Rumour table for Gog-Magog

On the Isle of Dread, a community of rebels squatting inside a giant skull. They call the settlement Gog-Magog. Mostly Shalk (human and half-elf) escaped from the treacherous Prince Henri of Fort Akor, they have been joined by survivors of Skinwalker raids (tabaxi, lizardfolk, Olman humans), and miscellaneous drifters from around the region. In the space of a few months, the place has attracted a bit of a reputation.

The following rumour table is intended for Gog-Magog, but could be used for areas within the Seven Villages region, with some on-the-fly adaptation, in case I don't end up writing a proper rumour table for those :'(

Roll and use the whole line as-is, or do a couple rolls to mix-and-match

Players: no peeking!

	How you meet ‘em	Description	Qoute	Name
1	A ragged stranger squatting in an alley	Abati hunchback, blue crystal growths poking painfully out of their skin. Beckons you closer, because voice is raspy and spittle-flecked.	‘I fled the Doom that came [Burowao/Dawa] We thought we’d defeated the People of the Red Caves...’	Iffingil
2	A new drinking buddy	Tattered royal uniform, well-oiled Eldritch Rifle (as eldritch blast, plus stun (hold person ray) 1/short rest, hip flask filled with bruskum, zippo lighter & pipe that never goes out by accident (insert cool rain scene!)	‘yeah, when the prince went rotten, I sided with the Shalks. Mom always said I had some Shalk blood in me, and I can mostly understand their language now so I guess it’s true!’	Poppinjay McGee
3	You crashed at their place	An exeptionally large tortle, motherly attitude, stokes the fire, constantly making soup out of the weirdest things, will trade herbal potions for more soup materials.	‘the Black Eagle? Aye, he passed through here a few days back. Word has it that his son survived the attack, but suffers under some sort of curse! Asked to borrow some of our doctors, but we couldn’t spare ‘em.’	Beaux
4	A concerned stranger approaches you	Shalk warrior, bow made of bone and sinew, necklace of various unique coins (hexagons, green ones, unusual designs on ‘em, etc)	‘those treasures you’ve brought back, they’ve attacted a few eyes. I’d find a place to stash them, if you want to keep your organs on the inside of your body.’	‘I’ve forsworn my name. You may call me the Fifth Warrior.
5	Maybe you were drunk, maybe you were distracted by another conversation	You can’t even remember what they looked like, except they had a medium-sized mole on one of their cheeks. It might’ve been the left cheek? Anyway, you remember them telling you...	‘Lucian’s not the only authority figure around here. That is, if his mother’s still alive...’	????
6	Gathering food or peeling vegetables (eats quite a few of the peelings)	Bulky, bloodshot eyes, pig snout & little tusks (skinwalker!), long arms, wearing several vests	Prince Lucian sent our best hunters out every day last week, but they kept coming back with nothing. Now they’re not going out in one big group anymore, but at least they’ve started to come back with SOME food	Gristle ap Grostle
7	Tinkering away at fixing an eldritch rifle (shoots acid arrow, 1-in-6 chance of it going off accidentally if distracted suddenly, jostled, or startled	2½ feet high, way to large coat, hat. Mouselike hands, tail visible if hurrying away or distracted by some juicy deal or conversation (starts whisking around)	Wants to sell you - copper pots with well-mended holes - resin-soaked fish (for eating or burning) - a golden teaspoon that can mix any liquid just by tapping the outside of the vessel that holds it - a ming vase of holding (fragile!) Doesn’t want to sell the rifle, it’s for a client	Has the same name as you! But pronounced with a lisp.
8	Offers to smoke you up some kalamanthis.	Tabaxi dressed in fancy coat stolen from royal officer.	‘The skinwalkers hit my village, slaughtered everyone. They hit the lizardfolk too, the phanatons, all the Olman tribes north of the wall… if Lucian wants to be allies with them, I say we slit his throat while he sleeps. You in?’	Grievous Scarab, Eyes-of-the-Damned
9	Appears out of the shadows behind you, when you’re mostly alone.	Black goatee & moustache, travelers cloak, seems to have bits of cold mist clinging to him.	‘so, did the cards teach you of any great wisdom?’	Arrigal
10	An overheard conversation (the primaries are waiting by a blacksmiths or tattooist)	Several ragged individuals, trying to strike off the last of their chains, and rubbing their chaffed wrists	‘a frontal assault on the fort would be suicide. The open ground would be a killing field. Why, I heard a dragon tried to breach those walls, and the soldiers with their rifles drove it off!’	Penseive, Occifer, Gwyn, Willodrake.

