Making Cairn Combat Better

The Rules

On each character's turn, they get two actions, but only one of which can be used to attack or take a similar action (push, disarm, trip, etc.). A PC can forgo their second action to guarantee they go before their opponents (ignoring the DEX save).

Combat takes place in zones. Zones are approximately 40' areas. Moving between zones is an action, but moving within a zone is free and can be done at any point. A blast hits all creatures in a zone (or a number of creatures equal to the damage roll). You can use melee weapons to hit anything in your current zone. Ranged weapons can hit up to one zone away.

When a creature is hit in melee combat, it becomes in engaged with the creature that hit it. While engaged ranged weapons cannot be used, and if an engaged creature attempts to flee, all enemies engaged with it can attack it for free. A creature can disengage as an action to escape an engagement.

As an action, a PC can take a defensive action (block, dodge, or parry). If they take a defensive action and are attacked, they gain fatigue (but gain no fatigue if they are not attacked).

• Block - Attacks against you are impaired. You need a shield to do this.
• Dodge - When attacked, roll a d8, subtract your armor, then reduce your damage taken by the result. If the damage s reduced to 0, you are disengaged for free.
• Parry - When attacked, roll your weapon's damage and if it's greater than your opponent's damage, deal damage equal to your roll to their STR. If its lesser, take their damage directly to your STR. Neither of these hits trigger a critical damage save. If equal, nothing happens.

Everything else is Cairn as written.

The Explanation

I'm trying something out here, giving you the rules first and the reason for the rules second.

Anyways: Cairn's combat isn't the best. That's not a complaint, it's not trying to be good. I however, prefer my combat to be a bit more tactical. This is the goal of Block, Dodge, Parry, but I have some issues with BDP's implementation.

Quick and full turns are better represented by two actions (in my opinion) and I prefer zones to vague range bands, though that one is entirely personal taste, and I think engagements are necessary to allow the fighters to actually protect their squishier comrades in the back line, but what about the eponymous block, dodge, and parry.

Blocking and dodging in BDP work the same, they grant two weapon speeds (balanced and either fast or slow) impaired. Frankly, this has always felt really weird to me. For one its a punishment for using the middle tier of weapons, with none of the narrative bonuses of a fast weapon (ie: easy to hide) but none of the mechanical benefits of a big two hander. Yes you get a shield, but you can do the same with a dagger.

BDP attempts to fix this with the weapon clash system. I think it's a good system, though I wonder how useable it is at the table, but I applaud the implementation. A balanced weapon is equally likely to be the first to hit as it is to be the last to hit. That's useful, being average is often good.

But it doens't change that blocking and dodging are binary choices in BDP. Either blocking does the thing, or it doesn't. That's dull.

In my attempts at changing it, I wanted blocking, dodging, and parrying to hit different niches. Dodging is better than blocking, but only if you are unarmored, and blocking requires a shield (or a weapon capable of blocking). Parrying prefers big weapons (or a parrying dagger) but comes with high risk and reward. And that's ignoring passive defense in armor. Is it better? I don't know! It's not tested! Most of what I make isn't!

I've still been trying to implement the face down defensive card mind games of His Majesty the Worm into a game with dice. I'm not sure it's entirely possible, but the mind games of playing a horrible roll as a riposte and then acting like you played a good card is just so tempting. I need to find a way to implement this into a game that doesn't use tarot.

9 Truths of Neurim

Consider this a reboot of the Neurim Primer.

1. The Sun Never Sets

The sun is always in the sky, and the land is ever bathed in its white light and warmth. The sun is dim, and Neurim's moons are visible in the sky (like the sun, the white moon Corhael and the red moon Mara take permanent residences in the sky, while the gene moon Astla orbits once every day and is how people on Neurim track time). The sun only sets if you travel far, and when it sets the land becomes dark and cold.

2. Bocathia Was Great

The Bocathian Empire was the greatest in this or any age, an immense magi-tech powered nation that spanned the globe. They succumbed to Plague, withered and rotted away in their own decadence, and their ruins litter the land.

3. The Zetterites Have Their Hands in Everything

For 600 years, the Zetterite Empire have spread their laws and church over all of the sunlit surface of Neurim, spreading far past the point their logistics allow. Every nation on Neurim either submits to the Empire, or has made long standing agreements for peace. The Zetterites have kidnapped hundreds of gods, and most have no opportunity to worship except in Zetterite built listening rooms.

