Be aware of the Anklewort

ANKLEWORT (#6/31, #280/365) [TTHA] 

Appearance: This is a a short, ground-hugging herb with large circular light green leaves and small yellow flowers.

Distribution: Plains, grasslands and steppes across the Old World.

 

Effects: The leaves of an Anklewort plant can be made into a poultice and applied to various aches and sprains, alleviating both pain and swelling. Anyone with a sprained ankle or wrist for example, may apply an Anklewort poultice to the injured area and regain 1 SKILL point if any have been lost. This herb has no effect on fractured or broken bones however.

 

Cost: City 3gp, Town 4gp, Village 5gp (per poultice)

 

Availability: Common

How many pads could a footpad foot if a footpad could foot pads?

FOOTPAD (#5/31, #279/365) [POT]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA : 6

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: See below

ARMOUR: See below

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Towns, Towns (sewers), Ruins, Dungeons

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 2-12

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: Average

"I drew my sword, and backed against a wall as the FOOTPADS closed around me. One massively built villain stepped forward, armed with a length of heavy chain.

    'Well, well,' he chuckled unpleasantly. 'It's got a sword. Come on, then - let's see how good you are!'."

- Tales of Initiation, an anonymous collection from Port Blacksand.

A Footpad is your classic standover merchant, a troublesome violent presence on lonely city streets, quite happily separating random innocent passersby from their valuables, and worse for working in large intimidating packs. Footpads typically wear ragged but useful clothing, with hoods and padded feet (hence their name!) wrapped with cloth rags that allow them to deduct 1 from any Stealth Special Skill roll. All Footpads carry a Dagger stashed somewhere upon their person, but they can be highly variable otherwise. Roll on the below tables to determine various individual details for each encountered Footpad.

Roll Weapon Type (roll for all Footpads)

1 Armoured Fist

2 Club (typically an old chair leg)

3 Heavy Chain

4 Blackjack

5 Shortsword

6 Handaxe

Roll Extras (roll a die for each Footpad; on a 6 roll two dice on the table below)

2 Fire Dust

3 Hand Crossbow

4 Caltrops

5 Net

6 Shortbow

7 Rope

8 Throwing Dagger

9 Blowpipe

10 Ball Bearings

11 Flintlock Pistol

12 a Grenade

Armour Table (roll for all Footpads)

1-2 None

3 Armoured Fist, if already have, then Breastplate

4 Leather Jack

5 Leather Cuirass

6 Small Shield

If six or more Footpads are encountered, one of them will be a Footpad Leader with SKILL 8 STAMINA 7 and one roll on the Extras table above. Footpads are particularly prevalent in lawless and semi-lawless settlements across Titan such as Port Blacksand, Ashkyos, and Tak. They tend to begin as rabble bands high on aggression and low on sophistication, but the best rise to become some of the most elite professional urban robbers in any tactical street-level environment, separating a chosen wealthy target from their riches with speed, stealth and efficiency. Nevertheless, the occasional Footpad does eventually tire of the grubby violent nature of their work, and give up the putting the frighteners on people in favour of becoming an adventurer instead, questing for wealth and glory.

"How's the water?"

Potion of Underwater Breathing (#4/31, #278/365) [EA:V2] (Potion) 

Stepping out onto the gangplank, she leapt off the end. She dropped like a stone into the sea and the waves closed over her head. The weight of her armour and sword dragged her down towards the submerged reef. Her lungs began to ache until, unable to fight the urge any longer, she took a gulping breath. But what's this? Miraculously she was still able to breathe - just has she had hoped. She breathed a sigh of relief and moments later her feet touched the seabed.

- Death of a Pirate, Khlosta of Anghelm  

Traditionally, the Potion of Underwater Breathing takes the form of a sea-green glass bottle shaped like a fish, and was made by Sea Sprites to give to valiant heroes who could aid them on underwater quests. A crazed pseudo-scientist Mendelev Quicksilver, of the Brotherhood of Alchemists in Chalannabrad, claims to have perfected a more recent iteration, much in use by the whalers and Sea Nomads of the Eelsea. When drunk, the potion enables the imbiber to stay underwater without needing to breathe. They can walk, swim, fight and perform all other actions as per normal. The effects typically last for 2-12 hours before wearing off, the imbiber will generally feeling a noticeable tightening of the throat that indicates only thirty minutes of air are remaining.

Price 7gp per Potion

Kickstarter: ADVANCED FIGHTING FANTASY: DARK DUNGEONS the boardgame.

I have seen this project playtested at two Fighting Fantasy Fests now. I have seen the art by such incredible artists as Tony Hough, Mustafa Bekir, Brett Schofield, John Kapsalis and Matthew Dewhurst. And now it is live on Kickstarter - 35 pounds plus postage for the standard game, a 1-6 player modular, tile-based dungeoncrawler using a simplified version of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy second edition rules. 

