Base rule set: OD&D The Littlest Brown Book.

Much was borrowed from EvilTables’ Northern Strata rules & Slothyyyy’s Redux downtime & hireling rules. Combat draws on Chainmail by way of Meatheads.

Campaign Overview

Open Table: players may attend any session without committing to subsequent sessions or long-term participation. Sessions will (probably!) take place on Sundays, 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

The campaign takes place on the Antarctic hex map, focusing on the region of Zurth in the knorthouest mainland. Travel to other regions is possible in principle but may be limited by the fact that much of the continent is obnubilated by the Aletheian Expanse, a gradually withdrawing veil of ontological indeterminacy.

Campaign time is tracked 1-1 with real world time. Year 2000 A.D. corresponds to year 0 of the aeon of the Dog-headed Maiden (Æ.D.M).1

Spoiler Policy: The hexes & dungeons of the Antarctic hexcrawl can be viewed in past blog posts & on the amazing web map that EvilTables put together. Folks who have already perused these materials are more than welcome to join, just please don’t go actively hunting down secrets.

Character Creation

Everyone is a human, but additional types may be unlocked. Characters are foreigners by default, having traveled over the Encircling Sea to Antarctica in search of adventure.

Instead of attribute scores, roll 2dZodiac to determine sun & moon signs:

dZodiac	☀️	🌘
1. ♈︎	+10% Armiger XP	+1 initiative
2. ♉︎	+2 HP	+250 coin-weight carry capacity
3. ♊︎	+1 reaction rolls	Can switch between classes (as Elf)
4. ♋︎	+1 save vs. Breath Attacks	Dead at -3 HP
5. ♌︎	+2 hireling morale	+1 followers
6. ♍︎	ID trick construction (as Dwarf)	+1 open doors
7. ♎︎	+1 turn undead	+2 saves vs. Spells
8. ♏︎	+1 melee damage	+2 saves vs. Poison
9. ♐︎	+1 ranged attacks	+2 saves vs. Wands
10. ♑︎	+5% XP	+2 saves vs. Petrification
11. ♒︎	+10% Mage XP	+1 to learning spells
12. ♓︎	+1 surprise	+1 saves vs. Petrification

No clerics – everyone is either an Armiger (fighter) or Magus (magic-user).

Characters get max HP at 1st level.

Magi belong to an esoteric tradition (white, black, red, green, or blue magic) & automatically know all spells of their tradition (of the level they can cast). Sharing spells between traditions is strictly taboo, but this does not apply to spells learned while adventuring. Additionally, traditions confer the following benefits:

Esoteric Tradition	Power
White	Advantage when turning undead.
Black	Command undead instead of turning (for 2d6 turns, or permanently on disintegrate result).
Red	Expend a spell slot to shoot energy bolts that inflict (Level)d6 damage.
Green	Turn plants & animals as undead of equivalent HD (befriend/enthrall on ‘disintegrate’ result).
Blue	Replace any prepared spell with ESP.

The spells Detect Magic & Read Magic do not need to be prepared & can be cast in place of any prepared spell.

Combat

Combat proceeds via the following sequence:

1. Initiative (d6, players win on 4+, -1 penalty underground unless magical light is present)
2. Casters declare spells & ranged attackers take aim
3. Initiative winner move & ranged
4. Initiative loser move & ranged
5. Melee, in order of weapon class (high-low 1st round, low-high 2nd round)
6. Spell effects

Attackers roll 2d6 & compare to the target value on the combat matrix. If the defender has a shield (or has armor plating, in the case of the monster column), use the parenthetical value. Two-handed weapons are marked with an asterisk – these inflict 1d6 + 1 damage.

Armigers can make one attack/HD when fighting 1HD foes. At level 4 Armigers get a +1 bonus to all attacks, at level 7, +2.

