I made this table for my Galbaruc campaign, though with some tweaking it might work for yours. I jotted down 106 entries, but ended up scrapping a lot of them, narrowing it down to the 50 I liked best. My campaign only has 2 PC races in it (Humans and Vat-Spawn) so this table's for Human characters, to give them a little distinction.
These are probably not even remotely balanced.
d100 | Peculiarity |
1-2 | You are Androgynous: +4 to attempts to pass as a (nonspecific) member of the opposite sex. |
3-4 | You are a Libertine: You must make a successful WIS roll to avoid Carousing if you finish an expedition with more loot than you started out with. |
5-6 | You are a Struldbrug. You have immortality (barring death by violence, drowning, etc.) without eternal youth. |
7-8 | For some reason, (1-2) dogs (3-4) cats (5-6) birds hate you. They’ll growl/hiss/squawk at your approach, and the GM rolls 2d6 each round you remain within 10 ft. of the animals in question, which attack on a roll of 2 even numbers. |
9-10 | You have a Doppelganger. This individual is identical to you in appearance and stats, and wholeheartedly devoted to your ruin and destruction. It will refrain from outright killing you until it feels that the you’ve undergone sufficient discomfort, loss, and humiliation. |
11-12 | You are a shape-shifting reptile from another plane of existence. Your true from is undetectable by mundane means, but if it is ever compromised, you will need to devour another human to take their shape, a process requiring 48 hours in undisturbed darkness. Your ancient enemies the (1-2) red (3-4) black scaled reptiles have their agents as well, and you will periodically receive orders from your superiors as you carry on the millennia-long struggle against your rivals,. |
13-14 | You may perceive oracular significance in the buzzing of insects. |
15-16 | Some years ago, you were a member of a secret cult. Despite certain dire oaths to the contrary, you abandoned it. Your former brothers and sisters are always on the lookout for the runaway. Gain Distinctive Tattoo. |
17-18 | You are extraordinarily forgettable. This can be frustrating, as you must constantly remind casual acquaintances of your identity, but it comes in handy when eyewitnesses to the robbery are describing suspects to the authorities. |
19-20 | You are a Gourmand. You must make a Save vs. Spell roll at +4 difficulty to turn down the chance of experiencing a new taste. |
21-22 | Once per session, you may summon the spirit of an illustrious dead ancestor of yours for five minutes of consultation. |
23-24 | A powerful Magic-User , for some unknown reason, has taken an interest in your progress, and will act behind the scenes as a patron. This assistance will not come without a price. |
25-26 | You were born with a tail. Casual investigation has led you to believe that everyone is, and that there is a secret conspiracy of physicians and midwives to lop them off at birth, to some unguessable purpose. |
27-28 | You were born with a birth caul: While it remains on your person, you cannot drown. |
29-30 | You were baptized in the blood of the Salamander. You take no damage from fire. |
31-32 | You are a musical prodigy. You may give an unforgettable performance on any instrument, but the instrument will disintegrate or fall apart in dramatic fashion as soon as you finish playing. |
33-34 | True or not, you have a reputation as a colossal pervert – a sexual adventurer of the most depraved kind. This will be met with interest and enthusiasm in some quarters, and suspicion and hostility in others. |
35-36 | You bear an executioner’s brand on your thumb, indicating a reprieve from the death penalty. If found guilty for any crime in the future, you will swing for it. |
37-38 | You are an ordained cleric in the religion of your choice. You possess no mystic powers, but can perform all observances, rituals, and ceremonies expected of you. You have not been officially defrocked, but any relationship with the church hierarchy is strained, at best. Reroll if you’re already playing a “capital C” Cleric. |
39-40 | Ghosts, specters, etc. are especially drawn to you. These visitations are not always malevolent, and often take the form of pleas for aid and redress of past wrongs. |
41-42 | An otherworldly Insect parasite has lodged itself in the base of your spine. You will occasionally experience strange fascinations and cravings, which you may attempt to resist with a Save vs. Spell. |
43-44 | You are an albino. |
45-46 | You are unable to grow any hair. No eyebrows, no pubes, nothin’. You are blessed to live in a time and place when wigs are fashionable. |
