Join us on a(n even more) fantastical delve into Sornieth...
It's Friday night and the dragons at the Ironworks have been convinced by none other than Occuleth himself that the best way to spend the evening is by playing a campaign of Burrows & Beastclans! Unfortunately, a number of them seem to either not actually be interested or have no clue how to play - but the public face of the Ironworks isn't about to let that stop him!
Burrows & Beastclaws is a heavily modified Pinkerlocke challenge meant to waste a little bit of my time - and possibly entertain some people along the way. The basic rules are fairly simple - throw some dragons into the coliseum and hope they don't die - but it's been made all the more complicated by my decision to have it all be one giant role-playing game.
Will the party ever reach their goal? Or is a TPK just one poor roll away? Find out soon in a forum post near you!
RULES
Original rules: Pinkerton’s Plundered Nuzlocke v3.0
modifications inspired by Treasured Knowledge, by Chloecat194; The Lover’s Curse, by Ranmaru; Beneath, by Thesfireflies; Bride of Elysium, by Epioth
Rules lovingly rogued and modified from Jaspernoir
Basic rules:
A death in the coliseum =
There are no restrictions about applying apparel to your dragons. Do whatever makes sense to you. Same goes for familiars.
And, most crucially, all nuzlocke activity corresponds with the loot you obtain daily from Pinkerton's plundered pile!
Optional sentimental rule:
If a dragon reaches level 20 it "retires". It can join the ranks of your main lair.
Additional rules:
Occuleth has roped three members of the clan into the game to begin with: Moss, Viola, and Bane. Each member of the clan has a character who they'll play in the burrows.
Drops of Fate:
Food:"Roll for initiative!"
The party delves into the burrow; it's do or die time!
Plants: 1-10 matches
Insects: 10-20 matches
Seafood: 20-30 matches
Meat: 30-40 matches
Insects: 10-20 matches
Seafood: 20-30 matches
Meat: 30-40 matches
Materials / Trinkets:
"You've returned to the village..."
It's downtime after a hard trip into the burrows! Writing or art ~ art will most likely be colouring in pre-made free dragon bases, because I have no skill to actually draw anything, or art bought off of some of the talented artists already on site (with credit of course!).
Familiars:
"Come on, it'll be fun!" or "You'll roll better this time!"
Occuleth ropes another player into making a character (or convinces someone who's already lost a character - but not resurrected it - to reroll). Buy a [fodder-priced adult] dragon in the auction house of a specific breed. Use a random number generator (between 1-14) to determine which breed you will get! (Optionally: attach the familiar to the new dragon.)
1. Fae
2. Guardian
3. Mirror
4. Pearlcatcher
5. Ridgeback
6. Tundra
7. Spiral
8. Imperial
9. Snapper
10. Wildclaw
11. Nocturne
12. Coatl
13. Skydancer
14. Bogsneak
2. Guardian
3. Mirror
4. Pearlcatcher
5. Ridgeback
6. Tundra
7. Spiral
8. Imperial
9. Snapper
10. Wildclaw
11. Nocturne
12. Coatl
13. Skydancer
14. Bogsneak
Apparel:
"Let's go see the priest!"
If the party has 5000 treasure, they may have a priest resurrect a character who's been knocked out. If the party doesn't have enough treasure or there's been no characters knocked out (or the players of all knocked out dragons have rerolled), treat it as a familiar.
Battle stones:
"Why are you rolling, Occuleth? ... I don't like that smile."
DEATH STREAK = RNG a coli team and play 10 consecutive rounds OR until a dragon faints [and therefore is defeated]. Potions are OK, retreat is not!
Treasure!: As the characters delve into the burrows, they'll amass treasure as a party. That treasure can be used to buy equipment (apparel) and other items that Occuleth might decide that the town happens to have. Basically, it's just an excuse to keep things exciting along the way. Treasure is accumulated at a rate equal to the sell value of drops in the coliseum (exception: apparel which the party equips doesn't contribute to the treasure total) and items are "bought" at their sell value (because otherwise this party's never going to afford anything). Items on defeated characters are either passed to another character or sold for more treasure; a good party lets nothing go to waste after all.
The Campaign's End:
Occuleth doesn't plan ahead very well. He's got an idea of where to go but even the best plans fall apart once the players touch them. Hopefully they don't drive him crazy in the process; as the story continues, we may eventually reach points where the story needs to come to an end... for a time.
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Note: I generally won't be immediately exalting dragons that're defeated unless it seems impossible for the players to amass enough treasure any time soon - they'll just decide it's better to reroll instead of wait.
* I might donate a dragon to your nuzlocke/Pinkerlocke/lair/whatevs if you call dibs.
I am subscribed; no need to ping.