D6 healing (sort of) items

1) Orihalcum knuckles of the puissant pugilist

A knuckle duster of potentially godly origin. Appears to be made of gold with veins of light running through it, and a leather strap so soft it must be angel hide. This item literally allows you to punch the wounds off people.

When used it inflicts 1d6 damage (applied before any healing), then heals 2d6 damage. Each subsequent healing of the same person per day does an additional d6 of damage and healing.

2) Flesh-mending swarm of the laughing revenant

A bottle made from a dried gourd, plugged with a leather patch and wooden bung. It contains a swarm of undead beetles, each the size of a pin-head. When shaken onto a creature, the beetles will enter through the nearest orifice and stitch wounds from the inside. Over the next day the creature will cough up the beetles, now properly dead.

Heals 1d4 per level of the user over level x rounds. Can be interrupted by turning or spells that protect against evil or undead.

3) Unfire

A flint and steel made from a dark glassy material that seems to reflect light in the wrong direction. It produces a blue-purple flame that only burns on flesh. Instead of being consumed, the flesh is healed.

Restores 1d4 per user's level. 1d6 if the weather is windy or wet. Functions five times daily.

4) Wandervine

A thumbnail-sized pale green seed. Tastes like cumin. The injured character swallows it whole. Later, vines grow from under their fingernails. Each produces a single seed. At that point their internal vine withers and the healing they received earlier is reversed.

Restores 1d4 per turn for three turns.

5) Sacrificial flock of the eagle priest

This ring is a white gold band decorated with a feather motif and a yellow tourmaline gem. If the wearer whispers the activation word to it, it summons a flock of whatever birds are closest. They fight to the death above the wearer's head, raining feathers, blood and other fluids down on them. The gory rain heals them.

Restores 1d8 + level points. Each time it's used in the same day, the die type steps down by one stage. There are fewer available birds nearby.

6) Fulminator

Fulminator is a grey-green stone the size of a fig. if swallowed (with difficulty) it waits for the user to fall to 0 HP before activating. At that point it explodes, completely vaporising the user. A round later they reform from the dust and smoke at full HP. To be used again, Fulminator must be found and re-swallowed.

Magic item: the Cruet Cart

This loaf-sized cart of tarnished pewter was made as a cruet set for a rich man's table. It originally came with salt and pepper shakers, and bottles for vinegar and oil. The vinegar bottle has been lost over time. It was created in the form of a farm cart pulled by two mules, with two caricatured peasants riding on top. When ordered, the cart will drive to the speaker's plate and season it. When idle, the peasants and mules perform one of a series of silly play-acts reinforcing their bucolic stupidity. It becomes motionless when put inside a bag or other container.

The benefit to adventurers is that the little figures will sprinkle any powder or liquid the cart is loaded up with onto anything they're told to. Holy water, lamp oil, black powder, etc. And the cart is fully capable of driving up walls and across ceilings to get to the 'plate'.

Usage: all characters.

Charges: permanent.

Appearance: A cart and figures made of once-shiny grey metal, scratched and dented.

The why of encounter tables

Orc by Rafiico Creative Studio
on IconScout

Most encounter tables include two extreme results - the creature(s) attack immediately and the creature(s) are friendly and helpful. 

If the encountered creature is a beast of some sort, you can assume that instant hostility is because it sees you as food, a threat or intruding on its territory. An intelligent creature's basic motivation might be the same, but there should be something more complex going in the background.

To roll a D66, roll two D6s and take one result as the tens column.

D66 reasons to attack

11. This creature robs to support itself (carousing ain't cheap).
12. This creature robs to buy manufactured goods from a trader.

