I have fallen silent for far too long on the content front. Thus, I think I will tease my next project: Pandaemonium, a GLOGhack set in the depths of Hell. All of your characters are already dead, pitiful creatures with nowhere to go but up. And up they will go, backstabbing and betraying their way to Dukedom. Or perhaps they will cling on to whatever virtue they have left, seeking salvation for their crimes and a path to Heaven. Either way, you had better be sure it’ll be fun to watch them squirm against their shackles.
And thus, here are 6 backgrounds for you to draw inspiration from. I may release a table of Dark Gifts and Miracles soon as well, to make some of these more usable. These are some of the more interesting backgrounds, since every game has your Assassins and Failed Adventurers. I wanted to show off my worldbuilding prowess a bit. Steal liberally and unapologetically, friends, and godspeed to you all.
1. THE CHOSEN ONE
You were Chosen by the Overseers themselves for a divine purpose, a mission to complete above all else. You were the key to Balance, to the continued existence of All. And you failed.
What was your purpose? [1d6]
Overthrowing the God-Emperor of Hagishka.
Reclaiming the Lost City of Doum from its Rakshasan rulers.
Leading the Armies of Heaven against the Chimaeric Hordes.
Gathering the Pieces of Ten to seal the Seventh Gate.
Destroy the tyrannical Black Dragon Khatrixis upon Mount Kysolthis.
Prepare yourself to be the Avatar of the Glorious One, Overgod of the First Church.
EQUIPMENT: Medium Armour, A weapon of your choice, Light or Heavy Shield, a mark of being chosen (can be an item or a mark on your body)
SKILLS: Leadership, Speechmaking
MAGIC: 1 Miracle or Dark Gift
2. DIRGE-IMPARTER
You took upon yourself the art of Dirge-singing, listening to the eternal songs of the 11 Spirits and soaking in their laments. With that, you cleansed yourself of extraneous emotion and became a Dirge-Imparter, layering your haunting voice with the sadness those songs instilled in you in order to lead the souls of the departed to the Last Home. But this ancient art is heretical, impure in the eyes of the First Church, and so you were put to death along with the serial murderers, the timelost children and the witches.
EQUIPMENT: Light Armour, an instrument (violin, lyre or flute), a Light Medium weapon, a tuning fork that tunes to the nearest source of sadness
SKILLS: Performance, Pensivity
MAGIC [1d8]:
The Lament of Good King Terman: He led his people from the wrath of the gods toward the Horizonland. While playing this song, you travel across land at three times normal speed.
The Ballad of Nostric Bearheart: The greatest warrior of his time, he was said to have fallen to the hundredth warrior after killing 99 others. While playing this song, your allies who can hear you ignore one Advantage during their attacks.
Three Sisters’ Threnody: Through foul magics of the fae, each threw themselves off the city walls thinking the others had died. While singing this song, all who can hear it take half damage from falls.
Coronach of the Fallen: Upon the Battlefield of Vigrid, Modi sings for all the warriors fallen. While singing this song, all allies who can hear you can ignore one Minor Wound.
Lost: A song sung by a forgotten spirit, whose name will never be remembered again. While singing this song, you will find yourself somehow turned towards your destination.
Elegy of the Wolf Child: A child, abandoned by the civilised world, stands weeping above the corpse of the wolf that raised them. While singing this song, you may summon to you the ghost of a wolf who can lead you in the direction of a safe haven.
The Failed Requiem: The greatest composer of his time, died before he could finish his greatest work. You may sing this once per rotation, and any allies who hear it may treat one dice in a single roll as a success, regardless of its actual result.
Death March of the Dragons: The final thing heard by humanity from a Dragon as they flew into the East, never to be seen again. While singing this, any roll to find you has their number of dice reduced by one (to a minimum of one).
3. PIT THING
With effort, you were called a human, though a monster by most. The Chimaeric Hordes dragged your lifeless cadaver from The Pit along with the rest of primordial humanity and shoved your protosoul back into your chest. Evolution has overtaken your strain of ape people, though you were by no means harmless. The Pit Things’ effectiveness in the Razing of the Holy City proves that much. But the world had changed since you had first crawled from the Veins of Reality, and the Pit Things could not survive for long. You died again, along with your people, at last free from the pull of the Pit. By comparison, Hell is a paradise.
EQUIPMENT: Heavy Armour of the Chimaeric Legion, Heavy Shield, a weapon of your choice, a shard of pure darkness from the Pit that can be wielded as a Small Weapon
SKILLS: Any 2
MAGIC: Gain 1 mutation from the Demon Mutations table. Effects that give you extra mutations do nothing.
