The Barony of Blacktow

I hit upon my gamable feudalism system a couple of years ago, and it's simple and good. Mainly inspired by On Downtime and Demesnes and Gazeteer #1 Karameikos.

Actual historical feudalim didn't have a very neat layout like this, and the titles of nobility seem very flexbile. But this is my simplification for a gameable system, and it works for me!

The basic rules are that a hex is (now famously) 6 miles across, which is about the range a small army can rush to in the case of emergency. It's defendable with one fortress, especially if they have horses. These are the levels of the pyramid scheme:

Kingdom - the entire country and its colonies, ruled by the King or Queen. They live in the biggest city in the kingdom, which is also the best defended. Contains the capital's hex, contiguous with 2d6 fiefs (directly belonging to the kingdom), and surrounded by 2d6 duchies.

Duchy - a county or colony, ruled by the Duke or Duchess. Contains a big town with a big castle, contiguous with 2d6 fiefs (directly belonging to the duchy) and loosely surrounded by 2d6 baronies.

Barony - a small castle, perhaps a town, contiguously surrounded by 2d6 fiefs. Ruled by a baron or baroness.

Fief - one populated hex. Ruled by any kind of landed noble or elected official - a knight, lord, lady, mayor, steward, or whatever. They live in a small fort or fancy house, surrounded by a village and farms. The fief is named after the current ruling noble's family, e.g. Fief Sudley.

The kingdom does not have to be contiguous - there can be long tracts of unpopulated land or ocean between baronies or duchies, but supply lines are vital. A barony and its surrounding fiefs, surrounded by wilderness, with a caravan road to civilisation, is an ideal starting point for a campaign.

A fief that is separated from the clump of other fiefs and baron's castle by even one wilderness hex would be considered isolated and vulnerable to attack.

Unlanded nobles would jump at the chance for a fiefdom. This is where domain play comes in for a noble PC.

Each layer is the layer below's boss. A kingdom going to war would command their duchies, who would command their baronies, who would command their fiefs to send their fighting mounted nobility (knights) and a peasant levy (cannon fodder).

It's been said that Knave 2e's economy is a big change from the BX. Beau Rancourt did a very in-depth analysis. The two major standouts for me were:

A small dragon's hoard of ~12,400c is what a below-average baker makes in 2 years.

A small castle is 2,000,000c, equivalent to the total treasure looted in the entire career of 4 10th-level adventurers if the don't have any expenses and don't carouse.

I've tossed around a few ideas - changing XP thresholds, using a different game's economy, revaluing the Knave coin... but I'm loath to throw out a nicely printed economy that does have an internal logic, even if there are some oddities (5c per arrow?). My main concern with Knave's economy isn't about how much a sword is, it's how much a small castle is, and how long it takes a party to buy one.

The Knave coin may be equal to 1 BX gold piece in terms of XP, but seems to be more similar to 1 BX copper piece in terms of buying big buildings. A party's buying power increases around 100 times slower in Knave 2e than in BX, making domain level play a distant dream.

My suggestion is to increase buying power without having to boost a party to level 20, or engage in dreary downtime day jobs, by allowing them to sell magic items - a commodity that only adventurers can find and sell. To a noble, wizard, or demon, doesn't matter. Some options of when to allow this:

Immediate need: A witch's cottage appears and she offers to buy them out.

When domain-level play begins: When talking to high nobility about the transfer of a hex's ownership to the party, the matter of using magical items to pay for part of the cost comes up.

As an adventure hook: The gnarly old lich has lots of gold and loves magical items, if you can find him. Or so I've heard!

Optionally, a magic item that fills a slot is worth 500 XP when brought back from an adventure. But their market value is far beyond 500 coins!

Use the prices of buildings, ships, and fighting units to estimate a magical item's value. "How long would a master battle wizard (pg. 45) work to attain it?" might be a good metric. Outlined below:

"At the end of each turn, roll the dungeon hazard die and apply the result" - Knave 2e

Rolling a d6 and having a 5-in-6 chance of an impactful result every 10 minutes of dungeon-delving is too frequent, in my opinion. There's usually enough happening between players and the room as written that you don't have to interject almost every time they do something to say that something else also happens.

