diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 50596d6..6632303 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ The sun is dying and the wreckage of countless eons litters the parched wastes o These are the hinterlands, where humanity’s great works have fallen to everlasting decay, where machine and animal and fungus think to crown themselves our equal. The phthalo-sands, where newbeasts hunt proudly with boots upon their hind paws and chromepriests chant unending binary devotions to their nameless synthetic god. Only the desperate or the mad would seek to make a life here, to roam the blue desert in search of the secret VAULTS OF VAARN. +Vaults of Vaarn is compatible with the game Knave; however the material should work fine with any old-school RPG system that uses d20s, armour class, etc. + The PDF version is available for free on [itch.io](https://graculusdroog.itch.io). The full text is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) @@ -14,7 +16,7 @@ Alternatively, available from selected stores: CountryStoreVov 1Vov 2Vov 3 WorldwideLulu Print on Demand link - link + link link Big Cartel diff --git a/_sidebar.md b/_sidebar.md index cf69441..4d66558 100644 --- a/_sidebar.md +++ b/_sidebar.md @@ -2,4 +2,5 @@ - [Player Rules](player-rules.md) - [Referee Rules](referee-rules.md) - [Vaarnish Bestiary](bestiary.md) +- [Resources](resources.md) - [Acknowledgements](acknowledgements.md) diff --git a/acknowledgements.md b/acknowledgements.md index 8efc7e0..87e0f18 100644 --- a/acknowledgements.md +++ b/acknowledgements.md @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@ # Acknowledgements -The rules presented in this pamphlet are mostly those of Knave by Ben Milton, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licensed product, and some of the text explaining the rules is taken from that publication. Knave can be bought at: drivethrurpg.com/product/250888/Knave. The material published here is likewise presented under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Feel free to remix, copy, hack, and add to the contents of this zine; I ask only for credit to be attributed. // The Vaarn setting has been inspired by many sources. The novels that have been the biggest influence are The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, Dune by Frank Herbert, and Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Vaarn also owes a great deal to the artwork of Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud, Kilian Eng, and the comics of Stathis Tsemberlidis and Lando. I have also been strongly inspired by the videogames Rain World and Caves of Qud. // Further Vaarn content, play reports, lore, and a downloadable character sheet can be found at vaultsofvaarn.wordpress.com. +The rules presented in this SRD are mostly those of Knave by Ben Milton, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licensed product, and some of the text explaining the rules is taken from that publication. Knave can be bought at: drivethrurpg.com/product/250888/Knave. The material published here is likewise presented under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Feel free to remix, copy, hack, and add to the contents of this zine; I ask only for credit to be attributed. // The Vaarn setting has been inspired by many sources. The novels that have been the biggest influence are The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, Dune by Frank Herbert, and Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Vaarn also owes a great deal to the artwork of Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud, Kilian Eng, and the comics of Stathis Tsemberlidis and Lando. I have also been strongly inspired by the videogames Rain World and Caves of Qud. // Further Vaarn content, play reports, lore, and a downloadable character sheet can be found at vaultsofvaarn.wordpress.com. diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md index 76c97c2..de41aef 100644 --- a/changelog.md +++ b/changelog.md @@ -1 +1,11 @@ -0.1 Initial Release +0.1 Initial Release +- Configure