June 20, 2024 | Day Two Patch | Actual playRoster
- Soot. Gnome Artificer (Artillerist) 3.
- Abner. Kobold Fighter (Champion) 3.
- Kori. Revenant-thingy Warlock (Hexblade) 3.
- Rivi. Shadar-Kai Sorcerer (Shadow) 3.
- Caleb. Human Rogue (Thief) 3.
- Cirix. Plasmoid Cleric (Knowledge) 1 / Wizard (Thermodynamics) 2.
- Oliver. Wood Elf Ranger 3.
Objectives
Summary
The party entered the Ruins of Thought, following Khirr’s instructions. Laplace immediately noted the ruins were home to the largest swarm of cranium rat squeakers in Sigil. The party, having recently learned firsthand the threat of cranium rats, was understandably frightened.
Upon entering the ruins, Oliver noticed a lone cranium rat sitting on the floor. He picked it up. The rat began to speak directly into Oliver’s mind. It’s name was “Pellet,” and it was part of the hive mind “Us.” Pellet asked to be returned to its hive mind, to which Oliver acquiesced.
As the party traversed the caverns, Cirix noted a collection of strange creatures on the ceiling. They looked like humanoid heads with wings. Khirr identified them as vargoulle reflections, another horror native to Sigil. The party attempted to sneak past them, but a critical failure from Rivi and some lackluster stealth on Caleb’s part meant that we had to fight our way through. Luckily, Soot’s eldritch cannon combined with a party of only ranged fighters meant that the drowsy vargoulles went down fast. It was a sharp contrast from the previous session’s combat.
After the fight, Cirix picked up one of the vargoulle heads to carry around for fun and profit.
Further on in the catacombs, Rivi alerted a group of skeletons when she tried to pick up some bones from the floor. We passed through yet another entirely forgettable encounter, curb-stomping the poor undead within a few rounds. Nobody took significant damage, and we continued onwards.
Then we ran into a swarm of hostile cranium rats and a corrupted dabus. Fortunately, we got the drop on them. Our folly in our previous encounter was allowing them to get within range of us, so we prepared out spells and arrows to attack them from a distance. Although our foes gave chase, we were able to bombard them from afar and slew them before they could reach us.
Finally we arrived at the center of the catacombs. There, we found an enormous solid mass of cranium rats—Pellet’s hive mind. Unsettling, to say the least. Soot and Abner both decided to wait outside while the rest of us spoke with them. Pellet happily returned to Us, and Oliver was rewarded with a thousand little rat hugs. Us also gave the party three questions which it would answer to the best of its ability. We asked about the robed cultists, the darkening gates, and what lay ahead for us in the catacombs.
Of the cultists, Us knew little. They were a new force in Sigil, recently established in Nowhere. Of the darkening gates, Us only knew rumors: perhaps demons or gods were at work. The hive mind confirmed the presence of some aberrant influence, which matched with our previous theories about Far Realm actors. And of the path ahead, Us said only that there were many sahaugins.
June 12, 2024 | Day Two Patch | Actual playRoster
- Soot. Gnome Artificer (Artillerist) 3.
- Abner. Kobold Fighter (Champion) 3.
- Kori. Revenant-thingy Warlock (Hexblade) 3.
- Rivi. Shadar-Kai Sorcerer (Shadow) 3.
- Caleb. Human Rogue (Thief) 3.
- Cirix. Plasmoid Cleric (Knowledge) 1 / Wizard (Thermodynamics) 2.
- Oliver. Wood Elf Ranger 3.
Objectives
Summary
At the start of the session, our GM established a new rule: dynamic initiative (in which everyone re-rolls initiative based on planned actions every round). We also wrote up little cheat-sheets for often-used abilities so we didn’t have to spend so much time looking them up.
Once everyone had arrived (this took about an hour), we started character introductions:
- Abner, kobold champion. Wants to serve a powerful entity, ideally a dragon.
