What The Fuck Did I Do Last Night?

"You were in a bar fight with... three dwarves. And you won but take 1d6 damage, and now you can't go back to that bar."

"Ok. Do I still get the experience?"

BORING

And perhaps a little contrived, but whatever, my point still stands. A bar fight? How do you know? Black-out drunk, wake up with bruises on your face and shin, a fistful of someone else's hair in your mouth, and the other guy is in the cell over trying to pick your pocket through the bars.

Now that's what I call Carousing. Sure, if you narrate it well it can be interesting. But players and DM-alike get all the information at once, and there's an easy temptation for it to just... slide away. Excellent and impactful Carousing mishaps should be something you can't just ignore. Here's my take: until you know exactly what happened, is it safe to ignore it? Sure, it might've just been a bar-fight... but who with? Where? What happened? Enter, stage left - What the Fuck Did I Do Last Night?

Rather than dictating exactly what happened, the results are both concrete and freeform. You may never know exactly what happened, but you're very unlikely to get out of it scot-free! Roll each of the following questions in order, but only when the character has a moment to take stock of the situation. Assuming you failed a Constitution roll to end up in this situation, make a note of the value. Some of entries have two options (odds is left, evens right)

Where am I?

1. In a gutter
2. A closet
3. On someone else's floor
4. In the lockup
5. Still at the bar
6. Rolled up in a rug
7. In a sewer
8. A gibbet / the stocks
9. In the dark
10. In a wizards tower
11. In a nice bed
12. In a palatial suite
13. Falling down a large hole
14. The top of a building
15. The cupboards of a busy tavern
16. In a sack, carried
17. A wagon of vegetables heading out of town
18. The middle of the street
19. On a stage, about to give a speech
20. An operating theatre

What am I wearing?

1. No pants
2. One shoe, not yours
3. Socks bearing strange formulae
4. A suspiciously damp shirt
5. A beard
6. Painful bruises everywhere
7. Lash marks
8. A helmet, horns optional
9. Blood, probably not yours
10. Wizard hat, nothing else
11. The tanned hide of a bear
12. A crown
13. A sword in an ill-fitting sheathe
14. 1d20 copper coins in odd and uncomfortable places. Very uncomfortable, in some cases
15. Dapper suit
16. Peanut butter
17. Children's clothes
18. Ballet slippers
19. Mascot costume
20. Toga

Who am I with?

1. Two clowns
2. A gorilla / a sleeping tiger
3. A pile of spiders / a snake
4. An attractive woman/man
5. Your lawyer
6. Someone's wife/husband
7. A rival adventurer
8. A mercenary/bandit (hard to tell)
9. Four dwarves in various states of inebriation
10. A half-elf with a frightening mohawk
11. A notably rich merchant
12. An heir/ess with a contagious disease
13. A different party member
14. A talking skull/book
15. A hidden voice
16. Three slaves, chains broken
17. An apprentice wizard, in the middle of casting a spell
18. An inebriated paladin
19. Someone who looks suspiciously like you
20. Nobody. You can’t find anyone at all…

To demonstrate, I kludged this out of my list to HTML translator. However, for maximum enjoyment I would recommend that the DM roll on the d20 table only when the player actually asks the question. Embrace contradictions wholeheartedly and with enthusiasm.

"We learn from failure, not from success!" - Experience and Levelling

This sub-system takes it's heritage from a wide array of sources. Some of it harkens to Apocalypse World and it's related spinoffs. Other parts from random snippets during various sessions, both my own thoughts and players. It is still an evolving system and hasn't been examined at higher levels, but the majority of my games only exist below level 4. This will still go through a number of iterations before - I'm never going to be satisfied with it. Oh well.

Unrelated image because this is all rules, credit Kev Chu

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You need 5x[current level] EXP to get to the next level. So, to reach level 2/3/4/5 you'll need 5/15/30/50.

