Ice Golems.

In the world at large, golemancer's and their magics are respected, but sit low on the totem pole of arcane practices. Mundane folk regard them with as much awe as any other magic user, but actual Practitioner's look upon them as skilled craftsman, no more special than a masterful black smith or leatherworker.

There's a hierarchy within the practice itself as well. The hardness of a material reflects the difficulty of making a golem from it and the strength of the finished product, so naturally Golemancers who work with diamond are most highly regarded with workers of ruby and sapphire not far behind. Common stones lie in the middle, followed by the weaker gold and silver of coin and jewelry, and pitiable ice golems bring up the rear garnering as much respect as they have strength.

Yes, the soft bodied golemancers of the Southern territories look down on their Northern brethren with contempt for our soft, brittle works, but the North doesn't mind. Proud Northerners live hard, brutal lives fighting to survive the arctic conditions - we don't have the time or the resources to go trekking hundreds of miles away to diamond mines and waiting weeks or months while hired labor mines that precious gem. We're fighting for our lives today, right now - and that's when our golems must be made.

In the Southern territories, an ice golem is weak - almost as low down on the hardness scale as material can get at a measly 1.5 Mohs. But in the Northern wastes, with a howling winds and temperatures hitting 30 or 40 below freezing? Ice golems have a greater strength in those hateful temperatures, reaching a hardness of 6 Mohs. Still not nearly as strong as a diamond golem, but any Northerner worth his salt could build you an army of ice golems before a Southerner had even travelled to the mine or quarry where his work would start. We've got front yards, backyards, house roofs and country roads just filled with snow - build you a quick snowman, sprinkle some water, make a little token offering to Jack Frost, Lord of the Dead and Frozen and you're in business.

Of course, there's other ways you can go about working up an ice golem if you don't truck with Jack Frost. Kill a fearsome beast of ice and snow and put it's still beating heart inside the chest of an ice man. Craft a body made of ice and snow with all the skill of a proper artisan and animate it. Enchant a piece of clothing - or more likely steal one that's already been enchanted - and gift it to your ice golem.

No need to go through all that trouble though, not in the North where Jack Frost is King. He loves his troubled sons and he doesn't think a thing of standing up armies of ice and snow for them.

NPC Quirks of Manner and Speech

Roll 1d20 for a quirk, of manner or speech or roll 2d20 and combine.

NPC Quirks
Manner	Speech
1. Taps own nose.	“Watch me!”
2. Tugs at earlobe.	“As men say.”
3. Takes off hat and wrings it in hands.	“I tell you hwhat.”
4. Bites lip before speaking.	“Well, about that…”
5. Runs fingers through own hair before speaking.	“Listen Linda!”
6. Will only make eye contact with your right eye.	“This is strictly off the record.”
7. Stands too close when speaking	“We’ve got a saying around here.” but the “saying” is just whatever they were already going to say in reply.
8. Never uses profanity, whisper very infantile substitutions.	“... because that’s just neighborly.”
9. Does former/current meth addict mouth fidgeting.	Speaks about interacting with themselves as though they were two people. “I told [themself] dealing with [PCs] was a bad idea.”
10. Holds their breath while you speak.	“You hear?”
11. Takes a deep, calming breath before they start talking every time it’s their turn to speak again.	“Well I’ll be a [Magic Animal]’s [Political/Court Position]!”
12. Pantomimes taking notes about what you’re saying. “Helps me remember the details.”	“Mansplains” martial weapons, but just trusts you know all the relevant info about forgotten grimoires.
13. Makes sign of the evil eye toward the south before speaking.	“Pardon my Orcish darling, but he’s an [completely inoffensive and factual statement].”
14. Does a “Wash my hands of you” gesture when finished speaking.	“...and you’d be wise to remember that.”
15. Rolls a coin over fingers while you speak, pulls it from behind your ear before they speak.	“... or at least that’s what my Pappy used to say before he died in the war.”
16. Will only talk while walking.	“Y’all hungry, we can do this over food if you like, ‘cause I’m hungry.”
17. Makes shocked expressions at mundane details and stone faced for actual shocking information.	“Now that sounds like something I could sink my teeth into.”
18. Can’t get through a sentence without a yawn.	“... and that’s the truth, or the buzzards take my eyes after they hang me for a liar.”
19. Prefers to speak to you, facing away from you. 20. Takes gloves off before shaking hands.	“If’n you don’t mind my saying…” "...before the Grand Vizier comes for us."