In-game, when I don't get a result that's a 1 I panic, and just pretend I had rolled a 6. Time to make a plan. I'm of the faith that the makers of true old-school D&D knew what they were doing, and if I don't like a rule in Knave, I should at least try to emulate the original rule before making my own. My preferred text for referencing "true" old-school D&D is OSE, Old-School Essentials.

"Wandering Monsters. Chance: Typically 1-in-6 every 2 turns" - Old-School Essentials

So I have a choice here. a) roll a d6 every 2 turns, b) roll a d6 every turn with a half-dangerous wandering monster table, or c) roll a d12 every turn.

Keeping track of each turn is something I don't always do, so I'll try b). My current project is turning The One Ring rpg's new Moria book into a series of dungeons to emulate travel through Moria, as the players will soon have to brave the depths to retrieve Mithril. Calling it Kagyar-Dum to make it match the lore of the Rockhome gazetteer I'm using.

So let's try this encounter table. I can even incorporate some of the ideas on Knave's encounter die, like shifts or torches! 6 should be enough monsters, as I can change results between sessions to keep it fresh. Expand to a d20 if you've got the effort.

I would also use this technique with wilderness travel. I discussed in a previous post how I've started thinking of hexes as big dungeon rooms, with a turn taking 4 hours instead of 10 minutes. It worked well!

So in Kagyar-Dum, every 10 minutes of exploration has a 1-in-6 chance of an Encounter. If so, roll on this table:

d12 Kagyar-Dum Encounters

2d4 Orc warriors and d6 Ogres. Tactics: aim to pen the party in a dead-end passageway or chamber so they can be captured or slain.

2d4 Orc spies. Tactics: watch from a distance, try to tempt or scare into a dangerous place. They tap-tap-tap on walls with sticks as morse code to each other. Will report to local leader all they see.

1d6 Doppelgangers impersonating ancient dwarf nobles. They request to camp with the party in exchange for information. Upon morning, they have transformed into their intended victims.

1d3 Aranea. Wizard-spiders exploring for magic and artefacts. Their queen lives in Westwood. They have a camp in Kagyar-Dum with a magic stepping-mirror to their Westwood home.

Mad dwarf. Gibbering, insanity. An escaped orc-slave, thinks all others are cruel orcs and will fight to the death to flee.

The dragon queen Tiamat. Shadow and flame! ---------------------------------------------------------------

Cave-in. Ceiling creaks, stone pillars topple with the pressure of time. Those who aren't crushed are waylaid.

The active torch/light source expires.

Smoke comes faint at first, then thickly. Flames lick from cracks in the floor. Tiamat is nearby...

Dead Orcs. Roll d4: 1. Killed eachother over a small purse of mithril. 2. Killed in a scrap, then eaten by scavengers. 3. Looks of twisted agony. No wounds. (assailed by dwarf ghosts). 4. Small, disfigured. Driven off and died of starvation.

Nausea penetrates the unlucky as players are probed with a mind-reading spell. Roll d4 for the culprit: 1-3: Aranea. The spiders are rummaging through your neurons like fidgety librarians. 4: Tiamat. Her presence looms over you, looking down into your mind like a queen into a puddle.

Magic of the stars, space, gravity, and time. Known to aliens, angels, and Old Ones.

Heavenly Body - A new star appears in the sky, shining with radiant intensity. It can change colour and move across the sky, tracing messages as it goes.

Immovable Object - An inanimate object no bigger than L ft in any dimension freezes in place, only budging under tremendous force e.g., a falling rhinoceros. Those who know the password can move it.

Stardoor - Conjure a free-standing magic door that lasts for L × 10 minutes. It can be opened for L seconds, leading to a random point on the surface of a chosen planet or moon in your solar system. You may add a bubble-membrane that prevents air from moving through the doorway in either direction. Use Earth’s solar system if the DM does not have a fictional solar system for your game.

Time Skip - The target vanishes, reappearing in the same spot in L × 10 minutes, or earlier if you chose. When they reappear, no time has passed for them and they have no knowledge of the spell being cast.

