Monday, October 9, 2017

Noonlanders, Daylanders, and Moonlanders random backgrounds

it' 5:16 am and WHAT is that banging noise from the walls ??? probs needs some editing
these are independent of class and starter equipment, though there may be slight bonuses to each
1-Noonlander
2-Daylander
3-Moonlander

Noonlander
1- Near Beast Islander
2-Heliologrian
3-King's Point
4-Geth
5-Queens Coast
6- Pick once or roll twice or Exotic

Daylander
1-Vint or Savoth
2-Beast Islands
3-Prince's Spit
4-Boglander
5-Neth
6 -Pick once or roll twice or Exotic

Moonlander
1-Vint-Savoth Wildman
2-Saresaren Nomad
3-Lost Bay Ice Wrecker
4-Warderlander
5-Deep Islands
6-FROM BEYOND(okay probably not, roll again and if it's a 6 you're from beyond, otherwise exotic)

NOONLANDERS
Near Beast Islanders
1-You are from one of the port cities of the Beast Islands. You have the Sailor skill, and are totally jaded to other cultures- you've seen Noonlanders ranting about how guns are an affront to the divine mandate of the rule of kings, you've seen Saresarens who thought Noonlanders are superstitious barbarians, you've seen a man from Vint-Savoth who swore to never come within sight of a living tree again.

2- You are (or were) a scurvy no good rotten pirate, until THIS happened
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_game
and you got 1 coin out of a treasure of thousands, maybe millions. Start with the Logic skill, a strong distrust of pirates, and the knowledge that I plagiarized this background from Coins n Scrolls but couldn't find the right link

3-You spent a brief stint as a Beast for a Beast Bottler, until you were soundly trounced by a half-man half-lobster that breathed fire in an arena match and both you and your Beast Bottler agreed that this really wasn't working out. Start out with a wicked nasty scar, the Gladiator skill, and no fear of monsters, possibly be cause you looked out on the bloodthirsty crowd and decided MAN was the real monster, or possibly just because nothing can compare to that man-lobster.

4- You have never seen the Winter Moon and prefer to go around shirtless all the time, just like on the banana farm. Heat doesn't encumber you, but Cold does so doubly. Gain the Farmer and Climbing skills.

5-You served on a merchant vessel, and either stole from them (gain a gold coin) or served loyally and made a friend (gain a retainer). Either way, you also learned how to be a Sailor.

6- You were a stowaway. Either you were caught and thrown overboard and spent 3 days in the briny deep 'hallucinating' sea nymphs (+2 reaction rolls to sea things and Swimming) or the crew never found you (gain Stealth as a skill)


Heliologrian
1-Once upon a time, Helios stayed for 24 hours straight. That was the day you were passed out blind stinking drunk in the sun, and you baked half your body black as night in the raging heat and almost died. But you didn't, which is impressive to other worshippers of Helios and you've spent a lot of time talking to priests about it in exchange for free temple wine. Get the Theology skill and a bottle of wine.
2-You worked the vinyards of the noonday sun, as your parents did, and their parents, and so on. Gain the Farmer skill, and the Wine Snob skill- no matter your origins, your taste in wine is exquisite. Drinking low-quality wine doesn't make you happy drunk, it makes you an angry one. Like, hulk angry. It's amazing to see, but probably has a lot to do with why you're a scurvy adventurer instead of a respectable grape-grower.
3- A guy in a rowboat can make it from Heliologos to the coast. You were that guy. Gain the Smuggler skill and an item so illegal that you can't find a place to sell it- but it's worth 1000c if you do.
4- Yeah, you were ALMOST a wizard, it's no big deal. Start with either 1 spell, or +1 magic die per day due to innate magical skill. If you're actually a sage, instead start with 1 gold coin- pfft, you don't need to graduate, you learned enough freshman year AND saved a pretty penny in wizard loans.
5-Pearl Diver- Diving in the Noon Sea is great- it's warm near the surface, refreshingly chilly below, and the days are long and bright so pearl clams are easy to find. Gain the swimming skill, and  the first pearl you found, which will crumble and save you from your first failed save, or is worth 50 coins
6-You grew up on Heliologos, and you know what? It was too damn hot. Maybe you had a Moonlander ancestor or something, but you are sick and tired of seeing that daystar. Reroll your HP with advantage after long rests where you don't see the sun, but with disadvantage where you do. Gain the Astronomer skill, so you know when that hot bastard is coming.

