Tavern Tales Toolkit - studioKeywi

Lurking in the shadowy corners of the universe are dark entities far beyond our understanding. They gaze upon mortals with equal parts disgust and hatred, patiently plotting ways to plunge the world into darkness and misery. Wise men turn their backs on these dark entities. But for some adventurers, ambition far outweighs wisdom. Power-hungry cultists and warlocks readily embrace these dark patrons, signing infernal contracts to sacrifice their souls in exchange for unnatural power. You could join them... all you need to do is sign a contract in blood. After all, when it comes to fulfilling one's darkest desires, everyone has a price. What is yours?

Examples of Occultism characters include:

A warlock signs a contract with a demon to gain infernal power in exchange for servitude.
An astronomer gazes at the stars and discovers a dark entity that grants her forbidden knowledge.
After getting lost in the woods, a girl meets a twisted forest spirit that allows her to join the eternal hunt.

Occultism

Blood Link

(Occultism | Combat)

Effects

You can link 2 willing creatures, designating one as the Giver and the other as the Receiver. Any harm the Giver suffers is instead transferred to the Receiver. The link ends when either person wants it to end. If you a link a defeated creature, they don't have to be willing and the link doesn't end when they want it to. Collaborate on what ends it

Descriptions

stitching their souls together

creating a thaumaturgic link

altering the strands of destiny

Blood Sacrifice

(Occultism | Combat)

Effects

You can give yourself a condition and bolster to do anything

Descriptions

sacrificing your blood to your patron

flagellating yourself

letting your parasite feed

Pound of Flesh

(Occultism | Combat)

Effects

You can give someone an exact copy of one of your conditions

Descriptions

making them pay blood for blood

evening the cosmic scale

getting bloody revenge

causing recoil

Terrify

(Occultism | Combat)

Effects

You can give someone the condition "Terrified"

Descriptions

showing them their worst nightmare

giving them a glimpse of your patron

using dark magic

Vessel

(Occultism | Combat)

Effects

You can mark a creature you're touching (max 1) as your vessel. You can use your traits through your vessel as if you're standing at their location

Descriptions

using blood magic to control its muscles

treating its soul like a puppet

sharing your power

Examples

Marks

a tattoo that glows with hellfire

a scar-rune

a glowing symbol floating above their forehead

Voodoo

(Occultism | Combat)

Effects

If you destroy or defile something that is important to someone else, gain a free Good Tale to tell against them

Descriptions

creating a voodoo doll

using thaumaturgy magic

corrupting their essence

your dark ritual

Cast into the Void

(Occultism | Exploration)

Effects

You an open a 1-space hole to the void for several minutes. The void is an endless, empty nothing. Anything cast into the void is gone for all eternity

Descriptions

cutting open a bloody wound in the universe

opening a portal creating a swirling black hole

Circle of Binding

(Occultism | Exploration)

Effects

You can walk in a circle. When you're finished, create a barrier along the circle. Absolutely nothing can cross the barrier except light and sound. Collaborate on what breaks the circle

Descriptions

drawing runes in chalk

lighting candles in a ring

creating a magic circle

using pact magic

Examples

Breaks the Circle

time passes

an item touches it

you touch the circle

a secret word is spoke

night falls

Conjuration

(Occultism | Exploration)

Effects

You can link a creature you're touching with an item you're touching, or to a new item you create. Whoever holds the item can expend the link to instantly summon the linked creature to the item's location

Descriptions

pulling on a soul-tether

opening a portal to the destination

conjuring it in a puff of smoke and fire

Darkness

(Occultism | Exploration)

Effects

You can create a zone of pure darkness for about 1 day. No light can enter the zone

Descriptions

spreading magic

spilling your patron's blood on the earth

weakening the barrier between realms

Examples

Descriptors

hellish

web-strewn

rotten

sacred

verdant

crawling

swampy

barren

nightmarish

Defile

(Occultism | Exploration)

Effects

You can give the terrain a descriptor outside of what is natural for that terrain. Collaborate on how the terrain gradually shifts to match your descriptor

Descriptions

spreading magic

spilling your patron's blood on the earth

weakening the barrier between realms

Examples

Descriptors

hellish

web-strewn

rotten

sacred

verdant

crawling

swampy

barren

nightmarish

Portal

(Occultism | Exploration)

Effects

You can create a portal (max 5). Anyone who enters one of your portals can emerge at one of your other portals

Descriptions

creating teleportation stones

building waypoints

creating a wormhole

opening a portal

Binding Contract

(Occultism | Interaction)

Effects

If you like, contracts and agreements you sign or mediate are magically enforced. They can't be violated by any means (Agreeing to the contract "You can't speak of an event" means you literally lose the ability to speak of it forever). The contract or agreement must mention that the terms are binding

Descriptions

signing a pact in blood

binding their soul to your service

write your contract into universal laws

Blissful Agony

(Occultism | Interaction)

Effects

You can make a creature you're touching experience any physical sensation you want. This doesn't cause physical harm

Descriptions

bringing them to the brink of ecstasy

inflicting terrible agony

toying with their skin

torture

Dark Bargain

(Occultism | Interaction)

Effects

Your patrons can perform favors for you, but always at a proportional cost. You have a patron, which is a powerful entity that can grant you power, favors, or knowledge, but always at a cost. Collaborate on your patron

Descriptions

conjuring them in a summoning circle

drawing them forth from the ether

hearing their voices

Examples

Cost

sacrifice an innocent in their name

start a cult in their honor

further their goals

offer a part of your soul

Patrons

demons

angels

otherworldly horrors from beyond the stars

spirits of the land

death itself

Deal with the Devil

(Occultism | Interaction)

Effects

After talking to someone, you can learn the one thing that they want more than anything else. If you provide them with that thing, you gain complete and total control over them; the GM or player hands control of that character over to you

Descriptions

purchasing their soul

making an offer they can't refuse

eternally enslaving them to your will

Shatter Mind

(Occultism | Interaction)

Effects

You can give someone a psychological condition

Descriptions

ripping their mind apart

shattering their fragile psyche

giving your patron access to their mind

Examples

Neuroses

schizophrenia

sociopathy

a crippling phobia

paranoid delusions

hallucinations

obsessiveness

Soul Gem

(Occultism | Interaction)

Effects

You can transform the souls of dead, worthy creatures into treasure (the GM decides how much)

Descriptions

coalescing their soul into a black gem

trapping their spirit in a jar

trading souls for favors