TEXT: Roll 2D6 and Greet a Visitor
  
  2
  2D6 RESULT
  Svetlana Botnari,  
  Unliving Seamstress
  The reaction stat is used when meeting a character; see the official rules for the reaction table.
  An undead citizen of the distant valley, where Svetlana is only one of 
  thousands of undead who roam the land. The seamstress visits the city a 
  few days before every full moon and stays for 2d3 days, after which time she 
  returns to her people. During her days in the city, Svetlana sells her services as a 
  seamstress, working either on the street – taking what jobs she can from the citizens 
  of the city – or signing on with a shop that is willing to accept such a small, frail, and 
  pale creature as an employee.
  Though she is undead, Svetlana only wants to earn enough silver during her brief visits 
  to the city to pay raiders to leave her and her people alone. Regularly throughout the 
  month, so-called heroes and adventurers enter the valley, seeking to annihilate any 
  undead creatures they find in the otherwise still and calm valley. Svetlana was a seam-
  stress before her undeath and now uses those skills to bribe what adventurers she can. 
  The PCs may meet the seamstress in the city, where she’ll mostly ignore them unless 
  confronted. If pressed or attacked, she will defend herself, but mostly all she wants 
  during her time in the city is to be left alone. If the heroes meet her outside of the city, 
  she’ll either be on her way to the city to earn coins, or on her way home with silver to 
  use to protect her people. How the PCs respond to encountering a thin, frail, undead 
  creature who only wishes to be left alone will say a lot more about them than it does 
  her or the mindless undead she calls her family.
  Rather than attack Svetlana, the PCs may hire her to mend their clothing. If they do, 
  they will no doubt be surprised when they realize that her fingerless arms are in fact 
  needles; using her teeth to tie and tear the thread, and her elbows to manipulate the 
  fabric, Svetlana is shockingly talented and can complete most sewing tasks in half the 
  time of a human seamstress. It’s no wonder the shops in the city are willing to hire her 
  to assist them with their business!
  If the party is friendly to the undead creature and she grows comfortable with them, 
  she may offer to pay them the silver she has collected if they will return to the valley 
  and protect her people from the raiders. Will the PCs kill the living to protect the 
  undead?
  
  Reaction +2
  Special: Suture 
  Souls. (Svetla-
  na may use this 
  infernal power 
  only once each 
  day, which is good 
  for those who are 
  foolish enough 
  to anger her. By 
  grabbing two 
  different people 
  at once (each 
  must fail a 
  DR14 De-
  fense test 
  in the same 
  round), she 
  can fuse their 
  souls togeth-
  er for 2d6 
  rounds.
  HP 7 Morale 6
  Impossible Dress -d2 
  Sewing Needle Hands d2 
  When fused, the 
  two sutured souls 
  are treated as 
  one. Any damage 
  inflicted against 
  one of the two 
  characters is 
  also felt by 
  the other. 
  Divide the 
  damage by 
  two (round 
  up) and ap-
  ply evenly to 
  both char-
  acters.)
  No reward.
  
  3
  2D6 RESULT
  HP 10 Morale 9
  No Armor
  Fists d2
  Special: Toxic Smoke (Sava smokes 
  constantly, surrounding himself in 
  a cloud that inflicts 2d3 points of 
  damage/round to anyone standing 
  within 10’ of him.)
  No reward.
  
  Sava Yegorovich,  
  Collector of Soiled Souls
  Reaction -2
  Legless Sava gets about the city on a arcanomechanical contraption that was created 
  by his close friend and confidant, Roland Repnik (see Strange Citizens of the City, 2d6 
  result 6), an evil priest and cruel inventor who lives in the city and uses his power and 
  position to further his own interests. Sava and Roland are, as they say, in cahoots, and 
  Sava visits his friend in the city once every few months to exchange tales of debauchery 
  and wickedry and to make an exchange: Roland passes Sava vials stuffed with soiled 
  souls as Sava hands over sacks of silver.
  The visitor Sava lives in a laboratory in the forest and uses the soiled souls to fuel his 
  evil experiments. Sava, just like Roland, is a bit of an inventor and sadist, and it is 
  unsurprising that the two men found each other and revel in their wickedness. Sava’s 
  experiments are many, ranging from attempts as small as the construction of a sentient 
  homunculus to as large as attempting to summon a cosmic horror of immense power 
  from somewhere beyond the stars. In every one of his malevolent machinations, the 
  soiled souls that he buys from Roland and Sava’s most-prized source of power.
  If the PCs encounter the man in the city, Sava will likely have 1d3+1 hired goons ac-
  companying him in his travel. He hires guards shortly after entering the city, and pays 
  them to follow him back to his workshop; the man is more concerned about losing the 
  vials of souls to thieves than he is worried about losing silver. Silver, he believes, is far 
  more common and less valuable than the souls that fuel his nightmarish experiments.
  Uncorking one of the soul vials is dangerous. There is a 2 in 6 chance the entrapped 
  soul has turned entirely evil and is now a wraith (see the official rules for game stats).
  What are Soiled Souls? When a citizen of 
  the city does wrong, but not such a brutal and 
  cruel wrong that they are forever condemned 
  to the deepest of hells, their soul is tainted, 
  soiled, marked with a blemish that those who 
  specialize in judging the goodness and kind-
  ness of others can see with their naked eye. It 
  is these souls that Sava is most interested in, 
  since they taste the sweetest. Using a siphon 
  of his own design, Roland snatches the soiled 
  soul of the recently deceased; so long as he is 
  there within twelve hours of death, Roland’s 
  machine can entrap the soul in a small vial. It 
  is these vials that he sells to Sava several times 
  each year. Only Roland is skilled in the use of 
  the machine; he must be there to claim the 
  soiled soul from a still-warm corpse of a dead 
  who has committed only minor wrongs.
  
