ttrpg-folklore-project

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

I think one of my favorite DnD Things is when random rolls become retroactive Lore/Quirks for the character. Not even as a DM ruling, I mean something the whole table adopts organically, whether seriously or as a running joke.

A paladin I DMd for failing every single perception roll turned into him canonically needing glasses and not realizing it.

A combination of failed perception checks and concentration saves becoming a character having ADHD and that getting worked into the acting.

My gnome barbarian with low intimidation rolls despite doing/saying some actually terrifying things suddenly having a voice that cracks like the "WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?! WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?! THAT YOUR ACTIONS!! HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!" kid when he shouts.

Or my favorite, my tabaxi artificer, Gus, comedically failing every religion check when it comes to praying so now it's a whole plot point that gods literally do not perceive him.

(Yes this is an invitation to reply or tell me in the tags if you've had any canon-altering rolls like this I love PC stories)

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

Call For Submissions:

Character Snap Shots: Commiting to the Bit-

Hello! Looking for submissions from all you wonderful dice rollers out there!

This week's call is asking:

Was there ever a time you played a particular character and completely committed to the tropes of their class? Were you the horny bard? The broody rogue? The tree hugging druid? What compelled you to play them that way?

Ask box and submissions are open.

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

Beginnings: The Nexus of Fate

Campaign name: Runterra: The Sound of Violence

Party title: The Nexus of Fate

System: Pathfinder 2e

Country of origin: Players/GM are all USAmerican

Campaign start: March 2023-ongoing

Segment

There was a festival in Xiao'le. Everyone was supposed to be celebrating. Koeda was glad to see his hometown in high spirits. This strange, foreign, metal girl who sometimes spoke with another voice was certainly drawing attention- including that of the bird-Vastayan fortune teller, and the bear-Vastayan who, honestly, was barely discernibly from an actual bear. Both Vastayan seemed mute, communicating mainly in their sign language or with gestures and facial expressions to those who didn't understand their signing. How the bird, Xanrei, was telling fortunes this way is a mystery.

There was an awkward round of introductions, considering the signing necessary. The metal girl with the blue lights was called Nia, and the other voice, which turned the lights green, was called Ezi. Meanwhile, the bear seemed to think his name was simply "Aaaaa". Moments after the exchange of names, a scream rang out.

A ship was fast approaching the docks. Really fast. It wasn't going to stop- in fact, it crashed right up into the streets, splintering on the grounds. Noxian convicts poured out of the boat, brandishing weapons and immediately setting to cause as much damage and chaos as they could. The group that would become known as the Nexus of Fate truly came together in that moment when they all took up arms against the invasion.

As they cleared the streets, they kept encountering people fleeing, looking for refuge. The Nexus gathered them up, trying to escort them all to safety in the temple in the center of town. After one skirmish, they took one of the convicts alive and began questioning him. As soon as he started to explain that there was a plan, someone was behind this, a gunshot rang out. A bullet pierced through the glass of the windowpane and into the man's skull, a golden flower blossoming from the wound.

The group felt their hearts drop as most of them recognized the carnage before them. The flowers blooming from death wounds was a sure sign of the Golden Demon. Nia suddenly became desperate to reach the temple.

When they arrived, Aaaaa and Xanrei went inside to carry and tend to wounded, while Nia and Koeda pursued ideas of their own. Koeda took to the roofs, tracking down a stranger watching the temple and chasing him away. Nia, however, promptly ran back into the temple and urged them to evacuate in light of what she saw.

Bombs. Lots of them.

In a frantic flurry, the group loaded up those who couldn't walk into a cart, and herded the others out of the town gates, while Aaaaa pulled the cart to safety. Bare seconds after they passed the gates, they were thrown to their feet as the ground was rocked by a massive explosion, followed by a chain of smaller bursts. A veritable bouquet of those signature blossoms burst into the sky- 15 circling the town, and in the center, one massive bloom visible for miles.

The whole crowd stood there, numb, staring at the calling card of death, realizing they were all that had survived of Xiao'le.

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

If you're all wondering why this blog is so quiet and why I haven't gotten back to some of you on your emails and asks, it's because you've all sent in so much :)

I'm really excited to leaf through it all and to put some of it on here. I have a lot of ideas that I think will be fun.

