Grave-City of the King-Priest

Choose wisely.

Somewhere out on the frontiers, in another age, in another time there was a desert, ruled by kings who were gods. The tombs they built to preserve their earthly souls after death survived the world they knew, and now this one stands still, just. A few individuals and defences still hang on too, destroying those who would defile the holy corpse of the King-Priest.

Terrors:

1 - Sand-Sealed Soldiers: Trapped in sealed chambers, stood in their ranks, the sand poured in an eternal vigil. Opening certain doors will release them.
2 - The Scorpion Sisters: Spirits of the desert bound to the tombs by an ill-considered deal. Like a centaur only the horse parts are giant scorpions. Guard the Promenade of Heroes.
3 - Desert Hunger Spirits: They remain clinging to the edge of the tomb-complex, held at bay by the sun disk. Their prey end up husks, withered and dry.
4 - Curse-Seals: Hold fast the great stone doors of the tombs. If broken by intruders, they release the curses that are stored inside.
5 - Guardians of the Royal Souls: Canopic-Statue-Guardians, holding the sacred organs within their chests. Imbued with divine purpose.
6 - The Many-Lords of Rot: A rival power to the King-Priest, a hive mind of worms, locusts, beetles. They would feast on the royal souls.

Treasures:

1 - The King's Riches: Much gold, animated servile statuary, gems, jewels, scepters, oh my!
2 - The Sun Disk: Blazes with golden light, the power of the sun. Blasts of incandescent flame blast and repel spirits and the inhuman, at least those without the seal of the King.
3 - The Moon Blade: Blazes with a cold blue flame, the power of the moon. Harms and subdues ghosts and other such otherwise immune undead.
4 - Preserved Remains: Alchemically potent through the weight of passing centuries, academic types would pay through the nose for them.
5 - Historical Information: Requires some serious translation work, but the context it would provide historians is invaluable.
6 - Salt: Just like loads of salt. Loads of it. It was valuable back then! Still worth something now.

Features:

1 - Defeated Defilers: Blackened and twisted and contorted, held in place forever. The ghosts of some rage nearby. Some still clutch treasure in dried and oily hands.
2 - Small Shrines: Here there are ancient and crooked priests who can cleanse you of your sins, if you bring a proper offering.
3 - The Promenade of Heroes: Many columns depicting and retelling the tales and legends of ancient adventurers and heroes. Offer clues about the contents of minor tombs and the grand pyramid.
4 - Scarab-People Scavengers: They too seek the treasures and wonders of the city, travellers from the roving tent-city of their people. They have trinkets for sale, and would perhaps buy ones you find.
5 - Houses of the Dead: Here the corpses of the worthy underwent their journey to eternity. Now they are cold and empty of all but the many jars and urns of salt.
6 - Titan of the King's Judgement: The Doom of Sinners, but blind to the unblemished. The weak point is at the base of the skull; it is unguarded, but hard to access.

Ancilliary Tables

The Holy Souls of the King-Priest
First is the Soul, then the organ that it inhabited, then the head of the Guardian, and finally the power of the Guardian.
1 - The Name - The Teeth and Tongue - Jackal - Taunting and disorienting cackles and whispers.
2 - The Shadow - The Liver - Crow - A paralysing shadow, which animates and grapples you.
3 - The Soul - The Stomach - Hippo - A bite attack which grapples on a hit.
4 - The Mind - The Eyes - Ibis - Fights with a bow which fires feather arrows.
5 - The Breath - The Lungs - Hawk - Flight on great skeletal wings.
6 - The Body - The Spine - Crocodile - Armour, which it can partially shed to regenerate.
7 - The Blood - The Heath - Bull - Flaming Aspect, which intensifies as it bleeds.

Curse-Seal Effects
1 - Swarms of Locusts pour forth from the shattered seal.
2 - The one that broke the seal magically ages a year each day.
3 - Each week, one of the family of the one who broke the seal is compelled to commit suicide.
4 - Creeping Petrifciation spreads from the limbs that broke the seal.
5 - Water turns into Sand in the mouth of the one that broke the seal.
6 - The one that broke the seal is always on the verge of heat-stroke, even in the snow.
7 - The eyes of the one that broke the seal turn to scarabs which will live in the sockets.
8 - The Black Jackal of Doom follows the one who broke the seal, it hounds them.
9 - A Creeping Flame sets in the air, spilling like mist from the broken seal.
10 - Water won't stop pouring from the broken seal.
11 - The Guardians of the Royal Souls always score critical hits on the one who broke the seal.
12 - The one who broke the seal becomes deathly vulnerable to sunlight.

Sin and the Titan
The titan is a vengeful guardian of the Great Pyramid. Its empty eyes see only the sins of trespassers, and the blameless are invisible to it. Every other round it makes an attack against a sinner, determined randomly, though it has double chances to target the most sinful individual it can see and reach. It rolls to hit with only a d20, modified by the amount of sin the target has accumulated.
Each sin is counted up individually, and each sin must be atoned for individually. For each category that you have 3 or more sins of, the titan gains +1 on to hit rolls against you. If you have 10+ sins in total, the Titan hits you automatically.
Sins:
1 - Breaking a Curse-Seal
2 - Destroying one of the Guardians of the Royal Souls
3 - Stealing Funerary Gifts
4 - Trespassing in Sacred Spaces (i.e. the burial/treasure chambers of minor tombs, and any chamber on the third and fourth levels of the Great Pyramid)

Minor Shrines
First is the name of the Shrine, then the price that must be paid for atonement, finally the benefit it provides.
Each shrine only occurs once in the Tomb-City, further rolls of previously discovered shrines indicate another entrance to it.
1 - House of Names: A Tooth - Atones for all sins gained from destroying guardians of the royal souls.
2 - Pit of Unburdening: Only the pain of being thrown into the Pit (20 feet deep), and remaining there for 1 hour - Atones for all of one random type of sin.
3 - Table of the Feast: Salt for further meat, at least a pound - Merely a safe haven, laden with food.
4 - Shrine of Red Release: 1 constitution point's worth of Blood - Atones for all sins gained from breaking Curse-Seals
5 - Cells of Contemplation: A Day's worth of fasting and meditating - Reduces each count of each sin you have down to 2.
6 - Pools of Cleansing: A deep and jagged cut, dealing 1 point of damage for each hit die you have - Breaks a curse that affects your character.
7 - Temple of Judgement: 10% of all gold carried on your person - Atones for all sins gained from stealing Funerary Gifts.
8 - House of Confession: A penalty of 1 to all d20 rolls you make for the rest of the day - Atones for all sins gained from Trespassing in Sacred Spaces.

Defeated and Cursed Defilers
They are all black and shrivelled by age, their skin slightly sticky and greasy, and they are frozen in their current poses. Trying to rearrange any part of them will snap off the part in question.
Each has a 3 in 6 chance of manifesting its ghost, and a further 3 in 6 chance to have its treasure somewhere on its person. Ghosts can't stray out of sight of their body. If a defiler has both a treasure and a ghost, the treasure is almost certainly the cause of their suffering.
Each Defiler can be encountered multiple times, until it is encountered with either its ghost or treasure. It cannot be encountered again after that.
1 - Frozen in a convulsion of pain - ghost only wishes for mercy - treasure is a ruby carved like a fire
2 - Pinned to a wall - ghost fights to the bitter, bitter end - treasure is a masterwork spear-head, needs re-hafting.
3 - Face-down in the sand - ghost is a cruel thief - treasure is a pouch full of old gold coins.
4 - Curled up, feotal, wracked with fear - ghost cowers in the corner and waves a knife desperately at any who draw near - treasure is a golden ring, set with a tiny rat skull.
5 - Decapitated and dropped - ghost is headless, and swings a blade around wildly - treasure is a canopic jar with a preserved organ inside (roll on the Holy Remains to see which organ it is, though it is never the kings actual organs of course).
6 - Torn in half and discarded - ghost desperately tries to scoop its organs back inside its ruined form - treasure is a golden plate bearing mystical rites for burials.
7 - Bloated and disfigured by a scorpion sting - ghost spews poison and miasmas, it can't help itself - treasure is a cursed, lapis lazuli scorpion.
8 - Aged to a thin and broken nothing - ghost is an ancient old man, wracked with age-pains - treasure is a map of the (supposed) afterlife.
9 - Shrivelled and curled by the sun - ghost desperately seeks water - treasure is a beautifully adorned urn full of salt
10 - Nibbled and Chewed by Locusts - ghost is merely a mad swarm of ethereal insects - treasure is a scepter with the end carved in the likeness of a flying insect
11 - On hands and knees, as if desperately crawling away - ghost crawls, throwing up clouds of sand, fights more like a wolf than a man - treasure is an amulet depicting a prowling jackal.
12 - Knelt, sobbing, forever - ghost merely weeps - never any treasure.