- Soot, rock gnome artillerist. The party’s blaster. Started by studying as a spelljammer engineer, but fell into the Astral sea and met a god.
- Oliver, wood elf ranger. Abandoned in the woods, and only recently discovered that people exist. Has a cow animal companion.
- Kori, revenant(?) hexblade. A highway robber executed by being drawn and quartered. Reanimated by a powerful necromancer who serves as their patron. Uses a gun to cast spells.
- Caleb, human thief. Amnesiac? An entertainer who supplements their busking with light fingers.
- Cirix, plasmoid heat mage. A weird slime thing that was created and raised by a magic university. Trying to finish a Ph. D. thesis in thermodynamics.
- Rivi, shadar-kai shadow sorcerer. Fled the plane of shadow because she got bored. Moral compass is a roulette wheel.
Then we got back to playing.
Surrounded by the devastation of our previous battle, we got back to investigating. Oliver tied up the cultist who surrendered and tossed him on his cow. It was starting to get dark and rainy, so we decided to head back to the Fixers’ HQ in the Market Ward. Before we left, Soot grabbed the sigil stone from the deceased cultist and found a worm crawling from the body. He took both, placing the worm inside a jar.
At the Fixers’ HQ, we placed the cultist—whose name was Mandek—in one of the anti-magic cells. Soot locked himself in alongside Mandek and started pouring him cider while asking him questions. Soot repeatedly gave reassurances that we would protect Mandek, though Rivi, Abner, and Caleb complained at this.
From questioning Mandek, we learned that he was recruited in Nowhere, a place beneath Sigil. Mandek was promised gold and fame by someone in a mask with a deep voice. Although he couldn’t get us into Nowhere, he knew someone who could: Khirr, an Aaracockra swashbuckler.
Instead of going directly to find Khirr, we decided to try to earn some extra cash. On the job board, we found an array of side quests. The one we chose was supposed to be simple pest control: clear out some swarms of cranium rats that had taken over a few abandoned buildings in the Hive Ward. It sounded easy, so we headed over. We had no idea what lay waiting for us.
We found the cranium rat swarms sitting in a small house. Cirix immediately tried to web them, but, being swarms, they were immune to the spell. Cirix’s only tactical utility exhausted, it retreated. Soot boldly moved to block the door, occupying the chokepoint and trying to prevent the rats from escaping out to attack the rest of the party. The rats covered Soot and ravaged both his body and mind, leaving him unconscious. Then they did the same to Abner. The rest of us ran, shooting whatever ranged attacks we had at the rats. After a grueling combat that left us bloodied and bruised, we dragged Soot and Abner back to the Hive Ward for treatment.
While we licked our wounds, Kori received a visit from their patron, the lich necromancer who had restored their body. Part of the lich’s soul was bound inside Kori’s revolver, and it seeped out to demand tribute: a victim, a soul. This was largely ignored by the rest of the party.
After resting up, we decided to find Khirr. We headed to the Bottle & Jug, the second-seediest tavern in Sigil. Laplace, Cirix’s mimir, initiated a lore dump that we promptly forgot as we ordered drinks. We found Khirr sitting in an appropriately suspicious corner, and hired him as a guide to get through the Ruins of Thought and into Undersigil.
While we did this, Rivi and Caleb, paranoid as they were, waited outside the tavern. A Dabus approached Rivi and gave her a compass with alignments written on it—literally a moral compass. The Dabus bound it around her neck and warned her that if she acted out, there would be consequences.
We all reunited outside the tavern and followed Khirr into an alleyway, where he pulled out a special key and opened a portal in the ground. Then we followed him into the void, finally entering the passage to Undersigil.
May 22, 2024 | Day Two Patch | Actual playRoster
- Soot. Gnome Artificer (Artillerist) 3.
- Abner. Kobold Fighter (Champion) 3.
- Kori. Revenant-thingy Warlock (Hexblade) 3.
- Rivi. Shadar-Kai Sorcerer (Shadow) 3.
