Bas-Lag Weaver Encounter Tables

[GuesssWho]

I have created some tables for encountering a Weaver, from the Bas-Lag Cycle by China Mieville. They will be posted in a moment.

[GuesssWho]

Save vs. Weaver
Roll 1d100 on table. If a PC has the resulting item the Weaver takes it and the save is made. If the save is made, the Weaver becomes an ally. If not, refer to failure table.

{table=head] Roll | Item
1|Chess Set
2|Scissors
3|Towel
4|Book
5|Bottle
6|Fan
7|Small Statue
8|Underwear
9|Puppet
10|Poster
11|Cannonball
12|Swimsuit
13|Bag
14|Glue
15|Drum
16|Goblet
17|Tin Of Mints
18|Soap
19|Chewing Gum
20|Hat
21|Needle
22|Pushpin
23|Candle
24|Screw
25|Rope
26|Perfume
27|Brush
28|Birthday Card
29|Sticker
30|Flower
31|Butterfly
32|Bandage
33|Coat Hanger
34|Drawing
35|Ring
36|Knife
37|Coat
38|Scarf
39|Hair Band
40|Tie
41|Earring
42|Kettle
43|Necklace
44|Ribbon
45|Salt
46|Wax
47|Coin
48|Shell
49|Deer Antler
50|Alcohol
51|Fang
52|Marble
53|Mirror
54|Whistle
55|Antivenin
56|Earplug
57|Torch
58|Claw
59|Holy Water
60|Pebble
61|Moss
62|Magnifying Glass
63|Rust
64|Paint
65|Hammer
66|Feather
67|Belt
68|Cloak
69|Sunglasses
70|Thorn
71|Stuffed Toy
72|Flour
73|Pot
74|Bedroll
75|Silk
76|Oil
77|Ball
78|Sign
79|Shoe
80|Toenail Clipping
81|Jigsaw Puzzle
82|Fishing Hook
83|Holy Symbol
84|Glove
85|Cauldron
86|Food Ration
87|Crowbar
88|Pencil
89|Wind Chime
90|Saw
91|Jar
92|Tongs
93|Tree Sap
94|Clay
95|Pipe
96|Colored Sand
97|Dog Collar
98|Scale
99|Leaf
100|Animal Skull[/table]

[GuesssWho]

Save Failure Table
Roll 1d3 times


{table=head]Roll|Result
1|The Weaver cuts off a PC’s ears, then replaces them
2|The Weaver sticks a PC to the wall
3|The Weaver turns a PC inside out, then fixes them
4|The Weaver steals everything a PC owns
5|The Weaver screams at the party and disappears
6|The Weaver turns a PC’s armor into water
7|The Weaver turns a PC’s weapons into glass
8|The Weaver insists that a PC play tic-tac-toe with it
9|The Weaver dances
10|The Weaver throws pebbles in the air
11|The Weaver weaves a web
12|The Weaver stomps on a dandelion
13|The Weaver attempts to eat a PC
14|The Weaver breaks out laughing
15|The Weaver tells an exciting story
16|The Weaver pelts the party with large silver bricks
17|The Weaver slices a PC in half
18|The Weaver turns a PC into a half-golem or Remade
19|The Weaver fuses two or more PCs together
20|The Weaver gives a PC’s hands separate personalities
21|The Weaver ties everyone’s hair together
22|The Weaver turns a PC’s nose bright blue
23|The Weaver paints a picture
24|The Weaver pelts the party with apples
25|The Weaver screams and runs around in a circle
26|The Weaver insists that a PC read to it
27|The Weaver turns a PC into a steampunk robot
28|The Weaver chews off a PC’s foot
29|The Weaver giggles and claps delightedly
30|The Weaver licks a PC
31|The Weaver sits and stares unnervingly
32|The Weaver starts to speak in rhyme
33|The Weaver rubs its claws together
34|The Weaver teleports the party 1d100 miles away in a random direction
35|The Weaver turns the party into rats
36|The Weaver steals a PC’s eyes
37|The Weaver drives a PC permanently insane
38|The Weaver makes a swarm of spiders appear
39|The Weaver drowns a PC, even if PC is not underwater
40|The Weaver offers the party food
41|The Weaver turns a PC’s misc. items into candy
42|The Weaver orders the PCs to sing for it
43|The Weaver pulls bricks out of nearest wall and dumps them at PCs’ feet
44|The Weaver takes a PC’s money
45|The Weaver lets a PC ride it for a few minutes
46|The Weaver asks for something to eat
47|The Weaver starts floating in the air
48|The Weaver says something totally nonsensical, as opposed to just mostly so
49|The Weaver puts together a picnic
50|The Weaver asks for something else (reroll save)
51|The Weaver speaks an obscure warning, then disappears
52|The Weaver disappears, taking a PC with it, then brings them back
53|The Weaver disappears, taking a PC with it, never to return
54|The Weaver juggles
55|The Weaver removes a PC’s brain
56|The Weaver removes a PC’s skull--but not the brain
57|The Weaver pulls cookies out of nowhere and eats them
58|The Weaver insists the PCs commit cannibalism
59|The Weaver asks a PC to dance with it
60|The Weaver dares the PCs childishly to do something silly
61|The Weaver teaches a PC a trick
62|The Weaver hands over the save item, saying it has extra
63|The Weaver hands over the save item, then asks for it again
64|The Weaver bites a PC
65|The Weaver disappears, then returns with a magic item and hands it over
66|The Weaver helps the PCs anyway
67|The Weaver scratches an itch
68|The Weaver covers the PCs in flour and laughs happily
69|The Weaver orders the party to keep doing whatever they were doing
70|The Weaver tells the party where they can find better treasure
71|The Weaver puts everyone’s legs on backwards
72|The Weaver kills a PC with a gold brick, then gives the brick to the party
73|The Weaver gives each PC a random magic item
74|The Weaver starts to cry
75|The Weaver cuts off everybody's ears
76|The Weaver orders a PC to eat a beetle
77|The Weaver gives each PC a hug
78|The Weaver drums the ground with its feet
79|The Weaver offers the youngest PC alcohol
80|The Weaver gives the oldest PC a blanket
81|The Weaver skins a PC and makes the skin into a jacket
82|The Weaver skewers a PC with its claws
83|The Weaver cocoons a PC and sticks them in its web
84|The Weaver hangs a PC upside-down for 15 minutes
85|The Weaver gives each PC 1d3 random grafts
86|The Weaver slaps a PC and gibbers angrily
87|The Weaver paints with a PC’s blood
88|The Weaver mutters to itself
89|The Weaver flies away
90|The Weaver flickers
91|The Weaver turns the party’s clothing inside out
92|The Weaver makes a PC explode, then heals them
93|The Weaver removes a PC’s nose and replaces it upside-down
94|The Weaver switches a PC’s feat for a random feat
95|The Weaver switches each PC’s class
96|The Weaver turns a PC into a young dragon
97|The Weaver gives half the PCs wings and the other half gills/fins
98|The Weaver shrinks the PCs to an inch tall
99|The Weaver strands the party on another plane
100|The Weaver simply disappears[/table]

[Morph Bark]

What kind of save is it and what's the DC?

Are there any stats for the Weaver itself? :smallconfused:

[GuesssWho]

It's a special Weaver save. The second post explains it.

This is based on a creature from a fantasy book. Dragon Magazine #352 had a special on it with the Weaver's stats.

Basically, the Weaver is a high-level CN phase spider with a wish SLA that sees the universe as an artwork that can be improved by doing weird random **** and speaks in stream-of-consciousness. In the book it responded best when given scissors and said 'hello' like this: . . . FLESHSCAPE INTO THE FOLDING INTO THE FLESHSCAPE TO SPEAK A GREETING IN THIS THE SCISSORED REALM I WILL RECIEVE AND BE RECIEVED . . .

Later on it tells a main character that the surviving bad guys are coming like this: . . . RUN HIDE LITTLE ONE YOU ARE A SKILLFUL ONE FIXING THE RUCKS AND TEARS IT COMES AROUND YOU ONE HAS GONE TRAPPED INTO TRAPPING YOU AND CRUSHED LIKE WHEAT AND IT IS TIME TO FLEE BEFORE THE BEREFT BROTHERSISTER INSECTS ARRIVE TO MOURN THE MULCH YOU HELPED MELT . . .

And that's when it's trying to make sense. So I think these tables fit pretty well.

[Debihuman]

The weaver is an multi-dimensional being in the form of a spider. The article in Dragon Magazine 352 was based on China Mieville's novel Perdido Street Station. I recommend you read the book.

The first table isn't an encounter table, it's a bribery table. Here is a quote from the article (page 61 Dragon Mag. 352):

Weavers rarely speak to humans unless bribed. The forms these bribes take vary from weaver to weaver, and their tastes change over time. One month they might rabidly collect chess sets, the next month they lust for scissors made of paper or the perfectly polished shell of vineyard snails. Offering the wrong gift or forgetting to offer one is often fatal.

The first table is rolled to see what the weaver wants. As these are mostly common item it would be a Knowledge check to see if the PC can figure out which item the weaver can be bribed with. Weavers have 18 HD and are Outsiders so the check is Knowledge (Planes) DC 28. If you succesfsfully bribe the wearver, you gain an ally. If you fail the knowledge check, you offer the wrong item. [This number can be modified by other factors so I'm only giving you the base check] and then rolls on the consequence chart. This is where the Save should be made. It would be a Fortitude save to avoid the negative consequence and the DC would be 10 + 1/2 weaver's Hit Dice + ability modifier (charisma would make sense). In this case the DC would be 26 (10 +9 +7).


The second chart should be a consequence chart for remitting the wrong bribe. Weavers are not nearly so benign. I don't see a weaver doing many of the things on the chart, but it's been a long time since I read the book and my memory of their actual capabilities is somewhat hazy. Going by the article, a failed bribe result in the weaver attacking the party (50% chance), or the weaver desperately want the item and sends the PCs to get one (25% -- probably threatening them with death threats if they fail) or behaving utterly randomly (25% of the time, just because they are that weird) and that's when you'd roll on the 2nd chart.


A weaver should not automatically be allowed to cut off a PC's ears and replace them without at least a Reflex save (DC 23). The save is dexterity based.

Debby

[GuesssWho]

That could work, but honestly I felt that the Weaver in the book could do almost anything if it felt like it--but it probably wouldn't, and anyway how could you tell?

I mean, it was described as being scarier than the Ambassador of Hell. It's probably from the Far Realm, in D&D terms. If I used it in a game these two tables would be all I used unless the characters made the save, in which case I would probably use a phase spider with 400 hp and a wish SLA.

[Debihuman]

That could work, but honestly I felt that the Weaver in the book could do almost anything if it felt like it--but it probably wouldn't, and anyway how could you tell?


1. The weavers have a lot of powers at their disposal, which makes them deadly foes. But having lots of power doesn't equate to being able to do almost anything. Their individual sense of aesthetics is the reason they get involved in events. Whether the PCs can figure that out or not at least gives these creatures motivation for what they do.


I mean, it was described as being scarier than the Ambassador of Hell.

2. Spider looking things ARE scarier looking than the Ambassador from Hell. Most devils are at least somewhat human-looking. Besides, many things in Bas-Lag are creepy. I think the author did a great job of making the grittiness of the city a palpable presence in the book.


It's probably from the Far Realm, in D&D terms. I wholeheartedly agree.


If I used it in a game these two tables would be all I used unless the characters made the save, in which case I would probably use a phase spider with 400 hp and a wish SLA.

Go for it. I'd love to see a homebrewed version of the weaver. That way even people who don't have access to the article could use it. Alternatively, you can use a standard phase spider as young weaver who hasn't yet developed into its special abilities.

Debby

[GuesssWho]

I'm not too good at mechanics, but maybe. I'll think about it.

They could doesn't mean they will. I'd give it limited wish at will at wish 3/day, but only one chance in 20 that the result is even remotely useful, even as an ally. The rest of the time it does something that it thinks is helpful or beautifying but isn't to anyone else.