Piracy GLOG ruleset: Jar of Dirt

I sound like a cooking programme on Netflix. "So full of flavour!" But it's true: I'm looking forward to a low magic, high hijinks piracy campaign and especially to using awesome GLOG classes instead of clunky D&D.

Classes don't make the entire game, and so I pulled together all the material I need to run a GLOG game into one document. Here it is. Jar of Dirt steals, proudly, from dozens of sources. It's a work in progress, but I definitely want feedback at this stage, so - board those comments and fire away!

Want a quick bit instead of the entire document? Check out my random tables at the bottom of the post.


>> CHECK OUT JAR OF DIRT <<

WHAT'S DIFFERENT IN THIS RULESET?

• a roll-over system, because I prefer the "high is good" mnemonic for all rolls. The original GLOG attack roll gives me the heebie-jeebies because it reminds me of thac0. I may (have) know(n ;) university level math & physics, but thac0 is the devil's spawn. (Also I like an uncomplicated roll vs target number, rather than "roll versus your stat, but let me look up the penalty first". Just works faster at my table.) 
• Cool tables, if I do think so myself (check them out below):
• reasons why you are down on your luck!
• tales to make your hair stand on end!
• unfeasible life goals!
• magnificent pirate hats!
• The most important rolls -skill checks and saves- run directly off the ability scores, not the bonuses; if these numbers are so central to the character, they should be central in the rules as well. Added lots of little rule-lets (language slots, quick slots, hireling slots) to put the ability bonuses to work as well.
• a new trade system to figure out where the high value routes are and what different regions are looking for.
• backgrounds, professions and skills to quickly flesh out new characters.
• many classes copied or adapted from all around the Blogosphere: the Artillerist, Assassin, Brawler, Crew, Duelist, Sawbones, Scholar, Scoundrel, Thief and Weather Witch. That's three rogueish classes (Assassin, Scoundrel, Thief) and social abilities in pretty much every class.
• no exact XP system but a milestone mechanic lifted from Into the Odd.
• lots of little tweaks and additions: extra ship types, weapons, advanced firearms, ship manoeuvre modifiers and so on
• two new regions to replace the Golden Isles: the Maelstrom Islands and the Spice Islands (under construction)

STILL TO COME

• spicier tables to stock merchant ships
• Spice Islands region and map, based on the Moluccas/Banda islands. I'm now working through the epic load of homework that Richard of the Countercolonial Heist Crawl gave me...
• world map with travel times and relative positions of regions
• a group to play this with!

TABLES TO MAKE YOUR PLAYER' LIVES MORE INTERESTING

What's a roleplaying game without random tables to prompt the DM and inflict wondrous misery on your players? (Quiet there in the back, with your "less antagonistic"!)

Here's a couple of tables from Jar of Dirt to spice things up. Seldom necessary, but handy to have around.

We search the drowned guy (d30)

d30	We search the drowned guy
1	deck of cards, marked
2	Valois maid costume
3	enormous sunhat
4	fantastic wig
5	uniform
6	lantern and flask of oil
7	vial of poison (2d6, 50 sp)
8	saw, hammer and 10 nails
9	pickaxe
10	iron pot and cooking utensils
11	penny dreadfuls or erotic pamphlet
12	hammock
13	scissors
14	riding whip
15	3 bottles of rum
16	empty book, ink and pen
17	incomplete island map with warnings
18	pearl earring (50 sp)
19	navigation tools
20	small but vicious dog
21	bottle of indigo (50 sp)
22	bundle of scandalous love letters
23	letter of marque
24	spyglass, wonky
25	hourglass
26	klepto performing monkey
27	rope and grappling hook
28	water flask, 25% diseased
29	packet of opium
30	incriminating papers, 50% forgeries

