Secret Santicorn 2025, Part III: Pathetic Dragons

And now my last(?) gift to shove under the OSR Discord Secret Santicorn tree:

Sylvanas_iii - A dX table of medieval dragons that look nothing like any self-respecting dragon should (e.g. the original French tarrasque)

First of all, before diving into this assignment, I must ask, who gave St. George all the good press for killing such a puny dragon? I mean, this thing looks like it could barely accost a self-respecting princess. Not to mention an armed and armored knight. This creature looks like a hatchling. Clearly, the dragon was the victim here.

IT'S JUST A BABY!

Obviously, the tale grew in the telling. 

Anyway, let's go find some weirdos.

1. Ah yes, the Septacranial Fluharmonizer. A beast notable not for its breath weapon, but its melodious vocalizations. "Septs" are often curated as local attractions, fed on a fine selection of lamb and lemon balm to coax their performances for the local economy. The six prima heads harmonize, as the posterihead maintains a rhythmic drone. Their songs are described as like "living pipe organs" by aficionados and as "feral bagpipes" by their detractors.

Secret Santicorn 2025: Part II: D66 Winter Carousing Happenings

My second gift as a member of the OSR Discord Santicorn 2025 Reserves(tm). 

energycrow666 - Carousing tables themed around winter and/or its attendant festivals, such as solstice, yule, and the new year.

by Arthur Rackham

Oh no. Don't make me do another D66 list. Please no... 😜

Inspired this morning under the influence of two cups of coffee and a bowl of Chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats.

Party on!

Note: Realized I totally forgot a krampus encounter, as well as a Yule Cat. There are just too many winter traditions and hazards... 

And, from The Resurrectionists, a bit more history of Christmastime Chaos:

Update: Bonus Part II of the table can be found here....

Secret Santicorn 2025: Downtime Happenings...

I was tardy in signing up for the OSR Discord's annual "Secret Santicorn" writing prompt exchange. But I let the organizer know that I'd be happy to pick up an orphan "gift" if need be. And so I was called off the bench.

Hello _ !
Your gift is for Houndmoon, who asked for:
“Set of useful downtime activities & the locations and characters they’re attached to.”

I can do this. In the tune of D66, of course...

Ooo! Downtime. Whee. Another Carousing Table! Can I roll a Suspicious Rash? Sketchy Business Venture? Notice from a Noble?

Nah, give me Something Better. I want a Cool Trick. Preferably from a Mysterious Stranger! Let's get us some Downtime Boons!

How does one come upon a Boon? Not by Gift or Grift but by Reputation. The PC must have Done a Thing that Caught Someone's Attention. Perhaps the fighter doing in the beast in the Arena, the cleric dispelling some Infernal Being, the mage Touching the Arcane, the thief Stealing the Thing. This Deed draws the Attention of a Mentor or Benefactor. Someone not affiliated with the current adventure, but who may become a Part of the World as the story continues. But most importantly, someone who thinks the PC worthy of a New Ability. 

They will contact the PC, perhaps directly, by messenger, or even subterfuge. After all, not all of these mentors are affiliated with Proper Channels or the Orthodoxy. In some cases, gaining this knowledge may even have the potential to Mark the PC as a Heretic or Iconoclast. So Beware. Many Gifts come with a Cost. Not to mention, now that the PC has been Found Worthy of a Boon, the Patron will likely want them to Run an Errand, Return the Favor, or Complete a Deed...

"The Noble Patron"

Blogwagon: A Rankin/Bass Themed Hex - The Drumlands

After my prior grimdark trench-fighting rabbits, I might as well lighten up my next hex contribution to the collaboration. 

Oh look, no one's selected this little bastard as their theme/inspiration:

Even St. Joan can't save this travesty.

Ok. To start from the most belovedly hated Christmas song, and hopefully make a place of less suck...

Welcome to The Drumlands

Not to be confused with drumlins...

...although there could be drumlins in the Drumlands...

The Drum-Cult arose around the storied night where an orphan was said to have found favor with yet another desert messiah. Legend said that the infant messiah was amused or soothed by the orphan's drumming, so much so, that the babe recruited their divine powers to heal the orphan's lamb. Or so said an itinerant astrologer, who claimed to have heard about it from a colleague who heard it from another astrologer who claimed to have been there. Anyway, you want your tarot read?

