GLOGmas '25: Straight Flush

The spirit of the season has compelled me to join in that grandest of traditions: a Secret Santa, by way of the noble art of blogging. I drew PRIMEUMATON of the Madman's Menagerie as my target, and so I present a supplement to his Straight Flush series of bestiary entries in his MORNING STARS setting.

Town Guard
1 HD (4 HP), AC as chain, 5 morale
A bandit by any other name.
Movement: Can maintain a purposeful stroll along a familiar patrol route for 8 hours, but can only sprint for 10 minutes before having to rest.
Morality: Motivated in equal measure by their local social bonds and a reliable wage. If either is threatened, they will respond with municipally-sanctioned violence.
Intelligence: Uncreative but possess a deep well of local trivia.
Attacks: +2 to hit. All are issued with a standard-issue melee weapon (1d6). One in a patrol has a crossbow (1d6, range 120’, requires a full round to reload.)
Indistinguishable: Players can only target town guards who have been described with a unique feature (such as a crossbow) or have had such a feature inflicted upon them. Attacks against any other town guard hit a guard of the GM’s choice.

Orcneas Bannerman
2 HD (12 HP), AC as worn armor, 12 morale
The allegiance of the war-dead is a fleeting thing, but an Orcneas that still bears even a tattered flag becomes a rallying point for lost causes. On eternal battlefields, souls find a measure of lucidity in the symbol they died for and will follow the bannerman until it inevitably falls.
Movement: Shambles on shattered limbs. Wields a great flagpole as a crutch and weapon alike. Despite this, the bannerman is no slower than it was in life.
Morality: Fanatically patriotic, as an impromptu officer among the irregular war-dead.
Intelligence: Remembers the heraldry of lost ages and the grudges of its ancient lord with monomaniacal clarity. All else clouded over in a bloody haze.
Attacks: +2 to hit, one attack with their flag (counts as a polearm).
Battle-Scarred: Roll 1d6 to see how the Orcneas Bannerman died. 1-3. Roll on the regular Orcneas table. 4. Trampled. All bones shattered in a bag of bruised skin, cannot be further maimed. 5. Volley fire. The hundred arrows that took its life now protect it in death. Attacking it in melee incurs 1 damage. 6. Betrayed. Whether poisoned by disgruntled troops or stabbed in the back in the heat of the battle, its undying paranoia always detects ambushes.
Rallying Cry: Its shattered mandible mangles battle cries and marching songs alike. Other Orcneas that can hear it or see its tattered flag do not need to roll morale and will follow its orders without question.
Undead: The war-dead share none of life’s basal needs. Their wounds scab, but never heal nor rot.

Catarrhic Ooze
3 HD (12 HP), AC as unarmored, 8 morale
The body’s answer to all problems is mucus, especially if the problem itself is mucoidal in nature. In extreme cases, the sinuses autocannibalize and convert the body’s entire mass into mucus, resulting in this miserable half-living creature.
Movement: Sedate unless lunging for prey. Climbs walls and ceilings with ease.
Morality: Resentful and hungry in equal measure.
Intelligence: Single-minded ambush predator.
Attacks: +0 to hit, or +4 if undetected. Attacks grapple rather than dealing damage, see Post-Nasal Drop.
Semifluid: The Catarrhic Ooze takes half damage from all physical attacks except those made with cloth or other absorbent materials, which deal damage to the ooze as if they were iron. Can squeeze through gaps as small as the human mouth/nose.
Post-Nasal Drop: Instead of dealing damage, attacks Grapple target. Grappled creatures must save vs. suffocation at the start of each of their turns and whenever the ooze takes damage. Grappled creatures take 1 damage whenever they act or fail a save. Whenever either the ooze or its captive attempts to move, everyone involved must save or be dragged along.

Goblin King
4 HD (20 HP), AC as unarmored, 7 morale
As a goblin is a loathsome creature of amalgamated garbage, so too is a goblin king a far more loathsome entity of amalgamated goblins. Rotten stick-limbs wrap and snap about each other, tumorous wart-eyes bubble together, maws press together into slavering cavities attempting to devour each other. A vindictive intelligence emerges; a lord-mind that hates the world and its constituent goblin-organs in equal measures.
Movement: Scuttles and rolls at break-neck speed, but has minimal ability to turn or stop.
Morality: A goblin may have infinite capacity for spite, but there are yet greater infinities and the Goblin King seeks to comprehend them all. Preferably by enacting them upon hapless creatures. Especially other goblins.
Intelligence: As a town council of squabbling children, but with the determination and grudges of their great-grandparents.
Attacks: +0 to hit. Roll six times on the following table. It makes all the corresponding attacks in any order, and prefers to target either the weakest or those who have most recently captured its attention.

