DIRK

DETWEILER
LEICHTY
 BRING
ME
HER
BONES
AUTHOR/ ART WORK:
Dirk Detweiler Leichty
EDITING:
Andre Novoa

ISBN: 978-989-54641-3-5

LAYOUT/DESIGN: lina&nando
PRINTED IN PORTUGAL
PRINTER: Diário do Minho
DEP. LEGAL: 466937-20
[First Printing: 500 copies]

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

GAMES OMNIVOROUS
© 2020
 DIRK
DETWEILER
LEICHTY
Young king Agenor
to the Green Sun
, for peace and wealth, sold his soul
– and such has been delivered for sixty-six years.
Now old and fearing the far hells, the king has turned his worship to the BEAST,
purchasing extended life with gruesome sacrifices.

The BEAST, still hungry, and seeing the beauty of the king’s daughter Europa,
became infatuated, saying, “bring me her bones, which I will devour, and she will
be my wife,” and promised in return that the king would never die.

But the princess could not be found.

What’s this?
System-agnostic sandbox city, animated by a dynamic calendar
Die-drop astrology table handles weather, encounters and events
Self-contained and ambiguous in place and time, ready to drop into
existing games

What is required
2-5 players and referee
Characters and rules from your role-playing game of choice
Polyhedral dice: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20
Pencils and paper
SETUP: 3
THE CITY UNDER STRANGE SKIES
The city is a tiny and anachronistic monarchy, fully encompassed by a major nation and its
culture, though older traditions persist. Farms and subdevelopments stretch a few miles in
either direction along the south bank of the river.
What major nation surrounds the place?

What brings you here?

Investigate the grisly murders (p.21) or astrological phenomena
Collect the reward for the return of the missing princess (p.22)
Find the path to the Lost Moon (p.11, 25)
Succumb to the lure of treasure
Dragon’s Altar (p.44)
Chained Water Dragon (p.41)
Castle Treasury (p.35)
Bank Vault (p.36)
Or an errand of a more personal nature

What do you know?

The betrothal of Princess Europa and her subsequent disappearance are the major
topic of the city’s gossip, and plenty of braggadocious locals claim to have sighted
her about town (5 in 6 chance they are lying)
Two murder victims, at the Ranger’s Cabin and later at the Museum, were discove-
red horribly disected and lacking any of their bones. The newspapers cry for justice;
the Royal Guard promises a thorough investigation, but has offered no suspects
A new and evil omen is in the sky. Astrologers fear it, calling it the BEAST

A place to stay
Choose an unmarked building on the map, where you find your lodging; rent due at the turn
of each season.

Your landlord:
1. More like slumlord
2. Over-nurturing aunt
3. Debauched partier
4. Spy for the king
5. Devout Christian
6. Royal Guard Sergeant

Play begins as you hand off the first season's rent,

on the first new moon of green season.
MAP 4

OF THE SKIES
New signs dominate the night sky, brighter than familiar stars.

Constellations
Six of them, to watch over six seasons.

The Twins watch over the Green Season

The Vine over Harvest Season
The Temple over Fire Season
The Emperor over Frost Season
Manticore over the Dark Season
Leviathan over the Monsoons

Use a token or pencil mark to track the current season.

Arcana
Four of them, ruling over four cardinal directions.

Lilith, in the West

Mysteries, magic, blood, feminine liberation
The Singularity, in the North
???
The Lost Moon, in the East
Water, solitude, travellers, unrequited love
The Green Sun, in the South
Fire, truth, flowering plants, demonic forces

Lunar Path
Tracks the phases of the moon.
Use a token or pencil mark to track the current day.

Near Skies
The terrestrial sphere, governing weather, festival days, and the turning of seasons.
OMENS 5
Other celestial forces move among the signs and arcana and deliver portents by their con-
junction with the signs. Omens are represented by six-sided dice, dropped and scattered on
the map.

1. The BEAST
a. New in the sky, a blob of ultra darkness sloshing with red stars
b. Hunger, temptation, deceit
2. Mars
a. Red with a bright white corona
b. Violence, boldness, aesthetic attraction
3. Saturn
a. Deep purple with glitters of gold
b. Social order, agriculture, human limitation
4. Venus
a. Pale pink dot
b. Fertility, wealth, sexual attraction
5. Andromeda
a. Twinkling cluster of a million colors
b. Human greatness, taming of nature and triumph over monsters
6. Red Comet
a. Crossing the sky like a molten scar
b. Distance, the future, the echoes of past calamity
STRUCTURE 6

OF PLAY
The calendar paces events over days and seasons, and many elements of the city
interact with the changing skies.

Calendar
Track the current day and season on the sky map.

Read the Skies

Each morning, Read the Skies for the day’s portents.

Exploration Turns
Each day is divided into four Exploration Turns: morning, afternoon, evening and night.
On each turn, the players can:

Visit and explore a place on the map

Try to track down a particular person
Plan logistics and gather supplies
Rest
Or any other miscellaneous thing

Any time not clearly accounted for was likely spent

1. dealing with the city bureaucracy

2. chasing down dead-end leads
3. waiting in line
4. doubling back for things left behind
5. servicing various habits and needs
6. lost or trapped in conversation
READING 7

THE SKIES
DIE DROP ASTROLOGY
Hold 3d6, representing passing omens, six inches above the center of the sky map and drop
them; the number on the die, in combination with its location in the sky, forms a portent.

