Tuesday, March 19, 2013

A Petty God: Feloren - Astrayed Patron of the Lost, The Idol of Misdirection

(Approved: my first submission for the revived Petty Gods Community Project)

Name: Feloren
Symbol: A broken compass rose without cardinal directions
Alignment: Determine with 1d6 for every encounter (1, 2 chaotic 3, 4 neutral 5, 6 lawful)
Movement: 120'
Armor Class: -4
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 200 hp (30 hd)
Attacks: With anything he might get his hands on
Damage: 3d6 and special
Save: M30
Morale: 12 (minus the result from the d6 for alignment)
Hoard Class: rare maps, information (see text), 1d3 random minor lost artifacts
XP: 25.000

Feloren, Astrayed Patron of the Lost and The Idol of Misdirection is, ironically, a lost god, only worshipped by a very small congregate of daoist cultists that describe him as The-One-That-Is-Lost-But-Everywhere and apply a twisted logic to explain how he exists because he doesn't (or the other way around). Just like the wrong path one takes still is a path nonetheless. Finding him is, paradoxically, taking a wrong turn. And being lost in a paradox, he is a lonely petty god indeed.

Even so, whenever someone is lost and a Random Encounter occurs, there is a 1 in 6 chance to encounter Feloren instead. He appears as a harmless old hobo, with a huge, wild beard and an adventurous assortment of clothes. He seems lost, too. Depending on his alignment and a Reaction roll, he will react as follows:

Feloren Reaction Table (1d12 + result of alignment roll):

2      Misleading (chaotic)
3-5    Counterproductive (chaotic)
6-8    Spurning (chaotic)
9-12   Aware (neutral)
12-14  Reluctant (lawful)
15-17  Helpless (lawful)
18     Disoriented (lawful)

His erratic behaviour is mostly due to the fact, that he has to keep more than one presence at any given time (the three alignments) in different locations. Only in his aware state, he is able to help the lost he meets (2 to 8 on the Reaction Table mean he is pretending). Giving him presents will alter the Reaction Table towards "Aware". Maps give him a gleeful joy (every wrong detail in a map, like "Here Be Dragons" for example, alters the Reaction Table result by 1), but really anything someone is willing to loose (memories, close relatives, etc.) might help to get him there.

Killing him is possible, but very difficult. The easiest way would be to somehow unite his three alignment embodiments and go for the kill afterwards. Killing only one aspect will change reality for those who get lost (if only a little bit) and reduce his possible reactions accordingly (see Reaction Table). Spells cast at him have a 3 in 6 chance of getting lost, with a 1 meaning the spell vanished out of the magic users spellbook, too. Physical attacks do harm him, but the attacker has to save vs. spells or he will be teleported 1d6 miles in a random direction.

Felaren knows with 90% probability the whereabouts of anyone and anything lost. He might share the information, too. He won't reveal himself as a god (he might not be aware of it...), but depending on how he is treated, he may bless or curse the people he meets anyway. A blessed person knows the next 1d6 times what the right direction is (that is, the DM hints the way). A cursed person, on the other hand, will unknowingly move 1d6 times in the wrong direction (characters saying they move in one directing, will be moved in the opposite direction by the DM).

EDIT 03/23/2013: The Petty God Community Project is still running very, very strong. There's still room for submissions, but not for long! Gorgonmilk is doing an awesome job so far and the OSR is very, very alive...

2 comments:

  1. This worked its magic on me. I love the way you weave the theme into encounters and any confrontation that might result, and details like the possible lack of self-knowledge, and fact the whereabouts roll is only a 90% chance. The final line might be controversial. Good. There's more than one reading of it and I'd argue the set of ideas needs to be thought more about.

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  2. Thanks! Glad you like the ideas! I'm never really sure about this stuff, this being figments of my imagination and in the first instance only subject to my own reasoning...

    You are right about that last line. Seemed like the way to go at the time, though. And I agree in seeing this as a good thing (and easy to change, at that).

    I wanted to write and explain a little bit more. But then again, space is an issue and I thought it's long enough as it is. The way I see it, this leaves some room for a DM to let the ideas sink in and make them his/her own.

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