13. This creature robs to pay tribute to a warboss/feudal lord/necromancer/etc.

14. This creature robs to buy a family member out of slavery.

15. This creature robs for money to impress a potential spouse's family.

16. This creature robs because it's getting older and wants to retire.

21. This creature wants to eat you because its crops are blighted.

22. This creature wants to eat you to gain your spiritual power.

23. This creature wants to eat you because that gains it status in its culture.

24. This creature wants to eat you because it's lost and supplies have run out.

25. This creature wants to eat you because it's tried every other local meat.

26. This creature wants to eat you because it believes your flesh is medicinal.

31. This creature kills intruders because that's the law of its people.

32. This creature kills intruders because this is its home.

33. This creature kills intruders because it will lose its territory if it seems weak.

34. This creature kills intruders because others of its kind here can't defend themselves.

35. This creature kills intruders because this is its holy place.

36. This creature kills intruders because it has a secret here to protect.

41. This creature fights to prove itself.

42. This creature fights to win your respect.

43. This creature fights because it's fun!

44. This creature fights because it hates your kind.

45. This creature fights to please its gods.

46. This creature fights because those are its orders.

51. This creature attacks because there's another fighting force nearby and it doesn't want to be flanked.

52. This creature attacks because it's afraid you'll draw the attention of a much bigger threat.

53. This creature attacks because other encounters with your kind have always turned violent.

54. This creature attacks to prevent you from telling others that it's here.

55. This creature attacks because it believes you carry disease.

56. This creature attacks because you seem like a rival for its goal.

61. This creature wants to capture you to claim a bounty.

62. This creature wants to capture you as a slave.

63. This creature wants to capture hostages to extort local rulers.

64. This creature wants to capture you as a living shield in another fight.

65. This creature wants to capture you to ransom you to your family.

66. This creature wants to capture you to be a sacrifice for its gods.

The why of towers

Image by HBKerr

A tower is like the landscape's way of saying 'I have a quest for you'. Or 'someone with a beard down to his navel and purple robes lives here'. Sometimes you need a tower and you need a better reason for it than simply 'wandering tribes of architects and engineers'. Hopefully these tables can help.

This tower is

1. a square wooden structure with a stone ground floor.
2. a circular building of mortared fieldstone.
3. a reinforced stronghold with arrow slits and ramparts.
4. built up in layers of different construction.
5. a ruin repaired with a ramshackle conglomeration of branches, sticks and animal hides.
6. built from an odd material like obsidian, hardened lava, a giant tree trunk, etc.

It was built to

1. be a toll house on a travel route
2. be part of a signal network
3. house an order of holy knights
4. keep a watch for fires
5. defend a nation's borders
6. house a wizard's lab

and it overlooks

1. a forest.
2. a trade coast.
3. hills and pastures.
4. cliffs and ravines.
5. a village.
6. a marsh.

Nearby you can find

1. a ruined smithy.
2. a small cottage.
3. livestock pens.
4. extensive stables.
5. a graveyard.
6. an old battleground.

It has been used by

1. an astrologer studying the stars
2. a druid studying the winds
3. a bandit gang watching a trade road
4. generations of shepherds sheltering from the weather
5. tanners practising their smelly trade away from settlement
6. smugglers storing their contraband

and it's currently

1. unoccupied.
2. a den for wild beasts.
3. home to a hermit.
4. visited by travelling rangers to leave secret messages for each other.
5. abandoned and accursed.
6. used as a campsite by travellers.

Rumour says

1. at sunset on the Summer solstice its shadow points towards a buried treasure
2. an evil noble was imprisoned in it and went mad
3. a gang of robbers walled up one of their own alive inside
4. if you make an evil wish at the highest point it will be granted
5. the ruler's spies meet there under the new moon to discuss what they've learned
6. it was built on the site of a structure from an older civilisation

and an odd thing about it is

1. the tiny airship moored to the roof.
2. sometimes there's an extra window.
3. its image reflected in water shows it in its early years.
4. eerie lights visible in the windows at night.
5. sometimes there's a fine black horse hitched at its door.
6. unknown plants growing around its base.

(Thanks to Spwack of the Slight Adjustments blog for the generator code.)

The why of the beast in the woods

The beast in the woods is a trope I'm fond of. The town is haunted by a beast that kills man and livestock indiscriminately. It lurks in the woods during the day and only emerges when it can cause the most fear — during night or thick fog. Swords don't hurt it, arrows seem to pass harmlessly through it. Worse yet, if you somehow do kill it, it comes back. Because the beast is just a manifestation of the curse afflicting the town. A curse one or more of them brought down on the whole community by committing a crime so vile that the gods turn their faces away and nature itself rebels.

The only way to dismiss it for good is to reveal the crime and punish the transgressors.

The beast is a huge 

1. shadowy
2. skeletal
3. smoking
4. bloody-coated
5. grave-smelling
6. glowing

1. stag
2. ram
3. boar
4. wolf
5. bull
6. chimera

with

1. human qualities.
2. burning eyes.
3. a crown of flames.
4. dripping poison.
5. iron fangs.
6. twisted horns.