1. Autocannibalize. (1d4 to itself).
2. Many bites (2d4).
3. Garbage shiv. See original goblin entry.
4. Huck refuse (1d6, can be thrown 30’).
5. Vomit filth (1d4 to all non-goblins within 10’. +10’ radius for each time this result has been rolled this turn.)
6. Gleeful charge (scuttles 60’ and attacks everything it passes by or over during this movement for 1d6-1).

Rapacious: As the goblin’s Ruin ability, but counts as 6 goblins.

Tactical War Elephant
5 HD (24 HP), AC as chain, 8 morale
The elephant’s sinuous trunk made it the preferred beast of burden for the snakemen whenever they lowered themselves to modify the mammalian branches of the tree of life. Some changes were required: a smaller, denser frame; a more muscular and dexterous trunk; tusks that grow ceaselessly around into the eyes and brain if not regularly trimmed.

In this latter mammalian era, petty kingdoms have captured feral lesser elephants and trained them as tactical siege weapons. These creatures are too small to fit the howdahs or siege towers sized for their greater kin, but carry an entire platoon’s equipmentt and batter down village gates with ease. Military arborists have even coppiced their tusks into endless sources of ivory hilts, or trained their ceaseless growth into battering rams scrimshawed with histories of the platoon’s dead. Few lesser elephants enjoy this role, but their grander kin have not forgotten the indignities that created them, and have cast them off as sympathizers with the ancient serpent oppressors.
Movement: Purposeful strides. Cannot be slowed. Very fast if it deigns to run, or charge.
Morality: Defeatist and unsympathetic.
Intelligence: Smarter than their military handlers, as a rule.
Attacks: +4 to hit. Three attacks per round: one trunk slap (1d8 OR target saves vs. grapple, range 10’), one stomp (2d6, target saves vs. knock down), one gore (1d6+3 vs. two enemies in front of the elephant).
Charge: The Tactical War Elephant may spend its entire turn charging in a straight line up to 120’. It makes a free stomp attack against everyone it passes over, including its allies, and gores targets at the end of its movement. 

GLAUGUST: Esprit

I’m reproducing the rules for Esprit here as I remember them because I lost my PDF of the original Cloak-and-Sword ruleset. It always felt quite gameable, as it fills a social function that traditional reaction rolls often lack. I think the GLOG could make good use of it.

Esprit

The social relation of Esprit is considered by sophists to be the opposite of neutrality, and by playwrights to be the motive force of all drama. It insists upon itself and moves the body it inhabits to action.

When the party encounters a character that holds Esprit for one of their members, if a Reaction Roll is warranted, use the Esprit Reaction table instead of any other. If other characters are present, the Esprit must be resolved first, and afterwards the reactions of any other non-player characters will be clear.

The player whose character for whom Esprit is held rolls 2d6 and adds their Charisma. The Espirited character reacts in the corresponding manner.

Esprit Reaction Roll (2d6+Charisma)
2 or less: Demands allegiance.
3-5: Demands a service.
6-8: Makes a request.
9-11: Offers a service.
12 or more: Pledges service.

If refused out of hand or ignored, the Espirited character will escalate the confrontation until they receive satisfaction or are rendered insensate.

The Charcuterie Board is Served!

The GLoG is a wonderful, writhing thing made of teeth and nails and goblin-flesh. It slumbers, on occasion, but only so its waking hunger is that much deeper. Fortunately, a party of expendable lackeys foolhardy treasure-seekers filthy gretchlings esteemed bloggers (including yours truly) have seen fit to prepare a delicious meal to sate the GLoG's hunger, as well as perhaps your curiosity about what this madness is. It's free*!

*if you eat, you stay 

 

The Charcuterie Board

Here's my contribution to the Charcuterie Board all on its lonesome - I urge you to read the whole zine, it's fantastic, but if you just want its version of SAWN-OFF to throw at your unsuspecting players, it's linked below! (and all the component parts I just couldn't wait to reveal to the world are contained within my blog's SAWN-OFF tag).

 

SAWN-OFF

 

And, most importantly, some cut content that didn't quite make it into the incredibly generous 4-page spread I was provided with (but that Oblidisideryptch mourned the removal of regardless). Six regional encounter tables for use in Exploration, and six corresponding dungeon encounter tables for Crawling in your favorite relevant map!