  4
  2D6 RESULT
  Oleg Andronic,  
  Insecure Traveler
  Tall, thin, and as pale as bleached bones, Oleg finds himself in the city every 
  few days, unwillingly transported from his home dimension because of the 
  curse of a long-dead wizard. In his youth, Oleg enjoyed exploring and would 
  often break into places where he was unwelcome, sifting through the possessions of 
  others and causing general mischief. He wasn’t an evil boy, merely curious and incapable 
  of resisting the urge to investigate the homes and businesses of his small town.
  Oleg was forever punished for this socially unacceptable practice when he made the 
  mistake of walking uninvited into a wizard’s tower. At first, the boy was having a great 
  time looking through the books, scrolls, vials, and many boxes in the laboratory. All 
  of that turned to terror when the wizard found the boy and, without asking questions, 
  cast a wicked curse that has plagued Oleg ever since. At even the thought of entering 
  a place without permission, Oleg is automatically teleported to the city where he must 
  remain until the threat of death itself returns him to his home dimension.
  Despite the curse, to this day Oleg finds the promise of forbidden places irresistible. He 
  visits the city so often that he now keeps a room in one of the poorer of the city’s many 
  boarding houses and even gets even occasionally works as a server at a tavern. Though 
  he is a stranger to this world, his body is close enough to human in appearance that few 
  notice that he is not-of-this-world. Those that do recognize the man for what he is – an 
  alien from another dimension – will either shrug off the situation (it isn’t as if others 
  do not visit the city using planar gates) or they’ll start asking questions about his home.
  The curse only works when Oleg is on his home world, meaning that he can explore 
  the countless buildings of the city without fear of being whisked away by magic before 
  he can enjoy the new location. Over time, he has become something of a thief and now 
  supplements his tavern earnings by stealing small objects and selling them to those 
  willing to buy items (no questions asked).
  Oleg prefers to keep to himself and is a shy, quiet man. If he comes into conflict with 
  the PCs, it may be because he has broken into their rented room and robbed them of 
  some minor possession or other. They are sure to be surprised when they lash out at 
  the man and he soon vanishes before their eyes.
  
  Reaction –
  HP 7 Morale 6
  No Armor
  Fists d2
  Special: Planar 
  Escape (If he is 
  attacked, Oleg 
  instantly teleports 
  away 1d3 rounds 
  later, returning 
  to his home 
  dimension)
  Dead 30s • If 
  Oleg’s lifeless 
  body is offered 
  to a wizard or 
  inventor, they’ll buy 
  the corpse and study 
  it. A taxadermist will be 
  interested in Oleg’s corpse 
  because of how much silver 
  the stuffed and posed body 
  might bring in if sold to the 
  right art collector.
  
  5
  2D6 RESULT
  HP 12 Morale 7
  Leather Armor -d2
  Talons d8
  Special: Nightmare Portal* 
  (Ilyich contains an alien 
  dimension within his 
  body and can release 
  monsters into the world 
  for a limited time.)
  Captured 40s**
  Dead 25s**
  * The dimension 
  within his body may 
  be accessed once 
  each day for 2d6 
  rounds. When the 
  portal is opened, 
  Ilyich attacks twice 
  every round, once 
  with his talons and 
  the second attack 
  with a nightmar-
  ish fiend from that 
  other world. The 
  thing is tethered to 
  him by barbed wire-
  like guts and inflicts 
  2d6 damage when 
  a strike hits the tar-
  get. (Range of 10’.)
  ** The 
  more 
  days that 
  pass, the more 
  people are killed, 
  which increases the 
  reward offered for the 
  capture or death of 
  Ilyich.
  
  Babatyev Ilyich,  
  Escaped Killer from Elsewhen
  Reaction -4
  Ilyich is wanted for murder, both in the city and by the authorities of his home dimen-
  sion. This extraplanar murderer has traveled through the magical gates that connect 
  the many worlds of existence hundreds of times, killing those unfortunate enough to 
  fall in his path. Ilyich knows the exact location of at least one gate on every world – 
  thanks to his unnatural connection to a pocket dimension – and he uses that knowl-
  edge to roam across the cosmos in search of prey.
  Things went wrong last week, though, when the gateway he planned to use was de-
  stroyed in a wizards’ duel. A pair of out-of-town sorcerers got into a heated debate and 
  settled their argument by destroying several buildings and killing almost twenty peo-
  ple. (The two also died in the arcane blast, so they got what was coming to them.) With 
  his only means of escape gone, Illyich must now face a situation he has never been in 
  before: he has killed on this world and is now wanted. Can this nightmarish creature 
  face the consequences of his actions?
  Determined to continue his joyful pursuit of slaying, Ilyich hasn’t gone into hiding 
  since the gate was destroyed. Instead, the alien has set out every single night and killed 
  even more people, intent on slaughtering as many as possible before he is either cap-
  tured or massacred. There are no clear and perfect descriptions of the murderer, but 
  enough has been shared with the city that even now there are bounty hunters search-
  ing the streets, alleys, sewers, and cellars.
  Will the PCs join in the hunt, or will they come across Ilyich the old-fashioned way of 
  a classic-style random encounter? Only the GM can decide.
  Hunting Ilyich. Perhaps the PCs spot the no-
  tice posted to the wall of a tavern, an official 
  document from the city promising a reward of 
  silver for the capture – or death! – of a roving 
  killer. The description is vague and inexact, 
  but the silver offered is real enough that any-
  one in the city may find themselves tempted 
  to try and locate the murderer. After all, who 
  doesn’t always need a little more silver?
  Soon, scoundrels and swindlers get involved, 
  with some of the craftier ones claiming to 
  have seen the killer – or to know where he is 
  right now! – and suggest that they can aid the 
  PCs in tracking down Ilyich. Whether or not 
  one of these claims is true is left to the GM 
  to decide, but be sure to trick the party out of 
  their hard-earned silver at least once with the 
  lies of an opportunist.
  