- Caleb. Human Rogue (Thief) 3.
- Cirix. Plasmoid Cleric (Knowledge) 1 / Wizard (Thermodynamics) 2.
- Ash. Wood Elf Ranger 3.
Objectives
Summary
The party met up at the headquarters of the Fixers. We boldly decided to not do introductions and instead moved straight to drinking. The bartender, a white dragonborn named Vaccesh, recommended we stop drinking so we could be sober for our upcoming meeting with V—the leader of the fixers. Cirix took exception to this and ordered more drinks.
After a few more shenanigans, we moved on to our meeting with V. On the way, Rivi snagged a job notice about nefarious dealings in the Gatehouse Night Market. V introduced us to the Lady of Pain, who tasked us with investigating the darkening gates of Sigil. In return for our service, she promised us a holding within the city. Since Sigil is filled with prime real estate, and because this seemed like our DM’s main campaign hook, we agreed to investigate. Cirix immediately insulted her. Rivi somehow managed to fall even more out of favor by being impatient.
After some brief arguments about where to go and what to do, we decided to start by investigating the nature of the gates at the Hall of Information. There, we met Thon, a friendly mindflayer librarian. He offered us library cards and warned us about the docents—strange humanoids that patrol the stacks and protect the tomes. Thon implied that stealing a book turns you into a docent. He was very helpful in locating books.
Between previous questions posed to the Lady of Pain and research at the library, we learned the following:
- In Sigil, gates normally appear and disappear randomly. Typically a new gate opens to a different location on the same plane.
- The darkening gates to not reopen at all.
- Sigil is inaccessible without the gates. If all of them close, the city is cut off for good from the rest of the world.
- Gates can be closed forcefully, as they were during the Spellplague.
After Soot and Cirix checked out choice books on spelljamming and haste magic, the party moved on to the City Records. Abner proposed mapping out the disappearing gates to see if any patterns emerged. After acquiring maps from the record keepers, Soot and Kori noticed that the darkening spread outwards from the Hive Ward - the city slums. This was strange, since the city itself is quite harmonious and even the slums don’t see much trouble.
The party headed to the Hive Ward to investigate. In one of the alleyways, they spotted a pair of robed figures, flanked by Dabus. The robed figures were drawing on the walls using red stone, leaving twisted runes that made the area around it shimmer warp. Cirix vaguely understood the symbols as a dialect of Primordial, and figured out they were connected to some sort of Far Realm entity. This suggested that the robed figures were connected to the darkening gates—we had suspects!
We could read the writing on the wall, both literally and figuratively. This was going to end in combat, so we tried to play it smart. Rivi took Abner and moved into the street, out of sight. Cirix, Caleb, and Kori stayed near the end of the alleyway, away from the figures but still clearly in view. Cirix prepared the spell web, in case something went wrong. Soot walked up to the robed figures and asked them what they were doing and how their day was going. After he received a rude answer, he walked away, used message to inform the party to attack, and shot the cultists. Soot missed, but the web went off.
What followed was almost certainly the worst eighteen seconds of the robed figures’ lives. One cultist was immediately killed by Soot’s arcane cannon, and both of the Dabus were trapped within the web. We then alternated between shooting and burning the restrained Dabus and cultists, making a mockery of what should have been a very difficult encounter.
We figured out during the course of the battle that the Dabus had been suborned by some sort of creepy tentacled thing. This jived with what we knew, since the Dabus are supposed to be part of a network controlled by the Lady of Pain—and they responded poorly when we mentioned her. When we took down the first Dabus, it flashed a weak “thank you” in runes before collapsing. The second one did not get a chance to say anything, since Rivi completely disintegrated it.
After that, Abner intimidated the remaining cultist into surrendering. We took them hostage, and should try to interrogate them for more information later. We also copied down the runes on the wall—their meaning would be worth looking up in the Hall of Information.
April 12, 2024 | Day Two Patch | House rules, ClassFighter
- Starting equipment: a set of rusted mail (2 armor, bulky), a worn sword (d8), and a whetstone.