4. STITCHER
You were an artist, weaving beautiful pieces from the endless piles of corpses the Hordes left in their wake. Sewing needles flowed thread through flesh into yet more golems, unfeeling hunks of meat with all the force of a siege engine. Your children punched through the walls of the Holy City, laying waste to the once-proud spires of the Veddrhorn. But like so many others, you were captured in the counterattack and put to death. A waste of talent, really.
EQUIPMENT: Light Armour, a Heavy Medium or smaller weapon, a set of sewing needles, a butcher’s knife
SKILLS: Sewing, Butchery
MAGIC: You have golem retainer. Roll 1d4 times on the Biped Nature table to determine what creatures you created it from. Your golem has a Body of 1d4+2 and no other attributes. It follows your orders unquestioningly. It has 8 + Body HP. If it reaches zero HP, it is destroyed and the magic is lost, and you must spend 7 rotations continuously working on it to get it working again.
5. CORSAIR OF THE SEVEN ARMADAS
The Great South Sea is your home, the cold ocean breeze your closest companion. You sailed the great blue yonder with your crew of ruthless pirates, cutting down captains and taking their goods for yourselves. With the protection of one of the seven Pirate Kings, you were unstoppable. The Golden Age did not last, however, and the arrival of The Maw marked the abrupt end of your career.
EQUIPMENT: A Light Medium Cutlass inscribed with 3d20 notches for every ship you stole in life, Light Armour, a compass that points towards the nearest source of substantial treasure
SKILLS: Sailing, Thievery
MAGIC [1d8]: All Corsairs can breathe underwater.
You were part of the Armada of Drarik-Il, controlled by the great Sea Serpent of the same name. You can turn your skin scaly, giving yourself +1 Armour and becoming entirely waterproof.
You were part of the Sharkbite Pirates, terrors of the sea who would bite through the ships they sank. You can cause your teeth to become serrated, dealing 1d8 damage on a hit. You can bite through wood and similarly solid materials with this ability, though not stone or metal.
You were part of the Sage Corsairs of Carraig Claíomh, famous for your abilities in writing the Ancient Languages. You can speak Swordsong, the language of blades, through which you can create nonmagical swords of any kind with your voice. These swords last 1d6 hours after their creation.
You were part of the Monks of Blue Ascendency, a splinter group from the Third Church that took to the seas to make a living in accordance with High Thurmani’s guidance. You can move up to 1 metre cubed of water with your mind, and may use it as a ranged weapon dealing 1d6 damage on a hit. You cannot move water that is inside a Fleshcage.
You were part of the Ice Queen’s Navy, riding through the waters on ships of ice, the cold winter breeze in your sails. Any water you touch with your bare skin instantly freezes. You cannot slip on ice, and you move at twice speed while sliding. You can slide on ice no matter where gravity should be, allowing you to slide up walls or on ceilings. You are not affected by slope while sliding.
You were part of the Maelstrom Rats, who travelled into the hearts of storms to destroy the foul Storm Drakes, while using the resulting powers to raid ships and plunder the Great South Sea. If you decide to stay in one place, there is no power in the universe except death that can move you. You can change the direction of the wind as you wish and cause short bursts of gale force winds at will.
You were part of the Pescathropes, a small group of pirates empowered by the life below the waters. You can at any point turn into any fish or sea mammal. You possess all your mental faculties while in this state, and can speak telepathically to anyone within far range. You remain at the same HP, and are reverted to your previous form upon reaching 0 HP.
You are a deserter, a betrayer, or perhaps a double agent. Either way, you moved between one armada into another. Roll twice on this table and gain both abilities. You cannot gain this effect more than once.
6. PALADIN OF THE ALDRIC ORDER
By the words of St. Aldris, you fought back those who were plagued. You waded through their still-rotting corpses as they clawed at your feet, but you did not flinch. The corruption of Black Annis had to be snuffed out, even if you were called a heretic and a monster for it. Or at least, that was what you thought once. Now, in your eternal punishment, perhaps what you had done was indeed wrong. Perhaps those children you slaughtered in Aldris’ name were innocent after all.
EQUIPMENT: Medium Armour, Heavy Shield, a bladed Heavy Medium Weapon with a serrated edge to cause the maximum amount of pain possible, the Book of St. Aldris, a human eye
SKILLS: Genocide, Theology
MAGIC: [N/A]
This is really heckin exceptional!
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