Small Jobs in Haven

My players were lamenting their lack of funds in the most recent game - they are adventurers, members of the Guild of Defenestration, and their "job" is to get into the dungeons that bloom under Haven. Their "payment" comes from loot they recover (a small percentage skimmed from the top by the Guild for operating expenses, of course).

One of my players was asking "can't we do something to earn a few groats?" My immediate response was "no - you are adventurers! go adventure!" I should have said "sure, but it takes time and has consequences.  After all, if you saw your local mayor working at the local fast food chain, you'd have a thought or two on the subject.

So, some rules for "other jobs" for adventurers. Incidentally, they all suck.

Odd Jobs Rules
A character may stop adventuring for a week and do some fairly boring jobs. This has two consequences.

The First Consequence
If there are any "live" dungeons, roll 1d6.

• 1-3: The dungeon grows - it repopulates itself, more monsters, possibly more dangerous, new areas, not good.
• 4-5: Another local Guild chapter takes over the contract. The character's chapter loses some status and trust.
• 6: The dungeon erupts from the Underworld - monsters in the streets, a plague of Gloom, general mayhem.

The Second Consequence
Adventurers have a special place in society. While they are often looked down upon they have a strange respect from the population. Doing non-adventuring things lessens their standing. Reduce the character's lifestyle by 1 level automatically (even if the character spent loot in advance to boost their standing).  A destitute character doesn't get any lower.

The Jobs

Based on current lifestyle (after the drop in status), roll 1d4. If you don't know what the job is based on the title, imagine the worst thing you can based on the character's new lifestyle. Humiliation is the key. These jobs suck. If a character had a real job they wouldn't be an adventurer.

Lifestyle 1 2 3 4  Destitute  dung picker  scuz mopper  silk snatcher  sweat milker  Shabby  corpse cart driver   bird feeder  fence mender  rat catcher  Working  pet walker  catchpoke  fruit stomper  scab tender  Craftsman  shop assistant  guild herald  shit strainer  tooth snapper   Guilder  personal servant  house herald  slop grinder  fish gutter  Wealthy  guild attendant  tavern server  lip painter  chug dealer  Extravagant   house balif  Incense bearer   house pratwhore   payed friend

How Many Groats?

Not as many as you would like. Any groats earned from boring jobs cannot be used by a character to gain experience through banking or carousing. Only loot earned through adventuring can get a character XP. If the player complain about the paltry number of groats (and those numbers are pretty paltry), remind them that this is not a game about being an accountant or avoiding adventure. If they don't have enough loot to maintain their gear or lifestyle then perhaps they should be a bit more aggressive in looting the Underworld or choose to sell relic they found to a noble house or the Guild of Defenestration instead of hanging on to it. Sure it might come to bite them in the ass later, but at least they could repair their armor and buy a shield.

Lifestyle  Loot   Destitute 1d4  Shabby 2d4  Working 3d4  Craftsman 4d4  Guilder 4d6  Wealthy 4d8  Extravagant  5d8

Sorrow in Haven, and most fantasy adventure games for that matter are not about doing mundane things, they are about taking chances and high adventure; about encountering the weird and overcoming overwhelming odds; and most of all about having fun!

Underworld Beasts: Gilgesh

The Gilgesh are an ancient culture, long forgotten from the World of Light. They are casually referred to as scorpion-men.

Most gilgesh are encountered when they are in the middle of a summoning. So far no adventurers have identified what they are attempting to summon because they don't wait around - combat or escape are the number one priority.

The gilgesh vomit acid as their primary attack, their vicious looking claws are too delicate for combat. Their tail does not end in a stinger, buth rather can "tulip" open revealing a terrible second mouth. It is from this mouth they call forth the Ancient Oath of Binding.

The Ancient Oath of Binding
Apparently the Gilgesh once enslaved the ancestors of humanity.  If the Oath is spoken, all who hear it must pass a difficulty (+3) WIT action roll or choose Deference of Defense.  One who defers becomes a worker slave, cleaning the gilgesh or doing menial tasks for it. Those who defend will do so with all their power and even sacrifice their life to defend the creature. Characters who failed the first roll get a second after 1d6 turns; if this second one also fails the target is forever enslaved.

Digestive Acids
If a character is hit by the digestive acids, one thing that they are wearing or are carrying openly (weapons, shields, armor, fancy hats, masks, cool rings, whatever) has to immediately make a durability roll to see if it gets seriously damaged.

Sorrow in Haven (and other useful) Stats  Aberration (neutral)  Size: M  Danger: 4  KO: +4  Intransient Raconteur   Org: group or solitary   Atk: +1  Def: +2  Multiple Appendiges  Cunning: Clever  Digestive Acid  DR: 1  Demeanor: Cold  Ferocity: Calm  Speed: 4  END: 20   Int: Smart  Instinct: enslave   Dmg: d6  VIT: 6

OSR / LotFP Stats  Armor: 4 better than "base"  Move: 40'  Hit Dice: 3 (11 hp)  Digestive Acid: d6 x2  Morale: 10  Oath of Binding: save vs Magic  Digestive Acids: wreck an item

Also, I totally borrowed this artwork without permission from: https://kingovrats.deviantart.com/art/Scorpion-Man-II-696164278.