  6
  2D6 RESULT
  Nicolas Mocanu,  
  Wizard of the Woods
  No reward
  The wizened wizard is one way in which some would describe Nicolas 
  Mocanu, an arcane spellcaster who calls the forest home. Nicolas is most 
  comfortable in his collapsing abode, though there come times when the man 
  has no choice but to visit the city to acquire supplies for his sorcerous experiments.
  When the PCs come across Nicolas on the streets of the city, he recognizes them as 
  experienced adventurers and asks for their assistance in finding 1d4+1 different items. 
  The wizard will pay silver (as listed, below) for each of the following that the PCs find 
  for the man. (Roll 2d10.)
  2. A Troll’s Eye. 3s.
  3. A new writing quill. 1s.
  4. The spellbook of a dead 
  wizard. 10s.
  5. The wings of a bat. 2s.
  6. An empty potion vial. 2s.
  7. The severed right hand of 
  a living thief. 15s.
  8. A lock of goblin hair. 2s.
  9. A dragon’s tooth. 15s.
  10. A human skull. 3s.
  11. A gallon of human blood 
  in a jar. 6s.
  12. A vial of holy water. 12s.
  13. A small sack of soil from 
  the grave of the recently 
  deceased. 5s.
  14. A human brain. 10s.
  15. The heart of an innocent 
  person. 25s.
  16. The shield of a noble 
  knight. 10s.
  17. A scroll stolen from a 
  dead wizard. 20s.
  18. A noose that was recent-
  ly used (within the last 
  week or two). 4s.
  19. A black candle. 1s.
  20. The mummified remains 
  of a beloved pet. 20s.
  Nicolas gives the PCs 2d4 hours to find his desired items and says he will meet them 
  at the Heartless Knave – a dirty and crime-infested tavern in the docks district – at 
  the chosen time and will buy whatever they have managed to acquire at that time. The 
  above prices are what he will pay if they deliver the required item; he doesn’t care what 
  they pay for it and he will not pay more than the listed prices.
  How the PCs go about collecting the requested items is up to them; Nicolas doesn’t 
  want to hear stories of their exploits or what they may have been forced to do to find 
  the items. All he cares about is that he gets what he is looking for and with as little 
  drama and difficulty as possible,
  If the party tries to double-cross the wizard, he’ll defend himself as best he can. If the 
  PCs act in any way suspicious when he first meets them, Nicolas will have 1d4 hired 
  goons with him at the meeting site. See p. 32 or Strange Citizens of the City.
  
  Reaction +1
  HP 12 Morale 7
  No armor
  Spear d6
  Special: 1d2+1 powers, as 
  selected by the gamemaster.
  
  7
  2D6 RESULT
  Reaction +1
  HP 6 Morale 5
  No armor
  Fists d2
  Special: 1d2+1 Hired Goons (See p. 32 
  and Strange Citizens of the City.)
  No reward.
  
  Arnold Covington,  
  Unliving Haberdasher
  Dead some thirty-odd years now, Arnold is surprisingly well-adjusted for a man who 
  should be the target of every hero, adventurer, and dungeoneer operating in the city. 
  He disguises his unliving state with a magic ring that surrounds him in a magical illu-
  sion, but there’s nothing he can do about the stench of death . . . or the flies that follow 
  him. Those few who know Arnold well have learned to look beyond the strange smell 
  and entourage of flies.
  Arnold lives in a cottage in the forest where he stitches together clothing that is as fine 
  as any gentleman or gentlelady could wish for. His work is exquisite and many of the 
  wealthier people of the city look forward to the two or three days each month that 
  Arnold brings his finely-crafted to the city to sell from the back of his aged wagon. 
  Although many see him as nothing more than the maker of attractive clothes, Ar-
  nold contains a secret that perhaps two or three of the more learned wizards of the 
  city could even begin to guess at. Arnold, you see, is directly connected to the many 
  Miseries that have marked the ever-approaching doom that is certain to destroy the 
  world and slaughter all life across the land. Arnold is a living piece of The Calendar of 
  Nechrubel (see the official rules). 
  Whenever Arnold visits the city, those who spend silver to purchase his offered tunics, 
  breeches, jackets, and heavy cloaks are in fact buying a reprieve from the impending 
  apocalypse. For every 50 silver the man makes in sales during his visit to the city, the 
  next die roll to check for the activation of a Misery is increased by 1 (which should re-
  sult in no Misery, since a 1 cannot be rolled, but other things may modify the roll at the 
  GM’s discretion). None who live are aware of this, but any PC who makes a successful 
  DR12 Presence test when near Arnold and his wagon of goods has a strange sensation 
  settle over them, a sensation that strongly implies that buying something from the 
  haberdasher could be the right thing to do.
  On the reverse side of that coin is the fact that Arnold’s death actually accelerates the 
  race toward doomsday. The instant that the unliving haberdasher is killed, the GM 
  must roll d66 on The Calendar of Nechrubel (see the official rules). This is regardless 
  of day, time, or any other variable that may be imagined. And yes, this does mean that 
  two Miseries could happen on the same day. (A truly terrible day.)
  
