-->

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

In the Stars

       Driving home tonight, listening to St Augustine railing against astrologers, I was reminded how prevalent the practice of astrology was during that period.  Periodically during the empire, astrologers would be banished from all of Italy, not just Rome itself.  For that matter, divination was a major feature of Roman religious practices - one of the Claudians famously lost a sea battle after throwing the sacred chickens overboard when they failed to give him an auspicious omen. So here's a simple table to use before the players leave town on an adventure.

Result Description Outcome
2 The gods smile upon you +1 on all die rolls during one combat
3 Fortune favors you +1 on all Perception checks
4 You will receive help in your time of need Re-roll one result
5 An auspicious omen Force the DM to re-roll one result
6 The gods are not against you No effect
7 The stars are neutral No effect
8 The gods rest No effect
9 A bad omen Double the chance of random encounters
10 A malign spirit will intercede The first natural 20 the party rolls is treated as a 1
11 Ill fortune dogs you Subtract 5% from all treasure found
12 The gods are against you Delay a week before departing


  Chivalry & Sorcery mandated that most characters get a horoscope 80% of the time before departing on an expedition. That was probably as ignored as much weapon speed in 1e. I'd rather make it slightly weighted in the players favor to encourage them to use it for roleplaying rather than making it a 'rule'.

1 comment: