Continuing with the "Old Man on the porch"

This here is a continuation of my last post give it a look for some context and the same content warnings apply here too

So You've heard of the old man and now you want to meet him, taste his power, madness and rage. for that you must walk to his porch.

His home lies hidden in the old woods, not the lord's woods, neither the woods where hunters and loggers go to get their feed or where brigands and witches meet for their schemes. No the Old Man lives where the mad scream until their throats bleed, the woods where children dare each other to spend a night in and never come back, where impossible lovers make their last vows and take each other's life. These are the woods where the elderly and sick march into without telling anyone, and no one comes looking.

The trees are tall and the canopy thick enough that it is always as dark as right before the night. The ground is overwhelmed by thick and knotted roots that make traversal slow and cumbersome the branches on trees seem always to be thick enough to hold the weight of a person. Other than the plants there is very little native animal life here, only the carrion eating birds and insects, but the deeper you go the less of them you see. The carrion they eat is normally a human body swaying with the wind, it's face forever locked in misery yet little to no marks of struggle*, Some times you find animal corpses, always jaunted and sickly looking and with a emptiness in their eyes.

While travelling into the woods one always feels watched, but there never seems to be a watcher to be found.

Walking down the woods is a bleak experience and very taxing, that is the Old man's price, he cares not for your gold, he wants your hope drained into hate, if you intend on having an audience with him your legs will move with the determination that comes with anger and frustration.  Else the forest will crush you under the millstone of melancholy.

Finding the Old Man's house

Look at the roots, learn to see where the corpses are pointing too. There are no trails in the woods and marking one is a pointless effort.

You will walk and every night you spend in the woods you will age (no save required). Try not to pay attention to the sorrowful whispers and push onward. You will find a clearing and at the center of this clearing there will be his cabin and on the porch, rocking with the gentleness of dementia will be the Old Man. Offer him cheap alcohol and tobacco, wait and listen to his whispers.

d12 encounters in the Old woods

1. an emaciated horse stumbles and dies.
2. your ration rots, eaten by sorrow bug grubs.
3. the sound of rope tightening, gagging, you find a fresh corpse.
4. a small altar, it's idol profane. Two dead bodies, daggers in each others' heart.
5. screams of madness that follow the party, the screamer is never found.
6. a Noose devil flies up above, it picked up the scent of one party member.
7. a wheelchair bound priest pushed by a tall and dark figure he smells of dust and may give. directions to the Cabin or the Black Chapel, he isn't so sure.
8. prepared spells are wasted.
9. a cemetery, if the graves are dug they are all empty and smell of sulfur.
10. A bottle of cachaça, still full harsh tasting, inside it there is a rusted key.
11. Ruined building, seemed to be an asylum, papers eaten by termites and all signs faded.
12. The black chapel flies up above.

*searching the bodies found in the wood will always produce a suicide note in addition to whatever else rolled.

Notes/thoughts:
- A very Bleak place to add to your world, have fun.

- Soon a bestiary

-And an explanation on the Chapel

Transforming one of my favorite bands into a spell Patron/Encounter

*Content Warning: Suicide, Melancholy*

Velho is one of the greatest bands you (probably) never heard. They're a Brazillian Black Metal band that sings about occultism, misanthropy and satanism and the best part, it's all in Portuguese!

Give them a Listen

But this here isn't a blog about bands from my local scene, and I've had this idea in the back of my mind since I read Esoteric Enterprises. For those that haven't had the chance of taking a look at this game Instead of a cleric class you can Play as a mystic, who's basically a cultist for a minor/occult being from saints to the blackness of space. On top of that the system for creation new patrons is fairly simple and interesting. Basically you have a list of 8 spells, the first one is always the same and you later unlock random spells from the list per level.

In this article I'll create a new patron that can be added to your games as well as some spells based on the bands' lyrics.

New Patron: O Velho na Soleira (The Old man on the porch)
The Lord of decrepitude and dementia. The creaking floorboards discolored by dust and lost time. You hear his voice as the rambling of the mad war veteran whose taken to begging on the streets. You can find his messages scribed in the slurry behind the family diner that has fallen to disrepair. He is the rage of the old man whose body can't help but buck under the weight of the years while his mind is still sharp. The despair that doesn't allow you to get of bed before noon. The Old man is there, his dead skin dry and dusty, his hair ever growing the mirror that reminds us all that time is the apex predator and time itself will be devoured by entropy.