If more than one omen lands in the same space, interpret only the highest number; all other
omens in that space remain in place during the next day’s reading and are not rerolled,
though they may be knocked awry by other passing omens.

TRANSPARENCY OF OMENS
Play with the sky map revealed, and roll the omens in full sight of the players. The referee
reveals the effects of the omens throughout the day, as they occur. The players see only
the omens as they land on the sky map, and must piece together their significance
through experience.

For example, If the omens portend a meeting with “Princess Europa, in disguise,”
the referee may insert this encounter at any suitable time, in sequence with other
portents or in combination. The portents are fulfilled regardless of where the players
choose to explore.
OMENS IN 8

THE LUNAR PATH

Omens that land in the Lunar Path foretell events
of the corresponding day; these predictions come true roughly
as often as referees can work them in and remember them.

1. BEAST: another grisly murder (p.21)

2. Mars: bloody conflict or the birth of great art
3. Saturn: a fall from power or the sudden derailment
of long plans
4. Venus: a startling act of love or vengeance
5. Andromeda: the triumph of civilization over nature,
or cooperation between old enemies
6. Red Comet: SOLAR ECLIPSE; double omens!
OMENS IN 10

THE ARCANA
Omens that land in the arcana have their own nature overridden (disregard the number on
the die), and that arcanum is said to be in power in the skies.

Lilith in power: Blood moon

Supercharged magic
Law and institutional authority are weakened
Singularity in power: Transdimensional beings leak from the void (p.29); omens
remain here until knocked awry.
Green Sun in power: The dome of the sky glows emerald, with blinding flames
on the horizon
Plants thrive
Green Sun Clerics, burning sacrifices:
Gold, livestock, demonic relics, enchanted blades, one of their enemies,
one of their own
 Lost Moon in power: Another moon is in the sky, seeming very close,
with a Neon City on its face
An immortal tech utopia, heaven to countless trillion digital ghosts
The Lost Moon Oracle has been there, and back (p.25)
Walking to the Neon City
Requires a piece of the Lost Moon
Most lack the conviction to make the crucial leap
Must wait to return until the Lost Moon is next in power
Those who return find their bodies remade in perfect
biomechanical replica
OMENS IN 12

THE NEAR SKIES

Omens that land in the near skies affect the weather per the current season; the first
line indicates the default weather, if no omens interfere. The turning of the seasons
is also governed here.

a. Green season
No omen: gray sky and light rain
1. BEAST: Hailstorm!
2. Mars: Lightning!
3. Saturn: Dark clouds and rolling thunder
4. Venus: Festival! first Tulip, then Lent,
then Easter (seasons turn)
5. Andromeda: Public executions
6. Red Comet: Sunshine and rainbows
b. Harvest season:
No omen: high pollen, sexual pheromones
1. BEAST: Locusts!
2. Mars: Stampede!
(first Chickens,then Goats, Swine, Ostrich, Longhorns, Tigers)
3. Saturn: Swarms of bees!
4. Venus: Starlings blot out the sun, bristle from every line and rooftop
5. Andromeda: Festival! first Pumpkin, then Assumption,
then Solstice (seasons turn)
6. Red Comet: Sun never sets
c. Fire season:
No omen: hot and dry
1. BEAST: Fires in the city!
2. Mars: Awful heat, searing sun
3. Saturn: Choking smoke from distant wildfires
4. Venus: Wedding processions
5. Andromeda: Parade! first Circus performers,
then Fire spirits, then King’s day (seasons turn)
6. Red Comet: Wild dogs (transform into hideous men under
the full moon)
d. Frost season:
No omen: clear sky, icy dew
1. BEAST: Blizzard!
2. Mars: Mobs of merry carolers
3. Saturn: Dense fog
4. Venus: Deadly cold and biting wind
5. Andromeda: Festiva! first Ice sculpture, then Christmas,
then Epiphany (seasons turn)
6. Red Comet: Rivers freeze; mobs of ice skaters


e. Dark season:
No omen: long nights, maximum humidity
1. BEAST: Sun never rises
2. Mars: Funeral processions
3. Saturn: Festival! first Cannabis, then Halloween, then Solstice
(seasons turn)
4. Venus: Mosquito hatch
5. Andromeda: Torrential downpour
6. Red Comet: News of faraway violence
f. Monsoon season:
No omen: ceaseless rain
1. BEAST: Blood rain!
2. Mars: Flood!
3. Saturn: Pervasive mildew
4. Venus: Rats!
5. Andromeda: Doomsaying prophets
6. Red Comet: A rare clear day
(seasons turn with the third such day)
OMENS IN 14