 

Hexcrawl Encounter Tables

Encounters in an Active Warzone
1. Carrion birds circling → Dire vultures
2. Songs of resilience → Refugee caravan
3. Neutral flags → Mercenary company
4. Rapid hoofbeats → Knight, press-ganged retinue
5. Spent deserters → a Pitched Battle
6. Plumes of smoke → Encamped regiment

Encounters in the Deep Caverns
1. Cackling and gibbering → Goblin raiding party
2. Rock flows like water → Earth elemental
3. Echoing calls for help → Lost miners
4. Stalactites snap and fall → Cave-in
5. Flitting shadows → Xenomorph
6. Rattling, moaning → Forlorn spirits from the Buried Crypts

Encounters in a Fungal Forest
1. Crushed trail → Tank-bug
2. Ubiquitous buzzing → Bugfolk hive-swarm
3. Allergies act up → Spore blizzard
4. Bemused muttering → Expedition seeking the Flooded Ruins
5. Will-o-wisp lights → Fungusfolk mystics
6. Too quiet → Cordyceps-infested stalker

Encounters on the High Seas
1. Dark clouds on horizon → Thunderstorm
2. Sucking whirlpool → Kraken
3. Flags of convenience → Pirates
4. Flags of convenience → Merchanter
5. Land ho! → Prehistoric Island
6. Cloudless sky → Becalmed

Encounters in a Vast City
1. Screaming, smell of smoke → Fire!
2. Hurried steps, heads down → Cops
3. Someone calling your names → Old friend
4. Cheers, ozone → Wizard’s duel
5. Holiday parade → Assassins from the Infinite Palace
6. Smashing windows → Protection racketeers

 

Encounters in the Wizard’s Waste
1. Field of bones → Skeletons (various creatures)
2. Warning obelisk→ Guard-bots patrolling the Ancient Bunker
3. Irradiated pools → Mutant crabfolk camp
4. Sky darkens → Mutant bugfolk hive-swarm
5. Screaming thunder → Spell-storm
6. The land bows in fear → The wizard and retinue

Dungeon Encounter Tables

Encounters in a Pitched Battle
1. Maudlin, stench of blood → Neutral medics
2. Arguing, smell of sweat → Scavengers
3. Squabbling, pained moans → Decimated platoon
4. Fire from the skies → Mage-artillery
5. Stillness, occasional boom → Minefield
6. Barked, belittling orders → Officer corps

Encounters in the Buried Crypts
1. Bad poetry, snapping → Undead poets society
2. Cursing, chanting → Graverobbing necromancer
3. Clattering, scraping → d100 skeletons
4. Litanies against fear → Penitent paladin
5. Dust, iron scraping stone→ Bone monstrosity
6. Mad ramblings → King, doesn’t know he’s dead

Encounters in the Flooded Ruins
1. Rippling water → Dire salamander
2. Squealing gears → Patrolling automata
3. Arguing, smell of sweat → Scavengers
4. Soft wingbeats → Flying spy automaton
5. Hissing in the walls → Venomous snake
6. Gurgling, splashing → Zombified ancients

Encounters on the Prehistoric Island
1. Shed skins → Serpentfolk empire holdouts
2. Awestruck arguing → Lost paleontologists
3. Meaningful chirping → Raptor pack
4. Craning necks → Herbivore herd
5. Clacking, holes in sand → Crabfolk rebels
6. Fallen trees, carcasses → Tyrannosaurus rex

Encounters in the Infinite Palace
1. Tufts of orange fur → Judge-tigers
2. Clinking & hubbub → Cannibal dinner party
3. Heraldic trumpets → Foreign dignitaries
4. Soft weeping → Ghost of spurned lover
5. Birdshit → Peacocks, man-eating
6. Smell of bread → Beleaguered chefs

(Oblid wrote an extra 7-10 for this table as a comment on SAWN-OFF in the zine, it's on page 29 if you need more horrors of bureaucracy)

Encounters in an Ancient Bunker
1. Ominous beeping → Security bots
2. Roars and gurgles → Mutant monster
3. Distorted humming → Rad-cultists
4. Crashes, alerts → War-mech
5. Utter nonsound → Entombed radiation angel
6. Calculations, probabilities → Brain warbot

The Noble House

There's some kind of challenge floating around in the OSR Discord about downtime rules - so here's a class that acts almost entirely in downtime. You get to play as an entire noble lineage, and engage in domain-style play right from the beginning of the campaign! So long as you're okay with actually controlling an absolute brat of a useless noble heir adventuring far, far above their capabilities (though far, far below their means). An absolute fop, with gambling debts or too many enemies or convicted for a crime they most certainly did not (did too) commit. 