King's Point
1-You know what they call people from King's Point? King's Pricks. And people like YOU are the reason why. Write down as many people who you've wronged as you can in 2 minutes, and get an appropriate item for each, and of course their eternal enmity. Gain the Con Artist skill.

2- They also say that if you came from King's Point you also came from the King's Point, if ya know what I'm sayin, because King's Point runs on crude sexual innuendo and seaminess. You can tell people you're a bastard of the king himself, and there's a 1/6 chance it's true. Either way, you don't know your father and have the Street Rat skill.

3-You were a privateer, which means you were a state-sanctioned pirate. Gain the Pirate skill and a pistol, though you better keep that a secret when in the Kingdoms of Day. And maybe find some bullets too.

4- You have 1 goat that probably isn't yours. It can be ill-tempered billy that butts everything, or an ill-tempered nanny goat that you'd rather throw off a boat than try milking. Gain Goatherd as a skill and know of a secret path through the mountains to something kinda neat.

5-You were conscripted once. Start with a wooden shield and spear and a rough idea of which is which. You either did nothing in the war but used the experience to lord over your fellows and earned their hatred and a gold coin, or you fought bravely for your liege lord on the front lines and got diddly squat, but at least the young 'uns in your extended family think you're a cool veteran person. Gain the Soldier skill.

6- You either were a prostitute, or a Whore Queen, depending on if you want the Prostitute skill or the Pimp skill. Due to your refined taste in ale and whores, you are great to go carousing with, and you and everyone with you rolls with advantage on carousing tables.

Geth
1- There's a stereotype that Geth is full of corrupt but extremely dogmatic bureaucrats. Gain the Law skill, and your choice of 1 gold coin or 1 Faith Point with the Law.

2- The other stereotype is that Geth is full of beastmen, on account of all the zoophilia those filthy foreigners undoubtedly get up to. Interestingly, Geth has the same rumors about Noonlanders. Anyway, mutant freaks like yourself are probably the source of these rumors- you're basically a beastman and you don't know why. Reroll on this chart, and if you get this again, not only are you a weird mutant, you're an orphan Street Rat.

3-Geth has a city below the city, and it's not a nice place. You grew up there- gain the Street Rat skill, and an antique but effective something or other from the city that's below the city below the city. It's cities all the way down, man. Your antique whatever can be magical, but if so, it's also a Nightmare Anchor, whatever that means. Probably nothing to worry about.

4-One way in which Geth holds itself to be much more civilized than the Daylit kingdoms is that there are professional soldiers in the middle class who work constantly to defend Saresare from whatever it needs defending from, rather than the Daylit method of nobles with a monopoly on violence and hordes of hastily conscripted peasant militia. Gain the Soldier skill and a shining scimitar that marks you as a noble defender of Geth, though you probably have some explaining to do as to why you aren't currently nobly defending Geth right now. Or maybe you are?

5- Another way in which Geth asserts superiority over the western barbarians is that anyone can become a noble, simply by becoming rich enough. Easier said than done, but there's at least the pretense of rising through the social classes. Gain the Merchant skill and a foggy grey area of whether you're a real noble fop entitled to do nothing in particular, or just a merchant offspring who should get into the family business.

6- Of course, the REAL noble is the caliph, and all the towers of 'nobles' that spring up around the palace like a forest pale in comparison to the true leader of Saresare. Anyway, being a son or daughter of the caliph is hard work, 'cause they're always trying to kill each other and there's no concept of being a bastard in Saresare- EVERY haremspawn is potentially legitimately the next Caliph. It's no wonder you have the Disguise skill and have left the palace behind. It's a madhouse!

