South Marrow district, by Kai (200 xp)

The Free City, South Marrow District, Mbityi borough.  Bounded on the west by the inner harbor, on the south by industrial fields, on the east by Nanpu borough, and on the north by the Copper Quarter.  Brick paved streets and houses of beam and plaster, or stone, or thatch.  Relatively sparse for the free city; the buildings aren't so high, or so close together.  There are open spaces with abandoned buildings or abandoned construction projects.  You can see the sun most times of day.  Most of the people in this quarter are adventurers coming in for supplies or past adventurers who have abandoned the life and set up shop.  Mari decided to settle here because most of her favorite crew is here, and it's an established destination for those who need maps, instruments, travel spells, travel supplies, and the like.  She and Kaziim live in a boat on the harbor.  It's a smallish boat, by Mari's standards; it has a private cabin for Kaziim and two berths, one which serves as Mari's storeroom and bed chamber and the other as a mapmaker's studio.  The piers are made of stout logs tarred, lashed together, and floating on the water.  On hot days the piers stick to your shoes.  Kaziim helped her paint maps on the sails and hull, so the entire ship is a larger-than-average map.  It makes it easy to find.

There are no governmental heads of the borough.  All the residents meet monthly to talk about problems and vote how to solve them; anyone who doesn't attend is under no obligation to abide by the decisions of the group, but the group is also under no obligation to make sure their decisions benefit those members.  This is why there's that big unpaved patch in front of Zeb Gasket's hostelry.  Zeb started coming to meetings again right after the rest of the road was paved, but he never got around to paving his stretch.  That said, there are some members whose opinions carry a lot of weight in the neightborhood.  Among them are:
    * Gris Dentsdeschiens, an orc infantry captain who lead a regiment in the uprising,
    * Crackle Fitzpatrick, a gnome tinker who everyone goes to with anything that needs to be fixed, and
    * Lyialliou Iyitts, tall, beautiful, softly glowing, runs the healer's house.

The borough pays protection to the Rattling Bones.  Everyone scrapes together what they can spare; on a good month someone may put in more, on a bad month, less.  The Rattling Bones took the borough from the Daikyojin a couple years back, with the help of some of the neighbors.  The Rattling Bones started in Nanpu borough, so they're almost locals, and they like to get drunk and swap stories in the Fishwife's Grin.  The Daikyojin kept themselves seperate from the neighbors, and were strict about the monthly tithe and violent when it wasn't complete.  The Rattling Bones can usually be depended upon only to attack outsiders.  Kaziim has a low-level membership in their ranks.  They approached him about being a sort of pet encyclopedia/ spy/ getaway man when he started to apprentice with Gwyrridon, and the neighbors were enthusiastic about the idea, on the grounds that Kaziim would be a calming influence on them.  Kaziim gave up his active membership when he went to University, but he's still sworn to help a Bone in need, he keeps abreast of their activities, and he goes to meetings every month or so.

Mari's favorite places are:
    * the Fishwife's Grin, where she goes to drink with her crew.  This tavern is low and dark; it's made of tarred beams, and its foundations were cursed, so it's slowly sinking.  When the front doorstep sinks more than an easy jump below street level, they build another storey on and move the front door to it.
    * the back room of Enpu the trader's shop, where all the local merchants go to haggle over new maps and sextants and pieces of exotic esoterica.  Enpu's place is built of wooden beams with dyed canvas hung on them.  After hours he runs games of chance.  In certain back rooms, access to which are gained only through secrets and passwords and luck, he holds games of chance for those pieces of esoterica that are beyond price, or which, for whatever reason, may not be sold or traded.
    * behind La Moloque's nursery, at the edge of the industrial fields, where she can see the waving sea on one side and the tides of grasses on the other.
Kaziim's favorite places are:
    * the book store
    * Gwyrridon's house
    * Cousin Kutoh's dry goods store.  When Kaziim was a kid, Cousin Kutoh would tell him stories of eir childhood in Asko, teach him Atraask, and comp him treats in exchange for help around the store.  Cousin Kutoh's store has the biggest selection in the district.  From fireworks to fresh eggs, soap to nails, Kutoh has a little of everything.  Kaziim liked to look through the aisles and ask Cousin Kutoh about things.
    * The top of the Needle.  The Needle was built by a a small goblin horde a couple decades before Kaziim and Mari moved in.  By the time they got there, the horde had moved on, but they had left their dwelling.  It's about seven stories tall and made of what looks like a combination of tar and melted pewter.  After the horde moved out, other people moved in, and it's become a sort of combination indoor mall and apartment building.  Kaziim likes to climb the outside up to the top, where he can see almost the whole borough and all the people in it doing things that otherwise might be secret.  He has a knack for blending in and sitting lightly.