Minor Tombs

Each tomb has a 1 in 6 chance of already having been looted floor to ceiling by Scarab People. They will be selling any of the treasure that would have been inside on a small mat just outside the entrance of the tomb.

Name of the Hero buried there
Each of these tombs can only be encountered once, further rolls of previously discovered tombs indicate another entrance to it.
1 - Ash-Kin-Pal: Master of the Armoury
2 - Sen-Wos-Ret: Conqueror of the Mishaninites
3 - Ren-Qo-Tet: Chosen of the Sun
4 - Fos-Mah-Ning: Breaker of Men
5 - Sir'ik-Toh-Pah: Beloved of Gods
6 - Xer-Man-Yung: Tamer of Crocodiles
7 - Sehk-Met-Hol: 100 Man Slayer
8 - Bah-Sing-Kir: Master of the Walls
9 - Far'aq-Mal-Dur: He who crossed the Desert and Returned
10 - Ihm-Ho-Tesh: Chief Priest of the Little Temples
11 - Seer-Et-Josh: Who died too Young.
12 - Anu-Bish-Shal: Keeper of the Moon-Blade (His Tomb also has the Moon-Blade as its treasure)

The Tomb's Defences
Each tomb will have d4+1 defences.
1 - Hidden Pits with spiked bottoms.
2 - A Curse-Sealed Door.
3 - A Maddening Labyrinth.
4 - An Animated Guardian Statue, each has a measure of power over either Fire, Sand, or Light. 
5 - Sand-Preserved Soldiers, each turn an exploding d4, with a +1 modifier for each turn the chamber has been open, number of soldiers crawl forth from the sand before rising to attack. More emerge each turn until all 40 have been slain.
6 - A Great Mummified Beast, thrice the size of a Man, and has either immense strength, paralysing venom, or a hypnotic gaze.
7 - Acidic Mists in precariously Balanced Jars.
8 - Spring loaded blades and Spears hidden in the walls.
9 - Trapped Monsters, kept alive by ancient magics, use your favourite random monster table, or one of flaming desert wolves, fog-breathing vultures, or a crocodile-dragon
10 - A Door locked by a Perplexing Riddle.
11 - A Huge Serpent whose scales are miniature sarcophagi for mummified snakes. d4 are released and animate each time the Serpent is hit by an attack.
12 - A Spirit of the Sands, takes the shape of a desert jackal. Contact with it withers you for 1 hit point per level/hit die you have. Is willing to talk, will permit the pious to pass, if they can prove it.

Treasures of the Tombs
(Besides your usual compliment of gold and art objects)
These are the special contents of the final chamber, alongside the sarcophagus and remains of the tomb's owner.
Roll only a d6 to begin with, but cross out each treasure you roll except 'Much More Gold', effectively pushing each lower result one number higher. If you roll higher than you have results for, use the highest available.
1 - Much more Gold
2 - A Magical Blade, it can harm spirits and glows in their presence.
3 - A Sacred Spear, once per day it can be called upon to release light like the sun.
4 - A Statue of a Horse, it obeys the one who wears its amulet, and is in all regards, a stone, tireless, perfectly obedient horse.
5 - An Amulet of a Scarab, it is a brilliant blue. The next time the wearer is targeted by a curse, the amulet takes it on instead, and becomes a dull black, and the curse is nullified. Useless once this happens.
6 - A Pouch of Sand, when a handful is thrown, it creates a great gust of hot, dry wind. Enough for 2d4 such handfuls.
7 - A strangely curved Knife, it can cut apart water like clay; where the knife has sliced, the water cannot fly back, unless encouraged by a hand like reconnecting dough.
8 - A Mummified Crocodile, if ground up and snorted, you experience unsettling visions of the crocodile stalking and eventually killing helpless prey,
9 - A Scroll depicting many old and lost Gods. Worth much to the discerning collector.
10 - Scraps of ancient wisdom on the Arts of Alchemy.
11 - A Golden Crown, those who see you in it are filled with a minor admiration, until you perform an act that would go against their faint respect for you.
12 - A Jar of Ointment. Wounds washed in it will never go septic and heal in the hour. Corpses covered in it will never rot. Enough ointment for 100 wounds, or 10 corpses.

Rooms and Guardians of the Grand Pyramid

The Courtyard of the Titan is the outer entrance of the Pyramid. Rooms 2 - 5 are on the first level of the Pyramid. Rooms 6 - 8 are on level 2, rooms 9 - 11 are on level 3, and room 12 is on level 4. Each level is Curse-Sealed, and has a number of Defences (from the minor tombs) equal its level in the corridors connecting each room.
The Sun Disk crests the very peak of the Pyramid.
First, the name of the Room, then a description, finally, any noteworthy contents.
1 - The Courtyard of the Titan: Wide and open, surrounded by pillars - The Titan of the King's Judgement keeps a careful watch for sinners.
2 - Hall of History: A long hall, many murals and depictions of the King-Priest's glorious deeds - a withered old priest who will explain it all to you, at great length.
3 - The Champion's Chamber: A circular chamber, ringed with chest-high braziers, still burning, the floor is covered in sand - The King-Priest's Champion, a master swords man whose blade commands the sands.
4 - The False-Door: A great door-way, only it is no door at all, and is merely solid rock - the False Door is flanked by Animated Guardian Statues.
5 - The Corrupted Chamber: Walls are covered in rot and putrefaction, leaking from a cage in the centre of the room - in the cage is a Many-Lord of Rot, bound in place with mystic sigils.
6 - Shrine of Contemplation: A small altar, bearing a replica of the Sun-Disk, and ringed with incense burners, still full - no other contents, it is a sin to trespass in this sacred space without leaving an offering, or if you make any sound beyond your footsteps.
7 - The Pristine Pools: 5 pools, one inside a ring of the other four, cleanses curses from those who bathe in them - a white-scaled Water Spirit in the shape of a serpent desires fine music and proper respect to allow entry to the pools.
8 - The Cult Chamber: At the centre of the room is a huge statue of the King-Priest, a place to worship his departed divinity - an Invisible Sand Spirit attacks those who do not show proper respect to the shrine and leave suitable offerings.
9 - The Model Chamber: A grand table sits at the centre of the room - on the table rests a miniature model of the city, any change made to the model is physically reflected in the real city over the next hour, as if an army of invisible servants carve it away or build it up (which is in fact, exactly what is happening).
10 - The Treasure Chamber: Vast piles of wealth, stacked as high as a man - as soon as even one coin is removed from its pile, 3 Sand-Sealed Soldier chambers open.
11 - The Queen's Tomb: Plainer than you might expect, a reasonably sized sarcophagus lies in the centre of the room - the Ghost of the Old Queen dwells in this chamber, she is quite friendly, and is not angered by tomb-robbing, just very, very disapproving of it. She knows all about the Grave-City, as she helped design it. Can (and indeed, is eager to) tell you any secret about it if you stay on her good side. A bot touchy about being dead.
12 - The Burial Chamber of the King-Priest: Huge, and high roofed, many opulent murals - the King-Priest's Sarcophagus, and the 7 Guardians of the Royal Souls. Should all the Guardians be destroyed, and the King's Corpse revealed, there will be One More Complication. 
The King's Corpse bears: a Royal Scepter, 6 Holy Rings, A Might Amulet, and its left hand is clad in gold and heals at a touch of the fore-finger.

One More Complication
1 - A Many Lord of Rot emerges from the shadows. It has followed you for some time now, and it demands the holy organs and flesh of the King-Priest, as revenge for an ancient wrong.
2 - The Tomb has started to collapse! There's only time to grab one thing each if you don't wish to risk death.
3 - The Corpse of the King rises, ready to interact with the party.
4 - Each individual member of the party is inflicted with a Curse as if they had broken a Curse-Seal. Curses that would pour out of a broken Curse-Seal, instead tear holes in the palms of the PC's hands, and pour forth from that with a great deal of pain.
5 -  The Desert Shadows, an order of Mystic-Knights devoted to the old line of King-Priests will not rest until the Party have atoned for their trespasses and returned any the stolen Royal Souls, or been butchered to a man.
6 - A section of each of the four walls drops away, revealing a chamber each of Sand-Preserved Soldiers. They will fight until totally destroyed.