You can earn 1 EXP for:

• Showing up
• Almost dying
• Having a decent funeral for a dead ally (good luck if they were a sinful S.O.B.)
• As a group, successfully winning a fight against a more powerful enemy force
• “Wasting” gold (assuming silver standard) equal to 10xlevel grants 1 EXP. If it doesn’t “help” you in the dungeon, and it doesn’t make money on it’s own, it probably counts. Training and research are perfect, as is debauchery, statue funding and having songs written of your exploits
• Rolling a critical success, so long as it actually has an impact on the story. Always ignore Initiative rolls
• Rolling a critical failure. The DM will suggest a bad outcome, if you come up with something worse, you earn 1 EXP, otherwise 0
• Swearing a binding oath*. If you break it, you can’t get experience from oaths ever again, as well as some other nasty side-effects
• Being exceptionally clever, at DM’s discretion

Finally, at the end of the session, everyone votes on each of the following. That player gets +1 EXP:

1. Most dramatic moment
2. Most Valuable Player
3. Wooden Spoon (whoever is lowest total experience)

If you have enough experience, level up next time you take a long/short rest, or at the start/end of a next session.

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And that's it! Benefits include - being able to tempt someone with a juicy experience point, level drain dealing damage to experience easily, easy tracking, and unified progression rates. Players will pretty likely reach level 2 if they survive their first session, and I've so far had two players reach level 4 over the course of a whole campaign and a bit, which feels about right.

*Oaths are a bit different. You can solemnly swear to rescue the princess, and say "no, I don't want the experience" or casually agree to rescue the farmer's son from the dungeon and get the point. The oath has to matter and NPCs have to notice. Normally, you have to frame them in the negative. That is, there has to be some way to clearly say if you have failed your oath. Recovering your word once you've lost it is extremely tricky. NPCs will notice if you try and swear an oath but it doesn't stick. Then they'll start to wonder...

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If you retire, your next character starts with experience equal to your current level. Dying gives you nothing, unless you died a capital-H Hero and the other players actually cared about you. If that's the case, see below

Karma:
When you die, for real, you gain starting Karma equal to your half current level. You get +1 Karma: if you got a decent burial, if you dodged Hell, if you ended up in Heaven, for every notable act (the other players act as a judge of this), and if your new character is somehow related to the dearly departed. You lose a Karma for every time you have skipped out on Death, and if your death was entirely your own fault for absolutely no gain. You can spend 1 Karma to reroll your new character, 2 Karma to haunt the party as a ghost briefly, 2 for an heirloom item from the previous character, and 1:1 for the XP of the new character.

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Beyond Level 4:

You stop gaining HD at level 3, and stop getting class abilities past level 4. Keep tracking experience though, you can spend it for various bonuses:

+1 Attack (costs 10 XP, max +4)

Test a stat for improvement (costs 3 XP)

+1 Save (costs 5 XP, max +10)

+1 Luck Point (costs 5 XP)

The Three Forms of Magic Weapon, part 3 -- Remnants

In my previous two posts I developed Occultum "magic" items and Temples, which are cantankerous and finicky versions of classic weapons of mass destruction. Remnants are simply GLOG rendition of Fetishes. They haven't been playtested yet, but most of the numbers have been wrangled to one extent or another. Depending on how powerful +1 MD is, I'd modify the level of body horror in the Overload table to your level of comfort. My gut feeling? Make 'em bleed.

Remnants - Just tape it together, you'll be fine

Hopefully you won't end up as someone else's Remnant, credit Oleksandr Serdiuk

Occultum is good for everyone, and Temples are a pretty direct route to powerful weapons, but what about wizards? Wands, staves etc. are difficult objects to create, but jury-rigged substitutes can be cobbled together out of mundane objects that have been regularly exposed to magical energies. It takes 1d10 years for organic material and 1d10 decades for inorganic material to reach sufficient saturation, with a spell cast nearby either continuously or every week or so. It can then be used to channel and focus magical energies in place of a fragile, squishy brain, a property all casters will probably appreciate.

Remnants can be used in a few different ways. In the hands of a skilled spellcaster, it can be used to add 1 MD to a spell as it is cast. It can even be used to grant 1 MD to a non-spellcaster or exhausted wizard, though this is liable to wear out the Remnant even faster. On the flipside, channeling 4+1 MD through a Remnant can pose more than a few risks.

For those feeling exceptionally brave, a spell can be added to a Remnant to allow it to be cast by any mundane plebian. This is a little different to trapping a spell in a scroll. A standard paper book or scroll is a barren, tin cage. An appropriately prepared Remnant would be equivalent to a lush, well-appointed steel vault, which happens to have a cannon attached.