Magnificent pirate hats (d10)

d10	this hat	with	it is
1	fez	gold stitching	enormous
2	beret	pearl strands	exquisite
3	nón lá	enormous gem	dainty
4	turban	huge feathers	perfumed
5	top hat	gigantic brim	smelly
6	bicorne	a foot high	worm eaten
7	tricorne	music box	patched
8	bandana	corks on strings	infested
9	mitre	hidden knives	a bad fit
10	veil	smuggling space	collapsing

What's your life goal (d20)

d20	Life goal
1	lead a quiet, ordinary life
2	find true love to settle down with
3	find your father's bones
4	free your brother from Dreadhold
5	restore your family honour
6	retire in a seaside mansion
7	become a filthy rich trader
8	gain a position of political power
9	discover a wholly new species
10	prove that the world is rational
11	discover a new continent
12	circumnavigate the globe
13	found your own private kingdom
14	break the hold of the Old Countries
15	remove the blight of slavery
16	find incontrovertible proof of magic
17	take gruesome and epic revenge
18	find the secret of immortality
19	break the curse on your family
20	create something unique

What's up with you? (d20)

d20	Backstory
1	afraid they'll find out you're not a true hero / explorer / scientist / daredevil
2	framed for smuggling / counterfeiting / murder / piracy
3	2d6 x 500 gp debt to gambling ring / bank / criminals / drug smuggler
4	fell in love with the sweetheart of a cruel courtier / judge / merchant / captain
5	dishonoured your family name / mentor / army / betrothed
6	fleeing ringleader of failed revolution / union / religious reform / free press
7	get support for your crazy scientific theory / political ideas / trade scheme
8	escaped suffocating life as religious initiate / noble heir / bank clerk / farmer
9	exiled after a scandalous affair / raucous play about the king / anarchist pamphlet
10	out of grace after a failed treasure hunt / trade coup / assassination / spy mission
11	just started your job when your master was exiled / murdered / disappeared / claimed he never met you
12	failed as a bodyguard / soldier / guide
13	looking for better pay / religious freedom / excitement / your disappeared love
14	promised job fell through / land turned barren / cargo spoiled / friends left you
15	mistaken identity as a navigator / lawyer / accountant / banker
16	just drafted as a sailor / marine / smuggler / dockworker
17	your ship left without you / robbed you blind / tried to sell you / marooned you
18	you woke up alone in your village / on your ship / on the plantation / in jail
19	unfortunate penchant for gambling / opium use / petty theft / forgery
20	memory loss, but you have lash marks / book in strange language / map of strange island / tattoo, seems to move

Tales to make your hair stand on end (d12)

d12	And they were never heard of again
1	fell in love with a mermaid and chased her around the world to marry her
2	heard the melodies aboard a cursed ship of decadent nobles and ever sought them
3	boarded a derelict ship where all the crew lie died with fright on their faces
4	shot an albatross and wore it around his neck as a lucky charm
5	struck fire on an island where the wood is alive and the ground hates iron
6	vowed to hunt down the great white whale that plagued the Maelstrom
7	from old sea charts and star maps, was convinced of a faster way to Yoon-Suin
8	sailed out to catch a woman beloved by the sea, plagued by wave and water spout
9	dove down to haul up the sea king's gold, always signalling: more rope! more rope!
10	found an ivory statuette adrift and was born by the sea to an underwater temple
11	saw faces in the water in the eye of a hurricane and called out to them
12	swore he would make the fastest trip to the Mehabara. His ship arrived in perfect shape, fully stocked and crewless.

