Weird Fantasy Role-Playing has, as some games do, a difference between city prices and rural prices. In the rules, you can pick whichever set you want at character creation, because it's likely you picked up your gear in your travels.
However, since
Carcosa predominantly describes rural environments, I've been toying with the idea of requiring a trip to the city of Carcosa in one's backstory if one wishes to use city prices. So, without further ado:
What in the Hell Happened to You in Carcosa?
If you want to have journeyed to Carcosa before play starts, have your DM roll 1d30:
1 - You were infected by some mutagenic virus. Start play with one random mutation. Every day (typically upon awakening, reflecting something that happened to you while you slept), save vs. poison. Failure indicates that you receive a random mutation (
Carcosa, pg. 265, assuming the DM doesn't have his own mutation chart).
2 - While walking around the nearly abandoned streets of grim Carcosa, you found a sack of gold in some garbage. You have an oversized sack of 2d20 × 10 gold pieces. No, you don't get experience for it.
3 - Maybe there was too much wine, or ale, or opium. Or maybe you shouldn't have taken a hit of juice from the thorax of that thing that looked like somebody crudely spliced a gecko, a squirrel, a coral, and a praying mantis. Whatever it was, that night put
The Hangover to shame. You begin play with no money or equipment,
and roll for a carousing mishap on
Jeff Rients' original table or
Zak Smith's expanded table. You get no experience for this round of carousing. Roll 1d6; on a 5 or 6, you still have your own clothes. On a 1, get a random mutation from whatever Spawn ichor you drank.
4 - You suffered a nasty wound taking weeks to recover, or maybe you suffered some form of wasting illness. Lose ten ability score points at random (for each point lost, randomly determine the ability from which it is taken).
5 - You heard the word "Hastur" on the lips of some blank-eyed madmen in Carcosa, and it intrigues you. Hastur...Hastur... you like the sound of it!
6 - You ran afoul of some Sorcerer or other, and you were cursed with aging. Every day (typically upon awakening, reflecting something that happened to you while you slept), save vs. magic. Failure indicates that you age as if you cast a sorcerous ritual; roll on the unnatural aging chart (
Carcosa, pg. 14 or 267).
7 - A nameless troupe of pale dancers performed the most beautiful dance in Carcosa. Since that time, you have been rendered unable to speak. Don't forget to buy paper and ink.
8 - You found a Space Alien weapon (your DM should generate the size based on the tables in
Carcosa, pg. 251-257). Unfortunately, it was abandoned because somebody recognized it as flawed. The first time you fire it, it explodes. Determine how much energy is left in the power cell and express it as a percentage (so, a rifle with 36 charges remaining has 72% energy left). The rifle explodes, dealing damage in a 30' radius like a grenade. Assume the exploding filament and power cell deals the weapon's base damage for every full multiple of 10% power remaining, to a minimum of its base damage (so, that rifle with 72% energy remaining would deal 14 dice of damage in a 30' radius; a rifle with 24% remaining would deal 4 dice of damage; and a rifle with 8% remaining would deal 2 dice of damage). If the weapon has a special property (such as being a gamma radiation weapon, or a sulfur weapon, or a logic weapon), it deals damage as that type of weapon. It is possible to fix the weapon, but that's for the DM to adjudicate (maybe it requires a successful Tinker check, maybe it's a 1 in 10 chance like fixing a robot, or maybe you need to take it to an expert).
9 - Carcosa? You've never been. In fact, you cannot recall anything about your life before gameplay begins. You just picked yourself out of the dirt with your current statistics and equipment. What did you do that you cannot remember?
10 - Maybe there was too much wine, or ale, or opium. Or maybe you shouldn't have taken a hit of juice from the thorax of that thing that looked like somebody crudely spliced a gecko, a squirrel, a coral, and a praying mantis. Whatever it was, that night put
The Hangover to shame. If you're starting at first level, you begin play with no money or equipment
and you need to roll a carousing mishap on
Jeff Rients' original table or
Zak Smith's expanded table. You do, however, begin play with 1d12 × 250 experience points. If you're above first level, use the carousing tables (again in
Classic or
Porn Star edition, depending upon your DM). Your DM is well within his rights to say that you suffer a mishap even if the table says you shouldn't, because seriously, who gets drunk in the baroque city of Carcosa and expects to get away unscathed?
11 - You are the carrier of a mutagenic virus to which you are immune. Anyone who spends more than 1-6 hours with you must save vs. poison or receive a random mutation (
Carcosa, pg. 265, assuming the DM doesn't have his own mutation chart).