Casting using a Remnant grants 1 MD, and incurs a Break on a 5/6. If cast alongside other MD it incurs a Break if the MD contributed shows a 6, or if a Mishap is rolled. Remnants can withstand 3 Breaks by default, modified below. After that, if it gains another Break, it will... well, it won’t be good for the caster, that’s for sure! Dooms also result in Breaks equal to the number rolled (triple 2 = 2 Breaks), but that is probably the least of your worries.

This Remnant can withstand three Breaks...
-1 if the object is very small (less than an inventory slot)
+1 if the object requires two hands to carry
+2 if it’s exceptionally large (requires a cart)
+3 if it can’t be moved

-1 if it contains a spell
-2 if it contains more than one spell

You need to roll under Intelligence/2 to learn how to cast using a Remnant under its own steam. You incur a Break if you fail the Intelligence check completely.

+1 for every additional minor Remnant attached
Make an Intelligence check for every attachment beyond the first, a failure incurs a Break instead

+1 if it is cleaned, coddled, caressed or otherwise cared for in an exceptional manner
-1 if it is treated poorly, gets wet or otherwise physically mishandled
Incurs a Break if used as an improvised weapon/shield in combat. Nitwit.

Double the chance of breakage for one hour after you incur a Break. You can reduce this time by cleaning off the char marks with a silk cloth, realigning the chakras, or the equivalent.


Quick reminder:

1. "I'm adding 1 MD to my own MD for this spell" - Incur a Break if the MD shows a 6, or if you roll a Mishap. If you broke something in the last hour, incur a Break for 5 or 6.

2. "I'm out of mana and using the MD on it's own" - Incur a Break if you roll a 5 or 6. If you broke something in the last hour, Break on anything above a 2.

3. "Hur-dur, me want magick shpell" - If there is a spell residing in the Remnant, non-spellcasters must roll under half Intelligence to learn how to activate it. If you fail the Intelligence roll completely, Break something. Once you've figured it out, as #2.


Example:

Phlaturgas the Blue helped a cadre of knights take down the cultists that had been sacrificing babies on the stone table beneath the manor. He pilfered the ancient brazier which had been there for years, next to the rune-scarred summoning circle. It’s large enough that he needs two hands to carry, and he uses the troll earwax he collected ages ago for the candles. It smells foul, but works as a minor Remnant. As such it can withstand 3 +1 (size) +1 (earwax) = 5 Breaks. He convinces his spare Magic Missile to live in it, reducing the cap to 4. If he was trying to get an uppity Flight spell, or Zulin forbid, a Lighting Bolt, he’d probably have to make a blood sacrifice, or even lose a few points from a mental stat for a few days. With the new magic item, his buddy Michael (a Fighter) can cast Magic Missile at 1 MD!

Except its not that simple. Michael has to make an Intelligence check and get under half. He only has 8 Int. He rolls a 6 the first time, which isn’t quite enough, but isn’t a disaster either. Phlaturgas takes Michael into town to find a specialist, who grants a +1 to the check. He rolls 17. Now with only three Breaks remaining, Phlaturgas takes it back, grumbling, and uses it to bolster his own casting ability. Some time later, he rolls a 6 and a Mishap at the same time. Ears ringing, he spots a couple cracks in the metal frame of the brazier.

He better not use this one for now… but of course he will, because what kind of wizard wouldn't trade safety for power?

The Three Forms of Magic Weapon, part 2 -- Temples

In my first post I talked about Occultum in detail, especially about the esoteric but fundamentally predictable properties. Occultum is the equivalent of magic Lego, many parts all interlocking, but fundamentally in a predictable fashion. Oh, and hideously expensive. Temples are different. They are much more "traditional" magic items, but have an immense array of potential forms. A few magic items can be created as either Temples or through judicious application of Occultum. For example, an alloy of rare earth metals and Occultum will lock onto the nearest large magnetic field, acting in a similar manner to an Immovable Rod. However, the strangest and rarest of magic items go beyond what can normally be achieved with Occultum. Strange alloys and weird substances merely bend the rules a little. Temples break those rules.

Temples - Brick and Mortar, Soul and Story

Not just this kind of temple, credit Grady Frederick

This kind of temple, credit Jeff Chen

Weapons and Armour

Calling a freshly-forged blade something pretentious like “Heartripper” is the equivalent of a drilled-out starter-pistol: it's dangerous, but unreliably so, and mostly used for the purposes of intimidation. Most weapons are given names only after years of heroic action, as a label and a reminder. Most people don't realise why, but misnaming a weapon is seen as very poor etiquette, primarily amongst the nobility. Names hold power, and the tools of war are not to be labelled lightly.

