Giving a Dungeon Soul: Dark Souls Dungeon Guide

Based on the type of game I've outlined previously, and the basic structure of a Soulsbourne game, our direction becomes apparent. A themed mini-dungeon.We'll call it a region, I guess. String enough of those together and you have a proper Souls adventure. But how do you build one of those basic units? What's in a good mini dungeon-delving adventure? How to capture the feel of exploring the shadows of Anor Londo, or summiting the monumental Castle Lothric and looking over the parapet to all the regions you have conquered so far? Hmm. We'll get there, but here are the basic ingredients (I argue) we should use to make our cake.

sketchbookuniverse

REGIONS:

When designing a region, tell the story of the boss. DS does this with the location itself, enemy encounters, items found there, and an NPC tied to each boss. We can do basically the same. Through that lens, the players will learn about the setting and also feel rewarded when they learn something that will help them in the final encounter. 

Consider Aldritch, the Devourer of Gods in Dark Souls 3. He ate his own children and became so powerful that he was made a Lord of Cinder. He is tied, in part to the Cathedral of the Deep. Here are scenes that give us information there: chained giants wallowing in a pool of filth from eating sacrifices (fight), bloated priests of the deep keeping watch over their patron's now empty coffin (fight), a teddy bear which reveals where he's run off to now (item), and Anri of Astora (npc). Anri, with her partner Horace, once children of the horrific maneater reveal the disturbing tale and seek to slay the slug-like monstrosity.

2-3 encounters + Boss

I want a game that I can sit down and play in about 2 hours if necessary. In my experience encounters will take quite a lot longer than you expect. It's also few enough that I can create them quite quickly. Note that I do not mean fights, here. Maybe "scenes" is more appropriate per the discussion above. The players will inevitably turn a random box in a corner into a scene all on their own, but this is a good number to plan on ahead of time.

Now, some of these ought to be intended fights. This is a souls game. What do the monsters say about the setting or the boss? What mechanic should they foreshadow so the pl*yers have fair warning? I recommend putting a brand new enemy in isolation if it is particularly dangerous so the players get some practice, then scaling up from there. Try to avoid placing them randomly. 

Why are there priests in the cathedral of the deep? What are they doing there? Why do they guard an empty coffin?

Sathish Kumar

3+ bits of lore or clues about the boss

Aftermath of a battle, the flavor text of the boss, a warning left by a previous adventurer for those who come after. Include some information about who the boss is/was. Why are they here? What twisted them and took their humanity? Who were they before? What do they want? How do they tie to the setting at large? What faction is related to them? What fate do they want to avoid? Give clues and plenty of them. The boss is the main character of the region and all the flavor will come from them and their story. The story of the boss is the story of this location. What does the teddy bear say about the foul Aldritch?

sketchbookuniverse

1 rescuable NPC

The rescuable NPC is a key component of the unifying hub for these otherwise disparate game sessions. Imagine a Firelink Shrine that populates with NPCs you were there to rescue and a few that were befriended and helped by the other hapless souls wondering the Veil'd World. It gives a sense of unity to the players beyond we all happen to be dead. 

It also can be a way to offer advancement to the PCs and put sources of knowledge around that they can interact with. Due to the fairly sparse lore, having a friendly face around to ask questions of is valuable and it will be fun talking to NPCs others found and getting their story.

Give the NPC:

• 1 area of knowledge due to a tragic past with that thing: They know about the boss in this region, the next region over, the larger setting component, a certain faction's history or current state
• 1 useful ability the PCs may be interested in: blacksmith, can teach sorceries of some kind, makes potions, will run off and find things for you, will come along as a hireling
• 1 thing they need before they will meet up with the PCs at the base: They are locked in a cage and need a key, they lost their armor, they won't leave without their loved one's wedding band, you must prove your worth to them, you must prove your humanity to them, they need to lay a husk to rest

Axel Sauerwald

1+ interesting item unavailable in shops

PCs do not gain abilities in Through the Veil without finding items, spells, weapons that grant them. Managing inventory, preparing for the challenges ahead with limited item slots is going to be part of the fun, so we need to give PCs hard choices about what to bring along. That means cool stuff. Maybe several is a better number than 1+. As with everything, this is an opportunity to tell a bit of the story.

Items which contain a spell are valuable and the easiest to create. Roll a spell and put it on something semi-interesting. Books (spellbooks) are fair game, but looking up something old and interesting is better.

Also, a souls game required interesting weapons. Or flavorful themed magic items. Seriously, I'm giving you all my best GM secrets rn. And by GM secrets I mean links to other great blogs. I'll post some cool swords I'm working on soon as well.

Anato Finnstark

1+ bit of findable lore

Put those lore sentences in the world, otherwise why did we write them? The uncovering of secrets is its own reward and a type of loot very underrepresented in most dungeons. This is in addition to the lore about the boss and this specific location. What can you learn about the world as a whole? Is there a bit of information here that will help in another region? 

This could also take the form of a key or item which will help in another area. Link this area with the outside world. In general, the fewer clues you have, the more obvious they should be.

1+ extra passage or additional optional encounter

Something out of the way, potentially unrelated to the main theme of the dungeon. This ties the broader world together and is a good place for overlap between factions or to insert that one interesting encounter you didn't have a place for.

0+ other NPC (provide information about region, offer a quest, offer aid, become rival, merchant of sorts)

Someone to talk to is crucial, even in a combat-oriented game. Even well-designed and interesting combat becomes a slog if enough of it is strung together. Rather than a rescuable NPC who requires something from the PC and has some useful skills for the PCs, this can be more open-ended and be included on the fly to adjust pacing.

0+ cryptic message left by those who came before

One of the best parts of Soulsgames and a free opportunity to troll.

0+ openable persistent shortcut

This is particularly important in longer dungeons and in this TTRPG format. Repetition is much more acceptable in video games than TTRPGs. To address this, put a loop back to the beginning just before the boss, or nearby. Also, as players respawn after failure, change the encounters slightly. Swap out an enemy, change numbers, locations etc. The place is alive after all and we want to avoid a slog at high cost.

Mapping the Region:

I hate making my own maps. Here are options I recommend:

• Take a map from Trilemma Adventures and re-skin as needed
• Have ole' Don Jon do it for you. You only need 10 rooms tops, some of them empty.
• yep two recommendations I guess. You just need a smallish map with some crossing and random connections.

Then,

• Place major encounters/scenes including the boss. Preferably make the environment where fights may occur dynamic.
• To fill the rest of the minor spaces, make two lists. Locations (a shrine, sewer passage, ritual chamber, balcony, grand stair case) and the minor encounters (wandering enemies, npcs, scenes which tell a tale). As the PCs enter the next room, pick something off the location list and a minor encounter and boom, there's the room. This randomness will make the area fresh if parts need to be repeated, eases prep, and keeps you surprised.

more rooms than you need. 3 or 4 are good boss rooms.