THE SIGNS
OF THE SEASONS
1. The BEAST
a. In any sign: One star in the constellation is snuffed out.
a.I. 1-3 stars snuffed out: the Blue-eyed Prince, about town (p.20)
a.II. 4+ stars snuffed out: news of another Grisly Murder (p.21)
a.III. Fully devoured: the sign is destroyed; replace it with
the sign of the BEAST.
b. ANY omen in the sign of the BEAST: hunted by the BEAST (p.20)
2. Mars:
a. In the Twins: Cadmus and Phoenix, causing havoc (p.22)
b. In the Vine: Elemental Spirits, riled up and aggressive (p.30)
c. In the Temple: Green Sun Clerics, about some scheme (p.28)
d. In the Emperor: Royal Guard, about their business (p.25)
e. In Manticore: EARTHQUAKES; small at first but increase in severity
each time this is rolled
f. In Leviathan: WAR BLESSING; violence is empowered
3. Saturn:
a. In the Twins: PLAGUE OF BOILS
b. In the Vine: Elemental Spirits, twisted by pollution (p.30)
c. In the Temple: Cult of the BEAST (p.22)
d. In the Emperor: COLD NORTH WIND; extinguishes all natural fire
e. In Manticore: Blue-eyed Prince, about town p.20)
f. In Leviathan: Royal Guard, enforcing curfew (p.25)


4. Venus:
a. In the Twins: Princess Europa, in disguise (p.22)
b. In the Vine: Elemental Spirits, at play (p.30)
c. In the Temple: Royal procession (p.18)
d. In the Emperor: Princess Europa, on the offensive (p.22)
e. In Manticore: Princess Europa, in trouble (p.22)
f. In Leviathan: Princess Europa visits the Water Dragon (p.41)
5. Andromeda:
a. In the Twins: Cadmus and Phoenix, at leisure (p.22)
b. In the Vine: A generous and joyful mood falls on the city
c. In the Temple: Lost Moon Oracle, (p.25)
d. In the Emperor: The King’s Summons (p.18)
e. In Manticore: A dour and restless mood falls on the city
f. In Leviathan: FALLING METEORITES (Iron, gold, quartz,
exobacteria, sapient quicksilver, or piece of the Lost Moon)
6. Red comet:
a. In the current season’s sign: Good luck, magic is empowered
b. In the opposing sign: Bad luck, magical interference
c. In any other sign: TIME DRAGS ON; advance the lunar
calendar 2d6 days, or to the day of your next major plans;
it’s hard to say where the time went, but no one in the
city makes much progress.
ENCOUNTERS
1. King Agenor
a. In his youth, he sold his soul to the Green Sun for the prosperity of the kingdom
b. Recently, fearing death and the far hells, he has turned his worship to the BEAST,
and to prolong his life has promised the princess Europa as bride and sacrifice
b.I. But she has run away
b.II. A large sum is promised in reward for her return
c. On his person:
c.I. The King’s Key: Unlocks the Canal Fort Vault (p.41) and the Crystal Gate (p.35)
c.II. Crown of Greed and Wisdom: A gift of the Green Sun. The wearer sees
two paths before them, unwinding through time, sometimes crossing
or overlapping. The left path is the way of greed, and those who walk
it see their fortunes grow; the right path is the way of wisdom,
and leads to peace and interpersonal harmony.
c.II.1. While you wear the crown, you may always ask the referee
where the paths would lead you
c.III. Bodashtart’s Scepter: Feared by all spirits and creatures of water
d. The king’s summons
d.I. A letter, delivered by courier and stamped with the royal seal,
calls you to the castle
d.I.1. To be conscripted into the search for the princess, or some
more minor errand
d.I.2. Or, if you’ve made yourself a suspect, for interrogation,
imprisonment and torture
e. Royal procession
e.I. Trumpeters, criers, guards, and hangers-on surround the King’s
palanquin and clear a path through the city
e.II. Attendants shower onlookers with coins and candy,
attracting a throng of joyful gleaners

18
2. Blue-eyed Prince
 a. The BEAST in sweet guise
b. Must marry the Princess Europa and then feast on her bones to manifest
his true form on earth
b.I. And then eat everyone right up, game over
c. Charming and beloved by everyone but Europa, who hates him, perceiving his
wickedness despite ignorance of his awful nature
d. On his person:
d.I. The Prince’s Key: Unlocks the Ark of the BEAST (p.36) and the private
cabin on the Prince’s Yacht (p.38)
d.II. Tiny Clay Man: A three-inch-tall clay homunculus, the Prince’s invisible
hand. Fiercely loyal and fearsome in battle, with uncanny strength for
his size
e. The Prince, about town
e.I. Rescuing children from fire, plague or poverty
e.II. Entertaining beautiful women with self-deprecating wit
e.III. Captivating crowds with impromptu angelic song
e.IV. Melting the heart of some notorious churl
e.V. Mollifying violence with vulnerability and compassion
e.VI. Crunching on dog bones in a dark alley
f. Grisly murders
f.I. A trail of de-boned corpses has materialized in the weeks since the prince’s
arrival, including the scenes of carnage at the Ranger’s Cabin (p.39) and on
the third floor of the Museum (p.44)
f.II. Rumor attributes these murders to a “horned monster;” but all of the eye
witnesses have since disappeared
g. Hunted by the BEAST
g.I. Prefers victims with magical power or good moral fiber
g.II. Clattering toward you on dozens of twisted hooves
g.II.1. Or standing stock-still in the dark
g.III. Gores with black cork-screw horns
g.IV. Incredibly strong prehensile lips peel the skeleton out of its body
g.V. Huge flat teeth and massive jaw grind the bones
g.VI. Only a shard of the Crystal Eruption can wound it (p.36)
g.VI.1. And send it fleeing to the Ark (p.36)
g.VII. Can’t cross the river