Blogwagon: A Rankin/Bass Themed Hex - Ēostre Fields

Blame Prismatic Wasteland, who announced a holiday-themed hexcrawl, based on the Rankin/Bass films and specials. Each hex has an association with those beloved childhood films. 

I'll never get invited to one of these holiday parties again...

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Going Over the Top, with Peter Cottontail.

First there was Ēostre, worshiped all the generations ago. She brought spring and growth, the explosive joy and promise of a new season past the dark of winter. Among those who worshiped her and beseeched her blessings were the rabbit-folk. Both fervent and fecund, the numerous rabbit-folk were devout followers, poring over her holy books and keeping her days holy. Unfortunately, as with so many religious movements, schisms ripped the followers into two parties, now belligerents in a holy war fighting over dogma, land, and sacred relic eggs.

Each believe they are the chosen of the goddess, those in the right.

What started as meeting-hall debates and fists pounding on holy text, devolved into skirmishes and back-and-forth heists. Now, it has sunk into a war of attrition – the Cottontails on one side, the Irontails on the other.

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What were once green swales and glens have been churned by years of warfare into a muddy, pockmarked and scarred land. Both sides have burrowed and entrenched, with the war now a cycle of mass charges, exchanges of explosive magics, and grim sappers.

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YET ANOTHER Collection of D66 Tables

That's right, folks - I finally crossed the magical threshold of twelve more D66 tables... Which meant I had to make up Number 13 and paste them all together with my third-grade collage skills.

We've got multiple hex curiosities, caravan cargos, magical weapons/armor, and other miscellany for use, abuse, and inspiration...

GET IT HERE!

UPDATE: I just bundled together all of three of the D66 table collections for purchase. That's 39 tables of randomness right there, folks!

They Met at a Tavern 18: Stealing Dolls from the Stonewills

New month, new brewery. They are trying to get some traction for the Sunday game night, so posted up for a table.

• Will: half orc Ras-godai (pointy helmet with plume)
• Roderick: Human witch (shaved head, scorpion tattoo on scalp)
• Tim: halfling fighter (short, curly hair)
• Seana: Human fighter (bald)

The party disembarked from their anonymous freighter, looking for work. The Ras-godai caught the eye of a stevedore, who flashed a sign. A sibling organization, a thieves guild... The Ras-godai (with stocky halfling backup) stepped into an alley to get a lead. The stevedore gave them a wooden token and told them to ask for Solange at the Hidden Hand for work...

(Both my readers know the trope - party talks to hunchbacked serving girl, go into back room, serving girl drops disguise, revealing head of local guild of independent acquisitions...) 

But not after the 18CHA witch had made sure everyone had drinks. 

Anyway, they were offered two jobs - Get an idol from the Stonewill estate or see what's going on in the basement of the wine garden. Brief discussion, and idol recovery was elected.

They decided not to get their feet dirty in the sewers, and reconnoitered the surface routes of entry. The front was too well-trafficked for entry, so perhaps a side route. While the witch and halfling staged a lover's spat to distract the street traffic, the Ras-godai scouted the alleyway, finding the entry to the back courtyard. Good enough, wait until dark.

At the appointed hour, the party convened at the alleyway. The witch kept watch while the party attempted a B&E. As they tested doors and finally lofted a rope and grapple over the back wall, the witch intercepted a couple of hapless city guards, distracting them from the party's efforts.

something like this

Once inside, they attempted to unlock the back gate. The Ras-godai claimed to be able to pick locks (using a bent clothes hanger), but to no avail. OK, we'll just throw a rope back over. 

D66 Magical Armors

Well, radio silence. The writing is being sluggish, as Transcription Project '25 rapidly becomes Transcription Project '26. I think that, with the end of the campaign, I've had less urgency to write. Not to mention those Real Life(tm) elements that dominate one's attention and energies. 

Anyhoo... Thought that I'd ginned up a dozen D66 tables for the third compilation, but found that I'd only come up with eleven. So - here's Number Twelve. 

Armor!

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Like a few other entries, a magic item with simply a bonus is boring. So all of our armors have a little (or lot) something extra. Plus a few are cursed, because that's fun.

Download the Defense!

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Now I can get to that 13th bonus table for the third collection. Any suggestions?

Ok, now that The Plague has passed, we can get back to brewery games this Sunday... More to come.