Rituals and Template

So Zedeck Siew did some writing for the Demon City ttrpg. A preview of some of that writing was posted, specifically some rituals Zedeck wrote and I thought they were really cool with a fairly easy to follow template and I've been disappointed for a while that I haven't seen anyone else using that template, so I crafted some rituals based on it.

Hand of Glory

The Hand of Glory is created in two parts; Hand and Candle. The hand itself must be cut from a hanged man, and then pickled in salt and the urine of a man, a woman, a horse and a hare. After pickling, the hand must be smoked with herbs for a full turn of the moon. Once pickled and smoked, wrap the hand in a funeral pall until you’re ready to insert the candle.

The candle needs be made from the fat of the man whence came the hand, with soot from a burnt temple or church mixed in to give it a foul coloring. The wick should be made from the hair of a predatory beast.

Place the Candle within the Hand to finish creating a true Hand of Glory.

A Hand of Glory is invaluable to thieves and other ne’er do wells, but ware the man who wants one and the work he needs it for - he won’t be using it for something so innocent as stealing mere silver from a local merchant.

Several factors determine the potency of the Hand. Each condition met below confers one point of Intensity.

If the hanged man was: 

- Innocent
- Framed by you
- A Child
- Royalty
- An executioner

- A friend or lover

If the urine came of:
- Royalty
- A magical beast

If the church or temple was:

- Your faith and personal place of worship
- Over 100 years old

- A wonder

If the hair for the wick came from an animal that was:
- 3 HD or greater

- Magical
- Rabid
- Unbound when you took its hair
Effects of the Ritual

The Hand of Glory, regardless of Intensity
- Casts light only the bearer can see.

Intensity 2
- As above, and unlocks mundane doors and windows.

Intensity 3
- As above, and stops sleepers from waking up, paralyzes any residents who lay eyes on you until your candle is out.

Intensity 4
- As above, and unlocks magical doors and windows, and erases any memory of having seen you in their house.

Alarm

Gather about you the things or people you aim to protect. Speak your intention to them, tell them what you’d seek to protect them from, in the general sense, with this Alarm ritual. Walk the perimeter of the area you wish to guard, hand in hand with your companions or carrying the object(s). As you walk the perimeter, speak your intention to the open air - tell the world that you have safe guarded this place and you plan to defend it with your life. Tell the air, tell the soil, tell every creature in between that those who would seek to harm you and yours are not welcome here. Tell the world and it’s creatures they’ve been fairly warned and you will destroy interlopers without mercy or sorrow.

As you walk and intone your intention, string the perimeter with thread, being sure to leave plenty of excess thread, suspended above the ground at eye level and tie a bell to the string for every second of advance warning you desire. If you wish for this alarm spell to notify more than one person you’ll need a separate quantity of bells for them and they must be physically present.

Next place an unlit candle at each cardinal direction within your guarded area and five candles at each inter cardinal direction - if you wish your alarm spell to light up the area, otherwise you may skip this step.

Next gather the thread from each of the “walls” of the area and draw them inward to the spot where you and your companions or material possessions will be and tie the excess thread around your finger and the finger of anyone else you wish this spell to notify. You cannot have the spell notify more people than there are “walls” to your thread perimeter, so if you want several people to be alerted be sure to craft an irregular shape. 

When you’ve tied the string around the finger of the last person you wish to have be alerted say “and now the weary may rest without worry”. If you’ve correctly completed the ritual the thread, bells and candles will all disappear and you may sleep or leave the area and you will immediately know if someone crosses your perimeter.