Increase Gravity - The gravity in a 30 ft area triples.

Gravitational Insulation - The force of gravity ceases its effects on L nearby targets.

Night Sphere - A 30 ft wide sphere of inky black darkness appears.

Moon Eye - The target can see through the moon as though it were their eyeball. They can magnify their view of the planet below to the scale of people appearing as specks.

Multiversal Duplicate - You can pull a copy of a touched creature and their inventory from an almost identical parallel universe. You can sustain the presence of both creatures for the spell’s duration, but if one is not dead by the time the spell ends either the duplicate or the original (choose randomly) is sent to the parallel universe.Roll d6 for a multiversal quirk: 1. Eyepatch, from dark timeline. 2. Penniless, has no possessions. 3. Different career choice. 4. Animalistic features, had a different evolutionary history. 5. Only speaks a language unique to their universe. 6. Has d3 Character Quirks (Use a relevant random table).

Obscure but practical magic. Known to witches, druids, and shamans.

Miniaturize - L targets are reduced to the size of a mouse for 1 hour.

Flying Broom - Enchant a broom to fly at your command. It can carry one person at a time.

Familiar - Targets a creature no bigger than a cat. For the duration, you can sense what it senses and give it telepathic commands. If it is killed during the spell, it instead teleports to your side and the spell ends.

Beast Face - Turn your head into that of another animal. This gives you the ability to converse with animals of the same type.

Voodoo - You need an effigy of the target with some personal item attached - a lock of hair, scrap of clothing, small trinket, or similar. You can manipulate or damage the target using the doll for the spell’s duration whilst within 150 ft. To determine the exact effects, imagine there was a giant with your Intelligence modifier as their attack bonus manipulating the target. If Voodoo damage reduces the target to 0 health, instead of dying they fall unconscious.

Purify Food & Water - L meals worth of food and water can be made safe for consumption.

Scry - You see through the eyes of another for L minutes. The WIS Test to overcome the target’s resist has +1 if you have seen them, +1 if you have touched them, and +1 if you have a personal item. The target is unaware of the attempt, and if they resist they are shielded for 24 hours.

Swarm - You become a swarm of butterflies, crows, rats, piranhas, or other small creatures. You only take damage from area effects.

Manse - A sturdy, furnished cottage appears for L × 6 hours. You can permit and forbid entry to it at will. When the spell ends, everything not created by the spell is left behind.

The magic of life and death, of souls and the beings that deal in them. Known to necromancers and occultists.

Raise Dead - L skeletons rise from the ground to serve you. They are incredibly stupid and can only obey simple orders.

Life Thief - Touch a living creature’s skin to steal their life force. Deals L + d6 damage. If the roll is a 6, keep rolling until a 6 is not rolled. Half the damage you deal (round up) returns to you as healing.

Contact Agent - Summon an agent from another dimension that is willing to make a deal - a devil, angel, or similar. They can grant power, information, or restore life to the dead - for a price.

Silent as the Grave - L × 5 ft radius area is rendered utterly silent. Spellcasting is not possible within. Noise from outside the radius can be heard.

Charon’s Call - When beside a body of water, summon the stygian boatman to ferry you to the other side (literally or figuratively) for 3 coins each.

Soul Drinkers - Targets L creatures. For the spell’s duration, whenever a target ends a life they recover health equal to the slain creature’s level.

Raise Spirit - The spirit of a dead body manifests and will answer L questions. It is not obligated to speak truthfully.

Insect Plague - Summon a swarm of scarab beetles for L × 5 seconds. They do no damage but are distracting enough to grant the caster or an ally advantage on any stunts made against an enemy.

Wizard’s Monster - Stitch the body parts of several different creatures together and bring it to life. When it animates, roll on the Reaction Table + L. If agreeable, it is an undead hireling (choose mercenary or porter) that lives for L hours. It has L in 100 chance of being permanently animated and having some of its brain’s memories.

Mischievous spells that appeal to those who like to put on a show. Known to bards, tricksters, and fairies.