Conditions from the First Session

Arcane Link: Kaziim
The universe .now considers Tanuki's character and Kaziim's character to be almost one being.  This means that any magical (in the broad sense) effects that affect one also affect the other, at half-strength.  This includes any sort of spell, psionic manifestation, supernatural ability, the effects of Taint, et cetera.  If there is a numerical effect (damage, healing, bonuses to stats, et cetera), the other PC is effected by half the amount.  For example, if Kaziim is hit by a fireball for 36 damage, Tanuki's character would take 18 damage.  In these instances, the second character is not allowed a separate saving throw.  If there is no numerical effect, but there is a saving throw, then the second character gets a saving throw at the same DC minus 5.  Tanuki's character is considered to have a Taint score equal to half of Kaziim's.  Any other effects must be adjudicated on the fly.
Resolution: The link is somehow broken, magically.
Beat: You receive a negative effect through the link.
I See You
Tanuki's character understands Yohatanapela now.  He can shed this Condition to gain a one-time automatic critical success on the next roll to influence or otherwise take advantage of him.  Until he does so, any stunts making use of this Condition have their bonuses doubled.
Resolution: Tanuki's character uses his understanding to manipulate Yohatanapela; the Condition is resolved as above.
Beat: n/a.

Trained in Tainted Magic
Kaziim now has the Taint, starting at a Taint score of 3.  He also now knows the spells preserve organ (0-level), bestow wound, and seething eyebane. While he has this Condition, his caster level for the purposes of all Tainted spells is increased by 1.  He might also find opportunities in the campaign to learn other Tainted spells as well.
Resolution: Remove the Taint.  I'll give you one possibly useful, possibly useless, possibly obvious hint: the Haeno are the culture most accustomed to dealing with the Taint; the Aprashami are a distant second and no one else has any direct experience of it, as far as you know.
Beat: Kaziim's Taint modifier and/or Control Tier increases.  Also, whenever he goes through (pass or fail) one of the Punishments of the Taint.

Kaziim's Log of the First Session (400 xp)

8th Harpy, evening.

Dear Kree,

We've left port and civilization on a two-masted ship. The weather is fine and we're making good time, but it's still a long way to the colony. My comrades and I have passed the time getting acquainted.

Ashtolisstiklassendreshalia you remember; the young girl raised by Mboloke's child. It sits on her shoulder like a parrot and hisses at me. I may have prodded it once or twice with the wooden fountain pen you gave me, and I may now have a slightly scorched fountain pen. Actually not scorched, exactly. Glassy, and faintly imploded. I'll show you on my return. I'm sure you'll have some ideas about it. I wish you were here now to ask questions of the girl and her ward/warden; I'm sure you'd think of something I haven't, and when we get back it'll be too late. I wonder what the girl thinks about that.

Our wilderness survival guide is a tree druid called Rivers. She's brought the grigri bags for the matter from the 12 hills. She's from the northern sanctum that protects the Hyllywyo prophecy. You remember that, I think, and if you don't it's in 89.787 (Prophecies (geographic)). It was unusually detailed about what to do now that the situation it details has arisen. She has a reserved air about her; it remains to be seen whether there's much going on beneath that stillness. Still, she seems like an educated person. I look forward to longer conversations with her.

