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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1h

d100 - Wilderness Fauna
Weaving some more Wildlife into those Overland Journeys
blog.d4caltrops.com/2025/10/d100...
#osr #randomtables #ttrpgs

d100 - Wilderness Fauna

A s part of my Preparation for a new Wilderness Stocking Resource (an Overland version of my Dungeon Stocking – Expanded ) I’ve identified...

blog.d4caltrops.com

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 6h

Good for *tailoring* Tables like these work well for BtW's Implied Loop. They're *less specific* but that frees the Referee sometimes to place Treasures that tell a Story/Align with Fronts/Characters a little more.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 6h

I always think a good Trap has *Clues* or *Tells* so that when it's sprung there's that "Forehead Slapping Moment" from the Players rather than a "Gotcha!" or Antagonistic Experience. I have a d100 table to help with those here: blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/03/a-hu...

A Hundred Clues & Tells for the Tersely Detailed Trap

blog.d4caltrops.com

ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 7h

One thing that often helps me if I get stuck or am working on a Region with a Climate/Terrain I'm not *super familiar* with from Exploring/Hiking (getting outside is awesome for inspiration on these things!) is watching Nature Documentaries funnily enough. Nearly always something inspiring in those.

ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 7h

I know I can spend *hours* agonizing over cartography...and that's time that's probably better spent working on **Content** for this World I'm making. So I've learned to worry about it a little less over the decades. Just grabbing any old map to *get right to the fun bit* for me 😂

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 8h

I'll often just superimpose/rotate Real World Maps as an expedient, Players don't often get to see that "big picture" usually so it's usually not *obvious* they're traipsing around Upside Down Greece/Scotland 😅

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 20h

I'll have to add this one to my list! 😂

They are a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine!

ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 21h

Highly recommended read if you stumble across it! It's always one I keep a couple extra copies of for lending out 😅

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 21h

I'm a sucker for Footnotes, but I know that my tendency for digression would probably result in things looking like Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine:

Spread from Nicholson Baker's 1988 Book The Mezzanine, showing how Footnotes can end up serving as more than just brief clarifications/digressions.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 22h

Whenever I see phrases with a certain number of syllables/cadence that matches the Smith's "Girlfriend In A Coma" I can't stop singing the phrase to that song. This happens to be one of the funnier ones.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Only just started putting them out Yesterday, but the Halloween Flamingos are starting to forage in the yard for Spooky Land-Shrimps:

Halloween Yard Flamingos: Black and Orange. This is a Mother flamingo with 4 little younglings following her.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Semi-Related, but I've been meaning to give this a read: The Green Children of Woolpit: Chronicles, Fairies and Facts in Medieval England by John Clark. I think it digs into the primary sources for the tales behind them.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Here's a write up/demo I did of the Process awhile back after being asked about it (though I've been told my Hexes are a bit on the *densely stocked side* 😂):

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Hex Stocking Example

Hex Stocking Example Occasionally, I am asked how I go about stocking Hexes for Wilderness Adventuring. Here’s a little demonstration I put together that attempts to cover the process. Let’s stock a ...

docs.google.com

ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

I tend to save the "Rumors" for last as well, but I usually *start off* with Stocking the Encounter Tables for a Region/Set of Hexes, because those can inform subsequent Stocking Steps (Lairs, etc.)
But I will definitely draw from the Encounter Table for *Rumors* as well:

Encounter Table for an Overland Region known as the "Howling Hills" with 12 entries, d8 for Day, d4 for Night in case specifically themed Encounters are needed.

Rumor Table for the Howling Hills (this tends to grow over time with more Hexes Stocked) but some of the Rumors speak to Encounters from the previously stocked table.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Grab a d6 for one of the often *overlooked* little "Skill Rules" in the earlier presentations:

Tinderbox 2-in-6 Check per round from B/X.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

It's sometimes *confusing* for the other side of the coin in my games. When we use our "Seasonal Elfs" you might meet the same Elf twice and not recognize them if they've decided to change their Season on you!

blog.d4caltrops.com/2015/01/the-...

The Elf

Rules Cyclopedia: Page 25, The Elf Class Here's an alternative implementation of the Elf Class that shifts the focus from the traditional...

blog.d4caltrops.com

ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Heh, I have a few little Leonard Cohen Easter eggs that show up in some of my tables, and even named a "Barbed Wire Ley-Line" technique after one for my Fantasy Weird West "Gorgon Trail" Setting:

Pages from the Gorgon Trail Gazetteer concerning Barbed Wire Ley Lines of the Range Wizard's Way.

ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

File Under: Maybe/Someday
I *might* eventually expand this out into a full-fledged d100 Table 😅

ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Heh, Gnarly Undead and Wergild both show up in my little "Consequences for Hireling Death" table:

d12 Table featuring ideas for Consequences of Hireling Death, including a hit to Reputation, Price Increases, the family requesting a Deodand, the Body, Wergild...or even some more exotic situations like haunting by Poltergeists/Revenants.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Imagining a Transparent, Hollow Gavel with a d20 inside!

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

Oh yeah! Those "Star Powered" dudes with a Gem in their Forehead that *explodes* if they overcharge it! So many wacky ideas in those little yellow books!
Copy of this Table still lives in my binder after all these years:

Arduin Optional Character Appearance Chart to generate Hair/Eye Color, Birthmarks, Scars, etc.

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 1d

We threw Arduin stuff into all kinds of things over the years, so many great and "out there" ideas!

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Reposted by ktrey

Katt Kirsch @thiccmomswag.bsky.social · 3d

"Do not be ashamed to be tired. You look good when you're tired. You look like you could go on forever. "

Leonard Cohen's Advice for Novice OSR Referees

kattkirsch.bearblog.dev/leonard-cohe...

Leonard Cohen's Advice for Novice OSR Referees

Leonard Cohen's (1978) speaks to a time when the public performance of poetry was transforming into what Marc Smith would call "slam poetry" some six years ...

kattkirsch.bearblog.dev

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 2d

Party Marches in with the Goblin King's Head on a Spear...I might roll with a negative modifier for Goblins they meet...but who knows? Maybe they didn't like that King very much after all!

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ktrey @ktrey.bsky.social · 2d

Yep: They're a *Tool* and sometimes can produce surprises, but randomizers can also create dissonance. I still like to *consult* them though, as they can create more interesting situations than I might be able to come up with via fiat, and eliminate *some* bias...

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