  8
  2D6 RESULT
  Elvira and Liviana,  
  Extraplanar Spies
  Though none know where they call home, those in the city who track 
  the comings and goings of strangers are quite familiar with Elvira and her 
  diminutive companion, Liviana. City officials are certain that the pair are up 
  to no good, but they have yet to catch them in an illicit act, so they allow Elvira 
  and Liviana to continue about their business. The city officials are trying to determine 
  exactly what the two are up to during their time in the metropolis.
  Perhaps the PCs catch the attention of a city official, impressed with the way they 
  handle themselves in some situation or other. Or, just maybe, the heroes are snatched 
  by the city watch and tossed in the local dungeon after they committed some offense 
  or other. Regardless of the reason, the PCs find that they are approached by a person 
  of authority who insists that the party accept an assignment: follow Elvira and Liviana 
  and learn everything possible about their activity in the city. There’s a chance the task 
  will come with a bit of a carrot: payment in silver if the group reports anything of 
  importance, or if they catch the two up to no good and capture them to hand over to 
  the authorities.
  Elvira and Liviana are spies from another dimension and in search of information on 
  the wizards and sorcerers who call the city home. They are recording the names and 
  locations of all spellcasters, as well as whatever details they can uncover on the location 
  of magical artifacts, in preparation for a planned invasion. Those who the spies work 
  for are planning an extraplanar assault on the city in hopes of stealing the Catafalque 
  of Eskildsen. This wooden structure that was first used to hold the casket of Reginald 
  Eskildsen when he was displayed after his hanging several years ago. Eskildsen, a mur-
  derer, was captured and hung and his body put on display as a warning to others. 
  Elvira’s people know that the Catafalque of Eskildsen is much more than an ornamental 
  work of art; the soul of the murderer was trapped in the catafalque and anyone lying 
  in a coffin on the structure gains the ability to speak with the dead for 3d4 minutes.
  Elvira and Liviana never spend more than a single night at a time in the city, so the PCs 
  will have to work fast to uncover the truth behind their purpose in the city. They return 
  after 1d6+1 weeks, so missing them the first time won’t mean that the PCs won’t get a 
  second chance at facing the two extraplanar spies.
  
  Reaction -2
  Liviana
  HP 3 Morale *
  No Armor
  No Attacks
  Special: Distort Reality 
  (Once each day, Liviana 
  may change the very reality 
  of the universe, instantly forcing 
  a scene to replay itself and possibly 
  with a result different from the pre-
  vious time. Once each day, any die roll 
  may be ignored and re-rolled if Liviana 
  wills it; the re-rolled die is modified by 
  +2 or -2, as chosen by Liviana. Those 
  who witness the event will have a mem-
  ory of both outcomes, though they may 
  not understand what caused the dual, 
  conflicting memories.)
  Captured, Elvira 20s
  Captured, Liviana 30s
  Elvira
  HP 11 Morale 6*
  Alien Hide -d2
  Fists d2
  * If Elvira runs, then Liviana comes along for the ride.
  
  9
  2D6 RESULT
  Reaction –
  HP 10 Morale 6
  Land Suit -d2
  Spear d6
  (stats are for each)
  Special: Breathe Air (They are arcane-
  enchanced fish in strange suits and can 
  survive as easily on land as they can in the 
  water. That may not sound like much, but 
  can you live in the water and on land?)
  Dead 12s
  (For either one. 
  They’re big fish and 
  a single one of their 
  corpses could feed a 
  lot of people.)
  
  Richard and Roger,  
  A Ruffian and a Gentleman
  Richard and Roger were once ordinary fish. The two lived a simple life, with no intel-
  ligent thought to keep them awake at nights and no worries beyond surviving another 
  day. Fish they were, and if they could have formulated sentient thoughts, fish they 
  would have thought themselves to always be.
  Their lives were forever changed when the two were caught in a wizard’s net and 
  hauled back to the laboratory to undergo a magical metamorphosis. Through the 
  power of arcane rituals and unnatural spells, the two were forever transformed, greatly 
  enlarged and enhanced, granted the ability to think and speak as men and given arms 
  and hands. The spell was meant to also bestow upon them both legs, but that part of 
  the spell was a failure and the wizard was forced to improvise. (He created a magic suit 
  for each of them that gave them the ability to walk about on doubles as armor.)
  Unfortunately for the two, Danielov Zhelev, the wizard responsible for their transfor-
  mation, died soon after the change. The man had enough time to teach them both a 
  little of the world, but not so much time to completely integrate them into society. In-
  stead, Richard and Roger – as he named them before his death – became the “fish out 
  of water” as it were, forced to learn as they adapted to their new forms and new lives.
  The two entered the city with only a few silver between them. They worked odd jobs, 
  served as freaks in a sideshow, and did everything necessary to survive and learn the 
  city. As the months passed, the two started spending more and more apart, each learn-
  ing what best suited them to life in the city.
  These days, Richard works as a hired goon and thug, sometimes wanted by the au-
  thorities for some crime or other, while Roger is seen as a gentleman trader. The two 
  live together in a rented room in a warehouse on the docks, and are inseparable in the 
  evenings after they have finished their work.
  Richard and Roger are most often spotted in the evenings at a local pub where they 
  enjoy drinks, dinner, and sharing stories with the regulars. As the GM, you’re sure to 
  find one reason or other to bring these two into your campaign. After all, who doesn’t 
  need more walking and talking fish in their fantasy city?
  
  10
  2D6 RESULT
  Darian Miron,  
  Alien King in Exile
  Reaction +2
  The city is home to many strangers from other lands. Few inhabitants 
  come from other planes of existence, and those that are aliens often keep 
  their true homeland a secret from others. Not so for Narian Miron, the self-pro-
  claimed “alien king in exile” who insists that he is of royal blood and was chased 
  from his homeworld by insurgents. Miron has lived in the city for a few years now and 
  lives in a rented room in Sister Helgath’s Home for the Weary. Miron has no regular 
  employment, but he somehow always manages to scrape together enough silver at the 
  start of each month to pay Helgath and retain his private room.
  Miron appears as an average man of an average height and build to most, but those 
  experienced in the art of magic may see through the illusion and witness the king’s 
  true form. Any player character capable of using Powers has a 1 in 4 chance of seeing 
  that Miron is in fact a being of solid shadow that is as black as the deepest and darkest 
  dungeon in the land. Once seen, his true self cannot be unseen and the PC must make 
  a successful DR14 Presence test or go mad from knowing the truth. If this happens, 
  the character’s sheet is destroyed and the player character becomes an NPC under the 
  control of the gamemaster.
  During the days, Miron can often be found spinning yarns in exchange for food and 
  drink. The supposed “alien king in exile” tells stories of his world, delighting people 
  of all ages with elaborate tales of dragons, heroes, powerful sorcerers, and fanciful 
  creatures of all sorts. These creatures described in his many stories are clearly false 
  and unlikely to truly exist. Some sages and scholars who seek out Miron and listen 
  to his stories describe them as lies, though a small number of experienced travelers 
  and wizards suggest that there may be some truth to the man’s many strange fantasies.
  From time to time, bounty hunters from Miron’s world make use of dimensional gates 
  to visit the city and search for the king. There is a price on the man’s head on his world, 
  and perhaps the player characters are granted the opportunity to learn of this alien 
  reward and take action to claim it. If they do attempt to capture or kill Miron, they will 
  be surprised to find that he is a powerful and dangerous foe. Though the king avoids 
  conflict, he will fight if cornered and he will not allow his attackers to go unpunished.
  