Random Encounters in the Tomb-City (2d6)

Roll every 10 minutes of searching. Do not roll at any other time, even night. The city is utterly dead.
2 - Scarab-People Scavengers (roll reaction with advantage), they seek to plunder one of the minor tombs
3 - A Friendly(ish) band of high-born "Archaeologists", hopelessly inexperienced and under-equipped. They will probably die if they remain without help.
4 - A Wandering Ghost, of either an old priest, a tired soldier, or a murderous defiler.
5 - A Minor Shrine (there are up to 8 of these, rolling a duplicate shrine indicates you have stubbled across another entrance)
6 - 3d4 Bone-thin Wolves (1d4 less each time it is encountered, when no d4 are left, it is only a single, dead wolf)
7 - A Defiler
8 - An Animated Guardian Statue, each has a measure of power over either Fire, Sand, or Light. There are 12 wandering the Tomb-City, further rolls indicate only a pile of rubble.
9 - A Minor Tomb (there are up to 12 of these, rolling a duplicate tomb indicates you have stubbled across another entrance)
10 - A Rival Band of Adventurers, experienced, equipped well, and armed to the teeth. There are as many as 2 in the Tomb-City at any one time. They can change over time.
11 - A Spirit of the Sands, taking either the shape of a Sphinx, A Great Serpent, or a Giant Skeleton.
12 - A Many-Lord of Rot (roll reaction with disadvantage)

Scrimshaw Charms

Scrimshaw Charms

There are three aspects to creating a Charm: Level, Medium, and Pattern.

There are three Levels of Charm, Novice, Initiate, and Master.
Novice Charms are the easiest to craft, but are also the weakest.
Master Charms are the hardest to craft, but are also the most powerful.
Initiate Charms are somewhere in the middle.

The effects they offer are many and varied, they depend on the pattern carved into the medium.

Aspects of Charms and Bone

The Medium is always Bone, though there are two further aspects of the Bone that must be known; the Quantity, and the Quality.

The Quantity of the Bone depends on how much you have to work with. If you have an entire skeleton, you can afford to spoil your work many times before being forced to stop. If you have merely a knuckle-bone, you have no such second chance.
The Quantity of Bone you have is recorded as either a Pittance, a Bundle, or a Heap. A Pittance is mostly equivalent to a few good finger bones. A Bundle is mostly equivalent to a majority or so of a fully grown human's skeleton. A Heap is mostly equivalent to a good few humans' full skeletons.

The Quality of the Bone depends on many factors, and represents the power inherent in the Bone. Higher Quality Bone makes it easier to craft a charm, and Master level Charms require high Quality Bone to even begin. Some of the Factors that influence the quality of the Bone are the type of creature you took it from, the potency of the creature in life, and how whole the Bone is. Some charms will favour some types of Bone, and will treat the Bone as if it were higher quality than it is. Quality is recorded as either Poor, Fine, or Brilliant. Poor Bone is usually broken badly in some way. Fine Bone is what most people have in their bodies; deformed in each person's unique way, or bearing some small defect. Brilliant Bone is flawless, and a taxonomic exemplar of a species' Bones.

When You First Learn Scrimshaw

If you have learned Scrimshaw at character creation, you know Charm Patterns of your choice equal to 1 plus your choice of your Wisdom or Intelligence modifier, and 1 Minor Pattern. You also begin with Sets of Bone equal to the Modifier you didn't choose, generated as if bought from a Bone Merchant.

If you learn Scrimshaw during play, when you gain your first rank, you learn Randomly selected Charm Patterns equal to 1 plus your choice of your Wisdom or Intelligence Modifier, and 1 minor Pattern.  

Recording Your Bone

Every load of Bone you possess for the purposes of Scrimshaw is called a Set, and always has the properties of Quantity and Quality, and sometimes others.
Each set of Bone should be recorded in this manner; a [Quantity] of [Quality] [Creature Type] Bone.

For example; a Bundle of Fine Fey Bone.

Any further details, such as specific bones gathered or traits of the being you gathered Bone from, should be recorded beneath the primary description of the set. When using bone with that specific extra detail, such as if you are using spell-caster bone, always treat those specific Bones as having a Quantity of Pittance.
For example, you might have a:

Trove of Fine Humanoid Bone
- Spellcaster Bone
- Scapulas
- Diseased Bone

If you use these more specific types of Bone, and the dice say you should deplete them, merely remove them from that set of Bone, the Quantity of the main Set is not affected, unless it is also a Pittance with no other specific Bones, in which case it is also depleted. They are also always treated as being the same Quality of Bone as their parent Set. If they are higher Quality, then they belong to a different Set of Bone don't they?

Types of Pattern

There are a wide, wide variety of Patterns, and they determine the effects the charms have, and they are themselves divided into seven categories: Curse, Luck, Skill, Odd, Spell, Spirit, and Ward. There are also minor Charms that have similarly limited powers known by most that carve Bone.

Curse charms are bound with magics that bring misfortune or harm on others. They are more potent when crafted with Bone that is related by species or blood to the target.

Luck charms are wound with lines that bring fortune to you or deflect harm from you. They are more potent when crafted with Bone that is related by species or blood to you.

Skill charms are run about with engravings that enhance your abilities and provide knowledge. They are more potent when crafted with Bone from a being skilled in the knowledge you wish the charm to provide.

Odd charms are adorned with a chaos of lines and dots that provide a plethora of effects that are not easily placed in other categories. There is no way to predict what Bones will enhance their potency until the first time the pattern is attempted.

Spell charms are marked with arcane runes and equations that mimic the effects of a spell when broken. They are more potent when crafted with the Bones of spellcasters.

Spirit charms are marred by faux-tooth and claw marks that can be used to call upon a spirit creature to do the crafter’s will. They are most potent when crafted with the Bones of the animal whose spirit will be called on.

Ward charms are emblazoned with sigils that offer protection and safety to their creator. They are most potent when crafted with the Bones of a creature that was resistant to the type of the danger the charm itself offers protection to.

Minor Charms have only slight works and lines written into them, and off small benefits or charms for their makers. Minor Charms are also unique in four ways; there is no chance of failure when crafting them, they can only be made at novice level, they can only benefit the person who crafted them, and they do not require attunement. Anyone with ranks in Scrimshaw knows a number of minor patterns equal to their Scrimshaw Ranks.

To use a Charm, one must only have it on their person. They must be attuned to as if they were magic items; though you may attune to a number of Bone Charms equal to your proficiency modifier using 1 attunement slot if you crafted the Charms, if you did not craft the Charms, you can attune to a number equal to half your proficiency modifier (rounded down) using a single attunement slot. Charms whose effects are triggered when broken do not require attunement. Charms that target creatures other than those attuned to them must still be attuned to a creature for their effects to work. Minor Charms do not require attunement.

Retrieving Bone

Buying

Bone can be bought from the right people, though often in limited quantities and qualities. A typical Bone-seller’s inventory will have d4 lots of Bone for sail. 

For each lot, roll a d6. Each roll of 1, 2, or 3 represents a lot of Poor Quality Bone. If the roll was a 1, it is a Pittance; if it was a 2 it is a Bundle, if it was a 3 it is a Heap. 

Each roll of 4, or 5 represents a lot of Fine Quality Bone. If the roll was a 4, it is a Pittance; if the roll was a 5, it is a Bundle. 

Each roll of 6 represents a lot of Brilliant Quality Bone. Brilliant Quality Bone is always offered as in a Pittance.

For a lot of Poor Quality roll a d4. For a lot of Fine Quality, roll a d6. For a lot of Brilliant Quality, roll a d10. Use the table below to determine the type of creature the Bone came from:

1 - Beast
2 - Humanoid
3 - Monstrosity
4 - Undead
5 - Giant
6 - Aberration
7 - Fey
8 - Dragon
9 - Celestial
10 - Infernal

Specific Bones cannot usually be bought, though they might be "ordered" in advance, at the DM's discretion.
Prices are determined at the DM’s discretion.

Harvesting

Using the corpse of a creature, Bone can be retrieved using your Medicine, Nature, or Scrimshaw skill.

