Quick-but-Flavourful Alchemy System

Here is something I made as part of an attempt to write a magic system with a more sword and sorcery feel than most out there. Here is the section about Alchemy. This is meant as a quick, simple but flavorful way of creating potions, unguent and poultices.

ALCHEMY

It aims at spiritual enlightenment by way of physical transformation.

• A well equipped laboratory allows the alchemist access to processes such as condensation, distillation, calcination and fermentation through which an array of gasses, poultices, fluids and powders can be produced.
• An alchemist needs a fully equipped laboratory in order to exercise the art. Should this get damaged or destroyed it will have to be replaced before any experiment or recipe can be attempted.
• The time it takes to produce any substance equals 1 hour of preparation + 1 hour for each of the processes involved.

SUBSTANCE GENERATOR

d6	Substance Type
1	Flammable
2	Adhesive
3	Corrosive
4	Imparing
5	Soporific
6	Hallucinogenic
7	Restorative
8	Invigorating

d12	Process
1	Calcination
2	Coagulation
3	Fixation
4	Dissolution
5	Digestion
6	Distillation
7	Sublimation
8	Separation
9	Incineration
10	Fermentation
11	Multiplication
12	Projection

d20	Main Component	Cost (gp)	Availability
1	Salt	175	Common
2	Sulfur	400	Rare
3	Magnesium	300	Very rare
4	Potassium	250	Rare
5	Lithium	150	Rare
6	Iron	25	Common
7	Copper	5	Common
8	Tin	10	Rare
9	Zinc	450	Common
10	Bismuth	100	Rare
11	Antimony	175	Very rare
12	Lead	350	Rare
13	Arsenic	200	Rare
14	Mercury	650	Very rare
15	Phosphorus	75	Common
16	Platinum	1,000	Rare
17	Ethanol	50	Common
18	Ammonium	750	Very rare
19	Silver	500	Common
20	Gold	900	Common

d6	State of Substance
1-2	Solid
3-4	Liquid
5-6	Gaseous

d6	Effectiveness	Damage	Duration
1-2	Weak	1d3	1 minute
3-4	Moderate	1d6	1d6 minutes
5-6	Powerful	1d10	1d6x10 minutes

In order to make anything you can either experiment or read from a formula. In either case, test Int; on a success roll on each table to find out what you end up making, how much it costs you and how long it takes. On a fail you still waste the time and money but come up with nothing. Having a formula grants you a bonus on the Int. test.

Miami Vice-inspired RPG - Part 1

I've made it my mission to come up with an investigative rpg that support's OSR-style play (meaning, in this case, very rules-light, players' skills over character skills and open-ended, non-railroaded adventures)

Here's the "system" I've got so far. The goal is to keep it as minimalist as possible. This is the easy part. The though one is writing adventures, good ones at that, easy to run and that support the above mentions play-style. But that comes later. The rules first:

• There are no stats. The detectives the players portray in this game are supposed to be the best in the department. Anything Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs can do in the TV show, then you can do, too
• Detectives start with a sports car, a boat, a pet alligator, a gun, a contact (non-police) and a cover identity.
• Task resolution. Roll 2d6: on a 7 or more you succeed.
• Situational modifier. When things get tougher than normal, roll 3d6 and pick the two worst result. VICEversa, when a task is made easier, roll 3d6 and pick the best two.
• Character Advancement. Nope
• Core Activity. This is the crux of the whole endeavor. Needs to be clear and supported by a series of procedures. In this game players are expected to solve an investigation by searching for clues. The correct interpretation of those clues will then point them toward the perpetrator(s) of the crime which they will have to successfully apprehend in order to close the case. Here's what I've got so far in terms of rules and procedures to support it:
• Time: investigations are ALWAYS time sensitive, so this is important. It takes 1 Hour to go from one part of Miami to another. 1 Turn lasts 10 minutes (used when searching, interacting with NPC, etc.). 1 Round last 10 seconds (used for shootouts, brawls, chases and whenever detailed time is needed)
• Movement: see above for moving through the city. In 1 Turn detectives can cover an area of 100 square feet (30 square meters) on foot. In 1 Round they can go from here to there, where here is their current location and there is a nearby object or person of interest.
• Search locations for clues: the detectives simply declare where they're searching. If the clue is there, they find it. Searching an area of approximately 10 square feet takes 10 minutes
• Interact with NPC: classic D&D reaction roll applies. Role-play or not, up to you. Use task resolution to determine outcome of conversation when in doubt
• Shootouts: either against Goons or Bosses. Roll 2d6 per detective per Round and score 7 or higher. Goons are taken out with one hit, Bosses go down in 3. If roll fails, the detective takes a hit, Detectives can be uninjured, grazed, wounded (disadvantage on rolls) or seriously wounded. In this last condition they fall unconscious and any subsequent hit kills them. If detectives + allies outnumber the bad guys or are better positioned, roll with advantage. VICEversa, roll with disadvantage.
• Brawls: like above but with fists.
• Chases: tracked on a scale from 1 to 6. Fleeing vehicle starts at 3, pursuer at 1. Every Round both roll 2d6, highest roll moves forward by 1 step. When one step away from each other, passengers other than the drivers can shoot. On a success 1-in-6 chances to blow tire and 1-in-6 chances to hit driver. Any other result does nothing. When the distance between vehicles reaches 0, the pursuer has caught up with fugitive and can ram (3-in-6 chance of occupants dying in the crash). If fleeing vehicle reaches 6 it escapes.
• Injury recovery: wounded detectives recover after 3 hours spent resting in a safe location. Seriously wounded ones must spend 24 Hours at the hospital, then they are back in action.