21
3. Cult of the BEAST
a. Moving incognito in circles of influence
b. Or gathering in dark rooms to chant and plan sacrifices
b.I. Which they consume upon the Fang Altar (p.39) for their master’s glory
c. Among them:
c.I. The wives of Cadmus and Phoenix
c.II. Bank agents, carrying the Vault Key (p.36)
c.III. Spies for the Green Sun
c.IV. Royal Guard sergeant, carrying the Guard’s Key (p.35)
c.V. Princess Europa in disguise
c.VI. King Agenor in disguise
d. The BEAST’s Blessing (lasts d6 minutes)
d.I. Jaw explodes with huge grinding teeth
d.II. Finger and toenails grow into jagged sharp claws
d.III. Muscles bulge with evil strength
d.IV. Consuming the bones of a living sacrifice reverses a year of aging
d.V. Teeth and nails fall out when the blessing ends; cultists wear dentures
and gloves to conceal their taxed condition

4. Princess Europa
a. Agenor’s daughter
b. Has run away to escape her betrothal to the Blue-eyed Prince
c. But lingers in the city to free her true love, the Water Dragon, from the king’s bondage (p.41)
d. So that they may escape together beyond the sea
e. On her person:
e.I. Silver dagger, smoke bombs, pepper spray
e.II. Cute-but-vicious pet
f. Myriad disguises:
f.I. Street performer
f.II. Royal Guard
f.III. Foreign magnate
f.IV. Old crone
f.V. Bellhop
f.VI. Bush
g. She makes her hideout in the Condemned factory (p.40)

5. Cadmus and Phoenix

a. Sons of Agenor, sent to find their sister Europa, though ignorant of the king’s
dark worship
b. Eager to outdo one another with acts of bold conquest and heroism,
that they might be named their father’s successor
c. Both of them prodigious fighters
d. And bad magicians
e. What havoc?
e.I. A huge fiery explosion
e.II. Everyone in the city loses their voice for d6 days
e.III. Mass body switching within 30 feet, d6 hours
e.IV Plague of toads
e.V. Naked giants wrestle in the street

22
e.VI. Sucking or spewing portal to the land of… (spiders, giant
lizards, boiling acid, brine, the dead, everlasting peace)
6. Royal Guard
a. Under orders to arrest Princess Europa (unharmed!)
and any of her known contacts
b. And to keep the peace in the city
c. Fancy regalia
d. Antique but deadly weaponry:
d.I. Rifle and bayonet
d.II. Spiked mace
d.III. Repeating crossbow
d.IV. Barbed whip
d.V. Blunderbuss
d.VI. Brace of pistols
e. Among each group is a sergeant carrying the Guard’s Key (p.35), and
e.I. Hounds, trained to the princess’s scent
e.II. Wand of counterspelling (3 uses)
e.III. Purse heavy with bribes
e.IV. Vial of amphetamine
e.V. Magic lantern that reveals the invisible
e.VI. Princess Europa in disguise
f. About their business:
f.I. Uselessly interrogating the innocent
f.II. Off-duty drinking and roughhousing
f.III. Escorting prisoners, or
f.IV. Chasing fugitives (political enemies, violent criminals, witnesses
to the BEAST’s crimes, someone of particular value to you, someone
they’ve mistaken for the princess)
f.v. Conducting random searches
f.vi. Coming to arrest you, with or without cause

7. Lost Moon Oracle

a. Who has been to the Neon City and returned (p.11)
b. Glowing blue circuits run under the skin
b.I. Body is a hyperadvanced biosynthetic replicant
b.II. Digital soul housed in a chip at the base of the skull
b.III. Upgraded sensor package
b.IV. Personal teleporter
c. An amoral, apolitical, asexual hermit
d. Cares only for weighty cosmological matters
d.I. And, secretly, for tea and gossip
e. Disturbed by the arrival of the BEAST, but watching with morbid curiosity
f. On her person:
f.I. Lost Moon Fragment
f.II. Sealing Scroll
f.II.1. Black and violet runes unspool to form the Eastern Sky Seal,
an unbreakable barrier that can encompass an area up to the size
of a small house; the seal weakens when the Lost Moon is in power.
f.II.2. The seal can be removed only by gathering it back into the scroll
f.II.3. If the scroll is destroyed, nothing can remove the seal
g. The Lost Moon’s blessing (lasts 1 season)
g.I. Walk on water; hide in moonshadows

25
 (Full Maps
in the back)
8. Green Sun Clerics
a. Long the King’s most trusted advisors and soothsayers
b. But recently spurned as the Agenor turns his worship to the BEAST
b.I. They blame the Blue-eyed Prince for their fall in favor,
but are ignorant of the monster inside him
c. Eager to regain their influence, by various schemes
c.I. Undermining the Blue-eyed Prince with planted evidence and vile rumor
c.II. Aggressively collecting tithes
c.III. Seeking permits and patrons for a grand new temple
c.IV. Sending spies among the cult of the BEAST
c.V. Riling up their congregants with hellfire rhetoric
c.VI. As a last resort, doing good work on behalf of the poor
d. Can summon a cage of fire when the Green Sun is in power
e. The Green Sun’s blessing (lasts 1 season)
e.I. Ears burn painfully and turn visibly red when they hear deliberate
falsehood, including your own
e.II. And plants you care for thrive