4. The Zetterite Empire is on the Verge of Collapse

The Empire is beset on all sides. The orctide in the South, the Tahls in the North, the backstabbing Nastrans to the East, the heretic Svoggites in the West. Several decades of war have made the empire weak, and it can no longer afford to assert control over much of its territory.

5. Magic is Dying, Alchemy is Surpassing it

True magic died with Bocathia, and what we have now is a weak facsimile. Technology progresses further and further every day, and it's only a matter of time before an alchemist discovers the secrets to efficient engine making.

6. The Second Little War Ravaged the Land

When Balisarius rose from the dead for the second time, he resumed his war against the Empire. This war ravaged much of the Imperial heartland, which has yet to recover a decade later. 

7. The Plague is on the Wind Again

Everyone can tell. Folks come to the High Capitol with a cough in their lungs looking for a cure, but the Plague is no mere unbalancing of the humors. Entire towns on the borderlands wither away, and soon the Plague will reach its tendrils deep into the Empire proper.

8. Folks are Different Nowadays

When Bocathia fell, folks started being born different. Signs, they called them, afflictions of the human form. They can change, as one ages. They modify appearance, and can grant powers. The stout and rock-wise stone signed were first. Then were the red-haired and attuned to magic fair signed. 

9. Bad Things Live in the Dark

Where there is no sunlight, terrible things lurk and dwell, twisted monstrosities rise up from the shadows. Everbright lanterns mark roads through dense forests and valley paths wreathed in eternal shadows, managed by brave lamplighters.

Haustoriamancy (For Cairn)

 Magic (the stuff you're thinking of) is a long dead art, practiced only through ancient scrolls and dying magitech. In this age we have haustoriamancy, or if you are of a less educated sort, enchanting.

Enchanters do not make magic items, no +1 swords or rings of protection. No, they bring magical to the mundane to let the mundane perform the impossible. Only in the hands of an enchanter is a torch a bomb, or a rope a binding coil, or a wolf's pelt a snarling beast.

Haustoriamancy is intended to be the primary form of magic in a setting, with more traditional Cairn magic existing, but not intended as a primary source of a character's abilities.

Becoming an Enchanter

Enchanting is a specialized semi-magical technique present in some members of society. For purposes of PC's, it is assumed any PC has the ability to become an enchanter, but lack the training unless granted to them by a background. Training takes 100 silver (silver standard) and several months of dedicated practice.

In addition, a haustoriamancer requires a ley-enchanted item, items with natural magic present inside of them. These items are either ancient relics (made entirely of non-conductive material) or items of deep sentimental value (again, made of non-conductive material). Regardless of what a ley-enchanted item is made of, it acts as a simple weapon (1d6 damage), unless it's a weapon that would do more naturally.

Enchanting

To enchant, a haustoriamancer uses their ley-item to infuse magical energy into an item, with the following restrictions:

1. Items must be non-conductive. Magic does not like metal.
2. Items must be a single item. You can enchant a bag filled with dust, but not the dust within the bag.
3. Items must be solid. Water is not an object, but ice is.

To enchant an item, a huastoriamancer gains 1 fatigue and expends an action (if in combat), and then afterwards can command the item to do something that fits for that item. For example:

• A candle explodes into a large puddle of slippery wax.
• A rope attempts to bind someone like a serpent of its own will.
• A quill writes a message on a paper when a certain trigger is met.
• A torch shatters into a storm of sharp splinters.
• A bag of dust explodes into an obscuring cloud.
• An arrow flies an impossible path.

After performing its duties, an enchanted item crumbles to dust if not destroyed by its action. The effects of these commands are up to interpretation. Creative use of items carries the day.

Enchanting Other Things

Additional training can unlock other possible items for a haustoriamancer to use. Just as learning enchanting, these cost 100 silver (silver standard) and several months of training. In addition, most of them are considered illegal in civilized lands, and will be stated as such.

Familiars and Blood Enchanting

One can create a loyal and intelligent familiar by spreading their blood onto an enchanted doll or other small construct. These familiars can communicate and follow tasks.

One can create more familiars, or larger and more dangerous familiars, but this is considered illegal, as a familiar will attempt to kill its master if it gets the chance. Small, singular familiars simply lack the necessary ability to do so.

