gemini://taichara.smol.pub/ttrpg-lindwyrm-lockbox

> a minizine all nicely formatted up can be found on the zine page:

> an unformatted text version of this page can be found here, because this page has too much spacing on the web -- geminispace looks fine -- and I don't have the style fixed yet

Kith & Kind: Non-human characters can be handed several ways. If the difference is just cosmetic, make the PC normally. If the PC gets special abilities, apply just like class modifiers (x0.15 xp / level per mod). You can even use ‘class’ mods, renamed.

- Beastfolk: Turn into a specific animal at will (no larger than a horse). Gain movement and general abilities but no magic; your hp, etc are still yours.

- Mech: +3 AC; can install up to 6 items into self, making them always available; they don't fill carrying capacity. -2 Save vs. magic, healing magic ½ as effective.

- Esper: One innate spell, using hp to cast; can swap spell when leveling. +2 Save vs. magic.

- Elf: See in the dark; 2-in-6 to sense secret doors and other hidden things; +1/level to tests involving nature or arcana (choose).

- Orc: +2 to melee damage, +2 to feats of strength, 2-in-3 identify metalwork, +1/lvl for tests involving tech

- Dwarf: See in the dark; +4 Save vs poison, disease; 2-in-6 to identify stone- or metalwork;

- Dhampir: +2 Save vs. undead abilities, +1 AC against undead attacks, life drain: ½ weapon damage, melee only, gain half damage as healing or acts as rations.

- Ratfolk: Squeeze through spaces no smaller than head; chew through organic materials, +4 Save vs poison, disease; eat anything organic as rations

- Damned: Fire and ice resist, +2 on reaction tests, evil eye: give -4 to a roll, 1 / 2 lvls daily

xp tax on non-human abilities can be avoided if a common weakness (“allergy”) – sunlight, wool, iron, etc – is chosen; -2 to rolls when in contact or close/touch range, any possible damage taken is doubled

- Spellcasting Devout: If you're really hankering for more divine punch, give the devout the Arcana option for free.

-Wizard Starting Spells: There's no harm in allowing a wizard to start with two spells, say; starting with at least one is kind of assumed –

- Psychic: Speak telepathically within 100’; lift objects 1 lb/lvl and move them up to 100’; +1 initiative

- Pugilist: Unarmed damage = weapon damage; +2 AC if unarmoured; inflict Stunned or Confused status by strike, 2 daily / lvl

- Weaponmaster: +1/lvl to attack rolls with chosen weapon; counterattack against an attacking melee opponent, once per initiative round

- Face: 2-in-6 chance to puzzle out written language; +1 / 2 lvls to reaction rolls and hireling ML checks

Combo Classes: This is getting a bit into the weeds, but if you want (part of) a class mod but not the xp tax, take the part you want and swap a standard class ability for it (fighter's chain attack for Tactician, for example).

Pilgrim: Sturdy staff, satchel, lantern, oiled cloak, pilgrimage badges

Acolyte: Consecrated garment, censer, knife, holy icon, prayer focus

Squire: Light armour, 1 weapon, letter of recommendation, knight-lord's badge

Hedge Witch: Sickle, wicker basket, fox or crow, herb packets, poultices

(ex?-) Cultist: Dagger, dose of sleep, purloined idol, cultic texts, mask

Merchant: Goat- or dog-cart, abacus, ledger, lantern, 3x trade good

Vampire Hunter: Wooden stakes, holy icon, 1 weapon, light armour, ciphered notes

Tinker: Leather apron, toolbag, bundle of scrap, whitesmith's anvil, coil of wire

Lifestyles, per month:

More Magic (optional): Anyone can cast from a spell scroll, but they need to spend 2 hp/lvl of effect to do it.

Status Effects: codifying these a bit –

- Paralyzed: cannot move or speak

- Stunned: cannot act

- Blind, Deafened, etc: self-explanatory

- Bleed: lose listed hp/action until treated

- Confused: addled, 2-6 to act randomly

- Charmed: friendly towards source

- Fear: -2(+) to all rolls; may cause fleeing

- Unarmed Damage: Normally, ½ weapon class weapon damage. Some things may modify this.

- 2-Handed Weapons: Double damage, but no shield (or anything else) can be carried.

- Dual-Wielding: Roll for each attack, no shield.

- Called Shots: Just give a difficulty to roll, just like a Save or other attempt at a feat.