28
9. Transdimensional Beings
a. Massless ghosts escaped from the Singularity
b. Their bodies are zones of warped space animated by indecipherable intelligence
c. Can occupy vast and noncontiguous area
d. Stepping through a transdimensional being delivers a creature of matter
to another location, randomly or by alien logic. Along the way:
d.I. Mind-wracking attempts at communication
d.II. Visions of bizarro worlds
d.III. Infected by benign psychic parasites
d.IV. Physical appearance randomized
d.V. Evil twin spawns at another random location
e. Missing in another dimension for d6 hours--return having aged d6 years!
10. Elemental Spirits
a. Spirits appear per the season; each season’s spirits die to give birth to the next:
a.I. Green spirits
a.I.1. Rolling carpets of chest-high grass, prairie flowers and vegetable
vines, gliding through greenways on roots like millions of tiny legs,
or disguised as natural flora
a.I.2. They cross paved ground slowly and at great discomfort
a.I.3. And are full of bees in daylight
a.I.4. As the season wanes, the vines birth gourds in every shape and
shade, which ripen into harvest spirits as the plants wither and die
a.II. Harvest spirits
a.II.1. Hopping jack-o-lanterns, hiding on porches among their inanimate fellows
a.II.2. Sadistic, mischievous and mean
a.II.3. d6 mature seeds inside
a.II.3.a. When planted, a twenty foot vine rapidly grows, fruits
and withers; the fruit are malformed and nonviable
harvest spirits, which quickly die
a.II.3.b. blesses fertility when eaten, and cures most diseases
a.II.4. As the season wanes, a flame grow in the gourd’s cavity.
By the Solstice, the fire escapes its shell and the gourd is
consumed by the emerging fire spirit
a.III. Fire spirits
a.III.1. Wearing the shape of human warriors or predatory animals,
or hidden in natural flames
a.III.2. As the season wanes, cold winds diminish the fire; by the frost, flames die
to leave behind two lumps of coal, which become the eyes of a frost spirit
a.III.3. Fire spirits can postpone this death by binding themselves
to a hearth, but they require ever-increasing quantities of fuel
a.IV. Frost spirits
a.IV.1. Snowmen animated by eyes of magic coal; standing very still
or hiding in a snow drift
a.IV.2. Prodigious snowball fighters, and quite territorial
a.IV.3. The snow melts as the season wanes, and the spirit’s coal eyes
disintegrate, leaving black particles to hang in the humid air and
reconstitute as a dark spirit
a.V. Dark spirits
a.V.1. Specters of silent soot, blackening everything in their wake; they seek
dark cubbies to settle into, exploding in a great puff when disturbed
a.V.2. Soot-covered creatures are invisible under the new moon and on
Halloween
a.V.3. As the season turns, rain pummels the soot into gray sludge, which
becomes the body of a monsoon spirit. Some dark spirits linger
many years indoors, hiding from the rain and becoming increasingly
turbulent and paranoid
a.VI. Monsoon spirits
a.VI.1. Puddles of sludge, creeping through pipes and waterways, or
hiding in bed-pans, toilets and rubbish
a.VI.2. Or seeping down your throat in your sleep
a.VI.3. The stuff of their corpus, when cast in human shape and fired in
a hot kiln, becomes a clay homunculus; baking a drop of your
blood into the homunculus binds it to your service
a.VI.4. As the season turns, monsoon spirits seek arable plots to make
their graves, where green spirits soon grow on their fine fertilizer
31
VISITOR’S GUIDE
1. WOLF ISLAND

a. D6 mangy wolves patrol the shore for fish

and garbage, desperate and aggressive
a.I. In Green season: d6 pups whine in a nearby den
a.II. Under the full moon: the wolves transform into pitiful men and women
a.II.1. Too fearful and discombobulated to flee the island, they cower
in shallow dens, fingertips bloody from frantic digging
a.II.2. The king’s most despised prisoners, sent here to suffer the wolf curse
b. Drooping spruce trees conceal a moss-eaten hut
b.I. Wolf pelts piled on the floor; underneath, a hatch leads to an earthen cellar
b.I.1. Root vegetables packed in sand and jars of preserves
b.I.2. An earthen tunnel leads to the castle dungeons
b.II. In Dark or Monsoon season: The wolf magus is here
b.II.1. Cosmically evil, personally pious
b.II.2. Can shapeshift into a wolf at will
b.II.3. Under the full moon, turns into a ravenous wolf-man and hunts
the island’s prisoners
b.II.4. Under the new moon, can perform the wolf curse:
b.II.4.a. A wolf pelt stitched to the skin confines you to lupine form
b.II.4.b. You may escape this condition during the full moon,
or, permanently, by devouring the wolf magus’s guts