I am just sort of waiting until yuletide is over 😅

So don't be discouraged. Please send more, I will be getting back to this by new years start :)

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

A Call for Submissions: Beginnings-

In the spirit of Beginnings, and the birth of this blog, I ask those in the TTRPG community to send me stories of how your party met. How did your campaign begin? Where and why did it begin? Who are your PCs and what bound them together?

Ask box is open!

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

I'm running a Pathfinder adventure path called Hell's Rebels. There is a particular song that is a big deal for them to aquire the sheet music for and there's a big moment when they get to perform it. I didn't expect the book to give huge details, but there were no provided lyrics (not even fragments even though an npc mutters them cause they've gone insane) or even a handout with a few notes of sheet music. This seemed to me like too big a void for such an important narrative moment. I took to forums to try to find something I could use to help this feel more weighty. I found a set of lyrics that I didn't love but that seemed like a good start as they contained some good references to the campaign setting and related deities. I found a piece of epic instrumental music on YouTube and heavily modified the lyrics to work with it. I then recorded and edited a full song version to play for my players when they reached the epic conclusion of this story arc and enlisted my Dad to make a basic set of sheet music for the melody to use as a handout. It made what would have been a quickly described narrative moment and a casual dice roll feel like the huge victory checkpoint it was meant to be. Here is my set of lyrics:

Never say you have reached the end,

Though grey skies a dark future portends.

Soon the silver hour arrives.

Our marching steps thunder "We Survive."

From forest and peaks white with snow

We will march, whip in hand, for Kintargo!

Everywhere they spill our blood,

Watch it soak into the earth,

They will draw our courage out and see our spirit blooming forth.

Soon the morning sun will rise

Setting our new day aglow.

Quickly evil yesterdays will vanish soundly with our foe.

But if time is long till dawn,

Long before the sun appears,

Then let this song carry forth, like a signal through the years.

This song was written with our blood,

Chronicled in lines of red,

Its not just a cause or a raven overhead.

It is the people on the silver riverbanks

Singing this song of ours in files and in ranks.

Never day you've reached the end,

Though grey skies a dark future portends.

Soon the silver hour arrives.

Our marching steps thunder "We Survive!"

Soon the silver hour arrives.

Our marching steps thunder "We survive."

It was set to John Dreamer True Strength.

This ended up being a pivotal moment when it could have just been glossed over and it was such a fun session.

Submitted: 11/26/2023

Submission Type: Segment

Campaign Name: Hell's Rebels

System: Pathfinder

Files: Poetry/Music/PC Interactions/Victories/Milestones

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Thank you!

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

I had a campaign that never really took off once. Which was really unfortunate as the meat of the campaign was finding a way of killing one of the player’s seemingly immortal mother. I was real upset because I’d written this prophecy for a hag’s Legend/Lore regarding her:

As Oak leaves before Winter

Those, mournfully, were Scattered

Took root, drank deep, and splintered.

Until the silent Name be shattered

The blood of man made soil

by night and magic blessed

Bound by old root’s gnarled coil

Shall the Blood remain Possessed.

Submitted: 11/25/2023

Submission Type: Fragment

Files: Prophecy/Poetry/Lore/Worldbuilding

----

Thank you!

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

As for beginnings, I played a pretty long and extremely cool campaign with my now-partner. (I'm trying to get them to send it in to you via email because it's really something!) We had known each other for awhile and were hanging out just about every week last summer. They said they had an idea to DM a session with the two of us, and told me to make a character with a certain background. I was excited to, so I ran with it and made a new character for it. Most of their characters were older ones of theirs that they repurposed for this campaign. My character first met some of theirs when their characters tried to con mine, but took pity on him lol. We would often play for 8+ hours a day at a beautiful lake park in the sun and shade, only stopping for lunch and to look at cool bugs.

This is beautiful! I love this!

I'm happy that you got to have that time together. Both my partners played dnd with me before we got together- it was one of those things that just made us that much closer.

I would love to read about your guys' campaign (though I understand any hesitation your partner might have in sharing it).

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

A Call for Submissions: Beginnings-

In the spirit of Beginnings, and the birth of this blog, I ask those in the TTRPG community to send me stories of how your party met. How did your campaign begin? Where and why did it begin? Who are your PCs and what bound them together?

Ask box is open!

