Gaze into the distant abyss that is the night's sky...

Ghun-Fang the Astrologer (#14/30, #318/365)

"Atop a smaller rocky hill that flanks the main summit of Mount Gulugu, you espy a round domed mud hut, with a hole in the roof through which poke several long brass instruments that glint in the sunlight. Alongside the hut are a few scraggly trees, and what looks like a herb-garden. A bald man with a black beard, clad in a simple brown robe and wearing black woolen gloves, shambles out of the hut, holding a staff.

'Can I help you?' he says in an irritated tone of voice. 'I'm very busy with my experiments."

Contents: This is Ghun-Fang the Astrologer, a wizard who uses his telescopes to peer into the night-sky scanning the constellations above for hints and clues as to the fates and destinies of those living here on Titan. He is rather grumpy as he is busy right now, but if spoken to politely can offer the following services:

- Construct a horoscope for someone, if they can give Ghun-Fang their date of birth. If this information has not been created previously, use the RANDOM BIRTHDAY GENERATOR at the bottom of this entry. The horoscopes are of four types, cost 10GP or the same in goods in kind, and may or may not work, depending on whether Ghun-Fang succeeds with his Astrology-Lore roll. The horoscopes are:

• Good fortune: Success: +1 bonus to all LUCK tests for this day or the next day. Failure: -1 penalty to all LUCK tests for this day or the next day.
  
• Guidance: Success: +1 bonus to all SKILL tests for this day or the next day. Failure: -1 penalty to all SKILL tests for this day or the next day.
• Health: Success: all wounds or injuries reduced by -1 STAMINA for this day or the next day. Failure: all wounds or injuries increased by +1 STAMINA for this day or the next day.
• Occult Acuity: Success: +1 bonus to all MAGIC tests for this day or the next day. Failure: -1 penalty to all MAGIC tests for this day or the next day.

- Currently, Ghun-Fang has the following herbs for sale (given page numbers are all for The Titan Herbal):

• Axeplant (p. 20) 2 vials (of Blade Venom) for 10GP each
• Jewelfruit (p. 42) 3 bags for 17SP each
• Luckleaf (p. 45) 1 sprig for 20GP
• Medusa Grass (p. 48) 1 bunch for 30GP
• Smoking Weed (p. 61) 3 pouches for 1GP each
  

- Ghun-Fang trades his fortune-tellings with the various folk scratching a living around Mount Gulugu, to obtain wine, wool, mutton and olives. He thus much knows information about comings and goings in the area, and, in addition, is friends with the herbalist Khalsha Mossfriend, Old Giblin the Sage, and the Hamakei Selathas Vrint. Currently, as well as studying the stars above, Ghun-Fang is keeping tabs on the Caarth colony within the Found Tombs for his old drinking buddy Giblin. He is technically a member of the Spellcasters' Guild but hasn't paid his dues in years, and if he does need things, heads to Dust Town instead of Pellod.

Hut contents: Ghun-Fang's Spellbook, a desk covered in star charts from both hemispheres (see Titan, p. 26), a bundle of scrolls, several quills and an inkwell, an abacus and a well-thumbed copy of An Astrologer's Almagest, as well as two bottles of red wine (rough but ready flavour, restores 1-3 STAMINA points, drinking the bottle in one sitting causes the reduction of -1 to Attack Strength for an hour) and several glasses. There is a crude bunk in a corner with woolen blankets, and a combined fire/kitchen area with some firewood, pots and pans, a copper kettle with weak tea, two jars of pickled olives (counts as 1 Provision each), and a Sentinel Potion, hidden behind half-a-dozen empty wine-bottles.

The only real treasure in the hut are Ghun-Fang's collection of telescopes. The first is a normal Brass Telescope (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1: p. 51) on a stand, currently pointed down a stretch of mountainside that contains the secret entrance to the Caarth Observation Post. It is trapped, so anyone touching it within gloves causes it to animate into a BRASS SENTINEL and attack. It is worth 25GP if undamaged.

The second telescope is larger, taking up two encumbrance slots, and worth 100GP with double the visual range (so 10-20km, instead of 5-10km, depending on elevation). It is currently pointing out across the Desert of Skulls at nothing in particular.

The third telescope is the biggest, an immense contraption over two metres long pointed up into the sky (looking through it in daytime cause temporary blindness for 1-6 hours, and the loss of 4 SKILL points during that time). If it could be transported down the mountain undamaged it would be worth at least 500GP to a collector.

Forge contents: Behind the hut is a locked lean-to housing a small forge area where Ghun-Fang makes parts for his telescopes. As well as various forge and glass-making tools, there are 200GP worth of twenty crude Brass Sheets (the top one is trapped to turn into a BRASS SENTINEL), an iron hammer and chisel, and a crystal cylinder worth 100GP.