- Skills: Farmer, Soldier, Sailor, Gladiator.
- Action Surge. You have 1 action die (AD), which is a d8. You can roll it alongside your initiative die
to take a second action in combat. You act on that turn.
- Parry. You can use your reaction to reduce incoming damage by d6.
Thief
- Starting equipment: a set of odd tools, dark clothing, a hooded lantern, and oil (d6).
- Skills: Burglar, Thieves’s Guild, Spy, Investigator.
- Thieves Knacks. You have a 3-in-6 chance of succeeding at the following: Climb Sheer Surfaces, Find Or
Remove Traps, Hear Noises, Hide In Shadows, Move Silently, Pick Pockets and Pick Locks. This is
in addition to the typical test roll.
- Sneak Attack. When attacking an otherwise distracted or unaware opponent, your damage die is a d12.
Wizard
- Starting equipment: a wide-brimmed hat, a gnarled staff (d6), and a bottle filled with a single spell
(Light, Burning Hands, or Sleep).
- Skills: Scholar, Apothecary, Pointy-Hat Trick, Priest.
- Cantrips. When attuned to a spell, you can create minor effects related to its powers at no cost.
- Blood Magic. When you cast a spell, you may spend STR instead of HP or CHA. Furthermore, by spending 1
point of STR, you can increase the potency of the spell in one of the following ways:
- Double the duration of the spell.
- Maximize damage dealt by the spell.
- Ignore resistances and logic using the spell.
April 12, 2024 | Day Two Patch | House rulesA PDF of these rules is also available!
Changelog
- Swapped core skill system and attributes to use d6 + (stat die).
- Introduced resource dice for tracking item uses.
Introduction
A set of rules that I’m going to use for this coming !D&D adventure. This is hacked together from a lot of things: a healthy dose of Ryuutama, Into the Odd, GLOG, and a little bit of Apocalypse World. This is the first set that I’ve published online, but rest assured that the others existed.
I ran this system with a couple of friends doing some old-school dungeon-crawling, and it was pretty fun. The combat felt very fast-paced, though I kept forgetting that creatures I controlled also had to deal with the downed state—I just had them die at 0 HP. Anyways. This is what I have right now; it will inevitably be changed again.
Character Genesis
- Roll 4d4 each for STR, DEX, CHA.
- Roll 1d6 for HP, which represents ability to avoid harm.
- Pick your Class. This determines your starting special abilities and some of your equipment. Choose or roll for one starting Skill.
- State your Reason. Why are you on your journey? Try to sum it up in one word that completes that statement “For…” (e.g. For wonder, For closure, For vengeance, For answers).
- Choose your Name and Origin.
Playing the Game
Tests. When an outcome is in doubt, make a test. Roll d6 + SKILL when making a test. If you do not have a relevant skill, add a d4 instead. On a 7-9, you succeed at a cost. On a 10+, you succeed handily. Tests serve as a replacement for both the traditional skill checks and saving throws of D&D.
| d6 + SKILL | Result |
|---|
| 2-6 | Failure |
| 7-9 | Success with a cost |
| 10+ | Success |
Turns. In combat, individuals plan what they will do each turn. They then roll a die according to the table. They keep that die face up. The GM counts up from 1. Individuals act when their number is called. If an effect or ability would grant a bonus or penalty to initiative, adjust the die size by 1 step (e.g. d6 to d4, or d6 to d8).
| Action | Initiative Die |
|---|
| Weapon Attack | Weapon’s base damage die |
| Unarmed Attack | d4 |
| Cast a Spell | d8 |
| Any other action (dash, swap items) | d8 |
| Multiple Actions, Bonus Actions | Largest die of actions you plan to take |
Attacking. Roll the damage die for your chosen weapon. The target takes that much damage.
Armor. Armor reduces damage by its value. Light armor reduces damage by 1, medium armor reduces damage by 2, and heavy armor reduces damage by 3. Armor takes up 1 slot per point, unless otherwise noted. Heavy armor is always bulky.