When you harvest Bone from a creature, take a number of dice equal to your ranks in your choice of your Medicine, Nature, or Scrimshaw skill +1, and roll them. You may pair up dice that show the same result. For each pair of 1, 2, or 3, you have found some Poor Quality Bone. If the roll was a 1, it is a Pittance; if it was a 2 it is a Bundle, if it was a 3 it is a Heap. For each pair of 4, or 5, you have found some Fine Quality Bone. If the roll was a 4, it is a Pittance; if the roll was a 5, it is a Bundle. For each pair of 6, you have found Brilliant Quality Bone. Brilliant Bone is always found as a Pittance.

If you can match no dice, you find no worthwhile Bone.

For each spare dice you have no paired or have chosen not to pair, you may also specify a specific bone to be included in that set of Bone, which should be recorded with it.

It takes 10 minutes to attempt to harvest bone from a creature, or 20 minutes if the creature is huge or larger.

You can only harvest Bone from any given creature once.

Finding/Looting in Dungeon

Generally, Bone that you find amongst the debris of adventuring that you don't personally and bodily tear free from a creature you have recently slain will not be suitable for carving Bones. If it is, your Dungeon Master should tell you so, and any special aspects that it may have (though you may need to investigate the Bone further to discern them if the DM deems necessary). Generally, these Bones will always be a Pittance, and your DM will tell you what Quality they are. You should probably record these separately from your other sets of Bone.

Searching during Down-Time 

If you have access to truly gargantuan quantities of bone, such as those in a catacomb, you may harvest Bone during your Down-Time. For each day's worth of searching you do, you may test your Scrimshaw skill (with difficulty depending on the source of the Bone at the DM's discretion), and if you succeed, you may determine one set of Bone in the same way as you would determine one from a Bone-Seller's inventory, though it is always of the appropriate type and species for the source of Bone you utilise.

Increasing Amounts of Bone You Already Have

If you find a type of Bone from a type of creature that shares a Quality which you already have and has a higher Quantity, replace it with the higher Quantity. If it has a lower Quantity, it gives no extra benefit. If it has the same Quantity, put a check next to the Bone, and roll a d6. If you roll more than the number of checks, there is no change, but leave the checks there. If you roll the same as, or less than the number of checks, increase the Quantity.

You can't increase the Quantity of a Hoard. 

Discovering Patterns

You can discover a pattern by researching, similarly to researching a new spell.

To research, you should choose whether you are researching a pattern of any kind, a pattern from a specific Category, or if you wish to find a Pattern with a specific effect (or create a new Pattern with an effect of your devising).

If you wish to discover a random pattern, take a pool of 3d4. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.

If you wish to discover a pattern from a specific category, take a pool of 4d8. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.

If you wish to discover a specific pattern (or create a new pattern), take a pool of 5d12. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.

You may stop researching a pattern at any time, but if you do, all progress is lost unless you start researching the same pattern where you left it off.

Crafting a Charm

When you wish to make a Charm, you must decide on the Pattern you wish to engrave, the Level you wish to engrave it at, and the Medium you will carve it on. If you are told to treat your Bone as being levels of Quality higher than it actually is, you can increase the level of Quality beyond Brilliant; record it as Brilliant+The number of increased Quality levels, eg. Brilliant+2

When carving a Curse Charm, you must use a Bone from the same species as the creature you want to be affected by the Charm. You also treat Bone that is from a creature related to the Target as being 1 level of Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone that is from the specific creature as being 2 Quality higher.

When carving a Luck Charm, you treat Bone that is from the same species as you as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone that is from you as being 2 Quality higher.

When carving a Skill Charm, you treat Bone from a creature who had at least 1 rank in the relevant skill as being 1 Quality higher, and Bone from a creature who had at least 3 ranks in the relevant skill as being 2 Quality higher.

When carving an Odd Charm, roll two d20 on the table below to determine two Bone aspects. If the Bone matches one aspect, it is counted as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and if it matches both aspects, it counts as being 2 Quality higher than it actually is.

Bone Aspect Table
1 - Beast Bone
2 - Humanoid Bone
3 - Monstrosity Bone
4 - Undead Bone
5 - Giant Bone
6 - Aberration Bone
7 - Fey Bone
8 - Dragon Bone
9 - Celestial Bone
10 - Infernal Bone
11 - Magic User Bone
12 - Non-Magic User Bone
13 - Bone from a Small or smaller Creature
14 - Bone from a Large or larger Creature
15 - Bone from someone related to you (including you)
16 - Bone that is at least 100 years old.
17 - Bone that is less than a year old.
18 - Bone that bears the mark of a strange disease.
19 - Bone that has shed blood before.
20 - Saint's Bones.

When carving a Spell Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that could cast any spells at all as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature that could cast at least 4th level spells as being 2 Quality higher.

When carving a Spirit Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that matches the type of spirit the pattern will summon as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature of at least double its normal hit dice that matches the type of spirit the pattern will summon as being 2 quality higher.

When carving a Ward Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that had resistance to the type of damage the pattern wards against as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature that is immune to the type of damage the pattern wards against as being 2 higher.

Novice Charms are relatively easy to make, and a skilled Scrimshaw carver can have no chance of failure with a high Quality piece of Bone. Initiate Charms are somewhat trickier to make, though a skilled Scrimshaw carver with a high Quality piece of Bone will still have a very good chance of succeeding on the first try. Master Charms are very challenging to make, and even a master Scrimshaw carver could fail multiple times even with a high Quality piece of Bone.

When choosing a piece of Bone to work, the high the Quality of the Bone, the easier it will be to craft. Having a high Quantity of Bone will not directly increase your chances of success, but it will give you extra chances should you fail. You can only choose one piece of Bone to work at any one time.

When crafting the Charm itself, take a dice depending on the Level of charm you are attempting to craft.

If you wish to craft a Novice charm, take a d8. 

If you wish to craft an Initiate charm, take a d12. 

If you wish to craft a Master charm, take a d20. 

When using Poor Quality Bone, your target number is 1. 

If you are using Fine Quality Bone, your target number is 3. 

If you are using Brilliant Quality Bone, your target number is 7. 

When using Bone of a Quality higher than Brilliant, add double the bonus levels to your Target Number. E.g. if you are using Brilliant+2 Bone, your target number is 11. 

If your Scrimshaw skill is at least equal to the Target Number, you may roll twice and take the better result; treating Target Numbers higher than 7 as 7 for this purpose. 

You must roll beneath the Target Number. 

Each time you roll, you must also roll a dice to see if your stock of Bone is depleted. 

For a Pittance, roll a d4. 

For a Bundle, roll a d6.

For a Heap, roll a d8.

On the roll of a 1, you decrease the Quantity of Bone you are working with one step, or remove it entirely if it has a Quantity of Pittance. If using a specific type of Bone from a set, rolls of 1, or 2 deplete that specific Bone type, though remember this has no effect on the Parent Set unless it is also a Pittance with no other specific types of Bone as a part of it. 

Regardless of success or failure, each attempt takes 2 hours for a Novice charm, 8 hours for an Initiate charm, and 1 week for a Master charm.

Example in Action:

Jerrick has a Scrimshaw skill of 3, and has the following set of Bone:

A Bundle of Poor Humanoid Bone
- Spellcaster Bone (2nd level)
- Rib Bone

He wishes to carve an Initiate level Spell Charm using his Spellcaster's bone. The spellcaster had 2nd level spells, so he increases the quality of his bone to Brilliant for the purposes of crafting the charm. His target number is thus 7. He takes his d12, and only rolls it once since his skill is less than the target number. He rolls a 4, and takes 8 hours to craft the Charm. He then rolls a d4 to see if he depletes his Spellcaster Bone since it is always treated as a Pittance, and rolls a 2, so the Bone is depleted, but this has no effect on the Parent Set other than that.

Bone Charm Patterns

Notes to DM: Charms numbered 1 through 10 are the basic Charms that can be randomly researched. Charms marked with a * were made by a player requesting a specific effect. Will probably add a few letters to mark which player created which pattern.

When reading the effects, when there are words in italics separated by /’s, they separate the effects of Novice/Initiate/Master charms.