  HP 40 Morale –
  Royal Aura -d8
  Fists d12
  Special: Piercing Gaze (Once each hour, Miron 
  may look at anyone and inflict 2d8 points of 
  damage that ignores all defenses and cannot be 
  dodged. Do not anger the king.)
  Captured 500s* • Dead 100s*
  * Miron is wanted by the people 
  from his home plane of existence. 
  Of course, delivering the king in 
  exile to another world may be a 
  challenge that the player characters 
  are unable to overcome.
  
  11
  2D6 RESULT
  HP 18 Morale –
  Chainmail -d4
  Magic Warhammer d8+d4
  Special: Potions*. Matea al-
  ways has one potion ready to 
  go. They appear magically in 
  his hand every morning.
  No reward.
  
  Matea Sabanov,  
  The Forgotten Hero
  Reaction –
  Before he was overwhelmed by depression and self-doubt, Matea was a respected and 
  feared warrior. He devoted his life to defending the weak and innocent and making the 
  evil characters and creatures of the land pay for their injustices against others. Matea 
  was a legendary soul, one spoken of with reverence by many in the city.
  Unfortunately, the hero’s confidence and purpose were forever undone in the Hell 
  Crypt of Larissa Yakovna. In that terrible place, his companions were mercilessly 
  slaughtered by a horde of lowly prowlers who managed to overpower the adventurers 
  through sheer numbers. Matea tried his best to save his friends, but the hundreds of 
  prowlers that kept pouring from the deepest pit of Yakovna’s crypt were too much and 
  he was forced to flee the dungeon.
  Mentally exhausted and his willpower shattered by the experience, Matea returned to 
  the city in defeat. Not even adulation could restore his confidence and spirits. 
  Now, Matea drowns himself in whatever ale he can afford, accepting the occasional job 
  as a thug or enforcer only for the silver that it will earn him . . . silver he will immedi-
  ately spend on the cheapest grog that he can afford. Perhaps a chance encounter with 
  the PCs will remind the man of his former self and inspire him to clean up his life?
  * Potions: A potion is a one-use item that re-
  quires an attack action to activate. Once swal-
  lowed, the potion takes effect as described. 
  Possible potions include:
  1. Initiative Potion. When swallowed by an 
  enemy, the PCs suffer a -2 penalty on all ini-
  tiative rolls that until the next sunrise. If swal-
  lowed by a PC, they gain a +1 bonus to initia-
  tive rolls for the same period of time.
  2. Potion of Rage. The imbiber of this potion 
  gains a +2 bonus to all damage rolls, Strength 
  tests, and other die rolls as decided by the 
  gamemaster for 3d4 rounds.
  3. Potion of Healing. Quaffing this magical 
  elixir instantly increases the character’s hit 
  points by 1d4+1 (though it cannot raise them 
  above their natural maximum number of HP). 
  A character at 0 HP who is given this potion 
  has a 50% chance of healing; otherwise, the 
  potion is wasted and dribbles down their chin.
  4. Doomsayer’s Potion. When consumed on 
  a day that one of The Calendar of Nechrubel 
  Miseries are triggered (see the official rules), 
  the character gains a +1 on all tests until sun-
  set. If the character is an opponent of the PCs, 
  the PCs suffer a -1 penalty on all die rolls to 
  resist the actions of the enemy character.
  
  12
  2D6 RESULT
  Grigore Cojocari,  
  A Murderous Stranger
  Before last year, Grigore Cojocari did not exist. It was during a terrible 
  fire that swept through the city’s slums – an inferno that claimed the lives of 
  almost 100 citizens – that Grigore was born. The cries of agony grew painfully 
  loud, fusing with the crackle of the flames until the unholy symphony of disaster 
  reached the ears of a cosmic evil that teleported to the city to enjoy the catastrophe 
  in person. The horrific being of infinite power was so entertained by the scene that it 
  siphoned the aura of devastation and created Grigore, a being of indescribable terror.
  Grigore’s only purpose in the city is to spread chaos and death. The thing hibernates 
  in the sewers for 12d12 days at a time, after which point it comes out into the night 
  air  and begins attacking random people. The authorities are aware of the existence of 
  Grigore in their city, but they have yet to catch it during one of its murderous killing 
  sprees. There is a reward for the abomination’s capture, which leads some to death at 
  the monster’s hands when it appears as they rush in with nothing more than the gleam 
  of promised silver in their eyes.
  There are two possible ways in which the PCs could encounter Grigore:
  • 
  When exploring the city sewers, they stumble across Grigore’s hiding place and 
  catch the monster when it is in a deep slumber. Even in sleep, the monster’s body 
  shimmers and changes; see special, at right, for more information. The PCs auto-
  matically win initiative against the thing and Grigore suffers a -2 penalty to dam-
  age rolls for the first 2d3 rounds after the PCs strike it. Once fully awakened, the 
  heroes may be in more danger than they realize.
  • 
  The party just so happens to be in the area when Grigore awakens and starts hack-
  ing and slashing its way through the crowds of people. There is a 2 in 6 chance that 
  others are also looking to kill the beast and collect the reward; such distractions 
  are 50% as likely to attack the party as they are to attack the monster.
  If defeated, that is not the end of Grigore. 3d3 days after the monster’s death, it reap-
  pears in a random place in the city and starts attacking people. The reward for Grigore’s 
  capture is reduced by 50% each time the thing is caught (or killed) and then reappears.
  