But what has this got to do with magic items. It stems back to the nature of spells themselves, as the alternate forms of spirits, demons, angels, and other, even stranger things. Some are given homes in corpses, others construct bodies of light and flame, while others still exist solely in the minds of Wizards and Warlocks. The barest few are capable of existing in their true form, and almost invariably are revered as gods. However, this isn't a binary, there's a spectrum from the humblest of Magic Missile to the grandest of Outer Deities. Whatever the case, most spirits/spells that exist in the material world for any length of time require a vessel. Ideally, it is something they are proud of, something that resembles their true form and purpose. Something that can be worshipped. A Temple.

These Temples are not restricted to physical locations. Certainly, nature spirits will inhabit a grove, and some gods have been domesticated by architecture, but many more will choose a form that allows them to actively participate in the mortal world they are now a part of. Of most interest to many adventurers, offensive and defensive spells will gladly* inhabit a suitable weapon or piece of armour.

Now, suitability is a tenebrous and tenuous concept when it comes to Temple items. However, arms and armour that have survived countless battles and adventures and have triumphed over insurmountable odds are invariably hot property for spirits on the rise. Lower class spells will tolerate merely masterfully created pieces, particularly if they given the respect they deserve. Jewels, rituals, solemn oaths, blood sacrifices, all this and more may be required to convince the average spell to adopt physical form. Assume the worst if a spirit deigns to inhabit a sword of a clearly lower class than one would normally expect. Hence, the importance of naming conventions. Swords are only given names after they’ve lasted through enough battles and adventures to warrant a truly magnificent Temple. Misnaming a blade and attempting to coerce a spirit to reside within is liable to result in an insulted spirit and a vaporised enchanter.

Keep in mind, the only spells that are powerful enough to form flashy** magic weapons are Emblem spells, the rarest and most sought-after of arcanum. Spells of a lower potency won’t be able to impact the material world without the power of a mortal caster behind it, and that’s nigh-impossible when sealed in steel. However, these ordinary spells have an obviously supernatural understanding of their host, the Temple, and can grant various bonuses to a wielder... but they can also revoke that bonus if their esoteric demands are not met. Far more reliable to mix a drop or ten of occultum into the molten metal and call it a day.

So, you’ll need an already incredibly rare Emblem spell that will consent to inhabit a material object, a suitable weapon which has probably been in a family of knights for generations, enough jewellery to choke a duchess and the knowledge to combine all of these without blowing your face off.

In theory.
In practice, it’s much harder.

Other Items

The equipment of ancient heroes aren't the only objects that form suitable Temples The spells used to form Bags of Holding have a liking to the containers used in heists, bank robberies etc. and so are often found possessing ratty sacks or unassuming crates. The day-to-day accoutrements of prophets and sages, tea-cups, bits of furniture and the like, can be used to house divination spells. However, objects exposed to magic directly have a slightly different tune to play, which I will explain in the last part of this little trio: Relics.

The Results

It can be hard to predict the the final result of the creation of a Temple. The behaviour of the spell, the quality of the materials used, even the mindset of the creator can have an impact on the final results. However, the majority of Emblem spells can be formed into items that behave in a similar manner within a reasonable margin of error.

Spell	Hosts	Demands	Effects
Fireball	Swords, Axes	Regular use in combat, burnt sacrifices, arson	Flaming - +1d6 fire damage, target must save or ignite
Lightning Bolt	Hammers, Spears	Jewels, pandering, continual prayer	Shocking - Target must save or take 1d6 lightning damage, 1d12 if wearing metal. Item returns to matched gauntlet if thrown
Power Word: Death	Bladed weapons	Murdering family members, close allies etc.	Vorpal - Critical hits behead targets
Heal	Any wielded in Holy purport	Saving orphans, donating to charity etc.	Smiting - +1d8 radiant damage, undead must save vs. fear if brandished
Mutate	Any	Drinking strange potions, being exposed to radiation	Unstable - Reduce die size, deals x1d4 damage, critical hits add a mutation
Wall of ...	Any	Constructing altars	Mutable - Only handle required, blade etc. constructed out of linked element
Fade	Any	Stealing artwork, creating a shrine	Phasing - Ignores physical armor
Magic Missile	Thrown weapons	Regular, obsessive polishing	Returning/Homing - Either reroll a missed attack, or returns to hand at end of round

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*Except not at all, evidently.