Curse Charms
1 - If something kills you, they too shall die within a year/month/week.
2 - The target suffers seemingly endless and cruel Dreams, for a week/a month/a year.
3 - The target suffers end of Love, to their gain/to no particular hurt/in the worst way possible.
4 - The target finds it all too easy to wander off/get lost/be hopelessly astray.
5 - The target contracts a minor illness/a serious condition/a deadly plague.
6 - Animals find the target uncomfortable to be around/an annoyance/an active threat.
7 - The target will often find themselves mildly unlucky/somewhat unlucky/desperately unlucky.
8 - The target will never be able to sleep more than 6/4/2 hours each night.
9 - The target will find themselves drawn into an endless sleep for d4 days/d4 weeks/d4 months.
10 - If you use two Bones in this charm, you can cause mild/serious/deadly antipathy between two targets.

Luck Charms
1 - When you roll a d20, your rolls of 4/5/6 are counted as 8/10/12.
2 - When you roll a d20, also roll a d8/d10/d12 with it, and use the higher roll.
3 - If a ranged weapon attack misses your AC by 1, if you make a successful dexterity save with a DC of the attack roll, the attack hits something else within 5/10/15 feet of you.
4 - Add a +1/+2/+3 bonus to a saving throw that you add no proficiency to (decide when you craft the charm).
5 - You score a critical hit on rolls of 19/18/17 or higher. (Cannot be further modified)
6 - Every week, roll a d10. On the roll of a 10, you gain a few coins/a handful of coins/a purse of coins.
7 - When you roll for regaining HP, or gaining HP because of a level up, your results are counted as being 2/3/4 if they would be lower.
8 - Add a +1/+2/+3 to a skill that you are not proficient in (decide when you craft the charm).
9 - When you suffer a critical hit, you have a 1 in 6/2 in 6/3 in 6 chance to ignore the extra damage and effects.
10 - When you fail a skill check, you may try again if you choose. This charm has 1/3/7 uses.

Skill Charms
1 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Nautical activities.
2 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Meat.
3 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with interacting with Animals.
4 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with restraining someone.
5 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Doors.
6 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Foraging or Hunting for Food.
7 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks undertaken in Total Darkness.
8 - While you hold this charm, you have advantage on all checks using one/two/all set(s) of tools with which the creature whose Bone you used to craft this charm was proficient with (choose when you craft the charm, if you choose a tool set with which the creature was not proficient with, the charm has no effect).
9 - While you hold this charm, you roll one/two/three additional d20s, choosing the highest result on all history checks to do with the species whose Bone you used to craft this charm.
10 - You learn skills 1/3/7 days quicker than normal.

Odd Charms
1 - You can talk to your choice of one/two/three of rats, bats, cats, and gnats (choose when you craft the charm).
2 - Can be planted, and 1/2d4/3d8 mushrooms with strange powers will grow there 1 minute later.
3 - You grow gills while this charm is in your mouth. Can be used for 1/10/100 minutes each day.
4 - Your dreams are slightly/kind of/somewhat prophetic.
5 - Your touch is slightly/kind of/somewhat reassuring.
6 - You can eat some/a meals worth of/all your food needs of spoiled food.
7 - Will point at the nearest grave within a mile/10 miles/100 miles when dropped.
8 - This Charm is a whistle, and can mimic a noise chosen when the charm is crafted/a noise you have heard within the last hour/a noise you have heard in the last day. Once a noise is chosen, that is the only noise it can mimic.
9 - You sound like a specified individual chosen when this charm was crafted/at least a day in advance of/just before you hold this charm to your throat. Once an individual is chosen, that is the only individual it can imitate.
10 - When broken, this charm releases a swarm of flies/rats/locusts that obey the first order you give them, for no longer than 1 hour/1 day/1 week.

Spell Charms
1 - You cast blade ward/sanctuary/pass without trace
2 - You cast produce flame/fog cloud/web3 - You cast true strike/detect magic/detect thoughts
4 - You cast friends/charm person/enthrall
5 - You cast light/faerie fire/scorching ray
6 - You cast minor illusion/disguise self/invisibility
7 - You cast spare the dying/false life/blindness or deafness
8 - You cast prestidigitation/goodberry/enhance ability
9 - When a spell is cast within 10 feet of you, you gain one/three/seven temporary hit points.
10 - You may memorise one/two/four more spells than you normally could.

Spirit Charms

All summoned creatures will serve faithfully for a maximum of 1 month, or until they use up their allotted abilities.
1 - When you break this charm, you summon a cat that knows 1/3/7 random 1st level wizard spells, that can teach them to you over 10 minutes, though you can't write these spells down in any way.
2 - When you break this charm, you summon a bat that will faithfully spy/report on 1/2/4 areas, using any senses at its disposal.
3 - When you break this charm, you summon a wolf with 1/2/4 hit dice that serves you faithfully.
4 - When you break this charm, you summon a raven that will whisper 1/2/4 secrets in your ear.
5 - When you break this charm, you summon a rat that will faithfully fetch 1/2/4 items that a rat could feasibly carry at your request.
6 - When you break this charm, you summon an owl that will translate 1/3/7 conversation(s) or paragraph(s) of any language that it hears or reads, and whisper them in your ear.
7 - When you break this charm, you summon a terrible worm that will destroy any object that could conceivably be eaten over the course of 1 day/1 hour/1 minute.
8 - When you break this charm, you cast find familiar, though it will only serve for 1 day/1 week/1 month.
9 - Any creatures that are summoned by magic within 10 feet of this charm have 1/2/4 extra bonus hit die.
10 - When you break this charm you cast animal friendship/beast sense/animal messenger.

Ward Charms
1 - A creature that has just dealt you damage has a -1/-2/-4 to hit you for the next day.
2 - A creature that inflicts a condition on you has a 1 in 6/1 in 4/1 in 2 chance of suffering it too.
3 - All creatures have a -1/-2/-4 modifier to all opposed strength and dexterity skills involving you.
4 - You reduce the damage each dice of fire damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
5 - You reduce the damage each dice of cold damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
6 - You reduce the damage each dice of lightning damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
7 - You reduce the damage each dice of thunder damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
8 - You reduce the damage each dice of acid damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
9 - You reduce the damage each dice of poison damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
10 - You reduce the damage each dice of radiant and necrotic damage deals to you by 1/2/3.

Minor Charms
1 - You may eat this charm to gain the benefits of a small meal taken from the animal whose bone the charm was carved from, though it provides no relief from hunger.
2 - If you carve this Charm on a bone that matches a place on your body where you have suffered a wound, it will heal twice as quickly.
3 - If you burn this charm, it burns for 24 hours, and will not go out unless you specifically douse it.
4 - Leaving this charm under your pillow while you sleep protects you from bad dreams and other such unconscious interference (equivalent to advantage on any saves against such effects).
5 - Carrying this charm gives you a small friendship with rats for a number of days equal to the number of knuckle-bones you used to craft the charm.
6 - Carrying this charm protects you from the evil eye (equivalent to advantage on any saves against such effects). This charm must be carved from a skull fragment that includes a whole eye-socket.
7 - This charm feels cold when malevolent spirits are present. It must be carved from the bone of a murderer.
8 - This charm always points north when dropped. It must always be carved from a matching pair of Ribs.
9 - Planting this charm in a field of crops ensures they will not be blighted for a month. This Charm must be carved from a Pelvis.
10 - Intergrating this charm into the walls of a building ensures it will not be blown down by storms. This Charm must be carved from at least 3 Spinal Vertebrae.

Curse Imps - A different kind of way to inconvenience your players

Most Demons are far too important and powerful to bother with you. Their uncountable eternities are far too precious to be taken up with the likes of pesky little mortals who killed a cult of theirs in one of the inscrutable infinities of the creations Demons watch over. However, they would still get pissed off by it, and as long as it wasn't a particularly big or important cult, they would probably send a Curse-Imp or two to make your life just that bit more unpleasant.

Curse-Imps are invisible, dwelling in the ethereal mists between atoms and energies, much like ghosts, only altogether more petty and malicious. Their lot is to crouch on your shoulder, hang off your back, and mess with you. There are many types of Curse-Imp, and each will harass you in their own special way. They can't literally hurt you, but they can make your time in this world just a touch more miserable.

Getting rid of them is as simple as a small exorcism by a reasonably proficient cleric. Actually realising that it is a Curse-Imp is altogether less easy.

Here are a few:

Headsplitter Imps - That pain in your head, that feels like nails being driven into your temples that just started with no discernable source? Probably ethereal nails being driven into your ethereal temples. These ones perch on your head like a bird, a clutch of crooked nails in one hand, a hooked hammer in the other. Once their nails are in, they might also scratch at your brain with their long nails, digging in to the lobes and folds of your head.