I'm totally invested in it, and you find all the details here. :-)

I'm a Barbmesh Plant in a barbed mesh-world...

BARBMESH PLANT (#2/31, #276/365) [TTHA] 

Appearance: This is a large yellow tree with sprawling ochre net-like branches, covered in barbs. The central trunk terminates in a gnashing mouth, flanked by three long thorny tendrils.

Distribution: At the Voidal Sump on the Plane of Pain within the Demonic Pit, and some rare isolated places upon Titan.

 

Effects: This weird carnivorous plant (see below for combat scores), is typically found growing on the cliff walls that form the sides of the Voidal Sump, using its foliage to sift the waters of the effluvial fall for food, before the spray descends into the endless depths of the Void. If the plant is slain, one large 'net' can usually be harvested from the branches, and if enchanted carefully, can be turned into a Net of Entanglement (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 129).

 

Cost: City 80gp, Town 90gp, Village 100gp (per 'net')

 

Availability: Very Rare

 

Further Notes: Unfortunately, thanks to the efforts of some more botanically-minded Demonologists, the Barbmesh Plant has been found on Titan, typically in out of the way places where it can use its branches to trawl for food in the water. Such habitat includes the banks of mountain streams, underground rivers and stinking marshes, as well as sea-shores, and even alongside steaming springs in volcanic areas.

BARBMESH PLANT (#3/31, #277/365) [OOTP IV]

SKILL: 6

STAMINA: 20

ATTACKS: 4

WEAPON: Tendrils (Small Claw), Large Mouth, Barbmesh Net (see below)

ARMOUR: Heavy

DAMAGE MODIFIER: +1 to Damage Roll

HABITAT: Demonic Planes, Mountains, Volcanic Areas, Hills, Lakes, Rivers, Sea-shores

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Plant/Monster

REACTION: Neutral-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: None

On the Plane of Pain, the Voidal Sump is where the detritus of the Demonic Pit drains way into the endless depths of the Void, and many strange things make a living here, on of which is the BARBMESH PLANT. This is a large yellow tree with sprawling ochre net-like branches, covered in barbs, and a central trunk that terminates in a gnashing mouth, flanked by three long thorny tendrils. The Barbmesh Plant typically traps food in its net-like branches, and uses the tendrils to transfer the food to its mouth.

A similar process is used for defending itself from attacks or attempting to capture land-based prey. First the Barbmesh Plant will fling up to four sets of net-branches at its opponents. These require a Test for Luck to avoid, if unsuccessful, a victim will lose two STAMINA points per Attack Round until cut free. It will then attack with twitching tendrils, these cause regular damage and if they win an Attack Round will also transport their prey to the mouth where it will suffer Large Bite damage automatically every Attack Round.

Gamekeeper turned Poacher...

POACHER (#1/31, #275/365) [POT]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA : 6

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: See below

ARMOUR: See below

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Forests, Hills, Towns, Mountains, Plains, Wilderness

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-6

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Neutral-Unfriendly

INTELLIGENCE: High

Out there in the dangerous wilds of Titan, the hunter hunts as a professional and the gamekeeper as a warden and protector, but the POACHER hunts for personal need, whether monetary or sheer survival. These ragged individuals exist beyond, in the wild, tracking and hunting valuable creatures for food and profit. As can be imagined, they are a highly diverse bunch of disparate borderland misanthropes with far too little in the way of regular social contact. Roll on all the tables below to determine the provenance of each poacher:

Roll Missile Weapon

1 Long Bow

2 Short Bow

3 Crossbow (Roll for type: 1-2 Regular, 3-4 Hand, 5-6 Repeating)

4 Sling

5 Blowpipe

6 Firepowder weapon (Roll for type: 1 Flintlock Blunderbuss, 2-3 Matchlock Pistol, 4-5 Flintlock Pistol, 6 Matchlock Blunderbuss)

Roll Melee Weapon

1 Club

2-3 Shortsword

4-5 Sword

6 Staff

Roll Armour

1-2 None

3-4 Leather Jack

5-6 Leather Cuirass

Roll Type Effect

1 Human, no effect

2 Man-Orc, +1 SKILL

3 Black Elf, no effect

4 Half-Elf, no effect

5 Half-Goblin, +1 STAMINA

6 Wild Elf, no effect

Poachers operate in any terrain that has enough game to turn a profit. This even includes cities, especially those with lots of poorly defended open ground, such as Khare, cityport of traps. Poachers will have at least 1 point in the following Special Skills: Hunting, Trap Lore, Terrain Lore, and Animal Lore. Such a useful accumulation of experience makes them desirable skirmishers, and those Poachers who wish to leave their poorly-paid existence behind often have no shortage of suitors who require their specific talents, including units of archers or scouts, adventurers, caravan guards and even their old foes hunters and gamekeepers!