Herb-garden contents: The scraggly herb-garden is Ghun-Fang's pride and joy. Currently growing here are (given page numbers are all for The Titan Herbal):

• Axeplant (p. 20) 5 clumps
  
• Jewelfruit (p. 42) 4 large bushes
• Luckleaf (p. 45) 1 small shrub
• Medusa Grass (p. 48) 1 clump
• Smoking Weed (p. 61) 2 bushes
  

Stats: 

Ghun-Fang the Astrologer, Human Male Wizard, 42 years old

SKILL: 8
STAMINA: 12
LUCK: 9
MAGIC: 8 (Magic Points: 22)
Talents: Focus
Special Skills: Common Speech (Allansian) 4, Magic-Wizardry 3, Minor Magic 2, Astrology Lore 2, Awareness 1, Climb 1, Crafting (Telescopes) 1, Mountain Lore 1, Magic Lore 1, Herb Lore 1, Religion Lore 1, Second Sight 1, Secret Signs 1, Staves 1, World Lore 1

Spells: (Wizardry) See Future (6), Weather Control (4), Lightning Blast (4), Counterspell (2), Levitate (2), Darkness (1), Flash! (1), Light (1), Thunder (1)

Spells: (Minor Magic) Enhance, Glimmer, Honesty, Instil, Mend, Weather Protection

Weapon: Staff

Armour: None

Notes: Ghun-Fang has 2-12GP, a key to the forge, a smoking-piper made from bone, a Focus Staff (+1 to all spellcasting attempts), and a Yokka Egg (to use in emergencies), while his brown robe functions as a Cloak of Invisibility. His gloves are non-magical, but worn to avoid triggering Brass Sentinel Traps.

A BRASS SENTINEL, SKILL 12 STAMINA 12, Sword, Medium Armour, cannot be harmed unless its assailants are holding items made from brass. If defeated will revert back to a Brass Sheet or Brass Telescope, but one that is now broken and worthless.

The Random Birthday Generator (can also use to generate Holy Days)

1 - Deduct the Hero's age from the current year (Titan, p. 114, is set in 284 AC for example) to get the year of birth.

2 - Roll on the following table to get the month of birth:

First Roll 1-3, Second Roll 1: Freeze (31 days) 2: Dark (28 days) 3: Unlocking (31 days) 4: Sowing (30 days) 5: Winds (31 days) 6: Warming (30 days)

First Roll 4-5, Second Roll 1: Fire (31 days) 2: Watching (31 days) 3: Reaping (30 days) 4: Hiding (31 days) 5: Close (30 days) 6: Locking (28 days)

3 - Roll on the following table to get the day of birth, bearing in mind how many days each month has, as given above:

First Roll 1, Second Roll 1: 1st 2: 2nd 3: 3rd 4: 4th 5: 5th 6: 6th

First Roll 2, Second Roll 1: 7th 2: 8th 3: 9th 4: 10th 5: 11th 6: 12th

First Roll 3, Second Roll 1: 13th 2: 14th 3: 15th 4: 16th 5: 17th 6: 18th

First Roll 4, Second Roll 1: 19th 2: 20th 3: 21st 4: 22nd 5: 23rd 6: 24th

First Roll 5, Second Roll 1: 25th 2: 26th 3: 27th 4: 28th 5: 29th 6: 30th

First Roll 6, Second Roll 1: 31st 2-6: Not Applicable

4- Roll on the following table to get the hour of birth:

First Roll 1, Second Roll 1: 1st 2: 2nd 3: 3rd 4: 4th 5: 5th 6: 6th

First Roll 2-3, Second Roll 1: 7th 2: 8th 3: 9th 4: 10th 5: 11th 6: 12th (Noon)

First Roll 3-5, Second Roll 1: 13th 2: 14th 3: 15th 4: 16th 5: 17th 6: 18th

First Roll 6, Second Roll 1: 19th 2: 20th 3: 21st 4: 22nd 5: 23rd 6: 24th (Midnight)

Also, if you want to find out which numbered year corresponds to which Animal Sign, use the following chart:

284: Fox, 283: Rabbit, 282: Spider, 281: Dog, 280: Eagle, 279: Wolf, 278: Bat, 277: Deer, 276: Mouse,  275: Goat, 274: Tiger, 273: Ox, 272: Snake, 271: Lion, 270: Dragon, 269: Horse, 268: Shark, 267: Cat, 266: Owl, 265: Crocodile, 264: Fox, 263: Rabbit, [Cycle repeats etc.]