Instil Emotion - The target strongly feels one emotion you specify. This is useful for manipulating impulsive creatures that act on emotion, but rational minds are harder to sway.

Glamour - Illusory magic changes the target’s appearance to your specifications. You can change their apparent size by no more than 1/2 L ft, and extrusions (horns, extra height, etc.) are intangible.

Jumping - Jumping distance and height is tripled for L nearby creatures.

Auditory Illusion - You create illusory sounds that seem to come from a direction of your choice.

Disassemble - Any of your body parts may be detached and reattached at will, without causing pain or damage. You can still control them.

Ventriloquism - A creature must loudly and clearly repeat everything you think. It is otherwise mute.

Objectify - You become any inanimate object between the size of a grand piano and an apple.

Escape - Target experiences a burst of unnatural luck. For L minutes they cannot be restrained or slowed, skipping lightly over difficult terrain and deftly slipping through binds and grappling arms.

Quick Limerick - Force a creature that can hear you to perform any two to four-word command that rhymes. If the rhyme impresses the DM, the target automatically fails their roll to resist.

Plant magic, nourishing and making things grow. Known to druids, dryads, and unicorns.

Thicket - A thicket of trees and dense brush up to L × 40ft wide suddenly sprouts up.

Friendly Vine - A long, dexterous vine extends from your sleeve, reaching up to L × 10 feet. It can pick up and manipulate objects.

Control Plants - Nearby plants and trees obey you and gain the ability to move at 5 feet per Round.

Decompose - Plant spores in a dead organism that will consume it in 15 minus L minutes, turning it into a crop of tasty and nourishing mushrooms.

Primeval Surge - An object grows to the size of an elephant. If it is an animal, it is enraged.

Juicy Fruit - In nearby soil, instantly grow a plant bearing a single, tempting fruit. The fruit rots after 8 hours. Roll d6 for its effects when eaten, which last L × 10 minutes: 1. Tripping balls 2. Gullibility 3. Weakened 4. Extreme thirst 5. Deep sleep 6. Can’t form new memories

Tree Conduit - For L × 5 seconds, a touched tree opens its trunk to form a portal to any other tree that you have seen. Both trees must be alive and occupy the same world. The portal’s width cannot exceed the width of either tree’s trunk.

Wood Whisperer - Whisper encouragement to a wooden object no bigger than 10 feet in any dimension to make it as tough as steel. Whisper discouragement to make it as brittle as straw.

Shroud - L creatures are invisible until they move.

Sea Magic

Magic that involves water or aids voyages across it. Known to magical sailors, mermaids, and river dragons.

Sobek’s Gift - A portal to the elemental plane of water L feet in diameter opens nearby for 5 seconds. Water gushes out, totalling L × L × 50 gallons. L in 20 chance of a surprised crocodile coming through too.

Fog Cloud - Dense fog spreads out from you up to a 30ft radius.

Locate Brothel - Named by sailors for its most frequent use, but allows the target to sense the direction of the nearest building or business of any one type specified by the caster.

State Change - Evaporate or freeze L cubic feet of any liquid.

Head Bubble - L targets can breathe in any environment for 1 hour, or 1 target for L hours.

Sea Legs - For L nearby creatures, maintaining balance is not an issue. Nothing can make them fall, not even losing consciousness.

Albatross - Turn into a colossal albatross for L hours. You can carry ½ L people (round down) on your back but can’t cast spells. If you are killed in albatross form, your slayer is cursed to have disadvantage on all rolls as long as you stay dead.

Stormspeech - Change the weather to powerful winds, dark and cloudy, calm and sunny, or heavy rain.

Water’s Memory - Touch a body of water and learn the identity of the most dangerous creature in the water, or whether a creature you specify has been in the water recently.

Pyrotechnics

Combustible charms for the incendiary inclined. Known to dragons and devils.

Dragonfire - A sustained arc of fire shoots from your open mouth, reaching 60 ft and lasting up to L × 5 seconds.

Living Flame - Your body turns into fire. You can float up to L ft off the ground, pass through tight spaces, and everything you touch may catch fire. You take double damage from watery attacks. Can’t cast spells.