  Reaction -4
  HP 21 Morale –
  Unnatural Form -2d3
  Twin Blades d6x2*
  Special: Indescribable Form** (Grigore is an 
  inhuman monster that constantly shimmers, 
  his shape in a state of alien flux. Those who 
  face him must make a successful DR14 Pres-
  ence test or suffer a -2 penalty on all die rolls 
  for as long as they face him.)
  Captured 30s
  Dead 75s
  * The twin 
  blades are 
  treated as a 
  single attack. 
  If the Defense 
  roll fails, dam-
  age is equal 
  to the roll of a 
  single six-sided 
  die and multiplied 
  by two. Watch out for 
  that six!
  ** Anyone meeting 
  Grigore a second time 
  gains a +1 to their 
  Presence test to resist 
  the negative effect 
  of his indescribable 
  form, up to a maxi-
  mum of +4.
  
  1d6 unusual places
  The city is made up of more than just its 
  citizens and its many visitors. There are also 
  several different places within the city, many 
  of which are as bizarre as the people walking 
  the city’s winding, maze-like streets.
  , 1 ,  
  Jelena Romanovna’s Home for Orphans. Though it is billed as an orphan-
  age, this three-story tower in the city slums is actually a den of thieves. Jelena 
  and her band of rogues take in wayward children of all ages and abuse and 
  batter them until the accept that Jelena is in charge and that they must obey 
  her every command. Those who are broken and accept their fate are trained 
  as pickpockets and thieves and then sent into the city, tasked with finding 
  riches to deliver to the woman at the end of each day. Those who return emp-
  ty handed are often beaten and tossed into the cellar for days at a time. If the 
  PCs are accosted by Jelena’s orphan thieves, they may attempt to catch one or 
  two of them to learn more about what is motivating the kids. Will the player 
  characters take action to stop the woman if they learn the truth behind the 
  orphanage?
  
  25
  , 2 ,  
  The Towering Slums. On the outskirts 
  of the city, far from the wealthy shops 
  and homes of the city center, stand the 
  slums, a series of ramshackle homes, 
  crumbling towers, and abandoned 
  buildings that are home to the city’s 
  most destitute souls. Not surprisingly, 
  the network of sewer tunnels and for-
  gotten dungeons beneath the slums are 
  as twisted and dilapidated as the abo-
  veground structures. When in 
  the slums, the PCs are under 
  constant threat of attack every 
  hour. Unless they can blend in, 
  the criminals and thugs will 
  mug the PCs at least 
  once each night.
  
  26
  , 3 ,  
  The Broken Clock Tower. Deep in the city center, this seven-story clock 
  tower is visible from several blocks away, it’s tall spire poking high above the 
  other buildings that surround it. The clock hasn’t worked in years, though, 
  and is in such a state of disrepair that some who live in the city’s heart 
  have started a petition to tear down the tower and turn the space into a 
  public garden. That’s all well and good, except for the fact that moans and 
  the rattle of chains at night suggest that the tower, though broken, has not 
  been abandoned. The city officials put out a call for heroes, promising 20s to 
  anyone who explores the tower and clears it of whatever may be living in the 
  seemingly-abandoned building. It’s a dungeon in the city!
  , 4 ,  
  The Storyteller’s Last Stop. In his early years, Godzimir Mazur was a 
  traveler and adventurer with a knack for storytelling. Although the man 
  first tried his hand at swordplay and dungeoneering, he soon found that 
  he was better suited to the life of a bard. For a time, Mazur split his time 
  between exploring and telling tales for drinks and bread, as comfortable 
  with a sword as he was with a campfire and an audience. Earlier this year, 
  Mazur won this small coffee shop in a gambling hall when its owner bet a 
  little too heavily and lost. Visitors to Mazur’s coffee shop can immediately tell 
  that the man is unsure of how to run a business. The sign is sloppily-painted, 
  with Mazur’s new name for the business scrawled over the original name and 
  the place often devoid of customers. Mazur is failing as a businessman and is 
  now looking for someone to buy the shop. Only 500 silver and it can be yours. 
  , 5 ,  
  Rudolf Kabin’s Shop of Magic. Sandwiched between two much larger 
  buildings, Kabin’s shop is less than 10’ wide . . . but very deep, stretching 
  back an unbelievable distance once you step inside. In fact, those who see 
  the shop from outside who then enter Kabin’s place of business are left con-
  fused; the inside is seemingly hundreds of square feet larger on the inside 
  than it is the outside. Kabin constructed the shop with a gateway to a distant 
  pocket dimension, blurring the connection so seamlessly that it is impossi-
  ble to detect. Though he mostly specializes in selling scrolls, potions, and en-
  chanted charms, Kabin sometimes has magical items for sale at extravagant 
  prices. In addition to sales, he also buys magic items, saving the best acquisi-
  tions to sell to out-of-town visitors from other planes of existence.
  
  , 6 ,  
  The Borisovich Pier. One of many piers in the city docks, the Borisovich 
  Pier is now under the control of a gang of scoundrels who have bribed the 
  city officials; the authorities turn a blind eye to the pier and every manner of 
  contraband comes in and out of the city on ships that dock at this single pier. 
  If the adventurers find themselves embroiled in the city’s criminal underworld, 
  it will only be a matter of time before they’re standing on the pier waiting to 
  make some deal or other. Perhaps the player characters are hired by one of the 
  city’s loan sharks or mob bosses, paid silver to act as guards during the transfer 
  of stolen goods from the city to an outgoing vessel. Or, just maybe, the PCs learn 
  of the activities at the pier and decide to pull a heist, taking a risk and hoping 
  to walk away with more silver than they could spend in a thousand lifetimes.
  