Docksify +- Converted VoV #1 to Markdown +- Minor CSS changes to use the same fonts found in VoV 1 & 2 +- Setup github pages + +0.2 +- Add resources section and link to the Vaarn Character Generator. +- Update "What is Vaarn?" section to include edits from VoV 3. +- Add the link for Vov 2 print on demand at Lulu. +- Add Ancestries from VoV 3. diff --git a/player-rules.md b/player-rules.md index 97d48a9..62e3e50 100644 --- a/player-rules.md +++ b/player-rules.md @@ -1,20 +1,20 @@ # What is Vaarn? -Vaarn is a science-fantasy RPG setting. It draws inspiration from books like Dune, Hyperion, The Book of the New Sun, and the graphic novels of Moebius. If you haven’t read those that’s totally fine, it will make my theft seem original. +Vaarn is a science-fantasy RPG setting. It draws inspiration from novels like Dune, Hyperion, The Book of the New Sun, and the graphic novels of Moebius. If you haven’t read those that’s totally fine, it will make my theft seem original. -Basically the sun is going out, it’s the end of history, and you are combing through the wreckage of the unimaginable eras of the future. Everything that could possibly happen has already happened and faded to dust. I see Vaarn as an ‘anti-canon’ setting where nobody can agree on the world’s history and ultimately it probably doesn't matter. However, there are a few facts about Vaarn that are known for sure: +Basically the sun is going out, it’s the end of history, and your characters are combing through the wreckage of the unimaginable eras of the future. Everything that could possibly happen has already happened and faded to dust. Vaarn is an anti-canon setting, where nobody can agree on the world’s history and ultimately it doesn't matter. However, there are some facts about Vaarn that are known for sure: 1. Vaarn is a sky-blue desert littered with the ruins of the far future. -2. Vaarn is inhabited by humans, mutants, robots, talking animals, and fungus-men. -3. The sun is a dying red giant. It won’t go out in a human lifetime, but AIs have reason to be concerned. +2. Vaarn is inhabited mainly by true-kin (humans), cacogen (mutants), synths (robots), newbeasts (sapient animals), and mycromorphs (fungus-men). +3. The sun is a dying red giant. It won’t go out in a human lifetime, but synths have reason to be concerned. 4. Vaarn is both archaic and futuristic. Think sword fights inside the wrecked husks of ancient spaceships. -5. There’s a place to the south called the New Empire. Hegemony. It’s Theoretically like the Roman Hegemony rules Vaarn, but they have little presence besides a few fortified border towns. -6. Nanomachines are inside everything and it’s normal to see wild animals with cameras growing out of their flesh. -7. Nobody can agree on the chronology, but there was a Great Collapse, which destroyed most of human civilisation. -8. Before the Collapse came the Autarchy, a planet-wide dictatorship enacted by a lineage of genetically modified God-kings. -9. Before the reign of the Autarchs, the Urth was ruled by AIs called the Titans. Something happened to them and they were overthrown, but the details are lost to history. +5. There’s a place to the south called the New Hegemony. It’s like the Roman Empire. Theoretically the Hegemony rules Vaarn, but they have little presence besides a few fortified border towns. +6. Nanomachines are inside everything, and it’s normal to see wild animals with cameras growing out of their flesh or humans with parasitic cyborg limbs. +7. There was a Great Collapse, which destroyed most of human civilisation. +8. Before the Collapse, humanity was ruled by the Autarchy, a planet-wide dictatorship enacted by a lineage of genetically modified God-kings. +9. Before the reign of the Autarchs, the Urth was ruled by AIs called the Titans. They were overthrown, but the details of that conflict are lost to history. -Beyond that, everything is vague. Maybe the Autarchs ruled alongside the Titans? Who knows? Nobody you meet can tell you for certain... +Finally and most importantly, Vaarn is never the same