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

1. This is such a cool project - as my party's resident note-taker I love this So Much

2. Also congrats on being the 4000th blog I have followed on this tumblr account 🎉

Thank you!

I actually kinda got the idea for this because I'm a forever DM, but realized one of my players takes better notes than me and if anything were to happen the preservation of three years worth of work would fall on her. It made me realize the impermanence of this kind of thing.

Also, so honored.

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

Submitting Your Stories:

Thought I'd make a post detailing how one may go about submitting their ttrpg stories on here in a way that would personally help me archive them.

These aren't hard rules, and if you submit without adhering to them I will simply organize it myself.

If you do adhere to this, however, that's one less step I have to worry about:

1) When submitting your work, please start by telling me the "title" or "name" your party calls this particular campaign or themselves. Following with the system you are using (D&D, Pathfinder, etc.)

Please also include your country of origin and the time frame in which you were/are playing this campaign.

2) When submitting your work please header it as one of the following:

Lore: Lore is the background or world building of your TTRPG.

Character Profiles: Character Profiles are in depth descriptions of PCs or NPCs.

Fragments: Fragments are notes, drawings, maps, memes, bits of audio recordings or video that don't have a larger context and are submitted as is.

Segments: Segments are Stories (writing, drawings or recordings) that have taken place within a larger campaign or narrative, and may or may not have any in depth lore or background explanation to tell me, the archiver, why exactly this event is transpiring- but to record that it did transpire.

Exposition Dump: An Exposition Dump is a long piece of writing, audio recording, or other media that goes into detail about a campaign or the world of your ttrpg. Despite the tongue and cheek name, I want Exposition Dumps. Feel free to send them, though the best place would probably be my email. In the event you send a Dump to my email, I may post segments of it here on the blog with your permission.

Once I get some submissions, I'll try to figure out what the cataloging and archiving set up will be.

Please keep in mind, though I do love hearing comedic stories about your characters and their hijinks (being able to laugh at yourself and with your friends is part of what makes ttrpg fun) this blog was made in service of preserving stories that come from ttrpg sessions- I want to hear about the funny, but I also want to hear about the sad and devastating. The terrifying and bone chilling. The heroic and triumphant.

I want details. Even if you don't think those details will make sense to me or the reader. Write down the name of the cities and towns these events took place in. Mention the name of the BBG, even if that name means nothing to an outsider. Write about a character as if we should already know who they are.

If you send in enough submissions- things will eventually click (particularly if you send in "Lore").

And if you don't? Well, that's sometimes just the nature of folklore. Sometimes we don't have all the pieces.

That doesn't detract from its meaning.

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

The All Guardsmen Party is one of the most brilliant, funniest AARs of any TTRPG I've ever seen. Even though it is popular, it's pretty obscure and I think it deserves more spotlight :)

"These are the stories of my group's Dark Heresy campaign. So far it has been about a bunch of guardsmen who's regiment gets eaten by nids then sign up with the Inquisition as discount labor for newbie Interrogators."

Thanks for this. I personally had never heard of it. Seems like they've done a pretty good job of archiving much of their own work and I really like the idea of writing from the PC's perspective.

I'll have to look into it more.

[ttrpg-folklore-project]

Role Play is Folklore told in real time.

This blog was made in the hopes of collecting, and archiving ttrpg stories- your campaigns, the deed of your heroic PCs, the villainy of your terrible BBGs.

My name is Bix. I have a degree in both writing and literature and am a folklore enthusiast. A thought dawned on me one day. A terrible notion that shook me to my bones- one day we're all gonna die (that wasn't the notion) and, if they haven't been properly recorded, our ttrpg stories are going to go with us (that's it).

Not all of us are Matthew Mercer, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar or any number of well known role play professionals that have the time and set up to record and edit beautiful audio recordings of our sessions. Some of us (because of the kind of games we play) can't be that.

Some of us don't want to be that.

However, it still makes me sad at the prospect that so many stories could be lost- stories that speak to the time and place that we occupy. Stories that can be academically studied. Stories that can inspire.

Send me those stories.

Gush about them to me in my ask box. Send me an email. Send me art. Send me a shitty audio recording if you have it.

I'm sure there are other projects like this, but what's one more- Help me to archive this work we are all doing. I genuinely think it's important it survives.

Email: ttrpgfolkloreproject@gmail.com

Important:

Submitting Your Stories