Weapon	Class	Unarmored	Leather	Chain	Plate	Monsters	Equiv. Monster Attk.
Unarmed	0	7 (9)	8 (10)	9 (11)	12	11 (12)
Dagger/athame	1	6 (8)	7 (8)	9 (10)	10 (12)	8 (10)	Small bite
Hand axe	1	7 (8)	7 (8)	10	11 (12)	9 (11)	Beak
S. Robot stun prod	3	7 (9)	9 (11)	6 (8)	6 (8)	6 (9)	S. Robot stun prod
Mace	3	7 (9)	8 (10)	8 (10)	9 (10)	8 (9)	Hoof, heavy paw
Shortsword	3	5 (6)	6 (9)	8 (10)	11	8 (10)	Small talons
Longsword	4	5 (7)	6 (8)	8 (9)	11	8 (10)	Large talons
Battle axe*	5	6 (7)	7 (8)	8 (9)	10 (11)	7 (9)	Large beak
Morningstar*	6	6 (8)	6 (8)	7 (8)	10	8 (9)	Powerful bite
Flail*	7	7	8	8	10	9 (10)	Tentacle, spiked tail
Bardiche*	8	6 (7)	6 (7)	8 (9)	10 (11)	6 (9)
Spear	8	7 (9)	8 (9)	10 (11)	11 (12)	6 (8)
Halberd*	9	7 (8)	7 (8)	8 (9)	9 (10)	6 (8)
Greatsword*	10	6 (7)	6 (7)	7 (8)	9 (10)	7 (8)
Mounted lance	11	5	5	6 (7)	8 (9)	5 (7)
Pike*	12	8	8	8	9 (10)	5 (7)	Stinger (giant)

Weapon	Range inc.	Unarmored	Leather	Chain	Plate	Monsters
Shortbow
Longbow
Javelin
L. Crossbow
H. Crossbow
Pistol
Arquebus
Martian radium rifle
Grey alien laser
Fungal alien electro-gun
L. Robot railgun

Magic

Turning Undead

Any character may brandish a holy symbol to attempt to turn undead. Each use of Turn Undead must be recharged by spending a week of downtime in prayer.

Shrines

Any character can pray at a shrine to acquire a power. Some powers are passive, others can be deliberately invoked.

Downtime

For each week between adventures, characters can choose one of the following downtime activities:

Activity	Requirement	Duration	Effects
Recuperation	Lost HP	1 week	Roll HD & regain that many HP. Roll a save vs. Poison to recover from disease.
Advancement	Enough XP to level up	1 week/level	Advance toward next level
Prayer	Faith in a higher power	1 week per use of TU	Restore a use of Turn Undead & acquire the power associated with a shrine (if present).
Spell Preparation	Knowledge of a spell above one’s max level	1 week per level above highest prepped spell level	Magi who acquire a spell of a level higher than they can cast can use downtime to prepare it. Each week there is a 1-in-6 chance that preparation fails.
Carousing	Money	1 week	See ‘Carousing’ entry below.
Martial Training	Armiger	1 week	At some point during the next adventure you can say something like "this is what I trained for" & add +2 to an attack or damage roll.
Research	Presence of library or archive	1 week	Chance at answering a specific question (odds determined by Referee & disclosed before committing to research).
Magical Experimentation	Magus		As Magical Research in the LBBs
Writing	Notable event or phenomenon to write about	1 week	Roll the potential die corresponding to the in-progress monograph (beginning with a d3). On a maximal result, a stroke of inspiration improves the potential die one step (d3 -> d4 -> d6 -> d8 -> d10 -> d12 -> d14 -> d16 -> d20 -> d24 -> d30). A discovery made while adventuring pertaining to the book’s topic guarantees a successful roll. When the work is finished, roll the potential die: a result of 1-3 is a rejection, 4-6 an average work (1d3x100gp), 7-12 an impressive work (1d12x100gp), 13-24 a renowned work (1d6x1000gp), & 25+ a magisterial work (1d20x1000gp).
Working Petty Magic	Magus	1 week	Earn [Level]d20gp. Examples: cure maladies (white), hex romantic rivals (black), improve weather (red), fertilize soil or repel pests (green), fortune-telling or seances (blue)
Guard Duty	Armiger	1 week	Earn 3d12gp. 1-in-12 chance of injury (1d6 damage, exploding).
Banditry	Armiger	1 week	Earn 1d100gp, 1-in-6 chance of injury (1d6 damage, exploding), 1-in-6 chance of being caught (bounty of Level x 100gp.) In populous areas, risk increases to 2-in-6 & reward to 3d100gp.
Journeying		21 hexes/week	Relocate a character to the current session’s start location. Route must be through explored / settled hexes

