Foreground growth for Cairn, part 4: the Mountain River School of fighting

These orders allow PCs to gain additional abilities and resources in a class-less and level-less system like Cairn. As a general rule, an order shares their secrets with a donation of 1000gp, or if they believe you align with their cause.

The Mountain River School Dojo

Carry no possession besides your robes. Partake of no luxury or desire. Proudly shout the names of your techniques before using them.

1. Mountain Crushing Fist: Carry weights on your arms and legs at all times for an entire expedition. You are Slowed: in a combat round, you can either move or attack. After you remove them, you have 1 Armor point if you're not wearing any other piece of armor, your unarmed attacks deal d8 damage, and you get a +d6 bonus when using an improvised weapon.
2. Sonic Fists (2d6 Blast): to master this technique, challenge the dojo and take out at least 3 other fellow students in combat. Trickery is allowed, but it should be clear you are the main responsible for their defeat.
3. Exploding Heart-Release (d6): To master this technique, defeat and kill your teacher in a duel. It ignores Armor and it always results in Critical Damage when it deals STR Damage.
4. Soul Cleanse: Seek the Spirit Waterfall and meditate on your past actions for a day, without moving, under its raging waters. You become immune to poison, sickness, and mental charms.

Trust goes both ways

Don't trust him though

One of the main tenets of the FKR style of play, or

maybe its core, is “high-trust gameplay”.

When discussing this, major emphasis is put on the trust that the players should give to the GM and their rulings.

I want to argue that, in addition, giving more trust to the players can free up a lot of design space, and possibly create a more enjoyable experience.

There is a portion of fantasy tropes that designers and GMs struggle to translate mechanically in order to achieve the experience that they want. Stuff like mental control, love filters, side-effects of wounds, hunger, heat, poisons, drugs and alcohol, etc.

Stop it. Just describe the situation to the players and trust them to portray their character accordingly.

If they were wounded, make sure to describe the wound and trust them to bring it up when it matters.

If they ate the fruits of the fae and cannot enjoy the flavor of anything else, trust them to play their character as growing sad and frustrated with human food.

If two of the PCs are siblings, lovers, etc. Don't give them a +1 if they fight together or something like that. Just let them roleplay it.

I started implementing this principle in my games and adventures, and I want to experiment more with it in the future. If it resonates with you, or if you disagree, please tell me your experiences and maybe share it around!

Armature ed elmi per Electric Bastionland

Nei gdr si trovano spesso armi speciali, ma non abbastanza armature speciali.

Da usare con Electric Bastionland.

Armatura artropode, a1, le creature aviarie ti attaccano a vista.

Armatura urbana, ingombrante, a2 solo a Bastion.

Armatura spigolosa, ingombrante, a2 solo quando sei con le spalle al muro.

Armatura morbida, ingombrante, a2 ma ti senti pigro: in un round di combattimento puoi muoverti O attaccare.

Elmo egoista, puoi fare un tiro salvezza su CARisma per reindirizzare un dado attacco, rivolto a te, verso un alleato vicino.

Elmo germogliante, a1 solo alla luce del sole.

Elmo venefico, a1, finché lo indossi sei immune al veleno ma fallisci tutti i tiri salvezza su FORza

Elmo eroico, a1 solo contro distaccamenti o avversari giganti.

Elmo fotografico, a1 solo contro qualcuno di cui hai scattato una bella foto. Non è possibile farlo durante un combattimento, uscirebbe mossa. Necessita di batterie.

Elmo commerciale, a1 se hai speso 100£ o più durante questa sessione.

Elmo occultante, a1 contro avversari di cui conosci un segreto.

Elmo attorcigliato, a1 ma fallisci sempre i tiri salvezza contro l'essere catturato, afferrato, ecc.

Foreground growth for Cairn, part 3: Paladins

Seven legendary paladins rest in the earth, seven oaths etched on their tombstones. As soon as someone recites an oath in full, the text vanishes. The oath takes up an inventory slot until fulfilled, as it burdens your soul.

Tomb of Karolin the Paladin - Oath of the Hands
You swear to bring back Karolin's hands*, a relic stolen from her corpse. After fulfilling it, your attacks get enhanced when fighting undead and demons. Undead creatures defeated this way go to the afterlife and can't be raised again.

*Karolin's hands: Heal d8 STR to the touch. Recharge: keep them close to your heart during the night of the second-to-last day of the week.

Tomb of Roma the Legion - Oath of Conquest
You pledge to become a ruler through force.
After fulfilling it, while fighting a detachment or a colossal creature, you count as an army yourself.

Tomb of Harpar the Hero - Oath of Glory
You pledge to make your quest echo through the voice of the bards.
After fulfilling it, you gain a winged steed who'll answer your call for help anywhere.

Tomb of Ambros the Great - Oath of the Crown
You pledge to restore order in a place where chaos rules.
After fulfilling it, you learn how to cast a geas on a target who can understand you. A geas goes "you shall not [blank] or you'll die". You can't cast another one as long as the target of the geas lives.

Tomb of Shepard the Peaceful - Oath of Redemption
You pledge to make a powerful but wicked creature change its ways.
After fulfilling it, you begin to emanate an aura of peace. You can always try to pacify a creature, no matter how hostile. They get to roll a WIL save.