OR

So while writing this I saw this post about designing dungeons in a circle. Doing so solves a ton of problems for the specific type of game this is! Take one of the following structures from this graphic copied from the linked post and put the bonfire at the start and boss at the goal. Add rooms and branches for the other encounters and you're done.

Learnable Enemies for Through the Veil

sil_eibm

The suffering inherent in death is enough pressure to purify a soul like diamond or to crush a man. Even those souls of such caliber to pass through the Veil and retain some of their humanity cannot bear the weight of it forever. Their hearts twist and souls diminish. Their body is left. Acting out pain and violence.

This fate is not merely for the Undead which populate the Veil'd World, but all beings who walk in these shadows. Everything is consumed in the end when the flames goes out. 

Mindless, semi-predictable enemies are a cornerstone of the Souls experience. They reward careful attention and reading the telegraphing wind-ups of enemies is a skill a player can develop. This is why I have learnable enemies as a design goal. We'll use husks. You can tell a husk by empty eyes, slack jaws, and murderous intent. Constructs and other barely soul'd entities will behave similarly.

In our system, we can differentiate attacks by the number of stamina dice used and defensive moves are already nicely divided into Dodge, Block, and Parry. These are plenty. We will just choose the number of stam the husk likes to use to attack and its preferred defensive maneuver. 

Something like this:

Stowaway
Lurkers near the shore of souls, trapped or perhaps drawn to the rushing current of souls passing through into the Veil'd World. Some of them may have had hope that they could make it back across on the ferryman's barge. You can see how that worked out for them.
2 (9hp)/2 stam/2 focus/0 humanity
Attack: 1 stam claws/unarmed
Defense: Dodge
Armor: -
Stalks travelers in the shadows hoping to hide amongst them and be taken to wherever they are going. It must be better than here.

Combat, then is simple for a GM, but can still be dangerous and interesting for a player. Consider an encounter with a few of these Stowaways. 

"You notice a humanoid shadow stalking you from just beyond your torchlight."

!!!

"Uh, I pause, draw my sword, and approach."

"Two hands lunge forward from the dark toward your throat! 1d6 damage to you."

I block! 3 plus my armor of 1, 4.

"the hands grasp at your shield. No damage."

"I stab! 1d6, 4 damage."

"As the emaciated husk leaps backward you finally get a good look at them, rags cover a mummified body and empty eyes. Dodge roll of 3. You deal 4 damage."

So after the first round, you have performed both of this husk's typical actions. But the player doesn't know that necessarily. Does the husk attack with 1 dice all the time? Does it have another attack? Does it change strategy after its initial ambush attempt? Does it change behavior when there are more of them? All good questions yet unanswered. After an encounter or two, they will know what to look for and be ready. 

More complex husks are possible. Not much needs to be added to make it much harder to figure out just what a husk will do.

Robed Supplicant
Pilgrims once walked a path between the Standing Stones, providing maintenance at the holy sites and collecting alms from the sympathetic. I'm sure some of them are still wondering about.
1 (5hp)/1 stam/2 focus/0 humanity
Spell: prayer beads with light, hymnal with bless (+1 to rolls ongoing).

Attack: 1 stam claws if out of spells
Defense: Dodge
Armor: -
Walks the path, collecting alms. Will enrage if refused.

So now a monster which will spend a few turns casting spells before switching behavior. Let's push the concept a bit to something more dangerous.

Black Riders
Those Stones are important. There's something about them. Can't remember why. They are guarded though. Black riders want something to do with them. Maybe they could tell you.
2 (9hp)/4 stam/1 focus/0 humanity
Charge: curved glaive (3 stam) while mounted, rides at distance until stam returns.
Attack: glaive (2 stam) if dismounted
Defense: Parry with all current stam
Armor: 2 black robes and chain
Landing hooves are the only warning. Will keep all others away from the Stones.

The enemy's behavior for two phases (mounted, ground) summed up in a few lines. Also, quite dangerous as I bet a few cautious PCs will be tempted to attack without risking much stamina initially to test the waters, only to be parried into oblivion. Fun!!

Before we get to bosses, there is one more category. Those with a shred of humanity left. For those, no standard actions or patterns are necessary. They operate the same as a typical monster you may run in your game. Chose actions that with the narrative of the monster in your game. 

Tutor Duenweg

The tutor has always been here, as far as I can tell. Something about this place wants to teach and for you to know. To know that you don't have what it takes. Look at all the students there, they've learned their lesson.

stats as PCs/3 humanity
The tutor lectures all day. His class is open to anyone. He teaches through example and will mirror the equipment and stats of a single PC and challenge them to a 1:1 duel. Then he will kick their ass.

A few example monsters for our undead knights to battle. Since the best monsters are tied closely to the locale they are in, most of the monsters will be written along with a location. This post is to propose a simple notation and some design info for them.

Souls-like Classes: Through the Veil

Mistakes were made.

In starting this blog, or rather posting regularly, I've come to notice what should be an obvious distinction between writing content for others to use and prepping for a game. When I prep a game I give zero attention to honoring other's work or giving credit or anything. It's all about pulling pieces together to get the game I'm trying to create with as little work and as much speed as possible. That was my approach initially for this Souls hack. Explicitly, from the start, I decided to steal a bunch of classes so I wouldn't have to write them, just like I would when I was running a game for a few friends. 

The trouble is that when publishing content to the blog there is the implication that it is somehow yours even when some credit is shared. I want to honor the creators who have inspired me in writing this hack and honor their content as well.

Also, this game has become something I'm really excited about and I want to end up with something I can be proud of in the end. So I'm redoing the classes with a new approach.

Each class is directly inspired by content at MadQueensCourt or NothicsEye or is something written by swell folks at Phlox's discord server. I modified work from the discord server slightly to fit the needs of the game, but not substantially. A link to the inspiring work or blog of the writer is provided below each class. 

This will be way better.

//Fighting Types//

1. Questing Knight, Knight by Vayra
"To your valour, my sword, and our sworn duties! Long may the sun shine! (laughs)"
Starting Equipment: Your plate armor marks you distinctly as a knight of your noble house. At your side are a longsword, shield, and a keepsake of your lady, precious to you above your worldly possessions. And a squire who appears to have died along with you.
Benefit: When you issue a challenge, anyone with honor is compelled to accept it or lose standing in the eyes of those with a shred of humanity left.
Drawback: You have a grave promise to keep. Failure to act toward accomplishing it when you have a good opportunity results in an immediate loss of 1 humanity. Should you fail completely, you become a husk.

