PHEW! Mean a busy few weeks. In the last two weeks, I’ve closed a successful Kickstarter, moved to a new apartment, and had my first game, Masters of Umdaar, published by Evil Hat. I’m astounded by all of the great support I’ve had for all three of the above (especially the moving… those bookshelves are heavy.)

In all of the excitement, I haven’t had much time to write content this game blog. However, I’ve struck upon a great idea: I’ll share with the interwebs some of the bonus Umdaar material that didn’t make the final cut.

(I don’t want to call this the “Director’s Cut,” because that implies that the editorial staff of Evil Hat where viciously changing things against my approval; quite the opposite. Their critiques were constructive, and they made sure that they knew I was ultimately in charge of the product; they helped me to create one of the best works I’ve ever done. However, I had huge difficulty with keeping to the small page count, which meant there were many things that I wish we had space for.)

Enjoy the bonus material!

Tables of Tables

In the early drafts, one goal for “Umdaar” was to have an instant Unplanned Adventure. Players could spend 5 minutes on character creation, and the GM, with a slew of randomly generated names and monsters, could create a setting in less than 15 minutes. (An ambitious dream, I know.) However, it was decided to include more pre-made material (like the “Starblades of Su’ul” adventure), and to par down the GM material a bit. Thus, it’s no surprise that the bonus content is entirely tables.

NAME GENERATOR

A generator for creating random PC or NPC names. Foll 4dF twice, once for the prefix (top half), and once for the suffix (bottom half).

—-	Naga-
—	Shiro-	Vir-
—	Exa-	Kan-	Wego-
–	Moor-	Zy-	Thal-	Kaji-
0	<row 1> Slee-	Myr-	Arco-	Or-	P’Taq-
	0	+	++	+++	++++
0	-Da	-Ra	-Thar	-Daar	-Ak
–	-Seez	-Gon	-Star	-Caya
—	-Tron	-Lock	-Uu
—	-T’zo	-Kor
—-	-Graz

NATION / BIOFORM SUFFIXES

During character creation, players are encouraged to create a name for their Bioform or their home nation. This can be done one of two ways:

Free-form – Create the name yourself, based on the bioform type. For example, if you are a “Manta” person, feel free to call your bioform the “Mantiards” or simply the “Mantamen.”

Name Generator – Use the Name chart above, but also roll for a random suffix from the Bioform Name Suffix Chart below, and add them together. Ex. Names “Arco” + “-T’zo”, plus the Bioform Suffix “-Ani” = the tribe of Arcot’zoani. (If the result is too long, just use the Name Prefix and the  Bioform Suffix, such Arcoani)

	0	+	++	+++	++++
0	-ocks	-iards	-en	-ols	-ri
–	-ors	-ons	-als	-dja
—	-ani	-ians	-ites
—	-ans	-icans
—-	-um

MASTER – TITLE GENERATOR

Use the Title Generator below to create the Master’s title. Alternatively, you can use the Name Creator from the character section, or put the two together—ex. NagTaal the Lifetaker.

Foll 4dF twice, once for the prefix (top half), and once for the suffix (bottom half).

—-	Mask-
—	Fear	Hope
—	Bone	World	Gold
–	Life	Skull	Mind	Slave
0	God	Light	Blood	War	Lore
	0	+	++	+++	++++
0	King/ Queen	Monger	Tyrant	Hoarder	Berserker
–	Lord	Taker	Grinder	Twister
—	-Lock	Raker	Crusher
—	Razer	Breaker
—-	Destroyer

Note: Hope & Light?

On the chart above, it is possible to end up with titles like “Hopelord.” You can reroll, but we suggest you go with it- no doubt the Master is a charismatic leader, who is worshiped by his oppressed subjects as a demigod!

BASIC TERRAIN-ING

In the first few drafts, “Umdaar” was more about the geography- the artifacts were more of a by-product of exploring, rather than the motivation. Thus, there were also random tables for creating wild biomes, AKA the Wildlands (although they work for Dark Domains as well); likewise, there was also generators for Midway points, and for buried structures or evil lairs waiting for them- this was called the Final Destination.

WILDLAND GENERATOR

Foll 4dF twice, once for the prefix (top half), and once for the suffix (bottom half).

—-	The Midnight–
—	The Shrapnel	The Bone
—	The Star	The Sludge	The Subterranean
–	The Blood	The Crystal	The Psycho	The Sky
0	The Time	The Poison	The Fire	The Ice	The Sunken
	0	+	++	+++	++++
0	Ruins	Caves	Swamps	Cliffs	Sea
–	Forests	Mountains	Sands	Highlands
—	Tundras	Jungles	Islands
—	Oasis	Plains
—-	Pass

MIDWAYS

Going through a Wildland without any incident is boring. Thus, we had a Midway generator; they are intentionally generic, so they could be dressed up to match any location. Some of them provide obstacles, while others provide “window dressing” for a character conflict (rather than having a scene take place in a vacuum).

	–	0	+
–	The Crossroads – Where two paths intersect. A place of detours, losing your way, and highwaymen.	The Fortification – A man-made barricade, a roadblock, or proper fort. You must deal with the defenders, or physically overcome it.	The High Ground – Before you is higher ground, granting anyone on it a tactical advantage. Alternates: Dunes, Barrow Mounds.
0	The Ruins – A cluttered area, rife with hiding places, forgotten artifacts, and sleeping dangers.	The Fertile Ground- A blooming place in a hostile land, and an ironic place to be threatened. I.e. oasis, watering hole, mushroom grove, hot spring.	The Shelter – A small shelter stands, bowing under the weight of the elements. Perhaps a resilient occupant still resides there. I.e. A camp, covered wagon, shack, hovel.
+	The Pass – Before you lies a natural path or bridge that must be traversed if you are to proceed. I.e. across a gorge, river, through a reef, a mountain pass.	The Fog – An area where the senses are dulled, and teams can easily become separated. I.e. a dark bog, a misty rainforest, a sandstorm, a smoky lava field.	The Obstruction – A terrain feature that cannot simply be walked around it- takes active effort to overcome. I.e. swimming a lake, scaling a cliff-face, climbing the massive trees.

FINAL DESTINATION GENERATOR

Foll 4dF twice, once for the prefix (top half), and once for the suffix (bottom half).

—-	The City
—	The Temple	The Labyrinth
—	The Cathedral	The Fortress	The Forge
–	The Prison	The Crypts	The Library	The Castle
0	The Factory	The Pit	The Tower	The Dungeons	The Coliseum
	0	+	++	+++	++++
0	of the Fallen Goddess	of Plague	of Cursed Wisdom	of Despair	of Eternal Life
–	of the Starfarers	of Madness	of Shadows	of Mutation
—	of the Nameless God	of Screams	of Torment
—	of Gold	of Forbidden Joy
—-	of Eternal War

LAST BITS

The last worthy bit of content cut from Umdaar was the Adventure Generator, but that is long enough that it warrants a blog post of its own. Until then, readers, game on!