[This would probably give a small penalty to intelligence checks for things that require concentrating, like rituals, reading, translating, etc.]

Schizo Imps - Schizo Imps love nothing more than just talking crazy shit into your ears. The darker and more tasteless, the better. Of course, because they are ethereal, and you are not, you only hear parts of it, and only as a thought in your own head, your brain interpreting signals that you cannot really hear or place. You may never even really hear them at all, but you still feel some sort of deep, intuitive discomfort, that things are never actually quite alright, that your sense of reality is beginning to slip...

[I'd occasionally just give the player a small scrap of paper with some sort of dark yet inane shit on it, not a whole sentence, just part of a clause, enough to make the player wonder what's up, what it could mean. It would of course, mean nothing.]

Ice-Finger Imps - These Curse-Imps cling to your back, and drive their nails into your back, both when danger is near, and when it is totally safe. You would feel only a cold shiver run down your back, the type to set your teeth on edge. The Curse-Imp cackles in glee once the response is learned, when you feel the chill, you can never be calm, if you feel it, danger must be close! ...right?

[I'd probably just do this as written, except it would happen as determined by a die roll. When there's actual danger close, happens on a 3+, if there isn't, on a 5+. Just enough that there is an identifiable pattern, but there also isn't, to keep the players always guessing.]

Poltergeist Imps - Much like the ghosts of tales and story, these imps are tricksters and pranksters. Of course, being on the ethereal, they struggle to clutch much of anything in reality, and at most can only lift the lightest objects. But very occasionally they can pick something of yours up and ruin it, or throw it around. They particularly like to do this to things you really like, or while you're trying to be nice an quiet.

[Again, fairly self-explanatory I think. Each long rest, roll a d6. On a 1, a precious but fragile object is broken and ruined. If you're trying to stealth, roll a d6. On a 1, a small but noisy object clatters to the floor, giving you disadvantage on the resulting stealth check.]

Boiler Imps - These Curse-Imps are practitioners of the ancient arts of Flame-Magicks, not very good ones of course (they are only Imps after all), but they can manifest ethereal flames in their hands, which they use to heat you up. It is only slight, but enough that over time, the heat sets in, and sweat begins to seep up and drip down your face. An uncomfortable stickiness sets in, and no amount of cool rags can seem to shake it. And then, just like that, it is gone.

[Possibly a similar effect to the Headsplitter imp to be honest, though maybe this affects your physical skills rather than intellectual ones (for the sake of having distinct rules if not realistic effects).]

Poxule Imps - Sometimes, a Curse-Imp will consider itself an artist, and will cling to your neck with its thighs and paint tiny red spots on your face. These don't quite make it through to the material world, but they do enough to irritate the skin, to bother your pores enough to sprout you up in a mess of acne and teenage angst all over again. It itches occasionally, but not that much. It does make you look a little bit silly though.

[The best part of this is that I think many players would hate the occasional slip-ins about how their spots blemish their character's faces. Some might embrace it of course, but for those that do hate it, they will hate it. Also, I'd probably give them a -1 or so to many charisma checks. Sometimes, we can't help but take the pimply adult a bit less seriously than we should.]

Malady Imps - If Poxule Imps are artists, Malady Imps are cooks, and they whip up all sorts inside your belly. Most your body can fight off, but occasionally it will seep through you and sicken you. Only a tiny bit though, just enough to make you barf during the night or wake up feeling like a donkey shat on your head in the night.

[Each rest, roll a d6. On a roll of 1, you lose a hit dice, or your HP max is 1 or 2 lower. Nothing serious, but a small annoyance that doesn't cripple you in any way. The main point of the Curse-Imps is to annoy, to psychologically attack the player in a small but noticeable way. Let the real effects come from the players rather than the Imps.]

Drosophilic Imps - These Curse-Imps like to be carried around in your pack. They're never heavy enough for you to ever notice or be inconvenienced by them, but they play with your food, and their fingers are yucky indeed. When you settle down for a meal, you might notice that one of those rations that really should have lasted a couple more days at least, has gone soft and runny. Nothing to do but ditch it.

[Each time they eat a ration, roll a d4. On a 1, they must cross off an additional ration. Nothing too complex in this one.]

Doubt-Sower Imps - These ones are similar to Schizo Imps. They whisper to you like a vulture on your shoulder, telling you over and over that you aren't good enough, there's no possible way for you to succeed, that you'll never be good enough. You never really hear enough of it to make any sense of it, but still, the troubling weight in your belly makes you feel like something is wrong, and you have no idea why...

[These are subtly different, in that these Imps are out to convince you that you're not good enough, rather than convince you that you're mad. When a character with a Doubt-Sower Imp rolls a check they are proficient in, they lose their proficiency bonus if you roll a 1 on a d6.]

Limbclamper Imps - These Curse-Imps like to work by hanging off of your limbs, clutching as tightly to you as they can. Sometimes this will bleed into your material limbs, and a deep cold cramp sets in to your muscels and bones, siezing up your joints and tensing your muscles so that, just for a moment, you can't move. The Imps are experts at timing this for the worst outcomes for you.

[Once per rest or so, when a character tries to use some sort of physical skill, they must do it at disadvantage. Try to keep it from those times that it could lead to outright death, just for when it would have some sort of consequence.]

Skittersight Imps - You could be anywhere, doing anything, when all of a sudden you'll catch just a glimpse of movement. You go to investigate, you run, certain you saw something, but in the end, nothing will be revealed. You will pause, sure there was something there, like the other times. You will wonder when it will come back, if you can catch it next time. The Curse-Imp clinging to your face will cackle that you might never realise it is right there, always with you.

[Save this for those times where the players least expect it, or when they most expect it. Really convince them something is there, and they need to get it. Never let them.]

Beast-Botherer - This one barks like a goat's dying scream, loudly, but ethereally. It barks all day long, and never stops. Now, this is never enough to actually bother a person, animals have much sharper senses than mortals, and they will pick up the wretched grating screams on the edge of their hearing while you are around. They hear the noise coming from you, and the longer you remain, the more and more the beast hate you. The Imp would laugh if its throat hadn't been torn ragged from the constant screaming.

[Something simple like, disadvantage on all charisma checks against animals for you and everyone within 10 feet of you.]

Glass-Eye Imps - Glass-Eye Imps are right bastards. Evil, horrible little fuckers. They clamp onto your head for most of the day, but over time, at night, while you sleep, they sit on your face and scratch and claw at your eyes. They don't do any real damage in any individual night, but they are determined and nothing if not single-minded. They scratch and scratch and scratch, night after night after night, until your eyes are glassy and misted, until you can't see anything at all.

[On a long rest, take a con save that determines how long until the next save. When you would take the seventh save, you go blind, permanently. Maybe have something about a mounting penalty to sight based rolls based on how many saves you've had to take.] 

Bleakspeak Imps - Another type of Curse-Imp that sits on your shoulder and talks to you, only, these ones are grim and dour; they lack the sadistic glee of the others. They speak less, but are heard all the more clearly for it. And when they speak, it is dark, dark words they say, the most cruel and awful things are suggested to their hosts, the things we all occasionally think and are disgusted by. The constant assault doesn't always turn the host into a terrible vessel of these black thoughts, but maybe just sometimes...

[Run them like Schizo Imps, only offer them a small XP bonus for going through with it. Never enough to actually make them do it, but enough that its worth thinking "maybe I should", if only for a moment. Its the considering of the act thats important here, they never have to do it, and given the nature of the Imp, its probably for the best if they don't.]

Rope-Biter Imps - Rope-Biter Imps have very specific tastes; rope. Rope of all kinds and makes and materials. It doesn't matter whose rope either, as long as its close enough to the Curse-Imps host. They cling to you and gnaw on ropes that get close enough to their mouths, full of sharp and crooked teeth. They are rather adept climbers themselves, so pretty much any rope you could touch, they can get into their disgusting maws.

[Very simple, when this character uses a rope, it breaks halfway through use on the d6 roll of a 1.]

Sceptic Imps - These Curse-Imps have improbably (and uncomfortably) long and prehensile tongues, which drip and slop with foul ichors and slimes. So proud are they of their tongues they really, really want to share them with you, all the time, as deep as they can. So be careful when you fight, any hurt of yours is destined for an ethereal bath in Curse-Imp drool. Its as gross as it sounds.