Queens Coast
1- You have documents proving you are an official Heleognostic court wizard. If you aren't a sage, this probably means you tried stealing ones identity, and have Disguise and 1 GP and probably a bounty on you. If you ARE a sage, well, good for you- you have a noble sponsor who is probably wondering why you aren't doing wizard things for them right now, and the Etiquette skill

2-The peasants of the Queen's Coast have it pretty good- the nationalistic love for the Queen, deep religious convictions, and overall sense of community even between rival lords keeps everyone getting along pretty well, and the alliance with Heliologos means that even though you're a filthy Farmer, you're used to seeing the occasional miracle and even had a lucky scroll written for you by a saintly Heleognostic. If you ever see a Moon though you'll probably either faint or be so outraged that you decide to fight it, right then and there.

3-The monks of the Queen's Coast are actually in the mountains and have some interplay with King's Point, but the exact politics aren't important. What is important is that they're safeish places to hide away troublesome or valuable persons, and they administer Theology like a sheriff administers Justice. If you're faithful, you stared at Helios with one eye till it went blind, though it can see magic stuff. If you're unfaithful, you were probably in the abbey only semi-willingly and may have nicked something on your way out as payback against the tyrannous Sister Hekos

4-Being a sailor in the Queen's Navy means you do a lot of chasing pirates and not a lot of catching pirates. Gain the Sailing skill and the ability to make the best out of disappointment and keep your spirits up- whenever a vile enemy escapes, or you fail to get treasure, or otherwise suffer a significant loss, you can reroll your HP.

5-You were a Sheepherder, and were gifted a wool sweater that is totally useless in the Noonlands, but looks so warm you kinda want to go to the Moonlands to try it out. You also have a sickly lamb, whatever good that does you.

6-You were conscripted into a war between some lesser lords, both of whom served the Queen. It kinda soured you on the whole patriotism thing, but you did learn how to use a bow, which was neat. Soldier skill, bow and 24 arrows, and a certain cynicism.

DAYLANDERS
Vint or Savoth
1-Vint is slightly in denial about the Scourge of the Beast. Savoth is only in denial about how bad the Scourge is. Your own powerful delusion will protect you from the first scourge point or mutation you get, and from the first fear check you get upon seeing the Scourge in action. You have an innocuous city profession, like Barber or Baker or Candlestick Maker.
2-People who live in the lower-income district have fewer illusions. You've seen scourged rats, and now you can make a dagger from ANYTHING, and you REALLY don't like being without a dagger. Gain the Street Rat skill.
3-Vint builds a lot of ships, but aren't big sailors themselves. Gain the Carpenter skill and an aesthetic appreciation for boats, but only from a distance. There's a 1/20 chance per 5 years of age you got that you worked on any given ship you encounter. Start with a hammer and nails.
4- Savoth has a nice big lumber industry, and for that, it needs nice big lumberjacks. You start with a huge woodcutting axe and you roll with advantage when regaining HP on lunch breaks if you can eat twice as much as is natural.
5-You're actually from a village between Vint and Savoth, near the small forest where they train Foresters. You start with a torch and pitchfork and a nose for trouble- Gain Stableboy as a skill and horses trust you implicitly if you are seized with nameless dread, which you often are.
6-You are an Astronomer who has studied the Blood Moon extensively, and are frankly disappointed you haven't seen it in person. Start with Astronomy and a spyglass, and a dozen crudely written requests to come work in various backwater village in Vint-Savoth. And a few almost creepily well-written ones too.