Purify - Engulfs the target in warm, harmless flames for the spell’s duration. It prevents dead creatures from reanimating and removes magical curses.

Rocket Heels - A nearby target zips along a surface very quickly in a straight line for L × 5 seconds. Crashing into a wall deals damage.

Heat Metal - A nearby metallic object you point at heats dramatically, burning any creature that touches it.

Flaming Wall - A straight wall of fire L × 40ft long and 10ft high rises from the ground.

Flames of Portent - Look into a flame. Ask the spirits of the flame one question. The DM must truthfully answer yes, no, or uncertain.

Shaped Charge - Place your palm against any mundane material no thicker than a wall to bore a L inch diameter hole through it. The removed material blasts away from you in a spray of shrapnel.

Hearth Hop - Speak a location’s name to an intact fireplace. L creatures standing in the fireplace will burst into flames, reappearing in a fireplace at the named location. If the pronunciation is incorrect or the location doesn’t have an intact fireplace, roll d6 for where the creatures end up: 1. The elemental plane of fire. 2. High above the location. 3. In whatever fireplace is closest to the location. 4. In the fireplace of a location that rhymes with the named location. 5. At the main entrance of the location. 6. Stay put and take 4d6 damage, incinerating if killed.

Something else I forgot to mention about these spells: when I was writing them, I tried to imagine: If a player wanted to only have spells from this school of magic, would they be disadvantaged? With that in mind, I tried to make sure every school had spells that fulfilled most of the core spell functions. Let's see if I can remember them: - Social interaction (e.g. charm) - Travelling long distance (e.g. teleport) - Combat mass-disable (e.g. sleep) - Combat single target heavy (e.g. power word kill) - Defensive magic (e.g. shield) - Getting-past-obstacles magic (e.g. invisibility) - Gaining information (e.g. speak with dead) - Help/protect/empower ally (e.g. cure wounds)

See if you can spot them in the 3rd school of magic:

Psionics

Magic of the mind, including telepathy, hypnosis, and telekinesis. Known to psychics, mind flayers, and vampires.

Telekinesis - For the duration, you can move up to L objects with your mind, with a range of 60 ft. For heavy objects, test Wisdom as if it were Strength.

Enthral - For the spell’s duration, any creature that meets your gaze must resist or become enthralled. Thralls cannot act as long as the caster maintains eye contact and does nothing threatening. They will slowly approach the caster if beckoned. They will answer yes or no questions truthfully, more complex questions being beyond their comprehension.

Brain Shield - L targets are protected from mind-altering or mind-controlling, or mind-reading magic for 1 hour, and any ongoing mental effects are lifted.

Read Mind - Hear the surface thoughts of nearby creatures and send them mental messages.

Mental Barrier - Create an anti-magic circular barrier up to 30 ft diameter that no spell or spell effects can pass through in either direction.

Psychic Orbs - Kaleidoscopic spheres of psychic energy whirl around you, dazzling onlookers. Ranged attacks against you and adjacent allies have disadvantage. The orbs can also be used as a light source.

Lizard Brain - A target within range must resist or become an imbecile, reduced to only their primal instincts.

Hover - An object hovers, frictionless, 2ft above the ground. It can support the weight of up to L humanoids.

Teleport - A nearby target disappears and reappears in a visible, clear area up to L × 20ft away.

Artifice

The magic of crafting and using finely made artefacts. Known to tower wizards and magical smiths among dwarves and elves.

Slice - An inanimate object within 150 ft is neatly bisected at any point no thicker than L ft. Causes deep lacerations if cast on a creature, advantage to hit if they are made of stone, crystal, or metal.

Transmutation - Turn an inanimate object no bigger than L ft in any dimension into one material from this list: Iron, lead, copper, wood, stone, pyrite (fool’s gold).

Enchant Weapon - A weapon becomes a +1 magical weapon.

Marble Madness - Your pockets are full of marbles and will magically refill for L × 10 minutes.

Animate Object - Object obeys your commands as best it can. It walks at half the speed of a human.

Seeing Stone - By peeking through a stone with a hole in it, you can see through illusions and the invisible.