Grave Promises:

1. Fulfill the prophecy by returning through the veil to attend your own funeral
2. Return your lady's keepsake
3. Avenge the King's early death
4. Deliver your squire safely home to become a knight of the order
5. Prepare your Squire to take your stead as a Questing Knight
6. Throw your lady's cursed keepsake into the Eternal Forge to break the curse
7. Return with the Cup of Sorrows
8. Return with the true betrothed of your lady
9. Avenge the death of your lady
10. Return through the Veil with your lady
    

2. Immortal of the Sun, Elf by Vayra
Immortal, till you took your final breath and passed through the veil. The noble soul'd patron brought light to your steps in life, but here is only darkness. The lexicanum of your order does not prepare adherents for life after death, for supposedly death never comes. 
Starting Equipment: With you in death are your craftwood bow, delicate basket-guard rapier, shield, and silvered chain mail. Each bears the golden sun of your order, perhaps friendship and charity can be found in the dark?
Perk: In life, you never aged from the day you took your vow. In death, restore 1 humanity when you make a new friend.
Drawback: When betrayed by an ally, save v humanity or become inconsolably sad or enraged.

3. Knight of the Blue, by Random_Interupt
"Once he knew the origin of every scratch and scar on its surface: every dent or scrape told a story of honour won or a battle fought. But now the damage just represented a life of violence, there were no stories anymore. There was no honour, just struggle and hardship." - Direct quote from Ex Profundis
Starting Equipment: Blued steel plate armour, spatha, oath ring (+2 reaction roles among the honorable), and a well-used great maul.
Benefit: You can see violent intent in others, hanging over them like a halo of red light. The order will owe you quite a bounty if you ever get home.
Drawback: You are oathbound to defend others from violence, by any means at your disposal. If you ever kill in cold blood 1d4+1 of your fellow knights will come for your head.

4. Warden, mashup of Phlox's Barbarian and AXEORCIST by Vayra by Lexi
Something is wrong. The dead walk more often than the elders can abide, the spirits are restless, sickness proliferates through the crops. Maybe there's an answer beyond the Veil.
Starting Equipment: A great axe or great sword that can wound incorporeal undead, and a bucket.  Two symbols of home. The first gives you +2hp, the second +1 to block or dodge.

Benefit: Your axe blows dispel magic and banish possessions. When you kill something, it cannot be raised as undead.
Drawback: If you leave the presence of a husk without killing it, reduce your humanity by 1 or take 1d6 damage.

5. Nemean Warrior, Lion Knight by Locheil

What is a hero, once dead? Who writes the legend beyond the Veil? Well, if there is none to Witness, and none to Record, then let this Lion Roar.  

Starting Equipment: Golden Lion's Helm (1 armor). Hardened red leather Linothorax (1 armor), Trident, and a net. Also a child's rattle in the shape of a pig.

Benefit:  Your legend depicts all manner of foul foes that have been cut down by your blade. Pick one. +1 damage to that enemy type.

Drawback:  Your legend depicts all manner of foul foes that have bested you at one time or another. Pick one. +1 damage from that enemy type.

\\Tricky Types//

1. Silver Mask, Silver Arrow by Locheil

From time immemorial, someone has stood here in silent vigil in the face of the Maw, the gaping putrescent wound in reality which leaks the monstrous dead. After countless of your order have fallen, some have opted to take a more active approach.

Starting Equipment: Silver mask with a blank stare (as helm), white robes with silver embroidery (+2 reaction rolls with those seeking forbidden knowledge), longbow with silver thread, and a fungus with neurotropic properties. 

Benefit: from your training as a defender of the mortal realm you've come by d3 bits of lore about the Veil'd World. 

Drawback: Those seeking escape from the Veil'd World recognize you as an obstacle to their escape.

2. Duskwind Seafarer, Pirate by Vayra

Beyond the mists near the Edge, through the Silence, and past the Screams. Somehow you found your way to shore, but not to the one you left.

Starting Equipment: A cutlass, a flintlock pistol, a jug of rum, stylish stripes and a red sash, and a compass. 

Perk: hold your breath for a long time, never lose your way as long as you have a compass. 

Drawback: The sea of souls does not easily accept the loss of her beloved sailors. Water is actively hostile against you unless you are returning to the sea.

3. Mother's Kiss, Spider Knight by Morgan

The Mother is hungry. The Mother is tired of her mortal fare. The Mother stabs and stabs. The Mother sent me here.

Starting Equipment: 8 short blades, 50 feet of rope, a sack of eggs, black studded leather armor, a red helmet that covers the entire head, except for 8 eyeholes, and an aulos.

Benefit: Scurry up walls with ease, spit poison, inflict nightmares by touching sleeping people

Drawback: You are in servitude to Mother Spearlegs. She appears in your sleep every night, demanding earthly objects from you. She loves gold, silver, and objects of sentimentality to others. If you have them on your person next time you meet her, she will take them off your person. If you don't have these items, you lose 1d6 fingers/toes. Once out of fingers/toes, you lose your brain.

David Hoskins

4. Dragonblood Inheritor, by ArkosDawn

The true Drake herself. Devourer of All Time. The Cleansing Coil. She is the source of the cycle, the killer and ingester of civilization that wipes the slate clean for a new age. Here, beyond the Veil, the true nature of reality is manifest. The Corpse of Father Time lies still in near death, but why hasn't the serpent finished the job?

Starting Equipment: A Dragon-Scar (a body part mutated by the draconic power, damage as a one handed sword), a ruined ceremonial outfit worn by heretics before their execution, and wrist shackles. A dragon-head stone containing the spell Heroic Leap.

Perk: You can transform into a small (horse-sized) dragon, giving you flight, a breath weapon, and a fearful aura. Each transformation costs 1hp and lasts as long as you can hold your breath.

Drawback: You are being hunted by treasure hunters, dragon slayers, and at least one religious institution that views your survival as a sin.

5. Veteran of the Veil, Veteran by Vayra (didn't change much, it's very cool)

You aren't sure how long you've been here, but longer than most. You aren't even sure that you're dead, but as long as you've been searching there's never been a way back across the veil.

Starting Equipment: Long leather duster, a flintlock rifle with 10 silver balls in paper cartridges, a crowbar, a chipped wide-bladed sword with the inscription Sunt hic etiam sua praecuna laudi.

Benefit: in your time here you've picked up 1d3 bits of lore. 

Drawback: Your antics have garnered attention. A blackbird follows you everywhere. If you kill one, two more return to replace it at midnight. There is a bird-in-6 chance that it gives away your position at a terrible moment.

ma-ko

6. Powder Smith, Sapper by ShiftyHomonculus

BANG. Smoke. Sulphur. Screams. Clouds. Dirt. Gasp. Powder was always good for moving material. It seems it's good for moving souls too.