2. QUIET HIVE
a. Atop twisting stone towers, rough apertures open to a maze of tunnels
b. Beyond winding and criss-crossing miles, the tunnels terminate in a huge
underground cavern, hundreds of feet long and high
b.I. An underground river runs along the cavern’s west edge, the roar of
rushing water resounds
b.II. The floor is smooth marble, etched all over with complex runes
b.II.1. and bisected by a long crack, as wide a hand’s breadth in the center
b.II.2. The crack widens with each Earthquake
b.III. Under Mars, and all through Fire Season, crimson beetles crawl from the crack
b.III.1. The emerging beetles get bigger as the crack widens
b.III.2. Rock eaters
b.III.2.a. Will attack if threatened or in pursuit of rare minerals
 35
3. ROYAL CASTLE

a. Royal Guard watches the gate

and patrols the walls
b. Front gate
b.I. Heavy portcullis,
closed at night
b.II. Visitors on official
business only
c. Outer walls
c.I. Infested with bureaucratic offices
c.II. Queues of petitioners seek various permits,
judgements and disbursements
d. Observatory tower
d.I. Star charts and telescopes
d.II. Read astrological portents up to five days in advance
d.III. The Lost Moon Oracle (p.25) is here if no omen place
her elsewhere
e. Treasury tower
e.I. Houses the crown jewels and dozens of minor magical
and archaeological artifacts
e.II. Locked with the King’s Key (p.18)
f. Dungeons
f.I. Locked with the Guard’s Key (p.25)
f.II. D12 prisoners distributed sparsely among hundreds of tiny cells
f.II.1. Political prisoner
f.II.2. Jewel thief
f.II.3. Fraudster
f.II.4. Heretic
f.II.5. Wanton murderer
f.II.6. Witness to the king’s crimes
f.III. Two of the cells open on earthen tunnels, leading to Wolf Island
and the Bunker
f.IV. Beyond the cells, a steep spiral stair to the Crystal Gate
f.IV1. Locked with the King’s Key (p.18)
f.IV2. Leads to the ritual chamber below the Crystal Eruption
 36
4. CRYSTAL ERUPTION

a. Aftermath of a tragic ritual; site of the old castle,
swallowed by the earth
b. A massive astrological antenna
c. The crystal is extremely hard; impossible to damage
c.I. Except on the full moon or when Andromeda
is in the BEAST’s sign
c.II. Glows red and produce mild heat
in frost season
d. Ritual Chamber
d.I. Accessible through the Castle Dungeons
d.II. Ark of the BEAST
d.II.1. A smooth black cabinet, locked with the Prince’s Key (p.21)
d.II.2. Glowing red pustules cling to the inside
d.II.3. Burrowing larvae burst from the pustules when disturbed
d.II.3.a. Bore through flesh and bone to succor on sweet marrow

5. BUNKER

a. Locked with the Guard’s Key (p.25)
b. Full of preserved food, weapons and emergency supplies
c. An earthen tunnel leads to the Castle Dungeons (p.35)

6. BANK OF THE CROWN

a. Credit available
b. On the day before the new moon, noises from the vault
b.I. The cult of the BEAST keeps their kidnapped
sacrifices here, destined to be consumed
the next night upon the Fang Altar (p.39)
b.II. Chained among stacks of gold bars
 37
7. IPPODROMO

a. Flat racing every non-festival day during Green season; jump racing
in Harvest season
b. Horses:
b.I. Red Bucephalus (the King’s Stallion)
b.I.1. Always wins
b.II. Callus Creature (Filly)
b.III. Bride of Manticore (Filly)
b.IV. Sprite (Gelding)
b.V. Heavenly Majesty (Filly)
b.VI. Dreams of Sara (Gelding)
b.VII. Holy Mother (Stallion)
b.VIII. Roustabout (Princess Europa’s Filly)
b.VIII.1. 2 in 6 chance the jockey is Europa in disguise
b.IX. Inheritance (Gelding)
b.X. Eat crow (Stallion)
b.XI. Librarian (Stallion)
b.XII. Horns of plenty (Goat)
 38
8. PRINCE’S YACHT

a. For the fashionable conveyance
of the Blue-eyed Prince
b. The Prince is here 1 in 6 times,
if no portent places him elsewhere
c. In Fire season, there is always a party here,
full of the most despicable rich and worshipers
of the BEAST
d. Homunculus servants crew the ship
d. I. Appear human except under a new or half-moon or during Halloween,
which reveals them as creatures crudely shaped from clay
d.II. Believe themselves true humans, rejecting all evidence to the contrary
d.III. Despite lacking any but the vaguest memories of life before coming
to the city
e. The captain is also a homunculus, more adroitly crafted
e.I. Secretly sentient; hates the prince for her making
e.II. Concealing an arsenal of body-integrated blades and projectiles
f. Private Cabin (locked with the Prince’s Key)
f.I. Arcane scrolls
f.I.1. Ritual instructions for creating homunculi from Monsoon spirits (p.30)
f.II. Icebox
f.II.1. Full of bones. Claw marks where the flesh has been roughly flayed
off, bits of frozen meat still cling here and there, and a scrap of
uniform from the murdered ranger (p.39)

9. SCULPTURE GARDEN

a. A gang of raccoons enforces a regime of terror
b. Garbage everywhere
 39
10. RANGER’S CABIN

a. The ranger was recently found murdered, horribly
dissected and lacking any of his bones
a.I. A notice from the royal guard declares
the place off limits
a.II. Walls and ceiling still spattered with blood
a.III. Front door shattered from the outside; a scrap of embroidered silk
caught in the splinters, the Blue-left by eyed Prince
b. A hungry cat lingers nearby or shelters inside; cries for food,
hates the Blue-eyed prince