Query Artefact - The referee answers L yes or no questions about a touched object.

Mirrorwalk - For L× 5 seconds, A mirror becomes a gateway to another mirror that you have looked into at any point in the past.

Express Delivery - Whisper a target’s name to any object no heavier than L lbs (½ L kg). The object will indefinitely fly at throwing speed, navigating obstacles until it meets its target. The object will then repeatedly bump into the target until they notice it, potentially causing injury if the object is dangerous.

I wrote 100 spells for my The Black Hack hack I was using before I switched to Knave. I moved away from writing my own system because I was spending much too much time worrying about balance and game experience in between sessions, when I SHOULD have been thinking about fun things like magic items and characters.

I'm proud of this spell list I made though. I may rewrite it at some point, or adapt it to Knave.

But for now, keep these spellcasting definitions in mind:

L - The level of the casting wizard.

Duration - If not specified by the spell, L × 10 minutes. The caster may end the effects earlier if they chose.

Range - If not specified, 30 ft.

Damage - Any damage dealt by spells is L + exploding d6. (Exploding: If the roll is a 6, keep rolling additional d6’s until a 6 is not rolled.)

I subdivided my spells into 10 categories. I did this so that I could quickly theme magical NPCs, monsters, and religions by limiting them to one or two schools of magic.

The first 10 are the bread-and-butter spells of OSR dungeoncrawling. Iconic spells of the genre that would really be a shame to exclude. Having these also increases compatibility with modules that use some version of D&D as a system.

Dungeoncraft

Popular and practical spells, considered classics by adventuring wizards and magical thieves.

Knock - Unlocks a lock with a loud sound. Roll d20  -L for volume, 5 is as loud as normal speech.

Web - You spray out thick webbing.

Sleep - A group of targets of total level no more than L falls asleep.

Comprehend - You become fluent in all languages.

Detect Magic - You hear nearby magical auras singing. Volume and pitch signify the aura's power.

Charm - The target treats you like a close friend for the duration.

Spider Climb - You can walk across vertical and upside-down surfaces.

Invisibility - Target turns invisible.

Polymorph - Nearby target turns into a mundane animal no bigger than L ft in any dimension. The health of the animal form is set by the DM (usually 1 per ft of its longest dimension). Once the animal form’s health reaches 0, the target reverts to its natural form, and excess damage is carried over to its natural health pool.

goblinpunch made this great blogpost that featured in Knock! #4. I redesigned it for a d6 and rewrote them each to have 4 outcomes. I have this on the inside of my GM screen when running Knave to replace the standard d12 reaction table. I've not yet rolled a d8 to determine disposition, I choose whatever makes sense for the character. But maybe you will!

Addicted to pipe weed.

Agent of a secret society or cult.

Always looking for the right accessory.

Always wants to spring the trap.

Anti-establishment.

Aspirant of one random career, but is really awful at it.

Ass-kissing suck-up.

Big competitive streak.

Bitter over some past wrongdoing.

Blasé towards dire circumstance.

Bluntly states the facts.

Boastful of family name.

Bookworm.

Braggart.

Brave to the grave.

Cannot abide the destruction of art.

Cautious.

Collects seeds, statues, etc. for their garden back home.

Deep ties to a mud-wrestling club.

Dire nut allergy.

Dumb as a rock.

Enraptured by cute animals.

Every insult must be avenged.

Exalts the virtues of walking barefoot.

Excellent restraint and self-control.

Excellent tipper.

Fusses over the health of allies.

Generous disposition.

Gore turns the stomach.

Gravitas in spades.

Greedy enough to steal the food from another’s plate.

Grizzled survivor of total party kill.

Gullible, susceptible to suggestion.

Habitual rhymer.

Habitually underestimates foes.

Happily married.

Has a grand, idealistic vision for the future.

Has an item of huge sentimental value.

Hopeless romantic.

Humble.

Illiterate.

Immature sense of humour.

Keeps proposing friendly wagers.

Knows all the constellations.

Laser-focus on current tasks.

Laughs at others’ misfortunes.

Licks their weapon to intimidate foes.

Likes their personal space.

Love of gold for gold’s sake.