Starting Equipment: Two shovels (one battered but well-maintained, one shiny spare), small caged songbird, 3' coil of fuse cord (burns 2"/rd), horn of black powder, smokey goggles.

Perk: When digging, earthworking, or conducting similar grunt work, you count as two people. You Save with advantage against cave-ins, explosions, and machine malfunctions.

Drawback: You attack with disadvantage unless you have at least one wall or ceiling within arm's reach. Ordinary soldiers regard you the way civilians regard soldiers - with deep suspicion and a touch of fear.

//Magic Types\\

1. Cryomancer of Ganedd, by Random_Interupt

Inheritors of those who turned from the Way of Fire and followed the Stilled Prophet. They made their home in the everdark land of Ganedd, and there plumbed the secrets of their cold, emberless hearts.

Starting Equipment: White fur robe, drakebone snow goggles, crystal teardrop pendant containing the spell Elemental Blast: Cold.

Benefit: You take no damage from the cold, ever. You can extinguish small flames instantly and larger ones more slowly by blowing on them.

Drawback: You take 50% more damage from fire than other people. You were raised in a religion that most outside your homeland consider heretical.

2. The Fiend-Hunter, by RandomWizard and drinks from Phlox's Barbarian

You've hunted the things of the dark for an age; catacombs, deep forests, frozen ancient ruins. Still, in the dark places they lurk. Perhaps a more permanent solution can be found here, beyond the Veil.

Starting Equipment: Silvered bastard sword, tattered cloak, thick leather gloves, two drinks nobody here has heard of, one delicious to any taste and one intoxicating to any constitution, and an empty lantern which holds the essence of the last monster you've slain.

Benefit: Whenever you kill a monster with HD higher than any monster you have previously slain, you acquire one power of that monster (fire breath, flight, great strength, etc.).

Drawback: Whenever you acquire a new monster's power, you must Save or suffer a madness (see spellcasting).

3. Hooded Acolyte (white), Orthodox Graduate by Locheil

Pursuit of the deeper nature of reality brings one to the soaring peaks of human knowledge. A pursuit with the noblest reputation. Funny its reputation never seems tarnished by those students who leap from those lofty spires. 

Starting Equipment: A robe of the purest white (+2 reaction rolls to seeking knowledge), a marble haft trident, pen and ink, hymnal, prayer beads

Benefit: You somehow brought with you 3 spell containing books from the college library. Roll thrice on a spell table of your choice. Here's one.

Drawback: Mishaps with dark magic cause you to save or lose humanity as well as gain a madness.

4. Hooded Acolyte (black), Necromancer by Locheil

Pursuit of the deeper nature of reality brings one to the depths of human depravity. There in the mire and despair, there is the spark of divinity.

Starting Equipment: Ominous black robe, skull mask containing the spell Animate Dead, military issue flintlock pistol and 13 bullets, shovel, a bottle of spirits.

Benefit: You may seize control of a husk by expending focus dice equal to the husk's hit dice.

Drawback: Hymns, angelic beings, and sacrificial love require you to save v humanity or gain a madness and flee.

5. Smoldering Sect

Fire is the tool that sparks civilization. Each cycle begins anew with a flame. The legends are relearned and told again. In the end, the fires fade. Flame turns to ash and grows cold, awaiting the new spark. When the cycle is interrupted, the fire doesn't go out. Why didn't it go out?

Starting Equipment: Charred chain mail covers a burned body. You were sent beyond the Veil with the unique weapon of your order, the Flaming Flail. 10 rolled cigarettes, a heavy leather belt, and a small iron cage containing the spell Burning Hands.

Benefit: You create a spark by snapping your fingers. You can judge your approximate distance from a bonfire.

Drawback: Birds and hounds hate you, unintelligent creatures sense you are here to end the Cycle.

Through the Veil: Setting and Factions

 So, after the first post, here's where we're at:

• tactical, punchy, exciting combat  (well, we have half the equation anyway, need baddies)
• armor and weapons that feel dramatically different
• weird, evocative spells and interestingly limited spell schools (the Magic Type classes get us pretty close)
• encroaching madness, but also a pull to the dark side
• learnable enemies
• PC flexibility, but also interesting starting classes that tell me about the world and make players excited to get into it
• respawns, but without losing the drama
• deadly, tragic, complicated bosses that drop drool-worthy weapons
• deadly, tragic, complicated NPCs that capture the beauty, horror, and well tragedy of it all

O and my pedantic, aspirational, dream goals for the game:

• Expeditions start at a bonfire in the middle of the action
• Each expedition focuses on exploring a small region with 2-4 encounters plus a boss
• Each player has a region, each GM a character.
• Games scheduled as a group, rather than by a main DM. One offers to run their region, and players take turns.
• The world is built at the table as each player reveals the secrets of their region.
• Player/GMs seeking the unifying tone of a SOULSBORNE setting, but giving leeway to each other to explore the lore and backstory of the setting, building it together.
• A unifying hub to tie the otherwise disparate sessions together.

Reflecting on what is left to do, I think we need a bit of setting. One thing Souls games do a nice job of is tie a locale, boss, faction, and NPC together. Each piece tells a bit of the story. But pulling those things out of a hat in a coherent way is difficult. We need something to inspire and a skeleton of a setting to hang things on. Here's what we'll do. A list of bullet points that you can put in world in a book, or give an NPC a line or two about the setting. It's also easy to add to the lore in this format. It's incomplete and all you need is a sentence. The goal is to just imply enough setting to give some coherence and inspiration, but leave enough room that nearly any wild setting or faction or boss someone wants to create can still find a place. What do they say? Draw maps, leave blanks.

VEIL'D LORE

The land of shadows, archetypes, and reality. The raw ingredients which provide meaning in the mortal realm

Meaning, metaphor, and archetype take corporeal form in the Veil'd World. 

The forms present here drip and seep into the mortal realm in the form of myths, poetry, legend, and fable.

The Flaming King, Light of Civilization, Blinding Tyrant rises from the ashes, slays the Archenemy, rules, then fades.

The Devourer of All Time, Cleansing Coil, Ageless Drake is the mother of us all. Her writhing form gives birth to the King.

King and Serpent fight and die in an endless cycle. The cycle is frozen. Things are not as they should be.

The King's corpse lies over the face of the earth a smoldering ruin, each head of the serpent sunk deep into his flesh, yet the fires won't go out.

The natural order of the cycle is for the fires to go out, ushering in an age of Chaos.

The Standing Stones pin the two worlds together.

6 Stones, 6 links with the mortal realm, 6 passions that quicken the soul.

The Stones falter under the weight of the frozen cycle, the Veil'd World draws more closely to the mortal realm than it should.