Noble House

by IvanColi

"No foie gras? No champagne? No stuffed partridge? How could you possibly fail to properly provision for such an adventure? Incompetent sycophants, the lot of you."

Level 1: Estate, Heirs, 1 Estate Action
Level 2: My Father Will Hear Of This, Retainers, +1 Estate Action
Level 3: Inheritance, +2 Estate Actions
Level 4: Royal Favor, +2 Estate Actions

Hit Die: d4
Starting Equipment: 3d20gp in pocket change, fancy jeweled weapon (deals damage with disadvantage), 2 sets of fine clothing, flask of expensive liquor
Skills (d6): 1. Dueling, 2. Etiquette, 3. Groveling, 4. Snobbery, 5. Tax Collecting, 6. Trivia

Estate: You play as an entire noble house, with access to land and money and resources beyond most adventurer's means. Any heir of the family has access to the house's resources, and is a representative of the house's name and honor. They will be rightfully treated as nobility, so long as they make it known.

As a Noble House, you have 3 ability scores instead of the traditional 6: Might, Status, and Coffers. Each is generated with a 4d6k3 roll. Whenever they take an action that leverages the resources or reputation of the House, heirs can roll Might instead of Strength/Constitution, Coffers instead of Dexterity/Intelligence, and Status instead of Wisdom/Charisma. The actions of the heirs, however, reflect upon the reputation of the house. Every time an heir fails the a challenge they make this way, the house takes -1 to that stat. A Noble House "dies" (falls into infighting and ruin) at 0 Might, 0 Status, or 0 Coffers.

During downtime, between adventures, your house can take (templates) of the following actions.
Profit: Your current heir gains an allowance of Coffers*10gp.
Host: Host a large social gathering for the well-to-do. +1 Status, then make a Status test. On a success, you can invite someone and be sure they show up.
Tax: +1 Coffers, then make a Coffers test. If you succeed, you may also gain +1 Status or +1 Might (your choice).
Conscript: Levy your peasants. +1 Might, then make a Might test. If you succeed, you may send (templates) peasant soldiers with your heir as retainers on the next adventure.
Recover: Restore 1 of your House ability scores to maximum.

As you gain additional Noble House templates, you gain access to additional Estate actions from the following list:
1. Alliance: You make some new friends in (hopefully) high places. Make a Status test. On a success, gain an ally/contact with someone of greater status than you. On a failure, gain an ally of lower status.
2. Battle!: Send your heirs, vassals, and conscripts to go fight a brush war somewhere in the name of your Lord and Country. Make a Might test. On a success, return with +1 Coffers and +1 Status, as well as an intriguing piece of loot. On a failure, -1 Might and -1 Coffers, and your next heir is Scarred in addition to their other disadvantages.
3. Educate: All current and future heirs learn 1 skill of your choice.
4. Gossip: Learn d6 rumors relevant to the party's aims or the House's fortunes.
5. Heirloom: Entrust the current heir with a magic item; the pride of the house. If the heir loses it, you lose access to this ability.
6. Hire: Make a Status test. If you succeed, send a Retainer of your choice with the Heir on your next adventure.
7. Influence: Pull some strings to get something done. Make a Status test. On a success, get someone of lower status your family knows to do you a favor. On a failure, -1 Status, and while they'll do the favor they need a bribe, or a favor in return.
8. Obtain: You can, in fact, always get what you want. Make a Coffers test. On a success, gain access to a single asset of your choice that costs less than Coffers*100gp for the next adventure. On a failure, -1 Coffers, and the price of the asset must be less than Coffers*10gp.
9. Oppress: You push your subjects to follow your commands. Make a Might test. If you succeed, rustle up a bunch of scared peasants to do your bidding. If you fail, they do your bidding, but also start planning a peasant rebellion. Take -1 Coffers
10. Schmooze: The next test you make as part of a House action is an automatic success. You owe a debt to whoever you got to help you.
11. Subvert: You take a rival down a peg. Make a Might test. On a success, an enemy of yours is denied a valuable connection or resource. On a failure, they still lose it, but they realize it's your doing and are coming at you with a vengeance.
12. Venture: Invest any number of points of Coffers in a lucrative business opportunity, then make a Coffers test. On a success, gain 1.5 times that many points of Coffers (round up). On a failure, lose those points of Coffers. Either way, gain a connection or item related to that opportunity worth (invested)*100gp.