Next up, more core activities, specifically procedures exclusive to investigative play, such as how to make use of police resources and how to set up a surveillance.

The City-Fortress of Alteus + 12 Backgrounds for Troika!

Here is the outline of a setting and 12 Troika! Backgrounds that expand upon it, somewhat inspired by a book called "Bleakwarrior" by Alistair Rennie, in an attempt to mix the gory and the weird

The City-Fortress of Alteus

In 1954, an experiment on altered mind states supervised by Prof. Aldous Huxley goes terribly wrong and the collective unconscious begins to sip into the material world.

In 199X, all that remains of reality as we know it (and then some) is the City-Fortress of Alteus, an urban settlement roughly the size of Spain, where 4 million people "live" within a society twisted beyond recognition. Under the supreme rule of Max Champion, The Total Commander, The Great Locomotive, Fist of the Morning Star, whose thought is truth, Alteus’ and its seven Districts are allowed to exist like a feral, life-affirming “Fuck you” against the pungent miasma of improbabilities that has been lapping at its Walls for nearly 50 years.

Player Backgrounds

1. Gordo Mechanicus

You spent the last few years hiding in a clockwork graveyard, until a pack of syptid came looking for parts. They wouldn't have found you if it weren't for your clumsiness. You managed to take down most of them, but a few escaped, and now you're on the run again.

Possessions: a bag of delicious nuts and bolts (equal to 1 provision), a broken pocket watch, compromising documents

Weapon of Choice: Great Spanner (dmg as Maul)

Advanced Skills: 

3 Eat Metal

2 Great Spanner Fighting

2 Jury Rigging

1 Parkour

1 Scavenging

1 Spell - Rust Breath

2. Purger of Purulence

The Confraternity of the Bulbous Protuberance gave you shelter and comfort, rescuing you from a life in the city's sewers, where cata-rats and nefarious refuse have been your sole companions for as long as you can remember. 

Possessions: Pustule badge of honor, purging kit (suction pump, needles, plastic tubes and various adaptors), two empty glass jars

Weapon of Choice: Trowing Syringes (dmg as Knife)

Advanced Skills:

3 Purging Ritual

2 Syringes Fighting

2 Healing

2 Herbalism

2 Poison

3. The-Quill-That-Kills

You were raised by the Scribes of Venerium, within the halls of that sacred library nested atop the peaks near the Southern Wall. Your childhood was mostly spent sparring with Titan-class Ovoloids knee-deep in the snow and transcribing countless pages from the Questionable Memoirs of Kilk Masterbulk

Possessions: writing kit, fur boots, long hair, longer beard, bear hide (as Modestly Armored)

Weapon of Choice: The Quill (dmg as Sword)

Advanced Skills:

5 Language - Old Cassius

2 Quill Fighting

2 Evaluate

1 Tracking

1 Spell - Ink Blots Divination

4. Meatgrinder

You stole from thieves, cheated the gamblers and begged the poor before discovering your passion for meat and its succulent juices. But thieving is not something you can leave behind that easily, and when you left the Grinding Corps, it wasn’t through honorable discharge, but with the biggest score of your entire conniving career. 

Possession: stolen ring, loaded dice, a map with the location of a stack of stolen meat, 50' of cured intestines (tough as rope)

Weapon of Choice: Meat Tenderizer (dmg as Hammer)

Advance Skills:

3 Meat Tenderizer Fighting

2 Sneak

1 Gambling

1 Pick Pockets

1 Locks

1 Run

1 Climb

Special: you have a cumulative 1 in 6 chance of falling into Meat Frenzy for every full day that passes without consuming some kind of fresh meat (provisions don’t count). When overcome by Meat Frenzy, you are compelled to tenderize and then consume any slab of meat of at least 1Kg in weight (including your own, if it’s the most readily accessible, which it is in most cases). The good news is that whenever you attempt a task that is aimed at satiating your frenzy, you add +2 to your Skill

5. Drudge of Klosh

You are a survivor of the Darkest Pit of Klosh, whose Impossible Machines nearly made you deaf. Your sojourn there taught you how to "see" in the dark, and how to rip a tongue using only your thumb and your middle finger

Possessions: horrible nightmares, a bad attitude, an empty sack, 2d6 steel marbles

Weapon of Choice: Your Bare Hands (dmg as Unarmed)

