I may not be fond of using tables in play, especially in tactical roleplaying, but I still like big, baroque tables, most of all for prep. This is a fairly big one, and baroque in content.
It was inspired by Lasgunpacker's random warband generator for Inquisitor and the idea of crowdsourcing a d1000 table, but helped along by the recent musing re John Blanche.
Put simply, Inquisitor is a 'narrative wargame' published by Games Workshop in 2001, a blend of skirmish game and RPG set in the 41st millennium. Officially it uses 54mm miniatures, but actual play looks to be heavily 28mm (see INQ28). Inquisitor may be the loftiest crag in GW's modern history, the magical moment when it all came together and the nature of the drop became clear. But that's an argument for another day.
Put simply, Inquisitor is a 'narrative wargame' published by Games Workshop in 2001, a blend of skirmish game and RPG set in the 41st millennium. Officially it uses 54mm miniatures, but actual play looks to be heavily 28mm (see INQ28). Inquisitor may be the loftiest crag in GW's modern history, the magical moment when it all came together and the nature of the drop became clear. But that's an argument for another day.
I'm game for a d1000 table whether or not anyone else is, and this is a first 100 entries, for the head only. They're personal features, minor mutations, gifts, devices, body mods and stylings for characters in a grimdarkling world - like 40K's - but system-free. They assume a human, or standard humanoid at least, but the list shouldn't be hard to adapt.
It's a d100 table, which usually means rolling 1d10 twice, once for the tens and once for the units. If you don't have a d10 but have a d6, you can use the method described here.
Beware: there's some weirdness, a fairy tale-bad dream darkness and light body horror.
It's a d100 table, which usually means rolling 1d10 twice, once for the tens and once for the units. If you don't have a d10 but have a d6, you can use the method described here.
Beware: there's some weirdness, a fairy tale-bad dream darkness and light body horror.
- Scarf, wrap or skull cap
- Topknot, bun, mohican or crest
- 1d6 ponytail(s), pigtails and/or plait(s) - roll 1d6 once for all: on a 6, 1d6 in-woven censers
- Dreadlocks
- Cranial fibre bundle(s)
- Articulated cranial arm(s) or tentacle(s), either 1d6 or with 1d6 minor tool endings
- Toupée or wig, possibly powdered
- Pronounced, possibly unruly cowlick
- 1d100% bald pate
- Completely hairless head - roll 1d6: on a 4+, whole body too
- Cone head - standard headwear may not fit
- Crescent moon head - standard headwear will definitely not fit
- Perfectly flat crown
- Large concave impression
- Coronal wiring
- 1d6 subtle horns
- Third eye
- Facial chronometer or other gauge
- Crenellated forehead
- 1d6 modular mounting points
- Post-surgical scaffolding
- Brain hatch - roll 1d6: on a 6, held shut with wax, tape or cord
- 1d3 jack ports
- 1d3 service studs
- Serial number
- Barcode
- Bulging temples
- Intracranial portal, possibly webway slit, warp tendril, braner extension, Weak Point or similar
- Daemonic taint from failed possession bid
- Subvocal servoconscience - ongoing moral guidance, apparently from region of own shoulder
- 1d3 skull plates - roll 1d6: 1-2. medical; 3-4. decorative; 5-6. both
- 1d3 skull etchings - roll 1d6: 1-4. below skin; 5-6. exposed
- Visible seams - roll 1d6: 1-2. stitched; 3-4. welded; 5-6. riveted
- Unibrow
- Bushy eyebrows
- 1d2 eyebrows missing 1d100%
- 1d2 sunken eyes
- 1d2 bulging eyes
- 1d2 wandering eyes
- 1d2 permanently bloodshot eyes
- Lacrimal induction - eyes weep continuously
- Heterochromia iridium - 1d3 eye colours spread across 1d2 eyes
- Unusual eye colour or construction - roll 1d6: on a 6, shifted visible spectrum
- 1d2 missing eyes - roll 1d6 for each: on a 2+ replaced, on a 2-3 with glass, on a 6 with a bionic
- 1d3 facial scars
- 1d3 facial tattoos - roll 1d6: on a 4+, whole face
- 1d3 forms of facial piercing
- 1d6 piercings in each of 1d2 ears
- 1d2 pointed ears
- 1d2 cauliflower ears