Carousing

Carousing requires a suitable population of guests & merchants to furnish food & libations. Generally, a single inn can supply up to a night of debauchery, a village can support a village festival, a town can furnish a grand soiree, & a city is needed to host anything more. Remote locations can attract distant guests if additional weeks are allotted for sending invitations & travel.

Party Size	Cost	Reputation Bonus
Low-key get-together	3d6gp
Racous party		+
Week of debauchery		++
Village/neighborhood festival	3d6x100gp	+++
Grand soiree		++++
Lavish fete		+++++
Spectacular banquet	3d6x1000gp	++++++

d30	Carousing Result
1-3	Mild hangover
4	Pissed off the locals (- reputation)
5	Impressed the locals (+ reputation)
6	Got in a fight, lose 1d6 HP & gain 50XP
7	Sick with the sniffles (-1 HP/HD, disadvantage on saves vs. Poison)
8	Lost 1d20% of net worth gambling
9	Gained 1d20% of net worth gambling
10	Met an admirer; decide if it’s a one-night fling or the start of something more
11	Learned an important secret... and forgot!
12	Got a new tattoo or piercing (50% terrible, 50% fetching)
13	Splitting headache (disadvantage on saves vs. Spells)
14	Fined 1d4x1d10gp for damages
15-16	Had a great time, +1 morale for all hirelings
17-18	Made an ass of yourself, -1 morale for all hirelings
19
20
21
22
23
24
25	Learned a rumor
26	Banished from town
27-30	Roll on Luke Gearing’s Table

Leads

All credit for this system goes to Slothyyyyyy.

Leads are stated goals, with conditions for completion. Completing a lead provides an XP reward, starting at 100 and increasing by 100 for every failed attempt at completion.

At the start of each session, players select one lead to pursue. At the end of each session, players may add one lead to the lead pool.

If the conditions of a lead are fulfilled while pursuing another lead, XP is awarded for that lead as normal.

Other Rules

Overland Travel

Travel across the Antarctic hexmap occurs in two modes:

• In settled lands, along roads, & through areas already explored, encounters are 1-in-12.
• When venturing into unexplored territory, the full set of OD&D travel rules are used (encounter odds by terrain, chance of getting lost, etc).

Sailing

TBA, will probably use the rules in Wolves with modifications for ragworm-powered vessels.

Cold weather survival

TBA

Hirelings

Job	Cost & contract
Equipment porter, torchbearer	3gp
Mercenary	15gp + equipment cost, 100gp paid to family on death
Treasure porter	1/10th share of treasure

Sequence of Play

1. Session start

2. Update calendar

3. Introductions: player name, character name

4. Ref notes player bonuses to reaction, initiative, surprise

5. Recap last session

6. Resolve downtime

7. Update reputation

8. Level up (if applicable)

9. Expedition prep

10. Select a lead

11. Purchase equipment

12. Hire hirelings

13. Calculate days till starvation (if traveling overland more than 3 days)

14. Quartermaster determines party carry capacity

15. Determine marching order

16. Session

17. Session end

18. Quartermaster distributes treasure

19. Calculate & award XP

20. Award or increase Lead XP

21. (Optional) add a new lead

Player Roles

• Caller – take the lead in communicating party’s actions to Ref
• Scribe – take notes & writes a session report
• Mapper – take the lead in mapping & annotating in TLDraw
• Quartermaster – determine party carry capacity, record treasure, distribute treasure at end of session

Characters who end a session in a dungeon will find that the weeks have passed without them.↩