Beast Islands
1- You have an outrageous tale of a seamonster. 1/6 chance of it being absolutely true. Fisherman skill.
2-You have a crusty old treasure map to buried pirate treasure. Your skill is 'Village Idiot' but you're pretty sure THIS treasure map is 100% legit.
3-You were a Sailor, but you were shipwrecked in uncharted waters and survived a year on a forsaken island before being rescued. You either turned to Religion, or to Cannibalism to endure your ordeal.
4-You were a Slaver. Either you are a soulless but wealthy bastard (+1 gold coin) or you have a freed slave who rather counterintuitively swore to be your slave as thanks for freeing them, and a reputation as a soft-hearted fool.
5- You were a gambling man who bet on hardcore Beast Battler matches. Either you tried to fix a match and were run out of the bizness (Con Artist skill, off-limits island) or you were a legit Gambler who just ran out of luck (debt of 1000c) and had to come up with a get rich quick scheme fast
6- You were a pirate, but after seeing some seriously creepy stuff after Skull passed over head, you decided you wanted to be a pirate somewhere else. You are slightly haunted by a dead crewmate when on the high seas whenever Skull comes by- for a ghost they're pretty alright.

Princes's Spit
1-Everyone knows about the elegant masked knights of the Prince, and how it is said one of them IS secretly the prince. You write poetry in the hopes of meeting this prince and joining their illustrious ranks
2-Slightly less elegant are the Bog Castles of the Canal and the muddy peasant battles in those swampy fields of blood. Conscripted soldier, you either deserted and lost your gear, or stuck around and have defense 4 wooden armor and a halberd, and a nasty scar that just makes you ugly, not badass.
3-Another popular destination for conscripts is the shores of Saresare, where the forces of light battle the forces of barbarism. Gain the soldiers skill, a crossbow with 12 shots, and 1d6 outrageous lies about Saresarens that people in the kingdoms of day will totally believe.
4-Also not elegant- the white canals of the capital city? Yeah, you gotta scrape those suckers daily or the algae turns 'em green. Gain the Gutter Rat skill and being Dirty no longer encumbers you.
5-And guess who maintains all those elegantly trailing rosebushes in the upper levels of the city? Not the Prince, that's for sure. Gain Religion as your skill and a point of favor with Our Lady of Gardens, and become immune to plant thorns.
6-Ah yes, a young Masked Knight, out on a quest for glory and adventure in shining armor and a porcelain mask. Anyway, you're his butler, and you have to keep the poor bastard alive by any means necessary, or your head's on the line too. At least the pay is good- take 1 gold coin

Boglander
1-You know the music skill (banjo) and have 200 feet of rope. That's all anyone knows about you.
2-If the mountains of King's Point has goats, and the valleys of the Queens Coast has sheep, well, the bogs of Prince's Spit has pigs. You are a Pig herder and your choice of a possibly oracular piglet or a mighty boar that you can ride into battle.
3-You gain the swimming skill, and can swim in anything that's arguably liquid if you're unarmored. Being Dirty and Wet does not encumber you, as you a a true Bogbilly, born and bred.
4-Your momma was a witch, or maybe you just got on good terms with a witch. You have no real grasp on how magical or not she really is, but you have Herbalism as a skill and your witch is your closest confidant.
5-Make up 1d6 ridiculous lies about the bog. Anyone not from the bog will not believe you until they are in the bog themselves, anyone from the bog will go along with these lies to play pranks on outsiders. Con Artist as skill.
6- Under the light of a forgotten moon, in the depths of the swamp, you perfected a device that haunts your dreams- the still that produces alcohol from ANYTHING. Brewery skill, and a sad story of how you lost this miraculous contraption, which has a 1/6 chance of being a delusional vision from a nightmare incursion.