Increase the potency of the ritual by one if:

The thread is:

- A single unbroken strand of silk from a venomous spider

- Made of spooled silver

- Made of spooled gold (+2)

- Woven from the hair of a magical beast

The bells are:

- Solid gold, worth at least 1,000 SP each

- Family heirlooms

- Stolen from a Bell Exorcist

The candles are:

- worth at least 1,000 SP each

- made of the melted fat of a person or group who have betrayed you

Effects of the Ritual

Regardless of intensity, when your alarm is triggered you will awake immediately or immediately know your alarm has been triggered, the bells will ring once altogether, and the candles will light casting their natural light.

Intensity 1
- As above, but the bells will ring continuously for one minute and the candles will cast light twice as far.

Intensity 2
- As above, but the bells will ring until you desire them to stop or until the threat has been dealt with, whichever comes first.

Intensity 3
- As above, except the bells will ring as one solid note that will cripple weak enemies with pain in their heads - save vs stun/save under CON - and the candles will light up the area as if it’s under the light of the noon day sun.

Purify Food and Drink

Be thankful for your food. Thank the farmers that planted it, grew it and harvested it. Thanks the merchants that stored it and sold it. Thank the soil and sun that fed it.

Say a small prayer to your god ending with “We would now dine on these bountiful gifts with clear consciences and thankful hearts.”

The ritual increases potency if:

The ritual is completed by:

- A church priest +1

- An ordained Paladin +2

- A celestial being specifically sent to you to complete the ritual + 3

Effects of the Ritual

Intensity 1/2/3
- Purifies of poison and restores one bite/plateful/tables worth of food to it’s just cooked/picked freshness.

Holy Matrimony 

Gather your friends and family about you. Invite them to feast and drink with you. Celebrate your love for your partner and your time together. Dance, laugh, cry and just let yourself succumb to the emotional current of the celebration.

The following day, have a holy man or men of yours, your partners or both faiths officiate a ceremony. Promise yourselves to each other and affirm your love in front of everyone who celebrated with you the previous night, in the customary manner of your culture.

Finally, close out the ceremony with a kiss.

Regardless of the intensity of this ritual, you’re now married to your partner in the eyes of the gods and your fates are inextricably intertwined for better or worse.

The effects of this ritual increase in intensity if:

- You’re truly in love with your partner.
- One point for every ten years of happy marriage.
- Your friends and family approve of your marriage.
- Your revelry was raucous and genuine.
- Your revelry resulted in a marriage proposal from someone else of your faith
- If a child is born from your you or your guests revelries.

Effects of the Ritual

Regardless of Intensity, you and your partner are now married and you are afforded all the divine and legal rights of your lands entailed by that.

Intensity 3
- You always know the general “status” of your partner - “Something’s wrong!”

Intensity 4

- You always know the general location of your partner

Intensity 5
- You know the specific health of your partner, their specific  location, and you can communicate with them through thought if you’re within eyesight of each other.

GLOG Werewolf and Manwolf

Werewolf

Editing by Shoe Skogen currently in the works

For each werewolf template, your Silver Weakness reduces by ¼ until you only take standard damage from Silvered Weapons at Template D. Additionally, your resistance to standard physical damage increases by ¼ until you take no damage from non magical, non silver damage at Template D.

0: On Borrowed Time

A: Silver Weakness, Slave to the Moon

B: Man in Wolf’s Clothing, Fast Metabolism

C: Your Own Moon, Alpha Vector

D: Preternatural Musculature, Half Moon

On Borrowed Time

You paid a kindness to a wolf and your kindness has cursed him. The wolf is coming for you. He will bite you, and you will be a slave to the moon, just as you’ve made him. Your only hope is to kill the wolf or kill your self before he comes for you.

Silver Weakness

You’re especially weak to silver - you take 4x damage from silvered weapons and ¾ damage from non magical damage.

Slave to the Moon

During a full moon, make a constitution save not to transform into a rabid beast, with a penalty of 1 for each month you’ve successfully staved off the transformation. During this time you’re an NPC controlled by the DM.

Man in Wolf’s Clothing

When you transform into a wolf, you retain your human mind and are capable of higher level planning and intelligence that would be beyond a mundane wolf. Complex plans executed as a wolf should roll with advantage if role are necessary.