3 Wrestling

2 Rip Tongue

2 Mechanical Repairs

2 Language - Machine Speech

Special: because of the many years spent in the darkest darkness your vision has been permanently  reversed: you can see in darkness as clearly as normal folk see in daylight, but you cannot see in daylight unless you possess a source of darkness to obscure your surroundings

6. Slayer of the Indolent

The most significant years of your life where spent aboard the Mother Bachele, where you managed to rise from simple Meat Slave all the way to Defender of the Supreme Engine

Possessions: a ledger, characteristic plumed hat, a satchel, an unfulfilled sense of duty

Weapon of Choice: The Whip (dmg as Staff)

Advanced Skills:

3 Whipping

2 Intimidate

2 Secret Signs - Morse Code
2 Repair Golden Barge

1 Pilot Golden Barge

Special: by an act of pure concentration you can pinpoint the exact location of a personality you have met at least once before who is currently slacking off rather than doing whatever it is supposed to be doing. Make a Luck roll; on a success the person you are focusing on is being lazy this very moment and you know exactly where.

7. The Cook

Cooking has been your life long passion and your motivational drive, even when the only edible ingredients had to be harvested from human bodies, the screams audible for miles beyond the confines of your mobile kitchen.

Possessions: greasy pots, dull kitchen knife, smeared apron, paper hat, bag of spices

Weapon of Choice: Pot Lid (dmg as Shield)

Advanced Skills:

3 Cooking

2 Pot Lid

1 Hunting

1 Herb-gathering

1 Spell - Tasteful Illusion

1 Spell - Sanitize

1 Spell - Premium Cut

8. Wind-dyed Fleshrider

The Windborne Carnefices are those you call family, the spoils of their victims all you have ever owned. Hard to remember the colour of your uniform under all that blood and guts, although you seem to recall dashing yellow stripes over a dark hue blacker than the night.

Possessions: 1d6 spoils of your victims

Weapon of Choice: The Rusted Saw (dmg as Longsword)

Advanced Skills:

2 Fly

2 Torture

2 Interrogation

2 Saw Fighting

2 Sanctimonious Speech

1 Spell - Amplify Pain

9. Pointed Pretender

Is hard to believe that you where once the Dominator of the Power Temple, first among the Pyramids of Cruel Intentions. But all those who rule must be cast out into the world, for only by experiencing first hand its infinite cruelty they can hope to challenge the Pointed God itself and take its place.

Possessions: pointed holy symbol, conical wooden stake, annoyingly boisterous attire, solar-powered portable music player

Weapon of Choice: the Pointed Lance (dmg as Spear)

Advanced Skills:

2 Ride

2 Pointed Lance Fighting

2 Charge

1 Spell - Convincing Thought

1 Spell - Resplendent Appearance

1 Spell - Crack Funny Joke

1 Spell - Exude Testosterone

10. Slugger

You crawled through the mud, pushed your way above the corpses and withstood the reek of their rotting flesh, so they could keep firing, keep killing, keep piling up the corpses. Your memories are of stale blood, fire and steel, and Death's heavy footsteps marching beside you. Now the war is over and they are mostly gone, so it’s up to you to keep the fire burning.

Possessions: 2d6 Fusil slugs, 1d6 pistolet bullets, 2 unexploded land mines, ammo mould

Weapon of Choice: The Boomstick Boombastic (dmg as Fusil), modified to fire only if gripped by your hand (a modification executed by the last person who knew how to work such a technology and who is now dead)

Advanced Skills:

3 Boomstick

2 Run

2 Climb

2 Swim

1 Sneak

1 Spell - Turn Blood into Ammo

Special: you don't need to roll when retrieving ammunitions or explosives from your backpack in a hurry. You always know exactly where you put them and how to access them

11. One of Lord Anguish 13 Lieutenants

Choose one of the following: Agony, Pain, Torment, Torture, Suffering, Distress, Angst, Misery, Sorrow, Grief, Heartache, Desolation or Despair. Whenever they ask you what it was like to serve under Lord Anguish, your reply is always the same: "You gut them, you hang them, you fuck 'em". Then they leave you alone.

Possessions: a map of Anguish Kingdom, a whistle, a big but gentle dog, binoculars, a somewhat reluctant steed

Weapon of Choice: Your Own Confidence (see Special)

Advanced Skills:

2 Ride

2 Gutting

2 Hanging

2 Fucking

Special: the first weapon you brandish after dawn grants you +3 when fighting with it until next sunrise

12. Botanophobe of the Slopes

You used to love nature when you lived among the Herbalites. Then you discovered what they were really doing behind the bushes, within their caves. Now you wish you could burn every single blade of grass from the face of the Earth

Possessions: a sickle, a flintstone, a profound hate towards anything grassy and green

Weapon of Choice: The Scythe (dmg as Greatsword)

Advanced Skills:

3 Herbs Lore

2 Scythe Fighting

1 Spell - Turn Plant into Mud

1 Spell - Turn Green into Red

1 Spell - Scorched Earth

1 Spell - Summon Pollution