47-48 | You have a coin with the sigil of a Minor Demon carved into it. You may summon this demon once to fulfill a favor, after which, the demon returns to its own plane and the coin is reduced to a worthless blackened lump of slag. |
49-50 | You’ve woken up from suspended animation after d10 x100 years. Take 1 dot in Lore, but your knowledge may be somewhat out of date. Your speech will probably sound a bit archaic, as well. |
51-52 | Every time you fail your Save while Carousing, make another Save (vs. Magic). If you fail, you dream a monster into existence. You (or the GM) roll up a monster using a random generator, which then blinks into existence, terrorizing the town or countryside and working its way toward you. |
53-54 | You have a horrible, rasping speaking voice but can sing like an angel. |
55-56 | You can hold your liquor like a champ. +4 to save vs. poison when boozing it up. |
57-58 | You have an inch-tall horn spiraling out of your forehead. |
59-60 | Your physical body is the chain that keeps a monster imprisoned. The GM will secretly roll a number on a d100. When you’ve taken that much HP damage, (or die) the creature breaks its bonds and escapes. Magical Healing can reverse the process, but only at a rate of 1 HP/instance. |
61-62 | Someone believes you to be the reincarnation of their former lover from a past life. |
63-64 | There is a 15% chance of switching bodies with one’s companion during sex. (particularly abandoned libertines may need to roll again to narrow it down). You cannot re-enter (as it were) the same body after leaving it. |
65-66 | You have a lofty hereditary title to a place that doesn’t technically exist anymore |
67-68 | Attention whore: +1 to all rolls when in front of at least one non-participant that’s paying attention. |
69-70 | You are a Compulsive gambler : Save vs. Spell to avoid participating in games of chance. |
71-72 | You were born during a thunderstorm beneath a blasted tree-- take no damage from lighting/electricity. |
73-74 | Through the use of drugs, ecstatic ritual, etc., you can enter a Berserk state. +4 to hit, damage explodes on the highest 3 digits (melee) for d10 + CON modifier rounds, at the end of which, you fall unconscious for d6 rounds. While Berserk you must make a Save vs. Spell to avoid attacking allies within 15 ft. of you. |
75-76 | You are the deposed Heir to an Island Prince. Some day, you will raise an army and take back what is rightfully yours! |
77-78 | Your teeth have been filed to points. |
79-80 | You are a Eunuch, with all that implies. Roll again if female. |
81-82 | You have some training as an Actor – +2 bonus to pretend to be of higher/lower social status. |
83-84 | You have a cheap tin talisman of Seppophis the Huntress. +2 to attempts to find an individual. Your pursuers have a -2 to find you. |
85-86 | You have in your possession a small shard from one of the mysterious standing stones that litter the surrounding countryside. |
87-88 | You have no fingernails on your left hand. |
89-90 | Your weapon is an ancient, storied implement of great renown and prestige. Generations of proud warriors have wielded it with glory and distinction. It even has a name. So your mother always insisted, and so you will tell the pawnbroker when you run out of money for gin. |
91-92 | You are Double jointed. This has all kinds of fun mechanics implications that can surely be dealt with on an ad hoc basis. |
93-94 | Keith Richards: take a +4 bonus and R2K1 on all Saves vs. Poison when taking drugs. |
95-96 | You have a Holy guardian angel and it loathes you |
97-98 | Pugilist! Your fists do d4 damage, R2K1. |
99-100 | You have a pickled punk – a tiny, two-headed fetus in a jar. It can tell you one fact about an individual for each drop of their blood you put in its brine. After 12 drops, the brine will be completely clouded with blood and the unfortunate creature will finally die. |
This is very neat , thanks for posting it!
ReplyDeleteThis is too good for the internet. Take it down.
ReplyDeleteSomebody should make an old school game where there every ability a character has is rolled on a chart flavorful as this one.
ReplyDeleteYou know you have a winner chargen method when you want to roll up a character just for the sheer hell of using it. (Which I do based on this table.)
ReplyDeleteThis table honestly put a big cheesy grin on my face. My next character will definitely have a guardian angel that loathes him.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff! Screw "balance" and keep up the good work. I like and will use it for any player that wants it...
ReplyDeleteWow... This is the single most inspiring random table provided for character generation ever! It reminds me that of Platemail but much more gonzo.
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant.
ReplyDelete