Magic on Offer: A Table
While working on my "Local Magic" post, part of the "Magia en la Ciudad" RPG blog carnival at Codex Anathema, I had an idea for a random table to generate magic trades that might be available in a city or region. After all, fairy tales, myths, and legends are full of deals and exchanges, with a regular person giving up something precious for something wondrous. I think a great way to give texture to a place is to say that everyone who lives there knows who to ask for a particular boon – even if very few of them are willing to pay the price.
The Goblin Market, Hilda Koe, circa 1895
Roll a d8 four times on the Magic On Offer Table and fill in the blanks: In exchange for ___, ___ in the ___ will ___.
Magic On Offer Table
| d8 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | half a cup of your blood, freshly spilled | the druids | nearby woods | provide you with a faithful horse, hawk, or hound | |||
| 2 | a precious memory | the cursed dead | catacombs | tell you a secret that someone took to the grave | |||
| 3 | the use of your face for a day | an assassin | rogues' guild | clear your debts to one creditor | |||
| 4 | moderate labour each evening over the course of a year | the witch cult | ruined and defiled temple | ensure you have a healthy heir | |||
| 5 | passing on the stories they tell you | the blessed dead | shrine grove | help you atone for your sins | |||
| 6 | sharing the use of your senses for a month | those weird triplets | canals | give you prophetic dreams | |||
| 7 | hosting a person (or persons) of their choosing in your home for dinner | the fey constructs | midden heaps | bless your boots so they never wear out | |||
| 8 | obeying for one year the injunction they give you | the charter spirits | market square by night | protect you from hunger for a year |
As you can probably see, each row is written to make sense, ie. "In exchange for the use of your face for a day, an assassin in the rogues' guild will clear your debts to one creditor." However, I think rolling on the table can generate more interesting results, such as, "In exchange for half a cup of your blood, freshly spilled, the cursed dead in the nearby woods will help you atone for your sins." Why do the cursed dead desire your redemption? Do they hope to bring to others what they cannot achieve for themselves? Or do they hope that, in your redemption, they can find their own? And why is there blood involved?
If you plan to use this table in your game, you may need to tweak the results somewhat to make the trade seem fair.