You know it's near when 

1. a fog rolls in.
2. a frost forms.
3. a storm begins.
4. a cloud of locusts forms.
5. animals panic.
6. dogs howl and babies cry.

It brings

1. pestilence
2. madness
3. ghosts
4. insidious whispers
5. a flock of enraged crows
6. souring and rot

and

1. the sound of women lamenting.
2. blight to crops.
3. disturbing shapes in torch and hearth flames.
4. the buzzing of flies.
5. causes lights to darken.
6. rumbling in the earth.

Worse yet,

1. metal weapons strike sparks from it.
2. it leaves burning paw/hoof prints.
3. the earth turns barren where it walks.
4. chains shatter on it.
5. holy symbols grow hot in its presence.
6. corpses twist and contort when it's near.

It's here because

1. someone starved a dependent elder.
2. a parent abandoned a child to die.
3. a host broke the laws of hospitality and murdered a guest, or vice versa.
4. someone broke a sacred vow and won't make amends.
5. a believer defiled a holy place.
6. someone completed a deal with a ruinous power.

(Thanks to Spwack of the Slight Adjustments blog for the generator code.)

Dice of Efwon

A magic item that causes a team of skilled goblin artisans to appear and quickly refresh the character for another round of battle.

When invoked, 1d4+4 goblins in overalls appear, with their tools. In one round they bind the character's and character's mount's wounds, repair their armour and quickly clean them. Then they vanish again. This provides the following benefits:

• Regain 1d6 hit points.
• Regain any damage to armour.
• End any detrimental physical environment effects such as being on fire, doused with acid, covered with frost, etc.

This takes one full round, during which the character must stand immobile or lose the benefit. During that round the character may be attacked, and will suffer the normal damage. The goblins automatically dodge any attack that doesn't have an area of effect or is magical. Each additional time the pit crew is summoned during the same combat there is a 3-in-6 chance that two or more of the goblins will start a fist-fight and forget what they're doing. During this and further summonings within the same combat, the player only receives healing. 

Once, many centuries ago, a goblin who was messing around with a ballista briefly became the fastest thing alive. The god of speed appreciated this sacrifice (intentional or not) and offered the goblin's tribe a blessing: as long as they kept a team ready to service his chariots at an instant's notice, their wounds would heal three times faster.

The god is long forgotten and his holy relics scattered, but the goblins still keep the pit crews on alert and still enjoy those extra couple of HP regained each day.

They're quick, but not supernaturally fast. They can clean and bandage a wound, or splint a broken limb within one round. They replace pauldrons, vambraces and greaves, tighten straps, lace boots. They wipe a character's armour down with some kind of cleaning solvent they almost certainly don't use among themselves.

Usage: any character wearing at least one piece of heavy armour. (Large shields count.) Targets self and mount.
Charges: 1d6+2.
Appearance: a pair of felted cubes connected by a short leather thong.

Smack my witch up

Last night's Pathfinder 1e game was one of those epic sessions that happens maybe once or twice in a lifetime.

The party of four PCs and a wolf were facing off against a higher-level Bugbear decked out with two magic shortswords and magic armour that gave him a stupidly high AC. We couldn't seem to touch him and he was downing a PC every round, mocking us as we dropped. Boom, the witch went down. Boom, the wolf. Boom, the druid wildshaped into jaguar form. Boom, ranger.

The brawler took a couple of savage hits, but stayed on her feet. The Bugbear had been doing 10+ damage per hit with three attacks per round, and just one more of those would probably be the end of her. The brawler is played by Tim, and some sessions Tim's dice don't seem to love him.

Fortunately her final roll was a critical hit for near-maximum damage. She punched the soul clean out of that Bugbear's body!

This is why I'm a roleplayer, friends.

Factory locusts

One of the stranger products of magical tinkering with nature. They devour whole forests and leave nothing but newly made furniture in their wake.

Saw millipede

The saw millipede has dozens of blade-tipped legs. They grip with their mandibles and scrabble furiously to cut lengths of wood. The larger ones have been known to attack and devour other saw millipedes that have made crooked cuts.

AC 6 [13], HD 1 (5 HP), ATT 1 x saw (1d6), THAC0 19 [+0], MV 120' (40'), SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F1), ML 8, AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 1d3 (2d4), TT none
Specials
Undermine: If an opponent is on a wooden surface like a floor, branch or cart, saw millipedes will attempt to cut it out from under them so they will fall.