Ley-Combat

One can learn to master the power of their ley-enchanted item. Ley-combatants can turn their item into any form of weapon.

Fire

One can learn to enchant flames, allowing them to guide the flame (not command) and increase its size and temperature. As fires are, of course, alive, they have minds of their own and will obey less and less the larger they get. Pyromancy is illegal. 

Wind

Like fire, wind is a obviously alive. Unlike other forms of haustoriamancy, to learn to control the wind you must first bargain with it by climbing onto the highest peak in the region and offering something of great value to the wind (the giants bargained their voices). Once you and the wind reach accord, you cam now bind to breezes and command the wind.

Bones

One can animate the bones of the dead (a complete skeleton is a single object, after all) into unthinking, but utterly devoted thralls. Only capable of simple tasks, such as hauling goods or pointing a spear at something and as effective at those tasks as any animated skeleton would reasonably be. Ossomancy is not necromancy, as you are only animating the bones, not returning them to unlife. Ossomancy is also illegal, but only on moral grounds.

Biomancy

One can manipulate their own blood, organs, and flesh through enchanting like they would any other object. Such options include:

• Using your intestines like a whip or rope
• Turning your nails into claws to use as natural weapons or to climb a tree
• Altering your face and body to be uncrecognizable.

Biomancy takes extreme toll on the body, causing 1d6 points of strength damage after an enchantment is finished. Legends tell of powerful biomancers being able to manipulate the biologoy of other beings, most notably to create the ketch, also known as the worst predator to ever exist. Biomancy is illegal.

Dreams

There is no magic in dreams.

Finding training in oneiromancy is difficult. There are few practitioner, and those who are hunted relentlessly. Oneriomancers can infuse magic into their thoughts to create phantasms of their ideas. These phantasms are real, but only temporarily. These dreams act real, though are obviously made out of thin magenta light, rather than flesh. Dreaming things into existence is extremely taxing mentally, causing 1d6 points of willpower damage. Oneiromancy is extremely illegal.

Simple Freeform Combat: Keywords

I dislike most OSR game combat. This is my attempt to fix that with a simple system that rewards player creativity.

The Basics.

On your turn, you can attack and then do something else, such as move, use an item, or spend a keyword.

Weapons (and other items) have keywords attached to them. These keywords can be used to do cool things based on the word, but after a keyword has been used, it is spent until the party rests in a safe place or a whetstone is used on it.

Example.

Torr, in his conquests of the north, has come face to face with an armored knight as his opponent. Torr is currently using a Longaxe, which has the keywords cleave, sweep, and hack.

On his first turn, Torr attacks and then spends the hack keyword to hack into his opponent, making a second attack.

On his second turn, Torr attacks and then spends the sweep keyword to sweep his axe under his opponent's feet and attempt to trip him.

On his third turn, Torr attacks and spends the cleave keyword to cleave his opponent's shield in half.

On his fourth turn, Torr attacks and kills his opponent.

Ok So How Does it Actually Work?

When you spend a keyword, you can perform an action that would be reasonably described by that word. Attempting to cleave a man in half and attempting to cleave two men with one attack are both reasonable interpretations of the cleave keyword.

This system is inherently a bit cursed by "Mother May I?" syndrome. This is, ultimately, a curse shared by most systems trying to create interesting combat that's simple. You can't provide a pile of rules to make content fun, or it stops being simple, so it becomes the GM's problem. 

I believe there is a simple way to help make this system better: keywords all have an example of a reasonable action. These examples are not the only actions available, but a simple option for new players and GM's to take. For example:

Cleave: Deal damage to a second enemy in weapon range.

Sweep: Enemy saves or is knocked prone.

Hack: Make an additional attack.

Keywords are based on the weapon, with better weapons having access to more keywords. Any given keyword should be equivalent in power to any other keyword, so a weapon with 3 keywords should just be better than one with a single keyword. This makes weapons feel different and does so in a way that is obvious and simple to understand.

Taking It Further

You might be thinking "can we go further?"

Yes. Yes we can.

A mage might have a staff with the keywords fire, smoke, and eruption. These are the mage's spells, and what they do with them is up to them. Now mages and fighters play by the same rules, and quadratic wizard linear fighter isn't an issue.