11. FANG ALTAR

a. Dried blood in the crevices
b. On the new moon, or when the BEAST is in his own sign,
the faithful gather (p.22)
c. And give their bodies to the BEAST as vessels. Once possessed,
they consume their bound sacrifice upon the altar:
c.I. Goat
c.II. Bull
c.III. Condemned criminal
c.IV. Green sun cleric
c.V. Kidnapped innocent
c.VI. Someone of particular value to you
 40
12. CONDEMNED FACTORY

a. Huge broken mechanical looms and dying vats sloshing
with ancient muck
b. Rusty catwalks above the vats
c. One of the vats is dry
c.I. Princess Europa’s hideout
c.II. Covered in fine rugs and tapestry
c.III. Racks of couture and disguises
c.IV. She’s here if no omen places here elsewhere

13. OPERA

a. Performances each non-festival night during
dark season
b. Hosts a travelling menagerie during harvest
and fire season
 41
14. CHAINED WATER DRAGON

a. Only appears at night when any omen is in Leviathan
b. God of the river, and the King’s prisoner
c. In love with Princess Europa, who returns his affection; wants to break
his cage and escape with her beyond the sea
d. The city’s earliest kings worshiped the water dragon, and made sacrifices
to tame the river that is his domain. Jealous of these tithes, Agenor tricked
the river god into bondage, saying, “I see the budding love between you
and the princess; give me your heart and I will present it to her as your
wedding gift.”
d.I. But instead he hid the Dragon’s Heart in a tower vault, cursing him
to bondage.
e. The Water Dragon’s Blessing (lasts 1 season)
e. I. Magically conceals you from those who hunt you and proofs
you against harsh weather

15. CANAL FORT

a. Garrisons a hundred of the guard, working in three shifts
b. A vault at the top of the center tower holds the Water Dragon’s Heart
b.I. Warded with the Eastern Sky Seal (p.25) and locked with the King’s Key (p.18)
b.II. The room directly below the vault contains a scrying pool
b.II.1. Silvery plasm drips from the ceiling into the pool, mystic seepage
from the Water Dragon’s Heart above
b.II.2. While submerged in the pool, you can remotely view any place
in the north city
b.II.3. D6 scriers in the pool, surrounded by doctors and police officials
b.II.4. When the BEAST is in Leviathan, the pool instead gives
visions of catastrophic celestial warfare
16. MAUSOLEUM

a. A fine cord ties the doors closed, visible only under moonlight. The cord
can’t be cut or broken, and the knots are an insanity-provoking tangle
a.I. If, by great pains, it is removed, the cord tries to return to its post,
slithering out of pockets and across any distance to tie itself again
across the doors
b. Stone stairs descend to a chamber below the canal, water drips from the ceiling
and runs out a channel through a crack in the wall
b.I. A stone sarcophagus in the center of the room
b.I.1. Burn a bit of corpse flesh within to summon the ghost of
the deceased
b.I.2. Wealth burned in the coffin is transferred to the ghost
in the afterlife
b.II. Ghosts are made of faint smells and whispers, but turn corporeal
and violent on Halloween or when Mars is in Manticore
b.III. Whose spirit lingers here?
b.III.1. Dragon Queen Alashiya, last of a line of queens wed
to the Water Dragon, forgotten by history
b.III.2. Bodashtart, first king of the City and tamer of rivers
b.III.3. Zakar-Baal, fifth king of the City, who first unearthed the ark
of the BEAST, and sealed it below thick crystal
b.III.4. Feanor the thief, who died in the castle dungeons a hundred
years ago
b.III.5. Constance Crum, founder of the Museum, who dredged
the Dragon’s Altar from the river
b.III.6. A mean old barking dog
 43
17. WELL-WISHER’S WATER

a. Surrounded by fat toads, except in Frost season.

b. A thirsty old pool that rewards sacrifices

SACRIFICE REWARD DETAILS

Pennies Nothing Sucker
A little wealth Roll a new omen A well-known ritual, many come here each
day to seek new portents
A lot of wealth Luck blessing Only under the full moon. For the rest of the
season, you may reroll one omen per day.
Piece of the Lost Invisible sword Ice cold and terribly sharp; drinks blood
Moon
Water Dragon’s Rampage The well-wisher possesses the Water Dragon
Heart to trash around the city eating people whole
and guzzling treasure (game over)
Clay Homunculus Real boy So many new feelings
Magic lantern Eyes that pierce Must be manually installed
illusion and
darkness
Royal spleen Immortality Only in Dark season when the BEAST is in
Manticore
Your body, Power and The well-wisher offers this only to those who
as vessel servitude have made pleasing sacrifices. You become an
avatar of the evil old god of the wishing well
and can afflict objects with the toad curse.