For muscle, we have the Red Sun's disgraced scion. I know rumor and scandal has never held much appeal for you, but in this instance it may prove pertinent. Balomere's father, the patriarch of the Red Sun, was put under some kind of love spell a decade or two back and sired a child upon an orc. He took the child in, although why is not obvious; he subsequently hid the child from sight and denied it access to his person as he sat at court. He sent young Balomere to be trained as a knight; the child acquitted himself well, and won several honors. We're fortunate to have such a capable defender. He certainly looks sturdy enough. And, moreover, he has a gentleness, a concern for others, that is unusual in children as ill-treated as he must have been. I can't help but hold some fellow-feeling for him, as I am myself the child of miscegenation. My mother loved me and spoke well of my father. But for a stroke of luck, I could have been in Balomere's shoes.

Balomere is accompanied everywhere by his war dog, Calix. That noble beast has not yet found much reason to love me, but I hope he won't let that influence his behavior on the battlefield.

Listen to me. Why do I assume there will be any battlefields? For all I know, we'll just walk up the 12 hills, deposit the godling on a Salyagam pillow and turn home. Perhaps I've been spending too much time in 203.43 (Fiction (ripping yarns)).

It's different out here than anywhere I've been. No windbreaks or causeways, only smooth ocean for miles. There is at once a dizzying sense of freedom and a mind-numbing boredom. I pass the time pestering the sailors and looking over the rail. I mean to ask the captain for the use of a stick and some net, that I might survey the denizens of the deep. You may be sure that I will relay what I find to you, old friend.

Kaz

17th Beholder

Kree,

When I left you I had no idea what I'd find. The wonder, and the terror, are almost too much- but let me start at the beginning.

The taint is worse than any of the books can say. The sea is blood and ink, true, and the air is colorless and leeches the light from the sun, yes, but more than that, the colors are wrong somehow. As if the landscape is painted in colors I can't see, and what I perceive is an unfaithful echo. As if bright lights are flashing under my skin. The wind speaks in the voice of a madman. I spend more energy than I can afford raising the wind, trying to blow the foulness away. There is nothing to replace it. The colors are wrong. The wood of my bunk is spongy and pus seeps from it. But I'm beginning to understand.

This afternoon, a sailor from the drowned Maiden's Hope gave us all fingers of jade from his own precious cargo. The Haino believe that jade is a pure element, formed from the breath of one of their gods, and as such it is proof against the taint. At least for a while. That he would part with it at all, let alone enough of it to supply our whole party, is a sign of the feeling the taint inspires. We cling to each other in the face of it.

I had a notion, based not a little on the 4th volume of Porphyry's journals in Pesh, to make the wind into a barricade around the ship. I think I must have attracted something, though, for no sooner had I done that than several dozen small hard-shelled, hymenopteric creatures popped into existence above decks and began attacking us. The sailor I mentioned and myself began to confine them in nets, but when we had finished, they lost their solid character and built themselves into something new.

It is hard to describe.

Their shells rolled from their backs like beads of mercury and extruded tendrils which hardened again. The muscles of their bodies broke free from their insertion points and found new homes. The bones, left visible, reached for each other, knitted together like too many roots in too little ground. They became, in short, something new. Every net that had held these creatures now contained a hulking humanoid creature, bristling with spikes, the largest no less than fourteen feet tall. They burst predictably through the nets and came for us.

If before I had entertained doubts about the ability of our company, I entertain none now. Balomere and the druid sprang instantly into action, Balomere with his mighty war club and the druid with her crossbow. I made a guess about the nature of our foe, and the taint, and called out to Balomere to knock his opponent into the water; this he did with alacrity, but the creature got hold of Balomere's foot somehow and it took the druid's intervention to free him. When the creature hit the water, a huge wave answered it, and bore it up some tens of feet into the air; it also dissolved the creature's fascia and swamped Balomere in a deluge of viscera. Mboloke's child chewed on one and Calix, his teeth coated with jade, bit it. A sailor, killed by the creatures and risen anew, was similarly dispatched by the druid with her jade. I set myself the task of distracting the last, so that the druid could have a clear shot. In so doing, however, I came face to face with the creature.