Neth
1-Outsiders think Neth and Geth are awful similar because they're both Saresaren. They're fools, and you have the intricate knowledge of History to prove it. You also have 10 horns of gunpowder, and only you know why.
2-Neth has many more foreigners than Geth, and the offices of Mercy use the Law to determine how best to convert these barbarians into productive members of society. Gain skill in Law and a barbaric follower from helios-knows-where.
3-Neth is a 3-ringed city- the destitute outside the walls, the poor behind the wooden walls, the wealthy behind the stone walls, and the rich behind the iron fence that encircles the mountain. If you're a thief though, you go wherever you want- take disguise or stealth, and an extra 50c
4-Neth also has a lot of tribesmen and weird monks from the mountains and desert who decide the city is a lot safer. You're one of 'em. Take Hunter or Herder, and a longbow or a donkey.
5-Neth also has mines, awkwardly in the central mountain where the rich live. Gain the miner skill and an unworked gemstone that you hope is worth lots.
6-Neth also has churchcourts of the Law- but the truly pious seek the Vulch who live in the abandoned slums. Gain Singing and a strong stomach as skills from hanging out with Vulch too much

MOONLANDERS
Vint-Savoth Wildman
1-You've lived in a village under a dark castle your whole life. The nobles there are inhuman, and have done away with outsiders who tried to help and your fellows who tried to leave. Gain Lumberjack as your skill and have intimate knowledge of a type of monster that no one else really believes exists
2-No one is coming to save you, so you saved yourself first. Gain the Forester skill- you can live in forests like a wild animal, and did so. For years. You even made an animal buddy.
3-You live on the cold, dark edges of the forest. It's normal for trees to be white snow and black needles, in your mind. Cold does not encumber you, and you feel the need to check your own breathing if you can't see your breath. But better the frozen wilderness than the soft townsfolks nearer to day- the beasts come for them first. Your skill is Winter, as is your soul.
4-You traveled with a band of vagabonds in a wagon. Bandit is a strong word- the people you stole from were all mostly dead already. You can take Music as your skill instead, but if you do, you couldn't save your friends in the wagon.
5-The village suffered from the scourge, it's true. But the fruit trees were so wonderful, no one wanted to move, and so you stayed. Start with a bizarre trick weapon endemic to your village. Take the Farmer skill.
6-You survived in a secret way. Take the Graverobber as a skill, and you are amazing at playing dead. Your shovel works as a weapon, and you have a grave good that is magical and a nightmare anchor, if you wish.

Saresaren Nomad
1-You were a supplier of Lotus for a monastery in the mountains, until one day their gates closed and this profitable trade route ended. Your skill is Trader, and your goods are three bundles of Lotus.
2-You have seen the Black Dunes, and behind the white stars, where the black stars hang. Gain a Forbidden Knowledge, and the Astronomy skill.
3-You are an escaped slave from the legless ones. Your tales of terror are too horrible to be believed, but are unfortunately all true. Take the Servant skill and an egg that you hoped would prove your story, but now must be destroyed before it hatches.
4- The desert is cold, and so your tribe makes tents big enough for the horses. People make obvious jokes, but you have a horse, and they do not., and so you forgive them their jealousy. Anyone can ride, but you are a Rider. You have a shortbow and 12 arrows too.
5-You are  a dervish, also known as 'those lunatics who fight with two swords and spinning.' You are offended by this stereotyping, and are in fact a poet of no common skill. Also you have two swords.
6- Why go to all the trouble of walking and riding around when you could just have your 20 pound eagle do all the hunting and fetching for you? Your eagle is perfectly trained, though you gotta feed it meat scraps.

Lost Bay Ice Wrecker
1-You are an Icecrafter. You can make an igloo out of snow, you can carve a canoe out of ice, you can even make serrated knives from ice. You're a bit sick of ice at this point, honestly.
2-There are a lot of strange animals in the cold waters at the ice-cliffs at the end of the Lost Bay. You mostly club them to death, skin them, and eat them, but this has made you a master of Anatomy.
3-You work as a raider for supplies. It's nothing personal, the sacking of Saresaren and Daylit Kingdom villages- but you really need the food, and you can trade goods of one place at the other place for even more food. You either focused more on the land bits as a Trader, in which case you have 20 days food, or on the boat-raiding bits, in which case, sailor and a Torch-Axe (the Torxe), which is an unwieldy torch with an axeblade in it.
4-You are a Bonecrafter. Arms and armor of bone are easy peasy for you. Stone is kinda like the bones of the earth too- if you ever learn Architecture, you'll be a natural. Take a chisel and a bone weapon and up to 4 points of bone armor.
5-You always thought outside the box. Like, why does your tribe insist on staying near this stupid ice sheet instead of sailing down the coast to warmer climes? You really didn't like the answer, or the taboo that made you get kicked out afterwards, but oh well. Gain Forbidden Knowledge.
6-You know the Siren Song of The Cold Shore, which makes boats wreck themselves. You feel bad for wrecking the boats- they didn't do anything wrong. People are trash though. Singing is your skill, but you don't think other people deserve to hear it.