c. The bottom of the pool glitters with cursed treasure

c.I. If stolen treasure is not returned before sunrise, the thief is turned
into a toad
 44
18. MUSEUM

a. Ground floor: Antiquities and classical sculpture

b. 1st floor: Hundreds of portraits documenting the lineage of the city’s major families
c. 2nd floor: Erotic woodcuts
d. 3rd floor: Closed for repair
d.I. A curator was murdered here recently
d.II. The floor is still littered with broken fragments of bucchero pottery,
waiting in situ to be catalogued by conservationists
d.III. “Her skeleton was ripped out,” a helpful attendant
informs you, “wait, you shouldn’t be in here...”
e. 4th floor: Visiting exhibits:
e.I. Impressionist masters
e.II. Icons of the Saints of the Far Hells
e.III. Tombs of the Pharaohs
e.IV. Humorless performance art
e.V. Inscrutable installations
e.VI. Painting elephant; a giant crane was involved
in getting it up here, now broken
f. Top floor: Dragon’s Altar
f.I. Large bronze scale, incredibly lifelike texture
f.II. Weighs a ton
f.III. The vessel in which the old kings would burn sacrifices to the
Water Dragon

19. GLASS DOME

a. 3d6 Water Dragon Spawn are being incubated here

b. Under the watch and care of d6 Quack Scientists,
with d6 competing theories for the best care of these
difficult creatures, who die and kill with maddening caprice
b.I. “The project is progressing smoothly, your majesty”
 45
20. GOLF COURSE

a. Club house:
a.I. Members only; lengthy
recommendation process
a.II. Non-members can access the course for a daily fee
b. Golfers:
b.I. Foreign oligarchs with limited local language skills
b.II. Green sun clerics (p.28)
b.III. Princess Europa in disguise (p.22)
b.IV. Bank agents on their day off; worship the BEAST (p.22)
b.V. Young golf prodigy and their hard-nosed trainer
b.VI. Blue-eyed Prince (p.20)
c. Caddies:
c.I. Peter will keep his mouth shut and ears open
c.II. Paul will critique your form and invite you for drinks after
c.III. John will confess heinous crimes he’s committed at the behest
of the BEAST
c.IV. Barabbas will lead you through a shortcut to be ambushed and
kidnapped for sacrifice
d. Fairie copse: Fairie spirits practice their swings under every half-moon
and throughout green season, driving a hail of golf balls down upon anyone
out on the course at night
CITY BURNER
Fill in unlabelled areas as your judgement demands, or use the tables below
46

Building features:
1. Hidden passages, spies in the walls
2. Haunted
3. Owned by the crown
4. Infested with Dark Spirits (p.30)
5. A bound Fire Spirit in the hearth or furnace (p.30)
6. Strange hours
7. For sale
8. Vacant and decaying
9. Owners feuding with their neighbors
10. Owners worship the BEAST

On street level
1. Casino
2. Embassy
3. Dance club
4. Bar (Coffee, Wine, Hookah, Hash, something more exotic, something more sinister)
5. Gallery
6. Temple (Lost moon, Green Sun, Catholic, Buddhist)
7. Bath, spa, or salon
8. Restaurant (d6 out of 6 stars)
9. Market (grocery, pharmacy, antiques, furs, hard goods, specialized tools)
10. College (seminary, astronomy, archaeology, embalming, medicine, law)
 47

And above,
1. Hotel
2. Apartments
3. Offices (bureaucrats, lawyers, detectives, doctors, newspapers, bankers)
4. Black market (weapons, drugs, forged documents, forbidden magic,
exotic animals, smut)
5. Artist’s studio
6. Black chapel: worshipers of the BEAST convene under the full moon (p.22)
7. Coven
8. Cloister
9. Brothel
10. Boxing gym

Roof
1. Glass atrium
2. Clay tiles
3. Garden terrace
4. Water tower
5. Pigeon coops
6. Spires and Gargoyles
7. Citrus hothouse
8. Guard outpost
9. Swimming pool
10. Billboard
 48

Basement: d6-3 floors

1. Parking
2. Warehouse
3. Tunnel connecting to the castle dungeon
4. Tunnel connecting to another random building
5. Illegal fighting ring or betting parlor
6. Ice house
7. Old crypt
8. Underground river
9. Storage units
10. Secret Laboratory

While crossing the park, you

encounter...
1. Badminton courts; turned to skating rinks in frost season
2. Hedge maze
3. Graveyard
4. Petrified wood
5. Kennelled hounds
6. Huge hollow tree
7. Dark crevasse full of vampire bats
8. Dry well full of vipers
9. Street food
10. Roaring fountain
 49

Concealed nearby...
1. Great big bear!
2. Forbidden lovers
3. Tunnel leading to a random building
4. Racoons, ready to pounce
5. Elemental Spirits (p.30)
6. Discarded murder weapon
7. Spies
8. Stolen jewels
9. Grisly Murder
10. Kittens!
APPENDIX 50
Keys and connecting threads

King’s Key
Carried on His Majesty’s person (p.18)
Unlocks the Canal Fort vault (p.41) and the Crystal Gate (p.35)

Guard’s key
Carried by Sergeants of the Royal Guard (p.25)
Unlocks the Bunker (p.36) and the Castle dungeons (p.35)

Prince’s Key
Carried by the Blue-eyed Prince (p.20)
Unlocks the Ark of the BEAST (p.36) and the icebox on the Prince’s yacht (p.38)

Sealing Scroll
Carried by the Lost Moon Oracle (p.25)
Controls the seal on the Canal Fort Vault (p.41)

Piece of the Lost Moon

Falls from the sky in meteor showers (p.15)
A token of passage to the Neon City (p.11)