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The Ruin d100 by Feral Gamers Inc.
my simple d100 Oracle
game-icons.net (for hints to answers for those pesky open questions)
8 steps to game prep by Sly Flourish
Zathrum v3.0

 Session Prep   

Review Characters  

Rosa Garcea

Rosa is a scrapper, someone who can find useful items others would see just as useless scrap.
Rosa prefers her own company and part from her dog Ruin, she has few if any friends.

At the end of the previous scene Rosa had taken 5 wounds, reducing her from16 to just 11 hit points.

Rosa has set out to find and recover some old tech radio equipment but has been given little choice but to return back to settlement empty handed.

Ruin (Dog) Rosa loyal and trusted hound.Wounds 12, Grit 1, Damage (Fighting)+1, Initiative d10 +4, Fear -10
Skills : Fighting 60%, Survival 65%, Stealth 70%, Awareness 70% (+20% heightened awareness)
Abilities : Heightened Senses, Natural Weapons
Weapons : Bites 1d6

Andy ‘Snipe’ Montano is a Merc,  he has never been good with people, give him a gun and he can shoot a cigar from the mouth of a squirrel.  Snipe was born in ‘Settlement’ and is proud to part of the small commune.  He sees his role there as one of protector, ready to defend the people, his friends and family, from anything that threatens their peaceful way of life.

Having been sent along with Rosa to find some old radio equipment, Snipe is now keen to return to Settlement without the equipment.

Snipe has taken 6 wounds. He now has 11 hit points remaining.  

Strong Start  I get a random icon for inspiration. Cloak icon.  I take that as meaning the characters come into contact with some of the cultist members.

Outline Potential Scenes  

Contact with cult

Going deeper in to the deserted village

Enter church to find the Radio Equipment

Return to settlement

Define secrets and clues  

Discover a cult has set up in the old abandoned church.

Develope fantastic locations  

A small town with a church which was abandoned some time ago. Houses are assumed to be empty and have long since fallen into disrepair. The village is not known to be currently inhabited.

Important NPC’s  

At this stage of the game I will just list 6 male and 6 female names. Should I require a new NPC I can quickly pick a name at random from the lists. It is surprising how much time this can save during the game.

Female Names.

1. Suki
2. Old Mrs Tibbs
3. Gabriella Blanco
4. Carla Costa
5. Nurse Rash
6. Dazzline Moses

Male Names.

1. Da’Vion Page (Elder and oldest resident of the small settlement called simply Settlement by its residents)
2. Judgment Reaver
3. Mad Spikes (Wanderer, flamboyant and a bit odd. Spikes knows everyone and everyone knows Mad Spikes)
4. Alam Al-Mazzud (leader of the cult)
5. David Prats
6. Juan Martin Figuroa

Mad Spikes

ATTRIBUTES
INT 13    STR 13   SOC 13   DEX 14   INS 15
DERIVED STATS
Wounds 16    Grit 1   Damage (Fighting) +1 (Firing) +2   Initiative d10+3
SKILLS
Barter 55%,   Fighting 60%,   Knowladge 70%,   Firearms 65%    Survival 80%
WEAPONS
Scrap Pistol d6    Shotgun 3d6+1

Relevant Monsters  

Cultists – (number appearing) 1 cult leader plus 1d8+9 followers armed with daggers d4

Tribals – (number appearing) 1d6 armed with scrap bows d6 and axes d6

Raiders – (number appearing) 1d4 armed with daggers d4 plus (roll d6) 1-2 scrap bow d6, 3-4 shot gun d10, 5-6 scrap long gun d8

Crazies – (number appearing) 1d6 armed with (roll d6) 1-2 knife d4, Scrap Axe d6, scrap long gun d8.

Selecting Magic item rewards  

Old radio equipment.

Possibly books and magazines scattered around inside the abandoned village buildings.

  Random Verb Table

preserve save scratch argue stitch tour muddle compare reproduce rescue boast nest

bare blind stop scratch whistle request jump hover strap nod inform kick

consider marry fear suspect rhyme return reign yawn name fold answer weigh

If I require random verbs I roll d 12 on each of the three columns to get three verbs. This will hopefully save time and keep the game flowing.

Scene 5 Outside of the abandoned convenience store.

Rolling d20 on the theme table I get 5

Theme : New Enemy

I decide the new enemy is either –

Option A – Cultist

Option B – Raiders

Rolling d20 on the probability table I find there is a 40% probability for option A

I roll d100

Roll = 37 so New Enemy is the Cultists.

I randomly pick three verbs from the above table and get

nest, blind, yawn

How many cultists are outside of the store d6 + 4 = 5

Question, are the cultists armed with more than daggers? No.

Is the cult leader with them? Roll =99 Yes and intervention (wild positive).

I want to find out a little more about who the Cult Leader is. To find out if the cult leader is male or female I roll d20 and consult the probability table.

A – Male 65%, B – Female 35%

Roll d100 = 56 so leader is a blind male called (roll of 4 on name table) Alam Al-Mazzud.

Question does Al-Mazzud know Rosa, Snipe or Mad Spikes? No.

Roll on The Ruin Encounter and Obstacles table to get the wild positive. Roll = 92, collapsing building.

Rosa and Snipe are surprised to see the five cultists standing In front of them. One of the five is wearing a fine red robe. Rosa and Snipe both see he is being helped by another cultist, and it becomes obvious to them that he is blind.