twice. The fall of the dice determines how your own version of the setting develops. Readers are encouraged to build on this material and make Vaarn their own. # Creating Characters 1. Player Characters (__PCs__) have six abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intellect, Psyche, and Ego. Each ability has two related values: a __defence__ and a __bonus__. When creating a PC, roll 3d6 for each of their abilities, in order. The lowest of the three dice on each roll is the ability's bonus. Add 10 to find its defence. After you've finished rolling, you may swap the scores of two abilities. Example: You roll a 2, 2, and 6 for Strength. The lowest die is a 2, so your PC's Strength has a bonus of +2 and a defence of 12. Repeat this process for the rest of the abilities. @@ -479,6 +479,138 @@ __TWICE BORN__ - You are formed from fungus and the corpse of a human. You may m __DETRITIVOR__ - You can consume organic matter in any state of decay and gain nourishment from it. You heal double HP from Short Rests if the meal you eat is rotting. +## Faa Nomad +_Believed by some to be the children of Vaa, the Blue Goddess of Empty Spaces. The Faa are known throughout Vaarn for their resourcefullness, their ability to survive without drinking water, and the blue colour of their skin, which can vary from deep indigo to blaring cyan._ + +_The Faa usually travel in family groups or larger clans, but others are solitary, seeking danger or enlightenment in the furthest corners of the desert._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20Your BlueFaceBodyHairNameDemeanourWhy did you leave your clan?quirk
1AzureLivelyTallNoneKoteshAbrasivePsychedelic VisionParasitic Twin In Chest
2CeruleanCruelShortCroppedLakshiArrogantGambling Obsessive
3NavyWrinkledFrailSpikyAtricAssertiveStolen by Slavers as a ChildInsomniac
4CobaltRitual ScarsMuscularCoarseCaroumCharismaticWooden Teeth
5IndigoBattle ScarsFatThickYanneDaringRite of Passage;
Must Return with Wisdom		Devoutly Religious
6SapphireFrowningThinBaldingUviDecadentRitual Scarring
7TealTattooedSkeletalSilkyPidashEloquentUnhappy Love AffairHeavily Tattooed
8UltramarineWideHunchedTopknotRavatExtravagantUnlucky In Love
9TurquoiseNarrowLopsidedNearly BlackAyukiHedonisticConflict With LeadersAwful Cook
10CyanSharpLitheStark WhiteKurasoImpulsiveOne Eye
11BruiseHungryGnarledCloud-likeEsukIrritableBelieved Cursed;
Ostracised		Glass Teeth
12PetrolHauntedSquatTonsuredZenjiMelancholyHeavy Drinker
13MidnightJollyBloatedFading to PurpleCalbanParanoidLost Them In SandstormInfamous Seducer
14CornflowerRoundGanglyHeavily OiledPaquielQuietScorpion Expert
15Lapis LazuliMournfulToweringWispySerratReligiousEstranged From FamilyThird Eye (Tattoo)
16PeriwinkleChild-likeChild-likeBurntEmilaRomanticThird Eye (Real)
17ElectricPeacefulGiganticBraidedDolfScholarlySeeking VengeanceCybernetic Limb
18AquamarineSleepyWiryGreasyCeiloSternPlagued by Nightmares
19RoyalBrandedStoutMattedImmaculaVainShamed Clan;
Must Make Amends		Lovely Singing Voice
20GlaucousPox-markedInjuredOutrageousYudhiVolatileNotorious Amongst Faa
+ +### Special Rules +__Desert Metabolism__ - Your body is adapted to long periods without water. You can recycle the moisture from your own sweat and urine. You become Deprived from thirst after three days without drinking, and it will be three weeks before you die. +__Worm Wise__ - You have an affinity with Vaarn's sandworms. The Referee will always answer truthfully when you ask a question about these creatures. All reaction rolls when you engage with Vaarnish sandworms are made with Advantage. + +## Cacklemaw Exile +_The Cacklemaw are known throughout Vaarn as the most irritating, destructive, argumentative, vicious, foul-smelling, and fundamentally nasty creatures that walk the surface of the Urth._ + +_Try to imagine, then, how badly behaved a Cacklemaw must be before the other Cacklemaw decide they no longer wish to associate with her._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20PeltTeethLaughAttireNameDemeanourWhy Were You Exiled?What Makes You Laugh The Most?