  If you run into the ghost of Jelle Zagers, it is best to turn and 
  walk the other way. Do not risk facing this angry spirit.
  
  29
  4d6 rumors
  Whispered in the taverns and alleys of the city, these rumors 
  are as true or as false as the gamemaster wishes.
  4
  The cellar beneath Jelena Romanovna’s Home for Orphans (p. 24) is the site 
  of a black market sale once every week or two. Anyone gaining access to the 
  sale will find all manner of goods for sale, from mundane adventuring gear 
  to magical – and illegal – drugs.
  5
  The city authorities have made the possession of magical potions and scrolls 
  illegal. Anyone caught carrying such items will be fined at least a dozen sil-
  ver coins. Attempting to sell potions and scrolls is an offense punishable by 
  execution.
  6
  A family of trolls live in the sewers beneath the city. They come out only at 
  night, when they seek to steal what food and drink they need to survive.
  7
  Burning a red candle attracts the evil spirits of the dead. Anyone spotted 
  lighting a red candle is clearly an agent of death and destruction.
  8
  On foggy nights, the ghost of Jelle Zagers might be encountered wandering 
  the city streets. Dead for decades now, Zagers was on his way to a masked 
  ball when thieves murdered him and stole his valuables. The ghost is seeking 
  revenge and tries to burn anyone it meets with an unholy candelabra.
  9
  Adam Tassou (p. 32) is a doppleganger. Be careful if you meet him.
  10
  Do not hold silver in your hand in the moonlight. The light of the moon will 
  turn the coins into useless bits of scrap metal.
  11
  Anyone you spot wearing a navy blue kerchief is a follower of evil. Those 
  who wish to fight back the encroaching darkness must take action against 
  anyone they see wearing a navy blue kerchief. Do not be fooled by those who 
  wear the royal blue kerchief, for they are in league with angels and should be 
  protected from the blue kerchiefs. Dare not ask who the red kerchief wearers 
  obey; it is best to avoid anyone you meet in a red kerchief.
  12
  If you are seeking great magic to aid you in your adventures, the Heartless 
  Knave (see 2d6 result 6) – a dirty and crime-infested tavern in the docks dis-
  trict – should be your first stop. It is not uncommon for visiting wizards and 
  sorcerers to spend time at the Knave, and many of them carry magical goods 
  that they will sell to those with enough silver to meet their price.
  13
  Not all undead in the world are evil. Some – though they are difficult to sep-
  arate from the others – wish only to “live” their unlife in peace.
  
  30
  14
  The vile wizard known as Atticus Sors lives in a tower that stands far, far too 
  close to the city for the comfort of those who fear evil. The screams of pain 
  that emanate from the tower late at night are from those poor people unfor-
  tunate enough to have been captured by the wizard and his bard companion.
  15
  Those who explore the forests near the city tell stories of the Lighthead Stalk-
  er, a foul creature that resembles a Wickhead but is far more dangerous. (See 
  Strange Inhabitants of the Forest.)
  16
  Those who have studied The Bestiarum Vocabulum of Xusto Calo swear that 
  the monsters described within its many pages are all too real . . . and all too 
  terrifying for the inexperienced to confront on their own.
  17
  Zina Petrovna, also known as The Woman of the Waves, is a fictional charac-
  ter and not a real woman. The crazed woman who spends her daylight hours 
  in the dock district claiming that she can control the sea is mistaken and not 
  truly a fallen goddess of weather. Petrovna survives thanks to the kindness 
  of others who feed her and, in bad weather, allow her to sleep in the wood-
  sheds, outhouses, and barns.
  18
  “You have only a femur to use against the evil monsters that fill the nearby 
  dungeon? If you bury that bone and leave it be for a week, the power of the 
  earth will change it into a spiked club. Really. Why do you not believe me?”
  19
  There is an abandoned cottage in the forest that has been claimed by evil 
  pixies. They possess a pot of gold and the first hero to kill them will be rich.
  20
  If the whispers are to be believed, the distant city of Parabola is in fact an 
  alternate dimension where everything – from the way in which people are 
  wounded and recover from such wounds to the very spells and magical 
  items themselves – behave in a strange way. Stories of adventurers traveling 
  between this world and Parabola are nothing more the wicked lies.
  21
  A body washed up on the nearby shore yesterday, his body ripped to shreds 
  by an unknown sea monster. They’ve strung his corpse up outside of the 
  Heartless Knave to warn against the dangers of the open waters. 
  22
  Those who eat a sacred scroll are forever transformed into beings of unimag-
  inable power who can survive any evil that they encounter. The scrolls taste 
  especially good when smeared with honey.
  23
  The skeletons are on the move! An army of hundreds of the evil undead is 
  even now advancing on the city, intent on murdering everyone and claiming 
  the city as a fortress for their necromancer master. At least, that is what Anna 
  Slovackova is telling everyone who will listen to her. Some raise a distrust-
  ing eye as the hear the woman’s story, suspecting that she is running some 
  scheme or other to separate people from their silver.
  24
  The city’s water is tainted by an evil sorcerer! Even now, a mob is forming 
  and searching for Libor Bilek who is said to have poisoned the town’s wells 
  and streams. Whether or not it is true, Bilek may want to run.
  
  31
  Although the woman who spends every day claiming to 
  control the sea is not truly Zina Petrovna, none know who 
  she truly is. Perhaps the woman really is a fallen goddess, or 
  maybe she is just someone who crafted an elaborate costume 
  and is doing all she can to generate enough silver each day to 
  continue living in the city.
  