Mad Spikes readies his shotgun, Snipe casually takes his scrap pistol from its holster whist Rosa puts her hand on her dagger.

Before any combat can occur, Al-Mazzud holds up his hands, “this is a peaceful community, we want no trouble”.  He turns his head towards the dead Tribal, “but I see it is already too late for that”.

Snipe speaks “I took it you were blind, how can you see the dead man there?”Al-Maz\ud replies “I don’t need eyes to see the devils work”, he goes on talking about the coming of the new messiah leading the true believers to redemption, “if you have come to join us put down your weapons, if not we ask you to pay a small tithe and move on”.

I make awareness checks for Rosa and Snipe. Rosa passes and notices a building collapsing.

Oracle question Is it the old convenience store they have just left? No.

Oracle Question. Is it the church she can see? Yes, and…

Rosa points towards the centre of the town, “where is that smoke coming from, looks like something is on fire and burning well”.Everyone turns to look, the cultists gasp as one, one cries out “Prophet, the church, its ablaze!”.

Scene 6 – the Church

Rolling d20 on the theme table I get 10

Theme : New Equipment

I take it that this means the Radio Transmitter at the church.

I roll for three new random verbs to help with this scene and get the following,

Save, Hover, Return

Smoke can be seen rising from where the church is located.  Al-Mazzud grips the arm of one of his followers, “come, we must get back to the church”, he looks at Rosa and Snipe, “this is your doing, you have brought the wrath of God down on us, you will pay for the evil you have done”. With that, the cultists head back towards the Church.

Rosa is the first to speak “the radio transmitter, it has to be saved, I need to get to the church before it is destroyed”.

Snipe answers “No Rosa, its too dangerous, forget it”.
However, Rosa takes no notice of Snipe and runs off towards the church, along side her is her dog Ruin.

I make a check for Rosa against her Athletics skill, needing 47 or less she rolls 13.

Rosa and Ruin make it to the church before any of the others. Already the church is well ablaze, smoke billowing from its roof.

Oracle Question. Can Rosa Enter the Church? Yes, but…

The church doors are open, inside the fire is raging and is full of heavy smoke.

Oracle Question. Is anyone else in the church? Yes, but…

Covering her mouth and ordering Ruin to stay outside, Rosa goes in to the Church, the thick smoke makes it hard to see and the smoke makes her cough.  Making her way down the isle she finds the other cultists, they are all dead, some stuck by arrows, some with knife wounds.

Oracle Question. Can Rosa see the radio transmitter? Yes, and…

Rosa notices a faint green glow at the far end of the church, as she makes her way down towards the pulpit she sees that the old transmitter is still working and small enough for her to carry.

Rosa makes a technology skill roll to see if she is able to disconnect the transmitter from its power source.  Because of the smoke I give her a penalty of 20%, she needs to roll 24 or less, she roll 17.

Fumbling in the dimness of the smoke, Rosa pulls out her dagger and cuts at the wires in the back of the transmitter.  Sparks fly but she manages to free the transmitter which, although awkward to carry, she is able to pick it up and begins heading back towards the church entrance.

As she turns she sees Al-Mazzud and four of his followers blocking her way.

Oracle Question. is there a way past the cultists? No but…
I get Rosa to make an Awareness skill check, she rolls 3 and easily passes.

Rosa looks up and notices that the rafters in the roof are about to give way, shouting a warning to the cultists she falls backwards to avoid the falling debris.

Oracle Question. Do the Cultists avoid the falling debris? No, and…

For a moment part of the roof just seems to hover in the air then falls directly on top of the cultists and buries them is burning timber and metal.

Oracle Question.  Are all the cultists killed? No.

I roll 1 d4 to see how many are buried by the falling roof. 4.

The falling debris buries the four followers but somehow Al-Mazzud is unhurt. He continues stumbling forward towards Rosa.

Rosa makes a Stealth check to see if she can pick herself up and sneak past Al-Mazzud. As he is blind she get a +20% bonus.  Rolling 18 she easily passes.

Rosa gets up, grabs the radio transmitter and quietly slips past the blind cult leader. As she nears the church entrance she hears a familiar voice call out to her, its Snipe, “Rosa, get out of there now, the whole roof is about to collapse.

An arm grabs her, “come on girl, no time to hang around”, Mad Spikes helps her to the door. as they both tumble out of the smoke in to the daylight they hear a loud rumbling noise. They turn to see the roof begin to collapse. At the far end of the church they can just make out the figure of Al-Mazzzud, he is holding a burning ember in one hand and seems to be in some sort of trance like state. Just then the whole roof collapses.

Rosa, Ruin, Snipe and Mad Spikes return to Settlement. Rosa carries the Radio Transmitter unwilling to let anyone else touch it, “It should still work, we will need some wires and an aerial but I know I can get it up and running”.

Snipe is less happy, ” you took a big risk Rosa, we thought we had lost you, if Mad Spikes had not gone in to get you out…”

Ruin gives a heart “WOOF!”

I have enjoyed playing The Ruin d100 and can certainly recommend it. I am going to pause my The Ruin d100 campaign at this point though. Whilst there are certainly several threads I want to follow up (who burnt the church down and no one actually saw Al-Mazzud die leaving him open to a possible return at some point), I think its time to return to some fantasy gaming.

So until the next post, get out and play a solo game.