Aeolian Hare: Dog-sized rabbit, flying with feathery ear-wings. Curious but nervous. 1 HD, AC 12, +1 windslash (1d6 ranged), ML 7

Eagle: Or other raptor, swift and fierce. 1 HD, AC 12, +1 claws (1d4/1d4), ML 7, flying

Weaponspirit: Manifested soul? Possessed blade? Strange steel enchantment? 1 HD, AC 16, +1 strike (1d6+bleed), ML 12, flying, telepathic, bleed: 1d4, chill: 1d3, ranged

Whisper: A translucent scarab larger than any scarab should be. 1 HD, AC 12, +1 bite (1d4), ML 8, swift silence: always wins initiative

Brigand: Leather, sharp blades and a disdain for the life and liberty – or is it lordship – of others. 2 HD, AC 14, +2 sword or crossbow (1d8+1), ML 9, call minions: 1d4+1 0-lvl, arrive in 1-4 actions

Horse: Is a horse, of course, of course. 2 HD, AC 10, +2 kick (1d8, 1d10+1 if warhorse), ML 8 (10 if warhorse), carrying capacity 15 + rider

Steelknight: Not always a knight, this automaton of metal and porcelain. 2 HD, AC 14, +2 strike or weapon (1d6), ML 11, resist physical damage, vuln. lightning

Cursed Lordling: Tattered finery and wild eyes. 3 HD, AC 12, +3 rod or sword (1d6), ML 9, mad command: Save or follow instruction, or Fear for 10 minutes; returns after death, -2 to own and killer's rolls until curse dealt with

Goldmaw: Yellow-gold orb that gapes to devour anything – but especially precious things. 3 HD, AC 10, +3 bite (1d6 + devour), ML 6, devour: 2-in-6 bitten target engulfed

Panther: Sleek great cat, purring wisdom. 3 HD, AC 12, +3 bite (1d4) or claw (1d6/1d6), ML 8, slash: if both claws hit, kick for 2d4; sleep breath, calming breath

Ogre: A mortal falling to damnation, or a demon leading the way. Rarely evil in service of good. Vengeful, cunning. Muscled, horned; burning eyes and fangs. 4 HD, AC 14, +4 claw (1d6+ bleed 2) or burning weapon (1d8, flame), ML 9, 2d3 spells, cause Fear, cause Berserk, immune to mundane weapons, vuln. holy.

Primal: Elemental manifestation, fey and alien. Appears in many forms, with many varied desires. 4 HD, AC 16, +4 various (1d6+1 or more, elemental damage), ML 10, 1d6 spells, resists mundane weapon damage

Nightmare: Sometimes a night-black steed, sometimes burning darkness. Always diabolic. 5 HD, AC 14, +5 kick (1d8) or bite (1d4+bleed 1d3) or hellfire (1d6 ranged), ML 10, flying, ride into hell, ride into dream

Warwalker: Hulking bipedal metal monstrosity. 6 HD, AC 16, +6 trample (1d8) or beam (2d6, elemental, ranged), ML 12, trample: lose action, lightning vuln.

Vampire: Fanged (sometimes), elegant (sometimes) undead warlords, scholars and stranger things. 8 HD, AC 14, +8 bite or weapon (1d8+drain), ML 10, drain: heals damage inflicted, or lowers victims’ STR and CON by 4 (24 hrs), 3d4 spells, undead, fire and holy vuln.

Dragon: Scales like armour. Wings blot out the sky. Ancient, wrathful, wise, avaricious. 10 HD, AC 18, +10 bite (1d12) or claws (1d8/1d8) or primal breath (5d8, ranged, 2d4 targets), ML 11, 2d6 spells, flies, elemental resist

Hopeful Hirelings: Are 0-level (1d6 hp, no bonuses except from stats) – but if they earn 50 xp, can gain a class!

01. Xixy. Strong, timid; shoulder yoke

02. Tam. Curious, alert; trained fox

03. Rana. Sleepy, sturdy; luck charm

04. Peny. Cheerful, quick; cauldron and kit

05. Zev. Quiet, breathy; map collection

06. Alys. Brooding, sharp; sealstone

07. Vine. Brash, forgetful; marbles

08. Kur. Methodical, watchful; sickle

09. Jek. Precise, mercurial; snares

10. Bri. Patient, riddling; ward-chalk

11. Ran. Bitter, haunted; lorebook

12. Seri. Insightful, spooky; poultices

Who are you, mysterious quest-giver?