Truck bug

Pallet-sized and placid, truck bugs have flat shells and bungie-like bristles. They dig and wriggle under items that need moving and work in teams to convoy them.

AC 4 [15], HD 3 (14 HP), ATT -, THAC0 19 [+0], MV 90' (30'), SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F3), ML 7, AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 2d3 (2d4), TT none
Specials
Trip: a truck bug can attempt to knock an opponent prone with its blunt head. Save vs Paralysis negates.

Sandpaper wasp

Sandpaper wasps have nimble mouthparts, capable of nibbling rough surfaces to a sleek and uniform plane. Their stings inject finishing wax.

AC 5 [14], HD 1 (5 HP), ATT 1 x bite (1d4) or 1 x glossy finish (see specials), THAC0 17 [+2], MV 120' (40')/300' (100') flying, SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F1), ML 8 (10 in swarm), AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 2d6 (2d10), TT none
Specials
Glossy finish: On a successful attack, a sandpaper wasp permanently reduces the AC of a random nonmagical piece of an opponent's armour by 1.

Caulk roach

These skittering insects chew sawdust to produce a thick putty that dries hard, flexible and waterproof.

AC 5 [14], HD 1 (5 HP), ATT 1 x bite (1d4) or 1 x waterproof seal (see specials), THAC0 17 [+2], MV 120' (40'), SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F1), ML 8 (10 in swarm), AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 1d6 (2d6), TT none
Specials
Waterproof seal: On a successful attack a swarm of caulk roaches can attempt to gum up the joints of a piece of metal armour with putty, giving -1 to Dex. Lasts until the armour is thoroughly washed.

Varnish fly

The varnish fly can spit a variety of stains, oils and waxes in a range of colours and glosses. There's a docile domestic variety kept by craftsmen, but this is the other sort.

AC 6 [13], HD 1 (5 HP), ATT 1 x bite (1d4) or 1 x shine (see specials), THAC0 18 [+1], MV 120' (40')/300' (100') flying, SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F1), ML 8 (10 in swarm), AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 1d6 (2d6), TT none
Specials
Shine: On a successful attack a varnish fly can attempt to coat an opponent with gloss, giving -2 to Stealth. Lasts until the armour is scrubbed down or thoroughly coated in muck.

Stage beetle

The stage beetle will position furniture to make an attractive tableaux, suitable for marketing any dwelling or lair.

AC 4 [15], HD 3 (14 HP), ATT 1 x swipe (1d6) or 1 x reposition (see specials), THAC0 16 [+3], MV 120' (40'), SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F3), ML 8, AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 1 (1d6), TT none
Specials
Reposition: On a successful attack a stage beetle can grapple an opponent and use them as an improvised weapon. An attack does 1d4 to both the target and the grappled character. Save vs Paralysis ends the grapple.

Layout advice

I lurk in areas of the internet where first-time game designers will often submit their work to ask for feedback. Mechanically, they're usually safe enough. Presentation-wise, they tend to vary from slapdash all the way up to incomprehensible. So: a little advice on layout for people making their own games.

Disclaimer: I'm about to speak confidently on a subject I don't have a background in. I'm not an expert on layout. I'm a guy who read one book. But I've also had the benefit of people who are experts sharing their knowledge with me. I figure I can pass on the advice I received. I don't think these opinions are controversial. 

And it would have been nice to have all of this in one place when I was starting out. Just like everyone else, I've created books that looked great and were objectively less useful at the table as a result.

Good layout is eye-catching and easy to read. If your game is laid out well, people are more likely to pick it up and use it.

Font

There are two different orders of fonts: serif and sans-serif. You can think of them as lawful and chaotic fonts. I don't know which is which, except that I'm placing Comic Sans squarely in the chaotic camp. 

Also, don't use Comic Sans. Or Papyrus.

Serif fonts are a little more decorated than sans serif. They have curls at the end of some of the letters, changes in line thickness, different angles. These features make them a little easier to read. They make a good choice for the body of your text.

Sans serif fonts are simple and bold. Eye-catching. They make good headings.

For this blog post I'm using the Verdana font for headings and the Georgia font for the text. Which is just about as basic as you can get, but it's readable — I bet you didn't even think about my font choices until I mentioned them.