Damage. When an individual takes damage, they lose that much HP. Any additional damage carries over and reduces STR. When taking damage beyond HP, roll a STR save vs. being downed.
Downed. A character that is downed is practically helpless. They can only crawl until tended to by an ally and have a rest. They die of their injuries if left unattended for an hour.
Resting. A few minutes of rest and a drink restores a character’s HP, but risks wandering encounters and uses time.
Deprivation. A creature deprived of a crucial need, such as food or water, cannot benefit from rest.
Restoration. A night of good rest and care heals damage to ability scores and other damage beyond HP.
Magic. To cast a spell, expend all your HP OR spend 1 CHA.
Encumbrance. Characters can carry 10 slots of items without worry, and no more than two bulky items. Carrying gear beyond this makes you encumbered. While encumbered, your HP is zero.
Resources. Instead of tracking individual resources, use resource dice. When a resource (food, water, light, etc.) is used, roll the resource die. On a 1-2, reduce the size of the resource die by one step. Typically resources are a d6 or d8. Only rare and weird resources, such as an ancient wand, should use a d12.
Appendix N
- Ryuutama by Atsuhiro Okada (translated by Matt Sanchez and Andy Kitkowski).
- Into the Odd & ELECTRIC BASTIONLAND by Chris McDowell.
- Apocalypse World by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker.
- D&D Initiative & the McDonald’s Problem by Prismatic Wasteland.
- GLOG Rogue Classes by Numbers Aren’t Real.
March 31, 2024 | Day Two Patch | 5e, ClassI’m taking a class on thermodynamics, and just finished one on quantum mechanics. The physics is really cool, but what stuck with me was this XKCD comic that conveniently came out a month ago:
Then I thought: you could make a wizard out of this. So here it is. A (sub)class inspired by a class.
Wizard Tradition: Thermodynamics
A woman writes on a slate with a piece of chalk, arranging equations beside a simple graph. Calculations complete, she casts the symbols into the air. The world bursts into flames around her.
A man steps out of the way of a spear thrust. He snaps his fingers and holds his breath. His armored opponent collapses to the ground, gasping for breath.
A professor scrawls on the board as they speak to their class. “Always remember the three laws,” they say. “You can’t win. You can’t break even. And you can’t stop playing.”
You are a diligent student of thermodynamics: the school of heat and work, of paths and histories. Practitioners of thermodynamics have a high mortality rate, for their magic trades in the fundamental forces that govern the world. A “heat mage” uses their spells not to rewrite reality, but to push it forward along inevitable paths.
| Level | Features |
|---|
| 2 | Heat Flow, Maxwell Demon |
| 6 | Assume Ideal Conditions |
| 10 | Perfect Partition |
| 14 | Entropic Decay |
Level 2: Heat Flow
$$dU = SdT-PdV+ \sum_i^n \mu_i dN_i$$
Your spells are those that govern heat and work. You learn the following spells upon gaining access to the listed spell levels, in addition to the normal spells learned by leveling up. If they are not Wizard spells, they count as Wizard spells for you. Other wizards may not copy these spells from your spellbook; the formulae are too esoteric.
Spells marked with an asterisk (*) are described at the end of this document.
Level 2: Maxwell Demon
$$\displaystyle S = \oint\frac{q_{\text{rev}}}{T}dT = k \ln \Omega$$
You always have the spell Unseen Servant prepared. It does not count against your prepared spells. When you cast the spell Unseen Servant, you may instead order it to sort particles in a 10-foot cube. The servant may not sort particles that are part of a greater whole, such as the atoms and molecules that make up a living creature, nor may it physically change the particles. If you cast Unseen Servant using a spell slot of higher than first level, you may direct the servant to sort an additional 10-foot cube per spell level.