[At the end of each combat or encounter in which the character took damage, have them roll a con save. Their HP max is reduced by 1 for each failed save, which comes back at the rate of 1 + con modifier (minimum of 0) at the end of each long rest.]

Chill-Wind Imps - Have you ever been deep underground, where no touch of the sun has ever dared venture, where the rocks are cold and pallid with the lack of stellar caress? Have you then been relying on your trusty tourch, that beacon of light and hope that you might actually be able to emerge from this dank and dark hell alive, only for it to suddenly, and inopportunely, go out? Its possible you have Chill-Wind Imps. Their whole thing is blowing out candles and flames, you see.

[At the most inopportune moment, roll a d6. On the roll of a 1, all non-magical flames go out.]

True-Colours Imps - These Curse-Imps hide inside your flesh, and have the most intuitive control over their ethereal presence, and they turn it to making it really hard for you to lie. Some of them are loud and bombastic Imps, and have your skin change colour depending on your mood, others are more subtle, and use your smell to give away your thoughts. Some simply grip your tongue in their cruel, grubby little hands such that you physically cannot lie. All of them, take great delight in when the lies are discovered, and the truth apppears, to the detriment of all involved.

[All characters and NPCs and such have advantage on discerning this character's true intentions/feelings.]

Malapropist Imps - Much like True-Colours Imps, Malapropist Imps hide inside your head, and enjoy playing with your tongue. They try to hold off for as long as possible, waiting for the chance to really, really mess up your speech. Sometimes they just can't help themselves, and scrabble at your tongue and kick at your brain, so that the words come out wrong, warped, and misshapen.

[When this character undertakes a speech based activity, roll a d6. On a 1, they have disadvantage on any rolls they need to make, or the effects of the ability are somehow diminished.]

Fumble Imps - These are the laziest of the Curse-Imps. They merely sit glumly on your head, casting tiny little curses on you, bad luck charms, tiny inconveniences. Most get lost in the infinite and infinitesimal gaps between the material and the ethereal, but a few will make it through to make your day just that little bit worse. 

[This character now fumbles an attack roll on the roll of a 1 or a 2, and similarly any other d20 roll is fumbled range in a 1 bigger than normal (since not everyone uses skill check fumbles, thought it would be safer to do it this way).]

The Consumed King

His name is gone. His history is gone. His home is gone. His body is gone. All that remains is his anger, his pain, and his crown.

In times long past, there was a grand and powerful kingdom, ruled by a fair and just king, wed by a beautiful and loving queen, and championed by masterless knights. The land was peaceful and rich, all was as it should be. Then one day, a demon came to court. It took the appearance of an emaciated beast, cruel and crooked antlers, face drawn taut over its skull and teeth. Its demand was such; if you have not taken one life by the last stroke of midnight, tolled by the bell of the capital, your flesh is forfeit. The court was a-panic. But before a single ill-wrought deed was done, the king announced his decree. The bell tower would be torn down, and the bell itself, melted for slag and destroyed utterly. No doom would befall his kingdom.

The news of the King’s decree was met with rapture. For a decade more, the land prospered as never before. But the demon knew, and considered its revenge.

One dark day, as the sun had set and the evening guard set out, the king’s knights approached the gates of the castle, and were admitted entry. As they were greeted by the evening guard, the knights drew their weapons, and butchered the men. They coursed through the castle slaying all they met, until they found the King himself in his room. He was dragged out into the courtyard, soaked in the blood of those slain, and a crown of the iron splinters of the bell thrust into his head. Then the knights dove upon his ragged body and gorged on him, even the organs and bones, til nothing was left, but the splinters.

When dawn came, nothing lived in the castle, not even rats. The kingdom was distraught at the loss. In one fell stroke, something had rid the kingdom of all its royalty and all its knights. Before the year was out, the kingdom was divided between its neighbours, and the land never prospered again.

The King remains, however. In his ruined and abandoned keep, left alone for fear of the King’s curse, he yet dwells on, tormented by the Demon he thwarted. His flesh is like ash, bound together with scraps of cloth. His bones are the twisted and pitted weapons of his slaughtered guards. His eyes are flames. Burning bright with hate. His only adornment is his false-crown. Sharp and crooked, bound in wire, jutting from his false-flesh. He broods on his throne, tormented by the Demon, tortured by his fate.

The Consumed King suffers no trespassers to his sorrow, and fights with fury. No blade harms his flesh-that-isn’t, and magic cannot harm him, for he is-not. He fights also with shame. He vomits forth clouds of dust to hide his pitiful form. He fills up throats with choking ashes to stop others speaking of his brokenness. He calls forth buffeting winds to carry him away and to deafen those that would hear his plaintive howls.    

All the while the Demon mocks him.

You can’t kill the King unless you kill the Demon first, and the Demon is very, very good at not being killed. The King however you can beat and beat and beat until he collapses weeping for a time. But only for a time.

The King’s Knights have also undergone transformation. They still bear their arms and armour, but their flesh beneath is red and raw and mangled. Blood oozes from them and coats and taints their armour. Their mouths are teeth and only teeth. They grind up meat with them, messily and savagely. They are not really human any more, they are merely pretending, and not very well at that. Hurt one enough, and it will give up its pretense and its armour will burst open and a wrecked beast of flesh and blood and flies and teeth will issue forth, without shape or logic. The knights of the Wasted Legion are not Knights. Not really.

Stredges

It’s dark out on the moors after the fire. The hollow husk of the castle stands humped in murk and silence, and the crows pick at the corpses that litter the ground. A rebellion against a cruel duke ended here, though the creature stalking through the fields neither knows this, nor cares. A pair of scavengers pick through the bodies, taking weapons, armour, whatever might fetch gold. They are followed by a figure, it is hunched, and feathered perhaps, it stalks them, crawling between the bodies, darting from pile of death to pile of death, snake-like. The scavengers stop, they have found something worth investigating. The creature has found an opportunity. It stands tall now on legs too long to be human and with too many joints to be anything like an animal. Its long beaked head points up to the night sky as its long feathered cloak flows and flutters behind it. The piercing, shrieking cry echoes across the field, startling the scavengers. It is maybe twenty feet tall, though its legs make up the majority of its height. It lowers it head, glowers at them through empty eyes, face hollow like a bird skull. The scavengers turn to flee, but it is already too late. The wings of the thing have unfurled, reaching around, encircling the scavengers. They run, but already the wings have drifted ahead of them, cutting off escape. They turn to face their pursuer. It is advancing, its legs furling and unfurling rather than stepping as it approaches. More feather-limbs raise up from its back, and dart forward. The Stredge will glut itself tonight.

Stredges are vile creatures that some might call demons, formed as they are either by or merely near self-destructive acts. A suicide, or self-harm might rarely summon one. Poisoning a well to kill one’s neighbour, dooming the village in the process, might well call one to you. Civil wars can bring nearly a dozen. They are not common, but that is small comfort to those stalked by one.

They are, at least so scholars claim, probably not demons in actuality. They don’t seem to have any particular hunting pattern or strategy, unless slaying anything it can see is considered a strategy. It seems neither to have any particular requirement to hunt either, for they have been known to stalk the same place for decades at a time, without ever finding prey to feast upon. At least, as far as is known. There is a purpose to a Stredge’s feeding however. Whilst its beak was buried deep within the chest of one of its victims, slurping up blood and giblets of meat, new feathers were seen growing from its back.

As for fighting and slaying Stredges, there are precious few accounts. One seemingly reliable fact is that once the Stredge has struck, and there are dead prey, it will invariably attempt to feed, sucking a corpse or fallen person dry in a matter of seconds, leaving at least a small window to attempt escape. Accounts also tell that weapon blows during this period of feeding are suicidal to attempt, and the feather-weapons of the Stredge whip and slice about it. These feathers have been reported to pierce a man straight through, or cut his head from his shoulders.

There are but two accounts of the death of a Stredge. The first, it transpired, was entirely fabricated. The apparent shattered head and plucked feathers of a slain Stredge were revealed to be merely carved cow bones and treated leather. The other account claims that to slay a Stredge requires that a blade or weapon be plunged into its head just as the feather-weapons of the Stredge have you fully encircled, and are then about to strike. The account goes, that as the feathers pull back to lunge forward again is the one moment the Stredge is vulnerable. So far, none have been able to replicate this purported feat.