**Anything involving fire, lightning, or jabberwockies will problem need an Emblem spell. +1 weapons, not so much. Some exceptionally potent "ordinary" spells may exist, but they rarely deign to inhabit mortal forms without significant encouragement, hence their more tractable cousins are used instead. Which would you rather inhabit your brain: A Magic Missile happy with three square meals of Magic Dice a day, or one with raging narcissism and a habit of firing off when displeased?

The Three Forms of Magic Weapon; or, a Flame-Tongue of your own in 2517 easy steps!

When it comes to heroic figures wielding blades of fire and lighting, the ballads usually don’t go into great detail about their composition. Oh sure, all the named weapons have long and storied lives of their own, forged by such-and-such and used in the Great War of whenever to genocidal effect. But the bards singing the songs don’t know a spell from a jar of spit, so they fudge the rest and nobody minds.

Since you are reading this, you probably mind. There are three methods a “magic item” might be created: Occultum, as a Temple and as a Relic. This will be the first of three posts regarding the different formulae and ritual used to bind eldritch power into an otherwise mundane object.

Occultum - The King of All Metals 

Credit, Nihal Rahman

Many pantheons and cults have claimed occultum to be the “metal of the gods”. It certainly isn’t, at least, it certainly doesn’t belong to any god(s) that we know of. Occultum is universally the hardest possible currency, and substantial deposits are likely to instigate, and eventually end, wars. In its pure form, it is completely immune to magic, occasionally reflecting spells directly back at the caster. Occultum plate armour would make a royal treasurer weep, and weigh about half a ton, but would be entirely impervious to spells as well as being extraordinarily resilient. When not being used as coinage (1 occultum = 10 platinum = 100 gold), occultum is sometimes melted down and mixed with base metals. These alloys elevate the properties of the base metals into new and stupendous forms, requiring comparatively little of the ultra-rare active ingredient. For example, Occult-Iron blades are harder, sharper, tougher and rust-resistant, while Occult-Silver wires are used to conduct magic. These alloys are the most reliable and long-lasting of all "magic items" due to simply being a result of unique metallurgical properties. You'll still get songs sung about you though.

Working with occultum is remarkably difficult due to its immunity to magic and high melting point, but never fear! It is highly ductile, and metals wrapped in thin occultum wires or sheets still demonstrate many of the related properties. Liquid occultum has certain properties some magic-users abuse to horrifying effect. Care should be taken that it is not exposed to excessive jostling, as it is liable to decay into octarine light and high-velocity lead shrapnel.

The less said of gaseous occultum, the better. It is a Bad Thing™.

Properties of Occultum Alloys

Now, while players are welcome to read the list below, most of mine have had far more fun experimenting with the tiny tidbits of occultum wire they've dug out of golem corpses in the Chambers. Remember, nothing bad can ever* happen from mixing occultum with other materials.

Iron
Results in incredibly strong, flexible, rust-resistant metal that can be sharpened to a much finer point. Adding lumps or wires of Occultum to ordinary metal provides a +1 damage bonus, reforging it allows for +1 Attack as well.

Steel
Heavier and harder than Occult-Iron, and nigh-indestructible, but the secrets to its manufacture are entirely lost. The dwarves know the secret ways of carbon, but only the elves knew how to keep the Occultum content high enough without total meltdown. Used for +2 weapons.

Tin
The springs produced by Occult-Tin are capable of powering golems, guns and all sorts of gadgets. The Moon Colony is powered almost entirely by a subterranean network of Occult-Tin, with a Mostly Immovable Rod vibrating at its core.

Silver
These wires are used as the "nerves" for golems in the Chambers of God, conducting micro-spell instructions to the limbs, as well as for more... practical purposes. Thicker Occult-Silver wires are capable of conducting a higher spellsurge, but will radiate excess energy at uncomfortable frequencies.

Gold
A room temperature ultraconductor. Effectively has negative resistance, and will actively draw power out of every available supply, acid or electrolyte and send it in colourful, destructive arcs of lightning.

