We’ve been making a lot of progress over the past few days since we last updated y’all on the progress on the current build of Bloodfall. We were stuck with very little progress for a little while as we had to do multiple passes on the Profession systems and progression in order for them to make any sense. In the next few days we should be able to finish up designing all of the Novice Professions and all of the Origins. The entirety of the Magick system will take a bit longer but we have made considerable progress and are almost finished with everything that we need to open back up the Bloodfall Open Table. The major factor now which progress might be slow on is the Faction system but we have made considerable strides behind the scenes in perfecting that. I hope to have another update early next week. It does look like we will need to delay the restart of the Bloodfall Open Table until the week of the 15th but I assure you it will definitely be worth the wait! If you like what you see here, reminder that I do have a Patreon and the support helps bring more content to the blog and makes developing Bloodfall all the more easy, plus you get to see everything except the Dungeon24 posts early!
Tag: tabletop roleplaying
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Area A4: Library
This library of ancient arcane and religious texts is shockingly well preserved. The scroll racks that line the walls are perfectly preserved, only showing the slightest sign of aging at all. The room looks very well traveled through, any PCs that make a DC 10 Spot check will realize that no dust has accumulated on any of the shelves or tables and that there are warm embers in the fireplace. The tables are slightly ink-stained, as if someone had been using them to copy manuscripts in the recent past.
Treasure: In the chest on the southern wall there is 40 platinum pieces and a scroll of color spray. The chest is locked (DC 15 Open Lock) and the lock contains a poison needle trap.
Poison Needle Trap: CR 1; mechanical; touch trigger; manual
reset; Atk +8 ranged (1 plus greenblood oil poison [Injury DC 13, Int Dmg: 1 Con, Sec Dmg: 1d2 Con ); Search DC 22; Disable Device DC 20.
Door: Stone (Hardness 8; 60 HP; Break DC 28) Locked (DC 28 Open Lock); the key is in another dungeon room (will update this once that room has been keyed). -
AREA A3: Cloister Dormitory
The remains of the dormitory are strewn with rotted beds, broken tables, and shredded fabrics. The chimneys of the dual fireplaces in the common room have long since been choked with debris.
Monster: A darkmantle (Spot DC 20) hangs from the ceiling in the center of the northern bedroom. It will drop on the first PC that it notices pass under its lair. -
The response and support even just over the past day has been overwhelming, glad to see so many people excited to do this again this year. These sorts of things are always very fun to participate in and I can’t wait to see what everyone else is creating.
Area A2: Temple Courtyard
This courtyard was once a lush garden with a beautiful central fountain surrounded by four statues. What was once the fountain now lays broken and dry but the small statue of the three-headed Hecate still lays in the rubble. Surrounding the ruined fountain there are four statue on plinths.
Northeast Statue: This statue depicts a young woman carrying a torch in her left hand. An inscription on the plinth reads “Phosphoros, Dawnbringer” in ancient Eltarian, this can be read with a DC 20 Decipher Script skill check.
Northwest Statue: This statue depicts a blindfolded young man holding bronze tablets in his right hand. An inscription on the plinth reads “Hermes, brother of Sofia” in ancient Eltarian, this can be read with a DC 20 Decipher Script skill check.
Southeast Statue: This statue depicts a young woman holding an open scroll above her head with both hands. An inscription on the plinth reads “Sofia, the Third Face” in ancient Eltarian, this can be read with a DC 20 Decipher Script skill check. Below this statue a humanoid skeleton is slumped against the plinth holding the remains of a torch and a dagger.
Southwest Statue: This statue depicts a young woman in the armor of an old Eltarian foot soldier with a spear in her left hand, a shield strapped to her right arm, and a spatha at her belt. An inscription on the plinth reads “Soteria, the Guardian” in ancient Eltarian, this can be read with a DC 20 Decipher Script skill check.
Door: Good Wooden, Hardness 5, HP 10, Locked DC 20 Open Lock (break DC 15). The lock on this door is a steel bar run through two rings with a 10 inch long combination mechanism that has five disks and an inscription in ancient Eltarian that reads “Holy Sibling” (DC 20 Decipher Script) (answer: Hermes). -
Step 2: Place Rivers
I won’t pontificate for too long on the placement of rivers. It is possibly one of the most discussed subjects in the whole topic of producing maps for fantasy roleplaying games. I will therefore remain concise. It is recommended that you place rivers in ways that make good sense and set them up to flow downhill into larger bodies of water. Lake hexes (bodies of water that take up at least one whole 6 mile hex should have at least two rivers leading into them but feel free to exercise your own judgement.
Step 3: Placing Settlements
Now almost just as much ink has been spilled in the tabletop blogosphere about cities and settlements. The system that I’m about to describe here isn’t necessarily breaking new ground but I am going to be synthesizing several ideas in this system. The main things that I’m drawing upon are Medieval Demographics Made Easy, Traveller’s Universal World Profile, Welsh Piper’s Cities & Settlements article and Medieval Demographics online tool, and this article by Bat in the Attic about using the UWP in a fantasy context.
The Universal City Profile (UCP)
The Universal City Profile, or UCP as I will call it from now on, is an alphanumeric code that is intended to portray a brush over of information on the hex map to make it into a more useful tool for running at the table. The UCP read as follows:
Resource Potential (RP)
The Resource Potential score is determined by rolling 2d6-2 to produce a range of 0-10 (A). This represents how rich in non-agricultural resources the area the settlement is built on is.