1Dark and CoarseYellow DaggersRaucousHuman-Leather JacketBawlbrayCringingBorn a RuntBlood
2Pale and DownyLittle Brown NubsWhisperyTranslucent PlasticBunnyJitteryGuts
3Riven with ScarsWhite and GleamingMachine-gun BarksGreasy RagsDarlingSlyShowed MercyPain
4Greasy SpikesMostly Rotted OutRusty HingeMock Wedding ClothesDominoResentfulBeheadings
5BrindledOne Gold ToothWhoopingGaudy ShawlFangJudgementalLaugh Too AnnoyingHangings
6Mostly Burnt OffHooked and GrimyCoughingMock Religious AttireGidgePiousDrownings
7Long and SilkyChrome ImplantsHissing SnickerUnsettling MaskGrotGreedyCowardiceBegging
8Short and ScratchyNeedle ThinBreathlessHarlequin's MotleyJigsoreBelligerentPleading
9Purest WhiteTriple Row, Like a SharkBoomingBloodstained BandagesKatanarySinisterAsked QuestionsWeeping
10Mottled BrownDiamond Hard GnashersHoarse and StrangledSun-faded ScrapsLongsnoutRepellentArson
11Regal SilverBlunt and BlackMaddening GaspsPlastic BagsNadirJovialInsubordinationLarceny
12Concrete GreyJust One LeftWet ChucklesIridescent ChainsNatcherBoldVandalism
13Curly and RancidCrooked Orange SpikesTurns into HiccupsPurple SilksPalecrowGrouchyFought Alongside HumansScreams
14Dyed Blood RedEngraved with PicturesStarts Quiet and RisesMock Hegemony UniformPinkeyeTreacherousGunfights
15Shaved into StripesFull of HolesJoyless GigglingA Rival's SkinSabbatChildishDesecrated Ritual PuppetSpeeding
16Midnight BlackHuge, Tusk-likePainedSpiked Shoulder-padsSnoutroutExtravagantExplosions
17Muddy BrownGiant UnderbiteCold and MalevolentSoiled Hazmat GearSweetmeatVolatileShared Clan SecretThrottling
18Crawling with ParasitesRediculous OverbiteChildish and CruelPeacock-Feather CapeVilegloryGullibleBiting People
19Thundercloud BlueCanted and GreyingCould Wake the DeadLizard-Skin SuitWetshriekFickleRediculous Petty ReasonChemical Warfare
20Tigerish StripesWeirdly HumanSoundless but HorridNothing but KnivesZefCalculatingPuns
+ +### Special Rules +__No Quarter__ - You must EGO save to show mercy to a defeated foe, or to retreat from a fight. +__Biter__ - If you successfully hit a foe with a melee attack, you may add an extra d6 of fang damage to the roll. + +## Lithling +_Strange beings even by the standards of Vaarn, the Lithling are a slow, solemn species with a silicon-based biology that surely originates in a solar system far away from Urth. They are solitary by nature, concerned mainly with the opinions of other Lithling and the esoteric academic studies they devote their long lives to._ + +_Adult lithling cannot repair their bodies when they have been injured, and so, although immortal by human standards, the creatures must treat every wound suffered with utmost severity._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20SizeBodyHead CarvingHueNameMannerField of StudyQuirk
1Child-likeDaintySphereRoseAikinLogicalShellfishEngraved with Poem
2TinyOwlOnyxAntimonyObsessiveAntsEngraved with Curse
3BoxySerpentAzureBentorNaiveSpiralsEngraved with Map
4VoluptuousOxenSilverBrokenhillAbrasiveCactiEngraved with Equation
5SquatHorseIndigoCabalzarForgetfulBirdsongPlants Grow From Head
6SmallLitheWarriorGoldCairngormAloofLizard EggsDeep Crack in Face
7AngularMaidenVioletChalcedonyMellowFingernailsCovered in Moss
8CraggyLocustRubyDiasporSentimentalShoesCovered in Dead Vines
9ElegantJackalOrangeEphesiAmoralWaspsHollow Chest
10BulbousMoonTopazHeliotropeImpulsiveLand SnailsHollow Head
11ModerateSharpSunJadeIdrialNegativeTarantulasEyes Glow in Dark
12RotundPyramidBrassIndiumRigidJackalsHand Missing
13WeatheredCatCopperJarosPatientPotteryFace Eroded Away
14MonumentalTroutRustKhatyrDecisiveDanceLeaking Dust
15LargeDerelictScholarMossMeerschaumGraciousLunar CyclesYou Are Translucent
16BlockyFoolOchreOkenitAssertiveThe SunChest Filled With Fluid
17FlakingCroneSteelQusongUnhurriedTidesHoles Blasted in Flesh
18ImposingSmoothMantisSandSchoriVengefulWindSecond Face on Torso
19PittedApeCitrineUlrichGracelessRainMirrored Flesh
20FragmentedGoatEmeraldZiestSternSilenceFace Rotates
