Been radio silent for a bit. Just ain't nothing catching my interest, paired with the business of life. You know how it is.
Anyway, to start easing back into things, I took apart in the Barkeep on the Borderlands jam and produced a little entry entitled "One More Round," a collection of four additional locations to use in the setting.
Well then, this comment was posted and that started moving the old brain wheel again.
So here I am, ruining two perfectly good games by jamming them together: His Majesty the Worm and Barkeep on the Borderlands. It needs a little hammering out, but I reckon it's a good start, and I should be able to get it prettified before the end of the Worm Jam. A large chunk of this is taken from the Barkeep on the Borderlands Third Party License and SRD
New Effects
Sober
Sober creatures have no alcohol or other intoxicants in their system. Really, it’s the absence of an effect, as characters are assumed to be Sober by default.
Tipsy
Tipsy creatures are within the early stages of intoxication. Characters have Favor on all Wands tests, but also have specific results in failing a test of Fate in relation to Sobriety. See below.
Drunk
Drunk creatures have entered an advanced stage of intoxication. A character has Disfavor on all tests except those involving Wands. Additionally, they have specific results in failing a test of Fate in relation to Sobriety. See below.
Blackout
Blackout creatures are deep within the throes of being intoxicated. Characters have Disfavor on all saves and tests and are no longer exclusively played by their player.
Hungover
Hungover creatures have expelled the alcohol within their system and are no longer intoxicated. They are, however, Exhausted and may be Stunned by loud noises.
Pubcrawl Pointcrawl Procedure
The pubcrawl proceeds in Turns. Each Turn represents an abstract and indeterminate length of time necessary to complete a simple activity, such as ordering drinks, flirting, brawling, bumming smokes or something similarly time-consuming.
At the start of each Turn, the referee describes what is happening and any changes since the last Turn. The players may ask any questions of the referee, which they will answer according to what the characters would know. If the characters would not reasonably know the answer, the referee may tell them how they could find it out.
Each Turn, the jolly crew takes one action, individually or collectively, and each jolly crewmate tests their Fate. Moving between pubs may take a few Turns, as shown on the map.
After the jolly crew resolves their action(s), the referee draws a card from the Major Arcana and consults the Meatgrinder to determine what else happens during that Turn.
Interpreting the Meatgrinder
Setback.
If the jolly crew is inside a pub, read from the Situation table of the pub they are in. If the jolly crew is outside a pub (such as when traveling between pubs), read from the Sidetrack table for the destination pub. Both tables use the value of the drawn card to determine the resulting Setback.
Draw for an initial Situation for a pub when the jolly crew first enters it. If a Situation refers to a character who isn’t present at the pub, they arrive when it is drawn. The referee may also begin a Setback as they deem appropriate.
When consulting tables ment for 2d6, simply use the first seven entries to determine Situations, with the remaining five serving as backup Situations, replacing any previously drawn results.
Drinks Gutter.
Each character checks their drink, and marks a Gulp. Short drinks have one gulp, tall drinks have two. Cocktails are typically short. Shots are consumed instantly. When a drink is out of Gulps, the character will need to buy a new one to continue drinking. Each character also Tests their Fate an extra time that Turn, moving forward on the Sobriety chain on failure. Characters who have been drinking water instead of alcohol may sober up instead, moving backward on the Sobriety chain.
Mark Time.
An hour passes in the fiction, and the bell towers toll the current time. The referee tracks the current time. At 1:00 in the morning, it's last call for drinks, and at 2:00, it’s closing time.
Drinking Rules
Sobriety
Measures the current level of soberness of a character, from Sober to Blackout. Various effects are applied to said character as they make their way from left to right on the Sobriety Chain
Testing Sobriety
When there’s a call to test Sobriety, simply make a Test of Fate using your Swords attribute. Success means they may continue drinking unhindered. Failure moves the character down (to the right) the Sobriety Chain. In terms of Bound by Fate, a new drink is considered a significant change.
Sobriety Chain
Sober → (Tipsy) → (Drunk) → Blackout
Drinking
When the Meatgrinder determines Drinks Gutter, each character tests their Sobriety (unless they did not have anything to drink). If they drank to excess that Turn, they test at a Disfavor.
Not Drinking
Not drinking alcohol while inside a pub will raise the eyebrows, then the hackles of the patrons. They will assume you are hiding something or you want to take advantage of their inebriation.
Sobering Up & Hangovers
If a character spends a Turn drinking only water, they move back a step on the Sobriety Chain the next time the Risk Card shows Drinking, unless they are Blackout. A full night’s rest returns even a Blackout character to their original Sober state.
When the character returns to full Sobriety after being Drunk or Blackout, they are Hungover. Being Hungover causes exhaustion and headaches. Some magics can cure hangovers or accomplish sobriety quicker.
Being Tipsy
A Tipsy character has Favor on all Wands tests. When they fail their Sobriety test, consult the following table, based on the last card drawn.
Being Drunk
A Drunk character has Disfavor on all tests except those involving Wands. When they fail their Sobriety Test, consult the following table, based on the last card drawn.
Being Blackout
When a character becomes Blackout, they have Disfavor on all saves and tests and are no longer exclusively played by their player. Instead, each Turn, their player draws a card to determine who will play their Blackout character, as shown below.
If a Blackout character is ever separated from the jolly crew, then the GM draws from the Hangover table (page 157) to determine the Blackout character’s fate.