Brain Death: Death and Dismemberment table for Psychic damage.

This is a table that supplements Tenfootpolemics' Death and Dismemberment rules, which are themselves based off of these rules from Hack & Slash. The 'Madness Point' system is taken from Goblin Punch, and interacts with this table slightly, but if you want to ignore the madness points you probably can without 'unbalancing' the rolls. I personally like the madness rules a lot, but maybe you don't want to make things TOO complicated. I also use the 5E insanity tables to supplement the Goblin Punch 'Breakdowns' and 'Permanent Madness' results.

A additional thing for the 'balance' issue raised above: Remember, without this table, the character would basically already be dead or at least unconscious. It's ok to put them through the wringer at this point. It SHOULD feel somewhat arbitrary and capricious, while still having some predictable markers (my players know when they start pushing 12-15+, they're gonna get screwed)

Some of the entries, especially the later ones, are a bit weird & out there. There's one where you transcend to pseudo-godhood (but in an useless way that amounts to character death). Flavour to taste. If you wanted to change any of the entries, I'd recommend adding more nosebleeds.

Also, like the original table, some of the entries are kinda gross and horror-y. I like to pass the sheet to players and get them to read aloud what happens so we can find out together!

Psychic

1	The fear passes over and through you, leaving you unscathed
2	Stigmata. Develop a small mark, like a skull shaped scar or a white shock of hair, of the player’s choosing.
3	Your mind goes numb for a moment, and your limbs follow suit. Drop held objects.
4	The force of the attack sends you reeling. Prone
5	You develop one of those creepy nosebleeds. Bleed 1.
6	Your mind is enveloped in darkness and creeping things seem to writhe against your mind. Pain 1, Madness 1
7	A low hum rises through a whine and into a devastating shriek only you can hear. Pain 1, deafened this turn, and subsequent turns until you make a save.
8	Everything seems grey and far away. Is it even real? Slowed, Pain 1d4
9	The flesh-goblin, it’s skin sloughing off in ribbons, lashes at you with it’s knife-sharp fingerbones. Attack a random ally. Madness 1.
10	Your brain is an unlocked chest, and you cannot stop your psyche ransacking itself Your attacker learns one of your important secrets. You gain a permanent nervous twitch. Pain 2.
11	Your mind is barren. Nightmares alight like crows. One by one they take wing again, each carrying a piece of yourself. Bleed 1d4. Confused until you gain HP (1, Stand there quietly. 2, Scream at the top of your lungs. 3, Attack nearest target. 4, Hurt/attack self.)
12	Your eyes begin to bleed (tar, blood, milk, or another substance) Blinded. Bleed 2, Pain 1.
13	Nothing happens. Everything is still for a moment. You know with a moment of utmost certainty that you are going to die. Trauma 2, Madness 1.
14	Your jaw snaps wildly and you bite off your tongue. Can’t speak (affects spellcasting), Bleed 2, Pain 1, Trauma 1.
15	You are caught in the centre of the cold, and all the heat and energy drain from your body. You suffer serious burns on all exposed skin. Second Degree Burns. Bleed 1. Pain 1d4.
16	Your mind disconnects slightly from your body, before re-aligning somewhat imperfectly. Stunned 1 round. Arms or legs (50% of either) are useless until you gain HP. Pain 1.
17	Your brain begins to fold in on itself like wet tissue paper, and all kinds of black and scaly insects come pouring out. Prone. Short-Term madness. Shock - Save or Die. If you succeed, double Pain Tokens. Madness 1d3.
18	The shadows around you seem to stir- your companions notice it too. Your madness has given them life! Summon 1d4 hostile Shadows for every two allies, and 1d4 for yourself. Madness 1d4.
