fix titlecase;

blog: skill system;
lore24

Author: stories-with-dice

content/20 Modern Locations that are like a Medieval Fantasy Dungeon.md

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+---
+date: 2024-03-13
+---
+I use these in combinations with the [[Obsidian Random Tables - Worlds without Number]] ruin tags to create interesting locations for my modern horror games.
+
+1. **abandoned subway system**
+2. **derelict mental hospital**
+3. **secret biotech laboratory**
+4. **crumbling high-rise**
+5. **sports and concerts arena**
+6. **catacombs beneath the city**
+7. **decommissioned military bunker**
+8. **sewer network**
+9. **abandoned theme park**
+10. **closed-down mall**
+11. **old lighthouse on a remote island**
+12. **dilapidated boarding school**
+13. **secret underground railway**
+14. **ghost town**
+15. **corporate penthouse**
+16. **cocaine plantation and processing facility**
+17. **community garden sanctuary**
+18. **gang hideout under a church**
+19. **survivalist bunker**
+20. **luxury yacht adrift at sea**

content/Blog/20 Modern Locations that are like a Medieval Fantasy Dungeon.md

@@ -475,11 +475,28 @@ The unnatural is above and below our reality. Its true nature cannot be perceive
 
 I'm quite proud of the phrase "epistemological bottleneck."
 
+# 034 - April 9
 
+## Campaign framework - Dreamlands Conjunctions
 
+Reality is shaped by belief, a la Planescape or [Department of Truth](https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/the-department-of-truth). In hidden fringe corners of the world cultists control and subtly guide those susceptible to various ideas to their own ends. They shape reality and summon forth creatures from the Dreamlands. Their goals? Mysterious, elusive, but dangerous. You play agents trying to stop them. 
 
+This framework allows me to combine modern day with magical fantasy incursions, similar to [Project Staircase](https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/setting-riff-voices-from-below-and-the-long-stairs.391379/), **without** worrying about having to research and represent modern realism. In these corners, belief in Yeti or The Mothman have altered reality to new magical rules. 
 
+An example could be a system of otherwise mundane caves believed by locals to house spirits of the dead animals in the area. The theme of the location would be exploring loss of innocence and animal companionship. 
+# 035 - April 10
 
+## Faction - The Free Librarians
+
+This is a group that can be used in any modern horror campaign.
+
+The main concept is a group that operates within public libraries. They leave hidden messages within shelves and meet at odd hours to discuss and share secret knowledge.
+
+The leader is Chloe Zhukov, a disgraced literary studies PhD. She had to leave academia as she was discovered to have been using and spread pirated copies of academic books. She now works as a librarian. Her secret desire is to write and publish a book about guerilla warfare that will land her a fat check, so she can finally retire.
+
+Resources: They have managed to obtain leaked copies of top secret government documents outlining anatomical representations of aliens. The group has copied these and placed them in various public libraries. Unknown to them, the government (perhaps Delta Green?) is on their tails.
+
+Current operations: They are currently fighting a silent academic war with the Miskatonic University circle. The Free Librarians post on social media condemning the MU circle of "gatekeeping" by not allowing external researchers to access the MU's much-renowned "forbidden section."
 
 
 

content/Blog/Lore24.md

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+---
+date: 2024-04-10
+---
+![](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-9zhx02uo/product_images/uploaded_images/female-warrior-500x516.png)
+
+As much as I like the BRP and Cthulhu Eternal family of games, I've always been bothered by the skill list. There are several problems with them in my opinion. Not all skills are "equal". Which is not a problem in general, but it's especially egregious in the BRP family of RPGs.
+
+On the one hand, you have very broadly "useful" skills like Firearms, Alertness, Persuade. On the other hand, you have entries like Swim, Disguise or Ride. Putting your points in the former is not the same as putting your points in the latter.
+
+As much as I've tried to try to condense this list of skills to something more concise and equal, I haven't figured out the right one. Until then I have devised some general house rules in how I GM BRP games:
+
+1. If a crucial clue is hidden behind a skill check, just give the clue to the PC with the highest relevant skill. 
+2. When asking for a roll of a very niche skill, err on the side of giving bonuses. 
+   
+   > [!info] Rolls are for stressful situations!
+> Also remember that you should only roll for STRESSFUL or DANGEROUS situations. Don't ask for Drive roll when the character is simply driving to work; do ask for one when they are being chased by a Bat Thing!
+
+3. The points spent in a very niche skills should be "worth more" than the points spent in a generally useful skill. Double the amount of points gained on [Improvement rolls](https://storieswithdice.com/cthulhu_eternal_srd/Part-2---Skills#improving-skills) (or, in BRP, the [Experience Roll](https://storieswithdice.com/brp_srd/05.-System#making-an-experience-roll)). It's up to the GM to determine which exact skills count as "niche".

content/My House Rules for Skills in d100 games.md

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ I blog about role-playing games, creative writing, and other fanciful topics. Yo
 
 # Blog posts
 
+- [[My House Rules for Skills in d100 games]]
 - [[20 Modern Locations that are like a Medieval Fantasy Dungeon]]
 - [[Sword and Sorcery fiction - an online class]]
 - [[The Door (flash fiction)]]
@@ -33,6 +34,8 @@ I blog about role-playing games, creative writing, and other fanciful topics. Yo
 
 The `#Lore24` challenge is to write a bit of background lore about your fictional world every day, each day of 2024. Stick around and see me struggle to fit this into my schedule.
 
+- [[Lore24#035 - April 10]] - *faction: The Free Librarians*
+- [[Lore24#034 - April 9]] - *framework: Dreamlands Conjunctions*
 - [[Lore24#033 - February 02]] - *epistemological bottleneck*
 - [[Lore24#032 - February 01]] - *short fiction*
 - [[Lore24#030 - January 30]] - *a campaign framework*