FACTIONS

The thing about a tragic afterlife setting is that almost anything can show up. Especially if the world is explicitly built around legends, myths, folklore of the mortal realm. These are the stories where monsters show up anyway. So I'll take a category of monster, give it a Soulsy name, and try to tie it to the setting so far in some way.

The obvious pieces to tie things to so far are (how many lists can I fit in one post ffs): the King, the Serpent, the Cycle, the Standing Stones. And each faction can have a take on those things or emphasize one aspect of those entities. Resurrect the King, kill the King, end the tyranny, cleanse the world in flame. Worship the serpent, save the serpent, summon the serpent, end the Devourer. End the Cycle, restore the Cycle, pop up apocalypse cult because Cycle is interrupted. Sever link between worlds and set the Veil'd World free, Save the mortal realm at the cost of risking the Veil'd World. You get the idea. there are also obviously missing factions. Why no mother/female archetypal entity? hmm. Who stopped the cycle? hmm. Who will the PCs hinder or aid?

Let's test it out. We'll make some factions and leave the bosses, locales, NPCs for later.

Silver Arrow Rebellion (Pious Warriors)

Forever our blood has been shed. Our harvests brought in by the watering of our families' blood. No more! War will never end war, just as it may be. Maybe what we need is to heal.

Wants: to stem the tide of monstrosities flowing from The Scar.

By: Heal the scar from the inside.

And also: As a last resort, set the Veil'd World adrift by destroying standing stones.

Axel Saurwald

Silver Arrows (Pious Warriors)

The proud Arrows have given their lives for this realm for ages innumerable. We cannot tarnish this legacy by laying down our arms. We are a warrior lineage and enemies are before us. We know what do to. It is what we've always done.

Want: Return to stability, maintain their place as defenders of the mortal realm, guardians of The Scar. 

By: Stabilize the Veil'd World

And also: Stop the Rebellion

lol Rembrandt

Smoldering Sect (Wizards)

There exist records of the Cycle's revolutions for an age an age and seven more. Never has it stopped. The Veil grows thin. We must not jeopardize the mortal realm for this world.

Wants: Preserve the Cycle

By: Discovering the reason for its halt

And also: Extinguishing the last embers of the Flaming King to bring the Cycle to its end.

Pristine Order (Angels):

Stem the tide of darkness.

Wants: Extend the rule of the Timeless King

By: Killing the Final Serpent

And also: Offering sacrifices of the living to sustain the King.

Artem Demura

Knowers of the Oak Tree (Druids):

The woods creak and moan. The wind howls. The world itself cries out against the tyranny of the Timeless One. Let these be birth pangs of a new age of Freedom.

Wants: Replace Tyranny with Freedom

By: Healing the Serpent by feeding it the Heart of Civilization.

And also: Capture the Spark that starts the Cycle anew.

Artem Demura

Knights Illuminati (Angels):

The Cycle has given us a new opportunity. No more must there be Tyranny or Destruction. Let there be Order and Peace.

Want: to Establish new Order without the tyranny of the Inflammable Lord

By: Constructing a new thrown at the Heart of Civilization.

And also: Stamping out the remembrance of the King.

Ex Profundis

Riders of Apostle Grimbald (Wraiths)

...

Want: to escape to the mortal realm to avoid the apocalypse of the Veil'd World

By: Open a new Tear via the Standing Stones

And also: Keep the Cycle from ending

Artem Demura

Nice! Wasn't too hard to come up with those once the skeleton of a setting is in place. Room for tons more tied to those existing landmarks (king, serpent, etc) but also for factions unrelated. I don't think I checked much off the list, but I think this sets the stage for creating the dungeons/bosses/enemies we're looking for.

Through the Veil: Souls-like RPG - Intro, Chars, Rules

Heartbreaker? This is a SOULSbreaker.

Here's the idea. I want a ttrpg that captures the fun of Dark Souls. I need:

• tactical, punchy, exciting combat
• armor and weapons that feel dramatically different
• weird, evocative spells and interestingly limited spell schools
• encroaching madness, but also a pull to the dark side
• learnable enemies
• PC flexibility, but also interesting starting classes that tell me about the world and make players excited to get into it
• respawns, but without losing the drama
• deadly, tragic, complicated bosses that drop drool-worthy weapons
• deadly, tragic, complicated NPCs that capture the beauty, horror, and well tragedy of it all

I'm not the first to try, and if I'm the last it's on you. Each of those attempts is along a spectrum from very interesting blog post, to nearly playable game. This doesn't include actually playable games like this, or this, or this, etc.. I'll be stealing remorselessly (with annotated credit if possible) from these and other sources. My primary goal is not to make Original Content, but to make the best Soulsborne TTRPG that currently exists with as little bother with OC as possible. That said, a plain port of video game content into a new format is only marginally interesting, so originality will be used as a spice to keep things fun and avoid too much predictability.

Since we're going all out, I have a few more unrealistic, idiosyncratic constraints I want to work with. I've heard tell of the early days of DnD, when all the players had their own personal dungeon to run for their friends, and all the GMs had their own characters to test their skill in their friend's deathtrap madhouse dungeon. I love that. It implies an open play format before the days of detailed campaign story arcs, filled in maps, splat books, and hundred-plus page setting guides. 

I also have a family, a yob, and a few other hobbies, blessed as I am. So I want a game that I can sit down and play for 2 hours and have a great time in and not be obligated to prep a game/campaign each week. I know many pl*yers are in the same boat, cursed as they are. 

Fortunately, these two constraints collide in the following game format:

• Expeditions start at a bonfire in the middle of the action
• Each expedition focuses on exploring a small region with 2-4 encounters plus a boss
• Each player has a region, each GM a character.
• Games scheduled as a group, rather than by a main DM. One offers to run their region, and players take turns.
• The world is built at the table as each player reveals the secrets of their region.
• Player/GMs seeking the unifying tone of a SOULSBORNE setting, but giving leeway to each other to explore the lore and backstory of the setting, building it together.
• A unifying hub to tie the otherwise disparate sessions together.

Surely, a pipe dream. But if Dark Souls taught young me anything, it's that horrifying nightmares sometimes do come true. I'm going to try and get such a thing going with literally 0 online social capital to spend. We'll see. 

First, the rules. The problem with the earlier earnest attempts was that they either started with a system and then tried to bolt Dark Souls onto it, or they tried to emulate a computer game in a ttrpg format. These foundational flaws either result in a game that does not feel like a Soulsborne game due to artifacts from the chosen system or because GMs are not computers and require much more simplicity for our games to be fast-paced and exciting. The following is a system designed from the ground up to emulate Dark Souls. You may recognize bits from my mon game (Best There Ever Was), but that game stole the basic mechanics from my draft form of this game, so here we are.

David Hoskins

CHARACTER STATS

Character stats are Health, Stamina, Mana, and Humanity. These are all dice pools of d6s with distinct uses described below.