Platinum
Extremely psionically reactive. A normal person, given some meditation tips, could a make an Occult-Platinum coin slowly levitate and wobble about the room. A true master? One shudders to think.

Uranium
Once again, a lost art, this time for good reason. There's a sizeable portion of octarine light mixed into the radiation. However, small animals like rats or cockroaches have a 15% chance to spontaneously develop sentience when continuously exposed.

Copper
Looks solid. Feels heavy. Bends like butter. Will slowly morph back to its original shape, like memory foam.

Lead
Occult-Lead has some strange properties. Left in a laboratory overnight, every single experiment nearby decayed, rotted, fell over or otherwise failed. It seems to somehow draw bad luck into itself. More research required.

Mercury
This amalgam probably isn't sentient. Probably. However, it seems perfectly content to solve mazes, picks locks and open jars. Just pour it in and watch what happens. Breathing the fumes is not advisable.

Silicon
When placed in close proximity to a cube of, say, stone, a lump of Occult-Silicon will slowly twist itself into an identical shape. Higher levels of Occultum are required for smaller, more differentiated objects like a key.

Carbon
Only small scraps of Occult-Carbon have been located in crumbling high-elven facilities, many wizard guilds would kill for a sample. Kill you, for example. It is an extraordinarily durable material, though it struggles to hold an edge, so it's best suited for tools rather than weapons. However, it's properties truly show through when used as armour. Blunt-force trauma will cause it to bulk up into thicker padding, while it will react to a sharp jab by forming hard scales. Fire makes it crisp up into an diffusive layer, while extreme cold has it seal any gaps with insulation. What is even more remarkable, a few minutes later any modified Occult-Carbon armour will reverts to a serene grey sheen, as if it never changed at all.

Aluminium
A simple property, Occult-Aluminium is just as hard as the original metal, but weighs the same as air.

Bronze
Combining the traits of Occult-Copper and Occult-Tin, this alloy is capable of absorbing and diffusing impacts at an astonishing rate. Care must be made during the forging, since no further adjustments can be made. Results in +1 armour and shields.

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You'll probably be thinking at this point, most of these properties don't seem particularly... magical. And you'd be right! Occultum is anti-magic, at it's core. It is a mix of phlebotinum and unobtainium. It defies physics, but in a pretty reliable way. It is the exception to all the other rules. Each of these material properties makes it incredibly useful in a wide number of potential projects, limited only by your imagination and how bloody hard it is to find the stuff!

When I give players a 'magic item' and tell the wizard "this object contains a small amount of occultum" I can just watch their eyes light up. As Skerples says: If you want to build something insane, you'll need a bag full of occultum. It's a little bit like residuum, just less crap. Sure, you can just use that +1 sword. Or, you can use the fire trap from two floors back to melt away the lesser metals, leaving behind pearls of occultum and that make something of your own. And I think that's what makes it special.


That's all for now, next time: Temples! Or rather, how to convince a spirit with godlike powers to live inside a metal stick so you can hit things with it.


*Except that one time. So far.

FIGHTING MEN

FIGHTING MEN

Sometimes you want complexity. Sometimes you just want to hit things real good. I've also found that interesting equipment is the calling-card of creative, insightful, and downright entertaining gameplay. Hence, I've mushed all these things together into a level-less, mono-classed way to play GLOG. It hasn't been playtested as a whole yet, but each individual part works rather well. I'm also not quite sure how hard it'll be, hence a few "easy mode" options have been included to lighten a little of the load.

Each Fighting-Man starts with a main weapon, a special move cribbed from the original Notches move-list, a backup plan, a useful item and a "bizarre circumstance" which range from mild supernatural powers to nails torn from the throne of God (maybe). The stats are inspired from Dungeon Robber but are entirely optional. Since Wisdom is capped, it's entirely reasonable to use these initiative rules, where each player will have between 1 and 3 cards on the stack.

I'm quite fond of the progression system, but haven't yet had a chance to test it out. Fighting-Men that fight will get better at fighting, those that stay home and start making shoes for a living will not. The DM should keep an eye on what constitutes a threatening enemy, but anything that has dealt significant damage should count, no matter how lowly. In addition, the world should be threatening, chaotic, and unstable. A bunch of off-duty mercenaries/deserters, fleeing home through a battered foreign country should make for an appropriate setting.