Local Water Supply (LWS)
The Local Water Supply score is determined by rolling 2d6-7 and adding or subtracting the appropriate modifiers to produce a range of 0-10 (A). Add +6 if the settlement is within 1 hex of a river. Add +4 if the settlement is within two hexes of a water hex. Add +2 if the settlement is in a forest hex. Subtract -1 if the settlement is in hill hex. Subtract -2 if the settlement is in a mountain hex. Subtract -6 if the settlement is in a desert hex. This value is automatically 10 if the settlement is in a swamp hex.
Local Agricultural Potential (LAP)
The Local Agricultural Potential score is determined by rolling 2d6-7 and adding the Local Water Supply score to produce a range of 0-10 (A). This represents how fertile the farms and herds which are managed immediately outside the settlement and are used to feed the people of the settlement.
Population/Settlement Class (SC)
The Settlement Class of a settlement is determined by rolling 2d6 and then adding the appropriate modifiers based on RP, LWS, and LAP, as well as its proximity to other settlements, as detailed below. This will produce a range of between 0 and 15 (F). The minimum population table is in units we will call families, which consists of 5 people.
If the settlement’s RP is 2 or less, subtract one. If the settlement’s LAP is 2 or less subtract one. If the settlement’s LAP is 3, 4, or 5, add one. If the settlement’s LAP is 6 or greater, add three. If the settlement’s LWS is 0, subtract two. If the settlement is adjacent to a settlement with a Settlement Class (SC) of C or higher, subtract six. If the settlement is within two hexes of a settlement with a SC of C or higher, subtract three. If the settlement is adjacent to a settlement with a SC of 9, A, or B, subtract four. If the settlement is within two hexes of a settlement with a SC of 9, A, or B, subtract two. If the settlement is adjacent to a settlement with a SC of 6, 7, or 8, subtract two. If the settlement is within two hexes of a settlement with a SC of 6, 7, or 8, subtract one.
Fortification Level (FL)
This signifies what sort, if any, of fortifications (castles, keeps, etc.), that the ruler of the settlement lives in. This is determined by rolling 2d6 and adding the appropriate modifiers as detailed below.
If the SC of the settlement is C or higher, add six. If the SC of the settlement is 9, A, or B, add four. If the SC of the settlement is 6, 7, or 8, add two. If the SC of the settlement is 3, 4, or 5, subtract two. If the SC of the settlement is 2 or less subtract four.
A score of 12 or higher indicates a FL of A, which means that the settlement contains a full Castle (an internal Keep and surrounding curtain wall). A score of 11 indicates a FL of B, which means that the settlement contains a standalone Keep. A score of 10 indicates a FL of C, which means that the settlement contains a standalone stone Tower. A score of 9 indicates a FL of D, which means that the settlement contains a wooden Hall or Manor House. A score of 8 or less indicates a FL of X, which means that the settlement contains no such fortifications.
Wall Level (WL)
This signifies what sort, if any, of wall or fence encircles and encloses the settlement. This is determined by rolling 2d6 and adding the appropriate modifiers as detailed below.
If the SC of the settlement is C or higher, add six. If the SC of the settlement is 9, A, or B, add four. If the SC of the settlement is 6, 7, or 8, add two. If the SC of the settlement is 3, 4, or 5, subtract two. If the SC of the settlement is 2 or less subtract four.
A score of 12 or higher indicates a WL of A, which means that the settlement has a high stone Curtain Wall. A score of 11 indicates a WL of B, which means that the settlement has a wooden Palisade. A score of 10 indicates a WL of C, which means that the settlement contains a low stone Fence. A score of 9 indicates a WL of D, which means that the settlement has a Hedge. A score of 8 or less indicates a WL of X, which means that the settlement has no such Wall or Fence.Government Type (GT)
This score indicates what sort of system of government that the settlement operates under. This is determined by rolling 2d6-7 and adding the settlement’s SC.Government Type Table Score Type 0 Clan Patriarch/Matriarch 1 Council of Clan Elders 2 Aristocratic Oligarchy 3 Athenian Style Democracy 4 Temple Complex Rule 5 Aristocratic Republic 6 Feudal Noble 7 Colonial Charter 8 Bourgeois Republic 9 Centralized Bureaucratic Republic 10 (A) Tyrant/Dictator 11 (B) Petty King 12 (C) Federation of Freemen’s Guilds 13 (D) Theocratic Republic 14 (E) Theocratic Dictatorship/Kingship 15 (F) Inquisitorial Oligarchy Law Level (LL)
The Law Level (LL) of a settlement indicates how much the authority of the ruler interferes with the lives of its inhabitants, what sorts of weapons that PCs can carry in the settlement, and is used as a modifier on certain sorts of checks. It is determined by rolling 2d6-7 and adding the Government Type to produce a range of 0-10 (A).
A LL of between 0-3 means that PCs can carry any sorts of weapons openly in the street. A LL of 4-7 means that PCs can carry swords and daggers but cannot openly carry weapons of war (polearms, spears, hammers, etc). A Law Level of 8 or higher means that PCs may not lawfully carry any weapons other than daggers, which must not be carried openly.Technology Level (TL)
The Technology Level of a settlement indicates the level of technology that the settlement has access to and produces. For our purposes, this will always be 5, which indicates a level of technology consistent with the period between 1000 CE and 1300 CE.
Red Lily Adventuring 