splinter-keep/rules/deck/curiosities.yaml

# Curiosities of the Chaos — Spark & Inspiration Tables
# Use these to add flavour, twists, and colour to any scene.

player_absent:
  description: "A player is missing this session. Their character..."
  table:
    2: "Fell into a deep sleep — needs carted around or used as a prop"
    3: "Got waylaid or knackered — behind the party trying to catch up"
    4: "Had a wild idea and scarpered off on a solo mission"
    5: "Been replaced by a shapeshifter with their own goal"
    6: "Suffering crippling bowel movements — needs to rest up"
    7: "Phases in and out ethereally — wild magicks lacing this place"
    8: "Sneezed into a rift — temporarily lost in a pocket realm"
    9: "Vanishes without reason — when they return: 'I'll explain later'"
    10: "Eaten then regurgitated safely by a large worm... back soon"
    11: "Sent for firewood / to take a leak, hasn't returned"
    12: "Summoned by a devil to complete contracted jury duty"

entrance:
  description: "The way in, or the next entrance, seems to be..."
  table:
    2: "Bolted on both sides, numerous locks, maybe arcane"
    3: "Coated in sprawling, animated vegetation — snaps and bites"
    4: "Err... looking at us?"
    5: "Formed from bones of fallen souls — torment those nearby"
    6: "Guarded or created by insects or tiny creatures"
    7: "Illusory — opaque when disturbed, observed remotely"
    8: "Not an entrance at all... painted on the wall maybe?"
    9: "Partially submerged within foul, putrid sewage water"
    10: "Peppered with traps — some operational, some dormant"
    11: "The way into somewhere entirely unexpected... or the way out?"
    12: "Warped through age and elements, hard to breach"

small_animal:
  description: "That small animal is..."
  animal_table:
    1: "Covered in coloured boils"
    2: "Gazing up in fear at the sky"
    3: "Like a furry sponge on legs"
    4: "Rolling at speed like a ball"
    5: "Screaming wildly but smiling"
    6: "Vanishing now and again"
  has_table:
    1: "A glow that trails after it"
    2: "A wound or a fractured limb"
    3: "Gnawed at the tip of your boot"
    4: "Lots of pals — too many to count"
    5: "Snuggled into your clothes"
    6: "Torn wings that flutter sadly"

drink_or_drug:
  description: "This drink/drug is [colour], smells like [scent], and..."
  table:
    2: "Burns the throat — taker breathes fire or ice"
    3: "Conveys temporary foresight into the near future"
    4: "Heals 1 HP, but increases stress by 2"
    5: "If consumed daily, enhances something but gives permanent stress"
    6: "Long-expired — leaves taker with virulent stomach upset"
    7: "Mutates cells — taker transforms in appearance"
    8: "Phases the consumer into another realm or place"
    9: "Releases eggs into the blood — hatch corrosive insects"
    10: "Shrinks or grows the taker considerably"
    11: "Taps the consumer into the mind of someone nearby"
    12: "Temporarily enhances or inhibits something (GM's discretion)"

trinket:
  description: "This little trinket is..."
  trinket_table:
    1: "Like a spyglass with horns"
    2: "Malfunctioning but fixable"
    3: "Putty soft but can harden"
    4: "Spinning and lit in green"
    5: "Stuck halfway into a crack"
    6: "Too heavy to lift"
  has_table:
    1: "A button too tiny for a finger"
    2: "A map scroll inside it"
    3: "A ticking sound from within"
    4: "A unique way of unlocking"
    5: "A way of being forgotten quickly"
    6: "An identical one elsewhere"

training:
  description: "This training/research will take [time + cost], and will..."
  table:
    2: "Anger your mentor — they wash their hands of you"
    3: "Burn you out — reduce a trait or max health by 1"
    4: "Connect you with a new pal — invites you to join a guild"
    5: "End — but your mentor seeks help from you and the party"
    6: "Enhance a trait by 1"
    7: "Fail — leave you with a lasting wound or permanent stress"
    8: "Increase your max health by 1"
    9: "Not enhance anything — marks you with random arcane power"
    10: "Open up a quest when your mentor disappears"
    11: "Reveal your mentor is a wanted criminal... but innocent?"
    12: "Succeed — attract unwanted repute, rumours, or hassle"

realm_happenings:
  description: "What's happening in the Realm right now?"
  table_1_3:
    factions:
      - "The Empire plans to invade & plunder The Realm."
      - "The Reaper, serving The Emperor, seeks lichdom in The Realm."
      - "The Wilds terrorise The Realm from The Wilderness."
      - "The Huntswoman hunts weavers for The Reaper."
  table_4_6:
    factions:
      - "The Darkmal uses The Realm to spawn a beast army."
      - "The Ghast (daughter of The Darkmal) works against him."
      - "The Ancients cult foretold The Darkmal's coming."
      - "The Paragon, if unearthed, may kill The Darkmal."