Tomb of Ulfred the Black - Oath of Vengeance
You pledge to deliver punishment without mercy to a powerful, wicked creature.
After fulfilling it, your attacks against the designated foe are enhanced. Furthermore, you can always feel their general direction and proximity. Even when fulfilled, this oath stays as a burden.

Tomb of Agnus the Light - Oath of Mercy
You pledge to defeat a foe who is tormenting the weak, but show them mercy.
After fulfilling it, a light encases you. It grants you +1 armor. Allies close by also enjoy this protection.

Foreground Growth for Cairn, part 2: Master Musicians and Celestial Scholars

These orders allow PCs to gain additional abilities and resources in a class-less and level-less system like Cairn. As a general rule, an order shares their secrets with a donation of 1000gp, or if they believe you align with their cause.

Foreground Growth for Cairn, part 1: Berserkers

These orders allow PCs to gain additional abilities and resources in a classless and levelless system like Cairn. As a general rule, an order shares its secrets with a donation of 1000gp, or if they believe you align with their cause.

Berserkers

Cause: "Unshackle the beast within"

If they deem you a worthy friend of their tribe, the Berserkers can teach you how to access your primal Rage.

While Raging:

• Your melee attacks are enhanced
• You have an Edge on your STR Saves: reduced failures, enhanced or automatic successes
• You don't Save vs Critical Damage

Your Rage lasts as long as you deal or take damage. When it ends, you are deprived until you have a night of sleep. If you Rage while deprived, you gain 1 Fatigue.

After you’ve learned Rage, you gain additional abilities depending on how many worthy foes you bested. To commemorate their fallen opponents, Berserkers etch their skin.

After 3 kills, learn Reckless

While Raging, roll an additional d12 on a melee attack. Take the highest as the damage dealt to the opponent, while the lowest as STR damage against you.

After 7 kills, learn Cleave

When Raging, instead of enhancing your attack, you can make a Blast attack.

After 10 kills, go back to the tribe to choose a Totem Animal. In addition to the abilities granted by your Totem, you can speak with animals.

• Bear: Reroll your STR on 12+d6, take the new result if higher, and gain 2 additional inventory slots
• Eagle: You can see tiny details at a great distance, make impossibly long and tall jumps, and gain an unbreakable grip strength.
• Wolf: You have an Edge when trying to avoid detection, and you heal d6 hp if you witness an ally getting harmed during a fight

Once you have your Totem, you become a tribe member and gain the right to challenge the chief in a duel (5 hp, 15 STR, 14 CHA, d8 runic sword, rage, reckless, random totem). If you win, you become the chief of a Tribe of Berserkers (1 hp, 15 STR, d8 axe, rage)

Monster Treasure for Cairn! V-W

There’s a 1in6 chance for each individual in an encountered group to carry a piece of treasure.

Unless indicated otherwise, each piece of treasure occupies one slot and is worth 100gp. Relics are invaluable.

Roll before the encounter happens, cause some of the treasure may be of use to the NPCs.

—

Vampire

Lair:

• Skeleton, headless, sitting lifeless against a wall

• Wooden coffin on the floor, closed by red laces. Contents:

• Skull: Upon opening the coffin, it will attempt to roll toward the rest of its body. If successful, the skeleton will come to un-life and face the thieves.

• Dirt

• Very small ruby (small, 700 gp)

• 200 gp

• A vial of blood, labeled "man-bat." Anyone contaminated with it turns into a hybrid being. They become blind but can use echolocation. Their size does not allow them to fly, but they can glide thanks to wing membranes. (small, 1 use)

• A desk against the west wall, painted with gold details (needs 2 people to transport, value 100 gp)

• In the right drawer: paper, inkwell, pen, and many depraved poems about flesh and blood (worth 50 gp to an unscrupulous editor)

• In the left drawer: Hypnotist's Pendulum, and notes on how to use it. If you can get the target to focus on the pendulum, and they fail a WIL Save, you will be able to hypnotize them. The hypnotized character will automatically perform a series of actions in response to a specific password, by whomever it is spoken. They will come back to their senses when they hear the password a second time, with no memory of what they did. Recharge: spend a whole night chanting the same word into the pendulum over and over.

• An upholstered chair, lined with red satin (bulky, value 30 gp).

• Leaning against the chair, a red silk dressing gown with golden embroideries (50 gp)

Veteran (d6)

1-2. Poleaxe (bulky, d10 damage, ignores armor but completely misses on a roll of 1-3, value 25 gp)

3-4. Bow and arrows (20 gp) and one broad-headed bolt (d6 damage, wound: automatic failure against the Critical Damage Save, value 1 gp)

5-6. Technique: Battle Experience. If at least 3 combatants are on each side of a fight, your attacks are enhanced. If someone defeats you during this kind of fight, they acquire this technique.

Whale

Stomach:

Spellbook: Manse. A sturdy, furnished cottage appears for 12 hours. You can permit and forbid entry to it at will.

Wraith

• Gravestone Chip. You and everyone you touch can teleport to the location of the gravestone. The chip stays wherever you teleported from though.
• Golden crown (100 gp)