Health: A character's health is determined by level + 4 per health dice.

Stamina: Stamina dice are rolled when performing almost any combat action. This pool is tested during skill checks to avoid effects that predominately affect the body. Dice rolled showing a 1, 2, or 3 return to your pool. Regain 1 stamina each round at the end of the round.

Focus: Focus dice are used mostly in casting spells, which is possible for any character who holds a spell-granting item in their hands. The spell text will determine how to calculate its effects but may use notation like sum and dice which refer to the total shown on the dice or the number of dice rolled, respectively. This pool may be tested to avoid magical effects. Dice rolled showing a 1, 2, or 3 return to your pool.

Humanity: Love, sacrifice, adventure, violence, tragedy, beauty. These are the passions that refine a soul in life. This fire has purified the dross from your soul and allowed you to awake this side of the mortal veil. These are what separate you from the husks that have succumb to the suffering and malevolence which haunts life. Your humanity starts at 5 and is tested to resolve skills you may have had in life. It is also reduced when you die. Drop to 0 humanity and you become a husk.

CHARACTER CREATION

Your humanity stat is tied to memories, which are anchors which keep you from fading into a husk. Write a 1 sentence memory for 5 of the passions.

    Love (health)

    Sacrifice (health)

    Adventure (stamina)

    Violence (stamina)

    Tragedy (focus)

    Beauty (focus)

Your starting stats are based on these memories. Add one dice (d6) to the corresponding pool if you have a memory associated with it. Next, choose a class and you're done.

CLASSES
Based on archetypes created by excellent humans. Thanks, Loch and others on the discord server. Content may be directly stolen with exceedingly minor adjustments, inspired by, or up to maybe 50% my ideas. It was super fun to riff off of y'all creations and ask the question "what if they died?"

EDIT:

I though my consience would let me steal things from others. IT WILL NOT. Doing so, even after asking is too disrespectful to the creators. This section is under construction as I write custom classes.

EDIT 2: Classes

//Fighting Types//

\\Tricky Types//

//Magic Types\\

SKILL CHECKS

Tell your GM what you want to accomplish and how you want to achieve it. The GM will determine if the task requires a health, stamina, focus, or humanity check. These correspond to feats of toughness/endurance, strength/agility, mental/magical prowess, or something corresponding to your previous life, respectively. 

To make the check, roll a D6. If you roll under the maximum number of dice in your stat pool, the test is a success.

COMBAT

Players and enemies activate in order of highest current stamina to lowest. Bosses win ties with players, players win ties with monsters.

Attack by rolling stamina dice. Damage done is equal to the sum of the roll. Melee attacks may be mitigated by dodging, blocking, or parrying. Ranged attacks may be dodged, or blocked.

Dodge by rolling 1d6 under current stamina to reduce incoming damage to zero. Reduce your stamina by 1 afterward. -1 to the number you must roll under for each bulky item you carry.

Block by discarding stamina dice to reduce incoming damage by 3 per dice. This must be done prior to the attacker's damage roll. If you take more than dice damage after blocking and armor are considered, you are staggered. Your next turn is moved to the end of the round and you take +2 damage until then. Requires a shield. 

Parry by rolling stamina dice as if making an attack. Whoever rolls the highest sum (including any damage bonuses) deals damage to the other.

Ranged weapons cannot be shot within melee range, cannot be parried, and have a set number of stamina dice that must be used when attacking.

To cast a spell, roll focus dice according to the spell text. Spells targetting enemies with a projectile can be dodged,  or saved against by rolling under your current mana or humanity as determined by the spell text.

DAMAGE, DEATH, HEALING

You may return to full health and refresh dice pools at the bonfire where the adventure began. Time passes. The enemies refresh too, although things may not be as you left them.

You may empty your Estus Flask to avoid a single source of incoming damage. The flask refills at a bonfire.

When reduced to 0hp, Y O U   D I E D.

If your party survives you and gets your body to safety, they may revive you by warming your corpse near a fire. If everyone dies, you all awaken at the last bonfire you visited.

Humanity Fades

When you die, the trauma rends at your remaining humanity. Reduce your humanity by 1 and erase one of your memories determined at random. Speak your lost memory to the group as you do so. It's lost forever now.

As your human essence is tarnished and compressed into an increasingly violent husk, you grow more deadly. Increase your combat rolls or spell rolls by 1 for each point of humanity you have lost. You also gain a compulsion:

1. Pardon me, I was absorbed in thought. Recite one of your memories whenever you meet someone new, or whenever you are first addressed by another player during a session.
2. Hmm, I seem to have misplaced it... You forget you have an Estus flask unless another player reminds you to use it.
3. Not to worry. Great planning begets great fortune. Your first action in combat is always the same. Write it down and be specific. It's not "wait in the back", either.
4. I've just been sitting here, weighing my options. Whenever your stamina reaches 0 you take a knee and catch your breath. +2 damage against you until you stand up.
5. Can't even die right. Gives me conniptions. One of your current items disgusts you, discard it immediately. Surely, it caused your last death.
6. This is a land of monstrosities. And I am no exception. Always use at least 2 focus dice when casting spells, if possible.

SPELLCASTING

Spells are bound in enchanted items and released and directed by the will of the spellcaster. To cast a spell, the item containing the spell must be held in hand.

Spells are cast by rolling Focus dice and resolved according to the spell's text. Focus dice showing a 1-3 are returned to the caster's pool.

As with Stamina rolls, a PC may voluntarily take 1 Fatigue to add 1 additional dice to a spellcasting roll. Dice gained from fatigue cannot be returned to the spellcaster's pool.

Encroaching Madness

Whenever you roll doubles the magic roils and warps your mind. Roll again on the following table:

1. Change/Add a Negative Adjective to a random memory.
2. Change/Add the verb in a random memory.
3. Change the subject of a random memory.
4. Change the subject of a random memory to a person/location beyond the Veil.
5. Combine a random memory of yours with another PC's.
6. Combine two of your memories by mixing and matching.

INVENTORY

Each PC has 10 inventory slots. Items in bold in your starting equipment list require a slot to hold them. Except for ammo or currency, 1 item to a slot. Every filled slot over 10 results in 1 point of Encumbrance. Encumbrance is a negative modifier to rolls.

Fatigue also takes an inventory slot. You may voluntarily exert yourself to gain 1 Fatigue and add 1 dice to a roll. This can only be done once per roll.

Fatigue is reset at a bonfire.

Items that take up more than 1 inventory slot are considered bulky. Unless noted otherwise, bulky items take 2 slots. Fighter-types can carry 2 bulky items, everyone else can carry 1. The most common bulky items are heavy armor and great weapons. Everyone takes -1 to dodge rolls for each bulky item they have in their inventory.

