The Known Lands

Usage die for sanity checks

Usage dieAny item listed in the equipment section that has a Usage die is considered a consumable, limited item. When that item is used the next Minute (turn) its Usage die is rolled. If the roll is 1-2 then the usage die is downgraded to the next lower die in the following chain:d20 > d12 > d10 > d8 > d6 > d4When you roll a 1-2 on a d4 the item is expended and the character has no more of it left.
This is the usage die, straight from the black hack. Many people love this mechanic, I’ve heard some good points from the other side about how it isn’t great for every table. You can find those arguments all over so I’ll skip that bit.
Here are the average uses you’d get from an item using the usage die. This is from the black hack’s dm screen and math is cool but I’m bad at math so here ya go, this should help us find a good place to start.
d4(2), d6(5), d8(9), d10(14), d12(20), d20(30)
I think it would make a great sanity meter. I would start with…

The world is approaching an ice age. In recent centuries, the Ice has sped up its approach. 
A brief history of the snowball

1000 years ago: The Ice reached civilization. It had been marching for as long as the Elves could remember. It pushed great beast and barbaric tribes before it.
500 years ago: The Aegean Empire, a country of men, began it’s conquest. The known lands were conquered. They wanted their new subjects to think of themselves as Aegeans first, and stoll all the children to be passed out and repatriated elsewhere. Most of the elves escaped this fate, beginning their diaspora.
200 years ago: The empire fell to a great plague, splitting into the countries we know today. The ice had pushed civilization closer to the equator.
100 years ago: Shrinking lands have led to conflict. The dwarves only come to the surface to trade for wood. The elves want to save the forest. The men want to build ships. The fey folk have left to the feywild.
Today: Capitol is the center of civilizati…

The various barbarian tribes that live on the icy slopes of the Highmountain are not at war with each other, according to their own laws. While quarrels break out and goats are often swapping hands under cover of darkness these disputes are now-a-days settled by the Court of Princesses. In the old days, when the berserker lords ruled the mountains war was constant. Eventually, the people (chiefly the women) grew tired of the constant funerals and fitting of wooden prosthesis and worked together to reign in the warlords. The matrons of each tribe sat their husbands down with a nice cup of tea and said while its nice you’ve all got big sharp axes wouldn’t it be great if you still had all your limbs? And those axes don’t help much when the trolls come to steal our goats. After the warlords shouting died down ruling power was handed down to the eldest daughter of each tribe, who were wise and would have to learn all this eventually. The warlords eventually learned to work together to p…

I'm starting this blog to hold together my writings on my rpg homebrew world. I hope you enjoy it.