CARCOSA ALTERNATIVE CHARACTER CREATION

Nice post from Throne of Salt that I think could also be used to generate characters for Carcosa.

I really like the CONCEPT table where once per session, a player can either add 1d6 points to a roll or re-roll a skill check provided they are acting according to their character concept.

This sounds like a nice house rule to mix with 5e's backgrounds, ideals, bonds, and flaws in some manner.

Concept	Aspect
1) Adventurer	Go out there and find some excitement.
2) Creator	Working, building, making.
3) Mentor	Teacher and keeper of knowledge.
4) Martyr	Self-sacrifice for others' sake.
5) Ruler	Control and command
6) Seeker	Looking for answers.
7) Healer	Fights against the world's decay.
8) Traditionalist	Upholds the old ways.
9) Mediator	The point between two parties.
10) Hermit	Isolation, solitude, wisdom.
11) Heretic	Upends faith, casts doubt.
12) Conqueror	Glorious victory at all costs.
13) Abomination	Something's broken inside.
14) Destroyer	Let nothing remain standing.
15) Chosen	Hailed as the doer of a great task.
16) Defiler	Blame and undermine all others.
17) Protector	Protect and preserve what is precious.
18) Visionary	Big-picture ideas of a better tomorrow.
19) Zealot	Of absolute faith and conviction.
20) Disciple	Follower of teachers old and new.
21) Righteous	Unshakable confidence in their path.
22) Traveler	The open road still softly calls.

MIRROR MONSTERS FOR MY YOON-SUIN CAMPAIGN

These are three creations for a cult that was allowed to run loose in my Yoon-Suin campaign.

THE GUEST
A giant hydrocephalic hedgehog with a locket head and hands for feet.
HD 12 HP 70 AC 16  ATK Two enormous reflections of the heads in the room extend out 10' to bite for d20 dmg
SPECIAL:

• Immune to fear, poison, flame
• Magical immunity 50%
• The creature floats 3 feet off the ground
• Can curse one word and any character or player uttering it takes d8 dmg to their character
• All within 20' must save or fall in LOVE with their reflections. Clerics/paladins may autosave or give 2+ to everyone else's save

MIRROR MEN
Headless cultist of THE GUEST who carries its egg in the form of a choker with a locket face. 
HD 3 HP 10 AC 13 ATK 1d6 with a short sword or large dagger
SPECIAL

• Will attack with the inverse of any previous attack on it (reflection) but only if the attacker shows their true face
• Unconcious, disabled, or incapacitated victims will be fitted with a locket choker. Any reference to it will always be answered with a sentence ending in "...my mother gave it to me."
• Can cast reversed spells

MIRROR HOUNDS
Stalking mirror-headed collectors of those who are trapped by the beautifying and perfection it offers.
HD 4 HP 17 AC 16 DMG 1d6 tail as whip
SPECIAL

• A large mirror makes up their face. Anyone within 15' feet are charmed by the reflection which shows a perfect version of their lives. The person will attempt to crawl into the mirror face and be imprisoned.

OSR SURVEY: EARLY RESULTS

Above is one of the early results from Necropraxis/Questing Beast survey they put up. For my own edification, I modified this graph to show which editions came out what years.

THE COLOSSAL CRAB CITIES OF THE KUO-TOA

3D shell by Aki Inomata; crab by Evolution

One of the better ideas I had was, after seeing this picture, how the Kuo-toa/Deep-Ones might travel around in huge crab cites. The crabs themselves would be half-elemental and carry the tide with them where ever they go.

This city would move from the coast inland all the while flooding anything in its path and leaving brackish marsh in its wake. All the shell would be is a living reef of Kuo-toa singing mad hymns all the while. A tide pool from a briny hell. Maybe the crab would pick up chunks of cities, towers, and landscapes like decorator crab. Maybe it even has torn a piece of the night sky with it. Maybe this is actually the water elemental protecting itself from the eyes of other gods by disguising itself as a normal spiritual thing (See I have worshipers, cities, bits of land, factions, & sacrifice!). But really its just a crab that wants to eat everything.

The Kou-Toa themselves would be divided into two factions: THE TIDE (Kuo; pious majority) and THE DEEP (Toa; seditious and heretical minority).

Since the Kuo-Toa half the unique ability to make their own gods, I'd include rules that any extraordinary act, natural 20, or use of magic of a level equal to or greater than the observing Kuo-Toa's HD would result in them worshipping the PC. This would grant powers and abilities, but if left unchecked the PC would become a chaotic godling (and essentially dead). This would be the urging of the Toa who always seek to undermine the Kuo.

Maybe this would be a great dungeon idea or just become a wetter version of Broodmother Skyfortress. Maybe that is not so bad a thing. Maybe run it as a point-crawl with several small dungeons in it. Sorta like Legend of Zelda.

Also, a great time to fold together Kuo-toa, Deep-Ones, and Sahuagin. Plus tritons, mermen, and so forth-- I mean who really needs these many fish people. Also add those intelligent octopus found in the 2e MM.

Central to this idea is movement (because its a giant crab city) and time (because its going somewhere). So what if players are given a literal host to play with. They have to infiltrate, destroy or accomplish X in Y days or the crab destroys a capital. Magic weapons, wishes, artifacts, and such abound but little time to collect it all.  Or two phase I- deal with the city and phase II- deal with the aftermath.

• Crab elemental constantly adds collections of stuff to its back
• Calendar tracks the progression of crab as it travels along the coast destroying towns/cities/temples at regular intervals
• this adds a new location
• adds new armies
• Deep-ones most emerge when civilizations are raided
• they also emerge to take sacrifices
• when emerging to raid, most other locations close up shop
• Some NPCs are influenced by the deep-one minority faction and have become god-like in their abilities in one particular thing
• Being so close to the origins of divinity, or something like it, dreaming allows ethereal scouting but that comes with its own predators