Walk to his porch, kneel by his feet and listen to what he whispers.

Spells:

1. Mais um ano esfria (Another year gets colder)
Range: Touch
Duration: forever
When the target is touched he must save vs. Spells or age 1d6 years/caster level. usually when a character ages he gets to take a save and see if they mitigate attribute loss, when targeted by this spell count those saves as failures or critical failures if your system uses them. This spell can also be cast against inanimate and non-living objects.

2. Vida Longa ao Primitivo (long live the primitve)
R: Touch
D: 1 turn/ caster level
Many spells are created to "uplift" creatures, this one throws the target into the opposite end of this spectrum. For the duration of the spell the target becomes a bestial version of themselves, ruled by desire filtered by rage for everything that reminds them that this is not what they are. They now attack as a fighter of the same level while also adding their strength modifier and level to their damage and attack rolls. After the spell is done the target is usually taken over by fits of sobbing and shivering as they are still able to remember all that they have done and said while under the old man's grasp.

3. Decrepitude e Sabedoria  (Decrepitude and knowledge)
R: Caster
D: 1 turn/Caster level
The caster becomes a Wretched little old thing. Their body twists into a shape so pathetic that they are usually ignored by those around them (add their level to their stealth score, but their movement becomes the slowest possible.) but with age also comes Wisdom. While under this spell they gain a bonus to any test they'd make to gleam forbidden/forgotten knowledge  about their current location.

4. Uma trilha sem pegadas (Unmarked Trail)
R: 20 feet
D: 1 day/ Level
Grind the bones of an undead creature and spread it while walking through a secondary path (so no main roads or avenues) those under the spell's radius won't leave tracks until the spell wears off.

5. Perto dos portais da loucura  (Near the gates of madness)
R: 30 feet
D: Instant
Take an old key that you've forgotten what it opens and take it to any surface, there will be a lock there. Turn the key and now all that are inside the spell's area of effect will see in the edge of their sight and hear at the edge of their hearing the things that lie beyond the threshold of sanity. All Save Vs. Magic every round if failed the character is stunned and can't make sense of what is happening around them fro the duration of the round. critical failure the character goes stark-raving mad as they manage to see that which lies beyond. Success the character may act and have a bonus to their rolls as they can glean insight from the maddening whispers. A critical success the character may ask a Question to the mad choir. after one character is able to ask a question the madness will not answer any other question with coherence. The spell lasts while the key is held by the caster.

6. Funeral Magiko (Magick Funeral)
R: Touch
D: Instant
This spell must be cast on a fresh corpse or on someone who's about to die. After a proper burial ritual that body is physically taken to hell. It is a way of bringing someone back to life, but they must find a way out of hell. If the target had sold their soul o a Demon/Devil the caster just made a powerful enemy. Targets to this spell need at least their torso and head intact, the rest of the body can be found after the plunge into hell as the extremities don't hold much of the soul.

7. Coma Induzido (Induced Coma)
R: Caster or Touch
D: 1 week/ Level
When cast the target fall into a deep and dreamless coma, they don't require food and also minimal air. If not thoroughly inspected they seem to be dead. Unless dispelled the coma only ends after the spell's duration is over.

8. Sob o maldito verão do Sul  (Under the Damned Summer of the South)
R: 100 feet
D: 1 round / Level + level
the target must save vs. breath weapon every round as they are taken over by a dank and creeping heat. If they fail their save every round is spent getting rid of their layers of clothing and equipment, characters in plate always fail their first save. After getting naked, if the spell is still going on the characters are overcome in grief and melancholy as they are powerless against the heat, they keep on saving or else they begin to strip their bodies to the bone.

Notes/ Thoughts:

-If you are using a miscast table for your magic system members of this cult age the amount rolled on the dice as well as the miscast.

-These are the spells that the old man teach to those that come to him, characters should be able to use more spells from other sources so to allow for interesting combinations

-Always remember to check with your players if they are okay with you tackling themes of mental illness in your games.

-More things on the old man coming soon...