19	There is a searing pain in your mind and then nothing. You fall, the world spinning around you, mere shapes and noise. Prone. Permanently loose 1d6 Intelligence. Immobile until you gain HP. Bleed 1d4. Pain 1d4.
20	The nightmares dig into your mind, teasing apart it’s threads like a fraying tapestry. Short term and long term madness. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double Pain Tokens. Pain 1d4.
21	The nightmares grip into your brain, tearing, unraveling, separating each colour into a different spool of thread. Short term and long term madness. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double Pain tokens. Pain 1d4. Trauma 1.
22	The force upon your mind causes your skull to crack, blood trickling out the seams. Third and Fourth Degree Burns. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double Pain tokens. Pain 2. Bleed 1d4. Trauma 1d4.
23	Nightmare insanity seeps into your very soul. Your life begins to be blotted out by the pressure, a memory and soon not even that. Permanently halve all stats. Shock - Save or Die. On success, double all Pain tokens. Pain 1d4. Trauma 4. Bleed 2.
24	The red fear causes your heart to stop, and you die 1 round later, leaving a terrified looking corpse.
25	The vacuum left within your body by your ravaged soul invites a host of other things to take up residence within you. You are permanently possessed by a demon, or perhaps several demons. Permanently become a CE NPC, unless exorcised with a potentially deadly ritual. Trauma 1.
26	You are shunted from your body, which dies instantly and crumples to the ground. You remain in the world for 1d6 rounds as a ghost, exploding to minutes on a 6 (roll again), then hours, then days, then permanent. You have no powers, but you can whisper to people who are sensitive to spirits, or are asleep.
27	You reach inside your skull and scoop out your brain. All living creatures who see are stunned for 1 round. You are dead, but your body keeps standing there for 1d6 rounds, smiling and gibbering.
28	You go stiff as a board, and a moment later, you fall over backwards as your soul separates from your body.
29	The attack doesn’t appear to hurt very much, but all your veins are ruptured A moment later your nose begins to bleed, and then your ears and mouth, and then your eyes, as you die over the next 1d6 rounds.
30	You become irreparably suicidal, throwing yourself off a cliff, on your sword (auto crits) etc, for 1d6 minutes unless forcibly restrained (even then you try to bite out your tongue and bleed to death).
31	Your head forcibly explodes, dealing 1d4 in skull-shrapnel damage within 10 ft killing you instantly.
32	In the moment your soul and mind are forcibly ejected from your body, you find enlightenment. Transcending the mortal plane to an astral realm of pure thought, you wonder what could ever have mattered to you about the petty struggles of mortals down there among the stars. You leave the material plane, never to return.
33	You die, but your soul refuses to leave your body. You are fully aware (but unable to communicate) as you are buried, burned, your body decomposes, etc.
34	You fade away, but continue to exist as a memory-ghost within the mind of an old friend (likely one who saw you die.) You retain your personality and knowledge, but find it hard to learn new things or retain information.
35	You disappear, and even the memory of you fades from the world. 1D4 of your closest friends might remember you.
36+	Your memory is scoured from creation. You are gone, and none but the most faithful of gods could ever remember you.

I'm going to add a note here, even though I'm sure most folks stopped reading after the table: I've been using these death and dismemberment rules in my 5E-based game, and they work quite well. I think this hodgepodge ruleset is one of the most flexible I've seen, in that it can be plonked down with basically zero additional considerations inside of basically any D&D-like game mechanics.