 

Item of Dubious Provenance (d100)

d100	item	d100	item	d100	item
1	alms bowl	35	fine wine, 1 bottle	69	pipe, 3 doses of opium
2	bag of coal	36	fishing rod & tackle	70	pocketful of nails
3	bag of flour	37	flask of oil	71	pot of glue
4	bag of manure	38	flint, steel, and tinder	72	quality cloak
5	bag of salt	39	foppish wig	73	quill, ink, parchment
6	bag of vegetables	40	glass jar	74	3d rations
7	bagpipes	41	grappling hook	75	religious tome
8	barrel	42	grave marker	76	rope, 30'
9	bear trap	43	groin cup	77	scissors
10	bearskin cloak	44	hammer and chisel	78	sealable scroll case
11	block and tackle	45	helmet	79	set of scales
12	bone dice	46	horn	80	silver ring
13	book of poetry	47	iron lockbox	81	spyglass
14	book of star tables	48	iron pot	82	stepladder
15	bottle of fortified wine	49	iron spikes (3)	83	stuffed cat
16	bottle of rum	50	iron tongs	84	tablet with chalk
17	broom	51	jar of dirt	85	tarot deck
18	bundle of rags	52	jar of grease	86	ten-foot pole
19	bundle of wood	53	jar of honey	87	tinderbox
20	bundle of wound wool	54	jar of leeches	88	tiny barrel of beer
21	cake of soap	55	jar of worms	89	torch
22	caltrops (5)	56	lantern and oil flask	90	two yards of linen
23	candles (3)	57	leather bag	91	vials of dye (4)
24	cask of ale	58	loaf of bread	92	waterproof bag
25	chain, 15'	59	lute	93	wax seal stamp
26	chalk, 5 pieces	60	magnifying glass	94	wheel of cheese
27	crow-beaked mask	61	manacles	95	wheelbarrow
28	crowbar, cold iron	62	map (foreign lands)	96	wicker basket
29	cube of incense	63	metal file	97	winter clothes
30	deck of marked cards	64	monk's habit	98	wood bore
31	deer pelt	65	necklace of teeth	99	metal wire
32	devotional statue	66	needles (10)	100	wooden bucket
33	dose of poison (2d6)	67	net (10')
34	fancy clothes	68	palette and pigments

Random books (d30)

d30	title	topic	author
1	Desultory Notes on the Government of Yoon-Suin	administration	Taylor Meadows
2	De Humani Corporis Fabrica	anatomy	Andreas Vesalius
3	Locke's Illustrated - art and history of numerous cultures	appraisal	Theophil Locke
4	I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura	architecture	Andrea Palladio
5	On the Revolutions of Heavenly Objects	astronomy	Nicolai Argentik
6	The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries	astronomy	al-Biruni
7	Exhaustive Index of Herbs	botany	Sandwall
8	The Complete Art of Artillery	cannons	Kazimierz Siemienowicz
9	The Sceptical Chymist	chemistry	Robert Boyle
10	Pictorial of Tea Ware	courtesy	Shenan
11	An engine for raising of water and occasioning motion	engineering	Thomas Savery
12	Wapenhandelinghe van Roers, Musquetten ende Spiessen	firearms	Jacob de Gheyn
13	Die Lieder alter Völker	folklore	Gottfried von Herder
14	Golden Sticks	folklore	Fraiser
15	Salty and Salacious Tales of the Sea Volume IV	folklore	Dellwecker
16	Essay on the Theory of the Earth	geology	Georges Cuvier
17	Von den äußerlichen Kennzeichen der Fossilien	geology	Abraham Gottlob Werner
18	Der arme Heinrich	larceny	Hartmann von Aue
19	Treatise on the Origin of Language	linguistics	Gottfried von Herder
20	Principles of the Four Humours	medicine	Avicenna
21	General Chart of the Variation of the Compass	navigation	Halley
22	Journey Beyond the Three Seas	navigation	Nikitin
23	Rudolphine Tables	navigation	Johannes Graz
24	The Savior from Demise	poisons	al-Hasan ibn Tha'labah
25	Opticks	physics	Isaac Pound
26	The Motion of Falling Things	physics	Isaac Pound
27	The Complete Ambassador	spycraft	Walsingham
28	Treatise on the Dissection of Birds and Animals	taxidermy	Bentley Reaumur
29	A Short Treatise on the Wealth and Poverty of Nations	trade	Serra
30	Histoire Naturelle des Animaux	zoology	Lamarck