Warderlander
1-Make up a moon. You've seen it. You have something from it. May Helios have mercy. Forbidden Knowledge.
2-You serve the Lord of Catastrophe. Gain the religion skill and 1 point of favor with Murulu. Also start with a really nasty serrated axe.
3-You were conscripted into one of the many wars between the border lords. Luckily all you had to do was hold torches so the 'real' warriors could see. Man, that battle was a really bad idea. Gain the soldier skill, and a friendly torchboy from the other side who deserted with you
4-You live on the edge, herding shaggy yaks, through hills that might be covered in glacier when next you return. You have an uncanny ear for when hearing Noonlanders complain about the cold, and can impress them with stories of REAL cold, though they may end up feeling one-upped and get spiteful. In any case, yak herding is hard and it's made you real good at wrestling big things- +1 to all grappling attempts, and +2 if you're doing it naked while all greased up in animal fat.
5-The name is a cross of Borderlands, Warlands, and Wanderlands. You think. You'll get to the bottom of who is supposed to be the liege lord of who out here someday, and then you'll be the most famous historian ever! You have a journal that has so many notes that is has become a tome.
6-Farming in this dark, chilly land was a terrible idea, so you quit. You have the farmer skill and nobody tells you what to do anymore! Those making demands get -1 morale if you fly off the handle and give 'em a piece of your mind. Take a scythe.

Deep Islands
1-You grew up, along with the rest of the village, inside a giant seabeast. You have good Anatomy knowledge, but are in a daze of culture shock out in the real world.
2-Your cold island was heated by a volcano. Save with advantage against toxic fumes, and you are a Blacksmith who can work with lava instead of a real forge.
3-Your people developed a particular ritual to hide from moonrays-stay in a bucket of water breathing through a straw until the moon and the monsters go away. Doesn't work against all monsters and moon madness, but is usually worth a shot. You have Astronomy skills.
4-You served on a merchant vessel that dealt in exotic goods to exotic peoples. You are a Sailor, and have a mental map of a bunch of interesting Deep islands.
5-You can swim, and the dark waters around your island required you to feel the currents to hunt fish and avoid being hunted. Fighting underwater doesn't alarm you.
6-You grew up with your neighboring island being the corpse of the Broken Moon. Gain Forbidden Knowledge and as much creepy-ass shell arms and armor as you want. It all has tormented faces carved into it, though it was like that when you pried it off the Broken Moon, so.

FROM BEYOND
No way you rolled this, you want the Exotic Tables first, right?

EXOTIC
1-You are from a Moon. How you got there is quite the story, but you mostly just fell off it back to earth. You brought a Moon-something with you, naturally. You were probably a farmer or something.
2-You are an animal transformed into a human, physically and mentally. It's quite distressing but your weird animal instincts could come in  handy.
3-You died, but clawed your way out of the afterworld, not that anyone will believe that. Death is your skill.
4-You are a dream-person. The dreamer died, and the dream, that's you, awoke to walk the earth. Naturally you know quite a lot about Somnabulism.
5-You are a Demigod and must add +1d6 to all your stats and have weird god-angst parent drama. Also Religion as a skill, though to you it's just gossip
6-You are an Elf. Rather impossibly good at everything, and having no business being out of prison

1 comment:

  1. Damn, now I really want to make a version of this for all of my cities/towns.

    ReplyDelete