12 - Some jabbering madman on a street corner ranted at you. If you're a Sorcerer, you know a random ritual. If you're not a Sorcerer, you know (but cannot cast) a random ritual. Somebody might pay you for that information, though.
13 - The nobles invited you to a grand feast, and the food was so invigorating. You have a bonus +3 hit points per hit die.
14 - You found yourself in a strange labyrinth underneath the city. You wandered for hours, eventually finding a bottle with your name on it. When you opened it, it whispered a secret to you. Your DM will tell you what it said; this could be an important campaign secret, or it could just be some horrible revelation that will only bring misery. Bonus points if it's both.
15 - Every night you dream of Carcosa, and in your mind's eye, you return there. Every morning, upon awakening, save vs. magic. Failure indicates that you re-roll on this chart. If you receive this result again, you do not have to save vs. magic the following day, although the dreams start again on the following day.
16 - You found a friendly robot or reprogrammed a deactivated one. Your DM will randomly generate a robot (
Carcosa, pg. 259-262) to be your faithful companion.
17 - Ever since your trip to Carcosa, you hear horrid whisperings in your mind. Sometimes they tell you useful things, and sometimes they tell you awful things. Sometimes they just tell you gibberish.
18 - You traded for a shiny new laser gun. Begin play with a random piece from the armament tables (
Carcosa, pg. 251-257).
19 - You found some weird thing that injected you with
something that burned like the devil. Every day (typically upon awakening, reflecting something that happened to you while you slept), save vs. poison with a +5 bonus to your roll. Rolling a "1" is always a failure, no matter what your saving throws are. Failure indicates that you have mutated into a random Spawn of Shub-Niggurath under the DM's control.
20 - When you awoke one morning, you found a pale mask sitting on your chest. As long as you wear it while casting rituals, you never have to save vs. magic to avoid unnatural aging.
21 -
Man, this water is quite a strange shade of jale. Begin play with a random mutation (
Carcosa, pg. 265, assuming the DM doesn't have his own mutation chart).
22 - You ran afoul of some grim and gaunt fanatic of some forgotten god, and now he hunts you. You are being hunted by a Sorcerer of the DM's design, and the DM is encouraged to make him a tough opponent. The sneaky little bastard is starting to wear on you, because he has this thing about letting you catch glimpses of him when he's stalking you; every time you see him, save vs. magic or flee in fear.
23 - You opened a door and some
thing lashed out at whatever limb was through the doorway. You are randomly missing a limb. If it's a leg, you move at half speed. If it's an arm, you can only hold one object at a time (no sword and shield), and cannot use two-handed weapons.
24 - You had an intriguing conversation with a lovely (and apparently sapient!) ulfire gem, and when you awoke in the morning, it was gone. You're psionic (
Carcosa, pg. 18-21).
25 - You tinkered with a robot, but when it activated, you apparently programmed it to destroy the first thing it saw. Meaning you. You are being pursued by a random robot (
Carcosa, pg. 259-262).
26 - You were cursed to be outcast from your village. Every day (typically upon awakening, reflecting something that happened to you while you slept), randomly determine your color. You can use the charts in
What Went Wrong, if you'd like, or you can just figure out some other way.
Random.org might be your friend if you're stuck.
27 - You gazed upon a monolith in Carcosa and blacked out. When you awoke, you were back home. Now, whenever you sleep, save vs. magical device or begin reciting the details of a random ritual. You cannot benefit from this, but any Sorcerers who listen to your somniloquy can learn whatever ritual you are reciting that night. If you're a Sorcerer, they can teach it to you if they so wish. Non-Sorcerers will probably try to kill you for the nighttime blasphemies you speak.
28 - You returned from Carcosa subtly wrong, unable to interact with non-Carcosans. When dealing with people and creatures not from the city of Carcosa, you are considered to have Charisma 3. Maybe you rant in alien tongues, like some fantastical version of Tourette syndrome, or maybe your lean and hungry look puts people on edge.
29 - You saved somebody from a pack of things that strongly resembled spiders with
Deinonychus heads, as envisioned by
Ralph Steadman. This fellow is now your loyal companion; s/he is two levels lower than you, to a minimum of 0 level. Assume s/he has leather armor and a weapon.
30 - One of the bleak nobles of Carcosa thought your shabby clothes would be the latest fashion. He traded your clothes (buy another set or you're naked) for a set of Space Alien battle armor.
(
A Note on the City: In addition to
Carcosa itself, some stuff on this chart makes oblique references to
Call of Cthulhu, particularly
Delta Green: Countdown, as well as the original work of Chambers and Bierce.)
