Goblin Lasagna

EDIT 8/18/25:  This post was originally intended to be a part 1 of 2, and the second part was intended to go over pricing for crafting. But I really couldn't come up with anything terribly complicated, so I've just attached it to the end of this post and revised the conclusion. I have also removed the ability to create magic items, this crafting system only really works for the mundane. The more I run Knave 2e, the more I keep finding places it lacks things I want and need. Some of the time this is frustrating, but I'm finding mostly it gives me fun opportunities to find or homebrew procedures the way I think they should work. Crafting has come up in the campaign I'm running in the last few sessions, so in the moment I adjudicated a very simplistic and not terribly interesting procedure to handle it. Now I think I have the fundamental structure of a much better defined procedure that's still vibes-based enough to be fun for all of us. Also, while I am designing this...

I agonized over the title for this one. It is difficult at this point of conception to succinctly condense my thoughts into something pithy though, hence the length of this post. I was mostly inspired by Dwiz's post Advanced Darkness ; I recommend you read this first to understand the rationale behind the 10' light radius that will be used as a fundamental part of this new framework. Corners Anyone who has played Counter-Strike or similar games understands the tactical problem which going around a corner presents. A corner can be one of the biggest obstacles in that game because of a simple fact: the person who rounds a corner is at a severe disadvantage against anyone around that corner who is standing still and watching that corner. This is due in part to a couple of mechanical factors in Counter-Strike which I won't go into detail about here, but it is largely due to the fact that there is no easy way to perceive or interact favorably with potential enemies around a corn...

Below is a HEAVILY plagiarized adaptation of a procedure from the blog of  Newt Young . Hats off to Newt for doing an incredible job with the procedure, making the process of adaptation pretty simple for me. I encourage everyone to read that post first, as their introduction will not be repeated in my post. In their version, they deal with Figures, but I felt that the entire framework makes an equal amount of sense when applied to Factions, which are the major political forces in the game I'm currently running. My version reflects that perspective rather than one regarding individuals, but you can easily replace every instance of the word Faction in this piece with Figure and it will function identically.  The majority of the changes I made were with regard to the numbers; I didn't like how granular the original version was with its math. The numbers have been scaled down and much randomness has been removed in favor of more consistent, incremental value changes. I have also r...

This system has been such an inspiration for me and I've already begun brewing for it without even having played yet. I've been making denizens, a dungeon level, and most recently this new Kin for players to choose. Once I finish my monsters and dungeon level I'll probably post those as well. Orc Kin: Goblin Goblin Talent: Vengeful Terror Woe betide those who would wrong you. When this talent becomes Wounded, the foe who dealt the wound now takes Piercing Damage from your Attacks until the end of your next turn. If you wound the foe who wounded you, their disposition automatically changes to fear (unless it was already fear or terror, then it becomes terror.) Goblin Arete Goblins, unlike other Orcs, have different conditions to fulfill to gain their Arete. Goblins gain Arete by performing the following deeds: Steal candy (or similar) from a baby (or similar) Scam, con, or wheedle something of great value from a person who needs it more than you Find and cherish an item tha...

I can't stop hacking Knave 2e. I think it's compulsory at this point; I honestly don't believe the Knave 2e rules even need this. This is really only something your game will want if you want magic to feel unpredictable  and  dangerous . I used Shadowdark and DCC as my main inspirations, but this system is still less punishing than those (I think, at least). Notably absent are the mishap tables from those games.  Casting Spells:  Casting a spell takes one action. The character makes an INT check with a starting DC of 12, and fills one of their inventory slots with Fatigue (Fatigue counts as a wound but is cleared after two watches of sleep anywhere). If they succeed the check, the spell takes effect, the DC for the next check increases by 2, and they may cast another spell when they have an action to do so.  If they fail the check, the spell still takes effect, but the character may not cast any more spells until they sleep for two watches, which will also reset...

I love the Maleficence mechanic as seen in Errant by Ava Islam and Gus L's Fistful of Crystals , so I decided to do an adaptation for Knave 2e. I think almost none of the spells already contained within the ruleset deal any damage, which is the perfect environment for this mechanic to be implemented. I also added an optional Overload mechanic which I hope will lead to some exciting, difficult decisions at the table. Maleficence Spell books may be used to cast Maleficence once per day instead of the spell contained within. The caster exerts their mental energy to attempt to force raw arcane energy from the book into a magical attack. The caster makes an INT check of DC 16. If they succeed, the attack hits a target(s) within 40'. It deals 1d6+INT damage to a single target or (1d6+INT)/2 to a group of clustered targets. If failed, the caster can choose to either A) have the Maleficence succeed but at the cost of filling one of their inventory slots with Fatigue which is cleared a...