Maybe a priest gets a gift from their god and gains a keyword rebuke. What does that do? No clue, let them decide. The fighter gets cursed by an obelisk and has horns, gains the keyword horns. Perhaps she can gore someone, or charge with her horns!

The enemies can have keywords! A wolf could have keywords howl and rip, with examples of abilities those could represent for the GM that doesn't want to balance abilities on the fly!

This isn't a fully fledged system, it's an idea that could be made into a fully fledged system. I hope it's somewhere between interesting and inspiring.

Firearms for His Majesty the Worm

Neurim has guns. If I ever intend to run HMTW in Neurim (and I do) I will need rules for firearms. These are those. Balance is secondary to idea.

General Firearm Rules: Like other ranged weapons, bullets and gunpowder are required to use a firearm and stack 6 to a slot. Firearms are difficult to reload mid combat, and require discarding two cards as a miscellaneous action. Blunderbuss cannot be reloaded in combat. Firearms can't hurt magical things. Intense magic will break a firearm just as quick as water.

Pistol

Pistols deal piercing damage. They do not grant attacks favor when attacking you in melee like other ranged weapons.

Musket (2 Slots)

Muskets deal piercing damage. Muskets grant access to the bow's special Aim Challenge Action. While wielding a musket, those attacking you with a melee weapon have favor.

Blunderbuss (2 Slots)

Blunderbuss can either spray over an entire zone, dealing 1 wound to all things inside of it, or can be fired at an engagement, dealing piercing damages to all things within said engagement. You are liable to shoot your allies with a blunderbuss. Such is life. While wielding a blunderbuss, those attacking you with a melee weapon have favor.

The Powder Monks

Specialist warrior monks who use firearms. They were the first to adopt the strange technology, and as a result have an understanding over their weapons not seen in all of the lands. The Lord Saint Gideon was a powder monk, and it was his years in solitude studying the musket that taught him to skills necessary to hold back the orctide in the south. The powder monks are a reclusive lot, but they will teach anyone with the capacity to learn their secrets.

The following talents are intended to start unlearned for all paths, but can be learned by any path.

The Wind of Black Powder

As a miscellaneous action you can attach or remove a bladed bayonet to your firearm. While this bayonet is equipped, the firearm is a melee weapon (treated as a dagger for a pistol or a polearm for a musket or blunderbuss). If the firearm is loaded, you can remove the bayonet as part of a normal attack action.

Saint Gideon's Blessed Rounds

Spend a resolve to perform a trick shot that would be otherwise impossible, such as curving or bouncing a bullet.  This isn't magic (though it definitely looks like it).

Snapshot

You may Riposte as an interrupt action using a loaded firearm. If the riposte is successful, the attacker does not gain favor from using a melee weapon against you while wielding a missile weapon.

A Rough Idea for Psionics in OSR Games

The Great Big Lie

Psionics are a lie.

Well, they exist, as far as everyone can tell, but they shouldn't. A psion can't really teleport, they're just very good at lying to the universe about where they are. Psionics are a collective fever dream, a lie just believable enough that we can all go along with it. Sure, a psion can teleport, but only because they can convince us they can.

This is why psionics are magenta. Psions are liars, just like the false color that paints their actions.

Are You Psychic?

When you create your character, for each of INT, WIS, and CHA you have above 15, you have a 10% chance to be psychic (up to a 30% chance). This is rolled once, at the end of character creation, and it is a "yes or no" thing. You are psychic, or you aren't.

If you are psychic, you know the Mind Blast power, and its associated passive trait to understand psychic songspeak, and have 2 PP plus 1 PP for each of INT, WIs, and CHA you have above 15 (minimum 3 PP). You gain 1 additional PP for each psionic power you learn. You regain PP when you sleep, same as spell slots.

Anyone can be psychic. Even a barbarian. Imagine how horrifying that'd be.

Using Psionic Powers

A psionic power consists of an activated effect that spends PP to active, as well as a passive effect that is always active. Using a psionic power takes your turn (or action, or whatever) and is treated as a magical action if necessary (but isn't effected by anti-magic). Consume the amount of PP listed by the power to perform its effect. Once you run out of PP, the universe is done with your bullshit and refuses to let you lie to it anymore.

