Thursday, January 28, 2016

1d20 Random Finds From Carcosa Table For Your Old School Campaigns



Carcosa from the folks over at the Lamentations of the Flame imprint remains one of my all time favorite books. I was speaking with some friends tonight about the game setting and book, the results of this evening's conversations are below.
Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies,
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa.
—"Cassilda's Song" in The King in Yellow Act 1, Scene 2
1d20 Random Finds From Carcosa Table
  1. Carved thigh bone flute  of a humanoid being slightly larger then normal, the thing bares the signs and symbols of the Old Ones. It is part of a rite to summon a child of the Old Ones. 200 silver pieces
  2. Alien scanner corrupted puts out a burst of weird cosmic radiation, any exposure to it the victim must save vs death or have a check on the mutation table. The relic is very pretty though and seems to beckon. 1000 silver as a piece of jewelry
  3. A watch like device that measures the grade of any Carcosian that it is brought before and if they are worthy of the alien hungers of the Great Old Ones. 300 silver pieces
  4. A brain cylinder of alien design carved with brass like fittings over the entire surface, this piece is incredibly valuable to doctors and alchemists but the alien brain inside is still living. The thing will try to take over the owner by possession. Worth about 500 silver pieces but the inquisition will be after the owner. 
  5. Carved death mask of a white priest of power & magick, this piece gives the owner access to the dark cosmic truths of the universe and allows one 1d4 spells per day but it also gives mind parasites access to the owner's brain. Eventually after 1d6 months the owner will have to save vs death or be infected with hyper intelligent brain grubs from Denab IV. Worth 300 silver pieces for this piece of artwork alone.
  6. Reworked star ship part that is now a walking stick and yet can put out a blast of weird energy every three days in a ten foot radius for 1d4 points of damage. The stick though is a sensor unit and will brain scan a new owner stunning them for 1d6 rounds as their brain takes a trip to ancient and horrid vistas of reality. Each of the previous owner's data is stored in the thing and an alien demon from beyond has been looking at it for a dire agenda of its own. Worth about 200 silver for the fine craftsmanship and art of the piece.
  7. Silver brooch with a weird spider motif that can generate a healing spell once per week and replace a section of flesh or 1d6 points of damage. The section of wound that is to be healed is alien, weird and the thing must be paid in 1d3 pints of blood each time this ability is used. An alien spider demon may come to call looking for the soul of the owner or the item. 200 silver pieces and the Inquisition will not be amused that you have this item. 
  8. Hand carved set of bone needles that have bits of recovered and re-purposed gold and other alien metals on them, they can be used to sew a man's soul to his shadow enabling a 5% resistance to some minor witchcraft's and magicks. The soul is bound by a red thread to an alien god being who feeds off of the love and fate of the owner, their soul's become its when they die. Worth 100 gold pieces especially for the carved case with the leering alien gargoyles on it 
  9. Ray gun parts refitted into an alien vase, the thing gives off minor  strange radiations and any plant put into this hand craved monstrosity is going to grow a dangerous and highly aggressive planet demon thing. Worth 300 gold pieces to a black magus of power or a one way trip to the pyre. 
  10. Alien sword carved from the thigh bone of some metallic monster from the other side of Carcosa. The thing is rife with weird signs and symbols. It is a tool and not a weapon and enables a wizard to cleave between the cracks of reality enabling them to see and touch the angles of time. Those that do however might be subject to a Summon spell without the protections of a pentacle or other astral device of power to protect them. It can also be used to summon objects from other realities but could let loose 1d6 minor alien demon things. Worth 400 silver to the right owner but beware the witch finders on this one.
  11. Tooth pick holder like relic carved from a humanoid thighbone and it holds 1d10 little tools capable of intricate work but their form and function is unknown but when arranged in a certain pattern they can summon 1d6 Carcosian imps. There is no way to stop the process however but for the most part this piece is a collector's item. The race who created it is unknown but its worth a cool 200 silver and the witch hunters will have no idea what this is. 
  12. A brass like holder that has six weird greenish blue liquid potion like capsules within it. The thing is a work of art and glows with harmless light but inside there is a trapped water elemental spirit that used to be a part of some alien space craft. The thing has carved Deep One writing over its surface and its writing hurts the eyes to look at for too long. It can be used to call other elemental spirits but they will be very, very, angry that their fellow spirit has been treated in this manner. Only the sacrifice of an eye or other limb will appease them and the owner must make amends. Worth 200 silver and the owner must be very careful with this piece. It could break and the results might be disastrous. 
  13. This small delicate mechanism is the creation of the black ones of Carcosa and though a recovered spring steel and brass like material piece it plays an odd tune what it actually does which will only be apparent after months of research. The thing plays musick similar to Eric Zahn's volin enabling a six foot warp bubble of worm hole material to protect the owner from demons and alternative realities. The effect creates a zone of 1d6 hours of time loss around the owner and there is a sixty percent chance per use that those within the bubble will have their existences removed from their current time line. 
  14. Red sand from the radioactive deserts of Carcosa that allows the owner to turn back time for 1d6 minutes and can be used in certain rites of protection against alien demons and certain life forms but the stuff causes 1d8 mutations after six uses. Comes in a nice brass and glass vessel and this stuff is only found in certain areas of lost Carcosa and its guard by murderous tribes of black magic using bastards. There are certain witch finders who have twigged to finding this material in three affairs. Worth 200 silvers to the right black wizard but don't get caught. 
  15. The preserved skin book of a Deep One with 1d6 spells written within its still living and sticky leather like pages, hundreds of pieces of horrid artwork are scattered throughout it. The book will reveal 1d6 spells every new moon. Those caught with it will be burned alive but those who use it gain an extra 1d4 hours for spell effects. Worth 300 silver pieces to the cult of Dagon but there is a sixty percent chance that they might try to murder the owner.
  16. A flute that opens the minds of its listener to the horrid places between reality where small and dangerous imps of perversion live. This is a purple man artifact carved from the weeping woods along the paths to Hell. Worth about 100 silvers but the flute weeps tears of blood every 1d4 hours if these are collected they can be used to summon a minor suicide demon. 
  17. A brass key that opens the heads of certain Jale peoples and enables a Mi Go to be summoned within 1d6 rounds. The key has been made from the small bones of a mutant giant and made with thin strips of brass. Worth 100 silver to certain black magick collectors and priests of the old religions. 
  18. A wand of the Thule creatures, this wand has been carved from the arm bone of an alien creature and worth about 70 silver pieces because legends surround these wands enabling the those who own them to summon demons of ancient and foul destruction. Witch finders will kill those that possess these foul things. The wands are almost creepy living extensions of the demonic essence of these things. 
  19. A living brass like mask of horror that has a black pudding like living thing within it, the relic will eat off the face of the owner inflicting -3 charisma points and branding the owner a follower of this thing's foul god. The owner gains 1d6 rites and spells but their mind is a semi twisted copy of itself and their souls float in a sea of black magick. Worth 600 silver pieces but the thing is a twisted piece of foulness and anyone looking at it will be struck by the horror. 
  20. A silver plated ball containing the essence of a shoggoth that will easily open for some fool playing with it. Those handling it will be taken over by micro bits of the Lovecraftian horrors.Worth 100 silver pieces but there are certain witchfinders who know what these things are.


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