01. A bored/eccentric/vengeful lordling

02. A calculating young dragon

03. Twin to a dungeon’s big villain

04. Older adventurer down on their luck

05. Actually a god in mortal guise

06. A patient, erudite tiger

07. The shade of a former adventurer

08. A merchant looking for assets

09. A sorcerer wanting new subjects

10. Would-be revolutionaries

Well, someone is behind all this …

01. Mad angel “forging heroes” in a “crucible”

02. Lost trapper turned skystone cultist

03. Would-be new god gathering relics

04. Garden variety naughty sorcerer

05. Fae noble competing with rival

06. Those would-be revolutionaries again

07. Animate statue inhabited by spirit

08. A vampire knight reclaiming dominion

09. A dead star possessing several hosts

10. Venal noble in a pact with hell

Just Like Home: Target acclimates to local environmental extreme for 4 hrs. And ignores the first 10 hp of related damage (fire/heat in a desert, etc).

Restriction: Spirals of chill force enclose 1d4 targets, paralyzing for 2d8 minutes.

Pearltouch: Purge a poison, disease or mental influence from target by touch.

Warpwalk: Instantly transport self and up to 5 others to a known place within 100’/level. Burning half of total hp changes this to miles.*- * Taste Of Blood: Cast on weapon or spellcaster; next strike or injurious spell inflicts bleed, 1d4+1/lvl.

Spirit Gaze: Conjure intangible flying orb that ranges out to 50’/lvl; see whatever it “sees”.

Minlings: Conjure one 1 HD minling – a brass-skinned flying beastie – per level. The minlings remain for 1d4x10 minutes.

Themes and Schools: Spells of a “type” might be formally associated; or maybe a wizard just has a theme.

Steelsheath: Target’s flesh hardens to metal; +3 AC and 1d8 unarmed for 10 actions.

Encode: Copy 10 pages/lvl into line-and-node tracings on a palm-sized metal or glass billet. You can always read your own encode.

Tinkerstitch: Repair an inorganic object. Tiny brass and silvery tracings mark the repair.

Deadsense: Detect undead or their works, 20’ radius + 10’ rad./lvl.

Lifebite: Infuse a weapon or object with baleful power; +1d6/2 lvls for next attack or when touched, double against undead. Lasts until sunrise or -set.

Grey Aegis: +4 to Save vs. undead magic or abilities, 1d4+1 actions.

Transmute: Change 1 cu. foot/level from one element to another (fire to earth, ice to air, etc). Does 1d6/lvl to elemental creatures.

Shaper’s Art: Work any natural material with bare hands as if clay, 20 min/lvl.

Verdance: Encourage up to a year’s growth in plants, 20’ rad./lvl.

Suntouch: 40’ area is filled with gentle sunlight. Living beings heal 1d4; undead etc. take 1d4 damage.

Kaleidoscape: Fills up to 40’ area with shifting, colourful light-shapes. Targets inside are confused for 2d6 minutes.

Ray: Casts a lance of light at a target (up to 50’), 2d8 damage and Save or blinded.

Dead Whispers: Speak with remains. 10 min./lvl. (you might get haunted.)

Bonedance: Target’s skeleton begins to act independently. 2-in-6 of attacking allies, otherwise just dances. 1d4+1 actions.

Skeleton Key: Reshape a bone to fit a lock, expending the bone in the process.

Guardrune: Trace symbol on door or other portal; any who cross uninvited take 2d4 damage. 12 hrs.

Soul Barrier: Within 10’ rad./lvl centred on caster, designated target type (demon, undead, butterflies) must Save to cross inside, and -1/lvl to rolls while inside. 10 min./lvl.

Seventh Sealing: Close a door, book, window, box, etc; it is now sealed closed until required time or trigger occurs. Up to 7 months/lvl.

- Mystic Arms: This weapon is translucent; its wielder uses their INT bonus instead of STR in melee, WIS instead of DEX for ranged, aside from any other enchantment.

- Godsunder: A legendary weapon, a serrated two-handed sword that deals 2d8 damage to divine creatures, bypassing all protections.

- Night-apple: This concerningly violet-black fruit allows any who eat a quarter to enter the underworld alive.

- Salamander Parchment: Once written on, this ruddy parchment ignites into ashes after it is read once.

- Scarabeus: A scarab construct the size of an open hand, capable of flight (like a crow). Its abdomen hinges open to carry small items.

To view a copy of this license, visit

Lindwyrm Lockbox

some small additions

Character Options

Equipment Packs

Rules Bits

Monsters And NPCs

Spells and Magic

The Other Zeroth Rule:

If someone isn’t having fun,

no one is having fun.

Check in with your friends.