Hey, folks!
I wanted to use this opportunity to share a couple of
tools I’ve used while running a campaign in the fabulous Dolmenwood campaign setting
by Gavin Norman.
Although I love Dolmenwood, it is (sadly) incomplete.
Gavin continues work on detailing the unfinished parts of the campaign setting,
hoping to finish sometime soon. However, I could not wait for Gavin to finish
his work before starting a campaign set in Dolmenwood, as I loved the setting
as soon as I laid eyes on the moss dwarves in the first issue.
I think our campaign has gone very well so far, but of
course I’ve encountered some issues with running a campaign in a setting
detailed only in a eight zines. One of them is the Dolmenwood saints.
Dolmenwood’s church of the One True God has one-hundred (or one-hundred-and-one,
depending on how you count them) saints, yet only a few are detailed in the
pages of the Wormskin zines themselves. All of them appear on the Dolmenwood
calendar, which leaves me wondering about the exact nature of these saints as
those days draw near for my players.
So, the following two tables are tools I have used to help
me generate stories about these Dolmenwood saints (including St. Ethelred, whom
I made a dungeon for in the post before last). I use these tables as a part of
preparation before sessions with players to help spark ideas in my mind of the
miracles these saints might be venerated for.
The idea is to roll 1d10 on this table once
for each column, then combine the results. I especially appreciate how this
table creates some dissonance, which I think leads to the most off-the-wall
outcomes.
For example, I once rolled “Converted,” “a lake or river,”
and “they wanted to punish a guilty party.” After some thought, this result led
me to generate the idea that St. Craven “converted” Fog Lake entirely into beer
to defeat a terrible sea monster there, then subsequently turned it back. The
idea seemed to fit with the nature of Prigwort, too.
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Holy
Saints and Miracle Generator
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Verb
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Noun
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Because…
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1.
Destroyed
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1.
A Spell
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1.
They received a vision from their god
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2.
Banished
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2.
A Text
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2.
They were personally aggrieved
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3.
Purified
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3.
A Lake or River
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3.
They were in the right place at the right time
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4.
Healed
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4.
A monstrous creature
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4.
A panicked person asked for help
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5.
Exorcised
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5.
A beggar or prostitute
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5.
They aspired for Sainthood
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6.
Created
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6.
A star or constellation
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6.
They owed a political favor to a noble
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7.
Survived
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7.
Persecution or martyrdom
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7.
They wanted to punish a guilty party
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8.
Resisted
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8.
A tree or glade
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8.
They wanted to spare an innocent party
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9.
Converted
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9.
A priory or cathedral
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9.
They made a promise to an occult faction
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10. Sacrificed
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10. A tomb or dungeon
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10. Their miracle was
entirely unintentional
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This next table is one I’ve used to detail the different
observances villages practice on holy days. Again, the value of this table lies
in some of the absurd results it can provide.
For example, “abstinence” of a “body part” for “everyone”
led me to the idea of a holy day where everyone goes without using their right
hands, in honor of a Saint who lost their hand to a petulant noble.
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Holy
Day and Celebration Generator
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Activity
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Activity With
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Creatures Involved
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1.
Reenactment or Performance
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1.
A live animal
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1.
Either noble or peasant blood
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2.
Hunt or Search
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2.
A community member
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2.
People of a specific profession
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3.
Competition
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3.
An effigy
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3.
People born at a specific time (ex. season)
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4.
Bonfire or Pyrotechnics
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4.
A specific food
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4.
Either men or women
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5.
Fast or Abstinence
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5.
An article of clothing (1: Hats, 2: Gloves, 3: Shoes,
4: Undergarments, 5: Shirts, 6: Pants)
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5.
People of a specific age (Ex. children, elderly)
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6.
Sacrifice
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6.
A body part
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6.
People with a specific eye color
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7.
Feast
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7.
A relic or holy object
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7.
People with a specific hair color
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8.
Gift-giving
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8.
A mundane location
(1:
Mantle or Hearth, 2: Lintel or Door, 3:
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8.
Either married or single people
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9.
Parade
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9.
A holy site or location
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9.
Livestock
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10. Pilgrimage or
Travel
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10. A tool or other
mundane item
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10. Unsuspecting
victims
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11. Flagellation
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11. A plant (1: Tree,
2: Herb, 3: Flower, 4: Shrubbery)
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11. People of a
specific birthplace (ex. foreigners, natives)
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12. Sermons
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12. Specific words or a
text
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12. Everyone
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These last two tables are “random” tables (ba-dum-tsst)
that I’ve also used while running Dolmenwood. One of them helped me with the
bakery near Prigwort, as I needed something for the daughters to sell in town
when the heroes arrived. The second is a table I roll on anytime bards perform
songs for the players, to provide a bit more detail about the song type and
subject.
I hope any or all of these tables are useful for you (:
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Baked
Goods Generator
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Flavor
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Form
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Something Special…
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1.
Blueberry
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1.
Strudel
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1.
Streusel
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2.
Cherry
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2.
Bear Claw
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2.
Glaze
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3.
Strawberry
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3.
Beaver Tail
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3.
Crème Filling
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4.
Apple
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4.
Turnover
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4.
Sprinkles
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5.
Peach
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5.
Cannoli
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5.
Caramel
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6.
Cranberry-Orange
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6.
Croissant
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6.
Frosting
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7.
Brown Sugar & Cinnamon
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7.
Eclair
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7.
Double-stuffed
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8.
Lemon
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8.
Tart
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8.
Marshmallow
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9.
Pear
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9.
Muffin
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9.
Toffee
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10. Boysenberry
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10. Pie
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10. Chocolate
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11. Blackberry
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11. Cake
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11. Extra flaky
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12. Raspberry
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12. Tort
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12. Made with love
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Random
Song Generator
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Form
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Subject
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1.
Ballad
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1.
Separated Lovers
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2.
Carol
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2.
Unrequited love
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3.
Children’s song
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3.
Infidelity
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4.
Hornpipe
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4.
Massacre
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5.
Jig
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5.
Victory in combat
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6.
Dirge
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6.
Natural disaster
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7.
Lullaby
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7.
Drinking
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8.
Hymn
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8.
Defeat in combat
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9.
Parlor music
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9.
Prodigal children
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10. Vaudeville
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10. A shipwreck
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11. Acapella
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11. Hard work
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12. Reel
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12. A long-lost
treasure hoard
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