+ +### Special Rules +__Crystalline Flesh__ - You are made from living crystal. Your minimum Armour Defense is 16. You do not need to eat or drink. You do not take damage from fire, cold, poison, radiation, electricity, fungal spores, or suffocation. +__Inevitable__ - During character generation, roll d8 and multiply the result by 100. This number is your starting HP. You cannot heal lost HP through _any_ means, and do not add to your maximum HP when you gain a level. When your HP tally reaches zero you crumble into iridescent dust, leaving behind a pebble-sized lithling seed. + +## Planeyfolk +_The Study of hypergeometry claimed many casualties, for those who seek to unpick the stitches of creation do so at great risk. The Slightest mistake in hypergeometic calculations could cause ghastly distortions of matter, birthing monstrosities of perspective and volume, the sight of which turned even the most courageous man into a coward._ + +_Planeyfolk are the descendants of such unfortunates, a race fathered by men who slipped through the cracks of Euclidean space into something new and strange. Some have normal proportions, and can be mistaken for a true person when viewed head-on. Others are possessed of more exotic geometry, their forms warped by impossible vanishing points and blasphemous angles._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
d20BodyHeadHairAttireNameDemeanourYour Strange GeometryHow You Became Flat
1FracturedImpressionisticFlickeringDarkClothoAnxiousCast Two ShadowsParents were Planeyfolk
2ClovenBrokenInsubstantialUnrulyAtroposArrogantNever Cast Shadows
3FlimsyLantern-likeCurvedScholarlyOsteriaAssertiveMove Like Stop-Motion Animation
4Crescent MoonVoluminousMaskedVaniseCharismaticYour Face Appears Concave
5CurvedFull MoonOpalescentWildWhervilConceitedYour Face Appears Convex
6ElongatedLuminousShavenPolychromicLaomerDecadentYou Always Appear in ProfileExposed to hypergeometry in utero
7StaccatoAngularIridescentFractalFoxgloryEloquentYou Always Face Away From Observers
8BlurredFractalLuridGlitchingThelikExtravagantOne Limb is Enormously LongCursed by Quantum Daemon
9GhostlikeHollowFractalGauzyUmbrieHedonisticViewed From Behind You Have No Skin
10DrapingShimmeringPolygonalFragmentedSalterImpulsiveInteriors Are Visible, But Cannot be TouchedMalfunctioning longjaunt portal
11CompressedLuridShard-likeMosaic-likeAtlassiaIrritableHands Fractal; Tiny Hands on Ends of Fingers
12CubicLustrousTriangularBoxyEukelarisMeticulousYou Bleed Gory CubesAccidentally ate hypergeometric food
13SmearedRhomboidSplinteringFlamboyantGalasPersistentYour Body is Clearly Hollow
14SharpFigmentDarkDourTarviQuietEyes Are Holes of Infinite DepthPlaneyperson inducted you into their dimension
15AngularWideImposingStripedUntermanceReligiousVoice Sounds As If You Are Far Away
16PrismaticElongatedPaleSpottedRassiasPugnaciousYou Have No Back, Just Two Identical FrontsMeditated before a 4D tesseract
17HollowHelixCubicGlass-likeMenomeoScholarlyHead Looks Ten Times Larger Than Body
18DelicateTriangularPolychromicConcealingIthariSternNever Seem To Touch AnythingYou were a hypergeometrician, there was an accident
19IsometricQuadrilateralDriftingBarbaricCanetonusUnrulyMultiple Identical Faces
20ImposingFragmentaryFragmentaryOutrageousTroutVolatileYou Never Match the Ambient Light
+ +### Special Rules +__Flat__ - You lack a third dimension, and resemble a living painting or paper doll. You can slip through cracks and under doors, and cannot be seen from the side. You take halved damage from bludgeoning attacks, and double damage from slashing or piercing attacks. +__Attune with Matter__ - You struggle to hold 3D objects, and must make a DEX save to do so. However, with certain mental techniques you can draw 3D objects into your flattened reality. Given an hour of quiet concentraion, you can attune yourself with an item, and add it to your inventory. + # Weaponry diff --git a/resources.md b/resources.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3facfb6 --- /dev/null +++ b/resources.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +# Character Generator +[Vaarn Character Generator](https://perchance.org/vaarnpcgen)
d20ASPECTFORMDAMAGE & WEIGHT