Fast Metabolism - All of your bodies natural processes are on fast forward. Any poisons you are afflicted with last half as long, any healing you undergo heals you for an extra [templates] damage

Your Own Moon

You can voluntarily transform anytime you please, but take 1d4 damage each time you do.

Alpha Vector - As the first man to be bitten by the wolf you cursed, any other men bitten by that wolf will be subservient to you as your packmates. Additionally, any other wolf you show kindness to will be cursed and subservient to the first wolf you cursed.

Preternatural Physicality - You have [templates] points to increase your physical stats. You can use these to increase any of your physical stats or your health on a one for one basis, you can increase your jump distance or speed by 5’ per point, you can increase the damage of your claw attack with two points for one damage and you can increase your AC by one for two points

Half Moon

You can turn into a hybrid wolf man - the bipedal monster of myth and legend.

Man Wolf

“Do no wolf a kindness, for he’ll repay it in blood.” - Phalean superstition

“Bite no man, lest he wear your skin.” - Wolf wisdom, known only to wolves and weres.

One of these days, as your summers turn to fall and boys turn to men, you may find yourself in the woods and come upon a wolf in a snare. You’ll hear him whimper and whine and you’ll want to help him. You’ll see that cruel wire biting into his flesh and watch as the meat is peeled from bone against his struggles, and it’ll almost drive you mad. But remember this, boy - Do no wolf a kindness, for he’ll show his thanks with corpses. There’s an old wives tale, that a wolf shown kindness at the hands of a man is cursed. Under the light of the full moon he’ll lose his fur, his teeth with blunt, his limbs will become clumsy and weak and he’ll walk on two legs. This is the greatest fear of any proud wolf - his pack will push him out, maybe even kill him, but neither will he be welcome in the lands of men. In his rage, he will sew destruction upon your house. The last thing you’ll see as everything you love dies and burns will be a naked man, running off into the woods, turning more wolf than man with every step.

For each Man Wolf template, your Natural Order weakness reduces by ¼ until you only take standard damage from Natural weapons at Template D. Additionally, your resistance to standard physical damage increases by ¼ until you take no damage from non magical, non natural damage at Template D

A: Outcast Wolf, New Birth, Natural Order Weakness
B: Wolf in Man Skin, Alpha Vector
C:Fast Metabolism, Preternatural Physicality
D: Half Moon, Your Own Moon

Outcast Wolf

During a full moon, make a constitution save not to transform into a human, with a penalty of 1 for each month you’ve successfully staved off the transformation. During this time you’re under a geas to ruin the life of the human who cursed you - often times this results in a lycanthropy transmitting bite.

New Birth

You may take the first template of another GLOG Class, this is the human you’ve turned into.

Natural Order Weakness

You’re especially weak to natural weapons, things of bone, wood, teeth and stone - you take 4x damage from these and ¾ damage from all other non magical damage.

Wolf in Man Skin

While in  your human form, you retain some of your lupine nature and senses. You have advantage to track or identify by scent, you can eat raw meat as rations, and you have particularly acute hearing.

Alpha Vector

As the first wolf to be succumb to your particular strain of curse, any other wolves cursed by the human that showed you kindness will be subservient to you. Additionally, any human you bite will contract traditional lycanthropy and be subservient to the human who cursed you.

Fast Metabolism

All of your bodies natural processes are on fast forward. Any poisons you are afflicted with last half as long, any healing you undergo heals you for an extra [templates] damage.

Preternatural Physicality

You have [templates] points to increase your physical stats. You can use these to increase any of your physical stats or your health on a one for one basis, you can increase your jump distance or speed by 5’ per point, you can increase the damage of your claw attack by one damage for two points and you can increase your AC by one for two points.

Half Moon

You can stop your transformation mid way and transform into the bipedal wolf man of legends. Additionally, you gain a claw 1d8 claw attack.

Your Own Moon

You can voluntarily transform anytime you wish, at a cost of 1d4 damage each time.