Heirs: In the course of the game, you control a single heir as the house's representative, who's decided to go on a grand adventure. They have some sort of disadvantage from their noble upbringing. When the heir dies, another shows up. Each further heir begins with another disadvantage, until you level up, at which time the House has decided that the heir has proven themself worthy enough to clear their debts and reset the whole process.

1. Debt. d10*100gp of it. Must be paid off in full before leveling up. Can't make Coffers tests.
2. Estranged. Doesn't count as a member of the house. Can't make Status tests.
3. Scarred. Roll for a minor wound, which can't be healed.
4. Inbred. Roll for a mutation. Can't make Might tests.
5. Coddled. Roll with disadvantage for restoring HP when they don't have access to the creature comforts they're accustomed to.
6. Addicted. The heir has an expensive habit. If they don't get their fix each week, they go into withdrawal, with disadvantage on all mental tests or physical tests depending on the nature of the drug. Doses cost 50gp, and are preposterously illegal.
7. On the Run. There's a bounty on this heir's head, for crimes they probably didn't commit (4-in-6 chance of actually being guilty). Each session, roll 1d10. On a 1-in-6 (+1 for each time they drew attention to themself or used the house's reputation last session), a bounty hunter shows up looking for them.
8. Bastard. Whenever you fail a Might, Coffers, or Status test, reduce the score by 2 instead of 1.
9. Hopeless Romantic. Stalwart believer in the goodness and rightness of all things. Gain 1 Stress whenever they're exposed to the harsh reality of the outside world.
10. Enemies. Another noble house hates this heir in specific. They will take all opportunities to undercut and scheme against the heir, fabricate crimes, attempt to have them assassinated... each session, there's a 2-in-6 chance, some scheme is in motion which will come to fruition against them.
11. Diseased. This heir has an incurable disease that's slowly catching up with them. Roll for which one.
12. Cowardly. Always goes last in combat, must make a Charisma save to risk own health or life.

My Father Will Hear Of This: You may take one Estate action at any point during the course of an adventure. Information resulting from this action is conveyed to the heir by suitable courier or message-bird.

Retainers: Your heir travels with (templates) retainers. Roll for which ones you have. List adapted from the Financier by Basic Red. Retainers always bring their own supplies (including a random item and random suitable weapon), paid for by the House. To replace a dead Retainer, -1 Coffers.

1. Biographer. Keeps meticulous notes of the heir's adventures. GM mouthpiece for "actually, you've met this person before". When you encounter someone or something, you can test Status to remember meeting someone or encountering something similar, recorded in the biographer's journals. Excitable, but possibly more interested in your failures than successes.
2. Chef. Has the Cooking skill. Ensures that the party is well-fed. Party members can spend 2 rations in a rest to roll to restore HP with advantage. Can also purify food or water. Irritable, perfectionist.
3. Doctor. Has the Medicine skill. Heals an extra point of ability damage each rest and provides advantage on saves vs. disease. Can also autopsy corpses, and does so with glee.
4. Fop. Chirpy devoted hanger-on, looking to siphon off a little status by proximity. Will do dirty-ish work (lying, cheating, acquiring items of dubious legality) for you without complaint. Won't do it particularly well.
5. Guard. d8 hit die, leather armor, helmet, random 2-handed melee weapon or 1-handed melee weapon+shield, will fight for you. You can get them to take attacks in your stead, if they can put themselves in the way. No-nonsense; here for your protection.
6. Guide. Will carry an extra 8 slots of inventory for you as part of the job. Knows d4 rumors about wherever you're going. Will draw maps for you, may already have maps (2-in-6 chance). Put-upon, just here for their pay.
7. Occultist. Has the Occult skill. Knows a minor maybe-magical trick from the Occultist list. Scheming, has a personal plan that will adversely affect the heir and/or the house.
8. Priest. Has the Religion skill. Will assuage the heir's conscience, perform religious rites, create elaborate excuses as to why the adventurer's are on holy business, brings air of legitimacy to proceedings.
9. Relative. Ornery, embroiled in more drama than you can imagine. Can make Might/Status/Coffers tests, has a disadvantage as another heir. Knows a family secret that can be revealed to bring turmoil to any dealings with other nobility.
10. Scholar. Has two skills from the Scholar skill list and one associated Talent. Literate, and eloquent to boot. Sees you as a source of funds, not a person.
11. Spy. Disguised as another retainer from this list. Has stilettos, poisons, etc. 2-in-6 chance of you being on their hit list (GM rolls, doesn't tell you).
12. Valet. Keeps your affairs in order, consummately polite and proper. This means the GM will do your bookkeeping of supplies, restocking inventory, etc. for you. Use this wisely. Also will carry around 10 slots of inventory for you, and hand them to you when you wish (even in combat).