dodgy_directions:
  description: "How did you say we get there?"
  table:
    2: "Crest the hill, align this doo-dah to the shape of the hills, follow that"
    3: "Look for a windmill, abandoned it is — well, apart from..."
    4: "Just past that whopping big tree that looks like it's lookin' back"
    5: "Take a left when you see the gallows... don't look at the skeletons"
    6: "There are old beacons from here to there, but some are cursed"
    7: "There's water, it doesn't move, go around it, don't glare at the light"
    8: "Remember there are two entrances — take the left, more scary one"
    9: "Rumour has it the arrow only appears at dark... go the other way"
    10: "There's a trail of bones that'll take you all the way there"
    11: "When you start hearin' whispers, you're on the right track"
    12: "You'll see little Banckit sitting on a wall — he'll direct you... if you sing"

watch_out:
  description: "Watch out for that..."
  table:
    2: "Air current — once it shifts, you could lose your head"
    3: "Bandit gang... and small rabbits that follow you everywhere"
    4: "Bunch of blackened rocks — they don't belong in this world"
    5: "Bunch of wildlings out there — hunt in packs, never give up"
    6: "Dancing light thing — if you follow it, you're in trouble"
    7: "Ground — in some patches, not as firm as it looks"
    8: "Grove of flowers — if one of you sees a yellow one, you're doomed"
    9: "Howling at night — once it starts, they've smelled you"
    10: "Krenva — his gear prices are great, but if your rations start talkin'..."
    11: "Red mist — makes your eyes bleed if you ain't careful"
    12: "Tower that looks... weird — always seems to be on the move"

creepy_vibe:
  description: "This place is creepy — it's like..."
  table:
    2: "Alive. The entire place is pulsing, breathing."
    3: "Closing in around you, suffocating you step by step."
    4: "Every sound echoes back, delayed and whispered."
    5: "Every step creaks, but the floor is stone."
    6: "Illuminated in dim light without a source — turning yellow."
    7: "Abandoned, but it feels like something's here."
    8: "Someone's watching... is that ticking?"
    9: "Burning smell tinged with strawberries."
    10: "That flickering orb wants us to follow it."
    11: "Shuffling feet getting nearer... or not."
    12: "The air is acrid — blood, decay, mint."
    13: "Water nearby, but arid dryness in the mouth."
    14: "Fog curls and shifts to let you through."
    15: "Way warmer than expected, but cold within."
    16: "You've been transported elsewhere."
    17: "Tapping now and again on your shoulder or the walls."
    18: "A sense of falling, though you stand still."

npc_knows:
  description: "This NPC knows something about a character's..."
  table:
    1: "Ex-lover"
    2: "Family member"
    3: "Hidden birth mark or feature"
    4: "Mentor or arch nemesis"
    5: "Previous career or home"
    6: "Weakness or fear"

chalk_circle:
  description: "This chalk circle might..."
  table:
    3: "Be drawn by an invisible hand as the party arrives"
    4: "Be nothing more than a chalk circle"
    5: "Rub out in a breeze and become inoperable"
    6: "Contain a small bunny — scared or teased out, it evaporates"
    7: "Contain a trap concealed by illusion"
    8: "Contain something that tries to bargain to escape"
    9: "Echo — another circle elsewhere to talk back and forth"
    10: "Emit a beautiful scent — inside the circle, poison gas"
    11: "Have one treasure within — too heavy to move"
    12: "Make those within it dance beyond exhaustion"
    13: "Mutate the floor into a mouth — swallows all upon it"
    14: "Protect those within it from what's approaching"
    15: "Shift colours — devious pixie work"
    16: "Summon a presence from another plane"
    17: "Teleport you to a random circle elsewhere in The Realm"
    18: "Transform the appearance of those within it — permanently?"

only_way_in:
  description: "Wait, so the only way in is..."
  table:
    1: "Also the only way to escape what's behind us?"
    2: "Closing fast — and we can see what's waiting inside?"
    3: "Doing a job badly, taking the blame, ruining our reputation?"
    4: "Sacrificing someone or something we can't live without?"
    5: "Past that gang — one of whom has four arms?"
    6: "Through the mouth of a huge dead worm — that might not be dead?"

ask_players:
  description: "Questions to ask the players during a scene."
  table:
    3: "As you move, what are you looking for, and how, and why?"
    4: "Do you carry an item that means something to you? What is it?"
    5: "Didn't you dream about this last night? What happened?"
    6: "If not for this, what would you be doing? What do you share?"
    7: "In moments like this, what's your likely catch phrase?"
    8: "Someone let one rip... own up, who was it?"
    9: "Something about your chains, discords, or what's gone wrong?"
    10: "Something strikes against your morals here — what is it?"
    11: "This rumour or job — what's worrying you about it?"
    12: "Something catches your attention? What do you see or hear?"
    13: "What's your biggest fear or hope right now? How do you show it?"
    14: "What's your plan for after all this? What do you tell the others?"
    15: "What's your routine here? What keeps you sane and ready?"
    16: "You heard a rumour about something here... what was it?"
    17: "You hear something faint — what did it sound like?"
    18: "You've got a bad habit — don't we all? What's yours?"