Everyone starts with an Estus Flask.

EQUIPMENT

Armor: Each point of armor reduces incoming damage by 1. Certain types of damage may bypass armor as sensible to the DM. Armor takes up 1 slot for each point of damage absorption granted. Generally, light armor takes up 1 slot, chain 2, and plate takes 3. Items such as helmets increase armor by 1 up to a maximum of 3.

Melee Weapons: Deadly weapons allow PCs to deal normal damage according to the sum of their stamina roll. Unarmored or improvised attacks deal half sum. Melee weapon types also provide small differences in their usefulness in combat.

Shield: Required to block.

Unarmed: +1 to dodge rolls. Attacks deal half sum. Cannot block or parry.

Daggers or small weapons: +1 to dodge rolls if all held weapons are small.

Swords: +1 to parry rolls due to weight shifted toward the pommel.

Axes: successful or blocked attacks reduce enemy armor by 1.

Maces: stagger an enemy if any damage passes through a blocked attack.

Two-handed Weapons: +1 damage.

Dual-wielding: allows you to make an additional 1 stamina dice attack on your turn. 

Great Weapons: bulky, +3 damage, requires a minimum of 2 stamina dice to swing.

Ranged Weapons: Ranged weapons deal damage according to the sum of a stamina roll as melee weapons do. However, ranged weapons must always be fired with the number of stamina dice noted. Ranged weapons' attacks cannot be parried or directed at a melee assailant.

Shortbow: 1 stamina, due to lack of tension.

Longbow: 1-2 stamina. -1 to dodge rolls when wielding due to size.

Hand Crossbow: 1 stamina. Reloading takes 1 turn.

Crossbow: 2 stamina. 2 hands. Reloading takes 1 turn.

Flintlock Pistol: 1 stamina. Deals +2 damage with incredibly loud report. Reload takes 3 rounds.

Flintlock Rifle: 2 stamina. 2 hands. Deals +4 damage with incredibly loud report. Reload takes 3 rounds. -1 to dodge rolls when wielding.

Great Bow: bulky, 2+ stamina due to incredible tension. +2 damage.

His Ministers a Flaming Fire! GLOG Class: Prophet

“Who maketh his angels spirits; 
his ministers a flaming fire...”

The kindling is your campaign setting.

The following is a GLOG class for prophet-like characters. One, a prophet for that which is known and the other for that which is unknown.

Advancement is as:

Level 1: Gain 2 Signs/Symbols, rank 1.

Level 2: Gain 1 Sign/Symbol, rank 1.

Level 3: Gain 1 Sign/Symbol, rank 1.

Level 4: Gain 1 Sign/Symbol, rank 1.

A Voice Cries Out in the Wilderness

Clerics and paladins and priests. Those aligned with good and God and on a holy mission on the behalf of the Deity and in accordance with the Highest Ideals. Those willing volunteers. These are mere gate keepers of the House of God.

Then there are those who have seen God. In a dream, or a bush, or glimpse as He just walks away. These are vessels that have been changed and are no longer fit for common use. You’re one of those.

You didn’t accidentally see the form of God. You were chosen for a purpose and given Stigmata and Signs to help you fulfill it. Signs have no limit to their use, as the power is not yours. If you abuse this power you will be given up to 3 warnings depending on the severity of the misuse of the Signs. Typically, a nearby animal will stare blankly at you as a reminder that the gifts of God are not your plaything. The final warning comes verbally from the closest animal. If you hear this tread carefully, you are mere moments from death.

Upon reaching level 4, set a real-world timer for 45-60 minutes. When it goes off you disappear in a whirlwind.

You are God’s chosen messenger, selected to lift up and strengthen the oppressed and speak God’s judgment on the oppressors. Make way for the Lord. 

When you saw the true form of God, you gained a Stigmata:

1. A blistered and burning tongue and lips (-2 Cha)

2. Nails in hands (-2 Str)

3. Nails in feet (-2 Dex)

4. An immovable crown of thorns (-2 Int)

5. A large bleeding wound which does not clot (-2 Con)

6. Perpetually weeping eyes (-2 Wis)

You are given Signs to aid you in your purpose. Signs begin at rank 1. Each time you draw a crowd denouncing an oppressive authority, increase the rank of one of your Signs. Each day you could have done this but didn't, lose a rank and increase the penalty from your Stigmata by 1. It is ok to go adventuring, but this obligation remains when you return. If you permanently alleviate an instance of oppression, one of your Signs may stay at its current rank.

If, in your adventuring, you encounter active oppression you must immediately chastise and rebuke the oppressor and call them to repentance. If not, reduce the rank of a Sign by 1 and increase the penalty from your Stigmata by 1. Also, if you leave town while your chosen oppressor is unrepentant, reset all Signs to rank 1.

1. Every Valley will be Lifted Up; Every Mountain and Hill Made Low

🜱 Command stones and earth to move, slowly. A volume the size of your body can be emptied or filled with rock in d6 minutes. 

🜱🜱 A small hillside can be flattened or erected in 10*d6 minutes.

🜱🜱🜱 Walk a circle around a structure 7 times, loudly pronouncing judgment and proclaiming that it will fall. Afterward, the structure collapses.

2. Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

🜱 You are immune to Fear, Charm, Sleep.

🜱🜱 Remove a Fear, Charm, or Sleep effect from one person. In an hour, consecrate an area against lesser evil.

🜱🜱🜱 You glow. No one friendly to you is affected by Fear, Charm, or Sleep while in your immediate presence. You may cast out a demon with a save, and destroy lesser undead with a touch. 

3. Blessed are the Merciful

🜱 Heal one person of an ongoing physical condition. Must be performed in public.

🜱🜱 Bring someone back from the dead after the burial ceremony is completed.

🜱🜱🜱 Bring someone back from the dead, they take d6 damage to all stats until they eat and sleep.

4. Withering Gaze

🜱 Lock eyes to wither and paralyze a limb of someone you are able to communicate with. Indefinite, only one paralyzed limb at a time.

🜱🜱 Effect is permanent, save to negate. Permanent effects don’t count toward limit.

🜱🜱🜱 Affect up to 4 total limbs at one time.

5. The Winds Obey

🜱 Direct the wind to assume a direction and increase or decrease its intensity gradually up to an uncomfortably strong gale. This takes 10*d6 minutes if it is currently still.

🜱🜱 You may direct the wind to bring up a storm or calm an existing storm. This takes 10*d6 minutes if it is currently still. Less time if there is more “weather” currently.

🜱🜱🜱 The wind rushes to obey. Call up or calm a storm in 10*d6 seconds. Direct 1 lightning strike to a location of your choice.

6. The Heavens Declare

🜱 Declare a sign in the sky such as stars aligning, a comet at a particular place. It happens tonight. If it is night time, it may happen now. 