They are more intelligent than we give them credit for. I had taken it for a voracious beast, but it spoke. Clear reason burned in its sputum-colored eyes. It brought its face down close to me and offered to share with me the knowledge of that land.

Old friend, I have neither heard or read of anything like this. The taint is something entirely new. I will write in detail what I learned and send it to you separately.

Sadly, however, I was unable to finish my education. When I realized the creature had information to share, I interposed my body between it and the druid's crossbow, gambling that she wouldn't shoot me to get to it. I was right about that; she kicked me in the knee, and when I fell, she shot it in the head. I swear, it was right in the middle of a sentence. Closed-minded, ignorant, bloodthirsty zealot. You remember her kind, old friend. Book burners, witch burners. The reason the free city rose. I'll see the back of her. Unless I could, just, teach her why her way is wrong.

Enough. My lecturer flapped off, and the zealot went back to her silence. I summoned a shower for Balomere and peace returned. I've attached what I learned. The rest remains to you.

Kaz

Horoscopes

 Kaziim was born under a new moon in the astrological month of the Harpy. The invisible moon governs hidden things, invisibility, and the mysteries of birth and death, the nothingness from which we all spring. This is the light that, in his case, shines through the Harpy's lens of charm, social grace, and idealism. This horoscope (often referred to as “the urchin's light”) indicates that he would find himself disappearing, quite comfortably, in large crowds. Surround yourself with people and no one will see you as you piece together little details from a thousand conversations in which you spoke and a thousand conversations which merely happened near you. In the hum and thrum of conversation, you find out things about people they would never think of telling you one-on-one. By means of a dropped word here, an over-the-shoulder sentence there, the careful composition on-the-spot of subconversations, you can engineer a better world and a more fun (or more useful or more profitable or more whatever) time will be had by all, without anyone ever noticing your involvement! That same facility, of course, has a dark side: should someone cross you, you know how to ensure that no one ever notices who caused the social scene to turn against that person so completely and viciously. Skill Bonuses: +1 Bluff, +1 Perform (both sing and oratory), +1 Sleight of Hand, +1 Stealth. Other Benefits: 1/day – disguise self. Birthstone: +1 AC v. ranged attacks (turquoise).

Balomere was born under a crescent moon in the astrological month of the Basilisk. The seer moon governs prophecy, divination, mystery, the senses, and (depending on whether it's waxing or waning) either youth or extreme old age. This is the light that, in his case, shines through the Basilisk's lens of gloom, foresight, independence, and stubbornness. This horoscope (often referred to as “the guard's light”) indicates that he is gifted with an almost frightening capacity for knowing how a situation will develop, at least when it will turn out poorly. Every once in a while, someone born in the guard's light will be surprised at a happy turn of events, but in their mind it is quite rare. The constant preparation for the worst makes you one of the most resilient people you know. A squinty look to the eyes is common in people colored by the guard's light, as they try in vain to avoid the decay they see in everything around them; this look can easily make even compassionate expressions as frightening to others as their famously powerful glare. Skill Bonuses: +1 Intimidate, +1 Perception, +2 Sense Motive. Other Benefits: 1/day – detect thoughts. Birthstone: +1 Fort v. transmutation (ruby).

??? (Maia) was born under a setting sun in the astrological month of the Dragon. The setting sun gifts those born under it with wisdom and love of learning. This is the light that, in her case, shines through the Dragon's lens of magnificence, leadership, and aesthetics. This horoscope (often referred to as “the vizier's light”) indicates that she finds her natural home at the right hand of the throne. Not so much because she wants to avoid the consequences that ruling often brings but rather because it is not the making of the decisions that interests her; she is fascinated by the giving of good advice. Leaders and monarchs have to spend too much time leading to do the study necessary to do so effectively. That sort of intense study is both where ??? feels most comfortable and where she most excels. Nothing makes her happier than to know that the world is a better place because of the advice she has given someone in power. Of course, she always makes sure that her advice was vital to the betterment of the world. Skill Bonuses: +1 Appraise, +1 Knowledge (choose two), +1 Perception. Other Benefits: +1 on concentration checks. Birthstone: +1 AC for one round after aiding another (garnet).