Learning Psionic Powers

Whenever you witness another creature use a psionic power, you have a 1-in-6 chance to learn it. This effect is cumulative, so the second time you see it you have a 2-in-6, and so on.

Once you learn a psionic power, you must meditate to unlock it by expending 1,000 xp (or system equivalent). Once you do, you gain 1 PP, the power's passive effect, and can use its active effect.

Psionic Powers

Art of Mind Blast

Passive: You know songspeaking, the psychic language shared by all psionic beings. It is an incomprehensible song to all other beings.

Active: Spend a PP to attempt to destroy a creature's mind. Creature saves vs. spells (or intelligence or whatever) or takes 1d6 damage per psychic's level. Only works on intelligent beings. Beings of animal intelligence take half damage.

Art of Longspeaking

Passive: You can communicate telepathically with creatures within 10 feet of you. This speech is two-way, but requires a shared language.

Active: Spend a PP to form a long distance telepathic bond between you and a creature. You can communicate telepathically up to 200 feet away. This speech is two-way, but requires a shared language.

Art of Jaunting

Passive: Your feet lie about their position at all times. You can stand on top of liquids, or thin air, or anything really, but if you attempt to take a step you will sink.

Active: Spend a PP to disappear and reappear in a spot within 30 feet. You don't teleport, you just stop being where you are.

Art of Telekinetic Weapon

Passive: You can touch a weapon to cause it to float by your side. It's covered in a thin magenta mist, and hovers around you, never in the way but always there. Doesn't do much except look cool.

Active: Spend a PP when you fail to attack something to try again with your floating weapon. You use all the traits of the floating weapon when making this attack (enchantments, damage, cool magical effects, etc.).

Art of Push-Pull

Passive: You can grab objects up to a foot outside of your actual hand's reach. You still have to hold them, you can just do it further away.

Active: Spend a PP to attempt to move a creature of object. If it's an object, it's moved up to 15 ft. in a direction of your choosing at extreme speeds. If a creature, it must save vs. paralysis (or dexterity) and if it fails it's shoved 15 ft. in a direction of your choosing at slightly less extreme speeds.

Art of Other-Self

Passive: You can make small modifications to your appearance at will. You are still obviously you, but you can make dirt disappear and remove unseemly blemishes. Or add dirt and blemishes if you so desire.

Active: Spend a PP to create a duplicate clone of yourself. This clone acts like you and performs the actions you would in any given scenario, but is incapable of making meaningful impact on the world. It's attacks do no damage, it's hands pass through objects, and everything about it just seems a bit off. When everyone stops believing in it, it disappears in a cloud of magenta smoke.

Art of Easy-Truths

Passive: You have preternatural control over your voice. You always sound like you wish to sound, and the meaning of your words is easy to follow. You can also change your voice in cool ways, like making it louder or echo.

Active: Spend a PP and with a quick wave of your hand while speaking a lie, you convince a creature that your lie is 100% truthful. They'll figure it out if they are presented evidence that obviously disputes your lie, but otherwise they accept it as truth.

Planes are Dumb

 Plane: A world separate to the primary one in which a game takes place, usually representing an alignment or element. Not the air kind.

Today on my list of strange and unnecessary vendettas: Planes.

I don't really like them anymore. Like don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with planes as a concept, and a lot of the standard DnD ones are interesting on at least a surface level. In fact, I think the take of planes being separate places is perfectly valid and there's nothing wrong with it, I just prefer otherwise.

I don't need to write an essay on why I think the way I do. I'm just going to ask a series of questions: Is the Plane of Fire infinitely big? If so, what is going on everywhere else? Why do we only see part of it? If it isn't then how big is it? Do all worlds share the same Plane of Fire? Have fire elementals been to other planets? Do they know secrets of the universe that we could never know?

There are answers to these questions, and they are interesting to answer, but oh boy is the result weird.  I prefer my weirdness to originate from things the players can interact with.

Something I've been trying in Neurim is making any sort of outer plane part of the same universe. There was once a demiplane called the Gaol, but now the Gaol is just a cavern deep under the earth. You can go there, no portal required. The Gaol isn't just a thing in the lore, its a tangible thing the players can interact with. You want to visit the high god of this world? That's cool, just climb the space elevator or find a space ship. You want to visit the elemental plane of fire? That's cool, just find a way to the sun.

I am unsure how useful this will be. Perhaps you will find it inspiring.