I published a small set of random tables / generators to build a weird city a la China Mieville in the middle of a revolt! It was really fun to write - didn’t feel like work. I’m really glad that Eclectic Bastionland Jam happened when it did. It gave me the chance to actually make something without being worried about it being big or complete. But enough preamble, what’s the book got?

Well, this is the brief pitch:

The Cities of the New Weird are in revolt!

The rule of the Right Men has made a science of cruelty.

When the city fights back, what will you do?

Then, we dive right into tables:

The residents of this neighbourhood are half-human, half-[this]

d20 Weird Folk d20 Weird Folk
1 Cactus 11 Housefly
2 Venus Flytrap 12 Dung Beetle
3 Mangrove 13 Ladybird
4 Centipede 14 Grasshopper
5 Starfish 15 Mantis
6 Snails 16 Ant
7 Eels 17 Bee/Wasp
8 Dragonfly 18 Butterfly
9 Cockroach 19 Slug
10 Earthworm 20 Mosquito

More weird? They’re also half-[this] (3 halves!)

d6 Weird Folk d6 Weird Folk
1 Octopus 4 Scorpion
2 Mongoose 5 Crab
3 Clam 6 Lobster

Design Notes: The New Weird understands that the closer animals are to us taxonomically, the less weird they are. Half-human, half-elephant? That’s not even trad fantasy, that’s myth. Half-human, half-cactus? China Mieville invented that afaik. I added the second d6 table because these were more “traditional” creatures that I think could easily be merged with your hybrid from the first table. It would be hard to do slug-mosquito-human because we’re not sure what the rules are to combine them. But octopus-mosquito-human is easier because we know which part of the octopus to take (the tentacles!).

What do these people yearn for?

d14? Yearnings
1 to be left alone
2 to return to their homeland
3 to piece together their ancient epics
4 to find purpose
5 to pass time till they die
6 to carry on the memory of their ancestors
7 to have a glorious death
8 to resurrect their lost religion
9 to wait for their prophesied messiah
10 to overcome their biology
11 to destroy their culture and rebuild it
12 to make peace with their enemy
13 to be recognized as a true people
14 to kill their gods

Design Note: Okay, I get it. 14? Yeah, well, you know what, maybe I’m lazy, maybe I trust you.

The barricades are made of broken furniture and [this]

d12 Barricade Material d6 Barricade Material
1 Blunt Weapons 7 Old Clothes
2 Library Books 8 Rich Fabric
3 Tools and Carts 9 Dirt and Straw
4 Rusty Machinery 10 Smelly Trash
5 Unused Toys 11 Too Many Bones
6 Industrial Material 12 Living Plants
13 Who needs barricades if you have Z    

Design Notes: So there’s barricades? Of course, there is! My favourite entry? Unused Toys. :(

Also, a joke 13th entry that I don’t tell you how to actually access.

The community kitchen smells of [this] and [this]

d20 Cooking Smells d20 Cooking Smells
1 Salt 11 Butter
2 Black Pepper 12 Cloves
3 Turmeric 13 Sesame
4 Onion 14 Mustard
5 Tomato 15 Hazelnut
6 Ginger 16 Mint
7 Garlic 17 Coconut
8 Green Chilli 18 Pork Fat
9 Cinnamon 19 Fish Sauce
10 Cardamom 20 Dry Prawn

Design Notes: Smells! Senses! Flavourful GM descriptions, what what. Tried to make it non-Western. I really like this table because it’s not something you see very often.

This was once a [this] and is now a [this]

d20 Building d20 Building
1 glassblower 11 zoo
2 scrap yard 12 clockmaker
3 library 13 theatre
4 party office 14 art gallery
5 government office 15 creche
6 tannery 16 grocers market
7 school 17 industrial workshop
8 kitchen 18 abattoir
9 goldsmith 19 printing press
10 hospital 20 blacksmith

Design Notes: Bastionland has a really great worldbuilding rule that nothing is only one thing. It’s three things. This is two of them. I actually immediately regret the generic-ness of this table. I should rewrite these values.

The neighbourhood is controlled by the [this]

d8/d6 Word d8/d6 Word
1 Independent 5 Free
2 Citizen’s 6 Egalitarian
3 Worker’s 7 United
4 People’s 8 Eco
       
1 Democratic 4 Communist
2 Progressive 5 Anarchist
3 Socialist 6 Feminist
       
1 Brigade 5 Alliance
2 Sisterhood 6 Party
3 Federation 7 Front
4 Collective 8 Union

Design Notes: Okay, this is just fun, right? Most fun table, I wrote. I’m a leftist and this is meant to be loving.

What is the weird neighbourhood aesthetic?

d8 Aesthetics
1 Chess: They all name themselves after Chess Pieces (except King and Queen, that’s taboo)
2 Punk: Nothing they wear is clean or wholesome. Safety pins abound.
3 Gamblers: They solve all disagreements through games of luck and skill. Poker is favoured.
4 Clockwork: Everyone has their own personal automaton that seems nigh useless.
5 Gothic: Broody. Sombre. Melancholic. They wish they were vampires.
6 Moss: Green, lush and vibrant. No one knows where all the water comes from.
7 Zodiac: Everyone has their “sign” and asks what’s yours. Compatibility is real.
8 Ranked: Everyone has a rank depending on how good they are Archery.

I wanted to give more weirdness scaffolding to the GM and honestly, each of these could be it’s own little booklet.

How can you help?

d20 Missions!
1 Two factions of the party are fighting about what is the right course of action. Help mediate.
2 The party believes they might have a spy in their midst. Follow a member for 48 hours.
3 One of our members is going to another neighbourhood. Protect them.
4 The party wants to know when the next attack is coming. Find out.
5 Deliver this message to another neighbourhood.
6 Take these supplies to another neighbourhood.
7 Convince another neighbourhood to send supplies or weapons. No skullduggery.
8 The neighbourhood lacks supplies (food, water, etc.). Steal some from the Right Men.
9 The neighbourhood lacks weapons. Steal some from the Right Men.
10 There’s a statue of the Great Leader. Deface it.
11 The Right Men have a barricade crusher. Sabotage it.
12 The Right Men have a map of the sewers. Steal it.
13 The Right Men are stockpiling explosives. Blow it up.
14 The Right Men have a map of the sewers. Replace it with this fake map.
15 The Right Men are planning an attack. Convince them that it’s a bad idea.
16 The Right Men are trying to summon some kind of demon. Stop the ritual.
17 The Right Men have the body of our friend. Retrieve it.
18 The Right Men have a courier who runs between two bases. Smuggle these messages in their bag.
19 The Right Men send scouts at night. Bamboozle them.
20 The Right Men captured and executed a party member publicly. Get revenge.

This is pretty basic stuff, just flavoured well.

What is the latest monstrosity birthed by the Right Men?

A construct of [this] and [this] …

d12 Material d12 Material
1 Jade 7 Glass
2 Iron 8 Sponge
3 Flesh 9 Axes
4 Rubber 10 Concrete
5 Cotton 11 Glue
6 Chalk 12 Acid

… that feeds on [this]

d8 Weird Food
1 The dreams of the innocent
2 The sound of laughter
3 The aura of sadness
4 The act of discussing politics
5 The hope of the rebellious
6 The concept of freedom
7 The memories of suffering
8 The taste of good food

I really like this table. Feels like China Mieville’s stuff. Very gonzo, very New Weird, very SWORDDREAM!

If you liked any of this, do check out the PDF on itch.io where you can tip me for it by buying it. (It’s the same thing that’s here.) Or comment on the itch page or just tweet at me @chaibypost. That would be awesome too!