Loves swimming naked in ice-cold water.

Loves to smash glass.

Merciless.

Monsters make them blush.

Musically gifted.

Nationalist patriot.

Neat freak, avoids getting dirty.

Never had friends before now.

Never misses a joust, knows all the knights’ names.

Never turns down a chance to hobnob with the social elite.

Oath of celibacy.

Out of retirement for one last job.

Overconfident in own abilities.

Polite to a fault.

Proud parent of d4 kids.

Pyromaniac.

Rich parents have cut them off.

Secret relative of another player character.

Secretly wants to try cannibalism.

Sharp dresser, keeps affairs in order.

Short-tempered.

Sluggish and lazy.

Spits. A lot.

Spouts cryptic metaphors.

Staunch teetotaller.

Strong code of honour.

Strong phobia (d20 Phobias).

Student debt for one of their careers.

Suspects strangers to be vampires.

Talks to the stars like an agony aunt.

Terrible liar.

Theatrical thespian.

Town drunk.

Tremendous appetite.

Tries to accept all cultures, no matter their customs.

Tries to convert others to their religion.

Ugly. Just really, horribly grotesque. Good person though, popular in hometown but nowhere else.

Unwavering faith.

Very chipper, especially in the mornings.

Very superstitious.

Wants enough gold to buy an island.

Wants immortality, in one form or another.

Wants something named after them.

Wants to capture a rare monster and train it to play an instrument.

Wants to taste every monster.

Wears a helmet to keep “them” out.

Why tell the truth when a lie is more fun?

Wine snob.

Would give their life for a noble cause.

Writes bad poetry.

Great thing about finally having a blog is that now I can share all the stuff I've been making over the years.

This was adapted from BX Headgear by B/X Blackrazor as a starting point. Roll d20 if you just need a helmet.

----Helmets----

Barbuta helm

Bascinet helm

Bucket with eyeholes

Chain coif

Crusader helm

Feathered helm

Greek helm

Horned helm

Kettle helm

Metal skull cap

Miner’s helm

Morion helm

Pigface Animal-face helm

Pot helm

Pot, actual

Roman helm

Sallet helm

Samurai helm

Spangen helm

Tortoise shell ----Hats-----

Admiral’s hat

Animal mask

Animal, ears

Animal, horns/antlers

Ascot

Attached hood, long

Attached hood, short

Balaclava

Bandana

Bedouin

Beret

Bicorne

Boater

Bow

Cap

Cape

Chaperon

Coif

Conical spiral

Conical, short

Conical, tall

Coonskin cap

Deerstalker

Ear piercings

Executioner’s hood

Eye mask

Eyepatch

Face paint

Fake arrow-in-head

Fancy hat

Feathered

Feathered headdress

Fez

Fisherman hat

Flower crown

Full-face mask

Fur lined hood

Graduation cap

Head scarf

Hood with long tassel

Hooded cape

Jester hat

Knitted beanie

Large flower in hair

Long & heavy scarf

Lower-face mask

Medieval beekeeper

Medieval dante

Monocle

Musketeer hat

Neckerchief

Ninja hood

Nose piercings

Paper crown

Pipe in mouth

Plague doctor

Powdered wig

Puffy hat

Ribbons in hair

Robin hood hat

Sack with eyeholes

Sailor hat

Scottish bonnet

Skull cap

Solomon cane hat

Sombrero

Spectacles

Straw hat

Tattooed scalp

Tiara

Tiered ziggurat

Toothpick in mouth

Top hat

Tricorne

Turban

Veil

Visconti hat

Wide brim, floppy

Wide brim, stiff

The Baron of Blacktow.

This guy rules the borderlands. Or at least, is trying to. I imagine him as the archetypal Knave, or what all Knaves aspire to be in Knave 2e. An adventurer who took to domain-level play in his late game. Rich, successful. Strategic, but afraid to take risks.

He took control of the fortress now known as Blacktow in his younger days. He wrested it from an orc warband, named it and the lake after himself, and got to work turning it from an ancient ruin to the thriving heart of the northernmost barony of the Kingdom of Foloress.