  When you need low-level, simple thugs and criminals, roll 2d4 
  and toss one of these goons into the adventure. For another 
  eight hired goons, please see Strange Citizens of the City. If you 
  need even more thugs, you’ll have to create them on your own. 
  You can do it.
  , 2 ,  
  Adam Tassou. HP 11     Morale 7  • No Armor • Knife d4, Sword Cane d6 
  Special: Doppleganger. Tassou is an otherworldly visitor capable of absorbing the ap-
  pearance, memories, and skills of anyone if he can spend at least an hour within 100’ 
  of them. Through alien sorcery, he mimics his victim exactly, duplicating everything 
  about them that even their closest friends are unable to identify which character is 
  real and which is the imposter. The only way to shatter the spell is to reduce Tassou to 
  0 hit points, at which point he reverts to his natural state: a featureless humanoid of 
  average height and build.
  Tassou keeps his special ability a secret from most, sharing his talent with an employer 
  only after several successful jobs have been completed. 
  2d4 hired goons
  
  33
  , 3 ,  
  Ostap Stelmakh. HP 5     Morale 10  • Leather Armor -d2 • Sharp Stick d3 
  Special: None.
  An elderly man, almost sixty winters of age, Ostap has seen a lot in his many 
  years on the street. Once, several decades ago, he was a towering bruiser who 
  was feared by many. The man could stand behind the crime bosses for hours at 
  a time, menacingly brandishing his club and keeping the weaker citizens in line 
  with only the threat of force. These days, he is weaker and smaller than he once 
  was, though he tries to act as tough as he was in his twenties.
  , 4 ,  
  Zuzana Topol. HP 7     Morale 7  • No Armor • Khopesh d6+1 
  Special: Conniving. Though Zuzana is nothing more than a hired goon at 
  the moment, the woman is wickedly smart and maneuvering to climb the 
  criminal ladder. She can talk many into committing acts of crime – for pay, 
  of course! – and any who she chats with must make a successful DR8 Pres-
  ence test or be talked into joining her for a small crime (perhaps a mugging 
  or a smash-and-grab on a nearby shop).
  Zuzana hopes that her persuasive talents can build a loyal following of her 
  own, maybe giving her enough muscle to take down one of the weaker loan 
  sharks and place herself in a leadership position.
  , 5 ,  
  Darin Masur. HP 11     Morale –  • No Armor -d2 • Warhammer d8 
  Special: Bloodthirsty. In the heat of battle, Darin sometimes loses himself 
  and has trouble disengaging if opponents are still breathing. Even when 
  ordered to stand down, there is a 1 in 6 chance that Darin will keep attack-
  ing, doing his best to kill every enemy in sight. If twice ordered to cease his 
  assault on others, he may very well turn on his own side in the conflict.
  Though he isn’t all that tall, Darin is thick with muscle and overloaded with 
  rage. Ever since he was forced to watch the murder of his family at a public 
  execution, Darin has promised himself that he will never be taken by the city 
  authorities. He has an irrational hatred of the city guard and may attack 
  guardsmen unprovoked. The city’s crime bosses wouldn’t hire the man if he 
  wasn’t willing to work for very little silver.
  
  34
  , 6 ,  
  Lukas Hofstetter. HP 8     Morale 7  • Shield -1 • Long Sword d8, Knife d4 
  Special: Underworld Knowledge. Lukas is well connected in the seedier side 
  of the city, with friends and informants scattered throughout the aligned 
  and unaligned criminal elements of the city. If you’re chasing information, 
  Lukas can help . . . for a price. He charges 2d3 silver for info, more if he 
  thinks it is particularly juicy gossip. 
  Though he spends a good part of his week in the employ of the city’s loan sharks 
  and mob bosses, Lukas has dreams of setting up his own network of spies and 
  sitting at the center of a web of information. He has yet to make anything of his 
  dreams, but he isn’t against sharing his dreams over a mug of ale.
  , 7 ,  
  Shiva Hayaii. HP 5     Morale 8  • Leather Armor -d2 • Sword d6-2 
  Special: None.
  Shiva is only twenty winters of age and her bravery far exceeds her experience 
  and skills. When her father died a few weeks ago, Shiva was left only with the 
  man’s sword, armor, and contacts with the criminals of the city. Her small size, 
  weakness, and inexperience make her ineffective in battle, but her refusal to 
  run away when faced with overwhelming odds means that either she will die  
  . . . or she is sure to become a skilled and deadly fighter. Which comes true will 
  be decided by time and how lucky she gets in the coming weeks.
  , 8 ,  
  Karoline Nebe. HP 8     Morale 6  • Padded Armor -d2 • Mace d6 
  Special: Experienced Thief. Karoline is skilled at picking pockets, robbing 
  homes, and swindling the foolish out of their silver. Though she may not be 
  the greatest thief in the city, those who know of her respect her skills and 
  many are willing to hire her to “acquire” items for them from time to time. 
  If it is somewhere in the city, there’s a 25% chance she can have it in your 
  hands by morning. Sooner if you’re willing to pay more.
  Though her hair is graying and her skin far more wrinkled than it was in her 
  younger days, Karoline’s fingers are as deft and her mind as sharp as ever. She’s 
  experienced in the art of battle, and sometimes gets called to assist in a bit of 
  roughing up others, but her true talent is in thieving. 
  
  thank you
  Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell, for releasing 
  the third-party license that was instrumental in the creation 
  of this content. (No license = no zines!)
  All of the Kickstarter supporters, for funding 
  the production of three zines at once.
  The artists, for making their work 
  available, without which I 
  may have never created 
  these three zines.
  
  Let us return to the 
  city where we may 
  meet visitors from 
  other places . . .  
  and kill a few  
  of them.
  Strange Visitors to the City is copyright © 2020 by Philip Reed. 
   The hauntingly beautiful artwork on the cover, back cover, and 2d6 pages is © Barandash 
  Karandashich, under license from Shutterstock.com • The warped, imaginative artwork on 
  the 1d6 unusual places, 4d6 rumors, and 2d4 hired goons pages are © Slava Gerj, under 
  license from Shutterstock.com
  Strange Visitors to the City is an independent production by Philip Reed and is not 
  affiliated with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the 
  MÖRK BORG Third Party License.
  MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/MÖRK BORG/Mork Borg - Strange Visitors.pdf