Lyss was born under a setting sun in the astrological month of the Kraken. The setting sun gifts those born under it with wisdom and love of learning. This is the light that, in her case, shines through the Kraken's lens of tactics and plans. This horoscope (often referred to as “the general's light”) indicates that she is the type to brood over a chessboard for months before making a move. When she does so, it is always accompanied with not only a wide variety of follow-up plans and reactions to every possible countermove but also with a deep understanding of how that move and the various strategies that branch from it are placed within the larger context of chess as a whole. In social situations, everything she says is carefully crafted both to achieve her goals and also to reveal more of the personalities of the people around her. A master manipulator, she excels at crafting situations where every possibility benefits her, either materially or by forming a foundation wherein she has the knowledge to more easily accomplish her ends later. Skill Bonuses: +1 Knowledge (choose two), +1 Stealth, +1 Swim. Other Benefits: +1 on concentration checks. Birthstone: +1 AC v. touch (aquamarine).

??? (Tanuki) was born under the rising sun in the astrological month of the Beholder. The rising sun gifts those born under it with a hopeful spirit and a strong will. This is the light that, in his case, shines through the Beholder's lens of curiosity, spectacle, and puzzle-solving. This horoscope (often referred to as “the hero's light”) indicates that his guiding ethic is “never say die”. He acts with an almost instinctual confidence that, no matter the difficulty, no matter the effort expended, no matter the time necessary, he will succeed. This lack of an understanding that failure is possible is coupled with an unquenchable thirst for new challenges and new experiences, often leaving him with a seemingly endless repertoire of pulse-poundingly exciting stories. If you are interested in the same things he is, that is; one of the pitfalls of being colored with the hero's light is a bit of a tendency towards obsession and overfocus on a small list of things he finds exciting. Skill Bonuses: +1 Heal, +1 Linguistics, +1 Perception. Other Benefits: +1 Will (increasing to +2 v. fear). Birthstone: +1 save v. illusion (agate).

Chibi picture and description of Ashtolisstiklassendreshalia also known as Liss

As truly lovely as chibi-maker is, it lacks a "is there a family of ferrets living in your hair?" hair-do. She may have seen a brush once in her life. Maybe. She also tends to move the tangles to conceal her left eye (er, the red one). She always carries around her raggedy-old-cloak. Sass said she was wrapped in it when found. It's honestly way to big for her to wear properly, quite a bit of it will drag on the ground.

Visual Inspirations for Victinxin

Visual Inspirations for Yohatanapela

Visual Inspiratons for Imam Khatib Damaokelmorsu

Kaziim LaFortune, Mariko LaFortune, and Gwyrridon Pwyll (500 xp to Kaziim, including 350 for a story kept private) -- ALL PRODUCED BY KAI, KAZIIM'S PLAYER

Kaziim LaFortune:  

Mariko LaFortune:  

Gwyrridon Pwyll:  

Visual inspirations for the Leper Colony

Heat and Humidity (from Heart of the Jungle)

Hot and humid is the rule of the day deep in the jungle.

With a combination of the sun beating upon the canopy,

vegetation rotting underfoot, frequent rain, and the

multiple rivers that run through the area, the air in the

Mwangi Expanse is often said to be “thick enough

to chew.” It is common for the temperature to be very

hot (90° F) underneath the canopy of the Expanse. On

particularly hot days, it may even reach the conditions for

severe heat (110° F). (For the effects of high temperatures,

see page 444 of the

Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook.) These

temperatures are usually reached an hour before noon

and continue 2 to 3 hours past noon. In addition, it is

constantly humid, even when the temperatures are well

below the safe threshold. In such humidity, it is particularly

hard to cool off, as sweat does not evaporate as easily and

hence loses much of its cooling property.

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