Crimson Text is designed to display well on screens. Georgia is the common font most easily read by older people whose sight is beginning to degrade. I'm part of that demographic myself, and so will you be someday.

Columns

Whether or not you should use columns depends on how you have the page set up. If you're designing for A4/Letter sized paper in portrait orientation, use 'em. Each column should be wide enough to type out the alphabet 1 ½ times with no spaces between letters.

Having text split into columns is less eye-fatiguing to read and makes it easier to scan back and find text you've already read. That's beneficial when you're reading a sourcebook to learn new mechanics.

Don't justify your text. Having consistent spacing between words is helpful to readers, even if it leaves a ragged right-edge.

And use paragraphs.

Colours

Black on white is always going to be the most readable combination. If you go with a different combo, steer away from vivid background colours. Text is much easier to read on desaturated colours than vivid ones.

If you have to choose between a cool, stylish colour scheme and a readable one - please, choose readability. A sourcebook can be an art object, but it has to be a functional one.

If you're using colour art in your game, consider pieces that look good when printed in black and white. 

Art

Art should serve a purpose. Illustrating a concept is a purpose. So is filling empty space on the page. The images you use should be somehow related to the text on that page and not just there. I don't like full-page images on the inside of sourcebooks, but maybe that's just me. Art is subjective, so I'm just going to say I personally never want to see AI art, Poser art or bad scans of pencil sketches. If you can't afford an artist, look somewhere like Pixabay for Public Domain and Creative Commons pieces. 

If you're planning to sell your work on DrivethruRPG, make sure every image is 150 dpi or better. If your art is lower than that, you can raise the dpi in image editing software like Photoshop, GIMP or Krita.

Please don't put art in the middle of a paragraph so that lines split around it and the reader's eyes have to jump back and forth like a cartoon character watching a tennis match. And don't ever put art behind text. Never, never, never do that.

If your game is art-heavy, consider having an art-light version for printing. Printer ink and Horseshoe Crab blood are some of the most expensive liquids on Earth.

Misc

If your game is longer than about ten pages, please add page numbers and a table of contents.

And when all else fails, steal the style of your favourite gamebook.

Spell personalities

Image by KannyL on DeviantArt.

Players will occasionally try to use magic in a way it wasn't written to function. I think that's great! GMs should definitely reward those players by introducing some uncertainty into the activity.

If we go back to Jack Vance, most magic users use spells written by a few great and brilliant wizards. I like to think the spells form families that way and each has something of the creator's personality about them. Spells can be Gentle, Strict, Playful, Malicious, Eager or Erratic.

Gentle spells only want to be used to help, never harm. That doesn't affect their primary function, a gentle fireball is still a fireball. But maybe if you use that fireball to create an updraft to lift a hot air balloon, it's a bit more controllable, a bit less explodey.

Strict spells only want to be used for the purpose they were created for and may refuse to function for creative uses. You could imagine that a lot of divine spells work this way. Bless might work in combat, but not for archery contests.

Playful spells love to be used in creative and experimental ways. They pack a bit more punch when that's the case, and follow the caster's expectations as much as possible.

Malicious spells want to harm. You, them, everyone. Even the caster. When used in a creative way they perform their function in the worst practical way and may affect the caster as well as the target.

Eager spells want to go big. Using Create Light to blind an opponent with darkvision? It's like a damn spotlight on their face, directed at their eyes.

Erratic spells get confused when used outside their primary function. Some aspect of the spell changes. Using Create Food to summon jelly desserts to make a fake ooze? You might get custard instead.

For example: can I use Create Water to fill someone's lungs with water?

• Gentle: Only if it won't harm them. For example, if they're cursed to breathe only water.
• Strict: No. Lungs are not a suitable container for water.
• Playful: Yes! Awesome lateral thinking, player!
• Malicious: Yes, but there's a chance you fill your own lungs as well.
• Eager: Yes, but there's a chance you fill their lungs with water at the pressure of the sea floor and they rupture in a horrific fashion.
• Erratic: Yes, but it might not be their lungs or it might not be water.

The first time a player gets creative with a spell, the GM should roll a D6 to see what the spell's nature is. This can be done for each individual spells, or it can be assumed that spells which fit together (Create Food/Create Water) were created by the same wizard and share a nature.

If the spell's nature makes it awkward for the player's purpose, the GM should roll D6 again to see if there are consequences. 1-in-6 seems like fair odds.