I would put caps on the stats, but expecting each Fighting-Man to survive into old age is a moot point, as fighting is a trap. Still, flashy kills increase your Attack, getting smacked around and telling everyone "you shoulda seen the other guy" increases HP, and breaking apart ancient burial mounds to drink the ancient golden marrow increases your Save, all things that are good and proper. "Clearing" a dungeon doesn't mean subterranean omnicide. You only need to do two things: deal with the boss somehow, and have established a safe route/outpost deep inside. When you can say "this is ours" with considerable confidence, gain +1 Save.

A lot of this is written in my own shorthand, but I hope the above wall of text will help explain some of my choices and/or ramblings in a satisfactory way.

"USE PARANOIA ON DOOR" - Mindsets as items v.1

Mindsets are a very gamist set of rules that act as unique bonuses and modest abilities. They aren't all equal, but some are more difficult to acquire then others. The idea originally stems from a one-on-one PbP dungeon crawl, in which "use paranoia on door" was an extremely viable tactic when alone in the dark. This expanded into the full list of Mindsets below. Backstories, boss fights, out-of-character behaviour, and in-jokes are all viable sources of a Mindset, but only one can be "equipped" at a time.

Each mindset can potentially be lost as well, whether from trauma, out-of-character changes or character actions. Mindsets such as Angry, Hungry and Greedy are relatively simple to acquire, while Righteous, Stalwart or Happy are rather rare traits for a dungeon-diver. To clarify, these mindsets should be treated as loot. If you are into that, use it to reward players for exceptional role-playing or when "here's another random magic item I guess" just doesn't cut it.

1. Angry – reroll failed initiative check if you immediately charge
2. Bizarre – On critical successes/failures, very odd things happen
3. Confidence – +2 to do the first thing you suggest, instead of dallying/planning
4. Cowardly – +2 Defense while fleeing
5. Cruel – When you down an enemy, you can force a Morale check. Results may vary.
6. Curious – 1/session, you find something hidden
7. Desperate – +1 to everything while at 0 HP
8. Determined – take +1 against anything opposing your oath
9. Dramatic – Below HP/2, counts as a helmet
10. Fated – Once, ever, roll 1d10 instead of 1d20
11. Flamboyant – +3 retainer slots (normally 3+CHA)
12. Gallant – people you protect reroll failed saves
13. Greedy – Know the exact value of anything you hold
14. Grumpy – Ignore most positive and negative morale effects
15. Happy – NPCs don't automatically treat you as an "adventurer"
16. Helpful – Your friends can reroll a d20, once per person
17. Hungry – +4 to save against anything you ate
18. Innocent – Anything will hesitate to kill you, at least for a moment
19. Innovative – +2 to any checks that earned you an XP
20. Joker – An in-character quip that makes the DM laugh heals 1HP, up to 3/session
21. Knowledgeable – Learn a new rumor each session
22. Monstrous – Convert 1d4 Trauma into a mutation over a long rest
23. Mysterious – Trade this for a different Mindset when you reveal your backstory.
24. Observant – INT check to ask detailed questions after you've left a scene (flashback style)
25. Paranoia – receive a warning before you do anything extremely dangerous. No details.
26. Pompous – Enemies that fail a morale check and would flee/rout (not retreat) instead grovel
27. Proud – +1 damage at full HP
28. Righteous – Counts as a shield against anyone philosophically opposed to you
29. Stalwart – Immune to the Winded condition
30. Zealous – Your voice counts as a holy symbol

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A few examples:

The PC of Mat "The Magnificent" Rench, had a habit of examining doors in a very particular manner for maximum effectiveness, without slowing down actual gameplay too much. His neat thinking skills were rewarded with Paranoia, to great amusement and general utility.

The PC of Frillnecked Wizardbang, (Lizardfolk Wizard) had a frankly startling roleplaying style, and a penchant for collecting 'friends' that belied his 6 Charisma. Naturally, Flamboyant was the only possible outcome.

Gary (the Goblin) had a delightful time picking over the golem-corpses strewn about their path into the Chambers of God, and constructed some quite horrifying devices. As per my promise regarding the Dervish of War lurking in room XX (that the first party to defeat it would earn a Mindset of their choosing) he went for Curious. When sessions resume, I'll be keen to see how and when he uses it.