Quite what it is that Stredges want, or think, or desire; save for Meat and death, is uncertain. Many times, places once haunted by a Stredge will be found many decades later, bereft of its monster, though it will have left behind a rather disturbing scrap-and-salvage sculpture of itself behind. Damaging such a sculpture has never gone well for the hooligan. Reports have also been made of Stredge-writing, symbols and forms carved into the earth, or a flank of a tree, or cow. Nothing has ever come of studying such things. In all likelihood, they are merely elaborate, and slightly sick, jokes.

There is a strange tale of a reclusive wizard who attempted to purposefully summon Stredges near his domain, as a way to ensure that none would attempt to approach his lair. Despite murdering no less that four of his own family, burning progressively large fractions of his personal library, and eventually his tower itself, still he could not attract the attention of a Stredge. In a fit of remorse, he handed himself in at the closest city, fully confessed his crimes, and was summarily sentenced to death. The next morning, his drained and empty husk was all that was found in his cell, the bars of his window pried apart, and great gouges on the stone walls. Stredges, it seems, know honesty when they see it.

Curses on a 6d6

6d6 Curses for Bestow Curse

Flip a coin to decide if the effect is real or only imagined. (Effects in brackets could potentially replace the d8 necrotic damage on a hit on the cursed target. These effects would normally last until the end of the target’s next turn if the caster hits them with a weapon or a spell. These are permanent effects for more powerful curses, such as those cast using 8th or 9th level spells slots.)

A Bestow Curse cast at 5th level or above can apply the following alteration to the Curse they apply to the target:

• The curse cannot be dispelled or removed by any means, except by one that is declared by the caster. This must be literally and physically possible for the target to accomplish within the duration of the spell, or the spell fails. Once the conditions are met, the spell ends immediately.

Strength

1 - You are wading through: (d4 roll) 1 - muck, 2 - brambles, 3 - bones, 4 gravel (The target treats all terrain as difficult terrain.)

2 - Your muscles waste away as if you had never eaten. (The target has half their normal carry capacity.)

3 - Your bones become: (d4 roll) 1 - hollow, 2 - brittle, 3 - spongy, 4 - fused (The target has vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.)

4 - Your joints dislocate suspiciously easily. (The target is knocked prone by the attack/attacks.)

5 - A devil is assigned to act against you, weighing you down, holding you back, etc. (The target must make a strength save or have their movement speed reduced to 0 that turn.)

6 - You feel as if everything you carry is unbearably heavy. (The target doubles the weight of all items carried.)

Dexterity

1 - You are bound by ethereal chains. (The target has disadvantage on their next attack roll/attack rolls.)

2 - Your joints are filled with: (d4 roll) 1 - tiny stones, 2 - biting insects, 3 - nails, 4 - ice (The target must make a dexterity check at the start of each of their turns or have movement speed reduced to 0 for that turn.)

3 - Whatever you wear grows thorns on the inside to scratch and hook at you. (The target takes d4 piercing damage for each 10 feet they move.)

4 - Your nerves stop working properly, everything is numb. (When the target takes damage because they

touched an object or creature, the damage is rolled with advantage.)

5 - You bones are made of: (d4 roll) 1 - wood, 2 - ceramic, 3 - glass, 4 - slate (If the target moves more than 5 feet on any creature’s turn, it falls prone.)

6 - Your nerves become quantum tunnels. Sometimes you feel them at the wrong time. (The target’s next

action must be declared when the target is hit/at the start of each round, and takes place at a random

initiative next round.)

Constitution

1 - Everyone you see looks as if: (d4 roll) 1 - their flesh is moldy and rotten, 2 - they are bleeding maggots,

3 - they are on fire, 4 - they have something crawling around underneath their skin (The target has disadvantage on attack rolls for targets within 5 feet.)

2 - A demon has stolen your heart away. (The target can end the curse whenever they like, by bargaining with the devil, or reclaiming it from that devil. This curse can’t be dispelled or removed except by that method.)

3 - You are surrounded by a cloud of flies that are: (d4 roll) 1 - demonic, 2 - undead, 3 - oozes, 4 - abstract

(The target must make a constitution save at the start of their turn, or be poisoned until the end of their

turn.)

4 - Your flesh softens, and is malleable like clay. (When hit, the target’s closest ally must make a wisdom

saving throw or be frightened of the target until the end of their next turn.)

5 - You are afflicted by an insatiable hunger that can only be satisfied by: (d4 roll) 1 - the flesh of your species, 2 - rotten food, 3 - soil, 4 - leather (The next hit die the target rolls counts as having rolled a 1. This effect stacks over multiple hits, for that many rolled hit die.)

6 - It feels as if you are breathing: (d4 roll) 1 - water, 2 - really thin air, 3 - smoke, 4 - dust (The target takes a level of exhaustion if they use both an action and a bonus action in a round.)

Intelligence

1 - You are unable to remember things like you used to… somedays you even forget how to speak. (The

target loses d4 random proficiencies at the end of each rest they take, and regains them at the end of

their next rest.)

2 - Occasionally all you can think about is: (d4 roll) 1 - death, 2 - fire, 3 - torture, 4 - a void (At the start of the

target’s turn, they must roll a d12. If the result is equal to or less than their intelligence modifier, they

are stunned until the end of their turn. This effect stacks for multiple hits, for a check at the start of that

many rounds.)

3 - You feel like your mind is in an object you hold, and that you must work your body like a puppet. (The target must make all dexterity checks and saves as if they were intelligence checks or saves.)

4 - You have a mind-share plan with nearby animals, often when you least wish it. (At the start of the target’s

turn, roll a d6. On the roll of a 1, the DM controls the target as if they had animal intelligence this turn.)

5 - A demon sits on your shoulders and whispers convincing falsities to you. (The target must randomly

determine each time if they think something they are told is true or false.)

6 - Your brain desiccates slightly, such that you are permanently hungover. (The target is affected as if by

bane.)

Wisdom

1 - All liquids intoxicate you like alcohol. (The target is poisoned for 1 minute after they drink anything.)

2 - Your mind twists, and you can only think: (d4 roll) 1 - logically, 2 - literally, 3 - overly emotionally, 4 -

animalistically (The target must roleplay this change, or take 2d8 psychic damage.)

3 - You are compelled to lie when you wish to be truthful, and to be truthful when you wish to lie. (When the

target tries to tell a truth or a lie of consequence, they must make a wisdom save. If they fail, they must say the opposite of what they intended.)

4 - Sometimes, you feel needles being pushed into your skin. (The target has disadvantage on concentration checks.)

5 - You are totally aware of your entire body, all the time, and must perform all bodily functions consciously.

(Whenever the target moves, takes an action, or a bonus action, they must make a constitution save. If

they fail, they can take no other actions, and their turn ends immediately.)

6 - You feel utterly safe, and totally content. Always. No matter the situation. (The target always acts last in

initiative, but they also can’t be frightened.)

Charisma

1 - You can’t see anyone’s face anymore. (The target has disadvantage on insight checks, and when they end their turn within 5 feet of a humanoid, they must make a wisdom saving throw or be frightened of them

until the end of their next turn.)

2 - You voice sounds as if it is: (d4 roll) 1 - demonic whispering, 2 - hollow wind, 3 - bubbling muck, 4 - chittering bugs. (The target must make a concentration check when they cast a spell with verbal components. If they fail, the spell fails and the spell slot is wasted.)

3 - You feel like your face is: (d4 roll) 1 - wax, melting, 2 - wood, carven, 3 - a mass of teeth, 4 - you have a

snake for a tongue (At the start of the target’s turn, they must make a constitution save or be poisoned

until the end of their turn.)

4 - You develop an overwhelming: (d4 roll) 1 - inferiority complex, 2 - superiority complex, 3 - loss of empathy, 4 - abundance of empathy (The target must roleplay this change, or take 2d8 psychic damage.)

5 - Sometimes a demon speaks for you, whether you want to or not. (6 times per long rest/once per times you are hit, the DM can force the target to make a wisdom saving throw when they try to speak, or wish to

stay silent. If they fail, The DM speaks for them as the Demon instead.)

6 - Your face twists into the shape of: (d4 roll) 1 - a demon, 2 - an insect, 3 - a fish, 4 - a year-old corpse (At

the start of the target’s turn, they must make a constitution save or be poisoned until the end of their turn.)