- Very hairy ears - roll 1d6: on a 6, 1d3 plaits each
- 1d2 missing ears - roll 1d6 for each: on a 2+ replaced, on 2-3 with cloth, on a 6 with a bionic
- 1d3 tame ear, nose and/or throat worms
- Fungal growth, possibly Orkoid - roll 1d6: 1-3. in 1d2 ears; 4-5. behind 1d2 ears; 6. in skin fold
- Gills - roll 1d6: 1-3. no function; 4-5. weak function; 6. owner effectively aquatic
- Sideburns
- Greasepainted face
- Face smeared with unguents or similar
- Scorched or melted skin
- Confectiodermis, 1d100% - roll 1d6: 1-2. preserved; 3-4. stale; 5-6. rancid; and again: on a 4+, whole body
- Porcelain visage - roll 1d6: 1-3. solid; 4-5. segmented; 6. animated; and again: on a 4+, cracked
- 1d2 highly pronounced cheekbones
- 1d2 crushed cheekbones
- 1d2 pendulous jowls
- 1d3 large boils
- Faint suggestion of unusual facial structure - roll 1d6: 1-2. snout; 3-4. beak; 5-6. trunk
- Refreshment, snuff or other tube
- 1d2 nasal filters
- Very hairy nostrils - roll 1d6: on a 6, 1d3 plaits each
- Revelatory olfactor - nose extends/retracts according to truth of own statements
- Broken nose
- Missing nose - roll 1d6: on a 2+ replaced, on 2-3 attached to spectacles, on a 6 with a bionic
- Pencil, toothbrush, handlebar or Dalí moustache
- Walrus, horseshoe or Fu Manchu moustache
- Incense stick whiskers
- 1d2 subtle tusks
- In-sewn respirator hose or rebreather
- Voxbox
- Mechanical jaw
- Secondary maw
- Lipswitch - can wake and sleep only when kissed
- Stained lips, gums and/or teeth
- Leech-like sucker
- Protrusible proboscis
- Prehensile tongue
- Forked tongue
- No tongue
- Heightened gag reflex
- Foul breath - roll 1d6: on a 6, mildly toxic
- Fangs - roll 1d6: on a 6, with venom sacs
- Filed teeth
- Wooden teeth, or a set of a comparable material
- 1d6 missing front teeth - roll 1d6: on a 2+ up to 1d6 replaced, on a 6 with 1d3 special
- Vindaloovian eye
- Capped, spiked or sharpened chin
- Van Dyke, goatee or forked beard
- Chinstrap or full bushy beard
- Plaited beard - 1d6 plaits; roll 1d6 once for all: on a 6, 1d6 in-woven censers
- 1d6+1 chins or dewlaps
- Neck frill
Duplicates or contradictions could be rerolled, or better yet reworked for use together.
Feel free to comment or post with new entries - we need 900 more for the whole body...
_
9 comments:
This is an excellent post for two reasons, ONE because it provides for a d100 table that should prove useful in the determination of scifi heads, and TWO because it is NOT the same as the system I was thinking about, which means that we can work concurrently (possibly ending up with a d2000 system).
Sounds cool :)
Yes it does. Anything the big boys can do we can raise by an order of magnitude or two, working together and playing to our strengths, and we can bring in bold crossovers and radical new thinking to boot. I'd say 2,000 is conservative, especially if at least part of it is going to be system-free.
I'll repeat the call: if we're counting in the thousands now, everyone's welcome - post away, whether your own full millennium or just five, ten entries: it's plenty. Make it your own.
Update: check out Lasgunpacker's categories here.
d40,000 does have a nice ring to it...
I have a list of 60ish mostly mundane minor mutations here, written for AD&D but based loosely on Rogue Trader / RoC mutations. Also some musings in the small-print. Feel free to steal.
@ Lasgunpacker - We're well on the way too. Since I posted this I've come up with another couple of dozen for the head alone.
@ zhu bajiee - I think that list fits right in and should also be easy enough to adapt to other systems. There are some very inspired ideas in there, plenty I wouldn't have thought of that's for sure. I count only half a dozen or so duplicates or potential duplicates so far, and while that number might creep up over time, we can just smooth out the wrinkles and plug any gaps when we put together a working structure. For now the juices should flow freely.
Another update: 100 bionics care of Lasgunpacker - 250+ and counting.
This has been expanded with 100 more here.
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