Level 6: Assume Ideal Conditions
$$\Delta N = 0, q = q_{\text{rev}}, PV=NRT$$
You know how to simplify problems in ways that still describe reality. You may add twice your proficiency bonus on Arcana and Investigation checks.
Level 10: Perfect Partition
$$q_{\text{sys}} = -q_{\text{surr}}, w_{\text{sys}} = -w_{\text{surr}}, S_{\text{tot}} = S_{\text{sys}} + S_{\text{surr}}$$
You can magically separate the world into a system and its surroundings. When you cast a spell with that targets an area, you may reshape the area of the spell as you wish, so long as the total area remains the same.
Level 14: Entropic Decay
$$\Delta S_1 < \Delta S_2 \implies 1 \to 2$$
You have learned to reshape your spells purely in terms of entropy. When you cast a spell that would deal fire or cold damage, you may instead change the damage type to force. You may make this decision when you cast the spell.
Thermodynamics Spells
Adiabatic Compression
2nd-Level Transmutation (Thermodynamics)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 150 feet
Components: V, S, M (an iron bead)
Duration: Instantaneous
You compress gas by a factor into a small space around the target point, creating an implosion of heat and pressure. Each creature inside a 10-foot sphere must make a Dexterity Save or take 3d6 fire damage + 2d6 bludgeoning damage, or half as much on a successful save.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell with a spell slot of third level or higher, the fire damage and bludgeoning damage increase by 1d6 each per spell level above second.
Isochoric Heating
4th-Level Transmutation (Thermodynamics)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 100 feet
Components: V, S, M (a glass vial of mercury)
Duration: Up to 1 minute (concentration)
You alter the temperature within a 30 foot sphere. Choose either heating or cooling: if you choose heating, this spell deals fire damage; if you choose cooling, this spell does cold damage. On the first round, the spell deals 2d6 damage. Every round thereafter, damage increases by 1d6, up to a maximum of 5d6 damage per round. You may choose to move the sphere to another location within range, but this resets the damage counter.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell with a spell slot of fourth level or higher, the radius of the sphere increases by 5 feet per spell level.
Entropic Shunt
5th-Level Transmutation (Thermodynamics)
Casting Time: 1 reaction, taken when a creature you see makes an attack roll or starts to cast a spell
Range: 300 feet
Components: V, S, M (an hourglass filled with water)
Duration: Instantaneous
You target the triggering creature, which must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or freeze as entropy reverses around it, causing the attack to miss or the spell to be wasted. At the start of its next turn, the target unfreezes and is sickened. While frozen, the target is considered helpless.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each slot level above 5th. All targets must be within 30 feet of each other.
Pseudokinetics
6th-Level Transmutation (Thermodynamics)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 150 feet
Components: V, S, M (an ampoule filled with two distinct gases)
Duration: Instantaneous
You reave though potential barriers, instantly forcing a process to occur in an instant. This can be as simple as lighting a fire or as grand as evaporating a lake, so long as the target can fit within your line of sight. If cast on a creature, the target must succeed on a Constitution Save or it takes 14d6 force damage and suffers one level of exhaustion. On a successful save, it does not suffer exhaustion and takes only half damage.
Quantum Tunneling
6th-Level Transmutation (Thermodynamics)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: self
Components: V, S, M (a lead pendulum)
Duration: up to 1 hour (concentration)
You destabilize your waveform, stretching it beyond the classical potential barriers and into the aether. While you maintain concentration, you can appear at any point within 150 feet that you can see. Additionally, attacks against you are made at disadvantage because of your truly uncertain position. This is not negated by true sight.
Wavefunction Collapse
8th-Level Transmutation (Thermodynamics)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 150 feet
Components: V, S, M (a set of engraved calipers worth 500 gp)
Duration: 1 round or 1 minute (concentration; see description)
You collapse the superposition wavefunction of the target completely, locking them in place across all alternate futures. So long as you concentrate, you may completely dictate the actions of the target. If the target succeeds on a Wisdom Save, the target breaks free of your model after one round instead.