🜱🜱 You may accelerate the movement of the Sun. It will rise or set in 10*d6 minutes. Your choice.

🜱🜱🜱 Clap your hands, the Sun winks off, or appears directly overhead. Lasts as long as you keep both arms raised overhead. 

A note for the GM. Authorities do not like prophets. Telling the truth is always a threat to power. Even if the prophet is not denouncing a given authority, they will likely feel as though their time will soon come. They are correct. If you (GM) have an idea about how the authority might react, do that. If not, create a short list of increasing sanctions or action they may take against the prophet. Each time the prophet appears in public and denounces them they perform one action and cross it off the list. Soon they will be asking for their head on a silver platter.

Example:

• Become aware of Prophet

• Send low ranking acolytes to laugh at and mock the Prophet and return with information.

• Send higher rank officials to accuse the Prophet of wrongdoing and turn the crowd on the Prophet. Try to get the crowd to stone them.

• Higher cult assassins for a large sum of silver pieces to remove the Prophet.

Knower of the Oak Tree

Something exists just behind the thin veneer of perception. Most are blinded by their eyes, and lulled to complacency by their reason. But listen carefully to your deepest intuitions, watch your dreams, lick a frog and you may catch a glimpse of the true chaotic nature of reality.

This nature is there in the beginning, with God. Chaos, Void, Water, Serpent. All symbols of Nature and the Unknowable. Having been so touched, you exist as a remainder. You do not add up. You remind polite society that for all their walls and rules and traditions they only just keep afloat on the surface of the Chaotic Waters of reality. 

The Symbols you possess are powerful. Even having one foot beyond the veil doesn’t make you immune to their tug. Abusing them will cause you to lose yourself. This takes the form of brief out-of-body experiences as you watch yourself cackle like a madman, or snort around like an animal. The last sign is your body telling you it is almost free.

When the Unknowable entered your mind, you gained a Mark:

1. A forked tongue and scaly mouth (-2 Cha)

2. Feathered hands (-2 Str)

3. Hooves (-2 Dex)

4. An intractable fungal infection (-2 Int)

5. Constant profuse sweat (-2 Con)

6. Snake-like Infrared eyes (-2 Wis)

You are given Symbols to aid you in your purpose. Symbols begin at rank 1. Each time you draw a crowd with a disruptive, confusing, or disturbing performative act to remind civilization that they are a hair’s breadth from utter uncertainty, increase the rank of a Symbol by 1.

Each day you could have done this but didn't, lose a rank and increase the penalty from your Mark by 1. It is ok to go adventuring, but this obligation remains when you return. If you permanently remove an organizing principle from a settlement, one of your Symbols may stay at its current rank.

In your adventuring, you must not rely on the so-called creature comforts of civilized folk. Wear no clothes except where necessary to survive. Do not wield forged weapons. Regularly dissolve your rational self and give in to intuition and feeling (via drugs). For each violation, reduce the rank of a Symbol by 1 and increase the penalty from your Mark by 1. Also, if you leave town for good without leaving a lasting unsettling or disorganizing influence, reset all Symbols  to rank 1.

I am called a dog because I fawn on those who give me anything, I yelp at those who refuse, and I set my teeth in rascals.

1. Natural

🝆         Detect smells as a dog and see as an Eagle.

🝆🝆     Take the form of a small animal if no one can see you.

🝆🝆🝆 Take the form of any animal you’ve seen if no one can see you.

2. Geas

🝆         One person must obey a non-harmful direction as long as you lock eyes.

🝆🝆         A willing participant may enter a Geas with you. Agree upon terms, if either party willingly breaks the terms, they die.

🝆🝆🝆 An unwilling participant may be forced into a Geas with you. State what the unwilling party must do and what you must do. The tasks must be comparable in risk and difficulty or the spell won’t work. Enter the Geas by stating the full terms of the Geas in their hearing and sacrificing an animal. If either party breaks the terms, they die.

3. One with the Mist

🝆         Call up a mist or fog. Takes d6 minutes. This impedes vision and provides advantages for stealth.

🝆🝆         In a mist, your identity is unknowable except at your will.

🝆🝆🝆 In a mist you may declare that you are absent and may reappear in a mist in a later scene at any time.

4. Intuitive Medicine

🝆         At a glance, know if a creature is diseased, poisoned, or cursed and the nature of the ailment. You are immune to these conditions.

🝆🝆         Remove any naturally caused ailment.

🝆🝆🝆 Remove any magically caused ailment. Requires mushrooms and a brief jaunt into the spirit realm.

5. Medium

🝆         Touch a warm body to speak with their spirit.

🝆🝆         At a word, if a location is inhabited by a spirit, they will make themselves known to you. 

🝆🝆🝆 With mushrooms and an all night ritual, speak with any dead willing to hear you.

6. I Shall be a Serpent in the Way, a Horned Snake in the Path.

🝆         Speak with snakes and the like. You are generally on friendly terms. Your spit is venomous

🝆🝆         Turn a staff into a snake and back. It is stronger than other comparable snakes.

🝆🝆🝆 Summon briefly, once a dragon. It doesn’t know you or like you. 

Design Notes on the Knower of the Oak Tree: Not a ton is known about druids that I could find. It is difficult to remove the DnDisms we all know, but understanding the original druids through the lens of Roman and Christian writers is beyond my hobby scope. This class contains DnDisms because that’s what I had left in spite of higher aspirations. That said, prophet of the unknown is a fun idea and I like it.

On being a prophet of the unknown. The point is not to act silly, although you may end up doing that. The point of the class is to incentivise the player to think about the structures of your setting and interact with them and undermine them. If there is a cult in town and this druidic player helps cast them out via typical DnD violence, then that organizing principle for that significant portion of townsfolk is gone. Druid mission accomplished. The same is true if the town elder gets so annoyed and flustered at your behavior he disgraces himself in front of the townsfolk and loses their respect. Remove order.

Needless to say order does not like to be disrupted. The powers that be may respond similarly to the Druid as the Prophet, but the authorities annoyed with be much broader.

General Design Notes: The first class was a fun exercise in squeezing in biblical reference into as small a space as possible. I also went for an overtly Christian class. This is usually avoided in holy-person classes to my knowledge. I’ve never seen it done to this degree.

The design bits I’m excited about are that the spell-like abilities have only diegetic limitations. It’s a near diceless, mechanic-less system for spells effects.

The second is that it is effectively a delta class, but one that should play out in interesting ways. First, the player is incentivised to interact with the setting in a way which matches the class fantasy. Also, doing so is possible and not needlessly time consuming, as is the delta trap. It is also the first delta class with a single course of action tied to each ability.

Format (for lack of a better word) inspired by the Thieves Guilds here and discussion on the Discord server.