignty of the king from rivals, and rafantaka which protects against injury and death.
2. If you use Vanmi techniques to build a grigri magic bag containing not only the bit of river muck from the Free City but also some sort of appropriate connection to the Twelve Sacred Hills of the island, whosoever wears the grigri bag will find eirself victorious against the sharrug, no matter the odds, and can lead Free City forces as a conquering hero against the gatorfolk.

In order to achieve all of this, you are sailing on a ship headed with supplies to the leper colony that was established long ago on the island.  Nations from all over the world relocate their lepers, plague-ridden, and grotesques to this colony, so that they don't infect or bring down those nations.  From there, you should be able to delve deep into the surrounding jungle on your quest for survival.

Good luck.

Civic Cult of the Free City II

The Integrated Revolutionary Committee of the Free City maintains a civic cult, rooted in the religion of Vanmi, the highly-syncretic faith developed by the Ndata-mbanyiti diaspora.

The focus of this civic cult is a deity called Mboloké, with a much reduced focus on his many children. Mboloké is depicted as a sphinx made out of stone and iron and is said to stalk through the city and eat the brains of those citizens who catch his fancy.  His portfolio includes solitude, filth, ugliness, midden heaps, prisons, armies, labor, alienation, fog, ghost rock, poverty, love, money, pavement, trees, visions, omens, hallucinations, miracles, ecstacies, dreams, adorations, illuminations, religions, breakthroughs, crucifixions, epiphanies, despairs, minds, new loves, suicide, and (most importantly) the Free City itself, and it is whispered that his voice can be heard in the sounds of screaming children, boy-soldiers sobbing, and the weeping of old men in the plazas.  He lives under stairways.

Roads of Mboloké include:

• The Nightmare of Himself
• Mboloké Swecra:  Mboloké Original One
• The Loveless
• Mboloké t'Aigul:  Mboloké of the Brass Tower
• Mental  Mboloké
• The Heavy Judger of Men
• The Congress of Sorrows
• Mboloké Ho'oh ???:  Whose Buildings Are Judgments
• The Vast Stone of War
• The Stunned Colonizers
• The Clockwork Mind
• Whose Blood is Running Money
• Whose Fingers Are Ten Armies
• Whose Breast is a Cannibal Dynamo
• Whose Ear is a Smoking Tomb
• Whose Eyes Are a Thousand Blind Windows
• Whose Towers Stand in the Long Streets Like Endless Gods
• Whose Labor Dreams and Chokes in the Fog
• Crowned With Chimneys and Antennae
• Whose Love is Endless Ghost Rock and Stone
• Usurious Lightning Soul
• Whose Poverty is the Specter of Genius
• Whose Fate is a Sexless Cloud
• The Mind
• In Whom I Sit Lonely
• In Whom I Dream Angels
• Who Entered My Soul Early
• Bodiless Consciousness
• Who Frightened Me Out of My Natural Ecstasy
• Whom I Abandon
• Light Streaming Out of the Sky
• Skeleton Treasury
• Blind Lord
• Demonic Overseer
• Spectral Nation
• Invincible Madhouse
• Granite Cock
• Monstrous Bomb
• Gone Down the River
• The Whole Boatload of Sensitive Bullshit
• Ten Years' Animal Screams and Suicides
• Mad Generation
• Down on the Rocks of Time
• Real Holy Laughter in the River
• Of the Wild Eyes
• Of the Holy Yells
• Bidding Farewell
• Waving
• Carrying Flowers
• Into the Street

According to Free City Vanmi lore, the world began as nothing but chaos with a single egg found in its centre. From that egg,  Mboloké Swecra is said to have hatched and begun to form the world.  Mboloké Swecra then created kel-Gaid, kel-Kiap, and kel-Nitarig, the small monster gods of time, space, and reversals, as well as the lake trio, Tirpsem, Eixu, and Fleza, said to be the embodiments of emotion, knowledge and willpower respectively. From there, these small monster gods created the world and Mboloké Swecra fell into a deep slumber, to awaken only upon the victory of the Free City in the Second Free City War.

According to one Free City Vanmi legend, the Brass Tower once stood as a home for Mboloké t'Aigul back in Ndata-mbanye. At one point, the Brass Tower was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, only to be quenched by the rains that followed soon after. Three nameless small monster gods were said to have died with the tower’s destruction but were resurrected by Mboloké Ho'oh as Wokiar, Yetné, and Enucius—the roaming legendary dogs who are said to have taken on the three characteristics of the tower’s destruction (electric, fire, water), as well as the legendary birds Onucitra, Sertlom, and Sodpaz.  It is said that upon the Brass Tower’s destruction, Mboloké t'Aigul left to find a new home, eventually finding the land that would one day be the Free City, while Mboloké Ho'oh flew off in search of someone pure-hearted enough to be taught how to capture and train the small monster gods.

A fifth trinity of Mboloké's children (it's a bit of a theme) that are very famous and powerful are often referred to as the “weather trio” due to their weather-affecting abilities.  After the world was created, it is said, the weather trio was responsible for its composition and shape. Nodourg was responsible for the matters of the land while Ergoyk was responsible for the matters of the sea. Azaqyar, said to reside in the highest air, maintains its role by making sure Nodworg and Ergoyk don’t quarrel with one another.

According to other lore, Sagigiger was responsible for pulling the continents of the world in place by using ropes, working for his siblings the weather trio. After it was done, it created the first three golems in its image from clay, ice and magma. These not-quite-small gods were known as Coriger, Eciger, and Leetsiger respectively. However, other small gods who witnessed Sagigiger’s power decided that it was too strong and sealed it away inside of a temple underneath the Free City. The three golems were separated from their creator and taken to what is now the Burnt-Out Coast where they were sealed away in separate chambers guarded by intricate puzzles in hopes that one day a trainer may be able to tame them and tame Sagigiger in turn.

Still other tales tell of an ancient civilization that lived around the Free City, the same civilization, the tales say, that built the mysterious mounds that dot the continent of Pesh. Two brothers are said to have founded this civilization with the help of a mighty draconic small god. However, the two brothers became divided upon how the land should be ruled and the dragon, unable to choose one side or the other, split itself in two and became Marisher and Morkez.

Marisher and Morkez are the representations of civic order and emptiness as well as truth and ideals in the Free City. Supposedly, after a great and evenly-matched battle between the two, the brothers set aside their differences and claimed that there was no right side to their arguments. However, their sons resumed the conflict later on and Marisher and Morkez allegedly destroyed the region with their fire and lightning abilities, disappearing thereafter.

Three small gods represent how the sky helps nourish the earth. These small gods are Sudanort of wind, Surudnuth of thunder, and Surodnal of rice.

Many other small gods are famous, for a wide variety of time.  Wem is speculated to be the true first child of Mboloké. It remains elusive by having the ability to change its shape.  Ibelec is said to be able to travel through time.  Iarkrad and Ailleserc represent the phases of the moon and are said to be responsible for nightmares and good dreams.