Inheritance: Who died and made you baron? A wealthy, ailing relative quite enamored with your pursuits, as it turns out. Gain 1000gp, a substantial art collection, and a treasure trove of blackmail.

Royal Favor: You've come so far that the House is favored by the highest of the high. Each Estate action you take can draw on the powers and reputation of the royal family, though if you ever fail an action with their resources they will be *extremely* disappointed in you. Perhaps to the point where you lose that hard-earned favor...

Holding Out For A Hero

There's a challenge in the GLOGosphere this week - Cursed classes! You don't start Cursed, but become Cursed during play. When you're Cursed, you start gaining templates of the Curse rather than any other class. These aren't necessarily good for you.

Other Curses
Words for Yellow: Vampires, Wendigos and more! 
Archon's Court: Nanoweapon Poisoning 
Walfalcon: the Skablin
Anxious Mimic: The Oath
The Benign Brown Beast: the Restless Dreamer
Princesses and Pioneers: Mirror-Struck
Parasites and Paradoxes: The Doppelgänger 
Bugbear Slug: The Abattoir God
Nuclear Haruspex:  The Undying
Meandering Banter: Wizzard Bidness
The Whimsical Mountain: The Fading
Slugs and Silver: Ogre

The curse I've decided to tackle is that of the tragic hero. Destiny is a curse, not a blessing. When Fate chooses you as its actor, you are beholden to its whims, no longer in control of your life, choices, or goals. Welcome to the greatest ride in the world. You can't get off.

When you receive a Grand Destiny from pulling a sword from a stone/being visited by a deity/the stars being right/etc, you instantly receive the first level of Hero. You cannot level up in any other class until you have completed your Grand Destiny. Casting off your destiny in any other way would require a grand quest in and of itself, perhaps knocking on the doors of Fate, or blackmailing a god into returning your free will.

Hero

Grazia Ferlito

"... I wish that the people who sing about the deeds of heroes would think about the people who have to clear up after them." - Terry Pratchett

Hero 1: Grand Destiny
Hero 2: Heroic Charisma
Hero 3: Twist Origin
Hero 4: Climactic Confrontation

Grand Destiny: Roll on the Destiny list (or have one assigned by your GM). Death shall not come for you 'til you complete your destiny, at which point you will likely die to achieve it. When you would die before your time, you must avoid it by sacrificing someone or something and taking on a commensurate burden to avenge them. You cannot advance in Hero or enter the Climactic Confrontation until you've avenged everyone you've sacrificed this way.

Heroic Charisma: You're a master of the impassioned, heroic speech. Treat your CHA as 18 whenever trying to convince someone to play a part in your destiny.

Twist Origin: At a suitably dramatic moment, you can (once) reveal a new fact about your parentage or ancestry that gives you an ability of your choice from any template of any class. This fact has retroactively always been true (thanks Fate) and will have repercussions. If you suddenly reveal that you're descended from a dragon, expect that dragon to make an appearance. If you're the king's illegitimate child, expect royal relatives to start trying to kill you.

Climactic Confrontation: You are on an inexorable path to confront your Destiny. You have advantages on rolls you make to approach the final confrontation with your Destiny (though not during the confrontation itself). When you complete your Destiny, you either die, or lose all your levels in Hero and regain all templates that you lost to gaining templates of Hero.

Sample Destinies (roll twice, you must do the first to cause the second)
1. End your bloodline.
2. Topple an empire.
3. Supplant a great evil.
4. Become king.
5. Defeat a great evil.
6. Bring order to the realm.
7. Activate a powerful relic.
8. Save your people from catastrophe.
9. Spread new knowledge to all.
10. Set right a great injustice.
11. End an ancient conflict.
12. Avert impending catastrophe.
13. Recover a long-lost artifact.
14. Unite warring peoples.
15. Reveal a long-buried secret.
16. Accomplish a feat deemed impossible.
17. Lead your people to victory.
18. End the current era.
19. Bring about a prophecy (roll again to see what was prophesized).
20. Follow in the steps of a prior hero, but succeed where they failed (roll again to see what they tried to do).